《Apocalypse: I Can See the HP Bar, Killing Monsters Drops Loot》 Chapter 1 - 1 Chapter 1 The Apocalypse Descends_1 1 Chapter 1 The Apocalypse Descends_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Cleared!¡± Watching his game character hammer the final boss to death, Wang Tao felt a surge of satisfaction. He didn¡¯t have a huge addiction to gaming, after all, he was busy with work. But whenever he did play, he had to do it perfectly. Things like no-damage clears and unlocking all achievements. Of course, this only applied to single-player games, he couldn¡¯t afford to spend on pay-to-win online games with his family¡¯s financial condition. The game Wang Tao was playing this time was called ¡°Apocalypse Kill Kill Kill,¡± a side-scrolling fighting game that wasn¡¯t rich in content but was a good way to kill time. He couldn¡¯t remember when he downloaded it, but after playing for a day, he had finally unlocked all the achievements. ¡°Time to go out for a big meal, reward my hard work!¡± Only, looking at the pouring rain outside, Wang Tao frowned, ¡°Why is it still raining¡­¡± He was an ordinary stuntman for martial arts scenes, and the reason he was home playing games instead of working was the heavy rain, which had led to the cancellation of all the day¡¯s shooting. ¡°Tired from playing all day, don¡¯t feel like cooking¡­ There¡¯s a small eatery downstairs, not far from me¡­¡± In the end, Wang Tao decided to eat out. Just as he opened his door, his neighbor¡¯s door also opened. A young woman in a black dress appeared, her left hand holding a phone, her elbow holding a bag, and her right hand carrying high heels. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but steal another glance at those slender and well-proportioned legs in black stockings. ¡°Sister-in-law, good evening!¡± Wang Tao was surprised to see her but still greeted her politely. The young woman¡¯s name was Ding Yuqin, the wife of a young director named Zhao Yuan. They had been married for a short time and were very affectionate. Wang Tao and Director Zhao were from the same hometown, and although they both worked in the movie industry and didn¡¯t cross paths often, they were acquainted, and he would greet him as Brother Zhao. Wang Tao remembered that the couple went back to their hometown last month, and he didn¡¯t know when they had returned. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, the young woman looked up, revealing a delicate face with light makeup. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Xiao Wang, good evening!¡± Ding Yuqin tucked her hair back and smiled slightly. Wang Tao held the elevator for her, but Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t get in, instead saying suddenly, ¡°I just remembered, I forgot to take something. You go down first¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face stiffened slightly, but he responded politely, ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll go ahead.¡± Rejected again, but he had grown used to it. Ding! Entering the elevator, looking at the reflection of the tall and burly man, 1.83 meters tall, with a vicious scar on his face in the mirror, Wang Tao sighed helplessly. He had been injured accidentally on the set, and with a physique that could rival a fitness instructor¡¯s, his appearance scared many people. He once had the appearance of a tender young man and the opportunity to be a lead actor. But now, he had become a martial arts double, and always for villains¡­ With a self-deprecating smile, Wang Tao left the elevator, opened the unit door, and rushed into a small restaurant called ¡°Big Mouth Meat Eater.¡± The restaurant was empty; an old TV was broadcasting the weather forecast, and the presenter said the intense rainfall would stop tomorrow, telling everyone not to panic. ¡°Boss Li, where are you?¡± Wang Tao called out. ¡°Coming!¡± The voice came from the side door. A moment later, the owner came in wearing a raincoat, carrying a military green oil drum. ¡°I was just refueling the car. What would you like, Xiao Wang?¡± ¡°A large portion of fried rice noodles!¡± ¡°Alright! Just a moment!¡± Soon, Boss Li brought over a large portion of fried rice noodles and complained, ¡°Ah, this damn weather, including you, Xiao Wang, not even twenty customers today, can¡¯t even make the rent¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head with a laugh and then asked curiously, ¡°Where¡¯s Sister Liu? She didn¡¯t come today?¡± The couple ran the shop together, and Sister Liu was Boss Li¡¯s wife. ¡°She has a fever, sleeping inside. But with so few customers today, I can manage alone.¡± Boss Li shrugged. Seeing this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more; today¡¯s downpour had disrupted many people¡¯s work. ¡°I¡¯m off, Boss Li, the money¡¯s transferred to you, check it!¡± ¡°No problem, take care!¡± Wang Tao lived in an old residential area called Happy Community, which exuded a sense of age with its single courtyard and four six-story buildings. The population was not large, and the elevator was installed later. Wang Tao lived in apartment 501 of building number 4. Unlike his neighbor Director Zhao, whose house was purchased, Wang Tao¡¯s was rented. It was a two-bedroom apartment that cost three thousand a month. Although not located in the city center of Huangfeng City, it was close to the Huangfeng Film City, which made the rent not so cheap. Originally, Wang Tao had a roommate to share the rent, but the roommate abandoned his star dream to go back to his hometown to get married. Recently, Wang Tao had been considering moving out because he could barely afford the rent. In the living room, there were a few dumbbells and a punching bag. Wang Tao exercised every day, since having a good body shape required regular workouts. But not today ¨C he finally had a day off, so he decided to relax thoroughly. ¡°Play on the computer a bit longer, until twelve, then go to sleep early today,¡± he thought. Just as he sat down, Wang Tao suddenly felt a piercing pain spread throughout his body. Sizzle¡ª Looking at the sparking wires at his feet, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened, and then darkness enveloped him as he fainted. ¡­ ¡°¡­So hungry!¡± In a daze, hunger woke Wang Tao up; he found himself lying on the floor. He quickly stood up, and seeing the charred wires and computer, Wang Tao was utterly bewildered. ¡°Electrocuted? It wasn¡¯t a dream? I¡¯m still alive?¡± There were plenty of snacks on the table. Driven by overpowering hunger, Wang Tao grabbed them and started to eat. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Suddenly, a piercing scream came from outside. Instinctively, he went to the window to look, and his pupils shrank abruptly. ¡°What the hell!¡± He saw in the courtyard below, a blood-covered person pinning a middle-aged man down, ripping and gnawing at his flesh! The man¡¯s gaze was vacant; he was clearly beyond saving. The blood-covered person raised its head, revealing a hideous and horrifying face. ¡°Z-zombies?!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Filming? Impossible! He was too familiar with filming, and this was clearly not it, not to mention there were no cameras or other crew members around¡ªjust as he thought there were no other people, several zombies appeared from out of sight and joined the gruesome feast. Wang Tao had only been dumbfounded for a moment, and the man on the ground was almost dismembered. ¡°Ugh~¡± Wang Tao felt nauseous and vomited out everything he had just eaten. ¡°Don¡¯t panic! Call the police!¡± After calming himself, Wang Tao quickly took out his phone to dial emergency services, but all he got was a busy signal. He then opened his web browser to search for local emergency numbers. Instead, he was greeted by a flood of shocking news. ¡°The end of the world is here!¡± ¡°Zombies! The whole world is full of zombies!¡± ¡°The zombie virus is highly infectious! Please stay in a safe place and wait for rescue!¡± ¡°The whole world is under attack by the zombie virus! It is advised to seek refuge in less populated areas!¡± ¡°Known methods of virus transmission include bodily fluids, scratches, bites, and air (suspected).¡± ¡°The incubation period of the zombie virus ranges from one minute to twenty-four hours, possibly related to the strength of an individual¡¯s immune system. Please be sure to take precautions! If you are unfortunately infected, isolate yourself immediately and amputate the infected area!¡± ¡°Most water sources have not yet been affected, but it is recommended to filter and boil or distill before use. If the water turns yellow or green, do not drink it!¡± ¡°Some zombies may retain certain habits from before, so be sure to distinguish carefully!¡± ¡°Some regions have completely collapsed, with water and power outages occurring one after another¡­¡± ¡°An expert says: Our Qian Country has made great progress in the anti-zombie virus serum, but we still need a little more time!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Reading the overwhelming news, Wang Tao was stunned. How could the end of the world come out of nowhere! He had just fainted for a few hours¡ªno, not a few hours! Wang Tao checked the time; his last payment record at the small restaurant was on April 3, 4444, at 8 p.m., and now it was 9 a.m. on April 7. In other words, he had been unconscious for three days?! Chapter 2 - 2 Chapter 2 Taking Good Care of Sister-in-Law_1 2 Chapter 2 Taking Good Care of Sister-in-Law_1 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao¡¯s parents had met with an accident and passed away when he was young, and he was raised by his grandparents. However, his grandparents also died one after the other a few years ago. As for other relatives, he barely had any contact with them¡­ so even with the apocalypse, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many ties to worry about. But he still had a few friends, and Wang Tao certainly didn¡¯t want anything bad to happen to them. He opened his social media app, and a flood of 99+ messages popped up. But the content of the messages quickly sank his heart. The chat history in the drama crew group showed that almost everyone who had gone to the film studio to shoot two days ago had met with disaster. He had not gone and had unwittingly escaped that calamity. Now there was no one talking in the group. The last message was from yesterday morning, from an actress saying there was a monster lurking outside her room. She said she was very scared¡­ and then there was no more. What surprised Wang Tao was that the young director surnamed Zhao living across from him had made several phone calls to Wang Tao and sent numerous messages. April 4th, 11:34 ¡°Wang, I heard you didn¡¯t come for the shoot? Are you at home? If you are, reply to me! It¡¯s urgent!¡± April 4th, 22:08 ¡°Bro, I¡¯m still at the film studio, hiding out for now. You haven¡¯t turned into a zombie, have you? It¡¯s terrifying outside; you must be careful!¡± ¡°By the way, your sister-in-law is also at home, but we don¡¯t have much food. If you can, please look after her. I, Zhao, will be greatly indebted to you when this is over!¡± April 5th, 18:49 ¡°Bro, I feel like I might not make it. Before I die, there¡¯s something I have to ask of you. Could you take care of your sister-in-law¡­ She¡¯s too scared by herself at home and there¡¯s not enough food. I¡¯m afraid she won¡¯t last until the rescue¡­¡± April 5th, 21:13 ¡°Bro, my good brother! Would you please respond! Are you dead or what! Ahhh! I¡¯m going crazy!¡± This was the last message, and it was evident that Brother Zhao was close to breaking point then. Wang Tao tried replying: ¡°Brother Zhao, I¡¯m here. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do my best to take care of sister-in-law!¡± He didn¡¯t overcommit, only saying he would do his best. ¡°Doing my best¡± meant he would help if possible, but if not, then so be it, as his own life was of utmost importance. After sending the message, he waited for a while but got no reply. It seemed that Director Zhao¡¯s chances of survival were slim. Wang Tao sighed and quickly reviewed the official news posted online. After half an hour, he roughly understood the current situation¡ª The day after he was stunned, on the morning of April 4th, the zombie crisis had erupted without warning. The exact time was unclear. By the time a massive amount of information appeared online, the situation was already severe. There were also many observations about the zombies posted by the public online. These zombies had stiff joints, weren¡¯t very fast, lacked agility, and their vision had greatly deteriorated; their heads were their weak points. However, they never tired, possessed immense strength, were sensitive to light, and had keen hearing¡­ Anyone bitten or scratched by a zombie would be infected, and once infected, would turn into a zombie! But often, those bitten would be devoured by zombies before they could transform. The Government quickly deployed soldiers to suppress the outbreak. Faced with an onslaught of steel, the zombies were easily crushed. But suddenly, without warning, the soldiers also turned into zombies! An external enemy is not as frightening as internal collapse. The Government¡¯s attempts to block the spread¡­ failed. At this point, things had pretty much fallen into chaos, and the more chaotic it became, the more people died. No one knew how many zombies were out there in the world now, but the number was undoubtedly terrifying. Wang Tao checked other chat groups to see that some were still active. In the groups, some people were venting their emotions, but even more were asking when the Government¡¯s rescue would arrive, as they had run out of food. Seeing these messages, Wang Tao hurried to the kitchen to check his supplies, then his face turned somewhat gloomy. He didn¡¯t have much food stored, enough to last maybe three or four days. After all, he didn¡¯t eat at home often, and if he kept too much food it would go bad. The 10kg of rice he bought last month was now half gone. As for gas, he had just bought a full cylinder, which could last three months. Out of the blue, the same message popped up simultaneously in all the chat groups¡ª [Government announcement: All survivors are requested to stay in a safe place and not to leave their homes at will. The Government has mobilized a large number of people for the rescue. Large survivor bases have also been preliminarily established, and we will gradually transport everyone to these bases. Additionally, considering that some residents lack essential living supplies, we will soon perform airdrops of supplies in areas with fewer zombies. If your home is in critical need of supplies, you may take the risk to retrieve the airdrops. The large Survivor Base of Huangfeng City is located at No. 32 Fuqiang Street, Red Stone County, while the locations of the various small Survivor Bases are¡­] The message ended with a photo of a survivor base with tall city walls, which seemed quite safe. Many people became excited after seeing this message. ¡°The rescue is coming! Hang in there, brothers!¡± ¡°Wuwuwu, rescue is finally on its way! I want to go to the Survivor Base¡­¡± ¡°Luckily, I still have some rice at home, I can hold on for a few more days.¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯ve run out of food at home! I have an elderly mother who is eighty and a child who is only three, I can¡¯t survive without food! Brother, could you please lend me some food, I will repay you a hundredfold in the future!¡± ¡°Uh, you better wait for the airdrop; this food is just enough for me and my wife. Besides, we¡¯re separated by several buildings!¡± ¡°But I¡¯m afraid to go out! Please come and bring it to me, I¡¯ll wait for you at home!¡± ¡°Get lost, damn it, you¡¯re afraid to go out for the airdrops but want me to bring food to you? Blacklisted, no thanks!¡± ¡°Hey hey, don¡¯t be so heartless¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head, truly, all sorts show up in a big forest. And this was his Happy Community group. The guy playing the sympathy card seemed to be from Building No. 2 opposite, who also worked at the film studio; Wang Tao had seen him. If he remembered correctly, the guy was a single bachelor¡ªwhere would he get an elderly mother and child? Wang Tao then looked at other groups, where in his crews¡¯ and classmates¡¯ groups, some proposed that once they reached the Survivor Base, they could meet up at a scheduled time. After all, no one knew exactly what the Survivor Base was like. Arriving in a strange place where they knew no one, it seemed better for these acquaintances to stick together for warmth. Wang Tao thought this was a good suggestion. Having fought and struggled in society for so many years, he knew well the dangers of human nature. He sent a ¡°received¡± to acknowledge the message, wanting to agree with a response, but the message displayed a red exclamation mark. ¡°Huh? No internet? And the cellphone signal is gone, too?!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression changed. He could faintly hear some cursing from downstairs. ¡°I hope it¡¯s just temporary¡­¡± With communication cut off, it¡¯s likely that power and water outages would follow. Wang Tao hurriedly gathered all the containers he could find in his home to fill with water. Then he made himself a simple lunch. He didn¡¯t dare eat too much; after all, food was scarce, and he needed to conserve it. Chapter 3 - 3 Chapter 3: I Can See HP Bars_1 3 Chapter 3: I Can See HP Bars_1 Translator: 549690339 After the meal, Wang Tao carefully observed the surroundings from a few windows in the house. Outside the south-facing window, in the courtyard of the residential complex, there were roughly over a dozen zombies. Those were only the ones he could see; there might be more in places he couldn¡¯t see. And definitely, there would be zombies inside these four buildings. However, the day the zombie virus appeared wasn¡¯t a weekend, and the rain had stopped. It was likely that a good number of the working population had gone out¡­ That might be the only good news. Outside the north-facing windows, over the main road, was a scene of devastation. Many cars had crashed, blood was everywhere, but no corpses were visible, only a few ferocious-looking zombies wandering around. Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t believe there were only these few zombies on the road. His window¡¯s angle limited his view, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to see many places. Perhaps, inside the cars, stores, shadows, or even at the base of the wall beneath his building, countless zombies might be lurking! With some resignation, Wang Tao shook his head and began to analyze the current situation. Rescue was something to wait for, but before help arrived, the food at his home might not be sufficient. Go borrow some food from other people¡¯s homes? Clearly not an option. Wang Tao never placed his hopes on the mercy of others, and under the current circumstances, the likelihood of being able to borrow was almost zero. There was only one thing to do¡ªgo out and find food! Inside the small restaurants outside the community, there must be a lot of food, and they were very close to his home. But even if they were close, he would still have to cross through the yard. Wang Tao was strong, but he didn¡¯t feel he could win against these ten-plus zombies¡­ Suddenly. Thump, thump, thump! There came a series of dull knocks at the door. ¡°Is it the sister-in-law from next door? Or¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak. He tiptoed to the door and looked through the peephole, a tingling sensation running through his scalp. Outside the door was a zombie covered in blood, its neck and face adorned with twisted, dark veins, expression distorted, pupils white, mindlessly pounding on Wang Tao¡¯s door! Thump, thump, thump! This person, Wang Tao had seen him before. Seems like he was the single guy in his thirties living upstairs. ¡°Could it be that the zombies have discovered me?!¡± Wang Tao immediately grabbed a kitchen knife, waiting by the door, somewhat nervously. Although he didn¡¯t think the zombie could open his security door, he felt very insecure without a weapon in hand. However, when Wang Tao looked out the peephole again, he was momentarily taken aback. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s this?¡± He noticed a thin red bar floating above the zombie¡¯s head with a line of text¡ª500/500. This red bar hovered over the zombie¡¯s head, unlike a real object. After a while, the zombie gave up on Wang Tao¡¯s room and went to knock on room 502 across the hall. The red bar remained in front of Wang Tao¡¯s view, and its size did not change. ¡°Why does this feel¡­ like the health bar from the games I play?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat astonished. ¡°Aaah¡ª¡± Suddenly, a piercing scream of a woman came from the room across. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t frightened by the zombie, but the scream gave him quite the startle. ¡°Roar!¡± Bang bang bang! Upon hearing the scream, the zombie, like a cat that had smelled fish, started hitting the door of room 502 furiously! ¡°It seems that when the zombie doesn¡¯t detect any movement, it acts very slowly. Once it senses movement, it goes into a frenzy. As for the sister-in-law, she can still scream so loudly, so it seems she¡¯s safe for now¡­¡± Wang Tao continued to observe the zombie through the peephole. The door of the opposite room was equally sturdy, and after pounding for two or three minutes, the zombie returned to its previous state and slowly descended the stairs. ¡°I¡¯ve been knocking on the door for two or three minutes; if there were any other zombies, they should have been attracted by now. Does that mean there¡¯s only this one zombie in the corridor of this unit? If there¡¯s only one zombie, maybe I can try¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s gaze flickered. Sooner or later, he was going to have to go out to look for supplies, and there was a high chance he would encounter zombies. He absolutely needed to understand the strength of these zombies and whether he could handle them. Moreover, he suspected he could see the zombies¡¯ HP bars! ¡°Right, if those really are HP bars, then I should have one, too?¡± Wang Tao was about to look for a mirror when, just as he thought about his own HP bar, a golden HP bar suddenly appeared in his field of vision! There was also a line of text on the HP bar: 100/100, and the moment he thought about it, the numbers on the HP bar changed to 100%! An understanding flashed through his mind in an instant¡ªthis was his own HP bar! ¡°100/100¡± indicated that his maximum HP was 100, and he currently had 100 HP. ¡°100%¡± naturally indicated the percentage of the HP bar. ¡°Indeed, I can see HP bars!¡± Excitement surged in Wang Tao¡¯s heart. He hadn¡¯t seen anyone with this ability when he was refreshing the news online before. ¡°There¡¯s only one zombie in the corridor right now, and although it has 500 HP and I only have 100 HP, this is a chance for a one-on-one battle! It would be a disservice to all my muscles if I didn¡¯t give it a try! Let¡¯s do this!¡± With such a rare opportunity at hand, Wang Tao decided he wanted to test the zombie¡¯s strength. But not right now; he needed to gather his strength and prepare proper protective measures before attempting. After all, zombies were infectious, and getting infected meant the end. ¡°Let¡¯s warm up first!¡± Wang Tao went to the living room to do push-ups. ¡°1, 2¡­ Huh? Why do I feel like my physical strength has increased? Is it an illusion?¡± ¡°Keep going! 3, 4¡­ 498, 499, 500! Huff~¡± Sweat dripped from his bulging muscles onto the floor, accumulating a small puddle of moisture. After completing the last push-up, Wang Tao flipped over and got up nimbly. Gulp gulp~ After drinking half a bottle of water, Wang Tao felt a bit excited. ¡°It¡¯s not an illusion! My physical condition has genuinely become stronger!¡± His physical strength was originally impressive; he could do over a hundred perfectly-formed push-ups in one go. That already surpassed a vast majority of people. But now, he had just done five hundred in one go! And after the five hundred, he still felt like he had energy to spare, as if he could do another five hundred. However, exercise shouldn¡¯t be too intense at once, especially under current circumstances where he was trapped. It was better to be moderate; there would be plenty of time in the future. ¡°Roar~¡± A roaring sound came from the corridor again. Looking through the peephole, he saw that the zombie had moved upstairs. Initially, Wang Tao had been scared of the zombie¡¯s roaring, but after hearing it many times, he gradually got used to it. ¡°I¡¯ll rest up today and take care of you tomorrow!¡± After muttering to himself, Wang Tao ate some food, then continued to train. He didn¡¯t stop until the evening, when he went to take a shower. In front of the bathroom mirror. ¡°Eh? Where¡¯s the scar on my face?¡± Wang Tao discovered that the fearsome scar on his face had disappeared! Not only that, some other minor injuries on his body were also gone. And Wang Tao could feel that his muscles seemed to have grown even larger! Looking at the handsome face and exploding muscles in the mirror, Wang Tao felt a surge of excitement. Looks were secondary; the main thing was the enhancement of his physical condition and the disappearance of scars and underlying injuries on his body. And now, he could also see the zombies¡¯ HP bars¡­ ¡°This is my chance!¡± Chapter 4 - 4 Chapter 4: Initial Victory_1 4 Chapter 4: Initial Victory_1 Translator: 549690339 The next day. Wang Tao woke up early. First, he checked his fully charged phone, still no signal, and emergency calls couldn¡¯t get through either. Water and electricity at home hadn¡¯t been cut off yet. He looked up at the deep blue sky. ¡°Is it the base station that¡¯s broken, or the satellite? Could there be another disaster¡­¡± He shook his head and tried not to think about it anymore. Wang Tao took some of the food out of the refrigerator and made a rich breakfast. Then he took all the books off the bookshelf; they were discounted decorations, but the books were real. Wang Tao picked out books of appropriate sizes and taped them to his forearms, shins, front and back of his chest for protection. He didn¡¯t wrap anything around his thighs and upper arms because these were areas that needed to exert force, and having them wrapped would make it difficult to use strength properly. Next was weapons, and there were several pointed kitchen knives in the kitchen. But the knives were a bit short¡­ After some thought, he tied a knife to a rolling pin to create a makeshift homemade short spear. Wang Tao had actually wanted to make a spear out of a mop, but the corridor was quite narrow, and a weapon too long might not be effective; getting it stuck could spell disaster. The length of the rolling pin was just right, neither too short, which would increase the chance of infection, nor too long, which would make it unwieldy. Lastly, Wang Tao found a thick hand towel and a pair of yellow anti-blue light glasses. He covered his head, face, and even eyes. After all, the zombie virus was contagious, and preventative measures could never be too careful! Wang Tao checked himself in the full-length mirror. There stood a person in the mirror, over 1.8 meters tall, burly, wearing black gloves, a black mask, yellow glasses, brown hiking shoes, completely wrapped up tightly, with homemade arm guards on his hands, and holding a homemade short spear. He looked very secure. Once everything was ready, Wang Tao waited quietly behind the door. The zombie had been wandering up and down the staircase and soon came up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush and continued to wait. The zombie first went up to the sixth floor, then came back down to the fifth, before heading downstairs toward the fourth floor. After seeing through the peephole that the zombie was going downstairs with its back toward him, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then suddenly opened the door. Clack¡ª The sound of the security door opening startled the zombie, which turned its stiff body around showing a face both terrifying and grotesque. Whoosh! Wang Tao gripped the homemade short spear and stabbed toward the zombie¡¯s head. The zombie, upon spotting a person, let out a fierce roar and spun around. But due to its stiffness, the movement was uncoordinated; it nearly tripped over itself, staggering. Wang Tao¡¯s stab missed! However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect to kill it with one blow. The pointed kitchen knife could not only stab but also slash. He held the rolling pin with both hands and swung it down fiercely! Slice¡ª The slash cut from the zombie¡¯s shoulder down to its waist. The clothes on the zombie made it difficult to see how deep the cut was, but Wang Tao could clearly see a sliver of HP disappearing from above the zombie¡¯s head. [-14] [486/500] What the hell! That slash cut only this much HP? Wang Tao knew the zombies had a lot of HP, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be that much. Or rather, the power of his slash was too weak! Although shocked, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too panicked inside. Both he and the zombie were in the corridor, with the zombie below and him above. He had specifically chosen this position, standing above surely had its advantages. Wang Tao quickly retracted the knife, and the zombie took the opportunity to lunge at him, its hands smeared with blood reaching for Wang Tao. Wang Tao immediately stepped back two paces, avoiding the zombie¡¯s attack, then stabbed out with another slash. Zombies wouldn¡¯t actively dodge an attack, the previous miss was just luck. This time, the stab hit hard on the zombie¡¯s forehead, but¡­ it didn¡¯t go in! The skull is the hardest bone in the human body, and the quality of the kitchen knife Wang Tao held was average, and it even had a slightly rolled edge. It wasn¡¯t surprising that it didn¡¯t penetrate on the first attempt. But what surprised Wang Tao was that the strike didn¡¯t cause much damage. [-3] [483/500] ¡°Wasn¡¯t the head supposed to be a zombie¡¯s weak spot? How come it¡¯s only this little damage? Could it be because the skull is too hard, so it didn¡¯t pierce the defense?¡± As these thoughts raced through his mind, Wang Tao gripped his homemade short spear tightly and thrust it fiercely from bottom right to top left. Swish! The blade cut across the zombie¡¯s neck. Pfft¡ª Dark blood spurted from the zombie¡¯s neck as it staggered a step back. Wang Tao¡¯s cut was shallow; although it sliced through the zombie¡¯s neck, it didn¡¯t sever the head. However, Wang Tao was somewhat excited. Because the damage from this strike was high. [-117] [366/500] This cut took away more than twenty percent of the zombie¡¯s HP! ¡°The neck, it¡¯s also a zombie¡¯s weak spot! And compared to the head, cutting the neck is much easier!¡± Enraged, the zombie charged at Wang Tao again, reaching out both hands to harshly swing at Wang Tao¡¯s face. Wang Tao was a few steps from the wall behind him, making it difficult to dodge this time. He quickly took the spear in his right hand, then raised his left arm, using the vambrace to block the zombie¡¯s attack. Bang! Wang Tao was forced two steps back, right up against the wall. This was the first time Wang Tao had been attacked by a zombie, and he finally understood why they said zombies had immense strength. With his physical fitness, enduring this strike made his arm somewhat numb. If it had been anyone else, they might have been knocked down instantly. But seeing that his HP hadn¡¯t dropped a single point, Wang Tao felt invigorated. This is reality, not a game! In games, if a monster attacks you, even if it¡¯s just a touch, you lose HP, whether you lose a little or a lot. That¡¯s the game mechanics. But reality is different; as long as you are not hit, you won¡¯t lose HP! Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness was high; since the strike with the vambrace didn¡¯t cause an exterior or interior injury, just a numbness, his HP remained full. Understanding this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes shone brightly. In games, you have to follow the rules of the game when fighting monsters. Without a one-hit-kill mechanism, no matter how strong you are, you cannot kill a monster in one hit. But reality doesn¡¯t follow these rules! With this in mind, Wang Tao didn¡¯t retreat but advanced, charging fiercely towards the zombie. And the zombie, too, roared angrily and attacked Wang Tao again. Clash! Just as he was about to collide with the zombie, Wang Tao exerted all his strength, suddenly kicked off the ground, and harshly kicked the zombie¡¯s chest. The zombie¡¯s strength was great, but its weight was the same as when alive, just over a hundred pounds. That weight couldn¡¯t withstand Wang Tao¡¯s Energize One Hit. The zombie immediately rolled to the turn of the fourth-floor corridor. Without stopping, Wang Tao¡¯s foot stepped on the stair, and he leaped powerfully. Like a flying man, he plunged toward the zombie. Both hands gripping the homemade spear high above his head, as he landed, he stabbed viciously at the zombie below! Pfft! With the help of gravity, the spear plunged deep into the zombie¡¯s forehead. [-366] [0/500] One-hit kill! Chapter 5 - 5 Chapter 5 Monster Killing and Loot Drops_1 5 Chapter 5 Monster Killing and Loot Drops_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°` ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Looking at the zombie lying on the ground, still twitching, with its head blooming like a chrysanthemum. Wang Tao let out a long sigh of relief. He called this move Jump Slash, and as a Martial Arts Substitute, it wasn¡¯t surprising that he could execute it. However, it was the first time he used it in actual combat, and he wasn¡¯t completely certain of victory in his heart. Now it seemed that the effect was pretty good, after all, zombies didn¡¯t dodge. With the geographical advantage of jumping from a high place to a lower one, the jump covered a distance of five meters. With the force of inertia, the kitchen knife, which normally couldn¡¯t pierce through a zombie¡¯s skull, successfully entered through the zombie¡¯s brow, instantly killing it. But instant killing wasn¡¯t without a cost. Wang Tao looked at the kitchen knife, now bent out of shape, and felt somewhat helpless. An ordinary kitchen knife really wasn¡¯t up to par! ¡°Hmm?¡± As Wang Tao was getting up from the zombie, his gaze sharpened. That was because he saw a semi-transparent package with bloodstains appear in front of the zombie. With a thought, the package instantly entered his body. [Obtained: purified water (small) x1] What¡¯s this? Wang Tao noticed an icon of a backpack appeared below his HP bar. The backpack was empty except for a white plastic cube marked with 5L. [purified water (small): 5L, drinkable] Killing zombies can drop loot? Wang Tao felt that he could take out the water with just a thought. But now wasn¡¯t the time to study these things, so he quickly searched the zombie¡¯s body. He found a set of keys, an electronic wristband, a box of cigarettes, and a wallet. He had intended to take the zombie¡¯s belt as well, but seeing that it had a cut that made a crevice, he decided against it¡ªhe wasn¡¯t in need of a belt that badly. After collecting the spoils of war, Wang Tao went back to check the elevator. It was broken, and he had no idea if there were zombies inside. Bang! Back in his room, it wasn¡¯t until he had closed the door and leaned against it that Wang Tao finally felt some lingering fear. During the fight, adrenaline was pumping like crazy, leaving no time for any other thoughts. Now recalling the zombie whose head he¡¯d blown up, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable. After calming down a bit, Wang Tao took a big gulp of water and then stripped off all his clothes. Covered in sweat, he needed a shower. After showering, Wang Tao finally had time to study the ¡°backpack¡± icon below his HP bar, but before looking at the backpack, he paused. ¡°Huh? When did my HP increase?¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised to find that his HP bar had gone from ¡°100/100¡± to ¡°110/110¡±! He¡¯d gained 10 HP! Could it be from killing the zombie? Wang Tao hadn¡¯t noticed it at the time. ¡°I¡¯ll have to pay attention next time. If it¡¯s really from killing zombies that one can gain an increase in HP limit¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face broke into a brilliant smile. He looked again at the backpack icon below his HP bar. This item was similar to the inventory systems in many video games. However, only the ¡°purified water (small)¡± could be put into the backpack and taken out at will. Other items couldn¡¯t be put inside. ¡°It seems that only items that drop from killing zombies can be put into the backpack¡­¡± Wang Tao was excited, as this backpack was like a storage space! ¡°` And he could sense in the dark that the time inside his backpack was paused, which meant that the things inside would never go bad! Although there was a certain limit to what could be stored, Wang Tao was quite content. After all, he was sure to fight zombies in the future, so there was no worry about not having space for loot! As for the ¡°purified water (small)¡± that the zombie dropped, it was a 5L square plastic bucket. Wang Tao tasted the water inside and it indeed was purified water. Although it felt somewhat discordant that a single zombie had dropped a whole 5L bucket of water, that wasn¡¯t the point¡ªthe point was that killing zombies could net him loot! This, like his ability to see zombies¡¯ HP bars, was in some ways an invincible power! Others might not benefit from killing zombies, but he certainly would¡ªhe could get loot, and there was a high chance that his HP limit would increase. Even his physical attributes might improve¡ªthough Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure about this, it might just be an adrenaline-fueled illusion. After he had killed this zombie, he felt like he had gotten somewhat stronger¡­ He would know for sure after killing a few more zombies. In any case, as long as he made an effort, he would definitely reap rewards! ¡°This is the apocalypse, huh? Why do I suddenly kind of like it?¡± After feeling a bit smug for a moment, Wang Tao didn¡¯t get too arrogant. The zombies were indeed very strong, and a moment of carelessness could lead to disaster. Of course, he had more or less figured out the strength of the zombies. As long as he was well-protected and not caught by them, with his physical attributes, he could definitely withstand an attack from one zombie. Moreover, with proper technique, he could potentially kill a zombie with one strike. But to achieve a one-hit kill, weapons were vital. His kitchen knife had been rendered useless after a single use¡ªhe needed to find a weapon that would last longer. In the actual combat with zombies, Wang Tao had come to some conclusions¡ªagainst zombies, how sharp the weapon was wasn¡¯t the most important aspect; what was crucial was that it was sturdy enough! For example, when he used Jump Slash, even a not-so-sharp kitchen knife could still pierce through a zombie¡¯s skull. ¡°If only I could get my hands on a firefighter axe or a crowbar¡­¡± Unfortunately, those items were not available here. No hurry, take it slow. After grabbing a simple meal and a short rest, Wang Tao put on his makeshift gear again and tied another kitchen knife of the same kind onto the rolling pin. He had a total of five such knives, bought on discount just because they were cheap. Based on his previous experience, he could use Jump Slash at least four more times. Fully armed, Wang Tao opened the door again. There was only one zombie in the hallway, and now that it was dealt with, he definitely wanted to go out and look around, especially checking the upstairs. The zombie he had just killed was a neighbor from the floor above¡ªthere might be some resources in their home. Wang Tao first tiptoed downstairs. The doors of the apartments on these floors were all closed; it was unclear whether there were people inside them or not. The entrance door on the first floor was locked. He had suspected as much before, but hadn¡¯t been completely sure. Now seeing it locked reassured him. Wang Tao arrived at the sixth floor; the door of apartment 602 was open. Entering 602 cautiously with his weapon at the ready, Wang Tao thoroughly checked the room to make sure there were no zombies before closing the door behind him. Although there were no longer any zombies in the hallway, it was still safer to be cautious. With the door shut, he could scour the place with peace of mind. Not only was this his first time killing zombies, but it was also his first time rummaging through someone¡¯s home without any reservations. The thought even gave him a sense of illicit thrill. The inside of 602 was not in disarray, showing no signs of a struggle. It seemed his neighbor had mutated suddenly and, hopefully, not suffered too much. ¡°There¡¯s a big bag of rice, probably about seven or eight kilos. Not bad, not bad!¡± ¡°There¡¯s a stock of vegetables and meat in the refrigerator, that¡¯s great!¡± ¡°Instant noodles, pickles, snacks, tobacco, alcohol¡­ I¡¯m taking all of it!¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this¡­ a walkie-talkie?¡± Chapter 6 - 6 Chapter 6 Search 602_1 6 Chapter 6 Search 602_1 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very familiar with walkie-talkies, but he knew they were a good thing. Without a network, mobile phones were basically useless. However, the working principle of walkie-talkies was different, so maybe they could still make calls? The guy must have been a radio enthusiast; there were four walkie-talkies of different shapes, along with their boxes. Besides the walkie-talkies, there were also two radios, one large and one small. The small one used batteries, and the large one could be powered by hand-cranking. Wang Tao briefly fiddled with them, but all he heard was a buzzing and crackling noise from the walkie-talkies and radios, no useful information. He was slightly disappointed, but Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry. He could take these gadgets home and try them out slowly. After searching the room for a while, Wang Tao gathered all the things he thought were useful. There were two suitcases, packed full to the brim. Then, he grabbed a bedsheet and wrapped up the rest of the stuff. It didn¡¯t matter whether he could use them or not; he took everything he could. Once he was sure he hadn¡¯t missed anything for the time being, Wang Tao packed up and locked the door to Room 602 on his way out, taking the key with him. As he locked the door to Room 602, a sudden ¡°bang, bang, bang¡± came from next door¡¯s Room 601, and a roar seeped through the security door. Wang Tao¡¯s spirit instantly focused. ¡°There are really zombies in the room¡­¡± He set down his things, approached the door to Room 601, and saw that it was securely locked, which relieved him for the moment. Wang Tao remembered that a middle-aged couple lived in Room 601; they seemed to work close together and always commuted together. ¡°That means there should be two zombies inside¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s gaze flickered. He could handle one zombie, but two was not certain¡­ However, it was too early to discuss this since he couldn¡¯t open the security door. ¡°I need to find a way to get some tools for prying or picking locks. If I try to break in violently, not to mention whether it¡¯s feasible or not, the noise would definitely be loud¡­¡± With zombies outside, although the corridor was temporarily clear of them, Wang Tao still felt the noise should not be too loud. Otherwise, even if the zombies couldn¡¯t get in, if they all crowded at the entrance, he wouldn¡¯t be able to leave. Carrying a 24-inch suitcase in each hand and a large bundle on his back, with another hanging around his neck, Wang Tao headed towards the fifth floor. After returning home, Wang Tao found places to store these items. Setting other things aside, just the supply of food was enough for half a month. Along with his own stock, he could probably last about twenty days. If he hadn¡¯t discovered his ability before, Wang Tao would have chosen to wait for rescue with so much food. But after discovering his abilities, he definitely didn¡¯t want to sit around and wait for death. ¡°That¡¯s enough for today; tomorrow, I¡¯ll see if I can open any other rooms. As for now¡­ time to treat myself!¡± Having food gave Wang Tao more confidence. He took out the perishables and prepared to make a big meal. As for the cooking method, he wasn¡¯t picky. After washing all the ingredients, he added a block of hotpot base and stewed everything together. ¡°This is delicious!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was psychological, but he felt this big pot of food was more delicious than anything he had ever cooked before. He filled a large bowl with rice, sat down, and was just about to start eating when he heard the door knock again. ¡°Thump, thump, thump¡ª¡± The knocking was more urgent this time, and quite light. Wang Tao immediately picked up the homemade short spear next to him, and then went to the peephole to take a look. He saw a woman with her hair tied up high, staring nervously at Wang Tao¡¯s door. ¡°Is it her?¡± Outside the door was none other than Wang Tao¡¯s neighbor across the hall, Zhao Yuan¡¯s sister-in-law whom he had asked him to take care of¡ªDing Yuqin. Wang Tao did not open the door directly but first hung the safety chain behind the security door. In the apocalypse, one could never be too careful with others. Outside, Ding Yuqin glanced at the corridor and then back at Wang Tao¡¯s door, her face extremely tense. Her own door was left ajar, if there was any commotion downstairs, she would run back immediately. If possible, she really did not want to go out. Merely a few steps away, it was the result of her struggling for several hours. But there was no choice, her family had run out of food a long time ago. If she didn¡¯t think of a solution soon, she might starve to death, even if she wasn¡¯t killed by the zombies. Of course, what ultimately propelled her out the door was the fact that she had seen with her own eyes Wang Tao kill the zombie wandering in the stairwell! The specifics of the fight weren¡¯t clear¡ªas large as the peephole¡¯s field of vision was, it had its limits, especially since Wang Tao and the zombie had fought all the way downstairs. But she knew, Wang Tao had won! The only zombie in the corridor, dead! Wang Tao¡¯s strength was beyond her expectations; her husband, back when they were still in contact, had told her about the horrors of these zombies. It wasn¡¯t just about wielding cold weapons; even with a gun, one may not win. Many police officers had met their gruesome end in the jaws of zombies. Yet, Wang Tao was able to go solo, using a cold weapon to kill a zombie, which was, she had to admit, incredibly impressive. At that moment, Ding Yuqin felt the urge to run out. But she still dared not, not just from fear of other zombies but also fear of Wang Tao¡ªbecause she did not know if Wang Tao had been infected. If he was infected, wouldn¡¯t she be a lamb walking into the mouth of a tiger? So, she waited a few more hours. When she saw Wang Tao heading back and then coming out with a lot of things, big and small, from upstairs, she guessed that Wang Tao was most likely not infected. The information online stated that although the incubation period after infection varied in length, most had a common characteristic: the body exhibited some negative conditions, such as weakness, fever, coughing, and the like. Wang Tao, hopping around and carrying so much stuff upstairs, clearly had no problems with his health. However, she was still somewhat afraid to come out, after all, stepping through this door also required tremendous courage. But now, as her stomach growled and she smelled the faint alluring aroma coming from next door¡­ she could no longer endure it. Only those who have experienced hunger know that hunger is a more terrifying existence than any ¡°addiction,¡± after all, eating is an instinct for survival. When one is close to starving, as long as there¡¯s something to eat, a person can do anything. ¡­ Click~ The door of apartment 501 opened. Wang Tao¡¯s face appeared from behind the door. ¡°Sister-in-law, is there something you need?¡± Seeing this face, Ding Yuqin was taken aback. Was this the Wang Tao who could frighten children with his looks? Where was the large scar on his face? Even though she was surprised, the voice and height were indeed Wang Tao¡¯s. Ding Yuqin had no time to dwell on it, she tucked some stray hair behind her ear, then spoke softly: ¡°Ahem, Wang Tao¡­ look, we¡¯re neighbors, could you lend your sister-in-law some food?¡± Chapter 7 - 7 Chapter 7 Sister-in-Law Borrows Grain_1 7 Chapter 7 Sister-in-Law Borrows Grain_1 Translator: 549690339 Ding Yuqin was wearing a set of light pink sportswear today, which tightly wrapped her graceful figure. Her hair was pulled up, albeit somewhat messily, and it was clear she hadn¡¯t taken much care in grooming it. Her face was very pale, extremely haggard. Beneath those captivating large eyes, there were two faint dark circles. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but feel that Ding Yuqin seemed to have lost a lot of weight, perhaps due to the loose clothing. Above her head, there was also an HP bar, but it was green. [63/100] ¡°Borrowing food?¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brows; he suddenly remembered the message from Zhao Yuan asking him to look after Ding Yuqin. Had it been before, Wang Tao might have hesitated. But now that he had some extra food, he felt a bit more confident in his ability to help others. Seeing Wang Tao frown, Ding Yuqin¡¯s heart instantly tightened. After days of hunger, she knew all too well the importance of food. If Wang Tao refused her, she would really starve to death, especially since she didn¡¯t dare to venture out looking for food. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡­ I don¡¯t eat much, just a little bit of food will do! When Brother Zhao comes back, we will definitely repay you! Please¡­¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s hands were clasped together, her face showing a mix of embarrassment and eagerness to please. Then, as if she remembered something, she quickly dug into her pockets. ¡°Right, I have money, I can give you money!¡± Looking at the few hundred yuan Ding Yuqin took out, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°No need for money, we are neighbors after all; it¡¯s only right to help each other. Sister-in-law, wait here for a moment, I¡¯ll go get you some food.¡± Watching Wang Tao go to fetch something, Ding Yuqin breathed a sigh of relief. She thought to herself that Wang Tao was quite decent, and she might have been a bit too quick to judge him by his appearance before. However, as soon as Wang Tao left, a rich fragrance wafted out, and Ding Yuqin¡¯s gaze involuntarily followed his figure, from which she couldn¡¯t tear her eyes away. ¡°Gurgle~¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s throat moved as she swallowed hard. What did she see? Was it a large pot of stew? And a big bowl of rice! So much food, enough for four or five people to eat! Was Wang Tao¡¯s meal really that good? Then he must be serving her a bowl, right? Ding Yuqin¡¯s mind wandered with various thoughts. She subconsciously pushed at the door, but the chain behind the security door stopped her. Hearing the noise, Wang Tao looked back at her. Ding Yuqin immediately regained her composure and hastily withdrew her hand, somewhat embarrassed. Yet, she felt slightly indignant. ¡°To chain the door after opening it, I¡¯m not the type of person to be so thick-skinned as to insist on entering¡­¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t leave the pot of stew until Wang Tao came over with a pack of bread. ¡°Sister-in-law, there isn¡¯t much food left in my house either. This bag of bread is for emergencies.¡± Watching the 250g of toast bread being passed through the crack of the door, Ding Yuqin quickly took it. While excited to have food, she wasn¡¯t as thrilled as she had imagined she would be. ¡°Thank you, very much! I¡¯ll go back now. Wang Tao, you¡­ be careful too, those zombies are too dangerous!¡± Ding Yuqin held the bread tightly, expressing her sincere thanks. ¡°Mhm. I will.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After seeing Ding Yuqin off and closing the door, he then locked it. In this apocalypse, everyone¡¯s food supply was precious. He had given Ding Yuqin a bag of bread in consideration of his neighbor, Brother Zhao. That should be enough to ensure she wouldn¡¯t starve to death. ¡°` As for providing her with a better life, that was out of the question. Wang Tao¡¯s appetite was huge; the food was only enough for him. After all, he wasn¡¯t just sitting around at home waiting for rescue. He needed to train and go out to kill zombies! A pot of stewed vegetables and a basin of rice¡ªWang Tao ate half of it by himself. ¡°Not bad, about seventy percent full, after all, I still need to train, can¡¯t eat too much.¡± He quickly tidied up the table¡ªthe remaining food would be eaten tomorrow. It was seven in the evening, and there was a long time until bedtime, so he planned to train for a while longer. Otherwise, with no phone or computer to play with, the long night would be tough to endure. He rested until eight o¡¯clock, and feeling that was enough, Wang Tao began doing push-ups. Yesterday, he did a thousand in two hours; today, he¡¯d see if he had improved. ¡°1, 2, 3¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t intentionally speed up, just followed the previous pace ¡°999, 1000!¡± Wang Tao got up and checked the time on his phone. ¡°Indeed, there¡¯s improvement, these thousand push-ups were completed a few minutes faster than before¡­¡± Wang Tao was very satisfied as he squeezed his fist. The progress was small, but as long as there was visible improvement, there was a source of motivation. After taking a quick bath, Wang Tao picked up the four walkie-talkies and the radio. The walkie-talkies came with boxes, one of which had a manual. After studying it briefly, Wang Tao powered on the walkie-talkie and tuned into some channels. ¡°Szzz¡­¡± It was still just crackling sounds, no useful information emerged. Wang Tao then turned on the radio and adjusted the dial to search for frequencies. ¡°Szzz¡­ The Government will¡­ Szzz¡­¡± ¡°Huh? There¡¯s a voice!¡± Wang Tao quickly turned the dial back, then turned off the lights in the house, and went below the balcony window, opening both the curtains and the window. After hearing that zombies were particularly sensitive to light, he had covered all the windows in the house with thick cloth and avoided turning on lights that were too bright at night. Even though he was on the fifth floor, at times like these, one couldn¡¯t be too careful. ¡°Szzz¡­ The Government will organize rescue as soon as possible¡­ Szzz¡­ Please wait patiently for the public¡­ Szzz¡­ Aid drops will commence on the morning of April 18th¡­ Szzz¡­ throughout the city¡­ Repeat¡­ The Government will¡­¡± ¡°Aid drop!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up at the keyword. The Government had mentioned future aid drops in the group chat but hadn¡¯t specified a time. Now he knew, today was April 8th, which meant the drops would start in ten days! Wang Tao was quite looking forward to this aid drop. If the Government had the capability to perform aid drops, that meant they still had armed forces, which meant the possibility of self-defense, or even a counter-attack. Of course, he was also interested in the aid drop itself. The emergency supplies prepared by the officials would certainly be ample! ¡°Ten days¡¯ time, time to prepare well!¡± Wang Tao decided that if there was a chance, such as the aid drop being very close, or even if it landed in the courtyard of his complex, he would try to get one. If it was too far, then forget it. Unless he grew stronger in these ten days, gaining some ability to defend himself¡­ The next day. Wang Tao got up just past six. Since the loss of the internet, his daily routine had become more and more regular. He warmed up briefly and ate yesterday¡¯s leftovers. Then, as before, Wang Tao armed himself from head to toe. Today, he planned to check out apartment 301 on the third floor, because the two tenants who shared it had, Wang Tao had noticed before, left the keys in the crack of the electricity meter box. Under normal circumstances, even if someone knew where the key was, they wouldn¡¯t enter. But now, the world was no longer normal. Chapter 8 - 8 Chapter 8: Double Kill_1 8 Chapter 8: Double Kill_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°` Click. He secured his own door. Fully armed, Wang Tao walked out. His target today was Room 301, but before entering Room 301, he stopped in front of the doors to Rooms 402 and 302 respectively. It was quiet inside both Room 402 on the fourth floor and Room 302 on the third floor¡ªhe could hear nothing. Wang Tao knocked softly on the doors, but there was still no sound from within. Wang Tao suspected that these two rooms were likely empty, since the outbreak of the zombie virus happened on a workday, and many workers had gone to their jobs. There should be a survivor in the room below him, Room 401, because prior to the internet disconnection, Wang Tao heard someone inside cursing. This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother them. As for Room 301, his target¡ªhe first obtained the key from the electricity meter box, and sure enough, there was a key. He then listened intently at the door but heard no sound from inside. Then he prepared to knock on Room 301¡¯s door. If nobody was inside the room, there would surely be no response to his knocking. If someone was in there, out of fear or something similar, they might also not respond. Those bolder might ask who was at the door. If there were zombies, there would likely be a response, such as growling, pounding on the door, and the like, as zombies are rather sensitive to sound. However, if a zombie was locked inside the room, even if it did respond, Wang Tao might not hear it. But then again, if it was locked inside, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry. So, to sum up¡ª He would knock, and if there was no response, then it was likely safe for him to enter, at least the living room would be. If there was noise, then there were zombies in the living room. There might also be the possibility of a survivor lying in wait behind the door to ambush him. This possibility was small, for now, putting aside the question of necessity. If these survivors had the courage to do so, they wouldn¡¯t be hiding inside unable to come out. Of course, it was still a possibility, so Wang Tao still needed to be cautious, since it¡¯s always prudent to be wary of others. After preparing himself, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then gently tapped on Room 301¡¯s door. ¡°Roar!¡± Listening to the growl and footsteps inside, Wang Tao felt a bit of a headache coming on. The worst-case scenario had happened¡ªthere was a zombie inside! And this being a shared room, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how many zombies were inside. After a few seconds of solemn contemplation, Wang Tao decided to listen through the door. ¡°Thud thud~¡± ¡°Roar!¡± ¡°Thud, thud~¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Gripping the homemade short spear tightly in his hand, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes flickered with thought. ¡°Judging by the sound, there should be only one zombie, I didn¡¯t hear a second one. But what if¡­ If there are two zombies, I might not be able to handle them. After all, I can¡¯t afford any mistakes; getting infected means death¡­¡± Wang Tao was in turmoil internally, but he was not one to hesitate. ¡°I¡¯ve come this far¡­ let¡¯s do this!¡± The zombie was now locked inside, and he had the key to open the door. The initiative was with him! If after opening the door, he found two zombies inside, he would immediately close the door and retreat. It wasn¡¯t that he was being cowardly¡ªif he had a better weapon, perhaps he could try to deal with two zombies. But this weapon was hardly up to the task; one stab to the head and it would be done for¡­ Wang Tao gently turned the key, and the moment the door was opened, he rapidly pulled the door open and then kicked out fiercely. Bang! A muffled sound, and a small but ferocious and scary blood-colored figure was kicked flying by Wang Tao. [-3] [482/500] Clink clatter¡ª The zombie he kicked flew into a heap of objects, knocking them over. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush in to deal the killing blow but quickly scanned the surroundings instead. One of the bedroom doors was closed; he wasn¡¯t sure if there was danger inside. But there was only one zombie in the living room! The advantage was his! Wang Tao clutched the homemade short spear tightly in both hands, pushed off with his back foot, and rapidly accelerated. ¡°Roar~¡± The female zombie twisted her body to stand up, let out an angry roar from her mouth, and then flailed her arms as she staggered towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao had intended to stab her neck with the short spear, but the zombie suddenly lunged forward, dodging his strike. Unfazed in the face of danger, Wang Tao switched his grip on the spear and chopped towards the zombie¡¯s left arm. ¡°` ¡°` Thwack! [-35] [447/500 HP] The cleaver might not have been very sharp, but Wang Tao¡¯s astonishing strength inflicted a huge wound on the zombie¡¯s left arm, from which black blood splattered. Meanwhile, the zombie¡¯s other right hand smacked down fiercely onto Wang Tao¡¯s right arm. Thud! [-5] [105/110 HP] Despite the thick protection of the books, Wang Tao still felt his arm go numb, and he also lost 5 HP. He was injured! Wang Tao¡¯s mind became even calmer. At that moment, the zombie opened its mouth wide, trying to bite Wang Tao. Wang Tao shoved his left arm, guarded by the arm shield, into the zombie¡¯s mouth, blocking its lower jaw. His right hand then thrust the homemade short spear fiercely into the zombie¡¯s stomach. [-5] [442/500 HP] This minor damage was almost like a tickle to the zombie, but it successfully restricted the zombie¡¯s movements. Then Wang Tao¡¯s muscles bulged as he gathered strength in his right leg and delivered a sweeping kick to the zombie¡¯s waist. Thud! The zombie slid along the ground for several meters before crashing into the wall. For a moment, it seemed dazed and unable to rise. [-15] [427/500 HP] Whether it was the impact against the wall or something else, the kick had more power than Wang Tao had expected. Without thinking too much, Wang Tao pressed the advantage, quickly rushing to the wall. He stomped on the zombie¡¯s chest, pinning it down, then with both hands, he reversed the grip on the short spear and raised it high. Thwack~ [-427] [0/500 HP] Headshot kill! A partially transparent package stained with blood appeared instantly. After collecting the package, Wang Tao didn¡¯t look at it immediately but instead glanced at his own HP bar. [110/115 HP] Indeed, the upper limit of his HP had increased by 5 points, and his current HP had also recovered by 5 points! Killing zombies could increase the upper limit of the HP bar and restore the increased HP! After calming his excitement slightly, he then looked at the contents of the package. [Acquired: Iron Block x1] [Iron Block: Crafting Material] Iron Block? Looking at the small cubical iron block in his backpack, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to study it for the time being. He searched the female zombie¡¯s body and found a string of pearl necklaces, a wallet, and a crushed box of women¡¯s cigarettes, with no lighter. After collecting the spoils of battle, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to scour the room but sat down to rest for a while; then he turned his gaze toward the closed-bedroom door. If he didn¡¯t remember incorrectly, the female zombie had an HP of [482/500] when he entered, and the kick he had delivered upon entering only caused 3 points of damage. In other words, this female zombie was not at full health! If she had turned into a zombie at home, she should have been at full health, unless¡­ Wang Tao gripped the short spear tightly in both hands, then kicked fiercely at the bedroom door. Thud! The bedroom door was of decent quality and withstood Wang Tao¡¯s kick. However, the lock was clearly subpar, as it was immediately wrecked. And in the moment the door opened, Wang Tao saw a male zombie lying on the ground, missing half its body, unable to move. ¡°Roar~¡± Thwack! [-286] [0/500 HP] ¡°` Chapter 9 - 9 Chapter 9 Sister-in-Law Comes to Help You_1 9 Chapter 9 Sister-in-Law Comes to Help You_1 Translator: 549690339 The room contained a male zombie that had lost half of its body. Though it still seemed vigorous and had a sturdy build, it ultimately lacked arms and legs, couldn¡¯t stand up or dodge, and was easily head-shot by Wang Tao. Wang Tao felt that this female zombie wasn¡¯t as strong as the male one in the hallway. He killed her without using Jump Slash. The minor injury he sustained was due to the terrain. However, while Jump Slash was powerful, it also greatly damaged the weapons. Having dealt with the female zombie without using Jump Slash, his homemade short spear was barely useable. After killing this male zombie, though, his kitchen knife was completely ruined, and even the rolling pin developed a crack and was on the verge of being scrapped. After a brief rest, Wang Tao checked around the room. He looked in the bathroom and the kitchen, and after confirming there was no danger, he locked up apartment 301 and then began to inventory his gains. First was the male zombie. After killing him, Wang Tao gained an additional 5 HP, making his HP bar read [115/120]. Then there were the items he dropped. [Acquired: Gear x1] [Gear: Crafting Material] This was a gear about the diameter of a ping-pong ball. The female zombie dropped an iron block, and the male zombie dropped a gear. Moreover, both were described as crafting materials. The term ¡°crafting materials¡± is quite broad, and things like iron blocks and gears should be common everyday items, abundantly available in hardware stores. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know the difference between the items dropped by zombies and those found in everyday life, but before figuring out their use, he was certainly going to save them for later rather than use them indiscriminately. After all, items dropped by zombies could be stored in the space backpack, which was very convenient for storage. After putting the gear into the space backpack, he began to loot the corpse. But this male zombie didn¡¯t have anything useful on him. Last was to scour the entirety of apartment 301. As Wang Tao scavenged, he inferred the previous situation from clues and his own speculation. It was likely that at the outbreak of the apocalypse, the woman turned into a zombie, whereas the man was initially normal. The man might have had some strength. In the attack by the woman, he fought back, taking away over a dozen HP from the female zombie. But he was wounded too, even having half of his body eaten by the female zombie. The time it took to mutate after infection with the zombie virus varied from one minute to twenty-four hours. The man held on for quite a while, having a strong will to survive, and with the zombie virus potentially providing some enhancement when it activated, he dragged his severely injured body back to his own room. But in the end, he couldn¡¯t withstand the virus and became a zombie. After he turned, the female zombie probably lost interest in him which is why when Wang Tao arrived, it felt so deathly quiet inside¡­ ¡°The end of the world, huh¡­¡± He sighed in his heart, but Wang Tao¡¯s hands didn¡¯t stop searching. Perhaps because two people lived here, the apartment was cluttered with numerous belongings. Especially the woman¡¯s things, which included clothing, cosmetics, adult toys, bags, various small ornaments, and so on, which took Wang Tao quite a while to sift through. As for the man¡¯s possessions, they were simpler. Besides a relatively large number of shoes and various electronic products, there were few other miscellaneous items. However, what Wang Tao cared about the most was the food, but these two didn¡¯t have much¡ªonly enough for a day or two, and it was all vegetables and fruits that didn¡¯t keep well and were wilting. Curiously, the woman¡¯s room contained quite a few unopened snacks. Although they weren¡¯t filling, they weren¡¯t cheap either. ¡°Huh?¡± In the kitchen, Wang Tao found three neatly cut lengths of steel pipe, one of a meter and two of half a meter each. ¡°` ¡°Good stuff!¡± Wang Tao was wondering what could replace his cracked rolling pin when this steel pipe came at just the right time. Moreover, if he sharpened the steel pipe a bit, it could even replace a kitchen knife. He had a whetstone at home, so he could do the sharpening there slowly. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll take this too!¡± Wang Tao carried out the gas cylinder from the kitchen. The gas cylinder in apartment 602 was nearly empty, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with it. But the one in apartment 301 was almost full, so he could take it back home as well. An hour later, Wang Tao, with a bundle wrapped in a bedsheet on his back and with a steel pipe sticking out, ran toward apartment 501 with a suitcase in each hand. After placing the items at the doorstep, Wang Tao ran back to 301 to fetch the gas cylinder. But before he locked the door of 301, he thought for a moment, went into the room, and despite feeling nauseous, dragged the two zombies out. Then he opened a window and threw them down, one after the other. He also threw out the zombie in the corridor. Since the southern window overlooked the residential complex¡¯s yard, he was afraid of attracting zombies. So he threw them from the northern window, which meant they landed on the street. Thump, thump, thump¡ª Three sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground echoed. Hiss¡ª Roar¡ª Instantly, a series of strange and penetrating hisses and roars came from the street. Several gruesome and terrifying zombies appeared from the darkness, wandering towards the source of the noise. ¡°Indeed, the street is full of zombies!¡± Wang Tao felt a chill in his heart. Looking at the number, there were probably thirty to fifty of them, and who knows how many more were inside the shops. If someone unknowingly rushed into that area, they would likely find no place to run. Across the street was a convenience store. Wang Tao had thought about scavenging there if he got the chance, confident that there would be plenty of supplies. But now he immediately dismissed the idea; he wanted to live a little longer. After he moved the gas cylinder up to apartment 501, Wang Tao started to unlock his door. Just then, apartment 502 next door opened a small crack. Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao with utter shock, seeing the big and small parcels beside him. In fact, she had been paying attention since Wang Tao had left the house. She had roughly heard some of the commotion downstairs. She didn¡¯t know exactly what had happened, but she knew when Wang Tao had left, he was holding a rolling pin tied with a kitchen knife, yet when Wang Tao returned, he brought back supplies in big and small packages. Especially the half bag of rice peeking out of the big bundle, it made her feel like if Wang Tao were to give the rice to her, she could eat it raw. As Wang Tao was about to enter his door, she clenched her teeth and opened her door. Click¡ª Wang Tao heard the noise and glanced at her. As Wang Tao was wearing glasses, Ding Yuqin couldn¡¯t see his eyes clearly. ¡°Cough¡­ that Wang Tao, you¡¯re amazing! Getting so many supplies today! I see you¡¯re having a bit of trouble carrying them¡­ Let sister-in-law help you¡­¡± After saying this, Ding Yuqin embarrassingly immediately looked down at her feet¡ªoh, she couldn¡¯t see her toes. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; indeed, the stuff wasn¡¯t easy to carry, but he had already reached his own doorstep¡ªwas it that hard to take these last two steps? Why didn¡¯t she offer help earlier? However, looking at Ding Yuqin¡¯s pale face slowly turn a shade of blush, seeing the HP bar above her head displaying [15/100], Wang Tao thought for a moment and then said: ¡°Okay. Then I¡¯ll trouble sister-in-law.¡± ¡°` Chapter 10 - 10 Chapter 10 Are You Hurt?_1 10 Chapter 10 Are You Hurt?_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Hoo¡ª¡± Seeing that Wang Tao had agreed, Ding Yuqin finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had already prepared herself to be rejected by Wang Tao; after all, yesterday he didn¡¯t even want to let her into the house¡ªthinking of this, she still harbored some minor grudges in her heart. Wang Tao opened the door and handed a slightly smaller parcel to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Sister-in-law, could you help me take this inside?¡± ¡°Sure¡ªow!¡± After Ding Yuqin took it, she felt a heavy weight in her hands; she was too weak, scarcely having any strength at all. Wang Tao reached out to support the bundle, somewhat helplessly saying: ¡°Sister-in-law, if it¡¯s too much, I can do it¡­¡± ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s fine, I can manage!¡± She finally found an excuse to enter Wang Tao¡¯s house and didn¡¯t want to waste the opportunity. ¡°Alright then.¡± Wang Tao let go and watched as Ding Yuqin shakily carried the small bundle inside. He quickly brought the rest of the items back to his house, then closed the door. ¡°Wow~¡± Ding Yuqin knew that Wang Tao had a lot of supplies, but she was still somewhat astounded when she actually laid eyes on these things. ¡°Sigh, they are just some useless stuff¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed. Most of these items were miscellaneous. The truly important things, such as food, were not plentiful. As for weapons, only those three steel rods passed muster; for the time being, they were indeed of little use. ¡°¡­Ahem, Wang Tao, how about I help you tidy up? Your place is too messy!¡± Ding Yuqin ignored Wang Tao¡¯s ostentation, getting busy organizing as she spoke. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. His house was indeed in disarray. He had spent the last few days either eating, sleeping, exercising, or fighting zombies, with no time to clean up. Today, Ding Yuqin wore a form-fitting white dress that accentuated her figure, her hair tied up high, revealing a slender and exquisite neck, with a platinum necklace deeply nestled in her cleavage. Perhaps knowing that there were no zombie threats in the hallway, she also wore a pair of impractical caramel high heels. Paired with flesh-colored stockings clinging to her skin, they added much sensuality and allure. Wang Tao watched as she crouched on the ground, deftly categorizing items, before finally pulling his gaze away from her legs. Watching Wang Tao¡¯s retreating figure, Ding Yuqin¡¯s tense body finally relaxed a little. She could feel Wang Tao¡¯s unrestrained gaze sweeping over her body, and she had started to regret dressing up so much. If Wang Tao lost control of his animal instincts¡­ she wouldn¡¯t be able to resist. At the time, she was just thinking that since she was asking for help, she should at least appear clean and tidy, rather than sloppy and unkempt. Fortunately, Wang Tao only watched her for a while and then left, without making any inappropriate moves. ¡°How could I doubt Wang Tao? If it weren¡¯t for him, I¡¯d have starved. He¡¯s a good man!¡± ¡­ In the bathroom, Wang Tao took off his gear and carefully set aside the books inside; these were vital for survival and couldn¡¯t get wet. Then he removed the coat stained with some zombie blood and washed it separately with water. After rinsing the coat, he stripped off the rest of his clothes and washed them in the machine. While bathing, he looked at the bruise on his right arm and frowned. This was where he had been injured today, a zombie slapped away 5 drops of his HP. During the fight and scavenging before, he had not felt pain. But now, whenever he touched hot water or even lightly brushed the area, he felt a piercing pain, and he started to wonder if the bone had been injured. Wang Tao had been thinking before that he had only been slapped by a zombie, without any wound or serious pain, so why did he lose 5 HP? After all, his total HP was barely over a hundred. Wouldn¡¯t it mean that a few more slaps from a zombie could kill him outright? It seemed a bit unreasonable to him. But now it appeared that it wasn¡¯t unreasonable at all, but rather very reasonable. That¡¯s because there¡¯s a limit to human pain endurance. It¡¯s not that you only die by being decapitated or stabbed in the heart. Even some superficial pains can be enough to kill a person from pain alone. The bruise on Wang Tao surely wasn¡¯t fatal, but if he accumulated more of these types of injuries, even to the bone, he might die of pain. So losing 5 HP was quite reasonable. This HP bar didn¡¯t just represent the HP amount like in some games, but also represented the condition of one¡¯s health. That also explained why Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP bar was only at 15. Although Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t attacked, her health kept dropping under conditions of hunger and fear. Without help, she might end up dying from starvation or fear¡­ After the bath, Wang Tao put on long pants and a tank top, exposing his arms. The bruise was painful to the touch, and although he could endure it, he saw no need to torture himself. Ding Yuqin was rather capable, it had to be said. In the time it took for Wang Tao to bathe, she had already sorted many items. Everything was neatly placed together, creating a comfortable visual. ¡°Yu Qin, no rush, take a break.¡± Wang Tao spoke. ¡°Ah? No, no, it¡¯s okay, just give me a moment!¡± Ding Yuqin looked up, and upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s explosively muscular figure and his somewhat unfamiliar but handsome face, she quickly lowered her head again. Before long, they had sorted the items into simple categories. There weren¡¯t too many things and no need to categorize them too meticulously. Wang Tao saved these items with the mentality that it was wasteful to throw them away. Whether they would be useful or not was another story. Ding Yuqin¡¯s legs were feeling a bit sore from squatting; as she prepared to stand up, she suddenly felt a wave of darkness before her eyes, and her body started to uncontrollably fall backwards. Wang Tao, quick as lightning, caught Ding Yuqin¡¯s waist with his arm. ¡°Yu Qin, are you alright?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face was extremely pale, and the words ¡®losing HP¡¯ even appeared above her head. [-5] [10/100] Good lord, just tidying things up and she¡¯s losing HP? Found a scam, did she? And now that she¡¯s down to such low HP, wouldn¡¯t it be game over with just a slap¡ªWang Tao thought with a bit of wicked amusement. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ maybe just a bit anemic¡­¡± After recuperating in Wang Tao¡¯s arms for a while, Ding Yuqin quickly struggled free, a bit embarrassed as she tidied the hair beside her ear, her pale face flushing slightly with a tinge of red. ¡°Hmm? Are you injured?¡± But when she saw the bruise on Wang Tao¡¯s arm, she let out a gasp, instinctively stepping back. ¡°Yeah.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head, not elaborating much, since being injured was nothing to brag about. Ding Yuqin initially thought Wang Tao might have been infected. However, seeing that it was just a bruise without any wound, and that Wang Tao was quite composed, she breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling that her step back might have been an inappropriate reaction, Ding Yuqin hurriedly stepped forward and grasped Wang Tao¡¯s arm, gently stroking around the muscles near the bruise, saying softly: ¡°I have some experience with treating bruises and injuries¡­¡± Chapter 11 - 11 Chapter 11 Starving for Five Days_1 11 Chapter 11 Starving for Five Days_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°` Ding Yuqin finished speaking and, without waiting for Wang Tao to refuse, hurriedly began to gently massage the muscles on Wang Tao¡¯s arm. As Ding Yuqin drew closer, a faint scent of shampoo wafted into Wang Tao¡¯s nostrils, making him feel unexpectedly hot and bothered. Wang Tao had intended to refuse. After all, he was a manly man, and what was a little wound to him? But his sister-in-law, after all, meant well. Seeing how earnest she was, Wang Tao really couldn¡¯t bring himself to refuse¡ªand it definitely wasn¡¯t because her gentle kneading felt very comfortable. ¡°Oh right! I have a first aid kit at home, just wait for me¡­¡± Ding Yuqin got up, ready to head out the door, but then quickly turned back and gave Wang Tao an appeasing smile. ¡°Wang Tao, don¡¯t forget to open the door for your sister-in-law later!¡± She was afraid that once she left, Wang Tao would lock the door behind her. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded, not closing the door. After all, they lived across from each other, just a few steps away. Plus, the zombies in the corridor were already dead, so it was still safe for the time being. Before long, Ding Yuqin came out carrying a medicine box from her place, and seeing Wang Tao¡¯s door open, her face lit up with joy as she quickly trotted in wearing her high heels. ¡°Inside here are some medications for treating contusions and sprains¡­¡± Ding Yuqin opened the medicine box, revealing various medicines and items like bandages. Wang Tao watched the medicine box in silence. He had rummaged through two households and hadn¡¯t found a medicine box, at most some cold and anti-inflammatory medicines. Not even his own home had one, as his health had always been pretty good and he hadn¡¯t been to the hospital in years. He didn¡¯t have any regularly used medications either. After all, medicines have expiration dates, and they¡¯re expensive too. Apart from some well-off individuals or those with a sense of crisis who might prepare a professional medicine box, most people wouldn¡¯t buy such an item. ¡°These were bought by your Brother Zhao, haven¡¯t even been used yet¡­¡± Ding Yuqin spoke with a touch of pride. But after saying it, she felt a bit deflated. If she had spent the money for the medicine box on food instead, she could have eaten for quite a while¡­ When Ding Yuqin applied some ointments and medicated solutions on Wang Tao¡¯s arm, his eyes lit up. Because he saw a change in his HP bar. [+1] [+1] [+1] [118/120] The medications had added 3 HP to Wang Tao! He could also clearly feel the pain in his arm diminishing significantly, accompanied by a tingling numbness. No pain meant an increase in HP, which made sense. And from this incident, Wang Tao could also infer that he probably hadn¡¯t injured his bones, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have recovered so quickly. ¡°This medication is really effective!¡± Wang Tao praised. ¡°As long as it helps!¡± Ding Yuqin, seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to be just being polite, was suddenly cheered by the fact she could help him. After all, she wanted to borrow some food, and it was best for her to offer something in return. No one was a fool. After applying the medicine, Ding Yuqin continued to knead the muscles on Wang Tao¡¯s arm, which helped with the absorption of the medication. However, after a while, Ding Yuqin began to inwardly complain. It was just too hard, and her hands were getting sore! And with her hunger pangs, she was running out of strength¡­ Feeling Ding Yuqin¡¯s hands losing their strength, Wang Tao directly spoke: ¡°Sister-in-law, you don¡¯t need to keep massaging, it doesn¡¯t hurt anymore. It¡¯s also mealtime. Why not have something to eat before you go back?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Upon hearing about eating, Ding Yuqin agreed before her brain could even register, but perhaps realizing she seemed a bit too eager, she hurriedly added: ¡°Ahem, I don¡¯t have anything else to do at home anyway, so let me help you! You guys probably don¡¯t cook often, right? I¡¯m actually quite good at cooking¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly noticed that Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP bar had also increased. [+1] [+1] ¡°` [¡­] Indeed, Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP bar above her head was not only depleting due to hunger but also because of fright, lack of security, and other reasons. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll trouble you, sister-in-law.¡± With more people, there was more strength, and Wang Tao did not refuse. Besides, he wasn¡¯t really good at cooking. He followed the simple principle that as long as it was cooked, it would suffice. He had just gotten some vegetables with poor appearance from Apartment 301; they had been put aside for several days and would go bad if left any longer. It made sense to invite Ding Yuqin for a meal, especially considering Brother Zhao had asked him to take care of his sister-in-law. Men and women working together made for lighter work. It didn¡¯t take too long, and a rather sumptuous lunch was prepared. Looking at the full spread of four dishes and a soup, Ding Yuqin swallowed hard once again. Five days, it had already been five days! She hadn¡¯t eaten a proper meal for five whole days! She didn¡¯t even know how she had gotten through it. As she looked at the table full of food, tears suddenly blurred her vision. Only those who had experienced hunger could realize the preciousness of food. ¡°Sister-in-law, what¡¯s wrong?¡± When Wang Tao saw Ding Yuqin suddenly covering her mouth and crying, he was quite surprised. Could she have misunderstood that all this food was specifically prepared for her? Was she moved to tears? If so, she might be reading too much into it. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, sorry for making you laugh¡­¡± Ding Yuqin hastily wiped away her tears. Even while wiping her eyes, her other eye did not leave the sight of the food. She feared it was all a dream, and with a blink, everything would disappear. Seeing Wang Tao washing his hands, she quickly washed the bowls and chopsticks and set them neatly on the table, then stood aside waiting for Wang Tao to sit first. ¡°Have a seat, don¡¯t be polite.¡± Only after Wang Tao sat down did she take a seat herself. Holding a small bowl brimming with rice, she could feel the warmth in her hands and almost burst into tears again. ¡°Oh right, I suggest you don¡¯t eat too much all at once, sister-in-law,¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°Yes, yes, I understand!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly nodded, understanding that if someone had been starving for too long, eating too much at once could be overwhelming for the body. She carefully picked up some greens, put them in her mouth, and bit down. A flood of happiness filled her senses! Even though the vegetables were wilted, she felt they were the most delicious food she had ever had in her life! ¡°Huh? It really does taste good!¡± Wang Tao was a bit taken aback; he hadn¡¯t expected his sister-in-law¡¯s cooking skills to be this good. As he ate, he observed. He noticed that with each movement of Ding Yuqin¡¯s chopsticks, her green HP bar started to slowly increase. [+1] [+1] [+1] [¡­] Moreover, it must be said that Ding Yuqin was someone who could restrain her own desires. Wang Tao could feel that she wanted to devour all the food, but she was still trying to eat slowly, although her table manners were not very elegant. After eating for a while and feeling her strength gradually returning, Ding Yuqin finally had a moment to sneak a peek at Wang Tao. No wonder Wang Tao was such a big guy with developed muscles; it turns out he could really eat! He could consume half of the large spread of dishes all by himself¡­ However, she also realized at that moment that her own eating manners were quite unseemly. To avoid embarrassment, she wiped her mouth and then took the initiative to strike up a conversation. ¡°Sigh, Wang Tao, you don¡¯t know how unlucky your sister-in-law has been. It¡¯s a good thing we¡¯re neighbors¡­¡± After Ding Yuqin explained, Wang Tao finally understood why she was so starving. Simply put, she and her husband went back to their hometown last month, planning to spend a month there. So, they cleaned out all the food in their home in advance. But her husband had sudden business and came back earlier. Upon returning home, they had no food at all, but they didn¡¯t think much of it, deciding to make do with a meal at a restaurant for the time being and to go shopping together at the supermarket once her husband was less busy. The next day, she slept in, and by the time she woke up, the virus had broken out. That meant that, while other families could last a few days even with little food, she had nothing at all at home. If it weren¡¯t for some snacks she bought earlier and a bag of bread given by Wang Tao, she might have truly starved to death¡­ Chapter 12 - 12 Chapter 12 Nighttime Explosion_1 12 Chapter 12 Nighttime Explosion_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Wuwuwu, why is my life so miserable!¡± At the heartbreakingly sad part, Ding Yuqin covered her face and wept profusely. Then through the gaps in her fingers, she stealthily glanced at Wang Tao, hoping to gain his sympathy. Wang Tao did feel sympathy. He could tell she wasn¡¯t lying just by looking at Yu Qin¡¯s HP bar; he guessed that if she went another day without food, she really would die. But sympathy couldn¡¯t be traded for food. So, Wang Tao showed no reaction and simply buried his head in his meal. Ding Yuqin, shrewd as she was, saw that Wang Tao remained unmoved and felt a bit down. She wiped her tears and stopped crying. After all, crying would also consume physical strength, and right now, every bit of strength was precious. After the meal, Ding Yuqin took the initiative to wash the dishes, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop her. He looked at Ding Yuqin¡¯s graceful figure from behind, lost in thought for a moment. ¡°40/100 now¡­ When she heard about my offer to eat with her, her spirit improved, gaining 10 HP. After having a meal, she gained 20 HP. However, her body is still in a state of weakness, and even if she keeps eating, it probably won¡¯t increase as much as it did today¡­¡± After quickly washing the dishes, Ding Yuqin dried her hands and then said to Wang Tao: ¡°Wang Tao, do you have any laundry that needs washing? I don¡¯t have much to do at home, so I can help you wash them¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°No need for that; I have a washing machine.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Ding Yuqin felt a bit awkward, but soon thought of another excuse, ¡°Then, can I give you a massage? I¡¯m pretty good with my hands¡­¡± Massage? Wang Tao was somewhat tempted, especially since the one offering was a great beauty. However, he had to train in the afternoon. He was always very disciplined, not to mention that now, in the post-apocalyptic world, his body was his greatest asset. ¡°I appreciate your kindness, sis, but there¡¯s no need. I have to start my training in a bit.¡± ¡°¡­Okay then, I¡¯ll be heading back. If you need anything, Wang Tao, just call me.¡± Ding Yuqin left with some reluctance. Both Wang Tao¡¯s muscular body and the well-organized food gave her a sense of security. But she could find no reason to stay any longer. ¡°Alright, no problem.¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t offer to have her stay for dinner or anything of the sort, Ding Yuqin let out a sigh. She had actually come over this time hoping to borrow some food, even a pack of bread would have been fine. Having had the chance to enjoy a big meal was an unexpected delight; she didn¡¯t dare ask for anything more, for fear of upsetting Wang Tao, which would sever her last hope of survival¡­ After making sure Ding Yuqin got home safely, Wang Tao closed the door and began his training. Today¡¯s task was practicing with the punching bag. After two encounters with zombies, he realized that his combat skills were lacking. Zombies were not like humans; though their movements might be stiff, it didn¡¯t mean they were slow¡ªit just meant they lacked agility. Besides, zombies were incredibly strong! Fighting zombies was a whole different ballgame compared to fighting humans. Against human attacks, one could dodge, resist, or even resort to an all-out battle to the death. But none of that worked on zombies. The best option for now was just to dodge. Even with Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness, he was left bruised by just one slap from a zombie. The one in the hallway had directly forced Wang Tao back several steps with its blow. Resisting wasn¡¯t an option, at least not continuously. And the thought of fighting zombies to the point of mutual destruction was even more out of the question. Zombies could afford countless mistakes, but he couldn¡¯t afford a single one. If he were bitten or scratched by a zombie¡­ then he could only wait for death. Wang Tao had never fought zombies before, so he was very unused to this style of fighting. If he could optimize his technique to counter zombie traits, he wouldn¡¯t necessarily be able to kill instantly, but at least he wouldn¡¯t have to take the hit he did today. During his contemplation, Wang Tao began to ruthlessly pummel the sandbag, pretending it was a zombie. While exercising, Wang Tao suddenly had an epiphany; he felt that if he didn¡¯t use weapons and just used his fists, his agility would be much higher. Perhaps in certain specific situations, fists might be more appropriate! ¡°I¡¯ll look for some special gloves or brass knuckles later¡­¡± Zombies don¡¯t feel pain, so if he were to punch a zombie in the head and the zombie was fine but he ended up with a broken finger, that would be embarrassing. A few hours later, a sweaty Wang Tao stopped his exercise. However, he didn¡¯t rest, feeling he still had plenty of physical strength left to sharpen a steel pipe. He found three steel pipes in Room 301, two half a meter long, and one a meter long. The one-meter pipe was suitable for use in open spaces, while the half-meter ones were better for corridors and indoor environments. The steel pipes were much better than the homemade short spears he had before. Wang Tao decided to sharpen one of the half-meter pipes first, after all, they were difficult to sharpen. But he didn¡¯t need to make it extremely sharp, just a bit pointed would do. After all, with one Jump Slash, zombies couldn¡¯t block his head-exploding attack. He heated up the leftover rice from lunch briefly and quickly finished it. Then Wang Tao began the sharpening. Scrape~ Scrape~ He kept at it until eleven at night. If it weren¡¯t for being on the fifth floor, Wang Tao worried that the noise from sharpening the steel pipe could attract zombies. But fortunately, it was just about usable. After a quick shower and routinely turning on the radio, it crackled for a while. After not hearing any useful information, Wang Tao turned off the light and got ready for bed. Suddenly. Bang! A loud noise came from outside, startling Wang Tao who had just lain down, causing him to spring up in alarm. ¡°Damn it! Could it be the Government¡¯s artillery or missile?¡± He hurried to the north-facing window, only to see a flash of fire in the distance on another street lighting up the night and illuminating countless zombies. Roar~ In an instant, countless roaring sounds erupted from all directions, causing one¡¯s scalp to tingle. ¡°Ah¡ª Help¡ª¡± At the same time, a few screams from survivors arose from outside, but they quickly disappeared. At that moment, there was nothing Wang Tao could do but to hide in the corner and silently wait. After about an hour, there was no second explosion. Wang Tao finally sighed in relief. It probably wasn¡¯t artillery or missiles, as the Government would have attacked more than once if they had the capability. Looking at the street outside still ablaze, Wang Tao suspected it might have been a gas explosion in a shop. Fortunately, they were in an old neighborhood that used gas cylinders, so there was no need to worry about a gas leak. Even if a gas cylinder were to explode, it would be contained within a room, not reaching him. But that wasn¡¯t the point; the main concern was that Wang Tao could distinctly feel the zombies outside becoming more frenzied, with constant howling sounds. No, it wasn¡¯t just the zombies outside! Wang Tao quickly ran to the south-facing window, and in the dim starlight, he saw zombies in the residential area howling and running, sending chills down his spine. What happened to the slow, stiff movements and low agility they were supposed to have? He had fought with zombies and seen them in a frenzy before, but not like this! Chapter 13 - 13 Chapter 13 Locksmith_1 13 Chapter 13 Locksmith_1 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao didn¡¯t sleep well last night. He guessed that other survivors nearby felt the same. After all, last night¡¯s explosion was terrifying, and the frenzy of the zombies induced by the explosion¡¯s noise, with their chilling roars, made it impossible to sleep. The first thing Wang Tao did upon waking up was to check his HP. His HP was full, and though there were still some bruises on his arm, they barely hurt anymore. His recovery ability had strengthened after the apocalypse. Then he went to check the doors and windows, worried about last night¡¯s frenzied zombies. With their agility, if they could climb walls¡­ Fortunately, everything at home was safe. Wang Tao then surveyed the zombies in the residential area. ¡°There really are more zombies! They must have come from outside, but they look so dull, completely different from last night¡¯s¡­ What¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Tao had thought that last night¡¯s zombies had mutated, given how frightening the ones running wildly in the courtyard were. But now the zombies had reverted to their usual selves, wandering slowly around the yard. ¡°No good, I¡¯ll have to observe again tonight! I need to figure out what¡¯s the deal with these zombies, hopefully, the weather will be good tonight¡­¡± After mumbling to himself, Wang Tao looked toward the street that exploded last night. The fire was still burning, and when he opened the window, he could smell a disgusting stench of decay. Wang Tao quickly closed the window. He made a simple breakfast. After eating, Wang Tao pondered for a moment and decided to try his luck on the second and first floors today. He remembered there were tenants on these floors, and what if someone, like the tenant in 301, left the keys in the meter box? Of course, he had to get fully armed before going out. Although there were no zombies in the corridor, safety came first. When he arrived on the second floor, Wang Tao searched both meter boxes but found no keys. Interestingly, he noticed that the door of 201 had many small locksmith ads stuck on it, just like his, but the door of 202 was spotlessly clean. Suddenly, Wang Tao thought of some internet jokes. Could those ads be stuck on the inside of the door? Shaking his head with a chuckle, Wang Tao proceeded to the first floor. There were no keys in the meter boxes on the first floor either, which left Wang Tao slightly disappointed. Since there were no keys, Wang Tao decided not to knock on the doors. After all, without keys, there was no way to enter the apartments, whether there were people or zombies inside. Wang Tao treaded lightly and observed the security gate of the building entrance. The glass on the gate was somewhat shattered, but behind it was a wire mesh, so the door remained quite sturdy. Through the window, he could see a group of zombies wandering outside, at least twenty of them at a rough count. ¡°With so many zombies, it will be hard to get out¡­¡± It was already the seventh day of the apocalypse, and he had not seen any sign of rescue operations. Wang Tao had lost hope in that regard. With his limited supplies, he definitely needed to go out. And to get out, there were only two ways, either to go through the courtyard of the complex or to climb out from the window on the north side. But there were more zombies on the street to the north. So he had no choice but to go through the courtyard. Those twenty-plus zombies were something he had to confront. If only he could lead them to a certain place and take them down one by one¡­ While he was pondering, Wang Tao glanced at the other residential buildings. He was in Building 4, and from his position, he could only see Building 2 opposite and Building 1 diagonally across. The situation in Buildings 2 and 1 was not great. Wang Tao could clearly see that the gates to their units were opened. Zombies were going in and coming out. He wondered if there were any survivors inside. Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved, guessing that the reason their gates remained closed was because this building housed many laborers. On the day of the zombie outbreak, which was in the morning, the laborers would have all gone to work early. Yet, inside buildings 1 and 2, there were many retired old men and women. They would gather downstairs to chat and play chess. To facilitate easy access, some had even propped their unit¡¯s security door open with bricks to prevent it from closing. If zombies appeared under such circumstances, it would be hard for them to survive. After roughly understanding the current situation, Wang Tao prepared to return. However, as he was about to ascend to the second floor, the door of room 202 suddenly opened a crack. Wang Tao immediately gripped the steel pipe tightly and cautiously peeked over. ¡°Big brother, I¡¯m not a zombie!¡± A man¡¯s voice, deliberately lowered, came from inside. Through the crack, Wang Tao also saw a slim, balding middle-aged uncle inside, roughly over 1.6 meters tall. [25/100] Looking at his green HP bar above his head, his health condition did not seem very good. ¡°Big brother, did you kill the zombies in the corridor? You¡¯re amazing, brother!¡± Since Wang Tao was fully covered up, the bald uncle couldn¡¯t see his face clearly. But seeing Wang Tao¡¯s steel pipe and sturdy figure, he instinctively called him ¡°big brother.¡± ¡°Is there something you want?¡± Wang Tao asked with some indifference. If he had the means, he wouldn¡¯t mind helping a survivor. But with rescue nowhere in sight yet, he couldn¡¯t afford to be overly charitable, especially to a stranger. ¡°Ahem¡­ well, I¡¯ve run out of food at home¡­¡± The bald uncle scratched his head awkwardly. ¡°Sorry, my food is also running low. If I had enough food, I wouldn¡¯t have come out.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°No, no, no, you¡¯ve got it all wrong, big brother! What I mean is, how about we work together? I know where there¡¯s food, but I¡¯m afraid to get it¡­¡± The anxious bald uncle hurriedly explained. ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s hear it.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brows rose at this. He didn¡¯t seem like a fool, so what he meant probably wasn¡¯t the outside¡ªthe outside had a lot of supplies, but one had to be alive to get them. Sure enough, the bald uncle quickly said: ¡°The 201, right across! Two days before doomsday, I saw him carrying a 50-pound bag of rice home, and he lives alone, there must be a lot left!¡± A 50-pound bag of rice! If one were to eat normally thrice a day, a person could last about one or two months. If one were to ration it or eat by the bare minimum survival standards, it might even last for several months¡­ ¡°But the door of 201 is locked.¡± Wang Tao looked towards the bald uncle. Living right across the hall, he couldn¡¯t be unaware that 201¡¯s door was locked. Since he brought up the idea, did he likely have the key to 201? ¡°I, I can pick locks! I¡¯m a Locksmith!¡± The bald uncle immediately replied. ¡°¡­¡± No wonder there were no small ads for lock-picking services at his door, he was the Locksmith! ¡°Big brother, how about this? I¡¯ll unlock their door, and you deal with the zombies inside! We¡¯ll split the found food¡ªI¡¯ll only take one third, the rest is all yours!¡± After speaking, he looked at Wang Tao with a hopeful expression. After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao shook his head. Chapter 14 - 14 Chapter 14 Learning Lockpicking Skills_1 14 Chapter 14 Learning Lockpicking Skills_1 Translator: 549690339 Seeing Wang Tao shake his head, the bald uncle¡¯s face suddenly became urgent. ¡°Brother, I know fighting zombies means risking your life, but we¡¯re not zombies¡ªwe need to eat! We have no choice but to take risks¡­ How about this, I only want a quarter, and the rest is all yours, brother!¡± The bald uncle clenched his teeth and lowered his demands further. 12.5 pounds from 50 pounds of rice¡ªone quarter¡ªwould be enough for him to eat sparingly for half a month, or even a whole month. And surely there must be other food inside unit 201; rounding up, he thought, at least two months¡¯ worth of food! If he still hadn¡¯t received any help after two months, he figured he might go mad¡­ But concerns for the future could wait; the immediate priority was to secure food for the short term. Watching Wang Tao remain silent, the bald uncle grew more and more anxious. If he had the ability to kill zombies, he would have gone alone long ago¡­ Just when he thought Wang Tao really didn¡¯t want to take the risk, Wang Tao suddenly spoke. ¡°A quarter, fine. But I have one condition.¡± ¡°Brother, just say it! I promise I¡¯ll agree!¡± The bald uncle immediately became excited and hastily made his promise. Whether or not he could do it, it was best to agree first. Wang Tao looked at him earnestly and said: ¡°Teach me how to pick locks.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The bald uncle was stunned for a moment, then his face showed some difficulty. ¡°Lock picking isn¡¯t something that can be taught casually; we¡¯re registered for that. If¡ª¡± ¡°There are no ifs. Just say whether you¡¯ll teach or not. A quarter of the food in room 201 is enough to keep you alive for a long time.¡± He hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Wang Tao interrupted, ¡°Think it over carefully. I¡¯m in room 501; find me there once you¡¯ve decided.¡± As soon as Wang Tao finished talking, he walked away, as if without a single regret. But he had barely taken two steps when the bald uncle hastily called out from behind. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t go! I¡¯ll teach! I¡¯ll teach!¡± The bald uncle still harbored hope that society could return to normal, and he didn¡¯t want to do something that would ruin his future prospects. But hope was hope, reality was reality¡­ He had no other choice. ¡°Good, then open the door, I¡¯m going in.¡± Wang Tao turned around, a faint smile on his face. ¡°Please come in!¡± The bald uncle quickly opened the door. His home had the same three-room layout as Ding Yuqin¡¯s and was much bigger than Wang Tao¡¯s. However, it seemed he had disassembled the furniture at home; the place was messy, with tools, boards, and whatnot everywhere. ¡°I was sealing up the windows with stuff I found, so it¡¯s a bit messy at home¡ªdon¡¯t mind, brother, please take a seat!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind and casually sat down. He then stuck the steel pipe into the sheath on his back and took off his gloves, face scarf, and glasses, revealing a young face. ¡°¡­¡± Seeing how young Wang Tao was, the bald uncle suddenly felt a bit embarrassed; after all this time, he had been calling a youngster ¡°brother.¡± ¡°Big¡­ Younger brother, wait a moment; I¡¯ll go get the tools!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t care about these minor details in the naming. It wasn¡¯t long before the bald uncle came back with a bag containing various tools like torque wrenches and lock picks. ¡°Younger brother, shall we start with the simplest?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± There are many types of locks, and the simple ones are actually quite easy to crack. It¡¯s just that ordinary people don¡¯t come across such things, so they seem very impressive. The bald uncle started by explaining the basic principles to Wang Tao, then he demonstrated how to pick a lock, and finally let Wang Tao try it himself. It didn¡¯t take long before they heard a ¡°click,¡± and Wang Tao successfully picked a lock with the tools. ¡°Younger brother, you¡¯re awesome!¡± After praising Wang Tao a couple of times, the bald uncle went on to teach him other methods of lock picking. When Wang Tao saw the bald uncle open a lock with just a piece of wire, he immediately declared, ¡°Coach, I want to learn this one!¡± Wang Tao had headed out in the morning and kept learning until noon. He felt that if he had had this level of dedication at school, he wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this sorry state. Gurgle~ The bald uncle, somewhat embarrassed, covered his belly; he hadn¡¯t eaten for a day. Wang Tao, seeing the situation, directly took out several squashed pieces of bread from his pocket and handed them over to him. ¡°Thank you! Thank you! I really can¡¯t thank you enough!¡± The bald uncle was immediately very excited as he took the bread; he actually didn¡¯t like eating bread, preferring steamed buns instead. But he felt that the bread at this moment tasted better than any steamed bun he had ever eaten. [+10] [35/100] The bald uncle¡¯s HP bar also recovered a small portion. Wang Tao also ate two slices of bread to fill his stomach. He had eaten breakfast that morning and, without any strenuous exercise, his appetite was about the same as a normal person¡¯s, so he wasn¡¯t hungry now. After a simple meal, Wang Tao followed the bald uncle and learned for a while, then stood up and said: ¡°Let¡¯s stop here for today. I¡¯m going to take care of the trouble in room 201.¡± ¡°Ah? Alright, alright! Brother, go for it, and make sure to be safe!¡± Hearing that Wang Tao was finally going to take action, the bald uncle quickly stood up in excitement. ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s only one person inside 201?¡± Wang Tao asked while putting on his gloves. ¡°Sure! He lives alone in there; I haven¡¯t seen many people go to his place¡­¡± Wang Tao paused in his movements. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen many, so that means you have seen some?¡± ¡°I have seen him bring young women home a few times before.¡± The bald uncle scratched his head. ¡°Women? His girlfriend or wife?¡± ¡°Cough, he brings different women each time.¡± ¡°I see. So, you¡¯re not one hundred percent certain that there¡¯s only one person inside?¡± ¡°¡­Yes. But most likely it¡¯s just him, because he doesn¡¯t bring women home very often, maybe once a month¡­¡± Wang Tao said no more. Assuming there were two zombies inside, that still wouldn¡¯t be unmanageable. After all, he had changed his weapons. If it really came down to it, he could just run. He believed that zombies definitely couldn¡¯t climb stairs faster than he could. After rearming himself completely, Wang Tao and the bald uncle arrived in front of room 201 together. ¡°You pick the lock, then go back home and wait.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t let him get involved in dealing with the zombies. Given the bald uncle¡¯s short and thin stature, he probably couldn¡¯t withstand a zombie¡¯s attack. Letting him in would definitely slow things down; Wang Tao would be better off on his own. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want him to die¡ªafter all, he hadn¡¯t fully mastered the lock-picking technique yet. ¡°Alright!¡± The bald uncle fiddled gently with the exterior of the lock, then there was a click, and the door opened. Without a word, he turned and ran back home, closing his door behind him. Wang Tao gripped the steel pipe tightly, gently pushed the door open, and quickly scanned the area. There was no one in the living room, but there were many dark bloodstains. ¡°There¡¯s more than one person in this place!¡± Wang Tao instantly felt nervous, yet somewhat excited. A single person turning into a zombie wouldn¡¯t leave so many bloodstains! Clearly, someone had been attacked by a zombie! All the doors inside the house were open, and after Wang Tao took two steps, he caught sight of a long-haired woman, kneeling on the floor of the master bedroom with her back to Wang Tao. The woman was slightly bowing her head, as if she was eating something. Seemingly hearing a noise, the woman slowly turned her head, revealing a pale face with white, bloodshot eyes, dark veins all over, and in her hands¡­ half of a human head! Chapter 15 - 15 Chapter 15 First Battle of the New Weapons_1 15 Chapter 15 First Battle of the New Weapons_1 Translator: 549690339 Seeing this scene, Wang Tao¡¯s heart went cold. If he hadn¡¯t guessed wrong, the male owner of the house had been eaten by this female zombie! ¡°Grrr¡­¡± Upon seeing a living person, the female zombie immediately dropped the skull she held and, with a growl, staggered toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao gripped the steel pipe tightly with both hands, his gaze fixed on the female zombie. [510/510] This female zombie didn¡¯t have 500 HP, but 10 more! It was unclear whether she was naturally this strong or had gained it from eating that man¡­ Swish! After the female zombie approached Wang Tao, she swung a claw at him. Wang Tao dodged nimbly to the side and then swung the steel pipe with all his might at the zombie¡¯s head. Thud! There was a crisp sound as a streak of black blood spurted from the zombie¡¯s head. [-102] [408/510] Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao became somewhat excited. Indeed, it was different when you changed your weapon! When he had used the homemade short spear before, attacks on the zombie¡¯s head had almost never penetrated its defense, and the weapon would become useless after just a few uses. But now, with one swing of the steel pipe, he took away one-fifth of the zombie¡¯s HP! The steel pipe remained intact, and the zombie staggered from the blow, dizzy. Although this was also related to his slowly increasing strength, the weapon was the most critical factor. The success of this strike bolstered Wang Tao¡¯s confidence. Taking advantage of the zombie¡¯s apparent dizziness, he struck again at the zombie¡¯s head with the steel pipe. Thud! Splash¡ª [-135] [273/510] That blow burst one of its eyeballs. ¡°Roar!¡± As if enraged, the zombie let out a furious roar and then suddenly pounced forward, its stinking mouth aiming to bite at Wang Tao¡¯s neck. Wang Tao¡¯s quick reflexes allowed him to hoist the steel pipe up, thrusting it horizontally into the mouth of the female zombie. ¡°Grr~¡± Looking at the disgusting face so close by, Wang Tao forcefully pushed down with the steel pipe in his hands. Crack~ A sound of bone breaking was heard, and the zombie¡¯s jaw was abruptly dislocated by the steel pipe, leaving behind a pool of black blood. [-59] The zombie looked up; the remaining white, lifeless fish eye fixed stubbornly on Wang Tao as its arms reached out in an embrace, an attempt to wrap around Wang Tao. Wang Tao ducked, avoiding the enthusiastic hug of the female zombie, and then smashed the steel pipe onto its legs. Bang! [-3] The female zombie had a petite frame and an unstable lower body. Putting all his strength into the strike, Wang Tao knocked her to the ground. Seizing the moment she fell, Wang Tao quickly stood up. The steel pipe rotated 180 degrees in his palm, instantly changing grips. Then, with the pipe held in both hands, he raised it high and stabbed fiercely downward at the forehead of the female zombie. Splash! [-211] [0/510] The female zombie twitched a couple of times and then lay still. Though a long story, the actual fight was brief, less than a minute. ¡°Phew~¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath. Although the fight had been short, he had given his all with every strike, so it was still somewhat draining. In fact, Wang Tao had wanted to test if a few good strikes with the pipe could kill it, especially since one strike had cost the zombie over one-fifth of its HP. But the battle was ever-changing, and Wang Tao was a bit too slow to seize the opportunity perfectly. Plus, his strength wasn¡¯t sufficient to cause dizziness in the zombie again. So, his plan was temporarily thwarted. However, the outcome was good, as he managed to kill it quite easily in the end. Wang Tao had already killed a few zombies, and he felt this one was the second easiest, with the easiest naturally being the zombie that was missing half of its body. But this did not mean that the female zombie was weak, Wang Tao felt that its strength was probably about the same as the one he encountered in the corridor earlier. Indeed, when Wang Tao looked at his HP bar, he discovered it had increased by 10 HP¡ªthe same amount as when he killed the zombie in the hallway! [130/130] It was 120 before, now it¡¯s 130! Without pausing to feel excited, Wang Tao quickly absorbed the semi-transparent package that floated out of the zombie¡¯s body. [Obtained: Steel Wire x1] [Steel Wire: Crafting Material] Another crafting material, it was still unclear what could be made with all these materials. After collecting it, Wang Tao began to search the body. After a thorough search, he found a gold necklace, a gold bracelet, and quite a few condoms. Wang Tao immediately threw away the condoms; after all, he dared not use anything that came from a zombie. Then Wang Tao looked at the male corpse in the room, who had been eaten by the female zombie until only half a head remained, with only some bones left on the ground, stained with traces of blood. Wang Tao felt a bit queasy looking at it, and even saw a [-1] figure appear over his own head. Mental attack, huh! Wang Tao quickly searched the bedroom and then left it. The man only had a wallet and a mobile phone. The female zombie had a women¡¯s shoulder bag that contained some change, a mobile phone, various strange drugs, and cosmetics or something. Wang Tao didn¡¯t care whether they were useful or not, he took them all. If he could survive, he was sure to meet other survivors or make it to a Survivor Base eventually. Wherever there are more people, there will inevitably be trade. These things he scavenged may not be useful to him, but they might be just what someone else needs. They could be used for trading. As for the paper money, it might still be of value, or it might not. But it was no bother to carry it. If it really became worthless, it could be used as fuel to keep warm. After a quick search, Wang Tao went out and knocked on the door of 202. ¡°It¡¯s safe now, come out.¡± The bald man inside the room had been peering through the peephole the whole time. He was incredulous to see that Wang Tao had entered and, after a short time, emerged with no issue. He hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to resolve the situation so quickly! But he did not rush to open the door. Instead, he waited for Wang Tao to come knock and, upon hearing that Wang Tao¡¯s voice was normal and he did not sound injured, he then opened the door. ¡°Young man, you are really impressive! Are you hurt?¡± The bald man gave a bit of flattery. Wang Tao knew what he was thinking; he was just afraid Wang Tao might have been infected. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it was just one zombie. I haven¡¯t touched the food inside, do you want to go in together?¡± Wang Tao was a man of his word, having promised to trade a quarter of the food for the bald man¡¯s lockpicking skill, he wouldn¡¯t go back on that¡ª he didn¡¯t even check to see exactly how much food there was. ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± The bald man happily followed Wang Tao into 201. As for the women¡¯s shoulder bag that Wang Tao was carrying, the bald man naturally noticed it, but he didn¡¯t mind. Wang Tao had killed the zombie and thus had the right to pick spoils of war, and besides, those things were of no use to him¡ªhe only wanted food. But something seemed off. Why was there a women¡¯s shoulder bag in room 201? ¡°Ugh¡ª¡± When he saw the blood all over the room, the female zombie, and half the head of his neighbor, the bald man¡¯s pupils shrunk suddenly, and he felt a surge of nausea. However, remembering that the bread he had just eaten might not have been digested yet, he forcibly held back and did not actually vomit. But a number appeared above his head. [-10] [25/100] Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; it seemed that this scene had a major impact on him. To prevent the bald man from having a mental breakdown, Wang Tao suggested that he look at the food to distract himself. However, upon seeing the rice in the kitchen, the bald man let out a wail¡­ ¡°No~¡± Chapter 16 - 16 Chapter 16 Outdoor Power Supply_1 16 Chapter 16 Outdoor Power Supply_1 Translator: 549690339 When Wang Tao entered Room 201, the sight of chaos and bloodstains everywhere must have given him some expectations. But the sight of rice spilled into pools of blood in the kitchen still pained him greatly. ¡°What a waste!¡± Most of the rice was inedible, and judging by the traces on the ground, Wang Tao suspected a female zombie had pursued the male homeowner, who likely tried to grab a kitchen knife, throwing everything at the zombie in his path. The bag of rice in the corner was probably knocked over by the man. Unfortunately, it seemed the fight hadn¡¯t delayed the zombie for long¡­ ¡°No, my rice!¡± The bald man wailed, clutching his head. He was genuinely crying¡ªafter all, it was 50 pounds of rice! ¡°Pick through it, see if any is still edible.¡± Wang Tao patted his shoulder. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Trying to suppress his grief, the bald man began to sort carefully. The kitchen was covered in blood¡ªimpossible to tell if it was human or zombie. The woven bag that held the rice had toppled to the floor, the grains mixing with the blood. However, there seemed to be some rice at the bottom of the bag that might still be edible. Swallowing hard as he looked at the rice in the blood, he ultimately didn¡¯t dare to take it. If it were only human blood, he might consider it if he were nearly starving to death¡­ But the problem was the zombie blood. If he dared to eat it, he¡¯d likely turn into a zombie within minutes! Reluctantly, he had to give up. Wang Tao searched through the rest. Most of the food in the kitchen was contaminated, but the refrigerator door was unopened. Inside, there were some wilted vegetables, some eggs, and, to their surprise, several pounds of frozen beef in the freezer. Seeing this, the bald man¡¯s mood finally improved a lot, making the trip worthwhile. After considerable effort, they managed to sort out the edible rice. Wang Tao and the bald man collected these items and then returned to the bald man¡¯s apartment. ¡°Only 6 pounds of rice left¡­ 2 pounds of vegetables, 5 pounds of meat, 22 eggs¡ªthat¡¯s about 2 pounds¡­¡± In total, 15 pounds of food¡ªnot as much as expected but still decent. After crunching the numbers with pen and paper, the bald man looked at Wang Tao expectantly and said: ¡°According to our deal, I take one-quarter which is 1.5 pounds of rice, half a pound of vegetables, 1.25 pounds of meat, and 5¡ªno, 5 eggs¡­ ¡± Wang Tao was much stronger than he had anticipated; he expected a tough struggle between Wang Tao and the zombie, but Wang Tao resolved it in a minute¡­ If Wang Tao didn¡¯t keep his promise, he would have no way to resist. Fortunately, Wang Tao was a man of his word. ¡°Okay, take yours first. Give me the rest.¡± ¡°Alright! Thank you, brother, thank you so much!¡± The bald man quickly took his quarter share and then helped to pack up the rest of the food. Having taken the goods, Wang Tao stood up to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll be going back now; I¡¯ll come over again tomorrow.¡± He hadn¡¯t mastered all the lock-picking skills yet, and that was a craft Wang Tao was determined to learn. ¡°Eh, sure! I¡¯ll give you these tools so you can practice on your own¡­¡± The bald man readily agreed and then proceeded to hand over some tools to Wang Tao. ¡°Thanks!¡± Wang Tao looked at him appreciatively, nodded in preparation to leave, but suddenly turned back and asked: ¡°By the way, do you know the situation with the two apartments downstairs?¡± ¡°Downstairs¡­ I¡¯m not too sure, when the virus broke out, I was too scared and didn¡¯t pay much attention to the neighbors¡­¡± The bald man was somewhat embarrassed, but quickly added, ¡°However, I do know that there¡¯s an elderly couple in 101 downstairs, and a family of three in 102, their naughty kid always causing trouble¡­¡± Wang Tao had some recollection when it came to the naughty kid. During the previous winter break, he was hit by a little stone thrown by that kid, and when he turned around, his scary scarred face immediately made the kid cry. Wang Tao even got scolded by the kid¡¯s mom, and if the other people in the courtyard hadn¡¯t stepped in to defend him, the kid¡¯s mom would have even tried to extort money from him! After that, when the kid went to school, Wang Tao¡¯s routine didn¡¯t align with that of normal people, so they never ran into each other again¡­ ¡°So, it looks like there might be five zombies downstairs¡­ Alright, I¡¯ll head back first.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After leaving 202, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush back home. Instead, he went to the first floor and lightly knocked on the doors of 101 and 102. Soon, there came some scratching noises from inside. ¡°Great, there are zombies inside.¡± Wang Tao went back to the bald man to tell him that there were zombies in both houses downstairs and warned him not to unlock the doors rashly. If the bald man, tasting success this time, tried to unlock those doors, that would spell trouble. ¡°Thanks, buddy. You can rest assured, I dare not go in there¡­¡± Remembering the scene he encountered in 201, he was still shaken. ¡°As long as you understand.¡± After Wang Tao got home, he organized the supplies he had gathered that day and analyzed the situation in the building. Based on the current situation, there seemed to be only four surviving families: 501, which was his own; 502, where the sister-in-law lived; the stranger in 401, and the bald man in 202. There were also the rooms he had looted, which were 602, 301, and 201. Then there were rooms where he had knocked and heard noises, confirming the presence of zombies ¨C these were 601, 101, and 102. Last were the rooms he guessed were empty: 402 and 302¡­ Of course, his guesses might not be accurate. Maybe the zombies hadn¡¯t heard him, or perhaps there were other threats, it was hard to say. But he felt there was a high probability they were empty. ¡°One visit will tell if someone¡¯s there or not!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fists, ready to venture out again. Killing that zombie today had been relatively easy, and he hadn¡¯t wasted too much physical strength. Even if there were zombies in those rooms, he felt confident he could handle them! After eating something light and drinking some water, Wang Tao grabbed his lock picking tools and the steel pipe and set out again. It was now past three in the afternoon, still early before dark, so time was on his side. First, he went to 402. Using the skills the bald man taught him that morning, he managed to open the door after a bit of effort with a click. He cautiously entered and looked around. After a thorough check, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, there was no one in this apartment! But soon, Wang Tao felt uneasy. Not only was the place void of people, but there were also no signs of life. Furniture was covered with plastic sheets, all of which were layered with thick dust. Judging from the looks, at the very least, no one had lived here for a month or two. Nevertheless, since he was already there, he certainly intended to look around. He couldn¡¯t leave empty-handed. And sure enough, just after stepping into the spare bedroom, Wang Tao found some valuable things. ¡°Is this¡­ a portable power supply! And a generator!¡± Among some miscellaneous items in the spare bedroom, Wang Tao spotted a portable power supply and a diesel generator next to it. ¡°These people were likely off on a trip? Well then, I won¡¯t be polite!¡± Chapter 17 - 17 Chapter 17 Sister-in-law Works for You_1 17 Chapter 17 Sister-in-law Works for You_1 Translator: 549690339 This outdoor power supply probably weighs about thirty kilograms and is about the size of a small computer case, with a label indicating it can store 5-degree electricity. Despite the evident signs of wear on the power source, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, as long as it worked. He fumbled for a moment before flipping the power switch on, and the small screen displayed that it was more than half-charged. ¡°Not bad, not bad! I¡¯ll go back and charge it to full!¡± Aside from the power supply, the most conspicuous item was the diesel generator. This thing was much larger and heavier than the outdoor power source. Wang Tao gave it a try and estimated it weighed seventy to eighty kilograms. ¡°This is also a good item, but not very convenient to use¡­¡± The diesel generator had a label stating it could hold 15L of diesel. Could 1L of diesel produce about 3 or 4-degree electricity? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very knowledgeable in this area, but he had used generators while working with a film crew, so he knew how to operate one. But first, the diesel engine was very smelly when working; if placed indoors, the fumes would probably kill him. Second, it made a lot of noise when generating electricity! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if starting it in the house would attract the zombies. Although in theory, the noise made upstairs should be much less than downstairs, and zombies wouldn¡¯t climb walls. It should be safe. But he feared ¡°trying it out could be the end of him.¡± In a post-apocalyptic world, who knew what could happen¡­ Last, and most importantly¡ªit needed diesel to operate, and there was no diesel in the room! ¡°It¡¯s good stuff, but there¡¯s no opportunity to use it for now¡­¡± After setting aside the outdoor power supply and the generator, Wang Tao continued his search. ¡°Horned hammer, wrench, small handsaw, and a map¡­¡± Seeing these items, Wang Tao suddenly had an idea¡ªwould stuffing the horned hammer into a steel pipe increase its power? He could try it later; he had three steel pipes, after all. After tidying these things up a bit, Wang Tao took some miscellaneous items and the outdoor power supply, leaving the generator there. He couldn¡¯t use it at the moment, and it was too heavy and cumbersome to move around. After bringing the items from apartment 402 back to his place, Wang Tao went to 302. After some tinkering, he managed to unlock the door. Just as Wang Tao had anticipated, there was no one and no zombies inside 302. The interior of the apartment was decorated very simply, with not much stuff around¡ªit looked like a rental. After searching for a while, Wang Tao found about ten-plus pounds of food. Very good indeed! However, there weren¡¯t any other useful items; it was evident that the tenant lived a frugal life. After moving all the items to his place, Wang Tao drank a big gulp of water and rested for a moment. ¡°Now only apartments 601, 101, and 102 are left unscavenged. If I can clear out the zombies in these three apartments, then this building will be basically safe!¡± Wang Tao was a bit excited. ¡°I¡¯ll stop here for today, and I¡¯ll clean out the remaining apartments tomorrow!¡± The sky outside was already darkening, and even inside the building, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t keen on moving about at night. He had just returned to his apartment and hadn¡¯t started to take off his gear when a light knocking sound came from the door. Looking through the peephole, Wang Tao saw Ding Yuqin. He opened a crack in the door, his voice slightly muffled beneath his mask. ¡°Sister-in-law, is there something you need?¡± ¡°Well, Wang Tao, sister-in-law needs to borrow a bit more food¡­¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face was lightly made up, but it couldn¡¯t hide her haggard appearance, especially the large dark circles under her eyes. She probably hadn¡¯t slept well the previous night. Wang Tao found it strange as he looked at her HP bar above her head. Didn¡¯t she have a full meal yesterday? If he remembered correctly, her HP increased to 40 yesterday, so why did it look like only 20 HP remained today? It shouldn¡¯t be from hunger; one couldn¡¯t lose that much HP from half a day¡¯s starvation¡­ ¡°Sister-in-law, come in and we can talk.¡± Wang Tao opened the door and let Ding Yuqin in. Looking at the suddenly accumulating pile of items in the room, especially the abundance of food, Ding Yuqin subconsciously licked her lips. ¡°Take a seat first, sister-in-law. I¡¯m going to change my clothes.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Ding Yuqin responded and began to actively organize the supplies on the floor. Wang Tao quickly took a shower and changed into his casual clothes before coming out. He looked at Ding Yuqin squatting on the floor and suddenly asked: ¡°Sister-in-law, you seem to be in bad shape. What happened?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Ding Yuqin almost cried. ¡°The explosion last night was so terrifying. I, I didn¡¯t get any sleep at all. During the day, I was so tired that I finally took a nap, but I ended up sleeping until evening¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± That explained why Ding Yuqin looked so out of sorts¡ªit was the gas explosion from last night that had frightened her. Wang Tao himself had been startled and hadn¡¯t slept well, but at least he hadn¡¯t lost any HP. Ding Yuqin¡¯s psychological resilience was much weaker, which he could understand. ¡°Sister-in-law knows that getting food is not easy for you; it¡¯s a matter of life and death. But I have no choice¡­ How about this, if there is any work you need sister-in-law to do, just think of it as me working for you, okay?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face showed an awkward yet pleasing smile. It had been seven days since the apocalypse, and she no longer talked about having her husband repay Wang Tao. Although she didn¡¯t want to believe it, she knew there was a good chance her husband was gone, and with the government¡¯s rescue nowhere in sight, she had to fend for herself. Of course, she wasn¡¯t capable of going out to search for food on her own. Her only hope was to rely on Wang Tao. After all, her husband and Wang Tao were folks from the same hometown. They were also neighbors, which made him much better than a stranger. After having a full meal at Wang Tao¡¯s place, she never wanted to experience that hunger again. Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond, Ding Yuqin hurriedly added: ¡°I can clean, wash clothes, cook¡­ I do these chores at home, and I¡¯m quite skilled at them. I won¡¯t cause you any trouble.¡± To be honest, Wang Tao was somewhat tempted. Not for any other reason but because the sister-in-law was attractive. Having such a good-looking woman, both in figure and facial features, working as a maid in his house would probably make his meals much more enjoyable. So, after thinking it over, Wang Tao said: ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s settled. As long as you work in my home, I¡¯ll make sure you have at least one meal a day. Don¡¯t think it¡¯s too little, sister-in-law. You know how much I eat, and I still need to go out and kill zombies. I barely have enough food for myself¡­¡± If someone helped him with laundry and cooking, it would indeed save him a lot of time. Just washing his jacket and cooking took one to two hours every day. ¡°Thank you, thank you so much, Wang Tao!¡± Seeing Wang Tao agree, Ding Yuqin immediately burst into tears of joy. She would agree even if it were one meal every two days, let alone one meal a day. ¡°Then go ahead and start cooking, sister-in-law. Use the perishables first, and make a larger portion.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Watching Ding Yuqin head to the kitchen, Wang Tao went to the second bedroom, which was his workspace. He planned to combine the horned hammer and steel pipe he had obtained that day and then try them out on a zombie at Unit 601 tomorrow! Chapter 18 - 18 Chapter 18 Dont Go Out After Dark_1 18 Chapter 18 Don¡¯t Go Out After Dark_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°` ¡°Phew~¡± After some effort, Wang Tao slightly sawed the short wooden handle of the horned hammer, then tightly stuffed it into the steel pipe. To be on the safe side, he also applied some glue inside. After tested for a while, there was no looseness at all. ¡°It¡¯s quite heavier, but it¡¯s just right for me, and the power is much greater!¡± The difference between hammering with this hammer and with a steel pipe is significant, especially the horn of the horned hammer ¨C its power must be tremendous. ¡°Wang Tao, dinner is ready¡­¡± Outside the door, came the knocking of Ding Yuqin. ¡°Okay.¡± When Wang Tao arrived at the dining table, Ding Yuqin had just served him a big bowl of rice and handed over the freshly washed bowl and chopsticks. Wang Tao took them and said with a smile: ¡°Let¡¯s eat together.¡± ¡°Eh!¡± Ding Yuqin had been waiting for those words. With Wang Tao¡¯s permission, she immediately went into the kitchen to get a bowl and chopsticks for herself. Although she felt it was highly probable that Wang Tao would invite her to dine with him, since he hadn¡¯t said anything yet, she hadn¡¯t taken her own bowl and chopsticks to prevent him from feeling repulsed. The dinner was a simple fry-up of three dishes and a soup ¨C simple in style, but plentiful in portion. After all, whether Wang Tao was going out to kill zombies or training his body, he had to ensure he got sufficient nutrition. Ding Yuqin waited until Wang Tao started eating before she moved her chopsticks. Wang Tao tasted each of the dishes and had to admit that Ding Yuqin¡¯s cooking skills were really good; it felt no less than a regular restaurant chef, far better than his own clumsy attempts. Ding Yuqin ate quietly while discreetly observing Wang Tao. Though confident in her culinary skills, she knew that everyone had different tastes. The dishes she cooked for Wang Tao yesterday were different from today¡¯s, and she couldn¡¯t guarantee he would definitely like them. Once she saw that Wang Tao seemed satisfied, she felt relieved. Since Ding Yuqin had indulged in a big meal yesterday, her hunger wasn¡¯t as intense as before, allowing her to eat more gracefully, exuding an air of refinement. When she noticed Wang Tao¡¯s bowl was nearly empty, she immediately put down her chopsticks and got up. ¡°Wang Tao, let me get you some more rice!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. ¡°That would be great, sis-in-law.¡± Ding Yuqin was wearing a gray professional dress today. The clothing was form-fitting, highlighting her curves beautifully, especially her legs in thin black silk stockings ¡ª not the digitally-edited kind often seen online, but full and round, smooth lines, remarkably healthy and slender legs. This made Wang Tao¡¯s gaze somewhat disobedient. Pleasant things were meant to be appreciated, and Wang Tao did not try to hide it. When Ding Yuqin came back with the rice, she felt Wang Tao¡¯s gaze. She paused slightly, then pretended as if she noticed nothing and handed over a large bowl of rice to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, here you go.¡± ¡°Thank you, sis-in-law.¡± After eating for a while, Wang Tao suddenly asked: ¡°By the way, sis-in-law, what did you do for a living before this?¡± He knew that Brother Zhao was a director, but he wasn¡¯t quite clear about Brother Zhao¡¯s wife¡¯s occupation. ¡°Ah? Oh, your Brother Zhao invested, and I opened a restaurant back in my hometown.¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s question, Ding Yuqin quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and then answered. ¡°No wonder sis-in-law¡¯s cooking is so good.¡± Wang Tao realized. ¡°Yeah, I thought that since I was running my own restaurant, I definitely should know the quality of the food we serve. So, I decided to learn cooking and spend over a hundred thousand on it! And then, just when the restaurant hadn¡¯t been open long, the apocalypse came¡­¡± Ding Yuqin said with a bitter face. ¡°` ¡­ After dinner, Ding Yuqin cleaned up the dining room and the kitchen, and then mopped Wang Tao¡¯s house. ¡°Huff~¡± She hadn¡¯t done so much work in a long time and was feeling somewhat sore in her waist and back. So she sat on the sofa, took off her high heels, and rubbed her sore ankles. She decided she would not wear high heels tomorrow; they were too tiring. ¡°Wang Tao, what time should I come over tomorrow morning?¡± Wang Tao, who was studying the map, raised his head, and when he saw Ding Yuqin rubbing her ankles wrapped in black stockings, he suddenly felt the urge to help. After waiting for a while, Wang Tao finally spoke. ¡°Six o¡¯clock,¡± he said. ¡°Oh, then I¡¯ll come over at six. I¡¯m going back now,¡± Ding Yuqin, feeling somewhat uneasy under Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, quickly put on her shoes and went home. Watching Ding Yuqin leave, Wang Tao began his daily exercises. Since waking up from a three-day coma, his physical condition had not only become much stronger than before, but he could also slightly feel the improvement with every exercise session. The reason most people lack perseverance in some matters is that they can neither see nor feel any hope of success. Now, after exercising, Wang Tao could clearly feel some slight changes in his body. Although not much, the improvement was indeed there. Furthermore, Wang Tao was quite self-disciplined, so as long as there were no accidents, exercising was something he did every day. Although killing zombies might lead to faster improvement, as killing zombies directly increases the HP bar, with the increase in the HP bar also bringing about a slight improvement in physical conditioning. However, killing zombies was too dangerous, with the possibility of an accident occurring. Besides, Wang Tao was not an engine that could keep killing zombies all the time; there had to be time for rest and meals. Thus, both killing zombies and exercising were non-negotiable. Both were essential, and both had to be strong. After working out, Wang Tao took a quick shower, then turned off all the lights in the house. He went to the window and parted the thick curtains. Light could attract zombies. Although Wang Tao lived on the fifth floor, when it came to safety, he never let his guard down. The weather tonight was nice; even though the moon was not visible, the sky was filled with stars. Under the starlight, Wang Tao could roughly see the situation in the yard, where he could see the zombies wandering. ¡°Huh~¡± Wang Tao was not sure if it was an illusion, but he always felt that the zombies seemed to have more energy at night than during the day? After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao took a small metal fragment, took a deep breath, and threw it with all his might down to the opposite building below, where there were three zombies. Clang~ ¡°Hehe¡ª¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Instantly, the three zombies near the metal fragment went into a frenzy, emitting a series of chilling roars, and began to wildly run around near where the fragment landed. With their agility, who would have thought they were the same zombies from during the day? If someone had said they were athletes, Wang Tao would have believed it. Other zombies in the yard began to move towards those three frenzied ones. Although their speed was not as fast as the frenzied zombies, it was still much quicker than the sluggish pace during the day. ¡°The agile zombies I saw last night were not some mutant variant; it must have been them!¡± ¡°Perhaps¡­ zombies are different during the day and at night!¡± ¡°They are slow and stiff during the day, but at night, they become faster, more likely to frenzy, and more agile! No wonder it¡¯s said they prefer dark places!¡± ¡°Just not sure if there are other differences¡­¡± ¡°In any case, zombies are more terrifying at night! Don¡¯t go out after dark!¡± Chapter 19 - 19 Chapter 19 Power Outage_1 19 Chapter 19 Power Outage_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡± The next morning, while Wang Tao was still sleeping, gentle knocking sounds came from outside. He woke up instantly, quickly grabbed a steel pipe, and went to the door to peep through the peephole, only to find Ding Yuqin there. Ding Yuqin¡¯s face looked somewhat panicked, but she didn¡¯t seem to be injured. Wang Tao opened the door. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, sister-in-law?¡± ¡°Wang Tao, the power¡¯s gone out! It just went out!¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice carried a hint of sobbing. ¡°The power¡¯s out? Don¡¯t panic, come in and we¡¯ll talk.¡± After letting her in, Wang Tao casually pressed the living room light switch by the door, but there was no reaction. He went outside to check the electricity meter, which hadn¡¯t tripped. As expected, what was bound to come had come! When Wang Tao had found that all network signals had disappeared, he had already anticipated the blackout. However, when the day actually arrived, he still felt somewhat saddened. He wasn¡¯t saddened by the blackout itself but by what it signified behind the scenes¡ªthe Government had probably lost complete control, and rescue might never come! Truthfully, even though Wang Tao felt he had the ability to survive the apocalypse, he definitely still hoped to be rescued. After all, humans are sociable animals. Occasional solitude might be a form of enjoyment, but a lifetime of it would probably drive one mad sooner or later. Moreover, an orderly society is certainly better than a chaotic one. Aside from a few individuals, most people prefer to live in a peaceful society. Ding Yuqin obviously understood these things, which was why she was so frantic. But talking about this now was of no use. Making the most of the present was what mattered most. Wang Tao comforted Ding Yuqin by saying: ¡°We¡¯re actually in a relatively good situation here. When the virus first broke out, many places lost power immediately. Perhaps it¡¯s because our area uses hydroelectric power that we were able to last seven days. We¡¯ve actually made a profit!¡± This consolation seemed to be of little use to Ding Yuqin. For her, waiting for Government rescue was the belief that kept her going. Without it, how could a frail woman like her continue to survive in the apocalypse¡­ Ding Yuqin¡¯s expression was one of fear and confusion. Suddenly, Wang Tao said: ¡°Sister-in-law, go to my room and check if my power banks have any charge.¡± He had previously scoured other apartments, and the power banks he found had already been fully charged. Asking Ding Yuqin to check them was a way to divert her attention. ¡°Ah? Alright, sure!¡± Ding Yuqin subconsciously agreed. However, as she entered the room, she suddenly turned to look at Wang Tao, with a glimmer of hope reappearing in her eyes. She wasn¡¯t alone now, and there was a chance she could survive¡ªif Wang Tao was willing to help her¡­ Wang Tao went to the corner of the living room, where the outdoor power supply he had scavenged before was charging. He checked and saw that it was fully charged. Those small power banks were not very useful to Wang Tao for the time being. But this ¡°big power bank¡± was quite useful¡ªit could power the fridge and ensure the food inside wouldn¡¯t spoil. His small fridge didn¡¯t consume much power, maybe about half a kilowatt-hour a day. The outdoor power supply had five kilowatt-hours, which should last about a week and temporarily serve as an emergency solution. But what to do afterwards¡­ Although he had a diesel generator downstairs, he had no diesel fuel. ¡°I¡¯ll have to go out and look for supplies!¡± Wang Tao frowned. The nearest gas station seemed to be two or three kilometers away. If he drove, he could probably get there in a few minutes. But a car made noise and would definitely attract zombies. And whether the roads were passable was another issue. He didn¡¯t know about other places, but just the streets outside were cluttered with stationary cars, zombies, and even collapsed buildings. It was impossible to drive a car in such conditions. If he walked, it would be quite far. With so many zombies along the way, it would be easy to go and never return¡­ As for electric motorcycles or bicycles, they might be an option. They were relatively quiet, demanded less of the road surface than cars, and still offered a decent speed. But this was akin to using flesh to shield against iron; if they were ever surrounded by zombies, death was the only outcome. Moreover, he didn¡¯t have an electric bicycle. When the apocalypse erupted on a workday, all the working people were commuting on their electric bicycles, and it was uncertain if there were any left downstairs¡­ Wait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly remembered, before the end of the world, he saw Boss Li from the small restaurant downstairs filling up his vehicle with diesel, and his vehicle was a diesel pickup truck! ¡°Maybe, I don¡¯t have to run that far!¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat exhilarated. He decided that after clearing out all the zombies in this building, he would check out the small restaurant. If there was diesel, that would be best. If not, he could still stock up on supplies, so the trip wouldn¡¯t be wasted¡­ ¡°Wang Tao, all the power banks are fully charged!¡± Ding Yuqin came out holding a pile of power banks. ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then suddenly as if he thought of something, he quickly went to the bathroom and turned on the tap. Whoosh¡ªthe water was still running, but who knew when it would stop. ¡°I estimate the water will stop soon. Come with me to fill up containers with water from the other rooms!¡± He had already started storing water in his own home, but the other few rooms he had scavenged didn¡¯t have any. Water is the source of life, and while they could get by without electricity, without water, they wouldn¡¯t survive. ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded nervously. Since the apocalypse, the furthest she had walked was to Wang Tao¡¯s room. Although the zombies in the corridor had been dealt with by Wang Tao, she was still somewhat scared. Wang Tao took out several packets of instant noodles and tossed one to Ding Yuqin. ¡°There¡¯s no time for breakfast, just make do with this. It doesn¡¯t count as your pay for today.¡± He needed to get his sister-in-law to work later, so it was best to replenish her energy first. ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Ding Yuqin hurriedly expressed her gratitude. After hastily eating a few bites with the boiled water, Wang Tao started to put on his gear. Although the building was temporarily safe, there were still a few rooms with zombies not yet cleared out, so he couldn¡¯t be careless. Since the books on his body, arms, and calves all needed to be strapped on with tape, the process was slow. Seeing this, Ding Yuqin quickly came over to help. During the process, Ding Yuqin unavoidably touched Wang Tao¡¯s muscles, causing her to gasp in surprise. So big, so hard¡­ Could such muscles really be developed by a human? Ding Yuqin had not liked muscular men before, especially since Wang Tao had a terrifying scar on his face, making him look like a villain from the TV shows, which was frightening. But now, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s tall and imposing figure standing beside her, feeling the slight warmth emanating from his body, she suddenly had an indescribable sense of security! This sense of security, she had never felt it from any other man, including her husband¡­ ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao, noticing Ding Yuqin staring at him, asked curiously. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s nothing!¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face warmed up, and she quickly looked away. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to room 602 upstairs first. Then to 301 and 201¡­¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Chapter 20 - 20 Chapter 20 Impotent Rage_1 20 Chapter 20 Impotent Rage_1 Translator: 549690339 The two of them came to room 602 and searched everywhere, taking all the usable containers to gather water. There wasn¡¯t time to wait for the water to fill up, so Wang Tao took Ding Yuqin back downstairs to other rooms. He also took the opportunity to remind the bald uncle. The bald uncle was also a smart man, already collecting water, but he still expressed his gratitude for Wang Tao¡¯s reminder. After being busy all morning, they finally managed to fill up all the containers in these empty apartments with water. Wang Tao was ready to take Ding Yuqin back to cook. ¡°Ah! Suddenly, I remember I haven¡¯t stored water in my house¡­¡± Ding Yuqin suddenly slapped her forehead, looking somewhat embarrassed. ¡°¡­Then let¡¯s go to your place first; we can cook later.¡± Actually, Wang Tao had forgotten as well. ¡°Thank you!¡± Coming out of 201, when they got to the fourth floor, Wang Tao suddenly heard some noise from room 401. Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak, while Ding Yuqin instinctively hid behind him, nervously clutching the corner of his clothes. She didn¡¯t know there were survivors inside; she thought they were zombies. Wang Tao made a hushing gesture and then went to the front of room 401 to listen closely. He faintly heard a man¡¯s voice inside cursing under his breath, complaining about the power outage that caused him to be unable to play his games, but as he cursed, he began to cry. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Is electricity really the focus right now? It should be how to survive from now on! Ding Yuqin obviously heard the voice inside too but, unlike Wang Tao¡¯s bafflement, she could somewhat understand why the person would be addicted to gaming. It wasn¡¯t because the games were so much fun, but because he had already given up hope. He didn¡¯t want to face this world of despair; he was escaping reality. ¡°If I didn¡¯t have Wang Tao, maybe I¡¯d be the same¡­¡± Ding Yuqin felt a bit relieved in her heart. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. After all, it was someone else¡¯s affair, and he didn¡¯t want to meddle too much. Reaching the fifth floor, Ding Yuqin invited Wang Tao into her apartment. ¡°It¡¯s a bit messy inside¡­¡± Ding Yuqin was slightly embarrassed. This was Wang Tao¡¯s first visit to her place. Ding Yuqin¡¯s apartment had the same layout as the one upstairs, 602, with three bedrooms and two living rooms. However, her home was decorated more cozily and felt more lived-in. The ¡°mess¡± she referred to was the pile of filmmaking props in the living room. ¡°These are all from Brother Zhao¡¯s work; he doesn¡¯t let me tidy them up¡­ Don¡¯t mind the mess in the house.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not much different from my place.¡± Wang Tao smiled and shook his head; if it weren¡¯t for Ding Yuqin¡¯s help, his place would be even messier. ¡°Let¡¯s get water first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After being busy for a while and preparing all the usable containers, with all the taps open, Ding Yuqin said to Wang Tao: ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ll watch over it. It will take a while to fill up the bathtub with water. You can sit for a bit¡­¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded in agreement, but didn¡¯t sit down; instead, he walked around her apartment. Her living room was spacious with excellent natural lighting. A huge picture frame hung on the wall above the sofa. In the photo, a woman in a white bridal gown intimately held the arm of the man beside her, her face beaming with joy. The man in formal attire gazed at the woman with deep affection, his eyes tender as water¡­ Under the bright sunshine, they seemed to be glowing. The people on top were indeed Ding Yuqin and her husband Zhao Yuan. Next to the sofa, there was a floor-standing coat rack with a pure white strapless wedding dress hanging on it. This was the same style as the one Ding Yuqin wore in her wedding photos, or perhaps it was the very same dress. It was normal for wealthy people to purchase their favorite wedding dresses. Wang Tao glanced at the photo and then at the wedding dress. It was said that those with smaller busts couldn¡¯t pull off this type of wedding dress, and he always felt that some parts of Ding Yuqin in the picture had traces of photoshopping. Unfortunately, he had no way to prove it. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ll get you a glass of water!¡± Ding Yuqin came out of the bathroom; she felt it was inappropriate to invite Wang Tao into her home without offering even a glass of water. Although it was the apocalypse, it was still early days, and she retained the courtesy she had before. By the time Ding Yuqin came over with a glass of water, Wang Tao suddenly asked: ¡°Brother Zhao had contacted you earlier, hadn¡¯t he? How is he doing now?¡± ¡°He¡­ I¡¯m afraid his chances are slim.¡± Talking about her husband, Ding Yuqin¡¯s face instantly showed a hint of sorrow. ¡°He went to the film city for work early that day. After the virus outbreak, he kept sending me messages, asking me to hold on for rescue. But the day before the network went down, he stopped messaging. No matter how I messaged him, he wouldn¡¯t reply¡­ sob sob¡­¡± As she spoke of her sorrow, Ding Yuqin covered her face and cried. ¡°Brother Zhao is blessed by the heavens, and perhaps he is safe now. Maybe he¡¯s not replying because his phone¡¯s battery has died. Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry too much¡­¡± Wang Tao consoled her. ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s impossible. He told me at that time that he had borrowed a power bank, look, if you don¡¯t believe me¡­¡± Ding Yuqin, while dabbing her tears, picked up her phone from the table. Though the internet was down now, the chat software still revealed the local chat history. However, after flipping to the chat history, she suddenly blushed and put her phone away. ¡°Ahem, the records were deleted¡­ um, I¡¯ll go check if the water is filled.¡± Ding Yuqin wiped her tears and quickly left with her pink and white sneakers. She was obviously lying, but Wang Tao thought it might be because she had some private messages with Zhao Yuan that she didn¡¯t want outsiders to see, so he didn¡¯t mind. But in reality, in the chat history between Ding Yuqin and Zhao Yuan, Zhao Yuan had said some things about Wang Tao that weren¡¯t very nice, and Ding Yuqin dared not show them to Wang Tao. Otherwise, if Wang Tao got upset and stopped looking after her, she could only wait to die¡­ When the apocalypse arrived, Zhao Yuan couldn¡¯t make it back, so all he could do was comfort Ding Yuqin while trying to figure something out. Then Zhao Yuan heard from other survivors that Wang Tao was at home. In terms of physical fitness, men definitely had an advantage over women. In a chaotic environment, having a man around was certainly more convenient, especially someone like Wang Tao who was strong and imposing. The couple, Zhao Yuan and Ding Yuqin, were neighbors with Wang Tao. Although their relationship with Wang Tao wasn¡¯t particularly close, it was at least not bad. So, Zhao Yuan messaged Wang Tao, hoping that Wang Tao could take care of Ding Yuqin. After the chaos subsided, he would definitely thank Wang Tao. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t reply to any messages. At the time of the apocalypse, a saying was circulating in some small circles: the better one¡¯s physical condition, the less likely they were to become infected with the virus; the worse one¡¯s physical condition, the more susceptible they were to infection. Wang Tao also saw this baseless claim online later, and he didn¡¯t agree with it. Instead, he felt it was an excuse concocted by some people who wanted to abandon the weak and the vulnerable. But it didn¡¯t matter if he believed it or not, others did. For example, Zhao Yuan believed it. Therefore, Zhao Yuan suspected that Wang Tao was deliberately not replying to his messages and didn¡¯t want to help his wife. Of course, suspicion was just suspicion; Zhao Yuan continued to message Wang Tao courteously. But in his chats with Ding Yuqin, Zhao Yuan cursed Wang Tao, complaining about all the bad things Wang Tao had done and threatening to make Wang Tao pay in the future. This was actually a display of impotent rage. Zhao Yuan loved his wife dearly and didn¡¯t want her to get hurt. But sadly, he was powerless. Chapter 21 - 21 Chapter 21 Clean-up_1 21 Chapter 21 Clean-up_1 Translator: 549690339 Zhao Yuan had come up with an idea at the time¡ªhe called Wang Tao and then had Ding Yuqin listen for any noise coming from Wang Tao¡¯s apartment. Zombies are very sensitive to sounds, and if there were zombies in Wang Tao¡¯s room, they would definitely make a lot of noise! Even if Wang Tao¡¯s phone was on vibrate, at such a close distance, it wouldn¡¯t escape the hearing of the zombies. At that time, the zombie in apartment 602 had not left yet, and Ding Yuqin did not know there was a zombie just outside in the corridor. She didn¡¯t dare to go out, only stealthily cracking open the door to listen, and heard indeed that there was no noise coming from Wang Tao¡¯s place. This indirectly proved Zhao Yuan¡¯s guess¡ªWang Tao did not want to help her. Ding Yuqin¡¯s previous impression of Wang Tao wasn¡¯t bad, but it wasn¡¯t good either. They didn¡¯t interact much, at most exchanging polite greetings when they saw each other. But under these ¡°real circumstances¡± and Zhao Yuan¡¯s exaggeration, her view of Wang Tao had turned quite negative¡­ Thus, she decided then and there to drop the idea of asking Wang Tao for help. However, it was uncertain whether it should be said that Ding Yuqin was lucky or that Zhao Yuan had saved her life. If she had actually gone to find Wang Tao at that time, and Wang Tao was unconscious and unable to open the door, Ding Yuqin would likely have attracted the zombies from upstairs. With her frail arms and legs, the outcome would likely have been very grim¡­ And then, a few days later, when she could no longer endure her hunger, and coincidentally witnessed Wang Tao leaving his apartment and killing zombies¡­ she decided to try and see if she could borrow some food from him. It turned out that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t as bad as her husband had described¡­ ¡­ After waiting for a while and nearly filling up her water supply, Ding Yuqin came out of the bathroom. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve finished collecting water at my place. Oh, and take a look here to see if there¡¯s anything you can use. If it¡¯s useful to you, just take it¡­¡± Help should be mutual; one can¡¯t always expect others to give. Ding Yuqin knew she couldn¡¯t be of much help to Wang Tao, so she just let him see if there was anything in her home that he could use. Wang Tao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. Zhao Yuan had quite a few gadgets, and a careful look might reveal something useful. ¡°Huh?¡± After rummaging a bit, he actually found something good. ¡°Binoculars!¡± It was a pair of binoculars, marked with 10*50, indicating a 50 mm diameter lens and a magnification of 10 times. Ten times magnification binoculars¡ªwhat a great find! They might not be needed immediately, but could be very useful later. ¡°I hadn¡¯t noticed his binoculars were here. You can take them if you need them, as I won¡¯t be using them anyway¡­¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face showed a trace of happiness as she watched Wang Tao hold the binoculars with great affection. She wasn¡¯t afraid of Wang Tao taking her things, she was afraid that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t find anything of interest! ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t be polite.¡± Wang Tao accepted them right away. They didn¡¯t find anything else useful after that, so they both returned to Wang Tao¡¯s apartment. Ding Yuqin started cooking, while Wang Tao lifted the curtains, took out the newly acquired binoculars, and observed the scene outside the window. This was an old community with a maximum of six floors. Fortunately, there weren¡¯t many tall buildings nearby, so the binoculars could still see quite far. After looking around, Wang Tao¡¯s expression was very serious. He suddenly realized that his Happy Community seemed to be relatively lucky? In other communities, either a group of zombies surrounded the buildings, with zombies entering and exiting freely, or there were small-scale explosions, leaving behind a scene of ruins¡­ But Wang Tao also noticed some patterns¡ªplaces that seemed to be hit harder were areas with more people, especially a plaza in the distance. The dense crowd was enough to make one¡¯s scalp tingle¡­ The situation in their Happy Community was not as severe as in other communities, perhaps because there were fewer residents, and many people had gone out to work at the time. In the apocalypse, luck is also very important. The scenes outside also intensified the urgency in Wang Tao¡¯s heart. Considering the zombies he had killed in room 201 earlier, zombies could become stronger too! The female zombie that had eaten people had its HP increase by 10! On top of that, if he could become stronger through training, it was not impossible that zombies might have other ways to strengthen themselves as well¡­ ¡°I need to hurry up and clear out the zombies in this building!¡± Wang Tao planned to head to apartment 601 that afternoon to take care of those two zombies. If he could also clear the zombies in apartments 101 and 102 tomorrow, the whole building would be thoroughly secure, and he could then figure out how to look for diesel outside the community at the small restaurant! Today¡¯s lunch was not as lavish as yesterday¡¯s, but the portion was still substantial. After dinner, he rested for a while. When Ding Yuqin finished washing the dishes and had cleaned up the house, Wang Tao asked her to help him put on his gear. ¡°Wang Tao, what are you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m going up for a bit. Lock the door after you go back.¡± ¡°Are you going to 601?¡± A hint of worry showed on Ding Yuqin¡¯s face¡ªafter all, there were two zombies in 601! ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to clear out 601. Don¡¯t come out.¡± Wang Tao felt that there was a high probability he could handle the two zombies upstairs, but he didn¡¯t dismiss the possibility of a zombie running out. After all, accidents happen. ¡°I understand! Be, be careful!¡± Ding Yuqin was genuinely worried for Wang Tao; after all, he was the only one she could rely on now. ¡°I will.¡± Wang Tao nodded. With Ding Yuqin¡¯s help, he quickly got dressed in his equipment. He picked up his homemade steel pipe long-handled sheep¡¯s horn hammer and left the room with Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin returned to her room, and after seeing that she had locked the door, Wang Tao strode towards room 601. The room belonged to a middle-aged couple, who had surely turned. Wang Tao had even heard two roars coming from inside the room when he went upstairs before. Although there were two zombies inside, Wang Tao was not the same as he had been before. The increase in strength was secondary; it was mainly the experience that counted. Having killed several zombies face-to-face, he already had some experience. Wang Tao fiddled with his lock-picking tools for a while, and with a click, he opened the security door. He then took a deep breath, raised his horned hammer slightly with his right hand, and with a swift pull with his left hand¡ª Clatter¡ª The security door opened. At the doorway, there stood a contorted figure. Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect a zombie to be right at the door, and perhaps the zombie didn¡¯t anticipate someone suddenly coming in either. Both were momentarily stunned. But Wang Tao reacted faster. With one hand gripping the long-handled sheep¡¯s horn hammer, he put the strength of his arm, waist, and thighs into action, swinging fiercely at the zombie¡¯s head! Bang! A crisp sound. The zombie¡¯s head reeled back from Wang Tao¡¯s blow, stumbling two steps back, with a number [-136] popping up. [364/500] Wang Tao pressed his attack, stepping forward and swinging the hammer once more. Bang! [-127] [237/500] This hammer strike twisted its face completely, causing it to stagger another step back. Then Wang Tao gripped the hammer with both hands, raised it high, and smashed the ¡°sheep¡¯s horn¡± down on the zombie¡¯s crown. Splurt! Black blood splashed. Wang Tao felt like he had just smashed a jar filled with soft mud. [-237] [0/500] Three hammer strikes¡ªzombie killed instantly! Chapter 22 - 22 Chapter 22 Shouting Until Hoarse_1 22 Chapter 22 Shouting Until Hoarse_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°` That¡¯s it? Killed in three hits? Truth be told, Wang Tao was also somewhat surprised. With the enhancement of his own strength, increasing experience, and the amplification of his weapons¡­ It wasn¡¯t that the enemy was too weak, but that his side was too strong! There was no time to check the spoils; he quickly surveyed his surroundings, but he didn¡¯t spot any other zombies. ¡°Where¡¯s the other one?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly; he was sure he had heard there were two zombies in this room before! Zombies don¡¯t usually attack each other, at least Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen it happen so far. So, unless that zombie jumped out the window, it had to be still in the house! Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to search; though he had seemingly wielded his hammer effortlessly three times, each strike had been with full power, draining some of his energy. Since there was no immediate danger, he could catch his breath for a moment. A few seconds later, Wang Tao cautiously made his way to the bathroom. This house had the same layout as Wang Tao¡¯s own, with two bedrooms, a living room, and one bathroom. The doors to both bedrooms were open, but the bathroom door was closed. Wang Tao felt there might be something in the bathroom. He tiptoed to the door and then kicked it open abruptly. Bang! ¡°Huh? Nothing?¡± Seeing the bathroom empty, Wang Tao was taken aback. After confirming there was nothing in the bathroom, Wang Tao then checked the kitchen, which also turned out to be empty. Could it be in one of those bedrooms? Wang Tao glanced at the doorways of both bedrooms, but there were no zombies in sight. ¡°How strange¡­¡± He took another look at the doors and windows, which were all tightly closed, not looking like anything had gone out. There were no bloodstains or signs of struggle in the room¡­ ¡°Could I have misheard earlier?¡± Wang Tao started to doubt himself, but quickly discarded the thought. He was someone who trusted his own senses; two zombies meant two zombies, and he most likely hadn¡¯t misheard! ¡°Let¡¯s see where you¡¯re hiding¡­¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath and then moved on to the second bedroom. The second bedroom, apart from a bed, had only a simple cloth wardrobe. The zipper of the wardrobe was open, obviously it couldn¡¯t hide a zombie. He then grabbed his weapon tightly and peered under the bed. Nothing was there either. After confirming that the second bedroom was clear, Wang Tao entered the master bedroom, which was also devoid of any zombie beneath the bed. Then Wang Tao stood up and turned his attention to the wardrobe in the master bedroom. The master bedroom was much larger than the second and had a row of built-in wardrobes against the wall, with a total of more than a dozen doors. The only place in the entire house he hadn¡¯t yet searched was this large wardrobe; unless the zombie had truly opened the window and jumped out, closing the window behind it, or it had been chopped up and washed down the drain, or it had been eaten by another zombie¡­ Otherwise, Wang Tao figured it was very likely in these wardrobes. ¡°But still, these wardrobes aren¡¯t big; there are partitions in the middle. Would a zombie really run inside and even close the door behind it? That intelligent?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. His right hand gripped the weapon tightly while his left hand casually opened the first wardrobe door. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± The moment Wang Tao opened the first wardrobe door, a small-framed zombie, curled up inside the wardrobe, suddenly lunged out. Wang Tao was startled. He swung his hammer instinctively but missed. He was knocked down onto the floor by the zombie¡¯s force, his weapon flying from his grasp. [-5] [130/135] The zombie pinned Wang Tao¡¯s limbs down, rendering him immobile in the shape of a cross on the bed. Then it opened its mouth wide, emitting a stench of decay, and its saliva-dripping teeth moved towards Wang Tao¡¯s neck. ¡°Get off!¡± On the verge of an intimate encounter with the female zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s forehead veins bulged, his biceps swelled rapidly, and with all his might holding back the zombie¡¯s force, he swung his right fist fiercely. ¡°` ¡°Your breath stinks!¡± Bang! His punch landed viciously on the zombie¡¯s face, snapping its head to the side. [-23 HP] [467/500 HP] The zombie seemed stunned by the blow, and its grip restraining Wang Tao weakened significantly. Wang Tao seized the moment to raise his right foot and press it against the zombie¡¯s chest, then pushed with both arms and legs, flinging it towards the doorway. Bang! The zombie was smashed against the doorframe by Wang Tao. [-4 HP] [463/500 HP] The strike didn¡¯t do much damage to the zombie, but it allowed Wang Tao to finally break free from its grasp. Without even bothering to pick up his weapons, Wang Tao stepped over to the doorway, then coiled tension into his right leg and delivered a forceful kick to the zombie, which was still down on the ground and hadn¡¯t gotten up. Bang¡ª The kick sent the zombie skimming across the floor, flying from the room into the living room, shattering two wooden dining chairs in the process. Wang Tao followed up on his victory, leaping into the air near the zombie, his hair nearly grazing the ceiling before he came crashing down harshly on top of the zombie. Crack! His climbing boots landed on the zombie¡¯s knees, a crisp sound of bone snapping filling the air. The zombie¡¯s knees were completely crushed! The zombie that was attempting to rise fell to the ground once more. [-86 HP] [377/500 HP] Wang Tao had intended to stomp its head, but he wasn¡¯t sure if he could crush the zombie¡¯s skull; if it was too hard and caused him to fall, that would be troublesome. So, Wang Tao changed his mind at the last moment, targeting its legs instead. As it turned out, this was effective. The zombie¡¯s HP bar shrank by a noticeable amount! And that wasn¡¯t even the most important part; it appeared the zombie couldn¡¯t get up anymore! They have no sense of pain; a broken arm or leg would be a fatal injury for a normal person, but for a zombie, it¡¯s not lethal. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t counting on it to kill the zombie; he was just hoping the broken legs would hinder its mobility! And it looked like it was indeed effective! Perhaps the zombie still retained some human instincts, like bipedal walking, so when its kneecaps were shattered, it couldn¡¯t stand up at all! This outcome excited Wang Tao because it meant that, in the future, targeting the limbs could be a viable method for killing zombies. After all, a zombie¡¯s limbs aren¡¯t as tough as its head, and while their necks are a weak spot, it¡¯s not easy to hit for most people. So, if survivors were smart, they could potentially chop off the legs to restrict the movements of a zombie and then finish it off completely! While his mind was racing with thoughts, Wang Tao¡¯s actions didn¡¯t stop. With the zombie down and unable to rise, it was essentially a live target. Wang Tao showed no mercy, stomping down hard and deforming its arms. [-34 HP] [-32 HP] [311/500 HP] Looking at the zombie with all its limbs broken, yet still baring its teeth at him, a cruel smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face masked behind the visor. He had been quite frightened just moments before. This grudge, he had to avenge! Moreover, he wanted to take this rare opportunity to test his damage ability. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± This female zombie seemed to sense its impending fate and let out an angry roar. Wang Tao clenched his fists and then said fiercely, ¡°Keep screaming, even if you scream your throat raw, it¡¯s no use!¡± Chapter 23 - 23 Chapter 23 Stealth Potion_1 23 Chapter 23 Stealth Potion_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°` Bang! Swipe! Thud! Crack! Clang! ¡­ ¡°Heh¡­¡± Looking at the sliver of HP bar above the zombie¡¯s head, Wang Tao stomped down hard. Splat! Its head burst like a watermelon under his foot. [-35] [0/500] ¡°Phew~¡± Torturing zombies was also a matter of skill¡ªnot real torture, of course. It was just Wang Tao wanting to see how much damage his various attacks would inflict on a zombie. He had never had the chance to try this before, and now that he did, he certainly wasn¡¯t going to miss out. After trying for about an hour, he had finally understood many things that had previously eluded him. For instance, mutilating attacks, such as severing limbs, only caused damage once. If one kept attacking parts other than the head, it wouldn¡¯t inflict any additional damage¡­ For instance, a zombie¡¯s fatal weak spot was its head. Attacking any other part wouldn¡¯t kill it! Even if you chopped its neck off and it was left with just a head, that head would still be alive¡­ For instance, a zombie¡¯s HP bar was related to the hardness of its head. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t kill a full HP zombie with one stomp, but he could easily burst the head of one with a sliver of HP¡­ For instance, although zombies didn¡¯t fear pain, they were still susceptible to negative statuses like Dizziness. Of course, it might not be Dizziness, but something more akin to the rigidity found in games. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too sure about the specifics; he just needed to know that landing a heavy blow on a zombie¡¯s head would cause it to pause briefly. Moreover, Wang Tao was thrilled to discover that zombies were afraid of fire! When he attacked zombies with other tools, they were unfazed. But when he prodded a zombie with a burning stick, it actually struggled on the ground trying to back away! When he directly burned it with fire, its HP dropped quickly. This was an important piece of news! Of course, the smaller the sample, the greater the margin of error. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t guarantee that all zombies were afraid of fire, but the mere possibility that some were was definitely exhilarating news! Whether zombies killed by fire would drop items was something Wang Tao was unclear on, as he hadn¡¯t wanted to waste the chance to experiment and would have to wait for another opportunity. Besides that, Wang Tao also experimented with many things, such as the damage caused by attacks on different parts of a zombie, the approximate range of a zombie¡¯s Perception, the extent to which a zombie¡¯s vision had degenerated, and so on. Wang Tao now had a rough idea about these things; although not necessarily accurate, they were still somewhat useful. If need be, he could always find another chance like this one to experiment more. As for this particularly crafty zombie¡­ Wang Tao speculated that zombies were capable of evolution¡ªthe zombie from room 201 had a higher HP bar than the others and must have evolved by consuming humans! However, Wang Tao also felt that zombie evolution wasn¡¯t limited to gaining HP by eating humans; it could include ordinary zombies evolving into stealthy kinds like this one. After all, when Wang Tao first arrived, he had indeed heard two zombies inside. It was highly probable that the female zombie had evolved later on¡­ After feeling around the bodies of the two zombies in the room, Wang Tao pushed them both out the window. Bang, bang¡ª¡ª The sound of them hitting the ground attracted some zombies to surround the area, but upon realizing they were their own kind, the zombies slowly dispersed. Ignoring the black blood all over the ground, he sat on the sofa and rested for a while before finally turning his attention to the loot from the zombies he had just killed. Both zombies had 500 drops of HP, seemingly similar in strength. But in reality, they were very different! The male zombie in this house was just an ordinary one with 500 HP. ¡°` And this female zombie, Wang Tao suspected that she might have undergone a secondary mutation or something of the sort. Although her HP hadn¡¯t increased, she had learned to hide! Normally speaking, even if a zombie stayed in one place without moving, it certainly wouldn¡¯t close the door, right? Yet this female zombie had learned to close the door and lie in wait for her prey. If it hadn¡¯t been for Wang Tao¡¯s strength, anyone else coming here might have fallen into the trap! So you see, even though the HP was the same, this female zombie was much more dangerous than that male one! After all, a normal survivor, having killed a zombie and seeing no other zombies at home, would certainly let their guard down. When they relaxed and opened the cabinet, they would most likely be ambushed. And indeed, the HP gained from killing these two zombies confirmed Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts. The male zombie was an ordinary one, giving Wang Tao only 5 drops of HP, while the female zombie gave Wang Tao a whole 20 drops of HP! Wang Tao¡¯s total HP had now reached [150/155]! ¡°Kill a few more and I can break through to 200 HP. Next goal, 200 HP!¡± After setting a small goal for himself, Wang Tao looked at the loot from the two zombies. Ordinary loot wasn¡¯t worth mentioning¡ªjust a wallet, a lighter, a platinum necklace, two watches, and two mobile phones. The focus was the items dropped by the zombies upon death. The male zombie dropped a small box of screws. [Acquired: Screw x1] [Screw: Crafting Material] It was still a crafting material, this time screws he hadn¡¯t obtained before. With this screw, Wang Tao now had four types of crafting materials. There were Gear x1, Iron Block x1, Steel Wire x1, and now Screw x1. He wondered what he could craft with these items¡­ As for what the female zombie dropped, it first made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up, and then he felt a wave of disappointment. [Acquired: Stealth Potion (Small)] [Stealth Potion (Small): After injection, it can conceal one¡¯s presence, making it difficult for humans to detect. Duration: 1 hour, cooldown: 12 hours. Friendly Tip: For best results, use at night.] This was a pen-sized, semi-transparent disposable needle-free syringe, allowing one to see the green liquid inside, with the words ¡°Stealth Small¡± written on the exterior. When he saw the Stealth Potion, Wang Tao was excited. Following the patterns of some games, anything with ¡®stealth¡¯ in its name was a good item for avoiding detection by monsters. But after reading the explanation, Wang Tao felt his vision darken. Not easily detected by other humans? He didn¡¯t need to hide from people right now! And how could he hide from human perception? Could he avoid their hearing or vision? Humans can think and differentiate! Unless he could cover up someone¡¯s eyes, ears, and so on¡­ It felt somewhat useless. There might be some special application, but for now, Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t use it. ¡°If only there was a Stealth Potion for hiding from zombies, that would be great, but alas¡­¡± After a sigh, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but shake his head and chuckle at himself. It was good enough to have it, what¡¯s there to regret! This Stealth Potion was labeled ¡°Small,¡±, and perhaps there were also ¡°Medium¡± or ¡°Large¡± versions. Maybe there was one that could hide him from zombies. And since there was a Stealth Potion, there might be other types of potions, too! Wang Tao began to look forward even more to his ability to loot! After securing the zombies¡¯ dropped loot, Wang Tao started to scour apartment 601. The couple living here had likely mutated into zombies at the same time, there were no signs of struggle in the room, so the food was relatively well preserved, probably enough for Wang Tao to eat for half a month! But a lot of it was frozen food, and now the fridge was out of power¡­ Finding diesel fuel was urgent! Chapter 24 - 24 Chapter 24 Survivor Base News_1 24 Chapter 24 Survivor Base News_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°` Thump, thump, thump¡ª ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s me.¡± Wang Tao knocked on Ding Yuqin¡¯s door, intending to ask her to help move some things upstairs. With manpower available, he didn¡¯t want to waste it. Hearing the noise, Ding Yuqin hurried to open the door and, seeing some black blood on Wang Tao, she immediately asked with concern: ¡°Wang Tao, are you hurt?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, got lucky, almost took a bad spill.¡± The voice from under Wang Tao¡¯s mask sounded a bit muffled. It was when he had been tackled by a zombie that his wrist had felt a bit sore. But he hadn¡¯t lost much blood, which indicated that there was nothing serious. ¡°Do you want me to get the first aid kit¡­¡± Ding Yuqin sounded somewhat worried. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°No need, just help me move some stuff first.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin followed Wang Tao to room 601 and, seeing the pool of black blood at the entrance and the marks of struggle in the living room, swallowed instinctively before asking softly, ¡°Were there two zombies here?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Observing Wang Tao¡¯s silhouette, Ding Yuqin couldn¡¯t help but be amazed¡ªtwo zombies! He had taken care of both! ¡°These items are all packed up, let¡¯s move them.¡± Wang Tao pointed to the stuff on the ground. ¡°Okay!¡± Although Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t very strong, the distance wasn¡¯t far, and together they moved everything to room 501 in one trip. As they neatly sorted and arranged these supplies, Wang Tao suddenly felt that his apartment was becoming too small. Mainly because he had brought back everything that felt useful now or might be in the future, like clothes, books, electronic products, and so on. He had even started thinking about other people¡¯s furniture. Although furniture was difficult to move, it could be disassembled and taken away. After the gas supply ran out, the wood could also be used to cook¡­ While Ding Yuqin was organizing and categorizing the items, Wang Tao took a shower. A cold splash instantly sent shivers through him. After killing the zombies, his spirit was still somewhat tense, as being suddenly attacked by a crafty zombie had left him with a not insignificant psychological shadow. Now the cold water had sobered him considerably. It was just a pity that he hadn¡¯t wanted to use electricity to heat the water, which would have been more comfortable with a hot shower. During the bath, Wang Tao checked his wrist, which had a bruise, but it wasn¡¯t serious, and he expected it to heal in a couple of days. The previous bruise on his arm had already healed. After the shower, Ding Yuqin had just finished tidying up. The bruise on Wang Tao¡¯s wrist was still fairly noticeable, and Ding Yuqin spotted it immediately. Holding back her surprise this time, Ding Yuqin still asked, ¡°Wang Tao, shall I apply some medicine to your wrist? It¡¯ll heal faster with ointment!¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded, and Ding Yuqin immediately went home to fetch the first aid kit. ¡°` In fact, Ding Yuqin had intended to give the medical kit to Wang Tao, but after hesitating for a moment, she refrained. It wasn¡¯t that she couldn¡¯t part with it, but she knew she didn¡¯t have much of value to offer Wang Tao. If she were to give away the medical kit as well, she¡¯d be left with truly nothing¡­ Wang Tao lay on the sofa while Ding Yuqin sat beside him, applying medicine to his wounds. The ointment felt cool and soothing as it was smeared on. Ding Yuqin, observing the muscles on Wang Tao¡¯s body, thought about offering to massage him to help him relax, as she had some knowledge in that area. But it felt somewhat inappropriate, so she didn¡¯t mention it. After applying the medicine for a while, Ding Yuqin suddenly asked, ¡°Ahem, Wang Tao, that¡­ Are you planning to go to the Survivor Base next?¡± Before the internet went down, she had seen the Government¡¯s announcement and knew about a large Survivor Base organized by the Government in Huangfeng City. She certainly wanted to go, having heard that it still maintained the semblance of a normal society, with rules and order, and that each survivor even guaranteed a minimum standard of living! To those in this post-apocalyptic world, that was nothing short of paradise! But the problem was, the Survivor Base was too far from their residential area. She simply didn¡¯t have the means to make it there¡­ So she asked Wang Tao to see if he had any plans to go and if he did, whether he could take her along. Upon hearing the question, Wang Tao pondered for a moment before replying, ¡°I¡¯m considering it, but I¡¯m not sure when to go.¡± Though at present, he was able to kill zombies and scavenge supplies, seemingly equipped to survive the apocalypse, who could predict future struggles? Moreover, Wang Tao was interested in seeing what the Survivor Base was like. If it was as good as they said, he was willing to settle there. But he certainly wouldn¡¯t go now. His current location was in Shuize County of Huangfeng City, while the Survivor Base was in Red Stone County. There was a full fifty kilometers between them. Unless he grew wings, venturing that far with his current capabilities was suicide. ¡°Ahem, if you decide to go, could you, maybe, take me with you?¡± Ding Yuqin asked with a smile, looking tentatively at Wang Tao. ¡°We¡¯ll see. It¡¯s too early to talk about this now.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly answer. And this non-committal response turned Ding Yuqin¡¯s face pale. In the world of adults, rejections are not usually so direct, often giving the other person some face. Taking into account the current situation, Wang Tao¡¯s response was clearly a refusal. After all, she couldn¡¯t kill zombies and had little strength. To Wang Tao, she was nothing but a burden; perhaps without her, he could move faster¡­ ¡°Oh¡­¡± Ding Yuqin bit her lip, confused, not knowing what to say next. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t openly refused, so she couldn¡¯t very well pester him to agree; what if he was still on the fence and her insistence pushed him to decide against taking her¡­ Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t need to prepare dinner; some leftover food from lunch, just reheated, would suffice for Wang Tao. Taking into account Ding Yuqin¡¯s help in the afternoon, Wang Tao gave her a pack of instant noodles as a bonus reward. This bonus was supposed to make Ding Yuqin happy, but she just couldn¡¯t seem to find the joy in it. Once Ding Yuqin had left, Wang Tao ate a simple meal, rested for a while, and then commenced his routine exercise. ¡°I feel like my physical condition has slightly improved after killing those two zombies today! It shouldn¡¯t be an illusion ¨C killing zombies indeed seems to incrementally enhance one¡¯s physique! While the change isn¡¯t noticeable at once or twice, I surmise that the improvement will be substantial after reaching a certain number¡­¡± After several hours of exercise, Wang Tao took a shower, and then suddenly realized that the water supply had stopped. Actually, he had noticed the water flow weakening during his shower, so the cutoff wasn¡¯t altogether unexpected. Still, he felt somewhat distressed about it, as it meant he had another task ahead ¨C finding water. Using his pre-stored water, he rinsed off the sweat, and didn¡¯t discard the used water, saving it for later toilet flushing. Then he lay in bed, turned on the radio as usual, to see if he could pick up any signals. ¡°Zzz¡­ Zzz¡­ This is Red Stone Survivor Base¡­ Zzz¡­¡± Chapter 25 - 25 Chapter 25 Fast Track in Three Days_1 25 Chapter 25 Fast Track in Three Days_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao rolled over and sat up. He went to the window and slowly turned the tuning knob of the radio. ¡°Crackle¡­ Red Stone Survivor Base¡­ crackle¡­ providing water, food¡­ crackle¡­ safe¡­ crackle¡­ repeating¡­ Red Stone Survivor Base¡­ crackle¡­¡± ¡°Red Stone Survivor Base¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself, rubbing the stubble on his chin. Judging by the name, it must be the Survivor Base in Red Stone County. According to the official announcement online prior to the incident, due to the suddenness of the event, there wasn¡¯t much time to prepare, and the plan was to build a Survivor Base in every city. Huangfeng City¡¯s Survivor Base was located in Red Stone County. The reason for selecting that location was because it housed a military force and had some defensive measures in place, which could be utilized immediately. However, during the days of the virus outbreak, there was also an infection within the military, resulting in chaos. Especially after the breakdown of communications, Wang Tao had no idea whether the base in Red Stone County still existed. Now that he had heard news of the base in Red Stone County through the radio, Wang Tao was quite pleased. If they were still broadcasting, it indicated that they must have managed to control the situation to some extent. But without hearing any news about a counterattack or rescue, it seemed they were only able to defend themselves, and that was about it¡­ In any case, this was good news. It also provided Wang Tao with motivation and a goal¡ªat least so many survivors were still alive, so how could he die first! ¡°Crackle¡­ crackle¡­¡± The radio played for a while and then went silent; he couldn¡¯t tell if it was shut down intentionally or if there was some problem. Hopefully, it was the former. After a silent prayer, Wang Tao turned on the walkie-talkie. Similar to the radio, the walkie-talkie was also switched on once every night, but while the radio had transmitted a few times, the walkie-talkie had been silent up until now. It was understandable, after all, without a relay station, the range of this kind of civilian walkie-talkie was only about two or three kilometers, so it was normal not to hear anything. However, perhaps it was his luck tonight following the news he had received on the radio, his walkie-talkie finally picked up some activity! ¡°Crackle¡­ this is¡­ crackle¡­ Shuize University¡­ Survivor Base¡­ crackle¡­ if received, please respond¡­ if received, please¡­ crackle¡­¡± Listening to the intermittent voice inside, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Shuize University was a school nearby, about five kilometers away from his Happy Community¡ªit seemed from the message that someone might have established a Survivor Base at Shuize University? Shuize University had only been built in recent years; it was situated in a rather remote location with sparse population, but it was close to Huangfeng Film City, and many students went there to work part-time. Wang Tao had visited Shuize University a few times. His impression of it was neither particularly good nor bad; it was just an ordinary school. Not far from Shuize University, there was a security force of about a dozen soldiers. If these soldiers hadn¡¯t suffered a large-scale infection or deaths, then it should have been possible for them to establish a small Survivor Base¡­ Wang Tao pressed the PTT button on the walkie-talkie. ¡°I received you, I received you.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t reveal any detailed information about himself since he didn¡¯t know the exact situation on the other side; it was better to be careful. But there was no response to what he said. ¡°Crackle¡­ Shuize University¡­ Base¡­ if received, please¡­ reply¡­ repeat¡­¡± ¡°I received you, I received you, I received you.¡± Wang Tao repeated a few times, but after waiting a while, there was still no answer from the other side. ¡°Could it be that my walkie-talkie¡¯s power is too weak?¡± Wang Tao suddenly felt a bit depressed. The principle of walkie-talkie communication can be simply understood as, centered around a person, the signal radiates outward. In the same terrain, the higher the power, the further the signal can be transmitted. The four walkie-talkies Wang Tao scavenged from Apartment 602 are all ordinary civilian models, with a communication distance of probably just two to three kilometers. The walkie-talkies from Shuize University, on the other hand, might be high-power ones, capable of communicating over five kilometers. That means their signal transmission distance is far, allowing Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie to receive it, so Wang Tao was able to hear them. But Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie signal was weak, unable to send that far, hence what he said couldn¡¯t be received by them. This was somewhat frustrating, as Wang Tao wanted to learn about the situations of other survivors. After a few more tries and confirming that communication was impossible, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Sleepy time!¡± Although he couldn¡¯t communicate through these two signals, it was still good news, at least it meant humanity hadn¡¯t been wiped out¡­ Wang Tao had his best night¡¯s sleep in days that night. The next day. Wang Tao woke up just after six, and as soon as he finished washing up, he heard a knock on the door. Upon opening the door, it was Ding Yuqin. She came to cook breakfast for Wang Tao. After a brief workout, Ding Yuqin finished cooking. Making sure Wang Tao didn¡¯t need anything else, she went back to her place. Wang Tao had not asked her to stay for breakfast, after all, they had agreed that she would only cook one meal for him. After breakfast, Wang Tao began to don his gear. He suddenly realised how slowly one dresses alone, but he was too lazy to call Ding Yuqin back. Once dressed, he went to the second floor and knocked on Apartment 202¡¯s door. ¡°Little brother, you¡¯re here! Come in quickly!¡± The bald uncle hurriedly opened the door for Wang Tao. Wang Tao had previously said he intended to learn all the locksmith¡¯s skills but hadn¡¯t had time the past two days, causing a delay. Now, having scavenged Apartment 601 and temporarily secured enough food, he planned to master all the locksmith skills before dealing with the zombies in Apartments 101 and 102. The principle of locksmith techniques was not difficult, especially with an old master teaching hands-on. It mainly depended on practice, the more one practiced, the more skilled one became. It seemed that Wang Tao indeed had a knack for it; he was a quick learner. Anyway, the bald uncle consistently praised Wang Tao for being talented, saying that it took him two weeks just to qualify. But at Wang Tao¡¯s pace, he might be ready in another two days. And indeed, as the bald uncle had said, Wang Tao spent another two days, plus the previous learning time, for a total of three days, to learn all the locksmith techniques including key duplication ¡ª he had obtained a small key duplication machine from the old master in exchange for some food. ¡°Your learning ability is too strong! I have nothing left to teach you now, it¡¯s all about practice from here. Practice is more important than theory¡­¡± The bald uncle was somewhat emotional. ¡°Haha, thanks a lot for these two days, Uncle!¡± Wang Tao laughed and expressed his thanks. Of course, he didn¡¯t just offer verbal thanks, he also gave the bald uncle quite a bit of food, which was a fair exchange. ¡°Mutual help, my man!¡± The bald uncle first smiled and then suddenly looked a bit melancholic, ¡°I hope my wife and kids can also meet someone as good as you¡­¡± In response to being given a compliment, Wang Tao didn¡¯t express any specific stance. Curious, he asked: ¡°Where is your family now?¡± The bald uncle took out a family portrait from his pocket, gently caressing it. ¡°They all went back to the countryside to visit relatives. The countryside is much safer than the city! Before the internet was cut off, my wife talked to me, she said that there were hardly any people left in their village, naturally, there were very few zombies too, so it was safe to hide at home¡­ Sigh, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever see them again¡­¡± The countryside is very safe, huh¡­Wang Tao encouraged: ¡°Of course, there¡¯s a chance!¡± Chapter 26 - 26 Chapter 26 The Difference Between Zombies and Sandbags_1 26 Chapter 26 The Difference Between Zombies and Sandbags_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Be careful!¡± Ding Yuqin straightened Wang Tao¡¯s clothes, then hugged the steel pipe hammer and another polished short steel pipe separately hanging on the left and right sides of Wang Tao¡¯s waist. These two weapon sheaths had been handcrafted by Ding Yuqin for Wang Tao over the past two days. ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, stepping out the door together with Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin returned to her own room, watching Wang Tao descend the stairs and praying for his safe return. Wang Tao approached the door of apartment 101 at a steady pace, fiddled with the lock for a moment, and with a ¡°click,¡± the lock opened. He had learned from the bald uncle that two elderly men and ladies lived in room 101, and a family of three resided in 102. Although not all of them might be at home, to be safe, it was more appropriate to start with the zombies in 101. After opening the door, Wang Tao cracked it slightly and took a quick look inside. On the living room sofa, he immediately noticed two squat but swollen figures sitting side by side, their heads bowed, faces unclear. Wang Tao took a deep breath, then strode into the room. ¡°Heh~ Heh~¡± Stirred by the noise, the two elders slowly lifted their heads, revealing a pair of pale eyes. ¡°Roar!¡± Perhaps drawn by the smell of flesh and blood, the two elderly zombies, as if activated, staggered to their feet and lurched towards Wang Tao, one after the other. It seemed that the zombies¡¯ strength after infection and mutation might be affected by their physical condition when alive? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure. But at least it affected their speed. These two elderly zombies were quite slow, their walk unsteady, as if they were about to collapse at any moment. Of course, Wang Tao did not underestimate them. Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion gives its all. Wang Tao kept his pace, approached in front of the elderly lady zombie, and swung the horned hammer with both hands. Bang! The hammer landed solidly on the right temple of the old lady zombie. [-158] [342/500] The hit made the old lady zombie¡¯s neck tilt, her body swaying. Seizing the moment, Wang Tao swung the hammer again, aiming for the old lady zombie¡¯s right eye socket. Bang! The eyeball burst apart! [-164] [178/500] Two strikes had taken away two-thirds of her HP! But by then, the old man zombie had also pounced over. If Wang Tao continued to hammer the old lady zombie, he would be attacked by the old man zombie. Without a second thought, Wang Tao swiftly turned and brought the hammer down on the old man. Bang! The hammer struck the old man zombie¡¯s chin, shearing off half of it, a blackened tongue wriggling in the gap. The old man zombie stumbled further, struggling to maintain balance and falling to the floor. [-65] [435/500] Just as the old lady zombie recovered from dizziness, she shrieked and stretched her arms towards Wang Tao. Without even looking, he lashed out with a kick. Before she could grab him, his foot struck hard against the old lady zombie¡¯s chest. Thump¡ª The old lady zombie was kicked back, slamming into the sofa. [-32] [146/500] Wang Tao quickly drew the sharpened steel pipe from the sheath on his left waist. His arm muscles bulged as he hurled the pipe from over two meters away. Thrust¡ª The steel pipe pierced directly through the forehead of the old lady zombie, pinning her against the sofa. [-146] [0/500] Seeing the opponent¡¯s HP drop to zero, Wang Tao turned to face the old man zombie getting up from the floor. Now it¡¯s your turn! Strictly speaking, this was the first time Wang Tao was facing two zombies at once. Combat like this, 1v2, was much tougher than 1v1. After all, this wasn¡¯t a game; although he had more than a hundred HP, he dared not let the zombies touch him. However, once he had dealt with one of the zombies, battling the other became much simpler. Wang Tao walked towards the old man zombie, wielding the horned hammer. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The old man zombie twisted as he struggled to get up from the ground, stretching out his right hand towards Wang Tao. Seeing the dark, sharp nails, Wang Tao quickly dodged to the left, avoiding the grasp while smashing his hammer towards the zombie¡¯s head. Thump! [-146] The hammer struck hard on the old man zombie¡¯s head, making him retreat two steps. Wang Tao closed in and swung the hammer once more. Thump! [-153] Wang Tao distinctly heard the sound of bones cracking. The old man zombie fell again! Before the old man zombie could rise, Wang Tao mustered strength in his right leg and fiercely kicked the zombie¡¯s head. Thump! [-71] The old man zombie¡¯s body spun on the floor and then crashed against the wall. [-33] A secondary injury appeared on the zombie¡¯s head from the impact with the wall. Catching his breath for a moment, Wang Tao¡¯s mouth curled up under the mask. 1v1 was indeed much easier! As the old man zombie struggled to rise once more, Wang Tao aimed at his temple and hammered down fiercely. Squish¡ª The horned hammer smashed through the skull, embedding into the head of the old man zombie. [-32] [0/500] The zombie¡¯s HP dropped to zero. Chapter 27 - 27 Chapter 27: Leeks and Molotov Cocktails_1 27 Chapter 27: Leeks and Molotov Cocktails_1 Translator: 549690339 After taking care of the two zombies, it was time for the pleasant corpse-looting phase. Both elderly zombies were quite ordinary, each contributing 5 drops of HP to Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s total HP reached 165. Next were the items they dropped. [Obtained: Alcohol x1] [Alcohol: Crafting material] [Obtained: Alcohol x1] [Alcohol: Crafting material] ¡°They both dropped the same thing?¡± With a thought from Wang Tao, a glass bottle appeared in his hand. Aside from the ¡°1L¡± marking, there were two lines of small text reading ¡°Purity 99.9%, Edible¡±. Upon seeing the word ¡®edible¡¯, Wang Tao was at first stunned, but then quickly realized what it meant. It means the alcohol was of an edible grade, not suggesting one should drink it directly. If someone were to drink this straight, it could probably be deadly¡­ As far as crafting materials go, based on what he had seen so far, this alcohol was likely to be more useful than some of the other materials. By diluting this alcohol with water in a 3:1 ratio, he could make 75% medical alcohol. Diluting it further, it could even be used for drinking, or as a fuel, so its uses were many! He stored both bottles of alcohol in the Space Backpack, then proceeded to search the bodies of the two zombies as usual. The elderly lady zombie had two gold bracelets, two silver bracelets, three gold rings, and a gold necklace. The old man zombie had a gold watch, a Large gold ring, and several Large gold teeth¡ªnoticed by Wang Tao only because its jaw was broken. ¡°These two oldies were pretty wealthy!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat astonished. As the saying goes, antiques flourish in prosperous times, and gold in times of chaos. In this apocalyptic world, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what the Survivor Bases used for trade, but gold must have some value. Since these items were compact and not a nuisance, Wang Tao stored them all, including the Large gold teeth. After searching the zombie corpses, it was time to loot the house. Thanks to the two old people becoming infected and mutating at the same time, the house was neat everywhere else except for the signs of battle left by Wang Tao, leaving the food intact. But frustratingly, their kitchen was filled with lots of rotting vegetables and fruits. Wang Tao had a rough understanding of the situation; older generations were more frugal, especially regarding their own food and clothing, always looking to save when possible. This had nothing to do with their wealth, but was rather a long-standing habit. Before the apocalypse struck, the two elderly people had stocked up on some not-so-fresh vegetables and fruits at low prices. Under normal circumstances, as long as the food that was about to spoil was eaten in advance, one wouldn¡¯t end up with spoiled food. But unfortunately, the apocalypse arrived. Without anyone to eat it, the food quickly went bad¡­ Don¡¯t even mention the vegetables and fruits piled in the kitchen, even those in the refrigerator had spoiled. The only edible thing left was a pack of garlic. ¡°This is distressing¡­¡± Wang Tao felt it was a pity to discard the spoiled food, but there was no helping it. Otherwise, if he ended up with food poisoning or something, that would spell disaster. Almost all the vegetables and fruits were a complete loss, and it seemed like the two elderly didn¡¯t eat meat, as there was none in the house. However, luckily, there was an 8-pound bag of flour, 2 pounds of eggs, and 2 pounds of dried noodles in the cupboard, which was somewhat consoling. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s this¡­¡± Leaving the kitchen, Wang Tao suddenly noticed a pile of green plants beneath the balcony in the living room. ¡°Chives?¡± Wang Tao quickly hurried over. A distorted figure suddenly appeared outside the window and started banging against the security bars. Bang, bang, bang! ¡°Shit!¡± Wang Tao was startled. Only then did he remember that this was the first floor, and there were zombies outside. Giving the zombie outside a fierce middle finger, Wang Tao quickly pulled the curtains shut. Although they couldn¡¯t get in, it was still better to be safe. Ignoring the zombie outside, Wang Tao crouched in front of these plants, a look of joy in his eyes. ¡°This is really chives, and they¡¯ve already grown!¡± These chives were grown in individual square pots, a total of twelve pots, which at a glance looked like they were planted in the ground. These were good stuff! Wang Tao was inwardly overjoyed. He had heard that chives could live for ten years? If he could preserve these chives well, wouldn¡¯t he be able to eat chives often in the future? Although the taste might not be good after a long time, in the post-apocalyptic world, having vegetables was great already, who cared about taste! Furthermore, there was another point. All the rotten vegetables and fruits didn¡¯t need to be thrown away, they could be used directly as fertilizer to nourish the chives! Wang Tao hated waste the most, and although he had felt a bit of regret before, now that he could make use of the rotting food, he felt much better. ¡°Since there are chives, let¡¯s see if there are any seeds or something¡­¡± Wang Tao immediately began rummaging around. Indeed, after spending some time, Wang Tao found 10 packets of chive seeds, 5 packets of coriander seeds, and 5 packets of white radish seeds! Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fond of coriander, at this time, there was no privilege of being picky with food. It was good to have anything at all. ¡°I¡¯ll look into it later; if there¡¯s a chance, I might plant these seeds¡­¡± He put all the seeds in his pocket, and as for the chives, he didn¡¯t rush to move them. Because while searching for the seeds, he discovered another great thing! He went into the second bedroom and saw two boxes of liquor in glass bottles. Wang Tao finally understood why the two zombies had both dropped alcohol; they liked to drink! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very fond of drinking, but this liquor was definitely a good thing, which could be used for trade in the future. And these liquor bottles were useful too. He had already experimented before, and these zombies were somewhat afraid of fire. Thus, these liquor bottles could be used to make Molotov cocktails! The manufacturing method of Molotov cocktails is actually very simple, but the main issue is that flammable materials are not easy to come by nowadays. The forty-degree liquor was definitely not suitable; he needed alcohol or gasoline or other flammable materials. Wang Tao had just acquired two bottles of alcohol, but they were the kind that could be stored in the Space Backpack. He would definitely not be willing to use them unless absolutely necessary. The most suitable might be gasoline, since there were cars outside, and the fuel tanks would definitely have gasoline. When he went out to find diesel, he could try to get some gasoline! There were six bottles in each of these two boxes of liquor, twelve in total. If he had enough gasoline, he could make twelve Molotov cocktails! And Wang Tao suddenly remembered the condiment bottles he had scoured before, which included glass bottles. At that time, he hadn¡¯t thought of using Molotov cocktails, so he forgot, but the stuff was still there. ¡°I need to collect them all, to see how many bottles there are in total¡­ This could be a massive weapon!¡± Chapter 28 - 28 Chapter 28 Plan Ahead_1 28 Chapter 28 Plan Ahead_1 Translator: 549690339 This time, scavenging in apartment 101 could be considered quite a haul. There was too much stuff, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t carry it all by himself, so he called for Ding Yuqin to help. ¡°Chives!¡± After Ding Yuqin arrived at 101, seeing those lush green chives, she immediately looked on with envy. Although there weren¡¯t many chives, it was enough for an occasional treat. She had the urge to ask Wang Tao for two pots of chives. After all, there were twelve pots; missing two wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, even one would be fine¡­ Just as Ding Yuqin was thinking about how to ask, she suddenly spotted two corpses in the corner. ¡°!¡± She instinctively hid behind Wang Tao and clamped her hand firmly over her mouth. Ding Yuqin hadn¡¯t really seen zombies before; she had only come across them on the internet before it went down. As for real life, there were some downstairs, but she didn¡¯t dare look. Besides, Wang Tao had already cleared those inside the building. But now, suddenly facing corpses with brains splattered, and inhaling that nauseating stench, her legs were about to give out¡­ Wang Tao turned back and saw Ding Yuqin¡¯s terrified face, then explained, ¡°They¡¯re dead, no need to worry.¡± The apartments on the first floor had security windows, and with zombies outside, they couldn¡¯t dispose of the two bodies, so for the time being they just had to leave them there. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± She quickly turned her head away, not daring to look any longer. The idea of wanting two pots of chives was instantly abandoned. She didn¡¯t think Wang Tao would just give away his spoils, obtained through life-threatening danger, for free. If she asked for it, she feared it might annoy Wang Tao and that would be more loss than gain¡­ After packing up the loot, Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin moved stuff back and forth three times before finally getting everything back to 501. On the way, a bald man who had heard the commotion came out to look and watched with envy. Wang Tao gave him some food. After all, the information about the number of people in apartment 101 had come from him, and it wasn¡¯t a false tip, so giving him some benefits was fair. The door to 401 cracked open as well, but before Wang Tao could get a clear look, it was shut again. He only caught a glimpse of a young man with glasses and a health bar above his head [50/100]. Wang Tao had thought about reaching out for a talk, since they were among the only four survivors in the building. But the man showed no interest in communicating, so naturally, Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother. It was already noon, and Ding Yuqin had started cooking lunch for Wang Tao, who was somewhat worried about the twelve pots of chives. There was no space left in his apartment, and chives needed ample sunlight, but his balcony was too small. If all the pots were placed there, he wouldn¡¯t get any sunlight himself. ¡°No, I need to move. There are plenty of empty apartments in this building anyway¡­¡± After some thought, Wang Tao found apartment 602 above quite nice. The layout of 602 was three bedrooms and two living rooms, much larger than his two-bedroom place and clean, making it suitable for living. The apartment directly below, 402, would be fine too, but Wang Tao felt that living higher up felt safer. Plus, he might be able to move the chives to the rooftop to grow¡­ The rooftop was accessible, where residents would go to sun their bedding, usually locked, and you would get the key from the property management when needed ¨C now it was unclear who had it. But Wang Tao knew how to pick locks and make keys, so the absence of a key wasn¡¯t a big issue. ¡°Wang Tao, lunch is ready!¡± By this time, Ding Yuqin had finished preparing lunch. ¡°Okay.¡± Lunch wasn¡¯t extravagant, as most vegetables were depleted, but there was plenty of meat. Ding Yuqin served Wang Tao a small bowl of rice before sitting down and speaking: ¡°Wang Tao, when I opened the fridge just now, I noticed that the outdoor power supply is almost out of charge¡­¡± ¡°Almost out of charge? I understand.¡± Wang Tao frowned. The meat at home needed to be preserved in the refrigerator; once there was a power outage, he would switch to the fully charged outdoor power supply to keep the fridge running. Although it was an energy-saving refrigerator that didn¡¯t use much electricity, only about one kilowatt-hour per day, the capacity of the outdoor power supply was limited. After using it for a few days, it was nearly depleted. Unless he could eat all the food that couldn¡¯t be stored at room temperature in the next few days, he would need to find diesel fuel to run the generator. Wang Tao had planned to clear out the zombies in room 102 tomorrow, since it was the last room in the building with zombies. The day after, he intended to see if he could move to another place, and then look for diesel fuel the day after that. But now he had to move up his plans¡ªclean out room 102 this afternoon! Move tonight, and go searching for diesel fuel tomorrow! In fact, Wang Tao didn¡¯t expend much physical strength killing zombies; he only went out once a day not because he was scared, but as a precaution. That way, if an unforeseen crisis arose in the future, he¡¯d be able to respond immediately. But given the current circumstances, running out of electricity was a crisis¡ªa threat to his food supply. So, he¡¯d have to take a bit of a risk¡­ After the meal, Ding Yuqin took the initiative to wash the dishes, and after finishing them, she went to wash Wang Tao¡¯s clothes as well. Wang Tao had previously told Ding Yuqin she didn¡¯t need to wash his clothes, but now that the washing machine was unusable, he wouldn¡¯t say much since she was willing to help. As for the water issue, although water was now very precious, water that wasn¡¯t circulating would spoil if left standing for too long¡­ So, they would use it as needed and find a solution when it ran out. After finishing with the clothes, Wang Tao had also rested enough. ¡°Wang Tao, are you going out again?¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat surprised since she knew Wang Tao used to go out only once a day. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll go clean out the zombies in room 102.¡± This was the last room in the building that still had zombies. Once room 102 was cleared, building number 4 could be considered completely safe. ¡°Then you must be careful!¡± Worry was written all over Ding Yuqin¡¯s face. The only time she witnessed Wang Tao fighting zombies was during his first battle, and due to the limitations of the peephole, she didn¡¯t get to see the full extent of it. So Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t very clear about just how strong Wang Tao was. But judging by the fact that Wang Tao only went out once a day before, she thought the fight with the zombies must be tough¡­ Now that Wang Tao was going out twice, it made her even more worried. ¡°I will.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. With Ding Yuqin¡¯s help, Wang Tao was quickly fully armed. He asked Ding Yuqin to go back home while he went to the outside of room 102. According to the bald Uncle, room 102 contained a family of three¡ªa couple in their thirties and a child attending elementary school. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how many zombies were inside, but he prepared assuming there were three. Click~ After fiddling with it for a while, Wang Tao unlocked the door to room 102. But as soon as he opened the door a crack, he was hit with a strong smell of blood and decay. In an instant, Wang Tao¡¯s mind assessed that a fight had taken place inside! Clutching the Long-handled Sheep¡¯s Horn Hammer in his hand, he then flung the door open with force! Chapter 29 - 29 Chapter 29 Running Potion_1 29 Chapter 29 Running Potion_1 Translator: 549690339 The living room was empty, with no zombies in sight. But the blood splattered all over the walls told Wang Tao that this place was not safe. Wang Tao quickly surveyed the area, finding the doors to all three bedrooms open, with darkened bloodstains at each entrance. He approached the living room silently and looked towards the rooms, spotting his target in the last master bedroom. In the master bedroom, a thin figure in a dirty school uniform was curled up on a blood-stained bed, back facing Wang Tao. But what first drew Wang Tao¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t the figure, but the two bloody skeletons lying beside it on the bed! Wang Tao felt a chill down his spine. The slender figure seemed to sense the movement and slowly turned its head, revealing a face with gray-white pupils, protruding veins, and a mouth full of black blood. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± [600/600] By the looks of this zombie before its death, it was that troublesome brat who had caused trouble for Wang Tao. But it had 100 more HP than the other zombies! Wang Tao gripped his horned hammer tighter. The situation had changed; there weren¡¯t three zombies here, but there was one small zombie with 600 HP! Whew¡ª Without time to think, Wang Tao took a deep breath and strode towards the zombie. ¡°Heh¡­¡± The small zombie stood up and staggered towards Wang Tao. About ten meters separated them, but Wang Tao suddenly realized that the small zombie¡¯s speed was not quite right! Despite its smaller size and shorter legs, it moved faster than the other zombies Wang Tao had seen! Wang Tao instantly stopped in his tracks, watching it cautiously. When the small zombie was about four large floor tiles away, approximately three meters, it spread its arms and suddenly lunged at Wang Tao! Whoosh¡ª Although Wang Tao was caught off guard by the small zombie¡¯s sprint, he had been wary of it. In the moment it approached, he stepped to the side, dodging it. The small zombie failed to grab him, but didn¡¯t stop moving and took a few more steps forward before coming to a halt. Then, it slowly turned around and continued towards Wang Tao. ¡°Heh¡­¡± Just like before, once it was around four large floor tiles away from Wang Tao, it opened its arms and lunged at him again. This time Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge but instead raised a foot and kicked straight into the small zombie¡¯s chest. [-3] The small zombie¡¯s arms, not even half the length of Wang Tao¡¯s long legs, flailed after being kicked in the chest, but Wang Tao had thick books strapped to his lower legs and felt no fear. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t being careless; he was trying to gauge the small zombie¡¯s strength. Feeling the force on his foot, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°For its size, its strength is almost like that of an ordinary zombie¡­¡± Though surprised, Wang Tao suddenly exerted force in his foot. The small zombie, being light, was kicked into the air by Wang Tao and slammed against the wall. [-26] That hit seemed to have collided with its head. ¡°Roar!¡± The small zombie seemed a bit angry and came at Wang Tao again. It still approached quickly until it was about three meters away, then threw its arms out and lunged at Wang Tao in a sprint. Wang Tao repeated the same move, kicking out again. But this time, he didn¡¯t hold back and kicked it right in the face. Bang! [-64] He kicked it flying, and its jaw shattered from the impact. Bang! [-37] Then the back of its head hit the wall again. ¡°It seems to only know this one move¡­¡± Wang Tao pondered as he watched the small zombie contort its body to get up. This time, he didn¡¯t use his foot; he switched to the long-handled sheep¡¯s horn hammer instead. ¡°Heh¡­¡± The small zombie continued its sprint towards Wang Tao, who grasped the hammer with one hand and, as it neared, brutally smashed it down. Bang! [-236] [234/600] The hammer strike was dead on, smashing right onto the little zombie¡¯s forehead, directly depleting one third of its HP! ¡°Its defense seems lower, probably because of its weaker physical constitution before¡­¡± Wang Tao had seen online that the stronger the physical build of a person, the stronger the zombie they would become after infection and mutation. This little zombie was different from the ordinary ones, so Wang Tao tentatively called it a special zombie. But since it was only a child before infection, with a small body, light weight, and poor physical constitution, it made sense that its defensive power was lacking after the mutation. Of course, that was relative to Wang Tao. If it were an ordinary person, whether they could even break its defense would be a question. While pondering, the little zombie tenaciously stood up again. But this time it did not sprint. Instead, like ordinary zombies, it stalked towards Wang Tao with its arms flailing menacingly, although it was still faster than the regular ones. Wang Tao dodged twice and, having confirmed there were no other special attributes on the little zombie, he wound up and kicked it straight up to the ceiling! [-79] [-26] After the little zombie landed, Wang Tao kicked out again. Bang! [-4] This kick landed on the little zombie¡¯s stomach, causing no real damage. However, like a rubber ball, it was kicked against the wall by Wang Tao once more. [-32] [93/600] Looking at the remaining one-sixth of HP, Wang Tao¡¯s mouth curled under his mask. At least three more kicks to go! This was definitely not any form of retaliation against the naughty child; he simply wanted to test how strong this special zombie was. ¡°Roar~¡± The little zombie, undeterred by repeated failures, got up and approached Wang Tao again. Bang! ¡­ Bang! ¡­ Bang! Splat¡ª [-2] [0/600] Looking at the little zombie whose head he had kicked open, Wang Tao somewhat disdainfully wiped his shoe on its clothes. Whew¡ª Feeling refreshed! He began to tally up the spoils of battle. First was the HP gained from killing the sprinting little zombie, which, like the one capable of stealth he had encountered before, directly added 20 HP! Wang Tao¡¯s HP reached [185/185]! Next was the half-transparent bundle that the little zombie dropped. With just a thought, Wang Tao had the package zip into his body. [Obtained: Running Potion (Small) x1] [Running Potion (Small): After injection, lower limb strength increases, running speed improves by 10%-100% (the stronger the constitution, the greater the enhancement), lasts for 10 minutes, cools down in 12 hours] Nice stuff! Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. This was an injector similar in appearance to the ¡°Stealth Potion (Small)¡± but its effects were so much stronger than the stealth potion! The stealth potion could only be used for hiding, but this running potion could increase movement speed by 10%-100%! Moreover, the speed increase depended on one¡¯s constitution, the stronger it was, the greater the boost! Wang Tao¡¯s physical constitution was definitely not weak; even a 10% increase could be a life-saving skill at critical moments! The chances of success in finding diesel outside also went up! If it could boost speed by 100%¡­ Hiss, dare not think, dare not think! After placing the running potion into his Space Backpack, Wang Tao started to scour the room for more spoils of battle, deciding not to touch the little zombie¡¯s corpse since he had kicked it to bits¡­ Chapter 30 - 30 Chapter 30 Moving_1 30 Chapter 30 Moving_1 Translator: 549690339 Upon entering the master bedroom and seeing those two skeletons that had been severely gnawed on, Wang Tao felt a surge of nausea. However, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder why the child¡¯s parents hadn¡¯t turned into zombies after being bitten and completely devoured. Unless¡­ their luck was just too bad, and the zombie virus had too long an incubation period! It was said online that the incubation period of the zombie virus ranged from 1 minute to 24 hours. In most cases, a longer incubation period was better. This was because if you amputated the infected area before the mutation occurred, as long as it wasn¡¯t a fatal part, there was still a chance of survival. But sometimes, a shorter incubation period meant less suffering. Take this family, for example. Perhaps, before they died, they had to watch their own child devour them¡­ Just thinking about that scene was chilling! ¡°All I can say is, you were just unlucky¡­¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao hurriedly scavenged through the master bedroom, then dragged the small zombie¡¯s body into the room, placing it between the two other corpses. Then he closed the room door with a loud bang. A family should be together, complete and orderly. The food in apartment 101 wasn¡¯t plentiful; given Wang Tao¡¯s appetite, it might last about ten days. However, there were plenty of snacks to tide him over. All the items Wang Tao deemed useful or valuable were also packed up. After he finished scavenging, Wang Tao moved the items up to the fifth floor. Since there wasn¡¯t much, he didn¡¯t call for Ding Yuqin. But because he made quite a bit of noise going upstairs, Ding Yuqin, who had been keeping an eye on Wang Tao, naturally noticed. She quickly opened the door, first asking solicitously whether Wang Tao was injured, then inquiring if she could help with any work. Wang Tao did indeed have a task for her. He handed Ding Yuqin a bunch of keys. ¡°Sister-in-law, go collect all the usable glass bottles from those apartments, and see how many you can find. Here are the keys.¡± Wang Tao had kept the keys to the rooms he had scavenged. Some were the originals left in the rooms; others he had made copies of. After all, it wasn¡¯t practical to pick the locks every time. ¡°Ah? By myself¡­?¡± Ding Yuqin felt the keys in her hand burning hot. ¡°Scared?¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Um¡­¡± Ding Yuqin nodded honestly. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be scared of. I¡¯ve cleared out all the zombies. As long as you don¡¯t open the entrance door to the building, it¡¯s safe¡­ forget it, I¡¯ll ask the uncle downstairs for help.¡± As he spoke, Wang Tao reached for the keys. ¡°No! I¡¯ll go!¡± When Ding Yuqin heard that Wang Tao was going to ask someone else, she quickly clutched the keys tightly. She was a smart woman and knew that if she couldn¡¯t prove her worth, especially in this post-apocalyptic world, there was a possibility of being abandoned. She didn¡¯t dare gamble her life on Wang Tao¡¯s benevolence! Wang Tao gave her a thoughtful look. ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± Although the zombies in Building 4 had been cleared out, the fear they had caused lingered. Not to mention Ding Yuqin, even the locksmith downstairs rarely left his home, staying inside almost constantly, especially with many apartments still having remnants of blood, smell¡­ Ding Yuqin was ready to face it head-on. Wang Tao took a pair of binoculars and weapons to the sixth floor, where he used a lock-picking tool to open the door leading to the rooftop. When the apocalypse broke out, no one had gone up to the rooftop, which aside from some permanently installed clothes racks, had nothing on it. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Being cooped up in the building all these days had been somewhat oppressive. Stepping out suddenly and seeing the sunset-drenched orange sky, he felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration. However, when Wang Tao reached the edge of the rooftop and looked down, that feeling of exhilaration turned instantly into urgency. Because the street below to the north was filled with zombies! From this vantage point, he could see many things that were not visible before. The zombies hidden around the corners and at the base of walls were far more numerous than Wang Tao had imagined. Still, even though the sight was somewhat horrifying, if he could kill all these zombies¡­ the rewards would be substantial! ¡°If I throw a Molotov cocktail to burn them to death, I wonder if the kills would count as mine¡­¡± Wang Tao then moved to the south side, where he could essentially get a clear view of all the zombies wandering in the courtyard of the complex. ¡°1, 2, 3¡­19, 20!¡± He could see a total of 20, and as for those inside the building that were out of sight, he was unsure. But even with just these 20, they were more than he could handle. The best course of action, he felt, was to lure the zombies to one place and kill them one by one or to set a massive fire and burn them all to death! But it was too early to be thinking about that now; he had come to the rooftop to figure out how to break out of the complex while surrounded by zombies. Now that Building 4 had been cleared, Wang Tao¡¯s next target was to fetch diesel from the ¡°Big Bite of Meat¡± restaurant, and also to scavenge some food. The main gate of the complex was to the west, and directly opposite it was the ¡°Big Bite of Meat¡± restaurant. One of the glass doors of the small restaurant was open, while the other was shattered, and he saw no zombies inside. The street was rather narrow and not frequently traveled, so there weren¡¯t many zombies around; Wang Tao only spotted a few. As for how he would get out of the complex¡­ Wang Tao felt that the main gate was definitely not an option, as that would attract the attention of the 20 zombies. While zombies generally didn¡¯t run fast, and he could probably get through the 20 of them in the complex if he was just focused on escaping¡ªprovided his luck wasn¡¯t exceptionally bad¡ªthere could be no mistakes! That plan was very risky. And he was a bit worried; what if the zombies were attracted by him and followed him right into the small restaurant? So, Wang Tao felt that climbing over the wall was a more reliable option. The perimeter wall of the complex wasn¡¯t thick and was a simple brick wall. By his estimate, it was just over two meters high. With his ability, scaling this wall would naturally not be a problem. ¡°First, I¡¯ll rush out of the entrance of Building 4, make it to the wall, then climb over it, and dash into the small restaurant! If no zombies follow, that¡¯s best. If some do follow, then I¡¯ll just close the rolling door of the restaurant! I didn¡¯t see any zombies inside the restaurant, and even if there were, at most it would be Boss Li and his wife. I can deal with up to three zombies¡­¡± Wang Tao quickly formulated his action plan. However, before that, he needed to move. His home was still too small, and if everything went well on this trip out, he should be able to find quite a few supplies, which wouldn¡¯t fit in his home. Wang Tao was reluctant to throw away those supplies that were temporarily unnecessary so moving to a bigger house was the best choice. As for where to move, Wang Tao had already decided long ago¡ªit would be Room 602 upstairs. As he went downstairs, Ding Yuqin happened to be sweating profusely, carrying a box of narrow-necked glass bottles to the front door of Wang Tao¡¯s house. ¡°Wait a moment, sister-in-law, don¡¯t put them inside. I¡¯m moving to an upstairs room,¡± he said. ¡°Ah? Moving?¡± Ding Yuqin was taken aback, then seemed to think of something, and her face turned pale. Chapter 31 - 31 Chapter 31 Please Take Your Sister-in-Law with You_1 31 Chapter 31 Please Take Your Sister-in-Law with You_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°He¡¯s moving?¡± ¡°He¡¯s living just fine, why is he moving?¡± ¡°Does he dislike me, doesn¡¯t want to live across from me anymore?¡± ¡°Is it because I eat too much? Or because I can¡¯t be of help to him? But as a weak woman, what help can I offer Wang Tao in this post-apocalyptic world¡­¡± At that moment, Ding Yuqin¡¯s heart was filled with panic. She was only surviving now thanks to the relief Wang Tao provided. Without him, she was certain to die! She was still young, she didn¡¯t want to die! ¡°Hmm, moving, moving right now.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. He hadn¡¯t gone out at night before because the zombies in Building 4 hadn¡¯t been cleared out, and he was afraid of accidents; it was too dangerous in the pitch dark. But now that the zombies had been cleared out, there was nothing to worry about if he worked at night. Wang Tao was planning not just to move all the supplies to 602, but he also wanted to move those chives to the rooftop. Growing them on the balcony was obviously not as good as the rooftop. He decided to dismantle some of the furniture and use the steel pipe clothes racks on the rooftop to build a simple shed to house the diesel generator. After all, the smell was too strong; it was impossible to live with it indoors¡­ Talking about moving, in fact, there weren¡¯t too many things. Items that were not immediately needed could all be left in 501. Wang Tao only needed to move daily necessities, exercise equipment, the generator, and food. As for other furniture, beds and such, he could just use those in 602. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very picky, second-hand goods were fine for him. Ding Yuqin watched Wang Tao move bag after bag of food upstairs, which instantly gave her a sense of being abandoned¡­ Two hours later. ¡°Sister-in-law, you go back to sleep, I can handle the rest,¡± Wang Tao said, waving his hand with a hint of distaste. Ding Yuqin was too weak; her working efficiency was too low. Working together, sometimes she even got in the way. ¡°Oh¡­¡± After Ding Yuqin left, Wang Tao busied himself until midnight, finally settling into his new home. Then, without resting, he took a telescope to the rooftop. The weather was good that night, with stars scattered across the sky. ¡°Zombies are so active at night, but I wonder if their strength has increased¡­¡± Wang Tao felt an urge to have a go with the zombies at night, of course, this was just an impulse, he definitely wouldn¡¯t do it right now. Wang Tao took a dry towel, dampened it with alcohol, and then went to the edge of the rooftop, lighting the towel with a lighter. Watching the towel catch fire quickly, Wang Tao casually tossed it down. The flaming towel drifted down towards the street, landing amidst a few zombies. Attracted by the light, the zombies immediately ran over, but upon feeling the heat of the flames, the surrounding zombies quickly retreated a few steps. One of the zombies stared restlessly at the flames, while the others left outright. After the towel burned out, the zombie that had remained waved its arms and came over, waiting at the ashes for a while, and then left when it found nothing. From the rooftop, Wang Tao watched all of this unfold. Then he tried another experiment, this time not with a towel but with a thick stick. After lighting the stick on fire, Wang Tao threw it towards the distance. Crack¡ª The sound of the stick hitting the ground attracted a few zombies, but after feeling the light of the fire, they, too, retreated. In the end, only two zombies remained, staring at the burning stick from afar. The stick burned longer, and after a while, those two zombies also lost patience and contorted their bodies to leave. Seeing this, Wang Tao felt a bit exhilarated. ¡°If I could turn the area around the compound into a firewall, wouldn¡¯t the zombies be reluctant to come over? Then, wouldn¡¯t this at least be a relatively safe, small-scale Survivor Base?¡± ¡°` Of course, Wang Tao would never do that, because this community¡¯s location isn¡¯t great, lacking tall perimeter walls, and there aren¡¯t many good resources nearby. He himself had no plans to stay here for long, so there was no need to consider setting up a small Survivor Base. However, it could be turned into a temporary base¡­ The next day. Wang Tao awoke in the large bed of apartment 602. Before he could wash up, he heard a knock at the door. Upon opening it, there stood Ding Yuqin, right on time. ¡°Wang Tao, I, I¡¯ve come to make you breakfast.¡± Today, Ding Yuqin¡¯s attire was different from usual, making her look very homely. Her black hair fell behind her, adorned with a black butterfly-knot hairband. She wore a deep purple low-cut camisole dress, which perfectly highlighted her shapely gourd-like figure. But what was most attractive were her round, snowy, and slender legs and the rounded feet in flip-flops, stirring an urge in one to play with them. Wang Tao had just gotten out of bed, and seeing Ding Yuqin¡¯s outfit, a nameless fire suddenly sparked in his heart. But his self-control was solid, after all, with so many beauties on set, lacking self-restraint would be embarrassing. Wang Tao surveyed Ding Yuqin with an appreciative eye several times before stepping aside to let her in. ¡°Hmm, sister-in-law, come in.¡± Ding Yuqin, slightly stiff in her movements, finally breathed a sigh of relief upon Wang Tao¡¯s invitation. She feared that once Wang Tao moved, he wouldn¡¯t need her to cook anymore. ¡°By the way, make breakfast a bit more substantial today.¡± Wang Tao suddenly stopped walking, and Ding Yuqin, looking down, didn¡¯t notice and bumped into him. ¡°Ah!¡± Feeling the softness behind him, Wang Tao very gentlemanly stepped aside, letting Ding Yuqin go first. ¡°Sister-in-law, you should watch where you¡¯re going!¡± With a blush on her face, Ding Yuqin replied in a low voice, ¡°Hmm.¡± She felt that Wang Tao had done it on purpose, but she had no evidence. After watching Ding Yuqin sway her way to the kitchen, Wang Tao first went to the bathroom, then headed to the exercise area to start his workout and cool off a bit. An hour later, Ding Yuqin, who had prepared a full table of dishes, called Wang Tao to eat. Since Wang Tao had asked for a more substantial breakfast, she naturally complied; knowing his appetite, the amount was not excessive. ¡°Sister-in-law, please sit too, let¡¯s eat together.¡± Ding Yuqin had been looking for an excuse to stay. At Wang Tao¡¯s words, her face lit up with joy, and she quickly thanked him. ¡°Thank you!¡± Wang Tao usually had her cook lunch. Does this breakfast count as an extra treat? However, Wang Tao¡¯s next words dispelled Ding Yuqin¡¯s hopeful thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m going out for a bit later, out of the community, sister-in-law. You just stay in your room and don¡¯t wander around.¡± ¡°Ah? You¡¯re leaving the community?¡± She subconsciously frowned, feeling scared just by the thought of stepping out of her own doorway, let alone the community where zombies roamed outside. Could it be¡­ was Wang Tao heading to find a Survivor Base? But he hadn¡¯t agreed to take her with him yet! No wonder he didn¡¯t ask her to have breakfast and made it so lavish; it turned out to be a farewell meal! Ding Yuqin became anxious at once. She instinctively grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand with a pleading look. ¡°Wang Tao, please don¡¯t leave me behind, take me with you, I¡¯m begging you¡­¡± Wang Tao was startled at first, but after seeing the expression on Ding Yuqin¡¯s face, he realized she might have misunderstood. So he said calmly: ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous outside, sister-in-law. It¡¯s better for you to stay at home, I¡¯ll leave some food for you.¡± ¡°` Chapter 32 - Chapter 32: Chapter 32: Ill Work like an Ox or a Horse to Chapter 32: Chapter 32: I¡¯ll Work like an Ox or a Horse to Repay You_1 Translator: 549690339 | ¡°No, I don¡¯t want it! I don¡¯t want your food! I don¡¯t want to be alone at home! I just want to go with you! Please¡­ Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yuqin clutched Wang Tao¡¯s hand tightly in her agitated state, her eyes brimming with tears. It was the first time Wang Tao had seen Ding Yuqin lose her composure like this, and he fell silent for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s not possible, it¡¯s too dangerous outside.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of danger! As long as you take me, I¡¯m not afraid of anything!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly spoke. Wang Tao fell silent again, then said: ¡°Forgive my bluntness, but sister-in-law, you¡¯re too weak physically. Going out with me, you¡¯d only be a burden.¡± Hearing this, Ding Yuqin¡¯s face turned paler and paler. Then she bit her lower lip as if making up her mind, a mix of fear and feigned seduction in her voice: ¡°As long as you take sister-in-law with you, I¡¯ll do anything you ask of me¡­ please!¡± Wang Tao continued to stay silent. But he furrowed his brow, as if in thought. Seeing that her words seemed to have an effect, Ding Yuqin¡¯s hope was reignited. If one could live, nobody would choose death. But Wang Tao¡¯s next words seemed to sentence her to death. ¡°Sorry, I still think it¡¯s better for sister-in-law to stay at your home. Let¡¯s not talk about this anymore, let¡¯s eat.¡± Wang Tao withdrew his hand from Ding Yuqin¡¯s. Not talk about it? How could they not talk about it! Ding Yuqin was not even thirty years old, she had a whole beautiful life ahead of her, she didn¡¯t want to die! Ding Yuqin¡¯s face was the picture of despair. Looking at the lavish spread of food before her, she simply couldn¡¯t eat¡­ Although Wang Tao had a big appetite, he ate quickly. Before Ding Yuqin could even come to her senses, he had finished eating. Then he stood up, ready to go and pack his gear. Suddenly there was a ¡°thump¡±. Ding Yuqin knelt down in front of Wang Tao, desperately hugging his legs, her eyes welled with tears as she said: ¡°Wang Tao, I won¡¯t hold you back! Really, I swear! If there¡¯s a danger you can¡¯t handle, just leave me behind! I just hope that when you have spare strength, you can protect me¡­ for old times¡¯ sake, for Brother Zhao¡¯s sake, I¡¯m begging you! Please¡­¡± Looking down at Ding Yuqin kneeling before him, there was indeed a perverse thrill. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to continue scaring her, as her HP was nearly depleted. In just this short time, her HP had dropped by twenty or thirty¡­ scaring her further might actually kill her. So, Wang Tao crouched down, intending to pat Ding Yuqin on the shoulder. But she might have misunderstood his gesture, suddenly grabbing Wang Tao¡¯s hand and pressing it against her face, her voice choked: ¡°Wang Tao, as long you don¡¯t abandon sister-in-law, I will repay you by working like an ox or horse in the future¡­ Feeling the softness in his hand, Wang Tao gently wiped her tears away. Looking at her frightened and even despairing gaze, Wang Tao showed a trace of confusion and said: ¡°Sister-in-law, when did I say I was going to abandon you? ¡°You, you said you were going out, you said I was a burden, you wouldn¡¯t take me with you, isn¡¯t that abandoning me¡­ sob sob¡­¡± ¡°I said I¡¯m leaving the neighborhood to look for diesel outside, to power the home¡¯s diesel generator. Such a dangerous task, if I took you, wouldn¡¯t you be a burden?¡± ¡öI ?n ¡°Of course, if you really wish to come with me, I will respect your decision. Get ready, and let¡¯s leave right now.¡± Having said that, Wang Tao stood up and began to put on his gear, leaving Ding Yuqin in a daze. It seemed like a moment yet also an eternity before Ding Yuqin hurriedly got up, trotted behind Wang Tao, and started with a mix of excitement and disbelief: ¡°Wang Tao, are you serious? You¡¯re just going out for supplies, and you¡¯ll come back, right? You won¡¯t leave me behind¡­¡± Wang Tao twisted his body, his face showing some displeasure. ¡°Sister-in-law, are you doubting my words, not believing me? ¡°NO, no, not at all, I didn¡¯t doubt you! I believe! I definitely believe you! I¡¯m just, just too excited¡­¡± Ding Yuqin quickly brought her hands together in prayer and bowed to Wang Tao. ¡°Alright, sister-in-law, hurry up and eat. We¡¯re leaving soon.¡± ¡°Ah, leaving? Where to?¡± ¡®¡öOf course, to look for diesel. Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to come with me? Hurry up, we want to leave early and return early.¡± II II To be honest, she still wasn¡¯t completely sure whether Wang Tao¡¯s words were true or if it was possible for him to just leave and never come back. If she went with Wang Tao, then even if he really left, she wouldn¡¯t be alone here. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to be deceiving her, especially since he had always been so good to her before, he probably wouldn¡¯t lie. If she really went out to look for supplies with Wang Tao, the danger would be too great, far less safe than waiting at home, and indeed she might become a burden to Wang Tao¡­ After contemplating for a few seconds, Ding Yuqin, clutching the hem of her dress and looking down somewhat embarrassed, said: ¡°I, I¡­ I¡¯ll just wait for you at home¡­¡± ¡°Sister-in-law, do you want to come out with me or wait at home?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you to come back!¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t hesitate this time and immediately spoke up. ¡°Alright then. Make sure you stay at home and don¡¯t run around.¡± ¡°Mmhmm! I¡¯ll help you with your gear!¡± Ding Yuqin wiped her eyes, not minding the makeup that was slightly smeared, and hurriedly went to help Wang Tao. After they finished preparing, Wang Tao handed several packs of instant noodles to Ding Yuqin. ¡°I think I should be able to come back by tonight at the latest, but I can¡¯t be too sure. Take this food for now, in case I really get delayed, so you won¡¯t go hungry.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Ding Yuqin hurriedly took them. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin left the house together. After watching Ding Yuqin return to her own home, Wang Tao continued downstairs. ¡°Wang Tao, you must come back safely!¡± From behind, Ding Yuqin opened a crack in the door and called out softly with a hint of worry. She was not sure whether she was more worried about Wang Tao getting hurt or the possibility that he might not return at all. ¡°Mm.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. When he reached the bottom of the building, he didn¡¯t go out immediately but first went to unit 201. He cracked open a window slightly, there was no security grille here. If there was someone blocking the main entrance when he returned, he could climb in through this window. Although it was unlikely to be needed, it was better to be prepared for any eventuality. As he left, probably hearing the noise, the balding uncle also came out. He was surprised to see Wang Tao fully ¡°Armed . ¡°Young man, are you¡­ going out?¡± ¡ö¡¯Yeah. We¡¯re running low on supplies at home, need to go out and look for some.¡± Although his home still had quite a bit of supplies, his consumption was also substantial, so saying they were running low was not far from the truth. ¡°There are two of you at home, that¡¯s a lot of consumption indeed!¡± The balding uncle had seen Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin act together before and thought Ding Yuqin was Wang Tao¡¯s girlfriend. Although they live in the same building, it¡¯s not unusual for residents not to know each other well.. Chapter 33 - Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Stealth Potion (Medium)_l Chapter 33: Chapter 33 Stealth Potion (Medium)_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Be careful, young man! You¡¯ve got a delicate wife waiting for you at home, you can¡¯t afford to have an accident!¡± The bald uncle cheered Wang Tao on. It must be said, although the bald uncle was physically weak and easily frightened, he had a kind heart. Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Uncle, I¡¯m naturally not going to have an accident. But you, please don¡¯t go out no matter what, just move around inside the building, it¡¯s too dangerous outside!¡± ¡°Haha, rest assured, I¡¯m too scared to step outside. I have to stay alive to reunite with my wife and children!¡± The bald uncle took out a family photo from his pocket, his eyes brimming with longing. ¡°Then I¡¯m relieved!¡± The bald uncle did not delay Wang Tao any further and left after exchanging a few words. Wang Tao proceeded downstairs and through the security door¡¯s window, he could see several zombies roaming around outside. He waited quietly for a while and, when he saw the zombies slowly moving away from the door, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then burst through the security door. Clack! The sound of the security door opening instantly attracted the attention of a few zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even glance at them, he closed the door and sprinted towards the community wall in the distance! ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The zombies that noticed him immediately began to twist their bodies and stagger towards Wang Tao. Although Wang Tao was running, he didn¡¯t forget to observe the zombies around him, making sure there were none that could stealth, sprint, or had other special abilities. Fortunately, for the time being, the zombies¡¯ speed didn¡¯t seem fast, and as long as he wasn¡¯t surrounded, there would be no threat to his life. After a dozen seconds, Wang Tao safely sprinted to the wall and then, with a foot on the bare wall, he leaped forcefully, grabbing onto the top of the wall. ¡°Heave!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s arm muscles bulged, he exclaimed lightly, and used the formidable strength of his upper body to lift his entire lower body up. By the time two nearby zombies sluggishly arrived, Wang Tao was already standing atop the wall, out of their reach as they waved their arms helplessly. Wang Tao suddenly felt that if he used the one-meter-long steel pipe from behind to strike the heads of the zombies below, couldn¡¯t he slowly wear them all down? After all, the zombies couldn¡¯t reach him¡­ ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s a good method, but now is not the right time, I¡¯ll let them off the hook!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t forgotten his purpose, securing diesel fuel was crucial, killing zombies was secondary for now. He looked toward the other side of the wall, the situation on this street was the same as what he had seen from the rooftop; not many zombies. A few zombies were in the distance but they had not noticed him yet. ¡°Lucky break!¡± Wang Tao lightly jumped off the wall. The cracked ground, black bloodstains everywhere, newspapers and government notices scattered around, cars burned down to their frames, and moss-covered mottled walls¡­ Viewing the post-apocalyptic desolation on the street instilled a sudden sense of loneliness. Wang Tao took a deep breath, cast aside these complex emotions, and stealthily made his way to the ¡°Big Mouth Meat Eating¡± diner across the street. The glass door of the small diner was ajar, revealing a scene of disarray inside, with many chairs and tables damaged and dried blood smears on the ground and walls. Wang Tao was not surprised by this scene; gripping the one-meter-long steel wolf fang club tightly, he slowly entered. This time when he left the house, he brought all three steel pipes¡ªthe two 50cm and one 1-meter-long. He had modified each of these weapons. Of the two 50cm steel pipes, he turned one into a long-handled sheep¡¯s horn hammer, the weapon he found most comfortable to wield so far. The other one was modified by stuffing a small sharp-tipped steel bar inside to create a short spear. As for the one-meter steel pipe, he drilled several holes in it and inserted long nails, transforming it into a wolf fang club. In more open spaces, it¡¯s better to use this one-meter-long steel pipe Wolf Fang Club. After entering the shop, he carefully avoided the glass shards on the floor and then quickly surveyed the hall. He mainly wanted to see if there were any zombies hiding behind the cash register. He had been ambushed by a crafty zombie before, and if he had time, he would make sure to check carefully. Fortunately, there was nothing under the cash register. Looking at the change in the drawer, Wang Tao casually grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his pocket. This trip hadn¡¯t been in vain. Wang Tao checked the street behind him and, seeing no zombies approaching, held the Wolf Fang Club and walked into the back kitchen. The kitchen was a mess, plundered bare, but thankfully there were no bloodstains. The small diner had two doors, one was the front door he had just come through, and the other was a side door next to a bedroom where staff could rest, leading out into an alley. The side door was open, and outside was a domestically made white pickup truck with its plastic wrap barely torn. It belonged to Boss Li. The truck surely had fuel inside; that day Wang Tao had seen Boss Li refueling it. But this raised another issue; if Boss Li¡¯s truck was here, it meant he hadn¡¯t left¡­ Wang Tao glanced at the tightly closed bedroom door. Since their store also served breakfast, Boss Li and his wife usually slept in the shop for convenience in the mornings. Wang Tao guessed that either they had been bitten by zombies that came from outside and turned into zombies, or they had become zombies inside this bedroom on the first day. Regardless, they had definitely been infected. Because their fuel-filled truck was here, and had they not been infected, they would likely have fled to the countryside in it! The bedroom door was locked, and Wang Tao prepared to pick the lock. He had come out well-prepared this time. Things like weapons, some lock-picking tools, food, binoculars, a flashlight, even a small radio, mobile phone, walkie-talkie, and so on were all with him. After all, the mission was to scavenge for supplies, and having incomplete tools wouldn¡¯t do. Besides, being tall and strong meant carrying these items was no hassle for him. ¡°Click-¡± After fiddling with the door lock for a while, he successfully unlocked it. Thankfully, the door was not bolt-locked, otherwise, even the best lock-picking skills would have been useless. Wang Tao gently pushed the door open and immediately saw a fat figure lying on its side on the bed, covered with a blanket and facing away from him. Seeing that red HP bar above its head, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate. He rushed in and struck its head brutally with the Wolf Fang Club. Bang! Dark blood splattered. [-156] [394/550] ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The zombie let out an unpleasant hiss as it tried to turn over. Wang Tao kicked it in the waist through the blanket, flipping it back again. Then Wang Tao pulled out the Wolf Fang Club and delivered three consecutive blows. Splat! [-142] [-143] [-109] [0/550] [Acquired: Stealth Potion (Medium) x2] ¡°Huh? Another crafty zombie?¡± Chapter 34 - Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Great Harvest__l Chapter 34: Chapter 34: Great Harvest__l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao was very surprised; he had thought that zombies capable of stealth were all hiding in dark places, waiting to launch surprise attacks. But now it seemed that wasn¡¯t necessarily the case. Like the one in front of him-when Wang Tao came over, it didn¡¯t attack first but continued lying on the bed. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen the red HP bar above its head as soon as he entered, he wouldn¡¯t have been so decisive. If someone else had come in unsuspectingly to check, they might have been in big trouble. After killing it, Wang Tao¡¯s HP increased by 20, and he was now at [205/205]. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but feel that his physical capabilities had slightly enhanced after his HP broke through 200¡­ But there was no time to test it now; he¡¯d study it carefully when he got back. He flipped the zombie¡¯s body over, and although half of its head had been smashed by him, he could still recognize from the other half that this was the proprietress of the shop. As for where Boss Li had gone¡­ Wang Tao suddenly flipped back the quilt, only to see a bunch of bloody human bones lying in the arms of the zombie proprietress. Shua¡ª Wang Tao hurriedly covered the quilt again; he would lose HP too if he saw such scenes too much. Having confirmed there was no immediate danger in the bedroom, Wang Tao turned his attention to the spoils he had obtained from killing the zombie proprietress. [Obtained: Stealth Potion (Medium) X2] [Stealth Potion (Medium): After injection, it can hide one¡¯s scent, making it harder for zombies to detect. Duration 1 hour, cooldown time 12 hours. Friendly Reminder: Best used during daytime for maximum effect.] ¡°Great stuff! And it¡¯s a double dose of potions!¡± Wang Tao had previously guessed that there might be ¡°Medium¡± and ¡°Large¡± Stealth Potions, some of which might help hide from zombies, and he was right! What he was lacking now was this kind of potion; potions for avoiding people weren¡¯t of much use to him, at least not for the moment. But these for avoiding zombies were extremely useful! He even felt like injecting a Stealth Potion now and going to provoke some zombies¡­ But such dangerous thoughts were fleeting. Because it was clearly stated in the description that it¡¯s ¡°harder to be detected by zombies,¡± not ¡°won¡¯t be detected by zombies¡±! Wang Tao guessed that the principle behind the Stealth Potion might be to lower his own human scent? Zombies could normally detect him from a distance, but after injecting the potion, they could only do so from close proximity? He figured that was more or less right. After storing the Stealth Potion carefully, Wang Tao started scavenging for other spoils. The bedroom wasn¡¯t big, a bed and some sundries occupied the entire space. Boss Li and his wife were usually simple folks, not wearing much jewelry, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother searching their bodies. It was mainly the other things in the bedroom; Wang Tao immediately noticed three army-green square tin oil drums in the corner, each labeled with a 20L mark. Wang Tao tried them out and found only one drum was full, another had only half diesel left, and the last was empty. However, this was enough for Wang Tao; apparently, one liter of diesel could generate 3 to 4 kilowatt-hours of electricity, so with roughly thirty liters, that was almost 100 kilowatt-hours! If he only used this electricity for freezing in his fridge, his fridge¡¯s daily consumption was less than one kilowatt-hour, so this would last for quite some time. After setting aside the oil drums, Wang Tao continued his scavenging. But there wasn¡¯t much of value left in the bedroom, and he found only a wallet, a car key, and two mobile phones. Then Wang Tao went to the kitchen. Although the kitchen looked like it had been ransacked, some food was left behind. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare take some of the dirtier food, not sure if it had been contaminated with zombie blood. After a simple selection process, he took an unopened 25kg bag of rice, a 25kg bag of flour, several bags of salt, sugar, some rice noodles, a large number 0 beverages, two bottles of beer, and a big bag of various types of takeout seasoning packets, roughly weighing 20kg. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you, the bushy-browed Boss Li, to use seasoning packets¡­¡± Wang Tao slightly criticized in his mind, but it was a good thing for him, as at least these unopened seasoning packets were clean and offered a rich variety of flavors, which weren¡¯t too bad. After sorting these things out, they weighed a hefty one hundred and fifty kilograms! ¡ö¡¯¡­there¡¯s a bit too much to carry in one go.¡± Wang Tao suddenly found himself with the happy problem of abundance. Fortunately, he lived close to the residential area, so he could just make a few trips. just as Wang Tao confirmed there were no zombies around and prepared to take some of the items home first, he suddenly heard a faint buzzing noise. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that sound? And it¡¯s getting louder!¡± Wang Tao was instantly on guard. He put down the supplies and gripped the Wolf Fang Club in his hands tightly. The zombies outside seemed to have hear the noise too, and were getting restless. in this post-apocalyptic world, any small change could prove deadly. Without knowing exactly what was going on, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare take the risk and head home. He continued to wait in the restaurant, but he had already hung the iron hook of the roll-up door on the door itself, ready to bring it down in an instant should zombies approach. As for the back door of the small restaurant, Wang Tao had locked it from the inside long ago. ¡°Buzz-¡± ¡°Whoosh- ¡± The sound grew from a distance, and Wang Tao, hiding by the door, suddenly looked up. In the distant azure sky, a small black dot appeared. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a plane!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s gaze sharpened, his heart suddenly filled with excitement. He quickly checked his phone in his pocket. ¡°Today is¡­ April 18th, the day the Government said they would make the airdrop!¡± ¡°The Government is still there-at least it¡¯s still operating well enough to keep its promises!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s spirits rose all at once, his eyes firmly fixed on the growing black dot. As the roar of the turboprop engine grew louder, Wang Tao recognized it as a Government military transport plane! Could it really be an airdrop? Wang Tao was hopeful. ¡°If only the airdrop would land nearby¡­¡± ¡°Whoosh¨C ¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Roar¡ª ¡± With the arrival of the plane, the zombies outside grew more frenzied and started running about wildly. Wang Tao was a bit anxious. Luckily, there weren¡¯t many zombies around, so for the time being, there wasn¡¯t much risk of being exposed. ¡°They¡¯re dropping supplies!¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao saw crates being released from the transport plane¡¯s rear, like an animal laying eggs. Some of the airdrops had parachutes unfold, whtle others didn¡¯t. As the plane drew closer, Wang Tao grew more excited. However, he quickly cursed under his breath because, as it got closer, he realized the plane was starting to turn! ¡°Forget it, that¡¯s just my luck¡ªhmm?¡± just as Wang Tao was about to lament his bad luck, he saw the plane make a turn and suddenly drop another airdrop! This one was very close to him; he could even see the large letters on the crate! And it was a parachute-equipped airdrop! Wang Tao was instantly torn. To take, or not to take¡­. Chapter 35 - Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Liars, all liars! 1 Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Liars, all liars! 1 Translator: 549690339 | Ding Yuqin had wanted to sleep at home, hoping to see Wang Tao safe and sound when she woke up. But with Wang Tao not around, she felt so insecure that she couldn¡¯t fall asleep at all. So, she watched Wang Tao from the balcony. Due to the angle, she didn¡¯t see how Wang Tao left Building No. 4 or how he avoided the zombies, but she saw him effortlessly scale the courtyard wall and dodge the zombies. This made Ding Yuqin a bit excited. ¡°Wang Tao is so strong, nothing will go wrong with him!¡± She couldn¡¯t see what happened to Wang Tao after he climbed over the wall; she could only see part of the street. Nevertheless, she stayed on the balcony, occasionally glancing toward the entrance of the community, with her hands busy sewing a black mask. This was a double-layered mask, with a white skull¡¯s big mouth on it. Wang Tao had seen a garment with a skull head on it before, and he thought that cutting out the skull head and sewing it onto the mask would definitely look cool. However, Wang Tao had only mentioned this idea casually because these fancy accessories that didn¡¯t increase fighting ability weren¡¯t his priority. He would rather spend that time training. Moreover, his sewing skills were inadequate. But Ding Yuqin took his words to heart. Since she didn¡¯t have much to do at home, she decisively helped Wang Tao sew a handsome new mask. Just as she finished sewing the mask, she saw the zombies in the community downstairs becoming more frenzied, followed by a faint buzzing noise. She didn¡¯t know what was happening, but the sight of the frenzy outside sent her heart racing. ¡°Wang Tao, you must be okay¡­¡± The noise outside grew louder, the zombies downstairs became more frenzied, and Ding Yuqin¡¯s anxiety and excitement intensified. ¡°It sounds like a plane¡­¡± She hadn¡¯t seen the cargo plane, but she had been on planes before, and the noise was similar. She guessed that it might be a plane passing by. Her nervousness was naturally for Wang Tao, while the excitement came from the thought of the government¡¯s rescue. However, after living through so many days of the apocalypse, she had completely lost hope in the idea of rescue. Even now, hearing the sound of a plane, she didn¡¯t dare to harbor too much hope. After all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. She had now pinned all her hopes on Wang Tao. Wang Tao had promised her he wouldn¡¯t abandon her! And just as Ding Yuqin prayed for Wang Tao to return quickly, she suddenly heard another roar. But this sound wasn¡¯t from above; it was at the entrance of the community. She quickly focused her gaze and saw a white pickup truck suddenly backing out from a small alley, then sharply swerved ninety degrees, positioning the driver¡¯s side towards Happy Community. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yuqin suddenly clenched the mask in her hands with some excitement. Although the distance was too far for her to see the driver¡¯s face clearly, she was too familiar with Wang Tao¡¯s build and his head-to-toe black armed gear! ¡°Is he planning to drive the car back to the community? He must have gotten a lot of supplies! That¡¯s great¡ª¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s monologue suddenly stuttered. Because she realized that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t driving into the community but heading directly towards another street. In the blink of an eye, she could only see the two red tail lights on the white pickup truck. ¡°He¡­ left?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s expression became somewhat blank. Thud¡ª The newly sewn mask fell to the ground from her hands. ¡°He promised me, if he had the strength left, he wouldn¡¯t abandon me¡­ He obviously still had the strength¡­¡± ¡°Liar!¡± ¡°All liars!¡± ¡°Sob sob¡­¡± Ten minutes earlier. After agonizing for a few seconds, Wang Tao decided to go for the airdrop. As the saying goes, opportunities are reserved for the prepared. The airdrop wasn¡¯t far from him, and if he failed to seize this chance, who knew when the next one would come¡ªif there would even be a next time. Moreover, Wang Tao desired the airdrop not just for the resources inside; he was more eager to learn the current state of the outside world and the Government; to know if there was a chance of restoring order; if the Government had any deeper understanding of the apocalypse¡­ He was certain the Government would leave information in the airdrop. So, this was an opportunity. Conveniently, there was a pickup truck outside, filled with gas. The airdrop had fallen in a less crowded area where there were relatively fewer vehicles on the road¡­ Most importantly, he had two Stealth Potions¡ªa source of confidence! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too fond of taking risks, but now with so many favorable conditions before him, he felt the risk was worth taking! Thus, Wang Tao picked up the car keys, opened the pickup truck door, and loaded all the supplies he had just gathered onto the vehicle. Then, with a skilled reverse and drift, he floored the accelerator before the distant zombies could react. Boom¡ª The white pickup truck roared away as several zombies at the roadside choked on its exhaust. Inside the vehicle. Wang Tao felt the wind passing by his ears and watched the houses swiftly fly by, feeling a swell of pride in his heart. Who says you have to hide at home during the apocalypse? Wasn¡¯t he having fun outside? Seeing some zombies on the road, Wang Tao extended his middle finger, offering them an international friendly gesture, and courteously inquired about the health of their family members. Soon, the vehicle approached a residential square. Several abandoned vehicles blocked the entrance, and Wang Tao remembered there were quite a few zombies inside the square. He immediately reduced speed, trying to be as quiet as possible, then sought a path through. At the entrance of the square, a skinny female zombie was hanging its head low. As the pickup approached, it slowly lifted its head, revealing a gaping mouth that stretched to its ears, then it opened its mouth even wider. Then¡ª ¡°Ahh¡ª¡± A piercing Screaming sound, like fingernails on glass, erupted from its mouth. Wang Tao, inside the truck, jumped in shock. ¡°What the hell!¡± He looked towards the source and saw the female zombie with the wide-open mouth. ¡°Huh? It only has [200/200] HP?¡± But before Wang Tao could express his surprise, he saw a large group of zombies in the distant square awakened by the Screaming, turning their heads one after another towards the pickup, then walking and even Running towards Wang Tao¡¯s location! ¡°Damn it!¡± Seeing at least a hundred zombies charging toward him, Wang Tao could no longer worry about finding a way through. He whipped the steering wheel around and drove straight into the Screaming zombie. Bang¡ª [-34] [-166] [0/200] The Screaming zombie was first struck and sent flying, then its head was crushed under the wheels of the truck, killing it instantly! Wang Tao, with one hand out the window, willed the Screaming zombie¡¯s drop bag into his body after it died¡ªhe had tested earlier that as long as he was within about three meters from a zombie, he could absorb the transparent bag. Without even looking at what the zombie dropped, he floored the gas pedal again, and the unrelenting pickup continued on, crashing into the back of an abandoned sedan ahead. Bang! A loud crash sounded, the abandoned vehicle was shoved aside, while the pickup shuddered violently, its body twirling uncontrollably. Wang Tao jerked the steering wheel twice in quick succession, forcibly stabilizing the vehicle. Glancing in the rear-view mirror at the horde of at least a hundred ferocious zombies in pursuit, Wang Tao stepped on the gas once more. ¡°Damn it, I can¡¯t afford to show off like this anymore!¡± Chapter 36 - Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Tap Water Plant i Chapter 36: Chapter 36 Tap Water Plant i Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao finally understood why during the ten or so days he had stayed at home, he had never seen vehicles on the streets outside nor heard any noise. On the one hand, there were few survivors left outside. More importantly, these things truly had an incredible ability to attract zombies! With a horde of zombies following the car, he couldn¡¯t stop; and the faster he went, the louder the noise became, resulting in even more zombies following behind¡­ This was a vicious cycle! If the road had been clear, the zombies definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch up with the car. But there were obstacles everywhere on the road, severely hindering the driving speed. Especially when sometimes he had to ram through roadblocks, not only affecting the speed but also creating a huge amount of noise¡­ Seeing that the car was not getting any further from the zombie horde but instead more and more zombies were piling up behind, Wang Tao realized he might have been too rash. Driving a car now, even towards less populated areas, was still too dangerous. However, the more dangerous the situation got, the calmer Wang Tao¡¯s mind became. ¡°I can only try this!¡± After coming to a small alley, he suddenly slammed on the brakes. Then he grabbed his weapons, got out of the car, closed the door, all in one fluid motion. Looking back at the dense crowd of zombies, he immediately ducked into a small alley. These zombies had a clear target, which was Wang Tao. After Wang Tao ducked into the alley, they scrambled after him. Inside the alley, Wang Tao zigzagged left and right; after about half a minute, although he couldn¡¯t see the zombies due to the buildings blocking the view, he could hear movements all around him. In Wang Tao¡¯s right hand flashed a needle-free injector. [Stealth Potion (Medium): Upon injection, it conceals one¡¯s own scent, making it difficult for zombies to detect. Duration 1 hour, cooldown 12 hours. Friendly reminder: Best used during the day.] Without any hesitation, he rolled up his sleeve, aimed the injector at his arm, and pressed the trigger. ¡°Pfft~¡± A minor sting was felt, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t even frown. He saw an icon under his HP bar labeled ¡°Stealth (Medium)¡± followed by two lines of text¡ª [Duration: 59:59] [Cooldown: 11:59:59 (During cooldown, using the same type of potion is ineffective)] Soon, Wang Tao felt his body growing colder and colder, his breathing slowing down, and his limbs feeling heavier and heavier. ¡°¡­This thing shouldn¡¯t be toxic, should it?¡± Feeling the changes in his body, Wang Tao was still somewhat anxious. But fortunately, after about three to five seconds, his body temperature ceased to fall, his breathing became steady, and his limbs were only slightly numb. His movement was not greatly affected. And the biggest change was the smell of decay emanating from his body¡­ it was exactly like the scent of a zombie! ¡°To hide my own scent, it turns it into that of a zombie¡¯s? Making the zombies mistake me for one of their own? Sounds about right¡­¡± After Wang Tao injected the Stealth Potion, the zombie horde seemed to have lost their target, and the noise around decreased bit by bit, soon becoming silent. Wang Tao gathered up his courage and went back to take a look. He saw a large crowd of zombies standing idly in the alley, looking somewhat confused. Wang Tao took a few steps closer, and the zombies showed no reaction. Wang Tao took a few more steps closer, and still, the zombies had no reaction. It was only when Wang Tao was about three meters away from the closest zombie that it finally turned its head, looking at Wang Tao with its cataract-clouded eyes. Wang Tao was ready to run at any moment, but the zombie just looked at him and made no move. When he was about two meters away, the zombie finally made a move. However, it wasn¡¯t an attack, but a slow approach towards Wang Tao. This didn¡¯t seem like a zombie discovering a human, but more like a zombie perceiving something and wanting to come over to check it out. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to try again, given that there were still over a hundred zombies in the alley. He ran off immediately, deliberately making some noise as he moved. Upon hearing the sounds of footsteps, the zombies successively turned to look at Wang Tao¡¯s retreating figure, but apart from a few that clumsily followed, the rest remained motionless. ¡°It seems that zombies do not rely on a single sense to hunt for prey, but rather a combination of senses to make a comprehensive judgement¡­ Now that the ¡®human scent¡¯ on me has vanished, as long as I don¡¯t make too much noise, these zombies should lose interest in me¡­¡± He emerged from another alley and returned to the vicinity of his pickup truck. Not a single zombie was around the pickup truck¡ªthey had all been lured away. Wang Tao got into the vehicle and started it. Hum- The truck gave off a buzzing sound. This time he didn¡¯t dare to drive too fast; the pickup was new, and it wasn¡¯t very loud at low speeds. Moreover, since he no longer had any human smell, he figured he probably wouldn¡¯t attract too much attention from the zombies¡­ Sure enough, after slowing down, he became a lot safer. Some zombies, even if they saw the truck pass by, would chase it for a couple of steps and then, losing interest, stop. Perhaps from their point of view, they saw a zombie driving a truck? Having wasted so much time, the air drop had already landed. Thankfully, after landing, the air drop would emit a red smoke, and there were no tall buildings in the vicinity to obstruct the view, making the smoke quite visible. ¡°It¡¯s in the northern direction, I can take the outer ring road!¡± Looking at the red smoke, Wang Tao immediately drove towards the outer ring. On the outer ring road, there were significantly fewer abandoned vehicles, and naturally, fewer zombies. Wang Tao slightly increased his speed and even purposefully ran over a couple of stray zombies. [Received: Blade xi] [Blade: Crafting material] [Received: Can xi] [Can: Crafting material] He acquired two new crafting materials and gained 10 HP. Once he confirmed it was temporarily safe, Wang Tao finally had time to check out the loot from the Screaming Zombie he had earlier run over. [Screaming Potion (small): After consumption, for the next 10 minutes, you can produce a piercing and prolonged scream. Cooldown: 12 hours. Friendly reminder: Screaming may cause some degree of damage to the vocal cords, it is advised not to speak for the rest of the day.] ¡°It¡¯s a great item! Zombies are sensitive to sound, and at a crucial moment, it might even lure them away! Despite some side effects, nothing too serious!¡± Wang Tao instantly thought of many scenarios where he could use the Screaming Potion, even set a trap, scream to attract the zombies and then kill them one by one¡­ But now was not the time for daydreaming, he quickly checked the position of the smoke. ¡°Over there¡­ that should be the water treatment plant location! I can turn there at the T-junction up ahead¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± However, after turning at the fork, Wang Tao suddenly heard some rustling noises coming from the forest across the road. He glanced sideways and his pupils suddenly contracted. All he could see was an enormous shadow, over three meters tall, flickering in and out of the trees. He couldn¡¯t make out its specific features, but he could see those red-glowing eyes and¡­[10000/10000] Ten thousand HP! Chapter 37 - Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Terrifying Figure 1 Chapter 37: Chapter 37 Terrifying Figure 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°II¡± After three seconds of stiffness in his body. Boom¡ª The pickup truck¡¯s engine roared as it quickly left the outer ring road. It wasn¡¯t until the trees in the rearview mirror were no longer visible that Wang Tao gradually slowed down and then parked behind a low building. ¡°Huff-huff-¡± Wang Tao gasped for breath, his back drenched in cold sweat. ¡°Good thing it didn¡¯t follow, what the hell was that thing!¡± The moment he had made eye contact with that thing, Wang Tao felt as if his blood had frozen. He wanted to move, but he was paralyzed! If it hadn¡¯t been for his strong will, forcefully pressing down on the accelerator, he might not have lived to see tomorrow¡¯s sun! ¡°Definitely not a zombie, zombies don¡¯t have that kind of intelligent look in their eyes! And my Stealth state was useless on it! Judging by its physique, it seemed more like a four-legged beast¡­ Most importantly, it had ten thousand HP!¡± ¡°They say the city isn¡¯t safe, but it seems the wilderness isn¡¯t any better! Damn!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face was pale. He would rather face zombies than deal with this kind of unknown creature. At least he could kill zombies, but facing this monster¡­ Just thinking about the feeling of being targeted, he didn¡¯t even have the courage to fight it! I¡¯d better hurry and get the airdrop. I¡¯m not coming back here for such deadly business again!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath, rested for a short while, and then headed for the water treatment plant. This road had been under repair before the virus outbreak and was quite empty for a long stretch, with no cars. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to drive too fast, fearing the noise would be too loud. He proceeded with extreme caution. After about ten minutes, he finally arrived outside the water treatment plant. The water treatment plant was in a remote location with few people coming and going, and access required a pass. Additionally, with a relatively good level of automation, it was said that there were only about twenty staff members, so the number of zombies inside should be low. ¡°I hope it hasn¡¯t been picked up by someone¡­¡± Muttering to himself, Wang Tao parked the truck in the empty space at the entrance of the water plant; it was deserted, with no cars or zombies in sight. After scouting around and seeing no issues, he finally took his weapons and got out of the truck, approaching the guardhouse. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± A silhouette in a security uniform lay inside the guardhouse, and as Wang Tao approached, it slowly raiseditshead. Without a word, Wang Tao swung his Wolf Fang Club. Bang! Dark blood splattered everywhere. [-231] [179/500] The zombie that had just steadied itself was knocked back. Wang Tao stepped forward and swung two more times with his club. [-245] [-24] [0/500] The zombie¡¯s head burst open. In a one-on-one situation and well-prepared, Wang Tao found it basically effortless to kill an ordinary zombie. Moreover, when he had previously reached 200 HP, that feeling of becoming stronger wasn¡¯t an illusion! His physique had indeed improved-previously, his attacks on zombie heads would register a bit over a hundred HP, not counting child zombies with their lower defense. But now, each strike dealt over two hundred HP! The maximum HP increased by 5 again, reaching [240/240] [Received: Tape xi] [Tape: Crafting material] Another new material he hadn¡¯t seen before, Wang Tao casually took it. Wang Tao searched the body of the security zombie and the guardhouse, finding a walkie-talkie with no battery, a set of keys, and a rubber baton. Having the keys meant Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to bother picking the locks. Click- Clatter¡ª He slowly opened the metal gate, ensuring no zombies were approaching, and then drove the pickup truck inside. The water treatment plant was vast, filled with water storage tanks. The water inside looked clean and seemed to be uncontaminated. Wang Tao also surveyed the surrounding walls, thinking that maybe this place could be turned into a Survivor Base. But the place was too big; without enough people to guard it, it certainly wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°There it is!¡± After wandering around the factory for a while, Wang Tao finally spotted the airdrop, located in a yard surrounded by iron fencing. In the yard, there were some machines he didn¡¯t recognize and a room with a closed door marked with ¡°High Voltage Room, No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed.¡± It seemed to be a distribution room. The no-longer-smoking airdrop was right by the door of the power distribution room. Next to the airdrop were two zombies dressed in worker uniforms, wearing hard hats. ¡°Phew- finally found you!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat excited. This airdrop was clearly unopened, and he was eager to see what was inside. But before that, he had to deal with the two zombies in the courtyard. Wang Tao looked at his HP bar below and noticed that the stealth state had half a minute left. He decided to wait for the state to expire before going in. Because being in stealth mode made his body somewhat stiff, slightly affecting his movements, and it seemed to weaken his strength a bit. Even with the stealth effect, if he got too close to the zombies, he would still be discovered. So it was better to wait and face the enemy in the best condition. After all, these two zombies had 600 HP, more than any he had encountered before. A minute passed quickly, the feeling of obstruction in his body gradually dissipated, his body temperature slowly rose, his heartbeat began to return to normal, and that rotten smell finally vanished. Thump, thump- Feeling the heartbeat and the strength in his hands, Wang Tao then got out of the car holding the Wolf Fang Club. The lock outside the courtyard was open, saving him a lot of trouble. He pushed the door open and strode into the yard. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The two zombies in the courtyard immediately came toward Wang Tao when they heard the noise. Having lost the effect of the Stealth Potion, the zombies¡¯ perception range of him was greatly increased. Seeing one of the zombies enter his attack range, Wang Tao swung the Wolf Fang Club and smashed it right into its temple. Bang! [-36] [564/600] The safety helmet burst open, but the zombie only lost a bit over thirty HP. ¡°This safety helmet is really good quality!¡± Wang Tao complained in his heart, then swung his club down again. [-165] [399/600] ¡°Hiss! Its defense is much higher than ordinary zombies¡­¡± Just at the door, Wang Tao dealt over two hundred damage to an ordinary zombie, but now he was only doing a bit over one hundred. The zombie staggered backward from Wang Tao¡¯s blows but didn¡¯t give him a chance to finish it off as the other zombie stretched out its arms to grab him. Wang Tao hurriedly switched targets. [-33] First, he shattered the other zombie¡¯s safety helmet, then used the books on his arm to block a hit. Taking advantage of the zombie grabbing his armguard, Wang Tao kicked it in the stomach. [-3] Although the damage was low, it sent the zombie flying. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with it anymore since the first zombie had already lunged at him. [-171] [-153] Even though this worker zombie was tough, Wang Tao had fast attack speed and great strength. Two consecutive blows left it with just a sliver of HP. Looking at the zombie now dazed, Wang Tao pulled out the Homemade Short Spear from his waist and thrust it into its forehead. Squish- [-75] [0/600] Picking up its dropped loot casually, Wang Tao turned to the other zombie. He swiftly dispatched it too. Wang Tao felt these worker zombies had more HP, higher defense, and greater strength than ordinary zombies¡ªhe had taken two hits to the chest from a zombie, losing 10 HP. But each of those two zombies had added 10 HP to him, now he was at [250/260]. After collecting the loot, Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to inspect it closely and immediately went to the green airdrop box. With eyes sparkling, he looked at the massive box. ¡°Let me see, what good stuff is inside¡­¡± Thud¡ªThud¡ª ¡°Hm? What¡¯s that noise?¡± Just as Wang Tao was about to open the box, he suddenly felt some vibrations on the ground. Bang! The iron door of the power distribution room behind him suddenly flew out, heading straight for him! Wang Tao instinctively protected his body with his arms. Bang! Crash¡ª His body slammed harshly against the iron railing. A towering figure in work clothes, holding a Reinforced Concrete Hammer, emerged from the power distribution room¡­. Chapter 38 - Chapter 38: Chapter 38 Big Hammer Zombie_l Chapter 38: Chapter 38 Big Hammer Zombie_l Translator: 549690339 It hurt, a piercing pain! Wang Tao struggled to get up from the ground, his arms numb and everywhere else aching. [-80] [170/260] He glanced at his HP bar, a direct loss of 80 HP! Thud¨C thud Zzzt This was a gigantic zombie, at least two meters twenty-three tall, dressed in an orange work uniform with reflective stripes, dragging a reinforced concrete hammer and walking step by step toward Wang Tao, as sparks flew when the steel bar scraped against the ground. ¡°What the hell is this!¡± Looking at the opponent¡¯s HP bar of [1000/1000] above its head, Wang Tao swallowed hard. As the Big Hammer Zombie stepped out of the house into the sunlight, it suddenly covered its eyes with its hand. This gave Wang Tao the chance to escape; he hurried over to pick up his weapon. But looking at his own ¡®toothpick¡¯ in hand and then at the opponent¡¯s massive club, Wang Tao¡¯s face turned ugly. How was he supposed to fight this? Thud¨C thud Zzzt The Big Hammer Zombie approached Wang Tao once again. Wang Tao glanced at the side door, then back at the airdrop behind the Big Hammer Zombie, gritted his teeth, and instantly prepared to retreat. Airdrops are great, but one must be alive to take them. And just then, when the Big Hammer Zombie was more than three meters away from Wang Tao, it suddenly raised its hammer with both hands and then smashed it down fiercely! ¡°It¡¯s moving so slowly!¡± Wang Tao observed as he dodged. If the opponent¡¯s speed was slow, then he might stand a chance to fight! What Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect was that, although he had clearly dodged the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s attack, when the attack hit the ground, it created a visible small-range shockwave! Thud! Bang! Woosh Wang Tao was hit by the shockwave and slammed against the iron fence. He felt his vision blurring and as if all his organs had shifted, his mouth even tasted somewhat sweet. [-102] [-23] [45/260] Only less than 20% HP left! Thud¨C thud Zzzt The Big Hammer Zombie, dragging the steel bar, once again walked toward Wang Tao step by step. Now, with the Big Hammer Zombie standing at the gate, Wang Tao felt he couldn¡¯t even run if he wanted to. The iron fence wasn¡¯t high, but climbing over it also took time, and he didn¡¯t think the Big Hammer Zombie would give him that time! Plus, he felt so weak and achy all over, he doubted he could make it over. ¡°Is today the day I¡¯m going to fall here¡­¡± Wang Tao struggled to his feet, then slowly moved towards where the airdrop lay. The Big Hammer Zombie followed Wang Tao¡¯s movements to switch direction, but while looking at Wang Tao, it suddenly covered its eyes with its hand again, and its steps came to a halt. Despite being in grave danger, Wang Tao remained calm. ¡°The Big Hammer Zombie has blocked its eyes twice! What is it blocking?¡± Wang Tao hastily looked back, the afternoon sunlight making him squint instantly. ¡°It¡¯s blocking the sunlight! Is it afraid of light?!¡± Joy surged in Wang Tao¡¯s heart. He quickly started searching on himself. Thud¨C thud Zzzt The Big Hammer Zombie, dragging the steel bar, slowly approached. Because it was facing the sunlight, it moved very slowly this time, shielding its eyes with its hand every few steps. But it eventually got close to Wang Tao and then raised its reinforced steel hammer. Bang! This time, Wang Tao was prepared, he ducked at a greater distance and was not hit by the shockwave. However, there wasn¡¯t much space to begin with, so in order to dodge the attack, Wang Tao had no choice but to vacate the spot, which allowed the Big Hammer Zombie to see him without staring directly into the sunlight afterward. Thud¡ªThud¡ª Ssshhh¡ª As the Big Hammer Zombie approached Wang Tao again, ready to lift its hammer, Wang Tao suddenly pulled something out of his pocket and shone it at the zombie. Woosh¡ª A blinding white light emitted from the flashlight in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, striking the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s eyes. Bang- The Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s freshly raised hammer instantly fell to the ground as it covered its eyes with its hands. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Wang Tao, seeing that his flashlight wasn¡¯t damaged and that it was effective against the Big Hammer Zombie, breathed a sigh of relief. It was a powerful flashlight he had found while scavenging in a building. Even in broad daylight, its beam was clearly visible. Wang Tao carried many things with him for contingencies, like having to spend the night outside, and the flashlight was one of these things. But he had never imagined that the first time he would use the flashlight outside would be under such circumstances. Now that he had discovered the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s weakness, Wang Tao was in no hurry to run. With the flashlight in his left hand continuously shining on the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s eyes, he wielded the Wolf Fang Club in his right hand, quickly got up close, and struck its head! [-34] This damage number left Wang Tao in stunned silence. But there was no time to ponder; he struck twice more. [-25] [-31] Wang Tao: ¡°Roar-¡± The Big Hammer Zombie, enduring the discomfort from the light, swung its other hand violently. Bang! [-141 [30/260] Wang Tao blocked the blow with the armguard on his arm, but his entire arm went numb, and he lost 14 HP. Looking at his own remaining 30 HP, Wang Tao¡¯s mouth curled under his face mask. ¡°I think I know¡­ how to kill you!¡± The Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s hammer-smashing attack was powerful and had a wide range, but its wind-up was slow. As long as he watched its movements and wasn¡¯t cornered, he could dodge with his speed. After being dazzled by the light, the Big Hammer Zombie would cover its eyes for several seconds, during which it wouldn¡¯t attack. After a few seconds, it might swing its hand, but that damage wouldn¡¯t be enough to kill Wang Tao instantly. Wang Tao focused on those precious seconds. In that time, he could deliver several blows! If one blow could deal 30 damage, he would only need to land just over thirty hits to kill it! Of course, this was an ideal scenario. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t make a single mistake. He was down to his last 30 HP, and his body was exhausted. If he was hit even once by the Big Hammer Zombie, he might be killed instantly! So¡­ A potion suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Running Potion (Small): After injection, lower limb strength increases, running speed increases by io%-too% (the stronger the physique, the larger the increase), lasts for 10 minutes, cooldown 12 hours] ¡°I¡¯ll take a gamble, if the speed increase exceeds 30%, I can fight! If it¡¯s less than 30%, then I¡¯ll retreat!¡± Pfsst- As the potion was injected into his arm, Wang Tao felt a surge of power in his legs! Even the strength in his upper body saw a slight increase! Even his health bar displayed an [+30] sign! ¡°Is this¡­ healing some of the damage to my lower body?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but what delighted him more was the effect of the Running Potion, his health bar clearly showed [Running speed increased by 50%]! Without a second thought, Wang Tao, holding the bright flashlight, charged at the Big Hammer Zombie. The Big Hammer Zombie instinctively covered its eyes, and Wang Tao took the opportunity to land two heavy blows. [-3U [-331 Before the Big Hammer Zombie could swing at him, Wang Tao quickly retreated. The zombie grasped at thin air. The plan¡­. was workable! Chapter 39 - Chapter 39: Chapter 39 Design Blueprint, Crystal Core_l Chapter 39: Chapter 39 Design Blueprint, Crystal Core_l Translator: 549690339 [-32] [-29] [404/1000] ¡°Huff ¡± Wang Tao let out a long sigh of relief after seeing the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s HP bar drop to less than half. In the enhanced speed from the Running Potion, beneath the glare of the flashlight and the sun, it took him four minutes to grind away nearly six hundred HP from the Big Hammer Zombie. If it weren¡¯t for his superhuman physique, which had been further strengthened by killing zombies, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have lasted this long. ¡°I hope when you die, you¡¯ll drop something good for me¡­¡± Wang Tao quickly closed in on the zombie again and bashed its head with his club. [-27] [377/1000] Based on his four minutes of combat experience, Wang Tao had the chance to hit it once more before retreating without it being too late. But suddenly, he noticed the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s movements were different. Previously, at this time, it would have been preparing to swing its left arm. But now, it suddenly gripped the Steel Bar Hammer with both hands. Danger! An alarm went off in Wang Tao¡¯s mind. He immediately gave up the chance to attack and chose to retreat quickly. And just as he retreated, the Big Hammer Zombie suddenly swung the hammer with both hands, turning in a 360-degree windmill around itself! Whoosh Bang! The Big Hammer landed heavily, and the concrete floor cracked once again. Four meters away, Wang Tao felt the brunt of the wind on his face and shuddered with fear. Lucky for him, he had retreated; otherwise, a hit from that would have killed him with his remaining HP! After the Big Hammer hit the ground, the Big Hammer Zombie seemed a bit tired, leaning over slightly with its head bowed, using the hammer as support. ¡°Good opportunity!¡± Wang Tao immediately sprinted to its side and swung his club fiercely. Bang! [-58] This strike inflicted the highest damage he had achieved so far, but the steel pipe Wolf Fang Club finally gave in under the strain, its steel studs, and even the pipe itself, bent out of shape. Bang! [-13] Without the steel studs, the damage was greatly reduced. Seeing the Big Hammer Zombie pick up the hammer again, Wang Tao hurriedly retreated and simultaneously threw away the damaged Wolf Fang Club, switching to the Long-handled Sheep¡¯s Horn Hammer at his waist. The horned hammer was half the length of the Wolf Fang Club, which put him at a slight disadvantage against such a large foe, but Wang Tao was already accustomed to the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s attack pattern. As long as he was well-prepared, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. After the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s HP dropped below 40%, its attacks became much more frenzied, occasionally unleashing a 360-degree windmill. Wang Tao found himself in a difficult fight, as there were few chances to approach the zombie and get away unscathed. He was practically dancing on a steel wire, one misstep and he¡¯d be done for. However, the tenser the situation, the calmer Wang Tao became. As the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s HP neared depletion, it became even more manic, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t approach it at all. He didn¡¯t force it, instead, he kept dodging and waited for an opportunity. Finally, after a full minute of waiting, he successfully moved behind the Big Hammer Zombie and smashed its head with the pointed end of the Sheep¡¯s Horn Hammer. Squish [-37] [0/1000] The Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s body stiffened, then it crashed to the ground with a thud. ¡°Huff~huff~¡± Seeing it finally dead, Wang Tao sat down on the ground, heaving deep breaths. He had only 20 HP left, nearly drained of his energy. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say he had persevered solely on willpower during the last few minutes. Now if any random zombie¡ªno, even any random human¡ªcame at him, he might not win. But mere moments later, Wang Tao perked up. Because he found that he had recovered quite a bit of strength all at once! He quickly glanced at his HP bar. [60/300] After killing the Big Hammer Zombie, his HP cap rose by 40 points, and he recovered 40 HP! Wang Tao felt his body getting warm; it seemed like his physical condition had improved even more! He clenched his fist tightly, feeling the power in his hands, almost bursting out with laughter. ¡°Indeed, to become stronger, you have to kill zombies!¡± Wang Tao roughly estimated that for every 100 HP gained, his physical condition might improve by about 10%. However, the increment in HP from killing zombies seemed quite small, maybe one-thousandth? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure. But no matter what, the more zombies he killed, the stronger he became! Conversely, the greater the danger. Even with his strength, he almost perished today¡­ After a brief rest, Wang Tao looked around and, seeing no zombies approaching, he began to check the spoils of battle with relief. First were the two worker zombies. [You have obtained: Purified Water (Medium) xi] [Purified Water (Medium): 25L, consumable] [You have obtained: Purified Water (Medium) xi] [Purified Water (Medium): 25L, consumable] Each of the worker zombies dropped two buckets of water, not the small 5L ones but medium-sized 25L buckets of purified water. It¡¯s no surprise they¡¯re from the water plant! All good stuff! As for the worker zombies themselves¡­ Wang Tao checked the bodies and only found two packs of cigarettes. Then there were the items dropped by the Big Hammer Zombie. ¡°A Strength Potion and¡­ a blueprint!¡± Seeing these items, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. Besides a needleless syringe labeled ¡°Strength (small),1¡® there was a blueprint. [Strength Potion (Small): After injection, overall strength increases by io¡ã/o-ioo% (the stronger the physique, the greater the increase), lasts for 1 minute, 12-hour cooldown] [Strength Potion (Small) Blueprint: Once learned, you can craft five doses of Strength Potion (Small) at a time. Required materials: Strength Mushroom xi, Zombie Crystal Core xi, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal food] Strength Potions are precious, but they only last for a short duration and should be used at crucial moments. As for the formula on the blueprint, aside from purified water and food, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen any of the other required materials; it seems impossible to craft it now. ¡°Wait a second¡ªZombie Crystal Core? What is that? Sounds like something that grows inside zombies?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. He went over to the two worker zombies and, enduring the disgust, meticulously searched their skulls and bodies but found no crystal cores. He then approached the Big Hammer Zombie, looking at this towering figure over two meters tall, Wang Tao first frisked it indiscriminately, finding only a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Then Wang Tao picked up the horned hammer and pried open the shattered skull of the Big Hammer Zombie. ¡°Eh?¡± As Wang Tao acted, a grape-sized white transparent diamond-shaped crystal fell out, which he caught reflexively. The crystal had a gray haze inside, but there seemed to be a wave pattern moving within it, reminiscent of¡­ the Shockwave created by the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s slam? Wang Tao instinctively swallowed, feeling an urge to consume it. Yet the bloodstains also made him feel nauseated. At that moment, a line of text popped up. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Light sensitivity)] Below was a detailed introduction. [Level 1: A crystal core with an energy level of 1] [Crystal Core: Humans can fuse with it to obtain the respective Ability] [Shockwave: Consumes energy when attacking, can carry a Shockwave] [Quality: The stability level of the energy within the crystal core, the higher the stability, the better the quality, and the higher the fusion success rate] [Ordinary (20%): 20% success rate for fusion; failure results in loss of the crystal core and leaves the individual weak for one day. Regardless of success or failure, Internal Impurities remain] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Light sensitivity): 50% of the energy in the crystal core is usable, the rest is impurity, with the side effect of ¡°light sensitivity¡±] [Friendly reminder 1: The more internal impurities a human has, the higher the chance of turning into a zombie] [Friendly reminder 2: Humans can only fuse with a limited number of crystal core types, and each time a new type is fused, the difficulty increases exponentially. Choose carefully] [Friendly reminder 3: Multiple crystal cores of the same type and level in your backpack can be synthesized together] Chapter 40 - Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Crystal Core Synthetic? Open Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Crystal Core Synthetic? Open Airdropl Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at the long list of introductions. ¡°Zombie Core¡­ Shockwave¡­ Ability!¡± ¡°If I fuse with this crystal core, can I acquire an ability?!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat excited, but he didn¡¯t let excitement cloud his judgment. The instructions were clear: fusing had a failure rate, and the fusion success rate of the core he held was only 20%¡­ With such a success rate, he might as well assume it would fail; he never believed in such probabilities. More importantly, these cores contained impurities! The impurities not only caused the side effect of ¡°sensitivity to light¡±, but if too many accumulated in the human body, one could turn into a zombie! Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to become a zombie; he hadn¡¯t lived long enough yet. So, was this core useless to him? No, of course not! Wang Tao quickly placed the zombie core into the Space Backpack¡ªit could go in there! The Space Backpack was similar to the grid backpacks in games, except its slots were unlimited. The same types of crafting materials were all stored in the same slot. After putting the zombie core into the Space Backpack, it naturally occupied its own slot. However, a notification popped up¡ª [1/10 (Unable to synthesize at this time)] [Synthesis: Quality sums up, Purity sums up. At 100% purity, side effects are extracted.] ¡°Does this mean I need 10 level 1 shockwave crystal cores for fusion? And I can increase the success rate to ioo%? And there won¡¯t be any impurities or side effects?¡± A gleam of excitement burst from Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. This meant, then, that he definitely could not fuse with this core! He had to collect more of the same type of crystal cores and then synthesize one with a ioo% success rate, free of any impurities and side effects! Wang Tao now had another goal¡ª to kill zombies and gain abilities! But there was still one problem. ¡°It says to fuse, but how do I fuse this thing? Am I supposed to eat it?¡± Wang Tao took the core out again; originally covered in blood, the core was now spotless after being placed in the Space Backpack, perfectly clean. Looking at the clean core in his hand, his mouth began to salivate madly. He felt an almost irresistible urge to eat it, as if a voice inside him was saying: Eat it, and you will become stronger! But, of course, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t eat it; he could resist that much temptation. He placed the core back into the Space Backpack, and looking at the [l/io] on the core, he grinned. ¡°My future life in the apocalypse just got a bit brighter!¡± It¡¯s just that he didn¡¯t know which zombies would drop crystal cores¡­ He had killed so many zombies before, apart from those hit by cars, the rest were all blown apart by his hand, and he always searched the bodies. So he knew there were no crystal cores in their heads. ¡°The crystal cores are probably only in especially strong zombies¡­¡± He shook his head, not wanting to think about it any further. All he had to remember was that if he encountered a Big Hammer Zombie again in the future, he¡¯d definitely have to find a way to hunt it down! He felt that, with enough preparation, killing this Big Hammer Zombie wouldn¡¯t be as difficult as it had been today. Wang Tao swept the area to ensure nothing was missed, then prepared to go collect the airdrop. But upon seeing the Reinforced Concrete Hammer the Big Hammer Zombie had dropped, he thought it seemed like a decent weapon, something he might be able to use himself. So, he headed towards the Big Hammer, and as he got closer, he suddenly saw a line of text appear on the hammer. [Reinforced Concrete Hammer] ¡°It has a name? Then doesn¡¯t that mean¡­¡± After Wang Tao grasped the Big Hammer, with a single thought, the hammer disappeared from his hand and appeared in his Space Backpack at the same time! [Acquired: Reinforced Concrete Hammer xi] ¡°I can put it into the Space Backpack!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat excited. Not to mention anything else, just the fact that it could be stored in the Space Backpack was enough to beat most weapons hands down! After all, weapons like his Wolf Fang Club and horned hammer could only be carried on him, and although they weren¡¯t heavy for him, they were still somewhat inconvenient. But putting them in the Space Backpack was different. It was not only convenient, but he could also launch a surprise attack. With another thought, Wang Tao felt his hand suddenly grow heavy as the Reinforced Concrete Hammer reappeared in his grasp. ¡°So heavy!¡± This thing must weigh at least 50 pounds, and it was a full two meters long, not to mention bulky. Wang Tao tried swinging it. He could wield it with both hands, but he could forget about agility; it was only good against less agile zombies. It was very exhausting, even for someone with his physical strength, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it many times. Moreover, it was very inconvenient to carry. He could either drag it on the ground like the Big Hammer Zombie or carry it on his shoulder. Actually, it wasn¡¯t very suitable as a weapon, but because it could be put into the Space Backpack, it could serve as an unexpected trump card. After making sure once again that he hadn¡¯t missed anything, Wang Tao approached the loot crate. So much had happened tonight, all for this loot crate. ¡°I hope it won¡¯t disappoint me¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered, but he didn¡¯t immediately open the loot crate. Instead, he went out to find his car and drove it over. The water treatment plant was spacious. Aside from the zombies he had killed, he hadn¡¯t seen any others for now. Wang Tao drove the car up to the small courtyard outside, then with great effort, he moved the loot crate onto the car. ¡°Phew¡­ Find a place to rest for the night!¡± It was now evening, and he had time to rush back, but his HP was low, only 60, which made him feel very insecure. So Wang Tao decided to rest outside tonight, recover some HP, and it would be safer to go back tomorrow. As for the place to rest, Wang Tao had already chosen it: an old five-story building inside the water plant. The reason he chose this place was that the door of the building was locked, and moss was climbing up the outer wall. It was obvious that no one had lived there for a long time, and it was very likely there were no zombies inside, making it relatively safe. After slowly driving the car over, Wang Tao was surprised to find that the building even had an indoor garage connected to the rooms inside. That was just perfect. Wang Tao, who had obtained the true transmission of the Locksmith, managed to open the garage door in no time, and the interior was covered in dust. He first went inside with his weapons and made sure there were no problems before driving the car in. Then he locked all the doors and windows, ate the dry food he had with him, and then he approached the loot crate. This loot crate wasn¡¯t something you could simply open; it had a lock, and what¡¯s more, it was a keypad lock. If he didn¡¯t pick the lock, even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t open it. However, there were a few lines of text written on the box. ¡°l+8=? 7-2=? 2xi=? 74-1=?¡± These questions were too simple. Probably to prevent zombies from accidentally opening the loot crate, they were deliberately set up like this. Wang Tao pressed down on 9, 5, 2, 7 in turn, and with a click, the lock opened.. Chapter 41 - Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Inhibitor and Gun_l Chapter 41: Chapter 41 Inhibitor and Gun_l Translator: 549690339 The supply drop box was large, but upon opening it, the interior space wasn¡¯t as big as it looked because a lot of black shock-absorbing material had been used. Inside, there were three compartments of varying sizes, each with its own packaging. He first opened the largest compartment-just as expected, apart from a few small radios, the rest were foods. There were self-heating meals, compressed biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, sugar, powdered drinks, canned goods, and other easy-to-carry edibles. Wang Tao tried a few and couldn¡¯t tell if it was psychological, but he felt that the food here tasted better. He then opened the second compartment. ¡°Is this all¡­ emergency supplies?¡± There were many small medical kits; he counted a total of twenty. But in addition to the medical kits, there was also a small box with a buckle lock. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± Upon opening the small box and looking at the neatly arrayed twenty bottles of blue potion inside, Wang Tao was puzzled. However, there was a manual embossed inside the box, which he hurriedly read. ¡°Zombie Virus Inhibitor¡­ it can suppress the initial infection and mutation to a certain extent? But it has side effects¡­ Good grief! After reading the explanation, Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. According to the documentation, this Zombie Virus Inhibitor was a product hastily developed by leading figures in the medical community after the virus outbreak. It couldn¡¯t completely solve the zombie virus, but it could suppress the outbreak of the virus! Theoretically, if a person infected with the zombie virus continued to take this inhibitor, they would never mutate. Of course, that was in theory. In practice, it was impossible. Not to mention that the supply of this inhibitor was limited, even if it could be provided in unlimited quantities, whether a person could withstand it was uncertain. Because the inhibitor had severe side effects-it affected one¡¯s health, and extensive use could even lead to death! Moreover, the use of the inhibitor was painful. To maximize the effectiveness of the inhibitor, at least one of two conditions had to be met. One was strong willpower, and the other was robust physique. If someone with weak willpower and a poor constitution took the inhibitor, they might die of pain from the inhibitor itself before they even had a chance to mutate¡­ That¡¯s why it was emphasized that one should be cautious before using the inhibitor! If an ordinary person was infected with the zombie virus, the priority would be to amputate the infected area; if amputation was not possible or ineffective, only then should the inhibitor be used¡­ After learning about the inhibitor, Wang Tao thought it was something useful yet not useful. It was useful because it could save someone¡¯s life at a critical moment. It was not useful because the conditions for its use were quite harsh, and its efficacy was not 100 percent guaranteed. Of course, for Wang Tao, it was definitely useful. Whether his own willpower was strong, was hard to say-it could sound self-flattering. However, there was no doubt about the quality of his physical strength. He could use this inhibitor! Of course, he hoped he would never need to use it. ¡°Wait a second¡ª¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao thought of something. After human beings fused with a Zombie Core, they acquired abilities but also accumulated impurities in their bodies. The more Crystal Cores that fused, the more impurities would accumulate, increasing the risk of turning into a zombie. Could this inhibitor be used for such ¡°Ability Users ? They could kill zombies to obtain Crystal Cores, ensuring their physical fitness was exceptional, and their willpower might also be very firm, so the effect of using the Inhibitor would definitely be excellent. As for the side effects of the Inhibitor that might affect their health¡­ they were on the verge of turning into zombies, so what did health matter anymore? Wang Tao felt that perhaps this was the right way to use the Inhibitor. However, that was a matter for the future; currently, it was still unknown if anyone could become an Ability User. After resealing the box containing the Inhibitor and locking it up, Wang Tao turned his attention to the last section inside the airdrop crate. Rubbing his hands together, he opened it with a face full of anticipation. ¡°Hm? There are several small boxes inside? And there are buckles and shock-absorbing materials¡­¡± He pressed the buckles and opened one of the boxes. Upon seeing what was inside, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes instantly widened. ¡°Holy shit!¡± What did he see? Guns! He saw guns! The boxes were actually filled with guns! There were a total of 10 model 400 military handguns from the gun family! There were also 20 extra magazines, 10 silencers, and 10 boxes of 5.8mm handgun bullets, each box labeled with 100 bullets, totaling 1000 bullets! Wang Tao guessed that the reason his airdrop had a parachute, unlike some of the others, was probably because it contained weapons and ammunition. If it was just food, clearly a parachute wouldn¡¯t be necessary. Wang Tao took out a handgun to fiddle with; he had actually handled real guns before, from filming a movie to visiting a shooting range. The guns from filming were not worth mentioning; they were old and never actually fired, not even blanks¡ªit was all special effects. The guns at the shooting range could be fired, but each bullet cost him 20 yuan. Wang Tao had only tried a few times; his family¡¯s financial situation didn¡¯t allow for more. He did have some understanding of guns, though. Now, getting his hands on these real guns, he couldn¡¯t hide his excitement- after all, what man doesn¡¯t like guns? ¡°With these guns, dealing with zombies shouldn¡¯t be anything less than one shot, one kill!¡± Although Wang Tao¡¯s shooting skills might be average, zombies wouldn¡¯t necessarily dodge on purpose. Within close range, a headshot should still be no problem. Zombies might withstand a few blows from him, but definitely not a bullet. However, there was a problem-the noise from firing a gun was too loud! So-called silencers only suppress the sound; they cannot completely silence it. If the consequence of killing a few zombies was to be attacked by a large crowd of them, then Wang Tao thought that using cold weapons wasn¡¯t such a bad idea. Inside the box with the weapons was an envelope, which Wang Tao opened. Inside were three pieces of paper. The first piece of paper detailed the basic operation of handguns, complete with illustrations, and had a warning in red: Unless absolutely necessary, do not fire the gun! Gunshots will attract a large number of zombies! Silencers are not very effective! It is best to move in groups for mutual lookout and to have a quick evacuation route after firing. Otherwise, the danger of using a gun far outweighs its lethality. Wang Tao agreed with this advice. He liked the guns, but would not consider using them unless absolutely necessary. The second piece of paper outlined the Government¡¯s understanding of the apocalyptic situation. It mentioned that the apocalypse came too suddenly, without any warning signs. The Government was also unprepared, despite having many civil defense projects. The initial spread of the zombie virus was unimaginable and unstoppable. The local Governments and the Government of Qian Country had lost touch with one another. The unit behind this airdrop was not from Red Stone Base as Wang Tao had thought, but rather from Wuyang Military Base. The situation at Wuyang Military Base was also grim; they were barely able to protect themselves after the disaster and could not carry out any rescue operations. They also encouraged citizens to take up arms and defend themselves. As for whether there would be another airdrop, the letter said¡­ not to get one¡¯s hopes up.. Chapter 42 - Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Accidental Encounter with a Survivorl Chapter 42: Chapter 42 Accidental Encounter with a Survivorl Translator: 549690339 ¡°Huff¡ª¡± After finishing the second piece of paper, Wang Tao let out a sigh. Although he knew the situation outside couldn¡¯t be good, the confirmation still left him somewhat disappointed. There was one last piece of paper in the envelope. It provided instructions on how to contact their base using radio, the specific location of their base, and a blueprint. This blueprint was not a map, but a zombie blueprint. It contained information about all the varieties of zombies encountered so far! Compared to the means of communication, Wang Tao was more interested in the zombie blueprint. After all, he was too far away from the military base to contact them, even if he knew how. But the information on the zombies in the blueprint would definitely be of great help to Wang Tao. There were more than twenty types of zombies detailed on the blueprint, among which Wang Tao saw a few familiar ones. The stealthy zombie he had encountered before was called ¡°The Taciturn.¡± The Taciturn would silently hide in dark places or disguise themselves as human corpses. They made no sound and their perception was weak. They would only discover their prey when it came close and then suddenly launch a deadly attack. The fighting capabilities of this type of zombie were actually similar to that of ordinary zombies, but because of their ambush tactics, many people were killed by The Taciturn. Inside houses, they were a very dangerous type of zombie¡­ The child zombie that Wang Tao had seen, capable of short sprints, was officially called ¡°Sprinters.¡± They moved faster than ordinary zombies and had higher attack power. When prey was within a close distance, they would activate their sprinting ability. A single Sprinter was not much of a threat, but if a Sprinter mixed in with other zombies and launched a surprise attack, then survivors would be in great danger¡­ There was also the Screaming zombie Wang Tao had encountered and run over with his car, which was called ¡°Screamers.¡± They were weaker than ordinary zombies, much weaker. An adult male with normal physical strength could easily take one on using a melee weapon. But these zombies were highly sensitive to noise, and before they spotted a human, they would prepare and, once ready, emit an ear-piercing scream that could attract nearby, especially special, zombies. If you killed a Screamer before it could scream, there was no problem. But if you let a Screamer get its scream out, the best option was to run! Otherwise, being surrounded by the horde meant only death¡­ As for the Big Hammer Zombie Wang Tao had encountered today, there was also a description, but not much. Big Hammer Zombies were called ¡°Terrorizers¡± and appeared a few days after the apocalypse began, at a time when everyone was looking out for themselves, and no one would proactively hunt them. Terrorizers were slow but could use weapons, with high attack power and defensive power. Their attacks also came with shockwaves that science couldn¡¯t explain¡­ As for the characteristic of being sensitive to light, it wasn¡¯t mentioned. It seems that no one had discovered that¡­ Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered some of the other zombie types yet, but he committed the information of these zombies to memory, certain that it would be useful in the future. The material also mentioned that most zombies were afraid of fire. If one wanted to establish a Survivor Base, fire was an indispensable element. At the end of the material, the Zombie Core was also mentioned. It said that only strong zombies carried this Zombie Core thing, but its exact use was currently unknown because several volunteers who had tried to experiment with it all suffered failure and substantial side effects. They speculated that the Crystal Core, once consumed, would likely enhance human physical capabilities, but with significant side effects. If anyone wanted to use it, they had to be psychologically prepared. They didn¡¯t recommend its use in principle¡­ After Wang Tao had read through all three pieces of paper, he carefully put them away and stored them in the box where the weapons were kept. As for the guns, after thinking it over, he decided to take out one and load it with to bullets. While guns might not be needed, it was best to prepare in advance, just in case they proved crucial at a critical moment. Then, Wang Tao packed up the airdrop, as all of it needed to be taken back. It was a pity that these items couldn¡¯t be put into the Space Backpack; that would have made things much easier. By this time, the sun was already setting. The sunset was beautiful, but Wang Tao was in no mood to appreciate it. He prepared for himself a simple dinner that was filling, and while he was halfway through eating, his gaze suddenly sharpened. Because he saw that a group of people had emerged in the distance! There were six of them in total, four men and two women, all covered in grime and carrying large and small packs. They were brandishing some homemade weapons, and was that a police officer among them? ¡°There are actually survivors coming out¡­¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat surprised. It wasn¡¯t strange to find other survivors, the world was so large, there were certainly people who had lived through the catastrophe. But for survivors to come out at this time¡­ did they think they had nine lives? It was about to get dark! Even he didn¡¯t dare to venture out at night¡­ However, Wang Tao quickly realized that he might have misunderstood. These survivors hadn¡¯t emerged in the evening, but had been out since before and had walked until dusk. Because they were hiding in a corner, pointing at the water plant and discussing it, it seemed they wanted to come over to seek shelter but were somewhat afraid to do so. Wang Tao had no intention of going out to greet them. Having dealt with all sorts of people throughout his life, he was well aware of the potential malice in human hearts. Especially now, with his abundance of supplies and being wounded, he had to be even more cautious. Though the small building where Wang Tao was staying was at a distance from the entrance, there was little to no obstruction in between, allowing him to observe the outside clearly. The group of survivors cautiously entered the water plant, and upon finding the gate unlocked, they all became excited. But a young man with dyed yellow hair got a scare when he noticed the zombie that Wang Tao had killed with a hammer in the security booth, and he ran back into the crowd in a panic. ¡°There¡¯s a zombie!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic, we outnumber it. One zombie won¡¯t be able to overpower us!¡± A woman dressed in black police uniform drew her service pistol, aimed it at the security booth, and called out in a low voice. When the policewoman spoke, the others seemed to find their pillar of strength and instantly tightened their grip on their makeshift weapons like kitchen knives, steel pipes, and table legs, encircling the security booth in a fan formation. The policewoman was about to suggest she should check it out when a skinny young man next to her suddenly spoke: ¡°Wife, why don¡¯t you take a look?¡± ¡°¡­Hmm.¡± The policewoman opened her mouth but then said nothing. She put away her pistol and then carefully took out her baton from her waist and approached the security booth cautiously. The others followed her, weapons in hand. The policewoman arrived at the security booth and took a careful look inside at the zombie. Seeing the bloody hole in its head, she instantly breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone! The zombie inside is dead!¡± Upon hearing that the zombie was dead, the crowd dared to exhale loudly. The policewoman¡¯s husband was still not entirely at ease. He went for another look, and seeing that the zombie was indeed dead, he straightened his back. ¡°However, how this zombie died, based on the wound, it looks like it hasn¡¯t been dead for long¡­¡± The policewoman furrowed her brow, looking towards the water plant. Could there be someone inside¡­? Inside the small building. Wang Tao, after watching the situation with the group of survivors outside, immediately relaxed. ¡°So, they¡¯re just a bunch of rookies¡­.¡± Chapter 43 - Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Night Walk of Hundred Corpses_l Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Night Walk of Hundred Corpses_l Translator: 549690339 | ¡°Do you think there might be other survivors in here? After entering the water plant, another girl, petite and covered in dust, whispered. ¡°Probably not?¡± A slightly chubby crew-cut man responded uncertainly. ¡°I hope not, hope we don¡¯t run into other survivors¡­¡± The petite girl muttered. This made everyone fall silent suddenly. Before they set out, they had hoped to encounter other survivors, for there was strength in numbers. But due to certain events, they had lost trust in survivors outside of their team. ¡°TO be precise, we hope not to run into survivors with ill intentions!¡± The female officer corrected the petite girl, then encouraged the group. ¡°Even in peaceful times, there are scumbags in society, let alone now. We can¡¯t let a few scumbags lead us to deny humanity as a whole. We must always remember, unity makes us stronger! Of course, we should still be cautious¡­¡± The previous events had been distressing for the police officer, but she still needed to boost everyone¡¯s morale, to not give up. After all, their destination was a Survivor Base. If they lost complete trust in others, they would never reach the Survivor Base. ¡°Officer Han is right! We shouldn¡¯t be too pessimistic. There are still good people in the world, like at the Survivor Base we¡¯re heading to. But there are also bad people, and that¡¯s why we need to stay alert!¡± A student-looking young man quickly pitched in. The female officer named Han gave him an approving look. in times of crisis, the pressure from the outside wasn¡¯t the scariest thing, but internal strife and loss of hope were. As long as they held onto even a sliver of hope for the future, their chances of survival would greatly increase! ¡°Right, right! We have to believe that we can make it to the Survivor Base alive!¡± The others quickly agreed, slightly more upbeat. The male student, buoyed by Officer Han¡¯s approving gaze, puffed out his chest. Officer Han¡¯s husband watched the student with a an unpleased gaze, though he didn¡¯t say anything. Officer Han carefully surveyed the surroundings, keeping to herself the thought that, judging from the wounds on that security guard turned zombie¡¯s head, it had died not long ago. There might really be people in this water plant¡­ She needed to be careful! The water plant was quite spacious and free of zombies, so the group quickly reached the small building where Wang Tao was. ¡°Officer Han, why don¡¯t we rest here for the night¡­ The petite girl spoke timidly. She was afraid of encountering zombies if they ventured further. Before Officer Han could reply, her husband immediately said: ¡°No! Haven¡¯t you noticed that this building has been abandoned for a long time7 The moss has climbed so high! The door is also locked! And we need to do more than just rest, we need to find food! We can¡¯t make it to the Survivor Base without food! Now that there are no zombies in the water plant, it¡¯s the perfect opportunity for us to scavenge.¡± Seeing the group¡¯s hesitation, he asked: -Do you want to scavenge for food now when it¡¯s safer, or would you prefer to search in more dangerous places with zombies tomorrow? With that, everyone felt that taking some small risks now was better than facing greater danger later. Still, the group subconsciously looked towards Officer Han, as she had saved them and protected them all the way. Officer Han¡¯s husband¡¯s face darkened instantly. He felt this was the most sensible decision right now, and anyone with a brain should agree, rather than looking to others for confirmation. ¡°A bunch of spineless creatures!¡± He cursed inwardly. ¡°I think Wei Guang is right, let¡¯s go inside the building and check it out¡­¡± After pondering for a moment, Officer Han nodded. Although she felt that if there were any survivors, they¡¯d most likely be in that building. But not all survivors were necessarily bad people; they could communicate with one another. On the other hand, zombies were enemies, it was a fight to the death upon encounter! So, taking some risks now was worth it. If they could really find some food, then they wouldn¡¯t need to take too many risks later on. Only after getting Officer Han¡¯s approval did everyone slowly head towards the building. Officer Han, wielding a baton, led the way at the front, with the male college student carrying a table leg right behind her. In the middle were Officer Han¡¯s unarmed husband and the petite female student, while Blondy and the slightly chubby buzz-cut man followed behind, each holding a kitchen knife and a steel pipe, respectively. The water plant¡¯s building had three floors, and the door was open. The group entered cautiously. Inside the decrepit building. Behind the curtain, Wang Tao watched the group leave and immediately frowned. ¡°Survivor Base? Could it be the Red Stone Survivor Base? No, that can¡¯t be right. Red Stone Base is fifty kilometers from here! These people couldn¡¯t possibly make it that far¡­¡± Suddenly, as if recalling something, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°I heard on the walkie-talkie before that there¡¯s a survivor base at Shuize University, and it¡¯s not too far from here¡­ They might be heading to Shuize University!¡± Wang Tao was quite interested in the Survivor Base. If these people came from the Survivor Base to look for supplies, Wang Tao might go and ask them for details. But it was clear that these people hadn¡¯t been to the Survivor Base yet; they were just planning to go there, so they probably didn¡¯t know much, which meant Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested anymore. Letting the curtain fall back into place, Wang Tao checked the entire building to ensure all doors and windows were locked securely, then returned to his room and took out his radio, walkie-talkie, and cell phone. He glanced at his phone. Still no signal. Carrying the phone was purely out of habit; in the past, even going to the bathroom, he always had to have his phone in hand. He then turned on his radio and walkie-talkie, still just static noises without any signal. However, Wang Tao seemed to be thoroughly entertained. The sun set. Darkness slowly engulfed the land. Wang Tao could distinctly feel that something outside was¡­ different. During the day, it was actually very quiet outside, hardly any noises at all. But at night, he could vaguely hear various growling sounds coming from outside. Even without going out, just hearing these sounds was enough to send chills down anyone¡¯s spine. Wang Tao took a deep breath and, after ensuring again that the room was safe, prepared to go to bed. Before sleeping, he habitually lifted the curtain to check the scene outside the window. Then, his pupils contracted in an instant. ¡°What the hell!¡± He saw on the distant street a swathe of heads moving like a dark tide! They twisted their shapes and trudged slowly in this direction. Zombies, all of them were zombies! Chapter 44 - Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Suzaku University Base_1 Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Suzaku University Base_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°What¡¯s happening!¡± Wang Tao quickly took out his binoculars. Looking at the vast expanse of ferocious figures, his scalp tingled. At a glance, there were at least tens of thousands of zombies! With so many zombies, anyone who came would die! In his heart, he even felt a moment of panic, but he quickly forced himself to calm down. Because panicking now was useless, he could only adapt to the situation as it unfolded. Wang Tao immediately went downstairs, packed up his things, and if he really was to be besieged by that many zombies, his only option would be to flee by car. Although driving at night was almost like courting death, it was still better than being torn apart by zombies here. Of course, this was a worst-case scenario. He still had a bottle of Stealth Potion in his hand, which he had intended to keep for the return trip. But if there was no other choice, he would have to use it now. After getting everything ready, Wang Tao returned to the upstairs window, and after waiting for more than ten minutes, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°They¡¯re not heading for the water plant, thank goodness! But¡ª These zombies didn¡¯t seem organized, just wandering on the streets. They came from the east side of the road and then left from the west. ¡°But damn it, so many zombies have entered the water plant!¡± Looking at the zombies in the water plant, Wang Tao felt a headache coming on. He thought he should have locked the gate of the water plant-no, wrong, even if he locked it, those survivors would definitely come and pry it open¡­ Anyway, no matter what, quite a few zombies had gotten in, but it wasn¡¯t to the extent that he felt he had to risk his life to run¡­ he could only wait for now. Wang Tao let the curtains fall, then went to the top floor to take a light nap. The rooftop was quite far from the zombies below, and his ¡°human scent¡± would definitely be much fainter there, which naturally meant it would be a lot safer. As dawn was about to break. Wang Tao, who was in the middle of sleeping, suddenly heard a scream from afar. He reflexively got up, grabbed his weapon, and then went to the window, parted the curtains, and took a peek. ¡°It¡¯s coming from the water plant building¡­ Those survivors are in trouble!¡± The moonlight was good that night, and Wang Tao saw that the glass doors under the distant building had shattered, and plenty of zombies were somewhat frantically squeezing inside. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see what was happening inside, but if those survivors were smart, there was still a chance they could survive, as the rooms inside the building weren¡¯t doorless. Or they could block the stairs with some stuff to prevent the zombies from getting up. ¡°It all depends on whether they¡¯re smart enough¡­ Wang Tao shook his head. Now that it was morning, and he no longer felt sleepy, he habitually fiddled with the radio and the walkie-talkie. Then he suddenly heard a voice coming from the walkie-talkie! ¡°Zzz¡­ This is Suzaku University Survivor Base, please respond if you receive this, please respond¡­ Zzz¡­¡± After hearing the tired female voice repeat several times, Wang Tao then pressed the PTT button on the walkie-talkie. ¡°Received, this is the water plant, this is the water plant¡­ Wang Tao also repeated several times. While pressing the PTT button on the walkie-talkie, it could only transmit one¡¯s voice, but not receive. Therefore, it had to be repeated several times to avoid missing the conversation. After a moment. ¡°Survivor, hello! Please repeat your location, I didn¡¯t hear you clearly! Please repeat¡­ Zzz¡­ It¡¯s so good to make contact¡­¡± Wang Tao repeated: ¡°I¡¯m at the water plant, I¡¯m at the water plant¡­¡± ¡°Heard you, I heard you! How is the water plant fairing, is it safe? Wang Tao glanced at the zombies downstairs. ¡°It¡¯s temporarily safe, but there are zombies everywhere downstairs.¡± The other party paused for a moment and then added. ¡°Sorry, we can¡¯t offer you help at the moment, but we have established a Survivor Base at Shuize University. If you can leave the water plant safely, you can come to the Suzaku University Base. We¡¯ll provide you with safety and food, and you¡¯d only need to do some work for the construction of the base¡­¡± It sounded quite promising. -By the way, how many survivors do you have at your water plant? How long can your food supply last?¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment and said: ¡°There are six of us in total, including one female officer.¡± ¡°Female officer¡­ Ah, I see, are you the group saved by Officer Han Rui? Han Rui? Wang Tao confirmed: ¡°Yes, that¡¯s Officer Han. But they¡¯re all asleep now, haven¡¯t woken up yet.¡± To prevent the other party from asking directly about Officer Han Rui, Wang Tao preemptively closed the topic. II II The person on the other end did indeed want to inquire whether Han Rui was present, as a professional police officer would definitely have better communication skills in some matters than ordinary people. But since they were asleep, it wouldn¡¯t be good to wake them up. In such times, maintaining one¡¯s condition was very important. ¡°May I ask about the situation at your Shuize University Base?¡± Wang Tao asked further. ¡°Of course, there are currently over three hundred survivors at our Shuize Base¡­¡± Upon hearing this number, Wang Tao was immediately surprised. Having over three hundred survivors was quite significant! After listening a while longer, Wang Tao also roughly understood the situation at the Suzaku University Base. Before the apocalypse struck, Shuize University was undergoing renovations, and due to the strong paint fumes, had given a two-day break. When the apocalypse hit, the university was mostly empty aside from a few staff on duty, so there weren¡¯t many zombies there. Next to the university was a Security Army squad, which had experienced a large-scale infection internally. Those of the Security Army who survived grabbed weapons and ammo and ran out. As they fled, they rescued civilians, and taking a liking to Shuize University, they established a Survivor Base there. The Security Army had thermal weapons and were physically fit. With some police officers joining them in the middle, they managed to save many people. Even Huangfeng Film City, which was some distance away from Shuize University, had many actors and actresses rescued and brought over. The current state of the Suzaku University Base wasn¡¯t just strong, but it had settled down. Every survivor in the base could find something to do, with access to food and safety¡­ It was arguably the best Survivor Base in Shuize County. Many people nearby wanted to go there, but even a few kilometers journey involved life-threatening risks. Officer Han Rui and her group had heard of the Suzaku University Base from another location, then managed to make contact with Shuize Base. After learning more, they decided to take the risk to go there¡­ Having understood everything he needed to know, Wang Tao said: ¡°Thank you very much for the information! I must go now, the walkie-talkie is running out of battery. I hope we can meet in the future.¡± ¡°Mhm mhm, good luck to you all! Our radio frequency is¡­ We will turn it on at scheduled times every day¡­¡± The other party relayed some more information before ending the conversation. Wang Tao, stroking his chin stubble, muttered: ¡°This Suzaku University Base could be a good place to head to. But this is only one side of the story, we can¡¯t completely trust it until we see it with our own eyes¡­.¡± Chapter 45 - Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Forced Suicide l Chapter 45: Chapter 45: Forced Suicide l Translator: 549690339 After breakfast, the sun had also risen. Wang Tao lifted a corner of the curtain to take a look outside. ¡°Crap!¡± Good news: the horde of zombies from last night had all left. Bad news: some of the zombies had stayed behind in the water treatment plant! Moreover, the zombies that had remained seemed to have increased in number since he had gone to sleep the night before. He wasn¡¯t sure if they were attracted by the Screaming. ¡°Looks like I won¡¯t be able to return today¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at the zombies inside the water plant and then at his own HP bar[80/300], deciding that it was still too risky to venture out today. He had a car, but there was only one road out of the water plant, and it was infested with zombies. He could manage hitting a few zombies with his car, but with so many of them around¡­ he didn¡¯t dare to bet on whether the car could withstand more damage than the zombies. If the car stalled¡­ that would mean death! He couldn¡¯t be hasty today. After all, he had plenty of food here, as well as Purified Water; everything was good except for the lack of electricity, so he could afford to wait a bit longer. Wang Tao glanced again at the water treatment plant building, looking somewhat surprised. ¡°Are those survivors still alive?¡± He brought out his binoculars and took a closer look. He saw a group of people lying haphazardly on the rooftop of the building, covered with clothes. The female officer named Han Rui was on guard alone, wielding a baton and a pistol. Wang Tao counted carefully and saw only five people; they were six yesterday, so one was missing. Given the circumstances, the consequences of being one person short were self-evident. Wang Tao took a closer look at the situation on the rooftop and immediately understood. ¡°Pretty smart¡­¡± Inside the building, there were many staircases leading up, which they would not have been able to block off completely. But there was only one way up to the rooftop. So they had all made it to the rooftop and blocked that single path, preventing the zombies from getting up. Soon, the sleeping survivors began to wake up one after another, and only then did Han Rui go to rest. The male college student brought some food to Han Rui, and she thanked him. Han Rui¡¯s husband was lying on the edge of the rooftop, looking down and swearing under his breath. After watching for a while, Wang Tao began his recovery exercises¡ªhe still had injuries, and moderate exercise would help the healing process. After intermittent training all morning, Wang Tao started to prepare lunch. While eating, he observed the group of survivors again. He then noticed that there seemed to be some arguments among the survivors. Han Rui¡¯s husband was loudly saying something to the petite girl, who knelt on the ground covering her face and crying. Han Rui and the male college student hurried over to mediate, while Blondy argued angrily with Han Rui¡¯s husband before tightly hugging the petite girl¡¯s shoulders. She then buried herself in Blondy¡¯s embrace and cried her heart out. Han Rui¡¯s husband, somewhat restless, went off to be by himself. Wang Tao suddenly found that observing others could be quite interesting. Since he didn¡¯t have much else to do, he considered it a way to pass the time. Night fell. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go to bed early, but instead intentionally waited at the window. Indeed, the number of zombies on the streets started to increase again. These zombies preferred to be active at night, but there weren¡¯t as many as the previous night. ¡°Huh?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao let out a quiet exclamation. He noticed that some of the zombies inside the water treatment plant had followed the others and left! Wang Tao was surprised. Early the next day, the first thing Wang Tao did upon waking was to go to the window. ¡°As expected, there are fewer zombies! Maybe they left because they couldn¡¯t find any fresh blood?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t fully understand, but it was certainly good news. Nothing happened today, survivors didn¡¯t lose anyone, and Wang Tao was very safe on his side. The second day at the water plant passed safely. At night, it was still the policewoman keeping watch over the survivors. Wang Tao observed the number of zombies in the water plant and sure enough, there were fewer of them! ¡°Looking at this situation, I estimate we can leave in another day!¡± The third day trapped in the water plant. Wang Tao was in a fairly good state of HP, he had recovered another 20 HP, now sitting at [100/300]. As the saying goes, injuries to the muscles and bones take a hundred days to heal. Many of his wounds were internal and even medical packs were of no use, there were no professional doctors around, so he could only rely on time to slowly recover. Wang Tao continued to observe the survivors on the roof not far away. Their situation seemed to be not so good, trapped on the rooftop for so long, everyone¡¯s Spirit was very poor, and it seemed they were running short on food, which led to quite a few disputes. Wang Tao felt that their little team might not be able to hold on much longer; after all, the disintegration of a team usually starts from within. But this had nothing to do with Wang Tao, they were doing well to keep themselves safe and had no capacity to care for others. However, since Wang Tao was preparing to leave tomorrow, driving would definitely cause some noise, attracting some zombies. If those survivors could seize this opportunity, they would have a good chance of escaping. At night, there were still many zombies strolling on the streets. After Wang Tao noticed another group of zombies follow the others and leave, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now there might only be around twenty zombies left in the water plant, scattered around. Only two or three were blocking the main gate; he could definitely drive out during the day! ¡°Just wait patiently one more night!¡± After routinely checking on the group of survivors, he prepared to go to sleep. Lying in bed, Wang Tao suddenly thought of Ding Yuqin. ¡°I left her food and Purified Water, as long as she stays at home obediently, she should be very safe, no need for me to worry¡­¡± Early morning. Wang Tao got up extra early. He went to the window to look out, the situation was similar to last night, most zombies had left. ¡°Have breakfast, then leave!¡± After making some simple food, Wang Tao habitually observed the group of survivors again, then his eyebrows lifted. On the rooftop today, it was the policewoman¡¯s husband and the petite woman keeping watch together, while the other few survivors were still asleep, Yet the two of them, who were apparently at odds the previous two days, somehow ended up together. Literally together. Wang Tao quickly grabbed his phone, turned on the telephoto camera, and started recording. He loved gossip. A minute later, the two, still grubby, hurriedly got dressed. The policewoman¡¯s husband said something to the petite woman, and she looked terrified, but eventually nodded her head. Then the two approached the edge of the rooftop. A male university student was sleeping on the ground leaning against the edge, The policewoman¡¯s husband and the petite woman exchanged a glance, and then suddenly flipped him over. The male university student, still in his dream, didn¡¯t even have time to scream before plummeting down towards the ground! Splat¡ª Right below was the main gate, blocked by a few zombies. Blondy, lying on the ground nearby, seemed to hear the noise and woke up groggily. He got up and saw the people in front of him but was still not quite comprehending what was happening. The policewoman¡¯s husband didn¡¯t expect Blondy to wake up and seemed a bit flustered, but the petite woman suddenly pushed Blondy. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Blondy¡¯s Screaming abruptly woke the policewoman in the distance; she immediately prepared to come over and check, but her husband and the petite woman blocked her. The two seized the policewoman¡¯s arms, frantically saying something to her. The policewoman¡¯s husband was facing Wang Tao, and from the look of his lip movements, he seemed to be saying¡ª ¡°He¡­ he killed himself¡­ we¡­ take the chance to escape¡­.¡± Chapter 46 - Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Test Subject_l Chapter 46: Chapter 46 Test Subject_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°How could they¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s expression was somewhat blank. They had all cheered each other up last night, agreeing to hold on for two more days, wait for the zombies downstairs to leave, and then they could all go to Shuize University Base¡­ But, but why¡­ Why did they commit suicide? Just two more days would have been enough! ¡°What on earth is happening!¡± Han Rui forced herself to calm down as her gaze became a bit stern. Ou Yingying couldn¡¯t bear to look directly into Han Rui¡¯s eyes and just sobbed with her head down. Sun Weiguang said with a sad face: ¡°Wife, right after Li Cheng woke up, he seemed mentally unstable, saying he wanted to die. Wu Fei and I were preparing to talk him out of it, but he suddenly jumped off the building! Wu Fei was closer, caught Li Cheng¡¯s arm, but was dragged down with him¡­¡± ¡°Li Cheng didn¡¯t seem like someone who had lost hope¡­¡± Han Rui scratched her messy hair somewhat frantically. Sun Weiguang secretly pinched Ou Yingying. Ou Yingying¡¯s body shuddered, and then she grabbed Han Rui¡¯s arm, sobbing and pleading: ¡°Sister Han, let¡¯s, let¡¯s escape now¡­¡± Sun Weiguang immediately grabbed Han Rui¡¯s shoulder and shook it: ¡°Yes, wife, let¡¯s get out of here quickly! Li Cheng¡¯s suicide, apart from despair for the world, might also have been intended to create an opportunity for us. The zombies downstairs have all gone after him. We can¡¯t let his good intentions go to waste!¡± Han Rui hastily broke free from the two and went to the edge of the rooftop to look down. She saw Li Cheng with his head covered in blood, likely having landed on it, probably dead on the spot. Wu Fei was still crawling on the ground, but his body was covered in blood, his blond hair dyed red. Most importantly, the zombies at the door had surrounded them both, and had even started to feast¡­ Clearly, both of them were beyond saving! ¡°I¡­ we¡¯re leaving!¡± Han Rui was not the type to dawdle. Since the situation was irreversible, there was no use saying anything further. Escaping now was the most opportune decision. She quickly led the two to pack up and go downstairs. The stairwell was free of zombies now, and the few zombies downstairs were all attracted by the two who had fallen, making Han Rui¡¯s path with her two companions unobstructed. The zombies feasting on the two paid no attention to their meal and did not notice the people descending. Han Rui immediately signaled to Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying with hand gestures to go to the nearby wall, which wasn¡¯t high and had no zombies nearby, making it possible to climb over and escape. Several zombies were still at the main gate, and without using guns, they clearly couldn¡¯t break through. Using guns would be suicidal. Therefore, climbing the wall was the best choice. Han Rui took one last look at the two teammates surrounded by zombies in the middle, feeling very sorrowful. They had arrived as six, but now only three remained. However, this was not the time to grieve. She did her best not to make any noise and waved to the two behind her. Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying hurried to follow, but during their escape, Ou Yingying felt as though someone was watching her. She instinctively looked back and saw a pair of bloodshot eyes staring intently at her from amidst the zombies. She shivered instantly, then tightly grabbed the edge of Sun Weiguang¡¯s clothing and ran without looking back. Only when he saw the policewoman climb over the wall last, did Wang Tao stop filming the video. He was initially just interested in watching the drama unfold, which was why he had taken out his phone to record it, but it turned into a witness of human ugliness. In fact, if the group of survivors had waited a little longer, until Wang Tao drove the zombies away later, they would have had a high chance of safely leaving without any losses. Of course, they didn¡¯t know that. And Wang Tao had no way to contact them. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t think this was his fault; it was already good enough that he could save himself, let alone others. He just felt it a pity that there were two less survivors in this world¡­ The incident also served as a reminder for him: in this apocalypse, it¡¯s fine to trust others, but it¡¯s better to trust oneself! Looking at the two survivors now surrounded and being devoured by zombies, Wang Tao picked up his weapon. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± After he was fully equipped, Wang Tao left the building and ran toward the bottom of the tall building. Today, most of the zombies in the water plant had already left, apart from a few zombies at the gate, there were only four zombies left at the entrance of the building. The four zombies were not a big problem for Wang Tao. Especially in such an open space, even if he couldn¡¯t beat them, he could always run back. Jogging up to the entrance of the tall building, the zombies, perhaps too busy feasting, did not notice Wang Tao approaching. Wang Tao, armed with a spear made from a steel pipe in one hand and a steel pipe hammer in the other, attacked the two zombies. Wu Fei was filled with hatred. He hated himself for being blind enough to fall for such a venomous-hearted woman! He worked twelve hours a day, and out of his monthly salary of six thousand, he handed over four thousand to her! He¡¯d take care of her with warmth every day, treat her to big meals on weekends, and send her various small gifts on holidays! When she was sick, he¡¯d work during the day and spend the night in her hospital room to keep her company; when the apocalypse came, she was the first person he thought of¡­ He thought he had done well enough. In what way had he wronged her? Why did she push him off the building? ¡°Bitch! Even as a ghost, I won¡¯t let you go¡ªwait, someone¡¯s coming!¡± ¡°He, he¡¯s killing zombies! He¡¯s so powerful! The zombies stand no chance against him!¡± ¡°If only I had his strength¡­¡± ¡°Save me¡ª¡± A few minutes later. With a thought, Wang Tao instantly stowed away the spoils of battle. [Obtained: purified water (small) *4] [Purified water (small): 5L, suitable for drinking] All four zombies had dropped purified water (small), and Wang Tao could never have enough purified water. In keeping with the excellent tradition of frugality, Wang Tao searched the four zombies again, finding several wallets and a box of cigarettes. Then he finally turned to look at the two unlucky survivors. The college student¡¯s neck had been bitten off, his eyes wide open, dead without closing them. To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, Blondy was not yet dead. [10/105] But he only had ten drops of HP left and was in a dying state. Wang Tao squatted down in front of Blondy, looking at the unfortunate soul whose thigh, arm, one eye, and half of his face had been eaten away, and frowned as he said, ¡°Do you have any consciousness left? If you do, blink.¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Blondy excitedly blinked his eyes like mad. ¡°Gurgle¡­¡± He tried to speak, but blood sprayed from his mouth as he opened it. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, don¡¯t talk.¡± Wang Tao stripped off a few articles of clothing from a nearby zombie, quickly wrapped Blondy¡¯s head, then grabbed his legs and dragged him back to the exterior of the small building. ¡°Wait outside.¡± After giving him that instruction, Wang Tao went inside the building, approached the air-dropped box, and took out a bottle of Inhibitor. He had been worried about not knowing the effects of the Inhibitor, and now, a test subject had presented itself! Chapter 47 - Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Licking Dog Has Nothing Left_l Chapter 47: Chapter 47 Licking Dog Has Nothing Left_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao¡¯s understanding of the inhibitor was entirely from what was written on paper. He wanted to see its effect firsthand. If he could save Blondy, that would naturally be better. If he couldn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t stand to lose anything, as he had 20 bottles of the inhibitor¡ªmissing one wouldn¡¯t matter. Holding the last bottle of inhibitor, Wang Tao walked out. in just that short time, Blondy¡¯s green HP bar was down to five dots of blood. It was unclear whether he would die first after his HP ran out or¡­ turn directly into a zombie? Wang Tao squatted next to Blondy, looking at the black lines slowly appearing on his neck. He speculated that after infection, running out of HP would likely mean direct transformation into a zombie. ¡°Still alive? If you are, blink your eyes.¡± Wang Tao asked Blondy. Blondy lifted his one eye to look at Wang Tao, his gaze somewhat vacant, but he still blinked with difficulty. Wang Tao took out a tube of the inhibitor and waved it in front of him. ¡°This is the inhibitor, something the Government developed to fight the zombie virus.¡± As soon as he said this, it was obvious that there was a glint of hope in Blondy¡¯s eyes. ¡°But it can¡¯t completely detoxify you, it can only suppress the outbreak of the zombie virus. If I use the inhibitor on you now, you won¡¯t mutate into a zombie, but it¡¯s unclear when the virus might flare up again. You would need to continue using the inhibitor.¡± Blondy showed no disappointment. In his current state, he wasn¡¯t asking for much-being able to live even one more day would be enough to make him secretly happy. ¡°However, this inhibitor comes with serious side effects. Plus, only those with strong physical constitutions or willpower can use it. Otherwise, even if used, it¡¯ll still be death. So, are you ready?¡± Blondy used the last of his strength to start blinking frantically. ¡°Very good.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The inhibitor could be injected or taken orally. But before pouring the inhibitor into his mouth, Wang Tao added: ¡ö¡öNow, think about the reasons you can¡¯t die. For example, your parents are still waiting for you to come to their rescue. Or, the woman who just got you tailed is still alive and well¡­¡± ¡°Mmm-¡± Blondy¡¯s one eye instantly widened, filled with a hue of resentment. So Wang Tao said no more and directly squeezed Blondy¡¯s mouth, forcing the entire bottle of the inhibitor down. Gulp- After drinking the inhibitor, Blondy¡¯s whole body started to convulse. It didn¡¯t seem like suppression, but rather like he was about to turn into a zombie. ¡°Could it be ineffective¡­¡± Wang Tao took a step back, his hand gripping the horned hammer. If he saw Blondy¡¯s HP turn red, he would not hesitate to deal a blow with the hammer. After waiting another two minutes, watching as Blondy was down to the last drop of blood, with Wang Tao already lifting the hammer, suddenly, Blondy s body stopped shaking, the black lines on his neck began to fade, and his green HP bar surged to 20, but his HP limit dropped by 20 drops. [20/85] ¡°Are you conscious?¡± ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± Blondy, with his eyes closed, responded with a nasal ¡°yeah.¡± ¡°How did it feel just now?¡± ¡°Pain¡­ my whole body hurt¡­ felt like my head was going to explode¡­¡± ¡°Good, welcome¡­ back to life.¡± Wang Tao patted his shoulder, then went to get a medical kit. He administered some hemostatics and sedatives, and roughly, yet amateurishly, bandaged his wounds. Throughout this, Blondy gritted his teeth. After everything was taken care of, Blondy¡¯s HP bar increased by another 10 drops. The effects of the military medical kit were immediately apparent! ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Blondy looked at Wang Tao with a face full of gratitude. ¡°NO need to thank me, I just wanted to test the effect of the inhibitor, using you as a guinea pig,¡± Wang Tao replied. The truth really does hurt. But Blondy was still very grateful. No matter what the masked man¡¯s intentions were, the fact that he had saved him was undeniable. Especially since he had just been betrayed by someone he was close to, and then rescued by Wang Tao right after, his feelings of gratitude were beyond words¡­ ¡°Smoke?¡± Seeing Blondy¡¯s eyes light up, Wang Tao took out a cigarette, roughly stuffed it into Blondy¡¯s mouth, and lit it for him. ¡°Tell me about what happened to you guys, what exactly went down between you?¡± Wang Tao was very curious about their situation, and didn¡¯t mind getting the full story before he left. After taking a deep drag, Blondy¡¯s spirit seemed much improved, and he began to explain: ¡°I, my name is Wu Fei¡­¡± Ten minutes later, Wang Tao had a rough understanding of the whole story. Before the apocalypse, Wu Fei worked at an electronics factory in the neighboring city, where he met Ou Yingying online, a fellow factory worker. To pursue Ou Yingying, he had expended a great deal of effort and resources, and only managed to win her over after half a year. During the pursuit, Wu Fei gave a lot. After getting together with her, he gave even more. He treated Ou Yingying as if she were his wife. However, the two had never progressed beyond hugging and holding each other until then. Ou Yingying said she wanted to save the best for their wedding night. Wu Fei was not only not angry when he heard this, but also very happy. Because Ou Yingying mentioned ¡°wedding night¡±! Didn¡¯t that mean she was willing to marry him? After the apocalypse hit, Wu Fei lost communication with his parents, and with his hometown being over a thousand kilometers away, he could do nothing. Ou Yingying, on the other hand, took the initiative to call him for help, and Wu Fei agreed without a second thought. Under the power of love, he even cleverly killed a zombie to see Ou Yingying! After that, they depended on each other for survival, with Wu Fei giving most of the food to Ou Yingying. When they ran out of food, Police Officer Han Rui and her husband Sun Weiguang showed up. Officer Han Rui said they were heading to the Suzaku University Survivor Base and asked if they wanted to join. Staying where they were was a death sentence, but following Han Rui provided not only food but protection¡­ they had no choice. Then, on the road, they encountered a few more people and set off together. On their journey, they were extorted by a ruthless group of survivors. If it weren¡¯t for Han Rui, they might have all ended up as zombie fodder¡­ After that came the situation Wang Tao saw; they had arrived at the water plant. Although there were some disputes among the team, they were still relatively harmonious. But on the first night, his girlfriend was scared by the zombies outside, screamed, and attracted a lot of zombies. During the escape, one of their companions got bitten. Because of this incident, Sun Weiguang held a significant grudge against Ou Yingying¡ªeven not just Sun Weiguang, the faces of Han Rui and the male college student Li Cheng were also quite grim, but they didn¡¯t say much more. Wu Fei even argued with Sun Weiguang to defend his girlfriend. Afterwards, the group spent their time on the rooftop, all very agitated. This morning, while he was sleeping, he heard a noise. Just as he opened his eyes and got up, without understanding the situation, he was pushed down by Ou Yingying. Even now, he couldn¡¯t understand why Ou Yingying wanted to kill him-he didn¡¯t see the male college student fall to his death, and after he fell, he was too scared by the approaching zombies to notice the body behind him¡­ Wang Tao looked at him with a hint of pity in his eyes. Loyalty to the end, only to lose everything, Blondy. You really didn¡¯t fare well! Since Wu Fei had satisfied his curiosity, he naturally had to satisfy Wu Fei¡¯s doubts as well. Thus, Wang Tao showed Wu Fei the video he had taken. The unedited version, starting from the moment that despicable couple had hooked up. Chapter 48 - Chapter 48: Chapter 48 Method for Purifying Water_l Chapter 48: Chapter 48 Method for Purifying Water_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Bastards!¡± ¡°Slut!¡± nj f****** ¡± Upon seeing the video, Wu Fei¡¯s mouth suddenly turned into a Gatling gun. If words could kill, Wu Fei would have probably mowed down the whole world in these short minutes, without waiting for the apocalypse to arrive. ¡°You know why she wanted to kill you? Because you saw the evidence of them committing murder¡ªof course, you actually didn¡¯t see it, but they thought you did.¡± With the collapse of the world order, it was only a matter of time before people started harming others for their own benefit. Wang Tao had been prepared for that. The reason the two of them were afraid of their murderous acts being discovered was obviously because of Han Rui, the policewoman. Han Rui was obviously someone with a strong sense of justice, and if she discovered that they had killed a teammate, that would be problematic. Especially for Ou Yingying; she was even more afraid. After all, she and Han Rui had no familial ties¡­ she couldn¡¯t be sure that Han Rui wouldn¡¯t kill her. So, to avoid trouble, she went ahead and killed even Wu Fei. One has to admit, this woman was very decisive. Regardless of her character, just on the basis of such ruthlessness, she would probably live a long time in this apocalyptic environment. ¡°No wonder, when I saw Han Rui and her husband before, this bitch kept sneaking glances at Sun Weiguang¡­¡± Wu Fei painfully grabbed his hair. Before, he thought Ou Yingying was just stealing extra looks at a handsome guy, just as he wanted to take more glances at officer Han Rui out of plain admiration, for he had no hidden intentions since they were a married couple. But who knew, Ou Yingying had already set her sights on him! And to think he had even argued with Sun Weiguang because of her¡­ turns out he was the clown! ¡°As for their desire to kill that college student Li Cheng¡­ I guess it¡¯s because Li Cheng kept showing kindness to officer Han Rui on the road, which annoyed Sun Weiguang. And Sun Weiguang wanted someone to attract the zombies, so he chose him¡­¡± After understanding all of this, the rage shooting from Wu Fei¡¯s sole eye was almost tangible. ¡°This pair of dogs, I¡¯ll make sure they don¡¯t die a good death!¡± ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t know if others will die, but if you keep getting this worked up, you might just die first.¡± Wang Tao pointed at the wound on Wu Fei¡¯s body that was bleeding a bit from his excessive agitation. Wang Tao glanced at his watch again. ¡°Got any questions? You have ten minutes.¡± ¡°You, that thing¡ª¡± Wu Fei pointed at the empty Inhibitor bottle on the ground. ¡°This is something that the Government¡¯s organization has had a large number of experts working on¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced the Inhibitor. ¡°So how can I get the Inhibitor?¡± Wu Fei hadn¡¯t forgotten that Wang Tao told him he might need the Inhibitor in the future. ¡°Currently, I only know that there are Inhibitors in the supplies drop, so you need to pay attention to the supplies drop.¡± ¡°Supplies drop!¡± Wu Fei¡¯s eyes lit up; he had obviously seen the previous airplane supplies drop. ¡°Then, Big Brother, are you at the Survivor Base? Can you take me there? I¡¯ll repay you!¡± Wu Fei looked at Wang Tao with a longing gaze. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not at the Survivor Base, I¡¯m in my own home.¡± Upon hearing this, Wu Fei¡¯s face immediately fell into disappointment. He was at his own home, which obviously meant he wouldn¡¯t take a stranger like himself. ¡°I think you¡¯re capable of getting to the Survivor Base on your own,¡± Wang Tao said, looking at the wounds on Wu Fei¡¯s body. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if it was the side effects of using the Inhibitor or the aftereffects of Wu Fei¡¯s near infection and mutation, but he felt his body had become much stiffer, as if on the verge of turning into a zombie at any moment¡­ although his physique seemed somewhat stronger. Wang Tao estimated that once he had recovered, even if his HP had dropped by 20, his strength should still be greater than that of an Ordinary person. As long as he could handle zombies one-on-one and be extra cautious on the road, there was a decent chance he could make it to the Survivor Base, especially since it wasn¡¯t too far away. Moreover, killing zombies could increase his HP cap, the more he killed, the stronger he became¡­ Wang Tao left behind for Wu Fei the medical kit he had used, along with some food, then got into the vehicle under Wu Fei¡¯s watchful gaze. ¡°¡­This big brother actually drove out here?!¡± Wu Fei was dumbfounded. Only a real badass would dare to drive in an apocalyptic city! He suddenly regretted it, wishing he had shamelessly asked to follow this ¡°big brother¡±¡­ He didn¡¯t even know this man¡¯s name or what he looked like¡­ Wang Tao drove the pickup to the gate where four zombies were present. Since he had saved Wu Fei¡¯s life, he might as well extend his goodwill to the end and deal with these four zombies as well. In a few minutes, all the zombies were dead beneath his Horned Hammer. [Acquired: purified water (small) *4] Wang Tao discovered that zombies killed at the water plant seemed to always drop purified water! Maybe in the future, if he was short on water, he could come here to stock up? Lost in thought, Wang Tao locked the water plant gate. Now Wu Fei inside the water plant was essentially safe. Boom¡ª The pickup¡¯s engine let out a gentle roar as it left the water plant. From the balcony, Wu Fei watched the departing vehicle, murmuring to himself: ¡°Big brother, may we meet again if fate allows. If I¡¯m still alive, I, Wu Fei, will definitely repay you!¡± In the pickup, after driving out of the water plant¡¯s range, Wang Tao immediately injected himself in the arm with the ¡°Stealth Potion (Medium)1¡®. The familiar sensation returned. His body got colder, his breathing slowed, and his limbs felt heavier. ¡°Phew¡ªthis feeling is really unpleasant!¡± Using the Stealth Potion itself wasn¡¯t too uncomfortable; what was uncomfortable was the feeling of losing strength¡ªhis strength would diminish slightly after the injection. Even though the reduction wasn¡¯t much, for Wang Tao, who was accustomed to strength, it was still somewhat uncomfortable. In this post-apocalyptic world, no strength meant no sense of security. After the Stealth Potion took effect, Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle speed slowed down, and some zombies noticed the vehicle but didn¡¯t go berserk, only approaching curiously. By the time they got closer, the vehicle had already departed¡­ This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t take the outer ring road; there was a monster with 10,000 HP in the forest beside the road, and he didn¡¯t dare to take that route. The Stealth Potion lasted an hour; even if he drove slowly, he could make it back. However, before going back, Wang Tao had one more thing to do: get some gasoline. As he passed a small parking lot and saw the intact vehicles, an idea struck Wang Tao. There were no zombies here; it was an excellent opportunity to scavenge for gasoline. He had previously taken three fuel barrels from a small restaurant, two of which contained fuel; the empty one would be just right for collecting gasoline. Additionally, he had drunk a barrel of purified water (small) in the past few days, and the leftover empty barrel could also be filled with gasoline. With tools in hand, he got out of the vehicle, and after some time, Wang Tao filled the 20L fuel barrel and the 5L water barrel with gasoline. ¡°Haha, now I can make Molotov cocktails! Suddenly, I¡¯m looking forward to encountering a Big Hammer Zombie again¡­¡± Happy Community. ¡°Thud, thud, thud¡ªYou damn whore, open the door, quick!¡± Hearing the knocking outside the bedroom, Ding Yuqin, pale and haggard, hugged her knees, curled up in a corner of the room, her eyes brimming with despair. ¡°Wang Tao, you really left me behind¡­ Where are you¡­ I hate you¡­ sob sob¡­.¡± Chapter 49 - Chapter 49: Chapter 49 The Second Terrorizer_l Chapter 49: Chapter 49 The Second Terrorizer_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Damn, could I have possibly jinxed it any worse¡­¡± Wang Tao was dumbfounded as he looked at a ¡°Terrorizer¡± zombie not far away. He had casually wished to encounter a Big Hammer Zombie, but he hadn¡¯t expected to run into one so soon! Detour? There was still time to take a detour. But to be honest, seeing the Terrorizer, he somewhat didn¡¯t want to leave. After all, this zombie could drop a Shockwave Zombie Core! ¡°What should I do?¡± Wang Tao glanced at the Terrorizer in the middle of the road in the distance and then checked the remaining time of the Stealth Potion below his HP bar. ¡°The effect of the Stealth Potion still has 40 minutes, and it will take about 20 minutes for me to go back, which means, I still have 20 minutes¡­¡± After hesitating for a moment, Wang Tao steeled his heart! ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try, and if it doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯ll retreat!¡± Wang Tao slowly parked his car in an alleyway on the side of the street which was a dead end, cluttered with a lot of rotting garbage, but no zombies. After getting out of the car, Wang Tao carefully surveyed his surroundings, then approached the door of a nearby house. The door was open, and inside was chaos, with a lot of black bloodstains on the floor and walls. Wielding a horned hammer, Wang Tao entered cautiously, searching around. All the food and such was gone, but he found what he wanted. ¡°Two glass seasoning bottles¡­¡± The bottles were empty, saving Wang Tao the trouble of cleaning them out. He went on to rummage through the next two neighboring houses¡ªalthough he only found one glass bottle, he did find a bag of laundry detergent. ¡°So many bottles are broken, what a pity¡­ But three Molotov cocktails should be enough!¡± Wang Tao returned to his car, took out a can of gasoline, and filled each of the three glass bottles with a bit more than half but not more than two-thirds full of gasoline. The gasoline shouldn¡¯t be filled to the brim, otherwise, it might not ignite. After filling the bottles with gasoline, Wang Tao added different ingredients to each of the Molotov cocktails. The first bottle was mixed with sugar to extend the burning time. The second bottle was mixed with flour to increase the burning temperature. The third bottle was mixed with laundry detergent to boost its stickiness¡­ Finally, he stuffed the mouths of the bottles as much as possible and inserted a piece of cloth as a wick. This made three simple Molotov cocktails¡ªoh, there was one more step, the bottles had to be wiped clean! Some gasoline had spilled on the bottles while pouring, and if not cleaned off, it could burn him as well. After making sure everything was ready, Wang Tao took a deep breath, grabbed all the equipment he could carry, including a handgun, and then got out of the car and headed towards the Terrorizer zombie. The effect of his Stealth Potion was still active; as long as he didn¡¯t get too close to the zombies, he would most likely not attract their attention. When he was about ten meters away from the Terrorizer, Wang Tao stopped. This Terrorizer resembled the ones he had encountered before, dressed in work clothes, towering over two meters tall, and wielding a reinforced concrete hammer as well. But this one seemed more ferocious, and it had more HP. [1200/1200] He guessed its strength might be even greater. However, strength didn¡¯t matter. After all, Wang Tao had no intention of a fair fight this time. After thoroughly scanning his surroundings, Wang Tao noticed an old two ¨C story building. The small building was directly under the sun, so if he stood on top of it and the Terrorizer tried to attack him, it would have to face the sunlight! The door to the building was locked. Looking through the broken glass of the security window revealed that the inside appeared to have been through a fierce battle, with bloodstains everywhere. Many pieces of furniture blocked the main door¡ªpicking the lock was pointless. He glanced at the building¡¯s exterior walls; the windows and other protrusions offered numerous handholds for climbing. Without a second thought, Wang Tao grabbed his stuff and started climbing the wall. A few minutes later, Wang Tao reached the rooftop of the second floor. Looking at the Terrorizer nearby, Wang Tao felt an itch to act, but he didn¡¯t attack immediately, instead, he took out a long rope. This rope, which was sturdy, had been in the pickup truck. He tied one end of the rope to the railing on the rooftop and threw the other end down. After ensuring that everything was in place, Wang Tao took a deep breath. He picked up several bricks and threw them at the Terrorizer in the distance. Thwack, thwack, thwack¡ª His accuracy with bricks wasn¡¯t great, only one managed to hit the Terrorizer. ¡°Roar ¡± After being hit, the Terrorizer immediately turned around, but he couldn¡¯t see who had thrown it. After all, Wang Tao was still under the effects of the Stealth Potion, which masked his scent. So, Wang Tao threw a few more bricks, deliberately using the noise to guide it. Sure enough, the Terrorizer followed the sound. When it reached the base of the building, it looked up at Wang Tao on the rooftop with some confusion, but the blinding sunlight made it instinctively shield its eyes with a hand. It was at this moment that Wang Tao lit the fuse of the Molotov cocktails with gasoline before sparking his lighter. Watching the Molotov cocktails ignite, Wang Tao hurled one down at the Terrorizer below. Crash The cocktail hit the Terrorizer square on the head without deviating. Boom Instantly, a fireball erupted, engulfing the Terrorizer; a string of numbers jumped out from its head. [-53] [-52] [-55] On the rooftop of the second floor, Wang Tao stepped back unconsciously from the blast of heat. ¡°Roar ¡± The burning Terrorizer zombie let out an angry roar. It had finally located Wang Tao on the rooftop. Although it didn¡¯t understand why the rooftop zombie would attack him, and even use fire¡­ it just went with it. Amidst the flames, the Terrorizer raised its Big Hammer and slammed it into the building. Bang! A loud boom rolled out, along with a ring of Shockwave, and Wang Tao felt the building shake. ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing the Terrorizer smash a large hole in the building, revealing the red bricks inside, Wang Tao was a bit stunned. These old brick wall structures felt like they wouldn¡¯t hold up against such smashing! And such a loud noise would attract a lot of zombies! ¡°No, I must finish this quickly!¡± Wang Tao had initially planned to slowly kill it with the remaining Molotov cocktails, but now he was forced to change his mind. After gathering his belongings, Wang Tao grabbed the Rope and rappelled down from the rooftop. The Terrorizer in the sea of fire was unrecognizable, but it still had enough strength to hammer at the wall, and it seemed that it could still see Wang Tao as it brought the hammer down to the ground. The hammer missed, but the Shockwave hit Wang Tao. [-82] Wang Tao tasted something sweet in his throat. Enduring the pain in his body, he rolled to his feet and swiftly pulled out two pistols, firing at the Terrorizer. Bang bang bang After the sound of gunfire, various eerie roars echoed through the streets. Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged as he continued to pull the trigger. When several [-300] popped up above the Terrorizer¡¯s head, it fell down instantly. Braving the fire, Wang Tao hurried over to pry out a red transparent Crystal Core from the Terrorizer¡¯s skull, quickly collecting the loot, and then made a run for it. Rumble No sooner had Wang Tao left than a group of zombies arrived. The zombies saw Wang Tao from afar but didn¡¯t chase deeply. In their eyes, Wang Tao was one of their own. ¡°Phew ¡± Wang Tao, while running, patted the sparks off his body. Once he made it to his car and saw no zombies following, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. He quickly started the car and glanced at the loot in the Space Backpack. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: sensitivity to light)] Chapter 50 - Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Ability - Shockwave_1 Chapter 50: Chapter 50 Ability ¨C Shockwave_1 Translator: 549690339 Vroom- The car started and turned to leave via another road. Wang Tao suddenly felt that firing his gun just now seemed to have its benefits after all; it had at least attracted the surrounding zombies, so he could speed up a bit. Not until he had left the street did Wang Tao finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then he took out a painkiller from the military medical kit and plunged it into his arm. The Terrorizer¡¯s hammer strike, although not hitting him directly, had delivered a solid shockwave to him, taking off more than eighty HP. His wounds hadn¡¯t fully healed¡­ and now his whole body was even more painfully sore. Fortunately, he was wearing thick clothes, with books on his body to block some of the damage. It was also lucky that he had dressed warmly, or he might have been burned while collecting the spoils of combat. Looking at the burnt holes in his clothes, even on the hood and the face mask, Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved. He had narrowly avoided disfigurement again¡­ The painkiller worked well, and soon he felt much more spirited. Only then did he have the chance to check his spoils. Killing that Terrorizer had once again granted him an additional 40 HP limit. He reached [54/380], close to breaking through four hundred, but since his current HP had dropped quite a bit during the fight, he was still severely injured. Just like before, the Terrorizer¡¯s weapon was stored by Wang Tao in his Space Backpack, and the dropped parcel contained the same item, [Strength Potion (small) xl], but this time there was no blueprint. Finally, it was time for him to focus on his main objective- [ Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Sensitivity to light)] This time, the Crystal Core was not a white and transparent one but a transparent red crystal! Compared to the previous Crystal Core, the Quality had changed. The last one was ¡°Ordinary (20%)¡± and this one was ¡°Excellent (80%)!¡± Quality affects the success rate of fusion, indicating an 80% success rate for merging this Red Crystal Core! This success rate was impressive; as long as one wasn¡¯t extremely unlucky, the fusion would be stable. Of course, Wang Tao was aiming for a 100% success rate; he definitely wouldn¡¯t fuse this one now, as he intended to gather ten for synthesis¡ªwait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly paused. The first Shockwave Crystal Core had a fusion success rate of 20%, and this second one was at 80%. Didn¡¯t that mean the combined success rate was already 100%? He quickly looked at his Space Backpack, and noticed some changes in the cell where the Zombie Cores were stored. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave] [2/10 (Can be synthetized)] He could synthesize now! So this ¡°10¡± didn¡¯t mean that at least ten Cores were needed for one synthesis, but that up to ten Cores could be fused?! Just as Wang Tao was pondering synthesis, another prompt popped up. [The attributes after synthing ¡°Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave¡± will be:] [Quality: Ordinary (20%) + Excellent (80%) = Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% + 50% = 100%] [Impurities: None] [Side effects: None] ¡°After synthesis, the Quality will become 100%, and the Purity will be 100% as well! Stability maxed out, no impurities, side effects extracted too! What are we waiting for!¡± Without hesitation, Wang Tao chose to synthesize. Swish¡ª The cell in the Space Backpack where the Crystal Cores were placed burst into a burst of colorful light, and an Orange Zombie Core appeared. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (No side effects)] Seeing the Orange Zombie Core in the Space Backpack, Wang Tao felt his heartbeat quicken a bit. But Wang Tao still had his wits about him, he knew that merging this thing right now wasn¡¯t quite appropriate. It would be better to go back and do it. However, just as Wang Tao took the crystal core out from the space to admire it. He suddenly felt as if he hadn¡¯t eaten for days, and a delicious meal was placed in front of him. Instinctively, he bit into it. And then¡­ he swallowed the beautiful orange crystal core. ¡°Fuck!¡± It was only after swallowing it that Wang Tao realized what he had done. He quickly stopped the car, touched his body, and tried to see if there were any changes. ¡°I feel a bit hot¡­¡± Wang Tao felt his body warming up, but that was all, no other changes occurred. The mild heat persisted for about three minutes. Then Wang Tao felt like he had grown a bit stronger, but not by much. He hurriedly checked his attributes. His HP limit didn¡¯t change, but his current HP increased by 10 points, turning into [64/380] Below his HP bar, a new blue bar had appeared¡ª[100/100] Seeing the blue bar, a realization suddenly dawned on Wang Tao. The blue bar represented his energy! He needed this energy to release the Shockwave! Then, next to the icon for the Space Backpack, an icon of a small fist appeared. Inside the fist icon, there was another icon with a wave pattern¡ª[Ability ¨C Shockwave] ¡°Do I really have an ability now?¡± Wang Tao felt it was somewhat surreal. Mainly because he didn¡¯t feel any major changes in his body¡­ Thinking this, Wang Tao suddenly threw a punch at the air outside the car window. Thump¡ª Although it was a punch into the air, it made a ripple as if hitting water, visible to the naked eye! The diameter of the ripple was about one meter. At the same time, his blue bar dropped by 10 points. Then he punched the air again, but this time nothing happened. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Wang Tao had understood how to use the ability. As long as he thought about using the Shockwave Ability in his mind, he could manifest it. If he didn¡¯t want to use it, it would be just a normal attack. He could also roughly control how much energy to use; he just thought about using as little energy as possible and then used 10 points of energy. He could use even less or more energy in one go. But he had a feeling that using less energy required extremely precise control, which he was not capable of yet. If he used too much energy at once, he might end up drained or damage his body, and it seemed like the maximum energy he could use at once was around 20 points¡­ Therefore, to wield this ability with ease, he had to learn and practice more! If two ability users with the same energy and skill were to fight head-on, the one more proficient in using their ability would undoubtedly win¡­ But no matter what, Wang Tao was now a genuine ability user! He couldn¡¯t wait to roar out in excitement, after all, which man hadn¡¯t dreamt of having supernatural powers when they were a child? Although he wasn¡¯t quite at the level of soaring through the skies and burrowing into the earth, he believed that as long as he continued to grow stronger, he might get there one day! With this excited mindset, Wang Tao finally returned to Happy Community a minute before the effects of the Stealth Potion wore off. ¡°Hm? What happened?¡± Wang Tao suddenly frowned. Something seemed off; where were all the zombies in the courtyard? There were clearly more than twenty zombies in the yard, and when he left, the zombies didn¡¯t chase after him. Could it be that someone came out and lured the zombies away? No, the zombies went into the building! When Wang Tao saw that the door to Building 4 was open, his face suddenly turned grim.. Chapter 51 - Chapter 51: Chapter 51 Crazy__l Chapter 51: Chapter 51 Crazy__l Translator: 549690339 | The number of zombies in the courtyard of Happy Community had decreased, so Wang Tao simply parked his car inside the community. He also locked the main gate of the community. At that moment, the duration of the Stealth Potion had just ended, and Wang Tao felt his strength fully restored. He held a horned hammer in one hand and carried a can of oil from the car with the other. With his Ability, Wang Tao had grown bolder. However, he didn¡¯t head straight for Building No. 4; instead, he first went to Buildings No. 1, 2, and 3 to shut their lobby doors. There were obviously still zombies inside these buildings; he could hear them coming downstairs as he closed the doors. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to deal with them yet, but he had to prevent them from ambushing him while he was fighting. With the community gate locked and the doors of the three buildings shut, only the zombies in Building No. 4 remained. When Wang Tao arrived at the entrance of Building No. 4 and saw the zombies in the stairwell, he didn¡¯t go in but climbed onto the awning above the lobby door. Then he began to tap the metal oil can with the horned hammer. Dong dong¡ª As soon as the tapping sound echoed, it instantly attracted the attention of the zombies in the stairwell. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The zombies began to follow the sound and come out; after emerging, they seemed to catch Wang Tao¡¯s human scent and gradually became frenzied. But Wang Tao was now on the awning above the door, out of the zombies¡¯ reach, leaving them impotently raging below. In a short while, the number of zombies beneath him grew, forming a dense and terrifying crowd of about twenty or thirty heads. If Wang Tao fell, he would undoubtedly die. But Wang Tao was not panicked. When the timing felt right, he looked toward an open window on the second floor, about two meters away from him. It was precisely the window of apartment 201, left open when he had departed. First, Wang Tao threw the oil can inside, then he took off all his upper clothing, exposing a muscular torso covered in scars. Once stripped, the human scent of blood seemed more intense, making the zombies below even more frenzied. Wang Tao immediately threw down the bloody clothes. ¡°Heh heh¡ª¡± Following the scent, the zombies lunged at the clothes. Wang Tao then leaped toward the window and easily jumped through it. After entering, he grabbed his things and ran to the door, opening it from the inside. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The moment he opened the door, a one-armed zombie lunged at Wang Tao. Wang Tao was prepared for an attack upon opening the door; without looking, he kicked out. Bang! The zombie was sent flying into the door of apartment 202. Only then did Wang Tao take a moment to look, and cursed angrily. ¡°Shit!¡± The zombie he had just kicked away turned out to be the balding uncle! After the balding uncle climbed back up and lunged at him again, Wang Tao sidestepped to avoid the attack, pushed him into apartment 201, and quickly shut and locked the door. Then, with a flip, he jumped straight down to the first floor. The zombies outside the door might have been taken aback, not expecting someone to suddenly jump down from the corridor. Faced with a crowd of zombies, Wang Tao remained unflustered and slammed the lobby door shut with a bang. Ignoring the various roars behind him, he rushed upstairs. Inside room 401. By the door of the secondary bedroom. A young man with pale complexion, dressed in spectacles, and with a scholarly appearance sat on the floor. He was holding a kitchen knife, knocking on the door while eating his last piece of bread, then called out somewhat weakly : ¡°Beauty, open the door. I promise I won¡¯t kill you!¡± No one answered from inside. ¡°Beauty, you can trust me. I really didn¡¯t mean to kill that uncle. I was forced into a corner too!¡± Still no response. ¡°Beauty, I¡¯m giving you a chance to open the door voluntarily. Otherwise¡­ don¡¯t blame me, okay!¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Waiting for your husband who¡¯s already fled on his own? Forget it, no one¡¯s coming to rescue you! Just accept your fate, follow me, and I guarantee I won¡¯t let you die!¡± ¡°Damn it! Stupid bitch! I¡¯m going to make you wish you were dead! I¡¯m going to * you alive!¡± The man in glasses suddenly turned vicious, looking as ferocious as a madman. As soon as he spoke, a muffled sobbing could be heard from the bedroom. Upon hearing this, the man in glasses immediately changed his tune. ¡°If you open the door willingly, I promise, as long as you agree to be my wife, I won¡¯t kill you. I¡¯ll treat you well!¡± Seeing that there was still no response from inside, the man in glasses didn¡¯t want to wait any longer. He propped himself up against the wall, stood up, then took a kitchen knife and began to pry at the door lock. ¡°Damn you, you stinking whore! Wait for it! When I catch you, I¡¯m going to strip you naked, chop you into pieces, throw you into the zombie horde, I¡¯m going to * you to death¡­¡± As the man in glasses muttered to himself, he suddenly heard some noise coming from outside the front door. ¡°Heh, these dumb zombies, here they come again The man in glasses suddenly stopped short; he noticed that the door to his house was open! Gulp- Swallowing hard, the man in glasses clenched the kitchen knife tightly and hobbled along the wall towards the door. Suddenly, a tall dark shadow burst in. Before the man in glasses could see clearly, he found himself lifted off the ground. ¡°Uh-uh¡ª¡± Wang Tao looked at the man he held by the neck, a cold gaze in his eyes. As he watched the man struggle to breathe, Wang Tao loosed his grip, and the man in glasses fell to the ground. Wang Tao stomped hard on his stomach; after seeing that he had only a sliver of HP left, only then did Wang Tao let him be. Then Wang Tao approached the door of the secondary bedroom and knocked. ¡°Open up, it¡¯s me!¡± No answer from inside. Wang Tao didn¡¯t waste any words, he took half a step back, then suddenly kicked the door. Bang! The door was kicked open by his foot. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± A hoarse scream came from a corner of the room. Seeing the disheveled woman, Wang Tao strode over. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me¡­ don¡¯t kill me¡­ I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡± Ding Yuqin, sitting on the ground, frantically waved her limbs. Wang Tao squatted down, easily grabbed Ding Yuqin¡¯s limbs, then pinched her chin, forcibly lifting her head. ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s me.¡± Ding Yuqin looked over in terror. Looking at the tall figure in front of her, bare-chested and muscular, covered in scars, wearing a broken mask. She was suddenly stunned, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. ¡°Wang¡­ Wang Tao?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Wang Tao! Wuuwuu! Is it really you? I thought you abandoned me! I thought I was dead! I¡¯m not dreaming¡­¡± Ding Yuqin cried tears of joy, somewhat incoherently. Wang Tao gently patted her shoulder. ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s me, I¡¯m back.¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s hand, Ding Yuqin suddenly threw herself into his arms. ¡°Wuuwuu¡­ I thought you¡­¡± Wang Tao patted Ding Yuqin¡¯s back and helped her stand up, then asked. -What on earth happened here, how did you end up here? What¡¯s the deal with the person outside?¡± Ding Yuqin suddenly tensed up again when the matter was brought up. ¡°That man went mad! He lured the zombies here! He wanted to kill us! The bald uncle¡­ to save me¡­ wuuwuu¡­.¡± Chapter 52 - Chapter 52: Chapter 52 Murder i Chapter 52: Chapter 52 Murder i Translator: 549690339 ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, just take your time.¡± Wang Tao, supporting Ding Yuqin, came out and saw the figure lying on the ground, Ding Yuqin instinctively clung tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s waist. ¡°He, he¡¯s gone mad! He wanted to commit suicide with us! And then¡­¡± Ding Yuqin trembled as she recounted what had happened. It turned out that the day after Wang Tao had left, the glasses-wearing man from 401 took the initiative to come out and invited the bald man downstairs and Ding Yuqin to his apartment as guests. Of course, saying it was to entertain guests was an overstatement since he didn¡¯t have much to offer; it was really just to discuss what to do in the future. Ding Yuqin originally didn¡¯t want to go out, but since she thought Wang Tao had abandoned her and left alone, she felt the only way to survive was to save herself, so she went out. The bald uncle also came out, after all, the glasses-wearing man seemed very normal, and both he and the bald uncle thought he truly wanted to unite everyone for self-rescue. Unexpectedly, after inviting everyone out, the glasses-wearing man suddenly went to open the unit door while no one was paying attention and let the zombies in! His home had long been out of supplies, and with the power, water, and internet cut off¡­ he had been driven mad by the apocalypse! The mentally unstable glasses-wearing man wanted to take everyone down with him! The glasses-wearing man thought death was no big deal, but after seeing how ferocious the zombies were, he suddenly chickened out¡­ The betrayed Ding Yuqin and the bald uncle didn¡¯t have time to get back to their homes, so they had no choice but to hide in the glasses-wearing man¡¯s house. In his house, the bald uncle naturally wanted to settle scores with the glasses-wearing man, but after the latter¡¯s tearful apologies, claiming he had been blinded by insanity, he managed to convince the kind-hearted bald uncle Although Ding Yuqin no longer trusted the glasses-wearing man, she was, after all, a frail woman; if the zombies came, she would still need their protection, so she didn¡¯t say anything and just kept a close watch on the glasses-wearing man. And so, the group stayed inside 401 for two days, but there was no food and very little water in his house. All three of them were struggling to hold on. At this time, most of the zombies in the corridor had left, with only one upstairs. Therefore, the bald uncle suggested going downstairs to his place to get some things, as he still had some food Wang Tao had given him. But he was afraid that the glasses-wearing man would harm Ding Yuqin, so he proposed that he go together with him and have Yuqin stay at home to keep watch. Hearing there was food, the glasses-wearing man instantly perked up and agreed there was no problem. Then he and the bald uncle sneakily slipped out. But after the two left, something happened downstairs that drew a zombie and they both ran back. When Ding Yuqin opened the door, the glasses-wearing man suddenly pulled her out and opened the door-he wanted to drag everyone down together again! By then, his mind had already become abnormal. As Yuqin was about to be bitten by a zombie, the bald uncle desperately charged at the glasses-wearing man, pulling Yuqin back inside, but he himself got bitten¡­ In the final moments, the bald uncle forcefully shut the door to 401, and as the two men struggled, the glasses-wearing man¡¯s keys got lost too. The bald uncle resolutely dragged the zombie down the stairs with him. Yuqin frantically hid in the bedroom and locked it from the inside. Since the glasses-wearing man didn¡¯t have the keys, and since he hadn¡¯t eaten before, he didn¡¯t have the strength to break open the bedroom door, so the two were stuck in a standoff from yesterday until today. But when the glasses-wearing man had gone down previously with the bald uncle, he had managed to get some food from the bald uncle¡¯s place. So as long as he recovered some strength, he could probably break open the bedroom door by ramming it. By then, Yuqin would surely die. After all, she was originally not as physically Strong as the glasses-wearing man and hadn¡¯t eaten for days; she had no way to resist. And just when Yuqin was at her most desperate, Wang Tao arrived like God himself, appearing right in front of her! After listening to Ding Yuqin¡¯s rough explanation, Wang Tao looked at the glasses-wearing man as if he were looking at a dead man, then he said somewhat displeased: ¡°Sis-in-law, didn¡¯t I tell you to hide in the house and not come out! Why did you go out?¡± ¡°I¡­ I won¡¯t do it again¡­¡± Ding Yuqin hung her head slightly, not daring to meet Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Right then, Wang Tao seemed to remember something and suddenly asked: ¡°Do you think I abandoned you and left on my own?¡± When he went after the airdrop, he drove there, so if Ding Yuqin had been by the window, she could have seen it. Most people would probably assume that Wang Tao was planning to leave on his own. II II Ding Yuqin really wanted to say yes, but she didn¡¯t dare. She was afraid that her distrust would annoy Wang Tao, and only when she lost Wang Tao did she realize how much she needed him. In the few days that Wang Tao was gone, she truly understood what the apocalypse was! Seeing that Ding Yuqin remained silent, Wang Tao knew what was probably going on. ¡±Stupid woman! Even if I really had left, couldn¡¯t you have asked the bald guy to unlock the door to my room? You know I have food in there. But you chose to trust a stranger instead? Really¡ª¡± Wang Tao reproached irritably. The death of the bald man made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. Although they had been strangers before, the man had taught him the entire set of lock-picking skills, and he had a good personality, not one of those greedy types. Wang Tao had a good impression of him. And yet such a man had died like that¡­ ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡­ sob sob¡­¡± It was the first time Wang Tao had been so harsh to Ding Yuqin, and it instantly frightened her. Clutching the corner of her clothes, she apologized with teary eyes. ¡°Ah, okay, okay¡­ It¡¯s not your fault¡­¡± Seeing Ding Yuqin¡¯s haggard and fearful appearance, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t bear to say more. After all, she only had 10 drops of HP left. He was really afraid she might die if he continued. Wang Tao helped Ding Yuqin to sit in a chair, then took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, unwrapped it, and handed it to her. Ding Yuqin swallowed, but hesitated to take it. Wang Tao straightforwardly brushed aside Ding Yuqin¡¯s messy hair and somewhat roughly stuffed the dark chocolate into her mouth. ¡°Eat!¡± ¡°Mmm¡­¡± After seeing that Ding Yuqin could still eat, Wang Tao then turned his attention to the glasses-wearing man on the floor. The man with glasses only had [5/100] HP left. He didn¡¯t have much HP to begin with and had been severely beaten by Wang Tao, now nearing a state of death. Wang Tao strode over and, grabbing the man¡¯s collar, pulled him up from the ground. ¡°Spa-spare me¡­¡± The man with glasses started speaking with a tremble. Without a word, Wang Tao grabbed his throat and then forcefully squeezed. Crack! [-5] [0/100] ¡°Ugh¡ª¡± The man with glasses¡¯ eyes bulged, his pupils slowly losing focus. Ding Yuqin, who had been eating the chocolate with her head down, shuddered all over. Wang Tao looked back at her. ¡°Sister-in-law, stay here for now. I¡¯ll be right back. Don¡¯t go running off again.¡± ¡°O-okay¡­.¡± Chapter 53 - Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Weakness Potion_l Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Weakness Potion_l Translator: 549690339 I In this world, where civilization had gradually been replaced by barbarism, the bespectacled man had killed the bald man, and he even wanted to kill Ding Yuqin. His fate was already sealed. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to find out any more details or understand his mental state any further; he just wanted the bespectacled man to die. Wang Tao had thought that killing someone with his own hands might be uncomfortable, might make him queasy. But perhaps it was because he had killed too many zombies, after he killed the bespectacled man, he found he felt nothing at all. Not even as much as when killing zombies, after all, zombies were much more disgusting than the bespectacled man. Wang Tao dragged the bespectacled man¡¯s body to room 202, which was the bald man¡¯s home, and then threw him out of the window. Bang¡ª As the bespectacled man¡¯s body hit the ground, the group of zombies outside immediately swarmed over. Wang Tao didn¡¯t look at the disgusting scene for long; he turned his attention to the items that had dropped when he killed the bespectacled man. First thing was for sure, killing people could also result in loot drops. But killing people didn¡¯t increase the HP limit, nor was there that feeling of a slight improvement in physical condition. [Acquired: Weakness Potion (small) x2] [Weakness Potion (small): A creature contaminated with Weakness Potion will have its Attributes reduced by l%-20% (depending on the dosage), lasting for to minutes, with a cooldown of 12 minutes for the same target] Killing an ordinary otaku and dropping two bottles of ¡°Weakness Potion,¡± does that make sense? This Weakness Potion wasn¡¯t like the others before; it resembled a glass bottle, not an injection. Thinking about it, who would inject themselves with a Weakness Potion? Wang Tao felt the correct way to use this thing was probably to throw it or to drug someone¡­ It might not be needed for now, but who knows, it might come in handy one day. Moreover, according to the description, any creature contaminated with Weakness Potion will be weakened, so zombies should count as creatures, right? After stowing the items in the Space Backpack, Wang Tao went to the door of room 201, listening to the incessant zombie roars inside. He took a deep breath, and only then did he use the key to open the door. Bang! The moment he opened the door, Wang Tao kicked it. He sent the zombie that was once the bald man flying with a kick. Then he grabbed the horned hammer and quickly ran over, pounding away at the zombie that was once the bald man. Soon, the zombie that was once the bald man was down to a sliver of HP, and looking at that familiar yet ferocious face, Wang Tao sighed deeply. ¡°Ah¡­¡± The bald man had avoided the virus outbreak, avoided the zombies, avoided the food crisis, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t avoid his own kind. If only he could have come back yesterday, he might have been able to be saved. But now, it was too late¡­ Bang! [-54] [0/500] [Obtained: Rope xl] [Rope: Crafting material] The HP limit went up another 5 points, reaching [69/385] Wang Tao searched the bald man¡¯s body and found a blood-stained photograph. It was the family portrait he had proudly shown Wang Tao before. Looking at the bright smiling faces of the family of three in the photograph, Wang Tao carefully tucked the photo away. ¡°If I ever get the chance to meet your wife and child, and I happen to be capable, I¡¯ll look after them for you.¡± Regardless, the man had taught him how to pick locks, and this infection had come while he was protecting Ding Yuqin. If Wang Tao was able, he wouldn¡¯t mind helping the man¡¯s family, but¡­ Remembering the terrifying figure he had seen on the outskirts with ten thousand HP, Wang Tao thought the chances of the man¡¯s family¡¯s survival were slim. Wang Tao sat here for a while and, after smoking a cigarette, finally tossed out the balding uncle zombie¡¯s corpse. Then he picked up the oil drum kept in this room and went upstairs to the door of 401. ¡°Open up, it¡¯s me.¡± Click- Ding Yuqin was waiting right behind the door and, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, opened it without even a glance through the peephole. ¡°Sister-in-law, next time you could at least take a look at who it is before opening the door. You don¡¯t have to hurry to let someone in.¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. This Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t foolish before, so why did it feel like she had become dull all of a sudden after his short trip outside? ¡°¡­Oh.¡± Ding Yuqin bowed her head and didn¡¯t explain, mainly because it was Wang Tao outside. If it were someone else, she definitely wouldn¡¯t open the door so trustingly. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go home.¡± Wang Tao beckoned, and Ding Yuqin hurriedly followed. Seeing the cuts and bruises on Wang Tao¡¯s back, Ding Yuqin suddenly felt a twinge of heartache. She couldn¡¯t imagine what Wang Tao must have gone through these past few days outside. Wang Tao watched as Ding Yuqin continued to follow him all the way to the sixth floor, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower, you can drink some water, grab something to eat on your own.¡± After saying that, Wang Tao went to the bathroom. Only then did Ding Yuqin realize she hadn¡¯t returned to her own home but had followed Wang Tao to his place instead. She drank some water, didn¡¯t take anything, and left straight away. After washing up, Wang Tao found that Ding Yuqin had left and was slightly surprised. But he didn¡¯t care too much. He planned to rest well today and also make some Molotov cocktails, so that he could take care of the zombies in the yard the next day and then bring back the stuff from the car. The gates of the community were now locked, and all the unit doors were shut as well. There were only about twenty zombies in the yard, and they definitely wouldn¡¯t withstand his Molotov cocktails. Not to mention, he now had an Ability! However, he decided to leave it for today, since he was still at low HP. An hour later, while Wang Tao was cooking, he suddenly heard a knock on the door. Upon opening the door, Wang Tao was slightly taken aback. It was one thing for Ding Yuqin to have gone home to shower and change clothes, but she¡¯d also applied light makeup. Her hair was tied up high, revealing delicate ears and a slender snowy neck. She wore a figure-hugging dark blue pajama set, tightly wrapped around the chest but still unable to hide the prominent curves. The hem of her pajamas was above the knee, encasing her shapely lower body, but not those slim legs sheathed in flesh-toned stockings. On her feet were a pair of brown high-heeled shoes, which unexpectedly matched well with the pajamas. ¡°Wang Tao, I, I¡¯ll help you cook and do laundry¡­¡± Ding Yuqin brushed a stray hair aside from her ear and said in a low voice, looking down. ¡°Okay.¡± Since Ding Yuqin was willing to cook, Wang Tao decided to take a break. After a simple lunch, Wang Tao went to make the Molotov cocktails. Gasoline was a flammable material, after all, and he didn¡¯t feel comfortable letting Ding Yuqin handle it. By the time the sun set, he had managed to make all thirty Molotov cocktails. Actually, as long as the materials were fine, making Molotov cocktails was quite quick. But whether deliberately or not, Ding Yuqin often lingered around Wang Tao, causing him to lose concentration and thus wasting a lot of time. With a faint smell of gasoline on him and a bit of irritation in his mind, Wang Tao decided to take another shower. Coming out bare-chested, Wang Tao saw Ding Yuqin casually stretching her legs on the couch, gently massaging her silky stocking-clad legs. She seemed a bit hot, her pajama top slightly open at the chest, revealing a deep cleavage. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Ding Yuqin lowered her head with an unnatural color on her face. Wang Tao walked over directly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going home, sister-in-law?¡± Chapter 54 - Chapter 54: Chapter 54: The Miraculous Blood Chapter 54: Chapter 54: The Miraculous Blood Replenishing Ability¡ª1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Isn¡¯t sister-in-law going home?¡± Wang Tao looked down at Ding Yuqin from above. There was plenty of food left over from lunch, and he could just reheat it for dinner, so he no longer needed Ding Yuqin. ¡°I want to rest for a while, I¡¯m a bit tired¡­¡± Ding Yuqin lowered her head, not daring to look into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Where are you tired?¡± Wang Tao took a step forward. ¡°My legs are sore¡­¡± She had been doing household chores and cooking at Wang Tao¡¯s home all along; if she had known earlier, she would not have worn high heels-it was too tiring¡­ ¡°Do you want my help, sister-in-law?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said with a smile. ¡°¡­Yeah.¡± Ding Yuqin murmured so quietly that she could barely hear her own voice. Wang Tao heard her. Then he casually sat down next to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Sister-in-law, let me give you a massage¡­¡± (614 characters omitted¡­ Even a foot massage is censored, I give up.) Suddenly, a pair of slender and pale hands grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s large one. Wang Tao looked up and saw a pair of eyes that were shy yet filled with tears. ¡°Wang Tao¡­ you, you won¡¯t ever abandon me, right? ¡°I have never left sister-in-law behind at any time!¡± Wang Tao said, puzzled. ¡°I¡­ I just want to hear you say it¡­¡± Ding Yuqin did not want to experience that feeling of despair again; the only thing that might still be useful to Wang Tao now was probably herself. She was unwilling to trade herself, but she had no other choice. And it wasn¡¯t exactly a pure transaction, either; after these days of post-apocalyptic life, she had developed some fondness for Wang Tao. Especially today, when she was most desperate, the image of Wang Tao, covered in blood, bursting in front of her was something she might never forget in her lifetime¡­ ¡°Okay! As long as you are obedient, I, Wang Tao, will definitely not abandon you.¡± Wang Tao promised. Although it was just an ordinary verbal promise, Ding Yuqin still felt a surge of overwhelming joy. She let go of Wang Tao¡¯s hand and hugged him tightly on her own initiative. ¡°Wang Tao¡­ sob¡­ thank you!¡± Feeling the warmth of a fragrant embrace, Wang Tao gently wiped away her tears, and then slowly kissed her. After a while, when Ding Yuqin started to have difficulty catching her breath, Wang Tao finally released her. Still feeling the desire for more, Wang Tao licked his lips and said with a smile: ¡°Sister-in-law, have you really made up your mind? After this, you¡¯ll be mine alone!¡± ¡°Can you¡­ can you stop calling me sister-in-law¡­¡± Ding Yuqin, with complex emotions, buried her head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest. Wang Tao chuckled. ¡°No, I like calling you that.¡± An hour later. Wang Tao walked out of the bedroom, his face full of disbelief. ¡°I actually gained too points of HP! And my body doesn¡¯t hurt much anymore!¡± An hour before, his HP was [69/385], but now it was [169/385] This¡­ was a bit miraculous! Was it because of him, or Ding Yuqin, or the combination of the two? Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite understand. -It seems the experts are right; appropriate exercise is beneficial to one¡¯s health!¡± Looking out the window, he saw that it had already gotten dark. Wang Tao reheated the leftover food from lunch and cooked another portion of porridge. After having a few bites himself, he took the porridge to the bedroom. Ding Yuqin was already asleep. Her body had been in a state of weakness these last few days, and her spirit was extremely languid. Wang Tao forcefully woke Ding Yuqin up. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Ding Yuqin was still a little groggy, but as she slowly recognized Wang Tao, a flush spread across her pale little face. Wang Tao pinched her cheek and said with a smile. ¡°Sister-in-law, come and eat some dinner, you¡¯re too weak, you need to get more nutrition.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sleepy¡­¡± Smelling the fragrance of the food, Ding Yuqin wrinkled her little nose, but she was indeed very tired and sleepy. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll feed you today.¡± Wang Tao propped her up and then sat by the bed, spoon-feeding her the porridge. Ding Yuqin, enjoying Wang Tao¡¯s tenderness, suddenly felt her eyes moisten. After feeding Ding Yuqin, he watched her fall asleep again before Wang Tao quietly left the bedroom. Now that his HP had recovered somewhat, it was time to continue his daily exercises. Wang Tao was quite disciplined in this regard. He exercised until late into the night, and only after feeling his body had grown stronger did he contentedly take a shower and then went to rest. Early in the morning. Upon opening her eyes, Ding Yuqin saw the burly figure lying next to her and felt complex emotions. She was a woman of loyalty; she had only ever dated once, and her partner was her husband, Zhao Yuan. If she had a choice, she certainly would not want to betray her husband, even though it was very likely that Zhao Yuan was already dead¡­ But she lacked any ability to survive in a post-apocalyptic world; if she didn¡¯t choose to rely on a man, she would either die or live a life worse than death! Hence, she had no choice. She felt gratitude, admiration, and trust towards Wang Tao¡­ but no love-she believed she did not feel it yet. ¡°Awake?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice suddenly sounded. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Ding Yuqin murmured somewhat unnaturally as she buried her head into Wang Tao¡¯s chest. ¡°Today I¡¯m going to clear out all the zombies in the yard, but before that, I want to try if I can replenish my blood again!¡± ¡®Hmm? Mm-¡° Chapter 55 - Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Testing the Molotov Cocktail Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Testing the Molotov Cocktail Again_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao felt a bit disappointed; this time it didn¡¯t replenish his HP. ¡°Not sure if this blood replenishing is a one-time thing or periodic¡­¡± After muttering to himself, Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin, who was lying on the bed like a dead fish, and patted her butt. ¡°Sister-in-law, time to get up and cook!¡± ¡°¡­Mhm.¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a blushing glance and then said softly, ¡°I, I think I¡¯ll take a shower first¡­¡± ¡°Perfect, I was thinking the same, let¡¯s go together. Wang Tao grinned. After a quick shower, Wang Tao started his morning training at home with a bare chest. Wang Tao really enjoyed working out because he could clearly feel that his daily training was improving his strength. Although the improvements were not substantial, the sensation of receiving rewards for his effort was quite exhilarating. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s time to eat!¡± After preparing breakfast, Ding Yuqin habitually set up Wang Tao¡¯s bowl and chopsticks first, while she herself didn¡¯t take anything, standing by waiting for Wang Tao to sit down. ¡°Aren¡¯t you eating, sister-in-law?¡± After Wang Tao sat down, he looked at Ding Yuqin and asked. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Ding Yuqin then happily went to grab her own bowl and chopsticks. From now on, her three meals a day should be secure. ¡°Eat more, sister-in-law, you¡¯ve lost weight.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you¡­¡± Ding Yuqin had been severely frightened these past few days and hadn¡¯t eaten much. Although she had managed to eat a bit yesterday, her HP was still only a little over thirty. Since Ding Yuqin had chosen to follow Wang Tao, he certainly wouldn¡¯t be stingy; he had to at least make sure her HP was fully replenished. The two of them didn¡¯t speak again, eating silently. However, Ding Yuqin would occasionally steal glances at Wang Tao, who was well aware of her looks, but he didn¡¯t mind. -I¡¯m done eating. I¡¯m going to go down for a bit later, you just stay home and don¡¯t wander off.¡± ¡°Ah? Wang Tao, you¡¯re going to¡­¡± Ding Yuqin instinctively felt a little scared whenever she heard Wang Tao was about to leave. ¡°I¡¯m going to clear out the zombies in the residential courtyard. Having so many zombies outside isn¡¯t right.¡± Wang Tao explained. With the main gate of the complex locked and all the other unit doors downstairs locked as well, the only zombies left were those in the courtyard. He definitely had to clean them out. Plus, with the zombies around, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring the stuff from the car over. ¡°Ah? So many zombies¡­ Be careful¡­¡± Ding Yuqin quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks and grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand, her voice tinged with nervousness. There were at least twenty zombies in the courtyard. She could hardly imagine how Wang Tao would clear them out, but she didn¡¯t doubt him; she was just very worried. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a secret weapon!¡± Wang Tao patted Ding Yuqin¡¯s hand and then went to put on his gear. Ding Yuqin hurried to help him. His previous clothes had been discarded, and the books were damaged, but Wang Tao still had plenty of those. He found a new set of clothes, fresh books, and then taped them all up. Ding Yuqin found other equipment for Wang Tao, and as she helped him dress, she saw the battle scars on his body. She subconsciously caressed the scabbed wounds, expressing her concern, ¡°What happened with these wounds? Do they hurt? Wang Tao just smiled indifferently. ¡°Got them on the road yesterday, but they¡¯re just minor injuries, not painful.¡± In fact, they did hurt quite a bit yesterday. However, since he had replenished his blood while with Ding Yuqin at night, the wounds had healed a lot, and naturally, they didn¡¯t hurt as much anymore. ¡°Wait for me to come back, and I¡¯ll treat your wound again¡­ Ding Yuqin said, biting her lower lip. Upon hearing that the injury was sustained yesterday on the way back, Ding Yuqin felt even more touched, after all, this was a wound Wang Tao had gotten for her¡­ ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After all preparations were done, Wang Tao left the house, carrying a box full of Molotov cocktails. With so many zombies in the community, it was impossible for him to single-handedly take on a group. It wasn¡¯t a matter of whether he could win, but rather the risk was too great, and the potential gain was not worth the danger. Wang Tao already had an idea of the power of these Molotov cocktails. When attacking a ¡°Terrorizer¡± zombie, a single strike would cause around fifty to sixty HP of damage, while a Molotov cocktail could burn more than fifty HP in one second. Although he was unsure of the exact damage it would do to these Ordinary zombies, even if it was only around fifty, it would be enough. After all, this was a continuous area-of-effect attack! With this powerful weapon at his disposal, he didn¡¯t need to take risks. Carrying the Molotov cocktails, he arrived at apartment 201 and opened the window. The body of the bespectacled man he threw down yesterday was now only a skeleton. A few zombies were gnawing at the bones. However, it seemed the zombies¡¯ teeth hadn¡¯t evolved much, as they were still unable to gnaw on some of the larger bones. Wang Tao knocked on the window, immediately attracting the attention of some zombies. He stood by the window, occasionally knocking on it. Soon, four zombies had gathered beneath the window. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± ¡°Roar¡­¡± Looking at those zombies that were agitated but couldn¡¯t climb walls, Wang Tao cracked a smile. He lit a Molotov cocktail, then hurled it down at the zombies. Splash- Boom¡ª After the Molotov cocktail shattered on the ground amidst the zombies, flames burst forth, and Wang Tao could distinctly feel a wave of heat. He looked closely and saw numbers beginning to float above the heads of the zombies engulfed in the sea of fire. [-64] [-63] [-61] [-] ¡°Molotov cocktail attacks against Ordinary zombies only do slightly more damage than against Terrorizers?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, as he had added extra ingredients to the cocktail. It was not much of an issue though, since the Molotov cocktails would burn for quite a while, and these zombies would definitely be burned to death. The roaring of these zombies attracted others, but seeing the flames, the other zombies were unwilling to approach, just roaring and watching from a distance. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry, as he still had plenty of Molotov cocktails in his hands, enough to take out these zombies. ¡°Hm? The damage is getting lower?¡± Wang Tao noticed that as the zombies¡¯ HP dropped, the damage inflicted by the fire was also decreasing. Soon, three zombies had fallen to the ground with a sliver of HP left, but they weren¡¯t dead. The flames continued to burn; although the gasoline in the Molotov cocktails had burned up, the zombies¡¯ bodies were flammable and could continue to burn. It just didn¡¯t smell too good. Wang Tao silently waited for a while, and three of the zombies were burned to death. The one that had not died because the flames had initially only caught its arm was now spreading to its body. But the three dead zombies didn¡¯t drop any loot, nor did they increase Wang Tao¡¯s HP limit. ¡°Damn! Doesn¡¯t it count as my kill? Those I shot dead with a gun counted, why doesn¡¯t burning them to death count?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled, realizing he would have to experiment more in the future to understand the situation. However, if burning the zombies to death didn¡¯t count as his kills, he would have to change his combat approach! ¡°I have to go down there! First, I need to burn them until they are crippled, then finish them off with a blade! Otherwise, these zombies¡¯ deaths would be too wasteful!¡± Chapter 56 - Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Clean-up of the Residential Area_l Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Clean-up of the Residential Area_l Translator: 549690339 The flames on the first floor hadn¡¯t been extinguished yet, and the zombies were unwilling to come over, so Wang Tao had no choice but to go to Room 202. He opened the window to attract the zombies. Once the zombies approached, he repeated his method and once again threw a Molotov cocktail, hitting four zombies. Waiting for their HP to drop to a sliver, Wang Tao grabbed his weapons and climbed out the window. There were still about a dozen zombies in the yard, so for safety, he didn¡¯t walk out the front door on the first floor but instead jumped down directly. Thud¡ª The second-floor window was about four meters from the ground of the complex, and Wang Tao landed with ease. But at the same time as he landed, Wang Tao silently used Shockwave. A visible ripple spread out from his feet, expanding in all directions like the ripples of a wave. [-22] [-21] [-8] [-12] The four zombies, already low on HP, were bounced up by the Shockwave and then hit the ground. By the time they bounced, they were already dead! Four semi-transparent packages appeared instantly. ¡°Haha, using Shockwave to deal the final blow seems pretty good!¡± It was Wang Tao¡¯s first time using Shockwave against enemies, and he was slightly excited. He quickly estimated that the Shockwave¡¯s range was about three meters in diameter, half of the Terrorizer¡¯s six-meter diameter Shockwave. But Wang Tao was content since he could repeatedly fuse the same type of Crystal Core, meaning the Ability was sure to grow stronger, and as he collected more Crystal Cores, his Ability would become increasingly powerful! After jumping down, Wang Tao immediately drew all the zombies¡¯ attention, and they twisted their bodies towards him. But Wang Tao had no intention of engaging them. He quickly stepped on the windowsill and climbed back up to the second floor. Then, he lit another Molotov cocktail and threw it out. Splat- Boom¡ª After throwing three Molotov cocktails in a row, the ground floor was engulfed in flames. Wang Tao then went back to Room 201 and, after waiting for a while, jumped down from there. With a thump, he landed effortlessly. Watching the zombies chaotically dancing in the inferno, Wang Tao chuckled. Enduring the heat waves, he strode forward, picked up the horned hammer, and brought it down on the head of a burning zombie. Splat! [-451 [0/500] The zombie had only a sliver of HP left, an easy target for the killing blow. Simultaneously, a visible Shockwave emanated from the horned hammer. [-42] [0/500] This time it affected only one zombie, but it was still instantly killed. Soon, all the weakened zombies in the inferno were taken out by Wang Tao. Wang Tao discovered a proper way to use the Shockwave; when finishing off zombies, he didn¡¯t need to enter the inferno. He could simply hit the ground or the zombies outside the flames, and the Shockwave would kill the zombies inside! This was very convenient. However, the Ability consumed quite a bit. The three-meter range Shockwave was his most powerful attack, and each usage consumed 20 Mana. He could use it at most five times. Wang Tao took care of all the zombies in the blaze with just three uses. Outside the inferno, there were still two unscathed zombies left. ¡°Perfect, you two can try out the Ability!¡± Wang Tao rushed forward and hammered hard on the head of one of the zombies. [-3431 [-2851 The zombie he hammered lost 343 HP while the zombie nearby affected by the Shockwave lost 285 HP. At the same time, both zombies were knocked to the ground by the impact. Wang Tao was satisfied with the result. He brought down the hammer again, targeting the zombie with the higher remaining HP. Splat! [-157] [0/500] Shockwave. [-1151 [0/500] Two hammers, instant kill. ¡°The power of the shockwave seems to be related to the strength of my attacks¡­ but the mana cost is at most only 20 points, so there must be a limit to this power unless I can use more mana¡­ As he pondered, Wang Tao casually collected the loot dropped by the two zombies. ¡°All cleared!¡± He looked around and saw a total of 22 zombies in the courtyard of the community, apart from the first three zombies that Wang Tao did not finish off, he had finished off the remaining 19. NOW he had obtained nineteen pieces of loot and a 95-point increase to his HP limit! Wang Tao glanced at his attributes. HP1264/48O] Mana[o/ioo] Breaking through four hundred HP, he felt his body slightly strengthen, filled with power. That was also the reason he managed to deal over 300 damage in killing those last two zombies. However, the depletion of his mana left Wang Tao feeling extremely exhausted. This feeling of being physically energized yet mentally exhausted made Wang Tao very uncomfortable. ¡°It looks like I should conserve some mana in the future, and not use it all at once unless necessary¡­¡± Wang Tao, bearing the disgusting smell, used his hammer to drag the still-burning zombies to the middle of the empty space in the community. He worried that if the corpses happened to set the buildings on fire, it would be really bad luck. Fire safety is everyone¡¯s responsibility! He then made a round in the community. This old community had only four buildings, and was quite small in area. After confirming that there were no more zombies in the courtyard, Wang Tao then drove the pickup truck in from the community entrance. Indistinctly, Wang Tao could feel the howling of zombies from the other buildings. ¡°There are still quite a few zombies left in the remaining three buildings, it seems there are no other survivors¡­ Maybe I should find some time to clear them out¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s HP bar was only 20 away from breaking through 500, and he was full of motivation for killing zombies. After parking the car under Building No. 4, Wang Tao went down to call for Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao with a bit of surprise, as she had been watching from the building and saw the shockwave that Wang Tao unleashed. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡­¡± She opened her mouth, wanting to ask Wang Tao about it, but considering it might be Wang Tao¡¯s secret, she hesitated whether she should ask. ¡°Ability, Shockwave.¡± Wang Tao, knowing what was on her mind, replied directly. ¡°Ab-Ability!¡± Though she had already guessed, Ding Yuqin was still visibly shocked when Wang Tao confirmed it. After all, these were things from TV shows, and they had actually appeared in reality¡­ Wang Tao observed Ding Yuqin¡¯s surprised expression and raised his eyebrows. ¡°Since you have decided to follow me, sister-in-law, I¡¯ll figure out a way to get an ability for you to play with in the future.¡± ¡°Ah? I can too? No no no, I can¡¯t manage it¡­¡± Ding Yuqin was initially subconsciously excited, but she quickly waved her hands in denial. Even if she had the Shockwave Ability, she wouldn¡¯t dare to kill zombies. With her petite size, she¡¯d hardly be enough for a zombie to floss its teeth with. Wang Tao didn¡¯t press the issue upon seeing her reaction. There certainly were more abilities than just the Shockwave, and perhaps there might be one suitable for Ding Yuqin. It took some time, but Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin finally managed to move everything upstairs. Seeing so much food, Ding Yuqin almost couldn¡¯t believe it was real. Especially with a government drop among them, which excited her. Could there¡­ possibly be a chance for rescue? But when Wang Tao showed Ding Yuqin the letter from the supply drop, she knew that rescue¡­ was not possible. However, she wasn¡¯t too disappointed. After all, she had placed all her hopes on Wang Tao now¡­. Chapter 57 - Chapter 57: Chapter 57: You Wronged Me_l Chapter 57: Chapter 57: You Wronged Me_l Translator: 549690339 19 zombies. In addition to granting Wang Tao 95 more HP, they also dropped 19 packages for him. While Ding Yuqin was sorting out the supplies, Wang Tao was checking his spoils of war. Some crafting materials he had seen before naturally dropped again, along with a few new ones. [Gauze xi], [Cable xi], [Battery xi], [Electronic Component xl]¡­ He didn¡¯t yet know what these crafting materials were for, but they could be used on their own, like gauze for stopping bleeding or batteries for discharging electricity. However, he definitely wasn¡¯t going to use them just yet, after all, he could store them in the Space Backpack, saving time and effort. If he really needed to, then he¡¯d consider the items in the backpack. Beyond these crafting materials, there was something he had never seen before. [Security Uniform xl] [Security Uniform: Durability +1, Tear Resistance +1] Wang Tao was somewhat surprised by the security uniform. Even clothes could drop? And with attributes to boot! If he remembered correctly, this black security uniform had the same style as the one worn by the community security guards. But the community guard was an old man, wearing loose-fitting security apparel, not so much protecting others as looking like he needed protection himself. With just a thought, the security uniform appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. The full set included a cap, jacket, trousers, and a pair of black high-top combat boots. It was designed to mimic a combat police uniform. Wang Tao sized it up and it seemed about his size. He didn¡¯t care about whether it was a security uniform or not; he cared about the quality. You have to say, attributes really make a difference. Normal clothes, he could tear apart directly, but not this security uniform, he couldn¡¯t rip it at all at first try. This must be because of the uniform¡¯s attributes, the durability was alright, but the tear resistance was very impressive. Wang Tao put it on and tried it out right away. The uniform fit perfectly, was comfortable to move in¡­ As long as one didn¡¯t look at the badge on the shoulder, it very much resembled a police combat suit. ¡°Nice! I¡¯ll wear you when going out from now on!¡± Afternoon. Wang Tao moved the diesel generator to the rooftop and started it after pouring the fuel. Roarrr¡ª The diesel generator was pretty loud, but since it was on the sixth-floor rooftop, and Wang Tao had set up some noise insulation around it, it didn¡¯t draw the zombies¡¯ attention from the street. The diesel generator couldn¡¯t be running all the time; he just needed to fully charge the outdoor power supply. So, a bit of noise wasn¡¯t an issue; he was going to turn it off at night anyway. ¡°Now I can take a hot shower tonight!¡± It was April and still a bit cold, so a hot shower would be very comforting. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯m going to head back now¡­¡± After dinner, Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke. ¡°Huh? Head back for what? It¡¯s almost time to rest; you want to go back and be alone in your room?¡± Wang Tao asked, sounding a bit perplexed. ¡°I¡¯m going home to get a change of clothes¡­¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao an embarrassed glare, her face red. ¡°Oh¡ª Wait, clothes? I¡¯ll come with you.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes gleamed, as if he had thought of something. The two of them once again arrived at Apartment 502, and for some reason, Ding Yuqin felt somewhat nervous this time as she brought Wang Tao back to her place. Wang Tao had clearly been here before¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll get the clothes; just wait for a moment.¡± With that, Ding Yuqin went to the master bedroom alone. Wang Tao didn¡¯t follow her immediately; instead, he looked at the wedding photo on the wall. ¡°Previously, I thought sister-in-law¡¯s figure in the photo was photoshopped, but it turns out, it¡¯s completely real, no modification needed!¡± Wang Tao then glanced at Zhao Yuan in the photo beside Ding Yuqin, murmuring in his mind: ¡°Brother Zhao, don¡¯t worry. I promised I¡¯d take care of sister-in-law, and I will keep my word!¡± When Ding Yuqin hurried back with a few change of clothes, she saw Wang Tao looking at her wedding photo, and she suddenly felt a strange panic inside¡ª like she was doing something wrong behind her husband¡¯s back. ¡°Wang Tao, don¡¯t look!¡± Ding Yuqin hurriedly approached Wang Tao, extending her hand to block his line of sight. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, sister-in-law? Feeling shy? You seemed quite proactive yesterday!¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. However, after he had spoken, he saw Ding Yuqin¡¯s face turn a mixture of red and white, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes. ¡°Cough, sister-in-law, I was just joking with you.¡± Wang Tao then remembered that Ding Yuqin and Zhao Yuan were very close, and that making such a joke at this time and place was indeed inappropriate. Ding Yuqin bit her lip, looking at Wang Tao with complicated emotions, but in the end, she said nothing, only squatting on the ground with her hands covering her face, sobbing softly. Women are indeed troublesome. But soon after, Ding Yuqin stood up again; she wiped her tears, turned her head away, and said softly to Wang Tao: ¡®Tve got the clothes, let¡¯s go back.¡± Wang Tao immediately frowned. ¡°Sister-in-law, are you mad at me?¡± ¡°No.¡± Wang Tao suddenly reached out, grabbed Ding Yuqin, and hugged her in his arms. Ding Yuqin instinctively tried to resist, but she was clearly unable to do so. ¡°Still say you¡¯re not mad!¡± Wang Tao pinched Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek and, seeing she still did not react, moved his hand lower. ¡°¡­Wang Tao, please, let¡¯s go¡­ Can we go to your house¡­ please¡­¡± Ding Yuqin begged him with tear-filled eyes. ¡°Sister-in-law, do you feel like you¡¯ve wronged Brother Zhao?¡± Wang Tao stopped his actions and asked. Ding Yuqin did not answer, but the tears in her eyes grew more abundant. ¡°Sister-in-law, go get my phone for me; it¡¯s in my room.¡± Wang Tao suddenly released her and said. Ding Yuqin hurriedly broke free from Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, and before long, she came back with his phone. After handing the phone to Wang Tao, Ding Yuqin immediately retreated several steps, keeping her distance from him. ¡°Why are you standing so far away, sister-in-law? Come sit next to me.¡± Wang Tao patted the sofa next to him, but Ding Yuqin was unmoved. This made Wang Tao frown slightly. ¡°Sister-in-law, have you forgotten our agreement? You¡¯re supposed to obey,¡± he said. Reluctantly, Ding Yuqin walked over and sat down beside Wang Tao. He immediately wrapped his arm around her. Ding Yuqin did not struggle, but instead started to speak amidst sobs: ¡°Wang Tao, I beg you, please stop humiliating me, spare me please. At your house, whatever you want me to do, I¡¯ll do, but not here¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t listen to her and instead started scrolling through the chat history on his phone before handing it to Ding Yuqin. ¡°See for yourself.¡± Ding Yuqin subconsciously looked. The chat was with her husband, Zhao Yuan. Zhao Yuan had written many messages asking Wang Tao to take care of Ding Yuqin. Wang Tao¡¯s last reply read: Brother Zhao, I¡¯m here. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do my best to take care of sister-in-law! The timestamp on this reply was not from after the catastrophe, but from the days when doom had just begun! After reading these messages, Ding Yuqin appeared bewildered. Wang Tao took this opportunity to speak: ¡°Sister-in-law, do you think I¡¯m taking care of you for your body? Am I that shallow? I¡¯m doing it because of my promise!¡± ¡°Since I promised Brother Zhao, I will naturally follow through!¡± ¡°Plus, Brother Zhao has entrusted you to me, what does that tell you? Do I need to spell it out?¡± ¡°So, you haven¡¯t wronged Brother Zhao. You both agreed to it. On the contrary, you have wronged me¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ve provided you with food, protection, and I even gave up the chance to go to the Survivor Base because you were at home¡­. I¡¯ve done so much for you, sister-in-law, and you still give me attitude? Tell me, haven¡¯t you wronged me?¡± Chapter 58 - Chapter 58: Chapter 58 Accidental Contact_l Chapter 58: Chapter 58 Accidental Contact_l Translator: 549690339 | ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry, Wang Tao, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Ding Yuqin apologized in a bit of a panic. Although there seemed to be something off about what Wang Tao said, she had no mind to think about it. Because what Wang Tao said was true, he really had done a lot for her. Wang Tao clearly had the opportunity to leave, but he came back and saved her, that was an indisputable fact! ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s all my fault, I¡¯m a heartless, bad woman¡­ I¡¯m sorry!¡± Tears poured out of Ding Yuqin like a dam had burst. Wang Tao sneered and said: ¡°So, sister-in-law, what do you think you should do?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­ I¡¯ll definitely do as you say, whatever you tell me to do, I¡¯ll do it,¡± Ding Yuqin said hastily. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really!¡± ¡°Alright, then go change into this dress.¡± Wang Tao pointed to a white wedding dress hanging under the wedding photo. ¡°What¡¯s with that look, sister-in-law? Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d listen to me?¡± Ding Yuqin bit her lower lip, but eventually, she sighed. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ll listen to you and put on the wedding dress, but please don¡¯t humiliate me¡­¡± ¡°Relax, sister-in-law, I¡¯ll just admire from afar, I won¡¯t even touch you.¡± ¡°You, you said you wouldn¡¯t touch me¡­¡± ¡°Rest assured, sister-in-law, I¡¯m just feeling the fabric of the wedding dress, I¡¯ve never touched it before in my life!¡± ¡°You, you said you¡¯d only touch the wedding dress¡­¡± ¡°Relax, sister-in-law, I¡¯m just going to give you a little massage, I won¡¯t do anything to you!¡± ¡°You, you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going to rub¡­¡± ¡°Mmm~¡± An hour later. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, sob sob¡­¡± Ding Yuqin, her wedding dress in disarray, cried in Wang Tao¡¯s arms. Wang Tao glanced at the wedding photo on the wall, then gently brushed away the strands of hair sticking to Ding Yuqin¡¯s forehead with sweat. ¡°Sorry, I accidentally got your wedding dress dirty. I can wash it for you if it¡¯s really so bad!¡± ¡°You, you¡¯re shameless, a scoundrel, a bad man¡­ Ah¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m very angry, call me ¡®husband¡¯ and let me hear it, otherwise there will be no end to today.¡± ¡°Are you going to say it?¡± ¡°¡­Hu, husband¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re so good, sister-in-law!¡± ¡°You must have stored a lot of water at home too, let¡¯s go clean up. We¡¯ll rest here tonight.¡± ¡°¡­You!¡± The next day. Wang Tao got up early. Seeing Ding Yuqin still asleep beside him, Wang Tao patted her. ¡°Sister-in-law, the sun¡¯s shining on our butts!¡± Ding Yuqin woke up groggily and glared at Wang Tao resentfully when she saw it was only six o¡¯clock by the clock on the wall. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s mainly because the bed here is too soft, I¡¯m not used to it.¡± Wang Tao spoke with an irritating tone. ¡°Serves you right!¡± ¡°So I think, I need to sleep on it a few more times. After all, it¡¯s the apocalypse, I need to fix my bad habit of being picky about beds!¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t want to deal with you anymore!¡± Since she was already awake, Ding Yuqin hurried to get out of bed to cook, afraid that Wang Tao might play tricks again. Wang Tao did not stop, but instead looked at his own HP bar, his expression showing some surprise. ¡°My HP is regenerating again!¡± His current HP was [360/480], which meant that the cooldown period for this regenerative ability was one day? Being able to replenish too HP each time was quite impressive. After all, if not for this Blood Replenishing, it would be very slow to recover just with time. It was just unclear whether this Blood Replenishing ability belonged to him, Wang Tao, or Ding Yuqin¡­ It was really hard to say. After all, since the apocalypse began, he had the ability to see living creatures¡¯ HP bars and loot drops from killing monsters; perhaps Ding Yuqin had some abilities as well. However, there was no way to prove this unless he tried it out with another woman, cough. After getting up, Wang Tao unexpectedly found a skull mask in Ding Yuqin¡¯s house and took the item upstairs. ¡°Sister-in-law, did you make this especially for me?¡± When Ding Yuqin saw the item in his hand, her face immediately blushed. ¡°Then thank you, sister-in-law, I really like it!¡± ¡°Wang Tao, look how neatly I arranged these!¡± On the rooftop, Ding Yuqin called out to Wang Tao with a hint of seeking praise as she looked at the neatly arranged leeks. Wang Tao, who was observing zombies through a telescope, turned around and saw Ding Yuqin, dressed in a black silk OL outfit, bending over to tend to the leeks, and he nodded immediately. ¡°Looks good!¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s so neat!¡± Ding Yuqin, looking at the lush green leeks in front of her, felt jubilant. Besides the leeks, many green plants were placed around, all collected by her inside this building. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that it doesn¡¯t rain¡­¡± Ding Yuqin muttered while watering the leeks and green plants. Before the apocalypse, there was a heavy rainfall, but after that, it had been clear skies. If it weren¡¯t for some water stored in the building, they would have run out long ago. Moreover, the stored water was running low, as it had been more than ten days since the water stopped, and much of it had gone bad. They could only use it for washing clothes, taking baths, and watering the green plants. For drinking, they relied on the purified water provided by Wang Tao in large barrels. Hearing Ding Yuqin¡¯s muttering, Wang Tao also looked up at the sky. The sky was clear and cloudless. But he wasn¡¯t thinking about rain; instead, he was hoping for another airdrop to happen soon. As for the water issue, besides killing zombies to obtain purified water, he could also solve it by digging a well. It was just that he didn¡¯t have the tools for drilling a well right now; if he could find a long steel pipe, he might be able to try drilling a small-diameter artesian well. His family used to live in the countryside, where everyone used artesian wells. He knew how to make one, but it required some tools and effort. ¡°Let¡¯s go, sister-in-law.¡± Wang Tao came over and patted Ding Yuqin¡¯s buttocks. ¡°Ah!¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a glare and then followed behind him, asking: ¡°Wang Tao, what are we having for lunch?¡± Until a few days ago, she never imagined she could be picky about food in the post-apocalyptic world¡­ And that was all because of Wang Tao. ¡°Just see what you can make¡ªnever mind, let¡¯s eat those ready-to-cook meal packs today to change it up.¡± After their outing, the supplies at home could be considered abundant, and they now had the luxury of choice. ¡°Okay!¡± At noon, Ding Yuqin was cooking in the kitchen, while Wang Tao was fiddling with the radio and walkie-talkie. Ever since he made contact with other survivors through the walkie-talkie at the water plant, Wang Tao liked to play with the device whenever he had some free time. ¡°Sss¡­sss¡­ is there anyone who can receive¡­ sss¡­sss¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Hearing the voice from the walkie-talkie, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He quickly moved to the window, but the signal was still not very strong. ¡°Sister-in-law, I¡¯m going up to the rooftop. Call me when dinner¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°All right!¡± Wang Tao took the walkie-talkie and ran to the rooftop. ¡°Is there anyone who can receive¡­ sss¡­sss¡­¡± The rooftop was open and at a high elevation, with nothing to obstruct it, making the signal much better as soon as he got there. Wang Tao pressed the transmit button on the walkie-talkie. ¡°Who are you? Where are you? Repeat, who are you? Where are you?¡± ¡°Aaaah! Someone finally received me! My name is Ou Yingying, we¡¯re trapped, please save us¡­¡± ¡°Ou Yingying?¡± That name sounded vaguely familiar.. Chapter 59 - Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Survivor Status_l Chapter 59: Chapter 59 Survivor Status_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao remembered, this Ou Yingying was one of the survivors trapped in the water plant! He still had her and that married man¡¯s ¡°masterpiece¡± saved on his phone. He had unexpectedly made contact with them¡­ After thinking for a bit, Wang Tao spoke up. ¡°How many of you are there? What¡¯s your situation?¡± ¡°Three of us! There are three of us in total, and one of us is a police officer! But we are trapped inside a milk tea shop, and there are zombies all around us¡­ wuu wuu¡­¡± The person on the other end wept softly as they spoke. -What¡¯s the name of the milk tea shop? Are you injured? Let that police officer speak.¡± Wang Tao was quite curious about their current state, so he asked a few more questions. ¡°Si Mei Milk Tea Shop! We¡¯re at the Si Mei Milk Tea Shop on Rui Cai Commercial Street! I¡¯m not injured. Wei Guang¡ªoh, that¡¯s my companion, he s injured, but not by a bite, he¡¯s asleep. As for Officer Han, she¡¯s trapped in a dollar store nearby, I don¡¯t know how she¡¯s doing¡­ Big brother, please save us.¡± Wang Tao frowned, the policewoman wasn¡¯t with them? Then they re probably doomed! This pair of dog man and woman were indeed scheming, but in this apocalypse, strength and courage were more important. Since they had neither strength nor courage and were cowards without anyone to protect them, they were unlikely to survive. As for the Si Mei Milk Tea Shop, although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t heard of it, he did know of Rui Cai Commercial Street, which was not far from Shuize University. in other words, this group was close to the Suzaku University Survivor Base, but they got trapped before they could reach it. He didn¡¯t know whether to consider that good or bad luck. -How did you get trapped? What dangers are outside?¡± Wang Tao continued to ask. ¡°We encountered a very terrifying zombie earlier, and Officer Han fired her gun to save us! Although she seemed to have killed the zombie, the gunshot attracted a large horde of zombies, and we were forced to split up. Wei Guang got injured while running away¡­¡± A very terrifying zombie? It must have been a special zombie. Firing a gun in the streets, the consequences were obvious. The policewoman definitely knew the consequences, but she still fired her gun to save others. Wang Tao had to admit, although he wouldn¡¯t be that kind of person, he still had great respect for them. Wang Tao thought for a moment and then said: ¡°Don¡¯t you have any food in that milk tea shop? -We do¡­ but there are too many zombies outside, and they are still knocking on the door¡­ I¡¯m so scared, can you please send someone to rescue us¡­¡± Send someone? Wang Tao was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyebrows. Ou Yingying clearly had a misunderstanding. She couldn¡¯t possibly think he was from the Shuize Base, could she? Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain; he just continued to ask her many things. Ou Yingying, like grasping at a lifeline, told Wang Tao everything that had happened along the way. Of course, she didn¡¯t go into detail about what happened inside the water plant. Having heard all this, Wang Tao had a pretty good idea of their situation. After escaping from the water plant, the three of them were quite lucky not to encounter a large number of zombies. Adding to that, Han Rui was very familiar with the roads, so before entering Rui Cai Commercial Street, their journey was full of close calls but without real danger. Ou Yingying said that Han Rui initially didn¡¯t want to enter Rui Cai Commercial Street. Although it could serve as a shortcut, the commercial street was bound to have many zombies. But after observing for a while, they saw that there were hardly any zombies inside the commercial street. Instead, it appeared to be quite deserted. Sun Weiguang thought it was an opportunity not to be missed. They had seen wandering zombies at the water plant, so maybe the zombies in the street had moved on. Therefore, Ou Yingying agreed with Sun Weiguang. Majority rules, and the three of them entered the commercial street. Actually, they could have passed through the commercial street safely, but when Sun Weiguang saw the milk tea shop, he insisted on getting two cups of milk tea for the ladies. At that time, the door of the milk tea shop was open, and it looked safe inside. Han Rui allowed it since there was a zombie ahead, which she planned to sneak past and take care of. Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying went to the milk tea shop together. But then Sun Weiguang made a noise in the milk tea shop, which suddenly attracted a terrifying zombie. Seeing that the two were in trouble, Han Rui decisively fired her gun from a distance, hitting the zombie. The zombie immediately switched its target and ran towards Han Rui. Ou Yingying saw the zombie follow Han Rui into a craft store, followed by a few gunshots; the zombie fell to the ground. Han Rui was temporarily safe, but the gunshots attracted a large number of zombies. Ou Yingying and Sun Weiguang frantically sought shelter in the milk tea shop, quickly pulling down the rolling shutter door under Han Rui¡¯s command¡­ That all happened yesterday. The current situation was that zombies swarmed outside, and Han Rui got separated from them; neither knew anything about the other¡¯s circumstances. As for the walkie-talkie, it was because Han Rui had earlier found a small hand-cranked generator, which she had Sun Weiguang use to charge the walkie-talkie. Therefore, the walkie-talkie was in the hands of Ou Yingying and the others¡­ After understanding these details, Wang Tao directly said: ¡°You guys hold on and wait for rescue. Hang in there!¡± Then, without giving the others a chance to respond, he promptly turned off the walkie-talkie. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s time to eat!¡± Just then, Ding Yuqin came upstairs to call Wang Tao for dinner. ¡°Coming.¡± Wang Tao slapped his bottom and went downstairs. At the dining table, Ding Yuqin served Wang Tao his meal, and only after Wang Tao was seated did she take her own seat. Then she asked curiously: ¡°Wang Tao, who were you just in contact with?¡± ¡°A group of survivors, I had met them before¡­ Wang Tao briefly explained and shared the story about how that despicable couple deliberately endangered others. ¡°To think they would trade their teammates¡¯ lives for a chance to escape¡­ They¡¯re really harsh!¡± Ding Yuqin felt a chill in her heart; she thought she wouldn¡¯t last a day in that kind of environment. However, the more she thought about it, the more grateful she felt toward Wang Tao. If it weren¡¯t for him, she would have been long dead¡­ ¡°It¡¯s the end of the world, what¡¯s so harsh about it? If I were pushed to the brink, I might do the same. Sister-in-law, you¡¯d better be careful.¡± Wang Tao said, shaking his head with a smile. Although he spoke in jest, he knew human nature could not withstand such tests, and he couldn¡¯t guarantee he wouldn¡¯t do the same. ¡°You definitely wouldn¡¯t!¡± Ding Yuqin glared at Wang Tao. Seeing that Wang Tao¡¯s bowl was almost empty, she hastily got up to serve him more rice. Wang Tao suddenly spoke up: ¡°This afternoon I¡¯m going to take a trip to Building 3; sister-in-law, don¡¯t wander around the house.¡± ¡°Ah? What for?¡± Ding Yuqin quickly asked. ¡°To see if I can kill the zombies in Building 3-¡± Upon hearing this, Ding Yuqin immediately grasped Wang Tao¡¯s hand with some worry. ¡°Could you¡­ maybe not go? It¡¯s too dangerous! The zombies inside the building won¡¯t affect us anyway¡­¡± Wang Tao wrapped his hand around her pale, delicate one. ¡°We have to kill the zombies because killing them makes us stronger-111 find some disabled zombies for you to try later, you¡¯ll understand then.¡± ¡°Ah? I can¡¯t do it¡­¡± Ding Yuqin waved her hands in refusal. Wang Tao glanced at her. ¡°Sister-in-law, not listening again? If I say you can, then you can! His tone brooked no argument. Ding Yuqin looked down, troubled, and fiddled with the white rice in her bowl. ¡°¡­Okay..¡± Chapter 60 - Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Cleanup Complete, 800 HP_1 Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Cleanup Complete, 800 HP_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Wang Tao retracted his horned hammer, feeling the surging strength in his hands, he grinned. In the corridor of Building 3, there were only four Ordinary Zombies, and he had dispatched them without much effort. After killing these four zombies, his HP had officially broken through five hundred. With every hundred points of HP gained, he would receive a slight enhancement to his physical condition, and now with five hundred HP, he felt like his body was brimming with strength! ¡°Might as well clean out this building today¡­ The boost in his strength made Wang Tao a little ambitious. However, the reason he dared to take such a risk wasn¡¯t just because his strength had increased, but also because of Ding Yuqin-who could replenish his blood. This greatly improved his margin for error. in addition, he had many military medical kits, Inhibitors¡­ all of which were key to boosting his confidence. So, Wang Tao spent the entire afternoon cleaning out all 12 households in Building 3 of their zombies! In fact, there weren¡¯t as many zombies as Wang Tao had imagined; out of 12 households, only 8 had zombies, totaling io zombies. Together with the previous four, there were only 14 in the building. But among these 14 zombies, there were two Hiders, which dropped a bottle of ¡°Stealth Potion (Small)¡± and a bottle of ¡°Stealth Potion (Medium)¡± respectively¡ªthe latter was simply a godsend for going out! As for that small Stealth Potion capable of evading human perception, Wang Tao didn¡¯t yet know its use. Perhaps it would be useful later on. These 14 zombies brought Wang Tao an increase of 95 points to his HP limit; his total HP was just shy of breaking six hundred. But as night was about to fall, Wang Tao decided not to take any more risks. It was important to take all the essential supplies from these houses back home before darkness settled in. After spending some time, he finally managed to bring all the food back home before the night completely fell. ¡°So much¡­¡± Although Ding Yuqin already knew of the loot, seeing so much stuff with her own eyes, she was still very astonished. How had she never realized that Wang Tao was so capable! ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower. Sister-in-law, you sort things out.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± These past two days, Ding Yuqin¡¯s mood had been very relaxed. Moreover, with Wang Tao feeding her well every day and giving her some vitamins, her HP finally replenished today. She was no longer looking sickly and was able to do some heavy work. Now, Wang Tao found it more convenient to direct her. After tidying up, they had dinner together, and then Wang Tao patted Ding Yuqin on the bottom. ¡°Let¡¯s go, sister-in-law.¡± ¡°Ah? Where to?¡± ¡°To your place to rest.¡± The color rose in Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheeks, and she followed behind Wang Tao with her head down. To be fair, although she had always been against Wang Tao spending the night at her house, the guilty pleasure of each encounter was almost becoming too much for her to resist. ¡°I¡¯m such a bad woman¡­¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face was flushed with shame. The next day, Wang Tao continued clearing out zombies. Happy Community had a total of only four buildings. Building 4, where he lived, had already been cleaned up. Building 3 was cleared out yesterday, now only Buildings 1 and 2 remained. It took a day to take care of Building 2. There were more zombies in Building 2 than in Building 3, a total of 22. However, most of them were elderly zombies whose own strength was not as good as that of the younger zombies. After dealing with all the zombies in this building, Wang Tao¡¯s HP soared to [710/710]! From over five hundred to over seven hundred HP, his physical condition was enhanced slightly twice in a row! He was almost becoming addicted to this exhilarating sensation. ¡°We¡¯ve only got one more building left, no rush, rest well, we¡¯ll come back tomorrow!¡± Wang Tao still had plenty of physical strength, but he was somewhat drained mentally and a bit fatigued. After all, he had been killing zombies inside the houses, constantly on the alert for Stealth Zombie sneak attacks, so his mind had been extremely tense, making exhaustion inevitable. That night, Wang Tao went up to the rooftop terrace to turn on the walkie-talkie for a while, trying to see if he could make contact with others. As it turned out, he made contact with Ou Yingying again, but this time Sun Weiguang was awake. Compared to Ou Yingying, who only cried and begged for help, Sun Weiguang seemed much calmer. He painted a big picture for Wang Tao, claiming he had connections at the Survivor Base and if Wang Tao could save them, he would definitely get Wang Tao a good job once they arrived at the Survivor Base. It was only then that Wang Tao learned that within the Suzaku University Survivor Base, the division of labor was very clear, even somewhat strict. To put it euphemistically, it meant every individual could make the most of their abilities. To put it bluntly, it meant everyone had to work! Only by working could one earn food and safety! There were many kinds of jobs inside the base, and the base would assign jobs according to each person¡¯s abilities and characteristics. Jobs didn¡¯t pay a salary, but one could earn corresponding Contribution Points. These points could be exchanged for many things, including food, weapons, and even safety. in any case, as long as you worked hard, there would be bread, and there would be milk too. However, since there were many types of jobs, even tailor-made for individuals, there inevitably arose a hierarchy of prestige and remuneration within these jobs. Sun Weiguang meant that he had the ability to arrange a high-paying, low-risk job for Wang Tao. As long as Wang Tao came to rescue them, he would keep his word. Wang Tao naturally scoffed at this, thinking if Sun Weiguang really had that ability, someone would have already gone to pick him up; would he have ended up in this situation? Wang Tao gave a few noncommittal responses, urging them to hang on and wait for rescue, before shutting off the walkie-talkie. ¡°This Suzaku University Survivor Base sounds quite interesting, might be worth taking a look¡­¡± An interested expression appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. The next day. Wang Tao continued with his zombie-clearing work. Between clearing and scavenging loot, it took him another day. The zombies in Building 1 were almost completely wiped out by him. Wang Tao¡¯s HP had also reached exactly eight hundred. The reason he said ¡°almost¡± was that Wang Tao intentionally left two zombies with all limbs broken. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡ªI beg you, I can¡¯t do it¡­¡± Ding Yuqin hadn¡¯t expected that Wang Tao would actually leave her two zombies to kill. Wang Tao narrowed his eyes. ¡°Sister-in-law, not following orders again, are we?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯ll do anything but kill zombies! I really will!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly clung to Wang Tao¡¯s arm, resorting to coquettish charms and layering on an enticing allure. Having never even killed a chicken, she dared not kill zombies, the mere thought was terrifying¡­ even quadriplegic zombies scared her¡­ Looking at the pitiful Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao remained unmoved. He had not an ounce of pity for a beauty, and without hesitation, he grabbed Ding Yuqin by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. Ding Yuqin let out a startled cry. ¡°Ah-¡± ¡°No discussion.¡± Wang Tao wanted to observe what it was like for an ordinary person to kill zombies. Moreover, this was for Ding Yuqin¡¯s own good; she would not be allowed to refuse.. Chapter 61 - Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Hidden Attributes 1 Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Hidden Attributes 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡ª ¡°Whimper, whimper, whimper!¡± Ding Yuqin held the short spear, closed her eyes, and frantically stabbed at the zombie on the ground with its hands and feet severed. While stabbing, she also kept her mouth shut, humming softly. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. After a while, Ding Yuqin finally hit the zombie¡¯s head. Squish! [-5] [0/500] The zombie died without dropping anything, as it wasn¡¯t killed by Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin. Her HP bar increased by 5 drops, turning into [105/105] 5 But that wasn¡¯t the point, the point was that, below Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP bar, some text slowly appeared¡ª [Hidden Attribute: Blood Pack] [Blood Pack: In times of clouds and rain on Mount Wu, it can restore HP to the other person.] [Friendly Reminder 1: Some lucky individuals may carry hidden attributes, which automatically take effect and cannot be directly observed. Only during the process of HP increase or skill learning is there a certain probability that they will be revealed.] [Friendly Reminder 2: Before the hidden attributes are revealed, no enhancements can be obtained.] Wang Tao: No wonder Ding Yuqin could replenish his HP, so there was a hidden attribute? ¡°I¡­I actually killed a zombie¡­¡± Feeling like her spear really pierced through, Ding Yuqin opened her eyes, looked down, and seeing that she indeed killed the zombie, she still somewhat couldn¡¯t believe it. Although this zombie had no combat ability left, having been beaten by Wang Tao until it was down to a sliver of HP. But this was the terrifying zombie that had scared her; she had never thought she could personally kill a zombie¡­ At this moment, Wang Tao spoke: ¡°So, zombies aren¡¯t that terrifying after all.¡± Ding Yuqin quickly turned her head to look at Wang Tao, then somewhat excitedly hugged his arm. ¡°I, I¡­¡± ¡°Enough, stop stammering. There¡¯s another one!¡± With the experience from the first one, the second time was much smoother. This time, Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t close her eyes; instead, under Wang Tao¡¯s direction, she swiftly stabbed another crippled zombie to death. [-8] [0/500] Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP increased by another 5 points, now [110/110], but no text appeared below the HP bar this time. Combining the friendly reminders he had seen earlier, Wang Tao had a rough guess¡ª Due to the advent of the apocalypse, some lucky individuals developed a hidden attribute. This attribute normally wouldn¡¯t show itself, not even visible to Wang Tao. It only had a chance of appearing during HP growth and while learning skills. Like Ding Yuqin¡¯s hidden attribute, it appeared during the process of her HP increase after killing the zombie. The people, including Blondy, that he had seen before at the water plant, some of them had indeed killed zombies, but they only had HP bars with no hidden attributes. They might not have any, or they might have them but not yet revealed¡­ Wang Tao himself didn¡¯t have any hidden attributes. But Wang Tao felt that he probably did, it just hadn¡¯t revealed itself yet. After all, he had many miraculous abilities¡­ Although his HP had increased quite a lot and he had learned a skill, it was a matter of luck; he might not be as lucky as Ding Yuqin, whose hidden attribute revealed itself after killing the first zombie. Hidden attributes are different than skills. Hidden attributes should be one¡¯s ¡°talent.¡± Some people have talents; some people don¡¯t; some people have talents but are unaware of them¡­ All this is quite normal. Skills, on the other hand, are similar to abilities, which everyone can learn-as long as their bodies can withstand it. Moreover, according to the friendly reminders, until the hidden attributes are revealed, even though they can take effect, they cannot be enhanced. So, it¡¯s like they are not fully activated? Now that Ding Yuqin¡¯s blood pack attribute had been revealed, didn¡¯t that mean that the blood regeneration effect could be enhanced in the future? It was just unclear how to enhance it, by killing zombies or through more training? Having Ding Yuqin kill more zombies was definitely out of the question now, but more practice shouldn¡¯t be a big problem. Wang Tao always had a scientific spirit, so he decided to put in the extra effort and help Ding Yuqin practice more. ¡°Hey? What are you thinking about?¡± Ding Yuqin saw Wang Tao somewhat daydreaming and waved her hand in front of him. Wang Tao suddenly grabbed Ding Yuqin¡¯s fair and delicate hand. ¡°Thinking about sister-in-law.¡± ¡°¡­Tsk! Pervert!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly withdrew her hand. Wang Tao smiled faintly, then quickly groped a corpse and threw both bodies out of the window. With that, all the zombies in Happy Community had finally been cleaned up. ¡°Besides you and me, it turns out there¡¯s not a single survivor¡­¡± On the way back, Ding Yuqin sighed. ¡°After all, it¡¯s been almost a month since the apocalypse started. There were actually survivors before, but due to staying indoors for a long time, without food or water, they starved to death or committed suicide¡­¡± Wang Tao had seen at least three dead people who hadn¡¯t turned into zombies. They had either starved to death or committed suicide. Ding Yuqin looked back at Wang Tao and quietly moved a little closer to him. Without Wang Tao, she would have surely ended up with the same tragic fate. After returning home, Ding Yuqin went to cook, while Wang Tao took out tools like hammers, pliers, and a cutting machine. He was ready to craft a set of internal armor for himself. Previously, his defensive gear had always consisted of books. Although books could indeed block the zombies¡¯ bites, they were no match for steel. Wang Tao was determined to make himself some steel internal armor. Of course, with his crafting skills, it was definitely not possible to make full-body armor. He just wanted to insert some steel plates inside his clothing to protect vital areas. For example, the chest, back, forearms, and lower legs. To make these things, Wang Tao spent a full three days before finally deeming them passably adequate. I m really not cut out for design work¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao¡¯s skills were lacking; mainly, a lot of time was wasted on testing. After all, this was something he was designing for himself, so he had to test over and over again if it was suitable or not. He couldn¡¯t sacrifice his mobility for defense, or else it would be a loss. Fortunately, after three days of modifications, it was more or less complete. After integrating all these steel plates into his clothes, Wang Tao felt their weight, which was slightly significant, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal for him. His current carrying capacity was extremely exaggerated, so this weight was trivial. These steel plates were much thinner than books, but their defensive power had increased by countless levels. Once Wang Tao put them on, one could hardly tell that his clothes concealed steel plates. Before, he would only use the parts of his body wrapped with books to make contact with zombies when forced into a tight spot. But now, he guessed he could directly stick his arm into a zombie¡¯s mouth. With the zombies¡¯ dental Strength, if they dared to bite down, they might just break all their teeth¡­ I m going out this afternoon,¡± Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Where to?¡± Although Ding Yuqin trusted Wang Tao¡¯s abilities, each time he mentioned going out, she was anxious. ¡öTm going to check out North Street; there¡¯s a convenience store there. 1 saw with the binoculars, there are still supplies inside.¡± North Street was just north of the Happy Community where Wang Tao lived It was a place with large pedestrian traffic, many zombies, abandoned vehicles, and had experienced a gas explosion. Wang Tao had never dared travel through there when he went to collect airdrops before. But now, he had significantly increased in strength and could afford to take a look. Even though they had many supplies at home, Wang Tao was always one to prepare for the worst. After all, this was the post-apocalypse; there could never be too many supplies. Plus, Wang Tao still needed to kill zombies to increase his HP! ¡°You be careful¡­¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± After a simple lunch, Wang Tao armed himself fully, put on the skull mask made by Ding Yuqin, and left Happy Community.. Chapter 62 - Chapter 62: Chapter 62 Fatty Zombie 1 Chapter 62: Chapter 62 Fatty Zombie 1 Translator: 549690339 North Street was a main artery, much wider than other streets, with a steady flow of cars and pedestrians. After the apocalypse struck, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what had transpired here but now the scene was utterly chaotic, with a multitude of abandoned vehicle¡¯s clogging the way. Other alleys were still passable for vehicles, but here, forget cars, even motorcycles couldn¡¯t get through. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± A zombie spotted Wang Tao and immediately started staggering toward him at a quick pace. Wang Tao picked up the horned hammer in his hand, and with a ruthless swing, he smashed the zombie¡¯s head in. With a squelch, the zombie¡¯s head burst like a watermelon. [-500] [0/500] It was an instant kill with a single blow! [You¡¯ve obtained: Iron Block xl] [Iron Block: Crafting material] With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, ordinary zombies stood no chance; targeting their heads meant almost certain death with just one hit, even without using his full force! Wang Tao initially hadn¡¯t planned on searching the bodies, considering the number of zombies on the main street. But noticing what seemed like a pack of cigarettes on this zombie, he still took it. Cigarettes were like hard currency among survivors; since he had come across them, it would be wasteful not to take them; they would definitely come in handy at the Survivor Base. After killing more than a dozen zombies, Wang Tao finally made it across the street. His target was clear as he headed straight for the convenience store. Three zombies loitered at the entrance of the store, all three fell to Wang Tao¡¯s hammer. Peering through the glass, Wang Tao saw the convenience store in disarray shelves knocked over, but there was still a decent amount of food left. He took out the woven bags he had prepared in advance and began filling them with the intact food. Soon, Wang Tao had filled an entire woven bag with food. Since the food was packaged, it wasn¡¯t very heavy. After filling two woven bags Wang Tao carried them back to Happy Community¡¯s entrance. He dumped the ¡¯ food inside and then ran back to the convenience store. In that short time, three more zombies approached the convenience store entrance. Wang Tao made short work of them and continued collecting food. After filling another two bags, Wang Tao murmured softly in surprise. Inside the store was a small door he had assumed was a back exit, but upon opening it, he discovered it was actually a basement storage. ¡°There must be plenty of food in the basement storage! I¡¯ll make another trip later!¡± p All the well-packaged food and water in the convenience store were gathered by Wang Tao, leaving behind food with poor appearance, all stained with blood traces. For his own safety, Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t take them. However, if there were still some in the basement, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to collect them.¡¯ Having delivered the food back to the community, Wang Tao once again headed for the convenience store. The basement was pitch dark, Wang Tao switched on his powerful flashlight, and then he gasped in shock. ¡°What the hell?¡± In the center of the basement lay an incredibly obese zombie. Wang Tao shone the light on the zombie¡¯s face, which immediately elicited a furious roar from it. It seemed to want to approach, but due to its extreme obesity, it couldn¡¯t even stand, hardly able to inch forward! Gazing at the empty basement, then at the zombie with [2000/2000]HP over its head, Wang Tao had reason to suspect it had eaten all the food in the basement. Since the zombie couldn¡¯t move, Wang Tao grew bolder. He carefully illuminated the zombie¡¯s face with his flashlight, then realized something. ¡°I thought his face looked familiar; isn¡¯t this the cashier from the convenience store?¡± Wang Tao had no idea how the cashier turned from a tall and skinny guy into a zombie fatter than a pig, but clearly, this must be a special zombie. With 2000 HP, this was double the health of the Big Hammer Zombies he had encountered; surely, if killed, it must drop something good? Wang Tao felt a tingling urge, especially since this zombie was different from the rest-it could hardly move! Even with all that HP, it was nothing more than a target! still, to be cautious, Wang Tao didn¡¯t go straight in; he needed to confirm whether the obese zombie possessed any long-range attack ability. Wang Tao picked up some bricks from outside, then positioned himself at the basement door and hurled them at the obese zombie inside. Thud¡ª Despite being hit by a brick, the zombie didn¡¯t lose a single drop of blood. Wang Tao waited cautiously for a while, and upon realizing that the zombie was only roaring without any sign of a ranged attack, he suddenly smirked. Since it¡¯s just a target, then¡­ my apologies!¡± Wang Tao held a flashlight in one hand and the horned hammer in the other as he approached the fatty zombie. Then¡ªWang Tao discovered that due to the zombie¡¯s obesity, his little hammer simply couldn¡¯t reach its head! Feeling a bit embarrassed, Wang Tao retreated from the basement and hurried back. Ding Yuqin was huffing and puffing as she carried the food that Wang Tao had left in the courtyard of the Happy Community. When she saw Wang Tao running back quickly, she thought something had happened and was momentarily startled. She wanted to follow Wang Tao back, but she couldn¡¯t bear to leave the food behind. Wang Tao saw the panic on her face and said: ¡°Sis-in-law, don¡¯t panic, there¡¯s no danger!¡± Upon hearing this, Ding Yuqin patted her trembling chest and sighed in relief. ¡°You scared me to death! But Wang Tao, what are you¡­¡± ¡°Im going to make a weapon. I¡¯ll need it shortly!¡± Wang Tao said as he went upstairs. ¡°Oh oh, let me help you!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Back home, Wang Tao found a mop handle, then strapped the steel pipe spear onto it. After securing it tightly, he swung the two-meter-long homemade spear a few times. Whoosh¡ªWhoosh¡ª ¡°Not bad at all, this will do!¡± Wang Tao took up the spear and left. His third visit to the convenience store. Two more zombies approached the entrance of the store. Armed with his new weapon, Wang Tao poked at each of the zombies from a distance without hesitation. Thrust! [-500] [0/500] Thrust! [-500] [0/500] After collecting two crafting materials, Wang Tao, with the spear in hand, entered the convenience store¡¯s basement warehouse. ¡°Heh heh¡­ roar¡ª¡± Seeing the Fatty zombie furiously roaring but unable to stand up, Wang Tao came in front of it, lifted the spear with both hands, and thrust it straight at its skull! Bang! [-112] [1888/2000] ¡°¡­Such low damage!¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal. After all, his opponent couldn¡¯t fight back. So there he was, wielding the spear and plunging it forcefully into the zombie¡¯s skull over a dozen times. All the while, Wang Tao stayed on guard, wary of the zombie possibly going into a frenzy or having some special attack. Fortunately, the Fatty zombie had none. When the zombie was down to its last sliver of HP, Wang Tao moved away from it, positioned himself at the entrance of the basement, then clenched the spear and hurled it hard at its head. Thrust! [-45] [0/2000] Crash¡ª The moment the zombie died, a bunch of transparent wrappings burst out! Chapter 63 - Chapter 63: Chapter 63: The Big Explosion_l Chapter 63: Chapter 63: The Big Explosion_l Translator: 549690339 | [Acquired: purified water (small) xio] [Acquired: purified water (medium) xio] [Acquired: compressed biscuits xio] [Acquired: canned meat xio] [Acquired: canned fruit xio] [Acquired: canned vegetables xio] [Acquired: sugar xio] [Acquired: coffee xio] [¡­] Looking at the huge pile of items, Wang Tao clenched his fists with excitement. Because this was not just food, it was food that could be put into a Space Backpack! From now on, when he¡¯s alone outside, he no longer has to worry about food shortages or carrying inconveniences! By killing that fatty zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s HP increased by 40. Adding to what he had gained from killing zombies on the street before, his HP had reached [930/930], just 70 short of a thousand! But, these were actually not the most important things. The most crucial thing was the blueprint the zombie dropped. [Acquired: Food Compressor Blueprint xl] [Food Compressor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Food Compressor. Required materials: Zombie Crystal Core xl, Iron Block X3, Steel Wire x3, Gear x3, Blade X3, Nails X3, Cable X3, Battery x3, Electronic Components X3, Rubber x3, Plastic x31 [Food Compressor: Compresses food into a smaller volume, making it more convenient to carry and use as a nutrient liquid] ¡°A Food Compressor?¡± Having read the blueprint¡¯s description, Wang Tao felt even more excited than when he had gotten the food. He finally understood what use the ¡°crafting materials¡± dropped by zombies had. This Food Compressor was definitely a survival godsend in the apocalypse! However, he couldn¡¯t craft it yet. Although he had killed quite a few zombies and acquired many crafting materials, the ones that zombies dropped were random, and he didn¡¯t have enough yet. The blueprint showed he was still missing [Rubber xl, Electronic Components X2, Blade xl] and the most important ¡°Zombie Crystal Core¡±. Acquiring these crafting materials was fine; if all else fails, he could keep killing zombies, as he was planning to increase his HP by doing so anyway. For him right now, this wasn¡¯t difficult, it would just take some time. As for the Zombie Crystal Core- Wang Tao approached the already fallen Fatty zombie and fiddled inside its head with a tool. Ablue transparent diamond-shaped crystal fell out, with a phantom image inside the core that looked like a¡­ slowly wriggling stomach? [Level 1 Crystal Core-Glutton] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: rampant increase in appetite, excessively obese body type)] [Glutton: The more food one consumes and the fatter one gets, the stronger their defensive power becomes.] Seeing the specific information of this Zombie Core, Wang Tao¡¯s expression became somewhat strange. At face value, this Ability was pretty powerful; as long as one kept eating without limit, the defensive power would become monstrously strong. But the side effects were quite apparent. The rampant increase in appetite was one thing; food was already scarce in this post-apocalyptic world, and with such a massively increased appetite, he¡¯d need a huge amount of food! The main issue was the excessively obese body type. Just reading about it might not make clear how obese one could get, but Wang Tao had just killed this obese zombie, which was so fat it could no longer walk! If he truly ate to that extent, what good would high defensive power be if he turned into a stationary target? Moreover, without an immunity to the zombie virus, a larger body size meant he would be more susceptible to injuries if he encountered zombies¡­ Wang Tao felt this Zombie Core might not be very useful for the average person, unless someone could develop some clever strategies with it. For Wang Tao himself¡­ it also didn¡¯t seem very useful. Though he had the chance to remove the side effects of this core, the condition for increased defensive power was ¡°the more one eats and the fatter one gets,¡± and Wang Tao was quite content with his muscular physique- he didn¡¯t want to become a Fatty. Thus, the ability of this core wasn¡¯t useful for Wang Tao personally, but the core itself had a significant use. There were two things he could currently use the core for: crafting Strength Potions and making the Food Compressor. There was no need to craft a Strength Potion for now because the required materials were too numerous. But the Food Compressor was different. He could obtain the materials needed to create it, and it would be very useful for his current situation! After scouring the basement one more time and making sure nothing was missed, Wang Tao finally returned to the convenience store. In the short while he was busy, a few more zombies had approached outside. Wang Tao directly picked up the spear. Kill! ¡°Damn! Just one last material, and it won¡¯t drop no matter what, is it really that realistic¡­¡± Seeing that there were no more zombies near the street for the time being, Wang Tao suddenly felt an ache in the testicles. He was still missing a ¡°Cable,¡± and his HP had reached [990/990]. There was no helping it, whether it was for materials or for health points, he had to keep killing zombies. Wang Tao crossed through an alley and proceeded to the next street over. There were several zombies on the next street, and three of them, upon seeing Wang Tao, began to twist and quickly advance towards him. Wang Tao, without saying a word, raised his spear and swiftly blew the heads off of these three zombies. Pfft! [-500] Pfft! [-500] Pfft! [-500] Three consecutive headshots, the three zombies were instantly killed. [Acquired: Iron Block xl] [Acquired: Gauze xl] [Acquired: Cable xl] ¡°Finally got it!¡± Seeing that he had obtained the cable, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he felt that his physical fitness had improved again, and this time the increase was even more significant than before! Upon checking his HP, it had indeed reached [1000/1000]! Wait a minute¡ª Suddenly, Wang Tao felt something was wrong. Killing three zombies should have yielded at least 15 HP! His HP was just 990, which means he only gained 10 points? Where did the other 5 points go? And as Wang Tao was pondering this, he suddenly felt his head get heavy, and he wanted to sleep. ¡°Not good¡ª¡± Realizing something was amiss, Wang Tao quickly ran back, and fortunately, he had cleared out all the zombies on this street. He ran back to Happy Community without any danger. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Ding Yuqin had been watching downstairs; seeing Wang Tao returning in a faltering gait, she rushed down anxiously to meet him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. Just very sleepy, I need to sleep¡­¡± Although Wang Tao was very drowsy and wanted to close his eyes, his consciousness was still relatively clear. With Ding Yuqin¡¯s strenuous support, he managed to get back to his room and fell asleep as soon as he lay on the bed. Even though Wang Tao had told her not to worry, how could Ding Yuqin not worry? She struggled to take off Wang Tao¡¯s clothes, and after checking carefully that there were no injuries, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. After noticing that there were many sweat stains on his body, she brought hot water over to clean Wang Tao¡¯s body, just like a caring wife. ¡°Thirsty¡­¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the water!¡± Gulp, gulp- He took a big gulp of water in a daze, and Wang Tao finally became alert. He felt as if his body was filled with strength! After breaking through to 1000 HP, it seemed like his fitness had vastly improved! He instinctively looked towards his HP bar. ¡°Huh?¡± Chapter 64 - Chapter 64: Chapter 64 Food Compressor :! Chapter 64: Chapter 64 Food Compressor :! Translator: 549690339 HP [1000/1000] Mana [100/100] There were no changes in his HP and Mana bars; they remained just as they used to be. The change was the appearance of a line of text beneath his HP bar. [Hidden Attribute: Improved Body Conditions] [Body Strengthening: Physique surpasses that of ordinary people, gains from exercise are greater, and the upper limits are higher] ¡°Sure enough, I have hidden attributes, too! No wonder I always feel like I get a lot out of each workout!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat pleased. But then again, Ding Yuqin could see her hidden attributes from killing just one zombie, while he had to wait until his HP reached 1000¡­ That¡¯s pretty unlucky! ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Wang Tao turned his head and saw Ding Yuqin¡¯s worried face. ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. By the way, how long did I sleep?¡± ¡°You slept for three hours! You didn¡¯t move at all; you scared me to death!¡± Seeing that Wang Tao was indeed fine, Ding Yuqin finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Three hours, huh¡­¡± Wang Tao nodded. As long as it wasn¡¯t like last time when he passed out for three days, it was okay. ¡°Are you hungry? It¡¯s already dark; I¡¯ll go make dinner¡­¡± As she spoke, Ding Yuqin was about to get up and leave. But Wang Tao grabbed her hand in one move and smoothly pulled her onto the bed. Then, with his arms around Ding Yuqin¡¯s waist, he looked into her watery eyes and said with a smile: ¡°Hungry, but I¡¯d like to have some dumplings first.¡± Wang Tao felt unusually energetic at the moment and needed to use up some energy. The next morning. When Wang Tao woke up, he saw Ding Yuqin in his arms, looking at him with her sparkling eyes. ¡°Truly, only a dead cow¡­¡± Last night, Ding Yuqin had been thoroughly defeated, yet this morning she was the first to wake up, looking radiant. On the contrary, it was Wang Tao himself who felt a slight soreness in his waist. ¡°Hmph!¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a coquettish glance, then wriggled out of his arms. ¡°I¡¯m going to make breakfast!¡± ¡°Call me husband first.¡± ¡°¡­ Husband-¡± After murmuring softly like the buzz of a mosquito, Ding Yuqin took off as if escaping. ¡°Tsk, tsk.¡± Once Ding Yuqin had left, Wang Tao continued to ponder the problem he hadn¡¯t figured out the day before. ¡°Where did those 5 drops of my blood go¡­ Could it be that after my HP exceeds a thousand, killing zombies no longer increases the HP limit?¡± Wang Tao was a bit distressed. If that were true, then wouldn¡¯t that mean 1000 HP was the ceiling? But he had seen zombies with 2000 HP and unknown creatures with tens of thousands of HP¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll try again later. If ordinary zombies don¡¯t increase HP, then I¡¯ll go kill special zombies! I refuse to believe¡­¡± After a simple wash, Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave his room. Instead, with a thought, a blueprint appeared in his hand. It was the [Food Compressor Blueprint], and then he took out the necessary crafting materials and Crystal Core. The words ¡°Ready to Use¡± instantly appeared on the Blueprint. Upon choosing to use it, the materials turned into streams of light and flew into the blueprint. Then, a line of text appeared on the blueprint. [Crafting in progress, remaining time 59:59] ¡°One hour? That¡¯s fine, I can wait a bit.¡± ¡°Wang Tao, time to eat!¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice came from outside the door. ¡°Here it comes.¡± After breakfast, Wang Tao began his morning exercise. Following some simple physical tests, Wang Tao felt that his overall physical condition with 1000 HP was at least two to three times stronger than when he had only 100 HP! He now had a feeling that ¡°without any weapons, he could smash a zombie¡¯s skull with one punch¡±¡­ At a certain moment, Wang Tao¡¯s spirit perked up, and he looked at his backpack. [The Food Compressor has been manufactured] With a thought, Wang Tao prepared to take the machine out, but a prompt appeared that there was not enough space. ¡°¡­How big is this thing?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s workout area was in a corner of the living room, cluttered with many things. He moved to the center of the living room. Ding Yuqin was wearing a yoga outfit and doing her exercises. Wang Tao walked over and unceremoniously slapped her on the butt. Ding Yuqin immediately turned red-faced and looked at Wang Tao. ¡°It¡¯s not really appropriate during the day¡­¡± ¡°What is sister-in-law fantasizing about? I mean you¡¯re in my way, move aside.¡± Ding Yuqin instantly flushed with embarrassment. However, following a heavy thud of something landing, Ding Yuqin jumped in fright. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s this situation? Your Ability?¡± In the living room, there was now a massive machine with a wasteland punk style. ¡°It¡¯s sort of like that. Go grab a small bag of rice.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. He himself was also baffled; how could those few small materials create such a big machine? That wasn¡¯t scientific! ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t ask further, she always remembered not to do anything that might annoy Wang Tao. Soon, Ding Yuqin came over with a 2.5 kg bag of rice, and Wang Tao brought the same amount of water. After the Food Compressor was made, prompts with instructions popped up. To make the nutritional liquid, it required equal proportions of food and water, and there would be some loss during the process that would provide energy to the machine¡­ meaning that if used sparingly, the machine could last a long time. There were three windows on the machine, two for input and one for output. After pouring the rice and water into the ¡°input¡± windows, the machine began to vibrate slightly. A moment later, the ¡°output¡± window in the middle opened, revealing four thumb-thick plastic tubes filled with a yellow, viscous liquid. There was a line of text on the plastic casing. ¡°2000 calories, rice flavor¡­ Shelf life 1 year¡­¡± Ding Yuqin curiously read the words on it. ¡°For a normal person, 2000 calories of energy should last a day, right?¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too clear on that himself; he knew it certainly wouldn¡¯t be enough for him. ¡°This is a nutritional liquid¡­¡± Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. After hearing this, Ding Yuqin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Wow! This is amazing! It¡¯s really useful for us!¡± All the food from the entire complex, the small restaurant, and the convenience store had been taken back to Wang Tao¡¯s home. Though not as much as a dedicated food storage warehouse, when added up, it was quite a lot. Many of the food items had short shelf lives and would go bad over time, and they were also inconvenient to carry. If they could be turned into this kind of nutritional liquid, that would be very convenient! ¡°Okay, go sort out the food with short shelf lives or those that are inconvenient to carry. I¡¯ll see which ones need to be turned into nutritional liquid.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin immediately took a notebook and pen, eagerly going to sort the food. Wang Tao focused his mind, and the four tubes of nutritional liquid were stored in his Space Backpack. ¡°Indeed, they can be put into the Space Backpack! Great stuff!¡± Wang Tao suddenly thought, since any food could be turned into nutritional liquid, could contaminated food also be made into nutrient-rich liquid? ¡°Bring back some contaminated food to try, and also kill a few zombies to check the HP situation¡­.¡± Chapter 65 - Chapter 65: Chapter 6 5 Suicide Bombing Zombies 1 Chapter 65: Chapter 6 5 Suicide Bombing Zombies 1 Translator: 549690999 ¡ã ¡ª ¡°Indeed, it doesn¡¯t increase the HP limit anymore¡­¡± Gazing at the three corpses on the ground, Wang Tao shook his head as he looked back at his own HP of 1000. He collected all the damaged and bloodstained food from the convenience store, then carried the bag of food back home. ¡°Humming-¡± With a buzz from the Food Compressor, the window of the machine opened to reveal the nutrient solution inside. ¡°It¡¯s useful! But¡­ the quantity is much less.¡± Wang Tao compared and found that the nutrient solution made from contaminated food was several to even more than ten times less than that made from normal food, with most of it lost during the process. ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a pity, but it¡¯s not inedible! It¡¯s a win as long as we can eat it!¡± Ding Yuqin consoled him at the side. ¡°True, being able to eat is already good.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Adhering to the excellent tradition of frugality, he planned to bring back all the damaged food from outside, as even the leg of a mosquito is still flesh. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll continue to scavenge for supplies. Sister-in-law, you¡¯re coming with ¡°Ah? I have to go out too¡­?¡± Upon hearing this, Ding Yuqin immediately felt afraid. ¡°To make you stronger.¡± Ding Yuqin really wanted to say that she didn¡¯t want to become stronger, and that she was satisfied with life as it was. But she was afraid that saying so would make Wang Tao resent her. Thus, Ding Yuqin started to use her ultimate tactic-acting coquettishly. ¡°Can I, can I not go¡­¡± Looking at his sister-in-law shaking his arm while holding onto it, feeling the softness transmitted from his arm, Wang Tao expressed with a smile, ¡°No.¡± Wang Tao was not swayed by persuasion or by her soft approach, leaving Ding Yuqin with no choice but to go out with him. Of course, before going out, Wang Tao equipped Ding Yuqin with protective gear, and then the two descended the stairs together. Looking at the chaos and deadly silence outside, Ding Yuqin stayed close behind Wang Tao. ¡°The end of the world¡­¡± Having stayed at home for a long while, it was Ding Yuqin¡¯s first time stepping out of the residential complex. Feeling the quietness and desolation, it made her very uncomfortable. Especially when she saw zombies on the streets, she was so frightened that she quickly hid behind Wang Tao. Wang Tao, holding a hammer, walked leisurely to the zombies and tapped one on the head, not using too much force. [-469] 131/500] The zombie was knocked down and heavily injured. ¡°Attack!¡± Wang Tao urged in a low voice. Ding Yuqin swallowed and, unwilling to disobey his command, gripped the spear and stabbed viciously towards the zombie¡¯s head. Thud! [-31] [0/500] Seeing that Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP increased by 5 points above her head, Wang Tao was instantly gratified. Since he was going to scavenge all the materials around, he naturally had to ace these zombies. But killing ordinary zombies wasn¡¯t adding to his HP anymore, making it feel somewhat wasteful. Therefore, it was better to add some HP to Ding Yuqin-mainly because Wang Tao wanted to know if the effectiveness of her blood replenishing packs would strengthen after her HP increased. Now that Wang Tao¡¯s HP had reached 1000, Ding Yuqin could only replenish 100 HP for him daily, which still felt insufficient. As for the items that Wang Tao obtained from killing zombies, he didn¡¯t have an immediate need for them, so it could wait. If needed later, he could kill zombies to collect them, as he could easily take out ordinary zombies at that point. After spending two days, Wang Tao finally scavenged clean all around the residential complex, and all the food that could be brought back was brought back. Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP also reached a solid 300. Whether the increase in HP affected the healing ability or not, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know for the time being, as he had been at full HP recently. But he knew that Ding Yuqin¡¯s physical condition had improved a lot-many positions that she couldn¡¯t withstand before, she could now let Wang Tao go a bit wilder. Last night, there was a heavy rain. It was a bit of a surprise for Ding Yuqin, given there had been no rain for a whole month, and the air was extremely dry. The leeks and green plants on the rooftop were well watered, seeming to have grown overnight¡ªwait a second! ¡°Sister-in-law, have you noticed that these green plants have gotten bigger?¡± On the rooftop patio, Wang Tao suddenly pointed to the green plants on the ground and asked. ¡°Not really¡­ I think?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s tone was somewhat uncertain. She almost came to check on these green plants every day, so logically, if they had grown, the change should not have been so apparent to her. But now, she felt¡­ as if they really had grown a bit larger? You¡¯re not sure? Then it seems they have gotten bigger!¡± Wang Tao normally didn¡¯t pay much attention to these green plants. Today, at a glance, he felt they had grown significantly larger! Especially the chives that were cut just two days ago, which had already grown back halfway. Could the growth rate of chives be this fast? Wang Tao looked at the drizzling rain in the sky, a bad feeling grew inside him. Could it be related to yesterday¡¯s heavy rainfall?¡± ¡°Heavy rainfall? You¡¯re saying that the rainfall promoted the growth of the plants?¡± Ding Yuqin was surprised. ¡°There might be that possibility. Sister-in-law, you surely haven¡¯t forgotten the three days of heavy rain before the apocalypse arrived.¡± How could Ding Yuqin forget such a deeply engraved event? She spoke with some concern: ¡°Could it lead to something bad¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it shouldn¡¯t affect us for the time being.¡± Wang Tao looked at his HP bar and saw no changes, nor did anything strange appear. ¡°Sister-in-law, put those sorted foods into the Food Compressor to make nutrient liquid. I¡¯m going out again today.¡± Wang Tao planned to collect gasoline and diesel today. The food resources around the neighborhood had been scavenged clean, and Wang Tao felt that it might soon be time to leave, since no matter how much food he had, without replenishment it would be useless. If they were to leave, with all the supplies he had to carry, including Ding Yuqin, the blood replenishing pack, walking definitely wasn¡¯t an option; they would have to drive. If driving, then the energy source definitely needed to be prepared in advance. However, Wang Tao hoped that it would be best to drive an electric car, since it made much less noise. So today, while Wang Tao went out to look for gasoline and diesel, he also sought out electric cars. It would be ideal if he could find one. If not, he would have to make do with a pickup truck. ¡°Be careful!¡± After Ding Yuqin helped Wang Tao put on his full protective gear, he headed downstairs with some empty oil drums. Many abandoned vehicles on the street had caught fire, and naturally, their gasoline was gone. Wang Tao¡¯s destination was a small open-air parking lot on the next street, which he had scoped out with binoculars before. There were several intact cars there. But upon arriving outside the parking lot, his gaze suddenly sharpened. ¡°Is that¡­¡± Wang Tao saw a bloated, organ-exposed zombie. [1000/1000] An HP of one thousand wasn¡¯t too high. But it was the most disgusting zombie he had ever seen, bar none. ¡°Clearly, it¡¯s a special kind of zombie, but it¡¯s not recorded in the military¡¯s data¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t go directly towards it. Maintaining a certain distance, he threw a brick at the zombie. Smack¡ª The sound made the zombie divert its attention, and upon spotting Wang Tao, it immediately started staggering over. Wang Tao readied himself for combat.¡¯ But before it got close to Wang Tao, the exposed organs on its body suddenly started to pulsate, then swell. Finally¡ª Bang! With a loud explosion, it blew up, turning into a cloud of blood mist! ¡°Shit! Good thing I didn¡¯t go closer!¡± Looking at the scattered limbs and body parts on the ground, Wang Tao was relieved. However, after spotting the pale blue Zombie Core among the bloodstains, Wang Tao quickly ran over to pick it up. I better leave quickly, or I¡¯ll be surrounded by zombies¡ª¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Suddenly, chilling howls came from all directions. Over a dozen seemingly Ordinary Zombies sprinted over from a distance. When they encountered some low obstacles, they actually leaped over them! They were even climbing cars and walls! Fuck! They can climb walls too? Have the zombies evolved?!¡± Chapter 66 - Chapter 66: Chapter 66 Self-Destruct Crystal Core 1 Chapter 66: Chapter 66 Self-Destruct Crystal Core 1 Translator: 549690990 J ¡ª ¡°Run!¡± Without any hesitation, Wang Tao turned his head and ran! The zombies¡¯ running speed was fast, and they moved fluidly, not at all stiff. If It were the old Wang Tao, he might not have been able to outrun them. But now Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness had improved a lot, and even with the heavy load on his body, he was not slower than them. These fast-moving zombies appeared from all directions, but there was only one on Wang Tao¡¯s way home, which was good news. He charged toward the lone zombie, and as he approached, Wang Tao picked up the horned hammer in his hand and smashed it down viciously onto the creature¡¯s head. Bang! [ -432 ] [ 568/1000 ] A head-shot with the hammer only caused over four hundred damage, and as the zombies had tooo HP, it would take at least two or three more hits to kill them. The zombie was knocked flying backwards. Seizing the momentum, Wang Tao swung two more hammer blows. [ -421] [ -147 ] [ o/iooo ] The zombie was killed. Wang Tao picked up the loot drop, his feet not stopping, and continued running toward the community. Although it took him just three hits to kill the zombie, which seemed manageable, these zombies were much faster and more troublesome to deal with than ordinary zombies. Moreover, there were too many of them. In just a short while, another dozen or so appeared around him. The sight of over thirty zombies, like athletes, sprinting furiously toward him was enough to make anyone¡¯s scalp tingle. And Wang Tao was not sure if the explosion earlier would attract other special zombies; it would be even more troublesome if other types showed up. Wang Tao ran frantically ahead, with zombies vigorously chasing after him. However, these zombies were not as fast as Wang Tao; by the time he returned to the entrance of Happy Community, most of the zombies had fallen behind, leaving only five young male zombies still in pursuit. Wang Tao didn¡¯t take the main gate but directly climbed over the fence into the community. But the five zombies also climbed over the wall following him! Wang Tao glanced at the five zombies and, instead of staying to fight, he opened the door to Building 4 and ran upstairs. ¡°Roar!¡± The five zombies roared and pounded on the door, but upon realizing it wouldn¡¯t budge, they scaled the wall with the agility of rock climbers! ¡°What happened to Wang Tao?¡± Seeing Wang Tao return, Ding Yuqin quickly opened the door and asked. She hadn¡¯t witnessed the zombies following Wang Tao, but she heard the explosion before. ¡°Zombies are chasing after me. Stay inside the house; I¡¯m going to the rooftop!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t enter the room but instead instructed her briefly and directly ran to the rooftop, then forcefully opened the door. ¡°Roar!¡± The five zombies had already climbed to the rooftop. Seeing Wang Tao, they immediately charged at him. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao took a deep breath and, when he saw all five zombies enter his attack range, he lifted his hammer and smashed it down on the closest zombie simultaneously utilizing his Shockwave ability. Bang! [ -451 ] The hammer struck the forehead of the first zombie and then a visible Shockwave spread from the zombie¡¯s head in all directions! [-324 ] [ -351] [ -332 ] [ -328 ] ( -356 ] All the zombies staggered wildly, a string of numbers jumping from their heads so fast they almost dazzled Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m so strong!¡± As he marveled inwardly, Wang Tao¡¯s hands continued to move. Bang! [ -461] [-342 ] One advantage of the Shockwave was that the zombies hit by it were not only injured, but also repelled, and some even became unsteady and fell to the ground. That is to say, they had no time to counterattack. Bang! [-207] [-211] [¡­] [0/1000] [¡­] Three strikes and five zombies were wiped out instantly! ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao vigorously shook the hammer, then with a thought, he collected all the loot that had burst forth. [Acquired: Can*2] [Acquired: Blade*3] [Acquired: Nails*2] [¡­] The items that ordinary zombies dropped were usually one or two, most commonly one, with two being very rare. Whereas the items these zombies dropped were around two to three each. But in terms of danger level, these were far more dangerous than ordinary zombies, after all, not only were they fast, but they also appeared in groups. ¡°These zombies might be a new type that emerged after the recent heavy rain¡­¡± Wang Tao glanced at his HP once again; it was still not replenished by a single point. b He was not too disappointed because judging from the items these zombies had dropped, they were probably just ordinary zombies ¨C in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes only those that yielded Crystal Cores were considered special zombies. It was a pity that he had no chance to test whether special zombies could still replenish his HP. He had just encountered one, but that thing self-destructed and it wasn¡¯t counted as his kill. Apart from the Zombie Core, nothing else dropped. Wang Tao threw the bodies of these five zombies down from the building and then looked at his Happy Community, shaking his head with a sense of helplessness. Looks like it¡¯s time to leave¡­¡± He had thought about preparing a bit more and not rushing to leave But the appearance of zombies that were as mad as crazies suddenly filled Wang Tao with a sense of urgency. The walls of his community couldn¡¯t hold back such zombies, let alone the crazy zombies that could even climb up the buildings¡­ Wang Tao returned home, and Ding Yuqin hurried over with worry. ¡®Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sister-in-law, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Then¡­ what¡¯s happening outside?¡± ¡°A new type of zombie has appeared¡­¡± Wang Tao explained briefly. When Ding Yuqin heard that these zombies could not only scale the walls of the community but also climb up to the rooftops from the exterior of the buildings her face turned pale. ¡¯ When she was free, she liked to water the plants on the rooftop, which, in her eyes, was the safest place in the world. If she encountered a zombie while watering the plants one day¡­ that would be certain death! What should we do? Should we take down the chives?¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat afraid. She had just managed to live comfortably for a few days under Wang Tao¡¯s protection; was fate still not willing to let her be¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sister-in-law. These zombies were attracted by the loud noises. As long as you don¡¯t make too much noise, it should be fine. Of course, we can¡¯t stay here much longer, we¡¯ll have to see when we can leave. Tomorrow I¡¯ll go out again¡­¡± Wang Tao reassured her. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll listen to you!¡± Ding Yuqin clutched Wang Tao¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Oh right¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered he had picked up a Zombie Core but hadn¡¯t had the chance to check it yet. With a thought, a light blue transparent Crystal Core appeared in his hand. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Self-Destruct] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: None)] A Crystal Core without side effects? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but upon reading the description that followed, he understood why there were no side effects. [Self-Detonation: Consumes all energy, the body explodes instantly.. The range and power of the explosion depend on the amount of energy] Chapter 67 - Chapter 67: Chapter 67: The Quality of the Crystal Core 1 Chapter 67: Chapter 67: The Quality of the Crystal Core 1 Translator: 549690239 J ¡ª Wang Tao had previously thought that all crystal cores had side effects, but it now seems that this isn¡¯t the case. Every crystal core contains impurities, but that doesn¡¯t mean they definitely have side effects-those side effects refer to the obvious ones like photophobia or excessive obesity. Impurities themselves are a kind of side effect-too much accumulation poses the risk of turning into a zombie! However, this is a result of long-term accumulation. They are different¡­ Furthermore, when Wang Tao saw that this crystal core had no side effects he was quite surprised. But after seeing its ability introduction, he instantly understood. No wonder the ability¡¯s name is Self Detonation. This damn thing is literally an ability for self-detonation! One can use it only once in a lifetime! For Wang Tao himself, the uselessness of this Self-Destruct Crystal Core is on par with the Glutton Crystal Core he had previously consumed as a material. After all, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t choose to integrate either of these two types of crystal cores. Of course, these two crystal cores would definitely still be of some use to others. After all, once someone becomes an ability user, their physical condition would improve significantly, making it worth it even if they didn¡¯t use their abilities. Then, Wang Tao reminisced about the differences among these crystal cores. Up to now, he had obtained a total of four zombie cores. They were two Shockwave Crystal Cores, one Glutton Crystal Core, and today¡¯s Self-Destruct Crystal Core. These four crystal cores, apart from having different types, also have different qualities. Only their purity is the same, all at 50%¡­ Therefore, Wang Tao had reason to speculate that the purity of Level 1 crystal cores was probably all 50%, but as for higher-level crystal cores, whether their purity would be higher or lower, Wang Tao felt that it would most likely decrease¡­ As for the quality of the crystal cores, Wang Tao¡¯s four cores are of four different quality levels, each with a different color. These are a 20% fusion success rate White Rank, Ordinary items; 40% Blue Excellent; 60% Purple Excellent; and 80% Red Superior. Wang Tao had previously synthesized two Shockwave cores and obtained an Orange Epic with a 100% success rate. So looking at it this way, the situation becomes quite clear¡ª The quality of crystal cores should have five categories, ranked from low to high according to the success rate of fusion, namely: White Rank, Ordinary (20%), Blue Excellent (40%), Purple Excellent (60%) Red Superior (80%), Orange Epic (100%)! Although the Orange Epic was synthesized by him, since such a thing exists, he thinks that it should be possible to drop one. If someone were to drop an Epic Crystal Core, that would undoubtedly be incredibly lucky. Of course, even if they are not Orange Epic, Purple Excellent and Red Superior are also good, at least the fusion success rate exceeds 50%. For Wang Tao, the most cost-effective method at the moment is to synthesize two crystal cores whose combined quality can reach 100%. Because after synthesis, the purity of crystal cores also adds up. Currently, the purity of Level 1 crystal cores is 50%; two of them add up to just 100%, so ¡¯ using three crystal cores for synthesis would be a bit of a waste of purity. ¡°Gulp¡­¡¯1 Hearing the sound of someone swallowing saliva, Wang Tao turned his head and saw Ding Yuqin looking at the zombie core with a face full of longing. ¡°Sister-in-law wants to eat it?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°I do¡­¡± Ding Yuqin replied subconsciously and then came back to her senses. She quickly became somewhat embarrassed and said. ¡°No, no, no, I won¡¯t eat! You eat!¡± Wang Tao had talked to her about the Zombie Core, but she had no idea what it looked like, and the Crystal Core in Wang Tao¡¯s hand was too clean, so she didn¡¯t know it was a Zombie Core. ¡°Sister-in-law, do you know what this is? This is a Zombie Core. Eating it gives you a certain chance to obtain an Ability, you know? Aren¡¯t you tempted?¡± Wang Tao said somewhat seductively. ¡°Not tempted!¡± Although Ding Yuqin was still swallowing her saliva, she turned her head away directly. She truly wasn¡¯t tempted; she didn¡¯t care about whether she had an Ability or not. As long as Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave her behind, she was content. But her instinct kept telling her to eat that Crystal Core, so she simply turned her head away, refusing to look. Seeing that Ding Yuqin did not appear to be lying, Wang Tao was somewhat impressed. He had initially thought that Ding Yuqin was the strong, independent type But after deep communication, he realized she was a traditional type who tended to rely on men. That kind of woman might not be expected to start a business or make money, but as a wife, she would definitely fit the bill. Alright, let me give you a rundown on Crystal Cores¡­¡± Wang Tao explained everything he knew to Ding Yuqin, so that she wouldn¡¯t be completely in the dark if she ever encountered one in the future. Ding Yuqin was startled when she heard that this Zombie Core was a Self-Destruct Ability. ¡°Good thing I didn¡¯t eat it. I really wouldn¡¯t want to self-destruct!¡± The Crystal Core was temporarily stored in the Space Backpack, not needed for the moment. However, Wang Tao had no plans to use it for himself either. After all, this wasn¡¯t a game; he had only one life. If he were ever driven to self-destruct, it would be death either way¡­ he had no intention of blowing himself up to benefit others. At night, after completing their daily exercise, Wang Tao noticed it was still early, so he took out the walkie-talkie. And again, he managed to get in touch with Ou Yingying. A week had passed since their last contact, and Wang Tao was somewhat surprised that Ou Yingying was still alive ¨C although it might be a bit rude to say so, the fact that the two of them were still alive for so long meant they definitely had something special. Wang Tao inquired briefly, and Ou Yingying said that there was plenty of food in the milk tea shop for the two of them, and the roll-down shutter door was sturdy, keeping ordinary zombies out. As long as they stayed quiet in the milk tea shop, they were relatively safe. But while they were safe, both were showing signs of near mental collapse. ¡°Big brother, please send someone to save us! We are really going crazy¡­¡± In the milk tea shop, a disheveled, filthy Ou Yingying whispered tearfully. She and Sun Weiguang had been in this milk tea shop for a week. The space inside the shop was very small, and they had to live their lives fully within it unable to even open the door ¨C not even a crack, because zombies would gather at the smell of anything human. So you can imagine the smell inside¡­ The interior reeked, while zombies knocked on the door from time to time outside. Especially at night, they could hear a multitude of footsteps and various eerie howls¡­ Being tortured in such conditions for a week, it was a testament to her strength that she hadn¡¯t collapsed already. It was fortunate that not only she but also Sun Weiguang were in the milk tea shop so they could talk and ease the loneliness somewhat. Otherwise, she didn¡¯t know if she could have held on¡­ Wang Tao naturally had no sympathy for these two, but his thoughts went to the female police officer. He personally had a certain admiration for that kind of righteous female police officer. Although the police officer had taken refuge in a shop and seemed quite safe, the conditions Ou Yingying described were such that she too would not be able to hold out alone for long. What a pity¡­ ¡°Hold on and wait for rescue!¡± After saying that in a perfunctory manner, Wang Tao turned off the walkie-talkie.. Chapter 68 - Chapter 68: Chapter 68 Electric Off - road Vehicle_l Chapter 68: Chapter 68 Electric Off ¨C road Vehicle_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous outside¡­¡± Ding Yuqin lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, drawing circles with her fingers, while sighing. She had heard everything Ou Yingying said just now, and it was difficult for her to imagine how long she would survive in that kind of situation¡­ Thank goodness for Wang Tao! ¡°How could it be called the apocalypse if it weren¡¯t dangerous¡­¡± Wang Tao gently stroked Ding Yuqin¡¯s hair, then suddenly, with a mischievous smile, he whispered in her ear, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t sister-in-law thank me in some way?¡± ¡°How, how should sister-in-law thank you¡­ Feeling the warmth by her ear, Ding Yuqin¡¯s ears turned slightly red as she raised her head, twisting her body uneasily. Wang Tao looked at her red lips. ¡°Mmm¡­¡± It rained again today. Wang Tao was preparing to brave the rain and visit that parking lot once more. The task of collecting fuel and finding a vehicle wasn¡¯t complete yet. As Ding Yuqin watched him, Wang Tao left Happy Community with a can of fuel. He had cleared all the zombies on this road yesterday, but overnight, more zombies had appeared on the streets. Without any hesitation, Wang Tao, amidst the rain with hammer in hand, dealt with them one by one. -These zombies seem a lot more sluggish. They didn¡¯t notice me even when I was so close¡­ Could it be because of the rain?¡± Wang Tao pondered. The sound of raindrops hitting the ground and buildings was like the crackling of fireworks. Maybe these sounds interfered with the zombies¡¯ hearing, and the rainwater could also cover up scents¡­ So, it seemed logical that the zombies¡¯ senses had been weakened. After killing more than a dozen zombies, Wang Tao carefully arrived at the open-air parking lot. However, he didn¡¯t dare to go straight in. Instead, he carefully observed the surroundings to make sure there were no suicide bombing zombies like yesterday before he cautiously entered. Wang Tao glanced around and saw that apart from two cars with open doors, the rest were locked. Among these locked cars, there were three that had been in accidents, smashed by something. The cars from which Wang Tao collected gasoline were these few with open doors and damaged cars. Because their alarms wouldn¡¯t sound. If he tried to break into the intact cars, their alarms would likely go off. He did not want to end up like yesterday, being chased by a swarm of crazy zombies. Soon, Wang Tao had filled a canister with gasoline, without raising any alarm. ¡°Continue!¡± The fourth car, with an open door, had a zombie lying on the steering wheel, unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s approach. Wang Tao suddenly pulled the zombie down and swung his hammer for a headshot. [-500 HP] The zombie didn¡¯t even have time to react before it was killed instantly. Only then did Wang Tao turn his attention to the car. ¡°Huh? This should be an electric car, right? Looks like it¡¯s a range extender¡­ It was a domestic brand of rugged off-road vehicle, angular and tough-looking, very impressive and domineering. Before the apocalypse, the whole world was advocating for new energy vehicles, and Qian Country was no exception. They created some pretty nice new energy vehicles. There were all kinds of models available, including sedans, SUVs, and off-road vehicles. However, comparatively speaking, the sales of SUVs were the best, followed by sedans, and the off-road vehicles had the worst sales. The reason for this, apart from personal preference, was mainly the price, which was much higher for new energy off-road vehicles than for other types of vehicles. Take this vehicle in front of me, for instance, if Wang Tao remembered correctly, it was an extended-range new-energy vehicle-it could be refueled and recharged. The engine did not directly drive the wheels but used fuel to generate electricity, which, in turn, powered the electric motor that drove the wheels. The starting price seemed to be about 600,000. It belonged to the category that people praised but did not necessarily buy, since the price wasn¡¯t exactly affordable. Wang Tao climbed in and rummaged around, finding a car key. He gently pressed it, and seeing the key light up, Wang Tao felt delighted. ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s not broken?¡± He depressed the brake and held down the push-to-start button. Whirring- Wang Tao heard the faint sound of an electric motor starting up. ¡°There¡¯s power, and it still has seventy percent fuel! After making sure there were no issues with the car, Wang Tao drove it straight out of the parking lot. It had to be said, electric vehicles were quiet, especially in pure electric mode, and coupled with the rain, the sound of raindrops interfered with the zombies¡¯ judgment¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t encounter any issues on his way back to Happy Community. It was only after he had parked the car under building number 4 that Wang Tao finally let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Now that I have a car, and enough fuel, the next step is to scout out Suzaku University Survivor Base, to see if it¡¯s safe and suitable for me. If it is, then I¡¯ll go there. If not, I¡¯ll have to look elsewhere¡­¡± Wang Tao was inclined to live where there were more survivors, as there was strength in numbers. Especially in an orderly Survivor Base, he wouldn¡¯t need to handle everything personally and could focus on improving his Strength. It was too dangerous to be alone in the apocalypse. Not to mention the endless hordes of zombies, the creature he encountered in the wild with 10,000 HP wasn¡¯t something one person could take on. Even with his current Strength, he didn¡¯t stand a chance. And to put it bluntly, if any danger did arise, being among many people would provide cannon fodder to shield him. If he were alone, he¡¯d have only himself to rely on. Of course, the premise was that he wouldn¡¯t become cannon fodder himself. Wang Tao had his own judgment. If the Survivor Base really wasn¡¯t suitable, he wouldn¡¯t insist on staying. As for the idea of establishing his own Survivor Base, Wang Tao was not currently considering it. If he had the capability to manage or lead, wouldn¡¯t he be out there starting a business and making a fortune rather than hunkered down here as a small-time Martial Arts Substitute Actor? Although it was the apocalypse and personal Strength was very important, that didn¡¯t mean one could afford not to think. Otherwise, one might not even realize when they¡¯d been outsmarted. Unless one¡¯s Strength was so extraordinary that they could defy all laws, but clearly, he wasn¡¯t at that level yet. For him now, the best option was to join a large official Survivor Base, followed by Ordinary large ones. He wasn¡¯t interested in medium-sized bases, and small ones¡­ like Happy Community, weren¡¯t necessary. Of course, his definitions of large, medium, and small were according to his own understanding. ¡°However, before that, I still need to inspect and modify the car¡­¡± Wang Tao touched his chin and murmured to himself. He had already scoured the entire community, finding a lot of materials and tools, and planned to modify the car to deal with the harsh environment. After three days, Wang Tao reinforced many parts of the car and even fitted an additional steel plate on the exterior. While this somewhat affected speed, vehicles couldn¡¯t go too fast in these conditions anyway. Sacrificing a bit of speed for stronger Defense seemed quite appropriate. It was raining again that day. Looking at the pouring rain outside the window, Wang Tao felt it was a good day to head out.. Chapter 69 - Chapter 69: Chapter 69 Fierce Firepower_l Chapter 69: Chapter 69 Fierce Firepower_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Sis-in-law, I¡¯m heading out today, and I might be gone for a few days. Don¡¯t run around while I¡¯m not here on your own.¡± Wang Tao glanced at the rain outside the window and spoke to Ding Yuqin beside him. ¡°¡­Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin felt reluctant, but she knew that Wang Tao was searching for their new home. Soon, Ding Yuqin helped Wang Tao get fully geared up. ¡°Remember, you must stay at home. There¡¯s plenty of food, enough for you. I¡¯ve also left a walkie-talkie for you, and I¡¯ll check in on you from time to time. If I find out that you¡¯re running around again, sis-in-law, watch out for a spanking!¡± Wang Tao gave Ding Yuqin¡¯s bottom a firm smack. ¡°Stop it-¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao an annoyed look, then said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll wait for you at home obediently! Be careful, okay?¡± Ding Yuqin bestowed a longing kiss on Wang Tao, and then watched reluctantly as he drove away from Happy Community. Having a different car really made a difference; not only was this one more comfortable, but it was also much quieter. Plus, with the heavy rain and detours, he hardly encountered any zombies along the way. Even if an occasional zombie did appear, he simply ran it over. However, the slight regret he had was that he didn¡¯t encounter any special zombies on the way. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested in killing ordinary zombies anymore, but if he came across special ones, he definitely would want to try and take them down. After all, special zombies had Crystal Cores. ¡°At this pace, I should arrive at Shuize University in another twenty minutes¡­¡± Wang Tao ate some compressed biscuits in the car, preparing to hit the road again, but upon spotting a building in the distance, he raised an eyebrow. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that Rui Cai Commercial Street right ahead!¡± Wang Tao reviewed the map; if he cut through Rui Cai Commercial Street, Suzaku University was indeed very close. At least, it could save him ten minutes of travel. In a post-apocalyptic world, saving time was saving lives. However, considering what Ou Yingying had described over the walkie-talkie earlier, Wang Tao still felt it was better to take a detour. Time-saving on the premise of safety was one thing, but if there was danger, then it was a different story altogether. ¡°Da da da¡ª¡± All of a sudden, rhythmic gunfire came from the commercial street. Even though it was raining heavily, the sound was unmistakably clear. ¡°Gunfire! From the direction of the commercial street!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed, and he immediately turned off the car and got out, climbing up to the third floor of the building behind him. Rumble¡ª ¡°Roar!¡± The sound of gunfire incited countless zombies to roar; the ground seemed to tremble. ¡°Da da da¡ªda da da¡ª¡± The gunfire continued, giving the impression that it wasn¡¯t an individual, but more like a squad at work. After climbing to the rooftop of the three-story building, Wang Tao immediately took out his binoculars to observe. In the distance, Rui Cai Commercial Street was swarming with zombies, and at the entrance of the road at the forefront were three modified off-road military vehicles, reinforced with steel plates, wire netting, and spikes. Each of the three vehicles had a shooting port on the roof, with three camouflaged soldiers emerging halfway out, pulling the triggers of the mounted machine guns, firing bursts at the horde of zombies. Rifle fire was also coming through the shooting ports of the car windows. The ferocious, terrifying zombies were falling en masse as if they were chives being harvested. Even if they weren¡¯t shot in the head, being hit by a 12.7 caliber machine gun would pulverize half of their bodies, rendering them instantaneously incapacitated. ¡°This is the power of thermal weapons!¡± On the rooftop, Wang Tao watched this scene with a surging heart, feeling as though he was the one firing the guns. After all, which man could reject shooting a gun! ¡°With such firepower, how could zombies possibly stand a chance against humans! I wonder if there¡¯s still a large scale army surviving¡­¡± Three vehicles, more than a dozen guns, after killing a large swath of zombies, rolled straight over them and drove into the commercial street. They then stopped in a triangular formation in front of a shop. Zombies continually approached from all sides but were shot dead, and occasionally, a few slipped through the defensive fire but were powerless against the modified military vehicles. Inside the vehicle, someone opened the door and waved to the shop, then two figures were seen running out of the shop and diving into the van. ¡°Hmm? Those two silhouettes look familiar¡­ Ou Yingying and that Sun Weiguang?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had casually told Ou Yingying and the others to wait for rescue over the walkie-talkie, not really expecting them to actually wait. Yet, they had? Such good luck? Even Wang Tao was envious of this stroke of fortune. He continued to watch, and as soon as Ou Yingying and the other were on board, the convoy immediately began to retreat. At that moment, more zombies converged from all directions, swarming towards the three vehicles like a black tide. Wang Tao also spotted at least dozens of those ¡°crazy zombies¡± that ran faster than humans and could climb over walls. The arrival of these ¡°crazy zombies¡± suddenly increased the pressure on the armed convoy! Though Wang Tao could not hear or see the communication within the vehicles, the suddenly chaotic gunfire suggested they were starting to panic. Fortunately, they had plenty of bullets and thick armor, so no matter how strong the crazy zombies were, they could not withstand the gunfire. The vehicles struggled to break free from the encirclement of zombies and reached the main road, then with a sudden acceleration, the three vehicles sped away. But it was not so easy to shake off the zombies, and due to the poor road conditions, the convoy couldn¡¯t pick up much speed. The horde of zombies relentlessly followed behind, as if they could be overwhelmed at any moment. These people must be from Shuize University Base, but perhaps fearing to lead zombies there, they didn¡¯t head in that direction. Instead, they led this large group of zombies away via another road. After watching the three vehicles and the horde of zombies leave, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°These people have good weapons and combat capabilities, but they seem a bit reckless! I wonder who¡¯s commanding them¡­ However, they¡¯ve drawn all the zombies away, so couldn¡¯t I take a shortcut?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He took another careful look, and sure enough, there were no longer any living zombies in the commercial street¡ªjust a lot of zombie corpses lying around. ¡°Now¡¯s the chance, let¡¯s move quickly!¡± Wang Tao realized this was a good opportunity. He immediately went down and climbed into the vehicle. After starting the car, he drove towards Rui Cai Commercial Street. Reaching Rui Cai Commercial Street and seeing the pile of zombie corpses, Wang Tao felt a bit regretful. If only he had killed them, he thought, even if it didn¡¯t restore HP, at least he could have gained a lot of spoils of war. The corpses blocked the way, slowing down the car a bit. At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly heard some noise coming from a shop. ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Wang Tao immediately turned around, just as the shutter door of one of the shops deformed and then shattered, and a figure flew out of the broken doorway. Bang! The figure slammed hard onto the front of Wang Tao¡¯s car. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t driving fast, or else there could have been a risk of flipping the car. Wang Tao first looked at the car¡¯s front with some distress; thankfully, the reinforced front end was undamaged. Only then did he turn his attention to the severely injured figure on the ground. Huh? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the person turned out to be Han Rui. She had taken off her police uniform and changed into ordinary clothes, which caused Wang Tao not to recognize her at first. ¡°Thump, thump¡ª¡± At that moment, a burly figure walked out of the same shop.. Chapter 70 - Chapter 70: Chapter 70 Picking Up a Leak_l Chapter 70: Chapter 70 Picking Up a Leak_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Get away¡ªoh no, save me!¡± Han Rui flew out, her whole body aching, her head heavy. Upon seeing a figure before her eyes, her long career as a policewoman made her instinctively tell the person to get away. After all, that zombie was too terrifying, not something an ordinary person could handle. But as soon as she came to her senses and saw that the person was sitting in a car¡ªand a car that had been reinforced with steel plates at that¡ªshe immediately changed her plea, asking the person to save her. Wang Tao didn¡¯t immediately go to save Han Rui, nor did he leave. Instead, he grabbed the horned hammer and directly opened the car door to get out. Whoosh¡ª The rain outside was heavy, instantly drenching Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. ¡°You¡ª¡± Han Rui glared at the sizeable man before her. If he didn¡¯t run now, it would be too late to try later! He couldn¡¯t possibly believe he could beat that zombie, could he? With all those muscles? Unfortunately, Han Rui¡¯s entire body was in pain, rendering her unable to move. Otherwise, she would have grabbed the car to forcibly take the big man with her to leave. Wang Tao, of course, was unaware of Han Rui¡¯s thoughts. He was actually looking for a special zombie, and lo and behold, one had come to him. Most importantly, the zombie was already severely injured! [321/1500] If he let such an opportunity pass, he would be cursed with thunderous retribution! Wang Tao gripped the hammer in his hand, eyeing the zombie not too far away. This was a zombie over two meters tall, but with a deformed physique; its upper body on the right side was enormous, especially the right arm, which was almost half the size of Wang Tao. However, the left side of its body was shriveled, especially the left arm, which was smaller than that of a normal person. It was as if the nutrition from the right side was being diverted to supply the left side. The zombie¡¯s body was riddled with bullet holes, and some black blood was oozing out from them. ¡°Attacker¡­¡± This kind of zombie was described in the military¡¯s zombie files and was named an Attacker! It was different from the Sprinters zombies. A difference of just one character in their names, but the strength of the two was absolutely more than ten times apart. When Wang Tao saw the zombie¡¯s gaze turn towards him, he decisively ran away from the car. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± From that somewhat deformed giant mouth of the Attacker, a roar emerged, and then lifting its right arm, it pushed off with its hind legs, charging straight towards Wang Tao. Boom- Watching the colossal zombie charge towards him like a raging bull at high speed, Wang Tao abruptly rolled to the right side. The Attacker almost grazed Wang Tao¡¯s body as it rushed past. Bang! The Attacker crashed head-on into the opposite building¡¯s wall. With a loud crash, it created a large hole in the wall filled with cracks, and a [-3] appeared over the head of the Attacker, who seemed somewhat dazed by the impact. The Attacker¡¯s mode of attack wasn¡¯t biting, but ramming. Anyone hit by it would either be left with only half their HP if they didn¡¯t die, and that was just for those with good physical fitness. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. Wang Tao felt that with his current strength, he might be able to withstand it, but it wasn¡¯t necessary. So he dodged at an extremely fast speed. An Attacker could run straight for twenty to thirty meters in one charge, not stopping unless it hit a person or obstacle. And if it did hit an obstacle, there would be two possible outcomes: either it would smash the obstacle, or it would be stopped by the obstacle and suffer dizziness for a few seconds. The buildings on this street were all reinforced concrete, quite durable; they not only stopped the Attacker but also caused it to become dazed. Han Rui, leaning against the car, widened her eyes, filled with disbelief. ¡°He actually dodged it!¡± Only someone who had personally fought this zombie could understand the terror of its charge. From an observer¡¯s perspective, the trajectory of the charge was visible. But if you were the one in its path, there was almost no chance to dodge! Yet the big guy had actually managed to dodge it! She had previously thought he was done for, but it turned out he was an expert! She had misjudged! Meanwhile, Wang Tao, taking advantage of the Sprinter¡¯s moment of dizziness, hurried over and swung the hammer three times at its head. Bang! Bang! Bang! [-121] [-124] [-76] [0/1500] Is it dead just like that? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, after all, this was a special zombie with 1500 HP. He had thought that there would be an exchange of blows between them. But then again, considering his greatly improved strength, it made sense that he could easily kill a special zombie that was already weakened. ¡°Eh?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s face lit up with joy, because he noticed that his HP had increased! He had gained 40 points, and it was now [1040/1040]! Did this mean that killing ordinary zombies wouldn¡¯t increase his HP, but killing special zombies still did? Indeed, 1000 HP wasn¡¯t the limit! With a thought, the semi-transparent package dropped by the zombie entered Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack. [Acquired: Rush Right Arm Blueprint xi] Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to look at the loot; he hurriedly used the hammer to pry out the Crystal Core from inside the Sprinter¡¯s head. It was a Purple Crystal Core named [Rush], and without time to look closer, Wang Tao stashed it away and immediately ran back to his car. Han Rui¡¯s mouth hung open the entire time, her face a picture of shock. After seeing that Wang Tao had dodged the zombie¡¯s attack, she realized she had misjudged him. But watching Wang Tao take down the zombie with just three swings of his hammer, Han Rui was completely dumbfounded. She was aware of how formidable this particular zombie was; even when she heard the gunfire, she dared not make a sound for help. In the end, she was discovered and got knocked out cold. She tried to fight back, but it was no use! And then this man killed it with just three hammer blows¡­ What also surprised her was the efficiency with which Wang Tao extracted the Crystal Core; his actions were those of someone who had done this many times before! So, he was an Ability User! After Wang Tao returned to the car, noticing Han Rui¡¯s unusual gaze towards him, he decided not to waste words, grabbed her arm, and threw her into the back seat of the car. ¡°Uh¡­ thank you¡­¡± Han Rui grimaced in pain but didn¡¯t show any dissatisfaction; instead, she sincerely voiced her thanks. Being rescued was a great favor in itself, she had no right to ask for more. Wang Tao glanced at her through the rearview mirror inside the car. ¡°Buckle up!¡± Upon hearing this, Han Rui hurriedly fumbled to buckle her seatbelt. Wang Tao forcefully stepped on the gas pedal. ¡°Whir-¡± The electric motor had strong torque, and coupled with the car being all-wheel drive, the vehicle instantly shot forward. Han Rui, inside the car, felt the powerful sensation of being pushed back against her seat, her eyes revealing a hint of surprise. ¡°No wonder he dares to drive around by himself, it¡¯s an electric car!¡± The sound of an electric car is relatively quiet, plus it was raining heavily, so their chances of safely returning to the Survivor Base were high¡ªHan Rui assumed Wang Tao was from the Shuize University Survivor Base, since it was close by. However, possibly due to the gunfire earlier, although there were no zombies on the commercial street, there were many of them after passing through the commercial area. For safety, Wang Tao deliberately took some detours. After spending several hours, they finally reached Shuize University in the evening. The present Shuize University was completely different from what he remembered. The walls around the campus had been raised significantly, topped with sandbags, shooting ports, and barbed wire, while the bottom was lined with anti-tank obstacles, trenches, and big iron barrels with burn marks¡­ Just looking at all this gave one an immense sense of security. A sign hanging over the gate read ¡°Shuize Base¡± in large characters. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to enter, instead parking the car in a safe corner before turning his gaze to Han Rui. ¡°Officer Han, shall we talk?¡± Chapter 71 - Chapter 71: Chapter 71 Han Rui s Attributes 1 Chapter 71: Chapter 71 Han Rui¡¯ s Attributes 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡ª ¡°Do you know me?¡± Officer Han looked at Wang Tao, who was wrapped up tightly all over, with a mixture of caution and surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you before.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t elaborate. ¡°What do you¡­ want to talk about?¡± Officer Han was somewhat uncertain of Wang Tao¡¯s intentions. ¡°Is this base reliable?¡± Wang Tao gazed at the base before him. Officer Han knew what Wang Tao meant by ¡®reliable¡¯. She had encountered a group of survivors with ill intentions before, and she certainly wasn¡¯t going to easily trust other survivors now, even Wang Tao who had just saved her life, she remained somewhat wary. But in her opinion, the Suize Survivor Base really was reliable. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s reliable. My former boss is inside, and besides, this is a base established by our Security Army¡­¡± Officer Han shared some information she knew. ¡°Okay, then I can rest assured.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then looked at Officer Han again and said, ¡°I¡¯m somewhat curious about the process of Officer Han coming to the Commercial Street, and what happened to Officer Han when she was trapped in the dollar store. Would Officer Han be able to satisfy my curiosity?¡± ¡°¡­No problem!¡± Officer Han nodded decisively, well aware of her current situation-although she had escaped the threat of the zombies, and had been saved by this man, her life was, in effect, in this man¡¯s hands. Officer Han didn¡¯t yet know what Wang Tao was thinking; as long as Wang Tao did nothing excessive to her, she would try her best to be accommodating, to avoid provoking him. ¡°I came to Rui Cai Commercial Street about last week-I can¡¯t remember the exact day¡­¡± Officer Han¡¯s story was similar to what Ou Yingying had described earlier, but there were some differences in the details¡ª They had arrived at Rui Cai Commercial Street without encountering any danger, and with the Suzaku University Survivor Base just in sight, the three of them were extremely excited. Officer Han suggested taking a detour around the Commercial Street even though there seemed to be no zombies inside it, she was still a bit worried. But her husband, Sun Weilong, wanted to go straight through. The Commercial Street wasn¡¯t just one street; it referred to the entire area. Detouring would mean a significantly longer route. In the post-apocalyptic world, every additional minute outside was a minute of danger. Going through would save a lot of time. They also observed that there were no zombies in the Commercial Street, which seemed visibly safe, whereas taking the detour meant facing invisible risks. Ou Yingying was indecisive, finding reason in Officer Han¡¯s words, yet agreeing with Wei Guang¡¯s argument as well. So when both turned to her for a decision she chose to support Wei Guang¡¯s idea-to pass through the Commercial Street. Officer Han was actually a very decisive person, but, in all honesty, even she wasn¡¯t sure if her judgement was right. So this time, she conformed to the majority. As they entered the Commercial Street, everything went smoothly. The three of them moved quietly, not drawing any attention from the zombies. However, as they passed in front of a milk tea shop, Ou Yingying mentioned she was thirsty and wanted some water. They hadn¡¯t had any for a whole day. Wei Guang was thirsty too, and upon hearing this, he looked at the milk tea shop nearby. The shop wasn¡¯t big, the door was open, and one could easily see there were no zombies inside. Then, Wei Guang volunteered to take Ou Yingying to the shop to look for water, figuring that a milk tea shop was likely to have clean water. Officer Han saw a zombie at the corner ahead, blocking their way, and decided to go ahead and clear it out herself. After some effort to deal with the zombie, a noise suddenly came from the milk tea shop. Before she could understand what was happening, she saw a female zombie, different from the others, charging directly into the shop. Officer Han hurried over, only to find Wei Guang and Ou Yingying hiding under a table. Just as the zombie was about to reach them, Officer Han pulled out her gun and pulled the trigger decisively. With a ¡°bang¡±, the bullet hit the zombie, successfully diverting its attention. But it also attracted countless other zombies in the vicinity. Han Rui quickly instructed the two of them to puli down the roll-up door to hide, and then she rushed into a nearby shop. This special zombie naturally followed her, but she was a good shot. As the zombie charged in after her, she rapidly emptied her magazine. For now, even the strongest zombie was still made of flesh and blood and definitely couldn¡¯t withstand bullets. As long as you have good aim and hit the zombie¡¯s weak spots, you could easily kill it-even if it was a special zombie. Therefore, this special zombie was directly killed by Han Rui. But by then, a large horde of zombies had already appeared outside. She couldn¡¯t meet up with Sun Weiguang, so she had no choice but to lock the doors and windows and hide there. Han Rui initially thought that the zombies outside would soon leave, but unexpectedly, they seemed to stay on the street without wandering off. Fortunately, there was some food in the shop, so she wouldn¡¯t starve to death. What she didn¡¯t expect was that a burly special zombie had made its way into the house next door at some point. With no bullets left, she couldn¡¯t possibly fight a special zombie with her bare hands. Her only option was to stay hidden and wait until today. When she heard the gunfire outside today, she was thrilled, thinking she might be rescued. But with a terrifying special zombie nearby, she didn¡¯t dare make a sound. She had hoped the special zombie would be lured away. Unexpectedly, it seemed that the special zombie was injured or something because it didn¡¯t leave. Instead, it hid inside the house. This left Han Rui in a bit of a predicament. Even as the gunfire gradually faded into the distance, she never found a suitable opportunity-she didn¡¯t dare to open the door or call out, as she might get bitten by the zombie before anyone came to her rescue. However, there was some good news. The group outside had drawn away the large wave of zombies. If she could avoid the special zombie next door, she would be able to come out. But she didn¡¯t manage to avoid it and was discovered by the zombie. Then came the situation Wang Tao saw. She had no time to dodge and was directly rammed by the ¡°Attacker¡± zombie, even smashing through the roll-up door and landing on Wang Tao¡¯s car. ¡°¡­That¡¯s what happened.¡± After explaining her previous experiences in one breath, Han Rui licked her dry lips. Han Rui¡¯s story provided a few more details than Ou Yingying¡¯s did, and there was one discrepancy¡ª Ou Yingying claimed that it was Sun Weiguang who took the initiative to get them milk tea, but according to Han Rui, it was Ou Yingying who wanted water, and that¡¯s why Sun Weiguang went to look for water in the milk tea shop. Based on his understanding of their character and his own speculations, Wang Tao felt that Han Rui¡¯s story was likely more credible. Ou Yingying clearly intended to shift the blame away from herself. Of course, none of that mattered now, as the events had already occurred. And¡­ Han Rui hadn¡¯t told the whole truth either! Wang Tao looked at Han Rui and chuckled softly: ¡°Officer Han, it seems you¡¯ve left out some details!¡± The things you got from killing the special zombie and your Ability, you didn¡¯t mention them!¡± Han Rui¡¯s mouth opened slightly, and she fell silent. When she saw Wang Tao skillfully pry the Crystal Core from a zombie¡¯s head, she knew Wang Tao must be aware of certain things, but she hadn¡¯t expected him to be so knowledgeable, even guessing that she had an Ability! She didn¡¯t know how she had exposed herself. She wasn¡¯t very keen on telling others about her Ability. But, considering Wang Tao was her lifesaver, she felt conflicted. Wang Tao just silently watched Han Rui without speaking. The reason he knew about Han Rui¡¯s Ability was simple-her Attributes were different from ordinary people¡¯s¡ª HP [85/231] Mana [30/100] [Hidden attribute: Arrest] [Internal Impurity: o%] Chapter 76 - Chapter 76: Chapter 76: The Committee, Rush Crystal Chapter 76: Chapter 76: The Committee, Rush Crystal Core_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Of course there¡¯s no problem!¡± When Wang Tao asked about this, the round-faced girl explained excitedly. ¡°Our base was established with the lead of our Security Army Shuize squadron, alongside the assistance of Shuize University, the Shuize County Police Department, and other government departments. At the beginning of its establishment, we encountered many difficulties, and many sacrifices were made. Being able to come this far is the result of the Security Army¡¯s efforts¡­ Looking at the admiration in the round-faced girl¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao asked again: ¡°Then who is in charge of our base now?¡± The round-faced girl quickly replied: ¡°Our base operates under a committee system. For some of the major issues concerning the base, it requires the consent of more than half or even two-thirds of the members for a decision to pass¡­¡± ¡°Oh? A committee system?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had thought that the Security Army had full control over the area, but it turned out that this was not the case. ¡°So, who are the committee members? What did they do before? The round-faced girl counted on her fingers and said: ¡°Currently, there are a total of seven committee members in our base. Three are from the Security Army, two from the Police Department, one from the government, and the last one is a survivor who joined the base later¡­¡± ¡°Huh? A survivor who joined later can also become a committee member? Wang Tao was a bit puzzled. The first six individuals obviously contributed to the base¡¯s founding, so it was normal for them to become committee members. However, this survivor who joined later¡­ ¡°Yes, our base is relatively fair. As long as one has the ability, everyone has the chance to become a committee member,¡± said the girl earnestly, clenching her small fist. ¡°So, what abilities does this last survivor have?¡± ¡°The intranet within our base and the Contribution Points system were all set up by Mr. Liu! I even heard¡­¡± she whispered, ¡°that he knows how to make timed explosives!¡± ¡°Hisss, no wonder¡­¡± It suddenly dawned on Wang Tao. He had wondered how an ordinary survivor could become a committee member of the base, and now he knew the reason. ¡°So, aside from the highest authority, the Base Committee, do we have any other departments here?¡± The girl recited from memory: ¡°Currently, there are five departments under the committee. They are the Finance Department, the Resources Department, the Personnel Department, the Medical Department, and the Defense Department.¡± ¡°The Finance Department is responsible for ration tickets and Contribution Points, with Mr. Liu serving concurrently as the department head¡­ ¡°The Resource Department manages all the resources within the base and their allocation, such as food, land and housing, vehicles, electricity, water, and other materials¡­¡± ¡°The Personnel Department takes care of all residents¡¯ information and work arrangements within the base¡­¡± ¡°The Medical Department naturally deals with treating the sick and injured, but currently there are very few people in the Medical Department, only three doctors for the entire base¡­¡± ¡°The Defense Department is responsible for the security of the base, acting as the guardian spirit of the base! Everyone who joins the Defense Department is equipped with thermal weapons! However, this is also the most stringent department to join, currently only recruiting soldiers, militiamen, police, and others with combat experience¡­¡± After listening to the girl¡¯s introduction, Wang Tao was still very surprised. Before coming to the Shuize University Base, he thought that the situation here would be just a group of survivors gathering to live a primitive life. But now it appeared that this was not the case. Although the base was small, it was well-equipped, with clear divisions of labor amongst departments, and power wasn¡¯t concentrated in the hands of any single person. From what I¡¯ve seen and heard so far, this place seems decent. As to whether it¡¯s truly good, only time will tell after living here for a while. After getting a rough idea, Wang Tao headed to the faculty apartments. They had a very standard one-room apartment layout and they were fully furnished, much nicer than the student dormitories. Having arbitrarily chosen room 302, the round-faced girl left. Before she departed, she gave Wang Tao a copy of the ¡°Shuize Base Survivors¡¯ Convention,¡± and informed him that the base was holding a short welcome ceremony for new survivors who had arrived in the last week. The ceremony would be tomorrow evening. Though his attendance wasn¡¯t mandatory, there would be a free meal, and it was highly likely that some of the base¡¯s leaders would be present. If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t busy, he could attend the event. Even if he didn¡¯t care about the food, it was at least an opportunity to get to know people at the base and make himself known. Wang Tao said that would be fine. He wasn¡¯t too concerned about the meal, his primary interest was in getting to know the leaders of the Shuize Base. If he chose to reside at Shuize Base, it was crucial to thoroughly understand it. The furnishings were complete in room 302, though a layer of dust suggested it had been inhabited before the apocalypse. These rooms were free to live in-just requiring an application. After all, there weren¡¯t many people in the base, just over five hundred survivors, nowhere near enough to fill up the Survivor Base. Many buildings were still sealed, with plans to open them only when the population increased. However, while the accommodation was free, utilities like water and electricity were not; they had to be exchanged for Contribution Points. Inside Shuize University, there were diesel and gasoline generators that supplied electricity to the survivors. Since fuel consumption was involved, it was impossible to provide free power, so it cost Contribution Points¡ªand wasn¡¯t cheap. As for water, the base had drilled a well previously, allowing survivors to use groundwater. This too required Contribution Points and was rationed. Wang Tao quickly cleaned his new home, then grabbed some food for a simple meal, and finally took out the spoils of his last scavenging loot¡ªa blueprint and that purple Crystal Core. [Rush Right Arm Blueprint: Can be used to craft a right arm guard. Required materials: Iron Block*2, Steel Wire*2, Screw*2, Blade*2, Nails*2, Rubber*2, Plastic*2, Cable*2, Electronic Components*2, Battery*2] [Rush Right Arm; Sturdy in texture, can block blade and gunfire. Durability+10, defensive power+10] ¡°The materials needed are fewer than the Food Compressor, and it doesn¡¯t require a Zombie Core!¡± Wang Tao was curious about what the crafted arm guard would look like, but he lacked materials at the moment, needing one more plastic and one more nail. He would have to go out and kill a few zombies to gather what he needed. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the purple Crystal Core. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Rush] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Stiff limbs)] [Rush: Can consume a certain amount of energy to perform a rush.] The Core seemed pretty good. If he could master the same Rush Ability as the Charger Zombies, it would certainly be convenient not just for fighting but also for escaping. What he didn¡¯t know was how significant the ¡°stiff limbs¡± side effect would be. If it caused the same stiffness as the zombies, then it might not be worth the trade-off-that was, of course, for others. For Wang Tao himself, side effects were not an issue. If he could collect one or two more Rush Crystal Cores and synthesize a Core without side effects, then this skill would definitely be an asset, on par with Shockwave! ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll run into more special zombies in the future¡­¡± Wang Tao silently wished. He then tried to contact Ding Yuqin using the walkie-talkie, but couldn¡¯t get through. Clearly, the walkie-talkie¡¯s power was insufficient. Wang Tao switched to other civilian public channels, occasionally hearing someone speak, probably people from this base. There wasn¡¯t any useful information. The walkie-talkies he had were ordinary civilian ones, only operable on civilian frequencies. The soldiers and higher-ups at the base definitely had professional walkie-talkies, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t receive their messages. ¡°Contribution Points can be exchanged for many things. They should have high-power walkie-talkies, right? I¡¯ll check it out tomorrow¡­.¡± Chapter 77 - Chapter 77: Chapter 77 Exchange List_l Chapter 77: Chapter 77 Exchange List_l Translator: 549690339 The next morning, Wang Tao went to the Resource Department. All five departments of the Shuize Base were located in the Comprehensive Building, including the committee meeting rooms. Although they were referred to by their individual department names, in reality, there weren¡¯t many people, so everything was housed together. The Resource Department controlled all the resources of the Survivor Base and was also responsible for issuing tasks to find emergency supplies. These tasks came with a high amount of Contribution Points. When Hunters found supplies outside, they generally kept what they could use and handed over what they couldn¡¯t to the Resource Department in exchange for Contribution Points. Contribution Points could not be directly traded, but the items obtained with Contribution Points could be traded. Regarding trade, the Base didn¡¯t have any strict requirements-not just for trade but also, other than prohibiting infighting, harming other survivors, and similar conventions, there weren¡¯t many stringent rules. It was relatively free. The Resource Department was on the first floor, and a young, chubby man was surrounded by a crowd. Wang Tao did not approach them; instead, he looked at the papers posted on the wall, which listed the Contribution Points awarded for recycling certain resources. The highest Contribution Points were given for medicines and some medical equipment. It was evident that the Base¡¯s medical resources were scarce. Wang Tao only had a few medical kits, which weren¡¯t even sufficient for his use, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t hand them over. As for other items, such as electronic products, various tools, and some food, Wang Tao had some to spare and could exchange them for Contribution Points. However, these items were at his home and couldn¡¯t be brought over right away. In addition to recycling materials, the Resource Department also allowed for the exchange of other items with Contribution Points. After Wang Tao carefully examined the exchange list, he was quite surprised. ¡°They even let you exchange for guns?¡± The list stated that a handgun could be exchanged for ten thousand Contribution Points, bullets not included. However, earning ten thousand Contribution Points was difficult; ordinary people certainly had no chance. This must have been intended especially for Hunters. Moreover, Wang Tao not only saw guns on the exchange list but also bulletproof vests, high-power walkie-talkies¡­ even Inhibitors! Below the Inhibitor, there was a detailed description of its effect, with a special note emphasizing: With an Inhibitor, it¡¯s like having an extra half-life! Of course, the Contribution Points needed to exchange for an Inhibitor were the highest, at a whopping one hundred thousand Contribution Points for one bottle! Wang Tao was curious about the origin of these Inhibitors-whether they were from airdrops or obtained through other channels. With committee members comprising the Security Army, police, and Government officials, it made him wonder¡­ But regardless of the source, as long as these Inhibitors were available, a lot of people would be willing to save up Contribution Points at the Base. After all, an Inhibitor could temporarily prevent the outbreak of the zombie virus, so saying it was like having an extra half-life was quite reasonable. Wang Tao made a mental note of some items he was interested in, planning to come back later and exchange his unnecessary items for Contribution Points. Even though he had Inhibitors and guns, no one would complain about having more. He would definitely take the opportunity to acquire them if he could. And items like bulletproof and stab-proof vests interested him as well-they must be more comfortable than wearing a steel plate. As for the high-power walkie-talkies, priced at one hundred Contribution Points each, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have enough Points for now, so he planned to exchange for them in a few days. By then, the young chubby man had finally finished his work. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he came up to Wang Tao. ¡ö¡¯Good day, sir. My name is Guo Chao. Would you like to exchange items for Contribution Points, or would you like to use Contribution Points to exchange for items?¡± Guo Chao looked at Wang Tao, who was tall and strapping with a horned hammer stained with HP fastened to his waist, and treated him with great respect. One could tell at a glance that he was a Hunter; everyone in the Base held Hunters in high regard. After all, much of their living supplies were brought back by Hunters from the outside. The Base often promoted the merits of these Hunters. ¡ö¡öHello, I¡¯d like to exchange for a few Firefighter Axes.¡± The Firefighter Axes were ten Contribution Points each, and their quality should be decent-time for the horned hammer to retire. Then, Wei Zhenguo curiously inquired, ¡°By the way, how many Hunters do we have at our Base?¡± While reaching for the axes, Guo Chao replied to Wang Tao: ¡°Currently, there are about fifty people. This number is always changing, as it is a high-risk job. New people join from time to time, and some of the old ones leave¡­¡± Out of the five hundred people at the Base, only about fifty were Hunters who ventured out to search for supplies. This ratio was lower than what Wang Tao had imagined. But that¡¯s normal. Many survivors join the base seeking a stable environment to live in. As long as they don¡¯t have to face the zombies outside, they are willing to do any hard and exhausting work. ¡°Mr. Wang, you¡¯ve just arrived at our base, right? It looks like you¡¯re alone. Personally, I¡¯d suggest that if you go out to scavenge for supplies, it¡¯s better to form a team. After all, it¡¯s too dangerous to go alone¡­¡± Guo Chao said as he pulled out a document. ¡°Take a look. These are the Hunters who have recently been looking to form teams. Maybe there¡¯s someone compatible with you¡­¡± Wang Tao took it. The document listed about a dozen names and their brief introductions. However, these introductions were not detailed and were very subjective, simply stating who was strong, who was fast, and who had good eyesight, among other things. Wang Tao naturally wasn¡¯t interested in these. If they were all ordinary people, they were likely to hold him back. His only interest was in Han Rui, because her Ability to sense zombies was quite remarkable. Paired with his own strength¡­ it was unrealistic to say he could dominate the post-apocalyptic world, but at least it would make scavenging for supplies in the city much more convenient. Buzz~Roar~ Suddenly, a roaring engine sound came from outside. ¡°Is it the same group of soldiers who came back earlier? Wang Tao instinctively looked out the window. ¡°Hmm? It doesn¡¯t seem to be the same people we saw earlier¡­¡± ¡°Quick, quick, move aside!¡± A large and a small vehicle came to a stop at the entrance. Though both vehicles were modified, they looked different from the ones seen before. Five soldiers dressed in camouflage and fully armed got out of the vehicles. Among them, two were carrying a stretcher with a burly man in his thirties, also clad in camouflage, on it. At that moment, the burly man¡¯s thigh was wrapped in a bandage that had turned red. But he grinned, chatting and laughing with the soldiers beside him. ¡°It¡¯s Squad Leader Wei! Squad Leader Wei is injured! Guo Chao exclaimed in shock and hurried over. ¡°Squad Leader Wei¡­ Wei Zhenguo?¡± Wang Tao had read the ¡°Shuize Base Survivors¡¯ Covenant,¡± which contained information on key personnel within the base. There was only one Squad Leader Wei, the cofounder of Shuize Base, former captain of the Shuize Security Army, and now one of the seven committee members of the base: Wei Zhenguo. As one of the top leaders of the base, he personally went out to scour for supplies? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; this differed from what he had expected. ¡°Squad Leader Wei, how did you get hurt!¡± At this moment, a slim male doctor in a white lab coat hurried over from next door. ¡°Ha ha, just got knocked flying by a special zombie. Hiss- Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing serious!¡± Wei Zhenguo, lying on the stretcher, said with a grin.. Chapter 78 - Chapter 78: Chapter 78 Wei Zhenguo_1 Chapter 78: Chapter 78 Wei Zhenguo_1 Translator: 549690339 | ¡°Let me see¡ªthis isn¡¯t too serious?! It¡¯s quite severe!¡± After briefly examining the wound, the doctor exclaimed in shock. Wang Tao saw that not only did Wei Zhen Guo have an injury on his thigh, but he also had many other wounds on his body. His face was pale, and his HP was badly depleted, only at [132/635]. He didn¡¯t have any mana, but he did have a hidden attribute. [Hidden Attribute: Sacrificial Dedication] [Sacrificial Dedication: The more people who are sacrificed, the more one¡¯s potential is stimulated] Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s high HP limit of over six hundred took Wang Tao by surprise, since he himself only had just over a thousand. Moreover, his hidden attribute was quite interesting-a battle-related attribute, but it required the sacrifice of teammates¡­ As for the other soldiers, they all had around 300 HP, with no mana and no hidden attributes. The doctor, following by Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s side, spoke with some concern: ¡°Squad Leader Wei, we¡¯ve run out of anesthesia, you¡­¡± ¡°Hey! Who needs anesthesia? Just give me a cigarette and that¡¯s fine!¡± Wei Zhen Guo said with an assertive tone. ¡°Alright! Who has a cigarette?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, do any of you have cigarettes?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t either¡­¡± Several soldiers shook their heads. ¡°Who has a cigarette? I¡¯ll borrow two and pay you back later!¡± The doctor called out to the others in the hall. Cigarettes were a prized commodity in the base, and nobody had any to spare. If they had them, they¡¯d be smoked already. ¡°Forget it, forget it. No cigarettes, it¡¯s fine¡ªhiss¡ª¡± Wei Zhen Guo quickly gestured with his hand but winced as he inadvertently aggravated his wound, causing his face to turn even whiter. just then, Wang Tao stepped forward through the crowd and pulled out a brand new, unopened pack of cigarettes from his pocket. ¡°I have some, want them?¡± Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the cigarettes. Then he looked at Wang Tao, and his gaze intensified. Since the apocalypse began, it was the first time he had seen someone even more robust than himself. Upon seeing that Wang Tao had cigarettes, the doctor quickly said: ¡°Yes, yes, yes! I¡¯ll pay you back later!¡± As Wang Tao was about to toss the cigarettes to him, the stretcher-bound Wei Zhen Guo suddenly said: ¡°Comrade, care to have a chat?¡± After a brief moment of thought, Wang Tao agreed. ¡°Okay.¡± He followed the crowd into the medical room, while two soldiers stayed at the door to stand guard. The medical room was large, with more than ten beds, but there wasn¡¯t much in the way of medical equipment. It didn¡¯t look very professional. ¡°Comrade, are you new here?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Wang Tao tossed the cigarettes to a soldier by Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s side. The soldier caught it and noticed that the pack was brand new and unopened-not a trace of blood, not even dust on it. The soldier quickly tore it open, took a cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and then placed it into Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s mouth. ¡°Hiss¡ªrefreshing!¡± Wei Zhen Guo took a deep drag, and his pale complexion seemed to regain a bit of color. He looked at Wang Tao, coughed, and laughed heartily. ¡°Cough cough, my name is Wei Zhen Guo, welcome to Suize Survivor Base!¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao nodded calmly and confidently. Spurred by curiosity, Wei Zhen Guo asked. ¡°Comrade, where do you come from? You must not be from nearby, right?¡± Ever since the apocalypse began, Wei Zhen Guo had been active in this area and had seen many survivors. If he had seen someone with Wang Tao¡¯s build before, he would certainly remember. ¡°Happy Community.¡± Since they were about to leave Happy Community anyway, Wang Tao did not hide it. ¡°Happy Community is five or six kilometers from here! It must not have been easy coming all this way, right?¡± In the post-apocalyptic world, even a single kilometer could be an insurmountable distance for many people. Five or six kilometers was often enough to cost them their lives several times over. ¡°It was indeed no easy feat, and we even encountered a special zombie¡­¡± Wang Tao spoke as if casually bringing it up. Hearing this, Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes widened abruptly. ¡°A special zombie? What kind of special zombie?¡± The few soldiers immediately turned their gaze to Wang Tao, and even the doctor treating Wei Zhenguo unconsciously looked up at Wang Tao. Wang Tao instantly understood. It seemed that these people had likely encountered special zombies, and perhaps even seen a Zombie Core. ¡°It was a misshapen one, an Attacker that could rush¡­ Wang Tao described the appearance of the Attacker simply. As a result, the soldiers exchanged glances, looking at each other in dismay. Wei Zhenguo¡¯s face immediately showed anger. ¡°I was sent flying by a zombie like that one, maybe it was even the same one we came across!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, yet it seemed to make sense to him. The Attacker he encountered had numerous bullet wounds, which could have been inflicted by Wei Zhenguo and his team. ¡°That thing was really tough¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo sighed and then recounted what had happened to them earlier. Wei Zhenguo and his team set out yesterday morning to scavenge for supplies, proceeding with extreme caution and without encountering any danger. But during a supermarket raid, they suddenly ran into that Attacker. If they had been prepared in advance, they weren¡¯t afraid of an Attacker, because after all, how could a zombie be stronger than a bullet? However, the Attacker burst through a wall, charging in from the adjoining room. Wei Zhenguo was unlucky and got hit head-on by the Attacker, being knocked away. Direct frontal assaults from the Attacker, something even Wang Tao with his HP wouldn¡¯t dare to withstand, let alone Wei Zhenguo who had even less HP than him. If it weren¡¯t for Wei Zhenguo having killed many zombies, substantially enhancing his physical abilities, plus the Attacker having shattered a wall, diminishing its charging force¡­ If it had been someone else, they¡¯d likely have met their demise. Although Wei Zhenguo withstood the charge, the space was too confined; he got cornered by the zombies, and the other soldiers dared not fire indiscriminately. He got hammered by the zombies a few times, losing half his life in an instant¡­ At the crucial moment, Wei Zhenguo, enduring the pain, drew his pistol at his waist and hit the Attacker¡¯s head. The Attacker subconsciously used its thick arm to block the bullets, releasing its grip on him. Wei Zhenguo seized the opportunity to hide to the side, and then the soldiers began to unleash a barrage of fire. The Attacker, possessing some wisdom or perhaps retaining human instincts, chose to flee in the face of such firepower. The soldiers couldn¡¯t see the HP bar; they didn¡¯t know how much HP the Attacker had left. And with Wei Zhenguo lying on the side, they gave up the chase, hurriedly carrying Wei Zhenguo, preparing to evacuate, especially with such loud gunshots! Who would have thought that outside, a group of zombies capable of running and climbing walls suddenly appeared! The threat posed by these zombies, which they named ¡°mad demons,¡± was even greater than the Attacker. The Attacker was just one, which could be ? eliminated with concentrated fire. But there were too many ¡°mad demons,¡± and with ordinary zombies closing in, they dared not engage. They had to retreat quickly. The way back was blocked by zombies, and they didn¡¯t dare lead so many zombies to the base, so they ran to a small, previously built backup camp to hide for a night. However, the zombies outside didn¡¯t really disperse, and it wasn¡¯t until this afternoon that they finally found a chance to leave¡­ ¡°Ah, what a pity. It would have been great to kill that Attacker-the name for that type of zombie. There are some good things inside a zombie!¡± Wei Zhenguo smacked his lips, his face full of regret. ¡°What good things?¡± Wang Tao asked knowingly. Wei Zhenguo glanced at Wang Tao, took a deep breath of his cigarette, and then said: ¡°Zombie Cores, these special zombies carry a Zombie Core inside! If a human consumes this thing, they gain an Ability and become an Ability User!¡± ¡°An Ability User?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The very kind of Ability User you¡¯re thinking of! Wei Zhenguo affirmed immediately, as if knowing what Wang Tao was thinking. ¡°DO we have any Ability Users at our base? What¡¯s the treatment for Ability Users?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°We currently don¡¯t have any Ability Users at our base, but I¡¯ve seen one! As for the treatment¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo paused for a moment, then said earnestly. ¡°If someone becomes an Ability User, they can be directly promoted to become the eighth member of the committee-that¡¯s something the seven of us on the committee discussed!¡± Wang Tao was taken aback and then decisively said. ¡°I am an Ability User..¡± Chapter 79 - Chapter 79: Shelf Speech l Chapter 79: Shelf Speech l Translator: 549690339 The book will go online at 12 PM tomorrow, thank you all for your support these days! On the first day of going online, there will be an update of 2 chapters, each chapter being a large chapter with 5,000 words, which is a io,ooo-word update. Note that these are large chapters, and 2 chapters are equivalent to 5 chapters before going online, so please don¡¯t say they are too short anymore¡­. After going online, there will be two updates every day, each being a large chapter with over 3,000 words, with update times at 12 PM and 6 PM. After going online, the chapter pricing will be determined by Qidian based on the word count. Chapters with a higher word count have a higher fee, while chapters with fewer words have a lesser fee. There¡¯s no situation where the author intentionally scams money, please be informed. Now about the plot, quite a few people have criticized the Crystal Core synthetic issue, thinking that a fusion success rate of 80% plus 20% equals 100% is unreasonable. This was my mistake, as I didn¡¯t make it clear, so I¡¯ll provide an additional explanation now: [Quality is the degree of energy stability within the Crystal Core, and the stability degree will affect the fusion success rate] The energy within the same level and type of Crystal Cores is basically the same. Whether it be Ordinary Cores or Epic Crystal Cores, their energy is the same. There is no difference in hierarchy. Only between Level 1 and Level Two can there be a distinction in hierarchy. The Quality of a Crystal Core indicates the degree of energy stability within the Core. That is to say, an Ordinary (20%) Core is very unstable, thus the fusion success rate is low. An Excellent (80%) Core is relatively stable, hence the fusion success rate is high. And the synthesis process is about adding stable energies together, while excluding unstable energies, that¡¯s why there can be a case of [80% success rate plus 20% success rate equals 100% success rate]. In the earlier 39th chapter, the explanation for the degree of stability was added, and now I¡¯m explaining it to everyone again. Also, some have criticized the protagonist¡¯s push-up issue, saying that doing several hundred push-ups in one go is not reasonable. emmm¡­ If everyone carefully reads it, the situation where the protagonist does several hundred push-ups was after being electrocuted and unconscious for three days, and by then, the protagonist¡¯s cheat had arrived, greatly enhancing his physical fitness. Comparing what¡¯s reasonable to someone with a cheat doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ If cheats were reasonable, they wouldn¡¯t be called cheats. Lastly, please subscribe when the book goes online! Thank you all for your support once again! Chapter 80 - Chapter 80: Chapter 79 I am an Ability User_l Chapter 80: Chapter 79 I am an Ability User_l Translator: 549690339 | ¡°You¡¯re an Ability User?!¡± The crowd couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in shock, with Wei Zhenguo even attempting to rise from his bed, though luckily others held him down. ¡°I am.¡± Wang Tao nodded again. As he spoke, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. ¡°Snap-¡± A ripple visible to the naked eye spread out from Wang Tao¡¯s fingertips, lifting and then shredding an old poster hanging on the nearby wall. ¡°Ability ¨C Shockwave.¡± Wang Tao spoke indifferently. Everyone around widened their eyes in shock and excitement, staring at Wang Tao after a while. ¡°He really is an Ability User!¡± ¡°Can we really become Ability Users?!¡± ¡°This Ability seems even better than a gun! It makes no noise, whereas gunshots are too loud¡­¡± Several soldiers also started to murmur excitedly among themselves, unable to maintain discipline. Doctor Chen looked at Wang Tao with an excited and expectant face. ¡°Mr. Wang, if you don¡¯t mind, may I study¡ª oh no, observe you for a while? Rest assured, I won¡¯t harm you!¡± ¡°I do mind.¡± ¡°Treat your patients!¡± Wei Zhenguo turned and scolded, as if the person needing medical attention wasn¡¯t him, then turned back with a smile toward Wang Tao: ¡°Comrade Wang, I wasn¡¯t lying to you. As long as an Ability User is willing to stay at our base, they can be directly promoted to a Committee Member!¡± Wei Zhenguo first confirmed his previous statement, then said solemnly: ¡°But since ancient times, rights and obligations have been equivalent. While enjoying rights, one must also fulfill corresponding obligations. Without this ideological awareness¡­ it¡¯s impossible to become a Committee Member!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised by Wei Zhenguo¡¯s words since he was from the Security Army and his ideological awareness was bound to be much higher than that of Ordinary people. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind helping other survivors when he had the ability to, but this help was voluntary, not an obligation to act as a babysitter for others. Therefore, Wang Tao directly asked: ¡°What are the rights? And what are the obligations?¡± Wei Zhenguo took a deep drag on his cigarette, then replied: ¡°Committee Members can use all the resources within the base! For some important resources, just notify the other members before use, and as long as there isn¡¯t too much opposition, it¡¯s fine. These are the rights of a Committee Member. As for the obligations¡­ they¡¯re actually quite simple. Our base won¡¯t force anyone to do anything. Everything we do is based on Contribution Points, including for Committee Members!¡± ¡°So, the obligation of a Committee Member is this: every month, you must provide the base with a minimum of ten thousand Contribution Points! Whether it¡¯s guarding the base, scavenging for supplies outside, or finding new survivors, as long as you can provide ten thousand Contribution Points to the base each month, it¡¯s sufficient. If one cannot meet this condition, it means stepping down from the Committee position automatically¡­¡± Ten thousand Contribution Points per month wasn¡¯t considered high, at least Wang Tao didn¡¯t think it was too demanding, as he could achieve it without much effort. However, these Contribution Points were calculated on a monthly basis, and since the apocalypse had arrived just about a month ago¡­how many times had they actually implemented this? As if knowing what Wang Tao was thinking, Wei Zhenguo said: ¡°The Committee system, Contribution Points, all these were only recently discussed and are currently in a trial operation. There may be some issues and shortcomings. But I believe while this may not be the perfect system, it is most definitely suitable for Shuize Base!¡± Seeing Wei Zhenguo¡¯s somewhat impassioned state, Wang Tao did not comment. The system seemed reasonable, but this was the post-apocalypse. There were too many uncertainties, including zombies, unknown monsters, and even people. Thus, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say whether it was good or bad; he could only take one step at a time. ¡°What do you think? If you can accept this, once they all return, we¡¯ll officially promote you to a Committee Member and clarify any details,¡± Wei Zhenguo said with a hint of eagerness in his voice, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s lack of reaction. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao agreed straightaway. Revealing his status as an Ability User was precisely to secure this position on the Committee. Hide his strength? Of course, he had to, as keeping a card up one¡¯s sleeve was always wise. But there comes a time when one must show their muscles. Just like now, Wang Tao was preparing to live in Shuize Base, where Ability Users were highly valued, even offered positions as Committee Members outright. If he didn¡¯t seize this opportunity while there were few Ability Users and secure his position, the conditions could become more stringent once more Ability Users emerged. Wang Tao was not particularly passionate about power¡ªat least not right now. He just wanted to increase his strength, scavenge more supplies, and thereby increase his capital to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. But if there was an opportunity to live better, there was no need for him to be overly modest or secretive. For instance, by securing a position on the Committee¡­ he definitely couldn¡¯t stay in the base perpetually; he needed to go out and kill zombies, he needed Crystal Cores, he needed to become stronger. While doing so, casually gathering some supplies in exchange for Contribution Points wouldn¡¯t be an issue. Wang Tao had another brief conversation with Wei Zhenguo, but as the medication started to take effect, Wei Zhenguo grew increasingly sleepy. Wang Tao then took the initiative to end their conversation. ¡°I can¡¯t, I¡¯m too tired, I need to sleep for a bit¡­¡± Chapter 81 - Chapter 81: Chapter 79:1 Am the Ability User_2 Chapter 81: Chapter 79:1 Am the Ability User_2 Translator: 549690339 I Wei Zhen Guo had smoked half of his fourth cigarette when he lay down on the hospital bed and fell asleep. The soldier beside him considerately extinguished Zhen Guo¡¯s cigarette and placed it back into the pack. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Doctor Chen turned to the soldier and said, ¡°He¡¯s stable for now. Squad Leader Wei isn¡¯t in any life-threatening danger, but he will need to recuperate for a while and can¡¯t go out anymore.¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Chen.¡± The soldier saluted. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s just what I¡¯m supposed to do!¡± After washing his hands briefly, the doctor approached Wang Tao and extended his hand. ¡°Hello, my name is Chen Zhuang. Chen as in the ear of grain, and Zhuang as in strong.¡± Wang Tao hesitated for a moment at the slender figure before him before shaking hands with him. ¡°Nice to meet you, Doctor Chen.¡± ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve never seen a living Ability User before! Are you sure you won¡¯t consider letting me observe you for a while? After all, Ability is a novel phenomenon. There are many things that you might not know yourself, but if we observe and discuss together, we might just figure it out!¡± Chen Zhuang still seemed somewhat reluctant to give up. ¡°No, thanks.¡± Wang Tao quickly shook his head, thinking if you were a beautiful woman, maybe it¡¯d be different. But a big guy wanting to observe him all day¡­ what for? ¡°By the way, you mentioned you¡¯ve never seen an Ability User before? Then who was the Ability User that Squad Leader Wei met?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Indeed, I haven¡¯t met one. It was Squad Leader Wei who encountered them outside. He said he saw a very powerful individual wielding a steel rod, powerful enough to deal with many zombies all by himself¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­ Didn¡¯t you invite him to the base?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Squad Leader Wei said he invited him, but Ability Users can roam freely in the post-apocalyptic world. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t want to come here and be restricted¡­¡± Chen Zhuang¡¯s tone was somewhat sour. II II Not wanting to be constrained might be true. After all, suddenly gaining superpowers, who wouldn¡¯t get a bit inflated? If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered many special zombies and that terrifying monster with ten thousand HP, he might have gotten a bit full of himself too. But the idea of roaming freely in the apocalypse was just Chen Zhuang¡¯s fancy, especially with the recent emergence of the ¡°Mad Demon¡± zombies. Even Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t dare say he could handle them confidently. ¡°Ah, right, could you tell me how you obtained your Ability? Was it from eating a Zombie Core?¡± Chen Zhuang didn¡¯t dwell on the others, quickly asking the question that concerned him the most. The soldiers standing near the bed perked up their ears. Wang Tao did not answer directly but instead looked puzzled as he asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t Squad Leader Wei just say that humans become Ability Users by eating Zombie Cores? How come you¡­¡± ¡°Ahem, well, that conclusion is just our guess. We¡¯ve conducted some experiments, but¡­ none of them have been successful¡­¡± Chen Zhuang looked embarrassed. II II So, Squad Leader Wei¡¯s assertive talk just now was just bluffing, huh? However, Wang Tao also picked up on an important piece of information from Chen Zhuang¡¯s statement. ¡°You¡¯ve conducted some experiments? Does that mean you have many Zombie Cores?¡± Wang Tao looked at Chen Zhuang. ¡°Not many, but our base has some firepower and personnel, and we¡¯ve managed to kill a few special zombies¡­ Why? Are you interested in Zombie Cores?¡± Chen Zhuang was perceptive and noticed that Wang Tao was particularly interested in these Crystal Cores. ¡°Of course,¡± Wang Tao admitted openly and then added, ¡°My Ability came from eating these Zombie Cores. Ability Users who continue to consume Cores of the same type will grow even stronger¡­¡± ¡°So it is the Crystal Cores! And they actually make you stronger!¡± A look of longing appeared on Chen Zhuang¡¯s and the soldiers¡¯ faces. ¡°But there are side effects,¡± Wang Tao suddenly added. ¡°Ah? Side effects? What kind of side effects?¡± Chen Zhuang seemed confused, clearly unaware of this issue. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure, but you can think of it like this: Eating Zombie Cores indeed grants Abilities, and the more you eat, the stronger your Ability becomes. However, at the same time, impurities accumulate in your body. Too many of these impurities can harm your body and even turn you into a zombie!¡± Eating Zombie Cores to gain Abilities was not something Wang Tao needed to hide. Once Zombie Cores appeared, people would be compelled to eat them, making them hard to conceal. However, while Wang Tao mentioned the benefits, he also shared the drawbacks of Zombie Cores. Whether to eat them or not was up to others; he had no right to intervene. At most, he could only remind them to be cautious during the fusion process. ¡°That serious, huh¡­¡± Chen Zhuang was taken aback. ¡°That¡¯s the price of becoming stronger,¡± Wang Tao said, looking out the window with a somewhat world-weary tone. Though he didn¡¯t have to pay that price, it didn¡¯t stop him from putting on an act. The soldiers nearby suddenly felt a sense of respect. ¡°So, whether or not to seek power through an Ability should really be given some thought,¡± Chen Zhuang muttered. ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily so. If there¡¯s a chance, becoming an Ability User is generally good. What I want to say is, you should always be aware that strength comes at a cost. Also, Abilities aren¡¯t something you can have just because you want them. Haven¡¯t you tried experimenting and all failed?¡± ¡°Uh, you have a point¡­¡± ¡°Oh right, I forgot to say. Even if you fail to integrate with a Zombie Core, impurities will still accumulate in your body..¡± Chapter 82 - Chapter 82: Chapter 79:1 Am the Ability User 3 Chapter 82: Chapter 79:1 Am the Ability User 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡¯ ¡°Goodness, lucky I didn¡¯t use it! But might those who did be in danger? They consumed zombie cores but didn¡¯t acquire any abilities¡­¡± Chen Zhuang and the few soldiers looked at each other, their eyes filled with concern. Wang Tao explained: ¡°There¡¯s no immediate danger, but eating too many could cause problems.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± Chen Zhuang sighed, then added, ¡°But it seems the probability of acquiring abilities from zombie cores is quite low! We had three people conduct experiments, but not once did they succeed¡­¡± Wang Tao had reason to suspect that the cores these three unfortunate souls had merged with all had success rates below 50%. But the fact that they could produce three cores for experimentation suggested they had plenty more! After becoming a committee member, he should be able to use these cores right? Wang Tao thought to himself sneakily. Regarding Wang Tao¡¯s potential committee membership, Wei Zhenguo had woken up once in the middle and mentioned that several committee members were currently out and about; he couldn¡¯t make the decision alone. When everyone returned, they would discuss some of the details with Wang Tao, and if there were no issues, he would become a member of the base¡¯s committee right away. Only then did Wang Tao learn that, out of the base¡¯s seven committee members, aside from Commissioner Liu, who was knowledgeable in electronics, and Commissioner Zhou, who managed personnel, the other five members were out scavenging for resources. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean they were completely selfless in their actions. Wei Zhenguo told Wang Tao straight out that their choice to scavenge for resources, on one hand, was indeed for the betterment of the base. On the other hand, it was to accumulate contribution points, but there was another reason: killing zombies could enhance their strength! Even though they couldn¡¯t see HP bars, killing zombies also increased their own, particularly when their HP reached whole hundreds. The sensation of their physical condition improving was quite distinct. They might not actively seek out zombies to kill, but they would definitely take action against any that blocked their path. Becoming stronger and bringing benefits to the base could go hand in hand. Moreover, Wei Zhenguo was very clear in his mind that in this post-apocalyptic world, strength was the fundamental key to survival; without strength, one couldn¡¯t command respect. They had guns, but bullets would run out one day. If the time came when they were out of bullets and they lacked substantial personal strength, he was certain that there would be people wishing to overthrow him and take his place. So, improving their own strength was crucial. Whether he was a member of the committee or not, Wei Zhenguo would go out to scavenge for resources and, while at it, hunt down zombies. Wang Tao deeply agreed with this sentiment: in a post-apocalyptic world, strength was everything. Everything else was secondary. After Wei Zhenguo fell asleep again, Wang Tao chatted with Chen Zhuang for a while longer before leaving. In truth, he wanted to scoop up more information, but Doctor Chen was always thinking about studying him, which made Wang Tao rather uncomfortable, so he decided to leave sooner. Before Wang Tao left, Chen Zhuang reminded him to attend the welcome ceremony that evening, saying he would definitely be popular with the girls in the base and, if he was single, he might consider looking for a partner. Wang Tao shook his head in speechless amusement. Was he that kind of person? However, he still planned to go in the evening, not so much to meet girls but to get acquainted with other residents of the base. That afternoon, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush out to farm materials but wandered around the base instead. He took in the atmosphere of the Survivor Base and used ration tickets to exchange for a meal, which¡­ was edible, to say the least. In the evening, the rain stopped. In the square outside the multipurpose building, over two hundred people gathered together, which was quite a sight. Especially for Wang Tao, who hadn¡¯t seen so many people in a month, the sight of such a crowd brought back a sense of ¡°humanity.¡± However, Wang Tao¡¯s gaze did not linger on these people for long; he looked at the fires on the perimeter of the base and immediately clicked his tongue in wonder. He had considered before that if he were to establish a Survivor Base, how would he prevent zombies from entering. The simplest method would probably be to build perimeter walls. At the very beginning of the apocalypse, walls indeed could stop the zombies. But a month into the apocalypse, walls were not very effective anymore, or rather, the low walls were ineffective because zombies that could climb appeared. Building taller and stronger walls should be able to hold them off, but constructing such walls needed a lot of people. Ordinary Survivor Bases, including this Shuize Base, didn¡¯t have enough labor for infrastructure construction. Then, Wang Tao thought, since zombies were afraid of fire, if the surroundings of the Survivor Base were set ablaze, wouldn¡¯t the zombies stay away? Wang Tao felt this idea should be feasible, but he never had the chance to test it. And now, he saw that Shuize Base was doing exactly that. When Wang Tao arrived, he saw many iron barrels with burn marks at the entrance of Shuize Base. Now that it was night, flames were lit inside these barrels, including on some walls-seeming to engulf the entire base in flames. Outside the base, some zombies, upon sensing the light, subconsciously wanted to approach, but the heat of the flames made them hesitate and not dare to come closer. They could only roar from a distance. ¡°Hey!¡± Chen Zhuang patted Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°These fires, pretty good, right? When we accidentally discovered that zombies were afraid of fire, we thought of the method to surround the base with it. Turns out, it was a very wise decision! You might think that the light from the flames would attract zombies-and indeed, it does attract some-but they dare not come close. They naturally leave by day. You probably know that zombies are particularly active at night, and if we didn¡¯t do this, our walls might not hold them off, not to mention the ¡®crazy demon¡¯ zombies that can climb have now appeared¡­¡± Watching Chen Zhuang¡¯s somewhat self-satisfied demeanor, Wang Tao did not want to burst his bubble by saying that he had already known zombies were afraid of fire and had thought of using fire to keep them at bay. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s impressive.¡± Wang Tao praised. His praise made Chen Zhuang quite pleased. At that moment, a woman dressed in a black police uniform appeared beside Wang Tao. ¡°Huh? Are you¡­ new here today?¡± Chen Zhuang was somewhat surprised upon seeing Han Rui. He did not recall the base having such a policewoman. ¡°Hello, my name is Han Rui. I came to our base today with Mr. Wang Tao.¡± Han Rui shook hands with Chen Zhuang forthrightly. ¡°You came here together? Are you husband and wife?¡± Chen Zhuang looked at Wang Tao and Han Rui, thinking they made a good match. ¡®You¡¯ve misunderstood; we met on the way here. Han Rui¡¯s husband is also a member of our base, right?¡± Wang Tao took the initiative to explain. ¡°Oh, sorry about that!¡± Realizing his blunder, Chen Zhuang quickly apologized. Han Rui first gave Wang Tao an apologetic smile and then her face showed a worried expression. ¡°My husband¡­ he hasn¡¯t come back yet¡­.¡± Chapter 83 - Chapter 83: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television City_l Chapter 83: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television City_l Translator: 549690339 Two days ago, when she arrived at the base, Han Rui asked Wang Tao if he had seen her husband. Wang Tao said he had, that a squad of soldiers had rescued her husband, but they hadn¡¯t headed in the direction of the base. Han Rui could understand that, the squad certainly didn¡¯t want to draw zombies to the base. So, after she met her old leader¡¯s friend yesterday and settled down, she had been waiting for her husband to return. But after waiting a day and a night, her husband and the squad hadn¡¯t come back. Although she knew that the squad was likely hiding from zombies somewhere, and her husband should be safe with them, they weren¡¯t in the base after all, and she couldn¡¯t help but worry¡­ Seeing Han Rui¡¯s worried face, Wang Tao shook his head. From his previous observations at the water plant and the recent interactions, he found Han Rui to be a decent person with a certain combat power. But her husband was just the opposite, not only useless but also of poor character. He wasn¡¯t worthy of her. Of course, it was someone else¡¯s business, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t care to get involved. But no matter what, Han Rui was an ability user and possessed quite a useful support ability, so Wang Tao was still willing to be on good terms with her. ¡°Should I tell her about her husband? Let her see his true colors?¡± Wang Tao hesitated slightly. Because he knew very well that some people¡¯s thought processes were different from others¡­ If it were Wang Tao himself, he couldn¡¯t tolerate anyone who stabbed him in the back, no matter who it was. Having such a person by your side was like having a ticking time bomb. But others might not think the same way. For instance, from Han Rui¡¯s perspective, what her husband Sun Weiguang did was indeed despicable, but he did end up helping her, and furthermore, it was her own husband! If she decided to brainwash herself into forgiving her husband, even to speak on his behalf, then Wang Tao would end up looking bad from both sides. Although Wang Tao felt that Han Rui was probably not that kind of person, such things can¡¯t be judged on feelings alone¡­ ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Rui saw Wang Tao spacing out and poked his arm. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just thinking about some stuff,¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. He had made up his mind¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t tell her directly, but he could anonymously show Han Rui the video. As for what she would do after that, it was none of his concern. Wang Tao introduced Chen Zhuang to Han Rui, the two nodded politely, and then the three of them began to converse in hushed tones. They weren¡¯t too familiar with each other, so the conversation didn¡¯t go very deep. Chen Zhuang wanted to talk to Wang Tao about ability users, but he wasn¡¯t sure whether Wang Tao was willing to reveal his status as an ability user, so he didn¡¯t say much. Standing out in the crowd due to his physique, many new survivors instinctively kept their distance when they saw Wang Tao. However, there were also some women who wanted to get to know Wang Tao, his stature conveying a sense of security. Unfortunately, Han Rui was always by his side, which made it awkward for some to approach him. At this moment, Chen Zhuang poked Wang Tao¡¯s arm. ¡°The commissioner is here!¡± he said. Wang Tao and Han Rui both turned their heads and saw a group of people walking over, with three individuals walking side by side at the forefront. On the left was a young man in a plaid shirt, with thinning hair and thick glasses; the one in the center was a frail-looking old man with a faint smile on his face; on the right was a somewhat overweight middle-aged man in a police uniform. Their arrival instantly became the focus of the entire place. ¡°The one on the left is Commissioner Liu He, a computer whiz. He set up our base¡¯s local network, Contribution Points, the personal information APP, and all that¡­¡± Chen Zhuang began introducing them to Wang Tao, starting from the left. Wang Tao nodded; with that sparse hair, Liu He certainly looked like a powerful figure. ¡°The one in the middle is our former Shuize County Deputy County Head Ren Jie, also the honorary president of Shuize University. He¡¯s in charge of the base¡¯s personnel management¡­¡± Wang Tao glanced at the small elder, who seemed amiable, but Wang Tao got the impression he was a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing. Having knocked about in the world for so many years, Wang Tao had seen quite a few such characters, and his instincts were usually accurate. ¡°The one on the far right is Police Officer Feng Ming¡¯an, the former deputy chief of our Shuize County police station. Don¡¯t be fooled by his plump appearance; he is remarkable, easily handling zombies with just a steel pipe¡­¡± Single-handedly defeating zombies wasn¡¯t a big deal, but Wang Tao took a longer look. Because the HP of both Liu He and Ren Jie was 100, indicating they hadn¡¯t personally killed any zombies, whereas Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s HP was over three hundred, meaning he had killed at least thirty to forty zombies himself. None of the three had any hidden attributes or abilities. Judging from their individual strengths, Wang Tao rated them as average. ¡°Do you know each other?¡± Wang Tao noticed Feng Ming¡¯an nodding at Han Rui and asked out of curiosity. ¡°He¡¯s a friend of my old leader. My old leader is still outside. I managed to contact him by accident before and came to Shuize Base following his instructions¡­¡± Han Rui briefly explained. ¡°I see.¡± Meeting someone you have a good relationship with in the post-apocalypse must feel quite nice. The arrival of the three commissioners didn¡¯t feature any grand speeches; they simply made a brief self-introduction in front of all the newcomers. They also introduced some matters related to the base, assuring everyone that as long as they worked hard, the base wouldn¡¯t let them starve to death.. Chapter 84 - Chapter 84: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television City_2 Chapter 84: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television City_2 Translator: 549690339 They particularly introduced the hunters who ventured out to scavenge for supplies, encouraging everyone with the capability to consider applying for the hunter role. However, there were very few takers, as after all, these survivors had barely made it to a safe haven. They were content to work hard in exchange for a meal and had no desire to risk their lives scavenging for supplies. The trio wasn¡¯t surprised; if there were really that many willing to go out and scavenge, the base wouldn¡¯t be in such need of hunters. Ren Jie announced the start of the welcome banquet, and then people began wheeling in the food. Wang Tao glanced at it and noticed that the food wasn¡¯t much different from what he got from the cafeteria using his ration tickets: they were all some sort of mush of unidentifiable ingredients, only now there was more of it. The new survivors were overjoyed at the sight. Most of them could only earn one ration ticket for a day¡¯s work, and the meager food that bought was hardly enough to fill them, only enough to stave off starvation. Now, seeing the vast amount of food, they couldn¡¯t contain their excitement¡ªfinally, they could have a full meal! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too interested in the food, but since it was provided, he symbolically took a couple of bites from his small bowl. Chen Zhuang and Han Rui, on the other hand, weren¡¯t nearly as ¡°reserved¡± as Wang Tao. They each grabbed a large bowl and ate heartily, almost with abandon. While eating, Chen Zhuang explained that not everyone was entitled to partake in this welcoming ritual; ordinary people could only attend twice¡ªthe first being welcomed, and then they could freeload another meal. That¡¯s why, in a base of over five hundred people, only more than two hundred attended¡ªit wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to come, but rather they couldn¡¯t. As one of the few doctors in the base, Chen Zhuang enjoyed certain privileges, like attending these kinds of food-grabbing events as much as he pleased. The food was concocted by several of the base¡¯s chefs, who would throw various kinds of food into a pot to stew together before blending them into a paste. Normally, inedible things like bones became edible once processed this way, thus saving a lot of food. Essentially, they used whatever food was available in the base. Despite the mush being a daily staple, its taste could vary from day to day. As for whether the food actually tasted good, seeing how everyone, including Chen Zhuang and Han Rui, seemed to be enjoying it greatly, Wang Tao wisely chose not to inquire further. At that moment, the three committee members walked in Wang Tao¡¯s direction. ¡°Hello, you must be Wang Tao. Welcome to the base as a hunter!¡± The older gentleman, Ren Jie, offered a hand with a warm smile. At the mention of a hunter, the people around them couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in surprise. In the base, a hunter represented someone capable of dealing with zombies and finding supplies¡ªa real heavy hitter! ¡°Hello.¡± Wang Tao shook hands with the man diplomatically, neither humble nor arrogant. He had assumed the other party had come to discuss the matters of Ability Users and committee membership, but instead, after a few encouraging words and a metaphoric shot in the arm, the man left. Wang Tao looked at Chen Zhuang in confusion, and Chen Zhuang quietly said in his ear: ¡°Captain Wei of the squad spent most of his day sleeping and hasn¡¯t had the chance to tell them about you. We didn¡¯t want to overstep our bounds, so they¡¯re unaware of your strength. Of course, if you want to show it, I can speak for you.¡± ¡°Let it be for now, we¡¯ll wait,¡± replied Wang Tao, shaking his head nonchalantly. Not only did Ren Jie chat with Wang Tao for a while, but he also interacted with others, appearing very approachable and devoid of any sense of superiority. The tech guru, Liu He, followed Ren Jie around, not saying much, either disinterested in such affairs or somewhat slow on the uptake. As for Feng Ming¡¯an, he took Han Rui aside and spoke to her with a smile, though far enough away from the crowd. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mean to eavesdrop on other people¡¯s conversations, but his hearing was too good, and he accidentally overheard Feng Ming¡¯an mention something about appointing Han Rui as some sort of department head. Wang Tao was quite taken aback. It was not that he found it unexpected that Han Rui would use her connections, especially in these times when it was silly not to take advantage of them. What surprised him was that Han Rui seemed not to have told Feng Ming¡¯an about her Ability, or else she wouldn¡¯t just be a department head¡ªshe¡¯d be straight on the committee. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how Han Rui was weighing her options, but since she chose not to disclose, he saw no reason to speak up. After Han Rui left Wang Tao¡¯s side, several women approached, expressing a desire to get to know Wang Tao. Chen Zhuang gave Wang Tao a knowing look that all men understand, then quietly slipped away, leaving the space to Wang Tao. ¡°You, you¡¯re Wang Tao?¡± Suddenly, a voice rang out, filled with surprise. Wang Tao turned, facing the attractive woman before him, and furrowed his brow. She looked familiar, but for the moment, he couldn¡¯t place her. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s me, Huo Ziyi! The scar on your face is gone! I almost didn¡¯t recognize you¡­¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you,¡± Wang Tao recalled who she was upon hearing the name. Huo Ziyi was a minor celebrity who had worked with Wang Tao on several dramas. Of course, ¡°worked with¡± might be overstating it since their interactions were minimal. Wang Tao was a Martial Arts Substitute, the kind who never even showed his face on camera, whereas Huo Ziyi, however minor, was a celebrity who could. They were not in the same league.. Chapter 85 - Chapter 85: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television Chapter 85: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television City_3 Translator: 549690339 | Whenever he happened to bump into Huo Ziyi, she was not exactly disdainful, but her expression was always indifferent and she hardly spoke, appearing very aloof. At most, she would take an extra glance at his physique, and that was all. Wang Tao naturally wouldn¡¯t be eager to cozy up to someone who was cold to him, so he didn¡¯t go out of his way to become friends¡­ When HUO Ziyi saw that Wang Tao remembered her, she immediately grabbed his hand, somewhat moved, and said: ¡®¡öWang Tao, it¡¯s great to see you still alive! We¡¯re both still alive!¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows, Huo Ziyi was more enthusiastic than he ever remembered her being. ¡°Yeah, being alive is great.¡± Wang Tao casually agreed and withdrew his hand. Huo Ziyi¡¯s heart tightened at once; she could clearly sense that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem interested in conversing with her. If this were before the apocalypse, she would have definitely taken the opportunity to leave. But now, this was the apocalypse¡­ She poked the muscles on Wang Tao¡¯s arm, somewhat admiringly, and exclaimed: ¡°Eh, Wang Tao, I feel like you¡¯ve gotten even stronger than before! I bet you could take on zombies by yourself now, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I guess.¡± Wang Tao replied half-heartedly. He wasn¡¯t one to boast, and even if he told Huo Ziyi that he was an Awakener, so what? Plus, he wasn¡¯t interested in her, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to elaborate. HUO Ziyi Picked up on Wang Tao¡¯s perfunctory response but she still didn¡¯t give up She wanted to latch onto someone with influence because she had witnessed a female makeup artist being violently abused to death by a group of red-eyed security guards before arriving at the base, and she didn¡¯t want to be next. ¡°That¡¯s really amazing! You can kill zombies by yourself! Oh, right, you weren¡¯t in the Film City when it happened, were you? I don¡¯t remember seeing you among the survivors from the Film City¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I was at home resting.¡± ¡°NO wonder! It¡¯s a good thing you weren¡¯t at the Film City. You probably don¡¯t know how terrible it was there; it¡¯s hard to imagine we survived that¡­¡± HUO Ziyi Wiped her tears, looking pitiful. The other people around her seemed to be reminded of some tragic events as well, as tears welled up in their eyes. Wang Tao, hearing this, suddenly became interested. After all, the Film Ci y was a place where he had worked for a long time, and he had some attachmen to it. He was curious about what had happened there. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, you could tell me about it.¡± ¡°Ah? I don¡¯t mind at all!¡± Huo Ziyi had intended to play the sympathy card to get on Wang Tao¡¯s good side, but she didn¡¯t expect him to take an interest in what happened at the Film City. Her goal was to establish a good relationship with Wang Tao, so she quickly pulled him aside to sit down and explained the situation in detail. ¡°You have no idea, back then¡­¡± As Huo Ziyi vividly recounted the events, a look of surprise appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re saying a military force passed by and saved some of the survivors from the Film City¡­ Are you sure they weren¡¯t soldiers from Shuize Base?¡± ¡°No, that military force had many more people! They even had tanks! They crushed the zombies¡­ Although it seems they were just passing by. It¡¯s a shame I was trapped back then; I called out to those soldiers for help but they didn¡¯t hear me, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have been in such a bad state. And I¡¯ve heard that¡­¡± At this point, Huo Ziyi whispered mysteriously into Wang Tao¡¯s ear: ¡°That military force seems to have been gathering soldiers on the road, and their destination was Red Stone County. The soldiers from Shuize Base wanted to join that military force, but they missed them and got left behind¡­¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. There was no reason for Huo Ziyi to lie to him about this. The military force must have been heading to Red Stone Survivor Base, and rescuing people was probably not their main mission; their main objective might have been to gather at Red Stone Base to establish a large survivor base or something of the sort. The survivors who were rescued were just lucky. Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t envy them. He was thinking that the Red Stone Base must be pretty good, especially since they had so many soldiers and weapons. He thought that he might visit and check it out if he had the chance. -The rest of those unlucky ones, like me, were trapped in the Film City, but luckily, we were stuck near a convenience store with water and food, so we didn¡¯t starve to death. Later, we heard gunshots, the noise attracted all the zombies away, and we took the chance to escape. Then we ran into people from Shuize Base¡­ I can¡¯t forget the sight of our director being torn apart by the zombies¡­ sob¡­¡± Wang Tao patted Huo Ziyi¡¯s shoulder, then briefly chatted with a few other people around her. They were all lucky survivors from Huangfeng Film City, including two celebrities not as famous as Huo Ziyi and others who worked in the film industry. Noticing it was getting late, Wang Tao stood up. ¡°You guys keep talking, I¡¯m a bit tired, I¡¯m going to head back.¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, take care!¡± Huo Ziyi and the others quickly stood up, politely saying goodbye to Wang Tao. Once Wang Tao¡¯s figure had disappeared from sight, Huo Ziyi clenched her fists tightly. ¡°Yes!¡± Although she had only had a simple chat with Wang Tao today, she felt it was a good start. Everyone was at the same base now, bound to see each other 0 ten, she didn¡¯t believe she couldn¡¯t become friends with Wang Tao, or perhaps even more¡­ After all, Wang Tao was a Hunter, and if she could stick by him, at the very least she could ensure she wouldn¡¯t starve! The next day, in the early morning. Wang Tao saw it was raining outside again. ¡°Today, I¡¯ll go out and kill a few zombies, gather the materials needed for the blueprint, and then get in touch with Ding Yuqin¡­ After planning out his tasks for the day, Wang Tao headed to the office building. He wanted to ask Chen Zhuang how Wei Zhenguo¡¯s injury was; he was waiting for his promotion. After arriving at the office building, Wang Tao suddenly saw an announcement. A new arbitration department had been established in the base, with Han Rui as the head of the department. Chapter 86 - Chapter 86: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm l Chapter 86: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm l Translator: 549690339 With an increase in population, conflicts inevitably arise. Back when there were fewer survivors at Shuize Base, small disputes were easily resolved with a little mediation. But now, with over five hundred survivors, it became necessary to designate specific individuals to manage these issues. As a police officer, although Han Rui¡¯s background was in criminal investigation, she still had considerable experience in mediating disputes, which made her well-suited for managing such matters. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if Han Rui was aware that Ability Users could automatically become committee members, he guessed she wasn¡¯t; otherwise, he felt there was no reason for her to keep it a secret¡ªafter all, no one was going to capture her and slice her up¡­ Of course, since it was someone else¡¯s business, if she didn¡¯t mention it, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t going to say anything more. As one of the few doctors at the base, Chen Zhuang was often busy. Even in the mornings, there would be many people lining up for medical consultation. Though Chen Zhuang had the freedom to choose whether to see them or not, he was ultimately kind-hearted by nature and would typically examine anyone who came seeking his help and provide a diagnosis. ¡°Most people aren¡¯t actually sick, or they just have minor issues. But they are anxious and under mental stress. While my words can¡¯t cure their illnesses, they can help put their minds at ease.¡± Once he was temporarily free, Chen Zhuang wiped his hands and explained with a smile to Wang Tao. ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave Chen Zhuang a thumbs up and then asked, ¡°How is Squad Leader Wei doing? He¡¯s not in any life-threatening condition, is he?¡± ¡°The guy¡¯s tough, nothing serious. But he¡¯s broken two ribs and his thigh bone is injured as well, so he¡¯ll need some time to recover.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± After confirming that Wei Zhenguo was okay, Wang Tao waved his hand toward Chen Zhuang, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be heading off.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going out? Not taking a couple of days to rest?¡± Chen Zhuang, seeing Wang Tao fully armed, was taken aback. Though the Hunters of the base scavenged outside for supplies, they didn¡¯t make the trips daily. Usually, they ventured out only once a week, spending the rest of their time resting at the base, unless they¡¯d exhausted all supplies¡­ after all, it was about risking one¡¯s life! Yet Wang Tao, who had arrived at the base just the afternoon before yesterday, had only rested for a day and was planning to go out again? ¡°Yeah.¡± Wang Tao nodded, not offering much of an explanation. His intent to go out was to gather materials needed for crafting the armguard and to get in touch with Ding Yuqin. ¡°Impressive!¡± Chen Zhuang too held up a thumbs-up for Wang Tao. Then he seemed to remember something and scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. ¡°Uh¡­ if it¡¯s on your way, could you stop by the Borui Clinic¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? Borui Clinic¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned in thought; the place seemed vaguely familiar to him. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s at¡­¡± Chen Zhuang provided the specific location and continued, ¡°Mainly because there isn¡¯t much medication left at the base, and a lot of the medication in the clinic could be useful¡­¡± ¡°What kind of medication specifically? I¡¯m not familiar with these things.¡± Chen Zhuang quickly explained, ¡°Things like hormones, antibiotics, painkillers, etc. They work fast for minor ailments, especially if you increase the dosage¡­ Right now, we don¡¯t have the conditions to consult specialized doctors for specific illnesses and get the precise medication, so we have to resort to these crude methods¡­¡± Wang Tao first nodded, then expressed his doubt, ¡°But why hasn¡¯t anyone from the base gone to scavenge our county¡¯s main hospital? The medical supplies there are even richer, and we have the people and guns. Scavenging the hospital shouldn¡¯t be hard, right?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s question, Chen Zhuang shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°Ah, the hospital is indeed stocked, but there are also many zombies there! And¡­ there are many special infected in the hospital! Our base did consider raiding the hospital, but after losing a small team on the first attempt, no one has mentioned going there again¡­¡± ¡°Oh? Lots of special infected!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes brightened at this information. Right now, it was only by killing special infected that he could increase his HP limit. If the hospital had many special infected, it couldn¡¯t be better for him! Not to mention, special infected might drop Zombie Cores! Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s reaction, Chen Zhuang knew he was interested in the Crystal Cores of the special infected and quickly spoke up, ¡°Wang Tao, please don¡¯t head to the main hospital! Even fully armed squads were annihilated; no matter how strong you are, you can¡¯t stand against so many zombies! Even if those special infected carry Zombie Cores, you still need to be alive to get them!¡± Noticing the concern in Chen Zhuang¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao replied with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m definitely not going now; I won¡¯t act recklessly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief!¡± Chen Zhuang breathed a sigh of relief. If Wang Tao were to risk his life at the hospital because of his words, he would feel very guilty. ¡°As for the clinic, I¡¯ll assess the situation. If it¡¯s on my way and safe, I can take a look.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you! Just do what you can; don¡¯t take any risks! And I won¡¯t let you help for nothing: if you do get the medication, just hand it in for Contribution Points, and I¡¯ll make sure to exchange with you!¡± In Shuize Base, seeing a doctor doesn¡¯t cost money, as long as the doctors are willing to provide care. However, medication requires Contribution Points. Doctors also need Contribution Points to exchange for medication but receive a discount, and can earn Contribution Points through the price difference. Whether before or after the apocalypse, being a doctor has always been a coveted profession. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded; if it was something he could do without going out of his way, he didn¡¯t mind lending Chen Zhuang a hand, and if there indeed were many medications, he could also keep some on hand for himself.. Chapter 87 - Chapter 87: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm_2 Chapter 87: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Ah, right¡ª¡± Just as Wang Tao turned to leave, Chen Zhuang suddenly opened his mouth. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao turned his head. ¡°Never mind, never mind, it¡¯s nothing! You go ahead with your business¡­¡± Chen Zhuang hastily waved his hands, his expression somewhat dejected. Seeing that he was unwilling to elaborate, Wang Tao did not inquire further. As he left the building, he ran into Han Rui, wearing her black police uniform, just about to enter. ¡°Wang Tao? Are you heading out?¡± Han Rui seemed surprised. Wang Tao had only rested for one day before going out again? She was still in pain, wanting to lie in bed and not move a muscle¡­ ¡°Yeah. Together? If we work together, we¡¯ll definitely be able to scavenge a lot of supplies!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Truth be told, Han Rui looked really good in her police uniform, especially this kind of pure black officer¡¯s standard dress, gallant and imposing. But this outfit seemed a size too small? The police badge on her left and the six-digit police number on her right were both bulging. ¡°No, no, no¡ª¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Han Rui quickly waved her hands. Perhaps realizing she had refused too hastily, she explained, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m scared, it¡¯s just that my injury hasn¡¯t healed yet, and I would only be a burden to you if I went out¡­ Next time, let¡¯s go together when there¡¯s a chance!¡± If it had been about scavenging supplies, she would have definitely liked to accompany Wang Tao. After all, she knew all too well how strong Wang Tao was. But her injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet, and going out would just mean being a burden. ¡°Hehe, alright then. I¡¯ll be off.¡± Wang Tao had mentioned it casually; he could clearly see that Han Rui was still low on HP. Waving his hand, Wang Tao got into his car and drove toward the gate. Watching Wang Tao¡¯s retreating figure as he drove away, Han Rui shook her head. If only her husband, Sun Weiguang, had half, or even a third, of Wang Tao¡¯s strength, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much. ¡°Wei Guang¡­ you mustn¡¯t let anything happen to you!¡± ¡°Hey, buddy, you¡¯re going out today?¡± The soldiers on duty at the gate were still the same few from before. ¡°Yeah, heading out to scavenge some supplies.¡± Wang Tao rolled down the window and said with a smile. ¡°Let me register you first¡­¡± The other party brought over a form, and Wang Tao wrote down his name and date. Then he looked at the rifles on the soldiers and suddenly asked: ¡°Is there a way for ordinary folks to get their hands on rifles?¡± The list of exchange items you could get for Contribution Points at the base only included pistols and pistol bullets, not rifles. ¡°For now, that¡¯s not possible. Currently, only we in the Security Army are assigned rifles, and even the police only have pistols. Ordinary people? That¡¯s even less likely. Besides¡­ having a gun isn¡¯t always a good thing!¡± The soldier¡¯s expression was somewhat melancholic. ¡°When I see zombies outside, my first instinct is to shoot, but I have to restrain myself. Because I know that firing a gun can kill a zombie, but it will attract even more of them! It¡¯s better to use long knives or spears¡­ Being armed with a gun but not daring to use it is really frustrating!¡± Wang Tao understood this feeling because he himself had a pistol, even equipped with a silencer. But he had only used it once, which was when he had no choice but to kill a Big Hammer Zombie. Under normal circumstances, he definitely wouldn¡¯t use a gun, since he was alone without teammates. Attracting too many zombies was something he couldn¡¯t handle, particularly with the recent emergence of ¡°Mad Demon¡± zombies posing too much of a threat to him alone. Wang Tao wanted a rifle not necessarily to use it but also as a collector¡¯s item. After all, which man doesn¡¯t like guns? ¡°Actually, I¡¯m quite envious of you. With your build¡­ I reckon you could chop down zombies in just a few hits, right?¡± The soldier looked at Wang Tao¡¯s muscles and said enviously. ¡°Haha, more or less.¡± Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°Then I¡¯m heading out.¡± ¡°Stay safe!¡± The soldier waved, and the base¡¯s gate slowly opened. Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up in response. Once the vehicle left the base, whether it was psychological or not, he immediately felt an inexplicable pressure. After discerning his direction, Wang Tao set off toward the clinic. He could go anywhere to kill zombies and gather materials, so taking a trip to the clinic was not a problem. Humming- After turning a corner, he encountered a zombie ahead. Wang Tao floored the accelerator and drove straight towards the zombie. Bang- The zombie was first knocked down and then had its head crushed by the car¡¯s wheel, killed instantly, and a bundle burst forth. With a thought, Wang Tao picked up the spoils. [Obtained: Rope xi] Without stopping the car, Wang Tao continued forward. Seeing the head-exploded corpse in the rearview mirror, Wang Tao suddenly thought of something. The zombies he crushed with his car or shot dead counted as his kills. But the ones he burned to death with Molotov cocktails did not count as his kills¡­ ¡°I wonder what the difference is¡­ I¡¯ll take this opportunity to gather materials and study it a bit¡­¡± Zombies seemed endless, and the road Wang Tao traveled was the same one he had taken the day before yesterday, by which time there had been no zombies. But now¡­ Looking at the large mass of zombies staggering in the rain on the street, Wang Tao shook his head, planning to take a different route. ¡°Hmm?¡± However, before leaving, Wang Tao suddenly spotted a Suicide Bombing Zombie in the midst of the group, its chest organs exposed! ¡°Hiss¡ªShould I make a move¡­¡± Wang Tao was tempted.. Chapter 88 - Chapter 88: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm_3 Chapter 88: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm_3 Translator: 549690339 Suicide Bombing Zombies are easy to deal with; you don¡¯t even need to get close to them. As long as you can attract their attention from a distance, they¡¯ll self-detonate within a few seconds. Though this won¡¯t increase my HP limit, having a Zombie Core is enough! However, after pondering for over ten seconds, Wang Tao still shook his head. ¡°Forget it, there are too many zombies around. Even if it self-detonates, I might not have a chance to pick up its Crystal Core. Forcing my way to get it would be too dangerous and not worth the risk, especially since there could be Crazy Zombies hiding somewhere¡­¡± Whirr- The moment Wang Tao stepped on the accelerator, he decisively left the area. After circling around two streets, Wang Tao found a more suitable place. It was a small plaza with dozens of zombies roaming about, all of them elderly zombies. Wang Tao parked the car outside the plaza and then got out with a Firefighter Axe in hand. Bang! [-500] Bang! [-500] It must be said that the axe is more energy-efficient than a hammer. When he used the hammer, it was all about smashing open the zombies¡¯ skulls with brute force, but with the axe, he didn¡¯t need as much power to still blow their heads off. These Ordinary Zombies were no match for Wang Tao, especially since the rain had greatly affected their senses, and some didn¡¯t even notice Wang Tao approaching. Soon, Wang Tao had dealt with all the dozens of zombies on the plaza. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath; swinging the axe so many times was somewhat exhausting. Looking at the corpses of zombies scattered all around, a smile appeared beneath Wang Tao¡¯s skull mask. This time his luck was neither good nor bad. After killing so many zombies, he finally had all the materials he needed. Wang Tao looked up and surveyed the surrounding buildings. ¡°Hm? This is a shopping mall¡­¡± He hadn¡¯t paid much attention before, but now he realized there was an old three-story shopping mall next to the plaza. ¡°Since I¡¯m here, I might as well take a look. Just the first floor, I won¡¯t go up¡­¡± Wang Tao remembered that this mall seemed to focus on selling clothes, and since he always bought his clothes online, he had never visited this place. However, a mall is still a mall, and besides clothes, there are bound to be some restaurants and supermarkets. There should be quite a bit of food inside. Scavenging resources wasn¡¯t the main objective today, but since he was here, he might as well take advantage of the opportunity. He could also make this Rush Arm Guard and then contact Ding Yuqin. On the top floor of the mall, inside a room, a young man peering out through the Venetian blinds immediately turned around and addressed three people playing cards: ¡°Boss, that big guy is heading our way!¡± The one he called Boss was a burly man with a bald head inked with a black dragon tattoo, his upper body bare. The tattooed bald man turned his head upon hearing the subordinate¡¯s words, his face covered with meaty folds. ¡°He¡¯s actually coming over¡­¡± He furrowed his sparse eyebrows, feeling inexplicably irritable. ¡°Boss, do you think he¡¯s discovered us?¡± Another lackey quickly asked. ¡°Impossible, we¡¯ve blocked all the windows tightly, he can¡¯t possibly see us!¡± The tattooed bald man shook his head. ¡°So, should we¡­?¡± Another lackey made a throat-slitting gesture. The bald man hadn¡¯t spoken when the third lackey quickly objected. ¡°Did you not see how powerful that guy is? He can kill zombies in seconds! All of us combined aren¡¯t a match for him!¡¯ ¡°But¡­ but we have guns¡ª¡± Bang! The lackey hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when the bald man kicked him. Clatter¡ª The lackey was sent flying, scattering cards all over the table. The bald man emotionlessly tossed aside the ¡°3, 4, 6¡± in his hand and then glared fiercely at the lackey. ¡°You fucking stupid, you dare to use a gun here? Have you forgotten what happened here before? Are you itching to die that quickly?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry boss!¡± The sent flying lackey, as if remembering something terrifying, quickly knelt in front of the bald man, holding his stomach and apologizing. The other lackeys instantly fell silent as if they were struck by frost. The bald man stood up and snorted coldly, ¡°You guys go and hide our stuff; in case this guy comes up, don¡¯t let him find it¡­¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The lackeys hurried away. The bald man pulled out the pistol tucked behind his back; he had intended to store it in a cabinet but changed his mind and kept it at his waist, though he covered it with a jacket. ¡°I hope you¡¯re a sensible man; otherwise¡­ don¡¯t blame me for not being polite!¡± A ruthless expression appeared on the bald man s face. Wang Tao entered the mall cautiously. Although it was an old mall and looked dilapidated, the lighting was surprisingly good. Even on a rainy day, it was possible to clearly see the condition inside the mall. But after seeing the situation inside, Wang Tao frowned. It was too messy! This kind of chaos didn¡¯t seem like the disorder caused by humans due to a disaster, but rather as if a monster had come, bringing massive destruction to the mall. The shops on the first floor were basically all damaged; either collapsed or blocked by debris, and Wang Tao even saw several damaged stone bollards in the center of the mall. If he remembered correctly, those were used in squares to separate pedestrians from traffic, weighing two to three hundred pounds each. Even in a panicked escape, those bollards wouldn¡¯t normally end up inside a mall, would they? ¡°Could there have been some special zombie here¡­ Wang Tao felt somewhat nervous. He suddenly thought that it would be nice to have Han Rui here to help scout for hidden zombies in the vicinity. After a brief check, Wang Tao didn¡¯t find any danger, but he remained vigilant. ¡°The stairs to the upper floors are intact, but forget it, I¡¯ll just stay on the first floor.¡± Wang Tao decided not to go up. Although messy, the first floor lacked resources to scavenge, but at least he would be able to run in case of danger. If something hazardous occurred upstairs, it would be difficult to escape. In the end, Wang Tao found a relatively intact small room filled with various clothes. There were no blood stains or signs of struggle; it seemed relatively safe. After entering and checking the room again, confirming there was no danger, Wang Tao finally took out the Rush Right Arm Blueprint and the necessary materials. [Rush Right Arm Blueprint (Forgeable)] Confirm creation! With a thought, the materials turned into streams of light and melded into the blueprint. But this time there was no countdown. In the blink of an eye, a black arm guard appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Right Arm Rush Successfully Made] Chapter 89 - Chapter 89: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall i Chapter 89: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall i Translator: 549690339 ¡°So fast?¡± Wang Tao was quite surprised. He thought it would take some time to make, like how it was with the Food Compressor. He didn¡¯t expect it to be completed in an instant. [Rush Right Arm: Made of resilient material, able to block blades and bullets. Durability +10, defensive power +10] This was a black, asymmetrical, hard arm guard worn on the forearm. It had a metallic feel to it but was very light. The size of the guard was adjustable. After making some minor adjustments, Wang Tao removed the steel plate from his right arm and put on the arm guard. ¡°Huh?¡± The sensation after putting it on took Wang Tao by surprise. Whether he tied books or a steel plate to his arm, he could always clearly feel their presence. No matter how well they were tied or how ergonomically they were designed, they still somewhat hindered his movements. But this arm guard felt barely noticeable once on, yet he could still feel that he was wearing it. More importantly, the guard didn¡¯t restrict his movements at all! The ergonomic design was simply amazing! No wonder it¡¯s called the ¡°Rush Right Arm¡± ¡ª it seemed tailor-made for his right arm. If it were placed on his left arm, it wouldn¡¯t have the same effect. ¡°Just don¡¯t know about the defensive power¡­¡± Wang Tao took out a dagger and gently scraped it against the arm guard. There was no mark on the guard. He increased his force, but still no mark appeared. Even when he directly chopped the guard with the dagger, it remained completely unscathed. He hardly even felt the impact. ¡°Not bad¡­¡± After some thought, Wang Tao took off the guard and put it on the ground, then picked up the Firefighter Axe and chopped down hard on it. Bang! A layer of dust flew up from the ground, but the arm guard was still fine, without even a scratch on it. ¡°Nice piece of gear!¡± Wang Tao was delighted. The defensive power of the Rush Right Arm felt even stronger than the steel plate! And in terms of the experience of using it, it was much better than the plate! Wang Tao quickly put the arm guard back on, then put on his security guard jacket over it, disguising it so that it looked as if he wasn¡¯t wearing anything on his forearm. ¡°The defensive power is definitely not a problem, let¡¯s see how it performs in actual combat¡­¡± There were no zombies in the mall, but practical combat didn¡¯t necessarily mean killing zombies. Right outside his shop was a round stone pier, and he swung the axe at it, mimicking an attacking motion. Whoosh¡ªBang! A large chunk was chopped right off the stone pier. Feeling the slight numbness in his palm, Wang Tao was stunned. Hold on, he had just swung the axe without actually intending to chop anything. What was going on? Wang Tao quickly hid in the room and waited a while, to make sure the noise didn¡¯t attract any zombies. Then he touched the Rush Right Arm again and hastily swung the axe a few more times, this time not at the pier but at some clothes in the room. Whoosh¡ªBang! After a few minutes of experimentation, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I think I understand now¡­ No wonder it¡¯s called Rush Right Arm!¡± Wang Tao realized that after putting on the Rush Right Arm, if he made any quick movements like swinging his fist or axe, the arm guard would enhance the speed and strength of that motion! He wasn¡¯t sure exactly how much of a bonus it provided, but it was definitely much more than his own abilities. For instance, if he used to chop a zombie for 500 HP, now he might chop for 600, 700, or even 800 HP! Wang Tao examined the Rush Right Arm more closely and discovered a small mechanism inside the guard that opened to reveal a battery ¨C the kind that looked very high-tech and was found on zombies he had killed. ¡°So it runs on electricity, no wonder the materials needed included cables, electronic components, and batteries¡­ What kind of black technology is this!¡± He happily put the arm guard back on. It felt a bit like a Mechanical Exoskeleton to him. If he could get other parts besides this right arm, like a left arm, leg guards, a chest guard, wouldn¡¯t that be practically a full exoskeleton? ¡°What am I thinking¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Even if those things existed, they were far out of reach for him at the moment, so there was no point in dwelling on them. After calming down his excitement a bit, Wang Tao took out a walkie-talkie to try and contact Ding Yuqin. The mall was about three kilometers from Happy Community. In theory, communication should be possible ¨C it all depended on the quality of the walkie-talkie he had. ¡°It¡¯s me, can you hear me? It¡¯s me¡­¡± ¡°Ssszzz¡­ Ssszzz¡­¡± After a burst of static, a voice with electronic interference suddenly came through. ¡°Wang Tao¡­ is that you, Wang Tao¡­ ssszzz¡­¡± Although the voice was somewhat distorted, Wang Tao could tell it was Ding Yuqin. So he walked out of the room and adjusted his position until he could hear a reasonably clear conversation by a window. ¡°Wang Tao, how is it on your end, are you safe?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice was full of worry; after Wang Tao had left, she didn¡¯t turn off the walkie-talkie, always waiting for news from him. ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s very safe here. What about you? Is everything okay at home?¡± Just by Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice, Wang Tao could tell she must be quite safe. Indeed, Ding Yuqin said she was perfectly safe at home, no zombies and no food crisis ¨C she was just a bit scared to be alone. In truth, she was frightened that Wang Tao had abandoned her, but she didn¡¯t dare to say that outright.. Chapter 90 - Chapter 90: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall_2 Chapter 90: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry,¡± he said. ¡°Probably¡­ in a day or two, I¡¯ll come back and take you to the Suize Survivor Base.¡± After observing for a couple of days, Wang Tao felt the Shuize Base was alright. At least he had no problem living there. Once his status as a committee member was secured and he became one of the top people of the base, he would go and bring Ding Yuqin over. Of course, even without that status, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be greatly affected, as he had always relied on his own strength. But certainly, the status would make things much more convenient, so he decided to wait another couple of days. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you at home!¡± After chatting a few more words with Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao took the initiative to end the call. ¡°The Rush Right Arm is ready, and I¡¯ve got an update on the situation with Yu Qin; I might as well take a trip to the Borui Clinic while I¡¯m at it¡ªit¡¯s not far from here. Hopefully, I¡¯ll encounter a lone special zombie on the way¡­¡± Mapping out his next steps, Wang Tao picked up his weapon and prepared to leave. Suddenly, his ears twitched. ¡°There¡¯s noise upstairs!¡± Wang Tao quickly hid in a corner, eyeing the mail¡¯s staircase intently. About a dozen seconds later, a sneaky-looking figure emerged from the top of the stairs. In his hand, he held a baseball bat with nails sticking out, cautiously making his way to the first floor. Above his head, a green HP bar read [115/115]. ¡°A survivor?¡± Wang Tao frowned. He had thought it was a zombie at first, but to his surprise, it was a human. Seeing the man clutching the spiked baseball bat and searching around, Wang Tao got the feeling the man was up to no good. ¡°His behavior makes it clear he¡¯s seen me. Since I haven¡¯t left the mall, he must either have cameras, or he saw me killing zombies in the square earlier¡­¡± Wang Tao glanced at the first floor ceiling of the mall¡ªthere were some cameras, but in some areas, the wires were cut, and there was no electricity in the mall, so it was highly unlikely that the surveillance was working. Wang Tao guessed the man must have seen him killing the zombies. If this person meant him no harm, Wang Tao thought, he should have called out to him after coming down, not stealthily seeking him with a weapon in hand. ¡°Who knows what he wants to do¡ªcapturing him will tell!¡± Wang Tao never minded assuming the worst about others, especially in this post-apocalyptic world. It¡¯s always better to be too cautious. As the man inched towards him, Wang Tao placed a small mirror on the ground. Then, he stood behind the wall, unmoving. Through the mirror, Wang Tao watched the man approach closer and closer, until he was just around the corner from him. Suddenly, Wang Tao burst out from his hiding spot behind the man, grasped his neck, and snatched his weapon away. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The man¡¯s eyes bulged in shock and fear. He tried to reach for Wang Tao¡¯s arms, his body flailing wildly, feet kicking in panic. But he felt as if he were clamped in a vice¡ªno form of struggle helped; the more he thrashed, the tighter the hold. Just as his vision began to darken, the grip on his neck vanished. ¡°Cough cough¡­ hah¡­ cough cough¡­¡± With no support, the man instantly collapsed to his knees, retching while holding his throat. However, before he could catch his breath, a large hand suddenly appeared, grabbed his collar, and hoisted him up. Confronted by a man dressed in a Black Combat Suit, his face hidden behind a skull mask and yellow glasses, towering over one meter eighty and built like a tank, the terrified man almost wet himself. ¡°Cough cough¡­ don¡¯t kill me¡­ cough cough¡­ I¡­¡± Wang Tao, with his other hand, waved the man¡¯s baseball bat in front of him and said in an indifferent tone, ¡°What were you trying to do? Ambush me?¡± ¡°No¡­ not at all! I didn¡¯t even know there was someone here¡­¡± The man hastily explained. However, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned grim upon hearing this. The man had clearly spotted him yet tried to hide it? This person was definitely up to no good! Wang Tao prodded the man¡¯s chest with the bottom of the baseball bat. ¡°Uh¡ªah¡ª¡± The man¡¯s face turned ghastly pale instantly, tears streaming uncontrollably. Back when Wang Tao was a Martial Arts Substitute, he met masters skilled in cold weapons, which naturally included sticks and batons. One master said that in real combat, swinging a bat is not the best move for beginners. The bat is generally long and thus slow to swing, easy to dodge, and given limited human strength, a hit wouldn¡¯t cause much damage. But ¡°jabbing¡± was different. A hard jab to an enemy¡¯s chest, unless they¡¯re professionally trained or protected by gear, could leave few people standing. Wang Tao had never actually fought before, and his actions in films were all choreographed, so he had no real combat experience. Now, trying it out, he could only say that the master was indeed a master; even a slight jab proved unbearable for his opponent. ¡°I¡¯m asking you one more time, why did you try to ambush me?¡± Wang Tao parked his car outside the square¡ªthe mail¡¯s location shouldn¡¯t allow visibility of his car. When he came to kill zombies, he didn¡¯t carry much else. So, to any survivors inside the mall, he must have looked like an ordinary person with little supplies. There seemed to be no reason for anyone to ambush him¡­ Wang Tao was puzzled, so he wanted answers. ¡°I, I really didn¡¯t¡­ didn¡¯t intend to ambush you¡­.¡± Chapter 91 - Chapter 91: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall 2 Chapter 91: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall 2 Translator: 549690339 0 ¡ªD The person still wouldn¡¯t admit it. So stubborn? Wang Tao had thought he was just being tough-mouthed and prepared to poke further, but after seeing the frightened expression on his face, which seemed to carry a hint of grievance, Wang Tao temporarily stopped and let him go. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I, *cough cough*¡ªmy name is Seventh Brother Yang¡­ I really wasn¡¯t sneak attacking¡­¡± Seventh Brother Yang knelt on the ground again, covering his chest and coughing. He felt so wronged! Previously, he had clearly seen from upstairs how Wang Tao had decapitated a zombie with an axe-Wang Tao dealt with the zombies in the square like playing Whack-A-Mole! Only those who had truly fought with zombies could comprehend how strong Wang Tao was! Wang Tao alone could probably easily take on their whole group! In the face of such a powerful figure, he wouldn¡¯t dare lay a finger on him even if he had ten times the courage! The reason he had sneaked down was that he had clearly seen Wang Tao enter the mall from upstairs but hadn¡¯t gone up. Their boss had no idea what Wang Tao was doing down there, or even if he had left from somewhere else, so he was sent to check things out. But before he could even see anyone, he was taken down, and he wasn¡¯t even given a chance to plead his case. During that brief minute, Seventh Brother Yang felt like he had died several times over. The devil, this man was simply the devil! ¡°Really not sneak attacking me?¡± Wang Tao said, somewhat speechless, but without the slightest hint of an apology. After all, this man was lying-that was a fact. Even if he wasn¡¯t sneak attacking, he definitely was up to no good. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to explain. If I¡¯m not satisfied with the reason, well, sorry¡­¡± Wang Tao swung the steel spiked baseball bat in his hand, his tone indifferent. ¡°*Cough cough*¡ª¡± Seventh Brother Yang felt a sense of urgency. Although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t specified what he meant by ¡°sorry,¡± he didn¡¯t dare to gamble. Moreover, after a minute of interaction, he knew this person was definitely not someone to trifle with. But coming up with a reason was not so straightforward-he couldn¡¯t possibly say that his boss was purposely wary of the other party! The boss¡­ That¡¯s right! Seventh Brother Yang suddenly had an idea. *Cough cough*, it¡¯s like this. Our boss saw you coming and wanted me to invite you to come up! Yes, it¡¯s an invitation; I¡¯m here to invite you!¡± Seventh Brother Yang was quite satisfied with his own excuse. He wasn¡¯t here to sneak attack, but to extend an invitation! This big guy had misunderstood! Under these circumstances, he also didn¡¯t expect the other party to apologize; he just hoped he wouldn¡¯t be tormented. ¡°Oh? The boss? To invite? How many people do you have?¡± Wang Tao asked directly. ¡°Our boss is Cao Xin. He used to run a clothing business here; I¡¯m his employee. There are four of us in total, on the top floor! Our boss would like to invite you upstairs for a chat¡­¡± Seventh Brother Yang dared not hide anything and quickly disclosed this information. The invitation was fake, though, and he felt that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t dare go¡­ Wang Tao knew this man wasn¡¯t telling the truth. But now, with over one thousand HP, an Ability, steel plate armor, a Rush Right Arm, and a gun loaded with bullets at his waist¡­ With his strength, if he couldn¡¯t beat certain zombie monsters, well that¡¯s one thing, but he couldn¡¯t beat a few people? Wang Tao also wanted to know what was really going on at the first floor of the mall, whether any special zombies had been there¡­ Of course, if it was all a misunderstanding and the survivors really were decent folks, then he could recruit them to the base. Getting a survivor would indeed increase a lot of Contribution Points. ¡°Lead the way!¡± Wang Tao stated simply. ¡°Ah? Oh, okay¡­¡± Seventh Brother Yang felt somewhat miserable, as he hadn¡¯t expected the big man would actually want to go up! If he went back, he feared he might be skinned by his boss, but when it came to resisting Wang Tao, he lacked the courage, so he could only lead the way upstairs, feeling aggrieved. Wang Tao followed Seventh Brother Yang in a relaxed manner, yet his Spirit was highly tensed. Although he felt he could handle these survivors, he wouldn¡¯t be careless. The stairs of the old mall were wide, with good visibility. It didn¡¯t take many steps before Wang Tao saw the people upstairs. There were three people in total, matching the number Seventh Brother Yang mentioned. They were all holding sticks, steel pipes, and such Weapons. Seeing Wang Tao come up, these people appeared somewhat surprised. They all looked at the bald man in the middle. The bald man glared at Seventh Brother Yang sternly and then an extremely polite smile spread across his meaty face. ¡°Hello! My name is Cao Xin. I used to do some clothing business here¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t until Wang Tao got closer that he saw the tattoos on some of the exposed areas of Cao Xin¡¯s skin. Wang Tao didn¡¯t discriminate against tattoos, but for someone in business to have such flamboyant tattoos-it raised the question if he was really into legitimate business. ¡°Hello, my name is Chen Zhuang,¡± Wang Tao bluffed. ¡°Welcome, welcome!¡± The bald man extended his hands from a distance, and Wang Tao gave him the courtesy of shaking them. Once the bald man was close to Wang Tao, he immediately felt an oppressive aura come over him, especially from the blood-stained axe at his waist-he felt he might not withstand a single blow from it¡­ The others felt it even more acutely. In their eyes, their boss was already a muscular, imposing man, who usually looked quite intimidating. But compared to Wang Tao, he was utterly outclassed. The boss¡¯s stature was at least two sizes smaller than Wang Tao¡¯s. Especially with Wang Tao¡¯s skull mask and the bloody axes at his waist¡­ he looked just like a fearsome villain straight out of the TV! ¡°Come, right this way!¡± The bald man led Wang Tao energetically to the open doors of a room in the hall. Wang Tao carefully surveyed his surroundings, especially the few men present. Not a single one was an Ability User, nor did they have Hidden Attributes. However, they had all killed zombies to some extent, with their HP mostly just over a hundred. The boss had the most HP, boasting [205/205]. He must have killed around twenty zombies or so. The layout of the third floor of the mall was similar to the first floor, divided into sections. However, other areas were blocked by debris. Only the areas to the left and right were passable. The right side was where the bald man and his group were in the hall. The left side had a small iron gate locked with rusty chains, which appeared to be a storage room. Wang Tao glanced at the iron gate and then followed the bald man towards the hall.. Chapter 92 - Chapter 92: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee_l Chapter 92: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee_l Translator: 549690339 The hall had an unpleasant disinfectant smell that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t avoid even with a mask on. ¡°Mr. Chen, would you like a drink of water?¡± Cao Xin held a chipped kettle and a cup that was hard to tell whether it was yellow or white, asking Wang Tao. ¡°No, thanks.¡± Wang Tao looked around the hall. The hall¡¯s decor was very old-fashioned, resembling a style from thirty years ago, with clothes piled up everywhere, seeming to make beds that the four of them slept on. The hall was rectangular, with everyone situated at the end where the light was better, while the other end was dark and hard to see. ¡°You guys are pretty amazing, managing to live so comfortably in the post-apocalypse.¡± Wang Tao said with a hint of indifference. These four, including Seventh Brother Yang who had been taught a lesson earlier, were all at full HP, which was rather good for the post-apocalyptic world. After all, even within Shuize Base, there were many who were not at full HP. ¡°Ahaha, just good luck, just good luck! But all our food is gone, and I have been worrying about where to find more food¡­¡± Cao Xin rubbed his bald head, looking very troubled. Wang Tao gave Cao Xin a deep look. Was he afraid Wang Tao would take his food? That meant they probably still had plenty of food, right? Suddenly, Cao Xin stiffened. Even though Wang Tao¡¯s eyes behind the yellow-tinted glasses were a bit blurry and not very clear, Cao Xin felt as if he were being eyed by a predator, his blood almost freezing in his veins! That feeling¡­ it was like the zombie he had encountered earlier! Cao Xin had survived this long in the post-apocalyptic world thanks largely to his sixth sense. He could feel that the person in front of him was very dangerous¡ªperhaps even more so than any he had encountered before! Wang Tao withdrew his gaze. He walked over to the window and parted the blinds. From here, he could see part of the square where the zombies he killed earlier were still lying. ¡°Cough, I happened to see Mr. Chen in action earlier, and I must say, it was a sight to behold! At that moment, I thought it would be a great honor to have Mr. Chen visit us. And look at this coincidence!¡± Cao Xin hastily started to flatter. Upon hearing this, Seventh Brother Yang nearly claimed it was he who had brought Mr. Chen up. But when he saw their leader suddenly turn and glare fiercely at him, a chill ran down his spine. Oh no, the boss was lying! Seventh Brother Yang inwardly lamented, knowing he¡¯d have a rough time once Mr. Chen left. Wang Tao, fully aware that the man was buttering him up, couldn¡¯t deny that it felt good. He had never experienced this before. No wonder there were always one or two sycophants around those in high positions on television. Of course, no matter what he thought internally, Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged. After years of fighting his way through the world, he had mastered the art of composure. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take a look around here, if you don¡¯t mind?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°¡­ Of course not! I¡¯ll show you around!¡± Cao Xin¡¯s face twisted into a smile more pained than crying, and then he personally led the way. Wang Tao followed behind Cao Xin at a leisurely pace, observing the surroundings while asking somewhat casually: ¡°What happened downstairs? Why is it so destroyed?¡± Mentioning this, a flash of terror crossed Cao Xin¡¯s face. ¡°Mr. Chen, you don¡¯t know, but half a month ago, a super terrifying zombie appeared in the mall! That thing, it seemed about three or four meters tall, all muscle! It smashed whatever it saw, nearly bringing down the entire mall! If it hadn¡¯t been lured away by something it saw, we would have been done for¡­¡± ¡°Three or four meters tall¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression suddenly became serious. A zombie of that size was frightening; the biggest he had encountered before was a Terrorizer, also known as Big Hammer Zombie. They were just over two meters tall and already quite imposing to Wang Tao. A zombie three or four meters tall¡­ Wang Tao couldn¡¯t even imagine how big that was. Wang Tao glanced at Cao Xin again. His terrified look didn¡¯t seem feigned, and there was no need to lie about such things, especially with the obvious destruction on the first floor. ¡°Well, you guys are pretty lucky then,¡± Wang Tao remarked. ¡°That we are, our luck has been pretty good to have survived until now,¡± Cao Xin said with a hint of pride. But when he noticed where Wang Tao¡¯s gaze was focused, his expression became awkward once more. ¡°You four have quite the appetite, huh? Claiming your food is running out when you have so much left?¡± Looking at the dirty piles of rice, snacks, and other food items, Wang Tao spoke with a hint of mockery. ¡°Cough cough, it¡¯s just being prepared, just being prepared!¡± Cao Xin, seeing that Wang Tao kept eyeing his food, had a pained expression but tried to sound magnanimous: ¡°Mr. Chen, coming across each other is fate, and meeting in the post-apocalypse is a great kismet! I see you didn¡¯t bring much with you, so you must be out scavenging for supplies, right? Let¡¯s not talk about anything else, just pick a bag and take it! Consider it a token of my friendship, from Cao Xin to you!¡± Wang Tao looked at him with some surprise. This man, he knew how to act appropriately! Since he was being so sensible, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t refuse his kindness. ¡°You, pick a bag.¡± Wang Tao directed Seventh Brother Yang. Seventh Brother Yang immediately felt a murderous gaze turn towards him.. Chapter 93 - Chapter 93: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee_2 Chapter 93: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee_2 Translator: 549690339 | He dared not meet the boss¡¯s eyes and could only stiffen his scalp and walk up to the food to make his selection. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested in the food, his eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, and he began to look around. Wang Tao could clearly feel that there were many signs of battle here. There was also some black blood; he wondered if it belonged to zombies. Moreover, there was a strange smell that even the scent of disinfectant couldn¡¯t completely suppress. At this end of the hall, there were several hollow display cabinets, which should have contained decorative items, but now were cluttered with various things-like toilet paper, screwdrivers, and tattered clothes. The toilet paper was even stained with black blood, which Wang Tao found distasteful. Cao Xin, seeing that Wang Tao was somewhat interested in these small items, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Then, taking advantage of Wang Tao¡¯s distraction, he kicked Seventh Brother Yang hard in the butt and gave him a fierce glare, as if to say, ¡°Just scrounge up anything, do you actually have to pick out the best bag for him?¡± Seventh Brother Yang looked aggrieved: The one who got beaten just now wasn¡¯t you¡­ Wang Tao was just looking around casually. He came up here for two reasons: one was to see what this person really wanted to do and whether he intended to harm him. The other was to see if any of these people were worth recruiting to the Survivor Base to earn Contribution Points. But after this brief interaction, Wang Tao had already ruled out both options. None of these people seemed to be truthful, and they didn¡¯t look like good folks. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t possibly take them back to the base. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt a small metal plate on the shelf, with a series of six digits on it, somewhat familiar to him. ¡°Mr. Chen! I¡¯ve selected it for you!¡± The trembling voice of Seventh Brother Yang came from the corner. Wang Tao turned his head, and Cao Xin, who had been glaring at Seventh Brother Yang, immediately put on a smiling face. ¡°Mr. Chen, this is a little something from me, please accept it!¡± Wang Tao looked at the bag of neatly packaged 10kg rice, didn¡¯t hesitate to accept it, and then headed straight for the exit. ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t disturb you any further.¡± Seeing that Wang Tao was about to leave, Cao Xin totally relaxed. ¡°We¡¯ll meet again if fate allows it, Mr. Chen!¡± Wang Tao glanced back at him, said nothing, and went straight downstairs. It wasn¡¯t until Wang Tao left the mall and stepped into the rain that Cao Xin and the others seemed to relax completely, breathing a sigh of relief. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± ¡°This guy puts too much pressure on me! I dare not even breathe when he¡¯s standing there!¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me, I didn¡¯t dare meet his gaze¡­¡± The three underlings whispered to each other. -What¡¯s there to be scared of just because he¡¯s a bit taller? A bunch of useless things!¡± Cao Xin cursed angrily. The underlings immediately stopped talking, but Seventh Brother Yang really wanted to say, your attitude wasn¡¯t like this just now, boss. ¡°Forget it, since the guy¡¯s been sent away, let¡¯s not bother with him anymore. Damn it, go get one of our merchandise up here! I need to let off some steam, I was almost scared to death¡ªhurry up! The three underlings quickly went towards the door next to the staircase secured with rusted iron chains and unlocked the door with a key. Clang clatter¡ª The iron door made a grating noise, with darkness lurking within. One of the underlings entered with a flashlight, followed by the other two. ¡°Mmmhmm¡ª¡± From inside the warehouse, a humming noise suddenly emerged, followed by the sight of a naked woman with numerous wounds all over her body, bound with iron chains, her mouth sealed with tape, and her face numb as she was dragged out. ¡°Boss, another one¡¯s dead¡­¡± One of the underlings said, somewhat frantically. ¡°Damn, really useless!¡± Cao Xin uttered darkly, then scolded the underlings, ¡°Hurry up!¡± The underlings quickly took the two women to where they stored the food. Seeing the food, a flicker of emotion appeared in the women¡¯s eyes. One of the underlings secured the iron chains on the woman¡¯s limbs to the ground, then placed a small bowl of white flour in front of her. Immediately seeing the food, the woman got down on the floor like a dog and began to lick it with her tongue. Cao Xin unbuckled his belt, walked behind the woman with a cruel look on his face, and then instructed the underlings: ¡°Bring me a few wooden sticks with barbs! In the heavy rain, Wang Tao turned to take a long, hard look at the third floor of the mall. Then he returned to his car. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with these people¡­¡± Wang Tao pondered over everything that had happened upstairs. Clearly, these people were hiding something from him. Initially, Wang Tao thought it was the food, but then he realized it might not be the case. Wang Tao took out a metal plate from his pocket with six digits on it. He had found it in Cao Xin¡¯s place and taken it without much thought. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao liked taking others¡¯ belongings, but he had seen this object before. Apart from the different numbers, it was identical to Han Rui¡¯s badge in terms of color and size. It was a badge! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if Cao Xin had found it or¡­ Regardless of the possibility, Cao Xin might have a gun! Even though Wang Tao was powerful, he never thought he was bulletproof; bullets were still a significant threat to him. Of course, if he could take them by surprise, Wang Tao felt that he could subdue them instantly with a Shockwave. But there was another important reason: Cao Xin had mentioned a zombie that had been here before, three to four meters tall! Seeing the Destruction caused by this zombie, Wang Tao believed he was no match for it. If the gunfire attracted that zombie, he would be in trouble.. Chapter 94 - Chapter 94: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee 3 Chapter 94: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee 3 Translator: 549690339 | ¡ª So upon discovering the alarm, for safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao decisively retreated. Even Wang Tao felt that his recent action of following Seventh Brother Yang upstairs was perhaps a little rash. ¡°Still not cautious enough! Got a bit arrogant with a little power¡­ I¡¯ll have to be more careful next time!¡± Humming- The car circled around the shopping mall, heading for Borui Clinic. Considering there might be a terrifying zombie here, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to go too fast; he even took a long detour. By dusk, he finally caught sight of Borui Clinic. The location of Borui Clinic was pretty good, next to a small intersection. And this area didn¡¯t have many cars, so the road was relatively open. The clinic¡¯s roller shutter door was closed, and it was unknown what the situation was like inside, but there were about a dozen zombies blocking the street outside. Wang Tao had intended to dispatch them to the afterlife right away, but after a moment of hesitation, he took several Molotov cocktails out from the storage box inside the car. He had always been perplexed as to why zombies burned to death didn¡¯t count as his kill, but those shot to death did, so Wang Tao prepared to experiment now. At a crossroads, with convenient traffic, if some irresistible danger arose he could always drive away at any moment, and since he had temporarily looted all he could, he could use these zombies for his experiment. Half an hour later, Wang Tao killed the last zombie with his axe, then collected the spoils of war. ¡°It should be like this¡­¡± After the experiment, Wang Tao had some revelations. Put simply, only the zombies that were instantly killed by him counted as his kills. The Molotov cocktails took too long to kill the zombies, so they didn¡¯t count as his kills. As for how long this ¡°instant¡± was, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t tested it yet, but it was definitely a very short period of time. In the future when using Molotov cocktails, he would try his best to kill the zombies before they were burned to death. Of course, if there really was no chance then it was fine, after all, fire does not differentiate between friend and foe. After dealing with the zombies on the street, Wang Tao took his weapons and came to Borui Clinic. The roller shutter door of the clinic was halfway open, which saved Wang Tao some effort. After all, the sound of opening the roller shutter door was loud, he shone his flashlight inside to make sure there were no zombies, and then he slipped in. The situation inside the clinic was worse than Wang Tao had expected; some shelves and empty boxes were scattered around, and there weren¡¯t many medicines. Obviously, this place had already been looted. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised; the clinic¡¯s location was so obvious, and now that more than a month had passed since the apocalypse began, it was normal for survivors to have scavenged it. Wang Tao picked up all the medicines on the floor, now any medicine was precious, and couldn¡¯t be wasted. The clinic wasn¡¯t large, with a lobby, a bathroom, and a small room with a few sickbeds on the first floor. The second floor seemed to be for storage and resting. After Wang Tao looted the first floor and made sure there was nothing overlooked, he then went up to the second floor. ¡°Hmm? The door is locked¡­¡± He pushed the door without being able to open it. Wang Tao took out the lock-picking tools he carried with him and after fiddling with the lock, there was a click, and the lock opened. The room upstairs was much brighter than the corridor. Wang Tao immediately saw on an office chair not far away, sitting a zombie wearing a white lab coat, a surgical mask, and with a voluptuous figure¡­ a female zombie! [500/500] ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, the female zombie immediately rose, twisting her body to stand up. Just an ordinary zombie, Wang Tao quickly approached, raised his axe, and chopped down. Thwack! [-500] [0/500] He swiftly killed her and casually gathered the loot. [Received: medical packxi] [Medical pack: Can restore too HP within to seconds (cannot regenerate lost limbs)] ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect that killing this female doctor zombie would actually yield a medical pack. What he found even more unexpected was that this medical pack was different from the ones he picked up from airdrops; this one could actually restore too HP in 10 seconds! HP represented health, so restoring 100 HP meant recovering one¡¯s own health! Although it was stated that lost limbs can¡¯t regenerate, this is already quite amazing. Normally, to recover HP, one could only rely on treatment, eating, resting, and sleeping with Ding Yuqin, the blood replenishing pack. These methods are very slow and inconvenient. But this medical kit not only takes ten seconds, it can also be placed in the Space Backpack! This thing is too convenient! In some ways, it¡¯s like the inhibitor, it¡¯s like having half a life! ¡°So, killing doctor zombies might drop medical kits? I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a guaranteed drop, but even if there¡¯s a chance, it¡¯s worth the risk¡­¡± Chen Zhuang once told Wang Tao that Shuize County First Hospital had many zombies. Although it was very dangerous with many special zombies, there surely were a lot of doctor zombies! These are all medical kits! ¡®Til have to make a trip to the First Hospital later, to see if there¡¯s a chance¡­¡± There was a small office on the second floor of the clinic, a bedroom, and a storeroom. Apart from a laptop and a mobile phone in the office, there wasn¡¯t anything of value. The bedroom only had some clothes and nothing else. The small warehouse was locked, but after easily unlocking the door, seeing the medicine boxes and some medical tools inside, Wang Tao chuckled and took everything. It took Wang Tao more than twenty minutes to load everything into the car. However, by then the sun had already set, and for safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao decided to rest there for the night and leave the next morning. The night passed without incident. Upon waking up, after simply consuming a few bottles of nutrient solution, Wang Tao left the clinic. The rain outside had not stopped, though it was light, it was still suitable for travel. It was already ten o¡¯clock when he saw Shuize University. Before entering the base, Wang Tao specifically checked the location of the suicide bombing zombie from yesterday, to see if it was still there. ¡°Huh? Gone?¡± Only some scattered zombies remained on the street, the suicide bombing zombie was no longer there. ¡°Forget it, if it¡¯s gone then it¡¯s gone.¡± After all, he found killing that suicide bombing zombie to be quite troublesome. After returning to the base, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hurry to hand over supplies but went to see Chen Zhuang first. He wanted to see what medicine Chen Zhuang needed, then hand over some, and planned to keep the rest for himself. ¡°Seeing you return safely puts my mind at ease!¡± Chen Zhuang greeted Wang Tao with a thump on his chest the moment he saw him. ¡°You check what medicine you need, and I¡¯ll give you a list.¡± Wang Tao handed the pre-prepared list to Chen Zhuang. ¡°Wow, you actually went to Borui Clinic? Impressive! I¡¯ve mentioned it to other hunters before, but they were too scared to go¡­¡± Chen Zhuang¡¯s face showed surprise. ¡°It was on the way and I got lucky. There weren¡¯t many zombies there.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. ¡°I need these, this medicine is¡­¡± Chen Zhuang began explaining the uses of some medicines to Wang Tao while asking, ¡°By the way, how was it inside Borui Clinic?¡± ¡°It was a mess, all pillaged. But¡­ upstairs there was a female doctor with a hot figure.¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow, ready to tease him. ¡°Ah? A female doctor? Where is she?¡± Chen Zhuang quickly asked. ¡°I shot her in the head¡ª¡¯1 Wang Tao deliberately paused, then continued, ¡°She was a zombie.¡± Chen Zhuang opened his mouth and then fell silent. He looked at Wang Tao and said in a low voice: ¡°She¡­ was my fiancee, we got engaged a week before the apocalypse¡­¡± Chapter 95 - Chapter 95: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin_l Chapter 95: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Sorry.¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat embarrassed. He had just intended to tease Chen Zhuang, but who knew the female zombie he had killed would turn out to be Chen Zhuang¡¯s fiancee¡­ Wang Tao took out a cigarette, offered one to Chen Zhuang, and lit it for him. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Ever since I lost contact with her, I had been preparing myself¡­ Haha, actually, we didn¡¯t have much feeling for each other, we met through a blind date before the New Year.¡± Chen Zhuang took the cigarette, and drew a deep breath from it. ¡°We really didn¡¯t have much feeling, really. It was just that I was 33, she was 30, both of us were single, and neither of us disliked the other, so we just went ahead with it, that¡¯s all. We had planned to get married next month, in June. She said she wanted a daughter since it gets harder to have children as you get older, and I liked the idea of a daughter, but I preferred to have two children, ideally a boy and a girl. Of course, I would have respected her wish if she didn¡¯t want to¡­ Before the apocalypse struck, I was at the hospital and she was at the clinic. After a morning call, the zombie virus broke out, and I couldn¡¯t contact her again¡­¡± At this point, Chen Zhuang suddenly turned and said to Wang Tao with his back facing him: ¡°I just remembered I have something to do, go ahead and exchange for Contribution Points.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Wang Tao stood up, patted Chen Zhuang on the shoulder from behind, and then left directly. Once Wang Tao had left, Chen Zhuang slowly sat down on the ground, his eyes red. ¡°Little Rong, it¡¯s my fault¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at the list of medicines, recalled what Chen Zhuang had explained about their uses, and then decided to keep the ones he thought useful for himself and opted to exchange the rest for Contribution Points. ¡°Mr. Wang, you¡¯re back!¡± The Resources Department¡¯s Guo Chao saw Wang Tao carrying a Snake Skin Bag and immediately rushed over with respectful eagerness. Apart from Wang Tao, there were a few other people there, dressed in a way that suggested they were also Hunters. They were somewhat surprised to see Wang Tao. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s stature was visually striking. He stood at the entrance, blocking the indoor light completely. Wang Tao placed the sack on the ground and said with a smile: ¡°Let¡¯s see how many Contribution Points it¡¯s worth.¡± ¡°Right away!¡± Guo Chao hurriedly opened the bag, expecting it to be a bag full of food. But when he saw what was inside, he exclaimed in surprise. ¡°Wow! So much medicine!¡± The others, hearing his voice, also turned to look and were incredulous at the sight of the sack full of medicine. ¡°Damn, bro, you¡¯re awesome! Getting your hands on so much medicine!¡± One of them blurted out involuntarily. ¡°Ah? Is this a lot?¡± Wang Tao was genuinely puzzled. A clinic was supposed to have a lot of medicine, and he had just picked up what was left over, which wasn¡¯t much. Not to mention, he had kept some for himself. The others were silenced by Wang Tao, uncertain if he was just showing off. Guo Chao, who was still counting the medicine, hurriedly said: ¡°Mr. Wang Tao is new to our base, having just arrived three days ago; he¡¯s not very familiar with many things yet.¡± ¡°No wonder, I thought I hadn¡¯t seen you around the base!¡± The few people then realized the situation, and one of them explained: ¡°That¡¯s a lot of medicine! When we go out scavenging for supplies, we do so in circles expanding outwards from the base. The closest clinics and pharmacies were scavenged long ago; it¡¯s impossible to still find so much medicine. You must have gone to stores and clinics farther away, right?¡± Only then did Wang Tao understand that other people scavenged in expanding circles. He had approached it differently; he had simply chosen a place and driven straight to it¡­ ¡°Right, I got these from the Borui Clinic.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°Man, you went that far!¡± ¡°The Borui Clinic is like two or three kilometers away from our base, right?¡± ¡°Impressive!¡± The group was thoroughly astonished. They wouldn¡¯t dare venture so far out. The men quickly introduced themselves. ¡°Hey mate! Let¡¯s get acquainted, my name is Fan Yuangong¡­¡± People would always pursue those with capability, no matter the time. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± After brief introductions, the group left. They had just spent a day outside and needed to rest up. Wang Tao waited a bit more, and Guo Chao finally gestured to him with a calculator: ¡°Mr. Wang, the medicine you¡¯ve handed in can be exchanged for a total of 31,230 Contribution Points¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Over thirty thousand?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The number was more than he expected. ¡°The value of items in exchange for Contribution Points at our base changes all the time; the Contribution Points required are higher for items in demand. Some of the medicine you brought in is currently what we need the most¡­ Would you like to exchange all these supplies for Contribution Points?¡± Guo Chao hurriedly elaborated. ¡°Sure, go ahead and exchange them.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Guo Chao immediately leaped into action and started the operation. ¡°Mr. Wang, please wait a moment, once the system confirms, the Contribution Points will be credited to your account.¡± About ten minutes later, Wang Tao¡¯s phone vibrated. He opened the app called ¡°Shuize Base,¡± which displayed the credit of Points. His total was now ¡°31,240/31,370¡± Contribution Points. With Contribution Points in hand, Wang Tao naturally began to use them; keeping them had no purpose. Other than guns and Inhibitors, which couldn¡¯t be exchanged, everything else could be. However, the exchangeable items listed weren¡¯t many, and Guo Chao told him that was all they had for now, though there might be more to come in the future.. Chapter 96 - Chapter 96: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin_2 Chapter 96: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin_2 Translator: 549690339 Thus, Wang Tao exchanged for three sets of bulletproof vests with ceramic plates, high-powered walkie-talkies, and several firefighter axes. The bulletproof vests were able to withstand some attacks, let alone sniper fire. Although no one was hostile towards Wang Tao at the moment, he could not guarantee that this would never happen, so it was always better to be safe. The high-powered walkie-talkies were naturally for his own use, as the ones he currently had were all low-powered. As for the firefighter axes, there was no need to mention how important they were. Wang Tao had not been able to scavenge any previously, and the ones he was using now had been exchanged for at the base. Seeing that there were so many axes available, he decided to swap for all of them. To Wang Tao, these were consumables, and it was good to have backups in case one broke. Moreover, Wang Tao wanted to practice the ¡°Flying Axe¡±; with his current strength, it would be a waste not to learn some throwing techniques. Actually, if there were ranged weapons like crossbows or bows available, that would have been even better. Even if Wang Tao wasn¡¯t familiar with them, he could learn. After all, these weapons were quieter, making them more suitable for small-scale battles than guns. Unfortunately, there was nothing like that on the exchange list. It made sense, though. If Hunters scavenged such items, they would surely use them themselves rather than turning them in. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out. This large Shuize County should have these items¡­¡± As Wang Tao was preparing to leave with the items, suddenly¡ª Boom! Boom! Sounds vaguely reached them from outside the base. Wang Tao turned to Guo Chao and asked, ¡°Did you hear that noise outside?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Guo Chao paused. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything. I only heard the rain¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say anything more but took the items and ran out. The comprehensive building was some distance from the main gate, so Wang Tao drove there directly. When he arrived at the gate, he saw a group of soldiers with serious expressions lying prone at their shooting positions, guns at the ready. Braving the rain, Wang Tao got out of his car and hurriedly asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening outside?¡± Seeing that it was Wang Tao, one of the soldiers replied loudly, ¡°There was an explosion outside the base! We are not yet clear about the situation!¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao knew he hadn¡¯t misheard; there indeed had been a sound! ¡°Da da da¡ªda da da¡ªboom!¡± At that moment, a burst of gunshots and another explosion sounded from outside. One of the soldiers quickly said, ¡°It might be our own people!¡± Currently, among those here who had guns, only the soldiers of the Shuize Base had rifles and submachine guns. Wang Tao reached the wall of the courtyard and looked through the shooting port; outside, there were no zombies, only the pitter-patter of heavy rain. Soon, others rushed over as well, mostly Hunters and soldiers. Han Rui was there, too. She arrived next to Wang Tao under an umbrella. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°There was an explosion outside just now, followed by gunshots¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be them, could it¡­¡± Anxiety crossed Han Rui¡¯s face. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Xiang Hongbin and the squad he¡¯s leading.¡± ¡°It¡¯s him¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin was one of the seven committee members of the base, and Wang Tao naturally knew the name. The last time at the commercial street when he used his gun to mow down zombies and save Han Rui¡¯s husband, it was Xiang Hongbin¡¯s squad¡ªWang Tao had learned of this recently. ¡°My husband might be with them¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s fists were clenched tight. Suddenly, Wang Tao asked softly, ¡°Can you sense what¡¯s happening over there?¡± He was naturally referring to Han Rui¡¯s Ability. ¡°No, it¡¯s too far!¡± Han Rui shook her head; she had already tried. She hesitated, wondering whether she should go out to see for herself. Although it was definitely dangerous outside now, after all, her husband could very well be there¡­ At that moment, a soldier ran over and said to everyone, ¡°We just made contact. It¡¯s Captain Xiang¡¯s squad outside. He told us not to go out there as it¡¯s too dangerous. They can break through the encirclement on their own!¡± Hearing this, Han Rui slightly relaxed. The other Hunters also appeared slightly relieved. Normally, if someone was trapped, they would call for help. Since Captain Xiang was advising against coming to their aid, it meant the situation probably wasn¡¯t too serious. Perhaps they were already preparing to escape, and anyone going out now might end up causing more harm than good. Wang Tao and the other Hunters did not leave but continued to wait at the main gate. Before long, the soldiers in the watchtower were the first to spot movement. ¡°Captain Xiang is coming back!¡± After a short wait, they saw three military vehicles speeding towards the base, with a dozen Mad Demon Zombies hot on their heels. There was an unwritten rule within Survivor Base: if you had a large number of zombies chasing you, don¡¯t lead them to the base. Instead, try to throw them off your trail first. Of course, if the number of zombies wasn¡¯t large, it didn¡¯t matter as much, given that the base¡¯s firepower was not to be underestimated. With only about a dozen Mad Demon Zombies behind the three vehicles, returning directly to the base posed no issue. Those dozen Mad Demon Zombies, even Wang Tao wasn¡¯t confident he could defeat them all. However, under the hail of bullets, these zombies simply couldn¡¯t withstand the onslaught. With a combined attack from Xiang Hongbin¡¯s squad and the soldiers inside the base, nearly all of the Mad Demon Zombies were wiped out, with only three managing to escape. While the others were vigorously pumping their fists, Wang Tao frowned. Previously, when Han Rui encountered the Charger Zombies, they deliberately hid, and now these three Mad Demon Zombies were even fleeing¡­ Zombies were frightening, but thinking zombies were even more terrifying! Whoosh¡ª The main gate swiftly opened, and the three vehicles charged into the base without slowing down much, then executed a sharp brake, coming to a steady halt under the rain shed.. Chapter 97 - Chapter 97: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin 3 Chapter 97: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin 3 Translator: 549690339 The gates closed again, and soldiers and staff inside the base rushed to inspect the vehicles and personnel. Even if it was a committee member returning, the vehicles had to be checked for hidden zombies. It wasn¡¯t a matter of distrust, but a single unnoticed zombie hidden in a vehicle would be an absolute disaster for the base. Therefore, on this matter, everyone had to undergo inspection. The only difference was that ordinary people had to be checked outside the gate, while those with status could be inspected inside. At this moment, the door of the leading vehicle opened, and a man about thirty or forty years old, one meter seventy tall but with a burly figure fully armed got out. ¡¯ ¡°Damn!¡± He frantically scratched his buzz cut and then fiercely kicked a piece of gravel on the ground. ¡°That¡¯s Xiang Hongbin.¡± Han Rui introduced from the side. Wang Tao nodded, somewhat surprised by Xiang Hongbin¡¯s attributes. HP(721/815] [Hidden Attributes: Valiant] [Valiant: Fearless of danger, the more you fight, the stronger you become] [Internal Impurity: o%] Wang Tao felt that Xiang Hongbin might be the strongest person he had seen so far. With over eight hundred HP, he must have killed at least a hundred zombies, not too far from Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°104.0¡±. Although Wang Tao had more HP, he purposely sought out zombies to kill- he would look for zombies to kill even when there were none left. That was because Wang Tao knew that killing zombies could increase his HP limit, and he could also scavenge materials from their bodies. Xiang Hongbin, or other people in the base, although they also felt stronger after killing zombies, they probably wouldn¡¯t deliberately seek out zombies to kill. After all, they couldn¡¯t scavenge materials. Their main purpose for going out was to scavenge supplies and rescue survivors¡­ So Wang Tao was very surprised to see this HP. Of course, he was not only surprised by the HP but also by his hidden attributes and internal impurity. Wang Tao felt that his ¡°Valiant¡± hidden attribute was quite good; it must directly increase combat power, which might explain why he had over eight hundred HP. As for the last point about internal impurity, it showed that he had fused with a Zombie Core but had failed as he didn¡¯t have a blue bar¡­ He¡¯s quite a formidable character, indeed! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but sigh. People in white protective suits quickly went over with umbrellas to inspect Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes, but he didn¡¯t take his frustration out on the staff. The others also got out of the vehicles one after another, ignoring the heavy rain outside, bowing their heads slightly and silent. Wang Tao felt their morale was very low. ¡°My husband!¡± Han Rui, upon seeing a figure get out of the vehicle, immediately ran over excitedly. Wang Tao glanced over and saw that it was indeed Han Rui¡¯s husband, Sun Weiguang, accompanied by Ou Yingying. Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying helped each other out of the vehicle, both looking somewhat trepidatious as if they had been quite frightened. ¡°Wei Guang!¡± Han Rui suddenly shouted at that moment. Startled by the shout, Sun Weiguang quickly followed the sound and saw Han Rui in her police uniform. Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying were stunned. They rubbed their eyes, somewhat in disbelief. They had never expected to see Han Rui at Shuize Base. Han Rui¡­ Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be dead? Subconsciously, Sun Weiguang let go of Ou Yingying, nearly causing her to stumble. Ou Yingying didn¡¯t dare get angry, after all, she still vividly remembered how Han Rui had led them through all kinds of difficulties, and she was somewhat afraid of Han Rui. ¡°You, you¡¯re actually not dead!¡± Sun Weiguang blurted out instinctively However, feeling that his words were inappropriate, he quickly corrected himself, ¡°I mean, it¡¯s great to see you¡¯re alive!¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t care about these details; in fact, she even felt a bit reproachful when she saw Sun Weiguang let go of Ou Yingying: ¡°Wei Guang, could you please be more careful? You almost knocked Ou Yingying over!¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Sun Weiguang stretched out his hand, momentarily uncertain whether he should help Ou Yingying, and she didn¡¯t know if she should accept his support either. Wang Tao, watching their awkward expressions from the side, found the scene rather amusing. Both Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying seemed to have something to hide, and the sudden appearance of Han Rui left them somewhat at a loss. Fortunately, after seeing Sun Weiguang wasn¡¯t badly hurt, Han Rui steadied Ou Yingying. ¡°We set out with six people, and now that we¡¯ve arrived at Shuize Base, only the three of us are left¡­ It¡¯s good that both of you are alive, or I would have been left all alone¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s tone was filled with lament. Both Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying lowered their heads, lapsing into silence. Han Rui thought they were just scared and didn¡¯t think too much of it. A staff member came over and checked Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying¡¯s eyes. ¡°Both of you are fine!¡± Upon hearing this, Han Rui finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then she led the two to Wang Tao and introduced them to each other. ¡°Wang Tao, this is my husband Sun Weiguang, and this is my friend Ou Yingying.¡± ¡°Wei Guang, Yingying, this is Wang Tao. She¡¯s the one who saved me and brought me to Shuize Base.¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s physique, which was so strong it seemed inhuman, Sun Weiguang instinctively wanted to stand behind Han Rui. Ymgying, on the other hand, stared at the bulging muscles on Wang Tao¡¯s body with widened eyes. Could someone be as muscular as they were in the movies? ¡°Hello.¡± Wang Tao spoke indifferently. The HP of these two was [50/100] and [47/100], respectively. It looked like they had managed quite well, without serious injuries. ¡°Hello, hello!¡± Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying quickly responded. At that moment, Xiang Hongbin and the others had also finished their check-ups, when a staff member asked subconsciously: ¡°Where¡¯s Little Wu?¡± The soldiers remained silent. Xiang Hongbin looked up at the sky, his tone harsh: ¡°Dead.¡± It was then that Wang Tao understood why their morale seemed so low. Han Rui tugged at Sun Weiguang¡¯s clothes and quietly asked: ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Sun Weiguang moved his lips but then glanced at Xiang Hongbin, whose mood was clearly not good, and dared not speak. It was Ou Yingying who leaned in and whispered in Han Rui¡¯s ear: ¡°On our way back, we encountered a special zombie and then¡­ then Captain Xiang tried to hunt it down, but the zombie self-detonated¡­ The soldier named Little Wu was killed in the explosion¡­¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrow. Suicide bombing zombies? Could it be the one he saw yesterday? But he had seen suicide bombing zombies before, and their explosive power wasn¡¯t that strong. He even faintly heard the explosion back at the base. At this time, Sun Weiguang complained quietly: ¡°Captain Xiang used a homemade bomb to avenge that soldier, almost getting us killed as well¡­¡± Wang Tao: Chapter 104 - Chapter 104: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Seeking Chapter 104: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Votes)_i Translator: 549690339 1 Yet another special zombie, but upon seeing this one, Wang Tao was not nervous at all; on the contrary, he was eager to try his hand. Because this zombie was described in the military-provided Zombie Guide it was known as the Stalwart. It had high defense but moved slowly, and its attack was weak. It was as if¡­ in a game, all its attribute points had been allocated to defense. If there were many zombies around, dealing with this type would be somewhat troublesome. But with not many zombies at the entrance of the residential area, even with its high defense, Wang Tao could grind it down to death! After parking the car, Wang Tao contacted Ding Yuqin. ¡°Wang Tao, have you¡­ have you come back?¡± ¡°Sister-in-law, I¡¯m downstairs. There are a few zombies down here; I will deal with them first. Don¡¯t come out.¡± ¡°Okay, be careful¡­ I¡¯ll be waiting for you!¡± After closing the walkie-talkie, Wang Tao took the firefighter axe and walked into the rain. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The zombies¡¯ senses were largely reduced in the heavy rain. It wasn¡¯t until Wang Tao approached an ordinary zombie that it raised its head. Pu-cha! [-500] [0/500] The firefighter axe cleaved its head open, instantly killing it. [Obtained: Rope xi] Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop moving, continuing towards other ordinary zombies. Before fighting this special zombie, he certainly had to clear out the surrounding ordinary ones. There were only six zombies in total, and they were quickly dealt with. Only then did the ¡°Stalwart¡± zombie belatedly notice Wang Tao. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The zombie groaned as it walked towards Wang Tao, but its movements were slow and rigid, like a puppet. Wang Tao strode over and brought his axe down on its head. Bang! [-23] [2977/3000] ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing this number, Wang Tao was a bit stunned. Could it be that the axe was broken? But even a simple smash wouldn¡¯t reduce its HP by so little, surely? Wang Tao, undeterred, chopped with the axe again. [-24] [2953/3000] [-22] [2931/3000] Wang Tao confirmed it; the Stalwart indeed had ridiculously high defense! With his current strength plus the firefighter axe and Rush Right Arm, one chop only reduced about twenty-plus HP, which was almost like not piercing its defense at all¡ªand indeed, it barely did, as the Stalwart¡¯s head only showed some white marks without any actual wounds. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Stalwart zombie swung its arms at Wang Tao, who easily dodged away. Although the Stalwart¡¯s attack power was low, Wang Tao had no intention of testing it. After all, a zombie¡¯s attack always carried the virus, and it was better to be safe unless absolutely necessary. However, since the Stalwart was slow both in terms of speed and attack, Wang Tao decided he was not going to fight fair. He took another axe from his waist with his left hand, and wielding one firefighter axe in each, he began frantically chopping at the Stalwart¡¯s head. [-25] [-12] [-23] [-11] [-24] [-13] Since the left hand was inherently weaker than the right, and since it didn¡¯t have the Rush Arm Guard, the damage it dealt was only half that of the right hand. Against the zombie¡¯s 2000 HP, it was nothing more than scratching the surface. But even scratching could lead to its demise! Since the Stalwart¡¯s attack was weak and slow, and Wang Tao could dodge easily, plus there were no other zombies around to interfere, Wang Tao could fully unleash his attack. Wang Tao considered using a Molotov cocktail, but with the heavy rain, its effectiveness would surely be compromised, and he would have to go back to the car to prepare it. He decided against it. He tried using his shockwave ability and was pleasantly surprised to find that it could inflict thirty to forty damage on the Stalwart! That was even higher than the damage from his two axes combined. However, his mana was limited, and there was no need to expend so much at the moment. Keeping more mana on hand also felt safer. Wang Tao also tried chopping at the Stalwart¡¯s neck, but it was just as tough as its head¡­ or rather, its entire body was stiff; chopping anywhere else would be even less effective than aiming for the head. Finally, after a couple of minutes of scratching, with a sound of pu-cha, both axes simultaneously buried into the Stalwart¡¯s head. [-53] [0/3000] Phew¡ª Wang Tao let out a sigh of relief. This Stalwart was the zombie with the highest HP he had encountered so far and the toughest to kill, but it was also the least dangerous-at least for him, it was even less dangerous than ordinary zombies. Wang Tao glanced at his HP, adding 60 points, which brought his HP ceiling to [1100/1100]! He picked up the Stalwart¡¯s dropped loot without rushing to inspect it, and quickly scooped up the zombie¡¯s Faint Red Crystal Core, inside which was a silhouette of a tiny, pitch-black figure. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡ö Toughness] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Skin darkening, body stiffening)] [Toughness: During the duration, defensive power and hardness of the entire body are enhanced] ¡°Eh? A Continuous Ability?¡± This was the first time Wang Tao had come across a zombie crystal core like this, and he felt that the ability suited him-though the increased hardness part¡­ was it practical or laughable? As he pondered, Wang Tao hurried to open the gate of the residential area and drove his car under the awning in front of building number four. He had just stepped out when the door to the building opened. Dressed in light makeup, wearing a black form-fitting skirt, flesh-colored Chapter 105 - Chapter 105: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Please Support with Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 105: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Please Support with Monthly Tickets)_2 Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao¡¯s gaze lingered on Ding Yuqin for a moment. It had to be said that Ding Yuqin understood him, knowing what he liked to see. in Shuize Base, although there were quite a few women, they were all slovenly, as being well-fed was the priority at this time. Even the little celebrity Huo Ziyi had no time to dress up and looked like a village girl. Only Han Rui was still alright, her beauty intact, dressed in a police uniform and looking dashing, with a charm all her own. But Wang Tao preferred women with feminine charm like Ding Yuqin. ¡°I, I came down only after seeing you were safe¡­ Ding Yuqin, afraid that Wang Tao would say she was disobedient, hurriedly explained. Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak, but rather took off his mask and gloves and walked over, gently caressing Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek as he said, ¡°Sis-in-law, have you been well these past days? ¡°I¡¯m fine, but I, I missed you¡­¡± Ding Yuqin rested her face on Wang Tao¡¯s hand and gently rubbed against it, her eyes somewhat infatuated. Wang Tao smiled gently, then kissed Ding Yuqin on the lips, and then took the opportunity to loop his arms around her waist and head upstairs. ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± in the five days Wang Tao had been away, there hadn¡¯t been much change at home, except that the water he had stored was almost all used up. The food, however, was still plentiful-after all, Ding Yuqin¡¯s appetite was small. After helping Wang Tao take off his equipment, Ding Yuqin immediately hugged his waist from behind. Although Wang Tao had said he would come back, and had even contacted her with the walkie-talkie, she was still worried when she couldn¡¯t see him. She wasn¡¯t sure if she had a place in Wang Tao¡¯s heart, or if he simply wanted to have some fun with her¡­ Now that she saw Wang Tao, she could finally relax. Wang Tao turned around to look at Ding Yuqin and asked, ¡°Sis-in-law, did you miss me while at home? ¡°Missed you!¡± Ding Yuqin blurted out without thinking, but her cheeks flushed. Mainly because Wang Tao kept calling her ¡°sis-in-law¡± and never changed it, giving her an inexplicable sense of shame. ¡°How much did you miss me?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°I missed you a lot!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; he saw Ding Yuqin as quite conservative. Usually, at most, she would wear silk stockings. But now, she was without anything underneath. Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao with watery eyes, biting her lip and saying, ¡°This is to¡­ make it convenient for you¡­¡± An hour later, Wang Tao smoked a cigarette. He actually didn¡¯t smoke, but he did it for the feeling. Ding Yuqin nestled against Wang Tao, clinging tightly as if she wanted to merge into his body. ¡°Sis-in-law, I never realized before how clingy you are! Wang Tao brushed aside the hair stuck to Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek, teasing her. Ding Yuqin was somewhat shy, but still looked directly at Wang Tao. ¡°I, I¡¯m scared¡­¡± Slap¡ª Wang Tao slapped her softly on the flesh and then asked, ¡°I¡¯m here now, what are you still afraid of, sis-in-law? ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll leave me¡­¡± Ding Yuqin was candid. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao offered no assurances but simply smiled and said, ¡°Call me ¡®husband¡¯ and let¡¯s hear how it sounds. ¡°Husband-¡± ¡°Sis-in-law, you¡¯re so good!¡± ¡°¡­Could you please stop calling me ¡®sis-in-law¡¯!¡± Ding Yuqin, blushing, complained. Every time WangTao called her ¡°sis-in-law,¡± especially during their activities, she was completely defenseless. ¡°We each have our own names, you call me husband, and I call you sis-in-law; it¡¯s quite reasonable.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re so bad!¡± Ding Yuqin lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest and bit his shoulder. Of course, she didn¡¯t really bite hard, it was more like a cat¡¯s lick. Wang Tao stroked Ding Yuqin¡¯s hair like petting a cat, but his mind was on the Space Backpack. The loot that had burst out from the stubborn zombie he had killed earlier had not yet been checked. He had said he would look at it when he got back, but after returning, he had a three-hundred-round battle with Ding Yuqin and had been delayed. But it wasn¡¯t too late to look now. Not counting the Zombie Core, the stubborn zombie had dropped a total of three items. They were [Defense Potion (small) X2], [Defense Potion (small) blueprint xi], and [Stubborn Armor Blueprint xl]. There was a detailed introduction below. [Defense Potion (small): After injection, defense is increased for 1 minute, with a cooldown of 12 hours.] This item seemed to correspond to the Strength Potion. If one were to inject both Strength Potion and Defense Potion at the same time, wouldn¡¯t one have both high attack and strong defense? However, it was a pity that, whether it was the Strength Potion or the Defense Potion, the duration was only 1 minute. It would have been better if it lasted longer. [Defense Potion (small) Blueprint: Once learned, one can make five [Defense Potion (small)) each time. Required materials: Defense Mushroom xl, Zombie Crystal Core xl, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kilocalories of food] This blueprint was similar to the blueprint for the Strength Potion, only replacing ¡°Strength Mushroom¡± with ¡°Defense Mushroom¡±. It¡¯s unclear where these mushrooms are to be found. Wang Tao guessed there was a good chance they were in the suburbs. But he couldn¡¯t possibly go to the suburbs yet; it was too dangerous. These two potion blueprints differed from the earlier Rush Right Arm Blueprint and Food Compressor Blueprint. Even without materials, one could learn the potion blueprints directly. Once learned, it¡¯s like acquiring a skill¡ªthis he discovered a few days ago, although he hadn¡¯t paid it much attention initially. So now he had learned the [Strength Potion (small)] recipe and, as long as he had the materials, he could make it directly. Then, with a thought, he instantly learned the [Defense Potion (small)] recipe. Now, he had mastered the method for making two kinds of potions. Too bad he lacked materials¡­ Chapter 106 - Chapter 106: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Seeking Chapter 106: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Tickets)¡ª3 Translator: 549690339 1 But the Rush Right Arm and the Food Compressor blueprints are different, as using them consumes the blueprint. Each blueprint can only create one item. In other words, once the item is crafted, the blueprint is gone. The third thing that the stubborn armor zombie dropped also belongs to this kind¡ª [Stubborn Armor Blueprint: Forgeable: a double-sided chest armor, materials needed: Iron Block*2, Steel Wire*2, Screw*2, Rope*2, Nails*2, Rubber*2, Plastic*2, Cable*2, Electronic Components*2, Battery*2] [Stubborn Armor: Very resilient and can withstand blades and gunfire. Durability+20, defensive power+20] Wang Tao felt that the materials required for this piece of armor blueprint were roughly the same as those for the Rush Right Arm and even the description was similar. However, its attributes were twice that of the Rush Right Arm. Wang Tao checked the materials in his Space Backpack. The zombies he had previously killed had just provided enough. So with a thought from Wang Tao, the Stubborn Armor Blueprint along with various materials appeared in his hand. ¡°Forgeable¡± also appeared on the Stubborn Armor Blueprint. Confirm crafting! All materials instantly turned into streams of light and entered the blueprint. With a flash of light, a matte black double-sided chest armor appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s this?¡± Ding Yuqin, who was lying on top of Wang Tao, suddenly felt a flash of light. She turned her head and saw the pitch-black armor in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°Nice stuff.¡± Wang Tao patted Ding Yuqin, signaling her to get up. Then, he put on the armor. Like the Rush Right Arm, the armor was adjustable. Wang Tao made some minor adjustments, and it fit his body very well. The material of the armor was a bit different from that of the arm guards; it wasn¡¯t as hard but had some flexibility to it. It didn¡¯t hinder his movements much after he put it on. ¡°Not bad at all!¡± Wang Tao was very satisfied with this item. As for its defensive power, there was no need for testing¡ªhe was certain it would be better than a bulletproof vest. This Stubborn Armor would now be his go-to gear. As for the bulletproof vest he was wearing, Wang Tao directly handed it to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Put the bulletproof vest on later.¡± If Wang Tao wore both layers, it would hinder his movements too much, which made the vest perfect for Ding Yuqin. ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin happily accepted it. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower; sis, come scrub my back.¡± Wang Tao took off the armor and headed to the bathroom. ¡°Oh, oh!¡± Ding Yuqin hurriedly followed him. After showering, the two ate something simple and then started packing up. Wang Tao planned to leave early the next morning, so he had to get everything ready in advance. ¡°There¡¯s quite a lot of stuff¡­¡± Looking at the list of items sorted out, Wang Tao felt a bit of a headache. In this post-apocalyptic world, many things have become worthless, like real estate and finance. But there were also many items no longer producible, and even if he didn¡¯t need them now, they were still valuable. These were the things Wang Tao had collected with great effort, and he was reluctant to throw them away. But with so much, his car could not accommodate them all¡­ After some thought, Wang Tao decided to take the pickup truck as well. Both vehicles could almost carry all these items. As for the noise issue with the pickup truck, it wasn¡¯t too bad. The rain outside was heavy, and if he was careful, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. After all, some people from Shuize Base went out in gasoline vehicles. Picking and choosing, he kept sorting things out until nightfall, finally managing to fill both vehicles. ¡°We are leaving now; suddenly feeling a bit reluctant¡­ Wang Tao looked out at the rain and felt a pang of regret. Ding Yuqin snuggled up to Wang Tao without a word. She did not feel any reluctance; in fact, she wanted to leave as soon as possible to start a new life with Wang Tao. ¡°But home is safe for now. To just walk away from here seems wasteful¡­ Maybe it should be transformed a little, into a temporary safe house!¡± After all, Happy Community had been the place where Wang Tao managed to survive for a month after the apocalypse began. Leaving it behind now seemed a waste. Shuize Base people would set up temporary safe houses outside the base. In case of danger or needing to spend the night somewhere, they would rather stay in these safe houses than in an unfamiliar place. No sooner had he thought this than Wang Tao began planning with Ding Yuqin how to transform the place into a temporary safe house. After all no one else would be living here from now on, so Wang Tao needed to ensure that zombies couldn¡¯t get in, and he had to prevent other survivors from taking over the place. After all, it was his own house, and he was not that generous to share with others. After some discussion, they decided to turn Building No. 4 into a temporary safe house. The whole community was too big for him to handle, and there was no need. Not to mention that the community¡¯s walls couldn¡¯t keep out the mad demon zombies that could climb. Wang Tao originally planned to leave the next morning, but because of the work on the temporary safe house, he was delayed another day. After a whole day¡¯s work, he finally completed the temporary safe house. Almost all the windows of Building No. 4 were sealed from the inside, except for two that looked almost sealed. These were left as an exit for Wang Tao- only accessible through there, as he had sealed the doors to the building¡¯s units from the inside as well. If he could pick locks, so could others; by sealing the door, no amount of skill could open it. Then there was the rooftop. He placed things like metal barrels and some wood up there. If mad demon zombies climbed up, he could light a fire and drive them back. As for the interior, naturally, he left behind some supplies that were a waste to eat but too good to discard¡­ On the third day, at noon. ¡°Let¡¯s go, time to set off.¡± Chapter 107 - Chapter 107: Chapter 88 The Murderer (Please support with a monthly ticket) _1 Chapter 107: Chapter 88 The Murderer (Please support with a monthly ticket) _1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°I, I¡¯m a little scared¡­¡± Ding Yuqin sat in the driver¡¯s seat of the pickup truck, looking somewhat afraid. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, just follow me. Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao smacked her on the buttocks firmly. With two vehicles to manage, Ding Yuqin had to drive one of them. Wang Tao had made some modifications to this pickup truck, adding steel plates to the outside and iron wire to the windows. As long as they didn¡¯t run into any particularly formidable special infected zombies, the safety was not an issue. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Although Ding Yuqin was scared, she also knew that it was just the two of them, and someone had to drive. Leading the way was more dangerous, so her following in the other car was relatively safe. Wang Tao led the way in the off-road vehicle, with Ding Yuqin closely following behind, slowly leaving Happy Community. Wang Tao had originally planned to think of a way to deal with the two special infected zombies they encountered on their way back, but now with an extra vehicle, he thought better of it. He decided to deal with them later. Nevertheless, Wang Tao still passed by the area where they had seen the special infected zombies, taking a look to see how these two zombies were doing. ¡°Eh? They¡¯ve split up!¡± Through his binoculars, Wang Tao observed that the Self-exploder and the Terrorizer were no longer together; the two were tens of meters apart. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s sharp eyesight, he might have missed them. ¡°To do it or not to do it¡­ Let¡¯s do it!¡± Seeing a rare opportunity, Wang Tao decided to give it a try. Otherwise, he didn¡¯t know when he would next encounter a Terrorizer. ¡°Sister-in-law, wait in the car for me. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Wang Tao instructed Ding Yuqin over the walkie-talkie. ¡°Ah? Oh¡­ okay!¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t dare to ask more questions. Wang Tao, carrying a firefighter axe, braved the heavy rain and approached the tall Terrorizer on the street. Even though the Self-exploder zombies were easier to deal with, they were too noisy. It was better to deal with the Terrorizer first; as for the Self-exploder, he would ignore it for now. Just as when he hunted down stubborn zombies before, Wang Tao first dealt with the ordinary zombies surrounding the area before taking on the Terrorizer in a one-on-one fight. However, this Terrorizer¡¯s senses were sharper than those of the stubborn zombies, and it quickly detected Wang Tao. Handling the Terrorizer was something Wang Tao was getting quite good at. While dodging its attacks, he took the opportunity to kill all the ordinary zombies in the vicinity. Bang! The Terrorizer¡¯s hammer swing missed once more, and the shockwave didn¡¯t hit Wang Tao either. Wang Tao looked at the zombie, with the corner of his mouth slightly raised. Now that he had improved in all aspects of his strength, he wondered how much of an advantage he had over this Terrorizer! Taking advantage of the Terrorizer¡¯s momentary stiffness after its attack, Wang Tao surged forward, swinging the firefighter axe in his right hand viciously toward the Terrorizer¡¯s head. [-311] [1689/2000] The power behind that strike surprised Wang Tao. He was not clear at the moment how high his damage was. He had wanted to test it on the stubborn zombie, but its defensive power was too high. He could hardly make a dent, so there was no way to test it. As for the ordinary zombies, they were all killed with one axe swing, so there was no way to test on them either. Now, hitting this Terrorizer, Wang Tao finally had a rough idea of his own lethality ¡ª in the past, his pistol would cause 300 damage attacking the Terrorizer¡¯s head, and now, one swing of his axe also dealt roughly 300 damage! That meant, his full-power strike was now comparable to the power of a bullet from his pistol, possibly even higher. After all, this Terrorizer had more HP, and its defensive power might be stronger¡­ While pondering this in his mind, Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop his movements. He dodged its attacks and struck its head vigorously with his axe. In less than thirty seconds, while dodging the attacks, Wang Tao successfully struck six axe blows to its head. Sputter! [-410] [0/2000] The Rioters zombie fell to its knees, and a purple zombie crystal core popped out from its skull. Wang Tao caught it casually and then picked up the spoils dropped by the Terrorizer, as well as the weapon that fell. Wang Tao glanced at his HP, adding 50, now showing [1150/1150]. [Received: 2 small Strength Potions] [Received: 1 Reinforced Concrete Street Light] The two strength potions were quite good. This street light, like the Reinforced Concrete Hammer, could also be stored in the Space Backpack. Then came the crystal core. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡ö Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: sensitivity to light)] The luck wasn¡¯t bad¡ªit was an excellent quality crystal core. Wang Tao felt around the zombie¡¯s body, and finding nothing but a crushed box of cigarettes, there was nothing else. At this moment, the Self-exploder zombie seemed to have heard something and started to move slowly towards Wang Tao¡¯s location. Wang Tao decisively retreated. Having dealt with the Terrorizer, there was no need to confront the Self-exploder. If it attracted a swarm of zombies, it would be impossible to leave. Quickly getting back to his vehicle, Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin over the walkie-talkie: ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The two vehicles hit the road again, this time without stopping, they smoothly arrived at Shuize Base. Seeing the fence surrounded by barbed wire, the soldiers fully armed on the watchtowers, and the sturdy gates, Ding Yuqin felt a surge of excitement. At last, they had arrived at the Survivor Base! As their vehicle approached the gate, the doors of the base slowly opened. A few fully armed soldiers saluted Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle. Having become a member of the base¡¯s committee, everyone was sure to remember things associated with him, like his vehicle. However, the necessary inspection still had to be done, which was indeed essential. After all, if there were zombies hiding under the car, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be able to see them. Although zombies didn¡¯t have such intelligence yet, it was better to be cautious. Chapter 108 - Chapter 108: Chapter 88: The Murderer (Please Support with Monthly Votes)_2 Chapter 108: Chapter 88: The Murderer (Please Support with Monthly Votes)_2 Translator: 549690339 Two cars drove under the canopy, and Wang Tao called out to Ding Yuqin to get out of the car. Ding Yuqin hurried over and stood closely by Wang Tao¡¯s side, curiously taking in her surroundings. ¡°Commissioner Wang, good to see you!¡± A few soldiers saluted Wang Tao, which surprised Ding Yuqin. She was still unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s status at the base. Little did she know the soldiers were just as surprised; they thought Commissioner Wang was impressive, managing to bring back such a beautiful woman after just one trip! ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then took out a pack of cigarettes and offered them to the men. Although he was now a member of the base¡¯s committee, Wang Tao was still quite approachable. After all, these soldiers were the backbone of the base, and it was necessary to show them respect. ¡°Thanks, Commissioner Wang!¡± The soldiers accepted the cigarettes, but their expressions were not very joyful. ¡°Has something happened at the base?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. ¡°The committee just announced that Commissioner Song Jinghong has encountered an unforeseen event¡­¡± One of the soldiers began to explain. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback. Previously, everyone had suspected that something had happened to Song Jinghong, but there had been no proof. And it was also possible that he was just hiding somewhere, not necessarily in trouble. But now that it was announced, it meant that evidence of Song Jinghong¡¯s death had been found. The death of a committee member, especially one so well-regarded, saddened everyone for Song Jinghong¡¯s passing. ¡°Commissioner Wang, we¡¯ve finished checking everything. There are no zombies hidden in or around your vehicle! Neither you nor your companion have any issues with your eyes.¡± The inspecting soldier hastened to report. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then gestured for Ding Yuqin to get back in the car. Soon, the two vehicles arrived at the committee members¡¯ living area, stopping in front of Building 8. After getting out, Wang Tao called over a few guards to help him move things. Wang Tao was an approachable person, but he saw no reason to spurn the power at his disposal. The guards were shocked and envious when they saw the fresh green chives on the pickup truck; it was just like Commissioner Wang to manage to find such good stuff on an outing! They, the ordinary folk, eating gruel every day, had almost forgotten what vegetables tasted like¡­ While the guards were busy moving things, Ding Yuqin approached Wang Tao and asked softly with curiosity: ¡°Wang Tao, what is your status at the base? Why do they all respect you so much? I see they all address you as Commissioner Wang. What is a commissioner?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, just one of the eight highest-ranking people in the entire base.¡± Wang Tao replied with a somewhat boastful smile. ¡°Wow!¡± exclaimed Ding Yuqin, both surprised and then finding it reasonable. After all, she knew how powerful Wang Tao was. Plus, Wang Tao was an Ability User, so it was not surprising for him to be one of the leaders of a Survivor Base. Once everything had been moved into the house, Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin: ¡°See how you can arrange these things later; I¡¯m heading to the main building.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin happily began planning their small home while Wang Tao drove to the main building. In a large conference room on the second floor, Wang Tao joined Wei Zhenguo and others, including Han Rui and some officials in key positions. Everyone¡¯s expression was rather somber, with a mix of sadness and anger. Especially Han Rui¡ªher eyes were swollen, as if she had cried a long time. ¡°WangTao, you¡¯ve returned!¡± Wei Zhenguo, sitting in a wheelchair, waved him over. Beside him was a seat reserved for Wang Tao. On his other side sat a young man in a military uniform, whom Wang Tao didn¡¯t recognize. He was certainly one of the committee members, Lu Gang. His HP bar read! 535/535], no Hidden Attributes, no mana bar, and no impurities. ¡°This is Lu Gang, who just returned this morning.¡± ¡°This is Wang Tao, the new member of our base¡¯s committee.¡± Wei Zhenguo introduced Wang Tao and Lu Gang to each other. ¡°Hello!¡± The two shook hands, and Wang Tao could clearly feel the calluses on Lu Gang¡¯s hands¡ªmarked by a life fed with bullets. Lu Gang, on the other hand, gave Wang Tao¡¯s physique an extra glance, with a hint of envy in his eyes. ¡°Is there confirmed news about Commissioner Song Jinghong¡¯s situation?¡± Wang Tao asked Wei Zhenguo. ¡°There is¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo looked toward Lu Gang, who spoke with a sad tone: ¡°I sawOld Song¡¯s body yesterday¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? A body?¡± Wang Tao frowned. In this post-apocalyptic world, the dead typically turned into zombies or became zombie fodder. Encountering a mere body¡­ was rather rare. ¡°Yes, a body. Old Song was dismembered; I could only find his head and one arm¡­¡± Lu Gang clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with fury. ¡°What!¡± Wang Tao was shocked and his face also showed anger. Zombies wouldn¡¯t dismember victims; this was definitely the work of a survivor! ¡°His head was hanging from a telephone pole, surrounded by zombies, so I couldn¡¯t take it with me. I found his hand on a rooftop¡­¡± ¡°Wuuu¡­¡± Han Rui covered her mouth, weeping. Song Jinghong had been more than just her senior leader¡ªhe was her teacher, her family. With her parents already dead, her closest teacher had also died, and not just any death but a brutal one¡­ Even the usually strong-willed her couldn¡¯t hold back her tears. Bang! Xiang Hongbin slammed his hand on the table, his gaze fierce. ¡°Damn it, if I find out who did this, I¡¯ll flay them alive!¡± The others also had faces full of anger. If it had been an attack by zombies, it would have been a matter of being outmatched and they could only take out their anger on zombies. But an attack by survivors? That was utterly unacceptable! Chapter 109 - Chapter 109: Chapter 88 The Murderer (Please support with a monthly ticket) 3 Chapter 109: Chapter 88 The Murderer (Please support with a monthly ticket) 3 Translator: 549690339 Especially Song Jinghong, he was unlike the others, revered both before and after the apocalypse. It was impossible for him to have offended anyone. His recent outing was solely to save survivors! He could have stayed back, but he chose to go anyway. To think that such a man was murdered, even dismembered and hung on a utility pole¡­ This is the work of a beast! ¡°Whether for Old Song himself or for us at the Suize Survivor Base, this is unforgivable!¡± Ren Jie rapped on the table, his tone chilling. Song Jinghong was a commissioner of the Shuize Base, representing not just himself but the entire base. Such an act was a provocation¡ªno, it was a declaration of war against the Shuize Base! We must avenge Song Jinghong; blood for blood! ¡°When do we act? I certainly won¡¯t be absent!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fists. Now that he was a commissioner of the Shuize Base, it was natural for him to take action. Although he had no personal connection with Song Jinghong, even never having met him, he couldn¡¯t tolerate such acts. If he didn¡¯t show some resolve now, people might think the Shuize Base was afraid! However, after Wang Tao said this, he discovered a hint of embarrassment on everyone¡¯s faces. Lu Gang shook his head. ¡°But we don¡¯t know who killed Old Song, and we haven¡¯t found any survivor camps nearby¡­¡± Indeed, it was the apocalypse now. Zombies were everywhere, and survivors were scarce, let alone murderers. Unless someone witnessed the act, it would be tough to find them. This is likely to become an unsolved case. Everyone was frustrated, knowing full well that Song Jinghong was murdered, yet they couldn¡¯t even find the culprit. ¡°Where did you find Commissioner Song¡¯s body?¡± Wang Tao asked, frowning. ¡°Right at the intersection of Evergreen Road and Xingguo Road¡­¡± Lu Gang pointed at a spot on the map placed on the table. ¡°Here?¡± Wang Tao suddenly paused, then as if remembering something, asked urgently, ¡°What was Commissioner Song¡¯s badge number?¡± Everyone seemed confused; no one had made a point to remember it. But Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an spoke up simultaneously: ¡°8¡­¡± Upon hearing the number, Wang Tao fished into his pocket, pulled out a metal number tag, and laid it on the table. Everyone¡¯s breath hitched. Because the number on the metal tag matched the number Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an had said! ¡°Is this Old Song¡¯s badge?!¡± Wei Zhenguo looked urgently at Wang Tao, ¡°How did it end up with you? Where did you find this¡­¡± Everyone¡¯s gaze shifted nervously toward Wang Tao. It wasn¡¯t that they suspected Wang Tao of being the murderer; after all, the timing and his motive didn¡¯t align. What they wanted to know was whether the badge had been found somewhere. If so, that could provide a lead to the murderer! ¡°So it seems¡­ it must be them!¡± Wang Tao tapped on the table, then explained to everyone, ¡°In an old mall¡­¡± He roughly recounted his visit to the mall, omitting the gory details of his zombie-killing but covering everything else that happened there. That included his chance sighting of the badge number, his suspicion that the other party had a gun, and that the mall was ravaged by a special zombie. After hearing this, Xiang Hongbin slammed his hand on the table. ¡°It has to be them! Old Song¡¯sbadge was with them, and from what you said, they also seemed to be hiding something¡­ They¡¯re clearly guilty!¡± The others were also filled with anger. This was a group Wang Tao had encountered a few days ago, and the old mall was near Evergreen Road, and that group surely wasn¡¯t up to any good. They now had the time, the location, and even a motive¡ªthey might have coveted Song Jinghong¡¯s gun or his supplies¡ª which was enough to make them prime suspects! ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m going to take them out right now!¡± Xiang Hongbin was impulsive. He rose to leave but was stopped by Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Wait! Didn¡¯t Wang Tao just mention that there was a huge zombie, three or four meters tall, that nearly destroyed the building? What if you startle the zombies there, do you think you can handle them?¡± Xiang Hongbin hesitated, having momentarily forgotten about that. If he indeed encountered this unknown zombie, he wasn¡¯t confident in his ability to defeat it. ¡°We must plan carefully. After all, they likely have guns, and there¡¯s a terrifying zombie lurking there¡­ We have already lost two main fighters in just a few days; we can¡¯t afford any more injuries!¡± This made Xiang Hongbin¡¯s expression darken even more since one of those losses had a direct connection to him. He wanted to vent his anger! ¡°Alright, you all can leave now. We need to discuss this among ourselves.¡± Ren Jie waved his hand. ¡°Yes!¡± The others promptly stood up and left. They had summoned so many people in hopes of gleaning any clues. Now that they had one, it was time to formulate a plan of action, and the commissioners alone were enough for that. After rising, Han Rui did not leave immediately but approached Wang Tao, her expression a mix of anger and pleading: ¡°Wang Tao, Commissioner Wang, please let me join the mission. I want to avenge Old Song with my own hands! Please!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll consider it.¡± Wang Tao nodded, neither agreeing nor outright refusing. ¡°Thank you!¡± Han Rui brought her hands together in gratitude toward Wang Tao. Once everyone left, only the seven commissioners remained in the meeting room. Lu Gang spoke without hesitation: ¡± I can lead this mission. As long as we know their exact location, I can snipe them directly!¡± ¡°Noway!¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head firmly, ¡°It¡¯s too risky! You were just saying this morning how dangerous it is to fire a gun outside, as it could attract Mad Demon Zombies¡­ Besides, they may not be near the windows, and you may not have a shot for a clean kill.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Lu Gang¡¯s face contorted with discontent. Wei Zhenguo turned to Wang Tao to explain: ¡°Lu Gang reported this morning that sniping special zombies has become much more difficult. Wherever he shoots, Mad Demon Zombies appear, so the idea of sniping the murderer¡­ it doesn¡¯t seem suitable¡­¡± ¡°Snipe them? That would be letting them off easy! If you ask me, I should lead the assault, storm in directly!¡± Wang Tao sneered coldly. ¡°What?¡± The others were somewhat shocked. The adversaries had the high ground and were armed. Wasn¡¯t Wang Tao being too reckless? Life isn¡¯t a game; you only have one! ¡°Although¡­ my strength still lacks somewhat.¡± Wang Tao shook his head regretfully, ¡°If only I had some more Zombie Cores to enhance my strength¡­ that would be more reassuring!¡± Chapter 110 - Chapter 110: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 1 Chapter 110: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 1 Translator: 549690339 , ¡°Zombie Cores enhance strength? We have Zombie Cores?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Lu Gang blurted out without thinking. ¡°Can I use them?¡± Wang Tao looked towards the other few people. The committee members exchanged glances with each other, and Wei Zhengu opened his mouth to say: ¡°You¡¯re also a committee member, so naturally, you can use them, as long as most people agree. However¡­¡± Ren Jie continued: ¡°However, these Zombie Cores were not obtained easily. We can¡¯t waste them and we can¡¯t let a single person use them all. So¡­ ahem, please be a bit more ¡¯ conservative.¡± The other committee members also expressed their opinions. The use of the Zombie Cores could currently only be decided by the committee, but they shouldn¡¯t be used haphazardly. Wang Tao could certainly use them, after all he was a committee member. But he couldn¡¯t take them all for himself. Even if he was the only Ability User right now, the cores couldn¡¯t be given to him exclusively. ¡°Haha, rest assured on that matter!¡± Seeing that everyone had no objections, Wang Tao felt somewhat happy and he explained with a smile: ¡°Even as an Ability User, not all Zombie Cores can be used; it¡¯s best to use the same type. One person might be able to merge many cores of the same type, but definitely can¡¯t merge too many of different types. So even if I wanted to use many cores, I couldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Everyone suddenly understood. Wang Tao took the opportunity to tell them about the situation with Zombie Cores and Ability Users. In the future, if they became Ability Users, they would definitely discover these things. Wang Tao was just offering them a favor. After all, they had agreed to let him use the Zombie Cores, so he should at least show some gratitude. The committee members all pricked up their ears to listen to WangTao¡¯s popular science lesson, as it was a rare opportunity. ¡°I want to become an Ability User too! Even if there are side effects, it¡¯s still better than being an ordinary person!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an clenched his fists. ¡°That¡¯s only natural.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°You guys discuss first, I¡¯ll go get the Zombie Cores.¡± Lu Gang stood up and left the meeting room. In Shuize Base, most of the Zombie Cores had been hunted by Lu Gang given that he had always specifically hunted special zombies. Thus, he managed the cores. It had to be said, the trust everyone placed in Lu Gang was substantial, which also proved that his integrity was commendable. Moreover, WangTao noticed that there were no impurities in his body! This meant that despite having hunted so many special zombies, he had never merged even a single Crystal Core! One had to say, such self-restraint was really impressive! Soon, Lu Gang came back carrying a backpack. ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s very difficult to collect Zombie Cores now¡­ All the cores of our base are here¡­¡± Lu Gang sighed. Before the emergence of Mad Demon Zombies, he could snipe special zombies from a distance and retreat before zombies arrived. As long as the escape route was prepared in advance, there would be no problem. But now, that was no longer possible. Mad Demon Zombies were simply everywhere! If you prepared in advance, you could also retreat, but the risk was still too great. Yesterday, after he sniped a special zombie, he was surrounded by arriving Mad Demons, and if not for his two assistants, he might have already been done for¡­ Wang Tao took the backpack and opened it in front of everyone. Gurgle- Upon seeing the Zombie Cores in the backpack, everyone instinctively swallowed. As an Ability User who had seen many Zombie Cores, Wang Tao appeared much calmer than them. However, upon seeing the Cores inside, Wang Tao became slightly agitated. Good lord, no wonder their fusion experiments failed several times-all seven Zombie Cores here were of White Ordinary Quality. The fusion success rate of White Ordinary Crystal Cores was 20%, so it made sense that not a single attempt had succeeded. ¡°Oh right, I got another Crystal Core yesterday, I forgot to take it out of the car but that one is blue¡­¡± ¡¯ Lu Gang went out again, and before long, he walked in with a blue Crystal Core. Wang Tao really looked at Lu Gang with new respect. To hold a Crystal Core in his hands and have the discipline not to use it¡­ Wang Tao himself hadn¡¯t been able to resist. ¡°You really are impressive, to be able to hold out like that¡­¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. Upon hearing this, Lu Gang smiled and shook his head. ¡°Back when I carried out missions, I could lie in one spot for 24 hours without moving much. The temptation of a Zombie Core really isn¡¯t that big a deal for me.¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± No wonder everyone agreed to let Lu Gang manage the Zombie Cores-his self-discipline was strong. When Wang Tao saw the Crystal Core in Lu Gang¡¯s hand, his face lit up with joy. It was a Shockwave Crystal Core! [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Sensitivity to light)] Today, Wang Tao had killed a Terrorizer Zombie on his way back, obtaining an [Excellent (60%)] Quality Core! Didn¡¯t this mean he could merge an Epic Crystal Core without any side effects! ¡°I need this Core!¡± Wang Tao spoke up directly. ¡°Sure.¡± Lu Gang handed over the Shockwave Crystal Core to Wang Tao, then he asked curiously: Why is this Crystal Core blue, while the others are white?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯ t hide anything, explaining: Because the blue one has a higher fusion success rate.¡± ¡°How much higher?¡± The others looked somewhat excited, if the success rate was high, didn¡¯t it mean they too had a chance of becoming Ability Users? However, WangTao¡¯s next words left them somewhat disappointed. Chapter 111 - Chapter 111: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 2 Chapter 111: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 2 Translator: 549690339 The success rate of fusing White Zombie Cores is roughly 20%, and these are the lowest quality cores. For blue ones, it¡¯s 40%¡­ Don¡¯t ask howl know, once you become Ability Users, you¡¯ll just sense it.¡± Wang Tao certainly couldn¡¯t explain his special ability, so he attributed everything to being an Ability User. If others couldn¡¯ t discover it after becoming Ability Users themselves, then it could only be said that people are different¡­ ¡°Only 40%!¡± Ren Jie shook his head. A probability of less than 50% didn¡¯t seem high. Of course, that was still much better than the 20% for White ones. It was only then that everyone understood why Wang Tao¡¯s expression had been a bit strange just now. It turned out that all the Zombie Cores they had were of the lowest quality¡­ There are even higher-quality cores, with Purple ones at 60%, Red at 80% and Orange at 100%!¡± *Hiss¡ª* ¡°So you¡¯re saying, if I can get an Orange Zombie Core, my chances of becoming an Ability User are 100%?¡± Lu Gang was somewhat excited. Although he had strong self-control, this didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t want to become an Ability User. The main reason for his self-control was that he wasn¡¯t sure if there were any downsides to eating these Zombie Cores-fortunately, he hadn¡¯t eaten any, as he had learned from Wei Zhenguo that the cores all contained impurities which would accumulate whether the fusion was successful or not! ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Tao nodded, then added, ¡°So I suggest, if you all really want to try fusing with Zombie Cores to become Ability Users, it¡¯s best to choose Purple Red, or Orange ones.¡± ¡¯ ¡°What kind of core did you fuse with when you gained your ability?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked curiously. ¡°Orange.¡± Wang Tao had indeed fused with an Orange core, albeit through the synthesis of two cores. ¡°No wonder!¡± The crowd suddenly realized why none of them had gained an ability from their experiments while Wang Tao had-turns out he used a core with a 100% fusion success rate! So, do you ail still agree to let me use this core?¡± Wang Tao displayed the Blue Crystal Core in his hand. Everyone nodded in agreement. Although the success rate of Blue Crystal Cores was higher than that of White ones, a probability of 40% was still low. An unsuccessful fusion with a Zombie Core could lead to accumulation of impurities in the body, which could eventually turn someone into a zombie! It was a bit risky, and even Xiang Hongbin, who had already fused with a Zombie Core, wanted to play it safe this time. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take it then.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then cast his gaze once more upon the other Zombie Cores which he had not yet had the chance to properly examine. There were a total of seven Zombie Cores, including three [Level 1 Crystal Cores ¨C Self Detonation], one [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Glutton], one [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Toughness], one [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Self-healing], and one [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Rush]. Apart from ¡°Self-healing,¡± Wang Tao had seen all of the others. And it seemed that, except for Self Detonation and Glutton, he could use the rest! ¡°Cough, to be honest with you guys, I¡¯ve found that these cores seem to be useful to me¡­¡± Everyone: Zem all? S¡ãme th6m? Wang Ta¡ã thinking ¡ãf taking Even though these were just White Rank, Ordinary Zombie Cores, it still wasn¡¯t right to take them all away. Besides, everyone would definitely not agree to it. However, Wang Tao quickly added: ¡°Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be right for me to take all of them, so how about I take two more? What do you think?¡± *Phew¡ª* Upon hearing that Wang Tao would take only two more, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Sure!¡± Wei Zhenguo was the first to nod, and the others also expressed their agreement. Counting the Blue Crystal Core from before, that made a total of eight cores Wang Tao would be taking three-he was taking many, but for them, it was still acceptable. It was better than Wang Tao taking them all. Wang Tao naturally chose [Iron Skin] and [Self-healing] as the two additional cores. He had obtained an ¡°Excellent (80%)¡± Toughness core the day before. Coupled wtth this ¡°Ordinary (20%)¡± one, he could now create an Epic Crystal Core. Getting two Epic Crystal Cores in one day felt great! As for the [Self-healing], while Wang Tao didn¡¯t need it immediately, it represented a significant Ability! [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Self-healing] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Reduced tactile sensation)] [Self-healing: Over a duration, allows slow recovery from certain injuries] If he gamed the Self-healing ability, combined with Iron Skin, wouldn¡¯t he become an indestructible cockroach? But the specifics would only be known after gaining the ability. For now, he¡¯d keep the core, which might come in handy later. As for the [Rush] Crystal Core, although Wang Tao could use it, his current Rush Crystal Core was of ¡°Excellent (60%)¡± Quality. Even adding this Core would only make it 80%, not the 100% Epic Quality. Naturally, he would not use it. He didn¡¯t want to accumulate impurities within his body. After taking the two Zombie Cores, Wang Tao asked about the specifics of this Self-healing zombie, in case he had the chance to encounter it in the future and needed to be cautious. Lu Gang told him it was an obese zombie. When he had sniped it before, he thought he had killed it each time, but it didn¡¯t die. It took several shots to finally kill it¡­ Wang Tao mentally noted the appearance of this particular zombie to be wary in the future. Of course, Wang Tao also inquired about the origin of the Iron Skin Zombie Core. They had encountered a large horde of zombies half a month ago and killed them just by spraying them with gunfire. The Defense was high on the tough ones, but they couldn¡¯t withstand a barrage of bullets. Chapter 112 - Chapter 112: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Chapter 112: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 3 Translator: 549690339 As for the Self-Destruct Crystal Core, these were obtained in recent days, and Lu Gang hasn¡¯t yet remembered to inform the base about the information on Suicide Bombing Zombies. Otherwise, Xiang Hongbin wouldn¡¯t have been so unlucky. Wang Tao, you have to tell us, what are the functions of these Zombie Cores?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an suddenly said. Everyone turned their gaze to Wang Tao, as they had some guesses about the abilities of these Zombie Cores, but after all, they were not very certain. Alright. First, I¡¯ll talk about the three Crystal Cores I took, which are Shockwave, Toughness, and Self-healing¡­¡± Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. Besides a more detailed explanation of Shockwave, he didn¡¯t say much about Toughness and Self-healing, since he hadn¡¯t learned them himself. Moreover, he said these were deductions made from the Zombie Cores¡¯ characteristics, which might not be accurate. Everyone was a bit bewildered because aside from the Shockwave Crystal Core, which clearly had a moving ripple inside, the Toughness Crystal Core had a small black figure inside, and the Self-healing Crystal Core had a green seed inside¡­ How could one deduce their uses from that? However, Wang Tao was an Ability User, and they were not, so what Wang Tao said was taken as authoritative, and they couldn¡¯t refute it. ¡°As for the remaining few Crystal Cores, they are Self-Destruct, Rush and Glutton¡­¡± After listening to Wang Tao¡¯s explanation for these three Crystal Cores, several people looked at each other with uncertainty. Rush was understandable, as this Ability seemed similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Shockwave and was an offensive ability. But Glutton and Self-Destruct were just absurd. Especially Self-Destruct, even if one learned this ability, one could only use it once in a lifetime¡­ ¡°Could we consider creating some suicide bombers?¡± Xiang Hongbin suddenly spoke up. Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and Wei Zhenguo glared at Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Impossible, we¡¯re losing soldiers as it is! They¡¯re precious!¡± ¡°Cough, I wasn¡¯t talking about our soldiers¡­¡± Everyone fell into silence. ¡°If we encounter insurmountable difficulties, having suicide bombers might change the outcome¡­ I¡¯ve seen the power of Suicide Bombing Zombies, they¡¯re comparable to a small bomb¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin noticed nobody was speaking and shook his head. ¡®???Forget it, it¡¯s impractical. Nobody wants to be a suicide bomber it has to be voluntary. Survivors don¡¯t have that awareness, although we do¡­ but we don¡¯t have enough people, sigh!¡± Wang Tao wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead. Good grief, they were actually considering suicide bombers? He¡¯d thought that the Self-Destruct Crystal Core was useless¡­ Indeed, he had been thinking too small! ¡°As for Glutton, it could also be a good ability. If someone could gain this ability, couldn¡¯t they become like a human shield?¡± But it can¡¯t defend against the zombie virus, and to sustain a Glutton, our base¡¯s food might not be sufficient¡­¡± ¡°¡­Alright then, they all seem powerful, but also have big limitations!¡± Xiang Hongbin sighed. The information I have on Zombie Cores is just as I¡¯ve said. If you get any Zombie Cores in the future and want to fuse them, I suggest you show them to me first so I can give you some advice¡­¡± Wang Tao spread his hands. ¡°Of course!¡± Everyone nodded. Even if Wang Tao hadn¡¯t mentioned it, they would¡¯ve done the same. After all, having a living Ability User amongst them, it was natural to seek his counsel on issues. ¡°Alright then, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be on my way. I¡¯ll see if I can fuse with this Shockwave Crystal Core; if I can, my strength should increase substantially¡­¡± ¡°Great! We¡¯ll wait for your good news!¡± Everyone nodded. After Wang Tao left, they all looked at the Zombie Cores on the table, swallowing hard. Xiang Hongbin looked at Wei Zhenguo and said: ¡°Old Wei, do you think we should start focusing on hunting special zombies? I want to become an Ability User too!¡± Wei Zhenguo was conflicted. ¡°Killing special zombies is too risky¡­ but we do need to enhance our strength! Who knows if there will be other freaky zombies showing up¡­¡± The zombies outside now, I feel, have already gotten stronger! In the past, when I hunted special zombies, one shot to the head would do it, but now it¡¯ takes two or three shots! Not to mention those Mad Demon Zombies, which make it so I can¡¯t even snipe properly¡­¡± ¡°I should discuss this with Wang Tao later¡­¡± On his way home, Wang Tao synthesized the [Iron Skin] and [Shockwave] zombie cores he had placed in his Space Backpack. A moment later, he obtained two orange Epic Crystal Cores! [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (no side effects)] [Level 1 Crystal Core-Iron Skin] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (no side effects)] Looking at these two orange crystal cores, Wang Tao felt elated. Joining Shuize Base was indeed the right decision; otherwise, it would have taken him much more time to collect the crystal cores on his own. He returned to Building 8, where Ding Yuqin was wearing an apron and cooking dinner. ¡°Wang Tao, dinner will be ready soon!¡± ¡°Okay. But I¡¯m going to merge with a zombie core, so don¡¯t disturb me.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Wang Tao went back to his room, then took out the Orange Shockwave Crystal Core and, without any hesitation, tossed it into his mouth. Instantly, a warm sensation emerged in his body and then disappeared, similar to the last time. Wang Tao checked his attributes. There were no changes elsewhere, just that his mana increased by 100, now totaling 200. Merger with a single zombie core increases mana by too?¡± As for whether the Shockwave ability had strengthened, he would have to test it. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go to test it right away but instead took out another Orange Toughness Crystal Core and threw it into his mouth. ¡°Whew¡ª so hot¡­¡± Wang Tao felt his body getting a tad warm, but it wasn¡¯t too uncomfortable. He stripped off all his clothes and lay down on the bed for a while. Inwardly, Wang Tao felt that with his current strength, he could probably merge with only one or two more different types of zombie cores at most, otherwise there might be trouble! However, continuing to merge with the same types of cores that he had already merged with seemed to pose no problem; it felt like he could merge with many more of the same type¡­ Who knows how many minutes passed, but Wang Tao felt the heat on his body slowly dissipate, and he quickly checked his attributes again. His mana had increased by another 100, reaching 300. And a new skill ¡°Iron Skin¡± appeared in his abilities. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be any change so far¡­¡± With a thought, Wang Tao activated the Iron Skin ability. Then, he found that the skin on his body suddenly became very hard, feeling cool and stonelike to the touch, but he still had sensation; it wasn¡¯t as if he had actually turned to stone. Moreover, his agility wasn¡¯t affected at all! And of course, he didn¡¯t turn black. Wang Tao observed his mana; it was depleting by 1 point every second. In other words, his 300 mana could last for 5 minutes! Of course, that¡¯s assuming he didn¡¯t use any other abilities. ¡°This ability is interesting¡­¡± But soon, Wang Tao discovered something even more interesting. His Iron Skin could not only affect his entire body, but he could also localize it to specific body parts. After deactivating Iron Skin from his entire body, Wang Tao looked at a specific part of his body and thought. It became hard, his finger became hard. Chapter 113 - Chapter 113: Chapter 90 Assault_l Chapter 113: Chapter 90 Assault_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± When Wang Tao came out of the bedroom, Ding Yuqin hurriedly ran over and grabbed his hand, asking with some concern. ¡°Of course I¡¯m fine,¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s this? Why is it so hard?¡± Ding Yuqin was taken aback, then she held Wang Tao¡¯s hand, a curious look on her face, ¡°Your hand¡­ ¡°I¡¯ve learned a new Ability that can make some parts of the body hard. Let¡¯s try it out tonight.¡± Wang Tao poked Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek with his rigid fingers. ¡°Ah? How are we going to try it ¡ª Hey! You¡¯re so bad! Ding Yuqin¡¯s face suddenly reddened, perhaps thinking of something. She lightly punched Wang Tao¡¯s chest. ¡°I haven¡¯t even said anything yet! Sister-in-law, you sure know a lot, huh?¡± ¡°¡­You pervert! Time to eat!¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face was still red as she pulled Wang Tao to the dining table. After a simple meal, Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin. ¡°I have something else to do; you tidy up the house. If you need help, just call the guards outside.¡± ¡°Okay! I¡¯ve got to get all these leeks planted¡­¡± In the afternoon, Wang Tao went to the main building again. Only Wei Zhenguo and Ren Jie were there. ¡°You¡¯re done already? Did it go smoothly?¡± Wei Zhenguo was somewhat surprised. ¡°It¡¯s done, everything went smoothly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Then let¡¯s discuss how we¡¯re going to deal with the survivors at the old mall!¡± Wei Zhenguo used the walkie-talkie to call over the other committee members. After discussing, they decided to have Wang Tao lead the team. Wang Tao would take the lead, with the others supporting him. With Shuize Base¡¯s strength, they could easily deal with those survivors. However, the problem was that there was a particularly powerful zombie there. Judging by the way the first floor of the mall was destroyed, this zombie was too strong, and they might not be able to defeat it. Zombies don¡¯t fight with honor; they come in large groups¡­ For safety¡¯s sake, it¡¯s better not to use guns. After all, they were going for revenge, not a mutual destruction. Of course, if they didn¡¯t use guns, they had to try not to let the other side use guns as well. So, they could only have Wang Tao lead the team. Given the current situation, without the use of thermal weapons, Wang Tao was likely the strongest person in the base. He was an Ability User with combat Abilities. If he couldn¡¯t handle it, then no one else could. ¡°Wang Tao, how many people are you going to bring with you? Ren Jie asked. ¡°Just one person. The rest of you just need to back me up from the outside. Wang Tao shook his head. Going by himself or with one other person, the adversaries probably wouldn t be too vigilant. But if there were more people, it might threaten them, and that could cause them to open fire. ¡°Just two people¡­ Okay!¡± Wei Zhenguo was a bit worried, but he remembered having seen an Ability User, whose combat strength was much stronger than that of an ordinary person. Without guns, ordinary people had no chance against Ability Users. Although he had not seen Wang Tao¡¯s true strength, Wang Tao obviously wouldn¡¯t be worse than the Ability User he had seen before. ¡°Who are you bringing? Old Xiang? Little Lu?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked again. Xiang Hongbin and Lu Gang both looked at Wang Tao eagerly, wanting to try their luck. They had not yet had a chance to watch an Ability User fight; they wanted to witness it firsthand. But Wang Tao shook his head and named someone else. ¡°Han Rui.¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was taken aback. ¡°You¡¯re taking Han Rui? Is she a strong fighter?¡± Ren Jie was puzzled. ¡°Not really. It¡¯s just that I promised her the opportunity to take revenge with her own hands. You know, I knew her before and we had some ties.¡± ¡°I see¡­ No problem! As long as she doesn¡¯t object to it.¡± Wei Zhenguo nodded. Han Rui, being a detective, was capable of fighting and wouldn¡¯t slow Wang Tao down. After discussing a few more details, they decided to go the next day. The current rain made it easier to move out. If they waited for clear weather, it would be much more dangerous to go out. After confirming the plan, Wang Tao went downstairs to look for Han Rui. She was there just in time. ¡°Tomorrow, you come with me. The two of us are going to the old mall together.¡± ¡°Thankyou!¡± Han Rui wiped her swollen eyes and gratefully responded to Wang Tao before asking, ¡°Do I need to make any preparations? ¡°Just rest well and be in your best shape.¡± Wang Tao patted Han Rui¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Okay!¡± After confirming there were no issues with Han Rui, Wang Tao went back. He wasn¡¯t bringing Han Rui because she had asked for his help, but because of her Perception Ability. As the saying goes, even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength. Wang Tao knew that Cao Xin and his four men were no match for him, but he wasn¡¯t going to let his guard down. Therefore, it was necessary to bring Han Rui. At the very least, she could sense if the opponents were hiding people ready to ambush him. That night, Wang Tao didn¡¯t fulfill his promise to ¡®try it out¡¯ with Ding Yuqin. After all, there was a battle tomorrow, and it was better to conserve energy. This caused Ding Yuqin to cast somewhat resentful glances toward Wang Tao. She had been ready to receive Wang Tao¡¯s ¡¯whip¡¯, but he didn t come¡­ Wang Tao¡¯s self-control was still quite good. After exercising at night, he washed up and went to bed, rising early the next day. After finishing the breakfast carefully prepared by Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao left the house fully armed. The rain still hadn¡¯t stopped. Looking at the rain outside, Wang Tao furrowed his brow. This on-and-off rain had lasted for over a week. Although it wasn¡¯t pouring, such persistent rain had caused puddles on the road. Chapter 114 - Chapter 114: Chapter 90 Assault_2 Chapter 114: Chapter 90 Assault_2 Translator: 549690339 In some poorly drained areas of the base, it looked just like a river at first glance. Although the rain reduces the zombies¡¯ perception, too much of a good thing isn¡¯t always better¡ªconstant rain doesn¡¯t seem to be a good thing¡­ Arriving at the comprehensive building, several commissioners had already gathered. Han Rui happened to walk in with Wang Tao. Today, she wasn¡¯t wearing her police uniform but a body-hugging, deep blue dress that ended just above the knees, paired with skin-colored stockings and a pair of white sneakers. Han Rui had also styled her hair into large waves, wore light makeup, and had her lips painted a bright red¡­ Wang Tao¡¯s eyes shone bright. The old Han Rui was valiant; the current Han Rui was enchantingly attractive. Having grown used to seeing Han Rui in a police uniform, the sudden sight of her dressed up made her seem especially alluring. Han Rui confidently displayed herself in front of Wang Tao, then asked expectantly, ¡°Commissioner Wang, what do you think of my outfit today?¡± ¡°Very pretty, very feminine!¡± Wang Tao responded without hesitation. Han Rui blushed and quickly said, ¡°¡­Ahem, what I meant to ask was, if I wear this to the old shopping mall, they shouldn¡¯t suspect me, right? It wasn¡¯t easy finding these clothes¡­ If I wore my police uniform, they might just open fire¡­¡± It turned out Han Rui was talking about official business. After looking her over again, Wang Tao nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll work, you can pretend to be a survivor who just stepped out of their home and then either I rescue you, or I take you hostage. That would be plausible.¡± Actually, Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t reasonable at all¡ªafter all, who would still dress up so meticulously at the end of the world? However, the heavy rain outside continued, and by the time he brought Han Rui into the mall, Ding Yuqin would surely be drenched, making any meticulous dress meaningless. So whatever the attire didn¡¯t matter. Of course, he did find the current look very pleasing to the eye and quite liked it. The two went upstairs, exchanged information with Wei Zhenguo and the rest to confirm there were no issues, and everyone immediately set into motion. This time, besides Wang Tao, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, and Feng Ming¡¯an also joined; they were to provide support for Wang Tao from outside in case of unexpected situations. Wei Zhenguo was still wheelchair-bound, naturally unable to join, and the others lacked combat strength, so they just waited at the base for news. In total, there were three military-modified off-road vehicles carrying twelve fully armed individuals, including Wang Tao. The rain outside grew heavier, but it didn¡¯ t pose much of an issue for the military vehicles. After avoiding zombies along the way, they finally saw the old shopping mall two hours later. Wang Tao and his people didn¡¯t plan to approach the old shopping mall but instead arrived near the electric pole that hung the severed head of Song Jinghong. Seeing the head hanging high, Han Rui¡¯s tears instantly welled up in her eyes. The others also wore expressions of rage, but everyone remained rational, as below the electric pole were more than a dozen zombies attracted by the head and unwilling to leave. ¡°You stay in the car; I¡¯ll take care of the zombies.¡± To save time, Wang Tao spoke up directly. ¡°By yourself?¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I alone am enough.¡± Besides saving time, Wang Tao also wanted to test his current strength. After all, he had fused with three Zombie Cores and didn¡¯t even know how strong he was now. ¡°Alright!¡± This mission was led by Wang Tao, and everyone had to cooperate with him, so there was no objection. They also took this opportunity to see just how powerful an Ability User could be. Apart from Han Rui, none of the others had seen an Ability User¡¯s power. Han Rui also looked at Wang Tao with some anticipation; she felt that the last time she saw Wang Tao in action, that wasn¡¯t his full strength¡ªWang Tao must be even stronger! Wang Tao, holding a firefighter axe, walked casually towards the group of zombies. The rest readied their guns in case of any unforeseen circumstances. It wasn¡¯t until he got about a meter close to one of the zombies that it belatedly became aware of Wang Tao. ¡°Grrrr¡­¡± The zombie turned around and lunged at Wang Tao. Without a word, Wang Tao lifted the firefighter axe, chopping at the zombie¡¯s head. At the same time, he quietly used his Shockwave Ability. Squelch! [-500] A swing of the axe killed the zombie easily, and from its head, the Shockwave rippled outward. Bang! [-500] [-500] 1-500] The dozen or so zombies were almost simultaneously headshot, falling slowly to the ground, leaving only Wang Tao standing. ¡°Huh? The power really increased a lot! The range of the Shockwave expanded too!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the improvement was even greater than he had imagined. With a thought, he collected all the drops from the zombies, then cut the rope on the electric pole. Swish¡ª The severed head dropped instantly, and Wang Tao caught it with a bag he had prepared in advance. Then he headed back to the convoy. Inside the vehicle, everyone was somewhat dumbfounded. They hadn¡¯t even had time to react; in their eyes, Wang Tao just exited the car, walked up, swung his axe at one zombie, and then all the zombies had their heads blown off¡­ Some saw the shockwave, while others hadn¡¯t seen anything clearly at all. This is an Ability User? Isn¡¯t that a bit too strong? If it were them trying to kill these zombies, even a full clip of bullets might not suffice, but Wang Tao had headshot them all with just one swing! The few soldiers also then understood why Wang Tao had become a commissioner. With such strength, his position as a commissioner was well deserved! Chapter 115 - Chapter 115: Chapter 90 Assault 3 Chapter 115: Chapter 90 Assault 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao got in the car and handed over the prepared head to one of the soldiers. The car started, but Xiang Hongbin and the others remained silent for a long time. Not until they arrived outside the old mall did Xiang Hongbin hammer the seat fiercely. ¡°Damn it! I want to become an Ability User too!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± The others immediately echoed. Han Rui really wanted to say, not all Ability Users are so powerful; she is a counterexample¡­ ¡°Yeah, you guys keep it up!¡± Wang Tao smiled and then said seriously, ¡°Take action.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao got out of the car, and Han Rui hurriedly followed, with the others quickly finding cover. Wang Tao, fully armed, was not afraid of getting wet from the rain. As Wang Tao had predicted, Han Rui was instantly drenched like a drowned rat. But you have to admit, there¡¯s a special beauty to Han Rui like this. Especially when her dress clung to her body. Although it wasn¡¯t see-through, the barely- there allure was even more lethal. Of course, Wang Tao was a decent man. After stealing several glances, he then entered the mall with Han Rui. Looking at the first floor of the mall, which had been heavily damaged, Han Rui was shocked. How powerful must a zombie be to cause such massive destruction! No wonder even the strong Wang Tao was still so cautious! ¡°Can you sense any people?¡± Wang Tao asked in a low voice. ¡°There¡¯s one person at the stair entrance, not far from us. I can¡¯t sense anyone else for the time being¡­¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then headed straight for the stairs with Han Rui closely following behind him. The person hiding in the dark did not avoid them. When Wang Tao approached, he came out. Seeing Han Rui, a tinge of greed flashed in the depths of his eyes. ¡°Brother Chen, what is this¡­?¡± Wang Tao paused for a moment before he realized that he had previously introduced himself as Chen Zhuang, so the address of Brother Chen was for him. ¡°Haven¡¯t eaten for a day, just passing by your place, borrowing something to eat shouldn¡¯t be too much, right?¡± Wang Tao spoke indifferently. ¡°¡­I, I can¡¯t decide that, I have to ask our boss.¡± The underling looked troubled. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s go up and find your boss.¡± Wang Tao directly took Han Rui¡¯s hand and started to walk upstairs, with Han Rui keeping her head down as if she was afraid, but in reality, she was quietly using her Ability to sense her surroundings. The underling only made a symbolic attempt to stop them, thinking that Wang Tao, being out and about with a beautiful woman, probably just came to ask for something. If Wang Tao wanted to harm them, why would he bring a cumbersome woman along? The underling followed behind Wang Tao, looking at Han Rui, he licked his lips and said: ¡°Brother Chen, this beauty is¡­¡± ¡°Picked her up along the way, planning to take her home to be my wife,¡± Wang Tao said without looking back. ¡°Picked up?¡± The underling was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized, immediately showing an ¡®I understand¡¯ expression. Why pretend, clearly he must have captured a survivor and taken the person hostage! But that said or not, this woman is really something! Much better than those women upstairs! When they arrived on the second floor, Han Rui suddenly staggered a bit. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao looked at Han Rui with a hint of impatience in his voice. ¡°I, I¡¯m so hungry, I have no strength left¡­¡± Han Rui pretended to be extremely weak and directly leaned on Wang Tao¡¯s body as if she couldn¡¯t walk anymore. Seeing this, Wang Tao wrapped his arm around Han Rui¡¯s waist, allowing her to cling to him. Seizing the opportunity, Han Rui tiptoed and whispered nervously into Wang Tao¡¯s ear, ¡°There are so many people and zombies upstairs!¡± ¡°???¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. So many people? Had their team expanded in the few days he hadn¡¯t seen them? But what about the zombies? Could people really live together with zombies? Wang Tao also became somewhat nervous; after all, the unknown was the most terrifying thing. But having come this far, it was impossible not to go upstairs. Pretending to have discovered nothing, Wang Tao supported Han Rui¡¯s waist and strode upstairs. Upstairs, Cao Xin and a lackey were waiting for him. Wang Tao¡¯s original plan had been to quickly take down Cao Xin and his people upon sight. But with Han Rui mentioning that there were many people here, and even zombies, he had to change his plan on the fly. Moreover, Wang Tao noticed that Cao Xin had gained a considerable amount of weight since their last meeting, especially around the belly. But that wasn¡¯t the focus; the important thing was that Cao Xin now had a blue bar, meaning he had become an Ability User! However, his HP was still low, only ¡°220,¡± and he would likely not withstand a single axe blow from himself. Cao Xin, upon seeing Wang Tao, couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit scared, as the impression of Wang Tao slaughtering zombies like chopping vegetables was deeply etched in his mind. But upon remembering his own new-found Ability, he instantly straightened his back. No matter how strong brute force might be, it couldn¡¯t compare to even a hair of an Ability! Especially upon seeing the pitiful Han Rui in Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, a glint of greed flashed in Cao Xin¡¯s eyes. Even though he couldn¡¯t see Han Rui¡¯s face clearly, he knew she was definitely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in reality! He wanted that woman! Cao Xin¡¯s face revealed a beaming smile. ¡°Brother Chen, what brings you here¡­¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten for a day, I was hoping to borrow some food from you.¡± At these words, a look of difficulty crossed Cao Xin¡¯s face. ¡°But we don¡¯t have much food left either¡ªtruly, we¡¯re out¡­ Ah, forget it, who makes me such a sociable person! I¡¯ll get it for you!¡± Cao Xin immediately headed towards the other end of the hall; to the unknowing observer, he may really seem like a friend to Wang Tao. Wang Tao, still holding Han Rui by the waist, nonchalantly sat on the sofa. He noticed that Seventh Brother Yang whom he had met before was nowhere to be seen. Now, there were only Cao Xin and his two lackeys in the hall. Han Rui, seemingly very scared, leaned against Wang Tao¡¯s chest and then whispered quietly, ¡°Cao Xin has a handgun at the back of his waist. The other people and zombies are all behind the iron door on the left. But I have this hunch that those people and zombies are weak. It seems like¡­ they have been locked up? Yes, they must be locked up, the zombies are shuffling in place!¡± ¡°Hmm? Locked up¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s main concern was confirming whether these people were Cao Xin¡¯s accomplices. If they were locked up, that clearly indicated they were not on Cao Xin¡¯s side! In that case¡­ things were getting simpler! ¡°Here you go! Brother Chen, I have a pack of bread here for you just in case¡­¡± Cao Xin came over with a pack of bread that had been opened and some condiments added to it. Wang Tao stood up to take the bread, with a coffee table separating the two men. Suddenly, Wang Tao grabbed Cao Xin¡¯s hand! In that instant, Cao Xin hadn¡¯t yet reacted when he saw Wang Tao yank forcefully. Crash¡ª Cao Xin stumbled and landed harshly on the coffee table, which split under his weight, making him grimace in pain. Han Rui quickly got up, snatching the handgun tucked at Cao Xin¡¯s back, and at the same time, she pulled out another handgun from Wang Tao¡¯s waist, pointing both guns at the two lackeys. ¡°Hands on your heads, squat down!¡± Chapter 116 - Chapter 116: Chapter 91: Capture_1 Chapter 116: Chapter 91: Capture_1 Translator: 549690339 1 This all happened too quickly, and the two underlings were somewhat dumbfounded. Looking at the dark muzzles of the guns, neither dared to move. Cao Xin hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to make a move, but now he was an Ability User! Wang Tao, just an Ordinary with a bit more strength, how could he possibly be his match! ¡°Looking for death¡ªugh!¡± Bang! Cao Xin suddenly felt a huge force stepping on his back, the entire wooden coffee table shattered, and his chest and back immediately suffered excruciating pain. ¡°You-¡± Cao Xin tried to turn his head, but Wang Tao had firmly grabbed his head, rendering him immobile. Feeling the powerful force on his body, Cao Xin knew he temporarily couldn¡¯t resist, and he immediately started to beg for mercy, his voice raw. Cough cough¡ªBrother Chen, we have no grudges, why¡­¡± ¡°Why? You know why.¡± Wang Tao kept pressing down on him firmly, preventing him from turning over, and took out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and handcuffed his hands behind his back. Wang Tao guessed that Cao Xin¡¯s Ability must be related to his body size, which had clearly gained a lot of weight compared to a few days ago, his belly also much larger. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what the other¡¯s Ability specifically was, he could only handcuff him first. If he showed any sign of wrongdoing, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t leave a survivor. After feeling the handcuffs on his back, Cao Xin immediately understood everything, his tone somewhat panicked. ¡°You, you are a police officer!¡± Many people have a natural sense of awe towards police officers, especially those with a shady background like him. Even if it were the apocalypse, even though he had personally killed a police officer, he was still instinctively afraid. ¡°It seems you have realized.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice was somewhat cold. No, it snot me! I didn¡¯t kill the cop, I picked up this gun!¡± Cao Xin hurriedly argued, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay attention to him; instead, he looked at the two underlings who dared not move. ¡°Cao Xin¡¯s Ability, what is it? Spill it, and I¡¯ll spare your lives.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The two underlings squatting on the ground were stunned, lifting their heads instinctively. ¡°How does he know his own boss has an Ability?¡± Cao Xm was also stunned for a moment, he quickly spoke up: ¡°What Ability? I don¡¯t have any¡ªmmph!¡± He hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Wang Tao pressed him fiercely to the ground, his mouth against the shattered coffee table, unable to speak. ¡°We, we don¡¯t know¡­¡± The two underlings shook their heads frantically. They felt that as long as they didn¡¯t reveal their boss¡¯s Ability, there was still a chance for him to turn the tables, so they dared not say a word. Wang Tao didn ¡®t speak again, instead, he directly took out a Firefighter Axe and flung it at one of the underlings. Whoosh- Bang! The Firefighter Axe landed directly between the legs of the underling, who only then belatedly looked down. ¡°I don¡¯t want to repeat myself, his Ability¡­ what is it.¡± Wang Tao held another Firefighter Axe in his hand and then stared at the underling. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± The underling was scared and subconsciously about to speak. The other underling quickly spoke up. ¡°Brother Chen, you¡¯ve really got it wrong! Our boss really doesn¡¯t have anv Ability!¡± ¡°Truly courting death.¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected this underling to be so loyal; he hurled another Flying Axe. ¡°Ah-¡± The underling couldn¡¯t see Wang Tao¡¯s action clearly before he felt his entire body topple backward, slamming directly into the wall, and then he felt an excruciating pain in his right palm. ¡°My hand¡ª¡± He turned his head and saw, to his horror, an axe had pierced through the center of his right hand and was firmly embedded in the wall. His hand was ruined! ¡°Cryingout again?¡± Wang Tao held yet another Firefighter Axe in his hand. The underling quickly covered his mouth with his other hand, his eyes streaming with tears, his body trembling uncontrollably. Wang Tao then nodded in satisfaction. He actually had aimed at the floor in front of the underling, but threw it off course, hitting his palm instead. However, it was a minor issue, no harm done. Wang Tao looked again at the previous underling, who hurriedly spoke: ¡°Our boss¡¯s Ability is to spit out white sticky fluid that can stick people in place, making them unable to move¡­¡± ¡°Mmph mmph¡ª¡± Cao Xm, pressed under Wang Tao¡¯s foot, trembled wildly. ¡°So that¡¯s it.¡± Wang Tao realized, it made sense why Cao Xin had tried to turn his head to look at him all this time. Good thing he was prepared-Cao Xin wanted to do something, and he would not let him. Wang Tao had ¡°tape¡± among the crafting materials in his Space Backpack, which could be used both as a crafting material and for practical use. Wang Tao pretended to take out a roll of tape from his pocket and then wrapped Cao Xin¡¯s mouth with many layers. After making sure Cao Xin couldn¡¯t open his mouth, Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop there; he also wrapped his legs together. Soon, Cao Xin was almost entirely immobile. Wang Tao gestured to Han Rui, who immediately went over to handcuff the two underlings. When pulling out the axe, one of the underlings nearly fainted from the pain. However, neither Wang Tao nor Han Rui had any intention of showing mercy to their captives. Wang Tao didn¡¯t catch these three people to send them back for labor reform; he wanted them to face retribution in front of the base¡¯s inhabitants¡­ an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. After Han Rui had subdued the two underlings, Wang Tao punched Cao Xin in the back of the head. ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Cao Xin instantly stopped struggling. Wang Tao checked his HP, it was just a knockout, not a death. Then Wang Tao asked Han Rui to watch these people while he himself went to the iron gate on the other side of the stairway. ¡°What¡¯s in here?¡± Wang Tao asked the two underlings. ¡°¡­It¡¯s, it¡¯s female slaves collected by the boss! Yes, all of this was the boss¡¯s doing, it has nothing to do with us!¡± On hearing this, fury immediately appeared in Han Rui¡¯s eyes. Chapter 117 - Chapter 117: Chapter 91: Capture_2 Chapter 117: Chapter 91: Capture_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°What else?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°There¡¯s more¡­ Zombies! Two female zombies! These were brought back by the boss after he stuck the zombies¡­ Both zombies were chained up with iron chains¡­¡± Two zombies, female zombies at that¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what Cao Xin was up to. Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui, who came over and said to Wang Tao: ¡°The people inside are walking on the left, the two zombies are on the right.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then took the keys from Cao Xin¡¯s body, unlocking the iron chain of the iron gate. Clang¡ª The iron gate opened, and a nauseating smell hit them. Even with a mask on, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t block it out. It was pitch-black inside, so Wang Tao used his flashlight to look inside. He saw a group of naked women crouched in the corner on the left, shivering with the light causing them to instinctively cover their eyes. But Wang Tao could still see the numb, empty look in their eyes. On the right, there were two zombies with their arms chopped off, chained to the wall. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The two zombies desperately tried to move forward, wanting to gnaw on these women, but the iron chains prevented them from going too far. ¡°Do you have another guy? Seems his name is Seventh Brother Yang?¡± Wang Tao turned and asked. ¡°He¡­ He¡¯s gone to see the big boss¡­¡± One of the underlings quickly answered. ¡°The big boss?¡± ¡°Yes, Boss Cao Xin¡¯s boss¡­ The big boss is very powerful, an Ability User¡­¡± The underling didn¡¯t know much, only that such a person existed. Wang Tao frowned and thought it was time to interrogate Cao Xin properly. He took out his axe and walked into the warehouse, directly blowing the heads off the two zombies. The women looked at Wang Tao, their expressions numb, but fear could still be felt. Wang Tao squatted in front of the group of women. ¡°You¡¯re all safe now. Just don¡¯t scream, and I¡¯ll let you go in a bit.¡± Upon hearing this, a flicker of emotion passed through the hollow eyes of the women. After confirming all five women were alive, Wang Tao took out his walkie-talkie. ¡°This is Wang Tao, you can come up now!¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Soon after, Xiang Hongbin and the others came up, guns at the ready. Seeing these fully armed soldiers, the two underlings were shocked; they had no idea whom they had provoked¡­ Wang Tao briefly recounted what had happened, and upon seeing the women, everyone became furious. Han Rui especially looked like she wanted to flay these men alive. The two underlings stood there, trembling and keeping their heads down, afraid to speak. The women, seeing so many people appear at the door, instinctively retreated and huddled together. Han Rui looked at them with pity and turned to Wang Tao: ¡°Can we take these poor women back to the base?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao nodded, and then looked towards Xiang Hongbin and the others, who also nodded in agreement. Shuize Base was short on people; as long as they weren¡¯t heinous villains, they were needed, let alone these poor women. They might not be able to do heavy work, but they could still wash clothes and the like. Wang Tao asked Han Rui to take two soldiers to release the women¡¯s chains, get them dressed, and then he and his men ransacked the place. In addition to food, they found a police badge and a set of police uniforms. ¡°Old Song, sigh¡­¡± Everyone sighed. They had to go back and properly interrogate this Cao Xin, at the very least, peel off a layer of his skin! Wang Tao asked Han Rui to check if there was anything they had missed, and after confirming there were no problems, Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡ª¡± Rumble¡ª Suddenly, a rumbling noise came from outside. ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Wang Tao quickly went to the window, and then cursed in disbelief. There was a zombie outside with [5000/5000] HP! The others were just as taken aback as Wang Tao. ¡°Shit!¡± In the heavy rain below, a giant zombie around three to four meters tall with muscular limbs on the ground like a gorilla, had just punched a discarded car, sending it flying into the mall. Boom¡ª ¡°Is this the zombie they referred to? Its destructive power is too terrifying!¡± The zombie seemed to go mad, anything in its path¡ªcars, streetlights, bollards¡ªwas fiercely thrown. It didn¡¯t spare anything. A bollard it threw hit a giant billboard on the wall. The billboard slowly fell, smashing onto it, but it didn¡¯t seem to be affected at all¡­ ¡°This is really a destruction freak!¡± ¡°Thank goodness our vehicle was parked on the other side, or we would¡¯ve been in trouble¡­¡± ¡°It seems it hasn¡¯t noticed us¡­¡± The zombie appeared to be focused solely on destruction. It hadn¡¯t noticed Wang Tao and the others upstairs. The noise it caused attracted many zombies, even Mad Demon Zombies. But the behemoth didn¡¯t discriminate between friends and foes; it crushed several ordinary zombies underfoot¡­ After about a minute of rampaging in the plaza, it finally left. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back; it¡¯s too dangerous out here!¡± Wang Tao motioned with his hand, leading his group quickly downstairs. This creature had a full 5000 HP, and its high-attack high-defense style was apparent; Wang Tao didn¡¯t think they could defeat it. Bullets might kill it, but that would attract even more zombies, at a loss not worth the gain. ¡°Quick, quick, quick!¡± Everyone hurriedly got into the vehicle. In the afternoon, Wang Tao and the others returned to Shuize Base without incident. ¡°Phew¡ª Finally back!¡± Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The terrifying zombie, dubbed ¡°Gorilla¡± by the group on the road, exerted too much pressure on them! Chapter 118 - Chapter 118: Chapter 91: Capture_3 Chapter 118: Chapter 91: Capture_3 Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao felt that if this thing made it to the base, the walls probably wouldn¡¯t hold¡­ He shook his head; now was not the time to think about this. He was only responsible for combat and scavenging for supplies. Base defense was Ren Jie¡¯s responsibility. A few people dragged Cao Xin and his two lackeys out of the vehicle. On the way, Cao Xin regained consciousness once but was ruthlessly knocked out again by Xiang Hongbin. ¡°How are we going to deal with him?¡± Han Rui asked beside Wang Tao. ¡°First, we¡¯ll force out his account and motives for killing Commissioner Song, then execute him in front of all the survivors!¡± Wang Tao explained. This was a decision he had discussed with the other commissioners. In times of chaos, harsh measures were justified. Since Cao Xin had chosen to oppose Shuize Base and even killed a commissioner, there was no way he was leaving alive. Moreover, this would show the survivors in the base what happens to those who oppose it! It could strengthen unity, while also setting an example. However, Wang Tao would not participate in the interrogation; he was not good at it. He heard that Feng Ming¡¯an had some expertise in this area, so he would leave it to them. ¡°Fine1.¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes were red. This was her way of avenging Song Jinghong. ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t sit idle either, those women could use some guidance from you¡­¡± Wang Tao pointed to the group of pitiful women who had gotten off the truck and were now curled up in the corner. ¡°I understand!¡± Han Rui nodded and then took the women and left. Wang Tao intended to rest, but Feng Ming¡¯an called him back. They had never interrogated an Ability User before and were uncertain about gauging the strength of Ability Users, so they wanted Wang Tao¡¯s assistance. Helping was naturally fine; Wang Tao joined them in a basement. The group first interrogated Cao Xin¡¯s two lackeys, who had no backbone at all and confessed everything. Wang Tao cross-referenced the accounts, and they were nearly identical, likely the truth. Then Feng Ming¡¯an woke up Cao Xin and started the interrogation. In an unexpected turn, Cao Xin proved to be a coward; before Feng Ming¡¯an could even begin the torture, Cao Xin spilled everything. This irked Feng Ming¡¯an, so after confirming the truth of Cao Xin¡¯s story, he tormented him for a long time. Wang Tao did not enjoy torture; he preferred a swift end for people. However, considering that Cao Xin was an Ability User, Wang Tao forced Cao Xin to use his Ability many times until his energy was fully depleted. Cao Xin¡¯s Ability was to vomit a white, sticky substance from his stomach that possessed powerful adherent properties, binding many things for varying durations. After the allotted time, the substance would harden and then fall off automatically as it transitioned from liquid to solid. Finding this Ability somewhat interesting, Wang Tao decided to be the executioner himself; he wanted to see if Cao Xin would burst out with something¡­ Before long, Wei Zhen Guo and the others arrived. Feng Ming¡¯an shared the results of his interrogation with everyone. A few days before, Song Jinghong had driven a car with two Hunters to pick up survivors from the Sunshine Community. However, they might have encountered zombies on the way and needed to take a detour, or some other issue occurred. Regardless, Song Jinghong did not follow the original path and ended up near the old shopping mall. There, they encountered a special zombie. Gunfire attracted a large horde of other zombies, and the three had to abandon their vehicle and run. Two of the Hunters were bitten to death by zombies, only Song Jinghong managed to escape, fleeing into the old shopping mall. All of this was clearly seen by Cao Xin, who was upstairs. He coveted the gun in Song Jinghong¡¯s hand! So he came down from the upper floor, pretending to be enthusiastic and offering to help Song Jinghong hide upstairs. With Song Jinghong injured and zombies outside, and with no door on the first floor of the mall, he had no choice but to follow him up. Then, Song Jinghong fell into Cao Xin¡¯s trap. Cao Xin¡¯s group totaled six, and as Song Jinghong died, he took two of them with him. However, he was overpowered and ultimately met his demise on the spot. Having lost two lackeys and nearly getting shot himself made Cao Xin furious. So, to vent his anger, he dismembered Song Jinghong and spitefully hung his head on a lamppost. Cao Xin was unaware that Song Jinghong came from Shuize Base, and he didn¡¯t even know the base existed, as he had barely spoken to Song Jinghong before attacking. If Cao Xin had known about the strength of Shuize Base, his cowardly nature would have stopped him from making a move, but alas for Song Jinghong¡­ As for the women enslaved by him, they were originally employees of the old shopping mall. After the zombie virus outbreak, Cao Xin escaped the initial chaos and soon gathered a group-not as a clothing seller but as a cargo handler with many underlings-thus recruiting manpower and scavenging supplies. Cao Xin was also a lecher. He only offered protection to the women of the mall; the men could go wherever they wished. His reasoning was sound-the men might steal his food, but the women couldn¡¯t. Some women, desperate to survive, chose to accept Cao Xin¡¯s protection, initially, they might have thought he had some conscience, but Cao Xin soon showed his true colors. He locked up these women and subjected them to inhumane abuse¡­ ¡°He really deserves to die!¡± Xiang Hongbin fiercely kicked the unconscious Cao Xin, and everyone else¡¯s face was filled with anger. Although everyone understood that the end of the world magnified the evil in people¡¯s hearts in the absence of law, seeing this person and his deeds firsthand still triggered uncontrollable fury. After all, most still had a sense of right and wrong. ¡°And Cao Xin revealed another important piece of information¡­¡± Feng Ming¡¯an glanced at Wang Tao, who continued where Feng Ming¡¯an left off: ¡°Cao Xin claimed he had acknowledged a boss, an Ability User! He originally had ten women, and he offered five of them as a gift to this boss. The reason why Cao Xin could become an Ability User was because the boss gave him a Zombie Core. Surprisingly, he succeeded on his first try¡­ Chapter 119 - Chapter 119: Chapter 92 Execution_l Chapter 119: Chapter 92 Execution_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°This damn luck!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed. He had fused with two Zombie Cores, but both attempts failed. Now, Cao Xin, that bastard, succeeded on his first try, which irritated him greatly. Wei Zhenguo, however, was concerned about another aspect. ¡°What kind of strength does Cao Xin¡¯s boss have?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an answered: ¡°Cao Xin couldn¡¯t give a clear explanation, only that the guy is very strong and specializes in throwing weapons. He often carries a bundle of polished steel bars, capable of killing zombies from a great distance without making much noise. It¡¯s ridiculously powerful¡­¡± ¡°Using steel bars to kill zombies?¡± Wei Zhenguo was taken aback for a moment, then asked again: ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Cao Xin isn¡¯t sure, he only knows others call him Boss Shao, and he refers to him the same way.¡± ¡°Boss Shao¡­ Shao Yong?¡± Wei Zhenguo frowned. ¡°Huh? Old Wei, you know him?¡± Ren Jie asked curiously. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you, I saw an Ability User before. He managed to take on a group of zombies with just two steel bars. I invited him to join the Survivor Base, but he flatly refused¡­ And this person is named Shao Yong!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s frown deepened. If it really was Shao Yong, it meant the other man¡¯s strength had increased a great deal! Moreover, when he met Shao Yong at first, although the man was arrogant, he was decent, even asking Wei if he needed help. But now, according to Cao Xin¡¯s description, this Boss Shao was recruiting men like Cao Xin as his underlings and demanded Cao Xin to offer women to him¡­ this Boss Shao didn¡¯t seem like a good person at all! Of course, it was the apocalypse now, there probably weren¡¯t many good people left. He wouldn¡¯t hold others to the standards of a good person¡¯s behavior. But the current issue was whether Shao Yong would seek vengeance for Cao Xin. No matter the relationship between Shao Yong and Cao Xin, Cao Xin had acknowledged Shao Yong as his Boss. If a subordinate was bullied, the Boss had to make a statement, right? Otherwise, how could he command respect? Just like when Song Jinghong was killed, everyone risked danger to avenge him. The purpose wasn¡¯t only vengeance but also to establish authority and solidify the cohesion among the Survivor Base¡¯s members. Wei Zhenguo wasn¡¯t scared, but in the early days of the apocalypse, self-preservation was a problem. If it could be helped, people definitely did not want to make enemies or be on someone¡¯s radar, especially since people from Shuize Base went out to scavenge for resources every day¡­ Wei Zhenguo briefly shared with everyone the encounter with Shao Yong, and the looks on their faces were not good. They did not wish to become enemies with an Ability User, especially one who was clearly building his own force. Although Ability Users might still likely be at a disadvantage against bullets, everyone could see the greater potential of Ability Users. What the future held for them, no one could be sure¡­ ¡°This Shao Yong, he probably doesn¡¯t know it was us who kidnapped Cao Xin, right?¡± Ren Jie asked with a furrowed brow. ¡°That¡¯s hard to say because one of Cao Xin¡¯s underlings has seen me, and he was with Shao Yong today. He might suspect me,¡± Wang Tao said straightforwardly. ¡°Then, this Cao Xin, how should we deal with him¡­¡± Technician Liu He hesitated. ¡°Kill!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke out directly. Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin usually didn¡¯t get along, always taking jabs at each other, but this time Wei agreed with Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Kill!¡± Not just them, including Feng Ming¡¯an and Ren Jie, all nodded fiercely. ¡°Kill!¡± ¡°Not only must we kill him, we must execute him in front of all the survivors!¡± Ren Jie added. Wang Tao looked at Ren Jie somewhat surprised; he didn¡¯t expect the former deputy magistrate to be so resolute. As if knowing what Wang Tao was thinking, Ren Jie smiled and said: ¡°In times of chaos, heavy punishments are needed! Our ancestors wouldn¡¯t deceive us.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He naturally also supported executing Cao Xin. He wasn¡¯t the type to be threatened; after all, who wasn¡¯t an Ability User? Wang Tao even thought of striking first¡­ After all, it¡¯s not the theft that you fear, but the thief who keeps thinking about it! Seeing everyone felt the same, Liu He didn¡¯t have more to say. Being a tech guy, he knew he had little experience in these matters and decided to go along with the others. ¡°As for that Shao Yong¡­ we don¡¯t need to be afraid. No matter how high the upper limit for Ability Users in the future, he definitely can¡¯t stop a bullet right now. As long as we find the right opportunity, a Lu Gang alone can easily kill him, not to mention we also have Wang Tao. At most, we just need to caution the Hunters who go out later¡­¡± After everyone agreed, they decided on Cao Xin¡¯s death sentence. Cao Xin had already woken up by this time. After hearing the judgment from everyone, he hummed frantically, but his mouth was sealed shut, unable to speak. Xiang Hongbin ripped off the tape abruptly, and despite the pain of tearing off sweat hairs and beards, Cao Xin quickly began to plead with tears: ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! I really didn¡¯t know that was your person¡ªah!¡± He didn¡¯t finish his sentence before Xiang Hongbin viciously kicked him, causing him to arch his back in pain. ¡°I didn¡¯t let you talk to hear you beg for mercy, but to hear your screams!¡± Xiang Hongbin gave another fierce kick. ¡°Ah¡ªmy boss, he won¡¯t¡ªah!¡± Wang Tao, not liking such scenes, left first. The main reason was that he and Feng Ming¡¯an had already tortured the guy- no, more precisely, Feng Ming¡¯an did the torturing, he just assisted. So, he wasn¡¯t interested anymore. The execution of Cao Xin was scheduled for noon. At that time, all the survivors in the base would be called to watch. They had to let them know that Shuize Base never leaves its debts unpaid and that it was not to be trifled with, deterring anyone from nurturing crooked ideas.. Chapter 120 - Chapter 120: Chapter 92 Execution_2 Chapter 120: Chapter 92 Execution_2 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao left the building, it was already dark outside. Just as he got into his car to head home, he saw a figure holding an umbrella sprinting toward him. ¡°Commissioner Wang, wait!¡± ¡°Han Rui? What¡¯s the matter?¡± Wang Tao rolled down the window. ¡°Well¡­ I have something I want to talk to you about, I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s convenient for you¡­¡± ¡°Sure, get in.¡± Han Rui quickly closed her umbrella and took the passenger seat. The dress that Han Rui had worn when she went out with Wang Tao was drenched, and now she had changed back into her police uniform. She looked very smart and impressive. ¡°Thank you for helping Officer Song take revenge today¡­¡± As soon as Song Jinghong was mentioned, Han Rui¡¯s eyes were still a bit red. ¡°It¡¯s only right, after all, I am a commissioner!¡± Wang Tao smiled. ¡°I said before that I wanted to repay you for saving my life, but now you¡¯re a commissioner, and I don¡¯t know how to repay you¡ªof course, I won¡¯t forget, rest assured¡­¡± Han Rui started speaking somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then added, ¡°Just say what you want to say, we¡¯ve been through life and death together, no need to beat around the bush.¡± ¡°Cough¡­¡± Han Rui felt a bit awkward being put on the spot, but she wasn¡¯t the type to dawdle. ¡°Well, I would like to ask you for a favor, to help me find out who came to my office the day before yesterday. I don¡¯t have the authority to investigate¡­¡± ¡°Oh? Why?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brows raised, as what Han Rui referred to must be the video of her husband betraying his teammate; after all, only Wang Tao had visited Han Rui¡¯s office the day before yesterday. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t tell you yet, it¡¯s a personal matter¡­¡± Han Rui had trouble meeting Wang Tao¡¯s gaze. The main reason was her guilty conscience, after all, that was her husband! When she saw that video, she felt as if she had been struck by a bolt from the blue. She never imagined her husband would betray their marriage, and even more so with Ou Yingying! She couldn¡¯t understand what she lacked compared to Ou Yingying, why her husband would be attracted to that woman! If that was all there was to it, she wouldn¡¯t have collapsed, for she was a strong woman. What truly devastated her was that, as the video showed, the two survivors she had personally saved were actually killed by her husband and Ou Yingying working together! And she herself benefited from it! She thought of herself as a just police officer! Even though this happened without her knowledge, she still couldn¡¯t forgive herself, as others had indeed paid with their lives for her survival! Fortunately, she had work to do when she saw the video, which numbed her to the event, and she forced herself to forget it. It was only after the work was done that she found a place where she could be alone and cry loudly. However, she also knew that crying wouldn¡¯t solve anything. She needed to find out what the person who gave her the video intended to do! As for turning in her own husband¡­ she couldn¡¯t do it. She thought she was a selfless person, but only now did she realize she was incredibly selfish¡­ ¡°A personal matter? That¡¯s a bit difficult to handle¡­¡± A look of difficulty appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°Please, Wang Tao, Commissioner Wang!¡± Han Rui immediately put her hands together in a pleading gesture. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ask around. I¡¯m doing this because of our relationship; I definitely wouldn¡¯t bother for anyone else.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you so much!¡± Han Rui quickly expressed her gratitude. At this moment, Wang Tao asked: ¡°What exactly is this personal matter? If you spell it out for me, I can better help you investigate!¡± ¡°¡­It really is a private matter I¡¯d rather not discuss, it¡¯s about me personally, truly, I¡¯m not lying to you!¡± Han Rui lied, probably for the first time in her life. ¡°Alright, I won¡¯t pry any further. Is there anything else? If not, I¡¯ll be on my way.¡± Wang Tao feigned resignation as he shook his head. ¡°No, that¡¯s all, go ahead!¡± Han Rui hurriedly got out of the car. Wang Tao started the car, and as he watched Han Rui re-enter the building through the rearview mirror, he lifted the corner of his mouth. He had originally thought Han Rui was quite selfless, that she might distance herself or even report her own husband. But he had been incorrect. The reason Han Rui wanted his help in investigating was simply to find out who had recorded the video. She then sought to negotiate with them, to keep them from publicizing the video, in order to protect her husband. After all, all the survivors in Shuize Base were innocent people¡ªat least on the surface, none of them had records. As for what they did behind the scenes, that wasn¡¯t clear, but as long as nothing came out, everyone was a good person. By the same logic, once it was exposed, they would undoubtedly be despised by everyone. Shuize Base couldn¡¯t tolerate the existence of a bad person. If the video of Sun Weiguang betraying his teammates was leaked, he would become a target of universal scorn. Even if they spared him for Han Rui¡¯s sake, the base couldn¡¯t keep him, and considering his survival skills in a post-apocalyptic world¡­ going out there meant certain death. Thus, expelling him was as good as killing him. To save her husband¡¯s life, Han Rui had begun to betray the beliefs she had held for so many years! When Wang Tao¡¯s car arrived back at Building No. 8, before he could get out, he saw Ding Yuqin wearing an apron coming out to meet him. ¡°Wang Tao, are you hurt?¡± Ding Yuqin grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand, asking with a worried look on her face. ¡°Who do you think I am? How could I possibly get hurt!¡± Wang Tao said, smiling as he pinched Ding Yuqin¡¯s hand. ¡°That¡¯s a relief! I¡¯ve already made dinner, just give me a moment, I¡¯ll go and reheat it¡­.¡± Chapter 121 - Chapter 121: Chapter 92 Execution_3 Chapter 121: Chapter 92 Execution_3 Translator: 549690339 As Ding Yuqin spoke, she took the jacket Wang Tao had removed. When she entered the door, she even knelt down to help Wang Tao change his shoes. Looking down, Wang Tao found the angle of Ding Yuqin particularly tempting. After changing shoes, Ding Yuqin quickly ran to the kitchen. Wang Tao sat on the sofa, the kitchen door was open, so he could see Ding Yuqin¡¯s busy figure. Today, Ding Yuqin was dressed comfortably for home, wearing a little camisole and slippers. Her hair was casually tied up, revealing her snow-white, delicate neck, and a necklace of some kind was deeply buried in her cleavage. The pale yellow camisole dress wasn¡¯t long, ending above the knees, her smooth, straight calves swayed in front of Wang Tao. Ding Yuqin usually liked to wear stockings, mostly flesh-colored or thin black ones; it was rare to see her bare-legged. Nonetheless, her legs were flawless and even bare, they were beautiful, stirring an urge to play with them. After quietly admiring for a while, Wang Tao suddenly walked over and hugged Ding Yuqin¡¯s waist from behind. ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s hot breath was on Ding Yuqin¡¯s neck, which tickled her and quickly turned her face red. ¡°You, you stop messing around, I¡¯m still busy¡­¡± Ding Yuqin said coquettishly. Although she was a bit shy, she also enjoyed Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. His arms were a place of comfort for her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You do your thing, and I¡¯ll do mine.¡± As Wang Tao spoke, he rolled up Ding Yuqin¡¯s shirt. ¡°¡­Mmm~¡± Before dinner, Wang Tao indulged in a little appetizer. ¡°Are you full?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Mmm- I¡¯m full-¡± Ding Yuqin hummed. ¡°Sister-in-law, that¡¯s all it takes to fill you up? There¡¯s a bigger meal waiting for us tonight!¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. ¡°Ah? There¡¯s more¡­ I can¡¯t eat anymore¡­¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face showed both anticipation and fear. ¡°No worries, no rush, just rest for a bit first.¡± Wang Tao spoke considerately. He had said before that he wanted to try out Toughness but never found the time. Now that he had the time, shouldn¡¯t he thoroughly explore it? ¡°Mmm- I¡¯ll listen to you¡­¡± The fact proved that Toughness was indeed a valuable skill. The next day, early morning. Wang Tao was refreshed, and Ding Yuqin too, was glowing. Wang Tao was amazed at Ding Yuqin¡¯s recovery ability. She had been pleading for mercy the day before, but after a night¡¯s sleep, she was like nothing had happened. Perhaps, this was due to the properties of the blood replenishing pack. ¡°What are you thinking about¡­¡± Ding Yuqin waved her hand in front of Wang Tao. ¡°I was just thinking, why does sister-in-law look so pretty!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Stop it-¡± Ding Yuqin immediately felt joy in her heart. Wang Tao rarely complimented her, but each time he did, it gave her the feeling of being in love. After breakfast, Wang Tao didn¡¯t go out but instead lay on the sofa, letting Ding Yuqin give him a full body massage. He was scheduled to attend Cao Xin¡¯s execution at noon, so having nothing else to do in the morning, he rested and exercised at home. Noon. Wang Tao donned his all-black security uniform, while Ding Yuqin wore a black cheongsam with makeup in a cool and glamorous style. Then, Wang Tao drove Ding Yuqin to the plaza outside the comprehensive building. By then, aside from the personnel on duty, all other members of the base had gathered. This was the first public execution since the establishment of the base, and even if the committee hadn¡¯t mandated attendance, curiosity and the like had drawn the crowd. Although it was still raining, a throng of people huddled on the plaza, either wearing raincoats or holding umbrellas, their attention fixed on the three figures at the center, bound and hooded. ¡°Commissioner Wang has arrived!¡± As soon as Wang Tao got out of the car, sharp-eyed survivors immediately cleared a path. With a solemn expression, he nodded slightly to the crowd and then headed toward the center of the plaza. Ding Yuqin, half a step behind Wang Tao holding an umbrella for him, also carried a plain, elongated wooden box in her arms. In the center of the throng, a makeshift platform had been erected. The other commissioners and some soldiers were already on it and nodded slightly upon seeing Wang Tao. Ren Jie stepped forward and spoke aloud to the survivors: ¡°My friends! Just a few days ago, Commissioner Song Jinghong was vilely assassinated, dismembered, and his head hung on a power pole! We were deeply grieved when we heard the news¡­¡± Ren Jie recounted the murder of Song Jinghong with more details this time. It was only now that the survivors learned that Commissioner Song Jinghong had been dismembered! In an instant, the crowd buzzed with discussion, and it was clear that everyone was angry. Ren Jie gave everyone time to talk, then continued: ¡°And just yesterday, our very own Commissioner Wang Tao, Commissioner Xiang Hongbin, Commissioner Feng Ming¡¯an, Minister Han Rui, and others risked their lives to go outside and captured the murderer who killed Commissioner Song Jinghong¡­¡± Below, there was a frenzy of applause, and when it finally abated, Ren Jie asked: ¡°What do you think we should do with them?¡± ¡°Kill them!¡± ¡°Execute them!¡± Survivors immediately responded, and others were gradually swept up in the emotion, shouting ¡°Execute them!¡± and ¡°Blood for blood!¡± Ren Jie was pleased with the survivors¡¯ reactions. He turned back and nodded to two soldiers in the rain. One soldier immediately removed the hoods from Cao Xin and his two henchmen. Cao Xin, having already been beaten to near death by Xiang Hongbin, was extremely weak and lacked the strength to resist. Seeing the oppressive crowd below, he looked terrified and desperate. His two henchmen felt the same. Another soldier drew a rifle and attached the bayonet, ready to pierce Cao Xin¡¯s heart at the commissioner¡¯s command! Ren Jie was about to give the order, but Wang Tao stopped him. ¡°Wait, let me do it.¡± ¡°Ah? Commissioner Wang, you want to do it yourself?¡± Ren Jie was puzzled; such dirty work was typically left to subordinates. However, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s affirming nod, he immediately conceded, ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao walked over to Cao Xin, with Ding Yuqin following with the umbrella and the wooden box. Cao Xin¡¯s eyes widened with terror upon seeing Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even look at him but turned to Ding Yuqin. Diplomatically, she opened the box to reveal a broad-bladed knife within. The tall Wang Tao gripped the knife handle with one hand. Standing next to Wang Tao in her black cheongsam, the glamorous Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t dare to watch the execution and instead focused her gaze on Wang Tao. The survivors below held their breath, keeping their eyes fixed on the scene above of the hero, beauty, and criminals. Then, Wang Tao raised the knife, and it fell. Schtick! Schtick! Schtick! Blood splattered as three heads rolled onto the ground one by one.. Chapter 122 - Chapter 122: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter 1 Chapter 122: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter 1 Translator: 549690339 I ¡ª This Crafted Mountain-Opening Knife was specially prepared by Wang Tao yesterday. It was merely a sharpened ordinary craft item, far inferior in quality to a Firefighter Axe. It was not suitable as Wang Tao¡¯s weapon, but¡­ it had no problem chopping off a neck. Wang Tao felt almost no resistance and easily severed the heads of Cao Xin and his two companions. The survivors below the stage were taken aback for a moment, as this was a scene they could only witness on television. However, it didn¡¯t take long for everyone to start applauding. Of course, there were those who couldn¡¯t stand the sight of blood and covered their mouths feeling nauseous. ¡°So cool!¡± Huo Ziyi, who was in the crowd below, dared not look at Cao Xin¡¯s body. Her attention was mainly on Wang Tao, who she thought looked incredibly cool, especially when he stood next to the beautiful woman. It gave off the vibe of a hero paired with a beauty. Yet, seeing Ding Yuqin, she felt an inexplicable sense of urgency ¨C she, too, wanted to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°coattails¡± just like that beautiful woman! Although she was a minor celebrity, she felt ashamed when comparing herself to Dmg Yuqm. After all, she had just managed to solve the problem of not starving to death and was worried every day about earning just one more Ration Ticket. Ding Yuqin, on the other hand, looked well-fed and even had time to dress up and apply makeup¡­ Comparison is the thief of joy! ¡°When can I become a person like that¡­¡± Sun Weiguang also couldn¡¯t bear the bloody scene, but he was envious and wanted to become someone with power¡­ He needed to seize the opportunity to break through with Wang Tao¡¯s help! Once the execution was over, Ren Jie organized the crowd to leave the scene. After everyone had left, Wang Tao suddenly struck Cao Xin¡¯s head with his knife. Squish! The head was instantly cleaved by Wang Tao, but the head was much harder than the neck, and the Crafted Mountain-Opening Knife¡¯s blade became instantly blunted. While some of the committee members were still in shock, a green Crystal Core suddenly burst forth, which Wang Tao caught in his hand. ¡°Ah? He had a Zombie Core?¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke in surprise, and the others quickly gathered around. ¡°It¡¯s somewhat unexpected, yet it seems logical¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself while looking at the Core in his hand. The reason he suspected Cao Xin might have a Crystal Core was because after he killed Cao Xin, not only did he receive a package, but he also gained an increase in his maximum HP! And it was a substantial addition of 50 HP, bringing Wang Tao¡¯s HP to [1200/1200] now. He only gamed HP from killing special zombies that dropped Cores, so Wang Tao had reason to believe that Ability Users might also drop Crystal Cores upon death. And his guess was indeed correct. However, this Crystal Core was slightly different from the other Zombie Cores. [Level 1 Crystal CoreSlime Spitter] [Quality: Rare (50%)] [Purity: 50% (Side Effects: None)] [Slime Spitter: Consumes energy to vomit a large amount of white slime. The slime can stick to most objects, and the adhesion duration varies depending on the situation] This green Core was something Wang Tao had never seen before, with a 50% rare quality. Wang Tao thought this might be a unique quality exclusive to human Ability Users. Of course, he wasn¡¯t certain yet and would have the opportunity to experiment more in the future. However, the focus of this Crystal Core was not its quality but its lack of side effects ¨C it had no side effects at all! Wang Tao had come across many Crystal Cores by now, and he had only seen the lack of side effects in the Self-Destruct Crystal Cores. But since Self-Destruct Cores were one-time-use, it made sense for them to lack side effects. However, the Slime Spitter was not one-time-use. Theoretically, it should have side effects. Wang Tao had reason to suspect that this might be related to the drop from an Ability User. He immediately had a bold guess ¨C because the Ability User absorbed the side effects of this Core, the Crystal Core dropped without any side effects! If this was true, then that would be interesting ¨C conflicts between Ability Users were inevitable! Of course, the absence of side effects did not mean there were no impurities. This Core still contained 50% Internal Impurity, so Wang Tao certainly would not undergo synthesis. After all, too much Internal Impurity could turn one into a zombie. Wang Tao, what¡¯s the success rate of merging with this Crystal Core? When you briefed us before, you didn¡¯t mention green Cores, did you?¡± Xiang Hongbm asked curiously, and the others all turned to Wang Tao as well. After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao replied: ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the success rate of merging with this Crystal Core should be around 50%¡­¡± ¡°So it¡¯s a fifty-fifty chance of success or failure!¡± The rest of the group looked somewhat disappointed. Wang Tao had already educated them that Zombie Cores could have success rates of 60%, 80%, or even 100%. Although the best they had obtained was only 40%, this 50% didn¡¯t seem high. For those with bad luck, a 50% success rate wasn¡¯t fundamentally different from a 20% success rate. Especially for someone like Xiang Hongbin, who had undergone several unsuccessful Core mergers¡­ Seeing the group¡¯s disappointment, Wang Tao smiled and said: ¡°But this Crystal Core¡ªoh no, I should drop the word ¡®zombie¡¯¡ªthis Crystal Core seems to have no side effects¡­¡± ¡°Ah? No side effects? No more worries about turning into a zombie?¡± Lu Gang¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°No, no, no, turning into a zombie is influenced by Internal Impurity, and this Core still has impurities. What I mean by ¡®side effects¡¯ are things like the Glutton Crystal Core causing excessive obesity.¡± ¡°Oh, I see¡­ well, that¡¯s still pretty good!¡± Everyone¡¯s hopes were lifted once again. They had a Glutton Crystal Core in their possession, but they dared not use it. It wasn¡¯t the accumulation of impurities they feared, but rather the terrible side effect of the Glutton; it would make one¡¯s body increasingly obese, and the appetite would grow more and more¡­ If there really were a Glutton Ability User, it was uncertain whether the base could even sustain them.. Chapter 123 - Chapter 123: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter_2 Chapter 123: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter_2 Translator: 549690339 And without that side effect, isn¡¯t it safe to say that fusion could be carried out with ease? As for impurities and the like, they would only become a concern after a great number of crystal cores have been fused, so there¡¯s no need to worry for now. Wang Tao tossed the crystal core to Lu Gang. ¡°You guys decide how to handle this crystal core. I won¡¯t get involved, anyway, since there¡¯s a limited variety of crystal cores everyone can fuse with, even if I wanted to I couldn¡¯t fuse anymore.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Indeed, he felt that at most he could only fuse with one or two different types of crystal cores, and he needed to be cautious with this opportunity. For instance, a self-healing crystal core wouldn¡¯t be half bad, or some other powerful ones. As for this ¡°Slime Spitter¡± crystal core¡­ well, Wang Tao found it somewhat beneath him. Previously, when interrogating Cao Xin, Wang Tao had forced him to use this ability. Wang Tao saw clearly that the ability was just like vomiting out the contents of one¡¯s stomach¡ªutterly disgusting and not even spraying very far. Moreover, Cao Xin also confessed that he felt as uncomfortable as when vomiting every time he used the ability. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t without options; he could pursue better ones. So he didn¡¯t need this ¡°Slime Spitter.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want it?¡± Hong Bin stared at Wang Tao, his interest in the zombie core evident. ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s all help Wang Tao keep an eye out for the specific types of zombies he needs. If we come across any crystal cores that Wang Tao needs, we give him priority. What do you think?¡± Zhen Guo looked around at everyone and said. ¡°No problem!¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it should be.¡± Everyone immediately agreed. Each person could only fuse with a limited variety of zombie crystal cores, and there¡¯s no need for anyone to hoard too many, so a reasonable allocation was the best solution at the moment. ¡°As for this crystal core¡­ let¡¯s discuss it properly and decide who gets to use it. Of course, no matter who it goes to, the rest shouldn¡¯t be disheartened; there will be plenty more opportunities in the future!¡± Zhen Guo spoke with a serious expression. ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°After we decide who gets to use it, we¡¯ll need your help, Wang Tao, to take a look since we don¡¯t have the experience of successful fusion.¡± Zhen Guo said to Wang Tao. ¡°Of course, no problem.¡± Wang Tao agreed with a smile, curious to see what it looked like for others to fuse with crystal cores. His own experience had just been a sense of warmth throughout his body. However, Han Rui had told him that she slept for a long time when she fused with her crystal core. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if Han Rui¡¯s experience was an isolated case or if he was the one who was different. So, if there was a chance, they definitely wanted to observe other people fusing with zombie crystal cores. Zhen Guo and the others left, leaving the soldiers to take care of the bodies on the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao called for Yu Qin to follow. After getting into the car, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush back. Instead, he looked at the spoils of war from Cao Xin and his two subordinates. Killing ordinary people would also yield loot, and naturally, so would killing ability users. The two subordinates of Cao Xin dropped two ordinary crafting materials, but what Cao Xin dropped was something Wang Tao had never seen before. [Received: Slime Grenade x5] [Slime Grenade: Detonating it produces a large amount of white slime within a certain range.] A total of five slime grenades. Despite being called grenades, they didn¡¯t resemble traditional ones, but rather looked like blobs of greenish-yellow vomit, which somehow seemed rather disgusting. From the description, the effect of these slime grenades appeared to be similar to the ¡°Slime Spitter¡± ability. Did that not mean having the equivalent of five uses of the Slime Spitter Ability? Even if it was disgusting, as long as it was useful, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fussy about appearances¡ªhe did not mind. After returning home, Wang Tao brought out some targets and started practicing his throwing technique in the yard. As for his throwing technique¡­ well, he had no technique. It was pure brute force. These slime grenades could come in handy later on but only if he could throw them accurately. Therefore, learning how to throw properly was essential. And it wasn¡¯t just grenades he wanted to practice with; he also intended to practice throwing firefighter axes. Before becoming a committee member, he had exchanged all his Contribution Points for firefighter axes at the resource department¡ªa total of ten. Now that he was a committee member with increased authority, he secured another ten firefighter axes using his power. Aside from the hunter¡¯s personal axes, he reckoned that he must have acquired nearly all of the firefighter axes in the entire base. The reason for amassing so many axes was naturally because they were effective. For someone like him with great strength, an axe was perfect for hacking at zombies, so having several spares was prudent. Another reason was his desire to master the Flying Axe technique. After all, the ability to attack from a distance was much safer than close-range combat. Firearms were too loud, so silent ranged attacks were the best. Especially when he heard that an ability user named Shao Yong could easily use a steel bar like a javelin to snipe zombies from a distance. Wang Tao felt that if others could do it, there was no reason he couldn¡¯t. So for his daily training regimen, learning to throw would be crucial. He had great strength, which should give him an advantage in this area. He wasn¡¯t too demanding; he wasn¡¯t aiming to throw very far or with great precision¡ªjust to ensure his Flying Axe could hit a target at a distance of about ten meters with one hundred percent accuracy. In the evening. After finishing his training and dinner, Zhen Guo contacted him, asking him to come over for matters related to zombie core fusion. Wang Tao drove to the top floor of the comprehensive building, where the other six committee members were already waiting. ¡°We¡¯ve come to a decision. This crystal core will go to Feng Ming¡¯an. What do you think?¡± Chapter 124 - Chapter 124: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter_3 Chapter 124: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter_3 Translator: 549690339 Wei Zhenguo saw Wang Tao coming and immediately spoke up. ¡°I certainly don¡¯t have a problem with it.¡± Wang Tao nodded with a smile. ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s decided!¡± Although according to the rules, such matters only require the agreement of five people, and Wang Tao had expressed no interest in participating, Wang Tao was still there, so it was only proper to show him some respect. If Wang Tao had any opinions, they would take them into account. ¡°But I still have to tell you about the specifics we¡¯ve discussed.¡± ¡°First of all, as you mentioned before, we will try not to use White Crystal Cores when fusing in the future, since the success rate is too low. We have to start with at least Blue Crystal Cores, and save the white ones for later¡­¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s the issue of who gets to use the Crystal Cores. There¡¯s no question about it, we committee members definitely have the highest priority. After all, in these apocalyptic times, strength is everything; without it, you can¡¯t command respect¡­¡± ¡°As for the order in which we committee members use the Crystal Cores, the result of our discussion is that those who go out to scavenge for supplies will use them first, followed by those who stay inside the base. The outside world is very dangerous, so self-protection abilities are necessary.¡± ¡°This means that you, Wang Tao, me, Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, and Feng Ming¡¯an have the highest priority. Ren Jie and Liu He are a little lower on the list, as they basically don¡¯t leave the base and are exposed to less danger¡­¡± ¡°Now the situation is that you don¡¯t need this Crystal Core. And I¡¯m injured and still in a wheelchair; Xiang Hongbin finds vomiting too disgusting¡ªthough I suspect it¡¯s because he doesn¡¯t trust his own luck; Lu Gang wants a Zombie Core that can directly increase combat capability¡­ As for Feng Ming¡¯an, he doesn¡¯t mind. So, in the end, we¡¯ve decided to let Feng Ming¡¯an use it.¡± After listening to Wei Zhenguo¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao nodded, finding it reasonable. Lu Gang took out the green Slime Spitter Crystal Core, which had been cleaned and had no traces of filth on it, with a mass of white slime slowly wriggling inside. Aside from Wang Tao, everybody else subconsciously swallowed their saliva. ¡°Can I just eat it directly?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an was a bit nervous and excited. Although they had all experimented with Zombie Cores before, this was after all a Crystal Core with a 50% chance of success without any side effects, so he was still nervous, afraid that he might mess something up. ¡°Just eat it directly.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After getting the affirmation from Wang Tao, the Ability User, Feng Ming¡¯an didn¡¯t dawdle, picked up the Crystal Core, and directly popped it into his mouth. Glug- You don¡¯t need to chew Crystal Cores; they melt as soon as they enter the mouth. ¡°So sleepy¡­¡± After eating the Crystal Core, Feng Ming¡¯an felt his eyelids start to fight each other. Everyone turned to look at Wang Tao, who clapped his hands with a smile and then explained. ¡°Looks like Commissioner Feng got lucky, with a 50% chance and he won the gamble. If you experience symptoms like body heat or sleepiness after fusion, then it means it was successful. If there¡¯s no reaction, then it¡¯s a failure.¡± Wang Tao had actually never seen what a failed fusion looked like, but there were people in the base like Xiang Hongbin who had used Zombie Cores, but he had no reaction at the time. So using him as a negative example would suffice. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Drifting in and out of consciousness, Feng Ming¡¯an heard Wang Tao¡¯s words and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and then promptly flopped down onto the table and began snoring. The other committee members also clapped enthusiastically. ¡°Haha! To actually succeed, this is a good start!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed loudly. Just as Wei Zhenguo had said, he didn¡¯t trust his own luck, so it was a great relief that Feng Ming¡¯an succeeded; next time, he wanted to get a Core with a higher success rate! ¡°Exactly, this is indeed a good start. I hope each of us can become an Ability User!¡± Ren Jie added with a smile. ¡°So how long does Commissioner Feng need to sleep?¡± Liu He looked at the sleeping Feng Ming¡¯an, slightly concerned. Wang Tao thought for a moment and said: ¡°It¡¯s hard to say exactly how long, but even if he sleeps for several days, there¡¯s no need to worry about him starving to death. There¡¯s plenty of energy in this Core.¡± Han Rui had slept for a long time when she fused with a Core, and she didn¡¯t face any physical issues. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Liu He was relieved. Next, Lu Gang and Ren Jie carried Feng Ming¡¯an back to his home, and then arranged for someone to watch over him. They were to report if there was any movement. Feng Ming¡¯an woke up sooner than Wang Tao had expected, the next morning, just as if he had had a normal night¡¯s sleep. Wang Tao and the others went to Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s house and Wang Tao noticed he now had a 100-point Mana bar. ¡°Do you feel anything special?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked with some concern. Feng Ming¡¯an touched his slightly potbellied stomach and said: ¡°I always feel like there¡¯s something in my stomach, like I could vomit it out at any time, just like this¡ªblargh!¡± A large puddle of white vomit came out of Feng Ming¡¯an, instantly covering the floor beneath his feet. A chair was directly covered in white slime. Wang Tao and the others sidestepped with some disgust, while Lu Gang quickly grabbed a broom from the corner and poked the chair, only to find it unmoved; instead, the broom also got a bit stuck. ¡°This is like super glue!¡± Lu Gang was astonished. Wang Tao, on the other hand, was looking at Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s Attributes; the act of vomiting had cost him 20 Mana, meaning he could vomit up to five times in a short period. ¡°Cough¡ªcough cough¡ªthat¡¯s a bit uncomfortable.¡± Feng Ming¡¯an covered his mouth, looking a bit distressed. The taste of vomit was unpleasant. Still, seeing the effect he had caused, he got excited again. ¡°I am finally an Ability User, too!¡± ¡°Congratulations!¡± Wang Tao congratulated him, then added: ¡°How about we go test your Ability¡¯s range and area of effect?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± The group went to the entrance, and Feng Ming¡¯an exerted himself to his utmost and vomited fiercely towards the outside. ¡°Blargh¡ª¡± Seeing the vomit reach a distance of about three to four meters and form a puddle about two meters in diameter on the ground, Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Looks good! With this ability, you could specifically hunt special zombies!¡± Chapter 125 - Chapter 125: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_l Chapter 125: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_l Translator: 549690339 | Feng Ming¡¯an wasn¡¯t highly skilled at using his Slime Spitter ability, and he also had to figure out how to overcome the uncomfortable feeling that came with vomiting, so he decided to practice more within the base before going out to hunt special zombies. But others were a bit more impatient, such as Lu Gang and Xiang Hong Bin, who went straight out. Watching Feng Ming¡¯an become an Ability User, they were quite envious! Wang Tao was training at home and didn¡¯t join them. However, Wang Tao said if they encountered any special zombies that they couldn¡¯t handle, they could contact him directly. After all, those special zombies with Crystal Cores weren¡¯t so easy to come across. While Wang Tao was practicing with his Flying Axe at home, Sun Weiguang showed up again. Wang Tao was curious about his visit; hadn¡¯t Han Rui told him about the video issue? Outside the Commissioner¡¯s area. Sun Weiguang stood at the base of the wall sheltering from the rain, feeling uneasy in case Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t meet with him. Fortunately, after waiting for more than half an hour, a guard finally told him he could go in. ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Sun Weiguang quickly expressed his gratitude. Arriving outside Building No. 8, Sun Weiguang straightened his clothes before knocking on the door. Click- The door opened, and the face of a beautiful woman appeared. ¡°Sun Weiguang, right? Please come in.¡± Ding Yuqin stepped aside very politely to let him through. ¡°Thank you!¡± Sun Weiguang knew she was Commissioner Wang¡¯s woman; he didn¡¯t dare to look too much and quickly entered with his head down. After bringing Sun Weiguang inside, Ding Yuqin went upstairs, and Wang Tao was waiting for him in the living room. ¡°Good morning, Commissioner Wang!¡± Sun Weiguang hurriedly greeted him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Wang Tao asked indifferently. ¡°Ahem, you saved my wife, and I¡¯ve always been at a loss for how to thank you properly¡­ However, yesterday, something occurred to me. I have a friend who¡¯s a bow and arrows enthusiast¡­ He has a lot of bows and arrows at home, and there¡¯s even a bow worth thousands of dollars¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? Bow and arrows?¡± Upon hearing about bow and arrows, Wang Tao became interested. In certain situations, bow and arrows can be much more useful than guns. Of course, they also have a higher learning curve¡­ Was Sun Weiguang offering him bow and arrows? ¡°Yes, bow and arrows! I think you would need them! And only someone like you would be worthy of using such weapons¡­¡± Sun Weiguang immediately flattered him. ¡°Where are the bow and arrows?¡± ¡°Er¡­ the bow and arrows are at his place¡­¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s expression turn sour in an instant, Sun Weiguang hurriedly continued: ¡°Cough, Commissioner Wang, I know his address! I¡¯m not capable of going there myself, but with your strength, it would definitely be no problem!¡± ¡°If you have nothing else, you can leave now.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand with some impatience. Good grief, this Sun Weiguang actually dared to offer him pie in the sky? He had seen too many of these tricks in society and was already immune to them. Even if there really was such a bow and arrows, wouldn¡¯t the owner use them himself? Would he really just leave them at home waiting for Wang Tao to come and get them? Fearing that Wang Tao might kick him out, Sun Weiguang hurriedly explained anxiously: ¡°No, Commissioner Wang, there might be a misunderstanding! My friend got infected! We talked on the phone during the virus outbreak. By that time, he was already infected, and his bow and arrows are all at his place. He told me he was about to die and asked me to take his things to use! But I didn¡¯t dare to go¡­¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s frown relaxed a little. If what Sun Weiguang said was true, then it might indeed be something to look forward to. ¡°Where¡¯s the address?¡± ¡°It¡¯s at¡­¡± Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t dare to hide anything and quickly gave a specific address. Wang Tao memorized the address silently and then spoke: ¡°Alright, I got it. Is there anything else?¡± Although it was the second time he asked Sun Weiguang if there was anything else, this time Wang Tao¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t as stern as before, though he still wasn¡¯t smiling. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s attitude softening a bit, Sun Weiguang eagerly took the opportunity. ¡°Ahem, there¡¯s one more small favor I¡¯d like to ask of you¡­¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°That is, I want to change my job. Personally, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m quite cut out for farming¡­¡± Sun Weiguang looked somewhat pained. In Shuize Base, everyone had to work, and his job was digging and farming. That job was secured for him by Han Rui. Although it was tiring, the work was safe, and importantly, it provided two to three Ration Tickets per day! Many jobs only yield one Ration Ticket a day, so work that gives more than two tickets definitely counted as well-paid. But Sun Weiguang was finding it hard to cope. He had never farmed in his life, let alone done heavy manual labor. Having him farm was asking too much of him! Had it been before he arrived at the base, he would have been willing to do anything, even shovel manure, if it meant getting security. But now that he had arrived at the base and attained safety, he felt that he wasn¡¯t suited for farming, or rather, he wasn¡¯t suited for any kind of physical labor; he was better suited for work that required using his brain! Unfortunately, Han Rui refused to change his job. She claimed she didn¡¯t have the authority, but Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t believe her, thinking it was just her excuse. He was convinced that Han Rui must have found out about his affair with Ou Yingying! Especially these past two days, Han Rui¡¯s mental state seemed off, sometimes staring into space.. Sun Weiguang asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn¡¯t say, and her complexion looked very grim, especially the way she looked at him; it was a sad and disappointed gaze! Chapter 126 - Chapter 126: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_2 Chapter 126: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_2 Translator: 549690339 | Sun Weiguang was now certain that Han Rui had definitely discovered his affair with Ou Yingying. After all, ever since he arrived at the base, he had rushed to see Ou Yingying whenever he had the chance and had never once sought out Han Rui. It was no surprise that Han Rui had found out something. Although Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t know why Han Rui didn¡¯t just confront him directly, he knew he could no longer rely on her. And with Han Rui¡¯s old leader dead, her current power probably wasn¡¯t as great as before¡­ Moreover, Han Rui still had a pretty good relationship with Wang Tao, so before Han Rui confronted him, he had to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails as soon as possible! Otherwise, if Han Rui confronted him, or even abandoned him, he would truly be without any support! Sun Weiguang also knew that Wang Tao was a commissioner with plenty of resources, so it was extremely difficult to forge a relationship with him. He racked his brains and finally remembered the matter of bow and arrows. The reason it only occurred to him now was that he had previously known he had no ability to obtain the bow and arrows and had subconsciously ignored this matter. Over the past few days, he heard that the soldiers venturing outside were afraid to fire their guns, mentioning some extremely fast zombies outside. He felt that Wang Tao would probably need these bows and arrows. So he came today to try his luck and see if Wang Tao was interested. When Wang Tao asked him to leave the address, it indicated at least that he was interested. At that moment, Wang Tao asked him if there was anything else, and he hurriedly brought up the matter of changing jobs. If he wasn¡¯t thick-skinned now, he wouldn¡¯t have any chance later! ¡°Changing jobs isn¡¯t something I¡¯m responsible for. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help you.¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. Sun Weiguang¡¯s face suddenly stiffened. He knew this wasn¡¯t Wang Tao¡¯s responsibility, it was Member Ren Jie¡¯s. But Wang Tao was also a commissioner, so a simple greeting should suffice! It seemed the information about the bows wasn¡¯t enough to get him a new job! Sun Weiguang was very disappointed in his heart. Wang Tao gave him the feeling similar to those he had encountered before the apocalypse, who took money without getting the job done. Of course, he also knew his news was unverified and therefore not highly valuable¡­ Sun Weiguang dared not show any hint of disappointment on his face, for he still had a chance and couldn¡¯t afford to offend Wang Tao at this point. ¡°Do you have anything else?¡± This was the third time Wang Tao had asked him. Sun Weiguang quickly got up. ¡°I have nothing else, so I won¡¯t disturb Commissioner Wang any longer!¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded lightly. After leaving the commissioner¡¯s area, Sun Weiguang pondered all the way what to offer Wang Tao next time¡­ Clinging to powerful legs wasn¡¯t so easy after all! ¡°Ouch!¡± Walking with his head down, Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t notice his umbrella colliding with another, drenching the other person with the water from his umbrella. ¡°Can¡¯t you watch where you¡¯re going¡ª oh, sorry, sorry!¡± Sun Weiguang instinctively wanted to curse, but when he looked up, he saw that there were five people, all women, and he was alone without Han Rui by his side¡­ so he immediately chickened out. ¡°Really, some people just don¡¯t watch where they go!¡± The woman he bumped into was voluptuous and glared at Sun Weiguang with malice. She was holding onto another woman who looked even more attractive. Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t recognize the voluptuous woman, but he had some impression of the more attractive woman next to her¡ªshe seemed to be a minor celebrity, called Huo¡­ Huo Ziyi? If it had been peacetime, Sun Weiguang would have argued back no matter what. But now, in the post-apocalyptic world, not to mention the possibility of being beaten, Han Rui was responsible for managing such disputes. If she came over, it would be very embarrassing for him. ¡°My mistake, my mistake!¡± A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him, so Sun Weiguang hastily apologized again. ¡°Let¡¯s just hurry on,¡± Huo Ziyi pulled her companion. ¡°Hmph!¡± After a snort, the companion didn¡¯t continue to make trouble and quickly walked away with Huo Ziyi. Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t care too much initially, but the words they said as they left suddenly made him pause. ¡°Ziyi sister, you just need to be bold! What man doesn¡¯t like a beauty, unless he¡¯s a eunuch? And Commissioner Wang is clearly not one, he¡¯s too macho! If you dress up and throw yourself at him, do you think Commissioner Wang would refuse? Definitely not! Then you¡¯ll have successfully clung to the commissioner¡¯s coattails! We¡¯re all waiting to live the good life with you!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re too shy¡­ Sister will go with you! I guarantee we¡¯ll sweep Commissioner Wang off his feet¡­¡± Hearing their voices fade away, Sun Weiguang felt disdainful. ¡°Heh, a bunch of cheap women, so shameless!¡± But he quickly shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s the advantage of women, especially pretty women¡­ pity, I¡¯m not a woman¡ªwait, pretty women?¡± Sun Weiguang¡¯s expression suddenly changed as he seemed to think of something. ¡°Commissioner Wang, Han Rui requests to see you.¡± Hearing the voice from the intercom, Wang Tao felt a bit speechless. Had Sun Weiguang and Han Rui coordinated this? She arrived right after his front foot stepped out. But Han Rui was definitely not the same as Sun Weiguang. To him, Sun Weiguang was useless, but Han Rui was a capable Ability User that Wang Tao was also willing to befriend. ¡°Let her in.¡± It wasn¡¯t long before Han Rui, holding an umbrella, entered. She looked worse compared to two days before, with red eyes and faint dark circles.. Chapter 127 - Chapter 127: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_3 Chapter 127: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_3 Translator: 549690339 After exchanging pleasantries, Han Rui asked somewhat anxiously: ¡°Wang Tao, that¡­ have you found out who went to my office that day¡­¡± ¡°Well¡­ I did find out, I¡¯ve even approached the person¡­¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± Hope appeared on Han Rui¡¯s face. No matter what, Sun Weiguang was her husband, and she really did not want Sun Weiguang to be cast out! ¡°But the person has asked me not to tell you who it is. They said that unless you tell me what exactly is going on¡­ It¡¯s difficult for me since both parties are acquaintances¡­ Speaking of which, what exactly is going on with you? Is there something you can¡¯t tell?¡± A look of difficulty, mixed with curiosity, crossed Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°What?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Han Rui was a bit stunned. Then she shook her head repeatedly, ¡°I can¡¯t say, I cannot say!¡± If she said it, Sun Weiguang would be finished! ¡°Then I can¡¯t help you. We¡¯re all friends, I can¡¯t betray someone else for you, can I?¡± Wang Tao spoke with a hint of helplessness. He admitted, he was somewhat enjoying teasing her. But hey, teasing people was pretty interesting. The hesitation was apparent on Han Rui¡¯s face as she hung her head, her gaze flickering. After a moment, she lifted her head again as if she had made a significant decision. ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell you, I hope you¡ªoh, forget it.¡± Han Rui shook her head, then lowered it slightly, and said in a heavy tone: ¡°Before I came to the base, I once saved a few survivors. During one operation, we were cornered by zombies upstairs. To escape the zombies¡¯ attack, I¡­ I pushed two survivors off the building! They successfully drew the zombies¡¯ attention, and then we managed to escape¡­ I¡¯m sorry for them! Wuu wuu¡­ And all this was recorded on video by a hidden survivor¡­¡± II II Wang Tao looked at Han Rui with some shock. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was the one who had taken the video, he might have believed her! This Han Rui actually took the blame for abandoning her comrades upon herself! Was her relationship with her husband really that good? So good that she¡¯d be willing to die for him? Wang Tao felt that Sun Weiguang¡¯s attitude towards Han Rui wasn¡¯t very good¡­ As for Han Rui¡¯s feelings towards Sun Weiguang, it was hard for him to tell. Could she be a pathetic admirer of her husband? ¡°I intended to keep it hidden, but¡­ I suppose that person wants to negotiate with me. I reckon I can no longer stay in the base, I just want to meet that person and ask them to delete the video. As for me¡­ considering the hard work I¡¯ve put in for the base, if not merits then at least efforts, I hope you can let me off, and I will leave the base on my own¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s tone was very downcast. This was the best solution she could think of¡ªshe took the blame upon herself, then begged Wang Tao for mercy, asking the committee not to punish her. After that, she would leave the base and never come back¡­ After all, no matter what, Sun Weiguang was her lawful husband. Even if their relationship had soured, she didn¡¯t want Sun Weiguang to die¡­ As a wife, she would at least have done her duty to Sun Weiguang. If Sun Weiguang were to leave, he would face certain death. But if she went out, she still had a good chance of surviving¡­ Of course, there was another problem, which was whether the person who recorded the video would make it public! Han Rui had no control over this, she could only take it one step at a time¡­ After his initial shock, Wang Tao spoke playfully: ¡°Han Rui, are you sure you betrayed two comrades? If this is true and someone has evidence, even if I speak up for you, you won¡¯t be able to stay in the base.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure¡­¡± Han Rui dared not look into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes; she wasn¡¯t someone who was good at lying, and she feared Wang Tao would see through her. ¡°It¡¯s your business, and I don¡¯t want to meddle too much¡­ How about this, I¡¯ll schedule a time for you, come to me tomorrow night. The two of you can meet and talk.¡± ¡°Yes! Thank you, thank you!¡± Han Rui instantly expressed her gratitude to Wang Tao with a relieved face. Watching Han Rui¡¯s despondent departure, Wang Tao felt somewhat troubled. It was a shame that someone so utterly devoted to Sun Weiguang couldn¡¯t become part of his team. But soon, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll confront her tomorrow night. As for what she does, that¡¯s her business.¡± The reason Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly talk to Han Rui about this matter was that he didn¡¯t want their relationship to turn sour. After all, Han Rui¡¯s Ability was very impressive and could be a significant help to Wang Tao when hunting zombies in the future. But since Han Rui was so frustrating, let it be. Could he, Wang Tao, really lack just one team member? It was just a Zombie Core with Perception Ability; he was sure to come across it eventually. That evening. Right after having dinner, Sun Weiguang came over again. This made Wang Tao frown slightly; were this couple teaming up to bother him? Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to deal with Sun Weiguang; he was planning to discuss life with his sister-in-law. However, Sun Weiguang sent a message through the Guard, saying he had something good to offer Wang Tao, even better than what he had mentioned in the morning! Better than the news about the Bow and Arrows? This piqued Wang Tao¡¯s interest. Well then, let¡¯s meet and see; it won¡¯t waste more than a few minutes. Upon meeting Sun Weiguang again, he had still nothing in his hands. He spoke to Wang Tao with a bit of secrecy: ¡°Commissioner Wang, I have prepared the item for you! Come with me!¡± ¡°¡­Alright, I¡¯m curious to see what you have. If it doesn¡¯t satisfy me¡­¡± ¡°You will definitely be satisfied!¡± Wang Tao followed Sun Weiguang out and then drove with him to an apartment complex. After getting out of the car, Sun Weiguang led Wang Tao back to his home. Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled, what good thing did Sun Weiguang have that he couldn¡¯t bring out and had to keep at home? Sun Weiguang opened the bedroom door. ¡°Commissioner Wang, this is the gift I have prepared for you!¡± Seeing the scene inside, Wang Tao was dumbfounded. On the large bed in the bedroom lay a woman in pajamas on her side. The woman¡¯s eyes were closed, her face flushed, her forehead slightly sweaty, and her body twisted unnaturally as if she was uncomfortable¡­ This woman was none other than Sun Weiguang¡¯s wife, Han Rui.. Chapter 128 - Chapter 128: Chapter 95 Superiority ! Chapter 128: Chapter 95 Superiority ! Translator: 549690339 ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. ¡°Ahem, Commissioner Wang, you saved my wife. I don¡¯t have much to thank you with¡­ If you don¡¯t mind, feel free to rest here¡­¡± After Sun Weiguang said this, his old face also blushed. But then he thought, Han Rui must have already found out about him and Ou Yingying, and he couldn¡¯t rely on Han Rui for a living anymore. So why not take advantage of the fact that he and Han Rui were still living under the same roof and have Han Rui help him one last time? Han Rui loved her so much, she would surely fulfill his wish! Wang Tao had only seen the plot of offering one¡¯s wife in literary works; this was his first encounter with it in reality, and he was somewhat at a loss. After all, he was a decent man! ¡°Are you sure¡­ you want your wife to sleep with me?¡± Wang Tao frowned and asked. ¡°Sure!¡± Sun Weiguang nodded vigorously. ¡°You won¡¯t even ask your wife¡¯s opinion?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°No need to ask, I¡¯m the head of the household!¡± Sun Weiguang said, lifting his head high. ¡°What if your wife resists?¡± ¡°Impossible, I drugged her! She won¡¯t be able to resist, and she won¡¯t remember anything when she wakes up! You just use her with peace of mind!¡± This was what he exchanged for with many of Han Rui¡¯s Ration Tickets from other survivors. Wang Tao was utterly speechless, meeting such a scumbag for the first time. Han Rui really should have seen better. Luckily the person who came today was him; if it were someone with impure intentions, Han Rui¡¯s innocence would have been ruined. ¡°Mmm~¡± Han Rui suddenly let out a pained moan from the bed. Seeing this, Sun Weiguang hurriedly said: ¡°Ahem, Commissioner Wang, the drug I used was a bit strong! You¡¯d better hurry up, otherwise she¡¯ll hurt her body! I¡¯ll wait outside!¡± Without giving Wang Tao the chance to refuse, Sun Weiguang quickly ran out the door, and thoughtfully closed it behind him. Wang Tao shook his head speechlessly, then walked to the bedside. He was not the kind of person to take advantage of others in difficulty; he just wanted to see how Han Rui really was. But seeing Han Rui¡¯s expression, Wang Tao paused. Because Han Rui¡¯s eyes were open, her face flushed, yet filled with tears. ¡°Han Rui? Can you hear me? If you can, blink once.¡± Wang Tao whispered. Han Rui stared intently at Wang Tao, eyes brimming with tears, then she blinked once. ¡°So it seems you heard everything?¡± Han Rui blinked again. Wang Tao shrugged. ¡°Good that you heard it, this has nothing to do with me, it¡¯s all your husband¡¯s doing.¡± Han Rui blinked once more. ¡°These so-called drugs, should be okay after a while, right? If not, shall we see a doctor?¡± Wang Tao tentatively asked. Han Rui did not blink this time, but after a long wait, she finally opened her mouth. Wang Tao leaned closer to hear what she was trying to say. Suddenly, Han Rui reached out and weakly embraced Wang Tao¡¯s neck. In despair, she closed her eyes, and tears fell from the corners. ¡°I¡­ feel terrible¡­¡± ¡°Help me¡­¡± An hour later. Han Rui, with disheveled hair, lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, her eyes swollen and her gaze hollow and confused. The helpful Wang Tao clutched a cigarette for after the act, but didn¡¯t light it. He didn¡¯t smoke; he just wanted the feeling. Then Wang Tao gently brushed Han Rui¡¯s hair from her forehead, revealing her pale, pitiful little face. ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± After a long silence, Han Rui finally murmured, ¡°I want to die, but I survived with so much difficulty, I can¡¯t die¡­ I don¡¯t hate you, I hate him¡­ but I, I don¡¯t know what to do¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know? Then leave it to me to take care of it¡ª¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Han Rui interrupted him. ¡°No! I, I¡¯ll deal with it myself¡­¡± Seeing Han Rui¡¯s confused look, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure she could handle it well. However, he chose to respect her decision. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then stood up to get dressed. Han Rui just watched Wang Tao, without saying a word. After dressing, Wang Tao considerately covered Han Rui with the blanket, gently wiped away the tear stains from the corners of her eyes, and then pushed the door open and left the room. As soon as Wang Tao left, Han Rui buried her head in the blanket and cried bitterly, but her tears were all dried up, and she couldn¡¯t cry anymore¡­ Outside, seeing Wang Tao finally come out, Sun Weiguang heaved a sigh of relief. More than an hour, is that a normal amount of time? Could his wife endure such a toll¡­ ¡°Ahem, Commissioner Wang, are you satisfied with my wife?¡± Sun Weiguang asked softly. At this moment, he himself felt a bit shameless, but thinking that Han Rui would abandon him anyway, and that he used her to exchange for his ¡°position,¡± he felt it was worth it. Wang Tao glanced at him and said nothing. He was very satisfied; Han Rui and Ding Yuqin were completely different styles. But such matters were better kept to oneself, no need to share with others. It¡¯s not like he could tell Sun Weiguang that his wife was great ¡ª ahem, seems like it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that? Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s silence, Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t mind. If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t satisfied, he certainly wouldn¡¯t have stayed inside for more than an hour. ¡°I¡¯ll be going back now. As for the matter of changing jobs¡­ I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Wang Tao left with big strides, showing no signs of longing. ¡°Take care, do visit whenever you¡¯re free!¡± Sun Weiguang beamed with joy as he saw Wang Tao downstairs, then hurried back home. Seeing that Han Rui was still sleeping soundly in the bedroom, he withdrew, then left the house directly.. Chapter 129 - Chapter 129: Chapter 95 Superiority ! Chapter 129: Chapter 95 Superiority ! Translator: 549690339 ¡°Go to Yingying¡¯s place!¡± Only in Ou Yingying¡¯s company could he find the self-confidence of being a man. The next day. Wang Tao looked at his visibly improved Flying Axe Throwing Technique and was quite satisfied with himself. His Body Strengthening had a Hidden Ability that wasn¡¯t limited to ordinary exercises; practices like throwing objects also received certain enhancements. After training for this period, he wouldn¡¯t claim to hit the mark every time, but at least his mid and short-range throws were accurate. Gone were the embarrassing moments when he aimed for the leg but hit the hand instead. Now he could barely claim to know how to use the Flying Axe. ¡°However, as good as the Flying Axe is, I feel like it still falls short compared to Bow and Arrows¡­¡± He had a limited number of Firefighter Axes, and he couldn¡¯t possibly carry too many at once. But with Bow and Arrows, it was different ¨C at least he could carry a quiver of arrows, and it should be more energy-efficient. As for the lethality, modern Bow and Arrows should not be lacking. Especially the one Sun Weiguang mentioned that his friend had, which was quite expensive; it should be of good quality. ¡°I¡¯ll see when I have time to go there in the next couple of days¡­¡± Wang Tao mused, stroking his chin. The place Sun Weiguang had talked about was slightly far from the base, but it was only about five or six kilometers. The distance from Happy Community to Shuize Base was about the same, and he had arrived successfully. For him, this distance was certainly dangerous, but where wasn¡¯t dangerous in this post-apocalyptic world? As long as it wasn¡¯t some particularly lethal danger, it would be fine. Wang Tao continued to practice the Flying Axe at home; he planned to train for one more day. Tomorrow, he could go out and test his skill. Evening. Han Rui arrived at Wang Tao¡¯s place as promised. She actually didn¡¯t want to come because she didn¡¯t know how to face Wang Tao. Even though it was all Sun Weiguang¡¯s doing and Wang Tao didn¡¯t do it intentionally, the fact was that it had happened. She and Wang Tao had indeed become intimate, and her husband was listening right outside the door¡­ Every time she thought about it, she felt so ashamed she wished she could crawl into a hole! But she wanted to know who had taken those videos. As for the thought of taking the blame for Sun Weiguang, Han Rui was suddenly wavering again. She had always known Sun Weiguang¡¯s flaws but had still been willing to accommodate him. After all, everyone has flaws; she had hers too. They were unavoidable. And they were husband and wife, meant to spend the rest of their lives together. If she couldn¡¯t tolerate each other¡¯s flaws, their future together wouldn¡¯t work out. But she never expected that after doing so much for Sun Weiguang, even being willing to leave the base to give him a better life, he would offer her up to another man for the sake of his own future! Han Rui was truly disappointed and angry, yet she didn¡¯t know how to deal with Sun Weiguang. She had always been doing good deeds and the right things for so many years, but she had never encountered such betrayal by someone so close, and she didn¡¯t know how to resolve it¡­ ¡°You¡¯re here, take a seat.¡± Wang Tao invited Han Rui to sit opposite him. Han Rui had always been a very confident person, not dodging eye contact even in front of council members, but now, let alone meeting Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, she hardly dared to voluntarily look at him. Her feelings for Wang Tao were complicated. He had first been her savior, for which she felt profound gratitude; later, fighting alongside him, she saw him as a teammate she could rely on with her back turned; now, after their unexpected intimate encounter, she¡­ really didn¡¯t know what to do, but strangely, she didn¡¯t dislike Wang Tao¡­ ¡°How did you resolve it?¡± Wang Tao asked with some curiosity. His question about resolution naturally referred to the incident of Sun Weiguang drugging her. ¡°I, I haven¡¯t spoken to him at all¡­¡± Han Rui started, somewhat awkwardly. She had never run away from anything before, thinking evasion was shameful. But now, she had chosen to evade, and although evasion might be shameful, it really worked¡­ ¡°Not speaking to him? That¡¯s it?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Was this her plan for handling it herself? ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s counter-question made Han Rui feel even more awkward. In an attempt to alleviate the awkwardness, she quickly changed the subject, ¡°That person¡­ did they come?¡± Instead of answering directly, Wang Tao said, ¡°Is what you told me yesterday true? Did you really frame two teammates and then it was caught on camera?¡± ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Han Rui replied, her head lowered. ¡°Look up at me.¡± Wang Tao commanded abruptly. Han Rui instinctively lifted her head, and those slightly swollen eyes looked at Wang Tao. Then, unexpectedly, she noticed that Wang Tao seemed handsomer than she remembered. But after barely three seconds, Han Rui avoided his gaze again. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you again, is everything you told me yesterday true? Don¡¯t rush your answer, take your time to think about what has happened recently¡­ then look into my eyes and answer me. We¡¯ve been through life and death together, and I don¡¯t want to be deceived.¡± Han Rui seemed torn, clenching and unclenching her small fists. Meanwhile, Wang Tao waited quietly, not urging her in any way. After what seemed like a long time, Han Rui suddenly took a deep breath, seeming to collapse inward, but feeling much more relaxed at the same time. She lifted her head, bravely met Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, and then began apologetically: Chapter 130 - Chapter 130: Chapter 95 Superiority_3 Chapter 130: Chapter 95 Superiority_3 Translator: 549690339 | ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I deceived you; the truth is, I didn¡¯t murder our teammates-it was Sun Weiguang¡­¡± Han Rui narrated the events exactly as they had happened, even taking out her phone to show the video to Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t look at the phone; instead, he nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Very good; that¡¯s the Han Rui I know!¡± ¡°You¡­ You believe me?¡± Han Rui was somewhat incredulous. Her explanation sounded like she was trying to pass the buck. Normally, the listener would ask detailed questions or want to see her phone. But Wang Tao did none of that; he just believed her. Han Rui suddenly felt touched, although her husband was reluctant to believe her, there were still people who did! But the feeling of being moved came and went quickly, because she then heard Wang Tao say: ¡°Of course I believe you, since I was the one who took the video. ti 11 Han Rui was stunned, and then quickly said: ¡°Wait, what you just said¡­ it wasn¡¯t that you saw the video, but that you took it yourself?¡± Wang Tao nodded, confessing. ¡°Yes, I took it. I was there at the water plant, hiding in the highest crumbling building.¡± ¡öI 11 If it were Sun Weiguang hearing this, he probably would have complained why Wang Tao didn¡¯t help them. But Han Rui wasn¡¯t her useless husband; she was silent for a moment, then she spoke with a hint of surprise: ¡°We almost went to that building¡­ maybe we could¡¯ve met earlier-¡± Han Rui cut off mid-sentence as if she had just thought of something and hurriedly added, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean, you knew me already? So, when we met for the second time at the commercial street, the reason you saved me¡­ ¡°Exactly, it was because I had seen you before and knew of your character. I thought you were worth saving, so I saved you. If it had been your useless husband, I wouldn¡¯t have saved him.¡¯¡¯ Wang Tao lied without even a blush. When he saved Han Rui, her good character was indeed a reason, but another was that she was an Ability User, and he was curious about what other Ability Users were like. Moreover, it was convenient for him at the time¡­ But these were all white lies, harmless. Hearing this, Han Rui flushed slightly, not with shyness, but embarrassment. Because before today, she had lied to Wang Tao¡­ As for Wang Tao calling her husband a waste, Han Rui instinctively ignored it, for she had already come to terms with that fact. ¡°How did you leave then?¡± Han Rui asked, curious. ¡°I had a car. I just drove away; a small number of zombies couldn¡¯t catch me. If you had waited a bit longer, until I lured the zombies away with my car, you wouldn¡¯t have had to pay the price of two teammates¡¯ lives to survive,¡± Wang Tao answered, somewhat painfully. ¡öI 11 Returning to the subject made Han Rui feel miserable. What was more agonizing was that Wang Tao clearly knew everything but pretended not to, leaving her feeling like a clown. Han Rui¡¯s gaze at Wang Tao carried a trace of reproach. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just tell me directly¡­ You even made up a person¡­¡± ¡°Because I wasn¡¯t sure whether you would cover for Sun Weiguang or not. Telling the truth might have worsened our relationship. It turns out, I was right. Indeed, you protected Sun Weiguang.¡± ¡öI 11 Han Rui felt so awkward she could almost dig out a three-bedroom apartment with her foot in embarrassment. ¡°So what do you¡­ What do you want to do with Sun Weiguang?¡± Han Rui now directly referred to her husband by his name. ¡°This matter is only known to you, me, and the two Sun Weiguangs. It doesn¡¯t affect me, as long as you don¡¯t speak of it, as long as they don¡¯t cause trouble later, then I can pretend I don¡¯t know.¡± Wang Tao spoke indifferently. The Survivor Base needed stability. As long as there was stability, there wasn¡¯t much problem. There were surely more things like what Sun Weiguang did, they just hadn¡¯t been exposed. Wang Tao had seen the files managed by Ren Jie, which listed some of the bad things some people at the base had done. As long as it wasn¡¯t related to the base, as long as it didn¡¯t harm the interests of the base, and as long as it didn¡¯t get exposed, there was no great issue. After all, the base was in dire need of workers. If we only accept ¡°good people without a single blemish,¡± then there¡¯s no point in keeping this base open. We might as well shut it down because we can hardly gather a few people. In the apocalypse, where can you find absolutely good people? ¡°¡­Thank you!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s response, Han Rui expressed her gratitude. Although she no longer wanted to deal with Sun Weiguang¡¯s affairs and even wanted to draw a clear line with him, Wang Tao¡¯s reluctance to get involved was partly out of consideration for her, so it was only proper for her to thank him. ¡°Do you have any other business? If not, come and have dinner at my place.¡± Wang Tao got up and sat down next to Han Rui, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he spoke. Han Rui, however, jumped up as if she had been electrocuted. ¡°Wang Tao, please¡­ please behave yourself!¡± Watching Han Rui¡¯s face flush red as blood in an instant, Wang Tao was taken aback. ¡°Last night was out of necessity; can we just pretend that nothing happened¡­?¡± Seeing Wang Tao staring at her, Han Rui quickly added. ¡°Pretend nothing happened? I can¡¯t forget how you insisted on being on top.¡± Wang Tao teased somewhat. ¡°You, you stop it!¡± Seeing Han Rui¡¯s embarrassed face, even with tears sparkling in her eyes, Wang Tao shook his head with a smile. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s pretend nothing happened.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you.¡± Then Wang Tao spoke again: ¡°By the way, I need to go out tomorrow, and you should come with me.¡± ¡°Ah? To scavenge for supplies?¡± ¡°You could say that.¡± Han Rui felt tempted; she truly didn¡¯t want to deal with the trivialities of the base anymore. The outside world was dangerous, but if she were with Wang Tao, the risk would definitely be much lower! Yet, her relationship with Wang Tao was currently rather ambiguous¡­ Han Rui was torn. Since she didn¡¯t refuse right away, it meant she wanted to go. So Wang Tao spoke again: ¡°Let¡¯s settle on that, then. Wait for me at the comprehensive building tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± In the end, Han Rui nodded. ¡°Stay for dinner?¡± Wang Tao invited her again. ¡°No, no! I still have things to do, so I¡¯ll be leaving.¡± Han Rui waved her hands in refusal. It wasn¡¯t that she minded getting a free meal, but mainly because there was another woman in Wang Tao¡¯s house. Although she was unclear about this woman¡¯s status, it was apparent that she was very close to Wang Tao. Staying there would be awkward. Watching Han Rui¡¯s retreating figure, Wang Tao¡¯s face broke into a smile as he perhaps thought of something. ¡°Han Rui left? Weren¡¯t you going to ask her to stay for dinner¡­?¡± At that moment, Ding Yuqin walked over. She never disturbed Wang Tao when he was discussing matters. She had seen Han Rui leave from upstairs before coming down. ¡°Yes, she had some business and left first.¡± Wang Tao briefly explained, then suddenly looked at Ding Yuqin and said: ¡°I think Han Rui is quite a decent person. Sister-in-law, when you¡¯re free, you could try interacting with her. I think you two could become friends.¡± ¡°Ah? No problem!¡± Ding Yuqin was slightly startled but then nodded eagerly. Wang Tao seldom praised people. His praise for Han Rui meant she must have had some exceptional qualities. Chapter 131 - Chapter 131: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain_l Chapter 131: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain_l Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao had planned to go out with Han Rui today, but because a torrential downpour had started last night, he decided to cancel the trip. Although the rain could interfere with the zombies¡¯ perception, heavy rain could also affect people¡¯s movements and senses. It could even pose a life-threatening risk, as excessive rain might lead to flooding disasters. So for the sake of safety, Wang Tao decided to postpone for a day. After Han Rui received the message from Wang Tao, she also quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She was really not comfortable being alone with Wang Tao, although she knew he would likely invite her again later. But for now, delaying it by a day was one less day to worry about¡­ As a committee member, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have specific duties, and he wasn¡¯t inclined to worry about the development of the base, so he had quite a bit of free time when he was there. His plans for today consisted of eating, exercising, sleeping, and playing games with his sister-in-law. He wouldn¡¯t even need to leave the house, living the life of a post-apocalyptic homebody. However, as Wang Tao was exercising, Ding Yuqin¡¯s exclamation suddenly came from upstairs. ¡°Wang Tao, come quick and look!¡± Wang Tao went to the second floor. Ding Yuqin was behind the sliding door to the balcony, pointing at something on the balcony. Following her gaze, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes narrowed instantly. ¡°Is that¡­ Green Vine?¡± On the balcony, several pots of Green Vine were placed, as the plant enjoyed the rain, so Ding Yuqin hadn¡¯t brought them inside. But now, the vines had grown significantly, their leaves as big as lotus leaves! ¡°It is Green Vine¡­ but how did it get so big¡­¡± Ding Yuqin said incredulously. The plants had grown larger before but at a slower pace, nothing as noticeable as this. These Green Vines had grown so much overnight! And it wasn¡¯t just the vines, looking outside, Wang Tao noticed the chives in the yard had also grown larger, about two or three times their previous size! Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows knitted tightly together. In these apocalyptic times, such occurrences weren¡¯t necessarily good news¡­ He slid open the glass door and stretched his hand into the rain. After a moment of keen sensation, Wang Tao quickly withdrew his hand, his expression somewhat grim. ¡°This rain is strange! It feels very uncomfortable!¡± It wasn¡¯t just a psychological discomfort, most importantly, Wang Tao noticed that he was losing HP! About one drop per minute! ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Wang Tao?¡± Ding Yuqin, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s troubled expression, immediately asked with concern. ¡°This rain, it¡¯s toxic!¡± Wang Tao could not explain in detail, mainly because he was unsure of the cause himself, so he offered a simple explanation. ¡°Toxic?¡± Ding Yuqin was startled, and quickly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s arm, pulling him back into the room, ¡°Then don¡¯t touch the rain!¡± Feeling Ding Yuqin¡¯s concern, Wang Tao shook his head: ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry too much, sister-in-law. The toxicity isn¡¯t severe, we just need to avoid prolonged contact.¡± Wang Tao looked at his hand again, but saw no signs of wounds or other problems. ¡°Don¡¯t go out until the rain stops, sister-in-law.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin closed all doors and windows in the house, and then he contacted the other committee members to inform them that the rain was toxic. Wang Tao had no idea what the situation with the rain causing HP loss was all about, whether it was a fixed rate of one drop per minute, whether the HP loss would start slowly and increase over time, or if the HP loss only occurred upon initial contact but then stopped. All these possibilities existed, so without further testing, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say how toxic the rain was. After communicating with the other committee members, he discovered that the rain wasn¡¯t just toxic! ¡°This rain seems to be corrosive; after my car was left out over night, the exterior has rusted!¡± ¡°The flowers and plants I planted in front of my door, some have grown larger, but others have withered as if they were sprayed with pesticide¡­ ¡°A soldier reported to me that the zombies outside seem to be rotting even more¡­¡± After exchanging information for a while, everyone couldn¡¯t decide whether the rain was a blessing or a curse. They could only wait and see after it stopped. Then Ren Jie began broadcasting throughout the base¡ªsome fixed areas within the base were equipped with loudspeakers used to receive information from the committee. The volume of the loudspeakers wasn¡¯t loud, but with people nearby who could relay the messages to others, a base-wide broadcast could be achieved. Ren Jie notified all survivors to stay indoors and not to go out, to try not to get rained on, as the rain seemed problematic. As for the specifics, such as it being toxic or corrosive, Ren Jie didn¡¯t mention these guesses. Wang Tao thought Ren Jie had forgotten to mention the details, but soon realized he had underestimated the situation- the rain was getting heavier, and water was beginning to accumulate in the base. To drain this water, they needed to organize a workforce. Ren Jie then began instructing survivors to put on raincoats and start draining the water! ¡°We can¡¯t tell them the rain is toxic for the moment. If they refuse to drain the water out of fear, our base might be at risk of flooding¡­ Ren Jie explained. Everyone, including Wang Tao, fell silent. Though it might sound unethical, as the saying goes, ¡°a kind man cannot be a good official,¡± Ren Jie made this decision considering the overall welfare of the base, so there was nothing wrong with it. When organizing hands for draining the water, someone needed to supervise, and Wang Tao himself, clad in a raincoat, took charge. Considering the rain¡¯s corrosive nature, Wang Tao didn¡¯t drive his own car. He owned two vehicles, an electric SUV and a diesel pickup, but both were parked in an indoor garage and had not been exposed to the rain.. Chapter 132 - Chapter 132: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain 2 Chapter 132: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain 2 Translator: 549690339 ¡ª There were actually quite a few vehicles inside the base, and Wang Tao directly requisitioned an off-road vehicle from a staff member on duty. The other committee members had gone ahead, and before Wang Tao set off he first went to the teachers¡¯ apartments. When Wang Tao entered the teachers¡¯ apartment building, he happened to see Sun Weiguang holding a walkie-talkie and talking to someone. Wang Tao called out to him. ¡°Sun Weiguang, where is your wife, Han Rui?¡± Startled by the shout, Sun Weiguang saw Wang Tao and subconsciously replied: ¡°She, she¡¯s at home¡­¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Without another word, Wang Tao headed up. Sun Weiguang opened his mouth but didn¡¯t know whether he should go home or not. Although he was still living with Han Rui, they had been sleeping separately for some time. Han Rui hardly talked to him and was very indifferent, treating him like an ordinary roommate. At times, Sun Weiguang still felt a bit upset. After all, Han Rui was his wife and they had lived together for some time, but now they were like strangers¡­ They had agreed on a medicine that would leave no memory of their affair but everything backfired when Han Rui found out everything! Fake drugs hurt¡¯ people! However, most of the time, Sun Weiguang enjoyed the peace and quiet If he hadn¡¯t been unable to apply for a house, he might have already moved out and lived with Ou Yingying. Han Rui, hearing the door open, thought it was Sun Weiguang, so she didn¡¯t pay much attention. Not until she felt a tall shadow block the light from the window. Han Rui looked up, and was startled. You¡­ what are you doing here!¡± Wang Tao frowned immediately. ¡°What kind of attitude is that, Han Rui? As a member of the base committee, I personally arranged work for you, and you¡¯re not welcoming me?¡± ¡°No, I mean¡­¡± Han Rui wanted to explain, but couldn¡¯t seem to find the right words. She just sighed, head lowered. ¡°Commissioner Wang, just order me whatever task you have¡­¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t really angry, he was just teasing her. So, he said with a smile: ¡°You¡¯ll accompany me to supervise others in draining water, and I need you to use your Perception Ability for something.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After Han Rui put on her raincoat, they both left. As Wang Tao opened the door, Sun Weiguang, who had been leaning against it, almost fell headlong. ¡°¡­ What are you doing?¡± Wang Tao was exasperated. ¡°Cough cough, I just lost my footing¡­¡± Sun Weiguang hurriedly explained in embarrassment. Han Rui didn¡¯t even glance at Sun Weiguang and walked straight out. After Han Rui had gone downstairs, Wang Tao followed her, but not without giving Sun Weiguang a look and saying: ¡°You have some unique hobbies¡­¡± Once they both had left, Sun Weiguang quickly went inside and sniffed the air in the room. ¡°Really did nothing?¡± Sun Weiguang couldn¡¯t understand why he felt inexplicably disappointed¡­ After Wang Tao and Han Rui got into the vehicle, he turned to her and said: ¡°I want you to Perception-sense those overgrown plants¡­¡± ¡°Overgrown plants?¡± Han Rui was a bit puzzled as she hadn¡¯t noticed any food plants growing unusually large, but when Wang Tao deliberately drove next to some overgrown plants, Han Rui¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°This¡­ they¡¯re so big!¡± Looking at the bushes that had obviously grown much larger, Han Rui exclaimed in disbelief. ¡°Use your Ability and sense if there is anything special about these plants.¡± Han Rui closed her eyes and concentrated. After feeling around for a while she shook her head. ¡°Nothing, I don¡¯t sense anything¡­¡± Hearing Han Rui say she felt nothing, Wang Tao sighed in relief. He was afraid these plants had mutated into the kind of man-eating plants seen in movies. It seemed fine for now, as long as Han Rui couldn¡¯t sense anything, there probably wasn¡¯t any danger, at least not for the moment. When they arrived at a place where the water was particularly deep, Wang Tao sat in the car, watching survivors in raincoats, digging through the drains with shovels, in silent observation. He was here to prevent any potential danger to the survivors¡¯ lives, and to figure out what was going on with the acid rain¡¯s HP depletion. The raincoats couldn¡¯t cover all of the survivors¡¯ bodies, especially since they were working, and soon, the survivors started to show ?-i? above their heads. Wang Tao observed that it was the same as with himself, starting to lose HP about every minute. However, only those with full HP were dropping in HP, while those with lesser HP weren¡¯t. Han Rui, watching these survivors working in the rain, instinctively reached to open the door, but Wang Tao locked it. ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± he asked, somewhat puzzled. I m going to help¡­¡± Han Rui quickly responded. Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at Han Rui in disbelief and told her to stay put. Han Rui¡¯s expression stiffened, feeling Wang Tao was too indifferent. Suddenly, Wang Tao added: ¡°This rain is toxic.¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment. Was Wang Tao showing concern for her? But soon she was worried again, ¡°Then what about them¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m keeping an eye on them, it won¡¯t be a problem.¡± After hesitating for a bit, Han Rui still wished to go down. ¡°I can¡¯t just sit here and watch them work in the rain¡­¡± Her previous job had instilled in her a lead-by-example attitude. Wang Tao said the rain was toxic but not very dangerous, so she felt she should help out. This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop her and let Han Rui go down. He couldn¡¯t bring imself to do the same, but he admired people like that. Besides, he could also take the opportunity to observe how an Ability User fared in the rain. The survivors generally had an HP around one hundred, and those who came out to work all had full health. Initially, there was no danger.. Chapter 133 - Chapter 133: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain 3 Chapter 133: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡® By the time about ten minutes had elapsed, Wang Tao saw a negative status appear below the HP bars of these people. [Corrosive Acid Rain: The body is slightly corroded; resting for a certain period of time will return it to normal] whether they were at full HP or at reduced HP, almost all survivors began to show this condition at this point. Those who hadn¡¯t yet were usually those who were covered up more thoroughly. Twenty minutes in, there were survivors expressing discomfort and wishing to rest for a while. Wang Tao naturally permitted it. However, some people persisted. After all, this was an extra task; the more they worked, the more ration tickets they would receive. At thirty minutes, another group of people wanted to rest. By the forty-minute mark, most people indicated a desire to rest feeling somewhat ill. When fifty minutes arrived, everyone present, except for Han Rui, stated they needed to rest, explaining they felt short of breath and extremely uncomfortable. At this time, their HP had just dropped by half. The negative status above their heads also changed. [Corrosive Acid Rain: The body is moderately corroded; resting for an extended period of time will return it to normal] Wang Tao sent this group home to rest and then switched to the next batch of people. He felt for ordinary people, this was already their limit; if it reached severe corrosion¡­ it might either be very difficult to recover, or they might just drop But Han Rui was different from them; she also had a corrosion status appear above her head, but she had an HP of 240. So, after deducting 5o HP, she still had 190 remaining, currently still in a ¡°slight corrosion¡± state. Wang Tao conjectured that perhaps when the HP decreased by 10% due to the corrosive acid rain, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems, just a mere deduction of some HP. Once the HP fell by more than 10% of the total amount, a state of slight corrosion would occur, and at that point, the body would start to feel uncomfortable. When the HP dropped to 50% of the total, it would turn into moderate corrosion, and at this stage, it would be too uncomfortable to work. As for how much HP severe corrosion would be, Wang Tao was not certain. After all, he couldn¡¯t actually use the lives of the base¡¯s survivors for experimentation. But now he had a rough understanding that a 50% decrease in HP was a warning line. At this point, one couldn¡¯t stay out in the rain any longer or it might pose a risk to life. Regarding the principle of this ¡°corrosive acid rain,¡± Wang Tao speculated that when the acid rain fell on a person, it would accumulate inside the body; once it accumulated to a certain level, it would cause HP to drop. The more accumulation, the more obvious the negative condition. If it exceeded the body¡¯s limits, it might lead to death. That¡¯s also why, when they first encountered corrosive acid rain, only those at full HP would lose HP, while those at reduced HP would not-the decrease was based on the upper limit of HP, not the current HP level. It felt somewhat similar to the impurities within the body after fusing with a Zombie Crystal Core¡­ ¡°Han Rui, come over!¡± After changing the people outside, Wang Tao called Han Rui over. Han Rui obediently got into the vehicle. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Wang Tao asked: ¡°A bit uncomfortable, I feel some irregularities in my heartbeat, but I can bear Han Rui held her chest, her complexion somewhat pale. ¡°Let me feel.¡± Wang Tao reached out directly, but Han Rui dodged him quickly. ¡°There are so many people outside!¡± Han Rui instinctively covered her chest, her face turning red. ¡°Do you mean it¡¯s okay when there¡¯s no one around?¡± ¡°Not okay when there¡¯s no one either! Wang Tao, didn¡¯t we agree, just pretend nothing happened¡­¡± Han Rui was somewhat unable to look directly into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Wang Tao, however, replied with an innocent face: ¡°Hmm? What you¡¯re referring to¡­ the incident that night when you took the initiative to hug me? I almost forgot about it, why are you bringing it up again?¡± b Han Rui had never met someone so shameless. She decided to ignore Wang Tao from then on. Wang Tao smiled and didn¡¯t mind; he was just teasing Han Rui a little, but serious business awaited. The drainage system of Shuize University was actually quite good; aside from a few places that would collect water, the rest could flow toward the river north of the university. Shuize County had several rivers, which is where the county¡¯s name came from. One of the longest rivers was located behind Shuize University, but that river didn¡¯t have much water and had shown signs of drying up before Now was a good opportunity to divert the torrential rain into this river. After a full day¡¯s work, the survivors finally managed to sort out the drainage system¡ªessentially, some drainage pipes and ditches had been blocked, and they just needed to clear them out. Under Wang Tao¡¯s supervision, there were no dangers to any survivors- at most, some experienced moderate corrosion and could recover after some rest. When Wang Tao distributed the ration tickets to these people, the survivors were all very happy. Though they were a bit tired and uncomfortable today the day¡¯s earnings were equivalent to a normal week¡¯s! It was worth the fatigue! Once Wang Tao saw that Han Rui really wasn¡¯t having any problems, he sent her home. Then Wang Tao headed to the top floor of the comprehensive building to discuss the issue of corrosive acid rain with several other committee members. Wang Tao shared everything he had observed, of course, after some modification; he definitely wouldn¡¯t disclose his ability to see HP bars. Everyone found this corrosive acid rain to be quite vexing. If future rains were to also be corrosive like this, wouldn¡¯t that mean they couldn¡¯t go out on rainy days? It was bad enough the sunny days were dangerous, but rainy days too, dammit! Although they could wrap themselves up more securely to avoid exposing their skin, it was ultimately still quite risky! Of course, that was for ordinary people. For someone with a lot of HP, they would still have a huge advantage For example, Wang Tao, with his HP of 1200, could stay out in the rain for ten hours without any issue¡­ The group couldn¡¯t figure out any solutions for the time being and could only wait until the rain stopped. But this torrential rain lasted longer than anyone had anticipated, a full three days.. Chapter 134 - Chapter 134: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Chapter 134: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Rain_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°The rain has stopped¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned a little as he got up in the morning and saw the clear sky outside. This was the longest rain he had experienced in his lifetime. It had been raining since he set out to find Shuize Base until it stopped yesterday, lasting a full half month. Fortunately, the previous rain wasn¡¯t heavy; if it had been as torrential as the last three days, Shuize County might have been completely flooded by now. Ding Yuqin had already gotten up and prepared breakfast for Wang Tao. ¡°Sister-in-law, how much food do we have left at home?¡± Wang Tao asked as he ate. ¡°Not counting the nutrients, there¡¯s still¡­¡± Ding Yuqin took out a list and explained it to Wang Tao in an orderly manner. After listening, Wang Tao tapped the table. ¡°We don¡¯t have much food left; it¡¯s a good time to go out and scavenge¡­¡± Although he had previously collected a lot of food, he ate a lot, his portion equating to several people¡¯s. Thus, the food was consumed rapidly. Of course, they could still make do with the food for a while, but since Wang Tao was capable, there was no need to be too frugal. After all, how could he have the strength to kill zombies if he wasn¡¯t well-fed? After breakfast, with Ding Yuqin¡¯s help, Wang Tao put on his full gear and then went to the garage to drive out his electric off-road vehicle. As soon as he stepped outside, he could clearly feel that things were different. The exterior wall¡¯s coating had almost entirely peeled off, covered with climbing ivy, and the base of the wall was riddled with green moss. In the yard, the chives and green plants had grown significantly longer. Several cars belonging to the guard personnel were parked outside the yard, all with visible rust; some road signs also rusted, with some becoming illegible¡­ Wang Tao suddenly had the feeling that time had accelerated, as if at least three months or half a year had passed! ¡°Have you had any issues with your cars?¡± Wang Tao rolled down the car window and asked the guards. The guards¡¯ expressions were not very good. ¡°Commissioner Wang, the cars have developed many minor problems, and many parts have rusted inside¡­ But mine is still okay, at least it can start. Some other cars can¡¯t be started at all¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned. To some survivors, there is no shortage of cars. There are plenty of cars on the streets, and if you have the skill to unlock one and aren¡¯t afraid to attract zombies with the noise, then you can have a car of your own in the post-apocalyptic world. But with the corrosive acid rain, even cars were starting to fail! So many unprotected cars on the streets were likely rendered unusable. In the future, these cars and the like would probably become high-value products¡­ Leaving the commissioner district, Wang Tao drove leisurely to the main building. The campus buildings had also seemed to age rapidly with time, with plants growing wildly and creeping up the walls. ¡°Commissioner Wang, hello!¡± Other survivors greeted Wang Tao as soon as he arrived at the main building. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded slightly and then went upstairs to meet with Wei Zhenguo and the others. After so many days of recuperation, Wei Zhenguo was finally able to walk without a wheelchair. However, since it takes a hundred days to recover from serious injury, his condition hadn¡¯t healed easily, and he was still in an HP-deficient state. Wang Tao suddenly thought, could the medical kit that he obtained from killing the doctor zombie be used for Wei Zhenguo¡¯s injuries to regenerate HP? It should be possible, right? He decided to try it when he had the chance. Wei Zhenguo nodded at Wang Tao. ¡°Everyone is here, let¡¯s talk. As everyone has seen in the past few days, the corrosive torrential rain has brought significant changes to our area. Everything outside, including cars and buildings, has been corroded¡­ And this is just the situation inside the base. We don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like outside the base yet. But I always feel that it might be more dangerous outside¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s face showed concern. In the post-apocalypse, any unknown represented danger. Everyone had become somewhat accustomed to life at the end of the world, but after the heavy rain, they felt a sense of unfamiliarity with the apocalypse again¡­ ¡°Forget about it! We deal with soldiers when they come, cover water with soil when it flows; we¡¯ve survived for over a month, and it shouldn¡¯t be a big problem to survive another month!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke up nonchalantly. ¡°I¡¯m just worried that if the plants outside have also grown large, zombies might be able to hide more easily¡­¡± Ren Jie frowned. Although he rarely left the base, he was still worried about the Hunters and people like Xiang Hongbin who often went out. ¡°If plants continue to grow this crazily, it might not only be a problem of zombies hiding more easily¡­ Haven¡¯t you ever seen those man-eating plants in movies before?¡± Liu He murmured. Everyone fell silent. Zombies were scary enough; if man-eating plants were to appear, human survival would become even more difficult! ¡°Hey! Let¡¯s worry about the future later and focus on our current situation!¡± Wei Zhenguo waved his hand. What the future holds is uncertain; they were already fortunate to have survived this far with no time or energy to consider too many what-ifs. ¡°We haven¡¯t gone out to look for supplies these past few days, and we¡¯re running out of food in the base¡­¡± Most of the base¡¯s supplies were collected from the outside, especially food. Though they could grow their own food, the cycle was too long. The base was prepared for this aspect, but it would take time to see results, so they mainly relied on scavenging outside. With so many people in Shuize County turned into zombies, there was still a lot of leftover food.. Chapter 135 - Chapter 135: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Chapter 135: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Rain_2 Translator: 549690339 | The rain has stopped, so we need to go out and collect supplies now because no one knows when it will rain again. If it¡¯s more of this corrosive acid rain, then we won¡¯t be able to step outside¡­ After the meeting, Wang Tao and the others decided to take advantage of the sunny days to increase the Contribution Points for purchasing supplies at the base, encouraging the Hunters to scavenge more actively. Of course, those committee members with combat abilities would personally lead teams while collecting supplies and look out for any special infected. The fact that Feng Ming¡¯an had become an Ability User made everyone quite envious. ¡°¡­So that¡¯s how it is, prioritizing supply scavenging for the next few days! Xiang Hongbin will take the Security Army squad, Feng Ming¡¯an will lead the police Hunter Team, and Lu Gang, you¡¯ll take your sniper squad¡­ As for Wang Tao, will you lead a team or operate solo?¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Wang Tao. When scavenging for supplies in the post-apocalyptic world, more people doesn¡¯t necessarily mean better. In fact, a larger group can increase the risk of exposure, especially for those with weaker command abilities. Whether Wang Tao had strong command abilities was up for debate, as they hadn¡¯t had many chances to see him in action, but Wang Tao had always been a loner, so Wei Zhenguo asked. After thinking for a while, Wang Tao spoke up: ¡®Til just bring Han Rui.¡± If they were specifically hunting special infected, it would make sense to bring more people, but for scavenging supplies, it wasn¡¯t necessary. The others looked at Wang Tao with a strange expression. Why was Wang Tao always with someone else¡¯s wife? Could he have that kind of fetish? But it wasn¡¯t a big deal. It was the end of the world, after all. Wang Tao had the ability, and it¡¯s not like he was doing anything wrong, so naturally, no one said anything. ¡°Okay! Then that¡¯s settled!¡± Wei Zhenguo confirmed the plan. He actually really wanted to go out as well, but his injury hadn¡¯t healed yet, and he would only be a burden if he went now. After the meeting, just as Wang Tao stood up, his ears twitched suddenly. ¡°What¡¯s that sound¡­ A plane!¡± He hurried to the window while the others were somewhat puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wang Tao?¡± Wang Tao closed his eyes to determine the direction of the sound more accurately, then suddenly looked up at a spot in the sky and said: ¡°Look up there!¡± The enhancement of his physical condition also meant Wang Tao¡¯s senses had become sharper. Among the people present, he had the strongest constitution and the keenest senses. The others followed where Wang Tao was pointing, and after a few seconds, Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and Lu Gang all perked up in spirit. ¡°It¡¯s a plane! Could it be an airdrop?¡± They were all too familiar with the humming sound of an airplane! Moments later, they saw a small black dot appear in the sky. Those with binoculars brought them out to take a look. ¡°It¡¯s a military transport plane! It is an airdrop! The group felt a surge of excitement ¨C airdrops could contain good stuff! Seeing their reaction, Wang Tao knew that they must have come across airdrops before. Wei Zhenguo, thinking Wang Tao wasn¡¯t aware of airdrops, explained it to him. ¡°The airdrop has a lot of good things inside, like food, bullets, medical kits, and some even have Inhibitors!¡± ¡°Are all the Inhibitors in our base from the airdrops?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. He had wanted to know where the base got its Inhibitors but had forgotten to ask. Now the question came up naturally. Wei Zhenguo nodded and said: ¡°That¡¯s right, the Inhibitors only come from the airdrops¡­¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao felt a tinge of disappointment. He had hoped that Wei Zhenguo and the Government had some contact and that they acquired the Inhibitors through special channels, which would at least prove that the Government still had some power¡­ but now it seemed that Wei Zhenguo and his group had completely lost contact with the Government¡­ ¡°Back then, we got a total of six airdrop crates, two of which contained Inhibitors ¨C a total of forty bottles. We haven¡¯t used a single one to date¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s tone was somewhat wistful. Because many people who were infected by zombies were consumed before they had the chance to use an Inhibitor. Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. He had risked his life just to get one airdrop crate and had only dared to take one, while Shuize Base had managed to get six! Indeed, there¡¯s strength in numbers! Xiang Hongbin chimed in: ¡°At that time, a lot of people from our base died to get those airdrops¡­ The committee hadn¡¯t been established yet. Little Liu, Old Song, and Old Wei hadn¡¯t arrived¡­ Ah, such a pain!¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Clearly, one should be prepared to pay a price for trying to secure airdrops. ¡°So now¡­¡± Liu He looked expectantly at everyone, as he hadn¡¯t seen a real airdrop before. ¡°We go for the airdrop first!¡± Wei Zhenguo decisively said. Although going for an airdrop was dangerous, the potential rewards and risks went hand in hand. The airdrop¡¯s medical packs, bullets, Inhibitors, and more were all valuable items. Plus, he was eager to find out the current state of the military base since they were still able to send airdrops ¨C did it mean that the situation at the base had improved? If that was the case, it would be great news. Not to mention active military support or anything like that, even if they just sent an airdrop sporadically, it would be enough for many people! ¡°Alright!¡± No one had any objections, as securing an airdrop would be equivalent to finding a lot of supplies. ¡°Remember, if you have the chance, prioritize the airdrops with parachutes ¨C those might contain ammunition and Inhibitors! Airdrops without parachutes usually contain food and clothing¡­.¡± Chapter 136 - Chapter 136: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Rain 3 Chapter 136: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Rain 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Understood.¡± The group nodded, then immediately set off to prepare. Ren Jie also broadcasted throughout the base, informing everyone about the appearance of the airdrop and ambiguously mentioned that there were valuable items inside. He encouraged anyone who was capable to retrieve it, whether for personal use or to exchange for Contribution Points at the base. Not disclosing to these people that the airdrop contained inhibitors was partially a secretive move; after all, the base¡¯s Contribution System relied on the allure of inhibitors to attract people. This was akin to a trump card for the base. On the other hand, it was because he feared the Hunters would be too greedy. After all, a single bottle of inhibitor was worth one hundred thousand Contribution Points and was practically worth half a life. If they were too eager to get the airdrop and decided to go for it despite knowing the dangers, they could very likely end up as zombie lunch. There were not many survivors left in the base, and even fewer Hunters The death of a Hunter was a loss for the base, and naturally, Ren Jie did not wish for anyone to perish. The news of the airdrop instantly sent the base into an uproar. When the first airdrop happened, many had heard the sound of the plane, but it was just the sound; many had not seen an airdrop. Now, hearing that an airdrop had appeared again, the survivors were all very curious and wanted to know what an airdrop looked like and what valuable items it contained. The Hunters, in contrast, were eager to try their luck. They stood in the open square outside, their eyes glued to the plane in the sky, watching to see where the airdrop would land. Wang Tao called over Han Rui, who had already changed into a combat-ready uniform in advance, with steel plates inserted in certain areas of her clothing. ¡°Followme to retrieve the airdrop.¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± Han Rui was slightly excited; this was her first time going for an airdrop. Although she felt it would be awkward to be with Wang Tao, she couldn¡¯t deny that when she was with him¡­she felt an overwhelming sense of security. The sound of the military transport plane overhead grew louder, and soon, one could see airdrops falling from the sky like eggs being laid. ¡°Let¡¯s go, go, go!¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s figure emerged from the shooting port on top of the military vehicle, holding a rifle and shouting loudly to the others, leading the way out of the base. The rest followed closely behind. Wang Tao looked at several parachuted airdrops and then started the vehicle, driving towards the gate with Han Rui. The situation outside the base was much like the inside: one could see greenery everywhere, roads and buildings looked worn, and vehicles had rusted¡­ But these were not the most important; what mattered was that the zombies were different now! Those zombies in the distance¡­they look even more decayed!¡± Han Rui was surprised as she looked at a few zombies not far from the base gate. Before, although the zombies looked terrifying, one could still discern what they had looked like in life. But now, after the corrosive acid rain, it was impossible to make out the faces of these zombies. Their hair had fallen out, their facial skin decayed, their teeth exposed¡­they looked even more ghastly! It wasn¡¯t only their appearance that had changed-the zombies genuinely had become stronger since ordinary zombies now had HP bars showing [1000/1000]! If they hadn¡¯t fed before, their HP used to be 500, but now it had doubled! ¡°These zombies have grown stronger; I¡¯ll test their strength.¡± Wang Tao stopped the car, grabbed his firefighter axe, and walked toward four zombies nearby. Han Rui, wielding a short spear, also got out of the car and followed. There were four ordinary zombies in total, each more fearsome in appearance and all with 1000 HP. ¡°Heh¡­¡± Now that the heavy rain had ceased, the zombies¡¯ senses became much sharper. They spotted Wang Tao from a distance of about ten meters and twisted their bodies as they moved towards him. ¡°Hmm?¡± However, Wang Tao suddenly paused. These zombies¡¯ speed seemed to have slowed? Wang Tao was familiar with zombies, including their attack power, defensive power, and speed. He could tell that the bodies of these zombies had become stiffer compared to before and were significantly slower. Instead of immediately engaging, Wang Tao waited for the zombies to come close and reach out to grab him. He raised his steel-plated left arm and took the hit from a zombie directly. Bang! ¡°Their strength has increased!¡± Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t lose any HP, he could clearly feel that the zombies were much stronger. ¡°Heh¡­¡± The other few zombies also gradually approached Wang Tao, who, confident in his own strength, continued to experiment a few times, causing Han Rui, hidden to the side, to be extremely anxious. After ascertaining the zombies¡¯ attack power and speed, Wang Tao swung his axe towards one of the zombies¡¯ heads. Squish! [-1000] [0/1000] Even though the zombies¡¯ HP had doubled, to Wang Tao they were still one-axe kills. However, Wang Tao frowned as he looked at the wound he inflicted. Previously when he killed ordinary zombies, one axe blow would almost blast their heads apart. But now, one axe blow merely caused a crack in the zombie¡¯s skull¡­ ¡°The zombies¡¯ defensive power has increased too!¡± Wang Tao then glanced at his own HP, which remained unchanged. As for the loot dropped by the zombies, it was still an ordinary crafting material. [Received: Nails xi] While he pondered this, Wang Tao¡¯s actions didn¡¯t stop. He swung his firefighter axe at the heads of the remaining zombies. Squish! [-1000] Squish! [-1000] Squish! [-1000] All four ordinary zombies were instantly killed. Han Rui was somewhat astonished to the side. Though she had seen Wang Tao kill zombies with one strike before, watching it now still felt shocking. After all, this was something she couldn¡¯t achieve herself. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao got back in the car and turned on the intercom. ¡°Attention everyone! The overall strength of the zombies has increased after the heavy rain! But their bodies are stiffer, and their speed has slowed down¡­¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Chapter 137 - Chapter 137: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing_l Chapter 137: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing_l Translator: 549690339 | Buzz- An electric off-road vehicle, armed to the teeth, weaved through the abandoned streets. A sprawled zombie on the ground heard the noise, instantly lifted its head, slowly got up, and then clawed its way towards the vehicle. The speed of the off-road vehicle did not decrease. Suddenly, the passenger window rolled down, and a short spear extended out. Thud! The spear pierced the zombie¡¯s eye socket with precision, exiting the back of its skull. Bang! The zombie was flung into the air, landing in a pile of garbage at the corner. The vehicle continued on. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Inside, Han Rui retracted the short spear, massaging her slightly sore arm. Leveraging the vehicle¡¯s formidable power, she enjoyed the thrill of an instant kill, but the power was too overwhelming for her physical condition. Wang Tao turned to glance at her, and Han Rui quickly said, ¡°Pm fine!¡± She did not want to leave an impression on Wang Tao that she was useless. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much; in fact, he was checking Han Rui¡¯s HP. Her HP bar had been 240, but now after killing the zombie, it had increased to 250¡ªthe ordinary zombie had added ten points to her HP. Before the heavy rain, an ordinary zombie typically added five points of HP, and if they encountered ones who had devoured many humans or were in special circumstances, they would give more, like 10,15, and so on. The one Han Rui had just killed was clearly as ordinary as they come, yet it gave her ten points of HP¡­ After ordinary zombies had strengthened, the HP they contributed after being killed increased too! This could be considered good news, after all, those ordinary zombies had slowed down, and an average survivor, if prepared, should still be able to handle them. Now, killing an ordinary zombie was the equivalent to killing two ordinary zombies before¡­ ¡°Which way at this intersection?¡± Wang Tao asked, looking at the fork in the road ahead. Han Rui quickly pointed to the road on the far left. ¡°Go this way!¡± Wang Tao turned the steering wheel sharply, making the turn. Since they were teaming up, it was natural to divide the work and cooperate. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t afford to carry a dead weight. For the time being, Han Rui¡¯s ability wasn¡¯t needed, so she helped keep an eye on the airdrop location and navigated for Wang Tao. This saved him a lot of trouble. In no time, Wang Tao spotted the first airdrop with a parachute. It had landed on the rooftop of a two-story building on the street. Below, a group of zombies milled about¡ªprobably attracted by the noise of the airdrop¡ªabout fifteen to twenty in number. ¡°The airdrop on this rooftop is a bit hard to retrieve¡­¡± Han Rui frowned. In his view, to get the airdrop, you¡¯d have to deal with all the zombies below first, then go up. Wang Tao parked the car not too far from the two-story building and, after a brief moment of contemplation, got out of the vehicle. ¡°I¡¯ll get the airdrop, you drive the car, and be ready to pick me up.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui quickly crawled from the passenger seat to the driver¡¯s seat, not daring to ask too many questions. Wang Tao cautiously approached the building, observing the group of zombies, then the building, silently calculating for a while before suddenly charging towards them. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The dull zombies, spotting a living person, immediately groaned at Wang Tao and moved toward him. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge or retreat. He swung his firefighter axe with his right hand at one zombie, shattering its skull, while with his left hand he pushed another zombie, sending it crashing to the ground and knocking down several others in the process. A small vacuum appeared in front of Wang Tao, but three meters ahead was another standing zombie. At that moment, Wang Tao sheathed his firefighter axe, suddenly jumped, and stepped on the zombie¡¯s head, reaching out with both hands to grasp the second ¨C floor window ledge. Wang Tao¡¯s arm muscles bulged, and his hands powered up, climbing up the exterior wall to the rooftop like a gecko. Han Rui, watching all this from a distance, was astounded. She had imagined several ways to get in but never expected Wang Tao to be so straightforward and brutal, simply climbing up the exterior wall! ¡°His upper body strength is too strong¡­¡± But his lower body strength seems even stronger¡­ Han Rui quickly shook her head. How could she be thinking of such nonsense at such a crucial moment! Once Wang Tao reached the rooftop, he hurried to the airdrop. This airdrop did not seem different from the previous one he had found¡ªit looked and was the same size. However, when Wang Tao inputted a password hinted by addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to open it, he found completely different contents inside. This airdrop contained no guns or bullets, no food or medkits, only an inhibitor and an updated Zombie Guide! Wang Tao took the guide and inhibitor, stuffing them into the backpack he¡¯ d prepared earlier. Then he glanced at the group of zombies below and opened his walkie-talkie. ¡°Bring the car here, now!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Although Han Rui did not know what plan Wang Tao had, she obeyed his orders unconditionally, which was agreed upon before going out. Han Rui knew she was less experienced and capable than Wang Tao, so she harbored no resistance. Buzz- As Wang Tao watched Han Rui drive the car towards the building, he immediately pulled out the firefighter axe from his waist and jumped straight down from the rooftop! Mid-jump, he raised the firefighter axe, and in his heart, he silently activated his Shockwave Ability. Boom! The moment Wang Tao landed among the zombies, a white shockwave radiated outward from him, spreading in all directions! Chapter 138 - Chapter 138: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing_2 Chapter 138: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing_2 Translator: 549690339 Thud! [-1000 HP] [-1000 HP] [-1000 HP] [-1000 HP] [¡­] A series of eye-catching damage floated up, and all the zombies fell to the ground in an instant. Three seconds later, Han Rui drove the car up to Wang Tao and opened the passenger door. Wang Tao rushed into the vehicle. ¡°Next supply drop location.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui, too, was an old hand at driving, her skills somewhat better than Wang Tao1 s. She swiftly drove away from the area with Wang Tao. Wang Tao opened the walkie-talkie again and informed the other members at the base that he had taken the supplies from this drop. Before heading out, everyone had agreed to report on the public channel each time they collected a drop, to avoid others making a needless trip. On the road, Han Rui glanced at Wang Tao from time to time; her expression was slightly excited. Wang Tao¡¯s descent from the sky and immediate massacre of those zombies was downright cool! But Wang Tao appeared very calm, and it didn¡¯t seem feigned. This left Han Rui feeling slightly discouraged; the gap between her and Wang Tao seemed to be growing ever larger¡­ Wang Tao indeed felt calm, even though the zombies¡¯ HP had doubled. He could still kill them instantly, so there was nothing surprising. Han Rui continued to drive while Wang Tao took out the inhibitors. There were a total of five boxes of inhibitors, with twenty vials per box, meaning a hundred vials of inhibitor in all! What a bountiful harvest! ¡°This is¡­¡± Han Rui looked at the small vials with some curiosity. ¡°Inhibitors,¡± Wang Tao glanced at her. ¡°Ah? These are inhibitors?There¡¯s¡­ so many!¡± Han Rui was shocked. Of course, she knew about inhibitors, but she had never seen them before, as the base wouldn¡¯t just put them on display. Only those who accumulated a hundred thousand Contribution Points could redeem an inhibitor, but so far, no one had reached such a high number. So it wasn¡¯t just her¡ªmany others in the base knew of inhibitors only by name and hadn¡¯t seen them. In her understanding, since an inhibitor required a hundred thousand Contribution Points to redeem, it must be incredibly valuable! There likely weren¡¯t many in the entire base. But there in Wang Tao¡¯ s hands were five boxes, with twenty vials in each. Wasn¡¯t that a hundred vials? Converted into Contribution Points¡­ that would be ten million Contribution Points! However, if there were many inhibitors, the Contribution Points required should decrease, right? Moreover, for Wang Tao, who was already a committee member, having so many Contribution Points seemed somewhat unnecessary¡­ Han Rui sneaked a glance at Wang Tao; she was unsure what he intended to do with these inhibitors. Wang Tao seemed to know what Han Rui was thinking and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll keep a portion for myself and put the rest in the base.¡± Since he was a part of the base and one of the highest-ranked individuals, it was only right to contribute to the base. He had no immediate use for so many inhibitors. Han Rui moved her lips; she actually wanted an inhibitor too, as it was something that could save lives in a critical moment. But since Wang Tao had taken the risks to obtain them, she felt embarrassed to ask. They encountered a few more zombies on the road, all of which were easily dealt with by Wang Tao. About half an hour later, the two spotted the second supply drop. This one had landed in the middle of a big road, but the box had been opened. There were several zombies with their heads blown off nearby, and boxes that once contained inhibitors were scattered on the ground¡ªall empty. Judging by their scattered arrangement, they led toward a red house with its door ajar. ¡°Someone got here first¡­ There probably were inhibitors inside, all gone now.¡± Wang Tao lowered his binoculars. Throughout their journey, those from Shuize Base who claimed the drops had reported through the walkie-talkies. The drop in the street hadn¡¯t been reported. This meant that those who took it weren¡¯t from Shuize Base. There were other survivors! Han Rui immediately drew her pistol and grew vigilant. Sometimes, survivors could be even more dangerous than zombies. But it also pained her heart; if the quantity of inhibitors here was the same as in the drop Wang Tao had just picked up, then that would mean a hundred vials of inhibitors! To let others profit so easily, what a heartache! Wang Tao was about to go check it out when he suddenly turned to Han Rui, ¡°Use your Perception to check if there are zombies or survivors nearby. With Han Rui as a human radar, it was best to make use of her abilities. ¡°Hmm? There are people! Inside that red house!¡± Han Rui closed her eyes, then her face suddenly changed. ¡°Five humans! Among them, two give me a very strong feeling, like they are Ability Users¡­ ¡°Well, well! Looks like they¡¯re fishing!¡± Wang Tao frowned at the trajectory of the empty boxes from a distance. He had originally wondered if the survivor who came across this drop had been sloppy, discarding the shock-proof boxes meant for the inhibitors and simply running off with the vials, caring not if they accidentally broke. But the fact they were in the house explained it¡ªthey had created this scene on purpose, fishing for others! If anyone followed the trail of the fallen boxes out of curiosity and entered the red house, they would meet two Ability Users and three survivors waiting for them! Of course, it could also be a coincidence, like the other party was just resting inside the house. But in this post-apocalyptic world, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind assuming the worst in others! Thinking of Cao Xin¡¯s boss, Shao Yong, rumored to be a strong Ability User who was also building his power, Wang Tao¡¯s mind raced. Shuize County wasn¡¯t that big, and apart from Shuize Base, it seemed that only Shao Yong and his followers held any significant influence. Chapter 139 - Chapter 139: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing 3 Chapter 139: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing 3 Translator: 549690339 G ¡® Among the five people, two were Ability Users. Unless it was a very lucky small group, it probably indicated a certain number of people from a certain force. Wang Tao had reason to suspect that these were Shao Yong¡¯s people¡­ ¡°So what do we do¡­¡± Knowing that someone was intentionally hiding inside and seeing traces of deliberate preparation at the scene, Han Rui no longer wanted to go over. Who knew if there were dangers lurking inside? ¡°Just go.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s main mission today was to retrieve the airdrop; everything else was secondary. Moreover, if he already suspected something was off with the other party, going over now would be stupid. ¡°Mm!¡± Han Rut quickly nodded and then drove away from the area. Wang Tao reported the situation here over the walkie-talkie. Meanwhile, inside the red house. ¡°Damn it, they left!¡± ¡°Motherfucker, they¡¯re not coming this way? So cautious?¡± ¡°All that preparation for the trap for nothing.¡± ¡°Shit! I said we should have set up our traps further forward. Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to just place them right at the airdrop?¡± ¡°Stupid, do you think this is a game? They¡¯re not blind; how could they not see such a big trap?¡± ¡°Ah, forget it, let¡¯s go back¡­¡± ¡°These two people should be from Shuize Base, right? Our boss offered a hefty sum to catch them, what a pity¡­¡± The electric off-road vehicle arrived in front of another airdrop crate, but this time their luck didn¡¯t seem too good. This airdrop had landed in the middle of a group of zombies on the street, which included three special zombies. Two of them were Self-exploders with 1500 HP each, and the third was a 2000 HP zombie that Wang Tao had never seen before-it wore a police uniform, was tall and muscular, and most eye- catching of all, it was holding a handgun! ¡°That police zombie, could it actually use a gun?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. If zombies could use guns, then what was left for the survivors? Han Rut also got a fright, a gun-wielding zombie? How were the survivors supposed to live! ¡°Retreat!¡± Wang Tao decisively left the area. If there was only one police zombie, he might have thought of a way to deal with it. But with two Self-exploders by its side, there was no need to ask for trouble. Han Rui was a bit cowed as well, mainly because the gun-toting police zombie was too intimidating! Wang Tao opened the walkie-talkie and informed everyone that this airdrop was extremely dangerous and that no one should come here. ¡°On to the next location.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui drove the vehicle away. Wang Tao looked back, his desire to hunt down that police zombie growing because he wanted to know what it might drop. But unfortunately, now was not the right time¡­ He silently took note of this place, intending to come back later. However, thinking of those two Suicide Bombing Zombies, Wang Tao frowned again. I need to find a way to deal with these Self-exploding zombies¡­¡± He didn¡¯t have a perfect method to solve the problem of Self-exploding zombies yet, and every time he encountered one, he chose to avoid it. The true terror of the suicide bombing zombies wasn¡¯t the explosion itself, but the fact that it would attract other zombies. If he hadn¡¯t been worried about making too much noise, he could have simply thrown something over to distract the self-exploder, who would likely detonate within three seconds upon discovering him. Unless Wang Tao could deal with it within those three seconds -no, Wang Tao even suspected that once it began its self-detonation, even if it was killed at that moment, it would still explode! According to what Lu Gang had said, his previous method of killing a suicide bombing zombie was to snipe its head from a distance, a one-shot kill! Then it wouldn¡¯t detonate. So, in other words, for Wang Tao to safely kill a suicide bombing zombie, it would be best to one-shot kill it before it even became aware of him! But this was extremely difficult because Wang Tao didn¡¯t have any abilities for ranged attacks¡­ His only skill was the Flying Axe, which was for mid-to-close range combat, and he wasn¡¯t sure how much damage the Flying Axe could do to a suicide bombing zombie¡­ The fourth supply drop landed in a residential area. Seeing the name of the neighborhood, Wang Tao let out a slight exclamation. Eh? Isn¡¯t this exactly the neighborhood where Sun Weiguang¡¯s friend with the bow and arrows used to live?¡± He asked Han Rui to park the car not far from the neighborhood. The entrance gate to the community was open, and there were quite a few zombies inside. The supply drop had fallen on the plaza between several tall buildings, but there were no special zombies this time. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a rush to head over. It was noon, and he hadn¡¯t eaten since the busy morning. ¡°Let¡¯s have something to eat before we go over.¡± Wang Tao took some dry noodles and bottled water out of the car. It wasn¡¯t convenient to do more outdoors, so he made do with a simple meal. ¡°Gurgle-¡± Upon seeing the food, Han Rui instinctively swallowed her saliva. Since she had arrived at Shuize Base, she hadn¡¯t eaten any proper food like this; the ration tickets at the base could only be exchanged for porridge. Although they claimed the ingredients were different every day, and so were the flavors, its unpleasant taste remained consistently the same¡­ Of course, Han Rui wasn¡¯t picky. Having a warm meal in the apocalypse was already good fortune, so she wasn¡¯t in a position to be choosy. But still, she longed for some normal food¡­ Inside the resource department, you could exchange contribution points for some food, but it was rather expensive, and Han Rui was too thrifty to buy it. Now that she saw Wang Tao take out this food, she could hardly control her saliva. Wang Tao threw three packets of instant noodles and a bottle of water to Han Rui. Those with strong physiques typically had larger appetites. ¡°Just eat it dry, make do with it.¡± You call this making do? Han Rui opened her mouth to speak, but she didn¡¯t have the time to complain. She carefully opened a packet, fearing that she might spill some. Then, taking a gentle bite of the noodle brick, savoring its aroma, she almost teared up. Wang Tao was much less delicate, wolfing down three packets of instant noodles and still feeling a bit hungry. But no matter whether eaten dry or soaked, instant noodles always seemed to taste best with the first bite and got worse the more he ate. So, Wang Tao simply chugged another bottle of nutritional liquid. Han Rut didn¡¯t indulge herself too much and only ate one packet while drinking some water. She planned to bring the remaining two packets back to eat later since they were given to her by Wang Tao, they should be hers now, right? Seeing this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much. Once he was sure Han Rui had finished eating, they both got out of the car and walked towards the upscale residential area. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan on going for the supply drop first; he wanted to check out the room with the bow and arrows. Sun Weiguang probably wouldn¡¯t lie to him about something like this. The two didn¡¯t take the main entrance but climbed over another part of the compound wall instead. Then they ignored the supply drop and the zombies in the courtyard and headed straight for Villa No. 3 in the villa area. At this moment, No. 3 Villa, overgrown with weeds and with peeling wall paint. Behind the curtains of the master bedroom on the third floor, a somewhat stiff figure held a bow. A gust of wind revealed the pair of pallid pupils. Chapter 140 - Chapter 140: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie l Chapter 140: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Aren¡¯t we going for the airdrop first?¡± Han Rui asked curiously in a low voice beside Wang Tao. Although there were many zombies near the airdrop, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult for Wang Tao to kill these zombies, right? ¡°No rush, I¡¯m going to get something first.¡± Wang Tao looked at the villa No. 3 in front of him and a smile appeared on his face. If he really could get the bow and arrows, he could also practice with the zombies in the residential area. If not, at worst, it would only be a waste of some time. ¡°The villa¡¯s gate is open¡­¡± There were no zombies at the gate of the villa, but since the door was open, it was probably as Sun Weiguang had described. Just as Wang Tao was about to move forward, Han Rui suddenly said: ¡°There is a zombie, on the upper floor!¡± Without waiting for Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, she had already activated her Perception Ability and just detected a zombie. Wang Tao halted his steps and looked up. He could only see a half-open window on the second floor, but the curtains inside obscured his view of the details. ¡°It¡¯s likely the owner of the house huh?¡± Before Wang Tao could speak, he saw something stick-like parting the curtains. This immediately set off alarm bells in his head. Wang Tao gave Han Rui a fierce shove, sending her tumbling to the ground in a sprawl, while he himself leapt to the other side. Whiz An arrow suddenly appeared at the spot where the two had just been standing. ¡°Find cover!¡± Wang Tao yelled in a low voice, hiding behind the courtyard wall near the gate. Han Rui, with her excellent combat skills, didn¡¯t need Wang Tao to tell her what to do and had already taken cover behind the wall on the other side of the gate. Seeing the arrow on the ground, she felt a chill run down her spine. Her Perception hadn¡¯t been wrong! There was only one zombie upstairs! Could that arrow have been shot by a zombie? If zombies could conduct ranged attacks now, how were human survivors supposed to live? And if this zombie could shoot arrows, did that mean the police zombie they had seen before could really shoot¡­ Han Rui felt a coldness settling in her heart. Wang Tao shouted to Han Rui: ¡°Are there any other zombies inside?¡± Han Rui closed her eyes and concentrated, then quickly replied: ¡°No, I can only sense this one zombie!¡± The range of her Ability just covered the entire villa, and she really didn¡¯t detect any other disturbances. ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao nodded, then picked up a firefighter axe and threw it at the gate. Whiz Another arrow flew in, and although it didn¡¯t hit the firefighter axe, it landed about ten centimeters from the axe. If a person had been shooting the arrow, the accuracy would have been deemed inadequate, but if it was a zombie, this was rather frightening. And regardless of the precision, Wang Tao had no intention of taking the hit; he wasn¡¯t about to gamble with his life. After Wang Tao took out another firefighter axe, he said to Han Rui: ¡°I¡¯ll go around the back. You distract it from here!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui quickly took off her hat, then hid behind the wall, extending only the hat out. Soon, a third arrow flew over. The arrow struck next to the hat, embedding itself deeply at an angle into the ground. Han Rui swallowed hard and continued to use the hat as a lure. Wang Tao, meanwhile, quietly made his way around to the other side and vaulted over the courtyard wall. After estimating the position of the room where the zombie was, he climbed in through a window. None of the doors and windows in the villa were locked; it seemed that the owner had been infected suddenly and had no chance to resist. Having found the staircase, Wang Tao slowly went upstairs to the master bedroom. The door was closed but not locked. He didn¡¯t rush in but instead quietly contacted Han Rui with the walkie-talkie. ¡°Tell me when it shoots an arrow!¡± After a moment, Han Rui¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°It shot!¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s body began to harden as he activated his ¡°Toughness¡± Ability, and then he suddenly pushed open the bedroom door. At the window of the bedroom was a zombie carrying a quiver and holding a recurve bow, stiffly pulling the string. This zombie hadn¡¯t been out in the rain and was not as decomposed as the ones outside, making it look relatively ¡°clean-cut¡± in comparison. It had [15OO/15OO]HP. The noise of Wang Tao entering immediately caught the zombie¡¯s attention, and it directed the bow and arrows toward him. But it had just grasped the arrow in its hand, and there were a few seconds before it could actually shoot. Wang Tao decisively threw the firefighter axe he was holding. Swoosh¡ªBang! [-25] The firefighter axe hit the zombie squarely in the chest with great force, causing it to wobble and the arrow in its hand to fall to the ground. It reached into the quiver on its back to grab another arrow, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t give it the chance. Wang Tao took out another firefighter axe from behind his back¡ªafter all, he always carried four when he was out. He had used two just now, leaving him with two more. This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t throw it but charged forward and brutally hacked the axe down on the zombie¡¯s head. Splurch! [-841] The blow made the zombie¡¯s body tilt, and it looked unsteady. Wang Tao grabbed its shoulder with his left hand and delivered another axe blow. Splurch! [-634] [0/1500] The zombie¡¯s head was cleaved open. A shimmering Red Crystal Core popped out. Wang Tao casually caught it, and then picked up the loot dropped by the zombie. The Defense of this Archer Zombie was weaker than Wang Tao had expected, or perhaps his Attack power was just too strong. However, this zombie¡¯s added HP limit was decent, giving Wang Tao an extra 50 HP, raising his total to ¡°1250¡±.. Chapter 141 - Chapter 141: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie 2 Chapter 141: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie 2 Translator: 549690339 | ¡ª Wang Tao pressed the intercom. ¡°You can come up now, and close the gate behind you.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After closing the gate, Han Rui hurried inside, her mind somewhat amazed. Although she hadn¡¯t seen how Wang Tao had killed the zombies, through her perception, she could ¡°see¡± that Wang Tao had killed the zombies instantly after bursting into the room, without giving them any chance to fight back! She really wished she had that kind of strength! After Han Rui reached the upstairs, she saw Wang Tao scavenging through the room. Hmm? Where are the bow and arrows? Han Rui noticed the zombie¡¯s body was empty-handed, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the bow and arrows either¡­ but there was a bow hanging on the wall, and Wang Tao had hung the zombie¡¯s bow back up? Han Rui found it a little strange but didn¡¯t ask further. The small villa was quite large, and it took Wang Tao and Han Rui a while to scavenge through it. ¡°There are three bows and one crossbow in total, 55 crossbow arrows, 150 bow and arrows, not much food, most have gone bad, only a few bags of rice are edible¡­ and some electronic products that should be usable¡­¡± After taking an inventory, Han Rui spoke to Wang Tao. Her eyes occasionally drifted towards the hand crossbow with a scope, more accurately a sniper crossbow. ¡°What? You want it?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°Um¡­¡± Han Rui nodded honestly. She really wanted that crossbow; her shooting skills were actually not bad, but unfortunately, there were no opportunities for her to show them. However, with a crossbow, her combat ability would definitely get a big boost! It was a compound crossbow with a matte black body but a red crossbow String, equipped with an optical scope and a quiver that could hold four spare arrows¡­ Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very familiar with crossbows and bows, but even he could tell that this crossbow was expensive. And it wasn¡¯t just about the expense, but such crossbows were rare, impossible to buy through regular channels in the country. It¡¯s legal to own bows. But owning a crossbow is illegal. The origins of this crossbow were definitely not legitimate. For most people, the lethality of a crossbow far exceeds that of a bow After all archery requires practice, both skill, and strength. But a crossbow is different; ¡¯ Its lethality depends on the crossbow, not the person. Even a child wielding it ¡¯ could cause substantial harm! So to some extent, the value of this crossbow was much higher than that of the three bows. After admiring the crossbow for a while, Wang Tao handed it directly to Han Rui. ¡°I¡¯m lending it to you.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Han Rui instinctively caught it but was somewhat incredulous. She believed Wang Tao must be aware of the value of the crossbow, yet he just lent it to her? 1 ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to use it?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly. ¡°I do!¡± Han Rui quickly hugged the compound crossbow close. She was very proficient with the sniper crossbow; after all, the police department had crossbows, and she used them when carrying out certain tasks. The crossbow was also one of her assessment items and, without considering the firing rate, she was just as good with a crossbow as with a gun. ¡°Good then,¡± Wang Tao said. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say more. The crossbow was indeed a good piece of equipment, but he had just acquired something even better! So lending the crossbow to Han Rui was quite appropriate. After all, they would be scavenging for supplies together in the future, and having a teammate who could provide long-range support would make things much easier for Wang Tao. After receiving the crossbow, Han Rui quickly operated it to get a feel for it. Whoosh¡ª There was a target in the living room, and Han Rui tested it; she was hitting the target almost every time within a medium distance. Wang Tao looked at the three bows, which were also modern compound bows and seemed quite good. But they definitely weren¡¯t as expensive as the crossbow, and they were more challenging to master; not as convenient as a crossbow. Wang Tao tried using them briefly; they were passable at close range, but anything further was a no-go. This was because he had learned archery-once dreaming of becoming a film and television protagonist, he had dabbled in things like archery and horse riding. Leaving aside his level of skill, at least he knew how to use them. During shooting, he could genuinely ride a horse and shoot arrows. After scavenging through the small villa, Wang Tao was ready to retrieve the airdrop, and then take the opportunity to scavenge through the other villas. The residential area was quite large, roughly divided into three parts: a villa district, an apartment block area, and an artificial lake. Wang Tao felt this place could be developed into a Survivor Base, but it would require a lot of manpower to transform. And they would need to clear out the zombies in these apartment blocks, which was not an easy task. There were more than a dozen buildings, each with two units, and each around ten to twenty stories tail¡­ Wang Tao was unsure how many zombies were inside, but they couldn¡¯t be cleared out in a short time, and it was very dangerous. The location of the airdrop was in the square in front of several tall buildings. ¡°Do you think there are any survivors inside?¡± Han Rui suddenly asked, looking at the tall buildings. ¡°Perhaps,¡± Wang Tao glanced at the high-rise buildings. Even if there were survivors it was out of his hands to save them. Because nobody knew how many zombies were inside these buildings and even with Wang Tao¡¯s strength, he couldn¡¯t guarantee his own safety. ¡¯ Unless they could find their way out on their own, or inform Wang Tao of the specific situation inside, and then arrange tactics accordingly. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Han Rui shook her head, not dwelling on it further. Of course, she hoped to rescue survivors, but she also knew that their primary mission was to ensure their own safety; only on the premise of their own safety could they rescue others¡­ The two took all the items they found in Villa No. 3 back to the car, and only then did they enter the residential area through the main gate.. Chapter 142 - Chapter 142: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie_3 Chapter 142: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao hung the firefighter axe at his waist and held a compound bow, while Han Rui wielded a compound crossbow. Both were eager to try out their new weapons. As they approached the entrance, still dozens of meters away, Han Rui raised her crossbow. Whoosh¡ª A crossbow arrow flew out, piercing directly into the eye socket of a zombie at the door. [-1000] [o/iooo] It was an instant kill, and apart from the sound of the zombie hitting the ground, there were no other sounds; the surrounding zombies did not even notice Wang Tao and Han Rui. Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui, somewhat surprised. The power of the crossbow arrow was higher than he had anticipated, capable of one-shotting an Ordinary Zombie! If Han Rui had used a spear to attack a zombie, she would normally deal about two hundred HP worth of damage. Previously, it took two or three stabs to kill a zombie. As zombies gained more HP, it could take four or five stabs to do the job. But now, using the sniper crossbow, she could easily kill them instantly. However, on second thought, it made sense. After all, the power of a crossbow cannot be underestimated, especially a modern compound crossbow like this, which could be more powerful than some guns. Except for its slower firing rate, it could be considered a divine artifact in this apocalyptic world. Han Rui was thrilled; she finally had the ability to kill Ordinary Zombies in one shot! Although it was with the help of a powerful tool, the kills were indeed made by her own hands, and she could even feel a slight warmth in her body¡­ that was the sensation of growing stronger! However, the crossbow¡¯s firing rate was slow, and it was a large sniper crossbow which she had to cock with her foot. It somewhat affected her performance. After seeing Han Rui¡¯s success, Wang Tao did not hurry to take action. Since his Arrow Technique was very average, he was unlikely to hit if the zombies were not at close range. ¡°It¡¯s up to you,¡± Wang Tao said to Han Rui. ¡°Yes!¡± Han Rui nodded a little excitedly. This modern compound crossbow had a very long shooting range, said to reach four or five hundred meters. Of course, hitting a target at that distance would depend on luck, since the crossbow arrows were heavy, flew slow, and had a significant drop in trajectory, making them more susceptible to environmental factors. Let alone a crossbow, even using a gun, hitting a target two hundred meters away could earn someone the title of sniper. Normally, snipers like Han Rui from the police force would have an accuracy of about one hundred meters. So for Han Rui, as long as she could ensure effective hits within a thirty to fifty meters range, she would be more than satisfied. Currently, they were only about twenty to thirty meters away from the zombies at the gate. Han Rui calmed her mind and could almost achieve a hundred percent accuracy. Soon, all seven zombies at the gate were taken out by Han Rui¡¯s sniping, without attracting any attention from other zombies. Han Rui¡¯s HP also broke three hundred, reaching [330/330]. ¡°Awesome!¡± Han Rui silently cheered inside her heart. Every time her HP increased by a hundred, there was a minor but noticeable enhancement to her physical attributes. Han Rui had only experienced this twice before, and both times under dangerous circumstances without time to savor the sensation. Now it was utterly different, dispatching zombies with such ease! Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with eyes full of gratitude. Without Wang Tao, she would never have had this opportunity. He had given up his own chance for improvement to her! ¡°Thank you!¡± Han Rui expressed her gratitude sincerely. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao watched Han Rui snipe at a distance, feeling a bit envious. But at this range, he simply couldn¡¯t hit the mark. He had tried firing two arrows: one hit a pillar and the other hit a zombie¡¯s leg¡­ The two reached the gate and collected all the arrows stuck in the zombies, as they could be reused. Hehe¡­ Upon arrival, they discovered a security guard zombie in the guardhouse. Wang Tao quickly drew his bow and arrow, took aim, and released. Whoosh¡ª [-1000] [0/1000] Finally killing a zombie with a bow and arrow, Wang Tao felt quite pleased. Though it was only at a distance of three meters, he might¡¯ve killed it faster with his axe¡­ The two entered the housing complex through the main gate and could see about thirty zombies around the airdrop in the square. It was an airdrop with a parachute. They stopped about twenty meters from the zombies and then each picked targets to shoot. A few minutes later, all thirty-plus zombies lay on the ground. Han Rui accounted for twenty-seven of them, while Wang Tao only six. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao¡¯s aim was off, but he purposely gave Han Rui the opportunity since killing these Ordinary Zombies didn¡¯t increase his HP limit anymore. The two walked over, and after Han Rui collected her crossbow arrows, she helped Wang Tao collect his arrows as well. She looked at the bundle of arrows sticking out from the zombies¡¯ chests, thighs, and even buttocks, pretending not to notice anything. Wang Tao opened the airdrop box, which contained what he had expected ¨C Inhibitors. There were five boxes in total, each one with twenty tubes. After securing all the Inhibitors, they were about to leave. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt a light shining on his feet. He looked up to see a man in the 12th-floor window of building number 1 waving a mirror at him. ¡°There are survivors!¡± Han Rui¡¯s gaze sharpened. But looking at the man¡¯s position, she shook her head. She didn¡¯t have the capability, and while Wang Tao might, there was no need for him to take the risk. ¡°Our mission today is to discover airdrops. We¡¯ll report the survivors¡¯ presence to the base, and let them come up with a plan.¡± Wang Tao shook his head; he still had a few more airdrops to collect. Frankly, rescuing these survivors was not as valuable as collecting airdrops. At that moment, the man upstairs became frantic, waving the mirror wildly, thinking Wang Tao had not seen him. But neither Wang Tao nor Han Rui were moved and were about to leave. Just then, a sharp female cry came from upstairs. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t go, save us!¡± The voice pierced the sky. ¡°¡­Stupid!¡± Wang Tao cursed under his breath. ¡°Run!¡± Before the pair could leave the complex, they saw a large swarm of Mad Demon Zombies drawn by the noise. Observing the horde crowned with 2000 HP Mad Demons, Wang Tao decisively pulled Han Rui to run back. ¡°To the villa district! Chapter 143 - Chapter 143: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, War Spoils l Chapter 143: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, War Spoils l Translator: 549690339 With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, even if the HP of the Mad Demon Zombies were to double, he could deal with them. But the problem was that there were too many of them! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t even had the time to count; with a rough glance, there were at least thirty or forty! If there had been a car, it would have been good to drive away. But for safety, Wang Tao had parked his car a bit farther from the entrance of the residential area, and now it was definitely too late to run there. So, he simply ran towards the villa area. When scavenging Villa No. 3 before, Wang Tao had felt that the villa was quite good¡ªfeaturing anti-theft doors and windows, it should hold against these zombies. Although he still had a Stealth Potion that could hide him from zombies, he wasn¡¯t sure whether it would work on Mad Demon Zombies, and besides, there were two of them but only one Stealth Potion. He disdained to betray his teammate, and it wasn¡¯t like he lacked the strength¡­ At this moment, on the 12th floor of Building No. 1. A few gaunt people were all peering out of the window, looking down. ¡°Ah, those two people have left!¡± One of the skinny young men spoke with a tone of disappointment. ¡°It¡¯s all Gao Hua¡¯s fault, what were you waving that mirror for, they couldn¡¯t even see it! If I had shouted earlier, maybe they would have come¡­¡± A somewhat chubby woman complained. The one named Gao Hua, a man wearing a dirty suit and gold-rimmed glasses, put down the binoculars without attending to the woman but rather muttered with a troubled look: ¡°It¡¯s over, we are going to get them killed¡­¡± ¡°Eh? They¡¯re back?¡± At this point, a young woman spoke up, sounding somewhat surprised. Everyone hurriedly looked. ¡°Really, they¡¯re back!¡± Seeing this, the big woman was instantly smug. ¡°I told you to let me shout! See, they have come back, haven¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Wait, behind them¡­ Fuck!¡± The skinny young man¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°Dozens of zombies are chasing them! Those zombies are running too fast! It¡¯s over, those two are done for! You guys got them killed!¡± Some people looked troubled. The stout woman herself was startled to see so many zombies running crazily towards them, her legs growing a bit weak, but her mouth remained as indomitable as ever. ¡°That, that¡¯s not my fault! The zombies must have been outside already, and they just happened to bump into them when they went out! Could my shouting attract so many zombies? Impossible! It¡¯s just their bad luck, yes! It¡¯s their bad luck. If they¡¯d come to save us earlier, they wouldn¡¯t have run into these zombies!¡± At that moment, Gao Hua took a deep breath before speaking: ¡°These types of zombies should be very sensitive to noise. If you shout again, you will definitely attract more. You can try if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Whether she believed it or not, the woman dared not try again. She glared at Gao Hua with an ugly expression. ¡°Hmph, it wasn¡¯t me anyway! And if they¡¯re dead, what does it have to do with us? They snatched our airdrop, which could have had a lot of food in it! Those were life-saving items from the state! They took them away and didn¡¯t come to save us! They deserve to die if they¡¯re dead!¡± The more the woman talked, the angrier she got, as if Wang Tao had owed her something. The others didn¡¯t say anything further, seemingly also harboring some grudges concerning the airdrop. Gao Hua sighed; he didn¡¯t want to deal with these fools. But no matter what was said now, their rare chance had already been wasted. He wondered how many more days they could last¡­ ¡°Hmm? Look! Those zombies are climbing the walls! They¡¯re coming towards us!¡± Suddenly, someone exclaimed in alarm. The people craned their necks to look out and were startled to see those zombies climbing up the wall. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Fasten the anti-theft window! Lock the window!¡± The anti-theft window grills of high-rise buildings are installed from the inside and can be quickly dismantled. This isn¡¯t for theft prevention¡ªit¡¯s to prevent things from falling down. Just now, Gao Hua had removed an anti-theft grill to make using the mirror more convenient. Seeing this situation, he hurriedly reinstalled the grill and locked the window. However, still feeling uneasy, he drew the curtains as well. But whether it was because these zombies couldn¡¯t climb so high, they saw nothing coming in and saw no shadows outside the window. This allowed everyone a temporary sigh of relief. Then, instinctively, everyone¡¯s gaze turned towards the stout woman, with more than a little blame in their eyes. Now it could be confirmed that the zombies had been attracted by the stout woman; otherwise, from such a distance, how could the zombies possibly see them? ¡°Why are you all looking at me? You think I wanted this?¡± The stout woman sternly glared back at everyone, and, cowed by her domineering demeanor, they all averted their eyes. And the more they did that, the more emboldened she became. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for me gathering you all together, making¡ªletting us plan our food rationing, do you think you¡¯d still be alive? Not only are you not thankful, but you also want to blame me? How ungrateful!¡± ¡°Xie Xia, you woke your grandson up with your yelling!¡± Just then, someone suddenly cut in. ¡°Oh, my dear grandson!¡± Upon hearing this, the woman ceased her harangue and quickly headed back into a room, only to see a chubby middle schooler in uniform rubbing his eyes. ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to get some treats for my darling grandson!¡± Gao Hua watched the woman¡¯s retreating figure, then glanced at the rest, who lacked strong opinions of their own. He closed his eyes.. Chapter 144 - Chapter 144: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, Spoils of War_2 Chapter 144: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, Spoils of War_2 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao noticed Han Rui wasn¡¯t fast enough, so he grabbed Han Rui¡¯s wrist and practically dragged her as they ran. Han Rui couldn¡¯t understand how Wang Tao, with his large frame, could move so quickly¡­ It was outrageous! As she marveled, Han Rui quickly activated her Ability to carefully scout their surroundings, to avoid running headlong into a nest of zombies. Before long, they reached the villa district. However, just as Wang Tao pulled Han Rui up to the outside of Villa No. 3, Han Rui suddenly cried out in alarm. ¡°There are five zombies inside, and one special zombie!¡± Wang Tao nearly barged in; he quickly stopped in his tracks and peered inside. ¡°Shit!¡± Inside the villa yard, a Suicide Bombing Zombie and several Ordinary Zombies were roaming around. And it was a Self-exploder with [2500/2500] HP! Luckily Han Rui had called out in time. If they had bumped into the arms of a Suicide Bombing Zombie, that would have been quite the disaster! Wolves in front and tigers behind. As Wang Tao hesitated between eliminating the lesser threat of the Suicide Bombing Zombie and seeking other villas, someone suddenly appeared on the rooftop of the neighboring Villa No. 2. ¡°Come here!¡± Wang Tao looked towards the voice. [80/100] A green HP bar, indeed a human, not a zombie. He decisively pulled Han Rui towards Building No. 2. Along the way, he calmly said to Han Rui: ¡°Check how many people are in Building No. 2!¡± When they reached the courtyard wall of Building No. 2, Han Rui immediately said: ¡°There¡¯s only one person!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but he didn¡¯t stop moving. ¡°You go first.¡± Wang Tao extended his hand and Han Rui immediately jumped, stepping on Wang Tao¡¯s hand. With an upward push, Wang Tao boosted Han Rui over into the courtyard of the Villa N0.2, then he took a standing leap, grabbed the edge of the courtyard wall, his arm muscles bulged, and he powerfully pulled himself over. The door of the Villa No. 2 was open, and a woman was waving at Wang Tao and Han Rui from inside. The two rushed in and locked the door behind them. Not long after they entered, they saw Mad Demon Zombies climbing over the courtyard wall, but all the doors and windows of the villa were locked¡ªthey couldn¡¯t get in, and they didn¡¯t notice the people inside. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Both Wang Tao and Han Rui breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you!¡±. Han Rui expressed her gratitude promptly. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, we are all survivors¡ªnone of this is easy¡­.¡± Wang Tao looked at the woman who spoke. She was a woman in her thirties, with an elegant and gentle demeanor. She wasn¡¯t wearing makeup, but her natural beauty outshone any celebrity¡¯s. Especially her proud figure, which the ordinary white homewear couldn¡¯t conceal; even Ding Yuqin couldn¡¯t compare to her. Wang Tao always felt that this woman looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before. ¡°Thank you very much, my name is Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao expressed his gratitude. ¡°I¡¯m Han Rui.¡± The woman smiled and said: ¡°My name is Li Qiuyu.¡± At the mention of this name, Wang Tao suddenly realized. So it was her, no wonder she seemed so familiar. Li Qiuyu was somewhat of a senior to Wang Tao. She had been a celebrity, not incredibly famous, but with great potential and many held high hopes for her. Then, right at her career peak, she had suddenly retired from the circle. It was said she quit because she got married. Her fans were extremely regretful, but at that time she didn¡¯t have too many fans, so it didn¡¯t cause much of a stir. Wang Tao knew this because Li Qiuyu had started her career at Huangfeng Film City. So while fans elsewhere might forget her, people here still remembered her occasionally. Whenever she was mentioned, everyone would feel a sense of loss. But now it seemed she had been living a comfortable life, residing in a villa, and taking good care of herself like a young lady; it wasn¡¯t their place to worry about her. Of course, that was before the apocalypse. Now in this doomsday, everyone was equal. ¡°I saw you two before, but there were zombies outside, and I didn¡¯t dare to call out¡­ I didn¡¯t expect you to come back,¡± Li Qiuyu said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with a hint of embarrassment. ¡°We ran into Mad Demon Zombies, the kind that run very fast outside¡­¡± Han Rui briefly explained and also shared the incident with the old lady who had caused a ruckus that attracted the zombies. ¡°No wonder I heard a shout just now; I thought I was hearing things¡­¡± Li Qiuyu looked incredulous, not expecting an encounter with someone from her community who was so troublesome. ¡°Are you here alone?¡± Han Rui asked curiously. ¡°Yeah, alone. I was living here with my husband, my daughter, and the nanny. But my daughter isn¡¯t here and our nanny had taken leave to go home when the virus broke out¡­ I don¡¯t eat much on my own, and although the food isn¡¯t plentiful, it¡¯s been barely enough to sustain me so far¡­¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao was surprised. She had a daughter? She maintained herself very well. But he didn¡¯t know how old her daughter was, and it seemed likely she¡¯d encounter more peril outside than safety¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs to talk, watching these zombies is quite unsettling¡­¡± Li Qiuyu said, shivering subconsciously as she glanced at the shadows lingering outside the door. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui followed Li Qiuyu upstairs. Since the new acquaintance was a woman, Wang Tao kept quiet, allowing Han Rui to chat with her, as women might find more common topics between them. He, on the other hand, checked all the villa¡¯s doors and windows meticulously, ensuring there were no issues. Upon his return, Li Qiuyu kindly asked: ¡°Do you want some water? We have a well at home, it¡¯s clean fresh water..¡± Chapter 145 - Chapter 145: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, Spoils of War 3 Chapter 145: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, Spoils of War 3 Translator: 549690339 ¨C ¡°No, thank you!¡± Han Rui quickly waved her hands. It wasn¡¯t that she was being polite, but rather cautious of strangers. Ever since she had been smitten by her husband, she had been extremely careful with these things. Are you hungry? I still have some food, but not much left¡­¡± Li Qiuyu felt a bit embarrassed. ¡°Thank you, we have our own food.¡± Wang Tao spoke up at this time. Han Rui was somewhat surprised. When had Wang Tao brought food? But having food was good; being hungry would compromise their fighting strength. Seeing that Wang Tao and she even refused food, Li Qiuyu suddenly had a realization, as if she understood that the two still harbored caution towards her, a stranger. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll eat something first. I¡¯ve just woken up not long ago and haven¡¯t had lunch yet¡­¡± Li Qiuyu said this and went to the kitchen to cook a small bowl of noodle soup, sprinkling a few green onion pieces in it, then started eating at the bar. Han Rui glanced over and subconsciously swallowed her saliva. She had thought she wasn¡¯t hungry, but now she felt hungry again. At this moment, Wang Tao suddenly handed her a transparent plastic tube. ¡°Eat this.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Han Rui asked curiously. ¡°Nutritional supplement.¡± As Wang Tao said this, he took another bottle from his chest, opened it, and poured it directly into his mouth. This bottle was apple-flavored, not bad at all. Han Rui, imitating Wang Tao, opened hers and then smelled a faint scent of white rice. ¡°So fragrant!¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes lit up, she had almost forgotten what white rice tasted like! Mimicking Wang Tao, she poured the entire bottle into her mouth. Moments later, she felt a warm sensation in her stomach, which quickly spread throughout her body. She not only felt that her hunger had vanished but also felt full of strength! This nutritional supplement is amazing!¡± Han Rui exclaimed in astonishment. Wang Tao did not reply; he took out another bottle of the supplement and, like drinking water, downed it into his stomach. This time it was noodle-flavored, not as tasty as the apple one before. Han Rui swallowed again. Her mouth wanted more, but her stomach told her she was full. After Li Qiuyu finished her simple meal, she came back to chat with Han Rui Probably because she hadn¡¯t seen people for a long time, she was very talkative. ¡°Are you from the Survivor Base?¡± Li Qiuyu was somewhat surprised to hear Han Rui reveal her identity. She hadn¡¯t expected there to be a Survivor Base in Shuize County; she only knew about the one in Red Stone County because the Government had broadcasted it citywide initially. ¡°Once the zombies outside leave, well be heading back. Do you want to come with us? Ill try my best to ensure your safety,¡± Han Rui asked. But Li Qiuyu shook her head. ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Han Rui asked, somewhat puzzled. Li Qiuyu¡¯s face showed a trace of concern. ¡°I have to wait for my Little Xue to come back; she¡¯s my daughter.¡± ¡°Your daughter? Where is she? If you come back to the base with us, we¡¯ll also keep a lookout for news about your daughter. That¡¯s surely better than you waiting here alone.¡± Han Rui continued to persuade her. As a lone woman, it was too dangerous for her to be left behind. ¡°Little Xue is a student at Shuize University. If I leave, she won¡¯t be able to find me¡­ Before communication was cut off, she called me and asked me to wait for her at home¡­¡± ¡°Ah? A student at Shuize University?¡± Han Rui was somewhat surprised, and Wang Tao glanced at Li Qiuyu. ¡°Our base is at Shuize University, but there isn¡¯t a single student there. Where was she when she spoke to you?¡± ¡°Ah, your base is at Shuize University?¡± Li Qiuyu was a bit surprised, and then frowned as she said, ¡°She told me that some areas of the school were being renovated, and because the smell hadn¡¯t dispersed yet, they had given the students a few days off. She was participating in a sketching trip organized by the school and was on Shuizhe Mountain¡­¡± Behind Shuize University, there was a river, and not far from the river was a mountain known as Shuizhe Mountain. Shuizhe Mountain wasn¡¯t very tall, but the scenery was quite nice. Wang Tao had been there a few times, and he had also seen many students sketching and painting on the mountain. Every year, Shuizhe Mountain would host a large number of Shuize University¡¯s students, with many accommodation facilities available. Wang Tao felt there might be a shady deal between this tourist area of Shuizhe Mountain and the university. It was so close to the university, yet students needed to stay on the mountain? It seemed to cost several hundred yuan for one night. If Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter was on Shuizhe Mountain, the odds were probably not in her favor. It wasn¡¯t just because there were many people on the mountain, hence lots of zombies. More importantly, the wilderness had those nameless monsters with massive amounts of HP! ¡°I hope your daughter Little Xue is safe¡­¡± Han Rui sighed, but she didn¡¯t speak any words of despair. Perhaps the reason Li Qiuyu had managed to hold on was because of her daughter. If she told her that her daughter was likely dead, it would be extremely insensitive. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you a walkie-talkie so you can contact Shuize Base if you need to in the future.¡± Han Rui handed her a walkie-talkie. ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Li Qiuyu quickly took it, and then the two of them started chatting again The zombies outside hadn¡¯t left, so chatting was the only way to pass the time. Wang Tao could clearly feel that the relationship between the two women had grown closer, but it was mostly Li Qiuyu talking and Han Rui listening. Wang Tao didn¡¯t join in the women¡¯s conversation, resting with his eyes closed. Of course, he wasn¡¯t really resting, but rather checking his Space Backpack. After killing the Archer Zombie, there wasn¡¯t much time to inspect the spoils, so Wang Tao had only glanced at them briefly and hadn¡¯t looked at them in detail. Now, while he had some time, it was a good opportunity to take a closer look. First was the Zombie Core-a Red Crystal Core with a circular mini-target inside. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Precision Shooting] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Blindness in one eye)] [Precision Shooting: During the effect duration, the user¡¯s shooting accuracy is greatly enhanced.] This was a sustained ability Crystal Core, similar to Toughness, and its attributes nearly made Wang Tao drool. Wang Tao was currently lacking such long-ranged attack capabilities, and learning to use a bow wasn¡¯t something he could master overnight-it would take time. If he fused with this core, he would shortcut a lot of detours! But the side effect of this Crystal Core was a bit frightening, causing blindness in one eye¡­ Fortunately, Wang Tao could create Synthetic Crystal Cores, so it was a matter of when he could get another core of the same type. For the time being, it was definitely not an option to fuse with it. Wang Tao then looked at the other spoils of war. [Precision Hand Crossbow Blueprint xi] [Crossbow Arrow Blueprint xi] [Alloy Recurve Bow xi] [Quiver xi] [Arrows X30] Chapter 146 - Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_1 Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_1 Translator: 549690339 [Precision Hand Crossbow Blueprint: This blueprint allows you to craft a Precise Crossbow. Required materials: any Bow xi or Crossbow xi, Blade x3, Steel Wire x3, Screws x3, Nails x3, Rubber x3] [Precise Crossbow: Durability +20, Attack Power +10, Accuracy +10] The first blueprint was for crafting a hand crossbow. To make this crossbow, he would need either a bow or a crossbow; fortunately, he had three bows at hand, which was more than enough. Although the description of the crossbow was brief and he didn¡¯t know how it would perform yet, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t picky because items crafted from blueprints and items dropped from monsters could all be stored in the Space Backpack! This portability was even more important than the properties of the hand crossbow itself. Next came the accompanying blueprint for crossbow arrows. [Crossbow Arrow Blueprint: This blueprint allows you to craft loo Crossbow Arrows. Required materials: Blade xio, Iron Block xio, Plastic xio] This blueprint would enable him to instantly create 100 crossbow arrows, and the required materials were simple, only three types. However, he would need a larger quantity of each, ten in total. Wang Tao checked the spoils in his backpack. He had enough materials to craft the hand crossbow, but not enough for the arrows; he was short by three Blades. Thus, he couldn¡¯t craft them yet and would have to kill a few more zombies first. The above two spoils of war were blueprints, while the last three items were actual objects dropped from zombies! Zombies that could wield weapons would drop them upon death, and these weapons could also be stored in the Space Backpack. Therefore, after killing an Archer Zombie, Wang Tao immediately stored the bow, arrows, and quiver in his Space Backpack. However, these weapons didn¡¯t display any attributes. They were just like the Reinforced Concrete Hammer, only showing a name¡ª [Alloy Recurve Bow xi][Quiver xi][Arrows X30] The Alloy Recurve Bow was completely decked in matte black, looking very cool. A certain famous person once said that in military equipment, aesthetics are a form of strength. Powerful weapons usually don¡¯t disappoint in terms of looks. This bow was surely no exception. Not just the bow, but the 30 arrows could also be put inside the Space Backpack. While 30 might seem a bit low, they were recoverable; with some care, they could last a long time. However, the fact that even the quiver could be put into the backpack was somewhat unexpected for Wang Tao. To him, the quiver didn¡¯t seem that useful¡­ after all, he could store arrows in the backpack and retrieve them from the Space Backpack when needed. Wang Tao thought the only purpose of the quiver seemed to be to deceive others¡ªif in the future he could gain more arrows and carry this quiver on his back. In front of others, he could pretend to take arrows from the quiver, when in fact, he was getting them from the Space Backpack¡­ then he could perform a trick called ¡°infinite arrows¡±! These were future considerations, though. As cool as the recurve bow was, Wang Tao¡¯s archery skills were rather poor. He would have to gradually improve his bow and arrow techniques. For now, the hand crossbow seemed more suitable for him, and he was very much looking forward to seeing the final product once crafted. ¡°The Mad Demon Zombies outside haven¡¯t left yet¡­¡± Han Rui said somewhat helplessly as she looked at the zombies outside the window. These zombies seemed to have not noticed them inside the house, but they still hadn¡¯t left. Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t look too good either. If these zombies didn¡¯t leave, it would be a significant danger for her as well¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as we don¡¯t make too much noise, we can deal with these zombies slowly,¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. His reluctance to confront the Mad Demon Zombies was mainly due to the fear that fighting could attract more, and if he were attacked by a large group, even the strongest defenses would be worn down. But if there was no additional reinforcement for these zombies, just the ones that had climbed into the yard, then Wang Tao could take them on one group at a time. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Han Rui immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She didn¡¯t have the power to deal with so many zombies and had to rely on Wang Tao. Nonetheless, the two of them didn¡¯t leave in the end. Because Han Rui suddenly perceived three special infected zombies around the house, two of which were Self-exploders. The other zombie made Wang Tao frown. ¡°A Screamer¡­ It has become a special infected zombie too?¡± Wang Tao had encountered Screamers before, but back then, a Screamer had only 200 HP, and he had simply run it over with his car. This Screamer below had 1,000 HP! And a Screamer¡¯s 1,000 HP wasn¡¯t even the main point; the key issue was that it had become a ¡°special infected zombie¡±. The term ¡°special infected zombies¡± is a conventional moniker agreed upon by survivors. They refer to any zombie that¡¯s different from Ordinary zombies as special infected zombies. For example, the Zombie Guide provided by the military forces lists special infected zombies that are confirmed. However, there¡¯s a difference between special infected zombies. Zombies like the Screamers, Hiders, and Sprinters that Wang Tao previously encountered were also special infected, but their HP wasn¡¯t high, and their abilities weren¡¯t too strong, so they were relatively easy to deal with. On the other hand, zombies like Terrorizers, Self-exploders, and Attackers were discernibly harder to cope with; they had higher HP, and their capabilities were stronger. Another important distinction lay in the drops¡ª The less formidable special infected zombies would not drop a Crystal Core when killed, and they had a high probability of dropping potions when defeated by Wang Tao. But these formidable special infected zombies would drop a Zombie Core upon death. When Wang Tao killed them, not only might they drop potions, but they could also drop Blueprints. Chapter 147 - Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_2 Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_2 Translator: 549690339 So now, everyone including Wang Tao has come to a consensus that only the zombies which can explode into Zombie Cores are called special zombies, while those that can¡¯t are all referred to as Ordinary zombies. And the Screamer outside is such a special zombie that can explode into a Zombie Core! Wang Tao naturally can¡¯t see whether the other party has a Crystal Core, but Han Rui can. Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability allows her to distinguish between ordinary people, Ability Users, Ordinary zombies, and special zombies. The reason she could perceive so clearly is that what she ¡°saw¡± in her perception was a ¡°gray human-shaped silhouette.¡± She distinguished people from zombies by ¡°seeing.¡± The form of humans and the form of zombies are different. The bodies of zombies are twisted, and they usually make some abnormal movements. Moreover, some zombies are deformed or have missing limbs. So, she just needs to look for whichever silhouette is awkward or abnormally deformed, then it¡¯s very likely a zombie. Of course, this method of distinguishing is not always 100% accurate ¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s method of looking at the HP bar color is 100% accurate ¡ª but it is enough since this ability is used like a radar. To differentiate Ability Users and special zombies, Han Rui relies on color. If the entity has energy, then the silhouette will have some blue in it. The stronger the energy, the more intense the blue. If there is no energy, then it¡¯s just ordinary gray. So her view is like this now ¡ª in a pitch-black world, some distorted gray silhouettes appear, among which three carry a bit of blue. These three zombies are the special zombies with Zombie Cores, and they are two Self-exploders and one Screamer. What surprised Wang Tao was that these zombies could not only improve themselves like humans but could even evolve from zombies without Crystal Cores into zombies with them! This is just like ordinary people turning into Ability Users! Wang Tao felt somewhat heavy-hearted. With so many zombies in the world, what if they evolved in large numbers in the future? Then what would become of them survivors¡­ ¡°What¡¯s a Screamer?¡± Han Rui and the person beside her, Li Qiuyu, both asked curiously. Upon hearing the question, Wang Tao came back to his senses and searched himself, finding the Zombie Guide he had gotten from an airdrop box earlier in the day. He had glanced at it briefly before and just knew that there were more types of zombies in the guide, but he wasn¡¯t sure exactly how many more there were or what their characteristics were. So he opened the guide and invited Han Rui and Li Qiuyu to look at it with him. Han Rui had never seen this thing before, and as she looked at its content, her eyes widened from time to time. She couldn¡¯t believe there were so many kinds of zombies, and this was only what the military had discovered; there was no telling how many they hadn¡¯t. When she saw the Screamer, she opened her mouth, and her expression turned helpless in an instant. ¡°This Screamer can attract a large number of zombies just like the Self-exploders¡­ That¡¯s so annoying! At least the Self-exploders will detonate themselves, attracting zombies only once, but this Screamer seems to be able to keep screaming¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s complexion immediately turned bitter. With three such zombies outside, how were they supposed to go out? Li Qiuyu felt a wave of fear after seeing the Screamer and other special zombies in the Zombie Guide. ¡°Is it already so dangerous outside¡­¡± While Wang Tao momentarily skipped over the zombie introductions and looked directly at the text written below. The military didn¡¯t mention anything about their base this time; instead, they detailed further subdivisions of zombie types. They currently divided zombies into three levels: Ordinary Level, Elite Level, and Lord Rank. Ordinary zombies are the ones most commonly seen and represent the weakest presence within the zombie faction. Elite Zombies are clearly different from Ordinary zombies; they generally each have their own distinct characteristics. However, more importantly, they explode into Zombie Cores ¡ª these Elite Zombies are actually special zombies that can explode into Crystal Cores. Previously, those special zombies that didn¡¯t explode into Zombie Cores would, after growing to a certain stage, develop Zombie Cores. Wang Tao had killed several hundred HP special zombies before without any of them dropping a Zombie Core. But this Screamer had a thousand HP, so Wang Tao had reason to guess that this type of zombie could develop a Zombie Core once they reached 1000 HP. Of course, this was just his speculation, and he would have to observe more later on. As for the third type, the Zombie Lords, the military described them as zombies with a sense of territory, an enhanced version of Elite Zombies. The difference is that they treat certain areas as their own turf and patrol their domains; some Zombie Lords even lead minions! Zombie Lords are the most terrifying type of zombies discovered by the military so far. However, Zombie Lords are rare, and not many have been found. They advise that if you encounter a Zombie Lord and are lucky enough to escape, it¡¯s best not to stay there. The farther you run, the better, because the area might very well be the Zombie Lord¡¯s territory, and it might come back! The worst-case scenario is a Zombie Lord appearing near the Survivor Base. The Survivor Base can¡¯t run away, so that leaves only two options: to abandon the base or take care of the Zombie Lord. Otherwise, there will be endless trouble in the future. ¡°Patrolling territory¡­¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao remembered the Gorilla zombie he had encountered at the old mall last time; he felt its behavior was somewhat like patrolling its territory. It had come to the old mall once before and had returned again to wreak destruction ¡ª and even crushed many Ordinary zombies underfoot¡­. Chapter 148 - Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_3 Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°If the Gorilla Zombie really is a Zombie Lord, then wouldn¡¯t we be facing the worst possible situation¡­¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat vexed. If the Gorilla Zombie believed that Shuize Base was also within its territory, that would be troublesome. ¡°We need to quickly enhance our strength and take that Gorilla Zombie down!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fist. Having looked through the Zombie Guide, he felt an intense sense of urgency¡­ Soon, Han Rui and Li Qiuyu also finished reading these contents. Han Rui was still okay. Although the zombies made her feel urgent, she knew that if she could grow stronger, her probability of survival would increase greatly. The expression on Li Qiuyu¡¯s face, however, was one of despair. She truly hadn¡¯t expected the outside world to be so dangerous. Since the virus outbreak, she had been staying at home without stepping out, and after the internet was cut off, she lost all contact with the outside world. She had thought that the outside was filled with only Ordinary Zombies, but she never imagined that the zombies had evolved¡­ ¡°Qiu Yu, you should come back to the base with us. It¡¯s too dangerous here, you can¡¯t stay,¡± seized the opportunity to persuade her. ¡°I¡­¡± Li Qiuyu appeared to be moved but eventually shook her head, ¡°No, I have to wait for Little Xue to come back¡­¡± Seeing Li Qiuyu still stubbornly deluded, Han Rui became somewhat angry. But before she could speak, she heard Li Qiuyu suddenly say in a low voice: ¡°My husband is dead, my brother is dead, my parents are dead, my in-laws are dead, I only have Little Xue left as family¡­¡± Han Rui opened her mouth but didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°How do you know they¡¯re dead? Maybe they¡¯re still alive.¡± Wang Tao tried to comfort her with these words. But when Li Qiuyu heard what Wang Tao said, she looked up at him, her face calm but her eyes filled with pain. ¡°The day the virus broke out, my husband was outside, and my in-laws and my parents weren¡¯t here either, but they were all planning to come over, because it was Little Xue¡¯s birthday, they had even bought the gifts. We started a group video call, discussing how we were going to celebrate today. Then¡­¡± ¡°I saw with my own eyes, my husband was attacked by his subordinate who turned into a zombie, he met a horrific death; on the expressway, my father-in-law turned into a zombie and bit my mother-in-law to death; my brother was killed by his girlfriend, whom he was planning to get engaged to; my neighbor broke into my parents¡¯ house next door and killed them¡­ I saw it all with my own eyes, I witnessed it!¡± Two silent streams of tears slid down Li Qiuyu¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Only Little Xue was able to avoid the first wave of the zombie attack with the help of the police. She told me not to run around, to wait for her at home¡­¡± ¡°Sister Qiu Yu¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes reddened slightly, and she quickly wiped away Li Qiuyu¡¯s tears. Her own parents had died too, but at least she hadn¡¯t witnessed such a bloody scene. For a woman to witness all this, it was too cruel for Li Qiuyu. Han Rui felt a great deal of compassion for her. Although her own situation was also not good, that didn¡¯t prevent her from feeling sympathy for Li Qiuyu. Wang Tao sighed silently in his heart. Although it was cruel, there was nothing to be said; this was the apocalypse. ¡°So, stop persuading me. I will keep waiting at home for Little Xue to return because I promised her¡­¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s gaze was resolute. Rather than saying she was waiting for her daughter to return, it was more like she was waiting for death. Wang Tao and Han Rui didn¡¯t try to persuade her further. Some people might be alive, but inside, they were already dead, their hearts had died. Li Qiuyu, having lost the desire to talk, sat down alone at the bar, took out a half-bottle of red wine, and poured herself a glass. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the luxury to brood; he was looking at the zombies outside, contemplating how to deal with them. But now it was already dark, and they couldn¡¯t leave today. After Li Qiuyu took a sip of wine, she turned to Wang Tao and asked: ¡°You can¡¯t leave today, can you? Do you want to rest at my place?¡± ¡°That would be really kind of you!¡± Han Rui quickly said. ¡°No problem.¡± Li Qiuyu smiled and then added, ¡°How many rooms should I prepare for you? I will tidy up a bit. Except for my room, the other rooms haven¡¯t been cleaned in a while.¡± ¡°Two¡ª¡± Just as Han Rui was about to speak, she was interrupted by Wang Tao. ¡°One is enough, to save you the trouble.¡± Then, Wang Tao whispered in a somewhat confused Han Rui¡¯s ear: ¡°When you¡¯re out and about, you should never let your guard down. Having two people in one room allows us to take care of each other. What if this woman has ill intentions towards me, and I can¡¯t defeat her?¡± Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t immediately agree but instead tilted her head and looked at Han Rui. Han Rui lowered her head, her glistening earlobes blushing a shade of red. ¡°Then, then one room it is¡­¡± ¡°Hehe, okay!¡± Li Qiuyu went to tidy the room, and soon only Wang Tao and Han Rui were left. ¡°Let¡¯s get something straight. We sleep on our own sides tonight!¡± Han Rui spoke, her face flushed. Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at Han Rui with a puzzled expression. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a given? Why emphasize it? Do you have some inappropriate thoughts about me?¡± Wang Tao was shameless, so Han Rui decided not to deal with him anymore. She ran to the window to observe the zombies. After teasing Han Rui a little, Wang Tao found a cutting board and nailed it to the wall. Then he took out the bow and arrows and started practicing archery. He had acquired three bows and a crossbow from villa number 3. The crossbow was for Han Rui¡¯s use, and he left two bows in the car; he currently still had one bow in his hand. Of course, this didn¡¯t include the Alloy Recurve Bow dropped by the Archer Zombie, which was still in the Space Backpack. There was no need to take it out for the time being; using the current bow and arrows for practice was good enough. Before long, Li Qiuyu came back, saying she had tidied the room. There was water in the room, but no electricity. If you wanted to wash up, you should hurry while there was still some light outside. Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui, who instinctively stepped back. ¡°You go first!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After Wang Tao finished washing up, Han Rui reluctantly headed to the bathroom. By the time Han Rui came out fully dressed, she saw Wang Tao lying bare-chested on the bed, his eyes closed, and it was unclear whether he was asleep or not. The bedroom was quite large, with a leisure sofa on the balcony. Han Rui silently ran to the sofa, and then watched Wang Tao with a vigilant expression. Only after she was sure that Wang Tao was not moving did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. But for some reason, why did she feel a pang of disappointment? The next day, early morning. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re lying on my hair¡­¡± PS: The ¡®glasses guy¡¯ ¡®Ren Hua¡¯ from the previous chapter has been renamed to ¡®Gao Hua.¡¯ There¡¯s a committee member at the base named Ren Jie, and their names are a bit similar, which led me to keep mistyping¡­. Chapter 149 - Chapter 102 Ive Tolerated You for a Long Time 1 Chapter 102 I¡¯ve Tolerated You for a Long Time 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡ã ¡ª Watching the annoyed expression on the person in his arms, Wang Tao raised his arm and then said with an innocent face: It¡¯s not my fault, who told you to always crawl into my arms when you sleep, I can¡¯t even push you away¡ª¡± ¡°Stop talking!¡± Han Rut¡¯s face turned red with embarrassment as she covered Wang Tao¡¯s mouth. She just liked to hug something when she slept- in the past, she had a pillow at home, now she simply treated Wang Tao as her pillow, nothing more. Wang Tao chuckled and, after Han Rui had smoothed her hair, he suddenly embraced her. Han Rui struggled symbolically a couple of times, then gave up as if resigned to her fate and stopped moving. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t do anything either; he just wanted to hold her. Han Rui, with a red face, lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, not speaking. The two of them just quietly lazed in bed for a while. Wang Tao, just like Han Rui, liked to hold something when he slept, a habit that had developed recently. So it made sense for two people who both liked to hug something while sleeping to hold each other in the dark. ¡°We should get up¡­ or Qiu Yu will laugh at us!¡± Han Rui was the first to get up, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop her. After admiring Han Rui¡¯s back as she dressed for a while, Wang Tao finally got up. After exiting the room, they saw Li Qiuyu was already up, and she asked if Wang Tao and Han Rui wanted breakfast. ¡°No need, we brought our own.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, then took out several bottles of nutrition drinks from his clothes. Han Rui was puzzled by these nutrition drinks; she didn¡¯t remember feeling them when she was helping Wang Tao get dressed¡­ ¡°What are these?¡± Li Qiuyu asked curiously. She hadn¡¯t seen them drinking the nutrition drinks the day before. ¡°Nutrition drinks, want to try?¡± Wang Tao handed over a bottle. ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t hesitate, nor was she as cautious as Wang Tao; she directly opened it and took a small sip. ¡°Mmm- Chocolate flavor! Tastes really good!¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s eyes widened, as she hadn¡¯t tasted chocolate in a long time. And it wasn¡¯t just that it tasted good-after drinking the nutrition drink, she felt warmly comfortable all over, as if she had endless strength! ¡°No wonder they don¡¯t need my food¡­¡± Li Qiuyu was somewhat impressed; it was much tastier than her flavorless noodles. Of course, she felt this way because she had grown tired of the stored food at home. Wang Tao, having drunk plenty of nutrition drinks, still thought regular food tasted better. However, it was no longer possible to get normal food now. Han Rui was full after one bottle of nutrition drink, Li Qiuyu only drank half a bottle because she had a small appetite and felt full after sipping slowly, and Wang Tao chugged two bottles, barely feeling three-quarters full. ¡°The Mad Demon Zombies outside aren¡¯t leaving, and the two Self-exploders are gone, but that Screamer Zombie is still there¡­¡± Han Rui observed for a while and after sensing with her ability, she turned and said to Wang Tao. ¡°There¡¯s only that one zombie left, huh¡­¡± If it was left alone, then it couldn¡¯t blame Wang Tao for not being polite. Seeing the position of the Screamer Zombie, Wang Tao decided to act! The Screamer Zombie was a very fragile kind of zombie; its defensive power was even lower than an Ordinary Zombie. Wang Tao could one-shot an Ordinary Zombie with 1000 HP, so killing this Screamer Zombie with 1000 HP was definitely not going to be a problem. But to be on the safe side, Wang Tao still made some preparations. Once he was fully armed, he said to Li Qiuyu: ¡°I¡¯m going out to hunt a zombie. If all goes well, we will leave after the hunt. If something unexpected happens, we might need to trouble you to shelter us again.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Li Qiuyu smiled. That Screamer Zombie was now sitting on the ground by the wall, looking somewhat like an Ordinary Zombie. To ensure a one-hit kill, Wang Tao chose the most reliable method. ¡°You keep watch for me, and let me know if any other zombies come this way.¡± On the rooftop of the villa, Wang Tao said to Han Rui. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui nodded. Wang Tao, holding a Firefighter Axe, climbed from the rooftop terrace to the roof. He could have used a bow, a crossbow, or even a Flying Axe to kill the Screamer, but because this Screamer Zombie was rather special and could easily attract other zombies, Wang Tao chose the most reliable method-skydiving! After arriving at the top of the building, he found where the Screamer was staying and peered down to see the zombie right below. Taking a deep breath, Wang Tao gripped the Firefighter Axe tightly and then resolutely jumped down towards the zombie. Whoosh- Splat! [-1000] [0/1000] The Screamer Zombie didn¡¯t even see the person coming, as it was directly cleaved in the head by Wang Tao, who descended from the sky. He even split its chest in half. All around the villa was grass, so there wasn¡¯t much noise when he landed. ¡°As expected, its defensive power is really low.¡± Wang Tao picked up a purple Zombie Crystal Core from the ground and then collected the loot that exploded out of it. [Received: Screaming Potion Recipe (small) xi] [Screaming Potion Recipe (small): After learning, you can make five Screaming Potion (small) each time. Required materials: Screaming Fish Gall xi, Zombie Crystal Core xi, 100ml Purified Water, 10 kcal of food] [Received: Screaming Potion (small) x2] [Screaming Potion (small): After consumption, you can emit a piercing and long scream for 10 minutes. Cooldown time is 12 hours. Friendly reminder: Screaming can cause damage to the vocal cords, it¡¯s recommended not to talk within a day after the scream] Wang Tao learned another potion recipe; he now knew how to make three different potions, namely ¡°Strength Potion (small)¡±, ¡°Defense Potion (small)¡± and this ¡°Screaming Potion (small)¡±, it was a shame, however, that he didn¡¯t ¡¯ have the key ingredients to make them. Chapter 150 - Chapter 102 Ive Tolerated You for a Long Time_2 Chapter 102 I¡¯ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_2 Translator: 549690339 | The effects of this Screaming Potion are definitely not as good as the other two, but having it is better than nothing, perhaps it could come in handy in the future. After putting away the spoils of war, Wang Tao circled around to the other side of the villa¡¯s outer wall and climbed over it. Inside, Han Rui was waiting for him. As soon as she saw Wang Tao rush in, she quickly shut the door. Everything went smoothly without a hitch. Wang Tao checked his HP, having regained 40 HP. Now it stood at [1290/1290], not too shabby. Then he took out the Crystal Core that the Screamer zombie had dropped and laid it before the two women. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Screaming] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: inability to speak softly)] [Screaming: Can emit a piercing scream by consuming energy] Looking at the attributes of the Crystal Core, although Wang Tao had anticipated it somewhat, he was still somewhat speechless. It felt like another ability that was more trouble than it was worth. Setting aside the fact that the Screaming ability seemed to have little use in a world filled with zombies, where screaming was tantamount to suicide, just the ¡°inability to speak softly¡± side effect was a serious pitfall! If someone learned this Ability, wouldn¡¯t they be constrained to staying at the base all the time? Unless they stayed silent outside, speaking could potentially attract zombies¡­ ¡°This¡­ is a Zombie Core? Gulp-¡± Observing the beautiful Purple Crystal Core, Li Qiu Yu subconsciously swallowed. Saliva was frantically secreting in her mouth, and she felt a strong desire to eat it. The Zombie Core, which Wang Tao had taken out of the Space Backpack, was devoid of any bloodstains, very clean, and didn¡¯t provoke disgust or nausea. ¡°Yes, this is the Zombie Core that you eat to potentially become an Ability User,¡± Han Rui explained with a smile. She had already briefly explained to Li Qiu Yu about Zombie Cores; Li Qiu Yu was amazed at how fast the world was changing. She¡¯d been in the villa for too long and knew nothing¡­ ¡°Do you want to eat it? We have many Zombie Cores at our base, and joining our base would give you a chance to become an Ability User!¡± Wang Tao said, purposefully tempting her. But although Li Qiu Yu was staring fixedly at the Crystal Core, she just gave a bitter smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to persuade me.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. Han Rui then asked, -But you don¡¯t have enough food either, and you won¡¯t last much longer¡­¡± ¡°Cough, actually I lied to you,¡± Li Qiu Yu said somewhat sheepishly, tucking her hair behind her ear. ¡°There is still quite a bit of food stored in my house¡¯s basement. Our family has always had the habit of storing food. I did a big shopping trip for my daughter¡¯s birthday. I¡¯ve eaten all the food that could spoil easily, but I still have some grains and such that store well. I can last quite some time. I also have some medicine, vitamins¡­ and there¡¯s a very small solar generator in my house¡­¡± After her interactions with Wang Tao, Li Qiu Yu felt that these two people were not so bad, and she probably wouldn¡¯t be targeted by them, so speaking out wasn¡¯t a big issue. If Wang Tao had intended to use force against her, he would have done so already. Whether she spoke or not really made no difference¡­ Wang Tao, however, was very surprised. Well then, no wonder she was able to survive for so long after the virus outbreak. ¡°Since you can still hold on, I won¡¯t say more. I hope you¡¯ll contact me if you change your mind.¡± Han Rui had given Li Qiu Yu a walkie-talkie the day before; as long as it was operational, they could be contacted. ¡°Alright, thank you! Be careful on your way¡­¡± Before leaving, Wang Tao helped Li Qiu Yu check her house to make sure all doors and windows were secure, only then did he wave goodbye to her. ¡°Ah, what a pity¡­¡± Han Rui shook her head. She found Li Qiu Yu quite agreeable. Although older than herself, she got along well with her. If she could bring her back to the base, they might even become good friends. It was unfortunate that the other person had her own resolve. One couldn¡¯t force someone against their will. Wang Tao shook his head and said nothing more. The two of them cautiously left the villa area, killing a few ordinary zombies along the way and not encountering any other special zombies¡ªoh no, according to the military¡¯s terminology, these zombies that dropped Crystal Cores should be called Elite Zombies. However, as they exited the villa area, they found a Self-exploder zombie at the entrance of the community. [1200/1200] This must be one of the Self-exploders from outside the villa yesterday, with only 1200 HP¡­ Wang Tao was a bit tempted. Until now, he still wasn¡¯t clear on how strong a Self-exploder¡¯s defensive power was, because he¡¯d never had the chance to engage one before it exploded¡­ But Wang Tao felt that this Self-exploder¡¯s defense might not be very strong; after all, its organs were exposed on its exterior, and it exploded at the slightest touch, hardly indicative of a high-defense zombie. And Lu Gang had said earlier that he had killed a Self-exploder with a single shot. While he used a sniper rifle, Wang Tao now possessed bows and crossbows, which were also quite powerful! ¡°Are you confident you can hit its head? Wang Tao pointed to the Self-exploder zombie that was slowly shuffling around the entrance to the community. ¡°At its speed, I can guarantee a hit within a 20-meter range! Han Rui stated confidently. ¡°Then let¡¯s hunt it down in a bit!¡± Wang Tao was rubbing his hands together in anticipation; a 20-meter distance was enough to mitigate a lot of risks. Even if they couldn¡¯t kill it, they could still flee. After all, they were using crossbows, not guns. Crossbows made little noise when shooting, which wouldn¡¯t attract other zombies; only those near the Self-exploder would be drawn.. Chapter 151 - Chapter 102 Ive Tolerated You for a Long Time_3 Chapter 102 I¡¯ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao was preparing to detour and climb over the residential compound wall. At that moment, Han Rui suddenly poked Wang Tao. ¡°Look!¡± Wang Tao looked up, following Han Rui¡¯s gaze. ¡°Hm?¡± They saw on the 12th floor of Building No. 1, a large cardboard sign with some words written on it. Wang Tao took out his binoculars for a closer look. It read¡ª ¡°We are a group of seven, not too many zombies in the hallway, but there¡¯s a zombie with a big hammer, we dare not go down! Save my life, and I¡¯ll be your ox and horse!¡± A zombie with a big hammer? A Terrorizer? Wang Tao suddenly became interested, as he was just lacking a shockwave crystal core. If it really was a Terrorizer, he might take the risk, but that was if the other side was telling the truth. Moreover, there was definitely at least one idiot among that group who had made Wang Tao fall into a dangerous situation yesterday. He would definitely not rescue that kind of person¡ªif the person even dared to show up in front of him, he would definitely cleave them with an axe like a zombie! As for the person who wrote the message, Wang Tao thought it must be the smart one who used the mirror to signal him yesterday. Stupid people would only shout nonsense and would never think of this method. ¡°Did they see us?¡± Han Rui was curious. She could see the big characters on the cardboard through the scope attached to her sniper crossbow, but the curtains of that room were drawn and she couldn¡¯t see the specifics inside. ¡°Probably not; maybe they¡¯re just trying their luck? It¡¯s even possible that it¡¯s not meant for us¡­¡± Wang Tao figured that, from the angle of the I2th-floor apartment, they must have been visible during yesterday¡¯s chase by the Mad Demon Zombie. Chased by so many zombies, those people probably thought he and Han Rui were dead¡­ ¡°Shall we, go take a look?¡± Wang Tao said while stroking his chin. If it really was a Terrorizer, he should be able to deal with it quickly. If not, he could always take some potion¡ªhe still had some strength potions and the like that he had been reluctant to use. However, if the hallway was full of ordinary zombies, then there would be no need for him to kill them all. He would simply leave. It was not because he couldn¡¯t handle ordinary zombies, but rather he hated being deceived. ¡°Okay.¡± Han Rui nodded. With the sniper crossbow in hand, she felt much more confident now. However, just as they were about to head over, they saw the curtain of that window open. A head peeked out. Wang Tao frowned, worried that if it was the idiot from yesterday, he might end up dragging Han Rui back to the villa in Building No. 2 again. He swore, if they got shouted at again, once they were safe, he would definitely carry his axe upstairs and chop that person! Fortunately, it was not the woman who had screamed yesterday. The person didn¡¯t dare to speak but was frantically waving at Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked through his binoculars and saw it was a man who looked quite scholarly, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Gao Hua had just pulled back the curtain out of habit to take a look and ended up seeing Wang Tao and Han Rui downstairs. ¡°Are they the two people from yesterday?!¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t die! Chased by so many crazy zombies and still alive, they¡¯re too strong!¡± Gao Hua was excited. He had been trapped here for over a month and, aside from them, hadn¡¯t seen another survivor. He had already planned if he couldn¡¯t find a way out soon, he would either take a risk and go out or climb down from the twelfth floor! Although both methods were likely to lead to death, he really had no other options¡ªif he didn¡¯t leave soon, he would starve to death! If it weren¡¯t for that Big Hammer Zombie in the hallway, he would¡¯ve risked it. But that zombie was too terrifying! It completely blocked any escape! He had witnessed with his own eyes the scene where three survivors tried to take advantage of the situation to slip away, only to be smashed to pieces with one blow from the hammer. It was the nightmare of his lifetime¡­ Gao Hua really hoped to see other survivors, so when he saw Wang Tao and Han Rui, he thought there might be a chance for rescue. After all, he had seen those zombies being easily shot dead by Wang Tao. These were clearly no ordinary people! Unfortunately, this opportunity had been wasted by that idiot, Xie Xia. She had even gotten them killed. Gao Hua felt both self-reproach and helplessness but still did not give up. The arrival of Wang Tao had given him hope¡ªthere were still survivors outside! So early this morning, while everyone else was still asleep, he put up a sign outside, hoping someone would notice. After all, he had nothing else to do in the room and would just occasionally stick his head out to look around. He didn¡¯t expect to actually see survivors! And it was the two people from yesterday! He frantically waved his hands but didn¡¯t dare to make any sound. However, Gao Hua¡¯s heart was very nervous. Xie Xia had screwed them over yesterday; they¡¯d be lucky not to seek revenge, much less rescue them¡­ Sure enough, he saw the woman write four big characters in the dust on the ground¡ªNot Saving Idiots. Seeing these characters, Gao Hua was annoyed at the missed opportunity. But then, he saw the female survivor erase the words on the ground and rewrite a line. ¡°No noise, and we¡¯ll come.¡± Seeing this line, Gao Hua wept with joy. He hastily pressed his hands together in thanks, bowing to Wang Tao. But he didn¡¯t promise right away. Instead, he made a pause gesture and then withdrew his head. ¡°Hm? Why did he leave?¡± Han Rui was puzzled. Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly. ¡°He¡¯s probably going to find a way to shut some people up¡­¡± About ten minutes later, Gao Hua stuck his head out again and made an okay gesture. Chapter 152 - Chapter 102 Ive Tolerated You for a Long Time_4 Chapter 102 I¡¯ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_4 Translator: 549690339 ¡°What do you say?¡± Han Rui looked toward Wang Tao. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Wang Tao, carrying his bow and arrows, walked ahead, with Han Rui hurrying to catch up. The entryway of Building No. 1 was open; they took a glance but didn¡¯t spot any zombies. Wang Tao cautiously entered and approached the stairwell, still no sign of any zombies. As the two ascended the stairs and reached the fifth floor, they encountered a massive figure standing there. It was indeed a Terrorizer! Upon seeing the HP bar above its head, the corner of Wang Tao¡¯s mouth immediately curled into a smirk. [1000/1000] Just 1000 HP, even less than his own HP! The corridor was only so long; when Wang Tao saw the Terrorizer, it saw him too. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The Terrorizer dragged its Big Hammer, ready to come down. Whoosh- Han Rui fired an arrow, hitting the Terrorizer squarely in the head, though it didn¡¯t penetrate fully. [-319] Wang Tao bent his bow, firing three successive arrows, but only one hit its target, striking its face. [-73] Wang Tao decisively ditched the bow for an axe and charged forward. [-426] [-182] [0/1000] Boom- The Terrorizer crashed to the ground. ¡°The axe it is!¡± With a sigh, Wang Tao saw his HP increase by 40 to [1330/1330]. After collecting a Blue Shockwave Crystal Core and two small Strength Potions, he and Han Rui continued upstairs. Soon, they arrived at the 12th floor, where the stairway door was locked. Wang Tao gently knocked. Before long, through the door¡¯s small glass pane, they saw a man in a dirty suit and gold-rimmed glasses approach excitedly. He hurriedly opened the door and, before he could speak, Wang Tao asked: ¡°Are you sure that idiot won¡¯t scream anymore?¡± Gao Hua paused for a moment, then his expression hardened. ¡°Please follow me!¡± Wang Tao followed him into a room, where several people were watching them with excited and nervous faces. Especially Wang Tao, his stature was so intimidating, it felt hardly less threatening than the zombie in the corridor¡­ In the middle of this group, a woman was bound up and tossed to the floor¡ª This was Xie Xia, who had been shouting the day before. ¡°Wuu wuu¡ª¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, her eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost. She wanted to say something, but her mouth was wrapped in tape and she couldn¡¯t speak. That¡¯s when Gao Hua walked over to her, suddenly pulling out a dagger. Before anyone, including Wang Tao and Han Rui, could react, he swung viciously! Splat! The dagger sliced through the trachea, blood spraying and splashing onto Gao Hua¡¯s face. Everyone was stunned. Gao Hua turned around, his face serious, and said to Wang Tao: ¡°She won¡¯t scream anymore.¡± ¡°???¡± Wang Tao was confused; that wasn¡¯t what he meant at all! The other survivors were so frightened they quickly covered their mouths, trembling and with tears swirling in their eyes. They had never imagined that, just as rescue seemed at hand, someone would die¡ªand killed by a companion, no less! Even though they also disliked the woman, death seemed too severe a punishment. Without their own immediate interests being affected, most people tend to be quite magnanimous. At that moment, a young voice suddenly rang out from the room. ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m hungry. Grandma¡­¡± ¡°Oh, almost forgot, there¡¯s another one¡­¡± Face smeared with blood, Gao Hua entered with the dagger in hand. ¡°Grandma, I¡ªugh¡ª¡± A moment later, Gao Hua walked out covered in blood. ¡°Big brother, no one will scream anymore!¡± Gao Hua spoke respectfully to Wang Tao, then he turned around, casting a fierce glance around the room. ¡°You all won¡¯t make any noise, right?¡± ¡°Wuu wuu¡ª¡± Everyone quickly shook their heads while covering their mouths, two of them already frightened to the core; now, with his threatening gesture, they were utterly terrified. Seeing their reactions, Gao Hua sneered with contempt. He took a deep breath and then muttered to himself: ¡°A bunch of useless garbage, I¡¯ve put up with you for too long!¡± Chapter 153 - Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person l Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao just wanted to ask Gao Hua whether he had managed to stop that shouting woman, to prevent her from yelling again. But Gao Hua went straight over and killed her! The other survivors all covered their mouths with horrified faces, not daring to speak. A few of them were even scared to the point of losing control of their bladder and bowels¡­ They had been imagining what the Survivor Base would be like; who would have thought that before they even got there, two people would be gone, killed by the hands of Gao Hua himself! Han Rui gripped her crossbow tightly. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t given the command, she would have aimed it at Gao Hua. As for the bloodiness of the scene, Wang Tao frowned but didn¡¯t say much. If that woman was the one who had been shouting earlier, then she indeed deserved to die. But the fact that Gao Hua went on to kill another person puzzled Wang Tao. ¡°Who¡¯s inside?¡± ¡°Xie Xia¡¯s grandson,¡± Gao Hua pointed to the old woman whose throat had been slit. ¡°If her grandson lived, he would surely have sought revenge against me. I couldn¡¯t leave him alive!¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re too ruthless. Our base doesn¡¯t like people like you!¡± Wang Tao shook his head. If Gao Hua had killed the woman before his arrival, Wang Tao would have turned a blind eye. The survivors who settle in Shuize Base usually don¡¯t talk about their pasts unless it¡¯s dug up by someone else. So Wang Tao could overlook it. But Gao Hua had killed these two survivors right in front of him. It was one thing to kill the old woman, but another to kill an innocent person¡­ This put him in a difficult position, as he was a commissioner who always valued fairness and justice. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Gao Hua suddenly threw the bloody dagger onto the ground. Then he kneeled on one knee before Wang Tao, clenching his fists in a salute: ¡°Big Brother! I said before, if you could save me, I¡¯d be your ox and horse for life! Since I¡¯ve said so, I, Gao Hua, keep my word! It doesn¡¯t matter whether the Survivor Base accepts me or not, I just want to follow you!¡± Looking at the sincere face of Gao Hua, Wang Tao suddenly realized. This Gao Hua¡­ he killed people in front of him on purpose! He was presenting a pledge of allegiance! Gao Hua knew that Xie Xia had set up Wang Tao, making her an enemy to Wang Tao. By killing Wang Tao¡¯s enemy and not dirtying Wang Tao¡¯s hands, while also offering a pledge of allegiance to him¡­ it made sense. Moreover, he didn¡¯t kill from behind, but made his move in front of many people and Wang Tao, thus bearing the identity of a murderer forever. In times of peace, this would have become leverage against him, a handle that could lead him to his death. Now, even though it was the apocalypse and the law no longer existed, being known as someone who kills his companions was not a good reputation. Put yourself in their shoes; who would want to be with such a person? So he would definitely be ostracized. For Gao Hua, this was also fatal. Unless he wanted to be the Apocalypse Lone Ranger, but it seemed he didn¡¯t possess the ability for that currently. So after killing these two people, Gao Hua only had one path left¡ªto follow Wang Tao. This Gao Hua, quite ruthless! Not just ruthless to others, but also to himself. He¡¯d effectively burned his bridges. If Wang Tao took a disliking to him, then even if he was brought to the Survivor Base, he¡¯d likely be isolated anyway, as the murder was something that couldn¡¯t be hidden. Unless he killed the other several survivors there¡­ But if Wang Tao took a liking to him, then he could cling tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails. It wouldn¡¯t matter whether others liked him then. So, Gao Hua had delivered this choice straight into Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Gao Hua, looking at the man before him, fully armed to the extent his eyes weren¡¯t even visible, felt extremely anxious. The purpose of his pledge was clear: he wanted to follow Wang Tao. Ever since he had seen Wang Tao and Han Rui together yesterday, he had wanted to become friends with Wang Tao. Unfortunately, all of it was ruined by that old woman, Xie Xia. Gao Hua was very angry, but he couldn¡¯t do anything, so he chose to keep silent. He thought perhaps it was heaven¡¯s will for him to die. But today, when he saw that Wang Tao and his companion had not died and were still alive and well, he realized that his time hadn¡¯t come yet! Especially when Wang Tao showed he was considering saving him, yet clearly disliked Granny Xie Xia, Gao Hua knew his opportunity had arrived! He wanted not just to be saved; he wanted to follow this strong man! Because he was really fed up with those idiots¡ªif only they hadn¡¯t been so cowardly back then, listening to his advice to leave earlier before the Big Hammer Zombie arrived. Even if they¡¯d just gone to the villa area, just steps away, they wouldn¡¯t have ended up trapped here! Even if Gao Hua really got saved, he didn¡¯t want to be neighbors with such idiots anymore. Because he didn¡¯t know when he might be killed by such people. Therefore, Gao Hua chose the most ruthless method¡ªa pledge of allegiance! That Xie Xia had put Wang Tao in a tough spot; thus, her death was certain. Whether or not Wang Tao would have killed her, Gao Hua would have chosen to act! After all, by doing so, he was indeed helping Wang Tao get even. Unless Wang Tao was a saint, there was no reason for him to dislike Gao Hua¡ªeven if he verbally expressed disdain, deep down, it would be satisfying. As for killing Xie Xia¡¯s grandson, the reason was the same as he had said, to rid himself of future trouble. He didn¡¯t want to risk revenge, even if he felt that with the capabilities of Xie Xia¡¯s worthless grandson, there was no way he could truly seek vengeance, he didn¡¯t want to take that chance. Of course, his intentions were good, but he couldn¡¯t be sure of Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts.. Chapter 154 - Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person_2 Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person_2 Translator: 549690339 If Wang Tao had any quirks, disliked such ruthless people, or if Wang Tao was an absolute justice seeker who couldn¡¯t tolerate even a speck of dust in his eyes, then his life might even be at risk. But Gao Hua gambled anyway. Because only those who have truly experienced despair can understand the importance of one¡¯s own strength¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to team up with these losers anymore! ¡°What did you do before? Have you ever killed anyone?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. The man looked neat and tidy, and didn¡¯t seem to be from the Black Society! ¡°I used to work in the finance industry, and of course I haven¡¯t killed anyone; I haven¡¯t even killed a chicken,¡± Gao Hua quickly responded. ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Someone from the financial sector? They should all be capable people, right? Understanding what Wang Tao was thinking, Gao Hua gave a wry smile and shook his head: ¡°In the financial industry, individual ability isn¡¯t actually important; what¡¯s important are power and connections. So, I didn¡¯t do too well¡­¡± He was barely making a million a year. But he didn¡¯t dare to say that, fearing Wang Tao might think he was showing off¡­ Wang Tao shook his head and didn¡¯t say much more, instead turning to the others and said: ¡°We are from Suzaku University Survivor Base. Do you want to stay here or go to the base?¡± ¡°Suzaku University Base?¡± The others exchanged looks, then quickly nodded, ¡°We, we¡¯ll go to the Survivor Base with you!¡± They had run out of food, and staying here meant waiting for death. Everyone agreed to go to the Survivor Base. No one asked what the situation was like inside the base, nor did anyone speak up for Xie Xia and her grandson. Seeing that they all agreed, Wang Tao then looked at Gao Hua. ¡°And you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll follow you, big brother!¡± Gao Hua said without hesitation. ¡°Okay. Then you guys just wait here. Someone will come to pick you up later.¡± After saying that, Wang Tao prepared to leave. ¡°Ah? Aren¡¯t we leaving with you?¡± ¡°What about us if you leave¡­¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t leave us behind¡­¡± The other survivors were startled, then nearly all showed panic on their faces. Wang Tao said indifferently: ¡°My car can¡¯t fit so many people. Unless someone is willing to volunteer to stay behind and give their spot to someone else, then I can take a few people with me first.¡± Upon hearing this, everyone immediately fell silent, as none of them were willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. ¡°Since you¡¯re not willing, then just wait here patiently.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to personally take these people back, mainly because a few of them had been so scared they had soiled themselves. That would contaminate his car. Gao Hua saw that Wang Tao was getting a little unhappy, and inwardly cursed them as fools, then quickly said: ¡°Alright, big brother, we won¡¯t go anywhere, just wait here for rescue!¡± ¡°Very good.¡± Wang Tao looked at Gao Hua and then nodded in satisfaction. He then told the other survivors: ¡°Before rescue arrives, just listen to¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that he didn¡¯t know the name of the man with glasses. ¡°My name is Gao Hua!¡± Seeing Wang Tao looking at him, Gao Hua quickly said. ¡°Right, listen to Gao Hua. Secure the doors and windows and wait for rescue.¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± The people hurriedly nodded. Wang Tao nodded to Han Rui, and then the two of them left. After watching Wang Tao and the other person leave, Gao Hua quickly locked the door. ¡°Whew¡ªrescued at last!¡± Gao Hua¡¯s heart surged with excitement; he knew he had made the right bet, clinging to a mighty thigh! Although he didn¡¯t know what status this ¡®big brother¡¯ held within the Survivor Base, it didn¡¯t matter as long as ¡®big brother¡¯ had strength! In a post-apocalyptic world, one¡¯s own strength was the fundamental! ¡°Are you really going to bring that Gao Hua into the base?¡± The two had just left the building when Han Rui asked softly, curious. She probably felt it was a bit rude to question like that and quickly added: ¡°I¡¯m not doubting your decision-making, I just think, with so many survivors having seen Gao Hua kill someone, bringing him into the base may cause some negative impact¡­¡± ¡°Later on, I¡¯ll have Gao Hua warn these people not to talk nonsense. Of course, it doesn¡¯t matter if they do talk. I¡¯m a committee member; what I say goes.¡± II II Han Rui rolled her eyes at Wang Tao. Wang Tao thought that Gao Hua was quite capable and a talent¡ªbeing ruthless was also a kind of ability. And, as he said, he was a committee member, one of the highest-ranking individuals in the base; his actions required no explanation to others. The two proceeded cautiously to the entrance of the community, where the Self-exploder zombie still lingered. First, Wang Tao and Han Rui climbed out over the courtyard wall, then they approached the car, ensuring everything was secure. Wang Tao said to Han Rui: ¡°Let¡¯s check that house over there first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao drove to a house on the street with the doors closed. After Han Rui used her Ability to check and ensure there was no danger, Wang Tao used lock picking tools to open the door. ¡°This place is decent, can be used for temporary shelter.¡± Then Wang Tao drove the car slowly towards the entrance of the community, stopping at a spot where the shooting distance and angle were perfect for Han Rui. ¡°I¡¯ll drive the car, and you take out that Self-exploder from a distance in the car.¡± Wang Tao told Han Rui. He planned to let Han Rui deal with the Self-exploder, to test its defensive power. Given the special nature of the Self-exploder zombie, either kill it with one hit, or fail to kill it and the Self-exploder detonates¡­ Since his Arrow Technique was pretty rubbish, he certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to hit the Self-exploder at this distance. Therefore, Han Rui only had one chance to attack, and he had no opportunity to intervene. Chapter 155 - Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person_3 Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person_3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui entered the cockpit, opened the window, set the sniper crossbow on the sill, and aimed at the Self-exploder. Meanwhile, Wang Tao started the car and drove slowly towards the entrance of the residential area. Upon reaching the ideal position, Wang Tao whispered, ¡°Go!¡± Han Rui had been keeping her sights on the Suicide Bombing Zombie, and upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s command, she decisively pulled the trigger! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao could barely make out the trajectory of the crossbow arrow, then he saw an arrow lodged in the Self-exploder¡¯s skull. At the same time, a damage number floated up. [-1200] [0/1200] The Self-exploder died instantly. ¡°Huh?¡± The damage was higher than Wang Tao had expected. ¡°The Self-exploder¡¯s defense really is mediocre! However, upon death, the exposed organs on the Self-exploder¡¯s body continued to swell, albeit not as quickly as when it was alive. Yet, judging by the increasingly bloated appearance of its corpse, it was still going to explode. ¡°Damn, the corpse really is going to explode! Wang Tao cursed softly upon seeing this from inside the car. He had anticipated that the Self-exploder¡¯s corpse might explode, which was why he didn¡¯t approach and only had Han Rui shoot from a distance. Previously, Lu Gang had told Wang Tao that when he shot a Self-exploder, even if he killed it, it would still explode. Lu Gang had no reason to lie to Wang Tao, but Wang Tao wanted to try for himself. After all, there was still a possibility that Lu Gang hadn¡¯t been able to kill the Self-exploder with a single shot, thus triggering its self-detonation. After all, Lu Gang couldn¡¯t see the Self-exploder¡¯s HP. But now it seemed that whether or not one could kill with a single shot, Suicide Bombing Zombies would still explode! However, the explosion timing when a Self-exploder was alive differed from after its death¡­ When Wang Tao drove the car to a temporary hiding spot they had prepared in advance, the Self-exploder¡¯s corpse finally exploded with a blast. Boom! Wang Tao hurriedly closed the door. Moments later, terrifying roars echoed through the streets as the Mad Demon Zombies appeared again. Both of them were far enough from the location of the Suicide Bombing Zombie and hidden inside the house, so they weren¡¯t in any danger. This was the advantage of the crossbow; its quiet firing sound didn¡¯t attract zombies. While observing the Mad Demon Zombies outside, Wang Tao pondered the timing of the Self-exploder¡¯s explosion. If a Self-exploder was alive and disturbed, it would explode within three seconds. But now, Wang Tao checked and found that about ten seconds had passed before its corpse exploded. Three seconds was too short to do much, but ten seconds opened up more possibilities; if one was skilled enough, it was enough time to extract a Zombie Core and escape¡­ The two waited in the room for about a few minutes until the Mad Demon Zombies left. It seemed they couldn¡¯t detect any ¡°human scent,¡± so they didn¡¯t linger and moved on. After all, Han Rui had killed from a distance, and no one had approached the scene. Once they were sure there was no danger, Wang Tao drove the car to the explosion site, where a Red Crystal Core was glittering on the ground. Han Rui opened the car door and instantly picked up the Crystal Core, while Wang Tao¡¯s car didn¡¯t stop and continued forward. ¡°Here.¡± In the car, Han Rui handed the Red Crystal Core to Wang Tao. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Self Detonation] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: None)] Lucky, it was an Excellent Quality Crystal Core, but unfortunately, it was a Self-Destruct Crystal Core, which didn¡¯t seem useful at the moment. He already had two Self-Destruct Crystal Cores in his possession, one Purple Excellent (60%), and now this Red Excellent. He wondered whether he should get an ordinary white Self-Destruct Crystal Core from the committee when he got back and then synthesize an Epic Quality (100%) Self-Destruct Crystal Core? Although it seemed of little use, an Orange Crystal Core would certainly look nice¡­ Shaking his head, Wang Tao stored the Crystal Core and said to Han Rui beside him, ¡°Let¡¯s go search for the last airdrop; we¡¯ll look for an hour. Whether we find it or not, we¡¯ll have to head back.¡± Speaking of which, Han Rui¡¯s kill on the Suicide Bombing Zombies just now added 40 HP, and her HP had reached [640/640], which already made her one of the strong ones in the base. ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui pulled out the map. Before coming, they had marked the approximate location of the airdrop landing spots on the map. Although it wasn¡¯t certain they would find it, it was better than flailing around aimlessly. About half an hour later, Wang Tao received both good and bad news. The good news was they found the airdrop on the roof of a building. The bad news was that the airdrop box contained only one box of Inhibitor- clearly a battle had taken place here, and although there were no bodies, there was fresh blood¡­ It felt like the battle hadn¡¯t happened long ago. Looking at the box brimming with 20 vials of Inhibitor, Wang Tao felt puzzled. Since the airdrop had been found, why wasn¡¯t it taken completely? Why leave one box behind? This could only mean one thing-those who had arrived before them must have been in an extremely dangerous situation, without even time to take the last box of Inhibitor. Wang Tao guessed they had probably encountered a formidable special zombie. After having Han Rui carefully sense the surroundings and confirm that there were no special zombies nearby, he took the box of Inhibitor and left. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Though they only obtained one box, it was still better than nothing; the trip hadn¡¯t been in vain. Wang Tao drove the car toward the direction of the third airdrop he had spotted earlier, which coincidentally was also on their way back. If luck was on their side, perhaps they could claim that airdrop too. However, when they reached another alley, Wang Tao suddenly stopped the car. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Rui was puzzled. ¡°I saw an acquaintance¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression was somewhat strange. Han Rui followed his gaze but saw nothing in the alley. ¡°1¡¯11 go check it out. You drive and be ready to back me up at any moment.¡± After telling Han Rui his plan, Wang Tao got out of the car and walked towards the alley. He had indeed seen an acquaintance in the alley just now, not someone else, but Blondy Wu Fei, whom he had encountered before at the water plant! Chapter 156 - Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works?_l Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works?_l Translator: 549690339 In the alley, Wang Tao was holding a firefighter axe, following the trail of blood on the ground. On the road, he encountered several zombies licking the bloodstains on the ground, all of which Wang Tao took care of with his axe, one by one. After a few minutes, Wang Tao saw something¡­ a kindergarten? Looking at the sign corroded by acid rain, it indeed read ¡°Sunshine Kindergarten.¡± The outer wall of the kindergarten was already quite high, and now it had been heightened even more. It also had barbed wire with spikes, and in the middle of the wire were some torches that had been burned. The main gate of the kindergarten was locked as if it had been bolted shut. At the entrance to the kindergarten, there were some wooden stakes. Spikes adorned these stakes, all covered in black blood. There was a certain distance between these stakes, which definitely couldn¡¯t stop humans; they must be intended to block zombies. Zombies wouldn¡¯t dodge, and if they got caught on these spikes, they might be immobilized. Besides the spikes, there were also some at the base of the walls of the kindergarten¡­ It felt as though the kindergarten was like a hedgehog. This was a very small survivor base, with the area of the kindergarten being even smaller than the Happy Community where he used to live. It might only cover the area of a single building. Calling it a base didn¡¯t seem appropriate; it should rather be called a camp. Wang Tao was somewhat interested, wondering who had established this base. ¡°Is it that Shao Yong? Probably not. That Shao Yong is clearly an ambitious person, and he would definitely not establish such a small base. I wonder if there are even ten people inside¡­¡± After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao found a three-story building nearby and climbed to the top. From here, he could see the inside of the kindergarten clearly. Inside the kindergarten, he saw some emaciated survivors rummaging through something resembling a pile of garbage. They would occasionally find something and then hand it to others for sorting and placement. This naturally wasn¡¯t a pile of garbage, but rather supplies that the survivors had found outside. They were likely bringing back whatever they could use or not. Apart from these working survivors, there were a few others with notably stronger builds. They were armed with steel pipes, axes, and other cold weapons, patrolling inside the kindergarten. Wang Tao¡¯s gaze swept over them and then landed on a man with a crew cut, who was throwing his backpack to others and then took out a bandage to stop the bleeding on his arm. As Wang Tao watched him, the man seemed to sense Wang Tao¡¯s gaze and suddenly turned around. He just caught sight of Wang Tao standing on the roof of the building. The man looked alert and quietly gestured to the others, but then he seemed to realize something and his eyes widened in an instant. After arguing with a few others, the man immediately ran towards the outskirts of the kindergarten and then flipped out directly from a part of the exterior wall. Only then did Wang Tao realize that the spot the man had climbed over had no barbed wire and was just large enough for a person to pass through¡ªthey had modified it to be an entrance and exit. Not bad, Wang Tao thought, that idea was quite similar to his own past strategy. Wang Tao had previously locked the entrance door of Happy Community Building 4. from the inside. Only by climbing through a second-floor window could one get inside. This setup could keep out most zombies as well as some survivors. The kindergarten had clearly followed the same concept. After the man climbed out, he immediately ran towards Wang Tao¡¯s location, while the other several survivors didn¡¯t come out, but all watched Wang Tao with vigilant faces. Wang Tao waited there for a while until he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Turning around, Wang Tao saw the person approaching¡ªit was Blondy, Wu Fei, whom he had met and treated before. ¡°Brother! It really is you!¡± Seeing Wang Tao, Blondy¡¯s face showed a flush of excitement. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to still be alive, that¡¯s great!¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded. Blondy had changed a lot since they¡¯d last met. He had lost a lot of weight, several scars now marked his face¡­ and especially, his signature blond hair was gone. Now he sported a black buzz cut. Wu Fei¡¯s current look was fierce, somewhat resembling the way Wang Tao had looked when he was disfigured. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to the Suzaku University Base? Didn¡¯t make it?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Something dangerous happened on the way, and I couldn¡¯t get there. Then I accidentally ended up here and have been staying here ever since¡­¡± Wu Fei sighed helplessly, then added: ¡°And you, brother, you¡¯re with¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the Suzaku University Base.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°I knew it, I knew with your capabilities, you would definitely make it there!¡± Wu Fei was delighted, happy for Wang Tao¡¯s successful arrival at the survivor base. The two weren¡¯t actually very acquainted; they had only met once at the water plant, but since Wang Tao had saved Wu Fei¡¯s life, he certainly hoped Wang Tao was doing well. ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you come inside and have a seat? I¡¯m really happy to see you¡¯re still alive!¡± Wu Fei¡¯s expression was genuinely joyous, a happiness that came from the heart. ¡°No need, my companions are waiting for me. I just saw you and wasn¡¯t quite sure it was you, so I came over to check.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression became a bit strange; the companions waiting for him outside were once Wu Fei¡¯s companions too¡­ ¡°Just now? I was just fighting over the airdrop! Dammit¡­¡± Upon mentioning this, Wu Fei¡¯s complexion suddenly turned sour.. He didn¡¯t hold back, and shared the incident that had just occurred¡ª Chapter 157 - Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works?_2 Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works?_2 Translator: 549690339 | Three small survivor forces had their eyes on that airdrop, none of them wanted to give up, so they decided to settle it by the law of the post-apocalyptic world, by force. In the midst of the fight, suddenly an elite jumping zombie appeared, it leapt upon the building and killed two survivors! Everyone had to scatter and didn¡¯t even have the time to grab the last box of inhibitors. After killing the survivors, the zombie didn¡¯t chase after the others but dragged the bodies away to enjoy its meal, otherwise Wu Fei might not have made it back. ¡°Zombies that can jump very high¡­¡± It was another new breed, Wang Tao silently noted. ¡°It¡¯s a pity about the last box of inhibitors¡­ Alas!¡± Wu Fei looked pained. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mention that he had gotten the box of inhibitors. Looking at Wu Fei, or more precisely, at Wu Fei¡¯s HP, he asked with some curiosity, ¡°Since you left the water plant, have you had any¡­ um, special changes?¡± The reason Wang Tao had gotten out of the car to find Wu Fei, besides being an old acquaintance, was also an important one ¨C Wu Fei¡¯s data was different from others. [220/260] [100/100] [Internal Impurity: 28%] An increase in Wu Fei¡¯s HP was normal; after all, he had survived this long in the post-apocalyptic world, it wasn¡¯t possible that he hadn¡¯t killed any zombies. But the increase in Mana was beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations; Wu Fei was an Ability User! Of course, Ability Users were not that unusual, if you were lucky enough to get a common Zombie Core, you could succeed. What Wang Tao was more curious about was the level of internal impurity in Wu Fei, which had reached 28%! He had seen others with internal impurity before, all at 0%, which must have been rounded from a fraction, indicating very little impurity. But the amount of impurity inside Wu Fei was frightening! How many Zombie Cores did he have to fuse? Was Wu Fei that wealthy? He didn¡¯t seem like it, given he only had 100 Mana. It couldn¡¯t be that he was so unlucky that he failed to fuse the cores every time, could it? Wang Tao needed to clarify how exactly Wu Fei got so much impurity inside him because too much impurity could turn one into a zombie! ¡°Special changes¡­ I don¡¯t think I have any special changes!¡± Wu Fei frowned. ¡°But the zombie virus inside me has acted up a few times¡­¡± Speaking of the zombie virus, Wu Fei¡¯s eyes showed some fear. ¡°Hmm? Did you get inhibitors at that time?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. But Wu Fei shook his head. ¡°No, I toughed it out.¡± Good grief, he had toughed out the virus outbreak? Seeing the shock in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Wu Fei somewhat sheepishly scratched his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain, but ever since I took the inhibitor you gave me, I felt like I could withstand the zombie virus outbreaks¡­ and you know what, every time I got through it, I felt that I got stronger!¡± Wu Fei somewhat intentionally flexed his biceps, but he was thin, and there weren¡¯t any noticeable muscles on his arms. ¡°You mean, every time you toughed it out, you got stronger?¡± ¡°Yeah, it feels just like getting stronger from killing zombies! I even thought about toughing it out a few more times to boost my strength¡­¡± As he said this, Wu Fei shook his head again, a look of deep fear crossing his face. ¡°But¡­ that feeling is indeed very painful! Ten times more painful than taking inhibitors! Each time, I felt like I was going to die¡­ If I didn¡¯t have reasons for not dying, I really think I might have turned into a zombie! After arriving at Sunshine Kindergarten, I found out that they had inhibitors, and the principal kindly gave me a few bottles, so I didn¡¯t have to tough it out anymore¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at Wu Fei, a hint of pity in his gaze. If Wang Tao guessed it right, the reason Wu Fei felt stronger was that he had moved one step closer to becoming a zombie! How could a zombie¡¯s strength not be strong? The virus was so terrifying, it definitely wasn¡¯t possible to just tough it out, and even if one did, there would be a corresponding price to pay. Wu Fei¡¯s price might be the gradual zombification of his body! Although it wasn¡¯t apparent just from looking at his appearance, inside, he might have already started changing. After all, the attribute of internal impurity couldn¡¯t be faked. ¡°Do you know why you feel stronger after toughing out the zombie virus?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. He thought Wu Fei hadn¡¯t considered this, but to his surprise, Wu Fei nodded, nonchalantly saying, ¡°I know, it¡¯s because I¡¯ve gotten a step closer to becoming a zombie¡­¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m afraid of the process of turning into a zombie¡ªbecause the outbreak is just too painful. But I¡¯m not afraid of becoming a zombie. It¡¯s just¡­ sigh, I still have some unfulfilled wishes, and I don¡¯t want to turn into a zombie like this!¡± Wu Fei gazed down at Sunshine Kindergarten below, his expression showing signs of weariness. After a moment of silence, Wang Tao said, ¡°Your wish is¡­ revenge?¡± Wu Fei nodded. ¡°Yes, revenge. It was Ou Yingying who made me like this, despite how well I treated her before¡­ This vengeance, I must exact myself!¡± His eyes were filled with deep hatred. ¡°Perhaps, I can help you,¡± Wang Tao suggested again. To him, both Wu Fei and Ou Yingying were strangers. He had no personal connections to either of them. But he disliked Ou Yingying¡¯s actions and felt some sympathy for Wu Fei, so he was willing to lend a hand to Wu Fei. But Wu Fei refused. ¡°Your help? You mean to say that bitch is in Shuize Base, right? That¡¯s important information for me! But no need to help. She pushed me over with her own hands; I must take my revenge personally..¡± Chapter 158 - Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works? 3 Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works? 3 Translator: 549690339 | ¡® ¡ªJ ¡°Do you really not need my help? It¡¯s actually quite simple for me and won¡¯t cause any trouble.¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brows and said. ¡°Heh, I appreciate your kindness, big brother, but it¡¯s really not necessary. I know my own condition¡ªI won¡¯t live much longer. Even though I have inhibitors now, I can still feel my strength increasing after taking them. You should understand what that means¡ªI¡¯m still alive because I want vengeance. Wang Tao fell silent again. ¡°Big brother, why don¡¯t you try testing my strength? Back in kindergarten, none of them could beat me in arm-wrestling!¡± Wu Fei suddenly said with a smile. ¡°¡­Alright!¡± Wang Tao was genuinely curious about Wu Fei¡¯s strength. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± After a simple test, both of them were a bit shocked. ¡°Big brother, you¡¯re really strong!¡± Wu Fei said with a shocked expression; they had tried five times, and he hadn¡¯t won once. Although Wang Tao¡¯s body was muscular and looked strong, only he knew how powerful he was, and yet he still wasn¡¯t a match for Wang Tao. ¡°You¡¯re not weak yourself!¡± Wang Tao was also shocked by Wu Fei¡¯s strength. In activities like arm-wrestling, he had competed with others at the base too. But neither Xiang Hongbin nor Lu Gang had the strength that Wu Fei did! You should know, those two had much more HP than Wu Fei. Wu Fei must be the strongest person Wang Tao had encountered! Suddenly, Wang Tao felt that if Wu Fei really turned into a zombie, he would at least be an elite one¡­ Wang Tao patted Wu Fei on the shoulder. ¡°Fine, if you don¡¯t need help, I won¡¯t say more. But I¡¯m usually at Shuize Base, so if you need anything, you can find me.¡± ¡°Haha, thanks, big brother! I will definitely go to Shuize Base. I¡¯m going for vengeance! But not now¡­¡± Wu Fei glanced at the Sunshine Kindergarten below. ¡°The headmaster saved my life and has been providing me with food, shelter, and inhibitors. I owe him a great deal. I must repay him first before heading to Shuize Base.¡± Having said that, Wu Fei looked at Wang Tao earnestly: ¡°Of course, I haven¡¯t forgotten the life-saving grace you¡¯ve shown me! I don¡¯t have much to offer right now, but rest assured, I will repay you. I, Wu Fei, am a man who keeps his promises!¡± ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll be waiting!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. He wasn¡¯t particularly concerned about being repaid; his decision to save others was entirely based on his needs and mood at the time. He didn¡¯t expect a reward, as long as there was no betrayal in return. Wang Tao then discussed with Wu Fei about what happens when the virus acts up and the use of inhibitors, as it was a rare case study. Wu Fei didn¡¯t hide anything, sharing everything that had happened to him. He also told Wang Tao that the Zombie Core he had fused with was a Self-Destruct Crystal Core. This wasn¡¯t something he did on purpose; he had accidentally found a white Self-Destruct Crystal Core and couldn¡¯t control himself from consuming it, and it actually succeeded¡­ He felt quite helpless about it¡ªhe was now an Ability User, but a one-time-only one¡­ He must be the weakest Ability User in the world, right? Seeing this, Wang Tao suddenly paused. A Self-Destruct Crystal Core could also increase Mana? The Self-Destruct Crystal Core had no side effects, and at present, it was the easiest Core to obtain. The number of Suicide Bombing Zombies was also the highest among all Elite Zombies! Doesn¡¯t that mean Ability Users could potentially use Self-Destruct Crystal Cores as a tool to increase their Mana? Take Wang Tao, for example. His Mana was only at 300. If he fused with 10 Self-Destruct Crystal Cores and they all succeeded, wouldn¡¯t his Mana increase If he had that much Mana, there would be no need to hold back when using his Ability! Starting with a Shockwave, no need to conserve! This might be a very good direction to explore! He could discuss this with Wei Zhenguo and the others when he gets back. After gathering the information he needed, Wang Tao said to Wu Fei: ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going. I can¡¯t keep my companions waiting. Hope to see you again.¡± ¡°Sure, big brother, take care on the road! We¡¯ll definitely meet again!¡¯ ¡°Wang Tao, where did you go? It¡¯s been so long¡­¡± Inside the car, Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with curiosity. ¡°Caught up with an acquaintance. It took a bit of time. Let¡¯s go.¡± Seeing Wang Tao reluctant to elaborate, Han Rui didn¡¯t press further. She drove towards the base. Of course, they also planned to check out the third airdrop on the way. ¡°Huh? Those two elite zombies are gone?¡± The third airdrop was still there, without signs of being tampered with. A group of ordinary zombies surrounded it, but the police zombie with the handgun and the self-exploder were nowhere to be seen. After carefully perceiving the area and confirming there were no elite zombies, Wang Tao took his ax and charged in. Thwack! [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [¡­] After the Shockwave effortlessly wiped out more than a dozen ordinary zombies, Wang Tao quickly opened the airdrop box and took the five boxes of inhibitors before leaving. ¡°Yes!¡± Han Rui was also very happy to see so many inhibitors. ¡°Let¡¯s go. This airdrop retrieval went pretty smoothly!¡± Wang Tao smiled. ¡°Okay!¡± They hadn¡¯t gone far when, upon taking a corner, Han Rui suddenly slammed on the brakes! ¡°A self-exploder!¡± Just around the corner, there was a self-exploder! And next to the self-exploder was a police zombie¡ªweren¡¯t these the two zombies they had seen near the airdrop earlier? Han Rui couldn¡¯t always use her Ability, for the consumption was too great and would leave her exhausted, so she saved it for critical moments. She hadn¡¯t expected to run into love around the corner. Retreat! Han Rui quickly reversed the car, but both the suicide bombing zombies and the police zombie had already noticed the vehicle. The police zombie slowly raised his right hand holding the pistol, while the body of the suicide bombing zombie began to swell. Then- Boom! The suicide bombing zombie exploded! At the moment of the explosion, both Wang Tao and Han Rui ducked their heads. Wang Tao also took the opportunity to embrace Han Rui, protecting her upper body. The front of the SUV was smeared with blood and flesh, and there were some dirty substances on the glass, but not much. Thankfully, Han Rui reversed in time, and the vehicle wasn¡¯t hit by the explosion. After the explosion, Wang Tao straightened up. He let go of Han Rui, who was in his arms and then looked somewhat stunned. What did he see? The police zombie had been blown to bits by the suicide bombing zombie, leaving behind only a head, half a shoulder, and a left hand still attached. The suicide bombing zombie had blown the police zombie to half-death! Could that even happen? Seeing a thread of blood on the half-head of the police zombie, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate, immediately got out of the car, and finished it off with an ax. Thwack! [-219] [0/2000] Then Wang Tao grabbed the spoils from the two zombies and ran. ¡°Drive, drive fast!¡± Chapter 159 - Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Crystal Core Again 1 Translator: 549690339 Buzz! Buzz! A blood-spattered electric off-road vehicle sped along, closely followed by a large group of swiftly moving Mad Demon Zombies. From time to time, new zombies joined the chasing horde, which grew larger and larger. Fortunately, after modifications, the off-road vehicle was now very sturdy; small obstacles encountered along the way could be directly rammed through. If they came across large obstacles, they could be avoided in advance, and Han Rut¡¯s driving skills were quite good. Plus, Han Rui was familiar with these roads, and with her Perception Ability, the vehicle managed to avoid being besieged by zombies. As long as they weren¡¯t surrounded, the danger was temporarily not significant. Wang Tao kept a tight watch on the surroundings, guarding against any Elite Zombies that might appear. It would be troublesome if they encountered another Self-exploder blocking the path. After more than ten minutes, Wang Tao finally let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, they had managed to shake off the large army of zombies behind them. They did encounter several Elite Zombies on their way, but none stood in the middle of the road, which could have been problematic. At this moment, the vehicle stopped behind a house on the street, and Wang Tao switched places with Han Rui. Up until now, Han Rui had been driving. Her spirit had been highly focused, and using her Ability had drained her considerably. She now urgently needed to rest. ¡°Are you okay?¡± After taking the driver¡¯s seat, Wang Tao asked with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a little tired¡­¡± Han Rui wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, her complexion somewhat pale. Wang Tao handed her a bottle of nutrient solution. Although it could only replenish Physical strength and not Spirit, her condition did also deplete Physical strength, so drinking some nutrient solution would definitely make her feel much more comfortable. Gulp- Han Rui poured the entire bottle of nutrient solution into her mouth and indeed felt much more comfortable. Wang Tao started the vehicle, heading towards Shuize Base. They had taken a big detour just now to avoid the zombies, and now they needed to rush back to the base before dark. After resting for a while with her eyes closed, Han Rui finally opened her eyes and sneakily glanced at Wang Tao. Her mind was in disarray, not because of the sudden encounter with two Elite Zombies or the tense and thrilling chase that had just taken place, but because of the previous moment when they came across a Suicide Bombing Zombie at a corner and Wang Tao instinctively protected her in his arms- At the moment of the explosion, both of them lay down, but Wang Tao had shielded her head in his embrace. Han Rui¡¯s mind was now filled with a ¡°thump, thump, thump¡± sound-Wang Tao¡¯s heartbeat. Wang Tao¡­ why did he protect her just now? Although she and Wang Tao had a somewhat ambiguous relationship, she knew they hadn¡¯t reached a very intimate level. They were just Ordinary friends, or rather, slightly closer friends; bluntly speaking¡­ they were just friends with benefits. Given their relationship, Han Rui couldn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao instinctively protected her¡­ Especially when compared with her husband, Sun Weiguang, who instinctively hid behind her at any sign of danger when they were together. Only once he was sure there was no danger would Sun Weiguang venture out, pretending to be brave. So, far from being protected by Sun Weiguang, he never even contemplated facing danger together with her. But Wang Tao had actively protected her¡­ Though, to be fair, thanks to her quick reaction, the vehicle didn¡¯t hit the Self-exploder, and they were barely affected by the blast. Regardless of being protected or not, she would not have been in any danger. But that was still an instinctive action by Wang Tao. What does instinctive mean? It means that Wang Tao had already considered protecting her in his heart¡­ Han Rui was very proud. She had never wished to accept anyone¡¯s protection in the past-of course, apart from her parents, no one had offered to protect her, as everyone treated her like a tomboy. Especially after becoming a police officer, she almost never experienced the feeling of being protected. She used to think she didn¡¯t need it. But now, after being protected by Wang Tao, she felt very secure. It was a sensation she had only experienced in the embrace of her parents when she was a child¡­ ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao suddenly turned his head, looking at Han Rui with a bit of surprise. He felt that in just this short period, Han Rui had glanced at him several times. ¡°Nothing¡­¡± Han Rui quickly turned her head away. Wang Tao thought she was just too tired and didn¡¯t pay much attention to it When Ability energy was exhausted, this kind of mental trance was common. Wang Tao focused on driving. After waiting a little longer, Han Rui suddenly spoke: ¡°Thank you for protecting me just now¡­¡± She was a person of clear debts and grudges; since Wang Tao had protected her, she had to say thank you. ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao was momentarily stunned, at first failing to comprehend what Han Rm was talking about. It took him a few seconds to realize she was referring to the incident with the Suicide Bombing Zombie when he had held her in his arms. Wang Tao¡¯s mouth twitched into a half-smile: ¡°In such a situation, shouldn¡¯t you be saying something like ¡®As a weak woman with nothing to offer in return, I can only pledge myself to you¡¯? Just saying ¡®thank you¡¯ seems insincere!¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m not talking to you anymore!¡± Han Rui leaned back in her seat, her head slightly turned towards the window as she closed her eyes. Wang Tao shook his head, amused internally. During the explosion of the Suicide Bombing Zombie, he had instantaneously activated his Toughness Ability, greatly increasing his defensive power, and he was also wearing Stubborn Armor, which further enhanced his defense. In such circumstances, as a warrior, it was perfectly logical for him to protect a shooter, right? Of course, the fact that Han Rui was attractive was also a reason. Wang Tao admitted he was indeed infatuated with Han Rui¡¯s body.. Chapter 160 - Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Crystal Core Again_2 Translator: 549690339 If someone else had come over, like Wei Zhen Guo or Chen Zhuang, then it would be every man for himself. Before the sun set, they finally saw the gates of Shuize Base. Wang Tao looked at Han Rui and found that she had fallen asleep. ¡°Wake up, we¡¯re home.¡± Wang Tao patted Han Rui¡¯s face. ¡°Mm¡ª¡± Han Rui woke up groggily. She was still a bit confused about her surroundings and murmured subconsciously: ¡°¡­hubby?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao was startled for a moment, then promptly responded. Hearing this familiar voice, Han Rui became fully awake and her face immediately turned red with embarrassment. Wang Tao found this amusing, but since the vehicle was about to be inspected, he didn¡¯t tease her. After the two got out of the car and a brief inspection was completed, Wang Tao told someone to go clean his car. The front of the vehicle was covered with zombie gore, which looked pretty disgusting. ¡°You¡¯ve had a long day; go back and get some good rest. As for the spoils from these past two days, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not one to hog it all. I¡¯ll sort it out and share some with you,¡± Wang Tao turned around and said to Han Rui behind him. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Han Rui, with her head down, quickly left. Wang Tao found it strange, sensing that Han Rui was acting a bit odd, with her face still flushed. Once Han Rui entered her office in the comprehensive building, she immediately leaned against the wall, touching her hot cheeks, her eyes filled with shyness. When she had woken up just now, she had subconsciously called out ¡®hubby¡¯, but what made her feel shy was that although she had said ¡®hubby¡¯, the image that had appeared in her mind was of Wang Tao¡­ ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Ding Yuqin, seeing Wang Tao return safely, hurriedly wanted to rush over and hug him, but was blocked by Wang Tao placing a hand on her forehead. After all, he was quite dirty and needed to wash up first. Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a look, but she was ultimately relieved. Wang Tao was supposed to return yesterday, but everyone else had come back except him. Even though Wang Tao had contacted the base through the walkie-talkie to say he was not in danger, spending the night outside was still too risky. Ding Yuqin had not slept well last night, feeling that she was now emotionally and physically unable to part with Wang Tao¡­ After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, Wang Tao came out to see Ding Yuqin had made several dishes and was waiting for him at the dining table. Seeing Wang Tao come out, she immediately got up to serve him rice. Wang Tao was surprised and asked: ¡°Eh? Aren¡¯t these dishes absent from the house?¡± ¡°I exchanged them today at the Resource Department with Contribution Points,¡± Ding Yuqin briefly explained. In the past two days, those who had left the base had generally come back with great yields. Some people found some vegetables and meat. Not wanting to eat them for themselves, they exchanged for Contribution Points. Using these points, you could buy more Ration Tickets, and for the sake of feeling full, the food exchanged with Ration Tickets was more cost-effective. Before Wang Tao returned, he had communicated with Ding Yuqin, and she went to purchase these foods and prepared a sumptuous dinner. ¡°Sister-in-law, you¡¯ve gone to the trouble,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, then he asked, ¡°Sister-in-law, how many Contribution Points do you have left?¡± ¡°Uh, none left¡­¡± Ding Yuqin said somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°Then next time you want to exchange for something, just use my Contribution Points.¡± ¡°Ah? Is that okay? Aren¡¯t Contribution Points non-tradable?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem? I¡¯ll just say I¡¯m exchanging for myself; nobody dares say anything, and I could exchange them myself anyway, I¡¯m just too lazy to go.¡± Wang Tao laughed and shook his head. As a family member of a committee member, shouldn¡¯t he have some privileges? He had so many Contribution Points that he didn¡¯t know how to spend them all. ¡°Oh, okay¡­¡± A hint of joy appeared on Ding Yuqin¡¯s face. It wasn¡¯t that she wanted to use Wang Tao¡¯s Contribution Points; it was that Wang Tao¡¯s gesture gave her a strong sense of security. She worried that she was not attractive enough to Wang Tao, but now it seemed that Wang Tao did like her. After enjoying a hearty dinner, Ding Yuqin sat on Wang Tao¡¯s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, her cheeks blushing as she looked lovingly into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Wang Tao~¡± Seeing that look in her eyes, Wang Tao knew what she wanted. Wang Tao wanted it too. He had been injured and lost some HP that day when facing a Self-exploder. Tonight, he¡¯d need to properly replenish his blood with Ding Yuqin. Before that, though, Wang Tao still had an important task, and that was to tally some of the spoils from his recent outing. Wang Tao had been away for two days and found five airdrops, all with parachutes. He had taken everything from the first, third, and fourth airdrops. The second airdrop was empty, and there were people fishing nearby, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t go there. From the fifth airdrop, the one Wu Fei and others had fought over, only a box of Inhibitors was left. So Wang Tao had managed to get 16 boxes of Inhibitors in total, each box containing 20 bottles, making 320 bottles in all. Adding to the 19 bottles he already had, he now had a total of 339 bottles of Inhibitors! But having so many Inhibitors on hand was currently of no use to him. As a member of the base¡¯s committee, he had to make some contributions to the base. Therefore, apart from the share for Han Rui, Wang Tao decided to set aside a portion for the base¡¯s warehouse, as a way to motivate Hunters to earn Contribution Points. Of course, Wang Tao estimated that others had also gathered quite a few Inhibitors, so the base¡¯s supply would definitely increase, and it would be inappropriate to continue exchanging them for 100,000 Contribution Points. The price might drop. But, that was for Ren Jie and the others to consider. Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to worry about it.. Chapter 161 - Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Crystal Core Again_3 Translator: 549690339 I In addition to the inhibitor, Wang Tao also found some food, but not much since he only scoured Villa No. 3- Besides giving some to Han Rui, he kept the rest. The food at home was running low too, so it was a good time for replenishment. Then came the focus of this expedition¡¯s gains-the spoils from killing several elite zombies! An excellent-quality Screaming Crystal Core and a Screaming Potion Recipe, two bottles of Screaming Potion; an outstanding-quality Precision Shooting Crystal Core, an Alloy Recurve Bow with matching arrows, a Precise Crossbow and a Crossbow Arrow Blueprint; an excellent-quality Shockwave Crystal Core, two bottles of Strength Potion; and an excellent self-detonation crystal core¡­ These were all acquired before he returned. On his way back, Wang Tao turned a corner and encountered a Suicide Bombing Zombie and a Police Zombie. Surprisingly, the Suicide Bombing Zombie blasted the Police Zombie nearly to death. Wang Tao had been wondering how he would deal with the Police Zombie, but he hadn¡¯t expected this turn of events. Wang Tao immediately got out of the car and finished off the Police Zombie with a knife. He also collected the spoils from both zombies. The Suicide Bombing Zombie, of course, only left behind a Crystal Core, and unfortunately, this time it was a blue one. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Self Detonation] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (no side effects)] Counting this core, Wang Tao now had three Self-Destruct Crystal Cores in his possession, with quality being excellent (40%), excellent (60%), and outstanding (80%). Originally, Wang Tao thought these Self-Detonation Crystal Cores were useless to him, but when he saw Wu Fei succeed in fusing with one and even gained 100 mana as a result¡­ Wang Tao suddenly felt like he had discovered the correct usage of the Self-Detonation Crystal Cores. That was to use the Self-Detonation Crystal Core as a tool for increasing mana. Self-Detonation Zombies were the most commonly encountered among elite zombies, and relatively speaking, the easiest elite zombies to kill. Therefore, the yield of Self-Detonation Crystal Cores should not be low. Wang Tao felt that once everyone else discovered this clever strategy, quite a few people might be willing to fuse with Self-Detonation Crystal Cores. So, these cores were still valuable. Of course, Wang Tao definitely would not fuse with them. After all, each person could only fuse with a limited number of zombie cores, and Wang Tao felt that he could only afford to fuse with two more types at most. Good steel must be used on the blade¡¯s edge. And that blade¡¯s edge¡­ was the spoils that Wang Tao had picked from the gun-wielding Police Zombie! What Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect was that the Crystal Core dropped by the gun-wielding Police Zombie was also ¡°Precision Shooting¡±! [Level 1 Crystal Core-Precision Shooting] [Quality: Outstanding (40%)] [Purity: 50% (side effects: blindness in one eye)] [Precision Shooting: During its duration, the shooter¡¯s accuracy is significantly enhanced] Although this core was only a blue excellent-quality one, with a 40% chance of successful fusion, Wang Tao had also retrieved a Precision Shooting Crystal Core from an Archer Zombie he had killed earlier. That one was red, of outstanding quality, with an 80% chance of successful fusion! Which means he could now fuse into a gold, epic, 100% success rate and 100% purity, and without any side effects, ¡°Precision Shooting¡± Crystal Core! Wang Tao had thought it would take some time to get the next Precision Shooting Crystal Core, especially since Archer Zombies would surely be rare, but unexpectedly, just on the second day, he had collected another one! Both Policemen and Archers could shoot, and importantly, they also both possessed ranged weapons, so it made sense for them to drop the same type of Crystal Core! While thrilled inside, Wang Tao fused the two Precision Shooting Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack! Although ¡°Excellent 40%¡± added to ¡°Outstanding 80%¡± added up to more than 100% which seemed somewhat wasteful, such cores were too rare, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to wait. Fusing them now to boost his fighting power was the best choice. A burst of colorful light flashed in the Space Backpack, and then a brand-new Orange Crystal Core appeared! [Level 1 Crystal Core-Precision Shooting] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (no side effects)] [Precision Shooting: During its duration, the shooter¡¯s accuracy is significantly enhanced] Seeing this Epic Crystal Core, Wang Tao was elated. The biggest drawback of Precision Shooting was blindness in one eye, which was a terrifying side effect. If people knew about this side effect, they probably wouldn¡¯t dare fuse with the core even if they obtained it. Luckily, Wang Tao was able to perform a synthesis, which eliminated the blind eye side effect. Wang Tao felt that the ability produced by this crystal core might become his strongest ability¡­ ¡°Sister-in-law, I¡¯m going to fuse with a crystal core, please keep an eye on me,¡± he said. ¡°Okay-¡± The two went to the bathroom together and filled the bathtub with water. Then Wang Tao took a deep breath and swallowed the Epic Crystal Core in one gulp- ¡°Phew¡ªHot!¡± After swallowing the Crystal Core, Wang Tao felt his body heat up, uncomfortably so. Thankfully, Wang Tao was prepared; he quickly stripped off his clothes and jumped into the bathtub. ¡°Wang Tao, how are you feeling?¡± Ding Yuqin asked worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a bit hot¡­ Bring me the thermometer!¡± Ding Yuqin hurried to fetch a thermometer and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°You¡¯re so hot¡­¡± Wang Tao did not speak; he took the thermometer in his mouth and then submerged his body in the water. After a few minutes, Wang Tao asked Ding Yuqin to take the thermometer. ¡°My goodness! You¡¯re over 50 degrees¡­ Ding Yuqin was startled; such a high temperature could be damaging! She quickly grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s large hand, looking very anxious. Wang Tao was also startled, but he felt quite lucid and assumed there was no danger. After about ten more minutes, Wang Tao felt the heat in his body diminishing, and the haziness that had settled over his brain began to clear. Wang Tao checked his attributes. His HP hadn¡¯t changed and was 1340, building on the 50 HP he had gained from killing the Police Zombie. His mana had increased by another 100, reaching 400, and he had acquired a new ability: ¡°Precision Shooting.¡± Success! Chapter 162 - Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening i Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening i Translator: 549690339 Although the fusion was successful this time, Wang Tao felt a bit frightened afterward. He had a premonition that with his current strength, he could only fuse one or two more different types of crystal cores before he couldn¡¯t continue. Otherwise, it would definitely lead to disaster. Now he finally understood what that feeling meant. The first time he fused with a Zombie Core, he hardly felt anything; it was done in the blink of an eye. When fusing the second type of crystal core, he just felt a bit of heat in his body, but it wasn¡¯t uncomfortable, and he felt fine after lying in bed for a while. But this time, when fusing the third type of crystal core, his body felt very hot, and he was somewhat dizzy, just like having a high fever¡ªin fact, his body temperature really was very high, having reached over 50 degrees Celsius. If he were to fuse a fourth crystal core, he estimated his body temperature would be even higher. He didn¡¯t dare to imagine just how high. As for fusing a fifth different type of crystal core¡­ Wang Tao felt there was no need to court death. He was certain that even if he managed to successfully fuse a fourth core, the fifth would definitely fail. Maybe he would combust on the spot during the attempt¡­ Wang Tao thought it was better to be cautious, improve his strength first, and then try fusing different types of crystal cores. As for the same type of cores, there were no issues. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he didn¡¯t have any suitable cores on hand, he would have fused one already. However, Wang Tao was curious about how many different types of cores other people could fuse. He wondered if anyone could fuse more than him. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright¡­¡± Looking at Ding Yuqin, who was clutching him tightly, Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine now.¡± ¡°Huuuh¡ªYour body was so hot just now, and you didn¡¯t respond when I talked to you¡­ You scared me to death!¡± Ding Yuqin looked visibly relieved; had it not been for Wang Tao¡¯s prior cautioning, she probably would have called for a doctor immediately. Looking at the beads of sweat on Ding Yuqin¡¯s forehead, Wang Tao suddenly extended his hand and pulled her into the bathtub. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± ¡°Sister-in-law, you¡¯ve sweated so much, let¡¯s take a good wash together!¡± After fusing the crystal cores, Wang Tao felt his vitality was excessively robust and needed to be expended. ¡°¡­You¡¯re so naughty-¡± The next day. After Wang Tao got up, Ding Yuqin had just finished making breakfast. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s time to eat!¡± Wang Tao loved Ding Yuqin¡¯s diligent attitude. While having breakfast, Wang Tao glanced at his Space Backpack. After the fusion yesterday, having excessive energy, he and Ding Yuqin went to have an in-depth discussion about life. After their discussion, he slept until morning and hadn¡¯t had time to take a good look at it yet. The armed police zombie he had managed to kill had dropped not only a Zombie Crystal Core but also a package and the handgun it held. [Police Handgun xi][9mm Bullet xio] The handgun dropped by the police zombie contained 10 bullets. But this handgun was loaded with a 15-round magazine, which means the zombie had fired 5 shots¡ªit really could shoot! It¡¯s just unknown how accurate the zombie was. If it was on par with the Archer Zombie, that would be terrifying! After all, guns have not only long-range killing power, but they¡¯re also very loud¡­ Although there are only 10 bullets, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind. Because these bullets can be placed inside the Space Backpack. In other words, like the bow and arrows, he can take them out anytime, anywhere! At critical moments, it might become a trump card. This thing is more concealed than a bow and arrows, and it can be used right after being drawn. Apart from these two items, the police zombie Wang Tao had killed also dropped schematics and a potion¡ª [9mm Bullet Blueprint xi] [Eyesight Potion (Small) Recipe xi] [Eyesight Potion (Small) x2] Wang Tao was surprised to have gotten a bullet blueprint; it was a good item because items made from blueprints can be stored in the Space Backpack. [9mm Bullet Blueprints: Allows the creation of 100 bullets, required materials: Blade xio, Iron Block xio, Chemicals xio] With 100 bullets, all of which could be stored in the Space Backpack, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about running out. Although under current circumstances, he probably wouldn¡¯t need to use a gun. But while he may not need to use it, he couldn¡¯t afford to be without it! The Eyesight Potion is a potion that enhances vision. [Eyesight Potion (Small) Recipe: Once learned, you can make 5 Eyesight Potions (Small) each time. Required materials: Eyesight Carrot, Zombie Crystal Core xi, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kilocalories of food] This Eyesight Potion recipe was similar to the previous ones; Wang Tao could only learn it, but he couldn¡¯t make it since he didn¡¯t have the key ingredients. [Eyesight Potion (Small): Upon injection, vision increases by 3-10 times (enhancement effect related to the health of the eyes), lasting for 1 minute with a cooldown of 12 hours] The introduction of the Eyesight Potion sounded pretty good, but it was unclear exactly what aspect of vision was improved¡ªwhether it was to see further limits or to see more details within a certain range, or an all-around enhancement? If he had the chance, Wang Tao could give it a try, but he currently only had two bottles of Eyesight Potion, so there was no need to waste them. However, Wang Tao felt it was quite unfriendly to people with myopia, because the enhancement effect was related to the health of the eyes¡­ Fortunately, he had no issues with his own eyes. After breakfast, Ding Yuqin went to wash the dishes. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush out but instead took out materials and used all the blueprints he had. No need to mention the Eyesight Potion Recipe, that could be learned directly. He had already learnt it.. Chapter 163 - Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening ! Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening ! Translator: 549690339 It was mainly about the blueprints for making hand crossbows, crossbow bolts, and bullets. [Precise Crossbow Blueprint (Forgeable) xi] [Crossbow Bolt Blueprint (Forgeable) xi] [9mm Bullet Blueprint (Forgeable) xi] After taking out their respective materials, a burst of light flashed, and three items appeared in front of Wang Tao. The 100 bullets looked the same as ordinary bullets, but they could be put into the Space Backpack. Wang Tao filled up his handgun¡¯s magazine first, then placed the rest into the Space Backpack. The highlight was this precise hand crossbow. This was something crafted using a bow and arrows. [Precise Crossbow: Durability +20, Attack power +10, Precision +10] It was a matte black crossbow, very similar in color to the one Han Rui held. But this crossbow was smaller and didn¡¯t have a scope on it. Wang Tao felt that in terms of power and range, this precise hand crossbow might not be as good as Han Rui¡¯s sniper crossbow, but it was more convenient. At home, Wang Tao had targets he used for practicing his Flying Axe, and he placed one in the yard to test. Not to mention power and precision, just the firing speed alone, this hand crossbow in his hands was incredibly fast¡ªWang Tao¡¯s strength allowed him to quickly pull the crossbow string to reload after firing a bolt. The whole process took only about five or six seconds! It might even be shorter once he got practiced. Wang Tao was very satisfied with the firing rate. Although it was far from that of firearms, it was much quieter and therefore much safer. Just like yesterday, when Han Rui killed zombies from a distance, as long as no sound was made, even if they killed all ordinary zombies, the others still wouldn¡¯t notice who was attacking. One of the divine tools for survival in the post-apocalypse! Wang Tao took out his bow and arrows for a comparison, to feel the difference. Then he activated his new ability¡ªPrecision Shooting! Instantly, Wang Tao felt as if the whole world had changed! His eyes were like a combination of a telescope and a magnifying glass, clear vision no matter the distance! His ears could pick up all kinds of subtle sounds, but they were not noisy; rather, they were clear and distinct. His skin could feel any slight breeze and was extremely sensitive to changes in temperature. In his mind, there were incomprehensible yet somehow usable pieces of knowledge¡­ Wang Tao picked up the hand crossbow, and despite having not used it much, it felt strangely familiar. Whoosh- Bullseye! Whoosh¡ª Another bullseye! Wang Tao put down the hand crossbow and picked up the compound bow he used for skill practice. Whoosh¡ª Bullseye! Bullseye! Bullseye! Wang Tao put the bow down and took out the Alloy Recurve Bow from his Space Backpack. Once he pulled the string, he could feel that this bow required more strength to draw. Nocking an arrow. Whoosh- Bullseye! ¡°Awesome!¡± Exhilarated by the feeling of hitting the bullseye every time, Wang Tao suddenly felt a bit inflated with pride. What Elite Zombies, what Zombie Lords? Just ask if they could withstand his natural lock-on ability¡ªno, this wasn¡¯t a cheat; it was part of his strength! After all, a small cheat doesn¡¯t count as cheating. However, suddenly, Wang Tao felt drowsy. He glanced at his mana¡ªso scared that he immediately exited the state of Precision Shooting. Good heavens, in just a short while, 400 mana was down to 30, consuming a total of 370! Then Wang Tao calculated the time. He came to a painful conclusion¡ªthis Precision Shooting consumed 10 energy per second! His 400 mana could only last for 40 seconds¡­ 40 seconds was way too short! This consumed 10 times more than his other ability, Toughness! He had thought that he could rely on this ability to dominate in battles¡­ Now it seemed that it could only be used in critical moments, or when trying to quickly kill a target in a short period of time. Practicing his archery skills was the true path to power. Of course, this ability had great potential, and increasing mana was synonymous with enhancing the ability. He would have to find ways to increase his mana in the future. As for the range of this Precision Shooting, it was still unclear at the moment. Mainly because Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had time to test the distance and range before his mana was used up¡­ Wang Tao played with the bow and crossbow for a while longer, then stowed the bow and strapped the precise hand crossbow to his waist. There was no other intention than to show off a bit later on. As for the 100 crossbow bolts, of course, most of them went into the Space Backpack, and he only carried a few on him. He asked Ding Yuqin to make him a bag for crossbow bolts, which he would simply hang on his waist later. Ding Yuqin¡¯s craft was quite good. Wang Tao packed some inhibitors and a bow into a woven bag, then shouldered it and headed to the integrated building. At the top floor, in the committee meeting room. ¡°Haha, I said Wang Tao would be fine! Look at him, he seems to be in high spirits!¡± Seeing Wang Tao arrive, Wei Zhenguo laughed heartily at everyone. Looking at the smiling faces of the others, Wang Tao guessed they had also had a fruitful couple of days! ¡°Eh?¡± Lu Gang, a sniper with good eyesight, immediately spotted the hand crossbow hanging on Wang Tao¡¯s waist. ¡°A crossbow? That¡¯s a nice piece! May I have a look?¡± His words drew the attention of the others. Wang Tao generously handed the hand crossbow to Lu Gang. Lu Gang became somewhat attached to it immediately. As a sniper, he made his living with guns, but it was a pity that now there were too many Mad Demon Zombies outside, and he didn¡¯t dare to shoot recklessly. This essentially negated much of his strength. If he had a crossbow though¡­ Still, crossbows were easy to master and useful to everyone. Even though he wanted one, he felt too embarrassed to ask. Chapter 164 - Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening_3 Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao of course saw the desire in Lu Gang¡¯s eyes and said with a smile, ¡°You really like this thing?¡± ¡°Of course! Who doesn¡¯t like crossbows? Not to mention a professional sniper like me; even ordinary people can go hunting zombies with this crossbow!¡± Lu Gang didn¡¯t hide his envy as he spoke. ¡°If you like it¡­¡± Wang Tao deliberately drew out his words. Lu Gang¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. Could it be that Wang Tao was going to gift it to him? That would be really embarrassing! But obviously, he thought too much. ¡°I can give you something similar. Though not as instantly ready as a crossbow, I guess you shouldn¡¯t have much problem with it.¡± As he spoke, Wang Tao pulled out a bow from the bag he was holding and handed it to Lu Gang. ¡°My goodness, a hunting compound bow!¡± Lu Gang exclaimed in surprise. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow, impressed that Lu Gang knew his stuff! Modern compound bows generally fall into two categories by functionality: hunting bows and competition bows. As the names suggest, one is for hunting, the other for competing. Competition bows mainly focus on precision; they can sacrifice everything else for the sake of accuracy. This type of bow isn¡¯t very suitable for actual combat. Hunting bows are different. They seek a balance in precision, arrow speed, portability, and various other aspects. They¡¯re more suited for real combat. In the apocalypse, if there¡¯s a choice to make, one would definitely go for the hunting bow. Wang Tao got four bows from villa number 3, including three hunting bows and the alloy recurve bow dropped by the zombies. There was only one competition bow. Obviously, the owner of the villa wasn¡¯t just into competitive archery, he preferred hunting, given that he also had a specially made hunting crossbow. When Wang Tao just made the precise hand crossbow, he had used the competition bow for parts. The alloy recurve bow was in his Space Backpack. He still had two hunting compound bows in his hand, one which he would keep for himself to practice, and the other he planned to give to Lu Gang. Lu Gang was an excellent sniper; he certainly should know how to use a bow and arrows. Even if not, he could learn. But Lu Gang apparently knew more than Wang Tao had anticipated. ¡°You know arrow technique? Then it¡¯s settled, this bow is for you. I¡¯m not really good at archery, so I¡¯ll keep the hand crossbow for myself,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lu Gang excitedly took the compound bow and shook his head, ¡°Hey! What arrow techniques or what not, I don¡¯t understand any of that. I just know that our unit used to have archery competitions, and I¡¯ve won first place several times, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. ¡°You¡¯re really giving it to me? This is quality gear! I bet it wasn¡¯t cheap before the apocalypse; it¡¯s the kind I wouldn¡¯t even dare look at¡­¡± Lu Gang looked at Wang Tao again. He really liked it, but he didn¡¯t want to take something that others cherished. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have another bow at home that¡¯s similar to this. I have both bows and crossbows, I won¡¯t miss this one.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s settled!¡± Hearing this, the smile on Lu Gang¡¯s face grew even brighter. ¡°With this, my strength won¡¯t be diminished, and I can go hunting zombies again! Shall we go out and give it a try later? I¡¯m not bragging, but my archery skills are just as accurate as when I use a sniper rifle!¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Wang Tao replied with a laugh, eager to see just how strong Lu Gang could be with a bow and arrows as a genuine sniper, whose shooting ability was much more formidable than Han Rui¡¯s. The other committee members also looked happy when they saw Lu Gang get the bow and arrows. After all, an enhancement in Lu Gang¡¯s strength was an increase in strength for the whole base. ¡°You¡¯ve really had a bountiful haul this time, Wang Tao! To get all these bows and crossbows¡­¡± Ren Jie said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s passable,¡± replied Wang Tao, lifting the woven bag and placing it on the conference room table. Xiang Hongbin peeked inside and immediately inhaled sharply. ¡°Sss¡ªso many inhibitors!¡± Wang Tao had a total of 339 inhibitor bottles; he directly took out 100 of them. Keeping too many of these things wasn¡¯t useful; better to put them to work. After all, Wang Tao also wanted the Crystal Cores from other people¡¯s hands; it would not be right for him to keep taking without giving in return. Furthermore, this did not mean that Wang Tao was giving these inhibitors away for free to the survivors in the base. The items he had presented nominally belonged to the whole base, but others had to apply to use them, and whether or not they got approval was up to Wang Tao to say¡ªpreviously, the inhibitors brought back by Wei Zhenguo were managed this way, with Wei Zhenguo retaining usage rights. Of course, Wang Tao most likely wouldn¡¯t bother with such trivial matters. He would have Ren Jie handle it, and then all Ren Jie had to do was keep him informed. ¡°With so many inhibitors, we can certainly rally everyone¡¯s motivation again!¡± Ren Jie said with some joy. ¡°Didn¡¯t you all get some inhibitors in the airdrops before?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. ¡°We did, but we only got a total of 300 bottles, and here you are, a single person bringing in 100 bottles¡­¡± Feng Ming¡¯an shrugged. When this matter came up, Xiang Hongbin felt a bit uncomfortable. ¡°Damn it! Normally, you wouldn¡¯t think there were so many survivors in Shuize County, right? But when we went for the airdrops, it felt like there were people everywhere!¡± Lu Gang explained that they had split into several squads and ran around for two days, but only found three airdrop boxes containing inhibitors. The other boxes either had food and other supplies or had already been scavenged by others. Although 300 bottles wasn¡¯t small, they encountered quite a few airdrop boxes, so everyone felt a bit regretful. Xiang Hongbin and his group kept 200 bottles for themselves and took out the remaining 100 bottles, plus Wang Tao¡¯s too bottles and the 40 bottles the base had previously obtained; now, they had a total of 240 inhibitor bottles! Ren Jie was already thinking about how to use these inhibitors to enhance the base¡¯s strength¡ªmany people were afraid to go out looking for supplies, but with inhibitors as a backup, the number of survivors who became Hunters could increase significantly¡­ Besides the inhibitors, the base members also scavenged a lot of supplies during their outing and brought back some survivors. Overall, it could be said that their gains were quite substantial. And speaking of survivors, Wang Tao took the opportunity to arrange for people to bring over Gao Hua and his group.. Chapter 165 - Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping—1 Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping¡ª1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Going to pick up a group of survivors? No problem. I¡¯ll arrange it, but I¡¯m not sure when we can go. After all, you know there are too many uncertainties in the post-apocalyptic world,¡± Feng Ming¡¯an immediately said when Wang Tao mentioned arranging for someone to pick up survivors. Each of the seven committee members had their own division of labor. Feng Ming¡¯an was responsible for going out to fetch survivors, and after bringing them back, it was Ren Jie¡¯s job to take over. ¡°Okay. They should be able to hold on for a few more days; if they really can¡¯t, then it¡¯s just their bad luck.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He felt that with Gao Hua¡¯s smarts, they would definitely last another two days. If they couldn¡¯t, it would be just a matter of bad luck. After settling the survivor matter, it was time for the main event of the meeting¡ªZombie Cores! Going out to pick up airdrops would definitely encounter Elite Zombies. Given the chance to hunt them, no one would miss out. Even people like Lu Gang and Xiang Hongbin went out of their way to hunt Elite Zombies. So, aside from Inhibitors, Zombie Cores were also a significant gain from this post-rain expedition! Zombie Cores were valuable, but they¡¯re not suitable for everyone. Only the ones that best suited one¡¯s own abilities were considered the best. Thus, after waiting for Wang Tao¡¯s return, everyone took out the Zombie Cores they had in hand. Those in need could exchange with each other. Wang Tao currently had seven Crystal Cores, but only three were useful to him: Shockwave, Rush, and Self-healing. No need to mention Shockwave, it was his main Skill. He would try his best to collect as many shockwave crystal cores as possible. So far, he felt that his body could handle a lot of them with no problems. Rush was also a good Ability, and Wang Tao was considering learning it, but he could only fuse with one other type of Crystal Core at this moment, so he needed to be cautious. He kept Rush as a backup option. As for the Self-healing Crystal Core, it was the one Wang Tao wanted the most. If he could master Self-healing, combined with Thoughness¡­ he would be nearly indestructible during the duration of his Skills, provided he wasn¡¯t infected, of course. The Self-healing Crystal Core was what Wang Tao wanted most at the moment. If he couldn¡¯t find a Self-healing Crystal Core, then he would consider other Crystal Cores. So, he decided to keep these three Crystal Cores for himself, while the remaining four were put up for exchange. These were the Blue Self-explode Crystal Core, Purple Self-destruct Crystal Core, Red Self-destruct Crystal Core, and Purple Screaming Crystal Core. Three self-explosive cores, Wang Tao was somewhat helpless about that. However, he had discovered another use for the self-explosive cores, so it was not as vexing as before. ¡°Wow, Wang Tao, you are really lucky!¡± When everyone saw the Zombie Cores Wang Tao brought out, they were all surprised. Regardless of whether they were self-destructive or not, the quality of the Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s hands was high! There was even a Red one (80% quality)! The others were also Purple, Blue, with not a single White one. In contrast to their own cores¡­ everyone shook their heads helplessly. Their own Crystal Cores were mostly White, with an occasional Blue, and together they had only one Purple Core. None had a Red Core¡­ This was really a case of ¡®comparisons are odious¡¯! As for the types of Cores, Suicide Bombing Cores were the majority. Suicide Bombing Zombies were the most common Elite Zombies and also the easiest to deal with¡ªsimply startling them would trigger their self-detonation after three seconds. So it was understandable to end up with so many Self-Destruct Crystal Cores. Seeing everyone¡¯s resigned expressions, Wang Tao suddenly said with a smile: ¡°Actually, these Self-Destruct Crystal Cores have uses beyond just self-detonation. They have another significant use!¡± ¡°Hmm? What use?¡± The others immediately looked at Wang Tao upon hearing this. ¡°After successful fusion with a Self-Destruct Crystal Core, there are no side effects, but it still increases the energy inside the body¡­¡± With just a hint from Wang Tao, the others¡¯ eyes lit up. Especially Feng Ming¡¯an, who slapped his thigh and then stared at Wang Tao with eager eyes. ¡°You mean we can fuse with the Self-Destruct Crystal Core to increase the energy levels inside our bodies and then release more of our other Abilities?¡± Although he couldn¡¯t see the blue bar, he could feel the amount of energy inside his body, so once Wang Tao spoke, he understood what it meant. ¡°Right.¡± Feng Ming¡¯an appeared annoyed when Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Ah, if I had known, I¡¯d have fused with more Self-Destruct Crystal Cores! This time out was smooth, but it wasn¡¯t without danger. During one fight, I wasn¡¯t paying attention and overused my Ability. I suddenly felt exhausted, my mental state started to falter, and I nearly got bitten by a zombie¡­¡± Wang Tao responded with a smile, shaking his head, ¡°I only recently found out about this and got confirmation. I too thought Self-Destruct Crystal Cores had limited use¡­¡± ¡°So can I fuse with the Self-Destruct Zombie Cores now?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an looked at the Self-Destruct Crystal Cores, somewhat excited. ¡°In theory, yes, but people¡¯s constitutions vary. Some can fuse with several Crystal Cores, while others can only fuse with one type. So we need to see if you can handle the fusion¡­¡± Wang Tao added some more explanation. ¡°Ah? How can you tell?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an was a bit confused. ¡°You have to rely on your feelings. Set your mind at ease, then think about fusing with these cores; you¡¯ll get a sense inside¡­¡± The concept sounded somewhat far-fetched, but it was exactly how Wang Tao had come to understand it. Moreover, when he went out with Han Rui, he had her try it out. Han Rui did indeed get some sensations¡ªthough she couldn¡¯t sense exactly how many types of Crystal Cores she could fuse with like Wang Tao, she could feel that she was capable of further fusions.. Chapter 166 - Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping__2 Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping__2 Translator: 549690339 | So although this thing is quite speculative, it is indeed effective. Following Wang Tao¡¯s instructions, Feng Ming¡¯an closed his eyes and quietly focused for a moment, then suddenly startled. ¡°I feel¡­ if I merge with another type of crystal core, something bad is going to happen¡­¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth, then shook his head with a hint of regret. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s regrettable that you can¡¯t merge with the Self-Detonation Crystal Core anymore. You can only continue to merge with the Slime Spitter Crystal Core¡­¡± ¡°Ah, this¡­¡± The others also felt somewhat helpless. It was so unfortunate for Feng Ming¡¯an; he turned out to be one of those people who could only merge with one type of crystal core¡­ Seeing Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s disappointed look, Wang Tao suddenly added: ¡°But I have a feeling that the issue of how many types of crystal cores one can merge with seems related to one¡¯s own strength. If your strength increases, it seems you can increase the limit of merging¡­ Of course, this is just a speculation of mine, yet to be validated.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak too confidently. Although he could indeed feel that after growing stronger, he was able to merge with more crystal cores, he wasn¡¯t sure if this was because he was somewhat special¡­ Upon hearing this, Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s expression improved significantly. He shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°Hey! Having one ability is already good, many people want to become ability users but don¡¯t even have the chance!¡± Xiang Hongbin then joined in the conversation: ¡°However, Old Feng¡¯s luck is really not that great. This time we went out, we didn¡¯t encounter a single Slime Spitting Zombie¡­¡± ¡°No rush, there will always be opportunities in the future!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an said helplessly. ¡°Wang Tao, can you see if there are any uses for these other crystal cores?¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke up at this point. This time, they had gotten more than a dozen crystal cores altogether. After all, they had a large group consisting of over fifty people, so it was normal for them to obtain so many crystal cores. Aside from the Self-Detonation Crystal Core, there were also some that they had seen before and some they had not. The ones they had seen included: A blue (40%) Rush Crystal Core, a white (20%) Shockwave Crystal Core, a blue (40%) Glutton Crystal Core, and a white (20%) Toughness Crystal Core. Out of these four crystal cores, aside from the Glutton Crystal Core, Wang Tao wanted the other three. He had a purple Rush Crystal Core in his hand, and if combined with this blue one, he could perfectly obtain an Orange Rush Crystal Core! Although he really wanted to get an Orange Self-Healing Crystal Core, if he couldn¡¯t wait, merging with the Rush Ability wouldn¡¯t be bad either. As for the Shockwave and Toughness, there was no need to mention them; they were his two main abilities. Wang Tao took these three crystal cores. Although they were all white and blue, he could synthesize them, so he didn¡¯t mind the lower quality. The others didn¡¯t oppose it either, as they had already accepted Wang Tao s advice-zombie crystal cores below purple should not be used. White and blue cores had too low of a probability and could easily accumulate impurities in the body. Then came the zombie crystal cores they had never seen before, a total of three. Wang Tao looked at these three crystal cores. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Sprint] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: feet become larger)] [Sprint: Consumes energy, dashes forward a short distance] The first one was a Sprint Crystal Core, with a shadow of a pair of feet inside the core. This crystal core differed from the Rush Core by only one word, but the effects were entirely different. Because Xiang Hongbin told Wang Tao that this Sprint Core came from a Sprinting Zombie. And the ¡°Sprint¡± ability of the Sprinting Zombie was to dash forward a few meters momentarily, without any lethality in the sprint itself. Unlike Rush, which could directly knock a person dead. But then again, the side effect of Sprint was very minor. The side effect of Rush was limb stiffness. But the side effect of Sprint was only larger feet. Feet becoming larger can also be a side effect? Xiang Hongbin had told Wang Tao that the Sprint Zombie he saw, though it had larger feet than ordinary zombies, wasn¡¯t unacceptably large. At most, it meant that normal shoes wouldn¡¯t fit, and custom ones would be needed. Wang Tao thought that perhaps the stronger the ability in the core, the greater the side effect. So to judge whether an ability is strong or not, one might look at the severity of its side effects¡­ The second crystal core was a bit bizarre. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Mud Swamp] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: body continuously produces mud)] [Mud Swamp: Consumes energy, creates a mud swamp around oneself] This core had a shadow of a mud swamp inside. Wang Tao found it hard to imagine what the scene would be like if someone merged with this core, when they used their ability. No, not just when using the ability, according to the side effect description, even when not using the ability, the body would still produce mud¡­ This is practically a cleanliness helper! just by the literal meaning, it feels like this core might be like the Glutton Core, seeming alright but not being particularly useful. Finally, there was the last crystal core. Inside this core, there was a semi-transparent figure of a small person. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Stealth] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: actions consume double physical strength)] [Stealth: During its duration, conceals own scent, making it less likely to be discovered by other creatures] Seeing the attributes of this core, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. This ability seems pretty good! If he¡¯s not mistaken, this core should have come from a Stealth Zombie. The Stealth Zombie that Wang Tao had killed earlier didn¡¯t have much HP, nor did it have a crystal core. But it did produce Stealth Potions.. Chapter 167 - Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping s Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping s Translator: 549690339 The effect of the Stealth Potion (Medium) can hide one from zombies. As long as you don¡¯t get too close to the zombies, they won¡¯t be able to detect you! He had used the Stealth Potion to avoid several crises. The effect of the Stealth Zombie Crystal Core doesn¡¯t vary between large, medium, or small sizes; it¡¯s described as not easily perceivable by other creatures, which should mean it¡¯s capable of evading zombies. In the post-apocalyptic world, combat ability is certainly important. But so is the ability to survive! For the time being, this Stealth Ability is definitely one of the top abilities for survival! Wang Tao was somewhat tempted. If he learned it, wouldn¡¯t he be able to move freely through the streets just like when he used the Stealth Potion before? As long as he didn¡¯t bump into a horde, he would be basically safe from danger! However, this Stealth Ability, like his Precision Shooting and Toughness, was a sustained Ability, so he wasn¡¯t clear on how much it would deplete his energy¡­ As for the side effects of Stealth, they were quite severe indeed. Moving consumed twice the physical strength, which meant this ability could not be used by combat personnel. After all, if throwing a punch felt as exerting as throwing two, that would be uncomfortable. It¡¯s as if the endurance was cut in half. Of course, for Wang Tao, if he could synthesize a Crystal Core without side effects, then the side effect would be irrelevant. Wang Tao described the general functions and side effects of these three Zombie Cores. After listening, the others had some strange expressions on their faces. The Sprint Crystal Core was standard. Its ability wasn¡¯t strong, but the side effects weren¡¯t significant either, and since it was purple, it might be worth trying to fuse. The Mud Swamp one was a bit hard to understand, whether it¡¯s strong or not could only be determined by seeing it in action. Judging from the single Mud Swamp Zombie encountered by Hong Bin, it didn¡¯t seem too strong¡ªhe got stuck in a small mud swamp, but he stabbed the zombie to death with a spear, coming out uninjured. As for this Stealth Crystal Core, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up a bit. The Stealth Ability¡¯s not bad! Although the side effect is a handicap for combatants, it¡¯s absolutely a super enhancement for scavengers. After all, there are still many who are timid; they don¡¯t want to risk killing zombies, they just want to secretly scavenge for resources¡­ Of course, it¡¯s also a life-saving skill in critical moments. For people like Ren Jie and Liu He, who lack combat power, having a Stealth Ability would greatly improve their self-preservation. Wang Tao then explained the Screaming Crystal Core to everyone. Regarding this Ability, the others shook their heads, but Ren Jie was quite interested. The side effect was that you couldn¡¯t speak quietly; one would always speak loudly. This is indeed somewhat fatal in the post-apocalyptic world. But for him, who didn¡¯t go out and stayed in the base all the time, having a louder voice wouldn¡¯t be an issue and might even be more imposing! If he really had to go out in the future, then he simply wouldn¡¯t speak¡­ As for the Screaming ability, he wouldn¡¯t use it anyway. ¡°You want to fuse with this Crystal Core?¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Ren Jie with some surprise. ¡°Cough, I have some ideas. I also want to experience what it feels like to be an Ability User.¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Wang Tao, who handed the Crystal Core directly to him. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you want to use it, but think it through; after using it, you won¡¯t be able to speak quietly.¡± ¡°No problem, I don¡¯t go out. Even if I did, I could just stay silent.¡± Ren Jie chuckled. What¡¯s valuable about him is his self-awareness. Back when he had the chance to compete for the position of county head and sensed danger, he decisively gave it up. In the end, none of those vying for the county head fared well¡ªapart from him, all the others were replaced. Now, in this post-apocalyptic world, someone his age, in their fifties or sixties, could still take down a ghost of a zombie. He was very accurate in his self-assessment: he was to manage the base. If not necessary, he could spend the rest of his life there! So he just genuinely wanted to experience what it was like to be an Ability User; everything else was secondary. After all, he could accept the side effects of the Screaming Crystal Core¡­ As for the remaining Self-Destruct Crystal Core, everyone eyed it with envy, but no one dared to use it. After Wang Tao explained the function of the Self-Destruct Crystal Core, everyone wanted to fuse with one. But then they found out that Feng Ming¡¯an could only fuse with one Crystal Core for now¡­ which made everyone afraid to fuse with the Self-Destruct Crystal Core. If the fusion was successful, but they were unlucky and could only fuse one type of Crystal Core, then they would only qualify as suicide bombers¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t lose heart, everyone. We will focus on scavenging for resources and hunting Elite Zombies next. As long as we kill enough zombies, we¡¯re sure to become Ability Users!¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke up loudly. ¡°That¡¯s right! Damn it, I don¡¯t believe I can¡¯t become an Ability User!¡± Hong Bin hammered the table angrily. Seeing that no one wanted his Crystal Core, Wang Tao took it back. He planned to hunt some Elite Zombies later on. He nearly reached the limit for the types of Crystal Cores he could fuse with, but the others had yet to become Ability Users; the progress was a bit slow¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t concern himself with Ren Jie¡¯s fusion with the Zombie Crystal Core since everyone had experience now; there was no need to worry. Wang Tao was about to find Han Rui. He had mentioned yesterday he would give her a share of the spoils of war, and he intended to keep his word. He prepared some food and Inhibitors for her. The Zombie Cores weren¡¯t suitable for Han Rui anyway. However, just as he was descending the stairs, he saw someone rushing up in a hurry. ¡°Commissioner Wang!¡± The person saw Wang Tao and immediately said with urgent concern: ¡°Commissioner Wang, there¡¯s been an incident! Two of our Hunter teams that stayed out overnight were supposed to return this morning, but just now, we received a message from a stranger on their walkie-talkies, saying they¡¯ve been kidnapped! They¡¯re demanding Zombie Cores as ransom for our people!¡± Chapter 168 - Chapter 108 Ability: Rush l Chapter 108 Ability: Rush l Translator: 549690339 After the acid rain, although the zombies became stronger, their speed had slowed down a lot. Once the committee broadcasted this news, there were quite a few people who became tempted¡ªzombies that had slowed down might still be unbeatable, but they could outrun them! For many, as long as they didn¡¯t go hunting zombies, didn¡¯t make much noise, and didn¡¯t encounter any special zombies, the current danger was actually lower than before. The Special Zombie Guidebook had been produced into pamphlets and distributed at the base. So, as long as they were a bit more observant and not too unlucky, they should be able to go out and scour for supplies. Shuize County was vast with a large population. After most people had turned into zombies, the resources left behind were naturally abundant. Having been secure in the base for over a month, some survivors wanted to continue living in safety, but others were prepared to take a risk. So these past few days, the number of registered Hunters at the base had increased significantly. The base required that these Hunters try not to stay out overnight and, should they be forced to, they should inform the base. Otherwise, help could not be provided in case of danger. Yesterday, two Hunter Teams composed mainly of newcomers informed the base that they were surrounded by zombies, not in immediate danger, and so decided to spend the night outside and return the next morning. However, this morning, when the staff at Shuize Base asked about their situation, it was a stranger¡¯s voice that answered. They said that those two teams, fourteen people in total, had been captured by them. If the base wanted to redeem these people, they would have to exchange them for fourteen Zombie Cores. If the base chose not to redeem them, they would kill one person every other day until all were dead. The staff wanted to hear the voices of the members of those two teams, but the other party turned off the walkie-talkie. Moreover, they mentioned redeeming the people but did not even specify where¡­ The staff all began to doubt whether these people just found the belongings of the Hunter Team or if all the Hunters were already dead¡­ ¡°What do you think?¡± Wang Tao looked at the other committee members. Everyone frowned. In this post-apocalyptic world, people were needed, but human lives were cheap. If they were asked to give something else for redemption, like some food, that might still be negotiable. But to take Zombie Cores was outrageous. How many Ability Users did the base have? They didn¡¯t have enough Zombie Cores for their use! A human life was certainly not necessarily more valuable than a Zombie Core. ¡°We cannot compromise! Damn it, they¡¯re threatening us? We fight back!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke out somewhat irritably. ¡°I also think we cannot compromise. If there¡¯s a first time, there will be a second time. We can¡¯t always be compromising, right? Punch back hard and stop the punching from coming!¡± Lu Gang also spoke, his eyes glaring. Not only these two military men, but Feng Ming¡¯an, Ren Jie, and even the techie Liu He agreed on taking action. Wei Zhenguo then spoke: ¡°I also agree not to compromise, but the problem is, do you know who they are, where they are?¡± II II Everyone was momentarily stuck. ¡°If I am not wrong, that group should be Shao Yong¡¯s people!¡± Wang Tao spoke up. ¡°If we¡¯re to speak of grudges, we¡¯ve only ever had them with that group. Normally, if our people were captured by other survivors, they would definitely announce themselves. Those small survivor powers, upon hearing our name, would either kill to silence them or release them. After all, so many guns we have are not for show¡ªbut they dare to take hostages directly! I have reason to suspect that it¡¯s Shao Yong¡¯s people.¡± Hearing this analysis, everyone nodded slightly. But if it was Shao Yong, then there was a bit of trouble. Because it was obvious that Shao Yong was standing up for his little brother Cao Xin¡­ No one wanted to engage in infighting with other survivors at this time if not necessary. But if it really couldn¡¯t be avoided, they were resolute to not cower. ¡°But he didn¡¯t specify the exact trading location! Even if we genuinely took Zombie Cores to redeem our people, we still need a location¡­¡± Feng Ming¡¯an furrowed his brows. ¡°Maybe there are two possibilities¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke with a frown ¡°one is, that many of our people have died¡­ they want to delay a few days. The other is¡­ they want to give us a warning! They intend to kill a few people first!¡± Hearing this, everyone¡¯s anger intensified. Regardless of the situation, it meant that the two Hunter Teams had suffered casualties! ¡°The urgent matter at hand is to look for where exactly they are while waiting for their message¡­¡± Ren Jie spoke, stroking his chin. We are in the light, the enemy in the shadow¡­ quite passive. ¡°Yes, we need to investigate carefully. I¡¯ll notify them, the scavenging tasks from now on are on hold, focus on reconnaissance!¡± The group quickly came upon a unanimous decision¡ªnot to compromise, definitely not to trade Crystal Cores for people, but an attempt at rescue was possible. Wei Zhenguo announced the kidnapping of the Hunter Teams but did not mention the matter of the Zombie Cores. Other Hunters in the base were startled when they received the news and began to hesitate to leave. Witnessing this, Wei Zhenguo felt somewhat helpless. It was hard enough to have more Hunters, and just as things were picking up, they were afraid to go out again. These kidnappers really deserved to die! In the evening, Wang Tao arrived at Han Rui¡¯s house. Just out of the shower, Han Rui¡¯s complexion turned unnatural when she saw Wang Tao. ¡°Why, why are you here¡­.¡± Chapter 169 - Chapter 108: Ability-Rush_2 Chapter 108: Ability-Rush_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°You.¡± Wang Tao was straightforward. Han Rui was at first startled, then her face instantly turned red with embarrassment. ¡°You¡ªwe agreed that once we¡¯re back at the base, we¡¯d each go our own way and not bother each other! How could you not keep your word?¡± ¡°Hmm? When did I say that?¡± Wang Tao sprawled on the sofa, feigning confusion. ¡°On the bed¡ª¡± Han Rui quickly clamped her mouth shut. She had just finished her shower, wearing her pajamas, her hair still somewhat damp; Wang Tao, seeing her like this, suddenly felt his appetite whetted. But he was here to discuss serious matters, and only teased Han Rui verbally for a bit. Han Rui glared at Wang Tao fiercely: ¡°Don¡¯t mess around! Sun Weiguang will be back any minute now!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes suddenly sparkled. ¡°That¡¯s even more exciting!¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re a pervert!¡± Han Rui was somewhat anxious. After all, she was a rather traditional woman, and it was her home. Soon the man who was her husband in name, though they were no longer emotionally involved, would be back. Moreover, some new neighbors had moved in around her apartment; they all knew Han Rui and Sun Weiguang were husband and wife¡­ So if something happened between her and Wang Tao at her home, how could she face anyone after that! Wang Tao felt he was indeed a bit perverted, but there were people more perverted than him¡ª Sun Weiguang had suddenly returned. He walked in to see Wang Tao sitting on the sofa, his wife Han Rui, just out of the shower, with a flushed face, talking to Wang Tao. This caused Sun Weiguang to react subconsciously: ¡°I¡­ ahem, carry on! I just remembered I have something else to do and have to go out again¡­¡± Having said this, Sun Weiguang promptly left, even thoughtfully closing the door behind him. Wang Tao had not said a word when he saw Han Rui¡¯s face change from red to pale. ¡°He, he¡¯s at the door!¡± II II Darn it, Sun Weiguang really was a pervert! Wang Tao felt inferior by comparison. Han Rui was initially resistant to Wang Tao, but after seeing Sun Weiguang¡¯s behavior, she became so angry she couldn¡¯t even vent. She had been blind to have fallen for Sun Weiguang! Han Rui walked straight over to Wang Tao and sat down heavily beside him. Confused by her actions, Wang Tao pretended to be surprised: ¡°Eh? What are you doing?¡± ¡°You!¡± Good heavens, it¡¯s tit for tat! And Han Rui wasn¡¯t content with just verbal teasing; she straddled Wang Tao. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± An hour later. Wang Tao, having put his pants back on, spoke coldly: ¡°Women, just delay things.¡± II II A somewhat drained Han Rui wrapped her arms around Wang Tao¡¯s neck, leaning on him without wanting to pay him any mind. At that moment, the front door opened. Sun Weiguang walked in to see Han Rui, disheveled, sitting on Wang Tao¡¯s lap. His face turned red, and he lowered his head as he went into his own room. Wang Tao truly hadn¡¯t expected Sun Weiguang to wait at the door for so long. Han Rui didn¡¯t even look at Sun Weiguang. However¡­ she seemed to be getting a taste of Sun Weiguang¡¯s feelings, indeed quite the thrill¡­ ¡°Alright, now that the distractions are taken care of, let¡¯s talk about serious matters.¡± Wang Tao patted Han Rui¡¯s soft flesh, then took out an orange Crystal Core. ¡°This is¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s tired spirit suddenly perked up. She had never seen such a beautiful Crystal Core! ¡°Rush Crystal Core, do you want it?¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He had waited the whole day, but the kidnappers had not sent any message. Everyone couldn¡¯t just wait at the base endlessly, so the committee members decided that for the next few days, they would go out to hunt Elite Zombies in preparation for a potential upcoming battle! Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability was very useful for Wang Tao, and he wanted to enhance her strength. Originally, he planned to synthesize the Rush Crystal Core into an Epic one and keep it for himself as a backup. If he couldn¡¯t find a Self-healing Crystal Core, then he could use the Rush Crystal Core instead. But after thinking about it, Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t necessary. Considering the current situation, Charger Zombies weren¡¯t that rare. At least Xiang Hongbin and his team had encountered them several times before. Wang Tao was certain he would come across them again in the future, and getting another Epic Crystal Core was very likely. Moreover, Wang Tao now didn¡¯t dare to merge a fourth type of Crystal Core, and having the Rush Crystal Core lying in his bag was a waste. Additionally, considering the potential for a battle with other Ability Users at any time¡­ it was better to use the Rush Crystal Core to enhance someone¡¯s strength. Han Rui was both surprised and incredulous. Wang Tao had explained to her about the quality of Crystal Cores, and this orange Crystal Core was one that would 100% successfully merge! Did Wang Tao not need it for himself? Han Rui suddenly recalled the time they encountered a Suicide Bombing Zombie, and Wang Tao had held her in his embrace. ¡°Could it be that he really likes me, and not just lusts after my body¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s mind was in a bit of turmoil. ¡°Don¡¯t you want it?¡± Seeing Han Rui daydreaming, Wang Tao began to frown. The reason he offered the Crystal Core to Han Rui, of course, was because she had always been his teammate; increasing Han Rui¡¯s combat strength was to increase his own. But if Han Rui didn¡¯t want it, then he would give it to someone else; he felt either Xiang Hongbin or Wei Zhenguo were also good candidates. ¡°I want it!¡± Han Rui quickly spoke up. ¡°Then open your mouth.¡± Han Rui subconsciously opened her mouth, but there was something weird about this position. Wang Tao, as if feeding her medicine, inserted the Crystal Core directly into Han Rui¡¯s throat, causing her to cough. Han Rui glared fiercely at Wang Tao, then quickly closed her eyes, carefully sensing the power of the Crystal Core. A moment later. ¡°So sleepy-¡± Han Rui felt she could hardly keep her eyes open, then she lay down on Wang Tao¡¯s chest and fell asleep.. Chapter 170 - Chapter 108: AbilityRush_3 Chapter 108: AbilityRush_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao carried her back to the bed. The next day, early morning. Han Rui¡¯s face was flushed as she extricated herself from Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, sheepishly scratching at her messy hair. ¡°Uh¡­ I didn¡¯t do anything last night, did I?¡± She had been dead asleep the previous night, without any memory of it. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°You slept like a log, what could you have possibly done?¡± Wang Tao stayed to observe Han Rui, wanting to see if there would be any changes after she fused with a second type of Crystal Core and whether any problems would arise during the fusion process. So far, it seemed fine; she had been sleeping soundly, and her body didn¡¯t heat up much, unlike Wang Tao¡¯s experience. ¡°¡­You¡¯re the pig!¡± Han Rui muttered in her heart and then asked with some anticipation, ¡°Shall we go test the new superpower together?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then added, ¡°By the way, do you feel like you can merge with other types of Crystal Cores now?¡± Han Rui closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment before opening them with a look of surprise. ¡°I think¡­ I can still continue to merge with different types of Crystal Cores?1 ¡°That¡¯s not bad.¡± Wang Tao was slightly surprised; it seemed that Han Rui could fuse with at least three different types of Crystal Cores. ¡°Get ready and meet me at the Comprehensive Building. Well go out and test the ability.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui nodded in eager anticipation. Wang Tao went home first to grab some equipment, then told Ding Yuqin that he might not return to the base in the next few days. Ding Yuqin stared at Wang Tao with a touch of melancholy. Although he had been at the base last night, he didn¡¯t rest at home, but she prudently didn¡¯t ask more. ¡°Wang Tao, be careful out there!¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry, sister-in-law.¡± Wang Tao kissed Ding Yuqin on the forehead and then drove to the Comprehensive Building. Han Rui was already waiting for him. First, Wang Tao went upstairs to ask if there had been any news about the kidnappers, but there wasn¡¯t. After a day and night with no news from them and no one from the two teams returning, it was clear there were casualties within the Hunter Team. If they died at the hands of zombies, that was one thing, but if they perished at the hands of other survivors, Shuize Base would certainly take revenge! ¡°Let¡¯s try to get more Zombie Cores, whether I can become an Ability User depends on you all!¡± Wei Zhenguo cheered everyone on. His injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet, so naturally, he stayed at the base. The committee members going out were divided into three teams. Xiang Hongbin and Lu Gang led one team of soldiers. Feng Ming¡¯an was leading a team of police officers. Then there was Wang Tao, taking Han Rui as one team. Wang Tao¡¯s reason for not joining them was that he wasn¡¯t comfortable with their combat styles. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s team practiced militarized operations, and Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s team had their own combat methods. Wang Tao would feel out of place if he joined them. To give a simple example, a single gesture from Hong Bin and his teammates would know what to do. But Wang Tao could only stand there confused. Not to mention their various tactics and skills. So it was also why they would lead soldiers or police officers; it wasn¡¯t that they were unwilling to take others, but rather, ordinary survivors simply couldn¡¯t keep up with their pace and were more likely to slow them down. Of course, with Wang Tao¡¯s strength, he definitely wouldn¡¯t fall behind, but he felt uncomfortable, so he decided against it. However, when Wang Tao was at the base, he would often ask Wei Zhenguo for advice on military knowledge. Once he got the hang of it, he could act together with them. ¡°If any of you encounter Elite Zombies that you¡¯re not sure about, or can¡¯t handle, you can contact me. As long as I¡¯m available, I¡¯ll definitely come over,¡± Wang Tao told the others. ¡°Of course! You¡¯re our base¡¯s top combat power, we¡¯ll definitely come to you if we¡¯re in trouble!¡± Hong Bin slapped Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder firmly, and the others nodded in agreement. Wang Tao exchanged high-fives with the others and then took five Homemade Bombs from Liu He. These were improved versions of the previous model, much more stable. Liu He assured that they wouldn¡¯t have issues like before. Wang Tao was interested in the bombs for their timing function, which he found more useful than Hand Grenades. With just a few seconds with grenades, there was no time to escape. But with the timed bombs, there was more room to get clear after setting them, so there was no need to worry about attracting zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Downstairs, Wang Tao called Han Rui over to the car. But when he saw Han Rui¡¯s outfit, he paused for a moment. Today, Han Rui was dressed in a Black Combat Suit, with a tactical vest across her chest, a tactical helmet, and sunglasses on her head, her face covered with a black scarf, a sniper crossbow on her back, and a pistol, Dagger, and Firefighter Axe at her waist, additionally carrying a small Shield. With her increased HP, her physical strength was greatly enhanced, and the gear she carried was no problem for her. ¡°You look pretty cool in that get-up!¡± Wang Tao complimented her. Han Rui was slightly proud; the gear was originally a special police outfit, which she had bought at a high price from other survivors the day before. ¡°Can¡¯t deny it, we do look quite the part standing together.¡± Wang Tao was also fully Armed, but he wore a skull scarf, making him look more like a villain. Han Rui gave him a glance, and then they got into the car and left the base. Ten minutes later. ¡°Huh? Lucky day today!¡± Wang Tao spotted a Terrorizer carrying a hammer on the road. [1500/1500] And it didn¡¯t have a lot of HP, which was perfect for Han Rui to try out her new Ability. Han Rui handed the crossbow to Wang Tao, then got out of the car, took the Shield from her back, and held it in one hand while gripping the Firefighter Axe in the other. After taking a deep breath, she used her Ability, ¡°Rush,¡± towards the distant Terrorizer. Whoosh¡ª She pushed off with her right foot and charged at the Terrorizer at high speed. At the same time, a faint white translucent shield appeared around Han Rui. Then. Bang! Han Rui slammed into the Rioters zombie. [-1200] The Terrorizer was sent flying, and Han Rui followed up with a swing of her axe. Spurt! [-300] [0/1500] ¡°Damn, a clean kill!¡± Chapter 171 - Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp_l Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°I¡­¡± Han Rui looked at her own hand, her eyes filled with disbelief. She hadn¡¯t expected to kill the Terrorizer in one hit! Just a bump and a hack with an axe, that was all¡­ Wang Tao had dealt with a few ordinary zombies, then he approached Han Rui and circled around her. Han Rui had no injuries, not a single drop of blood was lost. But her mana consumption was quite high. A single Rush had cost her 30 mana. With her current mana pool, she could only use it six times. However, mana and HP are different. HP recovery is very slow, and if injured or starving, it might not regenerate at all. On the other hand, mana would always slowly recover. It seems the recovery rate varies for each Ability User; like for Wang Tao, it would take roughly six hours to fully recover. Han Rui¡¯s rate was similar to his. ¡°You aren¡¯t hurt, are you?¡± Even though he hadn¡¯t seen Han Rui losing any health, Wang Tao still asked out of concern. ¡°No¡­¡± Han Rui quickly shook her head. ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. Han Rui was still a bit dazed. After confirming there was nothing wrong with Han Rui, Wang Tao went to pry out the Purple Crystal Core from the zombie¡¯s head. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: light-sensitive eyes)] Wang Tao had two shockwave crystal cores, one white (20%) and one blue (40%). With this crystal core, he could now synthesize another Epic Crystal Core. Wang Tao unceremoniously pocketed the crystal core. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Back in the car, Wang Tao drove. Han Rui took off her gloves and looked at her delicate little hand, suddenly started smiling joyfully. She too was now someone who could instantly kill Elite Zombies! ¡°How do you feel now?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°Amazing! I¡¯ve never felt so great before! And I didn¡¯t even get hurt, it¡¯s truly miraculous!¡± Han Rui clenched her fists, her little face full of excitement. Wang Tao guessed it must be a special effect of the Ability, just as his own Shockwave Ability wouldn¡¯t harm him. Han Rui¡¯s Rush Ability probably couldn¡¯t harm her either. After being thrilled for a while, Han Rui looked at Wang Tao and said: ¡°I think you would be even more formidable using this Rush Ability¡­¡± If with her strength she could instant kill an Elite Zombie with 1500 HP, Wang Tao, being stronger, would definitely cause even higher damage. ¡°No matter, if need be, we¡¯ll just get another two Rush Crystal Cores,¡± Wang Tao waved it off unconcernedly. Han Rui was touched, but she didn¡¯t speak further. After all, Wang Tao had given her an Orange Crystal Core! But she was also determined in her heart to help Wang Tao obtain more Zombie Cores! If they were after hunting Elite Zombies, naturally they should head towards places with more zombies. However, the more zombies there were, the greater the danger, so the two of them proceeded very cautiously. Along the way, Wang Tao let Han Rui clear the ordinary zombies as much as possible. After all, clearing ordinary zombies would regenerate her health. Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t regenerate health, so it seemed a bit wasteful. Soon, Han Rui¡¯s health reached [700/700] Feeling a significant improvement in her physical condition, Han Rui started looking at Wang Tao with eyes filled with tender feelings. After all, he had deliberately let her have those gains! ¡°Hmm? Another Elite Zombie ahead!¡± Seeing the situation in the alley ahead, Wang Tao cracked a smile. Since the corrosive acid rain, many things in the outside world had been corroded, the plants had grown much larger, and the zombies¡¯ HP had also generally increased. Similarly, the number of Elite Zombies had gone up. in the past, the chance of encountering an Elite Zombie was very low, but now, more running about would likely lead to encounters. There were two Elite Zombies in the alley, one Self-exploder and one with a bloated belly. [3000/3000H2500/2500] The HP of these two zombies was not small, and their bodies were even more decayed. Wang Tao suspected that zombies which had been drenched in the corrosive acid rain would see an increase in HP. Whereas those that hadn¡¯t been rained on might not see much of a change. These two zombies were clearly ones that had been in the rain. The Terrorizer that they had encountered in Gao Hua¡¯s apartment building only had 1000 HP, likely because it hadn¡¯t been touched by the rain. ¡°How do we kill this¡­¡± Han Rui was somewhat eager to try. After her strength had increased, she had also become a bit overconfident. Previously upon seeing a Suicide Bombing Zombie, she would flee as far as possible, but now she was thinking about how to deal with it. ¡°Try this¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly took out a yellow-green, sticky lump. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s this?¡± Han Rui asked curiously. ¡°Slime Grenade.¡± This was loot he had obtained from killing Cao Xin. But Wang Tao had not had the chance to use it. After returning to the base, he and Feng Ming¡¯an had discussed it. Feng Ming¡¯an told him about a situation when dealing with a Self-exploding Zombie ¨C Feng Ming¡¯an had stealthily approached the Self-exploder and suddenly spit a mass of slime on it, forcefully immobilizing it! In that situation, the Self-exploder couldn¡¯t detonate at all! Of course, the adhesion wouldn¡¯t last long, Feng Ming¡¯an said it could only hold for about a minute or so. But that minute was enough for them to kill the Self-exploder and escape. Wang Tao thought that the effect of this Slime Grenade should be similar to Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s Ability, so he decided to give it a try. However, this time Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan on letting Han Rui take action, because he wasn¡¯t sure whether it would work. If the grenade didn¡¯t work and it led to the Suicide Bombing Zombie detonating, he was counting on Han Rui to drive him to safety.. Chapter 172 - Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp_2 Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°You stay in the car and be ready to pick me up at any moment,¡± Wang Tao got out of the car. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui immediately got into the driver¡¯s seat. After assessing the situation, Wang Tao took the hand crossbow and cleared a wave of ordinary zombies outside the alley. I have to say, using a hand crossbow is just satisfying; with one arrow for each, the zombies simply couldn¡¯t react in time. After cleaning up the zombies, Wang Tao quickly went to collect the crossbow arrows. He really was a thrifty and housekeeping good man. Then Wang Tao climbed onto the roof and, after locating the suicide bombing zombies, he did not dare to get too close. Thinking it was about right, he took out a slime grenade. After aiming at the approximate location, Wang Tao threw it down. pia The slime grenade landed between two elite zombies and exploded instantly. Plop A big glob of white slime burst from the grenade, instantly covering everything within a four to five-meter radius. The two elite zombies, along with the dozen or more ordinary ones around them, were all covered in white slime, completely immobilized. The self-exploders couldn¡¯t even expand their bodies for detonation! ¡°The explosion of the slime grenade didn¡¯t make much noise, and it glued them all in place! Effective!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao immediately felt overjoyed. He waited for about ten seconds, then with axe in hand, he leaped down from the rooftop. During the first five seconds upon contact, the slime was at its stickiest, but after five seconds, the exposed slime began to gradually solidify and turn solid. Although the things it stuck to remained immobile, the surface of the slime lost its stickiness, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to worry about getting stuck to it when he came down now. Thud! Wang Tao landed right on the shoulder of a chubby zombie and with a forceful swing, his axe struck squarely on its head. Squish! [-2143] [357/2500] That strike nearly cleaved the zombie to death! Even if it didn¡¯t die, it was left with just a sliver of HP. ¡°Such low defense?¡± Wang Tao swung another axe, instantly clearing the HP bar. [-357] [0/2500] After killing the elite zombie, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even have time to look closer; he immediately leapt beside the self-exploder. As he swung his axe, a shockwave emanated from its center, spreading out in all directions. [-2329] [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [???] True to their low defense, the self-exploders took a shocking 2300 damage from just one swing of Wang Tao¡¯s axe! Without hesitation, he swung another axe. Squish! [-674] [0/3000] With the self-exploding zombie dealt with, the shockwave eliminated the remaining ordinary zombies. Wang Tao gathered all the loot and immediately ran. Han Rui had driven the car a short distance away; the door was already open. Wang Tao quickly got in. ¡°Go, go, go!¡± Zheng zheng- Han Rui pressed the accelerator, and the car sped away. After about three minutes, a loud ¡°boom¡± could be heard in the distance. ¡°The suicide bombing zombie exploded.¡± Wang Tao nodded silently to himself, quite satisfied with the effect of the slime grenade ¨C it trapped the suicide bombing zombie for three minutes, which was more than enough time for him to get far away. ¡°Your slime grenade is so awesome!¡± Han Rui had been keeping an eye on the whole process and was naturally amazed by the effect of the slime grenade. As for the fact that Wang Tao nearly instantly killed those two elite zombies, Han Rui found it not surprising at all. After all, she herself had chances to kill elite zombies in seconds, so it was only natural for Wang Tao to do so. She couldn¡¯t see the HP bars, so naturally, she didn¡¯t know how much HP those zombies had when Wang Tao killed them. But then again, Wang Tao felt that the defenses of those two elite zombies were very low. The damage he used to inflict with one axe swing on a Terrorizer was around four to five hundred HP. With his strength improved, he should be doing more damage now, but not by a large amount. Yet those two zombies took over two thousand damage from each of his axe swings! Even considering the high-ground attack bonus, the damage shouldn¡¯t have been that high ¨C clearly, the defense of those zombies was a lot lower. Wang Tao asked Han Rui to keep driving and searching for zombies while he checked the loot from the battle. The two zombies together gave Wang Tao a total of 60 HP increase, meaning a total addition of 120 HP. Wang Tao¡¯s HP was now at [1460/1460]. Then there were the other spoils of war. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Self-Detonation] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: None)] The Crystal Core dropped by the suicide bombing zombie was of ordinary quality; not the best luck. However, the Crystal Core from the self-exploder wasn¡¯t the main point; the main thing was the loot bundle the self-exploder dropped. Although Wang Tao had acquired several Self-Destruct Crystal Cores, this was his first time killing a self-exploder, and he was curious about what they would drop. [Acquired: Self-Destruct Bomb Blueprint xi] [Acquired: Self-Destruct Heart xi] [Acquired: Self-Destruct Bomb X5] The self-exploding zombie dropped three items that all looked a bit wicked. Wang Tao looked at the specifics. [Self-Destruct Bomb Blueprint: Can be used to craft 10 Self-Destruct Bombs, Required materials: Self-Destruct Heart xi, Crystal Core xi, Flesh xiokg, Metal X5kg] [Self-Destruct Heart: Crafting material] [Self-Destruct Bomb: A biological bomb with extremely poor stability. Once activated, it will explode within an hour if noise, vibration, or physical contact occurs. If it does not explode, it will automatically detonate after one hour.] Seeing the attributes of this Self-Destruct Bomb, Wang Tao exclaimed in amazement. This thing seems to have a disregard for friend or foe! Anything could trigger an explosion, not unlike the suicide bombing zombies that would explode as soon as they were disturbed.. Chapter 173 - Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp 3 Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°If used properly, this thing could be a massive killer. But if not used wisely, it could hurt me first¡­¡± As for the self-destruct bomb blueprint, the core material required is the self-destruct heart, and a self-exploder had just spewed out one. This means, once Wang Tao gets the other materials ready, he could make it. However, looking at the 10kg requirement of flesh material, Wang Tao wondered if using the flesh of zombies would do? After all, the flesh of normal animals was food, and there was never enough for himself to eat, so it shouldn¡¯t be wasted so frivolously¡­ After collecting these spoils of war, Wang Tao turned his attention to another elite zombie that had dropped something. First was a purple crystal core. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Slime Spitter] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: belly enlargement, reduced defense)] ¡°Eh?¡± Seeing the items dropped by this zombie, Wang Tao was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be a Slime Spitting zombie. He had never seen this kind of zombie before, and the military¡¯s manual didn¡¯t mention it, so it didn¡¯t cross Wang Tao¡¯s mind at first. But on second thought, since the side effect of slime spitting was reduced defense, it made sense that his axe would deal over two thousand HP damage to a Slime Spitting zombie. The Slime Spitting zombie¡¯s crystal core was of no use to him, but it could be useful for Feng Ming¡¯an. He could keep it for Feng. Next was the package that the slime spitter had exploded. [Received: Slime Grenade Blueprint xl] [Received: Slime Grenade x5] [Received: Slime Pack] Five slime grenades and a blueprint? Good stuff! Wang Tao was somewhat excited, as he had already tested them in real combat. These slime grenades were incredibly handy when hunting elite zombies! Moreover, the core material for making slime grenades, as per the blueprint, was a slime pack, which was something he could also forge like the self-destruct bombs! [Slime Grenade Blueprint: Forges 10 slime grenades, required materials: Slime Pack xi, Crystal Core xl, Flesh xiokg, Metal xskg] These required materials were almost identical to those from the suicide bombing zombies. With the core materials available and the rest easy to find, as long as zombie flesh could be used for crafting, Wang Tao could start making them right away! Noon. The SUV stopped in front of a shop. Wang Tao had originally chosen this place for a break, but he unexpectedly discovered that this shop had not been visited; there were some clean snacks stored inside, perfect for lunch. After eating a few packs of dry noodles and drinking a bottle of water, Wang Tao said to Han Rui, ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao came to a street corner where there were a few zombie corpses, slain by him just moments ago. Wang Tao took out the blueprints for the self-destruct bombs and slime grenades, then saw the ¡°Forgeable¡± prompt on them¡ªthe metal he needed was already prepared, having been scavenged from abandoned vehicles. He immediately chose to craft, and with a flash of light, ten slime grenades appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. The ten self-destruct bombs were on the ground. The grenades forged from blueprints were sticky and gooey, looking a bit disgusting, just like those he had looted earlier. The self-destruct bombs, on the other hand, were basketball-sized, heart-shaped objects, pulsing as if they might explode at any moment. Wang Tao quickly stowed these bombs in his space backpack, as they were dangerous goods, and a slight mishap could lead to them exploding on himself. Back at the store, Wang Tao went into a room alone and then synthesized the two shockwave crystal cores in his backpack. He now had three shockwave crystal cores, two of which were just right to create an epic quality one. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (No side effects)] To fuse a crystal core with an existing ability, there was nothing special to take note of, swallowing it directly would do. After swallowing, Wang Tao felt a warmth throughout his body, filled with strength, and all fatigue had completely vanished. His mana increased by another 100, reaching 500, which was already more than many people¡¯s HP. When he came out, Han Rui glanced at Wang Tao. She always felt that Wang Tao seemed more energetic, unsure what he had done secretly in the room. After Han Rui finished lunch, Wang Tao called her to continue on their journey. The luck in the morning wasn¡¯t very good. After encountering those three elite zombies, they hadn¡¯t come across any other elite zombies, not even self-exploders. ¡°Hopefully, the afternoon will be better¡­¡± While others feared encountering elite zombies, Wang Tao wished for it¡­ Unfortunately, the luck in the afternoon was even worse than the morning, at least in the morning they had encountered three elite zombies, but in the afternoon not a single one. However, Xiang Hongbin suddenly contacted Wang Tao. He told Wang Tao that they might have discovered Shao Yong¡¯s camp. Wang Tao immediately drove to meet with Xiang Hongbin. Before the sun set, Wang Tao arrived at the temporary safe zone where Xiang Hongbin was. It was a dilapidated five-story motel, broken on the outside and looking as though it had been abandoned for a long time on the inside. Xiang Hongbin and others were on the top floor, which looked inconspicuous from the outside, but from within, one could see it was fortified with steel plates, wire mesh, torches, and such, ensuring zombies couldn¡¯t break in. Upon seeing Xiang Hongbin, Wang Tao gave him a high-five. He noticed that Xiang Hongbin¡¯s HP had increased a lot and was nearly reaching one thousand. Before he left, Wang Tao had suggested to them that while hunting elite zombies, they shouldn¡¯t forget to kill ordinary zombies. Although it was a bit more difficult to kill ordinary zombies now, the rewards were greater. This was especially true for Xiang Hongbin, who had been busy hunting elite zombies lately and hadn¡¯t gained much increase in HP. But Xiang Hongbin had obviously taken Wang Tao¡¯s advice to heart, now with [940/940] HP. Wang Tao reminded Xiang Hongbin that he might see a significant improvement in physical fitness after killing six or seven more zombies. Hearing this, Xiang Hongbin was delighted. He had no doubt in Wang Tao¡¯s words and said he would go out tomorrow morning to kill a few more! Yet, Wang Tao also reminded him that the improvement in physical fitness might be different this time, such as feeling sleepy and other symptoms, and told him to be more cautious. ¡°Will do! Tomorrow, I¡¯ll just kill some zombies downstairs and if any danger arises, I can quickly come back up.¡± Seeing that he understood, Wang Tao nodded, then asked: ¡°Where did you find the base?¡± ¡°Over there!¡± Xiang Hongbin led Wang Tao to a window and pointed, saying: ¡°Right underneath there!¡± ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s¡­ an underground mall?¡± Wang Tao took a telescope and looked over, seeing an old sign that read ¡°Hongfa Underground Mall.¡± ¡°Yes, there is a survivor base inside, and today I saw a team coming out from there, even driving a car.. It must be them!¡± Chapter 174 - Chapter 174: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_1 Chapter 174: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_1 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao observed for a while and indeed saw survivors appear, carefully entering the interior of the mall. It was undoubtedly a Survivor Base inside, the question was whether these were Shao Yong¡¯s people or not. ¡°What do you think?¡± Wang Tao turned his head and asked. ¡°I plan to have someone observe here for two days, then I¡¯ll scout the surrounding area and see if I can infiltrate¡­¡± Although Shuize Base was strong, that ¡°strength¡± was mainly in firearms. If they didn¡¯t use guns, it would probably be very difficult to break into this camp. After all, they were defensive, and there might be traps and mechanisms inside¡ªheadlong rushing in was definitely not an option. ¡°Infiltrate? Could that be dangerous?¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry about that, we are professionals in this area! However, that¡¯s assuming we find a vulnerability we can exploit. After all, the opponent is underground; if they have blocked all entrances, getting in will still be difficult¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t make too strong of a claim. ¡°Then you need to be careful!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± After discussing for a while, there was no good plan for the moment, so Xiang Hongbin planned to send someone tomorrow during the day to investigate. However, when it came to infiltration, Wang Tao suddenly remembered something he had that he seemed to have never used. ¡°Take this!¡± Wang Tao handed over two injection bottles. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Xiang Hongbin curiously received them. ¡°This¡­ you can call it Stealth Potion; it¡¯s supposed to hide your scent so humans won¡¯t detect you, and it lasts for one hour. It¡¯s best used at night¡­ But I¡¯ve never used it, so I¡¯m not sure about the specific effects,¡± Wang Tao explained. He was offering the ¡°Stealth Potion (Small)¡±, naturally. This potion was of little use to him; he needed something to evade zombies, not humans. Therefore, the potion had been collecting dust in Wang Tao¡¯s backpack. When Xiang Hongbin mentioned infiltration just now, Wang Tao suddenly remembered this item. Since it was supposed to avoid human attention, it should be effective, and for infiltration, it might just be helpful. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. This was a great item for infiltration! Although the concept of scent was rather esoteric, and he didn¡¯t know where Wang Tao got this item from, none of that mattered. It was the post-apocalyptic world, and at first glance, this stuff looked like a product of some laboratory¡­ Wang Tao had no reason to lie to him about this. ¡°Thanks! Oh, and today I got a few Zombie Cores, do you need any?¡± Xiang Hongbin took out a bag, filled with Zombie Cores. ¡°Eh? You¡¯ve had quite a haul!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; there were five Crystal Cores in total, two more than what Wang Tao had harvested today. ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s because we teamed up with Old Feng for a while today. Man, his Slime Spitter Ability is truly good. It can even stop Suicide Bombing Zombies. Any zombie he sticks to are basically easy kills!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed proudly. However, he quickly shook his head. ¡°But Old Feng doesn¡¯t last long! After spitting a few times, he has to rest for a good while, otherwise, we could¡¯ve killed even more special zombies¡­¡± Wang Tao laughed and shook his head, then suddenly, as if he thought of something, his brows lifted. ¡°Are you saying you encountered Elite Zombies on the road today but didn¡¯t manage to kill them?¡± ¡°Yes. I gave up on some targets that I felt were too dangerous,¡± Xiang Hongbin said with some regret. Wang Tao quickly followed: ¡°Tell me where those zombies were, and I¡¯ll take care of them tomorrow!¡± ¡°Ah? Sure! With your strength, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem!¡± Xiang Hongbin brought the map and pointed to several locations on it. Han Rui, who had been silent beside them, quickly took out pen and paper to note down these positions. After Wang Tao saw Han Rui making the notes, he then turned his attention to the Zombie Cores that Xiang Hongbin had brought out. There were three Self-Destruct Crystal Cores, and the remaining were one Mud Swamp Crystal Core and one Toughness Crystal Core. Mud Swamp Core was of no use to Wang Tao, but he would take the Toughness Core. Even though it was just a White Crystal Core, he didn¡¯t mind. Wang Tao took out the Purple Slime Spitting Crystal Core he had obtained today and asked Xiang Hongbin if he wanted it. A Purple Crystal Core, with a 60% success rate of merging, tempted Xiang Hongbin. But thinking about the agonizing way Feng Ming¡¯an used his Ability, he shook his head. ¡°Forget it, better give it to Old Feng!¡± ¡°Heh, okay. I¡¯ll give you this Core then, pass it on to Old Feng.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao handed the Slime Spitter Crystal Core to Xiang Hongbin, and then he and Han Rui rested there for the night. The next morning, the two set off again. The goal was naturally the locations of the Elite Zombies that Xiang Hongbin had told them about yesterday. It was an artificial lake in a park. ¡°Lucky!¡± Arriving at the first location, Wang Tao saw the Elite Zombies; they hadn¡¯t moved since last night. And there were three of them together, no wonder Xiang Hongbin and his team hadn¡¯t engaged. ¡°A Terrorizer, a Mud Swamp Zombie, and a Suicide Bombing Zombie¡­¡± [2000/2000][2200/2200][1600/1600] The Mud Swamp Zombie was in the water, and the area of the lake it occupied was all mud. The Terrorizer and Self-exploder were also in the mud. Although their movements were somewhat difficult, they were not trapped.. Chapter 175 - Chapter 175: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_2 Chapter 175: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_2 Translator: 549690339 | However, if Wang Tao were to go over there, he felt he would probably get stuck in the mud swamp. ¡°This Mud Swamp Zombie seems to have something going for it¡­¡± Wang Tao had thought that this ability wasn¡¯t very useful, but now it seemed that by staying in the water, it had almost turned the entire lake into a mud swamp, which was a bit exaggerated in scope. After discussing with Han Rui, the two decided to kill them from a distance. But before that, they needed to lob a few Slime Grenades at them. After all, there was a Suicide Bombing Zombie among them, and if its explosion attracted other zombies, it would become quite troublesome. Whoosh- After finishing their discussion, Wang Tao immediately threw a Slime Grenade over. Pia¡ª The grenade hit the Suicide Bombing Zombie right on the head. Before it could inflate and explode, a blob of slime burst out instantly, sticking both the Suicide Bombing Zombie and the nearby Mud Swamp Zombie together. Wang Tao then threw a Slime Grenade at the Rioters zombie. In the blink of an eye, all three Elite Zombies were stuck and unable to move. ¡°Kill!¡± Wang Tao pulled out his hand crossbow, activated the ¡°Precision Shooting¡± ability, and pulled the trigger at the three zombies! Not far away, Han Rui also started shooting. Her sniper crossbow was slow, but it dealt high damage. Each arrow shot caused over a thousand damage to the high-defense Rioters and even a flat 2000 to the Mud Swamp Zombie¡ªseems like the defensive power of the Mud Swamp Zombie wasn¡¯t up to par. As for the Self-exploder zombie, before Han Rui could even take her shot, Wang Tao finished it off with a precise headshot. [0/1600] Seeing that both the Rioters and Mud Swamp Zombies were also critically injured, Wang Tao decisively delivered the finishing shots with his arrows. [0/2000] [0/2200] In an instant, all three Elite Zombies lay dead under Wang Tao¡¯s crossbow arrows. He definitely wasn¡¯t trying to steal the kills; it was just his good luck. Wang Tao watched his HP surge by 140 to reach [1600/1600], and he grinned. His HP had already surpassed that of some Elite Zombies! Off to the side, Han Rui was somewhat shocked. Didn¡¯t Wang Tao say he wasn¡¯t good at shooting? With such fast shooting speed and each arrow being a headshot, how was he not good? That¡¯s just being Versailles¡­ Although the three Elite Zombies were dead, the body of the Suicide Bombing Zombie was still going to explode, so there was no time to delay. Wang Tao threw two more Slime Grenades over, and the slime from the grenade explosions quickly hardened, forming a solid path on the mud swamp. Looking at the effect of the Slime Grenades, Wang Tao was quite satisfied. It wasn¡¯t that he was a clean freak; he just feared getting stuck in the swamp and being unable to get out. He ran over the hardened slime path and collected all the loot from the three zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± Han Rui was already waiting in the car. Once Wang Tao got in, she immediately floored the accelerator. A few minutes later, a bang was heard from the park¡ªthe Suicide Bombing Zombie exploded. Moments later, a large group of Mad Demon Zombies arrived, but Wang Tao and Han Rui had long since passed several streets. In the car, Wang Tao told Han Rui to head towards the next Elite Zombie location while he checked the spoils of war¡ª A white Self-Destruct Crystal Core, a blue Mud Swamp Crystal Core, and a red Shockwave Crystal Core! Passing over the Self-Destruct and Mud Swamp Crystal Cores, the important item was the red Shockwave Crystal Core. He just happened to have a white shockwave core in his bag. Time to synthesize a gold Epic Shockwave Crystal Core! Wang Tao immediately synthesized it in his bag, and with a thought, the Epic Crystal Core appeared in his mouth. Gulp- Once again, a warm sensation spread through his body, invigorating his spirit, without any discomfort. Seeing his Mana increase by another 100 to reach 600, Wang Tao clenched his fist in satisfaction. So far, he had integrated six Zombie Cores. Aside from one ¡°Precision Shooting¡± and one ¡°Toughness¡±, the other four were all ¡°Shockwave¡±. Of course, the cores he integrated were synthetic, and he actually used up a total of 12 Crystal Cores. ¡°I wonder if anyone has synthesized more cores than me by now¡­¡± Wang Tao thought quietly to himself. Soon, Han Rui drove to the location of the second Elite Zombie. From afar, he could see the three Elite Zombies there. One Slime Spitter Zombie and two Suicide Bombing Zombies. Wang Tao actually quite liked the Slime Spitter Zombies because the Slime Spitter Grenades they dropped were key to dealing with the Suicide Bombing Zombies. With these, he could kill Elite Zombies virtually unharmed and not worry about Suicide Bombing Zombies exploding. After spending some time and three Slime Spitter Grenades, Wang Tao once again vanquished three Elite Zombies. All the kills were his; he didn¡¯t let Han Rui take any. After all, Han Rui could still increase her HP by killing Ordinary Zombies, whereas Wang Tao could only increase his HP by killing Elite Zombies, so it was more fitting for Wang Tao to take the kills. As the sun set, Wang Tao and Han Rui stopped their car in front of a small motel. Han Rui checked around, identified the positions of the zombies inside, and then went straight in wielding her Firefighter Axe. ¡°Just a few more to go!¡± Han Rui was a bit excited. Because by now, her HP had reached [970/970], and she only needed three more zombies to hit 1000 HP! Of course, she couldn¡¯t see her own HP bar. That was the information Wang Tao gave her, telling her that after three or four more zombie kills, she would gain an overall physical enhancement. She felt something similar herself, though it wasn¡¯t very obvious. After the hint from Wang Tao, she instantly felt that he was right. Chapter 176 - Chapter 176: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_3 Chapter 176: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_3 Translator: 549690339 Han Rui walked up the stairs in front, with Wang Tao following behind her; he did not plan to take action. Though Han Rui¡¯s strength was not to be underestimated, while her overall power wasn¡¯t as strong as Wang Tao¡¯s, she was still a person with nearly a thousand HP ¨C dealing with these ordinary zombies wasn¡¯t difficult for her. Soon, after Han Rui killed three ordinary zombies, her HP officially reached 1000! At the same time, Han Rui suddenly felt sleepy. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡­ I, I want to sleep¡­¡± Han Rui quickly turned her head to look at Wang Tao, her eyes revealing a hint of panic. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s normal!¡± Wang Tao quickly came over to support Han Rui. In his mind, he contemplated that it seemed not only he experienced drowsiness upon reaching 1000 HP, but others did as well. After hearing that it was normal from Wang Tao, Han Rui immediately relaxed and then directly fell asleep on Wang Tao¡¯s body. Wang Tao placed her on the bed, then he closed all the doors and windows tightly. Approximately three hours later, Han Rui woke up at night. ¡°Water¡­¡± Han Rui was a bit thirsty; Wang Tao handed her the water. Glug, glug, glug, glug- After taking a big gulp, Han Rui felt much more comfortable. She looked at Wang Tao beside her, and excitedly said: ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve become so much stronger! I even have the idea of casually taking on elite zombies¡­¡± Watching the excitement in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao somewhat speechlessly shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky. I¡¯m not even sure if I can beat all of the elite zombies!¡± ¡°Cough, I know. But I really want to test my strength¡­¡± Han Rui squeezed her fist, feeling that she was full of energy and needed to vent. Seeing this, Wang Tao immediately understood. Such exuberance commonly occurred when merging with Crystal Cores and with an increase in HP. Now seeing Han Rui like this, Wang Tao suddenly grinned. ¡°Want to test your strength, huh? Alright, I¡¯ll accompany you to try!¡± ¡°Ah? Great! I still don¡¯t know how strong you really are. Now that my strength has improved, I should qualify as your opponent, right?¡± II II Wang Tao shook his head. Even after improving, her physical fitness still wasn¡¯t up to par! The next day, morning. Han Rui was still in bed; I had to forcefully wake her up. After a simple breakfast with some nutrient solution, the two left the small motel and got in the car to head to the location of other elite zombies. Wang Tao turned on the walkie-talkie and contacted the Survivor Base. Inside the base, there had been no news of the kidnappers. Then Wang Tao contacted Xiang Hongbin. Xiang Hongbin first shared some good news with him ¨C after killing a few zombies and sleeping, Xiang Hongbin woke up to find his physical fitness had improved. He said he had never felt so powerful before. However, he remained cautious and didn¡¯t make claims like Han Rui did, about casually taking on elite zombies on his own. Xiang Hongbin was now leading a team to hunt zombies, leaving some people behind to keep an eye on the Survivor Base. So far, they had not found an opportunity to infiltrate. But he was almost certain that it was Shao Yong¡¯s base. Because he heard survivors departing from the base addressing the boss of the base as Boss Shao. Xiang Hongbin no longer held much hope for the survival of the two Hunter Teams. Now it was just a matter of proving whether these 14 hunters were there or not. If not, and it was a misunderstanding, there was no need to make an enemy. If they were, then it¡¯s time to make the other side taste the flavor of justice¡¯s iron fist! Seeing that there was still no definite news, Wang Tao continued to take Han Rui with him to hunt zombies. They were lucky that day. Not only did they find elite zombies in the last two spots left by Xiang Hongbin but Wang Tao also encountered several elite zombies himself. However, the battles that day were much more dangerous. Especially in the last fight, two Attackers with 3000 HP appeared. Wang Tao thought there was only one Self-exploder and one Attacker. After finally killing this Attacker with Slime Grenades, another Attacker suddenly rushed over from a distance. Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability had a range, and the Attacker¡¯s rushing distance could reach over thirty meters. Han Rui couldn¡¯t perceive it within that range, and by the time the Attacker charged in, it was too late. After all, the Attacker was too fast. Fortunately, Wang Tao reacted quickly; though he couldn¡¯t dodge, he activated his Thoughness Ability in time. He endured the Attacker¡¯s full force hit head-on. The defensive power of Thoughness was strong; facing a full hit from a 3000 HP Attacker, he only lost a little over 100 HP. Despite the pain, he wasn¡¯t seriously injured. The Attacker came to a halt, as it couldn¡¯t initiate a second Rush in a short time, naturally becoming Wang Tao¡¯s target. After killing this Attacker, Wang Tao could now synthesize a Gold Rush Crystal Core! But there was no time for surprise, as Wang Tao suddenly noticed his HP had broken through to 2000! Today he had killed a total of 8 elite zombies, and with this Attacker included, his HP had increased by 400, reaching 2000! ¡°We need to find a safe place to rest, quick!¡± Felling a wave of drowsiness overcoming him, Wang Tao hurriedly got into the car. Han Rui did not dare to delay; after discerning the direction, she quickly drove towards a familiar location.. Chapter 177 - Chapter 177: Chapter ill Please Do Me a Favor 1 Chapter 177: Chapter ill Please Do Me a Favor 1 Translator: 549690339 | ¡ª ¡°Where am I¡­?¡± Wang Tao woke up in a daze, looking at the ceiling above him, feeling somewhat familiar. ¡°You finally woke up!¡± Han Rui¡¯s voice sounded from beside him. Wang Tao turned his head and saw not only Han Rui but also another woman with a familiar face. ¡°Li Qiuyu?¡± ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. Wang¡­¡± Li Qiuyu said with a smile. Only then did Wang Tao realize that Han Rui had taken him to Li Qiuyu¡¯s house. He politely said: ¡°I¡¯ve troubled Ms. Li.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all, Little Rui even helped me clear out the zombies around here!¡± Li Qiuyu tucked her hair. It had to be said, although Li Qiuyu was in her thirties or forties, she had not lost any of her charm from her younger days and was perhaps even more elegant now. Even a casual movement was filled with feminine allure. Especially now, she was wearing a white silk slip dress. The hazy temptation made one greatly desire to take a closer look. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but glance over several times until Han Rui stealthily pinched him, and then Wang Tao very naturally turned his head away. ¡°How long did I sleep?¡± ¡°About three hours¡­ It¡¯s now eight o¡¯clock in the evening.¡± Han Rui said, glancing at her watch. Wang Tao nodded. To sleep for three hours for every thousand HP? That¡¯s a pretty pitiful mechanism. If you are outdoors without teammates, that would be too dangerous¡­ Since Mr. Wang is awake now. I¡¯ll go to sleep first¡­¡± Li Qiuyu nodded to them, then left. After she was gone, Han Rui gave Wang Tao a glare, but said nothing. Wang Tao wrapped his arm around Han Rui¡¯s slim waist and said with slight helplessness: ¡°You know, every time my strength increases, my whole body¡¯s energy becomes extremely vigorous¡­¡± Afterward. Han Rui lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, quietly listening to his heartbeat. Wang Tao stroked her hair, but his thoughts were no longer on Han Rui¡¯s body. Instead, they were on his own body. After his HP had increased to two thousand, he felt that his physical fitness had greatly improved. Maybe by about 20%? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure, but the feeling of improvement was intoxicating, and he really liked it. As for whether he could now fuse with a fourth type of Crystal Core¡­ Wang Tao felt like he might be able to! However, he still hadn¡¯t collected enough Self-healing Crystal Cores, so he had to wait a bit longer. Although Wang Tao had collected a few more Rush Crystal Cores and even fused with another Orange Epic Rush Crystal Core, he wasn¡¯t planning to use it yet. Because after his HP had increased to 2000, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception of his own body¡¯s condition had become much sharper. He could feel that he could only fuse with four types of Crystal Cores for now. He didn¡¯t know if it would increase in the future, but for now, he felt he could only fuse with four types. And since he had already fused with three types of Crystal Cores, he had to be more cautious with the fourth type. Wang Tao was quite satisfied with the first three Crystal Cores: a Shockwave that attacked a range, Toughness with super-strong Defense, and Precision Shooting that enhanced long-range Attack capabilities. Two attack Abilities, one life-saving Ability. If he added another Rush Ability, it would definitely enhance his Combat Power, but it would slightly lack in self-preservation. But if he acquired another Self-healing Crystal Core, it would be much safer. Surviving in the post-apocalyptic world isn¡¯t like playing a game; you only have one life, so it¡¯s better to be safe. Wang Tao pulled out an Orange Crystal Core and brought it to Han Rui¡¯s lips. ¡°Ah?¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment before she quickly looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Open your mouth.¡± ¡°Mm¡ª¡± Wang Tao stuffed the Crystal Core into Han Rui¡¯s mouth. Han Rui¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°An Orange Rush Crystal Core? You¡­ you still have more? Why are you giving it to me again, don¡¯t you need it for yourself¡­¡± Han Rui had been with Wang Tao for the past few days, and she remembered that Wang Tao hadn¡¯t obtained any Orange Crystal Cores, right? And didn¡¯t Wang Tao say he would keep a Rush Crystal Core for his own use? Why give it to her then? Wang Tao looked at Han Rui¡¯s excited and complex gaze, and patted her buttocks. ¡°Just absorb it well.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Soon, Han Rui had completed the fusion, and her Mana reached ¡°300¡±. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Han Rui opened her eyes and looked at Wang Tao, full of gratitude. Since childhood, besides her parents and family, this was the first time she had met someone who treated her so well¡­ This was an Orange Crystal Core, and he just gave it to her like that, and not just one, but two! ¡°I don¡¯t even know how to repay you¡­¡± Han Rui sincerely thanked him. She had previously thought about how to repay Wang Tao, but before she could, Wang Tao had already given her so much more! As for sleeping with Wang Tao, Han Rui didn¡¯t consider that as repayment. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t that be like some sort of transaction? She thought of it as her own choice, with both of them getting what they wanted¡­ Looking at the affection in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao suddenly smiled. ¡°Wanna try calling me ¡®hubby¡¯?¡± Han Rui¡¯s face flushed instantly. ¡°¡­I won¡¯t!¡± True, her husband was worthless, but he was still at the base. If she called someone else ¡®hubby,¡¯ what would that look like¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t insist. He instead said: ¡°Then, calling me ¡®daddy¡¯ is also fine.¡± Han Rui bit Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder angrily, of course, not hard. Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to mind as he grinned. His feelings for Han Rui¡­ To be honest, calling it love would be too fake; they had known each other for just a few days, and most of his attention was still focused on increasing his power¡­ He was simply coveting Han Rui¡¯s body. Actually, he didn¡¯t have deep feelings for Ding Yuqin either, since they hadn¡¯t met many times before the apocalypse, and afterward, they were just helping each other with loneliness he wasn¡¯t sure about Ding Yuqin¡¯s thoughts, but that was how he saw it. Chapter 178 - Chapter 178: Chapter ill Please do Chapter 178: Chapter ill Please do Translator: 549690339 me a favor 2 But regardless, since these two women were with Wang Tao, he would naturally prioritize them whenever he came across something good. Even if they were just like pets, there was still some affection involved. Take this Rush Crystal Core, for example; although it was precious, it was a waste for Wang Tao to hold onto it since he wouldn¡¯t use it himself. It was better to give it to Han Rui to enhance her strength a bit, and by extension help himself. Late at night, Han Rui, having regained some physical strength, was especially proactive, almost to the point that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t keep up. The next day, early morning. After Wang Tao and Han Rui got up, they simply had some nutrient fluid. Wang Tao also gave Li Qiuyu two bottles. ¡°Thank you. By the way, a group of people came to the residential area outside yesterday, and they took away the survivors from Building No. 2.¡± Li Qiuyu first thanked him and then quickly spoke as if she remembered something. ¡°Those were our people.¡± Wang Tao explained that when he had contacted the base the day before the people at the base said they had already sent someone to pick up Gao Hua and his group. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Li Qiuyu nodded. At this moment, Han Rui said: -Sister Qiu Yu, why don¡¯t you come with us to the base? It¡¯s not good for you to be here alone!¡± Although Li Qiuyu had rejected the idea many times, seeing her alone each time made Han Rui worry. She wanted Li Qiuyu to return to the base with her. ¡°Thank you, but¡­¡± Li Qiuyu still shook her head and didn¡¯t say much. Deep down, Han Rui silently sighed, then she said: ¡°Then we might trouble you these next few days, please bear with us.¡± The night before, Han Rui and Wang Tao had discussed it and decided to temporarily stay at Li Qiuyu¡¯s house, because while driving Wang Tao over Han Rui noticed some Elite Zombies in the vicinity. They planned to hunt Elite Zombies, so living here was ideal. ¡°No problem!¡± Li Qiuyu immediately agreed, after all, having witnessed Wang Tao and Han Rui¡¯s character, she was quite assured. After breakfast, Wang Tao contacted the base to check if there was any news about the kidnappers. There was still no news. He also tried to contact Xiang Hongbin, but their current location was a bit far from Xiang Hongbin¡¯s temporary safety zone, so there was no connection. Wang Tao asked the base, and they said Xiang Hongbin had already started sending people in, but the specifics were still unclear. Shaking his head, Wang Tao continued to hunt zombies that day. Han Rui had remembered the locations where she saw the Elite Zombies the day before, and they headed to those places today. For the past two days, Wang Tao had felt unlucky. Either he didn¡¯t encounter any Elite Zombies, or if he did, they were mostly unsuitable for him. But today, Wang Tao found that his luck was extraordinarily good. The first encounter was with two Rioters at once! Since there were no Suicide Bombing Zombies, taking down the two of them was much easier. Wang Tao took out his hand crossbow and, combined with Han Rm¡¯s sniper crossbow, they shot the two Rioters dead in a few moments. The zombies didn¡¯t come anywhere close to Wang Tao until their demise. ¡°Continue!¡± After collecting the loot, Wang Tao drove with Ding Yuqin to the next location. The day passed quickly, and by the time Wang Tao and company returned to Li Qjuyu¡¯s villa, the corners of Wang Tao¡¯s mouth were practically splitting with ¡®What¡¯s got you so happy?¡± L1 Qiuyu asked curiously after seeing his mood. ¡°Got some Zombie Cores that I needed.¡± Wang Tao explained with a smile. ¡°Then congratulations!¡± Understanding that Zombie Cores could transform ordinary people into Ability Users and enhance the strength of Ability Users, Li Qiuyu congratulated him sincerely. However, having no particular interest in the cores, she did not inquire further. After freshening up, Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave the bathroom but took out a Blueprint. [Rush Left Arm Blueprint (Forgeable)] This was dropped by one of the two Attackers he killed earlier. Wang Tao already had a right arm guard, and now he just needed a left one. Now with all the materials gathered, Wang Tao immediately started crafting. With a flash of light, the Rush Left Arm was forged. WangTao tried it on, and it felt similar to the right arm guard. It not only protected his arms but also enhanced his attack power. It was a nice piece of gear. After examining it, Wang Tao stored the arm guard in the Space Backpack and then directly took out two Orange Crystal Cores. These were two Epic Shockwave Crystal Cores! Out in the field today, Wang Tao killed a total of six Rioters zombies. His luck had been just too good! However, the quality of the dropped Crystal Cores wasn¡¯t great, with two white, two blue, and two purple. The two blue and two purple cores were naturally synthesized into two Epic Cores. r For safety, Wang Tao swallowed one first. Gululu- His body felt warm and comfortable. After waiting a moment and seeing that the blue bar had increased by too and there were no issues with his body, Wang Tao swallowed another Shockwave Core. Soon, Wang Tao¡¯s blue bar reached 800! Counting these two, Wang Tao had fused with six Shockwave Cores He didn¡¯t even know how strong his Shockwave ability was now since he avoided close combat when he could resolve fights with his hand crossbow. After all, sniping at a range felt pretty exhilarating. The next day, the base still had no useful news, so the zombie hunting continued. Today¡¯s luck wasn¡¯t as good as yesterday¡¯s, with only two Rioters zombies hunted, but they encountered four Self-exploders and one Slime Zombie. With Self-exploders involved, they generally had to use Slime Grenades Fortunately, they encountered a Slime Zombie, allowing them to replenish their supply of hand grenades. Chapter 179 - Chapter 179: Chapter 111 Please do me a favor_3 Chapter 179: Chapter 111 Please do me a favor_3 Translator: 549690339 At night, when he returned to Li Qiuyu¡¯s villa, Wang Tao discovered two Elite Zombies surrounding the villa, they were Screamers and Stubborn! Seeing the Stubborn, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He had only encountered a Stubborn once, and it felt like they were quite rare. This Screamer only had 1000 HP, its health was consistently low. However, to be safe, Wang Tao did not make a move himself but let Han Rui take it down with long-distance sniping. Whoosh¡ª An arrow shot out. The Screamer was instantly killed. Wang Tao asked Han Rui to retrieve the Screamer¡¯s Zombie Core while he charged directly at the Stubborn. The Stubborn were surely one of the least threatening zombies, with weak attack power and slow attack speed. Anyone capable of breaking its defense could grind it to death, of course, assuming no other zombies were around. Around this particular Stubborn, there was a group of Ordinary Zombies. Without dealing with these Ordinary Zombies first, the Stubborn could not be taken down. After running over, Wang Tao directly chopped at one of the Ordinary Zombies with his axe. Squish! [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [¡­] A group of Ordinary Zombies was simultaneously killed by the Shockwave. Without even looking, Wang Tao immediately charged at the Stubborn. Bang! [-42] [3000/3000] With one strike of the axe, the Stubborn only lost a little over forty HP. ¡°¡­Progress!¡± Wang Tao could only comfort himself like this. After all, the last time he attacked a Stubborn, one strike of the axe resulted in only around twenty HP loss. Now, it was over forty, the damage had doubled¡ªthat was quite a significant improvement! With no other zombies to interfere, Wang Tao could unleash his full strength. After a frenzied bout of chopping, the Stubborn was finally taken down with a headshot by Wang Tao. [-63] [0/3000] While prying out the Zombie Core, Wang Tao also collected the spoils of war. [Obtained: Stubborn chest armor Blueprint xi] [Obtained: Defense potion X2] Surprised by the loot, Wang Tao had not expected another Stubborn chest armor to drop. He already had one, so maybe he could give it to Han Rui. After all, she was always hunting zombies outside, and it was quite dangerous. After storing the loot, Wang Tao then looked at the Crystal Core dropped by the Stubborn. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡ö Toughness] [Quality: Excellent (80¡ã/o)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: darkening of the skin, body stiffening)] This was a Red crystal core, and Wang Tao happened to have a White Rank copper skin and iron bones. He could now synthesize an Orange Epic copper skin and iron bones! Wang Tao was a bit excited. He had merged the shockwave crystal core several times already, but Toughness and Precision Shooting had only been merged once; this was finally another opportunity to merge. After collecting the items, Wang Tao and Han Rui made another round around the villa to make sure there were no other zombies, then they returned to the villa. Li Qiuyu had been watching from the balcony and hurriedly opened the door when she saw them coming. ¡°Thank you both!¡± By clearing the zombies around, Wang Tao was also helping her out. ¡°No need to thank us. We¡¯ll be troubling you for the next few days.¡± Han Rui said with a smile. ¡°Of course, no problem.¡± First nodding, Li Qiuyu then glanced at Wang Tao and looked somewhat hesitant to speak. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao asked, a bit curious. ¡°Ahem, seeing how powerful you guys are¡­ I¡¯d like to ask you a favor¡­¡± The scene of Wang Tao killing a swath of zombies with a single axe strike was still vivid in her mind. She always knew Ability Users were formidable, but this was the first time she felt their might so directly. So she wanted to ask Wang Tao for a favor. ¡°What favor?¡± Although the person asking was a beauty, Wang Tao was not about to agree carelessly. He disliked making promises lightly, because he took promises very seriously. Li Qiuyu¡¯s face showed a touch of sorrow. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long I can hold out, I¡­¡± Saying this, Li Qiuyu took off the necklace hanging from her neck and handed it to Wang Tao. It was a very delicate heart-shaped necklace. ¡°This was given to me by my daughter, Little Xue, on my birthday¡­ I¡¯d like to ask you, if you get the chance to see my daughter, please give her this necklace and tell her I love her a lot¡­¡± Although Li Qiuyu had been steadfast in waiting for her daughter at home, she also understood the dangers of the apocalypse and was not clear on how much longer she could hold out. Moreover, she felt that even if her daughter was still alive, it would be improbable for her to see her for one last time¡­ ¡°Okay. If she¡¯s still alive, and I happen to encounter her¡­¡± Wang Tao took the necklace which still retained a bit of warmth. He felt that the chances of Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter still being alive were very slim. After all, the daughter was in the mountains, which might be even more dangerous than the cities¡­ But Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much, as this was Li Qiuyu¡¯s pillar for survival; it wasn¡¯t for him to crush her spirits. ¡°I really can¡¯t thank you enough!¡± Li Qiuyu seemed immensely grateful as soon as Wang Tao agreed. ¡°You¡¯re being too polite.¡± After all, it wasn¡¯t like Wang Tao had to actively search for her daughter; such a simple task was no problem for him. ¡°Oh, my daughter¡¯s name is Jiang Shixue, and here is her picture¡­¡± It seemed something occurred to Li Qiuyu, and she quickly fetched a photo from her room. The photo showed a youthful and lively beautiful girl in a JK uniform, with a slight resemblance to Li Qiuyu. ¡°Alright.¡± After resting one more night at Li Qiuyu¡¯s house, the next morning, Wang Tao continued to go out hunting zombies. That day, while Wang Tao was hunting zombies outside, he suddenly received a message from the base. ¡°Commissioner Wang! Commissioner Wei is looking for you, please return to the base as soon as you receive this message! ¡°Hmm? Okay!¡± There was a message from the base! Wang Tao immediately drove his vehicle towards the base.. Chapter 180 - Chapter 180: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Chapter 180: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Single-Type Crystal Cores_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao notified Li Qiuyu through the walkie-talkie that he and Han Rui were heading back. After all, having stayed at Li Qiuyu¡¯s place for a few days, it was only right to say goodbye before leaving. ¡°Be careful on the road¡­¡± After ending the call, Han Rui helplessly shook her head. ¡°What a stubborn woman indeed¡­¡± If Li Qiuyu had come back to the base with her, it would have been good. But staying here, she would either end up eaten by zombies or starve to death¡­ Thinking of such a beautiful woman perishing so tragically, Han Rui felt sorry for her. Wang Tao did not say anything. He did not like to meddle in other people¡¯s business, but if Li Qiuyu were to die, that would indeed be a shame, considering she was also many people¡¯s goddess. When they returned to Shuize Base, it was already five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Wang Tao looked at the date and suddenly realized that they had been outside for a week. ¡°You go rest first; I¡¯ll go to a meeting.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao did not even have time to change his clothes before he arrived, fully armed, at the top floor of the comprehensive building. He was the last to arrive; the other committee members were already present. After a week without seeing them, he could feel that something was different about them compared to before. Especially Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, and Feng Ming¡¯an¡ªeach of them had more than 1000 HP! Indeed, it takes external stimulation for everyone to feel more motivated to become stronger. And they had followed Wang Tao¡¯s advice to first kill ordinary zombies. Otherwise, if they relied solely on killing elite zombies, except for Xiang Hongbin, the others would not have reached 1000 HP so quickly. ¡°Wang Tao, how did your mission go?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked with a smile. ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao pulled out a bag filled with Zombie Cores. Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up, but they did not rush to open it. Instead, they looked at Wei Zhenguo. Wei Zhenguo¡¯s expression turned solemn instantly. ¡°According to the intel from our undercover agents, that underground mall is Shao Yong¡¯s Survivor Base. And the two Hunter Teams from our base have been captured by Shao Yong! However, the specifics are unknown, and we don¡¯t know if there have been any deaths yet. We only know that those people are locked up, and our people can¡¯t get close¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo briefly explained the situation. ¡°What do you suggest? Attack directly?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°No, we have to consider the hunters. If we attack directly, they will definitely be killed¡­¡± Ren Jie said loudly. The presence of hostages made them hesitant to act rashly. After all, he had to consider the sentiments of the others in the base; if people saw that their own were captured and the base did nothing to rescue them, it could lead to a loss of morale and support¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s just get ready for battle for now. Since they haven¡¯t killed our people outright and have kept them, it means they are probably interested in negotiating. Let¡¯s see what they have to say, then figure out our strategy,¡± Wei Zhenguo was also somewhat helpless. These people were strange; one would have thought after capturing them, they would try to intimidate Shuize Base or negotiate. Yet a week had passed with no movement from them, leaving everyone in the dark about their intentions¡­ Without knowing the adversary¡¯s thoughts, there was no way to formulate a targeted tactic, so all they could do was prepare to be ready for battle at any time. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s put the Hunter Team issue aside for now; it¡¯ll get handled eventually! Now let¡¯s talk about the Zombie Cores!¡± Xiang Hongbin also took out a bag, opened it, and revealed various colored Cores inside, although most were white. ¡°Hey? You¡¯ve also had a pretty good haul!¡± Wang Tao said, somewhat surprised. ¡°That I did!¡± Xiang Hongbin gave a proud laugh before adding, ¡°But this is not just mine; it¡¯s the result of Lu Gang and I working together.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still very good,¡± Feng Ming¡¯an said with a smile as he too took out a bag. This bag had fewer Cores, but they were more colorful. Seeing this, Xiang Hongbin, who had been rather pleased with himself, suddenly had his expression darken. The Cores Feng Ming¡¯an had obtained were clearly of higher quality than his! Then they all looked to Wang Tao. When Wang Tao opened his bag, revealing numerous Cores of various rich colors, everyone¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Damn! Did you raid an elite zombie¡¯s nest? Not only are the numbers impressive, but the quality is amazing too?¡± Xiang Hongbin was slightly unsettled. ¡°Haha, just lucky!¡± Wang Tao did not explain much. After all, he and Han Rui had been out for a week. With his combat power, acquiring these Cores was not at all difficult. Plus, there were some he had not taken out yet. ¡°Wang Tao, you choose first; you¡¯re our top combat power,¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao did not stand on ceremony. After looking at the Cores in the two bags, he immediately picked out all the shockwave crystal cores and toughness crystal cores. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want others, but he had no use for them. Self-healing and Precision Shooting, he had seen none. It probably wasn¡¯t because they were deliberately kept from him, as among these people, only Feng Ming¡¯an was an Ability User until now; the others were still ordinary. ¡°These are enough for me.¡± Wang Tao took a total of six crystal cores, four shockwave and two toughness. ¡°Fine by us,¡± Everyone agreed. They let Feng Ming¡¯an choose next, and he took away all the Slime Spitter Crystal Cores.. Chapter 181 - Chapter 181: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Chapter 181: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Single-Type Crystal Cores_2 Translator: 549690339 He could only use this one. Seeing so many crystal cores here, yet unable to use them, he felt somewhat distressed. However, seeing that Wang Tao had so many Slime Spitter Crystal Cores, his spirits lifted. If he could successfully fuse with all these crystal cores, his strength would certainly increase by a great margin! After Feng Ming¡¯an finished choosing, the remaining people did not pick but instead looked towards Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, help us see which crystal cores are suitable for us to use!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke, his face full of anticipation. In their eyes, Wang Tao was like a walking encyclopedia, especially when it came to fusing crystal cores; they definitely needed Wang Tao¡¯s approval for it to be reliable. ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao nodded and then, after observing Xiang Hongbin¡¯s and Wei Zhenguo¡¯s physiques, he said: ¡°I think you two should try using a Rush Crystal Core first.¡± The Rush Crystal Core was indeed powerful, capable of both escape and attack. This was fully demonstrated by Han Rui. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao wanting to wait for the Self-healing Crystal Core, he would have been ready to fuse with the Rush Crystal Core. If these two were to fuse with the Rush Crystal Core, they would probably be even stronger than Han Rui, given that their physical conditions were better. Physical strength should definitely give an advantage when it comes to the Rush Ability. ¡°Alright!¡± Both nodded. In fact, Wang Tao thought the Shockwave Crystal Core also suited them, but since he needed it too, he couldn¡¯t be polite at this moment. He certainly had to take the crystal cores he needed first. ¡°As for Lu Gang¡­¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment and then took out a blue crystal core from his body. ¡°This is a Precise Shooting Crystal Core¡­¡± ¡°Precise Shooting?¡± Upon hearing the name, Lu Gang¡¯s eyes lit up. Although he didn¡¯t know its specific effects, the name alone sounded very suitable for him! However, Wang Tao¡¯s next words made him hesitant. ¡°The Precise Shooting Ability is very strong; during its active duration, your senses will be enhanced, and your shooting abilities will greatly improve. But¡ª its side effect is terrifying, it¡¯ll blind one of your eyes! This crystal core has a 40% success rate, if you want it, I can give it to you.¡± Lu Gang was taken aback. Although he was a sniper, and while sniping he would open one eye and close the other, this didn¡¯t mean that he was willing to go blind in one eye¡­ ¡°I personally think it¡¯s too extreme as well. So I don¡¯t recommend it, but if you really want to use it, it¡¯s not impossible.¡± Yesterday, while hunting zombies with Han Rui, Wang Tao encountered another police zombie holding a gun. After solving it, he obtained a Precise Shooting Crystal Core. For Lu Gang, gaining the Precise Shooting Ability would indeed be a significant advantage. Unfortunately, Wang Tao only had this one Precise Shooting core at the moment, and no one else had any either, so he couldn¡¯t create a side-effect-free Epic Crystal Core. Therefore, Wang Tao himself was also not very supportive of it, but he still brought up the option. After hesitating for a while, Lu Gang finally smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°No, I can¡¯t accept the loss of an eye as the price. Eyes are very important for a sniper; if I really went blind in one eye, my strength would definitely plummet! Even if abilities could greatly increase my skills, I cannot always rely on abilities. So I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it¡­¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Seeing that Lu Gang was still quite rational, Wang Tao smiled and took the crystal core back. ¡°If you¡¯re not using Precise Shooting, then I think you could try fusing with a Sprint Crystal Core.¡± ¡°Sprint?¡± Lu Gang frowned. ¡°Yes, Sprint. Although the Sprint Crystal Core is inferior in all aspects compared to Rush, it¡¯s actually a very good mobility skill. And as a sniper, if you have this kind of short-range mobility skill, your survivability would be greatly enhanced! As long as you¡¯re alive, you can continue to deal damage!¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Hey? When you put it that way, it does make a lot of sense! Then I¡¯ll fuse with Sprint!¡± Lu Gang¡¯s eyes shone. His strength lay in long-range combat; although his close-range skills weren¡¯t weak, why give up a strength for long-range fights? So he didn¡¯t desire close-combat abilities. But as Wang Tao said, if it¡¯s not used as a close-combat skill but as a life-saving skill, then it¡¯s quite suitable! ¡°As for Liu He, I think you could try fusing with a Stealth Crystal Core, this Stealth Crystal Core has an 8o% probability, it¡¯s pretty much guaranteed¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at Liu He and said. Liu He wasn¡¯t a combatant, nor did he want to become one, so there was no need for him to fuse with a combat-capable crystal core. The Stealth Ability was very good for survival. Although the side effect was to consume double the physical strength, he wouldn¡¯t be fighting, so the impact should be small. Of course, actually, he would be quite okay without fusion with any crystal core. Although he would not have any abilities, he would also not suffer from any side effects. Being an ordinary person was also quite fine. However, quite obviously, Liu He did not want to be an ordinary person. ¡°Good, I actually also wanted to fuse with Stealth!¡± Liu He was somewhat excited. As for Ren Jie, he had already fused with the Screaming Crystal Core, but he felt that he could still fuse with another type of crystal core. Wang Tao also recommended that he try fusing with a Stealth Crystal Core. However, Ren Jie was hesitant and said he would think about it; Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more. He had only made a suggestion, and the specific decision was up to the individual. After everyone had decided on their fusion prospects, they immediately prepared to start. Combat could break out at any moment, and it was necessary to be ready as soon as possible.. Chapter 182 - Chapter 182: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Chapter 182: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Single-Type Crystal Cores_3 Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao left first since they already had the experience of fusing with Feng Ming¡¯an and didn¡¯t need Wang Tao to look after them. When he got home, Ding Yuqin and Wang Tao embraced each other. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Seeing Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP over 300, Wang Tao suddenly thought that maybe it was time to boost her level as well¡­ After all, the more HP Ding Yuqin had, the more she could add to Wang Tao¡¯s. Sister-in-law, I¡¯ll take you out for some fun tomorrow,¡± Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Huh?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s mouth dropped open slightly, and after being stunned for a moment, she said with a pitiful look, ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re not going to make me kill zombies again, are you¡­¡± ¡°Sister-in-law is so smart!¡± Wang Tao ruffled her hair. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s resolute expression, Ding Yuqin wisely chose not to speak. She knew that Wang Tao would definitely protect her, but she was still afraid. Of course, she also knew that Wang Tao meant well since killing zombies would make her stronger¡­ Ding Yuqin had already prepared dinner when Wang Tao tasted it and exclaimed, ¡°Home-cooked food really is the best!¡± In the past few days outside, he had been living on nutrient fluids every day and was almost sick of them. ¡°If it tastes good, eat more!¡± Ding Yuqin was very happy, as this proved that Wang Tao was satisfied with her cooking skills. After dinner, Wang Tao went to his room to fuse some Zombie Cores. During his time away, he had accumulated a large number of Crystal Cores, and he just got some more from Xiang Hongbin and the others, which was ¡¯ perfect for a round of fusions. Swipe¡ª A flash of light passed, and several Orange Crystal Cores appeared in his hand. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave x4] [Level 1 Crystal Core-Toughness xi] Looking at the five Orange Epic Crystal Cores, Wang Tao grinned. He was slightly short on Crystal Cores himself, but with what he got from Xiang Hongbin and the others, it was just enough to synthesize five useful cores for himself! Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to eat them all at once. Sticking to the routine, he ate them one by one, starting with a Toughness core. Wang Tao had fused a Toughness Crystal Core a couple of days ago, and another shockwave crystal core after that, and now his Mana had reached 1000. A moment later, a warm sensation spread through his body and his Mana increased by 100! ¡°Continue!¡± Wang Tao ate another shockwave crystal core. Mana +100, +100, +100¡­ ¡°Huh?¡± Just as he put the last shockwave crystal core in his mouth, Wang Tao suddenly paused. Crystal Cores seemed like solids, but once eaten, they seemingly turned into gas immediately, quickly fusing into the whole body. However, this shockwave crystal core remained unchanged in his mouth¡­ ¡°Can¡¯t fuse anymore?¡± Wang Tao found it odd. He spat it out and tried again but still couldn¡¯t. His body showed no reaction. Wang Tao looked at his attributes, and under his HP bar on the Ability icon, the Shockwave symbol had a ¡°+io¡± sign, Toughness had a ¡°+3¡±, and Precision Shooting had no number at all. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t paid attention to this before. ¡°Could it be that one can only fuse a maximum of ten cores of the same type?¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, murmuring. It must be this possibility, if he wanted to continue merging-perhaps he had reached the limit and couldn¡¯t merge anymore. Or maybe a Level Two Crystal Core was needed¡­ But no matter which was the case, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t continue to merge Shockwave now. He glanced at his own attributes. HP [2650/2650] Mana [1400/1400] Wang Tao was quite satisfied with these attributes. This was the result of his frenzied hunting of Elite Zombies this week. The process wasn¡¯t smooth and he had encountered several crises. But no matter what, seeing his HP over two thousand and mana over one thousand, Wang Tao felt content. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the Orange Shockwave Crystal Core in his hand. I can¡¯t use it myself, might as well give it to someone else¡­¡± He felt that Han Rui, Xiang Hong Bin, and Wei Zhen Guo were all quite suitable. He¡¯d look at their fusion situation tomorrow and then decide who to give it to. It so happened that Wang Tao was planning to go out tomorrow, so it was quite reasonable for him to have obtained an Orange Shockwave Crystal Core. Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to reveal his ability to synthesize Crystal Cores, not even to those closest to him. This included his ability to loot treasures from killing monsters, which he would keep to himself. He understood the adage ¡°The innocent man is free from suspicion, but the man who carries a jade must guard against attack¡± all too well. He was sure that if he revealed these abilities, he would never live in peace in this life. He would have to guard against not just zombies, but other survivors as well! Therefore, before taking out an Orange Crystal Core, Wang Tao would make some preparations to cover his tracks, trying his best not to let people think too much¡­ As for the other Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s space, unless necessary, he had no plans to synthesize them into orange ones. After all, he needed Crystal Cores to make Slime Grenades and such. Having merged four Crystal Cores at once, Wang Tao was a bit exhilarated and had plenty of physical strength. After briefly taking a bath, he found Ding Yuqin already lying on the bed. However, Ding Yuqin was dressed, wearing a white professional suit paired with black, red-bottomed high heels¡­ it was practically an attack-speed setup! Sister-in-law, you really know me!¡± ¡°¡­Hmph~¡± Ding Yuqin snorted lightly, clearly unaware of what was to follow. The next day. Wang Tao woke up, but Ding Yuqin was still asleep. He was too lazy to cook, so he guzzled down a few bottles of nutritional fluid, then headed to the complex building. ¡°Big Brother!¡± Just as he got out of the car, he heard a shout. Wang Tao turned around and saw a man wearing a refined suit, with gold-nmmed glasses, hair combed back neatly, giving off a gentle and refined impression. ¡°You are¡­?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t recognize him at first. ¡°Big Brother, it¡¯s me, Gao Hua!¡± said the man hurriedly, running over excitedly. ¡°Huh? Gao Hua?¡± Wang Tao was surprised, mainly because the last time he saw him, Gao Hua was dirty, had just killed someone, and was splattered with blood¡­ far from the well-dressed appearance before him. ¡°You¡¯re doing pretty good, kid!¡± ¡°It¡¯S all thanks to Big Brother¡¯s blessing! If there¡¯s anything Big Brother needs in the future, just give the order. I¡¯ll go through fire and water without hesitation!¡± Seeing the sincerity in Gao Hua¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was genuine but still gave Gao Hua¡¯s shoulder a friendly pat, smiling. ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao nodded and then said, ¡°I have to go up for something now, let¡¯s talk later.¡± ¡°Wait a moment, Big Brother! I heard that some of our base¡¯s people have been captured? The person who captured them is someone named Shao Yong?¡± ¡°Yes, what about it?¡± This news wasn¡¯t a secret; once Wei Zhen Guo had confirmed who it was, he revealed it to the Hunters on a small scale to keep them alert when going out. ¡°Big Brother! I might know this Shao Yong! I can try to help you save them!¡± Chapter 183 - Chapter 183: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account_l Chapter 183: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account_l Translator: 549690339 I ¡°Oh? You know him?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Is the world really that small? To run into an acquaintance here? ¡°Cough, I¡¯m not entirely sure, but I do know someone named Shao Yong. We had a business cooperation before, and he is from Shuize County. Unless there is someone with the same name, it should be the same person¡­¡± After thinking for a while, Wang Tao said: ¡°Alright, come with me.¡± ¡°Ah, okay!¡± Wang Tao took Gao Hua upstairs to the committee office door. ¡°Wait for me outside.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao entered alone. Inside the room, the other committee members were present. Seeing their jubilant expressions, one could tell that their fusion must have been successful. Upon closer inspection, Wang Tao was certain, for each person now had a blue stripe. ¡°Congratulations!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Haha! Congratulations to us all!¡± Now that they had become Ability Users, the world felt somewhat different to them. ¡°Can you continue to fuse with Crystal Cores?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°I can!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± The members quickly responded. Apart from Liu He, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, and Wei Zhen Guo were able to continue fusing. Adding to that, Ren Jie had already confirmed his ability to continue¡­ So now only Liu He and Feng Ming¡¯an were restricted to fusing with one type of Crystal Core. Liu He didn¡¯t really care since he wasn¡¯t a combatant. But Feng Ming¡¯an was feeling a bit distressed, sensing that he had become the weakest among them¡­ ¡°As for the second Crystal Core, decide for yourself about the fusion. I¡¯ve already told you about the side effects, so just think it over carefully.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t offer any further suggestions; after all, they were now experienced. Then, the conversation shifted back to the situation at Shao Yong¡¯s Base. With more than a week passed, if there was still no action from Shao Yong¡¯s side, they had to make their move. After all, they owed an explanation to the other survivors in the base. At this point, Wang Tao suddenly said: ¡°Among the survivors I sent to rescue, one named Gao Hua claims to know Shao Yong.¡± ¡°Hmm? Knows him?¡± Ren Jie furrowed his brows. ¡°Yes, and not only does he know him, he has also expressed he can lead our people back.¡± ¡°Oh? Then I must hear his thoughts!¡± The members were curious to know what made Gao Hua so confident. Soon, Gao Hua was brought in. ¡°Greetings, committee members!¡± Gao Hua quickly bowed deeply. ¡°Gao Hua, share your thoughts with us. Speak freely, without any reservations.¡± Wang Tao said to Gao Hua. ¡°This is the situation: I¡¯ve had business collaborations with Shao Yong before, and I¡¯ve helped him a lot. We have a good relationship! I believe I can go over and gauge his intentions first, to see what he¡¯s thinking. Then we can decide whether to persuade him or to take action to rescue our people¡­¡± After hearing Gao Hua¡¯s proposal, the members fell into a frown-filled contemplation. Wang Tao then asked Wei Zhen Guo to describe Shao Yong¡¯s appearance. Gao Hua nodded repeatedly after listening. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± ¡°Okay, you can leave for now; we¡¯ll discuss this further.¡± Ren Jie said amiably. ¡°Yes.¡± After Gao Hua left the room, Wei Zhen Guo and the others exchanged thoughts. Rationally speaking, sending Gao Hua was a good idea; if he were successful, it would be cause for celebration. If he failed, or even perished in the endeavor, the base wouldn¡¯t suffer any significant loss. With so many survivors at the base, they could afford to lose one Gao Hua. However, Gao Hua was someone Wang Tao had asked to rescue, so they needed his opinion. ¡°I have no objections. If you think he¡¯s capable, let him go. He himself wants to demonstrate his abilities and gain the base¡¯s attention,¡± Wang Tao said indifferently. ¡°Great! Let¡¯s let him try. We should prepare for both outcomes¡­¡± Wei Zhen Guo nodded. Then Wang Tao called Gao Hua back in and said to him: ¡°What do you need to prepare, or what kind of support do you require? Just ask.¡± Gao Hua¡¯s face lit up upon hearing this. ¡°I need some food, and someone to take me to Shao Yong¡¯s place. After all, I lack the ability to get there on my own¡­¡± Ever since Gao Hua encountered Wang Tao, he had the thought of firmly latching onto Wang Tao¡¯s coattails. After arriving at Shuize Base, he discovered that Wang Tao was actually one of the seven leaders of the base! This made his desire to latch on even stronger. But he also knew that he had no particular skills to showcase or hadn¡¯t yet demonstrated any, which made him an expendable character to these leaders. They might not even want him to hold on to them. Therefore, he had to show his capabilities and get the leaders to take note of him! The kidnapping of the base¡¯s survivors seemed like an opportunity, especially since the kidnapper was Shao Yong ¨C this made the chance even greater! Because he was quite familiar with Shao Yong, knowing his personality and preferences, he could cater to them! Even though Shao Yong was now an Ability User, he was still human, and these things were still useful! Of course, Gao Hua had more in mind than just forging a good relationship with Shao Yong; when necessary, he was prepared to employ some special tactics¡­ ¡°Fine, come with me, I¡¯ll take you to get ready,¡± Ren Jie said as he led Gao Hua away, with Wang Tao following along. ¡°Are we starting the operation today? Is that okay?¡± Ren Jie asked, turning his head. ¡°No problem!¡± Gao Hua nodded repeatedly. Ren Jie organized a Hunter Team for Gao Hua¡¯s escort and equipped him with a walkie-talkie and some food. Chapter 184 - Chapter 184: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account ! Chapter 184: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account ! Translator: 549690339 As for clothes and such, Gao Hua naturally changed into a new set, managing to look both dirty and disheveled. Otherwise, his clean appearance wouldn¡¯t match the look of a refugee. After Gao Hua had finished preparing, Wang Tao called him out alone. ¡°Big brother, do you have any instructions for me?¡± In front of others, Gao Hua would call Wang Tao Commissioner Wang like everyone else, but in private, he would call him big brother. This not only brought them closer but also prevented any resentment. No matter who was older, Gao Hua recognized Wang Tao as his big brother! When Gao Hua saw Wang Tao calling him over alone, he thought Wang Tao had a special mission for him. Being a loyal subordinate, helping his big brother was naturally no problem. But to his surprise, Wang Tao pulled out several items and handed them over to him. ¡°This is a Stealth Potion¡­ this is a Slime Grenade¡­ this is a Weakness Potion¡­ this is a Running Potion¡­¡± Wang Tao gave Gao Hua several items in one go, also explaining how to use them. ¡°This mission is very risky, these items might save your life, use them as you see fit. Remember, self-preservation comes first.¡± Since Gao Hua had always considered himself Wang Tao¡¯s little brother, Wang Tao certainly had to look out for him. People clung to his coattails seeking protection, didn¡¯t they? These items might be expensive to others, but to Wang Tao, they were not particularly valuable, since he could continue to loot them from zombies. So, enhancing Gao Hua¡¯s ability to protect himself was acceptable. If he really could rescue the hostages, even if all these items got used up, it would still be worth it. As for the origins of these items, there was no need for explanation; they were clearly high-tech products of the modern era, easily attributed to apocalyptic technology. After all, with the emergence of Ability Users in this apocalyptic world, the appearance of some black tech was entirely reasonable. Just as Wang Tao had expected, upon receiving these items, Gao Hua didn¡¯t inquire about them, nor did he even consider asking. After all, the base had Inhibitors, so having some other technological products was quite reasonable too. ¡°Thank you, big brother!¡± Gao Hua was somewhat moved. He had thought Wang Tao was assigning him a mission, but didn¡¯t expect that Wang Tao was actually concerned about his safety! If before coming to the base, he followed Wang Tao because of Wang Tao¡¯s formidable strength, and after arriving at the base, he was impressed by Wang Tao¡¯s status, now he truly felt that Wang Tao¡¯s character was also worth following! After all, these items clearly seemed very precious, and Wang Tao had just given them to him¡­ Gao Hua was touched, but he didn¡¯t say much. Real men didn¡¯t make empty talk; they proved themselves through actions! ¡°Give it your all, and if you manage to rescue those people, I¡¯ll promote you, making you a department head. Of course, just do your best, don¡¯t force it if it¡¯s not possible¡­¡± Whether successful or not, a showdown between Shuize Base and Shao Yong¡¯s Base was inevitable. One mountain couldn¡¯t contain two tigers, especially since the other side had now provoked Shuize Base. Gao Hua was a smart man, and it would be a great pity if he just died like that. ¡°I understand!¡± Gao Hua nodded firmly and then followed the Hunter Team away from the base. After he left, Wang Tao drove back home. ¡°Sister-in-law, get in the car.¡± Ding Yuqin had already prepared in advance, changing into clothes with some degree of protection. However, lacking physical strength, she naturally couldn¡¯t wear the same heavy armor as Wang Tao. Seeing that Ding Yuqin was all right, Wang Tao prepared to leave the base with her in the car. But suddenly, at the gate, he saw Chen Zhuang. During Wang Tao¡¯s last collection of medical supplies, he had to shoot Chen Zhuang¡¯s fiancee, who had turned into a zombie. Chen Zhuang had been smiling ever since, insisting that it was fine and claiming he never truly loved his fiancee¡ªappearing very nonchalant. But Wang Tao knew it was a forced smile, and afterwards, he hadn¡¯t seen Chen Zhuang very much. Wang Tao learned from others that Chen Zhuang had been staying inside his home, not venturing out, though he himself seemed all right. Wang Tao guessed that Chen Zhuang probably just needed some time alone and didn¡¯t press the matter. After all, Chen Zhuang was one of the few doctors at the base, and he had certain privileges. Even if he wasn¡¯t working, the base would still provide for him, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay too much attention afterwards. Unexpectedly, he saw him today and from his appearance, Chen Zhuang looked like he was about to leave. Could it be that he was planning to do something foolish? Chen Zhuang was not in his white coat today, dressed similarly to an average survivor, and was holding a sharpened steel pipe. Wang Tao pulled up beside Chen Zhuang and rolled down the window. Hearing the sound, Chen Zhuang turned around reflexively. ¡°Wang Tao?¡± There was no look of utter despair on Chen Zhuang¡¯s face, but sometimes those who seek death don¡¯t reveal it with their expressions. So Wang Tao asked directly, ¡°Where are you off to?¡± ¡°I¡­ want to go kill zombies!¡± Chen Zhuang said a bit sheepishly, scratching his head. ¡°A doctor like you, killing zombies?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Chen Zhuang shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking a lot these past few days. I feel like being a doctor won¡¯t save the world, but power definitely can. So, I¡¯ve decided to strengthen myself!¡± II II That was a reasonable thought; strength was indeed the foundation of everything. Unless one¡¯s medical skills were unmatched, and one feared no threats, entirely indispensable to others¡­ otherwise, even doctors had to serve the powerful. ¡°I¡¯m also going to kill zombies, want to come with me?¡± Wang Tao invited him. If Chen Zhuang refused, it was highly likely that he indeed had some problems.. Chapter 185 - Chapter 185: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling Chapter 185: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account_3 Translator: 549690339 ) But Chen Zhuang¡¯s face lit up with delight. ¡°Great!¡± Chen Zhuang got in the back of the car and saw Ding Yuqin inside, he quickly nodded: ¡°Miss Ding, hello.¡± He didn¡¯t know what the relationship between Ding Yuqin and Wang Tao really was, although they were living together, he often saw Wang Tao call Ding Yuqin sister-in-law. So to avoid the embarrassment of calling her by the wrong title, he went with ¡°Miss Ding¡±. ¡°Hello to you too!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded with a smile. ¡°Wang Tao, are you guys going to¡­¡± Chen Zhuang was puzzled and didn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao was taking Ding Yuqin with him. ¡°Hunt zombies, just like I told you. She¡¯s the main one doing the killing; I¡¯m just in charge of her safety. But now that you¡¯re here, you can join us.¡± II II Chen Zhuang was surprised; it really was a zombie hunt! And it was Ding Yuqin who would be doing the hunting¡­ Ding Yuqin seemed to sense Chen Zhuang¡¯s questions and immediately raised her eyebrows, a touch of pride in her voice: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me as just a woman, I¡¯ve killed dozens of zombies!¡± ¡°Sss¨C¡± Chen Zhuang sucked in a breath of cold air. That was quite fierce! Then Chen Zhuang felt a bit ashamed; he hadn¡¯t killed a single zombie yet, and here he was, outdone by a woman, how embarrassing! Wang Tao was speechless. Ding Yuqin had killed dozens, but that was after he had brought them down to a sliver of HP for her to finish off. After Ding Yuqin had her moment of pride, she found it very amusing. However, feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, she gave a flattering smile and then suddenly reached out towards Wang Tao s thigh. ¡°Sss¨C¡± Wang Tao immediately glared at Ding Yuqin, who instantly withdrew her hand, pretending as if nothing had happened. ¡°This woman, needs a lesson!¡± Wang Tao decided that tonight he was going to thoroughly teach her a lesson when they got back! The car approached a square not far from the base. There were more than ten zombies there. Wang Tao glanced over; they were all ordinary zombies with 1000 HP. ¡°Let¡¯s stop here; you two start with some practice. Gurgle- Looking at these zombies, Chen Zhuang swallowed. Why did he feel like these zombies looked even more ferocious¡­ Was it a bit rash for him to come out here alone? Ding Yuqin was also somewhat scared; the zombies she had killed in Happy Community hadn¡¯t been much different from people, not like these rotting, fiercely menacing ones¡­ ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t think I can do this¡­¡± Unlike Chen Zhuang, who was toughing it out, Ding Yuqin directly clung to Wang Tao¡¯s arm, coquettishly. A woman has to learn to use her advantages. Wang Tao looked at the two of them but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°You two just wait, I¡¯ll go soften them up first.¡± Actually, this had been Wang Tao¡¯s intention all along, but he wanted to see how the two would fare in combat, to see if either could take on an ordinary zombie alone. Now it seemed Chen Zhuang was probably a long shot, and as for Ding Yuqin, it was downright impossible. Wang Tao walked over with his axe and swung it gently at the group of zombies. [-932] [-949] [-999] [-913] [¡­] With that light swing of his axe, all the zombies were knocked down by the shockwave and were left with just a sliver of HP. ¡°Phew, glad I didn¡¯t kill them all¡­¡± Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried about killing all the zombies outright, thankfully, he had managed to control his strength quite well. As for the use of shockwaves, he wouldn¡¯t say he had perfected it, but at least he could now control the intensity. Chen Zhuang looked at all the zombies lying on the ground oozing black blood, some with missing limbs, and he was somewhat taken aback. As for Ding Yuqin, she was much more acquainted with the task. She took out her spear, walked over and finished off the zombies one by one. ¡°¡­This works?¡± Chen Zhuang was surprised. Then he joined in happily. It was like Wang Tao, playing a high-level account, had found a group of ordinary zombies. With one swing of his axe, he incapacitated them all, then let Ding Yuqin and Chen Zhuang finish them off. They had been out since morning, and by the time they returned to the base in the afternoon, Wang Tao had incapacitated over a hundred ordinary zombies. It wasn¡¯t that he could only incapacitate that many, but that Chen Zhuang s and Ding Yuqin¡¯s speed weren¡¯t very fast. After all, finishing off the zombies was quite exhausting in itself. As for the result, Wang Tao was quite satisfied. Ding Yuqin had only had a little over 300 HP before, and now she was up to 1000 HP. Likewise, Chen Zhuang was at 1000 HP as well. Wang Tao had always regarded Chen Zhuang as a friend and was relieved to see him reach woo HP. It must be said, with the increase in zombie HP, the speed at which killing zombies increased one¡¯s own HP also got much faster. Otherwise, it would have probably taken another day to get the two of them to 1000 HP. Although the iooo HP of both were forcibly increased, and they had virtually no combat experience, gaining combat experience was something that could be learned gradually and wasn¡¯t urgent. The priority was to increase their HP first. Now they were both asleep in the car. After Wang Tao got back to the base, he had someone take Chen Zhuang home, and he took Ding Yuqin to her house. Then he took another trip to the comprehensive building and told Wei Zhenguo that he had obtained an Orange Shockwave Crystal Core and asked who wanted it. Wang Tao still decided to give the Orange Shockwave Crystal Core to Wei Zhenguo¡¯s team. Although Han Rui could also use it, she currently focused on long-range shooting, and she quite liked this combat style. As for rushing, that was her trump card, not to be used lightly. So, Wang Tao felt that Wei Zhenguo and his team were more suitable for the shockwave. As for Han Rui, he would find another Crystal Core for her later on. Wei Zhenguo was quite shocked when he saw the crystal core. ¡°Goodness, you¡¯re really lucky! We¡¯ve never come across an Orange Crystal Core, and you¡¯ve found several already. I¡¯m really envious! But why don¡¯t you use it yourself?¡± ¡°Haha, maybe I¡¯m just the chosen one!¡± Wang Tao laughed and then explained, ¡°I¡¯m not using it because I¡¯ve found that a person can only merge with 10 crystal cores of the same type. Any more than that, and you can¡¯t merge with them.¡± ¡°Ah? You¡¯ve already merged with 10? Impressive! But the limit of 10 is important news!¡± Wei Zhenguo was somewhat surprised, then nodded and said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll call them all over to discuss who should use this crystal core.¡± ¡°Alright. You guys discuss it. I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± That night, Ding Yuqin woke up in a daze. True to his word, Wang Tao gave Ding Yuqin a severe lesson. Afterward, he frowned and thought, maybe it was time to get his sister-in-law an ability, preferably one that could save her life. If he could get one that was also beneficial to himself, that would be even better¡­. Chapter 186 - Chapter 186: Chapter 114 Gao Huas Method of Rescue_1 Chapter 186: Chapter 114 Gao Hua¡¯s Method of Rescue_1 Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao felt that the Stealth Ability was pretty good-a strong life-saving ability. It seemed quite suitable for Ding Yuqin as well. However, he didn¡¯t have enough Stealth Crystal Cores at hand to fuse an Epic Crystal Core, so he would have to wait until he had enough. And who knows, maybe later on he would come across an ability that could heal his companions¡­ The next day, early morning. After finishing the lovingly prepared breakfast by Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao headed to the comprehensive building. ¡°Is there any news about Gao Hua?¡± ¡°No, Commissioner, not at the moment.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. This was just a routine inquiry. After all, one day was too short, and it was normal for Gao Hua not to have completed the task. Then, Wang Tao went to ask Wei Zhen Guo who had received the Shockwave Ability. ¡°It went to Old Xiang. He should be the second strongest person in our base after you, so it¡¯s perfect for him,¡± Wei Zhen Guo said with a smile. The Shockwave Crystal Core was suitable for only two people- him and Xiang Hongbin. He actually wanted it for himself, but considering the combat power, Xiang Hongbin was the second strongest in the base. He would use the Shockwave Crystal Core more effectively. So, Wei Zhen Guo gave the Orange Crystal Core to Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s indeed very fitting for him.¡± Wang Tao started to look forward to Xiang Hongbin¡¯s Rush combined with the Shockwave Ability. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°As soon as he woke up this morning, he couldn¡¯t wait a second longer and is now outside testing his abilities!¡± Wei Zhen Guo said somewhat helplessly. ¡°Haha! I can understand.¡± Wang Tao laughed loudly. Then he added: ¡°By the way, how are your injuries?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even mention it, after fusing with the Crystal Core, I feel like my injuries have healed a lot. There are no major issues now. I plan to finish some things this morning and then go out to hunt zombies and test it out!¡± Wei Zhen Guo said somewhat excitedly. The first time Wang Tao met Wei Zhen Guo, he had over six hundred HP, and now he still had over six hundred HP, because he had not gone out recently. After all, he had been seriously injured by a Rushing zombie before. But after resting for such a long time and then fusing with a Crystal Core, his injuries had healed a lot, and there weren¡¯t any major problems anymore. ¡°Congratulations!¡± ¡°Sigh, I need to quickly increase my strength. I used to think I was just a little behind Xiang Hongbin, but now I am no match for him¡­¡± Wei Zhen Guo said rather helplessly. Wang Tao smiled and said nothing. Previously, Wei Zhen Guo had over six hundred HP and Xiang Hongbin had over eight hundred. The difference between the two wasn¡¯t much. Now Wei Zhen Guo still had over six hundred HP, but Xiang Hongbin had over a thousand. The gap had widened substantially. It was normal for Wei Zhen Guo not to be a match for Xiang Hongbin. After exchanging a few more words, Wang Tao prepared to leave. But before he could descend the stairs, he saw someone running up in a hurry. ¡°Commissioner Wang, Commissioner Wei! There¡¯s news from Gao Hua! He says he has brought out the people and is requesting backup!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao and Wei Zhen Guo looked at each other, disbelief in their eyes. It had only been one day, and he had brought people out already? Keep in mind that the individuals who infiltrated before had taken several days just to gather information! Even Wang Tao began to suspect whether Gao Hua had defected to the enemy, tempting them for a rescue that was actually a trap¡­ ¡°Send someone! No¡ª I¡¯ll go myself!¡± Wei Zhen Guo was somewhat excited. Although he didn¡¯t understand how Gao Hua did it, the fact that he could bring people back was good. However, Wei Zhen Guo also suspected that Gao Hua might have defected, so he decided to go personally. With his extensive experience, he could retreat immediately if something was amiss. ¡°I¡¯m going too!¡± Wang Tao wanted to see how Gao Hua managed to get people out. He planned to bring Han Rui along, as her Perception Ability was a great asset against any ambushes or traps they might face. ¡°Okay!¡± Wei Zhen Guo immediately prepared the cars, and Wang Tao went downstairs to call Han Rui. Hearing the news that Gao Hua had gotten the people out, Han Rui was also quite shocked. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go too!¡± A moment later, four fully armed vehicles left the base. ¡°Are we safe here¡­¡± A young man covered in bruises gritted his teeth and spoke. ¡°Rest assured! This is one of our base¡¯s temporary strongholds, very safe!¡± Gao Hua wiped his gold-rimmed glasses with a rag, then turned back to them and continued. ¡°Everyone stay inside, don¡¯t make noise, just wait here for the rescue.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded, then quietly sat together without speaking. Watching these people, Gao Hua felt very satisfied in his heart. Those brave enough to become Hunters were different from ordinary people. Regardless of individual ability, at least they had strong mental fortitude and followed commands. Not like his previous stupid teammates who would panic at the slightest issue, lacking ability yet full of ideas, never following commands¡­ ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Gao. If it wasn¡¯t for you, we wouldn¡¯t know how much longer we could have survived¡­¡± a man said in a low voice. ¡°No need to thank me. The base values you all greatly. When they learned you were kidnapped, they immediately started to plan a rescue. When some information about you was found, Commissioner Wang Tao especially recommended me to come and save you¡­ Gao Hua didn¡¯t take any credit for himself, pushing it all to the base and Wang Tao. ¡°It¡¯s good that we joined a good base, that we met good commissioners!¡± Several people said with a sigh, their eyes somewhat red. Chapter 187 - Chapter 187: Chapter 114 Gao Huas Method of Rescue_2 Chapter 187: Chapter 114 Gao Hua¡¯s Method of Rescue_2 Translator: 549690339 | ¡°What a pity, Little Ting and the others can¡¯t see this¡­¡± Someone murmured to themselves. Upon hearing these words, everyone suddenly fell silent. Gao Hua shook his head. He could only save the living; there was nothing he could do for the dead. Gao Hua took out some food, shared it with these few people, and then began to wait in silence. At a certain moment, Gao Hua felt there was some movement on the street¡ªseveral cars appeared in his field of vision. The other survivors also hurried to lie down and watch from the windows. Gao Hua immediately recognized Wang Tao¡¯s car and quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie. ¡°This is Gao Hua, have you arrived?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve arrived, get ready to come out. There¡¯s no danger around.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. Hearing that voice, the rescued people could no longer contain themselves and all burst into tears of joy. Gao Hua was also somewhat excited; he didn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to come personally! Soon, all four cars stopped downstairs. Gao Hua and the others were already waiting at the door. As soon as the cars opened their doors, they hurried into the vehicles. The convoy immediately turned around and headed back the way they had come. In the electric off-road vehicle, Wei Zhenguo drove while Han Rui sat in the passenger seat. Wang Tao was in the back seat, with Gao Hua, who had just boarded, beside him. Wang Tao was seated in the back, naturally ready to get out and fight at any moment. Fortunately, the journey was smooth; they didn¡¯t encounter a large number of zombies and didn¡¯t run into any people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base. ¡°Commissioner Wang, Commissioner Wei! I¡¯m sorry, I only brought back 4 people¡­¡± Gao Hua hung his head, looking as if he was admitting a mistake. Wang Tao patted his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve already done very well! Are the rest already gone?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ they died horribly!¡± Gao Hua took a deep breath, recalling the horrific ways those people had died; he, a sociopath, even thought it was twisted¡­ ¡°What exactly happened? How did you rescue them? Tell us everything!¡± Wei Zhenguo took a deep breath, his face looking quite unpleasant. Though he had anticipated deaths, when faced with the reality, he was still struggling to accept it. Fourteen survivors, and now only four returned, ten dead! He had specifically prepared four cars for today¡­ ¡°Alright¡­¡± Gao Hua nodded and then began to recount the events. ¡°The Hunter Team was previously trapped in a building but was accidentally discovered by people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base. The people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base were too many and armed. They couldn¡¯t escape and were captured.¡± ¡°At that time, the Hunter Team didn¡¯t know who the others were, so when asked to identify themselves, they naturally disclosed they were from Shuize Base. But they didn¡¯t expect that this would be the beginning of a nightmare¡­¡± ¡°The people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base bound them all and took them back to their base. Then, the inhuman torture began¡­ I won¡¯t even detail the various forms of torture, but in Shao Yong¡¯s Base, a cage was specially constructed to force humans to fight against zombies!¡± ¡°The members of the Hunter Team were put into that cage! Just in those fights alone, four people died, and two died from the torture beforehand¡­ As for the remaining four, all women, they suffered even worse fates¡­¡± At Shuize Base, female hunters are relatively rare, but they do exist. Each female hunter is cherished as a treasure in their respective teams¡ªthis has nothing to do with their looks; it¡¯s about respecting such courageous women. ¡°They were violated by many means, tortured by countless people, and even locked up with drugged dogs¡­ In just these few days, they were no longer recognizable as human, but they weren¡¯t actually dead because they couldn¡¯t even manage that¡­¡± ¡°When I went to rescue them, their limbs had been chopped off, and they were turned into dolls¡­ They begged me to kill them¡ªthough they had no tongues and couldn¡¯t speak, I could see the plea for death in their eyes, so¡­ I killed them.¡± Gao Hua ruffled his hair. He was also a hardened killer, who didn¡¯t even blink when he killed the old lady and her grandson. But now, recalling the tragic state of those women, he felt a profound heaviness in his heart. ¡°The reason why there are four members of the Hunter Team still alive is that they were next in line to be put in the cage with the zombies, and their turn hadn¡¯t come yet¡­¡± ¡°What I¡¯ve told you is the situation on the third sub-level of that underground mall. Only core members can access the third sub-level; ordinary people can¡¯t get in¡­¡± Bang! Wei Zhenguo punched the car door with a face full of murderous intent. ¡°They¡¯re looking for death, to torture my people like that!¡± Just hearing Gao Hua¡¯s description, he could feel the cruelty and despair, let alone the actual sufferers¡­ Han Rui¡¯s face turned pale. She had been a policewoman for many years and seen many heinous crimes, but this was the closest and most relatable to her. She didn¡¯t dare to imagine what it would be like if she were captured¡­ Wang Tao¡¯s face was expressionless, but his pupils were filled with raging fury. Shao Yong¡¯s Base and everyone inside who had participated were condemned to death in his mind. ¡°No wonder they didn¡¯t contact us again after capturing the Hunter Team. They never had any intention to negotiate; they just wanted to torture our base members to death!¡± Wei Zhenguo closed his eyes. But at that moment, Gao Hua suddenly said: ¡°No, maybe that¡¯s not it. Shao Yong and his people actually wanted a ransom¡­.¡± Chapter 188 - Chapter 188: Chapter 114 Gao Huas Chapter 188: Chapter 114 Gao Hua¡¯s Translator: 549690339 Method of Rescue_3 ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± Wang Tao frowned and glanced at Gao Hua. ¡°Because several of Shao Yong¡¯s core members got trapped a few days ago! And the walkie-talkie that connects to our base was on one of his men. Our walkie-talkies are military grade, and other walkie-talkies can¡¯t reach our base, so that¡¯s why there¡¯s been no news¡­ Oh right, Shao Yong also got trapped. He went out this morning, and an hour later, one of his men came back in a panic, saying that the boss was trapped and needed reinforcements. But I¡¯m not clear on the specifics¡­¡± Gao Hua quickly explained. ¡°Shao Yong got trapped? Where?¡± Wei Zhenguo opened his eyes wide, asking eagerly and excitedly. As long as he knew the enemy¡¯s location, he would definitely kick them while they were down! ¡°Trapped in our county¡¯s First Hospital¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo opened his mouth. Forget about his previous thought, as if he never said it. The First Hospital, what was that! It was probably the most dangerous place in Shuize County now! Elite Zombies had already appeared there even before they became a common sight elsewhere. He had already lost men in that place¡­ And now that there were more Elite Zombies on the streets and the ordinary ones had also gotten stronger, one could only imagine how strong the zombies in the First Hospital must be! It was unthinkable! That place didn¡¯t need someone to kick it while it was down; Shao Yong would probably not be able to hold on for long. ¡°The First Hospital¡­¡± Wang Tao, however, furrowed his brows. Chen Zhuang had previously warned him that there were many Elite Zombies in the First Hospital and he must not go there. He had thought before that if he had the chance, he would definitely visit the hospital since there were so many Elite Zombies, which meant Crystal Cores and loot! Now that Shao Yong and others were inside, that was another reason he couldn¡¯t ignore. Because for his enemies, Wang Tao had to see their dead bodies or witness their deaths with his own eyes to feel at ease! Now it all depended on the committee¡¯s decision. If they decided to retaliate against Shao Yong¡¯s Base now, then he would postpone his plan for a while If they decided not to retaliate for the time being, then he had to visit the hospital no matter what. If the hospital really was that dangerous, then he would just scout around outside and not go in. ¡°By the way, what was your situation inside? How did you escape today¡¯ Your speed was too fast. If 1 didn¡¯t trust your character, I¡¯d suspect that you were turned!¡± Wang Tao shook his head with curiosity. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Gao Hua was filled with emotion. It turns out his efforts were rewarded! By openly expressing such suspicions, it meant that Wang Tao did not doubt him. If he really harbored suspicions, he would never have said it out loud. ¡°I know Shao Yong, and our relationship used to be quite good. So when I went to join him, he entertained me immediately after he found out.¡± ¡°However, he¡¯s not the same as before. He used to be somewhat arrogant but Still very sunny and decent in his dealings with people. But now¡­ he¡¯s very irritable, scheming, and extremely proud, looking down on everyone. And he is particularly keen on matters of men and women; he has over twenty women in the base, as well as many female slaves¡­¡± ¡°Of course, none of that affects me for the moment. I talked about our past cooperation, gradually closed the distance with him, and initially gained his trust. Then he brought me to his core area, the third sub-level.¡± ¡°The situation on the third sub-level that I mentioned earlier was seen during that time. Then while he was torturing his female slaves, I took the chance to contact the Hunter Team members as his ¡®brother¡¯ in the third sub-level¡­¡± ¡°Because I spent the whole day with Shao Yong touring his base, a lot of people saw me, and they¡¯d never seen Shao Yong treat someone so importantly, so they didn¡¯t doubt my ¡®brother¡¯ identity. Of course, I didn¡¯t do anything. I just wanted to visit these ¡®slaves¡¯ and naturally, they didn¡¯t stop me¡­¡± ¡°I learned some information from the Hunter Team members, confirmed that there were a few people left, then I started planning the rescue -1 didn¡¯t expect to succeed today, but little did I know Shao Yong would be trapped, and his combat-capable men would go rescue him. The underground mall was short-staffed, and I saw it as a good opportunity!¡± ¡°So, I created a huge mess for them to deal with, and while they were too busy to care, I ran out with the few surviving members of the Hunter Team. The moment we got out, I contacted you. I didn¡¯t dare to make contact while I was inside the base, fearing it would expose me¡­¡± Listening to Gao Hua speak, Han Rui suddenly asked: ¡°What kind of chaos did you create? Not only did it allow you to escape in the confusion, but it also kept them too busy to chase after you?¡± Han Rui was very attentive; she noticed that along the way, she hadn¡¯t seen any other survivors. Logically speaking, if Gao Hua had managed to escape with his people, they should have been noticed, and the other side should have sent someone to pursue them, right? Could it be that they were short on manpower? Or was the chaos so great that they didn¡¯t even realize Gao Hua had fled? Gao Hua glanced at Wang Tao before speaking quietly with his head slightly lowered: ¡°I¡­ I lured a large group of zombies into the underground mall.¡± Wang Tao and the other two were somewhat shocked as they looked at Gao Hua. This chaos¡­ was indeed massive! No, it was no longer a question of how big it was; this was essentially setting the pace for the annihilation of the entire underground mall base! The zombie virus was infectious; if even one person in the base got infected, it could potentially lead to a large outbreak! He had drawn a large group of zombies into the base, infecting many, and then those people went on to infect others, and the cycle continued¡­ The thought of it was unimaginable! ¡°This is an opportunity!¡± Wei Zhenguo suddenly declared. -Indeed, it is an opportunity! Should we call in the troops? Go and have a look at the underground mall?¡± Wang Tao looked at Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Exactly what I had in mind!¡± After the vehicle returned to the base, Wei Zhenguo immediately went to call in the troops, and Han Rui also prepared to go out. Only Wang Tao and Gao Hua were left in the car. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to rest for a while?¡± Wang Tao turned his head and asked. ¡°Thanks for the concern, but it¡¯s not necessary for me. I actually didn¡¯t expend much energy¡­¡± First, Gao Hua thanked Wang Tao, then he said in a low voice: Big brother, actually, I¡¯ve kept some things from you¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°The reason Shao Yong got trapped is probably because I poured an entire bottle of Weakness Potion into his water bottle¡­¡± II II Well done, that¡¯s quite an achievement! ¡°Actually, before I lured the zombies in, there was already a zombie crisis inside the base-I didn¡¯t directly kill those four poor Female Hunters. After explaining the situation to them, I smeared them with zombie blood that I had prepared in advance. That got those core members who went to toy with them in the morning infected with the zombie virus¡­ and then chaos broke out internally! Only then was I able to take the opportunity to draw in the outside zombies for a pincer attack from the inside and outside¡­¡± Chapter 189 - Chapter 189: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Parti Chapter 189: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Parti Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao looked at Gao Hua with a strange expression. Originally, when he heard that Gao Hua had lured zombies into the enemy¡¯s base, Wang Tao thought he was ruthless enough. But he had not expected that before leading the zombies in, Gao Hua had also incited chaos within, and the reason for the chaos was because he had smeared zombie blood on those poor women¡­ To be honest, if Wang Tao had to do it himself, he felt he could at most lead the zombies in, and even that would put him under certain psychological pressure, after all, no one is born evil, and there definitely are innocent survivors inside the base¡­ As for using those women¡¯s bodies to lay poison, Wang Tao might not even consider that step. Yet Gao Hua did it, and he succeeded. Emotionally speaking, it wasn¡¯t very nice to do so. Those women had already been tortured to that extent, and yet he still treated them that way¡­ But rationally, this was indeed an appropriate method. Anyway, those women also wanted to die, so letting them play a role before passing away can be considered a worthy death¡­ ¡°Big brother, I didn¡¯t mean to deceive you, it¡¯s just that there were too many people just now¡­¡± With more people, there are more considerations. Gao Hua wasn¡¯t sure if his actions would offend others, so he hadn¡¯t dared to speak up. However, he didn¡¯t want to deceive Wang Tao either, so he told Wang Tao privately. Wang Tao looked at him deeply, then said: ¡°Who else knows about these things?¡± ¡°Only I know¡­¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t bring it up again.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Gao Hua¡¯s face lit up with joy. He just wanted to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails. As long as Wang Tao didn¡¯t despise him, he didn¡¯t care about anything else. ¡°Are you also going with us later?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Yes, I want to go take a look¡­¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more. Soon enough, quite a few people had assembled inside the base, and Xiang Hongbin and the others had also returned. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± The base¡¯s gate opened, and several vehicles rushed out. In the electric off-road vehicle, Gao Hua was driving. Wang Tao and Han Rui sat in the back. Gao Hua was somewhat excited. He naturally hated zombies to the core, and he didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity for mass zombie killing, even if it was just to watch¡ªit was because he felt that there probably weren¡¯t many living people left in the underground mall. Wang Tao said to Han Rui: ¡°I estimate that the underground mall is now all zombies. When you see people later, you don¡¯t need to hold back.¡± His thoughts were similar to Gao Hua¡¯s. If it was just luring zombies in from the outside, with proper defense, there would still be some survivors, but if the inside had already turned to chaos, then this base was basically finished. Especially since it was an underground base with several entrances sealed off, and there was no way to escape¡­ ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui nodded. The convoy encountered some zombies on the road, but they were quickly taken care of. As for encountering elite zombies or the like, everyone was too busy to bother with them. Taking down the underground shopping mall was the most important task. Still, it took them quite a while to reach the underground mall since they had to dodge large swarms of zombies on the road and couldn¡¯t go too fast. The vehicles stopped not far from one of the entrances to the underground mall, and seeing the entrance wide open with zombies inside, everyone shook their heads. This underground mall base was essentially done for. Wang Tao and Han Rui got out of the car, and after a moment of hesitation, Gao Hua quickly followed. With so many people around, he felt his safety should still be ensured. ¡°Some of you stay outside to keep watch, the rest follow me in!¡± Wei Zhenguo, holding a military shield in one hand and a firefighter axe in the other, walked at the forefront. Xiang Hongbin, with similar equipment, was half a step behind him. Wang Tao and Han Rui followed behind Xiang Hongbin, with Gao Hua right behind Wang Tao. Wang Tao turned his head to look at him: ¡°Be careful on your own.¡± ¡°I understand!¡± Lu Gang hadn¡¯t come; he and a few others had climbed to the top of the mall earlier. They were responsible for observing the surroundings, monitoring the zombies, as well as watching to see if Shao Yong and his men would suddenly return, although they were trapped, it wasn¡¯t impossible for them to escape. Feng Ming¡¯an did not go inside either. His Slime Spitter Ability was suitable for sneak attacks, but not very fitting for frontal combat. After all, he couldn¡¯t spit far, and a single spit would leave his stomach upset for a while, greatly affecting the combat rhythm. It was better for him to keep watch outside. So the current Ability Users participating in the battle included Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, Wang Tao, and Han Rui. The four Ability Users led the others into the underground mall. The underground mall wasn¡¯t as dim as Wang Tao had imagined. There were skylights overhead, and with a large generator, the area was slightly dark but still visible. Seeing the fierce-looking zombies among them, mixed with a few ¡°prettier¡± looking zombies, Wei Zhenguo took a deep breath. ¡°Rush!¡± He mentally prepared himself. A faint light shield appeared around him and then he pushed off with his right foot, charging towards the group of ordinary zombies. Bang! The zombies he hit were either smashed to pieces or sent flying. He inflicted a large number of deaths and injuries in an instant! Gao Hua, watching this scene from not far away, widened his eyes in astonishment. He was aware of the existence of Ability Users; after all, there were rumors in the base that several committee members were Ability Users. Shao Yong and several of his subordinates were also Ability Users. Chapter 190 - Chapter 190: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Part 2 Chapter 190: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Part 2 Translator: 549690339 But it was his first time witnessing an Ability User in action. Wei Zhenguo was like a raging bull, directly sending over ten zombies flying and even shattering them! And here these ordinary people had to use every trick in the book to kill a single zombie, and it could still go south¡­ The gap was just too damn huge! He wanted to become an Ability User too! At that moment, Xiang Hongbin also rushed forth. Likewise, with a charge, he slammed into the zombies blocking his path, killing over ten. However, after rushing through, Xiang Hongbin swung his axe as well. In an instant, a faintly colored Shockwave spread out from him in all directions, immediately slaughtering several more zombies. ¡°Two abilities!¡± Not only Gao Hua, but the other soldiers were also amazed by this scene. They knew their officer was an Ability User, but they had no idea he had two abilities. Gao Hua glanced at the two men wreaking havoc, then at Wang Tao. He was eager to see how strong Wang Tao was¡ªalthough Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin were both strong, he still believed Wang Tao was the strongest; he felt his judgement couldn¡¯t be wrong. However, Wang Tao did not make much of a move; he simply used his hand crossbow to snipe with Han Rui from a distance. The main reason was that the area was somewhat dim, not very big, and their abilities were all ranged attacks, which could easily cause friendly fire¡­ Plus, Wang Tao could use the opportunity to practice his Arrow Technique. In no time, the zombies on the negative first floor were wiped out. As for the survivors there¡­ not one was left. And judging by the zombies that had clearly turned recently, this floor must have had at least fifty survivors. All fifty-odd people were infected¡­ Wang Tao subconsciously glanced at Gao Hua. All of this was his handiwork. The group advanced toward the negative second floor. It was slightly darker there, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem; Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin continued their mighty onslaught, and after some time, the second floor was also cleared. ¡°The next level is up to you,¡± Wei Zhenguo said to Wang Tao, a mix of excitement and helplessness in his voice. Using the Rush Ability felt great, but it drained too much energy. He could only use it three times in quick succession, after which he would fall into a state of exhaustion. He had gotten a little overexcited and used up all three chances¡­ Xiang Hongbin was slightly better off, but he only had 200 mana, and Rush consumed 30 mana while Shockwave took 20 mana. Combining both abilities, he couldn¡¯t use them too many times either, and now he was feeling somewhat lethargic. Wang Tao was a bit speechless; he had already told them to exercise restraint. They agreed with their mouths, saying ¡°ok, ok, ok,¡± but their bodies didn¡¯t lie, and they were now nearly drained. This was their first time in actual combat with their abilities, and they weren¡¯t quite accustomed to it! Fortunately, there were fewer zombies on the negative second floor, only about thirty in total. Otherwise, they probably would have had to call on Wang Tao for help earlier. ¡°Okay, you guys rest up first,¡± Wang Tao said, nodding, then led the way with Han Rui closely following behind. Upon entering the third basement floor, it was noticeably different. Aside from the smell of blood, there were all sorts of strange odors. It was quite unsettling. Moreover, the layout of the third floor was different from the two floors above: those had been mostly the original layout, while the third had been reorganized. Signs hung in each area. ¡°Storage Area, Rest Area, Cage Fight Area, Slave District, Dog Training Area¡­¡± Looking at these signs, Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. Shao Yong really knew how to play! There didn¡¯t seem to be many zombies on the third floor, at least the group didn¡¯t see many upon descending. But no one let their guard down, especially when Han Rui whispered to Wang Tao that there were a large number of zombies in the areas ahead. Wang Tao had everyone on alert, ready to fight at any moment. ¡°They¡¯re inside these areas! There are also some Elite Zombies and survivors¡­¡± Han Rui pointed in the direction of the Cage Fight Area, Slave District, and Dog Training Area. The doors to these areas were closed, so one couldn¡¯t see the specifics inside. Wang Tao walked up to the Cage Fight Area at the front and violently pushed open the door. Under the flickering yellow lights, there was a huge iron cage. Inside the cage, a naked man and woman covered in blood clung to each other¡ªboth were alive. Outside the cage, a group of zombies were clawing at it, gnashing their teeth. When Wang Tao opened the door, the zombies suddenly turned around, their eyes, that resembled those of someone with cataracts, stared intently at Wang Tao. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± In an instant, the zombies changed their target and ran toward Wang Tao. Facing the oncoming horde of zombies, Wang Tao stood his ground. When they drew near, Wang Tao raised his axe and brought it down squarely on the head of the fastest one. Pfft! [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [¡­] A Shockwave, significantly larger than Xiang Hongbin¡¯s, appeared. In just a moment, the group of zombies fell to the ground like reaped wheat, their bodies shattered by the Shockwave, creating a bloody mess around. Even the nearby walls and pillars appeared unstable¡­ Gao Hua, who was huddled behind, saw this and was instantly thrilled. ¡°I knew it, Wang Tao is definitely stronger!¡± Wang Tao looked at the ruined walls around him, feeling somewhat speechless. Originally, the Shockwave Ability had a maximum attack range of three meters in diameter, half the size of that of the Rioters zombies. But after merging with ten shockwave crystal cores, his Shockwave now had a six-meter diameter, matching the range of the Rioters zombies.. Chapter 191 - Chapter 191: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Chapter 191: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Part 3 Translator: 549690339 The range of six meters in diameter might sound small, but in reality, it¡¯s quite substantial. Especially in an indoor setting with walls, the shockwave hit directly against them. Thankfully, they were reinforced concrete walls. If it had been ordinary brick, they probably would have collapsed¡­ ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll have to be a bit more careful with the force of the attack¡­¡± Wang Tao glanced at the iron cage, where the two survivors inside had their eyes widened, seemingly still in disbelief at everything that had just transpired. Wang Tao paid them no mind and turned to the next area instead. Other people hurried over to unlock the cage and find out the conditions of the two survivors. The Slave District was located further inside and spanned a vast area, surrounded by iron fences. Approaching closer, it was clear that there were many zombies inside, as well as survivors. However, the survivors had been locked inside dog cages, which had inadvertently protected them from the zombie attacks. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± Upon noticing the newcomers, the zombies immediately began to roar, wanting to come out. But the doors of these iron fences in the Slave District opened inwards, and the zombies didn¡¯t know how to pull, so after entering they got stuck at the entrance and couldn¡¯t get out. This was an excellent opportunity to kill zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t lift a finger himself, but gave the chance to the soldiers, letting them hack the zombies to death through the iron fences with knives and firefighter axes, as it could increase their HP limit. Wang Tao reached the last area with zombies, which also contained Elite Zombies¡ªthe Dog Training Area. The ¡®training¡¯ referred to here was obviously not in the literal sense, but rather this area was filled with female slaves that Shao Yong had collected. The four Female Hunters who had been previously captured were inside this place. The door was left half open, and Gao Hua informed Wang Tao that when he left, there should have been more than a dozen people inside, likely all turned into zombies by now. It was unclear how many remained. After confirming with Han Rui that there were no zombies behind the door, Wang Tao opened it. Suddenly, an even more foul stench wafted out. Even wearing a mask, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but frown at the smell. This area was particularly well-lit, as if all the electricity from the generator was being supplied here. Under the bright light, naked women were positioned and fixed in various poses. Some were cruciform, inverted, and locked to the wall; some sat on chairs full of spikes; some had wires inserted into their bodies; some were pregnant, tied to beds¡­ Without exception, they were all dead. Either they were devoured, or they had turned into zombies. The floor, the walls, and even the ceiling were covered with a mixture of blood and all sorts of disordered fluids. At the entrance, there was a display case with human tissues inside, arranged like specimens. [-1] [-1] Even Wang Tao was losing HP at the sight of this scene. But he didn¡¯t have time to be disgusted because, in the farthest part of the room, there were four Elite Zombies. They were wearing relatively decent clothes on their upper bodies but were naked below. Upon seeing Wang Tao, their cataract-veiled eyes stared, and their faces twisted in distortion as they rushed toward him. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Wang Tao let out a deep breath, needing to vent. Then, he activated his Precise Shooting Ability. In an instant, the whole world seemed to become more vibrant. Wang Tao pulled out two firefighter axes from behind his back and hurled them straight at the first zombie that ran at him. Squelch! The first axe struck the zombie¡¯s head with precision, sinking deep into it. [-2300] [0/2300] Thud! The zombie fell to the ground. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even know what ability it had. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao threw his second axe at another zombie with a big belly. Splat! [-1500 HP] [0/1500 HP] It was still an instant kill. However, this zombie spat a mouthful of sticky fluid at Wang Tao just before dying, but its attack was too close and didn¡¯t even touch the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. Wang Tao took out the two firefighter axes hanging at his waist again. Whoosh¡ª He threw them at two other zombies. Without activating his precise shooting ability, he could at most aim and throw an axe at one zombie, and even then, he might not hit the target. But after activating his ability, within a certain range, he could aim at two objects in the same direction simultaneously, and with high precision. Splat! The third firefighter axe hit a zombie square in the eye, embedding itself in its head. [-1800 HP] [0/1800 HP] As for the fourth zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s last axe hit it in the forehead, but the damage was not significant. [-234 HP] [1766/2000 HP] Seeing the opponent¡¯s stiff body and black skin, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. ¡°Toughness¡­¡± This was clearly a side effect of the Toughness Crystal Core. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The zombie charged at Wang Tao with bared teeth and flailing claws, but its speed was so slow it was almost comical. Wang Tao took out his last axe and walked directly toward this zombie. Bang! Bang! Bang! The axe chopping on its head really felt like a sledgehammer. However, its toughness was obviously not as good as the Toughness zombie Wang Tao had encountered before. After five consecutive axe blows, the zombie¡¯s skull could no longer endure, and it burst open. Whew¡ª Having killed four elite zombies in a row, Wang Tao exhaled deeply and quickly gathered the spoils before ending the ¡°precision shooting¡± state¡ªhe had just discovered that the precision shooting state also enhanced close combat! It allowed him to land all six axes on the same spot, making each blow inflict more damage than the last. If it had been before, he would¡¯ve had to swing seven or eight more times. From the moment Wang Tao entered the door to when he killed the four elite zombies, it might seem like a long time, but in reality, it was less than a minute. Han Rui and Wei Zhenguo had been ready to provide support this whole time but were afraid of getting in the way. When they saw Wang Tao swiftly handle the situation, they all breathed a sigh of relief. It was only because Wang Tao saw that these zombies¡¯ HP was not high that he wanted to try killing them alone. If any zombie had over three thousand HP, he would have called everyone to attack together. Zombies, like humans, gain a lot of combat strength with every thousand HP, and the difference between two thousand and three thousand HP is not small. The others entered, surveying the surroundings; when they saw several dead elite zombies, some of which had been whittled down to sticks or even fashioned into ¡°chairs,¡± they felt both disgusted and sad since these were people from their base.. Chapter 192 - Chapter 192: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards l Chapter 192: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Little Ting¡­¡± As they looked at these pitiful women, someone sobbed uncontrollably. Thwack! Xiang Hongbin pulled out a dagger and took care of the four female zombies one by one. Han Rui felt her scalp tingle. Just how vile a person must one be to commit such acts? Even a thousand cuts wouldn¡¯t be too many for such people! However, Han Rui was also confused. Hadn¡¯t Gao Hua said that he killed these women? So how did they turn into zombies? Gao Hua also felt a bit queasy, but he was observing everyone. Seeing the confusion in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, he hastily explained, ¡°Unless the head is violently destroyed, even the dead will turn into zombies once infected by the virus¡­¡± He was lying. But such things had happened; he had seen it himself¡ªa survivor jumped from a building and, by chance, crushed a zombie. Both died, but merely a minute later, the survivor climbed back up as a zombie. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is¡­¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t doubt his words. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao glanced at Gao Hua. Seeing Gao Hua¡¯s affirmative look, Wang Tao pondered. He hadn¡¯t witnessed such events himself, but Gao Hua had no reason to deceive him. He¡¯d need to be more careful in the future. Beyond the four female zombies, Wei Zhenguo ordered others to kill the rest of the pitiful women who had turned into zombies. ¡°Aside from those slaves and Shao Yong¡¯s group outside, there are no more living humans in this base¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo glanced at Gao Hua. A ruthless man indeed, to have single-handedly wiped out a Survivor Base! ¡°Gather up the supplies, then let¡¯s leave quickly!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately called out. Though the fight had been underground, he couldn¡¯t guarantee it wouldn¡¯t attract other zombies. It was best to leave swiftly. ¡°Yes!¡± The group immediately sprang into action. As detestable as the people in this base were, supplies were innocent and should not be wasted. Still, everyone was somewhat displeased. One reason was witnessing the gruesome acts, and another was the lost opportunity for personal vengeance. When everyone had arrived, these people had already turned into zombies. Though their bodies remained the same, they were no longer the same people. This kind of revenge was certainly dissatisfying. ¡°Lucky for them, had they held on a bit longer, I assure you they would have begged for death!¡± Xiang Hongbin punched a wall fiercely. He was infuriated. Based on what these people had done, dying a million times wouldn¡¯t be too much; letting them become zombies was letting them off easy. But there was nothing he could do about his frustration. He certainly couldn¡¯t run to the hospital to seek revenge on Shao Yong¡­ ¡°Sigh, let¡¯s go.¡± Wei Zhenguo patted his shoulder, and the group began an orderly retreat. Wang Tao returned to the vehicle, looked at Han Rui, whose face was still a bit pale, and squeezed her hand, saying, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Han Rui instinctively gripped Wang Tao¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°I¡¯m fine, though those images are hard to shake off¡­ I¡¯ll adjust soon, don¡¯t worry about me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui¡¯s HP bar, which was no longer losing blood, and said no more. The scene on the negative third floor had caused everyone who witnessed those things to lose blood to different extents. Even Gao Hua, who had seen it before, lost quite a bit of HP. Those things were practically a mental attack! Probably many would have nightmares tonight. However, Wang Tao noticed that, perhaps due to his strong spirit, he lost the least amount of HP, dropping only 1 point each time for a total loss of about a dozen points. Han Rui lost the most, a full 100 points. Indeed, women seemed to have a somewhat weaker psychological tolerance. Of course, it might also be related to the fact that the victims were women, provoking empathy in Han Rui. Wang Tao allowed Han Rui to keep holding his hand, not withdrawing it, and then he said to Gao Hua at the driver¡¯s seat, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Gao Hua quickly started the car and followed Wei Zhenguo and the others as they left. The trip back wasn¡¯t smooth. They encountered several large swarms of zombies and even Elite Zombies. But now Shuize Base had nearly mobilized its entire force, with six Ability Users alone, not to mention other soldiers, police, and combat personnel. Facing these Elite Zombies, Feng Ming¡¯an would stealthily approach first, vomiting to ensnare the Elite Zombies. Then Wang Tao and others would finish them off. The Elite Zombies they encountered were all types they had seen before, so they knew the tactics to use against them, which meant there was little danger. After killing several Elite Zombies and the sun had set entirely, the convoy finally made it back to the base safely. ¡°Phew¡ªWe¡¯ve finally returned safely!!¡± Once everyone got off the vehicles, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Their mission of revenge was fraught with life-threatening danger, not just in the underground mall but also during the journey there and back. Thankfully, their luck held, and the careful planning of their route by Wei Zhenguo, who explicitly avoided some of the more dangerous areas, meant that despite some twists and turns, they returned without major incident. ¡°Everyone, take a good rest for a few days and avoid going out¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo addressed the crowd. Though the operation was successful, everyone was tired, both physically and mentally, and needed ample rest. ¡°Yes!¡± People nodded and then dispersed. ¡°You two go ahead and get back first, I¡¯ll go upstairs. The post-battle rewards and such, we¡¯ll start with that tomorrow.¡± Wang Tao said to Han Rui and Gao Hua. ¡°Yes! Brother, if you need anything, just command. I¡¯ll head off first..¡± Chapter 193 - Chapter 193: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards_2 Chapter 193: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards_2 Translator: 549690339 I ¡°Hmm.¡± After Wang Tao nodded, Gao Hua left. Han Rui seemed hesitant to speak. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Han Rui lowered her head and left. Wang Tao watched Han Rui¡¯s retreating figure with some confusion but did not ask further questions. He went upstairs, where, apart from a few committee members, there were also slaves from the underground marketplace. In total, there were twelve people, eight men and four women. ¡°Talk about what your situation was like, don¡¯t worry, you are safe now.¡± A woman with light makeup and a soft voice began speaking to them. These slaves had been tortured, some to the point where their mental states were abnormal. And since Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo, and the others didn¡¯t exactly give off a friendly vibe, a woman was specifically brought in to talk to them. Several people were huddled in the corner, too scared to look directly at everyone. Some stared blankly, looking like idiots. Only two of them appeared somewhat alert, clinging tightly to each other. They were the man and woman previously discovered in a large iron cage. Wang Tao¡¯s gaze turned to these two. Perhaps because Wang Tao had rescued them, they looked excited subconsciously and then started to speak in a faltering manner: ¡°We¡­¡± They were a young couple that had, by luck, avoided the first wave of disaster when the virus broke out. They lived above a vegetable market, which allowed them to risk fetching some food and survive for quite a long time. But one day, when they went out, they encountered people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base. The couple had hardly come across any other survivors after the apocalypse, so they had no real concept of the depravity of human nature. Mistaking them for a rescue team, they greeted them openly, only to be brought to the underground marketplace. They thought they¡¯d be safe from then on, but that was where the nightmare began! Every woman who joined the base had to be inspected by Shao Yong, and the purpose was clear. Then, Shao Yong took a liking to the wife. The husband and wife, naturally, were unwilling, so Shao Yong directly threatened the wife with her husband¡¯s life. With no choice, to save her husband, she submitted to Shao Yong. Though heartbroken, the husband thought that if this meant his wife could live well, he would be glad for her¡ªwhat else could he do when he was powerless to resist? But little did they know, Shao Yong was a devil. After his novelty wore off, he threw the wife to his subordinates, and she immediately suffered unspeakable torment¡­ At that time, Shao Yong had also welded together an iron cage to make people fight each other or the undead inside, for his amusement. The husband was chosen, and he thought he would die at the hands of the undead, as every fight between man and undead had ended that way before. But he was naive¡ªShao Yong made him fight his own wife! The rule was that only one of them could come out alive. If they refused to fight, they would both perish. The couple had already resolved to die; dying together, perhaps, was a decent option. But just then, Shao Yong suddenly left, and did not return. Zombies then began to appear within the base. Deciding it was part of Shao Yong¡¯s scheduled show, no one dared to act without his orders, so they left the couple locked in the cage and ignored them. Unexpectedly, a zombie outbreak occurred within the base, and people began to get infected. Being in the iron cage, the couple actually escaped the disaster¡­ Then, there was Wang Tao opening the door, appearing before them, taking down more than a dozen with his axe. About Shao Yong, they knew not much, only that he was extremely brutal. Not to mention treating people as slaves and deliberately torturing them, he had even killed several of his own subordinates! As for Shao Yong¡¯s strength, they weren¡¯t quite sure; they only saw the terrifying scene of Shao Yong smashing the skull of a slave with the palm of his hand¡­ The small testimony of the couple slowly encouraged the other slaves to speak as well. What surprised Wang Tao was that among the four women, two had been employees of the old marketplace, meaning they were two of the five female slaves that Cao Xin had given to Shao Yong. As for the remaining three female slaves, they were reportedly tormented to death by Shao Yong¡­ After listening to everyone¡¯s descriptions of the underground marketplace and their accusations against Shao Yong, the expressions on Wei Zhenguo and the others weren¡¯t good. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take you down. Shuize Base is different from other places. We don¡¯t have slaves here, nor oppression. We work to have enough food to eat¡­¡± The gentle-voiced woman led the pitiable group away along with several soldiers. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± After everyone had gone, Wei Zhenguo, who had kept a stern face, sighed deeply. He was deeply pained by such matters, but he was powerless to do anything. The expressions on the faces of the others were also grim. Although they hadn¡¯t seen such a scene, except for Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin, just hearing about it was cruel enough. ¡°Everyone should go get some rest now. We¡¯ll talk about anything else tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± With heavy hearts, everyone nodded and left. Just as Wang Tao was about to return downstairs, he didn¡¯t expect to find Han Rui by his car. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go back?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. Han Rui, lost in thought, didn¡¯t even notice Wang Tao approaching, and his voice startled her.. Chapter 194 - Chapter 194: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards 3 Chapter 194: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Cough, I¡­ I was hoping you could come over to my place. Han Rui said, somewhat embarrassed. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao drove to Han Rui¡¯s house. Sun Weiguang was not there. ¡°Let me get you some food¡­¡± Han Rui quickly tried to get up. Forget it, let¡¯s just have something simple.¡± Wang Tao took out several bottles of nutrient supplements and handed two to Han Rui. There probably wasn¡¯t much good food at Han Rui¡¯s place, maybe just some gruel exchanged with ration tickets, Wang Tao thought it was easier to have the nutrient supplements. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Han Rui found the nutrient supplements quite palatable. After drinking one bottle, she felt like she could have more. Then she looked at Wang Tao with some anticipation and said, ¡°Could you, urn, not leave tonight¡­?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you think, it¡¯s just that I¡­ I¡¯m a little scared¡­¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Seeing Han Rui with hands clasped together and a pleading look on her face Wang Tao nodded. After all, it didn¡¯t matter where he slept. ter washing up, they lay on the bed, with Han Rui snuggling into Wang Tao¡¯s arms, her head resting on his chin. Wang Tao held Han Rui, smelling the fragrance of her shampoo. Neither of them spoke or showed much interest in doing so. After all, the things they had seen during the day were still vivid in their minds. Once he felt that Han Rui was alright, Wang Tao turned his attention to his earnings for the day. Although the things he experienced today were not pleasant, the gains were substantial. Before going out, his HP was [2650], then he killed those four Elite Zombies on the third basement floor of the underground mall, with each zombie adding 5o HP, increasing his total HP by 200. On the way back, he encountered a few more Elite Zombies, one adding 5o HP and two adding 40 HP each, so now he¡¯s at [2968/2980] HP. He was just 20 HP short of 3000, which was deliberately controlled by Wang Tao. He encountered several Elite Zombies on the road, but he only killed three, leaving the rest for Wei Zhenguo, Han Rui, and the others. The main reason was that there was still some distance to the base, and Wang Tao was afraid that something might go wrong if he fell into deep sleep. For safety, he dared not increase his HP to 3000 at that time. NOW that he¡¯s only 20 HP away, he just has to go out again tomorrow and kill any special zombie at random. Besides the increase in HP, his gains included the Crystal Cores and spoils from Killing the zombies. The Crystal Cores dropped by those four Elite Zombies in the third basement were Toughness, Shockwave, Slime Spitter, and Rush. But they looked different from the Elite Zombies he had seen before not having any pronounced features. For example, a Terrorizer would always hold a heavy weapon, and an Attacker¡¯s body would be deformed, with one side much larger, etc. Wang Tao speculated that this was probably related to their original identities. They were Ability Users who had fused with Zombie Cores and were then infected and turned into zombies, not those naturally evolved zombies. Not only did they look different, but their Crystal Cores were also different from those of native zombies, being all green but dark green. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Toughness] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: Darkening of the skin, body stiffening)] The Toughness Crystal Core was 55% rare quality, which was the first time Wang Tao had seen such a number. The green Crystal Core that he had gotten from Cao Xin, the hitman, was 50% rare quality, but that core was light green and had no side effects. This core, however, was dark green and came with side effects. Compared to an ordinary Crystal Core, other than the fact that its quality is a bit strange, there aren¡¯t any significant differences. The other three Crystal Cores are also deep green in color. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: light sensitivity in eyes)] [Level 1 Crystal CoreSlime Spitter] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: enlarged stomach, reduced defense)] [Level 1 Crystal Core-Rush] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: limb stiffness)] Looking at these four Crystal Cores, all with a rarity of 55¡ã/0, Wang Tao felt that eir Crystal Cores were slowly transforming from human towards zombie¡­ While they were still human, their Crystal Cores should be like Cao Xin¡¯s, with a 50% quality and no side effects. But after turning into zombies, their Crystal Cores were also slowly morphing towards the zombie state, hence the natural emergence of side effects. Perhaps, after some time, they would become those Elite Zombies with more distinct physical characteristics, and the quality of their Crystal Cores might become 60% Excellent¡­ Of course, these were all Wang Tao¡¯s speculations, to know the specifics, further observation was needed. Besides the Crystal Cores, these four zombies naturally dropped loot as well. [Slime Grenade Blueprint xi], [slime Grenade x5], [Defense Potion x5] [Strength Potion x5], [Rush Right Knee Blueprint xi][Rush Left Knee Blueprint XI J. Slime Grenades and Potions are common items. What made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up was the ¡°Rush Knee Guards.¡± [Rush Right Knee Blueprint: Can be used to craft a knee guard. Required materials: Iron Block X2, Steel Wire x2, Screws x2, Blade X2, Nails X2, Rubber X2, Plastic X2, Cable X2, Electronic Components X2, Battery X2] [Rush Right Knee: Tough in texture, can block blades and firearms. Durability +10, defensive power +10] The attributes of these Rush Knee Guards seemed to be similar to the Rush Arm Guard, so the effect was probably about the same. Maybe they would provide additional speed and strength for knee strikes? However, Wang Tao rarely used hand-to-hand combat techniques when fighting zombies; he would just swing his axe at vital spots, since zombies didn t know how to dodge anyway. Actually, whether it had attributes or not didn¡¯t really matter; the main point was that this equipment provided strong defense! Even just as a protective gear, it was very comfortable. Moreover, what was more important was that he got both designs at once both left and right knee guards! He had all the materials, so now he could craft them. Wang Tao looked down to see Han Rui. She had already fallen asleep in his arms. So, Wang Tao took the items out and placed them on the bed. Craft! With a thought, a flash of light passed. Two matte black knee guards appeared in front of Wang Tao.. Chapter 195 - Chapter 195: Chapter 117: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation^ Chapter 195: Chapter 117: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation^ Translator: 549690339 I The Rush Knee Guards and arm guards had the same symmetric design and were adjustable in size. [Rush Right Knee: Tough in texture, able to block blades and bullets. Durability +10, defensive power +10] The left knee had the same attributes. Wang Tao wanted to test their effect, but just as he was about to get up, he saw Han Rui, still in her sleep, subconsciously hug him. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll try it tomorrow.¡± With a thought, Wang Tao stowed the knee guards into his Space Backpack, then gently stroked Han Rui¡¯s hair, slowly drifting off to sleep. The next day, early morning. When Wang Tao woke up, he found a pair of beautiful big eyes staring intently at him. As their gazes met, Han Rui quickly looked away, her head lowered, her ears reddening. ¡°Cough, you¡¯re awake¡­ You¡¯re holding me too tightly, I can¡¯t get up¡­¡± Wang Tao gave her a silent glance. Holding too tightly? When he slept holding Ding Yuqin, she always managed to get up before him every morning. Could Han Rui, who was so much stronger than Ding Yuqin, not be able to get up? Although he knew it was just an excuse, Wang Tao did not expose her. He patted Han Rui¡¯s bottom. ¡°Get up.¡± ¡öMm-¡¯ Han Rui sat up, dressing herself with her back to Wang Tao. Looking at her flawless back, Wang Tao suddenly felt like the two of them were like a married couple, of course, he sometimes felt the same with Ding Yuqin. Last night, Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t come back. He no longer stayed here but had moved in with Ou Yingying. Breakfast was hastily dealt with using some nutritional fluid before Wang Tao headed to the office in the comprehensive building. Everyone was feeling heavy-hearted after returning yesterday, so they rested early. But they had yet to diwy up the spoils of war, which naturally meant they would be distributed today. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in need of food and such for the time being. However, not needing didn¡¯t mean he shouldn¡¯t take his share. If he didn¡¯t, what would those who wanted some think? He couldn¡¯t be antisocial. Then came the highlight-the Crystal Cores. Wang Tao had also killed quite a number of Elite Zombies yesterday. He kept the Crystal Cores he could use and brought out the rest. ¡°Eh? Green Crystal Cores, but this one¡¯s color is a bit darker¡­¡± Seeing the three green Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, everyone was somewhat surprised. When Wang Tao killed the Elite Zombies on the negattve third floor yesterday, he did it quickly-killing zombies, extracting Crystal Cores, and collecting spoils all in one fluid motion. Therefore, they hadn¡¯t seen the appearance of the Crystal Cores. Wang Tao explained the attributes of these Crystal Cores and asked if anyone needed them. Xiang Hongbin took the shockwave crystal core, Wei Zhenguo took the Rush Crystal Core, and Feng Ming¡¯an took the Slime Spitter Crystal Core. Besides these three green Crystal Cores, Wang Tao had also killed other Elite Zombies on the way back and obtained some more Crystal Cores. They were distributed to the others, as he couldn¡¯t use them anyway. Of course, several of the Elite Zombies weren¡¯t killed by Wang Tao, but he could use their Crystal Cores, so the others saved them for him. They were one blue and one white Toughness Crystal Core. With these two Crystal Cores in hand, Wang Tao could synthesize another Epic Crystal Core! Wang Tao took back the Crystal Cores no one wanted, then discussed matters concerning Shao Yong¡¯s Base with the others. Although that underground mall was done for, Shao Yong might not be dead. They needed to make it clear to the Hunters to be wary when venturing out an to report back promptly if they spotted Shao Yong. Zhen Guo hesitated about whether to send someone to check the hospital. But the hospital was simply too dangerous; If they were to lose men there just to check on Shao Yong, it would be a loss not worth the cost. Hearing this, Wang Tao spoke up directly: ¡°I¡¯ll go. I¡¯ve been wanting to check out the hospital anyway.¡± ¡°Ah? You¡¯re going¡­¡± Everyone frowned, not because they didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to go, but because it was too dangerous, and if something happened to Wang Tao, the loss would be enormous. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t venture too deep. I¡¯ll just observe the outskirts,¡± said Wang Tao with a smile. He was definitely going to the hospital, but only after reaching 3000 HP. ¡°Alright, just be careful.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± After further discussions on base development, Wang Tao left first; he wasn¡¯t skilled in this area and thus didn¡¯t want to worry too much about it. Wang Tao was only 20 HP away from reaching 3000 now, so he planned to increase his HP today. After going downstairs, Han Rui was already waiting for him. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao took Han Rui to the car and left the base. He had been prepared to waste a whole day, as based on his past experience, the more you need something, the harder it seems to get. But luck was on his side today; just an hour later, Wang Tao saw a lone Suicide Bombing Zombie. He easily killed the Suicide Bombing Zombie with a Slime Grenade and then felt a wave of drowsiness come over him. Wang Tao glanced at his HP bar. [3020/3020] ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to base!¡± Wang Tao rushed to the car and Han Rui immediately headed back to the base. By the time they returned to the base, Wang Tao had already fallen asleep. Han Rui initially wanted to take Wang Tao back to his villa, but after some thoug t, she decided to bring Wang Tao back to her place instead. A couple of hours later, Wang Tao woke up. Feeling the surging strength in his body, he grinned. This boost in power was quite addictive! ¡°Congratulations!¡± Han Rui at the bedside genuinely congratulated him. -Haha! You need to enhance yourself too. I¡¯ll take you to kill some zombies tomorrow.¡± Wang Tao planned to make a trip to the hospital the next day.. Chapter 196 - Chapter 196: Chapter 117: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation_2 Chapter 196: Chapter 117: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui nodded some happily. She liked hunting zombies with Wang Tao; it made her feel exceedingly safe. ¡°You just get some good rest today, conserve your energy.¡± ¡°Mm!¡± Wang Tao returned to his own home, and Ding Yuqin, seeing the night-owl Wang Tao finally home, merely cast him a plaintive glance without daring to say much. She obediently went ahead to prepare lunch. During the meal, Wang Tao mentioned he would go hunting zombies the next day, and Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke up: ¡°Wang Tao, what if¡­ you take me with you tomorrow?¡± ¡°Older sister-in-law wants to go hunt zombies with me?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°Mm!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded and then said somewhat uncertainly, ¡°I can¡­ help you now, right?¡± She now had an HP of one thousand, and although she still lacked fighting capabilities, her physical condition had greatly improved, and she could help Wang Tao carry his bag. In case of danger, she also had the ability to escape on her own. Wang Tao, seeing the resolute look in Ding Yuqin¡¯s eyes, smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s good that you have this intention, big sis-in-law, but I might be hunting some very dangerous zombies, and you following me would not be of any use.¡± Wang Tao spoke bluntly. Ding Yuqin¡¯s face fell at once. It had taken a great deal of courage for her to decide to go out with Wang Tao, and in the end, Wang Tao still viewed her as a burden. She didn¡¯t blame Wang Tao; she blamed her own uselessness. Seeing the look on Ding Yuqin¡¯s face, Wang Tao immediately reached out to touch her cheek, and she instinctively tilted her head and rubbed her little face against Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do, 1¡¯11 arrange for someone to go out with you later. You start by hunting Ordinary zombies. With your current physical condition, hunting Ordinary zombies wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all, but you just lack experience¡­ You need to gain some more experience¡­¡± ¡°Alright!¡± After a moment of hesitation, Ding Yuqin still nodded firmly. Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t personally taking her, the person he would arrange was definitely reliable and wouldn¡¯t let her down. Ding Yuqin now had a strong sense of crisis. She did not know whether Wang Tao loved her, but she knew that what probably attracted Wang Tao to her was, most likely, her body. No matter how much you like something, eventually you¡¯ll get tired of it. Besides, she was no longer a young girl; as she got older, her attractiveness would fade. If Wang Tao eventually stopped liking her, what would she do? She didn¡¯t want to lose Wang Tao, and it wasn¡¯t just about seeking his protection; she felt that now, both physically and emotionally, she was somewhat unable to be without Wang Tao¡­ Though beautiful, the world was full of beautiful people. If Wang Tao liked her just for her looks, he could just as easily like someone else for their looks¡­ Therefore, she had to make herself useful and not be despised by Wang Tao! Although Wang Tao did not know Ding Yuqin¡¯s exact thoughts, based on her demeanor, he could guess some of it. After the meal, Wang Tao beckoned, and Ding Yuqin immediately came to Wang Tao¡¯s side very sensibly and then sat on his thigh. Wang Tao liked Ding Yuqin¡¯s obedience and sensibility; sometimes a glance or a gesture from him was all it took for Ding Yuqin to know what he wanted to do. Of course, what Wang Tao liked even more was Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP-restoring ability. With that ability, no one could replace Ding Yuqin. Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t use the HP-restoring ability often¡ªhe generally didn¡¯t allow himself to be in dire situations with low HP¡ªthere¡¯s always the unexpected. He might not use it, but he couldn¡¯t be without it¡­ In the afternoon. Wang Tao found Gao Hua. ¡°Big Brother, what can I do for you?¡± This morning, Gao Hua was appointed by the committee as the head of the Resource Department. It was a position with real power, previously held by other committee members. Gao Hua had suddenly become a core member of the base. But he reminded himself, no matter his position, even if he became a committee member, he must always treat Wang Tao with respect. He always had a keen eye for people, and since meeting Wang Tao, his judgment of Wang Tao had never been wrong. Thus, he would steadfastly hold on to his belief¡ªcling tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails! ¡°Come out with me for a bit later.¡± Wang Tao looked at Gao Hua, dapper but full of vitality, and said. ¡°Alright!¡± Gao Hua did not ask any questions and immediately handed off his work, appearing in front of Wang Tao again in less than a minute. ¡°Big Brother, I¡¯m ready!¡± ¡°Mm, get in the car.¡± Wang Tao took Gao Hua, and they left the base. Then they stopped the car not far from a group of zombies. ¡°Big Brother, are we¡­¡± Although Gao Hua didn¡¯t want to ask, the sight of so many zombies had him somewhat panicked. ¡°Do you want to become stronger?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°I do!¡± Gao Hua replied without hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Wang Tao handed him a sharpened steel pipe, ¡°You go kill a zombie for me to see.¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± Cold sweat beaded on Gao Hua¡¯s forehead. Not to mention that he wasn¡¯t sure whether he could handle a zombie, even if he could, there were over a dozen zombies here! How could he possibly defeat them? But this was an order from his Big Brother, and he dared not disobey. Since he had already decided to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails, he needed to see it through¡ªhalf measures were unacceptable! Gao Hua gripped the steel pipe tightly and bravely headed towards the zombies. His target was a petite female zombie. Females naturally had less strength, and though it increased after turning into a zombie, surely it wasn¡¯t as strong as a male zombie. Choosing her was a more suitable choice.. Chapter 197 - Chapter 197: Chapter 11?: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation^ Chapter 197: Chapter 11?: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation^ Translator: 549690339 , However, before Gao Hua could get close, the zombie seemed to smell his scent and slowly turned its head. As soon as it saw Gao Hua, it quickly moved toward him. Although these zombies had been drenched in corrosive acid rain and their bodies had become more rigid and slow-moving, they appeared even more ferocious and terrifying. As he watched this hideous zombie approach step by step, Gao Hua took a deep breath and then lifted his steel pipe. Just as he steeled his heart, he saw that the other zombies had also noticed him one after another! Then, a group of zombies, men and women, old and young, all walked toward him with arms outstretched. 11 11 Gao Hua gritted his teeth hard. Damn it, all in! Gao Hua didn¡¯t care anymore, he just ran straight toward the female zombie, carrying the steel pipe. He knew Wang Tao didn¡¯t mean to harm him; there had to be a reason for his order, and Gao Hua just had to follow it. Bang! Gao Hua jabbed the steel pipe at the female zombie¡¯s head, but it didn¡¯t penetrate. He had aimed for the eye socket, but he missed, and the zombie¡¯s head was too hard. Then the zombie swiped its hand and hit his steel pipe, almost knocking it out of his hands. Feeling the sourness in his arm, Gao Hua swung again, aiming for the zombie. But at this moment, another zombie closed in on him! Just as he was about to be tackled by another zombie, suddenly, there was a swoosh, and that zombie fell to the ground. Another zombie approached, but it too fell down. Gao Hua had no time to pay attention to the others; he could only focus on this one zombie. He didn¡¯t know how long it took, but when he finally managed to drive the steel pipe into the zombie¡¯s eye socket, bursting its head, he realized that there were dead zombies all around him. Gao Hua hurriedly turned around and saw Wang Tao holding a hand crossbow, looking at him indifferently. Gao Hua was about to run over, but as if he had remembered something, he hurriedly went to the fallen zombies, pulled the crossbow arrows from their heads, wiped the blood off the arrows on their bodies, then returned to Wang Tao¡¯s side and handed over the arrows, saying gratefully: ¡°Thank you, big brother! I have killed that zombie! ¡°Good. Get in the car.¡± Wang Tao took the crossbow arrows and then brought Gao Hua to another location overrun with zombies. There were nearly twenty zombies here, but they were spread out. Wang Tao got out of the car with a firefighter axe, and Gao Hua hurried to follow. The arrival of the two immediately attracted the attention of many zombies. Seeing these zombies twisting their bodies and walking toward him, Gao Hua wasn¡¯t panicked this time. After all, big brother was by his side! Wang Tao waited until the zombies were close enough, then chopped with the axe and a shockwave appeared. [-981] [-992] [¡­] In an instant, all the zombies in front of Wang Tao fell to the ground. Wang Tao said to Gao Hua: ¡°These zombies aren¡¯t completely dead yet, you go finish them off. ¡°Yes!¡± Gao Hua, somewhat excited, took his steel pipe and one by one stabbed the fallen zombies to death. And at this moment, his heart was incredibly excited. Indeed, grabbing onto the right coattails has its perks! The benefits were rolling in! Now, everyone in the base knew that killing zombies could make them stronger, but still, only a few dared to go out and kill zombies; after all, it was a matter of risking their lives! But now, Wang Tao had incapacitated the zombies, and all he had to do was finish them off. There was no danger! How many people in the base enjoyed such treatment? He was enjoying it! This was the advantage of having a good ¡®big brother¡¯! At a certain moment, Gao Hua suddenly felt his body grow warm, his fatigue swept away, and his face lit up with joy. His physical strength had improved! After killing the remaining zombies, he immediately knelt on one knee before Wang Tao. ¡°Thank you, big brother!¡± ¡°Stand up, there¡¯s a lot more to go.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± It took all afternoon, but Gao Hua¡¯s HP reached woo. Before he fell asleep, Wang Tao said: ¡°With your current physical condition, you won¡¯t have any problems fighting ordinary zombies alone, and you could even handle several by yourself. But your skills are lacking, so starting tomorrow, spend time every day outside practicing killing zombies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao felt Gao Hua was worth cultivating; however, his strength was too weak. In the apocalypse, strength was most important. So, Wang Tao took him out to boost his HP, then he could focus on training him. Tomorrow he would arrange for someone to take Ding Yuqin out to kill zombies, and he would also bring Gao Hua along. They would practice their zombie-fighting skills and make use of their physical strength. Then he would think about what Abilities would suit these two¡­ Back at the base, Wang Tao had someone take Gao Hua home. As for himself, he went to test the Rush Knee Guards; he hadn¡¯t had the chance to do so outside. He set up an iron post in the courtyard-wooden ones wouldn¡¯t withstand the beating. After testing a knee strike, it indeed matched his expectations; when attacking with his knee, both speed and strength were somewhat enhanced. And because the knee guards were so hard, they didn¡¯t feel leg pain when attacking. This could be used as a powerful move. However, such martial arts techniques were basically useless against zombies; an axe was more suitable for that purpose. This kind of technique was for fighting other Ability Users¡­ The next day, in the morning. Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin helped each other put on their protective gear. ¡°I will definitely kill a zombie by myself!¡± Armed Ding Yuqin clenched her fist and said. ¡°Sister-in-law, you can do it.¡± Wang Tao touched her head and then drove to the front of the complex. A large group of people was already waiting there. Wang Tao had arranged for a Hunter Team to go kill zombies, and Ding Yuqin and Gao Hua went with them to practice their zombie-killing skills. They operated around the base, where they wouldn¡¯t encounter any special zombies, and could run back in case of danger, which was relatively safe. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much, but nodded to Ding Yuqin and Gao Hua and watched them leave, then he said to Han Rui: ¡°Let¡¯s go too.¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Han Rui felt a bit nervous. After all, their target for today was the First Hospital! Chapter 198 - Chapter 198: Chapter 118: The First Hospital_l Chapter 198: Chapter 118: The First Hospital_l Translator: 549690339 Shuize County First Hospital is the largest hospital in Shuize County, with more than ninety years of history. The hospital covers an area of over three hundred acres and employs more than two thousand workers. Additionally, if you count the patients and their families inside, the total number of people associated with the hospital is difficult to say. After the virus outbreak, one can imagine the situation in such a crowded hospital¡­ Previously, Wei Zhenguo had sent people here to look for some medicines. But unexpectedly, the entire squad perished inside. The last message sent by the squad members was: Danger, don¡¯t come! At that time, there still had been no appearance of Mad Demon Zombies, and the squad members were fully armed with sufficient firepower. Yet they were still annihilated, which speaks volumes about the dangers of the hospital. However, high risk often means high reward. Although the hospital is dangerous, there are many Elite Zombies. Getting more HP limits and more Zombie Cores is possible. Therefore, some bold survivors were eyeing up the hospital, like Shao Yong and Wang Tao. Inside the electric off-road vehicle. Wang Tao asked: ¡°How much longer until we arrive?¡± Co-pilot Han Rui glanced at the map and silently calculated in her mind. ¡°At our current speed, roughly¡­ still an hour.¡± ¡°Finally getting close¡­ Take a rest for a while.¡± Wang Tao parked the vehicle behind a small building and then took out a few bottles of nutritional fluid, handing two of them to Han Rui. They had set out at 7 a.m., and now it was already 11 a.m., yet they hadn¡¯t reached the First Hospital. It wasn¡¯t that the distance was long, but the roads were too difficult to navigate. The closer they got to the hospital, the more congested the roads, countless abandoned vehicles, and more and more zombies. Wang Tao did not want to waste time killing Ordinary Zombies, so he could only try to navigate around them as much as possible. Plus, they encountered several special zombies along the way. Wang Tao took the opportunity to collect a few Crystal Cores, which also cost them some time, hence the delay until now. Thankfully, they were only an hour away now. As Han Rui vigilantly watched her surroundings, she curiously contemplated the nutritional fluid in her hands. She wondered where Wang Tao had gotten this stuff; not only was it convenient to carry, but it also tasted good. She couldn¡¯t find anything like it at the base. Unfortunately, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t tell, and she didn¡¯t feel it was her place to ask too much. After quickly consuming a bottle of the nutritional fluid, the two continued on their journey. Just as Han Rui had predicted, an hour later, the two finally arrived at the entrance of the First Hospital. However, they had come on foot as the off-road vehicle was parked far away. The numerous discarded vehicles made it impossible for the vehicle to approach. ¡°Are we really going in¡­¡± Gazing upon the decrepit and desolate First Hospital, Han Rui swallowed unconsciously. She didn¡¯t know if it was psychological, but after nearing the hospital, she started to feel uneasy. Especially when looking at the hospital, even in the daytime, it seemed sinister. ¡°Let¡¯s not go in just yet; we¡¯ll walk around outside first.¡± They encountered many zombies on the way to the hospital, but strangely enough, when they got close, there seemed to be no zombies in the vicinity. Wang Tao suspected that perhaps the zombies had all congregated inside the hospital¡­ ¡°Hey? That car over there looks different!¡± With sharp eyes, Han Rui immediately pointed and whispered. Following the direction she pointed, Wang Tao¡¯s brow lifted. The majority of vehicles surrounding the hospital were basically scrapped, after all, they had been exposed to the corrosive acid rain for so long. But there was one car in the distance that seemed corroded yet the vital parts were intact. This car was clearly parked there later. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look!¡± Approaching the vehicle, Han Rui used her Ability to ensure no one was inside before they moved closer. This was a pickup truck, fitted with steel plates and wire mesh ¨C clearly the work of a survivor. The truck was unlocked, and the keys were still in the ignition ¨C saving Wang Tao the trouble of having to unlock it. Inside the truck, they discovered some well-preserved food, a bundle of sharpened steel rebar, and two barrels of gasoline. ¡°Looks like this must be Shao Yong¡¯s truck.¡± Wei Zhenguo had mentioned that Shao Yong liked to kill zombies by throwing steel rebar. Besides him, normal people wouldn¡¯t prepare so much rebar. ¡°Take all this stuff.¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui took everything and hid it inside an abandoned vehicle. They also removed the keys from the truck. If Shao Yong wasn¡¯t dead¡­ these potentially useful items wouldn¡¯t be left behind by Wang Tao. Then Wang Tao looked around and found three more cars that were nearly the same. Like with the first truck, Wang Tao scavenged everything inside these vehicles and hid the loot and keys elsewhere, plugging the lock if there were no keys. After completing these tasks, Wang Tao glanced at the hospital again and then said to Han Rui: ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll take a look inside.¡± They had already spent quite some time lurking around the hospital without seeing any dangers or even a single zombie, so Wang Tao felt a bit braver. ¡°Okay!¡± The main entrance of the hospital was open, and they didn¡¯t climb any walls ¨C they simply entered through the east gate. The hospital had two major gates, the south gate being the main entrance and the east gate a side entrance. ¡°It feels a bit ominous¡­¡± Han Rui muttered. Wang Tao felt the same way. ¡°Make sure to keep using your Ability to be aware of our surroundings, in case zombies sneak up on us.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The interior of the hospital was also crammed with abandoned vehicles, making it difficult for Wang Tao and Han Rui to navigate. ¡°There are zombies!¡± Chapter 199 - Chapter 199: Chapter 118: The First Hospital 2 Chapter 199: Chapter 118: The First Hospital 2 Translator: 549690339 ¡ª Suddenly, Han Rui gave a reminder. The zombie was in the car, still buckled in by the seatbelt, clawing and gnashing its teeth, trying to get out, but the seatbelt firmly restrained it to the chair. Wang Tao glanced over and saw it was just an ordinary zombie. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The two of them slowly approached the outpatient building. There was a pharmacy inside the outpatient building that should contain many medicines, all of which were in critical shortage at the base. If possible, they would definitely take them. However, looking at the dark entrance of the outpatient pharmacy, Wang Tao did not rush in. He asked Han Rui to feel around with her ability. ¡°There are zombies inside! Three elite zombies!¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. He had heard that the hospital was swarming with zombies, including many elite zombies, making it extremely dangerous. But now, as he stood at the entrance of a large building, he had only encountered a few ordinary zombies, including that unlucky one tied up by the seatbelt. This was nothing like what he had heard. This made Wang Tao frown slightly, because anything out of the ordinary was a sign of trouble. Now that he had finally come across elite zombies, and three at once no less, he actually felt relieved. ¡°Let me see what kind of zombies they are¡­¡± Wang Tao whispered as he approached the entrance, then peeked inside. After briefly adjusting to the dim light inside, Wang Tao saw the three zombies. The first was a zombie wearing a white lab coat. Its emaciated and twisted figure suggested it might have been a male doctor. Apart from that, it had no other distinguishing features. Yet, its HP was [3000/3000]! The second and third zombies were sitting together on a chair, one dressed in a patient gown and the other in a nurse¡¯s uniform. The zombie in the patient gown looked like an old man. Its HP was [3200/3200]. The one in the nurse¡¯s uniform was a particularly obese woman, seemingly even fatter than a self-exploder. Its HP was [3500/3500]. Wang Tao frowned, thinking that with this physique, she couldn¡¯t have been a nurse, right? After all, a nurse is supposed to take care of others, not be taken care of. This must be a mutation that occurred after turning into a zombie¡­ As Wang Tao looked at them, all three zombies noticed him. The doctor zombie showed a human-like expression of anger on its face and, twisting its body, quickly headed towards Wang Tao. The other two zombies also awkwardly stood up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to be careless and quickly ran outside. He wasn¡¯t sure of these zombies¡¯ abilities yet and thought it best to draw them out. ¡°Prepare for battle!¡± Wang Tao hurriedly warned Han Rui, who was outside. Han Rui was lying on the roof of an abandoned vehicle, her sniper crossbow poised and aimed at the entrance to the outpatient building. The doctor zombie was the first to come out. It pounded its chest from time to time, seemingly very angry. Especially when the sunlight outside fell upon it, it opened its mouth wide and let out a soundless roar. ¡°A zombie can get angry? Has it gained intelligence?¡± Wang Tao frowned upon seeing this. He was curious about its ability. But whether curious or not, what mattered was taking it down! Whoosh¡ª Han Rui pulled the trigger first. A crossbow arrow struck the doctor zombie¡¯s head with precision, embedding itself firmly inside. [-542] [2458/3000] ¡°Such high defense!¡± Seeing this damage number, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Han Rui¡¯s sniper crossbow did significant damage, normally causing well over a thousand points of damage to an elite zombie with a single arrow. But this arrow had done just over five hundred to the doctor zombie¡­ The zombie reeled slightly from the crossbow arrow hit to its hand, then continued advancing toward Wang Tao. While Han Rui was reloading her crossbow, Wang Tao quickly shot an arrow. To ensure accuracy, he activated Precision Shooting. Whoosh¡ª [-324] [2134/3000] The arrow still hit the zombie¡¯s head, but the damage was only a little over three hundred. Wang Tao knew his hand crossbow wasn¡¯t as powerful as Han Rui¡¯s sniper crossbow, so he wasn¡¯t surprised. He was quick with his hands, firing three shots in succession. [-314] [-322] [1498/3000] In one encounter, the 3000-HP doctor zombie was reduced to half blood, with four crossbow arrows sticking grotesquely out of its head. But it was then that the zombie finally took action. It suddenly pulled out a shiny object from its pocket and threw it at Wang Tao. As soon as Wang Tao saw the zombie¡¯s motion, he sensed danger and immediately rolled to the side, taking cover behind the back of an abandoned vehicle. Whoosh¡ª A sparkling surgical knife landed where Wang Tao had just been, embedding itself deeply into the concrete! ¡°Damn, it¡¯s got a ranged attack?¡± No, more accurately, it should be considered a mid-range attack, since it had thrown the surgical knife after closing some distance to Wang Tao. This throwing knife was somewhat similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Flying Axe, in that it couldn¡¯t be thrown very far. With the first throw missing, the zombie pulled out a handful of surgical knives from its pocket. Wang Tao watched anxiously. Fortunately, by that time, Han Rui had finally reloaded her crossbow. Whoosh¡ª [-553] [945/3000] This arrow pierced the zombie¡¯s head with precision again, causing its head to recoil, preventing it from throwing more knives. Wang Tao quickly got up, drew his hand crossbow, activated his precise shooting ability, and fired three rapid shots within ten seconds. [-336] [-351] [-258] [0/3000] The last arrow emptied its HP bar. Thump! The doctor zombie fell to the ground. Wang Tao had no time to check the loot because the other two elite zombies had also emerged. ¡°Cough cough¡­¡± The old man zombie opened its mouth, coughed a few times, revealing black teeth, and exhaled some yellow-brown breath.. Chapter 200 - Chapter 200: Chapter 118: The First Hospital 3 Chapter 200: Chapter 118: The First Hospital 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡ª And that plump female nurse zombie suddenly grabbed the body of the little old man zombie, hugged its waist, and did a 360-degree spin before she let go, throwing the little old man zombie towards Wang Tao. ¡°What the fuck! Is this how you take care of patients?¡± Wang Tao cursed audibly, zombies that cooperate? And they could do that? He didn¡¯t know what ability the little old man zombie had, but since the plump nurse zombie was tossing him over, it indicated that its ability probably needed to be effective at close range. Therefore, Wang Tao once again activated his Precision Shooting Ability, then gathered strength in his right leg. As the little old man zombie was about to land in front of him, Wang Tao kicked fiercely into the air. Bang! The little old man zombie hadn¡¯t even touched the ground when it was kicked away like a ball by Wang Tao, flying straight towards the plump nurse zombie. The nurse zombie probably didn¡¯t even react before getting hit by the little old man zombie. Bang! Both of them fell to the ground. Then, the little old man zombie suddenly started coughing violently, and a yellow-brown smoke spewed out of his mouth, instantly enveloping both him and the plump female zombie. Not knowing what the smoke was, it blocked Wang Tao¡¯s and Han Rui¡¯s view, preventing them from seeing clearly inside. But Wang Tao could see the HP bars; he noticed both zombies¡¯ HP bars dropped by more than 100, which was a minor injury for them. Besides that, there wasn¡¯t any continuous HP loss. However, this couldn¡¯t prove the smoke wasn¡¯t poisonous, after all, the physiques of zombies and humans differ. So Wang Tao simply took up his hand crossbow and started shooting wildly into the smoke. Swoosh- Swoosh¡ª Swoosh¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s shooting speed was swift, and in a short while he had shot over ten arrows. He just aimed at the position of the HP bars and fired right below them, not knowing if he hit his targets or not; anyway, just fire and be done with it. From afar, Han Rui was somewhat dumbfounded, watching the haze of yellow smoke through the scope, and hesitated to pull the trigger. She knew that she definitely couldn¡¯t shoot accurately in this situation and might as well provide cover for Wang Tao to prevent other dangers. Watching the HP bar inside the smoke, Wang Tao saw one of them dwindling to a sliver and then shot another arrow. [-342] [0/3200] The little old man zombie died. Splat¡ª Suddenly, the range of the yellow smoke widened! Before, the range of the yellow smoke was about a ten-meter diameter circle, but now it was at least fifteen meters in diameter! Having killed another Elite Zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s actions with the hand crossbow continued. After all, there was still one zombie within the cloud of yellow smoke. Swoosh¡ª [-32] [-360] [-23] [-30] Double-digit damage indicated that he didn¡¯t hit the head, but it didn¡¯t matter; Wang Tao had plenty of crossbow arrows to spend. Thud, thud¡ª At that moment, footsteps came from within the cloud of yellow smoke, it seemed like the plump female nurse zombie was about to come out of the smoke. But her pace was slow, stepping only once every few seconds. Wang Tao kept shooting. Finally, with the last arrow piercing through the skull of the female nurse zombie, the third Elite Zombie finally died. ¡°They¡¯re all dead!¡± Wang Tao waved at Han Rui, who quickly packed up her sniping crossbow and ran over. ¡°They¡¯re all dead?¡± Han Rui could hardly believe it. From her perspective, Wang Tao had just shot wildly into the yellow smoke and then claimed that the two zombies inside were killed? If it wasn¡¯t for her trust in Wang Tao, she would not have come over but would have continued to aim at the yellow smoke. Yeah. Let¡¯s wait a bit to see if the yellow smoke dissipates¡­¡± Wang Tao first collected all the loot from the doctor zombie, then he and Han Rui hid in an abandoned car. About a minute later, the cloud of yellow smoke finally disappeared. Han Rui quickly looked over and, upon seeing the situation inside the yellow smoke, her eyes went wide. The small elderly zombie and the obese zombie were like porcupines, with their bodies full of crossbow arrows! But what killed them were the arrows in their skulls. ¡°That worked¡­¡± Han Rui murmured to herself. The yellow smoke was so widespread; how had Wang Tao managed to shoot so accurately? Although some arrows were shot onto the zombie bodies or the ground, they were mostly in the area of the zombies. It was obvious that Wang Tao had intentionally aimed there¡­ Han Rui didn¡¯t understand the principle behind it, but she was greatly shaken. Wang Tao seemed to know what she was thinking and explained with a smile: ¡°When they were in the yellow smoke, they didn¡¯t really move, so I just shot at their original positions.¡± It¡¯s true that they hadn¡¯t moved much, which was a barely acceptable reason. Wang Tao and Han Rui approached the two zombies, and Wang Tao pried out their crystal cores while Han Rui helped collect the crossbow arrows. It took a good while for the two to collect so many arrows. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Han Rui wiped the fine sweat from her forehead. She had been constantly using her perception ability to ensure there was no danger around, which was a bit tiring. ¡°There are still zombies in this building, elite zombies¡­¡± Han Rui looked towards Wang Tao. ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a bit before we go in.¡± Wang Tao was also a bit tired. Although the fight hadn¡¯t lasted long, he had been rapidly repeating the action of pulling the crossbow string; his hand was nearly smoking from the friction. He needed a little rest and to check the loot. He had to know what abilities these zombies possessed so he could be prepared for future encounters. ¡°Okay!¡± The entrance to the outpatient building had a room that was locked, with no zombies inside. Wang Tao simply unlocked it, and they both entered. Wang Tao looked at his HP bar. All three zombies were killed by him, and each zombie had added 60 HP to him. Wang Tao¡¯s HP was now at[3i8o/3i8o]! Then he turned towards his backpack. First were the three zombie cores. Wang Tao looked first at the elderly zombie¡¯s crystal core, curious about just what the yellow smoke was. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Coughing Smoke] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Coughing)] [Coughing Smoke: Consumes energy to release a cloud of smoke. Zombies within the smoke become stiffer in body, effectively slowing them down. Non-zombies within the smoke will continue to cough.] ¡°No wonder those two zombies hardly moved in the yellow smoke. It was body stiffness, akin to being slowed down¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood. This ability could serve as a decent area control skill. Just how potent the side effect of coughing was remained to be seen¡­ Chapter 201 - Chapter 201: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_l Chapter 201: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_l Translator: 549690339 I [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] [Quality: Excellent (4-0%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Strength and physique are directly proportional, with insufficient physique, strength will experience negative growth)] [Power: Passive Ability, significantly increases strength] The Crystal Core from the obese female zombie nurse was a blue ¡°Strength¡± core; it was quite interesting since it is a passive ability, somewhat similar to the Glutton Ability. But the side effect seems better than that of the Glutton, just how big must the physique be to gain an increase in strength, and is his physique up to par? Moreover, Wang Tao suddenly thought, the Glutton¡¯s Ability meant the more one eats, the fatter one gets, and the stronger one¡¯s defensive power becomes. If the Power Ability meant the bigger the physique, the greater the power, then¡­what if one were to fuse both of these Crystal Cores, what effect would that have? The last Crystal Core belonged to the first zombie doctor he had killed. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Throwing Master] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Quick to anger)] [Throwing Master: Passive Ability, skilful at throwing most items] Throwing Master surely could increase the accuracy of thrown objects. It didn¡¯t consume extra mana, making this Crystal Core pretty good! Though Precision Shooting was powerful, its mana consumption was terrifying: it drained 10 points of mana every second. Considering Wang Tao¡¯s current mana level, he could at most use it for two or three minutes before running out. It might seem like two or three minutes wasn¡¯t short, but since there was no way to regenerate mana at the moment and it could only recover over time, which was very slow, mana was indeed precious. However, Precision Shooting could not only increase the accuracy of medium- and long-range attacks but also enhance close-range combat, enabling him to strike more precisely and potentially hit the same wound repeatedly, thus indirectly increasing damage. While Throwing Master didn¡¯t cost mana, it seemed to offer no enhancement for close combat, and it was unclear exactly what was meant by ¡°skilful¡±¡­ Also, the side effect of this Crystal Core was quite quirky as it would directly affect personality! No wonder he always felt this zombie seemed quite angry¡­ Wang Tao became a bit conflicted: he wanted the Self-healing Ability, he wanted the Power Ability, and he also wanted this Throwing Master Ability¡­ But unfortunately, he could only fuse one more Crystal Core at the moment, so he had to make a careful choice. Aside from these three Crystal Cores, there were naturally other spoils of war. The obese female zombie had dropped two small Strength Potions, which were the same as the potions he had found previously. What the elderly male zombie had exploded into were five Hand Grenades and Blueprints. [Coughing Smoke Bomb Blueprints: Able to create 5 Coughing Smoke Bombs, required materials: Zombie stomach xi, A Crystal Core xi, Zombie Flesh xiokg, Metal x5kg] [Coughing Smoke Bomb: Releases a thick smoke, zombies within the smoke move slower; non-zombies in the smoke will continually cough and lose HP] The function of this Smoke Bomb was similar to Ability, akin to Slime Spitter Grenade. Moreover, its crafting seemed straightforward without the need for any special materials. However, Wang Tao dared not use this carelessly, as, with some caution, Slime Grenades typically wouldn¡¯t hurt oneself. But this Smoke Bomb would cause continuous HP loss¡­ The loot that the zombie doctor dropped was rather interesting, consisting of medical packs and surgical knives. [Acquired: Medical Packs X5] [Medical Pack: Capable of restoring 100 HP in 10 seconds (lost limbs cannot be regenerated)] This Medical Pack was like the one he¡¯d found before in the clinic, capable of adding 100 HP in 10 seconds. However, the previous doctor zombie had only dropped one Medical Pack, while this one dropped five. Medical Packs were one of the reasons Wang Tao had come to the hospital. They could be more effective than some medicines. Though considering Wang Tao¡¯s current 3,000 HP, the 100 HP recovery might not seem much. But since there¡¯s no cooldown mentioned, it implies they can be used continuously. And it¡¯s not just about the 100 HP; it could be about pulling someone back from the brink of death! He should definitely try it out when he gets the chance¡­ [Acquired: Surgical Knives xio] [Surgical Knife: Throwing weapon] The description of the Surgical Knife as a throwing weapon left Wang Tao somewhat speechless. Yet, seeing zombies use it as a weapon made it seem somewhat reasonable? The doctor zombie, upon death, had dropped 10 Surgical Knives, plus the ones Wang Tao had picked up from its hands¡ªthere were four in total. Originally there had been five, but the one thrown at Wang Tao was ruined. Something like a Surgical Knife was incredibly sharp, yet very fragile. A Surgical Knife thrown by a zombie was essentially one-use only. Wang Tao now had a total of 14 Surgical Knives in his Space Backpack, which could be utilized as 14 hidden weapons! If he could learn the Throwing Master Ability, those 14 Surgical Knives would enhance his capabilities significantly. Of course, even if he didn¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t matter. Wang Tao still had Precision Shooting, and since the ability worked well with the Flying Axe, throwing these Surgical Knives surely wouldn¡¯t be a problem. After checking the spoils, Wang Tao explained the effects of these three Crystal Cores to Han Rui. It was better to clarify, lest they get into trouble unawares. Han Rui was quite interested in the Throwing Ability, but since Wang Tao didn¡¯t offer it to her, she wouldn¡¯t bring it up herself. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s see what¡¯s inside.¡± Wang Tao had no plans to go upstairs. The pharmacy was on the ground floor, and since they were here, they definitely had to take some medicine. As for the upper floors, if there was any danger, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to escape, so staying on the safe side was best. If there were Elite Zombies upstairs, they might consider luring them down¡­ ¡°There are two Elite Zombies inside and some Ordinary Zombies¡­¡± Chapter 202 - Chapter 202: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_2 Chapter 202: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_2 Translator: 549690339 I Han Rui whispered to Wang Tao. The direction she pointed to was still the first floor, but it was the position of the main entrance¡ªthe place where Wang Tao had just come in was a side door on the west, and the main entrance was to the south. It led to a lobby where the recharge-payment and medication pick-up windows were located. Wang Tao wanted to go to the pharmacy, so he would definitely have to pass through there. With Han Rui¡¯s reminder, the two cautiously made their way to the back of a large column and peered out to see two zombies in patient attire, hiding in the shadows behind the door. They both had [2000] HP. If someone were to enter from the main entrance at that moment, they would likely not notice them. Apart from these two elite zombies, there were quite a few ordinary zombies inside the recharge-payment and medication pick-up windows. Judging by their clothes, they were all hospital staff. ¡°Let¡¯s take care of these two elite zombies first¡­¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t determine what type of elite zombies these were, so he chose to attack from a distance. Taking advantage of the fact that the zombies hadn¡¯t noticed them yet, both Wang Tao and Han Rui picked up their crossbows and aimed at one of the zombies. Whiz¡ª [-2000] With one shot, Han Rui instantly killed a zombie. Wang Tao was a bit slower, and by the time his crossbow arrow hit the zombie¡¯s head, Han Rui had already killed it! Seeing the zombie killed by Han Rui¡¯s single shot, Wang Tao and Han Rui exchanged glances, both a bit surprised. ¡°Its defense is that low?¡± After killing this zombie, the other one still didn¡¯t move and continued to lurk behind the door. ¡°Could this be a stealth zombie?¡± Wang Tao frowned but shot an arrow at the zombie by the door. Whiz¡ª [-2000] This zombie was also killed by one shot, and Wang Tao¡¯s HP increased by 50. After confirming that there were no more elite zombies around, Wang Tao and Han Rui ran over together. ¡°It really is a stealth zombie!¡± Each dropped an excellent quality and an ordinary quality Stealth Crystal Core. The one killed by Wang Tao also dropped two bottles of Stealth Potion (Medium), which were good for evading zombies. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t realized because they were wearing patient attire, different from the stealth zombies he had seen before. Plus, the elite zombies they had just encountered were also wearing patient attire, so Wang Tao hadn¡¯t immediately thought of stealth zombies. ¡°I need to be more cautious in the future; I cannot judge zombies by their appearances¡­¡± In terms of attack and defense power, stealth zombies weren¡¯t any different from ordinary zombies. In fact, their perception ability was even inferior, but their sudden attacks were terrifying. If one didn¡¯t detect stealth zombies in advance, it was easy to be caught off guard. But if they were discovered in time, they posed no threat. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± As soon as they emerged, they drew the attention of the other ordinary zombies, though these zombies were trapped inside the counters and couldn¡¯t get out for the time being. Wang Tao didn¡¯t concern himself with them. He went to the pharmacy entrance and spent some time unlocking it. But seeing the empty interior, Wang Tao was somewhat stunned. ¡°Where are the medicines? Where are all the medicines?¡± Inside was nothing but neatly arranged empty shelves, not a single box of drugs. This didn¡¯t look like the work of survivors taking them, because survivors wouldn¡¯t have left it so clean. It looked more like the hospital staff had moved them¡­ ¡°This¡­¡± Han Rui was somewhat speechless; they had gone through a lot of trouble to get to the hospital, only to find not a single box of medicine. Not only was the pharmacy empty, but also the medication pick-up windows connected to it were devoid of any drugs. Wang Tao only knew that the hospital pharmacy had medicine; whether there were other warehouses for storing medicines, he had no idea. Han Rui was also clueless. Fortunately, he came to kill zombies, not specifically to get medicines, otherwise, it would have been a wasted trip. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said. Wang Tao gestured with his hand and left with Han Rui. ¡°I sense there are elite zombies upstairs; there¡¯s one at the stairwell here, but I¡¯m not sure what type it is¡­¡± Han Rui whispered to Wang Tao. ¡°I¡¯ll try to lure it down; find a spot to wait¡­¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Knowing she wasn¡¯t as fast as Wang Tao, Han Rui didn¡¯t offer to draw the zombie¡¯s attention. She went to the entrance they had used to come in earlier, set up her sniper crossbow, and aimed at the stairwell. Wang Tao crept silently to the stairwell; he hadn¡¯t yet ascended when he saw the figure of someone in a white coat walking down. [3000/3000] ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The zombie suddenly looked up, revealing a ghastly and terrifying face. A hint of human-like anger appeared on its face, and then it reached into its pocket, as if to pull something out. ¡°Another throwing zombie!¡± Wang Tao immediately turned and ran towards where Han Rui was without looking back. Being downstairs and not far from the zombie upstairs was too advantageous for a throwing zombie. He didn¡¯t need to risk a fight to the death with a zombie. The zombie pulled out a surgical knife from its pocket and, seeing Wang Tao run, staggered down the stairs after him. As soon as the zombie reached the first floor, Han Rui pulled the trigger without hesitation. ¡°Whiz¡ª¡± [-572] A crossbow arrow hit its head precisely, causing the zombie¡¯s body to jerk back; it was unable to throw the surgical knife it held. Wang Tao activated his precise shooting ability. [-321] [-310] [-309] After shooting three arrows in quick succession, Han Rui finally fired her second arrow. [-628] Wang Tao shot three more arrows. [-353] [-342] [-165] The last arrow brought the zombie¡¯s HP bar to zero. Throughout the encounter, the zombie swung left and right, not getting the chance to wield its knife.. Chapter 203 - Chapter 203: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_3 Chapter 203: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao asked Han Rui to observe the surroundings while he hurriedly collected the zombie¡¯s Crystal Cores and spoils of war. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Throwing Master] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side Effect: Irritability)] This was a Crystal Core of excellent quality, which could be combined with the previously acquired one of excellent quality! [Acquired: Medical Kit x51 [Acquired: Surgical Knife xio] [Acquired: Surgical Knife x5] The pack of the doctor zombie contained 10 surgical knives, and he had another 5 in his pocket, making a total of 15 knives. Along with the previous 14 knives, that makes a total of 29 surgical knives. Even if they could only be used as disposable weapons, that quantity wasn¡¯t small. Not to mention the crucial point was that these surgical knives could be stored in the Space Backpack¡­ After securing the spoils of war, Wang Tao signaled for Han Rui to come to the stairway entrance. He was about to ask Han Rui to use her Perception, but when he saw the situation upstairs, Wang Tao frowned. ¡°The second floor is blocked¡­¡± When he had come to attract the doctor zombie just now, Wang Tao had immediately retreated without going upstairs. Only now did he notice that the staircase from the first floor to the second was completely blocked off, impassable. Moreover, Wang Tao saw that there were many bullet holes¡­ ¡°Could it be that there are many zombies inside?¡± Wang Tao murmured softly, stroking his chin. ¡°Probably not? I only sense one zombie behind this. But my Perception range is limited; there could be others elsewhere¡­¡± Han Rui also didn¡¯t dare to be conclusive in her statement. ¡°Let¡¯s check out the other staircases.¡± The outpatient building had a total of five staircases and four elevators. The elevators were located near the south gate and were now inoperable. After making a round, Wang Tao and Han Rui found that the paths to the second floor were all blocked off in the other four staircases as well. If one staircase was blocked, it could be for any number of reasons. But if all five staircases were blocked and there were many bullet holes¡­ it wasn¡¯t wise to hold out hope; it was dangerous upstairs! The blockade must have been done by the military! They probably took the medicines away as well¡­ Even though Han Rui used her Perception at the entrance of all five staircases and confirmed that there were only a few zombies near the stairway entrances, Wang Tao still didn¡¯t want to take any risks. If he really wanted to go up, he could climb up the exterior wall or pry open the elevator doors and go up the elevator shaft. But it wasn¡¯t necessary; being reckless wasn¡¯t an option. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go look somewhere else; we won¡¯t go up¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head; the hospital was so large, there were certainly more than just a few zombies. ¡°Okay!¡± They left the outpatient building and strolled around the hospital courtyard. Besides a few Ordinary Zombies, they didn¡¯t encounter any Elite Zombies. ¡°Something¡¯s not right¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned. Both Wei Zhenguo and Chen Zhuang had told him before that there were many zombies in this hospital, and it was a terrifying place. But now, Wang Tao had only seen a few zombies and didn¡¯t feel any horror¡­ Could it be that these zombies had all left? Or were they all blocked in the upstairs of the outpatient building? Leaving was unlikely since they hadn¡¯t seen any zombies wearing white lab coats on the way. And being blocked upstairs was even less likely since it was clearly a blockade put in place by the military during the outbreak of the virus. When the Mizusawa Base Peacekeeping Unit arrived at the hospital, the virus had already fully infected it, and the timing didn¡¯t match¡­ Wang Tao subconsciously glanced at another building. Behind the outpatient building was another connected building encompassing the emergency center, the ward building, the imaging center, and more. If those zombies hadn¡¯t left and weren¡¯t in the outpatient building, could they be in that building? Just as Wang Tao thought of this, he saw Han Rui hurriedly tugging at his sleeve. ¡°Wang Tao, look at the inpatient department!¡± Wang Tao quickly raised his binoculars and looked in the direction Han Rui pointed. On the tenth floor of the inpatient department¡¯s windows, several Ropes dangled down, with the other ends tied inside the windows of the ninth floor. ¡°I just saw two people climb from the tenth floor to the ninth floor using that Rope!¡± Han Rui urged in a low voice. ¡°People? Could it be Shao Yong?¡± Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows. If someone was there, it was likely him! His survival wasn¡¯t beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. He was, after all, a capable man who wouldn¡¯t die that easily. However¡­ Wang Tao glanced at the hospital¡¯s windows again. He had just been wondering if the zombies that had disappeared from the hospital had all run into that building. Now, seeing Shao Yong in that building, he was likely going to come out. If the zombies really were all in that building, wouldn¡¯t he end up startling so many of them¡­ Thump¡ªThump¡ª Suddenly, Wang Tao thought he heard some noise, like the sound of something walking. ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡± Han Rui became somewhat nervous. Wang Tao looked towards the connected buildings and then swiftly grabbed Han Rui¡¯s arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t understand, but she quickly shouldered her sniper crossbow and followed Wang Tao as they ran outside. Bang! As the two reached the western gate of the hospital, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the inpatient building above. A moment later. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Countless eerie sounds emanated from within the hospital. Wang Tao quickly surveyed the surroundings, his face changing instantly. He saw at the window of the second floor of the outpatient building they had just left, a large group of agile figures appearing. They climbed down the wall and rushed toward the inpatient department like a black tide. ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao was shocked by the scene. The upper floors of the inpatient department were filled with so many Mad Demon Zombies! Was this like a lair for Mad Demon Zombies? From the other connected buildings, some Mad Demon Zombies began to run out as well, not just Mad Demon Zombies, but also a lot of Elite Zombies! Wang Tao looked again, and in the distance, some Mad Demon Zombies were running towards the hospital, and they were blocking Wang Tao¡¯s path. However, there weren¡¯t as many as the ones inside the hospital. ¡°Run fast!¡± Without any hesitation, Wang Tao charged straight towards the outside Mad Demon Zombies. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± These Mad Demon Zombies saw Wang Tao and immediately lunged at them with gaping jaws and flailing claws. Wang Tao pulled out his axe, sending out a Shockwave. [-1831] [-1802] [-1734] [¡­] Now with 2000 HP and high defense, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t kill the Mad Demon Zombies in a single blow. Although he swung his axe again, killing those zombies, more Mad Demon Zombies noticed him and surrounded them. Wang Tao could deal with these Mad Demon Zombies, but he didn¡¯t want to prolong the fight. After all, there were too many zombies in the hospital, and it would be troublesome if he drew too much attention. ¡°Han Rui, carry me and use Rush!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui grabbed Wang Tao and immediately activated the Rush Ability. Boom- In an instant, a streak of white light flashed by. Some Ordinary Zombies were directly smashed apart, and several Mad Demon Zombies were sent flying into the air. Wang Tao and Han Rui had already appeared thirty meters away, breaking out of the zombie encirclement! Chapter 204 - Chapter 204: Chapter 120 Shao Yong l Chapter 204: Chapter 120 Shao Yong l Translator: 549690339 I ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Han Rui gasped for breath, using Rush while carrying someone was a completely different concept from using it alone. Especially since Wang Tao was bulky and had a lot of equipment on him. This was a significant energy drain for Han Rui. The energy she consumed was much more than usual. Thankfully, the effect of Rush was almost fully realized, and the two of them successfully broke out of the zombie encirclement. But their current position was not good, as it was the opposite direction from where their car was parked. The car was definitely something they couldn¡¯t afford to lose. After all, the cars outside had been corroded by the corrosive acid rain and rusted, rendering them unusable. Cars were now of great value, especially since theirs was an electric car. After scanning the surrounding buildings, Wang Tao immediately pointed to the tallest six-story building and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go up there and lay low for a while!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The first and second floors of the building housed a large restaurant, while the third floor and above were apartment homes. There were no Elite Zombies in the restaurant, only Ordinary Zombies which Wang Tao and Han Rui quickly dealt with. The two of them ran up to the sixth floor and arbitrarily chose an apartment room with no zombies to enter. Bang! After closing the door, Han Rui finally relaxed. ¡°That was terrifying! The hospital is too dangerous!¡± Recalling what she had just seen, Han Rui still felt her heart pound with residual fear. She had not expected so many zombies to be inside the hospital. What she had even less anticipated was that the outpatient building upstairs would be hiding countless Mad Demon Zombies! Fortunately, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t gone up, or otherwise, he might have been doomed¡­ Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. He had hoped there would be zombies in the hospital, but not so many. And to top it off, so damn many Mad Demon Zombies¡­ Killing Mad Demon Zombies only resulted in some Ordinary materials dropping and had no other benefits. So whether he could defeat the Mad Demon Zombies or not, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to provoke them. Since the hospital was temporarily out of the question, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to just leave either, especially since his car was still outside. He decided to wait a bit longer. Gunshots occasionally rang out from the hospital, continuously attracting the Mad Demon Zombies outside. The number of Mad Demon Zombies outside was not that large, at least within what Wang Tao could handle, but he still waited patiently. Finally, the gunshots from the hospital ceased. Without this significant noise, the Mad Demon Zombies gradually left. But from his position, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see the situation inside the hospital and wasn¡¯t sure if Shao Yong was dead or alive. However, he could see the car Shao Yong had parked outside before. If Shao Yong were still alive, he would probably come over¡­ About an hour later, just when Wang Tao thought Shao Yong might be dead, he saw a tall figure covered in blood, sneaking near Shao Yong¡¯s pickup truck. Wang Tao quickly elbowed Han Rui, and under their watchful eyes, the bulky man swiftly got into the pickup truck, then came out cursing and swearing. He checked several other cars, but none of them started¡­ ¡°That¡¯s definitely Shao Yong!¡± Even though the man was covered in blood, Wang Tao recognized him by other physical features, as Wei Zhenguo and Gao Hua had described Shao Yong¡¯s appearance to Wang Tao before. But when Wang Tao saw Shao Yong¡¯s Attributes, he was shocked. Shao Yong had no Hidden Attributes, but his HP was [754/4.030]! Over four thousand HP, even more than Wang Tao! This was the first time Wang Tao had ever seen a survivor with more HP than himself. Just this HP alone naturally wouldn¡¯t shock Wang Tao. If someone was lucky, diligent, and strong, it was normal for them to have more HP than he did. What shocked Wang Tao were two other Attributes. One was Mana, with Shao Yong having [120/4000]! A full 4000 Mana! Wang Tao only had 1400! Going by the calculation that merging A Crystal Core could yield 100 Mana, Shao Yong had merged 40 Crystal Cores! While Wang Tao had only merged 14 cores¡­ Although the Crystal Cores Wang Tao had merged were all Synthetic, if he didn¡¯t synthesize them, that would have been 28 cores. But if he used those 28 cores for merging, the result wouldn¡¯t be 2800 HP, since not all merges could succeed, given that every Crystal Core had a different success rate. This meant that the number of Crystal Cores Shao Yong had merged was far more than 40! It¡¯s just that 40 of them were successfully merged, and the rest failed. Unless Shao Yong had merged exclusively Orange Crystal Cores, which obviously was impossible¡­ The other Attribute that shocked Wang Tao was Shao Yong¡¯s Internal Impurity. [Internal Impurity: 70%] This was definitely the person with the highest Internal Impurity Wang Tao had ever seen! The previous maximum Wang Tao had come across was with Blondy Wu Fei, who had been infected with the zombie virus but couldn¡¯t find an Inhibitor, with an Internal Impurity of 28%. Shao Yong¡¯s was more than double that! Wang Tao wondered if Shao Yong was also infected with the zombie virus. But with his abilities, he should definitely be able to get Inhibitors¡­ That left one other possibility¡ªhe had merged too many Crystal Cores! Merging Crystal Cores, whether successful or not, always increased Internal Impurity. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear on exactly how much Impurity each Crystal Core would add. But judging from Shao Yong¡¯s 4000 Mana, he had merged at least dozens, possibly even more, Zombie Cores. Of course, both possibilities might be true¡ªhe could be both infected with the zombie virus and have merged too many Crystal Cores! Wang Tao had initially envied Shao Yong for his abundant HP and Mana, but now he only felt sadness for him. Based on the rate his Impurity was accumulating, it probably wouldn¡¯t be long before he turned into a zombie¡­. Chapter 205 - Chapter 205: Chapter 120 Shao Yong_2 Chapter 205: Chapter 120 Shao Yong_2 Translator: 549690339 As Wang Tao observed Shao Yong, it seemed as if Shao Yong sensed something. He lifted his head and looked toward Wang Tao¡¯s window. However, the window was somewhat reflective, and Wang Tao was behind the curtain, so Shao Yong didn¡¯t actually see anyone. But he clearly felt as though he was being watched. Shao Yong stuck out his somewhat long tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, his face showing a trace of anger. He hated being peeped at. But Shao Yong felt behind himself for something and found no steel bars. He then glanced at the zombies chasing him inside the hospital and decisively slipped away. Once Shao Yong had left, Han Rui spoke up softly. ¡°That person, he gives me a really terrifying feeling¡­¡± ¡°Indeed, he is terrifying. He¡¯s strong, and I¡¯m not necessarily his match.¡± Wang Tao nodded seriously. He felt somewhat regretful; Shao Yong was critically low on HP now, but he was some distance from Shao Yong and couldn¡¯t hit him. There were also many zombies in pursuit of Shao Yong, and he didn¡¯t have much of an opportunity to strike. ¡°Ah? You can¡¯t beat him? That¡¯s impossible!¡± Han Rui couldn¡¯t believe it. In her mind, Wang Tao had always been the most powerful. It was no problem to say that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t beat zombies, as many zombies were quite formidable. But to say that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t win against survivors¡­ that seemed unbelievable, right? Wang Tao couldn¡¯t explain the problem with HP and Mana, so he vaguely said, ¡°My instincts are usually very accurate, and right now, I might indeed not be as strong as him¡­¡± Shao Yong had 4000 HP, while Wang Tao only had 3290¡­ When over 1000 HP, every increase of 1000 HP is quite significant. So theoretically, Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition should be inferior to his. However, Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness was originally good, and with the increase in HP, the benefits he received were also larger. Therefore, it was really hard to say who had the better physical condition between the two of them. But in terms of Mana, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t come close; he only had 1400, while the other had 4000, which meant he had merged with 26 more Crystal Cores than him! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how many Abilities Shao Yong had learned, but Wang Tao could only merge with four types of Crystal Cores at most, meaning he could have at most four Abilities. If Shao Yong also had four Abilities, then his 40 Crystal Cores would be equivalent to having all four Abilities ¡°maxed out¡± at +10! They¡¯d all be merged to the highest level! On the other hand, Wang Tao only had one Shockwave at +10, Toughness at +3, and Precision Shooting only merged once. Plus, he only had three Abilities¡­ So in terms of Abilities, he was theoretically inferior to Shao Yong. Unless Shao Yong had merged with useless junk Crystal Cores, but this possibility was small, since Wang Tao didn¡¯t notice any obvious side effects on him, like Glutton or Mud Swamp. Anyway, no matter what, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have absolute confidence in winning against him. Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t going to challenge him to a duel. With so many people at Shuize Base, why would he give him the chance for a duel? Why not just gang up on him instead? ¡°So what should we do now¡­¡± Han Rui looked toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao hesitated for a moment and then said: ¡°Let¡¯s wait a while longer before leaving. It looks like all the zombies from the hospital have come out. Let¡¯s see if we have a chance to hunt down a few more.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Han Rui nodded. Wang Tao and she waited until the sun set, and the roaring of the zombies outside finally lessened significantly. However, it was going to be dark soon, and it was definitely not the time to go out. ¡°Rest for the night, and things here should be back to normal tomorrow.¡± The next day, early in the morning. The two people in the apartment both woke up early. Neither of them had slept well the previous night, not because they were up to something shameful, but because it was too noisy outside. After the apocalypse, things were different compared to before. During the daytime, it was usually extremely quiet, but as soon as night fell, the zombies became extraordinarily active, with their howling non-stop. Especially since they were near the hospital, which was filled with so many zombies¡­ the noise was simply too much! If a timid person came here, they would probably be scared out of their wits. Of course, Wang Tao could block his ears to stop the noise. But even if this weren¡¯t a base, even at a base, he wouldn¡¯t block off his senses like that¡­ After simply drinking a couple of nutrient drinks, Wang Tao said to Han Rui: ¡°Let¡¯s go check out the hospital.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The two of them cautiously approached the hospital, and after assessing the situation inside, they both gasped in shock. The hospital was filled with zombies, most of them dressed in white lab coats and patient gowns, and a small portion in regular clothes. At a casual glance, there seemed to be at least a thousand zombies here, and that didn¡¯t even take into account the many Elite Zombies! Including the unique Elite Zombies found inside the hospital, such as Attackers, Terrorizers, and even Self-exploders, among others. This place was practically a haven for zombies! Not to mention, within the outpatient building, there were countless Mad Demon Zombies¡­ This was the true face of the hospital! The reason there were no zombies outside yesterday, Wang Tao guessed, might be because Shao Yong and his group caused some disturbance, which drew the zombies over¡­ ¡°What should we do now?¡± Seeing so many zombies, Han Rui felt her scalp tingle. If they were spotted by these zombies, they would only have one choice: to run for their lives. ¡°First, let¡¯s go check the car.¡± The two slowly made their way to where their car was parked the day before. The car was intact, undamaged in any way. Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief; with the car, they had the means to make an escape. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can lure some zombies over¡­¡± Seeing so many Elite Zombies, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to leave just yet. ¡°Okay!¡± They ambled around the hospital for a while, quickly finding an opportunity.. Chapter 206 - Chapter 206: Chapter 120 Shao Yong_3 Chapter 206: Chapter 120 Shao Yong_3 Translator: 549690339 Just then, a bald middle-aged elite zombie, short, and chubby, decked in a white lab coat, was passing by the entrance. Han Rui had already taken aim at it and sent an arrow flying straight at him. Whiz¡ª [-1023] [1977/3000] The arrow took away one-third of the zombie s HP. Considering its defense power, it probably wasn¡¯t the zombie that threw surgical knives. After taking an arrow, the zombie immediately looked around, then started heading in Han Rui¡¯s direction. It probably didn¡¯t see who attacked it, since there was no acceleration and none of the frenzied behavior that zombies display when they discover humans. Could zombies have a sixth sense? Regardless of whether it was a sixth sense or not, this was just what Wang Tao wanted. When the zombie got closer, Han Rui stealthily shot another arrow. [-1123] [845/3000] ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Now, the zombie had spotted the one who started it all. It immediately turned towards Han Rui¡¯s location and started to jog over. But just at that moment, Wang Tao engaged his precise shooting ability and pulled the trigger. Whiz¡ª [-672] [-182] [0/3000] Its HP dropped to zero, two arrows sending it to its demise. After confirming that no zombies were coming, Wang Tao hurried over to collect the spoils. From the zombie, he gained 60 HP, a white crystal core, and a package. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Rejuvenation] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Prone to indulging in desires)] [Rejuvenation: Can expend a certain amount of energy to instantly recover full physical strength and spirit] Wang Tao thought the attributes of this crystal core weren¡¯t bad. Though it wasn¡¯t about increasing HP or energy, reality is not a game. Besides HP and energy, factors like physical strength and spirit can also impact a person¡¯s state. For instance, when you run out of energy, you feel very tired, and at that point, even if you have a lot of HP, your combat effectiveness will be significantly reduced. Instant recovery of physical strength and spirit could be like an adrenaline shot, likewise boosting combat power. But the side effect of this crystal core, ¡°prone to indulging in desires¡±¡­ isn¡¯t that just being lascivious? Is that really a side effect? Isn¡¯t that quite normal? Wang Tao had his suspicions; perhaps this Shao Yong might have this ability, right? Otherwise, with so many zombies in the hospital, how did he manage to escape? Putting aside whether he could defeat them or not, even if the zombies just stood there and let him hack at them, it¡¯s doubtful he could have managed to get through them all. Especially during times of heightened concentration, the depletion of physical strength and spirit would be even greater¡­ This lecherous zombie, aside from the crystal core, also had a medic pack, two potions, and a blueprint. [Acquired: Medic Pack x5] [Acquired: Rejuvenation Potion Blueprint xi] [Acquired: Rejuvenation Potion x2] It came with a detailed description. [Rejuvenation Potion Blueprint: After learning, you can craft 5 Rejuvenation Potions at a time. Required materials: Zombie Crystal Core xi, 300ml of Purified Water, 30 kilocalories of food] [Rejuvenation Potion: Upon consumption, instantly recovers full physical strength and spirit, but leads to a state of weakness for 1 day afterward] The materials needed to craft this Rejuvenation Potion are simple, nothing special ¨C just a zombie crystal core, water, and food. However, the side effect of the potion is quite strong. It¡¯s only suitable for a burst of effort. If the battle isn¡¯t over after using it, you¡¯re pretty much done for¡­ With a thought, Wang Tao learned the method to craft the potion. He had learned several potion crafting methods by now, but this was the only potion he could actually make; the others all lacked crucial materials. ¡°I¡¯ll make some later on to keep as a reserve¡­¡± he thought to himself. While he was pondering, Wang Tao gestured to Han Rui. ¡°Continue luring zombies.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± It wasn¡¯t long before another opportunity presented itself. A figure wearing a pink nurse uniform with a voluptuous shape appeared at the hospital entrance. ¡°Hiss¡ªIs that really the figure a proper nurse should have?¡± Wang Tao could hardly believe it. This one was much more pleasing to the eye than the previous fat nurse zombie. Of course, that¡¯s provided you don¡¯t look at the face. Its face had long since rotted away, obscuring what it looked like in life. Especially that gaping, mucus-covered mouth-it was downright nauseating to look at. Whoosh- Han Rui released an arrow. [-1459] [1541/3000] That single arrow had taken away half of its HP. The zombie¡¯s defensive power wasn¡¯t high either! Wang Tao had Han Rui hold fire, otherwise the second arrow might steal the kill from him. This zombie¡¯s perception seemed to be sharper. Right after Han Rui shot that arrow, it quickly headed toward Han Rui¡¯s position. At the same time, it opened its mouth wide and a long tongue stretched out. When about 10 meters away from Han Rui, its loose tongue suddenly shot out like a frog¡¯s. Whoosh- Bang! Han Rui lay down on the ground, dodging the tongue¡¯s attack. The tongue struck a discarded vehicle, punching a hole right through the car door. Seeing the attack power, both Wang Tao and Han Rui were stunned. Who could withstand such a lick! However, the female nurse zombie¡¯s tongue was stuck in the car, and the car was too heavy to be pulled out quickly, causing it to stagger. Seizing the opportunity, Wang Tao immediately activated Precise Shooting and pulled the trigger. [-1036] [-505] [0/3000] The voluptuous nurse zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. It also gave Wang Tao a 60 HP boost, bringing his HP to [3410/3410]! Wang Tao thought to himself that he was lucky; if the zombie¡¯s tongue hadn¡¯t gotten stuck, it probably would have taken more effort to defeat, since it could attack from a distance. Wang Tao quickly went to collect the spoils from the zombie. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Loose Tongue] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side Effect: Prone to mood swings)] [Loose Tongue: Consumes energy, tongue becomes hard, lengthens] This ability¡­ The description seems a bit indecent, but it should be effective in actual combat. It could serve as control and deal damage. Besides the Crystal Core, the female nurse zombie dropped some loot, which included a medical pack and a set of clothes. [Received: Medical Pack x5] [Received: Pink Nurse Uniform xi] [Pink Nurse Uniform: Durability+1, Tear-resistant+1] Wang Tao had previously obtained a set of security uniforms, which he was wearing now. Indeed, the clothes were good; they rarely got damaged in frequent combat, sparing him the embarrassment of his clothes getting torn. The attributes of this nurse uniform were the same as the security uniform. But this nurse uniform is tear-resistant? Thumbs down! After killing that zombie, Wang Tao and Han Rui waited for a long time, but no more elite zombies passed by the entrance. ¡°Should we take another risk and lure out a few elite zombies again? While Wang Tao was hesitating, he suddenly felt the ground trembling. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui looked toward the south at the same time. They saw a gigantic zombie taking steps toward the hospital. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s a gorilla zombie!¡± Seeing the figure that was as tall as a two-story building, Wang Tao¡¯s complexion changed. It wasn¡¯t just its size that had grown; more importantly, its HP had increased as well! [10000/10000] ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao inwardly cursed.. It had only been a few days, and its HP had reached 10,000! Chapter 207 - Chapter 207: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores_l Chapter 207: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores_l Translator: 549690339 | Seeing that the Gorilla Zombie seemed to be passing by the hospital, Wang Tao hurriedly left the area with Han Rui. The size of that Gorilla Zombie was terrifying! If he stayed here any longer, even if he wasn¡¯t spotted by the Gorilla Zombie, he might still get trampled to death! Not to mention that this Gorilla Zombie was extremely irritable with incredible destructive power¡­ Wang Tao and Han Rui ran back to the apartment building they had stayed in the previous night, but this time they went to the rooftop. The rooftop offered a much broader view, perfectly overlooking the hospital. They lay prone next to each other, watching the hospital and the Gorilla Zombie wreaking havoc along its path. Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed deeply. ¡°How did it end up here¡­ This place is far from the old mall!¡± This Gorilla Zombie should be a Zombie Lord, and Lords typically have their own territory where they roam. Everyone agreed that the territory of the Gorilla Zombie was near the old mall. That¡¯s why, after returning from the old mall, the base dubbed that area a forbidden zone, forbidding anyone from going there. But now this is the hospital, which is far from the location of the old mall. How did the Gorilla Zombie get here? Does it no longer care about its territory? Or did it expand its territory to this area? Wang Tao felt that the latter was more likely! After all, according to the military¡¯s data, the range of a Lord¡¯s territory expands with their strength increase. The power of this Gorilla Zombie has clearly increased a lot, so it seemed reasonable for it to want to expand its territory¡­ Thud¡ªThud¡ª The Gorilla Zombie walked on all fours, slapping anything it came across, sending numerous abandoned vehicles flying. Many Mad Demon Zombies were drawn by the noise and came out of hiding, but they retreated upon seeing the Gorilla Zombie. However, the Gorilla Zombie didn¡¯t care whether they were zombies or not; anything that stood in its way was sent flying with a slap of its hand. Not just vehicles, but many zombies were flung aside, and Wang Tao even saw an Elite Self-exploder Zombie get blown apart by its slap. Bang¡ª The Self-exploder made a loud boom, then blew off over a hundred of the Gorilla Zombie¡¯s HP. ¡°Such incredible defensive power!¡± Upon seeing this, Wang Tao was shocked. The blast from a Self-exploder was powerful enough to kill an Elite Zombie outright, but it only dealt just over a hundred damage to the Gorilla Zombie¡­ That defensive power was outrageous. ¡°This zombie is so much more terrifying than before! Han Rui muttered in shock. When they had seen this zombie before, it hadn¡¯t been this strong¡­ and they couldn¡¯t defeat it then, so how could they possibly do so now! Before long, the Gorilla Zombie reached the entrance of the hospital, and both Wang Tao and Han Rui could clearly see what it looked like now. ¡°It¡¯s more decayed than before, some parts even show the bone¡­¡± Han Rui whispered softly. ¡°It must have been exposed to corrosive acid rain¡­ From their previous observations, they found that after plants were exposed to corrosive acid rain, they could either die outright or grow even more luxuriantly. Zombies that had been exposed to corrosive acid rain experienced an increase in HP! However, for humans, too much exposure to corrosive acid rain could be life-threatening¡­ The fact that the Gorilla Zombie¡¯s HP had risen was very likely due to it having been drenched in a lot of corrosive acid rain since it wasn¡¯t this decayed before. Of course, whether it was decayed or not didn¡¯t affect a zombie¡¯s strength. Ordinary Zombies would slow down once decayed, but the speed of this Gorilla Zombie was about the same as before. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Gorilla Zombie roared at the hospital and then pounded its massive fists against its chest, just like a real gorilla. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Wang Tao wondered curiously. The hospital¡¯s zombies were attracted by the sound of the Gorilla Zombie and some looked towards it but didn¡¯t approach; others went straight to it. Many Mad Demon Zombies also ran out of the outpatient building. Facing these kin, the Gorilla Zombie did not hesitate to lash out. Bang! Bang! One punch each, it sent the zombies flying. Several Elite Zombies were blown apart on impact! Wang Tao and Han Rui watched in horror from the sidelines. If they hadn¡¯t left earlier, they probably would have met the same fate as these zombies. These zombies had no intelligence and didn¡¯t realize that approaching the Gorilla Zombie meant certain death. They were blindly drawn to the source of the noise. However, it seemed the Elite Zombies possessed some intelligence, unhke Ordinary Zombies. They did not just let the Gorilla Zombie hit them freely, they fought back. A doctor zombie in a white coat pulled out a Surgical Knife from its pocket and threw it at the Gorilla Zombie. But when those Surgical Knives hit the Gorilla Zombie, they didn¡¯t even break its skin¡­ Seeing what had been tickling it, the Gorilla Zombie promptly picked up an abandoned car and smashed it against that doctor zombie in the white coat. Bang! The doctor zombie was flattened instantly, their HP of 3000 dropping to zero in a flash. Wang Tao, watching from a distance, felt a twinge of regret; 60 HP limit wiped out ¡ª if only he had been the one to kill it¡­ Besides this white-coated zombie, other Elite Zombies also approached, but none was a match for the Gorilla Zombie. Watching these Elite Zombies get slaughtered, Wang Tao silently noted their bodies¡¯ locations. Although he couldn¡¯t increase his HP limit or expect loot drops, the Crystal Cores were still available. Once the Gorilla Zombie left, he could go and pick up the spoils! However, this Gorilla Zombie was also strange, not entering the hospital but constantly roaring at the entrance¡­ Chapter 208 - Chapter 208: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores_2 Chapter 208: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores_2 Translator: 549690339 After killing who knows how many zombies, the gorilla zombie suddenly rushed towards the hospital interior. Then it smashed headfirst into the inpatient department building. Crash The wall of the building was rammed through, leaving a huge hole, and the gorilla zombie disappeared from sight. The other zombies followed the noise towards the gaping hole. Soon, there were hardly any zombies left at the hospital entrance and in the yard; they had all been drawn away by the commotion caused by the gorilla zombie. Wang Tao eyed the bodies scattered everywhere and was somewhat tempted, but he restrained himself. After all, the gorilla zombie was still inside the building. About three minutes later, there was a loud bang as the gorilla zombie broke through the wall on the other side and rushed out. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s gone?¡± Wang Tao noticed that the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP bar hadn¡¯t decreased, and he had no idea what it had been doing inside. Nevertheless, its departure was a good thing, and it had left by another route, so they wouldn¡¯t cross paths. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Collect the Crystal Cores!¡± With the gorilla zombie gone and the hospital¡¯s zombies lured away, it was the perfect opportunity to collect Zombie Cores! Wang Tao and Han Rui hurried to the hospital entrance. Wang Tao¡¯s mouth nearly split into a grin as he saw the huge pile of zombie corpses. Three minutes later, as the zombies started to come out of the inpatient department, Wang Tao quickly signaled Han Rui to retreat. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± There might still be some Elite Zombies here, but it was rather troublesome to identify their bodies among the scattered corpses, especially since Wang Tao couldn¡¯t tell them apart once their HP bars were gone. Also, the hospital¡¯s Elite Zombies didn¡¯t quite resemble those from outside; they all looked similar and couldn¡¯t be easily distinguished by their appearance. The two returned to the apartment once again. Looking at the pile of Crystal Cores in the bag, Han Rui subconsciously swallowed. Wang Tao counted them: together, they had picked up 37 Crystal Cores! If it weren¡¯t for the gorilla zombie, he would have had to kill zombies for quite a while to acquire so many Crystal Cores. Moreover, among these cores, there were three Orange Crystal Cores! Seeing these three Orange Epic Crystal Cores, Wang Tao felt somewhat dreamy. If he remembered correctly, this should be the first time he had extracted Orange Crystal Cores directly from a zombie¡¯s head! Although he himself used Orange Cores, those were synthetic, created from combining two or even three Crystal Cores. Obtaining such natural Orange Crystal Cores from a zombie was genuinely a first for him. Wang Tao had started to doubt whether natural Orange Crystal Cores even existed since, although he had seen plenty of Red Crystal Cores, he had never come across a single Orange one. But now Wang Tao knew it was not that Orange Crystal Cores didn¡¯t exist; he simply hadn¡¯t been lucky enough¡­ The three Orange Crystal Cores were Throwing Mastery, Strength, and Loose Tongue. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Throwing Mastery] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Prone to anger)] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Strength proportional to body size)] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Loose Tongue] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Mood swings)] All three of these Crystal Cores were quite useful, and Wang Tao wanted to learn both ¡°Throwing Mastery¡± and ¡°Strength.¡± However, natural Orange Crystal Cores were different from synthetic ones. Although the fusion success rate for both was 100%, natural cores still contained impurities and side effects. Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t use these cores himself, and it would be a waste to utilize them for fusion, so he planned to take them back to the base to see if anyone else needed them. In addition to these three cores, there were plenty others like Coughing Smoke, Rejuvenation, and familiar ones like Self Detonation, Shockwave, Precision Shooting, and so on. ¡°Do you want to use any of them?¡± Wang Tao asked Han Rui. Since they had acquired them together, she naturally had a choice as well. ¡°I¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes shone at the sight of so many Crystal Cores, but she was unsure which one to choose. What she wanted most was a Perception Crystal Core, but unfortunately, after encountering that one Perception zombie, she had never seen another. ¡°Why don¡¯t you help me decide which Crystal Core suits me best¡­¡± Han Rui looked towards Wang Tao, trusting his judgment implicitly, feeling he would choose better than she could. ¡°I think another Throwing Mastery, or Rejuvenation, or even Shockwave would suit you¡­¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment. Precision Shooting would also suit Han Rui, but he needed that Crystal Core for himself, so he would surely prioritize his own needs. ¡°Then¡­ I¡¯ll take a Throwing Mastery Crystal Core!¡± Han Rui, despite having obtained the Rush ability, still preferred long-range attacks. ¡°Alright, but¡­ don¡¯t rush to assimilate it just yet. I¡¯ll keep the Crystal Core safe for you for now.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui agreed without asking why. Wang Tao smiled at Han Rui¡¯s unconditional trust. He had just realized an issue¡ªhe had never really paid much attention to the impurities in Crystal Cores, focusing more on the side effects. After all, impurities would only cause problems when accumulated to a certain extent; normally, a bit of impurity wasn¡¯t a big deal. But the side effects were more obvious; at best, they might alter one¡¯s physique, while at worst, they could affect one¡¯s personality. These seemed much scarier by comparison. However, after meeting Shao Yong, Wang Tao suddenly understood that he couldn¡¯t ignore the impurities in Crystal Cores any longer. Because the impurities in Shao Yong¡¯s body had already reached 70%! Chapter 209 - Chapter 209: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores 2 Chapter 209: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores 2 Translator: 549690339 When the internal impurities reach 100%, one will definitely become a zombie. But this doesn¡¯t mean that if it¡¯s not 100%, there won¡¯t be a problem. The first time he saw the Zombie Core, the prompt was very clear¡ªthe more impurities inside, the greater the chance of becoming a zombie! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how high the probability of Shao Yong becoming a zombie with 70% impurities in his body was, but even if there was a 1% chance of turning into a zombie, that would be like a ticking time bomb! You never know when it might go off¡­ So now, it¡¯s time to take the issue of internal impurities seriously. Wang Tao speculated that the reason why Shao Yong had accumulated so many impurities might be due to his fusing with too many Zombie Cores! He had a whopping 4000 Mana, which at the very least meant fusing with 40 Zombie Cores, but in reality, it was definitely more than that, perhaps even double or more! Wang Tao currently didn¡¯t know how many internal impurities would accumulate from fusing with a Crystal Core¡­ If he didn¡¯t figure this out, future core fusions would be terrifying. Of course, Wang Tao himself didn¡¯t care about impurities. He fused with Crystal Cores that had 100% Purity. But this was the apocalypse, and it wasn¡¯t just Wang Tao alone, he had friends, teammates, and the entire Shuize Base. So this matter had to be clarified¡­ Wang Tao looked at Han Rui, whose impurity level displayed as ¡°1%¡± beneath her HP bar. Although it seemed small and not much of a danger, she had fused with far fewer Zombie Cores, only three in total thus far. Just looking at Han Rui¡¯s internal impurities, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t make a judgment yet, he needed to compare it with other people¡¯s attributes. Recently, all the committee members in the base had become Ability Users, he could study this matter properly after returning¡­ Wang Tao then looked at the other Crystal Cores, many of which he could use. For instance, Throwing Master, Power, Rush, and so on. But what made Wang Tao happiest was that he finally saw a Self-healing Crystal Core! [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡ö Self-healing] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Reduced touch sensation)] [Self-healing: Within its duration, it can slowly heal certain injuries] This was an Excellent quality Self-healing Crystal Core, and although there was only one, it was enough for him to fuse. Because he happened to have an Ordinary quality Self-healing Crystal Core. Adding them together made an Epic Crystal Core with no side effects and no impurities! Now Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to hesitate about which Crystal Core to fuse-it had to be Self-healing! ¡°Go to the rooftop and observe, see if there are any zombies around, we still have to rest here tonight.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After sending Han Rui out, Wang Tao immediately put all these Crystal Cores into his Space Backpack. He already had quite a few Crystal Cores in there, and now with these additions, the count surged. He then synthesized all the Crystal Cores that he needed at the moment. A rambow light flashed, and 6 Orange Crystal Cores appeared in the Space Backpack. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Precision Shooting x2] [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Toughness X3] [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Self-healing xi] Without a second word, Wang Tao placed the two Precision Shooting Crystal Cores into his mouth one after the other, feeling warm as he fused with them. Then he consecutively put the Toughness Crystal Cores into his mouth. A warm sensation came again. A moment later, all three ¡°Toughness¡± were fused by Wang Tao. Then Wang Tao looked at the last Self-healing Crystal Core. In earlier days, Wang Tao felt that his limit was fusing four types of Crystal Cores, but his strength was insufficient to force a fusion. Now, his strength was more than enough, and he felt that fusing a fourth type of Crystal Core was no problem at all. However, to be on the safe side, he waited for Han Rui to come back before he swallowed the Zombie Core in one gulp. Instantly, Wang Tao felt very warm, no, it was very hot. So, Wang Tao stripped off all his clothes, and Han Rui next to him was somewhat stunned. She thought Wang Tao wanted to do something to her at that moment¡ªnot that he was that kind of person. When they were out in the wild before, he never wasted his strength on such things. Thankfully, Wang Tao told Han Rui that he was just fusing with a new Crystal Core and feeling a bit hot. Han Rui quickly came over to fan Wang Tao. However, Wang Tao felt that the heat this time was not as intense as the last, and he wasn¡¯t too uncomfortable. Maybe it was because his strength had increased? A few minutes later, Wang Tao felt his body gradually cooling down, returning to normal quite soon. Han Rui had been touching Wang Tao¡¯s arm, and once she felt his skin wasn¡¯t as hot, she breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Tao, in turn, looked at his own attributes. HP [3410/3410] Mana [2000/2000] His Mana had risen from 1400 to 2000! With this amount of Mana, as long as it wasn¡¯t a prolonged battle, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about running out. Then, his Abilities. [Shockwave +10] [Toughness +6] [Precision Shooting +3] [Self-healing +1] Among the four Abilities, Shockwave was already fused to the limit, but the other three Abilities still had plenty of room for growth. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear just how strong his combat power was because he was too cautious¡ª If he could go out with someone else, he definitely wouldn¡¯t go alone; if he could attack with Crossbow Arrows from a distance, he would never engage in close combat; he would rather slowly lure zombies than actively go solo against a horde, unless he was sure he could win¡­ No one could fault Wang Tao for this, his margin for error was low; any scratch or bite from a zombie would inevitably lead to infection. Although inhibitors could delay the effects of the zombie virus temporarily, they had to be used continuously. Wang Tao had inhibitors, but he didn¡¯t want to become dependent on them. Moreover, excessive use of inhibitors wasn¡¯t good for the body. So, up until now, Wang Tao had never really fought all out. Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t so arrogant as to think he was invincible with full strength. Just the Gorilla zombie he had seen not long ago¡ªthe one he couldn¡¯t defeat even when pulling out all the stops! Wang Tao even felt that he might not be able to beat it even when the Gorilla zombie had 5000 HP¡­. Chapter 210 - Chapter 210: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Chapter 210: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Abilityl Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao tried out his new ability ¡°Self-healing.¡± ¡°Consuming¡­ 1 Mana per second! Not bad, not bad!¡± He hadn¡¯t expected Self-healing to be like Thoughness, consuming 1 Mana per second during use, which wasn¡¯t nearly as exaggerated as the 10 Mana per second consumed by Precision Shooting. With his current 2000 Mana, he could use it for half an hour. The only thing was he didn¡¯t know how effective this Self-healing was¡­ The description on the Self-healing Crystal Core said ¡°slowly recovers a certain amount of HP,¡± but just how slow was this ¡°slow¡±? He would have to study this further later on. Unfortunately, he was at full HP now and couldn¡¯t test it. Wang Tao glanced outside the window, it was already evening. At this time, there was no need to take risks by going out. After all, he wasn¡¯t clear about the actual situation inside the hospital and had no idea what the Gorilla zombie was doing running in there¡­ The unknown represented risk, so it was better to be cautious. The two of them rested in the apartment for the night. The next morning, they arrived at the entrance to the hospital again. But seeing the situation inside the hospital, Wang Tao felt a headache coming on¡ªthe zombies had once again disappeared! Obviously, they had gone back inside the building. Most likely, Shao Yong and the rest had attracted the zombies into the building before. Now that Shao Yong had left, and his men were probably all dead, the zombies had gone back in again¡­ Could it have something to do with yesterday¡¯s Gorilla zombie? Wang Tao shook his head in resignation. With the zombies inside the building, he couldn¡¯t attract them out; otherwise, instead of one or two, it would be hundreds, if not thousands of them! Not to mention, there were countless Mad Demon Zombies here¡­ ¡°We¡¯re pulling out!¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui picked up some Zombie Cores they hadn¡¯t managed to collect from the day before. After staying a while longer and confirming there was no opportunity, Wang Tao decisively left. Although it was a pity, with the zombies not coming out, there was no use in him staying there. However, Wang Tao was definitely planning to come back. Moreover, he intended to bring a loudspeaker next time. The zombies in the hospital weren¡¯t coming out, right? He would just use noise to attract them! Of course, this plan had certain risks. A slight mistake could cost him his life, so he needed to study how exactly to implement it. Upon reaching his SUV, Wang Tao made sure there were no issues with the vehicle and then started it up, driving back with Han Rui. Seeing the destruction caused by the Gorilla zombie along the way, Wang Tao was amazed. How much damage had that thing caused on its way here! Wang Tao quietly noted down the route taken by the Gorilla zombie, so that in the future, Hunters from the base could avoid these areas when they went out. ¡°Wang Tao, there are Elite Zombies!¡± Around midday, as they were close to returning to Shuize Base, Han Rui suddenly pointed out a location. Wang Tao looked in the direction she was pointing. There were two tall zombies standing out from a group of Ordinary zombies on a square. One was a Self-exploder with 3000 HP. The other was an extremely obese male zombie with 2400 HP. The Self-exploder¡¯s chest was swollen, with its internal organs exposed. The obese zombie, besides being fat all over and having a large belly, was excessively overweight to the point of abnormality; it seemed like the belly would burst at any moment¡­ It was different from the Slime Spitter, which only had a slightly larger belly, and was not as fat. From the looks of it, this was a new type of zombie that Wang Tao had never seen before. ¡°Should we engage?¡± Han Rui seemed eager to try. She was timid in the hospital, but once on the road, she was ready to strike hard! After all, there were only two Elite Zombies, which basically posed no threat to her and Wang Tao. As for the Ordinary zombies, dealing with them would just be a matter of a few Shockwaves for Wang Tao. ¡°Engage!¡± They got out of the car. Considering there was a Suicide Bombing Zombie, Wang Tao naturally chose to use Slime Grenades to stick both of them in place and then kill them slowly. Wang Tao stealthily moved closer, and once he was in the right position, he threw a Slime Grenade directly at the Self-exploder. Pia¡ª The Slime Grenade instantly spurted out a large amount of white substance, wrapping the Self-exploder completely, rendering it immobile. Several unfortunate Ordinary zombies nearby also got stuck. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush forward but took out another Slime Grenade and threw it at the obese zombie. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the Slime Grenade exploded on the obese zombie, but it didn¡¯t stick to him. A yellow-green fluid secreted from the zombie¡¯s body seemed to be very slippery, instantly neutralizing the effects of the Slime Grenade! ¡°Huh, it didn¡¯t stick?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but he didn¡¯t dwell on it and moved straight towards the Self-exploder instead. There was some distance between the Self-exploder and the obese zombie, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about the obese one for now. Wang Tao raised his axe, and with an empty chop, a transparent ripple appeared, instantly killing several Ordinary zombies. Without stopping, Wang Tao wielded Shockwaves from his hands as if they cost nothing, and the Ordinary zombies fell to the ground like harvested wheat. At last, Wang Tao stood in front of the Suicide Bombing Zombies and swung his axe! [-3000] [0/3000] The blow from the axe instantly killed the Suicide Bombing Zombie with 3000 HP! Although the Self-exploder had a low Defense, Wang Tao had previously needed two chops; now, he could kill it with one. Wang Tao was quite satisfied with his damage output. After collecting all the spoils from the Self-exploder, Wang Tao then turned his attention to the obese zombie. The obese zombie had secreted a lot of yellow-green fluid, which made it completely immune to the effects of the white sticky substance produced by the Slime Grenade.. Chapter 211 - Chapter 211: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Chapter 211: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Ability_2 Translator: 549690339 And the liquid had a very foul smell that made Wang Tao feel nauseous. ¡°What kind of zombie is this¡­¡± While feeling speechless, Wang Tao had no intention of engaging in close combat with it. A surgical knife appeared immediately in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. He had obtained these surgical knives but hadn¡¯t really used them properly, so this was a good opportunity to try one out. Precise Shooting Ability Activation! Wang Tao aimed at the zombie¡¯s eyes and then fiercely threw the throwing knife. Schlick! With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, he drove the surgical knife deeply into the fat zombie¡¯s eye socket, instantly bringing its HP to zero! [-2400] [0/2400] ¡°Its defense is that low too?¡± Before Wang Tao could ponder further, he heard a ¡°bang,¡± and the zombie exploded. ¡°Ah? This is also a Suicide Bombing Zombie?¡± Wang Tao was confused. But the explosion sound made by this fat zombie was much smaller than that of a Self-exploder; if a Self-exploder¡¯s explosion was like a bomb¡­ then this was at most like a balloon popping and couldn¡¯t even attract Mad Demon Zombies. Moreover, the explosion¡¯s power wasn¡¯t as great as a Self-exploder¡¯s, since several Ordinary Zombies nearby were still alive and well. The explosion from a Self-exploder could even kill Elite Zombies. However, unlike a Self-exploder, when this fat zombie exploded, the yellow-green liquid inside its body spurted out like water from an exploded balloon, splashing in all directions. The Ordinary Zombies around it were immediately drenched in the liquid. ¡°Damn it!¡± The smell was horrendous, almost like ammonia, an intense and noxious stench! Wang Tao hurriedly threw another Slime Grenade, forming a hardened surface on the road; with a look of disgust on his face, he ran over to collect the spoils of war. It might stink, but the spoils were not to be wasted. Just then, the other zombies in the square, as if entering a frenzy, started running towards Wang Tao¡¯s location. They were all Ordinary Zombies, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered with them; he simply took off. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the Ordinary Zombies didn¡¯t chase after him but surrounded those that were soaked in the yellow-green liquid and began punching, kicking, tearing, and biting them. II II Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. What was happening! But now was not the time to think, and Wang Tao quickly ran towards the car. Han Rui had taken the driver¡¯s seat and then opened the car door. Just at that moment, Han Rui¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and she yelled at Wang Tao. ¡°Watch out!¡± But as she spoke, it was already too late. Bang! A zombie with an enormous arm suddenly burst out of a dark corner and slammed into Wang Tao! Crash Wang Tao was sent flying and crashed through the bricks of the square¡¯s wall, falling on the other side, with his life or death unknown. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Han Rui turned pale, hurriedly got out of the car, and then charged at the Charger Zombie. Whoosh Bang! Han Rui hit the Charger with full force, but it blocked her charge with its huge arms, merely stepping back two paces. Han Rui felt a bit dizzy as if she had run headlong into an iron wall. Hu- The Charger Zombie swung its arm, striking Han Rui and sending her flying. ¡°Puh ¡± Han Rui slammed hard against a tree, feeling a sweet sensation in her throat as a red trace of blood soaked through the cloth on her face. ¡°So strong¡­¡± Han Rui struggled to get up, taking out the pistol from behind her waist. She had not expected the Charger to be so strong! Its defense was outrageous, able to withstand even her charge! Was she going to fall here today? Han Rui aimed the gun at the Charger, knowing that it was highly unlikely the pistol would kill it, but she had no other options. As for attracting Mad Demon Zombies, she no longer needed to consider that. The sound of the Charger hitting Wang Tao against the wall, and the subsequent collapse of the wall, were loud enough that a few Mad Demon Zombies had already begun racing in their direction. But as Han Rui was about to shoot, suddenly a Flying Axe flew out of the rubble and struck the Charger Zombie right in the back of its head. Bang The Charger staggered from the blow and turned to roar at the ruins. A towering figure, clutching a Concrete Hammer, slowly emerged from the debris. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Han Rui, seeing this scene from a distance, burst into tears of joy. Then, she looked at the approaching Mad Demon Zombies and decisively ran towards them. She couldn¡¯t deal with the Charger and had to leave it to Wang Tao. But she could spare him from other nuisances. Wang Tao rotated his neck, causing a series of cracking sounds. Facing this Charger Zombie with 4200 HP, he grinned. He felt the axe was too short to deal with this towering Charger, so he pulled out the Reinforced Concrete Hammer dropped by the Terrorizer from his Space Backpack. The Big Hammer was tremendously draining on physical strength, but it was perfect for dealing with these tough-skinned zombies. Not to mention, Wang Tao had also drunk a Strength Potion! Taking a deep breath, Wang Tao held the Big Hammer tightly with both hands and ran towards the Charger. Roar The Charger Zombie, seeing this man had not died and apparently angered, let out a roar, then raised its arm, preparing to charge at Wang Tao again. Wang Tao instantly gripped the hammer with one hand while the other held a Surgical Knife, which he threw directly at the Charger¡¯s head. [-74] Though it didn¡¯t cause much damage, it knocked back the Charger¡¯s head and successfully stopped its second charge.. Chapter 212 - Chapter 212: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Chapter 212: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Ability 3 Translator: 549690339 And in that brief moment, Wang Tao had already run up to the Attacker. He raised the Concrete Hammer with both hands and slammed it down on the Attacker. Bang! [-65] The Attacker raised its thick right arm to block, but its entire body was still forced to step back, and cracks appeared on the ground. ¡°Pretty tough, huh? Let¡¯s see just how tough you really are!¡± Wang Tao again lifted the hammer and smashed down fiercely. Bang! [-71] The Attacker took another step back. Not giving it a chance to react, Wang Tao¡¯s third hammer strike came crashing down. Bang! [-329] This third strike made the Attacker stagger, retreating several steps before toppling to the ground; its thick arm could no longer protect its head. Wang Tao took his chance to rush forward, then leaped up. He held the Big Hammer high above his head and smashed down hard on the Attacker¡¯s head beneath him. Bang! [-2041] This hammer strike took out half of the Attacker¡¯s HP, and it seemed to have been dazed by the blow, its head swaying, unable to lift its enormous arms. Wang Tao pressed his advantage, almost swinging the hammer in a full circle before bringing it down with force. Squish! [-1470] [0/4200] The Attacker¡¯s HP bar emptied. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils of battle, then took a deep, heavy breath. The Terrorizer¡¯s Concrete Hammer weapon was indeed not meant for humans; it was too heavy and consumed too much physical strength. He had swung it only a few times and was already exhausted. After resting for a few seconds, Wang Tao dragged the hammer and rushed towards Han Rui. By then, almost twenty Mad Demon Zombies were entangling Han Rui, and there were even more corpses of Mad Demon Zombies on the ground. As Wang Tao charged over, he slammed the hammer fiercely onto the ground. With his size and the Reinforced Concrete Hammer, he was practically the spitting image of a Terrorizer! Bang! One blow sent the surrounding Mad Demon Zombies flying apart like they¡¯d been hit by a car, clearing a large area instantly. ¡°Let¡¯s go, you drive!¡± Seeing more Mad Demon Zombies running towards them, Wang Tao didn¡¯t linger and dragged Han Rui away with him. Killing these Mad Demon Zombies brought no benefits, and Wang Tao did not want to waste time on them. Han Rui quickly dove into the driver¡¯s seat, and as soon as Wang Tao got in, she floored the accelerator. Vroom vroom- Before more Mad Demon Zombies arrived, the car left the square. Over ten Mad Demon Zombies were still chasing the car, but Wang Tao had specifically chosen a manageable route, and once the car sped up, it quickly shook off the chasing Mad Demon Zombies. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Seeing no more Mad Demon Zombies in the rearview mirror, only some Ordinary Zombies, Han Rui let out a sigh of relief. Then she quickly turned back to look at Wang Tao sitting in the back, and asked with concern, ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then smiled and said, ¡°Thanks to your warning earlier, otherwise, things might have really gotten tricky.¡± The Attacker¡¯s Rush capability could cover a distance of over thirty meters, and its speed was incredibly fast! Without being prepared, it was very difficult to avoid. Especially if the Attacker was hiding in the shadows, it was virtually impossible to guard against. By the time you heard the sound, it would already be too late. Although Han Rui had Perception Ability, her range of perception was only about a dozen meters in diameter, so she could not perceive the Charger Zombies. By the time she detected a Charger Zombie, it had already rushed toward her. For example, during the recent battle, when Wang Tao went out to hunt zombies, she took up the sniper crossbow and silently activated her Perception Ability to keep watch for Wang Tao. When she sensed the Charger Zombie, it was only a little more than ten meters away from Wang Tao. For the Rush Ability, that distance was almost as quick as a blink of an eye! Under such circumstances, Han Rui could do nothing but cry out in a panic. Even her cry was too late¡­ But at that time, Wang Tao was running towards the vehicle and looking at Han Rui. Just as Han Rui trusted Wang Tao 100%, Wang Tao also had great trust in Han Rui; otherwise, he would not have always taken her out with him. When Wang Tao saw the panic in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, he reacted without thinking and instantly activated Toughness! The Toughness Ability continuously drains Mana, so Wang Tao used it during combat and stopped it afterward. He had just ended combat, so naturally, it had been deactivated. But his reaction was quick. After activating Toughness, he felt a huge force hit him from the side, and then he was sent flying, even smashing through a wall. He didn¡¯t feel pain at the moment, just a bit dazed. When he climbed out of the rubble, Wang Tao glanced at his HP bar. He had lost more than two hundred HP! If he hadn¡¯t activated Toughness, he might have lost two thousand HP¡­ or even faced instant death! After all, the Charger Zombie had 4200 HP; its strength was simply too formidable. So he had to thank Han Rui. If it weren¡¯t for her, he might have been in big trouble today. Seeing that Wang Tao was truly unhurt, Han Rui finally let out a sigh of relief, then felt somewhat annoyed. ¡°I still discovered it too late. If I had noticed earlier, it wouldn¡¯t have been so dangerous¡­¡± Shaking her head, she then said with concern, ¡°Once we¡¯re back, have Chen Zhuang check you, just in case you have any internal injuries¡­ that would be troublesome¡­¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Wang Tao nodded with a smile. Han Rui was also injured, yet she was still worried about him. Wang Tao took out a medical kit to treat Han Rui¡¯s injuries. The kit contained some medicines and hemostatic tools; the medicine provided Blood Regeneration. ¡°Take this.¡± Wang Tao handed her a large, black pill. ¡°Oh.¡± Not quite understanding but trusting Wang Tao, Han Rui did not ask any questions. ¡°Huh?¡± A moment later, Han Rui was surprised to find that she felt much better, and the injuries inside her body¡­ had improved somewhat? Wang Tao had her take several more pills. By the time they saw the base¡¯s gate, Han Rui¡¯s HP had almost fully recovered, leaving only some superficial wounds. ¡°This medicine is amazing!¡± Han Rui exclaimed, having never seen such effective medicine before. ¡°Pretty good, right? I¡¯ll give you some for backup later.¡± ¡°Great! Thank you!¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t hesitate to accept; after all, it was something that could save her life. Once the car had safely entered the base, Wang Tao finally relaxed. Then he finally had the time to look at the loot from the recent fight. He had killed three Elite Zombies in total, the Suicide Bombing Zombies had restored 60 HP, the fat zombies had restored 50 HP, and the Charger Zombie had added 70 HP. His current HP was [3590/3590]! The reason he was at full HP was not because he used the medical kit, but because he used his Self-healing Ability immediately after getting injured. He had finally understood the specifics of his Self-healing Ability ¡ª it consumed 1 Mana per second to replenish 1 HP. Though it only restored 1 HP per second and couldn¡¯t instantly recover full HP, it was still pretty good. After all, with a Mana pool of 2000, that was like having a backup health pack of 2000 HP! Chapter 213 - Chapter 213: Chapter 123 Rush Suit l Chapter 213: Chapter 123 Rush Suit l Translator: 549690339 Then there were the other spoils of battle. The Self-exploders had dropped a Level 1 Crystal Core of ordinary quality, five Self-Destruct Bombs, and a Self-Detonation Bomb Blueprint. The Fat Zombie had dropped a Bile Crystal Core, five Bile Bottles, and a Bile Bottle Blueprint. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Bile] [Quality: Excellent (8o%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: excessive obesity)] [Bile: Consumes energy to spit out bile that can attract zombies] Seeing the attributes of this crystal core, Wang Tao suddenly realized. No wonder when that fat zombie exploded, the yellow-green liquid that landed on some zombies caused other zombies to attack those smeared with the liquid! If he sprayed this bile on some formidable zombies, wouldn¡¯t it cause ordinary zombies to attack the formidable one? [Bile Bottle: When detonated, it will create an area covered in bile] [Bile Bottle Blueprint: Can produce five Bile Bottles, required materials: A Crystal Core xi, Zombie Flesh xskg, Glass x2kg] The blueprint for the Bile Bottles was not complicated either; all the materials needed were commonly found. As for the last of the spoils dropped by the Attacker, it had made Wang Tao¡¯s mouth twist into a grin. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Rush] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: limb stiffness)] This was actually an Epic Quality crystal core! He had finally managed to obtain an Epic Crystal Core! Although the Charger Zombies were difficult to fight, the core was a just reward for his efforts. But there was more to the Attacker¡¯s spoils than just that-there was also a blueprint for a pair of boots! [Rush Combat Boots Blueprint: Can produce a pair of Rush Combat Boots, required materials: Iron Block x2, Steel Wire x2, Screws x2, Blades x2, Nails x2, Rubber x2, Plastic x2, Cables x2, Electronic Components x2, Batteries x2] [Rush Combat Boots: Tough and resilient, capable of blocking blades and bullets. Durability +10, Defensive Power +10] This was a blueprint for boots with attributes, and the materials required for crafting were all simple. With these boots, Wang Tao now had two Rush Arm Guards, two Rush Knee Guards, and a pair of boots¡ª all from the Attacker series! When Wang Tao first obtained the Rush Right Arm, he never expected to accumulate so many items from the Rush series. One could only say his luck was good! Han Rui parked her car under her apartment building and then got out. ¡°Rest well today.¡± ¡°You too!¡± Watching Han Rui enter the building, Wang Tao directly drove back. Ding Yuqin was not at home; there was a note left in the house saying she was killing zombies around the base. Wang Tao made himself something simple to eat, then took out the materials and blueprints to make the Rush Combat Boots. With a thought, a flash of light appeared. A pair of ordinary-looking black boots materialized before him. The appearance of the Rush series equipment was plain, but Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fussy about aesthetics¡ªwhat mattered was practicality. Wang Tao prepared to try on the boots to see how comfortable they were. However, once he had put them on his feet, the boots suddenly emitted a flash of light! ¡°Hmm?¡± It wasn¡¯t just the boots; his knee guards and arm guards were also flashing. About three seconds later, the light slowly faded. There didn¡¯t seem to be any change to the equipment itself, so Wang Tao quickly checked the data of the gear. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao then discovered that the suit had gained an attribute! [Rush Combat Boots: Durability +10, Defensive Power +10 (Suit Attributes activated)] [Rush Suit: Can actively release the Rush Ability once, cooldown time 1 hour, number of uses available: 0/0] The description for the suit attributes was detailed below. [Suit Attributes: Collect a certain number of equipment with the same name to unlock suit attributes. Inlay a Crystal Core into the equipment to use suit attributes.] [Note 1: Once inlaid, the Crystal Core cannot be removed.] [Note 2: The Crystal Core can be inlaid again after its energy is depleted, but if the equipment is damaged, it cannot be inlaid.] ¡°A suit! An extra Ability?¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. According to the description, this meant he could use an additional Ability! That was quite exciting! However, the display showed the number of uses as zero¡­ ¡°Inlay a Crystal Core into the equipment to use the suit attributes¡­¡± Wang Tao quickly examined the equipment, and he noticed that although their appearance hadn¡¯t changed, where batteries could be inserted, there was now a cavity the size of a grape¡ªthese pieces of equipment all could use batteries sourced from zombie drops for some enhancement. ¡°It must be where the Crystal Core is meant to be placed¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t specifically stated which Crystal Core to use, so it should mean any Crystal Core would suffice. So, Wang Tao casually took an ordinary Self-Destruct Crystal Core and embedded it into the Rush Right Arm¡¯s cavity. Click- Wang Tao felt the arm guard snatch the crystal core instantly, and he couldn¡¯t pry it loose. At the same time, the numbers for the suit¡¯s attributes changed. [Number of uses available: 2/2] One crystal core could be used twice? Wang Tao then took a Blue Crystal Core and placed it into the knee guard. Click¡ª [Number of uses available: 6/6] ¡°Hmm? Four more uses! Is it because of the knee guard or because it¡¯s a Blue Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao then placed another Blue Crystal Core into the Rush Left Arm. [Number of uses available: 10/10] The White Crystal Core provided two uses when inlaid in the right arm.. The Blue Crystal Cores inlaid in the knee guard and the left arm each brought four more uses! Chapter 214 - Chapter 214: Chapter 123 Rush Suit_2 Chapter 214: Chapter 123 Rush Suit_2 Translator: 549690339 I Then the result is obvious ¡ª the White Crystal Core adds two chances, the Blue adds four! So, does the Purple add six? And Red eight? Orange ten? To confirm his guess, Wang Tao took another Purple Crystal Core and inlaid it into the other kneepad. [Usable Times: 16/16] Indeed, just as he had suspected, the Purple Crystal Core added six chances! With that being the case, there was no need to test the Red and Orange ones; after all, these Crystal Cores were rather precious, even the Self-Destruct Crystal Cores, which he had saved up. Looking at the two shoes and one kneepad that could still be inlaid, Wang Tao thought it over and decided that inlaying Blue Crystal Cores was probably the most cost-effective choice. Because if one excludes the somewhat special Green Crystal Cores, the ones above Blue were Purple, Red, and Orange. The lowest, Purple, had a 60% fusion success rate, which obviously made it appropriate for fusion purposes. He had previously advised Wei Zhenguo and the others to aim for fusing Purple Crystal Cores or higher. So there was no need to use these rarer cores for inlaying. As for the White Crystal Cores with the lowest fusion success rate, he would make things like hand grenades and potions, which could use any Crystal Core, so he always used White Crystal Cores. And since White Crystal Cores only provided two chances, it wasn¡¯t worth using the White ones for inlaying; it was better to use them as materials. Therefore, Blue Crystal Cores, which were neither too high nor too low, were just about right for inlaying. Thus, Wang Tao took out two more Blue Crystal Cores and inlaid them into the two shoes. [Usable Times: 24/24] 24 uses of the Rush Ability! Wang Tao now felt as if he could activate the Rush with just a thought! Although there were cooldown time limits, it didn¡¯t consume any of his Mana. This was no different from having an additional Ability. Wang Tao clenched his fists tightly. Being hit by a Rush Zombie today was worth it! Wang Tao then thought about the stubborn armor he wore, wondering whether it had any Suit Attributes. Unfortunately, he only had one piece of armor, so he couldn¡¯t confirm. In the afternoon, Ding Yuqin came back. Seeing Wang Tao at home, she was a bit surprised. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re finally back!¡± She hurried over and hugged Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin, and after not seeing her for three days, he could clearly feel that she was different from before. If before Ding Yuqin was a clingy little woman, now¡­ she was still clingy, but her spirit seemed much improved. She reminded him a bit of the feeling Han Rui gave him back at the water plant. ¡°How have you been these past two days? You seem to have lost quite a bit of weight.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he stroked Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek. ¡°Ah? Really?¡± Hearing Wang Tao say she had lost weight, Ding Yuqin was immediately delighted. She felt that the hardships of recent days had not been in vain. Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t overweight but wasn¡¯t stick-thin either ¡ª she had a healthy female figure. But like many women, she too wished to be slimmer, and she was no exception. Clasping Wang Tao¡¯s arm tightly, Ding Yuqin began to recount what she had been through these past few days. ¡°Wang Tao, I can single-handedly take on zombies now!¡± Wang Tao had previously arranged for someone to take Ding Yuqin and Gao Hua to practice killing zombies, and after several days of training, Ding Yuqin could almost effortlessly deal with single zombies, and manage multiple ones without much trouble. This wasn¡¯t because Ding Yuqin had superior combat skills; it was purely because her physical condition was that good! Wang Tao had powered-leveled her, so to speak, straight to 1000 HP, and HP was a direct measure of physical condition. The hunters in the base, generally speaking, all had a few hundred HP, and many of them were already able to take on zombies one-on-one. With Ding Yuqin¡¯s physical condition being stronger than that of ordinary zombies, taking them on one-on-one was definitely no issue. It was just that she had no combat experience against zombies, and was rather timid. The past few days had been about practicing combat and building courage, and she had achieved some success. ¡°Sister-in-law, you¡¯re awesome!¡± After listening to her story, Wang Tao could not help but praise her. Ding Yuqin had no resistance to Wang Tao¡¯s compliments. She tightened her grip on his arm and then asked eagerly: ¡°Then can I go out with you?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see. If there¡¯s a chance, I may take you with me.¡± As long as Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t hold him back, taking her along was naturally fine. But right now, it definitely wasn¡¯t possible; after all, Wang Tao hunted Elite Zombies, which was entirely different from ordinary zombies. If Ding Yuqin were to go now, she would still be a burden. ¡°Great! Oh, right, I haven¡¯t taken a shower, I¡¯m all sweaty, I should go take a bath¡­¡± Ding Yuqin quickly let go of Wang Tao, but he pulled her back. ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± Ding Yuqin blushed, her face turning a shade of red as she looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Okay-¡± The next day, early morning. Wang Tao arrived at the complex. The committee members were all present. Seeing Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo spoke with a serious expression: ¡°Wang Tao, you say you encountered Shao Yong? What exactly happened?¡± On his way back the previous day, Wang Tao had already informed the base about Shao Yong¡¯s situation in advance. However, he hadn¡¯t gone into details but just told everyone to be more vigilant. ¡°The specifics¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly recounted what had happened at the hospital. After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s account, everyone looked at each other. ¡°The hospital is that terrifying!¡± ¡°So many Mad Demon Zombies, and Elite Zombies¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s definitely the most dangerous place now!¡± ¡°From now on, we need to steer clear of the hospital, we can¡¯t afford to go there¡­¡± Chapter 215 - Chapter 215: Chapter 123 Rush Suit_3 Chapter 215: Chapter 123 Rush Suit_3 Translator: 549690339 The group first lamented the condition of the hospital before the conversation turned to Shao Yong. ¡°It¡¯s not good news that Shao Yong isn¡¯t dead, given his personality, he will definitely seek revenge. Let¡¯s have the Hunters stay in for the time being and first find Shao Yong¡¯s whereabouts¡­¡± The fact that Shao Yong was still alive was bad news, but ¡°Wang Tao discovering Shao Yong wasn¡¯t dead¡± was good news. Otherwise, if everyone still thought Shao Yong was dead and lowered their guard, that would be a real problem. ¡°I think we can send someone to investigate the underground mall. Didn¡¯t Wang Tao say he had no car when he left and was chased by a large group of zombies? There is a good chance he hasn¡¯t made it back to the underground square¡­¡± Feng Ming¡¯an suddenly said. Those of them who often ventured out knew the terror of the post-apocalyptic world all too well. Without a vehicle for transportation, one generally couldn¡¯t get very far. Most of the time, one had to hide from zombies. After all, even the strongest survivors feared being surrounded by zombies. And with Shao Yong being seriously injured, he might be hiding somewhere right now. If someone was sent to stake out the underground mall, they might be able to discover his whereabouts. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll have to send someone to keep watch.¡± Wei Zhenguo nodded, then asked, ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯ve already seen Shao Yong. What do you think of his strength?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say specifically, since a person¡¯s strength is composed of many different factors. But I feel that if both of us were in our best condition, I probably wouldn¡¯t be his match.¡± Wang Tao said with a serious expression. ¡°What? You¡¯re not his match?¡± When the others heard this, they all had the same expression as Han Rui did initially, one of disbelief. They all had an idea of how strong Wang Tao was. To put it bluntly, without using firearms, all of them commissioners combined might not even be a match for Wang Tao! Wang Tao was indisputably the top combat power of the base! And yet, such a formidable Wang Tao might not be a match for Shao Yong? ¡°He¡¯s¡­ really that strong?¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat unwilling to believe it. At first, when the apocalypse came, he got stronger by killing zombies and felt like he was the strongest survivor. It was indeed proven later that he was very strong. He was the number one combat power of Shuize Base! But then Wang Tao arrived, an Ability User. That meant the end of his position at the top. However, Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t really care about such empty titles; whether first or second didn¡¯t matter since they were all on the same side. But now, if Shao Yong was even stronger than Wang Tao, didn¡¯t that mean he would have to settle for third place? That was upsetting! Of course, it wasn¡¯t just the thought of being third that was upsetting. More distressing was the fact that Shao Yong¡¯s formidable strength meant he would become a huge enemy to the base! ¡°I can¡¯t be sure, but my feelings should be correct,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ As I recall, you became an Ability User in the first few days of the apocalypse, and it seems like you never really stopped killing zombies, and you¡¯ve fused with quite a few Zombie Cores. Could Shao Yong have become an Ability User earlier than you or killed more zombies?¡± Ren Jie was somewhat puzzled. Was Shao Yong¡¯s talent truly exceptional? Facing their questions, Wang Tao became even more serious. ¡°This brings me to the second issue I wanted to discuss with you¡ªthe problem of fusing with Zombie Cores. Shao Yong is strong, but he may have fused with too many Zombie Cores. I can feel that there are a lot of impurities in his body, about 70% Internal Impurities! That is to say, his probability of turning into a zombie is much higher than any of us!¡± ¡°What? He¡¯s going to turn into a zombie?¡± Liu He was somewhat pleased; if Shao Yong turned into a zombie, that would indeed be good news. However, seeing the solemn expressions on everyone else¡¯s faces, he quickly realized the gravity of the situation and hastily asked, ¡°Wang Tao, are you saying that Shao Yong has fused with too many Crystal Cores, leading to a high chance of him turning into a zombie¡­¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then, exactly how many Crystal Cores has he fused with?¡± Ren Jie asked urgently. ¡°I don¡¯t know that, I can only make a rough estimate, but I will need your help.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Everyone immediately nodded. This was a matter that concerned their own safety! Previously, Wang Tao had mentioned that fusing with these Cores would produce Internal Impurities in the body, and too many impurities could turn someone into a zombie. At the time, everyone was anxious for a while, but after realizing that Wang Tao seemed fine and so were they, they didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. But hearing about Shao Yong¡¯s situation, they suddenly became a little panicked. After all, no one wanted to turn into a zombie! ¡°Everyone, state how many Crystal Cores you have fused with, whether you succeeded or failed, as long as you attempted the fusion, it counts¡­¡± Wang Tao said while looking at their Attributes. In this group of commissioners, only Liu He¡¯s Internal Impurity level showed 0%, the rest all had some impurities. Of course, it wasn¡¯t much, probably because Wang Tao had previously warned them of the dangers of fusing Zombie Cores. They were fairly cautious with their fusions. ¡°I¡¯ve merged with¡­ 12 Cores? Right, 12 Crystal Cores, but only 5 were successful¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin was the first to speak. Wang Tao glanced at Xiang Hongbin; his blue bar read 500, which matched what he had said. His Internal Impurity level was 6%. ¡°I¡¯ve merged with 7 Crystal Cores and succeeded with 4 of them,¡± Wei Zhenguo followed. His Internal Impurity level was 3%. Feng Ming¡¯an thought for a moment and said, ¡°If I remember correctly, I should have merged with 5 Cores and succeeded with 3 of them¡­¡± Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s Internal Impurity level was 1%. ¡°I¡¯ve only merged with two Cores, and both were successful,¡± Lu Gang said with a smile. His Internal Impurity level was 1%. ¡°I also merged with three Cores, two of which were successful,¡± Ren Jie had an Internal Impurity level of 1%; he had merged with two Cores, both successfully. Finally, there was Liu He, who had successfully merged with one Core, and his Internal Impurity level was o%¡­ Wang Tao wrote down their data and pondered. He had previously thought about the fact that 0% didn¡¯t mean none, it could have been rounded. So going by everyone¡¯s situation¡­ After a moment, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I think I know. Theoretically, whether successful or not, the maximum number of Crystal Cores one person should merge with shouldn¡¯t exceed 200¡­¡± Chapter 216 - Chapter 216: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm^ Chapter 216: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm^ Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao discovered that if he calculated the impurity accumulation at 0.5% per Fusion Crystal Core, and if he kept only whole numbers, then these data probably added up. Wang Tao had seen them fuse a Crystal Core before, at which time the display showed 0% internal Impurity¡­ In reality, it might have been 0.5%, but the figure was rounded down, and without rounding up, it displayed 0%. So it made sense that after Xiang Hongbin had fused 12 Crystal Cores, his Internal Impurity was 6%. Wei Zhenguo had fused seven, and his Internal Impurity was 3%, actually 3.5%! Maybe if he fused another, it would turn into 4%. Other people followed suit, and it all matched up. Therefore, Wang Tao came to a conclusion-in theory, the upper limit of Crystal Cores a person could fuse was no more than 200. Because if a Crystal Core produced 0.5% impurity in the body, then 200 would amount to 100% impurity, which would definitely lead to zombie transformation. 199 was 99% impurity, and, though the odds of turning into a zombie were infinitesimally close, theoretically there was still a chance of not turning. Based on 200 Crystal Cores, this number seemed both big and small. It was said to be large because by Wang Tao¡¯s current ability to fuse four different types of Crystal Cores, he could at most fuse 40, which was far from 200. It was considered small because, aside from the Orange Crystal Cores Wang Tao fused with a 100% success rate, the Crystal Cores other people fused had a failure rate. And failure also led to impurity accumulation! If someone was to fuse with White Crystal Cores that had only a 20% success rate it would take on average five attempts to succeed just once, meaning t ey wouldneed to use 200 Crystal Cores to successfully fuse 40! If luckwas worse, 200 might not even suffice¡­ So, the viable number of Crystal Cores for fusion wasn¡¯t that high. However, Wang Tao suddenly thought of a problem-since there were Level 1 Crystal Cores, there should also be Level Two, Level 3, and so on. If even Level Crystal Cores accumulated so much Internal Impurity, how would one fuse with higher-level ones? Could it be necessary to fuse fewer Level 1 Cores and more from Level Two? But obviously, that wouldn¡¯t work-if you didn¡¯t increase your strength at Leve 1, you wouldn¡¯t survive to reach Level Two¡­ Wang Tao was puzzled. But his strength wasn¡¯t sufficient yet, so thinking too much was of no use. He decided to focus on the present. ¡°I suspect that fusing a Crystal Core probably accumulates about 0.5% Internal Impurity¡­ so we can¡¯t fuse with more than 200 Crystal Cores¡­¡± Wang Tao shared his speculation with them. ¡°0.5%¡­ 200 Cores¡­¡± Their expressions didn¡¯t look too good. Although they felt they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to fuse with that many Crystal Cores, having such a limit made them uncomfortable. ¡°I personally think that we need to set a caution limit. For example, how many Crystal Cores we fuse, or when our Internal Impurity reaches a certain leve ¡­ Otherwise, if we keep fusing without limit, we may truly end up in trouble. Ren Jie spoke out with some concern. Fusing Crystal Cores did increase strength, but the cost was significant, and it seemed irreversible¡­ They discussed it for a while with furrowed brows, and consensus was reached that 50% internal Impurity, which equaled fusing 100 Crystal Cores, was a cautionary point. They agreed to try to keep the Internal Impurity under 50 /?.- However, easier said than done. In an apocalyptic world, without strength, survival was impossible, and increasing strength required fusing more Crystal Cores¡­ This was an unavoidable reality. Watching the others¡¯ worried expressions, Wang Tao clapped his hands, drawing their attention. ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t be disheartened. I have another piece of news to tell you all!¡± ¡°Hmm? Is it good news?¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°No, perhaps it¡¯s even worse news.¡± Everyone:¡±¡­¡± Could there be news worse than Internal Impurity? ¡°Yesterday, I found a Gorilla Zombie in the hospital-the same one we saw at the old mall. It¡¯s become stronger! But that¡¯s not the main point, the mam thing is, it has actually gone to the hospital!¡± ¡°What? It went to the hospital?¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s complexion changed. He immediately grasped the implication in Wang Tao¡¯s words-the distance between the old mall and the hospital was much farther than from the base. In other words, if the Gorilla Zombie could make it to the hospital, it could possibly reach the base! After pondering for a moment, everyone quickly grasped the crux of the situation. Feng Ming¡¯an looked confused. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this Gorilla-like zombie a Zombie Lord? It should only be active within its own territory, so how could it go to the hospital? -is it possible that it expanded its territory and now considers the hospital part of it¡­¡± Lu Gang spoke up quietly. The group was momentarily stunned, then Xiang Hongbin exploded with a curse. ¡°Damn! If it¡¯s included the hospital in its territory, could it be thinking of including our base too?¡± Liu He then said: -If it considers our base part of its territory, would we be able to stop it?¡± He wasn¡¯t a combatant and didn¡¯t have a direct sense of the base members¡¯ Combat Power. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say¡­¡± They all shook their heads. To be fair, Shuize Base¡¯s strength was substantial, mainly because they had quite a few guns. If they were to rely on firepower, it was really hard to predict who would win or lose. But the problem was, if so many guns were used, it would attract an unimaginable number of zombies¡¯. Chapter 217 - Chapter 217: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm_2 Chapter 217: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm_2 Translator: 549690339 | Even if everyone could kill it, if the continuous gunfire attracted all the zombies in the county, would the people in the base still be alive¡­ Moreover, Wang Tao had just said that the gorilla zombie had gotten a lot stronger! If the elite zombies already had so many amazing abilities, then no one would be surprised if it, a Zombie Lord, evolved an ability to block bullets¡­ Boom, boom, boom¡ª Wang Tao tapped on the table, bringing everyone back to their senses. ¡°I think we have two things to do now. One is to find Shao Yong¡¯s whereabouts as quickly as possible. The other is to upgrade our strength as fast as we can¡ª we can¡¯t move the base, so we can only prepare for how to deal with the gorilla zombie when it comes. To combat such zombies, our own strength is crucial¡­¡± Several people nodded. ¡°As for the matter of the zombie cores, if you trust me, you can give me all the crystal cores in the base to manage. I will work hard to hunt more zombies and arrange appropriate crystal cores for you, striving to fuse all your cores to the limit in a short time!¡± Wang Tao said to the people. The people were somewhat surprised by Wang Tao¡¯s words, but they all nodded. ¡°We naturally trust you, Wang Tao. We¡¯ll leave them in your care! You guys don¡¯t have any objections, right?¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at the people, and they all nodded. Wang Tao was the strongest in combat power and had killed the most elite zombies. He had the most crystal cores and also gave advice and analysis to the people. He was definitely worthy of trust. ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao nodded with satisfaction. The reappearance of the gorilla zombie also gave Wang Tao a strong sense of urgency. He had intended to gradually enhance his teammates¡¯ strength, but now there was no time. He had to speed up the pace. First of all, he needed to get all the zombie crystal cores. Then Wang Tao could take these cores for synthetic fusion. He didn¡¯t have to synthesize epic crystal cores with a 100% success rate¡ªthat would be too fake, and he wasn¡¯t ready to reveal his synthetic ability just yet. But he could synthesize some with 60% or 80% success rate. As long as it was over 50%, the probability of success was higher, and an 80% success rate was virtually no different from 100%¡ªnone of them had ever failed when fusing red crystal cores. This success rate was a very real one, not like some unscrupulous game developers, where a 90% success rate was about the same as 50%, and a 50% success rate was essentially 20%¡­ Some games were even more shameless; as long as it wasn¡¯t 100% success, even at 99%, failure was still possible and not uncommon¡­ Wang Tao had been tricked by this before. Moreover, when Wang Tao synthesized these crystal cores, his goal wasn¡¯t just to raise the success rate, but more importantly, to remove the side effects and impurities! In fact, the base already had quite a few crystal cores, with white and blue ones being the majority. After Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, everyone dared not use them recklessly. Side effects and impurities were like a mountain weighing down on everyone, after all, no one wanted to become monsters or zombies¡­ As for how to explain later¡­ Wang Tao could choose to explain or not. It was the apocalypse now, with all sorts of magical things appearing; there were things that couldn¡¯t be explained. In any case, Wang Tao¡¯s bottom line was to not expose his specific abilities, not to show all his cards. If it really came down to it, he could just attribute it all to good luck and let them guess¡­ Having determined the next route for development, Lu Gang brought all the crystal cores he had been keeping. Looking at this bag of crystal cores and combining them with the ones he already had, Wang Tao felt that he should be able to raise everyone¡¯s abilities to +10! Then, Wang Tao asked about the crystal cores they had each successfully fused so far, what abilities they now possessed, and what was the maximum number of types they could fuse. Wei Zhenguo had only fused two types of crystal cores so far: Rush and Shockwave. He felt he could continue to fuse more, but he wasn¡¯t strong enough yet and might encounter problems. This meant that Wei Zhenguo could fuse at least three types of crystal cores. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s situation was almost identical. He also had fused Rush and Shockwave and could fuse a third type, but not now. However, Xiang Hongbin had fused more crystal cores than Wei Zhenguo and was stronger in combat power. Lu Gang had only fused two crystal cores so far, both being Sprint. He felt that he could also fuse another type without problems. As for Feng Ming¡¯an, there was no need to mention him. He could only fuse one type of core, but his Slime Spitter Ability was already at +3, and he was just seven cores away from +10. Having only one ability made it relatively simple to improve. Ren Jie had fused two cores: Screaming and Self Detonation. He felt that he couldn¡¯t merge any more; two types of cores were his limit. Liu He had only fused one, a Stealth Crystal Core. Ren Jie and Liu He could be temporarily skipped as they were not combat personnel and didn¡¯t need to fuse too many cores. It was better to leave the cores for those in need. The main focus was on Xiang Hongbin, Wei Zhenguo, and Lu Gang; their crystal cores needed to be prepared properly. Including Han Rui, she was also one of the base¡¯s main combat forces and needed to be significantly improved. Wang Tao even thought that the Security Army should all become ability users, and the base¡¯s Hunters should also select some people to become ability users. Theoretically, giving an ordinary person a crystal core to turn them into an ability user would bring more benefits to the base than giving the core to another ability user to enhance their special ability level.. Chapter 218 - Chapter 218: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm_3 Chapter 218: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm_3 Translator: 549690339 After all, the combat power difference between Ability Users and ordinary people is huge; it¡¯s a process from 0 to 1. The combat power boost brought by a group of Ability Users is generally greater than that brought by just a few individuals. Of course, high-end combat power is also a must; sometimes, high-end combat power is even more useful than the swarm tactic. So, we must work on both, strengthen both hands! After discussing with everyone again, Wang Tao said: ¡°Next, we all need to kill more Elite Zombies and enhance our strengths, but don¡¯t fuse Crystal Cores. Leave the Crystal Cores to me to handle.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded. The urgency imposed by both Shao Yong¡¯s situation and the gorilla zombie made it so right after the meeting, the combat personnel immediately went out to hunt Elite Zombies. Ren Jie arranged for people to search for Shao Yong¡¯s whereabouts, locate Elite Zombie positions, and more. He also informed everyone about Shao Yong¡¯s situation, advising everyone to be more cautious when venturing out recently. However, Ren Jie also shared a piece of news¡ªthe committee was currently considering the selection of Ability Users, promising a chance of selection for those with good character and strong abilities! The announcement that Shao Yong might still be alive provoked many people to curse. If Shao Yong wasn¡¯t dead and still possessed great strength, then they worried they would have to hide in the base and not venture out like before. Yet, when the news of the committee¡¯s plan to select Ability Users spread, it practically excited everyone. To become an Ability User! That was definitely everyone¡¯s most desired wish at the moment! Currently, only the committee members in the base were Ability Users. Many people had witnessed the combat of Ability Users, such as the powerful abilities like Rush and Shockwave, which were coveted by most. Unfortunately, with their abilities, killing Elite Zombies was too dangerous! Especially when many Elite Zombies were accompanied by a Self-exploder, making it even more difficult. Up until now, except for Han Rui, ordinary people had no way of becoming Ability Users. Thus, the announcement of Ren Jie¡¯s message directly excited many people, especially the Hunters. They felt that their opportunity had arrived. They wanted to go out and kill zombies, to continue increasing their strength and strive for selection! Shao Yong? Shao Yong couldn¡¯t stop them from getting stronger! At worst, they just had to be a little more cautious, stay near the base during operations, and run back if any situation arose¡­ in any case, increasing their strength was a must! They were determined to become Ability Users! As for the Security Army, although excited, they were not overly enthusiastic. After all, they had undergone professional training, and Ren Jie had told them they would be the second batch to become Ability Users after the committee members, essentially confirming their positions. There was no helping it, given their strong abilities and good character. Wang Tao trusted the character of these soldiers. While everyone else got busy, Wang Tao took the Crystal Cores back home. Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t at home; she had gone out with Gao Hua and others to kill zombies in the morning. They were operating around the base, which was relatively safe. Zombies weren¡¯t static forever; once the ones nearby had been killed, new ones would take their place, so there was no end to them. Looking at these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao wanted to first find if there were any he could use. ¡°Toughness, Precision Shooting¡­ not bad!¡± Although there was no Self-healing, having these two types of Crystal Cores was also quite good. He happened to have one of each, so after adding these several Crystal Cores, Wang Tao proceeded with the fusion. A rainbow of lights flashed through the Space Backpack, and 5 Orange Crystal Cores and 1 Red Crystal Core appeared in his hand. The Red Crystal Core was for Precision Shooting, synthesized from two Blue Crystal Cores. Wang Tao planned to give it to Lu Gang for his use. Lu Gang had the best marksmanship in the base and his performance with the bow was not bad either, so the Precision Shooting would suit him well. The rules for Wang Tao¡¯s fusion of Crystal Cores were: addition of Qualities, addition of Purity. The current Level 1 Crystal Cores had 50% Purity, which meant he just needed to fuse two of the same Crystal Cores, and their Purity would become 100%, devoid of any Internal Impurities and thus eliminating any side effects. The side effect of Precision Shooting was terrifying, blinding an eye. Therefore, it was imperative to eliminate this side effect, otherwise not many people would dare to use it. Regarding the chances of success, Wang Tao believed that an 80% success rate would not lead to any mishaps. Orange was too eye-catching, so this Red one was much better. If it did fail, then it could only be said that Lu Gang was incredibly unlucky¡­ The other 5 Orange Crystal Cores consisted of 4 Toughness and 1 Precision Shooting. Wang Tao sequentially put all these Crystal Cores into his mouth. Soon, all 5 Crystal Cores completely fused. Wang Tao¡¯s Toughness Ability had already been fused 6 times before, and with these 4, it reached a total of 10 times, finally maxing out the limit of his Toughness Ability. As for Precision Shooting, he had previously fused it 3 times, making it now just 4 times in total. Wang Tao¡¯s Mana was already at 2500. He only needed 6 more Precision Shooting Crystal Cores and 9 Self-healing Crystal Cores to reach the same 4000 Mana as Shao Yong. However, the Self-healing Crystal Core was even harder to come by than Precision Shooting. Wang Tao planned to make another trip to the hospital, where Elite Zombies, including the Self-healing ones, were abundant. Otherwise, gathering these 9 Crystal Cores from other places would probably be very difficult. Wang Tao then categorized the other Crystal Cores and proceeded with the synthesis. Not all needed to be fused into Orange, fusing two Blue or one White with one Purple to make a Red, one White with Blue to make a Purple, and occasionally fusing a few Orange¡­ Soon, Wang Tao had a bunch of Crystal Cores without any side effects or impurities. Looking at these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao revealed a satisfied expression on his face. Not only could this significantly boost the strength of Wei Zhenguo and others, but it also could create many Ability Users within the base! Even if the gorilla zombie really did come, the base would not be without the power to fight! In the afternoon, Gao Hua suddenly returned. ¡°Big brother, I¡¯ve discovered Shao Yong¡¯s whereabouts!¡± Chapter 219 - Chapter 219: Chapter 125 Hes Here, Isolation_l Chapter 219: Chapter 125 He¡¯s Here, Isolation_l Translator: 549690339 I ¡°Hmm? Sit down and tell me what happened!¡± Wang Tao personally poured a cup of water for Gao Hua. Glug, glug¡ª Gao Hua drained the large cup of water in one breath, then wiped the sweat off his forehead and hurriedly said: ¡°I heard that Shao Yong wasn¡¯t dead, so I thought he might return. Thus, I went to the old mall early this morning to wait for him, and sure enough, I saw him!¡± ¡°He entered the underground mall furiously, and not long after, he came out even more enraged, killing lots of zombies as if to vent. Then he entered a residential area!¡± ¡°I heard him mention before that he had set up some temporary safe zones outside, and a few houses in this residential area were just that! I didn¡¯t dare to follow any longer, so I immediately came to report to you, big brother!¡± After listening to Gao Hua¡¯s account, Wang Tao¡¯s brow suddenly furrowed: ¡°You mean, you followed him until he entered the residential area? How long did you track him for?¡± ¡°All morning! I have to thank you, big brother, for significantly enhancing my strength. Otherwise, I couldn¡¯t even get near the underground mall, let alone follow him¡­¡± Gao Hua expressed his sincere gratitude. But there was no smile on Wang Tao¡¯s face; he was entirely serious. ¡°He¡­ has come.¡± ¡°What?¡± Gao Hua was startled, then quickly said, ¡°Big brother, are you talking about Shao Yong? He¡¯s still in the residential area! I saw him enter with my own eyes!¡± ¡°No, he has come, and he followed you here.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°¡­How can that be? That¡¯s impossible!¡± Gao Hua was still somewhat stunned. ¡°Shao Yong¡¯s perception is very sharp. The chance of not being detected after tracking him for so long is almost impossible.¡± When Wang Tao was near the hospital, he glanced at Shao Yong through a telescope from a distance, and he was noticed. Gao Hua following for so long without being caught? Clearly impossible. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Gao Hua immediately started to panic. Wang Tao then asked: ¡°Did you use the Stealth Potion?¡± Previously, when he volunteered to rescue hostages, Wang Tao had given him some life-saving items, including two bottles of Stealth Potion, one for hiding from people and one for hiding from zombies. However, Gao Hua did not use the potions at the time, and after returning to the base, he offered to give them back to Wang Tao, who refused to take them. After all, as a big brother, how could he reclaim gifts given to his younger brother? It was considered a reward for his sibling. If Gao Hua had used the Stealth Potion that could hide from people, then it might be possible that he wasn¡¯t detected. But Gao Hua shook his head. ¡°No¡­¡± ¡°Then, how far away were you from him?¡± Gao Hua did not dare to hide anything, thought for a moment, and quickly said: ¡°Probably¡­ about twenty meters?¡± At that distance, without using a Stealth Potion, Wang Tao could be one hundred percent certain that Shao Yong had noticed him. Given Shao Yong¡¯s character, if he had noticed someone tailing him, the fact he did not kill or even capture Gao Hua indicated a particular problem¡ªShao Yong intended to counter-track Gao Hua. Thus, Wang Tao had concluded that Shao Yong had arrived. And he might have already entered the base! Shuize Base was originally established to stop zombies, and only the main gate was guarded by fully armed soldiers, while other areas were protected with high walls and barbed wire to stop the zombies. The high walls could stop zombies, but they would not stop an Ability User! ¡°What should we do now? I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose¡­¡± Gao Hua was somewhat panicked. After all, the speed with which the underground mall fell, leaving almost no survivors, was to his credit. If Shao Yong had come for revenge, Gao Hua would certainly be the first one! Moreover, if he had truly led Shao Yong into the base, then it would be as dangerous for the entire base as if he had released the zombie virus in the underground mall! Moreover, Shao Yong could be even more dangerous than the virus, as he was now a vengeful man seething with anger! Seeing the anxious Gao Hua, Wang Tao stood up and patted his shoulder. ¡°You needn¡¯t worry too much or blame yourself. Shao Yong had already learned the location of the Shuize Base from those Hunters, so he would¡¯ve found his way here with or without you. What I need to do now is act as if nothing happened, and you should tell no one about this issue; leave the rest to me. Go get some rest, but I suggest you avoid less crowded areas, and it¡¯s best to rest in the office. If there¡¯s any danger, call for help on the walkie-talkie immediately.¡± ¡°¡­Okay!¡± Gao Hua bowed deeply to Wang Tao with great gratitude, then left with a face full of shame. ¡°Big brother, I¡¯m sorry for causing so much trouble for the base¡­¡± If he had known that he was detected and followed by Shao Yong, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have returned so quickly. Having finally found a decent Survivor Base, he really didn¡¯t want anything to happen to it. Especially since this incident would surely lower Wang Tao¡¯s opinion of him¡­ He had only just clung onto his big brother¡¯s coattails and he didn¡¯t want to be cast aside! After Gao Hua left, Wang Tao looked out at the greenery outside the window and furrowed his brows in thought. If he were Shao Yong, bent on revenge, upon following Gao Hua to the base, which location would he prioritize visiting? The comprehensive building? The teachers¡¯ apartments? The villa area? The cafeteria? The warehouse¡­ All these places seemed like plausible targets! ¡°Shao Yong¡­ where are you?¡± As Gao Hua walked away from the villa area, his heart was heavy with concern, but he did not show it on his face. After all, Wang Tao had told him not to be too tense, so as not to let Shao Yong know that he was discovered. Otherwise, Shao Yong might act immediately, and both he and the base¡¯s survivors would be in big trouble.. Chapter 220 - Chapter 220: Chapter 125 Hes Here, Isolation_2 Chapter 220: Chapter 125 He¡¯s Here, Isolation_2 Translator: 549690339 Gao Hua made his way toward his private office inside the comprehensive building. There were nearly six hundred people in Shuize Base now. Though the campus was large, humans are social creatures who don¡¯t like to stray too far, and some areas were closed off, so the survivors¡¯ activities were mostly centered around the comprehensive building area. Gao Hua had always adhered to Wang Tao¡¯s words, making sure to walk where there were more people. Upon seeing the comprehensive building, a sigh of relief escaped Gao Hua. He should be safe now. There was even a moment when he felt Wang Tao might be overreacting. What if Shao Yong hadn¡¯t noticed him? But just then, Gao Hua¡¯s hair stood on end! He felt as if he were being targeted by a venomous snake! This sensation was indescribable, his body trembling, stiffness overtaking him¡­ However, the sensation came and went quickly, as if it lasted less than a second before it completely disappeared! It was as if it had all been an illusion. Gao Hua¡¯s steps were measured as he entered the comprehensive building. Then suddenly, his legs gave out, and he leaned against the wall, his entire back soaked with sweat. ¡°It¡¯s not an illusion, this is no illusion! It¡¯s him, Shao Yong!¡± Gao Hua shouted in his mind. ¡°Minister Gao? What¡¯s wrong?¡± A subordinate from the resource department saw Gao Hua¡¯s pale face and quickly trotted over, asking with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine, maybe because I didn¡¯t eat lunch, my stomach is a bit hungry. Go on with your work.¡± Gao Hua waved his hand. ¡°Alright, Minister Gao.¡± After the other person left, Gao Hua took a deep breath, and then he ascended the stairs to his office at an unhurried pace. Once he reached his private office, he made sure there was no one inside and that all the windows were closed, then he quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie. ¡°I¡¯m Gao Hua, requesting to connect with Commissioner Wang!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie was generally accessible only to a few commissioners, Han Rui, and some staff members; others didn¡¯t have the privilege. After all, as a commissioner, one of the seven highest-ranking officials in the base, if everyone could contact him, he would never get any peace. However, some could request to speak with Wang Tao by contacting the guards of the villa area. This was to prevent any important messages from being overlooked. A moment later, Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through. ¡°I¡¯m Wang Tao, what¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Big brother, I think I just got targeted! That instant, I almost thought I was dead¡­¡± Gao Hua wasn¡¯t so much asking for help as he was informing Wang Tao of the situation. Of course, he also harbored a hope for his big brother¡¯s protection. ¡°Where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the office in the comprehensive building!¡± ¡°Hmm, wait there for a while.¡± In the small villa, Wang Tao ended the call. ¡°He¡¯s really come.¡± Wang Tao immediately put on all his gear and then drove to the comprehensive building. On the way there, Wang Tao¡¯s spirit was on high alert, ready to act at any moment. But he didn¡¯t feel watched, nor did he notice anything unusual. After arriving at the comprehensive building, Wang Tao met Gao Hua in the office. ¡°It was like this¡­ I was just about to cross an intersection, there were other people on the road, but not many¡­ it seems like only the road to the north was empty¡­¡± Gao Hua quickly laid out everything about his encounter, including his mental state at the time and his speculation about where someone might be. After listening to Gao Hua, Wang Tao thought for a moment. The road to the north¡­ the school cafeteria? The teachers¡¯ apartments? ¡°Okay, I understand. Don¡¯t go out from here for now.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Wang Tao then visited the conference room on the top floor, where only Ren Jie was present. ¡°Shao Yong is here.¡± Wang Tao got straight to the point. ¡°What? Where is he!¡± Ren Jie was startled. Besides Wang Tao¡¯s top combat power in the base, everyone else had gone out. If Shao Yong had come at this time, it might not be easy to handle! Wang Tao pointed down to the ground. ¡°Inside the base.¡± ¡°What?¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to be joking, Ren Jie¡¯s face turned somewhat ugly. ¡°He¡¯s inside the base already? That was fast! We were still looking for him, yet he¡¯s come here by himself¡­¡± If Shao Yong was inside the base, it wouldn¡¯t be a question of whether they could kill him, but whether he would cause destruction or kill survivors inside the base! Shao Yong, an ability user stronger than Wang Tao¡ªif he enacted destruction and indiscriminate killing within the base, they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance! Such combat power was scarier than zombies! Although somewhat panicked, Ren Jie stayed composed. He asked about the specific situation from Wang Tao, and then with a stern face, he said: ¡°He definitely couldn¡¯t have entered through the main gate; after all, we have four guns guarding it. He must have climbed over the wall from somewhere. I¡¯ll send people to patrol the surroundings and see if any clues can be found¡­¡± ¡°You said you saw him on the northbound road; there¡¯s only the cafeteria and the teachers¡¯ apartments there¡­ Why don¡¯t you check out the cafeteria? I¡¯ll send people to the teachers¡¯ apartments¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking. But you don¡¯t need to send people over there; to avoid alarming the target, I¡¯ll have Han Rui check it out.¡± ¡°Alright! Then I¡¯ll inform the Security Army to be ready for combat at any time. And then I¡¯ll try to contact Wei Zhenguo and the others to see if we can get through¡­¡± Ren Jie immediately went to contact others, while Wang Tao got in touch with Han Rui to explain the situation, then drove on another road to the cafeteria. It was now two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, and the cafeteria was already preparing dinner for the day.. Chapter 221 - Chapter 221: Chapter 125 Hes Here, Isolation 3 Chapter 221: Chapter 125 He¡¯s Here, Isolation 3 Translator: 549690339 In the days without much entertainment, the survivors went to bed early, and naturally, dinner time came early too. ¡°Commissioner Wang!¡± Seeing Wang Tao arrive, the staff members cooking the meal immediately greeted him with respect. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then he said to the person in charge of the canteen: ¡°Is everyone from the canteen staff present today?¡± ¡°All¡­ I¡¯ll go check!¡± The person in charge had wanted to say that everyone was present, but he was unsure of Wang Tao¡¯s intent. What if someone was absent and Wang Tao discovered it? So he quickly gathered everyone and carefully counted them. Only after confirming nobody was missing did he return to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Commissioner Wang, there are a total of 12 people working in the canteen, not one more, not one less, everyone is here! If you have any orders, just command us!¡± ¡°Then, finish up for today.¡± Wang Tao nodded and said. ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Everyone is off work, take a half-day paid leave, all of you go back.¡± ¡°But¡­ today¡¯s dinner isn¡¯t ready yet¡­¡± The face of the person in charge twisted awkwardly. ¡°Notify everyone that there¡¯s no dinner tonight because the canteen¡¯s machines are broken and can¡¯t be used, and they¡¯ll probably be fixed by tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± The person in charge didn¡¯t know what Wang Tao was up to, but he couldn¡¯t defy the commissioner¡¯s orders. Soon, everyone in the canteen had left. Wang Tao looked at the half-finished, smashed paste, and shook his head. With Gao Hua¡¯s prior poisoning, Wang Tao still took the issue of the zombie virus very seriously. To prevent Shao Yong, who had been to the canteen, from poisoning today¡¯s food, he simply decided it was better for everyone to skip the meal. However, this was still food, and it shouldn¡¯t go to waste. Wang Tao found an empty warehouse, took out the food compressor from his space backpack, and placed all the food into the compressor. Bottles of nutrient fluid came out of the machine, which Wang Tao packed away in his backpack. Just then, his walkie-talkie rang. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve found an ability user!¡± Han Rui¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. There were currently only eight ability users in the entire base, the seven commissioners and Han Rui. If any other survivors became ability users, they would certainly be detected by Han Rui¡¯s perception ability, so there was no way for an ability user to hide their power inside the base. If there was another ability user¡­ there was no need to think about it; it had to be Shao Yong! ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Right outside the teacher¡¯s apartments, in a flower bed! I didn¡¯t dare to approach¡­¡± ¡°Good, wait forme.¡± Wang Tao immediately drove toward the teacher¡¯s apartments. However, on the way there, Han Rui informed Wang Tao that the ability user had already left. They¡¯d headed toward the restricted area ¡ª the restricted area was a collective term for some sealed-off buildings within the base. There weren¡¯t that many survivors in the base, but the school was large, and not so many places could be inhabited, so some buildings had been sealed off, to be opened up again when more people arrived. Learning that Shao Yong had gone to the restricted area, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he didn¡¯t cause destruction, that was good. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± When Wang Tao arrived at the teacher¡¯s apartments, Han Rui immediately took him to the flower bed. ¡°He was right here before!¡± After the apocalypse, no one tended to the flowerbeds anymore. Enriched by the corrosive acid rain, the flowerbeds had become extremely lush. It was more appropriate to call it a small forest rather than flowerbeds. In the place Han Rui pointed out, amidst a patch of dust, were several large footprints. On the footprints, there were also traces of blood. Wang Tao squatted down and looked at the bright red bloodstains, his eyebrows instantly raising. ¡°His wound hasn¡¯t healed¡­¡± Shao Yong was critically low on HP, gravely injured. But after three days, Shao Yong¡¯s injury still hadn¡¯t healed, and he was even still bleeding¡­ This could only prove one thing¡ªShao Yong didn¡¯t have a self-healing ¡°Blood Regeneration¡± ability, nor did he have a medical kit or potion to increase his HP! This might also explain why he didn¡¯t directly attack Shuize Base but chose to infiltrate it. However¡­ if it¡¯s about being critically low on HP, then that¡¯s a different story! Wang Tao had previously felt that he might not be a match for Shao Yong in his prime. After merging with some Crystal Cores, Wang Tao felt he was not completely without a fighting chance. Now, seeing that Shao Yong was still critically low on HP, Wang Tao believed¡ªthe advantage is mine! Of course, this was not to say that Wang Tao was underestimating Shao Yong. After all, Shao Yong was an Ability User with 4000 HP and had learned multiple abilities. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t as simple-minded as zombies¡­ so dealing with Shao Yong was much more difficult than with zombies of the same level! ¡°Are you sure he went to the containment area?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°I¡¯m certain, I¡¯ve been watching with my Perception Ability!¡± Han Rui replied. Wang Tao had reminded her before that Shao Yong had very keen senses, so instead of looking directly at him, Han Rui used her Ability to sense him. ¡°Hmm, let me think¡­¡± Wang Tao pondered for a moment, then came up with a plan. Since Shao Yong had gone to the containment area, Wang Tao would isolate that area! Then, he would have people guard this place! Unless Shao Yong could silently kill all the guards, as long as he dared to move, he would certainly be discovered, and Wang Tao would come out to deal with him. Wang Tao was not afraid of Shao Yong himself, as he was currently low on HP. Wang Tao feared the destruction he could cause while lurking inside the base. After all, no one can be on guard against a thief every day. Of course, while Wang Tao was not afraid, there was no need to enter the containment area to look for him, as it would be easy to fall into a trap. It was better to let him come out on his own. But this was under one condition: They could not let Shao Yong suspect that he had been discovered. Otherwise, if he were to throw caution to the wind¡­ even if he were eventually killed, he could take many people down with him! So, there needed to be a coincidence¡­ That¡¯s it! Wang Tao told Han Rui to keep monitoring Shao Yong while he went to find Ren Jie. ¡°Just as I thought, our patrol found that the wire fence at the northeast corner of the base has been damaged!¡± Ren Jie immediately spoke upon seeing Wang Tao. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s perfect!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly shared the plan with Ren Jie, then left the base. By the afternoon, suddenly a few Mad Demon Zombies crawled in through this gap in the wire fence! The survivors inside the base instantly panicked, but at that moment, Wei Zhenguo and his team happened to return! Luckily, they arrived in time, preventing casualties. However, two Mad Demon Zombies ran into the containment area and couldn¡¯t be found for a time¡­ Therefore, Wei Zhenguo announced on the spot that the committee had decided to immediately shrink the base area, abandoning those containment zones! They would build a new wall right here! The Shuize Base was a bit too large, making it prone to oversights, like this broken wire fence that no one knew when it had been damaged, nearly causing a disaster. So, for the sake of safety, shrinking the base was quite sensible. That very night, a wall made of wire mesh, wood, and bricks was built by hundreds of people, isolating the containment area completely.. Chapter 222 - Chapter 222: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_l Chapter 222: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_l Translator: 549690339 Evening. At the top floor of the comprehensive building, inside the committee meeting room, several members who had gone out had returned, and they were also aware of the news that Shao Yong had infiltrated the base. ¡°Are we really okay with doing this¡­?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an voiced his uncertainty. He was actually still a bit confused because he was the last to return, and as soon as he arrived, he was asked to cooperate with Wang Tao, and after unwittingly playing his part in Wang Tao¡¯s plan, Ren Jie told him the reason. ¡°Wang Tao and I have analyzed it, and there shouldn¡¯t be any big problems!¡± Ren Jie said with a smile. No sooner had he finished speaking than they heard the door open. Everyone turned to look, and it was Wang Tao. ¡°Has there been any trouble inside the base?¡± Wang Tao walked in with long strides, his face mask not yet removed. ¡öWe have dealt with those Mad Demon Zombies, there have been no casualties, and the containment zone has been isolated. Even though that wall definitely can¡¯t stop Shao Yong, as long as he emerges, we will undoubtedly spot him!¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke up. ¡°Great! I estimate that he won¡¯t show up tonight.¡± Wang Tao removed his mask, grinning. In dealing with the issue of Shao Yong, he had previously thought of a method¡ªto isolate Shao Yong in the containment zone. As long as Shao Yong couldn¡¯t hide among the survivors, everyone would have plenty of time to deal with him. Otherwise, they would be hamstrung. But they couldn¡¯t let Shao Yong know that he had been discovered because with his abilities, if he wanted to make a desperate move, it would be easy for him to randomly take a few lucky audience members with him. So they had to isolate Shao Yong unknowingly, and this required an accident. And that accident would be the zombies! It just so happened that when Shao Yong infiltrated, he damaged the barbed wire on top of a high wall. Wang Tao then planned to use this gap to throw a few zombies into the base-zombies appeared inside the base, and then the survivors reduced their range, cutting off those useless areas, and erected a new wall. Isn¡¯t that logical? However, there was a small accident-the two Mad Demon Zombies had run into the containment zone! But this accident turned out to be perfect for the base. Zombies were lurking in the containment zone, and their whereabouts were unknown. For the base to abandon the containment zone was reasonable, wasn¡¯t it? After all, there were no survivors in the containment zone. Thus, the construction of the wall began, and many people also guarded alongside the wall to prevent zombies from entering. Not only that, but other areas of the base also had personnel on duty. Tonight, nearly all of the hundreds of people in the entire base went without rest. With so many eyes watching, if Shao Yong appeared, he would definitely be exposed. Now that the committee members had all returned, it was the time when the base¡¯s strength was at its peak. At this moment, everyone was not afraid of Shao Yong showing up; on the contrary, they feared he wouldn¡¯t appear. As long as he did, with all the Ability Users teaming up, they were absolutely sure to defeat Shao Yong! Shao Yong was strong, but from the fact that he chose not to kill or set fires after infiltrating the base and instead continued to lie low, two things could be inferred¡ª First, Shao Yong had a big ambition and did not want to reveal himself before achieving his goal. Second, Shao Yong was seriously injured, and he was not sure he could handle all the people in the base. He wanted revenge, but he did not want to perish with his enemies; he wanted to come out in one piece. Thus, Wang Tao thought that before achieving his goal, Shao Yong likely wouldn¡¯t reveal himself willingly. As long as he did dare to reveal himself, the united front of the base¡¯s people could definitely defeat him without any problem. Indeed, Wang Tao¡¯s guess was correct. After isolating the containment zone, there was no disturbance from that area. Shao Yong¡¯s goal had not yet been achieved, and he did not know he had been exposed, so he chose to continue hiding! And as long as he didn¡¯t go for a do-or-die approach, by tomorrow, when everyone was prepared, it would be the end for Shao Yong! ¡°Wang Tao, did you encounter any problems while capturing zombies outside?¡± Lu Gang asked with some concern. Wang Tao had returned later than expected. ¡°A few minor issues, all resolved.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand nonchalantly. He had originally planned to catch a few Ordinary Zombies. With his current strength, going out with an iron chain to catch zombies was a piece of cake. But then Wang Tao gave it some more thought and realized that Ordinary Zombies wouldn¡¯t be appropriate since it¡¯s commonly known that Ordinary Zombies can¡¯t climb walls. If Shao Yong saw the zombies, he might suspect how these zombies got there. For the sake of caution, Wang Tao decided to catch a few Mad Demon Zombies. He then made some noise-not too big, not too small-just enough to attract over a dozen Mad Demon Zombies. Wang Tao was afraid of a large-scale attack by Mad Demon Zombies, but these dozen or so were not a problem. He easily killed some and then tied up a few with the iron chain. After Wei Zhenguo indicated they were ready, he threw these Mad Demon Zombies into the base through the gap left by Shao Yong¡¯s destruction. At that moment, when Wang Tao was preparing to return, the noise he made earlier not only attracted the Mad Demon Zombies but also drew three Elite Zombies. An Self-exploder, a Stubborn, and a Police Zombie. Adhering to the principle of not wasting, Wang Tao decided to deal with the three Elite Zombies, which caused some delay. After killing the three Elite Zombies, Wang Tao¡¯s HP had reached [3740/3740]. Just over two hundred more to reach 4000 HP. The power of 4000 HP would certainly be much stronger than he was now, but Wang Tao had no time to search for Elite Zombies anymore. He had to deal with Shao Yong quickly, or it would be troublesome if Shao Yong managed to escape. Honestly, Shao Yong coming along with Gao Hua was not a problem, but an opportunity¡­ Chapter 223 - Chapter 223: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_2 Chapter 223: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Everyone head back and get a good night¡¯s sleep. Tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll take him down together!¡± Wang Tao said to the crowd. ¡°Understood!¡± The group nodded. ¡°Oh right, I forgot something.¡± Wang Tao took out some shimmering Crystal Cores. ¡°These are the Crystal Cores I¡¯ve prepared for you all. Take the opportunity to fuse with them today.¡± After Wang Tao collected all the Crystal Cores at the base, he synthesized them with his own. However, he didn¡¯t create any Orange Crystal Cores; the synthesis was all Purple and Red ones. Although they weren¡¯t Orange, the success rate for the Purple and Red ones was quite high, and what¡¯s more, these had no side effects or impurities, making them better than the Ordinary Orange Crystal Cores! Once everyone had fused with these Crystal Cores, their strength would be greatly enhanced, and dealing with Shao Yong tomorrow would be much safer. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t reveal all the Crystal Cores at once. He only brought out a portion, which were the ones the group had fused with before. Upon seeing Wang Tao suddenly bring out so many Crystal Cores, all of them Purple and Red, the committee members were immediately taken aback. If they remembered correctly, weren¡¯t all the Crystal Cores that Wang Tao took from the base White and Blue? Did the quality just upgrade to Purple and Red after passing through his hands? But no one thought that Wang Tao could synthesize Crystal Cores¡ªit wasn¡¯t a normal thing to consider. They figured Wang Tao must have killed a lot of Elite Zombies outside and that these were the Crystal Cores he had accumulated, now being distributed to everyone for their use! This deeply moved everyone. Wang Tao had given so much for them, for this base! After all, the value of these Purple and Red Crystal Cores was much higher than those of the Blue and White ones! ¡°Thank you!¡± There was nothing much to say. They could only express their sincere gratitude. ¡°Haha, let¡¯s all do our best to resolve Shao Yong easily and smoothly tomorrow!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± The group nodded, each taking the Crystal Cores they needed and went to rest. Wang Tao returned home and contacted Han Rui to ask about the situation. Han Rui had indeed discovered something. ¡°I sensed that Shao Yong sneakily came out to check, and then he went back to the restricted area¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯s quite shrewd. As long as we¡¯re sure he hasn¡¯t escaped, that¡¯s fine. You¡¯ve had a tough day, so you don¡¯t have to engage in tomorrow¡¯s fight. You should rest for the day,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s not tough at all. Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m also part of the base!¡± After ending the conversation with Han Rui, Wang Tao briefly explained the situation to Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin was still in the dark; she actually believed that zombies had appeared inside the base¡ªnot just her, aside from the few committee members, Han Rui, and Gao Hua, no one else knew about Shao Yong. So Ding Yuqin was somewhat panicked. She was very satisfied with the base and really didn¡¯t want to move again¡­ Now, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°As long as the base is safe, that¡¯s good¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, let¡¯s go to sleep,¡± he said. ¡°Okay!¡± Atop an academic building within the restricted zone, a burly man dressed in ragged clothes and bandages stained with blood was keenly observing the survivors inside the base. He stuck out his somewhat elongated tongue and licked his cracked lips, his eyes brimming with malicious intent. ¡°All of you people will become my slaves!¡± He was Shao Yong. Shao Yong felt that he had been very unlucky lately. He was first trapped in the hospital while killing zombies because he ventured too deep¡ªactually, he still didn¡¯t understand what exactly had happened back then! Facing the Elite Zombies, which he could usually deal with quite swiftly, he suddenly felt very fatigued that day and, most importantly, his strength had diminished significantly! Because his strength had decreased too much, not only did he fail to eliminate the threat, but he almost got caught as well! Under such urgent circumstances, he had no choice but to use a handgun that he had obtained as a trophy after killing a police officer. The gunshot attracted all the zombies in the hospital. Although he found a safe place to hide, he was trapped and couldn¡¯t get out. With no other options, Shao Yong had to call for help. However, the rescuers he called for were also trapped, and besides, several of them died¡­ Although the few remaining people regrouped with Shao Yong, they were still trapped, so what was the point? Luckily, there¡¯s strength in numbers, especially as Shao Yong¡¯s power slowly returned. Eventually, they found another opportunity and managed to break free from the hospital. Of course, it didn¡¯t come without a cost. The cost was that all of the Ability Users who came to his aid died, leaving only him to escape. But to him, that didn¡¯t matter. Subordinates were just subordinates. If they died, they died. Even though they were Ability User subordinates and their deaths were a bit of a waste, they were just Ability Users after all! You could find several loyal minions, give them a Crystal Core to eat, and that¡¯s it. As for whether it¡¯s suitable or whether the side effects are too severe, that¡¯s not something he would consider¡ªwhy would he think about how his minions feel when he doesn¡¯t care himself? That¡¯s impossible. After all, he only needed to know that when he offers a Crystal Core, there will be a bunch of people ready to bow down at his feet¡­ Shao Yong had finally escaped the hospital, but once he came out, he was infuriated to find that his car had been plundered by the survivors! Not only were all the various weapons and supplies gone, they even took the freaking car key! Chapter 224 - Chapter 224: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_3 Chapter 224: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_3 Translator: 549690339 What pissed him off even more was that not only had his car keys gone missing, but the car keys of his underlings had vanished as well! As for other cars on the road, once drenched by the corrosive acid rain, they were essentially piles of scrap metal, completely undrivable. Without cars, getting back to the base was no easy feat, especially since he was being chased by many zombies. He really wanted to vent, and at that time, he felt someone watching him, he almost charged over there. But reason prevailed, just in case the other party was also an Ability User, in his current severely injured state, he might not be a match. And with many fierce zombies in the hospital, if he got surrounded by these zombies, he would only have one way out¡ªdeath¡­ What followed was a long and arduous flight, but after a considerable struggle, he finally made it home. To his shock¡ªthe home was no more! All the doors of the underground mall were wide open, and zombies moved in and out as if it was their own place. Though Shao Yong was injured, dealing with these Ordinary zombies was not a problem, but when he charged into the base and saw the devastation, his last sliver of hope was dashed. He naturally had no affection for the people in the base. But with no one left, who was going to serve him! Especially those female slaves, those toys, he liked them so much, he felt he couldn¡¯t live without these things! He had to take revenge! Because he could tell that there were signs of survivors fighting here. After all, if it was a zombie attack, zombies couldn¡¯t possibly unlock the doors and rescue the slaves from his cages, right? And as to who was behind this, the first he thought of was Shuize Base. Although he had offended many people, they either became his slaves or were tormented to death by him; he never left any enemies alive. There was only one exception, and that was Shuize Base. He knew that Shuize Base was too strong; he couldn¡¯t defeat it. However, he also silently noted Shuize Base, and given the chance, he would definitely not let it go. After all, someone from Shuize Base had killed his little brother Cao Xin, and the woman Cao Xin had given him, he was very pleased with her. For this reason alone, he had to avenge his little brother. Before he was trapped, he had just caught a group of Shuize Base survivors. Overjoyed, Shao Yong tortured these people ruthlessly, then prepared to use them to trade with Shuize Base for some Crystal Cores. The result was, before the trade could take place, he got trapped¡­ Looking at the current situation, he had reason to suspect that Shuize Base had taken advantage of his absence and made a strong attackto rescue the people. But he was still not certain, he planned to find a place to recover from his injuries first, and once his wounds healed, he would pay a visit to Shuize Base. And just as he was preparing to leave, he suddenly felt someone spying on him! Then he discovered Gao Hua. Truth be told, he never thought Gao Hua would betray him, because Gao Hua was just to his taste! They shared a lot in common, and he was even thinking of making Gao Hua his deputy later on! But then he encountered Gao Hua-everyone else was dead, but Gao Hua wasn¡¯t. Not only had he not died, but he was also secretly tracking him! Any fool could see what this meant. Shao Yong was furious, but he still had his wits about him. He knew that killing Gao Hua right then would be useless; he needed to find out where Gao Hua lived, then slowly torture Gao Hua and his friends and family! And so, Shao Yong followed Gao Hua to Shuize Base. Upon seeing Shuize Base, Shao Yong muttered to himself that it really was this place, and he had to settle both old and new scores together! Thus, Shao Yong found a spot where the defenses were lax and broke into the base by climbing over the iron wire fence at the top of the high wall. Looking at how large the base was, with so many women, Shao Yong was envious; he had his sights on this place, he wanted to make it his kingdom! But Shuize Base was powerful, with many members of the Security Army wielding automatic rifles. In his current low HP state, he definitely couldn¡¯t dodge bullets. Not to mention there were Ability Users here too. He had to be cautious, not show himself right away, and first let chaos erupt within the base! As long as there was chaos, he would have his chance! Then Shao Yong thought of a plan-he added some zombie blood into the food in the base¡¯s cafeteria. However, he didn¡¯t add too much, after all, he only wanted the base to descend into chaos, not for all these survivors to die-these were all his intended slaves. But he waited until the afternoon without witnessing any disorder at the base. This puzzled him, could it be that tonight, no one in the entire base had dinner? That couldn¡¯t be right! There wasn¡¯t a lack of food, and it was impossible for the cafeteria to have only prepared tomorrow¡¯s food, right? Shao Yong started to wonder if he had added too little zombie blood¡­ But it wasn¡¯t a big issue, he had already infiltrated the place, he had plenty of opportunities! And then, in the evening, suddenly some zombies ran into the base. From his vantage point, Shao Yong could clearly see that they were Mad Demon Zombies capable of climbing walls, and it seemed they had entered from the spot in the fence he had previously damaged. This excited Shao Yong, could his unintended act have unexpectedly lent a great hand? But just as luck would have it, the Ability Users from the base had just returned. This left Shao Yong feeling a bit disappointed, it seemed there would be no ¡°zombie crisis¡± after all. However, he quickly felt a surge of anger and helplessness-two of the Mad Demon Zombies had actually run towards his location! Although he easily killed the two Mad Demon Zombies, it seemed like they had caused panic within the base, with the survivors talking about downsizing the base and rebuilding the walls! Then, a significant number of people were dispatched to defend the area, effectively isolating the zone he was in! Shao Yong:¡±¡­¡± Two Mad Demon Zombies hiding in the base would cause anyone to panic, but Shao Yong couldn¡¯t go out and say that he had already killed these two, could he¡­ He watched helplessly as a makeshift high wall was erected, isolating him on the outside. The wall wasn¡¯t the issue; he could climb over it at any time. The problem was the people standing guard behind the wall¡­ He didn¡¯t want to expose himself at this time! Just as Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel confident in dealing with him, he felt the same way about confronting Wang Tao and his people! No choice, he had to wait. He planned to wait a little longer and look for another opportunity to infiltrate again. As for whether this quarantine was specifically targeting him, he didn¡¯t even have to think about it to know it was impossible-everything had happened right before his eyes; he had seen it for himself, how could it be fake? Moreover, his actions were flawless, he couldn¡¯t have possibly left any handle for them to grab onto! The next day. Shao Yong, who had finally managed to get some peaceful sleep, suddenly felt there was some noise outside the door. Groggily, Shao Yong sat up. He wasn¡¯t fully awake yet, his instinct made him think he was still outdoors, and the noise outside might be caused by zombies¡­ Then. Bang! The door was kicked open. Two firefighter axes flew straight at his face! Chapter 225 - Chapter 225: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_l Chapter 225: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_l Translator: 549690339 At dawn, Shuize Base. A fully armed group quietly entered the restricted zone. ¡°rm still a bit nervous¡­¡± Feng Ming¡¯ an took a deep breath. It was mainly because Wang Tao had described Shao Yong to be extremely formidable, and he had never fought against someone this powerful, so he felt somewhat uncertain. ¡°No need to worry, when I say he¡¯s formidable, I meant in his full peak state. Now that he¡¯s heavily injured, he¡¯s no match for us!¡± Wang Tao whispered reassurances. Gauging Shao Yong¡¯s HP levels, Wang Tao felt that he alone could defeat him. But since they had the advantage in numbers, there was no need to fight one- on-one¡ªa group attack was more appropriate. ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s upstairs?¡± Xiang Hongbin took out a firefighter axe and then asked. ¡°Positive!¡± Han Rui and her team had monitored the restricted zone all night yesterday, and they hadn¡¯t seen anyone leave. Shao Yong was surely still inside. Even more, Han Rui had located the exact building where Shao Yong was! ¡°It¡¯s this place¡­¡± Han Rui pointed at a teaching building and spoke. Wang Tao had originally wanted Han Rui to rest during the day since she had been busy all night, but Han Rui said she felt quite energized and wanted to join in, as this was a rare battle opportunity. Seeing she was indeed in good spirits, Wang Tao agreed. When everyone cautiously approached the building, they suddenly froze. There were two Mad Demon Zombie bodies at the base of the building! ¡°Could it be that Shao Yong¡­ did this on purpose to lure us in? Looking at the bodies, the group grew suspicious. They could all guess that the two escaped Mad Demon Zombies had likely gone to find Shao Yong, and those two Mad Demon Zombies were certainly no match for him. But the question was, why wouldn¡¯t Shao Yong hide the corpse after killing the zombie? How could he possibly leave it lying at the foot of his own building. The clue seemed way too obvious. Shao Yong was a smart man; he couldn¡¯t be that careless. This seemed more like a trap¡­ Even Wang Tao was beginning to have doubts. Could it be that Shao Yong knew he had been discovered and was setting a trap? ¡°Let¡¯s do this, we¡¯ll go in first, and let Han Rui use her Perception Ability¡­¡± Before the mission started, Wang Tao had already informed everyone about Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability. They were surprised but also found it reasonable -without such an impressive ability, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t have kept her with him all this time. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded and carefully approached the building entrance. The group had intended to enter through a window, but they found the main door open too, the lock violently destroyed. These doors had been locked when the area was sealed off. Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability was a three-dimensional skill, but the range of perception was greater horizontally than vertically, and became shorter with vertical distance. Moreover, factors like wall thickness could also affect her ability. Therefore, she needed to get a bit closer to perceive anything. The teaching building had six floors, and from the fourth floor, Han Rui could ¡± see¡± clearly what was on the sixth floor. ¡°He¡¯s still inside! Alive!¡± After reaching the fourth floor, Han Rui immediately spoke up. Phew¡ª Han Rui¡¯s certainty gave everyone a sigh of relief. As long as he was still there, they would take on whatever he had in store! The group silently reached the sixth floor without any incidents. Wang Tao frowned slightly. ¡°Could it be that this is not a trap at all, and Shao Yong really was just careless?¡± According to what Gao Hua had said before, Shao Yong was also a clever man¡­ Despite the confusion, they had come all this way, and they couldn¡¯t possibly let Shao Yong go. After letting Han Rui confirm which room Shao Yong was in, the group made a brief arrangement. A classroom had two doors, front and back. Shao Yong¡¯s position was at the corner by the front door where he could see both doors. Wang Tao and a few others were near the front door closer to Shao Yong, while Wei Zhenguo was alone at the back door. Once arranged, everyone took a deep breath, then Xiang Hongbin kicked the door open with one foot! Bang! The moment the door opened, Wang Tao threw two firefighter axes at Shao Yong¡¯s position! Han Rui and Lu Gang also shot an arrow each at Shao Yong¡¯s position. Purrcht! One axe accurately chopped into Shao Yong¡¯s chest, but he was protected by a steel plate there, and the axe was bounced off. The other was deflected by Shao Yong¡¯s arm, which also had a steel plate strapped to it. The arrows, on the other hand, hit Shao Yong in the left upper arm and right thigh-areas that were unprotected, and they embedded firmly into the flesh. Shao Yong, who was somewhat dazed initially, snapped to alertness in an instant! ¡°Ah-¡± He roared and lifted two metal desks from beneath him, hurling them towards the door. Crash¡ª The group quickly dodged aside. As the desks hit the ground, Wang Tao was preparing to throw another Flying Axe when he saw Shao Yong suddenly pick up the axe he¡¯d just thrown and hurl it back towards the door. ¡°Dammit!¡± Wang Tao had forgotten that Shao Yong also had a strong throwing ability. Bang! Xiang Hongbin took the brunt of it, getting knocked down by the two axes. He was hit because he, too, had a steel plate strapped to his chest-though the plate stopped the axe, the massive impact knocked Xiang Hongbin to the ground. ¡°Pfft-¡± Xiang Hongbin spat out a mouthful of blood, his face in shock. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s some serious strength!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an hurriedly pulled Xiang Hongbin back up. At the back door, Wei Zhenguo suddenly launched a Rush! Roar Boom Boom! Bang! He smashed straight through the wooden door and rammed fiercely into Shao Yong. Chapter 226 - Chapter 226: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_2 Chapter 226: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_2 Translator: 549690339 Whoosh¡ª Shao Yong was sent flying and got pinned against the corner by Wei Zhenguo, unable to move! Seizing the opportunity, everyone rushed in. Wang Tao and his group were about to go over to help subdue Shao Yong, but with a roar of rage, Shao Yong suddenly pushed Wei Zhenguo away. He seemed to have undergone a Rejuvenation, as the weariness from his injuries vanished in an instant. Wang Tao quickly checked his HP. HP [704/4110] Mana [1690/4000] He was still critically wounded, and his HP hadn¡¯t recovered at all! Wang Tao immediately thought of a ¡°Rejuvenation¡± Crystal Core he had seen before. [Rejuvenation: Consumes a certain amount of Energy to instantly restore full Physical Strength and Spirit] Only Shao Yong¡¯s Physical Strength and Spirit had recovered, his HP was still critical. Seeing this, Wang Tao sent a Shockwave directly at him. Bang¡ª The Shockwave hit Shao Yong in an instant. However, Shao Yong unexpectedly pulled out a homemade steel Shield from behind him. [-129] The Shockwave hit the steel Shield and, although most of the Energy was absorbed by the steel plate, some still managed to hit Shao Yong, causing him to lose over a hundred HP. Shao Yong suddenly looked up at Wang Tao and, with his mouth wide open, a slender tongue shot out at Wang Tao like an arrow. Having seen the unusual look of Shao Yong¡¯s tongue and considering the Loose Tongue Ability, Wang Tao had been on guard for this trick. Wang Tao instantly activated Precision Shooting and then chopped at the air with his axe. This chop was seemingly at nothing, but Shao Yong¡¯s tongue struck the blade as if magnetically attracted, colliding with Wang Tao¡¯s axe. Clang¡ª A sound akin to metal striking metal rang out, and Wang Tao felt as if he had hit a steel bar. ¡°It¡¯s so hard!¡± But being hard doesn¡¯t mean it can¡¯t feel pain. Shao Yong instantly retracted his tongue, with a trickle of fresh blood leaking from his mouth. He glared fiercely at Wang Tao, unable to understand how Wang Tao could have anticipated his Attack in advance! But now wasn¡¯t the time to think too much about it; he immediately grabbed his Shield and rushed toward Wang Tao. He could sense that Wang Tao was the strongest among these people. If he could just kill Wang Tao, the others wouldn¡¯t pose a threat! Watching Shao Yong charge toward him, Wang Tao quietly activated the Ability that came with his equipment set. Rush! Bang- In an instant, the two collided. Just as fast as Shao Yong had charged, he was sent flying back at the same speed. He even crashed through a wall and landed in another classroom. Wang Tao grabbed the dazed Shao Yong, then with a fierce tug- The beefier Shao Yong was thrown over Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder and slammed hard onto the ground. Bang¡ª ¡°Ugh-¡± Then Feng Ming¡¯an, who had been ready for a while, released a mouthful of Slime Spitter. A large amount of white slime erupted from his mouth, covering Shao Yong¡¯s body in an instant. Shao Yong struggled for a moment, then quickly became still. Not dead, but completely immobilized by the slime. Looking at Shao Yong¡¯s eyes, which were glaring hatefully at him, Wang Tao felt like laughing. Shao Yong¡¯s Strength was great, but Wang Tao¡¯s Strength was not small either. How could Shao Yong¡¯s ordinary Rush with a Shield compare to WangTao¡¯s Ability? And fortunately for Shao Yong, with his strong physical constitution and carrying a steel Shield, otherwise, Wang Tao¡¯s Rush might have killed him on the spot! The battle had some complications, but everyone was satisfied with the outcome. The plan was to try and capture him alive if possible; if not, a direct kill was the option. Now, it seemed their luck wasn¡¯t bad, and they had truly captured Shao Yong alive! After all, Shao Yong had mercilessly killed members of their base. Capturing him alive was best, so they could bring him before all the survivors for execution! ¡°You beast, we finally caught you! You¡¯re dead meat, I¡¯m telling you!¡± Xiang Hongbin, clutching his chest, cursed as he walked over. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to fall into your hands; I don¡¯t accept this¡­ Shao Yong opened his mouth with some difficulty. He felt his head was heavy; his vision was double, and even his thoughts were, half a beat slower. His limbs weren¡¯t quite responding to his brain¡­ If it wasn¡¯t for these negative states he was in, he believed he might not have lost! He didn¡¯t accept defeat! Xiang Hongbin kicked him viciously a couple of times, then revealed a cruel smile. ¡°You¡¯ll accept it soon enough!¡± Wang Tao searched Shao Yong¡¯s backpack while keeping an eye on his HP. HP [104/4110] He was on the verge of death; just about anyone could kill him now. However, upon seeing the percentage of Internal Impurity in Shao Yong¡¯s body, Wang Tao frowned. [Internal Impurity: 85%] It was 70% before, wasn¡¯t it? It¡¯s reached 85% in just a few days? What had he been doing lately? Feeling somewhat puzzled, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dwell on it. The man was as good as dead anyway. And Wang Tao planned to thoroughly interrogate Shao Yong to learn about the situation inside the hospital. Feng Ming¡¯an was quite skilled at interrogation; he should be able to get some information out of him. Everyone was ready to carry Shao Yong away along with the solidified slime. But Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows. He noticed that Shao Yong¡¯s HP bar was flickering! Human survivors¡¯ HP bars are green, while zombies¡¯ HP bars are red. Wang Tao could distinguish whether one was a human or a zombie by the color of the HP bar. But at this moment, Shao Yong¡¯s HP bar was alternating between green and red! When Wang Tao saw black veins slowly appearing in Shao Yong¡¯s eyes filled with hatred, he was shocked. ¡°Oh no!¡± Without a second thought, a Surgical Knife manifested in his hand. And before anyone else could react, he threw it. Thwack! The Surgical Knife plunged directly into Shao Yong¡¯s eye socket. Chapter 227 - Chapter 227: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_3 Chapter 227: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_3 Translator: 549690339 (-204] [0/4110] Shao Yong¡¯s HP hit zero, instantly killed. Wang Tao conveniently picked up the package Shao Yong dropped¡ªwithin three meters, Wang Tao could collect the spoils of war. But the others were somewhat flabbergasted. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡­¡± Weren¡¯t we supposed to take Shao Yong back for interrogation and then execute him in front of the survivors? Why did you suddenly kill him? ¡°He was turning into a zombie¡ªfuck!¡± Wang Tao was about to explain when, before he could finish his sentence, he saw the dead Shao Yong suddenly lift his head. ¡°Roar ¡± With a furious roar, its muscles swelled, and black veins covered its face and neck. Then, with a bang, the hardened white slime on its body shattered instantly. Whoosh The impact threw everyone into the air, slamming them against the wall. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Shao Yong stood up, licked its elongated tongue, and emitted a chilling growl from its mouth. ¡°What the hell!¡± The crowd was horrified. Shao Yong had turned into a zombie! And this zombie was clearly stronger than Shao Yong had been in life! ¡°Didn¡¯t I shoot him in the head? How could this be¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª ¡± Wang Tao could barely believe it, but when he saw the HP bar of zombie Shao Yong, he was taken aback. [404/5000] After turning into a zombie, Shao Yong¡¯s maximum HP rose to 5000! But he was critically wounded! Shao Yong, with its one remaining eye, glared fiercely at Wang Tao, as if it retained some memories from its life. It was when Wang Tao saw Shao Yong¡¯s face, especially the surgical knife sticking out of Shao Yong¡¯s left eye socked that an idea flashed through Wang Tao¡¯s mind. ¡°Could it be¡­ the surgical knife was thrust into Shao Yong¡¯s brain but not all the way through? ¡± Dead people can become zombies, but as long as the brain is destroyed, they won¡¯t turn into zombies. Although the principle is unknown, that is the reality. Previously, when Wang Tao saw Shao Yong¡¯s HP bar flashing continuously, he speculated that Shao Yong might turn into a zombie. In a panic, Wang Tao instantly activated his Precision Shooting skill, then took out a surgical knife from his Space Backpack and threw it, successfully piercing Shao Yong¡¯s eye socket and killing Shao Yong. Only, this injury could kill Shao Yong the human, but not Shao Yong the zombie! Hence Shao Yong became a zombie again. But since the surgical knife penetrated the brain, it might have damaged Shao Yong¡¯s brain, which led to Shao Yong becoming a critically wounded zombie! It¡¯s well-known, the brain is the zombie¡¯s core. A zombie can live with just a head. So it makes sense for Shao Yong, a zombie with a damaged brain, to be critically wounded! Wang Tao had many thoughts flash through his mind, but in reality, it was all in an instant. Zombie Shao Yong, now over two meters tall, lowered its head to look at Wang Tao, and then it suddenly opened its mouth, its elongated tongue shooting toward Wang Tao like a sword. Bang! Wang Tao chopped at zombie Shao Yong¡¯s tongue with his axe once again. [-46] [358/5000] The tongue quickly retracted. ¡°Never learns!¡± Wang Tao, looking at zombie Shao Yong, suddenly cracked a smile. Just a zombie with 5000 HP, what¡¯s the big deal! Zombie Shao Yong, as if it knew Wang Tao was not to be trifled with, or perhaps recalling some residual memory, suddenly turned and ran outside. ¡°Don¡¯t let it get away! It¡¯s badly injured!¡± Wang Tao roared and immediately gave chase. The crowd had just been frightened by zombie Shao Yong; after all, they had never seen a zombie break free from Slime Spit! Especially with zombie Shao Yong¡¯s size having expanded, and its considerable increase in height, it looked terrifying. The unknown is always scary. Shao Yong was strong to begin with, but only because it was injured were they able to take it down easily. But as a zombie, injured or not, it made no difference. Which is why everyone was a bit worried. However, after seeing Zombie Shao Yong exchange blows with Wang Tao before fleeing, and hearing that Wang Tao said Zombie Shao Yong was seriously injured, the group immediately got fired up! An Elite Zombie with low HP? They definitely had to chase it down! Zombie Shao Yong ran downstairs, with Wang Tao closely pursuing him, and the others chasing Wang Tao. When Zombie Shao Yong reached the third floor, he suddenly charged towards a window. Crash He shattered the glass and security bars, falling straight to the ground below. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even think; he just jumped out after him. With Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition, jumping down from the third floor was basically no problem. Zombie Shao Yong smashed into the ground, creating a crater. He rolled, dissipating some of the impact, then, as if sensing something, suddenly turned its head, only to see a dark shadow landing squarely on its own. Squish! [-358] [0/5000] Thud The massive body of Zombie Shao Yong crashed to the ground. ¡°Huff¨C Huff ¡± Wang Tao got off Zombie Shao Yong¡¯s body and took a deep breath. That thing could really run; he almost didn¡¯t catch it. Luckily, he managed a one-hit kill with a Precise Airdrop in the end. However, after killing Zombie Shao Yong, Wang Tao suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. Only then did he realize, after the fact, that his HP had exceeded four thousand? Since Shao Yong was dealt with, Wang Tao could sleep peacefully, but he suddenly thought of the Rejuvenation Potion. ¡°Why not give it a try, see if it works for the drowsiness after the HP increase?¡± So, Wang Tao used a Rejuvenation Potion. Instantly, he felt full of energy and no longer sleepy! ¡°Huh, the potion actually worked!¡± Wang Tao seemed to have discovered a new use for the Rejuvenation Potion¡­ By the time Wei Zhen Guo and the others caught up, Wang Tao had already collected the spoils of war. ¡°Is it dead?¡± Looking at Wang Tao sitting next to the burly zombie¡¯s corpse, Feng Ming¡¯an asked instinctively. ¡°It¡¯s dead.¡± Wang Tao stood up. The potion was really effective; he wasn¡¯t sleepy at all. ¡°Awesome!¡± Xiang Hong Bin gave a thumbs up. He didn¡¯t know how much HP Zombie Shao Yong had, he only knew that the zombie was tough, but still, Wang Tao had slain it! ¡°So impressive!¡± The others too looked at Wang Tao with faces full of admiration, especially Han Rui, who practically worshiped him. But there wasn¡¯t much joy on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wei Zhen Guo noticed Wang Tao¡¯s expression was off and asked with some curiosity. Wang Tao¡¯s face was very serious. ¡°This time we were lucky, otherwise¡­ we might have lost people!¡± ¡°Ah? Was it really that strong?¡± Xiang Hong Bin was somewhat incredulous. After all, nobody had been seriously injured, except for a minor injury to himself. It looked like a great victory! Wang Tao shook his head and then took out a dark green crystal core. ¡°It was a Level 2 Zombie!¡± [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Super Strength] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Strength and body size are proportional, insufficient body size results in negative strength growth)] Chapter 228 - Chapter 228: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie 1 Chapter 228: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Level 2 Zombie!¡± The crowd exclaimed in shock. Then they all subconsciously looked towards the dark green crystal core. Although they couldn¡¯t see the data, they could clearly feel that this crystal core was larger than any they had seen before! Previous cores, despite their various types and colors, were all the same size without the slightest difference. Therefore, this conspicuously larger crystal core¡­ must be a Level 2 Crystal Core! Everyone was captivated by the beautiful Level 2 Crystal Core. Before they met Wang Tao, they only knew about Zombie Cores. It was after meeting him that they learned its full name was ¡°Level 1 Crystal Core¡±. If there was a Level 1, then presumably there would be Level 2, Level 3, and so on. A Level 2 Zombie would definitely be stronger than a Level 1, and a Level 3 Zombie would be stronger than a Level 2, and so forth. However, the zombies they encountered and killed had all been Level 1 Zombies. Gradually, everyone had started to overlook the concept of zombie levels. Now, suddenly seeing this Level 2 Crystal Core, everyone was immediately reminded of the explanation Wang Tao had given before¡ªthat zombies had levels too, with Level 1 being the lowest! Everyone had been feeling a sense of urgency lately, but now with the appearance of this Level 2 Zombie, they felt the pressure increase exponentially! Wang Tao looked at the Level 2 Crystal Core. Compared with the Level 1 Crystal Core, this Level 2 Core was not only larger in appearance, but it also had one different attribute: purity. The purity of a Level 1 Crystal Core was 50%, the rest being impurities. These impurities were harmful to the human body. A small amount might be okay to absorb, but too many impurities carried the risk of turning someone into a zombie. The more impurities, the higher the risk of zombification! Wang Tao had previously hoped that higher-level Crystal Cores, such as Level 2 and Level 3, would contain fewer impurities. But now it seemed, he had thought too much. The purity of a Level 2 Crystal Core was 5% lower than that of a Level 1 Crystal Core, meaning it contained even more impurities! Merging Level 2 Crystal Cores would have to be done with even greater caution! And Wang Tao suddenly remembered another important issue. The purity of a Level 1 Crystal Core was 50%. Merging two cores would make it 100%. But with a Level 2 Crystal Core having a purity of 45%, merging two cores would only reach 90%¡­ Could it be that he would need three cores for a synthesis? Unless Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind accumulating some impurities in his body, he would need three cores for a synthesis, but the combined purity of three cores would be 135%! He had tried before; purity cannot exceed 100%¡­ which means, to synthesize a pure Level 2 Crystal Core, at least half a core would be wasted¡­ Wang Tao felt a pang of heartache. ¡°What level was Shao Yong before his death?¡± At that moment, Xiang Hongbin suddenly spoke up, snapping Wang Tao out of his inner turmoil. The others, curious, also turned their gaze to Wang Tao. Wang Tao thought for a moment and said, ¡°He must have been a Level 1 ability user before death, becoming a Level 2 Zombie after¡­ The specific reason is unclear since we still know too little about zombies¡­¡± Wang Tao felt that reaching an HP limit of 5000 would likely lead to a Level 2 Ascension. After all, Shao Yong had just over 4000 HP previously, which certainly wasn¡¯t Level 2. After turning into a Level 2 Zombie, his HP limit rose to 5000¡­ This HP was definitely related to the level. But speaking of 5000 HP, the image of the Gorilla zombie surfaced in Wang Tao¡¯s mind. ¡°I just thought of the Gorilla zombie, when we first saw it, it felt just like this Shao Yong! So, at that time, it must have been a Level 2 Zombie already!¡± When Wang Tao first encountered the Gorilla zombie, it already had 5000 HP. He had felt completely outmatched by it. However, at the time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know exactly how much he was outclassed by the zombie. Now he knew¡ªthe gap between him and the Gorilla zombie wasn¡¯t just the HP difference, but also the level difference! Then Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts wandered. He remembered the first time he went out to scavenge airdrops, and encountered that almost paralyzing shadow on the outer ring road! That shadow had a whopping 10000 HP and was above Level 2 as well! No wonder he felt like his legs were turning to jelly at that time! Back then, he only had a little over 200 HP, not even qualifying as an ability user¡­ So Wang Tao said that if it hadn¡¯t been for Shao Yong¡¯s zombie being on the brink of death, even if they had eventually won with their numerical advantage, they might have paid a terrible price. ¡°Gorilla zombie¡­¡± While everyone had been thrilled about killing Shao Yong, the realization that Level 2 Zombies like that Gorilla existed made their joy vanish in an instant. Given the kind of attack they just mounted, aside from Shao Yong, no one might withstand it. But that was just barely a Level 1, critically injured Shao Yong! If a Level 2 Zombie Shao Yong had appeared, they wouldn¡¯t have had a chance to fight, reliant entirely on Wang Tao. They dared not imagine just how terrifying an uninjured Zombie Shao Yong would be! ¡°Damn it, kill zombies! Improve strength!¡± Xiang Hongbin violently kicked the corpse on the ground. ¡°You should rest if you need to, get busy if you have to; I¡¯ll handle things here.¡± Ren Jie pointed to the zombie¡¯s body and the containment area. Now that Shao Yong had been killed, the newly-built walls from last night could be dismantled. They also had to find a suitable reason not to panic the survivors. ¡°We¡¯ll rest for a while and then go out to hunt zombies in the afternoon! What about you, Wang Tao?¡± Zhen Guo asked. Chapter 229 - Chapter 229: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie 2 Chapter 229: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie 2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°I need to go back and rest a bit.¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°Okay.¡± The group searched the sealed off area again to ensure no zombies remained before they left. Ren Jie broadcasted in the base that Shao Yong had been killed by several committee members working together, and everyone no longer needed to worry about his sneak attacks. Once this news was announced, the hunters all breathed a sigh of relief. They had been on edge these past few days while outside, but now they could finally feel at ease. However, Ren Jie also announced another piece of news, stating that Level 2 Zombies had appeared outside, advising everyone to be cautious. Ren Jie took the opportunity to explain the meaning of Level 1 and Level 2. Ordinary people have no rank, and only after becoming ability users do they become Level 1 ability users. Level 2 represents an even stronger existence than Level 1! The news of Level 2 zombies immediately tightened the atmosphere. Many of them didn¡¯t actually know how powerful zombies were, only that ordinary zombies were very strong, and Elite Zombies were much stronger than ordinary ones. But now, they knew that the Elite Zombies they had seen were actually just Level 1 Zombies. So just how strong were Level 2 Zombies? Zombies were getting stronger, and they needed to become stronger too! Otherwise, not to mention killing zombies, the risk of going out to scavenge for supplies had also increased! Quite a few hunters silently resolved to quickly improve their strength, hoping to be selected by the committee to become ability users! Only by becoming ability users would they qualify to survive in this post- apocalyptic world! Once Wang Tao returned home, he finally felt somewhat sleepy; the spirit boosted by the Rejuvenation Potion was about to run out. ¡°No good, too sleepy! Sister-in-law, I¡¯ll take a nap¡­¡± Not bothering to say much more, Wang Tao collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep. ¡°Alright!¡± Ding Yuqin knew this was a process of power upgrading, and she was genuinely happy for Wang Tao from the bottom of her heart. Now with 1000 HP, she had a lot more strength, and she laboriously lifted Wang Tao onto the bed. After all, sleeping on the sofa wasn¡¯t comfortable. Time passed without her noticing, and finally, Wang Tao woke up. He felt a bit thirsty, then saw a glass of water being handed to him. ¡°Sister-in-law, how long did I sleep?¡± Wang Tao glanced at Ding Yuqin, who was sitting by the bed keeping him company. ¡°Still the same as before, three hours,¡± Ding Yuqin looked at the wall clock, then added, ¡°I¡¯m going to make dinner now!¡± ¡°Mm, go ahead.¡± After Ding Yuqin left, Wang Tao stretched and then clenched his fists. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten stronger!¡± Wang Tao was a bit excited but not inflated. The outcome of Shao Yong was the result of arrogance, and he needed to always remember this lesson. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the Loot Pack he obtained after killing Shao Yong today. The situation this time was a bit different because Wang Tao had killed Shao Yong twice! Once as a human and once as a zombie! This situation left Wang Tao quite baffled. If it weren¡¯t for seeing his HP increase and the Loot Packs, he might not have even noticed this fact¡ªhe had an HP increase twice and obtained two packs! If he remembered correctly, his maximum HP was 3740 up until yesterday. After killing Shao Yong, it suddenly increased to 3940! In other words, killing Shao Yong earned him an additional 200 HP limit, which was more than any zombie he had previously killed! Wang Tao guessed that the amount of increased HP limit was likely related to the strength of his opponent. Considering Shao Yong¡¯s strength, although adding 200 HP limit was a lot, it seemed reasonable. However, Wang Tao soon realized that these 200 HP really weren¡¯t that much! Because when he killed Shao Yong the second time, or more accurately, when he killed Zombie Shao Yong, the added HP limit was even more terrifying- directly an additional 960! Wang Tao was taken aback and then saw his health bar suddenly surge a small segment, from 3940 to 4900! He was just 100 HP limit short of reaching 5000! 5000 HP was most likely the threshold between Level 1 and Level 2. If he could reach 5000 HP, he might be a Level 2 ability user! He dtdn¡¯ t know why Zombie Shao Yong added so much HP, but there were only two possible explanations: Either killing a Level 2 zombie naturally yielded more HP, or killing a zombie above your level granted extra HP. As for which was correct, he could only observe more in the future. But regardless, seeing his own [4900/4900] HP, Wang Tao was still somewhat excited. The missing 100 HP could potentially be made up in just one morning with good luck or possibly in one day with less fortune. His 5000 HP was all but assured! Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the other loot. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to examine the pack dropped by Shao Yong the first time he was killed. When he looked now, it was a bit beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. There were four Crystal Cores! [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Loose Tongue] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Throwing Master] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Rejuvenation] These were light green Crystal Cores with no side effects and a 50% fusion success rate. Wang Tao had never before found Crystal Cores in the packs he exploded, but he hadn¡¯t killed many people either-only two ability users, Cao Xin and Shao Yong. What Cao Xin exploded into was Slime Grenades, but at that time Cao Xin had just over two hundred HP, merely a weakling compared with the now four thousand plus HP Shao Yong. Hence, no comparison was possible. Wang Tao speculated that these four Crystal Cores must be the four abilities Shao Yong had learned. This was consistent with his previous speculation- Shao Yong had four abilities, and each one was fused with ten Crystal Cores, which accounted for his 4000 Mana. Chapter 230 - Chapter 230: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie_3 Chapter 230: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie_3 Translator: 549690339 And looking at the names of these four Crystal Cores, Wang Tao probably understood why Wei Zhenguo and Gao Hua, the two people who had seen Shao Yong, both said that Shao Yong was completely different from before. Shao Yong had gained the strength of an Ability User and became somewhat inflated with pride, which was definitely also a reason. But there was another important reason, which was the side effects of these Crystal Cores! The side effect of the Power Crystal Core is that physique and strength are directly proportional, which didn¡¯t temporarily affect Shao Yong¡¯s personality. But the other three Crystal Cores were different¡ª The side effect of the Loose Tongue Crystal Core was ¡°emotional instability,¡± the side effect of Precision Shooting was ¡°irritability,¡± and the side effect of Rejuvenation was ¡°prone to falling into lust¡±¡­ All these side effects could influence a person¡¯s personality! If there was only one side effect, it would have been okay, but Shao Yong had fused all three types of Crystal Cores, and on top of that, he had fused them to the limit! Combine that with Shao Yong¡¯s possible arrogance and his lack of strong will¡­ and he gradually became psychologically twisted. He might not even be aware of it himself, and he might even think that what he¡¯s doing is right¡­ These kinds of side effects that subtly change a person¡¯s personality are somewhat terrifying! From now on, if I see someone fusing such Crystal Cores, I¡¯ll need to be wary, for it might just be another Shao Yong¡­ When Wang Tao killed Shao Yong for the second time, which was killing zombie Shao Yong, his spoils of war included a Level 2 Crystal Core and a bundle. After digging through zombie Shao Yong¡¯s brain, there was only one green Level 2 Power Crystal Core¡ªthe expectation of finding four Crystal Cores in his head left Wang Tao slightly disappointed. As for the contents of the bundle, it surprised Wang Tao once again-it was still Crystal Cores! However, this time there were only two, and these two Crystal Cores were completely different from the ones he had seen before! [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Impurities: 50% (No side effects)] [Omnipotent: After fusion, randomly adds +1 to one of the already fused abilities, up to a +10 limit] The first one was an Omnipotent Crystal Core! Wang Tao had never seen such a Crystal Core before. Reading the description on the Crystal Core, didn¡¯t this mean that if he fused this Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Core and succeeded, he could directly add +1 to his Precision Shooting or Self-healing power? That was rather impressive! But clearly, obtaining this Crystal Core was far more difficult; Wang Tao had killed so many zombies but had never come across such an Omnipotent Crystal Core. Wang Tao felt that this might be related to Shao Yong¡¯s strength. Zombie Shao Yong was not only powerful in his own right, but he also possessed four abihties-this was what made him completely different from other zombies, as all other zombies Wang Tao had encountered so far only had one ability. Therefore, Wang Tao had reason to guess that perhaps only zombies with multiple abilities had the possibility of dropping this Omnipotent Crystal Core? If that were true, then the conditions would be too harsh, seeing that apart from zombies transformed from Ability Users, Wang Tao had never seen any zombie with more than two abilities¡­ Then there was the second Crystal Core, which excited Wang Tao even more than the first Omnipotent Crystal Core. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Impurities: 45% (No side effects)] [Ascension: After fusion, can randomly promote one of the already fused abilities to level 2] Wang Tao had previously thought that after successfully fusing 10 Crystal Cores, there would be no way to fuse anymore, so how could he continue to advance? Wang Tao knew there were Level 2 Crystal Cores; if he had one, would he just fuse it directly? Would it need any conditions? His powers were Level 1; could he directly fuse a Level 2 Crystal Core? These were all questions. And now, Wang Tao seemed to know the answer. His Level 1 abilities could continue to fuse with Level 2 Crystal Cores! But first, he had to promote his abilities to level 2. The way to advance to Level 2 was by fusing this Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core! This Ascension Crystal Core was an even more precious existence than the Omnipotent Crystal Core! The Ascension Crystal Core was fundamental; if you don¡¯t use the Ascension Crystal Core to promote your ability to level 2, then having more Omnipotent Crystal Cores would be useless. However, Wang Tao suddenly thought of another problem. This Crystal Core stated that it would randomly promote one pre-fused ability to level 2, but he had four abilities. This meant he needed four Ascension Crystal Cores-no, perhaps even more than four. If he wanted a higher success rate and no impurities, he might need eight or even twelve¡­ Wang Tao suddenly felt annoyed; surely, only a Level 2 Zombie could drop a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core, but how many Level 2 Zombies would he have to kill to collect so many Crystal Cores! Moreover, there¡¯s no guarantee that every Level 2 Zombie would drop one; what if it¡¯s all a matter of luck¡­ Wang Tao felt his scalp tingling. This was about fighting Level 2 Zombies! When he killed zombie Shao Yong, it was because the opponent was at low HP; if it were a full HP Level 2 zombie Shao Yong, he didn¡¯t know whether he could win¡­ Wang Tao suddenly remembered the first time he fought the Big Hammer Zombie, that thrilling, exciting feeling; he might have to experience that often in the future¡­ ¡°Damn it!¡± Cursing under his breath, Wang Tao shook his head. But no matter what, he had to increase his strength. Knowing the danger, he still had to face it. Otherwise, as the zombies evolved and upgraded, and he remained stagnant, he would eventually be eliminated! The next day, in the early morning. When Wang Tao woke up, he prepared to go hunt zombies; he was just 100 HP away from 5000, and he wanted to see if reaching 5000 HP would make him a Level 2 Ability User. But just after getting up, Wang Tao felt his body was somewhat weak. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I didn¡¯t do anything last night!¡± Wang Tao hurriedly checked his attributes and a Weakness icon appeared below his HP bar. [Weakness remaining time: 1732:47] ¡°Fuck!¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that the Rejuvenation Potion had a side effect ¡ªafter using it, one would fall into a day of weakness! Wang Tao went to bed early yesterday and forgot about it. And this potion was kind of interesting; it mentioned weakness for a day, and it really meant a full day, starting the countdown precisely from midnight of the next day¡­ Chapter 231 - Chapter 231: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop_l Chapter 231: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop_l Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao had fallen into a state of weakness for the entire day and had originally planned to go hunting zombies, hoping to raise his HP to five thousand. Now that was out of the question. Although even in his weakened state, he could still kill most of the Level 1 Elite Zombies, there was no need to risk it, after all, you only live once. Wang Tao took out some materials and crafted several Rejuvenation Potions, then he sent some over to Wei Zhenguo, explaining the situation to him. ¡°Rejuvenation Potion? That¡¯s some good stuff!¡± Everyone was surprised to see the potion. Nobody asked Wang Tao where it came from, they just used it. Although there was the side effect of a ¡°one-day weakness period,¡± the potion could save lives at critical moments; the side effects were bearable. ¡°Wang Tao, if you¡¯re not going out today, can you help me finalize the list of the first group of Ability Users?¡± Ren Jie suddenly said to Wang Tao. They had already mentioned the need to improve the overall strength of the base, and the simplest way to do that was naturally to increase the number of Ability Users. After several days of selection, some preliminary lists had been drawn up. Next would be to confirm the specific individuals and then provide them with Crystal Cores. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse; he was curious to see the current levels of these survivors. As for the confirmation process, Ren Jie was prepared to have those on the list display their abilities in front of them, after which he and Wang Tao would decide. If committee members had their own recommendations, they could of course make a direct appointment. Wang Tao thought this method was not problematic, so they settled on it. Ren Jie used the broadcast system to call the individuals on the list to the plaza outside the comprehensive building. Suddenly, nearly all the survivors in the base showed up. Although many were not on the list, they wanted to see how strong those who were listed actually were. Some also felt somewhat indignant¡­ Of course, more importantly, everyone wanted to know who exactly would become Ability Users, for they would be key figures to cling to in the future! But just as all the survivors had gathered on the plaza, a buzzing sound suddenly came from the sky! ¡°A plane? Another airdrop is coming!¡± A moment later, Wang Tao saw the silhouette of a transport plane in the sky and was rather surprised. The first time the airdrop came, the note left in the drop by that military base said they didn¡¯t know if there would be another airdrop. But a month later, the second airdrop arrived. Now it hadn¡¯t even been a few days, and the third airdrop was here! If the airdrops could maintain a frequency of once or twice a month, that would be quite nice! It was just unknown what the situation inside the military base was like now, whether it was safe. Considering they were still able to make airdrops, it should be safe, right? Wang Tao felt that Shuize Base still lacked a bit of appeal. If he could go to the military base, that would be even better¡­ ¡°Another airdrop is coming!¡± Ren Jie looked at the airdrop somewhat happily, as every airdrop meant a harvest. Wang Tao felt a bit regretful as he was in a weakened state today and couldn¡¯t go out; otherwise, he could have happily collected the airdrop. However, Wei Zhenguo and the others were outside; they would definitely not let these airdrops slip away. ¡°Look here!¡± Ren Jie shouted to the survivors below, instantly attracting their attention. After merging with the Screaming Crystal Core, his voice was now very loud and could be used as a human megaphone. ¡°With your current abilities, going after the airdrop is still very dangerous. But once you become Ability Users, you can go and collect the airdrops yourself in the future!¡± Ren Jie spoke with a smile. The crowd below became excited upon hearing this. Who wouldn¡¯ t want to become an Ability User who could dominate the post-apocalyptic world! ¡°I will now start reading the list. Those who are called, please come up to the stage and showcase your abilities.¡± Ren Jie began calling names one by one. Every person called was thrilled to go up on stage; some displayed their strength, others their speed, and still others their resilience and more. When selecting Ability Users, of course, priority was given to those with good physical condition. And this list was made up of survivors Ren Jie had picked out as having relatively good character. Thus, the specific individuals chosen for this first group of Ability Users were fundamentally those with good character and physical fitness. Wang Tao sat on the stage, silently observing the survivors below. He could generally tell who had good physical fitness just by looking at their HP bars, but some qualities cannot be shown through the HP bars. Just like himself, he had inherently good physical fitness that couldn¡¯t be wholly reflected by the HP bar. Soon, everyone on the list had shown what they could do. There were only 30 people on the list in total, but only 6 would be chosen. The reason there were so few was that the remaining spots had been taken by the Security Army. Apart from Ability Users, the Security Army had the strongest combat power in the base, so they naturally had to be prioritized to become Ability Users. Not counting Wei Zhenguo and his group, the Security Army currently had 14. members; adding these 6 slots meant that the first batch of Ability Users would consist of a total of 20 people! If all 20 of them succeeded, it would be a substantial increase in strength for the base! After some consideration, Wang Tao and Ren Jie chose the 6 individuals. Those not selected looked disappointed, while the chosen ones were ecstatic. Wang Tao was very fair, he didn¡¯t know these 6 individuals. He simply saw that they had high HP, had killed many zombies, and had good physical fitness, and then he chose them. As for Ding Yuqin and Gao Hua, these two naturally weren¡¯t chosen. They were actually on the list, clearly Ren Jie was giving them face. Chapter 232 - Chapter 232: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop_2 Chapter 232: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop_2 Translator: 549690339 But Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to choose them; he held the Crystal Cores in his hands and could give them to whomever he wanted, and these two were already predetermined Ability Users by Wang Tao¡­ ¡°Thank you, Commissioner Wang, Commissioner Ren, thank you for the base¡¯s cultivation¡­¡± The six lucky ones were also very sensible and immediately bowed to Wang Tao and Ren Jie in thanks. ¡°Congratulations to you all! I hope that after you become Ability Users, you can contribute more to the base, after all, this is our home¡­¡± After Ren Jie offered his encouragement, Wang Tao distributed the six Crystal Cores to them. All these Crystal Cores were combat abilities selected by Wang Tao, and they were all red. But he required them to merge with the Cores on the spot. After receiving them, they swallowed the Cores immediately, and then one by one, the six people lay down on the ground to sleep. ¡°Not bad!¡± Seeing that none had failed, Wang Tao felt very relieved. These were Crystal Cores with an 80% fusion success rate. After they sent the soon-to-be Ability Users home, Ren Jie once again encouraged everyone. ¡°The committee¡¯s goal is to make all combat personnel in the base into Ability Users! Although this can¡¯t be achieved in a short time, the base has always been working towards this direction! Those who weren¡¯t selected shouldn¡¯t lose heart; continue to improve yourselves. This is just the first batch of Ability Users, there will be a second batch, a third batch¡­¡± With these words from Ren Jie, everyone¡¯s fighting spirit was indeed reignited ¡ªthey too wanted to become Ability Users! ¡°Alright, let¡¯s dismiss. Everyone get back to training, kill more zombies, and strive to become the next batch of Ability Users!¡± Ren Jie waved his hand and dismissed the crowd. As Wang Tao was preparing to leave, Huo Ziyi suddenly approached him. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Today, Huo Ziyi had made a special effort with her appearance and looked somewhat like a pre-apocalyptic minor celebrity. ¡°Cough, it¡¯s like this, we have some things we would like to consult Commissioner Wang about, if Commissioner Wang has the time, please come with us¡­¡± Huo Ziyi spoke somewhat coyly. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have anything to do at the moment, so he followed her. Huo Ziyi led Wang Tao to a large classroom, where aside from her, there were several other young women dressed to the nines. On the way there, Huo Ziyi also explained to Wang Tao that she wanted him to see the program they had prepared¡ªthe apocalypse had been upon them for almost three months, and Ren Jie and others had been thinking of holding a celebration at the base when the three months were up. This was not about indulgence or formality but to boost the survivors¡¯ happiness index¡ªsince the establishment of the base, it had always been quite oppressive, with many people seemingly walking around like zombies. This state was definitely unhealthy. As a once very capable deputy county head, Ren Jie knew that he needed to adjust everyone¡¯s mental state. Otherwise, if the oppression continued, it could push people to extremes, and it would be bad if another Shao Yong emerged. So he planned to have a simple evening party to celebrate everyone surviving three months of the apocalypse. Surviving three months in such a harsh apocalypse was certainly something worth commemorating. Huo Ziyi, this former minor celebrity who had no ability to hunt zombies or dare scavenge supplies, could only do hard labor in the base without a proper role. Now, this party offered her a great opportunity! Of course, there might be other motives involved, such as gaining the favor of Commissioner Wang Tao¡­ To be fair, watching these youthful and pretty girls dancing in their little skirts on stage, Wang Tao almost thought the apocalypse was a dream. But he quickly came back to reality, as these minor celebrities would not be dancing for him personally if this wasn¡¯t the apocalypse, would they? ¡°Commissioner Wang? How was our performance?¡± Huo Ziyi wiped the fine sweat off her forehead. She seemed to lose herself looking at Wang Tao, then, full of expectation, she inquired. It seems Commissioner Wang was quite captivated! ¡°Very good! I am sure this program will be liked by many people!¡± Wang Tao praised with a smile. Huo Ziyi and her sisters all had good foundations. Even an eighteenth-tier minor celebrity couldn¡¯t be compared to some so-called internet famous personalities. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Huo Ziyi blushed, speaking softly: ¡°Then¡­ does Commissioner Wang like it?¡± Wang Tao was about to say he really liked it when his walkie-talkie went off. It was Ren Jie looking for him, saying there was something important. ¡°Sorry, I have to go for some business first.¡± Wang Tao nodded to the young women and then left. Once Wang Tao left, the other women quickly surrounded Huo Ziyi. ¡°Sister, you think it¡¯s still peacetime! Be more resolute! Go straight for it! Trust me, next time you see Commissioner Wang, just sit right on his lap¡­ What a wasted opportunity!¡± Seeing her sisters¡¯ frustrated expressions, Huo Ziyi¡¯s face turned a bit red. She indeed was quite interested in Wang Tao now, but she still cared about her image and really couldn¡¯t bring herself to make such a direct move. ¡°Oh well, forget it! Next time, I¡¯ll definitely go for it directly! Let¡¯s continue the rehearsal¡­¡± Wang Tao arrived at the comprehensive building. Besides Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo and the others had also returned. ¡°Eh? You¡¯re back?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised; he thought Wei Zhenguo and the others would take a while longer to return. ¡°Guess what great thing we found today!¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Wang Tao with a proud face.. Chapter 233 - Chapter 233: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop 3 Chapter 233: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡ª Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. Today, when Wei Zhenguo and the others went out, there was an airdrop They must have collected the airdrop. Could it be that there are a lot of goodies in it? ¡°Food? Weapons? Inhibitor?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. As of now, the most precious thing in the airdrops was the inhibitor. Could it be that they found a large quantity of inhibitors? ¡°Haha, not just that, far from it!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed heartily. ¡°Oh? What other good stuff is there? Let me take a look. It couldn¡¯t possibly be a Crystal Core airdropped, could it?¡± Wang Tao was intrigued. ¡°Hey! Although it¡¯s not a Crystal Core, it¡¯s indeed related to Crystal Cores!¡± As Xiang Hongbin spoke, he stepped aside, and Wang Tao saw several large boxes behind him. ¡°What are these?¡± Wang Tao walked over, curious. Hehe, let¡¯s wait for Liu He to arrive before we disclose!¡± Xiang Hongbin wore a sly smile on his face. ¡°Old Xiang here, he wouldn¡¯t tell me when I asked him just now, insisting on waiting until everyone was here!¡± Ren Jie was somewhat helpless. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. Before long, Liu He arrived. AU seven committee members were now present. ¡°Come, let me introduce this to everyone!¡± Xiang Hongbin opened the first box and pointed at a machine about the size of a 24-inch suitcase inside, saying: ¡°This device is called an Energy Detector! It can check for energy and impurities inside the body!¡± ¡°Check body energy and impurities?¡± Wang Tao and the others were somewhat astonished. This sounded like a great device! Had the surviving scientists already developed such technology? ¡°The specifics are like this¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin briefly explained. This detector needed a blood sample from the tester. Just putting blood into it in about a minute, it could detect the energy and internal impurities contained within the person. Wang Tao found it quite magical and inquired: ¡°Have you tried it yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, we didn¡¯t even take a look after we got these, just hurried back¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head. ¡°Come on, let me give it a try first! This machine has a downside, it needs a lot of electricity; it¡¯s even more power-hungry than an air conditioner¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin stepped forward without hesitation, plugged in the device, turned it on, and directly bit his finger, dripping a drop of blood into the detector¡¯s intake. There was a small LED screen on the machine, and after approximately a minute, two lines of text appeared on the screen. [Energy: Level 1] [Internal Impurity: Level 1] Wang Tao: ? Is that it? He thought it would show detailed information, like how much HP he had, what percentage of impurities, and so on. But it just showed Level 1 and Level 1¡­ ¡°Cough, let me check the manual¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin was also a bit embarrassed ¨C mainly because the numbers were too concise, especially with regard to the impurities, which he didn¡¯t understand. There was a manual inside the machine, and Xiang Hongbin quickly figured it out. I understand now! The meaning of energy is similar to that of Crystal Cores, Level 1 is the same as our understanding of Level 1. However, this detector is¡¯a semi-finished product, currently only able to check three levels-o, 1, and 2. Level 2 refers to anything above Level i, no matter how many levels, it will all show as Level 2 here¡­¡± What a thing, it¡¯s a semi-finished product? ¡°Cough, to be precise, one shouldn¡¯t call it a semi-finished product; it¡¯s just that they don¡¯t have data on higher levels, so they can only do this for now.¡± After explaining, Xiang Hongbin continued: ¡°As for these impurities, there are 5 levels, with each level being 20%!¡± ¡°When the internal impurity is below Level 2, which is under 40%, it¡¯s generally very safe. When it¡¯s at Level 3, 40% to 60%, there is some danger. At Level 4, 60% to 80%, it¡¯s very dangerous. And at Level 5, 80% to 100%, that¡¯s extremely dangerous!¡± ¡°The manual recommends that no base should take in people with Level 5 impurities, otherwise there¡¯s a risk of a sudden outbreak at any time!¡± Wang Tao had just been critical of the machine¡¯s lack of precision, but after hearing Xiang Hongbin¡¯s explanation, he realized that the significance of the machine wasn¡¯t necessarily about knowing exactly how many impurities survivors had within them, but rather its purpose was to filter out those dangerous survivors! If a base set up one of these machines at its entrance and required a blood check for entry, that could prevent a lot of danger! The others obviously thought of this use as well, and Ren Jie, his eyes alight said: ¡¯ ¡°I was just thinking these past few days, if the base has more Ability Users, they¡¯d have the capacity to hunt Elite Zombies themselves. Then, when they have merged with more Crystal Cores, how to determine the amount of impurities in their bodies¡­ Now with this machine, it becomes much more convenient!¡± Although Ren Jie had emphasized that one shouldn¡¯t merge with too many Crystal Cores, such cautions in the face of strength enhancement¡­ it¡¯s estimated that quite a few people would choose to continue increasing their power. After all, the feeling of gaining strength is really exhilarating; definitely, some people can¡¯t resist. But if they had this machine, running periodic medical checks could identify who the dangerous elements were. ¡°Besides this detector, there are other goodies!¡± Xiang Hongbin brought over another machine, which was three or four times larger than the detector. He pointed to it and said: ¡°This is a Crystal Core Energy Synthesizer! To be precise, it should be called an Extraction and Synthesis Machine!¡± ¡°Ah? Extraction, Synthetic Crystal Core Energy?¡± Ren Jie was somewhat surprised. Crystal Core Energy could also be extracted and synthesized? This seemed much more impressive than the Energy Detector! However, it extracts negative energy, which is the side effects¡­¡± ¡°Extract side effects!¡± Everyone instinctively looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao had previously told them that the Crystal Cores he provided were without side effects. He hadn¡¯t elaborated on the specifics, and they hadn¡¯t asked. Now that side effects were mentioned, they instinctively thought of Wang Tao Could it be that the Crystal Cores Wang Tao gave them were created with a machine similar to this one? ¡°I did take a look at the manual in advance for this one, and it says that the energy and impurities in Crystal Cores are fused together and can¡¯t be separated. But these side effects are a special kind of impurity that can be separated! However, to extract the side effects¡­. a significant cost has to be paid!¡± Chapter 234 - Chapter 234: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_1 Chapter 234: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°What¡¯s the cost?¡± Wang Tao asked with some curiosity. Although he was able to obtain a Crystal Core without side effects, there was still a price to pay. His cost was the wastage of a Crystal Core during the synthesis of a Level 1 Crystal Core, and possibly the wastage of two for a Level 2 Crystal Core¡­ He didn¡¯t know what the cost of this device was; if it was small, he might consider using it as well. ¡°The cost is¡ªto get a side-effect-free Crystal Core, you have to waste even more Crystal Cores!¡± ¡°According to the instructions, this machine can currently only synthesize Level 1 Crystal Cores. To obtain one such core without side effects, you need to use up three Level 1 Crystal Cores, which can be of different types but must be of the same color. However, that¡¯s not the main point¡ªthe main point is that there¡¯s a probability of failure during synthesis! If it fails, all Crystal Cores disappear! As for the probability, it¡¯s hard to say, it all depends on luck¡­¡± After listening to Xiang Hongbin¡¯s explanation, everyone frowned in thought. The need to expend three Crystal Cores of the same quality is one thing, but there¡¯s also the damned risk of failure¡­ Everyone naturally desires a Crystal Core without side effects. However, the cost seems a bit too steep. If it only required three cores, it might be manageable, but if it failed¡­ Probability is like gambling, unreliable! Now, whether it¡¯s worth it becomes the question. Upon reflection, some side effects might not be unacceptable¡­ Wang Tao, meanwhile, was deep in thought. His Crystal Core synthetic ability only required two Crystal Cores, but he could only use cores of the same type and was unable to cross types. Whereas this machine requires three Crystal Cores with a certain probability of failure, it allows the usage of different types, albeit demanding that the cores be of the same quality¡­ Of course, there¡¯s one major difference between Wang Tao¡¯s synthesis and the machine¡¯s¡ªthe Crystal Cores Wang Tao synthesizes not only are without side effects, they also have no internal impurities, and even the quality is additive. Meanwhile, the Crystal Cores obtained from this machine do not have additive quality, nor can their impurities be extracted; they¡¯re simply free of side effects¡­ One can only say that Wang Tao¡¯s ability is the more powerful one, but this machine is also impressive for its capacity to strip away side effects. If someday there could be research that enables the extraction of internal impurities, that would be even better¡­ ¡°The capabilities of this machine seem decent¡­ Although it wastes some Crystal Cores, you can use other types, such as those from useless abilities like Glutton or Self Detonation, which could be put to good use! Of course, this assumes you¡¯re lucky¡­ In the future, whoever feels lucky can give it a try, as I won¡¯t be using this synthesizer anyway,¡± Feng Ming¡¯an stated, stroking his chin. He didn¡¯t have much hope for his own luck¡­ ¡°Apart from these two devices, there are also many inhibitors, and there¡¯s also a letter,¡± said Xiang Hongbin as he opened the other boxes filled with inhibitors. ¡°Take a look at this letter; it mentions matters about abilities and inhibitors¡­¡± Wang Tao took the letter and read it carefully. ¡°We have discovered¡­¡± The letter explained that according to their current research, a person could at minimum fuse with one type of Crystal Core and at maximum with four different types. In other words, a person could only learn up to four Abilities, and whether there was a chance to fuse with more Crystal Cores in the future was unknown. At present, a Level 1 Crystal Core could only be fused with up to four kinds. Those who could fuse with four types were considered the most potential-laden Ability Users. Naturally, those who could only fuse with one type had the least potential. But potential aside, final combat effectiveness still depends on the individual. They had examples of individuals who fused with only one type of Crystal Core but had mastered their Ability to perfection, achieving remarkable combat strength! Many who fused with four types of Crystal Cores couldn¡¯t beat them. Of course, this was more of an exception; usually, the more Abilities fused, the greater the advantage. However, having more Abilities also meant a greater difficulty, namely needing more Crystal Cores to enhance Special Ability Level. Especially if you want Crystal Cores without side effects, you¡¯ll need a large number of them. They also speculated that ascending from Level 1 to Level 2 as an Ability User might require certain conditions. It¡¯s unlikely there are no conditions to ascend. They weren¡¯t clear on the specifics, as they didn¡¯t have any Level 2 Ability Users there. As for inhibitors, they hadn¡¯t yet figured out how to solve the problem of internal impurity, but inhibitors could provide some relief¡ªwhen fusing with a Crystal Core, concurrently taking an inhibitor could reduce the amount of internal impurity. How much it could reduce was not specified, but based on their experiments, it indeed went down a slight amount. However, there was also an issue with this; the process of using inhibitors was too painful. Though most Ability Users could probably endure it, no one wanted to experience that sensation¡­ Whether to use it or not is up to the individual. If you¡¯re very fearful of internal impurity or if you wish to fuse with more Crystal Cores, then it¡¯s better to use inhibitors. If you¡¯re not bothered by internal impurities, or if you have strong self-control and can hold off fusing with too many Crystal Cores, then it doesn¡¯t matter whether or not you use inhibitors. As long as you can control the level of internal impurities below 50%, there shouldn¡¯t be any safety issues. The letter mentioned another use for inhibitors, which is to use them when internal impurity levels become too high. When they first began researching this inhibitor, they actually aimed to create a Zombie Antidote. Though they didn¡¯t succeed in developing the antidote, the inhibitor was a by-product of this research.. Chapter 235 - Chapter 235: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 Chapter 235: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_2 Translator: 549690339 Moreover, at that time, they hadn¡¯t discovered the attribute of internal impurity. They thought that by using inhibitors to slow down the activity of the zombie virus, although it wasn¡¯t possible to eliminate the virus, as long as it never became active, they could avoid the danger of turning into zombies. Then they discovered through testing that inhibitors could not only be used on infected individuals but were also extremely beneficial to ability users. When an ability user merged with too many crystal cores and accumulated too much internal impurity, they too risked turning into zombies. The inhibitor could suppress this risk as well. Theoretically, even a person whose internal impurity was at 90% could avoid turning into a zombie forever as long as they continuously used inhibitors! Of course, that was just in theory. In reality, there were too many uncontrollable factors, and it would be very dangerous to actually have such a person. Therefore, they still advised that survivor bases better not accept people with level 5 impurities. In fact, Wang Tao had thought of using the inhibitor for ability users the first time he saw it. But it was because he knew about the impurities within a crystal core and then combined that with the characteristics of the inhibitor that he came up with the idea. They had only recently discovered internal impurities and then accidentally found that inhibitors and internal impurities were well suited for each other¡­ But no matter what, the effect of the inhibitor had already been officially established. From now on, it would be an indispensable item for survivors. As for who this ¡°they¡± referred to, the end of the letter also introduced them¡ª Wang Tao had originally thought this was something researched by a military base, that the scientists might have been protected by the military base, but that wasn¡¯t actually the case. This ¡°they¡± referred to a power known as the ¡°Hope Research Institute.¡± This was an organization established by the government, its core personnel being technicians and scientists who had survived after the apocalypse struck. Products like inhibitors, detectors, and synthetic devices were all researched and developed by them. The headquarters of the research institute was in Capital City, and they welcomed capable individuals to go to Capital City to meet with them. Their ultimate goal was to develop a potion to eliminate the zombie virus and rid the world of zombies. Although Wang Tao thought this possibility was very slim, he wouldn¡¯t mock them. After all, in a sense, they were humanity¡¯s hope¡ªat least they were the hope for Qian Country. Wang Tao was very curious about the research institute, but it was too far away from him. If he remembered correctly, it was 1,500 kilometers from Huangfeng City to Capital City! Such a long distance was practically a death wish to attempt¡­ However, Wang Tao was very curious about how they managed to send their message out. Could it be through super-powerful radio waves? Or some other kind of black technology? If Wang Tao had such a means, he would definitely want to find out what was going on with the military base. ¡°Besides these, does the airdrop say anything about the situation at the military base?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°No.¡± Xiang Hongbin and Wei Zhenguo both shook their heads. They were also eager to know the current state of the military base, but unfortunately, there was no news about it in these airdrops. Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. During the first airdrop, the military base¡¯s people left a letter for the survivors. But there were no letters in the second and this third airdrop, all of them were done in a strict business-like manner¡­ He found it impossible to inquire about the actual state of the military base. Could it be that the military base didn¡¯t want any survivors to come? That should not be the case, right? After all, the more people, the greater the strength. There wouldn¡¯t be a base that despised having too many survivors¡­ Wang Tao was very perplexed, but since they were far from the military base, they had no way to check. Although a radio frequency for contact had been provided in the previous airdrop, with such a distance, the radios they had on hand definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to reach¡­ Wei Zhenguo distributed the inhibitor to everyone. Now that they knew the inhibitor was also useful for ability users, they had to stock up more, because they might need to use it continuously from now on¡­ The next day, early morning. Wang Tao met Han Rui outside the complex building. Having been weak the whole day yesterday, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t gone out. Today, with his weakness passed, he was ready to go out and increase his HP. His HP was at 4,900, just 100 short of 5,000. If he didn¡¯t make up that 100 HP today, he probably wouldn¡¯t sleep well tonight. Han Rui also rested for a day yesterday. She is now Wang Tao¡¯s exclusive teammate; if Wang Tao goes out, she goes out, if Wang Tao doesn¡¯t, she stays home and rests. This was of course voluntary, as it was very safe to be with Wang Tao. ¡°Have you recovered from your weakness?¡± Han Rui asked with concern. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao drove the SUV, taking Han Rui towards the hospital. The hospital was abundant with zombies, so there was no worry about not being able to find elite zombies. If they wandered around other places and ended up wasting a whole day without even finding three elite zombies, that would be frustrating. By noon, the two arrived near the hospital. ¡°Well, we really haven¡¯t bumped into a single elite zombie!¡± They hadn¡¯t encountered a single elite zombie the whole way there. Just as Wang Tao had thought, the harder you need something, the harder it seemed to obtain it. However, seeing the hospital swarming with zombies, Wang Tao knew that reaching the 100 HP mark today wouldn¡¯t be a problem. But the elite zombies were all wandering inside the hospital and not coming out through the main entrance. This left Han Rui somewhat helpless, as they couldn¡¯t lure the zombies over that way.. Chapter 236 - Chapter 236: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_3 Chapter 236: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve been prepared for this,¡± Wang Tao took out a megaphone. He and Han Rui went to the rooftop of a six-story building and then set the megaphone there. It was a remote-controlled megaphone that Liu He had helped him to make. He could control the volume of the megaphone from a great distance, and it was preloaded with a DJ dance track. This thing would surely attract many of the hospital¡¯s elite zombies, and Wang Tao was even concerned that it might attract some zombies he couldn¡¯t handle, like the gorilla zombie. But to gain something, one must take risks. Moreover, Wang Tao had deliberately placed the megaphone a good distance away from himself, so even if it did attract an unbeatable zombie, he wouldn¡¯t be surrounded. Soon, Wang Tao and Han Rui arrived at the apartment where they had rested before. ¡°I hope this works, don¡¯t let me down!¡± Wang Tao took out the remote control and pressed it lightly. After a delay of about two or three seconds, a ¡°boom-chaka¡± sound came from the rooftop of the building across from them. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± In that instant, the quiet world seemed to come alive, with chilling roars sounding everywhere. Sounds of trampling came from inside the hospital, then a large swarm of mad demon zombies charged towards that building like a tide. ¡°This is terrifying¡­¡± Seeing the hundreds of zombies, Han Rui¡¯s scalp tingled. Wang Tao watched the situation below carefully. While the mad demon zombies were sprinting towards that building, some elite zombies were following behind them, and there were quite a few of them! ¡°They¡¯re out!¡± A smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. As long as these elite zombies were out, he would know how to handle them. ¡°Eh? Wang Tao, what¡¯s that? A zombie or an ability user?¡± Suddenly, Han Rui pointed at an opening. Wang Tao followed the direction of her finger and his eyes immediately narrowed. He saw a black figure in a hoodie running on the rooftop! The figure moved with agile grace, like a parkour athlete, dazzlingly navigating across the rooftops. However, Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed because the figure¡¯s HP bar was red! [6000/6000] It was a zombie, and it looked to be a level 2 zombie at that! Wang Tao silently cursed his luck. He had just been thinking that he hoped not to run into any level 2 zombies, and now here one was. Although Wang Tao had already killed a level 2 zombie, Shao Yong, it was low on HP. This level 2 zombie had a full 6ooo HP, and its strength might be even greater than zombie Shao Yong¡¯s. Wang Tao did not want to fight it now. At least, not until he himself became a second-order superpower owner? ¡°It¡¯s a level 2 zombie!¡± Wang Tao whispered. ¡°Ah? A level 2 zombie!¡± Han Rui was startled. Whether the two of them could defeat this level 2 zombie now was a question. Fortunately, that Level 2 Zombie wasn¡¯t coming for them, but¡­ it seemed to be heading straight for the loudspeaker! Whoosh¡ª With a few jumps, the zombie had climbed to the rooftop where the loudspeaker was placed, and then stomped down hard. Crack¡ª The sound of the loudspeaker instantly ceased. No way, was this zombie specifically here to eradicate noise? Wang Tao was somewhat baffled. After crushing the loudspeaker, the zombie disappeared from Wang Tao¡¯s sight with a few leaps. Without the music from the loudspeaker, those agitated zombies outside quickly calmed down. However, those Mad Demon Zombies did not leave but continued to search for something in the vicinity. Watching this scene, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t afford to think about the Level 2 Zombie any longer. He intently watched the Mad Demon Zombies, and as soon as he saw a significant number of them arrive at the base of the apartment building, Wang Tao decisively took out two Stealth Potions and, rolling up his and Han Rui¡¯s sleeves, injected them directly. Han Rui didn¡¯t resist but asked with a hint of curiosity, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Stealth Potion. The Mad Demon Zombies have found us, let¡¯s try not to engage them.¡± Wang Tao succinctly explained. ¡°Oh!¡± Soon, Han Rui felt her body temperature dropping, her body becoming slightly stiff, and her breathing and heartbeat slowing down. Her limbs also grew heavy, and an offensive smell emanated from her¡­ just like a zombie! This sensation made Han Rui panic a bit, as she instinctively clutched the corner of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. ¡°It¡¯s okay, this is the effect of the Stealth Potion. Once injected, zombies will have a harder time detecting you for an hour.¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t used a Stealth Potion in a long time, as he was able to deal with zombies quickly before, and didn¡¯t need to waste them. But now, with many Mad Demon Zombies outside and the appearance of a Level 2 Zombie, it was better to be safe and use a Stealth Potion. ¡°Huh? There¡¯s such a miraculous potion?!¡± Han Rui was somewhat shocked, but she didn¡¯t doubt Wang Tao¡¯s words and didn¡¯t ask where the potion came from. After both of them had used the Stealth Potion, those Mad Demons ran up to the upper floors, made a round, and left. Seeing that the Stealth Potion was effective against the Mad Demons, Wang Tao let out a temporary sigh of relief. About ten minutes later, all the Mad Demon Zombies downstairs had vanished, leaving only some Ordinary Zombies and Elite Zombies from the hospital wandering around. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui headed downstairs together. Although the Stealth Potion did cause a slight decrease in their own strength, the decrease wasn¡¯t significant. And since both Wang Tao and Han Rui mainly used crossbows, it didn¡¯t affect their performance. Moreover, using the Stealth Potion to hunt Elite Zombies was indeed effective. The Elite Zombies only noticed them when they were nearby, and the first Elite Zombie they killed had no idea who was attacking it until its death. After taking down the first zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s HP reached 4940, and after the second, his HP reached 4990. Wang Tao had thought that his HP would hit 5000 after killing the third zombie. But after killing the third zombie, his HP was [4999/4999]! It only increased by 9 HP. ¡°Damn! I knew it, reaching Level Two isn¡¯t that easy!¡± Chapter 237 - Chapter 237: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Chapter 237: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Difficulty (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with some curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m fine. You finish off the zombies from now on.¡± Since he no longer gained HP from killing elite zombies, it would be a waste not to let Han Rui take them down. ¡°Ah? Really? You¡¯re not going to increase your strength anymore?¡± Han Rui was somewhat excited, she obviously wanted to become stronger, but it had been agreed that Wang Tao would be the focus. -I¡¯ve reached the limit already, I can¡¯t enhance my strength for the time being.¡± Wang Tao shook his head with a sense of helplessness. ¡°Limit?¡± Han Rui was taken aback. -Yes, I¡¯ve reached the limit of Level 1, and I need to figure out how to ascend to Level 2. Otherwise, killing these elite zombies will be pointless¡­¡± Previously, when he had 1000 HP, killing ordinary zombies wouldn¡¯t increase his HP, and only killing elite zombies would work. But this time the situation was different from before; at least he could increase his HP to 1000 previously, but now he was stuck at 4999 and couldn t ascend any further. He had previously guessed that you need 5000 HP for a Level 2 Ascension, but that HP couldn¡¯t be achieved just by killing zombies. Wang Tao felt the key must lie in the Crystal Core. The day before yesterday when he killed Shao Yong, he obtained a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core. This crystal core could enhance an Ability to Level 2. And only after an Ability User ascended to Level 2 could they merge with a Level 2 Crystal Core. Could there be a possibility that in order to ascend to Level 2, Ability Users first need to enhance their own abilities to Level 2? Perhaps Wang Tao needed to elevate his own Ability to Level 2 first in order to continue gaining HP from killing zombies! If that¡¯s the case, then Wang Tao would be quite helpless. After all, he had learned four abilities. He surely wouldn¡¯t need to enhance all four abilities to Level 2, would he? Or would having just one Level 2 Ability suffice? If only one Ability needed to be upgraded for him to achieve a Level 2 Ascension, then it wouldn¡¯t be too bad. But if all four abilities needed to be ascended¡­ never mind whether he could kill enough Level 2 Zombies, just finding that many Level 2 Zombies wouldn¡¯t be easy! As far as he knew, the only Level 2 Zombies were the deceased Shao Yong, the hooded zombie with 6000 HP he had just seen, and the gorilla zombie with 10,000 HP. Other than those, he had not seen any other Level 2 Zombies. He definitely couldn¡¯t defeat the gorilla zombie, though he might think of a way to deal with the hooded zombie. But even if he could kill it, the number of crystal cores would still be insufficient¡­ what a headache! Shaking his head, Wang Tao decided not to dwell on it further and focused on working with Han Rui to kill the zombies. The loudspeaker that Wang Tao had prepared might have been smashed by the hooded zombie, but it still drew many elite zombies outside the hospital. Taking advantage of the effects of the Stealth Potion, Wang Tao and Han Rui went on a rampage against the zombies. With the potion and crossbow arrows, the zombies couldn¡¯t detect them at all. It took two days, but the thirty-odd elite zombies that had emerged were all killed by the two of them. Wang Tao also conducted an experiment and found that after reaching 4999 HP, indeed he could no longer increase his HP limit. Other than the one he tested, all the other zombies were killed by Han Rui. Han Rui thoroughly enjoyed the slaughter! She directly added almost two thousand HP! Her total HP had reached ¡°3030¡±! In fact, they had felt that these zombies could have been dealt with in one afternoon, but because Han Rui¡¯s HP increase required sleeping, some time was wasted. Of course, Han Rui¡¯s pace was still very fast, much faster than Wei Zhenguo and the others. There was no helping it; after all, with Wang Tao covering for her and the abundance of elite zombies here, her enhancement was bound to be rapid. After these zombies were killed, however, there were no more elite zombies outside the hospital. To continue killing, they either had to draw them out or go in. Wang Tao¡¯s loudspeaker was gone, making it hard to lure the zombies, so the two decided to hunt inside the hospital. But Wang Tao hadn¡¯t forgotten that Shao Yong, with his strong abilities, had been trapped inside the hospital. So they decided to just linger at the entrance of the hospital and not venture too deep. However, they discovered after entering the hospital that there didn¡¯t seem to be many elite zombies left. ¡°Could they have been killed off? That can¡¯t be right! There were so many before¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at the big hole created by the gorilla zombie in the inpatient building and felt that zombies might be inside. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not think about the zombies inside the building. Let¡¯s just clear out the ones in the courtyard.¡± Wang Tao thought it was best to play it safe. ¡°Hmm!¡± Han Rui naturally had no objections. There weren¡¯t many elite zombies in the courtyard, only 8 in total, which brought Han Rui¡¯s HP up to ¡°3470¡±. The two decided to call it quits and returned directly to the apartment. ¡°We¡¯ll wait one more day, and if those zombies inside the building don¡¯t come out, then we¡¯ll head home.¡± Wang Tao pondered. Actually, he wanted to increase Han Rui¡¯s HP to four thousand, as the opportunity was rare. But unfortunately, the zombies inside the hospital wouldn¡¯t come out! If these zombies came out, Wang Tao not only wanted to increase Han Rui¡¯s HP to four thousand but also thought about bringing Wei Zhenguo over to enhance everyone¡¯s HP. As long as everyone¡¯s strength increased, Wang Tao could get them to help him hunt down Level 2 Zombies! But while the imagination is beautiful, reality is cruel. By the next day, not only were there no elite zombies left in the hospital, but even the ordinary zombies had vanished¡­ ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s retreat!¡± With no other choice, Wang Tao decided to head home for some rest.. Chapter 238 - Chapter 238: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Chapter 238: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Difficulty (Seeking Monthly Votes)_2 Translator: 549690339 I However, on the way home, Wang Tao suddenly heard a rumbling noise. ¡°It¡¯s a gorilla zombie!¡± The two of them hurriedly left the car and hid in a building. Before long, they saw the gorilla zombie pass by their location, still as fond of causing destruction as ever. Wang Tao was worried it would throw his car away. Thankfully, the gorilla zombie walked down the next street over, sparing his vehicle from harm. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go! Hurry back.¡± After the gorilla zombie left, Wang Tao drove away. It seemed that the appearance of the gorilla zombie had some benefits, as it had not only scattered various obstacles but cleared out the zombies as well. Their car journey was smooth and fast. However, Han Rui in the car was frowning somewhat, looking uncertainly at Wang Tao and saying, ¡°Looking at the path that gorilla zombie took, it seems like it might pass by Li Qiuyu¡¯s house¡­¡± Wang Tao pondered for a moment, then shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about that, we can only hope she¡¯s lucky.¡± If it were a trivial effort, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t mind going for a rescue. But this was a Level 2 Zombie with tens of thousands of HP; with his current strength, going there was no different from seeking death. He couldn¡¯t risk his and Han Rui¡¯s lives on a gamble. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Han Rui felt somewhat regretful. She tried contacting Li Qiuyu with the walkie-talkie but couldn¡¯t get through. She could only hope that Li Qiuyu was fortunate. Two hours later, the pair returned to Shuize Base. They had been outside for three days, and during those three days, something significant had happened at the base¡ªthe first batch of 20 selected survivors had all become ability users! Since they had been chosen as ability users, it was natural that they wouldn¡¯t just be given a Crystal Core and be done with it. If it was a success, all well and good, but if not, they would continue getting Crystal Cores until they succeeded. Hence, all twenty people became ability users. The overall strength of the base had gained a relatively big enhancement. Ren Jie and the others were originally quite excited, but when Wang Tao expressed that he temporarily had no way to achieve Level 2 Ascension, everyone¡¯s excitement diminished considerably. They hadn¡¯t expected that achieving Second Level Ascension would be so troublesome. Especially with the gorilla zombie showing up again today, it would be difficult to deal with it if Wang Tao couldn¡¯t ascend to Level Two¡­ ¡°Next, you all need to seize the time to kill zombies, elevate your strength a bit more, and collect more Crystal Cores. If you encounter zombies that seem to be Level Two, contact me immediately. As for me¡­ I¡¯ll think of another way.¡± Wang Tao told the others. ¡°Okay!¡± After all, enhancing one¡¯s strength was the most basic requirement. If the five or six hundred people in the base were all Level 1 ability users, couldn¡¯t they defeat a Level 2 Zombie? After returning home, Wang Tao furrowed his brows in thought. He did have a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core in his possession, and it was red. But this Crystal Core was impure¡­ He hesitated over whether to use it or not. If he continued as before to synthesize a core with no impurities, he would need three Crystal Cores to do so! In the unluckiest scenario¡ªif he needed to upgrade all four of his abilities to Level Two for the ascension¡ªthen he would need 12 Ascension Crystal Cores! That would mean killing twelve Level 2 Zombies¡­ Where could he find so many Level 2 Zombies! ¡°Maybe I should try using one first¡­¡± Wang Tao struggled for a moment, then with determination, decided to use the Ascension Crystal Core! So what if some impurities accumulated inside his body? As long as he kept it within a manageable limit, it was still safe. The primary concern was the gorilla zombie that posed a great threat¡ªit might arrive at the base anytime, not giving him the chance to slowly collect Crystal Cores¡­ Wang Tao took out the Ascension Crystal Core. Inside the Ascension Crystal Core, there was a faint¡±+¡± shadow, which probably signified the meaning of ascension. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Impurities: 45% (no side effects)] [Ascension: After merging, it can randomly upgrade an already fully merged Level 1 Special Ability to Level Two] Wang Tao currently had two abilities at +10, Shockwave and Toughness. One for offense and one for defense, he would accept whichever one was upgraded to Level Two! Wang Tao directly placed the Ascension Crystal Core of outstanding quality in his mouth. Upon entering his mouth, Wang Tao felt the Crystal Core turn into a gas, filling his limbs in a very short time. Wang Tao felt warmly comfortable all over, and the 80% success rate meant no mishaps occurred. ¡°Comfortable-¡± After a short while, the warm sensation disappeared. All sense of fatigue that Wang Tao had before vanished instantly. He quickly checked his Attributes. There were no changes to his HP bar, still at 4999, but his Mana was different; it had increased from 2500 to 2700! So, one Level 2 Crystal Core added 200 Mana? Then, as expected, Wang Tao noticed an additional attribute. [Internal Impurity: O%] Seeing this impurity, Wang Tao was somewhat resigned, hoping that there would be fewer impurities in the future. And whether it was psychological or not, Wang Tao always felt somewhat uncomfortable having impurities inside his body¡­ As for the highlight of this Ascension¡ª the upgraded ability, Wang Tao had a sensation of Shockwave even before checking the attributes. Looking at his attributes, the +10 on the icon of Shockwave was gone, but the bottom left now showed a ¡°Two,¡± presumably denoting Level Two. There weren¡¯t any other changes. Wang Tao prepared to go out and test this Level Two ability, while also looking for an Elite Zombie, to see if he could achieve Level 2 Ascension.. Chapter 239 - Chapter 239: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Chapter 239: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Difficulty (Seeking Monthly Votes)_3 Translator: 549690339 Just like before, Wang Tao called Han Rui, and the two of them made a round outside. They weren¡¯t sure if the Elite Zombies nearby had all been killed by Wei Zhenguo¡¯s team, as they could barely spot any. The only one they eventually found was a Self-exploder. But as long as it was an Elite Zombie, that was good enough for Wang Tao to practice on. He carefully sneaked up to the Suicide Bombing Zombie and controlled it with a Slime Grenade, then he swung his axe at the creature, as if cutting through the void. A visible Shockwave appeared on the blade, striking heavily onto the body of the Self-exploder. Then. Bang The Self-exploder exploded! The sound, however, wasn¡¯t loud because it wasn¡¯t a Self Detonation; it was shattered by the Shockwave! The white slime that had solidified on its body was also broken into pieces. ¡°Amazing! Is this the power of a Second-order Superpower Owner?¡± Witnessing the shattered remains, Han Rui exclaimed softly. And she suddenly thought of something, if Wang Tao could kill a Self-exploder in one blow, and prevent it from exploding, they could save on using Slime Grenades and save a lot of time¡ªjust approach the Self-exploder, hack it with the axe, and that¡¯s it! This is what it means when a Level 2 suppresses a Level 1! ¡°No, to be precise, this is just the power of a Level 2 Ability; I¡¯m not a Second-order Superpower Owner yet.¡± Wang Tao was not pleased at all, as his HP hadn¡¯t increased. His worst fears had come true¡ªmaybe he had to ascend all four of his abilities to Level 2 before he could achieve Level 2 Ascension¡­ ¡°Ah?¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment, then after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, she felt a bit disappointed before she started thinking about herself. She currently only had two abilities, Perception and Rush. But she could feel that she was still capable of fusing two more abilities. That meant she, like Wang Tao, could learn up to four abilities. But for Wang Tao to upgrade to Level 2, he might need at least four Ascension Crystal Cores! If you only had one ability, perhaps you¡¯d only need One Ascension Crystal Core¡­ She currently had two abilities and needed just two cores, which was half as difficult compared to needing four¡­ ¡°Being powerful comes at a price, huh!¡± Wang Tao sighed. Although Ability Users who fused four Crystal Cores were quite impressive, the difficulty of ascending increased exponentially! When he first discovered he could fuse four different types of Crystal Cores, he still thought it was too few and wished he could fuse dozens or hundreds¡ªhow powerful would that be! Now, Wang Tao felt relieved that he couldn¡¯t fuse so many types of Crystal Cores! Otherwise, if he truly could fuse that many, whether he could ever achieve Level 2 Ascension in his lifetime would be another question¡­ ¡°So¡­ do we keep hunting zombies?¡± Han Rui asked, looking at Wang Tao. ¡°Kill!¡± Wang Tao nodded. He needed to find Crystal Cores! At the very least, he had to get three more Ascension Crystal Cores to check for any Level 2 Zombies. Wang Tao currently knew of two Level 2 Zombies, the Gorilla zombie and the Hooded zombie. Even if he managed to kill these two and they both dropped Ascension Crystal Cores, he¡¯d still be short one Crystal Core¡­ Plus, he needed to level up his Precision Shooting and Self-healing abilities; one of his abilities was at +4, and the other still at +1¡­ He needed to kill more zombies to collect Level 1 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao and Han Rui stayed outside until dark before returning, having bad luck with only five Elite Zombies encountered all afternoon. This was far too few compared to the hospital. Too bad the zombies there wouldn¡¯t come out anymore. ¡°Go home and rest up.¡± Wang Tao said to Han Rui as she got out of the car. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui gained quite a bit of HP this afternoon, reaching 3700! Not far from 4000 HP now. But Han Rui was conflicted about fusing Crystal Cores, Wang Tao said he still had plenty of Crystal Cores, and if Han Rui was willing to fuse, she could ask him for them. The more types of Crystal Cores she fused, the harder it would be to ascend, and now Han Rui wasn¡¯t so sure if she wanted to continue fusing. After all, reality isn¡¯t like playing a game; in games, you can slowly grind over time, but reality doesn¡¯t give you that luxury¡­ The next day. Wang Tao once again asked Han Rui to join him for a zombie hunt, but this time not just Han Rui, Ding Yuqin, Gao Hua, and Chen Zhuang joined as well. All three were above 1000 HP, and since killing Ordinary Zombies wouldn¡¯t increase their HP, they needed to kill Elite Zombies instead. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t taken them before because they lacked experience in killing zombies, and bringing them would only be a hindrance. But now, after some training, they were basically qualified Hunters. Even Ding Yuqin, the least skilled among them, could handle several Ordinary Zombies on her own. So Wang Tao took them out to get more familiar with the characteristics of Elite Zombies, to be more composed when they encountered them in the future. They had better luck today than yesterday, encountering 16 Elite Zombies in the span of one day! Han Rui reached 4000 HP and fell into deep slumber. Ding Yuqin, Gao Hua, and Chen Zhuang also got their cuts in, relishing the thrill of killing an Elite Zombie. Before nightfall, when they returned to the Survivor Base, Wang Tao noticed many unfamiliar faces. He let Ding Yuqin and the others go first, then drove the still-unconscious Han Rui to her home. At Han Rui¡¯s house, Wang Tao unexpectedly saw Sun Weiguang. It had been many days since Wang Tao last saw Sun Weiguang, and to be honest, he felt that when Sun Weiguang was around, things seemed more thrilling? Ahem¡ª ¡°Commissioner Wang!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao carrying Han Rui upstairs, Sun Weiguang was surprised but considerately helped Wang Tao open the door. ¡°Where have you been these days?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Ahem, I¡¯ve been with Ou Yingying lately. I came over today to formally talk to Han Rui, hoping that we can part on good terms, and go our separate ways¡­¡± ¡°Oh, then I won¡¯t disturb you guys.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After placing Han Rui on the bed, he left. Then he went to the administrative building, asking Ren Jie with some surprise: ¡°Why are there so many unfamiliar faces today?¡± Ren Jie replied: ¡°It¡¯s all because of that Gorilla zombie¡­ Many family-style small-scale Survivor Bases were destroyed! Those who survived all want to join our base..¡± Chapter 240 - Chapter 240: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Chapter 240: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Votes)_l The destruction caused by the gorilla zombie was far greater than Wang Tao had imagined. Wherever it went, destruction followed; it didn¡¯t care if there were people or not, it simply wanted to wreak havoc. Some of the smaller Survivor Bases had had terrible luck. They were either inadvertently affected by the gorilla zombie, or almost completely wiped out upon discovery¡­ Those who managed to survive fled the base immediately. It had been over two months since the end of the world, and most survivors in Shuize County had already heard of the Suzaku University Survivor Base. After all, there were quite a few Hunters in the Shuize Base, who occasionally encountered other survivors, and word about the base slowly spread. The base also broadcasted from time to time through walkie-talkies, and those who had civilian walkie-talkies could receive the signal. Of course, knowing about the Shuize Base was one thing; whether they wanted to come or not was another matter. After all, coming would mean abiding by rules, lacking the freedom they once had. Moreover, with so many zombies outside, reaching the Shuize Base involved great risk. Many people felt that as long as they could barely get by, there was no need to take that risk-this was their previous thinking. Now, of course, it was different. Their small bases could barely count a dozen people as many, and they had no ability to resist risks. in the past, they could hide from some of the elite zombies, but now, faced with a gorilla zombie, they had no capacity to fight back. Quite a few small bases were completely wiped out, and the survivors who were still alive had no choice but to flee. Along the way, many more died, and it was no small feat to make it to the Suzaku University¡­ ¡°Today our base received 32 people, according to their accounts, at least over 50 people died¡­¡± Ren Jie¡¯s tone was somewhat sorrowful. While it was good to have an increase in population at the base, the death of so many survivors was still regrettable. With the gorilla zombie wreaking havoc like this, it would probably not be long before the entire Shuize County had only their Shuize Base with any living people left. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can be done about it.¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then prepared to leave. But as if he remembered something, he asked: ¡°By the way, among these people, is there a Li Qiu Yu?¡± Ren Jie shook his head. ¡°Li Qiu Yu? No, I don¡¯t recall seeing that name.¡± The surname Li is quite rare; if he had seen it, he wouldn¡¯t have forgotten. ¡°That¡¯s a pity, she once helped me. I saw the gorilla zombie heading towards her house, but I was unable to help her. Wang Tao shook his head and spoke of the situation at that time. Although it was regrettable, he had lost hope for Li Qiu Yu. ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s not your fault.¡± Ren Jie shook his head. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t yet at Level Two, so he certainly couldn¡¯t contend with the gorilla zombie; going there would have been suicide. ¡°However, I¡¯ll keep an eye out for you, just in case she didn¡¯t die¡­¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get going then.¡± After Wang Tao left, Ren Jie frowned and thought for a moment. ¡°There should be no one by the name of Li Qiu Yu¡­ He took out the previously compiled list of names and checked it carefully, then shook his head. ¡°Yan Tai, Meng Xiaojun, Wu Fei¡­ indeed, there isn¡¯t. The teachers¡¯ apartments. Han Rui woke up and felt slightly disappointed to see Wang Tao was not there. However, she noticed that Sun Weiguang was actually in the living room. ¡°How come you¡¯re here?¡± Han Rui¡¯s face turned cold immediately. To be honest, she felt quite comfortable when Sun Weiguang was not around. She now detested Sun Weiguang, believing that even killing him for drugging her would not be too harsh. Holding back only for the sake of their past relationship, she no longer wanted to see Sun Weiguang. ¡°Ahem, you¡¯re awake? It¡¯s like this¡­ I¡¯m very thankful for your care over the years. I know I¡¯ve been a lot of trouble, that¡¯s my fault, I was wrong before¡­¡± Watching Sun Weiguang ramble on, Han Rui furrowed her brows. Was Sun Weiguang trying to make amends, or did he want something? in the peaceful times before, when he would come to her asking for money, it resembled the situation now. Seeing Han Rui¡¯s impatient expression, Sun Weiguang sighed and said: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get to the point. I think we should part amicably and live our separate lives, without disturbing each other again, that is¡­ get a divorce. What do you think?¡± Is that all? Han Rui thought about mocking him, but seeing Sun Weiguang¡¯s serious face, she felt he might have truly matured quite a bit. So, she nodded. ¡°Okay. I agree to the divorce.¡± Even though it was the end of the world and these formalities didn¡¯t matter much, the two had once been married-it was best to part on good terms. Seeing that Han Rui agreed without a second¡¯s hesitation, Sun Weiguang suddenly felt a bit sad; he nodded with a bitter smile. ¡°¡­Alright. Then¡­ I¡¯ll leave now.¡± After speaking, Sun Weiguang stood up and left his key to the apartment behind. There were two keys to the apartment; one for him and one for Han Rui. ¡°By the way, are you still with Ou Yingying? Han Rui suddenly asked. ¡°Yes. Ou Yingying said she was very sorry to you, too ashamed to face you, so she didn¡¯t come over¡­¡± Sun Weiguang paused for a moment, then left. Watching Sun Weiguang¡¯s retreating figure, Han Rui felt complicated. It wasn¡¯t about reluctance. But still, having once been husband and wife and now ending up like this, it was somewhat sigh-inducing. Shaking her head, Han Rui stopped thinking about it. She didn¡¯t have time for sentiments; her top priority was to increase her ability to protect herself I Chapter 241 - Chapter 241: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Chapter 241: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Votes )_2 After leaving the teachers¡¯ apartment, Sun Weiguang arrived at a student dormitory building¡ªOu Yingying¡¯s residence. Standing outside room 404, Sun Weiguang knocked on the door. ¡°Yingying, open the door, it¡¯s me,¡± he said. But there was no response. Sun Weiguang knocked again. ¡°It¡¯s me, Yingying, open up!¡± he insisted. Still, no response came. Sun Weiguang frowned. It was late; Ou Yingying shouldn¡¯t have gone out. Just then, someone from the neighboring room came out; Sun Weiguang hurriedly called out to him. ¡°Old Li, have you seen Yingying?¡± he asked. The man, called Old Li, gave Sun Weiguang a glance, puzzled. ¡°Huh? Earlier, a man was shouting for Ou Yingying downstairs; she went down to him. I thought that man was you? Turns out it wasn¡¯t¡­¡± Sun Weiguang was stunned. A man looking for Ou Yingying at night? This gave him an immediate bad feeling¡ªhad he been cuckolded again? ¡°Where did they go?¡± Sun Weiguang quickly asked. ¡°Probably that little grove over there? Hey, don¡¯t run off so fast! Seriously, don¡¯t start a fight! Consequences for fighting in the base are severe¡­¡± Before Old Li could finish, Sun Weiguang had already sprinted away. Downstairs. Sun Weiguang walked toward the small grove that Old Li pointed out. ¡°It can¡¯t be; Yingying and I truly love each other. She couldn¡¯t be involved with another man¡­¡± As he walked, Sun Weiguang muttered to himself. It was dark already. Naturally, the small grove was deserted. In these end times, with limited entertainment activities, everyone was preparing to sleep at this hour. After a brief search in the grove, Sun Weiguang quickly spotted a figure seated on a stone bench. By the look of the long flowing hair, it was indeed Ou Yingying. Sun Weiguang first secretly observed, making sure there were no men or anything around before he felt relieved. He just knew it¡ªOu Yingying and he shared true love; how could she betray him? Sun Weiguang stepped out and called out loudly: ¡°Yingying! What are you doing here?¡± Hearing the sound, Ou Yingying lifted her head. However, with only the faint starlight, Sun Weiguang couldn¡¯t see Ou Yingying¡¯s expression clearly. ¡°Are you troubled by something? Talk to me! I¡¯m a man who can earn four Ration Tickets a day now. Whatever the issue, I can handle it!¡± he said, laughing. Considering his past, he found it somewhat unbelievable. When he was with Han Rui, earning one Ration Ticket a day was already difficult, relying mostly on Han Rui¡¯s help. But now, with Ou Yingying, he could earn four Ration Tickets by doing manual labor! ¡°Yingying?¡± Seeing Ou Yingying not speaking, Sun Weiguang found it odd. He quickly walked over and laid his hands on Ou Yingying¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Yingying, what¡¯s wro¡ªahh!¡± Ou Yingying lifted her head to reveal a ferocious face, with white eyes and dark veins spreading across her face. Startled, Sun Weiguang fell on his butt. ¡°A zombie? You, what¡¯s happened to you!¡± Swipe¡ª ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Ou Yingying reached out, about to grasp Sun Weiguang¡¯s arm, but he hastily retreated, using hands and feet. Rustle- Just as Ou Yingying was about to catch Sun Weiguang, she suddenly stopped and flailed wildly. Her nails were only ten centimeters from Sun Weiguang¡¯s leg, yet she could not reach any further. Sun Weiguang then noticed Ou Yingying was bound with an iron chain, tied to a tree! After the initial shock, Sun Weiguang started to come to his senses. Ou Yingying was a victim! Who, who could have done this? Sun Weiguang frantically looked around, there were no people among the trees, yet it felt as though each tree concealed a person¡¯s shadow! ¡°Right, Inhibitor! Yingying, wait for me, I will get you an Inhibitor!¡± Sun Weiguang scrambled to his feet and ran. Wang Tao was in the middle of his routine exercise; he insisted on working out every evening. Just then, the communicator placed beside him erupted with urgent voices. ¡°Commissioner Wang! A zombie has been spotted in the base! Come quickly to the base of Dormitory Building No. 1!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao, without a second thought, immediately suited up in his Rush Suit. ¡°Sister-in-law, stay at home and don¡¯t go out. There¡¯s a zombie in the base!¡± he warned. ¡°Ah? Okay! Be careful!¡± Ding Yuqin promptly picked up a Firefighter Axe, becoming somewhat nervous. She didn¡¯t offer to accompany Wang Tao, knowing she would be a burden to him. In such times, it was best not to cause trouble. Wang Tao swiftly got into his vehicle and soon arrived at the base of Dormitory Building No. 1. Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and a few other committee members had also arrived. They were all in various states of dress, clearly having been asleep. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Wei Zhenguo demanded sternly. ¡°Sun Weiguang came to request an Inhibitor. Earlier, the staff thought he was infected, but he said someone in the small grove was infected. When the staff went to check, the person had turned into a zombie, and an Inhibitor was useless!¡± Ren Jie quickly explained. ¡°Where¡¯s the zombie? Any casualties?¡± ¡°Inside the small grove, tied up with an iron chain. No casualties so far!¡± Relieved that the zombie was contained and there were no casualties, everyone¡¯s tension eased somewhat. At that moment, Wang Tao expressed his curiosity: ¡°The zombie discovered by Sun Weiguang? Where is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been detained. He¡¯s not quite right in the head. He keeps saying his girlfriend can still be saved, that she¡¯s just infected¡­¡± Ren Jie shrugged. ¡°Girlfriend? Could it be her?¡± Wang Tao instinctively thought of Ou Yingying.. Chapter 242 - Chapter 242: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Chapter 242: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Votes )_3 As they spoke, the group arrived inside the forest. In the combined illumination of several flashlights, they saw a female zombie in pajamas, with her hair in disarray, frantically turning her head. However, a chain tightly bound her waist, restricting her movement within a certain range. ¡°Who tied this chain?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked. ¡°Sun Weiguang has no idea, he said it wasn¡¯t him!¡± Ren Jie answered gravely. ¡°Hmm? Are there others at the scene? Was Ou Yingying killed by someone?¡± Everyone was startled for a moment before they all thought of the key issue. ¡°Not sure, but that¡¯s also why we called you guys here.¡± Ren Jie shook his head. Inside the base, infighting was strictly controlled; at most, survivors might engage in verbal spats and rarely got into physical fights. Let alone such clear cases of framing and murder. Ou Yingying had never left the base; she hadn¡¯t had the chance to be infected with the zombie virus nor had she fused with a Crystal Core¡­ So, it was highly probable that she was infected by someone with zombie blood! ¡°Investigate! I want to see who has such gall!¡± Xiang Hongbin was furious. This was a direct challenge to the authority of their committee! Wang Tao walked over to examine her and directly grabbed the zombie¡¯s face. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The zombie immediately flailed her arms, trying to grab Wang Tao. But Wang Tao¡¯s other hand firmly restrained both of her arms, immobilizing her. For an Ordinary zombie with 500 HP, Wang Tao could handle her with ease. Seeing her face, it was indeed Ou Yingying. ¡°Hmm?¡± However, upon seeing Ou Yingying¡¯s face, Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brow. On her neck, there was a deep bite mark surrounded by black blood vessels. And, this bite mark was the same as human teeth! ¡°Not good! There¡¯s a zombie inside the base!¡± Wang Tao suddenly yelled out, ¡°She wasn¡¯t infected by zombie blood; she was bitten!¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was shocked. Wang Tao carefully examined the ground. It had been a long time since anyone had been in this small grove, and it was covered in dust. Among a mess of footprints, there was a set leading to the north wall of the compound! ¡°You guys search the other areas carefully. I¡¯m going out to have a look!¡± Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Wang Tao took a flashlight and ran following the footprints. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Call all the survivors, check them! And get some people to guard the small grove!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately commanded. By the time he left the small grove, Han Rui had just jogged over. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Han Rui was still a bit confused, knowing only that someone in the base had been infected, but unclear about the specifics. Ren Jie briefed her on the situation. ¡°What? Sun Weiguang? Ou Yingying?¡± Han Rui was taken aback. She hadn¡¯t expected it to be the two of them involved! Han Rui ran into the small grove, and after seeing the zombie Ou Yingying, she shook her head, then ran back out and asked: ¡°Where is Sun Weiguang?¡± ¡°He has been taken to the comprehensive building for custody¡­¡± Ren Jie pointed to a place. Han Rui hurried to find Sun Weiguang, wanting to understand the situation. ¡°I want to see Sun Weiguang!¡± ¡°Okay, Minister Han, please¡ªhuh? Where¡¯s Sun Weiguang? The window¡¯s open? Damn! Did he run out the window? This is the fourth floor!¡± ¡°Yingying, I¡¯ve got the inhibitor, I¡¯m coming to save you!¡± Sun Weiguang, clutching a bottle of inhibitor and limping, stepped out of the darkness and into the grove of trees. There was no moon tonight, and the stars were dim¡ªbesides, the base was somewhat chaotic, so no one noticed him entering the grove. Soon, Sun Weiguang saw the person chained up. ¡°Yingying, Tmhere!¡± Sun Weiguang, holding the inhibitor, ran excitedly towards the bowed head of Ou Yingying, then hugged her tightly. ¡°Yingying, open your mouth quickly!¡± Ou Yingying lifted her head, and those pale white eyes looked at Sun Weiguang in front of her. She tilted her head, seeming somewhat confused. Then, she bit into Sun Weiguang¡¯s neck. ¡°Gurgle-¡± Sun Weiguang, one hand on his neck, the other gripping the inhibitor, had a face full of disbelief. ¡°Yingying¡­ you¡­¡± ¡°Heh¡­ roar¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s movement!¡± While following the footprints, Wang Tao suddenly saw a shadow flash by, so he hurried to the wall and then saw the barbed wire on top was cut! ¡°Zombies can cut barbed wire?¡± Wang Tao had thought it was zombie footprints, perhaps those of a special elite zombie. But would elite zombies cut barbed wire? This wire was the same spiral barbed wire used in prisons, and even mad demon zombies couldn¡¯t climb through it¡ªthey¡¯d get stuck unless the wire was cut! Are elite zombies now this formidable? Wang Tao was surprised, but he didn¡¯t stop; he climbed right over the wall. His strength had grown, and so had his confidence. Bang! Wang Tao landed, and there were no zombies outside the base. He quickly scanned the area and saw a shadow fleeting in the distance. ¡°Finally caught you!¡± Wang Tao immediately activated his precision shooting ability, and then his gear set¡¯s rush ability, using the rush as a teleport. Boom¡ª Wang Tao sprinted twenty to thirty meters in an instant! Not far ahead of him, a gaunt figure was sprinting wildly. Whoosh¡ª Without a word, Wang Tao hurled his axe. Bang! Clang¡ª The axe struck the figure¡¯s back but made a metallic clank. The shadow slowly got up. Then it turned its head, looking at Wang Tao. Wang Tao had been slightly taken aback the moment he threw his flying axe. Because the figure¡¯s HP bar kept flickering red and green! Wang Tao had only seen this happen when Shao Yong turned into a zombie! And when the figure turned around, Wang Tao, with the help of the faint starlight, got a clear view, and he was utterly shocked. ¡°WuFei!¡± The person before him was none other than Blondy Wu Fei, whom he had met twice before! But this time, Wu Fei lacked the warmth and openness of the previous encounter. His expression was cold, like a stranger¡¯s. Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t make another move, Wu Fei suddenly shifted and disappeared into the night. Chapter 243 - Chapter 243: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity l Chapter 243: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity l Seeing Wu Fei had run away, Wang Tao picked up his axe but chose not to pursue any further. It was night, and it was too dangerous outside. It wasn¡¯t worth risking his life. He returned to the base by the way he¡¯d come and then had someone repair the wire fence. As he approached the grove, he felt the atmosphere here was somewhat strange Zhen Guo and several others seemed at a loss for words, while Han Rui stood gazing absentmindedly into the trees. ¡°What¡¯s happened to everyone?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. ¡°Sun Weiguang¡­has died¡­¡± Han Rui lifted her head, her expression complex. ¡°Eh? Sun Weiguang is dead? Was he infected?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. Wasn¡¯t Sun Weiguang under control? How could he be dead unless he was infected by Ou Yingying¡­ ¡°He was indeed infected, but¡­ sigh, you better take a look yourself¡­¡± Han Rui led Wang Tao deeper into the grove. Upon seeing the scene before him, Wang Tao frowned instantly. Originally, there was only one person¡ªoh no, one corpse¡ªhere, which was Ou Yingying¡¯s, but now there was an additional body, Sun Weiguang. Ou Yingying was holding Sun Weiguang tightly, her mouth still on his neck, which was gnawed down to the spine. Both their foreheads were pierced by a crossbow arrow. And in Sun Weiguang¡¯s hand, he still clenched a bottle of inhibitor¡­ ¡°What¡­what happened?¡± Wang Tao was dumbstruck. He had only been away for a short while¡­ ¡°Here¡¯s what happened¡­¡± Ren Jie recounted the full situation. At first, upon discovering Ou Yingying had turned into a zombie, Sun Weiguang immediately ran to the main building to request an inhibitor. The main building had some inhibitors on standby, which could be used upon request if someone got infected. There was someone on duty there 24 hours a day. While the inhibitors were precious and had previously required 100,000 Contribution Points for a bottle, they weren¡¯t as scarce as before, and the price had dropped significantly. Additionally, not everyone could overpower a zombie. If someone in the base truly got infected, using an inhibitor to deal with the trouble was definitely preferable to having a new zombie emerge. Therefore, Sun Weiguang ran to get the inhibitor. Requesting the inhibitor was straightforward: explain the situation and then have the staff bring the inhibitor over. When Sun Weiguang mentioned Ou Yingying¡¯s infection, the staff immediately took people to the site, but after realizing that Ou Yingying had fully turned into a zombie and was beyond saving, they naturally refused to administer the inhibitor. Sun Weiguang was not willing to accept this. He believed Ou Yingying could still be saved, and was somewhat obstinate. With no choice, after confirming Sun Weiguang wasn¡¯t infected, the staff controlled him and locked him up in the main building. It was at this time that Wang Tao and the others reached the grove. As everyone was busy checking whether there were any more zombies in the base, Sun Weiguang stole the inhibitor that the staff had previously locked in a glass cabinet, then jumped straight down from the fourth floor! Up to this point, the base didn¡¯t have a dedicated place for detaining people. On one hand, although there were quarrels among base members, overall it was relatively peaceful. On the other hand, the base was in a development phase: there weren¡¯t enough people for working, let alone for keeping others imprisoned unproductively. Hence, Sun Weiguang was confined in the fourth floor of the main building, which was the staff¡¯s office. No one outside expected Sun Weiguang to be so extreme to jump from the fourth floor! So, he went unnoticed at that moment. After learning that Ou Yingying was infected and Sun Weiguang was detained, Han Rui prepared to find Sun Weiguang and get an understanding of the situation. Then they realized, Sun Weiguang was missing. The staff member noticed the stolen inhibitor from the cabinet, and immediately, recalling Sun Weiguang¡¯s prior behavior, felt it was highly likely he had gone to find Ou Yingying. Consequently, Han Rui hastened back to the grove, and upon arrival, she saw Ou Yingying gnawing on Sun Weiguang¡­ Sun Weiguang had been dead for some time, and there was no possibility of revival. Han Rui decisively fired a crossbow arrow into Sun Weiguang¡¯s forehead to prevent him from turning into a zombie, and then shot another into Ou Yingying¡¯s head¡­ Less than half a minute later, Wang Tao returned. After listening to Ren Jie¡¯s account, Wang Tao opened his mouth slightly, still somewhat shocked. He was stunned by Sun Weiguang¡¯s actions. Could it be true love between these two¡ªat least, Sun Weiguang¡¯s love for Ou Yingying was undoubtedly real! Sun Weiguang risked the possibility of death by falling, just to sneak the inhibitor to Ou Yingying! Even though Ou Yingying had completely turned into a zombie¡­ Has Sun Weiguang lost his mind? No, you can¡¯t really call Sun Weiguang foolish. After all, love can easily blind people¡­ and many people only know that inhibitors can prevent virus infection, without realizing that this has a prerequisite¡ªthat the infected person is not dead, and has not fully turned into a zombie. If the person is dead, or has completely turned into a zombie, then no amount of inhibitors can save them. Most likely, Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t know this¡­ Of course, whether he knew or not, his actions admittedly earned some respect from Wang Tao¡­ Wang Tao then looked towards Han Rui, understanding why her mood had declined. Regardless, Sun Weiguang was her husband, or rather, ex-husband. Even if Han Rui regarded him with contempt, the sudden disappearance of a living person, if not sad, was at least disconcerting. Chapter 244 - Chapter 244: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity_2 Chapter 244: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity_2 And most importantly, Sun Weiguang died in Ou Yingying¡¯s arms. He held tightly onto that bottle of Inhibitor, thinking of saving Ou Yingying until his last breath¡­ ¡°I suddenly feel a bit sad, sad for myself¡­¡± Han Rui suddenly spoke up. She had done so much for Sun Weiguang. After the apocalypse, she had risked her life to save him. Yet, even such affections could not outweigh those for a woman he¡¯d only known for a few days¡­ This probably proved one thing-perhaps, Sun Weiguanghad never loved her. So Han Rui felt very sad. Wang Tao looked at the distant look in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, gently caressing her cheek. Han Rui subconsciously rubbed her face against Wang Tao1 s hand, then her gaze gradually became clearer. ¡°Let¡¯s go, there¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡± Wang Tao took Han Rui with him, joining Wei Zhenguo and the others in the conference hall. Upon entering the meeting room, Wang Tao abruptly said: ¡°I just saw the murderer.¡± ¡°Who is it!¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others stared in dazed shock. No matter what happened between Ou Yingying and Sun Weiguang, anyone who dared to commit murder in their base was unforgivable! ¡°WuFei.¡± Wang Tao named someone unfamiliar to everyone else. ¡°WuFei?¡± Yet, Han Rui and Ren Jie reflexively repeated the name. ¡°Wu Fei¡­ isn¡¯t he the survivor who arrived at our base today? Let me check¡­ Ren Jie hurriedly brought up the list, and everyone checked together-among today¡¯s registered survivors at the base, there indeed was a Wu Fei! ¡°Could it be¡­ Blondy?¡± Han Rui, somewhat in disbelief, spoke. He remembered a Blondy named Wu Fei and a male university student named Li Cheng. It was Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying who had killed these two, which allowed them to escape the crisis! ¡°That¡¯s him.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°But¡­butwasn¡¯the dead?¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes were a little lost. To put it bluntly, if those two were dead, Han Rui would feel very guilty. If they were still alive, Han Rui would feel even guiltier¡­ Of course, that1 s not to say Han Rui wanted them dead; she still hoped they were alive, preferably with a chance to make amends. But since Wu Fei had killed Ou Yingying, it was clear he didn¡¯t need any compensation¡ªhe wanted revenge! ¡°He didn¡¯t die, I saved him.¡± Wang Tao suddenly stated. Han Rui looked at Wang Tao, somewhat shocked. ¡°No, what kind of riddle are you playing at? Xiang Hongbin scratched his head, staring at the two of them. ¡°Do you know that Wu Fei?¡± Ren Jie asked curiously. ¡°Sort of know him¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained to everyone. He didn¡¯t go into too much detail, simply mentioning that Wu Fei was Ou Yingying¡¯s boyfriend, and during their escape, Ou Yingying had used Wu Fei as a decoy, leading to his being bitten by zombies. By a stroke of luck, Wang Tao , used an Inhibitor to save Wu Fei, and upon surviving, Wu Fei then left. Wu Fei¡¯s return was for the purpose of seeking revenge from Ou Yingying¡­ In these explanations, Wang Tao deliberately obscured the part concerning Han Rui. As for Sun Weiguang, he didn¡¯t mention him at all-the man was already dead. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened!¡± The group understood. That made sense. They had wondered which survivor would dare to cause trouble for Shuize Base at a time like this, so it turned out the person was seeking revenge¡­ But it must be said, although Wu Fei¡¯s actions were frowned upon by everyone, he also knew how to play it safe. He preemptively tied Ou Yingying to a tree; even if she turned into a zombie, she wouldn¡¯t cause any harm-Sun Weiguang was an exception. ¡°No wait!¡± Wei Zhenguo suddenly frowned and said, ¡°But there is a bite mark on Ou Yingying¡¯s neck! The area around the wound is saturated with zombie virus, clearly bitten by a zombie! Did Wu Fei bring in a zombie? Upon hearing this, everyone shivered with dread. If there was still a zombie within the base, that would be trouble indeed! However, Wang Tao shookhis head. ¡°That wound, it was bitten by Wu Fei himself¡­ ¡°What?¡± The group looked at Wang Tao, baffled. ¡°This is also why I called you over. I just caught up to Wu Fei, and his current state is very strange. He is on the brink of turning into a zombie but hasn¡¯t yet turned. He has zombie traits but still possesses human consciousness! It¡¯s somewhat similar to the stage Shao Yong was in before he turned into a zombie¡­¡± When Shao Yong was turning into a zombie, his HP was also flickering, but he mutated very quickly. Unlike Wu Fei who kept flickering but hadn¡¯t fully turned into a zombie. However, Wang Tao felt that Wu Fei would probably fully become a zombie soon, because the Internal Impurity in his body was too high! Wang Tao was startled when he saw Wu Fei¡¯s Attributes. Wu Fei had over two thousand HP, more than a thousand MP, which were quite Ordinary. But his Internal Impurity was at 95%! When Shao Yong mutated, his Internal Impurity was at 85%-that was 10% higher than Shao Yong¡¯s! When Wang Tao last met Wu Fei, his Internal Impurity was only at 28%! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what Wu Fei had gone through recently, but logically, he should have had an Inhibitor¡­ Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone was stunned. On the verge of turning into a zombie but never completing the transformation? The viral infection was high, but he hadn¡¯t died? What was going on? ¡°I¡¯m guessing he won¡¯t live much longer. Perhaps the next time we go out, we might see the zombie he¡¯s turned into¡­¡± Chapter 245 - Chapter 245: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity 3 Chapter 245: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity 3 Wang Tao sighed. Everyone shook their heads, feeling inexplicably sentimental. The feeling of slowly turning into a zombie must be painful¡­ At this moment, Ren Jie suddenly felt regretful. ¡°Ah, this is my fault! We had agreed to put the detector at the entrance of the base to check every new survivor. But because the device consumes a lot of power, we needed to lay special electrical cables, so the wiring wasn¡¯t ready yet¡­ I was planning to have them come to the main building for inspection tomorrow at noon, but then tonight this happened¡­¡± Wu Fei¡¯s eyes were not a problem, and eye checks wouldn¡¯t reveal anything; only a detector could do that, but unfortunately, Wu Fei was one step ahead¡­ With this incident, no one could sleep, and everyone at the base was awoken. Ren Jie simply called over the three survivors who had registered with Wu Fei to ask about their situation. Ren Jie didn¡¯t tell them what had happened to Wu Fei because these survivors might lie to avoid trouble if they knew. Instead, Ren Jie showed a desire to understand and care for them. The survivors, not knowing what had transpired, opened up upon seeing how amiable Commissioner Ren was. All three were survivors from Sunshine Kindergarten. They were truly unlucky ¡ªgorilla zombies had passed by their location and casually smashed their kindergarten. Luckily, they weren¡¯t discovered by the gorilla zombies; otherwise, they would have been wiped out for sure. But even without being detected, under the gorilla zombies¡¯ ¡°casual¡± attacks, most of them were killed or wounded. The organizer of the Sunshine Kindergarten survivor base, the old dean, was also tragically killed. The old dean was elderly with poor physical health and couldn¡¯t escape. Wu Fei was outside at the time and escaped by a hair¡¯s breadth. After seeing the gorilla zombie, he immediately ran towards the kindergarten, but it was still too late. After the gorilla zombie left, everyone was very sad. But grief was not a solution; the kindergarten was completely destroyed, and most of their people were dead or injured. It was no longer possible to live there. After discussing, they decided to head to Shuize Base¡­ As for Wu Fei, the three of them spoke highly of him, saying he was the hardest-working person in the base. He had brought back a lot of supplies and inhibitors, and many had received his help¡­ However, recently Wu Fei¡¯s personality had become colder, and he spoke less and less. But no one really paid much attention, after all, people were dying around them now and then. Not breaking down already showed strength, so personality changes were only too normal¡­ After gathering the information, Ren Jie let the survivors leave. He sighed: ¡°Avery good young man, but it¡¯s a pity¡­¡± The others fell silent for a moment, then Wei Zhenguo said: ¡°Tomorrow, we need to fix the detector, and also, with more people in the base now, we can assign more personnel to night shifts¡­¡± Whether it was Wu Fei or Shao Yong a few days ago, their ability to easily enter and leave the base was indeed too careless. Even if they couldn¡¯t be stopped due to their strength, at least someone should have seen them. The base¡¯s security force is still inadequate! But there was no helping it. Aside from those dozen or so members of the Security Army and a few policemen, everyone else was not professional. It was already good enough if they didn¡¯t doze off while on night shift¡ªthere wasn¡¯t much to hope for¡­ ¡°Hmm! We do need to strengthen security. I am planning to have the base¡¯s police and Security Army train them a bit later. Without some professional skills, it¡¯s really not enough!¡± When Wang Tao got home, Ding Yuqin was still awake, waiting for him. ¡± How did it go, Wang Tao? No big problems, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all resolved.¡± Wang Tao briefly explained what happened. Ding Yuqin knew about the previous incident at the water plant, so after listening to Wang Tao, she was full of sighs. It was hard to say who was right or wrong, after all, they were all fighting for their lives. However, the fact that Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying were truly in love surprised Ding Yuqin. She couldn¡¯t understand why Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t like his beautiful and capable wife at home and instead liked Ou Yingying, who seemed unremarkable¡­ But if it was true love, dying together in the apocalypse might not be a bad thing¡­ She just felt Han Rui was a bit pitiful, realizing her husband had never truly loved her must be quite painful. Being a woman herself, Ding Yuqin could empathize with Han Rui¡¯s feelings at the moment. At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly spoke: ¡°Let¡¯s have Han Rui come and stay at our house tomorrow, what do you think, Sister-in-law?¡± ¡°Ah? Sure! I can keep her company!¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t react at first. ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s happily decided.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He didn¡¯t need to consider Ding Yuqin¡¯s opinion, but out of respect, he still mentioned it. ¡°Hold on¡ªyou, what do you mean?¡± Seeing the smile on Wang Tao¡¯s face, Ding Yuqin suddenly understood the implication. Staying over could mean different things. Would she stay with her, or with Wang Tao? Wang Tao didn¡¯t answer. His silence confirmed Ding Yuqin¡¯s suspicion¡­ Ding Yuqin bit her lip, her small face falling. ¡°Wuwuwu¡ª¡± Han Rui was not the pitiful one; she was! ¡°Okay, okay, let¡¯s sleep.¡± Wang Tao reached out and wrapped his arm around Ding Yuqin¡¯s slender waist and went upstairs. Ding Yuqin struggled symbolically a few times, then obediently leaned into Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. She definitely wanted to monopolize Wang Tao, but she also knew that was unrealistic. In this apocalypse where strength reigned supreme, powerful men would naturally attract many women. When Wang Tao sometimes didn¡¯t rest at home, Ding Yuqin had already guessed something. After all, Wang Tao never brought anyone back, and he was mostly hers. But now Wang Tao had laid his cards on the table¡­ However, she thought carefully, Wang Tao was actually quite restrained in this aspect, as he always prioritized improving his strength. Ding Yuqin had heard from Gao Hua before that other survivor bases were much more chaotic! Being with Wang Tao was already very lucky for her, she dared not ask for too much¡­ ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll drain you dry tonight!¡± Chapter 246 - Chapter 246: Chapter 134 The Only Belief l Chapter 246: Chapter 134 The Only Belief l In the morning, Wang Tao went to the teachers¡¯ apartments. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Han Rui thought Wang Tao was looking for her to go out hunting zombies, and she was somewhat pleased. ¡°Have you had breakfast?¡± Wang Tao glanced at the porridge on the table. ¡°Not yet¡­¡± Han Rui felt a little embarrassed. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao turned and left without another word. Han Rui was confused, she looked at the breakfast on the table, her throat moved a bit, but in the end, she didn¡¯t eat it. After getting into the car, she thought they were going out, but to her surprise, Wang Tao took her to the committee¡¯s villa area. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Han Rui followed Wang Tao into the villa and saw Ding Yuqin, wearing an apron, preparing breakfast. ¡°You¡¯re here, sit down!¡± Ding Yuqin asked Han Rui to sit politely in the dining chair. Han Rui felt uneasy; she always felt the atmosphere was a bit strange. However, when Ding Yuqin brought the delicious food over, her eyes lit up. In fact, she wasn¡¯t too picky about food, as long as she could eat her fill. Porridge was enough, so she didn¡¯t bother to collect food specially. But now, facing these dishes, she suddenly found her mouth watering. ¡°Thank you!¡± As Ding Yuqin handed her the chopsticks, she quickly thanked her. ¡°We¡¯re all family here, no need to be polite!¡± Ding Yuqin said with a smile. Why does that sound a bit off? But everyone is from the same base, so calling each other family doesn¡¯t seem too strange¡­ After the meal, Wang Tao said to the two women: ¡°Sister-in-law, you go out with Gao Hua and the others today. I¡¯ll take Han Rui to see if there are any Level 2 Zombies.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Both of them nodded. With Ding Yuqin¡¯s help, Wang Tao was fully armed, and then he went to Han Rui¡¯s home to help her suit up in her gear. Once they were both ready, Wang Tao suddenly said: ¡°Don¡¯t stay in this place anymore. Come back tonight to pack up your things; I¡¯ve given it to someone else.¡± Han Rui was dumbfounded. She had only left to get a free breakfast, and now she had lost her house. It was the house allocated to her, and Wang Tao gave it away without a word¡­ ¡°So where do you want me to go¡­¡± Han Rui said with her head down, sounding a bit aggrieved. ¡°Go to my place.¡± ¡°¡­Ah?¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Wang Tao, who didn¡¯t seem to be joking. Her face turned red instantly. ¡°1,1¡­¡± ¡°Stop stuttering, let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll pack your things next time we come back.¡± Seeing the unwavering Wang Tao, Han Rui dared not say more and obediently followed him downstairs. After they left the base, they still headed towards the hospital. After all, the hospital had many Elite Zombies, and Wang Tao guessed that there might very well be Level 2 Zombies inside! With so many Elite Zombies there, it wouldn¡¯t make sense if there were no Level 2 Zombies. Even if there weren¡¯t any, it would still give Han Rui a chance to increase her HP. Of course, that would only happen if the zombies inside would come out. They were in luck today; shortly after reaching the hospital, they found that some Elite Zombies had indeed come out. Wang Tao and Han Rui stealthily approached. Under the barrage of their crossbow arrows, these Level 1 Elite Zombies couldn¡¯t survive more than thirty seconds. After dealing with all the Elite Zombies at the hospital entrance, Han Rui¡¯s HP had reached 4300, but unfortunately, they didn¡¯t encounter any Level 2 Zombies. But as a pleasant surprise, Wang Tao finally encountered a Self-Healing Zombie! This was also a kind of obese zombie, but unlike other fat zombies, this one didn¡¯t look as ferocious and didn¡¯t have much attack power; it was simply very hard to kill, somewhat like a stubborn individual. It had a total of 4000 HP, but it recovered 2 HP every second. Though 2 HP didn¡¯t seem like much, this zombie was just too tricky. If you shoot it with an arrow, it would retreat into the hospital lobby to hide. And by the time it came out again, it would be at full health. Han Rui had no way to deal with this situation; if it didn¡¯t come out, they couldn¡¯t shoot it¡­ Wang Tao had no choice but to take a risk. He ran to the entrance of the inpatient department and used two Shockwaves to kill it. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Self-Healing] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Reduced tactile sensation)] [Self-Healing: During its duration, it can slowly recover from certain injuries] Now that it was confirmed that there were Self-Healing Zombies in the hospital, Wang Tao planned to stake out the area to see if he could gather more Self-Healing Crystal Cores. He was lacking not just Ascension Crystal Cores but also Precision Shooting and Self-Healing Crystal Cores. Especially the Self-Healing Crystal Cores, which he had never encountered before. Now that he finally had the chance, he needed to seize the opportunity. Therefore, Wang Tao stayed there for three days. In those three days, Han Rui¡¯s HP had risen to 4999, and they had killed so many zombies that they lost count. If the zombies in the hospital didn¡¯t come out, Wang Tao would deliberately make noise to attract them and even fired a shot. And just like last time, not only did he attract the Mad Demon Zombies and Elite Zombies, but he also drew out that Level 2 Hooded Zombie! Could this Level 2 Zombie have always been around here? The first time Wang Tao saw it, he was somewhat worried. But now, he was pondering how to take it down. After all, he couldn¡¯t encounter any other Level 2 Zombies¡­ He had thought that if he could encounter a Level 2 Zombie with 5000 HP, that would have been the weakest one. But aside from the Hooded Zombie, he saw no other Level 2 Zombies, let alone one with only 5000 HP. So Wang Tao had already set his sights on this Level 2 Zombie, even though it had 6000 HP, he thought that with more people, they would still have a good chance. However, he needed everyone to power up a bit first; it wouldn¡¯t be good if there were casualties¡­ Chapter 247 - Chapter 247: Chapter 134 The Only Belief_2 Chapter 247: Chapter 134 The Only Belief_2 As for now, I don¡¯t know if those zombies in the hospital have become immune to Wang Tao¡¯s attraction, but no matter how much we try to lure them out they just won¡¯t come¡­ ¡¯ Wang Tao could see some vague shapes inside with his binoculars, but they just wouldn¡¯t come out to save their lives. Even when he fired shots, the elite zombies wouldn¡¯t come out. This puzzled Wang Tao: What on earth was so enticing inside the hospital that kept them there? There are really none left, not a single one,¡± Wang Tao said with some helplessness, looking at the empty hospital. ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the base for now, see how Old Wei and the others have fared. We can come back later.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui nodded, she drove, and together with Wang Tao, they made their way back to the base. In these three days, the gains had been good. Just with self-healing crystal cores, they had synthesized 5 orange epic crystal cores, and 3 more for precise shooting. All 8 crystal cores were used by Wang Tao. Now his precision shooting was ¡°+7¡± and self-healing was ¡°+6.¡± His mana had even reached 3500! Wang Tao¡¯s overall strength had greatly increased. He felt that with his current ability, he would easily handle Shao Yong even at full HP. Even facing a full HP level 2 zombie Shao Yong, it wasn¡¯t something he couldn¡¯t try¡­ Stop the car, there¡¯s an elite zombie on the road!¡± On the way back, Wang Tao, with his sharp eyes, spotted a police zombie holding a gun inside a rundown restaurant. Han Rui immediately stopped the car in a corner. Wang Tao got out of the car, sneaked up close to the police zombie, and released a shockwave. Pfft! [-2800) [0/2800] This police zombie had less than 3000 HP and was instantly killed by Wang Tao without any suspense. For zombies like this police zombie or suicide bombing zombies that posed a certain threat, Wang Tao always preferred to use shockwaves. His shockwaves were now level two and could easily one-shot these zombies to prevent any accidents. Surprisingly, this police zombie had an orange precise shooting crystal core which delighted Wang Tao. Lucky day today! He happened to have an ordinary precise shooting crystal core in his hand which could now be synthesized into a pure epic crystal core without impurities or side effects! Actually, Wang Tao had considered going to the police station. He felt that the police station should have quite a few police zombies. However, both Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an told him that there was no one at the Shuize County police station because the police had gone out to handle the crisis when the disaster struck. Afterward, a military troop passed through and took many of the police and eqmpment away. People like Wei Zhenguo and Feng Ming¡¯an were those who didn¡¯t catch up and were left behind¡­ So now the police station stood empty, with no people and no equipment. There was no point in going there. Feng Ming¡¯an had even gone to the police station once before, only to find some ordinary zombies and nothing else¡­ ¡°That¡¯s it, let¡¯s go,¡± Wang Tao said after scouting the area and confirming there were no other elites. He then prepared to leave. But at that moment, he suddenly remembered that Li Qiuyu¡¯s neighborhood wasn¡¯t far from here, was it? So he said to Han Rui: How about we take a look at Li Qiuyu¡¯s neighborhood?¡± When he saw the gorilla zombie heading toward her neighborhood, Wang Tao felt it was unlikely that Li Qiuyu had survived. But what if she had been lucky? Since there were no gorilla zombies now, it wouldn¡¯ t hurt to make a trip. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui had no objections; Li Qiuyu had helped them after all. The fact that they hadn¡¯t been able to rescue her before still made Han Rui feel regretful. The two got back into the car, with Han Rui driving. They turned at the intersection and headed toward Li Qiuyu¡¯s neighborhood. Wang Tao then synthesized the precise shooting crystal core he had. Though it was an epic crystal core, since it had side effects and impurities, it was still better to synthesize it into one that was pure. A moment later, Wang Tao merged the precise shooting crystal core, and his precise shooting ability also reached ¡°+8.¡± ¡°Still missing 6 level 1 crystal cores. I wonder how Zhen Guo and the others did, hoping we can gather enough¡­¡± Soon, the off-road vehicle arrived at Li Qiuyu¡¯s neighborhood. The neighborhood had completely changed ¨C a section of the courtyard wall had collapsed, all the landscaping was destroyed, the villas were a scene of ruins, and only the residential high-rises were still standing. ¡°This¡­ should be gone, right?¡± Seeing the state of the place, even the usually optimistic Han Rui felt that Li Qiuyu¡¯s chances of survival were next to none. ¡°Let¡¯s go and see,¡± Wang Tao said, also feeling hopeless, but since they were there, they definitely needed to search. The two headed toward the villa area. Some villas were damaged but at least their main structures were intact. However, villas number 1, 2, and 3 had been completely leveled. There was not a person in sight, not even a single zombie. It seemed like the gorilla zombie had made a point of staying here for quite some time; otherwise, the damage wouldn¡¯t be this severe. Han Rui sighed but still used her ability to scan the area. There was no sign of life in the ruins of villa number 1. In the ruins of villa number 2, there was no sign of life ¡ª wait? ¡°There seems to be someone underground!¡± Han Rui suddenly said, surprised. Hmm? The exact location!¡± Wang Tao was immediately energized. ¡°Right¡­ here!¡± Han Rui pointed to a place after searching for a moment, ¡°But it¡¯s too chaotic here, and it¡¯s underground, so it¡¯s somewhat affecting my perception. I¡¯m not quite sure¡­¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s dig and see!¡± With Wang Tao¡¯s current physical fitness, doing some emergency rescue work was a breeze. With Han Rui also at 4999 HP, her physical condition was very strong too. Together, they quickly cleared part of the debris from villa numbe Chapter 248 - Chapter 248: Chapter 134 The Only Belief_3 Chapter 248: Chapter 134 The Only Belief_3 ¡°It¡¯s right here! Still alive, but very weak!¡± Han Rui pointed at an opening. Wang Tao discovered it was the entrance to a basement. ¡°Did she hide in the basement?¡± Wang Tao took some effort, but finally cleared the entrance to the basement. She found that the basement was specially designed, with a large iron door lying flat and an electronic lock on top. He couldn¡¯t break the lock¡­ Fortunately, he didn¡¯t know whether Li Qiuyu did it on purpose or forgot, but the door wasn¡¯t locked. Boom¡ª Wang Tao strained to open the door, and the sunlight instantly shone into the dark cavity. He immediately saw a woman lying on the floor of the basement, wearing pajamas. Her HP was [10/100] Just 10 drops of blood, at the brink of death. After Han Rui confirmed there were no zombies inside, Wang Tao had Han Rui keep watch while he went down. ¡°Hey, wake up!¡± Wang Tao propped up Li Qjuyu, who looked pale and had lost weight, then patted her face gently. When she didn¡¯t respond, Wang Tao took out some purified water from the Space Backpack and sprinkled it on her face and lips. A moment later, Li Qiuyu opened her eyes. ¡°You¡­ Wang Tao¡­ ¡± Her expression was still somewhat vague. Seeing her awake, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much else, just carried her away. ¡°Let¡¯sgo!¡± Han Rui hurried to drive, and Wang Tao carried Li Qjuyu into the back seat. The car started immediately, heading for Shuize Base. On the car, Wang Tao, with no regard for traditional feelings about men and women¡¯s contact, quickly checked Li Qjuyu¡¯s body. She had many wounds, but they were mostly scrapes and bruises, with no signs of virus infection. Wang Tao also pulled back her eyelids to look, and found no whiteness. Her body also did not have any impurities¡­ Seeing this, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought Li Qjuyu¡¯s critically low HP was probably due to some external injuries and hunger. Wang Tao took out a bottle of Potion and poured a little bit into Li Qjuyu¡¯s mouth. That bottle was enough for an ordinary adult¡¯s energy consumption for one day, and if she had too much, she might not be able to handle it. Then Wang Tao took out a medical kit, injected her with a Potion, and bandaged her up simply. Before long, Li Qjuyu¡¯s HP began to rise. When it reached 30 HP, Li Qjuyu opened her eyes. ¡°Am¡­ am I dead¡­¡± Li Qiuyu, still not quite used to the light, covered her eyes with one hand while blindly grabbing with the other. But suddenly, a warm, rough hand took hold of hers. Li Qjuyu instinctively tried to pull away but failed. She slowly came back to her senses and looked at Wang Tao with eyes that had slightly adjusted to the light. ¡°Wang Tao? Are you¡­ did you die too?¡± What kind of thing is that to say! Wang Tao slapped her face lightly, then said with resignation: ¡°I¡¯m not dead, and neither are you.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Li Qiuyu was startled for a moment before she realized she was actually in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, and they were in a car, with Han Rui driving in front. Li Qiuyu quickly sat up and then looked at Wang Tao somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°What¡­ what exactly happened¡­ I thought I was dead?¡± ¡°We found you in the basement, saw you were still alive, so we brought you out.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. ¡°Basement¡­ I remember now!¡± Li Qiuyu suddenly widened her eyes as though she remembered something terrifying. She spoke weakly: ¡°I was still asleep, and suddenly I heard some noises. When I opened my eyes, I saw a huge zombie in my yard¡­ I was startled, screamed instinctively, which drew its attention, then it started to tear down my house¡­ I managed to crawl to the basement from the second floor, just got into hiding when I heard a loud bang, and the house seemed to collapse¡­¡± Thinking back to the earlier situation, Li Qiuyu was still somewhat frightened. ¡± Thank goodness my basement was reinforced by my husband before to keep some important things, and it even had a thick electric iron door, but there was no food left in my basement¡­ After that zombie visited, the door seemed to have broken, and I couldn¡¯t get out. I thought I was going to starve to death in there¡­¡± At that point, Li Qiuyu looked at Wang Tao and Han Rui with a face full of gratitude. ¡°How did you guys¡­ ¡± ¡°A week ago, we saw a huge gorilla-like zombie heading in your direction. We were no match for it, so we didn¡¯t go over. We thought you were dead¡­ This time passing by your place, I thought to take a look, just in case you weren¡¯t dead, and turns out you indeed weren¡¯t¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything or exaggerate, simply recounting the events as they happened. Although he made it sound simple, as if it was something he did casually, Li Qiuyu was still immensely grateful. After all, she remembered her house was in ruins, and even if it was casual for Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t easy to casually rescue her from the basement¡­ ¡°Thank you, Wang Tao, and Han Rui, thank you both!¡± Li Qiuyu clasped her hands together, full of gratitude. ¡°Oh? Didn¡¯t you want to die before? Now you don¡¯t want to die anymore?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. He could feel that Li Qiuyu still had a strong desire to live, otherwise she might have died already. Li Qiuyu tidied her hair, her face a mix of embarrassment and self-deprecation. ¡°Sigh! I thought I had become accustomed to death, I thought I was no longer afraid to die¡­ But when my life was truly threatened, I found out I was still afraid of dying¡­¡± There was something else she didn¡¯t mention, which was her desire to see her daughter again. Although she had witnessed most of her close family die, her daughter was still alive before and had told her she would come to find her¡­ Her daughter was her only reason to keep living! Chapter 249 - Chapter 249: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisisl Chapter 249: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisisl ¡°Is this Shuize Base? It feels so safe!¡± Li Qiu Yu exclaimed as she looked at the tall walls and the heavy gate from inside the car. Han Rui had told her a lot about Shuize Base before, but hearing about it and seeing it in person gave her a completely different feeling. ¡°Once you¡¯re in Shuize Base, we¡¯re all family. If there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand, feel free to come to me.¡± Han Rui turned her head with a smile and said. ¡°Thank you!¡± Li Qiu Yu thanked her again. They had returned to the base by nightfall, and Wang Tao asked Han Rui to arrange accommodations for Li Qiu Yu and keep her company. Meanwhile, Wang Tao headed to the comprehensive building. Seeing that several members were present, Wang Tao asked with a smile: ¡°How has everyone¡¯s harvest been these past few days?¡± Each person presented their findings, showcasing an array of gleaming crystal cores on the table. Their hauls varied in size, but overall, it seemed quite good. ¡°It feels like the number of Elite Zombies is also slowly increasing. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome to collect so many crystal cores in such a short time¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo said, frowning. While collecting so many crystal cores was a good thing, an increasing number of Elite Zombies wasn¡¯t necessarily good news¡­ Wang Tao glanced over the crystal cores and luckily found some he could use! He asked further: ¡°What about Level 2 Zombies? Did you encounter any?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Everyone shook their heads. Wang Tao was somewhat disappointed. Without finding any Level 2 Zombies, he wouldn¡¯t be able to advance to Level Two! It seemed he had to prepare to hunt down that hooded zombie¡­ ¡°These are the crystal cores I¡¯ve selected for you. Take a look and take those that are suitable¡­¡± Wang Tao took out some synthesized crystal cores, all of Excellent and outstanding quality, with a few being of Orange Epic Quality. The sight of these crystal cores made everyone¡¯s eyes gleam. Previously, Wang Tao had instructed them not to fuse crystal cores for the time being because impurities and side effects in the body were an issue. Wang Tao would figure out the crystal cores problem; they just had to give all their crystal cores to him. They naturally trusted Wang Tao, so they only fused with the crystal cores Wang Tao gave them. Currently, their Special Ability Levels weren¡¯t high. The batch of crystal cores Wang Tao now distributed wasn¡¯t small, and after their fusion, they could probably max out at least one or two skills! ¡°Let¡¯s hunt Level 1 Zombies for a few more days, and then we can prepare to hunt Level 2 Zombies!¡± Now that they couldn¡¯t find other Level 2 Zombies, their only option was to go after that hooded zombie. Although it had 6000 HP, it was still easier to deal with than the gorilla zombie with 10000 HP. Moreover, if they didn¡¯t act now, the zombie¡¯s strength might increase, but Wang Tao¡¯s strength had already reached its limit. If the gap widened further, it would only become more challenging, so they had to act fast! ¡°We¡¯re finally going to face a Level 2 Zombie, huh¡­¡± Everyone was a bit nervous but also somewhat expectant. Wang Tao had already informed them about the hooded zombie, and they knew it might be stronger than the zombie Shao Yong! Of course, it might also be weaker. But regardless, it was a bona fide full blood Level 2 zombie, much stronger than their Level 1 Ability Users! However, everyone still believed in the power of numbers. They felt they had a chance of winning against this Level 2 Zombie! ¡°Come on, everyone!¡± ¡°Come on!¡± Wang Tao, carrying the crystal cores that Wei Zhenguo and the others had collected these days, returned home. On the way, he had already examined them closely. Although their total number of crystal cores wasn¡¯t as high as Wang Tao¡¯s own recent haul, there were quite a few useful ones among them for himself. In particular, the Precision Shooting crystal cores ¨C there were exactly four, which would allow Wang Tao to synthesize both a Red and an Orange Crystal Core! As for the Self-healing Crystal Cores, there was one from them and one more in Wang Tao¡¯s possession, just enough to synthesize a Red crystal core. The 80% fusion success rate for Red was quite high, and so far, there had not been a single failure. If Wang Tao had the chance, he would, of course, synthesize the 100% successful Orange, but crystal cores were scarce at the moment, so Red would do for now unless his luck was exceptionally bad. Upon arriving home, Wang Tao turned those three crystal cores into ones without any side effects or impurities. After greeting Ding Yuqin, he immediately placed the crystal cores in his mouth. Moments later, the three crystal cores successfully fused without any mishaps; the two Red crystal cores worked out perfectly. Wang Tao¡¯s Self-healing power reached ¡°+7,¡± and his Precise shooting ability finally hit ¡°+10¡±! His mana also increased by 300, now standing at 3900. ¡°I just need the last three Self-healing crystal cores¡­ I hope I can get them sorted in the next few days!¡± After Ding Yuqin put the last soup on the stove, she looked at Wang Tao with slight resentment and asked: ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Han Rui come yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hurry her up.¡± Wang Tao took out the walkie-talkie and contacted Han Rui. ¡°Dinnertime. Oh, and bring Li Qiu Yu with you.¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡± The voice of Han Rui coming out of the walkie-talkie sounded muffled; she knew she couldn¡¯t escape this time. Upon hearing the name of a stranger, Ding Yuqin suddenly felt anxious inside and asked tentatively in a low voice: ¡°That¡­ Who is Li Qiu Yu?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t I mentioned her to you?¡± Wang Tao frowned, not recalling if he had mentioned her or not. ¡°Uh? Have you mentioned it?¡± Ding Yuqin looked puzzled. ¡°She¡¯s a friend I met before who has helped me out. I happened to see her while I was out, so I brought her back to the base.¡± Chapter 250 - Chapter 250: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisis_2 Chapter 250: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisis_2 Wang Tao briefly explained. ¡°0h~¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t ask any more questions, as she knew many men disliked women who pried too deeply. Sometimes, silence could be more appreciated by men. However, Ding Yuqin had already decided to observe carefully later on to see if she had gained another sister¡­ Looking at Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao suddenly asked: ¡°Sis-in-law, did you kill any Elite Zombies these past few days?¡± When he left, DingYuqin¡¯s HP was in the low thousands, but nowit was 1220. ¡°Hehe, of course! But I did it with everyone else!¡± Wang Tao originally wanted to tell her not to take risks since hunting Elite Zombies with just over a thousand HP and no Abilities was still quite dangerous. But seeing Ding Yuqin looking so happy, Wang Tao decided not to say it. After all, wanting to become stronger was a good thing; it wouldn¡¯t do to avoid getting stronger merely because it was dangerous. So Wang Tao encouraged her, saying: ¡°Impressive! Here I thought you were still practicing on Ordinary Zombies, but you¡¯ve already started taking on Elite ones!¡± ¡°Ehehe-¡± Ding Yuqin had almost no resistance to Wang Tao¡¯s encouragement. She wore a goofy smile on her face. ¡°In the next few days, I¡¯ll take you to hunt zombies.¡± Wang Tao added. He only needed three more Crystal Cores to upgrade his Self-healing power, so he had to rush to acquire these cores. Once he fused Self-healing to +10, he¡¯d start preparing to deal with Second-order Hooded Zombies. During this time collecting Crystal Cores, he could lead Ding Yuqin and the others to level up their HP. ¡°Sure!¡± Finally having the chance to go out with Wang Tao, Ding Yuqin was overjoyed. Her wish to be with Wang Tao wasn¡¯t just because he was strong, but also because she felt happy when she was with him. Ding Yuqin sat on Wang Tao¡¯s lap, gazing at him affectionately and occasionally squirming in his embrace. Seeing this, Wang Tao slapped her bottom hard. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited, Han Rui and the others will be here soon.¡± ¡°Hmph~¡± Ding Yuqin snorted softly. She almost forgot that others were coming today. She hurried into the kitchen to check on the soup she had been stewing. Soon after, Han Rui came over with Li Qiuyu. Li Qiuyu was curious about everything here. She was happy and grateful to be invited over by Wang Tao for a meal. But when she saw Ding Yuqin, she was somewhat bewildered. Her eyes discreetly roamed over Ding Yuqin and Han Rui. She wasn¡¯t sure who Wang Tao¡¯s wife was or if both were. However, when she heard Wang Tao calling Ding Yuqin ¡®sister-in-law,¡¯ she felt relieved. So it wasn¡¯t as she had thought! She remembered that Wang Tao seemed to be a gentleman, very well-behaved in her home, it couldn¡¯t possibly be¡ª Before Li Qjuyu could finish her thought, she saw Ding Yuqin place the last stewed dish on the table and then sneak a kiss on Wang Tao. Li Qiuyu was momentarily stunned, then quickly lowered her head. She felt as if she had stumbled upon something extraordinary. Was there something between Wang Tao and his sister-in-law? She wondered if Han Rui was aware. If Han Rui didn¡¯t know, wouldn¡¯t that be too pitiable? Li Qjuyu subconsciously looked towards Han Rui and noticed her expression seemed a bit awkward. She saw it too! Then¡­ what was their relationship? Li Qiuyu couldn¡¯t help but let her thoughts wander, and Han Rui was doing the same. She had been reluctant to move in with Wang Tao because she felt like an outsider. Especially since the relationships among the three of them were somewhat complicated¡­ Was that a stealthy kiss from Ding Yuqin just now? No, Han Rui felt it was a deliberate act for her to see! Was Ding Yuqin feeling threatened about her position and trying to assert dominance, to let her know who the real mistress was? Han Rui, who used to enjoy watching court dramas, suddenly had lots of scenarios running through her mind. But Han Rui obviously misunderstood Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t that scheming. It was just a sudden peck on Wang Tao, something they commonly did at home, a form of affection. During dinner, Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin sat together, while Li Qiuyu and Han Rui sat on the other side. Li Qiuyu and Han Rui seemed to be eating, but their minds were elsewhere. Li Qiuyu was pondering what the post-apocalyptic world was like, whether any order still existed, and if her daughter was still alive¡­ But as she mused, the delicious food in front of her caught her attention, and she decided to stop thinking. Han Rui was contemplating how she would get along with Ding Yuqin if she lived here. She wasn¡¯t someone who knew how to ingratiate herself with men. If Ding Yuqin harbored ill will towards her, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible, since there was only one Wang Tao¡­ She inexplicably felt a sense of crisis! After the meal, Han Rui escorted Li Qiuyu home. Once outside, Li Qiuyu asked with some curiosity: ¡°What¡¯s going on between you, Wang Tao, and Ding Yuqin?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Han Rui was slightly embarrassed. ¡°Ah¡­ okay.¡± Li Qiuyu gathered her hair together. This situation didn¡¯t shock her, as she had seen many things before, even during peace times. She just felt it was poignant that Han Rui, such a strong woman, was sharing a husband with another¡­ Han Rui thought Li Qiuyu was somewhat unable to accept this kind of situation and shook her head. ¡°In the post-apocalyptic world, the strong make the rules. This kind of thing is normal. Besides¡­¡± Han Rui suddenly looked at Li Qiuyu, ¡°I suggest you find a strong person to rely on, too. It¡¯d be better for you..¡± Chapter 251 - Chapter 251: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Chapter 251: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisis 3 ¡°Ah? Me? I don¡¯t need that¡­¡± Li Qiu Yu quickly waved her hands. Han Rui looked at her deeply, without much explanation. ¡°These past two days, when I come back to the base in the afternoon, I¡¯ll take you around the base.¡± Despite being a peaceful base, the dominance of the strong still prevailed within. Not only among ability users like themselves, but even ordinary survivors followed this rule¡ªthe ones with the strength to earn more ration tickets could find multiple partners. For Li Qiu Yu, a weak woman with no survival skills in the post-apocalyptic world, it was too difficult to survive in such an environment. She couldn¡¯t bear to see Li Qiu Yu end up like some of the other women. Of course, she also had a little selfish reason¡­ Ding Yu Qin had put a lot of pressure on her! Evening. When she saw Han Rui approaching her home with big and small packages, Ding Yu Qin greeted her with a smile, although she felt a bit sour inside. Alas, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t just hers anymore, blue thin mushroom¡­ Wang Tao saw Han Rui come over obediently and was immediately very satisfied. ¡°You¡¯ve been busy all day, go take a bath. What are you two standing around for, come join!¡± Wang Tao said to the two women. The two women¡¯s cheeks turned bright red. The bathroom in the villa was very spacious, with a large bathtub, so it wasn¡¯t crowded for three people at all. The next day. Wang Tao went out with Han Rui, Ding Yu Qin, Gao Hua, Chen Zhuang, and others. The main task this time was to hunt down level 1 elite zombies and incidentally help Ding Yu Qin and the others replenish some HP. After a busy day outside, their luck was only so-so. Although they encountered quite a few elite zombies and obtained numerous crystal cores, the crystal cores were of no use to Wang Tao. But Ding Yu Qin and the others had their HP increased quite a bit. On the way back, Wang Tao pondered which crystal cores would be better for them to merge¡­ Ding Yu Qin and the others hadn¡¯t merged with a crystal core before, and although their HP was much higher than ordinary people¡¯s, they were actually not ability users. Wang Tao asked for their opinions. Lately, with more ability users in the base, everyone was more familiar with crystal cores and knew about the different abilities available. Gao Hua immediately expressed his desire for the stealth ability. Stealth ability was, as far as Wang Tao had seen, the strongest survival ability. Once the stealth ability was activated, the effect was like a stealth potion; unless one was very close to a zombie or encountered some special zombies, ordinary zombies couldn¡¯t detect it at all. ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Tao directly gave Gao Hua an orange stealth crystal core that, naturally, had no side effects. ¡°First merge with this one, and after the merge is complete, feel if you can continue to merge. If you can, come find me.¡± ¡°Thankyou, big brother!¡± Gao Hua was excited; he was finally going to become an ability user! ¡°I also want to merge with a stealth crystal core¡­¡± Chen Zhuang scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. He was a doctor, usually staying at the base, with no need for combat ability, and he himself did not like fighting. The life-saving ability of stealth suited him well. ¡°Okay! Then, same as Gao Hua, merge with this crystal core and see if you can continue merging afterward, then come find me.¡± ¡°Alright! Thank¡ªthank you!¡± Chen Zhuang had wanted to say that Wang Tao could ask for his help whenever needed, but then he thought, considering he was a doctor, it usually wasn¡¯t a good thing when someone needed him. So, he swallowed his words again. As for Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao gave her a Stealth Crystal Core, but he didn¡¯t let her merge with it right away. Wang Tao¡¯ s intention was to see if there was a Crystal Core that would pair well with the blood replenishing pack, but he had yet to find one. He hadn¡¯t given up yet, but if he really couldn¡¯t find one, he would let Ding Yuqin merge with the Stealth Crystal Core. Before merging with a Crystal Core, it¡¯s impossible to sense how many kinds of Crystal Cores one can merge with, so Wang Tao asked Ding Yuqin to wait a bit. Finally, there was Han Rui. Han Rui¡¯s Shockwave Ability had already merged with ten cores, reaching the full level of Level 1. But her Perception Ability was still merged with only one, after all, she hadn¡¯t encountered that sort of zombie since then. Han Rui could still merge with two more Crystal Cores, and Wang Tao instructed her to merge with one Precision Shooting and one Stealth. Although Han Rui was capable of Rushing, most of the time she used it as her only skill. Her close combat abilities actually weren¡¯t too strong; she preferred mid to long-range attacks. So, letting her merge with Precision Shooting was no problem. As for Stealth, it was naturally to give her a self-protection ability. For a ranged attack Ability User, self-protection abilities like Toughness and Self-healing weren¡¯t as suitable as Stealth. She just needed to activate her Stealth Ability, and then snipe zombies with a crossbow; the zombies would basically have no chance of finding her. This ability matched her well. After returning to the Survivor Base, Han Rui didn¡¯t rush to synthesize Crystal Cores, but instead, as agreed, she took Li Qiuyu for a tour around the base to see other survivors. Li Qiuyu was initially quite happy, but after seeing the survivors at the bottom of the base, she couldn¡¯t be happy anymore. ¡°In the post-apocalyptic world, those without strength end up like this¡ªand this is one of the better situations. I¡¯ve told you before about the other Survivor Bases, especially Shao Yong¡¯s base. If you were in there¡­ well, I won¡¯t elaborate on the consequences. You understand!¡± The next day, the zombie hunt continued. Today, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very lucky; he still hadn¡¯t seen any Self-healing zombies. But good news came from Zhen Guo¡¯s side. Passing by the hospital, he discovered some Elite Zombies emerging! So Wang Tao quickly led people to meet up with Zhen Guo. Seeing the Elite Zombies reappear in the hospital, especially several Self- healing Zombies, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Self-healing Crystal Cores were secured! The group stayed until night, and after killing all the zombies outside the hospital, Wang Tao finally obtained six Self-healing Crystal Cores! After some synthesis, the final result was two Red Crystal Cores, and one Orange Crystal Core. Without any surprise, Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°+7¡± Self-healing power finally became ¡°+10.¡± His Mana increased by another 300, reaching 4200! Wang Tao still had an Omnipotent Crystal Core in hand. Originally, he thought about using this impurity-containing Omnipotent Crystal Core as a substitute if he couldn¡¯t gather enough Self-healing Crystal Cores. But thankfully, he had managed to gather enough of them! Wang Tao looked at his attributes. HP: 14999/4999] Mana: [4200/4200] [Hidden Attribute: Improved Body Conditions] [Internal Impurity: o%] Ability: Level Two Shockwave, Level 1 Toughness +10, Level 1 Precision Shooting +10, Level 1 Self-heal +10! Not daring to claim anything else, but Wang Tao felt he must be the strongest Level 1 ability user in Shuize County by now. Whether it was HP, Mana, or Crystal Core level, all had reached the maximum value available so far. Wang Tao grinned. ¡°It¡¯s time to hunt that Level 2 Zombie!¡± Chapter 252 - Chapter 252: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_l Chapter 252: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_l Hunting a full blood Level 2 zombie was an extremely dangerous thing. Wang Tao felt that, compared to the Level 2 zombie, his only advantage was that he could use his brain, while the zombie could not. Therefore, Wang Tao prepared a grand welcoming gift for this Level 2 zombie! Since the Hooded zombie was near the hospital, and the hospital was full of Mad Demon Zombies, the first task was to change the battlefield. The Hooded zombie was particularly sensitive to sound, able to hear noises that the Mad Demon Zombies couldn¡¯t. So Wang Tao had Liu He help to make many remote-controlled speakers and placed them on some rooftops. When the fight began, one speaker would sound at a time. After the Hooded zombie destroyed the speaker, a second one would sound. It would destroy the second one, and a third would go off¡­ Of course, the sound of the speakers wouldn¡¯t only draw out the Hooded zombie, it would also attract the Mad Demon Zombies. That¡¯s why the speakers weren¡¯t very loud. The Mad Demon Zombies were also sensitive to sound, but Wang Tao and his , team had gradually figured out their characteristics: as long as the sound didn¡¯t exceed a certain decibel level, it wouldn¡¯t draw them in. The speakers would lure it to the location Wang Tao had specially prepared for it¡ªthe basketball court in the residential area. In this basketball court, Wang Tao had placed 5 Self-Destruct Bombs! These were extracted from Suicide Bombing Zombies and were very unstable, detonating at even the slightest disturbance, yet they were very powerful ¨C Wang Tao had specially tested one before, and a single Self-Destruct Bomb could easily kill a Level 1 Elite Zombie. It had only two flaws. One was its instability, which meant there was a risk of it accidentally exploding on oneself. And the other was the loud noise it made on detonation. So even though Wang Tao thought, ¡°As long as there are enough Self-Destruct Bombs, even Level 2 zombies can be killed,¡± he still didn¡¯t dare to use too many. Otherwise, if the Gorilla zombies were attracted by the noise, they would be impossible to fight. Besides the Self-Destruct Bombs, Wang Tao also installed some Homemade Bombs made by Liu He around the area for emergencies. These weren¡¯t as powerful as the Self-Destruct Bombs, but were much more stable-at least much more so than the Self-Destruct Bombs. Then there were the Slime Grenades. They hardly needed any explanation. They were the simplest way for Wang Tao to kill Suicide Bombing Zombies before his Shockwave ability was upgraded to Level Two. Wang Tao made a large number of Slime Grenades and planned to distribute a few to each person involved in the fight. Moreover, Strength Potions, Defense Potions, and Running Potions were also given to Wei Zhenguo and the others. After all, life is precious, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t want anything to happen to them. Xiang Hongbin also designed some traps, like falling rocks and such. Wang Tao was skeptical about their usefulness, considering the limited space and manpower, which didn¡¯t allow for the construction of particularly effective traps. Before the battle, Ren Jie had already made an announcement within the base, not detailing the specifics but mentioning that the base was preparing to undertake a major task and it would be dangerous outside, forbidding anyone from leaving the base over the next two days. The combatants, including Wang Tao, had all rested well for a day, conserving their energy. Next morning. Wang Tao and the others met at the comprehensive building. ¡°Are you all ready?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°Ready! I¡¯ve never felt so powerful! Let¡¯s do this!¡¯ Xiang Hongbin clenched his fists fiercely. Although they were supposed to rest the previous day, they didn¡¯t just sit idle. Wang Tao had given them some Crystal Cores, further enhancing their strength. All of their main abilities had been upgraded to full level. Their HP had reached 4999! One could say that this was the strongest they had been since the apocalypse began! ¡°Shall we depart then?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Everyone got into the vehicles, and four military off-road vehicles left the base. This operation involved a total of 12 people, including Wang Tao, Han Rut, Wet Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, Feng Ming¡¯an, and six members of the Security Army. Undoubtedly, this was the strongest force Shuize Base currently had. If the base didn¡¯t need to be defended, Xiang Hongbin would have wanted to bring all the Security Army and the Ability User¡¯s Hunters. Wang Tao felt that with this lineup, plus the traps they had set up in advance, even zombies of Shao Yong¡¯s caliber would be killed one after another! However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t quite clear on how strong the Hooded zombie really was, so he could only say he was confident about the fight, but wasn¡¯t certain of victory¡­ Soon, the group arrived at the basketball court. After Wang Tao gave some instructions, he nodded to Wei Zhenguo, who immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and said: ¡°Begin!¡± Outside the hospital. Someone had already been hiding there in advance. Upon hearing Wei Zhenguo¡¯s order, he immediately pressed the button on his remote control. Moments later, a barely audible noise came from a rooftop in the distance, imperceptible to survivors. But it didn¡¯t take long before a Hooded zombie appeared in the distance, running and jumping across the rooftops like a parkour athlete. ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± The person quickly reported through the walkie-talkie. Half a minute later, the Hooded zombie successfully destroyed the speaker. ¡°It¡¯s destroyed the speaker!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± The person on the other end of the walkie-talkie immediately pressed the remote control, and another speaker began to sound on a distant rooftop. The first person couldn¡¯t hear this second speaker¡¯s sound, but the Hooded zombie heard it loud and clear! It immediately changed direction and started running towards the sound. Chapter 253 - Chapter 253: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_2 Chapter 253: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_2 ¡°It¡¯s passed! It¡¯s passed!¡± ¡°Copy that!¡± Wang Tao and his companions were hiding outside the basketball court, and after waiting for about twenty minutes, they saw a dark figure jumping over the rooftops towards them. ¡°Here it comes! Here it comes!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately pressed the remote control. A loudspeaker on the basketball hoop also started to blare. ¡°Roar ¡± The hooded zombie seemed very angry as it leaped down from the six-story rooftop, plummeting toward the basketball court. It had to be said, this zombie, dressed in sweatpants, a blackhoodie, and wearing a hood, looked pretty cool making that jump. Then. Boom¡ª The moment it landed under the basketball hoop, all five of the self- destructing bombs arranged around it detonated! These self-destruct bombs were extremely unstable; any significant disturbance could set them off. Wang Tao had been very cautious when planting the bombs, but the noise the hooded zombie made falling from the sixth floor was far from small, instantly triggering the explosives. The five bombs arranged in a circle exploded simultaneously, almost deafening Wang Tao and the others who were not far away. ¡°Damn! Five self-destruct bombs make such aloud noise together!¡± Wang Tao suddenly felt he might have miscalculated, primarily because he had never before used so many self-destruct bombs at once, and he hadn¡¯t expected the noise to be so deafening! And it wasn¡¯t just the noise that was terrifying, the power was frightening too, the basketball court was completely leveled, and all sorts of sports equipment and greenery around it were gone. Even the various traps Xiang Hongbin had previously set up were destroyed¡­ Xiang Hongbin was stunned; he had never seen the power of a self-destruct bomb, thinking it would be similar to a homemade bomb. The homemade bombs Liu He made were designed to be portable, so they weren¡¯t very large, and their power was even less than a hand grenade. But the power of these self- destruct bombs was much more significant than that of hand grenades. ¡°Quick, quick, quick, move it!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and immediately signaled everyone to start moving up. Although he had hoped the zombie would be blasted to death instantly, that clearly wasn¡¯t possible, because Wang Tao saw the zombie¡¯s HP. [2139/7000] In just a few days, this hooded zombie had 7000 HP! But fortunately, the bombs had hit it squarely, blowing away nearly five thousand HP! While it hadn¡¯t been enough to kill it, this was a severe injury! Strike while it¡¯s down, go for the kill! Wang Tao immediately charged towards the ruins of the basketball court. Reaching an appropriate distance, Wang Tao activated the Rush Ability from his gear set! Whoosh¡ª In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao reached the vicinity of the hooded zombie, whose body had been blown into a bloody mess. Then he swung his axe. Bang! [-42] 1-234] Wang Tao felt as if his axe had struck stone with that blow. But the attack caused two sets of damage, the first from the axe itself, and the second from the shockwave. Seeing the first amount of damage, Wang Tao was shocked, feeling like he had hit a zombie with stubborn armor. However, seeing the second damage figure, his spirit was lifted! A Level Two shockwave, so different! The hooded zombie had just over two thousand HP left; a single axe blow doing nearly three hundred damage meant that six or seven more blows would finish it off, right? But things, of course, weren¡¯t that simple. Before Wang Tao could land his second axe blow, the hooded zombie quickly slapped at his chest. Bang! Wang Tao felt a sharp pain in his chest. [-441] [4558/4999] ¡°Damn it!¡± The damage startled Wang Tao; after all, he was wearing stubborn armor and had activated his Toughness! As the zombie swatted at Wang Tao, it also leaped backward, jumping more than ten meters away. Not only did it avoid Wang Tao¡¯s second axe blow, but it also dodged the charging attack from Xiang Hongbin! ¡°Shit!¡± Xiang Hongbin crashed headfirst into the ruins and climbed out cursing. On the other side, Wei Zhenguo had deliberately slowed down a bit; his main intention was to avoid colliding with Xiang Hongbin¡ªa situation they had encountered before. So, seeing the hooded zombie¡¯s backward leap, Wei Zhenguo immediately charged toward the spot where the zombie had landed. The hooded zombie had jumped back over ten meters and seemed slightly stiff upon landing, which was perfect timing for Wei Zhenguo to catch it. Bang! Wei Zhenguo¡¯s charge hit the hooded zombie squarely, but it only dealt ¡± -34¡å damage! Wei Zhenguo couldn¡¯t see the damage, but Wang Tao saw it clearly. ¡°This thing¡¯s really tough!¡± Just as Wang Tao was about to charge in, he saw the hooded zombie wave a hand at Wei Zhenguo. Bang! Wei Zhenguo was sent flying dozens of meters away, landing in the ruins just like Xiang Hongbin. Whoosh¡ª At that moment, an arrow suddenly flew toward the hooded zombie from an intricate angle! Lu Gang had made his move! [-1022] The arrow lodged directly into its left eye socket! ¡°Awesome!¡± Seeing that four-digit damage figure, Wang Tao got a bit excited. Lu Gang had shot the arrow straight at the hooded zombie¡¯s weak spot! Most zombies had weak spots at their eye sockets since the sockets lead directly to the brain. But hitting that spot wasn¡¯t easy; usually, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t aim specifically for the eyes when he shot. This arrow had perfect timing and distance, leaving the hooded zombie with only 807 HP! That was the terror of a sniper: if they didn¡¯t make a move, it was fine, but once they did, it was a deadly strike! A Level Two zombie, seemed not that great after all? Just as Wang Tao thought they could quickly finish off the zombie, he saw it suddenly running backward into a nearby residential building in the blink of an eye. ¡°Huh? It ran away?¡± Chapter 254 - Chapter 254: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_3 Chapter 254: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_3 Wang Tao suddenly realized that he didn¡¯t actually have a plan to prevent zombies from escaping¡ªmainly because the hooded zombie was too fast and too agile; they simply couldn¡¯t chase after it. At this time, mad demon zombies had already started to appear in the vicinity, understandably because the recent explosion had been massive. Han Rui and others on the outskirts began to deal with the mad demon zombies, trying to block their advance and prevent them from affecting Wang Tao and his group. ¡°It¡¯s running away, should we chase after it?¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately looked at Wang Tao. He thought they could pursue, but since this operation was following Wang Tao¡¯s lead, he naturally wouldn¡¯t act without orders. Before Wang Tao could respond, his gaze suddenly sharpened. ¡°It didn¡¯t run!¡± Wang Tao saw the hooded zombie suddenly appear on the rooftop, and then it leaped, diving directly towards a certain area! ¡°Not good!¡± Wang Tao had no time to explain, he quickly ran towards Lu Gang¡¯s hiding spot, and at the same time, he activated his precise shooting ability, then threw two firefighter axes directly at Lu Gang. From Lu Gang¡¯s position, he couldn¡¯t see the rooftop. He only saw Wang Tao suddenly running towards him, then throwing two flying axes his way! This startled Lu Gang; if he was hit by Wang Tao¡¯s flying axes, he¡¯d probably be killed instantly! However, before he could even dodge, he felt a shadow looming overhead. Instinctively, he looked up, only to see the hooded zombie descending from above, its sharp claws aiming straight for his head! But at that moment, the two flying axes also arrived, striking the hooded zombie in the back. Although they only dealt a total of 53 damage, they successfully caused the hooded zombie to stagger, causing its claws to miss and viciously rake across Lu Gang¡¯s chest instead. Bang! [-3548] [1451/4999] Lu Gang¡¯s brown mask was instantly stained red. But worthy of a battle-hardened warrior, in this critical moment, he raised his bow and arrow, and pressed against the hooded zombie¡¯s face, he shot an arrow right into its gaping mouth. Pfft! [-154] [600/7000] The hooded zombie was left with only 600 HP! ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The zombie¡¯s upper and lower teeth snapped together, instantly breaking the arrow in its mouth, and it swung its hand again, aiming to grab Lu Gang¡¯s head. If caught, Lu Gang would certainly be doomed! But just then, Wang Tao finally arrived. He grabbed the hooded zombie by the neck and yelled out loud, forcefully yanking it up. The hooded zombie was lifted single-handedly by him, swung in a half-circle in the air, and then was harshly smashed onto the ground! Bang! [-4) [596/7000] Xiang Hongbin charged again, this time he accurately targeted the hooded zombie that hadn¡¯t had the chance to get up, and slammed into it. [-43] At the same time, he raised his firefighter axe high, cleaving it onto the hooded zombie¡¯s face, accompanied by a shockwave. [-44] [-67] [442/7000] The hooded zombie was again harshly smashed onto the ground. Wei Zhenguo seized the opportunity to charge at the hooded zombie, bringing down an axe on its head, the blow imbued with a shockwave. [-36] [-40] [-73] [293/7000] The zombie that was trying to stand up was knocked down again, Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin pressed on the zombie¡¯s body from both sides, tightly grabbing one of its arms. Their muscles bulged, veins on their foreheads throbbed, faces turned red with effort, and then both shouted in unison, ¡°Wang Tao!¡± With an arrow that he¡¯d just pulled from Lu Gang¡¯s quiver in his hand, Wang Tao rushed in front of the hooded zombie, aimed for its other eye socket, and thrust the arrow down fiercely. Pfft! [-293] [O/7OOO HP] The second-order hooded zombie¡¯s HP bar emptied! Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin thumped down onto the ground, gasping for air. ¡°That was damn strong! If you¡¯d been one second later, I probably couldn¡¯t have held it off!¡± Xiang Hongbin was still shaken. Wang Tao quickly gathered up the package dropped by the zombie, and then immediately said: ¡°You guys extract the Crystal Core, I¡¯m going to check on Lu Gang.¡± Wang Tao ran back to Lu Gang, whose face mask was now even more bloodied. He hastily lifted Lu Gang¡¯s shirt, and involuntarily gasped. The good news was that Lu Gang¡¯s chest had a thin steel plate on it, and the zombie hadn¡¯t managed to rip open his stomach. The bad news was that the steel plate was deformed! There was a dent in Lu Gang¡¯s chest! In just this short time, Lu Gang had lost over three hundred HP, leaving him with only 1100 HP. Wang Tao urgently removed the deformed steel plate and then took out a potion from the medical kit and injected it into Lu Gang. He then quickly treated his wound. ¡°Is Lu Gang alright?¡± Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin, after extracting the Crystal Core, rushed over. Seeing Lu Gang¡¯s HP beginning to recover due to the medical kit, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°His life should be saved. Let¡¯s retreat now!¡± While the conversation was lengthy, the battle with the hooded zombie had been quite brief. However, the area around the basketball court was already swarming with mad demon zombies, about to break through the defenses of Han Rui and the others. Wang Tao immediately yelled: ¡°Retreat!¡± Then, gripping his firefighter axe in both hands and using all his strength to channel the energy within his body, he viciously swung at the empty air right in front of him. Thwack! [-2000 HP] [-2000 HP] [-2000 HP] [¡­] Mad demon zombies within a certain radius ahead instantly exploded. Several vehicles were revealed not far away. The group quickly rushed into the cars. ¡°Drive, drive, hurry!¡± Vroom- The car immediately started and sped along the pre-planned escape route. Behind them was a tide of mad demon zombies as dense as a black flood, extending beyond sight! ¡°Damn it, why are there so many mad demon zombies!¡± Xiang Hongbin, driving the car, felt his scalp prickle as he looked in the rearview mirror. ¡°Phew¡ª ¡± After catching his breath in the back seat, Wang Tao spoke with vexation, ¡°I misjudged one thing¡­ Who the hell would¡¯ve thought that the Self-Destruct Bomb would be so loud!¡± Wang Tao had previously tested the Self-Destruct Bomb; the sound of one bomb was only slightly less than that of a self-exploder exploding. But he hadn¡¯t anticipated that the sound of five Self-Destruct Bombs exploding together would be so immense! He felt it was at least the equivalent of 20 Suicide Bombing Zombies exploding at the same time! The likelihood was high that the explosive sound had already attracted the mad demon zombies inside the hospital, and it might even have caught the attention of that gorilla zombie! If he had known it would be this loud, there would¡¯ve been no need to fight the zombies in hand-to-hand combat; they could¡¯ve just taken an automatic rifle each and fired at the zombies since there was going to be so much noise anyway¡­ Just as Wang Tao was thinking about the gorilla zombie, a series of ¡°thud, thud, thud¡± sounds suddenly came from the street to their left. ¡°It¡¯s the gorilla zombie! It¡¯s coming!¡± Han Rui, who was continuously using her Perception Ability, cried out. ¡°Crap!¡± Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy! Wang Tao immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie and decisively ordered: ¡°Everyone make a right turn! Turn right! Hurry!¡± Chapter 255 - Chapter 255: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness_i Chapter 255: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness_i Boom! A discarded car fell from the sky, smashing into the front of the convoy¡¯s lead vehicle. Screech¡ª The piercing sound of brakes erupted, nearly colliding with the wrecked car. Inside the vehicle, Xiang Hongbin quickly reversed, then sharply turned the steering wheel, avoiding the obstacle. But more discarded cars, concrete blocks, and even zombies began flying toward the convoy! ¡°Shit!¡± Seeing a gorilla zombie hurling a group of mad demon zombies into the air through the rearview mirror, making them land near the convoy, Wang Tao cursed under his breath. Was the gorilla zombie doing it on purpose or was it an accident? As more and more obstacles began to surround them, making it impossible to drive through, Wang Tao shouted loudly, ¡°You drive, Old Wei, Han Rui, and I will get out and clear the obstacles!¡± Wang Tao first injected himself with a defense potion¡ªhe hadn¡¯t used a defense potion when dealing with the hooded zombies earlier, so he was not in the cooldown period. Then he immediately opened the car door and jumped out, followed by Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui. Wielding his axe, Wang Tao swung at the air, releasing a wave of shockwaves toward the front. [-1543] [-1304] [-1467] [¡­] All the half-dead mad demon zombies that had been smashed over by the gorilla zombie exploded, limbs and appendages scattering everywhere, instantly clearing the area. Wei Zhenguo also used shockwaves to kill some zombies, while Han Rui moved the broken stones to clear the path. Soon, a portion of the obstacles had been cleared. ¡°The vehicles go first, we will cover the rear!¡± The four vehicles had just squeezed through the cleared gap when another discarded vehicle fell from the sky, blocking the road again. The gorilla zombie and a large number of mad demon zombies were also catching up! ¡°Roar!¡± The gorilla zombie roared, its colossal fist aimed at Wang Tao, who was closest and struck! Although the gorilla zombie seemed cumbersome, its speed was anything but slow; its decaying fist was instantly in front of Wang Tao! In such a situation, Wang Tao could have dodged using his Rush Ability, but with obstacles behind him, he couldn¡¯t use Rush. The only option was for Wang Tao to cross his arms in an X-shape and take the punch head-on. Boom¡ª [-2156] [2402/4999] Wang Tao felt as if he¡¯d been hit by a dump truck! Pain coursed through him as if his body had fallen apart! Boom¡ª He crashed heavily against the discarded vehicle behind him, shifting the car a great distance, with Wang Tao himself ending up embedded in the car! [-325] [2077/4999] Wang Tao no longer felt the pain in his body, only a dizzying sensation in his head. He struggled out of the car, and then noticed that the vehicle he had hit had moved to create an opening in the road. Seeing the gorilla zombie turning its attention to Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui, Wang Tao yelled. ¡°Reverse Rush!¡± Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui immediately turned back and, seeing the path had been cleared behind them, initiated their Rush ability. Instantly, three faint trails of white light moved away from the gorilla zombie by over thirty meters, temporarily escaping its attack radius. The four vehicles that had just left opened their doors to wait for them. ¡°Get in the car!¡± The three of them got into the cars. Boom¡ª The engine roared, and the vehicle instantly accelerated. Four off ¨C road vehicles sped away in front, chased by a giant zombie as tall as a two-story building. Behind the massive zombie was a dense swarm of mad demon zombies¡­ it was as if the entire county was shaking. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Inside the lead off-road vehicle, Xiang Hongbin and Han Rui both looked at Wang Tao with concern; they had seen him take a punch from the gorilla zombie! ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Wang Tao used a medkit on himself. Although he was in pain, his life was not in danger. Seeing that Wang Tao seemed to be in no serious trouble, the two of them also eased their worries. Xiang Hongbin quickly glanced at the rearview mirror, then cursed vehemently. ¡°Damn it, we still can¡¯t shake them off!¡± According to the original plan, they should have gotten rid of the pursuit by now. After all, the retreat route had been carefully chosen, with a thorough clean-up along the way to ensure an open road and high vehicle speed. Even if mad demon zombies could run fast, they couldn¡¯t possibly outrun vehicles at full speed. But who expected the gorilla zombie to still be drawn to them. Although it was large, its speed was not slow! Especially since it would occasionally lift discarded vehicles, roadside stones, and zombies underfoot to hurl at Wang Tao and the others. This greatly affected the convoy¡¯s speed, causing them to be unable to shake off their pursuers, and the number of zombies following them kept growing! Wang Tao even suspected that all the mad demon zombies in the entire county had caught up with them! ¡°What do we do, the zombies are getting closer to us!¡± Han Rui said worriedly. Wang Tao looked at the zombies behind them, then at the map in his hand, and made a tough decision. ¡°Take the outer ring road!¡± Wang Tao had already told Wei Zhenguo and the others about the monster outside the Shuize County urban area, and they had all firmly avoided going outside when scavenging for supplies. After all, Wang Tao had mentioned that the creature outside might be even more terrifying than the gorilla zombie! But now there was no other option, as being caught by the zombies would likely lead to their annihilation-not to mention the gorilla zombie, so many mad demon zombies were not something they could deal with. So it was time to take a gamble! ¡°Everyone to the outer ring road!¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately turned the steering wheel, heading for the outer ring road. The other three cars followed suit. As the zombies got closer and closer, nearly catching up with the last car, the convoy finally reached the outer ring road. There were virtually no vehicles on the outer ring road, allowing for unobstructed travel, and the four cars began to speed up. Chapter 256 - Chapter 256: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness_2 Chapter 256: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness_2 Hum- Soon, the convoy had increased the distance from the pursuing zombies. It was not only because their speed had increased, but also because the zombies had stopped chasing! Seeing the gorilla zombie stop in its tracks, followed by the cessation of the mad demon zombies, Wang Tao did not relax but instead became even more vigilant. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Speed up! Pass through the outer ring road and turn back into the county from the intersection ahead!¡± The speed of the four vehicles soon exceeded 120KM. Wang Tao was extremely nervous, fearing that the shadow with ten thousand HP was still there. Fortunately, luck wouldn¡¯t always be that bad, and the convoy did not encounter any issues on the outer ring road. Upon seeing the intersection ahead, the four vehicles slowed down in succession, skillfully drifted, and successfully entered the road back to the urban area. The gorilla zombie and most of the mad demon zombies were probably still at the previous intersection, and the roaring sound of the engines only attracted a dozen or so mad demon zombies. After confirming that the surroundings were temporarily safe, Wang Tao immediately got out of the car and took care of these dozen mad demon zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Back to the base!¡± By the time the four vehicles finally arrived at the base¡¯s gate, it was already evening. The group finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Is Lu Gang okay?¡± Wang Tao picked up the walkie-talkie and asked. ¡°He¡¯s fine, just asleep.¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s voice came from the walkie-talkie; they were in another vehicle. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The convoy entered the base and immediately drew the attention of everyone inside. These survivors had been anxiously waiting outside, Ding Yuqin and Li Qiuyu included. Wang Tao got out of the car and nodded at the two of them to indicate that everything was fine. Then a soldier came over and asked in a low voice: ¡°Commissioner Wang, we didn¡¯t have any issues, did we? The noise outside earlier was too loud, and everyone was very worried¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright now, let everyone rest assured.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the soldier finally relaxed. He immediately told the other survivors: ¡°It¡¯s okay now, everyone is safe, you can go back.¡± Sigh¡ª Upon hearing that everything was fine and seeing the commissioners had all returned safely, the survivors finally put down their worries. Xiang Hongbin and some soldiers got a briefing on the situation, mentioning how the noise from their earlier battle was so loud that the explosions could be heard clearly inside the base. In particular, when they saw the zombies outside starting to riot, the survivors got restless¡­ Wei Zhenguo was assisting Wang Tao in carrying a stretcher, bringing Lu Gang over to Chen Zhuang. ¡°He¡¯s seriously injured!¡± Chen Zhuang and two other doctors hadn¡¯ t done any work that day Just waiting for Wang Tao and the others. Although they hoped nothing would go wrong with the team, they certainly had to be prepared in advance. ¡°Let me take a look¡­ it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s just a fractured rib, no life-threatening danger!¡± Upon hearing the doctor¡¯s confirmation, everyone fully let down their guard. After all, they couldn¡¯t see the HP bar and didn¡¯t know Lu Gang¡¯s current state. After handing over Lu Gang to Chen Zhuang and his team, the injured among Wang Tao¡¯s group also briefly treated their wounds and then headed to the conference room in the comprehensive building. ¡°Everyone¡¯s okay, right?¡± Wang Tao looked at the group. He himself was actually the second most injured person, but he had self- healing power and a medical kit. He had recovered a small part along the way, so his injuries had stabilized. But to return to full HP was impossible, he would need Ding Yuqin¡¯s help for that. The others were all more or less injured as well. ¡°We¡¯re all fine, just minor injuries!¡± Xiang Hongbin shook his head. Unless someone was missing limbs or infected, everything else was considered minor. And the most seriously injured person was naturally Lu Gang. No one expected that Lu Gang, who should have been the safest, was the one who was the most seriously hurt. The hooded zombie¡¯s perception was too keen! After being hit by one of Lu Gang¡¯s arrows, it instantly detected Lu Gang¡¯s position, and then leaped directly from the rooftop towards Lu Gang. If not for the fact that Lu Gang was wearing a steel plate, Wang Tao had given them a defense potion in advance¡­ and I also saved him, Lu Gang might have been finished! ¡°That Level Two Zombie is damn powerful!¡± Xiang Hongbin let out a sigh. He felt that he had already overestimated the Level Two Zombie, but found that he still underestimated it after the battle. Lucky for them, Wang Tao was well prepared, using a bomb to blast it a bit in advance, otherwise, they would have definitely suffered casualties! As for things like sticky substances, they were useless; the hooded zombie was too fast! ¡°This is a Level Two Zombie in its Full Peak State! And there was also that gorilla zombie, too horrifying!¡± Wei Zhenguo also sighed. The hooded zombie was strong, but the gorilla zombie was stronger! Only Wang Tao could withstand a hit from a gorilla zombie. If they were to face the gorilla zombie themselves, they would probably be instantly killed! ¡°Don¡¯t be disheartened, everyone! After all, this was our first time facing a Level Two Zombie head-on. It¡¯s already remarkable we achieved this much! Let¡¯s summarize the combat experience, and we won¡¯t be so flustered next time!¡± Wang Tao said with an encouraging smile. Though everyone was injured to different extents, the fact that no one had died was a considerable victory. The group began to debrief on the battle. They analyzed where they fell short and how they could do better. Wang Tao thought that if there would be a next time, they should either use more Self-Destruct Bombs, ideally to blow up the Level Two Zombie in one shot, or use fewer to avoid attracting the gorilla zombie and a large number of mad demon zombies. This time his bomb was not well placed; he neither killed the hooded zombie nor attracted a large number of mad demon zombies and the gorilla zombie. Chapter 257 - Chapter 257: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness^3 Chapter 257: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness^3 If we had known it would turn out like this, we might as well have used thermal weapons from the start, since we were going to attract so many zombies anyway¡­ Wang Tao felt that the Level 2 Zombie probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand too many bullets. After everyone had finished summarizing their lessons, Wei Zhenguo took out the crystal core from the hooded zombie. ¡°This is the crystal core of that zombie, see if you can use it! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had a chance to look at the crystal core in the brain of the hooded zombie before, but now that he saw the crystal core Wei Zhenguo pulled out, he was quite surprised. It was actually an Epic Crystal Core, what luck! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (No Side Effects)] This is an Ascension Crystal Core! Wang Tao was overjoyed in his heart. ¡°This is useful to me!¡± Everyone¡¯s faces also showed joy. ¡°Good that it¡¯s useful! Otherwise, all our efforts would have been in vain!¡± Wang Tao had thought that his luck couldn¡¯t be that bad today, that no Ascension crystal cores would drop-Wang Tao checked the package he had looted, and indeed, there was no Ascension crystal core inside. But who would have thought the Ascension crystal core was inside the zombie¡¯s brain! ¡°I¡¯ll take the crystal core then, after today, my strength should increase considerably!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he got up. ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to it!¡± The people genuinely congratulated him, after all, the stronger Wang Tao became, the greater the security of their base. Wang Tao and Han Rui went back home together. Ding Yuqin asked if either of them was hurt, and WangTao, feeling somewhat exhausted, went to take a bath. Lying comfortably in the bathtub, his fatigue faded away a lot, and after a long sigh of relief, Wang Tao looked at the package from the Level 2 hooded zombie he had killed. The zombie had dropped a total of two packages. The first package contained three crystal cores. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (No Side Effects)] [Omnipotent: After fusion, randomly adds +1 to an already merged ability, up to a maximum of+10] The first one was an Omnipotent Crystal Core, but unfortunately, it was only Level 1. ¡°Could it be that only Level 2 zombies drop Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores?¡± If that were the case, then the conditions would be too harsh¡­ However, this was after all an Omnipotent Crystal Core, and if someone had fused with some particularly rare abilities, then the utility of this Omnipotent Crystal Core could still be significant. The second one is a Level 2 Crystal Core. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side Effect: Doubled physical energy consumption for actions)] [Athlete: Passive Ability, enhanced athletic abilities] This crystal core was a passive ability, and the description was quite simple. But judging by the hooded zombie¡¯s performance, Wang Tao felt this ability was powerful! The hooded zombie was not only faster than humans but also more agile. It effortlessly performed feats akin to acrobatics¡­ especially when it was running on the rooftops, the obstacles could not stop it at all! If a human fused with this ability, leaving everything else aside, at the very least the ability to run away would be maxed out. Wang Tao was somewhat tempted, but unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t fuse with any other crystal cores anymore. The side effect of this crystal core was that actions consumed double the physical strength, which was surprisingly the same as the stealth crystal core. It seemed that the side effects of crystal cores were not unique to each one¡­ The last crystal core was also level 2. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Jump) [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Noise sensitivity)] [Jump: Consuming energy, it can enhance the height and distance of the jump] This ability wasn¡¯t bad either. If he could jump a distance of ten-plus meters like the hooded zombie, it would be a very strong ability, whether for offense or defense. Moreover, if combined with the athlete ability, it would be a replica of the hooded zombie! As for this side effect¡­ no wonder that zombie was so sensitive to sound; it turned out to be noise sensitivity! Wang Tao suddenly thought, he used five self-destruct bombs to blast nearly five thousand HP off the hooded zombie. But was it the bombs¡¯ power that blasted that HP, or the enormous noise that did it? It was really hard to say¡­ Wang Tao couldn¡¯t use any of the three crystal cores in this package right now, and he thought of an issue¡ª Abilities like athlete and jump were all level 2 from the start, without any level 1 crystal cores seen. So, could level 2 people directly fuse with such crystal cores? Or would level 2 people also need to find level 1 crystal cores first? Wang Tao was somewhat confused; these were things he¡¯d have to wait to figure out after his own advancement to level 2, since his current understanding of level 2 matters were all conjectures¡­ The second package contained a set of clothes. [Blackhoodie: Durability +5, Tear resistance +5] [Black sport trousers: Durability +5, Tear resistance +5] Were these the clothes that burst out from the hooded zombie? He had also obtained two pieces of clothing from the zombie, including the security uniform he was wearing and the nurse¡¯s outfit in his space backpack, as well as this set of hoodie and trousers. All these clothes came with durability and tear resistance attributes, but the attributes for the security uniform and the nurse¡¯s outfit were both +1, while this set was +5. Wang Tao felt these two attributes were quite practical. For example, his security uniform, even though its attributes were all +1, hadn¡¯t worn out since he started wearing it. And with this set being +5, it would surely be even more durable. It was a pity that the zombie didn¡¯t drop any potions, blueprints, or the like, which was slightly regrettable. But Wang Tao was content nonetheless, since he got an ascension crystal core after all. The ascension crystal core was orange in quality, and he immediately put it into his mouth. After a moment, Wang Tao felt a warm sensation all over his body as his limbs filled with strength. He checked his attributes. His HP hadn¡¯t changed; it was still 4999- His mana increased by 200, and now it was at 4400. Internal impurities also rose. Previously it showed 0%, but now it was 1%-to be exact, 1.1%, according to Wang Tao¡¯s calculation¡­ Then there was his ability¡ªhis toughness had become a level 2 ability! This pleasantly surprised Wang Tao. After seeing the attack power of the full blood level 2 zombie today, he had hoped for his toughness to ascend to level 2. Now just right, one attack ability, shockwave, and one defense ability, toughness, were both level 2-a balanced combination of offense and defense! If he were to confront the hooded zombie again, he should be able to withstand its direct attacks, right? Wang Tao tried out his level 2 toughness, and the sensation of using it wasn t much different from when it was level 1, but the mana cost had increased. When level 1 toughness was activated, it consumed 1 mana per second, but now it consumed 5 mana per second. The consumption of mana increased fivefold. He just didn¡¯t know exactly how much the defense had improved¡­ he would have to test it out properly! At night, Wang Tao replenished his HP thoroughly on Ding Yuqin. Through his relentless efforts, he finally refilled her HP to full! Having a blood replenishing pack was indeed convenient! Lu Gang, who was equally severely injured, was still lying on a hospital bed, while Wang Tao could go out and hunt zombies! Chapter 258 - Chapter 258: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP_i Chapter 258: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP_i Two days later, after Wei Zhenguo and the others had mostly recovered, Wang Tao led them to the First Hospital. Since the Hooded Zombie had been dealt with, they could attract the zombies in the hospital with a bit more ease. Of course, they couldn¡¯t be too reckless, as there were still many Mad Demon Zombies in the hospital, and there might be Level 2 Zombies¡­ When everyone arrived at the hospital, they saw not a single zombie in the hospital yard. ¡°Are you sure there are zombies in here?¡± From the rooftop of the dilapidated apartment building, Xiang Hongbin looked at the hospital with some confusion. ¡°There should be, just wait a moment¡­¡± Wang Tao went to set up the remote-controlled speaker, which was really useful. The previous speakers had been destroyed by the Hooded Zombie, and this one had been made for him by Liu He. After setting everything up, Wang Tao returned to the top of the apartment building and then pressed the remote control. Moments later, the hospital erupted into chaos, as countless Mad Demon Zombies climbed out of the outpatient building¡¯s second-floor windows and rushed towards the location of the speakers. Some Elite Zombies also emerged from the inpatient building, following the Mad Demon Zombies out. ¡°They¡¯re really here!¡± Seeing those Elite Zombies, Xiang Hongbin was somewhat excited. These were walking Crystal Cores! Once Wang Tao saw some Elite Zombies approaching, he decided to cut his gains and immediately turned off the speaker. Without the noise, the Mad Demon Zombies instantly lost their target; some ran around erratically, some went back, and some arrived at the base of the apartment building. The duration of the speaker¡¯s sound was short, and it didn¡¯t attract too many zombies, so Wang Tao and his companions went directly downstairs to take care of those Mad Demon Zombies that had stumbled over. Then, they started hunting the Elite Zombies. Wang Tao and Han Rui did not take action, but instead lay on the rooftop, looking in the direction of the hospital. Wang Tao whispered: ¡°Do you think there might be Level 2 Zombies in this hospital?¡± ¡°There probably are¡­¡± Han Rui was somewhat uncertain. It was mainly because Level 2 Zombies were so rare that, for such a long time they had only encountered three, including Shao Yong, who had mutated suddenly. So even though there were many Elite Zombies in the hospital, Han Rui was not certain if there were any Level 2 Zombies. ¡°Shall we go in and check it out?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. After using two Ascension Crystal Cores, Wang Tao¡¯s strength had greatly increased. He felt that he might have the ability to explore inside the inpatient building. This wasn ¡®t arrogance on his part; he truly needed the Crystal Cores from the Level 2 Zombies. If he couldn¡¯t reach Level 2, then he would still have no way to fight the Gorilla Zombie. So some risks had to be taken! ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui didn¡¯ t refuse. She was very curious about what exactly was inside the inpatient building. Now that Wang Tao¡¯s strength had increased so much, he should have the ability to explore it. ¡°Let¡¯s go! As long as we don¡¯t stir up too many Mad Demon Zombies, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem¡­¡± Wang Tao informed Zhen Guo of the situation through the walkie-talkie and then climbed over the hospital yard wall with Han Rui to enter the hospital¡¯s interior. After killing two Elite Zombies that didn¡¯t know any better on the way, the two arrived at the foot of the inpatient building. The large hole made by the Gorilla Zombie was still there, dark and foreboding within, and it was unclear what lay inside. Wang Tao certainly wasn¡¯t going to enter through there; he took the main entrance. Inside the main entrance it was empty, without a single zombie in sight. After Han Rui confirmed there were no zombies inside, Wang Tao and Han Rui both ventured further. Upon entering the main entrance, Wang Tao immediately smelled a mix of rot and disinfectant, which was extremely pungent. Wang Tao stopped in his tracks immediately. After waiting a while and confirming that he wasn¡¯t losing HP, he continued inside. The corridor of the inpatient building was quite long, with dark bloodstains all over the walls. The pitch-dark end of the corridor was incredibly eerie. Wang Tao planned to check the first floor first; if it was safe, then he would go to the second, third floors¡­ However, even after they had toured the entire first floor, they didn¡¯t find a single Level 2 Zombie, not even a Level 1 Zombie. ¡°Not a single zombie?¡± Wang Tao was confused. Had all the zombies been attracted outside? But he felt that there weren¡¯t many zombies outside either! At least not as many as he had seen before. Although he had hunted quite a few Elite Zombies in the hospital, there should still have been quite a few left¡­ ¡°There are none on the second floor either¡­¡± Han Rui then said. The hospital had tall floors, and her Ability could only penetrate through one Then they went to the third floor. The third floor was much like the first floor looking terrifying, but likewise had no zombies, including on the fourth floor.¡¯ ¡°This is really strange!¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. Were there really no zombies left? Refusing to believe it, he continued to climb higher, all the way to the top 12th floor, which was similarly devoid of zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go down.¡± Wang Tao was somewhat helpless. Could it be that all the Elite Zombies inside had indeed been killed by him and Han Rui? Or that many of them had been killed when the Gorilla Zombie had entered last time¡ªwait a second, the Gorilla Zombie! Wang Tao suddenly paused, then he said to Han Rui: It seems the Gorilla Zombie never came up, did it?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t immediately grasp Wang Tao¡¯s meaning. She replied instinctively, ¡°It indeed never came up, or else with its size, the upper structure would certainly have been destroyed¡­¡± Wang Tao spoke again: ¡°But the Gorilla Zombie did come in! It came in, but didn¡¯t come up. The first floor also doesn¡¯t seem to have any signs of its activity¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Then there¡¯s only one possibility, the Gorilla Zombie went underground! There is a basement here!¡± Chapter 259 - Chapter 259: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP_2 Chapter 259: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP_2 ¡°That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡± just as Wang Tao had recalled the gorilla zombie, he suddenly realized a detail -the gorilla zombie had knocked a big hole into the inpatient building, but the floor above was very smooth, with no traces of the gorilla zombie having lingered. It couldn¡¯t possibly have smashed a big hole and then just sat on the first floor for a while before leaving, could it? It must have taken some action! Since it didn¡¯t go upstairs, then it was very likely to have gone downstairs! When the two of them had entered the inpatient department, they had deliberately avoided the big hole made by the gorilla zombie, fearing danger. After entering, since the area near the hole was in ruins, they hadn¡¯t checked it out. Now, Wang Tao thought that the gorilla zombie might have gone to the basement! Most hospitals have basements. Wang Tao and Han Rui quickly ran to the first floor and came to the big hole made by the gorilla zombie. After climbing over the rubble at the entrance, they found it was a hole leading downward! ¡°As I suspected, a basement!¡± After confirming his guess, Wang Tao didn¡¯t enter from here. Instead, he and Han Rui went to the stairwell of the inpatient department. The stairwell they had used to go upstairs earlier didn¡¯t have a route to the basement, but there must be another stairwell that did. After searching for a while, the two finally found a stairwell that led to the basement. This hospital had three basement levels. Level negative two and level negative three were locked with a password lock, which Wang Tao couldn¡¯t open unless he broke it by force. But level negative one wasn¡¯t locked, and the door was open. Level negative one resembled a large warehouse; although it was very dark inside, some yellow emergency sensor lights were flashing, which made it possible to see clearly. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness for a moment, Wang Tao and Han Rui walked in together. ¡°Hiss¡ªso cold!¡± The moment she entered level negative one, Han Rui shuddered. The temperature inside was so low! Wang Tao furrowed his brows. Basements are usually cool, but it was June, and the gear he was wearing was thick, yet he could still feel the cold¡­ Something wasn¡¯t right, very wrong! When things are abnormal, there¡¯s sure to be demons! Wang Tao immediately cautioned: ¡°Keep your Perception Ability activated the whole time and be careful! ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao let Han Rui walk in front, trailing her by a step1 s distance so that he could respond promptly if anything happened. Suddenly, Han Rui stopped. Her face showed a shocked expression as she pointed ahead. ¡°Zombies! So many zombies!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Let¡¯s move slowly¡­¡± Wang Tao gently placed his hand on Han Rui¡¯s shoulder. They slowly moved forward. ¡°Right there!¡± Han Rui pointed to a place, and Wang Tao looked in the direction she was pointing. He saw a group of zombies dressed in white lab coats and patient gowns standing there with their backs to Wang Tao, their bodies swaying slightly but not moving. It was as if¡­ they were standing asleep? Wang Tao was somewhat unsure. Ordinary zombies did have this kind of sleep-like state, lying on the ground as if dead, and if someone approached, they would slowly rise. But that was typical of ordinary zombies, and Wang Tao had never seen this behavior in elite zombies before. After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao took out his hand crossbow and, under the dim light, shot a crossbow arrow at the last zombie in the row. Whizz¡ª [-8731 [2127/3000] The zombie stumbled instantly. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± It turned its head to look as if it hadn¡¯t found anything, then turned back around and continued to stand there. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Under normal circumstances, if a zombie were attacked, even if it didn¡¯t discover the attacker, it would become angry or seek out the attacker, not just stand there foolishly to be attacked. Yet this elite zombie only turned its head to look and then ignored it¡­ Wang Tao, holding the hand crossbow, shot two more arrows at it. [-921] [-8141 [392/3000] Even with three crossbow arrows stuck in its head, barely hanging on to life, the zombie still didn¡¯t come over. It just turned its head back angrily to roar a couple of times, then continued to dumbly look ahead. ¡°It¡¯s not coming over?¡± Since that was the case, Wang Tao showed no mercy, and with one final arrow, he cleared its HP bar. [-392] [0/3000] Thump- The zombie with four crossbow arrows in its head fell to the ground. Without considering accuracy, the damage of the hand crossbow was unrelated to Wang Tao¡¯s own strength and depended solely on the power of the crossbow and arrows. Thus, after Wang Tao had grown stronger, the damage from the hand crossbow seemed somewhat unimpressive. It took four arrows to kill an elite zombie with low defense; if he had used his axe, it undoubtedly would have taken fewer than four strikes¡­ After this zombie fell, the other zombies around acted as if they hadn¡¯t noticed anything and continued to stand there dumbly. ¡°They¡¯re not moving? If that¡¯s the case¡­ I won¡¯t hold back on these Crystal Coresthen!¡± Before acting, Wang Tao had Ding Yuqin carefully inspect the area to make sure there were only these elite zombies around and nothing else. Once confirmed, Wang Tao went over with his axe in hand. He walked right behind the group of zombies, three to four meters away, and it was only then that the zombies seemed to sense something and began to turn around one after another. As they turned, Wang Tao unleashed a Shockwave. Spurt! [-3000] [-2800] [-3245] [-3244] [-1388] [¡­] The zombies hit by the Shockwave were instantly shattered, their HP bars wiped out. The remaining ones were left critically wounded. ¡°Awesome!¡± A Level Two Shockwave was different, capable of almost instantly killing elite zombies with less than 3,000 HP. The ones that weren¡¯t instantly killed either had exceptionally high defense power or a lot of HP. Chapter 260 - Chapter 260: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP 3 Chapter 260: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP 3 Wang Tao seized the opportunity to swing his axe again, sending another shockwave through. All the remaining zombies were shattered by the shockwave! Gazing at the severed limbs and the gleaming crystal cores, Wang Tao grinned. Using a Level Two ability against Level 1 zombies was simply overkill! Wang Tao quickly called over Han Rui to collect the crystal cores. The great thing about the shockwave ability was that most zombies killed by it had their heads or even entire bodies exploded. So the crystal cores fell out directly. There was no need to forcibly suppress the nausea to extract the crystal cores anymore. Soon, all the crystal cores on the ground were collected by the two of them, and Wang Tao naturally put all the zombies¡¯ dropped loot into his space backpack. During the looting process, Wang Tao discovered that what these zombies had been staring at was actually a stairway entrance! Was it leading to the second sub-level? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Why were these zombies stupidly staring at the second sub-level? Could there be something down there? Peering into the pitch-dark opening and feeling the cooler temperature at the entrance of the stairway, Wang Tao hesitated whether to go down or not. Just from the look of this stairway entrance, there seemed to be no lights below the second sub-level, and he didn¡¯t have any night vision equipment. If he rashly went down, what if there was danger¡­ ¡°Search the first level first!¡± Wang Tao thought it best to finish scouring the first level before anything else. The basement was huge, and the area where Wang Tao was located was just one section of it. There were several stairways leading to the second sub-level. Soon, Han Rui spotted another group of zombies. This group of zombies, like the one before, stood aimlessly at a stairway entrance, as if they were hypnotized. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother probing this time and went straight up with his axe in hand. However, this time it was slightly more troublesome as there were many zombies with high HP and strong defense, so Wang Tao used four shockwaves. Without needing to call her over, Han Rui immediately ran to collect the crystal cores the moment the zombies were shattered. After the two gathered all the spoils of war, they were both somewhat excited. Killing zombies like this was just too thrilling! Just from these two fights, the crystal cores obtained were probably worth half a month¡¯s effort for Wei Zhenguo and his group! ¡°Keep it going!¡± Han Rui maximised her Perception Ability and continued searching for zombies. Very quickly, she found a third group of zombies. Same as before, they were lingering at a stairway entrance, a large group, all standing motionlessly. Wang Tao immediately grabbed his axe and went behind them, then with a single shockwave, all the zombies were instantly shattered. This time there were no zombies with high HP and strong defense, so it was relatively clean and tidy. However, just as Wang Tao was gathering up the fallen loot, Han Rui suddenly turned pale. ¡°Not good! Abig one¡¯s coming! It¡¯s right below us!¡± Wang Tao instinctively glanced at the stairway. Then¡ª Without caring for the crystal cores, he wrapped his arms around Han Rui¡¯s waist and performed a rush, sprinting over twenty meters! Then, with Han Rui in tow, he zigzagged left and right until they reached an open stretch of road where Wang Tao said to Han Rui anxiously, ¡°Sprint!¡± Han Rui immediately clung tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s waist and activated her Rush Ability. Whoosh¡ª The two of them sprinted another twenty meters. Then, after turning a corner, they saw the brightly lit hole ahead that had been punched through by the gorilla zombie. However, the first sub-level was quite high, probably about four meters. ¡°You go up first!¡± Wang Tao crossed his hands with palms facing up. Han Rui immediately stepped onto Wang Tao¡¯s palm, and with a heave of his hands, Wang Tao sent her up. After landing on the ground, Han Rui rolled to dissipate the force and then lay down, stretching out her hand to Wang Tao. Wang Tao took a short run-up, then directly sprinted a short distance up the wall, simultaneously reaching out to grab Han Rui¡¯s hand. ¡°Heave ¡± Han Rui grasped Wang Tao¡¯s right hand with both of hers, and then forcefully pulled. Whoosh Wang Tao was yanked out of the pit by her. Without even giving her a chance to catch her breath, Wang Tao immediately took her hand and ran. At the same time, he was calling out on the walkie- talkie for Wei Zhenguo and the others to retreat quickly! The two of them ran breathlessly to the apartment building, arriving just as Wei Zhenguo and his team were also getting back. ¡°What¡¯s the situation? I was about to finish off the zombies in front of me when I heard you say to retreat quick, so I ran without even bothering to kill them¡­ If I¡¯d known, I wouldn¡¯t have dawdled!¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat annoyed; he had just wanted to try out his new move, which cost him some time. The other few also looked at Wang Tao, who was gasping for air, unsure of what had happened. ¡°Huff ¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to speak, hurriedly running to the rooftop. Only after seeing there was no commotion at the hospital did he finally relax. There¡¯s a terrifying zombie in the basement of the hospital!¡± Wang Tao said to the people behind him. A Level Two Zombie? How terrifying is it?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked cautiously. I m not certain of its exact strength, but based on my experience, it might be even stronger than a gorilla zombie!¡± Just as Han Rui had reminded him, Wang Tao had glanced towards the stairwell. It was pitch-black down there, and he couldn¡¯t see the specifics, but he caught sight of a pair of green eyes! At the same time, he also saw its HP bar¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- [15000/15000] Fifteen thousand HP! This was the creature with the highest HP Wang Tao had encountered since the apocalypse began! As understood so far, HP could essentially be equated with combat prowess. That¡¯s why, the moment Wang Tao saw that amount of HP, he didn¡¯t even bother to pick up the Zombie Cores and simply ran! ¡°Stronger than gorilla zombies!¡± Everyone was shocked. They had all seen the combat capability of a gorilla zombie; if something was even stronger than that, what kind of monster could it be! But this was the hospital, with a large number of Elite Zombies, so the emergence of such a creature seemed reasonable¡­ ¡°So¡­ do we continue?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head back first! We two just got a lot of Crystal Cores down there!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± For these soldiers, executing orders was second nature. When Wang Tao said to leave, they left immediately without any hesitation, even if there were injured zombies left unfinished. On the way back, Wang Tao briefed everyone about the situation on the minus first floor. However, when he mentioned the zombie with 15000 HP, Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows. He recalled encountering a creature with 10000 HP on the outer ring, which had sent a shiver through his legs with sheer terror. But this 15000 HP creature didn t exude the same frightening presence. Could it be that his strength had increased? But that wasn¡¯t right. Even now, thinking back to the 10000 HP creature, Wang Tao still felt a shiver down his spine! On the other hand, those green eyes from just now-while Wang Tao feared its HP, given it was a whopping fifteen thousand¡ªhe didn¡¯t sense as much danger from its aura, at least not as much as from the shadow or gorilla zombies. Wang Tao suddenly had an outlandish thought¡ª ¡­Could it be, it¡¯s not as strong as I had imagined? Did I scare myself?¡± Chapter 261 - Chapter 261: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement-! Chapter 261: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement-! ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Han Rui asked, somewhat puzzled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head, not voicing the outrageous thought that had crossed his mind. Although it was a possibility, there was no need to mention it now. Later on, he would have to find an opportunity to come back and probe the reality of that green-eyed zombie¡­ On their way back, they came across another destroyed street. ¡°The gorilla zombie has been here!¡± Everyone¡¯s mood turned a bit heavy. Based on the frequency of the gorilla zombie¡¯s destruction, it felt like it would find Shuize Base very soon! With several hundred people at Shuize Base, hiding was not an option. Once discovered by the gorilla zombie, it definitely wouldn¡¯t let things slide¡­ They had to get stronger, much stronger! There were no complications on their return trip, and they smoothly made it back to the base. In the meeting room, Wang Tao shared with everyone the encounter he had in the hospital¡¯s basement level. When they heard that Wang Tao could kill a dozen or even dozens of elite zombies with a casual strike, and that the zombies didn¡¯t even resist, everyone felt a bit envious. That sounded exhilarating! However, when Wang Tao mentioned the pair of green eyes he saw on the second basement floor, everyone instinctively shuddered. They all felt that the reason why those elite zombies had become so stupefied might be related to the owner of those eyes! If Wang Tao and Han Rui hadn¡¯t left in time, would they have become as dull as those zombies? The thought was terrifying! ¡°So, does that mean we shouldn¡¯t go to the hospital anymore?¡± Xiang Hongbin felt somewhat regretful. Apart from the hospital having so many elite zombies, finding elite zombies in other places would be a time-consuming effort. Wang Tao pondered for a moment and said: ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case¡­ The zombie in the basement of the hospital must have been there for a while, at least by the time the gorilla zombie arrived, it had probably already existed. We¡¯ve hunted many elite zombies there since then, and it never showed up. So, it¡¯s possible that it doesn¡¯t want to, or cannot come out? Of course, this is just my speculation. How it actually is, we¡¯ll need to observe further. For the time being, let¡¯s avoid going to the hospital. I¡¯ll investigate thoroughly when I go back.¡± Throughout the journey, Wang Tao was preoccupied with the thought of the green-eyed zombie with 15,000 HP in the hospital basement. Based on the current situation, there were only four Level 2 zombies in Shuize County. Zombie Shao Yong had been killed by him, and he had also killed the hooded zombie. Now, only the gorilla zombie and the green-eyed zombie beneath the hospital remained. If he could kill these two Level 2 zombies, then it was highly likely that Wang Tao could achieve Level 2 Ascension! But the problem was, if Wang Tao couldn¡¯t reach Level 2 Ascension, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill these two Level 2 zombies! It seemed to have become a deadlock. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t lose heart. After all, they had managed to kill the hooded zombie, a group of Level 1 individuals. So, defeating the green-eyed zombie in the hospital and the gorilla zombie outside was not entirely impossible¡­ The topic of the green-eyed zombie was temporarily put aside, and next came the issue of crystal cores. On the way back, Wang Tao had fused all the crystal cores that could be merged. Now, he took out all of these crystal cores. ¡°Wow! So many crystal cores!¡± Upon seeing the crystal cores that Wang Tao brought out, everyone exclaimed in surprise. ¡°Take whatever you need, and then leave some for cultivating the ability users of the base,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Initially, Wang Tao thought about telling them not to rush into fusing other crystal cores, as advancing to Level 2 might require many ascension crystal cores, which could be troublesome. But after killing the hooded zombie, clashing with the gorilla zombie, and seeing the green-eyed zombie in the hospital basement, Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t a matter of whether they could reach Level 2 Ascension, but whether they could withstand an attack from the gorilla zombie if it arrived at the base right now. Therefore, they had to enhance their strength as much as possible! It would be best to bring everyone to their pinnacle state! That way, their chances against the gorilla zombie would be greater in the future! Naturally, everyone understood Wang Tao¡¯s reasoning and nodded in agreement. There was really no time to think about anything else at this time. After distributing the crystal cores to everyone, Wang Tao went to visit Lu Gang. ¡°You¡¯re here, how was today¡¯s haul?¡± When Lu Gang, lying in the hospital bed, saw Wang Tao coming, he immediately tried to sit up, and Chen Zhuang quickly went over to support him. ¡°Not bad, got quite a few crystal cores. How¡¯s your injury?¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lu Gang was still injured, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t mention the Level 2 zombie in the hospital to him. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m fine! I feel like I could recover in just three to five days!¡± Lu Gang laughed heartily. Wang Tao shook his head. Recovering in three to five days was definitely not possible, as one of his ribs was broken. Although Chen Zhuang had set it, it still wouldn¡¯t heal that quickly. But Lu Gang was recovering quite well. After all, Wang Tao had used a lot of medical kits on him, not only saving his life but also substantially increasing his HP. He had now recovered to over 3000 HP. Although he was lying in the hospital bed, if he got up to fight, his combat power wouldn¡¯t be weak. ¡°I¡¯ve got some more crystal cores here¡­¡± Wang Tao gave Lu Gang some crystal cores. Lu Gang¡¯s Precision Shooting and Sprint were already at max level, but he could fuse two types of crystal cores. He had previously told Wang Tao that he was particularly interested in Throwing Master and Stealth Ability. Wang Tao now gave him the crystal cores for Throwing Master and Stealth. ¡°Wow! So many purple, red, and even orange crystal cores!¡± Lu Gang¡¯s face lit up with excitement; with these crystal cores, his strength would jump up significantly! Chapter 262 - Chapter 262: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Chapter 262: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement_2 ¡°Take your time with the fusion; while integrating with the Crystal Core, it seems that the energy it contains can also restore the body a bit. You might actually be able to get out of bed in just three to five days!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Lu Gang said gratefully. ¡°What are you thanking me for? You deserve this!¡± Wang Tao patted Lu Gang on the shoulder. ¡°No, I meant earlier, during the fight with the hooded zombie. If you hadn¡¯t thrown those two axes at me, hitting the zombie, I would have been dead a long time ago¡­¡± Lu Gang said with a sigh. ¡°That incident? Actually, I had no other choice at the time. Fortunately, you¡¯re tough enough!¡± Thinking back to the hunt for the hooded zombie, Wang Tao also felt a sense of relief. If his throws had been off, Lu Gang would have been a goner. ¡°Alas, it¡¯s my fault¡­ I thought I was far enough away that the zombie couldn¡¯t possibly find me. If only I had been more cautious¡­¡± Lu Gang was somewhat annoyed with himself. Fighting zombies for a long time can lead to letting one¡¯s guard down in certain situations. For instance, thinking zombies are brainless or believing they won¡¯t notice him¡­ ¡°You can¡¯t blame yourself for that; that zombie was simply too formidable. Anyway, we¡¯U remember this lesson and just be more cautious in the future!¡± ¡°Yeah! You¡¯re right!¡± After visiting Lu Gang, Wang Tao went back home and called Gao Hua over. Ding Yuqin was also there. Wang Tao asked them what kind of Crystal Core they wanted. After integrating with the Stealth Crystal Core, both of them could still continue to integrate. ¡°I want Toughness¡­¡± Gao Hua said somewhat sheepishly, scratching his head. Wang Tao glanced at him, somewhat surprised. It seemed like he was planning to max out his defense, with both Stealth and Toughness. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao handed him a Toughness Crystal Core. ¡°Thanks a lot, big brother!¡± Gao Hua¡¯s face lit up with gratitude. ¡°With your current HP, you should be able to sense whether or not you can continue to integrate with other types of Crystal Cores, right?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Gao Hua closed his eyes and felt for a while before speaking: ¡°I feel like I can integrate two more types¡­¡± Gao Hua had only integrated with Stealth so far, which meant he could integrate with three types of Crystal Cores in total. ¡°Three types, huh? That¡¯s pretty good. Do you have any other types in mind? I have some more Crystal Cores on hand; I¡¯ll give them all to you.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Let me think¡­¡± Gao Hua¡¯s eyes shone immediately. He never actively asked Wang Tao for anything, but he never refused anything Wang Tao gave him, not even bothering with a pretense of politeness. He was well aware of his own status, considering himself Wang Tao¡¯s underling. It was a reward for an underling to receive something from their boss, and an underling had no right to refuse. ¡°Could I have a Throwing Mastery Crystal Core?¡± After thinking it over, Gao Hua already had two defensive Abilities, so acquiring an offensive Ability wouldn¡¯t be bad either. However, he wasn¡¯t keen on engaging in melee combat, which was his weakness. Thus, he thought it best to choose an Ability that would allow ranged attacks. As far as he knew, there were currently only two types of range attack Abilities: Throwing Mastery and Precision Shooting. He felt that Throwing Mastery suited him better. It was a passive Ability that didn¡¯t consume Mana and didn¡¯t require any basic skills. As long as he integrated with this Ability, he would naturally feel affinity and familiarity with throwing objects. In terms of potential, Precision Shooting was certainly superior. However, Precision Shooting served to enhance the abilities of those who already had shooting skills. For someone like him who had no clue about shooting, Precision Shooting wouldn¡¯t offer a significant improvement. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao gave him a red Throwing Mastery Crystal Core. ¡°Thanks a lot, big brother!¡± Gao Hua thanked him again, then with a keen sense of timing added, ¡°If big brother doesn¡¯t have anything else, I¡¯ll go and start integrating with the Crystal Core.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± After Gao Hua left, Wang Tao turned to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Sister-in-law, what about you? What Crystal Core would you like to integrate with?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll listen to you!¡± Ding Yuqin, with her arm around Wang Tao¡¯s, said. Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin. He thought that integrating her with a Loose Tongue might give a different feeling. But after some thought, he decided against it. It was better for the sister-in-law to remain as she was. ¡°Then you should also integrate with a Throwing Mastery first; it¡¯s always good to have more methods of attack.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± As for Han Rui, besides her Perception Ability, all her other Abilities were already maxed out. She hadn¡¯t had the chance to encounter zombie perception, so she wasn¡¯t able to improve in that area. Like Wang Tao, her strength had temporarily reached its upper limit. The next day. The Committee announced at the base that they wanted to train another batch of Ability Users. The first batch, not counting the Security Army, consisted only of six people. The number was still quite small, given that the base now housed 700 people. Therefore, many were eagerly awaiting this second chance. They had thought it would take a long time. But to their surprise, just a few days after the first batch of Crystal Cores was distributed, the Committee was ready to train a second batch of Ability Users! This news excited the survivors. There were now over 700 people in the base, with 300 of them being Hunters. Originally, there weren¡¯t that many Hunters, but as many people who had recently joined the base registered as Hunters, and coupled with the allure of becoming Ability Users, the number of Hunters spiked. After all, everyone knew that Ability Users were chosen from among Hunters. Of course, this increase in Hunters was something the Committee wanted to see, for the more Hunters there were, the richer the base¡¯s resources became. Chapter 263 - Chapter 263: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement 3 Chapter 263: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement 3 Therefore, the number of Ability Users the committee prepared to train for the second batch was no longer six, but fifty! Now, Wang Tao had plenty of Crystal Cores, more than enough to train fifty Ability Users. Of course, Wang Tao only made them become Ability Users; as for the subsequent Special Ability Level enhancement, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be involved -that would be up to them to hunt Elite Zombies for themselves. Soon, the registration to compete for the Ability User spots began. This time, it wasn¡¯t Ren Jie calling the shots from the get-go; instead, everyone was allowed to sign up. After registering, they just had to show their prowess and then wait for the committee¡¯s notice. As long as they signed up, there was a chance. However, the final say still rested with the committee. Many signed up; the base had just over three hundred Hunters, yet over four hundred people had registered, clearly showing that some Ordinary survivors had also signed up. These Ordinary survivors definitely wouldn¡¯t be selected, but it was still a good thing that they could sign up-maybe they would become Hunters someday. After one day¡¯s time, the candidates for the second batch of Ability Users were finally settled. Wang Tao personally handed over the fifty Crystal Cores to them, and he exhorted them to do well, placing the heavy responsibility of contributing to the base¡¯s construction in their hands. Since there were many Crystal Cores handed out this time, the variety was quite diverse as well. It included Mud Swamp, Coughing Smoke, Rejuvenation¡­ even Glutton cores were distributed. Wang Tao had always been curious if some seemingly less useful Crystal Cores, like Mud Swamp and Glutton, really had no use at all? So this was also a kind of experiment-letting these people fuse and see whether these Crystal Cores were useful. Of course, all these Crystal Cores were synthesized by Wang Tao, so the side effects were removed. If there were still side effects, it would be a pure scam. Overnight, these people had all completed their fusion. Wang Tao specifically gathered them to observe their Abilities. Surprisingly, Wang Tao discovered some notable differences. Take the Mud Swamp Crystal Core, for instance, which seemed useless according to its description. But its actual effect turned out to be quite impressive! The effect of Mud Swamp was ¡°consume energy to create a Mud Swamp surrounding the body.¡± An Ability User who had fused with just a Mud Swamp Crystal Core could create a ten-meter wide Mud Swamp around themselves. Whether human or zombie, anyone in the Mud Swamp would have their speed greatly reduced. Especially the zombies-they could easily get stuck and become immobile! Naturally, if it were just that, it wouldn¡¯ t be enough to please Wang Tao. What truly delighted him was that the effect of the Mud Swamp was stackable! He asked five Ability Users with the Mud Swamp to stand together and release their ability; the resulting Mud Swamp was five times larger than before! Furthermore, this Mud Swamp was permanent! As long as the water in it didn¡¯t evaporate and as long as the mud wasn¡¯t removed, the swamp could exist indefinitely! Wang Tao immediately felt that this was a strong control Skill! If he could have a group of Ability Users with the Mud Swamp, have them release their abilities all at once, and create a large swamp. Then, lure zombies into the swamp-once they¡¯re in, they won¡¯t be able to move and would be like sitting ducks! Wouldn¡¯t that be like a sustained version of the Slime Spitter? Wang Tao thought it was worth a try! However, there were downsides, of course. That was, the Mud Swamp was slow to release, not like the Slime Spitter, which could be spat out in one go. The Mud Swamp had to be slowly released, definitely not suitable for immediate combat; one would need to prepare in advance. And there was another point¡ªthe release of the Mud Swamp Ability was somewhat nauseating- the mud would ooze out of body pores and orifices¡­ According to the Mud Superpower Users, they themselves weren¡¯t uncomfortable, and when the mud came out, they even felt a sense of relief. But it was quite unpleasant for Wang Tao to watch¡­ Apart from the Mud Swamp, the Glutton Ability was also promising. The effect of this Ability was ¡°The more one eats and the fatter one becomes, the higher the defensive power.¡± Wang Tao specifically found two corpulent individuals to fuse with this Crystal Core. In the apocalyptic world, corpulent individuals were rare, and these two were the fattest in the Shuize Base. They couldn¡¯t meet the condition of ¡°eating more¡± for now, but ¡°becoming fatter¡± was somewhat achievable. After fusing with the Ability, their defensive power immediately surged. Wang Tao had tested them before and after their fusion. Wang Tao felt that this Glutton Crystal Core was like a weakened version of Toughness. Although its defensive power wasn¡¯t as strong as Toughness, it was a passive Ability that didn¡¯t require energy consumption! More importantly, the upper limit of Toughness was fixed, relying only on fusing with more Crystal Cores to improve. However, the upper limit of Glutton was much higher; increasing body size, eating more food, and fusing with Crystal Cores could all enhance the defensive power! Outfit these two corpulent individuals with full armor, shields, and such, and they could be placed at the front as meat shields. If they could also fuse with Power Crystal Cores and Rejuvenation Crystal Cores, the effect would probably be even better! That was Wang Tao¡¯s thinking, and that was what he acted on. He immediately promoted these two corpulent individuals as key figures for the base¡¯s training focus. Wang Tao personally took them out to hunt Elite Zombies, helping them increase their HP. Not many could enjoy such treatment. But it wasn¡¯t just Wang Tao taking people out to hunt. Wei Zhenguo and the others were also leading some Ability Users to hunt Elite Zombies. After all, their own powers had reached their limits for now, and there was no way to improve further. It was better to help other Ability Users in the base, boosting the overall strength of the base. Thanks to the efforts of Wang Tao and the other committee members, a few days later, the overall strength of Shuize Base increased significantly- All Hunters had over 1000 HP; some Ability Users had over 2000 HP, and others reached over 3000 HP! As for Wang Tao and the other committee members, they naturally had over 4000 HP each. With the current overall strength of Shuize Base, it was uncertain whether they could withstand a Gorilla zombie, but they definitely wouldn¡¯t be as hard- pressed as before when facing Hooded zombies. Wang Tao felt that now was a good time to probe the reality of that Green-eyed Zombie in the hospital¡­ Chapter 264 - Chapter 264: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_l Chapter 264: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_l Wang Tao returned to the First Hospital once again. This time it was just him and Han Rui. After all, Wang Tao only wanted to test the reality of the zombie in the hospital basement; he had not planned on engaging it in a tough fight. If they needed to run, it was more convenient with fewer people. ¡°Do we really need to go in¡­¡± Outside the hospital, Han Rui was somewhat nervous. Mainly because Wang Tao had said that there was a zombie inside stronger than the gorilla zombie! She had seen how strong the gorilla zombie was. She couldn¡¯t imagine what a being stronger than that would be like. So she was still a bit panicked. On the other hand, it was Wang Tao who had run the fastest before, and it was still Wang Tao who was eager to try now. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here!¡± Wang Tao squeezed Han Rui¡¯s small hand, then looked at the hospital with not a single corpse in sight and waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Upon entering the hospital, there were still no zombies in the hospital courtyard. The two fumbled their way to the basement level, and that cold feeling came over them again. Han Rui was still leading the way in front. ¡°No zombies¡­¡± The two stairwells where Wang Tao had dealt with a large number of zombies before were now devoid of zombies. However, at the third stairwell, the glittering Crystal Cores on the ground were still there. Wang Tao hurried over to pick up these Crystal Cores; it would be a waste to leave them. Zombies seemed to have no need for Crystal Cores; for now, it seemed only humans could fuse with them. ¡°Are we going down?¡± Looking at the dark stairwell leading to the second basement level, Han Rui asked. ¡°No, let¡¯s drawit out!¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Their goal this time was to probe the strength of that zombie. No one knew the situation below, and it would be troublesome if it was dangerous to go down rashly. It was better to remain above. ¡°Let¡¯s see if there are any zombies on this floor. If there are any, we keep killing them, trying to drawit over¡­¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui searched the area together and soon found a group of zombies. It was the same as before, a group of zombies all swaying at the stairwell as if they were asleep. Wang Tao went straight over and unleashed two Shockwaves. Whoosh- All the zombies turned into minced meat, and Crystal Cores scattered all over. With a thought, Wang Tao collected the surrounding loot. Instead of rushing to pick up the Crystal Cores, he let Han Rui sense on her own. After confirming the zombie hadn¡¯t come, he and Han Rui began to collect the Crystal Cores together. ¡°No immediate danger, go to the next stairwell¡­¡± Under Han Rui¡¯s Perception, the two of them quickly found another group of zombies. Wang Tao cautiously approached the group of zombies from behind and then instantly used a Shockwave. Splat¡ª A large number of zombies fell to the ground. And at that moment, Han Rui suddenly exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± Without a second word, Wang Tao immediately started running back. He took the opportunity to glance back and saw a pair of green eyes glittering in the darkness. There was also that 15000 HP red bar above its head! It had arrived! As Wang Tao ran, he was already prepared for a possible attack from the zombie, but unexpectedly, even though those green eyes kept staring at Wang Tao, they showed no sign of approaching. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be chasing me?¡± Wang Tao thought it was strange. He and Han Rui kept running until they reached the hole created by the gorilla zombie, where they waited cautiously for a while. Then he noticed that the zombie indeed had not followed! ¡°I really didn¡¯t sense it¡­ What do we do now?¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao stroked his chin, pondering. This zombie was very strange; the zombies he had seen before would always chase after humans as soon as they saw them. Whether they could catch up or not was another matter, but they would definitely chase. Could this zombie possess intelligence? Wang Tao carefully recalled the feeling this zombie gave him. Although he hadn¡¯t seen its full form, he also didn¡¯t feel too much pressure. It was nothing compared to the gorilla zombie or the shadowy figure in the wilderness before! ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s check it out again!¡± Wang Tao decided to take the risk one more time. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui naturally had nothing to say. The two cautiously returned to the stairwell where the green-eyed zombie had appeared, but it was no longer there. Wang Tao first collected the Crystal Cores that they hadn¡¯t managed to pick up just now and then took out a Surgical Knife, throwing it straight down the stairwell. Whoosh- Clang¡ª The Surgical Knife fell to the ground with a crisp sound. After a moment, Han Rui nervously said, ¡°It¡¯s here again!¡± This time Wang Tao didn¡¯t run, but he was ready to make a counter-charge if necessary. Soon, a pair of green eyes appeared from the darkness below the stairwell. Those were clearly human eyes, not clouded like that of an Ordinary zombie. If it weren¡¯ t for the black blood vessels and a sense of aggression that hit you in the face, just looking at the eyes themselves, they were actually somewhat pleasing? Wang Tao stared intently at the zombie, and the zombie also kept its gaze on Wang Tao, neither making any movements. This emboldened Wang Tao a bit more, and he took out a flashlight, shining it down the stairwell. The piercing white light made the zombie instinctively squint, and it even retreated slightly. What Wang Tao and Han Rui saw in the stairwell below made them gasp in shock! ¡°What the hell is that!¡± The zombie¡¯s short hair was sparse and falling out, wearing a white lab coat on its emaciated upper body. However, its lower body was grotesquely fat, without legs, comprised of many repulsive flesh tumors! It seemed to be stuck at the stairwell with these flesh tumors and couldn¡¯t come up! Chapter 265 - Chapter 265: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_2 Chapter 265: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_2 ¡°This¡­¡± Having roughly understood the situation of this zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes gleamed. Again, a surgical knife appeared in his hand, and he activated his precise shooting ability, throwing it towards the green-eyed zombie. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao aimed for the zombie¡¯s eyes, but it deftly shook its head, dodging the attack. ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; this was the first time he had seen a zombie dodge his attack! Undeterred, he conjured several more surgical knives in his hand and rapidly and accurately threw them at the zombie. But only one of the thrown knives hit, with the rest easily dodged by the zombie, landing in the lumps of flesh beneath it. The knives stuck in the flesh lumps caused no damage at all. And that single successful hit, even though it struck its head, only resulted in ¡°9¡± damage! Such damage was almost negligible against its 15000 HP¡ªWang Tao was just thinking the damage could be ignored when suddenly, a ¡°+9¡± appeared above the zombie¡¯s head. Its HP had fully recovered! Wang Tao inwardly cursed. High defense was one thing, but with blood regeneration too? Could it possibly have a self-healing ability? However, the only good news was that this single zombie seemed to lack any long-range attack ability. Despite Wang Tao¡¯s many attacks, aside from roaring, it had no other response. Seeing this, Wang Tao grew bolder. He took a firefighter axe and moved forward a few steps, then he swung it at the air directly. A visibly solid shockwave instantly hit the zombie. [-324] [14676/15000] This time it caused over three hundred damage, not particularly high, but still much better than the single-digit damage. If the zombie stood still and let him attack, then couldn¡¯t he kill it after a few dozen shockwaves? Even if it could regenerate health, could it recover hundreds at a time? Then Wang Tao saw a ¡°+324¡± appear above the zombie¡¯s head. Its HP was instantly full again! Wang Tao felt like cursing again. What kind of blood regeneration ability was this, recovering over three hundred instantly? How was he supposed to fight it! The shockwave was the most damage he could currently deal! ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Rui asked anxiously from the side. She couldn¡¯t see the HP bar, but she could tell that Wang Tao¡¯s complexion wasn¡¯t good. ¡°This zombie has healing ability, even my strongest shockwave is useless against it!¡± Wang Tao briefly explained before immediately unleashing several more shockwaves at it. [-341] [+341] [-318] [+318] [-337] [+318] This was unplayable! No matter how much HP Wang Tao took off, it instantly recovered to full! Seeing this situation, unless he could instantly kill it, which was clearly impossible¡­ ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The zombie seemed to glare at Wang Tao with some anger. It wanted to move toward him, but its body was stuck firmly in place and incapable of advancing. Wang Tao also glared back at it, once again bombarding it with shockwaves out of frustration, but once again its health instantly replenished to full. Both were eager to kill each other but neither could do anything to the other. ¡°Dammit, I don¡¯t believe this!¡± Wang Tao pulled out a military rifle from his backpack! This was specifically requested from Wei Zhenguo when he left today. ¡°Do you really want to use that?¡± Han Rui sounded concerned. Though this was on the -1 level, no one could guarantee it wouldn¡¯t attract Mad Demon Zombies. ¡°Screw it, let¡¯s fire a burst and see!¡± Wang Tao turned off the safety, loaded the rifle, and aimed at the zombie¡¯s head. Then, activating his Precision Shooting ability, he took a deep breath and pulled the trigger! Dada Dada¡ª In an instant, a stream of bullets sprayed towards the zombie. [-431] [+431] [-422] [+422] [-458] [+458] [-471] [+471] [¡­] The damage caused by the rifle was even higher than Wang Tao¡¯s Level Two shockwave, and the firing rate was far faster than that of the shockwave. In less than a second, the thirty bullets in the magazine were completely emptied onto the zombie¡¯s head. Apart from a few misses, the rest of the twenty-plus bullets hit their mark! Yet despite such a terrifying rate of fire, the zombie¡¯s regenerative capacity still kept up! Every bullet that caused damage was instantly healed, filling its HP. After thirty bullets were spent, the zombie was still at full health! ¡°Let¡¯s retreat!¡± Without wasting time on words, Wang Tao quickly led Han Rui to leave. The gunfire just now was too loud; it might attract a large number of Mad Demon Zombies. The two hurriedly fled through the stairwell exit of the hospital, and Wang Tao noticed that about a dozen Mad Demon Zombies had moved into the basement through the hole created by the Gorilla zombie. ¡°Not bad, only a dozen or so Mad Demon Zombies were attracted; the soundproofing in the basement is pretty good¡­¡± This was somewhat good news. But WangTao couldn¡¯t smile, the zombie¡¯s regenerative power was just too monstrous! He had previously thought that although the zombie¡¯s regenerative ability was strong, it would be similar to natural self-healing, regenerating a certain amount every second. If his attack speed were fast enough, he could outpace the health regeneration Wouldn¡¯t he then be able to kill it? If the speed of a rifle wasn¡¯t fast enough, he could call Wei Zhenguo and the others, having a dozen rifles attack at once-surely that speed would be sufficient, right? But unexpectedly, things were not as Wang Tao had thought-The green-eyed zombie¡¯s healing capacity wasn¡¯t a per-second regeneration. No matter how fast his rifle fired, the opponent could instantly recover full HP! Chapter 266 - Chapter 266: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_3 Chapter 266: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_3 Is this even possible? What kind of Ability is so powerful? To Wang Tao, it felt as if the zombie had a huge blood replenishing pack on it! As soon as it lost HP, the pack would instantly refill its HP to full! If that really was the case, then things would be difficult¡­ Wang Tao then remembered the tumors under the Green-eyed Zombie, which could very well be its blood replenishing packs. But when his bullets hit those tumors, not a single drop of HP was lost¡­ ¡°No, I still have to give it a try!¡± Wang Tao went back to his off-road vehicle and took out some Molotov cocktails. Since his power had increased, he hadn¡¯t used Molotov cocktails much. Mainly because these things don¡¯t discriminate between friend and foe¡ªonce thrown, he wouldn¡¯t be able to go there himself. It was quite troublesome, so Wang Tao used them less. After taking out the Molotov cocktails, Wang Tao and Han Rui returned to the first basement level. The few Mad Demon Zombies inside immediately spotted Wang Tao, but were quickly chopped down by Han Rui. The duo reached the previous staircase entrance, but the Green-eyed Zombie was nowhere to be seen. Wang Tao threw a stone at the staircase entrance and, before long, the Green- eyed Zombie reappeared. Without saying a word, Wang Tao lit a Molotov cocktail and hurled it at the zombie. Crash¡ª The Molotov cocktail shattered on the adversary, and the intense flames instantly engulfed the zombie¡¯s upper body. ¡°Grrr¡­¡± The zombie let out an angry roar. [-54] [+54] [-56] [+56] [¡­] Seeing this exchange of HP, Wang Tao was speechless¡ªthis was even weaker than his Shockwave! However, after being scorched by the flames, the zombie seemed to be in pain and began to slowly retreat! Seeing the zombie cloaked in flames retreating into the darkness, Wang Tao decisively said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, follow it and see!¡± Anyway, both of them had the Rush Ability, so if there really were any danger, they could run away in time. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui responded and then followed Wang Tao down the stairs cautiously. ¡°Grrr¡­¡± The zombie emitted an unpleasant roar, but the flames on its body grew less and less, quickly vanishing. Its upper body¡¯s clothing and scant hair were burned away, exposing the rotten and shriveled flesh beneath, which was somewhat nauseating to look at. But what was most disgusting was not its upper body, but the lower half! ¡°My God!¡± The two finally got to see the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s complete lower half, and Han Rui exclaimed in shock. The lower half of the Green-eyed Zombie was comprised of many tumors, and when added up, they were probably as big as half a basketball court! No wonder it was stuck and couldn¡¯t move beyond the staircase entrance. Furthermore, these tumors were actually made up of zombies, with at least several hundred to a thousand hideous arms, legs, and heads writhing! Even those zombies fused together had their own independent HP bars! Wang Tao felt sick to his stomach. The sight directly caused him to lose a few drops of HP, and Han Rui lost several dozen. ¡°Grrr¡­¡± After the flames on the Green-eyed Zombie were extinguished, it began to move towards Wang Tao. But Wang Tao decisively threw another Molotov cocktail at it. Whoosh- Flames once again engulfed the upper body of the zombie, causing it to retreat once more. ¡°Although it can¡¯t cause substantial damage to it, it¡¯s afraid of fire¡­ that¡¯s some good news at least!¡± Wang Tao suddenly thought, if he set the entire hospital on fire, couldn¡¯t he burn her to death? But this idea only flashed through Wang Tao¡¯s mind before he quickly dismissed it. Putting aside whether he could set the hospital on fire, even if he could, how would he extinguish it? If he really started an uncontrollable mega-fire, the base would be in danger too! However, looking at it from another angle, even if he couldn¡¯t burn it to death, perhaps he could come up with another plan by utilizing its fear of fire¡­ ¡°Roar-¡± At that moment, the Green-eyed Zombie suddenly let out an angry roar, then its mouth opened wide, and a pale green ring of light emerged from its body, rapidly spreading outwards! ¡°Run!¡± Seeing the ability that resembled a shockwave, Wang Tao and Han Rui quickly ran away. But the ring¡¯s speed was too fast, much faster than the Shockwave. Wang Tao and Han Rui couldn¡¯t avoid it. Whoosh¡ª The ring of light hit Wang Tao and Han Rui directly! Then the two realized¡­ it seemed like nothing happened? Wang Tao quickly checked his and Han Rui¡¯s HP. No HP loss? No negative status either? Wang Tao was baffled. Still, out of caution, he continued to run with Han Rui for a while, and although they remained within the ring of light, they still didn¡¯t lose any HP or acquire any negative statuses. ¡°I don¡¯t feel uncomfortable at all¡­¡± Han Rui was also somewhat perplexed. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like an attack ability!¡± Wang Tao confirmed it a few times, and indeed the ring of light did no harm to them. Realizing that its ability was ineffective, the Green-eyed Zombie retracted it. Seeing this, Wang Tao used a Shockwave towards the Green-eyed Zombie. Bang! This time, the Shockwave didn¡¯t hit the upper half of the zombie but struck its lower half instead. In an instant, several zombies that were partially merged with its lower body but not completely fused were shattered by the impact. And when those zombies died, even though the Green-eyed Zombie didn¡¯t lose a single drop of blood, it seemed to grow even more furious! ¡°Roar-¡± It ignored the flames on its body and, with innumerable legs and arms wriggling, started moving directly towards Wang Tao. ¡°Shit, run!¡± Wang Tao certainly had no intention of engaging in close combat with it and immediately pulled Han Rui to run. Even though this zombie had many limbs, its bulky size made it slow. Compared to the previously encountered Hooded Zombie, it was much slower. Wang Tao and Han Rui easily reached the first basement level. The Green-eyed Zombie once again got stuck at the stair entryway, roared angrily a couple of times, then retreated. The flames on its body also extinguished, and it soon disappeared from Wang Tao¡¯s sight. Wang Tao, looking at the dark stair entryway, frowned in contemplation. When he used the Shockwave on the upper half of the zombie earlier, even if it lost several hundred HP, there wasn¡¯t much of a reaction. When he scorched its upper body with a Molotov cocktail, although it lost fewer HP, it seemed to get somewhat angry. And when Wang Tao attacked the zombies fused with its lower body, it didn¡¯t lose a single drop of HP, but it became surprisingly furious¡­ Could it be that those zombies below are important to her? Wang Tao then thought of the blood replenishing pack. ¡°Perhaps, those zombies at the bottom are its blood replenishing pack?¡± Chapter 267 - Chapter 267: Chapter 141 Thank You_1 Chapter 267: Chapter 141 Thank You_1 Wang Tao felt this possibility was very likely! Otherwise, why wouldn¡¯t it get angry when it was hit but get extremely angry when the zombies on its lower body were attacked? It didn¡¯t make sense! ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a bit, and then we¡¯U try again¡­¡± Wang Tao took out some nutrient solution, handing two bottles to Han Rui. ¡°Hmm!¡± After the recent battle, Han Rui was no longer so afraid of this particular zombie. At least as it appeared, the combat power it demonstrated wasn¡¯t as strong as that of the hooded zombies or the gorilla zombies. ¡°When we go down later, don¡¯t let it get close. Attack its lower body and see if we can kill all the zombies fused with it¡­¡± Wang Tao believed that HP couldn¡¯t appear out of nowhere. It had to be either through consuming energy or something like a blood replenishing pack. But whatever it was, there must be a limit to it. So, Wang Tao wanted to try and see if he could exhaust the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s energy or deplete its blood replenishing packs! ¡°Alright!¡± After resting for a while, the two returned to the stairwell entrance. Just like before, Wang Tao picked up a rock and threw it down. A moment later, the Green-eyed Zombie was attracted and came over. Seeing the zombie appear, Wang Tao finally felt relieved. If it didn¡¯t show up, Wang Tao truly wouldn¡¯t dare to go down, fearing it might be lying in wait somewhere to ambush them, which would be troublesome. ¡°Roar-¡± The Green-eyed Zombie seemed to have some memory; upon seeing Wang Tao, it immediately let out an enraged howl. Wang Tao found this somewhat surprising; he felt this zombie seemed to be quite intelligent. Then Wang Tao picked up a lit Molotov cocktail and hurled it at the creature. Whoosh¡ª Flames instantly engulfed the upper body of the Green-eyed Zombie. [-53] [+53] [-50] [+50] [¡­] The Green-eyed Zombie began to retreat slowly. Wang Tao threw the Molotov cocktail to make it back off, which was necessary for him to go down. He also needed it for illumination since the second sublevel was too dark. After the Green-eyed Zombie had retreated, Wang Tao and Han Rui immediately followed it down. To verify his theory, without another word, Wang Tao unleashed a Shockwave straight at the lower half of the Green-eyed Zombie. Splurch¡ª Instantly, several of the zombies fused with its lower body burst open and died, their Zombie Cores spilling out. ¡°Roar-¡± The Green-eyed Zombie howled angrily, but it really seemed to lack long-range attack ability, unable to reach Wang Tao at all. In addition, it was not agile; when Wang Tao started circling around it, it appeared even more sluggish. However, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t quickly kill the zombies beneath it because, perhaps due to being fused within the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s body, their defensive power was quite strong. Against ordinary Level 1 Elite Zombies, one Shockwave from Wang Tao could kill a large group. But with these zombies, one Shockwave could only kill one or two at best, and sometimes not even that. But this wasn¡¯t a big problem, now with over four thousand Mana, Wang Tao had enough to use many Shockwaves. Meanwhile, Han Rui was shooting at those zombies with her sniper crossbow while using her Perception to probe their surroundings, preemptively guarding against any potential dangers. As the flames on the zombie began to die down, Han Rui quickly threw another Molotov cocktail, ensuring enough light in the second sublevel for Wang Tao to perform effectively. Come to think of it, this Green-eyed Zombie seemed to have some fire resistance. While a Molotov cocktail could burn for a long time on other zombies, it quickly extinguished on this one, and the damage it inflicted was minimal. Who knows how much time passed when Wang Tao had used up half of his Mana. Finally, the last few zombies fused to the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s lower half were shattered by the Shockwave. Bang¡ª Without its ¡°legs,¡± the Green-eyed Zombie lost all ability to move. The flesh lumps beneath it weren¡¯t mobile; its movement depended on the limbs inside them. Seeing the zombie completely immobile, Wang Tao grinned and then tossed a Throwing Knife at its head. Whizz! [-14] [+14) [15000/15000] ¡°Huh? It can regenerate HP?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback for a moment, then turned his attention to the flesh lumps below it. Could it be that simply killing the fused zombies wasn¡¯t enough? Did he need to shatter these flesh lumps, too? During previous attacks, Wang Tao¡¯s Shockwaves had definitely hit the flesh lumps, but without any noticeable effect¡­ Now with no other option left, he launched another Shockwave, hitting one of the flesh lumps on the lower half of the Green-eyed Zombie. Splurch¡ª The flesh lump, which had not budged earlier, now burst open like a balloon, with some foul-smelling yellow-green viscous fluid leaking out. ¡°Huh? That was easy?¡± Wang Tao was startled for a moment. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Green-eyed Zombie didn¡¯t lose any HP, but it suddenly started shaking all over as if going mad. Wang Tao felt this must be the zombie¡¯s weakness! Keep going! Wang Tao counted a moment ago; the Green-eyed Zombie had a total of ten flesh lumps on its lower half. Probably all needed to be destroyed. Splurch¡ª Wang Tao delivered another Shockwave, and just like before, he easily shattered its second flesh lump. The Green-eyed Zombie continued its frenzy but couldn¡¯t move, and Wang Tao was far enough away that it was powerless against him. But just then, Han Rui, who had been keeping watch, suddenly said: ¡°Wang Tao, the zombies from the first sublevel are coming!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao launched another Shockwave, breaking the third flesh lump. ¡°They¡¯re acting like they¡¯ve gone mad!¡± Chapter 268 - Chapter 268: Chapter 141 Thank You_2 Chapter 268: Chapter 141 Thank You_2 Han Rui quickly added another warning. Wang Tao looked back and then saw a group of Elite Zombies sprinting from the stairwell of the first underground level towards this second underground level! ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing this scene, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised because these Elite Zombies ran as fast as Mad Demon Zombies! What¡¯s happening, are they in a frenzy? Wang Tao couldn¡¯t afford to continue dealing with the Green-eyed Zombie, so he quickly turned to confront these Elite Zombies. These Elite Zombies were no longer the dazed creatures they had been before; after rushing down, some of them charged directly at Wang Tao and Han Rui while the rest sprinted towards the Green-eyed Zombie. ¡°Could it be that the Green-eyed Zombie can still fuse with these zombies?¡± Wang Tao swiftly killed the zombies rushing at him, then hurried over to the Green-eyed Zombie. When they got there, Wang Tao and Han Rui were both somewhat baffled. These Elite Zombies weren¡¯t fusing with the Green-eyed Zombie, but instead, they were diving straight into the yellow-green slime! ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback, and then he looked closely at the yellow- green slime and was shocked. He hadn¡¯t paid much attention before, but now he noticed he could actually see the name of this liquid! [Zombie Culture Fluid*300] This name didn¡¯t sound like anything good, but the fact that he could see its name meant he could collect it in his Space Backpack! And as long as it could be collected in the Space Backpack, no matter if it was useful or not, he would take it ¨C after all, his Space Backpack was infinite in size! So, Wang Tao threw out another Shockwave, killing all the zombies lying in the slime. This was his loot, zombies be damned! At that moment, Han Rui urgently said. ¡°There are more Elite Zombies coming down from upstairs!¡± This Zombie Culture Fluid sure seems to attract zombies! Wang Tao immediately said to Han Rui. ¡°You block them; I¡¯ll see if 1 can take care of the Green-eyed Zombie quickly! ¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui immediately grabbed the axe and ran to the stairwell entrance. Against a large number of zombies, an axe was obviously more suitable than crossbow arrows. Approaching the slime, Wang Tao concentrated his thoughts and quickly collected the slime into his Space Backpack, also picking up all the Zombie Cores on the ground. He didn¡¯t dawdle and started swinging his axe violently at the Green-eyed Zombie. One Shockwave after another struck its body. Pu-chi¡ª in moments, the remaining seven tumors were all shattered, and yellow-green, foul-smelling slime spilled everywhere. The smell was so unbearable that not only Wang Tao, but also Han Rui at the stairwell entrance, almost threw up. Suppressing his disgust, Wang Tao quickly collected all the slime intohis backpack. [Obtained: Zombie Culture Fluid*7OO] ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Green-eyed Zombie, with all ten tumors in its lower half ruptured, twisted its body before slowly emerging from the flesh masses. Its upper body separated from its lower body, it crawled with its arms on the ground, dragging intestines-like things beneath it. Then suddenly, the Green-eyed Zombie used its arms to leap into the air and pounced at Wang Tao. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao had been on his guard against the Green-eyed Zombie; after all, it still had a full 15000 HP. So even when the Green-eyed Zombie ¡°flew¡± towards him, he didn¡¯t panic. He activated Iron and Copper Bones and his Precision Shooting Ability, and when he saw the Green-eyed Zombie flying at him, Wang Tao suddenly raised his Firefighter Axe high and then fiercely swung it downwards. Bang! The axe struck the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s forehead with such force that it was sent flying back. [-132] [14868/15000] Even though the damage number wasn¡¯t high, it was real damage-the Green- eyed Zombie couldn¡¯t regenerate blood anymore! It must be due to that liquid! After being knocked back, the Green-eyed Zombie continued to crawl with its arms on the ground and then seized the opportunity to lunge at Wang Tao again. Bang! Wang Tao swung his axe again, this time not only striking the Green-eyed Zombie in the head but also hitting precisely where he had hit the first time. [-163] [147O5/15OOO] The Green-eyed Zombie was knocked back once again. But it stubbornly lunged at Wang Tao for the third time. After using this move to attack himself three times, Wang Tao felt that the Green-eyed Zombie probably didn¡¯t have many tactics left. So this time he got a little braver, sidestepping as it lunged, avoiding its attack, and sud en y grabbing its neck! Then Wang Tao summoned all his strength and slammed it down to the ground. Bang! He pressed the Green-eyed Zombie down from behind. The Green-eyed Zombie was strong, but not as strong as the Hooded Zombie. Plus, with Wang Tao¡¯s extraordinary strength, he knelt on the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s back with his knees, rendering it unable to escape. He held the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s neck with one hand, and with an axe in the other, he started chopping at its head. [-173) [-176] [-182] [¡­] Wang Tao¡¯s arms moved so quickly they blurred into afterimages! Finally, with a wet crack, the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s skull was cleaved by Wang Tao. [-230] [0/15000] The Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero! ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Wang Tao rubbed his aching arm. The battle with the Green-eyed Zombie had been short and not very dangerous but was quite exhausting. Every blow from Wang Tao was full of force; even with his physical condition, he needed to take some deep breaths. Looking at the Green-eyed Zombie, his mouth under the visor stretched into a grin. The Green-eyed Zombie exploded with loot! Wang Tao quickly collected the Loot Pack into his Space Backpack, then, still enduring the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s foul smell, extracted its Crystal Core. Chapter 269 - Chapter 269: Chapter 141 Thank You 3 Chapter 269: Chapter 141 Thank You 3 ¡°Huh?¡± While Wang Tao was extracting the Crystal Core, he noticed its pair of green eyes had also fallen out. [Night Vision Eyes*2] These eyes even have a name! Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to look closer and immediately put them into his Space Backpack. Then he searched the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s body and found nothing else named, but he did find a small metallic card inside it. ¡°Is this¡­ a negative third-floor access card?¡± Wang Tao decisively pocketed it. After making sure there was nothing else useful, Wang Tao immediately ran towards Han Rui. Without a Shockwave like Han Rui, it was quite troublesome for one person to fend off so many Elite Zombies. After Wang Tao arrived, a few Shockwaves cleared out an area before him. ¡°You took care of that Level 2 Zombie?¡± Han Rui was somewhat surprised; she hadn¡¯t had time to watch Wang Tao¡¯s fight, merely perceiving that the life signals of the Green-eyed Zombie had disappeared. ¡°Took care of it! This zombie was much weaker than the Hooded Zombie!¡± Wang Tao briefly explained and then ran with Han Rui to the negative first floor. But just as they reached the negative first floor, Han Rui¡¯s face turned pale in an instant. ¡°Not good! It¡¯s all Mad Demon Zombies outside, it looks like all the Mad Demon Zombies in the hospital have come!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡ª¡± Wang Tao was about to say they should charge out when he saw through the dim emergency lighting that the floor, walls and even ceiling were covered with Mad Demon Zombies! Good grief, these things can crawl on the ceiling? Putting aside his astonishment, Wang Tao pulled Han Rui and ran back! Although Wang Tao could kill a Mad Demon Zombie in an instant, he had already used up a lot of his mana. With so many Mad Demon Zombies, even if he exhausted his mana, he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill them all! This wasn¡¯t the time to put up a fight! ¡°Where are we going?¡± Han Rui was getting nervous; the Mad Demon Zombies had taken over the negative first floor, and there might be even more of them in the ward areas or outside the building! They were trapped! ¡°To the negative third floor!¡± Wang Tao said calmly. The layout of the negative second floor was similar to the negative first floor, and Wang Tao quickly found the location of the stairwell, but the door was locked and required an access card. Wang Tao immediately took out the metal access card he had gotten from the Green-eyed Zombie and swiped it in the card slot next to the keypad. ¡°Beep-¡± The metal door slowly opened. ¡°Huh?¡± Han Rui was shocked; when did Wang Tao get an access card for this place? But she didn¡¯t have time to inquire, and quickly said: ¡°The Mad Demon Zombies are coming!¡± At the entrance of this stairwell, a pack of Mad Demon Zombies were ferociously lunging at Wang Tao and her. Standing at the doorway, Wang Tao unleashed three consecutive Shockwaves, shattering all the Mad Demon Zombies. Before the next wave of Mad Demon Zombies could attack, the metal door slammed shut with a ¡°bang,¡± sealing the Mad Demon Zombies outside. ¡°Phew¡ªThat was close!¡± Han Rui was somewhat relieved; if they had been entangled by that large group of Mad Demon Zombies, it would have been certain death! ¡°Let¡¯s go see what¡¯s on this third level and if there¡¯s a way to escape¡­¡± The negative third floor was very dark, with no light inside at all, but fortunately, they both had flashlights. But the moment they turned on the flashlights, both of them jumped in fright. ¡°¡­This floor is the mortuary!¡± Looking at the bodies on the shelves inside the glass rooms, Wang Tao immediately felt a chill. However, there weren¡¯t many corpses here, and there were no signs of them turning into zombies. Negative third floor had an independent electric switch and its own generator, which still had some power left. Wang Tao turned on the lights and carefully checked the area with Han Rui. There were the morgue, autopsy room, and sample room, among other places. Although some of the human tissues here looked rather creepy, they were just frightening to look at and actually posed no danger. ¡°Hm? This door is locked.¡± Outside the rest room door, Han Rui looked at the big black lock and iron chain on the door and spoke with some curiosity. All the other doors on the negative third floor were open, only this place was locked. What was inside? ¡°There¡¯s a zombie!¡± After using her Perception, Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. ¡°It¡¯s a very weak ordinary zombie, sitting on the ground and not moving¡­¡± Wang Tao immediately took out his lock-picking tools and unlocked the lock. Clang clang¡ª The sound of the chain moving seemed to have disturbed the zombie inside; Han Rui told Wang Tao that the zombie had stood up. Wang Tao immediately opened the door and shone the flashlight inside. ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± A petite zombie, wearing a red and white JK uniform, with long hair over her shoulders but with severe body decay making it impossible to see her face clearly, bared its teeth and lunged at Wang Tao. But there was an iron chain on its body, which restrained it, preventing it from moving too far. Wang Tao glanced at the small zombie, with only 500 HP, and tempirarily ignored it, instead carefully surveying the rest room. The room was clean and tidy with no signs of struggle. In the corner were some uneaten clean food. On the adjacent table were glass bottles, test tubes, a microscope, and other tools and instruments, as well as some paper documents, notebooks, and a mobile phone. The mobile phone was out of power, so Wang Tao found a charger, charged the phone, and then opened the notebook. April 4th. I was invited by Shuize County First Hospital on April 1st to research a rare case. As my high school daughter was a bit weary of studying, I brought her with me. But I did not expect that on April 4th, a new virus similar to rabies suddenly had a massive outbreak, turning infected humans into the biting zombies seen in movies¡­ April 5th. Sadly, my daughter was bitten by an infected person. Although she has not mutated for the time being, various examples indicate that she will definitely mutate, with no luck for the better. As an expert with some research on viruses, I didn¡¯t want my daughter to die like this. I wanted to try and see if I could develop a cure. April 6th. Regrettably, one day was too short a time, and I was powerless to help, as my daughter turned into a zombie. But I didn¡¯t want to give up, I was still human and I still had time. April 8th. I had no leads on the cure, but it seemed I had made a little discovery about the zombie virus, which might also be a direction? April 13th. I am a failure. April 18th. With limited tools, the research progressed very slowly. But I had some results. I risked going outside to get some zombie virus and found out that these zombie viruses are actually different. April 20th. I synthesized the latest type of zombie virus. I have a premonition that if I inject this zombie virus into myself, there¡¯s a possibility I might become the cure. Of course, there¡¯s a greater chance that I turn into a terrifying zombie. April 21st. I decided to inject myself with the virus. If you are reading this diary¡­ then it means I failed. Please do me a favor¡ªkill my daughter. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to doit, thank you. Chapter 270 - Chapter 270: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion 1 Chapter 270: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion 1 Ding-dong¡ª Once the mobile phone had charged, it automatically powered on. The screensaver displayed a young father, taking a selfie with his adorable daughter in his arms. Wang Tao looked at this picture and fell into a brief silence. Han Rui also finished the diary and let out a sigh. Clearly, the Level 2 Zombie that Wang Tao had just killed was likely the protagonist of this diary. And the little zombie in the room was his daughter. Wang Tao glanced at the stack of neatly organized paper documents beside him. These were the expert¡¯s research findings on the zombie virus. There was a sentence added above¡ª ¡°These are mostly useless things; if you find any use for them, then just take them. Consider it¡­ as my thanks to you.¡± Wang Tao collected all the documents, knowing that he himself couldn¡¯t understand or use them, but maybe someone else could. As for the little girl zombie¡­ it was already beyond saving. Wang Tao picked up the hand crossbow and fired an arrow straight into its glabella. Whiz¡ª [-500] [0/500] This was probably the most dignified way to die for a zombie. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Huh?¡± The small package dropped by the little zombie turned out to be a set of clothing. (Received: Red and White JK Uniform Set xl] What¡¯s there to say, the clothes were indeed quite pretty. But for now, they were useless. Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay much attention to it and said to Han Rui: ¡°It seems there¡¯s no direct passage to the outside from here. Let¡¯s wait a while and rest up. I guess those Mad Demon Zombies won¡¯t stay here for long¡­¡± They had already searched the third sublevel, which was very safe. ¡°Okay.¡± Han Rui nodded wearily. She had just defended against so many zombies by herself and had used all her strength to activate Perception, which was very draining on her energy and mana. Wang Tao sat down carelessly and handed a few bottles of nutrient fluid to Han Rui. After she took them, she sat down next to Wang Tao, leaned her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes for a brief rest. Wang Tao was tired too, but not sleepy; he hadn¡¯t had time to inspect his spoils of war closely yet. He took out a Red Crystal Core, which he had extracted from the skull of a Green-eyed Zombie. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡ö Healing Light] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side Effects: First fusion reduces HP by 5,000, subsequent fusions reduce HP by 1,000)] [Healing Light: Consumes energy to create a healing energy field which restores HP every second within its range.] Previously, when Wang Tao saw that Green-eyed Zombie release the green light circle, he thought it was some kind of attacking ability and got quite a shock. He never expected it to be a healing ability, and moreover, an area-of-effect healing ability! Such a divine skill! No wonder he and Han Rui hadn¡¯t been harmed at all; no wonder he felt the zombie wasn¡¯t that strong. It turned out to be a healer dad zombie¡­ The side effects of this ability were considerable though¡ªthe first fusion would directly reduce his HP by 5,000! Their HP maxed out at 4,999, so if they were to fuse with it, they would likely die on the spot, even owing an extra point of blood. Of course, they couldn¡¯t fuse with it now since it was a Level 2 Crystal Core. But even after becoming Level Two and having increased HP, the side effect of losing 5,000 HP at once was too severe. HP was linked to one¡¯s life force, and in a sense, the loss equated to losing life! Generally speaking, the stronger the side effects, the stronger the ability. With such significant side effects, one could imagine how powerful the healing effect must be! Unfortunately, Wang Tao only had this one Crystal Core and couldn¡¯t eliminate the side effects through synthesis¡­ Wang Tao put away the Crystal Core and took out a pair of green eyes. After storing them in his Space Backpack, all traces of blood on them disappeared. These green eyes didn¡¯t have the horror associated with real human eyeballs. Instead, they were as clear and gleaming as jade, quite beautiful to look at. [Night Vision Eyes: These eyes possess a certain level of Night Vision Ability and can be merged with humans. After fusion: Night Vision Ability +1, Vision +1 (Note: Fusing a single eye produces no effect.)] Merge? Could it be like fusing a Zombie Core, putting it directly in the mouth? Wang Tao frowned slightly but was also somewhat eager to try. The eye was clean, free of any blood or debris¡­ After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao placed it in his mouth. He would try it out and if it didn¡¯t work, no harm done. As soon as he put the two eyes in his mouth, they seemed to turn into gas, the same sensation as when fusing a Crystal Core. However, unlike the Crystal Core Energy which spread throughout his limbs, these headed straight for his eyes. ¡°Hiss-¡± Wang Tao suddenly shuddered; his eyes felt incredibly cool and the fatigue vanished, leaving a very comfortable sensation. His vision also improved, now able to see fine details of scratches on the wooden table leg! Regarding the Night Vision ability, since the room had lights on and was quite bright, he couldn¡¯t discern that effect for now. ¡°Hmm-¡± Just as Han Rui had fallen asleep leaning on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder, his sudden movement jolted her awake. ¡°What¡¯s¡ªah!¡± In her drowsy state, Han Rui turned her head towards Wang Tao; upon seeing clearly, she bolted upright and then backed herself against the door, a look of terror on her face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao touched his face, puzzled. Han Rui, relieved to hear Wang Tao speaking and temporarily easing up, pointed shakily at his eyes and said: ¡°Your, your eyes¡­ they¡¯re green!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao was bemused; he grabbed the phone from the table and looked at the dark screen. Chapter 271 - Chapter 271: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion_2 Chapter 271: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion_2 ¡°Fuck!¡± Seeing those eyes in the screen reflection that looked like green led lights, Wang Tao felt as if ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart. Where were his big black eyes? How did they turn into something like the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s? How was he going to face people now?Wouldn¡¯t survivors attack him mistaking him for a zombie? ¡°Are, are you okay?¡± Han Rui approached Wang Tao with some caution, poking his arm. ¡°I¡­ should be fine¡­¡± Wang Tao scratched his head. However, when he thought about his eyes, he saw the green color slowly fading away, returning to their normal black. ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao felt amazed. He tried several times and saw that his eyes were like flickering bulbs, switching between black and green. After Han Rui confirmed that Wang Tao really was okay, she let down her guard and then came to sit opposite Wang Tao, staring curiously at his eyes. ¡°Your eyes, how did they turn like this? And¡­ they actually look quite nice¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He briefly described the zombie eyeball incident. ¡°Eh? That can merge too¡­¡± Han Rui was very surprised. ¡°Right, turn off the lights, I want to try if I have night vision.¡± Han Rui hurriedly shut off all the lights in the resting room. Wang Tao then felt darkness envelop him, but he could still clearly see the surroundings and Han Rui. ¡°Your eyes, they¡¯re still a bit scary in the dark¡­¡± Han Rui said weakly. ¡°Haha, I really do have night vision!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily, he didn¡¯t care whether it was scary or not, after all, it was others getting frightened, not himself. Then he studied it carefully and found that he could only see clearer and have night vision abilities when his eyes were green. Once they turned black again, they were his normal eyes. And when his eyes were green, he could adjust them. The brighter the eyes, the clearer the view and the stronger the night vision. If the eyes were only faintly green, like wearing green-colored contacts, it would only slightly improve his vision compared to normal eyes, and his night vision ability would also decrease a lot, but he still retained some night vision. This was pretty good; he didn¡¯t have to worry about being mistaken for a zombie and chased after. Moreover, activating the green eyes didn¡¯t consume Mana. Wang Tao guessed it might consume spirit or physical strength. However, after merging with these eyes, his spirit and physical strength were in excellent condition, so he couldn¡¯t test this. Han Rui looked at Wang Tao¡¯s eyes with a bit of envy. If Wang Tao just slightly activated this ability, his eyes looked quite nice¡­ Of course, what mattered wasn¡¯t how nice they looked but rather the improved vision and night vision ability, which was a strong ability in a post-apocalyptic world! ¡°Stop staring at me, and get some rest.¡± Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Han Rui¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment, and then she continued leaning on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. Once Wang Tao got the hang of operating his green eyes, he looked at his attributes. HP and Mana hadn¡¯t changed at all; there were no extra internal impurities or skills. However, he had one additional Hidden Attribute! [Hidden Attribute: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision] ¡°Hidden Attribute? I can actually get another one¡­¡± If compared to playing games, Abilities would be like learned skills, and Hidden Attributes would be like innate talents. He thought Hidden Attributes couldn¡¯t be acquired later on, but it turned out they could¡­ Although somewhat puzzled, this was good news. Since the night vision ability didn¡¯t use Mana, it was practically his natural talent. Quite nice! Moreover, these green eyes were just one of the rewards Wang Tao got from killing the Green-eyed Zombie! The Green-eyed Zombie itself dropped the loot of a Healing Light Crystal Core and green eye orbs¡ªoh right, and a Zombie Culture Fluid that could be stored in a Space Backpack! [Zombie Culture Fluid: Can enhance the strength of zombies] Seeing this item, Wang Tao furrowed his brows deeply. He had a total of 1000 units of Zombie Culture Fluid, but¡­ what should he do with it? Enhancing the power of zombies was just asking for trouble for humans! And what was the extent of the enhancement? Would an Ordinary Zombie turn into an Elite Zombie, or could a Level 1 Zombie transform into a Level 2 Zombie? Wang Tao figured it was probably the former since there were indeed many Elite Zombies around the hospital, but only one Level 2 Zombie¡­ If it really had this effect, could zombies be raised like pigs and slaughtered at an opportune time? But the risk was too high! As everyone knows, in various works of fiction, those who ¡°raise monsters¡± always end up getting bitten back! So Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to use this thing. Maybe after growing stronger, he could experiment, but definitely not now. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry! Wang Tao also figured out why all those zombies just stood dumbly in front of the stairwell door, why there were so many zombies beneath the Green-eyed Zombie, and why there were so many Elite Zombies in the hospital! It was all because of the Zombie Culture Fluid inside the Green-eyed Zombie! Wang Tao felt somewhat fortunate that he had collected all the Zombie Culture Fluid. Otherwise, if the Mad Demon Zombies outside got it, there was no telling what kind of monster would be bred! Wang Tao continued to check the loot in his Space Backpack. The Green-eyed Zombie had dropped two packages in total. The first was a Crystal Core package, containing a total of 3 Level 2 Crystal Cores. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (No side effects)] Chapter 272 - Chapter 272: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion_3 Chapter 272: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion_3 [Ascension: After fusion, you can randomly upgrade one of the already merged abilities to Level Two] First was the Ascension Crystal Core, which was exactly what Wang Tao needed the most! It was just that this Crystal Core was of excellent quality. Although the fusion probability exceeded so0/0, itwas stilla bit l¡ãw at 60%¡­ However, Wang Tao felt that his luck should be pretty good today, there shouldn¡¯t be a failure, right? Without much hesitation, Wang Tao directly placed the Ascension Crystal Core into his mouth. In an instant, a warm sensation flooded his entire body. Success! Wang Tao was overjoyed, he knew his luck was not bad today! A moment later, Wang Tao hurriedly checked his attributes. His mana limit increased by 200, reaching 4600, and internal impurity temporarily still showed 1%. Meanwhile, his Self-healing Ability had ascended to Level Two! Wang Tao quickly tried it out, similar to Toughness, the mana consumption for Self-healing rose from 1 point per second to 5 points. The consumption had increased fivefold, but the effect had certainly improved a lot. Since Wang Tao had full HP at the moment, he couldn¡¯t test this temporarily. Wang Tao then turned his eyes towards the other Crystal Core burst out by the Green-eyed Zombie. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (No side effects)] [Omnipotent: After fusion, you can randomly add +1 to an already merged ability, with a cap increase of +10] This was a Level Two Omnipotent Crystal Core. Despite being of ordinary quality, Wang Tao was still excited. Because didn¡¯t this mean that a zombie of the same level could also burst out an Omnipotent Crystal Core of the same level? Wang Tao previously thought that Level Two Zombies could only burst out Level One Omnipotent Crystal Cores. But then again, even if they could burst out such cores, the conditions were probably quite harsh. After all, a Level Two Zombie had 5000 HP, and this Green-eyed Zombie had 15000 HP, much more than an ordinary Level Two Zombie- Then came the last Crystal Core. [Level Two Crystal Core ¨C Self-Cleansing] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Impurity: 45% (No side effects)] [Self-Cleansing: Has the opportunity to purify the ordinary zombie virus within oneself once a week] ¡°Holy shit!¡± Seeing this Crystal Core, Wang Tao almost exclaimed out loud. Purifying his zombie virus? Although it could only be used once a week, this was definitely a divine skill! After all, the zombie virus was currently an unsolved existence! Even using an inhibitor could only temporarily suppress it, and sooner or later one would become a zombie again¡­ The only regret Wang Tao felt was that this ability could only be used on himself; if it could be used on others, it would be a truly godlike skill! However, Wang Tao looked closely again; the description stated ¡°ordinary zombie virus,¡± so just how extensive was this ¡°ordinary¡±? It surely couldn t be just regular zombies, right? After all, it was also a Level Two Crystal Core. If it could only purify the virus of ordinary zombies, that would be somewhat underwhelming¡­ Next came the second package. The contents of this package were potions, with a total of six bottles, five of which were the same. Upon seeing the first potion bottle, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. [Purification Agent (Experimental) xi] [Purification Agent (Experimental): When used on zombies that have been infected and mutated for no more than three days, there is a certain probability to purify the virus within them, as well as a certain probability to cause spontaneous combustion. Ineffective on zombies infected and mutated for over three days (Note: This potion is an experimental version and has certain unknown side effects.)] Purification Potion?! This was an evolution of the zombie virus¡ªno, this was no longer just a simple purification of the zombie virus. This was about turning zombies back into humans! However, the conditions were very strict; it had to be used on zombies that had been infected and mutated for no more than three days, and the probability¡­ a certain probability? What was that amount? The chances were probably not high, otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be put that way. It seemed that the Purification Potion could only be used as an emergency option, with a large probability of completely purifying the subject. As for the unknown side effects, it didn¡¯t matter. After all, if it could turn a zombie back into a person, who cared about side effects. Wang Tao unconsciously glanced at the small zombie next to him. If Wang Tao had arrived earlier, he might have had a chance to try saving her. But it had been almost three months now, and even with the Purification Potion, there was no chance of turning back into a human. Wang Tao suddenly thought of another question: if he directly fed this Purification Potion to zombies, would it kill them? But the problem remained the same, whether it was rescuing or killing zombies, it was all down to a certain probability, and that ¡°certain probability¡± was very ambiguous¡­ Moreover, it was ineffective on zombies that had been mutated for more than three days. Otherwise, Wang Tao would have really liked to use it on the Gorilla Zombie. If there was a way to feed it to its mouth, whether it turned back into a human or spontaneously combusted, both outcomes would be acceptable. Unfortunately, the conditions did not allow it¡­ Then came the second potion bottle. [Cleansing Potion x5] [Cleansing Potion: Can clear 1% of internal impurity] ¡°Clear impurities?!¡± Seeing this potion, Wang Tao was even more excited than when he saw the Purification Potion. The Purification Potion was powerful but of little use to him for the time being. But this Cleansing Potion was different¡ªit could clear internal impurities! Wang Tao had over 1% of impurity in his body now, and after fusing with an Ascension Crystal Core today, it was precisely 1.65%! Theoretically speaking, these impurities didn¡¯t seem to pose any significant issue to him, but Wang Tao was a perfectionist and didn¡¯t want the option of impurity to appear in his attributes. Also, he wasn¡¯t sure if it was psychological, but he always felt somewhat uncomfortable after acquiring internal impurities, as if something was pressing down on him. So if there was a chance, he would definitely want to clear these internal impurities. Now, that opportunity had arrived! Five bottles of Cleansing Potion, each capable of clearing 1% of impurity, meant a total of 5% could be cleared! Wang Tao felt an urge to use them immediately. Nevertheless, he planned to wait a bit longer, as these impurities weren¡¯t currently affecting his strength, and he was still short one Ascension Crystal Core. After the fusion was complete and he ascended to Level Two, he would see if there were any changes in himself, and then it wouldn¡¯t be too late to use the Cleansing Potion. Chapter 273 - Chapter 273: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival_l Chapter 273: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival_l ¡°The Mad Demon Zombies outside haven¡¯t left yet¡­¡± At the entrance of the negative third floor, Han Rui pressed her ear to the door to use her Perception, then spoke somewhat helplessly. She had just slept for two hours, yet the Mad Demon Zombies outside still hadn¡¯t left. ¡°It¡¯s probably because of the body of that Green-eyed Zombie¡­¡± Wang Tao said, frowning. The Zombie Culture Fluid inside the Green-eyed Zombies exerted a huge attraction on zombies. Although Wang Tao had taken all the culture fluid, the zombie¡¯s body was still there. Since the Green-eyed Zombie could produce the culture fluid, its body might also be somewhat different¡­ ¡°If these Mad Demon Zombies don¡¯t leave, we won¡¯t be able to get out¡­¡± Han Rui felt uncomfortable. Although there was no danger on the negative third floor, staying here indefinitely wasn¡¯t a solution. The nutrient solution that Wang Tao had would run out eventually, then what would they do? ¡°Now¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at his watch, ¡°it¡¯s already dark. Let¡¯s wait until tomorrow morning. If they¡¯re still not gone by then, we can try to see if we can go through the elevator shaft.¡± To enter the negative third floor, there were only three entrances, two stairwells, and one elevator. One stairwell had already been blocked, and that one was definitely impassable. The other stairwell was completely surrounded by Mad Demon Zombies, so that wasn¡¯t an option either. So, they had to think of a way to use the elevator shaft. The elevator was broken and unusable, and it also had a special lock. But they should be able to pry it open and climb up through the shaft. However, now that it was dark, even if they could get out, there was no need to do so at this time. Better to wait until daylight. The two returned to the break room, where the little zombie had already been dealt with by Han Rui and moved to the morgue. There was only one bed, and after Wang Tao lay down on it, Han Rui naturally snuggled into his arms. Wang Tao held her close and fell asleep. Boom¡ª Wang Tao thought he heard an explosion in the distance. He sat up instantly, with a hint of green shimmering in his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Han Rui, sensing Wang Tao¡¯s movement, thought a zombie had come and quickly grabbed the sniper crossbow by the bed while releasing her Perception, but she didn¡¯t perceive any zombies. ¡°I thought I heard an explosion¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat unsure if it was an illusion, but he chose to believe it was real. He looked at his watch, which showed it was six in the morning, and daylight had come. So he quickly went with Han Rui to the doors leading to the second floor. ¡°There are a lot fewer Mad Demon Zombies outside! Within the range of my Perception, at least two-thirds are gone!¡± Han Rui was somewhat surprised. But she frowned and said: ¡°Still, even with only one-third left, that¡¯s a lot¡­ We might not be able to break through.¡± A single Mad Demon Zombie wasn¡¯t frightening, but if they were ensnared by so many, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to make it. Just a scratch or any small wound was big trouble. ¡°Seems we can only go through the elevator shaft.¡± The two came to the elevator shaft and, after some effort, managed to pry open the elevator door. Naturally, they didn¡¯t dare make too much noise, to avoid alerting the Mad Demon Zombies on the negative second floor. Then Wang Tao¡¯s pupils turned green, and he peered inside. The elevator seemed to be stuck between the third and fourth floors, and it was unclear how it got stuck. Wang Tao observed for a while and, once sure it wouldn¡¯t suddenly fall, closed the elevator door on the negative third floor, then started climbing up with Han Rui. Since this was still a suitable refuge, closing the door to prevent zombies from entering also served to leave behind a temporary camp. Both of their physical strengths were extraordinary, so climbing the elevator shaft was naturally no problem. Han Rui kept her Perception active throughout the climb. There were lots of zombies at the elevator entrance on the negative second floor, and quite a few on the negative first floor as well, but there were no zombies at the elevator entrance on the ground floor. After they carefully pried open the elevator door on the first floor, the sunlight streamed in, causing both of them to squint their eyes reflexively. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Once they were sure it was safe, Wang Tao and Han Rui ran out of the hospital. ¡°So many traces of zombie activity¡­¡± There were many abandoned vehicles inside the hospital, and a prominent trail was left when a large number of zombies passed through, moving these vehicles. Wang Tao had thought these trails were made by the Mad Demon Zombies from the clinic building running towards the inpatient department, but after a closer look, he realized: these were the trails of a large number of zombies running outside¡­ Earlier, when Wang Tao heard from Han Rui that two-thirds of the Mad Demon Zombies from the negative second floor were gone, he thought they had returned to the clinic building. But now it seemed that these Mad Demon Zombies had gone out! Could it be that something major happened outside that attracted those Mad Demons away? Recalling the faint explosion he heard in the morning, a sinking feeling suddenly hit Wang Tao. Those Mad Demon Zombies, couldn¡¯t have gone to the base, could they? After all, it seemed that only the base was capable of creating explosions¡­ Of course, it couldn¡¯t be ruled out that it was the Gorilla zombies causing Destruction! ¡°Move fast!¡± The electric off-road vehicle was parked a little distance from the hospital to prevent the hospital¡¯s zombies from accidentally damaging the car. When they got back to the vehicle, it was clearly covered in more mud than before, as if many feet had trampled over it. But the car was covered with steel plates on the outside, so it wasn¡¯t much of an issue. Wang Tao drove, and Han Rui sat in the passenger seat helping him sense the zombies around them. Humming- The electric motor of the off-road vehicle made a light sound as it sped towards the base. The closer they got to the base, the grimmer Wang Tao¡¯s expression became. The obvious signs of a large number of zombies passing through the road were too apparent; they were most likely heading to the base! Chapter 274 - Chapter 274: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival_2 Chapter 274: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival_2 Han Rui¡¯s expression grew anxious when she realized what was happening. ¡°I hope the base is okay!¡± Soon, they both heard faint explosions and the rat-tat-tat of gunfire! ¡°It must be the base!¡± This time there was no doubt-after all, only the base had rifles! Perhaps the zombies on the road were lured away by the noise; with fewer of them as obstacles, Wang Tao was able to pick up a little more speed in the car. Han Rui tried to contact the base with the walkie-talkie, but to no avail. ¡°Roar ¡± However, as they approached the base, both Wang Tao and Han Rui¡¯s faces changed! ¡°That sound¡­ a gorilla zombie? Are we that unlucky? A moment later, as they laid eyes on the base courtyard wall, they also spotted a huge figure inside the base! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao cursed softly and accelerated once more, heading straight for the main gate. The solid main gate of the base had vanished. Countless ordinary zombies and mad demon zombies flooded in. Among them, the largest figure swung its fists, throwing everything, buildings and zombies alike, through the air! However, it did not continue to advance because bullets occasionally hit its body, stopping it in its tracks. Wang Tao and Han Rui had grim expressions, but neither dared to rush in recklessly. Parking the car not far off, they tried the walkie-talkies again. This time Wang Tao¡¯s received a response. ¡°This is Wang Tao, this is Wang Tao, what¡¯s your situation! ¡°Wang Tao? You¡¯re finally back!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s relieved voice rang from the walkie-talkie. ¡°Good to know you¡¯re still alive! What¡¯s the situation inside the base?¡± Wei Zhenguo was still alive, so there must be some organized resistance. ¡°Everyone¡¯s in the main building! The Security Army is holding back the gorilla zombie with guns for now, but we¡¯re probably running out of bullets¡­¡± Hearing the rat-tat-tat of gunfire not far away, Wang Tao felt somewhat reassured. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m coming!¡± Wang Tao put down the walkie-talkie and then looked at Han Rui in the passenger seat. ¡°I¡¯m going to charge in. Are you coming with me or are you leaving? I won¡¯t stop you if you want to go.¡± At these words, Han Rui¡¯s brows shot up. ¡°What do you take me for? I would never run away alone!¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao laughed and patted Han Rui¡¯s shoulder, pleased he had not misjudged her. Then he asked Wei Zhenguo which area of the base was weakest under the zombies¡¯ attack, planning to charge in through that area. Wang Tao was confident; after all, having merged with one ascension crystal core his strength had greatly improved. Against the gorilla zombie, he wasn¡¯t entirely without a fighting chance. If worse came to worst, he could always use his rush ability to escape. Wei Zhenguo mentioned that he had already prepared an escape route. They were all in the main building now, with zombies crowding beneath it. The survivors couldn¡¯t go out, and the zombies couldn¡¯t come in. However, there was a steel cable on the roof of the main building, extending to the roof of the administrative building, which had far fewer zombies underneath. Wang Tao could head to the administrative building and then cross from its rooftop to the main building using the steel cable! The administrative building was located in the northeast part of the base. Wang Tao immediately drove the car there and then got out with Han Rui. They were both powerful and in this situation, it was more convenient to proceed on foot than by car. ¡°If there are too many zombies inside later, use your rush ability to carry me,¡± Wang Tao said. Wang Tao¡¯s rush was part of his suit ability, limited by a cooling time of one hour, so it would be best to save it for a crucial moment. Having Han Rui with him, she could carry him using her rush ability when needed. ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui nodded. The two climbed over the wall and into the base. just like Wei Zhenguo had said, there weren¡¯t many zombies here, but below the main building was a veritable mountain of corpses! Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to waste time with these zombies, as it would only draw more of them, which would not be good. He had Han Rui rush him forward, sprinting more than thirty meters in an instant. All the zombies in their path were shattered! The appearance of the two gradually attracted the attention of some zombies nearby. These zombies began to move towards them, with several mad demon zombies running over crazily. Wang Tao took out his firefighter axe and swung it through the air. A shockwave swept out, instantly killing all the zombies in the area and clearing a large open space. The two charged straight into the administrative building and quickly climbed to the rooftop. There was a thick steel cable on the rooftop, and they both started climbing towards the main building along it. Some zombies noticed Wang Tao and Han Rui in the air above, making ¡°ge ge¡± growls, but they were out of reach and could only watch in frustration. The two soon reached the roof of the main building. They could see it was encircled by zombies, but with steel plates, spikes, and barbed wire around the outside, these barriers blocked the zombies¡¯ path. Moreover, some ability users were attacking the zombies¡­ For the moment, not even the mad demon zombies could break through. The gorilla zombie might have been able to destroy these defenses, but it was temporarily obstructed by the firepower of the Security Army. Quickly, the two landed on the rooftop of the main building. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± The moment Wang Tao landed, he saw Ding Yuqin throwing herself into his arms. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you¡¯re alright, sister-in-law.¡± Wang Tao hugged Ding Yuqin, patted herback, and then released her to nod at Li Qiu Yu standing beside her. Wei Zhenguo and several others also came over, their faces smeared with blood, their HP bars not full. Chapter 275 - Chapter 275: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival—3 Chapter 275: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival¡ª3 ¡°Wang Tao, Han Rui, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Seeing Wei Zhenguo and the others arrived, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the base¡¯s strongest combatants were here, there was still a chance of a counterattack. ¡°What¡¯s the specific situation?¡± ¡°Last night, the gorilla zombie suddenly passed by the base, and then it found us¡­ Thankfully, we¡¯ve been on guard against it lately, and we¡¯ve prepared a lot of measures, so we weren¡¯t wiped out in one fell swoop. Still, we lost some people¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo sighed. ¡°Moreover, we can¡¯t stop the gorilla zombie; we can only use guns, but that attracts a lot of mad demon zombies. And our bullet supply is running low, I estimate we won¡¯t last much longer¡­ The group conversed as they descended the stairs. On the fourth floor, several Security Army members intermittently fired their rifles at the gorilla zombie. As soon as the gorilla zombie approached, bullets would greet its face. But the gorilla zombie¡¯s size was too large, and its defense was very tough; the bullets hitting its body did no good ¨C only headshots would cause HP loss. Yet its thick arms acted like shields, protecting its head, making it impossible for the bullets to hit! Now, the gorilla zombie was still at [9772/10000] HP ¨C these attacks had hardly caused any damage! The only thing to be grateful for now was that the gorilla zombie was dumb or, rather, unintelligent. It only knew how to destroy and smash things violently. Otherwise, if it had endured the bullets to tear down the defensive structures of the complex building, that would have been a real problem. However, with the current ammo supply, they wouldn¡¯t last much longer. Once the gunfire stopped, no one could stop the gorilla zombie! ¡°How much combat power do we still have?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Aside from us committee members, there are only twelve Security Army personnel and over thirty Ability Users left. Ordinary Hunters are of little help in this kind of fight¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head in pain. ¡°Ah? That many casualties?¡± Wang Tao was surprised; he knew there had been quite a few dead and injured, but he didn¡¯t expect even Ability Users and the Security Army to have suffered losses! ¡°Sigh, there was no helping it, the gorilla zombie¡¯s arrival was too sudden¡­ and it came in the middle of the night¡­¡± Ren Jie¡¯s face was filled with sorrow. ¡°Damn it! What do you say we do, Wang Tao? Are we going straight for the gorilla zombie or what? No matter what it is, you can count on me, Old Xiang, to not even frown!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke, his face red and neck bulging. Wang Tao saw that most of the others were also looking sad, anxious, and even somewhat desperate. He consoled them: ¡°Everyone don¡¯t panic. First, let me share some good news. Han Rui and I have dealt with the Level 2 Zombie at the hospital! That is to say, the gorilla zombie is now the most powerful one we have here. As long as we take care of it, our base will be completely safe!¡± Indeed, this news immediately lifted everyone¡¯s spirits. ¡°That¡¯s great! If we only have the gorilla zombie left as a Level 2 Zombie, then we have nothing to worry about, we can give it all we¡¯ve got! Xing Hongbin clenched his fists tightly. He wasn¡¯t afraid to die, but he was afraid that if he died, the base would be destroyed! Although the others didn¡¯t speak, their expressions were similar to Xiang Hongbin¡¯s. If only the gorilla zombie remained as a Level 2 Zombie, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much and could go all out! Everyone looked at Wang Tao. With him being the most powerful, if he wasn¡¯t confident, it was truly going to be tough for everyone¡­ Wang Tao gazed at the gorilla zombie outside, wildly bellowing, feeling quite challenged. Although he had successfully evolved three abilities to Level 2, he was still only Level 1 himself. Looking at the gorilla zombie that could withstand bullets, he really wasn¡¯t sure. If he could prepare as he did before hunting the Hooded Zombie, then he felt killing the gorilla zombie could be possible, especially with the significant power of the Self-Destruct Bomb. But with the current level of commotion, he felt if he dared to bring out a Self- Destruct Bomb, he would likely be the first to be blasted! Without the Self-Destruct Bomb, he¡¯d have to fight it out! ¡°Let¡¯s try, at least we¡¯ve got to see if we can cause it any damage¡­ Now, with his Shockwave, Toughness, and Self-healing all at Level 2 Ability, even if he couldn¡¯t beat the gorilla zombie, he should still have the capital for a fight. So long as his defenses were solid and he avoided infection, he¡¯d be fine. After a brief discussion, they decided to strike first! With Wang Tao previously absent, everyone had lacked confidence. But now that Wang Tao was back, like having a backbone, they all felt more assured! ¡°Han Rui Old Wei, Old Xiang, the four of us will lead the charge! Lu Gang, you stay here to snipe! Then get those two high-defense fatty brothers and the Mud Swamp Ability User here¡­¡± Since the base now had Ability Users, it was only natural to utilize them. Soon, the Ability Users chosen by Wang Tao were brought over by Ren Jie. ¡°Gentlemen, we have no way back. We must kill this gorilla zombie! Now, I need your help¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at the group of Ability Users with a solemn tone. Those who had become Ability Users were all selected by Ren Jie for their good character. They would certainly be scared, but when it came down to it, they¡¯d most likely stand up. As expected. After exchanging glances, fear visible in their eyes, they simultaneously proclaimed loudly: ¡°For the base, for our brothers and sisters, we will not back down!¡± ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. Anyone but ingrates would do, and Ren Jie¡¯s judgement was impeccable. ¡°Next, you¡¯ll need to cooperate with us. We don¡¯t need you to fight head-on, just to provide support¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained the plan to them, then let them say their farewells to friends and family. After all, going out this time¡­ they might not return. But without giving time for sentimentality, once everyone was ready, Wang Tao took the lead, climbing from the roof of the complex building across a steel cable to the administrative building, and the others immediately followed. Once everyone arrived at the administrative building, Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°Go!¡± Chapter 276 - Chapter 276: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack l Chapter 276: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack l The Gorilla zombie seemed to lack intelligence, especially compared to the Green-eyed Zombie, relying solely on brutal force for destruction without any adaptability. Of course, the Gorilla zombie was strong enough to break through any defense; no one could handle it. However, Wang Tao thought it was worth a try. ¡°Who among you is the fastest? Toss this Weakness Potion onto the Gorilla zombie later!¡± [Weakness Potion (small): Creatures contaminated by the Weakness Potion will have their attributes reduced by l%-20% (depending on the dosage) for 10 minutes, with a cooldown time of 12 minutes for the target] There weren¡¯t many of these Weakness Potions left for Wang Tao, but since he hadn¡¯t really used them, there were still a few bottles remaining. Previously, against the Hooded zombie, there was no opportunity to use it due to its high speed. Against the Green-eyed Zombie, it wasn¡¯t as strong as expected, so he was reluctant to use one¡­ ¡°Me! I¡¯m fast!¡± Hong Bin stepped forward without hesitation. This wasn¡¯t just about speed, but also about danger. To throw the Weakness Potion on the Gorilla zombie was extremely risky, requiring bravery. ¡°Good.¡± Wang Tao passed the Weakness Potion to Hong Bin. Wang Tao trusted Hong Bin, as he possessed the Rush Ability, which was useful for both offense and defense. Then Wang Tao took out Strength Potions, Defense Potions, Running Potions, Rejuvenation Potions, etc., and handed a bottle of each to everyone. After all, they were about to risk their lives, so they needed to be fully prepared. Finally, after ensuring everyone was equipped and armed, Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°Charge!¡± Wang Tao led the way down from the top of the administrative building, with the others following him. The Gorilla zombie¡¯s attention was still on the comprehensive building. It seemed annoyed by the bullets that kept hitting it and wanted to eat the humans with guns, but every time it attempted to move, the bullets would greet its face. When it stopped, the bullets stopped too. This left it completely angry, so it had no time to look elsewhere. However, the Mad Demon Zombies were different; many of them saw Wang Tao and his group cross over on the steel cables and were waiting for them at the base of the administrative building. Seeing the dense crowd of Mad Demon Zombies below, the two high-defense fatties and several Mud Swamp Ability Users felt their legs go weak. If they fell into the zombie horde, they would surely die! Luckily, Wang Tao made a direct jump from the third floor, landing amidst the swarm of Mad Demon Zombies. A circular Shockwave radiated from Wang Tao, spreading out in all directions. Splurch¡ª [-2000] [-2000] [-2000] [¡­] The zombies around Wang Tao were instantly cleared away! The others quickly followed suit. Wang Tao, Zhen Guo, and Hong Bin stood at the forefront. All three of them could use the Shockwave attack, which was quite effective against both the Mad Demon Zombies and Ordinary Zombies. After some effort, the group finally broke through. Before the other Mad Demon Zombies could catch up, Wang Tao quickly ordered: ¡°You guys go and prepare the Mud Swamp, and you two protect them!¡± He instructed the Mud Swamp Ability Users to prepare the Mud Swamp, intending to lure the Gorilla zombie there once they were ready. He then tasked the two sturdy, defensive fatties to protect the Mud Swamp Ability Users. If the Mud Swamp reached the size Wang Tao anticipated, there was a high chance it would take down the Gorilla zombie, success now hinged on its completion! ¡°Yes!¡± The group rushed to the previously agreed-upon location. Meanwhile, Wang Tao and Zhen Guo¡¯s group held back the Mad Demon Zombies that had just given chase. After killing off that wave of Mad Demon Zombies and catching a breath, Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°Let¡¯s go and see just how big the gap between us and the Gorilla zombie is¡­ Charge!¡± The group activated their Rush Abilities and charged straight toward the Gorilla zombie, with Han Rui leading the charge alongside Wang Tao since his Rush Ability had a cooldown period. Boom- Three Rushes were activated simultaneously, smashing through the zombies directly ahead. They were now only a little more than twenty meters from the Gorilla zombie. ¡°Roar-¡± Sensing someone approaching, the Gorilla zombie turned its head and let out an angry roar. It then lifted a huge chunk of concrete from the ground and hurled it at Hong Bin. ¡°Shit!¡± Hong Bin turned pale when he realized he was the first target. He had intentionally stayed a step behind the others, aiming to find an opportunity to throw the Weakness Potion, only to become the first attack target! Watching the rock fly toward him, Hong Bin executed a roll on the spot, allowing the rock to graze past him. Crash! The rock struck the zombies behind him, causing instant death and injury in its wake. His delay caused Hong Bin to separate from the group briefly. Gritting his teeth, he once again activated Rush, finally catching up with the rest. By then, Wang Tao and the others had reached the feet of the Gorilla zombie. At such close range, the Gorilla zombie no longer threw rocks but swung its enormous fists directly at them. Wang Tao agilely dodged the Gorilla zombie¡¯s fists and then delivered an ax chop into thin air towards it. A visible Shockwave hit the Gorilla zombie¡¯s head instantly. [-213] A number in the low two-hundreds floated up from the Gorilla zombie¡¯s head. At the sight of this number, Wang Tao¡¯s spirit was uplifted. ¡°This damage can hurt it!¡± His greatest fear was not being able to break through the Gorilla zombie¡¯s defenses. But as long as they could penetrate its armor, even wearing it down would prove fatal for it! Chapter 277 - Chapter 277: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack_2 Chapter 277: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack_2 The gorilla zombie had a total of 10,000 HP, and Wang Tao could hit over 200 in one hit; that was no small feat! Do it fifty times, and this gorilla zombie would surely drop dead! However, it was clear that it wouldn¡¯t be so easy for Wang Tao to successfully land fifty shockwaves on the gorilla zombie. It was only after being hit for so long here that the gorilla zombie had lost over two hundred HP. But when Wang Tao struck and dealt over two hundred damage, the gorilla zombie became thoroughly enraged. So the gorilla zombie abandoned all other targets and went on a frenzied rampage with its fists against Wang Tao! ¡°Crap!¡± Wang Tao had just lifted his axe halfway when he saw the gorilla zombie¡¯s movements and immediately abandoned his attack to turn tail and run. If he didn¡¯t run, he could probably knock off another couple hundred of the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP, but the gorilla zombie would definitely hammer him into a pancake. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The gorilla zombie charged towards Wang Tao with big strides, crushing any zombies in its path underfoot, unconcerned with whether they were of the same kind or not. It only wanted to kill Wang Tao. Even attacks from Wei Zhenguo and the others were ignored. Of course, the shockwave of Wei Zhenguo hitting the gorilla zombie only caused twenty to thirty points of damage, which was indeed too low. Although Wang Tao was also fast, he definitely couldn¡¯t outrun the gorilla zombie, whose one step was equivalent to many of his own. Therefore he could only turn left and right, evading the gorilla zombie with agile movements. He even managed to lookbackand send another shockwave at the zombie¡¯s head. [-224] [9160/10000] ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The gorilla zombie became even more enraged, stopping its pace and then letting out a loud roar with its head thrown back. ¡°Ugh-¡± Everyone around the gorilla zombie, including Wang Tao, suddenly felt a massive noise by their ears, dazing them with dizzy spells. Even the zombies swayed from side to side. [-149] ¡°Damn, a sonic attack?¡± Wang Tao had the strongest constitution and recovered his senses first. He lost over a hundred HP, but the HP loss was not the main point. The key was that during the momentary dizziness, he could barely control his own body, and it was lucky that the gorilla zombie was still some distance away; otherwise, he feared he would have been hammered to death directly. Moreover, his toughness ability seemed unable to block such attacks. After clearing the surrounding zombies with one swing of his axe, Wang Tao quickly looked towards the others, only to see Wei Zhenguo and others swaying, looking dazed and out of commission. Wang Tao was shocked. Bearing the stabbing pain in his head, he immediately used his shockwave ability, chopping several times around his companions. More than a dozen mad demon zombies that were about to attack them were instantly shattered by Wang Tao. A few seconds later, the others came to their senses, their faces pale and feeling nauseous as if they were about to vomit. ¡°It actually has an area-of-effect control ability¡­ Wei Zhenguo forced himself to keep his spirits up, looking very unwell. The gorilla zombie¡¯s roar had left everyone dizzy for several seconds. Had it not been for Wang Tao attacking the zombies attacking them just now, they might already have been pinned to the ground by a mass of zombies! ¡°When you see the gorilla zombie throw back its head and roar, cover your ears quickly!¡± Wang Tao immediately told everyone, not sure if it would work, but it was worth a try. He also reminded the people in the building, including Ren Jie, to plug their ears. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. When the gorilla zombie roared, it didn¡¯t make any attacking moves, and its entire head was exposed. It seemed to be one of its abilities. Unfortunately, Wang Tao also got dazed at the time and couldn¡¯t attack. Otherwise, that would have been a great opportunity. Never mind Wang Tao, even the people in the nearby comprehensive building seemed to have been stunned; the gunfire paused for a moment. After its roar, seeing that Wang Tao had been immobilized, the gorilla zombie immediately strode over to him. Luckily Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness was strong, allowing him to recover ahead of time. Seeing the gorilla zombie approach, Wang Tao immediately ran in the opposite direction, sliding under the gorilla zombie¡¯s legs. At the same time, Wang Tao unleashed another shockwave. But this time, he hit askew, striking the gorilla zombie¡¯s chest, only causing a few drops of HP to be lost. The gorilla zombie stretched out its huge and rotten hands, trying to grasp Wang Tao. But it didn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to actually run towards it; it reflexively continued to reach out, resulting in its hands swiping under its crotch. Then, with a thud, the gorilla zombie lost its balance and fell to the ground. ¡°Opportunity!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up as he raised his axe, ready to strike the back of the gorilla¡¯s head. But someone was quicker than him! A beam of white light flashed by, and Xiang Hongbin rushed towards the fallen gorilla zombie, smashing a weakness potion right onto its face. Smash¡ª The potion bottle shattered, and a colorless liquid instantly covered the face of the gorilla zombie. Wang Tao clearly saw a negative status appear beneath the HP bar of the gorilla zombie. [Weakness: All attributes reduced by 20%, remaining duration: 9 minutes 59 seconds] A hit. And it¡¯s the maximum effect of weakness, 20%! ¡°Well done!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed. His next axe blow finally came thundering down. [-301] The damage had indeed increased! Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui also called in their attacks. [-431 [-32] However, even weakened, their attacks still didn¡¯t deal much damage against the gorilla zombie. The gap between Level 1 and Level Two was still too big! ¡°Roar!¡± The gorilla zombie let out an angry roar, quickly got up, and then went on a wild rampage with its fists around it. Chapter 278 - Chapter 278: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack_3 Chapter 278: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack_3 Wang Tao and his group had already retreated, and a dozen mad demon zombies were directly smashed into a pulp by the gorilla zombie. ¡°Such a tough one!¡± Wang Tao looked at the HP bar above the gorilla zombie¡¯s head, which had hardly decreased, took a deep breath, and then six surgical knives appeared in his hand. At that moment, a green light flashed in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Whoosh¡ª The six surgical knives flew toward the gorilla zombie1 s face at the same time. Although the gorilla zombie didn¡¯t seem to see Wang Tao¡¯s attack, it still instinctively raised its hand. [-12] [-141 [-11] [-15] [-171 [-1229] Five of the surgical knives were blocked, but one of them plunged into the gorilla zombie¡¯s wide open mouth. Wang Tao was under the gorilla zombie, and from his angle, the thrown knives flew upwards at a slant. So, this knife had probably penetrated deeply, directly chopping off one-tenth of the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP in one go! Before Wang Tao could feel elated, he saw the gorilla zombie let out another loud roar. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± However, this time it wasn¡¯t dizziness, but its HP bar suddenly started to rise. [+30] [+30] [+30] [¡­] ¡°Damn, is this the self-healing power?¡± Seeing the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP increase by 30 every second, Wang Tao felt like cursing aloud. The gorilla zombie could regenerate blood! How was he supposed to fight that? It was hard enough to take down more than twenty percent of the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP; he estimated that it could fully recover in less than two minutes. However, if it really was the self-healing power, it could be interrupted! Wang Tao had tried before; sudden attacks could easily disrupt the healing. Of course, the healing could be initiated again, but zombies weren¡¯t likely to be very smart¡­ With that thought, Wang Tao hardened his resolve, and suddenly, an object shaped like a heart appeared in his hand and he threw it at the feet of the gorilla zombie! As he threw it, he immediately grabbed two mad demon zombies and used them as shields in front of himself. Boom¡ª A deafening explosion followed, and several mad demon zombies were blown to bits. Wang Tao was also knocked over by the blast wave of the explosion. The scene was too noisy! His original plan was to throw the self-destruct bomb at the feet of the gorilla zombie. But the moment he took the bomb out of the space, it began to swell, and it exploded before reaching the gorilla zombie¡¯s feet! Fortunately, Wang Tao had the foresight to grab a couple of zombies as shields; otherwise, he might have been injured. What pleased Wang Tao, though, was that even though the self-destruct bomb didn¡¯t cause much harm to the gorilla zombie, the impact had made the creature stagger slightly, and its healing effect disappeared! ¡°It really is the self-healing power!¡± in just that short time, the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP had recovered to nine thousand. It was a good thing that the others couldn¡¯t see the HP bar; otherwise, they might have lost all hope. After the explosion, the gorilla zombie immediately spotted the culprit, Wang Tao. It ran towards him again, almost as if one could see the anger on its face. Moreover, this time it was clear that the gorilla zombie seemed to have become faster, which greatly increased the pressure on Wang Tao. However, suddenly, just as the gorilla zombie was about to raise its fist again to smash Wang Tao, a loud gunshot rang out. Bang¡ª [HP -3394] [HP 57II/IOOOO] The Gorilla zombie took a step back directly. ¡°Fuck!¡± When Wang Tao saw that damage number pop up from the Gorilla zombie¡¯s head, he couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in surprise. He quickly turned around and saw the dark barrel of a gun protruding from the rooftop of the comprehensive building. ¡°It¡¯s Lu Gang! He¡¯s using a 12.7 caliber anti-material sniper rifle!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Damn¡­ you guys still have this good stuff? Why didn¡¯t you use it earlier!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°We didn¡¯t have a chance before! This thing makes too much noise, easily attracting Mad Demon Zombies, but now¡­ the Mad Demon Zombies and the Gorilla zombies have all been drawn here, so it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Wei Zhenguo¡¯s voice was tinged with some helplessness, as he would have preferred never having to use that gun. The Gorilla zombie was hit hard by that shot, and Wang Tao could clearly see that half of its face was gone! ¡°We¡¯ll draw the zombies¡¯ attention, to create opportunities for Lu Gang!¡± Wang Tao immediately said. He had originally thought he was the main offensive force, but it turned out to be Lu Gang. However, this was good news. After all, he could at most hit the Gorilla zombie for around three hundred HP, while Lu Gang¡¯s shot could inflict more than three thousand HP! If Lu Gang could get a few more accurate shots, wouldn¡¯t the Gorilla zombie be handled! But imagination is beautiful, reality is cruel. Just as Wang Tao was thinking whether Lu Gang could take down the Gorilla zombie with a few more shots, the Gorilla zombie suddenly raised its arms to cover its head and then charged towards the comprehensive building! Neither Wang Tao and his companions¡¯ attacks nor the other Security Army¡¯s shootings could stop the Gorilla zombie in the slightest. ¡°This is bad!¡± Wang Tao cursed inwardly. Watching the Gorilla zombie charge at the building as if it intended to knock it down, Wang Tao and the others outside shouted simultaneously: ¡°Quick, stop the Gorilla zombie!¡± Shua- Xiang Hongbin, Wei Zhenguo, and Han Rui, all three of them, rushed from the side at the same time, aiming straight for the Gorilla zombie! Bang- Because the Gorilla zombie didn¡¯t bother with the trio this time, their rush hit the Gorilla zombie from the left simultaneously. Facing the trio¡¯s assault, the Gorilla zombie, without actively resisting, was directly knocked away! However, before hitting the ground, it suddenly tilted its head skyward and opened its mouth wide. ¡°Roar ¡± This was a roar even louder than before, so much so that ripples visible to the naked eye spread all around! Even though Wang Tao had instinctively covered his ears as soon as he saw the Gorilla zombie lift its head, he was still slammed with dizziness and his HP dropped by nearly a thousand! Blood seeped from the ears of Wei Zhenguo and the others, and they fell to the ground. But the most serious were the people inside the building; that single roar instantly silenced the gunfire and Ability attacks within. As for Lu Gang¡­ Wang Tao struggled to lift his head, and he heard Lu Gang¡¯s pained voice over the walkie-talkie. ¡°Cough, I feel¡­ I¡¯m gonna die¡­¡± Then there was silence. Looking at the now silent comprehensive building, Wang Tao cursed under his breath and quickly ran over to Wei Zhenguo and the others. They were all critically wounded, and if not treated in time, they might die! Chapter 279 - Chapter 279: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (Seeking Chapter 279: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month¡¯s End) 1 The roars of the gorilla zombie were not only powerful, but their range was also wide! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if anyone inside the building would be directly killed by this roar¡­ However, this was an indiscriminate attack, all other zombies around the gorilla zombie fell to the ground, and many were even shaken to death! No one in the complex was attacking the zombies outside anymore, but there were also no zombies attacking the complex, creating a sudden eerie silence at the scene. After the gorilla zombie let out that roar, it seemed to calm down; it turned around and began walking step by step toward Wang Tao, the only one still standing in the entire area. By that time, Wang Tao had already run over to where Wei Zhenguo and his two companions were. ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± The three of them were conscious, but they had been shaken by the sonic attack to the point where their ears and noses were bleeding, their minds were dazed, and they couldn¡¯t move. After recognizing it was Wang Tao, they tried to say something, but they could only cough without being able to speak. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to talk; he first took out a medical kit and treated each of them. Then he picked up Han Rui, held Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin in his arms, and ran straight into the distance! Since the gorilla zombie had knocked down a large group of zombies with its roar, Wang Tao was able to run away smoothly. The gorilla zombie watched Wang Tao run and immediately went on all fours, stepping on the bodies of nearby zombies as it chased after him. Carrying three people, naturally, Wang Tao¡¯s speed was greatly affected. Just as the gorilla zombie was about to catch up, he saw an open area ahead and immediately activated the Rush Ability built into his suit. His Rush Ability had a cooldown of one hour, so it could only be used at a critical moment. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao and the three people moved over thirty meters in an instant, putting them at a distance from the gorilla zombie once again. ¡°Wakeup!¡± As he ran, Wang Tao shouted at the three people on him. They didn¡¯t seem to have any serious external injuries, but they had all just lost over two thousand HP from the gorilla zombie¡¯s roar and probably had severe internal injuries. After running a bit more, just when the gorilla zombie was about to catch them, Xiang Hongbin finally started to recover. ¡°Let, let me down¡­¡± Without a second word, Wang Tao put down Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Can you use Rush?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xiang Hongbin took a deep breath and then grabbed Wang Tao. Whoosh¡ª The group rushed another thirty meters in an instant. ¡°Puh¡ª¡± Xiang Hongbin spit out a mouthful of blood. ¡°It feels awful, just like having a bomb explode right next to my ear¡­¡± By that time, Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui were both awake as well. Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said: ¡°Quick, run towards the place we planned before!¡± The plan that Wang Tao had in mind was to lure the gorilla zombie into the mud swamp. Although many unexpected things had happened along the way, the result would be the same. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone gritted their teeth and drank a Rejuvenation Potion. Then they took turns using Rush to carry each other. The Rejuvenation Potion could instantly restore a person¡¯s spirit and physical strength to full, but the side effect was weakness for one day. But at this point, if they didn¡¯t deal with the gorilla zombie, they probably wouldn¡¯t live to see the sun tomorrow, so who cared about feeling weak? Finally, after using three Rushes, the two of them finally reached the agreed place. This was a park with a large artificial lake inside. But now, the water in the artificial lake had disappeared, replaced by muddy sludge! A few nearly exhausted Mud Swamp Ability Users stood in the mud, continuously oozing sludge from their bodies. Nearby, two hefty men in thick armor were fending off zombie attacks for them. In the presence of water, the Mud Swamp Ability would be greatly strengthened. For safety, Wang Tao had specifically requested them to come here. Now, it seemed that the effect was indeed good. But it was uncertain if they could trap the gorilla zombie¡­ Thump, thump, thump¡ª The gorilla zombie was closing in fast, and the ground trembled slightly! Wang Tao immediately said to Wei Zhenguo and the others: ¡°You guys hide first; it¡¯s after me!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Without hesitation, the three hid behind some flower beds in the park. ¡°You hide too!¡± Wang Tao shouted to the two heavyset brothers, then sent several shockwaves their way, eliminating all surrounding zombies. ¡°Yes!¡± Soon, only Wang Tao and a few Mud Swamp Ability Users were left on the scene. ¡°Take me to the middle of the mud swamp!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Under normal circumstances, Mud Swamp Ability Users would not be trapped by the mud swamp as long as they were exuding mud from their bodies. They might not be able to move freely in the swamp, but at least they could move. Soon, these Mud Swamp Ability Users dragged Wang Tao to the center of the mud swamp. At that moment, the gorilla zombie finally arrived! ¡°Roar-¡± Seeing Wang Tao in the mud swamp, it let out a roar, not caring about its footing, and headed straight for Wang Tao. Splorch¡ª The gorilla zombie¡¯s foot landed in the mud swamp, causing its body to stagger, but it quickly stabilized by placing its other foot down more firmly. ¡°Good¡­¡± Wang Tao watched all this unfold. He didn¡¯t make any move but continued to wait for the gorilla zombie¡¯s approach. To prevent the gorilla zombie from launching another sonic attack, he had the Mud Swamp Ability Users block their ears. Blocking their ears wasn¡¯t much of a problem for Mud Swamp Ability Users, as they constantly had sludge flowing from their ears anyway. ¡°Heh, heh¡­¡± The gorilla zombie, in the mud swamp, took steps toward Wang Tao, but it was obvious that its speed was getting slower, and the resistance from the mud swamp was growing! Chapter 280 - Chapter 280: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (End of the Chapter 280: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_2 When it was only a little more than ten meters away from Wang Tao, it finally couldn¡¯t move any further. ¡°Huff-¡± Seeing this situation, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. The gorilla zombie was trapped! ¡°Everyone, come out and kill!¡± Wang Tao roared, then threw a shockwave at the gorilla zombie. Bang¡ª The gorilla zombie directly blocked Wang Tao¡¯s attack with its arms, and Wang Tao¡¯s strike did no damage. At that moment, the attacks from Wei Zhenguo and the other two arrived. Two shockwaves and a crossbow arrow flew directly from the side towards the head of the gorilla zombie. [-56] [-68] [-324] [5013/10000] The damage from the shockwaves was moderate, but the crossbow arrow was aimed trickily and shot directly into the ears of the gorilla zombie. ¡°It¡¯s down to half its HP!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s heart surged with excitement. Judging by the current situation, they could wear it down to death! Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let his guard down since the gorilla zombie had a self-healing ability. He had to keep a close eye on the opponent and interrupt in time when he saw it using its self-healing ability! His self-destruct bomb was already prepared, ready to be thrown at any moment. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the gorilla zombie didn¡¯t use its self-healing ability. Instead, it launched several sonic attacks, though these attacks were much weaker. Aside from the mud superpower user and the two chubby brothers, Wang Tao and the others no longer suffered from dizziness. ¡°Out of energy?¡± Wang Tao suddenly raised an eyebrow. Generally speaking, the more powerful the ability, the greater the energy consumption. The kind of super-large scale, indiscriminate sonic attack the gorilla zombie launched before must have consumed a lot of energy. Coupled with its other attacks, it might be running low on energy by now. Even if the gorilla zombie was out of energy, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t be careless. He had to be wary of the gorilla zombie¡¯s counterattack. After a few minutes of attritional fighting, the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP had dropped to just over three thousand! It was on its last legs! It wasn¡¯t just the zombie that was struggling; Wang Tao and his teammates were also having a hard time¡ªtheir energy was nearly depleted! After killing so many zombies before and battling with the gorilla zombie, they had used up too much energy, and now they all felt dizzy. Taking advantage of the moment the gorilla zombie raised its arms to block the shockwaves from Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin, Wang Tao decisively sent another shockwave. Bang¡ª [-4561 [2759/10000] The gorilla zombie¡¯s HP directly dropped below three thousand! But Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to be pleased when he suddenly felt a huge sense of crisis. ¡°Not good, retreat!¡± Wang Tao immediately roared, activating Iron and Copper Bones at the same time. He trusted his intuition for danger! The Mud Swamp Ability Users he was dragging immediately started to retreat with him. Wei Zhenguo and the others didn¡¯t understand why but still followed Wang Tao¡¯s command and retreated at once. Then, they saw the gorilla zombie¡¯s muscles start to swell, its body slowly grew larger, its rotting skin burst open, and the mud beneath it began to boil! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± A moment later, a larger and more ferocious, muscle-exposed gorilla zombie appeared before everyone! ¡°Fuck! What the hell is this?!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed upon seeing this scene. The gorilla zombie used to be around six meters tall, roughly two stories high, and with its bulky build, it gave off an overpowering presence. Now, the gorilla zombie had ballooned to nearly ten meters tall¡ªa three-story building height! Its body had also grown larger. Though the rotting skin was gone, leaving only blackish-red muscle tissue, it seemed even more terrifying. ¡°Damn, could it be that this thing has a level two stage? How are we supposed to fight this?!¡± Watching the gorilla zombie return to full health with [10000/10000] HP, Wang Tao was dumbfounded. The enlarged gorilla zombie, ignoring the mud swamp, took large strides towards Wang Tao. ¡°You guys retreat!¡± Wang Tao shouted at the Mud Swamp Ability Users below him and then leaped onto the shore. The depth of the mud swamp was limited, and it was no longer effective against the gorilla zombie which had grown so much in size. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want the Mud Swamp Ability Users to get caught up in this. While running, he said through the walkie-talkie: ¡°The gorilla zombie has returned to full health, we can¡¯t beat it, retreat first! We¡¯U think of another plan later!¡± Everyone was a bit dumbfounded, just as they were wearing the gorilla zombie down, it suddenly went back to full health! They were reluctant to give up, but knew that at this moment, they had no choice but to abandon the fight. However¡­ it might be a bit too late to run now! They saw the gorilla zombie open its mouth wide and let out another furious roar. ¡°Roar-¡± An enormous and terrifying noise erupted right by everyone¡¯s ears! Even blocking their ears was useless! For that moment, it seemed as though the entire world had lost sound. Wang Tao half-knelt on the ground, clenching his teeth, clutching his hair, feeling like his head was about to explode! Through the haze, Wang Tao saw the gorilla zombie taking steps toward him, its massive fist already over his head! But at that moment, Wang Tao could do nothing¡­ Suddenly, Wang Tao felt something hit his abdomen, sending him flying into a flowerbed. Bang¡ª The gorilla zombie¡¯s fist came down, but it hit nothing. ¡°Ugh-¡± Wang Tao struggled to his feet, steadying his body and immediately activating his self-healing ability. His eyes flickered with a green light as he scanned his surroundings. ¡°What happened¡­ Was I saved by someone¡­¡± Wang Tao rubbed his dazed head, but found nothing around him. However, as he looked around, he saw the heads of the Mud Swamp Ability Users had all exploded, their bodies standing stiffly in the mud. Not far away, the two defensively second only to him¡ªthe chubby brothers¡ªalso had their heads blown open, their obese bodies toppled over in a flower bed beside the road. Chapter 281 - Chapter 281: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_3 Chapter 281: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_3 ¡°Damnit!¡± Wang Tao cursed under his breath; he couldn¡¯t afford to think about how he had avoided the gorilla zombie¡¯s attack. He quickly tried to see where Wei Zhenguo and the other two were, but from his position, he couldn¡¯t see them at all. Wang Tao shouted into the walkie-talkie: ¡°Is everybody still alive? Speak up!¡± No reply. Thump, thump¡ª Just then, Wang Tao felt the ground begin to tremble. He swiftly turned around, only to see a huge figure covered in mud approaching him. ¡°Shit!¡± Wang Tao quickly took a Rejuvenation Potion and used several medical packs. He suddenly felt a surge of vitality, like a Return to Light, as his energy was restored. But his HP wasn¡¯t full yet. Then he produced a Weakness Potion and threw it directly at the face of the gorilla zombie. Smash¡ª The Weakness Potion bottle shattered, and the gorilla zombie did not dodge or evade. Wang Tao saw another -20% Weakness attribute appear below its HP bar, and the steps of the gorilla zombie faltered slightly. But this was a more powerful, full-HP gorilla zombie! Even with a 20% weakness, he couldn¡¯t defeat it! Wang Tao wanted to retreat, but he had to try to get around the gorilla zombie and see if Wei Zhenguo and the others were dead. If not, he might be able to save them. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao unleashed a Shockwave at the head of the gorilla zombie. Boom! [-532] [9568/10000] ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was surprised to find that his attack seemed to be much higher than before¡ªnot that his attack power had increased, but the zombie¡¯s defense seemed to have been reduced a bit! But¡­ it was useless! Even with lowered defense, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t win! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± After being attacked, the gorilla zombie let out a roar, grabbed everything it could around it¡ªtrees, rocks, etc., and threw them at Wang Tao¡¯s head, even predicting and throwing them ahead of his path. Wang Tao¡¯sRush Ability was still cooling down, so he couldn¡¯t use it and had to dodge back and forth. After a moment, although he dodged most of the attacks and wasn¡¯t injured, the gorilla zombie had already gotten very close. ¡°No way out now¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed. He really didn¡¯t want to go all out against the gorilla zombie because it was highly probable that he would die. But he had no choice! Wang Tao immediately jabbed his arm with a Defense Potion, Running Potion, Strength Potion, and Eyesight Potion all at once. The effects of these potions were short-lived, but they had long cooldowns. Wang Tao had been holding back on using them, but now it was necessary. Instantly, Wang Tao felt power fill his entire body, an unprecedented sensation of strength! Of course, he knew it was an illusion since the duration of these potions was generally only one minute. ¡°Whew-¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath; he knew he couldn¡¯t beat the gorilla zombie, but he had to try, and then find a chance to run away! With a powerful push off his rear foot, Wang Tao charged straight toward the gorilla zombie, with six Surgical Throwing Knives appearing in his hands. Swoosh¡ª The Throwing Knives flew straight at the face of the gorilla zombie. Thud- Four were blocked, but two of the Throwing Knives successfully plunged into the gorilla zombie¡¯s cheeks. [-231] [-245] [9092/10000] Two Throwing Knives caused over five hundred damage, significantly more than before. The gorilla zombie was left with 90% of its HP! Then, Wang Tao picked up his axe and launched another Shockwave at the gorilla zombie. Boom! [-622] [8470/10000] This time, the gorilla zombie didn¡¯t dodge, but instead took the hit head-on and threw a punch directly at Wang Tao. The gorilla zombie was much faster than before, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t dodge in time. He could only cross his arms and take the brunt of the blow. With his Level Two Toughness and the effect of the Defense Potion, there should be no problem¡ª Boom! [-2125] [1074/4999] Wang Tao was sent flying more than ten meters away. ¡°Pff-¡± He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood in midair, then landed heavily on the ground. ¡°What the hell is this!¡± Wang Tao could hardly believe it; the attack power of the gorilla zombie in its current state was just too strong! ¡°I¡¯m really going to die¡­¡± A look of despair crossed Wang Tao¡¯s face. Thud¡ªThud¡ª The gorilla zombie stepped toward Wang Tao, one step at a time. After transforming, the gorilla zombie seemed much calmer, its pace neither hurried nor slow, but this made the sense of oppression even stronger! Just then, a lean figure suddenly appeared and collided directly with the gorilla zombie. Though slender, the figure sent the gorilla zombie flying! Bang! Both fell to the ground. The lean figure turned around and gave Wang Tao a cold glance. Wang Tao was shocked when he saw who it was. ¡°WuFei!¡± The one who knocked down the gorilla zombie was none other than Wu Fei, whom he had met outside the base some time ago! But now, Wu Fei¡¯s condition was different from the last time they met! His HP was still flickering, but it had reached [4756/4999]! And what¡¯s more important, the impurities in his body were as high as [100%]! Impurities at 100%, and he¡¯s still not a zombie? As Wang Tao was shocked and puzzled, he saw large amounts of black blood vessels starting to appear on Wu Fei¡¯s neck, face, and even in his eyeballs. His pupils also began to turn white slowly! ¡°He¡¯s turning into a zombie!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat stunned; he thought he would gain an ally, but instead, another opponent emerged? However, what happened next was completely beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. The stiff-faced Wu Fei suddenly curled his lips and spoke with difficulty: ¡°I¡­ said¡­ I would¡­ pay you back!¡± After speaking, Wu Fei turned around, kicked off the ground, and lunged at the gorilla zombie, which had just gotten up. As he turned around, his HP changed from 4999 to 5000! Level Two¡­ zombie! And it wasn¡¯t just Wu Fei¡¯s HP that changed. His abdomen suddenly collapsed inwards, and his bloody ribs pierced through the skin, jutting out like a large mouth full of sharp, giant teeth! In an instant, Wu Fei had pounced onto the gorilla zombie¡¯s head, tightly grasping it, and his sharp ribs plunged into the face of the gorilla zombie! Splat! [-5000] [3410/10000] He instantly wiped out a full 5000 HP from the gorilla zombie! Then the gorilla zombie fell to the ground again, and its body stiffly convulsed ¡ªit couldn¡¯t move! ¡°This is my chance!¡± Clenching his teeth, Wang Tao suppressed the pain in his body, ran to the gorilla zombie, and then frantically swung his axe at the head of the gorilla zombie! [-674] [-742] [-823] [-1171] [0/10000] Splat! Finally, the gorilla zombie¡¯s head burst! ¡°Heh heh¡ª¡± After the gorilla zombie died, Wang Tao had no time to catch his breath when he saw Wu Fei let go of the gorilla zombie¡¯s head and pounce directly at him! His abdomen, with its sharp ribs, was still wriggling, as if wanting to swallow Wang Tao whole! Wang Tao was startled and swung his axe at Wu Fei instinctively. Splat¡ª [-1] [0/5000] Wu Fei¡¯s HP bar emptied. Atop Shuizhe Mountain. A group of zombies dressed in colorful garments, exuding a green gas, appeared rather frenzied. In the midst of these zombies, a weak figure in a hood raised its head and revealed a pair of blood ¨C red eyes. Chapter 282 - Chapter 282: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at months end) 1 Chapter 282: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month¡¯s end) 1 ¡°Huff-¡± Wang Tao flipped over and lay on the ground. His body ached all over, his lungs felt like they were burning, and his head seemed like it was about to split open¡­ He really wanted to sleep, but he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to at this moment, otherwise any zombie could come along and kill him. 6 A moment later, Wang Tao finally caught his breath and struggled to his feet. First, he collected all the loot from the gorilla zombie, and then he glanced at the corpse of the zombie, Wu Fei. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Wang Tao had a purification potion in his hand, which had a certain chance of turning a recently transformed zombie back into a human, but only if the person hadn¡¯t died. And the zombie, Wu Fei, was already dead beyond dead-his entire head had been split open by Wang Tao¡¯s axe, his crystal core burst out, leaving only the lower half of his face. The corners of its mouth were slightly raised, as though it were smiling. In his state of extreme weakness, when Wu Fei, who had lost his senses, lunged at him, Wang Tao had no choice but to fight back. Wang Tao didn¡¯t notice that Wu Fei had only a drop of HP left and would die from a single touch. ¡°Buddy, thanks a lot!¡± Wang Tao patted the shoulder of the zombie, Wu Fei, his tone somewhat melancholic. Initially, when he saved Wu Fei, it was because he saw that Wu Fei was quite pitiable and still alive, and he also wanted to test the effects of the inhibitor. Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect anything in return from him. After all, it was the end of the world, and it might have been the first and last time they saw each other. Plus, at that time, Wang Tao was much stronger than Wu Fei¡­ When Wu Fei said he would repay Wang Tao, Wang Tao just took it as a joke. Later, Wang Tao unexpectedly saw Wu Fei again, who had accumulated 30% internal impurity in his body. Wu Fei knew he was beyond saving, but he took it in stride, except for the woman, Ou Yingying, who had betrayed him. Wu Fei once again said he would repay Wang Tao, and again, Wang Tao didn¡¯t take it to heart. Afterward, Ou Yingying died. Wang Tao saw Wu Fei once more. By then, Wu Fei had changed drastically, with over 90% internal impurity in his body, on the verge of turning into a zombie at any moment. He was very indifferent, looking at Wang Tao as if looking at a stranger. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t bothered by it, he just felt sorry for Wu Fei, knowing his life was counting down its final seconds. Maybe next time he went out, he would encounter the zombie Wu Fei had become¡­ Now, Wang Tao saw Wu Fei for the last time. Wu Fei¡¯s internal impurity had reached 100%, and he spoke to Wang Tao with a stiff tone for one last time: I told you, I would repay you. After saying this, he turned into a zombie and then lunged at the gorilla zombie. His move must have been an ability, which deducted a substantial amount of HP from the gorilla zombie and locked it in place, making it impossible for the gorilla zombie to move. The cost of this ability must have been high, as Wu Fei eliminated 5000 HP from the gorilla zombie, but he himself lost 4999 HP. Then, Wang Tao took the chance to kill both the gorilla zombie and Wu Fei, who had turned into a zombie. Wang Tao always felt that his relationship with Wu Fei was that of a stranger at most a somewhat familiar one. Whether the other party repaid him or not ¡¯ Wang Tao didn¡¯t care. But in Wu Fei¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao was his savior, the person who gave him the chance for revenge. Wu Fei was a man of his word, and since he said he would repay his debt, he would surely do so, no matter in what way. Perhaps Wu Fei had been following Wang Tao all along, or perhaps he had been following the gorilla zombie, or maybe it was just by chance that he encountered the great battle between Wang Tao and the gorilla zombie¡­ But no matter what, Wu Fei fulfilled his promise-Wang Tao had saved his life, allowing him to live three more months. So he repaid Wang Tao¡¯s kindness with his own life. Wang Tao respected him as a true man! ¡°Hehe¡­¡± After gathering the spoils, several ordinary zombies approached. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even look, he just chopped off the heads of the zombies with two swings of his axe. ¡ã Then, staggering, Wang Tao made his way toward Wei Zhenguo and the others. The ground was all muddy, and Wang Tao searched for a while before finally seeing the three of them. Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and Han Rui were all unconscious, and they were critically low on HP. Wang Tao dragged them to a cleaner place, wiped the mud off their faces, and then used a med kit on them. Before long, the three of them woke up one after another. ¡°Am I¡­ dead¡­ Wang Tao? Even you¡­¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao beside her, her gaze somewhat hollow. Wang Tao slapped her lightly on the face without any courtesy. You re still alive, but if we don¡¯t leave right now, you really could die.¡± ¡°Ah? I¡¯m not dead¡­¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment before she finally understood. Cough, Wang Tao, what¡¯s the situation?¡± Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin were much calmer by comparison, they didn¡¯t believe in ghosts or gods-conscious meant alive, unconscious meant dead it was that simple. ¡°The gorilla zombie is dead.¡± Wang Tao revealed a smile on his face. ¡°The gorilla zombie is dead!¡± All three of them were surprised and delighted, with Xiang Hongbin even pinching his own thigh hard. He knew he was still alive, but he feared it was all a dream. ¡°Ouch¡ªpainful!¡± ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re too amazing!¡± Han Rui praised him excitedly. Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin also looked at him with utmost respect. The gorilla zombie was supposed to be the most powerful zombie in Shuize County, and as long as they dealt with the gorilla zombie, they wouldn¡¯t have to live in fear every day as they were doing now! But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°This isn¡¯t just my achievement, it¡¯s all of ours. And at the moment of life and death, Wu Fei appeared, he saved my life, and assisted me in killing the gorilla zombie.¡± Chapter 283 - Chapter 283: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at months end)_2 Chapter 283: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month¡¯s end)_2 ¡°Ah?WuFei!¡± All three cried out in alarm. Wang Tao had previously informed them about Wu Fei¡¯s situation. Wasn¡¯t Wu Fei about to turn into a zombie? Could there have been some miracle that restored him to normal? ¡°Where is he?¡± Han Rui asked anxiously. She still felt very guilty about Wu Fei and Li Cheng. ¡°He¡¯s dead. He became a zombie, and I killed him.¡± Everyone opened their mouths, but didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the specifics later. Let¡¯s rest for a while and then head back to the base.¡± The situation at the base was unknown. It was possible that everyone was still alive; on the other hand, maybe the mad demon zombies had overrun the base, and they were all dead¡­ ¡°Okay!¡± All four were severely injured, especially Wang Tao, who was down to just a few hundred HP. Forget fighting, he could hardly walk. Fortunately, Wang Tao had a medical kit, and he also possessed the self- healing ability, which allowed blood regeneration. Otherwise, all four of them would have completely lost their combat effectiveness. After resting for a while, they all felt much better. Although they still had low HP, at least they could walk. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao and the others supported each other as they headed towards the base. On their way, no zombies appeared. It was likely that all the zombies had been drawn to the base. Han Rui¡¯s walkie-talkie was the only one that still worked, and she tried to use it to contact others, but there was no response. Everyone looked grim. ¡°I hope everyone is still alive¡­¡± Han Rui prayed silently in her heart. After some time, they arrived at the rooftop of a three-story building not far from the base. ¡°There are still many zombies in the base, but the defenses of the comprehensive building seem to be holding. Without the gorilla zombies, it¡¯s hard forthose mad demon zombies to break through those steel defenses¡­¡± Zhen Guo put down the binoculars. Although they heard no noise coming from inside the building, the fact that it hadn¡¯t been overrun was good news. ¡°What now? Do we just rush in?¡± Hong Bin looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°No, in our current state, if we¡¯re surrounded by mad demon zombies, we probably wouldn¡¯t be able to escape¡­ Since the comprehensive building hasn¡¯t been breached, we should recover our condition first before we go over.¡± They might be the base¡¯s last fighting force. As long as they were alive, there was still hope for the base. If they died or were trapped, the base might truly be hopeless. ¡°Makes sense!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement and then settled temporarily in the building. While regaining their strength, they took turns monitoring the base with binoculars. Mad demon zombies were a type of zombie that were highly sensitive to sound. If there was noise, they might stick around. If it was quiet, they might leave after a while. Now that the gorilla zombie was dead and the mad demon zombies couldn¡¯t break into the comprehensive building, which was quiet, the probability was high that the mad demon zombies would gradually leave. Of course, even if they didn¡¯t leave, once Wang Tao and the others had recovered, they could rush in. They rested from noon until the afternoon. Although their HP bars hadn¡¯t completely regenerated, as some injuries couldn¡¯t be healed with the medical kits, their mana had mostly recovered. An ability user with mana and one without were basically two different species. ¡°If we¡¯re all ready, then let¡¯s go!¡± Some of the mad demon zombies under the comprehensive building had left, so they could now approach it. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± When several people appeared at the entrance of Shuize Base, they immediately caught the attention of some mad demon zombies. Seeing these ferocious monsters rushing towards them, Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t engage in combat. They used several rush abilities in succession and successfully made it to the administration building. Then, they climbed from the rooftop of the administration building to the rooftop of the comprehensive building using the steel ropes, as they had done before. Before reaching the rooftop, they saw Lu Gang lying there. Next to him was also FengMing¡¯an. After coming down, Wang Tao and the others hurried over to the two. ¡°Lu Gang! FengMing¡¯an! Wake up!¡± Zhen Guo and Hong Bin slapped their faces and then pinched their philtrums. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t so hasty; he saw that both Lu Gang¡¯s and FengMing¡¯an¡¯s HP bars were critically low but not depleted. He took out the medical kit and used it on them. Moments later, Lu Gang was the first to finally come around. Seeing the figures before him, Lu Gang was a bit dazed. ¡°It¡¯s good thatyou¡¯re awake! It¡¯s good thatyou¡¯re awake!¡± Everyone was pleased. Feng Ming¡¯an also woke up at this time. ¡°You guys¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay now, we¡¯re safe!¡± Zhen Guo consoled them briefly, and without talking much, quickly led them down the building with the help of others. Inside the building, basically everyone was lying on the ground. The smarter ones had stuffed their ears, and the even smarter ones had covered their heads with clothes and blankets in addition to their ears. As for the less smart ones¡­ their HP bars had dropped to zero¡ªWang Tao saw at a glance that many people no longer had HP bars. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed silently. He had anticipated this scenario before coming in. And to be fair, it was better than he had expected; at least they weren¡¯t wiped out, and there were still quite a few survivors alive. Wang Tao found Ren Jie and Liu He. Although they were not strong fighters, they were still ability users, physically much better than ordinary people, and Wang Tao had also reminded Ren Jie to be aware of the gorilla zombie¡¯s sonic attack. So they were just unconscious with low HP, with no life-threatening dangers. Chapter 284 - Chapter 284: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at months end)_3 Chapter 284: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month¡¯s end)_3 After waking up Ren Jie and Liu He, Wang Tao found Ding Yuqin. That Ding Yuqin was still alive didn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao; after all, he had taken Ding Yuqin to kill quite a few zombies, and now she also had over four thousand HP. What surprised Wang Tao was that Li Qiuyu was also still alive. The two of them were hugging each other, nestled within a few thick blankets. However, Li Qiuyu1 s HP bar of too had just 10 drops of blood left, giving the feeling that if he had come a little later, she might have cooled forever. Wang Tao woke the two of them and used a medical pack on each. ¡°Wang Tao¡­¡± When Ding Yuqin woke up and saw herself in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, she thought she was dreaming. After realizing it was real, she immediately buried her head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest, her eyes brimming with tears. ¡°I thought I¡¯d never see you again¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s safe now, we¡¯re all right.¡± Wang Tao gently patted Ding Yuqin¡¯s back. Li Qiuyu¡¯s complexion was pale, and her whole body trembling ¨C she clearly hadn¡¯t recovered from the terror yet. Han Rui took the initiative to go over and hold Li Qiuyu. ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re safe now¡­¡± ¡°Wuuwuu¡­¡± Li Qiuyu suddenly burst into tears. Wang Tao went on to wake the others. ¡±Commissioner Wang¡­1¡® Huo Ziyi and her few girlfriends were lucky, they hadn¡¯t died. Seeing Wang Tao, she instinctively rushed over to embrace him. Wang Tao patted her back. ¡°It¡¯s all right, everyone is safe now¡­¡± ¡°Wuuwuu¡­¡± Huo Ziyi once again felt the sadness of being weak. Even though she hadn¡¯t gone to fight, just staying at home she¡¯d almost died! If it weren¡¯t for a quick-thinking girlfriend who had promptly found something to block their ears after the first roar of the gorilla zombie, they probably would have all died¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, just rest up a bit.¡± Wang Tao let go of Huo Ziyi and went to check on the other survivors. Gao Hua and Chen Zhuang hadn¡¯t died either, which was also good news for Wang Tao¡­ After spending some time, everyone in the complex building that could be woken up was. As for those who couldn¡¯t be awakened¡­ they would never wake up again. Looking at the numbers on the compiled list, all of the commissioners, including Wang Tao, sighed. Nobody had anticipated the roar of the gorilla zombie having such a wide range and killing power! The survivors were still in the building, yet some unfortunate ones were directly killed by the sound, and others who didn¡¯t die were knocked unconscious. just yesterday, Shuize Base had a total of 712 people. After the gorilla zombie arrived last night, more than too people died directly, leaving less than 600 people-that was still because everyone had been on guard against the gorilla zombie and had made some preparations in advance, otherwise, more would have died. Wei Zhenguo and the others had barely managed to gather the remaining survivors in this complex building, and with Wang Tao coming back, they thought the lives of the remaining survivors were secure. But who could have thought that the gorilla zombie had such a terrifying area attack ability. The first roar knocked many people unconscious, and the second roar killed more than 200 people instantly! Now, the list in Wang Tao¡¯s hand only had 303 people left¡­ which means that in just one day, 409 survivors died! Just a few days ago, Ren Jie was still saying that Shuize Base was getting stronger and stronger. And now, in just a few days, it was back to the number of people from when the base was first established¡­ ¡°Damn zombies!¡± Wei Zhenguo wiped the corner of his eye. When the virus outbreak and the apocalypse came, he never shed a tear, since men do not lightly weep. But now, seeing the survivors they had worked so hard to save had lost their lives, he could no longer hold back. ¡°You should think this way ¨C thank goodness Wang Tao killed the Gorilla zombie, otherwise our remaining three hundred people would¡¯ve been dead¡­¡± Ren Jie sighed. Speaking of the Gorilla zombie, everyone looked towards Wang Tao, they all wanted to know how Wang Tao killed the Gorilla zombie. Seeing this, Wang Tao simply narrated the process from when the Gorilla zombie chased them to the Mud Swamp to its death. Upon hearing that the seemingly doomed to be killed Gorilla zombie actually had another form, and restored itself to full HP, everyone was somewhat shocked. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you lured it away! If the fight had taken place downstairs¡­ we would¡¯ve all been goners!¡± Liu He¡¯s face turned a bit pale. After all, Wang Tao had just mentioned that a roar from the second form of the Gorilla zombie practically knocked half-dead all the Ability Users, including Wei Zhenguo! Those two fat brothers with super high Defense and several Mud Superpower Users had their heads shattered directly by the impact! If that thing had roared once below the complex building, they might¡¯ve been wiped out in one fell swoop! ¡°Cough, so how did you kill the Gorilla zombie? Feng Ming¡¯an asked while coughing. ¡°When I was about to be killed by the Gorilla zombie, I encountered Wu Fei¡­¡± Wang Tao went into more detail about Wu Fei¡¯s actions, this time explaining more thoroughly. Although Wu Fei¡¯s original intention was just to repay Wang Tao, and he didn t care about the others, he also indirectly saved the entire Shuize Base-Wu Fei was a hero of Shuize Base, and his name deserves to be remembered by everyone. ¡°A real man! It¡¯s a pity I never got the chance to meet him¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin clenched his fists, a hint of regret in his eyes. ¡°Right, did the Gorilla zombie drop an Ascension crystal core when you killed it?¡± Wei Zhenguo hurriedly asked. At that mention, a forced smile finally appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°Ascension crystal core¡­ Of course! Once my HP is restored, I feel I will be able to ascend to a Level 2 Ability User!¡± ¡°Great, great, great! The Gorilla zombie is dead, and you can ascend to Level 2 now, which means our Shuize Base is essentially safe!¡± Upon hearing this, a relieved expression finally appeared on everyone¡¯s faces. Wang Tao, however, was not as excited, after all, the cost of ascending to Level 2 was¡­ too great! ¡°The pressing matter at hand is to quickly rebuild the base! The walls must be fortified¡­¡± Wang Tao said with a serious expression. To speak bluntly, most of those who died were the weak, and those who survived were strong. So in terms of rebuilding the base, although the number of people was reduced, the speed shouldn¡¯t be too much slower¡­ ¡°Right! You just focus on your Level 2 Ascension preparation without worries! Leave the rebuilding task to us!¡± Ren Jie immediately spoke up. ¡°Exactly, just focus on your ascension¡­¡± The others also echoed. ¡°Alright! Then I¡¯ll leave it in your hands!¡± Wang Tao nodded earnestly. At night, the Mad Demon Zombies outside had not left yet. In an office, bedsheets and cool mats were spread out on the floor. Han Rui had already fallen asleep, consumed by fatigue, she fell to the floor and slept. Ding Yuqin and Li Qiuyu lay together, chatting with each other. Wang Tao was sitting on the side, silently checking the spoils of having killed two Level 2 Zombies. Chapter 285 - Chapter 285: Chapter 147: Harvest (Seeking Monthly Pass at Months End)_l Chapter 285: Chapter 147: Harvest (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month¡¯s End)_l Wang Tao first looked at the items that the zombie Wu Fei had dropped. The Crystal Core inside Wu Fei¡¯s head was an Ascension Crystal Core! However, because Wu Fei had only recently turned into a zombie, the core was a deep green color. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] Wang Tao had now spotted a pattern: for Level 2 Zombies with several abilities, the Crystal Core in their heads was likely to be one of their abilities plus either the Ascension or the Omnipotent Crystal Core. That meant, if a Level 2 Zombie possessed four abilities, then the Crystal Core it dropped could be one of those abilities or it could be either an Ascension or Omnipotent Crystal Core. Each kill would drop only one Crystal Core, and the probability for each type of core was probably one in six. Of course, this was just Wang Tao¡¯s speculation; after all, he didn¡¯t know if there were other special types of cores besides the Ascension and Omnipotent Crystal Cores. Furthermore, Wang Tao was different from others; when he killed a Level 2 Zombie, in addition to the Crystal Core dropped by the zombie itself, he would also get a Loot Pack, which might contain Crystal Cores. So, the chances of him getting Ascension or Omnipotent Crystal Cores were likely much higher than for ordinary people¡­ Zombie Wu Fei dropped three packs. The first pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag with a total of four Crystal Cores. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Super Strength] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: Strength is proportionate to body size, inadequate body size leads to negative growth in strength)] It was no surprise that Wu Fei, with his great strength, had the Power attribute. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Self Detonation] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] Wang Tao already knew Wu Fei had fused with Self Detonation ability, so it was not unexpected. Ability Users and zombies who had learned Self Detonation ability after the fact were different from innate Self-exploders. If a Self-exploder wasn¡¯t shattered on death, it would still detonate, just delayed by ten seconds. However, Ability Users or zombies that learned Self Detonation wouldn¡¯t explode upon death ¨C after all, the Self Detonation Crystal Core had no side effects, and they did not possess the Self-exploder¡¯s volatile body. The third core was an Omnipotent Crystal Core! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] This was a great find, and Wang Tao already had an ordinary Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Core; synthesizing it with this one would yield an Epic Crystal Core. The only regret was that after the fusion, the purity would only reach 90%, not the perfect 100%¡­ The fourth Crystal Core made Wang Tao raise his eyebrows. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Rib Spur] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: Reduced defensive power when using abilities)] (Rib Spur: Ribs grow out of the body to become a weapon. If the attack is successful, it can deal a fixed amount of damage to the enemy¡¯s HP (at least too, and no more than one¡¯s own HP), and paralyze them for a certain period, but the user also loses (damage dealt -1) HP. If the attack fails, neither party loses HP] Seeing the properties of this core, Wang Tao was reminded of when Wu Fei had turned into a zombie. He had a full HP of 5,000, which meant he could deal a maximum attack of 5,000 HP. After a successful attack, he would lose 4,999 HP, which left him with just a sliver of life, making it easy for Wang Tao to kill him afterwards¡­ This ability had many limitations; if one only had a sliver of remaining HP, it would be extremely dangerous. Moreover, this limitation was inherent to the ability itself, not a side effect. Therefore, even if Wang Tao had several similar Crystal Cores, he couldn¡¯t eliminate the self-damage mechanism through synthesis. Nonetheless, this ability was formidable. If Wu Fei had more than 10,000 HP, wouldn¡¯t he be able to instantly kill the Gorilla zombie? However, the ability¡¯s description did say that success wasn¡¯t guaranteed; failure could depend on luck, the enemy¡¯s defensive power, and other factors. Thus, the ability wasn¡¯t invincible. But regardless, this ability was indeed powerful! Especially when teamed up with others, as it was with Wu Fei and Wang Tao ¨C even if Wu Fei couldn¡¯t directly kill the Gorilla zombie, he could still paralyze it for a while, giving Wang Tao a chance to finish it off! The second pack Wu Fei dropped contained Strength Potions. [Strength Potion (Small) x5] A set of five Strength Potions, not bad at all. The third pack surprised Wang Tao. [Deactivating Potion (Experimental) x5] [Deactivating Potion (Experimental): Can reduce the activity of the zombie virus in the infected for 3-10 days. When the virus¡¯s activity is reduced, mutation into a zombie will not occur.] Could it be because Wu Fei used too many Inhibitors that he had dropped this ¡°Deactivating Potion (Experimental)¡±? This item was somewhat similar to an Inhibitor, serving to suppress the zombie virus, but there were significant differences. The Inhibitors produced by Hope Research Institute did not specify how long their effects lasted ¨C it could be one day, or it could be one month¡­ Before complete mutation into a zombie, an Inhibitor could be used. And during the fusion with a Zombie Core, it was also possible to use an Inhibitor, which could slightly reduce the impurities in the body. However, this Inhibitor had serious side effects; aside from being extremely painful to use, using it excessively could even lead to death. Chapter 286 - Chapter 286: Chapter 147: Harvest (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_2 Chapter 286: Chapter 147: Harvest (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_2 The Deactivating Potion seemed quite straightforward. According to the description, it could reduce the activity of the zombie virus for 3 to 10 days. When the activity of the virus was reduced, there would be no mutation into zombies. It was unclear what factors related to the reduced duration; perhaps it was connected to the length and severity of the infection. Regardless, even if we consider only three days, one would be absolutely free from worry about turning into a zombie for those days. Moreover, this deactivating potion had no side effects and did not lead to death. Wang Tao figured that under normal circumstances, an ordinary inhibitor might be more useful, but for those severely infected, this ¡°Deactivating Potion (Experimental)¡± might be better. However, the duration of 3 to 10 days was still too short. Relying on this potion to extend life after being infected was impossible; it could only be used as an emergency product¡­ Wang Tao then turned his attention to the loot from killing the gorilla zombie. There was also a Crystal Core and three packages. Neither the gorilla zombie nor Zombie Wu Fei had items like the green-eyed zombie¡¯s eyes. The Crystal Core from the gorilla zombie¡¯s head was of Purple Quality. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Roar] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Irritability)] [Roar: Consumes energy to emit a daunting roar that can cause enemies to suffer dizziness and lose HP] This was the ability the gorilla zombie had used earlier, a crowd-controlling Ability with an even larger range than Shockwave, which had caused Wang Tao and his group a lot of trouble. The introduction alone might not convey its power, but Wang Tao had seen just how formidable the gorilla zombie was! Anyone who heard the roar would likely be affected to some degree. And this Roar not only caused dizziness but could also make one lose HP! No wonder it had instantly killed so many survivors and zombies¡­ Another ability related to sound was Screaming. However, Screaming was nearly useless, serving at most to attract zombies. But Roar was powerful, capable of killing zombies outright! Then, Wang Tao looked at the first package dropped by the gorilla zombie. Inside were a full five Crystal Cores! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: None)] Another Ascension Crystal Core! And it was of Excellent Quality! Wang Tao had hesitated before about whether to merge the Ascension Crystal Core dropped by Zombie Wu Fei, especially since that core¡¯s success rate was only 55%¡­ But now, seeing this core, Wang Tao decisively decided to merge this Excellent Quality Crystal Core! Without a second thought, Wang Tao popped the core into his mouth. Instantly, a warm surge of energy flowed through his limbs and body. It was a success! Wang Tao quickly checked his attributes. His HP remained unchanged, but his Mana cap had risen to 4800! The internal impurity had also changed, now sitting at 2%. By his calculations, the exact figure was 2.2%¡­ Then there was the icon for Precision Shooting. The ¡°+10¡å number that used to be in its upper right corner was gone, and now there was a ¡°2¡± in the lower left corner, indicating that his Precision Shooting had also leveled up to a Level 2 Ability! Now, Wang Tao¡¯s abilities ¨C Shockwave, Toughness, Precision Shooting, and Self-healing ¡ª had all become Level 2 Abilities! Wang Tao felt stronger than he had ever been before! Of course, if he were to fight the gorilla zombie now, he would still lose, for he himself was not yet Level Two. Calming his excited heart, Wang Tao continued to inspect the Crystal Cores. The second Crystal Core in the package was a Red Self-healing Crystal Core. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Self-Heal] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Diminished sense of touch)] [Self-Heal: During its duration, it can slowly heal certain injuries] Seeing this Self-healing Crystal Core, Wang Tao felt a sudden impulse to merge it. But he quickly regained his composure; although he had five [Detoxification Potions] that could clear 5% impurities, this core had side effects! Wang Tao didn¡¯t want his body to suffer from them! Of course, there was another point ¨C he was still Level 1, and apart from the Ascension Crystal Core, he couldn¡¯t merge any Level 2 Crystal Cores¡­ [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Super Strength] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Strength is proportionate to body size; insufficient body size leads to negative strength growth)] [Power: Passive Ability; significantly increases Strength] The third Crystal Core was for Strength, which was within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. Since the gorilla zombie was so strong, typically hurling cars and rocks, having the Power ability made sense. Wang Tao liked the Strength ability as well, but unfortunately, he no longer had the chance to merge with other cores. He would wait to level up to Two and see if there was any way to continue merging different types of cores¡­ The fourth Crystal Core in the package was another Omnipotent Crystal Core, also Level 2! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: None)] Although it was of Excellent Quality, the Omnipotent Crystal Core dropped by Zombie Wu Fei was of even better quality, perfect for creating an Epic Omnipotent Crystal Core! Still, as before, merging two Level 2 Crystal Cores would result in an Epic Crystal Core with 10% impurity and a side effect. Since the Omnipotent Crystal Cores had no side effects, Wang Tao could use them. Other cores, however, would still carry side effects. Wang Tao looked at the last Crystal Core, and it caused his eyes to widen in surprise. Chapter 287 - Chapter 287: Chapter 147: Harvest (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_3 Chapter 287: Chapter 147: Harvest (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_3 [Level 2 Crystal Core-Frenzy] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: HP reduction by 10,000 after fusion)] [Frenzy: When HP is below 30%, Frenzy is automatically triggered, which can only occur once per day. Upon triggering, HP, Mana, Physical strength, and Spirit are completely restored; the body size increases, all negative statuses are removed, Attack power considerably increases, speed increases to a certain extent, and defensive power decreases to a certain extent. Frenzy lasts for 1 hour, after which it returns to normal.] This was the ability that the Gorilla zombie had used before! Wang Tao thought it might be an exclusive ability of a Zombie Lord, but it turned out to be an Ability! This Ability is incredibly powerful! Even though defense decreases, every other aspect is comprehensively enhanced, and it even restores you to full HP and Mana! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t forgotten the feeling of despair when he saw the Gorilla zombie¡¯s HP suddenly recover to full¡­. If he learned this Ability¡­ Wouldn¡¯t he essentially have two lives like the Gorilla zombie? However, as strong as this Ability is, its side effect is outrageous! Reducing defense isn¡¯t a big deal, since having an extra life justifies losing some defensive power. But to fuse with this Crystal Core, one would need to deduct 10,000 HP¡­ He thought the side effect of Healing Light was already twisted, with the first fusion reducing by 5,000 HP and each subsequent one by 1,000. If you fused with 10 Cores, wouldn¡¯t that deduct 14,000 HP? But compared to Frenzy, Healing Light was just a minor issue. This side effect cuts 10,000 HP after each fusion. Since it¡¯s not specifically marked, it implies that each fusion would reduce the HP by 10,000! That¡¯s a hundred thousand blood for 10 Crystal Cores! Who has that much HP to spare? And if Wang Tao wanted to fuse with it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to, even if he advanced to Level Two, because his own HP was only in the thousands, not enough to deduct¡­ This Crystal Core is truly enviable! If Wang Tao now had around 12,000 HP and the opportunity to fuse, he might fuse without hesitation! After all, it¡¯s a second life, and one that enhances most Attributes! ¡°Ah, what a pity, I don¡¯t meet the conditions¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed. Reluctantly, he shifted his gaze away from the tempting Crystal Core to the other spoils of combat. The second package dropped by the Gorilla zombie contained Strength Potions, just like the ones from the zombie Wu Fei. [Strength Potion (Small) x5] The third package, the last of the spoils, caught Wang Tao¡¯s eye. [Strength Growth Potion x5] [Strength Growth Potion: After injection, Strength will receive a certain degree of permanent Enhancement.] ¡°Strength Growth Potion¡± and ¡°Strength Potion (Small)¡± seem only a few words apart, but the effects are vastly different. The effect of the Strength Potion (Small) is: After injection, overall Strength is increased by 10%-100% (the stronger the constitution, the greater the increase), lasting for 1 minute with a cooldown of 12 hours. The Strength Potion actually provides a substantial increase, and with Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition, the Enhancement is around forty to fifty percent. However, it¡¯s a temporary ability, lasting only one minute, yet with a cooldown of 12 hours. But this Strength Growth Potion permanently increases one¡¯s own Strength! While it doesn¡¯t specify how much, it¡¯s likely not as much as the Strength Potion (Small), but it¡¯s permanent! Without a second thought, Wang Tao injected one into himself. Pfft- After the Potion was injected, it didn¡¯t immediately enhance his Strength like the Strength Potion did. Instead, it felt similar to the physical enhancement after killing a zombie, gradually increasing Wang Tao¡¯s Strength! Although the increase wasn¡¯t dramatic, it was definitely noticeable! Wang Tao clenched his fist, feeling the newfound Strength coursing through him. He immediately used the remaining four Strength Growth Potions. Pfft- Moments later, Wang Tao secretly exclaimed in delight! Using five Potions at once made the Strength gain even more apparent, akin to the sensation of enhancement when his HP was at 1,000! It was deep into the night by now. Han Rui had already fallen asleep, Ding Yuqin and Li Qiuyu were also drifting off, the lights were out, and only the faint moonlight bathed their figures. The reason Li Qiuyu was here was she had been greatly frightened, as, at one point, she was down to just 10 HP and near death. Ding Yuqin, who was innately kind-hearted, coupled with a few words from Han Rui, invited Li Qiuyu to sleep over with her. After all, everyone was sleeping in their clothes, even keeping their Weapons in hand, so there was no embarrassment. Wang Tao, seeing that the women had all fallen asleep, also intended to just lie down and sleep. However, seeing that his HP bar hadn¡¯t fully recovered, he felt somewhat compulsive. Medical packs and Self-healing Abilities weren¡¯t omnipotent, and more severe wounds couldn¡¯t heal quickly ¡ª Wang Tao was a living person, not data, after all. After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao went over, picked up Ding Yuqin, and brought her close to him, while also covering her mouth. ¡°Mmm¡ª¡± Ding Yuqin, who had just fallen asleep, was startled. Once she saw by moonlight that it was Wang Tao, she breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°You, what are you trying to do¡­¡± She whispered. ¡°You.¡± Wang Tao wanted to replenish his HP to full. And after experiencing several life-or-death situations that day, he desperately needed to vent and relax. Ding Yuqin blushed, gave Wang Tao a glance, and in truth, she had the same thought too, since she had also been scared out of her wits that day but was too embarrassed to bring it up. ¡°Sister Qiu Yu is still here¡­¡± Ding Yuqin said hesitantly. ¡°Then it¡¯s up to you whether you make noise or not.¡± Wang Tao gave a mischievous smile, then leaned in to kiss her. ¡°Mmm¡ª¡± The next day. The survivors woke up to find, to their delight, that the Mad Demon Zombies had left! ¡°Qiu Yu, aren¡¯t you happy?¡± Han Rui, noting Li Qiuyu¡¯s odd demeanor, asked curiously. ¡°Cough cough, of course I¡¯m happy¡­¡± Li Qiuyu stole a glance at Wang Tao and then quickly lowered her head. Chapter 288 - Chapter 288: Chapter 148: Ascension (Seeking Monthly Pass at Months End)_i Chapter 288: Chapter 148: Ascension (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month¡¯s End)_i Wang Tao looked at the Weakness status below his HP bar with some helplessness. He just remembered that he had used a Rejuvenation Potion yesterday and was going to be in a weakened state for the whole day today. ¡°Are you still going to hunt Elite Zombies today?¡± Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded. His strength had increased now, and even in a weakened state, hunting Level Elite Zombies was still no problem. Of course, this also had to do with the Gorilla zombie¡¯s death. There were no more Level Two zombies in the county now, otherwise Wang Tao would definitely be more cautious. Then you need to be careful, are you sure your injuries are really okay?¡­¡± Ding Yuqin grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s arm and asked with some concern. ¡°Haha, I replenished all my HP on you last night, and I¡¯m in great shape now!¡¯ Wang Tao said with a laugh. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying-never serious!¡± Ding Yuqin gently punched Wang Tao in the chest. Wang Tao shrugged. These days, telling the truth meant no one believed you. ¡°Do you need me to accompany you?¡± Han Rui came over at this time. Although she was also in a weakened state today, she slept well last night and felt quite spirited. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go together. Just in case I trigger a Sleeping State again, it¡¯s good to have a companion.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He was now just one HP drop away and could easily hunt any Level 1 Elite Zombie; theoretically, he could handle it alone. But if it was like before, and every increase of 1000 HP put him into a Sleeping State, then he would still need someone to assist him. ¡°Great! I¡¯ll get ready¡­¡± Han Rui immediately began to put on her gear. However, as she was gearing up, she suddenly asked out of curiosity: What¡¯s with Li Qjuyu today? There¡¯s something off about her ever since she got up this morning¡­¡± Ah?¡± Upon hearing this, Ding Yuqin seemed to think of something, her face turned red, and she muttered softly, ¡°She couldn¡¯t have stayed awake all night could she¡­¡± Wang Tao:¡±¡­¡± If that was the case, then things might be a bit awkward. But no matter, it¡¯s not like he was losing out. Alright, you rest up at home, sis, we¡¯re heading out.¡± ¡°Okay-¡± Ding Yuqin nodded. As Wang Tao went downstairs, he happened to bump into Li Qjuyu at the stair corner. ¡°Ouch~¡± Li Qjuyu almost fell, but fortunately, Wang Tao caught her. What¡¯s wrong with you, looking so out of it¡­?¡± ¡°Cough, it¡¯s nothing, thanks¡­¡± Lt Qjuyu quickly extricated herself from Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, looked at Wang Tao, then looked at Han Rui, her expression somewhat unnatural. ¡°As long as you¡¯re okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then went downstairs. Han Rui trailed half a step behind, then turned around and playfully winked at Li Qjuyu. She thought Li Qjuyu was trying to create opportunities on purpose. Li Qiuyu, thinking that Han Rui had also been awake the night before and knew about her insomnia, blushed deeply. Once Wang Tao and Han Rui¡¯s figures disappeared, Li Qjuyu sighed weakly. ¡°Doi really need to find a man to rely on¡­ Yesterday was just too frightening¡­¡± Downstairs, Wei Zhenguo and the others were also there, and they were all in a weakened state today. ¡°Wang Tao, leave the rebuilding of the base to us, you go ahead and ascend to Level Two with peace of mind!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo patted his shoulder with a serious expression. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll leave it to you guys to work hard.¡± Besides the comprehensive building, which was still intact, other areas of the Shuize Base had suffered varying degrees of destruction. Especially the walls and the gate surrounding the base, which had been smashed by the Gorilla zombie. The main task now was to repair these areas, otherwise, they couldn¡¯t fend off the zombies. Of course, the first thing to do was to clean up all the zombie corpses inside the base. The Gorilla zombie¡¯s roar from the previous day had directly killed many Ordinary zombies and Mad Demon Zombies, and there were far more of them dead than there were survivors, with rotting bodies scattered everywhere downstairs. Wang Tao and Han Rui went outside the base and found their off-road vehicle. The car was dirty and had many impact marks, but overall, there were no problems, and it still started. Hum- The electric motor of the car hummed as Wang Tao drove away from Shuize Base. They drove for quite a while without encountering many zombies. ¡°It feels like it¡¯s also a bit different out here¡­¡± Han Rui spoke up, finding it strange. ¡°It should be because the zombies nearby all came to our base before, and a lot of them were indiscriminately killed by the Gorilla zombie¡­ Let¡¯s go a bit further and take a look.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The rarer something is, the harder it is to come by. Elite Zombies, which used to be a common sight, are nowhere to be found now, with only some Ordinary zombies and Mad Demon Zombies wandering the streets¡­ Wang Tao set out in the morning and finally found a Rioters zombie wielding a Big Hammer near a hospital by evening. ¡°Not easy at all!¡± Wang Tao sighed, then immediately got out of the car and, from about ten meters away from the zombie, threw his axe. Splat¡ª [-3200] [0/3300] The Terrorizer was instantly killed. Wang Tao hurriedly looked at his HP bar. [5000/5000] He gained only 1 HP from killing this zombie, but his HP had reached 5000! Wang Tao felt that something had come into his mind¡­ He closed his eyes to contemplate. ¡°Wang Tao, how are you feeling?¡± Han Rui asked with concern. Wang Tao opened his eyes, his expression a bit odd. ¡°I¡¯m fine, let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao first rushed over to collect the loot from the Terrorizer, then hurriedly drove Han Rui back in the car. Chapter 289 - Chapter 289: Chapter 148: Ascension (Seeking Monthly Pass at Months End)_2 Chapter 289: Chapter 148: Ascension (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month¡¯s End)_2 ¡°Wang Tao, aren¡¯t you tired?¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. Previously, every time he killed some zombies, that is, every time he gained a whole thousand HP, he would feel drowsy, as if his body was ¡°auto upgrading.¡± After sleeping, his strength would increase. But now, after Wang Tao had killed an Elite Zombie, he was supposed to move up to Level 2, so why did he still appear to be so spirited? Seeing the confusion in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve discovered something interesting¡ªthis timing of ascending to Level 2 can be chosen at will! It¡¯s no longer like before where I would fall asleep immediately!¡± ¡°Ah? That¡¯s great then!¡± Han Rui was immediately overjoyed upon hearing this. In the past when she went out to kill zombies, she would uncontrollably feel the need to sleep at critical moments, which was extremely uncomfortable. After all, she was outside, where dangers lurked everywhere! Falling asleep meant a high chance of never waking up! But there was no way to control this¡­ Therefore, it was best to form a team, at least with more than two people, in order to go out hunting zombies. This way, if one person needed to sleep, another could quickly bring them back to the base. Wang Tao had always gone out with Han Rui, and the two of them took care of each other. But this still had significant limitations and was prone to accidents. If they could control the timing themselves, waiting to sleep until they were back at the base or in a safer place would be much better! ¡°What does it feel like then?¡± Han Rui asked further. She too had reached the upper limit of Level 1 and yearned for Level 2. ¡°How should I put it, it¡¯s kind of a sensation that¡¯s like knowing you can combine several Crystal Cores. I feel that within the next three days, I can choose any time to sleep, and then I¡¯ll become a Second-order Superpower Owner! If I don¡¯t make a choice, then in three days from now, I¡¯ll automatically fall asleep, waking up as a Second-order Superpower Owner¡­ As for how long I¡¯ll need to sleep, I feel like it should be around 24 hours¡­¡± Wang Tao described what he had felt. ¡°Then that¡¯s really not bad at all!¡± Han Rui also showed a smile on her face. Although there are restrictions, having to choose a time within three days and needing to sleep for 24 hours, three days is not a short time. If one can¡¯t find a safe place within three days, that¡¯s just bad luck¡­ ¡°Congratulations!¡± Han Rui was very happy for Wang Tao. ¡°Haha, but there¡¯s a bit of a situation with this ascension; I need to go back and study it a bit¡­¡± Soon, the two of them returned to the base, just as the sun had completely set. Although the crisis had resulted in the death of many people in the base, three hundred people survived, and they were all strong. Therefore, in terms of building the base, work progressed rather swiftly. In just one day¡¯s time, the corpses of the zombies inside the base had been thrown out, and some of the damaged walls and barbed wire had also been repaired. Except for the main gate, the defenses everywhere else in the base had returned to the pre-disaster levels. The main gate, which had been the focus of the Gorilla zombie¡¯s attack, was smashed to pieces. After discussing, Wei Zhenguo and the others decided to make two pure metal gates! The previous gate was called a big iron gate, but it was actually just iron sheeting on the outside with wood inside. Such a gate could stop Ordinary Zombies with no problem, but it was insufficient to stop monsters like the Gorilla zombie. If the gate was made entirely of metal, it¡¯s likely even the Gorilla zombie couldn¡¯ t break through. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just about the gate; the surrounding walls also needed to be reinforced, preferably all metal. After all, there was no shortage of abandoned vehicles outside, so metal materials were plentiful. However, this wasn¡¯t something that could be done overnight; for now, they could only focus on getting the big iron gate set up. As for the current gate, it was a patchwork of the previously shattered old one, just to make do. It was still capable of stopping some Ordinary Zombies. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re back. How was the harvest?¡± Seeing Wang Tao return, Wei Zhenguo and the others hurried over. ¡°It¡¯s basically stable. I can ascend to a Second-order Superpower Owner in at most three days or as soon as tomorrow!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± The few people were very excited to hear this. The Level 2 Zombies inside Shuize County should all be dead by now, at least they shouldn¡¯t reappear in the short term, and Wang Tao was about to become a Second-order Superpower Owner. This meant that while they might not dominate Shuize County, at least they wouldn¡¯t have to live in fear as before! Even if more Level 2 Zombies appeared later, Wang Tao¡¯s strength would surely grow even stronger, and killing Level 2 Zombies should be no problem. Then they could also obtain an Ascension Crystal Core and undergo Level 2 Ascension! As the saying goes, without destruction, there can be no construction; the ancients did not deceive me, the good days for the base might be coming! Wang Tao discussed the situation of Level 2 Ascension with them, and like Han Rui, they were all very happy. Having the freedom to choose the timing of ascension would be amazing! ¡°Then when do you plan to ascend?¡± Zhen Guo asked. Wang Tao thought for a moment and replied: ¡°Tonight. I¡¯ll go home to prepare and can ascend, which might take around 24 hours. By this time tomorrow, I¡¯ll be a Second-order Superpower Owner!¡± ¡°Good!¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°Oh, and here are some Crystal Cores for you guys.¡± Wang Tao took out some Level 1 Synthetic Crystal Cores he had on hand, as well as an Ascension Crystal Core that the zombie Wu Fei had dropped. ¡°An Ascension Crystal Core?¡± Everyone was somewhat surprised to see the green Crystal Core. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t need this Ascension Crystal Core anymore, so you guys see who could use it. This Core only has a 55% success rate, so I suggest picking someone who¡¯s lucky, haha!¡± Chapter 290 - Chapter 290: Chapter 148: Ascension (End of the Month for Monthly Pass) 3 Chapter 290: Chapter 148: Ascension (End of the Month for Monthly Pass) 3 ¡°Great! Thank you! Let¡¯s discuss this shortly!¡± Zhen Guo and his companions¡¯ eyes all lit up a bit, after all, this was an Ascension Crystal Core. If they could succeed, one of their abilities could be upgraded to Level Two! Level One facing Level Two, there was basically no chance of winning. But with a Level Two Ability, their odds of victory increased significantly. And a Level Two Ability against a Level One Zombie was practically a one-hit kill¡­ At this moment, Ren Jie suddenly asked: ¡°So, are we still going to have our celebration tonight?¡± It was only then that Wang Tao remembered they had previously planned to hold a celebration to commemorate the three-month anniversary of Shuize Base. The purpose of the party was to let the survivors relax a bit, they were all too tense every day, staying in this state for too long might lead to problems. After the announcement of the party, it received the approval of all survivors. The specific date was set for these few days, but no one could have expected the gorilla zombie to appear suddenly¡­ After discussing for a while, Zhen Guo and the others said: ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the event, since the survivors don¡¯t have work at night, it won¡¯t be a waste of one or two hours. However, we¡¯ll make some slight changes to the content, and turn it into a memorial for those who sacrificed themselves and an awards ceremony for those who made significant contributions¡­¡± ¡°People like Wu Fei, who indirectly saved our base, and Wang Tao, who directly saved everyone in the base, their deeds must be known by the survivors! Those who made contributions must be rewarded, even if only verbally¡­¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll bring out more food and let everyone eat their fill. We lost a lot of hands this time, but the food hasn¡¯t suffered much, so we actually have an abundance of food now¡­¡± Zhen Guo had a lot to say. ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll go and make some basic preparations. How about the day after tomorrow for the time? Wang Tao will ascend to Level Two tomorrow; the day after, he can show himself in front of everyone and stabilize morale! What do you think, Wang Tao?¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Wang Tao naturally had no objections. ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s decided!¡± Soon, the news of the party being held as scheduled spread. A rare smile appeared on the faces of the survivors, not because they were eager to watch a performance at the party, but because the committee announced that many people would be rewarded at this party¡ªfor those who performed well and helped their peers during the crisis. Not only would their names be engraved on the large iron gate to be made later, but they would also receive better welfare benefits in the future! Huo Ziyi was pleased to hear this news and decided to take the initiative. She didn¡¯t want to live in fear anymore, well aware that the women who were close to Wang Tao had all become Ability Users. Even if she became subordinate to Wang Tao, it would be better than having no background at all¡­ At this time, Wang Tao had returned to his villa with Han Rui. Since Ding Yuqin had run to the main building the moment the zombies came, there was nobody at home and naturally no zombies were attracted. Thus, the house was unaffected, and even the large Green Vine on the balcony hadn¡¯t lost a single leaf. Wang Tao drank some nutrient solution briefly and then lay down on the bed. Han Rui and Ding Yuqin did not disturb him. Today, after reaching 5000 HP, Wang Tao discovered three rather peculiar conditions and had been studying them, finally understanding what they meant. The first was that he could now control the timing of his sleep, or more accurately, his Ascension. He could ascend whenever he wanted within the next three days. The second was that Wang Tao had an inkling that if he ascended to Level Two, he could choose to delete one of his Level Two Abilities. Deleting an ability would free up a slot for him to fuse a new Ability! In other words, although he currently couldn¡¯t fuse new types of Crystal Cores, he could replace an ability, or even all four! And this deletion was not just literal; it involved the transfer and inheritance¡ª the Ability he deleted could be transferred to others, but would be downgraded by one level. For instance, if Wang Tao no longer wanted Shockwave, he could transfer his ¡°Level Two +1¡± Shockwave to Ding Yuqin, and once transferred to her, it would become ¡°Level One +10¡±. At first glance, this might seem like a loss of one Ascension Crystal Core, not particularly profitable, right? But not exactly! Firstly, besides Wang Tao, other people¡¯s Crystal Core fusions were not guaranteed to succeed. Counting the failures, that would be many more Cores used! And more importantly, the inherited ability would carry over half of the original host¡¯s impurities in that Ability, but without any side effects! To put it simply, if Wang Tao transferred Shockwave to Ding Yuqin, for her, it would not only be a +10 Level One Ability but also one with fewer impurities and side effects. Of course, Wang Tao¡¯s Abilities had no side effects to begin with. If it were someone else, for example, if an Ability User needed to fuse 20 Crystal Cores to reach Level Two, then the impurities in that Ability would be around 10%. Upon transferring it, the original user would retain 5% impurities, and the recipient would get a +10 Ability with just 5% impurities, but no side effects! To inherit an Ability, it had to be done within three days after his Ascension; if he didn¡¯t find a recipient by then, it would just be a simple deletion. This mechanism was quite powerful, and Wang Tao could already foresee that if humans held on, an increasing number of people would accept inheritances! However¡­ Wang Tao himself seemed to have no use for this inheritance power. This brings us to the third discovery¡ª Wang Tao noticed some changes in his HP bar¡ªhis 5000 HP limit had not changed, but between his own HP and mana bars, a new grey bar appeared showing 5160. This grey bar was a new feature that allowed him to extract and fuse Abilities! Chapter 291 - Chapter 291: Chapter 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes)_l Chapter 291: Chapter 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes)_l Wang Tao¡¯s gaze focused on the grey HP bar, and several lines of explanation popped up. [Current Special Energy: 5160] [Special energy is obtained from killing zombies above your level] [Special energy can be used for extraction and fusion of abilities] [Extraction abilities: Turn a learned ability into a crystal core of the current level. Extracting a Level 1 Special Ability consumes 1000 special energy; Extracting a Level 2 Ability consumes 5000 special energy; Extracting a Level 3 Ability consumes 30000 special energy.] [Ability Fusion: Fuse two learned abilities of the same level. If fusion is successful, the ability has two traits, and its level is the average of both. If fusion fails, the primary ability remains, and the secondary ability disappears. Fusing a Level 1 Ability consumes 1000 special energy; Fusing a Level 2 Ability consumes 5000 special energy; Fusing a Level 3 Ability consumes 30000 special energy.] This grey bar represents special energy, which appears from killing zombies above his level! It probably didn¡¯t show up before because he had no use for it, but now that he is about to reach Level 2 Ascension and can use it, it has become visible. And this grey bar also displays the specific numbers of special energy obtained. The numbers, in the order they were received, are: 960,600,1080,1560, 960¡­ Five sets of numbers in total, and Wang Tao had just killed five Level 2 Zombies. And he distinctly remembered the first number, 960 ¨C wasn¡¯t it the HP he gained from killing the Level 2 Zombie Shao Yong? So does that mean these numbers respectively represent the special energy converted from the HP he gained from killing zombies Shao Yong, the Hooded Zombie, the Green-eyed Zombie, the Gorilla Zombie, and Zombie Wu Fei? With over 5000 special energy, he could extract one of his four learned abilities and then learn other abilities! Even, he could extract an ability to give to someone else, effectively passing it on. However, he can¡¯t extract right now because the notification above says he can only extract Level 2 abilities after he has achieved Level 2 Ascension. And Wang Tao hasn¡¯t decided which one to extract since all four abilities he currently uses are very important to him. Wang Tao was more concerned with ability fusion. Having learned four abilities, if he could fuse these four into one, wouldn¡¯t that free up three ability slots? Of course, this was only theoretical at this moment since the fusion also has a rate of failure, which would be quite unfortunate. Just like with extraction, he also can¡¯t perform fusion yet and must wait until he officially becomes a Second-order Superpower Owner before he can utilize these two abilities. Wang Tao checked everything carefully again and, finding no issues, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Begin Ascension! Wang Tao felt a warm and comfortable sensation throughout his body. Then he gradually lost consciousness¡­ The next day, 6 AM. It had started to drizzle outside. Within Shuize Base, survivors had no time to grieve; they were all busily engaged in post-disaster reconstruction. Although the outer defense was fixed the day before, the large number of zombies entering the base still caused a lot of destruction. And the defense needed to be reinforced, so everyone was busy with their tasks. Of course, the committee wasn¡¯t stingy; they provided plenty of food. Although it wasn¡¯t unlimited, it was definitely enough to ensure everyone was well-fed and also came with many Contribution Points. Inside the comprehensive building. ¡°You actually succeeded?¡± Xiang Hongbin stared incredulously at Wei Zhenguo. The green Ascension crystal core that Wang Tao presented them yesterday, after some discussion, everyone decided to let Wei Zhenguo use it. Ideally, it should have been for Xiang Hongbin, being the second-strongest person in the base, but Xiang Hongbin really didn¡¯t trust his own luck, so he offered the opportunity to someone else. Just like when Feng Ming¡¯an fused the vomiting crystal core, it was because Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t trust his luck and let Feng Ming¡¯an have it. Unexpectedly, Wei Zhen Guo actually succeeded! A 55% chance¡­ it could only be said that Wei Zhenguo was lucky! ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve always been lucky!¡± Wei Zhenguo laughed heartily, then said, ¡°I¡¯m going to hunt some Elite Zombies to try out the effect of my Level 2 Ability soon!¡± After a successful fusion, the Ascension crystal core Wei Zhenguo obtained was Rush. He wanted to test the power of a Level 2 Rush. ¡°Okay, shall I join you?¡± Xiang Hongbin was also looking forward to it. ¡°No problem!¡± The two of them delegated their tasks and then left the base in a car. ¡°Damn, where are the Elite Zombies on this street? When you don¡¯t need them, they¡¯re everywhere, but when you do, you can¡¯t find a single one!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed as he looked at the zombies outside the car. Wei Zhenguo also felt somewhat helpless. He certainly didn¡¯t hope for too many zombies to appear, but he was eager to find an Elite Zombie to test his strength. ¡°Let¡¯s go further outside.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± After driving a while longer, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°There¡¯s a Self-exploder!¡± Not far ahead, a zombie with its internal organs protruding from its chest was moving sluggishly. ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately got out of the car. From his position, more than thirty meters separated him from the Self-exploder, with a few Ordinary Zombies in between, so the Self-exploder naturally didn¡¯t notice him. ¡°You get ready. If I can¡¯t kill the Self-exploder in one second, causing it to Self Detonate, you need to drive over quickly to pick me up.¡± Wei Zhenguo was still a bit unsure of himself. ¡°You can count on me!¡± Xiang Hongbin patted his chest, confident that Wei Zhenguo could kill the Self- exploder in a second, but prepared for the worst just in case. Chapter 292 - Chapter 292: Chapter 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes )_2 Chapter 292: Chapter 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes )_2 Wei Zhen Guo found the right angle and instantly initiated a Rush. Whoosh A streak of white light flashed by, and all the zombies on the path, including the self-exploders, were smashed into a bloody mist! The self-exploders didn¡¯t have any chance to self-detonate. ¡°Holy shit! Badass!¡± Seeing this, Xiang Hong Bin was utterly amazed, then hurriedly drove over. On the other side, Wei Zhen Guo, seeing his own achievements, suddenly got a little excited. The Level 2 Rush Ability was truly extraordinary! But suddenly, he paused. Why did he feel like he could ascend to Level 2 now? ¡°Old Wei, awesome!¡± Xiang Hong Bin drove over and gave Wei Zhen Guo a thumbs up. But Wei Zhen Guo frowned and said to Xiang Hongbin: ¡°I feel like I can ascend to Level 2¡­¡± ¡°What? You¡¯ve already integrated four types of Crystal Cores, don¡¯t you need four Ascension Crystal Cores to reach Level 2? Wang Tao did it that way!¡± Xiang Hong Bin was somewhat puzzled. ¡°But I just have this feeling that I could ascend to Level 2 at any moment¡­ Let me concentrate and feel it again.¡± Wei Zhen Guo picked up the Crystal Core from the self-exploder and got into the car. After concentrating in the car for a while, he finally said with certainty: ¡°It¡¯s true! I can ascend to Level 2 now, and I don¡¯t need to sleep for 24 hours, just 6 will do! I also feel that after advancing, I can choose to delete this Rush Ability or pass it on to someone else¡­¡± Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s feeling was somewhat similar to Wang Tao¡¯s earlier; he could pick any time to advance, and both deleting an Ability and passing it on seemed possible to him. However, unlike Wang Tao, who had to choose his advancement time within three days, Wei Zhen Guo had no specified time; he could advance whenever he liked. Then there was the fact that Wang Tao felt he could delete or pass on any Ability at will, while Wei Zhen Guo could only choose his Level 2 Rush Ability for deletion or inheritance, since it was the only one that was a Level 2 Ability. Level 1 Abilities couldn¡¯t be deleted or passed on. ¡°Ah? You really can advance, and in a different way than Wang Tao? Wang Tao probably didn¡¯t lie to us, otherwise he would¡¯ve advanced already, no need to almost get himself killed¡­ That also means, you two are indeed different¡­¡± Xiang Hong Bin scratched his head, unsure of the reason, but he already knew the outcome¡ª Wang Tao needed four Ascension Crystal Cores, and after assembling them, he had to advance within three days, or he would automatically advance after three days. Wei Zhen Guo only needed one Crystal Core to advance, and he had no time restrictions¡­ With Wang Tao¡¯s acknowledged strength, could this be the price of being powerful? Both of them looked at each other with surprised expressions, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem; they could just discuss it with Wang Tao after he completed his advancement and learn more then. ¡°Since you can advance now, when do you plan to start?¡± asked Xiang Hong Bin. ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t wait any longer. I¡¯m going back right now to try advancing. I might even reach Level 2 before Wang Tao!¡± Wei Zhen Guo laughed heartily. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head back now!¡± Xiang Hong Bin immediately drove back to the base. Meanwhile, at the base of Shuizhe Mountain. A zombie emitting green vapors appeared from the woods. ¡°Hehheh¡­¡± The zombie tilted its head, then started moving toward the south. The second one, the third one¡­ Countless zombies emitting green vapors emerged from the woods, all heading south. When Wei Zhen Guo and the others returned to the base, it was just 12 noon. After a quick meal, Wei Zhen Guo decided it was time to start his Level 2 Ascension. ¡°I¡¯ll start ascending now; I should be able to wake upby sixin the evening!¡± Since he could ascend with just one Ascension Crystal Core, there was no need to search for more. Although he guessed that using four Ascension Crystal Cores might allow him to delete or pass on all four of his Abilities to others, that was totally unnecessary! He had no complaints about his Abilities, and he would have to be insane to delete or pass on even this Rush Ability. So now that he could ascend, he would simply go for it. After he shared the news with the other committee members, they were all intrigued. Wang Tao being so strong was evidently for a reason; even the conditions for his Ascension were different from others¡­ As for Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s decision to ascend now, everyone agreed. After all, having an additional Second-order Superpower Owner in the base meant more strength. Having returned home, Wei Zhen Guo quickly fell into the sleep necessary for Ascension. 4 PM. A member of the Security Army on rooftop duty suddenly furrowed his brows. ¡°What is that¡­¡± He quickly picked up the binoculars and looked toward the north of the base. Upon seeing clearly, he broke out into a cold sweat. ¡°No good! A large number of zombies are coming from the north! Loads of them!¡± The Security Army member hastily reported over the radio. Shortly after, the entire base was plunged into a frantic atmosphere. After all, the base had only been attacked by zombies the day before yesterday, resulting in heavy losses, casting a shadow over everyone¡¯s hearts. ¡°What¡¯s happening? How many zombies are there?¡± Xiang Hong Bin, who had been practicing Throwing Knife, quickly put down his knives and went to the top of the main building. ¡°Commissioner Xiang, look to the north!¡± The Security Army handed him the binoculars. ¡°Hiss ¡± After one glance, Xiang Hong Bin took a sharp intake of breath. In the binoculars, countless zombies could be seen, all of them a new type with green vapors emanating from their bodies! They had already crossed the bridge over the river and were rapidly approaching the base¡¯s north gate! Chapter 293 - Chapter 293: Chapter 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes )_3 Chapter 293: Chapter 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes )_3 Shuize Base was originally Shuize University, which had several gates; however, the other gates had all been sealed off, leaving only the main gate on the south side open. ¡°Where did all these zombies come from?!¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat baffled. He had gone around Shuize County many times and had never seen zombies of this kind, especially not in such numbers! Ren Jie and the others quickly caught up. ¡°I¡¯ve already sent the word down, instructing most of the survivors to take refuge in the compound building. Wang Tao and Old Wei have also been moved over¡­ What exactly is the situation?¡± As soon as Ren Jie heard about the large number of zombies heading toward the base, he immediately sent out the notice without hesitation, directing those survivors with little combat ability to take shelter in the compound building. After all, they had already learned their lesson from last time. If they could have reacted faster when they encountered the gorilla zombies, maybe more than a hundred lives would not have been lost. Once he had made sure everyone was arranged, he then ran up to join the others. Another member of the Security Army quickly handed over the binoculars to Ren Jie. ¡°¡­¡± After looking through the binoculars, Ren Jie fell silent for a moment before swearing, ¡°Damn it!¡± The number of zombies at the north gate of the base looked to be in the thousands! How could so many zombies suddenly appear? Moreover, he had never seen this type of zombie before and didn¡¯t know their strength¡­ With so many zombies, it was unlikely they were all Level Two, but they clearly differed from ordinary zombies¡­ If these were all Level 1 Elite Zombies, that could be even more terrifying than the Mad Demon Zombies! The only silver lining now was that they had managed to repair the base¡¯ s defenses, and among the group of approaching zombies, there were no individuals with massive physiques like the gorilla zombies, so theoretically, the base should be able to hold them off¡­ ¡°That place¡­ they¡¯re coming from Shuizhe Mountain! I remember Wang Tao mentioning that students from Shuize University were on Shuizhe Mountain. Could these all be students from Shuize University?¡± Lu Gang suddenly spoke up. When they arrived at the base, there were no people or zombies at Shuize University. It was said that the university was renovating several buildings, but it¡¯s unknown whether there was shoddy construction involved, as the strange smell lingered, prompting the university to give students a few days off. However, later on, Wang Tao mentioned that while the university said it was a holiday, it also organized a sketching and photography trip. Many students went into the Shuizhe Mountain for this outing, and the fees were not cheap. At the time of the virus outbreak, many students were still on the mountain. With over twenty thousand students at Shuize University¡­ how many zombies could there be on that mountain! Hearing Lu Gang mention this, everyone else started to make the connection. They took another careful look through the binoculars, and while they couldn¡¯t make out the features of the zombies to the north, their clothes were relatively trendy and vibrant, likely belonging to the students of Shuize University¡­ ¡°Crap, these zombies¡­ they wouldn¡¯t be coming to reclaim their school, would they?¡± Xiang Hongbin made a joke that fell flat. ¡°What should we do now?¡± Lu Gang asked with a frown. The timing of these zombies¡¯ arrival was truly distressing, exactly when Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo were both in the midst of their Ascension, leaving the base without its two strongest combatants¡­ Ren Jie turned to Xiang Hongbin, who was a combatant. He would know whether they could fight or not. ¡°We can only stay put in the base for now. Since there are no large specimens among these zombies, they shouldn¡¯t be able to breach our defenses. We¡¯ll wait for Old Wei and Wang Tao to awaken before deciding our next move¡­ However, for safety, let¡¯s keep the non-combatants in the compound building at all times,¡± Xiang Hongbin had been scared by the previous gorilla zombie incident. ¡°Alright!¡± These zombies looked stiff in the body, but they moved at a not-so-slow pace. It took them less than twenty minutes to reach the base¡¯s north gate. The north gate of the base was completely sealed off, not just to zombies, but even the people inside the base could not open it. Plus, the walls here were very high, so these zombies had no way to get in. Xiang Hongbin and the others had initially thought that these zombies would be like the ordinary ones, all crowding in one place, incapable of improvisation. Unexpectedly, once they realized they couldn¡¯t get in, they didn¡¯t just linger at the north gate but gradually began to encircle the entire base! Seeing this unfold, everyone had a bad feeling. The base was so large that there were bound to be places with weaker defenses. If the zombies found them¡­ Fortunately, after surrounding the base, these zombies only roared chaotically and did not try to climb the walls like the Mad Demon Zombies. It appeared these zombies didn¡¯t know how to climb. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But then, half an hour later, at five o¡¯clock, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s face suddenly went pale. A light green fog became visible to the naked eye within the base! ¡°These zombies are poisonous! Cough, cough¡­¡± He felt suddenly much weaker and was seized by a violent cough. Everyone who inhaled the fog seemed as if they had been hit with a Weakness Potion, instantly becoming listless and coughing! ¡°Quick, cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel¡­ Cough, cough¡­¡± Ren Jie ordered. Not knowing if it would help, they had no other choice. There was some protective gear like hazmat suits in the base, which Xiang Hongbin hurriedly found and had everyone put on. After putting on a gas mask, Xiang Hongbin felt much better. He stopped coughing, and although he was not immediately relieved from the state of weakness, he was slowly recovering. ¡°Thankgoodness these zombies can¡¯t get in¡ª¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he saw a few particularly agile-looking zombies, shrouded in faint green smoke, pushing against the large main gate! They attracted more zombies to the area. Soon, the south main gate was overrun with zombies! This gate had been damaged by the gorilla zombies before and was only patched up; its defensive power was definitely not as good as before. Then, to the horror of all watching, the zombies caused the gate to buckle and deform. And with a ¡°bang,¡± the gate fell apart and collapsed to the ground. ¡°Hehheh¡­¡± Countless zombies, surrounded by green fumes, entered the base. The green fog inside the base thickened. The zombies reached the base of the compound building, and the green smoke billowed to the sky! ¡°It¡¯s over¡­ If we can¡¯t break out, we might all be poisoned to death¡­¡± Chapter 294 - Chapter 294: Chapter 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Chapter 294: Chapter 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Votes)_i Seeing more and more zombies gathering downstairs and the green poisonous fog growing denser, Xiang Hongbin and his group were left with no choice but to decide to make a break for it! While several committee members had gas masks, the others did not. If everyone else was poisoned to death, then what would be the point of them being the only survivors? Besides, it wasn¡¯t certain that they would survive either. If they didn¡¯t make a move now while they still had the numbers and before everyone had completely lost their combat power, then they would have no choice but to wait for death when most people had become incapacitated! ¡°Are Wang Tao and Old Xiang okay?¡± Xiang Hongbin asked as he strapped several firefighter axes to his body. ¡°They seem to have some immunity to this poison in their sleeping state¡­ But just to be safe, I¡¯ve put gas masks on them too¡­¡± Ren Jie replied. ¡°Alright, that puts my mind at ease!¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded, then went downstairs. Looking at the group of people who covered their mouths and noses with cloth, he sighed internally before speaking with a resolute tone: Everyone, I will not say much more. I just want to tell you, this is the end of the world! If you want to be safe, then you have to fight for your life! If we don¡¯t take out those poisonous zombies outside, we will surely die. But if we go out and deal with them now, we still have a chance to live! So, follow me and rush out!¡± ¡°Rush!¡± Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo were still asleep, so Xiang Hongbin, being the strongest combat force of the base, had to set an example. Squeak¡ª The iron gate downstairs opened, emitting sharp, scraping sounds. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The zombies, sensitive to noise, detected the movement and immediately rushed frantically towards the door. Then. Boom¡ª A faint white glow flashed by as Xiang Hongbin made a rush from inside the building straight outside. He knocked over a dozen zombies, but they didn¡¯t die! ¡°They didn¡¯t die!¡± Xiang Hongbin was taken aback. With that one rush, he could instantly kill mad demon zombies and some HP-weak elite zombies! But these poisonous fog zombies, they didn¡¯t die? Boom¡ª Promptly, several other rushes occurred-there was no shortage of ability users who had learned the Rush Ability. However, like Xiang Hongbin, most of them couldn¡¯t instantly kill these poisonous fog zombies. There were still instances of kills, but those were when several people rushed onto the same zombie at the same time¡­ Seeing this situation, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s expression turned grim. Even without the poisonous fog, these zombies were stronger than the mad demon zombies! Probably not inferior to the elite zombies, it¡¯s just not clear if these zombies were elite zombies¡­ But now that they had already charged out, it was pointless to talk about anything else; they had no choice but to fight! Bang- Xiang Hongbin unleashed a shockwave at the group of poisonous fog zombies that he had knocked to the ground. The zombies were hit by the shockwave and flung about in disarray, but still, none died. It was only after the second shockwave that some of the poisonous fog zombies finally died at his hands. ¡°At least two or three hits are needed to kill these zombies!¡± With his current strength, if he were to ambush elite zombies, it would also take two or three hits. This meant that in terms of defensive power, these zombies were essentially on par with elite zombies! Although Xiang Hongbin could kill these zombies in a few hits, there were too many of them-possibly tens of thousands! If they were all before him, then even if his axe became blunt from chopping, he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill them all! What troubled Xiang Hongbin even more was that, even after killing these zombies, their bodies would still release green poisonous fog! ¡°Damn it, not even a Crystal Core! They¡¯re not elite zombies after all¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin took the opportunity to pry open the head of a poisonous fog zombie and found that there was no Crystal Core inside. However, there was still some good news; Xiang Hongbin discovered that these zombies had no other attacking abilities apart from being high in HP and defensive power and able to release poison. Compared to many elite zombies, these poisonous fog zombies were relatively easier to deal with in head-on combat. Of course, this relative ease was only in comparison to Xiang Hongbin. For others, these poisonous fog zombies were not so easy to handle. Especially after many had inhaled the poisonous fog, their strength diminished significantly. Already difficult to fight, and now with their combat power reduced, they became even harder to tackle. ¡°Ah-¡± An ability user suddenly screamed in agony as a zombie bit into his neck from behind. He writhed wildly, trying to break free, but more zombies crowded in, and he quickly fell silent without a chance to use his inhibitor¡­ ¡°Shit!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed quietly, then smashed the head of the zombie that had just tangled with him. He witnessed the scene from a distance, but was surrounded by zombies and couldn¡¯t offer support. He could only redirect his anger towards these zombies. But this casualty was just the beginning. Soon, casualties started to occur one after another. Those with luck on their side were saved by their companions and quickly drank an inhibitor. The unlucky ones were bitten to death on the spot without a chance to use their inhibitor. Xiang Hongbin watched as survivors kept dying one after another, heedless of the danger, he charged into the throng of zombies and killed over a dozen in just a few moments, his combat power seeming to grow even stronger. But he alone was not enough; there were simply too many zombies! In one moment, as Xiang Hongbin swung his axe at a poisonous fog zombie, the creature dodged by tilting its head, avoiding the strike, and then it slapped him hard across the chest. Chapter 295 - Chapter 295: Chapter 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Monthly Votes )_2 Chapter 295: Chapter 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Monthly Votes )_2 Bang- Hong Bin was sent flying and landed amidst a horde of zombies! Whoosh¡ª A streak of light from a Rush skill flashed by, and Han Rui arrived just in time to snatch Hong Bin out of the jaws of death. ¡°Holy shit! How is it so strong, cough cough¡ª¡± Blood spilled from the corners of Hong Bin¡¯s mouth as Han Rui dragged him away. Turning her head, Han Rui gazed at the zombie that was obviously larger than the other Poisonous Fog Zombies, and sensing the significantly greater strength within its body, she said solemnly, ¡°This is a Level 2 Zombie!¡± ¡°What? A Level 2 Zombie!¡± Hong Bin¡¯s face immediately turned pale. If it were just an Elite Zombie, then it might only be a bit stronger or have some other characteristic traits. It would still be manageable. But if it were a Level 2 Zombie, that would mean an enhancement in all aspects! Even the weakest Level 2 Zombies would be hard to handle by their Level 1 selves, especially since Wang Tao and Wei Zhen Guo were not among them¡­ ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be¡­¡± Before Hong Bin could finish speaking, he saw the zombie that had attacked him sprint at a comparatively high speed directly into the crowd. Then, it swung its palm that was emitting green smoke. Bang- In an instant, several survivors were sent flying, coughing up blood in midair. But they were the fortunate ones; the unlucky ones had their heads struck directly, smashing open like watermelons! ¡°Damn, it really is a Level 2 Zombie!¡± Witnessing this scene, Hong Bin no longer harbored any illusions. Such combat power that instantly killed Level 1 ability users had to belong to a Level 2 or higher zombie! But why, why would there still be Level 2 Zombies!? They couldn¡¯t even deal with ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies, and now there was a Level 2 Zombie; how were they supposed to live through this! Hong Bin himself wasn¡¯t afraid; at worst, he would die, feeling that surviving this long in the apocalypse was already a profit. It was just that he found it painful to watch these survivors die¡ªafter all, they were the people he was protecting! ¡°Shall we two go and try to handle this Level 2 Zombie?¡± After catching his breath, Hong Bin looked to Han Rui and said. ¡°Yes!¡± Han Rui¡¯s expression was resolute. If they allowed this Level 2 Zombie to rampage among the crowd, then more survivors would die. They had to step in! ¡°And me!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an, holding a homemade spear, rushed over. His only skill was the Slime Spitter Ability, but it was a very good control ability. If someone could coordinate with him, it should be rather effective. ¡°I¡¯m in too!¡± The voice of Lu Gang came through the walkie-talkie. Everyone looked up to see an arrow protruding from a window of the comprehensive building. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s¡­ rush!¡± Hong Bin briefly outlined his plan, and then Han Rui was the first to charge forward. Boom¡ª With a Rush, Han Rui knocked over a few ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies and got close to the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. The appearance of Han Rui immediately caught the attention of the zombie, which roared and ran quickly towards her. But just as it charged to Han Rui¡¯s front, a flash of white light appeared, and Hong Bin, accompanied by Feng Ming¡¯an, materialized behind the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Then Feng Ming¡¯an vomited a stream of slime at the zombie. Blargh¡ª A large lump of white slime spewed out, covering the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie completely! The zombie¡¯s speed began to slow, and its body turned stiff. ¡°It¡¯s effective!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an immediately rejoiced. He had rarely used his Slime Spitter Ability on Level 2 Zombies before. It was ineffective against the Gorilla Zombie, and the Hooded Zombie was too fast for him to hit, which almost made Feng Ming¡¯an despair. Fortunately, it now worked on this Level 2 Zombie, and it was effective. Whoosh¡ª At that moment, a stainless steel arrow suddenly flew out from the comprehensive building and rapidly approached the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Pu-ch¡ª The arrow penetrated the zombie¡¯s ear and lodged inside its head. The Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s body stiffened. ¡°Eh? Did it die?¡± Before they could rejoice, the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie suddenly let out a roar and the solidified white slime on its body burst open. Whirr¡ª The Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie instantly broke free! With the arrow still sticking out of its head, it frantically attacked the people around. Bang! The unlucky Hong Bin became the primary target and was once again slapped away by the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an took the opportunity to strike the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie a few times but felt it was ineffective. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± After being attacked, the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a green substance, flying straight at FengMing¡¯an. Feng Ming¡¯an, seeing he couldn¡¯t dodge, simply opened his mouth and vomited at the green substance. Blargh¡ª The white slime instantly merged with the green substance and enveloped it. However, this green poisonous fog seemed corrosive, and within the blink of an eye, Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s white slime was completely corroded! But by then, Han Rui had already grabbed Feng Ming¡¯an and used her Rush Ability to flee. ¡°Damn! No wonder it¡¯s a Level 2 Zombie, so tough to beat!¡± Hong Bin said with a grim expression. If they didn¡¯t take down this Level 2 Zombie, the other survivors would eventually be killed by the zombies! ¡°Should we use the anti-materiel sniper rifle?¡± The voice of Lu Gang came from the walkie-talkie. The anti-materiel sniper rifle was powerful, and if they found the right opportunity, there was a good chance that they could kill this Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. But the problem was that the sniper rifle was loud, and if they fired it, they would likely draw the nearby Mad Demon Zombies as well! Chapter 296 - Chapter 296: Chapter 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Chapter 296: Chapter 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Votes)_3 There were already so many Poisonous Fog Zombies here; if we attracted a Mad Demon Zombie as well, that would be adding fuel to the fire! Hongbin hesitated for a moment before nodding firmly. ¡°Use it! We have no choice, if we can take down this Level 2 Zombie, then it¡¯s worth it even if we attract a Mad Demon Zombie!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Lu Gang responded, then took out his black and thick sniper rifle, ¡°But you guys need to create an opportunity for me¡­¡± ¡°No problem, just wait!¡± After discussing with the others, Hongbin and his group launched another attack on the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. They planned to execute the same strategy as before, with Han Rui drawing the zombie¡¯s attention while Hongbin and Feng Ming¡¯an launched a surprise attack from behind to control the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie, even if just for a second, which would be enough time for Lu Gang to shoot. However, this time an accident occurred. When Han Rui rushed forward to attract the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s attention, it seemed to activate a sprint ability, instantly covering several meters and appearing before Han Rui. Bang- Han Rui was slapped away by a palm. ¡°Pfft-¡± Fortunately, Han Rui landed among the survivors without being attacked by other zombies, but she spat out a large mouthful of blood. Hongbin didn¡¯t have time to worry about Han Rui; he immediately sprinted with Feng Ming¡¯an to the back of the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie, where Feng Ming¡¯an vomited at the zombie. Vomit¡ª A large amount of white slime once again immobilized the Level 2 Zombie. The zombie¡¯s body stiffened, and at the same time, a loud gunshot rang out. Bang! Half of the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s face was gone! However, it didn¡¯t die; the solidified slime on its body exploded instantly, and with a furious roar, it charged straight at Feng Ming¡¯an. This zombie clearly wasn¡¯t as perceptive as the Hooded Zombie and the Gorilla Zombie; it didn¡¯t realize who had attacked it and instinctively assumed that Feng Ming¡¯ an was the attacker. But Feng Ming¡¯an was well-prepared. Knowing that his attack power wasn¡¯t strong and difficult to improve, he had worked harder on his defense. He took out the homemade steel shield from his back and held it directly in front of him. Clang¡ª The zombie¡¯s attack struck the shield, nearly knocking Feng Ming¡¯an off his feet, but fortunately, Hongbin was behind him to brace him. ¡°What a huge strength!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an shook his numb arm. ¡°Give me the shield; you find a chance to spit at it one more time!¡± After taking the shield from Hongbin, he charged straight at the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Bang! The two collided. The Rush Ability was indeed powerful; Hongbin briefly held his own against the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie, and while he did, Feng Ming¡¯an ran to the zombie¡¯s back. Vomit¡ª A large cluster of white slime once again immobilized the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie! Seeing that Feng Ming¡¯an was in position, Hongbin immediately withdrew to avoid being hit by the vomiting slime. Bang¡ª Another loud gunshot rang out. Splat¡ª This time, the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s head burst like a watermelon, and at the same time, a blue crystal core popped out. ¡°It¡¯s dead!¡± Hongbin quickly picked up the Crystal Core and then hustled back to the base of the comprehensive building with Feng Ming¡¯an. ¡°The Level 2 Zombie is dead; nobody needs to be afraid. As long as we kill these Ordinary Zombies, we will be safe!¡± Hongbin loudly encouraged the survivors. Hearing that the inside Level 2 Zombie had been killed, everyone indeed seemed to be on a adrenaline rush, attacking much more fiercely. Hongbin, carrying Feng Ming¡¯an, joined Han Rui. The three of them had suffered varying degrees of injury, with Han Rui suffering the most. The blow from the zombie was too fierce; she felt as if her internal organs had shifted. Next was Hongbin, who still had blood in his mouth, presumably suffering internal injuries as well, but since his defense was higher than Han Rui¡¯s, his injuries were relatively lighter. Feng Ming¡¯an was better off; he wasn¡¯t hurt much, but the continuous use of the Slime Spitter Ability, especially at full volume, caused his face to turn pale, and his stomach was in great discomfort. ¡°The Mad Demon Zombie has already been attracted¡­¡± Han Rui looked at the mad demon zombies attracted by the gunfire, running towards the base, her expression extremely ugly. There was no choice in the matter, between mad demon zombies and Level 2 zombies, a sacrifice had to be made. In everyone¡¯s minds, the Level 2 zombies were still the most terrifying. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we continue to fight!¡± Han Rui struggled to stand up. Both she and Xiang Hongbin were seriously injured, but survivors were periodically bitten to death by zombies. If they didn¡¯t act, even more people would die! ¡°Fight!¡± Xiang Hongbin also took a deep breath and then charged back into the horde of zombies. Ten minutes later, Xiang Hongbin rescued a survivor and, gasping for breath, said: ¡°These zombies, it¡¯s like they can never be fully eradicated¡­¡± He felt he had already killed many Poisonous Fog Zombies, but now there were still so many, and the fog was even denser! There was simply no way to fight this! Feng Ming¡¯an next to him hadn¡¯t had the chance to speak when he suddenly felt a pain in his back. Thud- Feng Ming¡¯an was instantly sent flying, tasting blood in his mouth as it stained his face mask red. By the time Xiang Hongbin and Han Rui reacted, Feng Ming¡¯an had already fallen into the zombie horde. ¡°Old Feng!¡± Xiang Hongbin instinctively called out, but Han Rui immediately pulled him away. It was then he noticed that where they had just been standing, a Poisonous Fog Zombie appeared, one that was even bigger than the Level 2 zombie they had killed before! ¡°This zombie, it suddenly jumped in from outside. By the time I noticed, it was already too late!¡± Han Rui quickly explained. ¡°A Level 2 Zombie! How can there still be Level 2 zombies!¡± Xiang Hongbin exclaimed in shock. ¡°Da da da¡ª¡± At that moment, intense gunfire erupted from the building, all directed at Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s position. Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t know whether they could save Feng Ming¡¯an, because he had no time to think¡ª the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie immediately spat a mouthful of green liquid at Xiang Hongbin. Sizzle¡ª Xiang Hongbin dodged most of the liquid, but some still landed on him. He felt his gas mask sizzling and quickly removed it, only to see that the mask had been corroded! ¡°Cough cough¡ª¡± Without the mask and inhaling the outside poisonous fog, Xiang Hongbin felt extremely uncomfortable. The corroded mask was emitting dense green vapors that drilled into Xiang Hongbin¡¯s nose, instantly making him feel a heavy weight in his body. As the zombies came at him, Xiang Hongbin tried to dodge, but found he was unable to move his feet¡­ ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡± Despair filled Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes. Whoosh¡ª Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Xiang Hongbin and sent the Level 2 zombie flying. Bang! The zombie flew more than ten meters and crashed heavily into the horde. ¡°Old Wei!¡± Seeing the familiar figure, Xiang Hongbin was momentarily stunned, then his face lit up with excitement. ¡°You¡¯ve successfully reached Level 2!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Wei Zhenguo, who wasn¡¯t even wearing a gas mask, glanced at everyone and confidently shouted ¡°Everyone fall back, leave the rest to me!¡± Only after ascending to Level 2 could one understand how powerful it was! He could sense that the zombie in front of him was a Level 2 zombie, but not an exceptionally strong one, probably just like him, newly ascended to Level 2 not long ago. He was confident he could handle a Level 2 zombie like this! So, Wei Zhenguo quickly charged at the Level 2 zombie! As long as he dealt with this Level 2 zombie, the Level 1 zombies posed no problem to him! But suddenly, he came to a screeching halt! He saw one, two, three¡­ more than ten of the same kind of bulky Poisonous Fog Zombies slowly emerging from the horde! Their pale white eyes were fixed dead on Wei Zhenguo. Wei Zhenguo:¡±¡­¡± Chapter 297 - Chapter 297: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower_l Chapter 297: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower_l Wei Zhen Guo subconsciously rubbed his eyes. ¡°One, two, three¡­ Eleven Level 2 Zombies! Is this for real? Weren¡¯t all the Level 2 Zombies in Shuize County gone? Where did these come from?¡± He had woken up to find the base surrounded by zombies, and after quickly grasping the situation, he immediately rushed out. He still didn¡¯t know where these zombies had come from. Of course, now was not the time to fret over the origins of the zombies but how to handle so many Level 2 Zombies! Fight? This was eleven Level 2 Zombies we¡¯re talking about! The chances of him being able to defeat them were next to none! Run? Wei Zhen Guo turned to look at those hopeful eyes behind him; he couldn¡¯t run! He wasn¡¯t the sort to abandon the base and flee for his life! And to be honest, it wasn¡¯t certain whether he could even manage to escape¡­ ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s first try and test their strength!¡± Wei Zhen Guo set his sights on the Level 2 Zombie he had knocked away earlier and then activated Rush. Whoosh- Bang! He once again slammed into the zombie with pinpoint accuracy. ¡°Hehheh¡­¡± The Poisonous Fog Zombie was left somewhat dazed by the impact but didn¡¯t fall down this time. Seizing the opportunity, Wei Zhen Guo picked up an axe and chopped down on the Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s head. Crack¡ª Wei Zhen Guo thought he heard the sound of bone cracking, but the Poisonous Fog Zombie was not to be taken lightly. It stretched out its arms, grabbed hold of Wei Zhen Guo and then opened its gaping mouth, aiming to bite down on his neck. Wei Zhen Guo felt the zombie¡¯s arms were like iron hoops, binding him tightly. ¡°Ah! Get off me!¡± With all his strength, Wei Zhen Guo finally broke free from the zombie¡¯s embrace just before getting bitten, and then forcefully kicked the zombie. Bang¡ª The zombie was sent flying by the kick. Taking advantage of the momentum, Wei Zhen Guo chased after it, and the moment it hit the ground, he was beside the zombie, lifting his axe and chopping down towards its head. Crack¡ª Another sound of bone cracking followed. Wei Zhen Guo knew that one more axe blow and the zombie would be dead! But by then, the other Level 2 Zombies had already approached. If he swung his axe one more time, he would undoubtedly be met with a group beating! In the blink of an eye, Wei Zhen Guo steeled his heart and delivered the third axe blow. Squelch! The zombie¡¯s head exploded, and it stopped struggling instantly. By now, however, the other Level 2 Zombies had surrounded Wei Zhen Guo. They flailed their arms, aiming their dark, ink-like claws at him. With no time to extract the Crystal Core, Wei Zhen Guo evaded the attacks from several zombies using his exquisite footwork. However, he was still struck by an attack to his chest. Bang! Wei Zhen Guo was knocked back several meters. Glancing at his deformed chest plate, his expression turned grim. Although he seemed unharmed, only he knew the full weight of the zombie¡¯s slap! Wei Zhen Guo felt that these Level 2 Zombies were not as strong as he had thought, certainly weaker than the Hooded Zombies. But these were still Level 2 Zombies, not to be confused with Level 1 Zombies! And the number was simply terrifying! He basically had no chance of winning! ¡°Hehheh¡­¡± Looking outside, the number of Mad Demon Zombies was increasing, and some of them were even fighting with the Poisonous Fog Zombies¡­ Wei Zhen Guo knew that the only way to win against these zombies was to wait for Wang Tao to wake up! ¡°There are too many Level 2 Zombies; I can¡¯t beat them. Hold them off, wait for Wang Tao to wake up!¡± Wei Zhen Guo turned back and said to Xiang Hongbin and the others. Xiang Hongbin and the others were numb with shock. They had thought that once Wei Zhen Guo woke up, he¡¯d be able to turn the tide of battle. But they hadn¡¯t expected there to be so many Level 2 Zombies! Even though Wei Zhen Guo had managed to kill one Level 2 Zombie at the cost of personal injury, there were still ten more to go! ¡°It¡¯s not easy to drag this out, the poison fog emitted from these zombies makes us weak, causes coughing. Some people are even coughing up blood!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an spoke somewhat helplessly. Wei Zhen Guo hadn¡¯t really paid attention to this issue, because the poison fog from Level 1 Zombies didn¡¯t affect him much as a Level Two. He could feel a slight reduction in his strength, but it was minor and didn¡¯t impact his combat ability. It was only the poison fog from the Level 2 Zombies that made him somewhat uncomfortable¡­ But for others it was different, Abilities Users like Xiang Hongbin were weakened and the rest might even face a risk to their lives! While Wei Zhen Guo was contemplating, two more Level 2 Zombies attacked, the rest of the Level 2 Zombies charged at others. He quickly defended against a few strikes, then turned his head and asked: ¡°When did Wang Tao start his Level 2 Ascension yesterday?¡± ¡°Around eight o¡¯clock in the evening¡­¡± Han Rui gave it some thought before replying. It was just past six now, still two hours to go! After momentarily pushing back the two Level 2 Zombies in front of him, Wei Zhen Guo turned and shouted to everyone: ¡°Folks, we just need to hold on for two more hours! If we can just endure for another two hours, we¡¯ll be saved! We must keep fighting, even if it costs us our lives, until we reach that two-hour mark!¡± The worst thing about ¡°holding on¡± is not having a precise time. Saying to hold on is futile if there is no hope in sight, as there¡¯s no motivation to do so. But give them a specific time, for example, that holding on for two more hours could lead to rescue, and the willpower naturally surges. Even though some people were at their limit, they forced themselves to gather their spirits and engaged in a desperate fight with the zombies. After all, they had no other option! ¡°Use all available weapons, call out everyone who can fight, all we need is to last two hours! If we can¡¯t make it for two hours, then we¡¯re left with only one path: death!¡± Chapter 298 - Chapter 298: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower ! Chapter 298: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower ! Wei Zhenguo immediately spoke into the intercom. ¡°Cough cough, okay!¡± Ren Jie¡¯s voice came from inside. This was a moment of life or death for Shuize Base, no one could escape, they couldn¡¯t hold anything back, they could only make a last stand! Soon, a group of people emerged from the comprehensive building. Men and women, old and young, they carried homemade weapons, their frightened expressions mingled with determination. Ren Jie, with a pistol in hand, walked at the forefront, followed closely by Liu He with a backpack on his back. Gao Hua held two axes, trailing behind Ding Yuqin by a step. A fierce look on his face, he said, ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry, my life was given by elder brother, even if I die, I will protect you!¡± ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat nervous, but she did not shrink back. Li Qiuyu, Huo Ziyi, and a host of other women followed behind Ding Yuqin with fearful faces. Ren Jie had ordered these women to follow Ding Yuqin¡¯s command. They were not the main force in combat, but were there to help prepare ammunition, medical supplies, inhibitors, etc. If they had the ability to kill zombies, they could join the fight. If not, they were to be honest and handle logistics. Wei Zhenguo had already brought out all of the base¡¯s trump cards; if they could not hold out for another two hours, then there was nothing more he could do. As for whether they could be rescued after holding out for two hours, Wei Zhenguo didn¡¯t want to think too much about it, because he needed to give himself some hope. After the survivors came out, they immediately attracted the attention of the zombies downstairs. These poisonous fog zombies and mad demon zombies all ran toward the crowd. ¡°Da da da¡ª¡± However, a group from the Security Army rushed out of the building, instantly stopping the zombies¡¯ advance with their bullets. The green poisonous fog was getting thicker and darker, and since it was drifting upwards slowly, it severely affected the vision of the Security Army. They could no longer see the zombies clearly from above, and if they didn¡¯t come down, their bullets were certain to hit their comrades. There were many sandbags underneath the comprehensive building. More than a dozen members of the Security Army immediately used the sandbags as cover, hiding behind them to attack the zombies. The survivors took up arms and also crouched behind the sandbags, ready to kill any zombies that broke through. In the last crisis with the gorilla zombies, more than half of the people inside Shuize Base had died. Now, those who were left, with a few exceptions, all had HP over a thousand. Their physical fitness was much stronger than that of ordinary people. Although they couldn¡¯t kill these zombies in one second, at least they weren¡¯t unable to breach their defenses. As long as they had enough people and accurate hits, they could kill the poisonous fog zombies and mad demon zombies by working together in groups. With the addition of these remaining people, the ability users who had come out to fight suddenly felt the pressure ease. But they had no time to rest, because the Level Two zombies had found them! These Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies, although not strong among their kind, were still very tough even for Xiang Hongbin and the others, combined with Lu Gang¡¯s sniping. So, when these Level 1 ability users faced the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies, they had virtually no power to fight back! In just a few minutes, several ability users were bitten to death by the Level 2 zombies. ¡°Ah!¡± Seeing this, Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes turned red with anger. He immediately charged forward, drawing the attention of the Level 2 zombies to himself. Originally, Wei Zhenguo¡¯s plan was to let others bear the brunt of the Level 2 zombies¡¯ attacks while he and Xiang Hongbin focused their strength on a single Level 2 zombie. After all, killing one Level 2 zombie would greatly reduce the pressure on everyone. But the Level 2 zombies easily overpowered the ordinary Level 1 ability users. These people had almost no ability to resist and were slain after just a few blows! Wei Zhenguo had to change tactics, becoming a firefighter, rushing to wherever there was danger. Although this indeed saved many people, there was now little chance of killing a Level 2 zombie. Nevertheless, the casualties continued to rise. Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes turned even redder, and he unleashed unprecedented combat power, managing to hold off five Level 2 zombies by himself! As for the remaining five, he was powerless to do anything about them, and had to leave them to others. Xiang Hongbin injected himself with a Rejuvenation Potion and, like a return to light, temporarily stood in the way of a Level 2 zombie¡¯s advance. Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an joined forces to hold off a Level 2 zombie, but they were being pushed back. Ren Jie and Liu He, along with a few ability users, held back a Level 2 zombie. Their strength was not great, and the reason they could keep the zombie at bay was purely because Liu He¡¯s backpack was full of homemade bombs! He distributed several bombs to each person, which held off the Level 2 zombie. This Level 2 zombie looked the most miserable of them all, its body torn and bones exposed, yet its combat power was undiminished. The group¡¯s homemade bombs couldn¡¯t be thrown at will, and they were afraid of hitting their own, which made them hesitant¡­ The last Level 2 zombie was tackled by a group of more than twenty ability users. But compared to the Level 2 zombie, these people were falling far short. Even with their numbers, they had no advantage¡ªthey struggled to breach the zombie¡¯s defenses, while a single blow from it could leave them dead or crippled! ¡°Inhibitor! Inhibitor!¡± Someone who had been scratched by a zombie ran back, yelling desperately. The time for the zombie virus to cause mutation and infection could be from one minute to 24 hours, and if luck was bad, there might be no hope after a minute! Chapter 299 - Chapter 299: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower 3 Chapter 299: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower 3 Li Qiuyu quickly took out a bottle of inhibitor and jogged over to hand it to the other person. ¡°Thank you!¡± The other person quickly chugged it down. ¡°Ugh¡­ Ah¡­¡± Then he clenched his fists tightly, veins throbbing angrily all over his body, and let out a painful roar from his mouth. Li Qiuyu, seeing the person in pain, was very afraid, worried that he would turn into a zombie. Seeing this, Ding Yuqin explained to Li Qiuyu: Qiu Yu, don¡¯t worry, this is normal. Once he gets through this, he¡¯ll be fine! They are all real men; they can get through this!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t dare to look any longer, and quickly took out several more bottles of inhibitor to deliver to others in need. Suddenly, Li Qiuyu¡¯s body stiffened-a feeling of being watched lingered in her heart. She looked around nervously, but all she saw were survivors, zombies, and green smoke in the distance; she didn¡¯t discover anything. Li Qiuyu shivered subconsciously and hurriedly continued to distribute the inhibitor. Outside Shuize Base, atop a certain building, a figure with red-glowing eyes was watching Li Qiuyu intently. Ascending felt amazing. After falling asleep, Wang Tao was in a strange state where ¡°he was conscious and could feel himself, but not the outside world.¡± It was somewhat like a lucid dream¡ªhe knew he was dreaming, but he couldn¡¯t wake up or change the dream. Wang Tao could clearly sense his body getting stronger bit by bit, a sensation that was very distinct and exhilarating! It even made Wang Tao think he never wanted to wake up. Of course, Wang Tao knew this was impossible. He only had 24 hours, and he was bound to wake up when time was up-Wang Tao had discovered that the longer he slept during ascension, the greater the increase in his strength! And the length of sleep was related to how many ascension crystal cores he merged, or rather, how many Level 2 Abilities he had! During Level 2 Ascension, having one Level 2 Ability meant six hours of sleep, which equated to six hours of strengthening time. Since all four of Wang Tao¡¯s abilities were Level 2, he would sleep for 24 hours! Only then did he understand that it wasn¡¯t absolutely necessary to raise all abilities to Level 2 before formally ascending. As for why he had to merge four ascension crystal cores¡­ he didn¡¯t know, he could only say that he indeed was different from others. However, this was good because ascending to Level 2 after merging four ascension crystal cores was the way to maximize strength improvement! If he hurried to advance after merging only one ascension crystal core, it would be somewhat of a waste¡­ Bored, Wang Tao started studying his attribute panel. Then he discovered he could now control the special energy in the grey bar. He had 5160 special energy, and all his abilities were Level 2 Abilities. Thus, whether he extracted or fused, each time would consume 5000 energy. There was no need to think about it; it must be fusion. Extraction meant he could switch to a new ability, and his old ability could be used by others. But fusion meant he could merge two abilities into one! It was as if he could learn an additional ability! However, fusion had a success rate, and Wang Tao needed to see if there was a chance for fusion. If there really was no chance, then he wouldn¡¯t go through with it. As Wang Tao thought about fusion, a table appeared in front of him in an instant. The table listed the several fusion methods for his four abilities, and each method¡¯s probability of success. [Shockwave + Precision Shooting (10%)] [Shockwave + Toughness (10%)] [Shockwave + Self-healing (15%)] [Precision Shooting + Toughness (40%)] [Precision Shooting + Self-healing (55%)] [Toughness + Self-healing (95%)] Seeing this information, Wang Tao immediately excluded the first five options; after all, the maximum chance was only 55%, not worth the risk. The success rate for fusing ¡°Toughness¡± with ¡°Self-healing¡± was as high as 95%! Wang Tao felt his luck was usually good, so this probability shouldn¡¯t lead to failure, right? After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao decided to fuse these two abilities! As for which was the primary and which was the secondary, Wang Tao placed ¡°Self-healing¡± in the primary position and ¡°Toughness¡± in the secondary. If the fusion failed, the primary ability would remain unchanged, but the secondary ability would disappear. Self-healing was a rarer ability, and he had collected it with difficulty, so it was safer to put it in the primary position. At the moment of deciding to fuse, Wang Tao saw his special energy in the grey bar decrease by a full 5000, leaving just 160. The icon for his Toughness ability entered the Self-healing ability icon, and after a flash of colorful light, a new prompt appeared. [Fusion successful, acquired new superpower: Level 2 Tier 1-Barrier] [Barrier: During duration, it can enhance defense and slowly recover certain injuries (side effect: none)] Seeing this new superpower ¡°Barrier,¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. He had indeed managed to combine the two abilities into one! He now had only three abilities left, which meant he could fuse an additional new ability! Just as Wang Tao was thinking about which new ability to fuse, he seemed to slowly begin to sense some movement from the outside world. ¡°I¡¯m waking up!¡± At a certain moment. Wang Tao suddenly opened his eyes. Then he realized something was pressing on his face, partially obstructing his vision. Wang Tao touched his face. ¡°A shattered gas mask?¡± He hurriedly sat up, finding that he was not in his villa room but in the comprehensive building. The room was in ruins, all glass items including the windows had shattered, as if there had been a severe explosion. ¡°Something¡¯s happened!¡± Wang Tao first checked his attributes, which showed no negative states, and then he opened the door to the room. Just as he was about to listen outside, he heard a sudden ¡°thud,¡± as if something heavy had hit the ground. His second-order superpower owner¡¯s intuition sensed that a very powerful Level 2 zombie had appeared outside! Wang Tao quickly went downstairs and kicked open the front door with one foot. Bang- Chapter 300 - Chapter 300: Chapter 152 Tragic_l Chapter 300: Chapter 152 Tragic_l ¡°What time is it¡­¡± Han Rui leaned against the corner, her face covered in blood, with a broken gas mask nearby. She felt that her mouth was the only part of her that could still move. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin struggled to lift his wrist, but he found his watch was shattered at some point, ¡°I don¡¯t know either¡­ But it¡¯s definitely late, the sky¡¯s already dark¡­¡± ¡°We must be about to die¡­¡± A survivor murmured to himself. No one answered him. Bang- Wei Zhenguo, who was fighting the last four Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies in the distance, was sent flying by one of the zombies, then he landed in the middle of the group. ¡°Heh¡­ Old Wei, aren¡¯t you ignoring the facts, saying you could easily handle these zombies?¡± Xiang Hongbin forced a smile and said. ¡°Damn!¡± Wei Zhenguo cursed as he struggled to get up, but his left leg gave out and he ended up kneeling on one knee. The strength of these Level 2 Zombies was far less compared to the Hooded Zombies and Gorilla Zombies they had encountered before. But even the weakest among them was still a Level 2 Zombie! Wei Zhenguo fought as if his life depended on it, and with the assistance of the others, especially the lethal shots fired by Lu Gang with his anti-material sniper rifle, they had barely managed to kill eight Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies. But there were still three left! All the surviving combatants were at the end of their strength. Many were on their last breath, and facing these three Level 2 Zombies, they had no energy left to resist¡­ ¡°Is today really the day we die¡­ I can¡¯t accept this!¡± Wei Zhenguo felt extremely bitter. He had just reached Level 2 today, thinking he would be able to dominate Shuize County, but as soon as he left the base, he encountered so many Level 2 Zombies¡­ He was not willing to accept this! ¡°Hehe¡­¡± In the darkness, three Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies, along with a large group of Poisonous Fog Zombies, closed in on the group, and outside, a pack of Mad Demon Zombies was eagerly waiting for their turn. Click-click¡ª The Security Army soldiers pulled their triggers, but no bullets remained. ¡°It feels like these zombies have become smarter¡­ They didn¡¯t just swarm and overrun us; are they actually enjoying watching us slowly perish?¡± Ding Yuqin felt somewhat desperate. Everyone was silent, with no idea how to answer. There was indeed something off about these zombies. The base was already in dire straits¡ªfacing ten Level 2 Zombies along with countless Poisonous Fog Zombies and Mad Demon Zombies, after all. But unexpectedly, most of the zombies suddenly stopped their attack. Some Poisonous Fog Zombies even deliberately tried to block the Mad Demon Zombies! Only those Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies and the ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies surrounding them were still attacking the people. It was as if¡­ the zombies were providing the survivors with a fair fighting chance? Even so, everyone was on the verge of collapse¡­ It was already dark, with only the feeble light from the emergency lamps beneath the multi-purpose building providing any illumination. Where the light didn¡¯t reach, among the green poisonous fog, the zombies appeared sporadically, creating a chilling scene. Watching the approaching zombies, Wei Zhenguo was ready to fight against them when Ren Jie suddenly stood up. ¡°Now, it¡¯s my turn¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Old Ren? What can your old bones do?¡± Xiang Hongbin said with a weakness in his voice, showing his disdain. ¡°What can I do? Haha, maybe I can take one with me, cough cough¡­¡± Ren Jie wasn¡¯t a combatant and had been working in logistics at the back. Now that the ammo was almost gone, there wasn¡¯t much logistics work left for him to do. ¡°You¡­ what are you planning to do?¡± Wei Zhenguo turned his head and glared at Ren Jie. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going to kill zombies! Haha!¡± Ren Jie laughed out loud, and as he stood up, five more people stood up after him, all of them women. Seeing this scene, Xiang Hongbin, as if remembering something, stared at Ren Jie in amazement. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, follow me to kill zombies!¡± Ren Jie took a big step forward, with the five women closely following behind him. ¡°Ren Jie!¡± Xiang Hongbin yelled out. Ren Jie turned to glance at him, then resolutely ran towards the swarm of Poisonous Fog Zombies, accompanied by the women, charging at the zombies. The zombies noticed the targets and immediately ran towards Ren Jie¡¯s group. ¡°Ren Jie¡ª¡± Wei Zhenguo roared. They saw Ren Jie and the women collide with the zombie horde, and without even resisting, they were easily seized by the zombies. Then. Boom¡ª A loud explosion ensued, and Ren Jie along with the women became a cloud of blood mist. Dozens of zombies were blown to pieces, including one Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie! ¡°Ren Jie¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo gazed at the vast cloud of blood, his expression somber. He knew Ren Jie had fused with a Self-Destruct Crystal Core. The five women who followed Ren Jie were those unfortunate souls Wang Tao had previously saved from Cao Xin. Ren Jie had persuaded them to also fuse with Self-Destruct Crystal Cores. Ren Jie probably didn¡¯t expect that he would actually have to use his self-destruct ability, but he had been preparing for it all along. The self-destruction of the six people not only killed more than a dozen ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies, but it also killed one Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie, leaving only two Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies remaining. It seemed as if there was some hope once more? But there were still two Level 2 Zombies and countless Level 1 Zombies! Was there really any hope? ¡°I¡­ I think I might be able to kill a zombie too¡­¡± Liu He, limping, walked over with a backpack, the zipper undone to reveal some red LEDs and various colored wires inside. ¡°So you want to be an idiot and throw your life away too?¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately glared at him.. Chapter 301 - Chapter 301: Chapter 152 Tragic_2 Chapter 301: Chapter 152 Tragic_2 ¡°If blowing up a Level 2 Zombie means I don¡¯t die in vain, then it¡¯s worth it! The last bomb I just made is very stable!¡± Liu He swallowed hard and walked straight toward the zombie with his backpack in his arms. The bomb was indeed stable¡ªbecause it was a semi-finished product. He didn¡¯t have time to make a remote control, so he had to detonate it by hand. ¡°Liu He, don¡¯t be foolish!¡± Wei Zhenguo quickly shouted. Liu He was a rare technical talent, and if he survived, he would be highly valued in any settlement, even in the post-apocalyptic world! Liu He turned to glance at Wei Zhenguo, then looked at the bite mark on his arm before shaking his head with a smile. He was already infected and could only rely on inhibitors to stay alive. Plus, he was someone who hated pain and was cowardly. He didn¡¯t want to experience the excruciating pain of using an inhibitor again. So, he chose to escape and, by the way¡­ perhaps this could count as being a hero for once? ¡°Liu He!¡± Boom¡ª A dazzling fireball lit up the entire night sky. Accompanied by a huge explosion, the glass in all the nearby buildings shattered. The air was sucked into the center of the explosion and then led to a secondary blast. Boom¡ª The terrifying heat wave and shockwave spread in all directions, blowing the survivors away. Xiang Hongbin even got a mouthful of mud. ¡°Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, you little brat! Wait till I get down there, I¡¯ll beat you up!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed as he looked at the fireball. This explosion was much more powerful than the self-detonation earlier, not only killing another Level 2 Zombie but also wiping out a large number of Ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies nearby! Moreover, when the bomb detonated, it burned all the oxygen nearby, creating a localized vacuum. As the surrounding gases were drawn in, they brought along much of the green poisonous fog and caused a secondary explosion. This second explosion completely burned off the green poison fog in the area! The air around the comprehensive building instantly became fresh, significantly alleviating the survivors¡¯ feelings of weakness! ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Roar-¡± The Poisonous Fog Zombies that were in ¡°spectator¡± mode became agitated, wanting to rush into the flames, but the intense heat made them halt. Some circled around the fire, appearing restless; others looked toward the survivors but just stared at them without approaching. ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin stood up enduring the pain. He held the last two homemade bombs in his hand, not sure if they would be enough to kill a Level 2 Zombie, but he had to try. Just as he got up, a large hand stopped him. ¡°There¡¯s one last Level 2 Zombie left, and it¡­ is mine!¡± Wei Zhenguo displayed an ugly smile on his face. The deaths of two important companions had filled Wei Zhenguo with extreme anger. Under this rage, he suddenly felt as though the pain in his body had vanished, replaced with a surge of strength! He didn¡¯t know if this was a ¡°return to light¡± moment, but he knew it was his time to act. ¡°Are you up for it? Cough, cough¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin looked at Wei Zhenguo and mocked. ¡°Heh, certainly more than you are!¡± Wei Zhenguo took a deep breath and then charged straight to the last Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. This zombie had also been hit by the explosion, with its left side skin completely torn, bones even visible. But a zombie is still a zombie; as long as its head was intact, no matter how severe its injuries, it wouldn¡¯t die. Bang! Wei Zhenguo, wielding his now-blunted axe, smashed it on the head of the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. The zombie didn¡¯t dodge. After taking the hit, it immediately reached out to grab Wei Zhenguo¡¯s chest. Relying on his steel armor, Wei Zhenguo didn¡¯t dodge either, bearing the zombie¡¯s attack and fiercely chopped twice more on the head of the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Squish¡ª The final axe blow finally shattered the zombie¡¯s skull. After killing the Level 2 Zombie, Wei Zhenguo¡¯s held breath finally gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. ¡°Level 2 Zombies, not¡ªand are nothing more¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo smirked. Now he had no strength left at all, unable even to wield his axe, let alone walk. As he saw Level 1 Toxic Mist Zombies closing in from all around, Wei Zhenguo closed his eyes. He had done his best. Bang¡ª Suddenly, a faint white light flashed by. Wei Zhenguo opened his eyes to see Xiang Hongbin, having somehow charged to his side. ¡°Old Wei, I admit you¡¯re better than me. So, you¡¯ve got to survive, hear me!¡± Xiang Hongbin, his face covered in blood, grinned and then grabbed Wei Zhenguo¡¯s arm, using all his might to throw him. ¡°Xiang Hongbin¡ª¡± Wei Zhenguo felt the world spinning and instinctively closed his eyes. Thud¡ª When he opened his eyes again, he saw Xiang Hongbin being overwhelmed by a group of zombies, disappearing into the darkness while he had landed beside Lu Gang. ¡°Old Xiang!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes reddened. Lu Gang clenched his fists tightly. The survivors grieved in silence, unable to hold back their tears. ¡°Wang Tao, when will you wake up¡­¡± Watching one familiar face after another depart, Han Rui silently chanted Wang Tao¡¯s name in her heart. Alas, she no longer had the strength to go inside the building; she didn¡¯t even know if Wang Tao would be killed by the green smoke. ¡°Everyone, cough, cough¡­ the Level 2 Zombies are all dead, and the poison smoke has been dispersed. Let¡¯s go back inside the building, rest for a moment, and then deal with these Level 1 Zombies!¡± Chapter 302 - Chapter 302: Chapter 152 Tragic 3 Chapter 302: Chapter 152 Tragic 3 Wei Zhenguo, stifling his grief, turned to address the survivors. ¡°The Level 2 Zombies are all dead, but there are still many Level 1 Zombies alive. We don¡¯t know why these Level 1 Zombies aren¡¯t attacking us, but we can¡¯t bet that they won¡¯t come over.¡± Previously, they didn¡¯t stay inside the building because it was filled with poisonous fog unfit for people. Now that the fog had been burned off, Wei Zhenguo thought of having everyone return to the building. However, just at that moment, with a ¡°thud,¡± a large zombie that resembled a warty toad, with limbs splayed upon the ground, fell from the sky and landed in front of the group, blocking their way back to the comprehensive building. ¡°What¡­ what the hell is that?¡± With the arrival of this toad zombie, the zombies previously in a ¡°spectator¡± state immediately began writhing and started surrounding the survivors. ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡± All hope had drained from everyone. ¡°Another Level 2 Zombie¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes almost burst with fury. After sacrificing so many people, they still couldn¡¯t escape¡­ His hatred was profound; he hated that he wasn¡¯t strong enough! Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, and Li Qjuyu huddled together. ¡°Are we going to die¡­¡± Ding Yuqin held Han Rui¡¯s and LiQiuyu¡¯s hands tightly, her whole body trembling slightly. No one is unafraid of death: she was no exception. But she didn¡¯t want to die; she still wanted to live through this apocalypse with Wang Tao¡­ Of course, having Han Rui along was fine too; she simply didn¡¯t want to die. But now, everyone, including herself, was at the breaking point. They were no match for even an ordinary zombie, let alone this one that looked incredibly strong. So, it seemed she was indeed about to die. ¡°Wang Tao, haven¡¯t you woken up yet¡­ please wake up soon!¡± Ding Yuqin thought of Wang Tao¡¯s face, silently chanting his name in her heart. Han Rui let out a sigh. ¡°So, we are going to die after all¡­¡± She wasn¡¯t afraid of death, but being unafraid and not wanting to die were two different things. She now felt regret; if only she had met Wang Tao sooner¡­ ¡°WangTao, I¡¯ll see you in the next life¡­¡± Han Rui murmured to herself. Li Qjuyu¡¯s gaze was somewhat vacant. She felt so strange¡ª At the beginning of the virus outbreak, she was terrified of dying. But after witnessing the tragedy of her loved ones, she wanted to die; if it weren¡¯t for her daughter keeping her going, she may have committed suicide. Then, when the gorilla zombie passed by, she was really about to die, and she became afraid again, not wanting to die¡­ But now, it was no longer about whether she wanted to die or not¡ªshe was truly about to die. Yet¡­ she really didn¡¯t want to die! She didn¡¯t just not want to die; she wanted to become stronger! After seeing so many Ability Users, she understood the importance of power. If she had that kind of power, could she not go to find her daughter? And perhaps her daughter was being protected by an Ability User, or maybe her daughter was an Ability User herself! If that was the case, then she had even more reason not to die¡ªshe wanted to live; she wanted to see her daughter! Li Qjuyu suddenly thought of Wang Tao; when would he wake up? Could Wang Tao save her once more? She swore that if Wang Tao could indeed save her life again, allowing her to keep the hope of seeing her daughter alive, then she would be indebted to him for life! Bang¡ª Suddenly, just when everyone was lost in despair, the main door of the comprehensive building swung open with a loud bang. The crowd instinctively looked over and saw a tall, muscular man about 1.9 meters in height kick open the gate and appear behind the toad zombie. ¡°Wang Tao?¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others could hardly believe their eyes. Wang Tao ignored everyone and looked at the monster in front of him. [HP: 9263/12000] [Mana: 3150/5000] [Grade:Level 2 ¨C Lord] After Wang Tao¡¯s Level 2 Ascension, he could see more things. Not only could he see the health bar but also the mana bar and the grade. This was a Level 2 zombie that was even stronger than a gorilla zombie! But, Wang Tao was no longer the same person he had been before! Whoosh¡ª With a few strides, Wang Tao instantly moved behind the toad zombie and then, gathering strength in his right foot, he brutally kicked the still unaware toad zombie¡¯s butt. Bang! The toad zombie was sent flying by Wang Tao¡¯s kick, crashing into the zombies that were madly rushing over. Clatter¡ª This toad zombie didn¡¯t lose much HP, but many of the ordinary zombies were squashed under it. With the toad zombie out of the way, Wei Zhenguo and the others immediately unleashed an unprecedented energy and limped over to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°WangTao! It¡¯s so good that you¡¯ve woken up!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes were red as he patted Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Sorry, I hope I¡¯m not too late.¡± Seeing everyone¡¯s sorry state, especially the absence of some familiar faces, Wang Tao sighed. ¡°No, you arrived just in time!¡± Everyone naturally didn¡¯t blame Wang Tao, as they all knew that the time of his awakening after his Level 2 Ascension was fixed. It was good enough that he woke up on time; he couldn¡¯t possibly wake up any earlier. ¡°Wang Tao¡­¡± Ding Yuqin and Han Rui quickly came over and hugged Wang Tao; they felt that not only had he grown taller, but he was also more muscular! Li Qjuyu instinctively wanted to hug him too, but seeing the actions of the two women, she stopped herself. Wang Tao saw that the toad zombie had created some chaos among the zombie group and wouldn¡¯t be able to come over for a while; he immediately said to everyone: ¡°Everybody, get inside first.¡± The group hurriedly ran into the comprehensive building. Wang Tao took out a medical kit for everyone¡¯s use, and while vigilantly watching the zombies outside, he asked: ¡°What exactly happened?¡± ¡°Some poisonous fog zombies suddenly appeared this evening, and it seems they were all students from Shuize University¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo quickly ran through the chain of events. Li Qjuyu¡¯s pupils shrank when she heard that these zombies were Shuize University¡¯s students, but she did not interrupt Wei Zhenguo. After listening to Wei Zhenguo¡¯s account, Wang Tao¡¯s face showed anger. He hadn¡¯t expected that there would be so many zombies inside Shuizhe Mountain, and that they would come to Shuize Base at this time! Lucky for him, he had started his Ascension early; otherwise, not to mention the others, even he could have been in mortal danger! ¡°These zombies, they deserve to die!¡± Chapter 303 - Chapter 303: Chapter 153: Slaying_i Chapter 303: Chapter 153: Slaying_i ¡°You guys stay here, I¡¯ll go out and take a look!¡± ¡°Be careful!¡± Wang Tao stepped out of the building again. After listening to Wei Zhenguo and the others, and combining his own observations, Wang Tao felt something wasn¡¯t quite right. First of all, the zombies weren¡¯t swarming over, which was illogical. After all, zombies wouldn¡¯t offer you a fair fight by following any sort of martial ethics¡¯ right? Next, the toad zombie outside, although it had an HP cap of 12,000, wasn¡¯t at full health but at just over 9,000 instead, which was also odd! Usually, zombies wouldn¡¯t fight each other, and aside from Shuize Base, there were no other survivors in Shuize County. So how did the toad zombie¡¯s HP reduce? Could there be other survivors around, or other violent zombies like the gorilla zombie? Therefore, Wang Tao needed to find out what was really going on¡­ If there was indeed another formidable zombie or a survivor hiding in the shadows, then he would need to be careful! Outside the building, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a faint green glow. He could clearly see that the group of zombies in the darkness did not attack the building, and while the toad zombie roared at them, they milled about in confusion, as if¡­the foot soldiers couldn¡¯t understand the general¡¯s commands! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know the reason for this, but he knew it was an opportunity! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao charged straight towards the toad zombie. After ascending to Level 2, Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness had been enhanced in all aspects, including his speed. In the blink of an eye, he was near the toad zombie. The toad zombie immediately turned its head, then with a push of its hind legs, it leaped up towards Wang Tao. ¡°Get lost!¡± Wang Tao kicked it in the stomach to halt its charge, and then he viciously swung his axe at its head. [-543] [8670/12000] ¡°Damn, the damage is so low?¡± This was Wang Tao¡¯s first serious attack since becoming a Level 2, and the damage didn¡¯t even break a thousand? ¡°Roar-¡± The toad zombie roared angrily, opened its mouth, and a long tongue lashed out towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao lifted his right arm, and the tongue hit the Rush Arm Guard. [-6] [4994/5000] [+6] [5000/5000] Seeing that he only lost 6 HP and it was immediately restored to full, Wang Tao felt balanced again. Although his damage output felt low, his defense was high! His Second-order Superpower Owner¡¯s inherent defense, plus the protective capabilities of the Rush Arm Guard, coupled with the barrier Ability¡¯s defense and blood regeneration¡­stacking these together was no joke! Now sure he could withstand the toad zombie¡¯s attacks, Wang Tao became much bolder in his fighting style. Considering he was fully equipped, as long as he protected his head, he could withstand the enemy¡¯s attacks everywhere else! Wang Tao ignored the attacks from the many ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies around him and struck the toad zombie¡¯s head with another axe blow. [-612] The toad zombie couldn¡¯t dodge it and received over six hundred damage, but then a tumor on its body burst. Pff- A disgusting yellow-green liquid sprayed out, and Wang Tao, not knowing what it was, immediately backed away from the attack. When the liquid hit the ground, it made a sizzling noise, and a cloud of green mist emerged from it. The green mist spread quickly. Wang Tao accidentally inhaled some and then saw a negative status appear below his HP bar¡ª [Weakness 10%, Immunity lowered by 10%, Cough, Intermittent bleeding. Duration: 3 seconds] ¡°Is this the poison fog?¡± When Wang Tao woke up, most of the poisonous fog had been cleared by Liu He, so he wasn¡¯t aware of its exact effects. Now seeing the explicit effects of the poison fog, Wang Tao was a bit surprised; it had quite a variety of functions! He immediately got away from the poison fog, and after three seconds, the negative status disappeared completely. Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the negative effect wasn¡¯t permanent or long-lasting, it was manageable. However, considering the toad zombie might continue to produce this poison fog, and if poison fog was everywhere with no place to hide, it would still affect him. Therefore, Wang Tao decided to make it a quick battle. He immediately used a Running Potion and a Strength Potion. Feeling the more abundant energy inside his body, Wang Tao produced a Slime Grenade in his hand. He didn¡¯t expect the Slime Grenade to hold the zombie for long; he just wanted to see whether he could freeze the fluids when the tumorous growths on the toad zombie burst. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao held his breath and charged into the green poisonous smoke. The toad zombie immediately swung its arm, reaching for Wang Tao¡¯s chest. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge or evade; in his hand suddenly appeared a thick Reinforced Concrete Hammer. Blunt weapons were more effective against zombies with high defensive power than sharp weapons. Bang! [-54] [4946/5000] The slap of the toad zombie landed solidly on Wang Tao¡¯s chest. It dealt over fifty damage to his HP. [+10] But with his Barrier ability restoring 10 HP every second, he immediately regained 10 HP. At the same time, Wang Tao¡¯s hammer also struck the toad zombie¡¯s head. Bang! [-826] [7232/12000] That blow dealt over eight hundred damage to the toad zombie, far more than what the axe had done. ¡°Roar-¡± The toad zombie roared in anger as some of the tumors on its body swelled up Before the tumors could burst, Wang Tao threw the Slime Grenade. Chapter 304 - Chapter 304: Chapter 153: Slaying_2 Chapter 304: Chapter 153: Slaying_2 Phut¡ª A large glob of mucus instantly enveloped the toad, and although it struggled free within two or three seconds, the liquid from its tumorous explosions had fused with the white mucus. Sizzle¡ª The white mucus was instantly corroded, but the yellow-green liquid no longer emitted poisonous mist. Seeing it was effective, Wang Tao immediately grinned. Then he swung his hammer again. Bang! [-8951 [6337/12000] Nearly nine hundred damage showed up, the toad zombie was down to half its HP! The toad zombie seemed to be completely enraged and let out a roar that was somewhat different from before. Instantly, the surrounding zombies that were milling around all let out a roar and turned their gazes towards Wang Tao, before charging at him. If it were before his Level 2 Ascension, Wang Tao would definitely have retreated, because no matter how strong he was, he couldn¡¯t withstand the attack of so many zombies. But now he was at Level Two! Wang Tao raised the Reinforced Concrete Hammer high and slammed it into the ground just like the Rioters zombies, sending out a visible shockwave from himself at the center, spreading outward in all directions! Thud¡ª Amidst a dull boom, the shockwave visibly spread out from Wang Tao as the epicenter to the surroundings! [-4.OOO] [-4200] [-41271 [-4100] [¡­] In an instant, all the surrounding Poisonous Fog Zombies were shattered! ¡°As expected, it¡¯s the toad zombie¡¯s defense that¡¯s too high!¡± Wang Tao had almost begun to doubt whether his attack power had decreased. With the distraction of these zombies gone, Wang Tao once again focused on the toad zombie. The toad zombie let out another roar, louder than before, and all the Poisonous Fog Zombies around the base began to madly rush towards Wang Tao! ¡°An ability to control other Poisonous Fog Zombies?¡± This time Wang Tao was sure, these Poisonous Fog Zombies were definitely being controlled! But why hadn¡¯t the toad zombie ordered the attack before? Could it be harboring some plot? Looking at the horde of zombies charging at him, Wang Tao didn¡¯t play tough this time and backed off a bit. After all, with his Night Vision Ability, he could see very clearly that there were no fewer than eight thousand, if not ten thousand, Poisonous Fog Zombies around him, and he didn¡¯t need to waste time with so many of them. Wang Tao planned to lure them out and then throw a few Self-Destruct Bombs to see if he could kill them! However, as Wang Tao was running out, he suddenly saw a body missing both legs and a right arm on the ground¡ªno, not a body, he was still alive! ¡°Old Xiang!¡± Seeing half of Xiang Hongbin still alive, Wang Tao was shocked and felt a bitter taste in his heart. Wei Zhenguo had told him before that Xiang Hongbin and the others had bravely sacrificed themselves. But unexpectedly, Xiang Hongbin was still alive, although now in a tragic state at death¡¯s door, but still not turned into a zombie! Probably because just now these zombies were all in a state of chaos and didn t attack him. Without a second thought, Wang Tao picked up Xiang Hongbin and ran, then took out a Deactivating Potion (Experimental) from his Space Backpack and stabbed it into Xiang Hongbin. [Deactivating Potion (Experimental): Can reduce the virulence of the zombie virus in an infected person for 3-10 days. After the virulence of the zombie virus is reduced, mutation into a zombie will not occur] Plunk¡ª As the potion entered his body, Xiang Hongbin convulsed slightly, but still didn¡¯t wake up. With the Deactivating Potion, Xiang Hongbin would at least not turn into a zombie for a minimum of three days. Afterwards, an inhibitor would be needed. Of course, an inhibitor could be used right now to save a bottle of Deactivating Potion. But using an inhibitor was too painful. Either one needed a strong body or a strong will to endure it, otherwise, it was unbearable. With Xiang Hongbin¡¯s body in this state and in a coma¡­ Wang Tao felt it was safer to use the Deactivating Potion. Wang Tao carried Xiang Hongbin on his back and continued running towards the outside of the base. The Poisonous Fog Zombies also abandoned the base and chased Wang Tao led by the toad zombie. As for the Mad Demon Zombies that were blocked by the Poisonous Fog Zombies before, they also followed suit towards Wang Tao. Looking at the tide of zombies behind him and listening to their creepy roars, Wang Tao felt a tingling in his scalp. All of the zombies together, there were surely over ten thousand! If he was surrounded and attacked by them, he didn¡¯t know if he could come out alive. But fortunately, Wang Tao had Night Vision Ability; in the dark, he moved effortlessly, not giving these zombies the chance to surround him. Wang Tao ran for a long time until he felt some distance from the base. Then, seizing the opportunity, he climbed to the rooftop of a five-story building. He took several Self-Destruct Bombs from his Space Backpack and threw them down. The Self-Destruct Bombs, resembling hearts, started to beat the moment they appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Wang Tao threw them and before they could even hit the ground, they exploded in mid-air! Boom- Several powerful explosions shook the building until it swayed. Below was a sea of blood mist. Seeing there were still many zombies downstairs, Wang Tao had no qualms about taking out more Self-Destruct Bombs. Boom- Boom¡ª Rumble¡ª Wang Tao had no idea how many Self-Destruct Bombs he had thrown. When he felt the building beneath him about to collapse, he stopped immediately. ¡°Run!¡± Boom¡ª The five-story building completely collapsed, and Wang Tao emerged from the debris, face covered in dirt and dust. After getting out, Wang Tao saw the toad zombie not far away, along with a few of its decimated comrades. The toad zombie itself hadn¡¯t lost much HP from the blast and was now at 5500. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s primary target was other zombies, so it easily evaded them. Chapter 305 - Chapter 305: Chapter 153: Slaving 3 Chapter 305: Chapter 153: Slaving 3 But the other Poisonous Fog Zombies and Mad Demon Zombies were either blown to pieces or crushed under the collapsed buildings. Now, standing in front of Wang Tao, there were less than ten remaining. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, among these ten zombies, there were actually two Level 2 Zombies! [HP: 1239/5000] [Mana: 768/1000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] The first Level 2 Zombie had only 1200 HP left. [HP: 1004/5000] [Mana: 806/1000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] The second Level 2 Zombie had only 1000 HP left. ¡°These two zombies must be the weaker Level 2 Zombies that Zhen Guo was talking about¡­¡± 5000 HP is the threshold for Level 2, so these must have ascended to Level 2 not long ago, and both zombies had very little mana. In Wang Tao¡¯s opinion, zombies with more mana are stronger. Of course, the biggest difference is in the level. The Toad zombie¡¯s level is [Level 2 ¨C Lord], while these two Level 2 Zombies¡¯ level is [Level 2 Elite], which is clearly one level lower. Wang Tao then looked at one of the ordinary zombies. [HP: 2983/4.000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 1 ¨C Ordinary] This zombie was even weaker. It had no mana, which meant it had no Crystal Core. As for the green poisonous fog it carried, it was probably not an Ability, but some kind of talent or hidden ability¡­ ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Toad zombie glared at Wang Tao furiously. Then it let out a roar and charged at Wang Tao. Wang Tao did not plan to fight it yet, but instead ran towards the two Level 2 Zombies. Thud¡ª Wang Tao swung his hammer down and instantly burst the head of one of the Level 2 Zombies. [-1004] [0/5000] They were truly much weaker! ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The other Level 2 Zombie lunged at Wang Tao. He raised his Big Hammer and unleashed a Shockwave. Splat¡ª [-1239] [0/5000] [-2983] [0/4000] [¡­] This Level 2 Zombie¡¯s head also burst, and at the same time, he killed the surrounding zombies as well. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils of war, then swiftly glanced at his own HP bar. Killing ordinary zombies still didn¡¯t increase his HP, killing these two Level 2 Zombies added 80 each, a total of 160¡ªwait, only 80 HP? Wasn¡¯t that too little? Wang Tao clearly remembered that when he killed the zombie Shao Yong before, he gained 960 HP¡­ In addition to gaining HP, Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy bar showed no changes, killing these two zombies didn¡¯t add any Special Energy. This was within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations, since it was said that only killing higher-level zombies would grant Special Abilities, and these two weak Level 2 Zombies clearly didn¡¯t meet Wang Tao¡¯s conditions for a higher-level kill. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Once again, the Toad zombie leaped high, pouncing towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao swung his Big Hammer, and as the Toad zombie landed on him, Wang Tao smashed its head with a fierce blow, as if he were playing baseball. Bang! The toad zombie was sent flying back with even greater speed than when it had initially pounced. [-1024] [4476/12000] But as it flew back, it suddenly opened its mouth wide, and a thick, large tongue shot towards Wang Tao¡¯s chest at high speed. Because of the tongue¡¯s swift movement, and the fact that Wang Tao had just sent the toad zombie flying, he didn¡¯t react in time. Thump¡ª The tongue smashed directly into Wang Tao¡¯s chest. [-431] Wang Tao felt a stuffiness in his chest followed by an intense, piercing pain, and he almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath. ¡°Damn!¡± This tongue attack from the toad zombie was clearly much stronger than the last, with its tongue noticeably larger. Even though Wang Tao had activated his Barrier and was wearing stubborn armor, he still lost over four hundred HP! If Wang Tao had no defence abilities or equipment, wouldn¡¯t that hit have almost killed him? Having initially felt a bit overconfident after exchanging blows with the toad zombie, Wang Tao quickly became more cautious. While he was strong, a Level 2 Zombie Lord was not weak at all! There was a chance he could be turned over! For safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao used a defence potion. After all, he wasn¡¯t a zombie; even if the zombies couldn¡¯t hit his head, being hit anywhere else would cause him to lose HP, and humans had far more weaknesses than zombies! If he were to endure a few more hits of the magnitude he had just experienced, it was uncertain if he could withstand them. The defence potion took immediate effect, and feeling as if he had gained a very substantial power inside, Wang Tao immediately lunged towards the toad zombie with his Big Hammer in tow! A moment later, the toad zombie¡¯s HP dropped to ¡°3566,¡± and Wang Tao watched it nervously yet expectantly. The toad zombie had a total of 12000 HP, and 30% of that was 3600. Wang Tao wanted to know if it had a Frenzy ability similar to the Gorilla zombie. The condition for triggering the Frenzy ability was when its HP fell below 30%. Although Wang Tao thought it was highly unlikely, since he had roughly figured out what abilities the toad zombie had, he couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of it having the Frenzy ability, and if it did, he could synthesize it! Unfortunately, when the toad zombie¡¯s HP decreased below 30%, other than getting angrier, nothing happened. ¡°Damn it, what good are you!¡± Wang Tao suddenly felt irritated, then swung his Big Hammer and began attacking furiously. Several minutes later, Wang Tao, having withstood several attacks from the toad zombie, finally delivered a crushing blow to its head. Pff- [-621] [0/12000] The toad zombie¡¯s HP bar emptied, and it dropped a pile of loot. Wang Tao quickly collected the loot and, while picking up the Crystal Core, glanced at his own HP bar. ¡°Only 600 HP added¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned. Although he felt the toad zombie wasn¡¯t as tough as the Gorilla zombie, it was definitely much tougher than the zombie Shao Yong, especially since it also had 12000 HP. Yet the HP he gained was even less than what he had got from killing Shao Yong. Could it be because, when he killed Shao Yong, he was Level 1, and now that he was Level 2, there was no bonus? Wang Tao, who loved gaming when he had free time, could only come up with this explanation. Then Wang Tao looked at his Special Energy. ¡°Huh? It actually increased!¡± The Special Energy increased by 320! With the previous 160, he now had 480! Wang Tao had thought that earning Special Energy by killing higher level zombies meant ¡°Level 1 killing Level 2,¡± but it seemed that even as a Level 2, killing a Level 2 Zombie Lord also granted Special Energy! This was good news; otherwise, with his current abilities, thinking of killing a Level 3 zombie would be a dream. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t even certain if there were any Level 3 zombies yet¡­ ¡°Time to head back¡­¡± Wang Tao got hold of the well-hidden Xiang Hongbin, slung him over his shoulder, and ran back to base. However, when he arrived outside the base, Wang Tao suddenly knitted his brows. ¡°Something¡¯s not right¡­¡± Chapter 306 - Chapter 306: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_1 Chapter 306: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_1 The nights during the apocalypse were noisy, as zombies preferred the dark. Every night, the zombies would start their nocturnal activities. But now, Shuize Base was very quiet, eerily quiet. When Wang Tao had lured a large number of zombies away before, some Ordinary zombies hadn¡¯t left. They were all outside of Shuize Base. But now, Wang Tao didn¡¯t see any zombies, nor did he hear any roaring. It was as quiet as during the day. This was clearly not right! Could it be that something had happened to the base again? That would be incredibly unlucky. With a grim expression, Wang Tao made his way to the base of the main building and knocked on the door. ¡°Open up, it¡¯s me.¡± After a moment, Lu Gang opened the door, with Wei Zhen Guo and the others behind him. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Lu Gang quickly asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao was relieved to see Lu Gang and the others unscathed. It was good that the base was safe¡ªthey had so few people left that they couldn¡¯t afford any more setbacks¡­ ¡°Hey, what¡¯s this?¡± After Wang Tao entered, the crowd saw the bloodied figure he was carrying and was immediately surprised. ¡°Old Xiang, Xiang Hongbin, he¡¯s not dead yet.¡± Wang Tao gently laid Xiang Hongbin down, and everyone saw his pale face. ¡°Old Xiang!¡± After a moment of stunned silence, everyone crowded around excitedly. ¡°Is he¡­is he really not dead¡­¡± Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s eyes reddened, his hand reaching out to grab Xiang Hongbin, but afraid it was all a dream, he dared not touch him. ¡°He¡¯s still alive, but whether he can pull through depends on himself now¡­¡± Wang Tao felt that Xiang Hongbin had a high chance of survival since his HP had increased quite a bit after his treatment. But the greater the hope, the greater the potential for disappointment. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to be too certain. ¡°Is there a doctor here? Someone come and treat Old Xiang¡¯s wounds!¡± Wang Tao called out. ¡°Me!¡± Chen Zhuang quickly raised his hand. His face and body were all covered in grime, which Wang Tao had not noticed upon his arrival. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll leave it to you!¡± Wang Tao patted Chen Zhuang¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Chen Zhuang is the last doctor left in the base¡­¡± Lu Gang explained with a somber tone. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed, then said, ¡°Everyone, take a good rest. I¡¯ve killed those Poisonous Fog Zombies. We¡¯re all safe now.¡± Although the crowd was stirred by this news, they were also very distressed. Wei Zhen Guo and the others went to take care of Xiang Hong Bin, while Ding Yuqin and Han Rui held Wang Tao¡¯s hands from each side, Wang Tao feeling their trembling bodies. ¡°Member Ren Jie, Commissioner Liu He, Commissioner Feng Ming¡¯an¡­they¡¯ve all made the ultimate sacrifice¡­Huo Ziyi is also gone. Before she died, she said she wanted you to see her newly choreographed dance¡­¡± Han Rui said softly, her head lowered. Wang Tao¡¯s mind flashed with images of Ren Jie and the others, recalling Huo Ziyi and her younger sisters dancing in front of him, their faces begging for praise¡­ Wang Tao gripped Han Rui¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°They were heroes!¡± ¡°Yes! They were all heroes!¡± Wang Tao had everyone go inside to rest and prepared to stand watch until dawn. Han Rui and Ding Yuqin decided to keep him company for a while, as they had just rested and were not very tired. Looking at the two women, Wang Tao always felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it. At that moment, Han Rui suddenly asked Ding Yuqin, ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Li Qiuyu?¡± With that, Wang Tao suddenly realized what was amiss¡ªhe hadn¡¯t seen Li Qiuyu since returning! When he had gone to attract the zombies, he clearly saw Li Qiuyu with Han Rui and the others! ¡°She¡­¡± Ding Yuqin hesitated for a moment, she had just been resting, and Li Qiuyu had been right by her side all along. But when Wang Tao came back, everyone had gone to see him, and it seemed she hadn¡¯t seen Li Qiuyu then¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go look for her!¡± The two women exchanged glances, each sensing a bad premonition. After all, for safety reasons, everyone had been together before. A few minutes later, Wei Zhen Guo and the others also arrived, all of them looking very grave. Li Qiuyu¡­was missing! One of the room¡¯s windows showed signs of being tampered with, and from the outside no less! Someone, or something, had come in and taken Li Qiuyu without a chance for her to resist or make noise. And they, so many people, had not noticed anything! This was terrifying! If the intruder¡¯s target was them, were they all doomed? As for the possibility of Li Qiuyu leaving voluntarily, everyone thought it was improbable. After all, it was the middle of the night¡ªany fool knew this was not the time to go outside! ¡°You all get some rest. We¡¯ll talk about Li Qiuyu tomorrow. I¡¯ll keep watch, rest assured.¡± Looking at the scratch marks by the window, Wang Tao turned to the others and said. ¡°Okay¡­¡± It was still night, and even if they went out to search for her, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do much. Wang Tao let Han Rui and Ding Yuqin go to rest while he sat alone in the hall. Wei Zhen Guo came by and discussed the matters regarding his Level 2 Ascension, but soon Wei Zhen Guo couldn¡¯t stay awake and went off to sleep. Wang Tao remained watchful until daybreak without incident. Upon seeing the next day¡¯s sun, all the survivors wept with joy. ¡°Let¡¯s collect whatever resources we can use¡­¡± Wei Zhen Guo immediately began giving orders. Sadly, with only twenty or thirty people left, the efficiency of reconstructing the base had dropped significantly. Wang Tao went up to the rooftop. It was still raining lightly, but it did not hinder his view. He carefully observed the surroundings. Chapter 307 - Chapter 307: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_2 Chapter 307: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_2 Yesterday¡¯s disappearance of Li Qiuyu made him quite uneasy. After his Ascension to Level Two, not only had his five senses improved significantly, but even his sixth sense seemed to have been enhanced. For something to make him feel so uneasy, last night¡¯s Toad zombie was not enough, it had to be at least a Gorilla zombie level! But this time, there shouldn¡¯t be any other Level 2 Zombies in Shuize county, this unease¡­ what exactly is it? Suddenly, Wang Tao saw a furtive figure climbing over the broken base wall, and when she lifted her head, Wang Tao was taken aback. ¡°Li Qiuyu?¡± ¡­ At the east wall of the base. Li Qiuyu had exerted some effort, but finally managed to climb inside. ¡°Hu~¡± She took a heavy breath, then looked at her rain-soaked clothing, somewhat headache induced about how to explain later¡­ After making sure there was no one around, she immediately headed towards the comprehensive building. ¡°Where did you go?¡± Out of the blue, a voice sounded behind her. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Li Qiuyu jumped in fright, she quickly turned around, only to see that Wang Tao had appeared not far behind her at some point. ¡°I¡­ I went to the Administration Building! Yes, I was so scared last night, I accidentally ran into the Administration Building¡­¡± Li Qiuyu, looking at the nearby Administration Building, hurriedly explained. Wang Tao said nothing, walking step by step towards her with an expressionless face. After his Ascension to Level 2, Wang Tao had grown considerably larger. Previously, he was one meter eighty, but now he stood one meter ninety tall and with his muscular build, he exuded an overwhelming presence. Seeing Wang Tao approaching her, Li Qiuyu instinctively took a step back. ¡°I¡¯m asking you again, where did you go last night?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone was somewhat cold. Li Qiuyu had never seen Wang Tao like this before, she felt afraid and dared not meet his eyes. ¡°I, I was really in the Administration Building¡­¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re disappointing me.¡± Wang Tao suddenly let out a sigh, then abruptly stretched out his hand, grabbing Li Qiuyu by the neck. ¡°Uh¡ª¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s eyes widened immediately, her face a mix of disbelief and shock as she looked at Wang Tao. Seeing the cold indifference on his face, she frantically clawed at Wang Tao¡¯s arms, trying to break free. But with her strength, she was no match for Wang Tao. She looked at him pleadingly with a desperate expression, though Wang Tao showed no mercy. Just then, Wang Tao suddenly felt as if a pair of eyes filled with rage, killing intent, and resentment was staring at his back! Wang Tao was on high alert, yet his face remained undisturbed, he slightly loosened his grip on Li Qiuyu, then spoke softly, ¡°Can you talk now?¡± ¡°Cough, cough¡­¡± Li Qiuyu quickly covered her neck, coughing violently, then she looked at Wang Tao with a face full of suffering, ¡°I¡¯ll say¡­ cough, cough¡­¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t actually exerted much force just now, it just looked very scary. With his current strength, a little extra force would have been enough to kill Li Qiuyu. However, with Li Qiuyu¡¯s delicate skin, the slightest rough handling was more than she could bear, and her neck showed some red marks as if she had been mistreated by Wang Tao. Wang Tao took Li Qiuyu to an office in the Administration Building, and only after entering the room did that watchful sensation finally disappear. Wang Tao felt a slight disappointment. Wang Tao sat on the sofa, while Li Qiuyu stood at the door, still afraid of him and hesitant to approach. ¡°Sit.¡± Wang Tao gestured next to him. Remembering the intimidating feeling from before, Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t dare to resist and obediently sat on the sofa, though she kept her distance from Wang Tao. Wang Tao shifted his position, sitting close to Li Qiuyu, and looked at the very tense Li Qiuyu. As he reached out his hand, Li Qiuyu¡¯s neck instinctively flinched. Wang Tao placed his hand on the red mark on Li Qiuyu¡¯s neck and said softly, ¡°Sorry, did I hurt you?¡± Li Qiuyu looked up, not sure what Wang Tao meant by that. However, since Wang Tao had always given her a good impression and seemed less frightening when not looking so stern, she felt somewhat relieved. ¡°It hurts¡­¡± Li Qiuyu spoke up, a hint of grief in her voice. ¡°How¡¯s your daughter doing?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°She¡­¡± In a flash, Li Qiuyu stood up abruptly, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at Wang Tao. ¡°You¡ª¡± Seeing Li Qiuyu¡¯s reaction, Wang Tao instantly understood. He had guessed right! The Poisonous Fog Zombies from the previous day had come from Shuizhe Mountain, and most of them were students from Shuize University, including Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter. Li Qiuyu had disappeared suddenly last night and had sneaked back today. Li Qiuyu lied to Wang Tao, whom she trusted deeply and owed her life to. Combined with that ominous glare¡­ All these signs gave Wang Tao reason to suspect that Li Qiuyu had seen her daughter! And her daughter¡¯s condition might be far from good¡­ ¡°What are you talking about, I¡­ I don¡¯t understand¡­¡± Li Qiuyu hurriedly denied it. But her denial only confirmed Wang Tao¡¯s suspicions even more. ¡°Couldn¡¯t your daughter have turned into a zombie? That¡¯s not right, if she had turned into a zombie, she wouldn¡¯t have any consciousness. Or¡­ is she like Wu Fei and Shao Yong, with too much Internal Impurity, on the verge of turning into a zombie?¡± ¡°You¡­ stop it¡­ wuwu¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s words shattered Li Qiuyu¡¯s composure. She crouched on the ground, covering her face as she cried. Wang Tao forcefully pulled her back up, making her sit beside him, and then he helped her wipe away her tears. ¡°Stop crying; now can you talk? What exactly happened? You know, maybe I¡¯m the only one who can help you.¡± Chapter 308 - Chapter 308: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_3 Chapter 308: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_3 ¡°Wuu wuu¡­¡± Lying on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder, Li Qiuyu cried for a while, then spoke with her head lowered, ¡°Last night¡­ while I had my eyes closed resting, I suddenly felt like someone was watching me. When I opened my eyes, I saw a pair of blood-red pupils, and then I realized¡­ it was Little Xue!¡± ¡°Little Xue covered my mouth and took me outside. She then said that this place would be very dangerous and told me to run out of the county town as soon as possible¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to escape on my own, and of course, I couldn¡¯t have gotten very far by myself. I wanted to come back and tell you all this¡­ wuu wuu, I kindly brought you the news, and you treated me like this¡­¡± Wang Tao automatically ignored Li Qiuyu¡¯s complaints and stroked his chin in thought. What kind of danger does ¡°very dangerous¡± imply? ¡°What exactly is happening to Jiang Shixue?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Li Qiuyu fell silent for a moment, then she looked up at Wang Tao with a pleading expression and said, ¡°Could you not kill her, no matter what she becomes, she is still my daughter¡­¡± Seeing Li Qiuyu like this, Wang Tao frowned slightly. ¡°Could it be that Jiang Shixue has turned into a zombie?¡± ¡°No! She isn¡¯t a zombie! She¡¯s not!¡± Li Qiuyu immediately denied. ¡°Then what is she like? If you don¡¯t explain it clearly, don¡¯t blame me. Powerful zombies are not allowed near the base!¡± Li Qiuyu struggled momentarily, but ultimately she revealed, ¡°¡­Little Xue, she gives me the feeling very much like a zombie, but she has her own thoughts! She recognizes me, and she can even speak! She¡¯s not a zombie!¡± Watching Li Qiuyu repeatedly emphasize that her daughter was not a zombie, Wang Tao felt that Little Xue was probably similar to Wu Fei, in that state of almost turning into a zombie but clinging to a single breath. Wu Fei¡¯s breath was his desire to repay Wang Tao. Little Xue¡¯s breath, perhaps, was seeing her mother, Li Qiuyu, safe. If that¡¯s the case, Little Xue could very likely turn into a zombie soon¡­ After all, Li Qiuyu just mentioned that Little Xue told her to run away alone and did not say she would protect her and run together. An ordinary person obviously wouldn¡¯t say such a thing¡­ ¡°Bring her to me, I have some questions to ask her.¡± Wang Tao said to Li Qiuyu. He wanted to know what this ¡°very dangerous¡± actually was. Without knowing the specific danger, it wouldn¡¯t be good to run! What if he ran right into the danger? ¡°She¡¯s already gone¡­ When I woke up this morning, she was nowhere to be found¡­¡± Li Qiuyu spoke with a painful expression on her face. ¡°Gone? No, she hasn¡¯t left, she¡¯s been watching you from the shadows!¡± Wang Tao was sure that the gaze fixing on him just now was undoubtedly Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter. ¡°Ah?¡± Li Qiuyu was somewhat in disbelief, yet partially thrilled. If possible, she certainly didn¡¯t want her daughter to leave her. Even if others saw her daughter as a monster, it was enough for her not to view her that way, not to mention her daughter was still conscious and recognized her mother! ¡°Let¡¯s go, no time to delay, I¡¯ll come with you!¡± Wang Tao directly escorted Li Qiuyu to the spot where she had climbed in earlier. Upon arrival, Wang Tao felt he was being spied on. Not just him, even Li Qiuyu felt it too. ¡°Little Xue! Is that you, Little Xue? Come out, I need your help!¡± Li Qiuyu called out excitedly. After shouting for a while, her daughter did not appear, but a few ordinary zombies were attracted by the noise. Wang Tao stepped forward, shielding Li Qiuyu, and casually dispatched these zombies with a couple of shockwaves. Just then, Wang Tao felt something and abruptly turned around. He saw a figure wearing a dirty hoodie, with the hood concealing the face, petite in stature, standing behind Li Qiuyu! She lifted her head, revealing a pair of eyes that radiated a red glow. Li Qiuyu, upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s movement, instinctively turned her head, and then she saw the petite figure. ¡°Little Xue!¡± She was so excited that she hurriedly tried to hug the other person, but she was easily avoided. ¡°¡­¡± There was no embarrassment on Li Qiuyu¡¯s face, only pain. Wang Tao watched the petite figure before him, his wariness mixed with surprise. His guess was not wrong; this Jiang Shixue was indeed in a state similar to Wu Fei¡¯s back then, but she was much stronger than Wu Fei! [HP: 9000/9000] [Mana: 8000/8000] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 100%] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract] [Eyes of Contract: Night Vision, control other people¡¯s thoughts to a certain extent] Nine thousand HP, eight thousand Mana! Just by these attributes alone, she was the strongest human survivor Wang Tao had seen so far¡ªif she could still be considered human. After all, her HP bar was in a state of red and green flickering; as soon as it turned completely red, she would become a full-fledged zombie! Then, upon seeing Jiang Shixue¡¯s hidden attributes, some of Wang Tao¡¯s questions were immediately answered¡ª The zombies attacking the base, why they suddenly stopped their assault, were most likely influenced or even controlled by Jiang Shixue! The wounds on the toad zombie could also probably have been inflicted by Jiang Shixue! Her current state would likely affect her personality. She probably hadn¡¯t taken action before, being very indifferent. It was after discovering Li Qiuyu in the base that she decided to act¡­ ¡°Hello Jiang Shixue! Nice to meet you, my name is Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao politely extended his hand, but Jiang Shixue showed no intention of shaking hands. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t embarrassed, in fact, he even breathed a sigh of relief. He had actually been completely on guard! Wang Tao continued to ask: ¡°I heard from your mother that you said it¡¯s going to be very dangerous here soon. Can you tell us what kind of danger is coming?¡± Jiang Shixue still did not answer. Her entire face was hidden inside a hood, and she wore a mask, so Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see her expression, only her red eyes. Wang Tao looked at her, and suddenly his eyes lit up¡ªemitting a green light! He could distinctly feel that Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes seemed to widen a bit, and the red glow in them brightened! However, Jiang Shixue still remained silent. Wang Tao had no choice but to bring Li Qiuyu into the conversation. ¡°If we don¡¯t know the specific danger, I won¡¯t be able to help your mother escape! If we run into danger, we¡¯ll all die¡­¡± Upon hearing this, the red glow in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes fluctuated, and then she finally spoke. Her voice was hoarse, shrill, as if scratching glass. ¡°Monsters¡­ are coming¡­ you¡­ will all die¡­¡± As she said the word ¡°monsters,¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s body seemed to tremble slightly, whether from fear of the monster or because she felt she had become one. ¡°Monsters? What kind of monsters?¡± Wang Tao asked urgently. Jiang Shixue was silent for a moment, as if organizing her words. ¡°Black¡­ massive¡­ red eyes¡­¡± Her words were abstract, and most people might not understand, but an image suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s mind! That black shadow, which at the dawn of the apocalypse had ten thousand HP and nearly scared him to immobility! ¡°It¡¯s that one!¡± Chapter 309 - Chapter 309: Chapter 155: Level 3!_1 Chapter 309: Chapter 155: Level 3!_1 Li Qiuyu looked at the dazed expression that flashed across Wang Tao¡¯s face, and she was a bit confused. She didn¡¯t understand her daughter¡¯s abstract words, so how could Wang Tao? ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± he asked. ¡°How powerful is it, where does it come from, what does it want to do¡­¡± Wang Tao spoke as he walked towards Jiang Shixue. At the same time, his eyes occasionally flickered with green light¡ªnot because Wang Tao had some special ability in his eyes, but because he felt that if he could show some commonalities with Jiang Shixue, perhaps she would lower her guard a bit. After all¡­ everyone was a monster. Sure enough, Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t dodge this time. She let Wang Tao approach and touch her head. At his touch, she disappeared in a whoosh, like a startled rabbit, and reappeared ten meters away. The red glow in her eyes grew even brighter, and Wang Tao felt the air around him grow colder as if he was enveloped by negative emotions like irritability, resentment, hatred, and the urge to kill. Hiss¡ª Wang Tao shivered. Her eyes are so strong! Much stronger than his own, which only had night vision and slightly enhanced sight! Wang Tao was envious. He didn¡¯t dare to approach her again, given Jiang Shixue¡¯s unstable condition. After all, if she turned into a zombie because of some stimulus, it would be rather embarrassing. Li Qiuyu was even more bewildered by the side. Since Jiang Shixue had taken her away, Jiang wouldn¡¯t even let her touch her. Li couldn¡¯t hug her daughter, let alone pat her! But Wang Tao had just rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s head¡­ Not only could Wang Tao understand her daughter¡¯s words, but he was also capable of having intimate interactions with her, something she couldn¡¯t do¡­ ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯m the outsider?¡± Li Qiuyu felt a bit dispirited. Wang Tao, of course, was unaware of Li Qiuyu¡¯s thoughts. He softly soothed Jiang Shixue for a while. After a moment, the red glow in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes grew weaker. ¡°It¡­ is very powerful. You¡­ can¡¯t beat it. It hates¡­ water, noise¡­ I¡¯ve been¡­ up close, touched it¡­ It¡¯s very powerful! I don¡¯t know¡­ what it wants¡­ but if you don¡¯t leave, everyone¡­ will die¡­¡± It hates water and noise? This was important information! Wang Tao silently took note. Besides, if Jiang Shixue had been able to get close to it, she was no simple character either! As for the monster being so powerful that the base couldn¡¯t defeat it, Wang Tao didn¡¯t doubt it. After all, three months ago it already had 10,000 HP¡ªwho knew how strong it had become after another three months¡­ Wang Tao planned to start moving the base as soon as he got back. Then he asked Jiang Shixue about those Poisonous Fog Zombies. Through her broken and abstract words, Wang Tao also got the gist of the matter. As he suspected, those zombies were influenced by Jiang Shixue! But Jiang Shixue¡¯s abilities were limited; she couldn¡¯t completely control the zombies, just try to keep them from attacking the base. When the Toad zombie came later, and it led the zombies in pursuit of Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue could no longer control them. The HP of the Toad zombie wasn¡¯t full indeed because Jiang Shixue had attacked it. But it wasn¡¯t because Jiang saw Li Qiuyu and then attacked the Toad zombie; it was because the Toad zombie was Jiang¡¯s senior in school, and they had some conflicts before. Jiang Shixue was now in a half-human half-zombie state, and the zombies wouldn¡¯t attack her, provided she didn¡¯t attack them. When she took Li Qiuyu away, she also killed all the zombies around the base, which was why it was so quiet when Wang Tao returned to the base. Regarding why those Poisonous Fog Zombies came to the base, Jiang Shixue explained it was because the Toad zombie sensed the Gorilla zombie was dead and it wanted to take over its territory¡­ ¡°Thank you so much! We¡¯re going to move the base now. Do you need any of this?¡± Wang Tao pulled out potions like Inhibitors and Deactivating Agents from his pocket. But when he looked up, Jiang Shixue had vanished. ¡°She seems to have this stuff¡­¡± Li Qiuyu said, pulling several bottles of inhibitors from her pocket with a sigh, ¡°She gave them to me¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go; we should head back first.¡± ¡°But Little Xue¡­¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s face was filled with sadness. ¡°If there¡¯s a chance, we¡¯ll see her again.¡± Wang Tao offered reassuring words. But those words were just consolation¡ªafter all, the zombies wouldn¡¯t attack Jiang Shixue voluntarily; she could simply hide among them and become untraceable. Not to mention, she might turn into a zombie soon¡­ Wang Tao took Li Qiuyu back to the base. But as soon as he entered the base, Wang Tao suddenly felt his hair stand on end and shivers ran down his spine! He recognized that feeling¡ªthe monster had seen him! ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qiuyu looked at Wang Tao, who suddenly froze, and asked in confusion. ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Without explaining, Wang Tao blurted out and immediately grabbed Li Qiuyu by the waist and ran toward the main building at full speed. Wang Tao¡¯s perception was very strong; he was certain that the monster had arrived! He even suspected that Jiang Shixue¡¯s sudden departure was related to the monster¡¯s arrival! ¡°Everyone, grab food, weapons, evacuate the base!¡± Wang Tao reached the bottom of the main building and bellowed. The survivors were somewhat stunned and some didn¡¯t even understand what was happening, since they had just received orders to rebuild the base. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Don¡¯t dawdle; if you¡¯re slow, you¡¯re dead!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s emphasis, everyone understood this time. Trusting Wang Tao, they realized trouble might be at hand and immediately picked up whatever they could and ran outside. Chapter 310 - Chapter 310: Chapter 155: Level 3!_2 Chapter 310: Chapter 155: Level 3!_2 Wei Zhen Guo, carrying the still unconscious Xiang Hong Bin, ran out and upon seeing Wang Tao, he immediately asked: ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± ¡°A big guy¡¯s coming! I can¡¯t beat it!¡± As Wang Tao explained, he surveyed the surroundings. He didn¡¯t see anything, but that momentary feeling of being watched was definitely not an illusion! Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Wei Zhen Guo did not dare to delay and immediately signaled for the survivors to evacuate. Although it was regrettable to lose the base and supplies, their lives were more important! Due to the high number of casualties from the various disasters, there weren¡¯t many people left in the base, so the assembly was quick. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Head east!¡± Once everyone had gathered, Wang Tao immediately got into the vehicle. He hadn¡¯t seen the creature, but he had a hunch that the west might be even more dangerous, so he planned to head east. Hum~ Wang Tao¡¯s electric off-road vehicle took the lead, followed by five other vehicles. After leaving the base, they moved toward the east. Not long after the convoy left the base, a black fog appeared inside. It paused for a moment, then, like a dark cloud, it trailed along the ground towards the east. ¡­ Six vehicles sped crazily down the road, with a swarm of Mad Demon Zombies behind them. Inside the car, Wang Tao briefly explained the current situation over the walkie-talkie. When they heard from Wang Tao that the Black Mist Monster he had previously encountered was coming, everyone gasped in shock. Wang Tao had described the creature as incredibly powerful, and they had no chance of winning¡ªlet alone a chance of victory, escaping was a problem in itself! The vehicles maintained high speed, crashing through abandoned vehicles and zombies and other obstacles, Wei Zhen Guo and Wang Tao used Shockwave to clear the path. Just as the road ahead seemed clear and everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, they suddenly felt an oppressive and terrifying presence, and then they looked up. Hiss¡ª All the cars braked immediately! Out of nowhere, on the rooftop of a six-story residential building ahead, there was a black figure. Its eyes, glowing red, were staring at the convoy! ¡°Is this, this the shadow you mentioned? What a terrifying feeling¡­¡± Han Rui felt her mouth trembling. She had never experienced such a fearsome presence, not even the Gorilla zombie could compare! Wang Tao stared fixedly at the Black Mist Monster on the rooftop¡ªit was indeed a shadow! When he first saw the creature, Wang Tao thought he hadn¡¯t seen it clearly and only caught a glimpse of a black shadow. But now, he realized that this seemed to be a creature composed entirely of a black fog! Apart from the two red glints within the fog, he could see nothing else! Of course, appearances were not the most important thing; the creature¡¯s strength was! [HP: 35000/35000] [Mana: 32000/32000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] 35000 HP! 32000 Mana! Either attribute was despair inducing! Not to mention it was at a Level 3 standard! Wang Tao had earlier said that he didn¡¯t know if there were any Level 3 beings around, and now one had appeared, a Level 3, Lord Rank at that! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how strong a Lord Rank was, but he did know that none of them could match it! This left no room for survival! However, Wang Tao noticed something strange; this creature did not seem to be a zombie? It had the attribute ¡°Internal Impurity.¡± Zombies would not have this attribute, as they are entirely composed of impurities. Of course, these details were not important; the important thing was how to get away! If this creature was just passing by and had no interest in them, there was still a chance to escape. If it came for them¡­ ¡°Retreat! Retreat quickly!¡± Wang Tao immediately shouted into the walkie-talkie. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, many people snapped out of their shock. They had been paralyzed with fear by the creature¡¯s presence, just like Wang Tao once was. Hum~ The cars immediately shifted into reverse, backing away. They were currently in an alleyway, and turning the cars around was slow, so it was better to reverse straight back. But with a roar, a building behind them suddenly collapsed, blocking their retreat! ¡°It¡¯s over¡­¡± Seeing this, everyone¡¯s faces fell into despair. When facing the Gorilla zombie and the Poisonous Fog Zombie, everyone had fought back desperately because they knew there was a possibility of victory, albeit slim. But now, faced with the Black Fog Monster, they felt no urge to resist at all, as they believed resistance was futile. Whether they resisted or not, they would die. Even Wang Tao was somewhat pessimistic. ¡°Maybe we should give up¡­¡± But in the instant that thought appeared, Wang Tao shuddered mightily and became alert. ¡°How could I so easily give up! Could this creature possibly influence the spirit?¡± If that were the case, there would be no chance to fight at all! Sweat broke out on Wang Tao¡¯s forehead, and he urgently shouted into the walkie-talkie, ¡°We can¡¯t give up! Everyone, don¡¯t give up! Stay alert!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice was loud, and upon hearing it, everyone regained their lucidity, sweating profusely. They had awakened, but how to get away? ¡°Drive forward, pass beneath it!¡± Wang Tao decisively ordered. He was uncertain whether the collapsed building was the work of the Black Fog Monster, but now they had no choice. The Black Fog Monster was on the rooftop of the six-story building, and there was some distance between it and them. Perhaps they could drive straight through the street beneath it. Chapter 311 - Chapter 311: Chapter 155: Level 3!_3 Chapter 311: Chapter 155: Level 3!_3 ¡°` Of course, things were definitely not going to be that simple, everyone was prepared for battle. Then. Bang¡ª Several cars crashed into the walls on either side of the street. ¡°What happened!¡± Wang Tao looked toward Han Rui beside him. The car he was in was driven by Han Rui, who also hit the wall. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know what happened. I felt like I was driving straight ahead, how did I turn¡­¡± Han Rui was somewhat panicked. She had been driving for many years, and she could definitely tell the difference between going straight and turning. But she was sure she was going straight, yet she ended up crashing into the wall! She didn¡¯t feel any problems with the car, nor did she think she made any mistakes, but she crashed into the wall anyway¡­ ¡°Continue, charge!¡± After hearing Han Rui¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao had a bad feeling, but he still shouted again. Several drivers immediately straightened their vehicles and rushed towards the intersection. Wang Tao kept his eyes on the Black Fog Monster that remained motionless on the rooftop, carefully observing Han Rui at the same time. Then he saw, just after the car started, Han Rui suddenly turned the steering wheel to the right. Bang¡ª The car hit the wall again! It wasn¡¯t just this car, the following cars also crashed into it. Han Rui had a bewildered look on her face. ¡°I, I really was driving properly¡­ How could this happen¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed; there was no more room for luck this time, it was that Black Fog Monster¡¯s doing! It must have some ability to affect the mind, and it was even an area-of-effect ability! However, this ability didn¡¯t seem to be too strong? Otherwise, there was no need to make cars crash into walls, making people commit suicide would be much simpler¡­ ¡°Get out of the car! Everyone, get out!¡± Wang Tao immediately said. It was clear that they couldn¡¯t continue driving; they had to get out and walk. Without the cars, the likelihood of escaping was even lower¡­ After everyone got out of the car, aside from Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo, the others all had weak legs, collapsing onto the ground. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Wang Tao quickly asked. Ding Yuqin clutched Wang Tao¡¯s hand with a terrified expression. ¡°Such a terrifying presence, I¡¯m scared, I can¡¯t move¡­¡± The others were in the same state; they couldn¡¯t walk! ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected that these vehicles, reinforced with thick steel plates, also had the function of blocking out presences? While they were inside the car, they were scared, but not to the extent that they couldn¡¯t walk because of weak legs. Only Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo were able to stand, possibly because both were Level 2 Ability users. Having no other option, Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo had to stuff everyone back into the vehicles. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± As soon as they got back into the car and closed the door, everyone took a deep breath. ¡°Just now¡­ it was terrifying!¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with some fear lingering from before. The moment she got out of the car, she felt like she was about to die¡­ ¡°` Wang Tao felt a chill in his heart. This monster is trapping people to death! The car can¡¯t move forward, and people can¡¯t walk away, with our escape blocked as well¡­ aren¡¯t we sitting ducks! At that moment, Wang Tao saw the mass of black fog on the rooftop stir. It drifted down the building¡¯s facade like a dark cloud, floating leisurely toward the ground. And as it approached, the terror within the people in the car grew stronger! Not just them, even Wang Tao found his body becoming somewhat stiff. Wang Tao felt that as soon as it fully landed and confronted everyone, no one would be able to move; they could only wait for death! We can¡¯t let it come near! We¡¯ve got to lure it away! Wang Tao looked at his companions, who were low on HP, at Ding Yuqin¡¯s terrified little face, and at Han Rui, Wei Zhenguo, and the others¡¯ readiness to fight to the death. He took a deep breath and said solemnly: ¡°When the time comes, find a chance to run away!¡± Everyone immediately turned to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡­ what are you going to do?¡± Ding Yuqin clutched Wang Tao¡¯s hand nervously. A resolute expression appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ll draw it away!¡± ¡°No! You¡­ you¡¯ll die!¡± Before Ding Yuqin could speak, Han Rui immediately grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s other hand. She knew all too well the terror of this shadow. Although she had great faith in Wang Tao, she knew he was no match for it! ¡°Wang Tao¡­¡± Ding Yuqin gazed at Wang Tao, her face wet with tears, shaking her head. She didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to go to his death. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you! I¡¯m a Level 2 as well!¡± Wei Zhenguo said with a resolute complexion. He knew that trying to lure the monster away meant certain death whether they succeeded or not. He couldn¡¯t let Wang Tao face death alone. After all, it¡¯s just death; he wasn¡¯t afraid! But Wang Tao shook his head in refusal. ¡°No, Old Wei, you take them and run! Without your Level 2 strength, even if they managed to escape, survival in the post-apocalyptic world would still be uncertain. Not all Survivor Bases are as harmonious as ours¡­ You must protect them; that¡¯s your responsibility!¡± ¡°But you¡ª¡± Wang Tao had hit Wei Zhenguo¡¯s soft spot with his words. He was not afraid of death, but he was terrified of being unable to protect these people who trusted him! ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m lucky! I definitely won¡¯t die, plus it¡¯s more convenient for me alone!¡± Wang Tao forced a casual smile on his face; he had a plan in mind, but it was uncertain if it would succeed¡­ Then Wang Tao immediately took a big bag from the trunk of the car. The bag was actually empty, but while taking it, Wang Tao had filled it with many objects from the Space Backpack. Swipe¡ª Wang Tao opened the bag, revealing various potions, Crystal Cores, medical kits, nutrient fluids, and other supplies. ¡°All these items are for you. You all know how to use them, so I needn¡¯t say more¡­¡± As Wang Tao spoke as if he was arranging his final affairs, tears welled up in everyone¡¯s eyes; Ding Yuqin and Han Rui turned especially pale. A tragic atmosphere lingered among them. ¡°Sob sob¡­¡± Li Qiuyu, who had been silent at the side, couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and began to cry with her mouth covered. However, Wang Tao suddenly reached out, seized Li Qiuyu, and pulled her out of the car. As everyone and Li Qiuyu looked on in utter confusion, Wang Tao placed his hand on Li Qiuyu¡¯s neck and shouted loudly: ¡°Jiang Shixue! Come out! Help me with something! Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill her!¡± Chapter 312 - Chapter 312: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_1 Chapter 312: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_1 Li Qiuyu, after being dragged out by Wang Tao, couldn¡¯t stand firm, her body having gone limp. She had been frightened badly and could only let Wang Tao hold her, curling up in his embrace. Wang Tao whispered in her ear: ¡°Sorry about this, I need to borrow your daughter for a bit!¡± Before Li Qiuyu could react, she saw Wang Tao suddenly shout: ¡°Jiang Shixue! Come out! Help me or I¡¯ll kill her!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded, not understanding what Wang Tao was up to. Why was he treating Li Qiuyu like this? And who was Jiang Shixue? ¡°You¡ªwhat are you trying to do!¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s eyes widened instantly, her face full of confusion as she looked at Wang Tao. ¡°I can¡¯t lure this monster away by myself, I need a helper.¡± Wang Tao told the truth. This Black Mist Monster could affect people¡¯s spirits, and Wang Tao felt he might not be able to withstand its Mental Attack. But Jiang Shixue should be able to, since she also had abilities related to the spirit, and she had said that she had been close to this Black Mist Monster before. So Wang Tao planned to find Jiang Shixue for help. His coming out to lure the monster didn¡¯t mean he was going to throw his life away. However, Jiang Shixue definitely wouldn¡¯t appear easily, so he needed to use some special methods. As to whether Jiang Shixue was around, Wang Tao was certain. Because ever since he had escaped from the base, he felt a gaze occasionally fixating on him, a very familiar sensation¡ªit was Jiang Shixue! Therefore, Wang Tao decided to take a gamble. If he won the bet, he would still have a chance of surviving. If he lost the bet, then he could only leave it to fate¡­ ¡°You, you can¡¯t drag Little Xue into this, she¡¯s already¡­¡± Li Qiuyu looked at Wang Tao in disbelief. Of course, she didn¡¯t want to die, but as a mother, she was even less willing to let her daughter die. If given a choice, she would rather take her daughter¡¯s place! This was her selfishness as a mother¡­ Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is the only thing I can do.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t wish to do this, but he had no other choice. If the attraction failed, everyone would die! ¡°No, you can¡¯t¡­¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s eyes started to look a bit glassy as she shook her head. The others were all puzzled, not knowing what Wang Tao was up to, only Han Rui and Ding Yuqin exchanged glances with each other, some disbelief in their eyes. The cluster of black mist was still slowly descending upstairs. It seemed in no hurry to attack everyone, as if it were playing cat and mouse. Suddenly, everyone felt a flash before their eyes. A petite figure, dressed in dirty clothes and a hooded head down, appeared not far from Wang Tao and Li Qiuyu. She lifted her head, and all everyone could see was a pair of red eyes. ¡°Let go¡­ or¡­ you die!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice was very hoarse and stiff, sounding somewhat uncomfortable to hear. Li Qiuyu opened her mouth; she hadn¡¯t expected her daughter to actually be there! For a moment, her feelings were extremely mixed and intense. Wang Tao gave a wry smile and glanced at the Black Mist Monster, which was about to reach the ground, feeling an ever-increasing pressure. He said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Do me a favor, help me lure this monster away!¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t seem to understand Wang Tao¡¯s words, her tone extremely stiff as she said: ¡°You¡­ let her go!¡± Wang Tao had just put his hand on Li Qiuyu¡¯s neck without actually squeezing, but seeing Jiang Shixue like this, he applied a bit of pressure. ¡°Ergh¡ª¡± Li Qiuyu immediately felt like she couldn¡¯t breathe, her face turning red. She glared at Wang Tao fiercely; this was the second time! ¡°Help me with this, and she has a chance of surviving. Don¡¯t help me, and we all die.¡± Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue with an indifferent expression. ¡°¡­ Let her go! I¡­ agree!¡± Seeing that Jiang Shixue finally gave in, Wang Tao turned around and stuffed Li Qiuyu into the car, then closed the door firmly. Li Qiuyu began frantically pounding on the car door from inside. ¡°Wang Tao! I hate you! If you get Little Xue killed, I will kill you! You must return safely with Little Xue, or else I swear I¡¯ll kill you with my own hands!¡± Looking at Li Qiuyu¡¯s state, Wang Tao smiled, then turned to the others. ¡°Take care everyone! I will come for you soon!¡± ¡°Wang Tao¡­¡± ¡°Big brother¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say any more, but ran towards Jiang Shixue and grabbed her arm, then ran towards the Black Mist Monster! As they ran, a Longbow suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. This was a trophy he had obtained from killing an archer zombie before. The bow was excellent, with great power, but it was difficult to operate, so Wang Tao usually used a crossbow. But after his strength had increased, the crossbow seemed somewhat insufficient, so Wang Tao had given it to Ding Yuqin. Jiang Shixue¡¯s red glow flickered slightly; she hadn¡¯t seen clearly where Wang Tao had pulled the bow from. While running, Wang Tao drew the bow and set an arrow. Under the ability of Precision Shooting, his arrow shot straight into the mass of black mist. But once the arrow entered the mist, nothing happened, and no damage notifications popped up above the mist. It was still at full HP. ¡°Didn¡¯t hit?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly. He quickly shot several more arrows, all of which went into the dark mass, but still, no damage notifications appeared. ¡°¡­¡± Looking at the black mist drawing closer, Wang Tao grew nervous. Was the Black Mist Monster this strong? Could it completely ignore his attacks?! If he couldn¡¯t damage the Black Mist Monster, how was he going to lure it¡­ Chapter 313 - Chapter 313: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_2 Chapter 313: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_2 ¡°` Suddenly, Wang Tao felt that everything before his eyes had changed. There were no streets, no shadows, nor zombies and survivors, and Jiang Shixue was also gone. He was in a familiar air-conditioned room playing computer games, with a girl bringing him chunks of chilled watermelon. After feeding him a few pieces, she silently massaged his shoulders and legs¡­ What a beautiful scene, but it was too fake¡ªthe girl beside him was a two-dimensional paper figure¡­ Wang Tao sighed and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you something, help me smash it directly at that monster!¡± After speaking, a basketball-sized heart appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. It was a Self-Destruct Bomb. Jiang Shixue had said before that the Black Mist Monster hated water and noise, and this thing was loud enough! After the Self-Destruct Bomb appeared, it began to expand, looking like it was about to explode. Then Wang Tao realized the Self-Destruct Bomb in his hand was gone. And then there was a bang. Wang Tao saw the scene before him shatter like a mirror¡ªJiang Shixue was sprinting with him, and they had crossed beyond that shadow! The HP of the Black Mist Monster had changed! [34995/35000] It had lost 5 HP! In an instant, Wang Tao felt his hair standing on end, with the red-glowing eyes in the black mist staring intently at him. Wang Tao felt like it had gotten angry! Getting angry was good! ¡°Hurry up!¡± Wang Tao turned his hand and grabbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s arm, then activated the Rush Ability equipped on his gear. Whoosh¡ª In an instant, they moved forward over thirty meters. As soon as they had sprinted away, the mass of black mist soundlessly appeared where they had just been. ¡°Teleport?¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen how the other moved. To him, it seemed like teleportation! However, this Black Mist Monster only used that ability comparable to teleportation once. Afterwards, it chased Wang Tao like a huge black cloud gliding across the ground. Although the mass of black mist looked light and fluttery, its speed was extremely fast. Wang Tao exerted all his strength, but not only could he not widen the gap, it was actually closing in. Wang Tao looked back and saw Wei Zhenguo¡¯s car slowly driving away, which made Wang Tao grin. His goal was to attract the Black Mist Monster to allow Wei Zhenguo and the others to leave safely. The longer he attracted it, the greater their chances of getting away. Wang Tao¡¯s goal was a third of the way met. Now, he had two tasks left¡ªattract it for a sufficient length of time and figure out a way to shake off the Black Mist Monster! ¡­ Wang Tao discovered that Jiang Shixue could run even better than him. Initially, it had been Wang Tao dragging Jiang Shixue along, but when he began to gasp for air, it was Jiang Shixue who led the run. And Jiang Shixue was faster than him, without panting for breath! If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Shixue, they might have been caught up to! Feeling the cold temperature of Jiang Shixue¡¯s palm, Wang Tao knew that she might soon turn into a zombie¡­ After the distance between the Black Mist Monster and Wang Tao had closed once again, Wang Tao¡¯s vision blurred and he found himself on a filming set, with the director telling him to get ready for his next scene. Unfortunately, this director was headless. Without a word, Wang Tao took out another Self-Destruct Bomb. ¡°Blow it up!¡± The bomb disappeared in an instant. Boom¡ª With a loud bang, the scene shattered, and Wang Tao returned to reality. At the same time, Wang Tao felt an intense killing intent so palpable it was almost tangible! He quickly turned around and saw that the Black Mist Monster had lost another 5 HP. ¡°This defensive power is really damn strong!¡± Wang Tao internally exclaimed. A Self-Destruct Bomb that could blow a Level Two Zombie to pieces or even kill it could only inflict 5 HP of damage to it¡­ But after being hit by the bomb, the Black Mist Monster¡¯s speed had slowed down a lot, and it temporarily couldn¡¯t catch up to the two of them. After persisting for a while, Wang Tao felt that Wei Zhenguo and the others must have gotten far away. So a Self-Destruct Bomb appeared in his hand, which he tossed casually. Boom¡ª As the bomb exploded, another appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Boom¡ª Boom¡ª Countless Self-Destruct Bombs were thrown by Wang Tao, rousing nearly every zombie in the county with the explosions. Jiang Shixue turned her head, her eyes glowing red and staring fiercely at Wang Tao. Wang Tao felt he could read from her eyes emotions named anger and frustration. Zombies were sensitive to sound, and given Jiang Shixue¡¯s current state, she was probably not much different from a zombie. Wang Tao could sense that she seemed to be holding back her anger. ¡°There¡¯s no way around it. Who would¡¯ve thought this monster also hates noise? Without creating chaos, we can¡¯t escape,¡± explained Wang Tao as he continued throwing bombs. Boom¡ª Boom¡ª Having run for who knew how long, the two of them returned to Shuize Base. Seeing the big river behind Shuize Base, Wang Tao¡¯s face lit up with joy. He was about to speak when suddenly, everything went dark in front of him, and a mass of black mist appeared! Wang Tao¡¯s scalp tingled. He could see clearly that this time it wasn¡¯t an illusion; they had run into the Black Mist Monster! Normally, as soon as the monster approached, Wang Tao would enter into hallucinations. Since Jiang Shixue wasn¡¯t affected by the hallucinations, he had her throw the bomb. As soon as the Black Mist Monster was affected, Wang Tao would be snapped back to reality. So, whenever Wang Tao felt himself entering into an illusion, he knew the Black Mist Monster was upon them. But now, the monster wasn¡¯t using illusions anymore; instead, it directly used that ability similar to teleportation and instantly appeared right in front of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. They hadn¡¯t even reacted before they ran headlong into it. ¡°` Chapter 314 - Chapter 314: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_3 Chapter 314: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_3 Wang Tao¡¯s vision was pitch black; even as his eyes emitted a green glow, he still couldn¡¯t see a thing! Not only was his sight compromised, but Wang Tao also felt difficulty breathing, his body stiffened, and even his consciousness started to blur! ¡°I¡¯m dying¡­¡± Wang Tao felt a sense of fear; he thought he was starting to see his life flash before his eyes. Bang¡ª Suddenly, Wang Tao felt as if he had been fiercely kicked, a piercing pain shot through his belly. Then, his vision brightened¡ªhe had emerged from the black mist! The black mist churned tumultuously, as if Jiang Shixue was engaged in a fierce battle with the monster within! ¡°Jiang Shixue¡­¡± Wang Tao had mixed feelings, but he knew that if it weren¡¯t for Li Qiuyu¡¯s sake, Jiang Shixue wouldn¡¯t have saved him. Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately ran toward the west, following the river¡¯s direction, and took a Stealth Potion on the go. After all, the zombies in the county town were all riled up, and he would definitely be surrounded if he didn¡¯t use the Stealth Potion. As for the direction of Wang Tao¡¯s escape, naturally, it was the opposite of the direction Wei Zhenguo and the others had taken. He didn¡¯t know how long Jiang Shixue could hold off the pursuit, but he guessed it wouldn¡¯t be long, considering the vast gap between Level 2 and Level 3. If the monster were to catch up again, Wang Tao definitely didn¡¯t want it to chase after Wei Zhenguo and the others; that would¡¯ve been a wasted effort. At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly heard a buzzing noise from the sky. ¡°Hm?¡± Wang Tao looked up. Small raindrops fell on his face, and he saw a dark shadow in the sky, causing him to freeze momentarily. ¡°An airdrop? Now of all times¡­¡± Wang Tao was tempted by the contents of the airdrop, but he dared not pick it up¡ªit was certainly a time to prioritize staying alive. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the Black Mist Monster behind him seemed to be attracted by the sound of the plane and immediately chased after the aircraft¡¯s flight path! Wei Zhenguo and his group had run eastward while Wang Tao had headed west; the plane seemed to fly from south to north, and the Black Mist Monster gave chase in the northern direction! Seeing this, Wang Tao first felt a surge of relief, then found himself in a dilemma. But in the end, he gritted his teeth and ran back. Arriving at the site where Jiang Shixue had fought with the shadow, the area was a complete mess, with no sign of Jiang Shixue or a corpse. Had she turned into a zombie? Or was she torn to pieces by the monster, or perhaps devoured? Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, but he once again felt a dangerous sensation¡ªthe Black Mist Monster seemed to be returning! Not daring to delay, Wang Tao immediately continued running westward along the river. But after only a few minutes, that faint sense of being watched returned! ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao took a fierce decision, plunging into the river! His plan to lure the monster out was to escape through the water. After all, Jiang Shixue had mentioned previously that the monster hated water. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if there were other monsters or zombies in the water¡ªsuch a presence would spell his doom! Right now, he had no other choice. With a splash, Wang Tao dove into the water and completely disappeared. About ten seconds later, a black mist emerged at the spot where Wang Tao had jumped into the river, and a pair of glowing red eyes within it stared intently at the water, seemingly enraged. Eventually, it drifted away. ¡°Meow~¡± ¡­ Drip, drip, drip¡­ The rain fell upon the river, creating ripples upon ripples. Gurgle, gurgle~ Suddenly, bubbles started to appear on the water¡¯s surface, and then a burly figure burst out from the water. ¡°Ugh¡ªcough, cough¡ªhuff¡ª¡± Wang Tao gazed at the gloomy sky, then looked at the shore, relieved to see no monsters. He grinned wryly and then laboriously crawled onto the bank. He didn¡¯t know how long he had stayed in the water, nor did he know his location; he only knew that if he didn¡¯t come up soon, he would truly suffocate. Wang Tao glanced at his remaining HP, which was less than a thousand. He quickly applied every usable ability and potion available. Shortly after, lying in the muddy ground by the riverbank, Wang Tao saw his HP finally start to regenerate, and he let out a sigh of relief. Enduring the pain, Wang Tao struggled to get up and found himself in a deserted and uninhabited village. He had no idea whether it housed any zombies. Watching the rain grow heavier, Wang Tao knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to travel further that day and decided to rest in the village overnight. However, just as Wang Tao was about to check the village for dangers, a corpse floating on the river caught his eye¡ªnot a corpse, a zombie, a dying zombie! Of course, none of that was the main point; what mattered was that it was Jiang Shixue! [HP: 66/18000] [Mana: 4235/16000] [Grade: Level 2 ¨C Lord] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract] Without a word, Wang Tao dived back into the river, and after nearly half an hour, he managed to drag a slender body ashore. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Wang Tao had previously thought that if Jiang Shixue turned into a zombie completely, she would definitely become a very powerful one. And sure enough! After she became a zombie, her HP and Mana both doubled, and her grade shot up straight to Lord Rank. Of course, she was critically wounded now, and with that HP, she¡¯d die upon contact. Even though she was critically wounded, being a zombie, the reason Wang Tao had taken so long was because he had to restrain her. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The zombie Jiang Shixue, now bound hand and foot by Wang Tao, glared at him with glowing red eyes, and she let out a series of growls from her throat. Wang Tao ignored the noises and continued dragging her by the legs into the dilapidated village. Chapter 315 - Chapter 315: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_4 Chapter 315: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_4 After a brief search around, Wang Tao found that there was no one and no zombies in the vicinity. So, he pried open the door of one of the houses and dragged Jiang Shixue inside. He blocked the door well to ensure zombies couldn¡¯t enter, and then Wang Tao took out several bottles of nutrient solution. ¡°Glug, glug~¡± After downing several bottles in one go, Wang Tao finally felt a lot better. ¡°They say, ¡®What doesn¡¯t kill you makes you stronger,¡¯ I hope life in the post-apocalypse will be smoother from now on¡­¡± After muttering to himself, Wang Tao turned his attention to Jiang Shixue. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± Jiang Shixue was still staring intensely at Wang Tao, as if she wanted to devour him. Wang Tao directly removed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hat and mask, revealing a terrifying face. ¡°No wonder she always wore a hat and mask¡­¡± As a girl, having transformed into something neither human nor ghost, it must be hard to bear, and her reluctance to show her true face was understandable. But Wang Tao, having seen all sorts of ugly zombies, was naturally immune to Jiang Shixue¡¯s face. Moreover, Jiang Shixue had beautiful eyes. The eyes of ordinary zombies are pale and cataract-like, with the whites filled with blackened blood¡­ they look quite ghastly. But Jiang Shixue was different, her pupils were a fiery red and shimmering, as beautiful as rubies. Just like Wang Tao¡¯s green eyes. If he killed her, would these eyes drop out? A small wicked thought suddenly popped into Wang Tao¡¯s mind, but he quickly shook his head. If he had wanted to kill Jiang Shixue, he would have done it already, not wait until now. He felt that Jiang Shixue still had a chance of being saved, a 50% chance to revert to human! Wang Tao took out a potion from his Space Backpack. [Purification Agent (Experimental): When used on zombies infected and mutated for less than 3 days, has a certain chance to purify the virus in the body and a certain chance to cause self-detonation. Ineffective on zombies infected and mutated for over 3 days (Note: This potion is a trial version and may have some unknown side effects.)] This was an item that had dropped from a green-eyed zombie he had killed in the hospital. Jiang Shixue¡¯s infection and mutation were definitely under three days, meeting the usage criteria. But the chance was only 50%, and the other 50% chance was self-detonation! Either revert to human or die. Considering Jiang Shixue¡¯s current situation, she had no choice but to take the gamble. However, before preparing to administer the potion, Wang Tao saw the Zombie Culture Fluid in his Space Backpack. He had never found a use for this thing, but throwing it away seemed like a waste, so he had kept it. He had seen it just now when he took out the purification potion. So now, was there a possibility to culture Jiang Shixue first, then use the purification potion? Wang Tao thought it was worth a try! Therefore, Wang Tao went back to the village and gathered all sorts of steel pipes, iron chains, and the like, wrapping Jiang Shixue up completely, locking her tight. Then with his left hand, Wang Tao took out a bottle of Zombie Culture Fluid, and in his right hand, he held the purification potion. The Zombie Culture Fluid was similar to the nutrient solution he drank, but with a very distinct yellow and black biochemical symbol on it. Wang Tao had a total of 1000 doses of Zombie Culture Fluid, and this bottle accounted for one dose. He first used an iron hoop to pry open Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth, then poured the Zombie Culture Fluid in. Glug~ Jiang Shixue drank it uncontrollably. Then she froze, staring blankly at Wang Tao, the fierce light in her eyes seeming to fade away. Wang Tao looked at the HP bar below Jiang Shixue, displaying two states. [Cultivation: Total 1% (99% can be added). Time remaining 59 minutes 59 seconds] [Weakness: All attributes reduced by 99%, time remaining 59 minutes 59 seconds] Jiang Shixue, in a state of cultivation, had a negative status of 99% weakness! Seeing this, Wang Tao¡¯s worries were eased. He had been worried that if Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP spontaneously recovered, he would be in danger. Then, Wang Tao directly took another 99 doses of culture fluid and poured them all into Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth. The culture total became 100%, with the time remaining the same, exactly one hour. After confirming again that Jiang Shixue posed no immediate threat, Wang Tao leaned against the side and closed his eyes to rest. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t fall asleep, instead, he checked his attributes and backpack. Before, when Wang Tao discussed with Wei Zhenguo, he found out that after ascending to a second-order superpower owner, besides an all-around enhancement of physical fitness and a substantial increase in strength, there was an additional benefit¡ªthe internal impurities in the body decreased! Originally, his body¡¯s internal impurity level was at 2%, but after reaching level 2 ascension, it became 1%! After comparing and analyzing the number of crystal cores they had fused and the amount of internal impurities, they reached a conclusion¡ªafter ascending to level two, the internal impurities were directly eliminated by half! Wang Tao¡¯s internal impurity level, to be exact, was 2.2%, and now after level two ascension, it was 1.1%! Wang Tao had five bottles of cleansing potion at hand, each capable of eliminating 1% of the internal impurities. But now, with his internal impurities at 1.1%¡­ He was in a situation where one bottle was not enough, and two would be a waste. Therefore, Wang Tao planned to see if he could fuse a few more level two crystal cores to accumulate his impurity level to close to 2%, and then use two bottles of cleansing potion. Having been poor since childhood, Wang Tao had developed the good habit of being frugal. From his last defeat of the toad zombie and two level two poisonous fog zombies, he had obtained a total of three crystal cores and four packages! The crystal core inside the toad zombie was a level two weak poisonous mist crystal core. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Weakness Poison Fog] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Body oozes pus)] [Weakness Poison Fog: Able to continuously release a green poisonous mist that causes weakness, coughing, lowered immunity, and intermittent HP reduction, lasting for 3 seconds] The other two level two zombies also contained weakness poison fog crystal cores. One was excellent (40%), and one was ordinary (20%). They could be synthesized into a golden epic crystal core. However, Wang Tao was not particularly interested in this weakness poison fog. He could only fuse one more type of crystal core, and he not only had to choose one that suited him, but also one that would easily fuse with other abilities in the future¡ªWang Tao felt that similar types of abilities had a higher rate of successful fusion with each other! For instance, the combination of his self-healing and toughness abilities had a much higher rate of fusion success than other combinations¡­ Then there were the four packages, one of which was a crystal core gift bag. The other three contained 15 vulnerable mist grenades and three blueprints that could each create ten grenades. The effects of the vulnerable mist grenades were the same as the ability, but with the ability, ¡°as long as there¡¯s mana, one can keep releasing poison.¡± However, the effect of the grenades lasted for three minutes. [Vulnerable Mist Grenade: Continuously releases a green poisonous mist that causes weakness, coughing, lowered immunity, and intermittent HP reduction, lasting for 3 minutes] As for the materials required for the blueprints, they weren¡¯t rare, and Wang Tao would soon be able to produce them. Last was the crystal core gift bag. Inside were five crystal cores, all level two. One ascension, one jump, one loose tongue, one weakness poison fog, and one mental disturbance. Wang Tao had given the ascension crystal core to Wei Zhenguo and the others, keeping the rest for himself. Wang Tao had already seen the jump, loose tongue, and weak poison fog crystal cores; mental disturbance was the first time he¡¯d encountered one. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Mental Disturbance] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Head becomes increasingly larger)] [Mental Disturbance: Can slightly affect a creature¡¯s spirit] This ability seemed not bad, as it appeared the toad zombie used this ability to lead the other ordinary poisonous fog zombies. However, he only had one crystal core at the moment, with no way to eliminate the side effect. Naturally, it was not Wang Tao¡¯s first choice. Right now, the level two crystal cores Wang Tao could fuse seemed to be limited to power, self-detonation, and omnipotent. The side effect of the power was related to strength and body size, which was not a big deal for him, whereas self-detonation and omnipotent had no side effects. As for other crystal cores, they were either unsuitable or had side effects that were too horrifying¡­ ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll endure it a bit longer, see if I can get more level two crystal cores later, or even decent level one crystal cores would do¡­ If all else fails, then I¡¯d have to fuse the omnipotent crystal core¡­¡± While Wang Tao was contemplating, an hour passed quickly. The cultivation of zombie Jiang Shixue had ended, and her HP limit increased by 1000, reaching 19000. At the same time, not only had her weakness state ended, but she was also fully revitalized! Swoosh¡ª Zombie Jiang Shixue opened her eyes, and the bloodthirsty, mad, and violent expressions in those red eyes made Wang Tao¡¯s hairs stand on end. His sixth sense told him that he was definitely no match for zombie Jiang Shixue! Without a second word, Wang Tao immediately injected the pre-prepared purification potion into Jiang Shixue¡¯s body. Pfft¡ª In an instant, Jiang Shixue¡¯s body softened, and she closed her eyes again. ¡°You saved my life, so I¡¯ll try my best to save yours. Whether you can survive depends on your luck¡­ Good luck.¡± Chapter 316 - Chapter 316: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_1 Chapter 316: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_1 Rustle¡ª¡ª The sky was gloomy, and the heavy rain poured down incessantly. In a dilapidated small town overrun with greenery, three well-covered survivors were taking shelter from the rain inside a broken house. One of them, a thin young man, looked up at the sky with a hint of fear and said, ¡°The rain is getting heavier, and I feel really uncomfortable. Let¡¯s head back¡­¡± Another man, wearing a security guard¡¯s uniform, rubbed his neck and said, ¡°This heavy rain has been going on for several days non-stop¡­ I¡¯m also starting to feel very uncomfortable¡­¡± The last one, a tall man about 1.7 meters but very sturdy, dressed in camouflage, sighed helplessly, ¡°Ah! Then let¡¯s go back, today¡¯s haul isn¡¯t great¡­¡± The middle-aged man shook his head, ¡°No way around it, the heavy rain is too much of an obstacle for us! Without the rain, we could stay outside for a day. But now, just a few hours in and we can¡¯t stand it¡­¡± ¡°Sigh, do you think the heavens really want to wipe us out¡­ When it used to rain, the zombies¡¯ perception would weaken, which made it a good opportunity to scavenge for supplies. But who knew the rain would become toxic now¡­¡± The young man complained in a low voice. ¡°Heh, Little Li, be content. It¡¯s already great that we can go out to scavenge. When it rains, many people can¡¯t even step outside their doors!¡± The middle-aged man spoke with a smug tone. ¡°Haha, Brother Tian is right, always look on the bright side of life, and you¡¯ll find much more happiness!¡± The man in camouflage laughed heartily, playing the role of a life coach. ¡°Er¡­ that makes sense¡­ Brother Tian, Brother Yu, you¡¯re right!¡± Li Yi scratched his head. Thinking of how many people in the camp hid at home, not daring to come into contact with the rainwater, a smug look appeared on Li Yi¡¯s face. Although scavenging was dangerous, the benefits were plenty¡ªhe might not be the wealthiest in the camp, but he was definitely part of the upper echelon. Many people had to be careful about how they acted around him! The feeling of being on top, he could never have experienced that when he was just a Screw in the factory! Sometimes he even thought, perhaps the apocalypse wasn¡¯t such a bad thing! But then, as if something hit him, he blurted out, ¡°I wonder how Fatty¡¯s doing with his haul?¡± Mentioning the name Fatty, both the man in camouflage, Yu Wei, and the middle-aged security guard, Tian Peng, exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat enigmatic. ¡°Shall we¡­ go check on him?¡± Tian Peng raised his eyebrows. ¡°He said he¡¯s heading to the Xinghe Community today, right? That means we¡¯ll have to take a detour¡­¡± Yu Wei hesitated a bit. ¡°Hey! With the zombies practically blind now, taking a small detour won¡¯t matter! We¡¯re all friends here, we should look out for each other! And besides¡­¡± Tian Peng gave him a knowing look. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go check on him!¡± Yu Wei finally nodded his head. Li Yi naturally had no objections; after all, compared to the other two, he was just a newbie and didn¡¯t really have a say in the matter. The three of them ate something quickly, then shouldered their backpacks and carefully made their way for over half an hour before finally reaching the outskirts of Xinghe Community. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Upon seeing Xinghe Community, all three took deep breaths. Not out of exhaustion, but because they were drenched and uncomfortable from the ¡°toxic rain.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t do it anymore, shall we rest a bit after finding Fatty before we head back?¡± Tian Peng spoke somewhat helplessly. ¡°Yeah, I was thinking the same thing!¡± Yu Wei nodded in agreement. The gate of Xinghe Community was open, with several zombies dead at the entrance. Seeing those with their heads smashed, the three were somewhat taken aback. Li Yi exclaimed, ¡°Fatty is still so badass! These zombies probably didn¡¯t stand a chance against his hammer!¡± Tian Peng shook his head with a hint of envy. ¡°If I had his strength, I could probably walk sideways in our town!¡± Yu Wei carefully surveyed the surroundings, then his eyes lit up and he pointed at a window of a house, ¡°Fatty¡¯s in there!¡± Three long green cloth strips hung outside that window. According to the rules of their camp, green cloth strips meant the room was safe, red meant danger. Three green strips indicated that all nearby zombies had been killed and it was very safe. If it was someone else who hung three green strips, they would have to check cautiously, but if it was Fatty who did, there was no need. After all, Fatty was an honest man; if he said it was safe, it definitely meant he had personally wiped out all nearby zombies! The group confidently ascended the stairs and knocked on the door, Yu Wei spoke softly, ¡°Fatty, are you there? It¡¯s me, Old Yu, Yu Wei!¡± Moments later, the door opened. A young man about two meters tall, extremely burly, with a simple and honest face, opened the door. He had to stoop slightly at the doorway, and his massive frame almost blocked the whole entrance. When Fatty saw the trio outside, a smile appeared on his face, and he scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, ¡°You guys came. I was about to head back in a bit¡­¡± ¡°No!¡± Upon hearing this, Tian Peng hastily waved his hands, ¡°Wait before you go! We were just soaked in rain for a long time; we need to rest a bit!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Fatty invited the three inside. The house had been tidied up simply by Fatty and was relatively clean. Several Snake Skin Bags were placed in the center of the living room, clashing obviously with the decor of the room. And upon seeing these bags, both Tian Peng and Yu Wei¡¯s eyes brightened. Chapter 317 - Chapter 317: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_2 Chapter 317: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_2 It took the three of them all morning to each find a small backpack¡¯s worth of supplies, yet Fatty alone was able to find two Giant Serpent bags! Indeed, people really shouldn¡¯t be compared! ¡°Cough¡­ Fatty, you¡¯re amazing! To find so much on your own!¡± Tian Peng rubbed his hands together. ¡°I really admire you, Fatty. Look at us, we searched all morning and only found this little bit¡­¡± Yu Wei patted his somewhat shrunken backpack, his expression helpless. Li Yi didn¡¯t feel his looting was lacking, as he had enough for his own use. And who was Fatty? He was their camp¡¯s guardian deity! Whether it was combat ability or scavenging ability, who could compare with Fatty? It was only normal for them to fall short! Li Yi was about to say, ¡°Actually, we¡¯re not that bad,¡± but before he could speak, Tian Peng suddenly said, ¡°How about it, Fatty, can you lend me some of your supplies? You know, I¡¯m thin-skinned, and if I take this little back, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be talked about¡­¡± Upon hearing this, Li Yi¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Thin-skinned? Tian Peng harassed married women every night and never showed a thin skin! And borrowing supplies? Was that even something you could borrow? Just when Li Yi thought Fatty would refuse, Fatty just smiled and scratched his head. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough, Fatty! You¡¯re really like a brother to me!¡± Tian Peng immediately praised him, then skillfully went through Fatty¡¯s bags and quickly found where the food was stored. He grabbed the food and stuffed it into his pockets without any reservation. Li Yi watched, dumbfounded. Was this really happening? Had Fatty actually agreed? But what stunned him even more was when Yu Wei spoke up, his face filled with sorrow, ¡°Sigh, my wife has had a high fever lately, bedridden. I¡¯ve looked all morning and haven¡¯t found any fever medicine¡­ I don¡¯t know if she can make it¡­¡± Li Yi¡¯s eyes widened again. Yu Wei¡¯s wife had a high fever and was bedridden? Then who was the woman who had sent him off that morning? ¡°Medicine? I, I think I have some¡­¡± Fatty pointed to one of the Snake Skin Bags, somewhat bashfully. Before he had even finished speaking, Yu Wei had rushed over and rummaged through Fatty¡¯s organized supplies. ¡°Thanks so much! I was just worrying about not having medicine! Really grateful! If you ever need anything, Fatty, just say the word. I, Yu Wei, am at your beck and call!¡± However, despite having said he was missing fever medicine, he took away both family medical kits, leaving only the last one for Fatty. ¡°Um¡­¡± Fatty didn¡¯t object, merely scratching his head and smiling goofily. ¡°¡­¡± Li Yi was somewhat dumbstruck. Was the protector of their camp so easy to persuade? He had not been at the camp for long and was not very familiar with its ways, but this guardian deity was very different from what he had imagined¡­ For the shameless behavior of his two companions, the young man felt a strong sense of disdain. This was nothing less than taking advantage of an honest person! He was ashamed to associate with them! At that moment, Tian Peng suddenly turned back to the young man and said, ¡°Little Li, didn¡¯t you say you haven¡¯t eaten even one meal today? You also mentioned you were extremely hungry. Fatty here has some ready-to-eat food. Would you like some?¡± ¡°What?¡± Li Yi was taken aback. They had just eaten before seeking out Fatty! Moreover, he still had a white flatbread from last night¡¯s meal in his backpack¡­ ¡°Little Li, you, you eat.¡± Fatty pointed to the food, speaking with a slight stutter. ¡°I¡­¡± Li Yi opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words. ¡°What are you waiting for! Come here! You can¡¯t let down Fatty¡¯s kindness!¡± Tian Peng waved frantically at Little Li. Little Li wanted to refuse; after all, this was Fatty¡¯s supply. There was no difference between using such excuses to trick Fatty out of his supplies and stealing. However, unable to articulate a refusal, especially after seeing Fatty¡¯s earnest gaze, Little Li subconsciously lowered his head and took a couple of steps forward, his face slightly red. By the time he regained his senses, he was already by Tian Peng¡¯s side. ¡°Take it, all this is Fatty¡¯s kindness. Don¡¯t be shy!¡± Tian Peng immediately stuffed some bagged food into Li Yi¡¯s hands. ¡°¡­ Okay.¡± Li Yi lowered his head and responded with a murmur. Indeed, it was Fatty¡¯s kind gesture, and refusing it would embarrass Fatty¡­ ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Watching the three pick through his belongings, Fatty showed no displeasure, only a silly grin. A moment later, all three backpacks were bulging, and although Fatty¡¯s supplies still seemed abundant, the valuable items had been picked clean, reducing the worth by at least half. Li Yi¡¯s cheeks were still red, and he found it hard to look directly at Fatty, but the middle-aged man and the camo-clad man were more at ease, standing beside Fatty and happily chatting. But it was mostly them talking, with Fatty listening. Around two in the afternoon, having rested sufficiently, the three prepared to return to the camp. In this rainy weather, it was already getting dark outside, and any later might mean not being able to return at all. Fatty led the way, with Yu Wei and the others following behind. Before long, a few zombies stumbled through the rain towards them. But due to the noise of the rain, the zombies didn¡¯t notice them. Wielding a horned hammer, Fatty walked straight up to the zombies and struck them in the head. Chapter 318 - Chapter 318: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_3 Chapter 318: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_3 Pu-chi! The first zombie didn¡¯t have time to react before its head burst open. Fatty replicated the process, smashing down a few more times, easily blowing the heads off the other few zombies. The three people behind him all felt a bit envious watching this scene. Since they could come out to search for supplies, they naturally could also kill zombies, but they couldn¡¯t do it as effortlessly as Fatty. ¡°Having Fatty around really makes a difference! So much peace of mind!¡± Yu Wei praised loudly. ¡°Yeah!¡± Tian Peng nodded in agreement. Li Yi suddenly asked in a low whisper, ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just come out to scavenge with Fatty? It would be so much safer¡­¡± Upon hearing this, Yu Wei and Tian Peng were stunned for a moment, then looked at Li Yi with somewhat peculiar expressions. ¡°Go out with him? Of course not¡­ You¡¯ll understand later¡­¡± The two didn¡¯t say much more. Li Yi was somewhat baffled, but now wasn¡¯t the time to ask more questions. The three of them carefully followed Fatty towards the direction of the camp when suddenly, they heard the sound of windows and doors breaking, and then saw a huge shadow emerge from the heavy rain, rushing towards them! Before the three could react, they saw Fatty¡¯s figure suddenly blocking in front of them. Bang! Fatty was sent flying directly into an old house, his fate unknown. The shadow that had sent Fatty flying entered after him. The group then made out that the one who had sent Fatty flying was a Charger Zombie with a half-muscular body! Instantly, the three were a bit nervous but also a bit thrilled! This was an Elite Zombie that could drop a Crystal Core! And a Fusion Crystal Core could turn someone into an Ability User! If they could become Ability Users, they would definitely be among the upper echelons in the camp! After all, there weren¡¯t many Ability Users in their camp. If Fatty weren¡¯t there, the three of them would naturally run as far as they could, but now with Fatty present, they were tempted. Because Fatty himself was an Ability User! But Fatty had just taken a hit for them; he couldn¡¯t be dead, right? The three didn¡¯t dare to go over, so they all found places to hide. After a dozen or so seconds, they saw a figure suddenly fly out and fall to the ground. The three had thought it was Fatty and were already prepared to run, but to their surprise, it was the Charger Zombie that was thrown down! Following that, Fatty wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth and walked out of the abandoned house, carefully eyeing the Charger Zombie before shouting loudly, ¡°Are, are you guys alright?¡± The rain was too loud, the three could barely make out Fatty¡¯s voice, but they didn¡¯t dare to respond. Because the Charger Zombie was getting up again! If they drew its attention and were hit by it, they would undoubtedly be dead! Not hearing a response, Fatty didn¡¯t speak again. Taking that hit for them had left him not lightly injured; after all, it was a frontal collision from a Charger Zombie. Fortunately, his thick skin and flesh held up, and he could still endure for now. However, Fatty didn¡¯t think he could kill this zombie, as this Charger Zombie was much stronger than the ones he had encountered before. Additionally, he was injured now¡­ so he was thinking about how to escape. Speed wasn¡¯t his forte; if he wanted to run, he could only use his wits. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Charger Zombie let out an angry roar and charged at Fatty once more. Fatty had been on guard for the Charger Zombie¡¯s moves and dodged in advance¡ªhis speed wasn¡¯t fast, so he could only rely on prediction. He guessed correctly, and the Charger Zombie brushed past him and then crashed into a thick poplar tree. Thud¡ª The Charger Zombie immediately felt dizzy. In this post-apocalyptic world, some trees had not only grown bigger but also as hard as metal. Unfortunately, the Charger Zombie had smashed into one of these trees. Seeing that the Charger Zombie looked a bit dizzy, Fatty didn¡¯t seize the opportunity to attack; instead, he turned and ran in the opposite direction. ¡°Run, run!¡± He didn¡¯t know where Li Yi and the other two were hiding, so he could only shout like this. But to his surprise, instead of running away with him, the three rushed towards the Charger Zombie! ¡°This is an opportunity!¡± ¡°Kill the zombie! Not only can we enhance our strength, but we can also get a Crystal Core!¡± ¡°Charge!¡± The three, wielding homemade spears and long knives, launched an attack on the Charger Zombie. As a result, their attack on the Charger did not kill it, but seemed rather to have awoken the Charger from its dizzy state! The Charger roared angrily, and its thick right hand swung out. Bang! The three were sent flying. Puh¡ª After landing, the three spat out a big mouthful of blood, feeling severe pain all over and unable to get up. ¡°Fuck! How can it be so tough!¡± Yu Wei was a bit stunned; he had taken part in hunts to kill these Elite Zombies, but those Elites weren¡¯t this tough! His knife hadn¡¯t even broken the skin¡­ The Charger turned around to face them, looking ready to charge again, while Fatty was a bit too far from them¡­ The three instantly wore faces of terror. ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± In that instant, they were full of regret. They wished they had just run away with Fatty! They even harbored some resentment¡ªwhy hadn¡¯t Fatty warned them before he ran? In the distance, Fatty desperately hurried towards the three, but it was clear he wouldn¡¯t make it in time with his speed. Swoosh¡ª The Charger Zombie launched into a charge. The three closed their eyes in fear, muttering prayers for divine protection. Then they heard a bang, and the sound of the Charger Zombie¡¯s running abruptly stopped. Chapter 319 - Chapter 319: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_4 Chapter 319: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_4 Fatty was somewhat dazed; he discovered that between the charger zombies and Yu Wei¡¯s group, there was a piece of reinforced concrete neither too large nor too small. The charger zombie happened to collide with it and was knocked out cold! Did the charger zombie make a mistake? Was that piece of reinforced concrete there on the road just now? Before Fatty could make sense of what had happened, he saw a black stick-like object suddenly fly through the air and accurately embed itself in the charger zombie¡¯s eye socket. Thwack¡ª The charger zombie¡¯s body stiffened for a moment before crashing to the ground. Yu Wei¡¯s group heard the commotion and opened their eyes in a daze. Once they saw the defeated charger zombie lying before them, they were immediately overcome with excitement. ¡°We¡¯re not dead! We¡¯re not dead!¡± ¡°This zombie is dead! Was it killed by a stone falling from the building next door? Ha ha! We are so lucky!¡± ¡°Quick! Dig out its Crystal Core!¡± ¡°Ah! I hurt all over, I can¡¯t move for now¡­¡± ¡°Me too¡­¡± After a moment of bewilderment, they quickly called out for Fatty. ¡°Fatty, come and take the Crystal Core!¡± Fatty didn¡¯t immediately dig for the Crystal Core; instead, he ran over to the three men, helped them to their feet, and leaned them against the wall under the eaves. After ensuring that their lives were not in danger, he then ran over to the charger zombie. Seeing the thirty-centimeter-long piece of rebar in the charger zombie¡¯s eye socket, Fatty knew his eyes hadn¡¯t deceived him; the charger zombie wasn¡¯t killed by a stone, it was skewered by the steel rod! He hurriedly extracted the zombie¡¯s Crystal Core and also pulled out the rebar. ¡°Fatty, let me see what the Crystal Core looks like!¡± Although Li Yi was sore all over, the joy of unearthing a Crystal Core made him temporarily forget the pain. However, Fatty didn¡¯t hand over the Crystal Core to him; instead, he looked around and suddenly focused on a specific spot. In the torrential and hazy rain, a large black umbrella slowly came into view. Beneath the umbrella, a towering figure was faintly discernible. As the figure approached, it became clearer and clearer. Fatty unconsciously swallowed, suddenly feeling the same kind of pressure he felt when facing zombies! The man exerted a great pressure on him! Yu Wei¡¯s group noticed something was off with Fatty and hurriedly looked in the direction of his gaze. They then saw a tall figure with an umbrella approaching them! No, not just one figure, but two! The two figures stopped a few meters away from the group, and only then could the group get a clear look at them¡ª One was a tall figure wearing a black hoodie and a hood, hiding his face, and holding a large black umbrella in his right hand. In his left, he was leading a slender young girl. The girl was dressed in a clean red and white JK uniform, with a melon-seeded face, large eyes, and exquisitely beautiful features; she looked like a high school student. She was tilting her head, looking at the group with curiosity. The nearly two-meter-tall burly man and the one-and-a-half-meter-tall beautiful girl standing together was visually striking, and Yu Wei¡¯s group rubbed their eyes subconsciously. Is this the apocalypse? How are these two so clean and tidy? The girl looked as if she had just walked out of a school! Particularly her lively, curious, and somewhat naive big black eyes; is this what the apocalypse is supposed to look like? As for the tall, burly man, he gave them an immense sense of oppression, clearly a power to be reckoned with! Yu Wei was the first to speak: ¡°Ahem, hello, survivors. What are you guys¡­¡± He still hadn¡¯t figured out who had saved them. ¡°Passing by.¡± The towering figure adjusted the angle of the umbrella, revealing the young, handsome face of Wang Tao from beneath the hat. Fatty then quickly took out a red Crystal Core and a thirty-centimeter-long piece of rebar, and stuttered: ¡°Tha-thank you, my name is Xu Xiaojun¡­ this is yours, your spoils of war¡­¡± Wang Tao glanced at the chubby man in surprise; he hadn¡¯t expected him to voluntarily hand over the Crystal Core. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested in the red Level 1 Rush Crystal Core, but the girl he was holding by the hand lit up at the sight of it, pointing to the Crystal Core in Xu Xiaojun¡¯s hand and crisply saying: ¡°Brother, I want it!¡± Chapter 320 - Chapter 320: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixues Condition_1 Chapter 320: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixue¡¯s Condition_1 Hearing the girl¡¯s crisp voice, Yu Wei and the two others felt their hearts melting! Give it to her! Give it to her! However, they quickly saw that the thing the girl was referring to was the Crystal Core that would enable them to become Ability Users! Ah, this¡­ can¡¯t give it away! ¡°Fatty!¡± Yu Wei immediately called out to Xu Xiaojun. Xu Xiaojun turned around, looking somewhat puzzled. ¡°Ahem, that¡­ Fatty, come here for a sec, I have something to talk to you about!¡± Yu Wei eyed the Crystal Core in Fatty¡¯s hand, almost drooling! How could they hand over something that would make them Ability Users! ¡°Oh¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun made a sound but didn¡¯t come over right away. He wiped the stains off the Crystal Core, then slightly bent over, placing the Crystal Core in front of the girl with a simple and honest smile on his face. ¡°Here you go¡­¡± The girl didn¡¯t take it but instead looked towards Wang Tao, showing excellent manners. Only after Wang Tao nodded did she happily take the Crystal Core and thank him very politely and ladylike. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°No, no need to thank me, this, it¡¯s really yours¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun hastily waved his hand. Of course, it was obvious that the Crystal Core belonged to this strong man who killed the Rush Zombie, so giving it to them was the right thing to do. ¡°¡­¡± Yu Wei and the other two were somewhat dumbfounded. Aren¡¯t you a fool? Giving the Crystal Core away just because she asked for it? Wang Tao also casually took the rebar, which he had picked up on the road just moments ago. After returning both items that rightfully belonged to them, Xu Xiaojun smiled sheepishly and then quickly returned to Yu Wei¡¯s side. ¡°You, what did you call me for¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yu Wei wanted to curse him out, but he still depended on Xu Xiaojun to take him back, so he could only force out a smile uglier than crying, and said in a slightly reproachful whisper: ¡°Ahem, Fatty, how could you give the Crystal Core to someone else? It¡¯s your trophy; you can¡¯t just give it away because a pretty girl asked you for it¡­¡± Tian Peng and Li Yi also wore expressions of silent bitterness. Was that just a Crystal Core they handed over? It was an opportunity to become an Ability User! Especially since it was a red crystal core! It was said that these had a high success rate and belonged to the type where fusion was pretty much guaranteed. Giving away such an opportunity to become an Ability User, isn¡¯t that just nuts! ¡°Ah?¡± Xu Xiaojun was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, ¡°But, it, it was originally theirs¡­¡± Hearing this, the expressions of Yu Wei and the others darkened even more. Originally theirs? Was Fatty out of his mind? Li Yi remembered some rumors from the camp that Fatty was a bit off in the head. He had been skeptical because, after all, this was an Ability User; could someone with a problem in the head become one? But looking at the situation now¡­ the rumors didn¡¯t lie! All three of them wanted to give Xu Xiaojun a good talking to, but they also knew that now wasn¡¯t the time for that. If another Elite Zombie showed up, they might not be so lucky. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back!¡± Yu Wei said with a dark face. ¡°Mhm!¡± Xu Xiaojun first nodded and then asked with concern, ¡°Can you all, still, walk?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yu Wei grated out through clenched teeth. He was the strongest of the trio and had the lightest injuries. Li Yi was next; although he was the youngest and looked frail, he was actually quite strong. The worst injured was Tian Peng; he felt as if he had no strength left in his body and couldn¡¯t walk any more. Therefore, Xu Xiaojun took the initiative to carry him on his back. Tian Peng was sullen throughout, not even uttering a word of thanks. He was still dwelling on the Crystal Core matter. If only it had been given to him, how great would that have been! Then, Xu Xiaojun went over to Wang Tao and invited him saying: ¡°Um, do you, do you have a place to stay? If not, come to our camp?¡± Yu Wei and the others didn¡¯t say anything about Xu Xiaojun¡¯s invitation because their camp was short on people, and naturally, they would want to invite any survivors they encountered. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then, then big brother, you, you follow me¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun realized he didn¡¯t know Wang Tao¡¯s name, so he simply called him big brother. ¡°I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao introduced himself. As for the girl next to him, he didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of introducing her. Yu Wei and Tian Peng¡¯s gaze lingered on Wang Tao for a moment before involuntarily shifting to the girl. After all, such a pretty and clean girl was almost extinct in this post-apocalyptic world. If she went to their camp, it would likely cause quite the commotion¡­ Of course, with Wang Tao¡¯s build there, and seeing he was not an easy one to mess with, there could be some drama to watch after they got back¡­ The two harbored some schadenfreude. But they quickly stopped thinking about these things that were none of their business. They were all fixated on how to get that Crystal Core back from the beautiful girl¡¯s hands! Especially since the girl hadn¡¯t fused with the Crystal Core after getting it but simply played with it in her hand¡­ it infuriated them even more; it was a sheer waste! Steal it? Rob it? Deceive her? It seemed like it wasn¡¯t necessarily impossible¡­ And the youthful Li Yi, upon seeing the girl, felt as if he had fallen in love! If she were his girlfriend, letting her play with a Crystal Core wouldn¡¯t bother him at all. Unfortunately, there was a big guy next to her who looked like bad news¡­ As for Xu Xiaojun, his mind wasn¡¯t filled with many thoughts. He vigilantly scanned the road while thinking that in the future, he too wanted to become a strong person like Wang Tao! Chapter 321 - Chapter 321: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixues Condition_2 Chapter 321: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixue¡¯s Condition_2 After all, Wang Tao had just thrown a piece of rebar and killed a Rush Zombie; his strength was much stronger than theirs! Wang Tao held an umbrella in one hand and the girl¡¯s hand in the other, following leisurely behind the group. Feeling the icy temperature in the palm of his hand, Wang Tao turned his head to look at the pretty JK girl, his eyes filled with helplessness. This girl was none other than Jiang Shixue. Half a month ago, the very unstable Jiang Shixue had saved Wang Tao from the clutches of a Black Mist Monster. Fortunately, at that time, an airdrop plane happened to pass by, drawing the attention of the Black Mist Monster, allowing Jiang Shixue to escape via water. By the time Wang Tao saw her again, Jiang Shixue was already a dying zombie. In Wang Tao¡¯s possession was a Purification Potion, which had a chance of reviving Jiang Shixue or causing her to self-immolate. He had no choice but to let Jiang Shixue take the gamble. And before using the Purification Potion, Wang Tao had also administered some Zombie Culture Fluid to Jiang Shixue, bringing her to the pinnacle of her condition. Then¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if the Purification Potion was really a success¡ª Jiang Shixue came back to life, but her state and Attributes¡­ were vastly different from humans! Wang Tao checked Jiang Shixue¡¯s Attributes again. [HP: 19200/19200] [Mana: 16000/16000] [Grade: Level 2 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 100%] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract] These attributes were definitely non-human! It wasn¡¯t that her attribute values were exaggerated¡ªof course, those numbers were indeed exaggerated, being three times Wang Tao¡¯s, enough to pin Wang Tao to the ground and rub him into the dirt! Setting aside the numbers, some of her attributes were simply not human¡ª First, human levels would only show the grade, not Elite or Lord, which were non-human attributes! Yet, Jiang Shixue displayed ¡°Level 2 ¨C Lord¡±¡­ Secondly, an Internal Impurity of 100% practically meant one was a zombie, bound to turn within a couple of days at most! But Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t transform into a zombie. Even with 100% Internal Impurity, her condition remained normal, with her HP bar never flashing, always a healthy green. She didn¡¯t exhibit any characteristics of a zombie and looked just like an Ordinary human girl. However, Jiang Shixue¡¯s body temperature was different from humans. It was the end of July, and it was hot. Even with heavy rain, it would feel sultry. But Jiang Shixue was like a small air conditioner, able to cool Wang Tao off directly by his side. That¡¯s why Wang Tao especially liked holding her hand¡ªnot for any other reason, just to feel cooler. Lastly, there was the issue with Jiang Shixue¡¯s memory¡ªshe¡­ seemed to have amnesia! Wang Tao vividly remembered the scene when Jiang Shixue woke up and first called him ¡°Daddy¡± when she saw him¡­ Many of Jiang Shixue¡¯s memories were gone, including her family and relatives, as well as some common life knowledge. Her current life experience was like that of a child, not understanding many things. It was unclear if her intelligence had declined, but she was frequently dazed and cute. The destructive power brought by someone with superhuman strength but lacking life experience was truly terrifying! In those early days, she had given Wang Tao quite a hard time¡ª Giving her water, she could instantly crush a steel water flask; asking her to eat, she could chew up and swallow a stainless steel bowl; holding her hand to hurry along, she could immediately outpace Wang Tao, dragging him on the ground for kilometers; telling her to check the village for zombies, she¡¯d tie up all the zombies in the entire village and bring them to Wang Tao¡­ Every time he thought of these events, Wang Tao would be on the verge of tears! But the good thing was, Jiang Shixue was very obedient. As long as Wang Tao told her what she did was wrong and taught her what was right, she would change. Wang Tao made her call him brother, otherwise, it would attract the Harmonious Beast¡­ After half a month of teaching, Wang Tao had finally cultivated Jiang Shixue into a little lady¡ªat least on the surface. In reality, this little girl¡¯s temper was not that great! Previously, they encountered a Level 2 Zombie that could Stealth and was very fast. After Wang Tao was attacked, he and Jiang Shixue counterattacked. The zombie appeared somewhat intelligent, fleeing upon realizing it couldn¡¯t win. Wang Tao had no intention to chase, as the other was too fast and he was unfamiliar with the area, making it unnecessary to take risks. But Jiang Shixue, with her eyes red, refused to let it go and chased it for a day and a night. Once she caught up, not only did she kill that zombie, but she also wiped out all the zombies in that ruined town! When Wang Tao found her, he realized they were lost¡­ This was also why Wang Tao appeared in front of the group and decided to follow Xu Xiaojun to their camp. He wanted to learn about the nearby situation, see if there were any Level 2 Zombies, inquire about his current location, and check if there were any maps¡­ Wang Tao still didn¡¯t understand what exactly was going on with Jiang Shixue now, something like half-human, half-zombie? The current Jiang Shixue could be attacked by zombies, but she was immune to the zombie virus! However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t a scientist, and he decided to give up on things he couldn¡¯t understand. After all, as long as they were alive and safe, that was all that mattered. Wang Tao planned to teach Jiang Shixue more about life knowledge and the principles of getting along with others, turning her into a true lady. He would try to keep her away from fighting as much as possible. If she went berserk, Wang Tao¡¯s strength was utterly inadequate to stop her¡­ Chapter 322 - Chapter 322: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixues Condition_3 Chapter 322: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixue¡¯s Condition_3 ¡°Wang, Brother Wang, we will arrive in two or three minutes¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun suddenly turned around and said to Wang Tao. ¡°Good.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. The route Xu Xiaojun chose was still very safe, with only a few ordinary zombies appearing along the way, which Xu Xiaojun had headshot. Yu Wei and the other two also visibly relaxed; they had all sustained serious injuries, and even with Xu Xiaojun by their side, they still felt insecure. It wasn¡¯t until they entered the camp that they could completely let down their guards. Wang Tao found these people quite interesting. Yu Wei, Tian Peng, and Li Yi were not Ability Users and had no Internal Impurities, indicating they hadn¡¯t fused with any Crystal Cores, but they all had an HP of 1000, had killed quite a few ordinary zombies, and were at the ceiling of what ordinary people could achieve. But even at their ceiling, they were still within the category of ordinary people. Facing Elite Zombies with high HP was still very difficult for them. However, these three obviously lacked self-awareness, daring to fight against Charger Zombies with 3000 HP¡­ All one could say is that their courage was commendable. If it hadn¡¯t been for Wang Tao asking Jiang Shixue to throw a stone over, these three would have died long ago¡­ Then there was Xu Xiaojun. Xu Xiaojun was broad-shouldered and robust, standing two meters tall and a bit overweight¡ªalthough you could also say he was husky. He was different from Wang Tao, although Wang Tao was also tall, most of his body was muscle, and his physique was very harmonious, with a special kind of beauty. Xu Xiaojun, on the other hand, was mostly fat and had a big belly. He looked like a fatty. But Wang Tao knew that generally, the bulkier someone like that was, the stronger and more defensively robust they were. If Wang Tao had a similar level of strength, and the two had to fight, it wasn¡¯t clear who would win¡­ Xu Xiaojun had an HP of 1995, just shy of reaching 2000. He must have killed at least a dozen Elite Zombies, so his strength was still quite impressive. Plus, he had a Hidden Attribute. [Stick to One¡¯s Heart: Not easily confused or led astray by external affairs.] This Hidden Attribute seemed quite impressive, though its specific effect was unknown. Xu Xiaojun had a bit of a stutter when he spoke, akin to social anxiety. To Wang Tao, he seemed a bit simple and clueless. Yet, he was a very nice person, not only did he cover his teammates from fatal damage, but after Wang Tao killed the Elite Zombie, he personally delivered the Crystal Core. It was important to note that this was a Crystal Core that could turn an ordinary person into an Awakener! And it wasn¡¯t just any ordinary person¡ªXu Xiaojun himself might have made use of it, since he probably hadn¡¯t learned many Abilities. Despite this, he didn¡¯t hesitate to pass the Crystal Core to Wang Tao. Therefore, Wang Tao had a very good first impression of him. ¡°We¡¯re here, this, this is our camp!¡± At that moment, Xu Xiaojun turned his head and revealed a rather simple and honest smile to Wang Tao. The location of this survivor camp wasn¡¯t in the town center but a place called ¡°Fish Bay Agritainment.¡± The agritainment was by a large lake, surrounded by water on three sides with only one road in and out. As long as this road was well defended, there was no need to worry about zombies. One had to say, this place was quite nice, with beautiful scenery, plentiful water sources, and great security. It was just unclear whether there were fish in the water and if fishing was possible? When Wang Tao previously traveled along Shuize River, he occasionally caught some fish that seemed to have mutated, growing very large. With his appetite, he couldn¡¯t finish one in a single meal¡­ Of course, before eating, Wang Tao would carefully investigate to ensure they were not poisonous. While Wang Tao was pondering this, the group arrived outside Fish Bay Agritainment. Since there was only one road to enter or exit the base, they had put a lot of effort into it, setting up various obstacles. Even if zombies broke in, it would take them a long time to get past these barriers. At the entrance, two people wearing homemade Armor and holding spears were on guard in a pavilion. Seeing Xu Xiaojun and his group, they immediately opened the door and checked their eyes for any signs of infection. This was the same eye check that everyone at Shuize Base had gone through. Those who were infected with the zombie virus had different eyes, and it was relatively easy to tell them apart. However, this referred to people that were bitten by zombies or infected with the virus through blood contact. If it was someone with too many Internal Impurities, it wouldn¡¯t be immediately noticeable without a detector. The two guards were quite surprised when they saw Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, a hefty man holding an umbrella leading a beautiful girl who looked like a student¡­ It was a sight they had never seen, but it seemed harmonious to them. Especially when the girl blinked her large eyes, looking at them with curiosity, they instantly felt as though they were about to die. ¡°May I ask if you are¡­¡± One of them hurriedly approached Wang Tao to ask. He felt Wang Tao¡¯s large frame meant he was not to be underestimated. Whether he was as strong as Fatty or not, he likely wasn¡¯t weak, so he was very polite. ¡°Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao nodded slightly. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, welcome to our Fish Bay Camp! I believe that once you learn a bit more about our base, you will definitely want to stay!¡± The man was very enthusiastic. In a post-apocalyptic world, survivors themselves were a resource. Whether it be a small camp or a large base, development couldn¡¯t be separated from the inclusion of survivors. Therefore, when encountering survivors, it was natural to want to retain them if possible. After all, a small portion of strong survivors preferred not to be constrained and liked roaming outside the camps. Chapter 323 - Chapter 323: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixues Condition_4 Chapter 323: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixue¡¯s Condition_4 After most of humanity had been infected and mutated, there were plenty of supplies left behind. As long as one was strong enough, it was possible to survive out in the wild. Just like at the Fish Bay Survivors¡¯ Camp, they had been scavenging the small town for three to four months and were still able to find various supplies¡­ After bypassing these obstacles, the full view of the Fish Bay Agritainment became visible. In simple terms, it was a collection of buildings that were neither Western-style nor traditional, but the area was large enough to house many people. Because it was still raining, the survivors were all inside, with few people outside. The arrival of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t attract much attention. Wang Tao noticed that the lakeside around the Agritainment was fenced off with wire mesh, which made him curious. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± The lake was full of water, and the zombies couldn¡¯t get across, so what was the wire mesh for? ¡°Hey, it¡¯s because the fish in this lake are huge, and they¡¯re very aggressive! Someone was fishing by the lake before, and ended up being dragged in and eaten by the fish. Since then, we put up the wire mesh¡­¡± Yu Wei explained. Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Fish that could eat a person¡ªhow big could they be! He felt an urge to try his hand at fishing. However, since this was someone else¡¯s territory, Wang Tao simply entertained the thought. When Xu Xiaojun and his group entered, they needed to hand over a certain proportion of supplies¡ªthe rule of their camp. Therefore, people who went out to scavenge had to contribute their findings. After all, only they had the ability to go out. If they didn¡¯t contribute to the camp, the others inside wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. Of course, contributions came with rewards. Those capable of venturing out had a superior status in the camp, with ordinary people serving them. As for the specific proportion of contributions, it depended on the team, because each expedition was typically undertaken by teams made up of several people. The base rule was that each team contributed a minimum of 10% and there was no maximum limit. If you were charitable, you could contribute it all. Yu Wei¡¯s small team would contribute 10%¡ªthis was within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. But to his surprise, Xu Xiaojun almost handed over all of his supplies! ¡°Why is Fatty contributing so much?¡± Li Yi next to him was also somewhat surprised. Yu Wei and Tian Peng glanced at Li Yi, with Tian Peng whispering: ¡°Now you see why we don¡¯t go out with him¡ªanyone who goes out with Fatty becomes part of Fatty¡¯s team, and Fatty¡¯s team is required to contribute 90% of the supplies!¡± ¡°Hiss¡ªwhy is it like this?¡± Li Yi was somewhat shocked. Although he thought Fatty seemed a bit simple-minded, he wasn¡¯t a fool! It was one thing for them to swindle some supplies, but how could the camp demand so much from him! Weren¡¯t they afraid that Fatty would be unwilling? As if answering his thoughts, Yu Wei explained: ¡°The contribution proportion is entirely voluntary. We didn¡¯t force him, and no one would dare force him. This was Fatty¡¯s own choice¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao found Xu Xiaojun to be rather interesting. In these apocalyptic times, was there really someone who only wanted to give without expecting anything in return? Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue naturally didn¡¯t need to contribute supplies, unless they decided to become permanent residents of Fish Bay Camp. Once the supplies were sorted, Yu Wei and the others went off to find a doctor for treatment. There was a doctor within Fish Bay Camp, but you had to provide a certain amount of supplies for each treatment, and there was no guarantee of being cured. As the trio left, Wang Tao overheard them quietly talking about something to do with a Red Crystal Core. Wang Tao¡¯s brow raised, hoping these guys weren¡¯t looking for trouble. Although he didn¡¯t need that Crystal Core, that didn¡¯t mean he was willing to hand it over for nothing. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡ªI¡¯ll take you inside! They¡¯re¡ªall inside¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun pointed towards a large gate within the complex. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded, following Xu Xiaojun through the gate. Whoosh¡ª As the door opened, a wave of noisy chatter accompanied by an unpleasant smell of sweat wafted over. Chapter 324 - Chapter 324: Chapter 159 Granary_1 Chapter 324: Chapter 159 Granary_1 ¡°Big, big, big! Damn! Why is it still small!¡± ¡°Ahahaha, I won again!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Old Chen, I heard you recently got yourself a pretty little wife? Cough, you know what I mean¡­¡± ¡°Get lost! This wife is not for sale! Ours is true love!¡± ¡°Heh, that¡¯s what you said last time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Food¡¯s been kind of scarce lately, can you lend me some of yours?¡± ¡°I barely have enough for myself! If you¡¯re short on food, why don¡¯t you go find some?¡± ¡°Sigh, who would¡¯ve known this heavy rain would last so long and not stop! I can¡¯t stand this toxic rain; I can only wait for the weather to clear before going out¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Take a look! Fresh from town, cold medicine for sale, cheap prices, no deception!¡± ¡°Damn it, this medicine¡¯s all melted, and you¡¯re still charging so much!¡± ¡°Just say if you want it or not!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it! But make it cheaper¡­¡± ¡­ This was a somewhat dimly lit hall, populated with quite a few survivors. Some were playing dice or cards, some were chatting, and others had set up stalls¡­ It seemed very chaotic. Both Xu Xiaojun and Wang Tao were burly men, and as soon as they stood at the entrance, they pretty much blocked the light completely. The hall instantly darkened. Most of the people instinctively turned to look. Upon seeing Xu Xiaojun, many were somewhat dumbfounded. Fatty doesn¡¯t like coming to places like this, why did he come today? Did he change his mind? But when they saw Wang Tao, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. In their minds, four words instantly appeared: New guy, easy to con! And finally, when they saw the beautiful, curious girl who emerged from behind Wang Tao, nearly everyone¡¯s mouth dropped open! ¡°Holy shit! Such a pretty and clean girl!¡± ¡°Is she brought here for trade? With such good looks, she must be expensive! Probably can¡¯t afford her¡­¡± ¡°None of you try to compete with me; I want to take her as my goddaughter!¡± ¡°Dream on, if she were my wife, I could ensure she doesn¡¯t starve to death. But if she were your daughter, she¡¯d be lucky to live half a month!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Many were appraising Jiang Shixue, as if she was a piece of merchandise. Hearing these comments, Wang Tao frowned a bit. He didn¡¯t really care about other people¡¯s comments; he was just worried Jiang Shixue would be unhappy. The last creature that made Jiang Shixue unhappy now has grass growing over its grave that¡¯s several meters tall. Fortunately, Jiang Shixue¡¯s face showed no signs of annoyance or unhappiness. She was merely curious, intrigued by everything she hadn¡¯t seen before. But as Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, she suddenly looked up and met his gaze, her red lips parting slightly. ¡°Brother doesn¡¯t like them? Should I make them shut up?¡± ¡°There¡¯s absolutely no need!¡± Wang Tao quickly tugged on Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand. When she talks about shutting up, she means it literally. ¡°Oh.¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t say much else and continued to observe the situation inside. ¡°Welcome to Fish Bay Camp, sir! I am Lu Qi, the owner of Fish Bay Agritainment. These days, everyone just calls me Eldest Lu.¡± A middle-aged man with a big belly and a bald head walked up to Wang Tao. He spoke with a hint of arrogance, as after all, he had built the camp from scratch, and he had many people under his command¡ªsome arrogance was natural. Yet his strength wasn¡¯t very impressive. Although an Ability User, his HP wasn¡¯t even 2,000, and his overall strength might not even match Xu Xiaojun¡¯s. But Eldest Lu had a Hidden Attribute. [Hidden Attributes: Danger Perception] [Danger Perception: A certain prewarning of incoming dangers] This Hidden Attribute is nice, a real lifesaver in the post-apocalypse! When Eldest Lu came to Wang Tao¡¯s side, his expression suddenly became solemn. From a distance, he hadn¡¯t felt anything towards Wang Tao, but upon approaching him, he felt an immense pressure! This pressure far exceeded what he felt from Xu Xiaojun! This man¡­ is so strong! He felt that if he provoked this person, he would surely die! Eldest Lu had survived thus far thanks to his sixth sense, so he immediately dropped his arrogance and stood up much straighter. ¡°My name is Wang Tao. I¡¯d like to inquire about our exact location, what¡¯s around here, and a map would be ideal, if available.¡± Wang Tao got straight to the point. In the course of fleeing for his life, everything he carried had been destroyed. Forget about a map, even his security uniform was gone. Fortunately, he had a set of Attribute-enhanced clothes; otherwise, he would be dressed just like the other survivors. Jiang Shixue was wearing a set of Attribute-enhanced clothes as well. Besides being durable, these clothes had no other features. ¡°No problem at all! Come this way, please! Little Jun, you come as well!¡± Eldest Lu warmly led Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun inside. As for Jiang Shixue by Wang Tao¡¯s side, he didn¡¯t ask; he didn¡¯t even spare her a second glance. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao followed. This Eldest Lu seemed to be a smart man, which meant Wang Tao could save himself a lot of words. The others, seeing Eldest Lu suddenly so polite, were immediately taken aback. There was only one kind of person who could make Eldest Lu so courteous¡ªa true powerhouse! In an instant, the volume of conversations among some people dropped significantly. They weren¡¯t foolish; if he really was a powerhouse, it would be better not to offend him, even in mere words. Eldest Lu led Wang Tao to an office, which was decorated ostentatiously, appearing quite gaudy. After inviting Wang Tao to sit, he also served him tea, which made Wang Tao raise his eyebrows slightly. Chapter 325 - Chapter 325: Chapter 159 Granary_2 Chapter 325: Chapter 159 Granary_2 Did Eldest Lu sense some danger to himself? Otherwise, why would he be so polite? Regardless of his politeness, Wang Tao does not drink water provided by strangers, nor does he eat their food. So Wang Tao politely declined. Seeing this, Eldest Lu did not show any displeasure; instead, his expression became even more serious. Being so cautious, he really must be an experienced survivor of the post-apocalyptic world! Eldest Lu poured some hot tea for himself and Xu Xiaojun before starting to explain: ¡°The reason we call it Fish Bay Agritainment is because this place is called Fish Bay. Fish Bay is located at the bottom of Jinbi County¡­¡± Hearing about Jinbi County, Wang Tao understood immediately. He knew of Jinbi County¡ªit was the westernmost county of Huangfeng City, and westward from there was Zijing City. From Zijing City further west, one would reach the capital of Wuyang Province, Wuyang City. At that time, Wei Zhenguo and his group had headed east while the Black Mist Monster was chasing after Wang Tao. Worried about leading the monster to Wei Zhenguo¡¯s group, Wang Tao deliberately ran in the opposite direction. ¡°As for the map¡­¡± A troubled look appeared on Eldest Lu¡¯s face. ¡°Mr. Wang, as you know, there is no way to print anymore; paper maps are scarce, especially the more detailed ones. We don¡¯t have many maps on hand¡­¡± Eldest Lu indicated that it was difficult. Difficult, but that meant it was possible¡ªit just depended on whether the benefits were sufficient. ¡°You name the price.¡± Wang Tao said directly. ¡°This¡­¡± Eldest Lu feigned hesitation before tentatively asking, ¡°Mr. Wang, you seem quite strong, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Not bad.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then, I would like to ask Mr. Wang for a favor, to help us kill a zombie. Would you be willing to do that?¡± Upon hearing Eldest Lu¡¯s request, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Kill a zombie? Let¡¯s hear it.¡± He had thought Eldest Lu would ask for food or Crystal Cores or something of the sort¡ªWang Tao certainly had those, and as long as the requests weren¡¯t too excessive, he would comply. But unexpectedly, he actually wanted Wang Tao to help him kill zombies? This became interesting¡­ ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, our place is close to the county town, and there¡¯s a formidable zombie there blocking our way. We¡¯ve tried to kill it before but have always failed. We are organizing another hunting expedition soon, and I think Mr. Wang is very capable, so I wanted to ask if you could lend us a hand¡­¡± Eldest Lu explained. It wasn¡¯t easy to come across a strong survivor; he couldn¡¯t waste this opportunity! ¡°Hmm? The county is so big, why don¡¯t you take a detour from another place instead of going through there?¡± Wang Tao felt that Eldest Lu wasn¡¯t telling the whole truth. Unless there was one of those Lord Zombies like the Gorilla Zombies, known to roam around. ¡°Cough¡­¡± Seeing that Wang Tao was observant, Eldest Lu coughed twice, hesitating about whether to tell him. ¡°I have no problem helping you kill the zombie, but I need all the information. After all, I¡¯m risking my life here. If you hide anything, I definitely won¡¯t agree,¡± Wang Tao added. Having heard Wang Tao¡¯s conditions, Eldest Lu gritted his teeth. ¡°Alright, there¡¯s nothing that can¡¯t be said. The place where the zombie stays is our county¡¯s grain storage! Our target is that grain storage¡­¡± ¡°A grain storage!¡± Wang Tao realized, so that¡¯s why Eldest Lu insisted on killing that road-blocking zombie¡ªit was because there was a grain storage! Stockpiling grain for famine has always been a tradition in Qian Country. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know exactly how many grain storages there were nationwide, but he knew that every county had at least one storage! Shuize County, where Wang Tao was, also had one, but the army had taken away all the grain. ¡°I had thought before that, once the overall strength of our camp improved, we would go and hunt that zombie. But before this heavy rain, I saw that zombie appeared to have some ideas about the grain storage, always trying to get in¡­ So I worry that if it gets in there first and ruins the food, that would be a huge loss!¡± Eldest Lu¡¯s face looked a bit grim. Given the storage conditions of these grain storages, they should last for a long time, provided there is no external disturbance. However, if zombies start causing destruction, it¡¯s hard to say how long the grains could last. That¡¯s why Eldest Lu felt a sense of urgency. If they could get their hands on the grain, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about food for a long time! Furthermore, the grain could be planted; even though they wouldn¡¯t be as good as specialized seeds, even a lower yield would mean victory as long as it could grow. ¡°Of course, let¡¯s keep matters separate. If Mr. Wang does our camp a favor, the map will be a personal gift from me. In addition, you will also have a share of the grain we obtain!¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond, Eldest Lu quickly asked. He didn¡¯t know the extent of Wang Tao¡¯s strength, but he felt Wang Tao might be stronger than Xu Xiaojun, who was the strongest in their camp! So, after sensing a dangerous aura from Wang Tao, his first reaction wasn¡¯t to hide but to recruit Wang Tao! ¡°It¡¯s not out of the question, but I need to know the strength of this zombie. If it¡¯s too strong, then I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t go and get myself killed. If it¡¯s average strength, then we can talk,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Although the strength of Fish Bay Camp wasn¡¯t great, they did have several Ability Users and many people. If they all took action, handling ordinary Level 1 Elite Zombies shouldn¡¯t be an issue. Chapter 326 - Chapter 326: Chapter 159 Granary_3 Chapter 326: Chapter 159 Granary_3 So, Wang Tao suspected that this might be a Level 2 Zombie. If it really was a Level 2 Zombie, then even if Eldest Lu didn¡¯t allow him to go, he would have to take a look. After all, there were many benefits to killing a Level 2 Zombie, and Wang Tao had been searching for one on his journey¡­ ¡°You can rest assured about that, we¡¯ve tested it already. This zombie is strong, but not ridiculously so. With so many of us in the camp, plus Mr. Wang, you¡¯re definitely able to deal with it! After all, we wouldn¡¯t joke about our own lives.¡± Eldest Lu immediately assured him. ¡°Good, then I¡¯m in,¡± Wang Tao nodded. Seeing Wang Tao agree, Eldest Lu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Haha, great! But let¡¯s agree on the distribution of the food we¡¯ll get afterwards! I¡¯m thinking that we distribute it based on the contribution to killing this zombie. Those who contribute more, get more, and those who contribute less, naturally get less¡­¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak, Eldest Lu continued: ¡°Of course, quantifying contribution is quite subjective. After all, we can¡¯t really tally up who caused how much damage¡­ So, to prevent any disputes, I propose that as long as you participate, the minimum share of food for Mr. Wang will be no less than 5%!¡± It¡¯s hard to say exactly how much food there is in a county-level grain reserve, but it¡¯s definitely a lot. If the food is still edible, 5% is certainly a substantial amount. Eldest Lu was quite generous; he had decided that Wang Tao was very strong. Having such a powerful person join them would greatly increase their chances of success. Even if Wang Tao wasn¡¯t helpful, giving 5% of the food in exchange for a good impression was a profitable deal! Of course, he didn¡¯t know exactly how strong Wang Tao was. If he did, he certainly wouldn¡¯t have promised a guaranteed 5%. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much either, he just nodded his head. ¡°Okay. Just let me know when we¡¯re leaving. But let me be clear upfront, I will definitely check out this zombie myself. If I feel that we can¡¯t handle it, I reserve the right to back out at any time.¡± ¡°Haha, no problem at all!¡± With a smile, Eldest Lu then took out something that looked like a book from a nearby cabinet. Wang Tao raised his eyebrows when he saw it¡ªit was a map. ¡°This is a map I bought before, with plans to go on a road trip¡­ but then the apocalypse happened. Anyway, I won¡¯t be using it, so I¡¯ll give it to Mr. Wang!¡± Eldest Lu¡¯s gaze held a hint of vicissitude. His original plan was to hire a professional to manage his resort while he and his family went on a nationwide road trip. Now he had money and time. Unfortunately, the road trip would never happen, and he was left all alone. ¡°Then I thank you!¡± Looking at the latest edition of the map, Wang Tao¡¯s face showed a smile. This wasn¡¯t just a single sheet; it was an entire book of maps, detailing each city¡¯s situation. With this map, as long as he didn¡¯t venture into deep forests or remote hills, he would basically never get lost again. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s all about helping each other out!¡± Eldest Lu laughed heartily, then said, ¡°We have plenty of rooms here. Shall I have someone prepare one for Mr. Wang? When it¡¯s time to hunt the zombie, I¡¯ll come get you. It will likely be within the next few days¡­¡± Eldest Lu had originally planned to wait for clear weather before hunting the zombie, but the rain kept pouring down, and he didn¡¯t know when it would stop. Now that Wang Tao had joined, he felt they could go hunting in the toxic rain. Given their strength, they could endure half a day in such rain. If they couldn¡¯t deal with the zombie in half a day, that would mean the zombie was too strong, and they¡¯d have to flee¡­ ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Then Eldest Lu called over a flamboyantly dressed middle-aged woman to arrange Wang Tao¡¯s accommodation. Xu Xiaojun, who had been silent all this time, wanted to follow Wang Tao, but was stopped by Eldest Lu. After Wang Tao left, Eldest Lu eagerly asked Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Fatty, is this Wang Tao really that strong?¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded. ¡°I knew it!¡± Eldest Lu was overjoyed. Xu Xiaojun was an honest person, never one to lie. If someone else claimed that a person was strong, it might just be a compliment. But coming from Xu Xiaojun, it was a fact! It was even possible that Xu Xiaojun had sparred with him! Eldest Lu continued to inquire about Wang Tao. Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t hold back and told him everything he knew. Upon hearing that Wang Tao killed an Elite Zombie with just a steel rebar, Eldest Lu¡¯s mouth dropped open. ¡°Could he be an Ability User with a Ranged Attack? That¡¯s fantastic! We¡¯re lacking a proper ranged attack, and he¡¯ll just fill in our gap!¡± And when Xu Xiaojun mentioned he gave the red crystal core to Wang Tao, Eldest Lu looked at Xu Xiaojun as if he were looking at an idiot. He knew, strictly speaking, that the crystal core was Wang Tao¡¯s trophy. But Xu Xiaojun had also suffered a few attacks from the Rush Zombie; didn¡¯t he deserve some credit for his hard work? Couldn¡¯t he have been a bit more shameless? Moreover, since Wang Tao had given the red crystal core to his girlfriend to play with, it showed he didn¡¯t need it! ¡°He doesn¡¯t need it, but you do! Our camp does! You could¡¯ve traded it for something else!¡± Watching Eldest Lu¡¯s look of exasperation, Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. He actually wanted that crystal core too; he felt he could assimilate it. But he refrained. After all, it wasn¡¯t his to take. ¡°Sigh, never mind. You take him later to familiarize with our camp. If we could get him to stay, that would be perfect¡­ I need to figure out what to use to trade for that crystal core in his hands! If I had known earlier that he had a spare crystal core, I would¡¯ve definitely asked for it! Oh, and I need to warn everyone in the camp not to mess with this ¡®newbie¡¯¡­¡± Chapter 327 - Chapter 327: Chapter 160: The Zombies Are Stronger Again_1 Chapter 327: Chapter 160: The Zombies Are Stronger Again_1 ¡°Mr. Wang, do you have any further instructions? Whatever instructions you have, I can fulfill them for you~¡± Looking at the somewhat attractive middle-aged woman flirting in front of him, Wang Tao smiled slightly. ¡°Thank you, but no need. Please go back.¡± The woman¡¯s expression stiffened. She asked again, unwilling to give up. After confirming that Wang Tao really didn¡¯t have any other instructions, she left with a look of disappointment. The sight of Wang Tao¡¯s muscular body had made her envious! It was a shame that he wasn¡¯t interested in her. Although the girl with Wang Tao was indeed much prettier than she was, she could guarantee that she had more experience¡­ Once the woman had left, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. It was his first time encountering such a zealous and hospitable woman and he felt somewhat out of his element. ¡°Brother, I felt like you wanted to keep her, but why did you let her go?¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly looked at Wang Tao and asked with curiosity on her face. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair a bit irritably. ¡°Adult matters, kids shouldn¡¯t interrupt.¡± Hearing this, Jiang Shixue was somewhat puzzled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say yesterday that I¡¯m not a child anymore?¡± ¡°¡­Okay, because she¡¯s not as pretty as Little Xue, I didn¡¯t want her to stay around me for long,¡± Wang Tao shrugged. ¡°I see¡­ Thank you for the compliment, Brother,¡± Jiang Shixue said, her face breaking into a sweet smile. Although she couldn¡¯t remember many things that were common knowledge, as long as Wang Tao complimented her, she felt very happy. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too picky about where he stayed, as long as it was clean. Jiang Shixue was even less fussy; she still retained some zombie habits and could sleep anywhere with just a pad to lie down on¡­ After a while, Xu Xiaojun arrived. He said he would take Wang Tao on a tour around the camp. Fish Bay Camp was actually quite large, with over one hundred and fifty people. It was like a small society, with all kinds of occupations represented. Food was the hard currency here. If you had food, you could have almost anyone in the camp serve you. Of course, to do so, you would need a large amount of food, which very few people had. Survivors were the foundation of the camp but at the same time, they were the cheapest commodity. Following Xu Xiaojun, Wang Tao went again to that spacious hall and saw many survivors offering themselves for hire. There were men and women, old and young. As long as someone offered food, they would do anything asked of them. Of course, this didn¡¯t include going out to scavenge for supplies. If they had the ability to find supplies, they wouldn¡¯t be hiring themselves out in the first place. To say ¡°hiring¡± was really to sell oneself to someone powerful. It wasn¡¯t quite slavery, as there were rules in the camp, but it was pretty close. They were guaranteed their lives, but nothing else. Fish Bay Camp only provided accommodation, not food. If you wanted food, you either did the jobs assigned by Eldest Lu, or you found a way on your own. There were only so many jobs available in the camp, certainly not enough to sustain everyone. So the rest had to figure it out for themselves. The moment Wang Tao arrived, many such people set their eyes on him. After all, with his formidable size, even a fool could tell that he was a big sturdy leg to cling to! ¡°Big brother, buy me! I can wash clothes, cook, and warm your bed¡­¡± ¡°Just one meal a day, Brother, I¡¯ll do anything you ask¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Looking at these men and women with desperate faces, Wang Tao sighed inwardly, but did not soften; after all, he was no savior. Without lingering long in that place, Wang Tao headed toward the stalls. Xu Xiaojun told Wang Tao that he heard the stalls sometimes sold good stuff. However, he hadn¡¯t been there much and wasn¡¯t very clear on it. ¡°Big brother, need a knife? This is a good knife made overseas! Sharp enough to slice hair, strong enough to cut through iron! It¡¯s a great assistant in killing zombies!¡± No sooner had he arrived than someone started pitching their product to Wang Tao. Looking at the ¡°good knife¡± that even had some notches on its blade, Wang Tao peered deeply at the seller. The man felt as though he was being targeted by a ferocious beast, struggling to breathe properly. One second later, the man hastily retreated, drenched in cold sweat. After Wang Tao walked away, the seller finally took a deep breath, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped death. ¡°Whew¡ªso strong! He feels even more terrifying than those zombies!¡± He had just seen a new face come by and thought to test the waters. Though Eldest Lu was quite courteous to this man, there were always those ready to try their luck no matter where they were. Their rule here was ¡°buy and leave,¡± and once a transaction was completed, it couldn¡¯t be reversed, a rule even Eldest Lu had to abide by, But he hadn¡¯t expected this man to be so much more terrifying than Eldest Lu! In that instant, he truly thought he was going to die¡­ Many people had noticed this interaction, and when they saw the knife seller hastily retreating from Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, they immediately felt a chill. This newcomer was clearly not someone to be trifled with! Those who had wanted to swindle a deal or had designs on the girl with Wang Tao immediately curbed their plans. They had survived so long in Fish Bay Camp by being sharp-eyed¡ªnever missing a chance to take advantage of someone, but never messing with those they couldn¡¯t afford to offend. This new, bulky newcomer was obviously in the latter category. With no unwise souls approaching, Wang Tao felt much more comfortable. He had heard from Xu Xiaojun that there were many stalls around, so he was looking to see if there were any weapons suitable for Jiang Shixue¡¯s use. Perhaps due to habits acquired as a zombie, Jiang Shixue preferred to fight with her claws. Although she wasn¡¯t afraid of the zombie virus, those little white and tender hands getting hurt would be such a pity. Chapter 328 - Chapter 328: Chapter 160 Zombies Have Become Stronger Again_2 Chapter 328: Chapter 160 Zombies Have Become Stronger Again_2 Unfortunately, even after browsing through all the stalls, Wang Tao didn¡¯t find any suitable weapons. As for those so-called exquisite knives and precious swords, Wang Tao felt they were probably not as tough as Jiang Shixue herself. They might be considered weapons to others, but for Jiang Shixue, they would likely be a hindrance. However, it wasn¡¯t a complete loss¡ªWang Tao did find something quite unexpected at the last stall. ¡°They¡¯re actually selling Crystal Cores?¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the stall owner immediately beamed and said: ¡°Buddy, take a look. Do you like any? The prices are cheap, fair to both young and old! Each Crystal Core represents an Ability User, guaranteed that you won¡¯t be cheated or take a loss!¡± Seeing the vendor¡¯s enthusiastic demeanor, Wang Tao might¡¯ve thought these were fake Crystal Cores, but the Attributes clearly stated they were Level 1 Crystal Cores! At that moment, someone nearby, perhaps wanting to do Wang Tao a favor, spoke up: ¡°Brother, think it over carefully. These are all White Crystal Cores, and military sources say that these have the lowest success rate of fusion! But that¡¯s not the main point¡ªthe main point is that no one knows what Abilities these few Crystal Cores possess! As everyone knows, these Abilities all have side effects, who knows what sort of side effects these have¡­ Even if you manage to successfully fuse, what if it¡¯s an Ability that¡¯s weak, but has strong side effects? You¡¯ll regret it to death¡­¡± ¡°Scram, scram, scram!¡± The Crystal Core vendor immediately waved his hands in disdain, but he didn¡¯t get too upset. After all, this was common knowledge, and Wang Tao surely knew it as well. It was just inappropriate to say it out loud¡­ Upon hearing this, Wang Tao paused and had a sudden realization. He had subconsciously overlooked one thing¡ªonly he could see the Attributes of a Crystal Core, while others could not. Back at Shuize Base, when the base folks obtained Crystal Cores, they would let him have a look to check their Attributes. The Crystal Cores the base folks used were also handpicked by Wang Tao, so there were no cases of excessively strong side effects or utterly useless Abilities. But without Wang Tao, the result would be drastically different. They would have to go through a slow process of experimentation to learn about the Abilities and side effects of these Crystal Cores. Moreover, there were varying success rates even for the same Crystal Core, which made it quite a hassle to learn the specifics of a certain type of Crystal Core. The vendor Wang Tao was speaking to was likely in such a situation. Here, six Crystal Cores were on display, all White Crystal Cores, which meant they had a 20% success rate. If one of these six Crystal Cores succeeded, it would be a win, but if none did? A huge loss! This was the reason why no one wanted the few Crystal Cores he displayed¡ªthe fusion success rate was too low, and nobody knew the specific Abilities and side effects of the Crystal Cores. Of course, there was another crucial point¡ªhis asking price was high, requiring a lot of food to exchange for a Crystal Core. If the price were lower, naturally, there would be takers willing to take a risk. But with his high price, it wasn¡¯t worth the risk anymore. ¡°What do you think? Bro, want to try buying a couple? I can tell you must be an Ability User, right? Since you have experience with successful fusion before, your success rate is bound to be much higher!¡± Obviously spouting nonsense, the stall owner just chattered away. Wang Tao didn¡¯t care and asked curiously: ¡°How do you have so many Crystal Cores in your possession?¡± The man wasn¡¯t an Ability User and didn¡¯t seem capable of collecting so many Crystal Cores. ¡°Hey! Eldest Lu is my cousin!¡± The vendor scratched his head somewhat embarrassingly. Wang Tao immediately understood; that made sense. ¡°I¡¯ll take all six of these Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the vendor froze for a moment, then frowned slightly, ¡°Buddy, forgive me for being blunt, but do you have that much food? It looks like you haven¡¯t brought that much.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the food, but I have this. Is this enough?¡± Wang Tao took out the Red Crystal Core he had obtained from killing the Rush zombie today. Not only the vendor, who was Eldest Lu¡¯s cousin, but all the people around were stunned as well. ¡°¡­You¡¯re not kidding, right? Are you sure you want to use this Red Rush Crystal Core to exchange for these six White Crystal Cores?¡± The vendor was full of disbelief. It was a Red Crystal Core, and one whose function he knew, since their base had a person with the Rush Ability! The value of this Crystal Core was far beyond the others! ¡°Just tell me, will you exchange it or not?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± As soon as he was sure Wang Tao wasn¡¯t joking, the stall owner immediately nodded in agreement. So, Wang Tao traded away the Red Rush Crystal Core for six trash White Crystal Cores. This exchange immediately drew the attention of many, and many people, envious and jealous, were already congratulating the vendor for becoming an Ability User. Wang Tao didn¡¯t linger any longer; after confirming there wasn¡¯t anything else worth his attention here, he left. He traded for these six Crystal Cores because they were two ¡°Omnipotent¡± Crystal Cores, two ¡°Self-healing¡± Crystal Cores, and two ¡°Precision Shooting¡± Crystal Cores! Omnipotent, Self-healing, and Precision Shooting were all relatively rare, and thus it was a huge win for him since he could perform Synthetic fusion. This incident also served as a reminder for Wang Tao that if he had the chance to go to more populated Survivor Bases in the future, he may have the opportunity to pick up unrecognized Crystal Cores for a bargain. Of course, thinking about such things was still premature. On his journey so far, Fish Bay Camp was the largest Survivor Base he had encountered, and it would be rather difficult to come across a larger Survivor Base¡­ Chapter 329 - Chapter 329: Chapter 160: The Zombies Are Stronger Again_3 Chapter 329: Chapter 160: The Zombies Are Stronger Again_3 After temporarily settling down at Fish Bay Base, Wang Tao had planned to check out the Level 2 Zombie in the granary the next day. If the opponent wasn¡¯t very strong, he could have dealt with it right away, as Wang Tao was indeed in dire need of a Level 2 Crystal Core. But when he woke up, the sky had cleared. Eldest Lu had been ready to head to the granary for a while, but the continuous rain had caused delays. He had thought, with the addition of Wang Tao, they could brave the rain to get there. But to his surprise, the weather turned fine! Well then, there¡¯s no day like today, let¡¯s go now! Since it had been raining heavily for the past few days, many survivors had stayed indoors, and the camp¡¯s combat power was at its peak. So, Eldest Lu immediately invited Wang Tao, saying they would head straight to the granary today. Wang Tao, of course, had no objections. Soon, a large group of people gathered in the camp. Xu Xiaojun and Yu Wei were also there. However, Yu Wei and his group seemed unable to look Wang Tao in the eye, not knowing what had happened. Standing in the middle of the hall, Eldest Lu gave an inspiring speech, then briefly introduced Wang Tao. He said that Wang Tao was their external support, that Wang Tao and Little Jun were the main forces of this combat, and that everyone should try to cooperate with them both. The others weren¡¯t surprised by this. After all, Eldest Lu had already cautioned everyone the previous night, saying that Wang Tao was a strong fighter and must not be offended. So even if some people felt unconvinced inside, they wouldn¡¯t show it, but instead applauded vigorously. After the mobilization meeting was over, Eldest Lu came to Wang Tao with an apologetic expression and said: ¡°Mr. Wang, I realized yesterday that someone may not have treated you well, so I disciplined them a bit. I hope you don¡¯t mind¡­¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s fine.¡± Honestly, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even know who Eldest Lu was talking about. After all, not everyone was significant enough to be remembered by Wang Tao. Seeing that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t really angry, Eldest Lu immediately felt relieved. The mentality of the strong was indeed different! Last night, he found out that Yu Wei was spreading rumors in the camp that Wang Tao had a Red Crystal Core. Moreover, Wang Tao had traded that Red Crystal Core to his cousin, who became an Ability User overnight! This was as good as Wang Tao giving the Crystal Core to him! Eldest Lu immediately called Yu Wei for questioning, afraid there might be some conflict between them and Wang Tao. Fortunately, Wang Tao probably didn¡¯t care about a minor character like Yu Wei. This put Eldest Lu at ease, as long as there were no major conflicts. Soon, everyone was ready. Excluding Wang Tao, there were a total of 30 people going out on this mission, essentially the strongest 30 of the base. If they couldn¡¯t take down that zombie, they were out of options¡­ ¡°Mr. Wang, are you taking your sister with you?¡± Seeing Wang Tao leading Jiang Shixue, Eldest Lu didn¡¯t quite understand. Was it really appropriate to bring a girl who was helpless against a crisis? ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. He couldn¡¯t really say that all these people combined weren¡¯t a match for Jiang Shixue alone, could he? ¡°Fine!¡± Since Wang Tao saw no issue, Eldest Lu didn¡¯t say any more; maybe Wang Tao¡¯s sister was also an Ability User¡­ although she didn¡¯t look like one at all. Eldest Lu personally led everyone away from the camp. They did not have a car, so they walked. Even if they had one, they wouldn¡¯t dare to drive, since the zombies¡¯ diminished perception was returning now that the rain had stopped. Wang Tao, holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s little hand, walked in the middle of the group. The two had a completely different vibe from the others; it was like they were out for a stroll, causing the others to frequently glance their way. Not long after they left the camp, they spotted a few ordinary zombies appearing. Such minor opponents naturally did not require Ability Users to act; the ordinary people with 1000 HP immediately stepped up. However, unexpectedly, what should have been an easy fight against these ordinary zombies took quite a while to resolve. Eldest Lu¡¯s face immediately turned sour, feeling slightly embarrassed in front of Wang Tao. And Wang Tao frowned. Because the zombies¡¯ HP had increased again! Previously, these ordinary zombies had 1000 HP, but now they had 2000 HP! When Eldest Lu said ¡°again,¡± it was because these zombies¡¯ HP had already increased once before. When the virus outbreak occurred, the minimum HP for an ordinary zombie was 500. Then there was heavy rain, and the minimum HP for ordinary zombies rose to 1000. And now, after another heavy rain, ordinary zombies¡¯ HP had reached 2000! Is it possible that with each heavy rainfall, the zombies¡¯ HP doubles? If that¡¯s really the case, can other humans keep up with this rate of evolution¡­ After killing the zombies, the group continued to advance. Later, they didn¡¯t encounter any more zombies; after all, this place was remote, with few people around. When they were almost at the location of the granary, they finally encountered another group of ordinary zombies, about a dozen or so. But this time it wasn¡¯t just 2000 HP zombies, there were also zombies with 2500 and even 3000 HP! The team¡¯s pace slowed down considerably. Eldest Lu finally sensed something was wrong, as he personally fought with these ordinary zombies and discovered that they had suddenly become difficult to kill! An Ability User himself, he found it quite time-consuming to kill just one ordinary zombie¡­ This made him look quite troubled. On the way to hunt the granary zombie, he suddenly felt uncertain. But since they had already come this far, it wouldn¡¯t be worth it to turn back now¡­ ¡°We¡¯ve come all this way, let¡¯s go and see!¡± After making up his mind, Eldest Lu continued to lead the team forward. Soon, everyone arrived near the granary. Wang Tao didn¡¯t see the granary right away, as it was surrounded by buildings, but he immediately spotted three Level 2 Zombies, not just one as Eldest Lu had mentioned. They were all dressed in workwear, as if they were originally employees of the granary. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 4000/4000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] All three zombies had 10000 HP! Wang Tao grinned; his luck today was pretty good! Chapter 330 - Chapter 330: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_1 Chapter 330: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_1 ¡°` Even among zombies of the same level, their strength can vary. Under ordinary circumstances, the more HP and mana they have, the stronger they are. At the same time, Ordinary Zombies are weaker than Elite Zombies, and Elite Zombies are weaker than Zombie Lords. With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, dealing with a Level 2, Zombie Lord with a lot of HP could be somewhat strenuous, but handling a Level 2, Elite Zombie would be much simpler. Although the combined HP of these three Level 2, Elite Zombies was 30,000, Wang Tao felt the problem was not significant. ¡°Why do I feel like those three zombies seem really formidable¡­¡± Eldest Lu¡¯s Hidden Ability ¡°Danger Perception¡± kicked in, as he murmured doubtfully to himself. Seeing this, Wang Tao spoke up directly: ¡°All three are Level 2 Zombies.¡± ¡°All of them are Level 2 Zombies?!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone instantly gasped in shock. They had previously guessed that the Zombie in the granary was probably a Level 2 Zombie, which is why so many of them had come. But what they had mentally prepared for was one Level 2 Zombie! Let alone three¡ªthey felt that even two Level 2 Zombies would be more than they could handle! Even facing a single Level 2 Zombie, they would likely suffer casualties. However, because there were many of them, everyone thought the losses wouldn¡¯t be theirs to bear, which gave them the courage to come out together¡­ ¡°What now? Scared?¡± Wang Tao asked while looking at Eldest Lu with a smile. Eldest Lu¡¯s eyes brightened when he saw Wang Tao¡¯s seemingly relaxed demeanor. He approached Wang Tao and whispered: ¡°Mr. Wang, have you ever killed a Level 2 Zombie before?¡± Eldest Lu had previously addressed Wang Tao as ¡°you,¡± but now he had switched to ¡°you¡± with respect. ¡°I have.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then do you think we can handle these three Level 2 Zombies?¡± Eldest Lu asked again. ¡°You can¡¯t, but I can.¡± Wang Tao was blunt. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Eldest Lu had already tried to overestimate Wang Tao, but he found he had still underestimated him! Wang Tao was even stronger than he imagined! He had actually killed a Level 2 Zombie before! And he was so confident in saying he could take down these three zombies! ¡°Mr. Wang, are you sure? It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you, but as you yourself said, these are three Level 2 Zombies¡­¡± Eldest Lu quickly asked again. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem.¡± Wang Tao nodded once more. ¡°Great! Then we¡¯ll leave everything to Mr. Wang! What do you need us to do? We¡¯ll follow your orders!¡± Eldest Lu sensed a strong feeling of danger emanating from these three zombies, but that feeling weakened whenever he moved closer to Wang Tao! Eldest Lu had great faith in his sixth sense and believed that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t bluffing. He truly could handle these three Level 2 Zombies! Considering Wang Tao¡¯s request for a map, it seemed likely that he wouldn¡¯t stay at their camp, so Eldest Lu needed to seize this opportunity. If Wang Tao were to leave, then they would have no one to deal with these three Level 2 Zombies! After all, their county¡¯s granary was right behind these three zombies! ¡°Alright, you guys help me to distract two of the Level 2 Zombies. I¡¯ll go deal with the other one first.¡± ¡°¡­Okay!¡± Eldest Lu clenched his teeth and agreed. Even though facing two Level 2 Zombies was very dangerous, there might be no other opportunity like this! Of the three zombies, two were together, while the other one was a little further away. Eldest Lu immediately gave the order for everyone to get into position, ready to attack the two Level 2 Zombies that were together. Wang Tao, along with Jiang Shixue, approached the other Level 2 Zombie. The bodies of these three Level 2 Zombies were slightly larger than those of Ordinary Zombies, and they all seemed to be a bit overweight, although it was unclear whether they were fat to begin with or if it was a mutation after becoming zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t let Jiang Shixue make a move; he walked out himself, holding a Firefighter Axe. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± No sooner had Wang Tao appeared, and without even stepping out, he immediately caught the attention of the zombie, which twisted its body and hurriedly walked towards him. ¡°Perception is quite sharp¡­ but the speed seems slow¡­¡± Just as Wang Tao internally commented on its slow speed, he saw the zombie suddenly open its mouth. Pfft¡ª A mass of black substance was spat out from its mouth. Wang Tao was still some distance away and dodged it instantly. He looked back to see that the substance the zombie had spat out was a mass of black granules that immediately began sizzling upon hitting the grass on the ground. ¡°A corrosive ranged attack?¡± Wang Tao frowned and looked at Eldest Lu, who hadn¡¯t mentioned the zombie having a ranged attack. Eldest Lu had already taken people to draw the attention of the other two Level 2 Zombies. They had also been spat upon by the zombies just now. Unfortunately, their luck was not very good, as one of them got hit. His entire left leg was stained with the black granules and began to corrode rapidly; his teammates quickly tore a piece of cloth from their clothing and stuffed it in his mouth, preventing him from crying out in pain. If they accidentally attracted the Mad Demon Zombies, it would spell even more trouble. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Eldest Lu shook his head repeatedly. ¡°These zombies didn¡¯t have the ability for ranged attacks before, they were just incredibly strong!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much. There was probably no need for Eldest Lu to deceive him, as it would bring Eldest Lu no advantage. So this either meant that Eldest Lu was lucky before and the zombies didn¡¯t use this ability, or that the zombies evolved a new capability after the heavy rain. Wang Tao felt it was most likely the latter. ¡°` Chapter 331 - Chapter 331: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_2 Chapter 331: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_2 However, now was not the time to ponder these things. After confirming the zombie possessed long-range attack ability, Wang Tao grew even more cautious. After several dodges with great agility, Wang Tao finally got close to the zombie. Bang! Without a word, Wang Tao directly chopped down on the zombie¡¯s head with his axe. [-2149] [7851/10000] Seeing the damage numbers, Wang Tao was very satisfied. With his current combat power, five axe chops would ensure death. After being attacked, the zombie once again opened its mouth. Wang Tao deliberately stood to the side of the zombie, and when he saw it turn its head to bite, he easily dodged the attack and followed with another chop of his axe. [-2239] [5612/10000] It seemed like the zombie was thoroughly enraged as it violently swung its arms towards Wang Tao. Bang! The zombie¡¯s slap landed on Wang Tao, but the damage was blocked by his stubborn armor and high defense. Nonetheless, the force of the blow pushed Wang Tao back several steps. ¡°Such strength! This zombie must possess the ¡®Power¡¯ ability¡­¡± As Wang Tao took steps back, he instantly threw his axe. The axe hit the zombie squarely on the head. [-2612] [3000/10000] This axe hit landed on the wound Wang Tao had caused earlier, causing much more damage. The zombie was left with only three thousand HP! Not giving the zombie any chance to attack further, Wang Tao once again produced an axe in his hand, charged forward, knocked down the zombie, and then he swung two more chops at the zombie¡¯s head. [-2532] [-568] [0/10000] The zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. Without even using Shockwave, Wang Tao effortlessly dealt with the Level 2 Zombie. This zombie may have had high HP, but its overall strength was not strong, making it one of the weakest Level 2 Zombies Wang Tao had encountered thus far. After killing this zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s maximum HP increased by 260, reaching 6310! Since escaping from Shuize County, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered any Level 2 Zombies. His HP, which previously was just over five thousand, was mostly acquired by killing Level 1 Elite Zombies. However, after upgrading to Level Two, when he killed Level 1 Elite Zombies, the HP gained was halved. For instance, if he used to gain 50 HP, he would now only gain 25¡­ Wang Tao checked his Special Energy, which hadn¡¯t increased. This zombie was too easy for him, not counting as an over-leveled kill. After collecting the Loot Pack and having Jiang Shixue dig out the Crystal Core, Wang Tao immediately ran towards Eldest Lu. Half of their thirty people already had injuries. A Ten Thousand Blood Level 2 Elite Zombie was still too difficult for them! While still at a distance from the other side, Wang Tao swung his axe into the void. Whoosh! A visible Shockwave instantly flew towards the two zombies. Bang! Bang! Though the two Shockwaves didn¡¯t hit the zombies¡¯ heads, they made the zombies flip over. Eldest Lu and the others instantly felt the pressure decrease. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, these two zombies are formidable; be careful!¡± Seeing Wang Tao charging over, Eldest Lu even kindly reminded him. But he quickly realized something. ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t Mr. Wang dealing with another zombie? Is it done?¡± He hurriedly turned his head, only to find that the place where Wang Tao had been was now devoid of the Level 2 Zombie. ¡°Truly, is it resolved? He¡¯s that strong?!¡± Eldest Lu was aware Wang Tao could handle Level 2 Zombies, but he didn¡¯t realize it would be settled so quickly! The others were also shocked; this newcomer was just too strong! Now aware of these zombies¡¯ combat patterns, Wang Tao decided it was time for a quick resolution. In less than two minutes, he single-handedly killed both zombies. Everyone, including Eldest Lu and Xu Xiaojun, were left dumbfounded. Jiang Shixue hurried over and began digging out the Crystal Cores from the zombies¡¯ brains. She really liked these shiny things. ¡°Alright, the zombies are dealt with, go check on the food supply,¡± Wang Tao turned and said to Eldest Lu. ¡°Yes!¡± Eldest Lu instinctively responded, as if Wang Tao were the real boss. No one else thought there was anything amiss with that. The granary was locked, but with no Level 2 Zombies around anymore, they would be able to break the lock open soon. The lock was quite complicated, but since they were going to pick it, Wang Tao felt lazy to open it himself. However, just then, after collecting the Crystal Cores, Jiang Shixue suddenly looked up towards a certain direction. A few seconds later, Wang Tao also looked over there. After seeing that fleeting Red HP bar, Wang Tao was stunned for a moment and then looked at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Brother, there¡¯s a big zombie,¡± Jiang Shixue said, tilting her head. ¡°Then it seems I wasn¡¯t seeing things. Let¡¯s chase after it and take a look later!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes gleamed faintly with a red glow. Wang Tao approached Eldest Lu and said: ¡°I won¡¯t be going back with you guys.¡± ¡°Ah? Mr. Wang, we haven¡¯t thanked you yet!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Eldest Lu replied hastily. He had wanted to keep Wang Tao at the campsite, although he knew the chances were slim, but it was worth a try. He was even willing to offer leadership to Wang Tao if needed, because Wang Tao was just too powerful, and a good person as well! ¡°No need to thank me. Just leave me a portion of my share of the food. I need to leave for something else first.¡± ¡°¡­Alright! Rest assured, Mr. Wang, we will definitely reserve your share of the food!¡± Eldest Lu immediately assured him. As for the problem of too much food for Wang Tao to carry away, Eldest Lu didn¡¯t consider it. Since he promised to allocate food to Wang Tao, he certainly wouldn¡¯t break his word. Chapter 332 - Chapter 332: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_3 Chapter 332: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_3 ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then led Jiang Shixue away directly. The others were somewhat baffled, not knowing why the big shot suddenly left. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, hurry and pry the lock open! Whether our camp can settle down peacefully depends on how much food we have here!¡± ¡°Oh, right!¡± ¡­ ¡°Did you see where it went?¡± Wang Tao had chased for a while, but then he lost track of the zombie. ¡°I think¡­ it¡¯s over there!¡± Jiang Shixue pointed at a factory building. ¡°Let¡¯s go, keep chasing!¡± Wang Tao continued the chase with Jiang Shixue to the top floor of the factory, but the top floor was completely empty, with no zombies in sight. ¡°It¡¯s below!¡± Jiang Shixue pointed to a pile of trash on the ground floor. This was a waste disposal factory, and there was a pile of unprocessed trash inside. Among these trash piles, there was a green zombie with a body covered in pustules, hunched over, and roughly the same size as a human! ¡°Found you!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face showed a hint of excitement upon spotting the zombie. Because this was a Zombie Lord with 20,000 HP! [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 20000/20000] [Grade: Level 2 ¨C Lord] Not only did it have 20,000 HP, but it also had 20,000 Mana! With these attributes, Wang Tao felt it was at least three times stronger than a gorilla zombie! Even Jiang Shixue¡¯s attributes weren¡¯t as high as its! If it were before, when Wang Tao had just over 6,000 HP, he probably wouldn¡¯t chase after such a high-level zombie. After all, its attributes were too strong. But now things were different, he had Jiang Shixue by his side! Jiang Shixue had 19,000 HP and 16,000 Mana. She was also a Level 2, Lord, not much inferior to this zombie! That was the capital Wang Tao relied on to chase it down. Although he had no idea why this zombie would run away upon seeing humans, now that he had set his sights on it, there was no reason for it to survive. This zombie, Wang Tao was determined to kill! ¡°Attack!¡± Wang Tao directly ordered Jiang Shixue to take the lead. After all, he only had a little over 6,000 HP, so he needed to be more cautious. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t hesitate at all and jumped down directly. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the green pustule-covered zombie immediately ran off, and its speed was incredibly fast! But this was a dead end, and Jiang Shixue blocked the only path, so the zombie ran in a circle and returned to its original spot. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The zombie growled at Jiang Shixue, but Wang Tao felt it seemed somewhat blustering but inwardly cowardly¡­ Swoosh¡ª Jiang Shixue¡¯s calves tightened, and she charged toward the pustule-covered zombie. Her speed was not slow, reaching the zombie¡¯s side in the blink of an eye. Bang! Jiang Shixue threw a punch directly at the pustule-covered zombie, and it was sent flying into the wall, creating spiderweb cracks all around it. Jiang Shixue¡¯s body was almost as tough as a zombie¡¯s, some ordinary weapons weren¡¯t as hard as her own body. So until Wang Tao found her a suitable weapon, she fought with her bare fists. However, what surprised Wang Tao was that Jiang Shixue¡¯s punch only took away 50 of the zombie¡¯s HP! Wang Tao rubbed his eyes; he hadn¡¯t seen wrong, it was indeed 50! Could this zombie have used some sort of defensive Ability? ¡°` Otherwise, how could she have only 50 HP left? This was Jiang Shixue with nearly 20,000 HP! Although Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t see the specific damage numbers, she frowned nonetheless. The zombie¡¯s skull in front of her felt incredibly hard! Whoosh¡ª¡ª Jiang Shixue, not convinced, charged again. But this time, the pus-filled zombie reacted, dodging Jiang Shixue¡¯s attack and continuing to run away. Just as it was about to charge out of the junkyard, Wang Tao suddenly dropped from the sky, landing an axe strike on the pus-filled zombie¡¯s head. Bang! [-15] ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s hands were numb from the shock of the blow, and he stared dumbfounded at the damage number. He had jumped from the fourth floor, attacking from above, and scored a direct hit on the zombie¡¯s head. And that caused only 15 points of damage? The blow seemed to daze the pus-filled zombie a bit, and its body wobbled slightly. Seeing this, Wang Tao swung his axe again. This time, the axe was imbued with a shockwave. Bang! [-9] [-4] [19922/20000] ¡°¡­¡± Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao was at a loss for words. Whoosh¡ª¡ª The pus-filled zombie did not attack Wang Tao, but immediately ran backward. Bang! However, Jiang Shixue was blocking its path, her delicate fists striking simultaneously on the pus-filled zombie¡¯s head. [-57] [19865/20000] Whoosh¡ª¡ª The pus-filled zombie was hit so hard it was sent flying, landing in the pile of garbage again. Wang Tao walked over to Jiang Shixue, keeping an eye on the zombie while quietly asking, ¡°Little Xue, how do you feel?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get through, it¡¯s too hard¡­¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes were red, not from anger, but because she felt like she had discovered a fun new item. She charged in once more. This time, Wang Tao did not follow but stood guard at the entrance of the yard instead, to prevent the zombie from escaping¡ªyes, the zombie was actually trying to escape! Wang Tao had been somewhat disbelieving before; after all, since when did zombies run away upon seeing humans? But now he was certain, this zombie was not fighting back or striking back, it only ran! This surprised Wang Tao greatly¡ªthis was a Level 2, Zombie Lord with 20,000 HP! It had no attacking ability? Its first reaction to seeing a survivor was to run away? However unlikely it seemed, this was the reality right in front of him. And the zombie¡¯s defensive power was too absurd; even the strong Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t make an impact¡­ Wang Tao was dying to know what the Crystal Core of this zombie looked like! Could he learn this kind of defensive ability? The battle between Jiang Shixue and the pus-filled zombie wasn¡¯t fierce because the zombie was constantly dodging. It would occasionally throw a punch back at Jiang Shixue, but hitting her was like tickling¡ªit didn¡¯t make her lose a single drop of HP¡­ Jiang Shixue fought with it for several minutes, and the pus-filled zombie had only lost a little over 200 HP, still leaving it with 19,500 HP! It was already highly defensive and fast, making Jiang Shixue¡¯s hits not a sure thing¡­ Wang Tao was completely numb to it by this point, realizing that if things went on like this, even fighting until dark wouldn¡¯t kill it! ¡°` Chapter 333 - Chapter 333: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_1 Chapter 333: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_1 Bang! When Jiang Shixue slammed the pus-filled zombie against the wall again, there was a loud crash. The wall was smashed open, revealing the street outside. ¡°Not good!¡± Wang Tao immediately tried to intervene, but it was a step too late; the green pus-filled zombie had already escaped through the opening. ¡°After it!¡± Wang Tao did not want to let it go. After all, although the zombie had high defense, it wasn¡¯t very good at attacking. Moreover, it seemed to lack blood regeneration abilities, so with some more time, they could definitely kill it. Wang Tao was very curious about what kind of crystal core was inside the zombie¡¯s body. The two gave chase, and Jiang Shixue had a keen nose. As long as she was within a certain range of the pus-filled zombie, she could roughly pinpoint its location. Plus with Jiang Shixue¡¯s speed, they never lost sight of it. However, neither of them managed to inflict any damage on the pus-filled zombie, and by sunset, the zombie still had 17,000 HP! ¡°Can¡¯t go on, need to rest a while!¡± Although Wang Tao did not want to let the zombie go, he had no other choice. He wasn¡¯t Jiang Shixue; his body was still human. After such a long period of running, he was completely out of strength. He could have used a generator potion to recover, but it came with a weakness lasting a whole day. Moreover, even if he used the potion, it wasn¡¯t certain they could kill the pus-filled zombie¡­ so they had to give up for the time being. As for Jiang Shixue, she wasn¡¯t even out of breath, which Wang Tao admired greatly. ¡°Brother, I can go after it by myself!¡± Jiang Shixue volunteered. ¡°No need, it¡¯s going to be dark soon. It¡¯s too dangerous outside, and I¡¯m not comfortable with you going alone.¡± Wang Tao grabbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand. Jiang Shixue might be strong, but she was a bit clueless at times. Wang Tao had worked hard to save her and did not wish for her to get into trouble again. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue was very obedient. If Wang Tao told her not to go, she would not. She let Wang Tao hold her hand obediently. The two found an abandoned little house where they prepared to rest for the night. As for the food Eldest Lu had left for him, Wang Tao planned to go there tomorrow. He believed that after witnessing his strength, Eldest Lu wouldn¡¯t play tricks. Night time. Wang Tao lay casually on the bed, with Jiang Shixue lying beside him, tightly holding onto his arm. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was the past events that had affected Jiang Shixue or if she always saw him as a fatherly figure¡­ Although she was powerful now, she seemed to lack a sense of security. Every time it came to sleeping or resting, she liked to stay close to Wang Tao. Of course, there was nothing untoward between them, as they were both fully clothed. Wang Tao checked the loot from the three Level 2 Elites zombies they had killed that day. All three zombies were of the same kind, and the items they dropped were similar. First was the crystal core. There was a power crystal core, which he had seen before. The other two were ¡°spittle nails,¡± one excellent and one of excellent quality. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡¤ Spittle Nail] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Food consumption increases several times)] [Spittle Nail: Can store one-tenth of the food eaten in the stomach and then spit it out as a weapon] This ability was quite interesting. To spit out eaten food and use it as a ranged attack! Wang Tao recalled the attacks of those three zombies; those black particles¡ªwait, could those be rice grains? Wang Tao suddenly frowned. They mainly consumed rice here, and the granaries were likely storing rice grains. If it really was rice grains, it indicated a problem¡ªthat these zombies had entered the granaries! If that was the case, it was a problem! Eldest Lu believed that the granaries hadn¡¯t been tampered with, but what if the zombies had interfered with them? And there might still be zombies inside¡­ However, Eldest Lu had a danger perception hidden ability. If there were true danger, he should be able to detect it¡­ With no more concerns, Wang Tao turned his attention back to the loot. The three zombies had each dropped the same loot bags, which contained similar items. Wang Tao had figured out that he only received an increased reward if he achieved an over-leveled kill against Level 2 Lords or Level 3 zombies. The reward for such a kill was tripled! That included a threefold increase in both the HP limit and the number of loot bags. So when he killed the toad zombie, it dropped three loot bags, but killing a Level 2 Elite zombie only resulted in one bag. Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t picky; one was better than none. Moreover, the item that dropped was quite interesting. [Magical Stomach Pouch *3] [Magical Stomach Pouch: Contains a compressed low-temperature space that can store a certain amount of food, but filling it will consume one-tenth of the food] Wang Tao took the magical stomach pouch in his hand. Although it was called a stomach pouch, it didn¡¯t look frightening and resembled a genuine leather water bag. It had a movable opening at the top. When opened, it was pitch-black inside, and nothing could be seen. Wang Tao tried it, and only food could be put inside. Other items wouldn¡¯t fit, and even if forced in, they would be ejected. He wondered what governs this, but found it incredibly fascinating nonetheless. This was somewhat similar to his storage backpack. However, his backpack could only hold items with visible names, and anything without a visible name couldn¡¯t be stored in it. But once items were inside, it was as if time stood still. As long as he didn¡¯t interact, nothing inside would change. Additionally, the space in his storage backpack was infinite. Chapter 334 - Chapter 334: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_2 Chapter 334: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_2 But this Magical Stomach Pouch could only hold food, and it didn¡¯t stop time inside. Rather, it preserved the contents like a refrigerator, and the space was limited. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t able to test how much space it had, but it seemed to be related to the size of this stomach. The three ¡°Magical Stomach Pouches¡± he held varied slightly in size. Of course, even if it didn¡¯t measure up to the Space Backpack, it was definitely a great find! Wang Tao filled the largest of the stomach pouches with some food and nutrient fluids, then strapped it around Jiang Shixue¡¯s waist, making it her snack bag. He could hang one on himself, which would come in handy for deceiving others in the future. Jiang Shixue suddenly opened her eyes. ¡°Did I wake you?¡± Jiang Shixue looked curiously at the Magical Stomach Pouch on her waist, but she shook her head. ¡°That green zombie appeared today. I smelled it!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao immediately sat up. He was still bothered that he hadn¡¯t killed that zombie during the day, and now the creature had shown up again at night, near him of all places! Should he continue to go after it? Wang Tao was torn, as it was a good opportunity. If he missed it again, there was no telling where the zombie would go. But¡­ this was the night! The nights in the post-apocalyptic world were almost a completely different world from the daytime. During the day, many zombies were in a dormant state and would not appear within sight. If survivors stayed away from those areas or didn¡¯t make any loud noises, the zombies wouldn¡¯t wake up. But at night, all zombies became active. The dangers of the night were easily more than ten times greater than those of the day! Of course, if it was just before a heavy rain, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t have been afraid. Back when he was at Shuize Base, he had gone out at night to kill the Toad zombie, along with many other zombies. But now, after another heavy rain, the zombies¡¯ HP had doubled, and the nights were definitely far more dangerous¡­ ¡°Brother, I can go kill it,¡± Jiang Shixue said, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s too dangerous¡­¡± Wang Tao instinctively refused at first, but then he thought that, although the zombies had grown stronger, he still had Jiang Shixue! It was just the night. He had operated at night before, and if things got dangerous, he could simply run¡­ With his and Jiang Shixue¡¯s speed, he doubted many zombies could catch up to them! So Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°Let¡¯s go together!¡± He had never seen a zombie like this one, which didn¡¯t attack humans. He was eager to know what was the deal with this zombie. ¡°Okay!¡± After preparing, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left the room. As soon as they stepped out, all sorts of eerie howls reached them, many sounding as if they were right by their ears, making their skin crawl. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes began to glow green, turning the pitch-black night into daylight. He looked back and locked gazes with Jiang Shixue¡¯s blood-red eyes. He could see that Jiang Shixue¡¯s face was happy. She always seemed thrilled whenever Wang Tao¡¯s eyes glowed like hers. ¡°Lead the way, Little Xue.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue sniffed and pointed in one direction. ¡°It¡¯s that way!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s move!¡± Wang Tao followed behind Jiang Shixue as she led the way. There were many zombies at night, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t let Jiang Shixue move too quickly. If they alarmed too many zombies, they could not only fall into danger but also alert their target inadvertently. It was too bad that the Stealth Potion was ineffective at night, or Wang Tao would certainly have given himself an injection. As for Jiang Shixue, possibly due to having been transformed from a zombie, she had a natural Stealth effect. As long as she didn¡¯t get too close to the zombies, they couldn¡¯t perceive her. After about twenty minutes of walking, Jiang Shixue stopped. ¡°It¡¯s right there!¡± Following Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze, Wang Tao spotted the green pus-filled zombie from the daytime. Its HP had completely recovered. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s it doing?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. He saw the pus-filled zombie crouched on the ground, gnawing at a corpse. Wang Tao could clearly see that the body was not human but a zombie! This pus-filled zombie was eating other zombies? A few Ordinary zombies passed by as if they didn¡¯t see the pus-filled one, and it didn¡¯t pay them any attention either, continuing to focus on its meal. At this sight, Wang Tao frowned. If this pus-filled zombie fed on other zombies, then why didn¡¯t the other zombies attack it? And why didn¡¯t the pus-filled zombie ambush the Ordinary zombies? Looking at the rotting body being gnawed at, Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows. ¡°This guy, could it be a Carrion Eater?¡± The zombie corpse on the ground had clearly been dead for a while, probably not killed by the pus-filled one¡­ Regardless of what it was eating, its HP bar was Red, meaning it was hostile to humans. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t let it go! ¡°Prepare for a sneak attack!¡± After failing to kill the zombie during the day, Wang Tao had reflected on it. He felt he should have trapped the zombie first, then dealt with it. Although it had high Defense, it didn¡¯t have much Attack strength, so as long as he could confine it, he could wear it down to death! Wang Tao currently didn¡¯t have chains or nets, but there were other ways to trap it¡ªhe discovered during the fight that day that he could cause it Dizziness! So Wang Tao thought, as long as he could keep the pus-filled zombie in a state of Dizziness, that would be equivalent to trapping it. Chapter 335 - Chapter 335: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_3 Chapter 335: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_3 And the way to make it dizzy, naturally, was to keep hitting its head! This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t take the firefighter axe, but grabbed a horned hammer instead; he felt that using a hammer would be more suitable against creatures with high defense. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue slowly approached the pustule zombie, getting as close as possible before hiding behind some ruins. Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°Rush!¡± Whoosh¡ª¡ª Without initiating the rush, Jiang Shixue¡¯s speed was faster than Wang Tao¡¯s; she instantly charged to the side of the pustule zombie. Bang! Then, she fiercely punched the pustule zombie on its head. The pustule zombie hadn¡¯t even reacted before it was sent crashing face-first to the ground. Upon seeing the damage Jiang Shixue had caused, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened¡ªnot because it was too low, but because it was too high! [-3284] [16717/20000] Jiang Shixue¡¯s punch actually inflicted over three thousand damage on it! During the day, Jiang Shixue¡¯s punches could only deal around fifty damage; this was several tens of times more! Could it be a different zombie? Or did this zombie¡¯s defense involve some ability that wasn¡¯t activated at the moment? Or perhaps, this kind of zombie undergoes different changes between day and night? Wang Tao was puzzled, but he didn¡¯t stop moving. As Jiang Shixue sent the pustule zombie flying, Wang Tao had already preemptively rushed to where the pustule zombie would land. Wang Tao hoisted the hammer up. Bang! [-1723] [14994/20000] With this blow, Wang Tao directly knocked off eighteen hundred of its HP, a hundredfold increase compared to his daytime damage! At the same time, the pustule zombie was plunged into dizziness. Jiang Shixue charged over again. Bang! [-3522] [11472/20000] Another three thousand damage! The pustule zombie was now left with half its HP, falling into dizziness once more. Excitement surged in Wang Tao¡¯s heart; a few more hits and it would be dead! Thud! Wang Tao hammered at the pustule zombie again. [-1782] [9590/20000] Another large chunk of damage, and the pustule zombie¡¯s health bar dropped below fifty percent in an instant. But just then, as if sensing something, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue both whirled around suddenly. They saw some shaking in the grass not far away. Then, whoosh¡ª¡ª A red figure suddenly leaped from the grass; Wang Tao didn¡¯t even get a clear view of its HP bar before the creature was already on his face! Bang! However, just as the blood-red figure was about to tackle Wang Tao to the ground, Jiang Shixue acted faster than it had launched, directly ramming her head into the side of the blood-red figure and sending it flying. ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± The figure did a somersault, roared angrily, and stood up. Wang Tao finally saw it in full. ¡°What the hell!¡± Its skin was deathly pale, devoid of any hair, with copious amounts of red blood dripping from its body, its ribs protruded outward from its abdomen, its nails were elongated, and its mouth split into three parts¡­ In those pale eyes with a tiny black pupil, it was staring intently at Wang Tao. Cruel, brutal. Of course, the appearance wasn¡¯t the most terrifying part, the most terrifying were its attributes¡ª [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 20000/20000] [Level: Level 3¡¤Elite] ¡°Damn it! Level 3?!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected to encounter a Level 3 Elite Zombie! The gap between levels was huge! When Wang Tao was at Level 1, he nearly lost his life fighting a Level 2 Zombie. But at Level 2, fighting a Level 2 Zombie was much easier; even if he couldn¡¯t win, he could still run. One-on-one, a Level 2 Zombie couldn¡¯t do anything to him. But now, this was a Level 3 Zombie! The gap between Level 3 and Level 2 was naturally vast, and Wang Tao had only recently advanced to Level 2 with just over six thousand HP¡ªnothing compared to thirty thousand! He couldn¡¯t win! Wang Tao instantly judged that he stood no chance, and even with Jiang Shixue, who had nearly twenty thousand HP, they couldn¡¯t beat this zombie! ¡°This is a Level 3 Zombie, let¡¯s go!¡± It was a shame about the pus-filled zombie; it was so close to dying. But right now, their lives were more important. It would be disastrous to lose their lives over trying to kill a zombie. However, at this moment, without Wang Tao¡¯s consent, Jiang Shixue suddenly rushed towards the Blood-red Zombie! ¡°Little Xue!¡± Wang Tao subconsciously cried out, fearing Jiang Shixue might encounter some mishap. ¡°Brother, you go kill that green zombie, I¡¯ll hold it off!¡± The pus-filled zombie had taken the chance to run, but it was still within Wang Tao¡¯s line of sight. Seeing Jiang Shixue already engaged with the Blood-red Zombie, Wang Tao hesitated for a moment, then immediately rushed towards the pus-filled zombie. If he kept hesitating, it would be irresponsible towards Jiang Shixue¡¯s life! Using all his strength, Wang Tao barely caught up to the pus-filled zombie. Then, several Surgical Knives appeared in his hand. Whoosh whoosh whoosh¡ª The Surgical Knives all flew towards the pus-filled zombie¡¯s head, hitting it in an instant! Thud! The Throwing Knife that struck the zombie¡¯s occiput didn¡¯t inflict much damage, but it made it stumble and fall head over heels. Wang Tao took the opportunity to leap up and land squarely on the zombie. Like slaughtering a pig, Wang Tao pressed down on the zombie with his weight and legs, pinning it firmly. Then he lifted the hammer and started smashing it into the zombie¡¯s head like crazy. [-1823] [-1896] [-1965] [-2037] [-1369] [0/20000] At last, with a squelch, the pus-filled zombie¡¯s head was crushed by Wang Tao! The pus-filled zombie¡¯s HP bar hit zero! But as the pus-filled zombie died, the pus sacs on its body suddenly burst, spilling out a yellow-green fluid, and a smell emerged that was disgusting yet familiar to Wang Tao! ¡°Zombie Culture Fluid?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time for surprise; he quickly collected the Zombie Core, the spoils of battle, and the culture fluid, then rushed back to where Jiang Shixue and the Blood-red Zombie were fighting. Seeing Jiang Shixue, all covered in blood yet still standing strong, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say a word. He just grabbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s waist and immediately initiated a Rush! Retreat! Chapter 336 - Chapter 336: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_1 Chapter 336: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_1 Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao, holding Jiang Shixue, activated the built-in Ability Rush of his equipment. In an instant, he sprinted more than thirty meters, distancing himself from the blood-red zombie. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The blood-red zombie let out an angry roar and charged towards Wang Tao at high speed. ¡°Such speed!¡± After the Rush had ended, Wang Tao looked back at the zombie. It was fast, but not fast enough to catch up with him, for Wang Tao¡¯s maximum sprint speed was not slow. ¡°Brother, I can walk by myself,¡± the Jiang Shixue in his arms called out. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao immediately set her down. After all, Jiang Shixue was even faster than Wang Tao. Although she was covered in blood, her injuries were not too severe, and escaping was certainly not a problem for her. The Level 3 zombie behind them likely did not have a Speed Ability, especially since Wang Tao had taken a Running Potion, it was gradually left behind. Just as they were about to escape, a blood-colored figure suddenly appeared ahead! It seized the opportunity and lunged at Wang Tao! Wang Tao was unable to dodge in time and was tackled to the ground. ¡°Such strength!¡± Wang Tao felt as if he was pinned down by a mountain, completely unable to move! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The blood-red zombie clutched Wang Tao tightly, then its triple-parted mouth split open, revealing rows of ferocious teeth, and it aimed for Wang Tao¡¯s face, about to bite. Bang! Jiang Shixue suddenly appeared from the side, kicking the blood-red zombie and sending it flying. Then she grabbed Wang Tao and ran. This delay allowed the other blood-red zombie from behind to catch up. ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao cursed inwardly. He had almost escaped from one blood-red zombie, and now another one had appeared! Being pursued by two Level 3 zombies, Wang Tao was feeling the pressure. Even though he was not seriously injured, continuing like this wasn¡¯t a solution. ¡°We need to find a place to hide!¡± Wang Tao looked around but saw no place to take cover¡ªordinary houses would certainly not hold back zombies of this caliber. After being dragged by Jiang Shixue for a while, Wang Tao saw a warehouse-like place ahead. ¡°Hmm? A food storehouse?¡± Unbeknownst to them, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had fled to the vicinity of the food storehouse. The large doors of the storehouse were open, not a soul was around, and some scattered grains were on the ground. Eldest Lu and the others must have already successfully transferred the food, but there were still plenty of bloodstains and signs of battle. Clearly, they must have had some accident while transferring the food¡ªit might even be possible that there were zombies inside the storehouse! But since they were able to transfer the food, they must have escaped the danger. Even if there were zombies inside, they would likely be similar to the Level 2 zombies, which Wang Tao could handle. Looking at the thick iron door and the reinforced concrete walls, Wang Tao immediately said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Let¡¯s go inside the storehouse!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± They entered the storehouse, then each pushed one of the heavy iron doors to close it and secured the chain and bolt behind the door. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The two blood-red zombies had already caught up. Seeing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue enter the storehouse and lock the door, they seemed even angrier. They howled outside and violently pounded on the door. But the door was very sturdy, they couldn¡¯t get in. The commotion of the two blood-red zombies at the door eventually faded away, and it was unclear whether they had left or hidden themselves. After confirming the door was secure, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to assess the storehouse¡¯s interior. The storehouse had two levels, one above ground and one below. The ground level was now empty, and it was unclear if everything had been moved by Eldest Lu¡¯s team. Wang Tao felt the storehouse was quite large; it was unlikely that Eldest Lu could have moved everything so quickly, suggesting that the food did not fill the entire space. There was also a heavy iron door on the way to the underground storage. The door was chained shut, and it was unknown what was inside. Wang Tao was not in a hurry to go there; he used some medical packs on himself and Jiang Shixue and then took out some nutrient solution to replenish their energy. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Looking at some wounds on Jiang Shixue¡¯s fair skin, Wang Tao asked with concern. Luckily, Jiang Shixue was not afraid of the zombie virus, or she would have been infected. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt,¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. After fighting with the Level 3 zombie for a while, Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP had already dropped by one-third! For ordinary humans, this would likely be difficult to endure. But it was not much for Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao wiped the blood off her and treated the wounds. Jiang Shixue obediently let Wang Tao attend to her, her eyes glowing red as they kept fixed on him. ¡°All done.¡± After a simple dressing, Wang Tao was ready to check the underground storage. He wanted to know if Eldest Lu had left the share of food they had agreed upon for him. Even though he couldn¡¯t carry the food away, he could use the Food Compressor to turn it all into nutrient solution to carry with him. Wang Tao removed the chain and opened the iron door leading underground, which was not as spacious as above ground but divided into six areas. In the first area, there was a pile of sacks, Wang Tao checked, and these sacks were all filled with rice grain. ¡°Not bad!¡± A satisfied smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face¡ªthis Eldest Lu was sensible. But Wang Tao smelled a scent of blood¡­ it wasn¡¯t coming from the first area, but further back! Just then, Jiang Shixue tugged at the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothing, her eyes suddenly blazing with red light. ¡°I¡­ I can smell that blood-red zombie¡¯s scent!¡± Chapter 337 - Chapter 337: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_2 Chapter 337: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_2 ¡°What!¡± Wang Tao instantly became alert. There are Level 3 undead in this underground grain storage? Were those two Level 3 undead that we encountered earlier from somewhere else? Or is there a third Blood-red Zombie here?! ¡°But¡­ the aura feels slightly different, much weaker¡­¡± Jiang Shixue frowned again. ¡°Much weaker?¡± Wang Tao had been ready to grab Jiang Shixue and run, but hearing that it was much weaker, he suddenly had another thought. They had both descended, and if it were the previous two zombies, they would definitely attack them, but no zombies had appeared so far. Moreover, Jiang Shixue said she felt the other party was weaker¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out!¡± Wang Tao decisively spoke. He had already surveyed the ground floor, where the visibility was wide, and the walls and ceiling were solid, with no openings for anything to come through. There was a big iron door between the ground level and the basement¡ªif they did encounter any danger, they could escape to the ground level and then shut the big iron door. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue naturally listened to Wang Tao. The two cautiously walked inside. The second section was empty, with no grain left. The third section contained bones with blood traces on them, which appeared to be human bones! Wang Tao became even more cautious. Then, the two proceeded to the fourth section. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Seeing the situation in the fourth section, Wang Tao involuntarily took a sharp breath of cold air. This section was filled with dark red flesh! Black tendons connected the flesh like a spiderweb, and the flesh seemed to be faintly pulsating¡­ as if it were alive! No, not as if, it was indeed alive! Because Wang Tao could see the HP bar! [100000/100000] A hundred thousand HP! This was the creature with the most HP that Wang Tao had ever seen! It had much more than the two thirty-thousand HP zombies he had just encountered! However, besides displaying a hundred thousand HP, it did not show any other attributes, such as Mana or Level. This made Wang Tao puzzled¡ªperhaps this creature had no level? And it seemed not to have noticed him. It did not react to Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s arrival. Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue, and she too couldn¡¯t perceive what the creature was, but like Wang Tao, she felt that this thing seemed to be alive. So, Wang Tao took out a Surgical Knife. Shoo¡ª [-2384] [97616/100000] Throwing Knife inflicted over two thousand damage, which wasn¡¯t low, but it hardly affected the hundred thousand HP bar. After Wang Tao threw the Throwing Knife, he immediately prepared for the creature¡¯s counterattack. Strangely however, it didn¡¯t even respond, forget about retaliating. ¡°Could it be because the damage was too low? Or is it that¡­ this thing lacks intelligence?¡± Wang Tao temporarily stopped attacking and instead, holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, moved to the fifth section. This mass of flesh wasn¡¯t confined to the fourth area; it also connected to the fifth. Seeing what was in the fifth section, Wang Tao¡¯s scalp tingled! ¡°This is the aura!¡± Jiang Shixue pointed at several figures in the fifth section. The fifth section was also covered with that flesh, but among the mass, there were three kneeling figures! The lower halves of these three figures were covered by the flesh, while their upper halves still retained some human features, but they were slowly transforming into the form of Blood-red Zombies! ¡°They are¡­ cultivating those Level 3 undead!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face looked grim. Zombies were already rampant in the world, but if these zombies could breed new ones, humanity¡¯s plight would be even more difficult! ¡°Kill them!¡± These three figures all had HP bars, but like the flesh beneath them, they showed no other attributes. [10000/10000] [12000/12000] [15000/15000] The three figures had different HP bars. Wang Tao suspected that they might turn into Blood-red Zombies once they reached thirty thousand HP. Were they like zombie embryos now? Without hesitation, Wang Tao took a hammer and sent several Shockwaves towards them. [-3346] [-3857] [-3167] [¡­] Moments later, all three figures shattered. Their defensive power was very low before they turned into Blood-red Zombies. Inside their skulls, there were no Crystal Cores and they gave no HP to Wang Tao, but they did drop three packages. Wang Tao collected the packages from the air without checking them and instantly sent out Shockwaves at the mass of flesh. When he attacked the three figures just now, the Shockwaves also hit the flesh below them, causing a loss of twenty thousand HP, leaving eighty thousand. Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue join him in the attack, and in no time, the HP bar was cleared. The flesh twitched momentarily and then stopped moving; its color also began to slowly darken. This mass of flesh didn¡¯t bring any HP benefits to Wang Tao, but did drop a package. While collecting the spoils, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had a chance to relax when suddenly a ¡°bang, bang, bang¡± sound came! It was coming from the sixth section! Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue immediately ran over to take a look. But the sixth section was filled with clutter, with the area almost completely obscured. It was unclear what was inside. However, after observing for a while, Wang Tao suddenly stopped short. There was someone inside! Through some cracks, he could see a green HP bar inside, but couldn¡¯t make out who or what it was. After a moment of hesitation, Wang Tao said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Little Xue, let¡¯s clear this stuff away!¡± Chapter 338 - Chapter 338: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_3 Chapter 338: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_3 ¡°Okay~¡± After some effort, Wang Tao finally cleared the debris in Zone 6 and saw the person inside. ¡°Xu Xiaojun?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the person inside was Xu Xiaojun! However, Xu Xiaojun was covered in wounds, barely alive and had fallen into unconsciousness. He had just over a hundred HP, on the brink of death. ¡°Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao heard noises, and he and Jiang Shixue quickly looked toward the source. The sound was coming from the pile of debris behind Xu Xiaojun! ¡°It¡¯s the zombies from before!¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly said. ¡°The zombies from before?¡± Wang Tao checked again and then realized, ¡°This is an entrance, leading to the outside¡­ I see!¡± Wang Tao seemed to understand the reason¡ª He had just encountered those two blood-red zombies outside, which must have come from this granary; this was their lair! A door blocked the way between the ground and the underground, so the zombies couldn¡¯t get up, and they had been using the hole behind Xu Xiaojun to come and go. But for some reason, Xu Xiaojun had blocked this hole, causing the two zombies to be unable to get back in after going out, so they kept slamming against it¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s wake him up first to see what¡¯s going on!¡± Wang Tao immediately took out a medical kit to restore HP to Xu Xiaojun. Then he helped him treat the wounds superficially. Xu Xiaojun had steel armor on, which was tightly wrapped around him, so he was not infected. About ten minutes later, Xu Xiaojun slowly woke up. Then, his body shook as he tried to attack Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue! ¡°Are you infected?¡± Wang Tao easily held down Xu Xiaojun¡¯s hand, puzzled. Xu Xiaojun had a green HP bar and showed no symptoms of infection, so why was he suddenly attacking him? Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Xu Xiaojun froze. ¡°Brother Wang?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me. Why are you attacking me?¡± Wang Tao asked, frowning. ¡°I¡ªI didn¡¯t know it was you¡­ but your eyes¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun was confused, but still responded immediately. It was pitch black in the granary, and, having just woken up groggy, he saw a pair of green eyes and a pair of red eyes staring at him! Who wouldn¡¯t panic? For a moment, Xu Xiaojun thought he was going to die¡­ ¡°Oh, I almost forgot¡­¡± Wang Tao then remembered the granary had no light, and both he and Jiang Shixue could see in the dark, so they had overlooked this fact. Moreover, both of their eyes glowed, which frightened Xu Xiaojun. Wang Tao took out a flashlight and illuminated the surroundings. Xu Xiaojun instinctively squinted, and after adjusting to the light, he clearly saw that it was indeed Wang Tao in front of him, only Wang Tao¡¯s eyes were emitting a faint green light, and beside him was his sister, Jiang Shixue, whose eyes emitted a red light! These siblings were so scary! ¡°What happened to you? Where are the others?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain any further and instead asked directly. ¡°I¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun looked around and then suddenly his shoulders slumped, an air of defeat about him, and his face showed a hint of bewilderment. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say anything, just quietly watched him. Although Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t say anything, Wang Tao felt it might have something to do with the people from Fish Bay Camp. ¡°I¡­ they left, and I was left behind¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face showed a trace of pain, his speech becoming much smoother. ¡°It¡¯s okay, take your time.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind the filth and sat down beside him; Jiang Shixue sat down next to Wang Tao. Both of them looked at Xu Xiaojun. Feeling the gaze of a pair of green eyes and a pair of red eyes, Xu Xiaojun was still somewhat overwhelmed. He organized his thoughts and then began to explain slowly: ¡°Today, after Brother Wang left¡­¡± In the morning, after Wang Tao had dealt with the three Level 2 zombies, he also spotted the green pus-filled zombie and so he and Jiang Shixue chased after it. Only some ordinary zombies remained around the granary, which the group quickly dispatched. Then they naturally started to move the grain from the granary. However, there was less grain inside the granary than they had expected, and after moving some of it, they discovered there was an underground warehouse. The door to the underground warehouse was locked, but it was quickly pried open by the group. It was very dark below, divided into different areas, and they couldn¡¯t see everything with flashlights. But they could see there was grain inside. Everyone waited at the entrance for a while, even deliberately making some noise, but the underground granary was quiet, with no sounds or anything coming out. This made everyone let down their guard. So, Eldest Lu sent people down to bring up the grain. Eldest Lu, Xu Xiaojun, and the other Ability Users didn¡¯t go down because they had to keep watch outside, to prevent zombies from approaching. Unexpectedly, all those who went inside went silent¡­ Eldest Lu rushed to check carefully, but his precognitive abilities didn¡¯t sense anything. Eldest Lu trusted his Perception deeply, and since he sensed nothing, it meant there was no danger, or the danger was minimal. So, Eldest Lu had everyone go down to move the grain. He thought that even if there was danger, they could handle it! After all, there was so much grain; it couldn¡¯t go to waste! Xu Xiaojun naturally went down too. However, only then did they discover three incredibly terrifying zombies below! Several of them died upon first contact. They were stronger than the Level 2 zombies Wang Tao had killed before! Upon seeing the situation, Eldest Lu didn¡¯t think twice and immediately ordered a retreat. But it¡¯s easy to go down, harder to get up! At this point, they needed someone to hold the rear, and Xu Xiaojun readily took on the responsibility as the strongest in the camp. Xu Xiaojun tried to block the zombies and attract their attention. Once the others got out, they were supposed to pull him out. But to Xu Xiaojun¡¯s surprise, the survivors didn¡¯t come back for him after they left; instead, they locked the door, leaving him alone inside¡­ Chapter 339 - Chapter 339: Chapter 164 Abandonment_1 Chapter 339: Chapter 164 Abandonment_1 ¡°You¡¯ve been abandoned.¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke with a piercing sharpness. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded, his eyes empty. Jiang Shixue looked up at Wang Tao, her head filled with fragmented memories of him. She couldn¡¯t recall the specifics, but she knew it was Wang Tao who had saved her. If not for Wang Tao, she would have been dead by now. She hadn¡¯t been abandoned. Wang Tao felt Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze and rubbed her hair, then turned to Xu Xiaojun and asked, ¡°Then how did you survive here?¡± Xu Xiaojun closed his eyes, his face contorted in pain. ¡°At that time, many people died. Those three zombies seemed somewhat afraid of light; they didn¡¯t chase after us but ate the bodies of my companions instead. I ran in the chaos. I could have had the chance to escape¡­ When I saw that the door was locked shut, I suppressed my discomfort and hid amongst the flesh and blood¡­ Perhaps it was because I was covered in the scent of meat and blood, the zombies didn¡¯t notice me¡­¡± ¡°But I knew that wouldn¡¯t work forever; sooner or later, I¡¯d be discovered. Just when I was trying to figure out what to do, I noticed the zombies seemed to disappear¡­ I mustered the courage to go out and found a hole leading outside¡­¡± ¡°I thought I could escape to freedom and was ready to climb out, but one of the zombies was outside. It found me! I had no choice but to block the hole with everything I could find in the granary.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know if the zombies buried in the flesh would wake up, and I knew I was no match for them, so I barricaded myself in here too. I wanted to die with some dignity¡­ When I woke up again, I saw Brother Wang¡­¡± Having heard Xu Xiaojun¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao now understood the whole story. In short, Eldest Lu and his group came to the underground warehouse and encountered those blood-covered zombies, nearly getting wiped out. Had it not been for Xu Xiaojun covering their retreat and the zombies preoccupied with feeding¡­ all of them would likely have died. But they abandoned Xu Xiaojun, who had to hide and save himself. When he saw the zombies leave, he prepared to escape, only to find a zombie at the exit. With no other options, he blocked the hole. Xu Xiaojun couldn¡¯t see the zombies¡¯ HP bars, nor did he know that the zombies yet to fully develop inside the flesh had no attacking ability. So, fearing they would wake up, he dared not attack. Thus, he barricaded everything around him, preparing for a somewhat respectable death. But then, Wang Tao arrived¡­ ¡°It¡¯s true that appearances can be deceiving!¡± Wang Tao remarked with a sigh. He thought Eldest Lu was smart enough not to abandon a teammate ¡ª not because he was kind-hearted, but as a leader, abandoning a teammate in front of others would not sit well. How would that make the others feel? Even if it was just for show, he should have at least tried to help Xu Xiaojun. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s reflection, Xu Xiaojun suddenly spoke up: ¡°Eldest Lu¡­ he¡¯s dead¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Okay, that would explain it¡­ So he died! Wang Tao felt a twinge of regret. He had previously thought that Eldest Lu¡¯s Hidden Attributes, which allowed him to anticipate danger early, were quite impressive. Now, it seemed that even such abilities were not infallible. Wang Tao then asked Xu Xiaojun for more details about those zombies. ¡°There¡¯s one more, three in total¡­ afraid of light¡­ they stay in their lair during the day and go out at night¡­¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, not expecting there to be another one. It was fortunate they hadn¡¯t encountered it, or things could have been troublesome. Moreover, Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect such a clear weakness in a Level 3 zombie¡­ This aversion to light seemed worse than the Terrorizer¡¯s. Terrorizers are sensitive to light, but it¡¯s only their eyes that are affected, and they can move freely outside during the day. As for this Blood-red Zombie, it doesn¡¯t come out during the day at all. Even earlier, when Eldest Lu and his group made noise outside, the zombie remained in its lair¡­ obviously, it was more light-sensitive than the Terrorizers! Could he possibly exploit this weakness? After all, this was a Level 3 zombie! Wang Tao felt a bit greedy. Yet it was night, and besides a flashlight, he had no other sources of light. He didn¡¯t know if the flashlight¡¯s light would be effective¡­ If only they could find where the zombies hid during the day. ¡°Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡± Occasional thumping sounds still came from outside the hole. Xu Xiaojun grew tense, while Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue remained relatively calm. Xu Xiaojun had securely blocked the entrance, so the zombies couldn¡¯t get in. Wang Tao pulled out a few bottles of nutrient solution, handing them to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Eat something, then rest. We¡¯ll discuss things tomorrow in daylight.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you!¡± Xu Xiaojun accepted them gratefully. He didn¡¯t know what it was, but he trusted Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t harm him, so he downed it immediately. Sour and sweet, it was quite tasty. Shortly after, Xu Xiaojun felt his strength returning. He was surprised, but didn¡¯t ask further. After confirming that Wang Tao didn¡¯t need him to take over the night watch, he lay down on the ground and soon, soft snoring filled the air. Wang Tao found Xu Xiaojun quite interesting. After going through this ordeal, it seemed his stutter was gone? Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Little Xue, you should rest too,¡± he said. Jiang Shixue had also been injured in the fight with the Blood-red Zombie. Although Wang Tao had treated her with a first aid kit, some wounds needed more time to heal. Chapter 340 - Chapter 340: Chapter 164 Abandonment_2 Chapter 340: Chapter 164 Abandonment_2 ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue then leaned directly on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. After a moment, she seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable and lifted Wang Tao¡¯s hand, resting it on her own shoulder, and then she closed her eyes contentedly. Wang Tao smiled and gently wrapped his arm around Jiang Shixue¡¯s shoulder, but his mind was already focused on his Space Backpack. The night had been dangerous, but the rewards were substantial. First was the loot from killing that green pustule zombie. It was a Level 2, Zombie Lord, so for Wang Tao, it counted as killing beyond his level. Wang Tao¡¯s HP cap increased directly by 2760! Now, it has reached 9590, just over four hundred shy of ten thousand. After the Level 2 Ascension, there was also a slight increase in physical fitness each time a full thousand HP was gained. However, while at Level 1, he needed to sleep to gain the increase, but after reaching Level 2, he no longer needed to. The upgrade came moments after gaining HP, which was much more convenient than before. The only question was whether he would be forced to sleep again once he reached ten thousand HP¡­ Regarding the pustule zombie, since it was a kill beyond his level, it naturally had Special Energy, adding the same amount of HP, which was 2760! Wang Tao¡¯s current Special Energy was 3240! If he could kill another pustule zombie, he could gather five thousand Special Energy, and then he could synthesize a Level 2 Ability once more! Continuing to review the other spoils from the pustule zombie¡ª 100 servings of Zombie Culture Fluid, a Crystal Core, and three packages. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected the pustule zombie to have Zombie Culture Fluid on it! Then Wang Tao remembered that when he was about to kill the pustule zombie, a Blood-red Zombie emerged and stopped him. Could it be suspected then, that this pustule zombie was also a target of the Blood-red Zombies? Or were they in cahoots? After all, the Zombie Culture Fluid is for cultivating zombies, and those Blood-red Zombies were breeding new zombies in their lair¡­ Wang Tao felt this possibility was very likely! The pustule zombie had burst out a total of 100 servings of Zombie Culture Fluid, much less than the 1000 servings from the previous Green-eyed Zombie. Obviously, Wang Tao had no use for these Culture Fluids, but Jiang Shixue still could use them. After resurrecting Jiang Shixue last time, Wang Tao tried again to see how she felt about the Zombie Culture Fluid. Wang Tao thought it smelled terrible, but Jiang Shixue found it very fragrant¡­ and she said it seemed to strengthen her! However, she couldn¡¯t use it indefinitely; she had to rest for a while after each use. Jiang Shixue could continue to use it now, but since Wang Tao and she had been on the move, there wasn¡¯t time to use it after arriving at Fish Bay Camp and resting for only a day. Wang Tao planned to find some time later to let Jiang Shixue cultivate a bit. After all, the previous use of Zombie Culture Fluid instantly added 1000 HP for Jiang Shixue, and she gained a comprehensive boost in physical fitness¡­ Wang Tao looked at the Crystal Core that burst out of the pustule zombie. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Carrion Eater] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Body undergoes some sort of deformity)] [Carrion Eater: Digestive system enhancement, saliva can digest the virus in decayed zombie corpses with reduced activity, the esophagus won¡¯t be infected by the zombie virus, the stomach sack can absorb energy from decayed corpses] Wang Tao thought that Carrion Eater was an incredible ability! After all, in the post-apocalyptic world, resources were scarce, and one had to scavenge in cities or grow their own food. If he had this Carrion Eater ability, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about starving. Because with this ability, he wouldn¡¯t fear the zombie virus in decayed bodies! After all, zombies were everywhere, and by killing just any ordinary zombie, he¡¯d probably have food to last a long time. But the problem was whether humans could accept eating decayed bodies. If it were decayed animals, it would be just disgusting¡ªeat it with pinched nose if truly starved. But zombies were transformed from humans¡­ It was not just an assault on the senses but also a psychological one. How many people could accept eating zombies? Wang Tao¡¯s evaluation of the Crystal Core was: it¡¯s an incredible ability, but he didn¡¯t want it. In the future, when he goes to large Survivor Bases, he¡¯ll see if he can trade it. Wang Tao believed that someone would definitely like this ability. He himself couldn¡¯t accept eating zombies, even if it wouldn¡¯t infect him with the zombie virus. Then there were three packages that burst out from the pustule zombie. The first package contained the long-missed Crystal Core Gift Bag with a total of five Crystal Cores! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: None)] The first one was a Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Core, and it was of outstanding quality! Wang Tao already had three Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores: Ordinary (20%), Excellent (40%), and Excellent (60%). With this one, he¡¯d be able to synthesize two Epic Crystal Cores! Of course, since this was a Level 2 Crystal Core with only 45% purity, if he used just two Crystal Cores for synthesis, 10% impurity would remain. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t worried about it now, as he still had five Cleansing Potions to reduce the Internal Impurities that he hadn¡¯t used. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Running] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Doubled physical strength consumption)] [Running: Passive Ability, enhances the speed of running] The second Crystal Core was the Running Crystal Core which Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen before, much like the Power Crystal Core, it was a Passive Ability. Wang Tao thought this Crystal Core was not bad¡ªif he fused this Ability, it would greatly enhance his survivability. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Timed Defense] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] Chapter 341 - Chapter 341: Chapter 164 Abandonment_3 Chapter 341: Chapter 164 Abandonment_3 [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Greatly reduced defense at night)] [Timed Defense: Passive Ability, increased defensive power during the day, unchanged at night] The third crystal core was also a passive ability. This Timed Defense ability made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up. After all, he had witnessed the formidable defense of the pus-filled zombie. If he could use this Timed Defense along with the Barrier Ability, he wondered whether his defense could reach the level of the pus-filled zombie. However, the side effect of greatly reduced defense at night was quite significant. Since Timed Defense itself doesn¡¯t increase defense at night, coupled with this side effect, the night would become a weakness. No wonder that after nightfall, the damage inflicted by Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue when attacking the pus-filled zombie increased so much. If Wang Tao wanted to merge this ability, he would have to gather three crystal cores and eliminate this side effect. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Perception] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Perception ability weakened by 50% if not merged by a female)] [Perception: Consumes energy to sense surrounding life forms] The fourth crystal core turned out to be a Perception Crystal Core! In the few months since the apocalypse began, Wang Tao had only seen Han Rui with the perception ability, and even hers was only at +1. There might be no choice but to rely on Omnipotent Crystal Cores for leveling up later, because Perception Zombies were so rare that Wang Tao had never encountered one. It was unexpected that the pus-filled zombie possessed perception ability! But Wang Tao felt that the pus-filled zombie¡¯s perception wasn¡¯t very strong either? When he and Jiang Shixue suddenly launched an attack, it didn¡¯t even react¡­ Wang Tao then looked at the side effect, which stated that only a female could fully utilize the power of this crystal core; if a male merged it, the ability would be weakened by 50%! So, was the pus-filled zombie possibly male? Wang Tao felt discriminated against. Why should his ability be weakened by 50% if he merged it? Wang Tao really wanted to merge this crystal core; after all, it was like installing a radar for himself. But this side effect was too severe, reducing the ability by 50%! There was nothing he could do for now; he would have to save up and see if he could gather three crystal cores to remove this side effect before merging. The last one was an Ascension crystal core. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Impurities: 45% (No side effects)] His luck was not too bad, he obtained an Excellent quality Ascension crystal core. Wang Tao probably wouldn¡¯t need it, but it was precious and could be exchanged with others in the future. The crystal cores from the Crystal Core Gift Bag were all good, making the risk that Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue took worth it. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the other two packages. The second package contained potions. [Running Potion (Small) x5] [Defense Potion (small) x5] ¡°5 Running Potions and 5 Defense Potions, not bad.¡± Although Wang Tao had the recipes for these potions, he lacked the key materials to make them and could only obtain them through loot dropped by zombies. These 10 potions should last him for a while. The last package contained something that slightly surprised Wang Tao; it was actually a blueprint for a pair of shoes! [Running Battle Boots Blueprint x1] [Running Battle Boots Blueprint: Allows for the crafting of a pair of Running Battle Boots. Required materials: Iron Block x5, Steel Wire x5, Screw x5, Rope x5, Nail x5, Rubber x5, Plastic x5, Cable x5, Electronic Component x5, Battery x5] [Running Battle Boots: Durability +10, defensive power +10, running speed +10] The shoes actually increased running speed! This made Wang Tao very happy, as running speed was quite important to him since he didn¡¯t have any abilities specifically aimed at increasing speed. The materials required for making the shoes weren¡¯t much, and with a thought, Wang Tao took them all out. In the darkness, a flash of rainbow light shone and a pair of black boots resembling military shoes appeared in front of Wang Tao. Jiang Shixue had already opened her eyes and curiously observed the shoes. She is a light sleeper, and the rainbow light just now had obviously caught her attention. Wang Tao immediately put on the new shoes and instantly felt that they were much more comfortable than his previous shoes! He couldn¡¯t test the speed just yet, but Wang Tao felt it should significantly increase. Even without a speed boost, the durability and comfort level alone made them worthwhile. Wang Tao, noticing Jiang Shixue¡¯s curious expression, briefly explained that these were his new equipment. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t ask further and continued to sleep leaning on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. Embracing Jiang Shixue¡¯s shoulders, Wang Tao turned his gaze back to the Space Backpack. He had finished examining the loot from the pus-filled zombies but had yet to check the packages from the three undeveloped zombies and the mass of flesh in the zombies¡¯ lair. There were four packages in total. The packages from the three undeveloped zombies all contained the same thing, three Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores! One Excellent, one Excellent (60%), and one Excellent (80%)! This came as a pleasant surprise to Wang Tao; with these three, he could synthesize another Epic Omnipotent Crystal Core! Omnipotent Crystal Cores themselves have no side effects, only impurities. By synthesizing two Omnipotent Crystal Cores into an Epic Omnipotent Crystal Core, one core would have only 0.1% impurity. He calculated that he currently had 1.1% impurity in his body. If he could merge nine 0.1% impurity Omnipotent Crystal Cores, that would be exactly 2% impurity, which meant he could use two Cleansing Potions without any waste to remove all impurities! Now he only had three Epic Omnipotent Crystal Cores, so he would continue to collect more! As for the loot from the huge mass of flesh, it made Wang Tao raise his eyebrows. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Extraction] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] [Extraction: After merging, one can freely choose to extract a Level 2 Ability from oneself. The extracted ability will form a new crystal core without side effects.] This Extraction¡­ is almost like his ability to extract powers! It seems that aside from the inheritance during level ascension, Extraction Crystal Cores could also be used to change abilities! Although he didn¡¯t need it himself, others might. Wang Tao could already imagine the value of this crystal core! It was just unknown what kind of zombies others would have to kill to get this Extraction Crystal Core¡­ Chapter 342 - Chapter 342: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_1 Chapter 342: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_1 The night passed without incident. Wang Tao woke up and glanced at his watch, it was already six in the morning. As soon as he made a move, Jiang Shixue also woke up, while Xu Xiaojun was still sleeping. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s injuries were quite serious, and even though Wang Tao had used a medical kit on him, he would need a long time to recover. Wang Tao directly woke him up. ¡°I¡¯m going out, you rest here for now. I didn¡¯t lock the door, so you can leave on your own or wait for me to come back.¡± The underground grain cellar was still dark, and Wang Tao left some nutrient solution and a flashlight for Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Okay, thank you¡­¡± The groggy Xu Xiaojun quickly expressed his gratitude. Wang Tao patted Xu Xiaojun¡¯s shoulder, then he and Jiang Shixue went upstairs. A few Ordinary Zombies were around the granary, which Wang Tao easily took care of. He and Jiang Shixue carefully searched the area but didn¡¯t find the two Blood-red Zombies from last night. Although there were some scratch marks, they couldn¡¯t determine where the opponent had gone. If the other party was photophobic, they were most likely resting in some dark corner¡­ Wang Tao had originally planned to leave after obtaining the map, but now he changed his mind; he decided to wait and see if there was an opportunity to find those three Blood-red Zombies during the day. If he really couldn¡¯t find them, then so be it; he wouldn¡¯t lose anything. But if he could find them during the day, he might hit the jackpot. As for the evening, there was a high probability of finding them, but the problem was, if he found them, he might not be able to fight them off¡­ after all, there were three Level 3 Zombies! Upon returning to the underground grain cellar, Xu Xiaojun had fully awakened and was doing stretching exercises. ¡°You¡¯re recovering nicely!¡± Wang Tao complimented. Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaojun quickly jogged over, his face earnestly filled with gratitude: ¡°Thanks for your help, Brother Wang. If it weren¡¯t for you, I would have died a long time ago¡­¡± ¡°It was nothing, don¡¯t mention it!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, then asked, ¡°What are your plans now?¡± ¡°I¡­ I plan to go back¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun replied with his head lowered. If it weren¡¯t for wanting to thank Wang Tao in person again, he might have left as soon as he woke up. ¡°Go back? Go back where?¡± Wang Tao was momentarily stunned. ¡°Back to Fish Bay Camp¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s tone was somewhat downcast. ¡­ Wang Tao frowned slightly; after the way people at Fish Bay Camp had treated him, why would he go back there? Wang Tao took a close look; he didn¡¯t see any anger or desire for vengeance in Xu Xiaojun¡ª he genuinely wanted to go back. ¡°Alright, be careful on the road then.¡± Wang Tao shook his head somewhat speechlessly. This was someone else¡¯s choice, and he wasn¡¯t going to interfere. ¡°Um¡­ then, Brother Wang, I¡¯m leaving. You are my lifesaver, but I don¡¯t have anything to thank you with right now¡­ When I get the chance, I will definitely repay you¡ª¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Wang Tao quickly interrupted Xu Xiaojun, then patted his shoulder and said: ¡°The last person who said that to me is no longer with us. I just hope you can keep on living well.¡± ¡­ Xu Xiaojun left. Watching his forlorn figure walking away, Jiang Shixue felt puzzled. ¡°Is he going for revenge? But I didn¡¯t feel any killing intent.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not revenge, he¡¯s just going home.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°But why doesn¡¯t he seek revenge after they wronged him? Shouldn¡¯t he kill them all?¡± Jiang Shixue was somewhat confused. ¡­¡±Killing them all isn¡¯t necessary, there were many people involved in this operation, just find the main culprit. But everyone makes their own choices, we don¡¯t need to get involved, just respect their fate.¡± ¡°Oh~¡± It was unclear whether Jiang Shixue understood, but she nodded her little head regardless. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll continue to look for traces of those Level 3 Zombies, and also keep an eye out for Elite Level 1 Zombies or Level 2 Zombies. If you see them, don¡¯t kill them; leave them for me to finish off.¡± Wang Tao was still 410 HP short of reaching 10,000 HP, and he wanted to see if there would be any change when he hit 10,000 HP. ¡°Okay, brother~¡± ¡­ Xu Xiaojun returned to the outskirts of Fish Bay Base feeling somewhat dejected. The people on guard duty at the entrance were shocked to see Xu Xiaojun, as if they had seen a ghost. ¡°You, you¡¯re not dead!¡± One of the guards blurted out unintentionally. These words made Xu Xiaojun frown; it sounded almost like a curse for him to die? However, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t dwell on it; he spoke very politely: ¡°I didn¡¯t die, I¡¯ve come back. Could you please open the gate, thank you.¡± Xu Xiaojun was two meters tall with a burly frame, towering over the average person. Most people seemed like dwarfs in comparison. However, Xu Xiaojun used to stammer and had a simple and honest smile, which made others not feel afraid of him. Many people would even tease him to his face, as Fatty¡¯s good temper was recognized by the entire camp. But now, Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t stammering anymore, the naive smile had disappeared from his face, there were wounds on his arm, and he had an axe stained with black blood hanging from his waist¡­ This left the two guards feeling an immense pressure! Xu Xiaojun¡¯s current oppressive presence was too strong, and it frightened anyone who saw him! ¡°Just, just wait a moment, I, I need to notify someone first!¡± The guard started to stammer, whereas Xu Xiaojun did not. ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t ask why, as he wasn¡¯t someone who often questioned the reasons. After agreeing, he simply stood quietly and waited. The guard ran toward the camp, even tripping over once along the way, seeming quite frantic. The other guard, meanwhile, watched Xu Xiaojun with a face full of vigilance and caution, his hand even resting on the homemade spear beside him. Chapter 343 - Chapter 343: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_2 Chapter 343: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_2 It was as if the figure standing before him was no longer their camp¡¯s guardian deity but a terrifying zombie. Xu Xiaojun was somewhat puzzled, not understanding why this person was so wary of him; he hadn¡¯t been infected with the zombie virus, had he? Nevertheless, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t say much. He was never much of a talker to begin with, and after what had happened, he talked even less. The more silent he remained, the more pressure the guard felt, to the point where cold sweat started to appear on his forehead. Who knows if it was a minute, or ten, or even longer¡­ Finally, people from the camp came out, and not just a few but a whole crowd, as if the entire camp had come. Seeing so many people, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face, for once, displayed a rare smile. These people were here to welcome him¡­ right? ¡°You actually didn¡¯t die? You still have the face to come back!¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just die! You¡¯ve killed so many of us, isn¡¯t that enough, or do you want to kill the rest of us too by coming back?¡± ¡°My husband is dead, yet you¡¯re still alive? Why didn¡¯t you die!¡± ¡°Eldest Lu died because of you! Even if you¡¯re alive, you should be living in disgrace! How dare you come back so brazenly!¡± ¡°You want to get us all killed at this base, don¡¯t you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Listening to the cacophony of voices, Xu Xiaojun was dumbfounded. His mind couldn¡¯t catch up with what was happening. At this moment, Yu Wei, walking at the forefront, spoke up with a face filled with hatred: ¡°Xu Xiaojun, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still alive. But it¡¯s not just about you being alive; how do you have the shame to come back here? If it weren¡¯t for you, so many of us wouldn¡¯t have died, and Eldest Lu wouldn¡¯t have either! Tell me, how do you have the face to return!¡± ¡°Because I caused so many deaths?¡± Xu Xiaojun understood this time, but he was still completely at a loss. Their deaths had nothing to do with him, did they? If anything, it was all related to Eldest Lu. After all, it was Eldest Lu who gave the order. The first two who went down had already fallen silent, yet Eldest Lu thought there was no problem, and everyone trusted his sixth sense. That trust led to massive casualties¡­ What did that have to do with Xu Xiaojun? If he hadn¡¯t risked his life to cover their retreat, probably none of them would have made it back alive¡­ ¡°I¡­¡± As Xu Xiaojun looked like he was about to say something, Tian Peng immediately spoke loudly, interrupting him. ¡°Xu Xiaojun, are you trying to argue that you have nothing to do with this? That it¡¯s all Eldest Lu¡¯s fault? Haha, you¡¯re so naive. Do you think we¡¯ll believe you? You think Eldest Lu¡¯s death means there¡¯s no one left to testify against you, is that it? But you didn¡¯t expect us to still be alive! You wanted to feed us to the zombies so you could escape? Too bad, we were lucky enough to survive!¡± ¡°¡­¡± What? He wanted to feed them to the zombies to save himself? Xu Xiaojun felt like his CPU was overheating¡ªwasn¡¯t it him who embraced certain death so his teammates could survive? Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t articulate; he struggled to organize his thoughts, considering how to explain himself. But his silence made everyone think he had admitted guilt. In fact, there were still some who didn¡¯t believe Xu Xiaojun could have done such a thing. After all, he was their protector, a genuinely nice guy. Whenever anyone had a problem, they¡¯d ask Xu Xiaojun. When there was no food, they¡¯d borrow from Xu Xiaojun, and he¡¯d never refuse. Could such a good man have possibly done those things? But when they saw Xu Xiaojun ¡°agree¡± by his silence, they suddenly felt they had misjudged him! ¡°You can never judge a book by its cover!¡± ¡°Xu Xiaojun was only pretending before! In fact, he¡¯s really dark-hearted! He gives you little favors, playing the nice guy, but when it comes to the crunch, he betrays his teammates!¡± ¡°We were almost duped by Xu Xiaojun!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Abuse and scorn filled the air at once. Xu Xiaojun lifted his head, watching these familiar faces grow increasingly alien. He had finally sorted out his words. ¡°Please believe me, I didn¡¯t cause anyone¡¯s death; I was covering the rear for everyone. If it wasn¡¯t for me, none of you would have survived¡­¡± These words caught Yu Wei and Tian Peng off guard for a moment. How come Fatty was suddenly speaking so clearly? They quickly pondered how to counter Xu Xiaojun¡¯s statement. However, at that moment, an ordinary survivor suddenly spoke up: ¡°Haha, and you still say it wasn¡¯t you! Look, now you¡¯re not even stuttering! That proves your stuttering was just a disguise too! If even something like stuttering was faked, then there¡¯s no doubt about the rest! You scheming person, get out of our camp!¡± Others, hearing this, found it made sense. So, everyone began to shout in unison: ¡°Get out of our camp!¡± ¡°Get out of our camp!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, please listen to my explanation¡­¡± ¡°No need for explanations! Get out of our camp!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun still wanted to continue explaining, but seeing these people, whom he had once helped, now looking at him with such hate and telling him to get lost¡­ he instantly lost all desire to speak. ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± Suddenly, several zombies¡¯ shrieks echoed. The noisy crowd instantly fell silent. ¡°There are zombies!¡± A few ordinary zombies, as if attracted by the noise, staggered toward the entrance of Fish Bay Camp. There were many obstacles between these people and Xu Xiaojun; if the gate wasn¡¯t opened, the zombies wouldn¡¯t get in. Yet many were frightened enough to start backing away. Xu Xiaojun watched these people unwilling to give him a chance to explain, yet silenced by the screams of a few ordinary zombies¡­ He suddenly found the irony overwhelming. Chapter 344 - Chapter 344: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_3 Chapter 344: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_3 Xu Xiaojun turned his head, grabbed the firefighter axe, and with one blow for each, he took down the few zombies. Then he looked back at the crowd without saying a word, leaving with a trace of dejection. Watching Xu Xiaojun¡¯s retreating figure, many people heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Phew¡ªfinally he¡¯s gone. I was afraid he was going to make a last stand against us!¡± ¡°Hmph, just because he¡¯s big and looks a bit scary. But he¡¯s also afraid of so many of us; if he dared to make a move, we could have taken him down in minutes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s best that scum like him left; just looking at him was bad luck!¡± The crowd muttered and cursed. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. From now on we¡¯ll have to rely a lot on Eldest Yu Wei!¡± Upon hearing this, Yu Wei immediately spoke with a smile: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone. Now that I have become the new leader of our camp, I will fulfill the responsibilities of a leader. I will definitely lead everyone to survive in this apocalypse! Let¡¯s all head back; don¡¯t let one bad apple spoil the mood¡­¡± In the crowd, Li Yi, who hadn¡¯t been at the camp long, had a complex expression but eventually let out a helpless sigh and followed everyone back. ¡­ From dawn to dusk, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue searched near the granary but didn¡¯t see any shadow of a blood-red zombie. However, Wang Tao was not disappointed because the more this was the case, the more it proved one thing¡ªthe zombies were extremely afraid of sunlight! If they could exploit this weakness, Wang Tao felt that he and Jiang Shixue definitely had a chance to hunt down a Level 3 zombie! ¡°They should come out at night¡­¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, deep in thought. He wondered if he could track them tonight if the zombies really came out and see where their new nest was¡­ then go eliminate them during the day! ¡°Brother, look!¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. Wang Tao looked in the direction Jiang Shixue was pointing and saw a burly figure squatting amidst the ruins. He was very tall, but curled up tightly. The setting sun shone on him, casting an inexplicable sense of loneliness. ¡°Hmm? Xu Xiaojun? What¡¯s he doing here?¡± Wang Tao was surprised, then led Jiang Shixue over. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Wang Tao suddenly spoke up, startling Xu Xiaojun. He quickly turned his head and saw that it was Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, then he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a bewildered look, ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know, I was just spacing out¡­¡± Just by looking, Wang Tao knew that something must have happened to him after he returned to Fish Bay Camp. Wang Tao sat next to him, curiously asking, ¡°Can you talk about it?¡± Xu Xiaojun hesitated for a moment, but there was nothing he couldn¡¯t say. Eventually he spoke, ¡°They said¡­ I caused the death of the others¡­¡± Listening to Xu Xiaojun¡¯s account of what happened, Wang Tao didn¡¯t show much surprise on his face. Because Wang Tao was well aware that when those people locked the door and left Xu Xiaojun in the underground granary to attract the zombies, they had already severed all ties with him. To them, the best outcome would be Xu Xiaojun¡¯s death. What Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect, though, was that upon their return to the base, they would slander Xu Xiaojun as the one who killed the others. Normally, shouldn¡¯t they have praised Xu Xiaojun for sacrificing himself for everyone¡¯s sake, being the camp¡¯s hero, and having his spirit perpetuated within the camp? Did those people know that Xu Xiaojun hadn¡¯t died? So they prepared in advance? But that didn¡¯t seem right; after all, they couldn¡¯t have predicted Wang Tao¡¯s actions. After much thought, Wang Tao figured it might be because they needed a scapegoat to be held accountable for the incident. Such an almost-total annihilation was a huge burden, not something everyone could shoulder. If Eldest Lu were alive, the blame would certainly fall on Eldest Lu, and his reputation would greatly suffer. But Eldest Lu was dead. Of course, even if Eldest Lu were dead, he could still be blamed, but in doing so, Eldest Lu¡¯s reputation would be completely ruined. If some people wanted to do certain things and that required Eldest Lu¡¯s reputation for endorsement, then the blame couldn¡¯t fall on Eldest Lu. For instance¡­ something like Eldest Lu naming someone as the new leader with his dying breath! If Eldest Lu couldn¡¯t be blamed, then Xu Xiaojun was the perfect candidate. After all, he was strong, he was the camp¡¯s guardian deity, and he was qualified to take the blame. Of course, personal vendettas might also play a part. Maybe some were jealous of Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength or simply didn¡¯t like his face. Xu Xiaojun was always a good person in the base, but good guys aren¡¯t necessarily liked by everyone; who knows what they really said about him behind his back. To some extent, making everyone like Xu Xiaojun was much harder than making everyone fear him! If he had the power to intimidate, to make everyone fear him, such an incident wouldn¡¯t have occurred. As for Xu Xiaojun¡¯s return alive, it must have been beyond many people¡¯s expectations. They must have been terrified upon seeing Xu Xiaojun, always on guard in case he would attack them. But looking at Xu Xiaojun now, he probably hadn¡¯t made a move. Wang Tao shared his thoughts with Xu Xiaojun. After listening, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s expression instantly became blank, followed by a look of pain. ¡°They¡­ they really didn¡¯t like me¡­¡± Wang Tao refrained from saying more, simply patting Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m planning to find a place to rest for the night. What about you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun shook his head blankly. ¡°Then come with me. I¡¯ll be staying in the county town for a few days. You might be able to help me out.¡± Wang Tao invited him. ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Xu Xiaojun had nowhere else to go. He followed Wang Tao to a three-story building. Wang Tao had chosen this place specifically because it had a view of the granary. Wang Tao moved away the debris that had been blocking the entrance to the underground granary, exposing the entrance. He wanted to see if the blood-red zombies would return. After all, this was their old lair. Chapter 345 - Chapter 345: Chapter 166: A Baked Pancake_1 Chapter 345: Chapter 166: A Baked Pancake_1 Night fell. Xu Xiaojun looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Brother Wang, let me go with you, my wounds have healed already!¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re too weak.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun felt a bit embarrassed. Actually, it wasn¡¯t that Xu Xiaojun was too weak; the main issue was that he couldn¡¯t see in the dark, so he couldn¡¯t keep up with Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Otherwise, he could at least carry a backpack. Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to rest here while he and Jiang Shixue climbed to the rooftop. From evening to nightfall, there was still no change around the grain warehouse today. Wang Tao felt that those blood-colored zombies would only appear when the darkness of night truly settled in. The cool breeze of the night was refreshing, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue quietly waited on the rooftop. At one moment, the clouds obscured the few stars, making the night even darker. Jiang Shixue tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. ¡°They¡¯ve appeared!¡± Following the sound, Wang Tao saw a red figure slowly emerging from the night. That familiar figure was the Level 3 Zombie they had seen before! The Blood-red Zombie didn¡¯t notice Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue on the rooftop; it circled the grain warehouse, as if searching for something. Soon, the Blood-red Zombie found the hole. Feeling excited at the sight of the hole, it still didn¡¯t go in but walked elsewhere instead. It really was ¡°walking,¡± just like an ordinary zombie wandering outside. If not careful, one might really mistake it for an ordinary zombie. ¡°Why does it feel like it¡¯s baiting¡­¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but comment. If someone carelessly startled it, it would definitely burst out with astonishing speed and pounce on the target! Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue waited a while longer and saw that the Blood-red Zombie was still wandering nearby. Aside from it, other Blood-red Zombies did not appear. ¡°Let¡¯s go check other places first.¡± Wang Tao said to Jiang Shixue by his side. ¡°Okay~¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t come out tonight just to see if the Level 3 Zombie was there, but also to look for those green pustule zombies. After all, pustule zombies have very low defensive power at night, and they don¡¯t have much attacking ability either. If they could encounter one, it would be a sure experience pack for Wang Tao. Although attacking a pustule zombie could attract a Level 3 Blood-colored Zombie, as long as they weren¡¯t swarmed, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue could definitely run away. During the day, Wang Tao had already tested his Combat Boots, and he could only say they were very strong! Originally, his speed was not as fast as Jiang Shixue¡¯s, but now that he wore these boots, Wang Tao¡¯s pace was on par with hers. He didn¡¯t even have ten thousand HP, while Jiang Shixue had nearly twenty thousand. This showed just how powerful the boots were. With this life-saving gear, although Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t contend with a Level 3 Zombie, escaping should not be a problem. The two of them carefully scouted around but didn¡¯t see any green pustule zombies. However, they did see a Level 2 Zombie. ¡°Level 2 ¨C Berserker!¡± Seeing the hulking figure with a Giant Axe, Wang Tao was immediately excited. He had seen many Level 1 Berserkers, but he had never come across a Level 2 Berserker before. Strictly speaking, other than the Gorilla zombie, it seemed like Wang Tao had not seen any other zombies that had ascended from Level 1 to Level 2. Zombies like Berserkers, Attackers, and Self-exploders¡ªWang Tao had not encountered any at Level 2. The Level 2 Zombies that Wang Tao had seen seemed like they were inherently Level 2, such as the Toad zombie, Pustule zombie, etc. Wang Tao even worried that those zombies couldn¡¯t ascend to Level 2, then how would he obtain their Crystal Cores? After all, his Shockwave and Precision Shooting abilities originally came from Level 1 zombies. Fortunately, now that he saw a Level 2 Berserker, Wang Tao could relax. It might simply be that there were presently few Level 2 Zombies, and he hadn¡¯t encountered them. Wang Tao prepared to hunt down this Level 2 Berserker, but for safety, he and Jiang Shixue took care of the other normal zombies nearby first. After all, with a Level 3 Zombie outside, if the other zombies made a racket and attracted the Level 3, it would be quite troublesome. Wang Tao looked at the Level 2 ¨C Berserker. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 2000/2000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] The Level 2 ¨C Berserker¡¯s stature was much larger than a Level 1¡¯s, with an estimated height of two and a half to two and six meters, baring its upper body, muscles intertwined all over. However, in its hands was not a Reinforced Concrete Hammer or a streetlight but a somewhat simple, worn metal Two-Handed Giant Axe that exuded a heavy presence! But its attributes were rather ordinary, only ten thousand HP and two thousand Mana. Of course, ¡°rather ordinary¡± was relative to Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. To someone like Xu Xiaojun, who had about two thousand HP, this zombie was still terrifying. Wang Tao rushed toward the Berserker. His speed was swift, and he was only discovered when he drew near the Berserker¡¯s back. The Berserker roared and lifted the Giant Axe with both hands, ready to attack Wang Tao. ¡°Too late!¡± Wang Tao chopped the zombie right in the head with his axe. Bang! [-2251] [7749/10000] The Berserker¡¯s defense was still rather high; even with Wang Tao¡¯s full-strength chop, only two thousand HP was taken off. After chopping, Wang Tao retreated, and just as the Berserker¡¯s Giant Axe was about to come crashing down, suddenly a clump of white slime appeared, instantly sticking the Berserker in place. The Giant Axe in its hand failed to hit the ground. The Berserker¡¯s attack was too noisy, and Wang Tao was afraid it would attract the Level 3 Zombie, so he used a Slime Grenade. Chapter 346 - Chapter 346: Chapter 166: A Pancake_2 Chapter 346: Chapter 166: A Pancake_2 The Slime Grenades could only immobilize the Terrorizer for a few seconds, but it was enough time. Jiang Shixue made her move and Wang Tao followed up. After the effects of the slime wore off, the Terrorizer fell to the ground with a thud. Wang Tao quickly gathered the loot and then glanced at his HP. [9950/9950] While searching for traces of Level 3 Zombies today, Wang Tao encountered a few Level 1 Elite Zombies. After killing them, his HP had increased slightly. The Terrorizer had provided him with an additional 260 in HP limit, just a bit shy of reaching 10,000 HP! Wang Tao then turned his attention to the spoils of battle. A Crystal Core and a package. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Light sensitivity)] At last, he had obtained a Level 2 Shockwave Crystal Core, but unfortunately, its purity was 5% lower than that of a Level 1 Core. After fusing two Crystal Cores, there would still be 10% impurities remaining. Impurities weren¡¯t a big deal, but that side effect was something Wang Tao definitely did not want. He would have to keep collecting until he had three Shockwave Crystal Cores to fuse together. Wang Tao looked at the Terrorizer¡¯s package, which contained an unexpected surprise. [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe Blueprint x1] [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe Blueprint: Can forge a two-handed giant axe. Required materials: Two-Handed Axe x1 (the quality of the core material will affect the resulting product¡¯s quality), Level 2 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Gear x10, Blade x10, Nails x10, Screws x10] [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe: Attributes unknown] It turned out to be a weapon crafting blueprint! For so long, Wang Tao had only ever seen one weapon crafting blueprint, which was the blueprint for the Precise Crossbow. Now this was the second blueprint he had encountered. However, the list of materials required to forge this giant axe was extensive, needing a Level 2 Zombie Crystal Core! The other items he had crafted using blueprints, apart from potions and Hand Grenades, only the Food Compressor required a Crystal Core. The blueprint also kindly reminded that the quality of the core material would affect the final product¡¯s quality. And that core material was the Two-Handed Axe. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a Two-Handed Axe at hand¡ªwait, perhaps he did! He looked over at the corpse of the Terrorizer and saw a huge axe lying nearby; he had nearly forgotten about it! [Broken Giant Axe x1] This axe, like other weapons dropped by zombies, only displayed a name, not specific attributes. Wang Tao had plenty of materials on him, including Crystal Cores, and now he had the core material, the axe, too. He looked back at the blueprint, and a ¡°Forgeable¡± prompt appeared. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue searched the vicinity but did not find any other Level 2 Zombies, nor did they see any Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao found a relatively enclosed room, and the two of them walked in. There were only a few Ordinary Zombies inside the room, which Wang Tao easily dispatched. He then took out the giant axe and other materials, ready to start the crafting process. As for the Zombie Crystal Cores, Wang Tao chose an Ordinary Quality Weak Poisonous Mist Crystal Core. He had no shortage of Level 2 Crystal Cores, and the most abundant among them were Weakness Poison Fog Cores, totaling 14. These were obtained during the attack on the Shuize Base by a Toad zombie accompanied by more than ten Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies. When Wang Tao and Han Rui parted ways, they left many Level 1 Crystal Cores with them, but Wang Tao took the Level 2 Cores for himself. These Weakness Poison Fog Cores were also in his possession. Once all the materials were ready, Wang Tao focused his thoughts, and a burst of rainbow light flashed by. All the materials disappeared, and a two-handed giant axe, very similar to the one dropped by the Terrorizer, materialized. The axe was two meters long, rather simple-looking and even had several notches, befitting its ¡®worn-out¡¯ name. [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe] [Level 2 (Excellent)] [Attack power +30, Durability +30, Attack speed -(5%~50%)] The attributes of the axe were somewhat beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations¡ªit actually had a level! The weapons Wang Tao had crafted with blueprints before did not have levels. Could it be because a Level 2 Crystal Core was incorporated during the weapon¡¯s crafting process? Wang Tao believed that to be the reason. However, he had used an Ordinary Quality Level 2 Crystal Core, but the weapon turned out to be of excellent quality. Considering that the blueprint did not indicate any relationship between the Core¡¯s quality and the final product¡­ Wang Tao surmised that the quality of the Crystal Core probably had no bearing on the resulting weapon and that it was likely a matter of luck. This giant axe provided an additional 30 points to attack power. Wang Tao did not have an attack power stat on his attribute panel, so he wasn¡¯t sure what the 30 points signified. However, the Precise Crossbow he had previously crafted had an attack power bonus of +10, and it could no longer keep up with his strength, so he had given it to Ding Yuqin. This giant axe, with +30 attack power, should be stronger than the Precise Crossbow, right? The second attribute, +30 durability, was impressive to Wang Tao. Thus far, he had only one piece of equipment that had worn out¡ªthe security uniform he wore during his encounter and escape from the Black Mist Monster, which had a durability of +1¡­ It was evident that the durability of +30 on this axe was incredibly sturdy. As for the final attribute, the reduced attack speed, Wang Tao guessed the variable range was due to individual differences. Someone with greater strength would experience a smaller reduction in attack speed, while someone with less strength would suffer a greater reduction, and those even weaker might not even be able to lift the axe. Chapter 347 - Chapter 347: Chapter 166: A Pancake_3 Chapter 347: Chapter 166: A Pancake_3 Wang Tao tried it out, and the axe was very heavy. The previous Reinforced Concrete Hammer and street lamps couldn¡¯t compare. He was indeed able to swing it, but it would become a bit cumbersome after prolonged use. ¡°What a huge axe!¡± Jiang Shixue spoke from the side. ¡°Little Xue, do you want to give it a try?¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that he had someone with great strength right by his side. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue took it over and, imitating Wang Tao¡¯s movements, swung it a few times. It seemed she could handle it with even more ease than Wang Tao. But Jiang Shixue frowned. ¡°This axe affects my speed; I don¡¯t like it.¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t have a specific Speed Ability, but her speed was not slow, and she often relied on her speed to launch attacks. If she were to use this axe, it might actually be a handicap. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll find you a better weapon in the future.¡± Wang Tao ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. The axe was also quite cumbersome for him, but he had the Space Backpack, which allowed him to stow it away when not needed and take it out when necessary. So there were no problems in terms of portability. Of course, during real combat, this weapon was indeed too heavy and could prevent him from performing at his best. It was best used as a special attack move. Wang Tao put away the weapon and continued to stroll around with Jiang Shixue, hoping to find a zombie to test the new weapon on. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side; the two wandered until late into the night and couldn¡¯t even find a Level 1 Elite Zombie, let alone a Level 2 Zombie. Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. ¡°Let¡¯s go back and see if that Level 3 Zombie has returned to its nest yet.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± They hadn¡¯t reached near the grain storage yet when they suddenly saw firelight appear in the distance. In the pitch-black night, that firelight was very conspicuous. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ Fish Bay Camp? Did something happen to them?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose; it was in the direction of Fish Bay Camp. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t like to meddle in others¡¯ affairs, especially since the only two people he had a decent impression of from the entire Fish Bay Camp were Eldest Lu, who had died, and Xu Xiaojun, who was with him now¡­ Arriving back at the grain storage, they could see that the Blood-red Zombie was still wandering around nearby. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to move forward, after all, combined he and Jiang Shixue were no match for the Level 3 Zombie. The two returned to the small building they had been staying in. ¡°Hmm? Where¡¯s Xu Xiaojun?¡± Wang Tao noticed that Xu Xiaojun was gone. There were crooked lines scratched into the wall. ¡°Brother Wang, something happened at the camp, I¡¯ve gone back.¡± Wang Tao was speechless. Normally, one should sever ties with a camp that abandoned them. Yet Xu Xiaojun had gone back. If he had gone back, so be it; enduring a bit wasn¡¯t impossible. But after Xu Xiaojun returned, he was met with humiliation and slanderous accusations. The fact that he didn¡¯t react violently on the spot was saintly. If it were Wang Tao, he would have made sure those people understood why the flower was so red. And now, in the middle of the night, seeing that something had happened at the camp, Xu Xiaojun ran back¡­ Could it be that he was a ¡®lickspittle,¡¯ feeling his previous wounds were not deep enough? Wang Tao really couldn¡¯t understand. But it was the same old story: drop the hero complex and respect others¡¯ fates. If Xu Xiaojun really wanted to go to his death, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t stop him. The two continued to monitor the grain storage until daylight. Wang Tao clearly saw that before dawn, that Level 3 Blood-red Zombie crawled back through that hole! ¡°Very good!¡± A smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. Now that he knew the old lair of this Level 3 Zombie, there was no rush. He would slowly try to force the zombie out¡ªhe wanted to see just how much its abilities would be weakened if it came out during the day! If it was weakened significantly, then he and Jiang Shixue would not hesitate! In the morning, Wang Tao caught up on some sleep. Although his need for sleep had decreased since his abilities had improved, staying up all night from time to time didn¡¯t really affect him. But Wang Tao was targeting a Level 3 Zombie next, so he had to be more cautious. At noon, Jiang Shixue woke him up. ¡°Fatty has come back.¡± Looking at Xu Xiaojun, who was once again dirty and injured, Wang Tao smirked. ¡°You weren¡¯t chased out again, were you?¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s expression was a mix of embarrassment and sadness. ¡°Everyone¡­ they¡¯re all dead¡­¡± ¡°What? Everyone¡¯s dead? What happened?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face became serious. ¡°Last night, to celebrate the new boss taking charge, they held an inauguration ceremony¡­ but it attracted the two terrifying zombies from the underground grain storage! The camp¡¯s barriers couldn¡¯t stop these two zombies at all, and no one in the camp could resist, so it was a massacre¡­¡± ¡°When I got there, nearly everyone was dead. Only Li Yi managed to jump into the water and temporarily escape disaster, but half his body was eaten by fish in the lake¡­ it was just the upper half left¡­ these were Li Yi¡¯s last words to me¡­¡± After hearing Xu Xiaojun¡¯s story, Wang Tao felt quite shaken. Indeed, it seemed it¡¯s not easy to evade fate forever! Those people who previously encountered the Level 3 Blood-red Zombie and abandoned Xu Xiaojun had just managed to save their lives. But now, they had paid back everything, with interest. After reflecting on the event, Wang Tao suddenly looked at Xu Xiaojun and asked: ¡°I¡¯m curious, seeing as they abandoned you, why did you still go back to save them?¡± Could it be that Xu Xiaojun was really a fool who couldn¡¯t differentiate good from bad? Xu Xiaojun looked at Wang Tao, then said with his head lowered: ¡°¡­ When the virus outbreak started, my family sacrificed themselves to protect me, and I somehow escaped, but I had no food and was about to starve to death. Uncle Lu, Eldest Lu¡¯s father, came by; he gave me a pancake¡­¡± ¡°Afterwards, when I unexpectedly encountered Uncle Lu again and learned that his son had a survivors¡¯ camp, I followed Uncle Lu to Fish Bay Camp. Later, Uncle Lu got infected; before he died, he asked me to help Eldest Lu manage Fish Bay Camp, and I agreed¡­¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to manage a camp; all I could do was to follow what I knew¡ªI wanted to gain their favor, I desperately protected them, and I gave them most of the supplies I scavenged¡­ I had to earn that pancake Uncle Lu gave me. But¡­ I truly, did my best.¡± Chapter 348 - Chapter 348: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_1 Chapter 348: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_1 Wang Tao once thought Xu Xiaojun was a fool. But after listening to Xu Xiaojun recount his experiences, he realized that Xu Xiaojun was not a fool but someone with a heart of gold! When Eldest Lu¡¯s father gave Xu Xiaojun a pancake that saved his life, Xu Xiaojun dedicated his life to repaying the entire camp! Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t know how to manage the camp, but he helped in his own way, doing everything he could for the camp. Even when abandoned and slandered, Xu Xiaojun never forgot his promise to Uncle Lu. To the uninformed, Xu Xiaojun seemed like a fool, but only he knew that he was merely fulfilling his vow. ¡­ Wang Tao patted Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. ¡°Well done!¡± Wang Tao admitted to himself that he could not do this; while he also believed in repaying kindness, if someone failed to appreciate his efforts, he would not indulge them. So Wang Tao admired Xu Xiaojun, who was able to maintain such a pure heart in the apocalypse¡­ It was truly rare. ¡°Have you thought about where you¡¯ll go from here?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun said, his head lowered. His home was gone when the virus broke out, the camp had become his second home, but now that too was gone. ¡°Then you¡¯ll follow me from now on.¡± Wang Tao suddenly said with a smile. Xu Xiaojun looked up suddenly, then said uneasily, ¡°¡­I, I can¡¯t do anything. I¡¯m too weak and will only hold you back¡­¡± In truth, he wanted to follow Wang Tao. Because Wang Tao was kind, and also strong. But he knew his own limitations; his strength was nothing compared to Wang Tao¡¯s, and he would just be a drag. ¡°Weakness can be improved. When I make friends, I never look at their strength. After all, no one is as strong as me. What I care about is their character.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s smile was radiant. It seemed like he was showing off, but he also indirectly complimented Xu Xiaojun. ¡°I¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face showed excitement, but he remained nervous. ¡°Let¡¯s settle on that then,¡± Wang Tao said, patting Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. ¡°I have a big task coming up in the next couple of days. Rest well.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun snapped to attention unconsciously. ¡­ The big task Wang Tao had in mind was to hunt down a Level 3 Blood-colored Zombie! After all, this Level 3 zombie had a weakness to light, and currently, there was only one zombie in the nest, with the other two temporarily absent. So Wang Tao needed to act quickly. He had planned to research for a few more days, but decided to take action that afternoon! If he delayed any further, the other two Level 3 Blood-colored Zombies might return to the nest, making them much harder to deal with. For dealing with this zombie, Wang Tao came up with three plans. The first plan was the simplest: lure it out by the entrance of its lair, see how much the sunlight would weaken its strength. Of course, it might not come out since Eldest Lu had already tried luring it before. So the second plan was to attack it. Wang Tao felt this kind of zombie must possess some intelligence, since they could cooperate in hunting. And a creature with some intelligence should be able to be guided by emotion, that is to say, can be angered. As long as he could anger it, he should be able to lure it out¡­ Wang Tao thought this plan had the highest chance of success. And the third plan was more brutal: simply blow up the grain storage! Wang Tao had plenty of Self-Destruct Bombs on hand, blowing up a grain storage was no big deal. However, it would create too much noise, and nobody knew what dangers it might attract. So this was a backup plan, one that Wang Tao hoped he wouldn¡¯t need to use. ¡°Let¡¯s make a trip to Fish Bay Camp!¡± Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, once again heading to Fish Bay Camp. Since they were looking to lure the Level 3 zombie, relying on noise and human scent alone might not be enough. Wang Tao thought some blood smell would be best. When the virus erupted, not only humans suffered; animals were also unlucky. Especially those that were captive; most were eaten by zombies. As for the condition of wild animals, Wang Tao did not know as he hadn¡¯t seen any so far. So finding fresh meat was now very difficult. But no worries, if there was no meat, fish would do. Fish Bay Camp was located by a lake, which was full of fish. And these fish might have mutated, not only growing to an exaggerated size but also becoming man-eaters. According to Xu Xiaojun, despite growing bigger, these fish still looked like regular fish and had not turned into Zombie Fish. So Wang Tao figured this fresh flesh would likely attract the zombies. The current Fish Bay Camp was a charred ruin, with the surrounding wire fences also destroyed. Wang Tao found a relatively thick steel pipe, then tied it to the head of the pipe with a hemp rope, using a mineral water bottle in the middle of the rope as a float. On the other end of the rope, he used a large iron hook, which had a burnt bone hanging on it, picked up from the ruins, whether it was human or zombie he didn¡¯t know; he just thought of it as recycling. Once ready, Wang Tao lifted the makeshift fishing rod with both hands and threw it mightily into the lake. Whoosh¡ª The iron hook with the large bone plunged into the lake. Wang Tao didn¡¯t really know how to fish, but he liked fishing. Before the apocalypse, he often watched live streams or short videos about fishing. As for why he didn¡¯t fish himself, of course, it was because he didn¡¯t have the time¡­ Now, it seemed his wish was fulfilled; he could fish here as long as he wanted, without anyone calling him to go to work¡­ Chapter 349 - Chapter 349: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_2 Chapter 349: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_2 But after waiting a long while, no fish bit the bait, and his hand was getting a bit sore. After all, holding this thick steel pipe was tiring. ¡°Maybe I need to chum the water first¡­¡± After thinking it over, Wang Tao took out a bottle of nutrient solution and, after opening the lid, threw it near the float. A moment later, Wang Tao felt something tugging at his rod. He waited a little, then suddenly heaved upwards. Whoosh¡ª Water splashed everywhere as Wang Tao yanked a huge grass carp out of the water. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Wang Tao let out an involuntary curse. He had heard that this lake¡¯s fish were big, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to be this big¡ªthis grass carp had to be the size of an ordinary human! Bang! Wang Tao flung the grass carp onto the shore, and Xu Xiaojun hurriedly went over to hold it down. Subduing these fish in the water would have been troublesome, even for Xu Xiaojun, who might not have been able to hold them. But now on the shore, Xu Xiaojun easily handled the big fish. Wang Tao originally thought one fish would be enough to use as bait, but looking at this big fish, he suddenly felt a craving. ¡°Let¡¯s fish another one! To satisfy the craving!¡± Recently, he had been eating nutrient solution every day and his mouth was yearning for some taste, craving fish. As for whether the fish had ever eaten human flesh or the like, Wang Tao didn¡¯t care. Even if the fish had eaten people, it would have digested them, which didn¡¯t mean Wang Tao was eating humans. Plus, he just wouldn¡¯t eat the innards. This big grass carp had a strong life energy; even on shore, it was still thrashing about vigorously. Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to watch it, and continued fishing. A short while later, he pulled up another one. It was also a big grass carp, even larger than the one before. Wang Tao handed this fish over to Jiang Shixue. ¡°This will be our dinner!¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue was petite, and the fish were much larger than her. The big fish flopped about next to her as if it wanted to eat her. Jiang Shixue directly threw a punch, knocking the fish out cold in an instant. Then she hoisted the fish and walked off. Xu Xiaojun, who was pressing down hard on the other big fish, cursed himself for being stupid when he saw this, and then with a couple of punches, he also knocked out the big fish under him. Wang Tao returned to the vicinity of the granary, telling Jiang Shixue to take the fish to where they stayed the previous night. He then made a lot of cuts on the big fish Xu Xiaojun was holding. Suddenly, the big fish came to, struggling frantically, with much of its blood flowing out. Wang Tao tied the big fish tight and then flung it right into the underground granary¡¯s hole. Slap, slap¡ª The blood-covered big fish thrashed wildly at the hole, but it couldn¡¯t escape because it was tied up with rope. Wang Tao and the other two lay in wait nearby, keeping a close eye on the hole. At a certain moment, a light flashed in both Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes! ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Both of them sensed a terrifying presence. But to Wang Tao¡¯s disappointment, it seemed to just glance into the hole and then leave. ¡°Can it really hold back?¡± Watching the ordinary zombies being drawn in from around them, Wang Tao was somewhat confused. These ordinary zombies were coming, but the Blood-red Zombie wouldn¡¯t come out? Xu Xiaojun went to deal with the ordinary zombies, and Wang Tao continued to wait for a moment. But still to no avail, the Blood-red Zombie did not appear. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t blame me!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue came to the entrance of the underground granary together. Xu Xiaojun was too weak, so he was not asked to come over. They opened the door, and it was pitch dark inside, emitting a gloomy atmosphere. However, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had night vision, so they didn¡¯t fear any surprise attacks. Without hesitation, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went straight down. It was safe at the entrance, as they weren¡¯t attacked at all, but as they went deeper, a terrifying and fierce figure suddenly appeared behind Wang Tao! Swish¡ª The Blood-red Zombie pounced directly at Wang Tao, but Jiang Shixue punched it and sent it flying. Although the punch didn¡¯t cause much damage, the Blood-red Zombie was clearly angered. It roared and charged straight at Jiang Shixue. In this relatively narrow space, neither Wang Tao nor Jiang Shixue could utilize their full power. After exchanging a few moves with the Blood-red Zombie, they immediately retreated. The Blood-red Zombie was relentless, unwilling to let Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue go. Fortunately, they were strong enough to withstand an attack from the Blood-red Zombie, and Wang Tao made it back to the surface. ¡°Phew¡ªsuch a high attack!¡± Wang Tao rubbed his somewhat numb back. He had just taken a hit from the Blood-red Zombie on the back, and even with stubborn armor and Barrier Ability, he still lost over three hundred HP. Probably if it had been Xu Xiaojun who came, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand a single hit. The two of them kept alert, watching the entrance. They saw the Blood-red Zombie roar at Wang Tao from below and then dive into the darkness. Even when Wang Tao shone a flashlight on it, it wouldn¡¯t come out. ¡°Seriously¡­ Can it really hold back?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Could it be that this zombie had no intelligence at all? Didn¡¯t get mad? Nevertheless, Wang Tao, not quite ready to give up, took another risk with Jiang Shixue. But he could clearly feel that the zombie was indeed a bit angry, and it seemed to remember him¡­ But even so, the zombie still did not chase them out. Wang Tao had thought this to be the most likely successful strategy, but it failed just like the first plan. ¡°Should we proceed with the third plan?¡± Jiang Shixue tilted her head and looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao glanced at the sky; the sun was already setting. After a brief hesitation, Wang Tao firmly nodded his head. ¡°Let¡¯s do it! If we wait until tomorrow and the other two zombies return, it could get even more troublesome! There¡¯s still some time before it gets completely dark; that should be enough!¡± Chapter 350 - Chapter 350: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_3 Chapter 350: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_3 The third plan was to destroy the granary and blast the Blood-red Zombies out! Although this plan was very risky, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to wait anymore. ¡°Little Jun, you go to Fish Bay Camp. Clean up all the zombies around, and then set up some simple defensive facilities¡­¡± Wang Tao instructed Xu Xiaojun. The noise from blowing up the granary would be huge, and it would definitely attract many zombies. Wang Tao had to leave himself an escape route. The defensive capabilities of Fish Bay Camp were ordinary, but its location was relatively remote with fewer zombies around, and there was only one way into the camp. If anything dangerous arose, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue could fend it off for a while. ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately returned to Fish Bay Camp. Meanwhile, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue cleaned up any ordinary zombies around the granary. Only after confirming there were no zombies around did Wang Tao take out the Self-Destruct Bomb. The slightest noise could set off these bombs, so he had to make sure everything was quiet around him. The days of the apocalypse were very quiet. As long as there were no zombies, these Self-Destruct Bombs were relatively stable. Wang Tao cautiously placed the bombs inside the granary. After setting all the dozen or so bombs, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. While placing these bombs, he had to be fully alert. If his hand trembled even slightly, it wouldn¡¯t just be one or two bombs going off, but all twenty-something bombs exploding at once! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how powerful that would be, but he knew he definitely couldn¡¯t withstand it. Of course, Wang Tao had a contingency plan, which was to store the bombs in his Space Backpack right before they exploded but hadn¡¯t detonated yet. This way, he could avoid an explosion. But this required quick hands and also some luck. It wasn¡¯t something to attempt unless absolutely necessary¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s move back a bit¡­¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left the granary, looking towards the underground granary entrance, he took a deep breath. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t learned professional demolition. He was unclear about how many explosives were needed to bring down the granary or where the bombs should be placed¡­ But he knew that with enough force, bricks would fly. As long as there were enough bombs and the force was powerful enough, it didn¡¯t matter what it was, everything would be blasted away! ¡°Are we not placing any bombs at this entrance?¡± Jiang Shixue asked softly with curiosity. Because there were Self-Destruct Bombs throughout the rest of the granary, only the entrance from the underground granary to the outside was left untouched. ¡°If we also put bombs here, then after the explosion, we¡¯d really bury the zombies inside. What we want is not to bury them, but to flush them out. So we have to leave an exit for them to escape through¡­¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Oh~¡± Jiang Shixue nodded her head, seemingly having learned something new. After ensuring everything was set, Wang Tao took out the Alloy Recurve Bow from his Space Backpack. He rarely used Bow and Arrows. Usually, in close combat, he used axes, hammers, and other melee weapons; at mid-range, he used Throwing Knives or Flying Axes; as for long-range¡­ Wang Tao hadn¡¯t engaged in long-range combat for a long time. It wasn¡¯t he didn¡¯t want to, but often, either his view was blocked by buildings or the combat was too sudden, leaving no chance for long-distance sniping. Of course, just because Wang Tao used it rarely didn¡¯t mean his skills were lacking. He had practiced Arrow Technique for quite a while now, and even without Precision Shooting, his accuracy was not a problem. Wang Tao drew the bow and nocked an arrow, aiming it at one of the Self-Destruct Bombs. Whoosh¡ª The arrow flew in a parabola, then landed precisely on a Self-Destruct Bomb. Thump, thump¡­ The Self-Destruct Bomb immediately started to swell. Boom! A loud blast, the Self-Destruct Bomb exploded! Then, the noise caused by this bomb set off the other bombs. Boom¡ªBoom¡ªBoom¡ª In an instant, a series of explosions rang through the granary. Wang Tao had already stuffed his ears with cotton ahead of time. Seeing that Jiang Shixue was still foolishly watching, he quickly covered her ears. Boom¡ªBoom¡ªBoom¡ª The sound of so many bombs exploding at once was enormous, as if the entire town was boiling over. Dust filled the air around the granary, and Wang Tao watched clearly as the granary collapsed, then slowly sank into the ground! And at this moment, from the hole that remained unexploded, suddenly a blood-red figure shot out. Rush! Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had been ready. The moment they saw the zombie¡¯s figure, they sprinted towards it. ¡°Wait! What¡¯s happening?¡± But suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. For he saw that, the instant the zombie emerged, its body started to crack and smoke as if it was being burnt by fierce flames. It let out a painful scream! The HP bar plummeted crazily! In just a few seconds, only a sliver of HP remained! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao knew sunlight was its weakness, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be this terrifying¡ªit wasn¡¯t just a weakness, it was like an Achilles¡¯ heel! Instant death upon contact! Without time to think, Wang Tao immediately swung his axe. A Shockwave was emitted, smashing into its head. Spurt¡ª [-287] [0/30000] The Blood-red Zombie fell to the ground, then its entire body turned into ashes. ¡°Is it¡­ over just like that?¡± Stunned, Wang Tao walked over with Jiang Shixue. At this time, the sounds of explosions attracted the attention of other zombies nearby, including a large group of Mad Demon Zombies! ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± Wang Tao had no time to think, hastily going to collect the loot. ¡°Ah? No Crystal Core?¡± Only then did Wang Tao realize, after the Blood-red Zombie died, it had not left a Crystal Core! Although it was evaporated by the sun, Crystal Cores weren¡¯t afraid of the sun. It might be that it truly didn¡¯t have a Crystal Core¡­ However, even though there were no Crystal Cores, the three Loot Packs it dropped were still satisfying for Wang Tao. Wang Tao threw out a few more Self-Destruct Bombs, the sound of the explosions diverted many zombies¡¯ attention. Holding Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao instantly Rushed more than thirty meters, getting away from the battlefield. ¡°Run!¡± The two of them sprinted towards Fish Bay Base. Chapter 351 - Chapter 351: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_1 Chapter 351: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_1 Pft! Wang Tao swung his axe, dealing with the last zombie that was chasing them. ¡°Good, not too many zombies followed us¡­¡± The explosion just now had been loud, and Wang had intentionally thrown a few Self-Destruct Bombs to divert the zombies¡¯ attention. Plus, since the two of them had run fast, not many zombies had followed. The small group of zombies that did come was easily taken care of. However, Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained serious. The zombies that had followed included Mad Demon Zombies. In the past, Mad Demon Zombies had an HP of 2000, but now, the HP of Mad Demon Zombies had reached 4000! For him, Mad Demon Zombies with 4000 HP were naturally no threat. But what if the HP of the Mad Demon Zombies exceeded 5000, reaching Level Two? With the number of Mad Demon Zombies, that would be troublesome! ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dwell on it any longer and headed to Fish Bay Camp with Jiang Shixue. Xu Xiaojun had already built a simple cabin and put up some fences around it. Although it didn¡¯t seem to have much defensive power, at least it kept the zombies out of sight. Zombies also had vision, especially some powerful zombies that could see from afar. Some coverings were necessary. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Xu Xiaojun saw that Wang Tao and his companion were unharmed, and he finally relaxed. The explosion earlier had frightened him greatly. He didn¡¯t know where Wang Tao had gotten so many bombs, and he was terrified that Wang Tao and his companion might have been blown up. Fortunately, they returned safely. ¡°It will be night soon. Tonight we¡¯ll just make do here and take turns keeping watch.¡± Wang Tao looked at the sky and said. ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Huh? You brought that fish over too?¡± Wang Tao saw a big fish inside the cabin, which seemed to be the one he had caught earlier. Wang Tao had thought about using the Blood-red Zombie as bait, so he had taken the fish as dinner. But, unexpectedly, the Blood-red Zombie wouldn¡¯t show up, leaving no choice but to use bombs. After the explosion, they had to run, so the fish would have been wasted. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect that Xu Xiaojun, who looked rough and tough, was actually quite considerate¡­ ¡°Heh, I didn¡¯t want it to go to waste, so I brought it over.¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. ¡°Alright, before it gets dark, let¡¯s cook the fish!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Although Fish Bay Camp was in ruins, they could still find some pots and pans. Wang Tao found a large pot, placed the fish Xu Xiaojun had prepared into it, and then added some Purified Water from his Space Backpack. Seeing Wang Tao suddenly produce a jug of water, Xu Xiaojun was stupefied. But he didn¡¯t ask too many questions. It was the apocalypse now, and abilities like a storage space appearing were quite reasonable. Without a lighter on him, Wang Tao shaved some wood shavings, took a stick, and began to make fire by friction. With his extremely fast hand movements, flames sparked to life in a moment. The fish was large, and even after a lot had been discarded, there was still plenty of meat left. Wang Tao made some of the fish into fish soup, and the rest into grilled fish. If it was safe for the next couple of days, Wang Tao planned to catch a few more large fish and turn them into nutrient solution. The food left over in the underground food store had already been turned into nutrient solution by Wang Tao. There were lots of nutrient solutions in his Space Backpack, but they were all rice-flavored, quite bland, so he needed other flavors to mix things up a bit¡­ Xu Xiaojun quickly set up a simple grill, and Wang Tao had him take care of grilling the fish. Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao with longing eyes. ¡°You can help grill the fish, too.¡± Wang Tao immediately shrugged. ¡°Okay~¡± Joy spread across Jiang Shixue¡¯s little face. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many seasonings with him, just salt and chili. But that was enough; it was the apocalypse after all, no need to be too picky, it was good enough to be able to eat. After the sun had set, both the boiled fish and the grilled fish were ready. Wang Tao quickly extinguished the flame to avoid attracting zombies¡ªlarge fires would repel zombies, but small flames might attract their attention. So it was better to be cautious, especially since there were two Level 3 zombies outside. ¡°It¡¯s so fragrant!¡± Jiang Shixue took a big sip of the fish soup and immediately praised it. ¡°Hmm, not bad.¡± Wang Tao also thought it tasted quite nice. He saw Xu Xiaojun holding his bowl in a daze, so he asked, ¡°Little Jun, aren¡¯t you eating?¡± ¡°Oh oh, yes¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun snapped out of it, hurriedly took a sip of the soup, and ate a piece of fish meat. ¡°Delicious!¡± ¡°Haha, if you like it, eat more.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. This was an affirmation of his cooking skills. ¡°Yeah!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded vigorously. He devoured the meal voraciously, and before he knew it, a tear dropped into his bowl. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time since the apocalypse began that someone, besides Uncle Lu, had invited him to eat¡­ After dinner, Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue to rest while he took the first watch. With all the defenses of Fish Bay Camp gone and the big explosion at the food store, Wang Tao had to be cautious to prevent zombies from coming over. While keeping watch, Wang Tao also took the time to check the loot from killing the Level 3 zombie today. The fact that the Level 3 Blood-colored Zombie had no Crystal Core took Wang Tao by surprise. It had Mana; in theory, having Mana meant having an Ability, and having an Ability should mean having a Crystal Core. But it could also be an exception. After all, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen it use any Special Ability; it relied entirely on physical Strength¡­ No Crystal Core then, no Crystal Core it is; there were still plenty of other gains. Wang Tao looked at his HP. His HP had increased by 4500! Now it was at [14450/14450]! Chapter 352 - Chapter 352: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_2 Chapter 352: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_2 The HP cap increase was quite substantial; however, this was due to an over-level kill which tripled the amount. Normally, it should have been 1500¡­ But regardless, this HP boost feels great! 30,000 HP is Level 3, and Wang Tao is not far from reaching Level 3 now. When he had reached 10,000 HP, it did not trigger any sleep mechanism; he could feel a direct and considerable strength increase. This was great; it wasn¡¯t as troublesome as before. And since it was an over-level kill, there was naturally Special Energy involved. Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy also increased by 4500, and now it was at 7740! He needed 5000 Special Energy to fuse a Level 2 Ability, so he was ready for another fusion! But he¡¯d have to think carefully about which abilities to fuse¡­ Last was the loot, the blood-red zombie had dropped three bags. And inside the first bag was a Crystal Core Gift Bag. Wang Tao found this somewhat speechless, as the zombie itself didn¡¯t drop a Crystal Core, but the bag contained one¡­ that was kind of interesting. There were four Crystal Cores in total inside the bag. Upon seeing the attributes of the first Crystal Core, Wang Tao¡¯s face lit up with joy. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] This was a Crystal Core that was even bigger than the Level 2 ones. ¡°It¡¯s actually a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core¡­¡± Although he couldn¡¯t use it right now, it would be essential when he ascended to Level 3 in the future. Having this Crystal Core would save him a lot of time. And as Wang Tao had guessed, the purity had decreased by another 5% with Level 3, only at 40%¡­ [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] [Energy Boost: Increases the Mana cap by 1000] The second Crystal Core was an Energy Enhancement one, and on seeing this Core¡¯s description, Wang Tao furrowed his brows. This was a Core that directly increased the Mana cap. 1000 Mana was a lot, equivalent to the Mana added by ten Level 1 Crystal Cores or five Level 2 ones. But just increasing Mana wasn¡¯t very useful; it had to be used in conjunction with other abilities. This Crystal Core could be said to be good, but also somewhat of a redundant feature¡ªwait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly thought of something! He could fuse his own abilities. If he were to fuse this ability with another, wouldn¡¯t that negate the redundancy? And he also had the Extraction ability. If he fused this Core to gain a 1000 Mana cap increase and then extracted the core, would he keep the increased Mana cap? If the enhanced Mana cap remained, wasn¡¯t that akin to exploiting a bug? Unfortunately, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t reached Level 3 yet, so he couldn¡¯t do the fusion. Otherwise, he would have certainly given it a try! ¡°I¡¯ll keep the Crystal Core for now and try it later to see if it works!¡± [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] [HP Boost: Increases HP cap by 1000] The third Crystal Core was an HP Enhancement Core that could increase the HP cap by 1000. It might seem similar to the Energy Boost Crystal Core, but HP and Mana were different, as HP had a cap. If other abilities hadn¡¯t ascended, then the HP would be capped, and this HP boost would become irrelevant¡­ Plus, killing zombies also awarded increased HP cap, which definitely seemed more cost-effective than fusing Crystal Cores. After all, Wang Tao got an increase of 4500 HP from killing a Level 3 zombie, whereas this Core only added 1000 HP. This HP Enhancement Crystal Core was somewhat underwhelming¡­ Unless it could break through the cap. For example, if you were stuck at 4999 HP and it could boost you to 5999 HP, then this Core would be useful. ¡°I¡¯ll test it out later when I have the chance, to see what exactly this HP boost is all about.¡± [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Body Constitution Boost] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] [Physical Enhancement: Provides an all-around enhancement of physical constitution] The last Crystal Core was a Body Constitution Enhancement one, and this too came as a surprise to Wang Tao. Personally, he felt this Core was better than the HP Enhancement, being on par with the Energy Boost Core. However, similar to the Energy Boost Core, if used alone, the effects might not be great. But if combined with other abilities, it should be quite remarkable. Of course, Wang Tao could fuse and extract abilities. So he also put this type of Crystal Core into his experimental category, hoping to synthesize or extract it later to see. If he could fuse the HP Boost, Energy Boost, and Physical Enhancement into a single ability, that would be awesome! Wang Tao stored the Crystal Cores, then turned his attention to the second bag that the blood-red zombie had dropped. This bag contained potions. [Strength Growth Potion x5] [Agility Increase Potion x5] [Mental Boosting Potion x5] A total of 15 potions! And they weren¡¯t for temporary state enhancement; they were for permanent attribute boosts! [Strength Increase Potion: After injection, strength will receive a certain degree of permanent enhancement] [Agility Increase Potion: After injection, agility will receive a certain degree of permanent enhancement] [Mental Boosting Potion: After injection, spirit will receive a certain degree of permanent enhancement] Wang Tao had previously killed a gorilla zombie that dropped five Strength Growth Potions. After injecting them, he had felt the effects were quite profound. Without hesitation, Wang Tao promptly injected the 15 potions into his body one by one. ¡°Hiss¡­¡± After the injection was complete, Wang Tao felt wonderfully refreshed. The enhancement was obvious! Chapter 353 - Chapter 353: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_3 Chapter 353: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_3 He felt that his strength had greatly increased, his reaction speed had quickened, and he was no longer sleepy all of a sudden! However, it was difficult to say exactly how much his strength had improved, this would only be known after testing, which clearly wasn¡¯t appropriate at the moment. Then, Wang Tao looked toward the last package, which contained two items. They were a ¡°High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1¡± and ¡°Small ultraviolet illumination flares x20.¡± ¡°High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight: Capable of emitting ultraviolet light, but due to its high power, the energy consumption is high, resulting in a relatively short duration. Energy can be replenished with batteries.¡± This was a very ordinary-looking square flashlight, only the size of a palm. It didn¡¯t seem to be associated with high power in any way. This flashlight used batteries, but not ordinary ones; instead, it ran on material batteries obtained from killing zombies. Wang Tao aimed the flashlight into the darkness and switched it on. Whoosh¡ª A large cluster of intense purple light instantly appeared on the ground before him. ¡°Wow! No wonder it¡¯s called high-power. It¡¯s so bright!¡± Wang Tao quickly turned off the flashlight; he didn¡¯t want to attract zombies with it. But Wang Tao was puzzled, why a ultraviolet flashlight? Such purple light was uncomfortable to look at and seemed unsuitable for nighttime use¡­ However, after seeing the second item, Wang Tao understood why it was ultraviolet. ¡°Small ultraviolet illumination flare: After igniting, it can emit a strong ultraviolet light within a certain range for 25 seconds. The ultraviolet light can block or burn certain mutated zombies that fear ultraviolet light.¡± ¡°So the Blood-red Zombies are not scared of ordinary light, but ultraviolet light? No wonder when I shone the flashlight on it before, it didn¡¯t react much, but when sunlight hit it, it turned to ash straight away¡­¡± Only now did Wang Tao realize that the weakness of these Blood-red Zombies was actually ultraviolet light, and it had to be a large amount to be effective. Ordinary lights also emit ultraviolet light but far too little to affect them¡­ The Small ultraviolet illumination flares had a tubular shape, similar to signal flares. Overall, they were quite compact and could be carried around. As for the exact effect of the flare, it couldn¡¯t be tested just yet, since he only had 20 of them, and they needed to be saved for critical moments. And this loot was quite interesting ¡ª after killing Blood-red Zombies, the corresponding weapon equipment dropped! If he were to encounter Blood-red Zombies again, it might not be so troublesome! After putting away the spoils, Wang Tao took another look at the Level 2 Crystal Core in his hand. He had quite a few Level 2 Crystal Cores, but excluding those related to Ascension and Omnipotent, most of the cores were unique. The only ones he had in abundance were the Weakness Poison Fog cores, with about ten. Next were the Power Crystal Cores, with three. The Ability of Weakness Poison Fog didn¡¯t seem suitable for Wang Tao, so he didn¡¯t consider it. He could, however, synthesize one without side effects and impurities ¡ª an Epic Strength Crystal Core; and he did want the Power Ability. But the problem was, if he fused Crystal Cores now, he had to consider whether it would be easy to integrate abilities in the future. Power was a Passive Ability, while his other three abilities were all active Abilities. Wang Tao felt that the chances of integrating Power with the other three cores were very low¡­ So integrating it now seemed inappropriate. So after much thought, he found that he still couldn¡¯t fuse any Level 2 Crystal Cores for the time being. He still needed to save up. What a pity that these more than nine thousand units of Special Energy probably wouldn¡¯t be used for a while. ¡­ The next day, early morning. As Wang Tao opened his eyes, he saw Jiang Shixue staring at him. Fortunately, Wang Tao had already become accustomed to Jiang Shixue¡¯s occasional strange behaviors, or he might have been startled. ¡°Good morning, Little Xue.¡± ¡°Morning~¡± Wang Tao came out and saw Xu Xiaojun patrolling nearby. It was Wang Tao¡¯s turn to stand guard the previous night, and Xu Xiaojun took the later shift. Jiang Shixue had been sleeping the whole time, but her sleep was light, and she would wake up immediately if there was any disturbance. ¡°Little Jun, are you tired? If you are, go get some more sleep.¡± Wang Tao asked with concern. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯m not tired.¡± Xu Xiaojun promptly patted his chest and assured him. ¡°All right.¡± Seeing Xu Xiaojun looking spirited, Wang Tao nodded with a smile. There were still some fish left from yesterday, and the three of them had it for breakfast in a simple manner. During the meal, Wang Tao suddenly realized that the three of them seemed to have quite an appetite¡ª He didn¡¯t mention himself since he had always had a big appetite, which only increased after becoming an Ability User. Xu Xiaojun was even bulkier than him, and his food intake wasn¡¯t small either. As for Jiang Shixue, she looked thin and small, but she had the largest appetite among the three, like a bottomless pit. After all, she was currently in a Half-human half-zombie state, so the big appetite made sense. ¡°We¡¯ll need to prepare more food in the future!¡± Wang Tao felt a bit of regret, although he had many nutrient solutions, just consuming nutrient solutions wasn¡¯t ideal. Fortunately, Wang Tao had three Magical Stomach Pouches, which could hold a lot of food. ¡°Here, take this.¡± Wang Tao handed a stomach pouch to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Is this¡­ a water bag?¡± Xu Xiaojun was somewhat puzzled. ¡°It¡¯s a container for storing food.¡± Wang Tao briefly demonstrated, and Xu Xiaojun looked amazed. ¡°Today, we will catch more fish and prepare food to store inside the stomach pouches¡­¡± With one Magical Stomach Pouch each, they could store quite a bit of food now. ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun was full of vim. The entire day, the trio dedicated themselves to fishing. They caught more than a dozen fish, larger than average humans! They were busy until sunset, finally managing to process the fish completely. Wang Tao planned to continue fishing the next day, not wanting to waste a good fishing spot. As for tonight, Wang Tao intended to go out with Jiang Shixue. He remembered that there were still two Level 3 Blood-red Zombies nearby. The benefits of killing Level 3 zombies were too great, and with ultraviolet flashlights and flares in hand, he wanted to try if he could take down another one! Even if it wasn¡¯t possible, at least he needed to find out the lairs of these two Blood-red Zombies. Maybe he could replicate yesterday¡¯s success! Chapter 354 - Chapter 354: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_1 Chapter 354: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_1 ¡°` Night. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue once again arrived at the county. Upon seeing the situation inside the county, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Hiss¡­ so many!¡± He thought there were only three Level 3 Blood-red Zombies in the county, and he had killed one, so there should be two left¡­ But now he had just entered the county and already saw three Blood-red Zombies! ¡°Let¡¯s take a detour.¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue stealthily went around. Although he now knew the zombies¡¯ fatal weaknesses, seeing three of them as soon as he arrived gave Wang Tao a bad feeling¡ªif there were this many elsewhere, it might not be wise to provoke them¡­ After bypassing these three zombies, Wang Tao saw another isolated Blood-red Zombie. ¡°Should we make a move?¡± Jiang Shixue seemed eager to try; she did not know the meaning of fear. Wang Tao was somewhat tempted, but after thinking it over, he refrained. ¡°Let¡¯s check for other zombies in the vicinity first¡­¡± If it was just this one, Wang Tao felt confident he could handle it with an Ultraviolet flashlight and Ultraviolet illumination flares, even though it was night. But if there were other Blood-red Zombies nearby, that was a different story. ¡°Hmm.¡± The two of them searched around the lone Blood-red Zombie and Wang Tao felt a tingling on his scalp. ¡°One, two, three¡­ eight! Damn, good thing we didn¡¯t act rashly!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected there to be so many Blood-red Zombies nearby. Could it be¡­ there was a lair of Blood-red Zombies in the county, and it was close by? However, if there really was a large lair, then if they could blow it up like they had the grain storage, the spoils would be tremendous! ¡°Let¡¯s find a place to rest first and then see if there¡¯s a chance to follow them¡­¡± ¡°Alright~¡± Taking them on now was out of the question; after all, with so many Level 3 zombies, Wang Tao certainly couldn¡¯t beat them. He had the Ultraviolet Light and flares, but their range was limited, unlike the sun which left zombies with no place to hide. These zombies could flee. The two found a six-story residential building with no other tall buildings around, which was perfect for observation. Every so often, they could see Level 3 Blood-red Zombies appearing, and they appeared most frequently near the grain storage. Wang Tao guessed that perhaps because of the commotion during the day, these zombies hadn¡¯t dared to show up, but they still wanted to check it out at night¡­ This also indirectly proved that these zombies indeed possessed some intelligence! Until the sky began to lighten, Wang Tao found no opportunity to attack. ¡°They¡¯re running away!¡± Jiang Shixue alerted Wang Tao. ¡°Let¡¯s go, follow them!¡± The sky in the distance was beginning to show the first light of dawn, and the fierce Blood-red Zombies immediately ran towards the darkness. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue suddenly appeared near the Blood-red Zombies, but the zombies seemed not to see them or, as if eager to get back home, ran towards the darkness without care. The zombies were fast, and in the blink of an eye, most of them were out of sight. Wang Tao targeted a zombie and closely followed behind it. But perhaps feeling the threat of the sun¡¯s emergence, these zombies were running wickedly fast, even faster than when they had chased Wang Tao before! Even with his speed greatly increased, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t catch up. So, without a second thought, he took out his Ultraviolet flashlight. Whoosh! A beam of purple light struck the Blood-red Zombie. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The zombie immediately let out an angry roar and ran even faster! Its skin sizzled as if it were being burned. However, compared to the sun, the damage from the Ultraviolet flashlight was insignificant¡ªin the sunlight, they would turn to ash in seconds, but Wang Tao¡¯s Ultraviolet flashlight only made it drop a few hundred HP. Watching the Blood-red Zombie disappear from his sight, Wang Tao shook his head helplessly. ¡°It seems that the main use of this Ultraviolet flashlight is for defense; it¡¯s impossible to use it as a weapon. They can completely dodge it, and the damage isn¡¯t high¡­¡± Still, Wang Tao was content; having some form of defense was better than none. As day fully broke, the bustling Jinbi County began to settle down, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue searched again but still couldn¡¯t find the lair of the Blood-red Zombies. However, they did find several Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hold back and easily took down these few zombies, so leaving empty-handed was avoided. Back at Fish Bay Camp, Xu Xiaojun was busy cooking fish. Seeing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue return, Xu Xiaojun felt somewhat ashamed. He felt like he was of no help at all, a big guy only capable of small tasks¡­ Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t one to hide his feelings, and seeing the shame and dejection on his face, Wang Tao immediately said with a smile: ¡°Little Jun, do you have any Abilities you like?¡± ¡°Ah? I don¡¯t know much about Abilities¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. ¡°I see. Then listen to me.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind Wang Tao¡¯s words but still nodded immediately. Xu Xiaojun was too weak, not even at 2000 HP. With that level of strength, staying with Wang Tao indeed dragged the latter down. So Wang Tao decided to enhance Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength. Xu Xiaojun had only merged with a Crystal Core, the Power Crystal Core. This Crystal Core suited him well, because its side effect was related to body size, with smaller physiques experiencing negative growth. But Xu Xiaojun had a robust build, so the side effect was basically null for him. ¡°` Chapter 355 - Chapter 355: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_2 Chapter 355: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_2 Before, Wang Tao had given most of the Level 1 Crystal Cores to Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui, but Wang Tao still kept some, and added to that, he had killed quite a few Elite Zombies along the way, so he had enough Level 1 Crystal Cores. Wang Tao directly took out nine fused Level 1 Power Crystal Cores and handed them to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°¡­¡± Looking at so many red and orange Crystal Cores, Xu Xiaojun was somewhat stunned. Since he had fused with such a Crystal Core before, he knew these were all usable by him! ¡°You go ahead and fuse these Crystal Cores,¡± Wang Tao said casually, as if these weren¡¯t nine Crystal Cores but nine ordinary rocks. ¡°I¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun hesitated to take them, opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Wang Tao interrupted him. ¡°Quit the chatter and hurry up.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun subconsciously took them. Feeling the cold touch of the Crystal Cores, Xu Xiaojun glanced at Wang Tao with gratitude and excitement, then put a Crystal Core in his mouth. Watching Xu Xiaojun begin to fuse the Crystal Cores, Wang Tao looked back at his backpack. Xu Xiaojun had told Wang Tao before he felt he could fuse two or three more types of Crystal Cores. That meant Xu Xiaojun was an Ability User who could fuse with four different types of Crystal Cores. The first type of Crystal Core was Power; for the next three, Wang Tao thought to consider close combat capabilities. After all, given Xu Xiaojun¡¯s frame and having Power Ability to increase his strength, it would be a waste not to fuse with close combat abilities. Moreover, Xu Xiaojun had told Wang Tao before that he preferred straightforward combat, so Ranged Attack wasn¡¯t quite suitable for him. After some consideration, Wang Tao took out several Crystal Cores. A Toughness, a Shockwave, and a Rush. Wang Tao felt these three Crystal Cores were quite suitable for Xu Xiaojun. There was Attack, Defense, and Mobility. Spending some time, Xu Xiaojun fused all the Power Crystal Cores given by Wang Tao. He had never felt so strong! ¡°In the next two days, I¡¯ll take you to kill some Zombies, and then you can fuse the other Crystal Cores,¡± Wang Tao told Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Okay!¡± This time, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t play coy but nodded firmly. He liked the feeling of increasing strength. Although he would owe Wang Tao a lot, he had made up his mind to follow Wang Tao, and he would repay him gradually! Wang Tao then looked at Jiang Shixue. He had promised her the use of Zombie Culture Fluid but hadn¡¯t had the time. Now that they had time, it was possible to cultivate Jiang Shixue¡­ In the morning, Wang Tao and the others went fishing for a while and caught plenty of big fish. In the afternoon, Wang Tao took Xu Xiaojun to hunt Level 1 Elite Zombies. But their luck wasn¡¯t good today, as they roamed around the county for an afternoon without much to show for it. However, fortunately, they managed to raise Xu Xiaojun¡¯s HP to 2,000. Xu Xiaojun immediately slipped into a Sleeping State, and Wang Tao dragged him back. Taking advantage of Xu Xiaojun¡¯s sleep, Wang Tao said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Little Xue, how about we use the culture fluid this time?¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes lit up, then she sat down beside Wang Tao, opened her mouth wide like a little kitten. Wang Tao took out a bottle of culture fluid and poured it into Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth. After a while, Jiang Shixue started to feel drowsy and fell into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. [Cultivation: Total volume 1% (99% can still be added). Remaining time 59 minutes 59 seconds] Wang Tao pried open Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth and continued to pour culture fluid. After a total of 100 bottles, ¡°Total Volume 100%¡± appeared above Jiang Shixue¡¯s head. An hour later, Jiang Shixue woke up. [HP: 20,200/20,200] Her maximum HP had increased by 1,000, reaching 20,000! ¡°Brother, I feel like I¡¯ve become a lot stronger¡­¡± Jiang Shixue clenched her fist, slightly excited. ¡°That¡¯s good, can you tell when you¡¯ll be able to use the culture fluid again?¡± ¡°I feel¡­ it¡¯s probably once every three days¡­¡± Jiang Shixue frowned slightly. ¡°Once every three days¡­ Okay, we¡¯ll cultivate again in three days.¡± If Jiang Shixue could gain 1,000 HP every three days with the culture fluid, she could reach 30,000 HP in a month! It was just that they weren¡¯t sure what Jiang Shixue needed for her Level 3 Ascension, because her situation was a bit special¡ªshe couldn¡¯t fuse Crystal Cores. Even Wang Tao still did not know what Abilities Jiang Shixue specifically had. Wang Tao even doubted if Jiang Shixue, like the Blood-red Zombies, was purely physically strong without any Ability¡­ Jiang Shixue herself couldn¡¯t clarify, as the memory she lost seemed to have taken her Ability with it. But fortunately, she could use her Hidden Ability, and with her strong physique, she was now Wang Tao¡¯s capable assistant. Two hours later, Xu Xiaojun woke up. ¡°Do you feel like you can now fuse a few types of Crystal Cores?¡± After thinking for a while, Xu Xiaojun said: ¡°I should be able to¡­ fuse with two more, but fusing with the third might be a problem¡­¡± ¡°All right, then go ahead and fuse Crystal Cores. Choose any two you like to fuse with.¡± Wang Tao gave the remaining three Crystal Cores to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°¡­Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun still felt like he was dreaming, never having imagined that gaining strength could be this simple! Of course, he knew it was simple because of Wang Tao. Without Wang Tao, talk of increasing strength would be pointless; he¡¯d probably be dead by now¡­ As a man of few words, actions spoke for him. The next day. Wang Tao continued to take Xu Xiaojun to hunt Zombies. ¡°I¡¯m quite nostalgic for the First Hospital!¡± Chapter 356 - Chapter 356: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_3 Chapter 356: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_3 Wang Tao felt somewhat emotional. Perhaps because the first hospital had Green-eyed Zombies, it practically mass-produced Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t kill them all. And now, although Jinbi County had a hospital, it lacked Green-eyed Zombies, so there weren¡¯t many Elite Zombies within. However, this hospital shared one similarity with the hospital in Shuize County, and that was the presence of numerous Mad Demon Zombies! To avoid trouble, Wang Tao didn¡¯t go to the hospital. The group spent their days fishing, killing zombies. At night, they stealthily tracked the Level 3 Blood-colored Zombies, but unfortunately, they were never able to keep up; the Blood-colored Zombies ran too fast when fleeing¡­ Three days later, Xu Xiaojun finally reached 3000 HP and once again fell into a deep sleep. Wang Tao then helped Jiang Shixue cultivate further, increasing her HP limit by an additional 1000, reaching 21200! At night, Wang Tao continued with Jiang Shixue to look for Level 3 Blood-colored Zombies. Wang Tao no longer planned to fight the Blood-colored Zombies. After all, there were too many of them, and if they were surrounded, even his Ultraviolet Light wouldn¡¯t be effective. So now, Wang Tao intended to track these Blood-colored Zombies when they were returning to their lair at dawn and see where it was located. If they could find the lair and there was an opportunity, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t mind carrying out another ¡°blow up the granary¡± operation. Luck seemed on their side today; as dawn was about to break, Wang Tao clearly saw several Blood-colored Zombies entering a large building! ¡°This is¡­ the Government Building? What a place to choose¡­¡± The building was imposing, but the surroundings were entangled with many unidentified plants, obscuring the light and making the inside very dark, difficult to see clearly. By now it was daylight, and the surroundings were very quiet. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue carefully entered through the main door. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Wang Tao, whose eyes shone with a green light, involuntarily gasped upon seeing the situation inside. The interior was filled with sections of black and red flesh, still faintly twitching, among which knelt figure after figure of Blood-red Zombies! ¡°This lair¡­ is so big!¡± Wang Tao was both nervous and elated. After all, risks and opportunities coexisted! The building was too large, and after checking his supply of Self-Destruct Bombs, Wang Tao knew it was definitely not possible to level it. However, even if the zombies couldn¡¯t be wiped out completely, it would still be good to gain something! For instance, killing the Incubation Flesh, the undeveloped zombies, and the Level 3 Zombies! The Level 3 Zombies might have gone deeper inside; Wang Tao didn¡¯t see them for the moment. Therefore, Wang Tao set his sights on these pieces of flesh and the undeveloped zombies. ¡°We need to quickly destroy these, and when I tell you to stop, you stop!¡± Wang Tao whispered to Jiang Shixue, gesturing towards those things. Only when Wang Tao killed these entities would packages drop, so he was the one to deal the final blow. ¡°Alright!¡± After consulting for a while, they immediately began their attack. To ensure safety, both of their movements were cautiously kept quiet. Jiang Shixue wielded Wang Tao¡¯s Firefighter Axe and started chopping at the flesh and the half-finished zombies. Wang Tao took out the Giant Axe from his Space Backpack, and after Jiang Shixue had brought those entities to a critical state, Wang Tao swung down his axe, reaping them all at once! Bang! In an instant, Wang Tao saw a large swath of HP bars emptied! ¡°Awesome!¡± Although these entities didn¡¯t increase Wang Tao¡¯s HP limit, they did drop packages. With a single thought, Wang Tao collected all the packages. ¡°Continue!¡± They prepared to go deeper as many sections of flesh and half-finished zombies still lay ahead. However, at that moment, Wang Tao suddenly felt a chilling sensation. He and Jiang Shixue both turned their heads, only to see a towering figure! It stood a head taller than the Blood-colored Zombies, with a body of metallic blue hue. Its body had bones protruding, forming a kind of Bone Armor. Its bloodthirsty, frenzied eyes stared fixedly at Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue! [HP: 50000/50000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] The moment Wang Tao saw this zombie, he didn¡¯t hesitate; he grabbed Jiang Shixue and charged out of the building. One second after Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left the doorway, the blue Zombie appeared at the entrance. If Wang Tao had hesitated for even a moment, he might have been trapped. This blue Zombie didn¡¯t dare come out into the sunlight and roared at Wang Tao from the shadows, its stare fixating on him as if memorizing Wang Tao¡¯s appearance, then it retreated into the darkness and vanished from sight. Outside, Wang Tao let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Level 3, Lord Zombie, that¡¯s too fierce!¡± Although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t fought with this zombie, he could sense its horror. If they really fought, he and Jiang Shixue would probably be effortlessly annihilated. After all, this was a Level 3 Lord Zombie with 50,000 HP! ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t stay here!¡± Wang Tao felt that this zombie seemed much more intelligent, and it might even remember him! Wang Tao had destroyed many pieces of Incubation Flesh and unborn zombies, which was akin to killing the zombies¡¯ ¡°children¡± and their ¡°wombs,¡± definitely bound to infuriate this zombie! If this zombie decided to seek out Wang Tao in the middle of the night, even with his Ultraviolet Light lamp, Wang Tao probably wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it. And since this was a Lord Zombie, if it brought a group of Level 3 minions¡­ then Wang Tao and his companions would certainly be doomed! So Wang Tao decided to immediately evacuate from the county. As Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue ran towards Fish Bay Camp, Wang Tao suddenly heard a humming sound, growing louder and louder. They both looked up. ¡°An airdrop!¡± Wang Tao had been ready to evacuate, but the arrival of the airdrop made him hesitate. From past experiences, collecting all the airdrops would take at least one full day. That meant he would have to stay for another night¡­ increasing the risk tremendously! But then Wang Tao furrowed his brows again. Because the military transport plane didn¡¯t airdrop over the county; instead, it flew straight toward the southwest¡­ Now it seemed like there was no need to hesitate. Chapter 357 - Chapter 357: Chapter 170 Night Demon_1 Chapter 357: Chapter 170 Night Demon_1 Wang Tao returned to Fish Bay Camp and said to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Pack up, we¡¯re leaving this place!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t ask any questions and immediately started packing his belongings. There wasn¡¯t much to pack, mainly food. They had caught too many fish over the past few days, and the space in the Magical Stomach Pouch was limited, so it couldn¡¯t fit everything. Wang Tao turned some of the fish into a nutrient solution, and the rest into dried fish, which could be carried with them. There are conveniences to having fewer people, but also advantages to having more. Previously, when it was only Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, neither of them carried much. But now with Xu Xiaojun joining them, things were different. He was loaded with items¡ªfood, clothes, tools¡­ he even carried pots and pans. In comparison, Xu Xiaojun seemed more like a post-apocalyptic survivor than Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. ¡°Are you sure you want to carry that much?¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m fine! I can handle it!¡± Xu Xiaojun quickly patted his chest and said. He didn¡¯t want to waste anything. Some items were not that precious and could definitely be found in the county city, but if they were needed urgently, there definitely wouldn¡¯t be time to look for them¡­ ¡°Alright.¡± Seeing that Xu Xiaojun truly had no issues, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more. After all, Xu Xiaojun had the Power ability, and although he seemed to be carrying a lot, it was not heavy for him. Once they had packed everything, Wang Tao looked toward the west and said: ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re heading to Zijing City!¡± Wang Tao was still in Huangfeng City, but it was quite far from the urban area of Huangfeng City. Instead, he was closer to the urban area of neighboring Zijing City. Moreover, there was no need to go to the urban area of Huangfeng City, because the large Survivor Base of Huangfeng City was in Red Stone County, and Red Stone County was at the easternmost part of Huangfeng City. Wei Zhenguo, Han Rui, and the others had headed for the Red Stone Survivor Base. If Wang Tao wanted to go to the Red Stone Base, he would either have to take a lengthy detour or go through Shuize County. However, there was a terrifying Black Mist Monster near Shuize County, and Wang Tao was not confident he could defeat it, so he decided to forget about it. Wang Tao was now closer to Zijing City, and he planned to check out where the large Survivor Base of Zijing City was located. When the virus broke out, the Government announced that there would be a large Survivor Base in every city nationwide. Wang Tao knew only that Huangfeng City¡¯s large Survivor Base was in Red Stone County, but he was unaware of the ones in other cities. The survivors from Zijing City itself would definitely know, and now that he was relatively near the urban area of Zijing City, it likely had survivors he could ask. Before leaving Jinbi County, Wang Tao planned to find a vehicle. However, all the vehicles outside had been corroded by acid rain, and not a single one was usable. He had checked some underground garages, and the vehicles inside were no longer functional either. Xu Xiaojun told Wang Tao that there had been a heavy rain earlier, which had caused flooding disasters. Many areas were submerged, and naturally, the cars in those garages were not spared. Wang Tao felt somewhat disappointed; having a vehicle, even just a gas-powered one, would have made travel much more convenient. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao had made his way here with Jiang Shixue on foot before, so they could manage without a car. It would just be considered exercise. The three of them left Jinbi County and followed the national highway toward Zijing City. The highway was littered with abandoned vehicles and many zombies, all exuding an aura of desolation and deathly silence. At first, Xu Xiaojun was very tense. After all, since the apocalypse began, he had never traveled far. He knew the outside world was dangerous but was unaware of the specific conditions. However, after walking with Wang Tao for a while, he gradually relaxed a bit. It couldn¡¯t be helped, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were just too strong! Xu Xiaojun dealt with ordinary zombies, and if they encountered some tricky ones, Wang Tao would easily beat them half to death and then let him finish them off. Unnoticed by Xu Xiaojun, his HP had increased by another 1000. ¡°Brother Wang, I can¡¯t control it anymore, I need to sleep¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun, struggling to stay awake, spoke to Wang Tao. ¡°Oh? 4000 HP now? Fine, go to sleep.¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t paid attention just now, but after letting Xu Xiaojun have a few kills, he had reached 4000 HP. The sun was also about to set, so it was a good time to rest for the night. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue could travel at night, but Xu Xiaojun obviously couldn¡¯t, so it was best to rest well in the evening. There were many uninhabited houses by the road, and Wang Tao helped Xu Xiaojun into one. After letting Xu Xiaojun lie down, Wang Tao took out some food, ate something simple with Jiang Shixue, then had Jiang Shixue keep watch while he took inventory of the Loot Packs obtained in the Zombie Nest. Although he hadn¡¯t killed any zombies, he had killed many half-finished zombies and the incubating flesh that spawned them, so he ended up with 23 Loot Packs! Nineteen of them had burst from half-finished zombies, and four from the incubating flesh. The items burst by the half-finished zombies were all the same; all were Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores! Level Two Zombies were currently rare, and Level 2 Crystal Cores were even rarer, making Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores scarce. Having suddenly acquired 19 Omnipotent Crystal Cores, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t stop smiling. He already had 3 Epic Omnipotent Crystal Cores and 1 Excellent Omnipotent Crystal Core on hand. With this Excellent Crystal Core, there were exactly 20 uncombined ones. Wang Tao immediately began synthesizing. Soon, the synthesis of 10 Omnipotent Crystal Cores was complete. Most of them were Epic, and two were Excellent. Including the previous three, he now had a total of 13 Omnipotent Crystal Cores! Chapter 358 - Chapter 358: Chapter 170 Night Demon_2 Chapter 358: Chapter 170 Night Demon_2 The purity of Level 2 Crystal Cores is 55%. By synthesizing two crystal cores, the purity remains at 10%. So the purity of these 13 crystal cores is 10%, and when converted to his body¡¯s impurity rate, it¡¯s 0.1%! Now Wang Tao has 1.1% of internal impurity¡­ So, he thought he could first fuse 9 Omnipotent Crystal Cores to raise the internal impurities to 2%, and then use two Cleansing Potions to remove all the impurities inside! He had been enduring this small amount of internal impurity in his body for quite a while now. When the internal impurities first appeared, he felt somewhat uncomfortable. Although it didn¡¯t affect his combat performance, it was still annoying. But there was no choice at the time, he had to fuse Ascension crystal cores, and then the internal impurities accumulated to 2.2%¡­ Luckily, when he ascended to Level Two, the internal impurities were reduced by half, and now only 1.1% were left. Back then, he considered that he had only five Cleansing Potions, and each potion could remove 1% of internal impurities. For 1.1% impurity, using one bottle wouldn¡¯t be enough, and two would be a waste¡­ So he had been putting it off until now. Finally, he had the chance to remove them all. ¡°But¡­ I don¡¯t know which Special Ability the Omnipotent Crystal Cores will level up¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at his current three abilities. [Level 2 Shockwave], [Level 2 Precision Shooting], [Level 2 Barrier]. If possible, Wang Tao naturally hoped that the Omnipotent Crystal Cores would upgrade Barrier. Because Barrier was a new Superpower synthesized from both the ¡°Toughness¡± and ¡°Self-healing¡± abilities. Zombies seemed unable to drop Barrier Abilities¡­ If Wang Tao wanted to upgrade, he could only rely on Omnipotent Crystal Cores. But when fusing Omnipotent Crystal Cores, the level-up was random among the several abilities he had. He couldn¡¯t control which one would be upgraded. Unless he first leveled up Shockwave and Precision Shooting to +10, the max level for Level Two. In that case, the Omnipotent Crystal Cores could only be used to upgrade Barrier. Unfortunately, Wang Tao currently had only one Level 2 shockwave crystal nucleus at hand, and even worse, he didn¡¯t have a single Level 2 Precision Shooting crystal nucleus¡­ so he couldn¡¯t upgrade these two Special Abilities first. Wang Tao instinctively glanced at his special energy again. This special energy could only extract and fuse abilities but couldn¡¯t determine the priority of upgrades for the Omnipotent Crystal Cores¡ª Wait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly paused, then quickly looked at the description of special energy again. [Current Special Energy: 7740] [Extraction abilities: Turn a mastered ability into a crystal core of the current level. Extracting a Level 1 Special Ability consumes 1000 special energy; extracting Level 2 Ability consumes 5000 special energy; extracting Level 3 Ability consumes 30000 special energy] [Ability Fusion: Fuse two learned abilities of the same level. If the fusion is successful, the ability will have the characteristics of both, and the Special Ability Level will be the average of both. If the fusion fails, the main ability remains, and the Secondary Ability disappears. Fusion of Level 1 Special Ability consumes 1000 special energy; Fusion of Level 2 Ability consumes 5000 special energy; Fusion of Level 3 Ability consumes 30000 special energy] Wang Tao had used the ability fusion before, but this time he focused on the extraction ability. ¡°Turn a mastered ability into a crystal core of the current level¡­ doesn¡¯t that mean I can temporarily turn my Shockwave and Precision Shooting abilities into crystal cores, leaving only my Barrier Ability, and then use the Omnipotent Crystal Cores to directly target Barrier Ability for an upgrade?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He seemed to have stumbled upon something terrific! However, he did not have enough special energy to extract both Shockwave and Precision Shooting at the moment, he could only extract one. But by extracting only one ability, he would only increase the probability of upgrading the Barrier Ability from one out of three to one out of two, a rate that Wang Tao still found unsatisfactory¡­ And as for extraction, Wang Tao thought of a crucial point¡ª ¡°Since I can turn a learned ability into a crystal core of the ¡®current level,¡¯ could I not learn a Level 1 Ability, then use an Ascension crystal core to upgrade it to Level 2, and extract this Level 2 crystal core¡­ wouldn¡¯t I have a 100% pure Level 2 Epic Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao was surprised by his own brainstorm, but after thinking it through, it seemed feasible? Under normal circumstances, if he wanted a 100% pure Level 2 Epic Crystal Core, he would need to synthesize three Level 2 Crystal Cores. But that would be too wasteful. Using this method, the cost for him to obtain a 100% pure Level 2 crystal core would be ¡°10 Level 1 Crystal Cores¡± plus ¡°1 Ascension crystal core¡± plus ¡°5000 special energy¡±¡ªbecause to extract this Level 2 crystal core, he needed special energy. Looking at it this way, even if it costs 5000 special energy, it would be worth it overall, as aside from the Ascension crystal core, no other Level 2 crystal cores were needed! Wang Tao had initially planned to fuse 9 Omnipotent Crystal Cores and then use two Cleansing Potions to remove the body¡¯s impurities. But now he had changed his mind. If he fused Omnipotent Crystal Cores now, the ability level might be added to Shockwave and Precision Shooting. It would be better to save up 10000 special energy first, extract both Shockwave and Precision Shooting, and then use the Omnipotent Crystal Cores to upgrade Barrier. After Barrier reached +10, he would start fusing Level 1 Shockwave, Precision Shooting crystal cores to ascend them to Level 2, and then extract those Level 2 Special Abilities. Finally, once he had collected 10 Level 2 Shockwave and Precision Shooting crystal cores, he would be able to level up all three of his abilities to +10! Chapter 359 - Chapter 359: Chapter 170 Night Demon_3 Chapter 359: Chapter 170 Night Demon_3 ¡°` This also has one greatest benefit: Level 1 Crystal Cores are much more common compared to Level 2 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao now only has one Level 2 Shockwave Crystal Core, and gathering 30 Level 2 Shockwave and 30 Level 2 Precision Shooting Crystal Cores would be extremely difficult¡ªnot due to lack of strength, but because he doesn¡¯t encounter Level 2 Terrorizers and Level 2 Police Zombies. But if it¡¯s 100 Level 1 Shockwave Crystal Cores, 100 Level 1 Precision Shooting Crystal Cores, and 20 Level 2 Ascension, then it becomes relatively easier. There are still plenty of Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao also has quite a few Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores, which can all be put to use. Plus, these two methods can be carried out simultaneously! If he has enough Level 2 Crystal Cores, then he can synthesize into a Level 2 Epic Crystal Core. If he has enough Level 1 Crystal Cores, then he can use Ascension Crystal Cores to upgrade them to Level 2! Add these efficiencies together, it¡¯s a case of 1+1 being greater than 2! Wang Tao has a premonition that his speed of ascending from Level 2 to Level 3 might even be faster than his ascent from Level 1 to Level 2! ¡°Just hang in there a bit longer!¡± Wang Tao put away the Omnipotent Crystal Cores, then looked at the items burst out from the incubation flesh. There were four packages in total, each containing an Extraction Crystal Core. With these four Crystal Cores, Wang Tao now had five Extraction Crystal Cores in total. Actually, Wang Tao could use the Extraction Crystal Cores himself, which would save up to 5000 Special Energy. But these Extraction Crystal Cores inevitably contained impurities. If he chose to save the 5000 Special Energy, then the price would be using more Cleansing Potions to remove Internal Impurities. Wang Tao currently only had five Cleansing Potions and needed to use them sparingly. After all, Special Energy could be obtained by defeating Zombies above his level, no matter the type. But he did not yet know what zombies would drop Cleansing Potions¡­ ¡­ The next day, early morning. Wang Tao and his two companions continued on their journey, heading towards Zijing City. They were in luck today, encountering quite a few Level 1 Elite Zombies on the road, and even a Level 2 Elite Zombie, all of which they managed to deal with easily. Wang Tao felt that if they kept up this efficiency, by the time they reached Zijing City, he would definitely have no problems amassing a few hundred Crystal Cores. At night, they still rested in houses by the roadside. Along this journey, aside from his own party of three, they hadn¡¯t seen any other survivors. Naturally, they had their pick of the houses. However, Wang Tao noticed that most of these houses had been scavenged, which meant there must be survivors around; he wondered if there was a survivor camp nearby. ¡°I can do it again~¡± Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao eagerly. She felt she could continue her cultivation. ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao took out the Zombie Culture Fluid and skillfully fed it to Jiang Shixue. An hour later, Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP increased by 1000, reaching [22200/22200]. Wang Tao was somewhat envious of Jiang Shixue¡¯s constitution, as it was so easy for her to increase her HP. Of course, Jiang Shixue could also increase her HP by killing zombies, but Wang Tao needed HP as well, so for now, he prioritized getting the last hit himself. Moreover, Wang Tao had 800 doses of Zombie Culture Fluid on hand, perfect for adding 8000 HP, which could bring Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP up to thirty thousand. There was no need for her to kill zombies for HP. The next day, they continued their journey. Perhaps it was because Wang Tao complained about the scarcity of Level 1 Elite Zombies before, but today, they encountered many more of them. This allowed Xu Xiaojun¡¯s HP to finally reach 4999! Wang Tao had prepared Crystal Cores for Xu Xiaojun that have been fully integrated by now. He currently possessed ¡°Level 1 Shockwave+10¡±, ¡°Level 1 Rush+10¡±, ¡°Level 1 Toughness+10¡±, and ¡°Level 1 Power+10¡±. Wang Tao directly gave him four Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores. These Ascension Crystal Cores hadn¡¯t been synthesized and contained impurities, as Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many of them. But each core was of either red or orange quality, and Xu Xiaojun successfully integrated all of them. After the successful integration, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s situation was almost the same as Wang Tao¡¯s before¡ªhe could feel he needed to sleep within three days, and this sleep would last for 24 hours. Wang Tao told him to go ahead and sleep. Since Xu Xiaojun was about to ascend to Level 2, there was no rush to keep moving. After all, only after reaching Level 2 would Xu Xiaojun truly become a supportive teammate for Wang Tao. Currently, Level 1 Xu Xiaojun was merely acting as a porter. And on the morning of the second day after Xu Xiaojun went to sleep, another plane flew overhead! ¡°Is that another military transporter? This time¡­ there should be an airdrop, right?¡± Wang Tao watched the military transporter in the sky, his voice tinged with uncertainty. Mainly because his location was quite remote and the plane might not choose to drop the airdrop there. But a moment later, Wang Tao saw several small black dots fall from the rear of the plane. He immediately broke into a grin. ¡°I knew it, my luck has been pretty good lately!¡± Especially when Wang Tao saw that an airdrop wasn¡¯t too far from him, he promptly instructed Jiang Shixue: ¡°Little Xue, watch over Little Jun here. I¡¯m going to grab an airdrop, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. Wang Tao located the direction of the airdrop and, in about ten minutes¡¯ time, reached precisely under where the airdrop would land. Thud¡ª The supply crate landed right in front of Wang Tao. Having already observed that there were no dangers nearby, Wang Tao confidently opened the airdrop. This was the safest time he had ever claimed an airdrop. Inside the supply crate were inhibitors, a total of 100 bottles! Wang Tao had given all of his inhibitors to Han Rui and Ding Yuqin, carrying a few on himself, but he¡¯d lost them while escaping. So now, Wang Tao had not a single inhibitor. These inhibitors came at just the right time. ¡°And a Monster Manual¡­ I¡¯ll look at this when I get back.¡± Wang Tao took the items and returned to Jiang Shixue without incident. Then, he opened the Monster Manual, and the first thing he saw was a familiar type of zombie. ¡°Night Demon¡­ A zombie that appears only at night, minimum level 3 and above, extremely strong, and possesses a certain degree of intelligence, capable of cooperation, and even quite vengeful. If you encounter a Night Demon, run if you can. Besides, killing them yields no Crystal Cores, so even if you¡¯re powerful, don¡¯t provoke them. However, Night Demons have a fatal weakness: they fear Ultraviolet Light¡­¡± Reading this introduction, Wang Tao nodded. ¡°The authorities named those Blood-red Zombies ¡®Night Demons,¡¯ which fits well with Mad Demon Zombies¡ªlike the latter, they have no Crystal Cores, so there¡¯s not much benefit in killing them¡­¡± ¡°` Chapter 360 - Chapter 360: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_1 Chapter 360: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_1 This guidebook is divided into four sections. They are zombies, monsters, plants, and ability users. It is much more detailed than the previous Zombie Guide, which probably means many people have been updating it. Wang Tao also wanted to contribute, considering he had seen many things. Unfortunately, he could not get in touch with them. In the Zombie Guide section, apart from the Night Demon, there was also an update with a lot of other zombies. Whether Wang Tao had seen them or not, they were all there. Wang Tao silently memorized this information about the zombies, to make it easier to deal with them if he encountered them in the future. Then Wang Tao turned to the Monster Manual section. ¡°Monster¡± refers to creatures other than humans, zombies, and plants. Monsters were subdivided into three categories. The first category was ordinary mutant beasts, such as animals that had become larger or bloodthirsty and frenzied. The big fish that Wang Tao had previously caught belonged to this type. The second category was mutant beasts with abilities. Some animals not only became bloodthirsty and frenzied, but they also possessed special abilities! These monsters were even more dangerous than zombies. However, they were rare; Wang Tao had not seen any so far. The third category was mysterious monsters. These were things that resembled neither any animal nor any plant, and didn¡¯t even seem like living creatures¡­ such as a cloud or a rock. These unidentified monsters were all called mysterious monsters. Despite their odd appearances, these monsters were incredibly strong. You either didn¡¯t encounter them, but if you did, it usually meant death, a rare chance of survival. However, their numbers were very sparse, and so far, there were no records of them being killed. Therefore, the detailed information about these mysterious monsters was unclear¡­ They all seemed like they weren¡¯t from Earth. Wang Tao thought of the Black Mist Monster in Shuize County, which could induce hallucinations and was terribly powerful¡ªclearly, it was one of the mysterious monsters mentioned here. Wang Tao felt that the pressure from the Black Mist Monster, with its 30,000 HP, was even greater than that of the Blue Night Demon with 50,000 HP! About the monsters, the guide also stated valuable information¡ªthat these monsters were different from zombies, as they were also afraid of the zombie virus! Thus, these monsters usually moved in the wild and did not enter cities, because there were too many zombies in the cities. Wang Tao had previously wondered why the Black Mist Monster in Shuize County stayed in the wilderness rather than going into the county city. It turned out it was also afraid of the zombie virus! No wonder internal impurity was listed amongst the attributes of the Black Mist Monster. However, this posed a significant problem for human survivors. Zombies were inside the cities, monsters were outside¡­ choosing a location for the Survivor Base was a dilemma. The plant section introduced many mutant plants, which studies showed had evolved due to a particular type of acid rain. This special acid rain could cause these plants to wither, but those that survived would mutate! Currently, it seems that these plants were unconscious, but even without consciousness, they were very dangerous! For example, some man-eating flowers had grown very large, and now they ate not only insects but also humans and zombies! Unlike humans and monsters, plants were not afraid of the zombie virus, so the plants in the cities grew wildly. Conversely, the plants in the wild seemed more like normal plants¡­ Researchers also did not understand why this was. Lastly was the section on ability users. This section mainly provided information about ability users and crystal cores, much of which Wang Tao already knew. For instance, ability users reached a bottleneck after killing a certain number of zombies and needed Ascension crystal cores; after ascension, ability users could delete one of their abilities or pass it on to someone else¡­ As for information related to crystal cores, Wang Tao knew far more details than the guidebook provided. That¡¯s because the specific functions and side effects of the Fusion Crystal Core could only be known after its fusion. The fusion required human and time resources, and then it needed experimentation over and over¡­ it was a troublesome process. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to, he only had to glance to know the detailed information about a crystal core¡­ Although this information was not very useful to Wang Tao, it was still very precious to others. At times, it could even save lives! After reading all this information, Wang Tao considered it quite a fruitful effort. The only pity was the guidebook gave off an official, matter-of-fact tone throughout. It did not reveal any other type of information. For example, it said nothing about the current situation in the country, how the large Survivor Bases were doing, or what was happening inside the military bases¡­ nothing at all. Normally, people would report good news and not bad. But this didn¡¯t even contain good news¡­ this made Wang Tao quite pessimistic about the outside world. ¡°Perhaps¡­ it¡¯s time to visit a military base.¡± Wang Tao had initially planned to go to the large Survivor Base in Zijing City, if it had survived until now. But now he reconsidered. If he continued southwest from Zijing City, he would reach Wuyang City, the capital of Wuyang Province, where the military base was located. Since he was almost at Zijing City, it might be better to travel a bit further to the military base. After all, if the military base could still airdrop supplies, it meant that the place was very safe. Plus, with the many weapons and strong forces inside the military base, it was clearly a good destination. They probably wouldn¡¯t refuse civilians looking for refuge¡­ ¡°That¡¯s settled, then. I¡¯ll head to Wuyang Military Base!¡± Wang Tao had decided on his next course of action. Then he looked at the map again. To get to Wuyang Military Base, it was closer from Zijing City, so he didn¡¯t need to change direction; he could continue along the previously planned route. Chapter 361 - Chapter 361: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_2 Chapter 361: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_2 ¡°Should we go get the other airdrops?¡± Jiang Shixue said with eagerness in her voice. The plane had dropped quite a few airdrops just now, but only one was close to Wang Tao. Wang Tao had retrieved that and come back; the locations of the other airdrops were still unknown. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Little Jun to wake up first. Anyway, we¡¯ll be heading in the direction of the airdrops, so it¡¯s not too late to grab them later,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. To him, the most important thing in the airdrops was the Monster Manual; he didn¡¯t really care about the rest. So, even if other survivors took the airdrops, it wouldn¡¯t matter. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue really wanted to go pick up the airdrops because she felt that these items falling from the sky were fun. However, she still listened to Wang Tao; if he said not to go, she wouldn¡¯t go. After checking the Monster Manual, Wang Tao became even more cautious. Even though he was on the national highway, it was rural and secluded here, and no one knew if there were mysterious creatures like the Black Mist Monster around. After all, those were even scarier than zombies¡­ Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened until Xu Xiaojun woke up. ¡°Brother Wang, let¡¯s hurry and get the airdrops!¡± Xu Xiaojun became even more excited than Wang Tao when he heard about the airdrops, completely forgetting about his Level 2 Ascension. He had seen an airdrop once before, but it hadn¡¯t landed inside their town. At that time, many people from their camp had died trying to retrieve it. But it was worth it because the airdrop contained a lot of Inhibitors and the Zombie Guide¡­ Now that Xu Xiaojun heard there were more airdrops, he got so excited. After all, there were always good things inside the airdrops! Wang Tao had helped him a lot, and he didn¡¯t have much to repay him with. If he could pick up a few more airdrops for Wang Tao, it would make him feel better. Seeing the excited Xu Xiaojun, Wang Tao said with a smile, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± The three set off again, heading west. On the way, Xu Xiaojun tested his strength after his Level 2 Ascension. It was a world of difference from before. Xu Xiaojun could hardly believe he was so strong¡ªmore than a dozen Mad Demon Zombies, and he had chopped them down with just a few swings of his axe! This was something he wouldn¡¯t even dare to dream of before! ¡°You¡¯ll get stronger and stronger in the future. You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± Wang Tao patted his shoulder. ¡°Yeah!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded resolutely. Suddenly, Wang Tao thought that giving that Broken Giant Axe to Xu Xiaojun might be suitable. The axe was quite powerful, but it was too big and heavy. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t comfortable using it. He preferred the One-Handed Axe for its flexibility. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll let Little Jun try it. If it suits him, then he can use it¡­¡± Wang Tao thought, stroking his chin. ¡­ After a while, the three arrived at a small town. Originally, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t planned to enter the town, but he found there was an airdrop there. That was definitely something they couldn¡¯t pass up, so they ran over to it. There was a group of zombies near the airdrop, but Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t lift a finger; Xu Xiaojun took care of them with ease. Wang Tao went over to open the airdrop box. Before getting a good look, he suddenly heard an exclamation. ¡°Hey! Drop our airdrop!¡± Wang Tao looked up to see a buzz-cut young man dressed like a survivor pointing at him from the roof of a three-story building. The moment the man appeared, Jiang Shixue spotted him. But she didn¡¯t feel he was threatening, so she didn¡¯t react too strongly. Xu Xiaojun quickly stood in front of Wang Tao. Wang Tao was burly, but Xu Xiaojun was even bigger, especially after his Ascension to Level Two, which had increased his size even further. His presence was so imposing that when he stood there, he exuded a tremendous sense of pressure. Despite being in an elevated position, the buzz-cut man involuntarily took a step back when confronted by Xu Xiaojun¡¯s glare. Perhaps feeling that his step back was somewhat embarrassing, he immediately shouted in a lower tone, ¡°I¡¯m talking to you! That¡¯s our airdrop. Put the stuff down now, and I¡¯ll turn a blind eye. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be in trouble when our boss gets here!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. This guy¡¯s got some nerve! Not to mention that an airdrop is unclaimed property and belongs to whoever picks it up. Considering that the airdrop hadn¡¯t even been opened, it would belong to him by any sense of order or timing, not them! ¡°I don¡¯t like people talking down to me from above.¡± Wang Tao looked at the man, his voice level. As soon as his words fell, Jiang Shixue suddenly sprinted, climbing up the wall and dashing to the third floor. The buzz-cut man didn¡¯t see anything before feeling a pain in his butt, and then he was flying through the air. ¡°Ahh¡ª¡± Thud! Jiang Shixue had kicked the buzz-cut man down, and he landed near the airdrop. He had an HP of a thousand, so this height definitely wouldn¡¯t kill him, but it left him dizzy and disoriented. Xu Xiaojun was momentarily stunned by Jiang Shixue¡¯s actions, then quickly recovered. He grabbed the man¡¯s collar, hoisted him to his feet, then kicked his shins. Thump¡ª The buzz-cut man found himself kneeling in front of Wang Tao. Wang Tao: ¡°¡­¡± What he actually meant was for the man to come down and talk. But he didn¡¯t expect Jiang Shixue to kick him down directly, and he certainly didn¡¯t expect Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue to work together so well¡­ Well, these little details didn¡¯t matter; the result was essentially the same. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± The buzz-cut man finally came to his senses, staring up at Wang Tao towering before him like a mountain, Wang Tao¡¯s indifferent expression, and the bloodied Firefighter Axe hanging at his waist¡­ It scared the daylights out of him. He promptly bowed his head and raised both hands in surrender. Chapter 362 - Chapter 362: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_3 Chapter 362: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_3 Wang Tao looked down at the buzz-cut man, speaking slowly: ¡°Whose airdrop is this?¡± ¡°Yours, it¡¯s yours! I have nothing to do with this airdrop!¡± The buzz-cut man hurriedly responded. Seeing that the other party finally knew their place, Wang Tao patted his shoulder, scaring him so much that his legs gave way, and he flopped straight to the ground. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered to speak anymore; he turned his attention straight to the airdrop. Inside the airdrop was a device, which looked somewhat familiar. ¡°Crystal Core Synthesizer?¡± There was a manual next to it; Wang Tao glanced over it and confirmed it indeed was a Crystal Core Synthesizer. However, it was an improved version of the previous one. The overall method of operation hadn¡¯t changed; it still required synthesizing three Level 1 Crystal Cores of the same Quality, but it wasn¡¯t guaranteed to succeed, as there was a possibility of failure. The manual stated that the success rate was now higher than before. Yet, however high the rate might be, there was still a chance of failure, while Wang Tao¡¯s own synthesis of Crystal Cores never failed. Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s synthetic cores were impurity-free and had no side effects. The cores synthesized by this device, on the other hand, had no side effects but contained impurities¡­ So, even if it was an improved version, this device was useless to Wang Tao, especially since it couldn¡¯t synthesize Level 2 Crystal Cores, making it even more useless to him. Besides the Crystal Core Synthesizer, there was also a hand-crank generator and five military walkie-talkies with headsets. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the walkie-talkies. His previous walkie-talkie had been damaged in the midst of fleeing, so he had been without one for a while. It was perfect to give one to Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun each. Communication would be much easier in the future. Wang Tao gestured, and Jiang Shixue leapt down directly from the third floor, startling the buzz-cut man, who had no idea what was going on but dared not raise his head, instead burying it even deeper. Wang Tao handed the walkie-talkies to Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun. Before he could teach them how to use them, a rumbling sound caught his attention. Several modified off-road vehicles slowly appeared from a distance. Wang Tao¡¯s enhanced vision allowed him to see farther than the average person; he observed that this group of people looked quite happy at first, probably having made a significant haul. However, their expressions quickly changed. Schh¡ª Several vehicles braked one after another, stopping about twenty meters away from Wang Tao. Then a group of people swiftly dismounted, holding pistols, steel pipes, homemade spears, and other weapons, and watched Wang Tao with great vigilance. ¡°Who are you? Why did you kidnap our man?¡± Someone shouted fiercely. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow at this group. Was there actually a Level 2 Ability User among them? Not bad for strength! Of course, it was just ¡®not bad.¡¯ That was because Wang Tao noticed the Level 2 Ability User hadn¡¯t merged with four Ascension Crystal Cores and her Mana was quite low. Such an Ability User didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to him. Seeing his boss finally arrive, the buzz-cut man cried tears of joy; he really thought he was going to die just a moment ago! However, without Wang Tao¡¯s permission, he didn¡¯t dare get up, after all his life was still in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. He still couldn¡¯t understand how he got down from the rooftop; he hadn¡¯t seen Jiang Shixue go up at all. Wang Tao kicked the buzz-cut man. ¡°Answer him.¡± The buzz-cut man really wanted to add his own spin to the story but didn¡¯t dare to do so; instead, he earnestly relayed what had happened after Wang Tao arrived. After hearing this, the group exchanged glances. Although the buzz-cut man hadn¡¯t told the full story, they had a rough idea of what had happened. It seemed the buzz-cut man had discovered the airdrop, but with many zombies nearby, he dared not collect it. Maybe while he was waiting for reinforcements, another group came and took the airdrop. Unwilling to give up, he tried to use his boss to intimidate the others, only to end up getting beaten down¡­ The group eyed Wang Tao and the other two with less than friendly intent. Although Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun looked intimidating, there were only three of them, while their own side had thirteen people! Were they supposed to be afraid of that? Now, in this post-apocalyptic world, the rule of reason didn¡¯t apply; only the strongest fist prevailed! ¡°Your teammates don¡¯t seem to care whether you live or die!¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao pulled out an axe and placed it against the buzz-cut man¡¯s neck. The buzz-cut man¡¯s face turned pale with fear, and, unable to care for anything else, he blurted out: ¡°Boss, no! Didn¡¯t you always say, ¡®the more friends, the longer the road¡¯? We survivors are all friends!¡± Wang Tao found this remark somewhat amusing; he had never said anything of the sort. At this moment, the survivors made way, and a figure wearing a coffee-colored trench coat and a shapely figure walked forward from behind. She removed the scarf covering her face, revealing a slightly rough complexion, but a very pretty face with a smile that felt like a warm spring breeze. ¡°Sir, we¡¯re all survivors struggling to live in this post-apocalyptic world, all compatriots. Why create such a tense situation? If you release Little Jia, we¡¯ll also put away our weapons. Let¡¯s not fight but get acquainted instead, how about that? As for this airdrop¡­ naturally, it belongs to whoever found it first. Since you found it first, it naturally belongs to you.¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao felt a bit disappointed because he had his eye on their vehicles. If these people didn¡¯t make a move, he would feel awkward about taking their cars¡­ ¡°Get lost.¡± Wang Tao kicked the buzz-cut man, who immediately stumbled and scrambled into the crowd. Seeing Wang Tao release the man so readily, both the woman and the survivors were surprised. The survivors looked to their boss, expecting that she would order an attack on Wang Tao at this point. However, to their surprise, the boss didn¡¯t order an attack, instead, she sauntered over to Wang Tao. She removed her gloves, looked up at him with a smile, and extended her hand. ¡°Hello, my name is Yang Changhong.¡± Chapter 363 - Chapter 363: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_1 Chapter 363: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_1 Zhang Hong¡¯s small hands were soft, but one could clearly feel the many calluses on them. [HP: 6230/6400] [Mana: 2090/3200] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 21%] With six thousand HP and three thousand mana, she was the boss of this group and the strongest Ability User among them. ¡°Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao released her hand and introduced himself. ¡°Mr. Wang, I apologize for the misunderstanding just now. It was due to my lack of discipline. I will punish him later. I hope you don¡¯t take it to heart,¡± she said. Zhang Hong was extremely polite. This left the others somewhat puzzled. When had their boss ever been so courteous? Could it be that the boss had taken a fancy to this big guy? And truth be told, this big guy had a good-looking face and an explosive physique, which provided a great sense of security in the post-apocalyptic world¡­ Thinking this, quite a few of them glared at Wang Tao. After all, their boss, being both beautiful and powerful, had become the dream lover of many. They didn¡¯t want her to fall for an outsider. Wang Tao could clearly sense that these people didn¡¯t have such strong hostility towards him before, but after Zhang Hong came over, that hostility had increased significantly. Women truly were troublesome creatures. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Wang Tao asked, looking at her. Zhang Hong clearly had something to say; otherwise, she would either fight or leave. In this post-apocalyptic world, there was hardly time for small talk. Zhang Hong gave Wang Tao a flirtatious glance and then glimpsed at the empty airdrop box beside him: ¡°If Mr. Wang doesn¡¯t mind, could you tell me what was in that airdrop box? If it happens to be something we need, I can trade other items for it. What do you think?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change; after all, from the outside, the only thing that seemed to be of value to others was the airdrop. So he directly asked: ¡°What do you have for trade?¡± ¡°Food, weapons, vehicles¡­ anything is fine, but only if the contents of the airdrop box are worth it.¡± Zhang Hong appeared very confident. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. So she was a rich lady? He glanced back at Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Show it to Miss Yang.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun took out the newly packed Crystal Core Synthesizer. ¡°Hmm?¡± Zhang Hong frowned. She didn¡¯t recognize this device. ¡°Sorry, we don¡¯t need this thing. I¡¯ve disturbed you enough.¡± Zhang Hong shook her head. What she needed the most was the Inhibitor. Everything else was optional, but the Inhibitor was essential. After speaking, Zhang Hong turned to leave without any hesitation, losing all the warmth and eagerness she had just shown. This response left Wang Tao somewhat puzzled. Was this woman really so pragmatic? And she didn¡¯t even ask what the machine was specifically? However, Wang Tao did appreciate one thing about Zhang Hong: she didn¡¯t attack him and his two companions. After all, from the looks of it, it should have been easy for their group of more than ten to deal with the three of them. Whether she was being cautious or she had her principles, in the end, she indeed did not make a move, nor did she intend to. Seeing Zhang Hong about to leave with her group, with no intention of further communication with Wang Tao, he said to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Little Jun, pack up the Crystal Core Synthesizer. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Xu Xiaojun promptly wrapped up the device again. But just as Zhang Hong was pulling open the car door, ready to get in, her step hesitated. A second later, she turned around, her smile warm and radiant. ¡°Mr. Wang, I suddenly remembered that I didn¡¯t ask for the name of this device. May I know what it¡¯s called?¡± ¡°The Crystal Core Synthesizer. It¡¯s a small device that removes the side effects from Crystal Cores through synthesis. However, it only works on Level 1 Crystal Cores,¡± Wang Tao said nonchalantly. ¡°Remove side effects!¡± Before Zhang Hong could speak, the other survivors who heard this all widened their eyes. ¡°Side effects can be removed? For real?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the end of the world, and technology is still so advanced?¡± ¡°Could it be a scam?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The survivors whispered amongst themselves. Zhang Hong took a deep breath and spoke seriously: ¡°If this device really does what Mr. Wang says, then I want it. Name your price, Mr. Wang, whatever you need.¡± Observing Zhang Hong acting like ¡®money is no object,¡¯ Wang Tao expressed a hint of confusion. ¡°Miss Yang, I didn¡¯t say anything about trading with you, did I?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Hong carefully recalled the conversation, and indeed¡ªit seemed that was the case. She wanted to know what it was, and Wang Tao showed her. Wang Tao had asked what she had, and she had mentioned a few. From start to finish, Wang Tao had never said he wanted to trade the device with her. After all, according to Wang Tao, this was a device that could extract the side effects from Crystal Cores. In many cases, such a device could be much more valuable than the Inhibitor! It made perfect sense for Wang Tao not to trade with her, but this was something Zhang Hong couldn¡¯t accept. If she didn¡¯t know about such a brilliant device, it would be one thing, but now that she did, it was a must-have. With it, she wouldn¡¯t necessarily need to mass-produce Ability Users, but it would undoubtedly boost the strength of her subordinates dramatically! ¡°Mr. Wang, there¡¯s no trade that can¡¯t be made, it¡¯s just a matter of price¡­,¡± Zhang Hong eyed Wang Tao and his two companions. A big guy, a Fatty, and a girl hiding behind the big guy whose face couldn¡¯t be seen, plus not much luggage¡­ Chapter 364 - Chapter 364: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_2 Chapter 364: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_2 Zhang Hong instantly had a grasp of the situation, and she pointed to one of the vehicles in her convoy: ¡°A pickup truck full of food, in exchange for this Crystal Core Synthesizer, do we have a deal?¡± It was an off-road pickup truck, its bed filled with sacks seemingly containing rice. The food in this truck, even for those with large appetites, would last for a very long time. For those in need of food, the price was not low. She thought that Wang Tao and the other two were in need of food, as Wang Tao had no vehicle and could only carry so much luggage, which certainly couldn¡¯t hold much food. But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not short of food right now.¡± Wang Tao was telling the truth. Previously, he had converted all the food from the granary into nutrient solutions, and he had plenty of it. The three of them couldn¡¯t finish it in the short term, so he wasn¡¯t short of food at the moment. However, Zhang Hong saw this as nothing more than a bargaining tactic. Zhang Hong wasn¡¯t angry; after all, it¡¯s normal for business people to negotiate prices, and she was used to it. ¡°Two trucks of food.¡± Zhang Hong said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, I don¡¯t need food.¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Three trucks of food, that¡¯s my final offer. After all, I have so many people to feed.¡± Zhang Hong¡¯s expression became much more serious. It seemed as if the deal wouldn¡¯t happen if Wang Tao refused again. But Wang Tao still declined. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll be on our way.¡± Zhang Hong frowned. Did Wang Tao really not need food? Seeing that Wang Tao was about to leave, she quickly called out to him. ¡°Wait. How about Crystal Cores?¡± At the mention of Crystal Cores, Wang Tao stopped, then said with a smile: ¡°Crystal Cores are fine, but I only want Level 2 Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Zhang Hong fell silent. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Her subordinates, on the other hand, were shocked. ¡°Level 2 Crystal Cores? Do they have a Level 2 Ability User? Is it him, or that big Fatty beside him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably the Fatty. As a Level 1 Ability User, I can vaguely feel a faint pressure emanating from the Fatty¡­¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe there¡¯s actually a Level 2 Ability User. No wonder our boss is being so polite¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was astonished. It was not that they underestimated Wang Tao and his companions, but those who followed Zhang Hong knew just how difficult it was for Zhang Hong to ascend to Level 2! Before Zhang Hong¡¯s Ascension, they had many more people than this¡ªthe majority of their manpower had died in the process of hunting down Level 2 Zombies! They had paid with many lives for Zhang Hong to have a chance at Level 2 Ascension¡­ The survivors, after their shock, felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, their boss was sensible and had not clashed with Wang Tao. Otherwise, if a battle with a Level 2 Ability User broke out, these Level 1 or even non-ranked individuals would definitely suffer! ¡­ The reason Zhang Hong was so polite to Wang Tao was not because of Wang Tao himself, but because of Xu Xiaojun beside him. She didn¡¯t know Wang Tao¡¯s exact strength; she felt he shouldn¡¯t be weak but also not too strong¡ªprobably at most at the pinnacle of Level 1. As for the girl behind Wang Tao, though she was dressed cleanly and didn¡¯t look like a post-apocalyptic survivor, Zhang Hong felt the girl was just an ordinary person and not worth concern. What truly made her wary was Xu Xiaojun because like attracts like; she could sense that Xu Xiaojun was a second-order Ability User! She was absolutely sure of it! As a Level 2 Ability User herself, she knew how formidable Level 2 Ability Users were. If she had gotten into a conflict with Wang Tao and the others, she might have been fine, but her subordinates would¡¯ve faced disaster. Thus, she was so polite to Wang Tao. Now it seemed her instincts were right; Xu Xiaojun was indeed a second-order Ability User! After a moment of silence, Zhang Hong reluctantly took out three Crystal Cores from her hand, two blue and one white. ¡°I only have these three Level 2 Crystal Cores on hand at the moment, and I don¡¯t know what they do. Pick one.¡± Seeing the three Crystal Cores in Zhang Hong¡¯s hand, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Athlete] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Double energy consumption for actions)] [Athlete: Passive Ability, Enhance athletic performance] The first Crystal Core was an Athlete, a passive ability that, in a sense, was a comprehensive enhancement of physical fitness. This Crystal Core was excellent, a great aid for survival in the post-apocalyptic world, despite the somewhat uncomfortable side effect. But that wasn¡¯t the point; the point was that Wang Tao already had an Athlete Crystal Core, which he had acquired from hunting a hooded zombie. Now he had two; if he could gather one more, he could synthesize one without any side effects¡­ [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Jump] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Sensitive to noise)] [Jump: Consumes energy to improve jumping height and distance] The second Crystal Core was Jump, like the Athlete, another life-saving ability. Of course, it could also be used to assist in attacks, depending on how it¡¯s paired. Wang Tao also had a Jumping Crystal Core, also from a hooded zombie. However, these two cores were actually just appetizers. The third Crystal Core was what truly moved Wang Tao. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Frenzy] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: HP reduces by 10000 after integration)] [Frenzy: Automatically triggers when HP is below 30%, can only trigger once a day. Upon triggering Berserk, HP, Mana, Physical strength, and Spirit fully recover, size increases, all negative statuses are removed, Attack power significantly increases, speed moderately increases, defensive power moderately decreases. Frenzy lasts for 1 hour, after which it returns to normal.] Chapter 365 - Chapter 365: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_3 Chapter 365: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_3 The third Crystal Core was a Berserk! Wang Tao had an Epic Quality Berserk Crystal Core in his hands, which had burst out of a gorilla zombie before! If it hadn¡¯t been for Wu Fei saving his life at that time, he might have died. And he considered this type of Berserk Crystal Core one of the best. Because it was like having an extra life! Unfortunately, the side effects of this Crystal Core were too perverse, directly deducting 10,000 HP, Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t dare to merge with it. He thought about whether he could save up two more Berserk Crystal Cores, and then synthesize a Crystal Core without side effects to merge with. Now, he had indeed waited for another Berserk Crystal Core! Although this Crystal Core was only of ordinary quality, it didn¡¯t matter to Wang Tao; after all, he had an Epic Quality Berserk Crystal Core in his possession¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll take these three Crystal Cores, and another vehicle. You can take the Crystal Core Synthesizer.¡± Wang Tao spoke up at this time. ¡°¡­¡± Even Yang Changhong, who was accustomed to bargaining, couldn¡¯t help but frown. She had only these three Level 2 Crystal Cores in total, acquired at the cost of many lives. Wang Tao wanted all of them and even a vehicle? Although the Crystal Core Synthesizer was indeed a good piece of equipment, if one didn¡¯t consider external factors and only looked at its value, it was definitely worth the price. But the problem was that whether it was Level 2 Crystal Cores or vehicles, both were very valuable at the moment. If she were to trade these for a Crystal Core Synthesizer, it would be a fair exchange for her team, but not for her personally! Seeing that Yang Changhong¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t too good, Wang Tao immediately added: ¡°Of course, I can also throw in 10 bottles of Inhibitor.¡± ¡°You have Inhibitors?¡± After Yang Changhong was stunned for a moment, she immediately nodded, ¡°Deal!¡± Seeing how straightforward Yang Changhong was all of a sudden, Wang Tao felt that 10 bottles of Inhibitors might have been too many. But since he had already spoken, he naturally wouldn¡¯t go back on his word. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao took out 10 bottles of Inhibitor from the backpack that Xu Xiaojun carried, and he also generously took out the instruction manual for the Crystal Core Synthesizer. ¡°I¡¯m not going to swindle you, take a look at the manual first, and if there¡¯s no issue, we can trade.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a manual too?¡± Yang Changhong was somewhat surprised; she had picked up airdrops a few times, but hadn¡¯t seen equipment types, so she wasn¡¯t very clear about it. After receiving the manual, Yang Changhong quickly glanced through it and was immediately both amazed and regretful. The functionalities of the Crystal Core Synthesizer were impressive, but it had many downsides too. Overall though, it was a good item worth exchanging for. ¡°No problem.¡± Once she confirmed there was no problem, Wang Tao handed over both the Crystal Core Synthesizer and the 10 bottles of Inhibitors to her. She, in turn, gave all three Level 2 Crystal Cores to Wang Tao. As she handed over the Crystal Cores, she felt somewhat reluctant since they were hard-won. However, she didn¡¯t know what Abilities these Crystal Cores had nor had a way to test them, so she could only comfort herself that the Abilities of these Cores weren¡¯t suitable for her¡­ After receiving the three Crystal Cores, Wang Tao looked much more favorably upon the group. The Crystal Core Synthesizer was of no use to him. He initially thought that exchanging it for a vehicle would be enough, but he didn¡¯t expect to obtain three more Crystal Cores¡ªan unexpected windfall. Yang Changhong let her people take away the Crystal Core Synthesizer, while she personally kept the 10 bottles of Inhibitors. With these Inhibitors in her possession, she finally felt some sense of security. Not everyone was as strong as Wang Tao or as well-protected. In most survivors¡¯ battles with zombies, getting scratched or bitten was inevitable. Even accidental infection with the zombie virus could occur, like consuming food contaminated with fresh zombie blood. At such times, Inhibitors became crucial. If one confirmed a virus infection and wasn¡¯t in a dying state, using an Inhibitor within one minute would mostly result in survival. After one minute, it was a matter of luck, as the minimum incubation period for the zombie virus is one minute. Even so, having Inhibitors greatly increases chances of survival. With Inhibitors on hand, both Yang Changhong and her subordinates could remain unpanicked. She had run out of Inhibitors recently and without a new supply, she would lose her nerve and the others would become much more timid in combat, significantly diminishing their fighting capability¡­ ¡°As for the vehicles, aside from my own, you can choose any of the rest,¡± Yang Changhong pointed out the vehicles. There were over a dozen of them, but they had eight vehicles, which was rather plentiful. Plus, the vehicles were either modified pickups or off-road vehicles, quite suited for an apocalyptic environment. ¡°I¡¯ll take that one.¡± Wang Tao selected a particularly large off-road vehicle. The vehicle was a bit ugly, resembling a coffin box, but it was large, and the interior only had five seats, offering ample space. Wang Tao was one-meter-ninety, and Xu Xiaojun topped two meters, so they needed a vehicle with a spacious interior to fit comfortably. Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t surprised by Wang Tao¡¯s choice; she handed over the car keys to him directly. ¡°Pleasure doing business!¡± ¡°Pleasure doing business.¡± After Wang Tao thoroughly checked the vehicle, finding that steel plates were added to the exterior and there were no issues inside, and that the gas tank was almost full, he let Xu Xiaojun place their belongings inside. As he got into the vehicle, Jiang Shixue, who had stayed behind Wang Tao the whole time, finally appeared. Everyone was astonished when they saw such a clean and tidy young girl, but since there were Second-order Superpower Owners present, they refrained from staring too long. Yang Changhong was unexpectedly taken by Jiang Shixue¡¯s cleanliness and beauty. Seeing Jiang Shixue, she seemed to see her sister. Shaking her head, Yang Changhong tried not to dwell on sad thoughts, and habitually asked Wang Tao. ¡°May I ask where Mr. Wang plans to head to next?¡± ¡°Zijing City.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°Huh? Zijing City?¡± After Yang Changhong hesitated for a moment, a bright smile appeared on her face. ¡°What a coincidence, Mr. Wang. We¡¯re heading to Zijing City too. How about we go together?¡± Chapter 366 - Chapter 366: Chapter 173: Betting_1 Chapter 366: Chapter 173: Betting_1 ¡°How about we go together?¡± Upon hearing Yang Changhong¡¯s words, her subordinates, who had been somewhat displeased, were stunned for a moment before their expressions changed to ones of anticipation! If Wang Tao and his two companions were outsiders, they would definitely be unhappy. After all, Wang Tao had beaten up their people and taken their boss¡¯s belongings. But if Wang Tao and his team were allies, that would be a different story¡ªthis was a Level 2 Ability User! ¡°Oh, along the way?¡± Wang Tao glanced at Yang Changhong and the group of survivors, feeling that they didn¡¯t seem to be deceiving him; it really appeared they were heading the same way. ¡°Yes, we are also going to Zijing City. We are all survivors struggling to live in the apocalypse, stronger together since we¡¯re on the same path. Why not travel together?¡± Yang Changhong spoke with great enthusiasm. ¡°I¡¯m ready to leave right now¡­¡± Now that he had a car, Wang Tao wanted to get to Zijing City as soon as possible for the wilderness held many mysterious creatures, and every additional minute there increased the danger. Yang Changhong immediately replied: ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence, so are we!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to pack up your things?¡± Yang Changhong pointed at her convoy: ¡°We don¡¯t have a camp, the vehicles are our camp. You could say we are ¡®apocalypse nomads¡¯¡­¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao came to a realization. No wonder their vehicles were loaded with so many supplies; Wang Tao had thought these were scavenged by them that very day. He even thought Yang Changhong was particularly lucky to have found so much food in one morning¡ªturns out they had no fixed residence but were constantly on the move in the apocalypse, like a nomadic tribe. There were indeed many advantages to this lifestyle, such as not having to worry about their base being besieged by a large number of zombies, not having to consider the development of a base, and not being restricted by geographic location, and so on. Of course, the ¡°nomadic¡± lifestyle had a significant disadvantage: the group could not grow too large. After all, with a larger number of people, there would definitely be many who¡¯d want to settle down, and a larger group also meant less mobility. ¡°What do you think, Mr. Wang?¡± Yang Changhong looked at Wang Tao with eager eyes. Having a Second-order Superpower Owner join them, even temporarily, would at least double their security factor! As for the character of Wang Tao and his companions, that was hard to gauge, but Yang Changhong firmly believed that relationships maintained by mutual interest were the most stable. She felt that both she and Wang Tao were in a position where they needed each other, and under such circumstances, nobody would do anything foolish. Thus, for her own sake, as well as for her subordinates, she tried her best to extend the invitation. ¡°Okay.¡± After a brief contemplation, Wang Tao nodded. As Yang Changhong had said, there was indeed strength in numbers. These people might not be powerful, but they were sharp-eyed. If any danger arose, at least they could serve as human alarm sirens. Moreover, Wang Tao was curious about other areas. Seeing as how Yang Changhong and her group had obviously traveled to many places, perhaps he could get some information from her. ¡°Welcome Mr. Wang to our team! I believe you won¡¯t be disappointed!¡± Yang Changhong laughed heartily, shook hands again with Wang Tao, and then looked at Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue, asking: ¡°How should I address these two?¡± ¡°Xu Xiaojun.¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and said. These two groups, initially at an impasse, had suddenly become allies, and Xu Xiaojun was still a bit unaccustomed to it. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Xu.¡± Yang Changhong was still very polite. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak but looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Her name is Jiang Shixue, my sister. She¡¯s a bit socially awkward and doesn¡¯t like to talk much.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Jiang Shixue¡­ what a lovely name, as beautiful as the person herself!¡± Yang Changhong thought of her own sister, her gaze becoming somewhat nostalgic. But she quickly snapped out of it and announced to the others: ¡°Get in the cars, we¡¯re heading to Zijing City! Oh, right¡ª¡± Yang Changhong looked back at Wang Tao. ¡°Your car has a radio; we can communicate directly if there¡¯s any trouble. You have a radio of your own, right? Let¡¯s synchronize¡­¡± Soon, the eight vehicles left the small town one after another and continued westward along the national highway. In the biggest off-road vehicle, Xu Xiaojun was driving, while Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue sat in the back. The three of them didn¡¯t have much luggage, and the space inside the car was generous, so Wang Tao reclined the back seat to lie down for a while. Jiang Shixue, rather attached to Wang Tao, laid down with him. Xu Xiaojun naturally became the driver, but he was content, as this was the most luxurious car he had ever driven¡ªit was said to be worth over a million! Just then, the radio inside the car suddenly crackled to life. ¡°Mr. Wang, are you there? This is Yang Changhong.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao asked, still lying down. ¡°Mr. Wang, do you know what kind of energy source is needed to use this Crystal Core Synthesizer?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s tone revealed no clear emotion. ¡°I know, it needs a hefty amount of electricity to power the Crystal Core Synthesizer,¡± Wang Tao replied directly. ¡°¡­¡± Then he seemed to hear a deep breath being taken. In another, even more luxurious off-road vehicle, Yang Changhong¡¯s chest heaved with heavy breaths. For a constantly moving group like theirs, energy was what they lacked most, especially electrical power. All she had was a gasoline generator and a few solar panels, and the electricity they generated was stored in several batteries. But that little amount of electricity was nowhere near enough to power the Crystal Core Synthesizer! She had paid a high price for that synthesizer, but it turned out to be useless¡­ Yang Changhong was close to raging with frustration. Chapter 367 - Chapter 367: Chapter 173: Betting_2 Chapter 367: Chapter 173: Betting_2 She took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and then spoke, ¡°Mr. Wang, since you knew, why didn¡¯t you remind me!¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s tone carried a hint of resentment. ¡°Didn¡¯t I give you the manual? That¡¯s all in there, on page nine. Didn¡¯t you see it?¡± Wang Tao asked in return. He truly hadn¡¯t done it on purpose. He thought Yang Changhong had seen it, and at the time, he was wondering how she would solve the energy issue. Had she really not seen it? ¡°¡­Fine! I¡¯ll study it more carefully.¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t truly regret it, after all, it was indeed a valuable item, and she had also obtained 10 bottles of Inhibitor. But the limitation on energy was too great, she would have to think of a way to solve it. As Yang Changhong was about to end the communication, Wang Tao happened to have some things to ask her, so he spoke up, ¡°I haven¡¯t ventured far since the apocalypse began. Could you tell me about what you have seen?¡± ¡°I can¡­¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t hide anything and roughly shared what she had observed on her journey. After listening to her, Wang Tao felt a bit wistful. It was as he expected, the situations elsewhere were also pretty dire. Despite it being over four months since the apocalypse, survivors were still in early stages of struggling to survive. Being able to set up a small survivor¡¯s camp was already impressive. She had actually seen a few large Survivor Bases, including one that had been organized by the Government before. But these bases had all fallen one after the other. From her words, it was apparent that leading so many people as apocalypse nomads wasn¡¯t her choice, but rather she had no alternative. This time, her goal was the large Survivor Base in Zijing City. If Zijing City had this base, and it was decent, then she might just end her wandering life. As for zombies, of course, she had encountered many, some of which Wang Tao had never seen. However, she had not come across any mysterious monsters, nor had she seen the monster manual in the airdrops, so she was unaware of the dangerous wild creatures. ¡°Monster Manual? What¡¯s that?¡± Upon hearing this, Yang Changhong suddenly asked. ¡°It¡¯s the information from the airdrop. Haven¡¯t you come across any airdrops?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. ¡°No¡­ Stop the car, I¡¯m coming to you!¡± Yang Changhong decisively halted the convoy and got out of her vehicle to climb into Wang Tao¡¯s. Many survivors watching this scene felt a pang in their hearts. ¡°It¡¯s over, the boss might really like that guy¡­ My heart hurts!¡± Unaware of her subordinates¡¯ murky thoughts, Yang Changhong hurriedly asked after getting into the car, ¡°What is the Monster Manual? Can you show me?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao immediately took out the manual and handed it to Yang Changhong. They say that a man looks most attractive when he¡¯s serious, and the same can be said for women. Despite her skin having roughened from the harsh life of post-apocalyptic wandering, Yang Changhong had attractive features: an oval face, high nose bridge, big eyes, small mouth¡­ Her overall proportions were harmonious, making her a standard beauty. Especially when she was carefully reading the manual, with her eyebrows slightly knitted, she looked incredibly charming¡­ Wang Tao promptly averted his gaze. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s been a while since I ¡®replenished HP¡¯ with my sister-in-law, I¡¯m starting to miss it¡­¡± He shook his head, feeling a bit helpless. There¡¯s an old saying that three years in the military makes a sow seem as fair as Diaochan. And Yang Changhong was no sow but a standard beauty. It was normal for him to have thoughts any regular man would have. Of course, it¡¯s not like there were no women around Wang Tao. Jiang Shixue was enough to outshine countless other women, and she was also very compliant toward him. To say Wang Tao had no thoughts about Jiang Shixue would be impossible. The world had been post-apocalyptic for months, no one would hold themselves to the moral standards of peaceful times. Besides, Jiang Shixue was 19, he was 26; even before the apocalypse, that would have been perfectly normal. But Jiang Shixue was different from others, being in a half-human half-zombie state, her body was almost like a zombie¡¯s. Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t dare to make an excessive move, or else if he got infected, he¡¯d have nowhere to cry¡­ As he was lost in his wild thoughts, Wang Tao suddenly felt someone staring at him. He turned his head and saw Jiang Shixue¡¯s bright, wide eyes. ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Wang Tao felt a bit uneasy and somewhat evasively ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. Today, her hairstyle was twin ponytails, obviously done by him. Mainly because he didn¡¯t know how to do other hairstyles. Ponytails were easy; Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair was either twin or single ponytails every day¡­ Feeling the large hand on her head, Jiang Shixue gently narrowed her eyes and rubbed her head against Wang Tao¡¯s palm like a kitten. At that moment, Yang Changhong suddenly exclaimed, drawing Wang Tao¡¯s attention. ¡°Ah? So these Night Demons are afraid of Ultraviolet Light! Damn!¡± Perhaps feeling she had overreacted, Yang Changhong explained further, ¡°The night before last, we encountered a Night Demon. I was asleep at the time, and the others didn¡¯t recognize what Level the zombie was, thinking it was a Level 2 Zombie¡­ As a result, we lost three people. If it weren¡¯t for the vehicles, we might have all died¡­¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders ¨C with the capabilities of this group, meeting a Night Demon was essentially the same as being sitting ducks. After sighing, Yang Changhong continued to read on. ¡°The monsters in the wild¡­ Hiss!¡± At this point, she suddenly felt perhaps her luck had been quite good? She had never encountered these types of monsters. Before today, she had thought the nights were safe, even considering, if she couldn¡¯t find a suitable base, collecting more resources in the future and building a self-sufficient camp in the uninhabited wilderness. Chapter 368 - Chapter 368: Chapter 173: Betting_3 Chapter 368: Chapter 173: Betting_3 But now, it seems that doing this is no different from seeking death¡­ After reviewing the Monster Manual, Yang Changhong thanked Wang Tao very solemnly: ¡°Thank you! If I hadn¡¯t seen this manual, I would have had no idea how dangerous it is out there!¡± ¡°No need to be polite.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand and then asked curiously, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys pick up any airdrop supplies?¡± ¡°No, we saw the plane, but this time the airdrop was different from before. It used to be a fixed drop over a certain city, but now it feels pretty random; we don¡¯t know where it¡¯s going to drop next, some have even landed deep in the wilderness, impossible to find¡­¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s face showed a trace of helplessness. They had seen an airdrop this time, but they had come from another route and hadn¡¯t seen the exact location of the drop right away. Later, one of her subordinates found it and was waiting for her to get there, but Wang Tao got there first¡­ It was as if they had worked for nothing. ¡°The airdrop locations are pretty random¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned a bit. Back in Shuize County, every time there was an airdrop, it always landed in the city; he had not encountered the situation described by Yang Changhong. Why would the pilots intentionally make it harder to retrieve the airdrops? And weren¡¯t they aware of the monster situation in the wild? Wang Tao was puzzled, but since he didn¡¯t understand these matters, he could only shake his head. He would observe more carefully if there were any future airdrops. ¡­ At noon. The convoy stopped. Because someone had seen several Elite Zombies gathering together. Elite Zombies have Crystal Cores, and no one wants to miss the chance to get them upon encounter. But now that Level 2, Elite Zombies had appeared, not everyone could distinguish between Level 1 Zombies and Level 2 Zombies. So now, seeing an Elite Zombie, everyone is very cautious. Of course, it¡¯s different if there¡¯s a Second-order Superpower Owner in the team. After Yang Changhong¡¯s subordinate saw a few Elite Zombies, they immediately informed her, and she notified Wang Tao. ¡°There are Elite Zombies¡­ let me check.¡± After receiving Yang Changhong¡¯s message, Wang Tao climbed onto the roof of the vehicle. His enhanced vision easily located the group of zombies Yang Changhong mentioned. ¡°One Spitter, one Attacker, one Terrorizer, plus some Ordinary Zombies¡­ all Level 1.¡± Wang Tao was a bit disappointed; there were no Level 2 Zombies. Of course, a mosquito¡¯s leg is still meat; it can¡¯t go to waste. ¡°They¡¯re all Level 1 Zombies, what does Boss Yang say?¡± Wang Tao called out to Yang Changhong, who was not far away. Yang Changhong put down her binoculars and looked at Wang Tao somewhat surprisingly. She could also tell the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 Zombies, but she had to be closer and come to a conclusion based on her perception of danger and experience with zombies. And Wang Tao could judge from so far away that they were Level 1 Zombies? ¡°Are you sure these are all Level 1 Zombies?¡± Yang Changhong asked, then explained, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you, but if we make a mistake in our judgment, someone might die because of it, and I have to be responsible for their lives.¡± ¡°I¡¯m certain. Of course, I¡¯m referring to this group of zombies. If other zombies come over, that¡¯s a different story,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Okay!¡± Yang Changhong chose to trust Wang Tao; after all, they were teammates now. There was no need to sabotage anyone. Plus, they¡¯d definitely need to go closer for observation later. After thinking for a moment, she said to Wang Tao: ¡°Since they¡¯re all Level 1 Zombies, there¡¯s no real challenge for us. How about we see who can kill them faster? Whoever wins gets the Crystal Cores, naturally, and the winner can make a request that isn¡¯t too excessive, and the other cannot refuse. How about that?¡± After saying that, she deliberately licked her lips. ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao looked at Yang Changhong¡¯s seductive expression, instantly becoming somewhat interested. ¡°Sure, no problem!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t care about winning or losing; he cared about the Crystal Cores. These few Level 1 Elite Zombies were found by Yang Changhong¡¯s people, and even if he wanted the Crystal Cores, it wouldn¡¯t be right to argue over them. But since Yang Changhong proposed a competition on who could kill faster, he was determined to secure the Crystal Cores! ¡°Don¡¯t worry about making noise attracting Mad Demon Zombies; just go all out. Mad Demon Zombies are not as fast as our cars. Once we kill them, we can leave, and they won¡¯t be able to catch us,¡± Yang Changhong also thoughtfully reminded Wang Tao. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow; what did this woman mean, was she looking down on him? Of course, Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t looking down on him. She wanted to compete with Wang Tao mainly to assess the strength of Wang Tao and his companions. Using a Level 1 Crystal Core and a promise as a stake wasn¡¯t a small deal. That should get them to take it seriously, right? Especially Xu Xiaojun, Yang Changhong really wanted to know if this Second-order Superpower Owner was stronger than herself! As for the possibility of losing¡­ she definitely wouldn¡¯t, because she had a Speed Ability! The convoy slowly approached the group of zombies. They stopped about forty or fifty meters away from them. Yang Changhong clearly had experience too; this distance would not allow the Zombie Attackers to reach them immediately even if discovered, because the Attackers¡¯ rush distance was only about thirty meters. This would give them enough reaction time. Other survivors got excited when they heard that their boss was going to compete with Wang Tao and his group. They had only seen their boss, a Level 2 Ability User, in action, and they also wanted to know how other Level 2 Ability Users compared. However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, it wasn¡¯t Xu Xiaojun who made a move on Wang Tao¡¯s side, but Wang Tao himself. Not using a Second-order Superpower Owner? People were confused, even Yang Changhong frowned, but she didn¡¯t say much more. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Wang Tao took a Recurve Bow out of the vehicle. Everyone: ¡°?¡± ¡°Alright, we can start now.¡± While everyone was still somewhat stunned, Wang Tao drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Whoosh¡ª Whoosh¡ª Whoosh¡ª In an instant, all three Elite Zombies were shot in the head, with their HP bars emptied. ¡°I win.¡± Wang Tao turned his head and said to Yang Changhong, who was holding a large machete and ready to rush over. ¡°¡­¡± If you could do ranged attacks, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier! Chapter 369 - Chapter 369: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_1 Chapter 369: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_1 Wang Tao ran over to collect the Crystal Core and the Loot Pack. As for the ordinary zombies, they were easily dealt with by Wang Tao with a single axe blow each. Yang Changhong watched with a dark expression as Wang Tao pocketed the Crystal Core. Losing a bet was a minor issue, she wasn¡¯t someone who couldn¡¯t accept defeat. Mainly, she wanted to assess the strength of Wang Tao and his group. But to her surprise, Wang Tao used a bow and arrows¡­ At most, she could tell that Wang Tao was very accurate at archery, perhaps he had a related Ability. Then there was Wang Tao¡¯s Recurve Bow, powerful enough to kill a Level 1 Elite Zombie with a single arrow¡­ Beyond that, she couldn¡¯t glean any other useful information. Her hope of assessing Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Level 2 Ability User strength completely fell through. However, Yang Changhong was also puzzled. Where did Wang Tao¡¯s bow and arrows come from? Were they previously in Xu Xiaojun¡¯s pack? Keeping weapons hidden in a pack¡­ That¡¯s really underhanded! After Wang Tao returned, he looked at Yang Changhong¡¯s somewhat wooden expression and said with a smile, ¡°Boss Yang?¡± ¡°You won. Make any demand you like, it can be enacted at any time.¡± Yang Changhong shrugged her shoulders, her smile returning to her face. ¡°Haha, then I really have to think about it!¡± Wang Tao sized up Yang Changhong up and down, and in response, she asserted herself without showing weakness. Wang Tao could tell, Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t truly angry, it was just a matter of face, especially with so many subordinates watching¡­ The survivors under Yang Changhong were indeed dissatisfied, but since they hadn¡¯t agreed in advance not to use Ranged Attacks, there was nothing they could do. They had to concede defeat. Of course, it was just a small competition, there were no hard feelings, but they were all holding back a breath, thinking about earning back their boss¡¯s face from elsewhere later on! After everyone got into the vehicles, the convoy just started to leave. ¡°There are zombies.¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly looked behind from inside the vehicle. Wang Tao immediately turned his head to look. ¡°Huh? A Level 2 Suicide Bombing Zombie?¡± [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 2000/2000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He was about to warn Yang Changhong, but then he saw a Level 2 Zombie in sportswear not far behind the Suicide Bombing Zombie! The sports-clothed zombie suddenly leaped high and then landed squarely on the Suicide Bombing Zombie¡¯s head, then bounced off the head and landed at the back of the convoy. ¡°Damn it!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao felt a headache coming on and quickly spoke into the walkie-talkie. ¡°Attention everyone, there¡¯s a Level 2 Suicide Bombing Zombie at the rear of the convoy, and it¡¯s about to explode!¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was stunned for a moment. A Suicide Bombing Zombie, and a Level 2 at that? They all instinctively looked back. Yang Changhong¡¯s face changed color, but before he could speak, a loud bang erupted from behind the convoy, and the ground trembled slightly. ¡°Drive, drive!¡± Yang Changhong immediately shouted into the walkie-talkie. The explosion caused by the Level 2 Suicide Bombing Zombie was too loud, surely attracting a large number of Mad Demon Zombies, they had to hurry away! However, at this moment, Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle suddenly turned around, heading back instead. ¡°Wang Tao, what are you doing?¡± Seeing this, Yang Changhong immediately yelled at the walkie-talkie. ¡°I¡¯m going to pick up a Crystal Core, you guys go first.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s calm voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°You!¡± Anger flashed across Yang Changhong¡¯s face. Going to pick up a Crystal Core from a Level 2 Suicide Bombing Zombie now? It was an opportunity, but had Wang Tao considered the Mad Demon Zombies? Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem like someone who would disregard the bigger picture. In just those few seconds, Mad Demon Zombies began to appear around them! No one knew where these Mad Demon Zombies were hiding; it seemed that as long as there was a big commotion in any area that had once been populated, these zombies would invariably show up! Moreover, their luck didn¡¯t seem too good today, there were so many Mad Demon Zombies! ¡°Boss, what do we do?¡± Someone quickly asked. To leave? Or to fight alongside Wang Tao? After only a second of thought, Yang Changhong had made a decision. ¡°Reverse the cars! All Ability Users prepare, we¡¯ll get down and fight immediately!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± No one questioned whether Yang Changhong¡¯s decision was correct, because they were well aware that they had survived up to this point under Yang Changhong¡¯s leadership. Following the boss might lead to death. Not following the boss would definitely lead to death. ¡°Huh? They didn¡¯t leave?¡± Wang Tao saw the movements of Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy in the rearview mirror and was somewhat surprised, but he didn¡¯t say much to them. Instead, he turned to Xu Xiaojun and said, ¡°You go pick up the Crystal Core, and along the way intercept the Mad Demon Zombies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t the least bit scared. He was about to get out of the vehicle, but Wang Tao pulled him back. ¡°Hold on, take this.¡± Wang Tao handed over a two-meter-long Two-Handed Giant Axe! If the vehicle wasn¡¯t spacious enough, there would have been no room for this Giant Axe. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s eyes widened. He was aware of Wang Tao¡¯s Storage ability, so it wasn¡¯t surprising where Wang Tao got it from, but he was shocked at how big the axe was! Although it looked ordinary, he somehow felt it was incredibly badass! ¡°Alright!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately took it, feeling the heft in his hands. But far from being shocked, he was pleased; the weight felt just right for him! Xu Xiaojun carried the Giant Axe out of the vehicle, rushing straight to where the Suicide Bombing Zombie had died. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue also exited the vehicle. But their target wasn¡¯t the Suicide Bombing Zombie¡¯s Crystal Core, but the sportswear-clad zombie! [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 10000/10000] Chapter 370 - Chapter 370: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_2 Chapter 370: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_2 [Level: Level 2 Elite] Wang Tao had turned back because of the tracksuit zombie. Level 2 zombies were hard to come by, and since he had encountered one, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to miss the opportunity. The tracksuit zombie also noticed Wang Tao¡¯s car. Its original target had been the last vehicle, but since Wang Tao¡¯s car had already charged towards it, it naturally changed its target. Thus, it leaped high and fell near Wang Tao¡¯s car. Whoosh¡ª At that moment, Jiang Shixue suddenly opened the car door and instantly appeared at the landing spot of the tracksuit zombie. When it landed, Jiang Shixue punched it at the back of its head. The tracksuit zombie saw Jiang Shixue too, but it didn¡¯t know to dodge, only reflexively attacking her. But it wasn¡¯t as fast as Jiang Shixue, so with a thud, it flopped on the ground in front of Wang Tao in a face-first dive. [-4323] ¡°Hmm? Its defense seems pretty low!¡± Wang Tao wielded a hand axe in one hand and a slime grenade in the other. He first chopped at the tracksuit zombie¡¯s head with his axe. [-3455] The zombie took a hit and was trying to get up when Wang Tao threw the slime grenade at it. Splash! The tracksuit zombie was instantly glued in place. The slime grenade¡¯s effect on a Level 2 zombie would only last a few seconds, but it was enough. Jiang Shixue appeared behind the tracksuit zombie, clenched her small fists, and hammered two punches into the back of its head. [-4531] [-4642] Wang Tao¡¯s second axe strike came down with full force. Splat! [-3049] [0/20000] The tracksuit zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. Wang Tao skillfully extracted the crystal core, picked up the loot pack, and quickly got back into the car. While it took some time to describe, from the moment he saw the tracksuit zombie to killing it, it all happened in a very short span. Xu Xiaojun had just picked up a self-destruct crystal core. Yang Changhong¡¯s group had also just driven over. They only saw Wang Tao getting out of the car and seemingly killing a zombie, but they weren¡¯t clear on the specifics. ¡°Hurry up, we¡¯ll cover you for a while!¡± Yielding a giant axe about a meter long, Yang Changhong exited her vehicle and shouted loudly. Wang Tao¡¯s gaze lingered on her giant axe for a moment. Such a beautiful woman wielding a giant axe presented an intriguing contrast. By then, a large number of Mad Demon Zombies had already reached Xu Xiaojun. Holding the axe with both hands, Xu Xiaojun chopped at the incoming Mad Demon Zombies. Bang! A semi-transparent shockwave spread out in a fan shape from Xu Xiaojun¡¯s axe. [-4000] [-4000] [-4000] [¡­] Numerous Mad Demon Zombies were reduced to mere chunks of flesh, clearing the space in front of Xu Xiaojun instantly. Yang Changhong: ¡°¡­¡± Others: ¡°¡­¡± However, with many Mad Demon Zombies to deal with, Xu Xiaojun changed direction and swung his axe again. [-4000] [-4000] [-4000] [¡­] Again, the ground was littered with chopped remains. He switched directions once more, and the third axe swing was launched. [-4000] [-4000] [-4000] [¡­] This time, all Mad Demon Zombies behind the convoy were wiped out! Xu Xiaojun caught his breath. Not to mention the others, even he was astounded by his own strength. But he remembered Wang Tao¡¯s words and immediately started running back after clearing the zombies, carrying the giant axe. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao shouted to Yang Changhong outside. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, Yang Changhong snapped back to her senses and immediately roared. ¡°Retreat!¡± All vehicles immediately engaged gears and accelerated. Wang Tao opened the car door, waited for a moment, and Xu Xiaojun quickly rushed in. His axe was cumbersome to place, but with a touch from Wang Tao, it disappeared instantly. Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t surprised; he was still immersed in the thrill of having instantly slaughtered a mass of zombies. Wang Tao glanced at the rearview mirror. The distant Mad Demon Zombies were already catching up. Zombies are never-ending, especially the Mad Demon Zombies with their terrifying numbers; there was no need to engage in a fight to the death with them. Wang Tao floored the accelerator. Vroom~ The SUV let out a heavy roar and then shot forward explosively. Although electric cars were more suitable in the apocalypse, it had to be said that the thrill of driving a fuel vehicle was incomparable. And this million-dollar SUV gave Wang Tao, who had hardly driven high-end vehicles before, an adrenaline rush. After a few presses of the accelerator, Wang Tao had caught up with the convoy. The speed of the Mad Demon Zombies was fast, but not faster than a car. Especially now that everyone was on the highway with few obstacles, they were free to step on it. In a matter of minutes, the Mad Demon Zombies were left far behind. Once sure that no zombies were chasing them, the convoy slowed down, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn¡¯t their first time being chased by Mad Demon Zombies, but it was the first time they had run straight into their midst. Even though they weren¡¯t in mortal danger, the intense chase had been nerve-wracking. ¡°You guys¡­ are amazing!¡± Yang Changhong wanted to say more over the walkie-talkie, but in the end, only managed to express admiration. Wang Tao had a feeling that Yang Changhong might have been a bit shaken by the experience. But no matter, this was just the beginning; he hadn¡¯t even taken action yet. ¡°Brother Wang, this giant axe is really powerful! With it in hand, I feel like I became more than twice as strong as before!¡± Xu Xiaojun was not one for many words, but he had been talking non-stop for those few minutes. He couldn¡¯t help it; he was too excited. Before meeting Wang Tao, he was barely able to handle a Level 1 Elite zombie, but now, he could fell over a hundred Mad Demon Zombies with three axe swings! Chapter 371 - Chapter 371: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_3 Chapter 371: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_3 ¡°` The kind of enhancement, especially since it happened in such a short time, was something he wouldn¡¯t even dare to dream of! He was already restraining himself; if it had been someone else, they might have jumped for joy. ¡°How does that axe feel in use? Is it handy?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°Handy! It¡¯s incredibly handy!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately nodded. ¡°As long as it¡¯s handy, that¡¯s good. Practice with it more, and if I think you¡¯re qualified, I¡¯ll give you the Giant Axe.¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao offer to give him the Giant Axe, Xu Xiaojun was instinctively excited, but then he quickly waved his hands in refusal. ¡°Brother Wang, I really shouldn¡¯t! That¡¯s your weapon, I can¡¯t take it! Besides, you use it much better than I could. Giving it to me would be a waste!¡± Seeing Xu Xiaojun¡¯s sincere, even anxious face, and knowing he wasn¡¯t faking, Wang Tao burst into laughter. ¡°The weapon is indeed decent, but I¡¯m not used to it. And I¡¯m not giving it to you unconditionally; you¡¯ll need to prove yourself first.¡± Seeing Xu Xiaojun about to say more, Wang Tao spoke up to interrupt him. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s settle it at that. Let¡¯s discuss your overall feelings now¡­¡± ¡°¡­Okay!¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s determined tone, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t keep talking about the Giant Axe. He always believed that actions speak louder than words. He wouldn¡¯t say much; instead, he would repay Wang Tao with his actions! He began to share his feelings about using the Giant Axe in detail with Wang Tao. Shockwave, or rather some special abilities¡¯ attack power, were not only related to the special ability level but also involved many other aspects. Such as physical fitness, the amount of energy consumed, skill, and even the strength of the weapon¡ªall these could impact the power of an ability. This was why, even though Wang Tao could produce a Shockwave with his bare hands, he insisted on using an axe or a hammer¡ªthe weapons provided a certain boost to his abilities. ¡°Oh right, the Crystal Core!¡± Xu Xiaojun almost forgot; he hurriedly took out an Orange Crystal Core from his pocket. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Self Detonation] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: none)] ¡°Eh? You¡¯ve got some good luck here!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected the Crystal Core Xu Xiaojun obtained to be of Epic Quality. Even though it wasn¡¯t much use to Wang Tao, at least it looked pretty. Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw the Crystal Core; she liked the color orange. ¡°Here, take this.¡± Wang Tao handed the Self-Destruct Crystal Core directly to Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue instinctively reached out to take it but immediately pulled back. ¡°No, thank you.¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised but quickly realized why. Jiang Shixue understood the value of the Crystal Core and therefore declined because she would get no use from it other than as a plaything. Looking at Jiang Shixue, so understanding, Wang Tao immediately felt a fatherly kind of pride. His time teaching her had not been in vain. Wang Tao took back the Crystal Core, then with a thought, found two Level 1 Self-Destruct Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack and synthesized an Epic Level 1 Self-Destruct Crystal Core. ¡°Then this is for you, it¡¯s of no use to me.¡± Looking at this Level 1 Orange Crystal Core, Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t refuse this time. She happily accepted it with a bright face. ¡°Thank you, Big Brother~¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m glad you like it.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily, then told Xu Xiaojun to rest up a bit. Although he had only swung the axe three times, he had used a huge amount of energy to maximize the damage, and now he needed to recover that energy. Wang Tao, on the other hand, drove the car following the team and glanced at his Space Backpack. He had just killed a Level 2 Athlete Zombie and had gotten a Crystal Core and a package. Since it was not an over-levelled kill, the package contained much less. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Athlete] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: double the physical strength consumption in action)] [Athlete: Passive Ability, enhances athletic capabilities] This was an Athlete Crystal Core. Although it was a Crystal Core of ordinary quality, Wang Tao had two more Athlete Crystal Cores! One was of outstanding quality that he had obtained before, and the other was the Blue Quality one he had just taken from Yang Changhong. Now, with this ordinary quality Crystal Core, he could synthesize a Level 2 Epic Crystal Core without impurities or side effects! Wang Tao felt this Crystal Core was quite nice, the type he liked. But he didn¡¯t hurry to synthesize it. After all, even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fuse it for now. However, he had some ideas about this Crystal Core. He had two Passive Ability Crystal Cores that he liked very much¡ª[Frenzy]. Since [Athlete] was also a Passive Ability, could it be possible to fuse it with Frenzy? Wang Tao liked both abilities very much. If these two could be fused, then he might have found the fourth ability he had been hesitant to decide on! Of course, he still needed another Frenzy Crystal Core and a lot of special energy¡­ He would have to look for more opportunities to hunt Level 2 Zombies! Zijing City was also a big city; Wang Tao thought there should be quite a few Level 2 Zombies inside. Once they arrived in Zijing City, they would need to make a good plan¡­ At dusk, the convoy stopped outside an abandoned motel. ¡°Let¡¯s rest here for tonight, what do you think?¡± Yang Changhong knocked on Wang Tao¡¯s window. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao got out of the car. Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue also got out one after another. Previously, when Wang Tao and the others showed up together, everyone¡¯s gaze would subconsciously turn toward Jiang Shixue, since people naturally focus on beautiful things. But now, all eyes were on Xu Xiaojun. There was no helping it; he was just too strong! Xu Xiaojun was somewhat unaccustomed to so many people staring at him, and he scratched his head with a sheepish smile. Yang Changhong glanced at Xu Xiaojun, then at Wang Tao, and seemed to hesitate to speak. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao looked at her curiously. Yang Changhong took a deep breath, then said to Wang Tao: ¡°I know of a place, where there are a lot of Level 2 Zombies. I didn¡¯t dare to go there before. With Mr. Xu¡¯s strength, he might give it a try, but it¡¯s still incredibly dangerous¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me about the dangers. Just tell me where the place is!¡± ¡°` Chapter 372 - Chapter 372: Chapter 175: Arson_1 Chapter 372: Chapter 175: Arson_1 ¡°Boss, the defense facilities are all set up!¡± ¡°Good, we¡¯ll stick to the usual rules and take turns keeping watch at night.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao watched Yang Changhong¡¯s group bustling around and found it quite interesting. If it were Wang Tao spending the night outside, he would simply find an appropriate house and then secure the doors and windows. But Yang Changhong and his group were different; after arriving at this motor inn, they didn¡¯t stay inside but set up a few makeshift tents and lived in them instead. Outside the tents were vehicles, and beyond the vehicles were various defensive structures like spikes and barbed wire. Yang Changhong explained that when they stopped in flat and open areas, they preferred to stay outside because if danger arose, their first reaction was to drive away immediately. Whereas Wang Tao, no matter where he was, preferred to stay indoors. If there were any irresistible dangers, he would first hide. If he couldn¡¯t hide, he would take shelter inside the house and, if he couldn¡¯t avoid it at all, he would run away as a last resort¡­ Of course, most of the time, Wang Tao would take the initiative to strike and deal with the danger. Neither approach could be said to be better, but Yang Changhong and his group were experienced and had excellent driving skills, so the first method was obviously more suitable for them. Wang Tao¡¯s car had a tent, but it wasn¡¯t big, at most fitting two people. Xu Xiaojun volunteered to sleep in the tent, letting Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue sleep in the car. The space inside the car was ample, and there wasn¡¯t much stuff, so sleeping two people was naturally no problem. While Xu Xiaojun was setting up the tent, Wang Tao gave him a set of sportswear. [Black Sportswear Suit: Durability +5, Tear Resistance +5] This was from the sportswear zombie they had encountered today, which was just right for Xu Xiaojun to wear. ¡­ After looking through the Monster Manual, Yang Changhong was slightly worried about the safety of the night. She wasn¡¯t sure if the Night Demon would appear near their temporary camp. The Manual stated that Night Demons were more likely to appear in places with more zombies and were rarely seen in areas with fewer zombies and the wilderness. But there was still a chance of encountering one, so Yang Changhong arranged for an additional group to keep watch today, to ensure any danger could be spotted at the first moment. Once everything was in order, it was time for dinner. Yang Changhong¡¯s dinner consisted of rice with pickled wild vegetables. They had previously visited a rice mill, where they had acquired a considerable amount of rice. Rice had been their staple food for some time now. About the pickled wild vegetables, there were actually many wild plants in the wilderness, though few people recognized them. Some of their group knew wild plants, so they pickled some. Yang Changhong invited Wang Tao to dine together, and he was not a bit shy, bringing Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun with him. A group of people sat around a small table, in the middle of which was a large bowl of pickled wild vegetables and several bottles of chili powder. As the sun set, the atmosphere of a group of survivors gathered outside a semi-abandoned building enjoying their dinner was quite special. ¡°These are wild vegetables?¡± Upon hearing Yang Changhong¡¯s introduction, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He hadn¡¯t had vegetables in a long time. Wang Tao tasted the wild vegetables¡­ and could only say they were average. But that was understandable, if these wild plants tasted really good, they probably wouldn¡¯t be considered wild vegetables. Especially since this was just simple pickling without any other seasoning. Xu Xiaojun was not picky and ate anything heartily. He and Wang Tao were both eating from their bowls with big bites. Jiang Shixue, who preferred meat and nutrient solutions, showed little interest in the rice and wild vegetables, eating with small bites and looking very ladylike. Seeing Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun eating heartily, smiles appeared on everyone¡¯s faces. Although you guys are badass, we¡¯re not useless either. Take this food, for instance. You probably haven¡¯t had any for a long time, they all thought to themselves. Yang Changhong¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but inside, she was somewhat proud. She admitted she wasn¡¯t a match for Xu Xiaojun, but she had won in terms of food. However, at that moment, Wang Tao suddenly seemed to remember something. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I have some fish here too, don¡¯t be shy.¡± Wang Tao pulled out something that looked like a water bag from his embrace. ¡°Fish?¡± Yang Changhong was taken aback. How many fish could fit in that bag? Dried small fish, likely. But she wasn¡¯t disdainful, rather somewhat excited. After all, it had been a long time since she had tasted meat, and even a taste would be welcome. The rest were also expectantly looking at Wang Tao. Then, something that dumbfounded everyone happened. Wang Tao opened the mouth of this ¡°water bag¡± and poured it over the small table. Thump, thump, thump¡ª One big piece of dried fish after another kept coming out of this ¡°water bag,¡± filling up the entire small table in the blink of an eye. Everyone: ¡°?¡± After the initial shock, everyone started to get excited. ¡°Holy shit, what is this thing?¡± ¡°How can such a small bag contain so much stuff?¡± ¡°Is this like the space equipment from novels?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong was also shocked, but her eyes quickly became fervent as she looked towards Wang Tao. ¡°Is this¡­?¡± She didn¡¯t care about the principle; all she knew was that this thing was a godsend for survival in the apocalypse! If their convoy had this¡­ ¡°Oh this, this is called the Magical Stomach Pouch. It¡¯s something inside certain special zombies. It can store a lot of food, and inside it¡¯s cold, like a fridge¡¯s chilling compartment. But it can only store food; nothing else fits inside.¡± Chapter 373 - Chapter 373: Chapter 175: Arson_2 Chapter 373: Chapter 175: Arson_2 Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything; he knew he would often need to take things, and it couldn¡¯t be kept a secret. ¡°Holy smokes!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, everyone was amazed. Despite some limitations, the value of this item could not be concealed! ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, everyone, help yourselves. We¡¯ve been eating fish for a while now, and we¡¯re all pretty tired of it¡­¡± Wang Tao called out to the people around him. ¡°Thank you!¡± The crowd quickly expressed their gratitude. Initially, some people harbored small grievances towards Wang Tao, but now seeing how strong Wang Tao and his group were, and how approachable he was¡­ those small grievances instantly vanished. In fact, many even thought that Wang Tao and their boss would make a good couple! Even Little Jia, who had been kicked down by Jiang Shixue before, held no grudges, especially since the dried fish was really delicious! Yang Changhong seemed to have something to say but hesitated. She really wanted Wang Tao¡¯s Magical Stomach Pouch, but even if he was willing to give it to her, she couldn¡¯t afford it because she had nothing of value left for a trade. As for receiving it for free¡­ she was a pragmatist and didn¡¯t indulge in daydreaming. So Yang Changhong resigned herself to the idea that in the future, if she could acquire some valuable item, she might try to trade with Wang Tao¡ªif he was willing. However, it had to be said, the dried fish was indeed delicious! Hearing that Wang Tao caught the fish in a lake, Yang Changhong quietly took note of this information. They had been constantly on the move and hadn¡¯t encountered many sources of fresh water¡ªand even when they did, they had no opportunity to fish¡­ After the meal, Wang Tao gave the remaining dried fish to them. When Wang Tao found out that there was a cook among the group, he was overjoyed. Not that he couldn¡¯t cook, but he lacked seasonings. And this cook happened to have a variety of them. Wang Tao had some unprocessed fish meat, which he could now have prepared. The cook happily agreed as well, especially since Wang Tao had said that the finished product would be shared with everyone. As it was still early before bedtime, Wang Tao didn¡¯t return to his vehicle but chatted with Yang Changhong for a while. ¡°Why does everyone call you the boss?¡± Yang Changhong smiled at the question. ¡°I was the majority shareholder and chairman of a small company. When the apocalypse struck, I organized some employees to resist and led them out of the building. Later, the old employees either died or scattered, and the number of people dwindled, but some new people joined us. Seeing the old ones calling me boss, the newcomers started calling me that as well¡­¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s tone carried a hint of nostalgia. Being a boss was an affair from just a few months ago, yet it felt like a lifetime had passed, and many memories were already starting to blur. ¡°So you were a wealthy lady all along!¡± Wang Tao understood clearly. No wonder all these cars were luxury ones and well-maintained, unaffected by the acid rain; they were probably hers or her company¡¯s. Hearing the term ¡°wealthy lady,¡± Yang Changhong shook her head helplessly. In the apocalyptic world, it didn¡¯t matter if you were a tycoon or a rich lady; without strength, you were nothing but labor. She was lucky to have survived until now. ¡°What¡¯s your view on those Level 2 Zombies I told you about?¡± Yang Changhong asked Wang Tao. ¡°Well, obviously¡­ kill them! If you want to join, we¡¯ll go together; if not, I¡¯ll go alone,¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. Yang Changhong had already given Wang Tao the location of the cluster of Level 2 Zombies, and he definitely intended to check it out. As long as he confirmed that there were no Level 3 Zombies there, he would take action. ¡°¡­Okay, I won¡¯t go over, but I will wait for you. You all need to be careful!¡± Yang Changhong had actually wanted to take a look, but with so many people under her command and the Level 2 combat strength being much more formidable than Level 1¡¯s, any collateral impact would result in death or serious injury. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll head over tomorrow and make it a quick battle,¡± Wang Tao nodded. Hearing this, Yang Changhong seemed to remember something and suddenly furrowed her brow, asking: ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re not a Second-order Superpower Owner, are you?¡± She hadn¡¯t sensed the aura of a Level 2 Ability User from Wang Tao, but his confidence was unmistakable, he must have such confidence only if he was a Second-order Superpower Owner himself. So, instead of guessing, she decided to ask directly. ¡°I am.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong suddenly fell silent. She suddenly realized another thing. If Xu Xiaojun, a strong Level 2 Ability User, was so obedient to Wang Tao¡­ just how powerful was Wang Tao? She had thought that it was Wang Tao¡¯s unique personal charisma that had won Xu Xiaojun over. But now, hearing that Wang Tao was admitting to being a Second-order Superpower Owner, she believed that, along with charisma, strength was definitely a key factor! For example, herself¡ªif she hadn¡¯t had this power, these people certainly wouldn¡¯t listen to her unconditionally. And if Wang Tao was even stronger than Xu Xiaojun, then it meant her own previous challenge with Wang Tao was quite out of her depths¡­ Yang Changhong felt dejected. She had only just become a Second-order Superpower Owner and when she had achieved her Level 2 Ascension, she had the illusion that she was the ¡°first Second-order Superpower Owner in the world.¡± But now, she had casually encountered two people on the road who were Second-order Superpower Owners, and they were both stronger than her! Yang Changhong, having a strong competitive nature¡ªotherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have personally run a company and assumed the position of the boss¡ªwas feeling uncomfortable after being hit with setbacks one after another¡­ Yang Changhong asked wearily: ¡°About that bet we had earlier, what is your request?¡± Chapter 374 - Chapter 374: Chapter 175: Arson_3 Chapter 374: Chapter 175: Arson_3 ¡°You really agree to any condition?¡± Wang Tao sized up Yang Changhong, his gaze somewhat unrestrained. Yang Changhong instantly felt a wave of goosebumps. When she thought Wang Tao was a Level 1 ability user, her attitude toward Wang Tao was somewhat arrogant; she naturally felt superior. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t mind Wang Tao¡¯s scrutinizing gaze before. But now, having realized that Wang Tao might be stronger than her, that sense of psychological advantage was gone. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s scanning gaze again, she suddenly felt as if she had been stripped bare¡­ ¡°Cough, as long as it¡¯s within my power¡­ you can¡¯t be too unreasonable!¡± Yang Changhong shifted her gaze away somewhat awkwardly. ¡°I definitely won¡¯t make it difficult for you. But I haven¡¯t decided yet. I¡¯ll tell you when I have.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°¡­¡± After Yang Changhong left, Wang Tao also returned to the vehicle to sleep. The space inside the vehicle was large, and he and Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t feel crowded at all when lying together. However, Jiang Shixue liked to snuggle up to Wang Tao, and soon she had burrowed into his arms. Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless; he could only look but not touch. In hindsight, he might as well have gone to sleep in the tent with Xu Xiaojun¡ªit was torture. ¡­ The night passed uneventfully. In the morning, Wang Tao parted ways with the convoy. Upon hearing that Wang Tao was going to hunt down those Level 2 Zombies, the other survivors were somewhat worried, but they didn¡¯t say much, after all, Wang Tao was strong. Yang Changhong said she would wait for Wang Tao for three days. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t return within three days, they would have to depart, as it wasn¡¯t feasible to wait indefinitely. Wang Tao said it wasn¡¯t a problem, a day if quick, two to three if slow, but he would definitely be back. The place Yang Changhong mentioned was inside a small reservoir. She had discovered it a few days earlier while passing by. Wang Tao checked the map and found the location of this reservoir. If he drove straight there, it might only be an hour¡¯s journey. But the road was likely not going to be smooth, so Wang Tao gave himself the morning to reach it. However, today it seemed he was quite lucky, for although he encountered many zombies on the way, including a small group of Mad Demon Zombies, he resolved them all quite easily. He even picked up several Crystal Cores along the way. The athleticwear zombie from yesterday had increased Wang Tao¡¯s HP by 690, and the zombies today had added another 60 HP. So, Wang Tao¡¯s HP had now reached [15200/15200]. He was halfway to Level 3¡¯s threshold of 30,000 HP! ¡°I hope this reservoir will bring me a pleasant surprise¡­¡± ¡­ This was an abandoned reservoir, empty of water, and overrun with weeds. Yang Changhong had said that the Level 2 Zombies she saw were on the periphery of the reservoir. Wang Tao drove around the reservoir, and besides a few Ordinary Zombies, he found no sign of any Level 2 Zombies. Yang Changhong clearly had no reason to lie to him. Either the zombies had moved on, or they were inside the reservoir¡ª the weeds there were too tall, taller than a person, and if there were zombies hidden inside, Wang Tao would not be able to see them. ¡°Should we go down there?¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head, looking at the weeds below. He felt that going down like this was too dangerous, not knowing where the zombies might be, but if Wang Tao asked him to go, he wouldn¡¯t refuse. Wang Tao, looking at the vast expanse of weeds, suddenly had an idea. ¡°Let¡¯s not go down yet. First, let¡¯s clear the area around the reservoir.¡± The surroundings of the reservoir were enclosed with concrete, so no grass could grow there. The weeds were in the reservoir itself and around the perimeter. The three of them quickly cleared the area to ensure the inside and outside of the reservoir were completely separated. Then Wang Tao took out a can of gasoline from the car. The gasoline was included with the car, and Yang Changhong had been generous. After giving the car to Wang Tao, she left the gasoline for him as well. ¡°I hope you are inside, or it would be a waste of my gasoline¡­¡± Wang Tao grinned. Xu Xiaojun also knew Wang Tao¡¯s intentions at that moment and his eyes widened. Man, setting such a big fire! Quite thrilling! The reservoir was not large, being a micro reservoir. But even small, it still covered a certain area. If he were to light the inside weeds on fire, it would be a massive blaze! Wang Tao was actually afraid that the fire would be too intense and spread to himself, so he checked and cleared the surroundings meticulously, making sure there were no other inflammable materials around and that the fire would be contained within the reservoir area. There was a light breeze today, and after testing the wind direction with a strip of cloth, Wang Tao moved the car to the upwind side. He then carried the gasoline can, splashing the gasoline over the weeds in the reservoir. Gurgle gurgle¡ª Finally, Wang Tao lit the cloth in his hand and tossed the burning strip into the reservoir. Whoosh¡ª Instantly, a great fire soared into the sky. Wang Tao and the other two instinctively stepped back. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s watch closely. If any zombies appear, call me immediately.¡± Wang Tao took out his bow and arrows and said. ¡°Sure~¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The weeds were not dried, and they contained a good amount of moisture, so huge plumes of smoke billowed up once the fire caught. ¡°If this were before the apocalypse, I¡¯d probably be sitting in jail for this¡­¡± Wang Tao felt his breathing becoming rapid; the oxygen around him was decreasing, and the heat wave was hitting him. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and quickly led the two back several more steps. In the past, he only saw big fires on the news, with many casualties, but he never experienced how terrifying a big fire could be. But today, he felt the power of a blaze that was suffocating even on the outskirts; the center could only be imagined. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± A few minutes later, Wang Tao heard a roar from inside the reservoir. ¡°There really are zombies! That doesn¡¯t sound like the voice of an ordinary Level 1 Zombie!¡± Moments later, the roars increased in number. ¡°Quick, look where they are!¡± Wang Tao, fighting the discomfort, forced himself to move a few steps forward. ¡°There!¡± Suddenly, Jiang Shixue pointed to a spot. Wang Tao quickly looked and spotted a zombie in the flames. [1398/7000] Whoosh¡ª An arrow flew out, accurately piercing its eye socket. [-1398] [0/7000] Level 2 Zombie, HP depleted. Chapter 376 - Chapter 376: Chapter 176 HP Soars_2 Chapter 376: Chapter 176 HP Soars_2 Could there be a similar behemoth inside the reservoir? With this thought, Wang Tao suddenly felt a mix of excitement and caution. If such a zombie really existed, it would likely be Level 3! Wang Tao had killed a Level 3 Zombie before, but that was done by exploiting the sunlight to eliminate a Night Demon, not through a typical kill. Of course, the situation now was different¡ªnow all zombies would gradually find themselves engulfed in a sea of flames, and if there really were Level 3 Zombies, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t without a chance to fight! Wang Tao shared his speculation about the possibility of Level 3 Zombies in the area with Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, warning them to be cautious. Both nodded quickly. Jiang Shixue was rather unfazed, as she didn¡¯t experience much fluctuation in emotions when it came to combat¡ªto put it simply, she didn¡¯t know fear. Xu Xiaojun, on the other hand, was somewhat scared, which is only human. However, he firmly believed that even if it were a Level 3 Zombie, Wang Tao could take care of it. He held a blind trust in Wang Tao. The fire continued to burn, and from time to time, Level 2 Zombies would leap out of the flames, only to be swiftly dispatched by Wang Tao¡¯s arrows. Wang Tao no longer cared whether or not there were Level 3 Zombies, deciding to kill all the zombies he could before considering anything else. Wang Tao estimated that quite a few zombies would be burned to death before they had a chance to escape the inferno, wondering just how much HP would be wasted¡­ It was a shame that Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun couldn¡¯t perform ranged attacks; otherwise, they could have collected some kills too. The reservoir was deep, and there were protective railings all around. Even if some zombies did manage to break free from the inferno, they couldn¡¯t cause any harm to the trio. But there were always exceptions. Some zombies had the ability to jump directly out, while others had ranged attack abilities, launching assaults on the trio from across the sea of flames. Luckily, Wang Tao was always cautious. He was on the lookout for such zombies. They wouldn¡¯t get the chance to ambush him; he reserved the privilege of surprise attacks for himself. Thus, the three of them dealt with these zombies easily, without much danger. Moreover, Wang Tao had discovered something valuable¡ªa zombie with the ¡°Spittle Nail Ability¡± had just leaped up. The Spittle Nail Ability allowed for storing one-tenth of consumed food in the stomach to be later used as a weapon and spat out. Never mind the abilities of that zombie, what mattered was that killing it would yield a ¡°Magical Stomach Pouch¡±! In the past, Wang Tao had killed three Spittle Nail zombies, each dropping a Magical Stomach Pouch, and this Spittle Nail zombie was no exception¡ªit dropped one too! ¡°Tsk tsk, I can sell this to Yang Changhong, if she can offer something of high value¡­¡± ¡­ Wang Tao originally planned to arrive at the reservoir in the morning, wipe out all Level 2 Zombies by noon, and meet with Yang Changhong in the afternoon. But plans can¡¯t keep up with changes, and there were too many zombies hidden in the reservoir. The fire that started in the morning continued burning into the afternoon without stopping. All three of them used handkerchiefs to cover their noses and mouths. The smell of burning corpses was unbearable. He was also somewhat concerned that the large-scale flames and thick smoke might attract other Level 3 Zombies or those mysterious creatures from the wilderness. However, it seemed they were fortunate; the area was perhaps too remote, and only a few scattered Ordinary Zombies nearby were easily taken care of by Xu Xiaojun. As for the mysterious creatures¡­ Their numbers were small, and unless one was extremely unlucky, encounters with them weren¡¯t so easily come by. ¡°Feels like this fire won¡¯t be extinguished by tomorrow¡­¡± Looking at the great fire, Wang Tao felt a bit helpless. When the fire initially started burning, he could easily finish off the zombies. But as the fire grew larger, finisher moves became difficult. And now that it had grown to this extent, they were out of the question¡ªas he could occasionally hear the zombies¡¯ roars, but couldn¡¯t see where exactly they were amidst the large fire; they couldn¡¯t escape from within it¡­ It was somewhat wasteful, to be honest, but Wang Tao was still satisfied. He glanced at his own HP¡ª[24850/24850] Before coming here, his HP limit was 15,200, but now it was 24,850! It had risen by 9,650! Although most of the zombies in the flames were Level 2, Elites with generally low HP, and the one with the highest HP was the Terrorizer, there were so many zombies that Wang Tao lost track of how many he had killed. ¡°Just 5,000 away from 30,000 HP¡­¡± Wang Tao felt a slight thrill in his heart. This trip was really worthwhile, and the idea of setting the fire had come at just the right time; otherwise, amassing nearly ten thousand in HP limit would have taken quite some time. The reservoir was replete with wild growth. Seeing that the sun was setting and it was still not burnt out, Wang Tao decided not to leave but to rest here for the night. After all, he hadn¡¯t yet claimed his Crystal Core and Loot Pack, which were down below. In the afternoon, the wind direction changed a bit, so Wang Tao switched to a different position. Looking at the shining Crystal Cores and transparent packs in the sea of fire, he felt a strong urge, but he resisted. After all, the fire below was too intense, and who knew if zombies were still hiding there. It was better not to go down until he was sure it was safe. Wang Tao also sensed something odd¡ªthe resilience of these weeds to fire exceeded his expectations. He wondered if perhaps the weeds had mutated as well. But this had a silver lining¡ª When Wang Tao previously threw Molotov cocktails at zombies, the flames on their bodies would quickly extinguish. He didn¡¯t understand why at first, but after some observations, he found that the zombies¡¯ blood might have a ¡°Raining Fire¡± effect¡­ hence, although a Molotov cocktail could burn zombies, it usually couldn¡¯t kill them. Chapter 377 - Chapter 377: Chapter 176 HP Soars_3 Chapter 377: Chapter 176 HP Soars_3 But now, things had changed. If the flames were alone on the zombies, they might not burn for long before going out. However, the current flames were on the weeds, and these weeds were highly flammable. The zombies couldn¡¯t avoid the flames amongst the weeds at all. As long as the weeds didn¡¯t stop burning, they could burn the zombies to death. ¡°Let¡¯s wait it out,¡± Wang Tao said, ¡°hopefully by tomorrow the fire will have died down¡­¡± None of the three, including Wang Tao, were planning on sleeping. After all, with the current situation, sleep was out of the question, and since their level 2 ascension, the necessity for sleep had greatly diminished. An occasional all-nighter wouldn¡¯t impact their mental state much. They spent the whole night in the car, watching the fire burn. It wasn¡¯t until the light of dawn began to appear that Wang Tao finally let out a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about were the Night Demons coming at night. Wang Tao was uncertain whether the three of them could take on a level 3 Night Demon alone. But he knew if there were more than two, they would have to run. Night Demons weren¡¯t solitary zombies¡ªthey tended to come in groups¡­ Luckily, nothing happened that night. The flames in the reservoir were still burning, but had significantly weakened and were now mostly concentrated in the middle of the reservoir. Everywhere else was a bare and charred stretch. Among the ashes, many crystal cores sparkled under the reflection of the flames. ¡°Let¡¯s go, pick up the crystal cores!¡± The surroundings were empty, any dangers could be seen at a glance, so Wang Tao led Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun down without hesitation. ¡°Level 2 Rush, Level 2 Self Detonation, Level 1 Self-heal¡­¡± Looking at these crystal cores, Wang Tao¡¯s grin was almost ear to ear. And it wasn¡¯t just the crystal cores¡ªthey also found loot packs from the zombies they had killed before. Only after gathering these packs did Wang Tao realize that yesterday, he had killed 32 level 2 elite zombies! Then, comparing the number of packs to the amount of crystal cores, Wang Tao realized he had only killed a small fraction of them! Together, the three of them had picked up more than eighty crystal cores! Which meant that at least fifty or more zombies were burned to death, Thinking about it, he felt somewhat pained¡ªafter all, that was potential HP and loot packs! If he had killed those zombies too, Wang Tao¡¯s HP would definitely be close to 30,000! At the same time, Wang Tao was a bit worried in his heart. Given the current state of affairs, it was clear there must be at least one level 3 zombie here! And it might be similar to the Green-eyed Zombie, one that could cultivate other zombies! Such a zombie could perhaps be called¡­ a ¡°Mother¡± zombie? Wang Tao felt this moniker was very fitting. As for where this Mother zombie might be¡­ Wang Tao looked towards the center of the reservoir, where the flames were still burning. If nothing unexpected happened, the Mother zombie might be right there! What puzzled Wang Tao was that the other party didn¡¯t roar or make any moves, as if it had been burned to death. But that seemed unlikely, considering that the level 1 and level 2 zombies had all put up some resistance, yet this level 3 zombie showed no sign of struggle whatsoever? After clearing up the area, Wang Tao and his two companions returned to the shore. ¡°Let¡¯s wait a bit longer. Once that central fire dies down, we can see what¡¯s going on inside,¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°Okay.¡± Both Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun naturally had no objections. But their wait lasted until noon. Wang Tao had just drunk a few bottles of nutrient fluid when Jiang Shixue pointed towards the reservoir and said, ¡°It¡¯s out.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Wang Tao said without hesitation, grasping his axe as he walked. In the very center of the reservoir was a pile of ashes, looking as if a lot of weeds had been there before. After scattering the ashes, they found no crystal cores. ¡°Could there really be no level 3 zombies? Impossible¡­¡± Wang Tao was puzzled; he felt that his guess should have been correct¡­ Xu Xiaojun, wielding his Giant Axe, was clearing the ashes when he accidentally hit the ground. Thud¡ª Something about that sound was off! Xu Xiaojun suddenly exclaimed, ¡°There¡¯s a hollow underneath!¡± ¡°Hollow? Could the level 3 zombie be hiding underground? Keep digging!¡± Soon, they revealed a large slab underneath the ashes. The slab had holes in it, and looking through the holes showed pitch darkness within, unclear what was inside. Wang Tao glanced at it but didn¡¯t see any HP information. ¡°There is more to this than meets the eye¡­,¡± Wang Tao hesitated for a moment before telling Xu Xiaojun, ¡°Smash it open!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue stepped back a bit as Xu Xiaojun lifted his Giant Axe high and brought it down hard on the underground slab. Bang! Crumble¡ª After a loud sound, dust rose, and the surface slab shattered instantly. Prepared for what would come, Xu Xiaojun immediately ran to Wang Tao¡¯s side. The three prepared for combat. But after a moment of waiting, nothing seemed to happen. Once the dust settled beside the broken slab, Wang Tao cautiously approached. ¡°Hmm? An entrance?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had thought there might have been a pit of some kind with zombies hiding inside. But to his surprise, there was a slanted hole leading downward, large enough for him to fit through. ¡°Is the level 3 zombie hiding in there?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes glinted green as he noticed the hole wasn¡¯t straight but curved, making it impossible to see to the end. Wang Tao hesitated about whether to go in. Rationally speaking, he shouldn¡¯t. The risk didn¡¯t seem to match the potential reward ¨C he knew neither the possible benefits nor the dangers inside. If there was an undamaged level 3 zombie inside, they might not even be able to defeat it. However, just then, Wang Tao spotted some plants deep within the hole at a glance. Upon closer inspection, they were mushrooms and they had a name! [Strength Mushroom x1] [Strength Mushroom: Crafting material, edible. Eating it provides a temporary boost in strength, but causes hallucinations for a certain period.] ¡°Strength Mushrooms? That sounds familiar¡­ Aren¡¯t they the core ingredient for crafting a small Strength Potion!¡± Chapter 378 - Chapter 378: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_1 Chapter 378: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_1 ¡°Be careful¡­¡± Wang Tao entered the cave with Jiang Shixue. After careful consideration, Wang Tao had decided to take a look inside. After all, opportunity favored the prepared! His hesitation was due to the fact that he was unclear about what was in the cave. But now, having seen the Strength Mushroom, he knew the risk was worth taking. After all, Strength Mushrooms were core ingredients for the Strength Potion (small), and with them, he would be able to craft Strength Potions himself! The Strength Potions Wang Tao had were all looted from zombies, and he didn¡¯t have many; he was reluctant to use them¡­ Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t come with them as he lacked Night Vision, which placed him at a disadvantage in such places. Wang Tao asked him to stay outside and keep watch over the off-road vehicle, so if there were any irresistible dangers, he could drive away with them in time. Red and green lights glowed in the eyes of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue as they cautiously approached the Strength Mushrooms. The Strength Mushrooms looked similar in shape and size to Ordinary mushrooms, but upon closer inspection, one could see tiny red spots on the white mushrooms. ¡°Can we eat this thing¡­¡± Wang Tao usually liked mushrooms, but he only ate the ones bought from proper sources and had never had wild ones. The small red dots on the Strength Mushrooms looked unusual, and the introduction had mentioned that eating one would grant a temporary boost in Strength but would also induce hallucinations for a time. Not that he was sure what it tasted like, but if it were really tasty, maybe a bit of hallucination wouldn¡¯t matter? It wasn¡¯t fatal anyway¡­ Shaking his head, Wang Tao quickly dismissed his foodie thoughts. Even if he wanted to eat it, he would have someone else try it first. Moreover, these mushrooms were scarce at the moment, not even enough for crafting Potions, much less for eating as food¡­ Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue picked all the mushrooms. A total of 14 mushrooms, and since each could be used to make 5 Strength Potions, that meant they had 70 Strength Potions! Perhaps they could trade these Potions with others or even sell them directly in the future! Also, these mushrooms could be stored in the Space Backpack, which was very convenient. After collecting all the Strength Mushrooms, they had reached a bend in the cave. Wang Tao peeked around the corner and saw no danger; there were still many mushrooms growing, including some with blue spots on them. [Defense Mushroom x1] [Defense Mushroom: Crafting ingredient, edible. Eating it temporarily boosts Defense but induces hallucinations for a time.] The introduction of the Defense Mushroom was similar to the Strength Mushroom, except one boosted Strength and the other Defense. Defense Mushrooms could be used to craft Defense Potions (small), corresponding to the Strength Potions (small)! ¡°Let¡¯s continue¡­¡± They collected mushrooms as they went along, passing three bends in total and gathering 55 mushrooms and 58 Defense Mushrooms. At this point, the path ahead finally changed. Deep within the cave was a vast space without Strength Mushrooms but with numerous tree roots intertwined. Wang Tao became vigilant at the sight of those roots. Because the roots had HP! [73426/100000] ¡°A hundred thousand blood, but not full¡­ could it have been burned by fire?¡± Wang Tao was curious. Aside from HP, these roots showed no other Attributes, which reminded Wang Tao of those hundred thousand blood flesh pieces in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, leading him to believe there was a similarity. Seeing the HP bars, Wang Tao really wanted to hack at them with his axe, but as he was unsure about what was below, he restrained himself. The space here was vast, filled with roots, and among them, there were human bones, likely those of zombies. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t quite understand the relationship between the roots and the zombies. ¡°Brother, over here.¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s clothes and pointed somewhere. Wang Tao turned to look, and his eyes widened in shock. About a dozen zombies were tightly entwined by the tree roots, which were inserted into the zombies¡¯ mouths and seemed to be pulsating¡­ It looked quite lewd. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t understand but was profoundly shocked. Most of these zombies were Level 1 Zombies, but there were also two Level 2 Zombies among them. They were all critically low on HP but not dead, still desperately struggling. Wang Tao initially thought the roots were trying to kill or eat the zombies, but after secretly observing for a while, he noticed that the roots seemed to be injecting something into the zombies¡¯ mouths, and the zombies¡¯ HP was slowly increasing! ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Whereas Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Brother, I smell a very fragrant scent¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? Could it be Zombie Culture Fluid?¡± Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue. ¡°No, it¡¯s different¡­¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. Wang Tao looked back at the roots and zombies again. So far, they had searched the entire underground space and found no other passages except for this space and a winding entrance leading upward. Clearly, the focal point of this underground space lay with these roots. ¡°Shall we attack it to test it out?¡± After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao threw a Throwing Knife. [-5] [73421/100000] ¡°¡­¡± What the heck? Wang Tao was dumbstruck; though Surgical Throwing Knives were flimsy and pretty much disposable after one use, a mere 5 points of damage seemed too low, right? Wang Tao then unleashed a Shockwave. [-15] [73406/100000] Chapter 379 - Chapter 379: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_2 Chapter 379: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_2 Wang Tao could now confirm that it was not his throwing knives that were dealing low damage, but rather the tree roots had too high defense! It was completely different from the flesh inside the Night Demon¡¯s Nest; although that flesh also had a hundred thousand HP, its defense was very low, and Wang Tao could eliminate it in just a few strikes. But the defense of this tree root was too high; his most powerful attacks could only deal a dozen or so damage. This means that even if the root didn¡¯t fight back, it would take him hours to destroy it¡­ Wang Tao shot another arrow with his recurve bow, which also resulted in mere tens of points of damage. After enduring various attacks from Wang Tao, the tree root showed no response, as if it were ignoring him. Then Wang Tao shifted his target and fired his arrows at the zombies that were bound by the tree roots. Whoosh¡ª [-4000] [0/4000] The HP bar of the Level 1 Zombie dropped to zero; its head lolled to one side, it ceased struggling, and a milky white liquid flowed out from its mouth. Swoosh¡ª The root that was thrust into its mouth immediately withdrew, covered in the white liquid. This time, without needing Jiang Shixue to tell him, Wang Tao also smelled a faint fragrance. The source of the fragrance was the white liquid on the tree root! The tree root swung through the air as if in anger and dissatisfaction. Then the roots that bound the zombies gradually loosened, releasing them. Thud¡ª The zombie corpse hit the ground. The root oozing white liquid retracted into the midst of the countless tree roots. ¡°This is interesting¡­ These roots should be part of a plant, so why would they enhance the zombies¡¯ strength?¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t figure it out, but since the roots didn¡¯t seem to have much of a reaction, he felt relieved. Wang Tao once again drew his recurve bow and began shooting at the zombies. Shortly after, he effortlessly disposed of the dozen or so zombies. They were all bound to death by the roots, unable to move and were mere sitting ducks. Wang Tao also gained 1300 HP, bringing his maximum HP up to 26,150! After all those zombies had perished, the tree roots seemed to become frenzied, whipping wildly in the air before calming down after a while ¡°It seems angry¡­¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly whispered. Wang Tao nodded and then said with a headache, ¡°It seems that the final boss is this tree root, but its defense is too strong¡­ We can¡¯t make a dent in it. And till now, I still don¡¯t know exactly what this thing is¡­¡± If these roots couldn¡¯t attack, Wang Tao could just wear them down, but it was clear they were capable of attacking, so slowly whittling them down was no longer viable¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s try again!¡± Wang Tao stealthily approached the roots and struck them several times. They lost a few drops of HP but had no reaction. Wang Tao intensified his attack, causing the root to lose a dozen drops of HP. At this point, the tree roots finally moved! Several roots whipped around in the air, engaging in indiscriminate attacks. Wang Tao wanted to gauge the damage of the roots, so after dodging a few, he deliberately took a hit from the last one. Boom¡ª [-372] [25778/26150] Wang Tao was sent flying instantly! Swoosh¡ª Jiang Shixue quickly ran over to catch Wang Tao, preventing him from crashing into the wall. ¡°Damn! Such high damage!¡± Even with his Barrier activated, Wang Tao still lost nearly four hundred HP! Although this amount of HP might not seem like much for his twenty-odd thousand HP, it was damage inflicted by just one root. If hundreds or thousands of roots attacked together, they could probably mash Wang Tao into a pulp instantly¡­ But there was also good news. From Wang Tao¡¯s test, it appeared the roots might not be very intelligent and possibly lacked senses, unable to perceive their surroundings, even if Wang Tao was moving right in front of them, they wouldn¡¯t detect him. Only if Wang Tao actively attacked them would they respond, but that was a reactive attack, not because they saw where Wang Tao was¡­ If these roots were blind, then perhaps he really could grind them down! Just as Wang Tao was considering whether to call Xu Xiaojun down to help wear down the roots, Jiang Shixue suddenly said, ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t we just burn it with fire?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao was stunned for a moment before slapping his forehead. ¡°Little Xue is right! I almost forgot about the Fire Attack!¡± Logically speaking, plants should be more vulnerable to fire, so a Fire Attack was definitely not a problem. Moreover, the cave had a unique layout with only one entry and exit path; if it really caught fire, even if the roots had legs, they wouldn¡¯t be able to run. Of course, there was another crucial point, that was, these roots weren¡¯t at full HP; they now only had a little over seventy thousand HP. Where had that twenty thousand HP gone? If all went as expected, it might have been burned off by the fire outside! So, a Fire Attack was definitely feasible! ¡°Let¡¯s go. Upstairs!¡± Wang Tao quickly took Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand and ran out. ¡°Brother Wang, are you guys alright?¡± Xu Xiaojun, seeing Wang Tao and her come out, hurried over. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, there¡¯s a bunch of attacking tree roots below; they have too high defense, we can¡¯t do anything to them, so I¡¯m planning to burn them!¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. They still had some gasoline left from before, but Wang Tao was worried it wouldn¡¯t be enough, so he siphoned off some more oil from the car. After preparing a full canister of gasoline, Wang Tao re-entered the cave. ¡°Although we don¡¯t seem to have any grudges, who made you a red HP bar¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself, then poured all the gasoline over the tree roots. Chapter 380 - Chapter 380: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_3 Chapter 380: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_3 These roots twisted together like snakes, slowly writhing; they obviously hadn¡¯t realized the seriousness of the situation yet. After Wang Tao emptied the whole jug of gasoline, he took out an arrow, the tip of which was wrapped with a cloth soaked in gasoline. Snap. The flame from the lighter instantly ignited the arrow. Whoosh¡ª¡ª At that moment, before Wang Tao even shot the arrow, he saw the roots begin to writhe crazily. ¡°Huh? Feeling the heat of the flame? Too late!¡± Wang Tao drew his bow and notched the arrow. Swoosh¡ª¡ª The flaming arrow struck the roots. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Instantly, a large fire blazed up from the roots. The roots thrashed wildly as though trying to extinguish the flames, but the gasoline was sticking to them. It was not going to be extinguished that easily. [-100] [-100] [-100] [¡­] Watching the HP of the roots decrease by hundreds, Wang Tao grinned, but he did not dare to keep watching; he quickly pulled Jiang Shixue and ran out of the cave. The three of them were waiting outside the cave. A moment later, Wang Tao felt the ground beneath his feet growing warm, as though he was standing on a heated kang. Flames and thick smoke continuously billowed out of the cave, and Wang Tao hurriedly covered his mouth and nose. ¡°Seems like it worked quite well! Thanks to Little Xue!¡± Wang Tao praised Jiang Shixue by his side. He might have thought of the fire attack as well, but he did not react at the moment. After all, they had just set a big fire, and he was, so to speak, blind to his own candlelight; he subconsciously overlooked it. Jiang Shixue, who was praised, was very happy, gripping Wang Tao¡¯s hand tightly, but her eyes kept darting toward the entrance of the cave. That faint scent persisted, even the fire could not cover it, and it even became more fragrant¡­ The fire in the cave ended quicker than Wang Tao had expected; he thought it would burn for a day and night like the big fire yesterday. But in reality, it only burned for the morning, and by the afternoon, the flames had died down. However, although the flames had been extinguished, the high temperature inside remained. For safety reasons, Wang Tao didn¡¯t go in but waited until nightfall. The temperature was relatively cool that night when Wang Tao and the others came to the entrance of the cave. Inside, there was still some warmth, but it was not too high and within an acceptable range. Then Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to continue guarding outside while he and Jiang Shixue entered. The cave was filled with ashes, and remnants of blackened roots could be seen occasionally, crumbling to the touch. ¡°It¡¯s all turned to charcoal!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat amazed. This fire attack was really useful, especially against these plant monsters. The two advanced through the warm ashes, and before long, they arrived at the center of the underground space. Before, this area had been obstructed by roots, and Wang Tao could not see the specific situation clearly. Now that they were here, Wang Tao let out a small exclamation. ¡°Huh? This isn¡¯t dead?¡± In the midst of the ashes, some roots were still tightly entwined, charred on the surface, but they weren¡¯t dead since they had an HP bar. [3283/100000] ¡°Still has three thousand HP! Such tenacity¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered with some emotion, but he didn¡¯t hold back with his attack. He unleashed a shockwave with his axe. [-385] ¡°Hm? Damage increased? Is it because it was burned?¡± While pondering in his mind, Wang Tao called Jiang Shixue to attack together. To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, these roots did not counterattack, they simply kept tightly wrapped around each other, slowly writhing. Bang! [-501] [0/100000] Wang Tao¡¯s final ax strike zeroed out its HP bar. The roots slowly stopped moving and then burst out a Loot Pack. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this even count as an over-leveled kill¡­¡± Looking at the lonely Loot Pack, Wang Tao felt quite frustrated. If it weren¡¯t for the fire attack, these hundred-thousand-HP roots might as well have been standing still letting him kill them, and even then, it might have taken him hours. Moreover, the attack power of the roots was very strong; if Wang Tao got entangled, he guessed the concurrent attacks from so many roots could instantly turn him into mincemeat! But such strong roots didn¡¯t count as an over-leveled kill. Wang Tao glanced at his own HP bar again. ¡°Damn it, it doesn¡¯t even increase the HP cap¡­¡± Wang Tao remembered the attributes of the roots; other than the HP bar, they had no other attributes. They were just like the flesh in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, which also didn¡¯t add HP, and only burst out a Loot Pack¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t closely examine the Loot Pack but turned his attention to the roots instead. The roots were tightly entwined, forming an upside-down bowl shape as if there was something inside. The ¡°bowl¡± was about the size of a small room; could there be a Level 3 zombie inside? Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue to prepare for combat at any time, then carefully began to move the roots aside. ¡°It smells so good!¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly exclaimed, and Wang Tao also widened his eyes in shock. Inside was a small pond filled with a milk-like white liquid. This white liquid was so fragrant that Wang Tao almost couldn¡¯t stop himself from drooling uncontrollably. [Tree Essence Liquid x9364] This thing had a name! Without a word, Wang Tao immediately collected all the white liquid into his Space Backpack. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± The tempting aroma disappeared instantly as the essence liquid was stored away. Before he had time to check the details, two other items caught his eye. The first item was a white object shaped like a chicken egg. [Magic Seeds x1] Without a word, Wang Tao collected it as well. The second item was a monster with an ugly human face but with the rest of its body made of branches! [HP: 1000/30000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 60%] [Status: Weakness 99%] The monster had its eyes closed as if it hadn¡¯t noticed Wang Tao¡¯s arrival. ¡°Only 1000 HP and 99% weakness?¡± Without a word, Wang Tao brought the ax down. Splat! [-1000] [0/30000] The Human-face Tree Body Monster¡¯s HP bar was instantly zeroed out. Clatter¡ª A pile of things burst out! Wang Tao immediately collected the Loot Pack, then dug open the head of the Human-face Tree Body Monster, finding a Red Crystal Core inside. After securing the Crystal Core and confirming there were no named items left on the monster¡¯s body, he finally waved at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to the surface!¡± Chapter 381 - Chapter 381: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_1 Chapter 381: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_1 ¡°Brother Wang, are you guys okay?¡± Seeing Wang Tao come up, Xu Xiaojun immediately ran over again. ¡°Haha, we¡¯re fine, the monsters below are taken care of!¡± Wang Tao laughed. This time, luck was on their side; they happened to have gasoline and stumbled upon a plant-based monster that was very afraid of fire. A big fire saved Wang Tao a lot of effort and avoided many dangers, almost as if he had cheated. ¡°Glad you¡¯re okay! It¡¯s a shame I couldn¡¯t help¡­¡± There was a hint of shame on Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face. Wang Tao patted Xu Xiaojun¡¯s shoulder and said: ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it, by standing guard over the car, you provided us with an escape route. Without it, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to use fire so boldly!¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength was not weak, but his lack of night vision greatly limited his ability to act at night, hence he was not asked to join; it was an unfortunate necessity. Although these words from Wang Tao were meant to comfort, Xu Xiaojun still felt greatly encouraged upon hearing them. ¡°So what do we do now¡­¡± Wang Tao looked up at the stars and said: ¡°Let¡¯s find a place to rest for now. You drive. We¡¯ll go meet up with Yang Changhong tomorrow morning.¡± Traveling at night was still too dangerous. Unless it was an emergency, Wang Tao preferred to travel during the day for safety. The meeting with Yang Changhong was set for three days. Tomorrow would be the third day, just in time to catch up. ¡°Okay!¡± Boom¡ª¡ª The off-road vehicle¡¯s engine roared to life, moving away from the scorched wasteland of the reservoir. Inside the car, Wang Tao took a sip of water, then began checking the loot. First, the increase in maximum HP. Although the roots he killed didn¡¯t add any HP, the human-face tree body monster did. It added 3849! So, now Wang Tao¡¯s HP was [29999/29999]! Before Wang Tao came here, he was only thinking since he got the news about the Level 2 Zombies, and it wasn¡¯t too far, he naturally couldn¡¯t waste the opportunity. Even if there were no loot, adding some HP was good. But he hadn¡¯t expected that he would almost triple his HP from fifteen thousand to nearly thirty thousand! Now, he was just one point shy of thirty thousand HP! Of course, this one point was not so easy to obtain as he had reached the upper limit of Level 2. Probably like before at Level 1, he would have to ascend all his abilities to Level 3 before he could achieve Level 3 ascension and exceed thirty thousand HP. But all of Wang Tao¡¯s current abilities were +1, and it would take a lot of effort to max them all out¡­ Nevertheless, Wang Tao was content, as the HP gains were much faster than he had anticipated. His speed of ascension to Level 3 might indeed surpass the speed of his Level 2 ascension! The human-face tree body monster was a Level 3 Lord Monster, meaning it was an over-leveled kill for Wang Tao. Aside from the HP increase, he also gained a special energy¡ªhis special ability directly increased by 6000! Special energy and HP were consistent, which meant that Wang Tao actually gained 6000 in HP limit. Unfortunately, having reached the upper limit of Level 2, he could only add less than four thousand HP. Speaking of special energy, with these added 6000, Wang Tao¡¯s special energy reached 13740! This amount of special energy could now extract two Level 2 abilities. Wang Tao could directly extract the Shockwave and Precise shooting ability and then use the Omnipotent Crystal Core to upgrade the Barrier! But there was no rush; Wang Tao continued to look at the other loot. Killing those Level 2 Zombies in the sea of fire earlier yielded quite a few crystal cores, most of which were familiar to Wang Tao. Among them, the useful ones were Shockwave, Omnipotent, and Precision Shooting. As for the loot they dropped, it was mostly potions, crafting materials, etc., fairly standard. However, these Level 2 Zombies didn¡¯t have much HP, mostly just having ascended to Level 2, so it was normal for them not to have anything particularly good. Then Wang Tao turned to the main haul from the cave. The hundred thousand blood tree root only exploded into a Loot Pack. Wang Tao had thought that the root would explode into an Extraction Crystal Core like the flesh in the Night Demon¡¯s nest, but it wasn¡¯t the case. Instead, it was a section of the root¡ª [Level 3 Weapon¡¤Entangling Roots] [HP: 10000/10000 (Upper limit 100000)] [Status: Dormant] [Enhancement: HP, Attack, Defense (Weakness: fear of fire)] [Compatibility: 0%] ¡°Level 3¡­ Weapon?¡± This was the first time Wang Tao had seen something like this; he quickly read the detailed explanation. [Weapon: A type of weapon that can only be used by humans] [Entangling Roots: Can be entwined around the body, providing additional HP, attack, and defense, but comes with the restriction ¡®Weakness: fear of fire¡¯] [HP: The weapon¡¯s own HP. If the HP drops to zero, the weapon dies] [Status: The current state of the weapon. Only weapons in an ¡®Awakened¡¯ state can be used] [Enhancement: The attributes the weapon enhances for the human] [Compatibility: Must be at least 1% before the weapon can be used. If the weapon is used for a certain period, the compatibility will decrease. The higher the compatibility between the human and the weapon, the more potential of the weapon can be unleashed. To increase compatibility, a crystal core or one¡¯s own HP must be used to nourish the weapon, which also restores the weapon¡¯s current HP, and after 100% nourishment, it will increase the weapon¡¯s upper HP limit. If one¡¯s own HP is used to nourish the weapon, it will leave the person in a state of extreme weakness] After reading the explanation, Wang Tao was astonished. This was a weapon with life! If he entwined these Entangling Roots around his body, it would be like having an additional 10000 HP, and a certain amount of attack and defense! Chapter 382 - Chapter 382: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_2 Chapter 382: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_2 If attacked, the HP of the Entangling Roots should be deducted first; only after its HP is depleted would the wearer¡¯s own HP be deducted. However, to use these Entangling Roots, one must increase the Compatibility, at least to 1% to be able to use it. The methods to enhance Compatibility involve either using a Crystal Core or one¡¯s own HP to nourish the weapon. Using a Crystal Core would certainly consume it, while using one¡¯s own HP could leave one in an extremely weakened state¡­ Wang Tao suddenly thought of the Level 3 Monster he had just killed. That monster was in a 99% weakened state and also severely low on HP. Could it have been nourishing these Entangling Roots? If so, then everything seemed to make sense¡ª Wang Tao had previously doused the Entangling Roots with a lot of gasoline and then set them ablaze. The Entangling Roots were vulnerable to fire, so the flames caused them significant damage. Their HP dropped rapidly. The monster using the Entangling Roots, seeing its HP continuously dropping, decided to use its own blood to nourish it. The monster might not have been very intelligent, but it was aware enough to protect its possessions. In fact, the Human-face Tree Body Monster almost succeeded; it saved the Entangling Roots with its HP. Otherwise, the fire might have burned the Entangling Roots to ashes. But after the flames died out, Wang Tao entered. He had started the fire and was bound to come in to check the situation. As a result, he found the weakened Entangling Roots and killed them. Then he encountered the monster in an extremely weakened state and killed it too¡­ If he hadn¡¯t set this fire, not only would he have had to fight the Entangling Roots, but even if he managed to wear them down to near-death over time, he might then have faced a Level 3, Lord Monster in full strength! Or worse, if the monster had emerged from the protection of the Entangling Roots, the two could have attacked Wang Tao together¡­ and he would have been doomed for sure! So it could only be said that Wang Tao was really lucky this time. He had avoided a potentially fatal crisis. Wang Tao, feeling somewhat relieved, took a deep breath and then took the Entangling Roots out of the Space Backpack. It was a black, withered, twisted root about the size of a palm, utterly ordinary, the sort that one wouldn¡¯t even bother picking up off the ground. After taking it out of the Space Backpack, its status changed. It had been ¡°Dormant,¡± but now was ¡°Awakended.¡± As Wang Tao held it, he could faintly sense a very weak¡­ consciousness? He wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but he felt like if he just called out to it, it would awaken. So, Wang Tao mentally whispered, ¡°Awake.¡± But there was no response. ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot, the Compatibility is still at 0%¡­¡± Wang Tao quickly took out a Level 1 Crystal Core. Then he mentally whispered again: ¡°Awake.¡± As soon as the thought arose, he saw the piece of root slowly wriggle and gradually envelop the Crystal Core. Then, the root began to grow rapidly, as if it was under the effect of a time acceleration spell. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue by his side both widened their eyes in amazement. Seconds later, the roots had entirely wrapped around Wang Tao. With only his head exposed, they formed a full body armor composed of roots! Wang Tao moved his arms slightly, and the roots moved with him, barely impacting his agility. Wang Tao felt like he was connected to a very weak and simple consciousness. He thought to himself: cover the face. And the roots around him rippled, covering his face! ¡°It¡¯s kind of magical!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s muffled voice came from within the root armor. Xu Xiaojun hadn¡¯t been paying attention, but he jumped when he heard Wang Tao¡¯s voice and glanced in the rearview mirror. How had Wang Tao turned into a monster! ¡°Brother, Brother Wang?¡± Xu Xiaojun called out nervously. Then he saw the ¡°monster¡¯s¡± face roots wriggle, revealing Wang Tao¡¯s handsome face. ¡°Haha, Little Jun, what do you think of my new equipment?¡± Wang Tao laughed. ¡°Phew¡­ Brother Wang, it¡¯s good to see you¡¯re okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun let out a sigh of relief before staring in awe at Wang Tao in the rearview mirror. ¡°Brother Wang, this equipment of yours is too badass! I almost mistook you for a monster, the presence was too overpowering!¡± ¡°Haha, then stop the car, I¡¯ll get out and take a look.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Xu Xiaojun quickly stopped the car. As Wang Tao opened the door and stepped out, the root armor started to move again. Soon enough, in the faint starlight, a towering figure, two and a half meters tall, appeared in front of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Xu Xiaojun, who was originally taller and burlier than Wang Tao, now had to look up slightly. As for Jiang Shixue, standing at one meter sixty, she had to crane her neck. ¡°This feeling¡­ it¡¯s pretty awesome!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fists, feeling the clear power enhancement the Entangling Roots provided. Wang Tao glanced at his attributes. [HP: 29999/29999 (10000/10000)] Now, he was effectively at forty thousand HP! Wang Tao looked at the Entangling Roots again. [Level 3 Weapon ¡¤ Entangling Roots] [HP: 10000/10000] [Status: Awake] [Enhancement: HP, Attack, Defense (Weakness: Vulnerable to Fire)] [Compatibility: 1%] The HP remained unchanged, and the Compatibility had increased by only 1%¡­ But after all, this was a Level 3 Weapon, and he had used a Level 1 Crystal Core, so a 1% increase in Compatibility felt pretty good. Chapter 383 - Chapter 383: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_3 Chapter 383: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_3 Wang Tao took out another Level 2 Crystal Core. He had obtained a good number of Level 2 Crystal Cores in the past two days and decided to experiment with one. When he silently wished to nurture the entangling roots in his mind, the roots on his body immediately wriggled and then swallowed the Level 2 Crystal Core in his hand. A moment later, Wang Tao checked the attributes of the entangling roots again, and the compatibility had increased to ¡°11%!¡± An increase of 1% compatibility for a Level 1 Crystal Core, 10% for a Level 2 Crystal Core, so by that logic, a Level 3 Crystal Core should add 100% compatibility! As for how much compatibility could be gained by nurturing the entangling roots with his own HP, Wang Tao had no plans to test it. After all, that extremely weakened state was too dangerous. A wise man does not stand under a shaky wall, and it wasn¡¯t as if Wang Tao lacked Crystal Cores, so there was no need to take risks. The attributes of the entangling roots did not specify how much of a strength and defense boost they provided, but Wang Tao could feel that there definitely was an increase. There were a few Ordinary Zombies by the roadside, and Wang Tao directly approached them and swung his enormous fist. Bang! Bang! Bang! The heads of these zombies burst like ripe watermelons! ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao felt that he had hardly exerted any effort; he had merely swung his fist casually, and the heads of these zombies had all exploded! And this was just with 11% compatibility¡ªhow powerful would it be at 100%? Would it grant him Level 3 combat power? However, increasing compatibility was not easy. It would take either 100 Level 1 Crystal Cores, or 10 Level 2 Crystal Cores, or one Level 3 Crystal Core¡­ Although Wang Tao had many Crystal Cores, he would be pained to use so many at once. Moreover, this compatibility was not something you could set and forget. Using the weapon consumed compatibility. If you compared a weapon to a car, then compatibility would be like the fuel. More fuel meant the car was more powerful and could run faster. But driving the car consumed the fuel, and once it was depleted, you couldn¡¯t drive anymore; you would need to refuel¡­ Wang Tao returned to his car and then focused his thoughts. The roots on his body began to move quickly and shrink. In the blink of an eye, the entangling root armor on Wang Tao¡¯s body disappeared, leaving only a small twisted root in his hand. Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes lit up; she found this thing very interesting. Xu Xiaojun looked at Wang Tao with admiration. He didn¡¯t know where Wang Tao had obtained it, perhaps from that cave, but that wasn¡¯t important¡ªBrother Wang was awesome, and that was all that mattered! After thinking it over, Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand and placed the piece of root in it. ¡°Little Xue, you try it.¡± Wang Tao explained the usage method briefly¡ªit was actually very simple to use. As long as one could feel that faint consciousness while holding the root, it could be utilized. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue sensed it for a moment, and then the root in her hand began to grow wildly. In just a moment, a suit of root armor formed and tightly wrapped around Jiang Shixue. With the root armor augmenting her, Jiang Shixue stood about 1.8 meters tall. Even though she was slender, the root armor was also slim, creating a unique aesthetic. After letting Jiang Shixue experience it for a while, Wang Tao also let Xu Xiaojun give it a try. Xu Xiaojun was able to use it as well. However, Xu Xiaojun was larger in build, and once covered by the root armor, his height shot up to three meters, far more imposing than Wang Tao. If he were to carry that two-meter-long Giant Axe, the imposing effect would be extraordinary! After basking in the fun for a while, Xu Xiaojun quickly deactivated the entangling state and returned the root to Wang Tao. After all, Wang Tao had said that using this item consumed Crystal Cores, and he didn¡¯t want to waste them. Wang Tao looked at the piece of root and thought silently, and the root began to wriggle and transformed into a bracelet that he wore directly on his right wrist. ¡°This is much more convenient!¡± When placed in the Space Backpack, the entangling roots would enter a ¡°dormant¡± state, and it would need to be awakened before use. But if kept on his person, it would be in an ¡°awakened¡± state, ready for immediate use, which was much more convenient. ¡°` After a brief test of the entangled roots, Wang Tao saw a small building and had Xu Xiaojun drive over. Once they had cleared the small building a bit, everyone ate something, and Xu Xiaojun began his night shift while Wang Tao continued to inspect the spoils of battle. The Level 3 monster he had killed had a red crystal core in its brain. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Tree Essence] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body lignification)] [Tree Essence: Only females can successfully integrate, it can produce Tree Essence Liquid which enhances the strength of organisms] Seeing the attributes of the Level 3 Crystal Core, Wang Tao frowned. Only females can successfully integrate? He suddenly felt discriminated against! He had been discriminated against once with the Perception Crystal Cores, and now this again? Moreover, this wasn¡¯t a side effect that could be removed. However, after taking a closer look at the information on the Tree Essence, Wang Tao was stunned. How exactly was this Tree Essence Liquid produced? And from where? Hisss¡ª Wang Tao seemed to think of something shocking. No wonder only females can integrate with it! ¡°This is a nice Ability. It¡¯s just that the side effect of body lignification seems a bit severe, don¡¯t end up turning into a real plant person¡­ Right, I have this Tree Essence too!¡± He suddenly remembered that when he was in the cave, he found a lot of white liquid underneath the hundred thousand HP entangling roots. He looked at the white liquid inside his Space Backpack. [Tree Essence Liquid*9364] [Tree Essence Liquid: Can enhance the strength of organisms] This Tree Essence Liquid seemed similar to Zombie Culture Fluid. Both enhance strength. However, Zombie Culture Fluid could only be used by zombies, while Tree Essence Liquid seemed to be usable by both humans and zombies! But as for this enhancement, he wasn¡¯t sure if it would increase HP. If it did increase HP, then using it now would be a waste for Wang Tao, since his HP was already full. ¡°I¡¯ll try it on Little Xue and Little Jun later to see what the effects are¡­¡± Wang Tao planned to use them as guinea pigs. But then Wang Tao thought of another question, why did the Level 3 monster want to cultivate zombies? This Tree Essence Liquid, it could use for itself, right? Or cultivate plants, since it was a Plant Monster. It didn¡¯t need to cultivate zombies; initially, Wang Tao even thought there was a Green-eyed Zombie of Level 3 below¡­ After careful contemplation, Wang Tao felt there were two possibilities. One was that the Human-face Tree Body Monster had gone stupid, unable to tell the difference between itself and zombies. But this possibility seemed unlikely. So it was probably the second possibility, the Human-face Tree Body Monster wanted to cultivate some bodyguards for itself! It kept itself underground, which might not be safe. But if it had Level 2 zombies guarding outside, that would be much safer! After all, with so many zombies here, who would dare to come close carelessly. Unfortunately, it never anticipated that Wang Tao would not only burn all the zombies to death with fire, but also expose its lair¡­ However, this raises another question ¨C why would it, a Level 3 Lord, need to hide underground and had even mass-produced a bunch of bodyguards¡­ Was it hiding from something? Or protecting something? ¡°` Chapter 384 - Chapter 384: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_1 Chapter 384: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_1 ¡°` Wang Tao looked at the next piece of loot. It was the item placed together with the Essence of Tree Liquid in that cave, resembling an egg. [Obtained: Magic Seed x1] [Magic Seed: When planted in the ground, it will grow an intermediate monster. When planted in the body, it will grant a hidden ability.] ¡°¡­Wow!¡± Surprised by the properties of the Magic Seed, Wang Tao was somewhat taken aback. Plant it in the ground and it grows a monster? Plant it in the body and it grants a hidden ability? Wang Tao¡¯s first reaction was to plant it in his body. However, he thought it through carefully; not all hidden abilities are necessarily useful. For example, Han Rui¡¯s arrest-related hidden ability doesn¡¯t seem very useful in an apocalyptic world. If it¡¯s a monster, on the other hand, planting it and then killing it would mean a sure Crystal Core and loot! But Wang Tao had one little issue, which was, what does ¡°intermediate¡± mean? He only knew about Level 1, Level 2, Level 3¡ªnever heard of intermediate level. Just as Wang Tao was pondering over the word ¡°intermediate¡±, an explanation popped up. [Low level: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3] [Intermediate level: Level 4, Level 5, Level 6] [High level: Level 7, Level 8, Ninth Level] ¡°¡­¡± Intermediate refers to Level 4, 5, and 6? Wang Tao instantly dismissed the idea of planting it in the ground! Because planting it in the ground would grow a monster of Level 4, 5, or 6! He had only managed to kill a Level 3 monster by means of a trick. If he were to plant a Level 4 monster, how would he deal with it? If he was unlucky and a Level 5 or even Level 6 monster grew, it wouldn¡¯t just be his own bad luck; it would probably be disastrous for all human survivors! Although it was very likely that a monster grown from this seed would be of the plant type and possibly vulnerable to fire. With proper preparation, there might be a chance to kill it. But what if the plant isn¡¯t afraid of fire? If zombie blood can extinguish flames, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for a plant to evolve some fire resistance. Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to bet on this probability. He doesn¡¯t mind taking a gamble when the odds are high, but the current situation has such low odds of success that losing the bet could cost him his life! ¡°However, how exactly does one plant it in their body¡­ Is it like the Crystal Core, by putting it in your mouth?¡± Wang Tao tried placing the seed in his mouth. Unlike Crystal Cores, hidden abilities don¡¯t have side effects, so Wang Tao had nothing to worry about even after planting it in his body. Moments later, Wang Tao felt the Magic Seed slowly turn into a gas and vanish inside his body¡­ This was similar to merging with a Fusion Crystal Core. Wang Tao quickly checked his attributes. There was a new status below his HP bar. [Magic Seed Germination Countdown: 9 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds] ¡°It takes ten days to germinate¡­¡± This was much longer than Wang Tao had anticipated. But it wasn¡¯t a big issue, it didn¡¯t interfere with anything, he just had to wait. ¡°I hope it grants a decent hidden ability¡­¡± Wang Tao currently had two hidden abilities, one for Body Strengthening and the other for Night Vision. Both were quite decent abilities. He guessed that the ability from this seed would be plant-related. As long as it isn¡¯t totally useless, it would be fine. ¡°Right¡ª¡± Wang Tao suddenly realized, the reason that Level 3 Lord Monster was hiding here might have been to protect this seed, right? If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t discovered the cave and the Level 3 monster had planted the seed, producing an Intermediate monster, it could have been a serious problem for the human survivors¡­ Wang Tao thought his own level advancement was relatively fast, but he was still at Level 2. He didn¡¯t know if there were any Level 3 humans in the world. After the seed grew, at the very least, it would become a Level 4 monster! It could even be Level 5 or Level 6! If humans encountered it or it made its way to human territory on its own, it would truly be a massacre! In a sense, Wang Tao might have nipped a disaster in the bud¡­ Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t someone who was particularly altruistic, the thought that his actions could inadvertently save many of his fellow humans made him quite happy. Smiling, he shook his head and looked toward the last piece of loot. The last piece was the Loot Pack dropped from killing the Level 3 Lord Monster. There were four packs in total! The first pack was a Crystal Core Gift Bag, containing 5 Crystal Cores! [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (No side effects)] The first Crystal Core was Omnipotent, which was also something Wang Tao was familiar with and one of his favorites. However, this one was unique as it was a Level 3. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Outstanding (80%)] [Purity: 40% (No side effects)] The second Crystal Core was for Ascension, and Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised to see it. He had already obtained a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core after killing that Level 3 Night Demon, and it was also of outstanding quality! He figured that upgrading to Level 3 was probably the same as upgrading to Level Two, needing four Ascension Crystal Cores. Now he had already gathered two! This was somewhat exciting for Wang Tao, as it was much faster and simpler compared to when he collected Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores. After all, both the Level 3 zombies and monsters had been taken down by his stratagems¡­ [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Self-Healing] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Diminished tactile sensitivity)] The third Crystal Core gave Self-healing power, which was a very decent ability, but since Wang Tao had merged his Self-healing Ability with his Toughness Ability, he no longer had use for this Self-healing Ability. ¡°` Chapter 385 - Chapter 385: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_2 Chapter 385: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_2 [Level 3 Crystal Core ¡¤ Nutrient Absorption] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Nutrient Absorption: Passive Ability, when standing on soil, it can absorb the nutrients from the soil to slowly regenerate HP] The fourth crystal core was quite interesting¡ªjust standing on the ground could heal him. However, the description mentioned slowly regenerating HP¡­ Wang Tao wondered exactly how slow it would be¡­ [Level 3 Crystal Core ¡¤ Photosynthesis] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Photosynthesis: Passive Ability, when standing in sunlight, it can absorb solar energy to slowly regenerate Mana] ¡°Hss¡ª¡± Upon seeing this last crystal core, Wang Tao felt his heart stir instantly. This ¡°Photosynthesis¡± was similar to ¡°Nutrient Absorption,¡± one allowing slow HP regeneration while standing on the ground and the other slow Mana regeneration in sunlight. But compared to HP regeneration, Wang Tao was more eager to get an Ability for Mana regeneration! Because he did have some methods to restore HP, such as medical kits, the self-healing power, or even now with the Barrier Ability, which could restore HP. But he had no means of Mana regeneration at all! If he wanted to recover Mana, he could only rely on time. From his previous tests, if his Mana were completely depleted, it would take about six hours to fully recover. If not in combat, six hours wasn¡¯t that long. But in combat, six hours was way too long¡ªheck, even six minutes felt eternity¡ªof course, if he could fully recover in six minutes, Wang Tao would probably laugh out loud. But obviously, that wasn¡¯t possible., Wang Tao could only rely on six hours to recover his Mana¡­ This was the first time Wang Tao had seen an Ability for Mana regeneration, and to be honest, he really wanted to integrate this crystal core. Unfortunately, it was a level 3 core, and he also didn¡¯t have enough Ability slots. However, Wang Tao suddenly thought whether it was possible to synthesize ¡°Nutrient Absorption¡± and ¡°Photosynthesis¡±? Both were passive abilities, both were related to plants, and both types were quite similar¡­ It felt like there was a chance! He could try this when there was an opportunity in the future! After reviewing these crystal cores, Wang Tao got to know that this level 3 creature was leaning towards support roles. His previous guess that it was similar to the Green-eyed Zombie was, in a way, half correct¡­ Then, Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack, which contained 10 potions and a Blueprint. [Acquired: Hemostatic Drug x10] [Acquired: Hemostatic Drug Recipe x1] [Hemostatic Drug: Recovers 1000 HP within ten seconds] [Hemostatic Drug Recipe: Once learned, it allows for crafting 10 Hemostatic Drugs at a time. Required materials: Hemostatic Herb x1, Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal of food] The effect of the Hemostatic Drug was not bad, being able to restore 1000 HP, which was better than the medical kit¡¯s effect of restoring 100 HP over ten seconds. Although for someone like Wang Tao with nearly 30,000 HP, whether it was regenerating 100 or 1000 HP, neither seemed like much. But the key was that this item had no cooldown. One could use a bunch at once and just wait for the HP to slowly replenish. And in critical moments, this could be lifesaving¡­ As for the Hemostatic Drug Recipe, Wang Tao learned it right away, but he currently lacked Hemostatic Herb, so he couldn¡¯t craft any. ¡°I¡¯ll have to pay more attention to these core potion ingredients in the future¡­¡± This time he got some Strength Mushrooms and Defense Mushrooms, he guessed that these materials might be found in the wild. He tried not to venture into the wilderness unless necessary, but if he had legitimate business outside like now, he¡¯d have to observe carefully to look for such core materials. After all, he had learned quite a few potion blueprints by now, but the only ones he could actually craft were Strength Potion (small), Defense Potion (small), and Rejuvenation Potion. The third Loot Pack contained another Blueprint but not of a potion¡ªit was for equipment. [Acquired: Tree Branch Full Body Armor Blueprint x1] [Tree Branch Full Body Armor Blueprint: Allows for crafting a full body set of armor made of tree branches. Required materials: Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Wood Block x100, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Screw x10, Rope x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10, Plastic x10, Cable x10, Electronic Components x10, Battery x10] [Branch Full Body Armor: Tough in nature, can protect against knives and swords, but slightly weak against fire. Durability +50, Defensive Power +50] The attributes of this Branch Armor seemed good. Although it was also vulnerable to fire, overall, the attributes were quite strong. It was far superior to the stubborn armor he was wearing. But to craft it required a Level 3 Crystal Core, and Wang Tao only had a few of those¡ªhe was reluctant to use them. Plus, Wang Tao already had the Entangling Roots, which were much more useful than the armor. And, Wang Tao was somewhat concerned about this weakness to fire. If he wore this armor with another layer of Entangling Roots outside, and if he had the misfortune to encounter fire¡­the Entangling Roots could be quickly retracted, but he¡¯d have to take off the armor before escaping, and there wouldn¡¯t be time for that¡­ Wang Tao planned to check later. If he had a level 3 Crystal Core with not so great attributes, he¡¯d craft this armor. He might not want it for himself, but Xu Xiaojun could use it. If Little Jun wore this armor and wielded the Broken Giant Axe, his strength would surely increase by a lot. The last Loot Pack contained Tree Essence Liquid. [Acquired: Tree Essence Liquid x10000] [Tree Essence Liquid: Can enhance the strength of living organisms] Chapter 386 - Chapter 386: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_3 Chapter 386: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_3 He had already obtained over nine thousand portions of Tree Essence Liquid before, but unexpectedly, it burst out with ten thousand more portions! With nearly twenty thousand portions of Tree Essence Liquid at hand, Wang Tao felt that it was time to test its effects. ¡°Little Xue, try this.¡± In the darkness, Wang Tao gently patted the person leaning against him. A pair of eyes gleaming red opened. Wang Tao took out a portion of Tree Essence Liquid, and a very pleasant fragrance emerged. A portion of Tree Essence Liquid was 10ml, appearing quite small. As Wang Tao held it in his palm and was about to look for a container, Jiang Shixue suddenly leaned her head over and, like a kitten, licked his palm. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao felt a ticklish sensation in his palm. After consuming the Tree Essence Liquid, the red glow in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes intensified. ¡°It¡¯s delicious! I want more~¡± Wang Tao had plenty of Tree Essence Liquid and naturally wouldn¡¯t be stingy. However, before handing over another portion of the Tree Essence Liquid, Wang Tao checked Jiang Shixue¡¯s attributes. Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP had been 22,200 before, but after drinking a portion of Tree Essence Liquid, it was now 22,300 HP, an increase of 100! And it wasn¡¯t just her HP; her Mana also increased by 100! ¡°Hiss¡ªOne portion of Tree Essence Liquid adds 100 HP and 100 Mana? Is it really that awesome?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback. With nearly twenty thousand portions of Tree Essence Liquid in his hands, wasn¡¯t that equivalent to two million in HP and Mana? But soon, Wang Tao realized that things weren¡¯t so simple. After drinking ten portions in a row, Jiang Shixue felt that her strength wouldn¡¯t increase anymore for the time being. In other words, after she gained an additional 1,000 HP and 1,000 Mana, she had temporarily reached her limit. As for when it would be effective again, Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t say. Wang Tao thought about it and then drank ten portions himself. Though his HP had reached its limit, his Mana was still far behind. He was nearly at 30,000 HP, but his Mana was only 4,800, which he definitely needed to boost! Down went ten portions of Tree Essence Liquid, and while Wang Tao¡¯s HP remained unchanged, his Mana increased by 1,000, reaching 5,800! The effect was very satisfying, and Wang Tao was quite pleased. And it should be said, the flavor of this Tree Essence Liquid was indeed delightful. Jiang Shixue was a bit greedy and wanted more. Wang Tao gave her a few more portions and then called Xu Xiaojun over, providing him with ten portions as well. Wang Tao was generous with his own people; after all, they were teammates who fought side by side. Their strength was his guarantee of survival. The next day. Wang Tao woke up early; Xu Xiaojun had been on watch all night but was still bursting with energy, not showing any signs of tiredness. However, for safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao decided to drive the car himself this time. ¡°Let¡¯s go and meet up with them.¡± ¡­ ¡°Boss, could something have happened to Wang Tao and the others?¡± Outside the abandoned car motel, several survivors gathered around Yang Changhong, with one of them raising the concern. Although their first meeting with Wang Tao and his group wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant, everyone had let bygones be bygones. After all, Wang Tao was generous and strong, and their presence greatly improved the safety of the convoy. Therefore, they were hopeful that nothing bad had happened to Wang Tao¡¯s group. Yang Changhong had been full of confidence in Wang Tao, but at this point, she began to waver because it was already the third day. She had told Wang Tao that she would wait for three days, and Wang Tao had said he would be back soon. But he hadn¡¯t returned yet. If he didn¡¯t come back today, then no matter whether Wang Tao would return or not, they would have to set off first thing in the morning. After all, she had given her word in front of her subordinates and needed to maintain her authority without breaking her promise. ¡°Static noise¡­¡± Yang Changhong took out the walkie-talkie and tried contacting Wang Tao. But there was just static noise, indicating they were out of range. ¡°They are very strong; they should be fine.¡± That was all Yang Changhong could say to her subordinates. She was puzzled too. The reservoir she had told them about had only a few Level 2 Zombies, and she felt those zombies weren¡¯t the strongest of their kind. Considering that both Xu Xiaojun and Wang Tao were Second-order Superpower Owners, there shouldn¡¯t have been a big problem. If they couldn¡¯t beat them, they should at least be able to run¡­ Could it be that the zombies got stronger, or were there some unexpected incidents? Yang Changhong was somewhat worried. After all, it was rare to come across two Second-order Superpower Owners¡­ ¡°Static noise¡­ Yang Changhong, this is Wang Tao¡­ Static noise¡­¡± At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie. Yang Changhong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly pressed the talk button. ¡°I am Yang Changhong! I am Yang Changhong! We are still at the previous location, where are you guys? Is everyone okay?¡± After a while, Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through again. ¡°We¡¯re fine, but we have a small favor to ask of you¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone was somewhat embarrassed. ¡°What favor? I¡¯ll help if I can!¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t promise right away. If Wang Tao and the others were cornered by strong zombies, bringing her group might just be delivering themselves to the enemy¡­ ¡°Ahem, we ran out of fuel for the car. Could you send us a can of fuel? You can name your price.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s mouth opened slightly. She had anticipated various difficulties Wang Tao might face, but running out of fuel wasn¡¯t one of them. If she remembered correctly, not only had the car been recently fueled up, but there was also a spare can of fuel on it. But Yang Changhong didn¡¯t ask any further. She promptly responded: ¡°Okay, tell me the exact location, and I¡¯ll have someone deliver the fuel. We¡¯ll talk about the rest when you get back.¡± ¡°Great. We are at¡­ thanks!¡± ¡°No need to be polite.¡± An hour later, two cars arrived consecutively at the abandoned car motel. Yang Changhong, who was sitting on the hood of one of the cars, immediately got down when she saw the incoming cars. Sometime later, Wang Tao and two others got out of the car. Seeing the three unharmed people, Yang Changhong¡¯s face broke into a smile as she gave Wang Tao a high-five. ¡°Seeing you all safe, I can breathe easy.¡± ¡°Haha, I told you, there wouldn¡¯t be any accident.¡± ¡°So, shall we have lunch now and then set off?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± It didn¡¯t take long for the eight cars to leave the abandoned car motel, moving towards the direction of Zijing City. Chapter 387 - Chapter 387: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_1 Chapter 387: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_1 On the road, Zhang Hong initially didn¡¯t want to ask, but couldn¡¯t contain her curiosity. ¡°Could it be that my information was wrong? Or did you encounter some special circumstances, why did it take so long¡­¡± ¡°Your information was indeed incorrect, there weren¡¯t just a few Level 2 Zombies but dozens of them.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Ah? Dozens of Level 2 Zombies! How did you survive that?!¡± Zhang Hong was startled. With her current ability, although she couldn¡¯t beat a few Level 2 Zombies, she could escape as long as they weren¡¯t particularly powerful Level 2 Zombies. But with dozens of Level 2 Zombies, she¡¯d have nowhere to run! ¡°There wasn¡¯t much danger because the zombies were all in the grass. I used gasoline to set fire to them and burned them all to death¡­ ¡± Wang Tao briefly described the situation, naturally hiding the specific details of his gains. ¡°¡­¡± After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Zhang Hong was dumbfounded. Burned to death¡­ Dozens of Level 2 Zombies?! How many Level 2 Crystal Cores could that be?! Zhang Hong was always a decisive person, someone who doesn¡¯t regret her actions, but now, she suddenly felt some regret¡ªnot for telling Wang Tao about the Level 2 Zombies but for not going with Wang Tao herself! Back then, Wang Tao even asked her if she wanted to go with him. Considering her subordinates¡¯ safety, she naturally didn¡¯t go, since the Level 2 combat might have involved them. But who could have expected Wang Tao would just start a fire and effortlessly burn all those Level 2 Zombies to death! If she had gone with him at that time, she could have gotten at least a few Level 2 Crystal Cores¡­ Inside the off-road vehicle, Wang Tao listened to the silence on the other side and could not help but smile, saying: ¡°Boss Yang, are you feeling regretful?¡± He wasn¡¯t mocking her, just jesting a little. Zhang Hong was straightforward, saying with a wry smile: ¡°¡­I do feel a bit of regret for not going with you. Next time, if there is another chance like this, please make sure to bring me along!¡± ¡°Haha, sure thing.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. ¡°Ahem, about that¡­ do you have any Level 2 Crystal Cores that you don¡¯t need? I would like to buy one¡­¡± Zhang Hong asked somewhat embarrassingly. ¡°I do have quite a lot of unneeded Level 2 Crystal Cores, and I feel quite a few of them would be suitable for you, but¡­ what price are you offering?¡± For his own people, the crystal cores Wang Tao had would certainly be free. However, for outsiders, he couldn¡¯t give them out for free, even though he had many crystal cores now. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Zhang Hong sighed with relief temporarily. She had been worried that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t sell the crystal cores after all, they were Level 2 Crystal Cores, which were exceedingly precious since there were hardly any second-order superpower owners to find nowadays. As long as Wang Tao was willing to sell, she stood a chance. But when she thought about the fact that these were Level 2 Crystal Cores, she realized she didn¡¯t have anything of high value to trade, which made Zhang Hong fall silent¡­ She had never felt so poor before! ¡°¡­I¡¯ll think about it properly.¡± Zhang Hong spoke in a low voice. Wang Tao heard the helplessness in her tone and then said with a laugh: ¡°Okay, we can trade at any time. But to thank you for recommending this place to me, I can give you one for free¡­ Let¡¯s talk about it tonight.¡± Even though Zhang Hong was still an outsider at the moment, she did inform Wang Tao about the place, so it was natural for him to express his gratitude. ¡°Ah? Thank you so much!¡± Zhang Hong quickly expressed her thanks. She was actually very interested in a shockwave crystal core, as she had never encountered a shockwave zombie before, nor seen this ability. Last time, when she saw Xu Xiaojun instantly kill a group of zombies with a single move, she was very envious. However, since this was a crystal core Wang Tao was giving her, she had no reason to make demands, so she said no more. On the other side, Wang Tao glanced at the crystal cores inside his Space Backpack. He indeed had a lot of Level 2 Crystal Cores, but he couldn¡¯t possibly give Zhang Hong a shockwave crystal core since he needed them himself. As for what exactly to give, he would communicate with Zhang Hong tonight to decide, after all, he still didn¡¯t know what abilities Zhang Hong possessed. The convoy did not travel quickly. After all, the faster they went, the more noise they would make, which could attract some unnecessary trouble. The journey was smooth, encountering only a few Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao and the other two didn¡¯t take action; Zhang Hong¡¯s people handled it instead. Level 1 Elite Zombies could increase the HP limit and also provide crystal cores, which was a decent gain for them. Naturally, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to compete with them for these small gains. At dusk, the convoy stopped outside a parking lot. Zhang Hong was planning to set up camp here while the sun had not yet set. ¡°Based on our current speed, it should take us about four to five days to reach Zijing City,¡± Zhang Hong said while coming to Wang Tao with a pancake, speaking while she chewed. ¡°Four to five days¡­ That¡¯s quite fast.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Having a vehicle made a difference; when he and Jiang Shixue had no car, it took them a long while just to walk from one town to another. ¡°What are your plans after reaching Zijing City?¡± Zhang Hong asked again. ¡°Me? I might go look at the Survivor Base in Zijing City, if there is one. Then I plan to head to Wuyang City.¡± Wang Tao answered. ¡°Hmm? Wuyang City?¡± Zhang Hong was somewhat surprised, as although Wuyang City was next to Zijing City, there was still the distance between two cities, which was not close. Chapter 388 - Chapter 388: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_2 Chapter 388: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_2 Moreover, Zijing City and Wuyang City are both cities with large populations, especially Wuyang City, which is the capital of Wuyang Province, with a population of over ten million! The urban population alone is nearly ten million! You can imagine how many zombies there would be in such a place! Yang Changhong felt that Wang Tao could really outdo her in stirring up trouble¡­ Although she joked about being an apocalypse nomad, deep down, she still hoped to find a place to settle down. If there was a large Survivor Base in Zijing City, she might just stay there¡­ ¡°I¡¯m going to check out the military base first.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything and spoke directly. ¡°The military base! You mean the one that does the airdrops? No wonder¡­¡± Yang Changhong suddenly realized. If he was heading to the military base, it made sense, after all, even fools knew that military bases had strong military force and were definitely safe. Although it meant a longer journey, if one could reach the military base, it would be worth it. Therefore, Yang Changhong didn¡¯t continue on that topic. At this moment, a buzzing sound came from the sky. ¡°Airdrop!¡± Already very familiar with the sound of airdrops, Wang Tao immediately looked up. Indeed, a small black dot appeared at the edge of the sky, a military transport plane. Compared to Wang Tao¡¯s calmness, the others were initially stunned, but once they realized what was happening, their faces lit up with excitement. ¡°It¡¯s an airdrop!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve finally seen another airdrop!¡± ¡°We have to keep a closer eye this time so we don¡¯t lose track of the airdrop again!¡± ¡°But the last airdrop was randomly dropped; it left no trace. Unless it drops now, or we can keep up with it, then¡­¡± After observing the plane¡¯s flight direction, Yang Changhong shouted to Wang Tao outside the car: ¡°Wang Tao, what do you say? Shall we chase after the airdrop together? Whoever gets it, keeps it, deal?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it together then.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After getting a response from Wang Tao, Yang Changhong immediately called out to everyone. ¡°Get ready, we¡¯re going to follow the plane! Keep your eyes peeled!¡± ¡°Yes! Boss!¡± Everyone was also very excited, leaving some to keep watch while the others focused intently on the sky. A moment later, Yang Changhong cheered: ¡°We¡¯re in luck this time! The plane is flying along the road! We should be able to follow for a while!¡± Last time they saw an airdrop plane, it hadn¡¯t flown along the road, so Yang Changhong and her group only managed to follow it for a short distance before losing track, ending up with no airdrops¡ªalthough they had seen one, which Wang Tao got to first. This time, they couldn¡¯t afford another mistake! Roar¡ª The engines of several vehicles roared as they accelerated forward. Although the plane hadn¡¯t flown over yet, it was on this route; all they had to do was follow the road. After all, the plane was too fast, and it was impossible for their vehicles to catch up with it; they could only hope to spot any airdrops during the pursuit. If there were no airdrops at all, it would just mean bad luck¡­ Watching everyone¡¯s enthusiastic chase after the airdrop, Wang Tao found it quite amusing. Xu Xiaojun was driving; he didn¡¯t have much experience with chasing airdrops, so Wang Tao told him to just stick close to the convoy. Wang Tao then took out a military walkie-talkie. This walkie-talkie was from an airdrop they had found a few days ago and could connect to military equipment. Of course, just having the equipment wasn¡¯t enough; to contact the military, you needed to know the correct channels, passwords, and so on. And Wang Tao just happened to know all of this! The first airdrop he found in Shuize County had three pieces of paper in it, one of which contained the method for contacting Wuyang Military Base! Although he lost that piece of paper while fleeing for his life, the content was etched firmly in Wang Tao¡¯s memory. Wang Tao had a sudden idea¡ªcould he use the walkie-talkie to contact the plane? In theory, it should be possible. After all, this was a high-powered military walkie-talkie produced by Wuyang Military Base¡­ Wang Tao began to adjust it according to his memory. Soon, the walkie-talkie was set up. ¡°Can anyone hear me, this is survivor Wang Tao!¡± ¡°Can anyone hear me, this is survivor Wang Tao!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Sizzle¡­Sizzle¡­¡± Wang Tao called out a few times into the walkie-talkie, but only a static sound buzzed in response. He didn¡¯t feel disappointed and kept trying. ¡°The plane is coming!¡± Over the car¡¯s walkie-talkie, Yang Changhong¡¯s voice sounded. Wang Tao looked up and through the sunroof, he could see a plane about to pass overhead. ¡°Isn¡¯t it dropping the airdrop yet¡­¡± Everyone silently prayed, hoping for the airdrop to be dropped quickly. However, their prayers seemed to have no effect on the plane. Watching as the plane was about to fly past them, everyone felt a sense of helplessness. Yang Changhong also seemed somewhat dejected. If the airdrop could be dropped at this time, it would be ideal, as they would be able to retrieve it quickly. But if the plane flew past and then dropped the airdrop, they would truly need to pursue it. Then, they could face the scenario where the airdrop was snatched up by Wang Tao again. Of course, there was still some hope. The worst-case scenario would be if the plane didn¡¯t drop any airdrops at all, or if the airdrops had already been completely dropped¡­ then it would all have been excitement for nothing. Inside Wang Tao¡¯s car. Wang Tao kept an eye on the plane overhead while frequently using the walkie-talkie. At his current location, he should be the closest to the plane in terms of the walkie-talkie¡¯s range. If he waited until the plane flew past, there would be no chance at all. ¡°Can anyone hear me, this is survivor Wang Tao! I¡¯m right below you!¡± Chapter 389 - Chapter 389: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_3 Chapter 389: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_3 ¡°Can anyone hear me, I am survivor Wang Tao! I¡¯m right below you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± After sending several messages in a row, Wang Tao paused for a while to see if there was any response. The walkie-talkie can¡¯t talk and listen at the same time, so after speaking, there has to be a pause to see what the other party has to say. ¡°Zzz¡­ Zzz¡­¡± It was still the sound of static. Just as the plane was about to fly over his head, and Wang Tao thought all hope was lost, suddenly¡ª ¡°Zzz¡­ Survivor¡­ Hello¡­ Zzz¡­¡± Wang Tao, who had been leaning back in his chair, suddenly sat up. There was a response! He looked at Jiang Shixue beside him, who nodded seriously. ¡°Brother, someone spoke.¡± Indeed, it wasn¡¯t an illusion! Wang Tao immediately pressed the talk button again. ¡°My name is Wang Tao, may I ask who I am speaking to!¡± ¡°Zzz¡­ My name is¡­ Zzz¡­ Luo Guozhong¡­ Military rank¡­ Colonel¡­¡± The signal might not have been great, as it felt like the other party spoke very slowly, and some content was missing; the voice also came with static, but at least he heard the key words clearly. Now that they could communicate, Wang Tao unashamedly started to make requests. ¡°Colonel Luo Guozhong, can you drop us some airdrops! We¡¯re a group of survivors right below your plane! Thank you!¡± ¡°Zzz¡­ Below¡­ Survivors¡­ Zzz¡­ Wait a moment¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Does that mean yes?¡± Wang Tao had only mentioned it casually, not expecting the other party to actually agree! He immediately used the vehicle-mounted walkie-talkie to address everyone in the convoy: ¡°Attention everyone! Airdrops are about to fall!¡± ¡°Attention everyone! Airdrops are about to fall!¡± ¡°Attention everyone! Airdrops are about to fall!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The crowd was a bit stunned; the plane hadn¡¯t dropped anything on its way and seemed like it was about to leave, so they had already given up hope. An airdrop now? And that wasn¡¯t even the main point; the main point was, how did Wang Tao know? Could he even predict it? But before people could ponder further, they saw a small black dot suddenly drop from the rear of the plane. Then the second, the third¡­ five black dots appeared in a row! ¡°Airdrops! They are really airdrops!¡± The crowd was completely dumbfounded; had Wang Tao really predicted this? Were Level 2 Ability users that terrifying? ¡°Quick! Everyone else in groups of two vehicles, and I will pair up with Wang Tao separately to collect the airdrops!¡± Although Zhang Hong was also shocked, he quickly assigned tasks to everyone. With five airdrops and eight vehicles, they split into five groups. Although the plane had dropped five airdrops one after the other, because of its high speed, there was a significant gap between where each of the airdrops would land. To be efficient, it was naturally better to split up and collect them. After the assignments, seven vehicles instantly dispersed, each heading towards the direction of the airdrops. As for Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle, it continued to move forward since the airdrop he was collecting was the last one, the farthest from the rest. Of course, Wang Tao also wanted to talk more with the people on the plane. ¡°Colonel Luo, does the Government still have a military? What is the situation across the nation now? What is the status of your military base? I want to seek refuge in your military base; that shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡± Wang Tao hurriedly asked all the questions he had in mind. Had the environment been suitable and there had been an airstrip nearby, Wang Tao might have even asked Colonel Luo to stop the plane for a moment and give him a ride¡ªalthough it was a bit of wishful thinking, there was still a slight possibility. Fearing that the other party couldn¡¯t hear clearly, Wang Tao repeated his words several times. After a moment, a voice came through again. ¡°Zzz¡­ Our base¡­ Safe¡­ Not safe¡­ We provide shelter¡­ Don¡¯t come¡­ Zzz¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao frowned. How could it be safe one moment, not safe the next, offering shelter then telling people not to come? Wasn¡¯t this contradictory? The poor signal might have resulted in key information not coming through, which was rather frustrating. As the plane began to move away from him, Wang Tao quickly said: ¡°Colonel Luo Guozhong, my name is Wang Tao! I will be going to your base! I hope I can see you next time!¡± He had to make sure the other party remembered his name, at least to become somewhat familiar. ¡°Zzz¡­ Wang Tao¡­ Zzz¡­ Zzz¡­¡± The hoarse voice of the other party muttered Wang Tao¡¯s name and then the signal was lost. The plane slowly turned into a small black dot in Wang Tao¡¯s view before gradually disappearing. Looking up at the clear sky, Wang Tao felt a small regret. Even though he had made contact with the colonel pilot, unfortunately, he didn¡¯t get much information. But at least he had made himself known, which might be useful in the future. For now, the military base seemed to be very safe, and he wouldn¡¯t change his plan to go there. ¡°Little Jun, let¡¯s go collect the airdrop.¡± Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun as they had already passed the airdrop location while he was busy making contact with the pilot. ¡°Sure!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately turned the vehicle around, excitedly heading towards the recent airdrop that had landed. Soon, the SUV arrived near the airdrop. Luckily, this airdrop had landed right on the roof of a two-story building beside the road, emitting red smoke and was highly visible. There was no further need to look for it. Wang Tao got out of the car and with a sprint, quickly climbed up. He didn¡¯t open the airdrop there; instead, he pushed the crate off the roof. Thud¡ª The airdrop crate fell onto the grass beside it. Xu Xiaojun immediately rolled up his sleeves, lifted the entire crate, and then placed it on the roof of the SUV. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s regroup.¡± The vehicle drove back for a while, and soon they saw the first vehicle, the second vehicle¡­ Before long, all eight vehicles regrouped. An excited Zhang Hong spoke into the vehicle¡¯s walkie-talkie: ¡°We collected all five airdrops! Let¡¯s go, the sun¡¯s setting, we need to find a place to rest!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± The rest of the group was equally excited; they had never before experienced such a bountiful haul. Chapter 390 - Chapter 390: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_1 Chapter 390: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_1 This was a dilapidated little village. A few emaciated zombies sat at the entrance of the village, basked in the afterglow of the setting sun, motionless, as if dead. Suddenly, the buzzing sound of an engine approached, and a number of vehicles appeared slowly. The zombies lifted their heads, issuing hoarse roars, standing up, and advanced toward the source of the noise. A tall figure suddenly jumped out of a vehicle, swinging a Giant Axe and unleashing a Shockwave. Pfft! All the zombies were shattered to pieces. The vehicles scattered instantly. ¡°Everyone check around! See if there are any remaining zombies!¡± The voice of Zhang Hong came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Yes!¡± The people responded, disembarking from their vehicles, examining each house with weapons in hand. Wang Tao and two others also got out of the car to swiftly inspect the surroundings. ¡°No problems here!¡± ¡°No issues on my end either!¡± ¡°All clear¡­¡± The inspection concluded quickly, and everyone reconvened in the square at the center of the village. Zhang Hong directed everyone to start setting up camp and establishing Defense measures. By the time everything was ready, night had fallen. Gathered together, everyone hastily ate something before eagerly fixing their gaze on the five airdrop crates in the middle. Before opening the airdrop, Zhang Hong asked Wang Tao in a hushed voice: ¡°How did you know there was an airdrop today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a fortune-teller.¡± Wang Tao responded with a smile. He had no intention of revealing his contact with Colonel Luo, after all, it¡¯s good to keep some secrets, right? Seeing that Wang Tao was unwilling to elaborate, Zhang Hong gave him a flirtatious glare, not pressing further. Then, with a cough and a face full of anticipation and excitement, she waved towards everyone. ¡°Open the airdrop crates.¡± Like the previous airdrop crates, a password was required to open them, but the password was a simple arithmetic problem that anyone literate could solve. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t overly excited since he was still recalling the events of the afternoon when he¡¯d made contact with the pilot of the airdrop plane. He felt he should pay more attention to airplanes in the future, striving to make contact more often¡­ Click~ Under everyone¡¯s watchful eyes, the first airdrop crate was opened. Upon seeing the five large boxes of Inhibitors inside, everyone was so thrilled they nearly jumped for joy. One box of Inhibitors held 20 bottles, so five boxes amounted to 100 bottles! 100 bottles of Inhibitors! That could save so many lives! With these, everyone need not live in the fear they had before! Zhang Hong took out all the Inhibitors and distributed them among the people. There were 13 of them, plus the three including Wang Tao, which made 16 in total. Each person, including Wang Tao¡¯s group, got five bottles, and the remaining 20 bottles were kept by Zhang Hong, meaning she had 25 bottles for herself. Wang Tao was slightly surprised; he hadn¡¯t expected to receive a share. After all, the previous arrangement had been that whoever got to the airdrop first would keep it. As for Zhang Hong having the most, that was only normal. The leader should definitely get more. In the post-apocalyptic world, to share resources equally and ensure everyone was treated the same was not to say without any meaning, just that it was hard to achieve. It was better to concentrate resources at the top, creating a strong leader in possession of them. This airdrop also included a Monster Manual, which Zhang Hong took a look at. Finding it to be the same as the one Wang Tao had shown her, she didn¡¯t look further and passed the manual to the others. Then she opened the second airdrop. The second airdrop contained a device. ¡°What¡¯s this? A Crystal Core Synthesizer?¡± Everyone was curious, having only ever seen a Crystal Core Synthesizer before, though the device also looked somewhat different. ¡°This is an Energy Detector. After inserting blood, it can check whether a human is infected with the virus, how many impurities are in the body, what the Energy Level is¡­¡± Wang Tao explained. Shuize Base had already acquired an Energy Detector, but its design was a bit different from this one, which must be an improved version. ¡°An Energy Detector!¡± Zhang Hong¡¯s eyes lit up. She quickly searched through the contents and found a manual. Indeed, as Wang Tao had said, it was an Energy Detector. Only, this one didn¡¯t require blood. Any body tissue would do, such as hair, nails, skin flakes, and so on, which was much safer and more convenient than drawing blood. However, according to the instructions, the human tissue must have been shed within a few hours¡ªor the results would not be accurate. This made things much easier compared to the past, but the issue of energy had not been solved; it still required a large amount of electricity. Of course, compared to the Crystal Core Synthesizer, this Energy Detector consumed a lot less power. Zhang Hong decided to try it out. She couldn¡¯t afford the power consumption of the Crystal Core Synthesizer, but the Energy Detector¡¯s power consumption was manageable. So, Zhang Hong immediately fetched some cables and started the Energy Detector. Humming~ The detector vibrated slightly, the green indicator light came on, signaling it was ready for use. Zhang Hong plucked out one of her hairs and placed it in the machine¡¯s detection slot. A moment later, the small LED screen on the device displayed the information. [Energy: Level 2] [Impurities: Level 2] ¡°¡­Is that it?¡± Zhang Hong was somewhat disappointed; she had expected it to reveal much more data, but it only indicated a Level Two Energy and Level Two Impurities. About these impurity levels, she had already read the manual, and Level Two was still within the safe range. Level Three was slightly dangerous, Level Four was somewhat risky, and Level Five was extremely dangerous! ¡°Wang Tao, won¡¯t you give it a try? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t charge you for the electricity!¡± Chapter 391 - Chapter 391: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_2 Chapter 391: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_2 Zhang Hong suddenly looked at Wang Tao and said. Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders and didn¡¯t refuse; he plucked a strand of his hair to give it a try. [Energy: Level 2] [Impurities: Level 1] His energy was also at Level 2, but the internal impurity in his body was less than Zhang Hong¡¯s. Zhang Hong had already informed her teammates of Wang Tao¡¯s Level Two strength, so nobody was too shocked. However, the fact that Wang Tao¡¯s internal impurity was only at Level 1 aroused everyone¡¯s curiosity. They were both Second-order Ability Users, so why did Wang Tao have fewer internal impurities than Zhang Hong? Then, Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to give it a try, and just like Wang Tao, he too was at Level 2 energy with Level 1 impurity. Zhang Hong was speechless for a moment as she watched this unfold. It was one thing for Wang Tao to have fewer impurities within him, but for Xu Xiaojun to also have so little? That wasn¡¯t scientific! She had been extremely cautious when fusing with Crystal Cores, and still, she had accumulated so many impurities¡­ There was only one possibility: Wang Tao was very lucky, or rather, they had obtained a lot of Crystal Cores! They must have synthesized them using purple or higher-level Crystal Cores, which had a low failure rate! Zhang Hong felt a bit envious. Internal impurities were like a ticking time bomb; if you had too many, who knows when you might turn into a zombie¡­ Wang Tao was unaware of her thoughts. He noticed Jiang Shixue, who seemed eager to try, and quickly held her back. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t worried about Jiang Shixue revealing her strength; he was concerned that her high level of internal impurity might frighten the others. After all, she had a hundred percent internal impurity. If a Level 5 popped up on the display, probably nobody would be able to sleep well tonight. Zhang Hong had everyone else test as well, and they were basically Level 1 Ability Users, so their impurity levels were not high, all at Level 1, within an acceptable range. Zhang Hong instructed to keep the device safe, then she opened the third supply drop box. This supply drop box contained various medical supplies. As before, everyone received a share. She herself kept a slightly larger portion. The fourth supply drop box contained all sorts of food, like compressed biscuits, energy bars, and the like. Seeing these foods, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Although eating these things regularly would definitely get tedious, having them occasionally was quite nice, akin to a treat. The fifth supply drop box was the one Wang Tao received. According to the previous agreement, whoever received it owned it. The first four were Zhang Hong¡¯s, and this one was Wang Tao¡¯s. However, Wang Tao was not stingy. If it contained food or medicines, he wouldn¡¯t mind sharing some. He asked Little Jun to open the box, but everyone was stunned by the contents. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s this?¡± Inside the box was a¡­ black Mechanical Arm? To be accurate, it should be an Exoskeleton Arm! But this Mechanical Arm was bigger than Wang Tao expected, as it needed to be strapped not just to the arm, but also to the shoulder and waist. An arm alone wouldn¡¯t have the leverage to exert force effectively. Wang Tao checked the instruction manual. As expected, it was a product from the Hope Research Institute, which they described as an electrically-powered Mechanical Exoskeleton for the left arm. This Mechanical Arm could greatly enhance the user¡¯s strength, being excellent for both close combat and carrying heavy items. But it had a flaw: high energy consumption. With the current battery situation, it could only last for at most an hour¡­ and, the manual stated, it was a prototype. The Hope Research Institute, after conducting research, found that the energy within Crystal Cores was abundant. They aimed to create a sort of Mechanical Exoskeleton powered by Crystal Core Energy. Unfortunately, they had not made much progress in Crystal Core Energy yet. Their planned final version was a full-body exoskeleton powered by Crystal Core Energy. Thus, this current model powered by conventional electricity and consisting of only one arm is a prototype. The reason for having only one arm was not because they couldn¡¯t create more, but because the energy consumption was high. When powered, it was economical on effort, but without power, it would become a burden. If it was a full-body exoskeleton, one wouldn¡¯t even be able to walk once the power was out. Wang Tao tried it on and was left somewhat speechless. This device could be useful for others, but for him¡­ it was quite superfluous. Firstly, it affected his flexibility, which was far inferior to Entangling Roots. Secondly, although it did offer a strength boost, this bonus wasn¡¯t a simple addition of a certain amount of strength. To maximize its power, the user¡¯s muscles needed to coordinate properly. The stronger and more physically fit the user, the more convenient it was to use. If someone with weaker strength and poorer physique used it, they might deliver a powerful punch, only to trip over themselves. Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition was quite good, but using this Exoskeleton Arm in a fight would significantly impair his speed. While his strength might increase, his speed would decrease, which actually represented a net loss for him. Last of all, there was the issue of battery life. After powering up the Mechanical Arm, he didn¡¯t find it uncomfortable. But the moment he turned off the power supply, Wang Tao instantly felt like he was carrying a lump on his shoulder. Although this weight was trivial for him, it was definitely uncomfortable. Moreover, when he tried to move his arm, it felt awkward and robot-like, which was a bit distressing¡­ Chapter 392 - Chapter 392: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_3 Chapter 392: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_3 Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean the mechanical left arm was completely useless. Firstly, the material¡ªthough its exact metal was unknown, and slightly heavy¡ªit was not only highly durable but also exhibited a significant degree of toughness! Things that are too rigid can easily break, but this material had both hardness and toughness, seemingly designed for battle. Then there was the battery, which used some sort of advanced technology; the battery itself wasn¡¯t large. Its portability was quite good. Last of all, the charging method for the mechanical right arm¡ªit would charge with any motion. Normal activities like walking or running could fully recharge it. Of course, it could also be charged in the usual way by plugging it in. So, in terms of recharging the energy, it was quite convenient. ¡°Little Jun, you try it.¡± Wang Tao took off the mechanical left arm and let Xu Xiaojun give it a try. Unexpectedly, what Wang Tao found awkward to use, Xu Xiaojun found exceedingly handy. As the saying goes, raw strength can overcome any skill. This was exactly Xu Xiaojun¡¯s situation. He was naturally large in stature and possessed a Power ability. Therefore, his strength surpassed Wang Tao¡¯s. As long as one¡¯s own strength is sufficient and body weight is considerable, wearing the mechanical arm would have minimal side effects, if any at all. Moreover, Xu Xiaojun was not a speed-type Ability User, so it did not affect his agility and speed¡ªbecause he was naturally not fast. ¡°Since it¡¯s not a problem for you to use it, then it¡¯s yours,¡± Wang Tao shook his head and said. He couldn¡¯t get used to it and Jiang Shixue was even less suitable. With her small frame, it was difficult to even keep the exoskeleton stable. Thus, Xu Xiaojun was the best fit. ¡°Great!¡± Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t stand on ceremony this time because he could see that Wang Tao truly felt uncomfortable using the device, while he himself found it quite comfortable. Wang Tao shared his experience and the pros and cons of the mechanical right arm with Yang Changhong and the others. Although the gadget wasn¡¯t going to be given to them, it was still fine to share some information about it. Everyone was initially envious, as it was a device that could enhance combat power, but after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s experience, their envy disappeared¡ªthey didn¡¯t have the physique of Xu Xiaojun, and on them, the device would most likely become a burden. Wang Tao specifically let Yang Changhong try it as well, and they all watched as her expression shifted from curiosity and excitement to utter despair. ¡°No, I really can¡¯t handle this¡­¡± Yang Changhong quickly returned the device to Xu Xiaojun. She wasn¡¯t strong; speed was her specialty. The mechanical arm significantly weakened her when worn, considering her abilities. ¡°If only there were a complete mechanical exoskeleton¡­ but then energy would be a big problem¡­ However, achieving this level already is pretty good, and hopefully, we can truly figure out how to use the energy from the Crystal Core later!¡± Wang Tao said to himself as he stroked his chin, watching Xu Xiaojun refit the mechanical right arm to his body. After all the airdropped supplies were dealt with, Wang Tao had a private conversation with Yang Changhong about Abilities. After all, he had promised to give her a Crystal Core, but he needed to understand her abilities first. ¡°I have three Abilities. Actually, I had fused with four, but I transferred one to someone else¡­¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s words piqued Wang Tao¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Transferred to someone else? Can you explain in detail how you did that?¡± Wang Tao knew that Abilities could be transferred during Ascension, but he had never witnessed a transfer. Yang Changhong was the first person he encountered who had done so, and he wanted to understand the details. ¡°I can¡¯t explain it very well, but at the time, I just had this feeling that I could transfer it, and then when I held the other person¡¯s hand, I transferred the Ability¡­ After the transfer, I suddenly felt much more comfortable¡­¡± Yang Changhong explained with a furrowed brow. After listening, Wang Tao pondered in silence for a while. According to Zhang Hong, she had fused four abilities, and each ability had been fused to +10, but only one ability used the Ascension crystal core. Just like Wei Zhen Guo before. There was danger at that time, and she had no time to wait for the second Ascension crystal core, so she directly used a Crystal Core to ascend. After the Ascension, she felt that she could pass on this second-order ability to someone else, so she immediately did so. After the inheritance, she felt that some energy had been drained from her body, though not sure how much, but it was definitely less. And her combat power had significantly dropped, after all, losing a Level Two ability. However, she felt very comfortable¡­ Wang Tao observed and deduced that after the inheritance, she must have lost 1000 mana because now she has 3200 mana. If all her abilities were at +10, then this amount of mana would make sense. As for her feeling comfortable, that was naturally because some internal impurities had been removed. However, after the inheritance, there was one thing that distressed her¡ªshe found that she couldn¡¯t fuse Level 1 abilities anymore! This was also why, even though she had many Level 1 Crystal Cores, she did not continue to fuse new abilities. ¡°Second-order superpower owners cannot fuse Level 1 crystal cores anymore?¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brow. Because he felt that he himself seemed to be able to continue fusing Level 1 Crystal Cores. Was he different from others in terms of fusing crystal cores as well? But he hadn¡¯t tried it yet, so he wasn¡¯t one hundred percent sure. ¡°I¡¯ll have to try it out later¡­¡± After all, whether he could fuse Level 1 Crystal Cores was crucial to his ability upgrading plan. ¡°By the way, who did you pass your ability on to?¡± Wang Tao was curious; she had actually passed on her only Level Two ability¡­ That was true love! ¡°¡­My sister.¡± Zhang Hong spoke with a tinge of melancholy. ¡°You have a sister? Then she¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°Went missing¡­ During the danger we encountered earlier, I led the zombies away to let her run first. But when I escaped the danger and went back to look for her, she was nowhere to be found. I searched for a long time but never found her. Later, I ran into a group of survivors, and they suggested I go to Zijing City to check. Because the survivors in this area are all trying to make their way to Zijing City, I heard that there is a Survivor Base there¡­¡± Zhang Hong¡¯s expression was very sad. In the post-apocalyptic world, going missing is almost equivalent to death. However, her sister was after all an ability user who had inherited a Level 2 ability, so it was difficult to say whether she was dead or not. ¡°She definitely will be very lucky.¡± Wang Tao comforted her. ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it¡­¡± Zhang Hong gave a wry smile. ¡°Let¡¯s talk more about your abilities.¡± Wang Tao continued. ¡°My current three abilities are, first, to increase speed for a certain duration; second, to conceal my presence, making it difficult for zombies to detect me; and third, to make the weapon in my hand vibrate at a high frequency¡­¡± Chapter 393 - Chapter 393: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_1 Chapter 393: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_1 Yang Changhong mentioned three Abilities, two of which Wang Tao was quite interested in. The first Ability was one that could continuously increase speed. Wang Tao had always valued speed, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any speed-related Abilities of his own. The Rush Ability could only be considered a displacement Ability, and because it was an innate part of the suit, it had many limitations and couldn¡¯t be used continuously. Wang Tao felt that Yang Changhong¡¯s Speed Ability was pretty good, especially since it was a continuous one. Since Wang Tao¡¯s Barrier was also a continuous power, he thought maybe he could try to see if they could be combined¡­ The second Ability Wang Tao was interested in was Yang Changhong¡¯s that made weapons vibrate at a high frequency. ¡°How do you make it vibrate? Is it faster than my single for twenty years hand speed? Why don¡¯t you show me so I can have a look?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Yang Changhong¡¯s face suddenly reddened, and she glared at him. ¡°¡­Don¡¯t get the wrong idea; it¡¯s not what you think!¡± ¡°Eh? Didn¡¯t you say that it¡¯s about making the weapon vibrate at a high frequency? What¡¯s there to misunderstand¡ªoh~¡± Wang Tao paused for a moment before he had an epiphany and made an enlightened ¡°oh¡± sound. ¡°¡­Get lost!¡± Yang Changhong hit Wang Tao. She felt he was doing it on purpose and quickly changed the subject. ¡°Watch closely, then.¡± She took out the machete from her waist and held it in her hand. Buzz, buzz~ Suddenly, Wang Tao heard a faint buzzing sound and looked at the knife in Yang Changhong¡¯s hand, not visually noticing any vibration. Then he saw Yang Changhong holding the knife and lightly swinging it at a withered stump nearby. Sputter¡ª The stump was instantly split into two! Wang Tao saw it clearly, Yang Changhong really didn¡¯t use much strength; just a casual flick of the wrist had split the stump! Although Wang Tao could also split stumps, he relied purely on brute force, which was completely different from Yang Changhong¡¯s method. ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed in admiration. To tell the truth, he really liked this Ability! If he had this Ability and paired it with his strength, then how powerful would a single chop be? ¡°Alas, what¡¯s so great about it. It might look impressive, but in reality, there are a lot of limitations¡­ This Ability consumes a lot of energy, and it¡¯s not like Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Shockwave, which has an area of effect attack¡­¡± Yang Changhong sighed. Her Ability did high damage, but it also had many shortcomings. In fact, she preferred to have a Ranged Attack Ability because the closer she was to the zombies, the greater the danger¡­ Wang Tao asked: ¡°What kind of Ability do you want next? I think Rush, Jump, Toughness, Self-healing, and so on would all suit you well.¡± Wang Tao rattled off several Abilities in one breath and briefly explained the functions of these Abilities. Yang Changhong listened with a look of anticipation. These Abilities all sounded really good! However, after Wang Tao finished speaking, she suddenly interjected: ¡°Cough, are there any Abilities for Ranged Attacks?¡± ¡°Ranged Attack?¡± Wang Tao had been recommending based on close combat capabilities, not expecting Yang Changhong to want a ranged one. If talking about Ranged Attack Abilities, Precision Shooting was the only one, but that was a Crystal Core Wang Tao couldn¡¯t possibly give away as he needed it for himself. Apart from Precision Shooting, only Throwing Master and Spittle Nail could be considered ranged, though they were actually more mid-range. As for Shockwave, its attack distance wasn¡¯t long, certainly much shorter compared to these Abilities. ¡°There are ranged ones too, namely Spittle Nail and Throwing Master.¡± Wang Tao introduced the two Abilities separately. After listening, Yang Changhong¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Can I have the Spittle Nail Crystal Core?¡± This surprised Wang Tao, as he thought she would prefer Throwing Master. Yang Changhong¡¯s reasoning was actually quite simple. Throwing Master seemed convenient as it allowed throwing a variety of objects, but the prerequisite was having throwable weapons; you can¡¯t just pluck a hair to throw, that¡¯s not realistic. But Spittle Nail was different; it stored one-tenth of the food swallowed and then could spit it out like a hidden weapon! As for eating, she did it with every meal, so there would never be a shortage of ¡®weapons,¡¯ plus it was stored in her stomach, no need to carry extra weapons, making for a surprise attack! ¡°Spittle Nail? No problem.¡± Wang Tao moved his awareness into his Space Backpack, then synthesized an Epic Spittle Nail Crystal Core and took it out. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Spittle Nail] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (side effects: none)] [Spittle Nail: Can store one-tenth of swallowed food in the stomach and spit it out as a weapon] ¡°An Orange Crystal Core!¡± Seeing the Crystal Core in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, Yang Changhong was shocked. Having survived in the post-apocalyptic world for so long, she had only seen an Orange Crystal Core once, and it was a Level 1 Self-Destruct Crystal Core¡­ and now Wang Tao casually pulled out a Level Two Epic Crystal Core? And it was exactly what she needed! Since Wang Tao had promised a gift, of course, he would try to give away an Excellent or Epic Crystal Core, anything of lower quality would be embarrassing to offer. Moreover, he happened to have several Spittle Nail Crystal Cores, so he used two Ordinary and one Excellent to synthesize an Epic Crystal Core. ¡°Is this¡­ really for me?¡± Yang Changhong was still somewhat incredulous; after all, the Crystal Core was too precious. ¡°Of course, my word is my bond,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Chapter 394 - Chapter 394: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_2 Chapter 394: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_2 Yang Changhong had provided him with the information about that reservoir, which not only included the yield of Level 3 monsters but also the Level 2 zombies that allowed Wang Tao to earn nearly a hundred Level 2 Crystal Cores! It was only natural for him to give Yang Changhong a small Epic Crystal Core as a finder¡¯s fee. Once Yang Changhong was certain that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t joking, she immediately took the Crystal Core into her hand. After quietly admiring it for a while, she looked up at Wang Tao with a very grateful expression. Level 2 Crystal Cores were already very precious, and ones that were suited for her were even more valuable. She had previously possessed three Crystal Cores, but unfortunately, she didn¡¯t know their effects and had been afraid to use them herself. Later, she exchanged them with Wang Tao. Now this Spittle Nail Epic Crystal Core was far more valuable to her than those three Crystal Cores! ¡°Thank you!¡± Yang Changhong expressed her gratitude sincerely. ¡°No need to be so polite. If you run into trouble with zombies or monsters in the future, just come to me. If I make any gains, I will definitely give you a referral fee,¡± Wang Tao said, thumping his chest. Yang Changhong shook her head helplessly. She had only come across a situation with so many Level 2 zombies bunched together once. ¡°By the way, do you want this thing? We can negotiate a price.¡± Wang Tao pulled out a Magical Stomach Pouch. This Magical Stomach Pouch and the Spittle Nail Crystal Core were both drops from the same zombie. ¡°A Magical Stomach Pouch that can store food! Yes¡ª¡± Yang Changhong instinctively said she wanted it, but quickly came to her senses and her face turned bitter. ¡°But I don¡¯t have anything to trade with you now¡­ These are the only things of value I have left¡­¡± She took out some Crystal Cores, all of which were Level 1. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very interested in those Level 1 Crystal Cores, but his eyes lit up when he saw several of them. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡¤ Full Speed] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: During the duration, physical strength consumption is doubled)] [Full Speed: Speed is increased for the duration.] This was an Ability called ¡°Full Speed,¡± which was Yang Changhong¡¯s very first Ability, and also one that Wang Tao liked. However, the side effect seemed a bit uncomfortable. It was supposed to be an Ability for long-duration endurance, but this side effect would significantly shorten that endurance¡­ [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡¤ High-frequency Vibration] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Energy consumption for using this Ability is increased fivefold)] [High-frequency Vibration: Wrists and fingers can vibrate at high frequency.] The second Crystal Core that caught Wang Tao¡¯s attention was Yang Changhong¡¯s Ability for high-frequency vibration. Looking at the description of this Ability, it didn¡¯t seem to reveal much, but seeing Yang Changhong¡¯s actual performance, one would know that this Ability was powerful! And this side effect was also a pain¡ªthe mana consumption increased by five times! No wonder Yang Changhong said this Ability was very energy-consuming; it was because of the side effect. In that case, Yang Changhong was quite unlucky. Her Full Speed Ability consumed double the physical strength when used, and her high-frequency vibration consumed five times the mana when used¡ªoh right, she also had a Stealth Ability. The side effect of Stealth was that it doubled the physical strength consumption while moving¡­ Well done, one doesn¡¯t know unless one investigates, and it¡¯s quite a shock when one does. Yang Changhong¡¯s combat power might be good, but her endurance was completely inadequate! No wonder she rarely took action on the road. Maintaining the image of the boss was one aspect, but the lack of endurance probably played a part, too. ¡°What, what¡¯s up?¡± Seeing the strange look in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Yang Changhong subconsciously touched her face. She felt a bit uncomfortable as if she had been thoroughly seen through. ¡°Is your endurance not quite up to par? Feeling weak?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°¡­You¡¯re the one with kidney deficiency!¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I¡¯m serious. The Crystal Cores you¡¯ve fused with are all particularly draining in terms of energy and physical strength.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Seeing that Wang Tao was not kidding, Yang Changhong was a bit stunned. After thinking about it, she said, ¡°Now that you mention it, it does seem true¡ªI feel that although my combat power has increased since becoming an Ability User, the duration of my battles remains the same as before, not very long. I thought this was a natural weakness in women¡­¡± Watching the confused look on Yang Changhong¡¯s face, Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s the side effects of the Crystal Cores you¡¯ve fused with. But it¡¯s not a big deal. Just be cautious in the future and avoid enduring battles. Also, I¡¯ll take these Crystal Cores.¡± Wang Tao took away the Full Speed Crystal Cores and the High-frequency Vibration Crystal Cores. He then handed over the Magical Stomach Pouch to Yang Changhong. ¡°You want to trade with me? You¡¯d be losing out¡­¡± Yang Changhong couldn¡¯t quite believe it. ¡°There¡¯s no loss. It¡¯s simply a matter of fulfilling each other¡¯s needs,¡± Wang Tao replied. ¡°Alright!¡± Since Wang Tao was okay with it, Yang Changhong didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately stowed the Magical Stomach Pouch away. After learning how to operate it from Wang Tao, she began to repeatedly put food in it, take it out, and put it back in again. ¡°Truly magical¡­¡± Yang Changhong was having a great time playing with it. ¡°Okay, you can keep playing with it. I¡¯m going to go back to sleep,¡± Wang Tao said, waving his hand, ready to leave. Yang Changhong suddenly said, ¡°You won the bet we made earlier. What¡¯s your demand? Have you thought about it?¡± When Wang Tao heard Yang Changhong mention the bet, his eyebrows rose, and he looked her up and down. ¡°Will you really agree to anything?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Chapter 395 - Chapter 395: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_3 Chapter 395: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_3 Zhang Hong had previously said it was within her means, but now she was outright affirming her ability. ¡°Okay, then my request¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly smiled while looking at Zhang Hong¡¯s somewhat anxious face, ¡°my request isn¡¯t quite right now, we¡¯ll talk about it when we¡¯re safely settled.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zhang Hong nodded vigorously. Wang Tao left the grove. Watching Wang Tao¡¯s departing figure, Zhang Hong¡¯s gaze was filled with gratitude. No matter how precious these items were to Wang Tao, they were certainly valuable to her. She was someone who remembered kindness and sought to repay it, but unfortunately, she didn¡¯t possess anything of value at the moment and could only look for an opportunity to do so later. At night, Wang Tao was sleeping soundly in the vehicle when he suddenly felt someone tapping him. He instantly opened his eyes, a green glint flickering within them. Jiang Shixue, who had snuggled up to him, had awoken at some point and was looking towards the east. ¡°Brother, zombies are coming.¡± Although Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t have Perception Ability, her senses were very sharp. She could always sense it beforehand if powerful zombies or monsters were approaching. Wang Tao first thought it was Night Demons, and if they were Night Demons, they¡¯d have to move. After all, Night Demons are Level 3 Zombies who live in groups, and whether or not Wang Tao could handle them, others would definitely suffer. However, when he looked towards the direction Jiang Shixue was pointing to, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s not Night Demons; just three Level 2 Zombies¡­ No! There¡¯s a large group of zombies following them!¡± Wang Tao immediately turned on the vehicle¡¯s intercom. ¡°Everyone, pay attention, a large number of zombies are attacking from the east! Everyone, pay attention, a large number of zombies are attacking from the east!¡± Whoosh¡ª In the apocalypse, few people could sleep deeply, especially out in the wild. Instantly, everyone woke up. Those who were on the night shift jumped with fright, for they hadn¡¯t seen any zombies. But now it was very dark, their flashlights couldn¡¯t reach far, and besides, these were words from Wang Tao, a Level 2 Ability User, so they definitely chose to believe him. In a moment, an orderly bustle came from the temporary camp. It had to be said that these ¡°apocalypse nomads¡± were quite adept at handling such situations and quickly packed up, ready to evacuate at any time. And at that moment, the zombies finally came into their field of vision. ¡°Damn! So many!¡± Seeing the densely packed mass of zombies, everyone shivered. Had it not been for Wang Tao¡¯s warning, some of them would probably have perished here today! ¡°Retreat!¡± Zhang Hong initially thought that with Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun, two Level 2 Ability Users there, encountering more zombies wouldn¡¯t necessarily mean an immediate retreat. But now, seeing so many zombies, she didn¡¯t hesitate to call for everyone to withdraw! It was nighttime, when the zombies were at their strongest and they at their weakest. Besides, killing ordinary zombies brought no benefit to these people. It was certainly best to leave. Boom~ The roaring sound of the vehicles instantly attracted the zombies¡¯ attention, and many zombies started to accelerate toward the convoy. Wang Tao watched this scene with a sense of helplessness. He had thought that the zombies had discovered the convoy and were attacking it. But it now seemed that the zombies had merely wandered into the area by chance during their nighttime roaming. This luck was just too poor! He had witnessed several major zombie wanderings at night before, with the most memorable being the first time he saw them at the water plant. The oppressive feeling of the zombies at that time was still fresh in his memory. The oppression from this group of zombies wasn¡¯t particularly strong to Wang Tao, but he had no intention of showing off, especially since the Night Demons might be prowling around. If they were surrounded by Night Demons, it would be a huge problem. However, not engaging with these ordinary zombies didn¡¯t mean he would let go of the two Level 2 Zombies at the front. ¡°Little Jun, those two Level 2 Zombies are yours to handle.¡± Wang Tao drove, speaking to Xu Xiaojun seated in the passenger seat. Both zombies were Level 2, Elite Zombies with 10,000 HP, and with Xu Xiaojun¡¯s current strength, taking on zombies of this level was naturally no problem. ¡°Sure, Brother Wang, you can count on me!¡± Xu Xiaojun was somewhat eager to try; he hadn¡¯t yet had the chance to test the power of his newly equipped mechanical right arm. As these zombies had blocked the road at the village entrance, the convoy couldn¡¯t merge onto the main road in time, so they had to drive into the wilderness for a while before finding a way to enter the highway. Originally, the zombies were wandering on the main road. The noise of the vehicles starting had attracted them, so a part of the zombie horde broke off and chased after the convoy, including those two Level 2 Zombies. ¡°Quick, quick, quick!¡± Yang Changhong, while watching the zombies behind, directed the convoy forward. Although she didn¡¯t have the Night Vision Ability, she had scouted the area and was very familiar with the surroundings of the village. Under her command, it didn¡¯t take long for the convoy to successfully merge onto the highway. But at this moment, everyone was not the slightest bit relaxed but rather felt their scalps tingle. Even Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. ¡°Holy crap, why are there so many zombies!¡± The highway was teeming with zombies, far more than he had estimated! ¡°This is a zombie tide!¡± Xu Xiaojun, who was originally raring to go, subconsciously shrank his neck a bit. He couldn¡¯t see as wide a range as Wang Tao, but the range illuminated by other people¡¯s flashlights was all zombies! Luckily, Wang Tao discovered this early on. At the moment, there were no zombies ahead on the road. Had the discovery been made even a little later, the convoy might have been surrounded by zombies! Seeing the road ahead was still relatively clear, Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°Little Jun, make it quick and decisive!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao, bringing up the rear of the convoy, suddenly slowed down. Xu Xiaojun quickly jumped out of the car, his left arm outfitted with a Mechanical Exoskeleton Arm, his right hand holding a worn Giant Axe. Then he charged straight into the group of zombies behind him, smashing quite a few to pieces! Xu Xiaojun swung the giant axe, releasing a Shockwave, killing a large swath of zombies. At that moment, the two Level 2 Zombies both attacked him, but Xu Xiaojun immediately blocked their strike with his axe, then slammed his mechanical right arm down on one of the zombie¡¯s heads. The Level 2 Zombie was knocked out cold! Xu Xiaojun followed up with two more hits and swung his axe once more. Pough! The first Level 2 Zombie died. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up from a distance. ¡°This mechanical arm is something else! It can knock out zombies so easily¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun used the mechanical arm to fend off attacks while he dug out the Zombie Core. Using the same method, he knocked out the second zombie and quickly killed it. After obtaining this Crystal Core, Xu Xiaojun released another Shockwave, shattering all the surrounding zombies, then charged toward Wang Tao¡¯s off-road vehicle. In an instant, he was at the side of the off-road vehicle. He opened the door and got in, all in one go. The car abruptly accelerated, chasing after the convoy ahead. Chapter 396 - Chapter 396: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_1 Chapter 396: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_1 ¡°` ¡°Are you all okay?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s voice, filled with concern, came through the vehicle¡¯s intercom. She had been informed by Wang Tao ahead of time about the plan to deal with the two Level 2 Zombies. Although she believed that Wang Tao and his group should not be in too much danger, she still couldn¡¯t help but worry a little, given that there were so many zombies. ¡°We¡¯re fine, just speed up,¡± Wang Tao said, glancing at the zombies that were following behind them. ¡°Okay!¡± Yang Changhong nodded and then ordered the convoy to start accelerating. She had not stopped the convoy just now, but she did slow down a bit to wait for Wang Tao. Now that Wang Tao had caught up, it was natural to start speeding up to get away from the zombie horde as quickly as possible. But it was hard to see clearly when driving at night, especially since there were often obstacles on the road. Wang Tao, taking up the rear, saw that the convoy couldn¡¯t pick up speed, so he took the initiative to lead the way at the front. With his Night Vision, those obstacles were naturally nowhere to hide. Gradually, the overall speed of the convoy began to increase. Just when it seemed they were finally about to shake off the zombie pack, the nerves of everyone, still taut, had yet to relax when Wang Tao¡¯s voice suddenly rang out through the intercom: ¡°Everyone, be alert! A Level 3 Night Demon Zombie has appeared!¡± ¡°A Level 3 Night Demon Zombie?!¡± The group was shocked. They had already struggled to deal with Level 2 Zombies, how on earth were they supposed to handle a Level 3 Zombie? But luckily, Wang Tao reassured them: ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, the Night Demons are not as fast as we are running. Keep up the speed, and they won¡¯t catch us.¡± Wang Tao knew that the disturbance would definitely attract Night Demons, so he wasn¡¯t surprised to see them. The Night Demons were among the zombie horde in the rear. If it weren¡¯t for him being able to see HP, to see a few zombies with significantly more HP, he probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed them. But as he said, no matter how fast the Night Demons were, they were not as fast as the vehicles once they got up to speed. As long as they maintained a good pace, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems. ¡°It¡¯s a pity there are too many zombies, otherwise we might have a chance to try¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at those ferocious zombie faces and felt a bit of regret. His own strength had increased significantly, and he felt he was now capable of taking on a Night Demon Zombie. But there were too many zombies right now, and there wasn¡¯t just one Night Demon, but at least ten! In such a case, there was no choice but to flee. The Ordinary Zombies were not as fast as the Night Demons, and it didn¡¯t take long before the convoy could no longer see the trace of Ordinary Zombies. However, about a dozen Night Demons were still doggedly pursuing them. Yang Changhong and the others had never seen Night Demons before, only pictures in a guidebook. Now confronted with these terrifying and ferocious zombies, they felt an immense pressure¡ªgreater even than the pressure the zombie horde had given them! Suddenly, one of the vehicles shook and slowed down. ¡°Car 4, what¡¯s happening!¡± Yang Changhong, who had been keeping an eye on the convoy, called out as soon as she noticed Car 4 seemed to be falling behind. ¡°Boss, I didn¡¯t notice a zombie under the car. It just climbed onto the window and startled me, but I¡¯m okay!¡± The driver of Car 4 quickly responded. ¡°Then hurry up and catch up!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Car 4 began accelerating again. However, it had slowed down considerably and was now at the very back, making it difficult to speed up again. That¡¯s when the driver of Car 4 heard a thud, as if something had landed on their roof. ¡°Boss, boss, please check what¡¯s on my roof!¡± The driver of Car 4 urgently called out through the intercom. Yang Changhong quickly glanced over and her heart sank. ¡°Night Demon! There¡¯s a Night Demon on your roof!¡± Gulp~ In an instant, everyone heard the sound of Car 4¡¯s driver swallowing his saliva. A Level 3 Night Demon was on his roof! This was it! Thud! Thud! Thud! After landing on the roof, the Night Demon started banging furiously. The car was getting rocked by the impact. The driver of Car 4 looked up and saw that the roof was starting to dent! ¡°Boss, I don¡¯t want to die!¡± He suddenly cried out, sobbing. Although he had long anticipated this day might come, nobody could stay calm when faced with impending death. Yang Changhong¡¯s expression turned grim. She rolled down her window and opened her mouth towards the Night Demon on the roof of Car 4. Whoosh¡ª An object shaped like a nail shot out from her mouth and instantly hit the Night Demon Zombie. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± After being hit, the Night Demon roared, but it did not attack Yang Changhong; it continued to furiously pummel the roof of Car 4. Yang Changhong spat out several more nails in succession. Although most of them hit their mark, they seemed to have no effect. ¡°So this can¡¯t even draw its attention¡­¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s expression darkened. This was her first attack after she had recently learned the Spittle Nail Ability. She had synthesized a new Level 2 Ability, which took about a few minutes. Now that she had finished synthesizing, her first attack caused no significant effect, which was distressing for her. She didn¡¯t expect to directly repel the Night Demon Zombie; she just wanted to draw its attention. Considering the high speed of the convoy, if the Night Demon Zombie got distracted and tried to leap onto her vehicle, it would most likely fall straight to the ground. Unfortunately, whether it was proof of the Night Demon Zombie¡¯s intelligence or its stubbornness, it was fixated on whoever was in Car 4. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, wait for me!¡± At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s voice came across the intercom. As the lead vehicle, he slowed down slightly and soon moved to the second to last position, getting very close to the Night Demon on top of Car 4. ¡°` Chapter 397 - Chapter 397: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_2 Chapter 397: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_2 Aside from the person focusing on driving, everyone else was watching to see what Wang Tao would do. Then they saw the sunroof of Wang Tao¡¯s car open, and his sister Jiang Shixue suddenly exposed her upper body. ¡°Could she also be a formidable Ability User?¡± Everyone felt a bit incredulous. However, Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t make many movements but suddenly took out a flashlight and shone it at the Night Demon on top of car number 4. Swoosh¡ª A thick purple light appeared, enveloping the Night Demon¡¯s entire body. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The skin of the Night Demon was instantly burned, and it instinctively covered its face with its arms. The moment its arms left the car, it fell straight down. Bang! The Night Demon tumbled a few times on the ground and disappeared from view. Jiang Shixue, still holding the ultraviolet flashlight, shone it at the other following Night Demons. The bodies of these Night Demons emitted sizzling and crackling burning noises. Although they didn¡¯t lose much HP, their steps were halted. As the convoy was moving at full speed, after a moment, the Night Demons were no longer seen. ¡°All right, we¡¯ve shaken them off.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Yang Changhong and others all sighed with relief. It was their first encounter with Night Demons, and although they hadn¡¯t engaged directly, the oppressive feeling just now was the most powerful they had seen among zombies! At the time, they all thought the people in car number 4 were doomed, but thankfully, Wang Tao took action! They had seen the news about Night Demon Zombies in the guidebook and knew that they feared sunlight. But they didn¡¯t expect the ultraviolet flashlight to have such a great effect, completely holding back the Night Demon Zombies! ¡°Thank you, Brother Wang! Thank you, Brother Wang!¡± The people in car number 4 were still a bit unsettled as they kept expressing their thanks. ¡°Everyone, pay attention. If more Night Demon Zombies come, don¡¯t panic, wait for me.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± With Wang Tao present, everyone felt a full sense of security. Yang Changhong also thanked Wang Tao separately and inquired about where he got the ultraviolet light, which was so effective against the Night Demons. Wang Tao had obtained it from killing a Night Demon Zombie, but of course, he didn¡¯t tell the truth; instead, he said it was from a supply drop. This left Yang Changhong somewhat helpless, feeling unlucky for not encountering such a supply drop. There was no immediate danger nearby, but the convoy didn¡¯t stop. After all, no one knew if the zombie horde would come from behind; it was safer to move further away. From night until dawn, driving until the sky turned pale with the first light of morning, the various noises of the night slowly ceased. People finally relaxed. After being on edge all night, everyone felt a bit weary. Yang Changhong suggested: ¡°Wang Tao, let¡¯s take a break, shall we? Their mental state isn¡¯t very good.¡± Knowing Wang Tao¡¯s strength, Yang Changhong would seek Wang Tao¡¯s opinion before doing anything. ¡°Sure,¡± Wang Tao nodded. The three of them didn¡¯t really care, especially for him and Jiang Shixue, this level of chase was nothing at all. But it definitely wasn¡¯t the same for others; driving while fatigued was unwise. They all surveyed the surroundings; this was a county town, and their location was on the outer ring. The group entered the county town and found an abandoned old residential area. The community wasn¡¯t large, much like the Happy Community Wang Tao used to live in, with only a few buildings. Several buildings were sealed off, which might have zombies inside, but they couldn¡¯t get out. Yang Changhong had people scout it out to ensure there was no immediate danger, and then they started to set up camp in the courtyard of the community. Their belongings were not complicated; they cared only for sufficiency. Of course, defense facilities were the exception, as they could not be neglected. Noticing a small supermarket nearby, Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun to have a look inside. Although the supermarket had been looted once, some items were left behind. Wang Tao brought these items back, which amounted to providing a supplemented meal. ¡°We really owe you this time; otherwise, who knows how many of us could have made it here¡­¡± Yang Changhong said to Wang Tao with a grateful face. To tell the truth, this was her first major crisis without losing anyone¡­ Her previous team actually had many people, but they dwindled during successive crises, leaving only these dozen or so. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao, this time they would have lost at least two or three people at the least, and at most¡­ they might all have been unable to escape! After all, there were over a dozen Level 3 Night Demons in the zombie horde. ¡°No need to be polite,¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then asked, ¡°Have you synthetized the Spittle Nail Crystal Core?¡± ¡°I have.¡± Yang Changhong voluntarily demonstrated for Wang Tao. She could store a portion of whatever food she ate inside her body. She wasn¡¯t clear about where exactly it was stored, but it was within her. Moreover, she could control which foods to store and which not to. However, the hardness of these foods affected the power of the projectiles she spat out. For instance, if she ate something like bread, the projectiles she spat out had fairly low power. Therefore, she came up with a method¡ªshe directly swallowed a nail! As it turned out¡­ it worked! Wang Tao watched Yang Changhong spit out a nail, directly nailing it into the wall; he was somewhat astonished. This Yang Changhong was really fierce! Daring to eat nails, if something went wrong, it would be troublesome¡­ but now, it was a ¡°true¡¤Spittle Nail.¡± A nail with every spit! ¡°Fierce!¡± Chapter 398 - Chapter 398: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_3 Chapter 398: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_3 Wang Tao gave her a thumbs up. Yang Changhong shook her head with a wry smile. She had no choice; if she were powerful enough to disregard the zombies, she definitely wouldn¡¯t take such risks¡­ The convoy members caught some sleep, resting from morning until noon. As for this county town, no one ventured too deep. After all, their goal was Zijing City; even if there were survivors or a Survivor Base in this small county, they didn¡¯t pay it much attention. Wang Tao specifically went to check out the hospital in the county town but unfortunately did not find any Green-eyed Zombies. Feeling that everyone¡¯s spirits had been lifted, Yang Changhong called everyone to hit the road again. This time, Wang Tao let Xu Xiaojun drive while he experimented with the Fusion Crystal Core. Yang Changhong said she couldn¡¯t fuse with Level 1 Crystal Cores anymore, but Wang Tao felt like he could still merge with Level 1 Crystal Cores, although he hadn¡¯t tried it yet. After all, he didn¡¯t have much Special Energy, and if he could Synthetize Ability, he would have to use Special Energy for Extraction, which seemed like a waste. Now that there was no immediate danger on the road and his Special Energy had surpassed ten thousand, he decided to give it a try. Wang Tao first took out a Level 1 Epic Shockwave Crystal Core. He put it in his mouth to try, and indeed, he couldn¡¯t merge with it. Self-healing and Toughness also didn¡¯t work. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised by this result since he had Level Two Shockwave and Barrier abilities already. He then took out another Level 1 Epic Crystal Core¡ªthis one was a Full Speed Crystal Core obtained from Yang Changhong. Yang Changhong had given Wang Tao all eight of the Level 1 Full Speed and high-frequency vibration cores, four of each. These three types of crystal cores, including the Stealth Crystal Core, were originally reserved for her sister¡ªa good item definitely had to be kept for one¡¯s own family. Because she had merged with these two types of cores before and felt there weren¡¯t any significant side effects¡ªat that time, she wasn¡¯t aware that these side effects involved Physical strength depletion and Mana drain. But now that her sister was nowhere to be found and most likely dead, and she had nothing of high value to offer, she saw Wang Tao¡¯s interest in the crystal cores and decided to give them all to him. After Wang Tao received them, he naturally proceeded with the Synthesis. He had two Epic Full Speed and two Epic high-frequency vibration cores in his possession. When Wang Tao placed a Full Speed Crystal Core in his mouth, he instantly felt the crystal core vaporize. ¡°Just as I thought, I can Synthetize Ability myself!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Merging with a Level 1 Crystal Core was much quicker than with a Level 2 Crystal Core, and it was completed in a moment. Wang Tao quickly looked at his Attributes, and his Mana had increased by 100, reaching 5900, with a new [Full Speed] Ability. ¡°I knew it!¡± Wang Tao was delighted. Since he could merge with Level 1 Crystal Cores, it meant he could continue with his plan of upgrading from Level 1 to Level Two cores. And he could start immediately¡ª Wang Tao took out another Level 1 Epic Full Speed Crystal Core and merged with it, Full Speed +2! Although Wang Tao no longer had Full Speed Crystal Cores, he still had many Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores. Having four Abilities at the moment, three of which were Level Two, meant that these Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores could only be used to enhance his Level 1 Full Speed Ability. Wang Tao used a Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Core. Moments later, the Level of his Full Speed Ability indeed increased by 1! Consequently, Wang Tao used up several more Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores, and soon, his Full Speed Ability reached +10! Then, Wang Tao took out a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core. As expected, the Ascension Crystal Core worked, and his Full Speed successfully advanced to Level Two! His Mana also increased to 7000! ¡°Haha!¡± Looking at his Level Two Full Speed Ability, Wang Tao laughed heartily. This matched his prior expectations¡ªhe could use Level 1 Crystal Cores to upgrade those for Level Two! But that wasn¡¯t all, as much as Wang Tao liked the Full Speed Ability, he couldn¡¯t tolerate it occupying one of his Ability slots, considering he had only four precious slots. So, Wang Tao looked at his Synthesize Ability! [Shockwave + Precision Shooting (10%)] [Shockwave + Barrier (10%)] [Shockwave + Full Speed (15%)] [Precision Shooting + Barrier (50%)] [Precision Shooting + Full Speed (55%)] [Barrier + Full Speed (90%)] Seeing the list of Synthetization probabilities, Wang Tao muttered to himself as expected. He had guessed before that Abilities with similar mechanisms had a higher chance of successful Synthetization. Barrier was a continuous Defense boost and Blood Regeneration, and Full Speed was a continuous increase in speed; the mechanisms of these Abilities were quite similar, so the probability of success should be fairly high. Indeed, it was a high 90%! Although not as high as the previous 95% success rate for Toughness combined with Self-healing, this 90% chance was clearly worth a gamble for Wang Tao. Wang Tao set Barrier as the main Ability and Full Speed as the Secondary Ability. Then he initiated the Synthesis! In an instant, Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy decreased by 5000, leaving him with 8740. The icons for Barrier and Full Speed on his attribute panel flickered with colorful lights for a moment. Afterwards, a brand-new Barrier icon appeared? Wang Tao got startled¡ªhad the Synthetization failed? But after seeing the detailed Attributes, he sighed with relief. The name Barrier remained unchanged, but its Attributes were altered. [Synthesis successful, gained New Superpower: Level Two Level 1¡¤Barrier] [Barrier: For the duration, it can enhance Defense, Speed, and slowly heal certain injuries (Side effects: None)] Seeing these Attributes, Wang Tao was thrilled. Although it seemed like one Ability, it actually possessed the Attributes of three Abilities! It effectively saved him two Ability slots! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t wait to test out this New Superpower. Since he was in the car and couldn¡¯t actually try out the increase in Speed or Defense, and because he was at full HP, he couldn¡¯t observe the effects of Self-healing either. However, he could see the Energy consumption. When he saw the specific Mana consumed, Wang Tao exclaimed in surprise¡ª15 Mana per second! That meant he would use 900 Mana per minute, and with his 7000 Mana, he could sustain it for just over seven or eight minutes. ¡°My Mana is too low, I need to find a way to increase it¡­¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin in contemplation. ¡°Continue merging with Level 1 Crystal Cores? That¡¯s one way to increase Mana, but the condition is that the merged Ability can be synthesized with other Abilities; otherwise, it would occupy a slot¡ªhey? If it does occupy a slot, I can just extract it¡­ doesn¡¯t that mean I can switch Abilities anytime, anywhere? Hiss¡ªI think I¡¯ve overlooked this ability!¡± Chapter 399 - Chapter 399: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_1 Chapter 399: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_1 ¡°` Wang Tao felt like he had overlooked something. His special energy had two functions, ¡°Extraction abilities¡± and ¡°Synthetize Ability.¡± But he had always used synthesis and never extraction. Moreover, his special energy was not abundant, so he felt extraction was not as good as synthesis, after all, both extraction and synthesis of a Level 2 Ability required 5,000 energy. But if he had a lot of special energy, he could freely extract abilities and then fuse them with other abilities, wouldn¡¯t that be like being able to change abilities continuously? The cost of changing abilities was just 5,000 special energy. Of course, he didn¡¯t have much special energy now, so he couldn¡¯t change Level 2 Abilities at will, but a Level 1 Special Ability only required 1,000 special energy! He still had over eight thousand special energy left, he could change Level 1 Special Abilities at least eight times! Wang Tao had been hesitant before. Until he found the most suitable combination of abilities, he had left an ability slot empty¡ªsuch a waste! Now, Wang Tao felt that he could first learn a Level 1 Special Ability, and later when there were better options, just extract it. After all, extracting a Level 1 Special Ability would only cost 1,000 special energy. Having realized this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say another word and immediately fused the High-frequency Vibration Crystal Core. In Wang Tao¡¯s view, this should be the highest single target attack ability he had encountered so far! Even if it was a Level 1 Ability, if it came from his hands as a Level Two person, its power should be substantial. Of course, Wang Tao still had quite a few Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores, which could be used to upgrade the high-frequency vibration to Level Two. But to extract the ability after upgrading it to Level Two would require 5,000 special energy, and Wang Tao wanted to save some special energy to synthesize abilities, so there was no need to upgrade to Level Two for the time being. He would wait until he had more special energy. Thus, the High-frequency Vibration Ability was upgraded by Wang Tao to Level 1 +10 and then he stopped there. A Level 1 +10 Ability, used by someone like Wang Tao with 29,999 HP, was bound to be powerful. Wang Tao stretched out his right hand and activated the high-frequency vibration. Buzz buzz~ Wang Tao heard a faint buzzing sound, but visually, he felt like his hand hadn¡¯t changed much. The range of the vibration was extremely small, and the speed was minuscule, so it wasn¡¯t immediately noticeable. Standing beside him, Jiang Shixue stared curiously at Wang Tao¡¯s right hand. ¡°Brother, how can your hand move so fast?¡± ¡°Hmm? You can see it clearly?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, as he himself couldn¡¯t even see his own movements, only feeling the regular vibration in his hand. ¡°Yeah.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded, then took Wang Tao¡¯s hand, feeling the vibrations in her own hand. A smile spread across Jiang Shixue¡¯s face. ¡°Fun~¡± ¡°¡­This is a killing technique, how can you describe it as fun!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. His high-frequency vibration ability needed to be used in conjunction with weapons, the more angular the weapon, the greater the power. Without a weapon, if it was just his hand vibrating, there would basically be no lethality, unless his fingernails were long and hard enough; otherwise, it could only serve for a massage. So Wang Tao stretched out his hand and tickled Jiang Shixue. ¡°Giggle~ That¡¯s so ticklish~¡± After fooling around for a while, Wang Tao then said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°By the way, it¡¯s time for your medicine.¡± The medicine Wang Tao referred to was naturally the Zombie Culture Fluid. After all, calling it Zombie Culture Fluid directly could easily be misunderstood, so he just used ¡°medicine¡± instead. ¡°Okay~¡± An hour later, Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP increased by another 1,000, reaching 25,200! A few more times, and she would be able to reach 30,000 HP. It was just unclear whether Jiang Shixue needed an Ascension crystal core or not? After all, her constitution was different from normal humans¡­ At night, the convoy stopped. If it wasn¡¯t for being chased by zombies, Yang Changhong and the others would definitely not want to take a night drive. The convoy stopped near a gas station. They had assumed there was no gasoline left in this gas station, but unexpectedly, they found a few barrels. It was just right to replenish the vehicles¡¯ energy, which was a pleasant surprise. The moon came out tonight, significantly increasing visibility. This was good news for the people on watch tonight. But just then, some people heard several distant screams. ¡°There are screams in the distance!¡± Instantly, everyone became alert. Wang Tao heard it too. He and Jiang Shixue got out of the car and looked toward the town with a frown. In the course of an afternoon, they had traveled from a county town to a smaller town. The gas station was on the outskirts of the town, and they hadn¡¯t ventured deep into it. The screams had come from inside the town. ¡°Boss, there are survivors inside, something seems to have happened! Should we¡­¡± Some people looked to Yang Changhong. Yang Changhong shook her head and said: ¡°If it were daylight, we could consider helping out, but it¡¯s nighttime, and we can¡¯t manage that much.¡± If it was a matter of conveniently saving survivors, Yang Changhong wouldn¡¯t mind, but risking the lives of her subordinates for it wasn¡¯t worth it. Everyone nodded; under such circumstances, nobody wanted to take the risk. Naturally, Wang Tao said nothing; his thoughts were the same as Yang Changhong¡¯s. They could only hope that the survivors could escape danger. However, though they wanted to avoid trouble, trouble seemed to be actively seeking them out. Before long, everyone heard a series of footsteps. Four figures dressed like survivors appeared from the other side of the street. They were all wounded, looking very pitiful. And at first glance, they had spotted Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy parked near the gas station. ¡°` Chapter 400 - Chapter 400: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_2 Chapter 400: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_2 Suddenly, these people were a wave of excitement. Then they ran directly toward the convoy, shouting as they went: ¡°Help!¡± Seeing this scene, the faces of Yang Changhong and her group turned ugly. Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. ¡°Are these people stupid? Shouting like this at a time like this¡­¡± Although he was a bit single-minded, he was not stupid. He knew that in the apocalypse, when faced with danger, one definitely should not shout loudly, or else one would die even faster. Hearing Xu Xiaojun¡¯s words, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°No, they¡¯re not stupid, they¡¯re being clever, they want to drag us down with them!¡± ¡°What?¡± Xu Xiaojun was stunned. Apart from Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue, the others could see the sinister intentions of this group of survivors who were running for their lives. In the apocalypse, zombies don¡¯t care which faction humans belong to or what conflicts they have. They¡¯ll bite at the sight of people. So when faced with zombies, humans could only stand together in defense. If these people didn¡¯t shout and make noise, Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy might ignore them for their own safety. But with a few shouts, the zombies would be attracted faster. For their own safety, Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy would certainly take action. Although doing this would put them in greater danger, if they didn¡¯t act, they might be doomed. By acting this way, there was still a slim chance of survival. And even if they died in the end, there would be others to cushion their fall¡­ ¡°Brother, do you want me to go and kill them?¡± Jiang Shixue could feel that Wang Tao was somewhat displeased with these few survivors and immediately took the initiative to speak. ¡°No need.¡± Wang Tao had no patience for survivors who intentionally set traps for others. He was about to take out his bow and arrows to snipe these people from a distance. Suddenly, he and Jiang Shixue both looked up. They saw a fierce figure appear on the rooftop of a nearby five-story building. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 20000/20000] [Level: Level 3 Elite] ¡°Night Demon!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. The fleeing survivors had not noticed where the Night Demon was. They quickly looked back, and aside from a few ordinary zombies, there were no other figures. Seeing the group of survivors standing ready not far away, the four of them were overjoyed. ¡°We¡¯re safe¡ª¡± Before one of them could finish, he suddenly felt as if a dump truck had hit him at the waist, losing all sensation in his lower body instantaneously. He looked up, somewhat baffled, only to see a gaping maw. Then his vision darkened, and he lost consciousness. Yang Changhong and the others saw clearly that a black figure suddenly leapt from the building, landing right on the fastest-running person, severing him at the waist and crushing his neck with a bite! After easily dispatching this survivor, the figure lifted its head to reveal a fierce face. ¡°Night Demon!¡± Yang Changhong was shocked. She lacked Wang Tao¡¯s ability to see health bars and Jiang Shixue¡¯s perception ability to sense danger, so she hadn¡¯t noticed the Night Demon immediately. She had thought these survivors were being chased by a Level 2 Zombie since they seemed like Level 1 ability users. But unexpectedly, it wasn¡¯t a Level 2 Zombie at all; it was a Level 3 Night Demon! Just yesterday, some of their own had nearly died at the hands of a Night Demon! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Night Demon let out a scream, like a wolf among sheep, and instantly disposed of the other three survivors. Four Level 1 ability users stood no chance against a Level 3 Night Demon. After crushing the throats of these four, the Night Demon didn¡¯t consume them but instead piled up their bodies and then turned its gaze toward the convoy, charging rapidly! ¡°What do we do¡­¡± Yang Changhong, usually very decisive, felt a bit of panic after seeing the brutal and fierce eyes of the Night Demon. Now the Night Demon was too close, and they could not outrun it with the slow speed of the vehicles. If they ran, someone would surely die! But if they didn¡¯t run, they couldn¡¯t defeat it¡­ When the Night Demon appeared, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had looked carefully to confirm that there was no second Night Demon nearby. Wang Tao suddenly grinned. If he were up against a group of Night Demons, he indeed would not be a match. But against only one¡­ how could he know if he didn¡¯t try! ¡°Don¡¯t panic, I¡¯m here!¡± Seeing the flustered crowd, Wang Tao stepped forward, positioning himself in front of everyone. His words and actions instantly gave the flustered group a pillar to lean on. Although they didn¡¯t know how strong Wang Tao truly was, their survival now depended on the few Second-level ability users they had! Xu Xiaojun stood to the left of Wang Tao, with Jiang Shixue on his right, shielding everyone behind them. Yang Changhong, looking at Wang Tao¡¯s back and seeing Jiang Shixue, his seemingly oblivious sister, stepping forward, suddenly lost her fear and felt her blood start to boil! What of a Level 3 zombie? They had three Level 2s plus a dozen or so Level 1 ability users; they weren¡¯t without the power to fight! ¡°Let¡¯s fight it! I¡ª¡± Yang Changhong was ready to move forward to fight alongside Wang Tao, but he put out his hand and blocked her. ¡°Don¡¯t get in the way. Be ready to withdraw at any moment.¡± Wang Tao spoke somewhat coldly. ¡°¡­¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words and seeing the hand blocking her way, Yang Changhong was bewildered. She, a Second-order Superpower Owner, would be in the way? But she didn¡¯t have time to think, as the Night Demon had already charged to Wang Tao¡¯s front. Bang! Chapter 401 - Chapter 401: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_3 Chapter 401: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_3 ¡°` Xu Xiaojun gripped the Firefighter Axe with both hands and swung fiercely, but the Night Demon did not dodge or evade, instead taking Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strike with its claws. Unexpectedly, Xu Xiaojun only took three steps back, but the Night Demon was sent flying over ten meters! Although it didn¡¯t cause any damage to the Night Demon, Xu Xiaojun still smirked. ¡°Hehe~¡± The man he was now, was no longer the man he used to be! He had used both hands just now, and the strength boost from his Mechanical Left Arm was no joke! Coupled with his own strength, it was no exaggeration to send the Night Demon flying. Of course, that was about it, the Night Demon was not just strong in strength; it was powerful in every aspect! Should they truly engage in battle, Xu Xiaojun would definitely stand no chance. ¡°You protect them.¡± Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun, and then, barehanded, he started walking step by step towards the Night Demon. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Night Demon kicked off the ground, leaped high, and then, like a cannonball, fell towards Wang Tao. Seeing the grotesque face of the Night Demon, a faint green light emanated from Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, then he clenched his right fist. Yang Changhong and the others were somewhat astonished. Fighting the Night Demon with fists instead of weapons? Were they seeing things? Then, they witnessed what might be an unforgettable scene for the rest of their lives. Just as Wang Tao swung his fist, something resembling tree roots began to grow on it, and these roots rapidly wrapped around Wang Tao¡¯s fist, forearm, shoulder¡­ and his entire body! Swish¡ª In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao had transformed into a towering Tree Root Monster, over two and a half meters tall! At that moment, the Night Demon¡¯s attack also landed. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to defend; he let the Night Demon¡¯s attack hit him square on the chest, while his punch solidly hit the Night Demon in the face. Bang! [-3507] [26493/30000] With that one punch, Wang Tao had inflicted 3500 damage, depleting more than a tenth of the Night Demon¡¯s HP! The Night Demon was sent flying and crashed heavily into the ground. Wang Tao looked down at his chest where there was a faint nail mark on the tree roots. [-118] [29999/29999 (9882/10000)] Wang Tao¡¯s HP hadn¡¯t dropped a single point, it was the Entangling Roots¡¯ HP that had decreased. He hardly felt anything, standing firm and steady without taking a single step back. ¡°This is the power of a Level 3 Weapon, huh!¡± Feeling the abundant strength inside him, Wang Tao felt a sense of awe. After the unexpected encounter with the Night Demon yesterday, Wang Tao had specially fed the Entangling Roots some Level 2 and Level 1 Crystal Cores, raising its Compatibility to 100%, bringing the Entangling Roots to optimal condition! He did this in anticipation of a direct confrontation with the Night Demon! Now, it was paying off! Meanwhile, Yang Changhong and the others were stunned. If they hadn¡¯t just witnessed Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°transformation¡± with their own eyes, they would have surely thought it was a battle of monsters against zombies! Was this Wang Tao¡¯s Ability? It felt so terrifying¡­ Everyone even started shivering a bit. On the other side, Wang Tao activated his Barrier Ability. In an instant, he felt as if his body had become a lot lighter. Then, with a push off his feet, he quickly charged towards the Night Demon that was just getting up. In the blink of an eye, he reached the side of the Night Demon. ¡°Roar!¡± The Night Demon roared angrily, spreading the index fingers on both hands, its sharp nails gleaming with a cold light. Whoosh¡ª It swiped at Wang Tao¡¯s face. If it had been before, Wang Tao would definitely not have been able to dodge this strike, given its speed. But now, with the Barrier Ability accelerating him, Wang Tao tilted his head just in time to dodge the attack! Then, Wang Tao, powering up his right hand, delivered an uppercut straight to the Night Demon¡¯s face! Bang! [-3583] [22810/30000] ¡°` The Night Demon was hurled into the air again, this time crashing directly into the wall of an apartment building along the street, creating a huge crater. As the Night Demon was sent flying, Wang Tao immediately charged towards where it landed, giving it no chance to counterattack! However, this time, Wang Tao had a firefighter axe in his hand. While he hoisted the axe with one hand, he activated his High-frequency Vibration Ability. Thud! The axe viciously cleaved into the Night Demon¡¯s head, carving out a pit. [-4671] [18139/30000] The damage of this hit had increased by twenty to thirty percent compared to before! Unexpectedly, with a ¡°crack,¡± the handle of the firefighter axe broke. ¡°¡­¡± The axe handle couldn¡¯t withstand that force! ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Finally, the Night Demon found an opportunity, and swiped a claw at Wang Tao¡¯s chest. [-121] [29999/29999£¨9761/10000£©] Unfazed, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even feel the damage. He grabbed the Night Demon¡¯s neck with his left hand and tossed aside the axe handle with his right, while Entangling Roots writhed around his hand, forming a fist bigger than a clay pot! Then he hammered the Night Demon¡¯s skull with three consecutive punches! Bang, bang, bang! [-3624] [-3662] [-3698] ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± The Night Demon, its head nearly pulverized, let out a scream, shaking off Wang Tao¡¯s grip and fleeing towards a dark alley without looking back! It actually ran away? But at that moment, a red glow flashed in the darkness. With a loud thud, the Night Demon was sent flying back at an even faster speed! [-1558] Jiang Shixue retracted her fist. Wang Tao eyed the spot where the Night Demon flew back, lifted his left foot, and stomped down fiercely, pinning it beneath his foot. Then he squatted down and gave the Night Demon¡¯s bald head a couple of solid punches. [-3587] [-2010] [0/30000] The Night Demon¡¯s skull was completely smashed by Wang Tao, its HP depleted to zero. Seeing that there was indeed no Crystal Core inside the Night Demon¡¯s brain, Wang Tao gathered the Night Demon¡¯s spoils of war, then stood up and walked towards where Yang Changhong and the others were. At this moment, Yang Changhong and her companions were petrified. This monster¡ªno, this Wang Tao, had actually beaten a Level 3 Night Demon to death with his bare fists? Were they dreaming? Yang Changhong finally understood why Wang Tao had stopped her. This level of battle¡­ she truly wasn¡¯t a match! As Wang Tao approached the group, the Entangling Roots on his body quickly writhed and then disappeared. By the time he reached them, he had shifted from the terrifying figure of two and a half meters back to a normal human being of less than two meters. Watching the dazed crowd, Wang Tao glared at them. ¡°What, you¡¯re all stunned? Hurry up and retreat!¡± ¡°Oh, right!¡± The crowd snapped out of their daze and quickly got into the vehicles. Boom~ Soon, eight cars left the gas station one after another. Moments later, dozens of Night Demons emerged from the darkness, among them a blue-skinned Night Demon with Bone Armor. They roared and searched around, but found nothing, and had no choice but to leave with the bodies of the four survivors. Chapter 402 - Chapter 402: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_1 Chapter 402: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_1 Yang Changhong originally didn¡¯t want to travel at night, but there was no choice¡ªthe Night Demon had appeared. Even though Wang Tao had shown great power, eliminating one Night Demon, everyone knew that Night Demons are social, zombie-like creatures. The appearance of one Night Demon meant that others were likely to follow. Although Wang Tao had seemed to deal with the Night Demon easily, since he had said to move on, naturally, she couldn¡¯t suggest that he should take on the others. She guessed that Wang Tao¡¯s Transformation Ability must have its limits, and it probably wasn¡¯t as effortless as it looked¡­ ¡°Wang Tao, are you all okay?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s voice carried concern over the vehicle¡¯s intercom. ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°Good to hear¡­¡± Since it was a flight for life, Yang Changhong didn¡¯t talk much, even though she had questions. The convoy quickly left town and headed towards the next destination. Inside the vehicle, Wang Tao looked at the Entangling Roots on his wrist and smirked. This was his first time using Entangling Roots in combat, and all he could say was that this Level 3 Weapon was truly awesome! Because both Wang Tao¡¯s Mana and Ability had not improved much, his current power hadn¡¯t reached his personal peak, but his overall strength among Level Two should be considered top-notch. Thus, he felt that, with his own power, he should be capable of confronting a Level 3 Night Demon. But definitely not as easily as with the use of Entangling Roots! Without the Entangling Roots, he would be at most a peak Level Two strength, perhaps capable of single-handedly taking on a Level 3 Elite Night Demon. But with Entangling Roots wielded, he was straight up at Level 3 strength! He could completely dominate a Night Demon in battle! No wonder Entangling Roots is classified as a Level 3 Weapon¡ªit can really unleash Level 3 power! However, it¡¯s not just Entangling Roots; the person who wears it needs to be powerful too. If the wearer isn¡¯t up to snuff, then they definitely won¡¯t be able to display Level 3 power. After all, the Entangling Roots has a limited HP, and if it keeps being depleted, it will be destroyed. Speaking of defense, Entangling Roots indeed performed impressively. When hit by a Night Demon¡¯s Attack, it only lost a little over a hundred HP. To its ten thousand HP, this was trivial. And the Attack bonus doesn¡¯t even need saying. Against a Level 3 Elite Night Demon, it could deal over three thousand damage with one punch! Less than ten punches were enough to kill a Night Demon! This was definitely the moment of Wang Tao¡¯s highest damage output! Moreover, Wang Tao knew very well that this wasn¡¯t the upper limit of Entangling Roots; it could grow to a hundred thousand HP! Back then, when Wang Tao attacked the hundred-thousand HP Entangling Roots, he couldn¡¯t even make a dent¡­ Now, Entangling Roots had regained its full HP. But this wasn¡¯t self Blood Regeneration; rather, Wang Tao transferred his own HP to it. It seemed Entangling Roots didn¡¯t have much self Blood Regeneration ability, or at least it was very slow. When Wang Tao saw that its HP bar hardly increased, he nourished it a bit with his own HP. It had only lost over two hundred HP in total; with a slight nourishment, Wang Tao filled it up again. As for the cost, it meant Wang Tao expended an equal amount of his own HP. But this wasn¡¯t a problem; he used his Barrier Ability to fully regain his HP. So, it amounted to this: after a battle, he expended only some of his Physical strength and Mana¡ªoh, no, he had forgotten to count something. Wang Tao glanced at Entangling Roots¡¯ Compatibility; the Compatibility had decreased from 100% to 90% after a not-so-intense fight! This meant, the price for killing that Night Demon was a Level 2 Crystal Core? After all, a Level 2 Crystal Core can increase Compatibility by 10%¡­ That cost was acceptable to Wang Tao; although Night Demons didn¡¯t have Crystal Cores in their brains, they did have Loot Packs, so Wang Tao would not be at a loss. Wang Tao studied Entangling Roots further, trying to restore Compatibility with his own blood. He found that using his blood took a while and was not low on blood consumption¡ªa 10% increase consumed a thousand of his HP. That was more than what he had spent killing the Night Demon¡­ But this also gave Wang Tao a rough idea about the details of Entangling Roots¡ª Currently, Entangling Roots had 10,000 HP, and if Wang Tao used his own HP for replenishment, the ratio was 1:1. Whatever HP the Entangling Roots lost, Wang Tao could replace with an equal amount of his own blood. This Blood Replenishing could be replaced by a Crystal Core; Wang Tao had tried it out. A Level 1 Crystal Core could replenish 100 HP, a Level 2 should replenish 1,000 HP, and a Level 3 Core 10,000 HP. Then there was Compatibility; 100% Compatibility, if raised by Crystal Cores, required one Level 3 Crystal Core or ten Level 2 Crystal Cores or a hundred Level 1 Crystal Cores. Of course, this could also be replaced by his own HP. Wang Tao had tried, and each percent of Compatibility increased required him to expend 100 of his HP. So, raising it back to 100% Compatibility would cost 10,000 HP¡­ All of a sudden, Wang Tao felt like using Crystal Cores to increase Compatibility might be a loss, considering he could regenerate blood¡­ But after careful thought, it wasn¡¯t so bad. Because using his own HP for Compatibility restoration was slow and needed a safe environment. Crystal Cores, on the other hand, could provide a quick recovery. Plus, HP was his lifeline; Wang Tao had nearly thirty thousand HP, but if he lost ten thousand, even without a wound, he would definitely feel terrible¡­ So, the conclusion he reached was¡ª if Entangling Roots lost a lot of HP and Compatibility dropped significantly, then it¡¯s appropriate to use Crystal Cores for replenishing. If Entangling Roots lost only a little HP and Compatibility dropped slightly, it could be replaced with his own Blood, granted he had the Blood Regeneration ability. If someone didn¡¯t have this ability, they¡¯d better stick to using Crystal Cores¡­ Chapter 403 - Chapter 403: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_2 Chapter 403: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_2 Wang Tao increased the compatibility of his Entangling Roots to 100% and restored his HP to 10,000. Finally, he had time to look at the loot he had acquired. The Night Demon Zombie he killed had 30,000 HP, so the loot was nearly the same as what he got from the previous Night Demon Zombie. His HP didn¡¯t increase because it was already at the limit. But his special energy went up by 6,000! He had just used up 5,000, which he now completely replenished. Next were the Loot Packs¡ªthree in total. The first pack was a Crystal Core Gift Bag containing four Crystal Cores. These cores were almost identical to those from the previous Level 3 Elite Night Demon he had killed, with only slight differences in quality. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] The first core was an Ascension crystal core. Counting this one, he now had three Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. However, the probability with this core was a bit lower. If he wanted to ensure a safer promotion, he¡¯d need to improve the quality. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] [Energy Boost: Increases Mana cap by 1,000] The second was an Energy Boost Crystal Core¡ªit was of excellent quality last time, but only of good quality this time. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] [HP Boost: Increases HP cap by 1,000] The third, an HP Enhancement Crystal Core, had better quality than the last one. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Body Constitution Boost] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] [Physical Enhancement: All aspects of physical constitution will be enhanced] The fourth one was a Body Constitution Boost Crystal Core¡ªthe last one was Epic; this time it was Excellent. Other than the Ascension crystal core, the other three were Passive Abilities. Wang Tao had thought that since they were similar passive abilities, the chance of synthesizing them should be quite high. If he could synthesize these three abilities into one Ability, it would definitely be a powerful one! But for now, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have much special energy to work with. After all, synthesizing a Level 3 Ability required 20,000 special energy¡­ The second Loot Pack contained Potions. [Strength Growth Potion x5] [Agility Increase Potion x5] [Mental Boosting Potion x5] Just like last time, there were a total of 15 potions that permanently increased various attributes. [Strength Increase Potion: After injection, strength will receive a permanent enhancement.] [Agility Increase Potion: After injection, agility will receive a permanent enhancement.] [Mental Boosting Potion: After injection, spirit will receive a permanent enhancement.] Without a second thought, Wang Tao took the potions and injected them into himself. Moments later, he felt even more powerful! Then Wang Tao looked at the third pack. [High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Small ultraviolet illumination flares x20] As before, one flashlight and 20 flares. After examining these items, an idea suddenly sprang to Wang Tao¡¯s mind. With his current strength, he had no problem handling a single Night Demon. If he teamed up with Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, they might even stand a chance against two Night Demons. Since Night Demons were Level 3 zombies, the rewards for killing them were tripled! Whether it was special energy, Crystal Cores, or potions, these were all things Wang Tao desperately wanted. So what if he deliberately kept himself at Level Two without advancing to Level 3 for now and went on a spree of hunting Level 3 Night Demons to snag triple the rewards? Wouldn¡¯t he be able to collect a substantial number of Crystal Cores and potions?! Wang Tao thought this plan¡­ seemed feasible! Of course, right now he didn¡¯t need to hold back since he wasn¡¯t able to advance to Level 3 anyway. As for hunting Night Demons¡­ the difficulty for him wasn¡¯t in how to kill a Night Demon, but in how to find a lone one¡ªor rather, how to lure one out¡­ This was something he needed to thoroughly research in the future. ¡­ The next day, early morning. The convoy stopped by a lake. ¡°We¡¯ve been driving all night. Everyone is exhausted¡­ it¡¯s time to rest,¡± Yang Changhong said over the walkie-talkie to Wang Tao. This lake was beside a national highway, which they could take if anything happened. ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Tao agreed. After quickly setting up the defensive perimeters, they all hurried to catch up on sleep. As second-order Ability Users, Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, Xu Xiaojun, and Yang Changhong still felt relatively alert, so they took turns keeping watch. Yang Changhong looked at Wang Tao with a hesitant expression. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Nothing much, just¡­ you¡¯re really amazing!¡± she said. Yang Changhong had wanted to ask Wang Tao about the Ability that turned him into a monster the previous night and how he, as a Level 2 Ability User, managed to defeat a Level 2 Night Demon with ease. But after contemplating, she decided not to ask. What difference would it make even if she knew? If she couldn¡¯t surpass him, that was that. Yang Changhong had always been a proud person, and she certainly had the credentials to be proud. Whether it was seizing the opportunity in the business world before the apocalypse or leading her employees to safety after the apocalypse¡­ she vastly outperformed countless others. But ever since meeting Wang Tao, she felt her pride was on the verge of being crushed. Having such a powerful ally like him was reassuring, indeed. And it was true that Wang Tao had saved them many times. But still, she felt a bit lost. She began to believe that only someone as formidable as Wang Tao could survive in this post-apocalyptic world, while an ordinary person like her would eventually perish at the hands of the zombies. Chapter 404 - Chapter 404: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_3 Chapter 404: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_3 ¡°` If death is inevitable, what¡¯s the point in struggling to live? Wang Tao frowned slightly as he looked at Yang Changhong, whose eyes were gradually becoming vacant. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just feel¡­ so powerless.¡± Yang Changhong let out a bitter laugh. ¡°Powerless?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if he had demoralized her; after all, normal people don¡¯t have the luxury to think about these things when just staying alive is an accomplishment! Wang Tao guessed that Yang Changhong must be feeling a sense of powerlessness after seeing the strength of the Night Demons. He patted Yang Changhong¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t lose heart. Zombies may be strong, but we humans are not weak either¡ªwe have intelligence. Haven¡¯t you seen things like inhibitors, mechanical arms, and the like? Even at the end of the world, we humans have not given up. I believe that in the end, victory will certainly belong to us!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t just talking nonsense; he truly believed that humanity had a chance to win. From what was being air-dropped, it was clear that everyone had been persisting and even making progress. Take Xu Xiaojun¡¯s mechanical arm, for example; with that thing, he could basically defeat most level two zombies. If more things like this were developed in the future, or if a cure for the zombie virus were found, then what if the zombies evolved quickly? Humans would still have a fighting chance! ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right.¡± Though Wang Tao¡¯s consolation didn¡¯t hit the nail on the head, Yang Changhong still felt it was heartwarming. Her despairing mood had somewhat improved. Then she suddenly said with a smile, ¡°So, when do you think I can be as strong as you?¡± ¡°As strong as me?¡± Wang Tao thought about it seriously, then said, ¡°You¡¯d probably have to wait until I¡¯m at least ten or twenty times stronger than I am now.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m sleepy; I want to take a nap. Could you keep an eye on everyone for me, thanks!¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t want to talk with Wang Tao anymore. She didn¡¯t wait for a reply and immediately lay down on the grass, sprawling out like a salted fish. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; she wasn¡¯t tired just a moment ago, and now suddenly she was sleepy. This woman was not truthful. Shaking his head, Wang Tao went over to Jiang Shixue¡¯s side. ¡°Little Xue, let¡¯s go fishing.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Wang Tao still had the fishing gear he¡¯d used before. Although he was missing a fishing rod, it wasn¡¯t a big problem. There were some steel pipes in Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy that were used for making defensive structures, which could be used instead. Quickly, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue got the fishing rod ready. Then they sat by the lake and began fishing officially. Soon, Wang Tao felt something bite the hook. Seizing the opportunity, he pulled swiftly. A huge shadow was dragged out of the water. ¡°Haha, got a big one¡ªholy shit!¡± Wang Tao was originally pleased, but his expression darkened as soon as he saw what the fish actually looked like. This was a damn zombie fish! [HP: 6000/6000] [Mana: 2000/2000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] [Status: 90% Weaker Without Water] And it was a damn Level 2 Elite! Seeing this human-sized fish with rotting flesh and eerie light flickering in its eyes, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate to grab the firefighter axe at his waist and swung twice. The zombie fish¡¯s HP bar emptied instantly, and it died on the spot, dropping a loot pack. Xu Xiaojun, who was on alert nearby, noticed the commotion and ran over. He thought Wang Tao had hooked a big fish, but was baffled when he saw what it actually was. ¡°Ah, this¡­¡± It was his first time seeing a zombie fish. ¡°It¡¯s a zombie fish, and a level two at that¡­¡± It was also Wang Tao¡¯s first encounter. He quickly smashed open the fish¡¯s head to find a white crystal core inside. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡¤ Aquatic Breath] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Partial growth of fish scales)] [Aquatic Breath: Passive Ability, evolve gills, can breathe freely in water] At first glance, Wang Tao found the ability of this crystal core impressive. Being able to breathe underwater meant evolving from a land animal to an amphibian! But after seeing the side effect and the actual ability, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. The side effect was the growth of fish scales on the body, which was hard to accept. However, by synthesizing the crystal core, perhaps he could remove the side effect, But the ability of Aquatic Breath came with gills¡ªthis wasn¡¯t a side effect, and he couldn¡¯t remove it. He had no desire to turn into a gilled monster, so this crystal core was definitely not meant for Wang Tao. Regarding the loot pack that the zombie fish dropped, it contained a potion he had never seen before. [Obtained: Breath-holding Potion*5] [Breath-holding Potion: Can hold breath underwater for ten minutes, cooldown time 1 hour] The potion was quite good, it might come in handy to hide from zombies in the water, provided there were no zombies in the water. ¡°Little Jun, you fish. If you catch any, kill them yourself. These fish lose a lot of their strength after getting on land, and it¡¯s simple to kill them.¡± Xu Xiaojun could restore his HP by killing the zombie fish, and since Wang Tao¡¯s HP was already full, he let Xu Xiaojun have this opportunity. ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun was excited; this was a rare opportunity! Wang Tao went back to Yang Changhong¡¯s side, finding that she had indeed fallen asleep. So he patted her face. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Yang Changhong woke up groggily. She was an undeniable beauty, and although her skin was now a bit rough, her facial proportions were very attractive. Her dazed appearance was quite different from her previous image as a tough leader but was charming in its own right. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to be as strong as me? Here¡¯s your chance.¡± There were too many fish here for Xu Xiaojun to handle alone. They had to call others to help, and not waste this opportunity. ¡°Huh?¡± After seeing the situation for herself, Yang Changhong finally understood the meaning of an old saying¡ª¡¯A setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise!¡¯ ¡°` Chapter 405 - Chapter 405: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_1 Chapter 405: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_1 ¡°` Pfft! Yang Changhong wielded her knife and killed the Level 2 Zombie Fish beneath her feet, then wiped the sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath. She had never imagined that one day, she would become a butcher slaughtering fish, nor had she expected that killing fish could leave her so exhausted¡­ At this moment, the scene around her was bustling with activity, everyone was fishing, killing fish! The strong fished solo and killed on their own. Those less powerful teamed up to fish and took turns at killing. Even though the strength of these Zombie Fish dropped significantly after coming ashore, it didn¡¯t mean they were powerless. If an ordinary person caught a Zombie Fish, they might not even be able to pull it out of the water, and could even be dragged in by the Zombie Fish! These Level 1 ability users were able to pull the fish onto land, but that didn¡¯t guarantee a quick kill. After all, the Zombie Fish were about the size of humans, and when they struggled, it was chaotic. If one were to get bitten, the best outcome would be wasting a bottle of inhibitor. So everyone measured their own strength, careful not to put themselves in too much danger in the quest to increase their power. It was Yang Changhong who had called these people together. But she had asked Wang Tao in advance, since this was his discovery. Although Wang Tao shared it with her, it didn¡¯t mean he wanted to share it with everyone else. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that petty; the lake was vast and filled with many Zombie Fish. So many people fishing together might not even be able to catch all of them. Wang Tao observed that all the fish in this lake were Zombie Fish, with not a single normal one in sight, likely because, much like human society, they were infected by the zombie virus. Moreover, most of them were Level 1 and Level 2 Zombie Fish. For these ability users, it was a holy land for enhancing their strength! The crowd worked with well-distributed roles, Level 1 ability users killed Level 1 Zombie Fish, and Second-order Superpower Owners slayed the Level 2 ones. If a Level 1 ability user caught a Level 2 Zombie Fish, they¡¯d call over Little Jun or Yang Changhong to deal with it. If Yang Changhong and Little Jun caught a Level 1 Zombie Fish, they¡¯d pass it on to others to kill. Differentiating between Level 1 and Level Two was straightforward: anything others could pull out of the water was below Level 1, and anything too heavy to move was Level 2. This method was proposed by Wang Tao, considering that Level 2 ability users would only gain half the HP from killing Level 1 Zombies. And for a Level 1 ability user, even with the significantly reduced strength on shore, killing a Level 2 Zombie Fish would be troublesome and potentially life-threatening. So, they should only tackle fish within their power range. Wang Tao made another fishing rod for himself, wanting to see if he could catch Level 2, Lord, or even Level 3 Zombie Fish! If Wang Tao killed Lagrangian points¡¯s Superpower Owners, he would gain Special Energy for such an overpowered victory. However, from morning until the evening, he had not caught a fish above Level 2, Lord; the highest level was the Level 2, Elites. Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless, the number of elite zombie fish in this lake was unexpectedly high, a situation he had encountered at both the Water Ze Hospital and the Weeds Reservoir. Therefore, Wang Tao speculated there might be an even more formidable Zombie Fish here, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know if his conjecture was inaccurate or if there truly were none¡­ Of course, it wasn¡¯t without any gains, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s HP was rapidly increasing. Wang Tao gave all the fish he caught to him. Jiang Shixue had no interest in fishing, but she enjoyed watching others fish, so she sat obediently next to Wang Tao, watching him fish. ¡°We had agreed to travel during the day today¡­ but ended up fishing all day¡­¡± Yang Changhong spoke to Wang Tao with a mix of happiness and helplessness. She was naturally happy because her HP had greatly increased. The sensation of watching one¡¯s strength gradually increase was enchanting. Her helplessness stemmed from the fact that the plan to go to Zijing City had been postponed again. Wang Tao glanced at Yang Changhong. Her HP was now at 10200, up from just 7000 before, marking a significant improvement in strength. ¡°No problem, enhancing strength is the most important thing. You can fish for a couple more days.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Seeing that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry, Yang Changhong immediately felt relieved. Having discovered this good spot, she intended to stay a couple more days, since such opportunities were rare. However, Wang Tao had previously mentioned wanting to go to a military base, and she was afraid he might become impatient, so she wanted to gauge his attitude. If it had been before, she would have thought it no big deal to part ways. But now, having seen Wang Tao¡¯s strength, only a fool would choose to go separate paths. The next morning, the fishing operation continued. And this one lasted for three days. Perhaps the Zombie Fish in the lake had almost been caught out; catching Level 1, Elites and Level 2, Elites became less and less likely. Wang Tao felt that they could probably leave tomorrow if the gains weren¡¯t substantial, it wouldn¡¯t be worth continuing to waste time here. But on this evening, just as Yang Changhong hadn¡¯t caught a fish for half an hour, she suddenly felt something bite her line. When she yanked hard, not only did she fail to pull it up, but she nearly fell on her face. Watching her steel fishing rod nearly pulled from her grasp, Yang Changhong immediately shouted loudly: ¡°Wang Tao! There¡¯s a big one!¡± Wang Tao heard the commotion and rushed over immediately. Seeing Yang Changhong clutching the fishing rod, being slowly dragged toward the water, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes brightened. If it was able to drag Yang Changhong, a Second-order Superpower Owner, towards the water, then this had to be at least a Level 2, Lord Zombie Fish, or above! He grabbed the steel rod and gave a fierce tug¡ªbut it didn¡¯t come up! ¡°` Chapter 406 - Chapter 406: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_2 Chapter 406: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_2 ¡°` ¡°¡­It must be a Level 3 Zombie Fish!¡± Wang Tao called over Xu Xiaojun, who activated his mechanical arm, and together with three Second-order Superpower Owners, they finally pulled up a huge creature! ¡°¡­¡± The onlookers nearby were suddenly rendered speechless at the sight. They felt an intimidating force rushing towards them! This force was even more terrifying than the one they had felt from the Night Demon Zombie! The thing Wang Tao pulled up was a zombie fish as big as a room, its rotting belly exposed, filled with fish eggs the size of chicken eggs! [HP: 40000/40000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Status: 90% Weaker Without Water] ¡°Holy shit! Level 3¡­ Lord?¡± Wang Tao was a bit shocked. He had initially thought that a Level 3 Elite would have been impressive, but now he was facing a Level 3 Lord! Wang Tao had encountered a Level 3, Lord, only once before, which was the Blue-skinned Night Demon he saw in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. That Blue-skinned Night Demon had 50,000 HP, and Wang Tao felt that a single touch could kill him, so he fled the moment he saw it. And now, another Level 3, Lord, has appeared! Although it had less HP than a Blue-skinned Night Demon, 40,000 HP was still enough to kill everyone instantly. The terrifying aura it emitted made everyone afraid to even speak! However¡­ It was a zombie fish! It also had a negative status of being 90% weaker without water! If he hadn¡¯t seen the attributes, Wang Tao might have considered retreating temporarily, as he wasn¡¯t confident against a Level 3, Lord. But since he saw it was weakened by 90%, not taking advantage of this opportunity would be like inviting lightning to strike him! ¡°Everyone, scatter!¡± Wang Tao immediately screamed. Only then did everyone snap back to reality, scrambling to distance themselves from the spot. A Level 3 Zombie, even weakened, was not something they could handle! Yang Changhong felt his legs trembling. If not for Wang Tao being there, she would have thought about running away. ¡°Sss¡ª¡± After the giant fish was dragged ashore, it immediately let out an unpleasant hiss. Almost everyone felt their heads grow heavy! The reason it¡¯s almost everyone is that Jiang Shixue was unaffected; she ran over to Wang Tao and pinched his leg. Wang Tao winced in pain and slowly regained his senses. He saw a pair of eyes glowing red, and then saw the others standing unsteadily, as if they were dizzy. ¡°Area dizziness ability?¡± Fortunately, Jiang Shixue was not affected; otherwise, it might have been troublesome! After the giant fish stunned everyone, it immediately started thrashing about, attempting to get back into the water. Although it felt the humans around it were weak and delicious, its instincts told it it was weak now and needed to get back into the water! Wang Tao obviously couldn¡¯t let it escape. If it got back into the water, no one could defeat it. So, Wang Tao immediately activated Entangling Roots. Black roots burst forth from Wang Tao¡¯s wrist. Within moments, they entwined around his body, transforming him into a 2.5-meter-tall monster! Wang Tao gripped his steel rod fishing pole and pulled hard! Whoosh¡ª The rope from the fishing rod could no longer hold on and snapped. But the giant fish was successfully flung by Wang Tao and landed heavily behind him. Thud¡ª There was only grass behind Wang Tao, no water source. The impact of the fish landing made the ground shake, causing everyone to fall. This fall actually helped them clear their heads. But as soon as they regained consciousness and before they could figure out what was happening, the zombie fish roared again. ¡°Sss¡ª¡± In an instant, everyone was dizzy again. With the protection of Entangling Roots, Wang Tao also felt dizzy for a moment but quickly recovered. He and Jiang Shixue charged towards the zombie fish and raised their fists, smashing them down hard on the massive fish head. Bang! [-3004] [-1308] [35688/40000] There was a muffled sound. He dealt 3,000 damage, and Jiang Shixue dealt 1,300 damage. The defense of the zombie fish was much higher than that of Night Demon, considering it was in a state of 90% weakness! Without the weakness, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if his damage would break a thousand. But that was no big issue, as the zombie fish was already on sticky ground, and it was just a matter of time before they killed it. The zombie fish thrashed its tail, but since it was on land, it couldn¡¯t move; it could at best thrash around and flip over, which Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue could easily dodge. While dodging, they instantly landed several punches. [-3187] [-1298] [-3219] [-1029] [-3381] [-1323] [22251/40000] ¡°Sss¡ª¡± With another roar from the zombie fish, Wang Tao was slightly affected, but Jiang Shixue was not at all affected and took the opportunity to land two more punches. [-1320] [-1248] [19683/40000] As for everyone else, they were continuously dazed, even Xu Xiaojun and Yang Changhong, both Second-order Superpower Owners, couldn¡¯t wake up! Wang Tao didn¡¯t care about them because the zombie fish¡¯s dazing ability was different from the earlier Gorilla Zombie¡¯s War Roar¡ªit was purely dizzying and didn¡¯t cause HP loss. Once recovered, Wang Tao once again punched at the zombie fish twice. [-3309] [-3458] [12916/40000] Suddenly, the zombie fish opened its mouth wide and spewed a huge mouthful of water! However, due to its large size and being on land, it wasn¡¯t flexible, so the attack naturally missed. The water sprayed onto the grass. Despite looking clear and transparent, the water made a sizzling burning sound when it touched the grass, quickly melting it. ¡°Does it have a corrosive effect?¡± ¡°` Chapter 407 - Chapter 407: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_3 Chapter 407: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_3 Wang Tao felt some relief, grateful that he had dragged him over here. The others were far away, otherwise, if they had been sprayed, they probably would have been done for! Watching the big fish open its gaping mouth once more, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was roaring or spraying water, but a Slime Grenade appeared in his hand, which he threw directly into that bloody maw. Splat! A clump of white slime appeared and instantly stuck the zombie fish¡¯s mouth shut. Although it only held for a few short seconds, it successfully interrupted the zombie fish¡¯s casting, rendering its attack ineffective. Wang Tao charged to its side again, with Jiang Shixue attacking from the left and right in a pincer move. [-3592] [-1349] [-3521] [-1298] Just then, the zombie fish swung its tail violently with incredible speed. Relying on the Entangling Roots on his body, Wang Tao withstood the hit, but Jiang Shixue was sent flying. [-128] [29999/29999£¨9872/10000£©] The purpose of Wang Tao enduring that blow was to land the final strike! Splat! [-3156] [0/40000] This punch sank directly into the zombie fish¡¯s head. Even through the Entangling Roots he wore, Wang Tao could smell a fishy stench. But he immediately felt the zombie fish¡¯s Crystal Core, swiftly pocketing it along with the Loot Pack, then he hurried over to Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue had just lost over four hundred HP. ¡°I¡¯m okay, Brother Wang.¡± Wang Tao used a medical kit on Jiang Shixue and carefully checked her over. Once assured she was fine, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Turning back to look at the huge corpse of the zombie fish, his mouth hidden beneath the mask of roots almost stretched to his ears. The Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord was very strong, but sadly, it was weakened by 90%, and out of water, it lost its maneuverability¡ªno, it had no maneuverability at all, making it nothing but a target for him and Jiang Shixue! So although it was a Level 3 Lord, Wang Tao found it extremely easy to kill, even more so than the Night Demon he had faced the night before! After all, the Night Demon had managed to hit him several times, while the zombie fish only landed a single blow on him. And if he hadn¡¯t wanted to finish it off quickly, he might have had a chance to dodge even that attack. After the zombie fish died, there were still numerous roe inside it. Wang Tao launched some Shockwaves, randomly shattering these egg-sized roe. As a result, they even released loot packs¡ª [Obtained: Roe x103483] [Roe: Edible, non-toxic, delicious] ¡°Good heavens, a hundred thousand roe? And it¡¯s food?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Each piece of roe was the size of a chicken egg¡ªdidn¡¯t a hundred thousand pieces of roe equate to a hundred thousand chicken eggs? Just the roe alone was a massive haul! However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to check his loot but went instead to wake the others up, as they were still in a state of dizziness up until now. It took some effort, but the two of them finally managed to rouse everyone. ¡°What happened¡­¡± Many were still somewhat out of it after being continuously dazed several times. Yang Changhong and Xu Xiaojun recovered the quickest. Seeing the zombie fish with a crushed skull, Yang Changhong was shocked. Her memory stopped just before the dizziness set in. It felt like one moment she closed her eyes and the next the battle was over? Had Wang Tao triumphed? Even though the zombie fish¡¯s strength would certainly be limited on land, it was still a Level 3 zombie! Xu Xiaojun, on the other hand, took it as a matter of course¡ªBrother Wang was in action, so of course there would be no issues! ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t have time to ponder; she asked concernedly after Wang Tao and the others, and after seeing that they were all right, she quickly went to check on everyone else. Assured that the rest were just a bit dizzy and not seriously injured, she finally relaxed. ¡°You all rest well tonight, we¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning,¡± Wang Tao said to Zhang Hong. ¡°Hmm!¡± Zhang Hong nodded. The fish here had almost all been caught, and the Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord was slain by Wang Tao, so it was time to leave. The others were somewhat reluctant to leave, but the Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord had dazed them for such a long time that they all had psychological shadows and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Watching everyone start to clean up the battlefield, Wang Tao began to take stock of his loot as well. The Zombie Fish had brought him 9,600 Special Energy! This brought Wang Tao¡¯s total Special Energy to 24,340! It can only be said that a Level 3 Lord indeed was terrifyingly powerful! Then came the Loot Packs, three in total. The first was naturally the Crystal Core Gift Bag, which contained four Crystal Cores. Along with the one from the Zombie Fish¡¯s head, that was a total of five Crystal Cores. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Aquatic Breath] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Some parts of the body will grow fish scales)] A Level 3 Aquatic Breath Crystal Core from inside the Zombie Fish¡¯s head, nothing much to say about it; it wasn¡¯t the type Wang Tao liked. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] Another Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core! Counting this one, Wang Tao now had four Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores! One Excellent, three Excellent! He hadn¡¯t completed his collection of other Crystal Cores yet and had already finished the Ascension ones¡­ which felt somewhat magical. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave Dizziness] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Mouth gets bigger)] [Shockwave Dizziness: Can daze creatures for a long time (the duration of dizziness is related to the opponent¡¯s spiritual power), but they will awaken if disturbed by external things] This Crystal Core was the dizziness ability used by the Zombie Fish earlier. Its dizziness lasts for quite a while, but any major disturbance would wake the victims. Moreover, the length of dizziness is related to the opponent¡¯s spiritual power. If Jiang Shixue was unaffected, doesn¡¯t that mean she had high spiritual power? Even though it was the same type of dizziness, Wang Tao still preferred the earlier War Cry Ability. As for the side effect, if one wasn¡¯t too concerned about their appearance, it seemed ignorable, right? [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Corrosive Saliva] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Belly gets bigger)] [Corrosive Saliva: Stores one-tenth of the water ingested in the stomach and fuses it with stomach acid. The fused water can be spat out with strong corrosive properties] This was the spouting water ability used by the Zombie Fish earlier, similar to the Spittle Nail; one spits food, and the other saliva. Wang Tao felt that the success rate for fusing these two Abilities must be quite high. If he fused these two abilities, wouldn¡¯t he be able to spit both projectiles and corrosive water? It seemed interesting to consider. As for the last Crystal Core, it was a passive Ability. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Swimming Champion] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Some parts of the body will grow fish scales)] [Swimming Champion: Passive Ability, greatly increases swimming skills] Chapter 408 - Chapter 408: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_1 Chapter 408: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_1 ¡°` The ¡°Swimming Champion¡± ability seems pretty good. Passive abilities don¡¯t need mana to use, which is essentially a permanent enhancement to physical attributes. If there¡¯s a chance, it might be worth trying to synthesize it with other passive abilities¡­ Then there¡¯s the second Loot Pack. All potions inside, two types in total. [Obtained: Breath-holding Potion x10] The first one is the Breath-holding Potion, which is quite effective, allowing one to hold their breath for ten minutes. Wang Tao already has dozens of bottles, but unfortunately, no blueprints. [Obtained: Infertility Treatment Potion x10] [Infertility Treatment Potion: Capable of treating most infertility issues] ¡°?¡± This second type of potion has Wang Tao a bit stunned. Killed a Zombie Fish and got medicine for treating infertility? How absurd is this! But then thinking about the multitude of fish eggs, it seems reasonable, doesn¡¯t it? Without a doubt, this is good stuff. If it were before the apocalypse, it probably would fetch a good price since many people have such issues. Even now, in the apocalypse, there might still be people troubled by this problem¡­ Wang Tao definitely doesn¡¯t need it, but he could sell it to those in need later. Lastly, the final Loot Pack. [Obtained: Diving Suit x1] [Diving Suit: Durability +30, Tear Resistance +30, can stay at about twenty meters underwater for an hour. Oxygen tank automatically replenishes air¡ª fully recharges in 10 hours of exposure to the open air.] Inside is a set of black clothes that look like a frogman¡¯s gear, but this suit is exceptional. It¡¯s a diving suit complete with an oxygen tank, a propeller, and it looks quite impressive. And this one automatically replenishes oxygen! Like charging for 10 hours, to last for 1 hour of use. It¡¯s not something Wang Tao can wear regularly, but it might come in handy in critical moments. But Wang Tao doesn¡¯t dare to casually enter the water anymore since he¡¯s confirmed there might be Zombie Fish in it. Like the Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord he encountered today¡ªif Wang Tao had encountered it in the water, he would have most likely been dead¡­ Even the Level 2 Zombie Fish he killed effortlessly, if it was in water, it¡¯s uncertain whether he would have been able to defeat it. Besides the loot from this Level 3 Zombie Fish, Wang Tao has also killed some Level 1 and Level 2 Elite Zombies, but only got some more Breath-holding Potions and Aquatic Breath crystals. He feels that apart from the Level 3 Zombie Fish, the others are rather weak, even the Elites, as they don¡¯t seem to have any abilities. He hasn¡¯t seen other crystals appear. Maybe because these fish were cultivated by the Level 3 Fish Lord? It does have so many eggs¡­ No matter what, the haul was great this time. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Yang Changhong and the others had just finished cleaning up the battlefield, and she approached with a cloth bag. ¡°These Crystal Cores are for you, after all, you discovered them, and you dealt with the Level 3 Zombie Fish, saving us from a crisis¡­¡± All the Crystal Cores in the bag were ¡°Aquatic Breath,¡± ranging from Level 1 to Level Two. Wang Tao had already explained the ability of this crystal to them, and they all expressed no desire to merge with it. While the Aquatic Breath ability is strong, it would cause gills and scales to grow on the body. Moreover, with Zombie Fish present in the water, they would only enter the water if absolutely necessary, making these crystals practically useless to them. ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and simply accepted them. Even though these crystals aren¡¯t of much use to him personally, they can be used to nurture the Entangling Roots. Why refuse something that¡¯s free? ¡°We should be thanking you!¡± Yang Changhong said with a smile. Her own improvement was not small, and her entire team¡¯s strength had risen! If not for Wang Tao, they couldn¡¯t have possibly had such gains. After exchanging pleasantries, Yang Changhong suggested: ¡°As for what¡¯s next, I propose we rest well here tonight and set off early tomorrow morning, aiming to reach Zijing City quickly¡­¡± ¡°Yes, let everyone have a good rest.¡± These people have been fishing with such excitement in the past few days that they haven¡¯t slept well. Continuing the journey after a good rest wouldn¡¯t be too late. In the evening, Wang Tao used the Zombie Culture Fluid on Jiang Shixue again. Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP reached 29200; one more treatment and she could hit the upper limit for Level Two HP! Then Wang Tao found that the Tree Essence Liquid was available for use again. However, only he and Jiang Shixue could use it; Xu Xiaojun had tried it without any effect. Could it be that the cooldown time for using Tree Essence Liquid is related to strength? Though somewhat puzzled, Wang Tao didn¡¯t overthink it and just drank it. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue each drank 10 shares because the cooldown had reached a point where they could only consume 10, with any more being ineffective. Afterward, there was no change in Wang Tao¡¯s HP, but his mana increased to 8000! As for Jiang Shixue, her HP finally hit 29999! No need to wait for another nurturing session! ¡°Can you feel what you need to do to ascend to Level 3?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know.¡± Jiang Shixue looked somewhat lost. When Wang Tao reached this HP level, he could clearly feel he needed to upgrade all his Abilities to Level 3 before he could ascend. So he wanted to know if Jiang Shixue had any feeling about it. But it seemed she still couldn¡¯t sense anything. Wang Tao thought for a moment and took out an outstanding quality Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core. Jiang Shixue¡¯s impurity level was already at 100%, so there was no need to worry about impurities or to have Wang Tao do the synthesis. ¡°` Chapter 409 - Chapter 409: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_2 Chapter 409: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_2 But unfortunately, when Jiang Shixue placed the Ascension Crystal Core in her mouth, she couldn¡¯t fuse with it. She truly had no need for the Ascension Crystal Core. This left Wang Tao feeling somewhat helpless; Jiang Shixue¡¯s situation was very special, and he couldn¡¯t understand it. Regardless, Jiang Shixue had still increased her HP to 29999, and now she was Wang Tao¡¯s strongest helper, which once again boosted the strength of his small team. Wang Tao even felt that she could probably take on a Level 3 Night Demon by herself! But there was no need to test that theory¡ªwhy go for a one-on-one fight when you can gang up? Early the next day, the convoy was all geared up and ready to go. At Yang Changhong¡¯s command, the group set off toward Zijing City once again. The previous two escapes had led the convoy slightly off course, but the overall direction was correct, continuously heading west. After consulting the map, Yang Changhong and Wang Tao quickly plotted a new route. This time they didn¡¯t encounter any major dangers. The occasional zombies they did encounter were dealt with by Yang Changhong and her team. If the situation was more tricky, they would let Xu Xiaojun handle it. However, in the past few days, the convoy came across several supply planes! This was something Wang Tao hadn¡¯t anticipated. The supply drops used to come about once a month, but why did he feel like they were becoming more frequent lately? These transport planes were not directly overhead, but Wang Tao tried to make contact several times, all unsuccessfully. As for the supply drops, they did manage to pick up two of them, which contained medicine and food. Although there were no inhibitors or mechanical exoskeletons, it was still good enough. ¡°Eh? Another supply drop!¡± That day, Wang Tao suddenly looked up. He heard the sound of an airplane! Moments later, a plane indeed appeared in the sky., and from the looks of it, it seemed it would pass right overhead! ¡°The supply plane is coming!¡± Yang Changhong noticed as well and immediately notified everyone through the vehicle intercom. Watching the plane draw closer to the convoy, everyone¡¯s faces were filled with anticipation. The last time a transport plane flew over their heads, it dropped five supply crates. Now they were not expecting five¡ªjust one would be enough! Wang Tao took out his military radio and began trying to contact the pilot above. ¡°Hello, this is Survivor Wang Tao, I am right below you!¡± ¡°Hello, this is Survivor Wang Tao, I am right below you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Szzz¡­ Szzz¡­¡± The radio crackled with static, which didn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao. The last successful contact had been when the plane was directly overhead, and it was still far away at the moment. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop and kept trying. As the plane slowly reached the position right above the crowd, at last, there was a response through the radio! ¡°Szzz¡­ Wang Tao¡­ I know you¡­ I am Luo¡­¡± Hearing the hoarse voice over the radio, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Colonel Luo? What a coincidence, it¡¯s you again!¡± He hadn¡¯t expected it to be Luo Guozhong again¡ªunless there was another pilot with the last name Luo. ¡°Szzz¡­ Yes¡­ supply drop¡­ is gone¡­ sorry¡­ Szzz¡­¡± The other party actually apologized to Wang Tao, though the voice sounded somewhat cold. ¡°All the supply drops are gone? No problem, we¡¯re not in urgent need of supplies for the moment¡­¡± Wang Tao quickly explained. The supply drops didn¡¯t really matter, but as long as he could establish a good connection with Colonel Luo, there would definitely be more supply drops in the future. ¡°Then that¡¯s¡­ good¡­ Szzz¡­¡± Watching the plane fly past overhead and start to move away, Wang Tao hurriedly said: ¡°I will be visiting the military base soon. Since we have met, it¡¯s fate. I will treat you to a drink when the time comes!¡± ¡°Szzz¡­ Szzz¡­¡± The other party didn¡¯t reply; the plane had already flown off into the distance. ¡°Ah, what a shame, no supply drop this time¡­ Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± In the vehicle intercom, Yang Changhong¡¯s voice carried a hint of regret. The group continued on their journey. That evening, as Wang Tao was pondering over how to use his more than 20,000 units of Special Energy, Yang Changhong¡¯s voice came through the vehicle intercom once again. ¡°Wang Tao, we¡¯ve arrived at Zijing City Downtown!¡± ¡°Hm? We¡¯re here already?¡± Wang Tao lifted his head. He could see more houses along the road, and the roads were getting wider, although there were also more abandoned vehicles. Looking further afield, he could see some tall buildings. ¡°Zijing City, we¡¯ve finally arrived!¡± Wang Tao sighed. This trip to Zijing City had taken many more days than expected, with many incidents along the way. But it was a relief that they arrived safely. The convoy stopped by the side of the road. Yang Changhong got out of her vehicle and knocked on Wang Tao¡¯s door. ¡°Wang Tao, what are your plans now¡­¡± ¡°Come in and talk.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yang Changhong entered, looking at Wang Tao¡¯s handsome face; her expression was a complex mix of emotions and reluctance. After all, with Wang Tao being so powerful, she really wished he would stay with her convoy, but Wang Tao had already made it clear before that he intended to go to the military base. Now that they had arrived in Zijing City, it was only a matter of when Wang Tao would leave¡­ ¡°What about you? What are your plans?¡± Wang Tao asked in return. ¡°We¡¯re planning to rest here tonight and then head into the city tomorrow to look for survivors from Zijing City and get some information about the situation here. If there¡¯s a large Survivor Base, we¡¯ll ask about its exact location. If the base is suitable, we¡¯ll consider staying here. If it¡¯s not suitable or there¡¯s no large Survivor Base, then we¡¯ll decide what to do next¡­¡± Yang Changhong shared their upcoming plans. However, her tone was slightly wistful, as she still didn¡¯t know what exactly the situation was within Zijing City. There was also a good chance it could all be for nothing¡­ Chapter 410 - Chapter 410: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_3 Chapter 410: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_3 Wang Tao nodded and then said with a smile: ¡°Let¡¯s rest for the night, and then we¡¯ll part ways tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°¡­Okay.¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t say anything more and got out of the car to leave. She found a suitable spot, and the convoy began to ¡°set up camp.¡± Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun for a look around the area to ensure that there was nothing that could threaten their safety nearby. By nightfall, everything on the convoy¡¯s end was ready. Yang Changhong invited Wang Tao over for dinner. In the past, for convenience, everyone usually ate separately. But since they were all parting ways in the morning, this might be their last supper together; thus, it had a bit of a ceremonial feel. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯m very grateful for your care along the way¡­¡± Yang Changhong raised her water glass, using water in place of wine. She actually liked drinking, but after the apocalypse had begun, she had given it up¡ªafter all, drinking led to mistakes. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking after each other.¡± Wang Tao raised his water glass and clinked it with hers. The mood among the people was somewhat melancholic; they might not call Wang Tao a ¡®good brother,¡¯ but at the very least, they were now friends. If this were before the apocalypse, they might have had the chance to meet up again in the future, but now that the world had ended, once they separated, they might never get the chance to see each other again for the rest of their lives¡­ After dinner, it had already turned dark. Yang Changhong arranged for people to take turns on guard duty, while Wang Tao went back to his car. He wasn¡¯t tired, but he planned to rest well since he was heading to Zijing City tomorrow. Given the scale and population of Zijing City, he could already imagine how dangerous it would be inside¡­ However, at this moment, Yang Changhong suddenly came over again. ¡°Wang Tao, there¡¯s something I want to talk to you about. Could you come over?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao got out of the car, and Yang Changhong immediately turned around, leading Wang Tao outside of her car with her head lowered, not allowing Wang Tao to see her face clearly. ¡°Shall we talk inside?¡± Turning around, Yang Changhong replied, and only then did Wang Tao realize that she seemed¡­ to have put on light makeup? ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao got into the car with her. Yang Changhong¡¯s car was luxurious, worth over five million before the apocalypse. Owning such a car was definitely a symbol of someone of high status. Although the exterior of the car now looked worn and had various modifications giving it a tattered feeling, once inside, it was evident that the interior was still well-maintained, much more luxurious than Wang Tao¡¯s interior. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Wang Tao asked, slightly puzzled after looking around. ¡°I¡­¡± Yang Changhong started to speak and suddenly reached out, wrapped her arms around Wang Tao¡¯s neck, pressing her entire body against him, allowing Wang Tao to clearly feel a softness. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Looking at Yang Changhong, who hadn¡¯t drunk any alcohol but had a flushed face and a misty look in her eyes, Wang Tao seemed puzzled but didn¡¯t push her away. ¡°When we part ways this time, we might never see each other again in this lifetime¡­¡± Yang Changhong said softly, staring at Wang Tao. ¡°You want me to stay?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. But Yang Changhong shook her head. ¡°No, I know you¡¯re a very determined person. I¡¯m self-aware and know I can¡¯t keep you¡­¡± ¡°Then what is this¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat confused. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how long I have left to live; bad luck might kill me tomorrow. And you¡¯re the strongest man I¡¯ve ever met¡­ so, I want to experience something wonderful in this world before death. Even if I die later, I will have no regrets¡­¡± After finishing, Yang Changhong¡¯s face turned even redder, but she didn¡¯t avoid Wang Tao¡¯s gaze. If she was to die later, she did not want to die still a virgin¡­ Wang Tao was somewhat speechless upon hearing this. He had thought this woman had fallen for him, but it turned out he was flattering himself. As though she knew what Wang Tao was thinking, Yang Changhong smiled playfully: ¡°I admit you¡¯re strong, but a proud person like me couldn¡¯t possibly fall for a man in just a few days. I just think that other women are not worthy of me. You, well, barely pass!¡± Although she said this, her grip around Wang Tao tightened. Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite understand what this woman was thinking, but what the heck, meat delivered to his mouth, could he reject it? He hadn¡¯t had meat for a long time. ¡°Proud? I want to see how long you can stay proud!¡± Wang Tao chuckled wickedly and reached out to strip off Yang Changhong¡¯s clothes. ¡°Hiss¡­ you¡¯re not wearing anything inside¡­¡± ¡°I prepared it especially for you¡­¡± Yang Changhong blushed, letting Wang Tao slowly strip her bare. Wang Tao embraced Yang Changhong¡¯s head and gently kissed her. In a corner of the temporary camp, a luxurious SUV was rhythmically rocking. Late into the night. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was wrong, please spare me¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao walked out of Yang Changhong¡¯s car, neat and tidy. The guards who saw him just smiled ambiguously and said nothing more. Wang Tao returned to his car. Jiang Shixue was inside sleeping. Hearing the noise, she opened her eyes to glance at Wang Tao; she was curious but didn¡¯t ask any questions. After Wang Tao lay down, she naturally snuggled into his embrace. If this were before, Wang Tao would have felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, he was a young man in his prime. But now, feeling the person beside him, Wang Tao was calm, even going so far as to hug Jiang Shixue, which made her eyes light up. Wang Tao¡¯s heart was unruffled. Heh, just a woman. How could she disturb my inner peace? 1 The next day, early morning. Wang Tao¡¯s car quietly left the convoy. He didn¡¯t even go to say goodbye to Yang Changhong. Inside the luxurious SUV. Yang Changhong watched the departing car and suddenly wore a frustrated, resentful expression as she bitterly said: ¡°What a nemesis! I can¡¯t travel today; I¡¯ll rest another day¡­ If I ever have the chance to meet you in this lifetime¡­ you¡¯ll see!¡± ¡­ Morning. As soon as Wang Tao entered the area of Zijing City Downtown, the car radio that had been left on suddenly came to life. ¡°Sss¡­help! Is anyone there? Please save us¡­ sss¡­¡± Chapter 411 - Chapter 411: Chapter 188: Distress Message_1 Chapter 411: Chapter 188: Distress Message_1 ¡°¡­Is anybody there? Please save us!¡± Upon hearing the woman¡¯s voice on the car¡¯s intercom, Wang Tao¡¯s brow lifted. His car¡¯s intercom had always been on, just in case he could pick up other survivors¡¯ communications¡­ He had just been saying to Xu Xiaojun that he didn¡¯t know when they would find other survivors, and now had an opportunity been delivered to his doorstep? However, the other party was asking for help, which obviously meant they were in great danger. In such an unfamiliar place, Wang Tao had to be cautious. The vast Zijing City was definitely more dangerous than any place he had been before. Xu Xiaojun slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road, and he and Jiang Shixue both looked towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao pressed the talk button on the intercom, his tone steady as he spoke: ¡°Who are you? Where are you? What danger have you encountered?¡± ¡°Who are you¡­¡± Wang Tao repeated several times, and after a moment. ¡°Szzz¡­ Ah? Someone! There really is someone!¡± Although she tried to keep her voice down on the other end, it was noticeable that she was very surprised. ¡°My name is Nie Siyan, and we¡¯re surrounded by a bunch of bad guys! They want to kill us! Help!¡± The voice over the intercom was panicked. ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re saying¡­ people? Survivors? You¡¯re surrounded by survivors?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed. He had thought that these people were surrounded by zombies¡­ If it was a fight between survivors, that would be more complicated. ¡°Yes! Outside are a bunch of heartless murderers! Big Brother, can you come save us? If they break through, we¡¯re all dead!¡± Listening to the other party¡¯s anxious words, Wang Tao calmly said: ¡°Tell me the specifics of the situation.¡± ¡°Alright¡­ After a brief explanation from the other end, Wang Tao roughly understood what had happened. According to this Nie Siyan, they were currently at a place called the ¡°Haochen Hotel,¡± where there were still 11 people. They had been gathering supplies outside yesterday and took shelter in the hotel last night. But unexpectedly, a group of survivors had broken into the hotel. These people were extremely vicious and powerful, and they had taken over their place by force, wanting to capture them as slaves. Outmatched, they could only run upstairs. They were now hiding on the tenth floor, and all stairways leading up had been blocked, preventing the gang of villains from reaching them for the time being. But in their haste to escape earlier, they had left the food downstairs, and now all the food was commandeered by the villains. The hotel had been scavenged long ago, and there was no food upstairs, leaving them dizzy from hunger. Meanwhile, the villains downstairs continued to threaten and entice them. They said there were two choices for them: either come down obediently, admit their wrongdoings, and let bygones be bygones, or stay upstairs until they starved to death¡­ Of course, no one believed them, because Nie Siyan had witnessed with her own eyes the merciless killing of their companions by the gang downstairs! If they dared to go down, they would surely die! And before death, they would endure all kinds of inhumane torture! Having no other options, they could only seek help through the intercom. They had tried for a long time, and Wang Tao was the first person they could contact. ¡°Big Brother, please, save us! We don¡¯t want to die! We¡¯ll repay you with gratitude! We will definitely repay your kindness!¡± No sooner had the woman finished speaking than other people¡¯s voices began to chime in. ¡°Please, Big Brother, save us! We¡¯ll do anything for you!¡± ¡°I have a lot of food at home, and I¡¯ll give it all to you, Big Brother!¡± ¡°I know many influential people in the base, I¡¯ll introduce all of them to you, Big Brother!¡± ¡°I have a beautiful wife at home¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Listening to the cacophony of pleas from the other side, Wang Tao selectively filtered them out. He only picked up on one key point ¡ª there indeed was a Survivor Base here, and it seemed not a small one¡­ Wang Tao thought for a moment and then asked: ¡°What are your capabilities? And what about the capabilities of those gangsters?¡± ¡°We¡¯re all Level 1 ability users, but there¡¯s a Second-order Superpower Owner among those gangsters!¡± Nie Siyan quickly replied. ¡°Level Two Ability User? Then I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t beat them.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone carried a hint of difficulty. Even though he didn¡¯t mind helping other survivors, everything currently was based on Nie Siyan¡¯s side of the story. Having seen more than his share of deceit, especially in this post-apocalyptic era, Wang Tao, despite his considerable strength, still had to be cautious. At the very least, he couldn¡¯t show all his cards. So he decided to pretend to be a Level 1 ability user for now and see what their reaction would be. There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then Nie Siyan¡¯s voice came through again. ¡°Big Brother, you don¡¯t have to beat them! You just need to draw them away! We¡¯ve placed some supplies in a convenience store nearby, which have food and Crystal Cores, and among these supplies is a Homemade Bomb! I will tell you how to detonate it, and you just need to set off the bomb to get their attention! Just give us a minute ¡ª no, just thirty seconds, and we¡¯ll be able to escape on our own!¡± Hmm? A Homemade Bomb? Wang Tao was surprised; he hadn¡¯t seen such things in a long time. And¡­ detonate a Homemade Bomb? Was she serious? If that thing went off, it wouldn¡¯t be just the villains it¡¯d draw out but hordes of zombies as well! His current ¡°identity¡± was that of an ¡°ordinary Level 1 ability user¡± ¡ª was this something a person concerned about their own life should consider doing? And Nie Siyan seemed to know Wang Tao¡¯s concerns as she hurriedly spoke up again: Chapter 412 - Chapter 412: Chapter 188: Distress Message_2 Chapter 412: Chapter 188: Distress Message_2 ¡°Brother, rest assured, this is a homemade bomb we frequently use. The amount of explosives has been reduced, so the noise isn¡¯t very loud; it won¡¯t attract too many zombies! Plus, you don¡¯t need to go there; it can be detonated from outside a certain range! As for the remote controller, it is in the milk tea shop across from the convenience store¡­¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao immediately frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t carry these things with you? Instead, you deliberately put it outside? It¡¯s bad enough to leave it outside; why would you keep the remote controller and homemade bomb separate?¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that it was like they were waiting for him¡­ This was reality, not a game; were there really NPCs assigned to give out missions? Nie Siyan seemed a bit amused and exasperated upon hearing this. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s because we are very cautious! It¡¯s just giving ourselves a bit more room to maneuver. That¡¯s how all the survivors here operate! You¡­ you aren¡¯t from around here, are you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t answer her. He paused before saying, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll consider it¡­¡± After speaking, Wang Tao turned off the walkie-talkie, giving no chance for the other party to continue talking. Then Wang Tao looked to Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun. ¡°What do you guys think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll follow brother¡¯s lead.¡± Jiang Shixue quickly shook her head. ¡°I think¡­ we can go rescue people. But I¡¯ll listen to you, Brother Wang.¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao covered his face, speechless. He hadn¡¯t been asking whether they should go or not, but rather about how much of Nie Siyan¡¯s words were credible¡­ But Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, one a dimwit and the other single-minded, asking them was pointless. As for whether to go or not, that was definitely happening. He had to find out the current situation in Zijing City from this woman. Wang Tao took out a map and carefully checked the location of Haochen Hotel. It was about three kilometers away from Wang Tao¡¯s current location. Wang Tao also remembered the surrounding buildings of the Haochen Hotel. The map did not show the location of the convenience store. After all, it was a paper map, which couldn¡¯t possibly be updated in real-time. However, Wang Tao had determined the approximate position of the convenience store¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go here.¡± Wang Tao pointed to a location and said. This was a small shopping mall, which had a perfect view of the Haochen Hotel. Entering the city, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to drive too quickly, since there were many more zombies in the city. Fortunately, his car was quite good. Although it was a gasoline car, as long as he didn¡¯t slam on the gas pedal, the noise was relatively quiet. ¡°Big cities are really different!¡± On the way to the shopping mall, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but sigh. In Shuize County or other small cities he had been to before, there weren¡¯t always zombies on the road. With good luck, it was even possible to encounter none at all. But Zijing City was different. From the moment he entered Zijing City, he had already encountered many zombies. Now, as he drove deeper into the city, the number of zombies on the road increased. Stealthily reaching the mall was impossible, so Wang Tao had Xu Xiaojun slow down. Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun then released Shockwaves through the windows. Most were Ordinary zombies, easily killed instantly. Occasionally, they would come across Level 1 Elite Zombies, and Xu Xiaojun would get out of the car to deal with them, considering they possessed Crystal Cores, which couldn¡¯t be wasted. After spending some time, Wang Tao and his group finally reached the small shopping mall. The exterior wall of the mall was covered with green plants, and the exposed wall paint was also very old and corroded. There were some large holes in places, as if they had been blown up by shells. Wang Tao drove up to the entrance of the mall, where the door was also covered with plants, and many plants obscured the windows, leaving the mall dark inside. However, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had night vision, making it no problem for them. Wang Tao had Xu Xiaojun drive while he and Jiang Shixue went ahead to scout. ¡°It¡¯s safe¡­¡± ¡°This area is also safe¡­¡± The two quickly surveyed the first floor of the mall, finding nothing dangerous beyond some Ordinary zombies. Parking the car in a shaded area, the three of them went upstairs together. The mall wasn¡¯t large, but it wasn¡¯t short either, with a total of six floors. After some time, Wang Tao and his companions had searched the entire place. ¡°Such a large mall, and not even a single Level 2 Zombie¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat disappointed. In such dark environments, zombies should have been more attracted. Yet, although there were quite a few zombies inside, they were all Ordinary. The few Level 1 Elite Zombies they encountered were easily handled by Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s take a look at the Haochen Hotel first¡­¡± Wang Tao went upstairs, from where he could see the Haochen Hotel not far away. The Haochen Hotel, like the small mall, was old and overgrown with plants. Wang Tao observed for a while and didn¡¯t spot any survivors or villains. However, if they were always hiding inside, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be able to see them. Wang Tao decided to wait a day first, to see if there was any movement there. He had also located the positions of the convenience store and the milk tea shop. But he wasn¡¯t interested in either the food or the homemade bombs, so he just paid them a little attention. ¡­ Inside the president suite on the top floor of Haochen Hotel. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t she contacted me yet!¡± A woman with heavy makeup, dressed in a seductive tight leather outfit, with an explosive figure and shoulder-length hair, stood in front of a window holding a walkie-talkie, her eyebrows deeply furrowed. ¡°It¡¯s been several hours since the last communique; even if she¡¯s considering, she should have made a decision by now¡­ Could it be that they¡¯ve been discovered?¡± Chapter 413 - Chapter 413: Chapter 188: Distress Message_3 Chapter 413: Chapter 188: Distress Message_3 But soon, she shook her head again. ¡°Impossible! This is obviously an out-of-towner who has no clue about Zijing City¡¯s situation. He couldn¡¯t possibly have noticed that there¡¯s a problem! Just wait a bit longer¡­¡± Thump, thump, thump¡ª At that moment, there was a knock on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± A bald man with tattoos on his face walked in, bowing and scraping as he said: ¡°Sister Nie, they sent me to ask how long we¡¯re going to lie in ambush today¡­ Is that fat pig still going to show up?¡± Hearing this, Nie Siyan, who was already in a bad mood, became even angrier. She cursed without any attempt to hide her displeasure: ¡°Idiots, can¡¯t you even wait patiently for a little while? What good are you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, Sister Nie!¡± The bald man bent even lower, offering no rebuttal. After Nie Siyan had sworn a couple of times, she took a deep breath and glanced at her watch, saying: ¡°Wait a little longer, until¡­ five o¡¯clock. If no one shows up by five, you pull out.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The bald man slowly backed out and closed the door behind him. Nie Siyan took out a wrinkled cigarette from her clothes and lit it with an old lighter. ¡°Sss¡ªhuff¡ª¡± She sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, puffing clouds of smoke. The nicotine somewhat soothed her irate mood. ¡°It¡¯s definitely impossible that someone would come to rescue, but I refuse to believe that no one would be interested in those food supplies and Crystal Cores¡­ After all, so many have been tricked before!¡± As Nie Siyan thought of those who had been deceived previously, a cruel smile appeared on her face. This was a trap. Her claims of being surrounded by bad guys and being chased were obviously false. The purpose was to attract people and then capture them, to plunder and sell for money! Of course, she was aware that no one would truly come to her rescue because she had witnessed too much darkness in the post-apocalyptic world. Those who had survived until now, if nothing else, were certainly not overly benevolent. Random acts of rescue might occur, but under the circumstances where she was trapped by a gang that included Second-order Superpower Owners, most people would definitely choose to simply watch. So she didn¡¯t really expect a rescue. What she was counting on was the ¡°supplies¡± she had let slip were hidden in the convenience store! In the post-apocalyptic world, if you talk about rescuing someone, many might hesitate. But mention going somewhere for supplies, and you can bet everyone runs faster than anyone in spite of the risks involved. She was exploiting people¡¯s mentality of wanting to take advantage of a good deal. When newcomers hear that she has supplies stashed inside a convenience store, whether they want to rescue someone or not, there¡¯s a good chance they will check out the store. If there¡¯s nothing, then so be it. But if there is something, isn¡¯t that a windfall? The more cunning ones might first check the tea shop opposite the convenience store for triggers. But whether they go to the convenience store or to the tea shop across the street, they would fall into her trap¡ªshe had arranged for professionals at both locations. As soon as someone entered, they would pass out in moments, even Second-order Superpower Owners wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it! Many greedy folks thought they could just take a look and if there was any danger, they could run away immediately. After all, how large could a convenience store be to block their escape? Sorry, but it can indeed! Anyone who went there, even just for a look, would become her prey! However, she had her principles: she was only after their wealth, not their lives. She would loot those who took the bait, taking anything of value from them, and then sell the people themselves to other organizations in the city. What happened to them after being sold was no concern of hers. Of course, this scam could only be pulled off once or twice. If done too often, it was bound to be discovered. After all, there were quite a few unlucky souls who survived, and they would surely spread the news. So, she only targeted newcomers! The location she picked was a path most survivors coming from the east had to pass through. Zijing City was a major metropolis, and nearby survivors would think of heading there. Humanity was weak before, and they might have hidden in various places. But now many people have Abilities and the strength to check out bigger places; Zijing City was naturally a good choice. After all, there¡¯s a large Survivor Base here. All she had to do was wait silently for newcomers to come to her. Those who made it this far must be capable, likely to have plenty of resources, and they never acted alone, but in groups, which meant even more resources. Even if they didn¡¯t carry any resources with them, the Ability Users themselves were already very valuable! If she, Nie Siyan, played her cards right, this was a busines with no cost, no risk! And to make it believable, she had her subordinates act as thugs, occasionally loitering downstairs to prove her story was true. She couldn¡¯t claim that her scheme was utterly brilliant, but once people got greedy, they¡¯d be hooked a hundred percent! All she needed to do was to wait patiently¡­ ¡­ ¡°Huh? Real thugs? Could what Nie Siyan said actually be true?¡± Inside the mall, Wang Tao saw several people appearing on the ground floor of Haochen Hotel. They wore black clothing, masks over their faces, and carried large machetes¡ªclearly they were not to be trifled with. These people pointed upstairs, muttering under their breath. ¡°But they are all Level 1 ability users, I haven¡¯t seen that Level 2 Ability User¡­¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin. These Level 1 ability users were no threat. But he needed to determine the strength of the opponent¡¯s Level 2 Ability User. ¡°I¡¯ll keep observing, and once I¡¯m certain of the Level 2 Ability User¡¯s strength, I¡¯ll make my move¡­¡± Although Wang Tao felt that, even without knowing the specifics about the opposition, he could likely crush them just by showing up, it was after all unfamiliar territory, so better to be cautious. Wang Tao somewhat missed Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability. If Han Rui were here, a walk around with her would basically reveal the enemy¡¯s capabilities¡­ Wang Tao and his companions stayed in the shopping mall until the evening without going out. He kept fiddling with the walkie-talkie, trying to pick up other signals. At one moment, Wang Tao suddenly looked startled, then somewhat pleasantly surprised. ¡°Eh? The Magic Seeds inside my body¡­ they¡¯ve sprouted!¡± Chapter 414 - Chapter 414: Chapter 189: Plant Affinity_1 Chapter 414: Chapter 189: Plant Affinity_1 After swallowing the Magic Seed, it would take ten days to germinate. And now, ten days had passed! Wang Tao found that the countdown below his HP bar had disappeared, but in the section for Hidden Attributes, there was one new attribute. [Hidden Attributes: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] There was an addition of ¡°Plant Affinity¡±! [Plant Affinity: Ability to partially sense the feelings of plants] ¡°Hmm? What does this mean?¡± There were no plants in the room where Wang Tao was, so he went outside. It had already gotten dark; without using his Night Vision Ability, he could barely see the outside surroundings. Then, Wang Tao closed his eyes, thinking about using his Hidden Ability of Plant Affinity. A moment later, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°This is kind of magical!¡± Although he had closed his eyes, he could still vaguely ¡°see¡± the environment around him! Wang Tao, as if having found a fascinating new toy, conducted numerous experiments, even pulling Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun to join him. After researching for an hour, Wang Tao had roughly figured out the use of his Hidden Ability. His Plant Affinity seemed somewhat like a Perception Ability. However, its actual effects were inferior to those of the Perception Ability. Wang Tao had discussed before with Han Rui and knew what it was like to use the Perception Ability. To put it simply, Han Rui could sense most living creatures within the range of her Perception Ability! The reason it was ¡°most¡± was that she couldn¡¯t detect creatures that were too small, like insects. Her Perception Ability was powerful: zombies and humans alike had nowhere to hide in front of this sense! Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity was a bit different, though. It was as if he could¡­ communicate with plants? ¡°Communicate¡± wasn¡¯t exactly the right word because these plants had no intelligence¡­ Rather, it was that he could sense the faint movements of some plants and then deduce the situation from these movements. In simpler terms, if someone was surrounded by no plants or was floating above them, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t sense them. If someone were to walk on plants or move them with their hand, then Wang Tao would be aware that there might be a person or a zombie in that spot¡­ So in terms of sensing alone, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity couldn¡¯t compare to Han Rui¡¯s Perception. But his Plant Affinity had some capabilities that the Perception Ability did not possess. The Perception Ability could only see events that were happening at the moment, whereas Plant Affinity could deduce past events by examining the condition of plants. For example, if someone had stood on a lawn ten minutes ago, Wang Tao could sense the state of the plants to deduce that something bipedal had passed through here ten minutes ago and from the way it walked, it was most likely human¡­ So, to a certain extent, Wang Tao could see the ¡°past¡±. Of course, it must be said that the Perception Ability is very intuitive; you see what¡¯s happening as it happens. However, his Plant Affinity was not as direct as Perception; it required his analysis and judgment, demanding the use of his intellect¡­ Nevertheless, this was already quite good for Wang Tao. After all, it could be considered as nearly half a Perception Ability! He had previously complained that things would be much easier if Han Rui were around. Now that he had this ability, he could take over some of the tasks that Han Rui used to handle. Wang Tao experimented for a while longer; he now had a profound understanding of his sensing range and what kinds of plants were most suitable for sensing. His sensing range was actually quite substantial. Standing in the middle of the mall, he could sense all the plants inside! This was much larger than the range of Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability and it didn¡¯t even consume any of Wang Tao¡¯s Mana. However, his sensing wasn¡¯t very precise. He had Jiang Shixue try to move around in the building at random, and as long as she didn¡¯t touch any plants, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t detect her presence. Moreover, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t gauge the exact strength of a potential adversary, only able to analyze through his own experience¡­ As for which plants were most suitable, naturally, those were the likes of grass or moss. These plants were abundant and had large areas. A slight touch would leave a trace, allowing Wang Tao to ¡°see¡± that trace and deduce the general situation there. In the past, the use of this ability might have seemed limited or only appropriate in the wild. But now, with plants everywhere in the city, this ability seemed to have significant potential! This Hidden Ability was, after all, a supplement to Wang Tao¡¯s perception capabilities. Having gained a new ability, Wang Tao decided to test its effectiveness right away. ¡°Little Xue, let¡¯s go out and take a look.¡± ¡°Sure~¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went downstairs to the Haochen Hotel together. It was night, and there were quite a few zombies on the streets, but the night vision posed little issue for the two of them. The Haochen Hotel had also grown many plants inside, such as weeds, mosses, and ivy, which Wang Tao could make use of. Feeling around the base of the hotel¡¯s outer wall, Wang Tao quickly sensed that there were several people moving methodically upstairs, as if they were¡­ patrolling? But just from this, it was obviously impossible to reach any conclusion. So, after contemplating for a moment, Wang Tao threw a few stones into the building. The noise was minor, but it instantly attracted the attention of many people. The figures that Wang Tao could feel suddenly increased; he waited silently. About ten minutes later, the people inside seemed to realize there was no danger and went back to sleep. Chapter 415 - Chapter 415: Chapter 189: Plant Affinity_2 Chapter 415: Chapter 189: Plant Affinity_2 Wang Tao¡¯s face immediately broke into a smile. He had gotten the answer he wanted. The two sneaked back to the mall, and then Wang Tao shared his findings with Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue. ¡°The woman named Nie Siyan said there were a total of 11 people, all on the 10th floor of Haochen Hotel, which is the top floor. The floors below are full of thugs, and the passage leading upstairs has been blocked by them, so the thugs can¡¯t get up. But I just used Perception, and there was only movement from one person on the top floor, and moreover, this person went downstairs and then back up again¡­¡± Wang Tao explained clearly, even a fool or someone who was single-minded could understand. ¡°She¡¯s tricking us!¡± Xu Xiaojun was somewhat angry. His first instinct upon hearing the cry for help was to rescue them. He thought that as survivors of the apocalypse, they should help each other out. But now, he realized that helping each other out might just be his own wishful thinking¡­ He might be single-minded, but he wasn¡¯t stupid. Deliberately deceiving them in this situation could definitely not lead to anything good! Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak and didn¡¯t even show any sign of anger. She didn¡¯t care about the others; she was just looking at Wang Tao, waiting for his instructions. ¡°These people obviously have bad intentions, so we don¡¯t need to be polite. We also need to find out about the situation here¡­ Wait a bit, I¡¯ll see if there¡¯s a chance to catch her and bring her here!¡± Wang Tao picked up the walkie-talkie. ¡­ Haochen Hotel. Nie Siyan stared angrily at the bald man. ¡°Is the check complete?¡± The bald man hurriedly said: ¡°Sister Nie, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve checked already, the hotel is very safe! It might just be some zombies outside making noise¡­ Those damn zombies disturbing your sleep, Sister Nie, that¡¯s unforgivable!¡± ¡°Get out.¡± Nie Siyan waved her hand impatiently. ¡°Yes!¡± The bald man immediately bowed and backed out, gently closing the door behind him. Nie Siyan got up and looked at the starlight outside the window, feeling irritable. She hadn¡¯t had any business for several days, and today she finally encountered someone. But they had stopped responding after just a few words. And they didn¡¯t go to the convenience store¡­ She had already been having trouble sleeping these past few days. Just now, there had been some noise in the hotel, so now she couldn¡¯t sleep at all. ¡°If you¡¯re not fooled, it¡¯s fine. But if you are, see how I¡¯ll torment you¡­¡± A fierce look flashed across Nie Siyan¡¯s face. ¡°Crackle¡­ hey, are you still there¡­ crackle¡­¡± Suddenly, the walkie-talkie beside her made a noise. This startled Nie Siyan, but after hearing the familiar voice inside, her face brightened immediately. Then she cleared her throat. ¡°Big brother, when are you coming! The thugs keep threatening us, we can¡¯t hold on much longer! Whimper¡­¡± ¡°Just wait for me, I¡¯m coming to save you right away!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice sounded heroic and resolute. ¡°Thank you so much. You are such a good person¡ª¡± Nie Siyan was about to say some words of gratitude, but she suddenly paused, her tone somewhat strange, ¡°Are you saying, you¡¯re coming over in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°Yes! Just wait, I¡¯ll be there in about half an hour, very quickly!¡± ¡°Great! Thank you! I need to tell them the good news!¡± Nie Siyan quickly grabbed another walkie-talkie. ¡°Listen up, everyone! The prey is coming! All of you go hide in the convenience store and milk tea shop! Hurry, hurry, hurry!¡± Many of her underlings were still sleeping. Hearing the news, they were all drowsy. ¡°Ah? Go now¡­ but it isn¡¯t even light out yet?¡± ¡°Sister Nie, are you sure? I¡¯m not doubting you, but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous at night¡­¡± Hearing her subordinates¡¯ complaints, Nie Siyan¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Cut the crap and hurry up! If I find out anyone¡¯s slacking off, you know the consequences!¡± Chilled by Nie Siyan¡¯s sinister threat, no one dared to resist, and they immediately got to work. ¡°Sigh, be careful guys, let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t run into a Night Demon¡­¡± After dispatching her subordinates, only Nie Siyan and three others who were on the night shift remained in the hotel. ¡°Idiots, coming over in the dead of night! But it¡¯s just perfect; such stupid people don¡¯t deserve to live¡­¡± Nie Siyan gritted her teeth. Since she couldn¡¯t sleep well anyway, she decided not to sleep that night and wait for the good news from her subordinates. So, half an hour later. Nie Siyan looked at her two walkie-talkies, somewhat frowning. The survivor had not contacted her again since half an hour ago, and she couldn¡¯t reach him when she tried. Her other walkie-talkie was also silent, meaning her underlings hadn¡¯t found anyone¡­ Nie Siyan, somewhat annoyed, picked up the second walkie-talkie. ¡°What¡¯s happening over there?¡± ¡°Report to Sister Nie, nothing¡¯s happened at the convenience store!¡± ¡°Same with the milk tea shop¡­ What are your orders, Sister Nie?¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Nie Siyan tossed the walkie-talkie onto the sofa. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it agreed to be half an hour? Why hasn¡¯t he come? Did he chicken out? Or did something happen on the way?¡± Nie Siyan cursed Wang Tao in her mind, but she patiently waited. After all, punctual people were rare in the apocalypse. Then, another half an hour passed. Just when Nie Siyan thought there would be no show tonight. The first walkie-talkie suddenly rang again. ¡°Ms. Nie, are you there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Nie Siyan immediately responded. ¡°Sorry, we just realized we went the wrong way¡­ I¡¯ve found a map, and we¡¯re heading towards you now! But there are a lot of zombies on the road, just wait two more hours for me!¡± Chapter 416 - Chapter 416: Chapter 189 Plant Affinity_3 Chapter 416: Chapter 189 Plant Affinity_3 Wang Tao¡¯s voice was full of apologies. ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s face looked awful. Could they really have gotten the location wrong? But then again, there were many buildings nearby, and it was night without a map, so making a mistake was normal¡­ ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll wait for you. Big brother, you must be careful, and prioritize your own safety! We can hold on for another half a day, no problem!¡± Nie Siyan sounded sincere, but she was actually grinding her teeth. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, just wait for us! We¡¯ll be there in two hours!¡± After speaking, Wang Tao immediately cut the communication. ¡°This stupid idiot, I¡¯m going to wait another two hours for you!¡± Nie Siyan took out a crumpled cigarette from her person. ¡°Sss¡­ puff¡­¡± Two hours later. Looking at the still silent walkie-talkies, Nie Siyan¡¯s complexion was terrible. She contacted her subordinates again. There was no sign of activity on their end; they were sure no one had gone to the convenience store or the milk tea shop. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one last hour! If you don¡¯t show up in one hour, I¡¯m turning off the walkie-talkie and going to sleep!¡± Nie Siyan muttered resentfully to herself. She was very sleepy, but she couldn¡¯t rest for the sake of this prey. So, she forcefully waited another hour. Still nothing happened. It was the middle of the night now, and it would soon be dawn if she didn¡¯t sleep! Nie Siyan rubbed her tired eyes, about to turn off the walkie-talkie and go to sleep. She guessed her subordinates were also extremely tired, but she was too lazy to ask. ¡°Static¡­¡± But just at that moment, the walkie-talkie suddenly made a noise! ¡°Static¡­ Miss Nie, are you there? I¡¯ve arrived¡­ static¡­¡± Huh? Arrived? Nie Siyan was immediately overjoyed. She immediately used the second walkie-talkie to tell her subordinates to get ready, saying the person was coming. Then she pretended to be very excited as she spoke: ¡°Really? Where are you now?¡± ¡°Behind¡­ you!¡± This voice didn¡¯t come from the walkie-talkie, but from behind her! ¡°!!¡± Nie Siyan was shocked, but before she could even turn around, she felt a pain in the back of her head and then everything went black, consciousness slipping away. In the dimness, she seemed to see a flash of green light. Behind her, Wang Tao withdrew his hand. ¡°You¡¯re a bit weak! And to think I was being so cautious¡­¡± Wang Tao spoke with a hint of speechlessness, but he efficiently stuffed Nie Siyan into a sack. Then he hoisted Nie Siyan onto his shoulder, took her walkie-talkie and backpack, making sure nothing was omitted, before he swaggered down the stairs. Downstairs, Jiang Shixue stood next to a guard she had knocked out. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao casually hoisted the man as well. Only two guards remained at Haochen Hotel; they were positioned such that they couldn¡¯t see Wang Tao¡¯s location. Thus, when the two of them left Haochen Hotel, no one noticed. They made their way back to the mall without incident. Wang Tao tied up the two captives. Particularly for the woman, he used a chain from the car to tightly secure her. And to think, the woman¡¯s figure was somewhat explosive; the chain only highlighted her curves more. The man was a Level 1 ability user with just four thousand HP, a negligible force. The woman, with over ten thousand HP, was a Second-order Superpower Owner, barely passable. Then Wang Tao tied the woman and the man in two separate rooms. ¡°You go interrogate that man; I¡¯ll interrogate this woman.¡± Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded firmly. Though he was an honest man, it didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t get angry. Xu Xiaojun approached the man and began to hammer him mercilessly. ¡°Uh¡­ it hurts¡­¡± Shortly, the man groggily opened his eyes, to darkness. His eyes were blindfolded. He seemed to understand the situation in a flash and immediately started speaking in a panic: ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡± ¡­ Meanwhile, Wang Tao slapped the unconscious woman¡¯s face several times. Slap slap slap¡ª Her face was almost swollen from the slaps by the time she slowly came to. Her vision was enveloped in darkness as well. ¡°Just answer what I ask. I¡¯ve already questioned your accomplice. If I find your answers don¡¯t match, both of you can go to hell.¡± Wang Tao said coldly. However, this woman was much more composed than the man. She struggled a bit and, finding escape impossible, she immediately asked: ¡°Who are you? What do you want? I can give you anything, please let me go¡­¡± Slap¡ª Before she could finish speaking, she was slapped again. ¡°Just answer what I ask. I haven¡¯t started questioning, and I hope there won¡¯t be a second time.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan was enraged but, knowing her life was in someone else¡¯s hands, she smartly refrained from saying more. ¡°Name.¡± ¡°¡­Nie Siyan.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao paused, then slapped her again, ¡°I said your real name.¡± ¡°¡­My real name is Nie Siyan¡­¡± Nie Siyan suppressed her anger, her tone slightly aggrieved. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat at a loss for words; this woman used her real name while out to scam people? ¡°Age.¡± ¡°28¡­¡± ¡°Gender.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Slap¡ª ¡°Gender.¡± ¡°Female!¡± Nie Siyan gritted her teeth and replied. Suddenly, Wang Tao asked: ¡°Why did you deceive me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± Slap¡ª Nie Siyan instinctively tried to defend herself, but received a fierce slap from Wang Tao again. Blood spilled from the corners of her mouth, with no trace of pity from Wang Tao. ¡°I wanted the goods on your bodies¡­¡± Nie Siyan had no choice; her subordinates certainly weren¡¯t tough talkers¡­ Seeing the way Wang Tao was, she had no doubt that he would kill her, so she could only speak the truth. ¡°And?¡± ¡°And¡­ you guys yourselves. Foreign ability users like you fetch a high price¡­¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. So Zijing City is engaging in ability user trafficking now? Quite advanced indeed! Chapter 417 - Chapter 417: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_1 Chapter 417: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_1 An hour later. Wang Tao got the information he wanted from Nie Siyan, who had been beaten to a near death state. It included how she ambushed him and the power distribution within Zijing City¡­ There are significantly more survivors in Zijing City compared to other places, after all, it is a major city with a population of millions. Even though there are also a lot of zombies here, the most dangerous times during the apocalypse are probably during two phases. Survivors who make it past these two stages have a much higher chance of living on. The first stage is when the zombie virus outbreak occurs, during which chaos utterly reigned, and the majority of people died right then and there. The second stage is when the supplies at home are exhausted, and people have to go out to search for resources. A considerable number of survivors die during this period. Or they starve to death¡­ If one survives the initial outbreak and then finds food, as long as they are not incredibly unlucky, there is a good chance of survival. Particularly when Ability Users appear, this marks the time when the human survivors¡¯ chances of surviving are the greatest. Even if one is not an Ability User, as long as they can seek protection from one, their chances of survival greatly increase. So while Zijing City has many zombies, the number of survivors who have persevered is also significant. It¡¯s far beyond what small counties or cities can compare to. Where there are people, there is struggle, an eternal truth. Even now, in the apocalypse, when people need to unite against the catastrophe, struggle is still inevitable. With a large population and many survivors in Zijing City, naturally, there are many conflicts. Thus, the city has many factions. Wang Tao initially thought that Zijing City would only have one major survivor force, which would be the large-scale Survivor Base established by the Government. But this wasn¡¯t the case. To be precise, at the beginning, the largest survivor force in Zijing City was indeed the large-scale Survivor Base built by the Government¡ª¡±Zijin Base.¡± But in less than a month, the base was overrun by zombies! The survivors inside either died or fled¡­ Afterward, as Ability Users appeared and months went by, more and more Ability Users emerged, and consequently, more powers within Zijing City arose. As for exactly how many, Nie Siyan wasn¡¯t sure. After all, there was no need to register; pulling a few people together was enough to proclaim oneself as an organization or a force, and this was not something that could be counted. However, the major forces could still be counted, and Zijing City had a total of four major forces. Survivors in Zijing City had an acknowledged ranking of power. Ranked first was ¡°Zijin Base.¡± By its name, one could tell that this Zijin Base was located at the very spot of the original large-scale Survivor Base built by the Government, also retaining the original name. However, although the name and location remained the same, the current Zijin Base was entirely different from the previous one. The current Zijin Base is ruled by an army. But this army is not the kind with faith from before the apocalypse, rather it was established after the apocalypse by a retired military officer, and these so-called soldiers¡¯ quality¡­ well, let¡¯s just say they barely qualify as individuals. With the arrival of the apocalypse, it was as though the world had rebooted. Nearly everyone was back to the same starting point, and with the disappearance of law and even morality, human desires were amplified without restraint. Take this retired military officer, for instance; his original intention in forming the army might have been good. But now¡­ he has become a dictator. Within the entire Zijin Base, his status is the highest. Everyone in the base must obey his orders; he does whatever he wants. He is the undisputed Local Tyrant. Of course, his strength is also the strongest in the base, and he doesn¡¯t perpetrate havoc in the base every day¡ªalthough occasionally, he does. He and his army provide the survivors in the base with military protection. Survivors in the base need to follow the rules he sets and pay taxes to him in order to receive protection. However, this tax is not cheap¡­ Some survivors, who were like slaves before the apocalypse, continue to be slaves even after. ¡­ The second-ranked force is ¡°Zijin Prison,¡± often simply referred to as the Prison. If Zijin Base is viewed as a ¡°dictatorship,¡± then Zijin Prison is unmistakably a den of ¡°villains¡±! Because the rulers inside the Prison were authentic criminals before the apocalypse! Back then, when the zombie virus broke out and cannibalism spread wildly, some places descended into hell on earth, while others seemed like unexpected havens. The Prison was one of the latter. At that time, these criminals were all locked in cells, typically ten per cell. If one got infected, at worst, only that cell would be affected, while the people in other cells remained safe. Moreover, this was a high-security prison, which contained numerous severe offenders who were held in solitary confinement! It could be said that death row inmates were among the safest people when the zombie virus broke out. The wardens, on the other hand, were less fortunate. They lived in communal dormitories and moved in groups. If one of them got infected, it spelled disaster for the rest. Therefore, after the zombie outbreak, the people alive in the Prison were all criminals, especially the severe offenders who survived in considerable numbers. Later, a criminal who escaped their cell freed the other criminals. Gradually, all the surviving criminals in the Prison were let loose. These individuals were all ruthless characters, particularly those severe offenders with blood on their hands. Such people were like fish in water in the post-apocalyptic world. Chapter 418 - Chapter 418: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_2 Chapter 418: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_2 They quickly formed a power called Zijin Prison. Using the original prison as their base, considering its defenses were quite good, zombies couldn¡¯t get in at all. And those felons, they became the rulers of the prison. After gaining strength and authority, one could imagine what it was like for those under their rule; nearly all of them met a terrible end. Being killed was the least of it ¨C most were tortured to death! Even the ordinary criminals who had initially released them didn¡¯t end up faring well. However, with the diminishing number of people, those felons realized they couldn¡¯t act recklessly anymore. After all, if they killed everyone, who would do their work? But their reputation had already spread, and no survivors dared to approach the prison, they couldn¡¯t recruit anyone. So, they started to use some special methods. Such as capturing survivors from outside to toil for them, or buying survivors from other factions¡­ Nie Siyan had said before that Wang Tao and the other outside survivors could be sold for a high price, referring to being sold to the prison. ¡­ The third-ranked force was a relatively latecomer with a more loosely managed structure, named ¡°Ability User¡¯s Alliance.¡± The name was quite grand. And the reason for this name was because this faction only accepted Ability Users. Their base was within a small stadium, not many people, but collectively they were very strong ¨C after all, they were all Ability Users. However, their reputation¡­ wasn¡¯t too good either. Because they were very arrogant, they looked down on ordinary people, unwilling to stay with them, and even considered themselves as ¡°the new humankind.¡± Maybe this group didn¡¯t enslave or torture ordinary people, but if they saw ordinary people in crisis, they definitely wouldn¡¯t lend a hand, no matter how easy it would be to help. In some ways, their mental state was somewhat problematic¡­ ¡­ The fourth-ranked force was called ¡°Vast,¡± and sure enough, it was the name of a club. Their base was also in this club, so survivors generally referred to them as ¡°the Club.¡± This faction was slightly special because it was comprised entirely of women ¨C they didn¡¯t recruit any men. The initial form of this force was said to be a group of women from Vast Club. They came from humble beginnings, and their identities were not entirely dignified, but their hearts were in the right place, wanting to unite survivors to resist the disaster collectively. But who would have thought that their leader was deceived by a scumbag. The scumbag ran off with the Crystal Core, causing their leader¡¯s death, and he even tried to deceive them further to take the leader¡¯s position for himself. Eventually, the others discovered his ploy in time and stopped him, but from then on, they never trusted men again. When they formally established the faction, they only recruited women. But women were generally physically weaker than men, a disadvantage in a post-apocalyptic world. Their confidence in not needing men stemmed from their new leader being a very strong Ability User! Without this new leader, their faction might have been just ordinary, and because they were all women, they might have been quickly swallowed up by other factions to the point of obliteration. However, there were rumors of unrest within the Club recently¡­ ¡­ These were the current four major forces of Zijing City ¨C the Base, the Prison, the Alliance, and the Club. Aside from these four major forces and some smaller factions too insignificant to mention, there were also some medium-sized factions with a degree of renown. Their might wasn¡¯t equivalent to the larger factions, but they weren¡¯t weak either, considered the second tier. There were about a dozen such factions. Nie Siyan was from one such medium-sized faction known as the Skull Club. More precisely, she was the wife of the Skull Club leader. The Skull Club could be considered one of the most notorious forces in Zijing City. This wasn¡¯t Wang Tao¡¯s opinion, but rather, the words directly from Nie Siyan herself. Because this faction specialized in all manner of deceit! They used to deceive the survivors of Zijing City, and when word spread, they couldn¡¯t trick them anymore, they began deceiving outside survivors. Although they claimed ¡°they only wanted money, not lives,¡± no one knew how many had indirectly died because of them. Especially those who were sold to the Prison, where once you enter, there was basically no hope of coming out alive¡­ Actually, Wang Tao only needed a rough idea about these factions; he wasn¡¯t particularly interested. What truly interested him was the military base. But Nie Siyan didn¡¯t know much about the military base. She knew that some people went there, but since no one ever sent back any news, it was unclear whether they were dead or alive. As for the neighboring Wuyang City, Nie Siyan had some information. Survivors who had fled from Wuyang City said that there were extremely terrifying gigantic zombie monsters. Even a Level 2 Ability User, if they encountered these zombie creatures, would be crushed to death. Survivors had no chance of living; many strong survivors had fled¡­ This news made Wang Tao frown. The military base was located in Wuyang City. If Wuyang City was so dangerous, how would he get there? And yet, the military base seemed fine, regularly air-dropping supplies, not appearing to be in great danger. Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped contemplating. It was useless to think ¨C he could only know for sure by going there himself. Originally, Wang Tao planned to gather information in Zijing City before making minor preparations to head to the military base in Wuyang City. Chapter 419 - Chapter 419: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_3 Chapter 419: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_3 But looking at the situation now, he might need to enhance his strength a bit more. Although his current strength was considered okay, there was still a lot of room for improvement¡­ ¡°Brother, I, I¡¯ve told you everything, please let me go¡­ We are both struggling to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, adversaries should resolve their conflicts, not prolong them¡­¡± Nie Siyan spoke somewhat unclearly, as her face had been swollen from Wang Tao¡¯s beating. ¡°Oh? Now you remember we are compatriots?¡± Slap¡ª Wang Tao landed another slap across her face. ¡°¡­¡± Another red mark appeared on Nie Siyan¡¯s face, and she cried. No matter whether she answered or not, whether she made excuses or not, Wang Tao would slap her. She didn¡¯t even want to speak, but not speaking meant being punched and kicked¡­ She felt that Wang Tao deliberately wanted to hit her! Indeed, that was the case. Wang Tao did not consider himself a good person, but he definitely wished there were more good people in the world. After all, who would want to live in a world full of deceit and treachery? But with people like Nie Siyan around, there wouldn¡¯t be any good people left in the future. After all, good people are not fools. If there were no survivors to help each other in the future, if people only schemed upon meeting¡­ humanity would be doomed sooner or later. ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question.¡± Wang Tao gently patted her face. Nie Siyan shuddered in fear and hastily lowered her head to apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± After speaking, she braced herself for the slap. After all, she had been slapped nearly every time she said a word just a moment ago. But this time, the slap didn¡¯t come. This allowed Nie Siyan to breathe a sigh of relief; she felt her teeth were almost knocked out. However, soon she felt something was wrong¡ª Although her eyes were covered, she could distinctly feel a gaze sizing her up. It definitely wasn¡¯t a lecherous look, but rather a very cold, indifferent gaze. Was this man considering¡­ killing her? Nie Siyan¡¯s body instantly broke out in goosebumps, and a chill ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head! She quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Wang Tao. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t kill me! I, I am still useful to you, I still have some resources outside, all of them are yours! I also know where the Skull Club¡¯s resources are, I can even steal from the Skull Club¡¯s resources for you! Whatever you ask, I¡¯ll do!¡± Wang Tao immediately raised an eyebrow. He had indeed been wondering whether to kill her or not. He felt this woman seemed to be of no use to him. But to his surprise, this woman had strong Perception; could she have sensed his killing intent? Wang Tao looked at her again. [HP: 3380/11000] [Mana: 1000/2200] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 23%] In Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Nie Siyan¡¯s Attributes were very average. Given her Mana, she probably had two Abilities, and she had successfully fused 21 Crystal Cores. Moreover, now that Wang Tao knew what he wanted to know, and since she harbored ill intentions towards him¡­ Such a person was naturally best eliminated. However, considering this woman seemed quite sensible, maybe she could be of further use? After all, the Skull Club was a medium-sized organization with respectable strength; they should have some resources. Even though their resources were obtained through swindling and deceit, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fussy; as long as he could take them, he would without hesitation. Slap¡ª Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan another slap, knocking her to the ground. Nie Siyan¡¯s HP bar decreased by another segment. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t hitting her because he enjoyed abuse, it was purely to cripple her HP so she couldn¡¯t fight back. After being slapped, Nie Siyan actually breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Wang Tao was hitting her, she wouldn¡¯t die¡­ at least for the moment. Wang Tao went to another room. Previously, he had instructed Xu Xiaojun to torture and interrogate the man they had brought in bound. Wang Tao had roughly informed Xu Xiaojun of what to inquire about. ¡°Brother Wang, he said¡­¡± Their testimonies were compared, and they were essentially consistent. ¡°It seems like he didn¡¯t lie.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then said to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Go and take care of that person.¡± ¡°Ah? I, I can¡¯t¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun was startled and became somewhat flustered. Although he had survived this long in the post-apocalyptic world and was quite strong, he had never killed anyone before! ¡°You can do it, believe in yourself.¡± Wang Tao encouraged him, patting Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. Xu Xiaojun was a good person in all aspects, except he was too kind. Of course, kindness was a good trait, but there were times when one had to be ruthless! Wang Tao was naturally cultivating him intentionally. ¡°I¡­ okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun clenched his teeth and nodded, forcing himself to do it. He knew that his character could potentially hold Wang Tao back¡­ Anyway, these people must have caused the deaths of many and truly deserved to die! Xu Xiaojun approached the man. ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything, please let me go, I¡¯ll work for you like an ox¡­¡± As the man was speaking, Xu Xiaojun grabbed his head and then violently twisted it. Crack¡ª The man¡¯s HP bar instantly drained to zero. Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t know any techniques, relying purely on brute force. He almost twisted the man¡¯s head off. Wang Tao was very pleased with Xu Xiaojun¡¯s performance. He was about to offer some consolation, but he realized that Xu Xiaojun appeared to be more composed than he had expected. ¡°As long as I remember the evil things this person has done, I get very angry¡­ After killing him, I feel just like I¡¯m killing a zombie fish, I don¡¯t feel disgusted or uneasy¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head, speaking with some confusion. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but it was a good thing. He was worried that Xu Xiaojun would feel psychological pressure, but it was something that had to be accepted¡­ Now it looked like he had been overthinking it. Perhaps these straightforward people have their own way of adjusting. Wang Tao returned to where Nie Siyan was held captive and said to the woman still kneeling on the ground: ¡°Tomorrow, you¡¯ll take me to the Skull Club¡¯s base.¡± ¡°¡­Ah? You, you want to go to our base?¡± Hearing Wang Tao speak, Nie Siyan initially felt a bit of joy, because as long as Wang Tao had a task for her, she could stay alive. But after listening carefully to what Wang Tao said, she froze. Going to their base would be like walking into a trap, wouldn¡¯t it? Slap¡ª ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll take you there!¡± Nie Siyan, having been slapped again, quickly knelt on the ground and nodded. Chapter 420 - Chapter 420: Chapter 191 Skull Club_1 Chapter 420: Chapter 191 Skull Club_1 The next day. The bald man was groggily slapped awake by his underling. ¡°Ah? Is the prey here?¡± ¡°Bro, it¡¯s morning¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The bald man quickly got up. ¡°No one came last night?¡± ¡°No, nothing at all. There wasn¡¯t anyone in the milk tea shop across the street either¡­¡± ¡°Did Sister Nie give any more instructions?¡± The bald man asked again. ¡°No, Sister Nie seemed to have fallen asleep¡­¡± ¡°Phew, that¡¯s good then!¡± Hearing this, the bald man breathed a sigh of relief. If Sister Nie had given him some instructions last night and he hadn¡¯t heard them, that would have been a big problem! ¡°Speaking of which, has Sister Nie¡¯s temper gotten better? She hasn¡¯t given us any instructions for such a long time¡­¡± The underling was somewhat curious. ¡°¡­I have no idea, maybe she hasn¡¯t slept well these past few days and is now too tired? Who cares! Now that it¡¯s already daylight, it¡¯s not so dangerous. We¡¯ll just wait here for Sister Nie¡¯s instructions!¡± The bald man said with a smile. Although Nie Siyan is the boss¡¯s woman, she also has performance requirements. Her performance has been below standard recently, so her temper has been quite bad. If not necessary, he didn¡¯t want to interact with Nie Siyan. ¡°Yes!¡± The underling and his thoughts were similar. Lying in ambush here was boring, but it was better than going over to get scolded. However, they had just finished discussing Nie Siyan when the walkie-talkie suddenly sounded; it was Nie Siyan. ¡°Everyone gather at the shopping mall downstairs opposite the Haochen Hotel!¡± ¡°Ah? Okay! Sister Nie, please wait! We¡¯ll be there immediately!¡± The group was taken aback, not understanding why they needed to gather there, but all followed the order unconditionally. Meanwhile. Nie Siyan, with her face still slightly swollen, handed the walkie-talkie to the man in front of her with a flattering expression. The chains on her body had been loosened, and the eyepatch blocking her sight had also been removed. But at this moment, she had no thought of running away. Because her leg had been broken while she tried to escape. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao, holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, took the lead downstairs. Xu Xiaojun glanced at Nie Siyan, and she immediately limped to follow. Once downstairs, Wang Tao told Xu Xiaojun to drive while he, Jiang Shixue, and Nie Siyan all sat in the back seat. Feeling the presence of Wang Tao beside her, Nie Siyan felt an immense pressure. This man was too powerful; she had no power to resist at all! Her life was now in his hands, and she could die at any moment¡­ It wasn¡¯t long before all of Nie Siyan¡¯s underlings arrived. Seeing a car there, everyone instantly became alert. Because of the privacy glass, they couldn¡¯t see the specific situation inside the vehicle. Suddenly, the rear car window rolled down halfway, revealing the side of Nie Siyan¡¯s face. The underlings were somewhat stunned when they saw her, not understanding the situation. ¡°I ran into a friend, and now I¡¯m taking my friend to meet Brother Huang. You all follow.¡± Nie Siyan didn¡¯t even look at the group of underlings, speaking with a cold indifference. Mainly because she didn¡¯t dare to look; after all, the other side of her face was still swollen. ¡°Ah? Yes!¡± The group immediately nodded their heads, no one daring to ask any more questions. The bald man looked at the car with some surprise. Because of the acid rain, the vast majority of vehicles couldn¡¯t be used anymore. The Skull Club only had two cars, both of which were in bad shape and usually driven by the boss. The others rarely had a chance to ride in a car. This car looked expensive at first glance, and he really wanted to experience it for himself. ¡°Sister Nie, I have some matters I want to report to you¡­¡± The bald man said, walking forward. If Nie Siyan wanted to listen, wouldn¡¯t he be able to get in the car under the pretext? ¡°We¡¯ll talk when we get back!¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s tone was even more indifferent, she was almost to the point of cursing. ¡°Yes¡­¡± The bald man immediately stopped in his tracks, feeling a bit regretful but not daring to say more. As for whether there was something wrong with Nie Siyan, he couldn¡¯t tell at all, because Nie Siyan was just like that; he was used to being scolded by her. So the car, flanked by the group, driven by Xu Xiaojun, headed toward the Skull Club¡¯s headquarters. The Skull Club¡¯s headquarters were in an arcade, a fair distance from the Haochen Hotel. However, Nie Siyan and her group often traveled this route and knew which parts were safer; they even specifically made some sections of the road themselves. Plus, they were lucky not to encounter any fierce zombies on the way, so the group¡¯s journey wasn¡¯t slow. After about two hours, they reached the arcade. This arcade had three floors; the first floor was a restaurant, the second floor was a commercial area, and the third floor was the arcade, with a parking lot in the back. All of this was Skull Club¡¯s territory. The arrival of the vehicle instantly attracted the attention of people inside the arcade. But after seeing that their own people were following the car, they relaxed. ¡°Caught a big fish today?¡± ¡°That car, it wasn¡¯t cheap before the apocalypse, right? Getting your hands on this car now, you¡¯re lucky!¡± ¡°These are Sister Nie¡¯s people? I heard Sister Nie hasn¡¯t been in business for a long time, but I didn¡¯t expect such a big catch when she did!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Inside the car, Wang Tao observed for a moment. The arcade¡¯s first and second-floor windows were all covered with wire mesh, and the exterior was fitted with spiked poles and other barriers. The front iron gate was also decorated with spikes and blades¡­ Then Wang Tao turned his gaze to the people sticking their heads out to look. Some were ordinary people with a thousand HP, some were level 1 ability users with two to three thousand HP, and there wasn¡¯t even a single level 2 ability user among them, just weaklings. Wang Tao had already obtained information about the Skull Club¡¯s strength from Nie Siyan. There were 300 people in the Skull Club in total. The majority were ordinary people, with over thirty ability users, most of whom were level 1 ability users. There were only four level 2 ability users. Chapter 421 - Chapter 421: Chapter 191 Skull Club_2 Chapter 421: Chapter 191 Skull Club_2 ¡°` These four individuals were none other than the boss of the Skull Club, Huang Heng, his younger brother Huang Wu, his wife Nie Siyan, and Liao Xia, the second wife he found after the apocalypse. Among them, Huang Heng had the strongest power, followed by Liao Xia, then Huang Wu, and lastly Nie Siyan. The reason Nie Siyan was at the bottom was not due to a lack of effort, but rather because her two abilities were not particularly strong attack abilities, which made her weaker. In the Skull Club, everyone had to work except for the boss Huang Heng, including his wife and younger brother. Moreover, these three Level 2 Ability Users also had performance requirements! Huang Heng had decreed that each of the three had to hand over a certain amount of supplies each week, and there were punishments for failing to do so. There were rewards for outstanding performance. Of course, Huang Heng wasn¡¯t completely idle; his task was to improve his own power. That¡¯s why he was always searching for Level 2 Zombies in the city. Zijing City was vast, and there were actually quite a few Level 2 Zombies there. However, whether they could be defeated was another question. Huang Heng was looking for those Level 2 Elite Zombies who weren¡¯t too powerful. For Level 2 Zombie Lords, only major forces could defeat them. As for Level 3 Zombies, as far as Nie Siyan knew, to date, no one had heard of someone defeating them. If someone really could kill a Level 3 Zombie, there would be no need to keep it secret, since that would be the best recruitment advertisement; hence, it was very likely that no one had managed to do it¡­ The gate slowly opened. If it were anyone else, they would definitely be subject to inspection, but Nie Siyan didn¡¯t need to. She showed her face and easily entered. ¡°Is Brother Wang at home?¡± Nie Siyan asked one of the guards. ¡°Sister Nie, the boss just went out this morning¡­¡± The guard hurriedly responded. ¡°What about Little Liao and Little Huang?¡± Nie Siyan asked again. ¡°Sister Liao and the Second-in-Command are upstairs¡­¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Nie Siyan nodded coldly and then raised the car window. The car continued forward and stopped at the far end of the parking area of the arcade. The parking lot was overgrown with weeds that no one had cleared, concealing the vehicles. Not far away was a dilapidated pickup, Huang Heng¡¯s vehicle. ¡°You all get out.¡± Nie Siyan waved her hand, and the bald man and others promptly left, bowing and nodding. Once there was no one nearby, Nie Siyan turned to Wang Tao, her face full of ingratiating smiles: ¡°Brother, take a look¡­¡± ¡°Get out of the car.¡± Wang Tao got out of the car calmly, with Xu Xiaojun following. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t get out; Wang Tao had her stay in the car first, as a backup. Nie Siyan put on a mask before getting out of the car. Her face was somewhat swollen, and she didn¡¯t want others to see it. On the first floor, there were many ordinary survivors who looked at Wang Tao and his companion curiously, for the two men were too sturdy to go unnoticed. However, since they came with Nie Siyan, they didn¡¯t dare to look too long and quickly lowered their heads. ¡°Go find that Liao Xia and Huang Wu.¡± Wang Tao told Nie Siyan. ¡°Ah? Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was startled for a moment, then quickly acknowledged. At this time, her heart suddenly felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. Her combat capabilities weren¡¯t strong, but both Liao Xia and Huang Wu were! Together, they could probably even contend with Huang Heng! If she could get them to deal with this man¡­ Nie Siyan¡¯s mind started to race with schemes, but she dared not let a hint show on her face. She led Wang Tao and the other two upstairs with a limp. She ignored the curious gazes of others; after all, it was normal to get injured when going out. She was wondering how to signal to Huang Wu and Liao Xia once they saw them¡­ It was a pity that the two were probably not together; otherwise, a shout would settle everything. The three of them smoothly reached the third floor. Those they encountered on the way to the third floor were highly respectful after seeing Nie Siyan. They were puzzled by the two hulking men following her, but they dared not ask any questions. There were many rules at the Skull Club base, one of which was: ordinary people lived on the first floor, Level 1 ability users lived on the second floor, and Level 2 Ability Users lived on the third floor. So upon reaching the third floor, there was no one around. Nie Siyan felt her heartbeat speeding up; she had already thought of some subtle hints to use. It just depended on whether she would run into Liao Xia or Huang Wu first. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed. He heard some noises coming from a room not far away. When the three of them got to the doorway of this room, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan heard it too. However, they couldn¡¯t hear it clearly because the soundproofing was quite good. Wang Tao, however, raised an eyebrow and looked amused. He turned to Nie Siyan and said: ¡°Go inside.¡± Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dare resist, and she hurried to open the door. Click¡ª The door wasn¡¯t locked, and in the instant she opened it, Nie Siyan, who was about to speak, suddenly froze. Because she saw, by the room¡¯s window, a man and a woman were propped against it. The two were so engrossed that they didn¡¯t notice someone had come in. ¡°Shh¡­¡± Wang Tao turned his head and gestured for silence. Nie Siyan really wanted to shout to alert the illicit couple, for no matter what kind of messy relationship they had, they were still her people. But seeing Wang Tao¡¯s warning gaze, she swallowed her saliva and dared not make a sound. Xu Xiaojun, seeing the situation, instantly blushed; he was somewhat innocent and couldn¡¯t stand this kind of scene. Wang Tao gave Xu Xiaojun a look that meant ¡°keep an eye on Nie Siyan.¡± As for himself, he approached the unwitting couple soundlessly. ¡°` Chapter 422 - Chapter 422: Chapter 191 Skull Club_3 Chapter 422: Chapter 191 Skull Club_3 ¡°Sister-in-law¡­¡± ¡°Little uncle¡­¡± The two were still absentmindedly cooing sweet nothings at each other, completely unaware of someone approaching from behind. Wang Tao instantly grabbed their necks, then with a forceful pull, he separated them and smashed them hard onto the ground. Bang! With the sheer force of Wang Tao¡¯s strength, before the two could even realize what was happening, they were knocked out cold. Wang Tao casually poured some Weakness Potion on them, then clenched his fists and delivered several punches to their limbs and heads. Wang Tao¡¯s fists, not even level 3 zombies might withstand them. Even without the Entangling Roots, this was not something the two could resist. After a few punches, their limbs were paralyzed, their HP plummeting, and they quickly became severely injured. Wang Tao grabbed their hair, forcibly pulling them up and making them kneel on the ground. Thud¡ª Even now, they were still somewhat clueless about what had just happened. They just felt¡­ suddenly losing control and being separated; then, everything went dark before their eyes, and they didn¡¯t even get to feel the pain in their bodies. By the time they opened their eyes again, they were already kneeling on the ground. In front of them, two figures appeared. One was a two-meter tall fat man, and the other was¡­ Nie Siyan? It was then that the realization struck them, rather belatedly, that they seemed to have been caught in the act! They instinctively wanted to explain, but suddenly, they felt an intense pain in their bodies, as if their limbs were broken and wouldn¡¯t move¡­ ¡°Quite romantic, huh.¡± At that moment, they saw a figure emerge from behind them, slowly walking in front of them. Nie Siyan, who was very perceptive at this moment, brought over a chair and placed it beneath Wang Tao¡¯s buttocks. Wang Tao glanced at Nie Siyan, feeling her shivering all over. Scared? Indeed, Nie Siyan was terrified. Although because of their deep involvement, the adulterous pair hadn¡¯t noticed Wang Tao at first, they would certainly have had a chance to resist when caught by Wang Tao ¨C after all, both of them were Second-order Superpower Owners! But in reality, they didn¡¯t. The two were beaten black and blue, almost to death! This clearly wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t want to resist; they simply couldn¡¯t! Wang Tao turned out to be much stronger than she¡¯d imagined! She had previously thought that Wang Tao might be close to Huang Heng¡¯s strength, at most on par with him. But now, it was clear that he was far beyond Huang Heng! Could he actually be a Level 3 ability user? Nie Siyan was sweating profusely, facing such a powerful Ability User, she actually had the audacity to entertain some ulterior thoughts, which was simply suicidal! Although she felt Wang Tao probably hadn¡¯t noticed her intentions, she didn¡¯t dare to take chances anymore, so she found the right opportunity to show goodwill as soon as possible. Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay attention to Nie Siyan for the time being. He sat down casually, then looked at the kneeling couple before him. The man appeared to be in his twenties, with 15,000 HP, average-looking, but with some muscles on his body. The woman seemed a few years older than the man, with 13,000 HP, very curvaceous, second only to Nie Siyan in figure, but her face was that of a plastic surgery internet celebrity. After being brutally beaten by Wang Tao, her face had deformed severely, a real deformation that probably couldn¡¯t be reversed anymore, since there likely weren¡¯t any plastic surgeons around now. The two were both naked, with expressions of terror on their faces. Now they probably had a clear understanding of the situation¡ªthey¡¯d been defeated by a stranger without the ability to resist! But the problem was, they were both Second-order Superpower Owners! Subdued without the slightest power to fight back? Huang Wu and Liao Xia were still somewhat in disbelief to this point. Of course, not only did they find it hard to believe they had been subdued, but they also couldn¡¯t believe this person was brought by Nie Siyan. ¡°You whore! You actually betrayed my brother!¡± Huang Wu yelled at Nie Siyan. ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan remained silent. In her heart, she looked down on the pair immensely. Did you really have the nerve to talk about betrayal? But she didn¡¯t dare to speak now. One reason was that her face hurt, and the other was that she feared saying the wrong thing and getting beaten again. Seeing Nie Siyan remain silent, Huang Wu seemed even more enraged. ¡°You bitch, I should have taken advantage of you last time when you were injured! So your adulterer wouldn¡¯t have gotten you for free!¡± He seemed to have misunderstood Nie Siyan¡¯s relationship with Wang Tao. At these words, Nie Siyan¡¯s face turned dark. She remembered, the last time she was injured, this little uncle kept sneaking around her room¡¯s door. It was a blessing she hadn¡¯t been asleep then! Seeing Nie Siyan still not responding, Huang Wu then turned his angry gaze to Wang Tao. ¡°You, let us go now! Or my brother will come back and kill you!¡± Although Huang Wu was a prisoner, he wasn¡¯t bowing down, even threatening. Because he knew how strong his brother was, a top-notch Ability User! His brother was his confidence. Compared to him, Liao Xia was much wiser. With a face full of tears, she said: ¡°Brother, whatever you want, just ask, I still have a lot of Crystal Cores, I¡¯ll give them all to you! Please let me go, we have no grievances nor grudges, there¡¯s no need for this¡­¡± Wang Tao ignored Huang Wu but looked at Liao Xia with interest. ¡°Do you know where your little uncle keeps his supplies?¡± ¡°I do, I do! Not only do I know his, but I also know my husband¡¯s!¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then turned his head to look at Nie Siyan. ¡°Kill him.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Or I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan looked at Xu Xiaojun passing her an axe, took it with a strained expression, then limped towards Huang Wu. ¡°You whore, what are you doing!¡± It was then that Huang Wu finally felt fear. His brother was powerful, but his brother wasn¡¯t by his side now! As if awakening, he quickly begged Wang Tao for mercy. ¡°Big brother, I was wrong¡­¡± But what responded to him was a heavy axe strike from Nie Siyan. Thud! Chapter 423 - Chapter 423: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_1 Chapter 423: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_1 Nie Siyan clenched the ax in both hands and viciously chopped it down on the back of Huang Wu¡¯s neck. A squelching sound followed as blood splattered everywhere. Human¡¯s defensive power is generally much worse than that of zombies, and even as a Second-order Superpower Owner, he still couldn¡¯t withstand this lethal ax blow. In the moments before his death, Huang Wu still retained a look of horror and disbelief in his eyes, he hadn¡¯t expected that Nie Siyan would really dare to kill him¡ªdidn¡¯t she fear Huang Heng¡¯s retaliation¡­ After personally killing Huang Wu, Nie Siyan felt somewhat dazed. After all, he was her younger uncle by marriage, and they had known each other for over a decade. To some extent, it could be said that she had watched him grow up. But now she had just killed him with her own hands¡­ As for Liao Xia standing by the side, she was almost scared out of her wits. She, too, hadn¡¯t anticipated that Nie Siyan would so decisively kill Huang Wu without even a word of kindness¡­ ¡°Go, collect all the supplies from this place,¡± Wang Tao said to Nie Siyan and Liao Xia. Nie Siyan hastily threw aside the ax and helped Liao Xia to her feet. Though the two had their differences and Nie Siyan sometimes wished Liao Xia dead, now was not the time to dwell on these things. Nie Siyan had one of her legs broken by Wang Tao, while Liao Xia had all her limbs broken. She was obviously incapable of grabbing anything, so Nie Siyan had to support her as a guide. Wang Tao had asked Liao Xia if she knew where the supplies were because Nie Siyan said she didn¡¯t know where the three, including Huang Heng, kept their supplies. Huang Heng now favored Liao Xia, the hothead, and had a better relationship with her. And since Liao Xia was now related to Huang Wu in that way, she would likely know. Soon, with Liao Xia leading the way, Nie Siyan found many supplies on this floor, all of which were brought to Wang Tao by Xu Xiaojun, who was following behind. It had to be said, Huang Heng and his friends were quite good at hiding their belongings. They tucked them in all sorts of nooks and crannies. If it weren¡¯t for someone leading the way, even Wang Tao would have found it difficult to locate them. As for the value of these things, Wang Tao grinned, His journey to the Skull Club was indeed well worth it. He would not mention food; he was not lacking in that. Let¡¯s talk about Crystal Cores¡ªthere were a total of 623 Level 1 Crystal Cores and 28 Level 2 Crystal Cores! It seemed that Nie Siyan and the others had some hoarder-like tendencies, liking to stock up on things. However, it might also be related to the fact that they had no immediate use for these Crystal Cores. Huang Heng, Huang Wu, Nie Siyan, and Liao Xia were all Second-order Ability Users. They were different from Wang Tao; they were currently unable to merge with Level 1 Crystal Cores. They also had their own abilities in their bodies, and at the time of their Level 2 Ascension, they probably didn¡¯t pass on their abilities. So they were also unable to merge with new Level 2 Crystal Cores. This resulted in them hoarding a bunch of Crystal Cores with nowhere to use them. They could have given them to their subordinates, but these individuals were clearly quite stingy and weren¡¯t willing to let their underlings use them. Or maybe they had their own reward and punishment system and didn¡¯t want to upgrade all their underlings to Ability Users at once. Thus, these Crystal Cores remained in their hands¡­ Of course, another important reason they had so many Crystal Cores was that they frequently engaged in deceit and plunder¡ªmost of these were their spoils of war¡­ Crystal Cores essentially served as the currency of Zijing City now, whether for transactions between individuals or between factions, it was mostly settled with Crystal Cores. However, given the diverse types of Crystal Cores and only a few that suited them, or even many Crystal Cores they didn¡¯t recognize¡­ the value of these cores also differed. Specific prices are hard to state as they are determined by supply and demand, and may fluctuate daily¡­ Hence, the current Crystal Core market is somewhat chaotic. But no matter how chaotic it is, there are a few common understandings. One is that among the same type of Crystal Cores, orange holds the highest value, followed by red, and so on down to white as the lowest.p> Another is that Level 2 Crystal Cores are more valuable than Level 1, and Level 3 Crystal Cores are more valuable than Level 2, and so forth. Last is that everyone is generally aware that specific Ability Crystal Cores have more stable value. No matter whether there is a pressing demand or not, their prices remain steady. Those with unclear uses have large price fluctuations¡ªif someone wants them, they¡¯re expensive; if not, they¡¯re cheap. Of course, ¡°cheap¡± is relative to other Crystal Cores; in reality, the intrinsic value of Crystal Cores is still quite high. This is because Crystal Core Synthesizers had been air-dropped into the area before! Crystal Core Synthesizers can remove the side effects from Crystal Cores! The cost, however, is the consumption of a lot of Crystal Cores. The consumption is much greater than what Wang Tao requires for synthesis, like a bottomless pit, and it cannot remove impurities either. Even so, these side effect-free Crystal Cores were still coveted by countless people. Regardless of the time, there¡¯s never a shortage of wealthy individuals, even in a post-apocalyptic world. Nie Siyan said that many people within the large factions were now using synthesized Crystal Cores. Those from medium and small factions like hers wouldn¡¯t dare to indulge to such an extent. However, there are two types of Crystal Cores that are expensive regardless of quality or level. These are the Omnipotent Crystal Core and the Ascension crystal core, as these two types of Crystal Cores can be used by all Ability Users¡­ Most of the several hundred Crystal Cores in front of Wang Tao were White Rank, Ordinary quality. But for Wang Tao, this wasn¡¯t a big problem; after all, he could synthesize whatever quality he wanted. Wang Tao collected all these Crystal Cores, then turned his attention to the other items. There were also some jewelry, snacks, cigarettes, and alcohol. Chapter 424 - Chapter 424: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_2 Chapter 424: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_2 Ability Users traded directly, either bartering goods or settling with Crystal Cores. But ordinary people couldn¡¯t get their hands on Crystal Cores¡ªif they had them, they wouldn¡¯t be ordinary anymore. Thus, transactions among ordinary people were generally conducted using gold and silver as currency. Gold and silver were naturally of little use to Wang Tao, but since they gleamed attractively, he collected them anyway. Then there were snacks, tobacco, and alcohol; these luxuries could satisfy cravings and were quite valuable in the post-apocalypse. Cigarettes, in particular, were almost as solid a currency as Crystal Cores. It was the same old story, no matter what the times, there were always the rich. Ordinary folks might be worrying about what to have for tomorrow¡¯s lunch, but some were already indulging in smoking and drinking. Wang Tao collected all these items and had Xu Xiaojun carry them. Then he turned to Liao Xia. ¡°Anything else to confess?¡± ¡°No more¡­¡± Liao Xia said with a mournful expression. All the most valuable things in the video arcade had been taken by Wang Tao. Aside from food, which wasn¡¯t easy to seize, she was left with nothing. ¡°Are you sure? Think carefully¡­¡± Wang Tao gave her a deep look. ¡°I¡­¡± Liao Xia racked her brains desperately but really couldn¡¯t think of anything valuable left. Apart from her own body, she had nothing¡ªwait, her body? Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Liao Xia¡¯s head. ¡°Big Brother! I still have myself, I belong to you now too!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow immediately furrowed. He thought Liao Xia had actually come up with something, but she was referring to her body? How ominous! Wang Tao turned to Nie Siyan. ¡°Kill her.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s body involuntarily shuddered. With Huang Wu dead and Liao Xia about to die, would she be the next one? Looking into Wang Tao¡¯s unemotional eyes, Nie Siyan dared not delay. She immediately picked up the axe she had discarded earlier and approached Liao Xia. ¡°No, you can¡¯t¡­¡± Splat! Liao Xia¡¯s face was etched with terror, but the horrified expression quickly became fixed. Nie Siyan had rested for a while and regained some strength. The force of her axe was exceptionally strong, severing Liao Xia¡¯s entire head. As Nie Siyan watched Liao Xia staring at her with deformed eyes, she felt a chill run down her spine. ¡°Well done.¡± Wang Tao secretly nodded in approval of Nie Siyan¡¯s obedience. Suddenly, there was some noise behind them. All three turned to see Huang Wu, who had been killed by Nie Siyan earlier, standing up. His body twisted, his eyes white, his mouth oozing disgusting mucus and blood. Then, staggering forward with his nearly severed head, he moved quickly towards them. ¡°Damn, forgot to double-tap!¡± Nie Siyan suddenly realized, even without a virus infection, there was a certain chance that a dead person would turn into a zombie if the brain wasn¡¯t destroyed! She had been too distracted earlier and forgot to double-tap. However, Wang Tao appeared quite calm, signaling Xu Xiaojun with a glance. Xu Xiaojun immediately went over. After a few exchanges with zombie Huang Wu, he effortlessly killed him. Killing humans did not yield increased HP, but killing zombies did. That¡¯s why Wang Tao purposely hadn¡¯t double-tapped, for this reason. Wang Tao had speculated that the probability of a person turning into a zombie after death was likely related to the amount of Internal Impurity in the body. With more than fifty percent Internal Impurity, Wang Tao figured Huang Wu had a decent chance of turning into a zombie. Sure enough, Huang Wu had complied and indeed became a zombie. After Xu Xiaojun killed zombie Huang Wu, he gained over five hundred in increased HP. Not bad. As for Liao Xia, her level of Internal Impurity wasn¡¯t that high, just over thirty percent, so Wang Tao reckoned it was unlikely for her. Nie Siyan watched Xu Xiaojun skillfully extract the Crystal Core from the head of zombie Huang Wu, feeling her legs go weak. Thump¡ª Nie Siyan immediately knelt in front of Wang Tao, grabbing his legs: ¡°Brother, don¡¯t kill me, I don¡¯t want to die, please¡­¡± Looking down at Nie Siyan with her snotty and tearful face, Wang Tao bent down slightly, lifting her chin and forcing her to look him in the eye. Nie Siyan was actually quite attractive, even though she wore heavy makeup, it gave her a unique flavor. Especially with her fiery figure, she was someone who could easily arouse desire. But clearly, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that desperate, especially after having just vented his frustrations. Moreover, Nie Siyan¡¯s makeup was smudged from crying, greatly diminishing her allure. ¡°Brother¡­¡± Nie Siyan, facing Wang Tao¡¯s cold eyes, felt she might die at any moment. Especially when Wang Tao¡¯s hand slowly moved from her chin to her neck, Nie Siyan trembled all over, feeling a warm flow beneath her. ¡°¡­¡± Slap¡ª Wang Tao sent Nie Siyan flying with a slap, knocking her against the wall and leaving her seeing stars. At her previous spot, a puddle was forming on the ground. She had literally peed herself from fright. Wang Tao covered his nose as he stood up, addressing the still dazed Nie Siyan: ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance, you do one thing for me. If you succeed, I won¡¯t kill you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it, I¡¯ll do it!¡± Nie Siyan, ignoring her headache, nodded eagerly like a pecking chicken. ¡°First, clean up this place and yourself.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao left Nie Siyan alone, confident she wouldn¡¯t dare run away. Chapter 425 - Chapter 425: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_3 Chapter 425: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_3 Reaching the window, Wang Tao could already imagine the number of Crystal Cores here. ¡°Since Crystal Cores are already taken as currency here, perhaps I can try trading with others¡­¡± Wang Tao was still quite short of Level 2 Crystal Cores, as his own Ability hadn¡¯t yet reached its maximum enhancement. And now there was also Xu Xiaojun¡­ However, he had many fine items, which he imagined many would covet. He planned to look back later to see if there were opportunities to sell some things in exchange for some Crystal Cores. Of course, he couldn¡¯t neglect the search for Level 2 zombies and even Level 3 zombies. His HP might have reached the upper limit of Level Two, but one can never have too much Special Energy¡­ After some time, Nie Siyan, holding back the severe pain in her body, finally managed to clean up the place. Then she took a cold shower, washing herself until she was squeaky clean. Nie Siyan was now wearing a silk nightgown, her curvaceous body faintly visible. Her face was slightly swollen, but without any makeup, her complexion pale, she looked somewhat pitiful¡­ Seeing her like this, Wang Tao felt the urge to slap her again. ¡°Who are you dressing up for like this? Continue with your previous outfit.¡± Wang Tao said coldly. ¡°Oh right, immediately!¡± Nie Siyan got a fright. Her choice of dress was indeed an attempt to gain Wang Tao¡¯s sympathy, and to see if she could possibly seduce him¡ªshe was close to death, and for the sake of survival, she was willing to do anything. But to her surprise, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t taking the bait. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dare make Wang Tao wait too long, promptly emerging in a tight leather outfit with heavy makeup, limping out. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Wang Tao nodded in approval. It wasn¡¯t that he had any special fetishes, but he was planning to use Nie Siyan to trap Huang Heng, the leader of the Skull Club. If Nie Siyan looked different from usual, it might raise suspicions. ¡°Come here.¡± Wang Tao beckoned, and Nie Siyan immediately quickened her pace to Wang Tao¡¯s side, even consciously kneeling at his feet, a look of entreaty on her face. Wang Tao looked down at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m giving you a potion. When Huang Heng comes back, find a way to make him drink it. Complete this task, and I won¡¯t kill you.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ I, I¡¯ll get caught¡­¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s face turned bitter upon hearing the task. If she were discovered trying to poison him, she would be killed by Wang Tao if not by Huang Heng. ¡°That depends on how you pull it off. The potion is colorless and odorless; it won¡¯t draw his attention.¡± Wang Tao handed Nie Siyan a bottle of Weakness Potion. The three Level 2 Ability Users from the Skull Club all had HP over ten thousand, and since Huang Heng was much stronger than them, his HP could potentially exceed twenty thousand. Wang Tao himself had barely thirty thousand HP, so being cautious with such Ability Users was no problem. Moreover, if second-order Ability Users were to fight openly, it might cause a big commotion and attract unnecessary trouble. Wang Tao sought a swift and decisive victory to take down Huang Heng quickly. If Nie Siyan could administer a bottle of Weakness Potion to him, that would simplify things immensely. Nie Siyan accepted the potion with a troubled look, her mind racing, pondering excuses to drug Huang Heng. As for whether or not to poison him, she didn¡¯t even need to think about it¡ªshe certainly had to. Although they were husband and wife, in times of great crisis, every bird flies its separate way. At this juncture, her own life mattered most! Nie Siyan roughly knew what Huang Heng would have been up to, estimating that he would return around evening. But Huang Heng¡¯s return was much later than she had expected. As night approached, a small off-road vehicle cautiously arrived at the foot of the video game arcade building. Seeing Huang Heng¡¯s car finally return, Nie Siyan, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately went downstairs to greet him. Huang Heng was a man who looked very similar to Huang Wu but was noticeably more mature. He was alone in the car, as he preferred to act solo. It wasn¡¯t that he disliked others holding him back, but rather he was worried others would steal his kills. After getting out of the car, he saw Nie Siyan waiting nearby and was somewhat surprised. ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re back? How was the harvest? If you don¡¯t complete the task this week, even you will have to accept the punishment. By the way, is Liao Xia asleep?¡± Huang Heng said with a stern face. ¡°I¡­¡± Nie Siyan still harbored a sliver of thought to inform Huang Heng, but seeing his demeanor, that last thread of thought vanished. Huang Heng started by scolding her and asking about Liao Xia; he didn¡¯t even notice that his own face was swollen. The excuse she had painstakingly thought of couldn¡¯t be used¡­ Taking a deep breath, Nie Siyan smiled sweetly. ¡°Little Liao is upstairs waiting for you, she¡¯s taking a shower¡­¡± At these words, Huang Heng¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Just right, I want to take a shower too. Let¡¯s go up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Nie Siyan, enduring the pain in her leg, leaned on a stick and limped behind Huang Heng. ¡°What happened to your leg?¡± Huang Heng suddenly turned around. ¡°I ran into a tough Level 2 Zombie earlier, I couldn¡¯t beat it, and I broke my leg while escaping¡­¡± Nie Siyan spoke as if she was a bit embarrassed. ¡°Hmm? A Level 2 Zombie! Where exactly, I¡¯ll go kill it tomorrow!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan made up an address on the spot. Soon, the two of them arrived on the third floor. As soon as Huang Heng entered the room, he started to undress, getting ready to shower. After throwing down his shriveled water bag, Nie Siyan immediately picked up a cup of water and naturally offered it to him. ¡°Thirsty, huh? Have some water.¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but her heart was very tense. Huang Heng didn¡¯t give it much thought; he was indeed feeling quite thirsty. Seeing that the water looked clear and had no strange taste, he drank it all in one gulp. Gulp~ ¡°Hu¡ªrefreshing!¡± However, after drinking the water, his legs suddenly went weak, and he nearly stumbled and fell. Before Huang Heng could figure out what was happening, he saw a figure with a large axe appear behind him. In an instant, he felt a chilling terror. Without thinking, he instinctively tried to run away, but his speed was much slower than usual, causing him to stumble. Bang! The back of the massive axe head struck directly on the back of Huang Heng¡¯s neck. All Huang Heng felt was darkness before his eyes as he passed out. Chapter 426 - Chapter 426: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_1 Chapter 426: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_1 Wang Tao hadn¡¯t fought Ability Users very often, but now he realized that in certain specific situations¡ªlike when someone was being deceptive, Ability Users of the same rank were easier to deal with than zombies. Because Ability Users had too many weaknesses. After all, Ability Users were still humans; their entire bodies had weak points. But zombies only had one weakness: their heads. Take Huang Heng, for example. [HP: 120/21300] [Mana: 1930/3400] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 63%] Huang Heng¡¯s attributes weren¡¯t weak by any measure, with twenty thousand HP. If a zombie had these attributes, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t have possibly killed it with a single strike. But under the effects of a Weakness Potion and a sneak attack, Huang Heng was immediately knocked out by a blow from Wang Tao¡¯s ax, without any ability to fight back. After knocking him out, Wang Tao immediately tied Huang Heng up with a chain and then along with Xu Xiaojun, they beat him up ruthlessly. Huang Heng kept falling in and out of consciousness from the beating. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao enjoyed torturing people; it was just that he needed to leave Huang Heng critically injured. Soon, Huang Heng was beaten until only a sliver of HP remained, and his limbs were directly broken. He was completely incapacitated from posing any threat to Wang Tao. Wang Tao had no psychological burden in dealing with someone like that. The people from this arcade weren¡¯t good people, including the Ordinary folks; they were all engaged in trickery and deceit. Even if he had to kill all of these people, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t feel the slightest guilt. He kept Huang Heng alive only because Wang Tao wanted to extract more information, as after all, he was the boss of the Skull Club and knew more than others. ¡°You, what do you¡­ want¡­ I¡¯ll give you everything¡­¡± Huang Heng was far more sensible than his brother, continuously begging for mercy once he realized resistance was futile. Looking at Huang Heng, who had been beaten beyond recognition, Wang Tao said indifferently, ¡°I ask, you answer.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer, I¡¯ll answer¡­¡± So, Wang Tao asked a lot of questions. When he felt that he couldn¡¯t squeeze anything more out of Huang Heng, he turned his attention to Nie Siyan, who was trembling with fear at the side, and gave her a ¡°you know what to do¡± look. ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan swallowed hard and picked up the ax somewhat shakily. Huang Heng seemed to have a premonition and, kneeling on the ground, he turned his head with difficulty, looking at Nie Siyan with confusion and anger. He didn¡¯t understand; though he had been somewhat neglectful of Nie Siyan, he hadn¡¯t treated her badly, so why was Nie Siyan colluding with others to kill him? Until now, he failed to realize that it wasn¡¯t Nie Siyan who was colluding with others but that he had kicked an iron plate when he sent Nie Siyan out to deceive and trick people! Nie Siyan could hardly bear to meet Huang Heng¡¯s gaze. Closing her eyes, she swung the ax down onto Huang Heng¡¯s neck. Pu-chi! ¡°Bitch¡­¡± After spitting out his final words, Huang Heng collapsed to the ground with a thud. Clang¡ª Nie Siyan dropped the ax, her expression dazed. No matter what, she and Huang Heng had been husband and wife for many years, and had fought side by side since the apocalypse began. But now, she had executed her own husband with her own hands¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with Nie Siyan; he looked at Huang Heng¡¯s body with some anticipation, figuring that with such a high level of Internal Impurity, there was a high chance he would turn into a zombie. Wang Tao took out his walkie-talkie and called Jiang Shixue over. He had left Jiang Shixue in the car to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. Now that the situation was resolved, there was no longer a need for that precaution. It was time for Jiang Shixue to come over and hold the fort. After all, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t certain whether Huang Heng would turn into a Level 2 Zombie or a Level 3 Zombie. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t take the usual path; she climbed in through the window like a ghostly figure, silently appearing beside Wang Tao without anyone else noticing. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t been able to detect her through Plant Affinity, he might not have been aware of her. After reaching the upper limit of Level 2 HP, Jiang Shixue had become even stronger. After waiting for a while, Huang Heng¡¯s body suddenly started to convulse. Upon seeing a red HP bar slowly appearing above his head, Wang Tao waved his hand, and the three of them struck simultaneously. Moments later, Huang Heng¡¯s 29999 HP dropped to zero. Following this mutation of Huang Heng and combining it with previous observations, Wang Tao had roughly deduced a pattern of Ability Users turning into zombies¡ª When humans turned into zombies, their HP and Mana would double. If it hadn¡¯t reached the current level¡¯s upper limit, it would reach that limit. If it was already at the upper limit, then it might turn into a higher-level zombie! Simply put, a 10,000 HP Ability User would grow to 20,000 HP upon turning into a zombie; a 20,000 HP Ability User after mutation would reach 29,999 HP, and a 29,999 HP Ability User would become a 30,000 HP Level 3 Zombie! Too bad Huang Heng didn¡¯t have 29,999 HP; otherwise, the rewards from killing a Level 3 Zombie would have definitely been greater¡­ After the zombie was dealt with, Wang Tao told Xu Xiaojun to dig out the Crystal Core. Huang Heng himself had plenty of Crystal Cores on him, both Level 1 and Level Two. He hadn¡¯t kept all his Crystal Cores at home. Wang Tao collected all the Crystal Cores and then turned to Nie Siyan, contemplating how to deal with the Skull Club. Initially, Wang Tao had planned to head directly to the military base in Wuyang City, but after receiving the news that Wuyang City was very dangerous, he decided to stay a few more days in Zijing City to strengthen his abilities before going to Wuyang City. Since he would be staying in Zijing City, he naturally needed a place to settle in. The arcade was decent enough, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fussy; as long as there were some defensive measures and a bed to sleep in, it would do. But there were others in the Skull Club¡­ Chapter 427 - Chapter 427: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_2 Chapter 427: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_2 Wang Tao had no intention of becoming the new leader of this group of people. They were all engaged in deception and swindling, their hands stained with the blood of the innocent, with no guarantee of their character. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to keep them around. But to kill all of these people¡­ After all, there were three hundred of them, and Wang Tao just couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. Although he didn¡¯t see himself as a good person, he wasn¡¯t a homicidal maniac. If he killed so many people by his own hand, he wouldn¡¯t feel guilty, but he would definitely feel uncomfortable. What should he do¡­ As Wang Tao pondered, Nie Siyan felt his gaze and immediately shivered all over. It was as if she could sense that her life hung on a single thought from Wang Tao! Thump, thump, thump¡ª ¡°Big brother, master, daddy, grandpa¡­ don¡¯t kill me! Please¡­¡± Nie Siyan quickly scrambled and rolled over to Wang Tao¡¯s feet, switching through several titles in one breath. She had endured so many beatings, personally killed her brother-in-law and her husband, all to save her own life. She really didn¡¯t want to die! ¡°Hmm? Do you think my word means nothing?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. He had previously said that as long as Nie Siyan successfully drugged Huang Heng, Wang Tao would not kill her. But now, Nie Siyan clearly didn¡¯t trust his character! ¡°¡­Brother, you, you only said you wouldn¡¯t kill me, but you didn¡¯t say others wouldn¡¯t kill me¡­¡± Nie Siyan warily glanced at Xu Xiaojun. ¡°¡­¡± Indeed, Wang Tao had been thinking just that. He didn¡¯t want to do it himself, but Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue might. Seeing Wang Tao silent, Nie Siyan became even more frightened. This time, she did not dare to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s legs, instead prostrating herself in front of him, her head touching the floor. Wang Tao suddenly spoke: ¡°I¡¯m thinking of staying here temporarily, but I don¡¯t want to see so many people, especially those who harm their own kind. I really dislike that. So, if you can come up with a suitable solution, I can assure you, your life will be spared.¡± Hearing this, Nie Siyan suddenly looked up. In her opinion, the easiest way to not have to see these people was to kill them. But Wang Tao was no fool; of course, he was aware of this method. But since he hadn¡¯t chosen it, he must have his own ideas. So killing these people was out of the question. If she didn¡¯t kill them yet wanted them to disappear, there was only one method left¡ªher old trade! ¡°I have a method. I can sell them all to the prison¡­¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows shot up. He had not thought of this method, since he was a respectable person. But upon reflection, it seemed plausible. These people had trafficked quite a few individuals before, so selling them now made sense. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave this to you.¡± Wang Tao patted Nie Siyan on the head. ¡°Brother, rest assured! I will handle it well!¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s face immediately brightened. Wang Tao nodded and then added: ¡°By the way, although you people are filled with evil deeds, there may still be some who are innocent or forced by circumstances¡­ So, you¡­¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s eyes went wide upon hearing the rest of Wang Tao¡¯s words. She thought Wang Tao was incredibly cunning, not at all inferior to her. Nie Siyan immediately lowered her head. ¡°Yes¡­¡± The next day, early morning. Inside the arcade, the members of the Skull Club had no clue that their leader was already dead. After all, the third floor was the territory of four second-order ability users, and the others were all below. The fight last night was quick and stealthy, causing no ruckus, and the soundproofing of the arcade was good, so it was normal that the others were unaware. Nie Siyan¡¯s swelling had subsided, as Wang Tao had used some medical kits on her, allowing her to recover quite a bit, even her limp was less noticeable. Using Huang Heng¡¯s name, she summoned everyone. After all of them had gathered in the parking lot behind the building, Nie Siyan spoke: ¡°Last night, Boss Huang discussed an issue with us, and that was to raise everyone¡¯s treatment¡­¡± Whoosh¡ª Before she could finish, the crowd below erupted into an uproar. Many were even shouting excitedly. Wang Tao, watching the scene from upstairs, frowned. Although a raise in treatment was indeed a happy matter, this lack of discipline was too much. Sending these people away was definitely the right move. Nie Siyan, on the other hand, was accustomed to this reaction. She tapped a steel reinforcing bar against a nearby steel pipe to draw the crowd¡¯s attention, and then continued: ¡°As for how much the treatment will be increased specifically, that relates to everyone¡¯s contribution to the base. So, now, everyone write down the precise details of what you¡¯ve achieved on paper, truthfully, so we can distribute it logically. Note, do not falsify information; we have control over everything about you. If anyone falsifies information¡­ you will bear the consequences!¡± When she mentioned bearing the consequences, Nie Siyan gave the crowd a meaningful look. She wasn¡¯t joking; the consequences were indeed severe. Upon hearing this, the crowd resumed whispering among themselves. Many didn¡¯t remember how many people they had deceived, and needed to ask their companions to help recall. However, some ordinary individuals looked dejected because they had no achievements. Nie Siyan had paper and pens handed out. Soon, everyone had written down their various ¡°contributions.¡± Nie Siyan collected everything expressionlessly, and then told the crowd: ¡°Today, no one goes out. Stay at the base and wait for news.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The crowd responded excitedly. Chapter 428 - Chapter 428: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_3 Chapter 428: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_3 The Skull Club still had quite a few ordinary people who were all thinking that this might be their chance to become Ability Users. And those who were Level 1 Ability Users were wondering if they might advance to become Second-order Superpower Owners! Some were confused as to why Boss Huang had not made an appearance, but they didn¡¯t think too much of it¡ªafter all, everyone knew Boss Huang was more fond of his new wife, Liao Xia, and for all they knew, he might be locked in a fierce battle with her between the sheets right now. Nie Siyan ascended the stairs with the collected information in hand. Upstairs, Wang Tao was eating breakfast. Breakfast consisted of smoked fish and a big flatbread soaked in a nutrient solution. The dried fish were leftovers; Wang Tao and the other two had Magical Stomach Pouches, which stored a large amount of fish meat. The big flatbread was given by Yang Changhong when they parted ways with his fleet. They had plenty of rice and flour on hand, and for convenience, had turned it all into this kind of easy-to-carry dry food. Seeing these foods, Nie Siyan immediately swallowed hard. She hadn¡¯t eaten for two or three days since being captured by Wang Tao. But she dared not show any dissatisfaction, and promptly presented the information with respect. Wang Tao took the information. ¡°Tsk tsk, you people, really deserve to die.¡± Shaking his head as he looked at the information, Wang Tao sighed. Previously he had thought, since the Skull Club still had so many ordinary members, these ordinary people would not be largely involved in kidnapping. After all, ordinary people have lower survival abilities outside. But unexpectedly, although most ordinary people weren¡¯t directly involved in tricking or kidnapping, many had indirectly participated. Some provided information, some made traps, some volunteered to be bait, and so on. Well then¡­ some people would have to be sent to prison. Perhaps some people deliberately inflated their achievements, but Wang Tao wasn¡¯t going to bother investigating. He had already told Nie Siyan before that falsifying achievements would have consequences. After spending some time, Wang Tao divided the information into two piles. One was thick, the other thin. Wang Tao handed the thick pile to Nie Siyan, who quickly caught it with both hands. ¡°Just these people. As for how it¡¯s done, I leave it to you.¡± ¡°Ah? Leave it to me?¡± Nie Siyan couldn¡¯t believe it. The list Wang Tao picked out had at least two hundred people on it. That could fetch a lot of Crystal Cores! And more importantly, if she was in charge of this, she could escape! After all, they had always been a delivery service¡­ Seeing Nie Siyan¡¯s shock and the flicker in her eyes after the initial surprise, Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged. ¡°I just want my Crystal Cores. I don¡¯t care about the process, you figure it out yourself. Go.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan quickly bowed and exited excitedly. Once downstairs, Nie Siyan immediately notified everyone, saying that Boss Huang had reviewed the list and wanted those with good performance to gather in the first-floor hall. Those with poor performance should stay in the parking lot and not wander around. Suddenly, those with poor performance felt like they had been abandoned, overcome with a sense of loss. Whereas those with good performance were smug, especially those who had inflated their achievements, who were almost strutting with pride. ¡®I knew it! The Skull Club has never tracked these things. How much we achieve is known only to ourselves; others at best have a rough idea. A little exaggeration in our reporting won¡¯t cause any trouble!¡¯ ¡°We¡¯re actually just trying to serve the boss better!¡± ¡°Exactly, exactly!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Soon, Nie Siyan arrived, followed by a few Ability Users. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen¡­¡± Nie Siyan started to feed them motivational talk, while the Ability Users behind her stealthily used their powers. Soon, everyone began to feel dizzy. ¡°What¡¯s happening¡­¡± Thud, thud, thud¡ª One by one, the group began to hit the floor. After everyone had fainted, the bald man approached Sister Nie Siyan and asked respectfully, ¡°Sister Nie, the boss is¡­?¡± They had no idea what was going on and were simply following Sister Nie Siyan¡¯s orders. ¡°The boss is running low on Crystal Cores and wants to exchange for some,¡± Nie Siyan glanced at the bald man. ¡°Exchange for Crystal Cores? Hiss¡ª¡± The bald man took a sharp intake of breath. Nie Siyan ordered the bald man and the others to search everyone, then had them drive the pickup truck from the parking lot. In the past, when they sold goods, they always used a pickup truck for deliveries, but this time there were too many people, and it would require several trips. After loading the first batch of ¡®goods¡¯ onto the truck, Nie Siyan went up to the third floor. ¡°Brother, everything is ready, look¡­¡± ¡°Go on then,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°Yes!¡± Just as Nie Siyan was excitedly preparing to leave, Wang Tao suddenly added, ¡°Remember, not a single one of my Crystal Cores can be missing.¡± Nie Siyan immediately felt a chill in her heart. ¡°Yes!¡± Shortly after, Nie Siyan left the arcade with the first batch of ¡®goods¡¯. Several of Nie Siyan¡¯s subordinates had a Level 1 Special Ability that generated fainting smoke, which was colorless and odorless, and very difficult to notice if one wasn¡¯t paying close attention. Inhaling the smoke would put one to sleep. The more one inhaled, the stronger the effect, and even a Second-order Superpower Owner couldn¡¯t withstand it after inhaling too much. Nie Siyan had been using these abilities to trick people. ¡°Brother Wang, what if she sneaks off?¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and asked. ¡°That depends on whether she has the guts¡­¡± Wang Tao had already stated that none of his Crystal Cores could be missing. It didn¡¯t really matter whether Nie Siyan ran away or not, but the trade had to be completed, and the Crystal Cores delivered to him. If she didn¡¯t recognize the situation¡­ then she was truly seeking death. Even if she could hide temporarily, Wang Tao still had ways to find her. The quantity of this trade with Nie Siyan was over two hundred, a major transaction that the small pickups couldn¡¯t handle. She carefully arrived at the jail, where the jail¡¯s authorities, after hearing about the large number of people, didn¡¯t hesitate to send their own transportation for them. ¡°Your Boss Huang is awesome, huh! So generous!¡± The person in charge of the handover at the jail was a skinny young man, who seemed puzzled. ¡°I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s thinking¡­¡± Nie Siyan pretended to be somewhat helpless. The other party didn¡¯t ask further, as they weren¡¯t interested in the process, just the result. The jail authorities were very straightforward. Upon seeing the ¡®goods¡¯, they immediately paid with Crystal Cores, and after Nie Siyan verified that the number was correct, she went upstairs to hand them over to Wang Tao. The jail could settle with Crystal Cores or with Inhibitors, but Wang Tao wanted Crystal Cores. After that, Nie Siyan helped with two more deliveries, and only then was she able to transport everyone into the jail. The transaction was indeed huge. At the jail entrance, evening. Having delivered the ¡®goods¡¯, Nie Siyan¡¯s face was torn with struggle. She hadn¡¯t coveted a single Crystal Core and had completed the task given by Wang Tao very well. The bald man and the others had been sent away, and now she was alone¡ªshe could run away! But then, she hesitated¡­ Chapter 429 - Chapter 429: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_1 Chapter 429: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_1 Game Arcade, night. Wang Tao looked at the crystal core in his hand, grinning. In this post-apocalyptic world, the value of human life could be seen as negligible. Catching any random disease, getting infected by the zombie virus, or being caught in the crossfire of battle, could lead to death. But human life could also be considered valuable because an ordinary person could be traded for a Level 1 White Crystal Core! And a level 1 ability user could fetch at least 20 Level 1 White Crystal Cores! That was the going rate in Zijing City, and it had remained steady lately. So after Wang Tao had sent those people to prison, he obtained 700 Level 1 White Crystal Cores! Adding the crystal cores found on those people and in their homes, along with those taken from Nie Siyan, Huang Heng, and the other four second-order superpower owners, Wang Tao had managed to acquire a total of 2000 Level 1 Crystal Cores and 50 Level 2 Crystal Cores this time! Although most of these crystal cores were pretty useless, including attributes like Self Detonation and Glutton, which had no real use or had extremely severe side effects. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, since he could synthesize. As long as he could turn these White Crystal Cores into Orange ones, even the Self-Destruct Crystal Cores would become very valuable! After all, many forces possessed crystal core synthesizers, which could eliminate the side effects of crystal cores through synthesis. However, the crystal core synthesizer could only combine crystal cores of the same level and quality. For instance, to remove the side effects from an Orange Level 1 Crystal Core, you would need many Orange Level 1 Crystal Cores for the synthesis. Therefore, even the less useful crystal cores like Self Detonation and Glutton, as long as they weren¡¯t white, their price would significantly increase. And if they were orange, their value would double. Wang Tao planned to synthesize some of these Level 1 Crystal Cores and then trade them for Level 2 Crystal Cores. Zijing City was substantial, with numerous survivors. Even though crystal cores were rare, the overall quantity was definitely not small, much more than Wang Tao could collect by himself. The prison had many crystal cores, which he could perhaps trade with in the future. And it must be said, this prison was quite reputable. There were no issues with the trade, which was completed smoothly, and the exchange for crystal cores was very straightforward. But that was understandable, as currently, the prison was the worst-reputed force in Zijing City, with no equal. Even the Skull Club was lesser in comparison. Their reputation had plummeted to such an extent that it couldn¡¯t be salvaged. No one would go to the prison now, even newcomers to Zijing City would learn of the prison¡¯s notorious reputation after spending a few days there. And since the prison needed new blood¡­ they had no choice but to purchase people from elsewhere. But with their reputation so tarnished, let alone other survivors, even mid-level forces were wary of trading with them. The prison had no choice but to try improving its image in other ways, such as ensuring prompt trades, reliability, not owing any crystal cores, and following the rules. And it turned out that this approach did make a difference in their cooperation with other forces, albeit not enough to change their reputation. As long as the prison adhered to the trading rules, there were still plenty of people willing to trade with them. After all, nobody wanted to turn their back on crystal cores or inhibitors. So after some time, although the prison¡¯s reputation remained damaged, their business reputation improved significantly. The prison no longer cared about their public image; as long as they were powerful and had partners to do business with, that was all that mattered¡­ As Wang Tao was picking out crystal cores, he suddenly raised an eyebrow. He was now sitting in front of a window, with a clear view of a stealthy figure down below. It was none other than Nie Siyan. ¡°This woman is back?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. The deal of sending more than two hundred people to the prison had lasted a day, and after Wang Tao had received the crystal cores, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with what happened to Nie Siyan ¨C she was free to leave whenever she wanted. Since Wang Tao had promised to spare her life, he certainly wouldn¡¯t go back on his word. After all, she was of no use to him anymore. Late in the evening after the transaction ended, the woman hadn¡¯t returned. Wang Tao thought she had already left. But now, she was back? The guards saw Nie Siyan and naturally opened the door for her quickly. Soon after, there was a knock at the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Wang Tao lit an oil lamp; he hadn¡¯t turned on any lights until now since he had night vision. Nie Siyan looked at the tall figure in the dim light, feeling a bit frightened, but she still mustered the courage to approach. ¡°Brother Wang¡­¡± In reality, she was older than Wang Tao, so calling him Brother Wang was a relatively affectionate form of respect, and until now she didn¡¯t know Wang Tao¡¯s name, only that Xu Xiaojun called him Brother Wang. ¡°What are you doing back here?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. Was this woman a masochist? After the way she was treated, she still dared to come back? But when Nie Siyan heard his question, she thought Wang Tao was accusatory. Immediately, she fell to her knees before Wang Tao. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯m sorry! I shouldn¡¯t have tried to run away, please punish me!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at her thoughtfully. ¡°You want to follow me?¡± ¡°Yes! I want to follow Brother Wang!¡± Nie Siyan quickly replied. She had indeed fled today, without taking a single crystal core, and she believed that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to hunt her down. But during her escape, she suddenly lost her desire to run away. It wasn¡¯t that she enjoyed abuse, but rather she realized she had nowhere to go¡­ And with Wang Tao being so strong, she wanted to follow him! Admiring the strong was an innate trait for many people, and she was no exception. Chapter 430 - Chapter 430: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_2 Chapter 430: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_2 Wang Tao is the most formidable Ability User she has ever met! Following someone like him is definitely more promising than following Huang Heng! What¡¯s more important is that although Wang Tao had beaten her many times, and she subconsciously felt a little terrified whenever she thought of Wang Tao, he was a person with bottom lines. You could tell from the fact that he ¡°hates survivors who cheat and deceive¡± and ¡°sends survivors who could make him Crystal Cores to prison.¡± If she were to join another power, she didn¡¯t know what those bosses would be like. Places like prisons were fine for business, but she would never dare to join one! As for establishing her own faction, she knew she wasn¡¯t cut out for it. After all, her combat ability wasn¡¯t strong¡­ So after giving it some serious thought, Nie Siyan decided to go back to the arcade. Though she knew Wang Tao disliked her, she had done quite a few things for him, and he probably wouldn¡¯t kill her. Then, if she were just a bit more sincere, there was a certain likelihood that Wang Tao would take her in. So, she came back. When Wang Tao saw Nie Siyan nod, he said with a half-smile, ¡°Do you think you are worthy?¡± It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao was mocking her, but she needed to realize who was by Wang Tao¡¯s side¡ªthere was Xu Xiaojun, there was Jiang Shixue. How could she compare to either of them? ¡°I¡¯m not worthy! I know I¡¯m not, but I hope Brother Wang will give me a chance! I will definitely perform well¡­¡± Nie Siyan prostrated herself at Wang Tao¡¯s feet. Wang Tao frowned and pondered for a moment. He felt that Nie Siyan probably really did want to follow him, given that his strength was plain for all to see. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to take on a drag, and to be honest, he didn¡¯t quite trust her character. After all, she could even kill her husband and brother-in-law, and she was adept at cheating and deceiving; how could he trust such a person? However, looking at Nie Siyan¡¯s ¡°I¡¯m very sensible¡± expression, Wang Tao felt that although it was unlikely to bring her to the military base, since he was going to stay in Zijing City for a while, maybe he could keep her around to run errands and handle odd jobs. ¡°Lift your head.¡± Wang Tao ordered. Nie Siyan immediately lifted her head and looked at Wang Tao with both fear and anticipation. Wang Tao stretched out his hand, gently stroking Nie Siyan¡¯s hair, as if he were petting a small dog. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance, perform well, and I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me. Otherwise¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s hand slowly slid down to rest on Nie Siyan¡¯s neck. Nie Siyan felt a shiver down her spine, but her pupils showed a glint of joy, and she quickly promised, ¡°Yes! I definitely won¡¯t disappoint Brother Wang!¡± ¡°Then go ahead.¡± Wang Tao patted her cheek, and Nie Siyan slowly got up and respectfully left the room. Once outside, she immediately leaned against the wall, feeling her back drenched with sweat. But her mood at the moment was somewhat excited. Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly take her in, he had given her a chance. She had to seize this opportunity! As long as she served Wang Tao well, she was sure to benefit¡ªeven if Wang Tao rewarded her with nothing, just providing her shelter alone was worth it! Inside the room, Wang Tao tidied up the Crystal Cores and then went to bed. Keeping Nie Siyan or not didn¡¯t really matter to him. Since she came back on her own initiative, he gave her a chance. Jiang Shixue, who had been in the shadows, immediately ran to the bed, cuddling up to Wang Tao like a clingy kitten. ¡°Time to sleep.¡± ¡­ The next day. Nie Siyan gathered everyone once again. Her expression was somewhat sad. The crowd was puzzled and very uneasy. Because they had realized that those with high Contribution Points who were called out yesterday had all disappeared¡ªthey had been directed to wait in the arcade¡¯s back parking lot and weren¡¯t aware of what had happened in the hall. They thought Boss Huang had taken those people somewhere else to enjoy some privileges. Or maybe Boss Huang had abandoned them, taking those people to a new base¡­ The more they thought about it, the more anxious they became. After all, under the current circumstances, if they weren¡¯t protected by powerful Ability Users, they truly might not survive! Once everyone had arrived, Nie Siyan spoke with a downcast tone, ¡°Those who were called out yesterday¡­ were sold to the prison.¡± ¡°???¡± The crowd was stunned, and then an uproar ensued. Sold to prison? Being well aware of what that meant in their line of work¡ªthose people were practically pronounced dead, and not just any death, but a terrible one! ¡°Wh-why¡­¡± An ordinary person asked in a trembling voice. He didn¡¯t want to be sold into prison; he wanted to live! ¡°Because Boss Huang was short on Crystal Cores, he sold those people in exchange for Crystal Cores¡­¡± Nie Siyan explained. ¡°¡­¡± The crowd was somewhat dumbfounded. The boss could be short on Crystal Cores? Even if he was, shouldn¡¯t he just squeeze them a bit, making them work harder? Who would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs by selling the people¡­ Fear spread rapidly among the crowd. If the boss could sell those high-performing individuals, he could definitely sell them too! They even suspected that Nie Siyan might tie them up later¡­ But then they heard Nie Siyan continue, ¡°Regarding Boss Huang¡¯s actions, we were as puzzled as you, so we went to confront him. And then¡­ Huang Wu and Liao Xia got into a fight with Boss Huang¡­¡± ¡°???¡± Again the crowd was filled with question marks. The leadership fought among themselves? Could that really happen? Chapter 431 - Chapter 431: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_3 Chapter 431: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_3 ¡°` But what shocked them came next. Nie Siyan continued, ¡°As a result, Huang Wu and Liao Xia died¡­¡± ¡°???¡± ¡°Boss Huang is dead too.¡± ¡°!!!¡± All the survivors, including Brother Wang¡¯s confidants, were dumbfounded. They all felt like they had been struck by lightning. The boss is dead? The boss¡¯s own brother and the boss¡¯s second wife too? Three out of the four Level 2 Ability Users in our Skull Club are dead? Although some people harbored a thought of hating Boss Huang and wished he would die sooner when scolded by him, that was merely a thought. Rationally, no one wanted anything to happen to Boss Huang; after all, they had survived up until now under his protection. Without Boss Huang, the strong Level 2 Ability User, how were they, the ordinary folks and Level 1 ability users, supposed to live¡­ The Skull Club would probably fall out of the ranks of the medium-sized powers! According to the established norms in Zijing City, only the forces comprised of ability users were widely recognized, and only those established by Level 2 Ability Users were considered medium-sized. Skull Club used to have four Level 2 Ability Users, especially Boss Huang, who had significant combat power. So, the overall strength of the Skull Club was quite acceptable among the medium-sized powers. But now, not only had their population decreased by eight or nine tenths, but three Level 2 Ability Users had also died! Only one Level 2 Ability User was left, and it was Nie Siyan, who wasn¡¯t very strong in combat¡­ Everyone felt darkness looming before their eyes. It¡¯s over, the Skull Club is thoroughly finished¡­ The reputation of being a medium-sized power was trivial; what they cared about wasn¡¯t the reputation. It meant that if an organization¡¯s strength plummeted, other groups would definitely kick them while they were down! The Skull Club had offended many in the past, and they might take this chance to land a few kicks. And there were those eyeing the resources of the Skull Club; they must be very interested in the current state of the Skull Club. After all, the news of Boss Huang selling more than two hundred people would definitely spread, and those were for crystal cores and inhibitors¡­ As for whether Nie Siyan was telling the truth or what role she played¡­ no one considered that anymore. Since Boss Huang and the two others hadn¡¯t shown up, they were definitely in trouble. Now, they needed to think not about the specifics but about what to do in the future¡­ Seeing the worried expressions on everyone¡¯s faces, Nie Siyan spoke, ¡°Anyone who wishes to leave can go ahead and leave.¡± Not a single person moved. Everyone was no fool; even if the Skull Club was now greatly weakened, they still had a Level 2 Ability User at the helm. If they left now, they would genuinely have no protection whatsoever¡­ ¡°Sister Nie, from now on, you are our new boss!¡± The bald man by Nie Siyan suddenly exclaimed loudly. The others also hurried to agree. If Nie Siyan left, it would truly mean the end of the Skull Club. Seeing the expectant looks of the people, Nie Siyan glanced subtly at the upper floor again and then sighed, ¡°Since everyone trusts me so much, naturally, I cannot let you be disappointed. However, I plan to stop dealing in human trafficking in the future and change our name to distance ourselves from the old Skull Club¡­¡± The name Skull Club was something Huang Heng came up with on a whim; it bore no specific meaning, only that he thought it sounded imposing. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Nie Siyan had agreed. Although Nie Siyan¡¯s desire to switch trades was unexpected, except for the bald man and a few others being puzzled, the rest didn¡¯t mind, and some were even relieved. Those were the people with the lowest performance, and their shortcomings stemmed from either being incapable or psychologically opposed to the activities. Therefore, switching trades was actually a blessing for them. Nie Siyan added, ¡°From now on, we¡¯ll be known as the Firefly Club!¡± Firefly was the name of this arcade. ¡°All hail the Club President!¡± The bald man was quick-witted and shouted immediately. The others were a half-step slower but promptly followed suit. Honestly, seeing these people respectfully call her the club president, Nie Siyan felt quite thrilled inside. Power is something both men and women can find intoxicating. But she was only distracted momentarily before snapping back to reality. ¡°If everyone is calling me the club president, then I definitely can¡¯t neglect you all. I will look into our future development plans, hoping to ensure that everyone can have a better life. However, let me be clear: if anyone hinders our progress, then don¡¯t blame me for being ruthless!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone braced themselves and promptly answered in affirmation. ¡°Alright, go downstairs. There shouldn¡¯t be any tasks for the next couple of days, so everyone should rest well.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After sending everyone away, Nie Siyan glanced at the bald man and his companions before heading upstairs. ¡°Dismissed.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The bald man watched Nie Siyan¡¯s retreating figure as she ascended the stairs, his face thoughtful. He knew that the death of Boss Huang couldn¡¯t be as simple as Nie Siyan made it out to be, and it likely had something to do with those few friends of hers! He hadn¡¯t forgotten that those strangers were still upstairs. But that wasn¡¯t his concern; he just needed to steadfastly follow Nie Siyan. What he didn¡¯t know was that he was lucky they were loyal enough. If it hadn¡¯t been for Nie Siyan speaking up for them, they would probably be in prison by now¡­ Third floor. After heading upstairs, the previously spirited Nie Siyan immediately knelt on one knee respectfully beside Wang Tao. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ve relayed your orders down below¡­¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The renaming of Skull Club and making Nie Siyan the president were naturally Wang Tao¡¯s ideas. He wasn¡¯t interested in the title of president himself, but since Nie Siyan was determined to follow him, he decided to support her and see where it leads. Having a power to run errands and take care of matters could sometimes be quite convenient. As for the blame for selling more than two hundred people into jail, it was naturally shifted to the deceased Huang Heng. In times of chaos, reputation becomes ever more important. Since Huang Heng was dead, it was only right for him to contribute a little more. If there were any more blunders in the future, they¡¯d all be blamed on him. ¡°Your next task is to buy Level 2 Crystal Cores on behalf of the Firefly Club from other powers¡­¡± ¡°` Chapter 432 - Chapter 432: Chapter 195: Bizarre_1 Chapter 432: Chapter 195: Bizarre_1 ¡°Purchasing a Level 2 Crystal Core? What price should we offer¡­¡± Nie Siyan asked. ¡°Let¡¯s allow them to set their own prices.¡± Considering the substantial differences in price between various types and qualities of Crystal Cores, it was impossible for Wang Tao to list all the prices. ¡°Yes! So, should I start preparing now?¡± Nie Siyan appeared eager to begin. She wasn¡¯t afraid of Wang Tao assigning her tasks since having tasks meant she was still of use. If Wang Tao completely ignored her, that would be the real trouble¡­ ¡°Right, while you¡¯re at it, inquire if there are any news about Level 2 and Level 3 zombies, we are willing to pay for them.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Go.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. After Nie Siyan left, Wang Tao pulled out the map of Zijing City. He had marked many places, some tagged with ¡°suspected Level 3 zombie.¡± For the current major forces in Zijing City, Level 2 Crystal Cores were exactly what they needed, as there were quite a number of Level 2 ability users by now. If there were Level 2 zombies, they would certainly attempt to kill them. In general, they would not easily reveal the location of Level 2 zombies. Level 3 zombies, however, were different. It was said that not even people from the four major forces had taken the initiative to engage with Level 3 zombies. Therefore, some places suspected of having Level 3 zombies slowly became known to people. They would try to avoid these areas when they went out. The information about suspected Level 3 zombies had been obtained by Wang Tao from Huang Heng. He planned to select a few, then test out the strength of Zijing City¡¯s Level 3 zombies. That was, of course, if they were indeed Level 3 zombies. If they were above Level 3, Wang Tao would definitely run as far as possible. After making a selection, Wang Tao chose a location closest to the video arcade. It was a hotel, rumored to have a Level 3 zombie inside. It was unclear how strong it was, but previously, a Level 2 ability user had been killed by it. Wang Tao surmised it was likely a Level 3 Zombie Lord! Because ordinary and Elite Zombies generally wandered aimlessly and would not appear in a fixed place. But Zombie Lords had their territories. This one seemed to fit the bill. With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, dealing with Level 3 Elite Zombies shouldn¡¯t be difficult. As for Lord Rank zombies, he could try taking them on. Of course, Wang Tao would first have to check how much HP the zombie had; if it was too high, then he definitely wouldn¡¯t consider it. Once he had decided on a target, Wang Tao called Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, ready to do some reconnaissance. ¡°Mr. Wang, good day!¡± When coming downstairs, the members of Firefly Club immediately greeted Wang Tao upon seeing him. Wang Tao nodded slightly in acknowledgment. His current status was Nie Siyan¡¯s honored guest, and she had already informed her subordinates to show him the same respect they would show her. ¡°Brother Wang, are you going out?¡± At this point, Nie Siyan came down from upstairs. She had just been contacting other forces using a walkie-talkie on the rooftop. Changing the name of Skull Club and the purchase of Crystal Cores was definitely something she needed to discuss with others. Seeing Wang Tao heading downstairs, she hurriedly ran over. ¡°I¡¯m heading to Danfeng Hotel.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Danfeng Hotel¡­ *cough* Well, Brother Wang, how about taking me with you? There¡¯s a force nearby, and I plan to go there¡­¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s courage had grown significantly, if it had been the day before, she definitely would not have dared to join Wang Tao proactively. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao looked at her. Once in the car, Nie Siyan sat up straight and told Wang Tao that she wanted to visit a small force. Their strength wasn¡¯t much to speak of, but their leader was very capable. Although only a Level 1 ability user, he was often seen running around outside. Nie Siyan, a Level 2 Ability User herself, wouldn¡¯t dare to wander around recklessly, sticking only to familiar routes. This made it evident how capable the leader of the small force was. Nie Siyan wanted to recruit this person into the Firefly Club, after all, Wang Tao had said he would investigate the locations of Level 2 and Level 3 zombies and purchase Level 2 Crystal Cores. These tasks required someone to go out and about. Nie Siyan knew she was not up to the task, so she needed to recruit some people. If it was the former Skull Club, it was very unlikely they could recruit this person due to the club¡¯s bad reputation. But the Skull Club was no more, now it was the Firefly Club, so she was going to give it a try. ¡°Just you?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. Shouldn¡¯t this kind of task be delegated to subordinates? Even if the club president personally went, shouldn¡¯t they bring some staff along? A president going alone seemed somewhat shabby. ¡°It¡¯s more convenient alone, and if there¡¯s danger, I can escape quickly¡­¡± Nie Siyan immediately said. Being alone was indeed convenient, but that applied to the powerful. It wasn¡¯t suitable for her. The main reason she went out alone was that she had no subordinates left. Skull Club originally had three hundred people, but Wang Tao¡ªor rather Huang Heng¡ªsold off more than two hundred sixty of them. Now, the Firefly Club was down to just over thirty people. Now, after switching operations, most people went out to scavenge supplies, and her ability user subordinates had to guard the base since their arcade was quite large, and they couldn¡¯t relax security¡­ so naturally, not many people were left. Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak, but gave Nie Siyan a look. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Nie Siyan quickly spoke up. ¡°*cough* You can¡¯t hide anything from Brother Wang, truth is, we¡¯re a little short on staff¡­¡± Only then did Wang Tao look away. ¡°If I find out you¡¯ve been deceiving me again, don¡¯t bother coming back.¡± Chapter 433 - Chapter 433: Chapter 195: Bizarre_2 Chapter 433: Chapter 195: Bizarre_2 No matter the circumstance, Wang Tao disliked it when people intentionally hid things from him. ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan immediately lowered her head, with some cold sweat on her back. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the beating from Wang Tao previously, but she felt especially afraid of Wang Tao. Just a glance from him could induce cold sweat¡­ However, she subconsciously wanted to be with Wang Tao because his strength was overwhelming! Nie Siyan even thought to herself whether she was being too submissive¡­ Wang Tao looked at Nie Siyan, who was silent with her head lowered, contemplating on how to reward her if she handled the matter well. After all, Wang Tao always believed in clear rewards and punishments. So far, Nie Siyan only had two abilities, both at Level 1. One was ¡°Throwing Master¡± and the other, ¡°Dream Interpretation¡±. When she encountered Wang Tao before, she didn¡¯t even have the chance to resist, so Throwing Master was useless. And her Dream Interpretation ability was one that could wake people up from their sleep. This ability matched perfectly with the ¡°Drowsiness Fog¡± ability of several subordinates under her command. According to Nie Siyan, they had encountered several zombies capable of releasing drowsiness fog. After killing the zombies, apart from a few Drowsiness Fog Crystal Cores, there was also a Dream Interpretation Crystal Core. It was like having both poison and its antidote. Nie Siyan merged with the Dream Interpretation Crystal Core, and she let her four subordinates merge with the Drowsiness Fog Crystal Cores. This way, it was very convenient for them to act together. As for why her two abilities were still at Level 1¡­ Truth be told, she was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky because the Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core she had merged with was of Ordinary quality, White Rank, and with a 20% probability, she had succeeded in merging, which was absolutely explosive luck. Unlucky because she originally could have merged with four abilities. Being cautious while preparing to merge with the fourth ability, she had never found a suitable one. Just then, Huang Heng needed her combat power and gave her a White Ascension Crystal Core, and she indeed successfully rose to Level Two. However, during the ascension to Level Two, she transferred the Level 2 Ability to her uncle by marriage, Huang Wu. Of course, this wasn¡¯t of her own volition but at Huang Heng¡¯s request, because the transferred ability had no side effects¡­ About this matter, Nie Siyan actually had some complaints, but she couldn¡¯t resist Huang Heng and simply complied. Yet, what Nie Siyan didn¡¯t expect was that once she advanced to Level 2, she was no longer able to merge with Level 1 Crystal Cores, and she didn¡¯t have any suitable Level 2 Crystal Cores in hand, resulting in her still having two Level 1 abilities, one of which had no combat power at all¡­ This was also why she was considered the weakest in terms of strength among the four individuals. Wang Tao felt that if Nie Siyan performed well, he would boost her strength, otherwise, she would drag the team down too much. Wang Tao had many Crystal Cores, even Extraction Crystal Cores, which could directly change her Special Abilities¡­ However, the specifics depended on Nie Siyan¡¯s later performance. ¡­ Around noon, Wang Tao¡¯s car reached the vicinity of Danfeng Hotel. Nie Siyan still had a little distance to go, but she didn¡¯t dare to hope that Wang Tao would drop her off, so she had to walk the rest of the way. But just then, the car¡¯s intercom crackled to life. ¡°Szzt¡­ Szzt¡­¡± Everyone instinctively looked toward the car intercom. ¡°Szzt¡­ Help! Is anyone there? Please save us¡­ Szzt¡­¡± This familiar voice, why does it sound so familiar? Wang Tao subconsciously looked at Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan first froze, then felt a chill rush from the soles of her feet to the top of her head! She began to speak, sounding somewhat shaky: ¡°This, is this me?! No, this is my voice!¡± Wang Tao looked at the intercom, deeply frowning. Frankly, if it weren¡¯t for Nie Siyan being right there inside the car, he might have really thought the call was from Nie Siyan herself. The voice from the intercom was identical to hers! ¡°Could it be that you have a twin sister?¡± Wang Tao raised his eyes to look at Nie Siyan. ¡°No!¡± Nie Siyan hastily waved her hands. Her mind was a bit chaotic at the moment, as hearing her own voice from the intercom while sitting right there was genuinely bizarre. After a moment of thought, Wang Tao pressed the intercom and asked: ¡°Who are you? Where are you? What danger have you encountered?¡± ¡°Who are you¡­¡± A moment later. ¡°Szzt¡­ Ah? Someone! There really is someone! My name is Nie Siyan, and we are surrounded by a bunch of bad guys! They want to kill us! Help!¡± Boom¡ª Nie Siyan felt her head was about to explode! Not only she, but even Xu Xiaojun, who was slow to catch on, began to sweat coldly. Wang Tao also felt his scalp tingle. He had just considered the possibility that someone might be deliberately imitating Nie Siyan to deceive others and then shift the blame onto her. But after hearing the voice on the other side, Wang Tao doubted that theory. Because the speech, not only in tone but also in words, was exactly the same as Nie Siyan, word for word, just like when she herself had deceived others! It was like a copy-paste! Only Nie Siyan and Wang Tao¡¯s group knew about these matters; how could the person on the intercom have known? Therefore¡­ it was not someone deliberately imitating her! Wang Tao immediately turned his head to look at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Little Xue, can you hear the words from the intercom?¡± ¡°I can.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. ¡°¡­We have a problem!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. Chapter 434 - Chapter 434: Chapter 195: Bizarre_3 Chapter 434: Chapter 195: Bizarre_3 ¡°` If this wasn¡¯t an imitation by someone, Wang Tao felt there was a high probability it was a hallucination. He had previously encountered a Black Mist Monster in Shuize County that could use illusions to influence people¡¯s thoughts. Jiang Shixue might be immune to the illusions due to her unique constitution. So, if all three of them heard the sound but Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t, then they were definitely affected by an illusion! But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, Jiang Shixue could hear it too! Now there could only be two possibilities: one was that the illusion was so strong that even Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t avoid it, or this wasn¡¯t an illusion at all but something Wang Tao had never seen before¡­ ¡°Retreat!¡± Wang Tao had always held a sense of reverence for the unknown. Having realized that he couldn¡¯t determine the situation at hand, he immediately instructed Xu Xiaojun to evacuate the area. But what nobody expected was that the environment outside had changed without them noticing! They were supposed to be near the Danfeng Hotel, but now¡­ they were under the Haochen Hotel! These two hotels were located at the south and the north, nowhere near each other! ¡°Brother, what in the world is going on¡­¡± Nie Siyan was so scared that she was trembling all over. Xu Xiaojun was also afraid, his eyes bulging like brass bells, ready to fight at any moment. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a green light, and red light gleamed in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes, but the scene outside remained unchanged. Wang Tao touched the Entangling Roots on his wrist and then said to everyone: ¡°Get out of the car!¡± They all got out immediately. Xu Xiaojun took out his Giant Axe from the trunk and stood next to Wang Tao like a guardian deity. Nie Siyan was extremely frightened; she didn¡¯t care about anything else and hid directly behind Wang Tao. Jiang Shixue, on the other hand, looked curious; she never knew what fear was. The group waited outside the car for a while, and aside from the intercom inside the car continuing to make noise, there were no other sounds. It was too quiet here, and there wasn¡¯t even a single zombie! ¡°I feel like the problem might be inside this hotel¡­¡± Wang Tao said, looking at the Haochen Hotel with a frown. ¡°But I¡¯ve always come to this hotel, and I¡¯ve checked it every time; there¡¯s nothing wrong with it inside¡­¡± Nie Siyan spoke weakly at this time. ¡°Are you sure, this hotel is the one you¡¯ve been in?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked Nie Siyan. ¡°¡­¡± Given the eerie state of things, she was no longer sure. Just then, Nie Siyan¡¯s voice from the car¡¯s intercom stopped, and after a moment, a chilling roar erupted: ¡°Save me! Why won¡¯t you come save me! Damn it, you really deserve to die!¡± Although the voice was shrill, it could still be identified as Nie Siyan¡¯s voice! At this moment, Nie Siyan had completely hidden behind Wang Tao like an ostrich, and Wang Tao even saw her HP slowly draining. But this wasn¡¯t her fault, anyone else brought into this bizarre environment would probably be no different. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s take a look inside the hotel!¡± Wang Tao said to the others. If this was an illusion, then they were trapped inside. They had to find a way out. Wang Tao guessed that simply driving away wouldn¡¯t work; they could end up in an endless loop, possibly encountering a phenomenon like a ¡°ghost hitting the wall¡±, eternally circling the same area. So he still believed the key to the problem was inside the hotel. However, just as they were about to enter the hotel, they suddenly heard footsteps from inside. Then a bald man with tattoos on his face burst out. ¡°Help! Help me!¡± He appeared to be in good physical condition, but his face was full of terror, as if he had seen something dreadful. Seeing this man, Nie Siyan was shocked. ¡°Zhu Han, why are you here too!¡± ¡°` This person was none other than one of her most capable subordinates! ¡°Sister Nie! Save me!¡± Seeing Nie Siyan, Zhu Han seemed to have spotted his savior. His face lit up with joy, and he made a beeline toward Wang Tao. Nie Siyan was about to speak with Wang Tao when, without any warning, he whipped out a firefighter axe and swung it directly at Zhu Han. Bang! A shockwave slammed into Zhu Han¡¯s body. Zhu Han was sent flying, having just run out of the hotel lobby; he was now smashed back inside. ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s eyes widened at the scene, but she was of little influence and dared not say more. Moments later, a bloodied Zhu Han hobbled out again. ¡°You, why did you hit me!¡± He glared furiously at Wang Tao. ¡°Why did I hit you? I even want to kill you!¡± Wang Tao cracked a grin. You¡¯ve got a red HP bar over your head and you¡¯re telling me you¡¯re Zhu Han? The health bars of survivors are green; only zombies and monsters have red ones! Plus, he¡¯s a Level 2 Elite! A Level 2 with a suffix and without any mixed attributes¡ªdefinitely a zombie! [HP: 11238/15000] [Mana: 10000/10000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] Without exchanging words, Wang Tao charged straight in. In just a few exchanges, he dealt with him. ¡°You¡­¡± Zhu Han¡¯s eyes were fixed in a stare as he died, looking as if he had been wronged. Even after his death, his body showed no changes, still resembling Zhu Han. Nie Siyan covered her mouth, not daring to say anything. Whether this was Zhu Han or not, she had no right to influence Wang Tao¡¯s decision. Wang Tao found the scene quite curious. Too similar! This person, or rather this thing, was too much like Zhu Han! Unfortunately, the eyes can be deceived, but the HP bar cannot. Wang Tao had just stowed away his spoils of war when another cry for help sounded from inside the hotel. ¡°Help! Somebody help!¡± A figure Nie Siyan knew all too well burst out. ¡°Liao Xia¡­¡± Wang Tao, seeing the other¡¯s 20,000 HP and Level 2 Elite attributes, did not hesitate to charge forward once again. Moments later, Liao Xia was dead. As she died, she too stared hard at Wang Tao, as if she¡¯d been unjustly accused. Then, Huang Wu appeared. Still with 20,000 HP and the attributes of a Level 2 Elite. He was also easily killed by Wang Tao. When she saw Huang Wu die and Huang Heng walk out from the hotel, Nie Siyan was completely stunned. ¡°Could it be¡­ ¡®I¡¯ will also come walking out of the hotel?!¡± Chapter 435 - Chapter 435: Chapter 196: Level 4_1 Chapter 435: Chapter 196: Level 4_1 ¡°` [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 30000/20000] [Level: Level 3¡¤Elite] This ¡°Huang Heng¡± was actually a Level 3 Elite Zombie. This came as a bit of a surprise to Wang Tao. After all, with his current strength, killing a Level 3 Elite wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. ¡°Honey, why are you with someone else? Come to me!¡± This ¡°Huang Heng¡± was different from the previous few people. The others had run towards Wang Tao and his group as soon as they came out, screaming for help. But this Huang Heng stopped in his tracks the moment he saw Nie Siyan, immediately initiating interaction with her after he¡¯d been shouting for help. It felt like¡­ he was somewhat¡­ smarter? Nie Siyan was startled when she heard Huang Heng¡¯s words. No matter what, she and Huang Heng had been married for many years, but she had killed him with her own hands. So as far as Huang Heng was concerned, any normal person would probably feel a bit guilty. Now, seeing Huang Heng frowning and looking unhappy, Nie Siyan subconsciously wanted to approach him. But instantly, she felt a cold gaze on her. Nie Siyan¡¯s steps faltered, and then she immediately took a step back, hiding behind Xu Xiaojun. She might feel a bit guilty toward Huang Heng, but she was scared of Wang Tao! From a distance, Wang Tao watched as Nie Siyan took a couple of steps and then went back. Only then did he withdraw his gaze. Nie Siyan must have been affected. Wang Tao took steps towards Huang Heng. ¡°You want to fight me? How presumptuous!¡± Huang Heng looked at Wang Tao with a hint of disdain in his eyes. Then, he inexplicably produced a large cleaver and pointed it at Wang Tao arrogantly. This Huang Heng who had just seemed desperate to escape was now looking arrogant, as if the danger behind him had disappeared? Wang Tao, unable to comment further, activated his Barrier Ability and sprinted towards Huang Heng. However, during the sprint, one after another, black roots appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s body, quickly entangling around him. By the time Wang Tao reached Huang Heng, he had transformed from an ordinary man of one meter ninety to a two-meter-five-tall monster! Seeing this, Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue remained calm, but Nie Siyan covered her mouth in horror. She suddenly felt that Huang Heng might be fine, but Wang Tao had serious problems! Who is the real monster here! Nie Siyan felt like she was going to go crazy. On the other side. Huang Heng swung his cleaver at Wang Tao, who was charging at him. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge, taking the hit with his Entangling Roots. [-528] [29999/29999£¨9472/10000£©] Then Wang Tao landed a punch on Huang Heng¡¯s head. [-4829] [25171/30000] Huang Heng was smashed into the hotel lobby. Wang Tao didn¡¯t chase after him but looked at the cut on his own shoulder, frowning. ¡°Such high attack!¡± The defense of the Entangling Roots was very strong; the Night Demon could only hit him for a bit over a hundred HP, and the weakened Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord similarly could only deal around a hundred HP in damage. But this thirty-thousand-HP Huang Heng had dealt over five hundred HP in damage! Although this Huang Heng had the same HP as the Night Demon, his attack was four to five times that of the Night Demon! However, Huang Heng¡¯s defense was much weaker. When Wang Tao, wearing Entangling Roots, hit the Night Demon, he could only inflict around three thousand HP, but he could deal nearly five thousand HP damage on Huang Heng! This was a zombie with high attack and low defense! Wang Tao laughed from within his Root Armor. He liked such opponents! ¡°You, are seeking death¡­¡± Huang Heng walked out of the hotel lobby and charged at Wang Tao with the cleaver raised. Bang! The two clashed again. Wang Tao had two fighting styles; without activating Entangling Roots, he would focus on dodging and defense, sometimes preferring to miss opportunities rather than expose himself to injury. After all, if he got scratched by a zombie, he might never get off the Inhibitor for the rest of his life. But with Entangling Roots activated, Wang Tao fought wildly! Banking on the high defense of the Entangling Roots and the fact he wouldn¡¯t lose any blood from the mechanism, he would recklessly trade blow for blow, life for life! This way of fighting was violent but also very fast. In his battle with Huang Heng, just a few moves and merely thirty seconds had passed before Huang Heng was left with a sliver of HP. Wang Tao glanced at his own HP bar. [29999/29999£¨6107/10000£©] This was the heaviest damage the Entangling Roots took on his body. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t the slightest bit upset, because Huang Heng was about to die. Wang Tao raised his vast Root Foot and stamped down hard on Huang Heng, who was lying at his feet. Splat! [-1023] [0/30000] Huang Heng¡¯s head burst open, and his HP bar emptied. A pile of Loot Packs burst forth instantaneously from Huang Heng¡¯s body. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to examine them and quickly collected both the loot and the Crystal Core from Huang Heng¡¯s brain. ¡°Hmm? Is his cleaver real? Or is it a Bone Knife?¡± Looking at the named cleaver that Huang Heng had dropped, Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but without a closer look, he hurriedly stowed it into his Space Backpack. Then he quickly used a Crystal Core to replenish the HP of the Entangling Roots while looking towards the Haochen Hotel lobby. Following this rhythm, the next one to come out should be Nie Siyan, right? Wang Tao was even looking forward to it. If two identical Nie Siyans stood side by side, wouldn¡¯t that be interesting? Just then, Nie Siyan¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie in Wang Tao¡¯s car again. ¡°` Chapter 436 - Chapter 436: Chapter 196: Level 4_2 Chapter 436: Chapter 196: Level 4_2 ¡°You¡¯re all going to die! You¡¯re all going to die! You¡¯re all going to die!¡± Her voice was filled with resentment. Everyone¡¯s gaze was drawn to the sound coming from the walkie-talkie, and they subconsciously looked towards it. Suddenly, Nie Siyan, who had been hiding behind Xu Xiaojun, moved. In her hand was a dagger that appeared from nowhere, and she stabbed it towards Jiang Shixue, who was next to Xu Xiaojun! Just as the dagger was about to touch Jiang Shixue, she suddenly turned around and threw a punch. Her delicate little fist and the dagger collided fiercely. But no sound of ripping flesh or breaking bones was heard; instead, the dagger twisted and deformed! Bang! Nie Siyan was sent flying with a single blow. Her entire right arm was irregularly twisted, with bone fragments protruding from the elbow area. Wang Tao watched this scene unfold, his facial expression quite spectacular. ¡°What were you thinking? You chose to attack the person with the fastest reflexes¡­¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s reflexes and speed were the fastest among the three. Even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t compare with her. Not to mention, Jiang Shixue¡¯s body was extremely tough; she was truly a Level 2, Zombie Lord. To think an ordinary dagger could penetrate her defense? Clearly impossible. Nie Siyan would have had a much better chance attacking Xu Xiaojun instead of Jiang Shixue. Of course, she probably couldn¡¯t be called Nie Siyan any longer at this point. Because, somehow, Nie Siyan had been switched out without anyone noticing! [HP: 38470/40000] [Mana: 15000/20000] [Level: Level 3, Elite] Not only did Wang Tao fail to notice, but even Jiang Shixue, whose perception was usually sharp, didn¡¯t catch on. ¡°There¡¯s something about her¡­¡± Wang Tao could feel his adrenaline already secreting. ¡°Let me do the killing later!¡± Wang Tao said to Jiang Shixue. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue nodded her little head and then voiced her confusion, ¡°Her defense seems very weak.¡± ¡°I saw it too,¡± Wang Tao nodded in agreement. No matter how you looked at it, this ¡°Nie Siyan¡± was at a Level 3, Elite ranking, clearly one level higher than Jiang Shixue with much more HP. Yet, Jiang Shixue had managed to break her arm with a single punch. This defensive power was a bit too low. ¡°Little Jun, keep an eye on the car to prevent anything else from damaging it,¡± Wang Tao told Xu Xiaojun. The current situation was somewhat eerie; if something really damaged the car, that would be a significant loss. After all, the car was quite valuable. ¡°Sure!¡± Xu Xiaojun stood by the car, holding a Giant Axe. ¡°Go!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue immediately rushed towards Nie Siyan. As the two of them sprinted towards Nie Siyan, Wang Tao suddenly realized that Nie Siyan seemed to vanish from his sight even though she was right in front of him! Not just seemed¡ªshe actually disappeared, because the HP bar above her head was gone! Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a rich green light as his vision reached its peak strength, but he still couldn¡¯t detect any flaws visually; the Nie Siyan in front of him looked exactly like the real deal! Wang Tao threw a punch directly at this Nie Siyan. This punch unleashed a Shockwave, hitting the target in an instant. Nie Siyan shattered like a mosaic. Then, Wang Tao felt as if something had appeared behind him. Wang Tao turned his head, only to see Nie Siyan reappear behind him, her face emotionless as she delivered a punch to his waist. Bang! [-34] ¡°¡­¡± Wait, was that damage for real? Only 34 HP was lost, and those 34 HP were absorbed by the Entangling Roots. It felt like, aside from Nie Siyan¡¯s abilities being somewhat peculiar, both her attack and defense seemed to be extremely weak? If that was the case, then Wang Tao could be completely at ease. Between him and Jiang Shixue, let¡¯s not even say it, their defensive power was rock-solid. ¡°Get her!¡± Wang Tao swung his fist again, using the Shockwave once more in a large fan-shaped burst. He wasn¡¯t sure what Nie Siyan¡¯s strange abilities were all about, but indiscriminate attacks would do just fine. And as it turns out, this strategy was indeed effective. Wang Tao swung a few chaotic punches emitting Shockwaves, directly forcing Nie Siyan out of thin air! Bang! [-5589] [32881/40000] Nie Siyan, sent flying, landed right in front of Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue delivered a punch straight to Nie Siyan¡¯s face. Bang! [-3187] [29694/40000] Nie Siyan, still airborne, was smashed harshly into the ground by Jiang Shixue¡¯s punch, and cracks formed in a circle on the concrete pavement. Wang Tao took the opportunity to rush over and stomp hard on Nie Siyan. This stomp didn¡¯t cause any damage, but it pinned Nie Siyan down, preventing her from moving. And so, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue took turns pummeling Nie Siyan with their fists and feet. Soon, Nie Siyan¡¯s HP was close to depleted. Seeing that she had just a sliver of HP left, Wang Tao signaled Jiang Shixue to stop; he was about to bring down his fist, the size of a casserole, onto Nie Siyan¡¯s face. But at that moment, Wang Tao noticed that the red HP bar above Nie Siyan¡¯s head had disappeared and turned into a green HP bar! Wang Tao¡¯s fist stopped just 10 cm away from Nie Siyan¡¯s face. The Nie Siyan beneath his foot was no longer sporting the indifferent expression from before but a face filled with terror. ¡°Bro, please spare me! It¡¯s me; don¡¯t kill me, ah!¡± Wang Tao released his foot, looking at Nie Siyan, who had no visible injuries on her, with some curiosity. What was her situation? Could it be that the zombie had switched places with her and then switched back again? Wang Tao grabbed Nie Siyan with one hand and pulled her up from the ground with his left hand. Whoosh¡ª Suddenly, a gust of wind passed by his right ear. Chapter 437 - Chapter 437: Chapter 196: Level 4_3 Chapter 437: Chapter 196: Level 4_3 Wang Tao noticed Nie Siyan suddenly widen her eyes, as if she had seen something terrifying. Without turning his head, Wang Tao threw a punch to his right. Thwack! [-2098] [0/40000] The other Nie Siyan¡¯s head was blown off by Wang Tao¡¯s punch. Meanwhile, the Nie Siyan in Wang Tao¡¯s arms was scared stiff; she had just witnessed ¡°herself¡± get her head blown off! Wang Tao adeptly collected the spoils of battle, then turned his attention to the surrounding environment. Crash¡ª¡ª The space around them shattered like a mirror. Only now did Wang Tao realize that they were not at the entrance of the Haochen Hotel, but at the entrance of the Danfeng Hotel instead! It was indeed an illusion! Wang Tao was somewhat familiar with this sensation of the illusion shattering; he had previously experienced it with the Black Mist Monster in Shuize County. Wang Tao looked around once more. Lying at the entrance of the hotel were the bodies of several zombie corpses! Based on the positioning of these corpses, Wang Tao made some deductions. ¡°Zhu Han,¡± ¡°Liao Xia,¡± and ¡°Huang Wu¡± were all slim zombies, seemingly of the same type. ¡°Huang Heng¡± was a tall, slender zombie with long limbs. One hand was almost like that of a normal human, but the other was missing from the forearm down. ¡°No wonder it dropped a Bone Knife!¡± Wang Tao remembered the knife he had just picked up; it must have been its other arm! ¡°Nie Siyan¡± was a somewhat plump zombie, looking quite ordinary with no striking physical features. ¡°Was this illusion created by this zombie? It doesn¡¯t seem special, and it feels weak¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly, feeling that something was amiss. After all, when he had battled the Black Mist Monster, despite its strength, the illusion it created hadn¡¯t been as realistic as this one. Although the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie had somewhat eerie abilities, its overall power seemed weak. Even the previous Black Mist Monster was much stronger than it¡­ Suddenly, both Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue sensed something and looked up at the top floor of the Danfeng Hotel at the same time. Through an open glass window, they saw a black shadow. Wang Tao¡¯s hairs stood on end instantly. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 60%] [Awakening: ???] ¡°Shit! Retreat, now!¡± He knew something was off! So the illusion wasn¡¯t created by the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie, but by that big guy on the hotel rooftop! A Level 4, Monster Lord! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t even sure if he could defeat a Level 3, Lord, yet here appeared a Level 4, Lord! He had the feeling that ¡°one more glance and he¡¯d be dead¡±! ¡°` No wonder Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t see through the illusion either, she was two levels below! Boom! Wang Tao immediately ran to the driver¡¯s seat, slammed on the gas pedal, and drove everyone away himself. In the car, Wang Tao stared intensely at the surrounding environment, fearing that some sort of ghost wall phenomenon might occur. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened on the way back to the arcade, and the monster didn¡¯t follow them. However, both Wang Tao and Nie Siyan were suffering from after-effects of the illusion¡ªwhen Wang Tao saw the people in the arcade, he even had the delusion that they were zombies! If he couldn¡¯t see the green HP bars above their heads, he really couldn¡¯t guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t go on a killing spree against these people! ¡°What a terrifying illusion!¡± Wang Tao quickly led the group upstairs. He was able to discern the reality, but he was worried Nie Siyan might not be able to, and if she acted, that would be troublesome. As for Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue¡­ they seemed to be completely unaffected! Looking at ¡°Mr. Single-minded¡± and ¡°Little Ditz,¡± Wang Tao actually felt a bit envious. Xu Xiaojun not having any after-effects was probably due to his ¡°Stick to One¡¯s Heart¡± hidden ability. [Stick to One¡¯s Heart: Not easily confused or misled by external things] And Jiang Shixue¡­ it must be because she¡¯s genuinely simple-minded. The more someone thinks, the more likely they are to be affected by these after-effects¡­ Once back upstairs, Wang Tao said to Nie Siyan seriously, ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t go out for the next few days. Even if you see zombies or monsters or something, you mustn¡¯t attack. Otherwise, before you attack, I will take you out first! As for recruiting people and buying Crystal Cores, let¡¯s put that on hold as well. First, get yourself back in the right state of mind.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Nie Siyan nodded urgently. ¡°I understand!¡± When she first returned to the arcade, she felt like everyone around her was Liao Xia, Huang Wu, and Huang Heng! If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao holding her back, she might have actually attacked¡­ This Level 4, Lord¡¯s illusion was truly terrifying! Wang Tao recalled the attributes of this fourth-order monster he had seen before, it had an additional attribute compared to other zombies or monsters¡ª [Awakening: ???] ¡°What does awakening mean? Is it the ability to ascend to Level 4? And why can¡¯t I see the specific attributes¡­ Could it be because my level is too low?¡± Wang Tao was currently Level 2, and that indeed was low compared to Level 4¡­ Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped pondering over it. Wang Tao first asked Nie Siyan why she had disappeared; Nie Siyan mentioned she didn¡¯t understand it herself, she was still feeling a bit dizzy and wasn¡¯t able to explain it to Wang Tao. So Wang Tao let her go rest and decided to talk about it later. Then, Wang Tao took out the map of Zijing City, and at the location of the Danfeng Hotel, he re-marked it¡ªLevel 4, Lord, extremely dangerous! Although he didn¡¯t quite understand why the monster had not continued to attack them with the illusion, not knowing if there was any restriction, he did not plan to return. At least not until he reached Level 3. Otherwise, it would be like walking into the jaws of death¡­ By now it was evening, and Wang Tao gulped down several bottles of nutrient solution to replenish his energy before taking a bath. Only when the fatigue and tension on his body slowly faded away did Wang Tao look towards the Space Backpack in the mirror. This operation was actually more of a close call, mainly because the Level 4, Monster Lord did not personally fight. It probably wasn¡¯t aware that Wang Tao had Level 3 combat power, or maybe it was restricted by something. Otherwise, it¡¯s hard to say how things might have turned out¡­ As for the gains from this operation, they were naturally quite substantial! ¡°` Chapter 438 - Chapter 438: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_1 Chapter 438: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_1 This trip to the Danfeng Hotel, if ordinary zombies encountered on the road weren¡¯t considered, Wang Tao had killed a total of three Level 2 Elite Zombies and two Level 3 Elite Zombies. All three Level 2 Elite Zombies were of the same type, and the Crystal Cores inside their heads were also identical, totaling 3 [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete]. Wang Tao already had many of these cores, and since they were a passive ability, he liked them quite a bit. He planned to try fusing them when he got back. Next were the loot packs dropped by these zombies, which were essentially the same. The first zombie that was killed dropped two packs, while the other two each dropped one pack. [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x15] [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) Blueprint x1] From the three zombies, a total of 15 bottles of Running Potion (Medium) and one blueprint were looted. [Running Potion (Medium): After injection, lower body strength increases, and running speed accelerates by 50% to 150% (the stronger the constitution, the greater the increase), lasting for 10 minutes with a cooldown of 6 hours.] The Medium Running Potion, compared to the Small one, not only gained increased speed¡ªwhere the small one only offers 10%-100%¡ªbut also had a reduced cooldown. The Small potion has a cooldown of 12 hours, while the Medium potion¡¯s was cut in half. [Running Potion (Medium) Blueprint: Once learned, it allows the crafting of 5 Medium Running Potions at a time. Required materials: Rapid Mushroom x1, Level 2 Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water* 100ml, 10 kcal of food.] Running Potions are good stuff, but to make such potions, a Level 2 Crystal Core is necessary, which is quite luxurious. Plus, without the core materials, Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to craft them now. Then came the main highlight of this haul¡ªthe booty from the two Level 3 Elite Zombies. ¡°Huang Heng¡± and ¡°Nie Siyan,¡± both Level 3 Elite Zombies, posed an overlevel challenge for Wang Tao, so they yielded a large amount of Special Energy! Defeating the ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie yielded 6000 Special Energy, while defeating the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie gave 9600 Special Energy! Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy had now reached 41140! With so much Special Energy, he could start on some of his previous plans. But there was no rush. First, he would check out the loot. The ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie dropped three packs. The first pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag, and including the core inside its head, there were a total of six Crystal Cores. They were a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete], a Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C High-Frequency Vibration], a Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Sprint], and the last one, an Orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Right Arm Bone Blade]. ¡°No wonder this zombie¡¯s attack damage was so high; it turns out it had the high-frequency vibration ability¡­¡± Wang Tao was familiar with the other cores, but the Right Arm Bone Blade was the first he¡¯d seen. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Right Arm Bone Blade] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Reduced Defense)] [Right Arm Bone Blade: Passive ability, the right arm rapidly decays, then a sharp bone blade grows out.] This core was said to have a side effect of lower defense, but actually, there were two side effects. For Wang Tao, having his right arm turn into a bone blade was definitely a negative effect. Moreover, this side effect wasn¡¯t removable¡­ However, for someone who had lost their right arm, this ability would be quite good. After all, having a bone blade was better than lacking an arm¡­ Speaking of bone blades, Wang Tao looked at the blade dropped by the ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie. [Obtained: Sharp Bone Blade x1] Although items used by zombies retained their names after dropping and could be stored in a Space Backpack, they came without specific attributes. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure about the strength of this bone blade. However, the second loot pack from the ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie contained something that could make good use of this bone blade. [Obtained: Improved Bone Blade Blueprint x1] [Improved Bone Blade Blueprint: Allows the crafting of a Sharp Bone Blade. Required materials: Bone Knife x1 (the quality of the core material will affect the quality of the final product), Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Gear x20, Blade x20, Nails x20, Screw x20.] [Improved Sharp Bone Blade: Attributes unknown] This Improved Bone Blade Blueprint was somewhat similar to the previous Improved Worn-Out Great Axe, except that the former used a Level 2 Crystal Core, while this one used a Level 3. Wang Tao had enough materials at hand, so he immediately gathered them to start crafting. As for the Level 3 Crystal Core, Wang Tao chose the [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Aquatic Breath]. He felt that the other Level 3 cores had their uses, but the Aquatic Breath core seemed rather average to him, especially since he already had several Level 1 and Level 2 cores with the ability. So he decided to use it. After a flash of multicolored light, a brand-new bone blade appeared. This blade looked like a door panel, becoming bigger, wider, heavier, and more ferocious than the original. [Improved Sharp Bone Blade] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Attack Power +50, Durability +50, Attack Speed +5%] ¡°This attribute¡­ it¡¯s powerful!¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised after seeing the specific attributes. The giant axe he had given Little Jun had an attack power and durability of +30, and it also reduced attack speed. But this bone blade not only added 50 to two attributes, but it also increased attack speed! Wang Tao gave it a couple of swings. This bone blade wasn¡¯t light, but it was certainly lighter than the giant axe. Although it was long and wide, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Wang Tao to wield given his strength. Chapter 439 - Chapter 439: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_2 Chapter 439: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_2 ¡°` Wang Tao wielded the Bone Knife and chopped at a steel bar. Bang! Although the steel bar didn¡¯t break, a notch appeared directly on it! And the Bone Knife was unscathed, with no loss in durability. Wang Tao chopped again, this time using the High-frequency Vibration Ability. Crack~ The thumb-thick steel bar was directly chopped into two sections! ¡°Top quality!¡± Wang Tao was very satisfied. He had always been saying he hadn¡¯t found a suitable weapon, especially when he was using Entangling Roots; the Firefighter Axe couldn¡¯t be used at all. But this Bone Knife was substantial, and it seemed to match his root armor perfectly! More importantly, with this Bone Knife in hand, Wang Tao could now use his High-frequency Vibration Ability at any time, which would significantly boost his attack power! After swinging it a few times in the room, Wang Tao put away the Bone Knife contentedly. The third Loot Pack that the ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie dropped was also a Running Potion. [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x10] 10 bottles of medium-sized Potion, not bad either. Next were the Loot Packs dropped by the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie, also three packs. The first, a Crystal Core Gift Bag along with one Crystal Core it naturally carried, totaled five. They were a Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete], a Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Throwing Mastery], a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Stealth], a White [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Rejuvenation], and the last one, a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Position Switch]. There were no Ascension crystal cores this time, and Wang Tao had seen most of the other crystal cores before, but the last Crystal Core was new to him. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Position Switch] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: reduced attack and defense)] [Position Switch: Within a certain range, select a large creature and bind it for ten minutes. Within these ten minutes, you can consume a large amount of energy to swap positions with it, but the swap must not exceed this range. The ability can be used up to five times within ten minutes, and there is a chance of failure. The probability of failure is related to the spiritual power of the target. After ten minutes, Position Switch cools down for 1 hour.] This crystal core was clearly the same ability that the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie used to suddenly replace Nie Siyan, then suddenly swap her back again. Looking at the description, this Position Switch Ability was quite impressive. A direct swap with the target¡¯s position! It would definitely be effective in critical moments. For instance, if there is a zombie in a place that is inaccessible to attacks, can¡¯t you just switch places to allow everyone to attack it? Or what if an enemy Ability User is hiding in a crowd and can¡¯t be attacked, and then you use this Ability to swap them out? Or can you set a trap in advance, switch positions with a zombie or an Ability User, and get them into the trap? All of this seems doable! Of course, this Ability is not invincible. First, when you swap with someone, you are basically swapping someone else into their position. For example, if you swap with a zombie, you¡¯ve taken it out of the horde, but the person being swapped has gone into it. If that person cannot avoid the danger, then it becomes a one-time-use Ability. Then there¡¯s the side effect; both attack and defense are reduced significantly¡­ a true tool person. Of course, Wang Tao could find a way to remove this side effect, but not the other restrictions of the Ability. For example, it only works within a certain range, you can only bind for ten minutes, it can only be used five times, and it requires a significant amount of energy each time. And most importantly, it can fail, with the failure rate depending on the spiritual power of the target, etc. The existence of these limitations means that Position Switch is destined to be a trick up one¡¯s sleeve, but not a divine technique. Wang Tao suspected that the zombie chose Nie Siyan probably because Nie Siyan had weak spiritual power¡­ Of course, even with all the restrictions, the Ability itself is still decent. If he has a chance to obtain two more Position Switch Crystal Cores later and can remove the side effects, Wang Tao thinks it would be worth training someone with high defense to merge with this crystal core, creating a tool person capable of swapping positions with the enemy¡­ Wang Tao continued to inspect the loot. The second Loot Pack dropped by ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie contained potions. [Obtained: Mental Boosting Potion x10] [Mental Boosting Potion: After injection, the spirit will receive a certain degree of permanent enhancement.] Without a second thought, Wang Tao began injecting himself in the arm. You can never have too much of this stuff; if he could use it, he would. After spending some time injecting, Wang Tao felt as if his head had been washed with clean water, all fatigue gone. Most importantly, the aftereffects of the hallucinations caused by that Level 4 Monster Lord were gone! ¡°Much better!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath and then looked at the last Loot Pack. It contained throwing weapons. [Obtained: Excellent Steel Throwing Knife x30] [Excellent Steel Throwing Knife: Throwing weapon, Attack +20] This throwing weapon was much stronger than the previous Surgical Knives! Surgical Knives added no attributes, while this Throwing Knife directly added 20 attack points. The power of a throw with this knife probably wouldn¡¯t fall short of Wang Tao¡¯s own attack. Moreover, unlike the Surgical Knife, this Throwing Knife wasn¡¯t fragile and could be used repeatedly! If that zombie had been throwing these knives then, things could have gotten complicated. But who knew it had no brains, instead attacking Jiang Shixue directly. ¡°` Chapter 440 - Chapter 440: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_3 Chapter 440: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_3 ¡°` However, speaking of brains, these zombies were supposed to be brainless, but during the fight, Wang Tao felt that these few zombies were almost the same as humans¡­ Clearly, this shouldn¡¯t have been their own ability, but rather an ability of the Level 4 Monster Lord. It must be related to its [Awakening: ???], it was just uncertain whether it was directly altering the environment or changing Wang Tao and his group¡¯s cognition¡­ As for information about Level 4, Wang Tao knew too little at this point. But it wasn¡¯t like he understood nothing; at least he knew that a hundred thousand HP definitely indicated Level 4, probably the lower limit of Level 4. He also learned that Level 4 would have an awakening attribute. Although the meaning of this awakening was unclear, the awakening must be powerful¡­ The gap between Level 4 and Level 3 was absolutely greater than the gap between Level 3 and Level 2! After all, Levels 1, 2, and 3 were all low levels, while Level 4 was considered intermediate level¡­ After contemplating about Level 4 for a moment, Wang Tao quickly shook his head. He hadn¡¯t even reached the limit of Level 3, so thinking about Level 4 was still too far off. He looked at the Crystal Cores he currently possessed. Previously, he thought about using special energy to synthesize Crystal Cores and then use them himself. But special energy had always been insufficient. Now he had over forty thousand special energy, so it was time to give it a try. Wang Tao looked at his abilities, which were currently Level 2 Shockwave +1, Level 2 Precision Shooting +1, Level 2 Barrier +1, and Level 1 High Frequency Vibration +10. With a thought, he acted. [Special Energy -5000] [Special Energy -1000] [Remaining Special Energy: 35140] Expending six thousand special energy, he extracted both Precision Shooting and High Frequency Vibration. Wang Tao¡¯s attribute panel now only displayed two abilities, and his Mana was reduced by 2200, but he had two new Crystal Cores in his inventory. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤ Precision Shooting (+1)] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (Side Effects: None)] The first one was Precision Shooting, the second was High Frequency Vibration. [Level 1 Crystal Core¡¤ High Frequency Vibration (+10)] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (Side Effects: None)] However, these two Crystal Cores were different from any he had seen before. The Precision Shooting had a +1 after it, and High Frequency Vibration had a +10¡­ This probably indicated how many Crystal Cores had been fused to form this one. Just then, a prompt suddenly popped up. [Note: Abilities that have been synthesized cannot be fused by others] ¡°Hm? Abilities like Barrier can¡¯t be fused by other people?¡± This left Wang Tao slightly disappointed; he had been thinking about synthesizing some abilities, extracting them into Crystal Cores, and selling them for money if the opportunity arose. Seems like that wouldn¡¯t be possible. However, this was not a major issue. After all, as long as he could use them, that was what mattered¡ªhaving his own power was the most important. Wang Tao first set these two Crystal Cores aside and then began to fuse Level 1 Crystal Cores. He planned to have the Level 1 Passive Ability Crystal Cores fuse with each other to see if he could synthesize an exceptional superpower. Wang Tao speculated before that the more similar the abilities were, the higher the probability of successful synthesis. Attack abilities or abilities with special powers were diverse, and it was not easy for Wang Tao to find similarities. But passive abilities were different, as they generally passively increased some attribute. In some ways, they should be quite similar¡­ Anyway, Wang Tao still had over thirty thousand special energy, and synthesizing and extracting a Level 1 Special Ability only required 1000 special energy, which was not expensive. So Wang Tao decided to give it a try to see if his guess was correct. ¡­ After some time testing, Wang Tao looked at the brand-new ability on his attribute panel and burst into laughter. ¡°I just knew it, this would definitely work! Although there are some limitations¡­¡± Wang Tao now had three abilities: Level 2 Shockwave +1, Level 2 Barrier +1, and Level 1 State Enhancement +1! [State Enhancement: Passive Ability, can increase strength, running speed, athletic ability, throwing technique (Side Effects: None)] After some experimenting, Wang Tao found that a maximum of 4 original superpowers could be combined into one, exceeding 4 was not possible, and a prompt would appear¡ª [Current max fusion reached for this Ability¡¯s current stage, please try again at the next stage] This presumably meant that a Level 1 Special Ability could only be fused four times, but if it was elevated to Level 2, it should be possible to continue fusing? Wang Tao had exactly five types of Level 1 Passive Abilities in his hands. They were Power, Running, Athlete, Throwing Master, and Timed Defense. Timed Defense was an ability that increased defensive power at night. Compared to the other abilities, this one was less useful to Wang Tao, so he chose the first four. Although there were some minor restrictions, this new ability was still insanely strong. After all, one was as good as four! Wang Tao used ten Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores and instantly upgraded the State Enhancement to +10, then used a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core to raise the ability to Level 2. Then Wang Tao pulled out a Crystal Core he had just synthesized. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡¤ Frenzy] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (Side Effects: None)] This ability kicked in when HP dropped below 30%, fully restoring HP, increasing body size, and enhancing all attributes except defense! Once a day, it could Chapter 441 - Chapter 441: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_1 Chapter 441: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_1 [Super Berserker: Passive Ability, which can increase: strength, running speed, agility, and throwing skills. HP below 30%, trigger berserk (side effect: none)] Seeing the attributes of this ability, Wang Tao¡¯s mouth almost split to his ears. What¡¯s called amazing? This is amazing! This one ability could match someone else¡¯s full set of powers! Wang Tao then continued to check the crystal cores in his Space Backpack and decided to upgrade the high-frequency vibration ability to level two. This ability¡¯s attack is really powerful, and now Wang Tao has a very decent Bone Knife, which fits perfectly with this ability. But Wang Tao could only fuse four crystal cores, and now he had Shockwave, Barrier, Super Berserker, Precision Shooting, and high-frequency vibration, these five abilities. So Wang Tao planned to temporarily put Precision Shooting on ice. After all, his Super Berserker included Throwing Master, which is kind of like half a Precision Shooting, admittedly not as good for long-range, but still decent for mid-range combat. Anyway, as long as he had enough special energy, he could switch abilities later! After using a level 2 ability to promote high-frequency vibration to level two, Wang Tao unexpectedly discovered that Shockwave and high-frequency vibration could be synthesized! [Shockwave + high-frequency vibration (91%)] The probability isn¡¯t lower; without much hesitation, Wang Tao immediately went for the synthesis, placing high-frequency vibration in the main position. Since he had more Shockwave crystal cores, if he ran out of Shockwaves, he could fuse more. But if he lost the high-frequency vibration, it would be gone for good. A moment later. [Synthesis successful, obtained a new ability: Level 2 Level 1 Vibration Shock] ¡°Success!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face did not show surprise; his luck had always been good. With such high chances, it was unlikely to fail. [Vibration Shock: Consumes energy, can use high-frequency vibration, shockwave] Wang Tao thought it would synthesize into an ability that combines both, but to his surprise, it allowed for individual usage. But this was even better, more convenient to use. Having successfully fused these two abilities, Wang Tao now had a slot open! After checking his crystal cores, Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. He didn¡¯t have enough crystal cores. Precision Shooting could be set aside for now, he¡¯ll fuse it when needed. What he wanted to fuse the most was Perception, but unfortunately, he had only one Perception crystal core. And the side effect of this Perception crystal core was, if not fused by a female, Perception ability would decrease by 50%. If he were to fuse, he¡¯d definitely choose a crystal core without side effects, especially when the side effect was so troublesome. Perception would have to wait for now. As for the other crystal cores¡­ Wang Tao felt that none of them suited him, so he ended up fusing a level 1 Sprint crystal core and promoted it to 10. [Sprint: Consumes energy, sprints forward a short distance] This ability was quite good for close combat, relatively suitable for the current Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at his attributes once again. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 9500/9500] [Special Energy: 26140] [Internal Impurity: 1%] [Abilities: Level 2 Vibration Shock +1, Level 2 Barrier +1, Level 2 Super Berserker +1, Level 1 Sprint +10] Besides Sprint, the other three abilities were synthesized abilities, all at +1. At this point, using a level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Core wouldn¡¯t be a loss for Wang Tao, but considering he still wanted to continue synthesizing in the future, using the Omnipotent Crystal Core now would still result in a downgrade later. So it was better to wait a bit longer until all the abilities were synthesized to their limits before using the Omnipotent Crystal Core. As for that 1% Internal Impurity, it would also have to wait. ¡­ The next day. Wang Tao woke up feeling refreshed. All the negative states from yesterday were gone. Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun were basically fine, only Nie Siyan still had some aftereffects. She stayed in her room, not daring to go out. Wang Tao went in to check on Nie Siyan, and when she saw him, it was as if she saw something that angered her, and she subconsciously wanted to attack Wang Tao. But she stopped quickly, threw down the steel pipe in her hand, and knelt before Wang Tao. ¡°Brother Wang, I didn¡¯t mean it, I thought you were Huang Wu¡­¡± ¡°Get up.¡± Wang Tao knew it wasn¡¯t her fault; her spiritual power was just too weak, and the aftereffects were too severe for her. But compared to yesterday, it was much better. At least she could recognize Wang Tao quickly now. After ensuring Nie Siyan was not in any danger to her life, Wang Tao left. He planned to continue scouring the locations he had marked on the map today, looking for level 3 zombies. Encountering a level 4 monster yesterday was purely accidental. Currently in Zijing City, level 2 zombies were not very common, level 3 zombies even less so, and the chance of encountering fourth-level zombies was probably about the same as winning the lottery. He didn¡¯t believe he¡¯d encounter one today. The trio drove away from the arcade. However, after wandering around for a day, Wang Tao became a bit frustrated. Indeed, there were no fourth-level creatures today, but he also didn¡¯t encounter any level 3s. He only found some level 2 zombies and quite a few level 1 zombies. Wang Tao hardly moved a muscle the whole day; it was all dealt with by Xu Xiaojun. Today was definitely a fruitful day for Xu Xiaojun. His HP had already reached over 20,000, striving toward 29999. When they returned to the arcade in the evening, Wang Tao went to check on Nie Siyan¡¯s condition again. She was much better than she was in the morning, able to go out and handle some affairs within the base. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ll be fine by tomorrow, really!¡± Nie Siyan appeared somewhat flattered by Wang Tao¡¯s concern. Chapter 442 - Chapter 442: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_2 Chapter 442: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_2 ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Wang Tao nodded, then added, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to contact the others to purchase Crystal Cores once you are better tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Evening. Wang Tao was in the midst of his daily workout when Nie Siyan suddenly came over. ¡°Brother Wang, I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you¡­¡± Watching Wang Tao¡¯s half-naked upper body glistening with sweat over his well-defined muscles, Nie Siyan found herself unintentionally swallowing her saliva. She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look any longer. They say men are lecherous, but women can be just as lecherous, if not more so. She was no exception. However, the shadow that Wang Tao cast was too deep, and she didn¡¯t dare to overstep. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, speak,¡± Wang Tao said without turning his head. ¡°Well, I just received a message from Zijin Base¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? Zijin Base? The top power ranked number one? Their messages can reach this far?¡± Wang Tao turned around, somewhat surprised. Zijing City is vast, and the location of Zijin Base is quite far from the arcade city; normally, it would be impossible for the two to communicate directly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s them! At the beginning of its establishment, Zijin Base had built a signal tower, capable of transmitting over a very large area. Later, several bouts of acid rain damaged the signal tower, rendering it unusable. But they have managed to repair the signal tower recently¡­¡± Nie Siyan quickly explained. ¡°No wonder¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood; that made sense. ¡°What did they say?¡± ¡°Zijin Base says that the zombies are evolving too quickly, while humans are struggling to keep up with the zombies¡¯ pace. If this continues, humanity will eventually be doomed. Therefore, they are planning to unite with the major forces in Zijing City for an upgrading campaign¡­¡± ¡°An upgrading campaign?¡± ¡°The basic idea is to select a few representatives within Zijing City, then temporarily allocate the city¡¯s resources to these representatives, helping them ascend to Level 3. With Level 3 ability users, human strength will increase a lot. Then these Level 3 ability users can lead the rest of humanity in upgrading¡­¡± After hearing Nie Siyan¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help exclaiming in admiration. ¡°Wealth first, then wealth for all?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea¡­¡± Theoretically speaking, this strategy had no faults. Ever since the number of ability users began to increase, everyone started to realize the importance of high-leveled combat power. It was like when Wang Tao was back in Shuize County; at that time, they were all Level 1 ability users. A Level Two Chimpanzee Zombie Lord nearly annihilated their entire base. But once Wang Tao ascended to Level 2, facing off against a Level Two Toad zombie was a piece of cake. If the zombies possess high-leveled combat power, survivors will live in constant fear and anxiety. On the other hand, if the survivors have their own high-leveled combat power, they might not be able to dominate the enemy, but at least they could fend off their attacks¡­ The current situation in Zijin City is that humans are only up to Level 2, but zombies have reached Level 3, completely overpowering the humans! And it¡¯s not just one or two Level 3 zombies, but many of them! Merely looking at the numerous suspected Level 3 zombie activity marks Wang Tao had on his map doesn¡¯t reveal the full picture of what others might have witnessed. There are even Level 4 monsters! If humans had Level 3 ability users, the situation would definitely be different; fear wouldn¡¯t be as pressing¡­ So, Zijin Base¡¯s plan to unite the city¡¯s survivors and let some ascend to Level 3 ability users first has no faults. But there are two problems¡ª The first problem is, to become Level 3, one must hunt down Level 3 zombies to obtain Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. But Level 3 zombies are extremely dangerous, and hunting them¡­ would likely result in many deaths. With Zijing City¡¯s many survivor forces, big and small, even pooling all their resources, it would be impossible for every force to gain a Level 3 ability user. So how should risk and reward be distributed? Surely, people can¡¯t be expected to simply throw their lives away. The second problem is that while the rich leading the poor isn¡¯t an issue, what if those who become rich first not only fail to help the rest but instead oppress and exploit them? What should everyone do then? Fight them? How would a Level 1 or Level 2 ability user contend against a Level 3 ability user? Moreover, several months into this apocalypse, everyone is well aware of what the survivors are capable of. Before the apocalypse, being a good person might mean doing some good deeds; after the apocalypse, being a good person probably means not doing bad things; but now, as long as you aren¡¯t too bad, you could be called a good person¡­ So, without clarifying these two problems, it¡¯s likely that few will be willing to respond to the call for this ¡°Upgrading Campaign.¡± ¡°Zijin Base wants us forces to send representatives to their base for a discussion, promising to ensure everyone¡¯s satisfaction¡­¡± Nie Siyan continued. ¡°Send someone over?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. His first thought was a trap. But after thinking it over, he felt it was unlikely. These people might be bad, but they¡¯re certainly not foolish. If there¡¯s no Level 3 ability users, the situation will continue to deteriorate. Starting a civil war at this stage would be mutually destructive. Besides, although Zijin Base is ranked first, it¡¯s just one of the four major forces. With three more major forces behind it, along with other medium and small forces, it¡¯s impossible for Zijin Base to eliminate all of them in one fell swoop¡­ Chapter 443 - Chapter 443: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_3 Chapter 443: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_3 Wang Tao felt that Zijin Base definitely wanted to leverage the strength of the survivors in Zijing City to promote certain individuals to Level 3, and those certain individuals must be their own people. Perhaps the leader of Zijin Base harbored the aspiration to become the ¡°Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch¡±¡­ ¡°So, do we¡­ go?¡± Nie Siyan asked timidly. Actually, she wanted to go. If everyone else went and you didn¡¯t, you would definitely be isolated in the future. If it were just some small forces, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, since some small forces couldn¡¯t even travel far. But the Firefly Club was a medium-sized force with the capacity to venture far. If they didn¡¯t go, it might not look good. And if they did go, they might even get a share of the spoils¡­ She didn¡¯t dare to expect the good fortune of a Level 3 ability user to fall into her lap, but just getting a few more Level 2 ability users would be beneficial. However, even though Nie Siyan was currently the president, she had to listen to Wang Tao and certainly wouldn¡¯t dare make a decision on her own. ¡°What do you think?¡± Instead of answering, Wang Tao countered with a question. ¡°I think we can go¡­¡± Nie Siyan sneakily gauged Wang Tao¡¯s expression, ready to change her tone immediately if he showed any displeasure. However, Wang Tao nonchalantly nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± In fact, Wang Tao was quite interested in this leveling-up operation. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to rely on everyone else¡¯s strength to level up to 3; he didn¡¯t need that. He was thinking that with so many people going there, he could trade Crystal Cores and information¡­ Seeing that Wang Tao had agreed, Nie Siyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Great! Then¡­ I¡¯ll wait for them to send someone over!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The message just sent through the wireless radio was one-way. The arcade could receive it, but had no way to reply. Thus, Zijin Base would soon send someone over for registration. They also said they wouldn¡¯t let everyone have a wasted trip. They would offer gifts, including Level 2 Crystal Cores, to all attendees. It was evident that Zijin Base was rather generous in this matter. This also indirectly proved their strength. After all, just sending people to notify the different areas of Zijing City was no simple task, let alone the subsequent hospitality¡­ But the more extravagant they were, the more it highlighted that the leadership of Zijin Base had grand schemes. Probably, just as Wang Tao guessed, the boss of Zijin Base aimed to be a ¡°Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch¡± of Zijing City¡­ ¡°But your strength is too weak. Participating in such events, one must show muscle. If you¡¯re not strong enough, you¡¯re just cannon fodder.¡± Wang Tao suddenly added. Hearing this, Nie Siyan inwardly grumbled that their weakness was all caused by Wang Tao himself. But she dared only to think it and would never dare to show it on her face. She maintained an expression of ¡°The boss is right in his lesson.¡± Wang Tao felt that if he wanted this Firefly Club to work for him, being too weak wouldn¡¯t do. Fortunately, he still had a good number of Crystal Cores he didn¡¯t need himself and could use them to enhance their strength. However, this wouldn¡¯t be free. It was fine to want to improve one¡¯s strength, but one had to show their value. ¡°Starting from tomorrow, you lead a team to collect supplies and hunt zombies,¡± Wang Tao directed Nie Siyan. ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat baffled but immediately agreed. ¡­ The next day. Nie Siyan¡¯s aftereffects from the Illusion had mostly vanished, and she quickly gathered everyone at the base. Excluding Wang Tao and his two companions, there were a total of 33 people, an embarrassingly small number for a medium-sized force. Nie Siyan announced that everyone should go out to gather supplies and hunt zombies. No one was to remain at the base. Upon hearing this, the crowd was first surprised, then some felt alarmed. This President Nie wouldn¡¯t sell them out, would she? After all, there was precedence. But even if that were the case, they would have no capability to resist¡­ Quickly, Nie Siyan led the survivors, who all held varied thoughts, out of the base. Inside the base, Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun on guard. After all, this was Wang Tao¡¯s foothold, and he didn¡¯t want zombies to get in. Then Wang Tao stealthily followed Nie Siyan¡¯s group as they left. The route Nie Siyan took to lead the team today was provided by Wang Tao. The journey would certainly not be peaceful and would encounter various dangers. Wang Tao just wanted to see how well these people fought and whether their moral character was up to standard. His requirements were not high, just the ability to independently kill zombies of the same level and not deliberately harm their companions was enough. Following Nie Siyan¡¯s group out for a day, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. These people were actually not bad. Perhaps because Wang Tao had sold all the more troublesome members to prison, leaving those who, although not strong, had barely acceptable combat skills and character. Given the current situation, one couldn¡¯t ask for much more. When Nie Siyan returned with everyone in the evening, and everyone collapsed on the ground, if Nie Siyan didn¡¯t have to maintain her president¡¯s image, she would have liked to lie down and not get up. Today¡¯s operation was just too difficult! They hadn¡¯t had a moment¡¯s peace. From the ordinary zombies they encountered upon leaving, to the Mad Demon Zombies, to Level 1 Zombies, and then to Level 2 Zombies¡­ they were just short of encountering Level 3 Zombies. They almost didn¡¯t make it back¡­ But thankfully, they returned safely in the end. Especially when Nie Siyan unexpectedly received a lukewarm compliment from Wang Tao, she suddenly felt as though the difficulties of today were worth it. After all, it was praise from Wang Tao! What she didn¡¯t know was that their day was so hard precisely because Wang Tao had intentionally lured the zombies to them¡­ At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly said to Nie Siyan: ¡°Come to my room tonight.¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was stunned for a moment, then simultaneously anxious and excited. ¡°Is my chance coming?¡± She rushed back to her room. During her earlier scavenging, she had made sure to save many beautiful dresses¡­ Chapter 444 - Chapter 444: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_1 Chapter 444: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_1 ¡°` Dong Dong Dong¡ª ¡°Come in.¡± Wang Tao responded without looking up. He was studying the map of Zijing City, preparing to pick the next area to explore. If he didn¡¯t encounter a Level 3 zombie soon, he was even considering luring a Night Demon at night¡­ Wang Tao felt someone come in but didn¡¯t hear them speak. He looked up with some confusion and saw Nie Siyan, who was clearly dressed up, standing hesitantly in front of him. Today, Nie Siyan wore a tight, ultra-short blue-and-white porcelain cheongsam. Her figure was already very alluring, and in this outfit, she resembled a character from some peninsula comic. ¡°Brother Wang¡­ I¡¯m here¡­¡± Nie Siyan bit her red lips, cheeks slightly flushed as she looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He had asked for her to discuss important matters, but what was she implying now? Nie Siyan, seeing that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t speaking, thought he wanted to see her perform. So she walked around the desk and crawled underneath. Suddenly, there came another knock on the door from outside. ¡°Come in.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged. ¡°Brother Wang.¡± Xu Xiaojun had arrived. Seeing that Wang Tao had grown so strong yet still trained so diligently, he too took every opportunity to exercise. He had just been practicing his Shockwave and didn¡¯t quite understand some parts, so he wanted to ask for Wang Tao¡¯s advice. Wang Tao never held back from his own people. He sat there and shared his experiences with using abilities, and after more than half an hour, Xu Xiaojun left, satisfied. Not long after Xu Xiaojun left, Nie Siyan finally came out. ¡°By the way, what did you come for?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°Brother Wang, wasn¡¯t it you who asked me to come over at night?¡± Nie Siyan immediately gave Wang Tao a white look. Damn man, still putting on a serious face. Wang Tao slapped his forehead, almost forgetting the main issue. ¡°I asked you here for serious business, not for this sort of underhanded trickery. Don¡¯t let it happen again.¡± Wang Tao said solemnly. ¡°You¡¯re right to correct me, Brother Wang! Shall I massage your legs for you?¡± Nie Siyan didn¡¯t argue. She went to wash her hands first, then moved a bit to sit beside Wang Tao and began to massage his legs. Wang Tao stretched out his hand and could just rest it on Nie Siyan¡¯s head. He stroked her hair while Nie Siyan, like a little puppy, rubbed her head against the palm of his hand. ¡°You¡¯re too weak.¡± The first thing Wang Tao said made Nie Siyan¡¯s heart skip a beat. She thought Wang Tao was going to abandon her. But to her relief and surprise, his next words filled her with joy. ¡°So we need to enhance that.¡± Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dare to speak and just kept massaging Wang Tao¡¯s legs, her heart practically leaping with excitement. ¡°What Crystal Core do you want?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Nie Siyan felt her heartbeat speeding up. Wang Tao was actually letting her choose! But Nie Siyan was sensible, and although Wang Tao allowed her to pick, she didn¡¯t dare to be too picky. Besides, she really didn¡¯t know much about Crystal Cores. ¡°I don¡¯t understand these things, you decide for me¡­¡± Nie Siyan said pleasingly. ¡°Alright then.¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment and took out two orange and two red Level Two Crystal Cores. The two orange ones were Rush and Athlete, and both red ones were Ascension. Nie Siyan currently only had two Level 1 Special Abilities, Throwing Master and Dream Interpretation. Obviously, that was too weak; she needed to ascend both abilities to Level Two at the very least. Moreover, Nie Siyan was clearly capable of merging four abilities, but she only had two, which was quite a waste. It was necessary to fill up her other two abilities. Wang Tao thought that Rush and Athlete were not bad. Rush could be considered an offensive and defensive ability, good for both fighting and fleeing. Athlete was a passive ability that provided enhanced physical capabilities, very suitable for surviving the apocalypse. Plus, with Nie Siyan¡¯s already existing Throwing Master, Wang Tao felt it was good enough. ¡°All these¡­ for me?¡± When Nie Siyan saw the four Crystal Cores in front of her, she was somewhat stunned. She had originally thought that it would be great if Wang Tao gave her a blue or higher Level Two Crystal Core. A Purple Crystal Core would be even better. As for red and orange, to be honest, she had only heard of them and had never seen such Crystal Cores! She never expected Wang Tao to give her red and orange ones, and four of them all at once! Four of them! This made her feel like she was dreaming. After all, her relationship with Wang Tao had not been good before, and even though they had become slightly closer now, it shouldn¡¯t warrant such a generous gift! In fact, she still had no idea how strong Wang Tao really was. If she knew that Wang Tao had killed two Level 3 zombies a few days ago when they encountered the Level 4, Monster Lord, she wouldn¡¯t have been so shocked now. ¡°What? Don¡¯t want them?¡± Wang Tao pinched Nie Siyan¡¯s face. ¡°I do!¡± Nie Siyan quickly took the Crystal Cores into her hands, then looked at Wang Tao with a mix of complications and gratitude. ¡°Brother Wang, rest assured, I will never betray you in my life! If I go back on my word, may I be struck dead by lightning!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t take Nie Siyan¡¯s oath to heart. He smiled and patted her cheek. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll keep your word.¡± ¡°I certainly will!¡± Nie Siyan knew that Wang Tao might not fully trust her. After all, she had personally killed her husband before, although she was forced, but it was a fact. However, Nie Siyan also knew that talking too much was useless and that the proof was in the pudding. From now on, she just needed to show Wang Tao her actions! ¡°Also, your subordinates are too weak. We¡¯re going to Zijin Base in a few days; with such weak abilities, what benefits could you possibly compete for? So we need to also enhance their strengths¡­ I¡¯ll give you some more Crystal Cores, let them merge with them.¡± ¡°` Chapter 445 - Chapter 445: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_2 Chapter 445: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_2 ¡°` Wang Tao took out many more Level 1 Crystal Cores. ¡°Yes, thank you, Brother Wang!¡± Having been struck by those four Level 2 Crystal Cores earlier, Nie Siyan was able to look at these Crystal Cores with much more calmness. Wang Tao then inquired about the situation of other people in the base, determining which ones were trusted by Nie Siyan; he was planning to promote a few Second-order Superpower Owners. After all, the Firefly Club only had Nie Siyan as a Second-order Superpower Owner, which was a bit too few. ¡°I feel that Zhu Han is quite loyal, and also those four fainting smoke ability users who have always followed me¡ªum~¡± As Nie Siyan was speaking, she suddenly felt Wang Tao¡¯s hand, which was on her head, slide down a bit. Wang Tao seemed not to notice anything. Nie Siyan continued to report on her work, pretending nothing had happened. After Wang Tao finished speaking, he let go of his hand, signaling that she could leave. ¡°Ah?¡± Nie Siyan, her face flushed and body trembling, was stunned. The mood was all set¡­ Wasn¡¯t he going to engage in ¡°Deep Communication¡±? But seeing Wang Tao¡¯s indifferent expression, Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dare to say more. ¡°Goodnight, Brother Wang¡­¡± Nie Siyan left the room and gently closed the door behind her. Looking at her disheveled clothes, she bit her lip with a look of deep resentment. Inside the room. Wang Tao smiled. This woman had launched a surprise attack on him without him being prepared, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t let her have her way; it was necessary to punish her a bit. At that moment, a shadow suddenly approached Wang Tao. ¡°Brother likes this? I can do it too.¡± Jiang Shixue spoke earnestly. ¡°Cough¡­¡± Wang Tao forgot that Jiang Shixue was also in the room! ¡°Cough, kids don¡¯t understand these things, go to sleep.¡± Wang Tao patted Jiang Shixue on the head. It wasn¡¯t because he was such a gentleman, but mainly because Jiang Shixue had a special constitution, and if she was infected with the zombie virus, it would be a great loss. Moreover, Jiang Shixue was really still like a child. ¡°Oh~¡± Jiang Shixue sounded a little aggrieved and didn¡¯t say anything more. ¡­ The next day. Wang Tao had just gotten up when he saw Nie Siyan, dressed in tight leather, waiting outside his door. ¡°Up so early?¡± Wang Tao asked, surprised. It was just past six o¡¯clock. ¡°I just got up too.¡± Nie Siyan hastily said. In fact, because of the events of the previous night, which were rather tumultuous, she had been too excited to sleep all night. She had been waiting outside Wang Tao¡¯s door since early morning; after all, Wang Tao had given her so many precious Crystal Cores, she had to come and tell him that she had successfully assimilated them all. Wang Tao glanced at Nie Siyan¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 13180/13180] [Mana: 4800/4800] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 25%] Her HP was still a bit low, but it was passable. ¡°Not bad.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Nie Siyan was just about to show off to Wang Tao, but it seemed that Wang Tao had already seen through her, which made Nie Siyan¡¯s heart flutter with nervousness. ¡°Have you had breakfast?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°Eaten¡ªno!¡± Nie Siyan was about to say she had, but then she thought, given that her relationship with Wang Tao had grown much closer, she quickly changed her answer. ¡°Let¡¯s have it together then.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was immediately excited inside. It wasn¡¯t the breakfast itself that excited her, but the invitation from Wang Tao signaled that he was treating her as one of his own! Their relationship had advanced another step! After breakfast, Nie Siyan went downstairs to gather everyone. She took out a bunch of high-quality Level 1 Crystal Cores and made everyone¡¯s eyes gleam. ¡°Since you¡¯ve all followed me, I definitely won¡¯t let you down. After observing these past few days, I think some of you are fit for higher positions¡­ It¡¯s time to become Ability Users!¡± Whoa¡ª The crowd was very excited and started talking among themselves. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t attend to them for the moment but instead took out a few Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores. Zhu Han and the Level 1 Special Ability users suddenly widened their eyes. ¡°As for you, you¡¯re also qualified to ascend to Level 2.¡± Nie Siyan told them. ¡°Long live the president!¡± Someone initiated the cheer and the rest immediately joined in, chanting long live the president. This feeling made Nie Siyan very thrilled, even more so than her self-comfort the night before. But she didn¡¯t forget the matter at hand. Before handing out the Crystal Cores, Nie Siyan first laid down the rules of the Firefly Club, saying that they were now core members, and if anyone betrayed or defected, they would be hunted down by the Firefly Club to the end. This caused a shiver in everyone¡¯s heart, but they could all understand. After all, Nie Siyan wouldn¡¯t allow them to just run away after giving them so many Crystal Cores. However, in the end, Nie Siyan announced something that surprised everyone. ¡°Our Firefly Club¡­ has added a new shareholder.¡± ¡°Shareholder?¡± People were momentarily stunned, not understanding what she meant. Zhu Han looked thoughtfully up towards the upper floor. ¡°May I ask, President, who is our new shareholder?¡± Someone inquired. ¡°Wang Tao, Mr. Wang!¡± Nie Siyan answered. Everyone knew the name Wang Tao; Nie Siyan had previously told everyone to treat Wang Tao and his people as VIPs. They had not expected Wang Tao to become a major shareholder of the base¡­ Previously, the Skull Club didn¡¯t have the concept of shareholders; it was solely owned by Huang Heng. After Nie Siyan took over and renamed it the Firefly Club, it became her personal property. Now suddenly a shareholder had appeared, which really surprised everyone. However, since this was Nie Siyan¡¯s decision, everyone naturally couldn¡¯t object. Nie Siyan hinted that these Crystal Cores were actually related to the shareholder Wang Tao. But she didn¡¯t elaborate on the specifics, leaving plenty of room for everyone¡¯s imagination. ¡°` Chapter 446 - Chapter 446: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_3 Chapter 446: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_3 Some speculated that the Crystal Cores were sponsored by Wang Tao; others guessed that Wang Tao had helped Nie Siyan kill many zombies to obtain them; still others believed Wang Tao was a businessman, who had bought these Crystal Cores cheaply from other channels¡­ Regardless of the speculations, everyone¡¯s respect and awe towards this Wang Tao only increased. Nie Siyan distributed the Crystal Cores, instructing them to merge here and not take any away. Then she mentioned that in the next couple of days, she might take a few people to visit Zijin Base. Upon hearing this, many people became nervous yet excited. The nervousness obviously stemmed from the potential dangers on the way, while the excitement was due to the fact that none of them had visited Zijin Base before. They all had some yearning for this former official power, wondering who would get to accompany Nie Siyan on the visit¡­ Nie Siyan personally supervised everyone as they completed merging with the Crystal Cores, then she hurried upstairs. ¡°Brother Wang, I took the liberty of listing you as a shareholder of Firefly Club. You take seventy percent, and I take thirty¡­ Please forgive me!¡± Nie Siyan said, bowing her head in a contrite manner. She knew who was responsible for all she had at the moment. Therefore, she had to give up the benefits she should give up. Whether Wang Tao accepted them or not was one thing, but offering them was a must. In fact, she even thought about taking only ten percent for herself and giving Wang Tao ninety percent! But since she had to manage Firefly Club, which needed resources, she ended up taking thirty percent. Wang Tao raised his eyebrows upon hearing Nie Siyan¡¯s words. Although Nie Siyan had made the decision without consulting him, it wasn¡¯t something he would dislike since it was to his advantage. ¡°Appreciate the gesture.¡± Wang Tao felt he didn¡¯t need these as he might leave Zijing City before long. But there was no need to refuse. ¡°I¡¯ll go downstairs then and keep an eye on them¡­¡± Having received Wang Tao¡¯s praise, Nie Siyan was very pleased. Yet, she didn¡¯t say much more and immediately went downstairs. One day later. Firefly Club had grown significantly stronger! Among the thirty-three members of Firefly Club, there were now six Second-order Superpower Owners, twelve Level 1 Ability Users, and fifteen Ordinary people! Wang Tao naturally could upgrade the remaining fifteen to Ability Users, but there was no need. After all, if everyone were upgraded, wouldn¡¯t that be the same as no upgrade at all? It was important to differentiate, to give those who became Ability Users a sense of superiority, and to give the Ordinary people a sense of urgency. To provide them with motivation and pressure¡­ Moreover, in the current situation, Firefly Club was definitely not weak, especially now with their six Second-order Superpower Owners, which was more than Skull Club¡¯s four. Among these six, Nie Siyan¡¯s strength was the most formidable, even surpassing the previous Huang Heng! Although Firefly Club¡¯s population had decreased by eighty to ninety percent, their overall strength had more than doubled! It just so happened that on the day when Firefly Club¡¯s strength surged, people from Zijin Base arrived. Three people in total, all were Second-order Ability Users. ¡­ ¡°So this is the rebranded Firefly Club? It¡¯s so run-down and tiny. I wonder if they still have any Second-order Ability Users¡­¡± ¡°Do they even have a hundred people here? Can this even count as a mid-sized force? I bet they aren¡¯t as strong as our little squad!¡± ¡°Hey, guys. How about we collect some protection money?¡± ¡°That was the plan!¡± ¡°Haha, me too!¡± Outside the arcade. Three people leaned against a rusted off-road vehicle, casually surveying the arcade. They were envoys sent by Zijin Base. Clearly, they looked down on Firefly Club and even planned to extort a sum¡ªdo you want an invitation to Zijin Base? If you don¡¯t offer something in exchange, you can forget about getting an invitation! They were experienced at this kind of thing, having done it plenty of times before. Moments later, the arcade¡¯s main gate opened. Zhu Han came out with four people. ¡°What took you so long? We¡¯ve been waiting¡ª¡± The man hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when his expression suddenly froze. The other two also widened their eyes in shock. What the heck! Five Level 2 Ability Users? Ability Users have a certain special Perception, such that sensitive individuals or those with a particularly strong aura, can detect each other¡¯s Levels. These five had just advanced to Level 2, and their Level 2 aura was still very apparent, making them instantly perceptible to the envoys. One of them took out a piece of paper, saying formally: ¡°Ahem, greetings, we are envoys from Zijin Base. Our base cordially invites representatives from Firefly Club to visit Zijin Base as guests, to participate in the ¡®Upgrade Operation¡¯. This will be a major event determining the future layout of Zijing City! Please don¡¯t miss out; here is your invitation¡­¡± ¡°Thank you for the invitation, we¡¯ll make sure to attend¡­¡± After accepting it, Zhu Han invited them inside for a seat. The three declined, saying they still had more invitations to deliver. Once they left, Zhu Han frowned slightly. ¡°Just for delivering an invitation, they sent three Level 2 Ability Users¡­ We haven¡¯t even set foot in Zijin Base, and they¡¯re already showing an intimidating presence!¡± Elsewhere, in the car of the Zijin Base envoys. ¡°Damn! Just for receiving an invitation, there was no need for five Level 2 Ability Users. What¡¯s the meaning of this? Are they trying to intimidate us? So audacious! Firefly Club, huh? We¡¯ll remember you!¡± Chapter 447 - Chapter 447: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_1 Chapter 447: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_1 ¡°An invitation? It does have that feel¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised when he saw the invitation in his hand. The content of the invitation was the same as what had been broadcast on the radio, just with the language polished a bit. Zijing Base was clearly demonstrating its strength. To be able to send out invitations in the post-apocalyptic world, and to dispatch three second-order ability users for the task, demonstrated considerable power. ¡°Brother Wang, when do we head over?¡± Nie Siyan asked quietly. ¡°Let¡¯s leave tomorrow.¡± The arcade was quite a distance from Zijing Base, so they needed to set off early. ¡°Okay!¡± Nie Siyan was very excited. It wasn¡¯t so much about going to Zijing Base but rather that Wang Tao would be going with them. Having such a powerful figure by her side gave her a full sense of security! Nie Siyan went down to make arrangements. She planned to bring five people with her. Those were Zhu Han and his group of five level 2 elites. Since they would be embarking on a long trip this time, those too weak would be a burden; only ability users and above were a must. But the arcade also needed to be manned, so Nie Siyan left all level 1 ability users and ordinary people behind. All the second-order ability users would go with her. Nie Siyan told everyone not to go out over the next few days and to wait for her return before making any moves. The next day. Three vehicles left the arcade one after another. In the middle, a relatively new off-road vehicle. Xu Xiaojun was driving, Nie Siyan sat in the passenger seat, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were in the back. Nie Siyan told Wang Tao some of the things she had recently learned about Zijing Base. ¡°I heard that Zijing Base has seen a surge in second-order ability users recently, and their strength is unprecedentedly strong. So, they organized a hunting expedition against level 3 zombies but suffered heavy casualties. Many second-order ability users died¡­ That¡¯s why they started inviting other survivors from Zijing City¡­¡± The forces in Zijing City were complex, each with its own channels of information. Naturally, Nie Siyan had her sources, which she had acquired over the last couple of days while using the walkie-talkie to communicate with other forces. ¡°Many second-order ability users died?¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. Theoretically, a large number of second-order ability users should be able to kill a level 3 elite zombie. Not only did they fail to kill them but also lost so many people¡­ Unless they encountered a level 3, Lord Zombie, or even a level 4 zombie! It was just bad luck. ¡°Do you know where they were hunting the level 3 zombies?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, let me ask around¡­¡± Nie Siyan took out her walkie-talkie and started to communicate with others. A few forces near the arcade also set off for Zijing Base today, but they did not join Firefly Club. Mainly because the reputation of the Skull Club, the former incarnation of the Firefly Club, was so bad that no one wanted such companions. However, communication was still possible. They would provide Nie Siyan with information while also seeking out some news from her, which was a mutually beneficial arrangement. ¡­ Wang Tao had been looking forward to encountering some level 3 zombies on the road, but to his disappointment, he didn¡¯t. However, they did come across some roaming level 2 zombies, which were taken care of by Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength needs no mention. Although he was still not capable of facing level 3 zombies now, he could overwhelm most level 2 zombies with his power. Nie Siyan¡¯s strength had improved a lot. Before, she practically hid when facing level 2 zombies. But now, she handled every level 2, elite zombie with ease. Plus, she had great potential. After all, her HP was just over ten thousand, and there was still much room for improvement. Nie Siyan was thrilled. She couldn¡¯t believe that she could be so strong! Unfortunately, there was Jiang Shixue in the back seat. Otherwise, no matter what, she would run to Wang Tao¡¯s side to relax him a bit, and properly express her gratitude towards him. On the way, Wang Tao came across several groups of people who had originally set out together. But once they found out that Firefly Club¡¯s predecessor was Skull Club, they immediately took off. This made Nie Siyan quite embarrassed. Wang Tao, however, didn¡¯t mind. Fewer people meant more peace and quiet for him. Two days later, the convoy finally arrived near Zijing Base. The reason it took two days was mainly because the roads in the post-apocalyptic world were difficult, and the occasional need to avoid zombie hordes caused many delays. ¡°Is that Zijing Base¡­¡± Looking at the tall walls in the distance, Nie Siyan was somewhat amazed. It was her first time here too. ¡°It looks pretty good.¡± Wang Tao was also a bit impressed. The walls of Zijing Base were estimated to be about ten meters high, with smooth surfaces, shooting holes, barbed wire wrapped around the top, and soldiers with guns standing guard¡­ It looked very secure! After her strength had increased, Nie Siyan had grown slightly arrogant, thinking that Firefly Club might also have a chance at challenging a large force. But seeing the scale of what was in front of her, she felt a bit helpless. Although she hadn¡¯t gone in yet, she knew from the outside that Firefly Club had no way of comparing with such a large force. Not just because of the high-leveled ability users, but more so because the arcade was too insignificant compared to such a grand base. Looking at the scale of the base, it seemed it could easily house tens of thousands of people¡­ ¡°All the zombies around here have been cleaned up.¡± Wang Tao said, looking at the outside situation. They were now a street away from Zijing Base, but there wasn¡¯t a single zombie here. The corners of the streets were filled with piles of zombie corpses, apparently killed in the last few days¡­ This was clearly the work of Zijing Base. Chapter 448 - Chapter 448: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_2 Chapter 448: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_2 The road was clear of zombies, so they made good time. Soon the three vehicles arrived outside the gate of Zijing Base. Up close, one could better appreciate the grandeur and vastness of the towering wall. However, it was also clear that the wall had many imperfections¡ªthere were numerous patches and repairs, and overall, Wang Tao felt that the wall should be higher. It seemed as if there wasn¡¯t enough time to finish it before the base fell. Many additions had likely been made afterwards¡­ ¡°Halt, please prepare for inspection!¡± By now, there were already quite a few vehicles lined up for inspection at the gates. Nie Siyan directed their convoy to join the queue. Wang Tao frowned upon seeing the energy detector at the entrance. This device, Jiang Shixue might not be able to pass through¡­ After all, Jiang Shixue had 100% impurity in her body. If she were to be scanned, it would immediately show level five impurity, and that would surely trigger an alarm at the base. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, brother?¡± Jiang Shixue, sensing Wang Tao¡¯s troubled gaze, asked curiously. After thinking for a bit, Wang Tao whispered in Jiang Shixue¡¯s ear: ¡°Do you have any way to avoid detection when it¡¯s our turn to be inspected?¡± Jiang Shixue looked at the detector and furrowed her brow slightly. Then her eyes suddenly brightened. ¡°I think I have an idea¡­¡± Jiang Shixue quickly leaned over to explain to Wang Tao in a whisper. After listening, Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue with some surprise. ¡°Did you remember something from before?¡± ¡°No.¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. Wang Tao had previously told her that she had lost some of her memories. However, she was indifferent about these matters. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t press further. Jiang Shixue had just recalled the use of her eyes¡ªa use that had been forgotten. Previously, it was said that after Jiang Shixue transformed from a zombie into a human, she not only lost her memory but also didn¡¯t know how to use her ability and hidden attributes. Now, in her efforts to come up with a solution, she finally remembered the use of her hidden attributes! Soon, it was Wang Tao and his group¡¯s turn. The moment they got off the vehicle, they drew a lot of attention. It couldn¡¯t be helped; Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun¡¯s builds were just too large. Especially Xu Xiaojun, who stood like a dark cloud, blocking out the light for several people around him, making it hard to ignore their presence. However, their attention quickly shifted from Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun to Jiang Shixue and Nie Siyan. After all, both men and women enjoy looking at beautiful women. ¡°Wow! Two beauties!¡± ¡°That pretty girl in the JK outfit, but I feel she¡¯s just an ordinary person¡­ and seems to be the weakest among them. Is such a person also here to participate in the ¡®Advancement Operation¡¯?¡± ¡°That shows what you know! You only see the girl¡¯s weakness, not the strength of those beside her! Maybe she¡¯s deliberately nurtured to be someone¡¯s plaything!¡± ¡°Sss¡ªmakes sense!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, kid, you¡¯re young. I advise you not to mess with girls like her. Don¡¯t get fooled by their seemingly weak and pure appearance. If you actually managed to trick her, you¡¯d probably be in big trouble¡­¡± ¡°I get it, I get it! I¡¯m really scared of dying, I wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with such trouble!¡± ¡°Smart of you. Personally, I find the older woman more attractive. Look at those legs, that waist, that bust, that face¡ªholy shit! It¡¯s her?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Skull Club¡¯s Nie Siyan, the notorious swindler of our Zijing City! I suggest you keep your distance from them, otherwise you won¡¯t know when you¡¯ll find yourself sold off to a prison¡­¡± ¡°That infamous Skull Club? Sss¡­¡± ¡­ On the other side, listening to the whispers of the crowd, veins popped on Nie Siyan¡¯s forehead, and she was on the verge of beating them up. If it were before, she wouldn¡¯t have cared, because talking is just talking and she only swindled outsiders, so fame didn¡¯t bother her. But now, she had reformed, and especially with Wang Tao beside her, she knew just how much he despised her former identity¡­ As for Jiang Shixue, she ignored the murmured discussions, not out of indifference, but because she couldn¡¯t understand the roundabout things they were saying. ¡°Please come this way.¡± The gates of Zijing Base were wide, with several inspection points set up. As Wang Tao and the others disembarked, a worker in protective gear led them to one of the available checkpoints. The energy detectors they used were second-generation, not requiring blood but just some hair, nails, or skin flakes would do. However, what they specifically needed varied randomly for each person to prevent cheating. Camouflaged soldiers armed with rifles surrounded them. If anything was amiss, someone might get shot. After all, with so many people in Zijing Base, if a ticking bomb who could turn into a zombie at any moment got in, it could mean big trouble. ¡°Hello, I need to pluck a hair from you.¡± In Wang Tao¡¯s group, Zhu Han was leading the way, followed by the four ability users who could release sleep-inducing mist, then Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, Jiang Shixue, and Wang Tao. ¡°Energy Level Two, Level Two impurity, pass¡­¡± Upon seeing the numbers on the device, the inspector called out to the soldiers behind him. The soldiers stepped aside to let Zhu Han through. Likewise, the other ability users were also waved through without question, as they were all led by a Level 2 Ability User. Chapter 449 - Chapter 449: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_3 Chapter 449: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_3 But soon after, the others were somewhat shocked. ¡°Energy Level Two, Impurity Grade 2, passed¡­¡± ¡°Energy Level Two, Impurity Grade 2, passed¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Energy Level Two, Impurity Grade 1, passed¡­¡± The inspectors called out several times, and Zhu Han, the four Ability Users, Nie Siyan, and Xu Xiaojun all passed smoothly. ¡°Holy shit! Seven Level 2 Ability Users?¡± Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded. Those who did not recognize Nie Siyan began asking which power she belonged to, while those who did recognize her were even more baffled. Hadn¡¯t the Skull Club lost several Second-order Superpower Owners before, and now they even changed their name to the Firefly Club, how could they still have so many Level 2 Ability Users? Even the inspectors and soldiers curiously sized up Nie Siyan and her group. Although there were quite a few Level 2 Ability Users in their base, this didn¡¯t mean that Level 2 Ability Users were a dime a dozen. Level 2 Ability Users were the top-tier combat power of the Zijin Base and were highly respected. Nie Siyan enjoyed the various curious and astonished gazes around her. She loved this feeling of showing off! As for Wang Tao, he ignored the crowd and looked at Jiang Shixue in front of him. ¡°Hello, I need one of your fingernails¡ªno, I need to pluck one of your hairs.¡± The inspector initially wanted to ask Jiang Shixue for a small clipping of her fingernail, but he suddenly paused and then changed his request. ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Shixue was expressionless. The inspector eyed Jiang Shixue¡¯s beautiful black hair, and his gaze landed immediately on a strand that was sticking up. Without a word, he plucked that strand of hair. Though he said ¡°pluck,¡± he didn¡¯t use any force at all. Based on his frequent hair plucking experience, this strand clearly wasn¡¯t growing from the scalp! But at that moment, he was unaware, and he naturally placed the strand into the machine. Then he looked at the information on the machine and began: ¡°Energy Level Zero, Impurity Grade 0, passed¡­¡± Jiang Shixue walked through without any issue. The observing crowd nearby nodded to themselves. This beautiful girl was indeed an Ordinary person, a vase kept by those big shots. Wang Tao, who watched the entire scene, was somewhat amazed. The strand of hair on Jiang Shixue¡¯s head clearly wasn¡¯t hers; it had been surreptitiously plucked by Wang Tao from an Ordinary person while they were lining up and placed on Jiang Shixue¡¯s head. Jiang Shixue had previously told Wang Tao that she remembered how to use her Hidden Attributes, the ¡°Eyes of Contract¡±! And her Eyes of Contract could influence, even control the inspector! [Eyes of Contract: Night Vision, partial control over someone else¡¯s thoughts] So, under Jiang Shixue¡¯s influence, the inspector, who initially wanted her fingernail, changed his mind to taking her hair instead, and he directly took that strand away! After Jiang Shixue entered, the inspector showed no reaction; he took out nail clippers. ¡°Sir, I need a piece of your nail.¡± ¡°Here.¡± Wang Tao extended his hand. Soon, the inspector spoke again. ¡°Energy Level Two, Impurity Grade 1, passed¡­¡± Wang Tao also walked through successfully. Once Wang Tao and his group entered, the nearby people immediately started whispering to each other. ¡°Damn! Their convoy has only nine people, and eight of them are Second-order Superpower Owners, that¡¯s terrifying!¡± ¡°Is this the Firefly Club that used to be the Skull Club? This is much stronger than the Skull Club before!¡± ¡°They must have Level 2 Ability Users guarding their homes too, right? I guess they have at least ten Second-order Superpower Owners!¡± ¡°We should keep a low profile when we see them in the future. After all, our entire force has only two Second-order Superpower Owners¡­¡± ¡­ Elsewhere. Nie Siyan found it odd, she remembered Wang Tao saying that Jiang Shixue was an Ability User, so how did she become an ordinary person? However, this was Wang Tao¡¯s business, and she wisely refrained from asking too many questions. After a few people got on the vehicle, someone came over specifically to show them the way, and Zijin Base had arranged a place for them to stay. ¡°It¡¯s really big¡­¡± As she looked around the base, Nie Siyan felt a bit emotional. Wang Tao nodded. The base was indeed large; it was said to have been constructed to accommodate a hundred thousand people. Unfortunately, it was only a half-finished product; the base cooled down before completion. Now although it had been taken over by successors, there was no way to continue the infrastructure construction; they could only make do with what was available. Of course, even as a half-finished product, it was still a very nice place. There were buildings, green plants, roads, and even artificial rivers everywhere. But most importantly, there were many people! In other places, one could only occasionally see human survivors, but in this place, the streets were full of them! Although many had said before that the survivors of the Zijin Base were being exploited and oppressed by their leader, it didn¡¯t seem as severe as the rumors suggested. Because it was clear to see that the nutritional status of the survivors on the streets was better, much better than that of other survivors. Wang Tao reckoned that these survivors could eat at least two meals a day. In a post-apocalyptic situation like this, ensuring an ordinary person one meal a day was considered pretty good; guaranteeing two a day was definitely a high welfare benefit! Especially since this Zijin Base claimed to have a population of ten thousand, being able to manage the food and drink for so many people was quite impressive¡­ After some time, the group was led to a place that looked like a farmstay ¨C the lodging specially arranged by Zijin Base for them. The place was large enough to accommodate other survivors. In fact, it was originally a farmstay. When Zijin Base was established, it simply enclosed certain building areas and then constructed city walls. It wasn¡¯t about encircling a piece of empty land and then constructing various new buildings from scratch; that project would have been too huge¡­ The farmstay was naturally one of the constructions that got enclosed. Wang Tao¡¯s convoy immediately drew a lot of attention as they arrived. It had taken them two days to get there, making them among the later arrivals. After parking their vehicle, Wang Tao and a few others were led by staff to a front desk reception. ¡°Chairwoman Nie, please choose the house you would like,¡± said the staff member, handing a blueprint to Nie Siyan. After all, Nie Siyan was the leader in public. ¡°Do these houses have any differences?¡± asked Nie Siyan with some curiosity. ¡°Here we have various options like siheyuan, detached houses, suites, single rooms, and dormitories.¡± ¡°The ones with a Red mark are already occupied, and if you like a place that¡¯s taken, you can challenge the occupants to a sparring match. According to the rules of Zijin Base, the winner gets the priority¡­¡± Nie Siyan looked at the blueprint, which was dotted with red, and it seemed like only the dormitories had space left, and not much at that¡­ This made Nie Siyan¡¯s expression turn somewhat unpleasant. Wang Tao, who had been silent beside her, raised an eyebrow. This Zijin Base is interesting¡­ Are they trying to divide us right from the start? Chapter 450 - Chapter 450: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Chapter 450: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 ¡°Excuse me for a moment, you can take your time choosing.¡± Another group of survivors had arrived, and the staff member left the blueprint behind to attend to them. Wang Tao found the blueprint very interesting. The best living environment here is the quadrangle, of which there are only two. But there are four major powers in Zijing City, and excluding the Zijin Base, that leaves three. What does it mean to leave only two quadrangles? Next are the standalone villas, of which there are eight in total. If you say the quadrangles are for the four major powers, then these standalone villas are for the mid-sized powers. But there are at least a dozen or possibly more mid-sized powers in Zijing City, at least that was the count before. And now there are only eight villas¡ªdo they really expect so many mid-sized powers to compete for these few homes? As for the number of suites and single rooms that follow, there are not many of those either. Even the quantity of the collective dormitories is sparse, which is absurd. Do they expect people to camp out in tents? Unless people squeeze a bit into the quadrangles, standalone villas, and suites, there should be enough room to accommodate everyone. But certainly, not many would be willing to share. This isn¡¯t about being stingy, but rather a matter of face. Moreover, Zijin Base¡¯s next move is even more extreme; their residency rules are not based on a first-come, first-served basis, nor does Zijin Base decide the order. Instead, they let these external forces compete among themselves, and only those who win in combat can move in! Each power has three chances to challenge and be challenged, which can only be used during the day. Zijin Base claims that the reason for setting individual duels is to prevent damage to good relationships, as a high-stakes contest where one fight decides everything. Win and you secure a residence, lose and you can either step down or challenge another power. To live in a house, you have to fight for it¡ªquite bizarre indeed. However, most people probably know that Zijin Base is intentionally creating division among them. Because this upgrade operation, in its early stages, is essentially a negotiation, and Zijin Base doesn¡¯t want others to unite too much, which would be disadvantageous for it to exert its influence. But what can you do when you know? It¡¯s an overt scheme that can¡¯t be broken. After all, the other forces are inherently disunited and unlikely to join together to resist Zijin Base. And surely, many would relish the chance to challenge others. After all, there are no firsts in literature and seconds in martial arts. With the previous rankings, there are definitely those who are not satisfied. Now that everyone is gathered together, Zijin Base has provided this opportunity, which is perfect for a show of strength. This isn¡¯t just about face and vanity, but also reputation. If these forces want to develop in the post-apocalyptic world, they need a lot of people. And the simplest way to attract people is to have a good reputation. Good welfare is one aspect, and strength is another¡ªand the latter is more important! After all, this is a perilous post-apocalyptic world; one can make do even with poor welfare benefits, but without strength, one would die¡­ ¡°Brother Wang, how should we choose?¡± Nie Siyan sidled up to Wang Tao and asked quietly. She was no fool and could naturally see Zijin Base¡¯s sinister intentions, but she was conflicted. ¡°Whatever.¡± Wang Tao responded nonchalantly. He often just found any place to sleep when he was in the wilderness and wasn¡¯t very concerned about the sleeping environment. ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s mouth fell open in surprise; she used to hate the word ¡°whatever¡± the most. But now that it came from Wang Tao, she was bitterly amused. Moreover, Nie Siyan felt that even though Wang Tao said ¡°whatever,¡± it could be a test for her. She couldn¡¯t just choose anything¡­ ¡°No one would choose the bad places¡ªchoosing those would embarrass me, and Brother Wang would be unhappy. But the good places are already taken. To choose one, I would need to fight for it¡­¡± Nie Siyan looked at the standalone villas with a twinge of eagerness. Her abilities were much improved from the past; she was not the same person she used to be! Nevertheless, after pondering for a moment, she decided to play it safe and go for a compromise by choosing a mid-tier suite. The main reason was Wang Tao¡¯s presence. If he was not there, she would certainly go for broke¡ªlosing would just mean losing; she wasn¡¯t afraid of embarrassment with her thick skin. But with Wang Tao there, if she lost, wouldn¡¯t that be a disgrace for him? Hence, choosing a suite was the safer bet. However, just then a group of people passed by, engaged in a hushed conversation. Nie Siyan, with her sharp hearing, caught every word. ¡°¡­ Observing for so long, which power should we challenge?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rush! Each power only has three chances to challenge; we must seize them wisely! It doesn¡¯t matter about face, but I¡¯ve heard Zijin Base has spent a hefty sum this time, preparing a welcome gift for the higher-ranking powers, including a Level 2 Crystal Core! And how is this ranking determined? It can¡¯t possibly be by voting, right? It has to be fought out¡­¡± Nie Siyan caught the conversation, and naturally, Wang Tao heard it too. Wang Tao felt these people were like plants. What were the odds that people would just happen to pass by discussing this while choosing residences? And they spoke with such detail that a Second-order Superpower Owner could hear everything clearly. But this too was an overt scheme. After all, a Level 2 Crystal Core is something everyone lacks and desires. However, Wang Tao kept silent; how to choose was Nie Siyan¡¯s decision, and he would not interfere too much. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ve decided to fight for a villa!¡± A moment later, Nie Siyan declared resolutely. Chapter 451 - Chapter 451: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Chapter 451: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 She also knew that this might be a routine of the Zijin Base, but for the sake of a Level 2 Crystal Core, she was willing to take the gamble. After all, Wang Tao had given her so many Level 2 Crystal Cores, and she had been thinking of finding an opportunity to pay him back¡­ ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much either. Nie Siyan looked over the 8 villas and chose the number 8 building, which she deemed to be particularly auspicious. She stretched out her hand to call over a staff member. Upon seeing Nie Siyan¡¯s choice, the staff member¡¯s face immediately broke into a brilliant smile. ¡°Chairman Nie, are you sure you want to choose Villa number 8 as your challenge? Villa number 8 is currently occupied by people from the Thunder Guild¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing the words ¡°Thunder Guild,¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s expression changed. Wang Tao¡¯s brow rose. Before coming here, he had naturally understood the situation of the major forces in Zijing City from Nie Siyan. The Thunder Guild was one of the top among these dozen or so mid-level forces. Many people felt that the Thunder Guild was one of the forces most likely to be promoted to a large-scale force. The only things they lacked were population and a base¡ªthat meant their high-end combat power was very strong! Nie Siyan also didn¡¯t expect that her casual choice would turn out to be a tough nut to crack. Looking at the staff member¡¯s smile, Nie Siyan couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that she was being mocked. She subconsciously looked at Wang Tao and seeing no change in his expression, she steeled her heart. ¡°Confirmed, this one!¡± Canceling now would mean losing face for Wang Tao. You can¡¯t lose face even if you lose the game; after all, there are three chances, and she can keep going later if needed. Besides, she was feeling very confident about her strength, believing that she was no less capable than anyone else! ¡°Alright Chairman Nie, the Thunder Guild has not been challenged before, so you may choose them¡­¡± The staff member had Nie Siyan sign her own name and her force¡¯s name, then had Wang Tao and his group follow him. The challenge wasn¡¯t convoluted with many rules; it was simply a 1v1, with the loser stepping down. As long as one is ready to challenge and the other is ready to be challenged, they can proceed straightaway. The news of Nie Siyan choosing the Thunder Guild as her challenge wasn¡¯t known to many, but by the time several individuals arrived at Villa number 8, a large crowd had already gathered. Clearly, the people at the Zijin Base were secretly passing the message around, as if they couldn¡¯t wait for chaos to ensue. Nie Siyan was a bit nervous at first, but seeing so many spectators, she felt less so. It¡¯s just the Thunder Guild, let¡¯s take them down! At that moment, the villa¡¯s main gate opened, and a group of people emerged. They were from the Thunder Guild. The Firefly Club and the Thunder Guild were both considered mid-sized forces, but the spirit of the two groups was entirely different. The Thunder Guild¡¯s members all wore matching uniforms, carried the same machetes, and had the same lightning tattoos on their faces¡­ they looked extraordinary. On the other hand, the Firefly Club looked more like a collection of traditional survivors, each dressed differently, with no particular aura, creating a bit of a chaotic scene. However, the biggest attraction was on the side of the Firefly Club; a pair of beautiful women and two strong men naturally drew a lot of attention. ¡°What is the Firefly Club? How come I¡¯ve never heard of them before?¡± Among the Thunder Guild group, someone spoke up loudly. The sarcasm in their voice was very apparent. ¡°They are just a predecessor of the Skull Club! Just a second-rate force that struggles to survive in Zijing City through deceiving and swindling.¡± Another member of the Thunder Guild chimed in. ¡°Ah? So they¡¯re the former Skull Club! How could such a lousy force dare to participate in the ¡®Promotion Operation¡¯? They are really overestimating themselves!¡± Another person feigned sudden enlightenment. ¡°¡­¡± Ten people from the Thunder Guild had come out, and all ten were loudly mocking the Firefly Club. They were angry because they had thought nobody would be foolish enough to challenge them. But to their surprise, someone had indeed come to challenge them without even letting them settle in, and it was the weak Firefly Club to boot. By choosing them, wasn¡¯t the Firefly Club implying that they saw the Thunder Guild as the weaker one? In some way, this was a form of mockery, and everyone from the Thunder Guild was furious. So, they planned to teach the Firefly Club a harsh lesson. But before doing so, they wanted to vent their frustration with some harsh words. Wang Tao and his companions were indifferent to these comments; they weren¡¯t members of the Firefly Club, after all. But Nie Siyan¡¯s expression was grim. She was resolved to teach these people a lesson later! Then, from among the Thunder Guild, a short and stout figure stepped forward. He pointed arrogantly at Wang Tao and the others. ¡°I am Ma Wen, an Ordinary Hall Master of the Thunder Guild, who¡¯s up? Make it quick, I¡¯m in a hurry.¡± His attitude almost screamed, ¡°I am invincible, choose at your leisure.¡± More and more onlookers gathered around, curious about the situation and wondering who would win. Most of them thought the Thunder Guild had higher chances. Those familiar with the Thunder Guild looked on with contempt. ¡°The Thunder Guild is shameless, sending Ma Wen to fight the first battle. He¡¯s not just an Ordinary Hall Master but one with super strong combat power!¡± ¡°So vicious, if the Firefly Club actually falls for it, they might just meet their downfall¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan prepared to take to the field herself. She didn¡¯t know this Ma Wen, but she thought she should be fine. They were both Second-order Ability Users, so what was there to be afraid of! Chapter 452 - Chapter 452: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Chapter 452: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 ¡°` However, at this moment, Wang Tao suddenly whispered: ¡°You can¡¯t beat him, let Xu Xiaojun go.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat puzzled; she didn¡¯t feel that this Ma Wen was that strong, right? But these were Wang Tao¡¯s words, so naturally she believed them. ¡°Little Jun, then it¡¯s your turn.¡± Nie Siyan courteously said to Xu Xiaojun. She certainly wouldn¡¯t let one of Wang Tao¡¯s people take action herself, as she didn¡¯t have the authority, but if Wang Tao had offered it himself, then naturally there was no problem. ¡°Heh heh, just call me Little Jun.¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and then stood up. His figure, when he stood up, still created a very strong sense of pressure. Especially in comparison with Thunder Guild¡¯s Ma Wen, it was simply like the difference between a dwarf and a giant. Of course, a large physique could only mean he might be stronger, but the strength of overall capabilities is multifaceted, especially since everyone is an Ability User, where Abilities are more important than physical qualities! So even though Xu Xiaojun¡¯s figure looked quite intimidating, the majority of people still thought Ma Wen had a greater chance of winning. However, Ma Wen furrowed his brows, because he discovered that he couldn¡¯t see through Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength. Ability Users who had just leveled up not long ago were not yet accustomed to their strength, couldn¡¯t hide it well, and so it was quite easy for other Ability Users to sense it. As for those like Xu Xiaojun, whose specific strength couldn¡¯t be clearly perceived by others, they must have been in Level Two for a long time. Of course, he was not afraid. After all, he too had entered Level Two quite early! ¡°Come on!¡± Ma Wen took out a Firefighter Axe, pointed at Xu Xiaojun, struck a pose, exuding the air of a boss. The Firefighter Axe indeed was a handy weapon; many survivors liked to use it. Xu Xiaojun also took out a Firefighter Axe; Wang Tao said he didn¡¯t need to use the Giant Axe, a Firefighter Axe would be enough to deal with this kind of person. ¡°I am an Ordinary member of the Firefly Club, Xu Xiaojun.¡± Seeing that Ma Wen was letting him attack first, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t bother with niceties and introduced himself. Then he instantly activated his Rush Ability. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Ma Wen didn¡¯t even have time to react before everything went dark, and then he felt like he had been hit by a dump truck, flying off the ground. ¡°Ma Wen!¡± He vaguely sensed his comrades calling out to him, but the wind was too loud; he couldn¡¯t hear them clearly. Bang! Ma Wen slammed hard into a nearby tree, causing many green leaves to fall down. Spurt¡ª¡ª Ma Wen spat out a mouthful of blood; he struggled to get up from the ground, looking at Xu Xiaojun with a face full of terror. He had seen the Rush Ability before, but never one this fast! But before he could speak, he saw Xu Xiaojun launching another Rush attack at him. ¡°Dammit!¡± Ma Wen cursed under his breath, but this time he was slightly prepared. He immediately activated his Ability, and his skin suddenly turned black. ¡°Toughness!¡± Those who were familiar with this Ability immediately voiced out. Bang! Xu Xiaojun rushed over again. But this time Ma Wen had activated Toughness, and although he was pushed back several meters, he still withstood the blow. Seeing that he had stopped Xu Xiaojun¡¯s large frame, Ma Wen grinned, blood flowing from his full mouth. ¡°` ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡± A steel nail suddenly appeared in his mouth! It shot directly towards Xu Xiaojun¡¯s throat. Clang! Xu Xiaojun¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t slow. Having been with Wang Tao for so long and having seen so many abilities, he was naturally clear about the Spittle Nail ability. As he saw Ma Wen open his mouth wide, he was ready. When Ma Wen spat out the nail, Xu Xiaojun immediately blocked the strike with the steel plate bracer on his forearm. Then, Xu Xiaojun let out a roar and punched towards Ma Wen¡¯s stomach. Ma Wen had never expected Xu Xiaojun to dodge his sure-kill attack. While his face still registered shock, he was struck in the abdomen by Xu Xiaojun¡¯s fist. Bang! Ma Wen was sent flying again, but this time in the opposite direction, flying straight towards Wang Tao and Nie Siyan¡¯s location. The other onlookers quickly scattered to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Xu Xiaojun prepared to launch another Rush. The rule of the duel was to fight until one party surrendered or died. In other words, as long as there was no surrender, the battle wasn¡¯t over. The people from Thunder Guild had gone from the initial shock and disbelief to now fear and worry¡­ The change in their emotions was quite spectacular. Seeing Xu Xiaojun relentless in his advantage and preparing to collide with Ma Wen once more, someone from their group was already opening their mouth to concede. The battle between survivors was different from that with zombies. Zombies had few weaknesses, didn¡¯t feel pain, while survivors had many weaknesses and a limit to what they could endure. If one got the upper hand in a battle between survivors, and the other was an individual with rich combat experience, the defeated could be continually oppressed until death! So, although they were reluctant, they knew there was no chance left. If they didn¡¯t concede now, Ma Wen might not be beaten to death, but he¡¯d certainly be beaten half to death. At this moment, as Wang Tao watched Ma Wen flying towards him, and then turned to see the people from Thunder Guild ready to concede, he suddenly swiftly instructed Nie Siyan: ¡°Get the rebar, aim at him.¡± One of Nie Siyan¡¯s weapons included a sharpened piece of rebar that could be used for close combat or thrown. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s command, Nie Siyan froze for a moment. However, before her mind could catch up, her hand had already grabbed a sharp piece of rebar. Then she saw Ma Wen fly directly towards her. Thud! A sharp piece of rebar pierced through Ma Wen¡¯s throat. ¡°You¡­¡± Ma Wen¡¯s eyes widened in unwillingness, then his HP dropped to zero. ¡°Ma Wen!¡± The people from Thunder Guild were stunned for a second and then erupted in anger. They couldn¡¯t believe that Ma Wen was dead! He had run into someone else¡¯s weapon¡ªIn most people¡¯s eyes, it seemed as if Ma Wen had run into the rebar by accident. Only a few saw that Nie Siyan didn¡¯t originally have a weapon in her hand. If she hadn¡¯t suddenly grabbed a weapon, Ma Wen might not have died. ¡°You killed my brother; you¡¯re asking for death!¡± The members of Thunder Guild immediately drew their weapons, ready to fight. They hadn¡¯t seen Nie Siyan¡¯s action clearly; they also thought it was an accident. But at that moment, whether it was an accident or not was irrelevant. They needed to vent their anger, demand compensation! Wang Tao looked at these people, his gaze growing even colder. If Ma Wen hadn¡¯t suddenly made a sneak attack on Xu Xiaojun just now, he wouldn¡¯t have let Nie Siyan kill him. Now, seeing this group¡¯s reaction, still not convinced? Well, then they couldn¡¯t blame him for being impolite, considering they were all walking around with Level 2 Crystal Cores. ¡°Stop!¡± But at this moment, a commanding female voice suddenly rang out. A team of striking women stepped out from the crowd, with the leader speaking coolly: ¡°This is a fair duel, abide by the bet. Do not escalate the conflict!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised to see these women. Those who recognized them exclaimed in astonishment. ¡°People from the club!¡± Chapter 453 - Chapter 453: Chapter 202 Club (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Chapter 453: Chapter 202 Club (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Vast, commonly known as the Club, one of the four major powers in Zijing City! The Club does not recruit men; it is entirely female and is a beautiful sight in Zijing City. Of course, what¡¯s even more impressive is their strength. This is one of the four major forces, an existence on par with Zijin Base, not to be trifled with by anyone. When they stood up to prevent the conflict from escalating, no one dared to disobey. ¡°But they killed our people!¡± The Thunder Guild members didn¡¯t dare to move forward, but one of them shouted in anger. ¡°In the fight of blades and swords, one must be prepared for injury or even death. Have you survived the apocalypse for so long without understanding even this much?¡± The leading member of the Club spoke. Her face was calm, her tone authoritative. ¡°This was one of our Thunder Guild¡¯s most promising Ability Users for a Level 3 Ascension. Are you saying our man died in vain?¡± Several people from the Thunder Guild were obviously dissatisfied. Now that the Club had intervened, a fight was no longer possible, so they could only try to negotiate some compensation. To their remark, the woman¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, but what she said made the Thunder Guild members quite embarrassed. ¡°It was your people who made the lethal move first. If he died, it was his own fault.¡± ¡°¡­¡± After a moment of silence, the leader of the Thunder Guild members glared fiercely at Nie Siyan and said with a sinister tone, ¡°Firefly Club, huh? We¡¯ll see about this!¡± They were ready to take Ma Wen¡¯s body away, but Wang Tao, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward, blocking the Thunder Guild members. ¡°Wait a moment.¡± ¡°What else do you want to do!¡± Several members were furious. They didn¡¯t recognize Wang Tao, but since he was with Nie Siyan, he was obviously from the Firefly Club. If the Club members weren¡¯t there, just for this obstruction by Wang Tao, they would have faced serious consequences! ¡°Shh¡ª¡± Wang Tao suddenly made a gesture for silence. All the others looked over curiously, even the women from the Club were very curious about what this hulking man was up to. Then, everyone seemed to hear a ¡°crackling¡± noise. Some people in the crowd suddenly turned to look at Ma Wen¡¯s body on the ground. Crack¡ªcrack¡ª Ma Wen, who was already dead, suddenly began to twist his body and rise up. He slowly lifted his head, his murky eyes looking at Wang Tao and his group! Following Wang Tao¡¯s signal, Xu Xiaojun immediately raised his axe and hacked wildly at Ma Wen¡¯s head, with Wang Tao stepping on the body to prevent it from running amok. Splurt! Zombie Ma Wen¡¯s HP dropped to zero again. Xu Xiaojun skillfully pried the Crystal Core out from the zombie¡¯s head and then retreated behind Nie Siyan. Wang Tao immediately gestured to the Thunder Guild members, inviting them to proceed. ¡°Alright, you can take him now.¡± Then Wang Tao too retreated behind Nie Siyan, the two standing one on each side of her, looking like bodyguards. All these events may sound lengthy, but in actuality, they happened in just over ten seconds. ¡°You! Aaaargh! You¡¯ve gone too far!¡± The Thunder Guild members were nearly driven mad. They had never before felt such humiliation! They glared fiercely at Nie Siyan and the others, as if they wanted to devour the members of the Firefly Club alive! If it weren¡¯t for their leader, who was just about calm enough to know a conflict should not erupt at this moment, they might have really come to blows. This time, the Thunder Guild members said nothing and simply dragged away the legs of Zombie Ma Wen, ready to leave. But just then, a squad of fully Armed soldiers in protective suits arrived. They surrounded the Thunder Guild group. ¡°Decontaminating the zombie virus, clear the area!¡± ¡°Warning! Drop the zombie corpse, or we will open fire!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Looking at Zijin Base¡¯s Decontamination Squad, the Thunder Guild members felt as if their heads were steaming, but they dared not speak. They could only bitterly drop their companion¡¯s body and slink away. The main party gone, the rest began to disperse, leaving the Decontamination Squad to clean up the zombie virus. Many looked at the departing Thunder Guild members with a touch of sympathy. What a tragic group of people! They lost a life, a villa, their dignity, and were trampled upon at the end¡­ such misery! As everyone¡¯s gaze shifted back to Nie Siyan, it was filled with a hint of reverence. At any time, the strong are respected. Nie Siyan did not display her own strength, but that large man under her command had. With such strong strength in a subordinate, how powerful must Nie Siyan herself be? How strong must the whole Firefly Club be? Indeed, the rumors and information were unreliable! The power of the Firefly Club was not at the bottom among the medium forces, but on top, just like the Thunder Guild! Nie Siyan, relishing in everyone¡¯s gaze, felt ecstatic, her legs involuntarily clenching together. She loved the feeling of showing off in front of people! At this moment, the women from the Club came forward, standing in front of Nie Siyan. ¡°Hello, I am Nie Siyan, president of the Firefly Club. Thank you for upholding justice!¡± Nie Siyan hastily spoke. The leading woman nodded, but then with a serious face, she said, ¡°This was, after all, a duel, not a battle to the death. There was no need for fatal blows. Let this not happen again.¡± As she spoke, she glanced at Wang Tao, her eyes containing a hint of displeasure. Wang Tao¡¯s brows rose. This woman, she was warning him? The woman, having spoken, turned to leave. But Wang Tao suddenly spoke up, ¡°Are all the people from your Club this rude? Our president has introduced herself by name, and you leave without even a greeting? Do you look down on us smaller forces?¡± Chapter 454 - Chapter 454: Chapter 202 Clubhouse (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Chapter 454: Chapter 202 Clubhouse (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 As soon as these words came out, the group of women all looked displeasedly at Wang Tao. Although they admitted that they liked Wang Tao¡¯s face and figure, that was no reason for him to accuse them of rudeness! The woman leading the club was about to say something, but Wang Tao beat her to it. ¡°That¡¯s true, we small forces certainly can¡¯t compare with you, and not being respected is to be expected. After all, you¡¯re one of the big four forces. It¡¯s not just respect, we¡¯re not even worthy of knowing your names¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s words immediately resonated with some of those around him who felt similarly aggrieved. They didn¡¯t dare to say anything, but there was unmistakable annoyance in their eyes. In fact, they hadn¡¯t thought there was anything amiss until Wang Tao put it that way. They instantly felt that these people from the big forces indeed didn¡¯t take them seriously. Their leader had greeted them very courteously only to receive rebuke in return. After all, this was a leader of a faction, and they didn¡¯t even give him that much respect¡­ Sympathizing with the underdog is in many people¡¯s nature, especially when they themselves are the underdogs compared to the big four forces. The club¡¯s leader furrowed her brows upon seeing this. Especially when she saw Wang Tao smiling at her, she, who rarely got angry, felt a sudden urge to beat him up. Of course, she definitely wouldn¡¯t do that. The woman gave Wang Tao a deep look, then turned to Nie Siyan and extended her hand. ¡°Hello, my name is Lu Yingfeng, Leader of the First Vast Club.¡± Lu Yingfeng was a beauty. Not the kind with fair skin, stunning looks, and long legs, but rather a woman with well-defined features, standing at 1.7 meters tall with somewhat rough, wheat-colored skin. She was fully covered, with only her face exposed ¨C the standard attire of a survivor. In stark contrast to her unassuming appearance, Nie Siyan¡¯s leather outfit seemed quite extravagant. ¡°Hello!¡± Nie Siyan hurriedly shook hands with Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng nodded then, without saying much more, led the still-somewhat-frustrated women away. However, before they left, Lu Yingfeng spotted Jiang Shixue behind Wang Tao. This caught her attention. ¡°Such clear eyes¡­ This is someone who has not been tainted by the apocalypse!¡± Lu Yingfeng immediately entertained the idea of recruiting Jiang Shixue into her organization. But given the current awkward situation between them, she said nothing more and simply made a mental note of the girl before departing. And the direction they headed in¡­ Building No. 7? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the Firefly Club and the clubhouse were neighbors? There were only two quadrangle dwellings, but with three remaining big forces, surely one would end up in a detached villa. When the clubhouse people showed up here, Wang Tao had his suspicions. After all, the quadrangle was a bit too far to just happen along this way. But he hadn¡¯t expected them to be neighbors¡­ When the clubhouse people left, the onlookers started whispering among themselves. ¡°My god, that¡¯s Lu Yingfeng!¡± ¡°The second-ranked expert in the clubhouse! I heard she¡¯s only a hair weaker than their leader!¡± ¡°No, I think Lu Yingfeng is even stronger than their leader! I had the fortune of seeing her in battle once. She faced six Level 2 Zombies, and it was like slaughtering chickens ¨C an absolute crush! But she was wearing a mask during the fight, so I didn¡¯t recognize her just now¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± As Wang Tao listened to these people, his expression didn¡¯t change. He knew this woman was strong, after all, 29,999 HP. [HP: 29,999/29,999] [Mana: 6,800/6,800] [Grade: Level 2] [Hidden attribute: Hate the wicked as if they were enemies] [Hate the wicked as if they were enemies: Slightly increases damage when attacking someone she perceives as a bad person] [Internal Impurity: 24%] Lu Yingfeng¡¯s HP had reached the upper limit for Level Two, and she had a mana pool of 6,800. If she hadn¡¯t used any items to increase her mana, perhaps she had leveled up an ability to Level Two +10. Her strength was indeed formidable. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a Level Two +10 Special Ability. Of course, this was by Wang Tao¡¯s deliberate control. His main task at the moment wasn¡¯t leveling up his Special Ability Level but to synthetize abilities first. He wanted to fuse all his abilities to their limit before upgrading. As for Lu Yingfeng, she also had a Hidden Ability, and quite an interesting one at that. As long as she thought you were a bad person, then the damage she dealt to you would increase! Even if the increase wasn¡¯t high, it was still an increase, which was quite awesome. Unfortunately, Lu Yingfeng couldn¡¯t see her own Hidden Attributes, so she probably couldn¡¯t fully utilize this Hidden Ability. Especially after a brief interaction with her, Wang Tao had some understanding of her character. She was someone who valued fairness and at times, even during battle, might not truly regard her opponent as a bad person, rather just someone with a different standpoint. In that case, the effect of this Hidden Ability wouldn¡¯t come into play. It was a bit of a pity¡­ ¡°Brother Wang, we haven¡¯t offended the clubhouse, have we?¡± Nie Siyan suddenly whispered beside Wang Tao. ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Wang Tao smiled. ¡°Not afraid!¡± Nie Siyan was indeed a bit afraid, but she certainly wouldn¡¯t admit it. ¡°Then that settles it, let¡¯s go and check out the villa,¡± Wang Tao said unconcernedly. ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan immediately gestured, leading the others toward the villa. As she moved, the surrounding onlookers immediately made way, watching them with a mixture of awe and respect. Chapter 455 - Chapter 455: Chapter 202 Clubhouse (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Chapter 455: Chapter 202 Clubhouse (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Nie Siyan¡¯s face remained impassive, as if she were utterly calm, but inside, she was almost giddy with delight. This is what it feels like to be powerful! A group of people arrived at Villa No. 8. The villa had four floors in total, with three above ground and one below. There was a large courtyard in front of the villa and a garage that could accommodate three cars at the back. There were also man-made lakes, fish ponds¡­ It had to be said, the environment here was really nice, almost like before the apocalypse, without that end-of-the-world feeling, as if it were a haven from the world. ¡°How beautiful!¡± Nie Siyan exclaimed in admiration before becoming somewhat wistful, ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine how nice the quadrangle dwellings must be¡­¡± When she said ¡°nice,¡± she wasn¡¯t just talking about the environment but also about status. Originally, she hadn¡¯t given much thought to these things because she knew her own strength. But now, having received Wang Tao¡¯s help, she felt that there might just be a possibility for her status to continue climbing? The staff led them inside the villa, left the keys, went over some precautions, and then departed. From now on, until they left, this villa belonged to Wang Tao and his group. Of course, that was as long as they weren¡¯t defeated by someone else. Judging by the strength displayed today, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone foolish enough to challenge them. ¡°Brother Wang, you must be tired. Let me give you a leg massage!¡± After a brief tour of the villa, Nie Siyan approached Wang Tao, her face blushing as she offered. Just by the look of Nie Siyan¡¯s offer, you could tell this leg massage wouldn¡¯t be entirely appropriate. ¡°Let¡¯s cook first.¡± By this time, it was already evening, so Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to cook. Despite Xu Xiaojun¡¯s burly appearance, his culinary skills were quite decent. Moreover, the villa came with a supply of fresh vegetables and meats! It had to be said, Zijin Base was really generous. Thunder Guild had probably just arrived not long ago and hadn¡¯t used any of these items yet. After instructing Xu Xiaojun, Wang Tao went up to the villa¡¯s rooftop to exchange some tips on leg massages with Nie Siyan. After spending some time there, Nie Siyan internalized all of Wang Tao¡¯s tips, feeling as if she was so full of knowledge that she didn¡¯t even need dinner. At that point, someone came to the door. It was an invitation for Nie Siyan to attend a banquet. Wang Tao initially thought the banquet was hosted by Zijin Base, but later found out it wasn¡¯t. It was organized by those dozen or so mid-sized forces¡­ Their purpose in coming to Zijin Base was naturally for that so-called upgrade operation. This upgrade operation was essentially about concentrating resources to produce a Level 3 ability user! Everyone wanted to be a Level 3 ability user, but they all knew that spots were limited. The four major forces certainly had their spots, but it was a different story for the other forces. Thus, before the official start of the upgrade operation, these mid-level forces wanted to touch base with each other and form teams or alliances. Nie Siyan felt that forming alliances was unrealistic. If alliances could be formed, they would have been formed already ¡ª who would wait until now? Even if they did form an alliance, it would likely be nothing more than a verbal agreement, which could collapse under even the slightest external pressure. However, Nie Siyan still planned to go. They had invited her earnestly; it would be rude not to go. And now, she was the club president, after all ¡ª she had to at least fulfil her ceremonial duties. Plus, she wanted to see what these people were thinking and whether there was any insider information. Of course, there was another important reason: she wanted to see if these people had any Crystal Cores ¡ª she always remembered Wang Tao¡¯s mission to trade for Crystal Cores! Wang Tao currently needed Level 2 and Level 3 Crystal Cores. But there was no point in thinking about Level 3 Crystal Cores; it was unlikely anyone had them. And even if they did, they wouldn¡¯t want to trade them. As for Level 2 Crystal Cores, they could include those for ascension, omnipotent ones, and his own usage, in addition to the unknown-purpose Cores, all of which were tradable. If there were any special Level 1 Crystal Cores, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t disdain them either. What Wang Tao could offer in trade were primarily Level 1 Crystal Cores and various potions. The Crystal Cores were all above Blue Quality, primarily Purple, with the occasional Red one. He wasn¡¯t bringing out any Orange ones for now. When it came to potions, aside from some medium-sized bottles and some potions he couldn¡¯t currently produce, other manufacturable potions were all tradable! Especially something like the Rejuvenation Potion, which didn¡¯t require core materials, had low costs, and was very simple to produce ¡ª it might just be Wang Tao¡¯s main product this time. After all, as long as he had Crystal Cores, he could produce as much of this potion as needed. Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan some samples, telling her to pitch them if the opportunity arose. ¡°Brother Wang, just wait for my good news!¡± Nie Siyan spoke confidently. There was no need to mention the Crystal Cores; even these potions were a first for her to hear about, and she was tempted herself, let alone other people. There was no doubt that these Crystal Cores and potions would sell well. The main question was what price they would fetch. Nie Siyan had been in business before the apocalypse and was confident of fetching high prices. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wang Tao patted Nie Siyan¡¯s backside, and she left with Zhu Han and another ability user. After all, as the president of the Firefly Club, she needed to bring some people along for appearances. Wang Tao was preparing to go down for dinner when someone else arrived at the villa. Again, it was an invitation to a banquet. But this time, the invitation wasn¡¯t for Nie Siyan; it was a specific invitation for Wang Tao. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t initially interested in going. He thought it might be an invitation from some small force. After all, the mid-sized forces had already invited Nie Siyan, and they were now gathering together. However, when the visitors revealed their affiliation, Wang Tao suddenly became intrigued. ¡°The club inviting me? And Lu Yingfeng specifically requested it? Interesting¡­¡± The visitors mentioned that since their place was full of women, it was a bit inconvenient, which was why only Wang Tao, a man, was invited. Wang Tao looked around, and apart from Jiang Shixue, the rest were men. ¡°Little Jun, you guys have dinner. Little Xue and I are going to see what¡¯s up.¡± Wang Tao planned to take Jiang Shixue along for a meal. ¡°Okay!¡± So, holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, Wang Tao headed to Villa No. 7. Chapter 456 - Chapter 456: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Chapter 456: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Villa No. 7. On the first floor, in the open kitchen. ¡°Pass me the vegetables.¡± ¡°Which vegetables?¡± ¡°The green ones.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Is there any steak?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How about lamb chops?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Pork chops must be there, right?¡± ¡°Also no.¡± ¡°¡­¡± A slender woman wearing a light pink house dress was cooking. Next to her, a tall woman in shorts and a tank top was assisting. They hadn¡¯t done much cooking, but both were sweating profusely. Lu Yingfeng looked at Lan Yulian, who was busy in front of her, and really wanted to say: Sister, if we can¡¯t do it, let¡¯s just stop, okay? But seeing the other¡¯s heartily smiling face, though in a flurry, she held back. Forget it, it was rare to see Lan Yulian so happy, she didn¡¯t want to dampen her spirits¡­ After some more bustling about, someone came in to report. ¡°Boss, Chief, Wang Tao is here, but he has brought someone with him.¡± Lan Yulian was concentrating on cooking and didn¡¯t respond. Lu Yingfeng, on hearing this, frowned, somewhat displeased. ¡°Didn¡¯t we invite only him? Why did he bring someone else?¡± The person at the door quickly said: ¡°He brought a woman.¡± ¡°Nie Siyan?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a pretty high school girl.¡± It¡¯s her! Lu Yingfeng¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°Quick, invite them in!¡± Only then did Lan Yulian lift her head, looking at Lu Yingfeng with a puzzled face. ¡°You¡­ don¡¯t tell me you have some special fetish?¡± As she spoke, she purposely shrank her body as if she were very scared. ¡°Hmph! Even if I had a special fetish, I¡¯d feast on you first!¡± Lu Yingfeng glared at Lan Yulian and then explained. ¡°Firefly Club has just nine members, among whom there are only two women. If it¡¯s not Nie Siyan, then it must be the girl I told you about before!¡± ¡°Oh? The one you said has very pure eyes, that just by making eye contact, one could instantly calm down? That pretty girl?¡± Lan Yulian also showed some interest. ¡°It should be her!¡± ¡°Then I really have to see if she¡¯s as mystical as you say¡­¡± Lan Yulian was skeptical. ¡°You¡¯ll see in a bit.¡± Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t elaborate further, describing that pure gaze was really hard. A moment later, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared at the doorway. ¡°Mr. Wang, please come in.¡± Wang Tao walked in holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand. He immediately noticed the two women busy in the kitchen. The women naturally saw him too. However, the women¡¯s gaze lingered on Wang Tao for a moment, then quickly shifted to Jiang Shixue. Upon making eye contact with Jiang Shixue, Lan Yulian immediately thought¡ªYing Feng hadn¡¯t lied to her! ¡°Welcome!¡± Lu Yingfeng walked over quickly. She stood in front of Wang Tao and reached out her hand in a bold gesture: ¡°I was in the wrong for what happened this afternoon. I apologize to you.¡± ¡°Oh? What happened this afternoon? I¡¯ve already forgotten.¡± Wang Tao smiled and shook her hand. Lu Yingfeng¡¯s hand was rough and tough. Clearly, she was someone used to fighting often. While shaking hands, Wang Tao brazenly looked Lu Yingfeng up and down. Now Ying Feng was not dressed in the survivor¡¯s outfit from the afternoon, but in sports shorts, a tank top, and slippers, her long, heaven-defying legs fully on display, and you could even catch glimpses of her abs. On her exposed arms and thighs, one could also clearly see the streamlined muscles. In her countenance, there was a hint of determination, inspiring involuntary awe. This was a pretty, healthy, resolute woman with considerable combat power¡ªWang Tao made such an assessment in his mind. Her appearance might scare off some men, but Wang Tao looked a few times more. He found this kind of slightly muscular, healthy body to have a special kind of beauty, which he liked very much, especially since his own muscles were much more exaggerated. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Ying Feng was surprisingly not offended. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, did they seem different from others? She subconsciously straightened her chest, which drew Wang Tao¡¯s attention. Then¡­ forgot about it, it was flat as a plain, nothing notable. Wang Tao immediately shifted his gaze. After looking around, he smelled the faint aroma of food and said with some surprise: ¡°Miss Lu, did you only invite me today?¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s expression suddenly stiffened. What do you mean by that? Without replying, Lan Yulian, who was not far away, wiped her hands and walked over with a smile. ¡°Yes, we only invited Mr. Wang, of course, and this beautiful lady. Let¡¯s get acquainted, my name is Lan Yulian, I¡¯m the leader of Vast.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, my name is Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao shook hands with her. Her hand was completely different from Ying Feng¡¯s, delicate and soft like that of a young lady who had never done any hard work, making one feel the urge to play with it carefully. Lan Yulian and Ying Feng were like two completely different paintings. At a glance, Ying Feng was a strong survivor of the apocalypse, and even though she had a great figure and was pretty, she would still make most men keep their distance. Lan Yulian was different. With her fair skin and delicate features and standing only at 1.6 meters, even dressed in loose-fitting home clothes, her curvy, shapely figure was evident. And especially when her captivating peach-blossom eyes looked at you with a teasing smile, probably not many men could withstand it. Chapter 457 - Chapter 457: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Chapter 457: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Of course, Wang Tao was not such a shallow person. When he observed Lan Yulian, he naturally saw her attributes as well. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 4800/4800] [Grade: Level 2] [Hidden Property: Saving Lives] [Saving Lives: Quite adept at treating and saving people] [Internal Impurity: 22%] Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both had 29999 HP, which wasn¡¯t a surprise, since she was also a leader of a major power. But this hidden property raised Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows. Saving the dying and healing the injured? Skilled at saving people? Could it be that she was a healer? Speaking of healers, Wang Tao thought of Ding Yuqin, whose blood replenishing pack¡¯s hidden ability was incredibly useful. It could relax and replenish blood. It was just unclear what Lan Yulian¡¯s situation was, and how she went about saving people? ¡°Mr. Wang, are you holding on well?¡± Lan Yulian asked with a smile. ¡°Ahem.¡± Wang Tao then released Lan Yulian¡¯s soft and delicate hand. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao was taking advantage of her; it was just too soft and made it somewhat irresistible. Lan Yulian gave Wang Tao a charming look before making a gesture of invitation. ¡°Mr. Wang, please have a seat, and this lady¡­ please sit down as well.¡± ¡°Her name is Jiang Shixue, she¡¯s a little socially anxious.¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced her; the social anxiety was of course an excuse, but it was true that Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t like to talk much to others. ¡°Jiang Shixue, what a nice name!¡± Lu Yingfeng muttered from the side. After Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue took their seats, Lan Yulian continued cooking, while Lu Yingfeng sat beside Wang Tao to keep him company. ¡°Why have you invited me alone? What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Wang Tao asked straightforwardly. In Wang Tao¡¯s memory, he shouldn¡¯t have had any contact with this club. He didn¡¯t understand why they would invite him specifically. He was presenting himself as an ordinary Level 2 Ability User, what made him worthy of a personal invitation by one of the four great powers¡¯ leaders? Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t speak, and Lan Yulian, who was cutting vegetables, explained without turning her head: ¡°Because I want to invite Mr. Wang to join Vast.¡± ¡°What?¡± Wang Tao was stunned. Setting aside why they would invite him, an ¡°ordinary¡± Ability User, Vast was known for not accepting men, so what did they mean by inviting him? Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, Lu Yingfeng started to explain: ¡°It¡¯s not a long-term plan for Vast to recruit only females; the leader is prepared to reform.¡± Whether in terms of physical fitness or mental resilience, women are generally weaker than men. This creates a significant disadvantage in post-apocalyptic survival. It might be manageable in the short term, but would definitely lead to various limitations over time. Moreover, there¡¯s another important point, it¡¯s impossible to have children with only females! Children might be a burden in the post-apocalyptic world, but for a base to grow and prosper, it absolutely needs a population of newborns. For instance, Zijin Base had already begun providing subsidies for childbirth¡­ So, the reform of Vast was inevitable sooner or later. ¡°Then why have you invited me to join?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Because¡­ you are strong.¡± Lan Yulian turned to look at Wang Tao and said. Sss¡ª Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. He hadn¡¯t made a move and they could already tell he was strong? Did they possess an Ability or hidden powers that allowed them to discern someone¡¯s strength? Lan Yulian beckoned Lu Yingfeng to come over and help her with the dishes. There were just four home-style dishes, all served in stainless steel basins, and the portions were huge. As for the presentation¡­ well, they should be edible, right? Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s disdainful look, Lan Yulian became slightly embarrassed. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s been a long time since I cooked, a bit rusty.¡± Lu Yingfeng silently criticized in her heart: It¡¯s not that it¡¯s been a long time since she cooked; she basically hasn¡¯t ever cooked. However, food wasn¡¯t the focus for everyone present. ¡°I admit I¡¯m strong, but how did you figure that out?¡± Wang Tao asked, somewhat puzzled. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng was a bit speechless, not expecting Wang Tao to be so direct. Lan Yulian, however, covered her mouth and chuckled. After laughing for a while, she straightened up and said: ¡°A friend introduced me. She told me that if I met a man named Wang Tao in Zijing City, I could establish a good relationship with him because this man is very strong.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Wang Tao frowned, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said with some confusion, ¡°Yang Changhong?¡± Considering his recent experiences, the only person he knew who had come to Zijing City was Yang Changhong. ¡°That¡¯s right, it was her.¡± Lan Yulian nodded. ¡°Before the apocalypse, Yang Changhong and I were very good friends, but we lost touch after the apocalypse began. However, a few days ago, she suddenly came to Zijing City¡­¡± ¡°Where is she now?¡± Wang Tao was curious. He and Yang Changhong had arrived in Zijing City together, coming from the same direction, but he hadn¡¯t heard any news about Yang Changhong¡­ ¡°I originally invited Zhang Hong to join Vast, but she said she thought she saw her sister, so she didn¡¯t stay in Zijing City and went straight to look for her sister instead.¡± Lan Yulian said with some regret. It¡¯s certainly a good thing to encounter a good friend in the apocalypse, but unfortunately, this friend didn¡¯t stay. ¡°Her sister? No wonder¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood. Yang Changhong had mentioned before that her sister was missing, and the only reason she came to Zijing City was in the hope of possibly running into her. But the chance seemed so slim, even she herself didn¡¯t think it was likely anymore. However, now hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, it seemed there might really be a chance? All he could hope was that she would find her sister. Chapter 458 - Chapter 458: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Chapter 458: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 ¡°It seems you¡¯re quite familiar with Zhang Hong?¡± Jade Lotus was somewhat curious. When she met Yang Changhong, he was just about to leave, and they didn¡¯t have much time to communicate. Yang Changhong only mentioned that a man named Wang Tao had come to Zijing City, that Wang Tao was very strong, and also a person of good character. If she could meet him, she should try to establish a good relationship. As for whether he was strong, it was hard to say since Yang Changhong might not have encountered many powerful Ability Users. However, his good character should be unquestionable. Jade Lotus trusted the judgement of this good sister of hers. So she took Yang Changhong¡¯s words to heart. But what she thought about wasn¡¯t just establishing a good relationship¡ªshe wanted to recruit Wang Tao directly into the organization! ¡°We can be considered friends,¡± Wang Tao shrugged. Although he hadn¡¯t known Yang Changhong for long, they had a good understanding of each other; they should be considered friends. ¡°Just friends?¡± Jade Lotus was a bit gossipy at heart because when Yang Changhong introduced Wang Tao, the praises were not like those for an Ordinary friend! However, she didn¡¯t ask any further. After all, today¡¯s protagonist wasn¡¯t Yang Changhong. ¡°So¡­ what do you think, Mr. Wang?¡± Jade Lotus¡¯s eyes, captivating as they were, looked at Wang Tao with a smile. ¡°Are you talking about joining your club?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t even think about it; he flatly refused. ¡°¡­¡± Jade Lotus and Ying Feng both opened their mouths in surprise. They hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to refuse, and to do it so decisively at that. Seeing their surprised expressions, Wang Tao guessed that Yang Changhong hadn¡¯t told them about his plans to go to the military base; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been so shocked. ¡°Why?¡± Before Jade Lotus could speak, Ying Feng immediately frowned and asked. She felt Wang Tao wasn¡¯t a petty person, so the small conflict from the afternoon should be considered water under the bridge. Was Wang Tao¡¯s refusal because of the Firefly Club? Could their Vast not even compare to a small Firefly Club? One should know that this was an invitation personally extended by Jade Lotus! Wang Tao must be unaware of Jade Lotus¡¯s strength; otherwise, he certainly wouldn¡¯t have rejected it so decisively! ¡°It¡¯s a matter of personal preference.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t elaborate. ¡°Alright then, I suppose I was being presumptuous.¡± Disappointment flickered across Jade Lotus¡¯s face, but she quickly smiled again. ¡°I¡¯m very curious, out of so many powerful people in Zijing City, why do you particularly hope for me to join?¡± Jade Lotus didn¡¯t conceal the answer to this question. ¡°Because your background is relatively clear; you¡¯re not from Zijing City and naturally couldn¡¯t belong to any other faction. Coupled with what Zhang Hong has said about your good character, I think you¡¯re quite suitable. If it were someone else¡­ I wouldn¡¯t trust them.¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao suddenly understood that Zijing City was full of undercurrents. Recruiting someone was not just a simple matter for Jade Lotus; she didn¡¯t trust other people. Wang Tao then asked further: ¡°Since you want to reform and are considering recruiting men, you certainly won¡¯t be recruiting just one, right? If you don¡¯t trust other people, how will you recruit them?¡± After Wang Tao asked this question, Jade Lotus and Ying Feng both fell silent for a moment. The truth was, they wanted to recruit Wang Tao into their ranks for another reason they hadn¡¯t mentioned. They had a very special Crystal Core that only a man could merge with. If Wang Tao joined and passed some covert assessments, Jade Lotus would give him this Crystal Core. As long as Wang Tao successfully merged with it, he could bring a boost in strength to their Vast. But if Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to join, then there was no way to discuss this with him since they didn¡¯t want the matter of the Crystal Core to be exposed just yet. ¡°There are some reasons, but it¡¯s inconvenient to discuss unless you agree to join.¡± Jade Lotus playfully winked. It couldn¡¯t be denied that Jade Lotus was beautiful, with each frown and smile carrying charm, especially those electrifying peach blossom eyes¡ªextremely captivating. Wang Tao¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t flinch at all; he boldly met Jade Lotus¡¯s eyes, then shrugged. ¡°Then that¡¯s a pity.¡± The three of them had been talking nonstop and had not yet begun to eat. Jiang Shixue tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s sleeve when she saw him stop, her big eyes turning towards the food. It was as if she was saying, ¡°I want to eat.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wang Tao patted Jiang Shixue on the head. With permission, Jiang Shixue immediately started eating. She had always been well-mannered from a young age, and even though she had lost her memory, some things are ingrained and not easily forgotten. Thus, in non-combat situations, she was very ladylike in her everyday behavior, including her refined way of eating, which was a pleasant sight to behold. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng saw Jiang Shixue¡¯s well-behaved look and those innocent big eyes, and they both felt a surge of maternal love. ¡°Here, eat more!¡± they urged and began serving food onto Jiang Shixue¡¯s plate. Lu Yingfeng even gave Lan Yulian several meaningful glances on the sly. ¡°Ahem, Mr. Wang. Perhaps with your strength, it doesn¡¯t matter where you are. But Shixue is just an ordinary person, and putting her in the Firefly Club¡­ It¡¯s not that I look down on the Firefly Club, but it definitely isn¡¯t as safe as Vast. If Shixue joins us at Vast, I guarantee that no one will be able to hurt her!¡± Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao expectantly. If they couldn¡¯t pull Wang Tao over, securing Jiang Shixue was also good enough. As for Wang Tao, her thoughts, to be frank, were also a kind of mutual use. But when it came to Jiang Shixue, she genuinely liked her. Such a sensible, well-behaved, and pure girl should be with them! When Wang Tao heard this, he felt somewhat speechless. Ordinary person? Not safe? If only they knew about Jiang Shixue¡¯s actual strength and the impurities within her, would they still think the same? ¡°I won¡¯t make decisions for Jiang Shixue; I respect her opinion,¡± he said. Wang Tao turned to Jiang Shixue beside him. ¡°What do you think, Little Xue?¡± Jiang Shixue put down her chopsticks and after swallowing the food in her mouth, she finally spoke: ¡°I want to be with Brother.¡± Wang Tao spread his hands toward the two women. ¡°¡­¡± Both women felt rather helpless. Neither of the two they wanted had been won over! However, they thought again, if they could recruit Wang Tao to their base, wouldn¡¯t that be like getting a buy-one-get-one-free deal? Exchanging glances, they instantly reached a consensus¡ªthey had to keep trying to persuade Wang Tao! The truth was they didn¡¯t care much about strength; even if he was strong, he probably wasn¡¯t stronger than the two of them, right? What they needed was someone with good character and a clean background. But they didn¡¯t dwell on this matter for the time being, knowing that talking too much could become annoying. Soon, the food on the table had all been eaten, most of which was consumed by Jiang Shixue. She especially loved meat and none of the three had competed with her for it; they let her have all the meat. Jiang Shixue was completely satisfied after the meal, she wiped her mouth and said to Wang Tao in her good-natured way: ¡°Brother, I¡¯m full.¡± Lan Yulian suddenly felt a pang of heartache at the sight. Jiang Shixue had eaten so much in one sitting, which clearly indicated that she hadn¡¯t had a full meal in a long time! Lu Yingfeng gave Wang Tao a sharp look, sensing that Jiang Shixue¡¯s life with him mustn¡¯t be good. ¡°How about this, for the next few days, you both come here for lunch, and I¡¯ll go ask for more food from Zijin Base¡­¡± Lan Yulian suddenly suggested. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao was startled for a moment before nodding decisively, ¡°No problem!¡± It had been a long time since he had eaten such proper food, and since there was an opportunity to freeload, why not take advantage of it? Chapter 459 - Chapter 459: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Chapter 459: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 After the meal, Wang Tao didn¡¯t beat around the bush and directly asked about the upgrading operation. Lan Yulian was, after all, the leader of one of the four major powers, so she was definitely well-informed. ¡°Sorry, I do know some things, but I can¡¯t tell you. Unless¡­ you join us. Of course, aside from sharing information, we also have excellent benefits and treatment!¡± Lan Yulian said with a smile. She was still not giving up, and the more Wang Tao refused, the more she believed he was of good character. ¡°Then forget it.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively. In truth, whether he joined or not was all the same to him. After all, even if he did join, could Lan Yulian stop him from leaving when he wished to? But the more Lan Yulian insisted on his joining, the more Wang Tao felt that things were not so simple¡ªLan Yulian definitely had another agenda she hadn¡¯t disclosed. Unless she made it clear, Wang Tao would definitely not join; he had to avoid being trapped. Lan Yulian was somewhat disappointed, but she was not disheartened. After chatting about some inconsequential topics, Wang Tao prepared to leave. However, before leaving, he took out some Crystal Cores and potions. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing a bit of business lately¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Upon seeing the items in Wang Tao¡¯s hands, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng¡¯s attention was immediately drawn. In Wang Tao¡¯s hands were a Red Crystal Core, an Orange Crystal Core, and a potion that seemed very high-end. ¡°These are Red Crystal Cores and Orange Crystal Cores without side effects, and a Rejuvenation Potion that can instantly restore physical strength and spirit to their peak¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced the items in his hand and passed them to the two women. The Red Crystal Core was a Glutton Core, and so was the Orange Crystal Core. But that wasn¡¯t the important part; what was important was their quality and the absence of side effects! That is to say, these two Crystal Cores were synthesized using a Crystal Core Synthesizer! Lu Yingfeng suddenly felt a pang of loss. Which wastrel had done this? Synthesizing with a Crystal Core Synthesizer consumed a vast amount of the same quality Crystal Core, and it wasn¡¯t even guaranteed to succeed. God knows how many Crystal Cores this wasted for just these two Cores! But to go to such expense just to synthesize Glutton Cores? That was incredibly wasteful! After all, the Glutton Core was widely regarded as one of the most useless Crystal Cores; even with side effects removed, it was still trash. If these really were synthesized using a Crystal Core Synthesizer, then if this wasn¡¯t waste, what was? As for the Rejuvenation Upgrade Potion, Wang Tao¡¯s description sounded magical, but the two women were skeptical, having never tried and seen it before. ¡°You mean to say¡­¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat puzzled. ¡°If you have Level 2 Crystal Cores or some Level 1 Crystal Cores whose purpose you don¡¯t know, I can trade them for these kinds of Cores and potions.¡± ¡°You¡¯re referring to¡­ Red and Orange Crystal Cores?¡± Lu Yingfeng immediately asked. ¡°Yes. I recently found a channel where I can get these quality Cores¡­¡± Wang Tao would definitely not say he synthesized them himself, nor would he say he found them; he just said he had a channel and could provide a steady supply. After all, it was the end of the world; nothing was surprising. The two women exchanged glances, both visibly tempted. ¡°If you¡¯re interested, feel free to contact me anytime.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly propose a trade, as he wanted to give them time to consider. He left the Crystal Cores and potion there and then took Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand and left. ¡°Get them tested.¡± After Wang Tao left, Lan Yulian promptly instructed Lu Yingfeng. ¡°Okay!¡± They had their own methods of testing and could determine whether what Wang Tao said was true or false. If it was true, and Wang Tao indeed had so many Crystal Cores, she would certainly consider doing business with him. After all, she did have a lot of Level 2 Crystal Cores she couldn¡¯t use¡­ ¡°This Wang Tao, he¡¯s very capable, but he¡¯s so hard to persuade¡­¡± Lan Yulian shook her head helplessly. She wanted to recruit male survivors for Vast, but many women inside were opposed, saying it went against the founders¡¯ original intentions. There was some displeasure between them. Therefore, she planned to take action first and report later. As long as those women saw the benefits and advantages of male survivors, they would surely stop opposing. But unfortunately, Wang Tao was not willing¡­ Speaking of which, this was the first time in her life she had so earnestly invited a man, and she was rejected¡­ She wasn¡¯t angry, just a bit helpless. After all, if Wang Tao didn¡¯t join, some of her subsequent plans couldn¡¯t be carried out¡­ ¡­ When Wang Tao returned to villa number 8, Nie Siyan had not yet come back. He greeted Xu Xiaojun, then went up to the rooftop to exercise for a while until Nie Siyan returned. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Nie Siyan ran over, slightly excited. ¡°I¡¯ve got some useful information¡­¡± She quickly shared the news she had heard with Wang Tao. There were three important pieces of news in total. The first piece of news was that Zijin Base recently acquired a special Crystal Core whose Ability could be stacked; the more people, the stronger the power, similar to the Mud Swamp Ability Wang Tao had seen before. But not just anyone could integrate with this Crystal Core; even high-quality ones often failed. Even an Orange Crystal Core had failed! Orange had a one hundred percent integration success rate! Clearly, the quality of the Crystal Core was not the reason for the failures; there must be some unknown factors involved. The integration success rate seemed random, and no pattern could be discerned. Thus, despite knowing the power of this Crystal Core, few people have succeeded in merging with it. Chapter 460 - Chapter 460: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Chapter 460: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Zijin Base is now prepared to bring out these Crystal Cores for everyone to try. But it¡¯s definitely not possible for everyone to get one, and the specifics on how they¡¯ll be distributed aren¡¯t clear. It¡¯s very likely that they¡¯ll be allocated based on rankings of strength. The stronger forces will get more, while the weaker ones might not even get a single core. The Firefly Club challenging the Thunder Guild feels like a stroke of luck. They might end up getting more of these Crystal Cores because of it. As for what these Crystal Cores actually are, they still don¡¯t know, only that they¡¯re one of the trump cards Zijin Base has prepared for hunting Level 3 zombies. During their interactions, Nie Siyan, some even suggested that perhaps they should put on a few staged fights tomorrow to give off the illusion that they¡¯re all very strong, to boost their impression in front of Zijin Base. However, not many people approved of this proposal. Because they all don¡¯t trust each other¡ªone might pretend to go easy, but if the other takes it seriously, they¡¯ll be at a great loss! But, if there are one or two forces that are on good terms, slipping in a staged fight or two doesn¡¯t seem out of the question¡­ Of course, Zijin Base isn¡¯t foolish. It¡¯ll come down to whether their acting skills are better, or if Zijin Base is more perceptive. ¡­ The second piece of news is that Zijin Base is planning to create 12 Level 3 ability users in this Ascension operation! This number seems exaggerated to the point of being unrealistic, considering that there isn¡¯t even one Level 3 ability user yet¡­ The details are not clear for the time being. Anyway, Zijin Base seems to think it¡¯s feasible. They speculate it might be because Zijin Base has found a location with a large number of Level 3 zombies, or it¡¯s because Zijin Base possesses quick methods to kill Level 3 zombies¡­ Regardless, the idea of 12 Level 3 ability user slots has everyone quite excited. If there were only a few slots, then there certainly wouldn¡¯t be one for them. But with 12 slots, there should be enough for the four major forces, right? Maybe a few will even be left over, then wouldn¡¯t they also have a chance? ¡­ The third piece of news relates to the rankings of forces. It¡¯s said that Zijin Base may introduce a combat competition model to rank the high-end combat power of these forces. Although the specifics of this ranking have not been disclosed, combining it with the second piece of news, could it be that this rank might be a reserve list for Level 3 ability users? If there are any slots left over after the four major forces have taken their share, will the selections then start with the highest rank and go down in order? If that¡¯s the case, then these rankings become extremely important, probably prompting everyone to demonstrate their full capabilities¡­ ¡­ Nie Siyan received more than just these three pieces of information. There were a bunch of other messy details, but she thought most of them were useless, so she didn¡¯t bother Wang Tao with them. Then there was the issue of forming teams and alliances. This was as Wang Tao had predicted; no consensus was reached on forming alliances. Since there wasn¡¯t much trust among these mid-sized forces, they naturally couldn¡¯t form alliances. However, quite a few small groups did form. Nie Siyan herself formed a group, bringing in two forces that ranked lower. Based on the reputation of the Firefly Club¡¯s predecessor, the Skull Club, it would have been impossible to form a team. But now they were no longer the Skull Club. Plus, during the day, Xu Xiaojun defeated the Thunder Guild and made the Firefly Club quite prominent, so Nie Siyan was still able to find two teammates. The Ascension operation would definitely involve hunting Level 3 zombies, and having teammates would provide at least some support. Of course, that depended on whether the teammates were trustworthy. ¡°Do you think they can be trusted?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°These two forces are on the decline now, and no one wants to team up with them, so they have no other choice. However¡­ I don¡¯t really trust them either. When I teamed up with them, I thought that if there¡¯s danger in the future, I could use them as a shield!¡± Nie Siyan glanced at Wang Tao as she said this. She felt that Wang Tao probably wasn¡¯t the saintly type. Sure enough, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless after hearing this but didn¡¯t say much. ¡°You¡¯re quite clever,¡± ¡°Heh heh~¡± Nie Siyan took it as a compliment. ¡°Oh, right, I forgot to mention the most important thing!¡± Nie Siyan hurriedly told Wang Tao about the Crystal Cores. ¡°After taking out those Crystal Cores and Potions, I received a lot of attention. Especially the Potions, everyone said that after they test them, if they are really as effective as I claimed, they¡¯re willing to purchase them with Crystal Cores! As for the Crystal Cores, of course, they liked them too, but they weren¡¯t as popular as the Potions¡­¡± Listening to Nie Siyan¡¯s words, Wang Tao nodded inwardly. It seemed that for the time being, larger forces like the clubs preferred the Crystal Cores, whereas the mid-sized forces preferred Potions. Of course, this was only temporary. Wang Tao¡¯s products, whether Crystal Cores or Potions, were not exaggerated in their effectiveness. He believed that once they tested them, they would like both¡­ ¡­ The next day. Zijin Base called together the leaders of these forces for a meeting. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were fishing by the artificial lake, which was one of the benefits provided to the villa area by Zijin Base. It¡¯s just that the fish here were too small; after having had larger fish, Wang Tao felt they were somewhat lacking. Nie Siyan returned from the meeting invigorated and rushed to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Brother Wang! It¡¯s confirmed! After consultation among the four major forces, Zijin Base decided that this Ascension operation will indeed offer slots for Level 3 Ascension! But not 12 slots, 15! The specifics of the allocation were not detailed, but they indicated that there will be slots reserved for forces other than the four major ones!¡± Chapter 461 - Chapter 461: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Chapter 461: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 ¡°Oh? 15 spots?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. To achieve Level 3 Ascension, besides meeting basic criteria, the most important thing was the Ascension Crystal Core. But acquiring a Level 3 Crystal Core was very difficult; only Level 3 zombies or monsters could drop them, and even if one killed a Level 3 zombie or monster, it was still uncertain whether an Ascension Crystal Core would drop. After all, they didn¡¯t drop a Loot Pack. Even if the drop rate for Ascension Crystal Cores was high, say, killing 2 Level 3 zombies to obtain one Ascension Crystal Core, then for 15 spots, at least 30 Level 3 zombies would need to be killed! However, each Crystal Core had different Quality. White and blue had a lower probability, so at the very least, one would need a Purple Quality or higher to be relatively safe, with red and orange being the best. Assuming they were extremely lucky and the probability of dropping a Purple Quality or higher Crystal Core was one in two, to collect enough Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores of Purple Quality or higher, they would need to kill 60 Level 3 zombies! 60 Level 3 zombies! Where the heck did Zijin Base find so many zombies? And even if it was possible to find 60 Level 3 zombies, could they even defeat them? Wang Tao hadn¡¯t thought about it carefully yesterday, but upon reflecting today, it seemed quite unreliable! After Wang Tao shared his analysis, Nie Siyan was also stunned. She had been too excited before and hadn¡¯t considered this problem. Now that she thought about it, something was indeed off. Her face suddenly turned somewhat sullen. Could it be that she was happy for nothing? Wang Tao pondered for a moment and said: ¡°I think, if they aren¡¯t purposefully setting a trap, there might be two possibilities¡ª¡± ¡°One is, they¡¯ve found a place with a lot of Level 3 zombies that might be trapped in there, making them less dangerous to kill, and with more help they could deal with it¡­ The other is, these 15 slots for people are paid out in installments¡­¡± There might be other possibilities, but Wang Tao felt these were not very likely. Nie Siyan thought that what Wang Tao said made sense. She hoped it was the first option. If it was the second, that would be troublesome¡­ Besides the news about the Ascension slots, another piece of information was confirmed¡ªthe ranking battle. Zijin Base was indeed organizing a ranking list. The four major powers wouldn¡¯t participate, but other powers could register, with a maximum of three people per power. It would start directly tomorrow. As long as one could get a good ranking, they would receive rewards from Zijin Base, and naturally, these rewards varied in size. Just in terms of Level 2 Crystal Cores, Zijin Base had taken out a lot, claiming it was to motivate everyone¡­ This was indeed a significant investment. ¡°So, do we participate?¡± Nie Siyan asked. She had some confidence in herself, but not much¡ªher confidence was quite solid before, but after Wang Tao had Xu Xiaojun take action yesterday, not only were others struck down, but her confidence took a hit as well. So now she felt that she could probably rank, but getting a good ranking was uncertain¡­ ¡°Participate, you and Xu Xiaojun should be enough.¡± Wang Tao said. After all, Crystal Cores that were free for the taking shouldn¡¯t be turned down. However, to be on the safe side, Wang Tao thought he might enhance Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength a little more¡ªhe hadn¡¯t yet had a chance to use the Armor Blueprint he obtained before¡­ ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was immediately overjoyed upon hearing that Xu Xiaojun would take part. With the ability Xu Xiaojun had demonstrated yesterday, competing for the top spots shouldn¡¯t be a problem! ¡°By the way, someone has already contacted me wanting to buy your Crystal Cores and Potions. Shall I talk to them about the price now?¡± Nie Siyan suddenly asked. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Alrighty!¡± Nie Siyan had just left when a woman came over. She said their leader had invited Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue to join them for lunch at Building 7. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hold back, considering the clubhouse had plenty of food, and it was free. When they arrived at the villa of Building 7, Wang Tao noticed that Lan Yulian had changed into a different outfit for the day. She wore a white lab coat and had her hair neatly tied up, looking very much like a doctor¡ªwhich she actually was. Seeing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue arrive, Lan Yulian immediately came out to welcome them¡ªof course, she was there to greet Jiang Shixue. She took Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand and, seeing Wang Tao nod in approval, Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t resist and followed her in obediently. Lan Yulian was very happy about this, so she had Lu Yingfeng bring out some washed grapes for Jiang Shixue, which were bigger than any Wang Tao had seen before the apocalypse, resembling plums and looking delicious. ¡°Such luxury, to have grapes!¡± Without any reservation, Wang Tao took two bunches of grapes from Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands, which earned him eye rolls from both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. ¡°They taste really good!¡± It had been half a year since Wang Tao had grapes, and he had almost forgotten what they tasted like. Of course, Wang Tao was not snatching Jiang Shixue¡¯s food; it¡¯s just that she liked meat more, and wasn¡¯t very fond of fruits and vegetables. Wang Tao reluctantly volunteered to help. At that moment, Lan Yulian suddenly said to Wang Tao: ¡°You must also know about those 15 Level 3 slots, right?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious why Zijin Base dares to claim there are 15 spots available?¡± Lan Yulian asked again. ¡°Why?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. Wasn¡¯t this woman unwilling to tell him these things? Had she changed her tune? ¡°Because¡­ before that, may I ask first, you know about the prison constantly buying survivors, right?¡± Lan Yulian did not say directly, instead teased a bit more. ¡°I know.¡± Wang Tao was very clear, after all, he had sold over two hundred scumbags from the Skull Club into the prison. ¡°Then, where do you think those people bought by the prison went?¡± Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao with a serious expression, but this time she didn¡¯t wait for him to answer, and continued: ¡°They fed them to the zombies!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°You mean¡­¡± He thought of some horrifying possibilities he had once considered. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve guessed it. Exactly, they fed those survivors to create many Level 3 zombies! And now¡­ these zombies are about to get out of control! This so-called upgrade operation is remediation for this situation!¡± Chapter 468 - Chapter 468: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_1 Chapter 468: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_1 After the competition ended, it was supposed to be the time for Zijin Base to announce some matters. However, because the potion used by Nie Siyan was so incredibly effective, it drew all the attention to itself, with folks from the four major factions even crowding around Nie Siyan¡­ So, a significant amount of time passed before those from the major factions finally left, seemingly reluctant to part. ¡°Brother Wang! We sold quite a bit this time!¡± Nie Siyan said with a little excitement. The people from the four major factions had just placed their orders after learning about the uses of these potions. These potions weren¡¯t cheap, but those people didn¡¯t even blink. Nie Siyan gave them a few bottles, and they didn¡¯t even wait for the experimental results¡ªwho needed results when actual combat was far more convincing! ¡­ ¡°Next up is the announcement of the rankings¡­¡± The staff from Zijin Base began to declare the rankings. Firefly Club unquestionably took first place, while Thunder Guild had to settle for second. Winning first place in the competition meant, to some extent, that Firefly Club¡¯s strength was ranked first among all mid-sized factions. Below the four major factions, it was ranked fifth! Of course, these honorary titles were irrelevant; what mattered were the benefits allocated by Zijin Base! ¡°According to the agreement among us four major factions, out of 15 Level 3 ability user slots, we will give out three, going to Firefly Club for placing first, Thunder Guild for second, and third goes to¡­¡± The four factions equally shared twelve slots, three each. Then, they gave out another three slots, one for each of the top three¡­ This outcome was as expected by everyone. After all, these were the four major factions, and it was impressive enough that they were willing to distribute any slots at all. Other factions without slots were both envious and regretful. However, at that moment, the announcer added: ¡°However, these 15 slots are not set in stone, since nobody knows what kind of Crystal Cores zombies might drop. Our intention is to put all efforts into killing zombies and gather enough cores for the 15 slots. If we end up with extras, those will naturally be distributed among everyone!¡± Upon hearing this, many people got excited. There was still a chance! Seeing the mood had been stirred up, the man continued: ¡°Next, let¡¯s talk about how to kill Level 3 zombies. Level 3 zombies are very strong, especially since we need to kill a large number of them, so we¡¯ll need some special methods. For instance, the ¡®Weak Slime¡¯ Crystal Cores¡ªthis ability can weaken a zombie¡¯s strength! Coming up, I will distribute these cores according to rank, free of charge¡­¡± Wow¡ª Hearing that Zijin Base was giving away Crystal Cores for free, everyone became very excited. ¡°Oh right, the power of these Crystal Cores can be stacked. The more people use it, the stronger it is! So after everyone integrates their Crystal Cores, come over for an emergency intensive training session to get acquainted with how to stack them¡­¡± Upon hearing that the abilities could be stacked, people became even more excited. It was the first time they had encountered powers that could be used in combination! Those who had already received some intel murmured to themselves as expected. Zijin Base indeed had these sorts of Crystal Cores! But it seemed that fusing these Cores wasn¡¯t exactly easy¡­ At that moment, the man brought over a case that looked like it had a combination lock, filled with Level 1 Crystal Cores that were blue and purple, with none of the lowest quality white ones. ¡°But to integrate this Crystal Core, there are conditions. As for what the conditions are specifically, we have not fully understood them, so the failure rate is high¡­¡± Zijin Base didn¡¯t hide anything and openly shared the downsides of the Crystal Core. The crowd didn¡¯t seem to care about that¡ªwhat did it matter when they were getting Crystal Cores for free? He distributed Crystal Cores to the factions present according to their rankings. Since Firefly Club ranked first, they received a total of 20 cores, 10 blue and 10 purple. The lower the ranking, the fewer the Crystal Cores received. Some factions towards the end only got two each. When Wang Tao saw these Crystal Cores, he finally understood why their fusions often failed. [Level 1 Crystal Core¡¤Weak Slime] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side Effect: Cannot be successfully integrated if internal impurity is less than 10%)] [Weak Slime: Consumes energy to spray a slime that puts zombies in a weak state; the weakening effect is related to the number of people using this ability.] The side effect of this Weak Slime was that anyone with less than 10% internal impurity couldn¡¯t successfully fuse it. Without a 10% internal impurity, even an Epic Crystal Core would be useless. This condition was quite troublesome. With no external factors affecting it, 10% internal impurity was equivalent to fusing 20 Level 1 Crystal Cores. And people who could fuse 20 Level 1 Crystal Cores were very likely to have no space left to integrate other Cores. Moreover, Zijin Base would certainly prefer to let those who were not ability users integrate these Weak Slime Crystal Cores¡­ So, that was why their chances of successful integration were not high. Plus, there was another drawback to this Crystal Core¡ªthe slime could only weaken zombies, which meant it was useless against humans, right? The value of that ability had just taken a serious hit. In a post-apocalyptic world, they faced dangers not just from zombies, but from people as well! If it were a struggle between various factions, then this ability would be useless. But on the flip side, since this ability was effective only on zombies, it would make killing zombies a lot more comfortable, without fear of affecting one¡¯s own side¡­ ¡°Brother Wang, we can¡¯t integrate these Crystal Cores!¡± Nie Siyan said after receiving the cores, feeling a bit troubled by this stroke of good luck. No doubt the Weak Slime Crystal Core was valuable, but all of them who came to Zijin Base were Level 2 ability users. Not to mention whether they had any slots for abilities left¡ªif they did, Level 2 ability users were unable to integrate Level 1 Crystal Cores anyway. Chapter 469 - Chapter 469: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 469: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_2 ¡°` ¡°Let¡¯s hold on to them for now.¡± Wang Tao promptly pocketed these crystal cores. The 20 crystal cores could be combined into an Epic Crystal Core without side effects, naturally eliminating the restriction of having 10% internal impurities. However, he didn¡¯t have anyone who could fuse with them at the moment, so it wasn¡¯t possible. Nie Siyan mentioned this to the people over at Zijin Base. There were only nine members in the Firefly Club, and they were all second-order ability users. Even counting other people inside the arcade, that made just over thirty. These twenty crystal cores¡­ were a bit too many. Of course, Nie Siyan didn¡¯t mean to return the crystal cores, but to tell them that no one in the Firefly Club could fuse with them, preventing collaboration. As said before, the higher-ranked forces received many benefits, but they also had to contribute a lot of manpower¡­ The people at Zijin Base hadn¡¯t expected the Firefly Club to be so short on personnel. If it had been before today, they would likely be unhappy. But now, considering they had purchased some crystal cores and potions from Nie Siyan, they naturally smiled and said no problem, special circumstances called for special treatment. Moreover, Nie Siyan had also said that during the operation to kill level 3 zombies, all of the Firefly Club¡¯s second-order ability users would participate. The contribution of these second-order combat powers would undoubtedly be greater than that of the Weakness Slime ability. So there was no question of the Firefly Club not pulling their weight¡­ ¡°Next, everyone go back and fuse with the crystal cores, then we¡¯ll have a special training tonight, and tomorrow we¡¯ll go hunting level 3 zombies! Dismissed!¡± People dispersed, all eager to fuse with such crystal cores. After all, rumors suggested that this ability was very powerful, and even level 3 zombies would be affected by it, though it was a level 1 ability¡­ The Thunder Guild glared viciously at the Firefly Club, but Nie Siyan glared back undaunted and flipped them the bird. The Thunder Guild, not wanting further embarrassment, could only leave in a huff. After returning to the villa area with Nie Siyan and the others, Wang Tao thought for a moment, didn¡¯t head straight back, but took Jiang Shixue by the hand and turned towards Villa No. 7. It was time to freeload a meal. When they arrived at Villa No. 7, they encountered Lu Yingfeng just coming back. ¡°Is dinner ready yet? I¡¯m starving.¡± Wang Tao greeted. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng felt Wang Tao was really treating himself like family! But seeing Jiang Shixue peeking out from behind Wang Tao and looking at her with those pure, large eyes, Lu Yingfeng immediately thought, it¡¯s just a meal, no big deal! ¡°Wang Tao, come in quickly! The food is ready!¡± Lan Yulian, inside the house, saw Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue and immediately waved them over. Lan Yulian was the cook today, and compared to the last time, her skills had improved quite a bit. Although it still didn¡¯t look great, the taste was pretty good. Lan Yulian had also prepared a lot of fruit for Jiang Shixue, including the large grapes they ate yesterday. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hold back, acting as if he were at his own home. During the meal, Wang Tao suddenly asked: ¡°That Weak Slime Crystal Core, I seem to have seen it before. I heard that the probability of successfully fusing with it is related to the amount of internal impurities. People who have fused with over twenty level 1 crystal cores have a much higher success rate when fusing with this kind of crystal core.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The two women were momentarily stunned, then both looked at Wang Tao with serious faces. ¡°Is the information reliable?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°This information is very important! You don¡¯t mind if I share it with others, do you?¡± Lan Yulian asked Wang Tao. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao had shared this information with the intention of telling other people. After all, they were working together to kill zombies. The more ability users with the Weakness Slime ability, the less danger there was in killing zombies, and the more zombies they could kill. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to spread the word himself, partly because he didn¡¯t have much fame, which might lead to skepticism, and partly because he didn¡¯t want the hassle, which could lead to further troubles. By directly telling Lan Yulian and the others, whether or not they believed it, Wang Tao had done his part. Now it seemed, they trusted Wang Tao¡¯s words quite a bit. Moreover, such information could be verified with a trial. Even if Wang Tao was incorrect, there would be no loss, as they would have to fuse with crystal cores eventually anyway. If Wang Tao was right, it would be a huge gain! The club also received a good number of Weak Slime Crystal Cores, and Lan Yulian ordered her subordinates to test them while sending people to notify other forces of this news. Then Wang Tao produced some Strength Potions, Defense Potions, and Running Potions. ¡°These are what you specifically asked for.¡± Lu Yingfeng had already told Lan Yulian about the events at the competition venue during the meal. Hearing that Wang Tao had other miraculous potions, Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes lit up, but she had restrained herself from rushing him. Now that Wang Tao presented them, Lan Yulian was pleasantly surprised, and Lu Yingfeng shot Wang Tao a glare. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t have these potions on you before?¡± Previously at the contest site, she had secretly asked Wang Tao if he had any potions because she felt the supply wouldn¡¯t be too plentiful, and she wanted to buy some in advance. Everyone thought that the potions belonged to Nie Siyan, but she knew for sure they were Wang Tao¡¯s. The potions Nie Siyan showed off looked very similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Rejuvenation Potions from before. But Wang Tao had flat out said he didn¡¯t have any, suggesting that they place orders with Nie Siyan if needed. ¡°` Chapter 470 - Chapter 470: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Chapter 470: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t give it much thought at the time. But now, seeing Wang Tao suddenly take out so many potions again, she felt deceived. Wang Tao was somewhat helpless. ¡°When I said I didn¡¯t have any, it was because we have a good relationship, right!¡± ¡°Huh? Because we have a good relationship?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for me to get these potions, so naturally the price can¡¯t be low. But given our relationship, it wouldn¡¯t be right to charge you too much, so of course I¡¯d give you a discount. If other people knew that I offered you a better price, wouldn¡¯t that look bad?¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Huh? You¡¯re going to give us a discount?¡± Lu Yingfeng was immediately surprised, since these potions were much more expensive than the Rejuvenation Potions from before. ¡°Of course!¡± Wang Tao nodded, then added, ¡°But since I¡¯m giving you a discount, you guys should buy more, or else I¡¯ll lose out!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian always felt like she was dealing with a swindler. But to tell the truth, no one could ever have too many potions; she was willing to buy more. So, the two sides conducted another pleasant transaction. Wang Tao also took the opportunity to introduce some other potions, like the Stealth Potion, Weakness Potion, Screaming Potion, Eyesight Potion, and Breath-holding Potion. These potions were even more expensive, after all, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t produce them himself, and they were limited in number; he wouldn¡¯t sell too many of them. Of the Stealth, Weakness, and Eyesight potions, Lan Yulian wanted them all, even though they were pricey. But Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t sell them separately; he bundled them with the Screaming and Breath-holding Potions, making the deal even costlier¡­ Seeing Lan Yulian hesitate, Wang Tao spoke up immediately: ¡°You won¡¯t find such an opportunity again! I¡¯m only selling to you because we¡¯re on good terms. Others wouldn¡¯t be able to buy these even if they offered a higher price!¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Lan Yulian gritted her teeth and made the purchase. The prices of Wang Tao¡¯s potions were really steep, but their effects were genuinely excellent; she didn¡¯t want to miss out. After completing another transaction, Wang Tao¡¯s smile was simply uncontrollable, though he made no attempt to hide it. ¡°You swindler, could you not hide it a little?¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat speechless. She knew that no matter how poor Wang Tao pretended to be, he definitely still made a profit, and probably a substantial one at that. But business is all about mutual consent. Having decided to buy, there was no need to bother about someone making money off her. But right after the deal was done, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t contain his glee, it made her feel like a complete sucker. Was this really okay? ¡°Making money is naturally joyful; pretending otherwise would just seem fake.¡± Wang Tao said indifferently. ¡°Nonsense.¡± Lan Yulian gave Wang Tao a disdainful look. A beautiful woman, even when rolling her eyes, carries a charm all of her own. Wang Tao took a few extra glances. Suddenly, Lu Yingfeng asked: ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have other treasures on you, would you?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Wang Tao nodded straightforwardly. Upon hearing this, Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao expectantly. ¡°Let¡¯s see them!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t show them. If you see them and can¡¯t afford them, it will only add to your troubles. Better not to look.¡± Wang Tao was blunt. From the recent transactions, he felt that Lan Yulian was almost squeezed dry by him. ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat speechless; it was as if she had been belittled. But indeed¡­ she really didn¡¯t have any more Crystal Cores on hand. Their club was not very wealthy to begin with, and compared to the other three major powers, their economic strength was much weaker. Now, after several transactions with Wang Tao, they had exhausted most of their reserves, leaving her truly impoverished. ¡°Let¡¯s forget it then.¡± Lan Yulian waved it off resignedly. If Wang Tao truly had something good, but she couldn¡¯t afford it¡­ seeing it would only amount to torture! Wang Tao smiled and didn¡¯t linger on the topic. He had plenty of good things on hand, and even something very suitable for Lan Yulian! Like that Crystal Core with healing abilities. But Lan Yulian really didn¡¯t have anything of value left, so there was no point in looking. After chatting for a bit more, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue got up to leave. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading back then.¡± At this moment, Lan Yulian spoke up: ¡°Wang Tao, are you sure you won¡¯t consider joining our club?¡± ¡°No thanks, bye-bye.¡± Wang Tao waved casually without turning back and left with a bunch of big grapes. ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian sighed helplessly. Luring Wang Tao over to their club was a long and arduous task! After Wang Tao returned, he took out a large number of potions and gave them to Nie Siyan. After all, all four major powers had placed large orders. By evening, Nie Siyan was back. ¡°Brother Wang! I¡¯ve sold everything!¡± she said, holding a big pile of Crystal Cores, ¡°I was so anxious on the way back, worried I might lose the Crystal Cores¡­¡± Nie Siyan patted her exaggerated pectoral muscles. After all, there were so many Crystal Cores, including many Level 2 ones, and she had never seen so many Level 2 Crystal Cores in her life! ¡°Good job! You deserve a great reward tonight!¡± Upon hearing about a reward, Nie Siyan¡¯s face lit up. She licked her lips seductively and said to Wang Tao: ¡°Thanks for the reward, Master~¡± ¡°Silly girl!¡± ¡°Thank you for the compliment, Master~¡± ¡­ In the evening. After thoroughly rewarding Nie Siyan, she fell into a deep sleep. Wang Tao then took out the Crystal Cores he had on hand. During his two days at the Zijin Base, he had earned a huge amount of Crystal Cores! Let alone Level 1 Crystal Cores, there were plenty of Level 2 Crystal Cores that were useful to him! ¡°Begin synthesis!¡± Moments later, a bunch of synthesized Level 2 Crystal Cores appeared before Wang Tao. Seeing these Epic Crystal Cores with no impurities or side effects, Wang Tao grinned from ear to ear. He had three Level 2 Abilities, but all three were ¡°fused with other abilities, yet not to their limit.¡± Now, Wang Tao felt he could fuse them to their limits! Once he had all his abilities fused to their limits, he could begin preparing to advance to Level 3! Chapter 474 - Chapter 474: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_1 Chapter 474: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_1 One minute earlier. As soon as Wang Tao heard the sound of the plane, he immediately took out his military radio and started trying to contact the pilot. ¡°Zzz¡­ Zzz¡­ Zzz¡­¡± ¡°This is Wang Tao, this is Wang Tao¡­¡± A moment later. ¡°Zzz¡­ Wang Tao¡­ is that you¡­ Zzz¡­¡± Wang Tao was just giving it a try out of habit but didn¡¯t really expect to get through, and most importantly, it was Colonel Luo Guozhong on the plane! What a coincidence! Since it was someone he knew, that made things easier. ¡°Colonel Luo, what a fate! I¡¯m right below you in the gourd-shaped plaza. We have nearly a hundred survivors here! So, cough cough¡­ how about an air-drop.¡± Wang Tao had a thick face; despite having asked for air-drops many times before, he still had the nerve to ask again. ¡°Zzz¡­ One moment¡­ Zzz¡­¡± The signal on the radio was poor, and it was hard to tell if Colonel Luo had any emotion in his voice. Probably none, otherwise he would have definitely refused. Wang Tao was worried that Lan Yulian would order the team to move on, so he quickly used the vehicle-mounted radio to say to her: ¡°Wait a bit, I¡¯m calling for an air-drop.¡± ¡°?¡± Lan Yulian was confused, but subconsciously she ordered the team to stop moving forward. Wang Tao continued talking to Colonel Luo with the military radio. ¡°Colonel Luo! I really appreciate it! I¡¯ll be going to the military base soon, and I¡¯ll definitely buy you a drink when I get there!¡± Wang Tao thought he needed to find a way to get some liquor since he said he¡¯d treat him to a drink, he would definitely keep his word. ¡°Zzz¡­ Haha¡­ Zzz¡­ Hope¡­ to see you again¡­ Zzz¡­¡± Colonel Luo seemed to laugh over the radio, but Wang Tao couldn¡¯t hear him clearly. Just then, the plane flew directly overhead. ¡°Zzz¡­ Air-drop¡­ I¡¯m leaving¡­ Zzz¡­¡± One after another, the air-drops appeared from the back end of the plane, crashing down towards the convoy! ¡°My goodness!¡± Lan Yulian was flabbergasted! So was Lu Yingfeng, who was in the same vehicle! Were these air-drops really called in? Or was it just a coincidence? But what were the chances they would stumble upon this just by luck? ¡°How¡­ how did you do it?¡± Lan Yulian quickly asked over the radio. After saying a few more words into the military radio, and watching the plane fly away with no more signal, Wang Tao then picked up the vehicle-mounted radio. He nonchalantly bragged: ¡°I have connections up top.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Both women were somewhat stunned and at the moment didn¡¯t know what to say. It wasn¡¯t just the two of them; Nie Siyan in another vehicle was also bewildered. She was on the same channel as Lan Yulian and Wang Tao, so she heard their conversation as well. ¡°Brother Wang! You¡­ are impressive!¡± Nie Siyan wanted to say more, but in the end, she only gathered two words. ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? Now go grab those air-drops!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan ordered people to go collect the air-drops. Lu Yingfeng at the clubhouse was relatively calm and had already issued orders. The location where the convoy was situated was a not-so-small plaza, and with the pilot¡¯s great skill, the air-drops had landed precisely on the plaza. But the noise from the transport plane was too loud, attracting a large number of zombies. Mad Demon Zombies appeared in the distance. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Gather the air-drops, then retreat!¡± Lu Yingfeng got out of the vehicle, dividing the people into two groups, one to collect the air-drops, the other to kill the attracted zombies. Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and others also rushed out, with only Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Lan Yulian still in the car. Wang Tao roughly counted, and there were about a dozen air-drops. That was no small amount; many people had never even seen a single air-drop before, and seeing so many at once, they were incredibly excited. At that moment, someone knocked on the car door. Lan Yulian was standing outside. Today, Lan Yulian was dressed almost identically to Lu Yingfeng, covered up from head to toe, with only her exquisite little face exposed. After Wang Tao opened the door, Lan Yulian climbed aboard and just stared intently at Wang Tao. Wang Tao waved his hand in front of her face. ¡°Lost your mind?¡± Lan Yulian brushed his hand away without saying a word, still looking at him intensely. ¡°¡­¡± Despite Lan Yulian being a beauty, being stared at like this was rather unsettling. Wang Tao placed his hand on Lan Yulian¡¯s head, then forcibly turned her gaze outside the car. Lan Yulian stubbornly turned her head back and said seriously: ¡°Wang Tao, I must get you to join our club!¡± ¡°Good luck with that.¡± Wang Tao encouraged her. ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian left. She had wanted to ask how Wang Tao did it, but in the end, she refrained from asking. After all, it was Wang Tao¡¯s personal secret, and it wasn¡¯t right for her to keep prying. But she had already decided that she would spare no expense to get Wang Tao into their club! Whether it was his good character highly spoken of by her good friend Zhang Hong, or the high-quality Crystal Cores and Potions that Wang Tao had managed to get through some channels, or his ability to call in air-drops¡­ Each of these alone was worth the effort to recruit him, not to mention they were all found in one person! She had to bring Wang Tao over! Such a talent must not be let slip through to benefit the Firefly Club! Moreover, she had observed that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to feel any sense of belonging to the Firefly Club¡­ This was an opportunity to poach! Returning to her own vehicle, Lan Yulian suddenly had several plans in mind¡­ Wang Tao wasn¡¯t concerned with Lan Yulian¡¯s words; he turned to look at Jiang Shixue. Chapter 475 - Chapter 475: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_2 Chapter 475: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_2 ¡°` ¡°I didn¡¯t sense any powerful zombies. What about you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t either.¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The commotion caused by the aircraft was significant, attracting a large number of zombies. If a Level 3 Zombie appeared without earlier detection, it might result in some casualties. Although Wang Tao had not gone out, he was still ¡°observing¡± his surroundings through his ¡°Plant Affinity¡± hidden ability. There were many plants around the square, all of which could serve as Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°eyes.¡± After a while, all the airdropped supplies had been picked up. ¡°Retreat!¡± Lu Yingfeng immediately called for everyone to withdraw. At this point, many Mad Demon Zombies had been attracted. These Mad Demon Zombies were much stronger than ordinary zombies, but killing them had almost no benefits, so there was no need to delay. Under Lu Yingfeng¡¯s command, the convoy began to retreat in an orderly fashion. ¡°There are a few Level 2 Zombies. Siyan and Little Jun, go take care of them.¡± Wang Tao had spotted some Level 2, Elite Zombies just then. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan¡¯s HP was still far from reaching the pinnacle of Level 2. They definitely couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity. ¡°Yes!¡± The two immediately grabbed their weapons and ran over. Apart from a few distinctively featured zombies, it was not easy to tell Level 2 Zombies from Level 1 Zombies by appearance alone. Typically, it was the Second-order Superpower Owner who could differentiate. Because Ability Users had a faint Perception of energy, they could sense the approximate level of zombies or other Ability Users at a close range. Of course, this method was not very accurate. For those with Hidden Abilities, or people like Wang Tao who had a restrained aura, it might not work. And, you had to be relatively close for it to be effective. So, as for the surrounding zombies, everyone could only vaguely sense that there probably were no Level 3 Zombies. But it wasn¡¯t so easy to tell which were Level 2 Zombies and which were Level 1 Zombies. Thus, under Wang Tao¡¯s command, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan occasionally took down a few Level 2 Zombies. Those at the clubhouse were somewhat envious, as ordinary Level 2 Elite Zombies were like experience packs for powerful individuals. They also wanted to kill, but such zombies were not easy to discover. They all felt like Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan had radar, always finding the Level 2 Elite Zombies right away. During their journey to avoid the large zombie horde, the convoy encountered a Level 2 Zombie Lord. This zombie was much stronger than the typical Level 2 Elite Zombie. However, under the joint efforts of Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, they were able to successfully kill it. After killing this zombie, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s HP finally reached 29,999! ¡°Little Jun has basically reached the upper limit of Level 2 now, well done! If you want to continue to improve your strength, killing zombies won¡¯t suffice¡ªit has to be through Crystal Cores¡­¡± Wang Tao first praised Xu Xiaojun before turning to look at Nie Siyan. ¡°Now only you are the weakling left.¡± Nie Siyan felt slightly embarrassed. She was the one lagging behind everyone else in Wang Tao¡¯s group. Her HP was only at 15,000, half of the 29,999 HP limit. ¡°¡­ Brother Wang, I will try my best!¡± Nie Siyan quickly assured him. ¡°Next time we encounter a Level 2 Zombie, it¡¯s your job to land the finishing blow. I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao then took out some Crystal Cores and gave them to Xu Xiaojun. He had a lot of Level 2 Crystal Cores recently, and the types Xu Xiaojun needed weren¡¯t too rare, so he had collected some. Moreover, they had all undergone Synthetic processing and were ready to be fused by Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Thank you, Brother Wang!¡± Xu Xiaojun quickly expressed his gratitude. By the time the convoy had completely evaded the pursuing zombies, Xu Xiaojun had finished fusing all the Crystal Cores provided by Wang Tao, and his Mana had reached 8,400, only 18 Crystal Cores shy of the 12,000 HP ceiling for Level 2. ¡°Wang Tao, I plan to take a break and then open the airdrops. What do you think?¡± At that moment, Lan Yulian¡¯s voice came through the intercom. Strictly speaking, there was no need to inform Wang Tao about this matter since she was the chief commander. But by that time, Lan Yulian already held Wang Tao in high regard and harbored the idea of luring him to her side, so she would definitely show him great respect. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. So, the convoy took a temporary rest in a park. Lan Yulian gathered all the airdrops collected by everyone. As the chief commander, it was naturally her role to distribute these items. Lan Yulian invited Wang Tao and his people over, then began to open the airdrops in front of them. ¡°Compressed food¡­ medical supplies.. an Inhibitor! Very good¡­ Crystal Core Synthesizer¡­ Energy Detector¡­ Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± Lan Yulian had seen many of the items in the airdrops before, but there was something in one of the boxes she had never seen. However, upon seeing that item, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°A Mechanical Arm?¡± It was something that looked a bit like the Mechanical Right Arm that Xu Xiaojun had carried previously. However, it didn¡¯t seem to be either a left or a right arm¡­ to be precise, although it was a mechanical arm, it didn¡¯t look wearable. Wang Tao took the item out, and there was a manual inside. After skimming through it, he suddenly realized. ¡°This is a third arm!¡± No wonder the Mechanical Arm seemed odd¡ªit was a third mechanical arm that could be mounted on the back or shoulder! And this third arm could be combined with the previous Mechanical Right Arm. ¡°` Chapter 476 - Chapter 476: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_3 Chapter 476: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_3 ¡°I¡¯m taking this.¡± Wang Tao spoke up directly. ¡°No problem!¡± Lan Yulian immediately nodded. It was Wang Tao who had obtained this item, so he naturally had the right to first pick. Wang Tao handed the manual to Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. Upon seeing it, they were both amazed. ¡°There¡¯s such a thing? That¡¯s really enlightening¡­ too bad we can¡¯t use it¡­¡± To use the mechanical arm, one needed considerable strength and size. Xu Xiaojun was just right for it, but they were not only relatively weaker in strength but also petite in build, obviously unable to use it. Wang Tao gave the metal arm to Xu Xiaojun. Xu Xiaojun was currently wearing the Branch Armor, and the Mechanical Right Arm was in the car; he had not put it on. During the previous competition, Xu Xiaojun hadn¡¯t worn the Mechanical Right Arm. Because once activated, he couldn¡¯t measure his force well and his Perception wasn¡¯t clear¡ªit was a mechanical arm, not his own hand. If he ended up killing someone in the ring, it would be quite awkward. So Wang Tao only let him wear the Battle Armor and didn¡¯t let him wear the mechanical arm. But now they were going to fight Level 3 zombies, and Wang Tao naturally wanted Xu Xiaojun to take the mechanical arm with him. However, due to limited space in the vehicle and Xu Xiaojun already wearing the Battle Armor and the mechanical arm, it interfered too much with his driving, so the item was kept in the car. Xu Xiaojun took out the Mechanical Right Arm and combined it with this third arm for assembly. The mechanical arm could be adjusted in size, so even with the Branch Armor on, it wasn¡¯t a problem for Xu Xiaojun. Soon, a man over two meters tall appeared, clad in black Battle Armor, with his entire right arm encased in machinery, and now a third mechanical arm protruding from his back. ¡°Not bad, not bad, it has an ugly-cool kind of vibe¡­¡± Wang Tao commented. Of course, appearance wasn¡¯t important; capability was. The operation mode for the third arm was very simple, with the control switch on Xu Xiaojun¡¯s left hand. However, since the operation mode was simple and manually controlled, the mechanical arm¡¯s flexibility and functionality were far less compared to a human arm. Especially when not yet proficient in its use, it seemed very stiff. It felt almost like a hindrance rather than an enhancement. But surprisingly, once Xu Xiaojun equipped the mechanical arm, it suited him unusually well! Because Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Battle Armor had a huge Shield on the back, he normally did not use the Shield; after all, he also had a Broken Giant Axe given to him by Wang Tao, which was very heavy and required both hands to wield effectively. In battle with zombies, offense was definitely better than defense. Only when necessary would he use the Shield, but that would certainly cause a delay. Now, it seemed he didn¡¯t have to worry about wasting time. Because he could let the mechanical arm grab the Shield from behind! This didn¡¯t require much operation, just needed the mechanical arm to take out the Shield and block in front of him! Xu Xiaojun tried it out and found that when the mechanical arm was activated, he could instantly control it to place the Shield in front of himself. ¡°Not bad at all!¡± Seeing Xu Xiaojun able to handle both offense and defense, Nie Siyan and Lu Yingfeng were quite envious. Lu Yingfeng, who was always determined to be strong, felt she might not be able to defeat Xu Xiaojun¡­ The remaining airdrops did not contain anything Wang Tao wanted. So Wang Tao took some food, medical supplies, and Inhibitors. Of course, he also took an updated copy of the Zombie Guide. He quietly noted down the additional zombies and monsters in the Monster Manual. The only pity was that there were no records of Four-level zombies. It was only briefly mentioned that there was a huge gap between Fourth-Level Organisms and those of Level 3; upon encounter, one could only run, with no chance of resistance¡­ ¡°There are Four-level zombies now¡­¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s expression became somewhat grave upon seeing this information. They were all still struggling to achieve Level 3 Ascension, and fighting Level 3 zombies was already difficult; now, Four-level zombies had emerged¡­ This gave her a deep sense of powerlessness. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lu Yingfeng nudged Lan Yulian with her arm. ¡°Right, let¡¯s move on, we should be able to reach the city sports center in another hour!¡± After checking the airdrop, the convoy continued towards the city sports center. The airdrop had provided everyone with more or less a lot of items, after all, there were indeed many airdrops this time. Everyone was joyful; they hadn¡¯t even reached the sports center yet and had already gained so much. This upgrade operation was truly worthwhile! An hour later. The fourth squad finally arrived at the city sports center. Lan Yulian thought she would be the last to arrive, but after a round of inspection, she found out that she was actually the first one. ¡°Where are they? Don¡¯t tell me something happened?¡± Lan Yulian was a bit worried and continued trying to contact the others with the walkie-talkie. Perhaps being closer now, she finally got through. ¡°I¡¯m Lan Yulian. We¡¯ve arrived at the city sports center, where are you guys?¡± ¡°Sss¡­ Wait, we¡¯re picking up more airdrops¡­ Sss¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face darkened. When the airdrops first appeared, she thought of giving them up to ensure timely arrival. It turned out that everyone went to collect airdrops instead. Zijing City was a large city, and it was unthinkable that planes would only drop airdrops to Wang Tao¡¯s area; many airdrops were released in other places as well. Collecting all the airdrops would definitely take a lot of time¡­ Lan Yulian joined Lu Yingfeng by Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°They all went for the airdrops, what should we do?¡± As soon as Wang Tao arrived at the sports center, he used his Plant Affinity Ability; he could sense many zombies inside! Moreover, Jiang Shixue also told him that there seemed to be a lot of Level 3 zombies! So, Wang Tao curled his lips and said: ¡°Since we¡¯re here, we¡¯re definitely going in to kill zombies!¡± ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go take a look first!¡± Lan Yulian, decisive as always, immediately began organizing the team to enter the sports center. Chapter 477 - Chapter 477: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_1 Chapter 477: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_1 Lan Yulian divided everyone into several small teams, each led by a powerful Second-order Superpower Owner. She and Lu Yingfeng acted as emergency responders, especially Lan Yulian, who needed to pay close attention to everyone¡¯s physical condition. If someone was injured, she needed to go over and heal them in time. Wang Tao let Nie Siyan be the team leader, assisted by Xu Xiaojun, leading the others. Wang Tao himself only took Jiang Shixue with him. After the teams were divided, Lu Yingfeng took the lead and guided everyone into the sports center. The sports center was large and had several landmark buildings that had attracted considerable investment back in the day. But now it was a desolate and dilapidated scene, with many buildings collapsed and vegetation growing wildly in the crevices. Knowing this was a sports center, one might otherwise mistake it for a botanical garden. The gymnasium was in the middle of the sports center. Since cars couldn¡¯t be driven inside, Lan Yulian parked the vehicles outside the sports center and everyone proceeded on foot. ¡°There are zombies!¡± No sooner had they entered the sports center than they saw zombies appear, and there were quite a few of them. Wang Tao glanced at them. They were all Level 2 Common Zombies¡ªwait, Level 2 Common Zombies? Wang Tao thought he had misread and took another look. [HP: 23000/23000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 2, Ordinary] He hadn¡¯t misread; they were indeed Level 2 Common Zombies! This was the first time Wang Tao had seen Level 2 Common Zombies. They seemed weak, but Wang Tao¡¯s expression was serious. The most abundant type of zombie in the world should be the ordinary ones. If the ordinary zombies have all evolved to Level 2¡­ then how are the survivors supposed to live? There were still many ordinary people and Level 1 ability users. These Level 2 Common Zombies would definitely cause them a lot of trouble. ¡°Hopefully, this is just an exception¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself and then informed Nie Siyan and the others that these were Level 2 Common Zombies and to be careful. Soon, the survivors engaged the zombies and the battle began. Wang Tao observed for a moment; these Level 2 Common Zombies were much like the Level 1 Ordinary Zombies, possessing no special abilities and relying solely on their physical prowess to attack. However, compared to Level 1 Zombies, they were stronger, faster, had higher defense, and more HP. Many people could instantly kill a Level 1 Ordinary Zombie, but killing these Level 2 Common Zombies was quite an effort. Especially those with over 20,000 HP, even if they weren¡¯t as strong as a Level 2, Elite Zombie, they were equally hard to kill¡­ What¡¯s most frustrating was that after finally killing these zombies, there was not a single Crystal Core inside¡­ that was truly annoying. Of course, since they were Level 2 zombies, those whose HP wasn¡¯t full could recover some by killing these zombies. But the amount added wasn¡¯t much, and it wasn¡¯t noticeable. Many people couldn¡¯t even feel their HP increasing¡­ The joy of just finding the airdrop was slowly disappearing¡ªif the gymnasium was also filled with such zombies, then even Level 3 zombies would be useless! What good are zombies without Crystal Cores? However, having come this far, it was impossible to retreat without even seeing the main target. They could only continue forward. Wang Tao observed Lu Yingfeng. This woman was indeed as strong as he expected. Her weapon was a Tang Dao, and it looked like she also had some training with it. She looked cool wielding the Tang Dao! If Xu Xiaojun represented the epitome of brute force, killing zombies with sheer power, then Lu Yingfeng was the embodiment of exquisite technique, killing zombies without seemingly expending any more effort than necessary. She would use only 8 units of strength when 10 weren¡¯t needed, and retreat just enough to dodge a zombie¡¯s attack, never more than what was essential. Her fighting style seemed perilous, but everything was under Lu Yingfeng¡¯s control. And because she did not waste energy, even if her physical fitness and strength might not match Xu Xiaojun¡¯s, she seemed to have much greater endurance! Lu Yingfeng moved with ease among the zombie horde, and even though she wielded a not-so-long knife, none of the zombies could get close to her. Even in sudden situations, she quickly reacted, almost as if she had anticipated them beforehand. ¡°So cool!¡± Wang Tao looked on with longing. Lu Yingfeng clearly wasn¡¯t using any active Abilities and relied on a systematic set of sword techniques amidst the zombie horde, unhindered. If he could learn this set of sword techniques, combined with his own powerful strength and that Bone Knife, couldn¡¯t he slaughter through the zombies? ¡°I¡¯ll have to see if I can steal some moves later¡­ or maybe even ask her to take me as her disciple!¡± Wang Tao already had a plan in mind. Then he looked at Lan Yulian. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear about the specific name of Lan Yulian¡¯s ability, but he saw that whenever someone was injured, Lan Yulian would run over and wave her hand in the air towards that person. A green light would fly from her hand to the person¡¯s head, and then their HP would start to rise. In a moment, that person¡¯s HP increased significantly. However, it was not fully restored because the wounds on their body had not yet healed. Wang Tao felt that this ability was somewhat like his medical kit. The medical kit could also restore HP, but it didn¡¯t necessarily fill it up because some injuries needed time to recover. Of course, the amount of HP Lan Yulian restored was much more potent than the medical kit. The medical kit could only restore 100 HP at a time, which wasn¡¯t very useful for Wang Tao who now almost had 30,000 HP. Chapter 478 - Chapter 478: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_2 Chapter 478: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_2 ¡°` But Lan Yulian¡¯s ability can add 1000 HP in one go! That¡¯s equivalent to the Hemostatic Drug in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. It seems her ability doesn¡¯t have much of a cooldown either; as long as she sees someone with low HP, she can use it. It¡¯s much better than a medical kit. And Wang Tao also found that Lan Yulian had not only the ability to add HP but also to heal injuries. There was an unlucky guy who, though not hit by a zombie, fell into a manhole in the street. By the time his teammates pulled him out, one of his feet was somewhat deformed. In such cases, just adding HP would be useless. So, Lan Yulian waved her hand at the man, and a beam of white light flew into his leg. A moment later, his foot slowly returned to normal! ¡°Eh? I¡¯m fine now!¡± The man was still somewhat in disbelief, then hurriedly thanked Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian waved her hand, indicating it wasn¡¯t necessary. Wang Tao noticed that when she was adding HP to someone, the Mana consumption wasn¡¯t much, but when healing injuries, it took up a small chunk of Mana. Clearly, this ability to heal injuries consumes a lot of Mana. ¡°Not bad, a legitimate healer¡­¡± Wang Tao nodded to himself. Setting other things aside, just these two abilities alone were very strong. If Lan Yulian no longer wished to stay in the club in the future, no matter where she went, she would definitely be a VIP. Moreover, Wang Tao felt that she and Lu Yingfeng made a perfect match. Lu Yingfeng was very strong in combat, slaying zombies as if she were chopping vegetables. Under her deliberate protection, no zombies could get close to Lan Yulian. She would occasionally suffer minor injuries since there were too many zombies, and then Lan Yulian would wave a green light at Lu Yingfeng, and Lu Yingfeng would instantly be back to full HP! Lu Yingfeng protected Lan Yulian while Lan Yulian protected Lu Yingfeng. As long as the two of them didn¡¯t do anything suicidal or encounter irresistible dangers, with their way of fighting, they were basically immortal. Wang Tao was quite envious¡­ He then observed the others, but no one else caught his eye like they did. After spending some time, all the Level 2 Common Zombies were killed. Many people had gloomy expressions on their faces; after all that effort, not a single Crystal Core was seen. But Nie Siyan was very happy because Wang Tao had secretly told her to kill more zombies, to get in the last hit, and even to snatch kills. Because killing these ordinary zombies could also make one stronger, even if it was a slower process. Nie Siyan naturally listened to Wang Tao and quietly snatched quite a few kills from others. Now she could clearly feel that her own strength had increased a bit! Wang Tao glanced at her, her HP was 20,000 now, and by snatching kills she had actually gained 5,000 HP¡­ she really had talent. ¡°Keep moving forward!¡± After confirming that there were no dangers around, Lu Yingfeng immediately led the team to continue towards the gymnasium. At the south gate of the gymnasium, there¡¯s an artificial lake with a bridge over it. To enter the gymnasium from the south gate, one must cross this bridge. And now, this bridge was crowded with zombies. Seeing these zombies, Wang Tao frowned. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Ordinary Level 3] Level 3 Ordinary Zombie! Could this be the kind of zombie without a Crystal Core that Lan Yulian spoke of earlier, powerful but without a core? Glancing around, they were all Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, without a single Elite in sight. Wang Tao really wanted to say something like, ¡°What the hell kind of zombies are you raising? Can¡¯t you even raise a single Elite Zombie? What good is a pile of Level 3 Ordinary Zombies?¡± But while his inner rant was one thing, Wang Tao was prepared to take action himself this time. Because he was only Level Two, and the Level 3, Ordinary Zombies were still Level 3, it would count as defeating above his level, which could give him Special Energy. Wang Tao had just used up all his Special Energy yesterday, so today was a good opportunity to replenish it. ¡°These are all Level 3 zombies.¡± Wang Tao approached Lan Yulian and spoke to her in a low voice. ¡°We¡¯ve encountered Level 3 zombies already? And so many of them!¡± Lan Yulian was immediately startled. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, these are all Ordinary Level 3 zombies with no abilities, just a bit stronger than the Level 2 Common Zombies we just killed. We shouldn¡¯t have too much difficulty dealing with them¡­¡± ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Upon hearing this, Lan Yulian breathed a sigh of relief. Based on past experience, a Level 1 Elite Zombie and a Level 1 Ordinary Zombie were entirely different creatures, the same was true for Level 2, and it was likely the Level 3 Ordinary Zombies would be similar. Lan Yulian immediately gave orders, informing everyone that they had encountered Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and instructed everyone not to fight individually but to move as squads¡ªpreviously, since the Level 2 Common Zombies didn¡¯t pose much of a threat, many people got careless, so the formation was somewhat disorganized. Now, after hearing these were Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, everyone¡¯s demeanor turned serious and they obediently formed teams, ready to join forces in slaying the zombies. Meanwhile, Wang Tao took Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Giant Axe. The Giant Axe had a large attack range, and its Shockwaves were also grand, convenient for Wang Tao to attack groups. Watching the zombies twisting their bodies and rushing towards them, Lan Yulian raised her hand. ¡°Charge!¡± The teams formed up and slowly started to push forward. But at that moment, a figure suddenly sped past everyone and charged directly into the zombie horde. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Lan Yulian, who had been monitoring the overall situation, instantly changed her expression. ¡°What is he doing!¡± Wang Tao had just personally told her that these were a group of Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, so why did he dare to charge in alone? Lu Yingfeng, standing nearby, also furrowed her brow. ¡°` Chapter 479 - Chapter 479: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_3 Chapter 479: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_3 She didn¡¯t understand what Wang Tao was going to do, but she was ready to rescue him. In case Wang Tao got stuck and couldn¡¯t get out, she had to quickly pull him out. However, what happened next made both women¡¯s eyes widen. Wang Tao charged into the horde of zombies, raising the giant axe high with both hands before chopping it down toward the ground with force! A transparent shockwave emanated from Wang Tao as its center, spreading outwards in a ring shape. [-17923] [-15484] [-14750] [¡­] The group of zombies were instantly hit by the shockwave and knocked to the ground! Damages of 10000+ floated above the heads of these zombies, densely packed and somewhat dazzling to the eyes! Wang Tao, seeing the damage numbers, was quite satisfied. ¡°As expected of Level 3 zombies, I have improved my strength so much recently, yet I can only deal a little over ten thousand damage¡­¡± Wang Tao once again lifted the giant axe, unleashing another ring-shaped shockwave while these ordinary zombies were still down. Pfft~ [-13845] [-14464] [-16494] [¡­] In that instant, countless zombies were shattered by the shockwave, leaving not a single intact corpse behind! Seeing that there were still a few zombies standing, Wang Tao swung his axe again. Pfft~ [-2878] [-4755] [-1570] [¡­] After three axe blows, only Wang Tao was left standing on the bridge, surrounded by the stench of blood and disgusting chunks of flesh. ¡°¡­¡± The others were utterly dumbfounded. Weren¡¯t they just saying that the bridge was filled with Level 3 Ordinary Zombies? Were they mistaken? Or did they see wrong? These must be Level 2 Ordinary Zombies, right? But even if they were Level 2 zombies, the fact that Wang Tao killed so many with just three axe blows was outrageous! And if these were truly Level 3 zombies¡ª Hiss! Just how powerful is this Wang Tao! The sight left the onlookers somewhat incredulous. After all, they had just fought with Level 2 Common Zombies themselves and knew how strong they were. Most of them had to exert a great deal of effort to kill just one Level 2 Common Zombie¡­ ¡°This, this is really Level 3 Ordinary Zombies?¡± Lan Yulian looked at Lu Yingfeng with a bewildered expression. Lu Yingfeng took a deep breath and said, ¡°They should be Level 3 zombies, their aura is completely different from those Level 2 ones¡­¡± ¡°But, but how can he be so strong?¡± Lan Yulian still couldn¡¯t quite believe it. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t respond, as she herself also found it hard to believe. She felt that she could kill these Level 3 Ordinary Zombies herself, but it would certainly be a tough fight, and since she didn¡¯t have an ability that could attack groups, she would have to kill them one by one. How could she be like Wang Tao who simply unleashed three shockwaves, shattering all the Level 3 zombies on the bridge in an instant¡­ So it turned out, Wang Tao was this strong! ¡°Could he be a Level 3 ability user?¡± Lan Yulian asked again. ¡°` ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng shook her head. Wang Tao didn¡¯t realize how much of an impact his actions had on the others. He was collecting loot. Although these were all ordinary zombies without crystal cores, since they were defeated beyond his level, multiple loot packs were dropped. While there wasn¡¯t anything particularly desirable in these packs, just some materials, having something was better than nothing. After making a round on the bridge and having collected all the loot, Wang Tao finally turned to Lan Yulian and the others. ¡°What are you all standing around for? Aren¡¯t we going into the gym?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian quickly waved her hand, signaling everyone to follow her. ¡°You¡­¡± She walked up to Wang Tao and looked at him as if he were a monster. ¡°So strong!¡± Lu Yingfeng took over the conversation. ¡°Haha, those level 3 ordinary zombies are actually pretty weak. The two of you could take them down easily.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t boasting, because those level 3 ordinary zombies really were weak. Ordinary zombies and elite zombies were two entirely different breeds, with a huge gap in strength. As second-order superpower owners, they could definitely kill level 3 ordinary zombies. It would just take a bit longer, that¡¯s all. ¡°Really?¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat skeptical. She hadn¡¯t fought against this kind of level 3 ordinary zombie before and wasn¡¯t sure how strong they were. ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. Would I lie to you? There should be quite a few more of these level 3 ordinary zombies in the gym. You¡¯ll know once you try.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Lan Yulian nodded and then added with a smile, ¡°If we run into danger in there, given our relationship, you wouldn¡¯t just stand by and watch us die, would you?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not necessarily the case.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°?¡± Seeing the puzzled look on Lan Yulian¡¯s face, Wang Tao leaned in and whispered in her ear: ¡°I¡¯m going to act alone later and not stick with you guys, so I definitely won¡¯t be able to take care of you. But if you are really in danger, just shout for me, and I will come if I hear you.¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re not going with us? That¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Lan Yulian was surprised and worried. ¡°Yeah.¡± When Wang Tao had first arrived at the entrance, he sensed through his plant affinity that there seemed to be something in the second and third sub-levels of the gym, and he planned to go take a look. But that place was very dangerous, and the others would surely die if they went. There was no need for Wang Tao to send them to their deaths. ¡°Alright, then be careful,¡± Lan Yulian said with some concern, then playfully added, ¡°If you¡¯re in any danger, you can shout for me, and I¡¯ll definitely come to save you if I hear it!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Slap~ Lan Yulian reached out her hand, and Wang Tao gave her a high five. Then Wang Tao added: ¡°The gym is huge; there are many areas inside. I personally think you guys should head to District E¡­ It¡¯s relatively safe there.¡± People should act according to their capabilities; as the fourth team, they were the weakest and didn¡¯t need to act tough. ¡°Ah? District E?¡± Lan Yulian had a map of the gym. District E was quite far from the south gate, requiring a detour. ¡°Trust me.¡± ¡°Fine! Then we¡¯ll head to District E!¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to be joking, Lan Yulian decided to trust him. The windows of the gym were blocked by tendrils, making the inside very dim, and everyone was a bit nervous. Following the map, Lan Yulian led her teammates slowly towards District E. Wang Tao, on the other hand, split from the team with Jiang Shixue and disappeared into the darkness. ¡°` Chapter 480 - Chapter 480: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_1 Chapter 480: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_1 ¡°` Pfft! Wang Tao swung his knife, cleaving a Level 3 Ordinary Zombie vertically in half. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Surveying the zombie corpses scattered all around him, Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°There sure are a lot of zombies here!¡± After splitting from the team, he had encountered many zombies along the way, most of which were Level 2 and Level 3 Ordinary Zombies. Although he could easily deal with them, these zombies didn¡¯t have much in the way of spoils, which was somewhat unsatisfying. However, when Wang Tao looked at his Special Energy, he couldn¡¯t help but grin. [Special Energy: 54140] From the bridge over the artificial lake to now, Wang Tao had amassed a total of fifty-four thousand Special Energy! His previous maximum had only been twenty-six thousand; this was well over his former limit. To synthesize or extract a Level 2 Ability only required 5000 Special Energy. With so much Special Energy, he could operate many times over! But now wasn¡¯t the time to study Abilities; Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue continued moving forward. This was a multifunctional sports complex with three levels above ground, divided into six areas: Districts A, B, C, D, E, and F. Among these, Districts A and B were the largest, C and D were medium-sized, and E and F were the smallest. Previously, there had been blockades in each area that were not interconnected. Zijin Base and the prison where zombies were bred were located in District A, but it had now completely fallen. Some zombies had broken through various blockades, spreading to the other districts. No one knew which district was currently the most dangerous, but Districts A and B were definitely perilous since they were adjacent and many zombies were likely to have moved into District B. However, Wang Tao¡¯s target wasn¡¯t any particular district but rather the underground. Through the plants inside the sports complex, he could vaguely sense that the zombies in Districts E and F were not numerous and were relatively safe. Districts C and D had more zombies and were certainly more dangerous. As for Districts A and B¡­ Wang Tao couldn¡¯t feel anything because there were no plants to utilize there. Lack of sensation didn¡¯t equate to lack of danger; in fact, it could mean the risk was even greater. So, Wang Tao sent Jade Lotus to District E. As for why he didn¡¯t go himself, it was because he sensed that within the underground parking of the sports complex, there seemed to be¡­ a very powerful Plant Monster! His Hidden Ability, Plant Affinity, was also possessed by the Plant Monster. Thus, as soon as he sensed the Plant Monster, it sensed him as well! In that moment, Wang Tao knew he had been targeted by the Plant Monster! With many tendrils and mosses inside the sports complex, he couldn¡¯t avoid them all. So instead of letting a monster keep its eyes on him, it was better to take the initiative and go seek out the creature! Moreover, the information given to Jade Lotus by Zijin Base hadn¡¯t mentioned this Plant Monster, not even the underground parking. They said it was too dark and difficult to clear the area, so they simply sealed off the underground parking. Now, it seemed either they had concealed some information about the underground parking, or something had happened there without their knowledge. But regardless of which scenario it was, Wang Tao was determined to check out the underground parking. After all, both he and Jiang Shixue had Night Vision Abilities and were not afraid of the dark. After walking for a while and killing a few Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, Wang Tao found one of the elevator entrances to the underground parking. ¡°It¡¯s completely sealed off¡­¡± If it were just blocking the elevator doors, Wang Tao might have found a way to open them, but they used construction materials to block the elevator shafts entirely. Wang Tao was stumped and had to look for another way. ¡°Hm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue both looked up, their eyes¡ªone green, one red¡ªfixating on the darkness. In their line of sight, a pus-oozing, somewhat deformed zombie emerged from around the corner and approached them with a twisted gait. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 3000/3000] [Level: Level 3 Elite] ¡°Could this be one of the Level 3 Zombies they cultivated? But it seems a bit weak¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly upon seeing the zombie. This Level 3 Elite Zombie had only 3000 Mana, which was even less than some Level 1 Ability Users¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t intervene, I want to gauge its strength,¡± Wang Tao told Jiang Shixue, then holding his Bone Knife, he walked towards the zombie. ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± The zombie roared furiously at Wang Tao and reached out its hands to grab him. Wang Tao dodged the attack with ease. ¡°Its attack speed is so-so¡­¡± Then Wang Tao quickly retreated a few steps, prompting the zombie to chase after him swiftly. ¡°Its movement speed is also so-so¡­¡± When the zombie caught up, Wang Tao directly struck its head with the knife. [-15027] The strike cut off half of its face. ¡°Its defense is average as well¡­¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± The attacked zombie seemed to grow angrier, roaring as it lunged at Wang Tao once again. Wang Tao had no intention of testing its attack any further, so he simply swung his knife again. Pfft~ [-14973] The pus-oozing zombie¡¯s HP dropped to zero. ¡°It really is weak¡­¡± Wang Tao glanced at his Special Energy. Although the zombie was weak, it still provided 1500 Special Energy. Of course, this wasn¡¯t a lot; Wang Tao could get more than six thousand Special Energy from other Level 3 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao then looked at its Crystal Core. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Defense] ¡°` Chapter 481 - Chapter 481: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_2 Chapter 481: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_2 [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: bodily suppurate)] [Defense: Passive Ability, enhances personal defense] An extremely ordinary Level 3 Defense Crystal Core. As for the loot, it actually dropped three Loot Packs, but the contents of these packs were also quite run-of-the-mill. The first pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag with only one Crystal Core inside, and it was a Defense one. Luckily, it was of Blue Quality, which was somewhat better than the one he currently had. The second pack held a bunch of materials that ordinary zombies could drop. The third pack was [Defense Potion (small) x10], and the items inside this pack were relatively decent. ¡°This type of zombie should be what they¡¯ve cultivated. Indeed weak, feels like a beefed-up Level 2 Common Zombie. However, for others, it might still prove a bit difficult to handle¡­¡± Wang Tao felt that if all the Level 3 Zombies were of this caliber, then Zijin Base, having called for so many hands, should be able to handle them. But how many Ascension Crystal Cores these zombies could drop was another story¡­ Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue continued searching for the entrance to the underground parking lot. Along the way, they encountered several more of these Level 3 Zombies, all of which Wang Tao easily dispatched. ¡°Brother, it seems we can go down here.¡± While passing through a corridor, Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. Following Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze, Wang Tao saw a large hole at the end of the corridor, surrounded by many spiky tendrils. Wang Tao hurried over. Looking into the hole, he could see the roofs of several small cars. Beneath was the parking lot! Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush down but instead studied the hole first. From the damage around the hole, Wang Tao had a feeling¡­ as if something had burst out of the ground, creating a large hollow in the floor! Could it have been that Plant Monster¡¯s doing? Wang Tao pondered. He took out his walkie-talkie to get in touch with Lan Yulian. ¡°This is Wang Tao, how are things on your end?¡± ¡°Ssshh¡­ ssshh¡­¡± After some static, Lan Yulian¡¯s voice came through. ¡°This is Lan Yulian. We¡¯re safe for now, no casualties. How about you? Are you safe?¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe over here,¡± Wang Tao replied, nodding his head. ¡°By the way, why did you take Little Xue away? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is here? You brought Little Xue here, but then you even left with her alone! If I hadn¡¯t been afraid of disturbing you by contacting you rashly, I would have yelled at you a long time ago. You¡­¡± As Lan Yulian spoke, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s voice could be heard in the background. She seemed a bit angry as well. Hearing their conversation, Wang Tao didn¡¯t get angry; instead, he smiled. Because he could feel that Lan Yulian genuinely cared about Jiang Shixue. In Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes, Jiang Shixue was a somewhat ditsy, lovable little girl. She hadn¡¯t expected that when Wang Tao left, Jiang Shixue would be in the car too. She was even more surprised that Wang Tao had taken Jiang Shixue with him when he departed on his own! If it weren¡¯t for the bad timing, she would definitely have come over to give Wang Tao a good scolding. ¡°Is she worried about me?¡± Jiang Shixue asked beside Wang Tao with some confusion. ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Tao replied, patting Jiang Shixue¡¯s little head, then said into the walkie-talkie: ¡°I took Little Xue with me because she has some Special Abilities that are useful to me. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect Little Xue. Don¡¯t you trust my strength?¡± Wang Tao intended to explain Jiang Shixue¡¯s capabilities, but then he thought better of it. He was planning to let Little Xue scare Lan Yulian later on, to satisfy his own mischievous urges. ¡°¡­Forget it, you¡¯ve already taken her. There¡¯s nothing I can do about that now. I just hope you can keep your word!¡± Lan Yulian sighed with some resignation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. So, where have you gotten to now?¡± Wang Tao changed the subject. ¡°We¡¯re on our way¡­ There are too many zombies around, a lot of Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and we¡¯ve even encountered a few Level 3 Elite Zombies. We haven¡¯t made it to District E yet¡­¡± At the mention of business, Lan Yulian immediately composed herself and quickly briefed Wang Tao. ¡°That¡¯s decent progress,¡± Wang Tao estimated that based on their speed, it would take another thirty minutes to reach District E. ¡°But I¡¯ve got an Ascension Crystal Core!¡± Lan Yulian suddenly announced. ¡°¡­An Ascension Crystal Core? Congratulations!¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised; he hadn¡¯t expected Lan Yulian to be so lucky. ¡°What about you? Have you got anything good, did you manage to get an Ascension Crystal Core?¡± Lan Yulian asked. ¡°¡­I¡¯m busy now, let¡¯s leave it at that,¡± Wang Tao ended the conversation decisively. He had killed 5 Level 3 Elite Zombies and obtained 10 Crystal Cores, but not a single one was an Ascension Crystal Core¡­ Wang Tao had thought these zombies wouldn¡¯t drop Ascension Crystal Cores, but it turned out Lan Yulian got one. ¡°Damn. So, it¡¯s just my bad luck¡­¡± Shaking his head resignedly, Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue beside him and said: ¡°Let¡¯s head out.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After taking a careful look and ensuring that it was safe below, Wang Tao jumped down. Thump¡ª He landed lightly on the roof of a car. Jiang Shixue followed suit and dropped down after him. ¡°There are so many plants¡­¡± After descending, Wang Tao noticed that the underground parking lot was filled with plants. Tendrils, moss, tree roots, and some unidentifiable plants¡­ ¡°Feels like we¡¯ve entered the lair of that Plant Monster¡­¡± Wang Tao quipped. But an abundance of plants also had its advantages for him. For instance, right now, he immediately located the Plant Monster! Chapter 482 - Chapter 482: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_3 Chapter 482: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_3 ¡°Run!¡± Wang Tao immediately led Jiang Shixue toward the direction of the plant monster. At that moment, a tendril suddenly whipped towards Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue like a whip! If it weren¡¯t for his Night Vision ability, Wang Tao might have been hit. But with Night Vision, he spotted the tendril instantly. ¡°This thing can attack too?¡± Wang Tao was surprised, as he hadn¡¯t seen a health bar on the tendril and had subconsciously overlooked it. Wang Tao lifted his Bone Knife and sliced at the tendril. Puchi~ The tendril was cut into two, dropping at Wang Tao¡¯s feet. Wang Tao picked it up and took a closer look; it was indeed an ordinary tendril. He waited a bit and, seeing no further attacks, continued forward with Jiang Shixue. However, they had only taken a few steps when more tendrils whipped towards them. This time there were three tendrils, and Wang Tao easily sliced them all with his knife. ¡°Is this the attack from the plant monster hiding in the dark? It seems pretty weak¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered, and proceeded. Approximately a minute later, more tendrils whipped at him. But this time, it wasn¡¯t just one or three tendrils, it was a dense mass of them. Seeing another tendril attack, Wang Tao instinctively went to slash again. After all, these were just ordinary tendrils with no defensive power. But after getting a clear look, Wang Tao immediately grabbed Jiang Shixue and dodged backwards. Whoosh~ The tendrils hit where Wang Tao had just been standing, and then¡ª Boom! Countless pieces of rubble flew, several cars were smashed to pieces, and a huge crack appeared on the concrete ground. ¡°Damn, even using formation tactics!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. He originally intended to cut through these ordinary tendrils with one slash, but unexpectedly, among them, there was a tendril with a health bar. [100000/100000] Hundred Thousand Blood Volume! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what it was, so he didn¡¯t dare to face it; instead, he grabbed Jiang Shixue and ran. It seems he did right by dodging. If it had hit him, if not death, it would have skinned him. Whoosh¡ª¡ª When the hundred-thousand-blood tendril¡¯s attack failed, it immediately started to whip around again, flying towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue moved left and right, dodging its attacks several times. Wang Tao also clashed with the tendril wielding his knife, but he only managed to hit it for a little over a hundred blood, practically like a drizzle against its hundred thousand blood. Wang Tao suddenly thought of Entangling Roots; they too had a hundred thousand blood, were also indestructible, and also only had the health bar as an attribute¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if this tendril was the same type of creature as the Entangling Roots, but it definitely wasn¡¯t the plant monster¡¯s main body. ¡°Let¡¯s find its main body!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to waste time with this tendril. He and Jiang Shixue bypassed the tendril, going left and right and ran straight ahead. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Even more tendrils attacked. Wang Tao watched these tendrils closely, and sure enough, several with a hundred thousand blood appeared. Moreover, these tendrils did not share the same health bar; each one had its own hundred thousand blood! Luckily, both Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were fast. With prior anticipation of the attack, they easily dodged. Boom! Boom! The hundred-thousand-blood tendrils left cracks on the ground, broke pillars in the parking lot, and smashed cars to pieces. This destructive power is simply incredible! At one moment, Wang Tao pointed to a spot and shouted, ¡°Right there!¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately rushed towards the location Wang Tao had pointed to. The tendrils suddenly tried to defend, but Wang Tao, who had been evading without attacking, took the initiative this time. He swung his Bone Knife and launched an assault on a few of these tendrils with a hundred thousand HP. Boom! Boom! Boom! The Bone Knife collided with the tendrils, creating a series of thunderous noises. The concrete surface around Wang Tao was almost reduced to rubble. Just then, the tendrils suddenly retracted, instantly breaking away from the fight with Wang Tao. At the same time, a slender figure flew towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao immediately reached out and caught Jiang Shixue. ¡°Are you all right?¡± Wang Tao saw that Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP had decreased by more than two thousand. ¡°I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s coming,¡± she said. Wang Tao quickly looked up and saw a giant figure slowly emerging from the darkness. It was a figure resembling a large tree, its entire body exhibiting a metallic blackness. Some tendrils moved on its body like tentacles. Perhaps because of the limited height of the underground car park, its body was somewhat horizontally elongated, appearing short and stout. [HP: 50000/50000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 70%] This was a Level 3, Lord Monster! Seeing this somewhat exaggerated attribute, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. Although it had fifty thousand HP, it was fortunate that it wasn¡¯t a fourth-order monster with more than a hundred thousand HP. Otherwise, Wang Tao would have had to run away. Wang Tao didn¡¯t see where the monster¡¯s face was, or maybe it didn¡¯t have one, just this form. It stepped out of the darkness, wielding those hundred thousand HP tendrils in an attack towards Wang Tao. Perhaps because the distance was closer, the speed of the tendrils increased significantly, and Wang Tao dodged somewhat awkwardly. Wang Tao seized the opportunity and, after dodging the tendril attacks, suddenly initiated a rush to get close to the big tree monster. He struck two blows, and damage numbers of ¡°-1034¡± and ¡°-1287¡± popped up on the big tree monster. ¡°Such high defense!¡± Wang Tao was taken aback, but he didn¡¯t panic. He quickly took out a small flask from his waist and instantly splashed the liquid inside over the big tree monster. ¡°So you¡¯re a big tree monster, huh? Let¡¯s see if you can withstand a blazing fire!¡± Wang Tao always had gasoline in his car, and when he sensed the presence of plant monsters, he specifically brought the gasoline with him! Click~ Wang Tao pulled out a lighter, ignited it, and threw it onto the plant monster. Whoosh¡ª The big tree monster was instantly engulfed in flames. Wang Tao immediately backed off, ready to escape the sea of fire. But the flames on the big tree monster grew smaller and smaller, and after a moment¡­ the flames were extinguished! ¡°Damn, not afraid of fire?¡± Chapter 483 - Chapter 483: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_1 Chapter 483: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_1 Wang Tao had originally planned to burn this Level 3, Lord Monster to death with flames, just like last time at that mini reservoir. But to his surprise, the flames actually went out! This Big Tree Monster, it wasn¡¯t afraid of fire?! Whoosh! The Big Tree Monster again swung its tendrils, attacking Wang Tao. Wang Tao dodged several attacks and retreated to Jiang Shixue¡¯s side. ¡°If it¡¯s not afraid of fire, we can only¡­ go all out then!¡± Wang Tao sighed. He wasn¡¯t very keen on going all out against this Tree Monster, but he had no other choice now. Of course, he could run away, but he wasn¡¯t one to lose a fight; running away was definitely unnecessary. He came here specifically to kill this monster! Wang Tao took a deep breath, and some black roots appeared on his wrists, quickly spreading over his entire body. In the blink of an eye, a ¡°Tree Root Monster¡± standing two and a half meters tall appeared. Wang Tao had previously refrained from using the Entangling Roots because he was afraid of setting himself on fire, after all, Entangling Roots fear fire. But since fire attacks were ineffective, Wang Tao had no reservations, showing his strongest form! While clad in this suit of Entangling Roots armor, Wang Tao used his Bone Knife even more smoothly. He twirled the knife in his hand, then charged straight at the Big Tree Monster. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao instantly rushed to the Big Tree Monster¡¯s side and slashed fiercely at its body. [-3456] ¡°Such high defense!¡± This slash from Wang Tao was delivered with the Iron Wall Ability active and a high-frequency vibration, on top of being clad in the Entangling Roots. That could almost be considered Wang Tao¡¯s peak condition, yet it only dealt over three thousand damage! If this were an ordinary Level 3 zombie, Wang Tao felt he could have killed it instantly. One could imagine just how high the Big Tree Monster¡¯s defensive power was. But no big deal, one slash for over three thousand, a dozen more would kill it! Of course, the Big Tree Monster wouldn¡¯t allow Wang Tao to do so. Its tendrils flailed wildly, striking at Wang Tao. Wang Tao had intended to withstand the attacks using the Entangling Roots, but he realized that they seemed somewhat fragile, and he promptly retreated. ¡°Such high damage!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat astonished. He had managed to slash the Tree Monster two more times, depleting over seven thousand HP. But the tendrils had hit the Entangling Roots four times, shredding over four thousand HP! Considering that the Entangling Roots initially had ten thousand HP, this meant half of it was gone in an instant! ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to use the Shockwave.¡± High-frequency vibration dealt the highest damage, and Wang Tao had hoped for a quick battle. But since the Entangling Roots couldn¡¯t withstand the attacks, he had no choice but to use Shockwaves to attack from a distance. Swoosh¡ª Wang Tao raised his knife and sent a Shockwave towards the Big Tree Monster. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, those tendrils suddenly appeared in front of the Big Tree Monster, blocking the strike. The Shockwave ripped through the tendrils, dealing over five hundred damage, a mere scratch to the hundred thousand blood volume of the tendrils. Seeing so many tendrils with a hundred thousand HP in front of him, Wang Tao felt a headache coming on. This Big Tree Monster was hard to kill¡ªclose-range attacks resulted in getting hit, which he couldn¡¯t withstand. Distant attacks were shielded by the multitude of hundred-thousand-HP tendrils, not leaving a scratch on the Big Tree Monster! The only silver lining was that, apart from using these tendrils, the Big Tree Monster didn¡¯t seem to have any other means of attack, at least not that he could see for now, and it was incredibly slow, reducing the pressure on Wang Tao to some degree. At this moment, Wang Tao suddenly felt a twinge of regret that he should have focused more on cultivating the Entangling Roots. The Entangling Roots currently had only ten thousand HP, but their limit was a hundred thousand. However, cultivation was needed, either by using Crystal Cores or his own HP. Wang Tao had only ensured that the HP and Compatibility of the Entangling Roots remained at 100%, without the intent to cultivate it specially, since their inherent defense was already high¡­ But now it seemed, that defense wasn¡¯t high enough. If his Entangling Roots had a hundred thousand HP, he might have been able to withstand the tendrils¡¯ attacks and kill the Big Tree Monster¡­ ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll draw its attention, and you attack.¡± That¡¯s when Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Wang Tao immediately shook his head. Jiang Shixue had already been attacked by a tendril just now, losing over two thousand HP. Even with her 29999 HP, she wouldn¡¯t last long. ¡°Brother, I can do it, and I trust you as well.¡± Jiang Shixue said earnestly. In daily life, Jiang Shixue was always somewhat spacey, but she became much clearer-headed during combat. Wang Tao hesitated, but seeing Jiang Shixue¡¯s calm gaze, he eventually nodded. ¡°Fine! But if it gets dangerous, and I tell you to retreat, you must retreat!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After a brief discussion, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue separated, one to the left and one to the right, and rushed towards the Big Tree Monster. The Big Tree Monster immediately swung its tendrils, attacking both of them at the same time. But at that moment, a red glint flashed in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes. The tendrils that were targeting Wang Tao suddenly paused, then redirected their attack towards Jiang Shixue! This was Jiang Shixue¡¯s Hidden Attribute, Eyes of Contract! [Eyes of Contract: Night Vision, some degree of mind control] This ability to control minds sounds very powerful, but its effect on strong creatures is very limited. For a Level 3, Lord Monster like this, Jiang Shixue, who was of Level 2, Lord Rank, could only slightly influence it for a moment, such as drawing its attack. Chapter 484 - Chapter 484: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_2 Chapter 484: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_2 But in that instant, much could be done! Wang Tao dashed to the side of the Big Tree Monster, lifted his Bone Knife, and began to hack away madly. There was almost no technique involved, just brute force! [-3434] [-3496] [-3358] [-3502] [-3551] [-3395] [25808/50000] In three seconds, Wang Tao had struck six blows, chopping off half of the Big Tree Monster¡¯s HP. Then, without the slightest hint of hesitation, Wang Tao decisively retreated. Bang! The moment his front foot left, countless tendrils followed suit, smashing down where Wang Tao had just stood, creating a large pit on the spot. Wang Tao was retreating towards Jiang Shixue¡¯s location and soon saw her lying amidst the ruins. [14506/29999] Jiang Shixue also had half her HP depleted. ¡°Cough¡­¡± Jiang Shixue climbed out of the rubble, and though she was covered in wounds, there was no expression of pain on her face. Wang Tao quickly picked her up and swiftly moved away from the battlefield. The Big Tree Monster seemed to be in a frenzy, indiscriminately attacking everything around it. ¡°It seems like it can¡¯t find us anymore¡­¡± Wang Tao said, holding Jiang Shixue atop a pile of rubble. This pile of rubble had just been smashed out by the Big Tree Monster, and everything around them had been destroyed, including the surrounding plants. The Big Tree Monster had no eyes; it seemed to locate Wang Tao through its Perception. But because there were no plants among the rubble, its Perception was useless now. Moreover, it seemed to lack intelligence. If it were a human, it would surely have guessed Wang Tao¡¯s approximate location from the route he took when he fled. But it lacked such judgment and was just blindly causing Destruction. This let Wang Tao breathe a sigh of relief. If the monster had been intelligent, it would have been much tougher to handle¡­ Wang Tao looked down at Jiang Shixue in his arms. Though Jiang Shixue still had half her HP and was relatively safe, the sight of her body covered with lash marks, as she merely frowned slightly, still tugged at his heart. After all, he and Jiang Shixue had lived together for two months in the post-apocalyptic world, and he had grown fond of her. Wang Tao took out a medical kit to stop her bleeding, then asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. Watching Wang Tao tenderly treat her wounds, Jiang Shixue suddenly reached out and caressed his face. ¡°What is it?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. ¡°I seem to¡­ remember something¡­¡± Jiang Shixue looked somewhat distracted. ¡°Hmm? What did you remember?¡± Wang Tao was curious. ¡°It¡¯s like there was a woman who treated me this way, but I can¡¯t recall her face¡­¡± By ¡°this way,¡± she naturally referred to treating her wounds. After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao then said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s highly likely your mother.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if Jiang Shixue had any close female friends or relatives, but if someone had diligently treated her wounds like this, it was highly likely her mother. After all, in most cases, parents tend to be very kind to their children. ¡°Mother¡­¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes clouded over for a moment, but she did not linger on the thought. Wang Tao had told her before not to be under any psychological pressure, that she would eventually remember. And besides, ¡°mother¡± to her was just a noun. She still felt more comfortable with Wang Tao¡­ After he had tended to her wounds for a while, Wang Tao looked back at the Big Tree Monster. This time, the Big Tree Monster was no longer in a frenzy, but the tendrils on its body were slowly dancing around as if searching for Wang Tao. ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll distract it once more,¡± Jiang Shixue proposed. She had lost a lot of blood, but she wasn¡¯t missing limbs, so her strength remained relatively intact. ¡°Okay. But this time stay further away and try not to let it hit you!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. The Big Tree Monster was now down to just 25,000 HP and didn¡¯t possess any ability for Blood Regeneration. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t take it down, Jiang Shixue would have been beaten for nothing. ¡°Alright!¡± After discussing their plan, the two dashed out of the rubble and split up to act. When they stepped on some underground moss, the Big Tree Monster detected them. But this time, instead of moving its tendrils, the ground suddenly shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and then several thick roots burst from the ground! These roots formed barriers almost instantly, trapping Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue separately, then began to constrict quickly! ¡°It has such an ability, too?¡± Wang Tao quickly used all the Potions at his disposal and then unleashed his most powerful strike on the roots in front of him. Puchi! The root blocking his path was cut with a gap! The Attack power of the High-frequency Vibration Ability was no joke. Wang Tao squeezed through the gap and then saw the Big Tree Monster slowly making its way towards him. He could see clearly that these enormous roots emerged from the body of the Big Tree Monster. The roots kept growing wildly, some even reaching the ceiling. Wang Tao finally understood how the large hole in the underground parking lot he had entered was made. It was opened up by the roots of the Big Tree Monster! And Wang Tao thought of something else. Lan Yulian had told him before that Zijin Base and the prison were raising zombies here, which was considered very safe, but somehow they had been damaged, allowing those zombies to escape from District A and letting other external zombies in. After that, the situation gradually spiraled out of control. Wang Tao suspected it was the Destruction caused by the Big Tree Monster. After all, its roots were ferociously destructive; breaking through the structures that contained the zombies shouldn¡¯t be an issue! Chapter 485 - Chapter 485: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_3 Chapter 485: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_3 However, there was no time to think further because Wang Tao noticed that the intelligence of this Big Tree Monster was indeed simple, and it might even operate on ¡°single-threading¡±¡ªits vines stopped moving when it was using those roots! ¡°Opportunity!¡± Wang Tao immediately rushed toward the Big Tree Monster and swiftly swung his bone knife. [-3521] [-3369] [-3721] [-3463] Four slashes in two seconds. Finally, as if coming back to its senses, the Big Tree Monster¡¯s roots stopped moving, and those vines began to whip toward Wang Tao once again. But this time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge. While enduring several attacks from the vines, he struck two final cuts against the Big Tree Monster. [-3875] [-359] [0/50000] The vines lashing toward Wang Tao suddenly wilted, dropping at his feet. The roots that had grown from its body slowly ceased their movements, becoming no different from ordinary roots. As for the Big Tree Monster itself, it collapsed thunderously. Crash¡ª Four Loot Packs burst out, and Wang Tao quickly stowed them into his Space Backpack. Then Wang Tao noticed the HP bars on the vines of the Big Tree Monster were rapidly decreasing, shedding tens of thousands of HP in the blink of an eye. Wang Tao¡¯s mind hadn¡¯t caught up yet, but his hands were already moving. He raised his bone knife and chopped at the vines. Swish, swish, swish¡ª The vines that previously had massive HP and high defenses had now become no different from ordinary plants, easily and decisively cut down by Wang Tao, one by one. After dying, these vines also dropped a Loot Pack! Wang Tao quickly collected these Loot Packs, then instead of examining the corpse of the Big Tree Monster, he ran towards Jiang Shixue¡¯s location. Bang! Suddenly, a hole was punched through the roots at Jiang Shixue¡¯s side, and she emerged from within. ¡°The defense of these roots has weakened.¡± Jiang Shixue explained, then she saw the huge creature that had fallen. ¡°Brother killed it? Impressive!¡± Jiang Shixue immediately praised him. Seeing that Jiang Shixue was unharmed, Wang Tao instantly felt relieved. Then, he and Jiang Shixue approached the fallen Big Tree Monster. While using Plant Affinity Perception to detect any movements around him, Wang Tao examined the Big Tree Monster. This creature should be considered the second-largest one Wang Tao had encountered, as well as one of the toughest¡­ The Big Tree Monster had a large body, and for a moment Wang Tao didn¡¯t know where to begin. But to his surprise, he found that upon its death, its bark was named and could be collected into the Space Backpack! [Iron Tree Skin: Crafting Material] This monster was called ¡°Iron Tree¡±? Wang Tao immediately collected the Iron Tree Skin into his Space Backpack. [Obtained: Iron Tree Skin x100] The Iron Tree Monster instantly turned into a tree with no bark left. ¡°Over here!¡± At this moment, Jiang Shixue sensed something and pointed to a spot. Wang Tao made a cut with his bone knife, then reached in and pulled out a Red Crystal Core. [Level 3 Crystal Core¡¤Root] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Root: Transforms legs into large, high-defense roots that can move through soil] This Ability must be the same one used by the Iron Tree Monster just now. Reading the description, it doesn¡¯t seem very strong, but in actual combat, it¡¯s powerful. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s high attack, it would have been uncertain whether he could breach the root¡¯s defense. However, this Ability would transform one¡¯s legs into roots. Although one could move through soil, judging by the Big Tree Monster¡¯s condition, it was evidently not very fast. Moreover, this wasn¡¯t even the side effect; it was irreversible. The cost was a bit too high, which Wang Tao did not prefer. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue searched the Iron Tree Monster¡¯s body again to see if there was anything similar to the Entangling Roots or Magic Seeds found earlier. First, they found a lot of Tree Essence Liquid. [Obtained: Tree Essence Liquid x13445] One unit of Tree Essence Liquid could increase 100 HP and 100 mana. Though one needed to wait a while after consuming every ten units, it was still a valuable item. Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Xu Xiaojun had been using it. They indeed found another seed as well. However, this seed was different from the previous Magic Seeds. [Iron Tree Vine Seed: When planted in the ground, it grows into a temperamental Iron Tree Vine. When planted in the body, it grows into an obedient Iron Tree Vine.] Seeing the description of this seed, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. Planting an Iron Tree Vine Seed in the body and growing a vine instead of a Hidden Ability? Should he give it a try¡­ Besides the Crystal Core, Tree Essence Liquid, and Iron Tree Vine Seed, there was nothing else from the Iron Tree Monster. But just then, the Entangling Roots on Wang Tao¡¯s wrist suddenly moved. They wriggled lightly on his wrist as if trying to convey a message to him. Wang Tao was surprised, and then he focused his senses, immediately taken aback. ¡°Huh? I feel like these Entangling Roots want to ¡®eat¡¯ the corpse of the Iron Tree Monster¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat uncertain. The Entangling Roots were a creature with little autonomy and couldn¡¯t directly transmit thoughts to Wang Tao. He only had a vague feeling. However, as it was his combat companion, Wang Tao would certainly respond to its needs. Thus, he gave the command to let the Entangling Roots move freely. Then he saw the Entangling Roots detach from his wrist and, like a snake, quickly burrowed into the Iron Tree Monster¡¯s corpse, leaving only a small section of root exposed. As Wang Tao watched this section of root, he noticed a change in the Entangling Roots¡¯ status. [Level 3 Weapon¡¤Entangling Roots] [HP: 7563/10000 (Upper limit 100000)] [Status: Evolving (Time remaining: 59 minutes 59 seconds)] [Enhancement: HP, Attack, Defense (Weakness: Afraid of Fire)] [Compatibility: 74%] ¡°Evolving status?¡± A look of anticipation immediately appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. Could this thing actually evolve? And into what kind? It was only a matter of an hour, and he could wait. Chapter 486 - Chapter 486: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_1 Chapter 486: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_1 As he waited for the entangling roots to evolve, Wang Tao turned his attention to the other loot. First was the special energy, which the Iron Tree Monster had brought him a whopping 12,000 units of special energy! This was the most special energy Wang Tao had ever received from killing a single zombie or monster. His special energy had now reached seventy-five thousand, allowing for a multitude of operations! Next was the Crystal Core Gift Bag, which contained a total of five crystal cores. The first was a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], the second was a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], and the third was a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Strength]. The fourth core was the Essence of Tree he had seen before. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Tree Essence] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Essence of Tree: Unfusable by non-females, can produce Tree Essence Liquid that enhances the strength of living beings] With this core, he now had two. If he could get another Tree Essence Crystal Core and synthesize a crystal core without side effects for fusion¡­ Wang Tao suddenly felt a sense of anticipation. Why was that? The fifth crystal core was one Wang Tao had never seen before. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Iron Tree] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Iron Tree: Passive Ability, skin becomes hard iron tree skin, greatly increases defensive power. Also has a certain fire resistance ability] ¡°No wonder it¡¯s not afraid of fire! It¡¯s because of this ability!¡± This Iron Tree Monster lacked the abilities such as ¡°Nutrient Absorption¡± and ¡°Photosynthesis,¡± leading to significantly reduced endurance, but it was fire resistant! Speaking of tree bark, Wang Tao wondered if the Iron Tree Skin material could be used to craft armor? After all, it had a high defense and fire resistance¡­ Wang Tao continued to check the Loot Pack. The second Loot Pack contained Tree Essence Liquid. [Obtained: Tree Essence Liquid x10,000] The Plant Monster he had killed earlier had also yielded ten thousand doses of Tree Essence Liquid. This was all good stuff! The third Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (small) x10] [Obtained: Defense Potion (small) x10] [Obtained: Strength Growth Potion x5] [Obtained: Defense Growth Potion x5] To think there were 5 bottles of Strength Growth Potion and 5 bottles of Defense Growth Potion. Without a second thought, Wang Tao injected them. Pfft~ Wang Tao felt he had grown a bit stronger. As for the last Loot Pack, the contents made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up. [Obtained: Iron Tree Standard Armor Blueprint x1] [Iron Tree Standard Armor Blueprint: After learning, one set of Iron Tree Standard Armor can be crafted each time. Required materials: Iron Tree Skin x1, any Crystal Core x1 (can use Level 1, Level Two, or Level 3 Crystal Cores), Iron Block x10, Screws x10, Rubber x10, Gauze x10, Steel Wire x10] [Iron Tree Standard Armor: Attributes unknown] This was a set of armor blueprints! Moreover, the key point was not that it was a one-time blueprint, but like Potion Recipes, once learned, they could be crafted indefinitely! His previous equipment blueprints were one-time use; once used, they were gone, completely different from this blueprint. ¡°Could it be because this blueprint is called ¡®standard armor¡¯? None of the previous equipment blueprints I had were stated as standard¡­¡± Without hesitation, Wang Tao used the blueprint. He had all the materials ready, so Wang Tao experimented by using one Level 1 Self-Destruct Crystal Core, one Level 2 Glutton Crystal Core, and one Level 3 Defense Crystal Core to personally test it out. A few moments later, three sets of brown armor appeared in front of Wang Tao. All three were Full Body Armor, capable of completely encasing a person. However, there were slight differences in the appearance of the three sets. [Iron Tree Standard Armor] [Level 1 (Ordinary)] [Durability +10, defensive power +10, with a certain fire resistance ability] The first set of Iron Tree Armor looked the simplest, without any complex designs. It was a set of Level 1 armor. [Iron Tree Standard Armor] [Level Two (Ordinary)] [Durability +20, defensive power +20, with a certain fire resistance ability] The second set of Iron Tree Armor was slightly more complex than the first. This was a set of Level Two armor. [Iron Tree Standard Armor] [Level 3 (Ordinary)] [Durability +30, defensive power +30, with a certain fire resistance ability] The third set of armor was even more complex, with some beautiful natural patterns. Naturally, this was the Level 3 armor. The armors crafted using the three types of crystal cores differed in appearance and attributes. Even the Level 1 armor, though, was quite a respectable piece of equipment. After all, many people nowadays wore equipment made from steel plates or iron sheets, which might have passable defense, but definitely not as convenient or comfortable as this set of armors. Wang Tao tried using a few different quality crystal cores for further testing, and discovered that the produced armors were all of Ordinary quality. It seemed that other qualities were unlikely to appear, but after all, being standard armors, having the same attributes was to be expected. These armors, of course, could all be kept inside a Space Backpack. Wang Tao left out a set of Level 3 armor and had Jiang Shixue try it on. The fit was quite right, but since it was a set of Full Body Armor and did not move like Entangling Roots, it significantly hindered Jiang Shixue¡¯s speed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to wear it; it¡¯s inconvenient to move around.¡± Jiang Shixue stared at Wang Tao with her large eyes. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s not wear it for now.¡± Chapter 487 - Chapter 487: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_2 Chapter 487: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_2 ¡°` Anyway, the armor was in Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack and could be taken out at any time when needed. ¡°However, there¡¯s no use for me to have so many sets of armor, I can trade with others¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself again. As of now, this stuff seemed to be worth more than Crystal Cores and such. But as everyone¡¯s levels increase to Level 3 and above, it might not be as valuable. So Wang Tao thought he could sell some of them, since he had permanently learned the method of making them and could make more in the future¡­ He finished checking out the loot from the Iron Tree Monster, but there was one more loot to check out, the Iron Tree Vines. Previously, when killing the Iron Tree Monster, the HP bars of these vines also started to decrease rapidly. Just as they were about to be emptied, Wang Tao dealt with them before they died. There were a total of eight Iron Tree Vines, and they had dropped eight Loot Packs for Wang Tao. And the items within these eight Loot Packs were very similar, each containing a Level 2 Extraction Crystal Core, and all of them were Epic! It seemed that all the Extraction Crystal Cores dropped this way were of Epic quality? [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Extraction] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] [Extraction: After fusion, it allows you to freely select and extract a Level 3 Ability. The extracted Ability will form a new Crystal Core without side effects.] With these eight cores, Wang Tao now had a total of 13 Extraction Crystal Cores. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t use these himself, but they could be useful for others, making them another great item for trade. ¡°Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s anything else here.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao perceived that there were no other creatures in the underground parking lot, but for safety reasons, the two cautiously searched the area anyway. ¡°Nothing at all¡­¡± After scouring the place, they shook their heads at each other. This underground parking lot was likely the domain of only the Iron Tree Monster; aside from it, there were no other creatures. Wang Tao recalled the information previously given by Zijin Base, grateful that they had sealed off this place. If they had come down to clear it and encountered the Iron Tree Monster, they probably would have been wiped out completely. After all, the combination of the Iron Tree Monster and its vines was too powerful. Wang Tao looked at the still-evolving Entangling Roots and tried to contact Lan Yulian using the walkie-talkie. He discovered no one was reachable, including Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. ¡°No signal, huh¡­¡± Wang Tao climbed out of the entrance they had used earlier. ¡°Zzzt¡­ Zzzt¡­¡± ¡°This is Wang Tao, this is Wang Tao¡­¡± After a moment, Wang Tao received a reply. ¡°Wang Tao! Where are you? The place you recommended is great, come join us! These Level 3 Zombies are quite weak, still relatively easy to kill! And there are many obstacles here; we set up a defensive line and can kill them slowly. I¡¯ve already got several Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores!¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s excited voice came through the walkie-talkie. On hearing this, Wang Tao broke into a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll join you in half an hour, as long as you¡¯re safe.¡± He had to wait for the Entangling Roots to finish evolving first. ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll wait for you! By the way, the main force from Zijin Base has also arrived. They should be ready to assault the gymnasium in half an hour at most.¡± ¡°Oh? Alright, I got it.¡± Previously, Zijin Base¡¯s people were delayed picking up an airdrop, which is why they¡¯re only making their way here now. After chatting with Lan Yulian a bit more, Wang Tao ended the call. However, he didn¡¯t head back down but asked Jiang Shixue to stay here and wait for the Entangling Roots to finish evolving while he went to check out other places. The gymnasium was huge, filled with zombies everywhere, with quite a few of the weaker Level 3 ones around. Wang Tao decided to take this time to gather some Special Energy. In half an hour, Wang Tao killed more than ten Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and accumulated another 30,000 Special Energy. He finally burst forth a few Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. Having cleared out the zombies nearby, and feeling it was about time, Wang Tao prepared to return. Boom~ Suddenly, he heard some noise from outside, which seemed to be coming from Districts A and B. ¡°Have they arrived?¡± Wang Tao pondered as he returned to the underground parking lot. He checked the Entangling Roots and saw they needed ten more minutes. At this point, the corpse of the Iron Tree Monster had withered as if drained by the Entangling Roots. Wang Tao waited another ten minutes. Finally, the countdown for the evolution of the Entangling Roots ended. Whoosh¡ª The Entangling Roots immediately detached from the Iron Tree Monster¡¯s body and flew toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao extended his hand, and the roots coiled steadily around his wrist like a delicately crafted iron bracelet. Wang Tao looked at its attributes. [Level 3 Weapon ¨C Entangled Iron Tree Roots] [HP: 20,000/20,000 (Upper limit: 100,000)] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancements: HP, Attack, Defense, Fire Resistance] [Compatibility: 100%] First off, the name had changed, becoming Entangled Iron Tree Roots with an added ¡°Iron¡± in the name. Then its HP had directly increased by ten thousand, which saved Wang Tao a lot of Crystal Cores. But the most important were its enhancements; the weakness to fire was gone, instead gaining the Fire Resistance attribute! This was significant for Wang Tao because what used to be a deadly weakness had now become an enhancement. This greatly improved his survival abilities! ¡°Let¡¯s go and see what¡¯s happening outside.¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue returned to the first floor from the entrance. ¡°` Chapter 488 - Chapter 488: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_3 Chapter 488: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_3 ¡°` Just as the two of them returned to the first floor, the walkie-talkie crackled to life. ¡°Wang Tao! Are you there? Help me!¡± It was Lan Yulian¡¯s voice. Wang Tao immediately pressed the talk button. ¡°I¡¯m here, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°God, I finally got through to you, I thought you were¡­ We¡¯re currently trying to break out of District C, the zombies are too strong, we¡¯ve suffered heavy losses. Nie Siyan and the others are with me¡­ see if you can come, if not, just get out, don¡¯t worry about us¡­¡± ¡°Huh? Why did you go to District C?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°We wiped out the zombies in District E, there were no zombies in District F, and just then the main force arrived, calling us to join the attack on Districts A and B. But the zombies in Districts A and B were too strong, we couldn¡¯t defeat them, we had no choice but to retreat. Our escape route was cut off by other zombies, so we had to retreat to District C. There are many zombies here as well, and we can¡¯t get out for the time being¡­¡± Listening to Lan Yulian¡¯s clear and rational explanation, Wang Tao calmly said: ¡°Okay, hold on, I¡¯m on my way.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you¡­¡± After ending the conversation, Wang Tao also tried to get in touch with Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s walkie-talkie seemed to be broken and he couldn¡¯t be reached, but he managed to connect with Nie Siyan. ¡°Brother Wang! Save us!¡± Nie Siyan, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, immediately cried out excitedly. Wang Tao asked about their situation, which was similar to what Lan Yulian had described. Half of their people had been lost. However, all the key personnel were still in good shape. ¡°Hold on.¡± After encouraging her to persevere, he turned to Jiang Shixue. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re all right?¡± Jiang Shixue previously had numerous injuries. Although none were serious, the many red marks were distressing to look at. But now, the injuries on Jiang Shixue¡¯s body had disappeared, and her HP was quickly toping up! Wang Tao wondered if Jiang Shixue had some sort of self-healing ability¡­ ¡°Brother, I¡¯m fine now!¡± Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s concern, Jiang Shixue gave a sweet smile. ¡°Alright, if you¡¯re fine, then let¡¯s go to District C!¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Assured there were no issues, Wang Tao proceeded towards District C with her. ¡­ District C. Countless zombies surrounded a makeshift defense installation, roaring as they launched their assault on it. Inside the defensive works, more than thirty people were struggling to fend off the zombies¡¯ attacks. Lan Yulian¡¯s clothing was somewhat ragged, and she bore some bloodstains, but the blood was not hers. She was in the middle of everyone, occasionally restoring HP to others. But her HP restoration ability had a cooldown period, and she could only heal one person at a time. Thus, in a short time, several others had sustained injuries. Sweat coated Lan Yulian¡¯s forehead, yet she didn¡¯t panic and continued to observe the situation calmly. At that moment, Lu Yingfeng, her face smeared with plenty of blood, approached Lan Yulian with concern. ¡°Jade Lotus, how are you holding up? Can you continue?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s ability was to restore HP, which might seem risk-free, but using such an Ability was extremely taxing on her energy. Lan Yulian was now quite pale, clearly having overused her energy. ¡°I¡¯m still okay!¡± Lan Yulian nodded. She felt she could still keep going. ¡°If it gets too much, use the Rejuvenation Potion¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng sighed. ¡°No way, we absolutely can¡¯t break out right now, even with the Potion. But if I use the Potion, I¡¯ll be weak for the whole day tomorrow, and if we still can¡¯t get out by then, we¡¯re really done for¡­¡± Rejuvenation Potions were amazing, able to fully restore one¡¯s physical strength and spirit in critical moments, but they left the user weakened the following day. Unless it was a last resort, Lan Yulian tried not to use it. After all, they weren¡¯t at home but surrounded by numerous Level 3 zombies! ¡°Alright¡­ then hold on!¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s endurance was much stronger than Lan Yulian¡¯s, and she could still keep up. Of course, not for much longer. She then asked: ¡°When can we expect reinforcements from the second and third squads?¡± The second squad was the prison, and the third squad was the Alliance. ¡°Probably not happening, we can¡¯t get in touch for now¡­¡± Lan Yulian shook her head. ¡°This is bad¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face turned grim. They had previously received a message from the first squad about a joint strike on Districts A and B. These districts were swarming with zombies, indicating an abundance of Zombie Cores. At that time, they had just cleared District E of zombies, so they went to rendezvous with the first squad. Their fourth squad, the fifth squad, and the first squad had attacked District A, while the second and third squads took on District B. However, both sides failed! The zombies in Districts A and B were too strong and too numerous. They were simply not something they could handle. The first squad wisely chose to retreat first. Lan Yulian¡¯s group was caught up in battle and delayed. By the time they tried to retreat, many zombies had arrived and cut off their escape route! The first and fifth squads were being chased by zombies. The second and third squads reported severe losses and then went silent. It was unclear if anyone survived. Lan Yulian¡¯s group was now reduced to just over thirty people, barely holding off the assault. Escaping was a pipe dream. Without reinforcements, they might indeed end up trapped here to die¡­ Even Lu Yingfeng, typically confident, was becoming pessimistic. But just then, Lan Yulian said: ¡°But I got in touch with Wang Tao, he¡¯s on his way here!¡± ¡°What? He¡¯s coming!¡± Lu Yingfeng was first surprised and delighted, then quickly became concerned. The current situation didn¡¯t seem like Wang Tao coming would make much of a difference. After all, there were too many zombies outside! Unless Wang Tao could draw all the zombies away from the area¡­ ¡­ After some effort, Wang Tao finally spotted the sign for District C. He also saw the zombies of District C. ¡°So many!¡± Looking at the densely packed crowd, Wang Tao felt his scalp tingle. Because he realized that the zombies besieging District C were not Ordinary zombies, but Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies! ¡°` Chapter 489 - Chapter 489: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_1 Chapter 489: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_1 [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Ordinary Level 3] Although Mad Demon Zombies were also of an Ordinary level, their strength was far greater than that of ordinary zombies! They were equivalent to Elite Zombies without Abilities, even physically stronger than some Elite Zombies. Those Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and weakened Level 3 Elite Zombies were no match for these Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies! And most importantly, Mad Demon Zombies almost never acted alone ¨C they came in huge swarms! For instance, right now, there were at least nearly a hundred Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies here! ¡°Is there, or nearby, a lair of Mad Demon Zombies?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to think more; he contacted Lan Yulian using the walkie-talkie. ¡°In a moment, I¡¯ll cause some commotion outside. You take the chance to run for it!¡± ¡°Ah? You¡¯re already here? Good! Be careful!¡± Lan Yulian was both surprised and excited; she hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao truly arrived! Wang Tao quietly distanced himself from District C, then threw several Self-Destruct Bombs towards some locations. Boom! The huge explosion sound resonated instantly. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Mad Demon Zombies were extremely sensitive to sounds, and the majority of them immediately shifted their target, flocking towards the explosions. However, those that had locked their sights on Lan Yulian and the others were still attacking. But with so many Mad Demon Zombies gone, the pressure on Lan Yulian¡¯s side diminished significantly. ¡°Little Xue, you hold them off here, I¡¯ll go ahead.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao took the opportunity to rush over, leaving Jiang Shixue behind to fend off the other zombies. A Mad Demon Zombie spotted Wang Tao and pounced at him. Wang Tao slashed it to death in a few blows, and it burst into three parcels, but Wang Tao cursed silently after seeing the contents. ¡°Damn, what trash!¡± All three parcels dropped by the Mad Demon Zombie contained nothing but Ordinary crafting materials. Wang Tao immediately lost his interest in killing them. Although Wang Tao gained 1500 Special Energy, there were too many Mad Demon Zombies, and it was uncertain if more were outside. The lair of the Mad Demon Zombies was likely nearby, so he couldn¡¯t afford to linger in battle. Wang Tao¡¯s appearance immediately caught the attention of those at the defense fortifications. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Lu Yingfeng, who was rushing out with a Tang Dao, was the first to spot Wang Tao and exclaimed softly in surprise. Wang Tao chopped through a few more zombies, successfully meeting up with Lu Yingfeng. The others were thrilled to step out from the defense fortifications. Lan Yulian had already told them that it was Wang Tao who had come to rescue them. Wang Tao glanced at Lan Yulian, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan; they were all injured to varying degrees but not in mortal danger. ¡°Follow me!¡± Now was not the time for talking. Wang Tao immediately called out to everyone and started retreating along the route he had come. The crowd hurried to keep up. ¡°What about Little Xue?¡± At that moment, Lan Yulian suddenly spoke up. She noticed Jiang Shixue was not by Wang Tao¡¯s side, and her heart skipped a beat. But luckily, she heard Wang Tao reply: ¡°She¡¯s fine, outside.¡± ¡°¡­That¡¯s a relief!¡± The group fought their way out and saw a figure in a red JK uniform standing neatly there. Behind her, in the shadows, lay a pile of zombies. ¡°Little Xue, let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao called out. Seeing Jiang Shixue, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng felt the scene was incongruous with her, but as they were fleeing for their lives, they didn¡¯t ask any questions. No sooner had they burst out of District C than they discovered a massive horde of Mad Demon Zombies on the outside! Although only a small portion were Level 3, they swarmed like a tide, numbering in the tens of thousands! Wang Tao glanced at the direction, then immediately said to Lan Yulian and the others: ¡°You go ahead and retreat; I¡¯m going to draw these Mad Demon Zombies away.¡± ¡°Brother Wang!¡± ¡°You¡­¡± The group looked at Wang Tao with disbelief. To draw away so many zombies was not just risking life but almost certainly facing death! Apart from at the beginning of the apocalypse when they had seen such selfless heroes, they hadn¡¯t seen any since! ¡°Stop wasting time, get moving!¡± Wang Tao glared at them irritably. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to play the hero, but if he didn¡¯t step up, no one would be able to escape¡ªthey were almost completely surrounded by the tens of thousands of Mad Demon Zombies. Someone had to draw the zombies away for escape to be possible, or even driving away would be impossible. And the only person capable of drawing away so many zombies was Wang Tao, or more precisely, the Self-Destruct Bombs, as their explosions were loud and attracted zombies. But the others couldn¡¯t handle the bombs, with the current chaos, they would likely set them off just holding them. So it had to be Wang Tao. For safety, Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue with him; both were very fast and should be fine. ¡°Okay!¡± At the critical moment, Lan Yulian was decisive. She immediately signaled for everyone to leave in another direction. ¡°Wang Tao, we¡¯ll wait for you at the parking spot! Be careful!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then he and Jiang Shixue started running in the opposite direction to Lan Yulian and the others. As he ran, he kept throwing Self-Destruct Bombs. Boom! Boom! Boom! After running at full speed for more than twenty minutes, Wang Tao finally shook off the Mad Demon Zombies behind him. ¡°Damn it! They sure can run!¡± Wang Tao cursed silently, feeling his lungs burning as if they were on fire. Jiang Shixue, however, appeared calm, befitting her zombie physique. Wang Tao¡¯s biggest worry was encountering other zombies on the road. If a formidable Level 3 zombie blocked the way, it would be quite troublesome¡­ Fortunately, the mission to attract the zombies went smoothly, and they didn¡¯t encounter any obstacles. Chapter 490 - Chapter 490: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_2 Chapter 490: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_2 After catching his breath, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue took a wide detour heading towards the entrance of the sports center. The vehicles of the fourth squadron were all parked there. It was already evening by the time Wang Tao arrived at the entrance of the sports center, and he immediately furrowed his brow. The vehicles were still there, but not a single person was in sight. Upon closer inspection, well, well, the tires had all been slashed? The gas tanks were leaking too! ¡°Sabotage?¡± Seeing the neat incisions on the tires, Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed instantly. At that moment, the walkie-talkie on Wang Tao¡¯s body rang. ¡°Crackle¡­ Brother Wang, look behind you!¡± Wang Tao turned his head and saw on a building not far away, over a dozen stories tall, someone was waving a red flag. That person was Nie Siyan. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with the vehicles and ran immediately towards the building. The entrance to the building had long been shattered, but the door to the stairway inside was tightly shut. As Wang Tao approached, Nie Siyan immediately opened the door from inside. ¡°Brother Wang, are you alright?¡± Nie Siyan said, her face full of concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao clasped Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand and while walking upstairs, he asked Nie Siyan: ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°When we got here, we found all the vehicle tires slashed, and we couldn¡¯t leave. There were also quite a few zombies around; we killed our way through them to get here. Lan Yulian then suggested we go up¡­¡± Nie Siyan hastily explained. ¡°Who did it?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°Lan Yulian said it was the people from the prison and the Alliance!¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. The three of them went upstairs, where Lan Yulian was treating someone¡¯s injuries. Lu Yingfeng and Xu Xiaojun were on guard duty. When they saw Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue arrive, everyone hurried over. ¡°Wang Tao, Little Xue, you¡¯re not hurt, are you?¡± Lu Yingfeng immediately hugged Jiang Shixue, checking to see if she was missing an arm or leg. Lan Yulian then cast several green glows onto Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s heads. The feeling of being healed was warm and comfy. Seeing that Lan Yulian was about to continue, Wang Tao quickly waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t waste your effort!¡± Although the warm feeling was very comfortable, that green light made Wang Tao somewhat uncomfortable. Lan Yulian immediately stopped. She looked at Wang Tao with a face full of gratitude. ¡°Wang Tao, thank you! If it weren¡¯t for you, we might all have died¡­¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang Tao, for saving us!¡± The others also bowed to Wang Tao in a soft voice. ¡°It¡¯s good that everyone is safe.¡± Wang Tao gestured with his hand and then gathered separately with Lan Yulian and a few others to inquire about the current situation. Their fourth squadron had initially more than sixty people, but now only over thirty were left. The team had directly lost half of its number, which was a heavy loss. However, they had gained quite a bit. If this group could all make it back alive, it¡¯s possible that some Level 3 ability users would emerge. Regarding the tires, Lan Yulian explained with an angry face: ¡°It must have been the doing of the prison and the Alliance! I had contacted the Zijin Base Team before, and they too had suffered heavy losses. We had agreed on a rendezvous point. But they told me their vehicles had been tampered with¡­ and then I discovered ours had been tampered with too! I tried to contact the prison and the Alliance again, but still couldn¡¯t get in touch¡­¡± As to who would have a motive for such an act, apart from their own people, everyone else had a motive, given the undercurrents between these four major forces. But at that time, Lan Yulian and the Zijin Base Team had jointly attacked District A and had witnessed the heavy losses of Zijin Base firsthand. If they really wanted to set someone up, there was no need for such a self-sacrificial scheme. On the other hand, the prison and the Alliance had claimed they were going to attack District B and also suffered heavy losses, but all of this was communicated over the radio, with no one seeing it with their own eyes. Now their own vehicles had been tampered with, and it was only those two groups they couldn¡¯t contact. It wasn¡¯t possible they were all annihilated, so obviously there was a problem! ¡°Crackle¡­¡± Just then, Lan Yulian¡¯s walkie-talkie rang. She answered it, and on the other side was the leader of Zijin Base, ¡°General¡±. ¡°One piece of good news, one bad. The bad news is, the prison and the Alliance didn¡¯t attack the zombies at all. Their goal was to take over my base, so they went straight back.¡± This statement made everyone¡¯s faces fall. ¡°And the good news?¡± Lan Yulian asked, her face grim. She had some subordinates in Zijin Base; if the base fell, they would be in trouble. ¡°The good news is, they didn¡¯t make it, I stopped them.¡± General spoke in a very calm tone. ¡°Ah? Where are you?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face showed a hint of surprise. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s another piece of bad news. All the remnants of our four teams are trapped in the Diving Training Hall. Outside are a large number of Mad Demon Zombies and Level 3 Zombies.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The diving hall was located at the very edge of the sports center, a short distance from where they were, and because of the angle, it was not possible to see it. Lan Yulian immediately switched to another room and took out binoculars. In her view, she saw several people with binoculars on the roof of the diving hall and the dense mass of figures outside the diving hall! ¡°I think I see you¡­¡± Lan Yulian said. ¡°¡­¡± There was a pause from the other side, then the question came: ¡°Can you rescue us?¡± Lan Yulian shook her head instinctively. ¡°No, there are too many zombies outside of you! There must be at least ten thousand, and they¡¯re Level 2 and 3 zombies, and we only have thirty people total now¡­¡± ¡°¡­Okay then, can you guys go back to Zijin Base for reinforcements? I still have a fully armed military force.¡± Chapter 491 - Chapter 491: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_3 Chapter 491: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_3 The General¡¯s tone was still very calm, showing no hint of fear. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll head back tomorrow morning. It¡¯s getting dark now; traveling back by night would be too dangerous¡­ I hope you can hold out for the night!¡± The distance to Zijin Base was a bit far; it had to be covered during daylight. Otherwise, encountering a large number of Night Demons at night would spell disaster. ¡°Okay.¡± The other party didn¡¯t urge them, and their tone remained calm. Lan Yulian knew it was just his style. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s the situation with the prison and the Alliance now?¡± Lan Yulian asked again. ¡°Temporary cooperation.¡± ¡°Right. Then¡­¡± Lan Yulian asked for more specifics, and the General shared everything he could. Wang Tao listened on the side and more or less understood the whole story. Simply put, the prison and the Alliance had long been in cahoots, claiming they came to kill zombies, but they were only going through the motions and didn¡¯t actually fight. Without these two powerful teams, the other teams would definitely face greater difficulties. They wanted to take the opportunity to return to Zijin Base and take it over. After all, Zijin Base was the best in the city, and many were envious of it. They were no exception. As for the ascension to Level 3, they had already secretly obtained some white Ascension Crystal Cores. However, they had never succeeded in merging with them. So, they figured that even if Zijin Base got hold of Crystal Cores, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to succeed. If they could take over Zijin Base, with its high walls and terrifying defense, even Level 3 ability users wouldn¡¯t be able to breach it. They planned to take their time with the Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores they had. Then, as if by surprise, an accident occurred. Their original plan was to have the people from Zijin Base and the clubhouse fight their way in and get bogged down by the multitude of zombies inside while they head back to base. But to their astonishment, the zombies inside were too strong, and Zijin Base suffered heavy casualties right at the start. Hence, the General immediately ordered a decisive temporary retreat to plan for the long-term. This retreat caught the prison and the Alliance off guard¡ªthey had just finished their sabotage and hadn¡¯t gone far¡­ It also incidentally caused trouble for Lan Yulian and her teammates. At the time, Lan Yulian¡¯s group was jointly fighting a formidable Level 3 zombie and couldn¡¯t leave. After a great struggle to kill that zombie, they were left alone; the General¡¯s men had all retreated! So, this was how Lan Yulian and her people ended up trapped. As for the General¡¯s side, once outside, they discovered their vehicles had just been sabotaged, then they saw traces of the prison and the Alliance. So they hurriedly gave chase. At this time, the zombies from the sports hall also gave chase. Some, being speed-type zombies, ran fast, and with their large numbers, the general¡¯s men couldn¡¯t avoid combat. As a result of this battle, zombies from other areas were attracted! Especially when a large number of Mad Demon Zombies arrived, it wasn¡¯t just them who couldn¡¯t escape; even the people from the prison and the Alliance had no way out. Fighting amongst themselves was pointless at such a time, so both sides had no choice but to cooperate. They fought while retreating, retreating to the diving hall. The current situation was that they were surrounded by countless zombies. Although they were not at immediate risk of death, the future was uncertain. It was unclear whether there were any zombies with strong destructive powers among them, and their supplies were limited¡­ After ending the communication, Lan Yulian turned her gaze to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, do you think we should go and bring back reinforcements?¡± To be honest, neither Zijin Base nor the prison and the Alliance were exactly honorable. There¡¯s no need to mention the prison and the Alliance. As for Zijin Base, they retreated too decisively without waiting for Lan Yulian. If they had waited a moment or helped out a bit, Lan Yulian and her team wouldn¡¯t have ended up trapped, nearly wiped out. At the time, Lan Yulian had considered borrowing manpower from the Fifth Squad, a team of Ability Users who could use Weak Slime. But the General vetoed it, saying they needed to preserve the strength of the Fifth Squad, which was their trump card for killing Level 3 zombies. Lan Yulian was certain that at the time, the General had some thoughts of letting the zombies eliminate her group¡ªif not before, then he would have seized the opportunity when it came. Of course, Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t entirely innocent either. By asking Wang Tao this, her implication was clear¡ªif they just left without looking for reinforcements, the General and his men would most likely be doomed. And Zijin Base¡ªmight just become hers! Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t planned on sabotaging them at such a time, but now that the opportunity had arisen¡­ she was having second thoughts! As the saying goes, ¡°Two tigers cannot share one mountain.¡± Now, Zijing City had four ¡®tigers,¡¯ which was unsustainable! So you couldn¡¯t blame Lan Yulian for being ruthless; if she didn¡¯t make a move someone else would. It was just a matter of who acted first. But Lan Yulian still hesitated¡­ If all these people died, the strength of the survivors in Zijing City would plummet by more than half, a loss for the entire Human Faction of the city. And Lan Yulian still had some conscience; the idea of so many people dying here weighed on her. She was torn between wanting to abandon them and wanting to save them. Wang Tao could clearly see her thoughts and smiled as he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple? If they offer benefits, like giving up Zijin Base¡­ then you save them. If they don¡¯t offer anything, just let them wait for death. I believe they know how to choose.¡± Lan Yulian responded with some resignation, ¡°You¡¯re right, they¡¯re very likely to offer benefits. But that¡¯s just a verbal agreement. If they don¡¯t honor it after being saved, I have no means of punishing them¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s even simpler. Just be stronger than them. For instance¡­ ascend to Level 3.¡± Wang Tao said, revealing a Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Core in his hand, within which lay a ¡°+¡± sign shadow. Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Core! Chapter 492 - Chapter 492: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_1 Chapter 492: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_1 ¡°Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Core?!¡± Upon seeing the item in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, Lan Yulian covered her small mouth and exclaimed in surprise. This operation awarded her several Ascension Crystal Cores as well, but they were all White Rank, Ordinary Quality, with only a 20% fusion success rate. Theoretically, it should take five fusions for a White Crystal Core to succeed, but in reality, it¡¯s all down to luck. Bad luck might mean never succeeding at all. Furthermore, the fusion of Crystal Cores introduces impurities into the body, and that¡¯s why people of their power level usually wouldn¡¯t fuse Crystal Cores lightly. Especially not White Crystal Cores¡­ To them, Purple Crystal Cores were mainstream. Red and Orange Cores were treasures that one could only hope for but not seek out. And now, Wang Tao had casually produced an Orange one! ¡°How about it, do you want it?¡± Wang Tao waved the Orange Crystal Core in his hand. ¡°Yes!¡± Lan Yulian answered honestly. Not just her, but also Lu Yingfeng and Nie Siyan beside her nodded subconsciously. An Orange Ascension Crystal Core signified a guaranteed Level 3 Ascension! ¡°Trade it for another Crystal Core.¡± Wang Tao spoke with a smile. This Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Core synthesized from two blue and one white Crystal Cores contained no impurities and so was much higher quality than ordinary Orange Crystal Cores. As long as the trading price exceeded the cost, Wang Tao was willing to make the trade. ¡°What kind of Crystal Core do you want? I¡¯ll trade!¡± Lan Yulian immediately reached out to Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng took out a pile of Crystal Cores from her backpack, all of them either Level 1 or Level 2, including a good number of White Ascension Crystal Cores. Seeing these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Even though the quality of these Crystal Cores was ordinary, they didn¡¯t matter to Wang Tao. ¡°How many do you plan to trade?¡± Wang Tao looked at her. ¡°Huh? How many? Do you have more? Orange ones too?¡± Lan Yulian was a bit stunned. Without a word, Wang Tao took out two red and one more orange Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core. ¡°¡­¡± Everyone, except for Jiang Shixue, was dumbstruck. ¡°Interested?¡± Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian. ¡°I want them all!¡± Lan Yulian immediately spoke up. These three Ascension Crystal Cores essentially meant the creation of three Level 3 Ability Users! ¡°But can you afford them?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile on his face. ¡°I can afford them!¡± Lan Yulian insisted, even if she couldn¡¯t afford them, she had to! She quickly pulled Lu Yingfeng aside and began to discuss in a low voice. Nie Siyan watched the three Ascension Crystal Cores, feeling her heartbeat accelerate. Although they weren¡¯t meant for her, if she served Wang Tao well, maybe she¡¯d have a chance¡­ With that thought, she immediately went behind Wang Tao and began to massage his shoulders. Wang Tao glanced at her but didn¡¯t say anything. Shortly after, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng came over. Lan Yulian spoke: ¡°I¡¯ll give you all the Crystal Cores I have in exchange for these three cores!¡± ¡°Not enough,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. It wasn¡¯t that it wasn¡¯t enough, but rather because right now was the perfect time for Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores to exert their value, and Wang Tao definitely had to sell at a high price. Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t surprised to see Wang Tao shaking his head. If it were her, she probably wouldn¡¯t agree either. After all, they represented Level 3 Ability Users. If one became a Level 3 Ability User, would they worry about not having Crystal Cores? ¡°Then you name the price; these are all I have right now¡­¡± Lan Yulian said helplessly. She wasn¡¯t wealthy to begin with, having traded quite a few Crystal Cores with Wang Tao before. The cores she had now were just obtained today¡­ she really didn¡¯t have anything else to offer. Wang Tao didn¡¯t name a price, instead, he looked at the Crystal Cores Lan Yulian had taken out, then gave her two Orange Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°These can only be traded for two, and this is a friendship price.¡± ¡°¡­Okay!¡± Lan Yulian quickly took the two cores. ¡°They¡¯re so pretty!¡± It wasn¡¯t that she had never seen Orange Crystal Cores, but somehow these two seemed extra beautiful. With these Orange Crystal Cores, they could have a Level 3 Ability User! And with a Level 3 Ability User, they could dominate other forces! ¡°Who are you planning on using them for?¡± After collecting the pile of Crystal Cores, Wang Tao curiously asked. ¡°We¡¯ll give them to Little Feng; I¡¯m not yet qualified for a Level 3 Ascension¡­¡± Lan Yulian glanced at Lu Yingfeng as she spoke. A Level 3 Ascension not only required HP to reach the maximum limit but also at least one Level 2 Ability +10. Lan Yulian didn¡¯t have an Ability that had successfully fused ten times, so she couldn¡¯t use the Ascension Crystal Core. On the other hand, Lu Yingfeng had an Ability that had successfully fused ten times and could ascend to Level 3. Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t speak, but her eyes were filled with gratitude. If it were someone else, they would surely use the Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core for themselves, even if they couldn¡¯t use it right away. It was rare indeed for someone like Lan Yulian to offer it up right away¡­ However, Lu Yingfeng also felt a bit troubled. ¡°If I succeed in ascending to Level 3, my other Level 2 Abilities that haven¡¯t reached max level won¡¯t be able to fuse anymore¡­¡± Level 2 Ability Users couldn¡¯t merge Level 1 Crystal Cores, and it was likely that Level 3 Ability Users couldn¡¯t merge Level 2 Crystal Cores. Lu Yingfeng had only one Level 3 Ability +10, the others were all +1. If she ascended to Level 3 now, she wouldn¡¯t be able to continue fusing Level 2 Crystal Cores with these three +1 Abilities¡­ meaning, they might never advance further! Under normal circumstances, she would certainly wait for the right opportunity to ascend to Level 3¡ªat least she¡¯d make sure her other Level 2 Abilities reached +10! But the situation was extraordinary¡­ Chapter 493 - Chapter 493: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_2 Chapter 493: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_2 ¡°` So, this means that if she ascends to Level 3 now, her power would definitely increase significantly, but her growth limit would decrease¡ªbecause the other Abilities would always be at Level Two. Not to mention, the fewer Ascension Crystal Cores she uses, the lesser the power increase during ascension will be¡­ Hearing this, Lan Yulian felt a bit annoyed and instinctively held onto her hand. ¡°Oh right! I didn¡¯t consider this factor! How about¡­ we switch to someone else? There are also some people in our club who are eligible for Level 3 ascension¡­¡± ¡°No, let me do it!¡± Lu Yingfeng gripped Lan Yulian¡¯s hand tightly and then shook her head firmly. It wasn¡¯t that she was unwilling to let go of this opportunity, but she didn¡¯t trust the others much. She could guarantee that even if she ascended to Level 3, she would still follow Lu Yingfeng¡¯s orders. But that might not be the case with others¡­ The internal dynamics of their club were not very stable, and if something unexpected happened, it could all be for nothing. After Wang Tao learned a bit more about Lu Yingfeng¡¯s situation, he suddenly flipped his palm, and an Orange Crystal Core appeared, with a shadow of a Surgical Knife inside it. ¡°Perhaps, you need this.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Seeing the Orange Crystal Core again, both women were surprised and curious. ¡°Exraction Crystal Core. After integrating it, it allows you to freely choose to extract one of your Level 2 Abilities. The extracted Ability will form a new Crystal Core without any side effects¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. The two women¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°Extraction of an Ability?¡± ¡°There is such an amazing Crystal Core?¡± Can a Crystal Core be extracted even after merging into the body? Both women found it hard to believe, but it was Wang Tao who told them this, and he had no reason to deceive them. After the shock had worn off, both women were visibly excited. If they could use this Crystal Core to extract the other Level 2 Crystal Cores from Lu Yingfeng¡¯s body, then when Lu Yingfeng ascended to Level 3, she would have a slot available to integrate a Level 3 Ability! Alternatively, if Lu Yingfeng extracted her Abilities and integrated a more common Level 2 Crystal Core, then ascended that Core to +10, even if she ascended to Level 3, she would still be able to merge a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core, thereby upgrading that Ability to Level 3¡ªconsidering that Level 1 and Second-order Superpower Owners could merge Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores, it stands to reason that Level 2 and Level 3 ability users should be able to merge Level 3 Crystal Cores as well! Anyway, no matter how you look at it, if Lu Yingfeng could use this Crystal Core, it would be a great enhancement to both her power and potential! Especially since Lu Yingfeng had integrated two useless Abilities with no side effects but also no real function in the early stages, she could now swap them for more suitable Abilities! Lan Yulian asked with a mix of excitement and nervousness: ¡°What¡¯s the price for this Extraction Crystal Core?¡± That price¡­ wasn¡¯t easy to set. To Wang Tao, this kind of Extraction Crystal Core was more precious than an Ascension Crystal Core because it was rare. But to others, definitely, the Ascension Crystal Cores would be more valuable¡­ ¡°You don¡¯t have anything left to trade now, do you!¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows and said. ¡°If you trust me, I can write an IOU! Just like the price we discussed for the Ascension Crystal Core just now!¡± Lan Yulian said seriously. ¡°Running a tab? Okay, I trust you.¡± Wang Tao looked into her eyes and suddenly nodded with a smile. ¡°Ah?¡± Hearing Wang Tao agree so readily, Lan Yulian was somewhat surprised. ¡°What? Were you lying to me?¡± ¡°No!¡± Lan Yulian quickly waved her hands, ¡°Then it¡¯s settled!¡± No matter why Wang Tao trusted her, it was certainly a good thing for her. At this moment, Wang Tao produced another Extraction Crystal Core. ¡°Lu Yingfeng has two useless Abilities, right? Perfect, extract them both.¡± ¡°You have more? Good, I¡¯ll take it!¡± Lan Yulian continued running a tab. ¡°Do you have any useless Abilities?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked Lan Yulian. ¡°I do¡­¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Also two¡­¡± Just as Lan Yulian finished speaking, she saw Wang Tao produce two Epic Exraction Crystal Cores. ¡°Here, want them?¡± ¡°¡­Yes!¡± The more debts one has, the less they worry¡ªLan Yulian had already run up quite a tab, so she wasn¡¯t about to balk at two more. ¡°Do you want to ascend to Level 3? You do, right! Then these Ascension Crystal Cores¡­¡± Wang Tao pulled out several Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°¡­¡± Both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were extremely shocked, and while they were shocked, they also seemed somewhat bewildered. Are we even living in the same world? High-quality Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores just casually being doled out? And he¡¯s willing to extend credit to me? After being bewildered for a while, Lan Yulian suddenly seemed to realize something. Her expression became surprised yet complex, then she gave Wang Tao a signal with her eyes, meaning to have a private chat with him. Wang Tao stood up and went with her to another room, where just the two of them were present. ¡°You¡­ just say what you want to do!¡± Upon entering, Lan Yulian looked at him and said. There¡¯s no such thing as love for no reason. Wang Tao suddenly being so nice to her was certainly with an ulterior motive. After all, this was the apocalypse, and running a tab in such a world was almost the same as throwing your effort into the water! Wang Tao agreeing to her running a tab definitely had a purpose! But what could he want? They had no Crystal Cores left, and it didn¡¯t seem like Wang Tao was interested in her club¡¯s power, so it could only be¡­ her person! This wasn¡¯t her being narcissistic; it was just that she truly had nothing valuable left, and she knew she was better looking than average¡­ Before Wang Tao could respond, Lan Yulian suddenly lowered her head, her cheeks slightly red as she spoke in a soft voice: ¡°` Chapter 494 - Chapter 494: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_3 Chapter 494: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_3 ¡°Cough, I¡¯m not being pretentious, I just feel that everything has a process, even if it¡¯s a special situation, or a brief one¡­ So, please, can we have a process where we get to know each other? We could try to understand each other first. I know you¡¯re excellent, but I¡¯m not someone who can be taken lightly. After all, I¡¯ve never been in a relationship¡­ Of course, no matter what the outcome, I will repay what I owe you. I won¡¯t take your things for nothing, that¡¯s my promise!¡± Hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, Wang Tao was initially stupefied, then he realized that Lan Yulian seemed to have misunderstood something. Misunderstood that he was pursuing her? And¡­ she didn¡¯t dislike it? But it made sense, given Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, if he wanted women, they¡¯d probably be lining up for him, like Nie Siyan was very proactive. Lan Yulian¡¯s restraint was quite modest in comparison. And Wang Tao had helped her a lot, even saved her life, and he himself was not bad-looking¡­ To say she had no feelings for Wang Tao was impossible¡­ But to say she had fallen for him, probably not yet. Now, with Wang Tao being so generous to her, in her eyes, this was a signal from him. So she decided to clarify things, if Wang Tao really had such intentions, they could start by getting to know each other a bit¡­ Wang Tao suddenly laughed. ¡°Actually, I prefer the type like Lu Yingfeng.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian was startled for a second, her face instantly colored with embarrassment. But there was also a sense of relief, and a trace of disappointment. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear to ease the awkwardness and then apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I misunderstood!¡± After her apology, she quickly sang Lu Yingfeng¡¯s praises. ¡°If you like Little Feng, that¡¯s easy to say! I can help set you two up! She¡¯s never been in a relationship and is very innocent¡­¡± As soon as she finished, Wang Tao burst out laughing. ¡°Alright, actually I was joking. I agreed to extend credit to you because I want more Crystal Cores. Although you don¡¯t have them now, as long as you can take down the General and even the entire Zijin Base, there will be plenty of Crystal Cores, and then you can repay me.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Looking at Wang Tao, who didn¡¯t seem to be joking, Lan Yulian grew even more embarrassed. She suddenly felt like she might be a little love-struck, interpreting Wang Tao¡¯s intentions all wrong¡­ However, she quickly recovered, and with a serious expression, she assured: ¡°Rest assured, I will repay all debts without any intentional delay!¡± ¡°I trust your character,¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s go outside.¡± Lan Yulian wanted to leave quickly. The more she stayed with Wang Tao, the more endless the embarrassment felt. Although in this apocalyptic era, survivors tended to have thick skins, by misfortune, she was one of the few with a relatively thin skin. Especially in matters of men and women, having had no experience, she found it difficult to be open. Nie Siyan, who had already been someone¡¯s wife, was very open, not giving a thought to face when in front of Wang Tao¡­ ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao followed behind her, but as he was about to leave, he suddenly said: ¡°The thing just now was a joke.¡± ¡°¡­I know.¡± Lan Yulian did not expect Wang Tao to repeat it; she felt completely uncomfortable. However, Wang Tao suddenly leaned in and whispered in her ear: ¡°What I mean is, I don¡¯t just like Lu Yingfeng¡¯s type but¡­ I quite like both of you!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian turned her head, looking somewhat surprised and at a loss. In this post-apocalyptic world, it was common for strong men to have multiple women, and women to have multiple men. But such things happening to herself felt somewhat unacceptable, as she wasn¡¯t weak and didn¡¯t need to cling to others to survive. If someone else had said this, she would have been disgusted. But if that person was Wang Tao¡­ she suddenly felt her heart in disarray. Watching Lan Yulian, who seemed at a loss, Wang Tao patted her shoulder with a smile and then took the lead to walk out. He indeed had a good impression of both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng, but it was purely admiration without any romantic feelings. But since Lan Yulian didn¡¯t take offense at the misunderstanding, there was no need for Wang Tao to pretend to be reserved. Everyone appreciates beauty, and who would refuse a beauty that comes knocking? Especially since he thought both women had good strength and character. Especially Lan Yulian, she was a rare healer¡­ After Wang Tao and Lan Yulian came out, the few people outside were curious about what they had discussed. At this time, Lan Yulian¡¯s complexion was normal, showing nothing. It had to be said, women are natural actors. Wang Tao said to both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng: ¡°Whatever Crystal Cores you need, just say it, you can put it on credit.¡± Lu Yingfeng looked towards Lan Yulian, and Lan Yulian nodded. So, the two women got a lot of Red and Orange Crystal Cores from Wang Tao. Lan Yulian felt a bit of a pinch, regardless of what relationship she would end up with Wang Tao, since she said she would clear her debts, she meant to do just that. And now she had taken on so much credit, she estimated that even if she could take down the General and his group, Wang Tao would probably reap the most benefits¡­ ¡°By the way, I have another nice item, do you want it?¡± Wang Tao took out another Red Crystal Core. ¡°This Crystal Core, called ¡®Healing Light¡¯¡­¡± [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡¤ Healing Light] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: First fusion decreases HP by 5000, subsequent fusions decrease HP by 1000)] [Healing Light: Consumes energy to form a healing energy field, restoring HP every second within its range] After Wang Tao introduced the Crystal Core, Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. She felt this Crystal Core was perfect for her! ¡°I want it!¡± Her Ability was single-target healing, but this Ability was for group healing, perfectly compensating for her deficiency. Moreover, her combat strength was not high, and she didn¡¯t like fighting. She enjoyed healing, and this Ability seemed tailor-made for her! Chapter 495 - Chapter 495: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_1 Chapter 495: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_1 Seeing the sparkle in Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao directly gave her the [Healing Light] Crystal Core. This Crystal Core was quite good, and even though it was just one, unable to remove the side effects, it was still impressive¡ªit was just a loss of 5000 HP. Before 29999 HP, that was enough. If need be, just kill a few more zombies to replenish the HP. However, for Wang Tao himself, it wasn¡¯t of much use. Since Wang Tao¡¯s own [Iron Wall] Ability could restore HP, and he preferred Abilities that could aid in attack, this [Healing Light] obviously wasn¡¯t suitable for him. Wang Tao had originally planned to keep this Ability for Ding Yuqin, but now Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t around, and he was certain that he would have many more Crystal Cores later, so there was no need to keep holding onto it. Giving it to Lan Yulian now would let it serve its proper function. Watching Lan Yulian holding the Crystal Core, with a look of uncontrollable joy, Wang Tao suddenly said: ¡°You owe me a lot now.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face froze. If it were before, she might have thought Wang Tao meant that she owed him a lot of Crystal Cores. But now, she had a feeling that Wang Tao¡¯s words carried a deeper meaning. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will be able to pay you back soon!¡± Lan Yulian quickly spoke up. Lu Yingfeng, standing beside her, tugged at Lan Yulian¡¯s clothes and asked in a low voice: ¡°We owe so much! How are we going to pay it all back¡­¡± Lan Yulian gave her a glance, whispering back. ¡°I sold you to him.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng obviously didn¡¯t believe her but didn¡¯t ask any further. With a serious face, she said: ¡°Then I¡¯m going to start the Fusion of the Crystal Core!¡± Lan Yulian nodded. ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll guard you.¡± They had just received a lot of Crystal Cores from Wang Tao, and for Lu Yingfeng, that should be enough. Lu Yingfeng entered a room; she had quite a few Crystal Cores to fuse, so it would take some time. Lan Yulian then arranged for others to patrol this floor, to prevent zombies from coming up at night, given that she would be guarding Lu Yingfeng. Xu Xiaojun volunteered to stand guard himself. With his strength, even if some formidable zombies appeared, he would be able to handle them. Inside the room. Lu Yingfeng lay on the bed, with Lan Yulian sitting beside her. Wang Tao sat on a chair not far away, with Jiang Shixue snuggled next to him. Nie Siyan continued to massage Wang Tao¡¯s shoulders. Before Lu Yingfeng started the Fusion of the Extraction Crystal Core, Wang Tao roughly knew about the Abilities she possessed. Apart from two trash Abilities, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s other two Abilities were [Athlete] and [Precision Shooting]. Lu Yingfeng possessed Precision Shooting, and Wang Tao found it a bit surprising, but not too surprising. After all, Precision Shooting isn¡¯t just for shooting; in close combat, it can be very useful in controlling one¡¯s strength and direction. And Lu Yingfeng herself was from a martial arts family, knowledgeable in many sword techniques. Paired with Athlete and Precision Shooting, her close combat would be very strong, and very cool¡­ After Lu Yingfeng swallowed the Extraction Crystal Core, it didn¡¯t take long before she suddenly opened her mouth and spat out a Crystal Core. It was one of those trash Abilities she had fused before. Then she swallowed another Extraction Crystal Core, and shortly after, the other Ability was expelled as well. Lu Yingfeng looked happy; those Abilities were of limited help to her and were from earlier fusions. Now she could finally replace them! She chose a [Sprint] Crystal Core from Wang Tao¡¯s collection. To others, this Ability might only seem to move them a small distance, seemingly not very useful. But for her, coupled with her sword techniques, it would definitely make her more formidable! As for the other Ability, she hadn¡¯t decided yet what to fuse; she would have to leave it empty for now and wait until she reached Level 3. Soon, Lu Yingfeng successfully fused the Sprint Crystal Core, then fused the other nine Sprints as well. All these Crystal Cores were on credit from Lan Yulian. Lu Yingfeng¡¯s Athlete was at +10, and now the Sprint was also +10. This meant she could fuse two Ascension Crystal Cores! However, Wang Tao suddenly said: ¡°By the way, I just remembered, there¡¯s a Crystal Core that should be very suitable for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Everyone looked curiously at Wang Tao. ¡°This one.¡± Wang Tao took out a red [High-Frequency Vibration] Crystal Core and explained its function. After hearing this, Lu Yingfeng immediately became excited. This Ability was practically tailor-made for sword users like them! She immediately looked at Wang Tao with hopeful eyes, then at Lan Yulian. ¡°We¡¯ll take it!¡± Lan Yulian spoke up at once. What¡¯s a little more debt? She could afford it! But Wang Tao just smiled and shook his head. ¡°You can have it on credit, but I have a small condition¡­¡± ¡°What condition? If it¡¯s within my power, I will not shy away!¡± Lu Yingfeng asked eagerly. ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in your sword techniques¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng was surprised but quickly said: ¡°Once we¡¯re in a safe place, I can teach you! But let¡¯s make it clear, if you can¡¯t learn, you can¡¯t blame me. Not that I look down on you, but I¡¯ve been practicing for many years since I was a child¡­¡± ¡°Deal. I¡¯m not demanding, just want to give it a try. If it doesn¡¯t work out, so be it.¡± Wang Tao handed the Crystal Core to Lu Yingfeng. He thought Lu Yingfeng looked very cool when fighting, and each move was controlled just right; he wanted to learn. But if he really couldn¡¯t pick it up, then it was not meant to be¡ªit would simply prove it wasn¡¯t his fort¨¦. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lu Yingfeng excitedly fused the [High-Frequency Vibration], and after a moment, she took out her sword to test it. She easily cut through a steel pipe. Chapter 496 - Chapter 496: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_2 Chapter 496: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_2 ¡°Strong!¡± Jade Lotus exclaimed in admiration. Taking a deep breath, Lu Yingfeng then said to the others: ¡°Now, I will merge with an Ascension Crystal Core and upgrade to Level 3¡­¡± She placed an Orange Ascension Crystal Core into her mouth. Moments later, she opened her eyes, her expression somewhat excited. ¡°Athlete has ascended to Level 3!¡± ¡°Congratulations!¡± Jade Lotus and the others quickly offered their congratulations. But after waiting for a while, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s frown returned. ¡°However, I don¡¯t feel that I can ascend to Level 3¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was taken aback. Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed as well. When he wanted to ascend, merging just one Crystal Core had no effect; he had to successfully merge four Ascension Crystal Cores. Could it be¡­ Lu Yingfeng faced the same situation? After asking Lu Yingfeng and Jade Lotus some questions, Wang Tao had an epiphany. ¡°I think I understand what¡¯s happening¡­¡± When Lu Yingfeng was ascending from Level 1 to Level 2, she used four Ascension Crystal Cores! At that time, after successfully merging one Ascension Crystal Core, she felt she could advance. However, Jade Lotus told her that the more Crystal Cores she merged, the stronger the enhancement she¡¯d get at Level 2. Therefore, she held back from advancing and specially ascended all four abilities before progressing to Level 2. Indeed, even though she had two useless abilities, she was substantially stronger than most Second-order Superpower Owners. So, Wang Tao thought, perhaps because she merged four Crystal Cores at Level 1, she would also need to merge four at Level 2? Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s analysis, Lu Yingfeng and Jade Lotus were somewhat stunned. If this was the case, wouldn¡¯t that mean this Ascension Crystal Core was used in vain? After all, Lu Yingfeng still had two abilities at +1¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the right Crystal Core for her to upgrade at the moment. The Omnipotent Crystal Core could work, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many, and he had already used them himself. Although ascending an ability to Level 3 would also significantly increase combat power, if one didn¡¯t ascend themselves, it would still be inferior to a normal Level 3 ability user. Defeating so many zombies, or subduing the General and others, would still be difficult¡­ The usually calm Lu Yingfeng suddenly felt anxious ¡ª she felt like she had wasted a valuable Ascension Crystal Core, especially since Jade Lotus had obtained it at a great cost! Wang Tao looked at Jade Lotus. ¡°How about you? How many Ascension Crystal Cores did you use when you ascended to Level 2?¡± ¡°Four¡­¡± Jade Lotus said with some resignation. This meant she also couldn¡¯t ascend to Level 3 anytime soon. Suddenly, Jade Lotus looked at Wang Tao with anticipation and asked: ¡°Wang Tao, you should be able to ascend to Level 3, right? Why don¡¯t you ascend to Level 3 and then help us suppress the General and his people?¡± She didn¡¯t trust the other people in the club; she trusted Wang Tao. However, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°I also need four Ascension Crystal Cores to ascend to Level 3, but my abilities haven¡¯t fully upgraded, and I don¡¯t have the Crystal Cores I need right now.¡± Even without ascending to Level 3, he could suppress the General and his men. But Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be staying here for long as he was planning to go to the military base. It wasn¡¯t possible for him to help Jade Lotus with this request. And what he said was true. He only had two Level 2 abilities at +10, and he couldn¡¯t ascend. He hadn¡¯t even used Ascension Crystal Cores for these two abilities because ascending them to Level 3 would require 30,000 Special Energy for Extraction or merging, while Level 2 would only need 5,000¡­ Since he wasn¡¯t sure whether he would extract in the future, he didn¡¯t advance to save some energy. ¡°So what do we do now¡­¡± Jade Lotus was somewhat at a loss. She now had the Ascension Crystal Cores but no suitable candidate to use them. At that moment, Nie Siyan, who was standing behind Wang Tao, suddenly raised her hand. She looked at the others somewhat timidly and said: ¡°Ahem, that¡­ When I ascended to Level 2, I only merged one Ascension Crystal Core¡­¡± After saying this, she swallowed nervously. She was both excited and apprehensive. It seemed that among all present, she was the only one who met the condition¡­ Could this enormous fortune fall into her lap? Jade Lotus and Lu Yingfeng turned their gazes to Wang Tao. They weren¡¯t familiar with Nie Siyan and were unclear about her character. Although Nie Siyan had a bad reputation, she was now following Wang Tao¡­ Wang Tao turned to Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t care about the gazes of the two women and walked over to Wang Tao in an understanding manner, kneeling in front of him to express her respect and submission. Jade Lotus and Lu Yingfeng looked at the two with surprise. They previously thought that Nie Siyan and Wang Tao had a cooperative relationship. But now it seemed that the relationship between them might be deeper¡­ Wang Tao gently stroked her hair, as if he were petting a small dog. ¡°Do you want to ascend to Level 3?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan nodded frantically. Then she quickly rubbed her face against Wang Tao¡¯s hand and said: ¡°Master~ I will be obedient!¡± Jade Lotus and Lu Yingfeng looked at Nie Siyan with odd expressions but said nothing. Wang Tao looked into Nie Siyan¡¯s anxious, expectant eyes, gently pinched her cheek, and simply said, ¡°Just be obedient.¡± He believed Nie Siyan knew the consequences of betraying him. Nie Siyan had killed quite a few zombies today, and her HP had already reached the cap of 29,999, but her abilities hadn¡¯t yet reached +10. Nie Siyan¡¯s four abilities were [Rush], [Athlete], [Throwing Master], and [Dream Interpretation]. Wang Tao thought for a moment, it was either not to ascend to Level 3 at all or to do so in the most perfect way possible. Chapter 497 - Chapter 497: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_3 Chapter 497: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_3 ¡°` Nie Siyan had four abilities, except for [Dream Interpretation], which Wang Tao didn¡¯t possess, he had the other three, and not just a few of them. So Wang Tao gave her a pile of Crystal Cores to fuse. ¡°Are they, all for me¡­?¡± Nie Siyan felt so blessed she was about to faint. The way she looked at Wang Tao was as if her eyes could drip water. Nie Siyan¡¯s feelings for Wang Tao were complicated, she was afraid, but she also genuinely started to like him. Especially now, if it weren¡¯t for the inappropriate circumstances, she would definitely let Wang Tao experience the moves she just learned¡­ ¡°Fuse them.¡± ¡°Yes, Master!¡± Witnessed by several people, Nie Siyan quickly succeeded in fusing 27 Crystal Cores. Rush, Athlete, and Throwing Master all added 10 points. Then Wang Tao had her fuse an Extraction Crystal Core, stripping away the ability of Dream Interpretation. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Dream Interpretation] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side Effects: None)] [Dream Interpretation: Can dispel some of the human dream states, awakening the person] Now that she had changed her profession, this ability was of no use anymore. Wang Tao kept the Crystal Core for himself, which might come in handy for him later. Then Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan a [Jump]. This ability could attack, and save lives. Furthermore, Wang Tao had plenty of them. After Nie Siyan had fused [Jump] to +10, Wang Tao took out four Ascension Crystal Cores. Nie Siyan, trembling, received these Crystal Cores, her eyes slowly welling up with tears. No matter what Wang Tao¡¯s intentions were or how poorly he had treated her in the past, amidst this post-apocalyptic world, he was now indeed treating her the best! She was deeply grateful to Wang Tao, sincerely wanting to follow him and acknowledge him as her master. As for rebellion¡­ Let alone whether she could defeat him, she was currently able to enjoy the finest things by following Wang Tao; only a fool would rebel! Under the envious gazes of Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng, Nie Siyan fused all four Ascension Crystal Cores. Then her four abilities all advanced to Level 3. ¡°Brother Wang, I feel that I can ascend to Level 3 at any time within the next three days, and the ascension will probably require 24 hours of sleep¡­¡± Nie Siyan quickly shared the information she knew with Wang Tao. ¡°Alright, then start your ascension right away.¡± Wang Tao nodded, this was almost what he had anticipated. ¡°Yes!¡± After an excited nod, Nie Siyan lay down on the bed and fell asleep. After some thought, Wang Tao called Xu Xiaojun in. Since Nie Siyan had started her ascension, he might as well promote Xu Xiaojun to Level 3 too. Xu Xiaojun had already maxed out his HP at 29,999, as for his abilities, they were [Strength], [Rush], [Shockwave], and [Iron Skin]. In the past two days, Wang Tao had obtained a lot of Crystal Cores, including these, which could allow Xu Xiaojun to level up to the max. Xu Xiaojun also looked at Wang Tao with immense gratitude and excitement. However, he didn¡¯t say much. He was never good with words, always expressing himself through actions. Soon, Xu Xiaojun also fell into a deep sleep. By this time tomorrow, there will be two powerful Level 3 ability users! ¡°Envious¡­¡± ¡°` ¡°` Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both envied him, as they wouldn¡¯t be able to ascend to Level 3 anytime soon. Lu Yingfeng had just fused with a [High-Frequency Vibration], but there were not many of those crystal cores left, and Wang Tao had none. She didn¡¯t want to perform extraction, so all she could do was wait. And she still had to consider what her fourth crystal core would be. As for Lan Yulian, it was even harder. She had extracted the two useless abilities from her body, leaving only one for HP restoration and another for healing wounds. The crystal cores with these two abilities were extremely rare. She would probably, like Wang Tao, use an Omnipotent Crystal Core instead¡­ At this moment, Lan Yulian seemed to recall something and suddenly asked: ¡°By the way, having them start their Ascension now means you¡¯re not planning on returning to Zijin Base at the moment, right?¡± Now that the vehicles were unusable, they could only walk back. If they were to drag two sleeping people, especially someone as burly as Xu Xiaojun, it would be quite troublesome. Wang Tao replied with a smile: ¡°Why go back? I¡¯ve used up so many crystal cores, and you guys don¡¯t have any left. I need to replenish some as there are so many zombies around¡­¡± The zombies at the sports center were lured away by the General and his people. This was good news for Wang Tao, as it meant there were zombies to kill! There were a few very strong zombies in the horde that Wang Tao had never encountered before. Now was the perfect opportunity to lure them over¡­ Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, both women got a little excited. If it were just the two of them, they probably would have gone back, but with Wang Tao around, they would definitely follow him. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s strength spoke for itself. That night, there was no disturbance on their side of the building. However, the diving hall was bustling. As the zombies never left, it caused some noise, thereby attracting many Night Demons! The strength of the Night Demons was formidable, and they moved in groups. Combined with other zombies¡­ Wang Tao really wanted to know the psychological shadow that the survivors inside the diving hall were living under. The next day, in the morning. Lan Yulian left some people to watch over Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun, while Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue to stay behind as well, just in case any accidents occurred. Funny enough, neither Lan Yulian nor Lu Yingfeng knew of Jiang Shixue¡¯s true strength until now, still thinking she was just an ordinary person with good physical fitness¡­ Wang Tao prepared to head to the sports center with Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. But before leaving, Wang Tao brought out two sets of Iron Tree Armors. ¡°What¡¯s this? Armor?¡± Both women were curious. They hadn¡¯t seen where Wang Tao had gotten them from¡ªcould they have been cosplaying outfits found within the building? ¡°Iron Tree Armor, with strong defense. Try them on.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The women were a bit puzzled, but they didn¡¯t ask further questions. After all, Wang Tao was now a major creditor of theirs; they definitely had to listen to him. ¡°Huh? This armor can even adjust its size¡­ Although it¡¯s a bit heavy, it¡¯s not too bad, and it fits very well after putting it on¡­¡± The two women, outfitted in the Iron Tree Armors, were quite amazed. They weren¡¯t sure about the armor¡¯s defensive power yet, but it was indeed comfortable to wear, much better than they had expected. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go like this.¡± Wang Tao intended for them to experience the armor, to find out its pros and cons and, afterwards, to discuss how much they thought it was worth. He was not yet sure about pricing the armor, so he would wait for their usage feedback before deciding. ¡°Okay!¡± The three left the building and stealthily made their way toward the sports center. It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to spot a zombie entirely covered with hands! It wasn¡¯t among those surrounding the diving hall but was wandering outside. Seeing this, Lan Yulian quickly whispered to Wang Tao: ¡°This zombie has killed many of our people before!¡± Chapter 498 - Chapter 498: Chapter 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_1 Chapter 498: Chapter 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_1 This was a zombie that looked like a hedgehog, but instead of quills, it had decaying, menacing arms! There were at least a hundred of these arms, flailing and writhing, making one¡¯s scalp tingle. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see its eyes, but when he looked at it, it seemed to sense something. The arms began to move rapidly like centipede legs and charged towards him! ¡°It¡¯s coming! It has an Ability that lets it shoot those arms out; anyone hit by the arms will most likely die!¡± Lan Yulian explained anxiously. This zombie had killed many of her people yesterday, and she still had a psychological shadow from it. ¡°Shooting out arms? That¡¯s something¡­ And its Perception seems really strong; it noticed me from so far away¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at the zombie¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 40000/40000] [Mana: 20000/20000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] A Level 3, Lord with forty thousand HP! Looking at this Attribute alone, Wang Tao thought Lan Yulian and her team were lucky yesterday. If their luck had been any worse, it wouldn¡¯t have been just heavy casualties; they could have been completely wiped out! ¡°It¡¯s a Level 3, Lord Zombie. It¡¯s normal for you not to have been able to beat it,¡± Wang Tao said softly. The Level 3 Zombies Lan Yulian and her team had managed to kill yesterday were either Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies, or weakened Level 3 Elite Zombies¡­ In any case, they hadn¡¯t really encountered any proper Level 3 Elite Zombies, let alone a Level 3, Lord Zombie. ¡°A Level 3 Lord! No wonder¡­¡± The two women suddenly realized. A Zombie Lord was much stronger than Elite Zombies! If they had known it was a Zombie Lord, they would have run away early and wouldn¡¯t have tangled with it. But it wasn¡¯t easy to determine whether it was a Lord or not. Lords had territories. If there was only one zombie in an area, or if there was one very powerful zombie, or if it commanded other zombies ¡ª then it was definitely a Lord Zombie. But at the time, zombies were all over the place, and everything was in chaos. Seeing zombies approach, Lan Yulian and her team¡¯s first reaction was to attack. They could only vaguely sense it was a Level 3 Zombie but couldn¡¯t discern whether it was an Elite or a Lord. Not to mention, having killed many Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and weakened Elite Zombies, they were growing confident, which made accurate judgment no less difficult. ¡°Wang Tao, what do we need to do?¡± Lan Yulian looked towards Wang Tao. She didn¡¯t ask if Wang Tao could win but instead directly asked what they should do. Since Wang Tao knew it was a Lord Zombie but didn¡¯t run, that meant he was confident, and all they needed to do was support him. ¡°You two hide first, I¡¯ll take the main attack, and Lu Yingfeng look for opportunities to assist. As for you, protect yourself and keep an eye on Lu Yingfeng, and don¡¯t attract its attention at all costs,¡± Wang Tao instructed. ¡°Okay!¡± Both women responded and then hid themselves. Wang Tao walked out boldly, facing the Hundred-armed Zombie head-on. The two women were very anxious, with Lan Yulian ready to heal and restore HP to Wang Tao at any moment. Then, they were stunned. They saw black roots resembling those of a tree suddenly appear on Wang Tao as he approached the zombie. In the blink of an eye, these roots wrapped around him and formed a massive set of armor. Wang Tao transformed into a two-and-a-half-meter-tall ¡°monster¡±! And in his hands, a giant White Bone Knife had appeared from nowhere! ¡°What is this!¡± It was the first time the two women had seen Wang Tao like this and couldn¡¯t quite believe it. ¡°Could it be a transformation Ability? And where did that Bone Knife come from?¡± Before they could ponder further, Wang Tao was already in contact with the Hundred-armed Zombie. Thump! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t find the zombie¡¯s head, so he could only attack the decaying arms. With one slice, several arms were cut off by Wang Tao. The Hundred-armed Zombie didn¡¯t seem to lose much HP, but it became enraged, suddenly leaping high into the air, then bouncing towards Wang Tao like a ball. ¡°It can jump that high?¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected the zombie to be so agile. However, with his Iron Wall Ability already activated and the speed boost, he easily dodged the Hundred-armed Zombie¡¯s attack. Boom¡ª The stone pavement was smashed into a spider-web of cracks. And just like a ball, the Hundred-armed Zombie hit the ground and used its arms to bounce back up, lunging at Wang Tao again. This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge but instead timed his move carefully, powering up for a decisive strike. He used high-frequency vibration for this slash. Bang! The Hundred-armed Zombie was sent flying, and Wang Tao felt his knife had cut deep. Above the zombie¡¯s head, a damage number of [-3645] popped up. ¡°Its Defense isn¡¯t that high after all!¡± Seeing this number, Wang Tao grinned. As long as it wasn¡¯t a monster with high Defense like the Big Tree Monster, he wouldn¡¯t waste too much time. When the Hundred-armed Zombie got knocked back, Lu Yingfeng, who had been ready to strike, appeared suddenly. Clad in armor, she tightly gripped her Tang Dao and stabbed at the Hundred-armed Zombie as it was about to land near her. Thrust! [-1894] After the stab, Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t linger for combat but quickly retreated. Wang Tao glanced at her in surprise; the damage from that strike was quite high. After all, Lu Yingfeng hadn¡¯t reached Level 3 yet, while Wang Tao was genuinely at Level 3 Combat Power. For her to inflict almost two thousand damage with a single strike was impressive indeed. Chapter 499 - Chapter 499: Chapter 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 499: Chapter 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_2 ¡°Quick battle, quick decision!¡± Wang Tao said to Lu Yingfeng. Since both of their damages were not low, there was no need to dawdle. Otherwise, if other zombies were attracted, complications could easily arise. ¡°Okay!¡± Lu Yingfeng responded. ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± After the Hundred-armed Zombie landed, the arms on its body suddenly trembled violently, like some sort of shamanic dance. Lan Yulian, hiding in the shadows, suddenly felt dizzy. Lu Yingfeng, who was closer to the Hundred-armed Zombie, was even more unstable on her feet, and she was about to fall to the ground. Wang Tao instantly appeared beside her, scooping her up and getting her out of there. Boom~ As soon as they left, they saw the zombie fall from the sky, landing right where Lu Yingfeng had just been standing. ¡°Mental Attack!¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face inside the helmet was a bit unsightly; when they had previously attacked this zombie, it hadn¡¯t used this method. This only meant one thing¡ªthey hadn¡¯t been seen as a threat! However, this was also a good thing, after all, mental attacks were unpredictable, and she didn¡¯t have any means to resist them. Wang Tao had fused with quite a few Crystal Cores before and had some that could defend against Mental Attacks, so he did have some resistance to this kind of attack. Moreover, Wang Tao had just discovered that his Entangling Roots had just lost HP! Could this mental attack reach his armor? But he didn¡¯t have time to think further. Wang Tao asked Lu Yingfeng, who was in his arms. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Lu Yingfeng shook her head; feeling a bit clearer after a moment, she quickly wriggled out of Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. Though both were armored and there had been no physical contact while she was in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable. After releasing her, Wang Tao used the walkie-talkie to check on Lan Yulian¡¯s situation. ¡°I¡¯m okay¡­¡± Once he made sure everyone was alright, Wang Tao attacked again. Other zombies were already heading their way, so they needed to finish this one off quickly. At that moment, the Hundred-armed Zombie suddenly spun around, throwing its arms like javelins toward Wang Tao, Lu Yingfeng, and Lan Yulian hiding in the shadows! Wang Tao raised his Bone Knife and swung several blows, knocking away many arms. However, there were too many arms flying toward him, and three still struck him. [-349] [-340] [-318] One arm hitting his Entangling Roots caused over three hundred HP of damage. Though it seemed not much, the three arms together had depleted a thousand HP. And this was after Wang Tao had already blocked many arms. If it were someone else without the defense of Entangling Roots and hit by several arms, they might have been killed instantly! Wang Tao looked toward Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. Fortunately, although they were a bit disheveled, they both managed to block the attack. The greatest credit went to their Iron Tree Armors. ¡°Such strong defense!¡± Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were both a bit shocked and happy. They had braced themselves for injury, but unexpectedly, the zombie¡¯s arm attacks were unable to penetrate the Armor¡¯s defense. Although they had lost HP, there were no direct wounds, which prevented infection. Lan Yulian first healed Wang Tao, then Lu Yingfeng, and finally herself. Wang Tao felt warm all over, and his HP instantly returned to full! He looked again at the zombie; after shooting out part of its arms, its true form was revealed¡ªa giant meat tumor! Wang Tao felt a bit disgusted as he rushed forward with his knife. The zombie continued its arm shooting, but this time, it didn¡¯t attack Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng; instead, it targeted Wang Tao. Bracing himself with his strength, Wang Tao endured the attacks and broke through to the front of the Hundred-armed Zombie. Then he began slashing wildly. [-4584] [-4873] [-4393] [¡­] Lu Yingfeng seized the opportunity to appear behind the zombie, and she too started swinging her knife. [-1849] [-1823] [-1902] [¡­] The defense of the Level 3, Lord Zombie Lord was indeed low, especially after losing those arms, it essentially became a target for Wang Tao and Lu Yingfeng. It launched several mental attacks; Wang Tao felt a slight stabbing pain in his head, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Soon after, Wang Tao delivered the final blow. Spurt~ [-5134] [0/40000] The zombie¡¯s HP bar emptied. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils of war and cut open the tumor to find a Crystal Core inside. [Level 3 Crystal Core¡¤Spike Shoot] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Defense decreased)] [Spike Shoot: Spikes will grow on the body, which can be shot out and can be recovered] Seeing the attributes of the Crystal Core, Wang Tao suddenly understood. He thought that the defense of the Level 3, Lord Zombie Lord was much weaker than he expected, and it turned out that this ability had a side effect that reduced defensive power. But the Crystal Core mentioned spikes, whereas the zombie had grown arms; it seemed there had been a mutation during the growth process¡­ Lan Yulian ran over and showered several green lights on Wang Tao and Lu Yingfeng. Seeing that quite a few zombies had already surrounded them, Wang Tao immediately ran off with the two women. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡­ Some time later, the three of them appeared on the rooftop of a building. From there, they had a perfect view of the swimming pool. Seeing the dense hordes of zombies outside the pool area, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both felt a tingling sensation on their scalps. They couldn¡¯t understand why there were so many zombies here, and so many of them were Level 3! According to the information the General had given them before, there shouldn¡¯t have been so many zombies here, let alone so many Level 3 zombies! Chapter 500 - Chapter 500: Chapter 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Chapter 500: Chapter 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_3 The General¡¯s information shouldn¡¯t be false¡­ After all, he¡¯s trapped himself, and if it were false, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have risked coming here¡­ ¡°Maybe they¡¯ve bred a Mother Zombie, I¡¯ve seen one before¡­¡± Wang Tao explained. He referred to the type of zombie that could enhance the strength of other zombies as a Mother Zombie. Just like the green-eyed zombie he had encountered before at the Shuize County First Hospital, and the plant monster that had developed zombies specifically at the reservoir last time¡­ Wang Tao initially suspected that these zombies were cultivated by the big tree monster in the underground parking lot. But it didn¡¯t feel quite right, because it seemed to have nothing it needed to guard¡­ So now Wang Tao suspected there might be a Mother Zombie here! If there really was a Mother Zombie, he wondered what level it would be. Based on Wang Tao¡¯s previous experience, the zombies cultivated by a second-order Mother Zombie were all first level, so those by a third-order Mother Zombie should be Level 2. But there were many Level 3 zombies here¡­ It couldn¡¯t be that there was a fourth-order Mother Zombie, could it? Or had the Mother Zombie undergone some kind of mutation? Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, but either way, this place was dangerous, and even though he had reached Level 3, he had to be cautious. After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation about the Mother Zombie, the two women immediately felt a chill throughout their bodies. If there really was such a zombie here that could endlessly produce powerful zombies¡­ That would be a big problem! ¡°You two look for the next target, it would be best to find a Zombie Lord¡­ I¡¯ll rest for a while.¡± Wang Tao said to the two women. If it were another place, in one area there would likely be only one Zombie Lord, but there were too many zombies here, and there could be a Mother Zombie, so there might be other Zombie Lords as well. ¡°Okay! Rest well!¡± The two women nodded their heads in a hurry. While resting, Wang Tao naturally turned his attention to his loot. Compared with yesterday¡¯s big tree monster, although both were Level 3 Lords, this hundred-armed zombie had ten thousand less HP and lower defense. Its overall strength was much weaker, only the Mental Attack was difficult to guard against. The loot was still substantial. Besides a Crystal Core, the hundred-armed zombie itself had nothing else. But the 9600 Special Energy it brought Wang Tao increased his Special Energy to [115000]! Then there were three Loot Packs. The Crystal Core Gift Bag contained five Crystal Cores. There were red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Jump]¡­ Wang Tao noticed that as long as the zombies or monsters he killed surpassed their levels and were powerful, it was easy to drop Ascension and Omnipotent crystals. This was quite nice. However, what attracted Wang Tao¡¯s attention the most were the last two Crystal Cores. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Shock] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Blindness)] [Mental Shock: Consumes Energy to transform one¡¯s spiritual power into several invisible and colorless needles that shoot out. If there are obstacles in the way, it will reduce the power] Seeing the ability of this Crystal Core, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Just by looking at the side effect of ¡°Blindness,¡± one could tell this Ability was powerful. It was another unguardable method of attack! ¡°But it can be blocked¡­ No wonder I lost HP from the entangling roots when the zombie¡¯s Mental Attack hit me. So it was the entangling roots that blocked the attack!¡± This could explain why Lu Yingfeng and Lan Yulian were not seriously hurt after the Mental Attack ¡ª because they had full armor for protection. Without the armor, they probably would have had a hard time with a hit like that and might even have been in danger of losing their lives¡­ Wang Tao wanted to synthesize this [Mental Shock] core. He¡¯d see if he could get two more cores later. He didn¡¯t dare synthesize it without removing its blindness side effect. As for the last Crystal Core, it also made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes shine. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Perception] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Non-females synthesize, halving Perception Ability)] [Perception: Consumes Energy to detect nearby living entities] No wonder this zombie had no organs like eyes and could still quickly discover Wang Tao and his team. It turned out it had the Perception Ability! Perception Ability was like a human-shaped radar, one of the Abilities Wang Tao wanted the most. Although the range of Perception was not as wide as his Plant Affinity, its accuracy was far greater! If he could use Perception and Plant Affinity together, he figured it would be like radar plus X-ray vision! Unfortunately, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered many zombies with the Perception Ability. He currently only had one Level 2 Perception Crystal Core. Now he had obtained a Level 3 Perception Crystal Core. Although he couldn¡¯t synthesize it with a Level 2 core, maybe he could collect enough to do so eventually. However, Wang Tao suddenly had an idea¡ª What if he synthesized the Level 2 Perception Ability first, then used an Omnipotent Crystal Core to upgrade it to +10, and then used an Ascension crystal core to raise it to Level 3! Then, by using the Extraction ability, extracted it to become a Level 3 Perception Crystal Core¡­ If he did that, wouldn¡¯t he then have two Level 3 Perception Crystal Cores? He just wasn¡¯t sure if the Perception Ability of a Crystal Core extracted this way would be halved¡­ ¡°I can try it later!¡± Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack. Inside were potions. [Gained: Mental Boosting Potion x20] Wonderful stuff that permanently increased spiritual power, Wang Tao used them all at once. After a refreshing and cool sensation passed, Wang Tao felt much more spirited, all the fatigue from the battle dissipated, leaving his body feeling comfortable, as if he had just had a grand massage ¡ª though he had never had one. Then the last Loot Pack. Inside were actually two blueprints. [Gained: White Bone Standard Crossbow Blueprint x1] [Gained: White Bone Standard Crossbow Arrow Blueprint x1] Chapter 504 - Chapter 504: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_1 Chapter 504: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_1 ¡°` ¡°Protection fee?¡± ¡°` Several people were stunned and didn¡¯t know how to respond. Are the general¡¯s people being protected right now? Are they actually being protected by a group of zombies? Of course, everyone can go rescue them now, and if they manage to save them, that could be considered a form of protection, so¡­ charging a protection fee does seem reasonable. ¡°What, you think the term ¡®protection fee¡¯ doesn¡¯t sound good? Then let¡¯s call it something else, how about ¡®rescue operation fund¡¯? That sounds fair, right? We¡¯re risking our lives to save them, so it¡¯s reasonable to charge a fee.¡± Everyone nodded subconsciously. ¡°Alright, then that¡¯s settled. Everyone, get ready¡­¡± Wang Tao took out a set of Level 3 Iron Tree Armors and helped Nie Siyan put it on. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng still had their armors on, Xu Xiaojun had his own battle armor, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t need any¡­ So they just needed to make sure Nie Siyan was armed. Moreover, for this protection fee mission, Nie Siyan was the main force. Wang Tao had fused a Jumping Crystal Core with her, and now was the perfect time to put it to use. By the time darkness fell, there was a smattering of starlight outside, enough to see where they were going. Lan Yulian assigned tasks to the others, instructing them to hold their positions inside the building no matter what happened, and not to go outside under any circumstances. Then she looked at Jiang Shixue, standing behind Wang Tao, and frowned slightly. ¡°Wang Tao, is Little Xue going too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°¡­¡± In the eyes of Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng, Jiang Shixue was just an ordinary little girl. Of course, having come this far with everyone, Jiang Shixue was clearly not so ordinary anymore; she must have some other abilities. But they were still worried. However, neither woman said much more, only thinking that if any danger arose, they needed to protect Jiang Shixue¡­ ¡­ Wang Tao led the group downstairs. In the post-apocalyptic world, there¡¯s a saying¡ªnighttime is the real end of the world; daytime is just an appetizer. And indeed, it was true. During the day, there were actually not many zombies around the building, and it seemed relatively safe. But now, after nightfall, zombies could be seen passing by the building from time to time. When the group was upstairs, they saw just a few zombies in the plaza below. But once they got down, they realized there were already seven or eight gathered. Not to mention the terrifying roars coming from all directions. Lan Yulian was somewhat nervous; she seldom ventured out at night. Lu Yingfeng held her hand, which helped to ease her nerves. Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan a signal with his eyes. Immediately, Nie Siyan walked over with two sharply honed steel bars in hand. The zombies that discovered Nie Siyan immediately began to stagger towards her. Nie Siyan, holding the steel bars, didn¡¯t throw them or stab with them. Instead, she used the bars like a club and swung them at the heads of the two zombies. Pfft~ The zombies¡¯ heads were instantly crushed, and their entire heads, along with their necks and chests, were split open! Thud¡ª Both zombies fell to the ground one after the other. ¡°Strong!¡± Lu Yingfeng exclaimed quietly. Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction as well. Nie Siyan wasn¡¯t a strength-based Ability User, but she was able to brutally and directly kill those ordinary zombies with sheer brute force! It had to be said, her physical attributes had improved a lot after ascending to Level 3! Nie Siyan charged into the horde of zombies like a sheep entering the mouth of a tiger. With just a few swings, she killed them all. Even among them was a Level 2 Elite Zombie, which still couldn¡¯t withstand three blows from Nie Siyan. After resolving the fight, Nie Siyan quickly ran back to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± She was thrilled¡ªas she had never imagined herself to be so powerful! She felt that now, facing any Level 2 zombies, she could resolve them quickly! Even against Level 3 zombies, she felt she could handle them with ease! ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao patted Nie Siyan on the shoulder, signaling her to stay calm. Soon, they encountered another wave of zombies. This time, it was Xu Xiaojun¡¯s turn to take action. Currently, speaking solely of combat strength, it was up for debate whether Xu Xiaojun or Nie Siyan was stronger. However, just in terms of strength, three Nie Siyans wouldn¡¯t be a match for Xu Xiaojun. Especially when armed with his Mechanical Right Arm, any zombie he touched had only one outcome¡ªto be blasted apart, literally. With just his brute force, he could blast apart these zombies. If he added Shockwave to his attack, his power would no doubt be no weaker than Wang Tao¡¯s. ¡°His strength¡­ is freakish!¡± Lu Yingfeng was amazed. She felt that if she were to take Xu Xiaojun¡¯s axe head-on, she would probably be crippled, if not dead¡­ ¡°You¡¯ll be that strong someday too!¡± Lan Yulian encouraged her. ¡°I hope so¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng was somewhat troubled. She had received a [High-Frequency Vibration] Ability crystal from Wang Tao that she really liked, and she needed to max out this ability to achieve Level 3 Ascension. However, this ability was too rare, and upgrading it to max level seemed like it would take forever¡­ The road to the diving center was teeming with zombies. However, it was Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun who dealt with them. Wang Tao wanted to assess the strength of Level 3 Ability Users. After his observation, he could roughly conclude that in terms of combat against zombies, Xu Xiaojun had about eighty to ninety percent of his combat power, and Nie Siyan had about seventy to eighty percent. As for who would be stronger or by how much if they fought each other, that was hard to say. Since they had not engaged in combat with each other and their attributes weren¡¯t dramatically different, there was no clear way to determine who was superior without a real fight. However, if they truly did fight, Wang Tao felt he would have a much higher chance of winning. After all, he was well-rounded in all aspects, with virtually no weaknesses¡­ Chapter 505 - Chapter 505: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_2 Chapter 505: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_2 ¡°Night Demons! Brother Wang, are you going to make a move?¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat excited upon spotting a few Night Demons ahead. Before Wang Tao had arrived, she had encountered a Night Demon once and had almost been killed. She certainly remembered the grudge! Wang Tao took a look; there were about three Night Demons nearby, but there were more than a dozen further away. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go around. After we finish the important business, we can talk about it.¡± Night Demons are social creatures; if they couldn¡¯t be killed swiftly, it would definitely attract a large number of Night Demons. Regardless of whether the group could handle it, it would surely delay the main task. There was no need to complicate things unnecessarily. If they really wanted to kill Night Demons, they could discuss it after completing their business. However, speaking of Night Demons, Wang Tao suddenly remembered something. ¡°Night Demon¡¯s Nests are known for their good loot, capable of dropping Exraction Crystal Cores. Now that it¡¯s night and there are many Night Demons outside, I wonder if there are any left inside the nest?¡± Wang Tao planned to observe carefully; if he really could discover a Night Demon¡¯s Nest, he might consider checking it out¡­ After spending some time, the group arrived near the diving hall. Then Wang Tao led a few people to the rooftop he had stayed on during the day. From here, they could get a good view of the diving hall. ¡°Eh? The number of zombies around the diving hall seems to have decreased a bit?¡± Lan Yulian said with some uncertainty. With only the faint glimmer of stars that night, it was hard to see clearly from a distance, but she felt like there were fewer zombies. ¡°Indeed, there are less!¡± Wang Tao nodded. He had observed the number of zombies here during the day, and now it was clear that there were significantly fewer. After observing for a while longer, Wang Tao identified the problem. ¡°I think I understand now. Zombies are more active at night and may wander around the area; they don¡¯t necessarily stay here all the time. During the day, however, they are attracted by the living humans inside the diving hall and gather around it again¡­¡± ¡°Does that mean, if they make a break for it during the night, they might be able to get out?¡± Nie Siyan asked, somewhat curious. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Not exactly. Although some zombies surrounding the diving hall have decreased, it doesn¡¯t mean those zombies are dead. If those inside tried to break out now, it would definitely cause a commotion and attract those zombies back. Moreover, there are so many Night Demons at night¡­ Without external help, it would still be very difficult for them to escape danger.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone fell into a brief silence. After all, no matter how you put it, those inside were human survivors. If they all died, it would be a tremendous loss for Zijing City. ¡°Later, I will try to draw away some of the zombies on the north side, and then it¡¯s your time to shine.¡± Wang Tao said, looking at Nie Siyan. ¡°Okay!¡± Nie Siyan was a bit nervous and excited. She had learned a Jump Ability that allowed her to jump very high, especially now that it had reached Level 3, enabling her to leap between buildings! Her task was to jump into the diving hall, display the aura of a Level 3 ability user to deter rash actions, and finally, to convey that they would find a way to rescue them. Of course, she was also to take the ¡°funds¡± from the hands of General and his men. As for General telling Lan Yulian to go back to Zijin Base for reinforcements, Wang Tao had vetoed it. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to save them, but the reinforcements he had were fully armed soldiers. If they fought, it would cause a huge commotion. The sports center was teeming with zombies right then, and there might even be a Fourth-order Mother Zombie. If all were alarmed¡­ not only would those trapped not survive, but neither would the reinforcements. After waiting on the rooftop for a while, Wang Tao felt that the timing was about right and said to Nie Siyan: ¡°I¡¯ll go north to create a distraction. When you see a portion of the zombies moving away, that¡¯s your cue to go. As for the others, be ready for combat in case of emergencies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone nodded. After Wang Tao descended the building, he ran straight toward the north. The noise he planned to make still relied on Self-Destruct Bombs. But there were too many zombies around, so Wang Tao had to run further away. He couldn¡¯t handle being surrounded. As for whether it was possible to lure away all the zombies around the diving hall¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t think it was likely, as many were attracted by the scent of humans and wouldn¡¯t be easily diverted. Wang Tao ran for over ten minutes, dodging and weaving. Without others slowing him down, he quickly left the area of the sports center. This was a small park with few zombies and was relatively quiet. ¡°This place is good!¡± Using his Plant Affinity Perception, Wang Tao checked to make sure there were no issues, then took out several Self-Destruct Bombs. Thump, thump¡ª The heart-shaped Self-Destruct Bombs started to pulsate rhythmically as soon as he took them out. Wang Tao carefully positioned the bombs, then hurriedly ran out of the park and onto the rooftop of a four-story building. He took out the Bone Hand Crossbow and shot an arrow at one of the Self-Destruct Bombs he had left at the entrance of the park, then fled without looking back. Whoosh¡ª Boom! The Self-Destruct Bomb exploded instantly upon being hit. That explosion triggered a chain reaction with the other bombs. Boom¡ªBoom¡ª All of the bombs exploded, and the ground seemed to shake. After the explosion, various roars were heard as the surrounding zombies were all attracted! By then, Wang Tao had already made his escape. But as he was hurrying back, his eyes suddenly lit up. He saw three Night Demons running out of a building, one of which was a Blue-skinned Night Demon. Chapter 506 - Chapter 506: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_3 Chapter 506: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_3 ¡°Huh? Could there be a Night Demon¡¯s Nest here?¡± Wang Tao quickly picked up the walkie-talkie. ¡°I¡¯ll head back later, you guys adapt on the fly.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Lan Yulian on the other end sounded somewhat surprised, but didn¡¯t ask further questions. Wang Tao stealthily approached the exterior of the building. It was an antique-looking small building ¨C judging by the rusted sign, it seemed to be a little hotel. After sensing his surroundings for a bit to ensure there were no dangers, Wang Tao walked inside. ¡°Downstairs¡­¡± Wang Tao discovered there was an underground parking lot, but he couldn¡¯t sense anything in it because there were no plants. This was obviously abnormal. The parking lot wasn¡¯t sealed off, so it shouldn¡¯t be devoid of plant life. Wang Tao immediately activated Entangling Roots and pulled out his Bone Knife. After walking inside for a while, he saw something that looked like flesh and blood. ¡°Haha! It really is a Night Demon¡¯s Nest! And it seems there are no Night Demons! They¡¯ve all gone out!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed at this discovery. Looking at those flesh and blood pieces with a hundred thousand HP and some Night Demons that had not yet hatched, Wang Tao spared no courtesy, taking his knife and slashing away. With the power he currently wielded, killing these creatures was as easy as cutting wheat ¨C no difficulty at all. The unhatched Night Demons exploded into an [Omnipotent] Crystal Core, while the Incubation Flesh yielded an [Extraction] Crystal Core. Both items were treasures, and Wang Tao was not one to complain about their quantity. Thus, Wang Tao went on a killing spree in the underground parking lot. After what felt like an eternity, once Wang Tao saw there were no living Incubation Flesh or unhatched Night Demons left, he took a deep breath. This Night Demon¡¯s Nest was much larger than any he had encountered before, and it was brimming with creatures; his arm was even beginning to feel sore from all the slashing. ¡°Time to go back!¡± After making sure nothing had been missed, Wang Tao was ready to leave. Suddenly, a blue shadow entered from the entrance of the underground parking lot, coming face to face with him. Both seemed stunned for a moment. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected to run into a Blue-skinned Night Demon on his way out. The Blue-skinned Night Demon likely hadn¡¯t expected to find a human in its lair, either! [HP: 50000/50000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] Humans and zombies were mortal enemies. There was nothing to be said, seeing each other meant fight on sight! Especially when the Blue-skinned Night Demon saw all the Incubation Flesh inside its den had been slaughtered, it let out a furious roar, seemingly enraged. Whoosh¡ª Before Wang Tao could even blink, the Blue-skinned Night Demon appeared right in front of him. Bang! Wang Tao was tackled to the ground. ¡°Damn! Such fast speed!¡± The Blue-skinned Night Demon opened its terrifying mouth, ready to devour Wang Tao. This move could instantly kill many survivors! But alas, Wang Tao was clad in an armor made of Entangling Roots; the Blue-skinned Night Demon got a mouthful of sawdust instead. Thud! Wang Tao kicked the Blue-skinned Night Demon with one foot, sending it flying. He then quickly scrambled up, watching the demon warily. He had been tackled before he could even see clearly! He lost ¡°528¡± HP in the tackle! Lost ¡°1024¡± HP from a single bite! Its Attack was not low! However, all the damage was blocked by the Entangling Roots, and Wang Tao himself wasn¡¯t hurt. Whoosh¡ª After being kicked away and landing, the Blue-skinned Night Demon steadied itself and once again lunged at Wang Tao. Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t see its movements clearly; to him, the Blue-skinned Night Demon was just a blur of afterimages. But Wang Tao still slashed at the air in front of him. Bang! There was apparently nothing in front of Wang Tao, but as soon as he made the cut, the Blue-skinned Night Demon seemed to ram into it voluntarily, absorbing the brunt of Wang Tao¡¯s slice. [-2085] The slash only dealt two thousand damage; the Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s Defense was very high! Moreover, the Blue-skinned Night Demon was very strong, and the slash only made it step back a tiny bit. But for Wang Tao, this was an opportunity. He launched a close-range Rush, instantly slamming the Blue-skinned Night Demon against a concrete wall. With a height of 2.2 meters, the Blue-skinned Night Demon was overshadowed by Wang Tao¡¯s 2.5 meters, following the activation of Entangling Roots. After ramming the Night Demon into the wall, it resembled a scene of ¡°wall-pin.¡± Wang Tao grabbed the Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s neck with one hand and with the other, holding a Bone Knife, he hacked at it four times. [-2034] [-2158] [-2019] [-2245] The Night Demon let out a roar, attempting to break free from Wang Tao¡¯s grasp. But Wang Tao held on tightly, even as it pushed him back against another wall, causing the Entangling Roots to lose a significant amount of HP, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let go! Once Wang Tao realized he wasn¡¯t as fast as the Blue-skinned Night Demon, he had made up his mind¡ªif he could only seize the chance, he would grapple with it to the end! After all, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t as fast. If he didn¡¯t find a way to stick to it, things could get troublesome. Roar¡ª The Blue-skinned Night Demon roared, wildly clawing at Wang Tao¡¯s chest, as though it wanted to rip him open. But Wang Tao was protected by the Entangling Roots. As long as the 20,000 HP of the Entangling Roots weren¡¯t depleted, he could basically ignore the Night Demon¡¯s attacks. [-2313] [-2151] [-2214] [-2040] [¡­] The Blue-skinned Night Demon, still clasping Wang Tao, began to smash wildly around the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t release his grip, firmly enduring its attacks and grappling in close quarters with it. This Blue-skinned Night Demon probably had never fought such an exasperating battle since it was born. Finally. Splat! Wang Tao¡¯s blade split open the Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s head. ¡°Huh?¡± Night Demons didn¡¯t have Crystal Cores, but this Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s claws carried a name! [Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2] Wang Tao immediately took the Night Demon¡¯s Claws and Loot Pack and ran. The noise from the battle with the Blue-skinned Night Demon was massive, and he feared it would attract other Night Demons. Only after running far enough to be sure there was no danger behind him did Wang Tao finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then he looked at the battered Entangling Roots and its ¡°2384¡± HP bar. ¡°Damn, these Entangling Roots haven¡¯t taken such heavy damage since they¡¯ve been with me¡­¡± Wang Tao hastily released the Entangling Roots and then took out a bunch of Crystal Cores to feed them. ¡°You¡¯ve had a tough day, eat more¡­¡± Chapter 507 - Chapter 507: Chapter 220 Lunatic_1 Chapter 507: Chapter 220 Lunatic_1 To enhance the entangling roots¡¯ HP and compatibility, there were two methods. One was to nourish it with a crystal core, and the other was to nourish it with one¡¯s own HP. Using a crystal core was, of course, very luxurious, but using one¡¯s own HP would leave oneself in an extremely weakened state. If it were a safe time, Wang Tao could use his own HP, but under the current circumstances, he definitely had to use a crystal core. Watching the entangling roots on his wrist greedily swallow the crystal core and begin to recover their compatibility and HP, Wang Tao gently stroked it. The recent battle was actually a bit unfair for the entangling roots¡ªbecause Wang Tao never attempted to dodge the blue-skinned night demon¡¯s attacks. But this was unavoidable. This blue-skinned night demon didn¡¯t have any abilities, relying solely on its robust physical condition. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly confront it, he couldn¡¯t even catch up to it¡­ Wang Tao felt it was much stronger than the big tree monster. Although the tree monster had a higher attack, it moved slowly and was just a target for Wang Tao. The blue-skinned night demon, however, was too fast. Even though its attack wasn¡¯t as high as the tree monster¡¯s, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t withstand a surprise attack at that speed. Of course, Wang Tao had another method, which was to use shockwave for an indiscriminate attack. That should be able to hit the night demon, even possibly kill it. But this method was rejected by Wang Tao at that moment. Because that was inside the night demon¡¯s lair; Wang Tao needed a quick battle. Using the shockwave to slowly wear it down might kill it, but if it attracted other night demons, that would be a big problem¡­ However, no matter what, he did kill the level 3 lord night demon. Wang Tao also gained some battle experience, so next time he encountered a blue-skinned night demon, he wouldn¡¯t be in such a sorry state. Wang Tao walked toward Lan Yulian, and took the opportunity to check his loot. Before encountering the blue-skinned night demon, Wang Tao had killed quite a few incubation flesh and unformed night demons. In total, he obtained 65 [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] and 18 [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Extraction]. The level 2 omnipotent crystal cores that Wang Tao needed were suddenly in abundance. As for the extraction crystal cores, although Wang Tao had no need for them, they were something many people dreamt of possessing. Absolutely high-value items. Moreover, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure which zombies could drop extraction crystal cores¡­ At the moment, only he could get them by killing incubation flesh, essentially making it an exclusive product. Just these crystal cores alone amounted to a huge harvest. And he still had the blue-skinned night demon¡¯s loot! The blue-skinned night demon granted him 12,000 special energy, the same as when he killed the big tree monster. The only pity was that there were no crystal cores inside the night demon. However, it wasn¡¯t a big issue, as Wang Tao still received loot packs for overkilling. This time there were four in total. The first pack, the Crystal Core Gift Bag, contained a total of four crystal cores. They were a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost], a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost], and an orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Body Constitution Boost]. These crystal cores had all been seen before. Besides Ascension, the other three crystal cores, added to the ones he had previously, totaled exactly three of each kind. Without a second word, Wang Tao synthesized all three crystal cores into Epic ones. These were passive abilities that he could combine with his [Extraordinary Rage] after he reached level 3! The second loot pack contained potions. [Strength Increase Potion x10] [Agility Increase Potion x10] [Mental Boosting Potion x10] Three kinds of potions that permanently increased attributes, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and used them all immediately. The third loot pack contained an ultraviolet flashlight and flares. [High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x40] These were the same items he got from killing ordinary night demons, just in larger quantities. Actually, Wang Tao had the chance to use the ultraviolet flashlight or flare during his battle with the blue-skinned night demon, but he was afraid it might flee. He felt this blue-skinned night demon was likely much smarter than the ordinary ones. Wang Tao¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to drive it away but to kill it! So he held back. If he really couldn¡¯t handle it, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to use the ultraviolet flashlight. As it turned out, his strength was decent; he could even go head-to-head with the blue-skinned night demon! As for the last pack, the contents made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up. [Obtained: Blueprint for Night Demon¡¯s Blade x1] [Blueprint for Night Demon¡¯s Blade: Allows for the creation of a pair of night demon blade daggers. Required materials: Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2, Level 3 Crystal Core x2, Iron Block x20, Blade x20, Nails x20, Rubber x20] [Night Demon Blade: Attributes Unknown] This was a one-time use blueprint. Although one-time use blueprints can only be used once, as opposed to standard blueprints that can be used indefinitely, the equipment made from one-time use blueprints usually has better attributes. Seeing that he had all the necessary materials, Wang Tao chose to craft it immediately. Moments later, two pitch-black, slightly curved, identical-looking daggers appeared in front of Wang Tao. [Night Demon Blade] [Level 3 (Epic)] [Durability +55, Attack power +55, Attack speed +20%] Seeing these attributes, an image of a person popped up instantly in Wang Tao¡¯s mind, Jiang Shixue. Up until now, Jiang Shixue hadn¡¯t had a suitable weapon. She always liked to use her own hands, and with her fingers and nails, she could claw out someone¡¯s brains¡­ And now, these two daggers perfectly matched Jiang Shixue¡¯s combat style. Chapter 508 - Chapter 508: Chapter 220 Lunatic_2 Chapter 508: Chapter 220 Lunatic_2 As for Wang Tao himself, he definitely wouldn¡¯t use a dagger. Even if these two daggers had better attributes than his Bone Knife, he still preferred the mighty and dominating Bone Knife. After all, the daggers were too short to match Wang Tao¡¯s combat style. Delighted, Wang Tao packed away the daggers, feeling Jiang Shixue would probably like them. ¡­ Elsewhere. After Wang Tao used a Self-Destruct Bomb to lure some zombies away to the north, Nie Siyan, who had been ready for a while, immediately rushed towards the diving gym from the north. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Upon seeing Nie Siyan, the armored person, the zombies immediately pounced on her. However, Nie Siyan had no plans to fight head-on and instead leapt up, jumping the height of several floors, clearing countless zombies, and then landed heavily. Thump! One unlucky zombie was squashed dead beneath her. Nie Siyan kept moving without pause, jumping again. Thump! Thump! After dozens of jumps, Nie Siyan successfully reached the lower area of the diving gym. If it hadn¡¯t been for Wang Tao drawing some zombies away from here, Nie Siyan might not have had room to land. Although with her current Level 3 strength, she wouldn¡¯t be in much danger even if surrounded by these zombies, that was only for a short time. Prolonged exposure was a different story, especially since there were too many Level 3 zombies here. The diving gym was sealed tight, with all doors and windows blocked off, preventing zombies from getting in and people from getting out. Nie Siyan looked up at the building¡¯s architecture, then with a powerful jump, she leaped onto the eaves. From there, she hopped like a flea all the way to the top of the gym. This was her entry point into the diving gym. Inside the diving gym, the pool had long dried up. Over two hundred people were gathered in the dry pool, with rings of defensive fortifications built around it. It was already dark outside, but few could sleep. Seeing the tall, sturdy exterior walls of the diving gym, everyone prayed that no zombies with immense strength and destructive power would appear. Otherwise, those reinforced concrete walls might not hold. If the zombies broke through the outer wall, no matter how strong their internal defenses were, they would not hold for long¡­ It would only be a matter of dying sooner or later. This group of survivors was clearly divided into three areas. The first area had the most people, about a hundred or more. Leading them was a man in military attire, the leader of Zijin Base known as ¡°General.¡± The second area had the second most people, roughly fifty plus. The leader was a skinny man in prison garb. He was the Prison Head of Zijin Prison. The last area, with only thirty or so people, was led by a young man who looked like a college student with slightly cracked black-framed glasses. He was Kong Xiu, the leader of the Ability User¡¯s Alliance. Each group had lost quite a few people. Originally, they numbered over five hundred together, now only half remained. However, their leaders were not in much trouble. Of course, their relative safety was only temporary. ¡°Is Lan Yulian reliable? I haven¡¯t had much contact with this woman and don¡¯t know her well,¡± Kong Xiu suddenly remarked, turning to the General. After a moment¡¯s silence, the General replied, ¡°I promised to give her a Crystal Core.¡± Hearing this, Kong Xiu seemed surprised, while the Prison Head laughed heartily, ¡°I told you to offer her something good from the start, but you insisted on dragging your feet!¡± ¡°Not ¡®I¡¯, but ¡®we¡¯.¡± The General corrected him. The Prison Head¡¯s expression instantly stiffened, and then appeared somewhat unsettled. If the General was willing to offer his own Crystal Cores to get them all out, that would be fine, but if it required the Prison Head to contribute his own Crystal Cores, it would be somewhat painful. ¡°It¡¯s just some Crystal Cores. As long as we¡¯re alive, we can always earn them back!¡± Kong Xiu consoled at this moment. Suddenly, the Prison Head spoke, ¡°¡­Give me the walkie-talkie; I¡¯ll offer more Crystal Cores, and I¡¯ll talk to her!¡± ¡°No.¡± The General flatly refused. Zijin Base had the strongest force. After discovering the plans of the prison and the alliance, the General intercepted and defeated them, then seized their materials, including the walkie-talkies. Thus, only the General could communicate with the outside world. Of course, the General would never give them the walkie-talkie. What if they plotted with Lan Yulian to destroy Zijin Base? Seeing the General outright refuse, the Prison Head harbored some resentment but did not say anything more. They had fought with the General previously, and although he and Kong Xiu together could suppress the General, the General surprisingly had several strong fighters hidden among his ranks, and they ended up losing. Unable to beat him, they had no choice but to comply; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t even get food. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± The Prison Head sighed, looking rather sorrowful, as if it was due to not being trusted. Believe it or not, he had indeed been contemplating joining forces with Lan Yulian to take down Zijin Base! To him, friends? As long as their interests aligned, they were friends; if not, they were enemies, though his interests could change three times in a day¡­ Hearing the Prison Head¡¯s sigh, the General¡¯s expression remained calm, as if the misfortune wasn¡¯t his own. Kong Xiu, on the other hand, glared at the Prison Head without being too obvious. What he regretted most right now was believing the Prison Head¡¯s words and joining forces against Zijin Base. Thinking about it now, he felt so foolish! Given the Ability User¡¯s Alliance¡¯s principle of preferring quality over quantity, they had very few members, just several dozen in total. With such a small number, he thought if he had thick-skinnedly approached the General for a place to stay, the General might have agreed directly¡ªit would certainly have had a higher chance of success than their attempt to take down Zijin Base with the prison¡¯s assistance! After all, how much space could his few people take up? Chapter 509 - Chapter 509: Chapter 220 Lunatic_3 Chapter 509: Chapter 220 Lunatic_3 Instead, it was the prison, with its large population, that needed such a base. Even though the prison was quite big and its defenses were quite strong, they were far inferior to Zijin Base. After all, within Zijin Base, they could grow their own vegetables and raise fish. It was like a secluded utopia¡­ But now it¡¯s too late to say anything; he¡¯d already had a falling-out with Zijin Base, and there was no chance he could stay there. Even if he could survive, there might be a great battle to come¡­ Then he thought of Lan Yulian, and suddenly felt a little envious. There are benefits to being weak! Look, now they are all safe and sound¡­ ¡°So what will you do if Lan Yulian isn¡¯t willing to rescue us, but actually wants to take over the base directly?¡± At this moment, the Prison Head spoke up again. ¡°Impossible, she can¡¯t take it over,¡± the General said, his tone calm but resolute. ¡°Why?¡± The Prison Head frowned slightly. Was the General implying that he couldn¡¯t take it over either? Impossible! Although the clubhouse was the weakest of the four major forces, now that the elite forces of the four bases were deployed, Zijin Base lay vulnerable. How could Lan Yulian, Lu Yingfeng, and the other ability users not be able to take it? Kong Xiu also looked at the General with some confusion. When the Prison Head discussed taking over Zijin Base with him, he thought that as long as they could set up the General and his men, they would certainly be able to take over Zijin Base! That was a consensus between them. Now, by the sound of the General, it seemed not possible? Hearing the Prison Head¡¯s query, the General spoke indifferently: ¡°There¡¯s no harm in telling you. When Zijin Base was being built, it was anticipated that if the base were breached by zombies and fell, it would mean not only the loss of a base but would also add countless more zombies, as the zombie virus is contagious. So¡­ the base had a contingency: they planted a substantial amount of explosives beneath it, and if the base were completely overrun, it would activate the self-destruct mode, wiping out every living thing within it.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Both men were taken aback, hearing this secret for the first time. Undisturbed by their shock, the General continued: ¡°However, before the base was fully completed, the self-destruct system also wasn¡¯t finished when it was overrun. Afterwards, after I took control of the base, I came across this self-destruct system, which was only one step away from completion. So, I spent some time to finish the self-destruct system and made some minor changes to the program¡ªthus now, I have a remote controller, and all it takes is one press¡­¡± The General looked at them, expressionless. ¡°¡­and with a ¡®boom¡¯, the entire base will turn to rubble.¡± ¡°¡­A remote controller?! On you?¡± Kong Xiu gaped. ¡°No, it¡¯s not on me. At such a distance, the remote controller wouldn¡¯t be effective; it¡¯s inside the base. As for who has it, of course, I can¡¯t tell you. The only thing I can tell you is that if someone takes over the base without my authorization¡­ that person will detonate the base.¡± ¡°???¡± Even with a guess, Kong Xiu was still dumbfounded. ¡°You¡ªyou want to let the base¡¯s farms, fishponds, breeding grounds, and nearly ten thousand people go to their deaths with it?¡± The Prison Head glared at the General, his voice distorted. The General said nothing. ¡°Madman! You¡¯re a madman! They all say I¡¯m a madman, haha, but you¡ªdamn it¡ªyou are the real madman!¡± The Prison Head laughed. His face showed a mocking smile, but there was also a hint of horror in it. If they had managed to capture the General and he then took over Zijin Base, wouldn¡¯t he have been blown up by now?! Nearly ten thousand people would have all died with him! Indeed, a madman! ¡°Why, why would you do this? You¡¯re willing to let so many people die with you just to maintain control of the power you have in your hands?¡± Kong Xiu stared at the General. The General glanced at him with a steady gaze. ¡°It¡¯s not for the power in my hands; it¡¯s because I know that only I can lead the people of the base to survive. Without me, no one else is capable of leading nearly ten thousand people. And you¡­ you would only make the base worse. If you lead the base, it will inevitably be destroyed. So, if it is destined to be destroyed, it¡¯s better to destroy it early, at least that way we can reduce the number of zombies.¡± ¡°Madman, you really are a madman!¡± Kong Xiu¡¯s lips trembled as he spoke. He was greatly frightened on the inside. He realized that in just two days, he had narrowly escaped death twice! If their plan had succeeded, he would have died. If the plan had failed completely, he would have died as well. It was only now, with this unplanned event that forced them into an involuntary collaboration, that he was still alive¡­ Damn it, Prison Head, you almost got me killed¡ªafter the initial panic, Kong Xiu was inwardly cursing up a storm. ¡°Clap, clap, clap¡ª¡± Suddenly, a round of applause rang out. The General and the others instinctively looked around; there were only the three of them, and no one else was clapping. Then, as if sensing something, all three looked up at the same time. There, perched on the frame of the beam at the top of the diving hall, stood a person clad in dark brown armor! From her slender, fair fingers, it was clear that she must be a woman! The woman put her armored gloves back on her waist, then leapt lightly from the fifty-meter-high roof. Thud! The woman landed steadily among the three, smashing the ground into a spider-web of cracks. The General and the others immediately retreated, and the rest of the people around slowly took a combat stance, finally reacting to the situation. As the Prison Head and Kong Xiu felt the powerful aura emanating from the woman, they became uncertain. Even the usually calm, perpetually poker-faced General rarely showed a change in expression. ¡°A Level 3 ability user!¡± The same thought occurred to all three. The woman, unfazed by the number of people facing her, took off her helmet and revealed a beautiful face that everyone recognized. She smiled slightly. ¡°Hello, let¡¯s get reacquainted. Level 3 ability user, Nie Siyan.¡± Nie Siyan looked around at the faces filled with fear and awe, her smile growing even more brilliant. She enjoyed this feeling. But she hadn¡¯t forgotten her purpose. She looked directly at the General and stretched out her hand. ¡°For the rescue operation¡¯s expenses, please settle it now.¡± Chapter 510 - Chapter 510: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_1 Chapter 510: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_1 The General hadn¡¯t expected that when he mentioned giving a Cyan Jade Lotus Crystal Core to Lan Yulian, Lan Yulian would actually believe him. She not only believed it, but she also sent someone to collect it! It was already shocking that someone came, but what was even more shocking was that the person sent was a Level 3 ability user! No way, it¡¯s only been a few days since he left, and there¡¯s already a Level 3 ability user? Good luck? Or did she hit a jackpot with a high-quality Ascension Crystal Core? He naturally recognized Nie Siyan. Or rather, he recognized all the leaders of the major factions in Zijing City. That was, after all, a basic skill required for a leader. But in his memory, Nie Siyan was very weak! In the past, only the president of the Skull Club, Huang Heng, was worthy of his attention; the others were insignificant. Now that it had been renamed Firefly Club, he had heard from his subordinates that Nie Siyan¡¯s strength had improved quite a bit, but an improvement was far from a leap to Level 3 ability user! A Level 3 ability user, that is what they had been pursuing all this time! After expending so much manpower and resources, he hadn¡¯t expected that someone else would beat them to the punch¡­ Both the Prison Head and Kong Xiu were just as confused as the General, unwilling to believe, but the reality was right before their eyes. The aura emanating from Nie Siyan couldn¡¯t be faked¡ªthat was the aura of a Level 3! ¡°What, are you thinking of reneging on the deal?¡± Seeing that the General was silent, Nie Siyan raised an eyebrow. She hadn¡¯t fought with another ability user since her Level 3 Ascension, and she was very curious to find out how strong she was now, and whether she could easily crush this General! The Prison Head and Kong Xiu both looked towards the General, thinking that if he dared to make a move¡ªthey would definitely stand by and watch! They, too, wanted to know just how much difference lay between the General and Nie Siyan after her Level 3 Ascension. However, it was quite clear that the General wasn¡¯t a fool. Whether he could defeat Nie Siyan or not, he now had no reason to attack Nie Siyan, after all, she had come to rescue him. Besides, he had no confidence at all that he could win, more likely to be ruthlessly crushed¡­ ¡°Miss Nie, just a moment, I¡¯ll go get the Crystal Core,¡± the General said after taking a deep breath. ¡°Please do,¡± Nie Siyan made a welcoming gesture. The General immediately gave a look to the Prison Head and Kong Xiu, and the three of them stepped back together, then huddled close. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t care what they were plotting, now she was bold and confident, relying on her Level 3 strength, she could basically do as she pleased here. After all, her ascension to Level 3 wasn¡¯t simply by integrating One Ascension Crystal Core, but merging four, maximizing the enhancement of her strength to become a formidable Level 3! Nie Siyan ignored them and strolled around by herself. The other survivors, upon seeing her, were not as nervous as the General and his companions, but rather very excited. After all, they knew this was a reinforcement, and a Level 3 ability user at that! It seemed, they might be saved after all! Nie Siyan also greeted everyone with a smile on her face. Her reputation hadn¡¯t been good before, and many kept their distance, afraid they might be betrayed by her one day. But now, she suddenly became an object of flattery. Praise and adulation surrounded her without end. Even some shrewd people began secretly stuffing Crystal Cores into Nie Siyan¡¯s hands¡ªjust to get familiar with her, to catch her attention, hoping they might be the first to be rescued! If Nie Siyan could come here, she could surely take people out. Being among the first to be taken out meant facing far fewer dangers. What about Nie Siyan¡¯s previous reputation? That was completely irrelevant! What they needed to know was that standing before them was a formidable and beautiful Level 3 ability user! Facing all these compliments, Nie Siyan felt exhilarated! Having power was truly exhilarating! As for the Crystal Cores they secretly gave her, Nie Siyan accepted them all. Whether she would do the job was another matter, but it was definitely proper to accept the gifts. After all, these weren¡¯t her Crystal Cores; they were Wang Tao¡¯s Crystal Cores. After enjoying the feeling of superiority among the crowd for a while, the General and his companions came over. ¡°Here are the Crystal Cores, Miss Nie, please inspect them,¡± the General said, holding a bag full of Crystal Cores. He hadn¡¯t specified how many Crystal Cores when he had previously agreed to give them to Lan Yulian, and Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t asked. He now regretted not clarifying exactly how many Crystal Cores were to be given. Because now he was faced with a Level 3 ability user! Giving too few was clearly not an option, and giving too many made him feel heartache. But they were the ones seeking help, without much leeway to bargain, so heartache it was¡ªas long as they could get out alive. Crystal Cores could always be earned again, and after all, two of his companions shared the heartache¡­ Nie Siyan glanced briefly at the Crystal Cores inside and then promptly put them away. ¡°Okay. The funds have been received, now you guys just wait here, we will figure out a way to rescue you. As for getting help from Zijin Base, that¡¯s not a viable option¡­¡± Nie Siyan once more conveyed to everyone the message Wang Tao had taught her. After listening, the General also somewhat helplessly nodded. He now also realized that there were too many zombies here, abnormally many. If he were to have his troops come here, they would most likely not only lose their wife but also lose their soldiers. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dawdle. After assuring herself that they indeed had no intention of attacking her, she put on her helmet and leaped into the air. In a few quick flashes, she was gone from the rooftop. Everyone watched her departing figure with great envy. Among them were those who had learned the Jump Ability. But their jump ability was nothing compared to that of a Level 3, and with so many zombies outside, they didn¡¯t dare to leap out. Chapter 511 - Chapter 511: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_2 Chapter 511: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_2 ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll keep their promise?¡± Kong Xiu asked the General. Those Crystal Cores they had just handed over included his share, and it pained him. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The General truly didn¡¯t know, as many things were now beyond his control. ¡°Heh, hopefully they¡¯ll stick to their word. But what I fear is¡­¡± The Prison Head hesitated, seemingly with more to say. ¡°Afraid of what? Afraid they¡¯ll take the Crystal Cores and run?¡± Kong Xiu turned to look at him. But the Prison Head just shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that after getting these Crystal Cores, they won¡¯t be satisfied and will keep demanding more Crystal Cores from us for other reasons, and eventually bleed us dry¡­ Damn it, if that¡¯s the case, it¡¯d be better off dead!¡± Towards the end, the Prison Head¡¯s face was filled with irritation. Of course, when he said it would be better off dead, it was just an expression of frustration. After all, if one can live, who would choose death¡­ ¡­ Nie Siyan had just come back when Wang Tao also arrived. His fight with the Blue-skinned Night Demon had been brief and did not delay him much. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s return, Nie Siyan hurriedly handed him two bags of Crystal Cores. ¡°The larger bag contains the Crystal Cores given by the General and his men, over three thousand in total. The smaller one has the Crystal Cores given by other survivors, more than two hundred.¡± She had just handed the Crystal Cores over to Lan Yulian, who hadn¡¯t even bothered to look at them before telling Nie Siyan to pass them directly to Wang Tao. Since she now owed Wang Tao a sizable debt, these Crystal Cores were his; rather than suffering from the sight, she chose not to look¡­ Wang Tao opened the two bags to take a look. ¡°Wow, not a small number, huh!¡± They were all Level 2 Crystal Cores; there were no Level 1s, but also no Level 3s. They were mostly white, but to Wang Tao, the quality didn¡¯t matter. Indeed, easy come, easy go wealth. ¡°So, when do we act to save them?¡± Lan Yulian asked. ¡°Definitely not now, it¡¯s too soon! We can¡¯t save them until we¡¯ve squeezed them dry. After all, you wouldn¡¯t bring back a few troublesome foes for yourself, would you? They¡¯re not going to die anytime soon, let¡¯s skin them properly, preferably making it impossible for them to ever compete with you again¡­¡± Wang Tao began speaking with a sly grin. ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian was at a loss for words, finding Wang Tao much more calculating than she was. At that moment, Nie Siyan suddenly spoke up again: ¡°Oh right, I overheard something else!¡± Nie Siyan quickly relayed what she had overheard about the General¡¯s discussion on base Self Detonation. After hearing this, Lan Yulian and the others were astonished. ¡°That¡¯s ruthless!¡± Wang Tao was also taken aback. He had seen ruthless people, but not to this extent. But on reflection, the General¡¯s words¡­ did seem to make some damn sense¡ªif the base really fell, many survivors would be infected and become zombies, and the stronger the survivor, the more formidable the zombie they¡¯d become! Blowing up the base would, in a way, indeed be a method to reduce the zombie population¡­ However, there were probably very few who could truly make such a decision. This General was a ruthless man, a rational madman! As for whether there actually were bombs in the base or if the General was bluffing¡­ Wang Tao preferred to believe it was true. It¡¯s always better to be cautious. ¡°This base is too dangerous! We can¡¯t stay in such a perilous place!¡± Wang Tao immediately said. The others nodded in agreement. ¡°Exactly, we have to leave the base¡ª¡± But before Lan Yulian could finish her statement, Wang Tao cut in: ¡°We have to take control of this base, such a dangerous thing must be in our own hands!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian was speechless again. ¡°But what if the base does explode¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head as he spoke. ¡°Didn¡¯t the General say, anyone not appointed by him was stealing the base illegally? Which means someone appointed by him would be legal. So the focus is on him. As long as we deal with him, it¡¯ll be fine, and right now he¡¯s trapped in the diving gym, we have plenty of time¡­ What do you think, Lan Yulian?¡± After finishing his point, Wang Tao looked towards Lan Yulian. ¡°¡­Whatever you say!¡± Lan Yulian nodded. She didn¡¯t have much say in front of Wang Tao, and besides, she felt that what Wang Tao said also seemed reasonable? ¡°Good, now we focus on improving our strength, and at the same time, think about how to rescue them¡­ Let¡¯s head back first, after all, it¡¯s still too dangerous at night,¡± Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun might be strong, but without Night Vision, nighttime was still risky. ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone agreed. On their way back, Wang Tao handed the Night Demon Blades to Jiang Shixue. ¡°These are for you, see if you like them.¡± Upon taking the two daggers, a look of surprise flashed in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes. She could feel that the blades were powerful. She tried them out and found they even increased her attack speed! ¡°Thank you, Brother Wang, I love them~¡± Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao with a happy expression. ¡°Glad you like them.¡± Wang Tao smiled and tousled her hair. ¡­ Upon returning to the building, it was the latter half of the night. Lan Yulian and the other woman went to rest¡ªafter all, the area was still dangerous, and they needed to maintain their condition. Wang Tao told Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun to rest as well, while he and Jiang Shixue examined the Crystal Cores they had acquired that day, picking and choosing. The General had been generous this time, not all the Crystal Cores given were trash. Although most were white, under Wang Tao¡¯s Synthetic skills, they could immediately turn red or orange. ¡°These Crystal Cores should allow us to create quite a number of Level 2 pinnacle Ability Users¡­ but this General clearly has many more secrets. They must have killed quite a few Level 3 zombies, but not even one Level 3 Crystal Core is here¡­ we have to squeeze it out of them!¡± Chapter 512 - Chapter 512: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_3 Chapter 512: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_3 Wang Tao stroked his chin in thought. Soon, he had an idea. The next morning. After everyone woke up, Lan Yulian said to Wang Tao: ¡°Today we plan to fix the vehicle; with some time spent, we should be able to patch it up. There are still many injured here, and I want to send them back to base first¡­¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Lan Yulian took a group of people down to repair the vehicle. The zombies were relatively fewer during the day, and those here had all been drawn away by the aquatics center, so it was relatively safer. After Lan Yulian and the others went downstairs, Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan: ¡°You two get familiar with Level 3 combat power this morning; in the afternoon, we can go rescue people at the aquatics center.¡± ¡°Ah? We¡¯re going to rescue people? But am I capable enough¡­¡± Nie Siyan seemed somewhat unconfident. Although she was now a Level 3 ability user, rescuing people was not the same as killing ¨C the former was more difficult, not to mention doing so amidst so many people surrounded by zombies¡­ Wang Tao said with a smile: ¡°You don¡¯t need to save too many people, just pick someone you find agreeable and bring them back, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Just save one person? That¡¯s no problem!¡± Nie Siyan immediately said, patting her chest. Although having to take care of one person would definitely affect her performance, she wasn¡¯t asked to engage in a bloodbath with zombies, so it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Plus, she had Xu Xiaojun to coordinate with on the side. For the entire morning, Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun were familiarizing themselves with their strength and had some friendly sparring. Wang Tao felt that Xu Xiaojun was a bit stronger. If it came down to a life or death struggle, Nie Siyan probably wouldn¡¯t be his match. Of course, if it really were a life or death struggle, Nie Siyan could escape, and Xu Xiaojun wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up. This made sense. After all, when Xu Xiaojun advanced from Level 1 to Level Two, Wang Tao gave him four Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores. But when Nie Siyan advanced to Level Two, she only used one Ascension Crystal Core. The gap was there. Wang Tao also sparred with Jiang Shixue, mainly to test the power of her pair of daggers. As the saying goes, longer weapons have their strength, shorter ones have their risks. During the fight with Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao felt it was precarious. If he didn¡¯t let Jiang Shixue get close, he could win easily. But once Jiang Shixue got close, Wang Tao felt he could be killed at any moment! Then Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue spar with Xu Xiaojun, and Xu Xiaojun couldn¡¯t handle Jiang Shixue at all; she completely countered him! Even after reaching Level 3, he still was no match for Jiang Shixue. As for Nie Siyan, she was relatively better off. She was a speed and agility type of ability user, not restrained like Xu Xiaojun. But still not as good as Jiang Shixue. Second Level Jiang Shixue was stronger than both Levels 3! The two daggers provided Jiang Shixue with a bonus that was 1+1>2; for Jiang Shixue, it was like adding wings to a tiger. The only regret was that Wang Tao did not know how to help Jiang Shixue ascend to Level 3. He very much looked forward to Jiang Shixue¡¯s strength after her Level 3 Ascension¡­ In the afternoon, Lan Yulian¡¯s side still hadn¡¯t fixed the vehicle. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun had already set out. The zombies during the day were not as frenzied as at night, and there were fewer of them. Nie Siyan found a good opportunity, had Xu Xiaojun distract the zombies for a moment, and then used her jump ability again to reach the outside of the aquatics center. Since it was daytime, there were people on guard at the rooftop of the aquatics center. They had spotted Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun a long time ago and reported to the General. However, when they saw Xu Xiaojun, the hulking figure wielding a Giant Axe, killing his way in and out of the zombie horde, they were utterly shocked. ¡°Another, another Level 3 ability user?¡± Moments later, Nie Siyan jumped onto the rooftop again. ¡°Sister Nie!¡± Several ability users greeted Nie Siyan with great respect upon seeing her. ¡°Mhm.¡± Nie Siyan nodded, then jumped back down without hesitation. Thud¡ª The three Generals were already waiting for her. ¡°Has Ms. Nie found a method?¡± The three men looked at Nie Siyan somewhat surprised. Last night, when Nie Siyan left, she said she would think of a way to rescue them. It was only half a day, and she had already thought of a method? ¡°I have an idea that¡¯s not so great, but let¡¯s try it first.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± The people around were looking at Nie Siyan with some excitement. Nie Siyan looked around, then pointed to a thin woman and said: ¡°You, come here.¡± The woman looked at the General subconsciously, and after seeing him nod, she came over to Nie Siyan¡¯s side. Nie Siyan said to the Generals: ¡°I myself have some strength now, and there¡¯s a companion outside covering for me. So I think I can start by saving a few people.¡± Without waiting for the Generals to respond, she hugged the still bewildered woman with her arm, then jumped up to the rooftop, and from there, leaped down again. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± The woman screamed, closing her eyes and clinging tightly to Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan holding her, jumped next to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°I¡¯m heading out first!¡± After saying this, Nie Siyan didn¡¯t stop, immediately took off. Xu Xiaojun killed a few more zombies, then with a Rush, instantly escaped the battle and ran without looking back. The zombies, having lost their target, twisted their bodies and ran to attack the aquatics center again. Inside the aquatics center, the Generals opened their mouths but remained silent. This method of rescuing people¡­ not to discuss the efficiency, but shouldn¡¯t you save the leaders first when rescuing? You went to such great lengths to save an ordinary Level 1 ability user; what¡¯s the meaning of that? Watching the survivors, after the initial shock, become somewhat excited, the countertenance of the three Generals was not very good. At that moment, one of the people on duty at the rooftop came down. ¡°General! Ms. Nie also has another teammate, seems like a Level 3 too!¡± ¡°¡­ Damn! Another Level 3?¡± Prison Head became unsettled at once. ¡°Quick! Contact Lan Yulian again, give her Crystal Cores! Let her save us first!¡± Chapter 513 - Chapter 513: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_1 Chapter 513: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_1 ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t go anywhere.¡± After Nie Siyan returned to the building, she spoke to a female survivor. This survivor had been either scared witless or utterly baffled along the way, until now she finally realized¡ªshe had been saved! She could never have imagined that she would be the first person to be rescued! ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll follow all of Sister Nie¡¯s instructions!¡± After Nie Siyan had settled her down, she went to look for Wang Tao. Lan Yulian had also just returned. ¡°The vehicle has been patched up a bit. Although it¡¯s not fully repaired, it should hold up till we get back to base.¡± Lan Yulian explained to Wang Tao. ¡°Good. Then you take care of arranging it.¡± Wang Tao nodded. There were quite a few injured people here who needed to get back and rest. And his group also needed to switch out a few vehicles, the temporarily repaired ones obviously wouldn¡¯t last long. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ve already rescued a woman¡­¡± Nie Siyan came over and recounted the rescue from the afternoon. ¡°Well done!¡± Wang Tao patted her shoulder, then said with a smile, ¡°I guess it won¡¯t be long before the General contacts us again¡­¡± No sooner had Wang Tao finished speaking than the walkie-talkie on Lan Yulian rang out. ¡°Lan Yulian, do you copy? This is the General.¡± Everyone immediately looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao shrugged and then asked Lan Yulian to answer the call. ¡°This is Lan Yulian¡­¡± Everyone was silent, listening to the conversation between the General and Lan Yulian. The call ended a moment later. A brilliant smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. The General had just indicated he would offer a Level 3 Crystal Core to have Nie Siyan rescue him. Of course, the Prison Head and Kong Xiu felt the same¡ªthey were willing to offer Level 3 Crystal Cores as payment for the journey. ¡°Shall we rescue them?¡± Nie Siyan looked at Wang Tao. Now that she had a clear understanding of her relationship with Wang Tao, she naturally didn¡¯t want or dare to have too close contact with other men. Like carrying other survivors out. Even though she was wearing a full set of armor, it still felt inappropriate. Of course, if Wang Tao asked, she would certainly comply. ¡°No rush. Go over there tomorrow, fabricate a reason to refuse them, and then casually rescue a couple more people.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes twinkled as he spoke. If Nie Siyan went to rescue those people like the General, the odds were good that she could succeed. But once that happened, Wang Tao¡¯s plan couldn¡¯t be executed. The reason he had Nie Siyan rescue others was to show the General that she was capable of bringing people out. She could bring them out too, but it depended on whether what they offered was worth her intervention¡­ He wouldn¡¯t consider rescuing them until he drained them of all their resources. ¡°Alright!¡± Nie Siyan nodded. That night, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan voluntarily hunted zombies nearby. Wang Tao had given them so many Crystal Cores, they also wanted to give something back to him. Wang Tao called Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng over. ¡°The batch of Crystal Cores the General provided is quite good, containing some Omnipotent Crystal Cores. So, what do you think?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take it!¡± Lan Yulian immediately agreed. Then she looked at Lu Yingfeng and said, ¡°Give them to Little Feng. If Little Feng can become a Level 3 ability user, her role would be much greater than mine!¡± ¡°Jade Lotus¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng was moved and held Lan Yulian¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Lu Yingfeng had four abilities, which were [High-Frequency Vibration], [Athlete], [Precision Shooting], and [Sprint]. Both [Athlete] and [Sprint] had already reached +10, while [Precision Shooting] and [High-Frequency Vibration] were still at +1. [Precision Shooting] was okay, but the main issue was [High-Frequency Vibration]. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the corresponding Crystal Core anymore. The Omnipotent Crystal Cores he had were prepared for himself. However, last night, Nie Siyan brought some white [Omnipotent] Crystal Cores, which, after synthesis by Wang Tao, could now be assembled into something useful. Looking at Wang Tao taking out high-quality [Precision Shooting] Crystal Cores, the two women were somewhat skeptical. The General would offer such high-quality cores? But despite their confusion, both naturally didn¡¯t ask further questions. Once Lu Yingfeng finished integrating the [Precision Shooting] Crystal Cores, Wang Tao then produced nine red [Omnipotent] Crystal Cores. The two women internally exclaimed¡ª ¡°Impossible! These definitely aren¡¯t the General¡¯s Crystal Cores!¡± If the high-quality [Precision Shooting] cores were given out because the General couldn¡¯t merge them, that would be one thing, but these high-quality [Omnipotent] cores would absolutely be another story! After all, [Omnipotent] cores could be synthesized by everyone! These [Omnipotent] cores must surely be Wang Tao¡¯s own! It was just unclear where he had obtained them from¡ªwere they leftovers from before, or did he secure them during the time he disappeared last night? ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Any questions?¡± Wang Tao looked at them, puzzled. ¡°No!¡± Lan Yulian immediately took the Crystal Cores and then passed them to Lu Yingfeng. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lu Yingfeng thanked Wang Tao excitedly, then began to integrate them in sequence. After a moment, [High-Frequency Vibration] on Lu Yingfeng also reached +10! Now, all her abilities had achieved +10, and she could continue to integrate Ascension Crystal Cores. A short while later, Lu Yingfeng suddenly became excited. ¡°I feel like I can start the Ascension within three days!¡± ¡°Congratulations, keep it up!¡± ¡°Get some good sleep.¡± Lan Yulian encouraged her, and Lu Yingfeng nodded gratefully at Wang Tao and Lan Yulian before going to sleep. By this time tomorrow, Lu Yingfeng would be a Level 3 ability user! Seeing Lu Yingfeng enter Ascension state, Lan Yulian came over to Wang Tao and gave a solemn bow. Chapter 514 - Chapter 514: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_2 Chapter 514: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_2 ¡°Wang Tao, thank you! Without you, who knows when Little Feng would have reached Level 3¡­¡± Although the Crystal Cores that Wang Tao provided her were bought or obtained on credit, it seemed like a fair trade. But at this point in time, the Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s hands were priceless. If Wang Tao was willing to sell them to her, that alone would be a huge favor! Not to mention that Wang Tao was even willing to let her buy on credit¡­ Wang Tao was so good to her that she felt it was almost surreal. She had thought it was natural for Wang Tao to have an interest in her. However, the moment she recalled Wang Tao saying that he liked both her and Lu Yingfeng, Lan Yulian felt her face inexplicably flush. She wanted to know if Wang Tao was just kidding¡­ ¡°We¡¯re friends, no need for thanks,¡± Wang Tao said generously with a wave of his hand. Since he could synthesize Crystal Cores, these high-quality ones were no trouble for him at all. Moreover, the price he sold to Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t cheap; essentially, for every Crystal Core he sold her, Wang Tao could earn more than two of the same Quality and Level. Even if Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t pay off the debt, Wang Tao was still making a killing. Of course, it wasn¡¯t possible that she couldn¡¯t pay him back, she thought, once she had control over the entire base, she would make sure to settle Wang Tao¡¯s account first! Lan Yulian was unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts, and seeing his magnanimity made her heart surge with even more appreciation. Apart from her relatives, she had never felt such kindness from a stranger ¡ª no, they weren¡¯t strangers now, they were close friends! ¡°Ahem, don¡¯t you wonder why I kept trying to get you to join us?¡± Lan Yulian suddenly said. She was no longer willing to keep secrets from Wang Tao since they were now good friends; there was no need to hide things. ¡°Oh? Do tell,¡± Wang Tao was genuinely curious. If Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t brought it up, he would have almost forgotten about it. ¡°We previously obtained a type of Crystal Core, which is quite powerful, it seems to be able to rapidly recover one¡¯s own energy!¡± ¡°Rapidly recover one¡¯s own energy?¡± Wang Tao was astonished! If it was as Lan Yulian stated, then this Crystal Core was indeed impressive! Nowadays, replenishing HP was nothing special; whether it was Abilities or medicine, Wang Tao had them. But he had never seen anything that could restore Mana. If Ability Users were likened to a gun, then Mana could roughly be equated to ammunition! If you had enough ammo and it never ran out, you¡¯d almost be unbeatable! Although Wang Tao had nearly twenty thousand Mana, his Abilities also consumed a lot of it. Therefore, if he got involved in a prolonged battle, he could not be sure of the outcome. If he could obtain an Ability that could rapidly ¡ª no, even slowly ¡ª restore Mana, as long as it was faster than the natural recovery rate, that would be a huge enhancement for Wang Tao! Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s greatly interested expression, Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t help but feel a small sense of pride. Aside from this Crystal Core, she had never seen any Ability that could restore energy, so she knew the value of this Core. If it were before, she definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to tell Wang Tao. After all, it was her secret weapon. If other powers were to learn of it, it might cause some trouble. But now that Wang Tao had given her so many good things, even helping Lu Yingfeng to reach Level 3, the value of those things certainly surpassed the worth of that Crystal Core. Therefore, being open and honest with him was no problem. Moreover, they were about to have a Level 3 ability user in their ranks, so what was there to be afraid of in terms of trouble? Yet Lan Yulian shook her head somewhat helplessly and said: ¡°But, this Crystal Core can only be fused by males. I¡¯ve done experiments, and all attempts to fuse by us females failed¡­¡± ¡°Only males can fuse it?¡± This reminded Wang Tao of the Perception Crystal Cores, which, while not limited to females, reduced the effectiveness by half for males, effectively making no difference¡­ ¡°Yes, only males can fuse it. And this Crystal Core seems to devour an Ability upon successful fusion, so even if you have four Abilities, you could still fuse this Core. This was also a main reason why I invited you to join our facility department. Because Zhang Hong said you¡¯re a good person, I trust her judgment, and I think you¡¯re capable of fusing with this Core¡­¡± ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao finally understood. He thought it strange ¡ª why was Lan Yulian so adamant about him joining their facility? It turned out to be for this reason. But this Crystal Core seemed quite intriguing, being able to consume other Cores¡­ ¡°Now, I don¡¯t have much with which to thank you. So, I¡¯ve decided to give you this Crystal Core. However, it¡¯s hidden within the Vast Base right now, so I can¡¯t give it to you just yet. Once we¡¯re back, I¡¯ll personally deliver the Core to you!¡± Lan Yulian declared earnestly. ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. He was also curious about what kind of Core it was. If it was really good, he planned to fuse it himself. If he could both replenish Mana and HP, wouldn¡¯t that be amazing? Moreover, he had obtained quite a few Rejuvenation Crystal Cores from the hospital in Shuize County, which used Mana to recover physical strength and spirit! If he could learn all three abilities¡­ wouldn¡¯t he become like a perpetual motion machine? Wang Tao fantasized a bit YY. But as for the specifics, he would have to wait until he saw the Crystal Core. If the requirements for Mana recovery were too stringent, or there were some unavoidable side effects, then he¡¯d have to think about it in the long term¡­ Chapter 515 - Chapter 515: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_3 Chapter 515: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_3 ¡­ The next day. Everyone woke up early. Lan Yulian began to arrange for people to head back. She herself definitely wasn¡¯t returning, as she needed to stay here to help Wang Tao and take care of Lu Yingfeng, who hadn¡¯t woken up yet. Some of the people in her team were strong enough to lead the group. As for the news that the generals and others were trapped, she didn¡¯t issue any orders to keep it a secret. After all, her subordinates weren¡¯t professionals, and expecting them all to keep secrets was highly unlikely. It was better to announce the situation openly, since the generals weren¡¯t dead, just temporarily trapped. She was looking for a way to rescue them¡­ The situation wasn¡¯t too bad, and it shouldn¡¯t lead to chaos within the base. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun naturally had to make another trip to the diving hall. Last night, they had been killing zombies until midnight and only slept in the latter half of the night. But now they were very spirited and not tired at all. As for Wang Tao, he was planning to take Jiang Shixue out for a walk, to see if they could find another Level 3 Zombie Lord, and also to look for traces of the zombie queen. After everyone had divided up their tasks, they left the building one after another. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun did the same as yesterday: Xu Xiaojun would attract the zombies¡¯ attention, and Nie Siyan would quickly jump into the diving hall. Thud! Nie Siyan, clad in brown armor, arrived at the diving hall for the third time. The generals and others had become used to her way of entering. ¡°I heard the general is planning to fund another rescue operation?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The general didn¡¯t waste words and directly took out a bag of Crystal Cores. This time, there were far fewer Crystal Cores than last time, but upon inspection, Nie Siyan¡¯s face was very satisfied. Because these Crystal Cores were all Level 3! ¡°Excellent. With this funding, I believe we can rescue everyone soon!¡± The three generals looked at Nie Siyan with anticipation, wondering which of them would be rescued first, or if they would be taken out at the same time. Nie Siyan was a Level 3 ability user, and even if she wasn¡¯t specialized in strength, she was quite strong and should be able to carry all three grown men at once¡­ However, Nie Siyan flashed and directly grabbed a woman¡ªno, two women, tucking one under each arm. Now that the general had contributed more, it was natural to rescue one more person. The two female survivors couldn¡¯t believe they had been chosen. The three generals were even more incredulous; she hadn¡¯t chosen them? As Nie Siyan was about to leave, the Prison Head hastily stopped her. ¡°Ahem, Miss Nie, I think, shouldn¡¯t you take us three out first?¡± Hearing this, Nie Siyan actually nodded. ¡°I was supposed to take you guys out first, but¡­¡± Her face became somewhat respectful ¡°but I am the master¡¯s private property and cannot make contact with other men!¡± ¡°Hiss! Master?!¡± The three men were shocked. Is that true? Who has such great authority to make a Level 3 ability user submit to them? ¡°So, I am really sorry!¡± Nie Siyan apologized with a smile, then with a few jumps, she leaped out with the two women. The Prison Head and Kong Xiu were still in a daze. If Nie Siyan truly had such a master, then perhaps this reason might be plausible¡ªplausible my ass! They had handed over Level 3 Crystal Cores, for crying out loud! And she just rescued two nobodies, leaving the three big leaders stuck here? The Prison Head was livid, suddenly feeling an urge to kill every female in sight. Luckily, Kong Xiu, noticing something was off with him, quickly grabbed him¡­ ¡°Damn it! All those Crystal Cores better not have been for nothing!¡± The Prison Head scratched his head anxiously. Kong Xiu was also angry and helpless; was it easy for him to save up Level 3 Crystal Cores? It was bad enough they took away his Level 2 Crystal Cores, but he could console himself by claiming he didn¡¯t need Level 2 anymore. But if these Level 3 Crystal Cores went to waste, that would be unacceptable! The general, on the other hand, suddenly remembered what the Prison Head had said before. If Lan Yulian really intended to bleed them dry¡­ he realized he truly had no power to resist. As for the ¡°master¡± mentioned by Nie Siyan, whether it was true or false no longer mattered. A single Nie Siyan was enough to firmly control them¡­ If this master was real, then he must be even more powerful than Nie Siyan! Plus the big guy outside¡­ that meant they had at least three Level 3 ability users! And they weren¡¯t sure what Lan Yulian¡¯s relationship with them was, but it seemed that Nie Siyan listened to Lan Yulian. Could it be that Lan Yulian also had a Level 3 ability user on her side¡­ The more the general thought about it, the colder he felt. The whole of Zijing City had been effectively under his control, hadn¡¯t it? Where exactly had things started to go awry? At this time, some survivors came over. ¡°General, what the hell is going on? Why is Miss Nie only rescuing ordinary people? Do we still have a chance to survive? If it really comes to it, we have some Crystal Cores as well¡­¡± The speaker was a leader of a minor faction. Among the survivors in the diving hall, there weren¡¯t just the leaders of the three major factions, but also many leaders of medium and small factions within Zijing City. At least half of Zijing City¡¯s leaders were here. If they all died, it would be a huge blow to the survivors of Zijing City. After all, in most factions, the strongest individual was the leader¡­ ¡°Right, what¡¯s going on? We don¡¯t want to die; we want to live and get out¡­¡± As the people looked at each other with urgent and anxious expressions, the general raised his hand. ¡°Everyone, please be calm. I will talk to her again.¡± Seeing the general speaking, the others held their peace. After all, the general¡¯s prestige and capabilities were trusted by everyone. The general took a walkie-talkie and moved to a corner. ¡°Lan Yulian, just tell me, what do you want for you to rescue us?¡± On the other side, upon receiving the message, Lan Yulian did not reply immediately. Instead, she went to a window to look in the direction of Zijin Base and then said: ¡°You know what I want.¡± The general fell silent. Chapter 516 - Chapter 516: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_1 Chapter 516: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_1 ¡°He agreed.¡± When Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue came back, Lan Yulian blurted out these four words to him. ¡°What?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. Taking a deep breath, Lan Yulian¡¯s face bore a mix of excitement and seriousness. ¡°The General agreed to give up the Zijin Base as a reward for saving them!¡± ¡°Uh, that was quick?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. He thought it would take a few more days, but who would have expected the General to cave so quickly? ¡°From his words, I feel that he is not only afraid of dying but is even more afraid of falling behind in the Ascension process¡­¡± Lan Yulian explained a bit. The General had been subtly inquiring about news of Level 3 ability users during his interactions with her. In the end, he directly asked Lan Yulian how many Level 3 ability users were there with her. Thinking about Lu Yingfeng, who hadn¡¯t woken up yet, Lan Yulian said there were more than three. The General then asked when these Level 3 ability users had ascended, and Lan Yulian replied it happened these past few days. So, the General, who was initially hesitant, immediately agreed to give up the base in exchange for their rescue. Lan Yulian could somewhat understand the General¡¯s thoughts as a leader herself. Simply put, the General panicked when he saw so many people reaching Level 3 in a short period while he himself was stuck. From the beginning of the apocalypse till now, the General had always been in the leading group, never left behind. But now, if he were to fall behind¡ªnot if, but since he had already fallen behind! Others had reached Level 3, not just one or two, but more than three! Yet he was still at Level Two. This was like a math class during one¡¯s school days¡ªwhen you bend down to pick up a pen you dropped, and by the time you look up, you can no longer understand what the teacher is saying. If you don¡¯t understand that lesson, you might never catch up with the teacher¡¯s pace again! There¡¯s a saying: one step behind, always behind! This was something the General couldn¡¯t accept. And it wasn¡¯t just the General; the Prison Head and Kong Xiu couldn¡¯t accept this either. Especially Kong Xiu, his strength may not have been the strongest among the three, but his Level was at the pinnacle of Level Two, with all four abilities at +10. He was just one Ascension crystal core away from reaching Level 3! But he had tried fusing with three Level 3 White Ascension Crystal Cores, and all attempts failed! Although he knew that the success rate with White Crystal Cores was low, the triple failure still hit him hard. He failed, while others succeeded! That made him somewhat anxious. If they dragged this on, even if they were successfully rescued, their strength would still be a notch below others, which was obviously unacceptable! No one wants to live in someone else¡¯s shadow forever. It was the same for the Prison Head; he too had secretly tried fusing with a White Ascension Crystal Core and failed. Now, learning from the General that there were at least three Level 3 ability users with Lan Yulian, he became unsettled. He had to get out; he had to ascend to Level 3! Thus came the General¡¯s decision to give up the base. You can rebuild a lost base, even take it back. But if you can¡¯t keep up with the group, you might be stepped on by others for a lifetime! ¡°I see¡­¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. Lan Yulian¡¯s analysis made sense. ¡°So¡­ should we rescue them now?¡± Lan Yulian asked. This was a bit different from the original plan. ¡°Of course, we must rescue them. We are honest and trustworthy people, and since he is willing to offer the reward, we must keep our promise. However, we should take control of the base first, and as for how to rescue them, we need to study that¡­¡± Wang Tao gathered everyone to prepare for a meeting to discuss the rescue. It was now nighttime, and Lu Yingfeng had woken up. ¡°Leader! Wang Tao!¡± After waking up, Lu Yingfeng immediately greeted Lan Yulian and Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at her attributes. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] Hidden attribute: Hate the wicked as if they were enemies] [Internal Impurity: 12%] ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao nodded. Her attributes were fine, not much different from Nie Siyan¡¯s. However, her strength was certainly much stronger than Nie Siyan¡¯s. ¡°Now we have three Level 3 ability users!¡± Lan Yulian clenched her fists excitedly. After congratulating Lu Yingfeng, they all began to discuss the rescue operation together. In the end, Wang Tao made a decision: first, they would look for a Zombie Lord near the dive hall, which was the Mother Zombie. If one exists, they would find a way to kill it. If not¡ªimpossible, there had to be one! Wang Tao was firm in his judgment. Without killing this zombie, they can¡¯t carry out the rescue, as no one knows the abilities of this zombie. If an accident occurs during the rescue, that would mean big trouble. Moreover, they still need to improve everyone¡¯s strength to ensure the group can cope well with any unexpected situations. So, for the next few days, they would search for the Mother and Zombie Lords and increase their strength by killing other zombies. The next day. Everyone gathered on the rooftop of the building. After the vehicles were repaired yesterday, the injured had returned to the base. But some people stayed behind. That included Lan Yulian¡¯s 8 subordinates, Nie Siyan¡¯s 5 subordinates, and 6 others from two smaller forces. The people from the two smaller forces had merely sent their injured back; their leaders each brought two others to stay, which was somewhat unexpected to Wang Tao. It only showed that the leaders of these two small forces had great foresight. Choosing to stay at this time was indeed dangerous, but that also made them half their own¡­ and Wang Tao never mistreated his own people. The crowd stood in rows, with only one person at the very front of the crowd¡ªWang Tao himself. Chapter 517 - Chapter 517: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_2 Chapter 517: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_2 Everyone looked at Wang Tao with excitement in their eyes. After all that had happened, everyone had long known that although Jade Lotus ostensibly led the team, the actual leader was Wang Tao. No one objected, including the eight trusted followers led by Jade Lotus. Not to mention Wang Tao¡¯s strength, just the fact that three Level 3 ability users had suddenly appeared in the team and were all related to Wang Tao was enough to command everyone¡¯s respect! Looking at the group, who even with wounds sported an energetic appearance, Wang Tao nodded with satisfaction. If they wanted to rescue everyone from the diving gym, relying only on the few of them was certainly not enough. But with these people¡¯s participation, the chance of success had greatly increased. And not to say it outright, but Jade Lotus and her people were the most pleasing to the eye. Jade Lotus, Ying Feng, and their eight followers were all tall and curvy. Their presence was captivating. Wang Tao came before these people and then looked at Jade Lotus. Seeming to understand what Wang Tao meant, Jade Lotus came over and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, these are my sisters, absolutely reliable. They are among the few here in the club that I trust, and they have saved me many times before¡­¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. Then, pointing to the neatly arranged Level 2 Iron Tree Armors and Bone Hand Crossbows, along with crossbow arrows, he said, ¡°Each person takes a set of armor, a hand crossbow, and 100 crossbow arrows.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The women responded excitedly, with a few bold ones even throwing Wang Tao a flirtatious glance. Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged; after all, having seen many beauties, he had developed a degree of immunity. He then approached Nie Siyan and her group. Nie Siyan was accompanied by five followers, including Zhu Han and the four ability users who could emit soporific mists. ¡°You go too, each person takes a set of armor, a hand crossbow, and 100 crossbow arrows.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zhu Han immediately led the four over.¡± Then Wang Tao looked to the six people from the two other smaller forces. ¡°Your equipment is over there, similarly each person takes a set of armor, a hand crossbow, and 100 crossbow arrows.¡± Wang Tao pointed to another pile of armor and arrows, which were all Level 1. ¡°Yes!¡± They could clearly see that their equipment was different from that of the others; likely to be of lesser quality. But they were still grinning without any complaints. After all, their relationship with Wang Tao was still fresh, and disparate treatment was normal. Besides, this gear was far superior to their own! As for Jade Lotus, Ying Feng, and Nie Siyan, they naturally wore Level 3 Iron Tree Armor and wielded Level 3 Bone Hand Crossbows. After some time, everyone had donned their armor. Seeing the group clad in full body armor, wielding various close-quarter weapons, and with Bone Hand Crossbows and arrows at their waists, Wang Tao was very pleased. Although he had the power to equip them all with Level 3 gear, the distance and status between people varied, so naturally, they couldn¡¯t wear the same armor. A hierarchical system was essential, as it gave them the incentive to strive higher. And even Level 1 armor was much better than their original gear. Of course, this equipment wasn¡¯t given to them for free; from now on, all the Crystal Cores from the zombies they killed would belong to Wang Tao! ¡°Now we split into three teams¡­¡± Jade Lotus and Ying Feng led their followers as one team; Nie Siyan with her followers and those from the two small forces formed another team; Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were the third team. The task of the first two teams was to kill zombies in an organized manner to boost their strength, as many people had yet to reach the HP limit of 29,999. They were also tasked to collect Crystal Cores for Wang Tao. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, on the other hand, would see if they could locate the mother zombie. ¡°Begin the operation!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± With a wave of his hand, Wang Tao led the group downstairs in an orderly fashion, heading in the direction of the diving gym. In the building, the three rescued women huddled together. They watched the group clad in full body armor with eyes full of envy, wishing they could be part of them¡­ Wang Tao warned them not to wander around; otherwise, if danger arose, no one would save them. The three promptly nodded, indicating they understood. Then Wang Tao asked Nie Siyan to make a trip to the diving gym. They needed to clarify the situation of the base, including how to take over the base, and who was holding the Self Detonation remote control. She would also explain the rescue plan here so that they would be ready to cooperate in the days to come. ¡°Okay!¡± Nie Siyan nodded her head. Everyone began to act on their separate ways. Wang Tao had searched for an entire day yesterday, without finding any trace of the mother zombie. But he hadn¡¯t given up; he felt certain that a mother zombie was out there. Unfortunately, today had wasted another whole day without any finds. ¡°Could it be that the mother is hiding right in the middle of the zombies¡­ but that doesn¡¯t seem quite right. These zombies are constantly moving; none of them stay fixed together¡­ Perhaps, the mother is hiding in a building and never comes out?¡± Wang Tao felt like he might be going in the wrong direction. He originally thought that with the survivors in the diving gym as bait, the mother zombie would also be attracted there. But then he remembered the Green-eyed Zombie that stayed in the basement and did not go out, not from its own wishing, but because it was stuck and couldn¡¯t leave¡­ Maybe the mother zombie was in the same situation. Chapter 518 - Chapter 518: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_3 Chapter 518: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_3 Wang Tao planned not to focus on the zombies tomorrow but to search the buildings more thoroughly instead. However, today was not without gains; he killed some Level 3 Elite Zombies and obtained quite a few Crystal Cores. Not only him, but others also gained many Crystal Cores. After changing into new gear, the efficiency of hunting zombies increased significantly. Moreover, Nie Siyan retrieved quite a few Crystal Cores from the diving gym! ¡°Brother Wang, these are from the General.¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows slightly; it seemed the General really wanted to get out soon. ¡°He said he doesn¡¯t have any Crystal Cores left and asked us to rescue them as soon as possible¡­ As for the matter of transferring the base, he also mentioned¡­¡± After Nie Siyan¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao finally understood. It was true that there were many bombs installed in the base, and the remote control was in the hands of a comrade-in-arms who had once shared life-and-death experiences with the General. From the moment the General appeared before the public, he had always been a loner. Even after establishing his power, there was no one he seemed particularly close to; he always looked lonely. Unexpectedly, he had a comrade-in-arms who shared life-and-death camaraderie with him¡­ Indeed, he was very cunning! There was a code between the General and this comrade. Regardless of whether they met or not, as long as they matched the code, they could retrieve the remote control. To take over Zijin Base, they first had to deal with this comrade-in-arms. But¡­ who to send to handle this comrade-in-arms was a problem. After all, this was just the General¡¯s word. What if the code he gave was wrong, leading to an attack or an ambush during the exchange? Or even more seriously, what if this comrade-in-arms simply pressed the remote control after the code exchange and detonated the bombs? It was all hard to say. Therefore, exchanging codes with this comrade-in-arms was a very dangerous action. Wang Tao called over Lan Yulian and several others. Before discussing this matter, he first mentioned the issue of the base¡¯s ownership. ¡°I think Jade Lotus is very suitable; what do you guys think?¡± Wang Tao asked the group with a smile. ¡°What?¡± Everyone was momentarily startled. They all thought Wang Tao wanted to be the leader of Zijin Base, but he recommended it to Lan Yulian instead! ¡°You¡­ you yourself don¡¯t want to be the leader?¡± Lan Yulian asked in surprise. Wang Tao had worked hard for so long; wasn¡¯t he going to take the position of leader himself? She had always thought that Wang Tao wanted to be the leader. She respected Wang Tao, but his words disrupted all her plans¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. The base was indeed not bad, but it was actually an unfinished base still under construction. Although the General and others had found ways to improve it, without the professional talent and equipment, the improvements were not well made. Moreover, Wang Tao wanted to go to the military base, and might leave in a few days. Having the position of leader would be of no use to him. Of course, not taking the leadership position didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t take benefits. At least one share of the Crystal Cores in the base belonged to Wang Tao. As for the candidate for leader, there were currently two options: Nie Siyan and Lan Yulian. Wang Tao felt that Nie Siyan¡¯s abilities were far inferior to Lan Yulian¡¯s, so he wanted her to take the position. ¡°Then, Siyan¡­¡± Lan Yulian glanced at Nie Siyan again. She was unclear about the specific relationship between Nie Siyan and Wang Tao, but Nie Siyan was obviously closer to Wang Tao than her. ¡°She¡¯s not cut out for it.¡± Wang Tao directly vetoed on Nie Siyan¡¯s behalf. Hearing this, Nie Siyan felt a little disheartened inside. She also knew that she was not comparable to Lan Yulian in managing a base. After all, when Lan Yulian took over the clubhouse, it was just a small force established by a few women. But under her leadership, it gradually became one of the four major powers, and her strength was recognized by all. But Wang Tao stating it so bluntly¡­ it hurt! Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao, who didn¡¯t seem to be joking, and then at the encouraging gaze from Ying Feng by her side. She gritted her teeth. ¡°Fine! Since you don¡¯t want the base, I¡¯ll take it!¡± Being the leader of the base certainly had many benefits, but it also came with a lot of pressure. However, she wasn¡¯t afraid and felt she could do it! ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao nodded in approval, smiling. ¡°Then let¡¯s discuss the debt issue. After you become the leader of the base, don¡¯t forget to pay it off, okay?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face immediately turned bitter. Seizing the benefits of this base, at least half of them would probably have to be split with Wang Tao! She wasn¡¯t unwilling to part with them, as it was what they had agreed to before. She just felt that life was tough¡­ She would have to manage the base well in the future and earn those Crystal Cores back! After deciding on a candidate, Wang Tao mentioned the matter of the General¡¯s comrade-in-arms. ¡°Who will retrieve the remote control?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Lan Yulian immediately spoke up. Since she was to become the new leader of Zijin Base, it was her inescapable responsibility. ¡°Let me go instead.¡± At this moment, Lu Yingfeng spoke up. Lan Yulian, after all, didn¡¯t have strong combat capabilities. She was worried Lan Yulian might encounter trouble she couldn¡¯t handle. Lan Yulian retorted: ¡°No. This is my base; I must go! As the new leader, I need to set an example. If even I¡¯m afraid to go, what would others think of me?¡± That was just one reason she gave; another reason was that, although she seemed to be Ying Feng¡¯s superior, they were actually very close, like sisters. Just as Ying Feng was afraid of her getting hurt, she was also afraid for Ying Feng. Seeing both of them eager to go, Wang Tao said: ¡°How about this? You both go, one overt, one covert. Having a partner would be good for backup.¡± Lu Yingfeng was a Level 3 ability user, and with her strength in the current Zijin Base, she could probably wreak havoc. ¡°¡­ That works.¡± The two women exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. The matter was settled. They were prepared to set out early the next morning to settle the issue and avoid any unnecessary complications. ¡­ That evening. Wang Tao piled up all the Crystal Cores he had obtained today and, after making a selection, suddenly grinned. He had finally found the Crystal Core suitable for his Synthetic ability! Chapter 519 - Chapter 519: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_1 Chapter 519: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_1 ¡°` Wang Tao had not ascended to Level 3 because he still had two superpowers that had not been synthesized to their limit¡ªhe could merge his own superpower with others to obtain new superpowers, and could combine up to four native superpowers into one. Therefore, Wang Tao had been collecting other Crystal Cores. In the past few days, many Crystal Cores had come into his possession, and he had finally found two that were quite suitable. The first Crystal Core was ¡°Indirect Attack,¡± and the second was ¡°Energize One Hit.¡± [Level 2 Crystal Core: Indirect Attack] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Strength reduced by half)] [Indirect Attack: Consumes energy during an attack, allowing to attack over a short distance, but the attack is somewhat weakened] The Ability ¡°Indirect Attack¡± was still decent; some of the people from the smaller forces possessed this power. It was different from Shockwave, which affected everything in front of it and would first hit an obstacle if present. Indirect Attack, however, attacked over a distance. If there was an obstacle, the attack would skip over it. For instance, if the opponent was wearing a suit of Armor, using Shockwave would hit the Armor first. But with Indirect Attack, the attack could bypass the Armor and hit the opponent¡¯s body directly. However, this attack was somewhat weakened and the gap distance was very small; it might just bypass a layer of Armor or a wall, but may not be effective beyond that range. Coupled with the side effect of halving the user¡¯s strength¡­ in actual combat, this power was not strong. But that didn¡¯t matter to Wang Tao, as he was capable of synthesis. He had also saved up two of these, and with this one, he now had three. Moments later, an Epic Indirect Attack Crystal Core appeared. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to merge it, but instead turned his attention to the other Crystal Core. [Level 2 Crystal Core: Energize One Hit] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: One arm becomes powerless)] [Energize One Hit: Consumes energy to build up power. The longer the buildup, the higher the damage of the strike. Maximum buildup time is 10 seconds] This superpower wasn¡¯t bad either. It allowed for a build-up strike, which could be a finisher in critical moments. However, its side effect was significant, effectively disabling one arm. Wang Tao had also accumulated a few Energize One Hit Crystal Cores, and after merging them, an Epic Energized One Hit emerged. Wang Tao felt that these two Crystal Cores should be mergeable with Vibration Shock, but he would have to test to be sure. He extracted the Level 1 +10 Sprint Ability from his body and first merged it with an Indirect Attack Crystal Core. ¡°Sure enough!¡± Seeing a 92% success rate, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and went ahead with the synthesis. After the process was complete, Wang Tao didn¡¯t examine it closely but continued and merged the Energize One Hit. The success rate for this was 90%, and Wang Tao confirmed the merge once again. [Fusion successful, new superpower obtained: Level 2, Rank 1: Mastery Fusion] [Mastery Fusion: Consumes energy to utilize high-frequency vibration, Shockwave, Indirect Attack, and Energize One Hit] Without a second thought, Wang Tao used the nine Omnipotent Crystal Cores he had prepared in advance. Moments later, all Crystal Cores were completely merged. And Wang Tao¡¯s Mana had just reached 20,000! ¡°The last superpower is all that¡¯s left now¡­ I need to study it carefully.¡± He didn¡¯t have any more Crystal Cores suitable for himself in hand. He wanted to merge a Perception one, but the Perception Crystal Cores were currently scarce, and he was one short. He would have to wait longer. The next day. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng left early in the morning. While the others continued to team up and hunt zombies, Wang Tao also continued to search for the Mother Zombie with Jiang Shixue. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan on going near the swimming venue any longer; he had searched there for a long time with no findings. So today, he prepared to inspect other buildings for any clues. And indeed, there were many zombies. Not all zombies were attracted to the area near the swimming venue; many lingered inside buildings. Although it was pitch black inside, this did not affect Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao encountered several strong Level 3 Elite Zombies. He obtained quite a few Crystal Cores and potions. It could be considered a fruitful trip, not a wasted journey. And at one moment, Jiang Shixue suddenly looked up. ¡°Brother, I feel like something is watching me¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao immediately became vigilant. With increased strength, his perception had also become more sensitive. Often, these sensations were not just illusions. Wang Tao followed Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze, which was in the direction of the gymnasium. He saw nothing. So he employed his Plant Affinity Ability to carefully probe the gymnasium. Apart from some ordinary zombies, he didn¡¯t sense anything else. Although Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability was not very precise, its range was extensive, and he immediately expanded it. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt something was off in a particular area¡ªand that place was a park next to the gymnasium. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao immediately grabbed Jiang Shixue and ran towards the park. The park¡¯s vegetation was lush, giving the impression of entering a primeval forest upon arrival. Because Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability could use plants for perception, he had already sensed the area and hadn¡¯t detected anything unusual. Moreover, every day as he passed by, he would sense it once to make sure he didn¡¯t miss anything. ¡°` Chapter 520 - Chapter 520: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_2 Chapter 520: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_2 But upon reflection, he realized that although he had sensed this place several times through his Plant Affinity Ability, he had never actively entered it. Could he have overlooked something? After he and Jiang Shixue entered the park, they explored cautiously and slowly. About an hour later, Wang Tao looked puzzled. ¡°Why is there nothing at all?¡± He and Jiang Shixue both felt that something was not quite right here, as there wasn¡¯t a single zombie to be found! Even though many zombies had been lured away by the General and his forces, the park was still massive in size, so how could there not be even a single Level 1 Ordinary zombie? This was clearly not normal! After searching for over an hour, however, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue found nothing¡­ Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability couldn¡¯t possibly be fake, could it? He had sensed the area multiple times with this ability, and it seemed like there really was nothing unusual here. ¡°Little Xue, is there anywhere we haven¡¯t searched yet?¡± Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue, who was standing beside him. Jiang Shixue tilted her head to think, then pointed toward the artificial lake next to the park: ¡°The only place near the park we haven¡¯t searched is the lake.¡± ¡°The lake?¡± Wang Tao frowned. The sports center had a large artificial lake, located by the south gate of the stadium, next to the park, and several other buildings. Wang Tao had walked over a bridge on the artificial lake when he had entered the stadium before. And Wang Tao had previously¡­ subconsciously ignored this place! ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went to the lakefront. The lake water was very murky, and nothing could be seen clearly. ¡°There might be a problem here¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned, suspecting that the problem might lie within the lake. But he dared not enter the turbid waters, as who knew what was beneath. After thinking it through, Wang Tao caught several Ordinary zombies and threw them into the lake. Plop~ The zombies struggled on the surface briefly before slowly sinking into the lake. Wang Tao waited for a while, but there was no movement in the lake. Then he took out some large dried fish from his Magical Stomach Pouch and threw several big pieces into the lake. A moment later. Gurgle~ Suddenly, bubbles began to rise from the turbid waters! ¡°There¡¯s definitely something down there!¡± Afterward, Wang Tao threw in some chunks of meat and other such things, but the water just gurgled and bubbled without anything coming out. And since the water was too murky, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to go down¡­ The situation was at a stalemate. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this, I must get you out today!¡± At noon, Wang Tao returned to the building. He found the three women that Nie Siyan had saved. ¡°I need fresh blood¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± All three women were somewhat afraid, as Wang Tao¡¯s words gave them a feeling that they might be murdered. The first woman saved by Nie Siyan timidly spoke up: ¡°Mr. Wang, I am willing to donate blood! But if it¡¯s too much, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to handle it¡­¡± She was very grateful for Nie Siyan¡¯s lifesaving grace and was willing to do something within her capability. ¡°I don¡¯t need much, it won¡¯t cost you your life.¡± Wang Tao brought over two plastic bottles, and suddenly a Surgeon¡¯s Knife appeared in his hand. ¡°¡­¡± The woman suddenly regretted her decision; she thought Wang Tao would use a needle, but instead, he directly used a knife¡­ That meant a lot of blood would be taken! But it was too late for regrets, so she simply rolled up her sleeve, extended her wrist, closed her eyes, and presented herself like a lamb to the slaughter. The other two women sneaked glances at her, looking somewhat happy about her misfortune. After disinfecting the woman¡¯s arm with medicines from the medical kit, Wang Tao made a cut over her vein. The woman¡¯s body shook, but she still didn¡¯t dare to open her eyes. The Surgical Knife was very sharp, so the pain wasn¡¯t much¡ªat least not at that moment. It was just that the thought of it was terrifying, and she kept feeling like she might bleed to death¡­ Wang Tao, of course, wouldn¡¯t let her bleed to death. He watched carefully and, feeling it was enough, suddenly squeezed the woman¡¯s arm. ¡°Mm~¡± The woman moaned, not from pain but from fright. Wang Tao quickly took out the medical kit and stopped her from bleeding. It wasn¡¯t until he had bandaged her wound with bandages and told her it was okay that the woman opened her eyes with a pale face. ¡°Thanks, when Lan Yulian comes later, have her treat your wounds,¡± Wang Tao said, while taking out a Red Crystal Core and putting it in her hand, ¡°This is for you.¡± Seeing the Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core of red quality in her hand, the woman was stunned. ¡°A Red Level Two Ascension Crystal Core?¡± She was only Level 1, and a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core was exactly what she needed most right now, not to mention a red one! ¡°Thank you!¡± Belatedly, she hastily expressed her thanks, but only Wang Tao¡¯s retreating figure was in sight. The other two women looked on in astonishment, followed by envy and regret. If only they had known that donating a little blood would get them a Red Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core, they would surely have rushed to offer their help! ¡­ Wang Tao, holding the fresh blood, returned to the artificial lake. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan had also been called by him, but Wang Tao told the two to wait at a distance and wait for Wang Tao¡¯s instruction. ¡°I refuse to believe you won¡¯t come out!¡± Wang Tao directly spilled the fresh blood into the lake. Gurgle~ As expected, the murky lake water began to boil. A moment later. Whoosh¡ª A rotten, gaping mouth suddenly rose to the surface, swallowing all the fresh blood in one gulp! The mouth was less than a meter away from Wang Tao, who could smell the rotten stench. Well-prepared, Wang Tao immediately covered his body with Entangling Roots, turning into a ¡°tree root monster,¡± and then he grabbed the upper and lower jaws of the gaping mouth and pulled it towards the shore! Chapter 521 - Chapter 521: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_3 Chapter 521: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_3 ¡°Rise¡ª¡ª¡± Then, Wang Tao discovered that he couldn¡¯t move it at all! Instead, this big-mouthed monster tried to sink into the lake, dragging Wang Tao towards the water, cracks appearing one after another under his feet! Jiang Shixue hurried over to help, but even with her assistance, it was no good! ¡°Quick, come over!¡± Wang Tao yelled. Rumble¡ª¡ª Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan both rushed forward and arrived in front of Wang Tao, grabbing hold of the big-mouthed monster! After Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan joined in, the big-mouthed creature immediately lost its ability to sink. ¡°Alright, on three. One, two, three, lift!¡± Wang Tao shouted, and everyone put forth their full strength. Then, they saw a gigantic monster slowly being hauled out of the water! Finally. Whoosh¡ª¡ª The big-mouthed monster was yanked out by several people! ¡°So huge!¡± When Nie Siyan saw the full extent of the monster, she couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in shock. Thud! The crowd pulled the monster overhead, and it fell behind them into the park, shattering the trees and the ground. Wang Tao looked at the monster with a hint of shock on his face. It was over twenty meters long and five or six meters tall, shaped like a caterpillar, but instead of fur, it was covered in human arms, legs, and heads, looking incredibly eerie¡ªa stitched together colossal zombie monster! Previously, the largest creature Wang Tao had encountered was the gorilla zombie. But lying there, it was about the same height as a standing gorilla zombie! However, once this stitched-together zombie left the water, it seemed to lose its ability to move; it wriggled on the spot for a while and could only walk a few steps. ¡°Could this be a four-level zombie?¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat frightened, her Perception of this zombie was not very clear. ¡°No, just a Level 3, Lord,¡± said Wang Tao with a smile. Even though the stitched zombie was huge and looked terrifying, it wasn¡¯t a Level 4. Otherwise, Wang Tao would have retreated the moment he saw its mouth. He had experienced the power of a Level 4 monster, and he knew it wasn¡¯t something he could handle at the moment. [HP: 60000/60000] [Mana: 60000/60000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] Wang Tao believed it was the maternal zombie lurking in the shadows! ¡°Just a Level 3, Lord hmm?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Nie Siyan breathed a sigh of relief. She still had a residual fear from the Level 4 monster she had encountered with Wang Tao. If it was only Level 3, that was manageable. After all, with two Level 3s, plus Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, couldn¡¯t they deal with a Level 3, Lord? ¡°Attack!¡± Wang Tao was not certain of the stitched zombie¡¯s capabilities just yet, but decided to take action. Wang Tao pulled out his Bone Knife and charged straight at it. Jiang Shixue followed closely with her daggers clenched tightly. Next was Nie Siyan, jumping high into the air, and finally came Xu Xiaojun with the Broken Giant Axe. However, Xu Xiaojun used Rush and consequently was the first to attack, landing a hit on the stitched zombie¡¯s head. [-3423] One axe chop took off more than three thousand HP. Wang Tao saw the damage numbers and immediately rejoiced. Its Defense is low! Wang Tao was the second to rush in. He leaped high, his Bone Knife enhanced with high-frequency vibration cutting into the stitched zombie¡¯s head. Squish! [-5265] The blade plunged in, chopping off over five thousand HP! ¡°Hit its head! This zombie¡¯s Defense is very weak!¡± Wang Tao immediately shouted to the others. Jiang Shixue was the third to rush in. She also leaped up like Wang Tao, thrusting her Daggers at the zombie. But¡­ the zombie didn¡¯t lose any HP! Seeing this, Wang Tao seemed to realize something and immediately said to Jiang Shixue, ¡°This zombie¡¯s skin is too thick, Little Xue, your Daggers are too short, they didn¡¯t pierce through!¡± Jiang Shixue: ¡°¡­¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s weapon was a sharpened steel rebar. As soon as she heard Wang Tao¡¯s words, she who was mid-jump immediately adjusted her angle, directing the rebar towards the suturing zombie¡¯s head. Thwack! [-2743] The rebar plunged into the zombie¡¯s head, killing nearly three thousand of its HP. Wang Tao seized the opportunity to hack at it twice more, while Xu Xiaojun also swung his axe once. Just the first round of attacks reduced the suturing zombie¡¯s HP by twenty-two thousand! According to this situation, at most thirty seconds later, it would be dead! ¡°This zombie looks quite scary, but is it actually weak?¡± Just as this thought crossed Wang Tao¡¯s mind, he saw the zombie suddenly tilt its head back and open its mouth wide. There was no sound, but Wang Tao suddenly felt a throbbing pain in his head. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun¡¯s bodies wobbled, almost falling over. It seemed that only Jiang Shixue was not greatly affected. ¡°Mental Shock!¡± This feeling was almost the same as when they had been attacked by that Hundred-armed Zombie before! ¡°This is a zombie focusing on mental attacks!¡± Although Mental Shock was colorless and formless, impossible to guard against, it could be blocked by obstacles. Except for Jiang Shixue, the three of them, including Wang Tao, were all wearing full body armor, firmly protecting their heads. And since Jiang Shixue was the person least afraid of mental attacks¡­ the impact of this Mental Shock on them wasn¡¯t big. ¡°Rush!¡± Wang Tao once again raised his Bone Knife. Thwack! [-5354] Thwack! [-5234] Two strikes took off another ten thousand HP. The suturing zombie opened its mouth wide again, launching another Mental Shock. ¡°Ugh¡ª¡ª¡± This time Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun immediately dropped to one knee. The Mental Shock was stronger than before! Even with their helmets on, they could scarcely block it, and they were no longer able to attack. As for Wang Tao, it felt as if his head had been pricked by a needle! However, he had previously fused with a Crystal Core that increased his spiritual power, and he had drunk many Potions that enhanced his spiritual power, so he was able to withstand it. Thwack! Thwack! [-5843] [-5631] Another two slashes left the suturing zombie with only twenty-six thousand HP remaining! The suturing zombie continued to open its mouth wide. ¡°Sss¡ª¡ª¡± Wang Tao suddenly felt a splitting headache! ¡°Brother, the zombies are coming!¡± At that moment, Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke next to Wang Tao¡¯s ear, and he immediately turned his head. He saw from the direction of the diving hall, quite a few zombies coming their way! ¡°Quick battle, quick decision!¡± Wang Tao endured the headache and once again hacked at the suturing zombie¡¯s head. Several more blows followed. Thwack! [-5485] [0/60000] The zombie¡¯s HP bar emptied! Clatter¡ª¡ª A bunch of items burst out of its body, among them many bottles of Zombie Culture Fluid! Wang Tao immediately gathered everything that could be taken, while Jiang Shixue reached into the zombie¡¯s head and pulled out an Orange Crystal Core. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Clamping down on his teeth, Wang Tao carried the somewhat groggy Xu Xiaojun. Jiang Shixue picked up Nie Siyan, and the two of them ran straight towards the building. Meanwhile, the distant zombies stopped in their tracks as if they had lost their target the moment the suturing zombie died. Only a part of the zombies headed to the lakeside, while the rest wandered back to the diving hall in a daze. Chapter 522 - Chapter 522: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_1 Chapter 522: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_1 Everyone ran back to the building. ¡°No zombies are chasing us, they¡¯ve gone back¡­ Little Xue, go take care of them!¡± Seeing only a few scattered zombies following them, Wang Tao ordered Jiang Shixue. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s spirit had not been greatly affected; she set down Nie Siyan and retraced her steps, quickly dispatching all the pursuing zombies. ¡°Ahem, Brother Wang, I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Nie Siyan spoke somewhat embarrassed. She hadn¡¯t expected the mental shock from the zombie to be so strong that even she, being Level 3, could barely withstand it¡­ she almost ended up being a hindrance. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ve been a drag¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head, feeling embarrassed as well. ¡°It¡¯s okay, as long as the outcome is good. And that zombie¡¯s mental attack really was strong. I almost couldn¡¯t withstand it either. You guys just rest up.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. After a mental attack, one¡¯s head would feel very uncomfortable, and there might even be some aftereffects. Get a good night¡¯s sleep, let your mind empty, and you¡¯ll feel much better. ¡°Got it!¡± The two didn¡¯t try to act tough and immediately went to rest. Their heads really were still bothering them. Wang Tao then started to tally the loot. Killing this stitched zombie brought Wang Tao a total of 14400 special energy. It was the most he had ever gained from killing a single zombie. His total special energy had also reached 135,000. ¡°Big brother, here~¡± At this moment, Jiang Shixue handed Wang Tao the Crystal Core she took out from the zombie¡¯s head. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: reduced defense)] [Mental Defense: Passive Ability, increases mental defensive power] ¡°Eh?¡± Surprised at the attribute of this Ability, Wang Tao was somewhat taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected the zombie to have a mental defense ability, no wonder its defense was low! And this mental defense was an ability that Wang Tao needed! If he had this ability, he would be much more at ease when dealing with zombies capable of mental attacks in the future! However, speaking of which, this stitched zombie was quite unlucky. Its mental defense ability was completely useless against Wang Tao and his group¡ªbecause none of them could perform mental attacks. In addition to the Crystal Core, the insides of the stitched zombie also contained plenty of Zombie Culture Fluid, which Wang Tao had all collected at the time. [Gained: Zombie Culture Fluid x44745] ¡°So much Zombie Culture Fluid¡­ Little Xue won¡¯t be short on it later¡­¡± Apart from using it on Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what else this substance could be used for. Though speaking of Zombie Culture Fluid, Wang Tao had originally thought that the progenitor would be a Four-level zombie. According to his previous experience, Level 3 zombies shouldn¡¯t be able to cultivate other Level 3 zombies¡ªyet it indeed was a Level 3 progenitor zombie! Wang Tao suspected that the progenitor zombie must have undergone some mutation, or some accidental event had occurred¡­ Wang Tao looked towards the Loot Packs, totaling four. Inside the first Crystal Core Gift Bag, there were a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Perception], a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Attack], and an orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Bloodline Inheritance]. Apart from the last one, all were Crystal Cores Wang Tao had seen before. Especially Perception and Mental Attack, these two Abilities were among Wang Tao¡¯s favorites. He now had three Perception Crystal Cores, although one was Level Two and not yet able to be synthesized. He also had two Mental Attacks; if he could get one more, that would be even more perfect. The attributes of the last Core, however, raised Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows. He knew there had to be a reason the zombie could cultivate Level 3 zombies, and here it was! [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Bloodline Inheritance] [Quality: 100% (Epic)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: none)] [Bloodline Inheritance: Can transfer part of one¡¯s own strength to others, up to the limit of one¡¯s own strength (one¡¯s own strength will not be permanently reduced, but it takes time to recover)] This Ability was interesting, as it could transfer one¡¯s strength to others. But what did ¡°strength¡± specifically refer to? HP? Mana? Physical condition? Ability? Or something else? Just by looking at the Core, it¡¯s not apparent. To find out exactly what it is, one would need to experience it personally. But what was certain was that the zombie¡¯s ability to cultivate other Level 3 zombies was definitely related to this Ability! The second pack contained Potions and Blueprints. [Gained: Mental Boosting Potion x20] [Gained: Mental Potion (Small) x10] [Gained: Mental Potion (Small) Recipe x1] Wang Tao had seen the Mental Boosting Potion before, but it was his first time seeing the Mental Potion (Small). [Mental Potion (Small): After injection, increase mental strength by 10%-100% (the stronger the spirit, the greater the increase), lasts for 1 minute, with a 12-hour cooldown] [Mental Potion (Small) Blueprint: Once learned, one can make 5 Mental Potion (Small) each time. Required materials: Psychic Mushroom x1, Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water 100ml, Food 10 Kcal] The effects of the Mental Potion seemed good, similar to the Strength Potion and Defense Potion. Plus, with the blueprint, once learned, it could be made continuously! Wang Tao used all of the Mental Boosting Potions, and then learned the blueprint for the Mental Potion. He didn¡¯t have Psychic Mushrooms now, but he would eventually. The third Loot Pack contained more Zombie Culture Fluid. [Gained: Zombie Culture Fluid x10000] Chapter 523 - Chapter 523: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_2 Chapter 523: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_2 ¡°` With the addition of those produced by the zombies, there are now over 50,000 units of Zombie Culture Fluid. Wang Tao even started to entertain the idea of cultivating zombies himself for hunting¡­ The last package contained Hand Grenades and Blueprints. [Obtained: Mental Shock Grenade x10] [Obtained: Mental Attack Grenade Blueprint x1] [Mental Shock Grenade: Causes mental shock within a specific range upon detonation] [Mental Attack Grenade Blueprint: Allows for crafting of 10 Mental Shock Grenades, required materials: Level 3 Flesh x10kg, Crystal Core x1, Metal x1kg] This grenade should have an effect similar to the Mental Shock special ability, but it doesn¡¯t consume mana and can be used by anyone. As for the blueprint, like the previous Slime Spitter Grenade Blueprint, it is single-use, each only able to produce 10 grenades. However, the threshold for crafting it is very low. Just Level 3 Flesh and any Crystal Core are needed, which Wang Tao could obtain by taking down a Level 3 zombie. Since he couldn¡¯t merge with a Mind Attack Crystal Core for now, these grenades would serve as a good substitute. After tallying up the spoils of war, Wang Tao looked up at the sky; it was already evening. The personnel who went out to hunt zombies were beginning to return one after another. Wang Tao pondered that now the mother zombie had been dealt with, it was time to start rescuing people. All he needed was to wait for news from Lan Yulian. Just as he thought of Lan Yulian, his walkie-talkie crackled to life. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s Lan Yulian. The work is done. I¡¯m handling some affairs; I¡¯ll come to you in about three or four days.¡± ¡°Wang Tao, I am¡­¡± The voice coming from the walkie-talkie wasn¡¯t Lan Yulian¡¯s¡ªit must be one of her subordinates. Zijin Base could send signals to him, but he couldn¡¯t respond. Lan Yulian had to keep sending messages to prevent Wang Tao from missing them. ¡°That was sorted out so fast?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. It seemed the General hadn¡¯t set any traps. But that made sense. He was a smart man and knew that if he played any tricks, he would be the first to suffer the consequences. ¡°If she will arrive in three or four days, then we will wait until she comes before performing the rescue.¡± If it were simply killing zombies, having Lan Yulian there or not didn¡¯t matter, but when it came to rescuing people, certainly, her presence as a healer was best. After all, Wang Tao was someone with a professional ethic; since he promised to save people, he intended to save them alive. The next day. After a good sleep, Wang Tao and the other two felt almost no issues at all. ¡°We¡¯ll continue to hunt zombies today. Everyone, gear up; if we hunt down an Ascension Crystal Core¡­ I will prioritize distributing them to you all!¡± Wang Tao said to everyone with a smile. Upon hearing this, everyone was extremely excited. The mainstream level of survivors in Zijing City was still Level 1, Level Two was very rare, and Level 3 consisted of only a few people like Nie Siyan. Many among this group were Level 1 ability users. They dared not think about reaching Level 3, but if they could ascend to Level Two, it would be like being offered a pie from the sky! Seeing everyone¡¯s enthusiasm roused, Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s move out!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Taking advantage of the few days before Lan Yulian¡¯s return, Wang Tao planned to lead everyone on high-intensity zombie hunts, hoping to boost their strength a bit. This way, the rescue mission would have a better chance of success. ¡­ Three days later. Inside a building. ¡°We won¡¯t go out today; take a day off.¡± Upon hearing that they wouldn¡¯t be hunting zombies today, everyone instantly breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°We can finally rest!¡± In these three days, they had experienced what high-intensity zombie hunting really meant! They had no idea how many zombies they had killed, nor were they aware of how many spoils they had collected. The only thing on their minds was¡ªkill. If they didn¡¯t rest today, they felt they would be done for. Not just them, even Xu Xiaojun, with his capacity to endure hardship, was feeling overwhelmed. Wang Tao himself also felt utterly exhausted. Perhaps only Jiang Shixue appeared as if nothing was wrong; her physical strength remained a mystery. Wang Tao told everyone to rest well, but he had no time to rest; he needed to sort through the spoils of war properly. In these three days, everyone fought intensively for over a dozen hours every day! This was far more exhausting than any job because one small mistake could mean death! With such intensity, the spoils of war were naturally bountiful! Wang Tao alone had gained over 100,000 units of Special Energy! His total Special Energy had now reached 310,000! Merging and extracting from a Level 3 Crystal Core required 30,000 units of Special Energy each time, so his stockpile was enough for a dozen such procedures. Then there were the Crystal Cores; all Crystal Cores obtained from killing zombies were with Wang Tao. There were 5,000 Level 1 Crystal Cores, 1,000 Level 2 Crystal Cores, and 200 Level 3 Crystal Cores! Under normal circumstances, obtaining so many Crystal Cores would be impossible¡ªnot due to lack of strength, but simply because there were not enough Elite Zombies since only Elite Zombies could drop Crystal Cores. But the circumstances here were special; cultivated by humans and the mother zombie alike, many of the zombies here had Crystal Cores. This presented Wang Tao with an opportunity. Though most were White Crystal Cores, after his operations, he had quickly merged them into Red and Orange Crystal Cores. Wang Tao set aside some Omnipotent Crystal Cores and Ascension Crystal Cores in particular. ¡°With so many Crystal Cores, they¡¯ll have the chance to undergo a complete transformation!¡± Wang Tao said to Nie Siyan, who was massaging his shoulders: ¡°Call Zhu Han and the other four in here.¡± ¡°Yes, Brother Wang!¡± A moment later, Zhu Han and the four others were brought before Wang Tao. These five were among Nie Siyan¡¯s trusted subordinates; of the over three hundred members of the Skull Club, she only trusted these five. ¡°` Chapter 524 - Chapter 524: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_3 Chapter 524: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_3 Although Zhu Han and his group often bad-mouthed Nie Siyan behind her back, they were truly loyal to her. In the apocalypse, there was no shortage of clever people, but each clever individual had different ideas. The simple thought shared by Zhu Han¡¯s group of five was to find a powerful patron and cling to them. As long as their patron survived, they wouldn¡¯t leave! As it turned out, their choice was the right one. They had latched onto Nie Siyan, who in turn had latched onto Wang Tao. Thus, they were indirectly clinging to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails. Though they were tired from the past few days, what did that matter as long as they were safe? In the apocalypse, it wasn¡¯t about being tired; it was about being unsafe. As long as they could follow Wang Tao, they had no worries about future benefits! For instance, at this moment, when Zhu Han learned that the five of them were summoned by Wang Tao, excitement surged within him. It seemed¡­ there were benefits coming! When he met Zhu Han and the others, Wang Tao first inquired about their Ability statuses and then said, ¡°In light of your recent commendable performance, I¡¯m giving you two choices¡ª¡± ¡°One, I give each of you a Purple Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core for your own future use.¡± ¡°Two, I give each of you one Level 3 Red Ascension Crystal Core for immediate fusion.¡± ¡°Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core?!¡± Zhu Han and his companions were flabbergasted when they heard what Wang Tao said. Wait, the reward is a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core? Did they hear wrong, or were they dreaming? Did they also have a chance to become a Level 3 Ability User? Just on their way here, Zhu Han and the others had been wondering if Wang Tao would reward them with some Level 2 Crystal Cores that they could use. If he did, that would be a huge gain! As for a Level 3 Crystal Core, they didn¡¯t even dare to dream of that, let alone an Ascension Crystal Core! But now, Wang Tao was actually offering them Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores! And high-chance fusion Red Quality ones at that? This couldn¡¯t be a dream, could it? The men all pinched their thighs subconsciously. ¡°Hiss¡ªpainful!¡± Nie Siyan on the side covered her face a bit. How disgraceful, embarrassing! But if she thought about it, when she Level 3 Ascended, it wasn¡¯t all that different¡­ Wang Tao gave them time to think. Finally, Zhu Han was the first to come to his senses, and he spoke with a face full of excitement, ¡°Two! I choose two!¡± The remaining four, upon hearing Zhu Han¡¯s words, finally realized the situation. ¡°We also choose two!¡± The two options Wang Tao had given were easy to understand. Option one meant that if they wanted to pursue the limit and wait to combine four Level 3 Crystal Cores before ascending, then one core was definitely not enough, so they should save the core for later. Option two meant that if they didn¡¯t insist on gathering four crystal cores before advancing, then one would be enough, and they could ascend right now! Anyone could figure out with their toes that option two was the must-choose! Gathering four Level 3 Crystal Cores was incredibly difficult! Moreover, the fusion might not even be successful unless they had high-quality Red or Orange cores. But they couldn¡¯t even get their hands on White ones, how could they get high-quality cores? Suppressing one¡¯s level and gathering cores was something only high-level figures could play with. They were self-aware that they had to ascend whenever there was an opportunity! When they ascended to Level Two, they had also used just one Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core, so now it seemed normal to use one for Level 3 Ascension. And more importantly¡ªthere was a rescue mission coming up. If they could ascend to Level 3, they would definitely be a great help to the mission! Wang Tao was the one organizing this rescue mission, and since he had rewarded them so generously, they certainly needed to repay him! Therefore, the group didn¡¯t hesitate and directly chose option two. ¡°Very good.¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction upon seeing their choices. These people were very sensible. Thus, Wang Tao directly took out ten Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores for them. Moreover, he had thoughtfully prepared the Level 2 Crystal Cores they needed to reach their full potential. In the past days, their high-intensity zombie slaying had brought their HP to 29999, fulfilling one of the conditions for Level 3 Ascension. However, some of them hadn¡¯t reached +10 in Ability yet, so they still needed a boost. To Wang Tao, these Level 2 Crystal Cores were a mere trifle. Zhu Han and his companions gazed at the glistening Crystal Cores with trembling hands as they accepted them. Then, as if moved by a shared impulse, they knelt before Wang Tao with a thud and kowtowed to him. Considering the rewards Wang Tao had bestowed upon them, not to mention a grand gesture, selling their lives to Wang Tao would still mean they came out ahead! Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge; he could accept this grand gesture. After Zhu Han and his group got up, Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Go and fuse with the Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After the others had left, Wang Tao asked Nie Siyan to call over the eight women from the club. ¡°Mr. Wang, you wanted to see us?¡± The women¡¯s faces were all visibly fatigued, but since it was Wang Tao who had summoned them, they didn¡¯t dare not to come. They were also curious about what Wang Tao wanted from them. Wang Tao first chatted with them and inquired about their Ability situation. The women held nothing back and revealed everything readily. It had to be said, Lan Yulian had picked some good people. All eight women were Ability Users who had fused with four types of Crystal Cores. Zhu Han and his men could only fuse with two or three types of Abilities. However, when these eight women had their Level 2 Ascension, they had only used one Ascension Crystal Core each. After all, they were not Wang Tao; they couldn¡¯t synthesize Crystal Cores, and the high-quality ones were all supplied to Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. ¡°Considering your recent good performance, I¡¯m giving you two choices¡ª¡± Wang Tao repeated what he had just said to Zhu Han and his men to the women. ¡°You¡¯re, you¡¯re giving us Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores?!¡± The women were somewhat stupefied. They were even more bewildered than Zhu Han. After all, Zhu Han had been in contact with Wang Tao earlier than they had and knew about Wang Tao¡¯s character from their time at the arcade. But these women had only recently come into contact with Wang Tao and knew he was powerful and had a good relationship with their leader¡­ and that was about it. Yet, they hadn¡¯t expected that Wang Tao would actually reward them with high-quality Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores! These were things that even the generals hadn¡¯t obtained, despite having sacrificed countless lives! ¡°Could it be that Mr. Wang has some designs on us?¡± This thought unconsciously sprang to the women¡¯s minds. You couldn¡¯t blame them for overthinking; the situation was indeed frightening! Their leader, Little Yan, spoke up: ¡°Ahem, Mr. Wang, we, we have already sworn to follow our leader for life and will never betray him¡­¡± The others nodded in agreement. Looking at the women¡¯s excitement, coupled with their restraint, Wang Tao found the situation quite amusing. But before he could speak, Little Yan continued gritting her teeth: ¡°Aside from betraying the leader, you can ask for anything! Otherwise, we won¡¯t be at ease accepting these Crystal Cores!¡± Chapter 525 - Chapter 525: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_1 Chapter 525: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_1 ¡°` ¡°Oh? Any other conditions I can freely propose?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. The women didn¡¯t speak; they all watched Wang Tao with faces full of tension and excitement. They really wanted the Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores, but since they were unsure of Wang Tao¡¯s specific intentions, they dared not accept easily. They wanted Wang Tao to clarify his terms¡ªthey would agree to anything except betraying their leader! Wang Tao appraised the eight women carelessly. Some were quite shy, not daring to look Wang Tao in the eye, while others were bold enough to thrust out their chests and hold their heads high, presenting their most magnificent features to him. Wang Tao suddenly thought it would be quite interesting to have a personal guard of powerful and beautiful women like these. But after all, they were Lan Yulian¡¯s people, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t about to commit the offense of seizing them for himself. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. What do you think you could possibly offer me? Or rather, what do you think I want from you?¡± ¡°¡­¡± This remark from Wang Tao was rather blunt, but it seemed not without reason. He was far stronger than they were, had many Crystal Cores, and was already accompanied by two beauties, a young one and an older one. There wasn¡¯t much they had that could interest Wang Tao¡­ ¡°Just choose one of the options. Either way, it will be on your leader Lan Yulian¡¯s tab.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. These Crystal Cores weren¡¯t given for free; at the very least, he would have to reel in profits several times over. Though for him, synthesizing high-quality Ascension Crystal Cores was a trivial matter, costing only a few ordinary Ascension Crystal Cores. After leading his team to kill so many Level 3 zombies, bursting forth with numerous Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores, he wasn¡¯t running short. However, the value of this Crystal Core was obvious to others. Definitely not something to be given away for free. ¡°¡­We choose option two!¡± The women spoke up simultaneously. ¡°Very well.¡± Wang Tao handed over the Crystal Cores to them. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang!¡± After the emotional women left with gratitude, Wang Tao had Nie Siyan call in six others from two minor powers. Among these six, besides their own two leaders who were Level Two, the other four subordinates were still Level 1. Wang Tao took out Crystal Cores again, offering them the chance to ascend from Level 1 to Level 2, and from Level 2 to Level 3. But this time, it wasn¡¯t without demands; Wang Tao wanted them to lead their own subordinates into the Firefly Club. Yet for them, this wasn¡¯t a demand; it was an opportunity! The two leaders mused internally that this was the advantage of siding with the right team! Before their arrival, they couldn¡¯t have imagined they would have the chance to ascend to Level 3 and join the Firefly Club! This further solidified their belief that they had to clutch onto the big leg! Once these grateful people left, the building quieted down immediately. They all went to fuse with the Ascension Crystal Cores. In half a day, there would be 15 Level 3 ability users emerging here! Adding the original few, there would be almost 20 Level 3 ability users! The rescue mission could not be said to be foolproof, but the success rate had undoubtedly increased by countless times compared to before! In the afternoon, those fusing with the Crystal Cores began to wake up one after another. Having fused with only a Crystal Core, their ascension didn¡¯t take long; 6 hours were sufficient. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± These people came to Wang Tao as soon as they completed their ascensions. ¡°Well done, well done!¡± With 15 new Level 3 ability users, plus Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, that was 17, and with Lu Yingfeng¡¯s return, it would be 18! If one included Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, who hadn¡¯t ascended to Level 3 but possessed the combat power of Level 3, that made 20. Finally, adding a healer¡­ with such power, it wasn¡¯t just about rescuing anymore; Wang Tao even harbored the thought of hunting down all the zombies here! However, it was just a fleeting thought for Wang Tao, as these newly ascended Level 3 ability users weren¡¯t as strong as Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and the like. It would still be very dangerous to take on so many zombies head-on. Of course, if they eliminated the zombies slowly, perhaps they could indeed clear out this place. But if they really did that, the group at the diving pool would probably starve to death before the zombies got to them. At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie suddenly rang. ¡°Wang Tao, this is Lan Yulian, can you hear me? I¡¯ll reach the building in another hour!¡± It was Lan Yulian¡¯s voice on the walkie-talkie this time. ¡°This is Wang Tao, received, we are waiting for you.¡± ¡°Great!¡± It wasn¡¯t even an hour before Lan Yulian returned. When she left, it was with Lu Yingfeng, but now she came back leading a group of over thirty Level Two ability users! Mostly comprised of generals, prison heads, and Kong Xiu¡¯s people. These were the elite forces and the trump cards of their factions. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve brought reinforcements!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, Lan Yulian quickly approached, with Lu Yingfeng following close by. ¡°Yes, not bad at all.¡± Wang Tao nodded after sizing up the group. The group also secretly assessed Wang Tao. They weren¡¯t clear about Wang Tao¡¯s strength, but Lan Yulian¡¯s attitude indicated that Wang Tao must be formidable. Yet after observing for a while, they didn¡¯t think Wang Tao seemed all that formidable¡ªjust possibly a Level Two ability user. But why was Lu Yingfeng so courteous to him? After all, Lu Yingfeng was now one of the few Level 3 ability users! Unaware of their thoughts, Wang Tao said to Lan Yulian: ¡°Are these people reliable? I don¡¯t want any accidents during the rescue.¡± ¡°I picked them based on the list given by their leaders. They are all valued by their leaders, so they should be relatively dependable¡­¡± ¡°` Chapter 526 - Chapter 526: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_2 Chapter 526: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_2 Jade Lotus whispered an explanation. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then added, ¡°Let¡¯s go rescue them tomorrow, what do you say?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I was thinking!¡± Jade Lotus was eager to try. She gestured to everyone to enter the building. Jade Lotus briefly explained to Wang Tao about her taking over Zijin Base. In short, there were some minor troubles, but no major issues, and the transition was overall smooth. Since the General had long been prepared for his own demise, he had made arrangements at the base¡ªif the base were to be forcefully seized, it would probably self-detonate. But if it were to be handed over to someone he designated, it would transition peacefully. The current situation with Jade Lotus was considered a designated succession, so the transition was peaceful. Of course, things couldn¡¯t possibly go completely smoothly. Even if the General had excellent foresight, he couldn¡¯t accurately predict human nature. It was smooth for Jade Lotus to get the remote control, but after some people learned that the leader of Zijin Base had changed, they started having other ideas and planned to seize the base. But with Ying Feng, the Level 3 Ability User there, nobody could cause trouble. So they were just minor irritations, easily dealt with by Ying Feng. What Jade Lotus feared was the base¡¯s self-detonation, but with the remote control in her hands, Ying Feng would have no rivals within the base! So, Jade Lotus boldly made some personnel adjustments in the base. Those who were disobedient were either detained or eliminated. She even carried out a purge within her own club. She had mentioned to Wang Tao before that some people in the club were causing discord, which led to unrest within it. Seizing the opportunity, she let Ying Feng deal with them. Those who resisted were eliminated, leaving only her staunch supporters. This was why she had stayed at the base for three or four days. ¡°Impressive,¡± Wang Tao complimented. He had said before that Jade Lotus was quite good at managing the base. If it had been Nie Siyan who went, it¡¯s very likely she wouldn¡¯t have been able to accomplish as much, and even if she could, who knows how long it would take¡ªit certainly wouldn¡¯t be settled in just three or four days. Jade Lotus felt a bit proud upon receiving Wang Tao¡¯s praise. She had always felt overshadowed by Wang Tao, and though she didn¡¯t have much competitive spirit, being outdone by him certainly caused some discomfort. Now, having demonstrated her capabilities, she could consider it evening the score, right? While she was thinking this, suddenly, a group of people appeared before her. Among them were several of her loyal subordinates, who slightly bowed and said to Jade Lotus: ¡°Leader!¡± Jade Lotus was about to speak when she clearly saw them and suddenly froze. It wasn¡¯t just her; Ying Feng also rubbed her eyes in disbelief. As for the more than thirty elite reinforcements behind her, they were dumbstruck upon seeing this group. ¡°Level 3?¡± They were acutely aware of the aura¡ªit was unmistakably Level 3! But the issue was, this aura emanated from every single person in the group! Nearly twenty Level 3 Ability Users? My God, what was happening! The reinforcements couldn¡¯t believe it, or perhaps didn¡¯t want to. If there were only one or two Level 3 individuals, they might chalk it up to good luck. But the appearance of nearly twenty Level 3s¡­ that could only mean one thing¡ªthey were truly powerful! And it meant they were really falling behind! ¡°You all¡­¡± Jade Lotus approached these groups of subordinates, squeezed her team leader¡¯s cheek a bit, and asked, ¡°This is not an illusion¡­ have you all really reached Level 3?¡± The subordinate nodded, then whispered in Jade Lotus¡¯s ear: ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Mr. Wang¡¯s care that we were able to reach Level 3. However, Mr. Wang said¡­ cough cough¡­ it should all be credited to you, leader¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± She wasn¡¯t even there, and she was accruing debts? But if it was this kind of debt, she didn¡¯t mind owing at all! ¡°Everyone¡­¡± It was then that Wang Tao spoke up. All eyes turned towards him. ¡°We¡¯ll start the rescue operation tomorrow, let¡¯s discuss the tactical arrangements first¡­¡± Jade Lotus no longer dwelled on it and immediately started discussing with Wang Tao. After several hours of discussion, they came up with a final plan. They would split into three teams tomorrow: one team to hunt zombies, another to draw the zombies¡¯ attention, and a third to go into the dive hall to rescue people. Of these, luring and hunting zombies were the most dangerous¡ªso teams one and two. While anyone could lure zombies, hunting them could only be done by the strong. Thus, it was decided that the Level 3 Ability Users would form the team hunting zombies, and the reinforcements would either draw the zombies¡¯ attention or go into the dive hall for the rescue. If this was before their arrival, the reinforcements would definitely have objected to such an arrangement. They would have wanted to kill zombies since doing so yielded Crystal Cores! Luring zombies was both risky and offered little reward¡ªwho would want that? But now¡­ these Level Two elites were actually the weakest among this group! They had no say in the matter! What else could they do but obey the orders? ¡°Everyone rest well tonight, we move out first thing in the morning!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse. ¡°Yes!¡± As the reinforcements left, they instinctively stole glances at Wang Tao. They were curious to know why so many Level 3 Ability Users showed him such respect¡­ In the evening. Jade Lotus brought Ying Feng to Wang Tao¡¯s room. Chapter 527 - Chapter 527: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_3 Chapter 527: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_3 ¡°I¡¯ve already heard from Little Yan and the others, I¡¯m very grateful for the Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores you gave them!¡± Seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s sincere face, Wang Tao immediately said with a smile: ¡°Gratitude shouldn¡¯t just be in words, right? Isn¡¯t there anything tangible?¡± ¡°Of course, there is!¡± Lan Yulian took a backpack from Lu Yingfeng¡¯s hand and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao had just been teasing her, and hadn¡¯t expected there to be something tangible. He took the backpack, which was heavy. Opening it to take a look, wow! It was full of Crystal Cores! ¡°These are all from the General¡¯s stockpile in Zijin Base, of course, now they¡¯re mine. I owed you so much before, these should be enough to pay back half, right?¡± ¡°Haha, half is certainly enough!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. Although most of the Crystal Cores were Level One, with only a few Level Two ones, for Wang Tao, who could extract Crystal Cores, even Level Ones were fine. ¡°As for the rest, I¡¯ll think of a way later on. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely be able to pay it back!¡± Lan Yulian said again. ¡°Ok, I still trust you.¡± ¡°Oh right, the kind of Crystal Core I promised you before is still in the safe at the clubhouse. I¡¯ve been too busy to go personally in the past few days, so when we head back, let¡¯s make a trip to the clubhouse, and I¡¯ll get it for you.¡± Lan Yulian spoke as if she had just remembered. ¡°No problem,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then asked, ¡°You guys aren¡¯t moving away from the clubhouse?¡± Now that she had taken over Zijin Base, wouldn¡¯t she have to move all her people into Zijin Base? ¡°We¡¯ve already started moving. By the time we get back, they¡¯ll have finished moving. But I don¡¯t plan to give up the clubhouse; after all, we¡¯ve reinforced it, and its defense is not bad. It can be used as an outpost in the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Previously, when they were at Shuize Base, they had quite a few temporary outposts within the county city, which could sometimes play a significant role. At that moment, Lan Yulian glanced at Wang Tao and said: ¡°And I plan to turn the prison and the small gymnasium into our outposts as well!¡± Wang Tao looked at her in surprise. The prison naturally referred to the prison forces, and the small gymnasium was the territory of the Ability User¡¯s Alliance. Lan Yulian¡¯s words clearly meant she intended to swallow up the prison and the Alliance! But this was normal. After all, whether in terms of base size or strength, she was stronger than both the prison and the Alliance. Especially now that she had so many Level 3 subordinates, this was a good time to make a move! Probably every leader of a force in Zijing City had the ambition to unify the city. Not necessarily for the feeling of superiority, some people genuinely wanted to unite humanity to fight against the disaster together. If Zijing City could be unified, with everyone living inside Zijin Base and following Lan Yulian¡¯s orders, whether the days ahead would be better was uncertain, but at least it could avoid pointless infighting. ¡°Very ambitious, but I strongly agree,¡± Wang Tao said. Lan Yulian, pleased with Wang Tao¡¯s approval, looked at him with a seductive smile and said: ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want the position of base leader? This is about becoming the leader who unifies the entire Zijing City. At least ten thousand survivors will obey your every command, whatever you want them to do¡­¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao laughed and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want it, not interested.¡± ¡°Are you about to leave?¡± Lan Yulian suddenly said. She had discussed with Lu Yingfeng yesterday, and since Wang Tao didn¡¯t want this or that, only wanting easily transportable Crystal Cores¡­ it seemed like he was planning to leave. Although she couldn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao would want to leave¡­ ¡°Yes. I¡¯m heading to the military base in Wuyang City.¡± Now that they were all friends, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide his intentions. ¡°The military base!¡± Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng looked at each other in surprise. They hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to go there. ¡°The journey to the military base is very dangerous¡­¡± Lan Yulian quickly said. ¡°I know, but I have to make the trip.¡± Wang Tao feared danger, but was not one to shrink away from it. ¡°Alright then¡­ I wish you a safe journey in advance. We¡¯ll be heading back first¡­¡± Lan Yulian, seeing Wang Tao had made up his mind, said no more. Returning to another room, Lan Yulian suddenly said to Lu Yingfeng: ¡°I don¡¯t want him to leave.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng was silent; she didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to leave either. After all, his strength was evident to all. ¡°There were some sparse messages before, saying that Wuyang City has become a living hell! There might be survivor forces in other cities, but Wuyang City doesn¡¯t have a single survivor force! It may not even have any survivors at all! After all, it¡¯s a city with a population of millions, perhaps tens of millions of zombies! Even if his strength is great, it would be very difficult for him to survive there¡­¡± Worry was written all over Lan Yulian¡¯s face. ¡°Indeed, it is difficult,¡± Lu Yingfeng nodded. ¡°So, we need to think of a way to make him stay! How about¡­ cough, you make a sacrifice¡­¡± Lan Yulian glanced at Lu Yingfeng. ¡°?¡± Lu Yingfeng was initially taken aback, then realized what ¡®sacrifice¡¯ meant and gave Lan Yulian a speechless look. ¡°What¡¯s with that look? You are my subordinate, aren¡¯t you supposed to do this kind of thing, or do you expect me to do it?¡± Lan Yulian immediately glared at Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng seriously considered it for a moment, then nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible. There aren¡¯t many in Zijing City who can match you, and you can¡¯t possibly stay single forever. You and him are well suited¡ªno, I feel, you¡¯re actually punching above your weight¡­¡± ¡°Ah? Are you revolting!¡± Lan Yulian suddenly grabbed Lu Yingfeng and pinned her on the bed, then playfully tickled her. Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t resist, as she was used to this. ¡°Stop tickling my armpits, it¡¯s itchy¡­¡± ¡­ The next day. Everyone got up early. Wang Tao looked at the energetic crowd and waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s move out, aiming to finish the battle within an hour!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Chapter 528 - Chapter 528: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_1 Chapter 528: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_1 Diving Pool. General, Prison Head, and Kong Xiu sat on the ground with pale faces. Their mental state wasn¡¯t great. ¡°General, do you really have no food left at all?¡± Kong Xiu asked weakly. This was the third time he had asked in the past hour. ¡°None, we¡¯ve eaten it all.¡± The General shook his head. ¡°Damn it! If they don¡¯t come soon, I¡¯ll starve to death!¡± Prison Head was visibly irritable. He cast some unfriendly glances at the other survivors, his eyes reddening slightly. Feeling the chill in the General¡¯s gaze, Prison Head sheepishly averted his eyes and then asked through clenched teeth: ¡°That bitch¡­ she couldn¡¯t have abandoned us, could she?¡± ¡°No. She will save us.¡± The General spoke up. ¡°How can you have so much faith in her?¡± Prison Head glared at him. ¡°Because she is a smart person.¡± They were all elite survivors from Zijing City. If they all died, who would combat the zombies in the future? The zombies evolved much faster than humans! Every powerful survivor was a precious asset in the fight against the zombies. Lan Yulian was a smart person, and it was highly unlikely that she would abandon them. Even if Lan Yulian wanted these leaders to die, she certainly wouldn¡¯t want other survivors to be buried along with them. So the General felt that as long as Lan Yulian was capable, and since he had given her many benefits, she would definitely try to save people. If it were Prison Head instead of Lan Yulian, then the General would have no hope at all, knowing that if Prison Head had the chance, he would definitely kill everyone else without considering the consequences¡­ However, explaining all of this would be a waste of physical strength, and the General didn¡¯t want to say too much. After all, the more strength he preserved, the greater his chances of survival. ¡°Forget it¡­¡± Prison Head was just asking casually. He didn¡¯t really want to know the reason, he just wanted to go back, to eat meat, drink wine, sleep with women! He was so hungry¡­ ¡°Crackle¡­¡± Suddenly, the General¡¯s walkie-talkie crackled to life. ¡°I¡¯m Lan Yulian, I¡¯m coming to save you.¡± Just those two sentences instantly revitalized the three men. ¡°This is General, what do you want us to do?¡± The General quickly responded. ¡°How much combat power do you still have?¡± Lan Yulian asked. The General turned back to look at the wilted crowd and said somewhat helplessly: ¡°None at all.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian was silent for a moment before responding, ¡°Alright, then you all just wait. We¡¯ll be there in a bit. But if you don¡¯t have any combat power, we might not be able to save everyone in one go. We¡¯ll have to do it in several batches. Prepare on your side and wait for my message.¡± Extracting so many people from a crowd of zombies was fraught with danger. If they had no combat power, they couldn¡¯t save too many people at once, or it would definitely lead to disaster. ¡°Okay!¡± The General nodded. After exchanging a few more words, Lan Yulian ended the conversation. The General looked toward Prison Head and Kong Xiu. ¡°You all heard, let¡¯s get ready. They¡¯ll be here soon.¡± ¡°Finally, they¡¯re coming!¡± Kong Xiu was close to tears. After the apocalypse began, he was one of the luckier ones, hardly ever short on food. These last few days at the Diving Pool had been the most deprived of food he¡¯d ever been; it was the first time he realized how painful hunger could be. He was almost going crazy¡­ ¡°Damn that bitch! I suspect she deliberately delayed until now. Once I¡¯m free, she¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to her!¡± Prison Head said hatefully. Hearing this, the General gave him a look as if gazing at a dead man. But he said nothing more, immediately stood up and began to arrange for the survivors to form teams. Elsewhere. Outside the Diving Pool, Lan Yulian said to Wang Tao: ¡°I¡¯ve notified the General. He will coordinate with us.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then looked into the distance, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for the second team¡¯s news.¡± The second team was assigned to attract the zombies. They had to cause a disturbance first, drawing some zombies away. About half an hour later. A moderate electronic horn sounded from the east. Zombies had very sensitive hearing, and those outside the Diving Pool quickly caught on. Some zombies remained inert, while others began moving eastward. ¡°Good.¡± Wang Tao, watching from a distance, nodded approvingly. The second team was truly among Zijing City¡¯s elite. Although their strength wasn¡¯t the strongest, their experience was very rich. The noise they generated was just right, attracting zombies from around the Diving Pool, but not enough to draw a large number of Mad Demon Zombies. As long as they weren¡¯t swamped by a horde of zombies, or ran into some particularly formidable ones, they were relatively safe to drive away in their familiar vehicles, and if necessary, they could make a quick escape. Ten minutes later. Seeing that some zombies near the Diving Pool had been lured away, and the ones that remained were still indifferent, Wang Tao waved to the people behind him. ¡°Begin the operation!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Teams one and three, led by Lu Yingfeng, charged toward the Diving Pool. Their arrival immediately caught the attention of the zombies. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Roar¡­¡± Team one consisted of Level 3 ability users. Against these not-so-strong zombies, they were basically overpowering. They quickly cleared a path. The members of team three, seeing the Level 3 combat power of team one, were deeply amazed and envious. ¡°So this is Level 3! Truly formidable!¡± Chapter 529 - Chapter 529: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_2 Chapter 529: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_2 The person leading the team, besides Lu Yingfeng, included Lan Yulian, Nie Siyan, and Xu Xiaojun. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue did not join the battle; he was preventing sudden situations from afar. Although Wang Tao felt there shouldn¡¯t be any Level 3 Zombie Lords here anymore, it was still necessary to be cautious. Within less than three minutes, the first and third teams had charged to the outside of the diving gym. The General and others, who had been prepared, immediately removed the barricades blocking the entrance of the diving gym. ¡°General, we meet again.¡± Lan Yulian walked out from the crowd. The General originally wanted to say something, but his expression suddenly stiffened. In front of him, besides Lan Yulian, stood Lu Yingfeng, Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and nearly 20 Level 3 ability users! So many Level 3 ability users? The General suspected he was seeing things! And all these people were wearing a similar set of armor! Standard armor? Did they actually have the capability to produce standard armor? So many Level 3 ability users, plus so many sets of standard armor¡­ What on earth had they been through these past few days?! The General¡¯s face looked somewhat bewildered. He had thought that after being rescued, he would see if he could take back the base; he certainly wasn¡¯t willing to give up the base. But seeing the current situation, he suddenly lost all such thoughts¡ªhe had fallen behind, completely. ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± Kong Xiu couldn¡¯t believe his eyes and stared wide-eyed. Wasn¡¯t it agreed that there were only three Level 3s?! This is almost twenty, and still three? Misinformation! They¡¯re still deceiving him at this time! As for Prison Head, upon seeing the reinforcements, he first felt elated, then shocked, followed by disbelief, and then his face turned pale¡­it was like a face-changing performance. After Lan Yulian saw that the three of them were mostly unharmed, she checked the mental state of the survivors inside the diving gym, then said: ¡°You three each lead a team. We will perform the rescue in three phases!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± Lan Yulian had barely finished speaking when Prison Head excitedly raised his hand. The General did not speak. He did not want to waste time arguing over the order of things. Judging by the strength displayed by Lan Yulian, it didn¡¯t matter who went first or last. Seeing that the General did not object, Kong Xiu also did not speak. ¡°Good, follow me.¡± Lan Yulian nodded, then instructed Prison Head to start evacuating with a group of survivors. In the first group to evacuate, besides Prison Head, the rest were women and the injured. The reinforcements from Zijin Base, the third team, immediately brought out large stretchers that could hold several people each and placed the injured on them. The injured appeared pleasantly surprised, as being personally carried by a group of Level Two ability users was not something the average person could experience, especially since many of them were only Level 1. However, they then looked at the group of Level 3 ability users¡­ It seemed reasonable to have these Level Two ability users doing the heavy lifting. The zombies around the diving gym might have detected the strong human scent and became somewhat frenzied, all madly pouncing towards the people. But with Level 3 ability users present, obviously, the zombies couldn¡¯t get close. Moreover, Lan Yulian waved her hand, and a green halo flew out from her, instantly covering the entire team. ¡°Damn! A group healing ability!¡± Feeling the warm sensation in his body, Prison Head¡¯s face showed shock and envy. He knew Lan Yulian was still Level Two, and he had some dark thoughts about whether she had failed in fusing a Fusion Crystal Core and that¡¯s why she hadn¡¯t advanced. But seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s group healing ability, it was clearly not as he had thought. Lan Yulian had likely not advanced to Level 3 because the group healing crystal core was extremely rare, and her Omnipotent Crystal Core was insufficient for it! ¡°What on earth has she been through these days! Both her own strength and her subordinates¡¯ strength have increased so much! I can¡¯t accept this!¡± Prison Head roared in his mind. However, seeing so many Level 3 ability users around, he dared not show any dissatisfaction and just hung his head low without speaking. And seeing the zombies outside, he was also very fearful. Inside the diving gym, although he could see that there were many strong zombies outside, he wasn¡¯t very clear about how many there were or how strong the zombies were. Now, being protected among these reinforcements and seeing those incessant zombies surging up, feeling the aura of those Level Two and Level 3 zombies¡­ He truly felt what a zombie wave was! He even wondered if all the zombies in the city had come here! Fortunately, there were many Level 3 ability users among the people who came to rescue them; if not for these Level 3 ability users, they absolutely wouldn¡¯t have been able to break out! But Prison Head suddenly regretted it; he shouldn¡¯t have come out first. Because the first to come out were all injured, their speed was severely hampered! ¡°Damn it, a bunch of wastes! If I had known, I would have killed all of you and saved some food¡­¡± Prison Head cursed in his heart. ¡­ About twenty minutes later, Lu Yingfeng led a group of injured people and forcibly made a bloody path through the zombie horde, successfully delivering these trapped individuals outside the zombie encirclement. Although there were a few unlucky ones who died, overall, it went smoothly. Several vehicles were waiting for them here. ¡°Everyone, get in the cars, let¡¯s head back to the building first!¡± Lu Yingfeng and the others then continued to fight their way back to the diving gym. ¡°Not bad, saved a third of the people in 19 minutes, even with the speed hampered by the injured¡­ we should be able to handle it within an hour.¡± Chapter 530 - Chapter 530: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_3 Chapter 530: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_3 ¡°` Wang Tao glanced at his watch and was quite satisfied with the efficiency. Level 3 ability users are indeed powerful, especially when they move as one under the command of Lu Yingfeng, as disciplined as soldiers. Their combined effect was definitely greater than the sum of their parts. Of course, a large part of their success was due to Lan Yulian. Her ability to heal and boost HP, both individually and in a range, greatly increased the team¡¯s margin for error. As for her area-of-effect [Healing Light] Ability, Wang Tao had some criticism because it restored too little HP¡ªjust over ten drops per second, or roughly 1000 HP per minute. That was even less than Wang Tao¡¯s own [Iron Wall] Ability. However, this was an area healing ability. As long as one was within a ten-meter radius of Lan Yulian, they could benefit from the healing. The more people there were, the more effective the Ability. Particularly in situations where there were many wounded, Lan Yulian didn¡¯t need to heal them one by one. All she had to do was activate the [Healing Light] and let them regenerate their HP, keeping the critically injured alive. So overall, it was still a strong ability. It just wasn¡¯t as effective for someone like Wang Tao who could heal himself. ¡­ Outside the building. ¡°You must be Mr. Wang, hello!¡± Prison Head approached Wang Tao and greeted him politely. During the evacuation, he had learned from Lan Yulian that the rescue operation was entirely organized by someone named Wang Tao. They owed their thanks to Wang Tao. Prison Head was unfamiliar with this name and wondered just who this Wang Tao was. Upon first seeing Wang Tao and noticing his stature and muscles, Prison Head felt envious, but he couldn¡¯t sense the strength of a Level 3 ability user from him. Was he not a Level 3 ability user? Prison Head was puzzled. To be honest, after seeing so many Level 3 ability users, he found it a bit unusual to encounter someone who wasn¡¯t one. After all, Lan Yulian seemed to treat this Wang Tao with a lot of respect¡­ ¡°Do you need something?¡± Wang Tao gave him a cold look. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a high opinion of the leaders of the four major forces in Zijing City¡ªexcept for Lan Yulian. Especially the General and Prison Head, who secretly reared zombies. Therefore, Wang Tao was not inclined to show him any pleasantness. ¡­ The color drained from Prison Head¡¯s face. He hadn¡¯t expected that his polite approach would be met with such an attitude! If this had happened before, he wouldn¡¯t have thought twice before starting a fight. But now, weakened as he was and the other person being Lan Yulian¡¯s man, he restrained himself. ¡°Cough, there¡¯s nothing in particular, just wanted to make your acquaintance¡ª¡± ¡°If there¡¯s nothing, then stay inside the building and don¡¯t wander around,¡± Wang Tao said curtly. ¡°¡­Alright!¡± Prison Head wanted to say something, but in the end, he just nodded his head in frustration and went back. Wang Tao continued to watch the rescue operation through binoculars. The first group of survivors was saved in 19 minutes. The second took 16 minutes, and the last group 15 minutes. In other words, it took everyone about 50 minutes to rescue all the survivors from the diving hall. They had saved 10 minutes on Wang Tao¡¯s estimate. After the last group of trapped individuals was saved, Lu Yingfeng took the Level 3 ability users to cover the rear and lure the zombies away. There were too many zombies; even with all Level 3 ability users, they couldn¡¯t kill them all. After some time, everyone returned to the building. The rescue operation was a complete success. As long as they didn¡¯t encounter any Zombie Lords above Level 3, the situation was relatively safe, given the number of Level 3 ability users present. And the only two Level 3 Zombie Lords in the vicinity had been killed by Wang Tao¡­ Of course, the mission was not without its difficulties. There were injuries and deaths. Many of the reinforcements from Zijin Base were injured, and the more serious cases had already used Inhibitors. They didn¡¯t have Iron Tree Armors to protect their entire bodies. A single mistake could lead to infection¡­ Many of them envied the armor on Lan Yulian¡¯s side and planned to inquire about its source afterwards to see if they could buy a set. As for the deceased, they were naturally the trapped ability users in the diving hall. They were very weak and many were injured. Breaking out from the midst of so many zombies was not guaranteed even for Level 3 ability users. In the end, some unlucky ones died in the jaws of the zombies¡­ It was an unavoidable outcome. Successfully saving the majority was already considered a complete success. ¡°Hard work everyone!¡± Wang Tao said to the returning crowd. ¡°Not at all, it¡¯s our duty!¡± Nie Siyan quickly spoke up, and the others nodded in agreement. They held Wang Tao in high regard. ¡°` Lan Yulian wiped the sweat off her forehead and said: ¡°Shall we head back now?¡± It was eleven in the morning, and if nothing unexpected happened on the road, they could make it back to Zijin Base by evening. The zombies near the diving center had scattered, and were bound to slowly infest the entire sports center. Staying here was no longer very safe. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The group went into the building to gather everyone else. ¡°Hmm?¡± As they entered the first-floor lobby, Jiang Shixue suddenly turned to look at Wang Tao. ¡°There¡¯s a fresh scent of blood upstairs.¡± The smell here was chaotic, with the scent of blood everywhere. But what Jiang Shixue referred to was certainly not from these people. ¡°Let¡¯s go up and take a look.¡± Wang Tao went upstairs, and the others followed. Watching the figures of Wang Tao and the others go upstairs, the General¡¯s face remained unchanged as he said to Kong Xiu beside him: ¡°He¡¯s a dead man.¡± Kong Xiu¡¯s face was pale. As soon as they reached the upper floor, Wang Tao smelled a fragrance, but this scent¡­ was nauseating. As if he had realized something, Wang Tao¡¯s expression changed abruptly. He immediately headed towards the source of the fragrance, and as he turned a corner, he saw the Prison Head. Seeing Lan Yulian and the others arrive, the Prison Head used his foot to stamp out a small fire that hadn¡¯t completely died down, then smiled and said: ¡°Madam Lan, you¡¯ve finally returned safely! So, shall we head back now?¡± ¡°What have you eaten?¡± Wang Tao asked with a cold face. ¡°Hey, I just roasted some food I brought with me!¡± The Prison Head spoke nonchalantly. ¡°Beef jerky?¡± Wang Tao turned to look at Jiang Shixue beside him. Jiang Shixue immediately said: Whoosh¡ª The expressions on Lan Yulian and the others changed instantly. The Prison Head panicked at once and pointed at Jiang Shixue: ¡°You little bitch, don¡¯t talk nonse¡ª¡± Whoosh! Before everyone¡¯s eyes flashed, Lu Yingfeng appeared in front of the Prison Head. She instantly grabbed his neck and lifted him up with one hand. ¡°You¡­ ugh¡­ let me go¡­¡± The Prison Head flailed at Lu Yingfeng with punches and kicks, but he was still weak and had little strength. This was almost like tickling Lu Yingfeng, who was clad in a full set of armor. Coldness filled Lan Yulian¡¯s beautiful features. ¡°Prison Head, I didn¡¯t want to kill you, but you crossed our line¡­¡± Lan Yulian waved her hand. ¡°Drag him out and kill him.¡± ¡°You¡ªI didn¡¯t¡­ you don¡¯t have any evidence¡­¡± The Prison Head argued in fear and desperation. But Lan Yulian was unmoved. She had just become the leader of Zijin Base, even the leader of the entire Zijing City, and was looking for an opportunity to establish her authority, when someone just happened to present themselves on a platter. Chapter 531 - Chapter 531: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_1 Chapter 531: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_1 ¡°Let go of our boss!¡± Although the Prison Head was cruel, he still had a few fiercely loyal henchmen. Seeing their boss about to be dragged away, they instinctively stood up. Lan Yulian¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Take them all.¡± ¡°Ah! You¡¯re going to¡ªugh!¡± The eight Level 3 ability users under Lan Yulian stepped forward, and in an instant, they subdued these people. As the Prison Head and his gang were dragged downstairs, other survivors became curious about what had happened. ¡°Cannibalism requires execution.¡± Lan Yulian explained with a cold face. Whoosh¡ª The crowd¡¯s expressions instantly changed. No one wanted such people around, as nobody wished to become someone else¡¯s food. But to really kill the Prison Head? This was one of the leaders of the four major powers, after all! And the prison always had rumors of cannibalism¡­ The group was dragged to the entrance like dead dogs; in front of everyone, Lan Yulian pronounced the death sentence for the Prison Head and the others. ¡°Kill them.¡± Spurtch! Lu Yingfeng and a few others, holding rebar, pierced it through the heads of the Prison Head and his cronies. The rescue operation had resulted in over a dozen deaths, and even before being besieged by zombies at the diving gym, more than two hundred had perished¡­ but everyone felt the deaths of the Prison Head and his group were the most terrifying! Everyone fell silent as if chilled to the bone, afraid to speak. They felt that Zijing City might be welcoming a cold-hearted queen! Lan Yulian ordered another search of the building, where they found a woman stripped bare, with severe signs of violation on her body, missing an arm. Some survivors explained that half an hour earlier, the Prison Head had called for this woman, who was under his command. She didn¡¯t dare disobey. After she went up, she never came back down¡­ ¡°If any of you make the same mistake, they will be your example.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The crowd hastily agreed. Lan Yulian had brought a dozen vehicles on this outing. Some of them were large and could seat many people. While the survivors lined up to board the vehicles, a few of the Prison Head¡¯s subordinates came over and spoke to Lan Yulian about the Prison Head¡¯s deeds. Naturally, they spoke of his brutality and inhumanity, how he often killed innocents in the prison and led others to eat human flesh. Those who died with him were his trusted aides because they had participated in cannibalism¡­ It could only be said that they had it coming. ¡­ The trip back was calm, without any mishaps. When they were close to returning to Zijin Base, Lan Yulian said to Wang Tao: ¡°Have Little Feng take them to the base later. You come with me to the Vast Club. I¡¯ll get that Crystal Core for you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± So, the convoy split into two groups. Lan Yulian drove, taking Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue toward the Vast Club. In the car, Lan Yulian suddenly said: ¡°By the way, is Little Xue¡¯s nose quite sensitive?¡± Earlier in the building, in that environment, Jiang Shixue had been able to distinguish the different scents of blood, which had surprised her. Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, who was sitting in the back seat, and said: ¡°I guess so, Little Xue is very impressive. You might not even be a match for her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a match for her?¡± Lan Yulian looked skeptical. Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao, both appeared as ordinary people, hard to read. With Wang Tao¡¯s physique, standing at one meter ninety with a body of muscle, he did not seem like someone easy to provoke. Jiang Shixue, on the other hand, looked tender and fragile, especially in her school uniform, with a pair of clear, large eyes that made her seem like a high school girl naive to the world. Although she knew Jiang Shixue must have some ability, the idea that she was stronger than herself was hard to believe. ¡°Ah? No way, absolutely impossible!¡± Lan Yulian immediately shook her head. The fact that Jiang Shixue had some Special Ability, she could believe. But the idea of Jiang Shixue being stronger than her, she definitely did not buy that. She was one of the top Level Two ability users, so how could Jiang Shixue possibly be stronger than her? At this, Wang Tao revealed a smile. ¡°How about we make a bet? Bet that you¡¯re not as strong as Little Xue.¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s smile, Lan Yulian suddenly felt there might be a trap. But then she thought, she was now the leader of Zijin Base, how could she show fear? She felt that her Healing ability had caused Wang Tao to underestimate her. Before gaining that ability, she had killed plenty of zombies! ¡°¡­A bet! Let¡¯s see just how strong Little Xue is!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the stake?¡± Wang Tao asked again. He wasn¡¯t really fond of gambling, except when a sure win was in sight. ¡°The stake¡­ if I win, you have to stay!¡± Lan Yulian suddenly said seriously to Wang Tao. ¡°Hm? Stay? You want me to stay at Zijin Base?¡± Wang Tao looked at her, surprised. Lan Yulian immediately turned away and looked at the road ahead: ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao became curious. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because¡ªthere¡¯s no reason. It¡¯s just a bet, that¡¯s all. So, are you in or are you scared?¡± Lan Yulian didn¡¯t give a straight answer. ¡°And if you lose?¡± Wang Tao continued. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll lose! But if, and I say if, I do lose¡­ then you can set any condition, and as long as it¡¯s within my power, I promise to agree!¡± ¡°Okay, you said it. You decide how we compete; I¡¯ll follow your lead.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face wore a hint of mischief. No matter how the competition went, Lan Yulian was bound to lose. ¡°Let¡¯s do this. After we get to the club, we see who can make it upstairs first¡ªsince the lower floors of the club building have been sealed off, we¡¯ve all had to climb up and down from the fourth floor¡­¡± Chapter 532 - Chapter 532: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_2 Chapter 532: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_2 Jade Lotus immediately said. Clearly, she had ideas already. Wang Tao turned to look at Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue¡¯s face showed a hint of interest; she had no desire for victory or defeat, feeling interested only because Wang Tao was interested. ¡°Let¡¯s get this straight first: once we start, the loser must accept their loss, no backing out!¡± Wang Tao said, his eyes crinkling with mirth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not one to welch on a bet.¡± Jade Lotus said with full confidence. ¡°Good.¡± It wasn¡¯t long before the trio arrived at Vast. This was a six-story building that, despite its dilapidated state and nearly being overtaken by the surrounding greenery, still held a glimpse of its former glory. Jade Lotus parked the car below, and the three got out. The first, second, and third floors of the building were all barricaded. Only the fourth floor had an open window, clearly their usual point of entry and exit. ¡°They¡¯ve all moved to Zijin Base, so it¡¯s empty here.¡± Jade Lotus briefly explained, then turned to Wang Tao with a somewhat smug expression. ¡°So, how about it? I¡¯ll give you one more chance to back out. Don¡¯t say I¡¯m bullying you¡ªoh no, it should be bullying Little Xue, since I¡¯m too familiar with this place!¡± ¡°Cut the chatter, let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°Okay, but don¡¯t blame me when you lose!¡± Jade Lotus said with a sly smile. Then she said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°We¡¯ll each pick a spot, and then we¡¯ll have Wang Tao signal the start. Little Xue, you go first.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue picked a spot nonchalantly. After triple-checking that Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao weren¡¯t going to change their minds, Jade Lotus moved to a corner that was somewhat out of the way. Then both women looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao counted down from three. ¡°3, 2, 1, begin!¡± Then, to his surprise, he saw Jade Lotus pull a rope from a crack in the wall. With a tug at the rope, it seemed to activate some mechanism, and the rope started to pull up rapidly. Holding tightly onto the rope, Jade Lotus was whisked toward the fourth floor like she was in an elevator! ¡°¡­Good lord, using a cheat!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected Jade Lotus to have such a trick up her sleeve. But on second thought, the rules they had set hadn¡¯t specified that they had to climb up; it was just about who got there first. So maybe what Jade Lotus did wasn¡¯t really cheating? Lifting up quickly, Jade Lotus looked down at Wang Tao with great pride. She never fought unprepared! Even if the opponent was a young girl, she had to exert 120% effort to ensure her victory! Finding the hidden mechanism in the club and taking this route was also a form of strength! Although it might seem like bullying a child, she was determined to keep Wang Tao around. She believed that once Little Xue knew about her earnest effort, she would surely support her¡ªwait a second, where¡¯s Little Xue? Jade Lotus looked towards where Jiang Shixue had been standing on the ground floor, but it was empty, no one to be seen. ¡°Sister, I¡¯ve won.¡± Suddenly, a crisp voice came from above. Jade Lotus, somewhat confused, looked up, only to see Jiang Shixue, who had somehow already positioned herself inside the window, tilting her head and looking at her. Moreover, Jiang Shixue even thoughtfully reached out her hand to pull her up. ¡°¡­¡± Whoosh¡ª Seeing that the winner was determined, Wang Tao sprinted up and swiftly climbed into the window of the fourth floor. Looking at Jade Lotus, who still seemed somewhat disbelieving, Wang Tao went over and patted her shoulder: ¡°You agreed to the bet, you can¡¯t go back on your word.¡± ¡°No, but¡­ how could she be so fast? Could she be a speed-type Ability User? Sigh¡­¡± Jade Lotus was reluctant to accept this reality, but ultimately she let out a resigned sigh. So, Jade Lotus took out her frustration on Little Xue¡ªpinching and squeezing Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair and cheeks. ¡°Little Xue, you¡¯ve put me in a tough spot! Are you also a Level 2 Ability User? Why don¡¯t I sense it¡­¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just weak.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t miss the chance to tease her. ¡°¡­¡± Jade Lotus was exasperated and shot Wang Tao an annoyed glance. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to get the Crystal Core!¡± She felt that the Crystal Core was very important to their club, which is why she stored it in the club¡¯s safe, and she was the only one who knew the combination. The interior of the club still faintly bore the remnants of its dazzling past, though now empty and many items gone. In some ways, Wang Tao felt like he had indeed visited a club. Jade Lotus led Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue through a series of turns, and after some time, they reached Jade Lotus¡¯s former room where there was a concealed safe. She didn¡¯t mind Wang Tao watching as she turned the dial a few times, and with a click, the safe opened. Inside the safe were a good number of shiny, beautiful gold and silver jewelry pieces. ¡°I collected them before, but now they¡¯re worthless.¡± Jade Lotus said with a shrug. She then retrieved a small box from the deepest part of the safe. The box had a small lock on it. Upon unlocking the box, four Crystal Cores were revealed inside: two white, one purple, one red. ¡°I had quite a number of them, but the experiments before failed, leaving these last four¡­¡± Jade Lotus said with a hint of regret. At the time, she nearly brought these four cores for experimentation as well, but Lu Yingfeng stopped her, or else these might not have been preserved. ¡°Take these Crystal Cores. You¡­ what¡¯s the matter?¡± Jade Lotus turned her head and then noticed Wang Tao¡¯s face looked bizarre. ¡°Could you tell me how you discovered these Crystal Cores? Or better yet, from which zombie did you find them?¡± Chapter 533 - Chapter 533: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_3 Chapter 533: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_3 ¡°` ¡°It was discovered on some male zombies in the luxurious private room of the club¡¯s basement. However, there were also many female companions around these zombies, and of course, those female companions were also zombies¡­¡± Lan Yulian frowned in thought. She didn¡¯t find anything strange about it. After all, it was a club. A man playing games with several women suddenly gets infected, and then they all turn into zombies¡­ it sounded quite reasonable! ¡°How did you know that this Crystal Core would replenish energy?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Lan Yulian thought for a moment before explaining: ¡°Because our strength wasn¡¯t very strong at that time, fighting with these Level 2 Elite Zombies was still very tough. So our strategy was to first deplete these Elite Zombies¡¯ energy before engaging in combat with them¡­¡± ¡°These Elite Zombies were all in the underground private rooms of the club, encased in reinforced concrete structures, so they couldn¡¯t get out. So we would open the door to entice them, wait until we had depleted some of their energy, then close the door. We repeated this process.¡± ¡°But unexpectedly, this method worked with other zombies but not these ones¡ªtheir Mana seemed inexhaustible!¡± ¡°In the end, it was only after our strength increased that we went in and forcefully killed these zombies. So, I suspect these zombies had a Special Ability that allowed them to recover energy. The Crystal Cores they dropped should be able to recover energy as well¡­¡± After listening to Lan Yulian¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao suddenly understood. ¡°No wonder¡­¡± He looked at the four Crystal Cores with a bit of admiration. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Yin Yang Harmony] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Cannot be successfully fused by non-males)] [Yin Yang Harmony: During sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, both parties¡¯ Mana will rapidly replenish, and the user will permanently increase a certain amount of Mana. There is a cooldown for the permanent Mana increase, which is random (This Special Ability Fusion will replace the lowest-level Special Ability upon successful fusion, and if all Abilities are at the same level, it will be replaced randomly.)] For this Crystal Core¡¯s Attributes, all Wang Tao could say was impressive! Before coming here, he had thought of countless ways that this Crystal Core could increase Mana, but he had never thought of this one. However, considering the nature of the club and the situation of those zombies described by Lan Yulian, Wang Tao found it very reasonable. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± Lan Yulian asked with a bit of confusion. She felt that Wang Tao¡¯s expression was strange, as if he had found something amusing. ¡°This Crystal Core is quite good.¡± Wang Tao affirmed. ¡°You can tell the effects of this Crystal Core?¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat surprised. ¡°I have a special ability that lets me get a rough idea.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°No wonder! No wonder you recognize all the Crystal Cores!¡± Lan Yulian suddenly realized. She recalled the previous times she had fought zombies with Wang Tao, and he always seemed to know the function of each Crystal Core. She thought it was because he had a wealth of knowledge and experience, but now it appeared that Wang Tao had some special ability! But now in the post-apocalyptic world, who didn¡¯t have some special abilities? It was normal. And since this was Wang Tao¡¯s secret, Lan Yulian tactfully did not ask further. She was just very interested in this Crystal Core. After all, she had tried so many times with other people without success, which made her very eager. So she quickly asked: ¡°So this Crystal Core can only be fused by males?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°And this Special Ability can recover energy?¡± ¡°Yes, and it¡¯s not just one person who recovers, but it can make two people recover energy at the same time.¡± Wang Tao nodded again. ¡°To recover two people at the same time! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat shocked, and then she continued, ¡°Are you going to fuse it?¡± ¡°Of course, this Crystal Core is very good, I¡¯m definitely going to fuse it.¡± Wang Tao continued to nod. Up until now, he had only seen this type of Crystal Core that could replenish Mana and even increase the Mana limit, so he had to fuse it! When Lan Yulian heard Wang Tao was willing to fuse it, she immediately said: ¡°There¡¯s a red one, which should guarantee your fusion. How about you fuse it now? I¡¯ve used a lot of healing today and exhausted much energy. I¡¯d like you to help me recover! After all, this is a rare Ability that can restore energy, and I want to experience it!¡± Hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, an even more peculiar expression appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°Are you sure you want to try it?¡± ¡°Of course! After all, I¡¯ve been keeping this Crystal Core for a few months now, so I should really experience it!¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s eager appearance, Wang Tao suddenly laughed, and then the laughter grew louder and louder. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Lan Yulian was puzzled. ¡°I¡¯m curious if you would still want to try it if you knew the correct way to use this ability¡­¡± ¡°Usage? It should be similar to the healing ability, right? Couldn¡¯t be that this ability is bizarre, like¡­ you have to beat me up to heal? Haha, there can¡¯t be a Crystal Core that weird, right?¡± Lan Yulian was amused by her own suggestion. But Wang Tao suddenly smiled mischievously and said: ¡°It is indeed a fight, but it¡¯s in bed, of course, it could also happen in other places¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lan Yulian froze for a good ten seconds or so, then, as if remembering something, her face instantly turned red. ¡°You¡­ I¡­ not¡­ oh my!¡± She was somewhat incoherent, unsure of how to explain. Finally, she simply turned away, burying her head in the sand like an ostrich. Wang Tao did not continue to tease her, but silently extracted his Sprint Ability and then synthesized the ¡°two white¡± and ¡°one purple¡± Crystal Cores into a single Epic Crystal Core. He still had one red one left. While Lan Yulian was not paying attention, Wang Tao fused the Epic Crystal Core. After a moment, Wang Tao gained the [Yin Yang Harmony] Special Ability. He was about to tell Lan Yulian about his successful fusion when he heard her, still turned away, suddenly whisper: ¡°Cough, I¡¯ve been thinking¡­ it¡¯s not out of the question¡­¡± ¡°` Chapter 534 - Chapter 534: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_1 Chapter 534: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_1 ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao doubted he had heard correctly. He looked toward Lan Yulian. Even though Lan Yulian was facing away from him, Wang Tao could see her ears were red. Was this woman serious? Before Wang Tao could further question it, he saw Lan Yulian suddenly turn around and embrace him tightly. Her face was flushed, but she still raised her head, bravely meeting Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°I am serious!¡± No man doesn¡¯t love a beautiful woman, especially when one willingly throws herself into his arms. Few men could remain calm under such circumstances. Feeling the softness in his arms, Wang Tao didn¡¯t feign restraint. He gently held Lan Yulian¡¯s slender waist and looked into her dewy eyes, asking with a trace of curiosity: ¡°Why?¡± Although Wang Tao admitted he might have some personal charm, Lan Yulian certainly wasn¡¯t the type of woman to throw herself at a man. That made her initiative all the more surprising to him. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to leave! The military base is too dangerous, going there is akin to a certain death! You might as well stay in Zijin Base, where you can make a greater impact! I could even give you the leader¡¯s position; we could face the disaster together¡­¡± Seeing the sincerity in Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao felt touched. Then, feigning disappointment, he said: ¡°Is that the only reason? You just want to keep me here to work for you!¡± ¡°¡­Alright, I admit it, I really have come to like you, but just a little bit.¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat shy, but she didn¡¯t hide it. Now, in this post-apocalyptic world, sometimes you might not see many other survivors, let alone a suitable member of the opposite sex. Lan Yulian thought meeting someone as excellent as Wang Tao was already lucky for her. If Wang Tao chose to stay in Zijin Base, then she would get to spend more time with him, getting to know him better, and if they seemed compatible, then maybe they could start dating. But now, Wang Tao had made it clear he was leaving, heading to such a dangerous place¡ªit was no different than courting death. So she had no time to dilly-dally. It wasn¡¯t that she was head over heels in love with Wang Tao. After all, their interactions hadn¡¯t been extensive, and proclaiming a life-and-death affection would be too far-fetched. But there was definitely a romantic interest between a man and a woman. After all, Wang Tao was handsome and strong. Such an excellent man would be popular among women. Emotionally speaking, she liked Wang Tao a bit and was willing to live with him. Rationally speaking, keeping Wang Tao in Zijin Base would undoubtedly bring endless benefits. Before, Lan Yulian was somewhat hesitant, or perhaps she hadn¡¯t even realized her own feelings. But over the past few days, she had given it a lot of thought and talked a lot with Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng even occasionally encouraged her to pursue her happiness¡ªsuch a good man shouldn¡¯t be let go! Moreover, the conversation she just had with Wang Tao had been slightly laden with ambiguous undertones¡­ Therefore, Lan Yulian made her feelings clear to Wang Tao. Of course, her stating she was willing to sleep with him was somewhat impulsive. She wasn¡¯t a promiscuous woman; before this, she would never have spoken such words. But the same phrase applies: it¡¯s the end of the world, there¡¯s no time for romance. Hesitation could mean more than just missed fate; it could mean lifelong separation! Besides, who doesn¡¯t have a moment of impulsiveness in their life? Maybe she¡¯d regret her decision later, but regardless, she didn¡¯t regret it now! Wang Tao could feel Lan Yulian¡¯s sincerity. Her wanting him to stay was true, as was her affection for him. But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to stay.¡± Lan Yulian felt a chill in her heart. Did Wang Tao really have no feelings for her at all? Lan Yulian quickly said: ¡°I still owe you so much debt, and I can¡¯t pay it back. But I can¡¯t go back on my word. Since I can¡¯t repay you now, I can only offer myself in place of the debt! You can¡¯t leave!¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes reddened, and mist started to form in them. Wang Tao¡¯s blunt refusal made her feel somewhat wronged. Wang Tao gently caressed her cheek and said: ¡°How about this. I must go to the military base; all my efforts thus far can¡¯t go to waste. But I promise you, if the military base really is too dangerous, then I will come back for you. If the military base is safe, then I will still come back and take you there. What do you think?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian didn¡¯t speak and simply stood on tiptoe to kiss him. ¡­ The ability ¡°Yin and Yang Balance¡± was very powerful. The Mana of both Wang Tao and Lan Yulian quickly replenished to full. Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s Mana limit even increased by 1000! After the storm passed. Lan Yulian lay in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, tightly clutching his waist. She looked up at him, her eyes full of reluctance. ¡°Can you really not stay, even for me¡­?¡± If before recovering Mana with Wang Tao, Lan Yulian was still somewhat uncertain about her feelings for him, maybe she really only liked him a little bit, then now¡­ she felt she might truly have fallen in love with Wang Tao. Wang Tao bent down and gently pecked Lan Yulian on the forehead. He didn¡¯t answer, but his stance was clear. ¡°Heartless man¡­¡± Lan Yulian playfully punched Wang Tao¡¯s chest a few times, then not feeling content, she bit him a few times. Of course, she didn¡¯t use much force. Watching Lan Yulian rub against his chest like a kitten, Wang Tao gently stroked her smooth hair and back. Chapter 535 - Chapter 535: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_2 Chapter 535: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_2 For a moment, neither of them made a sound. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s getting dark soon.¡± Suddenly, a voice rang out beside the two. The pair turned their heads at the same time and saw Jiang Shixue, who was tilting her head at the side of the bed. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡± Lan Yulian swiftly grabbed the quilt and covered herself up completely, huddling into Wang Tao¡¯s chest like an ostrich. ¡°Little Xue, you¡­ haven¡¯t been here the whole time, have you?¡± Wang Tao massaged his temples, feeling a bit of a headache. The two of them had been too engrossed just now and forgot there was another person right beside them! ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been here the whole time.¡± Jiang Shixue stated as if it were only natural. ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian curled up even tighter in his arms. ¡°Let¡¯s forget it, let¡¯s go back.¡± Wang Tao said, somewhat helplessly. Anyway, Jiang Shixue was different from others; just treat her as if she were a zombie. Wang Tao patted Lan Yulian¡¯s buttocks. ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s about to be dark. Maybe Lu Yingfeng is already looking for you¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian squirmed a bit in Wang Tao¡¯s arms but didn¡¯t get up. Wang Tao could feel that her body temperature was quite high, probably due to shyness. So, with a surprised cry from Lan Yulian, Wang Tao flipped the quilt open. Seeing that Lan Yulian still buried her head, acting as if she couldn¡¯t bear to see anyone, Wang Tao had no choice but to take the trouble to help her get dressed himself. Lan Yulian did not resist any further; she was enjoying Wang Tao¡¯s gentleness. Wang Tao looked at the faint bloodstain on the sheets and sighed to himself. He did not want to get involved with so many women, but alas, his charm was too irresistible! Once the two were dressed, Wang Tao ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± After they left the club, Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao with a pitiful expression. ¡°You drive.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao drove, Lan Yulian sat in the passenger seat, and Jiang Shixue sat in the back seat. Wang Tao found that Lan Yulian, though she seemed very independent, was actually quite clingy. On the way from the club to Zijin Base, she kept her gaze on Wang Tao, occasionally poking and prodding him. If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t driving, it felt like she would pounce on him at any moment. The intense affection in her eyes was palpable to anyone but a fool. Of course, it could also be because they had just confirmed their relationship, and they were still in the honeymoon phase¡­ However, upon reaching Zijin Base, Lan Yulian¡¯s demeanor immediately turned serious, transforming into the cold and composed leader of Zijin Base, as if nothing had happened between her and Wang Tao. ¡°Women are indeed fickle creatures.¡± Wang Tao exclaimed softly and then drove the car directly to the central area of the base. This used to be the residence of the General, but now, naturally, it belonged to Lan Yulian. Before coming back just now, Lan Yulian had contacted Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng was waiting at the entrance at this time. As Wang Tao and the two women got out of the car and walked toward the house, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s eyes occasionally drifted toward Lan Yulian. ¡°Why are you always looking at me? Is there something on my face?¡± Lan Yulian felt somewhat uncomfortable under the scrutiny. ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just that the leader seems to be in a good mood, glowing with health, as if she¡¯s leveled up to Level 3, even though the leader hasn¡¯t reached Level 3 yet¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng was a bit puzzled. She, like Lan Yulian, lacked any experience with matters of men and women. ¡°Cough, stop looking, let¡¯s go inside!¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The central area of Zijin Base consisted of several buildings arranged together. It was designed as a place for handling official matters and for the rest of the high-level personnel of the base. The place where Lan Yulian lived was a large courtyard. Her Level 3 subordinates were arranged to live around it. ¡°Should I arrange a separate place for Mr. Wang?¡± Lu Yingfeng whispered to Lan Yulian by her side. ¡°No need.¡± Lan Yulian shook her head. ¡°Yes.¡± Once inside the courtyard, there were no outsiders. Lan Yulian instantly hugged Wang Tao, clinging to him under the shocked gaze of Lu Yingfeng. ¡°You two¡­ you two¡­¡± ¡°Little Feng, let me introduce him again, this is my boyfriend, Wang Tao!¡± Lan Yulian introduced openly. ¡°¡­Congratulations!¡± Lu Yingfeng opened her mouth, then smiled slightly. Although she didn¡¯t know what had happened between Lan Yulian and Wang Tao that afternoon, it was obviously something she was pleased to see. But why did she suddenly feel a slight heartache¡­ Lu Yingfeng shook her head and decided not to ponder it further. She planned to interrogate Lan Yulian thoroughly that night to find out exactly what was going on. Then, with a somewhat reddened face, Lan Yulian said: ¡°Little Feng, Wang Tao will stay in my room tonight, you find another room for yourself.¡± She usually roomed with Lu Yingfeng because they were close, and also because Lu Yingfeng could protect her. ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Lu Yingfeng suddenly felt a sense of abandonment. She looked at Wang Tao with a slightly resentful expression, then sighed and went to prepare food. ¡°Heartless woman, you¡¯re abandoning me now, after all the confusing signals?¡± Wang Tao teased, poking Lan Yulian¡¯s nose. ¡°Hmph~¡± Lan Yulian snorted coyly, and then her tone turned somewhat melancholic: ¡°I could be with her for a long time, but I don¡¯t know how many more days I can be with you¡­¡± Wang Tao tenderly stroked Lan Yulian¡¯s hair but did not respond. ¡°Right, where are Xu Xiaojun and the others?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve arranged for them next door. Do you want to go there?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go tomorrow.¡± Wang Tao thought Lan Yulian was right¡ªhe didn¡¯t know how many days he would have with her, so it was better to spend more time with her and do some meaningful things in the meantime. Chapter 536 - Chapter 536: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_3 Chapter 536: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_3 After a simple dinner, Lan Yulian led Wang Tao into the room, and then closed the door behind them. A moment later, Lu Yingfeng, who was eavesdropping outside the room, blushed. ¡°Tsk!¡± ¡­ The next day, early morning. Lan Yulian was extremely gentle as she helped Wang Tao get dressed and freshened up, just like a very sensible newly-wed wife. Wang Tao knew she was trying to use her tenderness to keep him here! The two of them didn¡¯t go anywhere today and just sweetly lingered together in the large courtyard all day. Lu Yingfeng couldn¡¯t stand it and slipped away directly. Only Jiang Shixue stayed with them. And so another day passed. Lan Yulian really wanted to stay glued to Wang Tao¡¯s side; the feeling of being away from worldly concerns was truly exhilarating. But she also knew she couldn¡¯t be capricious. She had just become the leader of the base and there were many tasks to attend to; even taking one day off to waste was already a luxury. Wang Tao, however, didn¡¯t mind. He went next door to see Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan had already brought the members of the Firefly Club to Zijin Base the day before, and Lan Yulian had given them a very good place. All the members of the Firefly Club were grateful to Nie Siyan. Lan Yulian and the General had different ideas; the General was more exclusionary. Only their own forces were inside Zijin Base. Nie Siyan, on the other hand, was more inclusive. She wanted to bring all the forces in Zijing City into the base¡ªactually, the original base was created with this idea in mind, but unfortunately, it was destroyed due to an accident¡­ In doing this, she was essentially continuing the legacy of her predecessors. Wang Tao was more supportive of Lan Yulian¡¯s idea. After all, there is strength in numbers. Besides, by having all these people in the base and possibly taxing them later on, the base could earn more money. The reason the General hadn¡¯t done this was that he felt other people were like ticking time bombs, with the cost of managing them not balancing the gains. But what he didn¡¯t realize was that in the eyes of Wang Tao and others, the General himself was a ticking time bomb¡­ Lan Yulian was confident she could manage the base well. She even kept the General, Kong Xiu, and others around. Her action confused the usually calm General, while the others were overjoyed. Actually, many forces wanted to live in Zijin Base, but the General had never opened it up before. Now that the opportunity had arisen, they were naturally very happy. However, Lan Yulian also laid out the harsh truth upfront: living in the base was okay, but they had to follow the rules. If they didn¡¯t obey the rules, Prison Head and his ilk would serve as a warning to them. Whenever Prison Head was mentioned, many felt a chill in their hearts. Thinking about how Lan Yulian had ordered the execution of Prison Head without batting an eye, they felt even more respect towards this new female leader¡­ ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun greeted Wang Tao the moment they saw him. ¡°During this time, take the opportunity to enhance your strength,¡± Wang Tao said to them. The two were already Level 3, and the upper limit of HP for Level 3 should be around one hundred thousand HP, but now they only had a little over forty thousand HP, so there was much room for improvement. ¡°Yes!¡± The two nodded. At that moment, Nie Siyan suddenly pulled out a small notebook and said: ¡°Brother Wang, Lan Yulian gave me a few positions to choose from, which one do you think I should take?¡± Since Lan Yulian wanted to attract other people from within Zijing City to the base, she would no doubt have to offer them some benefits. Someone with a good relationship like Nie Siyan would naturally get a lot out of it, such as an official position. But without even looking, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re not the right fit.¡± Nie Siyan was taken aback and then her head drooped like a frost-stricken eggplant. ¡°Oh¡­ then I¡¯ll go and refuse her. Actually, being the Big Boss of Firefly Club is quite good for me¡­¡± At this statement, Wang Tao immediately glanced at her. ¡°You still want to be the Big Boss of the Firefly Club? Fine, then you can stay here. We¡¯ll be leaving soon.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Nie Siyan looked up, her expression somewhat baffled. It was then that Xu Xiaojun explained: ¡°Brother Wang won¡¯t stay long at Zijin Base. We are heading to a military base.¡± Unless Wang Tao brought it up himself, Xu Xiaojun wouldn¡¯t speak out of turn. Thus, Nie Siyan was unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s true destination until now. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, she was stunned. Then, as if something dawned on her, her face suddenly showed a mix of surprise and excitement: ¡°Brother Wang! Do you mean, I can come with you?¡± ¡°If you want to stay in Zijin Base, I won¡¯t insist,¡± Wang Tao said indifferently. Thump! Nie Siyan knelt in front of Wang Tao and wrapped her arms around his thigh. ¡°Brother Wang, I want to follow you! I¡¯ll do anything for you! Please don¡¯t abandon me!¡± Nie Siyan suddenly realized why Wang Tao immediately rejected her as a candidate for the leadership of Zijin Base. Although her abilities indeed weren¡¯t sufficient, she suspected that Wang Tao also had reasons to take her with him! This time it was the same. Wang Tao didn¡¯t give it a second thought and said she was unfit; she was heartbroken, thinking that even though she was already Level 3, she didn¡¯t carry much weight in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. But in reality, it was not so! Wang Tao was planning to take her with him! In Wang Tao¡¯s heart, she at least had a bit of significance! As for choosing between staying at Zijin Base or following Wang Tao, there was no need to think about which choice had greater future potential. She would definitely choose to follow Wang Tao! The more Nie Siyan interacted with Wang Tao, the more she understood his capabilities. She had never feared anyone as much as him before, and likewise, never admired someone so deeply! Following Wang Tao might be dangerous, given the terrible situation in Wuyang City, but the benefits of being with Wang Tao were worth taking the risk! Not to mention, she felt that she had truly fallen for Wang Tao¡­ Wang Tao hadn¡¯t intended to take Nie Siyan with him since she was weak. But since Nie Siyan had risen to Level 3, she wouldn¡¯t be a drag, and she had shown staunch loyalty, so he agreed to bring her along. ¡°Then focus on hunting zombies in the meantime and boost your strength; you¡¯re still too weak,¡± Wang Tao said as he patted her head. ¡°Yes!¡± Chapter 537 - Chapter 537: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_1 Chapter 537: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_1 That day, Lan Yulian brought a lot of Crystal Cores to Wang Tao again. ¡°Wang Tao, see if there are any you can use.¡± Wang Tao glanced at her and said: ¡°All for me? You still owe me so much, these Crystal Cores aren¡¯t enough to pay off your debt!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just letting you pick, I¡¯m not giving them all to you¡­¡± Lan Yulian hurriedly said. ¡°Stingy.¡± ¡°¡­Anyway, I¡¯ve mortgaged myself to you, take it or leave it!¡± Lan Yulian first gave Wang Tao a glare, then spoke in a pitiful tone, ¡°This is all I¡¯ve got left in Crystal Cores, I can¡¯t give them all to you, otherwise the base won¡¯t be able to develop¡­¡± Wang Tao was just joking; he knew Lan Yulian had now become the base leader and had to consider the needs of over ten thousand people at the base. ¡°Then leave the Crystal Cores, I¡¯ll pick a few, and you keep the rest.¡± ¡°Love you!¡± Lan Yulian immediately hugged Wang Tao joyfully and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek. Then she moved her face closer, and Wang Tao could only helplessly give her a peck. Lu Yingfeng gave the two a disdainful look from the side. She was choking on their public display of affection, even feeling a bit envious. Having a suitable and strong partner in the post-apocalyptic world was indeed enviable. Lan Yulian had a lot more to do, so after delivering the Crystal Cores, she left. Wang Tao collected all these Crystal Cores into his space, and when he took them out again, more than half were gone, but they had all turned into purple and above high-quality Crystal Cores! Since Lan Yulian was now his woman, Wang Tao certainly didn¡¯t mind helping out a bit. Among these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao indeed found a few he could use. Wang Tao looked at his own Abilities. His current four Abilities were: [Level 2¡¤Iron Wall (+10)] [Level 2¡¤Extraordinary Rage (+10)] [Level 2¡¤Mastery Fusion (+10)] [Level 2¡¤Yin and Yang Balance (+1)] The first three Abilities had already reached +10, only this newly combined Yin and Yang Balance was at +1¡­ That clearly wasn¡¯t enough. So Wang Tao was planning to combine this Yin and Yang Balance with other Abilities to see if they could merge. He now had over three hundred thousand in Special Energy, and extracting and synthesizing Second-order Superpower Owners required only five thousand, which was enough for his experiments. After a series of experiments, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. This Yin and Yang Balance was a Passive Ability. He had thought it could combine with other passive abilities, but the experiments showed that the merging probability with other Passive Abilities was not high. Instead, it had a much higher chance of merging with Psychic System Abilities! This indicated that the Yin and Yang Balance was a Psychic System Ability. Surprise notwithstanding, this was actually good news, because Wang Tao did indeed have many Psychic System Abilities he wished to merge. Wang Tao looked around and found a few suitable Crystal Cores. They were [Mental Disturbance], [Mental Fluctuation], and [Mental Barrier]. [Mental Disturbance: Can slightly influence the minds of living beings] [Mental Fluctuation: Can make living beings mentally unstable] [Mental Barrier: Opens a barrier that blocks mental attacks] Wang Tao previously had a Mental Disturbance Crystal Core, which had dropped from that Toad zombie back at Shuize Base. Now, he had obtained another two from this batch, just enough to synthesize an Epic Crystal Core. This Ability basically caused living beings to make incorrect judgments. The simpler the brain, the more significant the impact. The smarter the being, the less the effect, and it might even be ineffective. Wang Tao specifically tried it out, and currently, this ability couldn¡¯t affect humans at all; it could only affect zombies. For example, it could make zombies mistake him for their Lord, then follow him, protect him, fight for him, and such. But the problem was, this Ability only worked at close range, and as soon as zombies got close to him, they would smell the human scent on him. This aroused their appetite, rendering the disturbance completely ineffective¡­ However, combined with a Stealth Potion, things were different. Stealth Potion could change one¡¯s scent, making it undetectable to zombies. That way, zombies wouldn¡¯t want to eat him anymore. Of course, even with Stealth Potion, he couldn¡¯t be too close to zombies, or it would still fail, but at least he could control it now, unlike before. With Stealth Potion, Wang Tao could have around a dozen Level 2 Zombies circling him. It looked quite impressive, but it wasn¡¯t very practical. The second Mental Fluctuation Crystal Core was also quite interesting. Similarly, it had a greater impact on beings with simpler minds. However, this one influenced emotions. It had little effect on humans, but with zombies, it could suddenly make them go into a frenzy or become passive¡­ This Ability might be used as a trick up the sleeve. The third Mental Barrier Crystal Core was powerful. This Ability could create an invisible barrier that enveloped a person like a second skin and could move with them. This barrier could last for about ten minutes, and during that time, it could block some mental attacks. For instance, if Wang Tao put a Mental Barrier on a zombie and then tried using Mental Disturbance on it, the Mental Disturbance would be ineffective. However, this Mental Barrier had its own HP, ten thousand, and receiving mental attacks would reduce the HP. Once the HP hit zero, the Mental Barrier would disappear. Physical attacks naturally couldn¡¯t be blocked, but they also didn¡¯t reduce HP. In any case, overall, the Ability Wang Tao liked most out of these was the Mental Barrier. A life-saving Ability for critical moments! Chapter 538 - Chapter 538: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_2 Chapter 538: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_2 Actually, the first two Abilities weren¡¯t too great, but Ability-related Crystal Cores focused on the spirit were too rare. Wang Tao wanted to level up to Level 3 quickly, so naturally, he could no longer wait. So, after a series of operations by Wang Tao, he acquired a new Superpower. [Level 2 Ability: Yin and Yang Balance] The name hadn¡¯t changed; it was still called Yin and Yang Balance, but the detailed information had increased significantly. [Yin and Yang Balance: Can slightly influence the spirit of living beings, can destabilize the spirit of living beings, can create a barrier that blocks mental attacks, and during sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, both parties¡¯ Mana will quickly be restored, and the user will gain a permanent increase in Mana. The permanent Mana increase has a cooldown, which is random. (Side effect: None)] Seeing this Ability, Wang Tao laughed loudly, and then he fused the Omnipotent Crystal Core he had prepared in advance. After some time, Wang Tao¡¯s new Ability had leveled up by +10! [Level 2 Yin and Yang Balance (+10)] Now all four of his Abilities were at +10, and he could ascend to Level 3! He had already prepared the Ascension crystal cores needed for Level 3 Ascension. However, Wang Tao was not in a hurry to ascend. After his ascension, killing Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and Level 3 Elite Zombies would no longer count as defeating higher-level enemies. Loot Packs were a minor issue; the main concern was Special Energy. For Level 3 Abilities, whether for fusion or extraction, each time it would consume 30,000 Special Energy. Wang Tao had spent over a hundred thousand Energy on synthesizing Crystal Cores, and now he only had a little over one hundred thousand left, which wouldn¡¯t last many uses. Therefore, Wang Tao planned to kill some more Level 3 Zombies to save up some Special Energy before proceeding with his Level 3 Ascension. After all, he currently had Level 3 Combat Power, and killing most Level 3 Zombies was no trouble for him. Wang Tao checked his belongings and the items in his Space Backpack again to see if anything had been missed. ¡°Right, I almost forgot about this thing!¡± A seed appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Iron Tree Vine Seed: When planted in the ground, it will grow into a violent Iron Tree Vine. When planted inside the body, it will grow into an obedient Iron Tree Vine.] ¡°Should I plant it inside my body¡­¡± Wang Tao was slightly hesitant. Planting it in the ground was obviously pointless. Even if he killed the vine, at most he would get an Extraction Crystal Core, and that wasn¡¯t even guaranteed. But if it were planted inside his body, Wang Tao was afraid he would become a monster. After all, this was different from the previous Magic Seeds, which clearly stated they would develop Hidden Abilities¡­ ¡°Screw it, let¡¯s plant it!¡± In the end, Wang Tao steeled his heart and placed the seed inside his mouth. The seed instantly melted within Wang Tao¡¯s body, just like a Crystal Core. Then, an icon appeared below Wang Tao¡¯s HP bar: [Iron Tree Vine Seed Germination Countdown: 2 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds] The previous Magic Seed needed ten days, whereas this Iron Tree Vine Seed only needed three days, which was significantly faster. ¡°It¡¯s just three days; let¡¯s wait.¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao temporarily put the thought aside. He and Jiang Shixue went out together to hunt zombies. The zombies near the sports center had begun to run off to other places, which made Zijing City much more dangerous all of a sudden. After all, there were quite a few Level 3 Zombies. Fortunately, many factions had moved their families to Zijin Base. As long as they didn¡¯t go out, they were basically safe. This also made things easier for Wang Tao; he didn¡¯t have to go out of his way to head to the sports center. Three days later. Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy was back to over three hundred thousand, which meant he could use it for fusion or extraction of Level 3 Crystal Cores about ten times. And the Iron Tree Vine Seed inside Wang Tao finally sprouted. The situation he was worried about did not happen; he didn¡¯t turn into a monster. When the countdown ended, Wang Tao felt as if something was in his mouth. He then spat out something resembling a small black snake¡ªalthough it was called a vine, it didn¡¯t have many leaves and felt similar to Entangling Roots. In fact, they were indeed quite similar. Not only could it transform into a bracelet that wrapped around Wang Tao¡¯s wrist like the Entangling Roots, but it was also a Level 3 Weapon! [Level 3 Weapon: Iron Tree Vine] [HP: 10,000/10,000 (Maximum 100,000)] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancement: Split (1), Independent Attack] [Compatibility: 100%] However, unlike Entangling Roots, which provided various enhancements when worn, the Iron Tree Vine¡¯s features were splitting and independent attacking. [Split (1): Currently 1 tendril, up to 10 tendrils] [Independent Attack: Can follow the owner¡¯s commands and attack on its own] ¡°This vine can split, up to 10 tendrils? Interesting¡­¡± Wang Tao could vaguely feel a very faint and simple consciousness, which was the consciousness of the Iron Tree Vine. Since it grew out of his body, it had a 100% Compatibility, and Wang Tao could control it directly. With just a thought, he saw the vine suddenly grow ten meters, wrapping around a nearby brick, and then retracting quickly, bringing the brick to Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°This is pretty interesting!¡± Wang Tao experimented several more times and discovered that the vine¡¯s greatest use seemed to be in helping him capture prey! He tested it with zombies, finding that when a Level 2 Zombie was entangled by the Iron Tree Vine, it couldn¡¯t escape at all and was pulled directly in front of Wang Tao, where he could easily kill it with a single strike. As for using the vine to attack, it was rather unsuitable. Its Attack power was far less than Wang Tao¡¯s, so it was better as a controlling ability. Chapter 539 - Chapter 539: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_3 Chapter 539: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_3 ¡°` But there are two problems. One is that it¡¯s only ten meters long, a bit too short. The second is that it currently has only ten thousand HP, and its defense isn¡¯t too high¡­ Overall, it¡¯s still too fragile. The HP needs to be increased. With more HP, it should grow longer. After all, the Iron Tree Vines I¡¯ve seen before were very long. Wang Tao thought it was like the Entangling Roots; to increase the HP, either feed it his HP or feed it Crystal Cores. Turns out Wang Tao tried it, and that didn¡¯t work. A prompt also appeared, suggesting that the Iron Tree Vines need to split before they can be cultivated. For example, if it splits into two vines, then Wang Tao could increase its HP to twenty thousand, three vines to thirty thousand HP, and so on. This is a bit of a headache, but there¡¯s a silver lining. That¡¯s two vines each with twenty thousand HP! In other words, if Wang Tao could nurture this Iron Tree Vine to ten vines, and continuously nourish their HP, then Wang Tao would have ten vines, each with one hundred thousand HP! That¡¯s a total of one million HP! Wang Tao is somewhat looking forward to the final product. As for how it¡¯s going to split, it has to do with time. Anyway, Wang Tao just has to care for it, don¡¯t let it die, and it will eventually split¡­ This is considered late-game equipment, so for now this is all he could do. However, for Wang Tao, even occasionally using this vine as a Control Ability is enough. But speaking of weapons, Wang Tao thought of his Entangling Roots, which he had always said he would cultivate but never had the time. Now is the perfect time to cultivate it and see if he can raise it to one hundred thousand HP. When he tried this, Wang Tao cursed his luck¡ªraising it to one hundred thousand HP would require too many Crystal Cores! If the Entangling Roots are low on HP, and he wants to increase the current HP, then one Level 1 Crystal Core can add one hundred HP, Level 2 Crystal Core can add a thousand HP, and Level 3 Crystal Core can add ten thousand HP. But to increase the HP limit of the Entangling Roots, one Level 1 Crystal Core can only add ten HP to the limit, a Level 2 Crystal Core can add a hundred HP to the limit, and a Level 3 Crystal Core can add a thousand HP to the limit! The Entangling Roots currently have twenty thousand HP, and still need eighty thousand HP to reach one hundred thousand. To add this eighty thousand HP, that would require eighty Level 3 Crystal Cores, or eight hundred Level 2 Crystal Cores, or eight thousand Level 1 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao does have some savings now, but he cannot afford such an expense! With no other choice, Wang Tao could only decide to use his HP for the enhancement. Using HP to nourish the Entangling Roots would leave him in a state of Weakness, which normally wouldn¡¯t be viable. But now it¡¯s temporarily safe, with Lan Yulian and others protecting him, so it¡¯s not a problem. So, Wang Tao approached Lan Yulian and asked her to cooperate with him. Wang Tao nourished the Entangling Roots with his HP, and Lan Yulian replenished Wang Tao¡¯s HP. Adding HP does consume Spirit, but Wang Tao and Lan Yulian could recover Spirit at the same time¡­ Well, it¡¯s like a perpetual motion machine! Lan Yulian didn¡¯t know the specific details of the Entangling Roots, but once Wang Tao explained the plan to her, she immediately agreed. So, the two began their operation. Then, there were two things that slightly caught Wang Tao off guard. The first was that the amount of his HP consumed to increase the HP limit of the Entangling Roots was truly a lot¡ªWang Tao had to spend ten thousand HP to add only a hundred HP to the Roots¡¯ limit! The second was that Weakness really felt weak¡ªso weak that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t actively help Lan Yulian recover Spirit. He could only let Lan Yulian take the initiative. Lan Yulian was adding HP to Wang Tao and simultaneously replenishing her own Spirit¡­ Wang Tao felt a bit guilty watching her. Fortunately, Lan Yulian was enjoying herself and didn¡¯t feel tired. Thus, Wang Tao and Lan Yulian stayed in the room all day, not going out. Lu Yingfeng almost thought something had happened to Lan Yulian. After coming to check and seeing them, she blushed and ran away immediately. ¡°Broad daylight, shameless!¡± Finally, when Lan Yulian was close to collapsing from exhaustion, the Entangling Roots reached one hundred thousand HP! After the Blood Sucking of the Entangling Roots had finished, Wang Tao was still in a state of Weakness, which would continue for another day, but it wasn¡¯t as extreme as the 99% Weakness he¡¯d experienced before, and he was now able to move. Wang Tao hugged Lan Yulian. ¡°It¡¯s enough now.¡± ¡°Phew¡ªYou¡¯ve tired out your sister!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Lan Yulian instantly relaxed and flopped onto Wang Tao¡¯s chest like a dead fish. She was both physically and mentally exhausted, something most people probably wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand. However, it wasn¡¯t without benefits; at least after using so much healing, she became more adept with her Ability. ¡°Thank you for the hard work.¡± Wang Tao gently kissed her forehead. ¡°Hmph, stinky man¡­ I¡¯m going to rest a bit¡­¡± Lan Yulian snorted, and then fell asleep on top of Wang Tao. The next day. Lan Yulian woke up in Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. Seeing that Wang Tao was still holding her, letting her lie comfortably in his arms, Lan Yulian felt somewhat sweet inside. ¡°Wang Tao, I think I¡¯m starting to like you more and more¡­¡± She murmured. Wang Tao opened his eyes and kissed her forehead: ¡°Awake? Want to sleep more?¡± ¡°No, time to get up!¡± Lan Yulian is a disciplined person. After going crazy for one day, it was time to work today. She had just taken over the base and begun reforms, so she would be busy for some time. ¡°Alright.¡± Although both had strong physiques and weren¡¯t significantly harmed, they still felt somewhat weakened. Wang Tao because the state of Weakness hadn¡¯t worn off, and Lan Yulian due to the tremendous physical and mental effort. ¡°You¡¯ve finally decided to get out of bed¡­¡± At breakfast, Lu Yingfeng couldn¡¯t hold back a comment. She was worried that Lan Yulian, so young, wouldn¡¯t know her limits and might run into trouble with her health. ¡°Cough.¡± Lan Yulian blushed. Although she was doing important work with Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t something she could easily explain. ¡°I¡¯ve eaten. I¡¯m off to work!¡± Lan Yulian quickly grabbed Lu Yingfeng and fled as if escaping. ¡°` Chapter 540 - Chapter 540: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_1 Chapter 540: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_1 ¡°` After dinner, only Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were left in the house. Wang Tao stroked Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair while looking at the Entangled Iron Tree Roots on his wrist. [Level 3 Weapon¡¤Entangled Iron Tree Roots] [HP: 100000/100000] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancement: HP, Attack, Defense, Fire Resistance] [Compatibility: 100%] All his effort had not been in vain; he finally reached 100,000 HP! Adding Wang Tao¡¯s own 30,000 HP, that meant he had a total of 130,000 HP! ¡°Now I can pretty much undergo Level 3 Ascension¡­ After Level 3, it¡¯s time to visit that¡­ old friend!¡± Wang Tao muttered softly. He had not forgotten the Fourth-order Monster he had encountered before, the one with 100,000 HP. At Level Two, he had almost no power to resist. If he ascended to Level 3, and added the 100,000 HP of the Entangled Iron Tree Roots, and brought other Level 3 Ability Users with him, would they possibly stand a chance in battle? Now that Lan Yulian had become his woman, he planned to see if he could help her eliminate this hidden threat before he left. ¡°Hum¡ª¡ª¡± Suddenly, a familiar buzzing sound came from outside. ¡°Huh? An airdrop is coming!¡± Wang Tao immediately ran out with Jiang Shixue, spotting a small black dot in the sky. ¡°The frequency of airdrops has been pretty high lately. It hasn¡¯t been many days since the last one¡­ Come on, let¡¯s go check it out!¡± By looking at the direction in which the plane was flying, it was apparent that it did not pass over the base. Lan Yulian, upon hearing the sound, had already started organizing people to retrieve the airdrop. After she invited the other survivors of Zijing City to the base, they benefited from a great advantage¡ªno one was competing with them for airdrops anymore. ¡°Wang Tao, are you going out too?¡± Lan Yulian asked, approaching Wang Tao. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to call for another airdrop.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lan Yulian immediately thought of the last time when Wang Tao had the airdrop directly above their heads and her eyes lit up. Then, like a little girl, she wrapped her arms around Wang Tao¡¯s and twisted. ¡°Wang Tao~ I want to know how you do it!¡± Lu Yingfeng turned her head away; she had grown tired of Lan Yulian¡¯s coquettish act. However, she also pricked up her ears to listen. ¡°Haha, because I know a pilot¡ªsuppose it counts as knowing him. After I contacted him through the walkie-talkie, he carried out the airdrop.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Both women were somewhat stunned. They were surprised that he knew a pilot, and even more so that he could contact one. Excitement then burgeoned within them; after all, if they could keep in touch with a pilot and have airdrops sent directly to them, wouldn¡¯t that be fantastic? ¡°Forget about it.¡± Wang Tao probably knew what the two women were thinking and shook his head. ¡°These pilots seem to have their mission. They won¡¯t stay long, so I can only contact them briefly. And I¡¯m not that close with him. The airdrop happened because he did me a favor. If he hadn¡¯t obliged, there would¡¯ve been nothing I could do. Besides, I¡¯m not even sure if the pilot on this flight is the one I know¡­¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ Well, that¡¯s still pretty amazing! Go on and contact him then; I hope you¡¯ll be able to get through. I¡¯ll have everyone else cooperate with you¡­¡± Lan Yulian was slightly disappointed, but quickly shook her head. What¡¯s meant to be yours will come to you; what¡¯s not, won¡¯t, regardless of how much you try. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going out now.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Have Little Feng go with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Yingfeng drove a vehicle, taking Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue and leaving the base. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun had gone out to hunt zombies in the morning and were still outside. The plane¡¯s flight path was slightly off, but Lu Yingfeng was very familiar with Zijing City. Before the plane arrived, she was already waiting on its anticipated flight path. Wang Tao took out his walkie-talkie and started trying to contact the pilot. ¡°Colonel Luo, this is Wang Tao, I¡¯m at¡­¡± ¡°Colonel Luo¡­¡± ¡°Sizzle¡­ sizzle¡­¡± Unable to make contact for the moment, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan also arrived, and everyone gathered together. ¡°Looks like my luck isn¡¯t very good today. Either I can¡¯t make contact, or it¡¯s not Colonel Luo Guozhong that I know¡­¡± Watching the plane draw closer, Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders in resignation. Normally, at this distance, he should have been able to make contact, but there had been no response, and it was unclear what the issue was. ¡°It¡¯s fine, if there¡¯s an airdrop, we can just pick it up ourselves,¡± Lu Yingfeng consoled him. Wang Tao nodded but persisted in trying. ¡°Colonel Luo, this is Wang Tao, I¡¯m at¡­¡± ¡°Sizzle¡­ sizzle¡­¡± But as the plane flew over their heads, there was still no reply from the other side. Wang Tao and the others felt a bit disappointed, both for not making contact with the pilot and for the fact that the plane had flown all this way without dropping any airdrops. Could it be that there wouldn¡¯t be any airdrops this time? Just then, Jiang Shixue, who had been intently watching the plane, suddenly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Brother, look.¡± Hm? Everyone quickly looked up. They saw that the plane which had just flown over their heads began dropping airdrops, and it wasn¡¯t just one but many airdrops falling at the same time! ¡°He got my message!¡± Wang Tao was suddenly surprised. The fact that so many airdrops were dropped at once clearly wasn¡¯t a matter of sheer luck; he had indeed made contact with the pilot. As for the lack of replies, maybe there was a malfunction with the walkie-talkie on the plane, which only allowed it to receive and not transmit. Or perhaps, there was some other reason. Either way, Wang Tao was sure he had made contact, and it was most likely Colonel Luo! ¡°` Chapter 541 - Chapter 541: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_2 Chapter 541: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_2 Wang Tao hastily spoke into the walkie-talkie: ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ve already gotten the alcohol, I¡¯ll treat you to a drink later!¡± There was alcohol inside Zijin Base and even though it was a high-value item, someone like Wang Tao could naturally take some whenever he liked. He had Jade Lotus prepare some fine liquor for her. ¡°Crackling¡­Crackling¡­¡± There was still no response, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if the other party had received the message. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s pick up the supply drop!¡± Like the last time, the supply drops mostly landed in one area, and everyone quickly gathered them all up. Wang Tao took a quick look and found nothing but the equipment, inhibitors, medical kits, food, and other items he had seen before. ¡°You take away the stuff, I¡¯m going to hunt zombies,¡± Wang Tao said to Lu Yingfeng. Since they had come out, he planned to first check out the Danfeng Hotel to see if there were any changes. As for the supply drops, they were all from his own team, so whatever he needed, he could just get directly from Jade Lotus later on. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao called Xia Jun and Nie Siyan to accompany him, along with Jiang Shixue, and the group of four drove towards Danfeng Hotel. On the way, Wang Tao encountered several weakened Level 3 zombies. ¡°It seems like the zombies from the sports center have already spread throughout the entire Zijing City¡­¡± These zombies were not much of a problem for Wang Tao¡¯s group, but they were still dangerous to others. However, it was also an opportunity; it was a matter of whether they could grasp it, as these Level 3 zombies were weakened versions and easier to kill. The car stopped a distance away from Danfeng Hotel. Wang Tao and the others got out and cautiously made their way toward the hotel. ¡°Hopefully, we won¡¯t encounter what happened last time?¡± Nie Siyan whispered worriedly. Last time, they all fell into the illusion created by that Level 4 monster, and she was the most unfortunate one, nearly killed by Wang Tao. Even though she was now at Level 3, she still had some psychological shadows. ¡°Be confident, it¡¯s only Level 4, nothing to be afraid of!¡± Wang Tao patted her shoulder with a smile. Of course, while Wang Tao said that, he was actually more cautious than anyone else. They arrived at the Danfeng Hotel and none of them felt they had fallen prey to anything. But the more they didn¡¯t feel trapped, the more worried Wang Tao became. ¡°Could it be we¡¯re already trapped without realizing it¡­¡± ¡°¡­Brother Wang, don¡¯t scare me!¡± Nie Siyan was genuinely frightened. Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, who had the strongest resistance to spirit-based attacks. ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything either,¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s walk a little further¡­¡± Wang Tao led the group on and they quickly arrived beneath the Danfeng Hotel. ¡°Hmm?¡± Seeing the wandering zombies below Danfeng Hotel, Wang Tao frowned. This was the territory of the Level 4 Monster Lord, where monsters and zombies weren¡¯t allies; in fact, their relationship was hostile. Logically, there shouldn¡¯t be any zombies here. Even if there were zombies, they should be under the control of the monster, not these low-level zombies wandering around randomly, right? But then again, the abilities of this Level 4 Lord were too bizarre, and no one knew whether this was all an illusion. So Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to sneak in rashly either. He and the others tried to lure the ordinary zombies below the hotel to come out and kill them. They were killed easily, identical to reality. Wang Tao conducted various tests with the group, and at last, he felt that there really was no illusion! ¡°Could the monster have left?¡± Wang Tao felt that was the only possibility. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and take a look!¡± After dealing with the zombies below, they ventured inside the hotel. There were quite a few zombies inside as well, but they were ordinary ones and were easily killed by the group. Wang Tao went from the first floor to the top floor, and besides finding some feces that might belong to the monster on the top floor, he didn¡¯t find any trace of the monster. ¡°It really left¡­¡± Wang Tao was now certain. The monster had indeed left, and he had just been scaring himself. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Nie Siyan finally relaxed. But Wang Tao did not feel too relieved. If the monster had been here, at least Wang Tao would have known its location and could warn others to stay away. Now that the monster had gone without a trace, it had become a hidden threat¡­ ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s head back for now.¡± Having found no other clues, Wang Tao could only have everyone return first. It was already evening when they got back to the base, and Wang Tao recounted to Jade Lotus about the Level 4 monster leaving. Jade Lotus first frowned, and then a happy smile suddenly appeared on her face. ¡°Wang Tao, are you worried about me?¡± Jade Lotus was pleased inside, at least proving that Wang Tao truly cared about her. ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao pinched her cheek. Jade Lotus took the opportunity to rub her face into Wang Tao¡¯s palm then said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will be more careful. Besides, our base has so many Level 3 ability users, we might not necessarily fear this Level 4 monster!¡± ¡°Right.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then continued. ¡°In the next few days, organize more people to hunt zombies, aiming to get you to Level 3 before I leave. That way, I¡¯ll be more at ease.¡± Jade Lotus was still at Level Two, mainly because there were not enough Omnipotent Crystal Cores. Wang Tao had used some of the Omnipotent Crystal Cores he had saved. Chapter 542 - Chapter 542: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_3 Chapter 542: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_3 ¡°Alright!¡± In the following days, Lan Yulian continued to deal with the affairs at the base. After all, she had recruited people from other forces in Zijing City. With so many new people suddenly added, how to arrange them was a big problem. The rules and regulations of the base all had to be reestablished. It¡¯s worth mentioning that Wang Tao initially thought that General and Kong Xiu would start their own thing, but unexpectedly, both of them stayed with their people, willingly subordinate to others. Wang Tao was still worried they had other motives, but Lan Yulian was very confident, feeling she could subdue the two of them. But she also had the capital for confidence, after all, with so many Level 3 ability users under her command, Wang Tao said no more. Wang Tao went hunting zombies with Lu Yingfeng and Nie Siyan. He wanted to look for traces of that fourth-order monster and, by the way, gather some more special energy. Four days later. Wang Tao almost vomited from killing so many zombies, he accumulated a total of 500,000 special energy. He also obtained many crystal cores. As for that fourth-order monster, Wang Tao had nearly searched the entire urban area, but still didn¡¯t find it. Wang Tao suspected that the monster might have left Zijing City. However, regardless of whether it had left or not, Wang Tao was prepared to level up to Level3. Before the Level 3 ascension, Wang Tao got a batch of crystal cores from Lan Yulian¡¯s hands. After some synthesis, he made many Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores. ¡°You ascend first. After you reach Level 3, then I¡¯ll follow.¡± Wang Tao handed a pile of Omnipotent Crystal Cores to Lan Yulian. Seeing the big handful of red and orange Omnipotent Crystal Cores, Lan Yulian opened her mouth wide, looking at Wang Tao as if he were a monster. Lu Yingfeng beside her had a similar expression. Lan Yulian could now confirm with 100% certainty that Wang Tao definitely had a means to improve the quality of crystal cores! Combining the fact that every time she gave Wang Tao a bunch of crystal cores, he returned fewer in number to her, but greatly improved in quality, it was highly likely that Wang Tao¡¯s method was similar to the Crystal Core Synthesizer! A Crystal Core Synthesizer required consuming a large amount of crystal cores of the same quality to eliminate the side effects of the current crystal core. Wang Tao¡¯s method most likely required the consumption of a large number of crystal cores to elevate the quality of the current crystal core! As for what this method specifically was, Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t quite guess, she thought it might be an instrument similar to a Crystal Core Synthesizer. But since Wang Tao didn¡¯t tell her, she also tactfully didn¡¯t ask any more questions. ¡°Alright!¡± After receiving the crystal cores, Lan Yulian immediately began to fuse them. Out of her four abilities, three were still only at +1, so Wang Tao prepared 27 synthesized Omnipotent Crystal Cores for her. After some time, Lan Yulian successfully fused all these crystal cores, and now all four of her abilities were at +10. Wang Tao then took out four orange Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Suddenly, Lan Yulian felt an overwhelming sense of security. She really wanted Wang Tao to stay! A moment later, Lan Yulian finished fusing the four ascension crystal cores. ¡°I can ascend now!¡± Lan Yulian hugged Wang Tao and kissed him, somewhat excitedly. Although she knew she was bound to reach Level 3, the speed of her ascension was still beyond her expectation. ¡°Then go ahead with the ascension. After all, it takes 24 hours,¡± Wang Tao said, ruffling her hair. ¡°What about you?¡± Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao. In fact, she wanted to ascend with Wang Tao. If the two of them lay on the same bed and ascended to Level 3 at the same time¡­ it seemed rather romantic! ¡°I¡¯ll ascend after you wake up. After all, this base has just started reforming. If something happens and neither of us is here, it would be troublesome,¡± Wang Tao said directly. ¡°Uh¡­ seems so, you really do think of everything!¡± Lan Yulian gave Wang Tao another kiss, then lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Shortly after, Lan Yulian fell into a deep sleep. Wang Tao turned to Lu Yingfeng next to him and said: ¡°Bring all the Crystal Cores you can find.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t ask why. Although Wang Tao was not the leader of the base, she treated him as if he were the leader. A few hours later, Lu Yingfeng came over with a bunch of Crystal Cores. ¡°All the Crystal Cores we could find are here. Some people might have kept a few Crystal Cores for themselves, but there shouldn¡¯t be many.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao collected all these Crystal Cores into his Space Backpack. Although Lu Yingfeng had seen this happen before, she still found it amazing. When Lu Yingfeng was out busying herself, Wang Tao organized the Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack, then synthesized some important ones into high-quality cores. These high-quality cores were reserved for Lan Yulian to nurture talents. As for the ordinary cores, there was no need to bother with them, as they could be used for everyday transactions. Once Lan Yulian completed her Level 3 Ascension and woke up, she saw a small mountain of high-quality Crystal Cores on the table beside the bed. ¡°Wow!¡± Many women have little resistance to such shiny objects, and Lan Yulian was no exception. Hearing the commotion, Wang Tao pushed the door and entered. He glanced at Lan Yulian¡¯s attributes. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] [Hidden Property: Saving Lives] [Internal Impurity: 11%] ¡°Congratulations.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Wang Tao~¡± After getting up, Lan Yulian threw herself directly into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. Lu Yingfeng had just walked in and, seeing this scene, thought she might have come at an inconvenient time. Wang Tao said to the two women: ¡°In the future, if you get the Crystal Cores you need, don¡¯t rush to merge them unless it¡¯s an urgent situation. You can wait for me to come back.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t talk about his ability to synthesize Crystal Cores, but Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng probably understood what he meant. ¡°Okay!¡± Both nodded. Lan Yulian felt particularly happy in her heart because Wang Tao had said he would come back. ¡°Alright, now it¡¯s my turn to ascend. I¡¯m counting on you two to protect me.¡± Wang Tao spoke again with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Wang Tao had already merged four Ascension Crystal Cores before, now he simply lay on the bed Lan Yulian had just been sleeping in and immediately fell asleep. Chapter 543 - Chapter 543: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_1 Chapter 543: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_1 Wang Tao felt the sensation of ascending to Level 3 was pretty much the same as when he ascended to Level 2. He could also pass on one Ability to someone else and then learn a new Superpower. However, there was no need, as Lan Yulian and the others had not inherited anything after their ascension. After all, the Abilities they fused with in the past were carefully selected by Wang Tao, so there was no need to trade for other Abilities. When Wang Tao woke up, he felt refreshed and invigorated. The fatigue brought by zombie hunting had completely dissipated. Moreover, he could distinctly feel his physical condition and senses had significantly improved, incomparably better than when he was at Level 2! ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re awake!¡± Lan Yulian was already sitting by the bed, and Jiang Shixue and Lu Yingfeng were also there. ¡°I must have slept for 24 hours, right?¡± ¡°Precisely 24 hours.¡± Wang Tao got out of bed and looked in the mirror, discovering that his physique had grown bigger! He measured himself with a ruler and found that his height had grown from 1.9 meters to a full 2 meters! Through his observations over time, Wang Tao knew that the stronger one¡¯s physique when ascending, the greater the possible increase in stature. When women like Lan Yulian ascended, even though they reached Level 3, their stature didn¡¯t grow much, and they might have even become slimmer? Only after Xu Xiaojun ascended did his physique grow taller and bigger, reaching 2.2 meters. Especially when he wore his armor, the imposing pressure was immense! Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t far behind. With his 2 meters in height and muscles all over his body, even Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t help but shine with admiration. Wang Tao clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body, and said to the three women: ¡°I¡¯m going out to test my strength.¡± ¡°We¡¯re coming with you!¡± It was afternoon when Wang Tao ascended the previous day, so it was naturally afternoon now as well. When they went outside, Wang Tao looked at the gloomy sky and frowned. ¡°It¡¯s going to rain¡­¡± ¡°It likely will tonight.¡± Lu Yingfeng looked at the sky and said. ¡°If it¡¯s going to rain tonight then I¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning,¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°What?¡± Both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng looked at Wang Tao in some surprise, with Lan Yulian¡¯s complexion turning somewhat flustered. ¡°Leaving tomorrow? That¡¯s so soon! Won¡¯t you stay a couple more days¡­¡± Wang Tao stroked Lan Yulian¡¯s delicate face, explaining: ¡°Since the virus outbreak, there hasn¡¯t been any normal rain. It either doesn¡¯t rain at all, or it pours for many days. Although it¡¯s always corrosive acid rain, which humans cannot stay in for long, it significantly weakens the zombies¡¯ senses. So as long as we¡¯re well protected, it¡¯s a good time to leave.¡± According to the limited information about Wuyang City, it was extremely dangerous. Despite ascending to Level 3, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t arrogantly think he was invincible. Heading to a dangerous place like Wuyang City, one had to be extra cautious. Rainy conditions could provide a good opportunity! Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both fell silent, realizing he was right. His departure at this time would be to their advantage. But¡­ they couldn¡¯t bear to see him leave! Initially, the two women were excited to witness Wang Tao¡¯s strength, but even after Wang Tao completed his tests, they were still somewhat out of sorts. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Mhmm¡­¡± After returning to the courtyard, night had already fallen. Wang Tao first went for a quick shower, then brought out a plethora of items. Including various Potions, medical kits, all kinds of Hand Grenades, armor, Hand crossbows, Crystal Cores he didn¡¯t need, and more. Seeing Wang Tao suddenly bring out a hoard of items, and with Lan Yulian still feeling a bit forlorn, her attention gradually shifted. ¡°These things are for you, use them sparingly¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained the purpose of these items. Particularly the [Tree Essence], both were somewhat surprised, as it was their first time seeing something that could increase one¡¯s Energy limit! ¡°After you use it, you can feel if your Energy limit has increased. If not, then don¡¯t take it, to avoid wasting it. It has a cooldown time, but how long exactly isn¡¯t clear. It depends on each of your physiques¡­¡± This was one of the truly good items Wang Tao had, and he wasn¡¯t stingy, leaving a portion for the two women. The better Wang Tao treated Lan Yulian, the more reluctant she felt¡­ but she wasn¡¯t the kind of woman who could not prioritize, and since Wang Tao really didn¡¯t want to stay, she couldn¡¯t make him. ¡°Wang Tao, thank you¡­¡± ¡°What are you thanking me for? This isn¡¯t a gift. You owe me, and you will repay it later! Take good care of yourself and wait for me to collect interest!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lan Yulian didn¡¯t say more but instead embraced Wang Tao in a long kiss. Beside them, Lu Yingfeng looked utterly forlorn. There¡¯s someone right here, can¡¯t you be a bit more considerate? After they parted lips, Lan Yulian whispered enticingly into Wang Tao¡¯s ear: ¡°It¡¯s time to rest; I¡¯m going to take a shower. Wait for me!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Lan Yulian took Lu Yingfeng with her and left. Watching the two women walk away, Wang Tao lay casually on the bed, directing his gaze toward his attribute panel. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 25600/25600] [Special Energy: 524200] [Level: Level 3] [Hidden Attributes: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] [Ability: Level 3 Iron Wall (+1), Level 3 Extraordinary Rage (+1), Level 3 Mastery Fusion (+1), Level 3 Yin and Yang Balance (+1)] Chapter 544 - Chapter 544: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_2 Chapter 544: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_2 Wang Tao¡¯s HP of 30,000 was undisputed, but nearly 25,000 mana was quite impressive. He had been consuming Tree Essence Liquid continuously, and because he merged more Crystal Cores than others, he also had more mana. More mana meant greater endurance, which was an indirect way to increase combat ability. Moreover, Wang Tao had just reached Level 3 and still had a significant room for improvement. He now planned to first synthesize a few Crystal Cores to try it out. His four Abilities, up till now, had not been synthesized, but after reaching Level 3, they could continue to be. First was the status class Ability [Iron Wall], status class Abilities actually weren¡¯t too rare, but many were of no use to Wang Tao, so he couldn¡¯t synthesize this Ability now. Then came the active attack class Ability [Integration], this type of Crystal Core was relatively scarce, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t found any suitable ones, so he couldn¡¯t synthesize one for the time being either. As for the psychic class Ability [Yin Yang Harmony], Wang Tao had some ideas¡ªhe planned to synthesize [Mental Shock], [Mental Defense], and [Perception]. All three Abilities were of the Psychic System, so the chance of a successful synthesis should be quite high, but unfortunately, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have enough Crystal Cores. These Crystal Cores all had side effects, and Wang Tao needed three of the same Crystal Core to remove the side effects and impurities. So, he could only wait and see if he could save up a few more later. Last was the Passive Ability [Berserk]. Of the Crystal Cores Wang Tao currently held, those of passive Abilities were the most numerous, so this Ability could be synthesized with other Abilities. Wang Tao took out two Crystal Cores. [Photosynthesis: Passive Ability, standing under the sunlight, can absorb the sun¡¯s energy, slowly regenerating mana] [Nutrient Absorbtion: Passive Ability, standing on the ground, can absorb the nutrients from the land, slowly regenerating HP] Both of these Crystal Cores were loot dropped from killing Level 3 Plant Monsters. Originally, Wang Tao only had one of each, but in the past few days, as he hunted zombies outside, he encountered several Level 3 Plant Monsters. Although they were only of Elite Level and didn¡¯t drop anything good, they did drop a few Crystal Cores, which were exactly what he needed to synthesize these two Crystal Cores to Epic. These two Abilities provided passive mana and HP regeneration, and although it was described as slow, it didn¡¯t consume energy. When there was nothing else to do, just standing on the ground and soaking up the sun could regenerate mana and HP¡ªhow wonderful is that! Wang Tao had always wanted to synthesize these two Crystal Cores, and now he finally had the chance. He first extracted his [Iron Wall] Ability and then merged it with a [Photosynthesis] Core. Wang Tao checked the synthesis probability of his Passive Abilities [Extraordinary Rage] and [Energy Boost]. ¡°92%¡­ that¡¯s a pretty high chance!¡± Without a second thought, Wang Tao began the synthesis. And, as expected, it was successful instantly. Wang Tao then merged [Nutrient Absorbtion] into himself. The chance of this synthesis was 94%; he went ahead and did it. After this Crystal Core was also synthesized, Wang Tao took out another Crystal Core. [Physical Enhancement: The physical constitution receives an all-around enhancement] This was looted from a Night Demon Zombie. The Night Demon possessed no Superpower and relied solely on its formidable physical strength. If Wang Tao did not use Entangling Roots, his physical fitness was no match for the Night Demon¡¯s. And the reason why the Night Demon¡¯s physical constitution was so strong was probably because of this Physical Enhancement Crystal Core. So Wang Tao treated it as the last Passive Ability to be synthesized for himself. However, in the Night Demon¡¯s Loot Pack, there were three types of Crystal Cores, [HP Enhancement], [Energy Enhancement], and [Physical Enhancement]. [HP Enhancement: Increases the HP limit by 1000] [Energy Enhancement: Increases the mana limit by 1000] Wang Tao actually liked these ¡°HP Enhancement¡± and ¡°Energy Enhancement¡± Abilities as well. No need to mention mana¡ªobviously, that¡¯s good stuff, merging 10 of those is 10,000 mana. In the absence of ways to regenerate mana, this Ability clearly was very impressive. About HP, the increase is to the extra HP limit! That means, for example, if Wang Tao is now Level 3, then his HP limit should be 99,999 HP, but if he merged a [HP Enhancement] Crystal Core, then his HP limit would break the original limit, reaching 100,999 HP! If he maxed out [HP Enhancement] to +10, then he would have 109,999 HP, while still remaining at Level 3! This is the extra HP limit! Wang Tao knew about this because, during this period, he had seen many Crystal Cores and discovered many peculiar and interesting ones, including those that increase HP and mana. Among them were Crystal Cores that increased HP limits. Wang Tao specifically conducted an experiment to find out that these HP-increasing Crystal Cores provided an extra HP limit. But these HP-increasing Crystal Cores were not common, and the increase they provided was very small. A Level 1 Core added 10 HP, a Level Two Core added 100 HP, and even collecting 10 Level Two Cores only amounted to an additional 1000 HP. [HP Enhancement], which added 1000 HP, was a big jump if you accumulated 10 for a total of 10,000 HP. Wang Tao had previously thought that merging such HP limit-increasing Crystal Cores would be wasteful since killing zombies also increased the HP limit, but now he realized there was no need to worry. However, it was a shame that Wang Tao had [Photosynthesis] and [Nutrient Absorbtion]. Although undecided to some extent, Wang Tao eventually did not choose [HP Enhancement] or [Energy Enhancement]. But regarding these two Cores, Wang Tao had an idea, which he planned to try out in a bit¡­ After Wang Tao synthesized the [Physical Enhancement] Core, his New Superpower emerged. Chapter 545 - Chapter 545: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_3 Chapter 545: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_3 ¡°` [Level 3 Superpower¡¤Berserk Enhancement] [Berserk Enhancement: Passive Ability, can increase strength, defense, spirit, running speed, athletic ability, throwing technique, and constitution; standing in sunlight allows absorption of solar energy, slowly regenerating Mana; standing on the ground allows the drawing of nutrients from the soil, slowly regenerating HP; when HP falls below 30%, Trigger Berserk (side effects: none)] Staring at this long list of terms, Wang Tao grinned. This looks truly exhilarating! Then Wang Tao extracted the [Integration] and [Yin Yang Harmony] superpowers. He was only left with [Berserk Enhancement] now. The reason for doing this, naturally, was because he intended to fuse with the Omnipotent Crystal Core. After all, the other three superpowers hadn¡¯t been synthesized yet, and since the Berserk Enhancement was maxed out, in order to avoid upgrading those three superpowers with the Omnipotent Crystal Core, they naturally had to be extracted. Wang Tao happened to have quite a few Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Cores at hand, as killing zombies above his level made it especially easy to drop [Omnipotent] and [Ascension] Crystal Cores. A moment later. [Level 3 Superpower¡¤Berserk Enhancement (+10)] The level of this superpower was instantly maxed! Since Wang Tao¡¯s passive superpower contained attributes such as strength and constitution, the level increase to +10 produced a relatively tangible feeling. Wang Tao could clearly feel that his attributes had become much stronger! He felt that if he were to fight a Level 3 Night Demon again, even if he didn¡¯t use Entangling Roots or any other superpower, just with his own physical conditions he should be able to suppress and beat a Night Demon! This wasn¡¯t arrogance, but confidence in his own progress this time! Wang Tao was preparing to find a few Night Demons later to test his abilities¡­ After briefly enjoying the sense of his own enhancements, Wang Tao turned his attention to [HP Enhancement] and [Energy Boost]. Since these two superpowers would increase HP and Mana after fusion, Wang Tao had an idea: to synthesize these two Crystal Cores as an emergency ability! +10 HP Enhancement could add 10,000 to current HP and maximum HP. Suppose Wang Tao was critically injured, suddenly extracted his other superpowers, and then fused this +10 HP Enhancement into his body¡ªwouldn¡¯t that be like instantly gaining an extra 10,000 HP? If it really worked that way, it would be a life-saving ability at critical moments! If it turned out to be infeasible, it didn¡¯t matter, because Wang Tao had a lot of Special Energy at the moment. Having used only 180,000 just now, he still had over 340,000 left, enough to give it a try. Wang Tao fused the two Crystal Cores and obtained a New Superpower, [HP Enhancement]. He then used an Omnipotent Crystal Core to max this new superpower to +10. [Level 3 Superpower¡¤HP Enhancement (+10)] [HP Enhancement: Passive Superpower, adds 10,000 HP, adds 10,000 Mana] At this point, Wang Tao¡¯s HP had increased by 10,000, and his Mana increased by 14,400! The reason for such a significant increase in Mana was that Fusion Crystal Cores themselves add Mana, and he fused these cores one by one, naturally adding a lot of Mana. HP Enhancement is a very plain and unadorned superpower, but it should play a significant role at crucial times. However, it can only be used at such times; normally, of course, the other four main superpowers would be used. So Wang Tao was preparing to extract it and switch back to his main superpowers. Using 30,000 Special Energy, he successfully extracted the [HP Enhancement] superpower into a Crystal Core. But just as Wang Tao was about to integrate the two extracted superpowers back into his body, he suddenly paused. ¡°Huh? Why haven¡¯t my HP and Mana decreased?¡± Theoretically, once he extracted the Crystal Core, the bonuses it provided to his body should have been lost, things like HP and Mana should have been gone too. But now¡­ they were still there! And that extracted [HP Enhancement] Crystal Core was still lying properly in his backpack! ¡°Could it be that HP and Mana are different from other attributes? If I keep fusing ¡®HP Enhancement¡¯ Crystal Cores, could I continue to raise my HP and Mana?¡± Wang Tao suddenly became excited; did he just find a bug in this world? ¡°` So, he immediately prepared to fuse the extracted ¡°Level 3 Superpower ¨C HP Enhancement (Discarded)¡± Crystal Core again. However, Wang Tao realized that he couldn¡¯t fuse it anymore! And he hadn¡¯t looked carefully before, but he noticed now that the name of the extracted Crystal Core had changed. Normally, inside the parentheses, it should say ¡°+10,¡± but now it had turned into ¡°Discarded¡±! ¡°Damn! I knew it, there¡¯s no such thing as a bug¡­¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat disappointed. If this bug really existed, then through the extraction and fusion process, he could have infinitely boosted his HP and Mana. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too discouraged. Although he couldn¡¯t boost his attributes infinitely, he had managed to fuse the attributes of this Crystal Core into his body. After Wang Tao fused the other two extracted abilities again, he checked his attributes. [HP: 40000/40000] [Mana: 40000/40000] 40,000 HP, 40,000 Mana! In just a short while, Wang Tao¡¯s strength had increased significantly! It felt rather exhilarating! It¡¯s a pity that this could only happen once. If it could happen several times, that would be even more exciting. Wang Tao looked at the discarded Orange Crystal Core; its exterior was still sparkling gold, giving no indication of its discarded status. Perhaps in the future, if he found someone displeasing, he could use this Crystal Core to trick them? A Crystal Core extracted from Wang Tao¡¯s fused abilities couldn¡¯t be used by anyone else anyway. But if it were a functioning Crystal Core, Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t want to waste it. Since this Core was already discarded, it might be good if he could find a way to recycle it. Moreover, Wang Tao suddenly thought that if this wasn¡¯t a bug but a mechanism of this type of superpower, could others use it in the same way? For instance, if Jade Lotus fused with an ¡°HP Enhancement¡± Crystal Core and then used an Extraction Crystal Core to remove it, would Jade Lotus also gain an additional 10,000 HP? But Wang Tao only had a Level 2 Extraction Crystal Core, not a Level 3. Since Jade Lotus was already Level 3, it wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll find a Level 2 person to experiment with¡­¡± If it really worked, this could be an alternative way to enhance strength! At this moment, Wang Tao heard someone entering the room. Then with a click, the lights in the room went out. Wang Tao could sense someone approaching the side of the bed. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°What is Jade Lotus up to, wanting to play role-playing games? Fine, I¡¯ll play along.¡± Wang Tao lay on the bed without getting up or opening his eyes, pretending to be asleep. Then Wang Tao felt Jade Lotus hovering by his bed for quite a while without coming closer. It seemed like she was¡­ hesitant? Wang Tao suddenly got a bit more expectant. Even though Jade Lotus often stuck close to him, she was rather traditional in certain aspects¡­ Wang Tao felt that Jade Lotus might have come up with something new this time. A moment later, as if resolute, Jade Lotus cautiously made her way to the side of the bed. Then she quietly climbed onto it, carefully avoiding any contact with Wang Tao, as if afraid to wake him up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what she was up to, thinking that with Jade Lotus¡¯s personality, she would normally just hug him directly. Could it be that she wanted him to take the initiative? So, Wang Tao suddenly stretched out his arm, directly embracing the person who had just lain down beside him. ¡°Mmm~¡± The other person seemed startled and tensed up completely. But Wang Tao paused, puzzled. ¡°Huh? How come you¡¯ve gotten smaller?¡± Chapter 546 - Chapter 546: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_1 Chapter 546: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_1 After saying those words, Wang Tao instinctively opened his eyes. Then he was taken aback. ¡°Little Feng?¡± The person lying beside him was not Lan Yulian but Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng was wearing a light, form-fitting silk pajama set, with her eyes tightly shut, lying stiffly in Wang Tao¡¯s arms. One of Wang Tao¡¯s hands was wrapped around her waist. Although it was pitch-black at this moment, Wang Tao could clearly see the blush on Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face. ¡°Why is it you?¡± She didn¡¯t seem like she had walked into the wrong room, did she? Lu Yingfeng still kept her eyes closed, not speaking, not moving. Wang Tao suddenly raised an eyebrow. He initially thought that if it really was a misunderstanding, it would be better to clarify it sooner rather than later, especially since this was Jade Lotus¡¯s good sister. But looking at Ying Feng like this, she was obviously conscious. Given that, there was no way Wang Tao could turn down such a tempting offer presented to him! There¡¯s an old saying, ¡°You can never wake up a person who is pretending to sleep.¡± But Wang Tao now disagreed. ¡°Wang Tao¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng opened her eyes, her gaze brimming with a springtime warmth, her expression slightly aggrieved. She couldn¡¯t make out Wang Tao¡¯s features but could see a pair of eyes faintly glowing green looking at her. She and Lan Yulian both knew that Wang Tao had night vision, so she wasn¡¯t scared. It was just¡­ very embarrassing. Gently caressing her face, Wang Tao asked softly, ¡°Did Jade Lotus ask you to come here?¡± Lu Yingfeng and Lan Yulian had a very close relationship. Although they had a superior-subordinate relationship, they were like sisters. Wang Tao also believed in Ying Feng¡¯s character; if Jade Lotus hadn¡¯t asked her to come, she would definitely not have approached Wang Tao on her own. ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng hummed softly like a mosquito. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had good hearing, he probably wouldn¡¯t have heard it. The normally brisk and exceptionally cool Ying Feng, with her girlish demeanor at this moment, had a different kind of charm. ¡°This Jade Lotus¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head, though he wasn¡¯t sure what Jade Lotus was thinking, he was no Saint. Wang Tao leaned down and gently kissed Ying Feng on the forehead, cheeks, and corners of the mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, relax.¡± ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Looking at Ying Feng who once again closed her eyes, seemingly letting Wang Tao do as he pleased, Wang Tao brushed aside the hair on her forehead and suddenly shouted towards the door: ¡°Jade Lotus, get in here!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice startled Lu Yingfeng. She instinctively hugged Wang Tao¡¯s waist tighter. Although it was Jade Lotus who had asked her to come, she still felt like she was betraying her good sister. Outside the door, it was completely quiet, no sound at all. ¡°Jade Lotus, hurry up! I¡¯ve learned a few sets of cool torture methods recently. If you don¡¯t come in, don¡¯t blame me for punishing Little Feng severely!¡± Wang Tao spoke menacingly. Hearing this, Ying Feng in his arms grew more frightened, her body trembling somewhat. Click~ The door opened, and a sneaky figure entered. Wang Tao saw that it was indeed Lan Yulian. He knew that Jade Lotus was most likely eavesdropping. ¡°Cough, what do you want me for!¡± Jade Lotus stood at the door, feigning indifference. ¡°Do.¡± Wang Tao responded succinctly. ¡°¡­¡± Jade Lotus was taken aback, her face flushing red, and she turned to flee out the door. Even though it was she who had prodded Ying Feng to come, joining them herself was too embarrassing; she couldn¡¯t accept it. But Wang Tao spoke again at that moment. ¡°Last time we made a bet, and you lost. You said I could ask for one thing, and you¡¯d agree to anything. What now? Do you want to go back on your word?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jade Lotus opened her mouth¡ªshe truly hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to bring up the last bet. She was suddenly conflicted. She didn¡¯t want to go back on her word in front of Wang Tao, but she also didn¡¯t want to join in, as it was simply too embarrassing¡­ ¡°Good girl, listen to me. I was just joking with you. I really do have something to ask you. Don¡¯t you trust me?¡± Wang Tao called out again. With no choice, Jade Lotus walked over to Wang Tao¡¯s bedside, face flushed red. ¡°You¡ªah!¡± But Wang Tao suddenly reached out and grabbed her, and with Jade Lotus¡¯s yelp, he pulled her onto the bed. ¡°Jiejie¡ª¡ª¡± Wang Tao laughed wickedly. ¡°You, you don¡¯t keep your word!¡± Jade Lotus glared at Wang Tao with a face full of shame and indignation. ¡°How have I not kept my word? I really do have something to ask you, but I want to hear you tell me personally!¡± ¡°Mm¡ª¡± A deep kiss almost took Jade Lotus¡¯s breath away. Wang Tao then let her go, turning his gaze to Ying Feng and kissed her tenderly. ¡­ The next day, early morning. When Wang Tao woke up, he saw two pairs of big eyes watching him, one on the left and one on the right. Upon meeting his gaze, Jade Lotus and Ying Feng quickly turned their heads away. Wang Tao stroked both of the women¡¯s hair, silent, savoring this moment of tenderness. Then, Jade Lotus raised her head, her eyes showing reluctance, but she still took the initiative to speak: ¡°Wang Tao¡­ it¡¯s time for you to go.¡± The days she had spent with Wang Tao were some of the happiest in her life. She wished it could go on forever but knew it wasn¡¯t possible. So it was better to make a clean break when parting. After all, Wang Tao had promised he would come back for her! ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then got up. Jade Lotus and Ying Feng helped Wang Tao dress, one on the left and one on the right. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t used to being attended to, but he didn¡¯t refuse this time. Once all three were dressed, Wang Tao spread out his arms. Jade Lotus walked into his arms and hugged him. Ying Feng hesitated for a moment but also came over. Chapter 547 - Chapter 547: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_2 Chapter 547: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_2 ¡°Now, you have two people at Zijin Base who care about you¡ªat least a little, right? You can¡¯t forget about us! You promised me you would come back!¡± Lan Yulian lifted her head, her eyes red as she spoke to Wang Tao. Wang Tao kissed each of their foreheads. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I, Wang Tao, never go back on my word. Pay extra attention to your safety here; I¡¯ll come back for you.¡± ¡°Mhmm! You also need to be careful!¡± The two women said in unison. ¡°The things I left for you before, I told you to use them sparingly, but don¡¯t be too thrifty. After all, we will see each other again soon¡­¡± Wang Tao added. Previously, he had left Lan Yulian many items, including various Crystal Cores, Potions, and so on. ¡°Mhmm!¡± ¡°The Level 3 Crystal Cores I left for you, use them if you need to. But for the other Crystal Cores, make sure to use an instrument to remove the side effects. Of course, the best case would be to save them up until I return¡­¡± Wang Tao continued to instruct. He felt his trip to the military base would be a short one. After all, from what he could tell, the military base was still very safe. Once he arrived, with his strength, or by offering some valuable items, it wouldn¡¯t be too much to ask for a quick return flight, would it? If he could take a plane, then places like Zijin Base and Red Stone Base would be within reach! ¡°Mhmm!¡± The two women nodded again. Then, Lan Yulian¡¯s face suddenly took on a guilty expression. ¡°You left us so many great things, yet we have nothing to give you¡­¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao smiled and spoke: ¡°You two are the best gifts Heaven has ever given me.¡± Even though it might sound cheesy, at that moment, the two women loved hearing it. Lan Yulian¡¯s gaze at Wang Tao seemed like it was about to overflow with emotion. ¡°Wang Tao¡­¡± Lan Yulian hugged Wang Tao and acted affectionately for a while. Lu Yingfeng was somewhat restrained, but naturally, Wang Tao ensured he treated them equally, pulling her into his embrace as well. Then he decisively let go of both. ¡°Alright, I really must go now.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see you off.¡± Today, indeed, it started to rain, although it wasn¡¯t too heavy. Wang Tao¡¯s car was already parked outside. It was the same car Yang Changhong had given him. The car was already loaded with a lot of supplies, and Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and Jiang Shixue were all inside. Last night, Jiang Shixue conveniently did not appear in Wang Tao¡¯s room. She had become sensible! ¡°Wang Tao, I really wanted to go with you, but¡­ I can¡¯t be so selfish. After all, there are so many survivors here, and I have to take responsibility for them. I¡¯m sorry¡­ If it¡¯s too dangerous outside, remember to come back!¡± Before getting into the car, Lan Yulian whispered to Wang Tao. She wasn¡¯t keen on power; she was just a person with a strong sense of responsibility. If she hadn¡¯t been the Leader of Zijin Base, it would be different, but now she had become the Leader of the entire Zijin Base, and she would definitely take up this responsibility. At the very least, she had to set the base on the right track. With the base¡¯s reforms just beginning, if she left, the base would not be able to operate. Only when she could ensure that the base could run smoothly without her, would she possibly consider leaving. ¡°Silly woman, what are you apologizing for? When I recommended you to be the Leader of Zijin Base, I knew you were suited for it. Since you have the capability, you should definitely use it! I¡¯m not only not blaming you, but I¡¯m also proud of you because of it!¡± Wang Tao ruffled her hair. For Wang Tao, leaving Lan Yulian here was like leaving a way out for himself. If he ever encountered any insurmountable dangers in the future, he would still have Zijin Base as an option. Moved by his words, Lan Yulian felt even more emotional. After another impulsive kiss with Wang Tao, she finally let go of him. Wang Tao got into the car and sat in the back with Jiang Shixue. Xu Xiaojun drove, with Nie Siyan in the passenger seat. Lu Yingfeng drove another vehicle, not bringing anyone else, and the two cars arrived at the entrance of Zijin Base in a very low-key manner. Once outside, Wang Tao didn¡¯t get out of the car. He rolled down the window and said to Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng: ¡°Jade Lotus, Little Feng, be safe, I¡¯ll be back for you.¡± ¡°Mhmm!¡± Rumble~ The SUV entered the rain and slowly disappeared from Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng¡¯s sight. Lan Yulian stared blankly in the direction Wang Tao left, and after a long while, her gaze became firm again. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. We still have so many tasks. We¡¯ll wait for him here!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Yingfeng steered the vehicle, driving into the base. At that moment, as if remembering something, Lan Yulian suddenly turned to Lu Yingfeng and said: ¡°By the way, move back in with me tonight.¡± With Wang Tao gone, she would be lonely. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment. If it had been before, she wouldn¡¯t have minded sharing a bed with Lan Yulian. But after what happened the night before, she always felt awkward in front of Lan Yulian, not knowing quite how to face her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? After trying something better, you start to dislike me?¡± Lan Yulian raised her eyebrows. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about!¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face turned red. ¡°No? Then move in and wait for me tonight all clean and fresh! I never realized before how sensitive you were. Just a touch and¡­ hmm hmm!¡± Lan Yulian had a mischievous look on her face. ¡°¡­¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face turned as red as a beet. Chapter 548 - Chapter 548: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_3 Chapter 548: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_3 She suddenly felt that the days ahead would be difficult to endure. ¡°Wang Tao, you must come back quickly!¡± She silently chanted in her heart. ¡­ After Wang Tao left Zijin Base, he didn¡¯t immediately leave Zijing City, instead, he took another turn around the downtown area. Only after confirming several times that the fourth-order monster must have left did Wang Tao let Xu Xiaojun drive them out of Zijing City. The Zijing City they had talked about before usually referred to the downtown area. All the major powers and such were located within the city center, including Zijin Base, which was relatively remote but still within the city limits. Of course, Zijing City wasn¡¯t just the downtown area, it also included suburbs, rural towns, and such, so Zijing City was very large. Leaving the bounds of Zijing City also took some time. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry, feeling that this heavy rain wouldn¡¯t stop for ten days and a half month, so time was plentiful. However, when speaking of rain in the post-apocalyptic world, no matter the size, as soon as it rained, it definitely wasn¡¯t a good thing! Through past experiences, after every heavy rain, the overall strength of the zombies would increase a lot. This time was probably no exception¡­ Inside the car. Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, checking her attributes and physical condition. There were four people in the car, three of them were level 3, with only Jiang Shixue stuck at level 2. Although Jiang Shixue wasn¡¯t in a hurry, Wang Tao was somewhat anxious. After all, if she couldn¡¯t ascend to level 3 after a long time, she would fall behind. Of course, even though Jiang Shixue hadn¡¯t reached level 3, her strength was still quite strong. However, Wang Tao felt that it would be even better if she could become stronger! Wang Tao had tried many crystal cores with Jiang Shixue, including Ascension crystal cores and Omnipotent Crystal Cores, but she could not merge with any of them. This left Wang Tao without a solution, but recently he had a lot of Zombie Culture Fluid, and since it was a waste to keep it, he would cultivate Jiang Shixue whenever he could. Although the cultivation didn¡¯t increase Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP, it seemed there was a slight improvement in her physical fitness, so this wasn¡¯t considered a waste¡­ In the passenger seat, Nie Siyan saw through the rearview mirror how Wang Tao cared so much for Jiang Shixue, and she felt envious. She wished she could get such attention from Wang Tao too. But soon, Nie Siyan felt happy again. Because in the coming days, she could stay with Wang Tao all the time! Previously, when they were in the base, Wang Tao was always with Lan Yulian, so she rarely had a chance to approach him. She also felt that she couldn¡¯t compete with Lan Yulian and had no competitive edge in front of her. At that time, she was afraid that Wang Tao would dump her. Fortunately, Wang Tao didn¡¯t choose to stay at Zijin Base and decided to go to Wuyang City, and he specifically kept her with him! Thinking of this, Nie Siyan was very excited inside. The upcoming period would be her time ¡°alone¡± with Wang Tao; she had to seize it! At this moment, several elite zombies appeared on the road, among them one was a level 2 elite zombie, and the others were level 1 elite zombies. Upon seeing this, Nie Siyan immediately told Xu Xiaojun to stop the car; she ran out into the heavy rain and easily handled the zombies. After collecting the crystal cores, she didn¡¯t return to the passenger seat, but instead, brazenly moved to the back seat. Wang Tao glanced at her but didn¡¯t say much. The vehicle was a luxurious, large, five-seater off-road car, and the rear space was very spacious. Wang Tao sitting in the middle didn¡¯t feel crowded at all. ¡°Hehe, Brother Wang, crystal cores!¡± Nie Siyan immediately passed the crystal cores to him. A level 2 Jumping Crystal Core, faced with the level 3 Nie Siyan, that zombie didn¡¯t even get a chance to jump before it was killed. Wang Tao checked Nie Siyan¡¯s HP; killing that level 2 elite zombie only increased her HP by 120, which was a slight boost to her current 40,000 HP. The other level 1 elite zombies didn¡¯t increase her HP at all. ¡°After ascending to level 3, the HP gained from killing level 2 zombies is halved. Level 1 elite zombies don¡¯t add any HP at all. This is similar to the situation at level 2. Hunting must focus on level 3 zombies from now on¡­¡± Wang Tao thought silently. He just didn¡¯t know if there were many level 3 zombies in other places. No matter the number, he was conflicted. After all, although more level 3 zombies meant more hunting opportunities to gain HP, it also meant more danger. ¡°Brother Wang, you¡¯ve been working hard all day and night, you must be tired. Let me give you a massage,¡± Nie Siyan whispered beside him. Wang Tao always felt there was more to her words, but he didn¡¯t refuse. With his permission, Nie Siyan immediately began massaging Wang Tao. And she really had good technique, making Wang Tao doze off. ¡°Not bad.¡± A simple compliment made Nie Siyan incredibly happy. She suddenly filled with confidence. She must seize this rare opportunity and try to raise her status in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes! She didn¡¯t aspire to reach the stature of Jiang Shixue or Lan Yulian; as long as she could rank as high as Xu Xiaojun, she would be satisfied! Due to zombies¡¯ senses being severely impaired by the rain, the journey was relatively smooth and safe. Occasional zombies were easily dealt with by Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun. Thus, three days later, Wang Tao and his group finally left the bounds of Zijing City and officially entered Wuyang City. The heavy rain continued unabated, growing even heavier. Wang Tao planned to find a place to rest for a while. The corrosive acid rain was rather severe; even the steel plates of the car were corroded. He needed to check and maintain the car. Otherwise, running in the corrosive acid rain like this, the car might be scrapped before they even reached the military base. ¡°There¡¯s a town ahead¡­ There seems to be a Survivor Base ¡ª wait, why does that person look somewhat familiar?¡± Chapter 549 - Chapter 549: Chapter 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_1 chapter 549: chapter 234 encounter with yang changhong_1 wuyang city, duzhu town. this small town is situated at the easternmost edge of wuyang city, neighboring zijing city. though it lies at the junction of the two cities, this has not brought any benefits to duzhu town; on the contrary, it made the town even poorer. bearing the situation where the young population either work in zijing city or wuyang city, even choosing to buy houses and settle in those cities, resulted in a massive outflow of young people from duzhu town, leaving not many long-term residents. of course, it¡¯s not just duzhu town; many other small places are experiencing this to some extent. it¡¯s just that the situation in duzhu town is relatively more severe. however, having a smaller population does have its advantages. for instance, during the outbreak of the zombie virus, the fewer the people, the smaller the danger. in this respect, duzhu town was quite lucky. after the first wave of the virus outbreak, due to the sparse population and fewer zombies, many people in duzhu town survived. these survivors then united and established a small-scale survivor base in duzhu town that still stands to this day. but in recent times, quite a few unfamiliar faces have appeared in duzhu town, which has brought a lot of life to the relatively quiet town¡­ ¡­ there are no tall buildings in duzhu town, and wang tao, with his good eyesight, noticed the presence of survivors from afar. he initially planned to rest anywhere, but since there was a survivor base, he naturally wanted to check it out. at the entrance of the duzhu town survivor base, several modified vehicles had already stopped and were lining up to enter. when xu xiaojun drove there, wang tao noticed a somewhat familiar vehicle in front. during the inspection, the car window rolled down, revealing the person inside, and wang tao was slightly surprised. ¡°yang changhong? she¡¯s actually here?¡± wang tao had not expected to encounter yang changhong here. previously, wang tao heard jade lotus mention that she saw yang changhong in zijing city and even invited her to their club. but yang changhong refused, saying she had seen traces of her younger sister and had gone to find her. could it be that she had found her sister? or is her sister here? wang tao had not interacted with yang changhong for long, but they already had deep communication. he had also developed an image of her in his mind¡ªwell, okay, it could be said he coveted her body. in any case, it¡¯s all the same. being able to meet again, wang tao felt quite happy in his heart. but then wang tao took another look at the vehicles behind yang changhong; they didn¡¯t seem to be from her convoy. had the convoy changed vehicles? or had something happened? wang tao was curious, but he didn¡¯t call out to her right away. the suv came to a stop behind the last car and started lining up to enter the duzhu town survivor base. the duzhu town base, naturally, could not compare to the zijin base, but it was still a bona fide base. it had high walls, barbed wire, security checkpoints, and a few guards armed with handguns. however, seeing that their handguns were all rusty, wang tao seriously doubted if they would even fire. ¡°please remove your glasses and cooperate with our inspection¡­ we need to check everyone¡¯s eyes, and please do not hide anyone¡­¡± wang tao realized that the checks here were similar to those at shuize base, simply looking for any whiteness in the eyes. there was no energy detector here. and they didn¡¯t meticulously search the vehicles¡­ overall, it wasn¡¯t as stringent as the shuize base. however, it was understandable. after all, the inspectors at the gate were only level 1 ability users, and it seemed that the overall strength of the people in this base was not too high. whereas the people inside these foreign vehicles were all level two ability users. facing the powerful, they didn¡¯t dare to be too aggressive. by the time wang tao¡¯s vehicle arrived, yang changhong¡¯s vehicle had already been inspected and had gone in, and wang tao saw that she was the only one in the car. after spending some time, it was finally wang tao¡¯s turn. before the inspectors arrived, wang tao could hear them whispering. ¡°what¡¯s been going on lately, why are there always people coming to our base¡­¡± ¡°i heard that many people are fleeing from disaster¡­¡± ¡°fleeing from disaster? what disaster?¡± ¡°hurry up and check, we¡¯ll talk after the inspection¡­¡± two inspectors came up to wang tao¡¯s vehicle and knocked on the window. these were two middle-aged men in their forties, wrapped up very tightly and holding a very large and thick oil-paper umbrella that looked heavy. however, for them as level 1 ability users, it wasn¡¯t hard to hold. ¡°good day, sir! if you wish to enter our duzhu town base, please cooperate with our inspection. we only need to check the pupils of everyone in your vehicle¡­¡± wang tao and the others rolled down their windows. the two inspectors, upon seeing the four faces in the car, were somewhat startled. startled by their vibrant spirit. they had inspected quite a few external survivors recently, and regardless of their strength, they were all visibly exhausted. not like the four people in wang tao¡¯s car, who appeared relaxed and in good spirits, as if they were on a leisure trip! and there were two beauties, one older and one younger! in these end times, everyone was struggling to survive, who had the energy for grooming? based on their experience, beauties in the post-apocalyptic world were either big shots or beauties kept by big shots¡ªboth of which were not to be provoked! as for how strong the four people in the car were¡­ these two inspectors actually couldn¡¯t tell! ability users could generally sense each other to some extent, being able to feel what level the other was at. however, this had a prerequisite: either the levels of both parties were not too far apart, or one side was exceptionally adept with their ability, able to conceal their energy. Chapter 550 - Chapter 550: Chapter 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_2 chapter 550: chapter 234 encounter with yang changhong_2 ¡°` for instance, a level 1 ability user might recognize a level 2 ability user, but if a level 1 ability user encountered a level 3 ability user, they might not be able to tell. the two inspectors here couldn¡¯t sense what level of ability users wang tao and his group were; they felt just like ordinary people. but who would have the courage to venture outside at a time like this, if not someone extraordinary? could they be level 3 ability users? are there level 3 ability users now? or is it that they have mastered control over their abilities so well that they are able to conceal their aura? regardless of which it was, these four people were undoubtedly formidable, and they should try not to offend them at all costs! he reminded himself to give a heads-up to the others at the base to be careful. a moment later. the two inspection officers both gestured invitingly. ¡°mr. wang, please!¡± to enter this base, registration was required, and recording the name of one person sufficed. although identity cards were no longer used and there was no way to verify if the name given was real, the purpose of the base wasn¡¯t to check household registrations, but to have a way to address people in case of future events. ¡°i just heard you mention that many outsiders have recently come to your base? can you tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± upon hearing wang tao¡¯s question, the speaker didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately replied: ¡°that¡¯s right. in the past two months, indeed, some outsiders have passed through duzhu town. i¡¯ve heard them say that many of them encountered zombie waves, their encampments were destroyed, and they had no choice but to flee. our military base in wuyang city is relatively well-known, and many people are aware of it, so they wanted to come and try their luck to see if they could get into the military base¡­¡± wang tao suddenly understood. it was the zombie waves. when he had been with yang changhong, they had experienced a wave of zombies. the sheer horror of it made him suspect that few bases could withstand such an assault. but had there been frequent zombie waves recently? could there be an underlying issue or a presage of some sort? wang tao didn¡¯t know, but the frequent occurrence of zombie waves was certainly not a good sign. ¡°thanks.¡± wang tao casually took out a level 1 white crystal core and tossed it to the man. the man caught it instinctively, but when he saw what he was holding, his eyes widened in astonishment. lucky day! what¡¯s the meaning of this? a tip? using crystal cores as tips? how generous! ¡°mr. wang, you¡¯re too courteous!¡± the man¡¯s face was smiling, but it was an obviously professional, fake smile. however, now, he grinned as brightly as a blooming chrysanthemum. then, as if something dawned on him, he hurriedly added: ¡°oh, right, mr. wang, are you passing through here to go to the military base as well? i must make it clear to you; i¡¯m not sure what the situation is like over at the military base, but i know it is extremely dangerous! not just the military base, the entire wuyang city urban area is extremely dangerous! over the last few months, quite a few people have passed through here, aiming for wuyang city or the military base, and we¡¯ve mostly lost contact with them¡­ at first, i thought they were safe, but then some came back, and they said it was too dangerous there, a certain death trap! those who managed to escape back turned into zombies just half a day later, which caused a lot of chaos in our base¡­¡± this news was almost the same as what wang tao had heard. he nodded slightly: ¡°thank you, this information is very important to me. so, you¡¯re saying that there are virtually no survivors in the wuyang city urban area?¡± ¡°yes, virtually none! perhaps there¡¯s the odd one or two, it¡¯s hard to say. but generally speaking, it¡¯s almost deserted; for the living, it¡¯s practically hell on earth!¡± the man looked genuinely frightened, as if he had witnessed it firsthand. ¡°alright, i¡¯ll give it more thought. i¡¯ll go inside now.¡± ¡°ah, please do!¡± the man immediately bowed. wang tao¡¯s car was the last in line. once he went in, there were no more people. after wang tao¡¯s car entered, the man straightened up immediately. his companion looked at him with envy. ¡°damn, what kind of stroke of luck is this? you got a crystal core just like that?¡± ¡°heh! jealous, aren¡¯t you? learn from this! if another rich person comes along, next time it could be your lucky break!¡± ¡°makes sense¡­¡± ¡­ having passed the check and entered into duzhu town¡¯s camp, one could see several guards behind the gate. however, besides two of the guards holding rusty pistols, the rest were armed with long knives, spears, and the like. these guards were also level 1 ability users, clearly indicating that the camp¡¯s defenses were not particularly strong. but as long as they could stop the zombies, it was enough; duzhu town didn¡¯t have too many zombies, nor any particularly strong ones, so the camp¡¯s defenses were obviously sufficient. ¡°these buildings must be quite old. if it were peacetime, staying here for a few days might be quite nice¡­¡± seeing the scenery outside, nie siyan sighed. it was raining corrosive acid rain now, and one couldn¡¯t stay out in the rain for long. the streets of the base were empty. however, there were thoughtful signs with arrows pointing the way. ¡°straight ahead is the parking lot; there¡¯s also a trading hall and living quarters. let¡¯s head there,¡± wang tao said to xu xiaojun. ¡°alright.¡± soon, wang tao¡¯s car arrived at the parking lot. the parking lot had been adapted from an abandoned building, without a door, but with walls and a roof sufficient to shield from the corrosive acid rain. at the entrance to the parking lot was a balding middle-aged man, around fifty, who was registering names in a small notebook. ¡°` Chapter 551 - Chapter 551: Chapter 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_3 chapter 551: chapter 234 encounter with yang changhong_3 wang tao parked his car next to yang changhong¡¯s. then he registered his name and car. ¡°mr. wang, rest assured, our parking lot is manned, just lock your doors, and we guarantee that nothing will be taken from your car!¡± the bald middle-aged man assured, patting his chest. ¡°hmm.¡± wang tao nodded. he came fully armed this time, unless someone forced their way in, there was no way they could pry the door open. he casually threw a white level 1 garbage crystal core to the man. ¡°thanks for the trouble.¡± just like the previous inspector, the bald middle-aged man was taken aback for a moment before subconsciously catching the crystal core. upon realizing he was holding a level 1 crystal core in his hand, he widened his eyes and stammered: ¡°wang, mr. wang? w-we don¡¯t charge for parking¡­¡± the fact of the matter was, in the beginning, the leader of their base was inclined to charge a fee, since making some money was always good, but it was later rescinded. the reason was simple¡ªif someone could drive their car here and park it, they were generally second-order superpower owners. and in their base, there was only one second-order superpower owner¡­ in the absence of legal stipulations, the one with the biggest fist had the final say. you don¡¯t have the strength and still want to charge a fee? that was just asking for death! as is widely known, many people, especially those who had not fared well before the end of the world, tend to become inflated and even psychologically twisted once they gained strength after the apocalypse. even if the fees they charged were not high, it could appear offensive in the eyes of some hot-tempered individuals¡ªit was like looking down on them! if someone got unhappy and confronted the base, that would be a disaster! of course, although they didn¡¯t charge a fee, there were a small number of people who would give tips. these tips were a bonus for them. not much, but better than nothing. ¡°no charge? then consider it a tip for you.¡± wang tao waved his hand dismissively. ¡°a tip?¡± in the post-apocalyptic world, the valuable things pretty much fell into a few categories: food, weapons, vehicles, and the most valuable of all, crystal cores. he never expected wang tao would actually give him a crystal core as a tip! even if it was the lowest-grade level 1 white crystal core, it was still a crystal core! this could be exchanged for a lot of food in the trade hall! after a moment of stunned silence, the man immediately stood at attention. ¡°yes! mr. wang, rest assured, i will take good care of your car! there won¡¯t be any problems!¡± ¡°hmm.¡± wang tao nodded, ready to leave. the man immediately brought out four bulky-looking oil-paper umbrellas from a corner and handed them to wang tao. ¡°mr. wang, these are the umbrellas we make here, especially for these acid rains! this umbrella can withstand at least three hours of corrosion!¡± ¡°oh? interesting.¡± wang tao took them and handed one to each xu xiaojun and the others. then he headed towards the trade hall. once wang tao left, the bald middle-aged man immediately called out. ¡°guys, get some clean water, let¡¯s give mr. wang¡¯s car a good wash!¡± ¡­ the trade hall was the largest building in duzhu town base, a three-story structure that seemed to have been converted from a small shopping mall. the first floor was the trade hall, providing a trading space and a place to post bounty tasks. the second floor was specially prepared for visitors¡¯ accommodation. of course, you could stay elsewhere if you didn¡¯t want to stay here; it was quite free. the third floor was where the leadership of duzhu town base lived and dealt with daily affairs. the trade hall was located right next to the parking lot, just a few steps away. upon arriving at the trade hall, it was busier inside than wang tao had imagined, filled with people. the entrance of wang tao and his group immediately drew quite a bit of attention. it couldn¡¯t be helped, the stature of xu xiaojun and wang tao was too striking: one was two meters tall, the other was two meters twenty. both of them standing at the entrance could block out the light. as for the two beautiful women beside wang tao, they didn¡¯t attract as much attention. after all, wang tao and his companions clearly were not ones to be trifled with; for all anyone knew, the beauties might be their forbidden fruit. it wasn¡¯t worth the trouble of looking for trouble. among the outsiders there, two of them became somewhat uncertain upon seeing wang tao and his group. ¡°level 3? really?¡± they could vaguely sense an oppressive aura distinct from level 1 and level 2 ability users emanating from xu xiaojun and nie siyan, but it wasn¡¯t as evident as that of a level 3 zombie¡­ wang tao ignored the gazes of others, scanned the area, and did not spot zhang hong. ¡°excuse me, sir, my name is zheng hai. may i help you with anything?¡± at that moment, a short, plump middle-aged man with only a few hundred hp walked over, nodding and bowing to wang tao. ¡°i¡¯m looking for someone. an outsider, a woman who is quite pretty¡­¡± wang tao described her simply. zheng hai thought for a moment, then tentatively asked: ¡°i think i know who you are looking for. may i be so bold as to ask what your relationship with the lady is¡­¡± their base dreads incidents involving grudges because, if a fight breaks out, they can¡¯t afford to offend either party. however, judging by the look of wang tao and his companions, they didn¡¯t seem like they were after revenge, which is why he dared to ask. of course, the most important point was that his good brother from the inspection team had just communicated with him using a walkie-talkie, saying that a group of very generous bosses had arrived¡­ ¡°good friends.¡± wang tao replied. ¡°alright, please wait a moment, i¡¯ll go notify¡ª¡± zheng hai hadn¡¯t finished speaking when wang tao threw him a white crystal core. ¡°take me to her.¡± wang tao said calmly. looking at the crystal core in his hand, zheng hai suppressed his excitement and said: ¡°please follow me!¡± he led wang tao and his group to a room on the second floor and stopped outside the door. wang tao knocked directly. knock knock knock¡ª ¡°who is it?¡± a wary female voice came from inside. wang tao was very familiar with this voice; it was indeed yang changhong. ¡°it¡¯s me.¡± wang tao spoke deliberately in a lowered voice. click¡ª the door opened a crack, and yang changhong¡¯s haggard face appeared. upon seeing wang tao at the door, she froze. then she instinctively reached out. ¡°am i¡­ dreaming again¡­¡± Chapter 552 - Chapter 552: Chapter 235 Do you still have planes here?_1 chapter 552: chapter 235 do you still have planes here?_1 wang tao grabbed yang changhong¡¯s hand and then, smiling, said: ¡°what? don¡¯t recognize me anymore?¡± ¡°it really is you!¡± only then did yang changhong react, instinctively throwing herself into wang tao¡¯s arms. breathing in his scent, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of security. then she quickly let go of wang tao, her face showing a hint of embarrassment. ¡°sorry, i got a little excited seeing someone familiar, come in and let¡¯s talk!¡± yang changhong quickly ushered wang tao and his group inside. the room inside was larger than wang tao had imagined, with three bedrooms and a living room. after inviting wang tao and his companions to sit in the living room, yang changhong suddenly became somewhat silent. her relationship with wang tao was actually quite awkward. to call them friends was not quite right, since they were closer than ordinary friends, having known each other so well. but lovers wasn¡¯t suitable either. their time together had not been long, and apart from the physical, they knew little else about each other¡­ the only fitting description, perhaps, was ¡°friends with benefits¡±? the reason she had been intimate with wang tao was because she felt that either of them could die at any time, so she might as well indulge herself before death. she never anticipated that they would meet again. so after the initial excitement, yang changhong felt a bit awkward. it was wang tao who broke the silence; he briefly introduced nie siyan to yang changhong. they had not met before. xu xiaojun and jiang shixue had met yang changhong before, so there was no need for introductions. ¡°hello!¡± the two women shook hands. yang changhong wasn¡¯t surprised to see another woman with wang tao. she had seen many strong individuals with multiple partners before, both men and women. as for nie siyan, she felt somewhat resigned. she had thought this trip to the military base would be a time for her to be alone with wang tao. but by the looks of it, there would likely be another person joining them, and one who had a close relationship with wang tao¡­ of course, she certainly wouldn¡¯t reveal her thoughts, as causing wang tao to be unhappy would be unfortunate. wang tao, looking at yang changhong who didn¡¯t know what to say, took the initiative and asked: ¡°zhang hong, what¡¯s your situation now? how come you¡¯re alone? i heard from lan yulian that you had news of your sister?¡± hearing this, yang changhong was somewhat surprised. ¡°you¡¯ve seen jade lotus? that makes sense, with both of you in zijing city, you would have the chance to meet. as for me¡­¡± yang changhong recounted her experiences since she had separated from wang tao. half an hour later, wang tao understood her situation. in short, not long after separating from wang tao, yang changhong also went to zijing city downtown. that was exactly when wang tao had captured nie siyan and gone to the skull club¡¯s lair. therefore, on her way to the downtown area, apart from zombies, yang changhong didn¡¯t encounter any human threats. if it hadn¡¯t been for wang tao, it¡¯s possible she and nie siyan might have met. given the circumstances at the time, it was hard to say who would have won or lost. yang changhong¡¯s purpose for coming to zijing city was to see if she could find her sister, even though she had little hope. to her surprise, she did come across some information about her sister¡ªshe met a classmate of her sister who had seen her in zijing city. but it was just a passing meeting, and they didn¡¯t even have the chance to speak; afterward, her sister wasn¡¯t seen again. though the news couldn¡¯t be confirmed as true or false, she still began to search frantically in zijing city. during her search, she met lan yulian. lan yulian invited her to stay, but she refused, using the excuse of looking for her sister. moreover, at that time, she had just found some clues and left without much discussion with lan yulian. unfortunately, in the end, she couldn¡¯t find her sister. however, she discovered some other information about her sister. all these clues pointed in one direction¡ªher sister had left with a group of people heading towards wuyang city, and most likely to the military base, because there weren¡¯t many survivors left anywhere else in wuyang city. at that time, yang changhong suddenly regretted not going with wang tao to wuyang city. of course, she didn¡¯t know that at that time, wang tao was still in zijing city. zijing city was large; wang tao¡¯s activities were all within the downtown area. yang changhong went to many other places, so it was normal that they didn¡¯t run into each other. yang changhong knew wuyang city was dangerous, but she had to go. she didn¡¯t want her subordinates to risk their lives by accompanying her¡ªand she could tell that they weren¡¯t keen on going. therefore, yang changhong disbanded her team and let her subordinates stay in zijing city. they were in the suburbs at that time, so those subordinates headed for a small camp there. yang changhong set off towards wuyang city alone in a car. although she wasn¡¯t weak, traveling alone still led her to encounter many troubles. fortunately, it had rained recently, which quickened her pace, and she arrived in wuyang city half a day earlier than wang tao. and her reason for coming to duzhu town was not to avoid the rain, but because there was news of her sister here. ¡°i really didn¡¯t expect to meet you here; i thought you had already gone to the military base and that i would never see you again in this lifetime¡­¡± after chatting with wang tao for a while, yang changhong¡¯s excitement had somewhat subsided, yet she still felt very moved. ¡°so, what are your plans going forward?¡± wang tao asked again. yang changhong didn¡¯t answer but instead looked at wang tao. Chapter 553 - Chapter 553: Chapter 235 Do you still have planes here?_2 chapter 553: chapter 235 do you still have planes here?_2 looking at her tired expression, wang tao invited her with a smile: ¡°then come with me, we¡¯re headed in the same direction.¡± ¡°okay~¡± a radiant smile instantly appeared on yang changhong¡¯s face. she naturally wanted to accompany wang tao, not only because he was strong, but also because they were on the same path. however, she had a bit of pride and didn¡¯t really want to take the initiative to ask. luckily, wang tao took the initiative to invite her. this made her feel very grateful. ¡°what exactly is the news about your sister?¡± if her sister was still alive, that would definitely be good news. ¡°someone saw her in duzhu town, described some of her characteristics, and those characteristics are ones i¡¯ve never mentioned before. so there¡¯s a high probability that it¡¯s her! right now, i just want to know if she left any other clues here¡­¡± yang changhong spoke with some excitement. ¡°i see.¡± wang tao nodded. he was a bit worried that yang changhong might be deceived, even though she used to be a very capable boss. when it comes to someone she cares about, she might lose some of her judgment. but now it seemed fine, her thoughts were still very clear. ¡°what about you, why did you come here?¡± yang changhong was curious. if wang tao hadn¡¯t come to the duzhu town base, they might never have met again in their lives. the reason wang tao came was, of course, because his car had been exposed to the corrosive acid rain for too long, and he wanted to find a place to rest and repair it. but wang tao said: ¡°i originally planned to take advantage of the rain to hurry to the military base. but by chance, i saw your car at the entrance of the duzhu town base, so i came over.¡± nie siyan, who was beside him, upon hearing this, immediately looked down on wang tao a bit. he had clearly planned to come to the duzhu town base first before seeing yang changhong, but wang tao made it sound like he purposely went to the duzhu town base for yang changhong. poor sister, unable to escape wang tao¡¯s clutches! but thinking about it, she felt a bit envious¡­ upon hearing this, yang changhong¡¯s heartbeat sped up a bit, as if she had been struck by cupid¡¯s arrow. she instinctively grabbed wang tao¡¯s hand, and he in turn firmly held her small hand. ¡°have you eaten yet? if not, shall we eat something together?¡± ¡°sure! i haven¡¯t had a full meal in a while¡­¡± yang changhong had a magical stomach pouch from wang tao, but there was not much food left in it. recently, she had been eating sparingly, and she came here partly to exchange for some food. wang tao brought some food, and they ate simply. at that moment, a knock on the door suddenly came from outside. ¡°mr. wang, ms. yang, i hope i¡¯m not disturbing you¡­¡± it was zheng hai¡¯s voice. wang tao had xu xiaojun open the door, and zheng hai stood outside holding a notebook. ¡°here¡¯s the thing, we¡¯ve had a lot of visitors in the past few days, all from different places, so our leader wants to organize a gathering to exchange information and allow for trade amongst ourselves. if you¡¯re willing, i can register your name¡­¡± ¡°sure.¡± wang tao nodded. he was almost completely in the dark about wuyang city, so getting some information would be great. ¡°great, where did you come from? and ms. yang?¡± zheng hai asked again. although wang tao and yang changhong knew each other, it was clear they didn¡¯t come together, so he asked for clarification. ¡°i came from zijing city downtown.¡± ¡°i suppose i am from the outskirts of zijing city¡­¡± ¡°okay.¡± zheng hai registered the information from both of them, then handed the notebook to wang tao. ¡°mr. wang, you can have a look to see where the others have come from; you might find some of your friends among them.¡± wang tao glanced at it, and naturally, there were no friends. he did not recognize a single one of the registered names. however, the origins of these people surprised wang tao. ¡°are there people from other provinces as well?¡± traveling from zijing city to wuyang city was already challenging, as the two cities were neighbors. coming from another province, even cangsong province which was adjacent to wuyang city, would mean covering a much greater distance than from zijing city. hearing wang tao¡¯s confusion, yang changhong explained: ¡°if they had a choice, they definitely wouldn¡¯t want to travel such a long distance, but they were chased by hordes of zombies, fleeing for their lives. during such escapes, they basically ended up wherever they could survive.¡± ¡°that makes sense.¡± wang tao nodded, then asked zheng hai: ¡°what¡¯s the exact time?¡± ¡°tonight, in the trading hall downstairs!¡± zheng hai replied promptly. ¡°okay.¡± ¡°does mr. wang need another room? as long as you are a second-order superpower owner, you can stay in any of the vacant rooms here!¡± zheng hai offered. their entire base had only one level 2 ability user as their leader, so they treated other second-order superpower owners with great respect and caution. ¡°no need, we¡¯ll just stay here.¡± the place where yang changhong was staying already had three rooms, which was enough for wang tao to stay in. ¡°alright then, mr. wang, please continue with your business.¡± zheng hai took his leave respectfully. it was afternoon, and wang tao had nothing to do for now, so he took a few people to the parking lot to repair his car. the protective layers on his car needed to be replaced after being exposed to the acid rain for so long. ¡°huh? the car¡¯s been washed clean, too.¡± wang tao was a bit surprised, it seemed that the people in the parking area were quite considerate. seeing that wang tao was still driving the car she had given him, while the other cars from her fleet were gone, yang changhong felt a little emotional. Chapter 554 - Chapter 554: Chapter 235 Do you still have planes here?_3 chapter 554: chapter 235 do you still have planes here?_3 ¡°back then there were more than ten vehicles together, and now only these two are left¡­¡± after everyone finished organizing the cars, night had already fallen. ¡°let¡¯s go. check out the hall.¡± ¡°okay.¡± the number of people inside the trading hall was much less than during the day, but it was livelier. most of the locals who were there during the day had left. now the place was full of outsiders who were stronger, and many of them were trading with each other, bringing out items that were much better than what the locals had. ¡°mr. wang!¡± at this moment, zheng hai came over with several middle-aged men and women. ¡°let me introduce you, this is our base leader, fan peng¡­¡± fan peng was a tall middle-aged man with second-order strength, but his hp was not even ten thousand. his mana was also not much, and he had no hidden attributes. this was an ordinary second-order ability user. ¡°mr. wang, hello, i¡¯ve heard a lot about you!¡± when he was still at a distance, fan peng bent slightly at the waist and extended both hands. ¡°hello.¡± wang tao shook his hand. after a few polite exchanges, fan peng said: ¡°mr. wang tao, if there¡¯s anything you need our help with, just mention it. i will do my best to satisfy your needs!¡± he positioned himself very humbly. he had to be humble, as these outsiders were not easy to provoke, with almost every team having several level two ability users. their base had only one level two ability user. if there really was a conflict, their small base would not withstand the turmoil caused by these ability users. moreover, his subordinates reminded him that there might be a level three ability user among wang tao¡¯s group! he had to be even more cautious and submissive! of course, there was also a most important point: wang tao¡¯s group was very wealthy! due to the small population and few zombies in duzhu town, crystal cores were also scarce. for them, crystal cores were a very rare resource. now that such a ¡°rich man¡± had come, if they could trade for some crystal cores from wang tao to help cultivate some ability users, that would be very worthwhile. so he was exceptionally polite to wang tao. ¡°alright, then we¡¯ll trouble you.¡± wang tao said with a smile. ¡°haha, no trouble at all, no trouble! please, this way mr. wang¡­¡± fan peng led wang tao and his group to the center of the trading hall. when the others saw this, they also immediately stood up. although they were considered strong in this place, they still had a big gap compared to wang tao¡¯s team, which was suspected to have a level three ability user. especially wang tao and xu xiaojun, their physiques were so oppressive, they looked hard to mess with. ¡°hello everyone.¡± wang tao greeted everyone with a smile and then sat down in the spot arranged by fan peng. fan peng stood in the middle and addressed the crowd. ¡°ladies and gentlemen, i am fan peng, the leader of duzhu town. the purpose of hosting this exchange is to share what we have and what we lack; there are no rules here, and everyone should speak freely¡­¡± wang tao also took the opportunity to observe the other people. there were more than thirty outsiders, a considerable number. among them, twenty were level two ability users, and the rest were level one ability users, with not a single ordinary person among them. however, among these level two ability users, only two had 29999 hp, one male and one female. the man was named cai ping, in his forties. the woman was named tan ya, in her thirties. the rest were mostly between ten thousand and twenty thousand hp. in wang tao¡¯s view, of course, this strength was not enough, but actually, it wasn¡¯t weak either. they could be considered second- or third-tier people¡­ after fan peng finished speaking, everyone began to exchange with each other, some seeking information, others bringing out items for trade. but these people didn¡¯t have any good crystal cores in hand, or maybe they had some but didn¡¯t bring them out. anyway, wang tao was not interested in them. however, fan peng beside him seemed very interested. unfortunately, the things they wanted were either vehicles or weapons which fan peng simply couldn¡¯t provide. their base had plenty of food, but since level two ability users could generally find food themselves, the value of food was relatively not so high. ¡°do you need anything?¡± wang tao looked towards yang changhong, xu xiaojun, and the others. they all shook their heads; wang tao¡¯s supplies were quite sufficient, and they weren¡¯t lacking anything for now. since they didn¡¯t need supplies, they went straight to exchanging information. wang tao cleared his throat and said: ¡°ladies and gentlemen, i want to know what the situation is like in your areas¡­¡± to show sincerity, wang tao first roughly described the situation in zijing city. hearing that the survivors in zijing city were all inside a large base where they could grow vegetables and grains, and that there was even a level three ability user there, everyone¡¯s eyes, including fan peng¡¯s, lit up. ¡°damn! zijing city has such a place? if i had known, i would have headed for zijing city!¡± someone regretted. ¡°damn it! i had planned to escape to zijing city, but i lost my map and ended up taking the wrong road to wuyang city¡­¡± someone was even more regretful. ¡°it¡¯s not too late to turn back now. shall we go to zijing city together in a few days?¡± someone made a suggestion. ¡°okay, let¡¯s plan it properly later!¡± ¡°¡­¡± the people were very excited about the news from wang tao. after discussing for a while, they began to share the situation in their own areas. after wang tao heard it, he felt it was just one word¡ªdifficult! then wang tao asked: ¡°how much do you know about wuyang military base?¡± everyone shook their heads. they knew there was a military base in wuyang city, and some came here because of it. but as far as knowing more, they probably only knew the name. ¡°nobody knows?¡± wang tao frowned slightly. he thought for a moment and then asked: ¡°then have you picked up the recent airlifts from the military base, and did you find any news about the military base or any novel items inside?¡± there had been frequent airlifts lately, and there might be some clues in them. however, after wang tao said this, everyone was stunned. fan peng said in a shocked whisper: ¡°ah? mr. wang, do you mean to say that those planes flying over our heads¡­ are airlift planes?!¡± before wang tao could reply, several people from other provinces said with a baffled look: ¡°ah? there are planes here?¡± Chapter 555 - Chapter 555: Chapter 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_1 chapter 555: chapter 236: turns out to be an example?_1 ¡°hmm?¡± the reaction of the crowd caught wang tao by surprise. the leader of duzhu town, fan peng, didn¡¯t know about the air drop plane? had they never seen an air drop? and the response of those outsiders was even stranger; they had never even seen a plane? ¡°brother, you¡¯re not dreaming, right? the government and the military fell a long time ago, how could there still be air drops!¡± cai ping spoke up at this time. although wang tao and his group were strong, cai ping still felt there might be something wrong with wang tao¡¯s head, or perhaps he was hallucinating due to too much pressure. the others also quickly came to their senses. ¡°mr. wang, you really have a sense of humor! there are neither planes nor air drops now! we¡¯ve been to many places, but we¡¯ve never seen an air drop! not to mention air drops, we haven¡¯t even seen a plane, at most some drones¡­¡± ¡°that¡¯s right, i¡¯ve never seen or even heard of air drops before¡ªoh, not that i¡¯ve never heard of them. in the early stages of the viral outbreak, before the government had completely fallen, we received official news that they were preparing for air drops. but on the appointed date, we didn¡¯t see anything, no air drops, no planes¡­¡± ¡°yes. i had some hope back then, but nothing happened¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± everyone spoke at once. tan ya looked at wang tao and asked cautiously, ¡°so, mr. wang, forgive me for being direct. have you been under too much pressure lately, causing you to have hallucinations?¡± nie siyan got a bit angry when she heard this. just because they hadn¡¯t seen it didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t exist. how dare they contradict wang tao and even suspect that he was hallucinating! yang changhong and xu xiaojun were also a bit displeased but remained rational and didn¡¯t say anything. jiang shixue was indifferent; she never cared about what others said. as for wang tao, he furrowed his brows deeply. he wasn¡¯t afraid of being doubted, nor did he care about what people said; he wasn¡¯t even interested in proving anything. but¡­ there clearly were planes and air drops. why hadn¡¯t they seen them? these outsiders were not from the same place, and it might be due to luck that one or two of them hadn¡¯t seen a plane, but if all of them hadn¡¯t seen one, then there was a problem! if these people weren¡¯t lying, wang tao thought there was only one likely possibility¡ªevery other military base had fallen except for wuyang city¡¯s military base! soldiers obey orders as their supreme duty; perhaps wuyang military base¡¯s mission was to make air drops over the entire wuyang city, so they didn¡¯t drop anything outside the province. and if the other military bases had fallen, then they couldn¡¯t air drop within their own provinces¡­ wang tao felt heavy-hearted. if this was the case, it meant the military might really be down to nothing! ¡°everyone¡­¡± at this moment, fan peng suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone¡¯s conversation. ¡°i can testify that we indeed have planes here! but i don¡¯t know if it¡¯s an air drop because i haven¡¯t seen it¡­¡± fan peng¡¯s voice was excited. if it really was an air drop, that meant at least one military base was safe! after all, if they could air drop to others, how could it not be safe! this was absolutely good news, even making him feel an urge to immediately take his people to wuyang military base! however, he also felt a bit sour because the planes had never made an air drop to their area¡­ such bad luck! when people heard what fan peng said, they immediately stopped discussing. cai ping looked at fan peng with skepticism. ¡°brother fan, are you really not joking? there are really planes here?¡± ¡°why would i lie to you, there¡¯s no benefit for us in that! there really are planes, but i don¡¯t know if they are air drop planes because i haven¡¯t seen an air drop¡­¡± at this, fan peng looked at wang tao with hopeful eyes. ¡°mr. wang, if i may ask, have you ever found anything from an air drop?¡± upon hearing the question, wang tao came back to his senses and nodded. ¡°i have.¡± whoosh¡ª everyone was in an uproar. ¡°really? there really are air drops?¡± ¡°impossible, right? it¡¯s been six months since the apocalypse began, and i¡¯ve moved around a lot of places in these six months, never seeing a plane or an air drop, nor have i heard others talk about air drops¡­¡± ¡°but mr. wang said he has found them, so there should be no need to lie, right?¡± people were skeptical but also excited. if it was true, at least it meant that a military base was still alive! wang tao didn¡¯t explain much but instead took out a beautifully crafted vial. ¡°inhibitor, it can suppress early-stage infection mutations. if used before the zombie virus acts, the infected person will not mutate¡­ this is one of the items from the air drop.¡± silence! everyone was instantly quiet! they looked at the small bottle in wang tao¡¯s hand, full of disbelief. inhibitor? it could suppress the outbreak of the zombie virus? my god! isn¡¯t that equivalent to an antidote for the zombie virus! whoosh¡ª after the silence, everyone erupted once again. ¡°really? is there such a thing?¡± ¡°seeing that the vial is so delicate, it¡¯s obviously not some small workshop¡¯s product, it must be from a production line¡­¡± ¡°then doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re saved? we won¡¯t have to fear the zombie virus anymore?¡± ¡°¡­¡± tan ya, her hand trembling over her mouth, looked at the inhibitor bottle. ¡°mr. wang, is it true what you say? can this inhibitor really address the zombie virus?¡± wang tao shook his head and explained, ¡°it¡¯s not about resolving the zombie virus, it can only suppress the virus temporarily and also has some side effects. moreover, one must use it long-term afterwards; otherwise, there is a high risk of relapse.¡± Chapter 556 - Chapter 556: Chapter 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_2 chapter 556: chapter 236: turns out to be an example?_2 it¡¯s not a cure, but to some extent, it¡¯s equivalent to one. tan ya suddenly knelt before wang tao. ¡°mr. wang! i beg for a bottle of inhibitor! i can exchange all my resources for it, whatever your terms, i can satisfy them! please, i beg you!¡± after speaking, she directly kowtowed to wang tao. ¡°why? has someone in your team been infected?¡± wang tao frowned. logically, it shouldn¡¯t be possible, right? the method of checking pupils, though old-fashioned, is still effective for those infected with the zombie virus. since they passed through duzhu town¡¯s inspection, they shouldn¡¯t have any virus carriers among them. unless it¡¯s due to the fusion crystal core causing an excess of internal impurity. in such cases, you can¡¯t judge by the colour of the pupils. but if that were the case, it would either be nothing, or, if something goes wrong, it would result in a mutation. there wouldn¡¯t be an infection step¡­ the others, upon hearing tan ya¡¯s words, all looked at her anxiously. if she really brought an infected person into the base, that would be like a ticking time bomb! ¡°no, there¡¯s no one infected in my team right now. but, but we were ambushed by zombies last night, and my husband got infected trying to protect me! he told us to go ahead, and he stayed behind in the wild, waiting to die¡­¡± tan ya sobbed, tears streaming down her face. tan ya lifted her head, her face streaked with tears. wang tao was silent for a moment, then directly tossed the bottle of inhibitor to her hands. ¡°the zombie virus outbreak time is between 1 minute to 24 hours. the inhibitor only works if used before the infected person fully turns into a zombie. this bottle of inhibitor is for you, i hope you¡¯re lucky.¡± ¡°thank you! thank you!¡± tan ya kowtowed three times to wang tao, then immediately got up and said to fan peng: ¡°please open the gate!¡± ¡°no problem!¡± fan peng nodded seriously, then turned to the others and said, ¡°excuse me for a moment, everyone.¡± fan peng hurried off with tan ya and her group. those left behind had complex expressions on their faces. they had mostly all experienced life-and-death separations, and if the inhibitor truly was effective, and they just happened to have some, it would undoubtedly prevent many tragedies¡­ they looked at wang tao with eager eyes. if they could get inhibitors now, it wouldn¡¯t be too late! their loved ones might be gone, but their current teammates were their family! they were only hearing about the inhibitor for the first time, unsure of its effectiveness, and did not know the price, so they did not strike a deal immediately with wang tao. that is, of course, if wang tao was willing to make a deal. from what wang tao had previously said, these inhibitors might need to be used continuously, so certainly, wang tao wouldn¡¯t mind having more on hand, but whether he was willing to sell was another question¡­ wang tao didn¡¯t speak again. what he wanted to know now was the situation at the military base. the inside of the military base must be safe, but there was the fear that outside was too dangerous. if that were the case, how he would get in was another issue. ¡°ahem, mr. wang, i¡¯d like to ask if the inhibitors you have are for sale?¡± at this point, cai ping couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°want to buy? sure, exchange them for crystal cores.¡± wang tao spoke up. he had many inhibitors, not just a lot, but very many. he had monopolized the recent air drops. a single airdrop crate contained 100 bottles of inhibitor, and although not every crate had inhibitors, the total number was not small, especially with those he had stored previously. although he had left most of the inhibitors for lan yulian, he still had five hundred bottles with him. their group had armor, and they took precautions seriously, so they were not likely to get infected. the inhibitors wang tao had were reserved for emergencies and trading. so, of course, they were for sale. upon hearing that wang tao didn¡¯t mind selling, cai ping and the others became excited. crystal cores are good, but in truth, most of them are useless to individuals. inhibitors, on the other hand, could save lives! ¡°mr. wang, please allow us to discuss which crystal cores to bring out for the trade¡­¡± cai ping said. ¡°sure.¡± wang tao responded indifferently. he knew that cai ping obviously wanted to wait for news from tan ya¡¯s side. if the inhibitor truly saves tan ya¡¯s husband, he would definitely buy it. if tan ya¡¯s husband had turned into a zombie or was already dead, then he would be cautious about buying. if tan ya¡¯s husband was still alive but the inhibitor had no effect after use, then he would have to consider¡­ although cai ping felt that the likelihood of tan ya¡¯s husband being alive was very low, there was still hope. you couldn¡¯t blame him for being cautious; he was scammed before the apocalypse, losing tens of thousands, money he earned from toiling at a construction site. it drove him to the brink of suicide¡­ so when it came to matters like this, he was rather careful. as for the others, seeing that the big shot, cai ping, did not immediately make a move, they too restrained themselves for the time being. they also decided to wait and see. at that moment, fan peng, who had gone to open the gate, returned. upon hearing that wang tao was willing to sell the inhibitor, he was ecstatic. but when he heard that wang tao wanted crystal cores in exchange, he immediately became disheartened. even though duzhu town was safe, with few zombies, there were also few crystal cores. what their base lacked the most was crystal cores! otherwise, he might not have been the only level 2 ability¡­ fan peng felt upset for a while, then suddenly asked wang tao: Chapter 557 - Chapter 557: Chapter 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_3 Chapter 557: Chapter 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_3 ¡°Mr. Wang, what else is in these airdrops? Could you let us take a look? We really have never seen anything like it and are quite curious¡­¡± He was very curious about what else was inside the airdrops; they couldn¡¯t only contain inhibitors, could they? When the others heard this, they all looked at Wang Tao with faces full of curiosity. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything. ¡°Besides inhibitors, there are also some compressed foods, firearms, ammunition, etc. Among some of the more special items to come later, there are energy detectors, crystal core extractors¡­ and some mechanical exoskeleton equipment¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun would only wear armor and a mechanical arm when fighting. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t wearing them while traveling, otherwise, he couldn¡¯t drive. Otherwise, he could have let them see for themselves. But even though they couldn¡¯t see these items with their own eyes, just hearing about them caused everyone to feel a sense of longing. It wasn¡¯t just the items themselves they were yearning for; it also signified that the higher-ups of the country had not been completely wiped out! They still had an army, they still had scientists, they still had hope! Seeing the excited expressions in these people¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao sighed silently to himself. Contrary to the thoughts of these people, Wang Tao felt somewhat melancholic. He had previously assumed that Wuyang Military Base was a common phenomenon, that there would be many bases like it across the country, and that every city would have airdrops. Now, he realized that this seemed to be an exception¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind if other people were doing well, but he was afraid if everyone was doing badly. Because that meant it would be very difficult for the survivors to resist! No matter how strong he was alone, he couldn¡¯t fight against the entire disaster! ¡°I must go to the military base, I need to understand what exactly is going on! The military base seems to have special communication methods; they can contact the Hope Research Institute in Capital City¡­ I reckon once I get to the military base, I¡¯ll be able to find out what¡¯s happening in other parts of the country¡­¡± Wang Tao pondered. Seeing that Wang Tao had stopped speaking, the others began to talk amongst themselves. However, the topic always tended to loop back to the airdrops and the military base. These people came here to seek refuge not only because some didn¡¯t have a map and were forced to come, but others had originally wanted to go to the military base. They thought the military base must have already been overrun, but perhaps later some survivors took it over and made it into a Survivor Base. So they wanted to check it out. But after they arrived at Duzhu Town Base, they found out that the military base was also very dangerous. Going there would mean certain death! So they hesitated, and some even thought about just staying at Duzhu Town Base. It was at this time that Wang Tao arrived and brought the news of Zijing City Base. This instantly made everyone think, why bother with the military base where death is almost certain when they could just go directly to Zijin Base?! After all, Zijin Base was an official base left over from before, and even though it was only half-completed, the facilities inside were still quite comprehensive, including their own fields for farming and fishing! Moreover, their leader was not averse to outsiders and was actively recruiting people! So it was indeed a good time to go there! But then Wang Tao spilled the news about the military base ¨C that there were abundant supplies, planes, airdrops, soldiers! Looking at it this way, Wuyang Military Base seemed more appealing! After all, it was a proper military base with strong firepower, surely better than the half-completed Zijin Base! So now they were conflicted. Should they stubbornly continue to the military base, or take a risk and go to Zijin Base¡ªWang Tao had just said that there were Level 3 zombies roaming Zijing City now, which was still dangerous¡­ Or should they be a bit more cautious and just stay at Duzhu Town Base? It was indeed a real dilemma! While they chatted and wrestled with their decisions, Tan Ya came back. They had left with five people, but now they were six! Looking at the pale-faced, skinny man that Tan Ya was supporting, who had only a sliver of HP left and was a Level Two, Wang Tao stood up with a smile and said, ¡°Congratulations!¡± The others all looked at this man with faces full of surprise. Did they really save him? Thud! Tan Ya helped her husband to his knees while also kneeling down in front of Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, thank you! Thank you!¡± Tan Ya was crying uncontrollably. Her husband, though weak, also spoke, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang. If you ever need anything, just command me¡­¡± Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan a look, and she understood immediately, quickly helping Tan Ya to her feet. Then Wang Tao asked curiously, ¡°Could you tell me what just happened?¡± Tan Ya wiped away her tears, her voice choked up as she said, ¡°After my husband got infected while saving me, he asked me to kill him, but I couldn¡¯t do it. So he told us to go ahead, and he stayed alone in a house in town, ready to wait for death¡­¡± ¡°When I rushed over just now, it was almost 24 hours since he¡¯d been infected. Although he hadn¡¯t mutated yet, he was almost losing consciousness. I called out to him to keep him awake and then gave him the potion!¡± ¡°After drinking the potion, he started convulsing, looking like he was in a lot of pain. After a while, he stopped moving. I thought he was¡­ but then he slowly woke up! He still recognized me, he hadn¡¯t mutated¡­¡± Listening to Tan Ya¡¯s story, Wang Tao said with a smile, ¡°I have to say, you were very lucky. There is a certain risk of failure when using an inhibitor under such circumstances of near mutation, but you succeeded. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just luck; it also had to do with your husband¡¯s strong will to live and his concern for you¡­¡± Tan Ya and her husband looked into each other¡¯s eyes, seeing reflections of one another. ¡°Ahem, Mr. Wang, we¡¯ve decided. We want to exchange these crystal cores for inhibitors. What do you think?¡± At this moment, Cai Ping came up to Wang Tao with a bunch of crystal cores. Seeing his action, everyone else immediately started to take out their crystal cores as well. Wang Tao glanced at the crystal cores in Cai Ping¡¯s hands. There were Level 1 and Level Two, most of which were of no use to Wang Tao, but they weren¡¯t trash either, and some of them were quite good. ¡°We can exchange.¡± Chapter 558 - Chapter 558: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_1 Chapter 558: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_1 After the exchange meeting ended, Wang Tao and his group went upstairs. He traded for quite a few Crystal Cores with the inhibitor and even gave away the zombie information previously released by the military for free. This gesture touched everyone, as such data was quite valuable. Wang Tao had no intention of selling these materials for profit; after all, they were originally produced by the military base to be distributed for free, and he couldn¡¯t possibly earn such unscrupulous money. For Wang Tao, the biggest gain from this trip was the news that there seemed to be no airdrops in the neighboring province, only in Wuyang Province! This further solidified Wang Tao¡¯s determination to go to the military base. He needed to find out what was going on and see if he could establish contact with the outside world. Before that, Wang Tao planned to enhance Yang Changhong¡¯s strength. ¡°Come to my room tonight?¡± Wang Tao said to Yang Changhong beside him, raising his eyebrows. ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong gave Wang Tao a sidelong glance, thinking he was implying something naughty, but she didn¡¯t refuse. The apartment they stayed in had three bedrooms and a living room. Xu Xiaojun had a room to himself, Nie Siyan and Jiang Shixue shared another, and Wang Tao and Yang Changhong shared the last one. Inside the room. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower first.¡± Yang Changhong said, not even looking at Wang Tao. ¡°What a coincidence, I was just about to go too. Let¡¯s go together.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°¡­You go first, I¡¯ll wait!¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s face reddened slightly. ¡°No, that won¡¯t do¡­¡± After some back and forth, Yang Changhong was carried by Wang Tao into the bathroom. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t planning to do anything bad, but to deal with serious matters. He wanted to try if his Yin and Yang Balance ability could increase his Mana further. Over an hour later, Wang Tao carried Yang Changhong out of the bathroom. Wang Tao found that his Mana had increased by a thousand, reaching 42,000! ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao was very satisfied; the feeling of achieving results through effort was exhilarating. Yang Changhong nestled in Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. She admitted that the sensation of indulgence with Wang Tao was genuinely pleasant, and it was fortunate for her to encounter him again. Suddenly, Wang Tao pulled out a bunch of Crystal Cores. ¡°Fuse all of these.¡± Looking at such a large number of high-quality Crystal Cores, Yang Changhong was stunned for a moment before sitting up briskly. She had seen Crystal Cores before, but she had never seen so many Level 2 Orange Crystal Cores, all of which she could use, including a good number of Omnipotent Crystal Cores! ¡°These, these are for me?¡± ¡°Who else?¡± Wang Tao stuffed the Crystal Cores into her hands. ¡°¡­¡± After a moment of silence, Yang Changhong¡¯s face displayed gratitude yet with a wry smile. ¡°Why do I feel like¡­ like I¡¯m being kept¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°How about calling me ¡®daddy¡¯ to see how it sounds?¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Yang Changhong gave him a light punch. Then she no longer stood on ceremony and started to synthesize the Crystal Cores one by one. Her four Abilities were [High-Frequency Vibration], [Full Speed], [Stealth], and [Spittle Nail]. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the high-frequency vibration crystal cores, so he naturally used the Omnipotent Crystal Cores. There were only a few of the Full Speed and Spittle Nail Crystal Cores, but Wang Tao had traded for quite a few today, just enough to use. As for Stealth Crystal Cores, Wang Tao had plenty. They would be perfect for her use. A moment later, Yang Changhong finished fusing all the Crystal Cores. Her four Abilities had all reached Level Two +10! During the time she was apart from Wang Tao, she had killed many zombies, and now her HP was 29,999. After upgrading her four Abilities to +10, she would be able to reach Level 3 Ascension. Thinking of advancing to Level 3, Yang Changhong felt excited. ¡°I hope I get lucky and can ascend to Level 3 soon!¡± She muttered and then asked, ¡°By the way, have you all reached Level 3?¡± She wasn¡¯t very clear about Wang Tao¡¯s Level, but considering his strength, he was probably at Level 3. As for Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, she could sense that these two were definitely at Level 3. ¡°Yep.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I wonder when I can reach Level 3¡­¡± She had had her suspicions, but hearing Wang Tao confirm it, she still sighed with a hint of envy. Just as she sighed, she saw Wang Tao holding four Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Cores, and then he said with a smile, ¡°You can do it now.¡± These were the last Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores Wang Tao had, just enough for what was needed. ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong was speechless. She really found it somewhat unbelievable. Four Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Cores! Not only could she ascend to Level 3, but also maximize her Ascension! ¡°For real, these are for me?¡± Yang Changhong still asked subconsciously. ¡°If I¡¯m keeping you, I¡¯ve got to provide some benefits.¡± Wang Tao pinched her cheek. ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong first gave Wang Tao a stare, then looked at him seriously and said, ¡°Consider it a debt I owe you; I¡¯ll pay you back one day!¡± Hearing these familiar words, Wang Tao felt the urge to laugh. The last person who said that still hadn¡¯t managed to repay it all. But Wang Tao knew that Yang Changhong was a prideful person, so he nodded earnestly. ¡°Alright.¡± Soon, Yang Changhong had fused all four Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°I can feel that I¡¯m ready to reach Level 3 Ascension!¡± Yang Changhong said excitedly, hugging Wang Tao. ¡°Yeah, choose a time to start; I suggest you start now,¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. But Yang Changhong shook her head. ¡°No! I¡¯ll start tomorrow morning; I still have something very important to do right now!¡± ¡°Huh? What¡¯s that?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. ¡°I didn¡¯t do well in the bathroom just now. I want a do-over!¡± Chapter 559 - Chapter 559: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_2 Chapter 559: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_2 Yang Changhong spoke with a high fighting spirit. When she last parted ways with Wang Tao, she swore to herself that if she saw Wang Tao again, she would certainly give him a hard time. She was a person of her word and couldn¡¯t go back on it! ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. As a woman, is it really good to have such a strong desire to win in this matter? However, Yang Changhong had spoken, and naturally, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t back down. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s have a showdown for three hundred rounds!¡± ¡­ The next morning, Wang Tao rubbed his somewhat sore lower back helplessly as he looked at Yang Changhong, who had fallen asleep due to her Level 3 Ascension. This woman¡¯s competitive spirit was too strong. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had such a strong physical condition, he might not have been able to withstand it. After ensuring there was nothing wrong with Yang Changhong, Wang Tao went to the living room. ¡°Brother Wang, where¡¯s Zhang Hong?¡± Nie Siyan, seeing Wang Tao come out alone, asked curiously. ¡°She¡¯s in the middle of Level 3 Ascension.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Oh~¡± Nie Siyan had thought that Yang Changhong just didn¡¯t want to get out of bed, but it turned out she was overthinking it. The rain outside was still heavy, and Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t go out today, instead staying inside to train their bodies. Mainly because there wasn¡¯t much to do around here. He planned to leave the Duzhu Town Base as soon as Yang Changhong woke up. At night, before going to sleep, Nie Siyan looked at Wang Tao with a pitiful expression. Wang Tao had a soft heart and couldn¡¯t stand to see a woman looking like that, so he ended up sleeping in Nie Siyan¡¯s room tonight. As for Jiang Shixue, who was in Nie Siyan¡¯s room, she naturally went to Yang Changhong¡¯s room. The night passed without incident. When he got up in the morning, Wang Tao suddenly discovered something amazing¡ªhis Mana had increased by 1000! It seemed like there was a mechanism to the cooldown time of his [Yin Yang Harmony] Ability? That is, the cooldown time for each different person of the opposite sex was calculated separately! For instance, after being with Yang Changhong yesterday, he gained 1000 Mana. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t continue to gain more Mana today, but in reality, he did. Clearly, the cooldown time was calculated separately! Doesn¡¯t that mean if he found a bunch of different people of the opposite sex, he could increase his Mana limitlessly? Wang Tao was somewhat tempted, but after some thought, he decided against it. The real world didn¡¯t have bugs for him to exploit, and this mechanism was likely capped or had other restrictions. Besides, these kinds of things should happen naturally, after all, Wang Tao was also a picky person¡­ After washing up, Wang Tao timed it just right and arrived beside Yang Changhong as she happened to wake up. ¡°Congratulations!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Feeling the Level 3 Strength within her body, Yang Changhong was a bit excited. She quickly ran to the living room and tested her ascended body¡¯s capabilities. Wang Tao looked at her Attributes. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] [Internal Impurity: 11%] It was about the same as when Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun ascended before. It was not considered very strong among Level 3s because both her HP and Mana weren¡¯t very high, but her potential was great, especially since she had fused with four Ascension crystal cores. After playing around in the living room for a while, Yang Changhong approached Wang Tao and said: ¡°Wang Tao, when do we set out?¡± She couldn¡¯t contain the all energies within her body any longer, and she was eager to find zombies to test her strength. Wang Tao looked outside; it was still raining heavily, but his car had been repaired and was ready to hit the road. ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The group packed up their belongings and just as they went downstairs, they happened to see Zheng Hai coming up. ¡°Mr. Wang, I was just about to look for you. Are you¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m preparing to leave, is there something you need?¡± Hearing that Wang Tao was leaving, Zheng Hai was taken aback, then he hurriedly said: ¡°Please wait a moment, Mr. Wang. Our leader needs to speak with you. I¡¯ll go call him right away!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He wasn¡¯t in a big hurry and was curious about what Fan Peng wanted. A short while later, Fan Peng arrived, and not only him but the other outsiders came as well. ¡°Mr. Wang, here¡¯s the thing, we¡¯re hoping you and the others could help us resolve an issue¡­¡± After listening to Fan Peng¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao suddenly understood. The zombies within Duzhu Town were few and not very strong. However, last week he discovered a very powerful zombie, so powerful that even he couldn¡¯t see its exact appearance, only vaguely perceiving its strength. Although that zombie had always been in the town and there was no indication that it would come to the Duzhu Town Base, Fan Peng had to be cautious. After all, humans were a food source for zombies, and he felt it was only a matter of time before it would arrive. So, he wanted to enlist everyone¡¯s help to deal with this troublesome opponent. As for the reward, naturally, it was food, as Duzhu Town didn¡¯t have much else to offer. However, killing zombies was highly beneficial for people, and even without a reward, it was expected that some would be eager to try. The original intention of Fan Peng was to have these outsiders take a look first, and if they couldn¡¯t handle it, they would then call for Wang Tao. But now that he saw Wang Tao was about to leave, he definitely couldn¡¯t wait any longer, so he quickly sought Wang Tao out. Fan Peng felt somewhat lucky. It was a good thing he hadn¡¯t gone out today, otherwise he might have missed his chance. ¡°A formidable zombie? Alright, then take me to see it.¡± Wang Tao agreed. A zombie described as formidable by a Second-order Superpower Owner was likely to be Level 3, which was exactly what Wang Tao needed. As for the chance of it being Level 4, that was unlikely. If it really were Level 4, Fan Peng probably wouldn¡¯t have made it back alive. ¡°Great! Let¡¯s head over now!¡± Chapter 560 - Chapter 560: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_3 Chapter 560: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_3 Seeing Wang Tao agree, Fan Peng¡¯s face lit up with joy. The others were all curious; they wanted to see just how strong these suspected Level 3 ability users really were! Fan Peng himself drove the car, leading several vehicles away from Duzhu Town Base. The place he mentioned was in the center of the town, where there was a senior high school. The zombies were inside the high school. There were virtually no young faces in Duzhu Town except for the high school. According to Fan Peng, the high school had a closed management system, making it very difficult to leave. When the zombie virus outbreak occurred, classes were in session¡­ so it was quickly overrun. Afterwards, no survivors dared to enter, and the zombies inside did not come out. Fan Peng planned to cultivate more ability users for the base, so he set his sights on the zombies in the high school. He had thought that, with his Level 2 Ability strength, he should be able to lure some zombies out for others to kill. But once he climbed in, he discovered there was an incredibly terrifying zombie inside! Since he hadn¡¯t seen the materials provided by the military before, he didn¡¯t know what type of zombie this was. Now, after going through Wang Tao¡¯s information, he realized this was probably a Zombie Lord! Knowing the characteristics of the Zombie Lord, Fan Peng no longer dared to go there alone. If it were only one zombie, he could probably still run away, but if that zombie had a bunch of underlings, then he would be in trouble! That¡¯s why he asked everyone for help, especially since Wang Tao and his group were Level 3 ability users. With them there, it was definitely going to be a lot safer. The convoy braved the heavy rain and arrived at the entrance of the high school. Abandoned vehicles filled the entrance, blocking the road completely, forcing everyone to get out and walk. Fan Peng distributed to each person one of the heavy umbrellas made by their base. These umbrellas could partially shield against the corrosive acid rain. Although they too would be corroded, the umbrellas were so thick that they could last two to three hours without a problem. As soon as Wang Tao and his group got out of the car, they immediately drew everyone¡¯s attention. It couldn¡¯t be helped, aside from Wang Tao, who was holding an umbrella, standing together with Jiang Shixue. Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and Yang Changhong were all dressed in armor, looking striking and projecting a sense of security. Especially Xu Xiaojun, who not only wore a set of black armor but also had a shield on his back and a Giant Axe in his hand, exuding an aura of lethal intensity! As for the Mechanical Exoskeleton on Xu Xiaojun¡¯s body, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let him use it this time. The corrosive acid rain was falling right now, and it would be too much of a loss if it got corroded, because Wang Tao couldn¡¯t repair that gadget¡­ Looking at the abandoned vehicles at the school gate, Fan Peng sighed and said: ¡°These were driven by parents who hadn¡¯t been infected, coming to pick up their children when the zombie virus broke out. But by that time, basically everyone in the school had been infected, so¡­¡± At that time, he was also one of the parents who had come to pick up their children. ¡°So you mean to say that the school has never been opened up to now, the zombies inside have never come out, and you haven¡¯t really gone in?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Upon receiving Fan Peng¡¯s affirmative reply, Wang Tao became immediately interested. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go in and take a look!¡± The school, like other buildings, was also covered with thick green vegetation. It was as if a school had been built in a primitive forest. Wang Tao used his Plant Affinity Ability to sense, feeling there were many zombies inside, and they were not weak. But he didn¡¯t feel the presence of the Zombie Lord yet, given the school¡¯s large size. ¡°There are quite a few zombies inside and many of them are Level 2 Zombies. Do you all want to go in with me?¡± Wang Tao said to the others. ¡°There are a lot of Level 2 Zombies?¡± The people exclaimed. They were at most Level 2 themselves, and unlike Wang Tao and his group, they didn¡¯t have the ability to kill above their level. If they encountered a large number of Level 2 Zombies, they would be done for. However, with a Level 3 ability user present¡­ It¡¯d be a pity not to seize this opportunity! ¡°I¡¯ll go with Mr. Wang!¡± Fan Peng was the first to declare. Unlike others, who were outsiders and could leave at any moment, Fan Peng was the leader of Duzhu Town Base, which they couldn¡¯t just pack up and move. If those Level 2 Zombies broke out of the school gates, it might be his base that would be out of luck. He hoped that Level 2 Zombies would appear, so that he could hunt them for their Crystal Cores. But he didn¡¯t want too many of them to appear. After all, his base was weak and comprised mostly of middle-aged and elderly people with poor fighting capabilities. He needed to assess the strength of these Level 2 Zombies. If he could kill one more, it would lessen the risk to his base and at the same time, he would gain some Crystal Cores. Moreover, he clearly felt that Wang Tao was only interested in that suspected Level 3 Lord zombie. He couldn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to help kill these zombies, so he had to try to do it himself as much as possible. Seeing Fan Peng step forward, the others hesitated for a moment, and eventually all decided to go in together. With a Level 3 ability user backing them up, it was a rare opportunity. If they didn¡¯t seize it, they would surely regret it later! ¡°Great.¡± Wang Tao was quite satisfied. He definitely couldn¡¯t kill all these zombies, and he didn¡¯t feel like doing so. Letting these people kill the zombies would resolve the danger in Duzhu Town and allow them to benefit as well. It was a win-win situation. Then Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°You go and open up the main gate. We¡¯ll enter from the front entrance.¡± The main gate and the surrounding walls of Duzhu High School had been heightened, reportedly because many boarding students used to climb over the walls to go to Internet cafes at night. Not even the night-duty teachers catching them or the installation of surveillance cameras could stop them. So the school simply decided to raise the walls and gate of the school grounds, preventing the students from climbing out. But since then, students secretly referred to the school as Duzhu Prison because the high walls and gates looked too much like a prison¡­ ¡°Okay!¡± With an agreement, Xu Xiaojun promptly moved to the gate. Then, swinging the Giant Axe, to the astonishment of onlookers, he hacked open the iron gate in just a few blows. Chapter 561 - Chapter 561: Chapter 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_1 Chapter 561: Chapter 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_1 ¡°So strong!¡± ¡°This is a Level 3 ability user!¡± Everyone was extremely amazed at Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength. As soon as they entered the school, they distinctly felt that something was different, but they couldn¡¯t quite put their finger on what it was ¨C they just felt very oppressed. Wang Tao raised his eyebrows; he knew the reason for the oppression. ¡°Everyone be careful, these plants may attack.¡± Wang Tao turned his head and warned the others. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Plants can attack?¡± Everyone was a bit stunned. They knew that plants had mutated, but they had never seen plants that could attack. Fan Peng couldn¡¯t quite believe it; when he was last here, these plants did not attack. But at that time, the plants weren¡¯t this big either¡­ Wang Tao looked at the plants beside the road. They were all enlarged versions of various trees, tendrils, and flowers. Moreover, Wang Tao could see that these plants had HP bars. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao saw HP bars on everything; if that were the case, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live normally. Only some sentient beings or particularly dangerous things would display HP bars. The HP bars of the plants around now ranged from a few thousand to thirty thousand. But other than the HP bars, they had no other attributes. No mana, no level, no impurities. Clearly, they were not plant monsters but aggressive plants. After Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, everyone immediately became much more cautious, and some who had been about to touch the plants instantly withdrew their hands. Whoosh¡ª Just then, a branch from an unknown tree suddenly fell from a tree above and smashed towards Wang Tao, who was holding an umbrella! Swish! Wang Tao stood still as a giant axe, coming later but arriving first, chopped the branch right off. By the time the others reacted, the tendril had already been chopped into several pieces by Xu Xiaojun. ¡°The plants really do attack!¡± Seeing this, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. And this tendril, like the flip of a switch, signaled various other plants to begin attacking the group as well. All sorts of tendrils, branches, even leaves could attack! Although these attacks were not potent, their strange methods were enough to give someone the chills. Some even regretted coming in. Meanwhile, Fan Peng felt somewhat relieved that he had not acted rashly and had instead thickened his face to bring a large group of people with him; otherwise, if he had brought someone over by himself, he probably wouldn¡¯t even know how he died. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, everyone, keep calm. These attacks aren¡¯t lethal¡­¡± Wang Tao continued to hold Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand with one hand and the umbrella with the other, walking through the school campus very calmly. Xu Xiaojun, Nie Siyan, and Yang Changhong could easily handle these nuisances. Although the others were a bit panicked, seeing how calm Wang Tao was, they slowly stabilized as well. ¡°We have several Level 3 ability users ¨C why panic!¡± It was only when they reached a teaching building that they hadn¡¯t encountered a single zombie, but they had been sneak attacked by the plants all the way. However, after arriving here, the plant attacks stopped abruptly. It seemed as though the plants had their own territory? These plants had HP bars, but they didn¡¯t seem to have much intelligence, nor did they have crystal cores. They attacked, it seemed, either because they were controlled or out of instinct. Wang Tao thought it was probably an instinct to attack that had evolved, since he didn¡¯t feel the presence of plant monsters here¡­ ¡°There are zombies!¡± The eagle-eyed Nie Siyan immediately pointed at the teaching building and said. Everyone looked in the direction Nie Siyan indicated and indeed saw some zombies wandering inside the hall of the teaching building. ¡°Those are Level 2 zombies, but they¡¯re not strong ¨C just ordinary zombies,¡± Wang Tao said. At this, Fan Peng immediately stood up with a machete in hand. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of them!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go too!¡± They could tell that Wang Tao clearly thought little of these Level 2 zombies, but this was an opportunity for them. Shortly after, they managed to exterminate the zombies without any incidents. Wang Tao felt around and found that there were a lot of zombies in this teaching building. However, he was not sure if there were any Level 3 zombies, as his Plant Affinity Ability wasn¡¯t Perception, and he could not accurately sense the levels of zombies. ¡°You guys wait here, I¡¯ll go up and take a look,¡± Wang Tao said to the others. ¡°Yes!¡± As soon as Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went upstairs, a few zombies rushed in, and the two dealt with them easily. He ignored the other zombies, quickly checked the first floor, and, having ascertained there were no zombies above Level 3, proceeded to the third floor. After about ten minutes or so, Wang Tao came out. ¡°There are quite a few Level 2 common zombies inside; there are no Elites or higher. If you want to hunt, go ahead, but be careful,¡± Wang Tao stated. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang!¡± The group immediately rejoiced. Wang Tao also checked the other two teaching buildings and found many zombies, but all of them were Level 1 or Level 2 ordinary zombies, with occasionally a few Level 2 Elites. Beyond that, there were no Level 2 Lords or Level 3 zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s split up and search other places¡­¡± Wang Tao thought there should be Level 3 zombies here, at least a Level 2 Lord. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded. A while later, Yang Changhong¡¯s voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve found something!¡± ¡°Hold on!¡± Wang Tao and the others reached Yang Changhong¡¯s location, which was the library of Duzhu High School. The library was the most prestigious building of the school. However, the times it was open were few and far between, and even many students might not have entered it except during a big cleanup. Chapter 562 - Chapter 562: Chapter 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_2 Chapter 562: Chapter 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_2 ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s in here¡ªI feel a very powerful presence! I have the sensation of being watched!¡± Yang Changhong was waiting outside the door for Wang Tao. The higher the level of an ability user, the more acute their senses. The powerful presence she perceived should not be mistaken. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and take a look.¡± Wang Tao activated Entangling Roots, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a ¡°monster.¡± Yang Changhong had seen my ¡°transformation¡± before, but even now, she was still amazed. The reason Wang Tao was so cautious was that this library had no plants at all. This campus was full of plants, including many inside the teaching buildings, but this place was devoid of them, which was clearly strange. So it was better to be cautious. The group followed Wang Tao inside. The design of the library was quite good, with ample lighting. Without the obstruction of plants, one could see clearly inside even on overcast and rainy days. The first floor was a mess, with lots of coagulated black bloodstains on the floor, but no bodies. This was normal; in areas with many zombies, bodies would not be left behind¡ªthey either mutated upon infection or were completely devoured by zombies. There was no third possibility. They arrived at the second floor. The second floor was much cleaner and had no zombies. The third and fourth floors were also zombie-free. Moreover, the bookshelves and everything else were neat and orderly, with no signs of being disturbed. Probably no survivors had come here. However, many books were missing, and many shelves were empty. The library had a total of five floors, with no basement. If the first four floors were fine, then the problem might be on the top floor. Wang Tao proceeded to the top floor with great caution. ¡°Hmm?¡± The situation on the fifth floor surprised Wang Tao. It was quite empty, although there were some bookshelves, they were devoid of books. Wang Tao and his companions continued walking further inside. ¡°Someone¡¯s here!¡± In the open hall before them was a chair, and on this chair sat a slender figure from behind! Wang Tao had encountered many zombie ¡°surprise attacks,¡± so he naturally didn¡¯t think much of this figure, especially with the conspicuous red HP bar above its head. [HP: 60000/60000] [Mana: 60000/60000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] A White Bone Knife appeared instantly in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Although he was now Level 3, even when hunting a rabbit, a lion must use all its strength! At that moment, the zombie turned around. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but draw in a breath of cold air when he saw the face of the zombie. For it was truly a beauty! This was a beauty wearing a white shirt, a black pencil skirt, black silk high heels, with a figure featuring a golden ratio, a perfect face, and intelligent glasses! ¡°Huh?¡± Yang Changhong and the others exclaimed in surprise as well. They had all prepared themselves mentally, but who could have expected this to actually be a beauty? The beauty was holding a book and looked at them with slightly furrowed brows, as if she were disturbed by their arrival and interrupted from her reading. ¡°Could it be that this isn¡¯t a zombie?¡± Nie Siyan asked in surprise. This didn¡¯t look like a zombie at all! Wang Tao was also puzzled. He wasn¡¯t questioning whether the other party was a zombie¡ªit was obvious given the red health bar. He was wondering how this zombie managed to do this. Was it an illusion? But it was only a Level 3, Lord, not a Level 4. Could it create such an illusion? Wang Tao had encountered a Black Mist Monster before that could create illusions, a Level 3, Lord, but he could easily distinguish the real from the fake. Yet with this zombie, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see any flaws. At this moment, Jiang Shixue raised her head to look at the group and then said to Wang Tao somewhat strangely: ¡°Brother, do you like such an ugly zombie?¡± ¡°You can see its true form?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. Jiang Shixue did not answer right away, but instead tilted her head thoughtfully, and then her eyes emitted a burst of red light. ¡°Ah!¡± The woman in front suddenly cried out while covering her face, as if she were in great pain. Then, she raised her head again, revealing a rotting countenance. At the same time, her head enlarged slightly, and her voluptuous body began to wither and decay. Especially her thin hands quickly grew sharp black nails like ghost claws. ¡°¡­¡± What was going on? Wang Tao was baffled, but now was not the time to be confused. The Ghost Claw Zombie, having its true form exposed, seemed to be enraged and immediately lunged at Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao saw only a blur before the zombie appeared in front of Jiang Shixue, clawing wildly at her. ¡°Such speed!¡± Wang Tao swung his knife out of instinct. Bang! [-2034] [57966/60000] The Ghost Claw Zombie was cut by the knife, losing two thousand HP. ¡°Such high defense!¡± With Wang Tao being Level 3, his attack on a Level 3 zombie would normally cost at least five thousand HP with one strike. But this had only removed two thousand, indicating the high defense of this zombie. The Ghost Claw Zombie was also quite strong; Wang Tao felt his hand go numb. But since it was lightweight, he managed to send it flying with a single blow. The others immediately followed up with more strikes. [-945] [-1043] [-923] [-821] [54234/60000] ¡°This damage¡­¡± If Fan Peng and the others were here, it would be questionable whether they could even break through this zombie¡¯s defense. However, it was fortunate that there were so many Level 3 ability users on Wang Tao¡¯s side; they were not at a disadvantage. After being attacked several more times, the Ghost Claw Zombie seemed even angrier and vanished from its spot in a flash. Chapter 563 - Chapter 563: Chapter 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_3 Chapter 563: Chapter 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_3 ¡°Be careful!¡± When he reappeared, he was by Yang Changhong¡¯s side. Yang Changhong, who had just become a Level 3 ability user, was still very excited, especially since her first formal opponent was a Level 3 Zombie Lord, which excited her even more! As a result, before her eyes could adjust, the Ghost Claw Zombie appeared in front of her and instantly pinned her down! With overwhelming force, the Ghost Claw Zombie pressed her to the ground, rendering her immobile! Then it extended its sharp claws and began to swipe at Yang Changhong¡¯s chest. Bang! Bang! Bang! However, Yang Changhong was wearing a suit of Level 3 Iron Tree Armor. Although the Ghost Claw Zombie scratched many white marks on the armor, it couldn¡¯t breach Yang Changhong¡¯s defense. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Jiang Shixue was the first to reach Yang Changhong; he grabbed the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s shoulders and yanked it backward. The Ghost Claw Zombie was pulled away. Wang Tao arrived at that moment; he first slashed fiercely at the Ghost Claw Zombie, forcing it back, and then quickly helped Yang Changhong to her feet. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Yang Changhong was somewhat shaken. She had never fought a Level 3 Zombie Lord before, but were they really this strong? Bang! Crack! Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan immediately tangled with the female zombie. But Xu Xiaojun had a hard time hitting her, after all, he was slow. Nie Siyan managed to poke a few times with a steel rod, but didn¡¯t hit the head, and the Ghost Claw Zombie barely lost any HP. Once Wang Tao confirmed Yang Changhong was alright, he charged at the Ghost Claw Zombie again. At the same time, a few Slime Spitter Grenades appeared in his hand. Splat! The grenades exploded, spurting out a large mass of white slime that immediately covered the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s entire body. However, it only managed to restrain it for a second before it walked right out of the slime. But this was enough time for Wang Tao; he instantly got in front of the Ghost Claw Zombie, charged up for a second, and then began to swing his blade wildly. [-2341] [-2091] [-2138] [¡­] He struck several consecutive blows to the head, each cutting over two thousand HP. ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± The Ghost Claw Zombie roared in anger, swiping its claw at Wang Tao¡¯s chest. [-2323] [40000/40000 (97677/100000)] Although the claw did great damage, scraping away two thousand of Wang Tao¡¯s HP, it wasn¡¯t much in light of his combined HP of 140,000 with the Entangled Iron Tree Roots. Still, the immense impact forced Wang Tao to take a step back. Nie Siyan and the others caught up and tangled with the zombie once again. The Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s attack was very powerful; if it struck even once, it could probably maim its victim. Thankfully, Wang Tao and his teammates were all wearing armor, which had high defensive power and could withstand the zombie¡¯s attacks. ¡°You guys hold it down, I¡¯ll attack!¡± Wang Tao quickly said. ¡°Okay!¡± The others responded in unison. But the Ghost Claw Zombie was very fast; holding it down wasn¡¯t going to be easy. It was at that moment that Jiang Shixue suddenly appeared in front of the Ghost Claw Zombie, and those red-glowing eyes gave it a stare. ¡°` The zombie froze instantly, motionless. ¡°Opportunity!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s instinct was to rush over and swing his knife, but then, as if something occurred to him, he immediately stretched out his left hand towards the zombie. Whoosh¡ª A black tendril shot out from Wang Tao¡¯s wrist, wrapping around the zombie¡¯s waist in an instant. Reel in! Wang Tao silently gave the command in his mind, and he saw the zombie being pulled directly in front of him! ¡°Almost forgot about the Iron Tree Vines!¡± By now, the Ghost Claw Zombie had recovered from its stupor, disregarding the tendril around its waist as it charged towards Jiang Shixue. But the tendril held it back like a dog leash, and just a few steps away from reaching Jiang Shixue, it couldn¡¯t cross the distance. Only then did the Ghost Claw Zombie seem to belatedly realize it should cut off the tendril around its waist first. Seeing the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s action, Wang Tao immediately prepared to withdraw the tendril. It only had 10,000 HP, which couldn¡¯t withstand an attack from the Ghost Claw Zombie. But just then, Jiang Shixue¡¯s red-glowing eyes met those of the Ghost Claw Zombie. The Ghost Claw Zombie froze again in an instant! Attack! Wang Tao and the others immediately seized the opportunity, bombarding the zombie with various attacks. In just a second, the Ghost Claw Zombie woke up. However, after waking up, it seemed to have forgotten about the tendril at its waist and instinctively attacked Xu Xiaojun and the others. But entangled by the tendril, it couldn¡¯t land a hit. ¡°Indeed, it has no real intelligence¡­¡± Wang Tao held tightly onto the tendril and then yanked it fiercely. The Ghost Claw Zombie was pulled into the air and landed right at Wang Tao¡¯s feet. Wang Tao stomped hard on the back of the Ghost Claw Zombie and swung his knife at the back of its head. The zombie writhed, trying to get up. But Xu Xiaojun rushed over, imitating Wang Tao, and stomped on the Ghost Claw Zombie. Their combined weight and strength were too much for the Ghost Claw Zombie to rise. After struggling for a while, the joints in its arms suddenly bent the wrong way, reaching for Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun! Already on guard against the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s counterattack, Wang Tao had the tendril wrap around its hands! With the Iron Tree Vines tightly entwining its hands, the Ghost Claw lost its most powerful attack in an instant. Though the HP of the Iron Tree Vines was rapidly dropping under its struggles, Nie Siyan, Yang Changhong, and Jiang Shixue also came over. The three of them stepped on the zombie and unleashed a fury of attacks. The Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s defense was high, but without speed and the ability to dodge, it couldn¡¯t withstand the onslaught of attacks from everyone. A moment later, Wang Tao¡¯s blade split its head open. Spurt! [-1279] [0/60000] Wham¡ª A heap of Loot Packs burst out, and Wang Tao immediately collected the loot before checking his own HP bar. His HP ceiling increased by 14,400, and his special energy also increased by 14,400, bringing Wang Tao¡¯s total HP to 54,400! ¡°Huh?¡± Only then did Wang Tao notice that the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s claws had a name and could be put into the Space Backpack! But before he had the time to inspect them closely, Fan Peng¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Mr. Wang, come quickly! I¡¯ve found the Level 3 Lord Zombie!¡± Huh? Another one? ¡°` Chapter 564 - Chapter 564: Chapter 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_1 Chapter 564: Chapter 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_1 ¡°It seems there¡¯s a Level 3 Lord Zombie! Go!¡± Wang Tao released the entangling roots, retracted the iron tree vines and the spoils of war, and then led everyone quickly downstairs. Fan Peng¡¯s location was in the school cafeteria, and he said the suspected Level 3 Lord Zombie was inside the cafeteria. When Wang Tao arrived, everyone else was just getting there as well. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± Everyone hurriedly greeted him. Judging by their countenance, they were slightly disheveled but all seemed invigorated. It seemed that they must have made quite a few gains during this time. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then turned his gaze to Fan Peng. Fan Peng hurriedly said, ¡°Mr. Wang, that zombie is in here! It¡¯s the one I saw earlier! It¡¯s very large¡­¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. Had he really identified the wrong zombie? However, whether he was mistaken or not, the zombie needed to be killed. The cafeteria was filled with moss, tendrils, and the like, blocking out the light and casting darkness inside. Using plant affinity perception, Wang Tao could vaguely sense there was a very large creature inside, surrounded by numerous smaller zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go in for a look.¡± Wang Tao led the way, and everyone quickly followed behind him, entering the cafeteria together. The school cafeteria had two floors. The first floor was crowded with ordinary Level 2 Zombies, which charged at them, gnashing their teeth and clawing at the air as soon as they saw people entering. The Level 3 Lord Zombie was on the second floor. Xu Xiaojun cleared a path with a few shockwaves, quickly dealing with all the ordinary zombies. The others looked on enviously; although they could handle Level 2 Common Zombies, none of them could do so as effortlessly as Xu Xiaojun, who was like a reaping machine. ¡°Hm? It¡¯s coming down!¡± Wang Tao looked toward the staircase. Thump, thump, thump¡ª A huge, rotting hand first stretched out from the stairwell, followed by a burly figure emerging from the staircase. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Everyone felt a terrifying sense of oppression at the sight of this figure, even causing some involuntarily trembling in their legs. This was a zombie covered in bulging muscles, standing even taller than Xu Xiaojun, likely around two and a half meters in height. It wore a tattered chef¡¯s uniform, with a crooked chef¡¯s hat on its head, wielding a bone-chopping hand axe. Had this zombie once been a chef? [HP: 70000/70000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] The Chef Zombie had 10,000 more HP than the Ghost Claw Zombie that Wang Tao had just killed, and it looked more fearsome. But Wang Tao felt that this Chef Zombie didn¡¯t pressure him as much as the Ghost Claw Zombie did. Generally speaking, the more HP a zombie has, the stronger it is. But this rule wasn¡¯t absolute; there are always exceptions. This Chef Zombie was a more common type, whereas the Ghost Claw Zombie he had just killed was one of those exceptions. ¡°This is a Level 3 Lord Zombie, fall back,¡± Wang Tao said without turning his head to the others. Upon hearing this, everyone immediately started to retreat. A Level 3 Lord Zombie was not something they could handle! Then everyone noticed that Wang Tao had somehow acquired a huge white bone knife in his hand. Wielding the knife, he rushed toward the Chef Zombie. ¡°So brash!¡± Everyone was somewhat taken aback by this move. Although Wang Tao was a Level 3 ability user, this was a Level 3 Lord Zombie after all! Shouldn¡¯t he first test the zombie from a distance to see what abilities it had, then formulate a combat strategy? But they soon found themselves gaping in astonishment! Because during Wang Tao¡¯s sprint, many black roots suddenly appeared around him, enveloping his entire figure in the blink of an eye and transforming him into a ¡°monster¡± over two meters tall! Wang Tao reached the Chef Zombie and swung his knife directly. Bang! This blow, infused with high-frequency vibration, struck heavily on the zombie¡¯s head. [-4583] A nearly five thousand damage number floated up. Hidden behind his mask, Wang Tao¡¯s lips curled into a grin. Now these were his normal numbers! ¡°Roar!¡± The Chef Zombie roared in anger. It swung its hand axe at Wang Tao. Wang Tao, though hardy, didn¡¯t need to exchange blows directly. He immediately stepped back to avoid the Chef Zombie¡¯s attack and began to energize his next strike. ¡°Defense isn¡¯t high, speed isn¡¯t fast, but it likely has great strength¡ªthe damage must be significant¡­¡± Wang Tao instantly assessed the physical attributes of this Chef Zombie. Wang Tao liked dealing with zombies that had low defense and speed or both. He felt that those types of zombies were simpler to deal with. What he hated most were zombies with high defense or fast speed, or those with bizarre abilities. Such zombies weren¡¯t undefeatable, but they were difficult to kill. In a post-apocalyptic world, wasting time was a true waste of life; taking too long might mean getting overwhelmed by a horde of zombies, so a quick victory was always preferred. He felt that this Chef Zombie would likely be a quick battle. Of course, it remained to be seen whether it had any special abilities. Boom¡ª Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan charged at the Chef Zombie together, hitting it at the same time. Xu Xiaojun hacked with his axe, and Nie Siyan stabbed with a steel bar. [-2495] [-1831] Then came Jiang Shixue, who leaped high, clutching two Night Demon Blades in her hands and slashing across the Chef Zombie¡¯s face. [-2234] [-2285] Chapter 565 - Chapter 565: Chapter 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_2 Chapter 565: Chapter 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_2 Finally, it was Yang Changhong¡¯s turn¡ªshe held a large machete in her hand and swung it down at the zombie. [-2695] Among the individual attacks, it was actually Yang Changhong, who had just achieved Level 3 Ascension not long ago, who inflicted the most damage. However, this was to be expected since she possessed the ability of high-frequency vibration, an ability that provided extreme offensive power with the only drawback being the requirement of close-range combat. The attacks by Xu Xiaojun and the others were completed within two to three seconds. The Chef Zombie was indeed slow; it only began to retaliate at this point. But after striking their blows, everyone immediately retreated. No one was willing to take the hit from the Chef Zombie. After its attack missed again, the Chef Zombie became furiously enraged and let out a roar. Wang Tao saw its HP start to rise. ¡°Self-healing?¡± Without a second thought, Wang Tao stepped forward and unleashed the Energize One Hit he had been charging for 10 seconds on the zombie. Bang! [-8856] The Energize One Hit dealt a massive 8,856 damage! Moreover, it directly interrupted its self-healing process. The damage made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up¡ªit was the first time he had properly used Energize One Hit. Indeed, the longer the charge, the higher the damage! Energize One Hit could be charged up for a maximum of ten seconds, and Wang Tao had just charged it for the full duration, doubling his damage output. In solo combat, it wasn¡¯t easy to charge up Energize One Hit, usually only a second or two at most. But now, with his teammates providing a distraction, Wang Tao found it convenient to use. The Chef Zombie, having been attacked so many times, seemed to be getting frantic. However, Wang Tao and his comrades were agile and did not engage in prolonged combat. Despite it laying waste to the entire cafeteria, it hardly touched any of them. It was only Xu Xiaojun, the slowest among them, who took a couple of axe hits, but protected by his armor, he did not lose any HP. However, there were some white marks on his armor, suggesting a significant loss in durability. Others initially wanted to observe a Level 3 battle, but the commotion from Wang Tao and his team¡¯s fight with the zombie was so intense that the cafeteria seemed on the verge of collapse, prompting these onlookers to hurriedly make their escape. With these people gone, Wang Tao no longer needed to worry about collateral damage, and his fighting became even more unrestrained. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this Chef Zombie have any active abilities?¡± After fighting for quite a while, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t noticed any special abilities from the Chef Zombie¡ªit had relied solely on its strong physical prowess for attacks. If that was the case, then Wang Tao was not afraid. He withstood one of the Chef Zombie¡¯s attacks, then unleashed another Energize One Hit. [-9485] [20498/70000] Nearly 10,000 HP worth of damage in an instant left the Chef Zombie with only about 20,000 HP remaining. Just then, the Chef Zombie¡¯s body began to swell; its HP shot up to a full 70,000 in an instant! Boom! The size of the Chef Zombie grew larger and larger until it smashed through the ceiling of the first floor! ¡°Frenzy!¡± Wang Tao had not expected this Chef Zombie to have this ability as well. In the blink of an eye, the Chef Zombie transformed into a giant two-story-high monstrosity, its size exceedingly terrifying. At this point, the cafeteria was filled with dust, and visibility greatly reduced. Wang Tao, who was right under the Chef Zombie¡¯s feet, immediately signaled for his teammates to retreat. They couldn¡¯t reach its head anymore; they needed to draw the zombie out. As soon as Wang Tao and his team began to run, they immediately caught the attention of the Chef Zombie, which strode after them. Boom! No doubt about it, its destructive power was immense in that oversized form. As it chased after Wang Tao and his comrades, the cafeteria collapsed with a thunderous crash behind it. Even with heavy rain pouring outside, the sound of the building collapsing was distinct. ¡°Mad Demon Zombies are going to be lured here; we need to finish this quickly!¡± Wang Tao fired a few Shockwaves at the Chef Zombie¡¯s head, causing it to stall, then his Tendril shot out, wrapping around one of the Chef Zombie¡¯s legs. ¡°Together now!¡± Wang Tao called to Xu Xiaojun and the others, and they all pulled on the Tendril together, exerting a strong force at once. The Chef Zombie, fresh from stepping out, stumbled suddenly and, perhaps due to its immense size and difficulty in maintaining balance, was pulled down by the group! Crash! Wang Tao retracted the Tendril; although it had lost quite a bit of HP from tripping the Chef Zombie, its mission was accomplished. ¡°Go!¡± Wang Tao signaled for everyone to charge at the Chef Zombie. A standing Chef Zombie was too tall for them to reach; though they were capable of Ranged Attacks, the damage wasn¡¯t as high as melee. Thus, Wang Tao took it down to make things easier. The Chef Zombie tried to get up, but they were already bombarding its face with attacks. Though the Frenzy ability could enhance many attributes, it actually reduced its Defense. So despite the zombie appearing more fearsome, the damage from Wang Tao and his team¡¯s attacks actually increased significantly. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Not knowing how many hits it had taken, the Chef Zombie finally rose in anger. Wang Tao¡¯s Tendril had lost a lot of HP, so he was reluctant to use it. Instead, he started to wear down the zombie with Shockwaves, and the others drew their Ranged Weapons and did the same. If melee combat had allowed the Chef Zombie to hold its own against Wang Tao and his team, switching to ranged combat put it at a clear disadvantage. It couldn¡¯t reach them or outrun them¡ªit was like being led around like a dog. While the damage wasn¡¯t as high, it was enough to wear it down to death¡­ In the end, the final Shockwave from Wang Tao shattered the Chef Zombie¡¯s skull. Splat! With its skull burst open, the colossal figure of the Chef Zombie fell to the ground. Chapter 566 - Chapter 566: Chapter 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_3 Chapter 566: Chapter 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_3 A pile of Loot Packs burst out. Wang Tao gathered up the Loot Packs, then noticed that the hand axe in the Chef Zombie¡¯s grasp could be stored in the Space Backpack. Without a word, Wang Tao collected the items, and after obtaining the Crystal Core from the Chef Zombie, he waved to the others. ¡°Let¡¯s head back quickly!¡± Wang Tao had already seen quite a few Mad Demon Zombies appearing. Although they were all Level 1 and Level Two Mad Demon Zombies, there were too many of them, and since there wasn¡¯t much benefit to killing them, everyone naturally didn¡¯t want to get entangled. When everyone arrived at the school gate, they found that many Mad Demon Zombies had already rushed in. However, they were all held back, and it was the attacking plants that held them up! ¡°Interesting, let them fight each other! We¡¯ll take another route!¡± Wang Tao led the others to the other side; although it was a tall wall with no gate, Xu Xiaojun had split a large hole in it with a few chops of his axe. The group squeezed through one by one and then hurriedly drove away. The heavy rain greatly affected the zombies¡¯ Perception, and after chasing the convoy for a while, the Mad Demon Zombies fell behind. Over ten vehicles returned to Duzhu Town Base quite smoothly. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± After getting back to the base, Fan Peng and the others finally relaxed. ¡°Damn! That was thrilling!¡± Someone exclaimed excitedly. ¡°Isn¡¯t it! I¡¯ve never been in such a big battle before! Althoug h I was just spectating¡­¡± ¡°The strength of Level 3 is so strong! Lucky for us Mr. Wang was with us; otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t even know how we died facing those zombies!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah! We must thank Mr. Wang!¡± After getting out of the vehicles, everyone thanked Wang Tao. Wang Tao waved his hand and then asked with a smile, ¡°How was your loot?¡± ¡°Heh heh¡­ not bad!¡± Just by looking at them, Wang Tao knew they had gained quite a bit. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t ask further and said to Fan Peng, ¡°We won¡¯t be leaving today; the battle took a lot out of us, so we need a day of rest.¡± ¡°Of course! Mr. Wang, please rest assured you won¡¯t be disturbed!¡± Wang Tao and the others returned to their room. Xu Xiaojun and the others took off their armor. Wang Tao glanced at it and saw that the Durability of everyone¡¯s armor had dropped somewhat, especially for Yang Changhong; her armor was a brand new set of Level 3 Iron Tree Armor given by Wang Tao. With a total of 30 Durability, it had dropped by 5 points! And these 5 points were all scratched by the Ghost Claw Zombie. It must be said that the damage done by the Ghost Claw Zombie was really high. Wang Tao took out a medical kit and nutritional fluid to hand them. ¡°Everyone, get some good rest.¡± The group wasn¡¯t hurt much, and the battle ended quickly, amounting to a swift victory. However, high-intensity combat was still very mentally draining, so they needed to recuperate properly. ¡°Mhm.¡± While everyone was resting, Wang Tao glanced at his HP bar. Having just killed this Chef Zombie, Wang Tao gained an additional 12,600 to his HP limit and special energy. This increase was actually not as much as the 60,000 HP from the Ghost Claw Zombie. Nevertheless, it was not insignificant¡ªWang Tao¡¯s HP had now reached 67,000! ¡°After ascending to Level 3, my HP is really shooting up fast!¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional. Although the higher the level, the more HP needed for ascension, the amount of HP gained from killing higher-level zombies was also greater. Overall, his HP was increasing quicker than before. Wang Tao felt that if he encountered two or three more zombies like this one, he might reach a hundred thousand HP! Of course, the main reason was that Wang Tao was strong, with the ability to defeat enemies above his level. Plus, Xu Xiaojun and the others were not competing with Wang Tao for the kills¡­ Wang Tao then turned his attention to the other loot. He first checked the Chef Zombie. Inside the Chef Zombie¡¯s head was a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Self-healing]. It had dropped four Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained a total of 3 Crystal Cores, including a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Strength], and a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Frenzy]. Only then did Wang Tao understand why the Chef Zombie had given less HP than the Ghost Claw Zombie. Because the Chef Zombie had fewer abilities inside¡ªonly Power, Self-healing, and Frenzy. Zombies with more abilities provided a greater increase to the HP limit. After collecting the Crystal Cores, Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack. Inside were potions. [Acquired: Strength Potion (small) x20] [Acquired: Berserk Potion x20] ¡°Huh, a Berserk Potion?¡± Wang Tao had never seen this potion before. [Berserk Potion: After injection, all attributes increased for 1 minute, with a 24-hour cooldown] This Berserk Potion seemed pretty good. Although the duration was only a short one minute and the cooldown was a lengthy 24 hours, it increased all attributes. Even if the potion gave just one-tenth the effect of the Frenzy ability, it would still be quite exceptional. At critical moments, it could potentially turn the tide of battle. The third Loot Pack contained a set of clothing. [Acquired: Chef Suit Set x1] [Chef Suit Set: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10] It was a white chef¡¯s uniform, including a hat, jacket, pants, and shoes. The attributes were quite good, very durable. But Wang Tao felt it was somewhat strange to wear a chef¡¯s uniform, and also, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be as convenient as his current sweatshirt in combat. ¡°I¡¯ll just put it away for now.¡± Wang Tao checked his Space Backpack and found that he still had two other sets of clothing within: the Pink Nurse Uniform he had acquired long ago, and a Diving Suit obtained from killing a Zombie Fish. These three sets of clothing were of no immediate use, but they might come in handy later. Since the drop rate for clothes was not high, it was better to keep them. The fourth Loot Pack contained a blueprint. [Acquired: Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe Blueprint x1] [Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe Blueprint: Once learned, allows for the crafting of 1 Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe each time. Required materials: Any axe head, any Crystal Core x1 (Level 1, Level Two, or Level 3 Crystal Cores can be used), Iron Block x10, Blade x10, Screw x10, Wood Block x10] ¡°Huh? A uniform hand axe!¡± Upon seeing this blueprint, Wang Tao was immediately pleasantly surprised. Although the attributes of standardized equipment were slightly lower in comparison to non-standardized equipment, they could be mass-produced! Without a second thought, Wang Tao immediately learned the Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe Blueprint. He already had the ¡°Iron Tree Standard Armor¡± and ¡°White Bone Standard Crossbow and Crossbow Arrows¡± blueprints. Now with the addition of the Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe¡­ it was as if he had a complete set of equipment for defense, ranged combat, and close combat! Chapter 567 - Chapter 567: Chapter 240: Merging Perception Abilities_1 Chapter 567: Chapter 240: Merging Perception Abilities_1 Speaking of the hand axe, Wang Tao had also collected the weapon dropped by the chef zombie. [Obtained: Bone-Chopping Hand Axe x1] The equipment dropped by zombies had no attributes, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how good this hand axe was. However, he still had some firefighter axes, so there was no need to use the bone-chopping hand axe to make a standard axe. Wang Tao put away the bone-chopping hand axe and then took out three firefighter axes. A moment later, three white hand axes appeared. [Bone-Chopping Standard Hand Axe] [Level 1 (Ordinary)] [Durability +15, Attack power +15] ¡­ [Bone-Chopping Standard Hand Axe] [Level 2 (Ordinary)] [Durability +25, Attack power +25] ¡­ [Bone-Chopping Standard Hand Axe] [Level 3 (Ordinary)] [Durability +35, Attack power +35] Compared to the previously made White Bone Standard Crossbow, although it lacked the attribute for accuracy, each level of attack power and durability increased by 5 points, which was quite good. Moreover, the attributes of this level 3 hand axe were already better than the broken giant axe in Xu Xiaojun¡¯s hands. [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe] [Level 2 (Excellent)] [Attack power +30, Durability +30, Attack speed ¨C (5%~50%)] The broken giant axe would weaken the attack speed, but the hand axe would not. However, hand axes were quite short, so in some instances, they were not as good as longer weapons. Wang Tao planned to prepare two level 3 standard hand axes for each person. As for Xu Xiaojun, Wang Tao would let him choose whatever he was comfortable with, since he could use both giant axes and hand axes. After crafting several hand axes, Wang Tao did not rush to call Xu Xiaojun and the others over, but continued to check the loot. He had not examined the loot dropped by the ghost claw zombie they killed earlier in detail. The crystal core in the brain of the ghost claw zombie was a mental defense crystal core. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: reduced defense)] [Mental Defense: Passive Ability, increases mental defense power] ¡°It actually is a psychic system zombie?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the ghost claw zombie was physically strong, and he had thought it was a zombie that relied solely on its physical capabilities. However, if it possessed psychical abilities, that probably explained why they initially thought it was a beautiful woman! Wang Tao quickly looked at the loot pack it had exploded with, which also contained four packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained five crystal cores. They were a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Perception], a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Disguise], and an orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Physique Enhancement]. ¡°There¡¯s actually a Perception Ability!¡± Wang Tao was very surprised. However, he suddenly remembered Jiang Shixue¡¯s words; she had said she felt like she was being watched. Wang Tao had thought that the ghost claw zombie had seen her from upstairs, but it turned out to be the ¡°sight¡± of the Perception Ability! This was great news for Wang Tao! Because he had three Perception Crystal Cores in his possession, but one of them was level 2. Now that he had this Perception Crystal Core, Wang Tao had three level 3 Perception Crystal Cores! That meant he could synthesize a Perception Crystal Core with no side effects or impurities for his own use! Perception Ability was something he had wanted to learn before but, unfortunately, had not been able to find until now. Finally, he had gathered them all! Wang Tao took a deep breath. After synthesizing these few Perception Crystal Cores into an Epic Crystal Core, he did not rush to synthesize them but instead looked at the other two crystal cores he had not seen before. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Disguise] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: double energy consumption for using abilities)] [Disguise: Can disguise oneself as someone else, undetectable by those with lower mental power than oneself] Seeing the attributes of this crystal core, Wang Tao finally understood. No wonder he couldn¡¯t find any flaws in the appearance of the ghost claw zombie and hadn¡¯t noticed being affected by an illusion. It was because his mental power was lower than that of the zombie, and he couldn¡¯t see through it. Meanwhile, Jiang Shixue¡¯s mental power was higher than the ghost claw zombie¡¯s, so she saw through it at a glance! Truth be told, this ability is quite impressive. Wang Tao was even tempted to fuse it. After all, it was the first time he had seen an ability that could change one¡¯s appearance. It¡¯s the perfect tool for getting away with murder and arson! However, a pity there was only one such core, and the side effect was rather significant. So for now, it could only gather dust in the Space Backpack, and he would have to wait and see if there was a chance to collect more in the future. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Physique Enhancement] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: double physical strength consumed for actions)] [Physique Enhancement: Continuous Ability, all-around enhancement of physical fitness during its duration] The last crystal core was a continuous ability that improved physical fitness! The ghost claw zombie¡¯s strong physique might be related to this crystal core. Wang Tao could also use this crystal core and it should be possible to combine it with his Iron Wall. But like Disguise, he had to wait to eliminate the side effect before using it. The crystal cores dropped by the ghost claw zombie were much better than those from the chef zombie, as Wang Tao could use them. Perception, Disguise, Physique Enhancement, including the mental defense core from the ghost claw zombie¡¯s head. All these were crystal cores Wang Tao could fuse. However, currently, only Perception could be fused. Wang Tao was lacking two more for Disguise and Physique Enhancement, and one more for Mental Defense; he already had one Mental Defense Crystal Core before. Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack, which contained potions. Chapter 568 - Chapter 568: Chapter 240: Merging Perception Abilities_2 Chapter 568: Chapter 240: Merging Perception Abilities_2 [Acquired: Mental Boosting Potion x20] [Acquired: Mental Potion (Small) x20] Wang Tao had received both types of potions before and proceeded to use the Mental Boosting Potions. After a moment, he had consumed them all. Spiritual power doesn¡¯t have a specific numeric value, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how much he had. However, as long as he could get more of those potions, he estimated that it might be possible to surpass Jiang Shixue. As for why Jiang Shixue¡¯s spiritual power was so strong¡­ It could only be said that she was not a normal human being, and it was pointless to compare with her. The third Loot Pack contained clothing, just like the Chef Zombie. [Acquired: Female secretary professional suit x1] [Female secretary professional suit: Durability +10, Tear-Resistance +10] This was a complete outfit, including a blazer, white shirt, black pencil skirt, high heels, and even included stockings and glasses. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. The outfit looked nice and had decent attributes, but like the chef¡¯s uniform and the Pink Nurse Uniform, it wasn¡¯t very useful to him! If only it was combat gear that could be worn in battle. However, in such a perilous environment, there was no room for daily wear¡­ Shaking his head, Wang Tao looked towards the last Loot Pack. [Acquired: Qian country map x1] It turned out to be a map. Wang Tao browsed through it and found it was similar to the ones he had seen before, the only difference being that this one had a name and could be placed into the Space Backpack. ¡°This is pretty good¡­¡± Aside from these items, the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s actual claws also had a name. [Acquired: Dark sharp claws x2] [Dark sharp claws: These claws have a certain Armor Break ability and can fuse with human females. Once merged, they grant: Dark sharp claws (Note: Merging only one claw has no effect.)] ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing the attributes of the Dark sharp claws, Wang Tao was surprised. This was similar to the Night Vision Eyes he had merged before! After merging, one would gain a Hidden Ability! This was definitely a valuable item! So far, Wang Tao had only seen two things that could increase Hidden Abilities, one being the Night Vision Eyes and the other being Magic Seeds, and now there was the Dark sharp claws. Unfortunately, they could only be merged by females¡ªwell, not exactly unfortunate. Even if Wang Tao could merge them, he wasn¡¯t too keen on doing so. He was more accustomed to using longer Weapons, as he was afraid of getting infected. Wang Tao felt among the few people around him, Jiang Shixue was quite a fit. She wasn¡¯t afraid of the zombie virus and had been fighting with her bare hands before Wang Tao gave her the Dagger! Wang Tao called Jiang Shixue over immediately. He was in the room, undisturbed, as everyone thought he was resting. ¡°Brother.¡± ¡°Here, I have something good for you! Eat it!¡± Wang Tao handed the Dark sharp claws to Jiang Shixue. After he stored the Dark sharp claws in the Space Backpack, they slowly underwent some changes. They were no longer as fierce-looking as before but rather resembled oddly shaped bread. So, even if Jiang Shixue had to consume these, Wang Tao didn¡¯t find it disgusting. Of course, it wasn¡¯t exactly eating¡ªsimilar to when merging with a Crystal Core, they would just dissolve once placed in the mouth. Jiang Shixue trusted Wang Tao unconditionally. Hearing his words, she shoved the pair of claws into her mouth without hesitation. As soon as they entered her small mouth, the claws disappeared instantly. ¡°Eh?¡± Jiang Shixue blinked her wide eyes, looking a bit confused. In her current memory, she had never merged with a Crystal Core before, so she was unaware of what was happening. But soon, Jiang Shixue felt a warm sensation throughout her body, and then she looked at her hands. Her fingernails started to grow longer. Jiang Shixue seemed to find this very interesting, turning her hands over and over. ¡°It doesn¡¯t quite look like that zombie¡¯s¡­¡± Wang Tao was surprised. He had thought Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands would turn into something similar to the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s withered appendages but instead, they remained fair and tender, and instead of black, the nails were a dark red. However, when Wang Tao pinched them, he found that they only seemed soft to the touch but actually felt quite solid, akin to the Thoughness Ability he previously had. Wang Tao pinched Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything.¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. Wang Tao then took a small knife and lightly scratched her hand; it didn¡¯t break the skin. After scratching harder, her hand still didn¡¯t show any marks, but the blade now had a nick in it! ¡°Such strong defensive power! It¡¯s like steel!¡± After testing for a while, Wang Tao found that Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands could even block his own Bone Knife! ¡°Powerful!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up, then asked: ¡°You can change them back to normal, right?¡± These hands were powerful, but they didn¡¯t feel very nice. Jiang Shixue liked holding Wang Tao¡¯s hand, and if they remained this rigid, it would definitely be uncomfortable for him. ¡°I can.¡± With a thought from Jiang Shixue, her nails instantly retracted, and her hands became soft again. ¡°Excellent!¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Jiang Shixue¡¯s attributes. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 28000/28000] [Grade: Level 2 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 100%] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract, Dark sharp claws] She now had two Hidden Abilities. ¡°Brother, do you want to take back the daggers?¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. Wang Tao had previously given her a pair of Night Demon Blade daggers, which she found quite suitable. Now with the claw ability, it seemed somewhat redundant. Chapter 569 - Chapter 569: Chapter 240: Merging Perception Abilities_3 Chapter 569: Chapter 240: Merging Perception Abilities_3 ¡°How could I take back something I¡¯ve given to you? Just use whatever you want to use when it¡¯s your turn,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. He wasn¡¯t in the habit of taking back what he had given away, and besides, nobody else could use the dagger since it was such a short weapon, except for Jiang Shixue. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue was very happy to hear Wang Tao¡¯s words. After all, it was something that Wang Tao had given her, and she wanted to keep it whether she used it or not. Wang Tao let Jiang Shixue get used to the claws on her own, while he prepared to start merging with the Perception Crystal Cores. First, Wang Tao extracted the [Berserk Enhancement] Ability, and then merged it with the Epic Crystal Core that had already been synthesized in advance. A moment later, the Perception merge was complete. An impatient Wang Tao immediately used his Perception. Then, Wang Tao felt as if he were in a black world, with many grey figures that had normal human shapes, clearly human. Some human figures had small blue light points on them. The more blue points, the stronger the Ability. Level 1, Level 2, Level 3¡­ Wang Tao quickly distinguished them. Next, Wang Tao checked the range of his Perception¡­ He could sense almost the entire building! It was roughly a circle with a thirty-meter radius centered around him that fell within his range of Perception! However, buildings would block his Perception range. He could also guess where the buildings were by the reduced range¡­ Overall, this Perception Ability was very good! With this Ability, Wang Tao no longer had to worry about being sneak-attacked by zombies! After studying Perception for a while longer, Wang Tao looked at the Ability synthesis. Perception was also a Psychic System Ability, which could be synthesized with Yin and Yang Balance. [Yin and Yang Balance + Perception = 91%] The success rate was 91%, worth a gamble. Wang Tao directly consumed 30,000 Special Energy to synthesize. A moment later, a new Superpower appeared. [Level 3 Superpower ? Yin and Yang Balance: Can sense surrounding objects, can slightly affect the minds of living beings, can cause instability in their spirits, can open a barrier that blocks Mental Attacks, and when having sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, both parties¡¯ Mana will refill quickly, and the user will permanently increase a certain amount of Mana. The permanent increase in Mana has a cooldown time, which is random. (Side effects: None)] The name of the new Superpower hadn¡¯t changed much, but the content now included Perception. ¡°Our capital for going to the military base has greatly increased!¡± After playing with Perception for a bit longer, Wang Tao walked out of the room with Jiang Shixue. Xu Xiaojun and the others were resting with their eyes closed in the living room outside. Hearing Wang Tao come out, they all opened their eyes. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ve got some weapons for you all to share.¡± Having good things naturally meant sharing them with his people. Since Wang Tao had had his meat, he had to let everyone else have some soup. ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing Wang Tao casually wave his hand and suddenly lots of Hand Axes appeared on the table, Yang Changhong was surprised. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan were used to it, but they were curious about the Hand Axes that were clearly all identical. ¡°These are Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axes; their Attack power¡¯s a little stronger than that of the Bone Hand Crossbows, about the same as a Hand Crossbow plus a Crossbow Arrow¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced them and then let everyone try them out. The Bone-Chopping Hand Axe was a One-Handed Axe and not too heavy; everyone could swing it with ease. ¡°It actually feels quite good in hand¡­¡± Yang Changhong was somewhat surprised. Her weapon was a machete, which was of decent quality but just decent. During the time she was away from the team, her machete had already dulled. She was just looking for a good weapon, and this Hand Axe seemed very suitable to her. Although the Hand Axe wasn¡¯t long, her machete wasn¡¯t particularly long either. The weight of both was similar, and the feeling of swinging them was more or less the same. Plus, she could swing two Hand Axes at the same time! As for the Attack power, there was no need for comparison¡ªthe Hand Axes blew her machete out of the water! ¡°I want to use two Hand Axes!¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t bother being polite with Wang Tao and simply spoke up. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Making these wasn¡¯t difficult; it was just an Axe and a Level 3 Crystal Core. ¡°¡­May I have one?¡± Nie Siyan raised her hand. Wang Tao nodded. So Nie Siyan happily took one. Her weapon was a steel bar, which she didn¡¯t find very handy. The main reason was that she had the Throwing Master Ability, which was more effective when she used the steel bar. She felt quite comfortable wielding the Hand Axe, but she didn¡¯t dare ask for more. After all, she knew she was the lowest in Wang Tao¡¯s esteem, and she had to be aware of that. As for Xu Xiaojun, he looked quite conflicted. He found the Hand Axe very comfortable to use and its Attack power stronger than his Giant Axe. But he was used to the big, sweeping attacks with the Giant Axe. If he suddenly switched to a small Hand Axe, there was a bit of an adjustment period. ¡°Just carry two on you for now, whether you use them or not. They¡¯ll do as backups,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Back in Shuize Base, he used to carry five or six Firefighter Axes. ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded. He decided to practice with the One-Handed Axe later; he couldn¡¯t afford to drag the team down. Wang Tao then looked at Yang Changhong. ¡°You¡¯re not hurt, are you?¡± She had been knocked down by a Ghost Claw Zombie before, and although her armor had blocked the zombie¡¯s attack, she still suffered some internal injuries. ¡°I¡¯m fine! Your armor has high defensive power, and I just got a little shaken-up, that¡¯s all.¡± Yang Changhong said with a smile. She was no fragile woman; such an injury was really nothing to her. ¡°Alright, glad you¡¯re fine.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then said, ¡°I plan to make another trip to the school tomorrow, and we¡¯ll leave here the day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ah? Did you find something?¡± Yang Changhong asked curiously. ¡°I haven¡¯t found anything. But there are still a lot of zombies in the school; we can harvest some Crystal Cores. And by solving some dangers for Duzhu Town Base, it can be considered a good deed,¡± Wang Tao actually wanted to test out his new Perception Ability. The school area, with many zombies, was a great place for its deployment. ¡°Great!¡± Everyone nodded. Chapter 570 - Chapter 570: Chapter 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_1 Chapter 570: Chapter 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_1 The next day. When they learned that Wang Tao was going back to the school, Fan Peng was somewhat surprised and quickly asked, ¡°Can we come with you?¡± Although Wang Tao had dealt with the Level 3 zombie at the school, there were still many Level 2 zombies. For them at Duzhu Town Base, dealing with these zombies was still quite troublesome. If they could follow Wang Tao, they might at least get to share in the rewards. ¡°Feel free.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t an unkind person. As long as these people didn¡¯t get in the way, it was fine. ¡°Alright!¡± Fan Peng immediately ran off excitedly to call people. Everyone had originally planned to rest for the day, considering they had fought intensely the day before. But upon hearing Fan Peng¡¯s words, they all ran over excitedly once more. After all, the chances of following a Level 3 ability user like this might not come by often in a lifetime, so they had to seize the opportunity! Soon, a convoy set off from Duzhu Town Base once again, heading for the school. The hole that Xu Xiaojun had smashed open the day before was still there, and everyone entered in succession. Walking at the front, Wang Tao immediately activated his Perception Ability. All nearby zombies had nowhere to hide. ¡°This feeling of having x-ray vision¡­ amazing! Right, I should check those plants¡­¡± Wang Tao informed the others of the zombies¡¯ positions, letting them go and kill. He himself approached the plants near the school¡¯s gate. Whether human or zombie, all were attacked by these plants. But these plants had no levels and probably offered no reward when killed. Besides, the plants were generally large, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how to kill them completely¡ªperhaps uproot them? So he had left them alone. Now, having learned the Perception Ability, Wang Tao used it to see if he could find anything on these plants. ¡°Huh?¡± And indeed, he found something! Though not monsters, these plants did contain some energy, hidden in a particular part of their trunks. Could this be their consciousness? Wang Tao took out his Bone Knife and approached a large tree of an unknown species. Instantly, several branches attacked Wang Tao. The branches only had a few thousand HP, and their damage was very low. Even without activating Entangling Roots, Wang Tao¡¯s armor, including his Stubborn Armor and Rush Suit, allowed him to ignore these attacks. He then stabbed a particular spot at the base of the tree. Thrust! The Bone Knife easily pierced it. Wang Tao then noticed that the tree seemed to have lost its life energy, wilting instantly, and even dropped a Loot Pack. But¡­ the tree hadn¡¯t died! ¡°Interesting¡­¡± The spot Wang Tao had stabbed was where the tree¡¯s energy or consciousness resided. His strike might have directly killed its consciousness. But the tree itself hadn¡¯t died; instead, it had become an ordinary tree after losing its consciousness. Wang Tao looked at the Loot Pack it dropped. [You obtained: Tree Essence Liquid x10] Ten servings of Tree Essence Liquid, with one serving increasing HP and Mana by 100 each. However, there was a cooldown period for Tree Essence Liquid, and it couldn¡¯t be increased indefinitely. After using ten servings in a row, a cooldown period would start, the length of which varied from person to person. This was rather good stuff, and Wang Tao had been using it steadily, still having plenty on hand. After thinking a moment, Wang Tao used the Bone Knife to hollow out a cavity in the trunk. ¡°As expected!¡± Inside the trunk, Wang Tao found a pool of Tree Essence Liquid, gathering 14 servings in total. Although these plants¡¯ method of attack was strange, their attack power wasn¡¯t high, at least for now. Therefore, Wang Tao thought that it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for ability users with average strength to kill these plants. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if others had discovered Tree Essence Liquid yet, but sooner or later, someone certainly would. Perhaps in the future, there would even be people who specialized in collecting it¡­ Adhering to the principle of not wasting resources, Wang Tao walked around the grove. He killed the consciousness of every plant there and also gathered quite a bit of Tree Essence Liquid. After using his Perception Ability again to make sure nothing was missed, he finally left the grove. ¡°How did you discover this stuff?¡± Yang Changhong held some Tree Essence Liquid in her hands, looking at Wang Tao with great curiosity. ¡°The Perception Ability can detect the consciousness of these plants; killing it allows you to find the Tree Essence Liquid,¡± Wang Tao explained briefly. He didn¡¯t hide the fact that he had learned the Perception Ability. Though Yang Changhong was curious about how he could still fuse Crystal Cores, she didn¡¯t ask further. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Yang Changhong looked at the distant plants, her eyes shining. Wang Tao had just given her some Tree Essence Liquid, and though she couldn¡¯t see the HP and Mana bars, after taking it, she truly felt as if she had grown slightly stronger. These kinds of things that can enhance one¡¯s strength are hard to come by. ¡°Some are ordinary plants, and some have consciousness. It¡¯s not easy to tell just from their appearance.¡± Wang Tao led a few people back into the plant grove. He killed the plants¡¯ consciousness while Yang Changhong and the others collected the Tree Essence Liquid. After all the plants¡¯ consciousness had been dealt with, Wang Tao finally relaxed. Keeping the Perception Ability active was exhausting. If he hadn¡¯t discovered the Tree Essence Liquid, it would have been alright to miss out. But now that he knew how to get it, he didn¡¯t want to waste the opportunity, taking everything that he could. Chapter 571 - Chapter 571: Chapter 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_2 Chapter 571: Chapter 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_2 They ultimately managed to acquire over thirty-thousand portions, which was quite a bountiful harvest indeed. Wang Tao intentionally left a few plants that still had a consciousness and then called over Fan Peng and the others to demonstrate for them. After all, there were no conflicts of interest between Wang Tao and them, and they might never have the chance to meet again. So, there wasn¡¯t a problem with sharing this information with them, as everyone was a human survivor, and the stronger humanity was as a whole, the greater its chance of survival. ¡°There¡¯s actually such a thing¡­¡± Seeing Wang Tao extract some plant essence from a plant whose name they didn¡¯t even know, everyone was somewhat surprised. Especially when Wang Tao said that this plant essence could enhance one¡¯s strength, that got everyone instantly excited. We might not be able to deal with zombies that are too powerful, but can¡¯t we deal with these low-intelligence plants? We¡¯ll have to pay more attention from now on! We can¡¯t let any plant that can attack, but whose attack power isn¡¯t high, slip through! After Wang Tao shared these matters with everyone, he went to look around other places. This school wasn¡¯t small, and since he hadn¡¯t examined it carefully yesterday, now with his Perception Ability, he could conduct a carpet-style search. It took an hour, but Wang Tao had almost turned the whole school upside down. There were quite a few Level 2 Zombies, but there were no longer any Level 3 Zombies in the school. However, that didn¡¯t mean there were no gains¡ªWang Tao unexpectedly found a Night Demon¡¯s Nest! This Night Demon¡¯s Nest was not in the school but in a hotel next door. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability, he would definitely have missed it. Night Demons were strong, and there were many of them in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, but Wang Tao and his group were all Level 3 now, and his own HP had even reached nearly seventy thousand. With this strength, they were more than capable of storming the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! ¡°There¡¯s basically no significant danger left in the school now, just some Level 2 Zombies that you can easily handle if you cooperate. We¡¯re heading next door.¡± Wang Tao picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke to Fan Peng on the other side. ¡°Ah? You guys are¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s a Night Demon¡¯s Nest in the hotel next door; we¡¯re planning to check it out.¡± ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± As soon as Wang Tao uttered those words, he could hear several people on the other end sucking in a breath of cold air. Everyone knew about Night Demons; these zombies were at a minimum Level 3, with formidable strength. If a single Night Demon appeared, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it. Even if they could eventually kill it, they would likely have many casualties. They didn¡¯t know how many Night Demons were within the nest, but the military information Wang Tao had shown to them earlier stated that Night Demons were nocturnal creatures that only emerged at night, and during the day¡­ they all hid inside their nest! A Night Demon¡¯s Nest during the day was even more dangerous than at night! ¡°Mr. Wang, please be careful!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao and his companions climbed over the school¡¯s courtyard wall and directly entered the hotel¡¯s backyard next door. There were some Ordinary Zombies in the yard, which Xu Xiaojun eliminated in an instant with a Shockwave. Wang Tao used his Ability to sense the area. ¡°Tsk, tsk¡­¡± There were at least fifty Night Demons inside, and there was even a Lord among them, likely a Blue-skinned Night Demon! Hearing the number, both Yang Changhong and Nie Siyan were both nervous and thrilled. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao immediately activated Entangling Roots and then swaggered through the hotel¡¯s main entrance. It was very dark inside the hotel, but Wang Tao¡¯s eyes gleamed with a green light. Jiang Shixue followed next to him, her eyes glowing red, and dark red nails grew out of her delicate white hands. As for Xu Xiaojun, Nie Siyan, and Yang Changhong, they lacked Night Vision, so fighting Night Demons here was obviously a disadvantage. That¡¯s why Wang Tao immediately handed them Ultraviolet flashlights and flares! These Ultraviolet devices not only provided illumination but also caused damage to Night Demons! This was one of the reasons why Wang Tao dared to confront so many Night Demons! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± As soon as several people entered, a Night Demon immediately charged at them. Swish! Several Ultraviolet flashlights were turned on at the same time, instantly illuminating the Night Demon¡¯s entire body. Sizzling¡ª The Night Demon immediately stopped in its tracks and instinctively covered itself from the light as its body emitted a sound of burning. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Smelling the scent of humans, the Night Demon was somewhat unable to control its own body, but the Ultraviolet light made it so uncomfortable that it instinctively feared it. Thus, an interesting phenomenon occurred¡ªthe Night Demons seemed frozen in place, alternating between roaring and covering their faces, unwilling to leave. For everyone else, this was like shooting at targets! Immediately, each kind of attack was directed towards the Night Demon. With a total of thirty thousand HP, the Night Demon¡¯s health bar was cleared in just a few seconds without Wang Tao even making a move. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± That¡¯s when more Night Demons ran down from upstairs. Wang Tao waved his hand, and several people immediately lit the Ultraviolet illumination flares and threw them around the hotel lobby. By the time the other Night Demons arrived, the entire lobby was bathed in purple light. Sizzling¡ª Wave after wave of burning sounds rose as the skins of those Night Demons were scorched, smoking and cracking. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Night Demons roared loudly but were halted by the Ultraviolet light, not daring to come closer. In the purple-lit lobby, a brief safe zone was created. ¡°Charge!¡± Wang Tao gripped his Bone Knife and charged forward. These Night Demons all had thirty thousand HP. If it had been back when Wang Tao was Level 2, he might have had to be very cautious. But now, they were basically completely suppressed by him. Chapter 572 - Chapter 572: Chapter 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_3 Chapter 572: Chapter 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_3 Wang Tao casually picked an opponent and struck, a damage figure of [-11349] floated up, the second strike [-12844], and the third strike directly zeroed its HP bar! After ascending to Level 3, Wang Tao no longer considered killing these Level 3 Elite Zombies as over-level kills, so he only obtained a Loot Pack. Moreover, the pack did not contain Crystal Cores or Potions but an Ultraviolet Suit instead. [Acquired: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Acquired: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells x20] He didn¡¯t lack flashlights, but illumination shells were consumable, so it was fine to have more. ¡°Kill!¡± Wielding his ¡°Entangling Roots¡± which gave him a hefty hundred thousand HP, Wang Tao rushed directly into the Night Demon zombie group. At that moment, a blue figure suddenly appeared and instantly reached behind Wang Tao. If this were before, Wang Tao might have really been successfully ambushed. After all, with so many Night Demons around, it was hard for Wang Tao to locate the Blue-skinned Night Demon. But now, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability had already pinpointed the location of the Blue-skinned Night Demon! Thus, the moment it appeared, Wang Tao reacted instantly. He swung his knife backwards without hesitation. Bang! The Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s claws almost reached Wang Tao¡¯s chest, but Wang Tao¡¯s Bone Knife was longer and struck its head first. [-6048] A six thousand HP damage strike sent the Blue-skinned Night Demon flying. Wang Tao dashed to where the Blue-skinned Night Demon landed and struck its head with another blow. [-6129] ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Blue-skinned Night Demon let out an enraged howl, and the ordinary Night Demons immediately swarmed Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s recent Rush had taken him out of the Ultraviolet illumination flares¡¯ area of effect, so the Night Demons swarmed him recklessly. Wang Tao temporarily ceased attacking the Blue-skinned Night Demon, emitting a Shockwave toward the encircling Night Demons. Boom¡ª The assaulting Night Demons were all knocked down and lost a third of their HP. Taking advantage of their failure to get up, Wang Tao released two more Shockwaves. Puchi! The surrounding Night Demons had their HP bars reduced to zero! Meanwhile, the Blue-skinned Night Demon took the chance to flee! But now it was daytime outside, and the first-floor hall was blocked by Ultraviolet illumination flares, so it could only flee upwards. Wang Tao immediately chased after it. Along the way, there were many Incubation Flesh and half-incubated Night Demons, which Wang Tao had no time to inspect. He chased all the way to the rooftop, where the Blue-skinned Night Demon, finding no escape, turned to attack Wang Tao again. With knife in hand, Wang Tao engaged in battle with it once more. Facing Wang Tao now, the Blue-skinned Night Demon clearly was no match. Moments later, Wang Tao cleaved its skull in two. After collecting the loot, Wang Tao immediately went downstairs to join Xu Xiaojun and others in killing the rest of the Night Demons. Night Demons were dangerous and not to be underestimated. After spending some time, Wang Tao led the others in eradicating all the Night Demons, Incubation Flesh, and half-baked Night Demons within the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! After reassurance provided by his Perception Ability that no stragglers were left, Wang Tao then led everyone to the first-floor hall to tally the loot. ¡°Did you, did you all hunt Level 3 zombies like this before!¡± Yang Changhong looked at Wang Tao with a mix of excitement and admiration. ¡°` Storming into the Night Demon¡¯s Nest to hunt Night Demons, Yang Changhong only wanted to say one word¡ªthrilling! With Ultraviolet illumination flares at their disposal, Night Demons dared not to attack them. To a certain extent, as long as they had enough flares, they were on invincible terrain! There were more than fifty Night Demons in total here, and Wang Tao had killed about twenty Ordinary Night Demons and one Blue-skinned Night Demon. The remaining thirty Night Demons were all slain by them. The thrill that Yang Changhong felt didn¡¯t come from the killing itself, but from the clear sense that her strength had greatly improved! She herself had slain a total of 15 Night Demons! Moreover, she found that Jiang Shixue was deliberately yielding kills to her. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill so many. One Night Demon could bring her an increase of 1500 to her maximum HP, so 15 of them amounted to an HP improvement of 22,500! She had recently attained Level 3 Ascension and previously, after hunting zombies with Wang Tao, her HP was only around 32,000. Now, with such a sudden increase, her maximum HP shot up to over 50,000! This significant boost in maximum HP was very pronounced; she would have become increasingly exhausted from combat before, but now she grew stronger the more she fought! Such a degree of improvement was simply outrageous! Wang Tao took a glance at Yang Changhong¡¯s attributes. [HP: 55000/55000] [Mana: 14600/14600] [Grade: Level 3] [Internal Impurity: 11%] Her HP had reached 55,000. The reason she could kill so many Night Demons was actually because of the instructions Wang Tao had previously given to Jiang Shixue, allowing Jiang Shixue to let her claim the kills. After all, Jiang Shixue wouldn¡¯t gain HP from killing zombies, so taking the kills would be a waste. Wang Tao laughed and said, ¡°That¡¯s not it, the Night Demon¡¯s Nest is rather hidden, and it¡¯s not always possible to find it. Moreover, I lacked the strength before. This is my first time in such a condition.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also my first time fighting in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and said. Not only Yang Changhong but also he and Nie Siyan reaped a great harvest. His HP had reached 60,000, and Nie Siyan¡¯s HP had also risen to 50,000! However, the one with the greatest gains was naturally Wang Tao¡ªhis HP had reached the upper limit for Level 3! He originally had an HP of 68,340. Although killing 20 Ordinary Night Demons wasn¡¯t a feat of overpowering, it still added 30,000 to his HP. Then, he killed a Blue-skinned Night Demon. The Blue-skinned Night Demon was a Level 3 Lord, which counted as killing above his level. This brought him another 12,000 HP cap increase and 12,000 Special Energy. Therefore, his HP totaled 110,000! Even Wang Tao himself hadn¡¯t expected that just a few days after his Level 3 Ascension from having 30,000 HP, he would jump to 110,000 HP! But after gaining so much HP, Wang Tao also noticed something different from before. Level 1¡¯s maximum HP limit is 4,999; reaching 5,000 HP means Level Two. Similarly, the maximum HP for Level Two is 29,999; reaching 30,000 HP qualifies for Level 3. Wang Tao had thought the limit for Level 3 was 99,999, having seen Fourth-order Monsters with a hundred thousand HP. But now he realized this was not the case; the cap for Level 3 is actually a hundred thousand HP! His 110,000 was due to the extra 10,000 HP he had from before. So Wang Tao was curious why the HP cap for Level 3 was different from the previous levels? He felt that advancing from Level 3 to Level 4 might not be as easy as from Level 1 to Level Two, or from Level Two to Level 3¡ªFor Wang Tao, upgrading with an Ascension crystal core is still relatively easier. Wang Tao thought of the fourth-order Monster he had seen earlier, which had an attribute Wang Tao had never seen before¡ªAwakening. Could advancing to Level 4 have something to do with this ¡°Awakening¡±? ¡°` Chapter 573 - Chapter 573: Chapter 242: Night Demon Breastplate, Gratitude and Repayment_1 Chapter 573: Chapter 242: Night Demon Breastplate, Gratitude and Repayment_1 Wang Tao shook his head. Although his HP had reached the upper limit of Level 3, his Ability Level was still insufficient, and he also lacked a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core. No matter what additional conditions were needed to reach Level 4, Wang Tao still had a long way to go, so he refrained from pondering it any further. As for how exactly to ascend to Level 4, he assumed he would find out once he met the necessary conditions. Wang Tao turned his attention to the other loot. The loot from ordinary Night Demons consisted of Ultraviolet flashlights and flares. He had used quite a few flares this time, which was perfect for restocking. Next were the Incubation Flesh and the incomplete Night Demons, which Wang Tao had specifically instructed his teammates to reserve for him. After all, killing these things would not yield Loot Packs. After personally killing these things, Wang Tao gained a total of 54 [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] and 22 [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Extraction]. Even though they were all Level 2, and of no use to Wang Tao, they were still valuable and could be traded with others in the future. The focus was on the loot from the Blue-skinned Night Demon. Just like the last time a Blue-skinned Night Demon was killed, its pair of [Night Demon¡¯s Claws] also dropped and was collected by Wang Tao into his Space Backpack. Then there were four Loot Packs: a Crystal Core Gift Bag, Potions, an Ultraviolet Suit, and Blueprints. The first three Loot Packs contained the same items as the ones obtained from killing a Blue-skinned Night Demon before. There were a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost], a White [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost], and an Orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Body Constitution Boost] Crystal Core. Then there were three kinds of potions that increased Permanent Attributes, as well as flashlights and flares. [Strength Boosting Potion x10] [Agility Boosting Potion x10] [Mental Boosting Potion x10] [High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x40] The Ultraviolet Suit was stored in the Space Backpack, and he used up all the potions. As for the last pack¡­ Last time he killed a Blue-skinned Night Demon, it dropped the Blueprint of the dagger [Night Demon Blade]. But this time, it wasn¡¯t a dagger, it was an armor Blueprint¡ª [Obtained: Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint x1] [Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Night Demon Breastplate. Required materials: Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone*10kg, Level 3 Crystal Core*1, Iron Block*20, Steel Wire*20, Nails*20, Rubber*20] [Night Demon Breastplate: Attributes unknown] It was a Breastplate! Wang Tao had not come across a single-piece equipment blueprint in a long while. He was currently wearing the Stubborn Chest Armor, and also had Rush Arm Guard, kneeguards, and other pieces of equipment. This single-piece equipment might even have Suit Attributes, just like his Rush Suit that allowed him to use the Rush Ability once per hour. He had previously obtained a Night Demon Blade dagger, and now a Night Demon Breastplate. Wang Tao felt that this might also be part of a suit with attributes! Wang Tao basically had all the required materials for the Night Demon Breastplate. He just lacked the Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone, but its body was upstairs. Wang Tao ran to the rooftop and began crafting beside the Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s corpse. After a burst of radiant, colorful light, a black Breastplate tinged with a hint of blue appeared before Wang Tao. In contrast to the ferocious appearance of the Night Demon, this Breastplate seemed rather understated. [Night Demon Breastplate] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Durability +55, Defense +55] While this Breastplate had no special attributes, a defense and durability of 55 were enough for Wang Tao to put it on. Moreover, the design of the Night Demon Breastplate was not exaggerated and was very form-fitting, even somewhat flexible. Once Wang Tao had it on, it was like wearing an undershirt. He could wear a sweatshirt over it, and no one could tell there was a Breastplate underneath. This was completely different from Little Jun¡¯s Branch Armor, which was a complete set of armor with a rather exaggerated look, making it impossible for him to drive while wearing it. Wang Tao moved around a bit and felt that the Breastplate did not hinder his movements¡ªit was very smooth. ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I need to hunt down more of these Blue-skinned Night Demons!¡± After all, this Breastplate could very well be part of a Suit, and it would be worth it to collect a full set, even if it had no special attributes. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao went downstairs and signaled for everyone to leave. At the school entrance, Fan Peng and his team were still hunting zombies in the pouring rain. The opportunity was too good to pass up, and no one knew if more zombies would appear here tomorrow, so they were taking advantage of the chance to kill as many as they could now. Seeing that they were not in any danger, Wang Tao did not concern himself with them, but instead, he took a drive around Duzhu Town. He wanted to see if there were any Level 3 zombies left. Duzhu Town was small, and Wang Tao quickly circled all the buildings in town on the cement road, conducting a thorough search. He didn¡¯t find any Level 3 zombies, but he did find some Level 2 zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t take action himself; he planned to tell Fan Peng about the locations with Level 2 zombies so that they could hunt them and improve their strength. ¡°It seems there are no special circumstances¡­¡± When Wang Tao returned to Duzhu Town Base, Fan Peng and his team had also returned. Many locals and outsiders had gone to the school. Although they hadn¡¯t finished killing all the zombies there, they had almost cleared out the Level 2 zombies. With the overcast and rainy weather, it got dark early, and it was dangerous to stay out late. Upon seeing that Wang Tao had already returned, Fan Peng immediately came over with a bag. ¡°Mr. Wang¡­¡± He respectfully handed the bag he was holding to Wang Tao. Chapter 574 - Chapter 574: Chapter 242: Night Demon Chest Armor, Gratitude and Repayment_2 Chapter 574: Chapter 242: Night Demon Chest Armor, Gratitude and Repayment_2 Wang Tao glanced inside the bag, which was filled with a large number of Crystal Cores, including Level 1 and Level Two. ¡°What is this?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°To thank Mr. Wang for leading and protecting us in hunting zombies, this is a token of our gratitude we¡¯ve prepared for you¡­¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at the number of Crystal Cores in the bag, comparing them with the number of Elite Zombies in the school. He felt that these Crystal Cores amounted to at least thirty percent of what everyone had harvested combined! To think they would give thirty percent of their earnings to him? Wang Tao was quite surprised. To say that he had led and protected the others wasn¡¯t wrong. After all, Wang Tao had eliminated the most significant threats. Without him, they wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to get these Crystal Cores. But Wang Tao was also acting based on his interests. To say he had actively protected them wasn¡¯t quite true. They had hunted and earned those Crystal Cores themselves, with no help from Wang Tao killing zombies. Moreover, the most important point was that Wang Tao had made it clear he would leave Duzhu Town. Whether he lived or died in the future, it was highly unlikely that he would have any more interaction with Fan Peng and the others. So to say that this was them trying to solicit or invest in Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite fit either. Therefore, this must be their sincere way of showing gratitude to Wang Tao! Although giving away thirty percent of Crystal Cores was indeed a significant number, they knew that without Wang Tao, they wouldn¡¯t have obtained even seventy percent. So, even though it was painful, they were willing to give these thirty percent to Wang Tao as a token of their appreciation. It¡¯s rare to see such grateful people these days. ¡°Okay, then. I¡¯ll accept it.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse their kindness and accepted the Crystal Cores with a smile. Then, he spoke again. ¡°You can sell me all the Crystal Cores you have. I can exchange them for high-quality ones. You give me yours first, and then I¡¯ll give you mine.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Fan Peng was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded with some excitement, ¡°Yes, yes, yes! Please wait a moment!¡± He had traded with Wang Tao before and knew that Wang Tao had a lot of Crystal Cores, many of which were of high quality. Combining low-quality Crystal Cores was basically down to luck, while high-quality ones meant stability! If they could get high-quality Crystal Cores, they would be willing to trade even if they had to give up several low-quality ones for one! After Fan Peng left, he quickly called everyone else over. ¡°I¡¯ve already given Mr. Wang the token of gratitude, and he seems very satisfied. He has allowed us to exchange our Crystal Cores for the high-quality ones he has!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was thrilled. They all knew that Wang Tao had a lot of high-quality Crystal Cores, many of which they could use! ¡°Exchange! Even if it¡¯s ten to one, or even twenty to one, as long as I can exchange for what I can use, I¡¯m willing to do it!¡± ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t! Acquiring Crystal Cores is too difficult, and getting those that you can use is even harder! As for high-quality Crystal Cores that one can use, that¡¯s something you don¡¯t even dare to dream of¡­ now that we have this opportunity, we must seize it!¡± ¡°Exactly, let¡¯s exchange! Hurry and get your Crystal Cores out!¡± These people didn¡¯t hesitate much, taking out their Crystal Cores and registering them with Fan Peng. Having interacted for a few days, they knew Wang Tao would probably not cheat them out of their Crystal Cores, especially since there had been many opportunities to obtain Crystal Cores before. With Wang Tao and his group¡¯s strength, they could easily have killed those zombies and hoarded all the Cores for themselves, but Wang Tao had allowed them to have them. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s character was trustworthy. Soon, Fan Peng had collected everyone¡¯s Crystal Cores, then took them and knocked on Wang Tao¡¯s door. ¡°Mr. Wang, these are all our Crystal Cores, how many can we exchange?¡± Looking at the heaping pile of Crystal Cores, Wang Tao nodded casually. ¡°Alright, just leave them here. I¡¯ll sort through them, come back in an hour.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Fan Peng respectfully made his exit. Wang Tao was someone who reciprocated ¡°an inch of respect with a yard.¡± Since these people knew how to repay kindness, Wang Tao would help them one more time. After all, synthesizing Crystal Cores didn¡¯t cost him anything; it was just a matter of spending some time. Wang Tao stored these Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack, setting them aside in a corner, and then he combined the same types of Cores, creating Purple, Red, or Orange ones. After his operations, Wang Tao took away those Cores that were too few in number to combine. He then took out some from the newly combined Cores. What remained was what he¡¯d offer them. As soon as the hour passed, Fan Peng arrived. When he saw the Purple, Red, and even Orange Crystal Cores on the table, he couldn¡¯t hide the excitement in his eyes. ¡°Take these with you.¡± ¡°Yes! Thank you, Mr. Wang!¡± When Fan Peng personally took the Crystal Cores, he realized there were far more than he had expected! Mr. Wang hadn¡¯t taken advantage of them at all! He might even be at a loss! Watching an exhilarated Fan Peng leave, Wang Tao smiled and shook his head. ¡°I hope more Ability Users emerge, and that Duzhu Town Base manages to hold on¡­¡± The next day was the day Wang Tao was preparing to leave. As soon as he stepped out, he found Fan Peng and the others waiting outside. Wang Tao could clearly feel a significant increase in their auras, presumably because they had fused the Synthetic Crystal Cores the previous day. ¡°Mr. Wang, we would like to accompany you on part of your journey!¡± Fan Peng spoke respectfully. ¡°Alright.¡± Chapter 575 - Chapter 575: Chapter 242: Night Demon Chest Armor, Gratitude and Repayment_3 Chapter 575: Chapter 242: Night Demon Chest Armor, Gratitude and Repayment_3 Wang Tao smiled and nodded, after all, it was a kind gesture from them. The biggest threats in Duzhu Town had been eliminated by Wang Tao, so sending them off was no big deal. Now that Yang Changhong had joined Wang Tao¡¯s team, Wang Tao¡¯s group consisted of five people with two vehicles. Five people could actually fit in one vehicle, but due to the corrosive acid rain, many cars were no longer usable. Sometimes cars were even more expensive than Crystal Cores, and you couldn¡¯t buy them even if you had the money. Thus, both vehicles had to be driven away. Following behind the two cars were more than a dozen others; these belonged to the people from Duzhu Town Base who came to see them off. They escorted them all the way to the border between Duzhu Town and another town, where they finally stopped. ¡°Mr. Wang, take care!¡± Fan Peng, Cai Ping, and Tan Ya rolled down the windows and gestured to Wang Tao with clasped fists. ¡°You too, stay alive.¡± Wang Tao waved to them. In the eyes of the people watching, the two cars entered the rain and slowly disappeared from view. ¡°What are you guys going to do next?¡± Fan Peng looked at Cai Ping, Tan Ya, and the others. Cai Ping replied with a smile: ¡°We¡¯re planning to go to Zijin Base! We originally thought about heading to a military base, but even Mr. Wang, who is so strong, can¡¯t ensure his safety for certain. We thought it better to go to Zijin Base for more stability. Moreover, Mr. Wang said that there¡¯s also a Level 3 ability user in Zijin Base, so we can seek refuge there.¡± ¡°We¡¯re also planning to go to Zijin Base. We¡¯ll be leaving in a few days,¡± Tan Ya also responded. ¡°Then I wish you a safe journey in advance¡­¡± Fan Peng sighed. To be honest, he wanted to go to Zijin Base too. But there were too many survivors in Duzhu Town Base, they couldn¡¯t just up and leave like Cai Ping and the others. However, Fan Peng could start preparing in advance. Maybe once the survivors at the base improved their strength, they might also be able to move directly to Zijin Base¡­ ¡­ ¡°Suddenly, with so many people gone, it feels a bit unusual¡­¡± Inside Yang Changhong¡¯s car, she couldn¡¯t help but remark, then she glanced at the back seat. On the back seat, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue sat together. Jiang Shixue rested her head on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, and he gently stroked her hair as if petting a cat. This time, Wang Tao was riding in Yang Changhong¡¯s car and brought Jiang Shixue along. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan were in the car in front. Wang Tao had switched cars for a simple reason, because Yang Changhong¡¯s was more comfortable. The car he had taken from Yang Changhong before was worth around a million. Wang Tao was attracted by its large space. Yang Changhong¡¯s own car, on the other hand, was worth five million and better in every aspect than the other car. Of course, now in the apocalypse, after all the abuses they suffered, the cars certainly weren¡¯t like they were before the apocalypse. But Yang Changhong was protective when using her car. As a fine specimen owned only by ladies, the interior of the car was well-maintained, making Wang Tao¡¯s ride very comfortable. ¡°How did you manage when you were alone before?¡± Wang Tao asked in return. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ I somehow muddled through. Maybe it was the obsession with finding my sister that kept me going¡­ Should I tell you about my sister?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up; she realized she hadn¡¯t really shared details of her sister with Wang Tao. ¡°Sure,¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°My sister is a bit older than Little Xue, just starting her sophomore year in college. She¡¯s really rebellious and doesn¡¯t listen to our parents, but for some reason, she listens to me. My parents dote on her, but I¡¯ve never spared her the rod! Haha¡­¡± ¡°¡­After the apocalypse began, I was at the company, and she was escaping with her classmates. During our last call, she told me she wasn¡¯t actually scared of me at all; she only pretended to be to get pocket money from me. If we ever meet again, she said she¡¯s going to beat me up! Heh, if we meet again, if I don¡¯t whoop her butt into bloom, then I¡¯m not her big sister! That little brat better wait for it!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong talked while driving. The conversation was mostly one-sided, with Wang Tao quietly playing the listener. ¡­ The cars drove on the national highway; despite the heavy rain, there were still zombies wandering about. Wang Tao avoided them if he could, and if not, he let Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan get out of the car and deal with them. They traveled without encountering any major danger until it was close to dark. The car didn¡¯t move very fast, as various messages suggested that Wuyang City was very dangerous, so it was best for Wang Tao to be cautious. ¡°Let¡¯s rest up ahead.¡± There was an abandoned gas station ahead, which was a good chance to check for any gasoline. ¡°Okay.¡± The two cars stopped one after another outside the gas station. Upon getting out of the car, Wang Tao immediately used his Perception Ability to scan the area. ¡°There are a few Level 2 zombies in the building, and a few in those cars¡­¡± With directives from Wang Tao, Yang Changhong and the others immediately took up their weapons and headed straight for the zombies. Moments later, the gas station was cleared out. Not a drop of fuel was left in the station¡¯s tanks, but there was some gasoline in the abandoned vehicles nearby, which Wang Tao siphoned out for future use. The group tidied up the inside of the building, and by that time, it was already dark. After assigning night watch duties, Wang Tao said to everyone: ¡°Alright, rest up. We¡¯ll get up early and continue on our way.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The night passed without incident. The next morning, while Wang Tao was still asleep, he was suddenly awoken by a buzzing sound. ¡°Brother Wang, there¡¯s an air drop plane!¡± Xu Xiaojun, on the last watch, rushed in immediately. ¡°I¡¯ll check it out!¡± Wang Tao picked up the military walkie-talkie, then went outside and saw a black dot in the sky in the distance. ¡°Is it okay to fly a plane in such heavy rain, and the frequency of these airdrops seems too high lately¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand much about this and frowned. However, he still took out the walkie-talkie and immediately tried to contact the pilot. ¡°This is Wang Tao¡­ ¡± Wang Tao tried to make contact for a while, but like last time, there was no response. But when the plane flew overhead, a large number of airdrops fell to the ground. Seeing this, Yang Changhong and the others were very excited. Only Wang Tao could get the airdrops! But Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed. ¡°What exactly is going on? Why won¡¯t Colonel Luo respond? Could the equipment really be broken¡­¡± Chapter 576 - Chapter 576: Chapter 243 Giant_1 Chapter 576: Chapter 243 Giant_1 Whooosh¡ª The sky was gloomy with dense clouds as a downpour ensued. ¡°Phew¡ªThere should be nothing left behind now!¡± Yang Changhong entered, wiped the rain off her forehead, and passed the last item from the supply drop box to Wang Tao. Everyone then began to categorize the items from the supply drops. There were a total of 10 supply drops, and the contents had been retrieved by the group. ¡°Inhibitors, compressed food, medical kits¡­¡± The contents of the supply drops were the same as before, with no special items like mechanical arms. However, these items were still precious. Especially the inhibitors, which could currently only be found in supply drops. What Wang Tao actually wanted to see was the Zombie Guide and news from the military base, but unfortunately, neither was available¡ªthe Zombie Guide did indeed exist but it was an outdated version, not updated for a long time. ¡°Let¡¯s pack everything up and continue on our way!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao now had two vehicles, which could carry quite a lot of stuff. Naturally, there was a place for these supplies. Once everything was packed, Wang Tao and his group hit the road again. Wang Tao knew the location of the military base; although it wasn¡¯t marked on the map, the first supply drop he retrieved had the precise location of the military base written inside it. But just knowing this location wasn¡¯t enough to find it at will; a lot of landmarks were needed. Wang Tao had a rough idea of the area it was in. Once they got close to the Wuyang City urban area, they could determine the location of the military base based on those landmarks. ¡°Is the urban area really as dangerous as they say?¡± Inside the vehicle, Yang Changhong asked with some uncertainty. Before coming, she had heard many say that the urban area of Wuyang City, in fact the whole of Wuyang City, was extremely dangerous, a place of certain death. But now, they were already in Wuyang City, and the distance to the urban area wasn¡¯t very far. The journey hadn¡¯t been entirely peaceful, but they hadn¡¯t encountered any real danger either¡­ ¡°The danger is certain. Don¡¯t forget, the urban population of Wuyang City is ten million!¡± Wang Tao had no doubts about this. After the apocalypse, he had travelled through many places. Less populated areas weren¡¯t necessarily safe, but densely populated areas were definitely dangerous¡ªthis was the wisdom he gained from experience. ¡°That¡¯s true, after all, it¡¯s a city with such a large population¡­¡± Yang Changhong felt she might have been a bit too arrogant after increasing her strength, even daring to question the danger level of Wuyang City. Wang Tao then added, ¡°But there is no need to worry too much. As long as we don¡¯t encounter a large-scale swarm of zombies or Level 4 zombies, we can handle anything.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t arrogant; he was simply confident in his own strength. After all, he had 110,000 HP. Even if it was a Level 3 Zombie Lord with 100,000 HP, he felt he could put up a fight! Of course, if it were Level 4 zombies, then running would be the only option. He didn¡¯t know much about Level 4 yet, having only seen one that could create illusions¡­ His data on them was limited, and he couldn¡¯t accurately estimate the combat power of a Level 4. ¡°Mhm!¡± Yang Changhong nodded. She was very grateful to be with Wang Tao; otherwise, she wasn¡¯t sure if reaching this place would have even been possible¡­ ¡°There¡¯s a Level 3 zombie ahead.¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°Where?¡± Yang Changhong instantly became alert. ¡°Inside that abandoned car. It¡¯s one of the weaker Level 3 Elite Zombies.¡± Following Wang Tao¡¯s indication, Yang Changhong immediately responded, ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it! Don¡¯t interfere, I want to test my strength.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then used the walkie-talkie to get Xu Xiaojun to stop the car. The rain was still falling heavily outside, and even though it was corrosive acid rain, humans wouldn¡¯t have much of an issue as long as they didn¡¯t get drenched too much. This was especially true for Ability Users with high HP, who could withstand the corrosive acid rain for quite some time. Yang Changhong, holding the standard hand axe Wang Tao had given her, approached the vehicle. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± A zombie suddenly opened the car door and lunged at Yang Changhong. Well-prepared, Yang Changhong dodged and then swung her high-frequency vibrating axe, chopping the zombie¡¯s hand off. Splat! The zombie¡¯s hand was severed! Yang Changhong¡¯s method of chopping off the limbs of zombies first was a common strategy among survivors. Although it didn¡¯t kill zombies quickly, it incapacitated them. Unless some zombies had special abilities, after having their limbs cut off, they became easy targets. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have this habit; he always aimed straight for the head. The reason was simple¡ªhe had high damage output. If he could kill quickly, there was no need to waste time with zombies. This Level 3 Elite Zombie only had 30,000 HP, and no special abilities, though its defense was a bit high. After Yang Changhong sliced off its hands, it managed to hold on for a short time before she killed it. ¡°A defense crystal core, no wonder it was so tough!¡± Yang Changhong got back into the car and conscientiously handed the crystal core to Wang Tao. ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving,¡± Wang Tao informed Xu Xiaojun over the walkie-talkie before turning to Yang Changhong and asking, ¡°How do you feel?¡± ¡°Incredible! I¡¯ve never felt so strong before!¡± Yang Changhong said with some emotion. She now had over 50,000 HP and four abilities. Killing this Level 3 Elite Zombie with 30,000 HP was no challenge at all. ¡°Thank you. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d ever have had the chance to reach Level 3 in my lifetime¡­¡± Yang Changhong looked at Wang Tao sincerely. ¡°Then just help me kill more zombies and earn crystal cores. And maybe warm my bed on the side¡­¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong rolled her eyes at him. The group continued their journey. Chapter 577 - Chapter 577: Chapter 243 Giant_2 Chapter 577: Chapter 243 Giant_2 ¡°` They hadn¡¯t walked much further when Wang Tao had the car stop again. ¡°Three Level 3 zombies have appeared, three Level 2 Elite Zombies, and one Level 3 Elite Zombie¡­¡± Since Yang Changhong had already tested her strength with over 50,000 HP, there was no need to take on zombies single-handedly anymore. She, along with Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, got out of the car and easily dealt with these zombies. After taking care of them, they continued on their way. About an hour later, they encountered Level 3 zombies again. This time there were three Level 3 Elite Zombies. It was still Yang Changhong and the other two who got out of the car to handle them. ¡°The closer we get to Wuyang City, the more high-level zombies we encounter!¡± According to the previous situation, unless there were maternal zombies nearby, it was rare to encounter Level 3 Elite Zombies. But now they were encountering them frequently. The number of zombies on the route Wang Tao had chosen wasn¡¯t actually high, especially now that it was raining, and many zombies were not very active. This could only mean one thing¡ªthe overall level of zombies near Wuyang City was quite high! Afterward, they encountered zombies several more times, and although there was no real danger, it did affect their speed somewhat. Before nightfall, Wang Tao stopped in front of a small roadside motel. After getting out of the car, he used his Perception Ability to scan the motel and immediately raised an eyebrow. ¡°There are three Level 3 Elites inside and one Level 3 Zombie Lord¡­¡± ¡°A Level 3 Lord!¡± Everyone was somewhat surprised. Zombie Lords had much higher combat power than Elite Zombies. Although they were now Level 3, it didn¡¯t necessarily mean they could defeat them. ¡°Let¡¯s go in and take a look.¡± Wang Tao felt that this Zombie Lord wasn¡¯t particularly strong, but he still cautiously took out his Bone Knife. He didn¡¯t activate Entangling Roots, mainly because the motel wasn¡¯t very tall, and he would be 2.5 meters tall after using Entangling Roots, unable to even enter the door unless he destroyed it. But that would complicate a stealth attack¡­ The group quietly entered the motel. Perhaps it was because Wang Tao and the others had been soaked in the rain, covering some of their scent, the zombies in the motel did not detect their arrival immediately. As a result, Wang Tao and his group managed to ambush zombies for once¡ªan unexpected turn as it had always been the zombies ambushing them. This time, with the help of the Perception Ability, they could ambush the zombies! [HP: 40000/40000] [Mana: 15000/15000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] This was a Level 3 Zombie Lord with 50,000 HP, wearing a shabby suit, with a somewhat overweight body. It was sitting on a bed in a room, seemingly contemplating life. When Wang Tao and his group burst in, it failed to react in time and was greeted with a barrage of attacks to the face. [-8584] [-3482] [-3812] [¡­] ¡°It doesn¡¯t have high defense, make it quick!¡± Aside from Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao and his group were all Level 3 Ability Users equipped with Level 3 weapons. Although Jiang Shixue wasn¡¯t Level 3, her attacks were not to be underestimated. Therefore, under the sudden onslaught from Wang Tao¡¯s group, the suit-wearing zombie only lasted two seconds before the ambush killed it. It might have been the most aggrieved Level 3 Zombie Lord to die. Wang Tao withdrew the Bone Knife he had used to hack off the zombie¡¯s head. The suit-wearing zombie only added 4,800 Special Energy to Wang Tao, which was a bit low, even less than what the Level 3 Elite Night Demon had given him previously. But it was understandable since this suit-wearing zombie was probably one of the weaker Level 3 Zombie Lords Wang Tao had encountered so far. The Crystal Core in its head was [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Power], but the Crystal Core Gift Bag it dropped only contained one Crystal Core [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Running]. There was no Omnipotent Crystal Core, not even an Ascension Crystal Core. Wang Tao cursed inwardly about its poverty and then looked at the other two Loot Packs. The second Loot Pack contained Potions. [Received: Power Potion (small) x20] [Received: Running Potion (Medium) x20] A total of 40 Potions, which was fairly acceptable. Yet, ironically, the suit-wearing zombie hadn¡¯t even used its running ability before being killed. The third Loot Pack contained clothes. [Received: Black Combat Suit x1] [Black Combat Suit: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10] This suit seemed quite good, and Wang Tao could wear it. However, he still had the hoodie outfit he had obtained before, which still had plenty of durability. There was no need for him to change unless the clothes were worn out. After killing the Level 3 Zombie Lord, the group also took care of the other Elite Zombies in the motel. Once they were sure there was no danger, Wang Tao opened the map. ¡°According to the map, we should reach the urban area tomorrow¡­¡± Hearing this, Nie Siyan and the others were both excited and apprehensive. They were excited because they had finally reached the urban area of Wuyang City, which meant the military base shouldn¡¯t be far. The apprehension was the uncertainty of what the urban area might be like; it would be troublesome if it proved to be dangerous. ¡°Rest well tonight and maintain the best combat condition for tomorrow!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡­ The next day. Whoosh¡ª Boom¡ª The heavy rain hadn¡¯t stopped and had even started to thunder. Wang Tao opened the window. ¡°This weather looks quite frightening, but it definitely maximally interferes with the zombies¡¯ perception. It¡¯s a suitable day to go out!¡± After a simple breakfast, they continued on their journey. As soon as they stepped out, Wang Tao felt that today was different from the day before. Although it had been pouring the day before, there were still quite a few zombies on the road. Those zombies were basically zoning out on the road and could only sense people approaching when they were close. They hadn¡¯t even turned around before Xu Xiaojun and the others killed them. ¡°` Chapter 578 - Chapter 578: Chapter 243 Giant_3 Chapter 578: Chapter 243 Giant_3 Today, there were far fewer zombies on the road, and those remaining weren¡¯t idly standing around but were instead running chaotically. Especially when the thunder sounded, they ran around like madmen. Moreover, Wang Tao saw many Mad Demon Zombies, which were also frantically running around in the rain. Even when vehicles passed by them, they didn¡¯t even spare a glance. ¡°It seems the effect of thunder on the zombies is greater than I expected¡­ If this is the case, perhaps we¡¯ll arrive at the urban area sooner,¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had originally calculated that they would reach Wuyang City urban area by evening, but looking at the situation now, they might arrive in the afternoon. In fact, it was almost as Wang Tao had guessed. Along the way, they hadn¡¯t encountered any trouble, not too many Elite Zombies, nor any Zombie Lords. Around four o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Wang Tao saw a road sign that read there were only 3 kilometers remaining to the Wuyang City urban area. However, due to the heavy rain and some fog, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see the state of the urban area clearly. ¡°Everyone, stay alert, we¡¯re almost there!¡± Wang Tao said to the others. ¡°Yes!¡± For the last 3 kilometers, Wang Tao was exceedingly cautious. After a little time, Wang Tao finally saw high-rise buildings in the distance. Wuyang City urban area¡­ They had arrived. Just then, a flash of lightning suddenly appeared, instantly illuminating the overcast sky, the urban area, and a huge and terrifying figure. ¡°Shit!¡± Wang Tao cursed instinctively. He saw next to a building more than twenty stories high in the distance, there was a huge humanoid zombie almost as tall as the building itself! It was using its red eyes to peer closely into the exterior glass of the building, as if looking at the situation inside! Then it thrust its hand violently into the building and rummaged around. It seemed to have grabbed something and stuffed it straight into its mouth. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± ¡°What is that thing! So terrifying!¡± Yang Changhong and the others turned pale with fright when they saw it. Even Jiang Shixue, who was always fearless, subconsciously grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand, her small face utterly serious. Boom¡ª The sound of thunder followed, the lightning was but a brief flicker, and the sky once again fell into darkness, with everyone losing sight of the giant zombie. ¡°That¡¯s a zombie, a¡­ Level 4, Lord Zombie!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath and said. [HP: 300,000/300,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Giant] [Giant: Body size grows without limit, all basic attributes significantly enhanced. The larger the body, the stronger the strength.] Although he had only seen it for a moment, he had still managed to glimpse the zombie¡¯s stats. 300,000 HP! 200,000 mana! But what was most important was not these numbers. What was most important was that, after his Level 3 Ascension, Wang Tao could now see awakening attributes! The giant zombie¡¯s awakening was [Giant], whose attribute description was very simple and didn¡¯t reveal specific numbers, but even a fool could tell it was powerful¡ª Body size grows without limit! All basic attributes significantly enhanced! The larger the body, the stronger the strength! ¡°So this is the ¡®Awakening¡¯ after Level 4¡­¡± Wang Tao murmured to himself, but now was not the time to think about Level 4. He immediately signaled the others to retreat. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t afford to mess with this zombie!¡± Wang Tao felt that for a zombie of this size, HP alone couldn¡¯t define its strength anymore. He now had 110,000 HP, plus the 100,000 HP from the Entangling Roots, making it 210,000 HP in total. It seemed not far off from this zombie¡¯s 300,000 HP, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel he stood the slightest chance! Because this was no longer an issue of HP! Not to mention other factors, the zombie¡¯s weak spot was its head, but this zombie appeared to be fifty meters tall, and Wang Tao¡¯s attacks couldn¡¯t reach its head at all! Moreover, it was clearly thick-skinned and burly; even if Wang Tao could hit its head, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to reduce much of its HP¡­ Boom~ The two vehicles slammed on the gas and immediately left the road. Wang Tao¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to enter the urban area but to find a military base. The approximate location of the military base required passing through half of the city. However, if the city was too dangerous, they definitely couldn¡¯t go through it; instead, they would have to take a detour. After leaving the area, Wang Tao opened the map and pointed to a location. ¡°Let¡¯s head there¡­¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The vehicles quickly left the road and started to prepare to bypass the urban area. However, the detour was longer than Wang Tao had anticipated, and many abandoned vehicles obstructed the road. ¡°We won¡¯t make it before dark. Let¡¯s find a place to rest for the night. Keep an eye out for any suitable places¡­¡± Wang Tao said to everyone. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone responded in unison. ¡°Bang¡ª¡ª¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s ears twitched, and he turned to Yang Changhong beside him. ¡°Did you hear anything?¡± ¡°Other than the rain, I don¡¯t think there were any other sounds¡­¡± Yang Changhong shook his head. Wang Tao then looked at Jiang Shixue, who nodded. ¡°It sounded like¡­ gunfire?¡± ¡­ On the wide asphalt road, there was an old, rusted abandoned sedan, inside which sat two figures. The passenger seat was occupied by an old man in worn military attire, with binoculars hanging from his chest and a knitted hat on his head, his face covered in a white beard. He rummaged through the glove box and pulled out a yellowed photograph, which depicted a little girl with a bright smile. Looking at the little girl¡¯s smile, the old man also broke into a grin. ¡°I have a granddaughter, as cute as the girl in this photo. She always liked to cling to me and ask for bedtime stories¡­¡± The old man said while passing the photo to the driver for a look. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The figure in the driver¡¯s seat suddenly lifted its head, revealing a rotten and ferocious face! But its jaw was missing, and both arms were broken! It struggled to move closer to the old man, but was tightly restrained by the seatbelt, unable to move. The old man didn¡¯t look at the ferocious zombie but continued to gaze at the photo and spoke. ¡°A few months ago, she asked me, ¡®Grandpa, are you old?''¡± ¡°I said, ¡®Yes, I¡¯m old. And someday, you will be old like me, haha!''¡± ¡°Then she asked, ¡®Grandpa, will you die?''¡± ¡°I said, ¡®Of course, I will die.''¡± ¡°Finally, she asked, ¡®Grandpa, will I die too?''¡± ¡°Looking at the wound on her arm, brimming with black veins, it was the first time I didn¡¯t know how to answer her question¡­¡± The old man lifted his head and looked at the zombie in the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Have you ever explained things to a child? I am ashamed that I didn¡¯t get to explain before she ran away¡ªnot died, ran away.¡± The old man took a police revolver from behind his waist and aimed it at the forehead of the driver¡¯s seat zombie. ¡°I will find her, I promise.¡± Bang! Chapter 579 - Chapter 579: Chapter 244 He Jijun_1 Chapter 579: Chapter 244 He Jijun_1 Wang Tao heard gunshots, which stirred some excitement in him. There was a military base close by. Hearing gunshots here could very well mean they had come across soldiers, right? Wang Tao immediately ordered Yang Changhong to drive towards the direction where the gunshots rang out. ¡°Are you sure you really heard gunshots?¡± Yang Changhong was somewhat uncertain; she hadn¡¯t actually heard anything just now. It wasn¡¯t that her ears weren¡¯t sharp, but the noisy environment of rain, wind, and thunder made it difficult to distinguish other sounds. ¡°I think it was gunshots, but I¡¯m not sure either, let¡¯s go have a look.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He and Jiang Shixue discussed for a while, and after some time, they finally set their sights on another asphalt road. ¡°The sound probably came from this direction, let¡¯s go search!¡± The two vehicles slowly searched along the asphalt road. At a certain moment, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue both looked towards one location. At the same time, a ¡°bang¡± was heard, and a bullet hit the ground beside the vehicle Wang Tao was in. Yang Changhong and the others immediately became vigilant when they saw an old man with a white beard and a knitted hat appearing among the pile of abandoned vehicles. He was holding a shotgun aimed at the vehicle, with wisps of pale smoke coming out from the barrel. ¡°What are you following me for?¡± The old man¡¯s eyes were as sharp as an eagle¡¯s, staring at Wang Tao¡¯s two vehicles. Wang Tao was taken aback when he saw the old man. This was actually an ordinary person with 1000 HP! [HP: 896/1000] [Status: Corrosive acid rain, body slightly corroded, rest for some time to recover as usual] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: None] [Hidden Attributes: Old but vigorous] [Old but vigorous: Physical strength and spirit not limited by age] In the vicinity of Wuyang City urban area, where it was said that even Ability Users would die nine times out of ten, they actually encountered an ordinary person? Although he had a shotgun in hand, could he really survive here with just that weapon? Keep in mind, gunshots can attract zombies! However, the old man had a hidden attribute named ¡°Old but vigorous,¡± which seemed quite impressive. It might be one of the reasons he had survived until now. ¡°Old man, no offence intended. I mean you no harm!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t get out of the car; his voice came from inside the vehicle. After all, the old man had a gun and was very alert. While Wang Tao was strong, there was no need to confront bullets head-on. ¡°No ill intentions? Then you all can leave.¡± The old man¡¯s gaze flickered but he didn¡¯t say anything more. He clearly did not want to start anything. Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t just leave. Since leaving Duzhu Town, he hadn¡¯t seen a single human survivor on his journey. Now that he had finally met someone, he needed to find out more. Moreover, Wang Tao was quite interested in the old man himself. ¡°Old man, we really mean no harm. And to speak frankly, if I did harbor ill intentions, you wouldn¡¯t be able to stop me.¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the old man laughed derisively. ¡°Ha, then you can try and see, whether your speed is faster or my bullet!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to test the old man¡¯s gun, but he had a way to intimidate him. ¡°Little Xue, could you control him a bit? That shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s hidden attribute, the Eyes of Contract, allowed her to control others¡¯ thoughts to a certain degree, in addition to Night Vision. The lower the level and spirit of a person, the easier they were to control. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Jiang Shixue looked at the old man through the window; her eyes glinted red. The old man suddenly paused, his eyes becoming vacant in an instant. However, Jiang Shixue¡¯s expression was one of surprise. ¡°His spirit is so strong! I can only control him for a few seconds¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Wang Tao immediately got out of the car and swiftly moved behind the old man, taking his shotgun into his own hands. ¡°Any other guns?¡± Wang Tao noticed another revolver at his waist and proceeded to take his pistol as well. By this time, the old man had recovered from being controlled. His eyes were filled with confusion¡ªhad he just felt like he blacked out for a moment?! Hmm? Where¡¯s my gun? Only then did he realize that the shotgun was no longer in his hands! Whoosh! The old man immediately turned around and saw a tall figure standing behind him, holding the shotgun. Without thinking, he reached behind his back for a feel¡ªhis pistol was gone too! ¡°Looking for this, old man?¡± Wang Tao now held a black revolver in his hand, the very one the old man had on him. The old man, surprised at Wang Tao¡¯s seemingly teleporting ability and his skill at disarming, was shocked but not afraid. ¡°Who are you!¡± The old man looked at him angrily. ¡°Just an ordinary survivor. See, as I said, no harm intended¡ªyou would be dead otherwise.¡± As he spoke, Wang Tao threw both guns back to him. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s action, the old man was taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to actually return the guns to him, which suddenly made him regard Wang Tao more favourably. However, as soon as he caught the guns, he realized he had been na?ve¡ªthe bullets had been removed! While he could reload, given the opponent¡¯s unexplainable ability to move instantly, he clearly wouldn¡¯t have the chance. ¡°Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao reached out his hand. The old man slung the shotgun over his back, and tucked the revolver behind his waist. He didn¡¯t shake hands with Wang Tao but spoke coldly: ¡°He Jijun.¡± ¡°He Jijun¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. He had never heard the name, but that didn¡¯t prevent him from offering some praise. Chapter 580 - Chapter 580: Chapter 244 He Jijun_2 Chapter 580: Chapter 244 He Jijun_2 ¡°Building on past achievements, valorous above all armies! What a great name!¡± From He Jijun¡¯s marksmanship, stance, vital energy, and that old military uniform on him, Wang Tao could guess that he had likely served as a soldier before. Therefore, complimenting him in this regard should be well-received. Indeed, as soon as Wang Tao spoke, the cold look on He Jijun¡¯s face diminished somewhat. ¡°Would the old master care to get in the car for a chat? I¡¯ve only been in Wuyang City for a few days, and I¡¯m quite unfamiliar with the situation here. I¡¯d like to exchange some information with you,¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. ¡°¡­¡± He Jijun was clearly reluctant. The main reason was Wang Tao¡¯s eerily bizarre Ability, and since he was unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s background, he had seen too much of the ugliness of human nature in his journey thus far. However, Wang Tao¡¯s invitation was somehow also a bit of a threat¡­ ¡°Oh right, I have some fine liquor in the car. I don¡¯t drink myself, and nobody among us does either. If the old master likes, I can join you for a small drink or two,¡± He Jijun¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard about the liquor, and he gritted his teeth. ¡°Okay!¡± Since Wang Tao had invited him with such sincerity, it would have been inappropriate for him to refuse any longer. ¡°Is the old master alone? Do you have a car?¡± As they got in the car, Wang Tao asked. ¡°Alone, no car,¡± He Jijun shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s already dark. Shall we find a place to rest, old master?¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± Now that he had gotten into the car, He Jijun no longer dwelled on it. Wang Tao had already found a suitable place to rest when he was searching for the gunshot earlier, and now they could head over there. It was a civilian house by the roadside with a large garage capable of accommodating several cars. Even though ivy covered the outside of the house, the inside was still clean and free of zombies. After parking the car, Wang Tao took a bottle of wine down from the vehicle. He had promised Colonel Luo Guozhong, the parachuting plane pilot he had contacted earlier, to treat him to a drink upon meeting. Wang Tao was a man of his word, so naturally, he had prepared the liquor. Lan Yulian had helped him ready several bottles of this strong drink, and taking one out now left enough for later use. Seeing this bottle of wine, He Jijun, who had been grim-faced the whole time, had his eyes light up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t drink, so he didn¡¯t know much about liquor. However, Jade Lotus had mentioned that these bottles had been quite expensive before, so they must be of good quality. Xu Xiaojun cleared the table inside the house, and Wang Tao laid out some food and the liquor. Then, he invited He Jijun to take a seat. ¡°Old master, please take a seat,¡± He Jijun snorted coldly and sat down carelessly. He had boarded Wang Tao¡¯s car out of compulsion. In that situation, had he refused, he wasn¡¯t sure what Wang Tao might do to him; he had to get in the car. His expression had been quite cold in the car. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind this at all. He personally poured a drink for He Jijun and then raised his glass. Seeing Wang Tao being so polite, He Jijun found it hard to keep up his stern demeanor. He picked up his glass, clinked it with Wang Tao¡¯s, smelled the aroma of the wine, looked intoxicated, and then drained it in one gulp. ¡°Great wine!¡± He Jijun exclaimed instinctively. It had been so long since he had last tasted alcohol, and now, suddenly relishing such fine wine, his expression softened considerably. Wang Tao seized the opportunity to ask: ¡°Is the old master from Wuyang City?¡± There was an old saying about how one¡¯s mouth was indebted to the one who fed them, and He Jijun wasn¡¯t ¡°cold¡± anymore. He shook his head. ¡°No. I came from Chunhua Province,¡± ¡°Sss¡ª¡± As soon as he said this, Wang Tao and the others all gasped. Chunhua Province was separated from Wuyang Province by Cangsong Province! That was a long way from here! ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up. Had He Jijun been an Ability User, Wang Tao might not have been so shocked, but he was an Ordinary man, even with 1000 HP he was still ordinary. For an ordinary person to travel such a distance was certainly surprising! Feeling the astonishment from Wang Tao and the others, He Jijun didn¡¯t show any smugness. Only he himself knew the hardships encountered on the road; there was nothing to celebrate. ¡°Then what is the old master¡¯s purpose for coming here?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Looking for someone.¡± ¡°¡­¡± This reason resonated with Yang Changhong, who said: ¡°I¡¯m also here to find someone. I¡¯m looking for my little sister; I heard she came to Wuyang City. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s alive or dead¡­¡± He Jijun glanced at her. ¡°I hope you find your sister.¡± ¡°Thank you! I hope you find the person you¡¯re looking for too,¡± Yang Changhong replied politely. But upon hearing that, He Jijun¡¯s expression suddenly turned wistful, though he didn¡¯t say more. So Wang Tao asked: ¡°I¡¯m quite curious; how did the old master come to Wuyang City? Did you have a team before? Did the team disband?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve always been alone. But sometimes I¡¯d travel through the wilderness where there are fewer zombies.¡± ¡°No wonder¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood. If He Jijun avoided big cities or going into the cities, opting instead for the wilderness, and further had extremely good luck in not encountering any monsters, theoretically, he could have made it here alive. But that was just in theory; in reality, it would be much harder. After all, he was an ordinary person, and not to mention anything else, even food and sleep would pose big problems¡­ ¡°By the way, how old is the old master this year?¡± ¡°Sixty-six.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Even though they had already guessed that He Jijun wasn¡¯t young, hearing the age of sixty-six still shocked everyone. Chapter 581 - Chapter 581: Chapter 244 He Jijun_3 Chapter 581: Chapter 244 He Jijun_3 Wang Tao continued to ask: ¡°Did the old gentleman serve in the army before?¡± ¡°I was a regular soldier for a few years.¡± When he said this, He Jijun¡¯s face showed a hint of pride. Clearly, he was quite satisfied with his military career. ¡°I noticed the old gentleman is quite good with a gun!¡± This was something Wang Tao made up, since He Jijun had only fired one shot at the ground, which didn¡¯t reveal much about his shooting skills. But it never hurts to say nice things, especially when it comes to flattery, and particularly so with the elderly. ¡°Ordinary.¡± He Jijun didn¡¯t go into specifics. ¡°Has the old gentleman ever seen an Ability User?¡± Wang Tao was curious, wondering if He Jijun had never seen an Ability User before. Otherwise, if he had, he would definitely know that fusing with a Crystal Core could grant abilities, and he would not still be an ordinary person¡ªat the very least, he should have some impurities. But there were no impurities in him, which meant he hadn¡¯t fused with a single Crystal Core. ¡°Someone like you?¡± He Jijun glanced at Wang Tao. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them. Not only have I seen them, but I¡¯ve also killed them!¡± When he said this, He Jijun¡¯s voice was filled with murderous intent. Wang Tao briefly learned that He Jijun had encountered three Ability Users trying to rob him, and he ended up shooting all three dead! ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up once again. ¡°But they weren¡¯t as strong as you. Right now, I still don¡¯t understand how you managed to get behind me¡­¡± He Jijun was puzzled. He believed he had good vision, even with his age, he could still shoot with remarkable accuracy, but he didn¡¯t see how Wang Tao had gotten behind him at all! Seeing the confusion in He Jijun¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao chuckled to himself. It wasn¡¯t that he was too fast, but Jiang Shixue had controlled He Jijun for a few seconds, erasing those seconds from his memory¡­ ¡°Then hasn¡¯t the old gentleman ever wanted to become an Ability User?¡± Wang Tao asked, somewhat puzzled. ¡°Ability User? In my view, those are monsters! I don¡¯t want to become a monster like that! Even if I¡¯m not an Ability User, I can still kill zombies!¡± He Jijun spoke as though he looked down on the notion. ¡°Monsters, huh¡­¡± In some ways, Ability Users were very different from ordinary humans, so it was not wrong to call them monsters. Especially those whose fusion side effects were more evident, like those with Body Lignification, rigidity, or arms turned into Bone Knives¡ªthey really weren¡¯t much different from monsters. However, Wang Tao still shook his head: ¡°Whether or not they¡¯re monsters is actually not important. After all, our goal is to survive. If we can survive, what does it matter if we become monsters? As long as we have great Strength, not only can we protect ourselves, we can also protect the people around us¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± He Jijun had no response to Wang Tao¡¯s words. He knew Ability Users were powerful, and he wasn¡¯t a stickler for tradition, but¡ª After a moment of silence, He Jijun took a bag out of his pocket and placed it in front of Wang Tao. Clatter¡ª The bag emitted a set of crisp, pleasant clinking sounds. He Jijun opened the bag, inside which were a bunch of shimmering Crystal Cores. ¡°Kid, do you know what abilities these things have? I heard that you need to consume these things to become an Ability User. But each Ability is different and may not suit one¡¯s self. Also, each Ability comes with side effects¡­ If you can make sense of them, pick a suitable one for me, and the rest I¡¯ll give to you!¡± He Jijun could sense that Wang Tao and his group were very strong. Even the seemingly gentle and frail little girl who was always following behind Wang Tao was strong! He did not have a Perception Ability, but this was the intuition of someone who had been on the battlefield and seen bloodshed! Plus, after the brief interaction they¡¯d just had, even though he kept a stern face, he could feel that Wang Tao¡¯s character was probably quite good. So he thought this might be an opportunity¡ªthe reason he hadn¡¯t fused with a Crystal Core wasn¡¯t because he was afraid of becoming a monster, but because he feared becoming a useless monster. He had seen an Ability User before who did nothing but eat, ballooning up like a fat pig, useless for anything. He didn¡¯t want to become someone like that! When Wang Tao saw the Crystal Cores in He Jijun¡¯s hands, he was somewhat dumbfounded. Not only were there Level 1 cores, but also Level Two ones, and even a Level 3 Crystal Core! Goodness, a mere 1000-HP ordinary person was able to kill a Level 3 zombie? What shocked Wang Tao even more was not just the levels of the Crystal Cores, but the cores themselves¡ªhow could He Jijun have so many Crystal Cores on him and still resist the temptation to fuse with them? The allure of Crystal Cores to humans was extremely powerful; many people, upon seeing a Crystal Core, would fuse with it without even thinking. Even Wang Tao, who always thought his willpower was decent, lost control and fused with the shockwave crystal core the first time. By the time he came to his senses, the Crystal Core had already fused into his body. And yet, He Jijun, carrying so many Crystal Cores, hadn¡¯t fused with a single one! Such willpower was impressive! It reminded Wang Tao of someone, a former comrade at Shuize Base, the young member of the Security Army, Lu Gang. He was one of those with unwavering willpower; Wei Zhenguo and the others entrusted him with their Crystal Cores for safekeeping¡­ ¡°It¡¯s impressive, old gentleman, that you managed to resist fusing with the Crystal Cores!¡± Wang Tao gave another thumbs-up. People who could control their desires were indeed admirable. He Jijun gave Wang Tao a look as though it wasn¡¯t a big deal; just endure a little, and it would pass. Was it really that hard? Wang Tao eyed the Crystal Cores, then pointed at the only Level 3 Crystal Core and asked: ¡°How did the old gentleman acquire this Crystal Core?¡± ¡°This Crystal Core, ah!¡± The Level 3 Crystal Core was clearly distinct from the Level 1 and Level Two cores, and He Jijun seemed to recognize it. His tone carried somewhat of a reminiscence. ¡°That zombie was injured somehow, but it still took me seven days to kill it. It was the strongest zombie I¡¯ve ever come across¡­¡± Chapter 582 - Chapter 582: Chapter 245 Soldier King_1 Chapter 582: Chapter 245 Soldier King_1 ¡°¡­¡± Upon hearing He Jijun¡¯s words, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in admiration. Hunting a zombie in seven days? Such patience, Wang Tao could only say was awesome! And he had actually succeeded! An ordinary person had succeeded in hunting a zombie that was probably a Level 3 Elite! This even made Yang Changhong and the others feel embarrassed¡­ ¡°Admirable!¡± Wang Tao truly admired him. Then he added, ¡°Old man, do you know about the levels of zombies or Ability Users?¡± ¡°Not very clear¡­¡± He Jijun shook his head. Wang Tao explained, ¡°Zombies, Ability Users, and some monsters are all classified into Levels 1, 2, 3, and so on. Each level has different types, including Ordinary, Elite, Lord¡­ The zombie you killed is at least a Level 3 Elite, and your current level, doesn¡¯t even count as Level 1, you¡¯re just an ordinary person¡­¡± ¡°Oh? So I¡¯m pretty awesome, huh? Haha!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, He Jijun raised his eyebrows. ¡°Very awesome!¡± Wang Tao nodded. But He Jijun shook his head again. ¡°It¡¯s a pity¡­¡± He didn¡¯t say what exactly was a pity, but Wang Tao could see the regret in his eyes. Wang Tao did not probe further about it. He looked toward the other Crystal Cores. He had seen most of these types of Crystal Cores before. Occasionally, there were some he hadn¡¯t seen, but Wang Tao could tell their effects at a glance. After looking for a while, he looked up at He Jijun and said, ¡°Old man, some of these Crystal Cores are actually quite good. For example, Rush, Jump, Precision Shooting, Throwing Master, Self-healing¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly described the general functions of these Crystal Cores. He Jijun had mostly been on his own during his travels, and no one had told him about these things. Now that he heard the abilities of these Crystal Cores, his eyes widened. ¡°So these are Ability Users¡­¡± No wonder so many people wanted to become Ability Users¡­ However, He Jijun hadn¡¯t forgotten that these abilities had side effects. He looked at Wang Tao. ¡°So, what¡¯s the price to pay?¡± ¡°The price is¡­ the Rush Ability can cause stiffness in limbs, the Jump Ability can make one sensitive to noise, Precision Shooting can blind an eye, Throwing Master can make one irritable, and Self-healing can reduce tactile sensitivity¡­¡± As Wang Tao spoke, He Jijun¡¯s expression grew increasingly grim. These side effects¡­ were too severe! ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to consider it more¡­¡± He Jijun was conflicted. The abilities were strong, but he didn¡¯t want those kinds of side effects. If it really came down to it¡­ he would rather not have an Ability! After all, he had gotten by without an Ability up to now, hadn¡¯t he? ¡°Sure. Take your time to consider it.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much else. He returned all the Crystal Cores to him, then mentioned, ¡°By the way, old man, do you know about the military base in Wuyang City?¡± Wang Tao thought He Jijun, having been a soldier before, would probably know some information. ¡°I know about it. You planning to go?¡± Hm? He Jijun really knew it? Wang Tao was a bit surprised, it would be even better if someone could guide them. He didn¡¯t conceal his intentions and said openly, ¡°Yes, our destination is the military base. Old man, you came to Wuyang City, you must want to visit it too, right?¡± ¡°Yeah. I served here before.¡± He Jijun nodded, his eyes showing some nostalgia. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s really fortunate! How about we go together? Wuyang City is very dangerous, you must have experienced it, so if we go together, we can also have each other¡¯s company.¡± Wang Tao immediately said. ¡°You want me to lead you to the military base?¡± He Jijun saw through Wang Tao¡¯s intentions at a glance. ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao candidly admitted it. He Jijun fell silent for a moment, then said, ¡°Fine. I was planning to go there anyway.¡± ¡°Haha, then here¡¯s to a happy cooperation!¡± Wang Tao extended his right hand to him, and this time He Jijun did not refuse. They shook hands. After that, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more and focused on eating his food. Then he noticed a small detail, He Jijun, after having two sips of alcohol at the beginning, didn¡¯t drink anymore. He Jijun noticed Wang Tao¡¯s puzzled look and said calmly, ¡°Drinking too much can lead to mistakes. A taste is enough to be content.¡± ¡°Old man, your self-control is truly strong!¡± He Jijun was very restrained when it came to drinking, but when it came to eating, he didn¡¯t hold back. Since Wang Tao was treating him, he might as well eat his fill. Despite looking thin, he had a large appetite, and he was especially capable of eating among ordinary people. Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, he had plenty of food. After the meal, Wang Tao returned the bullets he had unloaded from He Jijun¡¯s gun back to him. After chatting for a while longer, they prepared to rest. For safety, everyone chose to rest in the same room. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan took turns on watch, stationed in the outside living room. Yang Changhong lay on the couch, while Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue slept in the bed. Compared to finding a bed to sleep in like Wang Tao did, He Jijun was much more casual. He simply hugged his hunting rifle, sat down in a corner, closed his eyes, and seemed to fall asleep instantly. But when a zombie approached the door, he was the first to open his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s a zombie coming!¡± Wang Tao, who had already fallen asleep, instantly woke up. He hastily used his Perception to check and, upon discovering it was only an Ordinary zombie, he sighed in relief. He thought, considering there were supposed to be people taking turns on watch, they would definitely have called him if there was a dangerous zombie. Why had no one called now? It turned out to be just an Ordinary zombie. However, He Jijun wasn¡¯t familiar with them and didn¡¯t know their customs, so that was normal. Chapter 583 - Chapter 583: Chapter 245 Soldier King_2 Chapter 583: Chapter 245 Soldier King_2 Wang Tao directly took out a Bone Hand Crossbow, his eyes glinting with a faint green light as he looked out the window, then he shot an arrow toward a certain spot. Whiz¡ª Splat! Thud! After dealing with that Ordinary zombie, Wang Tao turned to He Jijun in the corner and said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be so tense, grandfather. Little Jun and the others are very responsible on their shift. Any zombie daring to come over will definitely be killed by them.¡± Because it was too dark, He Jijun couldn¡¯t see Wang Tao¡¯s actions; he could only see a pair of eyes emitting green light and another pair emitting red light. However, more than those glowing eyes, He Jijun was more interested in the way Wang Tao had just killed the zombie. ¡°What was that thing you used just now? Crossbows and bows?¡± He Jijun asked directly. Hmm? Wang Tao suddenly came to his senses. It was very dark now, there was no lightning, and there was the rustling sound of rain outside; how did He Jijun notice the zombie? ¡°Just a hand crossbow, let me show you.¡± Wang Tao directly tossed the Bone Hand Crossbow over to him, and even in the pitch-black environment, He Jijun caught the hand crossbow accurately. ¡°Nice piece!¡± He Jijun lightly caressed the Bone Hand Crossbow in his hand, subconsciously exclaiming in admiration. He felt it was more useful than his gun. He only dared to use his gun in the heavy rain; usually, he dealt with zombies with close combat or traps¡­ ¡°If grandfather likes it, then I¡¯ll give it to you.¡± Wang Tao tossed a pack of crossbow arrows over to him. He Jijun caught it steadily, then looked somewhat surprised. ¡°Give it to me? Don¡¯t you need it yourself?¡± ¡°I have more, I won¡¯t miss this one,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Then I won¡¯t be polite!¡± For He Jijun, this was a life-saving treasure. If given to him, he would take it. ¡°Thank you!¡± He expressed his gratitude. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. By the way, grandfather, how did you figure out I was using a hand crossbow just now? And how did you spot the zombie?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°I just heard the sound of the bowstring vibrating. As for how I discovered the zombie¡­ I heard its footsteps¡ªI¡¯ve heard too many zombies¡¯ footsteps, I¡¯m very familiar with them.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Really just by hearing? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; he thought He Jijun had some sort of sixth sense. If it was really by hearing, that was impressive! This wasn¡¯t just about having good hearing but about his ability to discern the footsteps of a zombie amidst the sound of pouring rain, a matter of discernment. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s astonishment, He Jijun grinned and said, ¡°Back in the days of raging war, I could hear the enemy tiptoeing towards us despite their attempts to suppress their footsteps. Not to mention these zombies with little intelligence!¡± He Jijun spoke very proudly, and he had the capital to be proud. ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how many times he had said ¡®awesome,¡¯ but only that word could express his feelings at the moment. The rest of the night passed without incident, and Wang Tao slept until the next morning. He Jijun was already up, picking up crossbow arrows outside. Only then did Wang Tao notice that there were more than ten Ordinary zombies lying outside, their bodies and the ground nearby littered with numerous crossbow arrows. Wang Tao looked towards Xu Xiaojun, who had been on duty for the latter part of the night. Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and said, ¡°Those were all of Old He¡¯s achievements last night; any zombies that came near our house were killed by him. I told him there was no need to kill, they couldn¡¯t get in, but he said he just wanted to try the hand crossbow¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± He Jijun could actually kill zombies with a hand crossbow in such darkness? Although there were many missed arrows, many were also lodged in the zombies¡¯ skulls¡­ Why was Wang Tao suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of security? ¡°Grandfather, let¡¯s get going after breakfast.¡± To hit the road quickly, Wang Tao had nutrient solution for breakfast. ¡°What is this?¡± He Jijun was quite curious. Wang Tao explained the nutrient solution, and He Jijun looked amazed. ¡°You have such wonderful things?¡± He Jijun didn¡¯t hesitate, gulping down two bottles in one go. ¡°I actually feel quite full¡­¡± He Jijun marveled with amazement; this thing was a treasure in the apocalypse! After thinking it over, he took a large pancake out of his bag and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°I can¡¯t always just take from you without giving anything in return. This is a pancake I made; want to try it?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, took it, and tore off a piece for Zhang Hong and the others to taste. Aside from being a bit dry and choking, the taste was unexpectedly not bad. Seeing the expressions on Wang Tao and the others, He Jijun opened his mouth with some pride, ¡°I used to work in the cook squad!¡± ¡°Cool!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up. He had heard that the cook squad was filled with hidden talents; this old man was no simple character! After packing up, everyone got into the car. He Jijun suddenly said to Wang Tao, ¡°I know a shortcut to the military base; if you trust me, we can take it.¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s take the shortcut then!¡± Wang Tao had Zhang Hong and Xu Xiaojun follow the route provided by He Jijun. The route He Jijun provided went through a woodland area; if no monsters appeared, it was certainly safer than going through the city or city outskirts. The road was a bit difficult, muddy everywhere. Thankfully, both vehicles were off-roaders; aside from slower speed, there were no major issues. ¡°Stop the car, there¡¯s a group of zombies ahead.¡± Wang Tao suddenly called for a halt. He Jijun took out his binoculars to take a look and indeed saw a group of zombies in the forest. Chapter 584 - Chapter 584: Chapter 245 Soldier King_3 Chapter 584: Chapter 245 Soldier King_3 He looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. Although the distance wasn¡¯t very far, all these zombies were in the woods, and the heavy rain obscured the view. How could Wang Tao have seen them? He naturally didn¡¯t know that Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity combined with Perception was essentially radar plus x-ray vision, making it easy to spot the zombies. The group of zombies was quite large, and they were at a turning point at an intersection, blocking the road. Therefore, they had to clear out these zombies first. Wang Tao and the others got out of the car. ¡°Clear out these zombies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone took out their weapons. He Jijun also took out his hunting shotgun, then turned to Wang Tao and asked, ¡°It¡¯s not a big problem if I fire a few shots, right?¡± If he were alone, he would have fired long ago. But now, they were a temporary team, and he had to consider the group as a whole. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao nodded. They were outdoors, and the sound of the rain was loud, which would greatly reduce the noise of the gunfire. Moreover, they weren¡¯t staying in this place for long, they would leave after clearing out the zombies. As long as they could fight quickly and decisively, making some noise wasn¡¯t an issue. Bang! Just as Wang Tao nodded, He Jijun raised his hand and fired a shot, directly blasting the head off a zombie. ¡°Old man, your shooting skills are impressive!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. At this distance of several dozen meters, using iron sights to headshot a zombie was not an easy task! If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t using Precision Shooting, he couldn¡¯t achieve this level. ¡°Ha, did you really think this old man was bluffing you!¡± Between words, He Jijun fired another shot. Bang! A second zombie¡¯s head exploded. At this moment, the zombies heard the noise and began to move towards the group. He Jijun didn¡¯t continue talking to Wang Tao, focusing on aiming at the zombies, and in an instant fired another shot. The third zombie fell. While killing the zombies, He Jijun also took the opportunity to glance at Wang Tao and the others. He wanted to know how strong these Ability Users were. Since Wang Tao wasn¡¯t afraid to draw so many zombies over, he must have had a method to fend them off. If it was just him alone, he would not have been so reckless; he would most likely have chosen another path to avoid confronting these zombies. On the other side, Xu Xiaojun, holding a large axe, charged at the pack of zombies. Boom boom boom~ Mud splashed everywhere as Xu Xiaojun instantly reached the midst of the zombie group, many zombies were directly knocked flying, even smashed to pieces. Then he raised his giant axe and sent out a Shockwave at the zombies. Splat! In an instant, dozens of zombies were shattered, turning into a pile of broken flesh. ¡°So this is an Ability User¡­¡± Not far away, He Jijun was somewhat astounded. The combat power of Ability Users was truly strong! Such a wide-range method of killing zombies, unless he had a machine gun, he simply couldn¡¯t compare. But He Jijun was not one to give up. He continued shooting. Bang! A zombie fell. Bang! Another zombie hit the ground. Bang! Two zombies were simultaneously pierced and had their heads blown off by the bullets! Wang Tao didn¡¯t join the fight; he was observing He Jijun the whole time. He Jijun was almost hitting his mark every time; so far, he had only missed one shot because Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Shockwave had shattered the zombie first. After the battle, Wang Tao calculated, and the number of zombies He Jijun had killed was almost equal to that of Nie Siyan! Although He Jijun was using a gun, Nie Siyan was a Level 3 ability user! He Jijun¡¯s marksmanship was practically identical to Wang Tao using Precision Shooting! The group set off once more, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Old man, what did you do in the military?¡± Soldiers come in various types, and he felt that with He Jijun¡¯s abilities, he must have been some kind of special forces, right? ¡°If you¡¯re asking what specifically I did, that¡¯s hard to say. I¡¯ve carried rifles, fired cannons, operated tanks, piloted planes¡­¡± An all-around talent, then? Wang Tao quickly asked, ¡°¡­then what was your military rank? You surely weren¡¯t an ordinary soldier, right?¡± At this point, He Jijun did not remain humble, but instead proudly said, ¡°Nothing much, just a little First Sergeant.¡± ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Wang Tao, who had some understanding of military ranks, suddenly drew in a sharp breath. The non-commissioned officer ranks are divided into 7 levels, namely, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Warrant Officer Class Three, Warrant Officer Class Two, Warrant Officer Class One, and First Sergeant. A First Sergeant is the highest rank, enjoying treatment at a division level! It¡¯s said that First Sergeants are even rarer than generals, they are the elite in various fields within the army, the true Soldier Kings! Good gracious, the old man randomly encountered on the road was a Soldier King! Wang Tao suddenly understood why He Jijun had been able to travel such a long distance to Wuyang City, why, with the body of an ordinary person, he could kill so many zombies! Why, without any abilities, his shooting was godlike, hitting the mark every single time! He was a former battle-hardened elderly Soldier King! Wang Tao felt a sense of deep respect. He had been considering whether to invite He Jijun to join his own team. Even though He Jijun was older, he had the Hidden Attribute of being old but vigorous, and with certain combat experience, he was no worse than many Ability Users. But Wang Tao had only just met He Jijun; he thought he ought to observe and learn more about him first. But now, why bother learning more! This was a Soldier King known as a ¡°Panda Soldier¡±! His capabilities and character were definitely top-notch! Even though he was older, it also meant he had even richer experience! He was already this strong as an ordinary person, how powerful would he become as an Ability User? ¡°Old man, I can help you become an Ability User without any side effects, and then you join my team, what do you think?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. He Jijun looked at him. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about joining you for now, as for becoming an Ability User, I haven¡¯t decided yet! Those side effects are too much!¡± Wang Tao immediately said, ¡°What I¡¯m offering you is to become an Ability User just like us, without any side effects!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Chapter 585 - Chapter 585: Chapter 246 Military Base_1 Chapter 585: Chapter 246 Military Base_1 ¡°` No side effects? He Jijun knew that Crystal Cores all had side effects, and he had seen many Ability Users with physical side effects. But he had never heard of an Ability User without side effects. However, looking at Wang Tao and the others¡­ it really seemed that there were no side effects¡ª at least, he couldn¡¯t see any. ¡°Can there really be no side effects?¡± He Jijun asked with some disbelief. Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°Of course, could I possibly lie to you? The Crystal Cores we¡¯ve fused with are all impurity-free and without side effects¡ª Do you know what impurities are?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know ¡­¡± He Jijun shook his head. ¡°If there are impurities inside a Crystal Core, after fusion, those impurities will accumulate in the body. The human body can only tolerate a limited amount of impurities. The more impurities there are, the greater the chance of turning into a zombie! Once the impurities reach 100%, one is pretty much guaranteed to turn into a zombie! Thus, impurities are just as undesirable as side effects¡­¡± Wang Tao explained to He Jijun about impurities. ¡°¡­¡± After hearing this, He Jijun suddenly felt that becoming an Ability User wasn¡¯t so appealing. Not only were there side effects, but he also had to worry about turning into a zombie! ¡°But, I can help you ascend to become an Ability User without side effects or impurities! What do you think, old master?¡± Wang Tao spoke with a smile on his face. ¡°You want me to join your team, what for? I¡¯ve said it before. I have my own matters to attend to, my search for someone¡­¡± He Jijun did not answer; instead, he said with a frown. If it was really as Wang Tao said, with no side effects or impurities, that would certainly be great. But he was not willing to sell himself out just for that. Upon hearing He Jijun¡¯s question, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned serious as he explained: ¡°Old master, you¡¯ve misunderstood! I¡¯m asking you to join my team, not to work for me. We are all survivors struggling to live through these apocalyptic times; we need to help each other. I think you¡¯re very strong, you can help us, and in turn, we can help you¡­ it¡¯s that simple.¡± ¡°As for the person you¡¯re looking for¡­ Zhang Hong is also here searching for someone, which doesn¡¯t conflict with joining my team. We can search together! By the way, who are you looking for? Any distinguishing features? If you don¡¯t mind sharing, with more of us, it will definitely be easier to locate them!¡± ¡°¡­¡± He Jijun was silent for a moment before slowly saying: ¡°I¡¯m looking for my granddaughter.¡± ¡°Your granddaughter? How old is she?¡± ¡°10 years old.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s mouth opened in surprise. A ten-year-old? If she got lost at that age, the situation is probably grim! Wang Tao then asked, ¡°When did she go missing?¡± ¡°Five months ago.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Now it was mid-October, five months ago would be May, a month after the apocalypse began, during the most chaotic times¡­ Of course, surviving wasn¡¯t completely impossible. For instance, if she encountered a kind-hearted person or the military¡­ ¡°How did she get lost?¡± ¡°She ran away on her own.¡± ¡°Ah? She ran off by herself? Why did she do that? And you, with your capabilities, couldn¡¯t stop her?¡± Wang Tao asked with furrowed brows. ¡°She¡­ turned into a zombie.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong, inside the vehicle, instinctively turned to glance at He Jijun upon hearing this. Having turned into a zombie, hope dwindled. Jiang Shixue subconsciously gripped Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Wang Tao had told her that she had previously turned into a zombie and was rescued by him. But Wang Tao also said that the potion he used to save her was very rare, having appeared only as a single bottle so far. Moreover, the conditions for its use were strict¡ªit was ineffective on those infected for more than three days. Even for those treated within three days of infection, it only had a certain chance of working, and could possibly lead to death through self-combustion¡­ Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand in return before looking towards He Jijun again. ¡°Old master, forgive my frankness, but your situation¡­ it¡¯s very difficult.¡± Unless He Jijun¡¯s granddaughter, after running away, was caught by a kind-hearted person who happened to have something like a Purification Potion and successfully administered it to her, and then this kind-hearted person continued to keep her alive amidst the apocalypse, persevering until now¡­ Each one of these conditions was hard to meet on its own; imagining all of them combined made it nearly impossible. Wang Tao thought that the odds of rolling out the Zombie virus antidote were higher than such a series of coincidences¡­ ¡°I know¡­¡± He Jijun sighed, then said with a firm tone, ¡°But when she turned into a zombie and escaped, I promised that I would find her and bring her home!¡± In the apocalypse, some people lived just to stay alive, like Wang Tao. He was pure in his desires, simply not wanting to die or being afraid of dying. Others lived driven by their obsessions, such as Blondy Wu Fei intent on vengeance; Li Qiuyu longing to see her daughter; Yang Changhong searching for his sister; and the man before him, He Jijun, who wished to bring his granddaughter home¡­ He Jijun knew in his heart that his granddaughter was likely gone. But even if she had died, he had to see her body with his own eyes before he could rest¡ª from another perspective, as long as he hadn¡¯t found his granddaughter¡¯s body, she might still be alive! This was perhaps the ray of hope that kept He Jijun surviving in the apocalypse. ¡°Old master, your granddaughter¡­ but without having seen her body, there¡¯s indeed still a possibility she¡¯s alive. Join us, let¡¯s look for her together. Even if we may not find her in our lifetime, I promise to help you search!¡± ¡°` Chapter 586 - Chapter 586: Chapter 246 Military Base_2 Chapter 586: Chapter 246 Military Base_2 Wang Tao spoke with a serious expression on his face. He Jijun was the legendary Soldier King, and his abilities were strong. Wang Tao felt that such talents should be put to good use, and by joining him, He Jijun would be able to fully exhibit his capabilities! However, Wang Tao had also decided that even if He Jijun did not agree, he was willing to help him become an Ability User for free. He Jijun had strong abilities, and his potential after becoming an Ability User was enormous. Furthermore, he was a person who had dedicated himself to his country and people. Such a man should live! ¡°Sigh¡­¡± He Jijun sighed and then looked at Wang Tao, ¡°Alright. I agree to join you¡­¡± In truth, He Jijun was somewhat at a loss. Not about whether or not he could find his granddaughter¡ªhe would persist in searching whether he found her or not. What puzzled him, was how much farther he could go. He Jijun had seen formidable zombies and knew that their strength was continuously improving, while he was making no progress¡ªin fact, he was getting older, his strength was waning, and he was sure to die at the hands of zombies eventually. But now, he had encountered Wang Tao, who promised to enhance his strength without side effects or impurities. Perhaps, this was the solution for him to keep going¡­ ¡°Old man, welcome to our team!¡± When He Jijun agreed, Wang Tao immediately extended his hand. He Jijun shook his hand, then chuckled bitterly: ¡°Now that I¡¯m one of you, there¡¯s no need to be so polite with me. Besides, ¡®When the student is ready, the teacher appears.¡¯ Let¡¯s treat each other as equals. You can call me Old He, or even Old Mr. He¡­¡± ¡°Haha, sure! It¡¯s just a name, don¡¯t worry about it. You can call me Little Wang from now on!¡± After He Jijun decided to join Wang Tao¡¯s team, they both felt much closer and did not have the subtle defensiveness they had before. Then Wang Tao asked with a smile: ¡°Old He, what kind of Ability would you like?¡± ¡°I can choose?¡± ¡°I still have quite a few Crystal Cores, and together with the ones you have, it¡¯s enough for you to choose. Oh right, you might not be familiar with the Abilities, let me introduce them to you first¡­¡± Wang Tao introduced all the Level 1 Crystal Cores he had seen and had in his possession. After hearing about so many types of Crystal Cores, He Jijun felt each one was amazing and wanted them all¡­ But he was ultimately a man of self-control and quickly came to his senses, then chose one of the Abilities Wang Tao had mentioned. ¡°I want Precision Shooting! I consider my marksmanship to be quite decent, but I can feel that it can still improve. I want to see what level my marksmanship can reach with the Precise Shooting ability!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised by He Jijun¡¯s choice. He took out a Level 1 Epic Quality Precise Shooting Crystal Core and handed it to He Jijun, then explained further: ¡°Then Old He, you can do the Fusion now. But a person can fuse with more than one type of Crystal Core, up to four in fact. That means you can obtain up to four Abilities! However, everyone¡¯s physique is different, and the number of Cores one can fuse varies. You will have to try to find out exactly how many¡­¡± ¡°You can fuse with up to four!¡± He Jijun was a bit surprised. If he could possess four Abilities, that would be the best outcome. However, he did not expect much; being able to fuse just one Ability would suffice. After all, it was an Ability without side effects or impurities! He Jijun took the Crystal Core and without hesitation, swallowed it right away. In an instant, the Crystal Core seemed to vaporize, merging into his limbs and bones. He Jijun closed his eyes. He felt his body warm up, a cozy and comfortable sensation. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Congratulations! Old He, now you¡¯re an Ability User too! You can try using your Ability.¡± After becoming an Ability User, one naturally understands the basic usage of the fused Ability, so no explanation is needed, as they automatically know how to use it. ¡°Let me try¡­¡± He Jijun silently activated his Precise Shooting ability. In an instant, the whole world appeared different to him! He noticed many details he hadn¡¯t seen before, and his eyes seemed able to function like binoculars! Moreover, it felt like this Precise Shooting would not only be effective in ranged attacks, but also in close combat! ¡°This is what it means to be an Ability User!¡± He Jijun felt a thrill of excitement. He took another look at his eyes, which were both fine. The side effect of precise shooting was blindness in one eye! This meant it was indeed an Ability without side effects. After experiencing his Ability for a while, He Jijun felt a bit tired. He knew this was due to the excessive energy consumption Wang Tao mentioned, so he quickly deactivated his Ability and gratefully said to Wang Tao: ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rush to thank me yet, first sense whether you can continue to fuse with another Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao obviously hoped that He Jijun could fuse with several Crystal Cores. But this was something he could not control; it all depended on luck. ¡°Let me see¡­¡± He Jijun closed his eyes, carefully sensed his body, then his face lit up with joy. ¡°I feel like I could probably fuse with another Crystal Core!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Then Old He, go ahead and choose another one!¡± Wang Tao said cheerfully. Being able to fuse with one Crystal Core was good enough, and two would be a huge bonus. Chapter 587 - Chapter 587: Chapter 246 Military Base_3 Chapter 587: Chapter 246 Military Base_3 ¡°Let me think¡­ I choose Rush!¡± Although He Jijun excelled in marksmanship, it didn¡¯t mean his close combat was weak. He was once known as the Soldier King in the military, an Omnipotent talent with no evident weaknesses, and his close combat skills were naturally strong. Rush, with its blend of melee capability, positioning, and retreat options, suited him well. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded. In fact, soldiers like Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin had all favored the Rush Ability. Wang Tao then gave He Jijun a Level 1 Epic Rush Crystal Core. He Jijun placed it directly into his mouth. A moment later, the fusion of Rush was complete. However, as they were currently in the vehicle, there was no way to test the Rush Ability. Without waiting for Wang Tao to speak, He Jijun immediately said, ¡°I feel like I can fuse two more Crystal Cores!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao burst into joyful laughter. ¡°Haha, it looks like you¡¯re quite lucky, Old He, being able to fuse four abilities! Tell me, what are the remaining two abilities you want to fuse?¡± ¡°I need to think this through¡­¡± He Jijun was excited; he hadn¡¯t expected that he could fuse four abilities. Previously, he had planned as if he could only fuse one ability, so he had to give it more thought. After discussing with Wang Tao, he chose Athlete as his third ability. Athlete was a Passive Ability, actually quite well-suited for survival in the apocalypse. It could simply be understood as transforming an Ordinary individual into a parkour expert! For someone like He Jijun, who already possessed strong athletic abilities, the enhancement from this ability would be even more significant! Soon, He Jijun had completely fused the Athlete Crystal Core. ¡°I feel like my body has become much lighter¡­¡± He Jijun clenched his fists. He felt an urge to run out and revel in his newfound agility, unfortunately, there was no opportunity to test it now¡­ ¡°Now for the last Crystal Core¡­¡± Earlier, when Jiang Shixue attempted to control He Jijun, she had reminded Wang Tao that He had strong spiritual power. Wang Tao felt that someone with strong spiritual power was well-suited to fuse Spirit-related Crystal Cores. However, unfortunately, he did not have any Level 1 Spirit-related Crystal Cores; the lowest he had were Level Two. Therefore, he let He Jijun fuse other Crystal Cores first. After all, he had plenty of Level Two Exraction Crystal Cores, so when He Jijun reached Level Two, he could extract his Crystal Cores and swap them for Spirit-related ones. In the end, after further discussion, they decided to let He Jijun fuse a Running Crystal Core as a transition. Whether for Attack or Defense, it¡¯s always good to run faster. Quickly, He Jijun also completed the fusion of his fourth Crystal Core. From then on, He Jijun had leaped from an ¡°Ordinary¡± person to an Ability User with four abilities! But that wasn¡¯t the end of it; he was just an ordinary Level 1 ability user, and all of his abilities were at +1, which was too weak. Wang Tao gave him a handful of Crystal Cores to increase his abilities to +10. Before Wang Tao left Zijing City, he had left many low-level Crystal Cores with Lan Yulian. However, along the way, he encountered many zombies and thus acquired a number of Crystal Cores again. Coupled with the Cores He Jijun had saved up, they had enough to use. The fusion process was quick, and in no time at all, He Jijun had fused all the Crystal Cores, and all four of his abilities had reached +10! Next, it was time for him to fuse the Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core and ascend to Level Two. However, ascending to Level Two required sleep, and someone who had fused four Crystal Cores, like him, would need 24 hours. Given the current situation, there obviously wasn¡¯t time to provide He Jijun with the opportunity to sleep, so he couldn¡¯t ascend right now. Wang Tao gave him only three Ascension Crystal Cores. If he fused four Ascension Crystal Cores, he would have to choose to ascend within three days, or it would happen automatically after three days. But without fusing four Ascension Crystal Cores, there was no such restriction. He Jijun was lucky; after fusing these three Ascension Crystal Cores, he managed to elevate his three core abilities, Precision Shooting, Athlete, and Rush, to Level Two. ¡°I can hardly wait to go out and test my strength now!¡± He Jijun felt a surge of excitement. ¡°Haha, no rush. Old He, there will be plenty of opportunities for you later. But not now, because killing zombies as an Ability User will enhance your strength, and with every increase in strength comes the possibility of falling asleep¡­¡± At Level 1, HP reaching each thousand threshold would trigger sleep, and upon waking, physical abilities would be enhanced. Currently, in such unsafe circumstances, even a few hours of sleep posed a great danger. ¡°I understand, we¡¯ll wait until we reach the military base!¡± He Jijun took a deep breath, restraining his excitement. The fastest route to this military base required crossing the urban area. However, the urban area was too dangerous; the memory of the giant zombie was still fresh in their minds. He Jijun hadn¡¯t seen that particular zombie, but he also knew the urban area was hazardous, so he led Wang Tao down an alternate path. Along the way, Wang Tao encountered several more zombies. However, none were particularly formidable, all easily disposed of by Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. At noon, He Jijun suddenly announced, ¡°We¡¯ve entered the military base¡¯s vicinity!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t see any relevant buildings when He Jijun continued to zigzag them around. At a certain moment, Wang Tao saw high walls topped with barbed wire not far ahead, bearing a sign¡ªMilitary Area, No Unauthorized Entry. The military base had been reached! However, outside the high wall, there was a large number of zombies: Level 1, Level Two, and even Level 3 Zombies! ¡°So many zombies¡­¡± Wang Tao quickly instructed to stop the vehicle. The pouring rain concealed the vehicle, and the zombies had not detected them. If it hadn¡¯t been raining, they might have been discovered, given that some of the zombies had keen Perception. ¡°Old He, how are we going to get over the wall?¡± Wang Tao looked to He Jijun. ¡°Get over the wall? No, no, no! In an emergency state, the base would activate automated defense systems, and I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯re still operating. But if they are, we¡¯ll get riddled with bullets if we try to get over! We have to go through the main gate!¡± Chapter 588 - Chapter 588: Chapter 247 Zombie Dog_1 Chapter 588: Chapter 247 Zombie Dog_1 ¡°` ¡°Automated defense facilities?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat curious, but he didn¡¯t ask further. Under He Jijun¡¯s command, the two vehicles headed toward the gate. He Jijun said there were several gates to the base, and naturally, he was leading Wang Tao to the closest one. Wang Tao also tried to contact the military base using the military walkie-talkie, but there was no response; it was unclear if the other side had received the message. The two vehicles carefully navigated around the perimeter of the military base for a while, and finally, they saw a security checkpoint. ¡°My God¡­¡± However, upon seeing the situation here, the expressions on the faces of Wang Tao and his group turned grim. The entrance was nearly blocked by abandoned vehicles, and a large group of zombies was wandering around, some of them clearly in military uniforms. The checkpoint gate was open, and one could vaguely see the high grass taller than a human and the zombies in the grass. ¡°Has the military base¡­ fallen?¡± He Jijun¡¯s eyes became distant. Although he had mentally prepared for this, it was still difficult to see it with his own eyes. But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°No, the military base hasn¡¯t fallen!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± He Jijun looked at Wang Tao in confusion, and Wang Tao explained: ¡°Military supply planes have been making airdrops continuously since the outbreak began, for several months now. The latest airdrop was just the day before I met you!¡± ¡°What? There¡¯s still airdropping? And recently?¡± He Jijun found it hard to believe. Seeing He Jijun¡¯s reaction, Wang Tao knew he probably hadn¡¯t seen any airdrops. So Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. After listening to Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, He Jijun felt bewildered. However, there was no need for Wang Tao to joke about such matters, and he quickly said: ¡°If there are still living people in the military base, then they probably wouldn¡¯t just ignore this place, right¡­¡± ¡°Perhaps because the personnel at the military base have been greatly reduced, they were unable to manage such a large base and had to shrink their defensive perimeter?¡± Wang Tao suggested, frowning. ¡°That¡¯s also a possibility¡­ We need to go in and see!¡± The two vehicles couldn¡¯t proceed as the abandoned vehicles outside were numerous. Therefore, Wang Tao parked the cars in the woods at a concealed spot, and everyone got out and put on their armor. Wang Tao took out two bottles of alcohol and then prepared to walk over. Uncertain about what was inside the military base, or whether there were any particularly strong zombies, Wang Tao, out of caution, handed out several Stealth Potions to everyone. ¡°This is a Stealth Potion¡­¡± Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. He Jijun was aware of the Stealth Crystal Core, but it was his first time hearing about the Stealth Potion, which left him utterly amazed. Soon, everyone except Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao had injected themselves with the Stealth Potion. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t need it because she was already a zombie by nature and didn¡¯t require it. Wang Tao didn¡¯t need it because he had previously merged with a Spirit ability that allowed him to control some weaker zombies. He could move through these zombie groups without much trouble. It was still raining heavily, with the sound of raindrops pitter-pattering as they hit the ground. The zombies wandering around the entrance of the military base seemed irritable, occasionally emitting growls. Wang Tao and the rest, drenched in rain, swiftly moved through the zombies. Under the combined effect of the heavy rain and the Stealth Potion, they managed to reach the gate without incident. The gate was only slightly ajar; Xu Xiaojun reached out and forcibly pried it open. Screech¡ª An unpleasant scraping noise attracted the attention of many zombies, and Wang Tao and his group quickly slipped inside. The rain severely impaired the zombies¡¯ perception, and coupled with the Stealth Potion, the zombies that noticed the noise only roared a few times before dispersing slowly. ¡°It feels so desolate¡­¡± Yang Changhong, having killed a zombie with an ax, murmured as she looked at the scenery before her. Looking around, all she could see were weeds taller than her, which hardly resembled a military base at all. Wang Tao, being tall, could see the situation in the distance more clearly. ¡°There are buildings over there¡­¡± Then he looked toward He Jijun. After all, he was unfamiliar with the place and didn¡¯t know where survivors might be located. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s head over there!¡± He Jijun pointed in the direction Wang Tao was looking and said. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao extended his Perception to the maximum to avoid being ambushed by zombies. The military base was vast, and it took Wang Tao and his companions a while to approach this cluster of buildings. ¡°There¡¯s another defensive line here!¡± A high wall surrounded the perimeter of these buildings. Under the wall, numerous zombies were active, and the wall itself was covered with barbed wire and even had electrical arcs flashing through it! ¡°It¡¯s still electrified!¡± Wang Tao was surprised. ¡°But there¡¯s no one manning the watchtowers¡­¡± There were watchtowers at regular intervals along the high walls, but they were empty. However, these weren¡¯t the main concerns; the question was how to get inside. Wang Tao looked at Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan possessed the ability to jump, and although the wall was high, she could get over it with a double jump against the wall. But if the barbed wire was electrified, were there other defenses inside, such as the automatic shooting weapons that He Jijun had mentioned earlier? If there were, Nie Siyan would become a target by jumping inside¡­ Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Nie Siyan tensed up inside. She had an idea of what Wang Tao was thinking, but she didn¡¯t dare say much. Instead, she looked at Wang Tao with a pitiful expression, hoping he wouldn¡¯t make her the cannon fodder. ¡°` Chapter 589 - Chapter 589: Chapter 247 Zombie Dog_2 Chapter 589: Chapter 247 Zombie Dog_2 Wang Tao thought for a moment and said, ¡°Kill these few zombies and toss them in to see!¡± Although this approach was somewhat unethical, at this point, what did ethics matter? It was more important to confirm whether it was safe inside first. Moreover, Wang Tao would make sure to kill these zombies, ensuring they wouldn¡¯t run amok inside. Upon receiving Wang Tao¡¯s orders, Xu Xiaojun walked towards a few ordinary zombies and quickly dispatched them. Then, under Wang Tao¡¯s direction, he threw the first zombie corpse over the tall wall. Wang Tao wanted to test the electric fence, so Xu Xiaojun tossed the zombie corpse onto the barbed wire. ¡°Zzzzz¡ª¡± ¡°Crackle¡ª¡± The zombie corpse was instantly caught by the high voltage electricity, then it trembled and ignited. Soon it became a black, charred body. Seeing this scene, Yang Changhong and the others shuddered. If they were struck by this net, even the body of an ability user would surely die! Xu Xiaojun continued to throw the second body, which went over the wall. Everyone pricked up their ears and, other than a thud from the body landing, they heard no other sounds. ¡°Safe!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face lit up with joy. But for the sake of safety, he had Xu Xiaojun throw several more corpses in. There was still no movement inside. ¡°Haha! It¡¯s safe! So we¡ª¡± Just as Wang Tao was about to say to have Nie Siyan take them all inside, his expression suddenly turned stern. ¡°Get ready for battle, something big is coming!¡± Thump, thump, thump¡ª No sooner had Wang Tao spoken than the ground seemed to tremble, and then a huge figure emerged from the bushes, appearing before them. ¡°Holy shit! What a big dog!¡± It was a zombie dog! It was as tall as a two-story building and several meters long, its whole body rotted but still very fat, its shape somewhat resembling a large wolfhound. [HP: 100,000/100,000] [Mana: 40,000/40,000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] A Level 3, Lord with a hundred thousand HP! Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn¡¯t a four-level zombie, everything was negotiable. Although one hundred thousand HP wasn¡¯t small, Wang Tao himself had one hundred and ten thousand HP, so he wasn¡¯t cowering before it! ¡°I¡¯ll attack it with Zhang Hong and Little Xue. Old He, you along with Little Jun and Nie Siyan hold off the other zombies!¡± As the zombie dog approached, it had brought along quite a few other zombies. Although Wang Tao was strong, he wasn¡¯t arrogant. Among the group, his, Yang Changhong¡¯s, and Jiang Shixue¡¯s attacks were the highest. The attacks of the others were somewhat weaker. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone responded in unison. A large bone knife appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand in an instant, and he charged directly at the zombie dog. As he sprinted, the Entangled Iron Tree Roots on his wrist started to wriggle, quickly enveloping his entire body. By this time, Wang Tao had also rushed to the side of the zombie dog. He leaped high into the air and swung his knife at the zombie dog¡¯s head. Bang! But his strike was blocked by the zombie dog¡¯s sharp fangs! ¡°Such quick reflexes!¡± Wang Tao was slightly surprised. In his mind, larger creatures tended to have slower reactions, especially this fat zombie dog which didn¡¯t look agile. But its actual reaction speed was surprisingly fast. However, its blocking Wang Tao¡¯s strike also meant that Yang Changhong and Jiang Shixue¡¯s attacks could be effective! Jiang Shixue, like Wang Tao, sprinted over and leaped high to slash at the zombie dog¡¯s head with her claws. The zombie dog had just bitten Wang Tao¡¯s knife, and it couldn¡¯t dodge this attack, so it was directly scratched on the head by Jiang Shixue. [-3442] [-3628] Two hits, seven thousand HP down! With her Dark sharp claws, Jiang Shixue¡¯s damage was higher than that of many level 3 ability users. Then, Yang Changhong¡¯s attack followed. Lacking the jump ability of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, she sprinted up the zombie dog¡¯s leg and then swung her axe at its head. [-4123] This axe strike, enhanced with the ability of high-frequency vibration, also dealt substantial damage. The zombie dog, having been attacked three times consecutively, was now quite enraged. It let go of Wang Tao¡¯s bone knife¡ªit really couldn¡¯t chew through it¡ªand then opened its gaping mouth, aiming a bite at Yang Changhong. Jiang Shixue had landed after two scratches, and once the zombie dog released Wang Tao¡¯s bone knife, Wang Tao did too, so the zombie dog could only target Yang Changhong. Yang Changhong was preparing to retreat after her attack. But the zombie dog was very fast, quickly turning its head to bite her as she was jumping down from its shoulder. Yang Changhong didn¡¯t expect it to be that quick. She was in midair and couldn¡¯t change direction. Just as she was about to be bitten by the zombie dog, she suddenly felt something wrap around her waist, and then she was yanked away vigorously. Whoosh¡ª Crunch! The zombie dog¡¯s vicious bite missed, making an uncomfortable grinding noise. And Yang Changhong found herself in Wang Tao¡¯s arms. ¡°Thank, thank you!¡± Yang Changhong expressed her gratitude in a slightly unsettled manner, as at that moment, she had thought about whether her armor could withstand the bite of the zombie dog. Wang Tao retracted the Iron Tree Vines and charged in again. This time, however, Wang Tao was not only holding a bone knife in one hand; in the other, he wielded a Reinforced Concrete Hammer! First, he swung the hammer viciously at the zombie dog¡¯s head. As expected, the dog was quick and bit down on the hammer directly. Wang Tao¡¯s bone knife, on the other hand, ruthlessly struck the head of the zombie dog. Chapter 590 - Chapter 590: Chapter 247 Zombie Dog_3 Chapter 590: Chapter 247 Zombie Dog_3 ¡°` Pfft! [-8139] A single blow, eight thousand blood! This zombie¡¯s defense isn¡¯t high. ¡°Roar!¡± The deceived Zombie Dog seemed furious, its eyes glowing red, muscles bulging as it bit at Wang Tao with even greater speed than before. Realizing he couldn¡¯t dodge, Wang Tao took the hit head-on. [-3194] [110000/110000 (96806/100000)] Instantly, Wang Tao felt like he was hit by a truck. Though uninjured, he was somewhat dazed. ¡°Such high damage!¡± Seeing the damage numbers above his head, Wang Tao was surprised. The Zombie Dog¡¯s bite had actually taken¡ªoh, no, to be precise, it had bitten off 3,000 HP from the Entangling Roots! That was 1.4% of his total HP! If it bit him seventy or eighty times like this, wouldn¡¯t it chew him to death? But Wang Tao didn¡¯t panic; he forcefully escaped from the Zombie Dog¡¯s mouth, and upon landing, he sent a Shockwave at the Zombie Dog¡¯s head. [-5448] The Shockwave, being an area attack, was difficult for the Zombie Dog to evade and easily hit. But the power of the Shockwave was much less than the high-frequency vibration, only taking off five thousand of the Zombie Dog¡¯s blood. Seeing Wang Tao unharmed after being bitten and still attacking it, the Zombie Dog seemed even angrier. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Zombie Dog let out a loud roar and frenziedly launched a flurry of bites at Wang Tao. Wang Tao could only see its afterimages. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t flustered. He dodged when he could, used the Bone Knife to block when he couldn¡¯t dodge, and if the Bone Knife couldn¡¯t block, he would have to rely on the Entangling Roots to take the hit. It must be said that the Zombie Dog¡¯s attack speed was truly fast, with too high a frequency of attacks. For every slash Wang Tao delivered, he¡¯d be bitten several times; even if the dog could only bite him once, it was scary enough. If not for Entangling Roots, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if his body could withstand its attacks. If he were bitten just once, it would definitely hurt badly. Moreover, while attacking Wang Tao, the Zombie Dog was also slowly advancing toward the others. The attacks from Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong, it completely ignored, as if it had set its mind solely on Wang Tao. But at a certain moment, it suddenly released Wang Tao and lunged toward the others! And its target was none other than He Jijun! He Jijun was busy with the hand crossbow dealing with other zombies. Kill or not, his archery was accurate, consistently hitting zombies in the forehead. He hadn¡¯t expected the Zombie Dog to give up its assault on Wang Tao and attack him instead. ¡°This Zombie Dog is so smart!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. It was his first time seeing zombies employ strategy! He immediately used the Tendril to try to capture the Zombie Dog. Wang Tao¡¯s position was quite far from He Jijun, and the Iron Tree Vines couldn¡¯t reach him. But after the tendril wrapped around the Zombie Dog¡¯s leg, it only managed to hold the Zombie Dog for a second before it snapped! [-5000] The Iron Tree Vine with ten thousand HP lost five thousand instantly! ¡°Old He, dodge quickly!¡± Wang Tao yelled at the top of his lungs. Though He Jijun had the abilities of an Athlete and Running, they were all Level 1, and now he was facing a Level 3 Zombie Dog with a hundred thousand HP. These Level 1 abilities were simply not enough! Faced with the Zombie Dog¡¯s immense figure lunging toward him at the last moment, He Jijun was unexpectedly calm. Knowing he couldn¡¯t outrun it, he didn¡¯t flee, but instead suddenly pulled out a giant pancake from his Loot Pack and threw it into the distance. Whoosh¡ª ¡°` The Zombie Dog paused for a moment when it saw the big pie He Jijun had thrown, then immediately changed direction and pounced toward the pie. ¡°?¡± Wang Tao and the others were somewhat dumbfounded, unsure of what ability this was. The Zombie Dog was very fast and bit into the big pie that He Jijun had thrown in the blink of an eye. Given the size of the Zombie Dog, that big pie was hardly enough to fill its gaps between teeth; it was swallowed in an instant. However, it seemed to have no intention of eating the pie, so when the pie was gulped down, it appeared to be stunned for a moment. Then it looked at He Jijun¡­ ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was baffled. What was this situation? ¡°It used to be a military dog; it¡¯s just acting on instinct.¡± He Jijun explained. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean we can control it?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. If they could control a big guy like this, that would be quite thrilling! But He Jijun shook his head with a somewhat melancholic expression. ¡°No, it has no intelligence. This is just its instinct.¡± He had lost a good companion a few months ago, unfortunately¡­ ¡°Roar!¡± As if to prove He Jijun¡¯s point, the Zombie Dog, after a moment of bewilderment, had a violent glare return to its eyes. ¡°Attack!¡± But now that He Jijun had escaped danger, Wang Tao had no more reservations. The group charged once again. Knowing that this was some remnant instinct of the Zombie Dog, attacking it became a lot easier. He Jijun threw out a few more big pies, two of which worked. Wang Tao was even more extreme, throwing out three Reinforced Concrete Hammers directly. The Zombie Dog might have thought they were bones and then¡­¡±crack,¡± it bit through the reinforced concrete! But it lost HP in the process. Wang Tao and the others seized the opportunity, directing all their attacks at its head. After a few moves and with Wang Tao¡¯s last swing, the Zombie Dog¡¯s HP bar hit zero! [-1223] [0/100000] Boom¡ª The Zombie Dog fell to the ground with a thud. Wang Tao expertly cracked open its head, retrieved the Crystal Core, and also picked up the Loot Pack that had burst out. ¡°Hm? Did its teeth fall out?¡± Wang Tao noticed that four of the Zombie Dog¡¯s teeth had names on them and immediately collected them. [You have obtained: Sharp Dog Teeth*4] ¡°Woof woof woof!¡± At that moment, another group of Zombie Dogs appeared, but they were all Level 2 Elites, and not as large. Wang Tao saw a large group of zombies behind these Zombie Dogs and had no time to check the loot, immediately saying to the others: ¡°Since there¡¯s no danger inside, let¡¯s get in first!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Chapter 591 - Chapter 591: Chapter 248 Im Already Dead_1 Chapter 591: Chapter 248 I¡¯m Already Dead_1 The scenery inside the wall was somewhat similar to the outside, overgrown with weeds. However, there were no zombies here, and many buildings were nearby, with what seemed to be an airport in the distance. Wang Tao and the others arrived at the entrance of one of the buildings. Although the door was locked, there was an eave to shelter from the rain. Having just fought a battle, they could take a brief rest to replenish some physical strength. Wang Tao looked towards He Jijun, admiration on his face, and said, ¡°Old He, that was impressive! I didn¡¯t expect you to come up with such a method!¡± If He Jijun hadn¡¯t thought of the throwing pancake method, he would have definitely been injured. ¡°Sigh¡­¡± He Jijun let out a sigh, then explained, ¡°I used to have a retired military dog, but it turned into a zombie. When it knocked me down, I had an idea in the heat of the moment, recalling the way I used to train it, and it actually worked. But it was only temporary, as it had lost its own thoughts. In the end, I still had to end its life with my hands¡­¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected He Jijun to have had this experience. ¡°Condolences.¡± ¡°Haha, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m already used to it.¡± He Jijun shook his head indifferently. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dwell on the topic and instead asked, ¡°Where do you think we should go now?¡± It seemed there wasn¡¯t much danger inside the wall, but the doors and windows of these buildings were locked, and the locks were different from any Wang Tao had seen before; he felt unsure if he could open them. He Jijun thought for a moment and said, ¡°Let¡¯s head to the command center. If there are any survivors, they must be there because it can monitor the entire military base.¡± ¡°Okay, you lead the way!¡± Wang Tao maxed out his Perception Ability, and the group followed He Jijun towards the direction of the command center. ¡°Eh? Is that an airplane?¡± Suddenly, Yang Changhong pointed to an area of the airfield and asked. Upon looking where she indicated, Wang Tao and his companions indeed saw two military transport planes corroded by the acid rain. ¡°Such a pity¡­¡± Seeing this, He Jijun sighed. By the looks of it, these two airplanes had been exposed to the corrosive acid rain for quite some time and obviously couldn¡¯t be used anymore. Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°These two planes probably aren¡¯t the one that air-dropped for us. They¡¯ve corroded into piles of scrap metal¡­¡± He Jijun spoke up, ¡°There¡¯s a hangar here. If the air-drop plane you mentioned is in the base, it¡¯s highly likely to be in the hangar.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao was still counting on the chance of catching a flying ride. Moments later, Wang Tao and his group arrived at the grand building of the command center that He Jijun had referred to. ¡°All locked up¡­¡± After walking around the exterior of the building and returning to the entrance of the command center, He Jijun¡¯s expression showed a hint of distress. ¡°Isn¡¯t there a way to get in?¡± Wang Tao inquired. ¡°The defenses here are tight. Unless we open it from the inside, the only other way in would be to blow it up with a bomb; otherwise, it¡¯s impossible to get through,¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing this, everyone was somewhat speechless. They had finally reached the military base; surely they couldn¡¯t just fail to get inside? All the important buildings within the military base were locked up like this; if they couldn¡¯t enter the command center, access to other areas, including the hangar, was out of the question. Wang Tao had been using the military walkie-talkie all along, but regrettably, he still couldn¡¯t establish contact. He had no idea if Colonel Luo Guozhong had run into trouble¡­ ¡°Buzz¡ª¡± But just then, an alarm sounded suddenly at the entrance of the command center. While it wasn¡¯t very loud, it startled Wang Tao and the others who were outside. ¡°What¡¯s going on!¡± They instantly became vigilant. He Jijun was also puzzled. A rumbling noise emanated from behind the door. Then, the door opened! ¡°The door¡¯s opening!¡± When the door slowly opened a small gap, Wang Tao felt a surge of excitement, but he didn¡¯t let his guard down. He immediately pulled out his Bone Knife and extended his Perception Ability inside. ¡°It¡¯s safe inside, no zombies, no humans¡­¡± The door stopped after it opened wide enough to fit two people side by side; inside was pitch-dark, somewhat eerie to look at. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes immediately lit up with a green glow. His Perception saw no danger, and with his Night Vision Ability, he found no traps or the like. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re heading in!¡± Wang Tao led the way, and the group followed him in. Rumbling¡ª Just as they entered, the door behind them began to close slowly! Wang Tao naturally had time to get out, but his goal was the military base, so retreat was not an option. As the door fully shut and the last gleam of light vanished, lights in the facility automatically turned on with a buzz. ¡°Is someone in control?¡± The hall looked somewhat sci-fi in style but was starkly empty. Wang Tao immediately called out, ¡°Colonel Luo Guozhong, is that you? I¡¯m Wang Tao! We¡¯ve communicated over the radio before! I said I would come to the military base to have a drink with you, and here I am, with liquor in hand!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice echoed through the empty hall, but there was no response. He Jijun patted Wang Tao¡¯s arm and then pointed to the few cameras on the ceiling, blinking intermittently. Wang Tao instantly got the hint, walked confidently under a camera, and repeated his words, this time emphasizing the two bottles of liquor he was holding. However, after waiting for a while longer, there was still no movement. ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Chapter 592 - Chapter 592: Chapter 248 Im Already Dead_2 Chapter 592: Chapter 248 I¡¯m Already Dead_2 Wang Tao frowned a bit. If the people here were unwilling to see him, they probably wouldn¡¯t have opened the door. But why would they open the door to let them in and then not come out? At this time, He Jijun spoke: ¡°Let¡¯s look for ourselves!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The lobby on the first floor was spacious and empty, with very little in it. There were a few doors that led to unknown places, but all were locked. Since this place was clearly occupied by others, it was their territory, Wang Tao naturally did not attempt to pick the locks, so the group headed towards the second floor. No sooner had they started climbing the stairs than the lights on the staircase lit up, while the lights in the lobby below instantly went out. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s energy-saving mode¡­¡± He Jijun felt a bit puzzled as the place didn¡¯t seem like it was inhabited. However, since Wang Tao said that a Colonel Luo Guozhong was here, there should be people¡­ He Jijun didn¡¯t say much else, and he along with Wang Tao and the others made it to the upper floor. The second floor also had a large hall with many monitors that seemed capable of surveilling the entire base. However, all the screens were dark. ¡°There are signs of life here!¡± He Jijun suddenly pointed to something. Wang Tao and the others looked over, and it was a ceramic cup. Inside were dry tea leaves, but no water. He Jijun picked up the cup and checked it before frowning and saying: ¡°This must be tea from a long time ago, at least a month old¡­¡± ¡°That long?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. He had just communicated with Colonel Luo Guozhong a few days ago, hadn¡¯t he? Before he could think further, Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice suddenly rang out. ¡°Brother, there¡¯s a letter!¡± The group immediately turned around and saw an envelope on a desk where Jiang Shixue stood. Wang Tao and the others promptly walked over. There was no writing on the envelope. Wang Tao opened it directly, and indeed there was a letter inside. ¡®Wang Tao, hello, this is Luo Guozhong. If you can see this letter, then I am already dead.¡¯ ¡°Dead?¡± Seeing the first sentence of the letter, Wang Tao was a bit stupefied. ¡°Colonel Luo is dead? He airdropped supplies to me just a few days ago; could something have happened after that? If I had come a week earlier, could I have met him?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face was filled with regret. Both from a utilitarian perspective and his personal feelings, he had really wanted to meet and get to know this Colonel Luo, but it was too late¡­ ¡®I have shut down all the base¡¯s defense systems, except for the electric grid. If anyone comes in, they just need to get past the electric grid. I believe that if they are human Ability Users, they should be able to get in.¡¯ ¡°All the defense systems shut down?¡± Wang Tao looked towards He Jijun. He Jijun suddenly realized and said: ¡°I was wondering why the base¡¯s defense systems weren¡¯t active! It doesn¡¯t seem like it was completely destroyed¡­ It turns out it was manually shut down!¡± Before entering the military base, He Jijun was extremely cautious. He mentioned that the base contained many defensive weapons. If the defense systems were active, it would be very dangerous to break in from the outside. But from the moment they entered the military base until now, they hadn¡¯t encountered any defensive measures. This puzzled He Jijun¡ªit couldn¡¯t be that the entire system had collapsed, could it? He knew that many defensive devices inside the base could operate unmanned, and as long as the systems were functioning, they would continue to do so unless the base¡¯s energy supply was exhausted or they were completely destroyed. But if someone had manually shut it down, then that would make sense. ¡®I don¡¯t know if you can make it here, and I don¡¯t want you to because it¡¯s too dangerous. But I also hope you can make it because if you do, it means you¡¯re safe. Plus, I wanted to taste your liquor.¡¯ Reading this, Wang Tao suddenly felt a surge of sorrow. ¡®I have been infected with the zombie virus and have used too many Inhibitors; there¡¯s no cure for me. I could die at any moment, or at the latest by tomorrow. But being alive until now, I am already content, so please don¡¯t feel sad for me.¡¯ ¡°¡­¡± ¡®Although this is a military base, it¡¯s not as good as you might imagine. On the contrary, this is a place mainly besieged by zombies. There are combat logs in the computer; everything is recorded there. I have removed the computer¡¯s password, and I hope the base¡¯s power lasts until you arrive.¡¯ That didn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao, as the military base was sure to have seen intense combat, naturally attracting zombies. As for the combat log, Wang Tao was quite interested in it. ¡®To be honest, I wanted to live.¡¯ ¡®But I don¡¯t have the chance anymore, and I don¡¯t allow myself to live a cowardly life. Although I can¡¯t continue fighting on the frontlines, I will do everything in my power to help those in need.¡¯ ¡®In the days following the virus outbreak, the satellites in the sky also began to malfunction one after another, eventually leading to a total breakdown. Fortunately, we still had other backup communication methods to get in touch with other bases and the Hope Research Institute. The Hope Research Institute truly was our hope.¡¯ ¡®Unfortunately, we lost contact with Capital City and with the Hope Research Institute. I don¡¯t know if anyone there is still alive, but I hope they are and that they do not end up like me.¡¯ ¡®I miss my daughter, my wife, and my parents. If they hadn¡¯t died, how wonderful that would be!¡¯ ¡®I really miss them so much!¡¯ ¡®I want to die.¡¯ The three words ¡°I want to die¡± were extraordinarily fierce. Chapter 593 - Chapter 593: Chapter 248 Im Already Dead_3 Chapter 593: Chapter 248 I¡¯m Already Dead_3 What followed was a mass of garbled text, looking closely, they appeared to be Chinese characters, but Luo Guozhong¡¯s state might have been off when he wrote them, making them extremely chaotic. Wang Tao and the others simply couldn¡¯t make out what they actually were. At the end of the content, however, the handwriting suddenly returned to normal. ¡°Sorry, I lost my composure a bit. It might be because I¡¯ve been lonely. But fortunately, I still have three comrades. We can still do something meaningful together.¡± ¡°By the way, I also have a good buddy. Its name is Lightning, a military dog that is one year old and just reached adulthood. If you call its name, it will be very obedient. I hope you will allow it to follow you.¡± ¡°A military dog? It couldn¡¯t be the zombie dog we just killed, could it?¡± Wang Tao and the others exchanged glances. ¡°Lastly, I want to say this. Wang Tao, or other survivors who read this letter, keep going! Don¡¯t give up! You must strive to survive!¡± ¡ª¡ªColonel Luo Guozhong, September 15th After reading the letter, they all had mixed feelings. Between the lines, they could feel the despair in Colonel Luo Guozhong¡¯s heart. Luo Guozhong was infected with the zombie virus, an ailment that was incurable, only manageable with regular doses of the inhibitor, but even that could cause problems after prolonged use¡­ In short, from the moment Colonel Luo Guozhong was infected with the zombie virus, he had been waiting to die. Previously he was able to establish contact with the Hope Research Institute in Capital City, which was his hope. But his communications with the Hope Research Institute had been cut off, and with it, his hope had vanished¡­ However¡­ there¡¯s a question here! Wang Tao previously thought that there was interaction between Wuyang Military Base and Hope Research Institute, that things like inhibitors and mechanical arms came from there, as they had airplanes and could fly over. But from the letter, it seemed Colonel Luo Guozhong had never been in touch with the Hope Research Institute, and the connection between Wuyang Military Base and the Institute was only through communications. So how did they get those inhibitors? Could there be some sort of space transmission technology? ¡°Check the combat logs! The combat logs should have an answer!¡± He Jijun immediately located the master switch. Bzzt¡ª In an instant, all the screens in the hall lit up. Then one by one, images began to appear on the screens, some flickering with static and others showing surveillance footage. ¡°Surveillance!¡± Seeing these surveillance screens turn on, everyone was curious. After all, this was a military base with an inherently mysterious nature, and they hadn¡¯t been able to access many areas, so they naturally turned their attention to the monitors. ¡°What¡¯s this place? Looks like there are guns!¡± Yang Changhong pointed to the first monitor that lit up and said. ¡°This is the armory, where all the weapons and ammunition of the Wuyang Military Base are stored. But looking at it¡­ there¡¯s not much left.¡± He Jijun explained. ¡°And what about this place?¡± Nie Siyan pointed to the second screen with some curiosity. ¡°That¡¯s the medical room¡­¡± ¡°And this is¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s the living area¡­¡± ¡°This is the logistical support room¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s the military garage. Huh? There are military vehicles! Ones that aren¡¯t corroded!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Facing everyone¡¯s queries, He Jijun answered them one by one. Then he added: ¡°Since the systems here are operational, we can remotely open the doors to other places. Like we can take out and use the stuff from the armory and medical room.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fantastic, I saw a lot of weapons inside!¡± Yang Changhong was a little excited; she had seen many guns! Although using firearms in the post-apocalyptic world is unsafe, at some specific times, like when the rain is particularly heavy as it was now, guns could still be used. If so many guns fired at once, their killing power would surely be stronger than many Ability Users! And since it¡¯s the arsenal of a military base, there definitely won¡¯t just be guns; there should be other weapons too, right? Are there any cannons, missiles, or something like that? If there are, that would be amazing! The group became more and more excited. ¡°Someone¡¯s there!¡± Suddenly, Jiang Shixue pointed to one of the screens and said. Everyone quickly turned to look. On this screen was a huge transport plane. Wang Tao was familiar with the shape of this transport plane¡ªit was the very same plane that had airdropped supplies to him! But now the focus wasn¡¯t the plane; rather, beneath the plane were several figures in military uniform, with airdrop crates placed beside them. ¡°There are still survivors?¡± The group was somewhat excited. At that moment, a figure wearing a broken pilot helmet slowly walked beneath the camera¡¯s view. He lifted his head, revealing a grim face with pale, milky eyes. ¡°Zo¡ªzombies?¡± Yang Changhong and the others were stupefied. This zombie pilot staggered over to the other figures. ¡°They¡¯re all zombies?!¡± Only then did the group realize that the other three military figures were all zombies. No wonder their movements seemed so stiff! But the scene that followed would be etched in their memories forever. The zombies in military uniform actually started moving the airdrop crates into the plane! Then they closed the rear hatch of the plane! And the zombie pilot, staggering over to the plane¡¯s ladder, opened the cockpit door and sat in the pilot¡¯s seat! ¡°These zombies¡­they¡¯re actually going to fly the plane! Heavens!¡± Hum¡ª¡ª However, at that moment, red lights started flashing in the hangar. ¡°Warning! Thunderstorm conditions, flight is currently not permitted. To proceed with flight, please enter the authorization password.¡± ¡°Warning¡­¡± After the warning sounded, the cockpit door opened. The zombie pilot stumbled out, and along with the other three military zombies, opened the rear hatch again and moved the airdrop crates back out. After finishing, it seemed like they rested for a while and then started repeating their previous actions, moving the airdrop back into the plane! ¡°Warning! Thunderstorm conditions¡­¡± Once again, the zombie pilot came down and, along with the three zombie soldiers, moved the airdrop crates off the plane! So it went, in a repetitive cycle. ¡­ Command center. Everyone was completely dumbfounded. And Wang Tao, as if realizing something, quickly reopened the letter Colonel Luo Guozhong had written to him. The date on the letter was ¡°September 15th¡±. He looked at his watch, which read ¡°October 22nd¡±. ¡°The zombie pilot in the hangar is Colonel Luo Guozhong!¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t die last week but rather¡­last month!¡± ¡°It was two days after the last time I ¡®requested an airdrop¡¯ that he passed away¡­¡± ¡°Which means that after Colonel Luo Guozhong died, his zombie body has been flying planes for airdrops¡­and it¡¯s been going on for over a month!¡± ¡°The person I contacted through the radio before was actually his¡­corpse!¡± Chapter 594 - Chapter 594: Chapter 249: Faith, Diary_1 Chapter 594: Chapter 249: Faith, Diary_1 ¡°Why?¡± Nie Siyan blurted out subconsciously. ¡°They¡¯ve all turned into zombies, so why are they still making airdrops, flying planes, and even after hearing Brother Wang¡¯s words, they actually took the initiative to airdrop for you¡­¡± Nie Siyan seemed bewildered. After becoming zombies, aren¡¯t they supposed to be void of any consciousness? How could they¡­ Hearing Nie Siyan¡¯s words, Wang Tao remained silent. He recalled the previous Blondy Wu Fei. He had saved Wu Fei¡¯s life, and Wu Fei had said he¡¯d repay him. Therefore, after turning into a zombie, Wu Fei exchanged his own life for that of a gorilla zombie. Wu Fei kept his promise to Wang Tao. And then there was Jiang Shixue by his side, whose condition at the time was almost equivalent to that of a zombie, slightly dazed. Wang Tao threatened her to help him, and she truly did help. Of course, she was actually doing it for her mother. These two had something in common: they still retained some consciousness and had their own obsessions. And now, this Luo Guozhong and¡­ ¡°They have their own beliefs.¡± He Jijun suddenly spoke. ¡°This belief is etched in their bones, so even if they die, their beliefs will live on!¡± ¡°Beliefs, huh¡­¡± Nie Siyan muttered to herself, still not quite understanding. But as she looked at the figures in the surveillance footage repeatedly loading and unloading cargo, she seemed to grasp something. Wang Tao continued to check the surveillance. There were several monitors in this hangar, covering various angles. ¡°There¡¯s not much left for the airdrops¡­ Hm? There¡¯s still one plane!¡± Wang Tao noticed that there were not many airdrop boxes left, but there was still one camouflaged helicopter. This made him raise his eyebrows. Wang Tao had originally planned to come to the military base to assess the situation; if there was still a military presence, he might have stayed. If the base had fallen, then he certainly wouldn¡¯t have stayed. The current situation was that although the military base hadn¡¯t fallen, there were no soldiers left, just the few of them. If a large number of zombies were to attack, could the few of them hold such a vast military base? Wang Tao felt it was unlikely. Moreover, humans are social creatures. Although Wang Tao spent most of his time working in small teams, this didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t willing to make contact with other survivors. If they had to stay there for a lifetime, Wang Tao would definitely go mad. And the most important point: was this military base really safe? If it had been before, Wang Tao would have thought so. But after seeing those Fourth-Order Giant Zombies with a hundred thousand blood, he wasn¡¯t so sure anymore. After all, given the size of those zombies, they could easily step over the walls and electric fences¡­ So, it was uncertain whether they could stay long at the military base. If they were to leave, it would be even better to do so by plane. That transport plane should still be operational, but it wasn¡¯t easy to land. The helicopter, on the other hand, was much more convenient¡­ Wang Tao turned to He Jijun. ¡°Old He, can you fly this helicopter?¡± He Jijun glanced at it and said: ¡°This is the latest model of plane; I¡¯ve flown older models. It shouldn¡¯t be a big problem, I¡¯ll figure it out, including that transport plane, I can fly it! The premise is that both planes are not broken, and of course, if there are some minor issues, I can fix them.¡± Upon hearing He Jijun¡¯s confident answer, a smile immediately appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°Then we might need you to pilot it later!¡± It was lucky to have met He Jijun! Otherwise, even if he had gotten a plane, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to use it. This thing wasn¡¯t like driving; it¡¯s not something you can just ¡®give a try¡¯¡ªone trial could end your life. ¡°No problem!¡± He Jijun nodded first and then added, ¡°But what do you plan to do with these people?¡± By ¡°people,¡± he naturally meant the four zombies in the hangar. ¡°What do you think, Old He?¡± Wang Tao looked at He Jijun with some indecision. ¡°Sigh, let¡¯s liberate them¡­¡± He Jijun exhaled deeply. Looking at the situation on the monitors, there weren¡¯t many airdrops left. If it weren¡¯t raining, they might have finished airdropping in just two trips. Although their spirit was admirable, to be honest, they were no longer useful¡­ and whether they could still fly planes was also a question. So rather than let their bodies go on living in such a daze, it would be better to liberate them. Putting himself in their place, if he turned into a zombie, he would also hope someone would help him find liberation. ¡°Kill them, huh¡­¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat reluctant. ¡°No, they¡¯re already dead. You¡¯re just helping them find peace.¡± He Jijun said solemnly. ¡°Sigh¡­ I¡¯ll think about it some more.¡± Wang Tao sighed. He wasn¡¯t like others; he could gain items from killing creatures. What if he dropped a potion that could undo the zombie virus and restore people to their original form? That was also uncertain. He Jijun saw the hesitation in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes and felt gratified. He could tell that Wang Tao was not a heartless person. He had great respect for Luo Guozhong and the three others. Wang Tao might even be naively thinking, could Luo Guozhong and the others be saved¡­ But unfortunately, once turned into zombies, there was no saving them¡­ For these four, liberation was a form of respect for them. However, He Jijun wouldn¡¯t interfere with Wang Tao¡¯s decision; it all depended on Wang Tao himself. ¡°Forget it, we still have time, let¡¯s check out the other situations first. We can discuss this matter later.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. The zombie Luo Guozhong and his group couldn¡¯t come out of the hangar. He had time to think it over. Soon, the group had checked all the monitors. Some were broken, but most were still functional. Chapter 595 - Chapter 595: Chapter 249: Faith, Diary_2 Chapter 595: Chapter 249: Faith, Diary_2 Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t understand many things, but thankfully He Jijun was there to provide answers. The energy and materials here have basically been depleted. Solar power devices have all corrode, and there isn¡¯t much left in terms of food and weapons. Even if Wang Tao and his group stayed here, energy and materials would be a significant issue. However, the good news is that there are still some supplies. Especially when it comes to weapons and ammunition, the defense systems He Jijun mentioned earlier still function. If activated, they could turn this military base into a hedgehog in an instant, deadly to any who approach. Of course, due to the limited ammunition, they couldn¡¯t hold out for too long. And if they made too much noise, it would certainly attract a large number of zombies. Then Wang Tao asked He Jijun to find the combat logs, and they started to read them carefully. After finishing, Wang Tao finally understood the general situation of the military base. When the apocalypse arrived, the whole world descended into chaos, and Wuyang Military Base was no exception. But Wuyang Military Base was relatively lucky and quickly got the situation under control. Though they lost a large number of personnel, they managed to prevent the virus from spreading inside the base. Afterward, the base heeded the call from higher-ups and while trying to protect themselves, they tried to rescue as many survivors as possible. Wuyang City was naturally preparing to construct a Survivor Base. Since there was already a military base, they decided to use it as a stronghold and gradually establish a Survivor Base. However, the situation in Wuyang City was more serious than anyone had imagined¡ªthe population was simply too large! Just the urban area had a population of tens of millions, not to mention other areas with over twenty million people! With such a large population, it was nearly impossible to defend against such a highly infectious zombie virus. Wuyang City was one of the cities that fell the fastest in the country. And once Wuyang City fell, the military base became unsafe. After all, the military base was next to Wuyang City urban area. Just the thought of tens of millions of zombies next door would panic anyone! Therefore, the higher-ups immediately changed their minds. Wuyang Military Base could not be transformed into a Survivor Base. Another location had to be found for the Survivor Base. But constructing a base wasn¡¯t something that could be finished with mere words. Even though a new location was selected, it was a problem just trying to relocate the massive number of survivors there, let alone start construction. The soldiers from Wuyang Military Base tried several times and suffered heavy losses each time, because the zombies were too powerful! Wang Tao also learned something new from this¡ª He had previously thought that zombies evolved over time, as he found that zombies became stronger after a certain period and then stronger again after another. But that was not the only case. According to research from the military base, it¡¯s true that zombies grow stronger over time, but zombies also undergo accelerated evolution! And this acceleration in zombies¡­ comes from eating humans! Zombies that have eaten humans are stronger than those that haven¡¯t, and they evolve faster! So, while Wang Tao was still in Shuize County¡¯s Happy Community, struggling to survive the apocalypse with Ding Yuqin, Wuyang Military Base had already begun dealing with Level 2, Zombie Lords! Yes, Level 2, Zombie Lords! When Wang Tao hadn¡¯t even encountered a Level 1 Elite Zombie, there were already Level 2, Zombie Lords in Wuyang City! One could imagine how difficult the situation here was. Talking about constructing a Survivor Base was basically impossible! If it weren¡¯t for the military base here with its various weapons to block the zombies, the area would probably have completely fallen by now. However, the military base could only barely hold its own and was not able to annihilate the zombies. Although these weapons are formidable and the zombies still have flesh and blood bodies, not as advanced as the weapons, a heavy machine gun could stop hordes of zombies. But there was still the problem from before. Although the military base survived the first wave of infection, it had already lost over half of its manpower, and the living forces were simply not enough. And with the zombie virus being unstoppable, there were no inhibitors available at the time¡ªif you got infected, you could only wait for death! But this wasn¡¯t the most important issue. The most crucial discovery so far was that in their battles with the zombies¡ªthey learned that if you fight a zombie and fail to kill it completely, that zombie becomes stronger! For example, they previously used artillery to kill large numbers of zombies, but occasionally some slipped through the net, and those which survived became even more terrifying. Another example¡­ the military had used nuclear bombs! There were no nuclear bombs in the military base, but they could request them. At the time, for some unknown reason, a large number of Level 2 Zombies appeared, and if they weren¡¯t eliminated promptly, they would eventually evolve to the point of being able to level the military base. So, the military base requested a missile for a decapitation strike, and that missile was equipped with a small-yield nuclear warhead. The result¡­ most of the zombies there were blasted into oblivion, and that area was razed to the ground. But¡­ one zombie survived! A zombie that lived through the blast and radiation underwent a massive mutation and later turned into a Level 3 Zombie! The military base paid a high price to deal with this Level 3 Zombie. So thereafter, they were hesitant to use such large-scale destructive weapons again¡ªof course, even if they wanted to use them at that time, they probably couldn¡¯t. The fallen areas were too many, including those missile launch bases. Plus, the existence of corrosive acid rain caused many pieces of equipment to fail¡­ Chapter 596 - Chapter 596: Chapter 249: Faith, Diary_3 Chapter 596: Chapter 249: Faith, Diary_3 ¡°` So, eradicating the zombies in Wuyang City is very difficult. It¡¯s simply impossible to construct a Survivor Base. Even the survivors are dwindling, and the base can¡¯t find any more¡­ Moreover, all communication has completely broken down, and for some reason, the satellites in the sky have all fallen! But thankfully, the military base still has other means of communication, such as radio and wired. Radios are more convenient, but the corrosive acid rain has corroded many of the signal towers, making it impossible to transmit wireless signals very far, usually only for short-range use. So, they used wired communications to contact other Government offices, other military branches, and the Hope Research Institute. There¡¯s not much information about the Hope Research Institute in the log, but it was enough for Wang Tao to grasp a general understanding. The Hope Research Institute was organized by the Government, with core personnel being surviving technicians, scientists, and other talents. The headquarters of the Hope Research Institute is in Capital City¡ªactually, they were reluctant to stay in Capital City because it¡¯s even more dangerous than Wuyang City! The place is smaller, the population denser¡­ but there was no alternative since many scientists were there, and the risk of moving them was greater than the risk of staying. So, they had to struggle for survival in this tight spot. Thankfully, there were many wartime Defense facilities there, which barely allowed them to survive. Items such as inhibitors, detectors, synthesizers, and mechanical arms were all researched under such perilous conditions by scientists at the institute. But it¡¯s not enough to just research these things; they had to be delivered into the hands of the survivors. This was a big problem. Planes could be used, but they make too much noise, easily attracting zombies, and would require airports, aviation fuel, pilots, and various support facilities. The people at the Hope Research Institute didn¡¯t dare leave their premises, so how could they possibly use planes to deliver these items across the country? Then someone had an idea: let the Hope Research Institute send the blueprints and formulas to the various military bases because these bases are equipped with military 3D printers capable of producing these items! The Hope Research Institute thought it was feasible and sent the data to all the military bases. Upon receiving this data, Wuyang City Base began 3D printing. The Crystal Core Synthesizer, Energy Detector, and mechanical arms were all printed in this way. As for the inhibitor, naturally, it could not be printed¡ª at most, a bottle could be printed. But the Hope Research Institute provided a formula, and the inhibitor could be produced according to the formula. The materials for the inhibitor weren¡¯t too rare; some were available at the Wuyang Military Base, and others could be found within the city limits. So, after obtaining the formula, the Wuyang Military Base began organizing squads to go into the city to collect raw materials. There weren¡¯t many soldiers left in the base, and sending them into the danger-filled city had predictable outcomes. The inhibitors were produced, but many soldiers were sacrificed. It can be said that these airdropped inhibitors were obtained with their lives! Seeing the formula for the inhibitor, Wang Tao suddenly felt a heavy heart. ¡°The formula must be preserved well. If there¡¯s a chance, I also want to go into the city to collect some raw materials¡­¡± Wang Tao thought to himself silently. Then four months ago, it was unknown whether the underground cables were damaged or the other bases and the Hope Research Institute had fallen, but Wuyang Base suddenly lost contact with them. This rendered the Wuyang Military Base an isolated island, although not many were left there. After that, they began to shrink their Defense lines. They gave up on rescuing survivors or killing zombies and started focusing on airdropping supplies instead. Because those who had survived had used a lot of inhibitors. These inhibitors were produced by them, and they knew the side effects. It was simply a matter of dying sooner or later¡­ At the time Colonel Luo Guozhong wrote his letter, only the last four of them remained. Wang Tao saw the monitoring footage of that time; Luo Guozhong and the others had intended to commit suicide. They didn¡¯t want to turn into the unsightly zombies, nor did they wish to harm others. But plans cannot keep up with changes, their mutation rate was faster than they anticipated. In a very short time, all four mutated and were unable to commit suicide. However, Luo Guozhong probably didn¡¯t expect that after they turned into zombies, they did not go out to harm others but continued airdropping by instinct or perhaps their steadfast beliefs¡­ ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Everyone subconsciously let out a sigh. They felt pity for Luo Guozhong and his comrades and a glimmer of despair for the future. Wang Tao arrived at the military base with the idea of contacting the outside world. After all, the military base could contact the Hope Research Institute, so he also wanted to find out what the outside world was like, whether the whole country had fallen, if there were other large Survivor Bases, or whether the Government had organized any large-scale resistance¡­ But now, all contact between the military base and the outside world had long been severed. Wang Tao had no way of knowing the situation outside. Wang Tao¡¯s curiosity about the Hope Research Institute could only be sated by snippets of information¡­ ¡°Could it be that only a few scattered survivors like us are left¡­¡± Zhang Hong murmured to herself. Although Wang Tao was also feeling down, he still patted her shoulder and said: ¡°Even if we really are the only ones left, what of it? A single spark can start a prairie fire. From now on, we are humanity¡¯s hope! And I think things might not be as bad as we imagine. Maybe, in some place we don¡¯t know about, other survivors are already living better lives!¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°No buts! We still have the most important task at hand¡ªscavenging the military base!¡± ¡°¡­Okay!¡± ¡°` Chapter 597 - Chapter 597: Chapter 250 Lightning_1 Chapter 597: Chapter 250 Lightning_1 If there were still people at the military base, Wang Tao would naturally have to show them a certain amount of respect. But now that there is no one here, everything here belongs to Wang Tao. When it came to scavenging supplies, everyone¡¯s spirits lifted a bit. No matter what, this is after all a military base, and although the supplies have almost been depleted, this ¡°depletion¡± was relative to the entire base. For them personally, there should still be a significant amount of supplies. ¡°First, let¡¯s scavenge these places with surveillance, and then we¡¯ll go to those without or with broken cameras.¡± Wang Tao spoke to his companions. ¡°Okay!¡± The group immediately sprang into action. Their first target was the command center, where after a search, they found some food and weapons. He Jijun immediately exchanged his gun; although he was quite comfortable with his hunting rifle, its performance was indeed lacking. Now that he had switched to a Type 400 family of automatic rifles, his combat effectiveness would be greatly improved. His police revolver was naturally also exchanged, as it packed very little power. Switching to a military automatic pistol was far more appropriate. The others also grabbed a rifle and a pistol each. They might not need them, but when necessary, it was important to have the gear on hand. After confirming there was nothing else here, Wang Tao and his group moved on to other locations. Luo Guozhong had left them keys, so they could go anywhere. The first place Wang Tao headed to was the armory, eager to see if there were any impressive weapons inside. However, upon seeing the contents, he was slightly disappointed. There were indeed many weapons, rifles, pistols, and even machine guns, but there were no shells or bombs which Wang Tao had been hoping for. The inventory records showed that those items had been used a long time ago. Of course, even so, their find wasn¡¯t a loss. At the very least, Wang Tao had never operated a heavy machine gun before and was looking forward to enjoying the thrill if the chance arose. The group then made their way to the warehouse. The warehouse was originally used to store inhibitors, equipment, and other items, but those had been airdropped out, leaving it quite empty. However, there was a military 3D printer there. The device was a valuable find, but it was too large for Wang Tao to take with him. Moreover, printing required raw materials, which were now depleted¡­ ¡°We¡¯ll just leave it here for now¡­¡± Wang Tao then led the group to other areas. ¡°Huh? Is this¡­ the kennels for military dogs?¡± Wang Tao came across a room with a sign that read ¡°Military Canine Troops.¡± He remembered there was no surveillance here; the cameras were broken. ¡°Could there be military dogs inside?¡± Yang Changhong asked with some expectation. ¡°Not sure. Let¡¯s go in and see, but be careful¡­¡± Wang Tao activated his Perception Ability. Perception Ability was somewhat affected by obstacles, and with the large size of the house, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t fully sense everything inside, so he wasn¡¯t sure what the situation was. Moreover, they had encountered numerous zombie dogs outside the base, including one particularly large Level 3 Zombie Dog, so Wang Tao wasn¡¯t hopeful about finding any military dogs still alive in here. Wang Tao opened the door to find it was pretty bright and spacious inside. However, many pieces of training equipment for military dogs obstructed their view. Suddenly, through his perceived vision, Wang Tao saw a shadow rapidly charging toward them. Judging by its shape, it was a dog! ¡°Watch out!¡± Wang Tao immediately drew his Bone Knife, fixating on what lay ahead. Then Wang Tao felt the shadow suddenly come to an abrupt halt behind a wall, with only a dog¡¯s head, ears pitched high, peeking out. [HP: 803/1000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 1, Ordinary] ¡°Hey? There¡¯s still a living military dog!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He liked pets like kittens and puppies, but before the apocalypse, he could barely take care of himself, so he didn¡¯t have the capacity to look after pets. After the apocalypse, such animals became even rarer. Apart from rats and fish, the only other animals Wang Tao recalled seeing were the pigs raised within the Zijin Base¡­ ¡°Come, come here!¡± Wang Tao put away his weapon and waved at the large wolfhound. The military dog watched warily and didn¡¯t approach. Just as Wang Tao was about to ask He Jijun to think of a way to coax it over, he suddenly remembered the letter from Luo Guozhong. In the letter, Luo Guozhong mentioned he had a military dog named Lightning. ¡°Lightning, come here!¡± Wang Tao immediately called out. ¡°Woof!¡± The large wolfhound barked once and then ran straight to Wang Tao. It circled around him, sniffing as if getting Wang Tao¡¯s scent, then sat down obediently right in front of him, tongue lolling out. ¡°Haha, it really is Lightning!¡± Seeing such an obedient military dog, Wang Tao was overjoyed. He had initially thought that the Lightning Luo Guozhong mentioned might be the Level 3, Lord Zombie Dog outside the base, or another zombie dog that had appeared later, which had caused him considerable disappointment. To his surprise, he had been mistaken; those zombie dogs weren¡¯t Lightning¡ªthis one was! Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately reached out to pat Lightning¡¯s head. Lightning squinted its eyes contentedly, allowing Wang Tao to pet it. ¡°What a good boy!¡± Wang Tao recalled Luo Guozhong¡¯s words in his letter¡ª It¡¯s called Lightning, a military dog, one year old, just reached adulthood. If you call its name, it will be very obedient¡­ ¡°Call its name and it will be very obedient? Could it be that Luo Guozhong had told Lightning something beforehand?¡± Chapter 598 - Chapter 598: Chapter 250 Lightning_2 Chapter 598: Chapter 250 Lightning_2 Some dogs are very smart, especially those selected as military dogs, whose intelligence could be estimated to be about the same as a child¡¯s. It¡¯s not strange that they can understand human speech. Wang Tao immediately squatted down in front of Lightning with a big smile on his face. ¡°Lightning, from now on, you¡¯ll follow me. If I have a bite to eat, you¡¯ll have one too. How about it? Bark once if you agree.¡± ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°Haha, great!¡± Wang Tao immediately rubbed Lightning¡¯s head vigorously and then took out a bottle of nutrient solution. ¡°I don¡¯t have much food on me, so this will have to do for now.¡± Wang Tao poured half a bottle for Lightning, and it licked it up with a few strokes of its tongue. Then its gaze at Wang Tao even seemed to sparkle. Wang Tao liked it more the more he looked at it. He checked Lightning¡¯s body; it was a one-year-old female dog, and apart from being a little skinny, it had no other issues. After rubbing Lightning¡¯s head vigorously for a while, Wang Tao said to it, ¡°Lightning, show me around your home, will you?¡± ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning immediately ran ahead wagging its tail, and Wang Tao and his companions followed. ¡°I really want to pet it too, can I, Wang Tao?¡± Yang Changhong asked with a gleam in her eyes. ¡°Why don¡¯t you try?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. ¡°Lightning!¡± Yang Changhong called out, but Lightning only turned its head to look at her and then continued leading the way. ¡°¡­¡± Yang Changhong immediately felt a bit awkward. Why was it that Lightning was so obedient when Wang Tao called it, yet it completely ignored her own call? ¡°Haha!¡± Wang Tao found the scene interesting; he thought it must be because he was the first to call Lightning by its name. Perhaps Luo Guozhong gave Lightning instructions before he died, that it should recognize as its master whoever called it by its name first! Wang Tao was glad to have been the first to call it. After all, he really liked such an obedient big wolf dog. Lightning led Wang Tao and the others around inside, and apart from Lightning, there were no other military dogs here. There were many toys and even an automatic feeder. However, Wang Tao noticed that the automatic feeder was empty. No wonder Lightning seemed a bit skinny. Wang Tao then poured the rest of the nutrient solution for Lightning. He also thought of something else¡ªLuo Guozhong had probably died about a month ago and had locked Lightning up here before his death. In other words, Lightning had been alone in this place for at least a month! Wang Tao felt a pang of sympathy and rubbed Lightning¡¯s head, and Lightning immediately wagged its tail happily. Seeing the deep affection between Wang Tao and Lightning, Zhang Hong felt a twinge of jealousy. After Lightning licked the half bottle of nutrient solution clean, Wang Tao patted its head. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lightning obediently walked beside Wang Tao¡¯s feet. Zhang Hong finally seized the opportunity and quickly gave Lightning a couple of pets. Lightning clearly knew these were friends of Wang Tao, its new owner, so it didn¡¯t resist, but it also didn¡¯t show much affection. He Jijun, the old man, couldn¡¯t resist either and happily stroked Lightning. Compared to Zhang Hong, Lightning was much warmer toward He Jijun¡ªit even circled around him and rubbed against him with its head. ¡°Haha, what a good dog!¡± He Jijun laughed heartily. He once had an obedient big wolf dog just like Lightning. Seeing Lightning reminded him of his little companion. Wang Tao watched Lightning¡¯s actions and guessed that Lightning probably sensed an aura similar to its former master on He Jijun. After all, they were both soldiers, and they certainly had a lot in common. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan also touched Lightning after getting Wang Tao¡¯s permission. Lightning was indifferent to both of them, similar to how it was with Zhang Hong. However, what surprised everyone the most was that Lightning was very wary of Jiang Shixue, a young and pretty girl. It even bristled a bit when Jiang Shixue tried to touch it for the first time. Everyone was a bit puzzled¡ªdidn¡¯t Lightning like this cute girl? It wasn¡¯t even a matter of liking or not, it seemed almost scared! Wang Tao probably knew why; after all, Jiang Shixue¡¯s situation was quite special. Humans couldn¡¯t tell there was something wrong with her, but the dog, with its keen sense of smell, might have sensed something off. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t usually care much about most things, but seeing Lightning¡¯s reaction, she suddenly felt a bit sad and lowered her head. After all, she wasn¡¯t a normal person¡­ Wang Tao felt Jiang Shixue¡¯s mood had dropped, stretched out his hand to rub her hair, and then held her small hand tightly. He didn¡¯t speak, but everything was understood without words. Jiang Shixue felt better with Wang Tao¡¯s comforting gesture. At this moment, Lightning, who had been observing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, suddenly came over and rubbed against Jiang Shixue¡¯s feet. ¡°Ah!¡± Feeling the soft fur brush against her calf, and watching as Lightning rubbed her leg with its head, Jiang Shixue let out a surprised yelp, then her face immediately lit up with a bright smile. Jiang Shixue quickly squatted down and gently stroked Lightning¡¯s head, and Lightning didn¡¯t resist and even rubbed its little head against her palm. Seeing this, Wang Tao was very surprised. He didn¡¯t expect Lightning to be so human-friendly. He hadn¡¯t said anything, and yet Lightning understood! It was simply like a little angel! The more Wang Tao saw, the more he liked it. Chapter 599 - Chapter 599: Chapter 250 Lightning_3 Chapter 599: Chapter 250 Lightning_3 ¡°` ¡°I need to find a way to train Lightning!¡± Lightning has 1,000 HP, which clearly isn¡¯t natural. Wang Tao had seen those farmed pigs¡ªwith the little pigs having only about 100 HP. Even when they grew up, they might have a bit more HP, but never as much as 1,000. Wang Tao suspected that Lightning gained its 1,000 HP from killing zombies, considering that humans increased their HP by killing zombies, perhaps animals could too. The only question was whether it could integrate Crystal Cores¡ªprobably not. Otherwise, Luo Guozhong would have used them on Lightning already¡­ For now, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how to train it, but there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. It could definitely become stronger! With Lightning joining the team, there was a lot more laughter and joy. Even the usually cool He Jijun and the typically expressionless Jiang Shixue were extremely happy. ¡°Lightning, do you know if there are any good things around here?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. Lightning might not understand what ¡°good things¡± meant, tilting its head as if it was quite puzzled. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how to describe it either, and after gesticulating for quite a while, suddenly Lightning gave a small bark and then led Wang Tao and the others to the command center. ¡°Hmm? Are we missing something?¡± Lightning brought Wang Tao to the outside of Colonel Luo Guozhong¡¯s room. Wang Tao had glanced inside and, seeing that it was neat and tidy with nothing inside, had left without looking more carefully. After all, he had great respect for Colonel Luo Guozhong, the hero. ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning barked at one of the wall hangings. Wang Tao walked over, removed the hanging, and discovered a safe hidden behind it. ¡°Well, well, there really was something?¡± The group was somewhat surprised. Wang Tao rubbed Lightning¡¯s head, then turned his attention to the safe. This safe required both a combination and a key to open. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with the combination, instead trying the key left to him by Luo Guozhong. Click~ The lock on the safe door opened. ¡°Haha, I knew it. Colonel Luo Guozhong would never make it too complicated for the next person to inherit his things!¡± Wang Tao said, laughing as he opened the door of the safe, and a bunch of shiny objects inside dazzled their eyes. ¡°Crystal Cores.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that surprised, considering that during the apocalypse, there are only so many valuable things, and it was likely that a Crystal Core would be kept in a safe. However, upon seeing the specific attributes of these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao was surprised, or rather shocked. ¡°Level 4 Crystal Core!¡± There was actually a Level 4 Crystal Core among them! Level 1 to Level 3 Crystal Cores were diamond-shaped, with Level 1 being the smallest, Level Two being a bit larger, and Level 3 being larger still. But the Level 4 Crystal Core was square, about the size of a keycap on a keyboard. [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side Effects: None)] This Crystal Core was actually a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! This was a huge surprise for Wang Tao. Wang Tao carefully remembered that the previous battle logs had mentioned that Luo Guozhong and his team had encountered a very powerful zombie, which had taken a great deal of effort to kill. They felt this zombie was much stronger than other Level 3 zombies. But to say how much stronger, was hard to quantify, since they used modern weapons and didn¡¯t have much contact with it¡­ Now, Wang Tao suspected that it must have been this Four-level zombie! ¡°` Although they weren¡¯t clear on what it actually looked like, they had experience killing level 4 zombies, which meant that these zombies weren¡¯t invincible. Wang Tao had felt helpless against the Giant Zombie they had seen before, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean all level 4 zombies were that strong. There was also that hundred thousand HP zombie. If there was a chance later on, he would look for those hundred thousand HP zombies to really understand what a level 4 zombie was like¡­ Besides the level 4 Crystal Core, there weren¡¯t too many other cores in the safe, only about a thousand or so. Moreover, level 1 Crystal Cores were rare; most of them were level two and level three. Wang Tao guessed that Luo Guozhong and his team must have used many crystal cores. Otherwise, judging from the combat logs, there should have been more. But Wang Tao was content. After all, whatever he got for free was a win. The safe contained only Crystal Cores, which Wang Tao took. He crouched down and rubbed Lightning¡¯s head. ¡°Good boy!¡± Lightning immediately wagged its tail and frantically rubbed against Wang Tao. After Wang Tao ¡°tortured¡± it for a while, he turned to the others and said, ¡°Now there should only be two places left to check, the garage and the hangar¡­ Let¡¯s head to the hangar.¡± The group arrived outside the hangar. The hangar had several doors, and naturally they entered through a smaller one. The hangar was large inside and contained many rooms, but the most conspicuous thing was the military transport plane. It wasn¡¯t clear from the surveillance footage, but on closer inspection, the aircraft looked very old, probably corroded by the acid rain. However, right now, their attention wasn¡¯t on the plane, but on the several busy figures underneath it. ¡°Colonel Luo Guozhong¡­¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Feeling the approach of people, the four zombies instantly turned their heads to look at Wang Tao and his group. Lightning circled anxiously around Wang Tao, acting like it wanted to go over but didn¡¯t dare to. Wang Tao patted Lightning on the head to reassure it and took a closer look. Luo Guozhong and his men were actually level 1 zombies! ¡°They didn¡¯t use crystal cores? They¡¯re not Ability Users?¡± This was somewhat unexpected to Wang Tao. But if they were all level 1, then this would be easy to deal with. Wang Tao immediately activated his Psychic Disturbance Ability. After his ascension to level 3, the range of this ability had increased slightly. Although it still couldn¡¯t affect humans, it was very effective against zombies, especially lower-level ones. The moment Wang Tao activated his ability, the four zombies stopped moving. They treated Wang Tao as a Zombie Lord. ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about them for now; let¡¯s check the plane.¡± Wang Tao first inspected the helicopter. It was a transport helicopter, with a large space inside. It was Wang Tao¡¯s first time boarding a helicopter, and he found it very novel. After inspecting the helicopter, He Jijun said to Wang Tao, ¡°The helicopter is fine!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear!¡± He Jijun then led the others to inspect the transport plane. ¡°This transport plane has advanced automatic assistance devices; no wonder they could still fly it¡­ The plane should still be operable, but it needs maintenance¡­¡± After checking the planes, Wang Tao took everything from the airdrop container, but ultimately did not kill the four zombies. Wang Tao patted Lightning on the head. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lightning reluctantly followed Wang Tao out, looking back every three steps. Once they had closed the hangar doors, the zombies seemed confused for a moment and then resumed their repetitive task of moving the air-dropped supplies¡­ Chapter 600 - Chapter 600: Chapter 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_1 Chapter 600: Chapter 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_1 After a trip to the hangar, everyone¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t very good. But life had to go on. Wang Tao looked at the group and said, ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, let¡¯s rest at the command center. We¡¯ll clear out all the zombies around the base tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Everyone nodded. Wang Tao then turned to He Jijun. ¡°Old He, I¡¯ll take you to kill a few zombies; we need to boost your level.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± He Jijun was currently at Level 1 with 1000 HP. Before, as an ordinary person, his HP could only reach a maximum of 1000. Now that he had become an Ability User, his HP could continue to increase, but the increase needed time and sleep and was not under control. That¡¯s why Wang Tao had not let him finish off zombies. Otherwise, with the many Level 2 and Level 3 zombies they encountered along the way, a single finishing blow could have added a significant amount of HP. Now that they were temporarily safe, there was naturally time for He Jijun¡¯s Ascension. Wang Tao had already had He Jijun merge with the last Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core, but after the merge had happened, he didn¡¯t experience the expected Ascension since his HP wasn¡¯t at 4999 yet. Wang Tao had intentionally not allowed him to merge with the last Crystal Core previously, fearing he might ascend prematurely, but he had overlooked the fact that He Jijun¡¯s HP was insufficient. However, it wasn¡¯t too late now. The military base was now divided into two areas, which Wang Tao simply referred to as the inner and outer areas. The inner area was naturally where they currently resided, obstructed by high walls and electric fences. The outer area was the region accessible through the main gate, which had quite a few zombies. Wang Tao had mentioned clearing the zombies; he meant starting with those in the outer area. However, it was already dark, and there was no need to work blindly in the night. Of course, boosting He Jijun¡¯s strength didn¡¯t matter much; it was just a matter of killing a few zombies. Now that he had full access to the military base, Wang Tao no longer needed to climb over walls; he could simply walk through the main gate. Buzz~ The noise of the opening gate instantly attracted numerous zombies. Wang Tao sent out a Shockwave, instantly blowing the approaching zombies away. Then he looked around and spotted a few Level 2 Zombies. ¡°It¡¯s your turn!¡± He Jijun was still at Level 1, and there were extra HP rewards for killing higher-level zombies. Wang Tao¡¯s plan was to ideally get He Jijun up to 4999 HP directly; otherwise, sleeping for every thousand HP would waste a lot of time. Wang Tao didn¡¯t let He Jijun take action; he quickly took care of the other zombies, leaving only the few Level 2 Zombies. Since Wang Tao could see their HP bars, he could be very precise with the amount of HP they had left, leaving just a sliver. Wang Tao chopped off the limbs of these zombies, piled them up together, and handed his Bone Knife to He Jijun. He Jijun gripped the Bone Knife and swung it at the zombies. Puchi! The Bone Knife was extremely sharp, and the few Level 2 Zombies already low on HP were instantly beheaded. Wang Tao clearly saw He Jijun¡¯s HP bar jump from 1000 to 4999! He Jijun hadn¡¯t even had the chance to marvel at the sharpness of the Bone Knife when a wave of drowsiness hit him. ¡°I feel sleepy¡­¡± ¡°Rest well.¡± Wang Tao supported him back into the base. Lightning saw Wang Tao return and immediately ran over, wagging its tail. After putting down He Jijun, Wang Tao rubbed Lightning¡¯s little head. ¡°Let¡¯s go, time for bed!¡± There were plenty of rooms in the command center, and everyone got a single room. Wang Tao chose a relatively spacious room, with Jiang Shixue and Lightning already inside. Jiang Shixue was used to living with Wang Tao, and Lightning, possibly because it hadn¡¯t seen people for so long, was now exceptionally clingy. Since Wang Tao also particularly enjoyed petting it, he let it sleep in the room. After a quick wash-up, Jiang Shixue played with Lightning while Wang Tao checked the Loot Pack from today¡¯s kill. The main focus was on the Loot Pack from the Level 3, Lord Zombie Dog. This was the first time Wang Tao had killed a zombie with a hundred thousand blood, and he had high expectations for its Loot Pack. Just from killing the Zombie Dog, Special Energy alone had granted Wang Tao 25,000! As for the other Loot Packs, there were three Loot Packs, A Crystal Core, and four teeth. Wang Tao first looked at the teeth. [Sharp dog tooth: This sharp tooth can merge with a creature, causing some mutation in the mouth and granting a Hidden Ability (note: merging four is effective, best results with canine animals)] ¡°Hm?¡± Surprised by the Attributes of these teeth, Wang Tao was intrigued. These were tailor-made for Lightning! ¡°Lightning!¡± Wang Tao called out, and Lightning, who was frolicking with Jiang Shixue, immediately left her and ran to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Bite this!¡± Wang Tao placed the four dog teeth in his hand. Lightning, understanding Wang Tao¡¯s words, wasted no time and licked the teeth straight into its mouth. The teeth went into Lightning¡¯s mouth and instantly vaporized, vanishing from sight. ¡°Woof?¡± Lightning paused, looking a bit dumbfounded. It seemed to be wondering why the item its master had put in its mouth had disappeared. Seeing Lightning¡¯s puzzled expression, Wang Tao laughed heartily. He patted Lightning¡¯s head and said, ¡°It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± Wang Tao carefully observed and noticed no difference in Lightning; its bright white teeth showed no change either. However, Lightning¡¯s Attributes had changed. [HP: 1000/1000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 1, Ordinary] [Hidden Attributes: Iron Teeth] [Iron Teeth: Teeth are sharp, and the mouth will not be infected by the zombie virus] ¡°Uninfected by the virus? Won¡¯t that mean it can bite zombies at will?¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. Chapter 601 - Chapter 601: Chapter 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_2 Chapter 601: Chapter 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_2 This attribute is really tailor-made for Lightning! ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning let out a soft bark toward Wang Tao. It seemed to sense that it was somewhat different now. Wang Tao patted its head, then took out a crystal core to let Lightning try it out. As expected, Lightning couldn¡¯t fuse with crystal cores. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t disappointed. He told Lightning to go play with Jiang Shixue while he continued checking the loot. From the three loot packs, the first naturally contained a crystal core gift bag. The zombie dog had an orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete] inside its head. The loot pack contained a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Physique Enhancement], a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Extreme Speed], and a white [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Running]. Out of these crystal cores, the only one Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen was [Extreme Speed]. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Extreme Speed] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Easily Irritable)] [Extreme Speed: Increases attack speed for the duration.] This was a persistent ability, which came as a pleasant surprise to Wang Tao who was in need of such an ability! ¡°I hope I can save up two more in the future¡­¡± The second loot pack contained potions. [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Attack Speed Potion (Small) x20] [Obtained: Attack Speed Potion (Small) Blueprint x1] Wang Tao had seen Running Potions before, both small and medium, and he had also learned the method to craft them. However, the Attack Speed Potion was new to him. [Attack Speed Potion (Small): After injection, upper body strength increases, attack speed increases by 10%-100% (the stronger the physique, the greater the increase), lasts for 10 minutes, 12 hours cooldown] The Running Potion increased lower body strength, while the Attack Speed Potion increased upper body strength. It was quite interesting. Moreover, Wang Tao had tested himself; although the name was ¡°Running Potion,¡± if you attacked with your legs, your attack speed could also increase. So, Wang Tao wondered if Lightning were to be injected with both Running Potion and Attack Speed Potion, would its four legs make it run incredibly fast? [Attack Speed Potion (Small) Blueprint: After learning, you can craft five Attack Speed Potions (Small) at a time. Required materials: Rapid Mushroom x1, Level 1 Zombie Core x1, Purified Water x100ml, 10 kilocalories of food] The core materials required to craft the Attack Speed Potion were exactly the same as the Running Potion. These two potions really were quite similar. Wang Tao immediately learned the blueprint. Although he lacked the materials now, he would definitely be able to use them in the future. The last loot pack contained a blueprint. [Wolf Dog Armor Blueprint: Can produce a set of battle armor for canines. Required materials: Bones from Level 3 or higher canine animals x10kg, Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Rope x10, Rubber x10, Cable x10, Electronic Components x10, Battery x10] [Wolf Dog Armor Blueprint: Attributes unknown] ¡°This is a great find!¡± This was actually a set of battle armor for dogs! However, considering it came from the zombie dog, it made sense¡­ It would be perfect for Lightning, who was currently wearing ordinary military dog armor. All the other materials were sufficient; all that was missing were the bones. The carcass of the zombie dog was still outside. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went out together, retrieved its bones, and had just enough! Then, Wang Tao took out all the materials, and after a burst of seven-colored light, a very black and handsome set of armor appeared. [Wolf Dog Battle Armor] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Defense +50, Durability +50, Speed +10%] The attributes were great, and it even came with a speed boost. Wang Tao had Lightning try it on, and it didn¡¯t hinder its movements at all, looking mighty and suitable. The only drawback was that the armor was so protective, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t stroke its head. After trying it out, Wang Tao helped it take off the armor and then petted its head. ¡°Lightning, let¡¯s try it out tomorrow. For now, let¡¯s sleep.¡± Lightning nuzzled Wang Tao¡¯s hand, whimpered softly, and then obediently lay down beside Wang Tao¡¯s bed. ¡­ The next day, early morning. The rain hadn¡¯t stopped, and He Jijun hadn¡¯t woken up. Wang Tao, along with Yang Changhong and a few others, arrived at the military base¡¯s outer area to clear out zombies. He brought Lightning as well, since it had just acquired a hidden attribute and a new set of armor, so its strength needed testing. Whether its attack power was strong or not was irrelevant; Wang Tao valued the ability to bite zombies without getting infected by the zombie virus. Moreover, with Lightning fully armored, it was almost immune to the zombie virus! The others, upon seeing Lightning¡¯s full body armor, were very curious but didn¡¯t ask too many questions. ¡°It feels like there are more zombies today than yesterday, probably attracted by the noise we made¡­¡± Wang Tao said, stroking his chin. ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning barked softly in agreement. Wang Tao laughed and patted its helmet, then said to Yang Changhong and the others, ¡°The military base is quite large. Let¡¯s split up and act independently. If you encounter any tough zombies, contact me with the walkie-talkie.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun formed one group, Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong another, and Wang Tao was teamed up with Lightning. The corrosive acid rain fell on Lightning, most of it blocked by the armor, while a few raindrops caused it to receive a negative ¡®corroded¡¯ status. However, with Lightning¡¯s 1000 HP, it wasn¡¯t too big of an issue. Soon, Wang Tao spotted a Level 1 Ordinary Zombie with 4000 HP. Chapter 602 - Chapter 602: Chapter 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_3 Chapter 602: Chapter 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_3 ¡°Go!¡± Whoosh! Upon receiving the command, Lightning immediately charged over, unaware of what the word ¡°fear¡± meant. The heavy rain significantly impaired the zombies¡¯ perceptions, and coupled with Lightning¡¯s speed, by the time the zombies noticed him, he had already pounced on them. Bang! The zombie was directly tackled to the ground. ¡°Grrr¡­¡± It struggled to get up, but Lightning bit its face. [-3584] Seeing this damage figure, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°Such high damage!¡± Even though they were both Level 1, Lightning only had 1000 HP. With just one bite, Lightning had torn off most of the zombie¡¯s face, leaving it with only a sliver of HP. It waved its claws, trying to grab Lightning, but Lightning quickly retreated, spitting out the black blood from its mouth. Wang Tao carefully observed Lightning¡¯s body data to confirm that there were no signs of internal impurity or infection and heaved a sigh of relief. This zombie, no longer suppressed by Lightning, slowly got up, but then Lightning rushed forward again, leaping high into the air and biting the zombie¡¯s head. [-416] The zombie died on the spot. Wang Tao glanced at Lightning¡¯s attributes again. Its HP had not increased. ¡°Still not gaining HP, huh¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat disappointed. Lightning couldn¡¯t fuse with Crystal Cores. It didn¡¯t gain HP from killing zombies. Was there really no way to increase its strength? Suddenly, a few rotten Zombie Dogs emerged, all Level 2 Elites. ¡°Lightning, come back!¡± Wang Tao shouted, and Lightning immediately ran back to his side, then bared its teeth at the Zombie Dogs. After all, they were Level 2 Elite Zombies, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t willing to let Lightning take the risk. He took out his Bone Knife and slashed at the Level 2 Zombies, leaving them nearly dead. Then he turned to Lightning and said: ¡°Go, finish them off!¡± ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning immediately ran over and dealt the finishing blow to the crippled, dying Zombie Dogs. ¡°Huh?¡± Then Wang Tao noticed that Lightning¡¯s HP bar had increased! ¡°Could it be that only by killing Level 2 Zombies, or Elite Zombies, it can increase its HP bar?¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that when humans reached 1000 HP, they no longer gained HP from killing zombies. They had to become Ability Users and kill at least Level 1 Elite Zombies to continue increasing their HP. Was it the same with Lightning? No, that¡¯s not right, Lightning didn¡¯t have an Ability¡­ maybe it¡¯s different for animals than for humans? Another little issue was that Lightning had gained too little HP! After finishing off the four Level 2 Elite Zombie Dogs, they had only given Lightning 600 HP¡­ It seemed Lightning didn¡¯t get an HP bonus for killing zombies above its level? However, being able to increase HP was a good thing; at least it proved Lightning still had room for improvement. Wang Tao called Lightning back and then checked its mouth. It had just bitten so many zombies to death, but there was no residual blood or flesh in its mouth. It seemed to be the effect of its Hidden Attribute. ¡°That¡¯s great, keep it up!¡± Wang Tao continued to clear the surrounding zombies with Lightning. He hoped to encounter a few Level 3 Lord Zombies, but this military base seemed to be the territory of that Zombie Dog, with only one Level 3 Lord. However, there were still plenty of zombies here. By the time Wang Tao and his party cleared all the zombies inside the base, Yang Changhong and the others had greatly increased their HP. Including Lightning; its HP had risen to 4999, but this also troubled Wang Tao. Because Lightning¡¯s HP bar wasn¡¯t increasing anymore, just like the humans, it was stuck at the Level 1 bottleneck. Even if Wang Tao let it kill Level 2 Elite Zombies, it still wouldn¡¯t gain HP anymore. And Lightning couldn¡¯t fuse with Crystal Cores either¡­ was there really no way to break through this bottleneck? Wang Tao felt there must be a way; he just hadn¡¯t found it yet¡­ Feeling somewhat helpless, Wang Tao suddenly thought of Jiang Shixue who was in a similar situation ¨C unable to fuse with Crystal Cores or achieve Ascension, stuck with HP. However, Jiang Shixue had 100% Internal Impurity while Lightning had none. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not worry about it for now¡­¡± Wang Tao, not having the time to investigate at the moment, made sure that all zombies outside the military base were cleared, then he and the others barricaded the gate to the base. Thus, both the interior and exterior of the military base were secure. But the military base was too large, and Wang Tao and his people were unable to defend the outer area, so they still lived in the inner section. ¡°We¡¯re all tired. Let¡¯s rest, and tomorrow we¡¯ll deal with the zombies on the outskirts!¡± The zombies outside the base were more numerous and generally of a higher level than those inside. It would be a good opportunity for Yang Changhong and the others to increase their HP. ¡°Okay!¡± Clearing so many zombies was exhausting, but the reward was worth it. Not to mention the Crystal Cores, their HP had increased a lot. After dinner, Wang Tao found that He Jijun, who had slept for 24 hours, was now awake. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°I feel¡­ I can¡¯t really describe it, but it feels good¡­¡± He Jijun didn¡¯t know how to express himself. After all, his Ascension had been too fast. For these first Ability Users like Wang Tao, transforming from ordinary people into Ability Users, from Level 1 to Level Two Ascension, each step required a lot of effort. Whereas He Jijun had transformed from an ordinary person to a Level 2 Ability User within just a few days. He still wasn¡¯t used to being an Ability User¡­ ¡°Haha, no worries. Tomorrow we¡¯ll go out and hunt some zombies, and that¡¯ll get you more familiar with it!¡± Wang Tao said with a laugh. ¡°Right!¡± He Jijun nodded, looking forward to it. ¡°Once we¡¯ve cleared all the zombies around the military base, we¡¯ll have to check the city!¡±, Wang Tao had yet to engage a Level 4 zombie head-on. The Illusion Beast he encountered in Zijing City didn¡¯t count since he hadn¡¯t directly fought it. Wang Tao felt that with his and his team¡¯s strength, they should be qualified to confront Level 4 zombies. Of course, that didn¡¯t include the Giant Zombie ¨C setting aside its strength, just considering its huge size, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even know where to start. Chapter 603 - Chapter 603: Chapter 252 Method of Ascension_1 Chapter 603: Chapter 252 Method of Ascension_1 The next day. Wang Tao led the team to continue clearing zombies, this time with the addition of He Jijun. After ascending to Level Two, He Jijun¡¯s strength had naturally increased significantly. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, He Jijun really took his shooting skills to a whole new level; he could even make bullets slightly turn through precise calculations! This reminded Wang Tao of a joke he had seen on the internet before¡ªGunfighting! He Jijun indeed had that ability! Wang Tao had to admit, even though they both had the precision shooting ability, the gap between him and He Jijun was significant. The Soldier King deserved his reputation! He Jijun even tried to make arrows curve, but that was much more difficult than with bullets, and he had not succeeded yet. However, it wasn¡¯t without merit, as he could shoot into the air, hitting zombies with a parabolic shot. While that seemed somewhat ostentatious, it was actually very useful¡ªfor instance, in executing a decapitation strategy or attacking over obstacles¡­ Wang Tao was really looking forward to seeing to what extent He Jijun¡¯s abilities would develop as he became more familiar with them. There was a considerable number of zombies outside the base, and it took Wang Tao and his companions the whole day to clear the vicinity and blockade the gate, including bringing in the two vehicles from before. More zombies might come in the future, but for now, the absence of zombies made for a much more comfortable view. Wang Tao deliberately let He Jijun take out some Level 3 zombies, boosting He Jijun¡¯s HP to 29999! ¡°Can I ascend to Level 3 now?¡± He Jijun was somewhat dazed. Although he did feel his strength improving while killing zombies that day, he had just ascended to Level 2! It had only taken him two days to ascend from Level 1 to Level Two, with one of those days spent sleeping. Now, only a day had passed, and he could ascend to Level 3? ¡°To be precise, you¡¯re a bit short because your special ability level is not high enough. You need to enhance your special ability level, and strip away the ¡®Running¡¯ ability you merged with before¡­¡± He Jijun possessed strong spiritual power, and Wang Tao thought it would be good to integrate a spiritual-focused ability for him to leverage his strengths. However, the crystal cores related to spiritual power Wang Tao possessed all started at Level Two. So, Wang Tao discussed with He Jijun and let him merge with a ¡°Running¡± first. Now that he was Level Two, He Jijun could extract it. Wang Tao presented some crystal cores for He Jijun to choose from. To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, He Jijun chose a ¡°Mental Enhancement.¡± [Mental Enhancement: For the duration, it increases spiritual power, making the user more focused and less likely to be disturbed by the outside world] To many, this ability seemed somewhat lackluster, but Wang Tao had merged with it himself because it was useful for resisting illusions. He Jijun¡¯s decision to merge with this wasn¡¯t because he encountered an illusion, but because he felt it could enhance his precision shooting! Putting other aspects aside, the ability¡¯s focus and resistance to outside interference aligned precisely with the need for concentrated shooting, right? Additionally, an increase in spiritual power should also be helpful for shooting. Wang Tao felt that He Jijun had a point, so he gave him the crystal core. Anyway, Wang Tao had plenty of Level Two Exraction Crystal Cores. Even if the ability didn¡¯t work out as well as He Jijun hoped, he could just extract it again. Soon, He Jijun stripped the ¡°Running¡± ability and merged with the ¡°Mental Enhancement.¡± He Jijun tried it out; activating precision shooting along with mental enhancement indeed elevated his shooting prowess¡ªnow it was genuine Gunfighting! ¡°Awesome!¡± Watching He Jijun in the indoor shooting range, hitting various targets with closed eyes, even making bullets curve and the like, Wang Tao and the others were highly impressed. If it weren¡¯t for the risk of gunfire attracting a large number of zombies, everyone believed that He Jijun¡¯s potential for destruction would indeed be terrifying. Although some zombies could block bullets, the trouble was He Jijun¡¯s bullets could turn corners! Even the toughest zombies had weak spots, like the eyes, and He Jijun could target those weaknesses for attacks! Of course, if they were to encounter those without significant weaknesses or with exceptionally tough defenses, whether He Jijun could still be effective was questionable. Nevertheless, for now, He Jijun was still very strong! Once it was confirmed that this ability indeed boosted He Jijun¡¯s abilities, Wang Tao brought out some other crystal cores He Jijun had merged with and some Omnipotent Crystal Cores. After spending some time, He Jijun completed all merges. His four abilities were all at Level Two+10. Then Wang Tao took out four Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°Thank you!¡± Seeing Wang Tao hand over these crystal cores as if they were free, He Jijun couldn¡¯t help feeling moved. When Wang Tao had invited him to join, he hadn¡¯t mentioned such benefits. But He Jijun didn¡¯t say much. Real men express their gratitude through actions. ¡°Haha, we¡¯re all part of the gang, no need for thanks!¡± Wang Tao smiled, then his expression turned serious. ¡°After Old He, you ascend to Level 3, we¡¯ll head to the city and see if we can challenge a Four-level zombie¡­¡± ¡°No problem!¡± He Jijun immediately merged with the four Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. Moments later, he succeeded smoothly. Without delay, He Jijun prepared himself for the ascension. By this time tomorrow, he would be a Level 3 ability user! After He Jijun fell asleep, Wang Tao looked at the others. Except for Jiang Shixue, whose HP hadn¡¯t increased, everyone else had seen a significant boost in their HP. Chapter 604 - Chapter 604: Chapter 252 Method of Ascension_2 Chapter 604: Chapter 252 Method of Ascension_2 Xu Xiaojun had seventy thousand HP, Yang Changhong had seventy thousand HP, and Nie Siyan had sixty thousand HP. They were all quite close to reaching one hundred thousand HP now. Moreover, the Crystal Cores they needed were relatively easy to find, and they had already fused some. Wang Tao estimated that by the time they reached one hundred thousand HP, all of their Abilities should be able to reach +10. ¡°All the zombies around have been dealt with. Everyone rest up well these next two days, and gather your strength.¡± Wang Tao said to the three of them: ¡°Okay!¡± The crowd nodded in agreement. Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Lightning went back to their room together. However, he didn¡¯t rush to sleep; after all, with everyone¡¯s strength increasing, he needed to upgrade as well! There were many zombies inside and outside the military base, and, along with the zombies killed on the road earlier and the Crystal Cores provided by He Jijun and Luo Guozhong, Wang Tao had now amassed a large batch of Crystal Cores. Among these Crystal Cores, many were usable by him. Of Wang Tao¡¯s four Abilities, only [Berserk Enhancement] was at +10, while the remaining three were all at +1. This was because Wang Tao was saving them for Ability Fusion instead of upgrading. But now, he could synthetize his Yin and Yang Balance! Yin and Yang Balance was a Spirit-related Ability. Wang Tao had previously merged a Perception with it, and now he could merge two other Abilities. Wang Tao chose [Mental Shock] and [Mental Defense]. [Mental Shock: Consumes energy to transform one¡¯s spiritual energy into several colorless and intangible needles that are shot out. If there are obstacles in the way, the power will decrease.] [Mental Defense: Passive Ability, increases Mental Defense.] He had acquired these two Crystal Cores back in Zijing City, but had not been able to gather three for fusion until now. Wang Tao immediately synthesized them into two Epic Crystal Cores. Wang Tao first extracted [Integration], then merged it with a [Mental Shock], which had a 91% success rate of fusing with Yin and Yang Balance. Slightly low, but not a big issue. The fusion with Mental Shock Ability and Yin and Yang Balance was successful without a hitch. Then Wang Tao merged a [Mental Defense], which had a high success rate of 98% with Yin and Yang Balance. As expected, this Ability also successfully fused. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s Yin and Yang Balance Ability had reached its fusion limit, and a new Ability emerged! [Level 3 Ability¡¤Yin Yang Harmony: Can sense the surroundings, can slightly influence the spirit of living beings, can destabilize the spirit of living beings, can launch Mental Shock, can increase Mental Defense, can open a barrier that blocks mental attacks, and during sexual intercourse with the opposite gender, both parties¡¯ Mana replenishes rapidly, and the user permanently increases a certain amount of Mana. There is a cooldown for the permanent Mana increase, with the cooldown being random. (Side effects: None)] The name remained the same, but the attributes had increased greatly! ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction, now this Ability could also be upgraded to +10. But there was no rush; Wang Tao looked at his Iron Wall Ability next. This was a sustained Ability, providing Wang Tao with various states. Comparing it to a game, it was akin to a buff Skill. Right now, Wang Tao had just the right kind of Crystal Core in his hand. [Physique Enhancement: During the duration, overall physical constitution is greatly improved.] The first Physique Enhancement Crystal Core Wang Tao obtained was from a Ghost Claw Zombie, the second one from a Zombie Dog, and the third one from the Crystal Cores left by Luo Guozhong. He had just enough to synthesize an Epic Crystal Core. After fusing this Crystal Core, it showed that it had a 94% probability of successfully synthesizing with Iron Wall. With those odds, he went straight to fusion. Moments later, the fusion was successful. The name of the Iron Wall Ability didn¡¯t change, but now there was an introduction to the Physique Enhancement on the description. The Iron Wall could be merged two more times, and Wang Tao already had a target in mind: the Crystal Core [Extreme Speed] dropped by the Zombie Dogs. However, he currently only had one of those Crystal Cores and would need to accumulate them for some time. As for the last Crystal Core to be fused¡­ Wang Tao suddenly thought of Precision Shooting. He was very fond of the Precision Shooting Ability, but alas, the success rate of fusing Precision Shooting with other Abilities was not high. Therefore, Wang Tao had not fused it until now. But now that he had amassed a number of Precise shooting abilities, perhaps it was worth a gamble? After all, he could place Precision Shooting in the Secondary Ability slot, and even if the fusion failed, at most, he¡¯d lose one Precision Shooting Ability, which he could afford to lose. With this thought, Wang Tao immediately merged the previously extracted Precise shooting crystal core again, but since it was Level Two, he used an Ascension Crystal Core to upgrade it to Level 3. Then Wang Tao checked the success rate of Precision Shooting fusing with other Abilities. [Precision Shooting + Iron Wall = 35%] [Precision Shooting + Yin Yang Harmony = 7%] With Ability Mastery already extracted and Berserk Enhancement having reached its fusion limit, the choice was between Iron Wall and Yin Yang Harmony, and without even having to think, he could only synthesize with Iron Wall. Wang Tao placed Iron Wall in the primary slot and Precision Shooting in the secondary slot, and then merged! A rainbow light flashed by¡­ the fusion failed, and the Precision Shooting Ability disappeared. ¡°¡­¡± Although Wang Tao was prepared for this possibility, as this was his first fusion failure, the loss of thirty thousand Special Energy and a Precision Shooting Ability still stung a little bit. But it was not a major issue; he continued with the fusion! The second attempt, failed¡­ The third attempt, failed¡­ ¡­ The sixth attempt¡­ if this one failed too, he wouldn¡¯t have enough Precision Shooting Crystal Cores left. Chapter 605 - Chapter 605: Chapter 252 Method of Ascension_3 Chapter 605: Chapter 252 Method of Ascension_3 Fortunately, this time it finally worked! [Level 3 Ability ¡¤ Iron Wall] [Iron Wall: During its duration, it can enhance defense, speed, spirit, constitution, shooting, and slowly recover from certain injuries (Side-effect: None)] If I could get two more Extreme Speed Crystal Cores, then Iron Wall could be synthesized to the upper limit of Level 3! That is to say, Wang Tao now just lacks the Ability Mastery. This ability is an active attack Ability, and there is no suitable option for now. I¡¯ll have to pay more attention in the future¡­ In the end, Wang Tao extracted Iron Wall and merged it with the Omnipotent Crystal Core. Only Berserk Enhancement and Yin and Yang Balance remained in his possession, with Berserk Enhancement already at +10; naturally, the Omnipotent Crystal Core was utilized on the Yin and Yang Balance. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Cores on hand. Once Yin and Yang Balance reached +10, his Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Cores were completely depleted. He now had two Level 3 Abilities at +10, getting one step closer to Level 4! After confirming that there was no suitable ability for the moment, Wang Tao turned his gaze to Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue had been quietly sitting beside Wang Tao, petting the dog. Sensing Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, she turned her head to look at him. ¡°Little Xue, how can you level up¡­¡± Wang Tao ruffled her hair. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°I had a vague guess before, but after seeing the battle log of the military base, I feel that this guess¡­ might actually be possible¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. Jiang Shixue looked at him with some confusion. Wang Tao continued: ¡°Your body is like a zombie¡¯s, Little Xue, and zombies usually evolve through one of two methods: time or cannibalism! For the time method, you¡¯ve been this way for so long and still show no signs of Ascension. So I think¡­¡± Listening to Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Jiang Shixue understood and immediately shook her head. ¡°Brother, I don¡¯t have the desire to eat people, and I don¡¯t want to¡­¡± If she ate people, then she would be no different from the zombies. She didn¡¯t want to become a zombie! ¡°Silly girl, what are you thinking about! Of course, I wouldn¡¯t let you eat people!¡± Wang Tao tapped Jiang Shixue¡¯s head and then continued. ¡°But I think, maybe you can drink some blood¡­¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Jiang Shixue was somewhat startled. ¡°Wanna try? I¡¯ll let some blood out for you!¡± Wang Tao seemed eager to try. He felt that his guess might be correct! If Jiang Shixue¡¯s body was similar to that of a zombie, it was highly likely that she would evolve just like zombies do! ¡°Brother, that doesn¡¯t seem very good, you will be in pain¡­¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s face wrinkled with concern. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, I have the Self-healing Ability, it¡¯s not a big deal! Wait up!¡± Wang Tao took action immediately. He first took out a bottle of nutrient solution, poured the nutrients out for Lightning, and kept the empty bottle. Then he took out a Surgical Knife. Everything he withdrew from the Space Backpack was sterile, so there was no need for disinfection. Then, with the Surgical Knife in hand, Wang Tao lightly slashed his own wrist. Pfft~ A drop of blood fell into the nutrient solution bottle, followed by more blood flowing out. Wang Tao didn¡¯t really feel the pain; after all, the Surgical Knife was very sharp, and he wasn¡¯t afraid of pain. ¡°Brother¡­¡± Jiang Shixue was somewhat at a loss seeing Wang Tao act so decisively. Lightning cocked its head, looking at its master, not understanding what he was doing. Soon, the small bottle was filled with Wang Tao¡¯s blood. He immediately used a medical kit to stop his bleeding and activated Iron Wall Ability to regenerate his blood. After confirming there were no issues with the wound, Wang Tao handed the small still-warm bottle of blood to Jiang Shixue. ¡°Little Xue, come and give it a try!¡± Wang Tao significantly needed Jiang Shixue¡¯s Combat Power, but she was still at Level Two, and there was vast potential for improvement. If it really didn¡¯t work, then so be it. But given the opportunity, Wang Tao certainly wanted to try. ¡°¡­I¡¯ll try.¡± Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao with some heartache, not very sure whether it would work, but since it was Wang Tao¡¯s kindness, she certainly didn¡¯t want to waste it. She took the small bottle, feeling the warmth of the blood, and emptied it in one gulp. Gulp~ Jiang Shixue licked her lips. ¡°Brother¡¯s blood is sweet¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao was at a loss for words. Isn¡¯t blood supposed to be salty? He didn¡¯t have diabetes! Or was it Jiang Shixue¡¯s psychological effect? While Wang Tao was thinking this, Jiang Shixue suddenly said: ¡°Brother! I feel like¡­ I can really Ascend now!¡± ¡°Haha, really!¡± Wang Tao burst into happiness. This was a sudden inspiration after seeing the military base¡¯s log. He just thought there was a possibility, and didn¡¯t expect it to definitely work. After all, trying it would mean at most losing a bit of blood. But unexpectedly, it really worked! ¡°Brother, I¡¯m going to sleep¡­¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly leaned onto Wang Tao and then closed her eyes. Wang Tao quickly held her, relieved when he confirmed that she had just fallen asleep. ¡°She should be normally Ascending¡­¡± ¡°But on second thought, if just my blood can let Little Xue Ascend, then the conditions are too simple! No Ascension Crystal Core is needed, not even any other Crystal Cores! Does that mean there¡¯s no limit to Little Xue¡¯s future Ascensions?¡± Wang Tao was a little excited but quickly shook his head. He knew the world wouldn¡¯t allow him to ¡°exploit bugs.¡± Jiang Shixue definitely couldn¡¯t simply Ascend by using a vial of blood. There must be some reason he didn¡¯t know about¡­ For example, if all her conditions were met, and she only needed something like an Ascension Crystal Core ¡°key¡±, and human blood was that key? ¡°Let¡¯s wait and see when Little Xue wakes up¡­¡± Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue, placing her on the bed. Then he looked down at Lightning at his feet. ¡°Should I try giving it some of my blood too?¡± Wang Tao thought about it but decided against it. Lightning¡¯s body had no impurities and was completely different from that of zombies; they likely wouldn¡¯t evolve the same way. Chapter 606 - Chapter 606: Chapter 253: Restoring Memory_1 Chapter 606: Chapter 253: Restoring Memory_1 Jiang Shixue woke up earlier than Wang Tao had anticipated. Just as Wang Tao woke up, he saw Jiang Shixue, who was lying beside him, open her eyes; she was staring blankly at the ceiling. ¡°Eh? You¡¯re awake? How do you feel?¡± Wang was somewhat surprised. Because Jiang Shixue¡¯s attributes weren¡¯t quite what he had expected. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 60000/60000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract, Dark Sharp Claws] Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP had reached thirty thousand, and her Mana had doubled to sixty thousand, but most importantly, her Internal Impurity had decreased by half! Advancement in zombies would not reduce Internal Impurity. Doesn¡¯t that mean that even though Jiang Shixue¡¯s physique is very close to that of a zombie, there¡¯s still a big difference, and she¡¯s more akin to human! This was a great development! Wang Tao had been concerned that Jiang Shixue might carry the zombie virus. Now it seems that she likely does not. After all, 50% Internal Impurity isn¡¯t much different from many Ability Users. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Jiang Shixue turned her head to look at him and then suddenly hugged him tightly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao was a bit puzzled as he rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s head. ¡°I¡­ I think I had a dream¡­¡± Jiang Shixue buried her head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest and spoke in a muffled voice. ¡°A dream?¡± Wang Tao paused before suddenly exclaiming, ¡°Did you recover your memory?¡± ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Jiang Shixue hummed softly. Wang Tao quickly let go of Jiang Shixue, then looked at her seriously. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t look much different from before, except¡­ her cheeks were very red. Jiang Shixue never used to blush. ¡°Haha, that¡¯s fantastic!¡± Wang Tao, overjoyed, rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair, causing her face to turn even redder. It was then that Wang Tao realized that he had always treated Jiang Shixue like a child, and because she liked being with him, they had become quite close. Now that Jiang Shixue had recovered her memory, and being a young lady, it might not be appropriate for Wang Tao to be so intimate with her anymore. Wang Tao immediately withdrew his hand. ¡°Ahem, well¡­¡± Before Wang Tao could speak, Jiang Shixue suddenly grabbed his hand. Her face was still a bit red, but her expression was very serious. ¡°I, I remember everything now. Thank you¡­ Brother!¡± Seeing that Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t become distant after regaining her memory, Wang Tao was happy. ¡°We¡¯re family, no need for thanks!¡± At that moment, Jiang Shixue nervously said: ¡°My mom, is she alright¡­?¡± ¡°She should be fine¡­¡± Wang Tao sat on the bed with Jiang Shixue, and they talked about past events. ¡°Before this¡­¡± After Jiang Shixue explained, Wang Tao roughly understood her previous situation. When the apocalypse struck, Jiang Shixue was on Shuizhe Mountain, participating in a sketching activity organized by her school. Naturally, when the virus broke out, Shuizhe Mountain was not spared. Fortunately, there were police officers with them who led their escape, helping them to avoid the first wave of crises. It was then that she called her mother, saying she would come back to find her. With police officers leading them, she felt they could avoid the danger. But that was just escaping the initial crisis; many more followed¡­ and eventually, their group got separated. Jiang Shixue, who had a brave character and had found some zombies¡¯ heads, was stronger than the others, so she struggled to survive for a while. But then zombies became more and more numerous and stronger, and she was on the brink of death. Barely escaping from many zombies, she ended up trapped and surrounded by them. Although temporarily safe from being eaten by zombies, she ran out of food. Her options were to be eaten by zombies or starve to death. Unwilling to give up, Jiang Shixue searched carefully where she hid. She then found some food and something that looked like food¡ªshe couldn¡¯t remember what exactly because after eating it, her consciousness blurred, and she emitted the same scent as the zombies. Then¡­ The zombies stopped biting her! Her memory of the time that followed was hazy. She only remembered wanting to go back to find her mother¡­ Afterward, her memory became relatively clear, as she made it to Shuize Base, saw her mother, and met Wang Tao, though she was infuriated by him. Jiang Shixue admitted that when Wang Tao used her mother to threaten her, she wanted to kill him¡ªback then, she didn¡¯t think much and was very irritable, with just a bit of reason left, or she might have really fought with Wang Tao. When they were fighting the Black Mist Monster, although she didn¡¯t fall into an illusion, she was still affected positively¡ªit made her slightly calmer. Calmer, she knew there was no saving her, she would turn into a zombie sooner or later. And only Wang Tao could save her mother, so in the end, she told Wang Tao to go first and she would cover him. But in the end, she didn¡¯t die; instead, Wang Tao saved her. Her memory after being revived by Wang Tao was very clear, including the instance she woke up and called Wang Tao ¡°Daddy.¡± Corrected by Wang Tao, she then followed him around calling him ¡°Brother,¡± even seeing him with Lan Yulian and the others¡­ Recalling these events, Jiang Shixue wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground. Chapter 607 - Chapter 607: Chapter 253: Restoring Memory_2 Chapter 607: Chapter 253: Restoring Memory_2 But it was these clear memories that told her Wang Tao had always been good to her! What moved her the most was that after she lost her memory, Wang Tao never deceived her! For example, regarding her family situation, her mother, and some events that happened before, Wang Tao had told her everything. She had some confidence in her own appearance. If someone else had found her with amnesia, they would likely have deceived her in various ways¡ªthis was something she had encountered while fleeing for her life on Shuizhe Mountain, but fortunately, she had seen through it. But Wang Tao hadn¡¯t lied to her. So calling Wang Tao ¡°brother¡± was something she did willingly. However, every time she remembered how much she liked holding Wang Tao¡¯s hand and sneaking into his bed to sleep together at night, Jiang Shixue would feel very shy. She didn¡¯t understand why she was so clingy¡­ Wang Tao, on the other hand, got an important message from her words. ¡°Do you mean to say you haven¡¯t fused with a Crystal Core?¡± ¡°No¡­¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°Which means, that thing you accidentally swallowed before increased your strength a lot, letting your level rise¡ªyour Hidden Ability must have been obtained this way too. But the price was having 100% Internal Impurity, and you would soon turn into a zombie¡­¡± Wang Tao analyzed. It sounded somewhat magical, the fact that you could increase your strength without a Crystal Core! But in this apocalyptic world, many strange and bizarre things had surfaced, so there was no need for surprise. And this thing had too big of a side effect, much more than the Crystal Core! Of course, that was what he said, but Wang Tao was very curious about the thing Jiang Shixue had eaten. It felt a little like Night Vision Eyes, Magic Seeds, and other such items, but stronger than both eyes and seeds. He would have to pay more attention and see if there were similar things in the future. Also, was Lightning¡¯s Ascension related to this thing, perhaps? Wang Tao also told Jiang Shixue about her mother, Li Qiuyu. Wang Tao had interacted with Li Qiuyu quite a bit previously, and he had a fairly good impression of this woman. Seeing Jiang Shixue still a bit worried, Wang Tao patted her shoulder and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, your mother and everyone else will be fine.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue nodded firmly. ¡°Right, try and see if you can fuse with a Crystal Core now!¡± Wang Tao took out several orange Level 3 Crystal Cores. Jiang Shixue tried, but still could not fuse. Wang Tao was somewhat helpless for a moment. Jiang Shixue was already so strong without having fused with a Crystal Core; if she could fuse, she would certainly be even stronger. Such a pity. ¡°But it¡¯s alright, the fact that you can recover your memory is already great!¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. Jiang Shixue was not weak in strength, and now after ascending to Level 3, she would be even stronger, so not being able to fuse with a Crystal Core was not a problem. Moreover, Jiang Shixue also had two Hidden Abilities and very strong physical fitness. She could probably outmatch most Ability Users. ¡°Shall we go outside and test how much your strength has improved?¡± Wang Tao asked, looking at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Sure!¡± The two quickly washed up, then left with Lightning. On coming out, Jiang Shixue subconsciously placed her hand in Wang Tao¡¯s, but then she quickly pulled it back as if she had received an electric shock. Wang Tao, seeing this, took the initiative to grasp Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand. After all, holding that soft and delicate little hand was very comfortable. ¡°¡­¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s face turned red as she followed beside Wang Tao. It was still raining outside, but the military base had an indoor training facility. After some tests, Wang Tao felt that Jiang Shixue¡¯s strength had improved a lot. As for her Combat Power, it was hard to say, as that required actual combat to know. But her physical fitness at least had tripled! And it wasn¡¯t just the increase in strength that mattered; what was more important was that Jiang Shixue had become smarter and more flexible after recovering her memory. After all, she was kind of dull before. ¡°Next, you should hunt some more zombies to enhance your strength a bit. Then we¡¯ll have more confidence in hunting Four-level zombies!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. He Jijun hadn¡¯t woken up from his Level 3 Ascension, and Yang Changhong and the others were conserving their strength. Wang Tao planned to take Jiang Shixue alone to hunt these zombies. However, seeing that Lightning seemed eager to go as well, Wang Tao decided to bring Lightning along. The two humans and the dog left the military base. The zombies around the military base had been cleared out, so Wang Tao headed towards the urban area. They had not gone far from the military base when they encountered quite a few zombies, including several Level 3 Elite Zombies. Without Wang Tao having to lift a finger, Jiang Shixue easily dealt with all these zombies. Watching Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP bar quickly increase, Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. Jiang Shixue was strong in combat, Level 3 Elite Zombies couldn¡¯t even touch her, and it seemed only a Level 3 Lord Zombie could pose some threat to her. Their group traveled from the military base all the way to the vicinity of the urban area. ¡°The urban area is just ahead¡­¡± Wang Tao stopped and didn¡¯t continue forward. Even though he hadn¡¯t seen the Giant Zombie, he had no plans to enter the urban area now, as they had not yet gathered all their people. ¡°There are so many zombies inside¡­¡± Jiang Shixue frowned. The streets and the buildings were visibly filled with zombies! Wang Tao took a rough look and didn¡¯t notice any Four-level zombies for the time being, but he did see a lot of Level 3 Elite Zombies. ¡°The overall strength of the zombies in Wuyang City urban area is much higher than other places. Even without Four-level zombies, just these Level 3 and below zombies are troublesome enough. I guess there really are no survivors inside¡­¡± Chapter 608 - Chapter 608: Chapter 253: Restoring Memory_3 Chapter 608: Chapter 253: Restoring Memory_3 Wang Tao shook his head. He had heard before that there were no survivors left in Wuyang City, which seemed a bit of an exaggeration. But now it seemed not at all exaggerated¡­ Wang Tao, with Jiang Shixue and Lightning, roamed around the vicinity, killing many more zombies. Looking at the numerous zombies in the urban area, Wang Tao had the idea to lure some of them out, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. He wasn¡¯t sure about the specific strengths of these zombies; if their Perception was too keen, it could attract a horde, and that would be troublesome. After all, there were too many zombies in the urban area¡­ Only when there were no more zombies nearby to kill did Wang Tao take Jiang Shixue and Lightning back. By this time, it had already turned dark, but they all had Night Vision Ability, which was not a problem. ¡°Hmm?¡± When they got back to the military base, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. He spotted a Level 3, Lord Zombie in tattered military uniform wandering outside the base with a handgun in hand! And behind it, there were also a number of Elite Zombies dressed in tattered military uniforms, holding rifles! [HP: 80000/80000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] As a Level 3, Lord Zombie, its power shouldn¡¯t be weak, but for Wang Tao, it was naturally not a problem. However, Wang Tao was still somewhat wary upon seeing these zombies with guns. It wasn¡¯t just the power of the guns that concerned him but also the noise. If so many zombies fired at once, even the sound of heavy rain wouldn¡¯t prevent the noise from traveling far. Of course, this was assuming the zombies¡¯ guns still worked. Wang Tao contacted Yang Changhong and the others via walkie-talkie. ¡°A group of military zombies has arrived outside the base, with a Level 3, Lord among them. Don¡¯t come out¡­¡± They all lacked Night Vision Ability, which was a disadvantage in this environment. ¡°Roger that!¡± At this moment, He Jijun had just woken up, successfully undergoing his Level 3 Ascension. Wang Tao congratulated him, then instructed everyone to be prepared for a possible zombie attack. He then took Jiang Shixue and Lightning and stealthily circled to the rear of the group of zombies. ¡°It seems their guns are not usable¡­¡± Upon closer inspection, Wang Tao saw that the weapons in the zombies¡¯ hands were mostly rust-covered. In such a state, the guns likely wouldn¡¯t work even if they had bullets. This was good news, and Wang Tao decided to take direct action. However, he couldn¡¯t be careless and decided to run a test first. The last thing Wang Tao wanted was to be hit by a bullet. Wang Tao pulled out his Hand crossbow and aimed at the Level 3, Lord Zombie in military apparel before pulling the trigger. Whoosh¡ª A Crossbow Arrow struck the military zombie lord in the back of the head with precision. [-2242] This damage was average for Wang Tao. However, it successfully caught the attention of the military zombie lord. It immediately turned to look in Wang Tao¡¯s direction, but he had already hidden. Wang Tao was using Perception to observe and, with the decent distance, rain, and night time, the zombie couldn¡¯t locate Wang Tao¡¯s exact position. So, the military zombie lord turned its head back around and continued lingering near the gates of the military base. It seemed intent on entering, but Wang Tao had already re-blocked the gate, making it impossible for it to get through. Whoosh¡ª Another arrow flew through the air. It hit the military zombie lord in the head with accuracy. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The military zombie lord turned around and roared angrily. But still, it saw nothing. After a moment, the military zombie lord turned its attention back to the gate. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao felt it unusual from a distance¡ªwasn¡¯t it coming after him? Perhaps the zombie had some sort of obsession? It seemed that this group of zombies likely belonged to the military base, and coming back here might have been their obsession¡­ But no matter what, they were ultimately zombies without consciousness, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t let them remain. Wang Tao shot another arrow. Again, the arrow hit the military zombie lord with precision. And this time, the military zombie lord seemed thoroughly enraged. It immediately started walking toward Wang Tao¡¯s direction and raised the rust-covered handgun it was holding. Bang! A faint sound was heard. An almost imperceptible shockwave could be seen emanating from the rusted gun¡¯s barrel, hitting a large rock not far from Wang Tao in an instant. Pfft! The large rock was pierced through! ¡°Damn! They have such an ability!¡± Wang Tao was at least several dozens of meters away from these zombies¡ªthey could shoot this far? Their guns were presumably broken, but the zombies had a gun-like Ability! Moreover, the attack range was very long, probably at least a hundred meters! Yet Wang Tao was not alarmed but rather pleased. He was in need of attacking Abilities like this! ¡°These zombies have an Ability similar to shooting guns, and the attack range is very long. Be careful, Little Xue!¡± Wang Tao admonished before immediately covering himself with Entangling Roots. The military zombie lord with the handgun proceeded toward Wang Tao¡¯s location. The other military elite zombies followed suit. Bang! Bang! The military zombie lord occasionally raised its handgun and shot. Its elite minions also had this ability! They raised their weapons toward Wang Tao¡¯s direction and fired. Although their attack frequency was slow, the simultaneous attack of so many zombies felt like a barrage of gunfire. Wang Tao didn¡¯t emerge; he silently waited for the opportunity. When he saw the zombies were roughly thirty meters away from him, Wang Tao immediately turned on the walkie-talkie and said to Yang Changhong and the others: ¡°Make a little noise to distract it.¡± On the other side, Yang Changhong and the others inside the base got the message and caused some noise. The noise was not loud, but it instantly drew the attention of the military zombies, including the military zombie lord. They promptly abandoned their search for Wang Tao, the sneak attacker, and turned back toward the military base. But as they turned around, Wang Tao, who had long been ready, gripped his Bone Knife and immediately launched a Rush at their backs! Chapter 609 - Chapter 609: Chapter 254: Sense of Security_1 Chapter 609: Chapter 254: Sense of Security_1 ¡°` Woosh¡ª The thirty-meter distance was covered instantly as Wang Tao rushed forward. He lifted his ghastly white Bone Knife and slashed at the Military Lord Zombie. [-7269] A single strike causing seven thousand damage. Wang Tao was fairly satisfied. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The ambushed Military Lord Zombie roared and then turned around to lift its pistol. Bang! Wang Tao immediately dodged to the side, avoiding the shot. But other military zombies wielding guns instantly turned their heads and began firing at Wang Tao. Bang! Bang! Bang! Though the ability wasn¡¯t exactly bullets, their speed was nearly the same; Wang Tao dodged the Military Lord Zombie¡¯s attack but couldn¡¯t avoid the others. [-2384] [-883] [-2273] [-2455] [110000/110000£¨92005/100000£©] Wang Tao was hit by four shots in an instant! However, the damage was absorbed by the Entangling Roots. ¡°Such quick reflexes!¡± Compared to the damage of a few thousand, what surprised Wang Tao the most was their reaction speed! Typically, zombies have rather sluggish responses. Those with quick reflexes are exceptions. But today, this group of zombies were all quick to react! If it weren¡¯t for their quick reflexes, Wang Tao would have definitely been able to dodge the attacks. At this moment, Jiang Shixue appeared. Her slender hands, with sharp nails, reached straight for the Zombie Lord¡¯s face. [-4029] The Military Lord Zombie immediately fired a shot at Jiang Shixue, which she easily dodged. The other Elite Zombies were also ready to fire again, but Wang Tao swung his knife, releasing a transparent Shockwave that instantly knocked down the other zombies. Bang! Their attacks all missed. ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning rushed over from somewhere, leapt high, and bit at the Zombie Lord¡¯s face. [-2345] Lightning¡¯s attack was a bit weak, but it was fast enough to bite and run, disappearing into the darkness without being hit. The Military Lord Zombie seemed thoroughly enraged after being attacked so many times in quick succession. It opened its mouth wide and let out an angry roar. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Wang Tao instantly felt dizzy and even lost some HP. ¡°War Cry?¡± Wang Tao felt it was similar to the ability of the Gorilla zombie he had encountered before. However, this was not a big problem for Wang Tao, as those with stronger spirits are less likely to be affected by such attacks. Jiang Shixue¡¯s spiritual power was also strong, so aside from losing a bit of HP, there were no other issues. The only one likely affected was Lightning, but since it had already hidden away, even dizziness wouldn¡¯t be much trouble. ¡°Little Xue, hold it off, I¡¯ll deal with the rest of the zombies!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao brandished his Bone Knife, unleashing Shockwave attacks at the remaining zombies. The biggest threat among this group was not the Military Lord Zombie but the Elite Zombies it was leading! After all, the Military Lord Zombie had only one gun, and there was a pause between each attack, which Wang Tao could dodge as long as he stayed focused. But there were more than twenty guns with the Elite Zombies. If they fired at the same time, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t avoid them. So Wang Tao prepared to eliminate these Elite Zombies first. Although they each had tens of thousands of HP, their Defense was much weaker compared to the Lord Zombie. As Wang Tao furiously utilized the Shockwave, they were quickly dealt with. And by now, the Zombie Lord had only two-thirds of its HP left, thanks to Jiang Shixue¡¯s attacks. ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Without the help of the Elite Zombies, Jiang Shixue had an easier time, and with Wang Tao¡¯s arrival, they quickly suppressed the Military Lord Zombie. ¡°Roar!¡± The Military Lord Zombie let out another angry roar, but it only slightly affected Wang Tao for a second. After snapping back to his senses, Wang Tao continued to pressure the zombie. The strongest attack of the Lord Zombie was the gun-like shooting ability, but it had a long interval between each shot, and each time it had to lift its arm. And every time it lifted its arm, Wang Tao would either interrupt or dodge, never allowing it to hit him. Without the aid of the other zombies, this ability posed little threat to Wang Tao. Soon, the Military Lord Zombie was left with only a sliver of HP. Wang Tao raised his Bone Knife and slashed at its head. Ptui! [-2348] [0/80000] The Military Lord Zombie¡¯s Blood Bar dropped to zero. A pile of loot exploded out, and its rusty pistol also fell to the ground. ¡°Lightning!¡± Wang Tao called out and Lightning immediately scampered over from the darkness, wagging its tail. Wang Tao stroked its head and, seeing that it was alright, began to clean up the battlefield. After spending some time, Wang Tao collected all the loot from the zombies and then returned to base. ¡°Wang Tao, are you guys alright?¡± Yang Changhong and others immediately came over. ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± Wang Tao briefly described the appearance of the group of zombies to them. He Jijun let out a sigh. ¡°They must have been a squad from this base, probably out on some mission, but¡­ alas!¡± Wang Tao shook his head and then started to inventory the loot. Counting the Military Lord Zombie, there were a total of 21 zombies. Just the Crystal Cores from their heads summed up to 21. And surprisingly, all these Crystal Cores were of the same kind! [Level 3 Crystal Core¡¤Air Bullet] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body stiffness)] [Air Bullet: With the help of a firing medium, air bullets can be shot, with a certain interval between each launch] No wonder they all attacked with rusty guns¡ªthe ¡®Air Bullet¡¯ ability required a medium! ¡°` Chapter 610 - Chapter 610: Chapter 254: Sense of Security_2 Chapter 610: Chapter 254: Sense of Security_2 This ability is quite interesting, its speed is very fast, almost on par with real bullets, making it absolutely unpredictable during a silent attack. In a head-on battle, though, sharpshooting is necessary, as this attack has intervals and cannot be continuously fired like an automatic rifle. If the shooting is inaccurate, then the ability is wasted. However, Wang Tao felt the most suitable scenario would be a group of people who had learned this ability opening fire at the same time. Just like the military elite zombies that had attacked him simultaneously, even with Wang Tao¡¯s speed, he couldn¡¯t completely dodge their assault. Therefore, this was an ability with both very high upper and lower limits! After Wang Tao had shared the capabilities of these crystal cores with everyone, their eyes all lit up. Not to mention anything else about this ability, but its attack range was truly far! According to Wang Tao, at least a hundred meters would not be a problem. It was unclear just how much farther it could go, but even if it were just a hundred meters, that would still be very strong. Apart from Precision Shooting and other status-type abilities, they had never seen an attack type ability that could strike from over a hundred meters away. Especially He Jijun, his eyes were shining. ¡°Old He, are you thinking of fusing with this one?¡± ¡°Of course! Not only does this ability hit far, but more importantly, it¡¯s virtually silent!¡± He Jijun didn¡¯t hide his thoughts. What caught his interest was this silent ability! Whenever guns are used, even with a silencer, they make quite a bit of noise. Only by using a silencer with subsonic ammunition does the sound become somewhat quieter. But subsonic ammunition is rare and not easy to come by. This military base didn¡¯t even have any; who knows if it was all used up. Additionally, the power of subsonic ammunition was not as great as supersonic ammunition, which He Jijun didn¡¯t particularly like to use. But this ability was different, Wang Tao said that its power should be greater than that of ordinary supersonic ammunition! Yet, the sound was extremely quiet! The only drawback of Air Bullet might be the intervals between attacks. But this wasn¡¯t a problem for He Jijun. After all, he didn¡¯t have a high rate of attack; he pursued precision rather than speed. Therefore, this ability suited him perfectly! Regrettably, he had already fused with four crystal cores and couldn¡¯t fuse any more. Seeing this, Wang Tao said with a smile, ¡°Old He, no need to be sad. Since there are Level 2 Glass Crystal Nuclei, there should also be Level 3 ones. When the time comes, we¡¯ll get a Level 3 Exraction Crystal Core to let you switch abilities, right?¡± These words lifted He Jijun¡¯s spirits. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave it to you! If I could possess this ability, my strength would definitely double!¡± This was a conservative estimate from He Jijun. ¡°No problem!¡± Wang Tao nodded with a smile. There were a total of 21 Air Bullet crystal cores, and by synthesizing three together, he could make seven. Wang Tao put them in the Space Backpack and immediately started synthesizing them. He Jijun and the others couldn¡¯t fuse with this crystal core, but Wang Tao could! His Ability Mastery had not yet fused with a Level 3 ability, and he was looking for an attack type ability; wasn¡¯t this it? However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a rush to fuse, continuing to check the other loot. The Zombie Lord had added 21,600 Special Energy to him while the other zombies, being Level 3 Elites, hadn¡¯t added any. However, their guns and the bullets on them all dropped and, having names, were gathered into the Space Backpack by Wang Tao. It was quite interesting that their guns and bullets had all been rusty, but once Wang Tao put them in the Space Backpack, they instantly became new. It was as if Wang Tao had picked up 20 brand-new rifles, 1 pistol, and over a thousand bullets. These guns were actually not much different from those in the base, but since they could be stored in the Space Backpack, they were still pretty good, convenient for Wang Tao to carry. Then came the Loot Packs. Each of the 20 Level 3 military elite zombies exploded with two Loot Packs¡ªgenerally, when Wang Tao killed without overleveling, each would result in one Loot Pack, occasionally two. Overlevel kills always yielded three or more. All 20 zombies exploded with two Loot Packs each, which meant Wang Tao was quite lucky. But Wang Tao was somewhat speechless when he saw the contents of these packs. Turns out, in those two packs, one of them contained clothes. [Received: Combat Suit x20] [Combat Suit: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10] There were 20 sets of Combat Suits, which made Wang Tao a bit speechless. Though the Combat Suits looked quite stylish and were also quite practical, he could still wear his own hoodie, and he had another set of Combat Suits. And for Yang Changhong and the rest, they were all wearing Iron Tree Armors, so this Combat Suit wasn¡¯t a dire need for them. But these clothes that were obtained from loot, all had the attribute of tear resistance. This attribute was very good as it could prevent the embarrassment of clothes tearing during combat¡ªnot just embarrassment, since zombies were covered in viruses, torn clothes made it easier to get infected. So, though Wang Tao was somewhat at a loss, he still took all the clothes. As for the other Loot Packs that elite zombies exploded with, they contained items like Precise Shooting Crystal Cores, Eyesight Potions, and the like. Given he hadn¡¯t killed above his level, there were fewer Loot Packs, but it was still quite good. The focus was on the Loot Packs from the military Lord Zombie, a total of four. The first was a Crystal Core Gift Bag containing five crystal cores. They were Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Battle Roar], White [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Extreme Speed], and Orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Enhancement]. Chapter 611 - Chapter 611: Chapter 254: Sense of Security_3 Chapter 611: Chapter 254: Sense of Security_3 These were all abilities that Wang Tao had seen before. Among them, this Extreme Speed Ability made for a total of two now, just one more, and he could synthesize it with Iron Wall! The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Acquired: Eyesight Potion (Small) x10] [Acquired: Attack Speed Potion (Small) x10] [Acquired: Mental Potion (Small) x10] The potions were also pretty good, it was just a shame there were none to increase Permanent Attributes. The third Loot Pack¡­ also had clothes, but this time there were two sets. [Acquired: Combat Suit x1] [Acquired: Work Uniform (Army) x1] [Combat Suit: Durability +10, Anti-Tear +10] [Work Uniform (Army): Durability +10, Anti-Tear +10] One was a Combat Suit, the other was an everyday uniform. Honestly, the two sets were pretty stylish, especially the Work Uniform for everyday wear. However, he didn¡¯t need them for now, maybe he would wear them sometime in the future. The last Loot Pack contained a Blueprint. [Acquired: Air Bullet Rifle Blueprint x1] [Air Bullet Rifle Blueprint: Can be used to craft a rifle that shoots Air Bullets, required materials: Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Random Rifle x1, Blade x10, Steel Wire x10, Screw x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10] Air Bullet Rifle? Does that mean that the rifle crafted from this would work like the Air Bullet Ability? Wang Tao had all these materials and after a trip to the bathroom, he managed to craft the gun. Seeing Wang Tao coming over with a peculiar looking firearm aroused some curiosity in the others, but they didn¡¯t ask too much. After all, they were used to Wang Tao occasionally producing some novel items. ¡°This is a gun that can shoot Air Bullets, something that the Zombie Lord dropped,¡± Wang Tao said casually before turning to look at the gray rifle. This rifle looked nothing like ordinary guns; it resembled the toy water guns he played with as a child. Wang Tao stepped outside to test it and found that it indeed could shoot Air Bullets, similar to the sensation the zombies gave him, more powerful than ordinary firearms, and without much noise. But there was one problem: the reloading was too slow! To be precise, it didn¡¯t need bullets, but it required charging. The gun had a charging device inside; only after it was fully charged could it shoot. And each charge took a whopping thirty seconds! That meant it could only shoot twice a minute! If it was for a sneak attack or a long-distance snipe, it should be viable. But for direct combat, definitely not. Wang Tao handed the gun to He Jijun and explained its functions. ¡°Old He, before you can fuse the Air Bullet Ability, why don¡¯t you make do with this gun?¡± If the gun¡¯s charging speed was a bit faster, Wang Tao might use it, but the speed was just too slow! Just to put it in perspective, Wang Tao could shoot an arrow every second with his hand crossbow, whereas the Air Bullet gun took thirty seconds for a single shot. Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s battles were generally very swift. Like the Zombie Lord he killed today, it took less than a minute. With the gun¡¯s charging speed, it was questionable whether he could use it twice in a battle¡­ ¡°For me? Alright!¡± He Jijun¡¯s eyes lit up. He was quite interested in the gun, although the charging was slow, he could use it as a sniper rifle. Silent and deadly, it would certainly be amazing for sniping! He Jijun couldn¡¯t wait to try it out on the shooting range. Wang Tao said to the others, ¡°I¡¯m going to rest now.¡± He had been running around outside all day, with his spirit highly focused and using his Perception Ability extensively, so he was somewhat exhausted. ¡°Okay.¡± Yang Changhong had wanted to discuss life with Wang Tao that evening. After all, she had been quite tense lately and needed some relaxation. But seeing Wang Tao looking a bit weary, she held back and cursed herself silently for her lack of shame before hastily retreating to her own room. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about Jiang Shixue regaining her memory to anyone else, since they were unaware of Jiang Shixue¡¯s condition and her amnesia, there was no need for Wang Tao to tell them. Therefore, when they saw Jiang Shixue following Wang Tao back to his room, they weren¡¯t surprised, assuming in their minds that Wang Tao must have some intimate relationship with Jiang Shixue¡­ And seeing Jiang Shixue, who was lowering her head and following him, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly. He had arranged a room for Jiang Shixue and thought that after regaining her memory, she would go to her own room. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Jiang Shixue spoke with a blush on her face, ¡°Ahem, I¡¯ve gotten used to this bed¡­¡± She indeed was used to it, not the bed per se, but being by Wang Tao¡¯s side. Every time Jiang Shixue remembered her befuddled memories after regaining her memory, she felt terrified. It was hard to understand without experiencing it oneself. In simple terms, it was the feeling of ¡°watching herself slowly turn into a zombie, yet being unable to do anything about it.¡± That feeling was too frightening, and though she was now safe, she still shuddered at the thought. But being by Wang Tao¡¯s side gave her a sense of security. After all, Wang Tao had saved her from being turned into a zombie and the two had depended on each other for so long¡­ ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Tao ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. He could tell that Jiang Shixue seemed to be afraid. Certainly not afraid of the present, but perhaps she was recalling some upsetting memories. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t press further, knowing she would speak up when ready. Wang Tao took a shower, then vigorously petted Lightning. The dog¡¯s fur was so comfortable to touch that it was hard to stop once he started. After Jiang Shixue finished washing up, Wang Tao finally lay down on the bed. Jiang Shixue lay beside Wang Tao, holding one of his arms, breathing in his scent, and feeling extremely secure. Before long, she drifted off into a deep sleep. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a rush to fall asleep; instead, he extracted the Ability with Special Energy and fused the Air Bullet. ¡°A 95% chance of successful fusion with Mastery Fusion for the Air Bullet? Just as I expected!¡± Chapter 612 - Chapter 612: Chapter 255 Entering the Downtown Area_1 Chapter 612: Chapter 255 Entering the Downtown Area_1 Without hesitation, Wang Tao immediately synthesized a new superpower. A moment later, the name of the mastery fusion remained unchanged, but it now had an additional ability. [Synthetization successful, obtained new superpower: Level 3 1st Rank¡¤Mastery Fusion] [Mastery Fusion: Consumes energy to use abilities such as Air Bullet, high-frequency vibration, Shockwave, Indirect Attack, Energize One Hit] Seeing the synthesized ability, Wang Tao smiled with satisfaction. He had intended to try it out tomorrow, but he couldn¡¯t wait. So, Wang Tao opened the window of his room and threw an empty bottle outside. At the same time, a handgun appeared in his hand. When using [Air Bullet], Wang Tao felt as if there was a surge of energy gathering in his hand, then transferring into the handgun. With the leverage of the gun barrel, it was fired instantly. Bang! A faint and transparent air wave shot out from the gun barrel, hitting the bottle in an instant. Pop! The bottle burst on impact. The air bullet flew a substantial distance, gradually dissipating after piercing through the bottle. By estimate, it covered at least three hundred meters, and the trajectory was as straight as that of a rifle¡¯s effective range. As for the reload interval, it was no longer as long as the thirty seconds of an air rifle, but it was still there for about ten seconds. ¡°Feels pretty good!¡± Wang Tao put away the handgun. Turning around, he found that Jiang Shixue had woken up at some point, and Lightning had also lifted its head. Both human and dog were staring at Wang Tao with widened eyes. Wang Tao patted Lightning¡¯s head and then ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. ¡°Let¡¯s sleep.¡± ¡­ The next day. When Wang Tao woke up, Jiang Shixue was already awake, watching him. As soon as she noticed Wang Tao¡¯s eyes open, she got out of bed somewhat embarrassedly. Wang Tao shrugged and went to freshen up. Lightning was already awake, too, but he hadn¡¯t disturbed Wang Tao and had been lying down obediently the whole time. Seeing Wang Tao approach, Lightning started wagging its tail excitedly. Wang Tao hugged him tightly, giving him a rough cuddle before they both headed out together. ¡°This rain still hasn¡¯t stopped, huh¡­¡± Yang Changhong sighed at the sight of the heavy rain outside. Those with experience knew that rain in this apocalyptic world was a good thing, but if it kept raining incessantly, it definitely spelt trouble. And this rainfall had lasted for such a long time¡­ ¡°Who knows how much this rain will cause the zombies to evolve¡­¡± He Jijun shook his head helplessly. ¡°But we can also take advantage of this heavy rain to sneak into the downtown area.¡± Wang Tao was ready to head into the city today. He was close to Level 4 now, but he only had one Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core in his possession, left to him by Colonel Luo Guozhong. Clearly, that wasn¡¯t enough; he needed to get more ascension crystal cores. Also, he had to figure out how strong the Four-level zombies really were. He felt it was impossible for all of them to be as strong as the Giant Zombie; otherwise, it would be way too ridiculous¡­ After a hearty breakfast, everyone began to gear up. Since the downtown was more dangerous, everyone had to wear Level 3 Iron Tree Armor, including Jiang Shixue. Although Jiang Shixue said she still couldn¡¯t be infected by the zombie virus, a protective ability granted by the mysterious object she had consumed, Wang Tao still had her put on the armor. ¡°Wearing armor increases the defensive power, and it might save your life at a crucial moment. However, you can leave your hands exposed in your armor¡­¡± Wang Tao patted Jiang Shixue on the head. ¡°Oh~¡± A moment later, everyone was fully armed. Even Dog Lightning had on its Wolf Dog Battle Armor. With everyone in armor, it wasn¡¯t easy to drive, so Wang Tao had to do it himself. He didn¡¯t start with his own car, though, but one of the military vehicles from the garage. This vehicle was robust in defense, powerful in drive, and spacious¡ªperfect for a few people. Hum, hum~ The camouflaged military vehicle drove out of the military base and headed towards the downtown area. Soon after leaving the base, they encountered a small group of zombies. Wang Tao furrowed his brows. They had just cleared out this area yesterday, and now there were so many zombies again? Xu Xiaojun got out of the car and handled these zombies with a few Shockwaves. The vehicle continued on its way. After some time, they arrived near the downtown area. The zombies on the road were becoming more numerous, suggesting that it might not be possible to drive in the city center. Thus, Wang Tao found a place to park the vehicle. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll go on foot.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, and the group headed into the Steel Forest amidst the pouring rain. After entering, they found there were more zombies than they had imagined. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of not being able to drive through; the streets were so choked with zombies that even walking was becoming impossible. ¡°My God¡­¡± Upon seeing this, Nie Siyan instinctively covered her mouth. The street in front of them was jam-packed with zombies, looking almost like a bustling market! ¡°Just as expected of Wuyang City¡­ let¡¯s go, take another route!¡± Wang Tao, noticing there were no Level 3 or 4 zombies here, immediately signaled everyone to leave. His target was Level 4 zombies, and naturally, he could also hunt Level 3 zombies, but there was no need to go out of his way to hunt those below Level 3. They needed to conserve their energy for more appropriate targets. Because of the heavy rain, Wang Tao and his group did not attract the attention of the zombies when they left. The zombies just stood idly on the streets, as if basking in the rainfall. Many suspected that the corrosive acid rain might be beneficial to the zombies, so Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised to see them acting this way. With Wang Tao¡¯s Perception leading the way, they managed to successfully circle around to another street, despite the high number of zombies. Although this street was better and there were fewer zombies than on the first, it was still heavily infested. Chapter 613 - Chapter 613: Chapter 255 Entering the Downtown Area_2 Chapter 613: Chapter 255 Entering the Downtown Area_2 Wang Tao looked around and, after not finding any Level 3 zombies, once again changed the route. Soon, the group arrived at the third street. This street was comparatively better: it was wider and there were relatively fewer zombies on it. Most importantly, there were a few Level 3 Elite Zombies here. ¡°This will do!¡± Wang Tao decided to enter the urban area from here. After the group made an appearance, they quickly drew the attention of some zombies. Though the heavy rain affected the zombies¡¯ perception, among so many of them, there were always a few with particularly sharp senses. It was normal to be spotted. ¡°Attack!¡± Each member drew their weapons and charged towards the zombies. Aside from Lightning, everyone was now Level 3, and handling these Level 2 zombies was like picking off low-hanging fruit. In a moment, none of the zombies were left standing, including those Level 3 Elite Zombies, which Wang Tao easily disposed of. After collecting the spoils of battle, Wang Tao used his Perception Ability and then pointed in a direction: ¡°There are fewer zombies over there, let¡¯s go that way.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone followed Wang Tao, continuing to delve deeper into the urban area. The urban area of Wuyang City was vast; even in peacetime, it would have been impossible to explore the entire area quickly, let alone now. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s goal was to search according to the areas marked on the map, one by one, and he should eventually find a Four-level zombie. But unfortunately, even until nightfall, after killing who knows how many zombies, they had still not encountered a single Four-level zombie. ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. It was the embodiment of that saying: The more you lack something, the less likely you are to encounter it. Initially, Wang Tao had been considering how to deal with a Four-level zombie if he encountered one. The irony¡­ he couldn¡¯t even find one! ¡°Let¡¯s find a place to rest.¡± There was no point in going back to the base now; otherwise, the effort it took to reach this point would be wasted if they had to start all over again. ¡°Sure!¡± Nobody objected; they had been fighting frequently all day long without much rest. But if you really talked about danger, nothing much had really happened. After all, everyone was cautious and didn¡¯t make much noise. Wang Tao surveyed the area and then chose a high-rise building about a dozen stories tall. He thought this location was good, as it allowed for a view of the nearby area and if a Four-level zombie appeared, he would be able to spot it in time. There was a square under the building with quite a few zombies on it. Wang Tao spent some time clearing out these zombies before entering the building. Naturally, there were also quite a few zombies inside the building, but the group didn¡¯t rush and methodically cleared them floor by floor. However, as they reached a certain floor, Wang Tao suddenly exclaimed. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Everyone looked at Wang Tao. ¡°We¡¯ve stumbled upon a Night Demon¡¯s Nest, just a few floors above¡­¡± Wang Tao pointed upwards. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s perception range was limited. When he was downstairs, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to see the whole building¡¯s situation. As for his Plant Affinity Ability, it didn¡¯t detect anything because there were no plants in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Moreover, with many Ordinary Zombies inside the building, Wang Tao didn¡¯t consciously think about the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. ¡°What do you say?¡± Yang Changhong and the others looked at Wang Tao, somewhat eager. ¡°Of course we¡¯re going to check it out!¡± Night Demons were at least Level 3, and killing them could greatly increase their HP; it was an opportunity not to be missed. Furthermore, Wang Tao had many Ultraviolet illumination flares, which were effective against Night Demons and indirectly weakened their combat power. Wang Tao and his group carefully cleared the zombies on that floor, then continued upwards. The building had 18 floors in total, and the Night Demon¡¯s Nest was located above the 10th floor. There were no zombies from the 9th to the 7th floor, only below the 7th. After Wang Tao and the group had cleared all the zombies in these seven floors, the sky was completely dark. Wang Tao could sense that during the day, even when the sky was very overcast, the Night Demons didn¡¯t do much, as if they were sleeping in their lair. But as soon as night fell completely, the Night Demons woke up, as though, and began to stir. It was likely that a Night Demon would soon leave its lair. Many of the building¡¯s entrances were blocked, leaving only an accessible stairway. Wang Tao and his companions stood on this necessary path for the Night Demon. ¡°Here it comes!¡± Wang Tao whispered. Moments later, a blood-red figure emerged into view. [HP: 70000/70000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Level: Level 3, Elite] A Level 3 Elite Night Demon with seventy thousand HP. Wang Tao had seen Night Demons before; a Level 3 Lord had fifty thousand HP, but this one had seventy thousand and was still only Elite. He estimated that the Lord of this nest must have a hundred thousand HP. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± This Night Demon probably hadn¡¯t expected to find humans blocking the entrance to its home, and so it didn¡¯t immediately charge at Wang Tao and the others upon seeing them. Bang! Bang! He Jijun, carrying an Air Bulet Rifle, and Wang Tao, using his Air Bullet Ability, struck the Night Demon¡¯s head simultaneously. The Air Bullets, though seemingly unremarkable, had great impact power. The Night Demon was instantly knocked down. Yang Changhong and the others seized the opportunity to rush forward and quickly hacked the Night Demon to death. As Level 3 ability users with tens of thousands of HP each, a single Night Demon was definitely no match for their combined assault. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Chapter 614 - Chapter 614: Chapter 255 Entering the Downtown Area_3 Chapter 614: Chapter 255 Entering the Downtown Area_3 The noise here also caught the attention of those above, and immediately a lot of Night Demons rushed over. Wang Tao and the others took out ultraviolet illumination flares, lit them, and threw them nearby. After all, Night Demons were quite strong zombies, there was no need to take chances when they had flares to use. ¡°Zzzzzz¡ª¡± The group of Night Demons that had just charged over were immediately bathed in the dense purple light. Their skin began to burn in an instant. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Zombies don¡¯t fear pain, but these Night Demons seemed somewhat afraid after being burned by the ultraviolet light, each emitting a painful roar. However, the scent of humans in front of them was too enticing; they couldn¡¯t bear to leave. This situation was not much different from Wang Tao¡¯s last trip to the Night Demon¡¯s Nest; those Night Demons who dared not approach yet were unwilling to leave soon became targets, and were rapidly slaughtered by Wang Tao and his group. ¡°These ultraviolet illumination flares are really useful!¡± He Jijun felt a bit astounded. Before he had met Wang Tao, he had encountered Night Demons and knew how terrifying they were. But he hadn¡¯t expected ultraviolet light to be able to suppress Night Demons! While He Jijun was internally marveling, his hands didn¡¯t stop moving. He first used his air bullet rifle to blow the head off a Night Demon in front of him, then, without looking back, he took the bone hand crossbow and pulled the trigger toward his rear. Whoosh! The bone crossbow arrow, as if it had eyes, accurately lodged itself in the eye socket of a Night Demon. The others also did not want to show weakness, calling upon their own attacks on the Night Demons. No matter how strong the Night Demons were, they were just tens of thousands of HP Level 3 Elites. With Wang Tao leading the charge, the Night Demons were suppressed and beaten. These Night Demons had probably never seen such a formation and were directly bewildered by the assault. At this time, some Night Demons wanted to flee. But Wang Tao and the others were blocking the exit, and with so many ultraviolet illumination flares burning, they had no chance to run outside; they could only run further inside. After killing all the Night Demons that hadn¡¯t managed to escape, each person took an illumination flare and headed upstairs. The number of Night Demons in this nest was more than Wang Tao had anticipated, from the 10th to the 18th floor, all were Night Demons! And each floor probably had about twenty or so, making at least two hundred Night Demons in this nest! It was Wang Tao¡¯s first time seeing so many Night Demons; fortunately, he had plenty of ultraviolet illumination flares, otherwise it really might not have been enough. Although Night Demons as a type of zombie didn¡¯t have Crystal Cores, they could regain HP. Even without the rewards for killing higher levels, the sheer number was there; apart from him at full HP, the others could gain between 1000 and 2000 HP for each Night Demon killed! After killing a few Night Demons, they could clearly feel their own strength increasing! Therefore, a feeling emerged where the more they killed, the more eager and stronger they became. Night Demons had a natural fear of ultraviolet light; even though the ultraviolet illumination flares couldn¡¯t really inflict significant damage on them, they still dared not enter the range of the ultraviolet light. When Yang Changhong and the others each held an illumination flare to attack the Night Demons, it was basically a one-sided slaughter. Seeing that everyone was handling themselves well, Wang Tao stopped intervening and turned his gaze upstairs. In his Perception, there was a Level 3 Lord Night Demon upstairs that hadn¡¯t come down, lurking by the staircase, wondering if it was planning an ambush. Wang Tao thought for a moment, then dropped the illumination flare he was holding to the ground and directly stepped out of the range of the ultraviolet light. The moment Wang Tao stepped out, he immediately drew the attention of many Night Demons, which rushed at him wildly. Wang Tao, wielding a bone knife, fought against these Night Demons. He could have solved the battle quickly, but instead, he acted as if he was struggling against the Night Demons¡¯ onslaught. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt the Level 3 Lord Night Demon move! Without a second thought, Wang Tao swung his blade behind him. Bang! There seemed to be nothing behind Wang Tao, but as his blade slashed down, it struck the head of a Blue-skinned Night Demon. [HP: 94674/100000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] ¡°Roar!¡± The Blue-skinned Night Demon, furious, lunged at Wang Tao. But in Wang Tao¡¯s hand appeared a high-powered ultraviolet flashlight, seemingly out of nowhere. Swoosh¡ª A large burst of ultraviolet light instantly covered the entire body of the Blue-skinned Night Demon. Sizzling¡ª The Blue-skinned Night Demon made a burning sound as it quickly moved away from Wang Tao! Yet suddenly, a black tendril shot out from the wrist of Wang Tao¡¯s hand, wrapping around the waist of the Blue-skinned Night Demon. With a forceful tug, Wang Tao pulled it right in front of himself! The Blue-skinned Night Demon opened its mouth wide in a roar, and Wang Tao could even see a hint of rage on its face. Wang Tao, concealed beneath his face mask and twisted iron tree armor, couldn¡¯t help but grin. Angry now? This was just the beginning! Just as the ultraviolet flashlight in Wang Tao¡¯s hand vanished, and the burning on the Blue-skinned Night Demon ceased, the demon prepared to seize this opportunity to counterattack. That¡¯s when a lit ultraviolet illumination flare suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand! Wang Tao grabbed the neck of the Blue-skinned Night Demon, then shoved the ultraviolet illumination flare directly into its mouth! Sizzling¡ª Instantly, the Blue-skinned Night Demon emitted a barbecue-like burning sound, from the inside out! The glow of purple light was clearly visible at the location of the Night Demon¡¯s throat. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Clutching its neck in agony, the Blue-skinned Night Demon let out a loud roar, its HP visibly depleting. Wang Tao pressed his attack, holding another ultraviolet illumination flare in one hand and a Bone Knife in the other, hacking furiously at the Blue-skinned Night Demon. Even as a Blue-skinned Night Demon with a hundred thousand HP, it couldn¡¯t withstand such internal and external onslaughts. It started to frantically dart about, as Wang Tao called over the swift Jiang Shixue, and the two began to pursue and encircle. The purple light emanating from the Blue-skinned Night Demon was too obvious in the darkness; there was no escape. Three minutes later, with a thump, the completely charred Blue-skinned Night Demon was headshot by Wang Tao. Chapter 615 - Chapter 615: Chapter 256: Level 4 Night Demon_1 Chapter 615: Chapter 256: Level 4 Night Demon_1 ¡°` Wang Tao sheathed his Bone Knife and casually glanced at his Special Energy¡ªit had increased by 19,000, not too shabby. After collecting the Loot Pack dropped by the Blue-skinned Night Demon, Wang Tao turned to Jiang Shixue and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go kill the other Night Demons. You¡¯ll finish them off later.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The two rejoined the battle. Although there were many Night Demons, they stood no chance under the sweeping coverage of numerous Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells. Blocked by Wang Tao and his team, they had no escape. After spending some time, they had completely cleared out the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Seeing that there truly were no more Night Demons, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Even though they had been in control most of the time, Night Demons were not to be trifled with, and a slight oversight could lead to injury. Therefore, they had all been extremely cautious, now feeling significantly drained both physically and mentally, and in need of a good rest. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were in the best shape physically; although they had killed a Hundred thousand HP Blue-skinned Night Demon, they hadn¡¯t exhausted themselves too much. Wang Tao handed out some nutrient solution to everyone. Glug glug glug~ After guzzling a few bottles, they all felt much better. ¡°These Night Demons are tough, even being suppressed to this extent, they held on for so long¡­¡± He Jijun said. This was his first time fighting against Night Demons and he couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit emotional. He felt that if it weren¡¯t for the cheat-like item such as the Ultraviolet illumination flares, not only would killing so many Night Demons have been out of the question, but even escaping with their lives would have been dubious. After all, they were facing two hundred Night Demons! ¡°Despite the fatigue, it feels great!¡± Yang Changhong clenched her fists firmly. She wasn¡¯t sure how much her physical attributes had increased, but she felt as if she was touching the threshold of Level 3! Indeed, that was the case. Yang Changhong¡¯s HP had reached a hundred thousand! She previously had seventy thousand HP, and now after killing so many Night Demons, reaching a hundred thousand HP was easy. And it wasn¡¯t just her, Jiang Shixue, Xu Xiaojun, and He Jijun all had Hundred thousand HP now too! Only Nie Siyan was under a hundred thousand, but she was close, with ninety thousand! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help saying that raiding the Night Demon¡¯s Lair was truly exhilarating. The last time they raided a smaller Night Demon¡¯s Lair, it brought his own HP up to 110,000 and everyone else enjoyed a significant increase as well. This time, after raiding a much larger lair, nearly everyone had reached Hundred thousand HP! An increase in HP signified an enhancement in physical constitution. With a hundred thousand HP, Yang Changhong and the others had reached an extremely elite level of physical constitution. Even though they hadn¡¯t merged with any Crystal Cores that enhance physical constitution, just based on their current condition, they could probably wrestle with Night Demons directly! Wang Tao did not rest but took Jiang Shixue and Lightning to ¡°wreak havoc¡± in the Night Demon¡¯s Lair. Apart from the Night Demons, the lair housed many Unformed Night Demons and Incubation Flesh. These definitely needed to be eradicated. However, since only killings by Wang Tao would explode into Loot Packs, they were all left for him. The Night Demon¡¯s Lair was quite large, and it took Wang Tao quite some effort to exterminate everything. Looking at the pile of loot in his Space Backpack, Wang Tao laughed heartily. It¡¯s just a bit of fatigue¡ªtotally worth it! The loot from this operation was exceedingly rich. The Incubation Flesh that was killed exploded into 97 Extraction Crystal Cores! The Unformed Night Demons burst into 428 Omnipotent Crystal Cores! Although these were all Level Two Crystal Cores, being rare Extraction and Omnipotent types, they were highly valuable! Then came the loot dropped by the Elite Night Demons, all were Ultraviolet flashlights and Ultraviolet illumination flares¡ªaltogether three hundred flashlights and six thousand flares! This mission had initially consumed a lot of flares, but they had just replenished a hefty amount. ¡°For heaven¡¯s sake, don¡¯t let me find another Night Demon¡¯s Nest, or you¡¯ll have only yourselves to blame!¡± With so many flares, unless Wang Tao deliberately went looking for another Night Demon¡¯s Nest, it would be quite difficult to use them all up. Lastly came the loot from killing that Hundred thousand HP Blue-skinned Night Demon. Being a Zombie Lord, and having been killed by Wang Tao, the killing was above his level. There were four Loot Packs and Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2. The first Loot Pack contained [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost], [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost], and [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Body Constitution Boost]. The second Loot Pack contained Potions. [Strength Increase Potion x20] [Agility Increase Potion x20] [Mental Boosting Potion x20] There wasn¡¯t much to say about these three types of Potions¡ªthey were all used by Wang Tao. Wang Tao felt that these kinds of Potions that permanently increased attributes seemed to have a diminishing effect. When his attributes were low, the increase was quite noticeable. The higher his attributes, the smaller the increment became. However, any increase was welcome, no matter how small, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t bothered by it. In the third pack was an Ultraviolet Suit, yet comparing with the previous Blue-skinned Night Demons he had killed, there was an additional item. [High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x40] [Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x10] The new item was this ¡°Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip¡±. [Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip: Emits ultraviolet light once powered on. Any number of Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strips can be linked together, and the more there are connected, the stronger the ultraviolet light becomes. Requires electrical energy and can be powered by batteries.] This Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip looked like a tube and could be pieced together to form a continuous strip of light. ¡°` Chapter 616 - Chapter 616: Chapter 256: Level 4 Night Demon_2 Chapter 616: Chapter 256: Level 4 Night Demon_2 This lamp clearly can¡¯t be used during combat, but it can be used with batteries. Wang Tao feels that it¡¯s more appropriate to place this thing outside the base to deter Night Demons from coming in or to set up a temporary safety zone for emergencies. The item is decent, and Wang Tao installs the batteries so it can be used in a pinch later on. The last Loot Pack is up next. It was from the third Blue-skinned Night Demon that Wang Tao had killed. The first Blue-skinned Night Demon dropped a ¡°Night Demon Blade¡± Blueprint, and the second one dropped a ¡°Night Demon Breastplate¡± Blueprint. Wang Tao felt that this Night Demon equipment might come in a set, and sure enough! [Obtained: Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint x1] [Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a piece of Night Demon Leg Armor. Required materials: Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone*10kg, Level 3 Crystal Core*1, Iron Block*20, Steel Wire*20, Nails*20, Rubber*20] [Night Demon Leg Armor: Attributes unknown] This time, it¡¯s the Night Demon Leg Armor! With this in mind, Wang Tao felt there was a very good chance that a complete set of Night Demon Equipment was within reach! Wang Tao had enough materials on hand, so he immediately began stripping the bones from the Blue-skinned Night Demon and started crafting. A multicolored light flashed, all the materials vanished, and a pair of black leg armor tinged with blue appeared. [Night Demon Leg Armor] [Level 3 (Excellence)] [Durability +57, Defense +57] Like the breastplate before, it looked very understated, was designed to be form-fitting, and possessed a certain toughness. Moreover, its attributes were two points higher than the previous one. Wang Tao was already wearing the Night Demon Breastplate, and now he immediately donned the Night Demon Leg Armor. Once on, it fit perfectly without hindering his movements. Unfortunately, no Suit Attributes appeared. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if this was because they didn¡¯t exist or if he simply didn¡¯t have enough of the set, though he suspected the latter. If he could encounter a few more Blue-skinned Night Demons, he might be able to complete a set! Wang Tao was looking forward to it. By now, Yang Changhong and the others had rested enough, so Wang Tao called them upstairs. Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t plan on leaving tonight, opting to rest in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. As people trying to survive the post-apocalyptic world, they didn¡¯t care much about their environment as long as it was safe. The group reached the rooftop, where they could see nothing but darkness outside, but they could still hear various roars. Wang Tao distributed a large number of Ultraviolet illumination flares to everyone and then pulled out a military telescope he¡¯d brought from the base. With it, he could clearly see zombies on the street becoming more active after nightfall. Even the pouring rain couldn¡¯t stop them from wandering around like vagabonds. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt as though he was being watched¡ªlike something was close by on the floor below! Startled, he looked down, but apart from a pile of Level 2 Zombies, there was nothing unusual. ¡°A false perception? Impossible!¡± Becoming an Ability User meant he couldn¡¯t have false perceptions unless his spirit was affected or he was caught in an illusion! There was definitely something spying on him just now! Wang Tao immediately maxed out his Plant Affinity and Perception Ability. They were in Wuyang City¡¯s urban area surrounded by zombies, so caution was paramount! And then, his expression suddenly changed. ¡°Something is rapidly heading this way!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity had a wide range, and since there were many plants near the building, he could ¡°see¡± the surroundings. He clearly perceived something moving towards the building fast, like teleporting! Since it wasn¡¯t within his Perception range yet, he couldn¡¯t judge its strength, but he could tell it wasn¡¯t as big as the Giant Zombie he had seen earlier, which brought a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn¡¯t that Giant Zombie, then¡ªwait a second! In Wang Tao¡¯s perceptual vision, a figure emitting a blue glow suddenly appeared! And the glow from this figure was even stronger than that of the Blue-skinned Night Demon with a hundred thousand HP he had just killed! ¡°Fourth-order Monster¡ªno, a Level 4 Night Demon, it¡¯s coming! Quick, let¡¯s go downstairs!¡± Wang Tao immediately led the group to run down from the rooftop! Being on the rooftop left them with no escape route in case of danger. If they faced the enemy downstairs, they could at least try to retreat upwards if the fight was going badly, buying time to think of a plan or even fleeing to the lower levels. Reaching the 11th floor, Wang Tao quickly signaled for everyone to stop. He lit an Ultraviolet illumination flare and tossed it toward the staircase entrance ahead. Sizzle¡ª A burning sound erupted. At that moment, everyone saw clearly what was blocking the stairwell. A Night Demon, larger than a Blue-skinned Night Demon and adorned with black Bone Armor and white bone spikes, stood before them! [HP: 99990/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] [Robust: Full-spectrum boost to all basic attributes] A Fourth-order Night Demon with a hundred thousand HP! An Awakening called [Robust]¡ªit seemed like a weaker variant of [Giant]? When Wang Tao saw these attributes, he actually breathed a sigh of relief. Why had he risked venturing into the urban area in the first place? Wasn¡¯t it to hunt down a fourth-level zombie? Preferably one with a hundred thousand HP, as more HP meant he might not be able to defeat it. Now he had encountered just such a creature! Not only did it have a hundred thousand HP, but it was also a Night Demon with weaknesses! Chapter 617 - Chapter 617: Chapter 256: Level 4 Night Demon_3 Chapter 617: Chapter 256: Level 4 Night Demon_3 Wang Tao had so many ultraviolet flashlights and ultraviolet illumination flares at his disposal, which were supposed to be effective in suppressing the Night Demons¡ªwait a minute! It wasn¡¯t afraid of the ultraviolet illumination flares? Wang Tao had just thrown one of those flares right at the feet of the Black Skin Night Demon, and although its body was emitting a sizzling burning sound, it seemed unafraid! It didn¡¯t even move an inch! And its HP¡­ it was reduced by so little, 10 HP per second? When dealing with Level 3 Night Demons, the ultraviolet illumination flares would cause triple-digit damage per second, yet it was only 10 HP on this Level 4 Night Demon! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Black Skin Night Demon let out a low growl. One could see its facial muscles twitching and its skin cracking and burning. Clearly, the ultraviolet illumination flare had some effect, but it simply ignored these and even walked straight past the flare, then suddenly vanished! Bang! Without seeing anything, Wang Tao felt himself lifted into the air. It was then that he saw the Black Skin Night Demon had already appeared in front of him! Wang Tao felt a sharp pain in his chest; looking down, he saw the sharp claws of the Black Skin Night Demon had pierced right through the Entangling Roots! [-15734] [-1087] [108913/110000£¨84266/100000£©] ¡°What the fuck!¡± Wang Tao was a bit stunned. This claw strike from the Black Skin Night Demon not only tore away 15,000 HP from the Entangling Roots but also pierced through them and hit Wang Tao directly! Fortunately, Wang Tao was wearing the Night Demon Breastplate, which blocked the strike. Even so, the massive impact still caused Wang Tao to lose one thousand HP! A single strike draining 15% of his Entangling Roots¡¯ HP? And it managed to pierce through and hit him? Is this the Attack power of a Level 4? Despite his profound shock, Wang Tao had no time to ponder. He immediately summoned all his strength, held his knife with both hands, and viciously slashed at the Black Skin Night Demon in front of him. Bang! [-1024] This damage number left Wang Tao speechless. This was his strike with all his Abilities activated, employing high-frequency vibration along with his full strength, and it only dealt a thousand HP of damage? But this strike, at least, knocked the Blue-skinned Night Demon back and gave Wang Tao a chance to breathe. Then, Jiang Shixue was the first to react; she immediately rushed to the side of the Blue-skinned Night Demon and scratched it twice with her Dark sharp claws. [-423] [-418] Next to react was He Jijun. He directly took out a rifle loaded with blanks and fired a shot at the Black Skin Night Demon! [-512] The third one to react was unexpectedly Lightning. Fear was visible in its eyes, but it still charged at the Blue-skinned Night Demon without hesitation, leaping high and biting at the Night Demon¡¯s face. [-5] ¡°¡­¡± Last were Yang Changhong, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan. The three reacted almost simultaneously. After Wang Tao pushed back the Black Skin Night Demon, their attacks also landed on it. [-426] [-237] [-188] ¡°¡­¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt that his own damage wasn¡¯t that low, either? No, what the hell is this! Six of them and a dog attacked the Black Skin Night Demon together, and they only managed to deal over 3,000 damage? Which is just 3% of its total HP? Is this the defense of a Level 4 Night Demon?! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Having been attacked so many times in a row, although it didn¡¯t lose much HP, the Black Skin Night Demon was clearly infuriated. Its figure flashed, and once again, it disappeared from their sight. Wang Tao felt a sense of danger in his heart and swung his blade at the empty air in front of him! Bang! Wang Tao¡¯s preemptive strike was spot on! It landed directly on the head of the Black Skin Night Demon! [-1283] [95557/100000] But the claws of the Black Skin Night Demon had once again penetrated Wang Tao¡¯s chest! [-16348] [-1084] [107829/110000 (67918/100000)] ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing the outrageous damage numbers again, Wang Tao felt a mix of anger and panic. If it went on like this a few more times, he didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d die, but the Entangling Roots were definitely done for! ¡°Get lost!¡± Wang Tao kicked the Black Skin Night Demon hard, sending it flying. However, it was a kick to the demon¡¯s chest, and it only lost a few drops of blood. Then, Wang Tao immediately took out a bunch of ultraviolet illumination flares, lit them, and threw them all around. ¡°Everyone throw flares!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have much of anything else, but he had plenty of flares. Szzzlah¡ª After he threw those flares, purple light instantly enveloped the Black Skin Night Demon. The ultraviolet light produced by so many flares burning together directly caused smoke to rise from the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s body! Seeing the numbers for HP loss above the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s head start to increase, Wang Tao instantly felt overjoyed. ¡°The effects of the flares really do stack!¡± While the damage from the ultraviolet illumination flares was secondary, the most important thing was that it could affect the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s movements! The previous Red-skinned Night Demon and Blue-skinned Night Demon had barely been able to move after getting hit by the ultraviolet light¡ªnot that they literally couldn¡¯t move, but because they both desired to devour Wang Tao and his team while also fearing the damage the ultraviolet light brought, so they became stuck. Now, the Black Skin Night Demon was facing a similar situation. It very much wanted to devour Wang Tao and his companions, but it had an innate fear of ultraviolet light. If there was only a little bit of ultraviolet light, it would be fine, and it could just charge through. But now, with ultraviolet light everywhere, it felt uncomfortable all over, and even its speed was affected. When it charged at Wang Tao again, Wang Tao finally saw its trajectory, and there was just one word to describe it¡ªfast! This was the ultimate speed that came with overpowering physical qualities! Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved, thankful that the Night Demon¡¯s hatred was focused on him. If it had charged at someone else, he doubted many could withstand its attack! Bang! Wang Tao¡¯s Bone Knife struck the Black Skin Night Demon once more. The Black Skin Night Demon still didn¡¯t dodge or evade. In terms of both attack and defense, it was far superior to Wang Tao, and in this head-on clash, it had the upper hand. But this time, it didn¡¯t get the upper hand, because Jiang Shixue rushed over like a cannonball from the side and slammed it away! Thud! The Black Skin Night Demon was sent flying backward. At that moment, the others produced a large number of ultraviolet illumination flares in their hands and threw them at the Night Demon. Whoosh! The Black Skin Night Demon was instantly submerged in purple light! Chapter 618 - Chapter 618: Chapter 257 Hard-Won Victory_1 Chapter 618: Chapter 257 Hard-Won Victory_1 A barrage of ultraviolet illumination flares were thrown out, instantly turning this floor as bright as day. Not only were the Black Skin Night Demons in discomfort, but even Xu Xiaojun and his companions found themselves squinting against the ultraviolet light, forced to toss flares based on rough perception alone. ¡°ROAR¡ª¡± The entire body of the Black Skin Night Demon was burning, emitting an unpleasant smell as it roared furiously, crashing about in an attempt to escape the range of the ultraviolet light. But the place was bathed in ultraviolet light; there was no escape. ¡°You guys hold the flares at the door, ready to replenish them at any moment! Little Xue and I will attack!¡± Wang Tao shouted to the others. ¡°Yes!¡± The group nodded. The intense glare prevented them from seeing clearly, so they couldn¡¯t attack. Since each flare only burned for 25 seconds, someone needed to constantly replenish them. This was a job they could handle perfectly. As for Wang Tao, he could use his Perception Ability to locate the Black Skin Night Demon, and his eyes could also filter out some of the glare. Jiang Shixue could do the same, which meant only the two of them could attack properly. Wang Tao took out a bunch of usable potions and handed some to Jiang Shixue, both of them injecting all of them. Then, with a Bone Knife in hand, he rushed toward the Black Skin Night Demon. Whoosh¡ª Although dazed by the overwhelming ultraviolet light, the Black Skin Night Demon noticed Wang Tao immediately. Bang! It raised its claws, blocking Wang Tao¡¯s Bone Knife. However, while blocking Wang Tao, it left its back exposed to Jiang Shixue. [-420] [-439] Jiang Shixue launched a surprise attack from behind, scratching the Night Demon¡¯s nape twice. Such damage was trivial to a Night Demon with so much HP, but the sneak attack left it extremely enraged. It immediately abandoned Wang Tao and charged towards Jiang Shixue. ¡°Be careful!¡± Jiang Shixue was quick, but the Black Skin Night Demon was quicker. As if teleporting, the Black Skin Night Demon appeared in front of Jiang Shixue in an instant and viciously stabbed at her chest with its sharp claws. Thud! Clad in Iron Tree Armor, Jiang Shixue blocked the strike, but the armor clearly dented, likely losing a considerable amount of Durability. Moreover, Jiang Shixue lost a thousand HP¡ªthe impact of the Night Demon¡¯s attack had indirectly caused damage. Nonetheless, with an unchanging expression, Jiang Shixue tightly grasped the Night Demon¡¯s arms after being attacked and, rotating like a hammer throw, flung the Black Skin Night Demon straight towards Wang Tao. Regaining her memories, Jiang Shixue¡¯s attack methods had become varied and she exhibited better teamwork than before, no longer appearing rigid. Having coordinated many times, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue understood each other well. As soon as Jiang Shixue grabbed the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s arms, Wang Tao had already raised his Bone Knife, preparing for an Energize One Hit. As Jiang Shixue flung the Night Demon towards Wang Tao, he brutally chopped down in the direction it was flying from. Bang! [-1584] The Night Demon was sent spinning away, disoriented by the slash. Meanwhile, Jiang Shixue had also prepared her next move. As the Night Demon flew towards her, she reached out with her slender claws, striking directly at the back of the Night Demon¡¯s head. [-483] [-427] Another nine hundred HP was shed from the Black Skin Night Demon, but this time it reacted, enduring the discomfort of the UV light on its skin and turned around to pounce on Jiang Shixue like a ferocious tiger. Bang! Jiang Shixue was instantly tackled down! The Black Skin Night Demon opened its triple-split mouth, and out popped a mouthpiece bristling with sharp teeth! This was a One Hit Kill move that all Night Demons possessed. If the mouthpiece penetrated the body, instant death was almost certain! Although Jiang Shixue wore armor and a helmet, it was uncertain if they could withstand the strike. At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly had a pistol in his hand and pulled the trigger at the Black Skin Night Demon. Bang! A faint sound echoed as an invisible Air Bullet struck the back of the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s head. [-1282] The head of the Black Skin Night Demon was knocked askew, and the mouthpiece stabbed into the floor, creating a large hole. Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Shixue kicked the Black Skin Night Demon and landed two more claw strikes on it. The enraged Black Skin Night Demon turned and pounced at Jiang Shixue once again. Whoosh! Wang Tao activated Rush, arriving next to Jiang Shixue, and his Bone Knife, equipped with high-frequency vibration, harshly slashed atop the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s head. [-1349] ¡°ROAR¡ª¡± Consecutive attacks clearly infuriated the Black Skin Night Demon. But the numerous UV burning flares around suppressed it, especially its speed, which was nowhere near its prime. Whoosh! The Black Skin Night Demon blinked to the side of Wang Tao. However, due to its suppression, Wang Tao easily predicted its trajectory. Swinging his Bone Knife, Wang Tao slashed at the Night Demon beside him. Bang! [-1132] Wang Tao¡¯s firm slash landed squarely on the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s forehead, but its claws also caught Wang Tao. [-11833] [-354] A casual swipe from the Black Skin Night Demon could strip over ten thousand HP from the Entangling Roots! With only fifty thousand HP left, Wang Tao was feeling the pressure. Three or four more hits, and the Entangling Roots would likely be done for. Wang Tao tried using Mental Shock, but possibly due to the level difference, the Black Skin Night Demon had no reaction and lost no HP. Swipe! At this moment, Jiang Shixue¡¯s attack came again. However, this time it didn¡¯t succeed, as the Black Skin Night Demon blocked it with raised hands. Chapter 619 - Chapter 619: Chapter 257 Hard-Won Victory_2 Chapter 619: Chapter 257 Hard-Won Victory_2 The attack of the Black Skin Night Demon was sharp claws, and Jiang Shixue had the same. One black, one red, one large and one small, two pairs of claws, grabbed hold of each other and wrestled. But Jiang Shixue clearly did not have the strength to match the Black Skin Night Demon. In a flash, she was flung away, crashing directly into the ceiling. Although their wrestling lasted only a brief second, Wang Tao seized this opportunity. He sheathed his Bone Knife and produced an ignited Ultraviolet illumination flare in his hand, grabbed the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s shoulder with the other hand, and directly stuffed the flare into the Night Demon¡¯s mouth! Having done this once before, Wang Tao did it smoothly. He instantly pushed the burning flare into the Night Demon¡¯s mouth, and fiercely poked it in, thrusting it directly into its throat. ¡°Roar!¡± The Black Skin Night Demon might have been bewildered, not expecting Wang Tao had this trick up his sleeve, and was caught off guard! Bang! It waved its arms, flinging Wang Tao away and knocking off more than 20,000 HP from the Entangling Roots. Wang Tao, like Jiang Shixue, was smashed against the ceiling, but he smirked. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Black Skin Night Demon, clutching at its throat, staggered backward, emitting an ugly roar. It reached into its mouth to remove the flare, but its hand was too big for its mouth and couldn¡¯t fit entirely in. Plus, Wang Tao had jabbed it in deep, so it couldn¡¯t reach it! Watching the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s HP rapidly drop above its head, Wang Tao did not relax. He conjured up a bunch of Ultraviolet illumination flares in his hand and tossed them all at the Black Skin Night Demon after igniting them. Flares have a long burn time, and they extinguish after that time is up, so it¡¯s better to waste a few more than to give the Black Skin Night Demon any chance to recover! The flare that Wang Tao had inserted into the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s throat played a significant role. The Night Demon, now focused solely on removing the flare from its throat, ran chaotically around the room instead of attacking Wang Tao. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were suddenly under much less pressure. He instructed Jiang Shixue to distract the Night Demon first, as there was no guarantee it wouldn¡¯t manage to pull out the flare. He himself returned to Yang Changhong and the others, handing out a large pile of flares to them. ¡°Don¡¯t be frugal, throw them all! Especially at the entrance, we must block it tight!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s goal was not to protect himself but to kill this Level 4 Black Skin Night Demon! If it were just about self-preservation, the number of flares he had would be enough to last until dawn without running out. Even if the Black Skin Night Demon has a strong resistance to Ultraviolet Light, facing so many, it probably wouldn¡¯t dare to attack rashly. But having finally encountered a Four-level zombie, and one that had an obvious weakness at that, Wang Tao definitely had to seize this chance and take it down! Wang Tao could feel that the Black Skin Night Demon was already trying to escape. But the only passage for escaping the building had been filled with Ultraviolet illumination flares, and the entrance was barraged with beams from high-powered Ultraviolet flashlights, which made it dare not rush out. Thus, it could only scurry around the hall. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue began to entangle in combat with it, and Wang Tao filled the entire floor, especially around the windows, the walls, and the staircase, with Ultraviolet illumination flares. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be sure if it would leap out of a window. With its astounding physical abilities, it might survive even a fall from over ten stories. So Wang Tao couldn¡¯t afford to let it escape! As more Ultraviolet illumination flares were thrown, the Black Skin Night Demon was increasingly suppressed. However, the flare inside its throat was about to go out! Seeing this, Wang Tao immediately used the Iron Tree Vines, capturing the floundering Black Skin Night Demon at his side. Slash! The Black Skin Night Demon swung its claws and instantly cut the vines. But for Wang Tao, that moment was enough. He took out a few more flares and drove them right into the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s body! The Black Skin Night Demon seemed to indeed possess a degree of intelligence. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s movement, it ceased its roaring and shut its mouth! Even though the flare in its throat was still burning and closing its mouth was uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to the agony of another flare being shoved in! Watching this unfold, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. Although the Black Skin Night Demon had closed its mouth, there were other places on its body to stick a flare. Such as the gaps in the Bone Armor spikes, or maybe its anus¡ªWang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it had one, but adhering to the ideal of learning by doing, he held onto the Black Skin Night Demon with one hand, not letting go even while being attacked. His other hand, meanwhile, held an Ultraviolet illumination flare that he fiercely thrust into the Night Demon¡¯s rear. ¡°Huh? It actually works!¡± The large and thick Ultraviolet illumination flare instantly penetrated the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s backside! The Black Skin Night Demon had strong Defense, wearing Bone Armor Bone Spur, and damage could only be dealt by hitting its head, which was incredibly hard. It could even block some of the Ultraviolet Light. But clearly, its inner defense was not as high. The flare in its throat had already caused it significant pain, and the one inserted in its backside made it instinctively open its mouth and let out a roar! ¡°Roar¡ªum!¡± As the Black Skin Night Demon opened its mouth, Wang Tao shoved another flare into it! Bang! The Black Skin Night Demon mustered all its strength and sent Wang Tao flying. And as Wang Tao was sent flying, he immediately retracted the Entangling Roots to their original state¡ªbecause the roots had just taken several hits from the Black Skin Night Demon, leaving them with only about 3000 HP. Another hit would have been fatal. Chapter 620 - Chapter 620: Chapter 257 Hard-Won Victory_3 Chapter 620: Chapter 257 Hard-Won Victory_3 Fortunately, Wang Tao was wearing Night Demon Armor, which would have allowed him to hold out for a while even without the Entangling Roots. This Black Skin Night Demon was even more agonized than Wang Tao had imagined. After knocking Wang Tao away, it didn¡¯t pursue its victory but instead rolled on the ground, seemingly trying to get rid of the flare stuck in its throat and rear. Wang Tao finally let out a sigh of relief. However, he didn¡¯t dare relax and immediately took out the Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip he obtained from killing that Blue-skinned Night Demon! Wang Tao called over Jiang Shixue, and together with these ten battery-equipped illumination lights, they surrounded the Black Skin Night Demon, significantly increasing the intensity of the ultraviolet light in the area! Wang Tao had been wanting to use this Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip, but he never had the chance until now. ¡°Roar!¡± The cries of the Black Skin Night Demon had become even more miserable to hear. But its HP was actually still over sixty thousand, which means two-thirds remained! ¡°This fucker¡¯s really tough to kill!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed. He had tried every trick in the book, and still, it had so much HP left. Fortunately, the Black Skin Night Demon was now completely suppressed by the ultraviolet light¡ªespecially its speed, which had slowed down a lot! And at this moment, it was too preoccupied with scrambling around within a certain range to attack Wang Tao. This Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip was quite effective, keeping the Black Skin Night Demon from approaching and restricting its range of motion. Wang Tao called over Yang Changhong and the rest to throw all their flares within this area. Sizzling¡ª¡ª ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± The HP loss per second for the Black Skin Night Demon also began to increase. Wang Tao once again raised his Bone Knife and charged in. He couldn¡¯t just wait for the ultraviolet light to slowly kill the Night Demon; after all, whether it was the illumination lights or flares, they were inanimate objects that could potentially be destroyed by the Black Skin Night Demon. Wang Tao had to charge in and entangle it to prevent it from destroying these ultraviolet tools. Jiang Shixue followed suit and charged in¡ªboth began another struggle with the Black Skin Night Demon. It had to be said, this Black Skin Night Demon was incredibly strong! Even under suppression, it could still exert great pressure on Wang Tao! Thankfully he had Jiang Shixue fighting alongside him; otherwise, without the Entangling Roots, he would have genuinely struggled to combat it. After all, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t immune to the zombie virus, so he couldn¡¯t be as reckless in his assault as before. Under their joint struggle, the HP of the Black Skin Zombie kept dwindling. However, most of the HP loss wasn¡¯t due to their efforts but caused by the ultraviolet light. After a minute, the HP of the Black Skin Night Demon finally dropped to a sliver! Wang Tao had already prepared for the final strike, and once the HP fell to a level he could finish, he immediately made his move. Puchi! [-1234] [0/100000] The Black Skin Night Demon, whose body had been scorched by the ultraviolet light, was instantly decapitated by Wang Tao. Rustle¡ª¡ª A bunch of items burst out, including claws and¡­ a heart? Wang Tao didn¡¯t take a close look, immediately collecting them. He also stripped out the bones of the Black Skin Night Demon, which were materials for crafting Night Demon equipment. Whether or not they would be useful was another matter, but it was worth taking them just in case. Then, Wang Tao glanced at his own HP bar. [36542/110000] This was the most severe injury he had sustained since acquiring Entangling Roots! Jiang Shixue¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t good either. Her Level 3 Iron Tree Armor had been completely destroyed, and her body was covered in wounds, with her HP dropping to 20,000. As she wasn¡¯t afraid of the zombie virus, she fought even more fiercely than Wang Tao, which was why her injuries were more severe. Wang Tao walked over, held Jiang Shixue¡¯s shoulders to check her for a moment, and after confirming there were no fatal dangers, he gathered the ultraviolet lights around and shouted to everyone. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s over!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, Yang Changhong and the others stopped throwing flares. The light in front of them was still a little blinding. There were too many flares, making it impossible to see clearly what was inside. But since Wang Tao had said it was over, it must be safe now. The group hurried into the room, and Lightning, who had been hiding on the side, quickly rushed to Wang Tao¡¯s side. Wang Tao hugged him, checked that his HP hadn¡¯t decreased much, and immediately smiled and knocked on his head. ¡°So smart!¡± Lightning was the weakest. A rash attack would have been certain death. Luckily, he was smart and knew to hide. ¡°Woof woof!¡± Lightning barked softly twice, staying close to Wang Tao as if worried about him. ¡°Wang Tao, Little Xue, are you guys okay?¡± Yang Changhong squinted as he approached Wang Tao and quickly grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine; don¡¯t worry.¡± Wang Tao reached back and held Yang Changhong¡¯s hand. He Jijun, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan also came over. Seeing that Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue indeed seemed alright, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Nie Siyan hurried over to support Wang Tao, while He Jijun and Xu Xiaojun went to throw the still-burning flares farther away. The simultaneous burning of so many flares was too bright to even open their eyes. After a quick cleanup, everyone was finally able to see the pitiful state of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, as well as the charred corpse on the ground. ¡°So this is a four-level zombie¡­¡± Although they did not directly participate in the battle later on, they could still sense the difficulty of Wang Tao¡¯s fight. Including He Jijun, everyone¡¯s faces showed a hint of despair¡ªthe four-level zombies were just too strong! Compared to Level 3 zombies, it was like being in a completely different dimension! And this was a Night Demon with a clear weakness. If it had been another zombie with no such weaknesses, could they have won this battle? Definitely not! It was hard for them to imagine how humanity could withstand if all the zombies in the future were this powerful¡­ Seeing everyone¡¯s expressions, Wang Tao also showed a wry smile. He knew four-level zombies were strong, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to be this strong! This was even more difficult than when he was an ordinary person, killing the Level 1 Elite Big Hammer Zombie in the water plant! Although he nearly died at that time, now at least he still had 30,000 HP left. But there were more people now, their strength was greater, and they had found the Night Demon¡¯s weakness¡­ and still, they ended up like this. If not for the flares, if they hadn¡¯t been annihilated, at least heavy casualties would have occurred! ¡°We¡ª¡± Wang Tao was about to suggest going upstairs to rest. Suddenly, his face changed. He immediately turned his head to look outside the window, and the others seemed to have heard something too, simultaneously turning their gaze to the window. In the boundless darkness, a massive figure could be faintly seen! Thud, thud, thud¡ª Chapter 621 - Chapter 621: Chapter 258 Awakening Key_1 Chapter 621: Chapter 258 Awakening Key_1 ¡°Giant Zombie!¡± Upon seeing that enormous shadow, everyone exclaimed in shock. Then, fear was written all over their faces. If dealing with the Level 4 Night Demon just now was so difficult, how strong must this Giant Zombie be?! After all, Wang Tao had mentioned earlier that this Giant Zombie was likely one of the most formidable beings among Level 4 creatures! ¡°What do we do?¡± Everyone turned to look at Wang Tao. ¡°We¡ª¡ªGet down!¡± Wang Tao suddenly yelled, pulling Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong to his side as he instantly dropped to the ground. Upon hearing this, He Jijun nearly at the same time dropped to the ground with Wang Tao, and he also pulled down Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan who were beside him. Lightning also reflexively dropped straight down. Then¡ª¡ª Boom! There was an earth-shaking rumble as if something had nearly grazed past the top of their heads as it flew by. With the help of the flares that hadn¡¯t yet burnt out nearby, they saw that the flying object seemed to be a massive slab of stone! Looking up, they saw that the walls in the front and back of this level were gone, leaving a gaping hole! Through the opening, they could see that huge figure in the distance, still poised to throw something. Thump, thump, thump! ¡°Heavens!¡± Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded. This creature could throw objects as an attack? From such a great distance, it could strike with such accuracy? And the power it wielded, to directly smash through a reinforced concrete building! If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t told them to get down, it¡¯s likely they would have either been crushed into a pulp or thrown out from a dozen floors up and killed on the spot! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao cursed under his breath. This thing had ranged attacks too? They were already no match for it, and now even less so! ¡°Run! Run fast!¡± Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Wang Tao got up and started running, pulling Yang Changhong along! Though the Giant Zombie appeared to move slowly, its immense size meant it could probably cover the distance in just a few strides! Now it wasn¡¯t a question of running or not but whether they could run fast enough! Nie Siyan and the others were slightly panicked, but being Level 3 ability users, they discarded all extraneous thoughts and followed Wang Tao. However, the fastest runner wasn¡¯t Wang Tao, but Lightning. Lightning led the way, familiar with the paths, ensuring they didn¡¯t end up in a dead-end. Jiang Shixue followed Lightning, and whenever they came to places only Lightning could squeeze through, she used brute strength to push her way in. Then came Wang Tao, Yang Changhong, Xu Xiaojun, and He Jijun. Although He Jijun was the oldest, being a Level 3 ability user and possessing the hidden ability of ¡®old but vigorous¡¯, he had strong physical fitness and didn¡¯t fall behind. The group frantically ran down the stairs, and just as they reached the fifth floor, Wang Tao suddenly stopped and yelled, ¡°Lightning, come back!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s shout was with full force, numbing the ears of Yang Changhong, who was next to him. She hadn¡¯t yet figured out what was happening when suddenly there came a thunderous boom! The ground shook! A huge and decaying arm appeared on the fifth floor, grabbing and bursting everything within reach! The group hurriedly looked out the windows only to see a terrifying figure hunched over outside! The Giant Zombie had arrived! It seemed to have grabbed something with that move, then its massive hand left the fifth floor, bringing whatever it had caught to its mouth! ¡°Lightning!¡± Wang Tao was furious. ¡°Woof woof!¡± Suddenly, a black shadow rushed from the debris to Wang Tao¡¯s feet. ¡°Lightning?¡± Wang Tao had thought Lightning was caught but luckily the dog was smart and had escaped this disaster. Wang Tao immediately embraced Lightning in his arms, looked at the fifth floor now reduced to rubble, and decisively said, ¡°Jump off the building! Follow me!¡± Holding Lightning in one arm and an ignited ultraviolet illumination flare in the other, Wang Tao broke the window and leapt out! Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s actions, the others didn¡¯t hesitate and jumped down after him. Whoosh¡ª Feeling the wind past his ear, Wang Tao maximized both his Perception Ability and Plant Affinity. Thud! Wang Tao hit the ground hard, mud splattering, and the impact caused the ground to crack; Wang Tao felt his feet go numb. The others landed one after another. For them, as level 3 ability users with a hundred thousand blood, a five-story height wasn¡¯t too dangerous¡ªespecially since Wang Tao was leading the way with the flare, allowing them to see the path clearly. Wang Tao put down Lightning and casually threw the flare into an area with many zombies. ¡°Move, follow me!¡± In the pouring rain, Wang Tao ran ahead, with the others following behind, and the Giant Zombie at the rear. Thump, thump, thump¡ª The Giant Zombie seemed to have noticed Wang Tao and the others as it abandoned the building and moved towards them. Its movements looked sluggish, but with one step covering more than twenty meters, it quickly caught up to the group. ¡°Rush!¡± Wang Tao yelled. His suit¡¯s Rush ability was still cooling down, but He Jijun, Nie Siyan, and Xu Xiaojun all had the Rush ability. The three of them, carrying Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, Yang Changhong, and Lightning, immediately launched into a Rush! Rumbling¡ª The group rushed forward more than thirty meters in an instant. At the spot they¡¯d just left, a giant foot stomped down. ¡°Keep rushing, don¡¯t stop!¡± Wang Tao directed them, and everyone kept their heads down and charged forward. They didn¡¯t even know how many zombies they trampled to death along the way, not having time to pick up any Crystal Cores. Wang Tao was still unable to get any distance between them and the Giant Zombie, so he immediately pulled out a Stealth Potion. ¡°Zhang Hong, use Stealth! Everyone else, use the Stealth Potion!¡± Chapter 622 - Chapter 622: Chapter 258 Awakening Key_2 Chapter 622: Chapter 258 Awakening Key_2 Wang Tao distributed the Stealth Potions, injecting one into himself, and then into Lightning, who was in his arms. Soon, a faint scent of decay emanated from their bodies. ¡°Continue to rush!¡± A few minutes later, Wang Tao felt the Giant Zombie falling further and further behind them. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this Giant also relied on scent for perception. Before long, Wang Tao could no longer see the position of the Giant Zombie, nor hear its footsteps. Yet he remained extremely cautious and did not have everyone rush anymore, but instead started running. After all, the noise from rushing was relatively louder. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even know where he was now, as he had no way to discern direction while fleeing for his life. He just thought about getting as far away from the Giant Zombie as possible. After an unknown period of running, Wang Tao finally called a halt. ¡°Stop, we should be safe now.¡± During this time, Wang Tao fed numerous Crystal Cores to the Entangling Roots, recovering some of its HP. Relying on his Self-healing Ability, he had almost fully restored his own HP. His only problem was the massive Mana consumption, which he couldn¡¯t replenish for the moment, preventing him from maintaining full Perception, as this Ability drained a lot of Mana. ¡°Thank goodness Brother Wang had the Stealth Potion¡­¡± Nie Siyan spoke with a trace of fear. They had encountered too many zombies along the way! If it weren¡¯t for the Stealth Potion, given the way they were running, they probably would¡¯ve triggered a zombie horde! ¡°Let¡¯s go. While the effects of the Stealth Potion last, let¡¯s quickly find a place to hide¡­¡± Wang Tao had also given it some thought. He figured that the Giant Zombie was not attracted by their scent, but by the commotion they caused while fighting the Black Skin Night Demon! For instance, the glaring Flares, the purple light filling entire floors, and being more than ten stories high¡ªit was hard not to attract attention. So Wang Tao thought that as long as they found a good hiding place and concealed their scent, they should be able to avoid the Giant Zombie. ¡°Let¡¯s go this way!¡± Wang Tao chose a direction. Although he had Night Vision, he was not familiar with Wuyang City, and it was still a bit hard to tell where exactly he was. But he felt that this direction should lead them out of the city. As long as they could leave the city and get to the car they had hidden, they would essentially be safe. Along the way, Wang Tao occasionally activated his Perception to check for any significant dangers nearby. After cautiously walking for half an hour, although their pace slowed, fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. ¡°We should be getting out soon¡­¡± Under a strangely shaped high-rise, Wang Tao rubbed his temples. His Mana was depleted, and his spirit felt unwell. Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s hair stood on end! A chill went from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head! Wang Tao immediately activated his Perception, only to see a massive energy body right before his eyes! ¡°Shit!¡± Bang! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t react in time and was slapped square on. Boom¡ª He was smashed into a civilian house. The others were confused; only then did they realize that what they thought was some mutant high-rise was actually a Giant Zombie leaning against the building! But¡­ how could that be possible! How could its speed be so fast! They had all been running in a straight line under Wang Tao¡¯s lead, and there was no Giant Zombie behind them. Where did it chase them from?! However, no one had time to think deeply about it, and they hastened to the house, prying Wang Tao from the wall he was embedded in. ¡°Cough, cough!¡± Wang Tao felt as if all the bones in his body were broken, tasted iron in his mouth, and his ears buzzed. ¡°Cough¡­ It¡¯s not that Giant Zombie, it¡¯s another one!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s words left everyone somewhat stunned. ¡°Another one?¡± ¡°Cough, quick! Rush! Keep rushing!¡± Wang Tao roared. Everyone, not daring to delay, immediately engaged in Rush. Of course, this was a retreat Rush for escaping. Boom boom boom¡ª They burst out of the house. Although the appearance of this Giant Zombie was indistinct, Wang Tao saw it clearly: [HP: 200,000/200,000] [Mana: 100,000/100,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Giant] The Giant Zombie that had been chasing them earlier had 300,000 HP, but this one had 200,000 HP! These were clearly not the same one! There were two Giant Zombies¡ªor maybe even more! After all, they were only in one district of Wuyang City, and if there were already two Giant Zombies in this district, then in the other districts¡­ Everyone didn¡¯t have time to ponder further. Even Wang Tao felt his mind was growing foggy, fearing he might faint, so he quickly said: ¡°Little Xue, you lead the way!¡± Aside from him, only Jiang Shixue and Lightning had Night Vision, but since Lightning couldn¡¯t speak, it had to be Jiang Shixue. ¡°Okay!¡± Thump, thump, thump¡ª This Giant Zombie also began to pursue. However, it was smaller than the previous one, so it was relatively slower. While the group took full advantage of the Stealth Potion¡¯s effects, which hadn¡¯t worn off yet, and rushed with all their might, they managed to shake off this Giant Zombie after some time. At this point, Wang Tao still had over 30,000 HP, but his head was very groggy, and he really wanted to sleep, but he didn¡¯t dare. He was holding a Rejuvenation Potion, and if there was any more danger, he would have to use this Potion. Then, the crisp voice of Jiang Shixue rang out. Chapter 623 - Chapter 623: Chapter 258 Awakening Key_3 Chapter 623: Chapter 258 Awakening Key_3 ¡°Brother! We¡¯ve made it out of the city, I see our car!¡± Phew¡ª Upon hearing this, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief; he was very grateful that the route he had chosen earlier was the right one. It wasn¡¯t until everyone had gotten into the car without any danger that Wang Tao could no longer hold on, and he collapsed into Jiang Shixue¡¯s arms. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep for a while¡­¡± ¡°Brother!¡± ¡°Wang Tao!¡± ¡­ ¡°Water¡­¡± Wang Tao felt his mouth was very dry and called out subconsciously. Then he felt a cool sensation at the corner of his mouth, and as Wang Tao slowly opened his eyes, he saw a pair of pure, clear, large eyes. ¡°Brother!¡± Jiang Shixue put down the glass and tightly grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Wang Tao looked up to see the familiar ceiling of the military base room and also saw a group of people standing beside his bed. ¡°Wang Tao! Sob¡­ I thought¡­¡± Yang Changhong was holding Wang Tao¡¯s hand, her eyes slightly swollen. ¡°Brother Wang, you¡¯ve finally woken up!¡± Xu Xiaojun clenched his fists tightly, his eyes also somewhat red. ¡°Brother Wang¡­¡± Nie Siyan seemed to have cried as well. ¡°You finally woke up, kid!¡± He Jijun showed a smile on his face. ¡°Woof woof!¡± Lightning, who had been quietly guarding by the bed, immediately jumped up and then excitedly ran around under the bed. Wang Tao got out of bed and vigorously rubbed Lightning¡¯s head, then smiled at everyone and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I was just very tired. I¡¯m all right now.¡± He remembered what had happened before; he had said he was going to sleep for a while. At that time, he had been seriously injured and looked pitiful, so such a statement could easily be misunderstood. After all, others couldn¡¯t see the HP bar and didn¡¯t know that Wang Tao still had over thirty thousand blood. ¡°You¡¯re really strong!¡± He Jijun gave a thumbs-up. ¡°How long did I sleep?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°About sixteen hours, it¡¯s eight o¡¯clock in the evening now. It¡¯s already dark.¡± Yang Changhong hastily spoke up. ¡°That¡¯s not too bad¡­ You all haven¡¯t rested, have you? Go get some rest!¡± Wang Tao saw that they all looked not in the best of spirits, evidently not having rested much. ¡°I¡¯m off to rest; this old man can¡¯t keep up with you young people!¡± He Jijun left right away. Now that Wang Tao was all right, he felt relieved. Xu Xiaojun nodded at Wang Tao and then left as well. Nie Siyan wanted to stay, but seeing that Yang Changhong and Jiang Shixue were there to attend to Wang Tao, she tactfully left. Only Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, Yang Changhong, and Lightning remained in the room. Jiang Shixue was quite alert; her body was special, and she wasn¡¯t tired at all. Yang Changhong, on the other hand, looked completely exhausted. Wang Tao immediately picked up Yang Changhong, and amid her startled cries, tossed her onto the bed. ¡°You sleep too, hurry up.¡± ¡°Oh~¡± Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s overbearing concern, Yang Changhong felt sweetness in her heart. Wang Tao sat on the edge of the bed, gently caressing Yang Changhong¡¯s face until she soon fell into a deep sleep. Then Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue to sit on the sofa and asked her about what had happened after he fell asleep. ¡°Once we left the city area, there wasn¡¯t much danger. We encountered quite a few zombies on the way back to the base, but none were a match for us¡­ As for those two giant zombies, they didn¡¯t appear again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Those level 4 zombies are truly terrifying!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed with a sigh. After checking on Jiang Shixue and Lightning to ensure both the woman and dog were fine, he then turned his attention to his own attributes. [HP: 37353/110000] [Mana: 1394/45000] [Special Energy: 450000] [Awakening Key: 1 (Inactive)] [Level: Level 3] [Hidden Attributes: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] A poor physical state could affect the speed of mana recovery. With not much mana, he couldn¡¯t use Self-healing, which is why Wang Tao¡¯s HP wasn¡¯t high. However, it wasn¡¯t a big problem. He could just find Yang Changhong later to restore some mana. But Wang Tao¡¯s focus wasn¡¯t on HP and mana ¨C it was on the Awakening Key he had acquired! This Awakening Key had appeared after he killed the Level 4 Black Skin Night Demon. When he set his sights on the ¡°Awakening Key,¡± an explanation appeared. [Awakening Key: The key needed for awakening (obtained by killing a creature of Lord level 4 or above, either of the same level or higher)] [Inactive: Currently unusable, requires 3 conditions for activation] [1. Max out HP (Completed)] [2. Max out Special Ability Level (Not completed)] [3. Possess Hidden Attributes (Completed)] [Note: Automatically ascend to level 4 after awakening] Reading these introductions, many of Wang Tao¡¯s previous questions were resolved! Only through awakening could one ascend to level 4! Without awakening, it would be impossible to reach level 4! But awakening required an Awakening Key, which could only be obtained by killing creatures of Lord level 4 and above! Wang Tao had felt it before, that ascending from level 3 to level 4 would probably have additional requirements and wouldn¡¯t be as simple as before¡­ Now it seemed this was indeed the case! However, obtaining this Awakening Key wasn¡¯t just difficult ¨C it was as challenging as ascending to heaven! After all, one had to personally kill a creature of Lord level 4 or above! Only someone like Wang Tao, who had fought with a level 4 Zombie Lord himself, knew how strong they were! If it weren¡¯t for the Night Demon, they might have been utterly defeated by another level 4 zombie¡­ And to kill it personally, not to mention that unlike Ascension Crystal Cores which could be traded, this greatly increased the difficulty! Of course, even with an Awakening Key, one couldn¡¯t awaken immediately; the Key needed to be activated, which required three conditions¡ª The first condition was to max out HP, presumably meaning to reach the upper limit of hundred thousand blood at level 3. Wang Tao and several teammates had already achieved this condition. The second condition, to max out Ability Level. The maximum for level 3 abilities wasn¡¯t 10, but rather to ascend to level 4, level 1 with an Ascension crystal core¡­ This, of course, Wang Tao had not achieved. The third condition, to have Hidden Attributes! ¡°So hidden attributes have this use too?¡± In that case, hidden attributes were even more important than the first two conditions! After all, HP could be gained by killing zombies, and special ability levels could be raised using crystal cores, but hidden attributes¡­ Wang Tao felt they were related to luck. If lucky, like Ding Yuqin, she activated a hidden attribute the very first time she killed a zombie. If unlucky, like team member Nie Siyan, even with hundred thousand blood, she had no hidden attributes. Of course, obtaining other items, such as Night Vision Eyes or Magic Seeds, could also grant hidden attributes, but that was also a matter of luck¡­ So those with hidden attributes were the ones with the potential to ascend to level 4? [Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] Wang Tao looked at his three hidden attributes and fell into deep thought. Chapter 624 - Chapter 624: Chapter 259 Night Demon Type 1_1 Chapter 624: Chapter 259 Night Demon Type 1_1 ¡°` The reason why Level 4 is so much stronger than Level 3 is the inclusion of an Awakening. Regarding this Awakening, Wang Tao doesn¡¯t know much yet and can only understand it through snippets of introductions. Without a doubt, the strength after an Awakening is immense, but the difficulty of Awakening is also substantial. Especially the requirement for the last Hidden Attribute, which probably stumps most people. However, for Wang Tao, Hidden Abilities are not an issue, considering he has three! All he lacks now is Ability. As long as he upgrades the remaining two Abilities +10, then uses an Ascension Crystal Core to advance to Level 4, that should do it. The only problem now is how to get a Level 4 Crystal Core. After all¡­ Level 4, Lord Zombie Lords are too strong! And yet, he hasn¡¯t encountered any Fourth-order Elite Zombies¡­ When it comes to upgrading Ability¡­ Wang Tao looks at the loot from this journey. Although it was very dangerous and he almost lost everything there, danger coexists with opportunity¡ªhis gains were also plentiful! Let¡¯s not mention that one Level 3 Lord and one Level 4 Lord Night Demon Zombie; even the other zombies killed along the way, including those smashed to death by Rush, were numerous. Everyone¡¯s HP had risen to the upper limit of Level 3, a hundred thousand! Including Nie Siyan, who had the least HP, now at a hundred thousand blood. Now only Lightning remains at 4999 HP, but it¡¯s unclear how to increase that for now, so that¡¯ll have to wait until later. Then there are the Crystal Cores, plenty of Level 1, Level Two, and even Level 3 Crystal Cores were obtained. Many of them usable by the team. And what surprised Wang Tao was that he obtained another [Extreme Speed] Crystal Core! He already had two, and with this one, he could synthesize an Epic Crystal Core! Wang Tao wanted to combine his [Iron Wall] and [Extreme Speed], and now he had the chance. Without a second thought, Wang Tao starts the synthesis of the three Extreme Speed Crystal Cores. He skillfully extracts [Integration] and fuses [Extreme Speed]. Then he begins synthesizing the two Abilities. A moment later, the synthesis is successful! [Level 3 Ability ¨C Iron Wall] [Iron Wall: Enhances defense, running speed, attack speed, spirit, physical constitution, and shooting for a duration, and slowly recovers from injuries (side effects: none)] The name remains the same, but the list of effects has increased by one. With this, Wang Tao¡¯s Iron Wall Ability synthesis has reached its cap, meaning this Ability can now be upgraded! He didn¡¯t have enough Omnipotent Crystal Cores on hand, but he acquired a bunch of Crystal Cores this time, including several Omnipotent Crystal Cores. Wang Tao immediately begins fusing the Omnipotent Crystal Cores. After some time, Wang Tao¡¯s Iron Wall Ability successfully reaches +10! Now, the only one left for Wang Tao is [Integration], still at +1, while the other three Abilities are all at +10. Since he¡¯s already synthesized [Air Bullet] once with [Integration], he still needs two more types of offensive attack Crystal Cores. Once he gathers these two types of Crystal Cores, all four of Wang Tao¡¯s Abilities could be at +10, and he could then attempt to fuse an Ascension Crystal Core. This time, Wang Tao might not fuse a purity Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core. After all, the difficulty of obtaining Level 4 Crystal Cores is too high. If he wants purity, he would need to synthesize using three Crystal Cores. That¡¯s 12 Ascension Crystal Cores for his four Abilities, how many Level 4 zombies would he have to kill to get that many! In any case, Wang Tao still has the three Cleansing Potions left over from before, each capable of clearing up 1% of Internal Impurity; he¡¯ll just cleanse the impurities later¡­ Wang Tao looks toward the biggest loot from this trip, the items dropped by that Level 4 Lord Night Demon! The Special Energy granted 25,000, which was a bit more than what the Level 3 Lord Night Demon provided, but not by much. The main thing is the other loot¡ª This Level 4 Night Demon dropped a total of 5 Loot Packs, and it dropped 4 items from its body! Definitely a massive haul. The first item is, of course, the Crystal Core from inside its head¡ªyes, this Level 4 Lord Night Demon¡¯s brain actually contains a Crystal Core! Other Night Demons, like the Level 3 Lord, do not have Crystal Cores¡­ probably only Level 4. [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 35% (side effect: Strength and body size are proportional, without sufficient body size, strength will see negative growth)] [Strength: Passive Ability, significantly increases strength] It turned out to be a Power Crystal Core, which surprised Wang Tao. Because the Crystal Cores that burst from Night Demons are typically one of the fixed three kinds: [Physical Enhancement], [Energy Boost], and [HP Enhancement]. This is the first time he has seen another type of Crystal Core. But since there was already a Crystal Core inside the head of this Level 4 Lord Night Demon, the appearance of a different type of Crystal Core isn¡¯t surprising¡­ this might be one of the differences between Level 3 and Level 4. Seeing this Strength Crystal Core, Wang Tao feels he might have gotten lucky. Because the side effect of this Crystal Core is ¡°strength is proportional to body size.¡± And the size of this Level 4 Lord Night Demon wasn¡¯t particularly large, so the effect of this increase in strength was probably not that significant¡­ Wang Tao looks at the second item, the pair of claws from the Black Skin Night Demon. [Received: Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claws x2] [Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claw: Crafting material] Compared to the previous Night Demon¡¯s Claws, this one had the prefix ¡°Level 4¡±, its level wasn¡¯t indicated before. This must be a rather precious material. The third item is a glass bead-like thing that fell out of the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s head along with the Crystal Core. [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] ¡°` Chapter 625 - Chapter 625: Chapter 259 Night Demon Type 1_2 Chapter 625: Chapter 259 Night Demon Type 1_2 ¡°` [Awakening Energy Pearl: After use, one can obtain 100 Awakening Energy.] [Awakening Energy: The energy required to unleash an Awakening and to elevate its level.] ¡°Awakening Energy?¡± Wang Tao looked at the explanation and seemed to roughly understand. ¡°So Awakening has levels, similar to Special Ability Levels? To upgrade Special Ability Levels, one needs to integrate Crystal Cores, and to upgrade Awakening levels, one must integrate Awakening Energy Pearls? Moreover, activating an Awakening also consumes Awakening Energy¡­¡± Wang Tao tried it out, but he couldn¡¯t use the Awakening Energy Pearl at the moment, probably because he hadn¡¯t undergone an Awakening. It was unclear how common Awakening Energy Pearls were. If every four-level zombie could drop one, then that would be quite nice. If it required good luck to obtain one, that would be frustrating. The fourth item was a large black heart-shaped object¨Dwhich was actually the heart of a Night Demon. However, it wasn¡¯t named just a heart; it was called¡­ a Weapon! [Fourth-Order Weapon?Night Demon Type I] [HP: 10000/10000 (limit 100000)] [Status: Can be awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack (Weakness: Afraid of Ultraviolet Light)] [Compatibility: 0%] [Independent Attack: Can perform attacks independently as ordered by its master, but is vulnerable to ultraviolet light.] Seeing the attributes of this heart, Wang Tao was filled with question marks. ¡°What¡¯s this? Could it actually summon a Night Demon to fight?¡± Driven by intense curiosity, Wang Tao immediately tried to awaken it. He soon felt a faint consciousness, but he couldn¡¯t awaken it¨Dcompatibility wasn¡¯t high enough. ¡°Almost forgot!¡± Wang Tao slapped his forehead and hurriedly took out Crystal Cores to increase the Compatibility of the [Night Demon Type I]. Then Wang Tao discovered that this thing really consumed a lot of Crystal Cores! For a Level 3 Weapon like the Entangling Roots, one Level 3 Crystal Core could fully restore Compatibility. But for the Fourth-Order Weapon¡¯s [Night Demon Type I], one Level 3 Crystal Core could only restore 10% Compatibility, a Level 2 Crystal Core could restore 1%, and a Level 1 Crystal Core¡­ couldn¡¯t be used at all. So does that mean that one Level 4 Crystal Core would be needed to restore 100% at once? Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores on hand, so naturally, he couldn¡¯t experiment with it here. Therefore, he used Level 2 and Level 3 Crystal Cores to fully max out the Compatibility of the [Night Demon Type I]. Although it was costly, he had to use them when necessary. Then Wang Tao tried to awaken it again. Whoosh! Wang Tao¡¯s heart suddenly surged like flowing water, then materialized in front of him into a more than two-meter-tall Black Night Demon! ¡°Sss¨D¡± It really was a Night Demon! Jiang Shixue and Lightning, standing nearby, were startled and immediately became vigilant of the Night Demon. This Night Demon was different from the ones Wang Tao had seen before. It was a pure black Night Demon, while the Black Skin Night Demons he had killed before only had black bone armor, with the rest of their bodies being red. So it was easy to tell the difference. But no matter how you distinguished it, this was a Night Demon! It still looked somewhat intimidating, especially to Lightning, whose fur stood on end. Wang Tao reached out to the faint consciousness and beckoned. Then he saw the Night Demon immediately crouch down, its limbs touching the ground, and just like a puppy, it placed its head in front of Wang Tao. The touch felt terrible. Lightning: ? Lightning tilted its head, its small eyes suddenly displaying a hint of confusion. After noticing this, Wang Tao burst into laughter, immediately crouched down, hugged Lightning, and thoroughly ruffled its fur before letting it go. Lightning then vigorously wagged its tail, knowing its master hadn¡¯t replaced it with something new. Jiang Shixue also realized that this was something Wang Tao had concocted, and she curiously touched it as well. ¡°Brother, this is¡­¡± Watching the Night Demon squat motionlessly in front of Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue was puzzled. ¡°This is a Fourth-Order Weapon, similar to my Entangling Roots and Iron Tree Vines¡­¡± As he explained, Wang Tao made the Night Demon perform various actions. After studying it for a while, Wang Tao also roughly figured out what this thing was all about. Unlike his Entangling Roots, the [Night Demon Type I] could only engage in independent combat, and it could not be worn on the body. It was a bit like the Iron Tree Vines. However, Iron Tree Vines needed Wang Tao as a carrier, usually resting on his wrist. The Night Demon, on the other hand, didn¡¯t need that; it could operate independently of Wang Tao. Wang Tao could use it by simply issuing a command in his mind, but it wasn¡¯t very flexible. That¡¯s because controlling it involved a rather complicated process: Wang Tao had to think of what to do, then issue the command, then the Night Demon would receive the command, and finally execute it. It wasn¡¯t a case of Wang Tao thinking something and the Night Demon doing it immediately. There was a certain delay in this process. Working with it seemed less effective than coordinating with Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue knew each other well, and with just a gesture or a glance, they both knew what to do. The Night Demon was a bit slow; although it had a very faint consciousness, this consciousness was not enough for it to possess self-judgment. Comparing it to Lightning, if Wang Tao let Lightning roam free, Lightning might play around and stick to Wang Tao. But if there was sudden danger, Lightning would unquestionably become vigilant and join the fight. If it realized the enemy was too strong, Lightning might even hide. And if it saw Wang Tao in danger, Lightning just might risk its life to save him¡­ Lightning had its own intelligence and judgment. ¡°` Chapter 626 - Chapter 626: Chapter 259 Night Demon Type 1_3 Chapter 626: Chapter 259 Night Demon Type 1_3 But this [Night Demon Type I] was different; it lacked intelligence and its own judgment. If Wang Tao let it roam freely, it just stood there dumbly. Even if it encountered danger, it wouldn¡¯t attack on its own because Wang Tao hadn¡¯t issued an attack command. If Wang Tao ordered it to attack, it would keep attacking, without running or stopping¡­ Of course, these were more abstract commands; Wang Tao could also give it specific instructions. The more specific the order, the better it performed. For example, if Wang Tao told it to squat and not move, it would stay as motionless as a statue. If he told it to walk a few steps, specifying the exact distance of each step, it would execute almost to the millimeter¡ªa feat even lightning couldn¡¯t achieve. So, Wang Tao felt that this [Night Demon Type I] was quite dumb and didn¡¯t seem like an intelligent being but more like a robot that only followed orders! This was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The disadvantage doesn¡¯t need mentioning¡ªit was too rigid, and if it wasn¡¯t precisely controlled, it might not be able to fully utilize its strength. The advantage was that it likely wouldn¡¯t rebel, after all, it had no intellect or discernment, and only recognized commands from Wang Tao; even Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t order it around. As to why it would only listen to Wang Tao, he surmised it was probably because he was the one who had awakened the [Night Demon Type I]. Then Wang Tao conducted an experiment. He commanded the [Night Demon Type I] to revert to its heart form, then collected the heart back into the Space Backpack. Once inside the Space Backpack, the status of [Night Demon Type I] turned to ¡°Dormant.¡± Wang Tao let Jiang Shixue attempt to awaken it. Just as he had thought, it no longer obeyed him, only Jiang Shixue! This was pretty interesting, as it allowed others to have control. However, Wang Tao had the Space Backpack; without it, how could others put it into a dormancy¡­ Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure. He speculated that maybe it was related to time? Perhaps if it wasn¡¯t used for a long duration, it would slowly drift into dormancy? Then, Wang Tao tested whether the [Night Demon Type I] could be controlled mentally. Jiang Shixue¡¯s Hidden Ability, [Eyes of Contract], could control other creatures to a certain extent, but those creatures had to be much weaker than her. It had no effect on the [Night Demon Type I]. Wang Tao also possessed abilities like Mental Disturbance and Mental Shock, all of which were ineffective. After discussing it with Jiang Shixue, he discovered it wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t control it, but that they didn¡¯t have the option to control it at all¡ªthe Night Demon seemed to be devoid of spiritual power! Simply put, no matter how smart you are or how skilled at persuasion, if you try to deceive it, you won¡¯t succeed! It¡¯s not because it¡¯s clever, but because it effectively doesn¡¯t have a brain! This, too, was an advantage; at least there was no worry of it being controlled by someone else! Last, and most importantly, was the matter of how strong this [Night Demon Type I] was. Under Wang Tao¡¯s control, [Night Demon Type I] had a brief exchange with Jiang Shixue. After which, Wang Tao came to a conclusion¡ªit was very strong! That speed, that defense, that attack power, were simply outstanding! But, to fully unleash the [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s strength, two conditions had to be met. The first condition was, the controller of the [Night Demon Type I], which was Wang Tao, must handle it well. Wang Tao¡¯s control was the limit for this [Night Demon Type I]; if he didn¡¯t handle it well, then the result would be a disaster. At present, Wang Tao was exploring gradually and felt he still had significant room for improvement. The second condition was to increase the [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s HP. This was similar to most humans: the more HP, the stronger the force. It currently only had 10,000 HP, with an upper limit of 100,000, and only when it was at full HP could it unleash its maximum capability. However, Wang Tao had experimented and found that increasing its HP was too costly! A Level 3 Crystal Core could only add 100 HP to the limit! A Level 2 Crystal Core added 10 HP to the limit! And as for a Level 1 Crystal Core¡­ They were of no use at all. That meant even a Level 4 Crystal Core could, at most, add 1,000 HP to the limit. The consumption was outrageous when he had increased the HP of the Entangling Roots before. But the consumption for the [Night Demon Type I] was ten times higher than that of the Entangling Roots! Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores, so naturally, it was not possible to use them for this purpose. He was also reluctant to use Level 3 Crystal Cores since they were his main supply, and he didn¡¯t have an abundance of them. Therefore, Wang Tao didn¡¯t do much to upgrade it, for the time being, limiting it to 11,100 HP. Just to increase that 1,100 HP, he used up ten Level 3 Crystal Cores and ten Level 2 Crystal Cores. The cost was just too great¡­ Indeed, 10,000 HP seemed rather low, but it had strong defense. Wang Tao felt that under his control, it could probably be considered half a Level 4? Even if not half, if it were just one-third, Wang Tao would be satisfied. Next time he encountered four-level zombies, Wang Tao thought he could let the [Night Demon Type I] have a try; perhaps it could have an unexpected effect! However, it also had a vulnerability to ultraviolet light, so he would have to be cautious when using it in the future¡­ Wang Tao studied the [Night Demon Type I] for a while and then reverted it back to a heart shape. If he let it remain in the form of a Night Demon, Wang Tao felt it might be easily mistaken for something dangerous. Once others had seen it, if a real Night Demon entered the base and was mistaken for this one, it could lead to a ¡®boy who cried wolf¡¯ scenario. Although the likelihood was small, it was better to be safe than sorry. After the [Night Demon Type I] turned back into a heart, upon a single command from Wang Tao, it could instantly transform into a Night Demon; the speed was also very fast. There was a minor issue, though¡ªit could only turn into a large heart, unable to wind around Wang Tao¡¯s wrist like the Entangling Roots and Iron Tree Vines, which made it inconvenient to carry. Wang Tao placed it on the table, where it remained a motionless heart, resembling a curiosity-bearing sculpture. Unexpectedly, the [Night Demon Type I] made for a rather fitting decorative piece, in tune with the apocalyptic wasteland atmosphere. ¡­ After examining the four items dropped by the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, Wang Tao turned his attention to the five Loot Packs. In the first pack was still a Crystal Core Gift Bag, containing five Crystal Cores. But the variety of these cores was not quite what Wang Tao had expected. Chapter 627 - Chapter 627: Chapter 260 Night Demon Set_1 Chapter 627: Chapter 260 Night Demon Set_1 The crystal cores within the Crystal Core Gift Bag were a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost], and a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C HP Enhancement]. To have an orange Ascension Crystal Core! Wang Tao was overjoyed, as this was directly usable! As for the other crystal cores, compared to the Level 3 Night Demon, they were missing one [Physical Enhancement] but had gained one [Awakening]! [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side Effects: None)] [Awakening: After fusion, one can obtain 100 Awakening Energy] Seeing the attributes of this Awakening Crystal Core, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. The awakening crystal core almost had the same effect as the ¡°Awakening Energy Pearl¡± dropped by the Black Skin Night Demon! The reason for ¡°almost¡± is that although this awakening crystal core had no side effects, it contained impurities, whereas the Awakening Energy Pearl did not. From this perspective, the Awakening Energy Pearl was obviously better. However, better things are certainly rarer; Wang Tao guessed he¡¯d been lucky to have looted the Awakening Energy Pearl beforehand¡ªsuch items must be uncommon. Of course, this is not to say that Awakening Crystal Cores are bad. On the contrary, Wang Tao felt that in the future, this type of crystal core would definitely become one of the most valuable ones! The premise is that humanity can last long enough for a large number of Awakeners to appear, allowing this kind of crystal core to become widespread¡­ Shaking his head, Wang Tao presently had no ability to ponder these things. He continued to look through the loot. The second Loot Pack contained potions and Potion Recipes. [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) x10] [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) Recipe x1] [Strength Potion (Medium): After injection, one¡¯s overall strength increases by 50%-150% (the stronger the physique, the larger the increase), lasting 1 minute with a cooldown of 6 hours] [Strength Potion (Medium) Recipe: Once learned, each crafting session can produce 5 Medium Strength Potions. Required materials: Strength Mushroom x5, Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water* 100ml, 10 kcal of food] Compared to the small potion, the medium potion reduced the cooldown time and raised both the upper and lower limits of the enhancement. However, it also requires more core materials. ¡°Still no potion that permanently increases attributes, how stingy!¡± Wang Tao muttered a complaint before learning the potion recipe and turning to the third loot pack. [Received: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Received: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x100] [Received: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x20] [Received: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x5] This pack contained only ultraviolet tools, and compared to the Level 3 Lord Night Demon, there were more Mini Illumination Shells and Light Strips, plus the addition of a Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb. [Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb: Once ignited and launched into the air, it emits a strong ultraviolet light in a certain area, lasting for 3 minutes] This Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb looked like a mortar that could be directly launched into the air. Wang Tao thought the ultraviolet strength of this device must be very strong; since it can be emitted into the air, it must be able to radiate over a vast area. For example, the Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell, with its limited range, only works well within about a ten meters radius. When he gets the chance, Wang Tao plans to test the power of this large illumination bomb. The fourth Loot Pack contained items Wang Tao had seen before. [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] ¡°Another one!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had just said that the Awakening Energy Pearl was better than the Awakening Crystal Core but would certainly be rarer, yet it turned up in the Loot Pack! He now had two Awakening Energy Pearls and one Awakening Crystal Core. That meant he effectively had 300 Awakening Energy. He just didn¡¯t know how much that counted for; whether 300 was a lot or a little¡­ Wang Tao looked at the last Loot Pack. [Received: Night Demon Belt Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Gloves Blueprint x1] Just as Wang Tao expected, among the contents were Blueprints for Night Demon Equipment, and there were two blueprints at that! [Night Demon Belt Blueprint: One can craft a Night Demon Belt. Required materials: Level 4 Lord Night Demon¡¯s Bone x5kg, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Rubber x20] [Night Demon Belt: Attributes unknown] This belt blueprint required bones from a Level 4 Lord Night Demon and a Level 4 Crystal Core! Fortunately, Wang Tao had previously extracted bones from the Black Skin Night Demon; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to craft it now. [Night Demon Gloves Blueprint: One can craft a pair of Night Demon Gloves. Required materials: Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Blade x20, Steel Wire x20, Rubber x20, Screw x20, gauze x20] [Night Demon Gloves: Attributes unknown] The second blueprint was for Night Demon Gloves, and Wang Tao was currently unsure whether they¡¯d augment attack or defense. However, he had enough materials on hand to give it a try and find out! So, Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue bring over the Night Demon bones they had brought back earlier, and then he gathered all the required materials. Both of these equipment pieces needed a Level 4 Crystal Core, but thankfully, Wang Tao had looted a Crystal Core Gift Bag, so he did have some Level 4 Crystal Cores available. After some thought, Wang Tao decided to use the [Strength] and [Energy Boost] Level 4 Crystal Cores. Not that those two crystal cores were trash, but the others were better. After all, the remaining ones were [HP Enhancement], [Ascension], [Omnipotent], and [Awakening]¡­ so these two had to be sacrificed. Chapter 628 - Chapter 628: Chapter 260 Night Demon Set_2 Chapter 628: Chapter 260 Night Demon Set_2 Wang Tao started by crafting the Night Demon Belt. A rainbow light flashed by, and a simple, unadorned black belt appeared. The style of this belt was modest and low-key, similar to the Night Demon Breastplate and Leg Armor. [Night Demon Belt] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, defensive power +70] The attributes of this belt were strong, with both durability and defensive power increased by 70 points, the highest Wang Tao had seen so far. Wang Tao tied it around his waist to try it on, and it fit perfectly. However, the suit attributes he had imagined did not appear. ¡°Could it still be insufficient?¡± Now, Wang Tao already had the Night Demon Breastplate, Night Demon Leg Armor, and Night Demon Belt, yet the suit attributes still hadn¡¯t appeared. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry; he began crafting the Night Demon Gloves. Another rainbow light flashed, and a pair of gloves appeared before Wang Tao. ¡°Eh? Gloves?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised because the gloves were semi-transparent and as thin as cicada wings. [Night Demon Gloves] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, defensive power +70, attack speed +10%] The durability and defensive power were the same as the belt, both increased by 70 points, but with an additional attribute that increased attack speed! Wang Tao immediately put on the gloves. These gloves were very snug and breathable, feeling as if he wasn¡¯t wearing any at all, and there was no discomfort. This made Wang Tao quite comfortable, but what was even more pleasing was that the suit attributes finally appeared! Only¡­ [Night Demon Set: All basic attributes enhanced (Attributes not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] ¡°Not activated? It needs Awakening Energy for activation?¡± Wang Tao tried using the Awakening Crystal Core and Awakening Energy Pearl, but to no avail. It seemed that the needed Awakening Energy came from the wearer¡¯s own Awakening Energy! Meaning, he would have to wait until his own awakening to use the suit attributes? ¡°Darn!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat helpless. The anticipated suit attributes had appeared, but activating them was too difficult! Still, even without the suit attributes, the equipment¡¯s base attributes were usable. They could provide him a considerable increase in defensive power. Wang Tao looked over his current gear. He had two sets in total: The Night Demon Set and the Rush Suit¡ª [Night Demon Breastplate], [Night Demon Leg Armor], [Night Demon Belt], [Night Demon Gloves]. [Rush Left Arm], [Rush Right Arm], [Rush Knee Guards], [Rush Combat Boots]. Both sets of equipment could be worn at the same time without conflict. However, the Rush Suit was low on durability. Mainly because of the slap from the Giant Zombie yesterday, which Wang Tao usually cherished, but that one hit knocked out a lot of durability¡­ ¡°If only I could get another Rush Suit as a spare¡­¡± Wang Tao thought, stroking his chin. The Rush Suit was actually pretty good. The defensive power was a secondary concern; the main thing was its Rush Ability. But this Rush Ability had a 1-hour cooldown, and for the former Wang Tao, that hour wasn¡¯t considered long. One Rush was enough for either attacking or escaping. But now¡­ For instance, facing something like the Giant Zombie required multiple Rushes to escape, and his suit was falling behind. However, suits were hard to come by, dependent on luck. All he could do was hope to encounter more zombies that could drop equipment blueprints. After checking these spoils of war, it was already five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Testing the Night Demon Type I had taken quite a bit of time. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, who had been by his side all this time. Lightning was already a bit tired, dozing off beside Wang Tao¡¯s feet. ¡°Brother, I¡¯m fine,¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. She had been quite injured the night before, but her body seemed to have blood regeneration, and she was already much better. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s make a hearty dinner together.¡± Wang Tao had some food supplies in his car, and there were also some leftovers at the military base. Everyone had almost lost their lives in the city center the night before; now, they needed to relax properly. ¡°Great!¡± Jiang Shixue nodded with interest. The two spent some time cooking a big table full of dishes and then went to wake the others. ¡°Wow, Wang Tao, did you cook all this?¡± Yang Changhong rubbed her eyes in astonishment. It wasn¡¯t necessarily that Wang Tao had cooked so well, but they hadn¡¯t eaten proper food recently. Suddenly seeing a table full of dishes gave her a sense of returning to pre-apocalyptic times. ¡°Little Xue and I cooked it together, everyone, please try it.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Everyone still had some injuries on them, so being able to enjoy a delicious meal at this time was quite delightful. After eating, night had already fallen. In front of everyone, Wang Tao took out the [Night Demon Type I] and showed it off. He needed to let them know his abilities, to avoid any misunderstanding and being attacked as a monster. As expected, everyone was startled by the [Night Demon Type I]. Once they learned it was Wang Tao¡¯s weapon, they were both shocked and curious. Wang Tao let them touch it to get familiar with it and took the opportunity to tell them about advancing to Level 4. ¡°Ascension to Level 4 requires awakening¡­ ¡± ¡°Awakening requires a Secret Key¡­¡± ¡°The Secret Key is obtained by killing Level 4, Lord level zombies or higher¡­¡± ¡°And activating the Secret Key needs three conditions¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone was a bit dumbfounded. Level 4 was strong, but the difficulty of ascending to Level 4 was too great, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°¡­So, we need to push our strength to the peak of Level 3, enhance all abilities to Level 4, and possess a hidden attribute¡­ only then can we awaken?¡± Chapter 629 - Chapter 629: Chapter 260 Night Demon Set_3 Chapter 629: Chapter 260 Night Demon Set_3 He Jijun frowned and said. ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then what are hidden attributes?¡± He Jijun asked curiously. ¡°Some people have special abilities that might not have been prominent or even apparent before the apocalypse, but they started to manifest themselves afterward. That¡¯s what hidden attributes are. Though these abilities can also be acquired later on, it¡¯s all a matter of luck¡­¡± Wang Tao explained briefly. He didn¡¯t want to reveal his ability to see others¡¯ attributes, so he organized his language and found another way to say it. ¡°Do you have any hidden attributes, Wang Tao?¡± Yang Changhong quickly asked. Wang Tao looked towards everyone, his eyes suddenly flashing green. ¡°Night vision is my hidden ability.¡± He did not mention the other two attributes, [Body Strengthening] and [Plant Affinity], because those two were not as easy to demonstrate. The others suddenly realized. They wondered why they had never seen a crystal core with night vision ability¡ªit turned out to be Wang Tao¡¯s hidden ability! ¡°Does that mean, Wang Tao, you can awaken?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s eyes showed some joy. She was even happier than Wang Tao at the chance of his awakening. ¡°Hmm,¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°But it¡¯s only a chance. I¡¯m not sure what awakening would be like exactly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Yang Changhong clenched her fists tightly. ¡°If you could awaken, Wang Tao, then we wouldn¡¯t be so helpless against those four-level zombies!¡± Yang Changhong was very confident in Wang Tao¡¯s strength. Now that Wang Tao could kill a level 4 lord, it would be even less of an issue once he ascended to level 4! Seeing Yang Changhong so confident, Wang Tao sweat a little. He was not nearly as confident in himself¡­ ¡°Then Brother Wang, you still lack¡­¡± Nie Siyan promptly asked. ¡°I only lack the special ability level. I have one ability that hasn¡¯t reached level 3, level 10, and I don¡¯t have enough level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores. I need at least two more¡­¡± Wang Tao said with some helplessness. ¡°So, we still have to hunt for four-level zombies!¡± He Jijun said solemnly. ¡°Yes. We need to kill at least another two, and if we¡¯re unlucky, maybe a few more¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone went silent. After all, last night¡¯s experience told them that four-level zombies were much stronger than level 3 zombies! They managed to over-power level 2 while at level 1, and level 3 while at level 2, but it¡¯s almost impossible to beat level 4 zombies at level 3! And they were not just any level 4 zombies¡ªthey had to kill a level 4 lord¡­ That was an almost impossible task! After all, killing just one Lord Night Demon was difficult enough, not to mention that it attracted the Giant Zombie. With their current strength, encountering a Giant Zombie meant death¡­ ¡°This task is very difficult, but we can¡¯t give up!¡± At this point, He Jijun spoke. He looked at everyone with a firm gaze. ¡°Zombies evolve faster than we humans. If we can¡¯t overcome even this difficulty, then we can only wait for death! And don¡¯t forget, we managed to kill one level 4 Lord Night Demon! Even though we took advantage of a situation, nighttime is when zombies are strongest¡­ We even escaped the encirclement of two Giant Zombies! So I believe, we will definitely succeed!¡± Listening to him, everyone¡¯s confidence slowly returned. Indeed, if they could kill the first one, they could kill the second, the third, the countless ones to come! Even the Giant Zombie, so formidable, could not catch them¡ªthey couldn¡¯t give up! ¡°So next, I think we should make some preparations!¡± He Jijun looked towards Wang Tao. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Wang Tao asked. He Jijun¡¯s face immediately showed a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, Wang Tao, there are some thermal weapons in this military base! We initially thought about not making too much noise, to ensure the hunting of zombies would not be too dangerous. But now, facing a level 4 Lord Zombie, we will definitely make noise and attract a lot of zombies, possibly even a Giant Zombie! So we might as well not hide anymore. When we see a level 4 Lord Zombie, let¡¯s just go for it with heavy firepower! As long as we can kill the level 4 zombie quickly, we have a chance to escape!¡± ¡°Sss¡ª¡± Wang Tao was initially shocked by He Jijun¡¯s words, then felt that He Jijun was right! Considering yesterday¡¯s fight with the Lord Night Demon, it would definitely attract zombies, so why not be more aggressive? As long as they killed the Lord Zombie before other zombies or the Giant Zombie arrived, wouldn¡¯t that solve the problem? Of course, this was still very risky, but not as risky as being chased by two Giant Zombies. ¡°Okay! Old He, you command this time!¡± Wang Tao decisively nodded. When it came to thermal weapons, Wang Tao was not that knowledgeable. Everyone has their field of expertise, and it was better left to He Jijun. ¡°Okay!¡± He Jijun did not refuse, and then he added. ¡°It¡¯s getting late now, everyone should rest well. I can¡¯t sleep anyway, so it¡¯s the perfect time for me to figure things out tonight¡­¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao nodded. The matter was settled, and they had to try using thermal weapons to handle the level 4 zombies. The biggest problem with using thermal weapons was how to escape after attracting a large number of zombies. But for that issue, He Jijun already had a plan¡ªthat was the helicopter in the hangar! However, flying required relatively good weather. Light rain was okay, but heavy rain, strong winds, and thunderstorms were not suitable. They had to wait for good weather¡­ Everyone went to rest. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go back to his own room but followed Yang Changhong to hers. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s face blushed as she pretended to be clueless. ¡°Need to replenish some energy!¡± Wang Tao immediately hugged her, and the two rolled onto the bed together. He was still low on HP, and because he was low on HP, his energy had not fully recovered. He needed to first replenish his energy and then use self-healing to restore his HP. ¡°You¡¯re still injured. Don¡¯t move, let me do it¡­¡± Knowing that Wang Tao had an energy-replenishing ability, Yang Changhong considerately lay on top of him¡­ Chapter 630 - Chapter 630: Chapter 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_1 Chapter 630: Chapter 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_1 The next day, early morning. When Wang Tao awoke, he was the only one left in the bed. Looking at his full HP and full mana, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but sigh with admiration; Yin and Yang Balance, the ability to regenerate mana, was truly amazing. After a night¡¯s rest, both HP and mana were full. Especially since Jiang Shixue had considerately let Wang Tao rest without lifting a finger, allowing him to enjoy the whole process. After washing up and stepping outside, he saw a dark figure suddenly pouncing toward him. Wang Tao crouched down and hugged Dog Lightning. ¡°Were you waiting for me to get up?¡± ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°Good boy!¡± Wang Tao rubbed Lightning¡¯s head and then went downstairs with him. He found He Jijun and wanted to hear his thoughts. ¡°I was just about to look for you! I want to check out that helicopter.¡± He Jijun said to Wang Tao. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go together.¡± The helicopter was in the hangar, and there were still those soldier zombies inside. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t killed them before and had left them in the hangar. Wang Tao and He Jijun arrived at the hangar together and looked at the figures still engaged in loading and unloading, both with mixed emotions. Wang Tao used Mental Disturbance to take control of them and got them into a small room and locked the door. Then the two approached the helicopter. Wang Tao asked, ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m planning to mount a few heavy machine guns on it¡­¡± He Jijun said, stroking his chin. This was a military transport helicopter with quite a spacious interior, capable of carrying over twenty people. In addition to carrying them, there was definitely room for more weapons. There were already provisions for weapon mounts inside. However, it could only fit two heavy machine guns, and He Jijun, thinking that wasn¡¯t enough firepower, planned to add two more! ¡°Come help me modify it; it¡¯s slow going by myself.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao also called Xu Xiaojun over, and the three of them began modifying the helicopter. On the left and right doors of the helicopter, two Type 400 heavy machine guns were installed, firing 12.7mm bullets. Their power was naturally beyond question. The only downside was the slow rate of fire, with a combat rate of about 300 rounds per minute. After all, this wasn¡¯t meant for installation on aircraft or dedicated for anti-air use, hence the low firing rate. What Wang Tao actually preferred was the six-barrel Fire God Gatling gun with its ultra-fast firing rate, thousands of rounds per minute, and ferocious firepower. Unfortunately, this military base didn¡¯t have that. They had some originally, but they were destroyed in earlier battles with the zombies. Of course, a regular heavy machine gun was not bad either. Plus, a slower firing rate had its advantages¡ªit was less wasteful with bullets. There weren¡¯t many bullets left at the military base. After spending a whole day and making many modifications, He Jijun finally managed to mount all four heavy machine guns. Two machine guns were installed on each of the two side doors of the helicopter, and these two sets of guns were tied together, meaning one person could control two machine guns at the same time. ¡°There are six of us and one dog. I¡¯ll fly the helicopter, and we need one person as co-pilot. Then two people will control the four machine guns, with the remaining two loading bullets¡­¡± He Jijun explained to everyone. Among them, only He Jijun knew how to fly the helicopter and was very proficient at it, so naturally, he would be the pilot. As for the co-pilot, although no one else knew how to fly, they could learn. They didn¡¯t need to be too proficient, just as an emergency backup. Wang Tao was immediately conflicted; he wanted to learn to fly the helicopter but also wanted to shoot guns. After some thought, Wang Tao decided he wanted it all! Giving up shooting was out of the question, but he could also learn to fly the helicopter, regardless of whether he would actually fly it or not. Wang Tao then gathered everyone together. ¡°Old He will explain how to fly the helicopter, and everyone should listen carefully. We might not need it, but it could come in handy at a crucial moment.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone was quite interested in learning to fly the helicopter. So, He Jijun gave a static demonstration in the hangar, familiarizing them with the helicopter¡¯s various functions before taking them on an actual flight. After spending another day, everyone had memorized the theoretical knowledge well enough. It was hard to say whether it would be useful at a crucial moment, but as long as they could rote memorize, that was enough. They didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to learn slowly. Next was the practical operation. Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t much wind that day, and though it was still raining, it didn¡¯t affect much. So He Jijun began to take Wang Tao and the others for a test flight. The helicopter was towed out of the hangar by a military vehicle and started up. Humming¡ª ¡°This sound is too loud; even the rain can¡¯t cover it¡­¡± Nie Siyan, who had never been on a helicopter before, looked pale at the noise. ¡°This is one of the reasons I didn¡¯t use the plane before.¡± Wang Tao said somewhat helplessly. He had ridden in a helicopter while filming in the past, so he knew how loud they could be. Wang Tao could already imagine how many zombies they would attract when they took this thing into the city¡­ All of them, including Dog Lightning, boarded the helicopter and closed the door. He Jijun immediately said, ¡°Attention, taking off.¡± Humming¡ª Soon, the helicopter lifted off the ground. For Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and Jiang Shixue, who had never been in a helicopter before, it was quite astonishing. Wang Tao and Yang Changhong had ridden in one before, but that was a thing of the past, and the experience now had its own unique feeling. He Jijun didn¡¯t dare to fly the helicopter too far, just circling near the base. The zombies around the military base had originally been cleared out, but now from high in the sky, they could visibly see a lot of zombies being attracted over. Chapter 631 - Chapter 631: Chapter 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_2 Chapter 631: Chapter 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_2 Wang Tao was mentally prepared for this situation; it was unavoidable. They would have to go back and clear out these zombies later. Thus, three days passed. He Jijun¡¯s teaching had stopped. After all, time was precious, and it was not possible to spend a large amount of time on practice. Mainly, he, as the pilot, was to fly; the others were just for emergency backup. Wang Tao had also practiced many times. Not to say that he was particularly skilled, but at least he could get the helicopter off the ground. He also learned how to handle some emergency situations. By now, a large number of zombies had accumulated outside the military base, and they needed to be cleared out quickly. After scanning the area and confirming there were no four-level zombies, Wang Tao led a few people out of the military base. It took quite some time, but eventually, they cleaned up all the zombies outside the military base. And indeed, there were some unexpected gains. Wang Tao obtained another type of actively attacking Crystal Core, and there were several of them, which could be synthesized into an Epic Crystal Core without side effects. [Level 3 Crystal Core?Continuous Slash] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body stiffness)] [Continuous Slash: Consumes energy to attack twice rapidly] The ones using the Continuous Slash Ability were a group of elite zombies that looked particularly stiff. At that time, everyone thought they were zombies with poor mobility. Indeed, their agility was low, but their attacks were decisive, able to strike twice instantaneously! The speed of those two strikes was extremely fast, impossible to block. Nie Siyan suffered a setback from them. Luckily, in the end, they were dealt with by Wang Tao. Wang Tao synthesized this Crystal Core into an Epic Crystal Core and then skillfully integrated it with his [Integration]. Shortly after, Wang Tao learned a New Superpower! Wang Tao tried it out; the damage of a single slash using Continuous Slash was not as high as that of high-frequency vibration, but the damage from two slashes exceeded that of high-frequency vibration! This was good news for Wang Tao, as it significantly enhanced his attacking ability. Now he was only missing one more attack-type Ability. If he could find that, it would be perfect. However, the zombies around the base had been cleaned out, and there were no other gains. They could only search in the city. ¡°Wang Tao, what do you think? I feel that the weather has been good these past days. Although the rain hasn¡¯t stopped, there hasn¡¯t been much wind or thunder¡­¡± He Jijun looked to Wang Tao. Wang Tao took a deep breath, then said sternly, ¡°Then¡­ tomorrow, we shall make a trip to the city district tomorrow!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. They had been training at the base for so long, just waiting for this day. ¡°As for the personnel arrangement¡­ Old He will fly the helicopter, Nie Siyan as co-pilot, Jiang Shixue and I will be shooting, Zhang Hong and Little Jun will load bullets.¡± Everyone¡¯s role was important, but as far as shooting was concerned, Wang Tao felt it appropriate only for himself, He Jijun, and Jiang Shixue. However, He Jijun would be flying the helicopter, so he naturally could not shoot. Wang Tao had the Precision Shooting Ability, and Little Xue had good eyesight, so the two of them would shoot. Everyone naturally had no objections to this arrangement. ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning suddenly barked. Wang Tao looked down at Lightning, who sat at his feet with a serious expression, and said with a smile, ¡°You come with me to help me stay alert to the enemies.¡± ¡°Woof!¡± That night, they began refueling the helicopter, performed simple maintenance, and loaded various ammunition, incendiary grenades, smoke grenades, and other items onto it¡­ ¡­ The next day, everyone got up early. ¡°God is helping us too!¡± After looking at the sky, He Jijun grinned. Today was still a rainy day without much wind or thunder. After breakfast, they were all fully armed. Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Xu Xiaojun drove out first, pulling the helicopter out of the hangar. The corrosive acid rain kept falling; if the helicopter stayed in the hangar, it would eventually be damaged, so it needed to be well protected. He Jijun started the helicopter, and everyone entered in single file. ¡°Departure!¡± Wrrrrrr¡ª The helicopter made a huge noise as it moved towards the city district. Inside the helicopter, as Wang Tao looked at the increasing number of zombies below, he felt somewhat helpless. The noise from the helicopter attracted all the zombies on the ground. Even though these zombies couldn¡¯t keep up with the helicopter, as the zombies in front fell behind, more zombies from the back filled in. These zombies were like the helicopter¡¯s shadow, almost running along with it. It was quite chilling to watch. ¡°This is horrific!¡± Zhang Hong exclaimed as he looked down at the scene below. There was a saying among the survivors¡ªthat you don¡¯t know how many zombies are around you until you make a big racket! Now, that saying was proved true; along the road they traveled, even though it seemed clear of zombies, as soon as the helicopter passed by, zombies ran out from all corners! It felt as though these zombies were like cockroaches; in these deserted places, if you find one, there definitely isn¡¯t just one, but at least a swarm! ¡°Wang Tao, do you think these zombies can reproduce?¡± Zhang Hong suddenly asked. ¡°That¡¯s really hard to say¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned. Although he hadn¡¯t seen zombies with the ability to reproduce, they had been to the Night Demon¡¯s Nest and observed that Night Demons could hatch more of their kind. Of course, that hatching couldn¡¯t be considered reproduction, as they used humans or ordinary zombies to create new Night Demons, resulting in a one-for-one output. It didn¡¯t increase the number of zombies. Chapter 632 - Chapter 632: Chapter 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_3 Chapter 632: Chapter 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_3 But it doesn¡¯t eliminate the possibility of zombies capable of reproduction, given the vast array of zombie types. If it¡¯s true, Wang Tao feels it would probably be like the incubation flesh in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. It¡¯s impossible to imagine zombies giving birth to children, after all, the organs in their bodies are all decayed, and they should no longer have the ability to reproduce¡­ The speed of flying a plane is much faster than driving, even a helicopter, not known for speed, can reach the city center in just a few minutes. Looking at the skyscrapers far away, Wang Tao immediately said to He Jijun, ¡°Keep away from the buildings, otherwise if we encounter Giant Zombies, there may be visual blind spots.¡± ¡°I understand!¡± He Jijun nodded. He didn¡¯t plan to enter the city from here. After all, the image of that Giant Zombie disguising itself as a building at night was still vivid in his mind. The helicopter circled around and entered the city from a place where the buildings were relatively low. And in the time it took to circle around, a massive number of zombies had already gathered below! Especially those Mad Demon Zombies, they were running and roaring chaotically below, looking extremely terrifying. If someone fell down at this moment, even Nie Siyan with her jump ability, would probably be torn to shreds instantly. However, as terrifying as the large gathering of zombies was, it actually made Wang Tao¡¯s search easier¡­ ¡°No Level 4 zombies, keep moving.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s target this time was the Level 4 Lord Zombies. Other than Level 4 zombies, even Level 3 Lords wouldn¡¯t get a second glance from him unless they provoked him. After all, they had already made such a commotion. If they wasted time with other zombies, it would be too time-consuming. Only Wang Tao could see HP bars and distinguish the levels of zombies. The others lacked this ability, so they were all observing their surroundings, wary of those two Giant Zombies. Today¡¯s luck was neither good nor bad, they had yet to encounter a Level 4 Lord Zombie, nor had they encountered any Giant Zombies. This made Wang Tao and his companions breathe a sigh of relief. Even though they were fully armed today with fierce firepower, if they really encountered a Giant Zombie, they would still have to flee¡­ ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°Did you find something?¡± Yang Changhong quickly asked. ¡°Not a Level 4 zombie, but I think I¡¯ve found a Night Demon¡¯s Nest!¡± Wang Tao spoke. His Plant Affinity Ability could sense that, in a building wrapped in plant roots ahead, there were many zombies lying motionless, much like Night Demons. Night Demons typically rest in their nests during the day. Everyone¡¯s expressions turned solemn upon hearing this. Their previous encounter in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest had left a deep impression. Afterward, they had analyzed the origin of that Level 4, Lord Night Demon. They all speculated that the nest might have housed two Lord Night Demons, one Level 3 and one Level 4! This would explain why the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, found them so quickly¡ªit might have been returning home, only to stumble upon the intruders¡­ Now that Wang Tao had discovered another Lord Zombie, it¡¯s possible that there was also a Level 4 Night Demon inside! Wang Tao instructed He Jijun to fly lower, nearly grazing the building as they passed. Then, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability instantly sensed the situation inside the building. ¡°Indeed, Night Demons!¡± Perception allowed him to ¡°see¡± more clearly, observing the poses and sizes of the Night Demons inside! When the helicopter flew by, those Night Demons were awakened. They were moving restlessly within the building, appearing somewhat agitated, but dared not come out. Wang Tao carefully sensed it and found that it was a smaller Night Demon¡¯s Nest compared to before, harboring roughly dozens of Level 3 Elite Night Demons, with no Level 3 Lords or Level 4 zombies. Theoretically, there should be a Lord in a Night Demon¡¯s Nest. If there wasn¡¯t one, it might have either died or gone out. Wang Tao thought the latter was more likely. There could occasionally be conflicts among zombies, but with the strength of Night Demons, they shouldn¡¯t be killed by other zombies. Wang Tao quietly took note of this location to check back later when possible. And just at that moment, a sense of alarm suddenly arose in Wang Tao¡¯s mind. He immediately yelled at He Jijun, ¡°Go now!¡± Without saying another word, He Jijun pulled the joystick, causing the helicopter to ascend sharply. About ten seconds after the helicopter left that building, a huge root-like object suddenly came around from behind the building, whipping at where the helicopter had just been. Fortunately, the helicopter had already left, and the tendril hit nothing. ¡°What the hell!¡± All the onlookers shivered at this scene. Had the helicopter been struck, wouldn¡¯t it have crashed directly to the ground! ¡°It¡¯s a Level 3 Plant Monster Lord, it was hiding on the other side of this building!¡± Wang Tao explained, then gestured, ¡°Let¡¯s go there!¡± Humming¡ª He Jijun circled around to the back of the building. Then they saw a giant tree, towering skyward from within the building! This tree was not the actual body of the Plant Monster; it had no HP bar, indicating it was not aggressive. The real body of the Plant Monster was one of the roots, hidden inside this giant tree. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability, they would have never noticed! ¡°Looking for death!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to waste time on zombies below Level 4, but that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t fight back when attacked. Wang Tao immediately activated his Iron Wall Ability and Precision Shooting appeared! Then he aimed at the root and pulled the trigger. ¡°Ratatat¡ª¡± Two parallel Heavy Machine Guns fired at the same time, the furious firepower instantly covering the root. [-1478] [-1578] [-1034] [¡­] This Plant Monster had quite high Defense, the Heavy Machine Gun only hit for a thousand HP. But it was too large to avoid the shots and was soon blasted to pieces. As they watched its corpse and the Loot Pack on it, Wang Tao asked He Jijun to get closer so he could pull the body over with Iron Tree Vines, gathering the loot. Then Wang Tao saw that a massive horde of Mad Demon Zombies was running over from afar, their numbers dark and dense like a tidal wave. ¡°A zombie horde¡­ Quick, leave!¡± Chapter 633 - Chapter 633: Chapter 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_1 Chapter 633: Chapter 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_1 The negative impact brought by the helicopter combined with the machine gun was even greater than Wang Tao had anticipated. He had only fired a few shots, but it had already triggered a zombie horde. And it wasn¡¯t just any horde, but one with a large number of Mad Demon Zombies! Mad Demon Zombies could climb walls. If a large number of Mad Demon Zombies climbed up to higher ground and jumped onto the helicopter, they might have actually been able to bring it down! He Jijun naturally noticed the horde as well and immediately controlled the helicopter to ascend, hurrying to leave the area. Thankfully, it was a helicopter that wasn¡¯t obstructed by terrain and could fly upwards. Otherwise, with a horde coming from all directions, there would have been no way to evade it. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± As the helicopter ascended, and the zombies on the ground appeared smaller and smaller, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The scene of the zombie horde just now was terrifying, something some people had never witnessed in their entire lives. However, flying so high was safe, it also made it impossible to see the zombies below clearly. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fleeing for his life but hunting Four-level zombies, so he had to fly lower. ¡°Let¡¯s go to another area first and descend after we¡¯re away from the horde,¡± He Jijun said. ¡°Okay!¡± The helicopter started flying towards another area. Meanwhile, Wang Tao checked his loot. The Level 3 Root Monster he had just killed brought him 22,000 Special Energy, a Crystal Core, and three Loot Packs. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Whip] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: When using non-whip weapons, damage is reduced)] [Whip: Passive Ability, damage is increased when using whip weapons] The Crystal Core from this plant monster was quite interesting. However, no one in Wang Tao¡¯s squad used whips, so it was probably not useful for them for the time being. Inside the first Loot Pack, the Crystal Core Gift Bag contained Crystal Cores Wang Tao had seen before. They were a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Photosynthesis], White [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Power], Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Nutrient Absorption], Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], and Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension]. The second Loot Pack contained plant essence fluid. [Obtained: Plant Essence Fluid x10,000] The last Loot Pack had a Blueprint inside. [Obtained: Steel Whip Blueprint x1] [Steel Whip Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Steel Whip, required materials: Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Steel Wire x10, Screws x10, Blades x10, Rubber x10, Wood Blocks x10] [Steel Whip: Attributes Unknown] A Blueprint for a whip weapon? And the crafting requirements were not high, needing just some common materials besides a Level 3 Crystal Core. Wang Tao, with nothing else to do, immediately took out a Level 3 Crystal Core to craft it. Moments later, a whip with a metallic sheen appeared in his hands. [Steel Whip] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Durability+40, Attack Power+40] With an increase of 40 in durability and attack power, it seemed decent enough. However, since no one among them was skilled with a whip, which might cause self-injury if used incorrectly, Wang Tao stored it away. Perhaps, he could trade it with other survivors in the future. After flying for a while and seeing no zombie horde below, He Jijun slowly lowered the altitude. As the helicopter descended, its noise quickly spread, many zombies on the streets looked up, and those in the buildings ran out. A few Mad Demon Zombies appeared, but they did not form a horde of the scale seen earlier. Seeing this, everyone breathed a temporary sigh of relief. Wang Tao immediately started scanning for zombies below. A moment later, he shook his head. ¡°There are none in this area¡­let¡¯s move to the next one.¡± He didn¡¯t spot any Four-level zombies. Unless they were hiding in buildings, but with the loud noise of the helicopter, Four-level zombies should have come out upon hearing it. So there probably were none here. But he wasn¡¯t disappointed. If Four-level zombies were everywhere, he would be fleeing for his life instead of hunting. Half an hour later. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if he should call his luck good or bad. His luck was good because he hadn¡¯t encountered any Giant Zombies for the past half-hour and hadn¡¯t triggered any large-scale zombie hordes, which was relatively safe. His luck was bad because he hadn¡¯t found any Four-level zombies until now. In fact, Wang Tao was beginning to wonder if in this urban area there was only the Night Demon and the two Giants, making just three Four-level zombies in total. And while he was harboring such doubts, he suddenly saw a large rock flying towards the helicopter! ¡°Fly left!¡± Wang Tao immediately yelled. He Jijun acted swiftly upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s shout, he pushed the control stick without hesitation. Even so, the stone still grazed the helicopter. Thud! Everyone felt the helicopter shake. Fortunately, the helicopter wasn¡¯t small and had some weight to it. The stone just grazed its exterior and didn¡¯t smash into it directly. Additionally, He Jijun, with his experienced maneuver, made a quick recovery, so the helicopter was largely unharmed. They quickly looked down and saw a tall and robust figure with a bomb disposal helmet and armor embedded into its flesh, and bulging muscles all around! ¡°Is that a¡­¡± ¡°Level 4, Lord Zombie! Goodness, I¡¯ve finally encountered one!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice carried a hint of excitement. [HP: 100,000/100,000] Chapter 634 - Chapter 634: Chapter 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_2 Chapter 634: Chapter 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_2 [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakened: Tenacity] [Tenacity: All basic attributes improved, with significant increases in Strength and Defense] This was not only a Level 4, Lord but a Level 4, Lord with a hundred thousand HP. Like the previous Night Demon Zombie, it was one of the weakest Level 4, Lords! The opportunity is right here! No need for words, just fight upon meeting! Even though this Explosion-proof Zombie could throw rocks that might even threaten the helicopter, doesn¡¯t everyone have a Ranged Attack! ¡°Prepare to attack! Old He, it¡¯s your show!¡± Wang Tao adjusted the angle of his machine gun and pulled the trigger at the Explosion-proof Zombie. Da-da-da¡ª In an instant, twin streams of fire hit the Explosion-proof Zombie, producing a clinking sound. [-293] [-38] [-312] [-22] [¡­] ¡°???¡± Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t quite believe it. The weapon in his hand was a 12.7 caliber Heavy Machine Gun! Such powerful bullets hitting the head of the Explosion-proof Zombie only caused three hundred damage, and hitting the body only a few dozen! What is this, titanium helmets and Explosion-proof shirts? And low damage aside, since Wang Tao was up high and had plenty of bullets. As long as He Jijun was skilled enough not to get hit by rocks, they would eventually kill it. But what Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect was that the Explosion-proof Zombie could regenerate HP! And its regeneration wasn¡¯t based on time; instead, the Zombie recovered HP every time Wang Tao shot it! [+100] [+100] [+100] [¡­] ¡°Regenerates HP when hit? Recovers 100 each time?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s bullets could only inflict 300 HP damage to it, and that was when hitting the head, yet the Zombie was immediately regaining 100! This Blood Regeneration was obviously not a Self-healing Ability, because Self-healing could be interrupted. Plus, Self-healing depended on per-second recovery. With sufficiently high Defense, Self-healing was no match for this unwavering regeneration of 100 HP upon getting hit! Wang Tao found that after shooting for a while, the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s HP fluctuated but hardly decreased! Especially once He Jijun had found his position and Jiang Shixue began firing as well, with two people operating four Heavy Machine Guns at the same time against the Explosion-proof Zombie. Da-da-da¡ª Da-da-da¡ª Consequently, Wang Tao watched somewhat baffled as the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s HP fully recovered! ¡°Stop, stop, stop!¡± Wang Tao hurriedly called for a stop. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, bro?¡± Jiang Shixue was somewhat puzzled. Wang Tao explained, ¡°We can¡¯t kill it like this! It has an ability to heal itself after getting hit! Don¡¯t join in for now, help me keep an eye on other areas, I¡¯ll handle this!¡± To kill this Explosion-proof Zombie, one must aim for the head! Hitting the head deals 300 HP damage, and then it regenerates 100, resulting in 200 HP damage. If you hit the body for a few dozen HP, it still regenerates 100 HP, so wouldn¡¯t that mean its HP just kept increasing as it got shot! Jiang Shixue did not have the Precision Shooting skill, so it was impossible for her to hit the head with every shot, leaving Wang Tao to take on the job. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue immediately stopped shooting. Meanwhile, the Explosion-proof Zombie from the nearby ruins picked up a chunk of stone and hurled it at the helicopter. They were caught off guard before because He Jijun didn¡¯t see it. Now that the Zombie was in plain sight, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be ambushed again. He Jijun immediately maneuvered the helicopter to dodge the large stone thrown by the Explosion-proof Zombie. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Explosion-proof Zombie on the ground roared in frustration as it saw the helicopter evade and pounded its chest while standing on a pile of rubble, as if to challenge the helicopter. Wang Tao took a deep breath, focusing solely on the grip of his Heavy Machine Gun. This time, he did not use two guns simultaneously but focused on using only one. He was no longer pursuing firepower density but precision. Aiming at the Explosion-proof Zombie, he pulled the trigger! Da, da, da¡­ [-344] [+100] [-335] [+100] [-381] [+100] [¡­] Wang Tao was now firing in rapid single shots. With the aid of Precision Shooting and without the Zombie intentionally dodging damage, each of Wang Tao¡¯s bullets hit its head! If he could keep landing headshots, it meant that he was only inflicting a little over 200 HP damage each time. Though it was little, as long as the Zombie didn¡¯t regenerate too much HP, he could grind it to death! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The attacked Explosion-proof Zombie picked up another stone, hurling it towards the helicopter. ¡°Old He, you good?¡± As Wang Tao continued firing, he called out to He Jijun. He wanted to shoot down the Explosion-proof Zombie, which meant they couldn¡¯t fly too high, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be accurate enough. Yet, the Zombie could throw stones that threatened the safety of the helicopter¡­ ¡°No problem! Just focus on your shooting; leave the rest to me!¡± He Jijun responded confidently. If it was an advanced missile or something similar, he definitely couldn¡¯t evade it. But a Zombie that threw stones, which he had spotted in its exact location? If he couldn¡¯t dodge that, then his title of Soldier King would have been for nothing! Reassured by He Jijun¡¯s words, Wang Tao focused on rapid-fire with the Heavy Machine Gun. But the noise here had already attracted many Zombies, and there seemed to be the beginning of another horde forming. Jiang Shixue gripped her Heavy Machine Gun again. ¡°Bro, I¡¯ll clear the other Zombies for you!¡± ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao responded. It couldn¡¯t be ruled out that other Zombies also had Ranged Attack capabilities, so he needed Jiang Shixue to help keep a lookout. Whirring¡ª Da, da, da¡ª Da-da-da¡ª Roar¡ª The sound of rotor blades, the rattling of Heavy Machine Guns, the growls of Zombies¡­ Various sounds were mixing together, causing Wang Tao to grow somewhat irritable. Chapter 635 - Chapter 635: Chapter 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_3 Chapter 635: Chapter 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_3 ¡°` However, fortunately, his willpower was not bad either, he forcibly blocked out these noises and concentrated on shooting headshots at the Explosion-proof Zombie. After one minute, the Explosion-proof Zombie had lost 20,000 HP and had 80,000 left! But by now, tens of thousands of zombies had gathered in the area! They all looked up at the helicopter with their murky eyes, howling and screaming. Yang Changhong and his companions felt their scalps tingle as they watched more and more zombies accumulate. They feared that this situation would surely attract a Giant Zombie, it was just a matter of when it would show up¡­ Another minute later, the Explosion-proof Zombie had lost 10,000 more HP, leaving it with only 70,000! And it was at this moment that Wang Tao noticed the helmet, which could withstand heavy machine gun fire, on the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s head had cracked. The helmet had already grown onto the Explosion-proof Zombie, and with the helmet cracked, blood-red muscles were exposed directly underneath. Wang Tao subconsciously fired another shot. Bang! [-632] [+100] The damage had increased! It doubled! Wang Tao was immediately overjoyed! Previously, accounting for the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s Blood Regeneration, Wang Tao¡¯s shots could only take away 200 HP, but now one shot could deal 500 HP! Roar¡ª¡ª After realizing its helmet had shattered, the Explosion-proof Zombie became even angrier. It began attacking indiscriminately, and many nearby zombies were smashed to bits by it. Wang Tao was naturally pleased to witness this scene, and he continued to focus his attacks on the Explosion-proof Zombie. Yet another minute passed. The Explosion-proof Zombie had lost another 50,000 HP to Wang Tao¡¯s gunfire, leaving it with only 20,000 HP! It had completely entered a Frenzy, its muscles became even more developed, and its speed increased. It threw rocks frantically at the helicopter while slaughtering the surrounding zombies. Wang Tao, from some distance away, was starting to have difficulty aiming. And at that moment. A series of muffled footsteps could be heard from afar. Thump, thump, thump¡ª¡ª Wang Tao immediately looked up. In the pouring rain, within the sea of zombies that was like a black tide, a massive figure appeared! Each step it took crushed multiple zombies beneath its feet! The Giant Zombie had arrived! ¡°Old He! Descend to within ten meters of the ground! Give me twenty seconds!¡± A fierce determination flashed in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. If this Level 4 Explosion-proof Zombie still had a lot of HP left, Wang Tao would have decisively given up. But now it only had 20,000 HP left, and its helmet was gone, Wang Tao had to seize this opportunity! ¡°Alright!¡± He Jijun didn¡¯t say anything unnecessary and immediately began to lower the helicopter. The closer the helicopter got to the ground, the more accurate Wang Tao¡¯s heavy machine gun fire became. But the danger also increased greatly. This was a test of He Jijun¡¯s piloting skills. Wang Tao stared intently at the Explosion-proof Zombie and, at a certain moment, he threw a Weakness Potion at the zombie, then immediately pulled the trigger. Ratatatat¡ª¡ªRatatatat¡ª¡ª Wang Tao began firing in a rhythmic burst, and the HP bar of the Explosion-proof Zombie plummeted rapidly. Meanwhile, the Giant Zombie was getting closer and closer to the helicopter! Sweat broke out on the foreheads of Yang Changhong and the others; they felt as if they could smell the stench from the Giant Zombie¡¯s mouth. At this time, the helicopter was only ten meters away from the Explosion-proof Zombie. A vast number of zombies began building a wall of bodies, like a colony of ants, growing taller and taller! Jiang Shixue and the others fired their guns wildly to hold back the zombies, while Wang Tao remained incredibly calm, pinpointing his last few bullets. Ratatatat¡ª¡ª [-845] [+100] [-743] [+100] [-223] ¡°` ¡°` [0/100000] The Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s HP dropped to zero! Its murky eyes widened as it stared at the helicopter, and ultimately, it collapsed to the ground with great reluctance. Whoosh¡ª A black tendril suddenly fell from the helicopter, instantly wrapping around the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s waist. Wang Tao gave a fierce tug, pulling the massive body of the Explosion-proof Zombie to the helicopter¡¯s door. The reason Wang Tao had He Jijun descend to within ten meters was that his Iron Tree Vines only extended ten meters. Any further and he wouldn¡¯t be able to reach. ¡°Old He, let¡¯s go!¡± Whirring¡ª Without needing Wang Tao¡¯s instructions, the moment He Jijun saw the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s body being hauled up, he immediately began the helicopter¡¯s ascent. But just three seconds after the helicopter began to rise, many zombies within the giant human wall jumped up at once, lunging towards the helicopter. Unfortunately, the helicopter had already taken off, and they couldn¡¯t reach it. The human wall collapsed with a thunderous crash. ¡°That was close!¡± Seeing the zombie human wall fail, Jiang Shixue patted her chest, feeling her heartbeat racing. Rumble¡ª At that moment, the helicopter suddenly made a sharp turn, catching everyone inside off-guard and sending them tumbling around. Had it not been for the seat belts, they would have all been thrown out. Everyone hastily looked out the window only to see a huge, rotting palm swipe past the side of the helicopter. The wind from the palm caused the helicopter to wobble. ¡°Giant Zombie!¡± ¡°Everyone, hold tight!¡± He Jijun skillfully maneuvered the helicopter, flying right through the Giant Zombie¡¯s arms! Wang Tao had already grabbed the spoils from the Explosion-proof Zombie. He secured the body in the storage area at the back of the helicopter. Then he picked up the heavy machine gun again, aiming at the Giant Zombie. ¡°I want to see just how strong you are!¡± Ratatat¡ª [-12] [-21] [-10] [-9] [¡­] [299923/300000] ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Retreat! Retreat quickly!¡± At this moment, there was activity both from the north and the south. Thud, thud, thud¡ª After seeing the figures from these two directions, Wang Tao let out a curse. ¡°Damn! Two more Giant Zombies!¡± One with 200,000 HP! And the other¡­ 400,000 HP! ¡°I just knew there would be more Giant Zombies in the city! The Giant Zombies seemed to move slowly, but with each step covering twenty to thirty meters, it wouldn¡¯t take long for them to get here, and one of the Giant Zombies even bent down to pick up a rock! However, as they were still at some distance from the helicopter, He Jijun remained calm, throwing a bunch of incendiary and smoke bombs to distract the Giant Zombies. Wang Tao also took the opportunity to throw out many Self-Destruct Bombs outside of the helicopter. Boom, boom, boom¡ª In a violent explosion with smoke, a camouflaged helicopter burst forth! A huge boulder nearly grazed the helicopter as it flew by; the helicopter shook slightly but quickly stabilized and sped away from the area, leaving only roars in the smoke. ¡°` Chapter 636 - Chapter 636: Chapter 263 Anomalous Equipment_1 Chapter 636: Chapter 263 Anomalous Equipment_1 ¡°Are we safe now?¡± ¡°We¡¯re safe.¡± Inside the helicopter. When Wang Tao said they were safe, several people all let out a long sigh of relief. Though the helicopter could fly, those giants were dozens of meters tall and could throw rocks, which was very dangerous for the helicopter. If it hadn¡¯t been for He Jijun¡¯s excellent piloting skills, the helicopter might have actually been brought down by a giant zombie! To avoid leading the giant zombies to the base, He Jijun deliberately flew in other directions. Fortunately, the helicopter¡¯s fuel tank was large; otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible to fly for so long. But during the escape from the urban area, Wang Tao had the feeling of being watched. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was by the giant zombies, but the feeling persisted. So he kept his guard up and told He Jijun to keep flying. Half an hour later, that feeling of being spied on finally disappeared. For safety, Wang Tao had He Jijun continue to fly until now. Wang Tao actually wanted to fly a little longer, but they were running out of fuel. ¡°Let¡¯s head back, but let¡¯s take a different route.¡± The helicopter circled around once more, barely making it back to the military base before running out of fuel. Before landing, Wang Tao checked to make sure there were no problems with the military base, then allowed He Jijun to land. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Yang Changhong and the others staggered off the helicopter. He Jijun¡¯s piloting skills were high, but after all, this was a military transport helicopter with no comfort to speak of. Plus, they had to dodge danger, so there was practically no pleasant traveling experience; they were almost nauseated. Even Lightning, who was always spirited, seemed listless. It was only after Wang Tao stroked its head that it regained some spirit. Wang Tao was still alright, though he felt slightly uncomfortable. The one in the best mental state was He Jijun; he seemed unfazed and even drove the helicopter to the hangar. Once at the command center hall, Wang Tao took out various foods. Everyone started eating without much concern for image, even though they had already replenished some energy on the plane. But they were still hungry. ¡°Let¡¯s summarize the battle process¡­¡± Wang Tao clapped his hands. After eating a lot, the others¡¯ spirits had revived substantially, and they immediately started discussing. By the outcome, this operation was naturally a success. They had killed Level 4 zombies and hadn¡¯t lost any personnel. It was a great victory. But from the process, there were too many dangers! If it hadn¡¯t been for their quick reactions, good skills, and a bit of luck, it¡¯s hard to say what the result would have been. And the reason for all this was the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s extremely strong defense and its ridiculous blood regeneration ability. They had originally prepared four heavy machine guns, but only one of them really inflicted damage on the Explosion-proof Zombie. This disrupted Wang Tao¡¯s initial plan and severely affected their efficiency. If the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s defense had been weaker and it didn¡¯t have the blood regeneration ability, then the four heavy machine guns firing at the same time should have resolved it quickly. The power of the heavy machine guns was actually quite large¡ªordinary zombies could be torn in half by a single bullet. Even Elite Zombies couldn¡¯t withstand a few bullets. But unfortunately, they encountered a Level 4 zombie with freakish defense! Wang Tao felt that Level 4 might be a watershed¡ªdealing with zombies below Level 4 with firearms was basically no problem. But after Level 4, it might start getting difficult. Especially in the end, when Wang Tao fired a few shots at the Giant Zombie with the heavy machine gun. That damage, around a dozen points per shot, was probably comparable to giving it a massage¡­ ¡°It¡¯s an unjust battle liability; we were just unlucky to encounter a zombie with strong defense¡­¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t gone into details about the Explosion-proof Zombie before, but now he briefly shared the information about this zombie. ¡°So it¡¯s a zombie that¡¯s very good at defense and can also heal its own injuries¡­¡± Everyone suddenly understood. No wonder the Explosion-proof Zombie was so hard to kill! After Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, everyone suddenly felt eager to try again. Since they had managed to deal with that extremely defensively abnormal Explosion-proof Zombie, defeating other Level 4 zombies should be no problem! If they went again next time, maybe they could quickly resolve the other Level 4 zombies! ¡°No matter what, we have had a great victory this time. And I¡¯ve got another Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core¡­¡± Hearing that Wang Tao had obtained another Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. If they had been busy for so long without even getting a Crystal Core, that would have been frustrating. ¡°Alright, everyone go get some good rest! Prepare for the next sortie!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone went to their rooms to rest. Today they hadn¡¯t expended much physical strength, but they had drained a lot mentally and needed a good rest. Wang Tao went back to his room to check over the spoils of war. He had a brief look on the helicopter, and it was clear that a Level 4, Lord zombie was extraordinary. Like the Level 4, Lord Night Demon he killed before, the spoils were very rich! The Explosion-proof Zombie provided 25,000 Special Energy and 1 Awakening Key. Wang Tao now had two Awakening Keys! But looking at this Awakening Key, Wang Tao suddenly had a bad feeling¡­ He had thought that Awakening would consume a key, but now he wondered if perhaps Awakening might involve more than just using a key? Otherwise, if one key led to Awakening, what use would subsequent keys be? Chapter 637 - Chapter 637: Chapter 263 Anomalous Equipment_2 Chapter 637: Chapter 263 Anomalous Equipment_2 ¡°` However, exactly how that would work, he¡¯d have to wait until the awakening to find out¡­ Wang Tao looked towards the other loot. The explosion-proof zombie itself had dropped three items, and there were also four loot packs. The three items were the crystal core from its head, the explosion-proof armor on its body, and a baton at its waist. [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Defense] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: body oozing pus)] No wonder the explosion-proof zombie¡¯s defense was so high¡ªit turned out it had a passive crystal core for defense. [Received: Contaminated Explosion-proof Shirt x1] The explosion-proof armor that the zombie wore seemed somewhat surprising to Wang Tao since it bore a name, though equipment dropped directly from zombies had no attributes and hence Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if this explosion-proof shirt was strong or not, but its defensive power should be decent; he could experiment with it later. The design of this explosion-proof shirt was a bit much to handle¡ªit wasn¡¯t just clothing; there were bits of hardened flesh and blood on it. If he were to wear it, others might mistake him for a zombie¡­ [Received: Contaminated Baton x1] The explosion-proof zombie did not utilize the baton during combat; for its size, holding a baton was probably akin to holding a toothpick. This baton was different from a normal one, too; it had fused with its flesh and mutated. It was called a baton, but its shape was that of a stick made of flesh and blood, which looked quite discomforting. Then there were the four loot packs. The first pack contained five crystal cores: a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength], and a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Return to Light]. As there was an ascension crystal core of epic quality, this was quite good for Wang Tao. With this one, he now had three ascension crystal cores! And another awakening crystal core, also red! Among these crystal cores, it was only [Return to Light] that Wang Tao had never come across before. [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Return to Light] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: irritability)] [Return to Light: Passive Ability, regenerates HP when HP is lost. The healing is fixed at 10 HP for level 1 up to 100 HP for level 10, with a cap at level 10.] That was the ability the explosion-proof zombie had to recover HP when hit! Wang Tao suddenly became a bit excited¡ªthis ability was, to some extent, miraculous! However, as he continued reading the description, he found himself at a loss for words, realizing he had celebrated too soon. This blood regenerating ability first required taking hits, and the recovery was fixed. At most, it could only restore up to 100 HP. For those with high defense, it would certainly be fitting¡ªthey take hundreds of damage and can heal a hundred. But for most people, it might not be so appropriate. If one¡¯s defense was low and they were hit for three thousand, only recovering a hundred would be kind of pointless¡­ Still, overall, this ability was quite good¡ªbecause it has one huge advantage: it¡¯s a passive ability that doesn¡¯t require stamina. If he could gather three of them later on, Wang Tao might consider fusing them. The second loot pack from the explosion-proof zombie contained potions. [Received: Power Potion (Small) x20] [Received: Power Potion (Medium) x20] [Received: Berserk Potion x20] [Received: Hemostatic Drug x20] Though there was no potion to permanently increase attributes, the variety of four potions was still quite good. The third loot pack contained clothes. [Received: Explosion-Proof Suit x1] [Explosion-Proof Suit: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10, Defensive Power +5, Movement Speed -5%] The explosion-proof zombie had exploded out of this set of clothes, which included a helmet, jacket, pants, shoes, gloves, and more¡ªa very complete set. But this was a standard set, not one of those mutated garments. In addition to the standard durability and tear resistance, it provided a boost of 5 points to defensive power but also reduced movement speed by 5%. For Wang Tao, movement speed was clearly more valuable than this slight defensive boost, so it was quite useless to him. As for others, they might be able to wear it, but they all had iron tree armor given by Wang Tao which couldn¡¯t be worn over this set of clothes. So, it was of no use to anyone¡­ The last loot pack contained equipment blueprints, and there were two of them! [Received: Mutant Explosion-proof Baton Blueprint x1] [Received: Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield Blueprint x1] These were respectively a baton and a shield blueprint. [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Mutant Explosion-proof Baton. Required materials: Baton x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Screws x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10, Cable x10, Electronic Components x10, Batteries x10] [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton: Has electrocution properties] [Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield. Required materials: Level Four Zombie Bones 10kg, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Screws x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10, Cable x10, Electronic Components x10, Batteries x10] [Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield: Has electrocution properties] The descriptions of these two blueprints made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes shine. The baton and shield were actually electrified! Without a second thought, Wang Tao began crafting. After killing the explosion-proof zombie, when he was collecting the loot, he had specifically brought the zombie¡¯s body with him. Based on Wang Tao¡¯s previous experience, some equipment blueprints required zombie bones. After all, this was a level four zombie, and if he indeed needed the bones and didn¡¯t have any, they would be hard to come by. ¡°` Chapter 638 - Chapter 638: Chapter 263 Anomalous Equipment_3 Chapter 638: Chapter 263 Anomalous Equipment_3 Now, making this explosion-proof shield really came into use! The baton was easy to craft since the infected baton dropped by the explosion-proof zombie was useless, and it could be used directly for crafting. As for the level 4 crystal cores, Wang Tao thought it over and chose one with [Defensive Power] and [Strength]. Wang Tao had already fused with both these crystal cores, so they were of no use to him personally. After gathering all the materials, Wang Tao began to craft. Shortly after, two items appeared before Wang Tao. The ¡°Mutant Explosion-proof Baton¡± differed in appearance from an ordinary baton, being black and red with vein-like patterns that made it look less like a proper weapon. But appearances didn¡¯t matter, what was important were the attributes. [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton] [Level Four (Excellent)] [Durability +80, Attack Power +60, comes with Electric Shock Effect (Electric Shock Effect requires Awakening Energy)] The attributes were interesting. The durability was 10 points higher than his previous level 4 equipment, although the attack power was slightly weaker. However, that was understandable, since it was, after all, a baton, so it was normal for its lethality to be weaker. But the electric shock effect requiring Awakening Energy to be used? This left Wang Tao somewhat speechless, as he didn¡¯t have Awakening Energy and could only use it as an ordinary baton. But did this mean that the electric capability must be quite strong? After all, it consumed Awakening Energy, so it should be more than just a regular stun baton, right? Wang Tao turned his attention to the shield. This shield¡¯s appearance also greatly differed from that of ordinary shields, being a square shield primarily black in color but decorated with many white bones, giving it a somewhat fierce aspect. Its attributes, however, were the highest Wang Tao had ever seen on equipment. [Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield] [Level Four (Excellent)] [Durability +100, Defensive Power +100, comes with Electric Shock Effect (Electric Shock Effect requires Awakening Energy)] Both durability and defensive power were increased by 100, which Wang Tao had never seen before in equipment. However, since it was a shield, it made sense. As for the electric shock effect, it also required Awakening Energy to be used. This made Wang Tao quite frustrated, as a person with strong curiosity, having equipment but not being able to use it was quite annoying. ¡°Level Four! Awakening!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fist. The Awakening was becoming more and more attractive to him! Now, he was just one Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core and one attack type ability short. Of course, he could do without the attack type ability, but since he had the opportunity to fuse with other abilities, he couldn¡¯t let it go to waste. Wang Tao wondered whether he should first promote his other three abilities to Level Four¡­ He could actually fuse a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core now, promoting his three already +10 abilities to Level 4. Level 4 abilities would undoubtedly be much stronger than Level 3 abilities, greatly increasing his strength. But he hesitated because his Special Energy only allowed him to extract and synthesize Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 abilities. There was no option for Level 4 abilities. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know whether ascending to Level 4 would grant him the ability to extract and synthesize Level 4 abilities. As of now, he couldn¡¯t. This meant that if he promoted his abilities to Level 4, he wouldn¡¯t be able to extract and synthesize anymore. If he encountered special circumstances where he needed to fuse other crystal cores, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use them. Thus, he hesitated¡­ ¡°Forget it, no rush to fuse the Ascension Crystal Core. After all, our main reliance on hunting Level Four zombies is still on thermal weapons¡­¡± In the end, Wang Tao decided not to fuse just yet. After all, they were currently using thermal weapons, and a minor increase in strength wouldn¡¯t change the overall situation. Even if he promoted his abilities to Level Four, his overall strength would still be far inferior to that of Level Four zombies, because he lacked an Awakening¡­ The next day. Everyone assembled in the hall. Because of the helicopter¡¯s activity yesterday, more zombies had gathered around the base, and Wang Tao called everyone to clear them out. They were too few in number, and an excessive accumulation of zombies around the base could lead to unforeseen complications. Hence, whenever zombies gathered, Wang Tao would lead a team to clear them out. Soon, two military vehicles took everyone away from the military base. With the number of zombies outside being significant, Wang Tao divided them into two teams to proceed separately. After spending the whole day, they finally cleared all the zombies surrounding the base. Wang Tao unexpectedly received two pieces of good news. The first piece of good news was that his special vine had split! [Level 3 Weapon: Iron Tree Vine] [HP: 10,000/10,000 (upper limit 100,000)] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancement: Splitting (2), Independent Attack] [Compatibility: 100%] His Iron Tree Vine had to split before it could be nurtured; previously there had only been one vine, so it always had 10,000 HP. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what would cause it to split, suspecting maybe it was related to time. Today, the Iron Tree Vine succeeded in splitting! It became two vines, each with 10,000 HP! Without a second thought, Wang Tao took out a crystal core to start nurturing. Moments later, the upper limit of the vine¡¯s HP increased to 20,000, creating two vines both with 20,000 HP. Although the HP was still not high, it wouldn¡¯t be as easy to cut as before, right? Furthermore, not only had the HP increased, but the length had also grown. Previously at 10,000 HP, the vine¡¯s length was ten meters. Now, with 20,000 HP, the length of both vines reached twenty meters! The increase in the length of the Iron Tree Vine was a significant boost for Wang Tao, who was relying on it to pull zombie corpses up to the helicopter! The length of twenty meters, now having two of them, greatly increased Wang Tao¡¯s margin for error! The second piece of good news was that Wang Tao finally obtained another active attack type crystal core! And while clearing the surrounding zombies, they also collected many Omnipotent Crystal Cores. That meant he could make all four abilities +10, and then integrate the Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! Chapter 639 - Chapter 639: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_1 Chapter 639: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_1 This active attack-type crystal core is called ¡°Instant Strike,¡± and Yang Changhong and his team encountered a group of Level 3 Elite Zombies, and after killing them, this type of crystal core emerged. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¡¤ Instant Strike] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Reduced attack power)] [Instant Strike: Consumes energy for an instant attack. There is a certain interval between attacks.] This ability is quite interesting. According to what Yang Changhong said, the group of zombies all wielded sticks, machetes, and other cold weapons. As soon as you get into close combat with them, you¡¯re bound to be attacked first! It¡¯s difficult to see how their attacks are delivered because they¡¯re too fast. But the damage isn¡¯t very high¡ªat least not fatally threatening to those wearing Iron Tree Armors. Wang Tao, after seeing the specific attributes of this crystal core, roughly understood that the attack was purely fast. Of course, speed is also a symbol of attack power in itself; the simplest example is a bullet. Yet, the side effect of this crystal core is to reduce attack power¡­ So this is why Yang Changhong and his team felt that the enemy¡¯s attacks were fast, but not very powerful. Of course, this was not a problem for Wang Tao. He used three Instant Strike crystal cores to synthesize an Epic one, then he extracted another ability from it and fused them. Moments later, Wang Tao successfully fused ¡°Instant Strike.¡± After experimenting, he found that without the side effects, the power of Instant Strike was indeed significant, almost on par with high-frequency vibration. However, high-frequency vibration had no interval between attacks¡ªhe could use it any time as long as he had the energy. Instant Strike, however, had an interval of about ten or more seconds. But for Wang Tao, this was already enough. The feature of Instant Strike was not the damage, but the immediate attack that made it impossible for the enemy to defend against. Wang Tao felt it was very suitable for sneak attacks. If there was a drawback, it would probably be that the attack range was rather short. Wang Tao reviewed his abilities. Instant Strike and Mastery Fusion indeed could be combined, with over ninety percent probability. Wang Tao went ahead and fused them. Shortly after, a new Mastery Fusion ability appeared, with the same name but an additional term. [Level 3 Grade 1 ¡¤ Mastery Fusion] [Mastery Fusion: Consumes energy to use abilities such as Instant Strike, Continuous Slash, Air Bullet, high-frequency vibration, Shockwave, Indirect Attack, and Energize One Hit.] Wang Tao immediately began fusing with Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Cores. His Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Core was already nearly depleted, and the drop rate for Omnipotent Cores was not high. However, they had eliminated a large number of zombies, many of which were Level 3 Elites, so he had managed to gather a few Omnipotent Cores, marginally sufficient for his needs. After some time, Wang Tao¡¯s Mastery Fusion ability also successfully reached +10. At this point, all four of his abilities were at Level 3 +10! Now, all he lacked was a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! ¡­ Wang Tao and his group rested for three days at the base, gathering their strength. The rain had lessened a bit that day. With ample preparations, Wang Tao and his group set off in a helicopter towards the Wuyang City urban area, led by He Jijun. With the experience from before, He Jijun flew the helicopter high right from the start, traveling at a high altitude. Though the strategy couldn¡¯t make the noise disappear, it spread out and lessened it somewhat, preventing zombies from quickly gathering below them. Of course, as long as the helicopter kept moving, it wouldn¡¯t be an issue. Otherwise, if they stayed in one place for too long, they could still attract many zombies. They had barely approached the urban area when Wang Tao cursed under his breath. ¡°Damn it!¡± Because from the helicopter he could clearly see the giant figure at the edge of the city! ¡°Giant Zombie!¡± Everyone¡¯s faces looked a bit grim. Since the Giant Zombie was here, naturally they couldn¡¯t pass by this area. Even though Giant Zombies were definitely slower than the helicopter, if one giant palm slapped them down, they would be in dire straits. There was no need to take that risk. So He Jijun began to take a detour. But just as they barely skirted around that Giant Zombie, another one appeared in the distance! Everyone was somewhat stunned. What¡¯s with these several Giant Zombies, why have they moved to the outskirts of the urban area? Could it be¡­ they specifically came to block us? ¡°How so?¡± Yang Changhong asked with concern. ¡°This Giant Zombie, it¡¯s not one of those three we encountered before.¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was taken aback. ¡°Do you mean there are other Giant Zombies?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± The appearance of these Giant Zombies was pretty similar and hard to distinguish. The three Giant Zombies Wang Tao had seen before had HP levels of 200,000, 300,000, and 400,000. Yet this Giant Zombie had 350,000 HP, and the one they had just circumvented was 300,000 HP. Clearly, this must be another new Giant Zombie! How many Giant Zombies could there be inside Wuyang City urban area?! Suddenly, Wang Tao felt an urge to leave the military base right away. After all, the presence of so many Giant Zombies close to the base made it hard to rest easy! After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s firm statement, everyone fell silent for a moment. Four Giant Zombies¡ªa number that embodied despair and there could still be more than four¡­ As if to prove their thoughts, after He Jijun had detoured around this Giant Zombie from a long distance, yet another Giant Zombie appeared in the distance! ¡°Have the Giant Zombies in the Wuyang City urban area all run to the outskirts? Could it be¡­ they specifically came to trap us?¡± Nie Siyan suddenly said. The idea was a bit far-fetched; could the zombies remember them? And even set up an ambush specifically for them? Could they really be that smart? Chapter 640 - Chapter 640: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_2 Chapter 640: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_2 ¡°` But considering the current situation, it seems that it¡¯s not impossible! ¡°Let¡¯s check other places, if there really are many giant zombies in Wuyang City, and they are all on the outskirts¡­ then we can only head back.¡± Wang Tao shook his head helplessly. He Jijun piloted the helicopter, continuing to detour. Then, Wang Tao spotted the fifth, the sixth¡­ the tenth giant zombie! Everyone else also became utterly helpless. No matter whether these giant zombies were lying in wait or not, they couldn¡¯t get into the city. And everyone was worried that if these giant zombies discovered the location of the military base, they might be able to trample it flat¡­ ¡°What do you think, Wang Tao?¡± He Jijun looked at Wang Tao. Although they hadn¡¯t been discovered by the giant zombies and hadn¡¯t caused a zombie tide, because they had taken such a long detour, there wasn¡¯t much fuel left in the helicopter. At most, they could keep searching for another half-hour. Once half an hour was up, whether they made it into the city or not, they would have to leave. They needed to save enough fuel for the helicopter, to maintain a margin for error. ¡°Keep going! I just don¡¯t believe it! Anyway, Old He, you watch the time; when it¡¯s time, just leave!¡± Wang Tao said, clenching his fist. ¡°Alright!¡± The helicopter once again changed direction from afar, heading towards another area. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s going on over there?¡± After flying for a while, they finally encountered an area free of giant zombies. Before Wang Tao and his companions could feel relieved, they noticed a cluster of houses on fire. It was raining, yet the fire didn¡¯t die down, instead, it grew even more intense! ¡°That seems to be a warehouse?¡± Yang Changhong said uncertainly, as the helicopter flew quite high and she couldn¡¯t see clearly even with binoculars. Wang Tao asked He Jijun to lower the altitude a bit. There were no giant zombies in this area, so it should be safe. Whirr¡ª As the helicopter descended, the loud noise gradually spread downwards, and many zombies on the ground began to look up into the sky. Wang Tao and his companions finally got a clear view of the scene of the fire. It seemed to be a warehouse-like place, with many standardized low-rise buildings burning fiercely. The flames surged, bellowing smoke billowed. Wang Tao felt it couldn¡¯t have caught fire without reason, especially since it was raining, and it wasn¡¯t extremely hot and dry weather that might cause spontaneous combustion. ¡°Could there be survivors?¡± Wang Tao wondered. If it wasn¡¯t spontaneous combustion, then it must be man-made. Zombies couldn¡¯t possibly start a fire, right? So most likely it was survivors! If there really were survivors in Wuyang City, then Wang Tao definitely wanted to meet them. Surviving in such an environment was something even he thought he couldn¡¯t achieve. At the mention of survivors, Yang Changhong suddenly grew excited. The reason she came to Wuyang City was to find her sister. But unfortunately, after they entered Wuyang City, they only found one living person, He Jijun, and no other survivors. Although she didn¡¯t want to believe it, Yang Changhong knew that her sister was most likely out of luck. Now suddenly discovering a possible Ability User, Yang Changhong grew excited! What if there was news of her sister! But soon, Yang Changhong became disappointed. As the helicopter descended, she clearly saw there were no zombies or human figures inside the burning warehouse. There were many zombies outside the warehouse, but they weren¡¯t surrounding it¡ªif there were people inside, the zombies wouldn¡¯t be so calm. And as the noise from their helicopter grew louder, wouldn¡¯t any survivors come out to look if there were any? After all, it was a military helicopter, a symbol of the military¡­ Wang Tao was also disappointed; he hadn¡¯t seen any human traces. Unless someone had intentionally hidden away, but the area was fairly flat and open. With a fire raging, there were not many places to hide. ¡°It seems there are no survivors left. Or maybe the survivors have already left¡ªhuh?¡± Wang Tao cut himself off abruptly. He quickly rubbed his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yang Changhong asked. ¡°There seems to be something in the sea of fire¡­ Holy shit! A Level 4, Lord!¡± Wang Tao pointed somewhat dazedly at a spot in the midst of the inferno. Yang Changhong and the others followed Wang Tao¡¯s gaze and indeed noticed something amiss. In the raging sea of fire, there was a shadow with flames burning all over its body! Judging by its figure, it was shaped like a tall human. However, its facial features were indistinct, perhaps it didn¡¯t have any at all! This flame-like shadow was in a hazy state, causing all to doubt if they were seeing things or mistaking the flames for a person. But it truly was different from the surrounding flames and quite resembled a¡­ person! ¡°What is that thing?!¡± Everyone was amazed at the sight. When Wang Tao had been observing the scene, he subconsciously ignored the sea of fire. After all, humans couldn¡¯t be in the flames. Zombies, though not able to retain fire on their bodies for long due to the flame-retardant effect of their blood, didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t afraid of fire. They were carbon-based life forms; how could they not fear fire? But this being was indeed in the middle of the sea of flames, and it seemed to be an energy body composed of flames! However, when Wang Tao saw its specific attributes, he suddenly understood. It was a monster! [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 120000/120000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Blazing Flame] [Blazing Flame: Body Burning Flame] ¡°` Chapter 641 - Chapter 641: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_3 Chapter 641: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_3 ¡°` This monster¡¯s awakening ability is to ignite itself? So, it¡¯s not only not afraid of fire, but this sea of flames might have been caused by it! But¡­ whether you spew fire or water, as long as you¡¯re a four-level zombie, then you are my prey, Wang Tao! Wang Tao immediately aimed the heavy machine gun at the flame monster. ¡°Attack!¡± He gave everyone a heads-up and then instantly pulled the trigger. Da da da¡ª Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands were already on the machine gun, and after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s command, she also instantly pulled the trigger. Four heavy machine guns opened fire at once, and four tongues of flame flew towards the flame monster. However¡ª [-1] [-1] [-1] [¡­] Watching that string of ¡°-1¡ås, Wang Tao was a bit stunned. No way, does this flame monster have higher defensive power than the giant zombie? Even when he used the heavy machine gun on the giant zombie, he could take off more than ten points of HP! Disbelieving, he fired again, aiming at the zombie¡¯s head. But the result was still the same! [-1] [-1] [-1] [¡­] ¡°Something¡¯s off!¡± Wang Tao felt that something was very wrong, even if the defensive power of this flame monster was high, it couldn¡¯t possibly only take one point of damage, right? Even two or three points would be fine! ¡°Bro, there seems to be something off about the flames on its body?¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. Although she couldn¡¯t see the HP bar, she could see that the bullets hitting the zombie seemed to be ineffective. Wang Tao also felt that the flames on its body were strange, and now hearing Jiang Shixue express the same thought, Wang Tao became even more certain of his judgment. ¡°Old He, lower the altitude a bit!¡± Wang Tao shouted. He Jijun immediately let the helicopter descend somewhat. There weren¡¯t any tall buildings in this area, so there were no blind spots in vision, which was quite open. If any giant zombies came, they could spot them immediately, allowing them to be a bit more daring. As the helicopter descended, Wang Tao got a clearer view of the flame monster. He saw that when he pulled the trigger and the bullets flew towards the flame monster, the bullets didn¡¯t land directly on the zombie¡¯s body but were blocked by the flames around it! ¡°Damn it! What kind of ability is this!¡± Wang Tao shared this discovery with everyone, and they were all dumbfounded. Flames that could block bullets? The others, somewhat skeptical, gave it another try, but it was no use; whether it was heavy machine gun bullets or rifle bullets, they were blocked upon hitting the flame monster and then slowly fell to the ground! ¡°I thought the explosion-proof zombie we met before had high defense, but this one is even tougher¡­¡± Yang Changhong said with a wry smile. If the heavy machine guns couldn¡¯t take down the flame monster, how were they supposed to win? Wang Tao stopped firing, and seeing Wang Tao stop, Jiang Shixue stopped as well. Then Wang Tao saw that the little bit of HP they had knocked off the flame monster instantly recovered! ¡°It has a self-healing power too¡­¡± ¡°` Wang Tao could only feel fortunate that this Flame Monster seemed to lack long-range attack abilities. As long as it couldn¡¯t attack the helicopter, Wang Tao would be standing on invincible ground. Wang Tao tried other attacks as well, such as throwing Surgical Knives and steel bars. But no matter what attack struck the Flame Monster, it all resulted in not a bit of damage. Moreover, any small damage it did take would immediately be restored. Everyone felt a bit helpless, with such a degree of defense, it was impossible to kill it! The zombies below were gathering in greater numbers, and if no solution was found soon, they would have to retreat. After all, Giant Zombies didn¡¯t just take hits without fighting back like this Flame Monster did. At this moment, Wang Tao got behind the Heavy Machine Gun again and fired a shot at the Flame Monster. However, this bullet wasn¡¯t ordinary, it was an Air Bullet. Bang! [-1593] ¡°It¡¯s effective!¡± Wang Tao had suddenly thought, if ordinary bullets were useless, what about Air Bullets? He had used Air Bullets before when attacking Explosion-proof Zombies. But as their power was a bit less than that of the Heavy Machine Gun bullets, Wang Tao had forsaken them. Now, suddenly remembering them, he gave it a try. And it really was effective! ¡°What¡¯s the principle behind this? How come a non-physical attack can actually do damage?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand the principle, but since it was effective, he wouldn¡¯t hold back! Ratatat¡ª Wang Tao pulled the trigger once more. He could almost be certain that this Flame Monster possessed a Self-healing power. Because when Wang Tao attacked it, its HP didn¡¯t regenerate. As soon as he stopped attacking, its HP would start to regenerate. Self-healing powers could be interrupted. So this was likely Self-healing. As long as Wang Tao kept on attacking, it wouldn¡¯t be able to use its Self-healing! Wang Tao could use an Air Bullet every ten seconds, ten times a minute, and with each dealing one thousand five hundred damage, that was nine thousand in a minute! As long as it didn¡¯t regenerate, in just over ten minutes, he could kill it! But could they hold out for ten minutes? The truth told Wang Tao, they could not. Because a Giant Zombie was approaching from the distance! Seeing this Giant Zombie, everyone tensed up a bit. But no one urged Wang Tao. The Flame Monster seemed a bit interested in the helicopter; it walked out of the sea of flames, but the fire on its body still did not go out. Seeing this, Wang Tao commanded directly: ¡°Old He, lower a bit more!¡± Whirr whirr¡ª He Jijun, without a word, continued to lower the helicopter. He only stopped when it reached about ten meters above the Flame Monster. Wang Tao took out a Bone Knife and slashed at the Flame Monster through the air, sending a Shockwave hurtling towards it. If the Air Bullet could harm it, what about the Shockwave? [-1283] ¡°Exactly!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s guess was right, such a non-physical attack could indeed harm it! So, Wang Tao clenched his teeth. ¡°Old He, can you guys lure away the Giant Zombie?¡± ¡°I can. What are you going to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to¡­ go down!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath, then turned to Yang Changhong, Jiang Shixue, and the others: ¡°I¡¯ll go down by myself, I can harm it! Please lure away the Giant Zombie for me. I¡¯m counting on you!¡± Having said that, Wang Tao jumped directly from the helicopter! At the same time, the Entangled Iron Tree Roots on Wang Tao¡¯s wrist began to wriggle rapidly. Before he landed, Wang Tao had transformed into a ¡°Plant Monster.¡± Thud¡ª After Wang Tao had killed an Iron Tree Monster, the ¡°Entangled Roots¡± had devoured its corpse, evolving itself and becoming ¡°Entangled Iron Tree Roots.¡± And it had gained an additional ability¡ªFire Resistance. Chapter 642 - Chapter 642: Chapter 265 - A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_1 Chapter 642: Chapter 265 ¨C A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_1 ¡°` Time was running short, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t bother to explain much. After saying a word to his teammates, he directly jumped out of the plane. ¡°Good!¡± He Jijun responded and then said to the others: ¡°Hold tight, I¡¯m going to give you guys a thrilling ride!¡± Buzzing¡ª He Jijun controlled the helicopter to turn on the spot, then headed straight for the Giant Zombie! On the ground, Wang Tao shifted his gaze. He looked toward the Flame Monster not far away. Having just emerged from the sea of fire, Wang Tao could now clearly see that it indeed had a humanoid shape, very tall, but obviously, it wasn¡¯t human. Wang Tao felt that this Flame Monster seemed to lack any offensive abilities, and coupled with his own fire resistance, he dared to face it alone. Of course, if he misjudged, Wang Tao would immediately call He Jijun to retreat. He was risking it all; after all, he was just one Ascension Crystal Core away, and now that there was a rare opportunity to kill a Level 4 Lord, he couldn¡¯t give up. It¡¯s just a pity that it was daytime and he couldn¡¯t use the Night Demon Type 1¡­ Wang Tao gripped his Bone Knife and unleashed a shockwave at the Flame Monster. [-1134] Suddenly, after being attacked, the Flame Monster began running toward Wang Tao. [-11] [-12] [-14] [¡­] As the Flame Monster approached, numbers appeared above Wang Tao¡¯s head indicating HP loss. The flames on the Flame Monster¡¯s body weren¡¯t fake; they had a burning effect! But Wang Tao was fully covered by Entangled Iron Tree Roots which provided fire resistance, so he didn¡¯t lose much HP. In fact, he didn¡¯t even feel that hot. Previously, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have much of an idea about the fire resistance ability of Entangling Roots, since he hadn¡¯t had the chance to use it. But now, he roughly understood. The Flame Monster was fast but not as swift as the Level 4 Night Demon from before. Wang Tao could clearly see its trajectory and, once again, swung his knife at it, using high-frequency vibration instinctively this time. Bang! [-1] Wang Tao felt as if he had struck a rock. ¡°It has a physical body?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He¡¯d thought that this Flame Monster might be an entity of pure energy or something, hence impervious to ordinary physical attacks. But Wang Tao now realized, it wasn¡¯t as he thought; the Flame Monster did have a physical body! After being hit by Wang Tao¡¯s knife, the Flame Monster humanly turned its head to look at his knife, then suddenly lifted its hand and lightly slapped towards Wang Tao¡¯s chest. Bang! [-3773] Wang Tao was sent flying backward in an instant! Crash¡ª He crashed through a wall and fell into a warehouse that was still ablaze. ¡°Damn it!¡± Indeed, the Flame Monster hadn¡¯t shown any offensive abilities, but with a mere slap, it dealt over three thousand damage to the Entangled Iron Tree Roots! Its physical constitution might not be as formidable as the Night Demon¡¯s, but it was still not weak! The only consolation now was that the physical constitution of the Flame Monster was seemingly weaker than that of the Level 4 Night Demon. If it were like that Night Demon, able to deal over ten thousand damage with a slap to the Entangled Iron Tree Roots, it would truly be invincible. Swoosh! Wang Tao burst out of the warehouse and collided with the Flame Monster at the entrance. He held a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. Pulling the trigger as he swung the knife at the Flame Monster. [-1589] [-1224] Unflinchingly, the Flame Monster took both hits. Then, it slapped Wang Tao again. Bang! [-3823] Wang Tao once more flew into the warehouse, this time breaking through another wall. The damage was absorbed by the Entangling Roots, leaving Wang Tao unaffected. So, he quickly got up and charged at the Flame Monster again. However, Wang Tao had no intention of clashing head-on. Upon reaching the Flame Monster, he swiftly used Instant Strike, then made a quick getaway. [-1] The Flame Monster lost another drop of blood. ¡°Instant Strike is indeed ineffective¡­¡± The Flame Monster turned and ran toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t as fast as the Flame Monster, but he wasn¡¯t much slower either. As long as he didn¡¯t stop, the Flame Monster wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him anytime soon. But Wang Tao needed to figure out which of his abilities could harm the Flame Monster, which made fights inevitable, so they had several close encounters. [-1] [-1] ¡°Continuous Slash doesn¡¯t work¡­¡± [-1] ¡°Energize One Hit is also ineffective¡­¡± [-1] ¡°Various mental attacks also don¡¯t work¡­¡± [-2138] ¡°Eh? Indirect Attack actually works?!¡± After sacrificing some of the Entangled Iron Tree Roots¡¯ HP, Wang Tao roughly figured it out. Among the abilities he knew, only Shockwave, Air Bullet, and Indirect Attack could damage the Flame Monster! Wang Tao was actually quite surprised; he didn¡¯t expect that Indirect Attack could damage the Flame Monster, and its damage was much higher than both Shockwave and Air Bullet! This was a pleasant surprise for Wang Tao. Originally, he thought he could kite the Flame Monster by exploiting the fire resistance of the Entangled Iron Tree Roots and using Shockwave and Air Bullet. But after engaging with it, he realized that both the speed and physical constitution of the Flame Monster were formidable! Even without offensive abilities, Wang Tao might not be able to withstand it. This made Wang Tao quite uncomfortable, as relying on the low-damage Shockwave and Air Bullet, he felt he had no chance of killing this Flame Monster. Unwilling to give up, Wang Tao wanted to try again, after all, he had so many attack abilities, perhaps others might work too? And indeed, there turned out to be an effect¡ªI- Indirect Attack could actually cause two thousand damage to the Flame Monster! ¡°` Chapter 643 - Chapter 643: Chapter 265 - A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_2 Chapter 643: Chapter 265 ¨C A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_2 Although he didn¡¯t know why, Wang Tao felt he had a chance to kill the Flame Monster! Bang! [-3583] The Flame Monster once again slapped Wang Tao, sending him flying. While in the air, Wang Tao took out his pistol and fired an Air Bullet at it. [-1528] After being smashed to the ground, Wang Tao rolled over and got up, then hurled a Shockwave at the Flame Monster that was rushing towards him. [-1193] Another thousand damage! Wang Tao felt that this Flame Monster was quite stupid, far less clever than the previous Level 4 Lord Night Demon. It didn¡¯t know how to dodge at all, only choosing to clash head-on with Wang Tao. And that was exactly what Wang Tao was hoping to see. After all, when he used his Shockwave and Air Bullet together, he could deal over two thousand damage. As long as he didn¡¯t let the Flame Monster use its Self-healing, then Wang Tao truly had hope of killing it! However, Wang Tao soon realized that he had celebrated too early. The Flame Monster seemed to have some learning ability. After Wang Tao dodged its attacks a few times, it also began to intentionally dodge Wang Tao¡¯s attacks! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face immediately turned ugly. The reason he dared to fight the Flame Monster alone was also an important one: Wang Tao felt he had wisdom, while the other did not. But now, it seemed that the other side also had some intelligence! Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet could only be used once every ten seconds, and with the Flame Monster dodging, it significantly reduced Wang Tao¡¯s damage output. If there was plenty of time, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. But He Jijun and the others were drawing the Giant Zombie¡¯s attention away to help Wang Tao, and every extra second Wang Tao wasted meant an additional second of danger for He Jijun! Also, to Wang Tao¡¯s annoyance, it could even dodge the Shockwaves! This was tantamount to Wang Tao wasting two abilities! Wang Tao looked up at the helicopter that had reached the Giant Zombie, and then at the Flame Monster not far away. He took a deep breath. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t blame me!¡± Wang Tao charged directly at the Flame Monster. When the Flame Monster saw Wang Tao coming, it stood its ground, waiting until Wang Tao came close before taking a swipe at him. Having been slapped several times before, Wang Tao was prepared. When he saw the Flame Monster raise its arm, he rolled on the spot, not only avoiding the Flame Monster¡¯s attack but also reaching its back. Then Wang Tao lifted his Bone Knife and struck a blow to its back. Indirect Attack! [-2297] The Flame Monster immediately turned around, its flaming palm instantly landing on Wang Tao¡¯s chest. But Wang Tao suddenly extended his left hand, grabbing the Flame Monster¡¯s shoulder. [-27] [-28] [-23] [¡­] Despite the burning Entangling Roots, Wang Tao did not let go. Bang! [-3842] The slap hit Wang Tao square in the chest, but because Wang Tao had grabbed hold of it, he did not get knocked away. Wang Tao swung his knife again, Indirect Attack! [-2435] The Flame Monster swung another palm at Wang Tao. [-4138] Wang Tao continued to slash with his knife. [-2387] ¡­ Wang Tao had thought of a desperate way to fight, which was to entangle with the Flame Monster and trade blood with it using the Indirect Attack! At close range, the Flame Monster couldn¡¯t possibly avoid Wang Tao¡¯s attacks. But Wang Tao couldn¡¯t avoid its attacks either, since he had to hold on to it to keep from being knocked away. Even though the Flame Monster¡¯s attacks dealt four thousand damage to Wang Tao each time, and Wang Tao could only deal a bit over two thousand, the speed of their attacks wasn¡¯t much different, which seemed to put Wang Tao at a disadvantage. However, Wang Tao had an advantage, which in his opinion was quite significant¡ªhe had more HP than the Flame Monster! The Flame Monster had 120,000 HP. Wang Tao had his own 110,000 and the Entangling Roots¡¯ 100,000, totaling 210,000 HP! Wang Tao believed his HP was enough to offset the difference in damage between them! Plus, Wang Tao himself could regenerate blood, and he still had various Potions unused¡­ he felt he had a chance of winning. But there was a problem. He and the Entangling Roots were not one entity; they were separate. The one taking hits had always been the Entangling Roots, and he himself didn¡¯t have any issues, basically still at full HP. But, if the Entangling Roots were to be left in a critical condition, or died, leaving him on his own, he definitely couldn¡¯t beat the Flame Monster, because he lacked Fire Resistance. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how high the Flame Monster¡¯s burning damage was, but even ordinary flames were something Wang Tao couldn¡¯t withstand! Especially since the place where he and the Flame Monster were fighting was a sea of fire. So Wang Tao needed to ensure the HP of the Entangling Roots! There were two methods to maintain HP. The first was Fusion Crystal Core, but obviously, there was no time for fusion at the moment. So the only method left was the second¡ªto use his own blood to nourish the Entangling Roots! This method was fast and very convenient. As long as his own HP was sufficient, the Entangling Roots would not run out of HP. But there was a deadly weakness¡ªthat Wang Tao would fall into an extremely weakened state. Once Wang Tao couldn¡¯t cope anymore and released the Entangling Roots, he would be virtually certain to die in his weakened state. Wang Tao was prepared to risk everything! Of course, if it came to such a situation, he would definitely try to escape in advance; he still very much valued his life. Bang! [-2384] Wang Tao delivered another Indirect Attack, taking away over two thousand of the Flame Monster¡¯s HP. This time the Flame Monster didn¡¯t swipe but kicked instead. Bang! [-5236] Even though Wang Tao grabbed onto its shoulder, he was still instantly kicked away. Chapter 644 - Chapter 644: Chapter 265 - A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_3 Chapter 644: Chapter 265 ¨C A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_3 ¡°Such strength!¡± That kick had cost Wang Tao 5,000 HP! Wang Tao got up from the ground, saw that the Flame Monster still had three-quarters of its HP left, and his Entangling Roots had only half its HP left; he immediately began to transfer his own HP to the Entangling Roots! In just a few seconds, the Entangling Roots¡¯ HP was fully restored, while Wang Tao lost 50,000 HP. Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel any weakness at the moment, but he couldn¡¯t dispel the Entangling Roots; otherwise, it would have been over for him. Whoosh¡ª By this time, the Flame Monster had already charged in front of Wang Tao. Seeing that the monster was raising its foot again, a fierce-looking shield instantaneously appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Boom! The Flame Monster¡¯s kick landed on the shield, and while Wang Tao wasn¡¯t injured, the impact numbed his hand a bit. After attacking with its foot, the Flame Monster was much stronger. However, with Wang Tao using the shield, he wasn¡¯t sent flying again, which saved him some time. Wang Tao quickly stowed away the shield and slashed at the Flame Monster with a knife. [-2319] The Flame Monster kicked at Wang Tao again, but with his guard up, Wang Tao easily dodged the attack. He raised the Bone Knife and performed another Indirect Attack. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the Flame Monster also dodged his strike. Moreover, its dodging posture was very similar to Wang Tao¡¯s earlier one! ¡°Why does it feel like it¡¯s imitating me?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned unsightly. By now, he could almost be sure that this Flame Monster indeed possessed intelligence! Never mind how high its intelligence was, the fact that it could learn Wang Tao¡¯s techniques and use his own moves against him was causing Wang Tao a lot of discomfort. What if it continues the fight and learns all of Wang Tao¡¯s techniques? ¡°I have to end this quickly!¡± Wang Tao gritted his teeth, and instantly, a tendril of Iron Tree Vine shot from his wrist. The vine wrapped around the Flame Monster¡¯s body, preventing it from dodging, and then Wang Tao, holding the Bone Knife, began to wildly execute Indirect Attacks! [-2386] [-2287] [¡­] Though the Iron Tree Vine also contained the words ¡°Iron Tree¡±, it did not have any Fire Resistance attributes. Wang Tao had tried before; the fire on the Flame Monster¡¯s body could burn several hundred HP off the Iron Tree Vines every second. So, unless it was a critical moment, Wang Tao certainly couldn¡¯t afford to let the Iron Tree Vines die for nothing¡­ After being bound by the vine, the Flame Monster was stuck for a while. But after being slashed by Wang Tao several times, it finally broke free from the Iron Tree Vines. Bang¡ª The Iron Tree Vines snapped! Wang Tao quickly retracted it; this tendril was left with just a sliver of HP, barely surviving the Flame Monster¡¯s attack! Meanwhile, the Flame Monster had already lost half of its HP because of Wang Tao¡¯s slashes. It suddenly raised its head, emitting a silent roar. Then its flames began to burn even more fiercely. [-23] [-31] [-28] [¡­] The Burn Damage Wang Tao was taking suddenly doubled! Not knowing if the Flame Monster had any trump cards left, Wang Tao retreated immediately, putting some distance between them. Whoosh! ¡°` But as soon as Wang Tao turned around, he saw the flame monster charging towards him. It was much faster than before! Wang Tao had been able to kite the flame monster a bit before, but now, he was caught up in an instant. Bang! [-6783] Wang Tao was slapped fiercely. ¡°The damage has increased this much!¡± With a grimace, Wang Tao saw the damage number while being struck. If the flame monster¡¯s damage had increased by so much, Wang Tao might no longer stand a chance against it! ¡°Wang Tao, how much longer do you need?¡± At that moment, He Jijun¡¯s voice came through the headset, which was well protected by the entangling roots and thus still functional. Wang Tao quickly looked up and saw the giant zombie in the distance swatting at the helicopter like it was chasing mosquitoes, with the helicopter in dire straits. When Wang Tao looked over, he saw the giant zombie suddenly throw an abandoned sedan at the helicopter, which flew past, scraping the side of the helicopter and causing sparks to scatter, while two heavy machine guns fired at the giant zombie. At this sight, Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°Give me three more minutes; I¡¯ll be ready for pickup in three minutes!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± He Jijun didn¡¯t say much more, and even his tone was steady, without any panting. Wang Tao shifted his gaze back to the flame monster that had already reached him, immediately using every potion available to him ¨C the running potion, strength potion, mental potion, and the like. These potions didn¡¯t last long, but they had a long cooldown. They could only be used at critical moments, like right now. As soon as the potions entered his system, Wang Tao immediately felt his physical condition improve significantly. With a slight sidestep, he instantly dodged another attack from the flame monster. Then he turned around sharply and kicked at the flame monster. Bang! [-1092] He used Indirect Attack in that kick, which knocked off over a thousand HP from the flame monster. The flame monster was sent flying, landing outside the sea of fire. Wang Tao immediately rushed out of the sea of fire as well. The flame monster landed among a group of zombies that had not left the perimeter of the sea of fire. Then¡­ in an instant, the zombies within a few meters of the flame monster were set ablaze. These zombies lost five to six thousand HP every second, and in the blink of an eye, they were burned to cinders. ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao was initially stunned and then seemed to understand something. He had wondered why this flame monster seemed weaker, at least not as strong as the previous Level 4 Lord Night Demon. After all, he couldn¡¯t take on a Level 4 Lord Night Demon alone, but he could handle this flame monster. But now Wang Tao understood, it wasn¡¯t that the flame monster was weak, but that its strongest ability was its flames! However, those flames were blocked by Wang Tao¡¯s entangling roots! The flame monster¡¯s burning of the entangling roots caused only a few dozen HP loss per second. But when burning those zombies, it caused thousands of HP loss per second! Realizing this, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then charged toward the flame monster. But at that moment, the flame monster suddenly turned its head towards Wang Tao. The flames on its body expanded rapidly! They reached three meters high, five meters high, even ten meters high! Then¡ªboom! A burst of flames exploded! A huge fire erupted, covering the sky and the earth. Within a hundred meters radius, everything was engulfed in a sea of fire! ¡°` Chapter 645 - Chapter 645: Chapter 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_1 Chapter 645: Chapter 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_1 The Flame Monster turned into an ever-growing ball of fire. Reaching a critical point, a loud boom rang out, and the area was instantly engulfed in flames, becoming a sea of fire. A splendid, fiery red mushroom cloud slowly rose. Zombies, plants, buildings, and rainwater surrounding it were all devoured by the flames, including Wang Tao. ¡­ The sky suddenly turned a fiery red, and then a shockwave struck the helicopter. The helicopter shook violently, throwing the people inside from side to side. He Jijun quickly steadied the helicopter, and then everyone turned their gazes toward the direction from which the shockwave had come. There was a small mushroom cloud ¡ª that was where Wang Tao had been! ¡°Bro!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s face turned white, her beautiful, pure eyes filled with panic. ¡°Wang Tao! Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Yang Changhong immediately tried to contact Wang Tao through the earpiece, but there was no response. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face was a blur of confusion; he felt certain that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be dead. He believed in Wang Tao! But¡­ the mushroom cloud had emerged! ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± Even the typically composed He Jijun was unsettled this time. Judging by the size of the mushroom cloud, it was as if they had been bombed by a missile! Wang Tao¡­ could he still be alive? ¡°Brother Wang¡­¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat in disbelief. ¡°Woof, woof!¡± Lightning, firmly strapped in by safety belts, thrashed wildly, trying to break free and find its owner. Even the Giant Zombie was attracted; it abandoned the incessantly buzzing mosquito before its eyes and strode towards the fiery wasteland. ¡­ On the ground, the fire explosion came quickly and also dissipated quickly. The gorgeous fire mushroom cloud gradually disappeared, revealing the fiery wasteland below. Suddenly, an area in the debris that had been slightly raised shook. Crash¡ª The rubble split apart, and a giant figure rose from the ruins, walking out of the sea of flames. He slowly straightened up, revealing his over four-meter-tall, burly figure and the tattered roots wrapped around his body. ¡°Cough, cough¡­ such tremendous power!¡± The man lifted his head, exposing the young face beneath the broken root mask. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± On the helicopter, everyone burst into tears of joy at the sight of this figure. At first, when they saw the giant figure rising from the fiery ruins, they thought it was the Flame Monster. It wasn¡¯t until the giant figure walked out of the flames and revealed Wang Tao¡¯s signature root armor that everyone realized Wang Tao had survived! At this moment, He Jijun said very calmly: ¡°Fire your guns, draw the Giant Zombie over here!¡± The Giant Zombie had just headed where Wang Tao was! Yang Changhong and the others quickly came to their senses and began pulling their triggers. Ratatat¡ª But to the Giant Zombie, these bullets were little more than mosquito bites. It paid them no mind now because it seemed to find something more interesting. Yang Changhong shouted frantically through the earpiece: ¡°Wang Tao, the Giant Zombie is heading your way! Run!¡± On the ground. The first thing Wang Tao did after getting up was to look around, and he immediately spotted the Giant Zombie striding towards him. He grinned and then made a dash towards another pile of ruins. Crash¡ª With his fan-sized hands, Wang Tao began digging into the debris. Seconds later, he found an all-black figure with no facial features¡ªthe Flame Monster! He pulled out his Bone Knife and swiftly brought it down on the creature¡¯s head. Indirect Attack! [-1200] [0/120000] Crash¡ª The Flame Monster burst into a pile of loot. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao noticed that the black armor-like layer on the Flame Monster had a name. And from inside the body of the Flame Monster exploded a small flame with a name! Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to look closely; he quickly gathered all the loot and ran. He picked up all the Crystal Cores on the ground as he ran, pointing out a direction to the helicopter above him. ¡°Go!¡± He Jijun steered the helicopter towards the direction Wang Tao pointed. Whirring¡ª The helicopter flew in the direction Wang Tao indicated, and Wang Tao ran towards that place too. The Giant Zombie seemed to notice Wang Tao and immediately quickened its pace. But before the Giant Zombie could catch up, Wang Tao had already met up with the helicopter and arrived underneath it. Wang Tao stretched out his hand towards the helicopter, and the Iron Tree Vines on his wrist flew out, quickly wrapping around the hook reserved on the helicopter. He Jijun immediately pulled up the helicopter. Wang Tao¡¯s feet slowly left the ground, and he was hoisted away in the opposite direction of the base by the helicopter. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Giant Zombie let out an angry roar and continued the chase, but it wasn¡¯t as fast as the helicopter, and soon fell behind. As a precaution, He Jijun deliberately took a detour, just like the last time they returned. An hour later, just as the helicopter was about to run out of fuel, they finally returned to the military base. By then, Wang Tao had reverted to his normal size. Once above the base, he let the Iron Tree Vines unwind from the helicopter and landed directly on the ground. Thud! Wang Tao landed smoothly. Soon, the helicopter landed successfully. ¡°Bro!¡± ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong jumped out of the helicopter and hugged Wang Tao, one on each side. Then they instinctively checked Wang Tao for serious injuries. Wang Tao had already retracted the Entangling Roots, but his clothes were torn to shreds, his black hoodie destroyed, and his Night Demon Breastplate and Leg Armor were also ruined. His exposed skin was covered in dried blood and scars¡­ He looked utterly wretched. Chapter 646 - Chapter 646: Chapter 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_2 Chapter 646: Chapter 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_2 ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he rubbed the two girls¡¯ heads. He looked a mess, but he still had over ten thousand HP, with no danger to his life. Wang Tao let go of the two of them and hugged He Jijun, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan in turn. Then he specifically crouched down to hug Lightning, who buried its head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest and whimpered a few times. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect you to survive that huge explosion! Amazing! Good fortune comes after a great disaster!¡± He Jijun punched Wang Tao in the chest. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not ready to die yet; how could I go before my time! Let¡¯s go inside.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. The group moved the helicopter into the hangar and then returned to the command center. After all, the outside was laden with corrosive acid rain, and the helicopter couldn¡¯t be left out in the rain indefinitely. ¡°Wang Tao, how did you suddenly grow so much bigger before? Have you changed back? Or¡­ am I seeing things?¡± Yang Changhong asked uncertainly. The others also looked curiously at Wang Tao; it was clear this wasn¡¯t just Yang Changhong seeing things. ¡°That was one of my Abilities. It¡¯s called Berserk¡­ If it hadn¡¯t been for that Ability, I might really have died.¡± Wang Tao said this with a hint of melancholy. [Berserk: Automatically triggers when HP drops below 30%, once per day. Once triggered, HP, Mana, Physical Strength, and Spirit are fully restored, body size increases, all negative statuses are removed, Attack power significantly increases, speed increases to some extent, and defensive power decreases to some extent. Berserk lasts for 1 hour, after which he returns to normal.] Since merging with the Berserk Ability, Wang Tao had yet to use it even once. Being an ability that could only be triggered when critically injured, Wang Tao was very cautious and rarely found himself in such a state. With his current HP, his HP would have to drop to 33,000 to activate it. During his last attack from the Giant Zombie, he had 37,000 HP, so it didn¡¯t trigger. Even Wang Tao himself had nearly forgotten he had this ability. This time, in the fight with the Flame Monster, he hadn¡¯t expected it to have an Ability akin to Self Detonation. At that moment, Entangling Roots was almost at zero blood, and since Wang Tao was channeling HP to it, Entangling Roots took away the rest of his HP, dropping his HP below 30% and triggering Berserk! Once the Special Ability Trigger of Berserk activated, aside from reduced Defense, all other Attributes increased and both HP and Mana were fully restored. However, this reduction in defense refers to after Berserk was fully activated. There was a few seconds of a Transformation-like motion before Berserk officially started during which Wang Tao¡¯s Defense power was very high! It was precisely because of this that he managed to block most of the Flame Monster¡¯s Attacks. Otherwise, Wang Tao felt that even if his HP had been restored to a hundred thousand, he might not have been able to withstand the Flame Monster¡¯s powerful move! The move from the Flame Monster wasn¡¯t meant to be a mutual destruction, but it was left with only 1,200 HP, buried in the rubble, its flames even extinguished. So, after the explosion, Wang Tao immediately went over to deal with it. ¡­ Wang Tao briefly recounted his ability and the preceding events, and everyone was quite amazed. It just goes to show that this was unique to Wang Tao; if anyone else had been in his place, they probably would have died multiple times. ¡°Speaking of which, I was somewhat overconfident. I assumed the Flame Monster didn¡¯t have much attacking ability. But who knew, it wouldn¡¯t attack at all and then suddenly unleash such a devastating move¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed. He now felt that, after reaching Level 4, judging by HP alone might not always be accurate. Take, for example, the Flame Monster. If it weren¡¯t for the Entangled Iron Tree Roots taking a significant amount of Burn Damage for him, just the Burn Damage from the monster itself would have been unbearable, let alone fighting it. He might have been reduced to ashes in no time¡­ In this case, the Flame Monster could be more frightening than the Giant Zombies with two hundred thousand HP! As everyone listened to Wang Tao¡¯s story, their expressions grew more serious. In some respects, Wang Tao served as a cautionary tale for them all to heed. ¡°So, your Crystal Core¡­¡± He Jijun suddenly asked. He hadn¡¯t forgotten the purpose of this mission. ¡°The Ascension Crystal Core is ready! After I rest a bit, I¡¯ll go study what a Level 4 Awakening is all about! Then, I¡¯ll be sure to share with you all!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Hearing this, everyone first breathed a sigh of relief and then excitement set in. Finally, they had a chance at Level 4! ¡°Okay, we won¡¯t disturb you then. You should rest up, Wang Tao!¡± He Jijun patted Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Hmm.¡± I nodded, then looked seriously at everyone and said: ¡°Thanks for all your help this time. If it hadn¡¯t been for you holding off the Giant Zombie, I would never have been able to kill the Flame Monster. Thank you!¡± ¡°Haha, we¡¯re all one of our own. It¡¯s only right that we help each other out!¡± He Jijun laughed loudly. The others also had smiles on their faces. After He Jijun and the others left, Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, who had been following him closely. He said in a low voice: ¡°I¡¯m going to find Yang Changhong to replenish some Energy, you¡¯ll be sleeping alone tonight.¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s face turned red at once, understanding what Wang Tao meant. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Jiang Shixue lowered her head and hummed in acknowledgment. Wang Tao went to Yang Changhong¡¯s room. Today, she was even more proactive than last time, yet very gentle. After all, they were almost separated by life and death this time, and she needed to vent as well. After a sweaty time together, Wang Tao was fully recharged. Chapter 647 - Chapter 647: Chapter 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_3 Chapter 647: Chapter 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_3 He immediately activated his self-healing ability, allowing his HP to slowly recover. Then, cradling Yang Changhong in his arms, he began to check the loot from the battle. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what exactly the flame monster was. Regardless, it had dropped quite a few things, and they seemed pretty decent. First was the special energy; it brought Wang Tao 28,000 units of special energy and also provided him with an Awakening Key. Wang Tao now had three Awakening Keys. Then there were the Crystal Cores. Inside the flame monster¡¯s head was a [Level 4 Crystal Core: Mental Defense]. No wonder Wang Tao¡¯s mental attacks had no effect on it. Of course, Wang Tao¡¯s mental attacks weren¡¯t strong since he didn¡¯t mainly focus on mental attacks. The Loot Pack from the flame monster contained a total of five Crystal Cores, including a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Self-healing], and an orange [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Explosion]. Including this Ascension Crystal Core, Wang Tao now had four in all¡ªtwo of Excellent quality and two of Epic. He could integrate them now! But there was no rush; he would finish looking through the loot first. Among these Crystal Cores, Explosion was the only one he hadn¡¯t seen before. Ordinary Crystal Cores contained only one pattern, and they were generally distinguished by this pattern. But the Explosion was different¡ªit had two patterns: one was a little flickering flame, and the other was a red light point that contracted and expanded intermittently. [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Explosion] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: after use, HP drops to 1%)] [Explosion: Compress all awakening energy, then detonate it instantly (the power is related to the amount of awakening energy, only the Fire Awakened can merge it)] This Explosion Ability was the flame monster¡¯s final ultimate move. However, this Crystal Core was significantly different from the others, not only in appearance. First was the merging issue; it stated that only ¡°Fire Awakened¡± could integrate it. So does this mean Awakeners would be categorized into fire, water, and the like after awakening? Next was the side effect issue; this Crystal Core only had side effects when used, which was different from the others. Finally, there was the consumption issue; this ability didn¡¯t consume mana but awakening energy instead. The more awakening energy one had, the greater its power. Wang Tao guessed that this flame monster must have had a lot of awakening energy, which was why its power was so immense¡­ Wang Tao looked toward the other loot. In addition to the Loot Pack, the flame monster itself had dropped two items: one was the black armor-like covering on its body, and the other was a small flame. [Received: Black Stone Armor x10] [Black Stone Armor: Crafting material, can add certain defence, mental defence, element resistance, fire resistance, and flexibility to equipment] This was a crafting material, but it improved several attributes! No wonder Wang Tao¡¯s mental attacks had no effect on the flame monster earlier. It wasn¡¯t just because it had mental defence abilities, but also because of the Black Stone Armor! The equipment made from this Black Stone Armor should be quite impressive! [Received: Magic Flame x1] [Magic Flame: Once released, it will grow into a Fire Beast. Once swallowed, it will grant a hidden ability] ¡°Eh?¡± When he first saw the Magic Flame, Wang Tao felt it was somewhat similar to the Magic Seeds. Now, upon closer inspection, it certainly was. There were two options for dealing with the Magic Flame: release it or swallow it. If released, it would supposedly grow into a ¡°Fire Beast.¡± Could this Fire Beast be that flame monster, or was it something else? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure, but it was clearly not an option to release it since swallowing it would grant a Hidden Ability! Without any hesitation, Wang Tao put the little flame into his mouth. Whether he held it in his hand or put it in his mouth, he felt no burning sensation. Instead, it was warm and very comfortable. A moment later, the merge was complete. [Magic Flame Merge Countdown: 9 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds] Like the previous Magic Seeds, merging successfully required ten days. Ten days wasn¡¯t a long time; Wang Tao could wait. Then he looked towards the Loot Pack. This flame monster had exploded into five Loot Packs. Wang Tao usually got more than three packs for slaying above his level; five was quite lucky. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag had already been checked. The second pack contained Hand Grenades! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen this type of grenade item in a while. [Received: Explosion Grenades x10] [Explosion Grenade: Contains a certain amount of awakening energy; when detonated, creates an Explosion within a 50-meter radius] ¡°It contains a certain amount of awakening energy? So these grenades must be that Explosion Ability! But¡­ a 50-meter radius?¡± Wang Tao gasped in amazement, questioning whether it was a grenade or a missile. A 50-meter radius! That would mean an explosion area of seven to eight thousand square meters¡ªa standard stadium is about ten thousand square meters, which meant that the area covered by the explosion from this grenade was nearly as large as half a stadium! All Wang Tao could say was stunning! Ignoring the potential power for now, the range alone was already ridiculous. And surely, the power wouldn¡¯t be small considering it contained awakening energy! Wang Tao stowed these grenades away, estimating they should be able to deal with Four-level zombies! If he encountered Four-level zombies again, he had another way to handle them! Wang Tao turned to the third Loot Pack. [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Inside was an Awakening Energy Pearl. This item clearly had a low drop rate, as the Explosion-proof Zombie hadn¡¯t dropped any. The flame monster hadn¡¯t dropped it directly; it came from its additional loot. With this pearl, Wang Tao now had three. The fourth pack contained the highly anticipated Blueprints! He had several pieces of equipment that had been damaged in the recent action, and he was eager to see if there were any new equipment suitable for him. [Received: Black Stone Top Armor Blueprint x1] [Received: Black Stone Pants Armor Blueprint x1] Chapter 654 - Chapter 654: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_1 Chapter 654: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_1 The zombies Lan Yulian spoke of were a group measuring two to three meters in height, their bodies rippling with muscles, brandishing various pieces of construction debris as weapons¡ªthird-order Elite Zombies. One look told they were of the strength type, and if they reached the base¡¯s high walls, they would pose a definite threat. As for their specific abilities, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, nor did he need to know. Vroom vroom¡ª The transport plane slowed down, circling in the air. The cargo bay doors at the tail slowly opened up, revealing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue strapped in with safety belts, their hands on the heavy machine guns. Beside them, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan were holding the ammo belts, ready to load at any moment. Wang Tao aimed at the group of muscular zombies and fiercely pulled the trigger. Rat-a-tat¡ª A surge of flame hit one of the zombies at that very moment. [-2834] [-3129] [-3210] [¡­] In an instant, the zombie¡¯s head burst like an overripe watermelon. To be honest, Wang Tao felt that when dealing with zombies below level 4, the efficiency of the heavy machine gun might be higher than if he were to engage in combat himself. Especially when flying high above, capable of blowing zombies¡¯ heads off, it was simply too exhilarating. As for drawbacks, fixed-wing aircraft couldn¡¯t hover in midair like helicopters. Even with Precision Shooting, this made aiming quite difficult for him. But Wang Tao thought again¡ªhe wasn¡¯t short on ammo; there was no need to aim for headshots. A blanket barrage would settle everything! So, Wang Tao no longer pursued headshots deliberately and just aimed at the group of zombies before pulling the trigger! Rat-a-tat¡ª Rat-a-tat¡ª Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue opened fire together, their twin streams of flame devouring the zombie horde with abandon. Countless numbers floated above the zombies¡¯ heads. The roar of the plane¡¯s engines, along with the immense noise of gunfire, attracted a large number of zombies. These zombies followed the plane¡¯s movements below, causing some internal chaos within the zombie tide. In fact, many of the zombies besieging the base below had started to chase after the plane. This was an unexpected blessing for Wang Tao. After all, no matter how these zombies chased, they wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to him, and it would lessen the pressure on the base. ¡°Drop the bombs!¡± Wang Tao called out to the others. He Jijun had previously made some simple Homemade Bombs using materials from the military base. Although these bombs might not be very powerful, they should be no problem to handle the dense zombie crowd below. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan immediately started dropping bombs. Boom! Boom! Boom! The group could clearly see that many zombies were blown to pieces, their flesh scattering everywhere, and even if they didn¡¯t die, they were left incapacitated. Rat-a-tat¡ª Wang Tao continued to pull the trigger on that group of level three Elite Zombies. It didn¡¯t take much time before Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had eliminated that group of muscular zombies. After clearing up this trouble, Wang Tao looked at other areas, covering those zombies he felt were a significant threat with firepower. Then, the plane flew above Zijin Base, dropping all of the air-dropped supplies. Wang Tao contacted Lan Yulian once again. ¡°Jade Lotus, Little Feng, there are a lot of supplies in there, including machine guns. Use them as you see need¡­¡± Seeing the airdrops, Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t overly excited; she just seemed somewhat reluctant as she said: ¡°Wang Tao, are you leaving? You¡­¡± She wanted to see Wang Tao in person but hesitated to trouble him. ¡°I¡¯d like to come down and see you and Little Feng, but there¡¯s nowhere to land!¡± Wang Tao said with a bit of helplessness. Unlike helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft needed airports to land and take off; at the very least, a long, wide road. Zijing City clearly didn¡¯t meet these conditions for landing and taking off. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng exchanged glances, each with a tinge of regret in their eyes. She really wanted to ask how things were on Wang Tao¡¯s side, but she didn¡¯t voice her question. Yet Wang Tao seemed to know what she was thinking, and he explained in brief: ¡°The military base is safe, but there¡¯s no one else left except for us. Moreover, Wuyang City nearby has a large number of zombies, even fourth-order Giant Zombies that are dozens of meters high. Obviously, we can¡¯t hold it, so we won¡¯t be staying at the military base for long. We might return in a few days.¡± ¡°Ah? Be careful! We¡¯ll be waiting for you here!¡± Upon hearing this, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were somewhat worried and excited. Naturally, they hoped to be with Wang Tao. ¡°Yeah. Oh, by the way, among the supplies I¡¯ve airdropped to you, there are ways to contact the military base, both wirelessly and with wires. Since your base was formerly an official organization, you might have reserved some underground cables or the like, and Zijing City isn¡¯t too far from the military base, so you can try and see if you can get in touch¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t harbour much hope, but he thought it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try. ¡°Okay!¡± After speaking with Lan Yulian for a few more words, he said his goodbyes. ¡°Okay, I have to go now. I¡¯ll also help you draw away some of the zombies. I¡¯ll come back to check on you later¡­¡± ¡°Okay! Make sure you stay safe!¡± ¡°You too.¡± Vroom vroom¡ª He Jijun had been flying the plane in low circles near Zijing City, attracting a large number of zombies. Now, as he departed, these zombies quickly pursued. Wang Tao glanced back and saw at least a third of the zombies near the base were drawn away, which should significantly relieve the base¡¯s pressure. After leaving Zijing City, the zombies trailing behind slowly fell back and vanished from sight. Chapter 655 - Chapter 655: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_2 Chapter 655: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_2 ¡°Next, let¡¯s head to Red Stone Base,¡± Wang Tao returned to the co-pilot¡¯s seat. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao knew the location of Red Stone Base, and He Jijun had looked at the map before. He slightly altered the direction and headed towards Red Stone Base. Wang Tao had never seen what Red Stone Base looked like. He had only heard some news about Red Stone Base during the early days of the apocalypse when the internet was still functioning. His impression of Red Stone Base could be summed up in two words ¡ª safety. Back then, many people were heading to Red Stone Base, and Wang Tao had paid special attention to a few individuals, wanting to follow their updates. But unfortunately, the internet went down subsequently and he didn¡¯t know what had specifically happened to them¡­ When Wei Zhenguo and the others fled, they headed to Red Stone Base. Wang Tao felt they should have been able to reach it, and there was a high probability that they were indeed there. Red Stone Base was a bit far from Zijing City, requiring some time to reach. On the way there, Wang Tao had already encountered numerous hordes of zombies, both large and small. It felt as though the zombies were especially active, and he didn¡¯t know what was going on. However, aside from Zijin Base, Wang Tao had not come across any other Survivor Base. Of course, there might be survivors who were well hidden and couldn¡¯t be seen even from the sky. Nevertheless, this weighed somewhat heavily on his mind. The only consolation was that, for the time being, he hadn¡¯t encountered any Level 4 zombies. Wang Tao speculated that perhaps only the area around Wuyang City had a significant number of Level 4 zombies? The base that had been in contact with them but was now obliterated was located at some distance from both Wuyang City and Zijing City, with the three forming a triangle. It was possible that zombies from Wuyang City had overrun it. But if that were the case, Zijing City might also face the arrival of Level 4 zombies, given its proximity to Wuyang City. Wang Tao furrowed his brow in thought. If Zijing City really did have a lot of Level 4 zombies approaching, he would need to think of a way to evacuate Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng, perhaps using a helicopter. But Zijin Base had over ten thousand people¡­ Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped considering these matters. His capabilities were limited; he was not a savior, nor could he act as one. After a while, the plane finally reached the vicinity of Red Stone County. ¡°Huh?¡± Red Stone County was not very large; from a distance, he could already see the entirety of it. But¡­ where was the Survivor Base? Before the internet outage, Wang Tao had seen photos of Red Stone Base, and its tall walls had filled him with longing. But now, where were those walls? The tallest structure here seemed to be an abandoned hotel over ten stories high. Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned grim. Could the Red Stone Survivor Base have been a sham? But that seemed unlikely¡­ The Government wouldn¡¯t deceive people with something like this, would they? After all, places like Zijin Base were real¡­ At that moment, He Jijun suddenly spoke up: ¡°There seem to be traces of tall walls amid that ruin¡­¡± Wang Tao looked in the direction he pointed and immediately frowned. Ruins were all too common in the post-apocalyptic world, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t paid much attention to them before. But now, looking closely, he could indeed see signs of collapsed structures that resembled tall walls. The plane circled the area, and Wang Tao got a clearer view of the situation. However, his expression grew even more troubled. ¡°There seems to have been a large base here, but it¡¯s been destroyed! It was most likely blown up by explosives, with even the foundations obliterated¡­¡± An uneasy thought flashed through Wang Tao¡¯s mind about Zijin Base, where a large amount of explosives were buried, intended to obliterate everything if the base were to fall to the zombies! So could it be that Red Stone Base activated its Self Detonation mechanism and was annihilated along with the zombies? If that was indeed the case, there must have been a moment of desperate crisis; otherwise, there would be no need to destroy a base! Just like Zijin Base, which had not been fully constructed and was overrun before completion, it did not Self Detonate. Perhaps they still saw a chance to retake the base, and, in fact, survivors did manage to recover it from the zombies. But now, Red Stone Base might have faced utter despair, knowing there was no hope left, and so those inside chose to perish together with the zombies¡­ Now, only one question remained. When did the base explode, before Wei Zhenguo and his group arrived or after¡­ He Jijun quickly provided an answer. ¡°I believe that this base exploded quite some time ago,¡± he said. Then he explained: ¡°Compared to Zijin Base, it¡¯s clear that the area of this base¡¯s ruins is smaller, yet the space here is ample enough to have built a much larger base.¡± ¡°Since these bases were built by the Government, the design would likely be similar under comparable spaces, aiming for large survivor bases. There¡¯d be no need to purposely create smaller bases.¡± ¡°So I think, this base might have faced problems right at the beginning of its construction. Didn¡¯t we say that Zijin Base encountered issues before it was finished? The problem here must have occurred even earlier than that¡­¡± After hearing He Jijun¡¯s analysis, Wang Tao¡¯s tightly knitted brows relaxed slightly. If that was indeed the case, then Wei Zhenguo and the others still had a chance at survival. After all, during the early days of the apocalypse, they were at Shuize University Base. Wang Tao instructed He Jijun to circle a few more times around Red Stone County and the neighboring towns, but they found nothing. Chapter 656 - Chapter 656: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_3 Chapter 656: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_3 ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s head back.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He felt that his current state of mind was somewhat like He Jijun¡¯s. As long as He Jijun hadn¡¯t found his granddaughter, he believed that there was still a chance she was alive. As for Wang Tao, as long as he hadn¡¯t seen the corpses of Wei Zhenguo, Ding Yuqin, and Han Rui, there was also the possibility that they were alive. ¡°I hope you¡¯re still alive¡­¡± ¡­ After a while, the plane returned to Wuyang City. It seemed to Wang Tao that there were even more zombies in the tide of the dead! ¡°Giant Zombie!¡± Yang Changhong pointed to one side and exclaimed in shock. Wang Tao followed her gaze and indeed saw a massive figure. Among the enormous horde of zombies, the Giant Zombie was especially conspicuous. It seemed to be heading in an easterly direction, but due to the plane¡¯s arrival, its attention was drawn, and it began moving towards the aircraft. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Without hesitation, He Jijun immediately pulled the control stick to make the plane climb upwards. Even though the Giant Zombie couldn¡¯t catch up to a helicopter, there was no way it could reach this kind of fixed-wing aircraft. However, the Giant Zombie could throw things, and it threw with deadly accuracy. If it managed to hit the plane and bring it down, they¡¯d be in big trouble. The aircraft quickly climbed towards the sky and after entering the clouds, the Giant Zombie was soon out of sight. Before they could even catch their breath, the cabin suddenly went dark, all screens and indicator lights went out, and the roaring engine noise of the plane disappeared in an instant! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Tao was stunned for a moment. He Jijun¡¯s face turned pale, but before he could say anything, everyone felt the plane suddenly shake violently, then plummet towards the ground! Whoosh¡ª The plane was spinning! Items within the cabin were flying chaotically! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Wang Tao and the others were buckled in with safety belts, they¡¯d have been flung out directly! Feeling the world turning upside down, Wang Tao quickly yelled at He Jijun beside him. ¡°Old He! What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°All electronic devices on the plane have failed! The engine has shut down! Equipment can¡¯t be restarted; there¡¯s no way to salvage this! We have to parachute! Quick! Gear up! Jump!¡± He Jijun shouted at Wang Tao. ¡°?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat dumbfounded. All electronic devices had failed? The engine had shut down? What the hell was going on! But there was no time for hesitation now. Wang Tao waved his hand, and two black tendrils shot out from his wrist, instantly grabbing the parachutes fixed to the walls inside the cabin and pulling them over. The plane kept spinning and shaking. He struggled to don the parachute on his body. The others had no way of getting to the parachutes. Seeing this, Wang Tao then used the Iron Tree Vines to get the parachutes and hand them over to them. ¡°Everyone put them on!¡± He Jijun reacted the quickest. After receiving the parachute handed over by Wang Tao, he donned it in a moment, with great proficiency. Next up was Xu Xiaojun, who was fully equipped today, with both mechanical arms in place. He simply used the third hand on his back to grab the parachute pack, securing it firmly without having to wear it. But the others were much slower, after all, they were wandering around inside the plane and lacked experience in wearing parachutes. Seeing this, Wang Tao again fetched a parachute and put it on himself. Then he had Jiang Shixue and the others unbuckle their safety harnesses one after another. Before they unbuckled their safety harnesses, Wang Tao used the Iron Tree Vines to entangle them and pulled them into his arms. Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue in his left arm and Yang Changhong in his right, while using two Iron Tree Vines to wrap around Lightning and Nie Siyan. After ensuring everything was fine, he immediately unbuckled his own safety harness. Then he was flung out instantaneously, crashing towards the windshield. Before smashing into the windshield, Wang Tao had activated the Entangling Roots to cover his body, and then he gathered strength in his right foot and delivered a fierce kick to the glass. Crash¡ª The glass immediately shattered, forming a large hole. Wang Tao, holding several people, was sucked out in an instant, followed by He Jijun and Xu Xiaojun being pulled out one after another. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao promptly opened two parachutes and then felt an upward force suddenly pulling at him, significantly slowing his descending speed. He looked around to ensure the two people he was holding were fine, and so were Lightning and Nie Siyan, who were wrapped by the Iron Tree Vines. He Jijun and Xu Xiaojun had also opened their parachutes one after another. After confirming that everyone was unharmed, Wang Tao turned to look at the transport plane, only to see it rapidly overtaking them, soon plummeting into a horde of zombies. Moments later. Boom¡ª A loud explosion erupted, and a great fire ignited where the plane had landed. Watching his own plane explode, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes were filled with distress. A functioning military transport plane! This was its maiden flight under Wang Tao¡¯s command, and now it was gone¡­ The loss was great this time! After a while, the group unsteadily landed amidst the zombies not far from where the plane had exploded. The zombies on the ground reached out towards the sky with snarling faces. Wang Tao immediately cut the parachute cords, released everyone, and then unleashed a few Shockwaves at the zombies, instantly clearing the surrounding area. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± Wang Tao called out. ¡°We¡¯re fine!¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright too!¡± ¡°Woof woof!¡± Everyone indicated they were unharmed. ¡°This is insane, what in the world is going on!¡± Wang Tao felt uncomfortable. He Jijun shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either, should we look for the flight recorder?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao and the others arrived at the place where the plane had crashed, which had turned into a sea of fire, with many zombie corpses nearby. Wang Tao plunged into the inferno, and after some time, he found the black box and also picked up a bunch of Crystal Cores. Looking at the fiercely burning plane in the midst of the fire, Wang Tao suddenly felt sentimental. The transport plane had always been tasked with airdropping supplies and rescuing survivors. Even in its final moments, it had crushed so many zombies. ¡°Sigh, may you rest in peace¡­¡± With a heavy sigh, Wang Tao walked out of the flames. ¡°We got what we came for; let¡¯s head back to base. We are still some distance away from the base, let¡¯s try to get there before dark¡­¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 657 - Chapter 657: Chapter 270 I miss you_1 Chapter 657: Chapter 270 I miss you_1 At 8 o¡¯clock in the evening, Wang Tao saw the military base¡¯s surrounding wall. ¡°We¡¯ve finally arrived! There are some zombies around, let¡¯s clean them up.¡± After spending some time clearing the zombies around the base, Wang Tao and his companions entered the base and returned to the command center. Wang Tao noticed everyone was somewhat disheveled and said, ¡°Today was really unlucky¡­ Everyone should rest early tonight.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Everyone felt helpless, as none of them had expected their first flight on the plane to be their last. The base had only two aircrafts, and with the biggest one gone, only the helicopter remained. Although the helicopter was more convenient most of the time, the transport aircraft could fly higher and further, something the helicopter couldn¡¯t match¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t rest but went with He Jijun to check the black box instead. The black box is the flight data recorder of the aircraft, used for accident investigation, maintenance, and flight testing. Reading its records can usually determine the cause of an accident. The base was equipped with devices to read the black box, and together they quickly figured out how to operate it. But¡ª ¡°Damn! It can¡¯t be read; all the electronic components inside are damaged!¡± The usually calm He Jijun cursed out loud. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao closely examined the black box and noted that the damage didn¡¯t seem caused by impact or explosion. The outer shell of the black box was very durable, with fire and explosion-resistant capabilities, yet the contents were still ruined. Wang Tao and He Jijun carefully recalled the situation; the plane had suddenly lost control after leaving the Giant Zombie. But this surely had nothing to do with the Giant Zombie, for they had flown helicopters in front of it before without any issues. Could it be related to the weather, the region, or some mysterious force? Both felt a bit helpless. If they couldn¡¯t figure this out, they¡¯d be hesitant to fly helicopters in the future. Wang Tao had even promised Lan Yulian he would return¡­ The next day, at dawn. Wang Tao gathered everyone and informed them that the black box was also damaged, asking if anyone had any ideas. People exchanged thoughts for a while, but no useful answers emerged. They weren¡¯t professionals, after all; even He Jijun, who knew how to fly and handle some simple malfunctions, was out of his depth with this issue. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not dwell on this for now. Let¡¯s treat that area as a no-fly zone¡­ Let¡¯s all try to see if we can make contact with anyone else.¡± They had previously made contact with a Survivor Base, and although it had been overrun, it proved that other survivor camps were nearby. Furthermore, Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian to try to establish contact from her end. So he felt it was still possible that they might make contact with other people or Lan Yulian. Unfortunately, after a whole day¡¯s work, they got no messages. Lan Yulian didn¡¯t make contact either. Wang Tao checked on his fused ¡®Little Huo¡¯, the countdown showed two days remaining. ¡°Although Zijin Base is overrun with a large number of zombies, it seems temporarily safe for now. I¡¯ll make another trip after my Awakening¡­¡± Wang Tao had initially planned to go tomorrow, but after the aircraft accident, he hadn¡¯t figured out what exactly happened. He would have to pass through that region to reach Zijing City. If he took a detour, he wasn¡¯t clear on the exact size of the ¡°no-fly zone¡±¡­ So it was better to be cautious. Busy until the evening, Yang Changhong and others left the communication room. Wang Tao was also preparing to go to sleep when the communication equipment suddenly rang. ¡°Zzzt¡­ zzzt¡­ Is anyone there¡­ zzzt¡­ I just thought I heard someone¡¯s voice¡­¡± Hearing the woman¡¯s voice from the device, Wang Tao, who hadn¡¯t left yet, and He Jijun were instantly alert. He Jijun immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m here. Where are you survivors from?¡± ¡°Wow, there really is someone!¡± The person on the other end was obviously excited. After calming her excited emotions, she spoke again, ¡°We are a small team, constantly on the move. We plan to head to Wuyang City¡­¡± Head to Wuyang City? Wang Tao and He Jijun looked at each other. ¡°Wuyang City is very dangerous; there are many Level 4 zombies here. We suggest not coming to Wuyang City!¡± ¡°Ah? Four-level zombies!¡± A few exclamations of shock came through, as they obviously had not encountered four-level zombies before. Then, whispers of quiet discussion could be heard on the other end. ¡°Wuyang City is that dangerous? Maybe we shouldn¡¯t go¡­¡± ¡°But we need to reach a large Survivor Base! If we don¡¯t go through Wuyang City, we¡¯ll have to take a much longer route¡­¡± ¡°What should we do then¡­¡± After hearing the phrase ¡°large Survivor Base,¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. He gave He Jijun a glance, and He Jijun nodded. ¡°Which large Survivor Base are you talking about? As far as I know, there isn¡¯t one in Wuyang City.¡± The other side immediately responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s a base in Wuyang City, but there¡¯s a large Survivor Base west of Wuyang City! Although we don¡¯t know the exact location of this base, we have some important clues about it! To reach that base, taking some risks is worth it! But we are currently trapped by a tide of zombies. If you are willing to help us, we¡¯ll share the clues with you!¡± West of Wuyang City? Wang Tao furrowed his brows. The area west of Wuyang City was too broad; without specific coordinates, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Besides, going through Wuyang City was virtually impossible; they¡¯d have to make a detour. Chapter 658 - Chapter 658: Chapter 270 I miss you_2 Chapter 658: Chapter 270 I miss you_2 ¡°` As for the so-called clues, Wang Tao had no interest in them for the moment, unless he could get in touch with a base. He Jijun spoke up: ¡°We¡¯re not interested in clues, but Wuyang City is really dangerous. There are many Level 4, Lords, zombie here, including giant zombies that are dozens of meters tall! If you try to leave through Wuyang City, you basically have no chance of survival.¡± Listening to He Jijun¡¯s grave words, the other party seemed to be frightened, and after a moment of silence, she spoke with a somewhat low spirit: ¡°If these zombies don¡¯t leave, we have no chance of survival either¡­¡± ¡°You first tell us your current situation, and if possible, we might be able to help you out of your predicament.¡± ¡°Ah? Thank you! Thank you! We¡­ Please wait a moment, I¡¯ll find someone to talk to you!¡± After being stunned for a moment, the person seemed to get excited, perhaps too overwhelmed to express herself properly, she then called someone else over. ¡°Sister Han¡­ come quickly¡­¡± A moment later, a calm female voice came from the other end. ¡°Hello, I am survivor Han Rui, we are currently trapped in a community called Jinxiu, the specific address is¡­ There are a lot of zombies outside the community, including two Level 3, Lords, zombies! If you have the capability, please help us, we can pay with Crystal Cores¡­¡± He Jijun looked at Wang Tao, taking down two Level 3, Lords, zombies would naturally be simple; it just depended on whether they were telling the truth and whether Wang Tao was willing to go. But He Jijun noticed that Wang Tao¡¯s expression suddenly froze, and he asked curiously: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao suddenly grinned and then he directly picked up the microphone. ¡°If you¡¯re planning to offer yourself in exchange, I might consider coming to rescue you.¡± He Jijun was surprised; Wang Tao¡¯s words were somewhat flippant, not like his usual style. Then He Jijun suddenly remembered something¡ªWang Tao had mentioned that among the people he was looking for, there seemed to be a woman with the last name Han! As soon as Wang Tao said this, he immediately heard some indignant voices from the other side, as though the two people from before were whispering to each other. As for Han Rui, she didn¡¯t get angry but instead was taken aback all at once. A few seconds later, she started speaking, her voice shaking: ¡°You, who are you!¡± ¡°What, you can¡¯t even recognize my voice?¡± A smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°Ah! Wang Tao!¡± Han Rui suddenly shouted, startling Wang Tao. ¡°Keep it down, be careful not to attract zombies.¡± Wang Tao said helplessly. ¡°I¡­ you¡­¡± Han Rui was so excited she didn¡¯t know what to say, and the two people beside her seemed to be taken aback by her outburst as well, none of them daring to speak. ¡°Wuwu¡­ Wang Tao, is it really you?¡± At this point, Han Rui¡¯s voice suddenly took on a sobbing tone. ¡°It¡¯s me. How have you been these past days, what about the others?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Not good, we¡¯ve had a very hard time!¡± Han Rui subconsciously replied. ¡°Hmm? What happened!¡± Wang Tao frowned. He Jijun, who had been silent all this time, glanced at Wang Tao; he could sense a faint murderous aura emanating from him. ¡°No, you¡¯ve misunderstood, what I mean is¡­¡± Han Rui seemed to have picked up on Wang Tao¡¯s mood, and she quickly explained ¡°I mean¡­ I miss you a lot!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao finally relaxed. ¡°Wait a moment, I¡¯ll call Yu Qin and the others over!¡± After saying this, Wang Tao heard a rush of hurrying footsteps. Wang Tao took the opportunity to explain to He Jijun: ¡°Han Rui is one of the people I¡¯ve been looking to find. I really didn¡¯t expect to make contact with her in such a way! Speaking of which, I owe this to you!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone was rather emotional. If it weren¡¯t for He Jijun constantly using the base¡¯s equipment to contact other survivors, Wang Tao might have missed Han Rui and the others! ¡°Haha, congratulations!¡± He Jijun laughed heartily, visibly happy. Being able to help someone in need is already a very joyous thing¡ªespecially when that someone is Wang Tao. On the other side. At the top floor of an old, heavily guarded residential building. Han Rui, holding the walkie-talkie, hurried down to the floor below. There were several people in the room downstairs, studying a map. Seeing Han Rui bustling down, everyone¡¯s faces turned solemn. ¡°Old Han, is there even worse news?¡± A person with a disabled body, leaning on an alloy cane and wearing an old military uniform, spoke up in a forthright manner. Another woman, wrapped up tightly and only showing her delicate face, also asked: ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Little Rui?¡± The others also looked towards Han Rui, their situation was already dire, how much worse could it get! Han Rui didn¡¯t speak directly but pulled out the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button. ¡°Yu Qin, Sister Qiu Yu, Old Wei, Old Xiang, Little Lu, Little Gao, Little Chen¡­¡± Han Rui called out each person present one by one. Everyone was puzzled, not understanding why Han Rui, with a grim face, had named them all. At that moment, the walkie-talkie suddenly sounded. ¡°Sizzle¡­ Hello, everyone, good evening!¡± ¡°?¡± Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, everyone was momentarily stunned. The woman clad head to toe in wrap rushed forward, grabbing the walkie-talkie with trembling hands, she spoke with disbelief: ¡°Wang Tao! Is that you, Wang Tao?¡± The others kept silent, but their gaze was excitedly fixed on the walkie-talkie. ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s me.¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s confirmation, Ding Yuqin broke down in tears. ¡°` Chapter 659 - Chapter 659: Chapter 270 I miss you_3 Chapter 659: Chapter 270 I miss you_3 ¡°Whimper¡­ I just knew you were still alive! Thank heavens! You¡¯re still alive! Whimper¡­¡± ¡°Alright, stop crying. So many people are watching.¡± Over the walkie-talkie, Wang Tao¡¯s tone was very gentle. ¡°Whimper¡­¡± At this moment, a face marred with the vicissitudes of life, Wei Zhenguo, walked over. ¡°Wang Tao, to still hear your voice is truly a blessing! If you had died, even if I lived on, I would¡¯ve felt guilty for the rest of my life! Now that I see you¡¯re okay, I feel relieved all at once!¡± They had been able to escape back then because Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had lured away the Black Mist Monster. Wang Tao had risked his life to ensure their safety! He knew he couldn¡¯t disappoint Wang Tao¡¯s kindness, so he led the group away. But he also knew that once he left, he would never be able to forgive himself¡ªhe would have to live with this guilt for the rest of his life! Now hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, he instantly felt at ease; even if he died now, he would have no regrets! ¡°Haha, Old Wei, aren¡¯t you being sentimental! I wonder if your strength has improved after such a long time. Let me tell you, on the way, I met a retired old man who must be in his sixties or seventies, but he¡¯s incredibly strong! I bet even if he gave you one hand, you wouldn¡¯t be able to beat him!¡± Wang Tao said with a laugh. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s impossible! Absolutely impossible!¡± If it were about anything else, Wei Zhenguo might have been modest, but when it came to a showdown of strength between peers, he had to vie for the top spot! Especially since Wang Tao said it was an old man in his sixties or seventies, he couldn¡¯t admit defeat! ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll have you two spar when I¡¯m back!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. He felt that He Jijun could easily bully Wei Zhenguo with just one hand. It wasn¡¯t that he looked down on Wei Zhenguo, but He Jijun was just too freakishly strong! ¡°Sure!¡± Wei Zhenguo responded firmly. If there was a chance, he was very much looking forward to meeting Wang Tao, but for now¡­ He sighed, handing the walkie-talkie back to Ding Yuqin. Li Qiuyu, standing beside, moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but being the weakest link in the team, she felt too embarrassed to speak up. Ding Yuqin wanted to keep talking to Wang Tao, but she knew now was not the time. She wiped her red eyes and hurriedly said: ¡°Where are you now, are you safe? We are currently at¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe! Hang in there, I will come for you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± This response startled Ding Yuqin, and she quickly added: ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here! There¡¯s a Level 3, Lord! We can¡¯t get out!¡± If someone else were on the other side, she would definitely hope they could come to help them. But if it was Wang Tao, she certainly hoped he could come, but more than anything, she wanted Wang Tao to be safe! ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t you trust me?¡± ¡°No no no, I trust you¡ª¡± ¡°Then just wait patiently. Tomorrow watch me descend from the sky like divine intervention!¡± ¡°Then¡­ you must be careful! We¡¯ll all be waiting here for you!¡± ¡°Sure, keep your communication equipment on, and contact me at the first sign of danger¡­¡± Wang Tao chatted with Ding Yuqin and the others for a while longer, then proactively ended the call. Wang Tao finally understood why Ding Yuqin and the others were able to contact the military base. They had found a wired communication device left by the military in a building next door, which was well preserved and not broken. After tinkering with it, Wei Zhenguo and the others got it working. They connected their walkie-talkies to this device, and then used it to reach out to other locations. The device essentially acted as a wireless repeater. However, many of the underground lines were damaged, and they had not been able to contact anyone else for a long time. But fortunately, this time they finally got through to someone, and it was Wang Tao¡­ Wang Tao briefly reported to He Jijun about Wei Zhenguo and the others. When He Jijun heard that there were three active members of the Security Army there, he was very interested. From the onset of the apocalypse to now, he had hardly encountered peers. Now having a chance to meet a few excellent younger peers, he was delighted. ¡°But there¡¯s one problem, if we go to pick them up tomorrow, there won¡¯t be any issue with the helicopter, right?¡± Wang Tao said, stroking his chin. If the helicopter cut out midair, he could save himself, but if they lost the helicopter, it would be a huge loss. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problem. Anyway, their location is quite far from the ¡®No-fly Zone¡¯ we deduced. If we don¡¯t venture into the ¡®No-fly Zone¡¯, we should be safe¡­¡± He Jijun explained. He and Wang Tao were much the same; they were not afraid for themselves but concerned about the possibility of the plane crashing since it was their last helicopter. ¡°Okay, then we¡¯ll set off tomorrow morning, just the two of us.¡± The spot where Ding Yuqin and the others were located wasn¡¯t too far from the military base, and with no Four-level zombies, Wang Tao thought it would be okay for just the two of them to go¡ªhe was mainly concerned about the helicopter having issues, and having too many people to look after might lead to difficulties, as the last incident had left him somewhat traumatized. Wang Tao returned to his room. Hearing the noise, Lightning, who was lying beside the bed, looked up at him and then laid his head back down to sleep. Jiang Shixue lay in bed, gazing absentmindedly at the ceiling. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Brother, do you think¡­ my mom is still alive? She¡¯s so frail¡­¡± Last time, she and Wang Tao went out but couldn¡¯t find any clues about her mother, and the plane had crashed. Having no leads today either¡­ all of this weighed heavily on Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao heard her and rubbed her hair. ¡°Of course, she¡¯s still alive. Do you believe I¡¯ll find her tomorrow?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe~¡± If it were the Jiang Shixue from before she regained her memory, she would believe anything Wang Tao said. Now, well¡­ she still believed him, but she could tell which words were serious and which were meant to comfort her. Just like what Wang Tao was saying now, it was obviously just to comfort her. ¡°What if we make a bet?¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Chapter 660 - Chapter 660: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_1 Chapter 660: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_1 ¡°What shall we bet on?¡± Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao. ¡°You decide!¡± Wang Tao spoke very generously. Jiang Shixue tilted her head to think, and then suddenly revealed a sly smile. ¡°If you win¡­ I¡¯ll give you a kiss. It¡¯s my first kiss, you know~¡± ¡°What?¡± Although he and Jiang Shixue slept in the same bed, their relationship was pure and innocent, without any intimate gestures beyond hugging. To say that Wang Tao didn¡¯t harbor any thoughts at all would be impossible. But what was that saying? It¡¯s hard to make a move when you¡¯re too familiar! He basically treated Jiang Shixue like a little sister, since they were so close. Wang Tao felt that their interdependent relationship was actually quite nice. Now that Jiang Shixue suddenly said this, it seemed like she was about to break the nature of their relationship? While Wang Tao was still confused, Jiang Shixue suddenly hugged his neck and gently kissed him on the face, then snuggled into his arms. ¡°You won.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t care about winning or losing; she knew these were just comforting words from Wang Tao. Wang Tao opened his mouth, feeling that perhaps this was an excuse Jiang Shixue deliberately used to close the distance between them. Meeting someone who conceded before the bet could be a bit disappointing, but it was Jiang Shixue, after all. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s sleep.¡± Wang Tao helplessly ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. He had originally planned to tell Jiang Shixue that Li Qiuyu was still alive, and that he was going to pick her up. But now, he changed his mind; he decided to give Jiang Shixue a surprise. ¡­ The next day, at dawn. Wang Tao told everyone that he and He Jijun were going out for a short trip and would be back soon. He didn¡¯t specify what for, and no one asked too much, just admonished him to be careful on the way. Before leaving, Wang Tao secretly found Yang Changhong. ¡°When I return, find an excuse to keep Jiang Shixue in the room, don¡¯t let her come out.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Yang Changhong nodded. She wouldn¡¯t ask too much, but Wang Tao still explained a bit. ¡°I found her mother, and I want to give her a surprise.¡± ¡°Wow!¡± Yang Changhong was very surprised, then nodded repeatedly. ¡°Okay! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll handle it well!¡± ¡­ Whirr whirr¡ª The helicopter took off, leaving the military base. Inside the aircraft, Wang Tao was highly focused, afraid of any accidents. He had even prepared to jump out at any moment. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, without any incidents. Wang Tao slowly eased his mind, thinking that the previous plane crash might have happened because of issues in that area. After some time, they finally arrived at the location Han Rui had mentioned. From afar, Wang Tao could already see the residential area. Surrounding the complex were many metal barrels, and despite the rain, flames still burned within them, likely containing gasoline or something similar. And around the complex, there was a dense wave of zombies! ¡°This is the place, let¡¯s go.¡± Whirr whirr¡ª The helicopter advanced towards the complex. ¡­ Jinxiu Residential Area. Ding Yuqin¡¯s group got up early in the morning. Because Wang Tao said he would come today, they didn¡¯t know when he might arrive, so they decided to prepare in advance. ¡°With so many zombies outside, how is he going to get here¡­¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face showed worry. Their original plan was to create a diversion outside to attract some of the zombies if they could contact others willing to help. Then, while those zombies were distracted, they would make a run for it. The plan was dangerous, but they had no other options. After all, they were trapped in the midst of the zombie wave, and it was unlikely that anyone would dare come to their rescue under these circumstances. They never expected anyone to break through for them. But Wang Tao just told them to stay put and take care of themselves, and wait for his message. Although Ding Yuqin trusted Wang Tao and believed that he could manage this task, she couldn¡¯t figure out how exactly he would do it and was worried about his safety. And it wasn¡¯t just her; the others were also concerned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s so strong, nothing will happen to him!¡± Han Rui patted her hand. ¡°Yes!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded, then turned to look at Li Qiuyu beside her, who looked distressed. ¡°Sister Qiu Yu, should I ask about Jiang Shixue for you?¡± They were too excited last night and forgot to inquire about Jiang Shixue. Mainly because Li Qiuyu herself did not speak up¡­ After finishing the call last night, Ding Yuqin realized that Li Qiuyu was visibly disheartened. She quickly apologized to Li Qiuyu, then asked if they should try to contact Wang Tao again, as they could probably still reach him. But Li Qiuyu shook her head. She knew Wang Tao¡¯s character. If Jiang Shixue were safe, Wang Tao would have definitely informed her, but since he said nothing¡­ the outcome was evident. Of course, she still held onto an unrealistic hope¡ªif she asked Wang Tao, then even that sliver of hope might be dashed! So, she was conflicted. She wanted to see Wang Tao, who was an old friend and had saved her several times, a true lifesaver. But she also feared seeing him because, after meeting him, she might hear her daughter¡¯s death with her own ears¡­ Facing Ding Yuqin¡¯s questioning, Li Qiuyu ultimately shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯ll¡­ wait until I see him.¡± Ding Yuqin probably understood Li Qiuyu¡¯s thoughts and tightly grasped her hand. Chapter 661 - Chapter 661: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_2 Chapter 661: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_2 ¡°I think Little Xue will definitely be okay!¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Li Qiuyu obviously didn¡¯t believe that. At this moment, Wei Zhenguo and a few others came over and said to the three women: ¡°Have you all packed your things?¡± Since Wang Tao said he would take them away today, they had to be ready, even though he really did not know how Wang Tao was going to get them out¡­ Could they possibly fly out? ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve packed up too.¡± Han Rui nodded. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll call everyone else over; hopefully everything goes smoothly for Wang Tao¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo gathered everyone together. There were 22 people in total. Besides a few of their core members, the rest were survivors they had encountered on the road. If they felt someone was of good character, they kept them in the group. Since they had been on the move, the size of their team had essentially not expanded, with the number fluctuating around twenty. The rest of the team members knew that someone was coming to rescue them today, but they weren¡¯t too excited. After all, their previous plan involved drawing the zombies¡¯ attention while they made a forced breakout. The plan was very risky, and there would definitely be casualties! Thus, far from being excited, they were filled with a sense of grim determination¡­ Just then, someone standing at a high point with a pair of binoculars suddenly spoke up: ¡°Captain! A Level 3, Lord Zombie is coming this way!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone tensed up. In this group, the strongest were Wei Zhenguo and a few others, but all were Level Two. They had already struggled against the horde, and if a Level 3 Lord Zombie attacked their temporary camp, then they would be in even more trouble. ¡°Don¡¯t panic!¡± Wei Zhenguo ran to a higher ground, took out the binoculars, and saw a Level 3 Lord Zombie approaching their location. They had spotted about three to five Level 3 Lord Zombies in this horde, but not all of them would come at once, only occasionally one or two Level 3 Lords would attack the base. But whenever they came, everyone had to give their all. Unfortunately, their luck was not good today as a Level 3 Lord Zombie arrived early in the morning. Wei Zhenguo quickly checked and, confirming there was only this one zombie, immediately gave an order. ¡°Grab the gasoline and light up the fire barrels around us!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Everyone immediately grabbed the gasoline and poured it into the iron barrels around the base, then ignited the gasoline inside. Boom! In an instant, flames surrounded the entire camp. Even the rain wasn¡¯t enough to extinguish the fire. But Wei Zhenguo didn¡¯t feel much relief; after all, this was the last of their gasoline. They might be able to hold off the zombies until the gasoline burned out, but what would happen after that? Zombie Lords generally brought minions with them or could control other zombies. This was one way to tell if a zombie was a Lord. Like the zombie that was approaching now, although it didn¡¯t have minions, as soon as it arrived, ordinary zombies immediately gathered around it, bringing a group of other zombies to the outskirts of the camp. Facing the flames, the ordinary zombies were somewhat afraid and halted in their tracks. The Level 3 Lord Zombie, although also instinctively afraid, wasn¡¯t so scared that it wouldn¡¯t dare to come closer. It stood outside the flames and howled, staring at the people on the rooftop with its pale grey eyes, giving off a feeling it could leap in at any moment. Everyone was on edge. If the Level 3 Lord forcibly assaulted their camp, they definitely would not be able to hold it back. Fortunately, the Level 3 Lord Zombie just roared outside and didn¡¯t actually charge in. This allowed everyone to breathe a sigh of relief, but before they could speak, they saw another Lord Zombie approaching from another direction! ¡°Here comes another one!¡± Everyone¡¯s faces looked grim. They could deal with one Level 3 Lord Zombie if they worked together, but two would be a different story. ¡°It looks like¡­ there¡¯s another!¡± Someone noticed that yet another Level 3 Lord Zombie was coming from a different direction! Three Level 3 Lord Zombies had effectively surrounded their camp. Although the flames kept the Lord Zombies at bay for the moment, the gasoline was burning out fast! Once it did, they would have to face the assault of three Level 3 Lord Zombies¡­ They wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out! ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going to have to fight hard in a bit¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo sighed helplessly. He wasn¡¯t surprised by the situation; when they were surrounded by the horde, he had already prepared for the worst. The others were silent. So a battle was inevitable, after all? The so-called rescue probably wasn¡¯t going to arrive in time. Everyone felt downhearted. No one wanted to die, but in this situation, even if they could escape, there probably wouldn¡¯t be many who¡¯d make it out alive. Watching the flames in the surrounding barrels grow smaller, nobody spoke, but everyone was prepared for the last stand. Suddenly, someone¡¯s ears twitched, and they said with uncertainty: ¡°Do you hear a ¡®buzzing¡¯ sound?¡± ¡°Huh? Do we? I haven¡¯t heard anything, just the sound of rain¡­¡± Some shook their heads. ¡°I think I heard it too¡­¡± But there were those who said they heard it. Wei Zhenguo and the others exchanged glances, confusion in their eyes¡ªthey had heard it too. ¡°There definitely is a buzzing sound, but why does it sound so familiar¡­¡± Chapter 662 - Chapter 662: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_3 Chapter 662: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_3 ¡°` Wei Zhen Guo and Xiang Hong Bin exchanged a glance, both of them seeing the incredulity in each other¡¯s eyes. That sound¡­ it¡¯s like a propeller! Roar¡ª¡ª Zombies generally have better hearing than humans, and the ones outside were starting to get agitated. Especially the three Level 3, Lord Zombies, they all raised their heads, looking towards a certain direction. The humming noise was getting louder and clearer, the horde of zombies more and more frantic, while Wei Zhen Guo and the others grew increasingly excited! ¡°Helicopter! Wang Tao! It must be Wang Tao!¡± A moment later, a rather plump-looking helicopter emerged from the curtain of rain, heading towards their camp. ¡°My God! It really is a helicopter!¡± ¡°Is this to rescue us? Am I dreaming?¡± ¡°Whimper¡­ we¡¯re finally saved! I really didn¡¯t want to die¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too soon, everyone. The loud noise from the helicopter will surely provoke a frenzy among the zombies. It all depends on whether the aircraft can land smoothly¡­ we need to prepare for battle¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Everyone was excited, but relatively rational as well. After all, the more successful you are about to be, the more careful you have to be! This was a lesson learned with their lives! ¡°Sizzle¡­¡± At that moment, the walkie-talkie in Ding Yu Qin¡¯s hand crackled to life. ¡°I¡¯m here, are you guys ready?¡± It was Wang Tao¡¯s voice! ¡°Wang Tao, you¡­ you really came by plane!¡± Ding Yu Qin exclaimed in surprise. Although they had all guessed it, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice still made it somewhat hard to believe. ¡°How about it, is it cool!¡± Wang Tao said with a laugh. ¡°Haha! Cool! Dead cool!¡± Before Ding Yu Qin could speak, Xiang Hong Bin burst out laughing and added hurriedly. ¡°Wang Tao, there are three Level 3, Lord Zombies around the camp! The helicopter is so loud, be careful they might attack you! The fire barrels around might not hold them back! Should we lure these three zombies away before you land?¡± ¡°No need. I¡¯ve seen those three zombies. You guys just focus on getting ready to board, I¡¯ll deal with the zombies.¡± Wang Tao sounded relaxed. He certainly didn¡¯t have the ability to handle the thousands upon thousands of zombies, but dealing with those few Level 3, Lord Zombies with not much HP was easy for him! ¡°Alright!¡± Since Wang Tao had said so, they naturally chose to trust him. Humming¡ª¡ª The helicopter drew closer and closer to the camp, then gradually hovered above it. Roar¡ª¡ª The relentless roar of zombies continued, and the three Level 3, Lord Zombies seemed eager to pounce the moment the aircraft landed. But the helicopter¡¯s door suddenly opened. A tall figure dressed in a black suit appeared in sight of everyone and the zombies; he leapt gently. Thud¡ª¡ª Wang Tao landed instantly amidst the horde of zombies, right near one of the Level 3, Lord Zombies. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yu Qin and the others exclaimed quietly, fearing for Wang Tao¡¯s safety. But then, a Shockwave suddenly erupted among the zombies, virtually shattering all within a ten-meter radius around Wang Tao! Even the Level 3, Lord Zombie was thrown far back, dark blood flowing from its body. ¡°So powerful!¡± Witnessing this scene, everyone instinctively cried out in awe. ¡°` Ding Yuqin and the others had excitement gleaming in their eyes. This was the Wang Tao they knew! Always so strong! Wielding the Bone Knife, Wang Tao charged directly at the Level 3 Zombie Lord! The strength of Level 3 Zombie Lords varied, and this one had just over 40,000 HP, which clearly made it one of the weaker among its peers. With Wang Tao¡¯s own strength being formidable and his Ability now upgraded to Level 4, he faced the Level 3 Zombie Lord with a swift attack and quickly took it down. Picking up his victory spoils, Wang Tao then dashed toward the other two Level 3 Zombie Lords. The other two zombies, one with 30,000 HP and the other with 50,000 HP, were obviously no match for Wang Tao, who effortlessly took on both at once. Meanwhile, the helicopter had already landed in the square in the middle of the residential area. After all, with Wang Tao drawing the attention of the Level 3 Zombie Lords, other zombies couldn¡¯t pose any threat to the helicopter. ¡°Everyone, get on!¡± He Jijun waved at the people. Wei Zhen Guo immediately organized everyone to board the helicopter in an orderly fashion. As soon as he got on, he felt that the pilot was somewhat different¡­ he had the aura of a kindred spirit! Xiang Hong Bin and Lu Gang also subconsciously glanced at Wei Zhen Guo. He Jijun naturally saw them too and nodded with a smile. Wei Zhen Guo and the other two instinctively stood to attention! This was a very strong veteran! All three thought to themselves with a bit of surprise. But now was not the time for talk; they continued to help people board while keeping an eye on Wang Tao¡¯s situation. However, the buildings in the residential area blocked their view, and from their position, they couldn¡¯t see Wang Tao. ¡°Is everyone here?¡± He Jijun asked. ¡°All 22 people are accounted for!¡± Wei Zhen Guo shouted. The space in this military transport helicopter was vast, with many foldable seats; it could easily carry twenty to thirty people. ¡°Good! Everyone, strap in!¡± As soon as Wei Zhen Guo saw everyone buckled up, he immediately started the helicopter¡¯s ascent. ¡°Old man, Wang Tao hasn¡¯t boarded yet! He¡¯s still fighting the Level 3 Zombie Lord down there!¡± Ding Yu Qin hurriedly shouted in concern. Han Rui and the others also looked at He Jijun. If they left Wang Tao in the midst of the zombie horde, even his strength wouldn¡¯t be enough to withstand it! ¡°The fight is already over,¡± Wei Zhen Guo said with a smile. ¡°What?¡± The group was stunned. What did he mean the fight was over? Had he killed those three zombies? But that was so quick! Just then, the people felt the helicopter slightly tremble. A tall silhouette climbed in through the side hatch, which hadn¡¯t been closed, and casually shut the door. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yu Qin and Han Rui didn¡¯t care how Wang Tao got up; they immediately unbuckled their seat belts and rushed to hug him. With an arm around each, Wang Tao said with a smile, ¡°We meet again.¡± Chapter 663 - Chapter 663: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_1 Chapter 663: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_1 Wang Tao released the two women, then turned to He Jijun and said: ¡°Old He, let¡¯s head home.¡± ¡°Hold tight!¡± Whirring¡ª The helicopter dipped slightly and swiftly headed towards the military base. In the cabin. Wang Tao looked at these familiar faces and slowly grinned. ¡°Seeing you all again, it¡¯s really wonderful!¡± Not a single one was missing from those core members who had escaped alive from Shuize County before! Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Li Qiuyu, Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, Chen Zhuang, Gao Hua. Although they all looked weathered, clearly having suffered a great deal, it was good that they were alive! Especially Xiang Hongbin, his situation had been truly tragic; he had lost half of his body. Though Wang Tao had saved his life, his limbs couldn¡¯t be regenerated, and now he was a disabled person with only one hand and one arm. Still, he managed to survive stubbornly! Wang Tao walked over and thumped Xiang Hongbin on the chest. ¡°Old Xiang! There aren¡¯t many people I admire in this life, but you¡¯re definitely one of them!¡± ¡°Haha! That¡¯s my honor!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed, showing his scarred face that looked fierce when he smiled, but to Wang Tao, it felt incredibly endearing. The two embraced each other firmly. Xiang Hongbin complained somewhat: ¡°Damn! It¡¯s okay that you¡¯re so muscular, but why do you have to be so tall? You¡¯re what, two meters now? I have to look up to you!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily and then moved over to Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Old Wei!¡± ¡°Brother Wang!¡± The two said little and hugged each other tightly. The friendship between men doesn¡¯t require many words, a look or a gesture is often enough. Of course, Wang Tao did want to have a chat with Wei Zhenguo, but it wasn¡¯t urgent. They could talk slowly when they got back. He went over to Lu Gang and Chen Zhuang next, bumped fists with them and shared a hug. Back in Shuize Base, Wang Tao thought Lu Gang was quite young. Now, seeing him again, he appeared much more worn, yet he also seemed more manly. As for Chen Zhuang, he had been a doctor in Shuize Base, someone who didn¡¯t really engage in combat. But now, the various gear on him showed that though he was still a doctor, he carried not only a Surgical Knife but also a large machete. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Gao Hua looked at Wang Tao, somewhat excited. In his life, he had made many right decisions, but after the apocalypse struck, there was only one decision he considered the most right one: clinging to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails! If not for Wang Tao, he likely would have died many times over. After experiencing the despair of the apocalypse¡¯s arrival, he couldn¡¯t imagine that he might somehow survive for more than half a year! ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re still alive!¡± Wang Tao had saved him on a whim, and Gao Hua himself had been tenacious; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have made it to this point. ¡°All thanks to Brother Wang¡¯s blessings!¡± Gao Hua defined himself as someone who had sold his life to Wang Tao. So he didn¡¯t need to say much; he would let his actions speak for themselves. Wang Tao patted him on the shoulder, then approached Li Qiuyu. He opened his arms, and Li Qiuyu also willingly embraced Wang Tao, though she didn¡¯t speak. Her expression was somewhat sorrowful. From the moment she boarded the helicopter and realized Jiang Shixue wasn¡¯t there, Li Qiuyu knew that her daughter was likely gone. Now all that was left was for Wang Tao to personally tell her the bad news, but a part of her deceptively didn¡¯t want to hear it. As long as she didn¡¯t know for sure, Jiang Shixue would always possibly be alive¡ªthat was the only way she could deceive herself. ¡°What is it? Are you still mad at me?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. Before they separated from Ding Yuqin and the others, Wang Tao had threatened Jiang Shixue with Li Qiuyu¡¯s well-being to get Jiang Shixue to join him in luring away the Black Mist Monster. ¡°Ah? Mad? Why would I be mad?¡± Li Qiuyu seemed rather baffled; she couldn¡¯t recall what Wang Tao was referring to. She had indeed spoken in anger before, saying things like if anything happened to Jiang Shixue, she would hate Wang Tao for her entire life. But that was all said in the heat of the moment. She was a sensible person and had not actually been truly angry with Wang Tao. Seeing Li Qiuyu¡¯s puzzled expression, Wang Tao suddenly found her somewhat adorable. ¡°Then what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I just¡­ never mind¡­ It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just too happy to see you¡­¡± Li Qiuyu sighed, suddenly feeling a bit relieved. Since she had already guessed the outcome, she decided not to inquire further. She would let Jiang Shixue live on forever in her heart. Seeing Li Qiuyu¡¯s demeanor, Wang Tao was close to revealing that Jiang Shixue was still alive, but he restrained himself. After all, a surprise was best kept for Li Qiuyu and Jiang Shixue to reveal, and he couldn¡¯t spoil it in advance. At that moment, Li Qiuyu suddenly spoke softly, her head lowered: ¡°Wang Tao, can I follow you from now on?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Wang Tao nodded at first, then suddenly realized that this ¡°follow¡± might not be so simple. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± During the time Li Qiuyu had spent with Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and the others, she had learned a lot and gradually changed some of her prior views. Now she had only two goals. The first was to find Jiang Shixue, which now seemed hopeless. The second was to live well, to strive to survive with all her might! Because her life was not only her own, but also for those people who had sacrificed themselves along the way. If she died, wouldn¡¯t it mean that all the others died in vain? Chapter 664 - Chapter 664: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_2 Chapter 664: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_2 To survive well, she knew she didn¡¯t have the capability on her own. Han Rui had told her before that she should rely on a man, and now she found Han Rui¡¯s words to make a lot of sense¡­ Wang Tao¡¯s expression was a bit strange, but he didn¡¯t say much else. Truth be told, he was feeling somewhat conflicted inside. Once Jiang Shixue and Li Qiuyu met, how should he handle their relationship? Oh well, there must be a way when the car reaches the mountain¡ªor make one if there isn¡¯t! Wang Tao let go of Li Qiuyu and finally returned to where Ding Yuqin and Han Rui were sitting down between the two of them. Neither of the women was thick-skinned, but at this time they didn¡¯t care about the gazes of others and leaned on Wang Tao like clingy birds. ¡°You two have lost a lot of weight¡­¡± Wang Tao gently stroked the faces of the two women. He could tell that both of them must have suffered a lot. But Ding Yuqin and Han Rui didn¡¯t mind how much they had suffered; they felt happy now and that their hardships were worth it. Wang Tao asked about their previous situation and, after explanations from Ding Yuqin and Han Rui, he generally understood their experiences. When they had separated from Wang Tao in Shuize County, they had headed towards Red Stone Base. However, the journey was far from peaceful, and they encountered many dangers. Nevertheless, with the second-order superpower owner Wei Zhenguo with them, they managed to get through without harm. After enduring untold hardships, they finally arrived at Red Stone County, only to discover that Red Stone Base was long gone, destroyed! This left them all in despair, not knowing where to go. But in despair, they still had to live. Fortunately, Wang Tao had left them a lot of supplies before, which helped them survive and begin a nomadic life in the apocalypse. Their goal was to find a large Survivor Base, but this was not easy, and they hadn¡¯t found one all this time¡ªthen they ran into a wave of zombies¡­ ¡°Oh, right! We got reliable news that there¡¯s a large Survivor Base on the west side of Wuyang City! We also have some clues!¡± Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke up again. She was, of course, referring to what Han Rui was about to trade with Wang Tao earlier, when she was unclear about his identity. ¡°What clues?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°We got a way to contact the base!¡± ¡°A way to contact them?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Was a means of contact still useful under the current circumstances? ¡°Yes! But it¡¯s not an ordinary way of contact; the specifics are quite complicated, involving many steps. However, the most important thing is, you need equipment left by the military, ideally from a military base. Because to contact them, you need to use many military methods¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows arched. ¡°That¡¯s fortuitous¡ªI just happen to be at the military base in Wuyang City!¡± ¡°So you are!¡± They had already speculated when they saw Wang Tao¡¯s camouflage helicopter. Ding Yuqin asked curiously: ¡°Then your military base¡­¡± ¡°When I got there, there were no people left. Now, there are just a few of us in the military base. Moreover, the Wuyang City urban area is very dangerous, with a large number of zombies, including many level-4 Lord zombies. If these zombies come to the military base, we would be unable to hold it¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly described the situation at the military base. The faces of both women didn¡¯t look too good upon hearing this. They had hoped to follow him to his base, but they hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao¡¯s location to be so unsafe¡­ ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, though. As long as we grow stronger, we can live anywhere. Once we return to the base, I¡¯ll help you increase your strength; you two are too weak right now!¡± As soon as Wang Tao said this, not only Ding Yuqin and Han Rui but everyone else felt quite embarrassed. Among these people, there wasn¡¯t even one level 3! But Wang Tao could understand. After all, they had been wandering all this time, hiding here and there every day. Survival itself was a problem, and there was no special time to hunt zombies and improve their strength. However, zombies evolved quickly, and if one¡¯s strength did not improve early on, the difficulty of enhancing it later would be much greater, resulting in a vicious cycle. To break this cycle, one either had to continuously hunt zombies to keep pace with their evolution, like Wang Tao, or find someone to help, and Wang Tao naturally was able to assist them. Then again, even though Ding Yuqin and the others weren¡¯t level 3, they didn¡¯t have much internal impurity, and he didn¡¯t detect any side effects either. Speaking of which, Ding Yuqin felt somewhat proud. ¡°This is all thanks to the side-effect-free crystal cores you gave us before, and the Crystal Core Synthesizer¡­ so we¡¯ve been very careful about fusing crystal cores¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao nodded. Internal impurities and side effects were hard to remove, so their situation was like having a not so tall building but with a solid foundation. After chatting with the group for a while longer, He Jijun¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived!¡± Hmm-hmm-hmm¡ª The helicopter slowly landed at the airfield of the military base. Ding Yuqin and the others observed the massive military base with curiosity and amazement. Before Wang Tao returned, he had already talked with Yang Changhong and others at the base to tell them he was safe and that he had brought back a group of survivors. Yang Changhong and Jiang Shixue were together, so they didn¡¯t come out to greet them. After all, this was the task Wang Tao had previously assigned to her. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun were there, and they looked curious, wondering who Wang Tao had brought back with him. Chapter 665 - Chapter 665: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_3 Chapter 665: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_3 The helicopter¡¯s cargo door opened, and a group of people walked out in surprise. ¡°This is the military base! It looks so secure!¡± ¡°Are we going to live here from now on?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem likely, I just heard Brother Wang say that the urban area of Wuyang City next door is very dangerous! However, we didn¡¯t come from that direction, so we didn¡¯t see any of those Giant Zombies¡­¡± ¡°Sigh, it would be nice to live here¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± The crowd was whispering among themselves. Xu Xiaojun drove up in a military vehicle, ready to transport the plane to the hangar. Nie Siyan got out from the co-driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± She hurriedly greeted Wang Tao and then curiously looked at the people around, especially noticing Wang Tao leading a beautiful woman by the hand; she instantly grasped the identities of these individuals. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then turned to explain to Wei Zhenguo and his companions. ¡°This is Xu Xiaojun, Nie Siyan. They have been my companions for some time now¡­¡± ¡°Hello!¡± ¡°Hello, hello!¡± They all greeted each other enthusiastically, and then Nie Siyan led everyone into the base. Ding Yuqin and the others felt slightly uneasy, but as they felt the warmth from Wang Tao¡¯s large hand, they slowly relaxed. Wang Tao observed Li Qiuyu, who possibly had come to accept the fact that Jiang Shixue was no longer there, didn¡¯t seem too grief-stricken. Of course, feelings of sadness may not always show on one¡¯s face; they could also be hidden inside one¡¯s heart. Everyone arrived at the command center, and Nie Siyan led them to assign rooms. Wang Tao approached Li Qiuyu. ¡°Come with me; I have something to discuss with you alone.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Qiuyu blushed, her thoughts taking a slight turn, but she obediently followed Wang Tao to a room door. Wang Tao knocked on the door, and after a moment, Yang Changhong opened it. She glanced at Li Qiuyu behind Wang Tao and then gave Wang Tao an OK sign. Wang Tao nodded, then said to Li Qiuyu: ¡°Come in and sit for a bit.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Li Qiuyu walked in nervously, looking down. The room was simple and uncluttered, without anything superfluous, but it was large. It had a living room, bedroom, and bathroom, and there was a very handsome military dog wagging its tail. Wang Tao summoned Lightning and motioned to Li Qiuyu that it was gentle and she could pet it however she liked. Then he went to the bedroom, where he saw Jiang Shixue with her head down, checking an inventory list. Wang Tao had previously asked Yang Changhong to find an excuse to keep Jiang Shixue confined to the room, and clearly, this was the method Yang Changhong had come up with. Jiang Shixue was, in reality, somewhat of an academic slacker¡ªnot for lack of intelligence, but rather due to a lack of interest in studying, especially detesting anything to do with mathematics. Moreover, Yang Changhong had tampered with the supply list. She had been calculating for a long time, unable to make it tally. It was giving her a headache. If it weren¡¯t for Yang Changhong telling her that it was an important list Wang Tao urgently needed and asking her to please make sure to finish it, Jiang Shixue would never have agreed to it. Jiang Shixue heard the door open but paid it no attention, still focusing intently on her work. However, she couldn¡¯t shake off a feeling of restlessness that day¡­ Feeling someone approaching, Jiang Shixue looked up with a yawn. ¡°Bro~¡± She had heard the helicopter earlier, but since she and Yang Changhong were checking the list together, she hadn¡¯t gone out. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then suddenly leaned in and whispered in her ear: ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a little surprise for you¡­¡± ¡°Ah? For me?¡± Jiang Shixue was stunned for a moment, then her face lit up with joy¡ªshe hadn¡¯t even seen the surprise and she was already excited. ¡°Of course! Come on, it¡¯s in the living room.¡± The moment Jiang Shixue stepped out of her room, she saw a figure crouching next to Lightning, stroking its head. Jiang Shixue was instantly dumbfounded. Even though it was just a back, the feeling of blood connection made Jiang Shixue know who she was! Jiang Shixue immediately turned her head to look at Wang Tao, her eyes seeming to ask if she was dreaming. Wang Tao gave a confirming look. Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes suddenly turned red. She took steps, one by one, towards Li Qiuyu, afraid that if she moved too quickly, the other person would disappear. When Li Qiuyu felt someone approaching her, she then lifted her head, was taken aback, and then rubbed her eyes. ¡°Little Xue¡­ I¡¯ve dreamed of you again¡­¡± Li Qiuyu reached out her hand instinctively, touching Jiang Shixue¡¯s cheek. But this time, her hand did not pass through Jiang Shixue, the figure before her did not crumble away, and even had a warmth to it. ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Whoosh! Li Qiuyu suddenly stood up and embraced Jiang Shixue tightly, as if fearing she would disappear, and then she started to speak with a trembling voice: ¡°Little, Little Xue, is it really you¡­ am I not dreaming?¡± ¡°Mom, it¡¯s me. I didn¡¯t die, Brother Wang saved me.¡± Jiang Shixue said softly in Li Qiuyu¡¯s arms. Li Qiuyu quickly released Jiang Shixue, nervously checking her over, ensuring that there were no arms or legs missing, then she finally looked towards Wang Tao who was next to them: ¡°Wang Tao, you, you tricked me¡­¡± Li Qiuyu was simultaneously thrilled and reproachful. She wasn¡¯t foolish; she understood now that Wang Tao was just teasing her! The massive ups and downs of the past two days¡­ she had been utterly in Wang Tao¡¯s grip, it was fortunate she didn¡¯t have a heart condition! ¡°Haha, you guys take your time to chat.¡± Wang Tao left contentedly. He brought Yang Changhong and Lightning over to Ding Yuqin and the others. ¡°Hello, my name is Yang Changhong.¡± On the way over, Wang Tao had briefly mentioned Ding Yuqin and the others to Yang Changhong. Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t surprised to hear about Wang Tao having two women; although she felt slightly uncomfortable at first, the thought that she was the one who came later¡­ instantly made her feel better. ¡°Hello!¡± Ding Yuqin and Han Rui both shook hands with Yang Changhong. The two women cast Wang Tao slightly reproachful looks, but they sensibly didn¡¯t say anything. They planned to have a good talk with Wang Tao that evening. Wang Tao also introduced Lightning to them. The large wolf-dog immediately endeared itself to Ding Yuqin and the others. Then Wang Tao told them about Jiang Shixue¡¯s situation. ¡°Little Xue is still alive? That¡¯s wonderful!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was happy for Li Qiuyu. Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a glare. ¡°Did you intentionally not tell Sister Qiu Yu?¡± Wang Tao laughed and pinched Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek, then said to her: ¡°Sister-in-law, are you out of practice? No problems making a simple lunch, right?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Wang Tao asked Ding Yuqin to lead the others in preparing lunch, while he called Han Rui, He Jijun, and the others to discuss the so-called ¡°method of communication¡± that Han Rui had mentioned before. Chapter 666 - Chapter 666: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_1 Chapter 666: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_1 ¡°¡­That¡¯s pretty much it,¡± Han Rui explained in detail to Wang Tao about the ¡°contact method¡± and its origins. In short, they had encountered a small squad of soldiers on the road previously, but only three members of the squad were left, all severely wounded and beyond saving. Before they died, they told Wei Zhenguo about a way to contact a base and urged them to go there. The reason this contact method was believed to be authentic is that the squad had established contact with the other party before, but unfortunately, they didn¡¯t make it to¡­ As for the specific operation of this contact method, it required the use of military base equipment and some underground cables for communication. But having these things doesn¡¯t mean one could make contact right away; it also called for various equipment adjustments and the input of a secret key, which was very complicated. Of course, the most important thing was that the equipment and lines were not damaged! So, if Wang Tao wanted to contact that base now, he had to check if the equipment and lines were working. The equipment here was basically fine, but there were issues with the lines. Many lines had been damaged before, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t repaired them. Now, it might be necessary to attempt some restoration. If they couldn¡¯t be fixed, then they would have to look for alternatives, such as other military bases. He Jijun used the equipment here for a self-check. The places where the underground cables were damaged were mostly not within the military base but elsewhere, making repairs quite troublesome. However, it was not impossible to fix them. There were also some undamaged lines, but it was very difficult to get in touch with anyone using these lines. The only two contacts made were with the previously annihilated Survivor Base and Ding Yuqin. After understanding all this, Wang Tao prepared to try to contact that base. If they knew the specific location of the other party, he might be able to fly there in a plane! ¡°Next, we need to work on restoring these lines¡­ Old He, you do it, after all, I don¡¯t understand much about this area,¡± Wang Tao said to everyone. ¡°Okay!¡± He Jijun nodded his head. He was naturally interested in the base to the west, and if he had the chance, he would certainly hope to live in a large Survivor Base. Han Rui wrote down the specific steps, secret key passwords, and everything, and handed them to He Jijun. As for Han Rui and the others, they also wanted to help, but before that, Wang Tao needed to enhance their strength. After all, they were all Level Two Ability Users, which was too weak. Around noon, Ding Yuqin and the others made several large pots of lunch. Although it didn¡¯t look very appetizing, there was plenty to fill everyone up. For these new survivors, they hadn¡¯t seen so much food in a long time, and they ate while shedding tears. Li Qiuyu and Jiang Shixue also came out, with their eyes both red, obviously having cried. Ding Yuqin and Han Rui quickly pulled Jiang Shixue over, and then they all bowed to her simultaneously. Wang Tao was their savior, and so was Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue, feeling somewhat embarrassed by this grand gesture, looked at Wang Tao as if seeking help. Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re all one of us here, so there¡¯s no need to be so formal. Otherwise, it just feels unfamiliar. Since we¡¯re able to gather together, we should just help each other out from now on!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The crowd nodded and laughed. Li Qiuyu approached Wang Tao and spoke very solemnly, ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Wang Tao nodded in response, then raised an eyebrow and said in a lower voice, ¡°You can make amends by working hard for me.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Qiuyu gave Wang Tao a glare, but did not say more. After the meal, Wang Tao called Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and the others together. ¡°I¡¯m planning to enhance your strength!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was somewhat excited. ¡°Won¡¯t it be too much trouble for you? We¡¯re not in a hurry!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly interjected. ¡°It is a bit troublesome, since we used a lot of crystal cores before, so I¡¯ll just upgrade you all to the early stages of Level Three for now,¡± Wang Tao said after some thought. Not to mention the environment in Wuyang City, not having Level Three strength was indeed very dangerous. Even Level Three was not safe, given the presence of Four-level zombies! If Wang Tao had enough crystal cores, he would definitely want to enhance them to full Level Three Ability Users, but with the limited number of crystal cores he had, he could only upgrade everyone to the early stages of Level Three and gradually add to their abilities later. ¡°???¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with question marks. They were a considerable number of people after all, to be upgraded to Level Three? How many crystal cores would that require? The group suddenly realized retrospectively that, in the morning when Wang Tao rescued them and dealt with the three Level 3, Zombie Lords, he had made quick work of the zombies¡ªso it was easy for Wang Tao to kill Level 3, Zombie Lords, and having a large number of Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores in his possession¡­ perhaps it wasn¡¯t so surprising? ¡°Wang Tao, you couldn¡¯t possibly be Level Four already, could you?¡± Xiang Hongbin, leaning on a crutch, asked suspiciously. The others also looked at Wang Tao. Although Ability Users could sense each other¡¯s strength and roughly discern what level the other was, it wasn¡¯t always applicable. Some individuals were skilled in hiding their presence, or if they had been Ascended for a longer time and could better control their aura, or if the disparity between two individuals was quite large¡­ all these scenarios prevented accurate perception. They were unable to sense Wang Tao¡¯s actual strength, so having such a speculation was normal. ¡°That hasn¡¯t happened, ascending to Level Four is too hard, and it¡¯s entirely different from the levels before. I¡¯ll explain it in detail to you later,¡± Chapter 667 - Chapter 667: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_2 Chapter 667: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_2 Wang Tao shook his head. Whew¡ª¡ª Hearing what Wang Tao said, the others actually breathed a sigh of relief. If Wang Tao were truly Level 4, that would definitely be good news, but it would also give them a strong sense of defeat since they were only at Level 2¡­ But then Wang Tao added something. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to start my Ascension to Level 4 until tomorrow.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing Wang Tao wasn¡¯t joking, everyone was dumbfounded. Wait, seriously Level 4? Ding Yuqin and Han Rui both grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand at the same time, their faces showing some pride, after all, he was their man. Feeling a little hit by this, Wei Zhenguo asked, ¡°What about everyone else? Including that Old He, what are their strengths?¡± ¡°They are all Level 3, and at the pinnacle of Level 3.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Holy moly, no wonder you said I wouldn¡¯t be able to beat Old He! You set me up!¡± Wei Zhenguo pretended to be furiously indignant. ¡°Haha, you were the one who agreed to spar with Old He, and he accepted, so you can¡¯t back out now! But if you go fight him now, you¡¯re definitely going to get thrashed. Wait until you advance to Level 3 to challenge him. Though you will still get thrashed, you won¡¯t lose too badly.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo felt that Wang Tao was too crafty, calculating even at a time like this. But he didn¡¯t refuse either, after all, sparring with a stronger opponent can also raise one¡¯s strength. Other people were still longing for this opportunity! Wang Tao laughed and took out a pile of Crystal Cores, both red and orange ones. Although they knew Wang Tao was strong, and he had previously provided them with many high-quality Crystal Cores, seeing so many Level 2 Crystal Cores and even Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores still shocked them. Wang Tao said to them, ¡°What kind of Crystal Cores did you guys merge with when you were at Level 2? If they are just ordinary ones, you can extract them and re-merge. I have quite a few Level 2 Crystal Cores here.¡± Wang Tao had a lot of Extraction Crystal Cores for Level 2, which he basically couldn¡¯t use anymore, so they were perfect for the others. ¡°Can they be extracted?¡± Ding Yuqin and the others were all curious, as they had never heard of being able to swap a merged Ability. ¡°This is the Extraction Crystal Core.¡± Wang Tao took out an Extraction Crystal Core and introduced it to them. Then he started asking one by one, matching them with suitable Abilities. They extracted what needed to be extracted and merged with new Superpowers where necessary. ¡°Wang Tao, I don¡¯t need it, I¡¯m crippled, it would just be a waste to give it to me¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin looked enviously at the Crystal Cores but waved his hand. He was already a cripple with greatly reduced combat power. He could provide remote support with a gun, but without it, he was one of the two biggest burdens of the team; the other being Li Qiuyu. However, Xiang Hongbin and Li Qiuyu were special cases. Xiang Hongbin was injured for everyone¡¯s sake; while Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao distracted the Black Mist Monster at risk to their own lives, making her a lifesaver to everyone. So whether it was their past relationship or their contributions, there was no reason for everyone to abandon them. On the contrary, both had advanced to Level 2. But one of them was a cripple and the other had hardly fought at all¡­ their combat power was very weak. Normally, the two of them would give up resources for the other members of the team to use, and only use the leftovers themselves. That¡¯s why up to now, Wei Zhenguo and the others all had 29,999 HP, the upper limit of Level 2, but Xiang Hongbin only had just over twenty thousand HP, and Li Qiuyu even less, not even ten thousand¡­ so in a way, both were burdens. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s words made Ding Yuqin and the others feel uncomfortable, after all, Xiang Hongbin had gotten his injuries for their sake. ¡°I don¡¯t need it either, I have no combat power, it would be too wasteful on me¡­¡± Li Qiuyu whispered to Wang Tao by his side. She was aware of her circumstances, knowing that these things would provide more benefits to others than to herself. Seeing them like this, Wang Tao suddenly smiled. He first walked up to Xiang Hongbin and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°I won¡¯t talk about other things. I¡¯ll just tell you this much, after a successful Ascension, your internal impurities are reduced by half! You were infected with a zombie virus before, and though we used Inhibitors to save your life, your body has accumulated a lot of internal impurities. If you don¡¯t find a way to get rid of those impurities, you¡¯ll eventually turn into a zombie. So, your Ascension isn¡¯t just about increasing your strength, it¡¯s also to stop you from turning into a zombie!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s words rendered Xiang Hongbin silent. If he could keep living, he¡¯d want to live! But¡­ since he became disabled, he seemed really open-minded, but actually, he was very distressed. After all, the past him was Shuize Base¡¯s top fighter, and now he was a cripple. Few people could accept such a fall from grace. If he weren¡¯t so strong-willed, he might have considered ending it all¡­ So he¡¯d become somewhat self-abandoning. Of course, he also didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to waste the Crystal Cores. Seeing that Xiang Hongbin wasn¡¯t speaking, Wang Tao had to bring out his trump card. ¡°Actually, I think there might be a way to remedy your disability¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin suddenly looked up. But before he could speak, Wei Zhenguo, who was next to him, immediately interjected, ¡°What way?¡± ¡°Just wait a moment.¡± Shortly after, Wang Tao walked in with a huge mechanical arm. ¡°This is Little Jun¡¯s mechanical arm, his third hand.¡± Wang Tao demonstrated in front of everyone how the mechanical arm was operated. Xu Xiaojun hadn¡¯t gone out to fight today, so he wasn¡¯t wearing the equipment. Chapter 668 - Chapter 668: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_3 Chapter 668: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_3 Ding Yuqin and the others had never seen this kind of mechanical arm before, and they were all amazed, with Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes shining especially bright. If Xiang Hongbin had such equipment, wouldn¡¯t he be able to regain some combat strength? Xiang Hongbin gently touched these mechanical arms with his intact hand, his lips quivering slightly. ¡°Besides us, there are other survivors out there struggling to live. Among them are researchers, scientists and the like, and they made these things. If you could get a set of similar gear, you might be able to recover a lot of fighting power. Do you still think, do you want to go for Level 3 Ascension?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xiang Hongbin said through gritted teeth. He had been in despair before, but now he saw hope again. Wang Tao immediately laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not giving you this mechanical arm; after all, it¡¯s actually controlled by hand, which isn¡¯t convenient for you. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely get you the right equipment! Moreover, our base has a military 3D printer, so we can try and see if we can print a prosthetic limb for you to use as a transition first.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes reddened slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, we¡¯re all our own people!¡± Wang Tao patted his shoulder, and then walked over to Li Qiuyu, knocking on her head directly. ¡°As for you¡­ no more nonsense, if I tell you to use it, just use it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Li Qiuyu felt a strong sense of unfair treatment. But she dared not defy Wang Tao, and could only humbly acknowledge. Ding Yuqin and Han Rui found this somewhat amusing on the side; they knew Wang Tao¡¯s personality. He was always generous with his own people; if he didn¡¯t have it, that was one thing, but if he did, he was never stingy. Even if you didn¡¯t want it, you¡¯d have to take it. After all, this was the end of the world, and there wasn¡¯t time for affectations. After some time, everyone except for Xiang Hongbin and Li Qiuyu had reached the pinnacle of Level Two. ¡°I feel like I can ascend to Level 3 now¡­¡± ¡°Me too, ready to level up any time!¡± Everyone was somewhat excited. This was Level 3! Honestly, if it hadn¡¯t been for this zombie tide, they had been planning to hunt down Level 3 Elite Zombies, pooling the team¡¯s resources to push Wei Zhenguo up to become a Level 3 ability user. As for the others, they hadn¡¯t even considered levelling up to Level 3 for themselves! Unexpectedly, after meeting Wang Tao, within less than a day, they were now ready for Level 3 Ascension! ¡°Since everyone¡¯s ready for ascension, let¡¯s start tonight, the process needs 24 hours. By this time tomorrow, you¡¯ll all be Level 3 ability users.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Several people nodded. Wang Tao then looked at Xiang Hongbin and Li Qiuyu. ¡°As for you two¡­ your strength is lacking a bit; you need to kill zombies to ascend. Conveniently, the airplane today attracted many zombies, all outside the base. I¡¯ll take you out now to kill zombies and boost your strength first.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded. Now that he had hope, his fighting spirit was strong. ¡°Okay~¡± Li Qiuyu was a bit scared, but she knew Wang Tao would protect her. Wang Tao took Xiang Hongbin and Li Qiuyu out, with Jiang Shixue accompanying them. Jiang Shixue would lure the zombies, Wang Tao would beat them half to death, and then let Li Qiuyu and Xiang Hongbin finish them off. There were quite a few Level 3 Elite Zombies here, which meant over-level kills for the two of them, and their HP quickly reached 29999. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back.¡± Wang Tao waved. ¡°Tsk tsk, to be able to fight zombies with you is just incredible luck! We owe you more and more, it¡¯s impossible to repay you in the future!¡± Xiang Hongbin remarked with some emotion. Before, it had been difficult for them to kill a Level 3 Elite Zombie. He never thought that it would be so easy to blow the heads off Level 3 Elite Zombies with his own hands! ¡°Haha! Just improve your strength and kill more zombies as repayment to me, because I hate zombies.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. On the side, Li Qiuyu was whispering to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Little Xue, you¡¯re so strong!¡± ¡°Mr. Wang Tao is the strong one, I¡¯m just average.¡± Jiang Shixue replied without hesitation. ¡°¡­¡± Watching Jiang Shixue¡¯s expression, Li Qiuyu couldn¡¯t help but wonder if something had happened between Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao¡­ If there really was something, then it would be awkward! Although nothing had happened between her and Wang Tao, given the current situation, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if something did happen¡­ No way, she had to dig for more information tonight! Li Qiuyu thought with some anxiety. ¡­ In the evening. He Jijun suddenly brought some good news. A military base had a damaged underground cable line not too far from the base. After he repaired it, he actually got in touch with someone! Wang Tao came over curiously. Amidst a crackling sound, there indeed came a voice from the other end. ¡°Crackle¡­ Mr. Wang Tao, can you receive my message¡­ crackle¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; he did not recognize the voice from the speaker, but he could guess that it must be someone from Lan Yulan¡¯s side. After all, he only knew so many people; Ding Yuqin and the others had already been taken in, leaving only Lan Yulan and her group. ¡°This is Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao responded. ¡°Ah! It got through, it got through!¡± The other side sounded surprised, and then quickly added: ¡°Please wait a moment, Mr. Wang, we¡¯re from Zijin Base, and I¡¯ll have our leader talk to you!¡± It really was them. Shortly after, Lan Yulan¡¯s voice came through. ¡°Wang Tao, is that you?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Finally got in touch! There were indeed some lines left underneath this base, but most of them were damaged. I had people only fix one, but I didn¡¯t expect to actually make contact!¡± Lan Yulan sounded pleasantly surprised. ¡°How¡¯s the situation on your side?¡± ¡°No major problems for now, but there are a lot more zombies around the base, the zombie tide is getting bigger¡­¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment and said: ¡°I¡¯ll come over in a couple of days, stay safe and keep in touch.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± After talking with Lan Yulan for a while, Wang Tao ended the call. He looked at his attribute panel, the countdown for the Little Fire Integration was about to end. Tonight, he could try Awakening! Chapter 669 - Chapter 669: Chapter 274 Ascension to Level 4_1 Chapter 669: Chapter 274 Ascension to Level 4_1 Evening. In Wang Tao¡¯s room. Looking at Ding Yuqin and Han Rui who had fallen into the deep sleep of Ascension, Wang Tao rubbed his aching back. These two women really knew how to wear a person out, good thing his physical strength was up to par¡­ After confirming that there were no issues with their Ascensions, Wang Tao went to the room next door. Next door was Jiang Shixue¡¯s room, where she was sharing the bed with Li Qiuyu tonight. Li Qiuyu was also in the deep sleep of Level 3 Ascension. Wang Tao had told them to attempt Ascension tonight, and naturally, they had done as instructed. Wang Tao called out to Jiang Shixue, and the two went into an empty room. ¡°I¡¯ll be trying to Awake soon. I¡¯m not sure what will happen, so keep an eye out for me,¡± he said. The integration of the Little Flame was about to be completed, and Wang Tao was somewhat excited. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue was also looking forward to Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening. The two chatted in the room for a while, and at some moment, Wang Tao perked up. He noticed that his Hidden Attributes had changed, there was an additional one¡­ Fire Element? [Hidden Attributes: Strong Body, Night Vision, Plant Affinity, Fire Element] [Fire Element: Sometimes immune to being burned] ¡°¡­¡± This Hidden Ability¡­ what garbage! Not to mention that Wang Tao had fire-resistant gear, just focusing on this Ability itself, implying ¡°sometimes,¡± meant that most of the time he could still be burned, right? Wang Tao felt that this ¡°Fire Element¡± Hidden Ability was only slightly less useless than Han Rui¡¯s Hidden Attribute ¡°Arrest.¡± However, Wang Tao was not too disappointed. It was fine as long as he could Awaken; everything else didn¡¯t matter. After all, he had four Hidden Abilities, and the other three were quite good, so he wasn¡¯t missing much with this one. With an excited heart, Wang Tao lay on the bed, his mind moved, Awakening! In that instant, Wang Tao saw a Light Point, which represented the ¡°Awakening Key,¡± disappear from his mind. Then his blood volume limit began to plummet! [110,000/110,000] [¡­] [60,000/60,000] [¡­] [10,000/10,000] His blood volume dropped from a hundred and ten thousand to just ten thousand in a blink of an eye, a hundred thousand HP gone! Even though Wang Tao knew it would consume a hundred thousand blood volume, seeing his painstakingly acquired hundred thousand HP disappear did set a bit of a panic. But soon, Wang Tao realized that only his blood volume had vanished, and his physical condition had not weakened! When an Ability User¡¯s blood volume increases, not only does their HP increase, but their physical condition also strengthens. This hundred thousand increase in blood volume had significantly improved his physical condition. Wang Tao had thought that when the blood volume disappeared, his physical strength would also decrease accordingly to the level of a ten thousand blood volume. However, it was just a mere reduction in blood volume, and his physical condition had not weakened! This was great news for Wang Tao! Then, Wang Tao suddenly thought, if his Awakening was successful, he should be able to increase his blood volume back to a hundred thousand. Would his physical condition receive another boost? If that was possible, it would be quite a profitable exchange! Soon, Wang Tao found that his Ability ¡°Iron Wall¡± and Hidden Attribute ¡°Fire Element¡± had disappeared. ¡°Fire Element? That weakest Hidden Ability?¡± Before he had a chance to complain, Wang Tao could no longer feel his Ability, Hidden Ability, and even his consciousness. Before his consciousness slipped into sleep, Wang Tao took one last look at his Attributes. A status appeared below his health bar¡ª[Awakening Success Countdown: 23:59:59]! Was this¡­ success? Wang Tao instantly slid into deep sleep. ¡­ In a daze, Wang Tao felt like he had entered a strange place, completely surrounded by fire. He was enveloped in flames! But he didn¡¯t feel the slightest discomfort, instead, he found it very warm and comforting. He simply lay in the sea of fire, letting the flames penetrate his body. The feeling was too comfortable, and Wang Tao even wanted to sleep there forever. After who knows how long, the flames stopped entering Wang Tao¡¯s body. Wang Tao instinctively tried to capture the flames, desiring to funnel them into his body, but he found that the flames were slowly diminishing and disappearing¡­ Wang Tao¡¯s consciousness gradually cleared. He felt as if he had had a nice sleep, as if he had had a beautiful dream, but he couldn¡¯t remember exactly what the dream was. ¡°Yawn~¡± Wang Tao opened his eyes and instinctively stretched. Then he saw a pair of curious and lively eyes. ¡°Bro, you¡¯re finally awake!¡± Jiang Shixue breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Wang Tao waking up. ¡°How long did I sleep? Is everything okay at the base? Was there any change during my Awakening?¡± Wang Tao sat up, asking Jiang Shixue while quietly sensing the changes in his body. ¡°You slept for exactly 24 hours, nothing much at the base, and Lan Yulian is also safe. As for you, bro, you were burning up! Just now, Lightning thought something had happened to you, it licked you and nearly got burnt to death¡­¡± Jiang Shixue said somewhat speechlessly. ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao immediately looked towards the bedside and indeed saw a dejected Lightning. ¡°Haha! Lightning, you can¡¯t be a sycophant!¡± Wang Tao laughed as he hugged Lightning, stroking its head, and checked its mouth to see that there was no problem before he felt relieved. Then, Wang Tao turned to his Attributes panel. [HP: 10,000/10,000] [Mana: 50,200/50,200] [Advanced Special Energy: 53] [Awakening Keys: 2] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Hidden Attributes: Strong Body, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] Chapter 670 - Chapter 670: Chapter 274 Ascension to Level 4_2 Chapter 670: Chapter 274 Ascension to Level 4_2 [Ability: Berserk Enhancement, Mastery Fusion, Yin and Yang Balance] [Awakening: Starfire Prairie Burning] [Awakening Energy: 100/100] He had finally awakened and ascended to Level 4! Wang Tao was somewhat teary-eyed. His 110,000 HP had dropped by 100,000, leaving him with just 10,000. He had lost a Hidden Attribute ¡°Fire Element¡±, and an Ability that added various states, ¡°Iron Wall¡±. But he gained ¡°Awakening: Starfire Prairie Burning¡± and ¡°100/100¡± Awakening Energy! Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to check his awakening; instead, he first looked at his Special Energy. His ¡°Special Energy¡± was renamed to ¡°Advanced Special Energy¡±. Before, it was ¡°530,000 Special Energy¡±, but now it had become ¡°53 Advanced Special Energy¡±, directly dropping the ¡°hundred thousand¡±¡ªhow about that? With the name and the number changed, the function naturally changed as well. His previous special energy was for the synthetic and extraction of Level 1, 2, and 3 Abilities. Now, after ascending to Level 4, those abilities to extract and synthesize had disappeared, replaced by two other abilities! [Advanced Special Energy: 53] [Note 1: Killing above one¡¯s level will grant Special Energy] [Note 2: Advanced Special Energy can increase Awakening success rate and Awakening Energy] [Note 3: 10 Special Energy adds 1% to the success rate of Awakening; 1 Special Energy adds 100 Awakening Energy] ¡°Advanced Special Energy can increase the success rate and energy of Awakening?¡± Wang Tao was very surprised because he seemed to not know how high the success rate of Awakening actually was¡­ As if remembering something, Wang Tao hurriedly looked at the Awakening Key. Indeed, the Awakening Key had more description added to it. [Awakening Key: 2] [The first Awakening consumes 1 key, the second consumes 2 keys, the third consumes 3 keys, the fourth consumes 4 keys, the fifth consumes 5 keys, and so on¡­] [The success rate of the first Awakening is 50%, the second is 40%, the third is 30%, the fourth is 20%, from the fifth onward it¡¯s always 10%] [Having more than 100 Awakening Keys allows for the consumption of 100 keys to fuse and extract one physical Advanced Awakening Secret Key (success rate 70%) ] ¡°Good grief!¡± Wang Tao had previously guessed that since it was possible to obtain many Awakening Keys, it could mean that more than one might be consumed. He got half the guess right¡ªthe first Awakening only consumes 1 key, and subsequent Awakenings consume one more key each time, with no limit! And the success rate of the first Awakening was only 50%! After that, the success rate for each Awakening would decrease, until it dropped to 10%! This meant that the first Awakening was when the consumption was lowest and the probability the highest. If he couldn¡¯t succeed the first time, it would only get harder! Then, if he had 100 Awakening Keys, he could extract one with a 70% success rate, an Advanced Awakening Secret Key. Plus, this Advanced Awakening Secret Key was physical and could be used by others! This ability wasn¡¯t bad, after all, if Wang Tao collected too many Awakening Keys and couldn¡¯t use them himself, he could give them to someone else instead of wasting them. Moreover, this extraction of keys wasn¡¯t a unique ability to Wang Tao; all Awakeners could use it. It¡¯s just that others didn¡¯t see it as intuitively as Wang Tao did. Combined with the ¡°Advanced Special Energy¡±, Wang Tao¡¯s advantage was that he could increase the success rate of Awakening! But it takes 10 Advanced Special Energy to increase the success rate by 1%; that¡¯s a bit of a big consumption! After all, Wang Tao only had 52, which at most could add 5% to his success rate. As for Wang Tao¡¯s success on his first Awakening, that must have been sheer luck. Wang Tao could feel that he could continue to awaken! But now, he was missing one thing¡ªHundred Thousand Blood Volume. Once he collects the Hundred Thousand Blood Volume, he could attempt the Second Awakening! However, the Second Awakening would consume 2 Awakening Keys, and the probability was 40%¡­ That probability was too low, Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t want to gamble on it. Afterward, he¡¯d need to save up more Advanced Special Energy. If he could increase the success rate, say by nine or ten percent, then it wouldn¡¯t be too late for him to attempt the Second Awakening¡­ Finally, there was the most important part¡ªhis Awakening! [Awakening: Starfire Prairie Burning: During the duration, all attributes greatly increase, accompanied by blood regeneration and fire damage] The description of the Awakening was very brief; Wang Tao didn¡¯t really understand what it meant. He couldn¡¯t feel what the Awakening was like at the moment; only after trying it himself would he know. He even doubted whether he had lost out, after all, he had lost the Iron Wall Ability, which boosted a lot of other Abilities! Iron Wall was an Ability of the state category; it added a bunch of various miscellaneous states. It was quite a good Ability for Wang Tao, and just like that, it was gone¡­ Maybe those abilities were fused into this Awakening? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure, only after personal experimentation would he know whether this Awakening was formidable or not. Another thing was, before Wang Tao activated the Awakening Key, he didn¡¯t know the exact process of Awakening. Seeing the condition that his Ability had to be ascended to Level 4, he went ahead with the Ascension. It was only after activating the Awakening Key that he learned that Awakening meant fusing together Hundred Thousand Blood, a random Hidden Attribute, and a random Level 4 Ability! At that time, his Ability had already ascended to Level 4, and he couldn¡¯t extract it. Otherwise, Wang Tao might have extracted his Ability and used another one in its place, since fusing those Abilities wasn¡¯t easy¡­ But then again, what if the power of the Awakening had something to do with the fused Ability? If he fused a very strong Ability, maybe the Awakening would be strong as well? Chapter 671 - Chapter 671: Chapter 274 Ascension to Level 4_3 Chapter 671: Chapter 274 Ascension to Level 4_3 ¡°` Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped thinking about these things. Anyway, whether he was strong or not, a test would tell. ¡°` Wang Tao looked at his last attribute. ¡°` [Awakening Energy: 100/100] ¡°` [Note 1: 100 Awakening Energy can release one Active Awakening] ¡°` [Note 2: When Awakening Energy is full, you can consume all the energy to increase the Awakening Energy cap by 100 points] ¡°` [Note 3: Killing a Lord of the same or higher level will replenish 100 Awakening Energy] ¡°` [Note 4: Natural Recovery Speed: 100 recovered in 24 hours] ¡°` Reading these notes, Wang Tao furrowed his brow. ¡°` The release of Awakening didn¡¯t need Mana, but rather required specific Awakening Energy, and only when it reached 100 energy could it be released once. ¡°` He currently had only 100 energy, and the natural recovery rate was 24 hours for 100, so that was roughly 1 point every 15 minutes or about 4 points per hour. ¡°` That meant, under normal circumstances, he could only unleash his Awakening once a day? ¡°` Good grief, that was way too stingy! ¡°` It seemed that Awakening couldn¡¯t be used as a regular ability but had to be treated as an ultimate move. Usually, he would have to rely on his Ability as the main source of power. ¡°` However, the Awakening Energy didn¡¯t only rely on time for recovery but could also be obtained by killing Lords of the same level. If he could kill a Level 4 Zombie Lord, then he would gain 100 energy and be able to use Awakening again! ¡°` Of course, the Awakening Crystal Core and Awakening Energy Pearl he had obtained before could also be used. Those two items each added 100 energy, which was the equivalent of releasing one Awakening. ¡°` Last of all, there was the matter of increasing the cap on his Awakening Energy. ¡°` Wang Tao could now increase the cap¡ªby consuming all of this 100 energy and then adding an extra 100 to his limit. ¡°` Though he felt somewhat reluctant to do so, the initial cap of 100 for Awakening Energy was indeed too low, allowing its use only once, which made Wang Tao feel very insecure. ¡°` So, Wang Tao immediately went ahead and increased the cap. ¡°` Instantly, his current Awakening Energy dropped to zero, and the cap for Awakening Energy became 200. ¡°` [Awakening Energy: 0/200] ¡°` When the Awakening Energy was reduced to zero, there wasn¡¯t that feeling of fatigue like when Mana was too low, which was not too bad. ¡°` Wang Tao still had 2 Awakening Crystal Cores and 2 Awakening Energy Pearls in his hand, which amounted to 400 Awakening Energy. But using the Fusion Awakening Crystal Core accumulated Internal Impurity, and since he currently had only two cores, he couldn¡¯t synthesize any without impurities for now. ¡°` He currently had 2% Internal Impurity, which in reality was 1.3%. ¡°` Because he had fused 4 Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores before, each with 65% impurity, which made 0.65% once inside the body. Four cores added up to 2.6%. Having completed his Level 4 Ascension, the Internal Impurity in his body was halved, leaving only 1.3%. ¡°` After some thought, Wang Tao directly fused a Level 4 Awakening Crystal Core. ¡°` Once the crystal core fusion was complete, his Mana increased by 800, and his Awakening Energy rose by 100. Meanwhile, his Internal Impurity also increased by 0.65%, bringing it to 1.95%. ¡°` Wang Tao quickly used two Cleansing Potions from the three he had in hand. ¡°` Shortly after, all the impurities in Wang Tao¡¯s body were cleared. ¡°` He immediately felt his whole body loosen up; the sensation of being free from internal impurities was very comfortable! ¡°` Then Wang Tao looked at his Advanced Special Energy. ¡°` Each point of Advanced Special Energy could be exchanged for 100 Awakening Energy. ¡°` Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately started to exchange. ¡°` First, he used 1 point of Advanced Special Energy to add 100 Awakening Energy, bringing his Awakening Energy to [200/200], and then he once more increased his Awakening Energy cap to [0/300]! ¡°` Keep going! ¡°` 3 points of Advanced Special Energy, add 300 Awakening Energy to make it [300/300], then use that 300 Awakening Energy to increase the limit to [0/400]! ¡°` After that came 4 points of Advanced Special Energy, 5 points of Advanced Special Energy¡­ ¡°` In the end, Wang Tao spent 13 points of Advanced Special Energy, bringing his Awakening Energy to [0/500]. When his Awakening Energy was fully recovered, he would be able to unleash Awakening 5 times! ¡°` Actually, Wang Tao originally wanted to increase his Awakening Energy cap to 1000, but after some calculation, he realized doing so would exactly deplete all his Advanced Special Energy! ¡°` So Wang Tao restrained himself. It wasn¡¯t easy to save up Special Energy, and he couldn¡¯t squander it like that! A 500 energy cap was enough. ¡°` ¡­ ¡°` Originally, Wang Tao planned to first check what his Awakening was and then go to the indoor training field to test his strength. ¡°` But now that he saw using Awakening would consume 100 energy, he didn¡¯t want to experiment with it. It wasn¡¯t easy to save 100 energy, so it had to be used on zombies to avoid waste. ¡°` However, not testing Awakening didn¡¯t mean not testing his strength; after all, he had not only gained an Awakening, but he had also ascended to Level 4! ¡°` Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went to the indoor training field together. ¡°` To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, there were many people in the training field, aside from Yang Changhong and the rest. Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and several others were also there. ¡°` Wang Tao then remembered that his time of Awakening and the others¡¯ Ascension were around the same, just about half an hour apart. ¡°` So they were also there to test their new strengths, as they had just advanced to Level 3 and were very excited. Yang Changhong and the others were probably there to instruct these new Ascenders, as they had ascended earlier and were now Level 3 ability users with Hundred Thousand HP, which made them somewhat like seniors. ¡°` Seeing Wang Tao come over, everyone hurriedly crowded around. ¡°` ¡°Wang Tao, did you succeed?¡± ¡°` Yang Changhong asked eagerly. They did not know how long Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening would take, so they hadn¡¯t specifically stayed beside him, leaving only Jiang Shixue to watch over him. ¡°` ¡°Mhmm. I succeeded,¡± Wang Tao nodded with a smile. ¡°` ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°` ¡°That¡¯s amazing!¡± ¡°` Everyone exclaimed with delight, especially Yang Changhong and Xu Xiaojun¡ªthey were beyond thrilled because they knew very well the effort Wang Tao put into achieving his Awakening. ¡°` ¡°Then can we see your Awakening?¡± ¡°` Ding Yuqin asked, somewhat curiously. ¡°` ¡°Not for now. My Awakening Energy has been depleted¡­¡± ¡°` Wang Tao briefly explained to everyone about Awakening Energy and how to raise its limit. ¡°` Hearing that Wang Tao said he could only use Awakening energy once a day under normal circumstances, they were all somewhat flabbergasted. But this should mean that Awakening is very powerful, right? ¡°` Wang Tao said to Yang Changhong and the others: ¡°` ¡°Come on, test with me!¡± ¡°` Chapter 672 - Chapter 672: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_1 Chapter 672: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_1 After a series of tests, Wang Tao had roughly understood his current strength. His physical condition had been significantly enhanced, and it was difficult to say by how many times compared to before. After all, he couldn¡¯t fight himself, but it could be simply understood that his physical quality now surpassed that of a Level 3 Lord Night Demon but fell short of a Level 4 Lord Night Demon. Night Demons didn¡¯t possess any Abilities; they were purely physically powerful. When Wang Tao was at Level 3, he could defeat a Level 3 Lord Night Demon, but that was because he had numerous tactics. If talking purely about physical quality, he couldn¡¯t compare with a Level 3 Lord Night Demon. Now, after ascending to Level 4, he could completely dominate a Level 3 Lord Night Demon based solely on physical quality. And as for Level 4 Lord Night Demons, Wang Tao currently couldn¡¯t match them. This was because Level 4 Lord Night Demons weren¡¯t just physically strong; they also had an Awakening, and his Awakening was a passive Ability that increased physical quality¡­ Therefore, Wang Tao felt that at present, no one could surpass the physical quality of a Level 4 Lord Night Demon. Having physical strength even more formidable than a Level 3 Lord Night Demon was already very impressive. If he encountered a Level 3 Lord again, Wang Tao could directly smash them with his fists! As for the question of who was stronger or weaker in terms of overall strength between him and Level 4 Lord zombies, that was currently hard to say. Level 4s were not all the same. For example, a Level 4 Lord Night Demon and a fourth-order Giant Zombie would certainly result in the Giant Zombie winning if they fought each other. Wang Tao had just enhanced his strength and had not fought against a Level 4 Lord, so it wasn¡¯t easy to say who was stronger. However, he was certain that if he encountered the same Level 4 Flame Monster from last time, he could suppress and beat it! Of course, after the Ascension to Level 4, the improvement of physical quality was actually secondary. The most important thing was the Awakening! The Awakening was the real difference between Levels 3 and 4. But Wang Tao now had no way to test this; he also had no concept of his own Awakening Ability. So, Wang Tao planned to go to Wuyang City tomorrow to test his Awakening Ability! ¡°So strong!¡± After sparring with Wang Tao, this was the thought in everyone¡¯s mind. Whether it was speed, defense, or attack, Wang Tao was strong in all aspects! Wang Tao could dominate a group of them with just one hand! This not only amazed everyone but also filled them with excitement. This was the power of Level 4! This was their goal! ¡°Everyone, keep working hard; one day, you all can become like me!¡± Wang Tao served up a motivational pep talk to everyone. Knowing it was just pep talk, they were still instantly filled with enthusiasm! At this time, Yang Changhong said to Wang Tao, ¡°Wang Tao, are you going to the urban area tomorrow? Take me with you!¡± She was very eager to see Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening. ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Tao nodded. He had already chosen his target, which was the Night Demon¡¯s Nest he had noticed before. He estimated that there might be a Level 4 Lord Night Demon inside the nest, but it didn¡¯t matter if there wasn¡¯t one; the Level 3 Night Demons were no longer a threat to him. Of course, the premise was that he took precautions to avoid getting infected. If there were other fourth-order Lord zombies, he could try to encounter them, but it wouldn¡¯t matter if he didn¡¯t. As for those Giant Zombies, Wang Tao had no intention of fighting them now; they were too terrifying! Wang Tao didn¡¯t think he could win. Moreover, Wang Tao also didn¡¯t know how to fight them; the opponent was so tall, he certainly couldn¡¯t climb up on them¡­ The next day. He Jijun handed over the tasks like repairing military cables to others. He piloted the helicopter, carrying Wang Tao, Zhang Hong, and Jiang Shixue, and once again entered Wuyang City. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bring too many people with him; for him now, taking a lot of people to hunt fourth-order zombies might rather be a hindrance. Humming¡ª The helicopter left the military base and flew toward the urban area of Wuyang City. Having not been out for two days, Wang Tao could clearly feel that there were more zombies outside. ¡°Giant Zombies!¡± As the helicopter approached the vicinity of the urban area, they immediately spotted the tall figure. ¡°Why do these Giant Zombies always linger on the outskirts of the urban area?¡± Yang Changhong was somewhat puzzled. Initially, Giant Zombies were virtually unseen at the outskirts of the city. It seemed that since Wang Tao went to hunt the Flame Monster, the Giant Zombies had started to constantly roam the outskirts and never entered the city center, which was a bit strange. Of course, there might be Giant Zombies in the city center as well¡­ ¡°Not sure,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. However, it was beneficial in its own way to have these Giant Zombies outside; at least they could spot the Giant Zombies from afar and avoid them in advance. Wang Tao had no intention of causing a conflict with the Giant Zombies, so he directed the helicopter to change its course from a distance, avoiding attracting the attention of the Giant Zombie. After a big detour, Wang Tao spotted a second Giant Zombie. Though he had anticipated it, he still found it rather frustrating. It wouldn¡¯t be like last time, where many Giant Zombies blocked his way, would it? Fortunately, after another detour, there were finally no more Giant Zombies in the area. Wang Tao carefully observed and confirmed there were no other fourth-order zombies before instructing He Jijun to fly the helicopter in. Wang Tao had paid special attention to the location of that Night Demon¡¯s Nest and remembered the rough route. It didn¡¯t take long before the helicopter arrived near the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. The noise of the helicopter had already attracted a large number of zombies. After confirming there were no Giant Zombies, He Jijun landed the helicopter on the rooftop of a building more than twenty stories high, then turned off the engine, and Wang Tao and the others disembarked. Chapter 673 - Chapter 673: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_2 Chapter 673: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_2 The rooftop was flat, perfect for landing a helicopter. There were no Giant Zombies here to threaten the aircraft, and with the engines now shut off, the noise had ceased, causing the zombies below to quickly disperse. The Night Demon¡¯s Nest was in the neighboring building. They could have landed the helicopter directly on that building, but to avoid any accidents, it was better to be cautious. There were quite a few zombies inside this building as well, but none of them were strong. Not even a single Level 3 Zombie was found, and Wang Tao and his companions easily cleared them out down to the first floor. However, slaughtering these zombies did not increase Wang Tao¡¯s HP by even a drop. By then, most of the zombies attracted by the helicopter downstairs had already dispersed. After killing some more zombies, Wang Tao finally proceeded to the building with the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. There were quite a few plants inside the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, and using Plant Affinity Perception, Wang Tao roughly estimated that there were over fifty Night Demons present. That wasn¡¯t a small number, and Wang Tao even considered leaving these Night Demons so he could return later with Ding Yuqin and others to farm HP. But after some thought, he decided against it. Wuyang City was too dangerous, now even more than before. If they were to alarm the Giant Zombies and get flanked from the outside, it would be difficult to escape. It was better to eradicate them completely. Once inside the building, the quietness was almost palpable, and it was pitch-dark. Neither Yang Changhong nor He Jijun could see clearly. This building was inhabited only by Night Demon Zombies, and since they were located on the upper floors, it was quiet and relatively safe below. After distributing a large number of ultraviolet illumination flares to everyone, they had just ascended the stairs when Wang Tao sensed the approach of a Night Demon. ¡°Here it comes.¡± Wang Tao gave a warning. He wasn¡¯t wearing the Entangling Roots, just a suit, holding a Bone Knife as he went to meet it. His previous hoodie outfit was damaged, and the only clothes he had on hand that he could wear was this Combat Suit. But he was also equipped with the Black Stone Armor Set inside the suit, so there was no need to worry about his defensive power. Whoosh! A Night Demon suddenly appeared at the stairwell, its pallid eyes fixated dead on Wang Tao and his group. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Level: Level 3 Elite] An Ordinary Level 3 Elite Night Demon. Upon seeing Wang Tao, it didn¡¯t think twice; with a guttural roar, it immediately lunged toward them. Wang Tao lifted his Bone Knife and struck the oncoming Night Demon square on the head. Squish! [-30000] In mid-air, the Night Demon was cleaved in half by Wang Tao¡¯s strike¡ªkilled instantly! ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± He Jijun and Yang Changhong, who were in the process of throwing ultraviolet illumination flares, gasped in shock. They couldn¡¯t see the damage numbers, but they did see Wang Tao chop off the Night Demon¡¯s head with a single blow! Was this the might of a Level 4? Wang Tao was not surprised; as a general rule, HP was linked to strength. Thirty thousand HP represented the weakest Level 3, so it was normal for him to kill it in one hit. Wang Tao glanced at his own HP bar. [10250/10250] Killing a Level 3 Elite Night Demon increased his HP by 250¡­ Although that was far too little, it was better than nothing. After all, he was already Level 4, so gaining any HP from defeating a zombie lower than his own level was already fortunate. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± After the death of this Night Demon, many more burst forth, ranging from 30,000 to 80,000 HP. Wang Tao battled, wielding his Bone Knife. Facing Level 3 Elite Zombies, he naturally didn¡¯t need to use Awakening. His robust physical condition alone was a flurry of one-sided slaughter. After slaying this wave of Night Demons, something occurred to Wang Tao, and an object resembling a heart appeared in his hand. With a mere thought, a tall Night Demon Type 1 manifested! Wang Tao immediately issued a command for it to kill all the Night Demons present. Whoosh! The Night Demon Type 1 dashed and vanished into the incoming second wave of the Night Demon Group. The other Night Demons seemed confused by the sight of this black Night Demon, mistaking it for one of their own, only to be brutally beaten and slaughtered upon its charge! ¡°This Night Demon Type 1 is pretty strong!¡± Wang Tao assessed. While not as strong as a Level 4, Lord Night Demon, the Night Demon Type 1 was much more powerful than a Level 3, Lord! Its physical condition might be almost comparable to Wang Tao¡¯s own. Thus, these Level 3 Elite Night Demons didn¡¯t stand a chance. The problem with both Wang Tao and the Night Demon Type 1, however, was their meager HP of just 10,000. Wang Tao was still fine, knowing how to dodge attacks and prioritize his safety. But the Night Demon Type 1 fought recklessly. Even though the Ordinary Night Demons couldn¡¯t inflict much damage on it, with enough strikes, its HP still began to whittle down¡­ Such was the downside of lacking intelligence. After roughly testing its strength, Wang Tao had it retreat to stand by Yang Changhong and He Jijun for protection, while he once more plunged into the midst of the Night Demon Group. Having slain a few more Night Demon Zombies, Wang Tao suddenly felt like he was being targeted. He immediately looked up to see, at the top of the stairs, a Night Demon clad in Black Bone Armor! ¡°There it is, a Level 4 Night Demon!¡± [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] Whoosh! Wang Tao¡¯s figure flashed, and he appeared beside the Black Skin Night Demon, landing a blade to its head. Bang! [-5234] The Black Skin Night Demon had high defense, and Wang Tao¡¯s knife only caused 5,000 damage to its HP. After being struck, the Black Skin Night Demon clawed at Wang Tao¡¯s chest in an instant. [-1083] Chapter 674 - Chapter 674: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_3 Chapter 674: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_3 Wang Tao, clad in the Black Stone Armor Set, blocked the Night Demon¡¯s attack, losing just over a thousand HP. Before, when Wang Tao was entangled by the Iron Tree Vines, the Black Skin Night Demon could remove more than ten thousand HP from the vines and still scratch Wang Tao, causing another loss of over a thousand HP. Now, without the Iron Tree Vines, it could only inflict a thousand HP damage on Wang Tao. This indicated that Wang Tao¡¯s defensive power had increased significantly. However, Wang Tao¡¯s total HP wasn¡¯t high, just ten thousand, so after testing the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s attack power, he immediately retreated, choosing not to engage in a head-on clash anymore. Wang Tao¡¯s speed had also greatly improved, and evading the attacks of the Black Skin Night Demon wasn¡¯t a problem. However, the Black Skin Night Demon was also fast, and it could dodge Wang Tao¡¯s attacks as well. Faintly visible under the protection of Ultraviolet illumination flares, He Jijun and Yang Changhong watched the battle between Wang Tao and the Black Skin Night Demon from a distance but couldn¡¯t discern anything clearly, only catching glimpses of two shadows flickering! ¡°They are both so strong!¡± Yang Changhong exclaimed. The practice session with Wang Tao was completely different from a real combat situation. Now, she couldn¡¯t even see Wang Tao¡¯s movements; if this were a real fight, she might have been killed instantly¡­ ¡°This is Level 4 for you!¡± He Jijun likewise exclaimed, his eyes filled with longing. On the other side, after fighting with the Black Skin Night Demon for a while, Wang Tao felt that without a large amount of Ultraviolet illumination flares restraining it, the creature would be really troublesome. After all, it had high attack power, strong defense, and even quick speed, and it even learned Wang Tao¡¯s techniques! With Wang Tao having relatively little HP, it was not suitable for him to trade blows directly with it, and the fight became somewhat timid. Bang! After exchanging blows, Wang Tao and the Black Skin Night Demon separated. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Black Skin Night Demon roared at Wang Tao, perhaps also feeling that this human was too tough to defeat after a prolonged battle. ¡°But this is just right¡­¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao cracked a grin. If this Level 4, Lord Night Demon had been that easy to kill, how could he have tested his Awakening! Wang Tao took a deep breath and then thought silently. ¡°Starfire Prairie.¡± Whoosh¡ª A warm current emerged from Wang Tao¡¯s heart and instantly spread throughout his body. Orange-red flames ignited over him, enveloping his entire body and lighting up the whole floor! ¡°This is¡­ Awakening!¡± Feeling that surging power within, like a burst dam, Wang Tao clenched his fists firmly. Only then did he belatedly realize that he was ablaze with fire, with even his breath coming out as heat waves¡ªhe had become a ¡°Flame Monster¡±! The floor beneath his feet was already charred black! ¡°Holy shit!¡± Wang Tao was startled. But he quickly breathed a sigh of relief because he felt no burning sensation or pain. He felt very warm and comfortable. Moreover, the HP that the Night Demon had previously knocked off him had begun to rise. [+1000] [+1000] [+837] Regaining a thousand HP every second, his lost HP of over two thousand was fully restored in just three seconds! Wang Tao took another look at his clothes and found that both his combat suit and the Black Stone Armor Set underneath were intact, untouched by burning. This included the Iron Tree Vines and the Entangling Roots on his wrist, which were safe as well, though the Entangling Roots could no longer be used and had fallen into a deep slumber. The Iron Tree Vines were still usable, but seemed to have been weakened somewhat? While Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand the principle behind it, he naturally thought it a good thing that he didn¡¯t have to run around naked. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± ¡°Bro!¡± At that moment, Wang Tao heard the concerned voices of Yang Changhong and the others. He turned around and said, ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Then he noticed that his voice had changed as well, becoming very deep and resonant. To the eyes of Yang Changhong and the others, they saw a tall figure consumed by blazing flames turn its head, flames spewing from its mouth as it said in a deep tone, ¡°I¡¯m okay¡±¡­ It was practically more like a Flame Monster than the Flame Monster itself! Wang Tao, unaware of what Yang Changhong and the others were thinking, raised his Bone Knife, which was alight with flames, and launched a Shockwave at the Black Skin Night Demon not far away. Whoosh¡ª A wave of fire shot out from Wang Tao¡¯s hand, instantly hitting the Night Demons within range. After suffering a tremendous damage, their bodies entered a state of continuous burning! The flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body seemed to be no ordinary fire, as they burned away thousands of HP from the Night Demons every second. In a blink of an eye, only the Black Skin Night Demon stood remaining within his range. But the Black Skin Night Demon had just lost over ten thousand HP due to Wang Tao¡¯s strike, and the flames on its body also deducted thousands of HP each second! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± After getting hit by Wang Tao¡¯s move, the Black Skin Night Demon didn¡¯t even think before attempting to escape. It was no match! However, a fiery silhouette suddenly blocked the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s path, striking it with a high-frequency vibration knife attack. [-18373] The Black Skin Night Demon was sent flying in an instant, but before it even landed, Wang Tao appeared beside it again, delivering another strike. [-20384] The Black Skin Night Demon let out a roar, unwilling to fight with Wang Tao. It tried to escape in another direction once more. But its speed was no match for Wang Tao, who had used Starfire Prairie. Wang Tao grabbed its neck directly, the surging flames burning up from his foot to the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s body. Then, gripping it tightly, Wang Tao suddenly slammed it to the ground, while delivering another knife attack. [-21923] The Night Demon¡¯s entire body was aflame, its HP plummeting rapidly. Just as Wang Tao was preparing to land the final cut, its HP dropped to zero. It was burned to death! [-1606] [0/120000] ¡°It¡¯s dead just like that?¡± Looking at the unmoving Night Demon, Wang Tao felt somewhat uneasy. Just a few seconds? And he¡¯d killed a Level 4 Lord Night Demon? Suddenly, Wang Tao felt his Awakening was about to end, the flames on his body weakening. He quickly glanced at his Awakening Energy. [Awakening Energy: 0/500] A hundred or more Awakening Energy gone? That lasted only¡­ about fifteen seconds? ¡°¡­¡± Chapter 675 - Chapter 675: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_1 Chapter 675: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_1 Wang Tao¡¯s flames had already disappeared, but the entire floor of the building was ablaze with light¡ªhe had set everything on fire during his recent fight. ¡°Quick, grab the loot and run!¡± There were still some Night Demons around that hadn¡¯t been fully cleared out, many of whose bodies were ignited, causing their HP to plummet rapidly. Armed with his Bone Knife, Wang Tao effortlessly dealt with these Night Demons. After picking up the loot, he took off. By the time Wang Tao and his companions burst out of the building, they saw thick smoke billowing out of the floor he had just been on. If this had happened in peacetime, Wang Tao figured he¡¯d be sitting in jail for a long time. Seeing the odd looks on Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong¡¯s faces, Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. ¡°If I say the fire wasn¡¯t set on purpose, would you believe me?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah!¡± Yang Changhong nodded perfunctorily. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Having achieved his goal, Wang Tao and the others broke through the horde of zombies and boarded the helicopter. Buzzing¡ª After the helicopter took off, they could clearly see the fire scene in the building they had just escaped from. However, given the heavy rain today, the fire in the building was unlikely to spread further. In the helicopter. He Jijun was concentrating on flying the aircraft. Yang Changhong hugged Wang Tao¡¯s arm, inspecting it curiously. With an amazed expression, she exclaimed, ¡°Your skin and clothes, even your body hair, show no signs of burns, yet the flames on your body almost set the entire building on fire¡­ How did you manage that!¡± ¡°Bro, you¡¯re so awesome!¡± Jiang Shixue also gazed at Wang Tao with sparkling eyes. ¡°Haha, basic skills!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. To tell the truth, he himself was somewhat bewildered. The Starfire Prairie Awakening didn¡¯t quite work as he had imagined. Wang Tao had thought it would be a similar awakening to state-based abilities, at most causing changes like skin coloration, similar to how the Toughness Ability made his skin turn dark. But to his surprise, the awakening had actually set him on fire, turning him into a man of flames! After igniting himself, he didn¡¯t even need to fight; merely standing in one place could cause massive damage! The flames on his body seemed to be no ordinary fire. Those Level 3 Night Demons couldn¡¯t withstand his flames¡¯ burning at all. Even the Level 4, Lord Night Demon was tormented by the heat from Wang Tao¡¯s fire. And it wasn¡¯t just him becoming a flame man; all his attacks carried fire as well! Especially wide-range attacks like the Shockwave, which turned into a sea of flames with just a single strike! After using the awakening, he had fought the Black Skin Night Demon for only a few seconds, but that was enough to set an entire floor ablaze! Wang Tao could only say that the Starfire Prairie Awakening was truly powerful! But its energy consumption was truly huge as well! To use the awakening, you need at least 100 Awakening Energy. However, Starfire Prairie doesn¡¯t deduct the energy all at once but deducts 10 points per second, so 100 Awakening Energy only lasts ten seconds! Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Energy had exceeded 100 at the time, and he could choose whether to continue using the awakening. That is to say, the Starfire Prairie Awakening¡¯s minimum duration is ten seconds, with the maximum depending on his amount of Awakening Energy. Wang Tao had recovered some Awakening Energy before, and he had exchanged 1 unit of Advanced Special Energy for 100 Awakening Energy, so he had 150 Awakening Energy. Thus, he only used 15 seconds of awakening¡­ That¡¯s a huge consumption! However, if it was just to kill the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, those 15 seconds were more than enough. Wang Tao ended up using the full 15 seconds because he wasted some time observing his own state and getting used to the strength within his body. The actual fight with the Level 4, Lord Night Demon didn¡¯t last long, probably just over ten seconds. Anyway, no matter how you slice it, the Starfire Prairie Awakening is potent. In its awakened state, Wang Tao could quickly kill the Level 4, Lord Night Demon. But the awakening¡¯s energy consumption was also high; in the blink of an eye, his energy could be drained. He would have to choose the right moment to use the awakening in the future. After conversing with the two women for a while, Wang Tao turned his attention to the loot from this battle. The loot from Ordinary Night Demons and Incubation Flesh wasn¡¯t worth mentioning, as it was similar to before. He had also obtained quite a few Exraction Crystal Cores and Omnipotent Crystal Cores, although it was a pity they were all Level Two. It would have been better if they were Level 3 or above. The main thing was the loot from the Level 4, Lord Night Demon. Wang Tao¡¯s killing of the Level 4, Lord counted as a level-crossing kill, granting him more than 20,000 increase in HP. The fifty-odd Night Demons had mostly been killed by Wang Tao, adding a lot of HP. Plus, Wang Tao had killed quite a few other zombies, so his HP had once again reached 110,000. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too pleased because his HP stopped increasing after reaching 110,000. It was the same as the upper limit of Level 3 HP! The issue was, Wang Tao had already reached Level 4. Wang Tao recalled when he had 100,000 HP, he was confused about something. The Level 1 HP cap was 4999, surpassing it took you to Level Two. Level Two was 29999, surpassing it took you to Level 3. But Level 3 was exactly 100,000 HP, applicable to both Level 3 and Level 4. Wang Tao was initially puzzled by this, but now, it seemed he understood¡ªif one kills zombies after surpassing Level 3, even if it¡¯s a Level 4, Lord zombie, one wouldn¡¯t gain an increase in HP, the boost would max out at 100,000 HP. The reason Wang Tao had 110,000 HP was because 10,000 of it was extra HP¡­ So it seems that in the future, he would need to find ways to gain extra HP from other sources! Chapter 676 - Chapter 676: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_2 Chapter 676: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_2 110,000 HP isn¡¯t too little, but Wang Tao had seen those 400,000 HP Giant Zombies, so he still needed to increase it! Apart from the HP, Wang Tao also obtained 1 Advanced Special Energy, which is equivalent to 100 Awakening Energy. Killing this Level 4, Lord Night Demon had replenished another 100 Awakening Energy for Wang Tao, which meant he gained a total of 200 Awakening Energy, while he had consumed 150¡­ resulting in a net gain of 50! Then there was the Awakening Key; by killing it, Wang Tao also obtained an Awakening Key, now once again possessing 3 Awakening Keys. Last came the dropped loot. This Level 4, Lord Night Demon dropped a Crystal Core, a pair of claws, a heart, and 5 Loot Packs. [Obtained: Fourth-Order Crystal Core ¨C Strength x1] [Obtained: Fourth-tier Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2] [Obtained: Fourth-Order Weapon ¨C Night Demon Type I] He had actually obtained another [Night Demon Type I]. Night Demon Type I could only be used at night or in places without a lot of ultraviolet light, which was quite awkward. Moreover, to increase its HP would cost quite a lot, which Wang Tao¡¯s current financial resources were not sufficient for. Yet without the HP increase, 10,000 HP was indeed too little¡­ However, regardless, these were good items, and Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t hesitate to take them. Maybe he could put together a Night Demon Type I squad in the future or something. Inside the Loot Pack, the first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 5 Crystal Cores. They were the red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotence], blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost], and purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost]. With Awakening and Ascension, very nice! The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x10] [Obtained: Strength Potion (small) x10] Two kinds of Strength Potions, too bad there weren¡¯t any that increased Permanent Attributes. The third Loot Pack contained Ultraviolet Suit equipment. [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x100] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x20] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x5] This was exactly the same as the items dropped by the previous Level 4, Lord Night Demon, all good things for dealing with Night Demons. In the fourth Loot Pack there were Energy beads. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The drop rate for this Awakening Energy Pearl was indeed very low, Wang Tao had killed 4 Level 4, Lord Zombies, but only one of them had dropped it, the other two pearls had burst out of the Loot Packs. Wang Tao looked at the last Loot Pack and grimaced when he saw the contents, there were two blueprints inside. [Obtained: Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Boots Blueprint x1] [Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint: Allows you to craft a Night Demon Breastplate. Required materials: 10 kg of Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bones, 1 Level 4 Crystal Core, 20 Iron Blocks, 20 Steel Wires, 20 Nails, 20 Screws, 20 Rubber] [Night Demon Breastplate: Attributes unknown] [Night Demon Boots Blueprint: Allows you to craft a pair of Night Demon Boots. Required materials: 2 Fourth-tier Night Demon¡¯s Claws, 1 Level 4 Crystal Core, 20 Iron Blocks, 20 Steel Wires, 20 Rubber, 20 Screws, 20 gauze] [Night Demon Boots: Attributes unknown] Wang Tao¡¯s previous Night Demon Breastplate and Leg Armor had been damaged, and he was left with just two pieces of Night Demon Equipment. He was wondering if he could get more Night Demon Equipment to drop. He had already prematurely harvested the bones from this Night Demon Lord, perfect for crafting. After a flash of multicolored light, the two pieces of equipment were complete. [Night Demon Breastplate] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Durability +75, defensive power +75] [Night Demon Boots] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Durability +70, defensive power +70] With two pieces of Night Demon Equipment, plus the previously acquired Night Demon Belt and Night Demon Gloves, he now had four pieces of Night Demon Equipment. Wang Tao immediately switched into this Night Demon Equipment, and the notification about the Night Demon Set that had appeared before showed up again. [Night Demon Set: All basic attributes receive a boost (Attributes not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] Previously, since he didn¡¯t have Awakening Energy, Wang Tao was unable to activate it, but now that he had Awakening Energy, he immediately gave it a try. After silently thinking ¡®activate¡¯ in his heart, Wang Tao saw his Awakening Energy decrease by 1 point. [Night Demon Set: All basic attributes receive a boost (Activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy daily. Once activated, it is bound to the user, rebinding required if switched to another person)] ¡°Hmm? It consumes 1 Awakening Energy daily? And it¡¯s bound?¡± Wang Tao studied it for a while and roughly understood what it meant. This Suit Ability had been activated by him, which meant it was bound to him. If he wanted to give this gear to Jiang Shixue, the Suit Ability would be lost, requiring her to reactivate and rebind it. But Jiang Shixue had not awakened and didn¡¯t have Awakening Energy, so she couldn¡¯t activate it and wouldn¡¯t be able to use the Suit Ability. Simply put, only Awakeners could use Suit Abilities, non-awakeners couldn¡¯t. As for the daily consumption of 1 Awakening Energy, it was a minor issue, since he could naturally recover 100 Awakening Energy every day and was not worried about such a small consumption. Wang Tao tried on the equipment and found that this Night Demon Set¡¯s ¡°boost to all basic attributes¡± was quite noticeable. He felt he was getting one step closer to the physical fitness of a Level 4, Lord Night Demon. And speaking of activating attributes, Wang Tao remembered he still had some equipment left. Chapter 677 - Chapter 677: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_3 Chapter 677: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_3 First, there were the Black Stone Armor Top and pants he wore. These two pieces of equipment could be inlaid with Crystal Cores and also required Awakening Energy to activate. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores at hand and didn¡¯t have any suitable ones for the moment, so he hadn¡¯t inlaid any. Then there were the Explosion-proof Baton and Shield he had obtained before. These two pieces of equipment were quite good, but they also required Awakening Energy to activate. Wang Tao spent 2 points of Awakening Energy and successfully activated both pieces of equipment. [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +80, Attack power +60, includes Electric Shock Effect (activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy per day. Once activated, it binds to the user; must be rebound if passed to another person)] [Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +100, defensive power +100, includes Electric Shock Effect (activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy per day. Once activated, it binds to the user; must be rebound if passed to another person)] After activating these two pieces of equipment, like the Night Demon Set, they consumed 1 Awakening Energy per day and bound to himself. It seemed that only Awakeners could fully utilize the strength of equipment and sets with special attributes of Level 4 or above. Wang Tao tried out the two pieces of equipment briefly. It was hard to say about the Electric Shield without bumping into zombies or having zombies hit the shield to produce electricity. The Baton was simpler, as Wang Tao could see the current flowing when he swung it. He wasn¡¯t sure of its power at the moment and planned to test it. Some time later, the helicopter flew back to the military base. The sound of the helicopter had attracted even more zombies. Wang Tao used this opportunity to test the Electric Baton and Shield¡¯s effect on them. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± A group of zombies saw Wang Tao leave the base and immediately rushed towards him. Wang Tao held the [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton], and when the group of zombies neared, he struck the leading zombie with it. Bang! Sizzle¡ª The Ordinary Zombie was directly headshot by Wang Tao, and electrical arcs flashed through. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the arcs didn¡¯t just appear on the headshot zombie but spread to the surrounding zombies as well. In an instant, the arc electrified around ten nearby zombies. Several of them were charred to a crisp and couldn¡¯t be deader. The others, though not dead, were electrified into stiffness and couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Goodness!¡± Wang Tao was very surprised as he watched this scene. He had originally thought that the electric shock effect from the Mutant Explosion-proof Baton would be similar to that of an ordinary electric baton, meant not to kill. But the power was much greater than he had imagined. Not only could he directly electrocute some zombies to death, but he could also spread it to other zombies. Especially among the zombie hordes, waving the Baton at one could instantly take down a large group! Wang Tao felt he could consider this Baton as a high-damage Ability for area attacks. However, there was a concern: he might electrocute himself, so he had to be careful when using it. Wang Tao then tested the Electric Shield. The Shield¡¯s effect was the same as the Baton¡¯s, but relatively safer. Shielded behind it, there was no worry about electrocuting himself. It was a pity that others couldn¡¯t harness these pieces of equipment¡¯s effects; otherwise, it would be more suitable for them¡­ Wang Tao returned to the base again. When they heard that Wang Tao had visited the Night Demon¡¯s Lair and killed a Level 4, Lord Night Demon, the newcomers were flabbergasted. Running into the den of the Night Demon and killing their Level 4, Lord Night Demon?! That was Wang Tao¡¯s strength! Wang Tao called over Ding Yuqin and the others, explaining the situation with the Level 4 Night Demon. Only by knowing oneself and the enemy could they be ever-victorious. If they encountered a Level 4, Lord Night Demon, in the future, they would also know how to deal with it. Wang Tao also took out the two Night Demon Type 1 to show them. These things were quite frightening, so it was better to let them know in advance that they were Wang Tao¡¯s weapons to avoid any mistaken attacks. Wang Tao also distributed a good number of Ultraviolet illumination flares to everyone; they were life-saving treasures. That evening, Lan Yulian contacted Wang Tao out of the blue. Upon connecting, Wang Tao noticed there was tension in her voice. ¡°Wang Tao, I think I¡¯ve discovered Four-level zombies¡­¡± ¡°Hmm? Tell me more!¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°These past few days, the zombies in Zijing City have been increasing, and quite a few Level 3, Zombie Lords have appeared. But I suddenly found that several Level 3, Zombie Lords we were watching have been killed! And besides us, there are no other survivors in Zijing City! It looks like they were killed at the same time, so we suspect that Four-level zombies may have appeared¡­¡± Generally, zombies were relatively peaceful among themselves, but there were exceptions. Some more aggressive zombies enjoyed hunting their kind; some huge ones would not deliberately avoid their kind when walking, resulting in the death of many zombies; there were also conflicts among zombies¡ªthe stronger the zombie, the wiser it became. It wasn¡¯t impossible for conflicts to occur¡­ Hence, it was possible for killings to happen among zombies. The situation Lan Yulian described did indeed sound like Four-level zombies. After all, to simultaneously kill several Level 3, Zombie Lords, and in a brutal manner at that, it was highly likely that only a Level 4 could do so. Wang Tao had previously told Lan Yulian that if Four-level zombies appeared, she must contact him. So, Lan Yulian reached out to Wang Tao immediately. ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do, I¡¯ll come over tomorrow to look into it.¡± Wang Tao said to Lan Yulian. If it was a weaker Level 4 zombie, he would try to deal with it. If it was stronger, then he would strategize long-term. If it was very strong, like the Giant Zombies¡­ then Wang Tao planned on bringing Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng back to the military base. ¡°Are you personally coming over? Be careful on your way!¡± Lan Yulian was worried. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take a plane.¡± After ending the call, Wang Tao said to He Jijun: ¡°Old He, let¡¯s go to Zijing City tomorrow. There might be Four-level zombies.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Chapter 678 - Chapter 678: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_1 Chapter 678: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_1 ¡°` ¡°The rain is getting heavier¡­¡± Wang Tao turned to He Jijun and said, ¡°Old He, can we fly the plane today?¡± ¡°No big problem,¡± as long as there wasn¡¯t extreme weather like violent winds and lightning, the plane could fly. However, He Jijun continued, ¡°But we¡¯ve used the helicopter quite frequently recently, and due to the corrosive acid rain, many parts have been replaced. We don¡¯t have many spare parts left in the base¡­¡± ¡°So, we can¡¯t use the helicopter often?¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Right, if it¡¯s exposed to too much corrosive acid rain, the plane will definitely have problems¡­ unless we wait for clear weather.¡± He Jijun sounded somewhat helpless. ¡°Sigh, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. I can only ask you to take extra care, Old He¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head. The plane had to be used now. If they were to drive to Zijing City, who knows how long that would take, and the ground was full of zombies, making it impassable. Wang Tao planned to visit Zijing Base today. Yesterday, Lan Yulian had reported that Four-level zombies might have appeared there, and Wang Tao needed to see what the situation was. If there really were Four-level zombies, then Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng might be in danger. As for the team members for this trip, He Jijun was a must. Although Wang Tao had learned to fly a helicopter, he wouldn¡¯t dare to operate it even in normal weather, let alone in extreme conditions. Then there were Jiang Shixue, Xu Xiaojun, and Lightning. Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to take too many people. In case there really was some irresistible danger, having too many people might not be good, since the helicopter could only accommodate so much space. ¡°Wang Tao, you have to be careful!¡± Ding Yuqin couldn¡¯t help but feel reluctant as she tidied Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. She had just reunited with Wang Tao and wanted to accompany him, but she knew she was too weak now and would burden him. So, she wisely didn¡¯t insist. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, sis.¡± Wang Tao patted her hand and then said, ¡°I might stay there for a couple of days since Four-level zombies might not be so easy to find. While I¡¯m gone, Zhang Hong and his team will take you to hunt zombies. Just finish them off from behind. There are still many zombies around our base, enough for you to kill.¡± Ding Yuqin and the others¡¯ HP had only increased to 30,000, with a potential to grow by another 70,000. They definitely needed to continue increasing their HP. Without reaching 100,000 HP, they wouldn¡¯t be able to participate in the various missions Wang Tao was undertaking now. ¡°Okay! I will work hard to improve my strength!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded. Previously, when she was at Shuize Base, she hardly ever went out and rarely hunted zombies, so she was very weak. Later, when she felt she wasn¡¯t much help to Wang Tao and possibly just a ¡®flower vase¡¯, she started trying to hunt zombies. Now, after spending so much time wandering in the post-apocalyptic world, her combat abilities, although not extremely strong, were at least above average for an Ability User, which was quite good. Wang Tao then looked at Han Rui beside him. ¡°You too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! With your help, I¡¯m sure my strength will improve rapidly!¡± Han Rui confidently patted her chest. She was a rather strong-willed woman and was not willing to be a drag on Wang Tao. ¡°Good.¡± After talking to some other people, Wang Tao boarded the helicopter. Buzzzz¡ª Amidst the roaring sound, the helicopter left the military base. ¡°It feels like there are more and more zombies¡­¡± Looking at the zombies attracted by the plane below, Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. Not to mention the zombies in the city area, if all the zombies outside the city area were to head to the military base, it would pose a great challenge to the base! It was impossible to defend the military base. Zijin Base also seemed to be struggling¡­ Wang Tao was now a bit lost, unsure of where to go. The helicopter was slower than the fixed-wing transport plane they had used before, taking extra time to arrive at Zijing City. Hehe¡­ Roar¡ª Flying over the horde of zombies, the helicopter immediately caught the attention of countless zombies. They ran beneath it, quickly disrupting the formation of this horde. Wang Tao watched carefully, vigilant to any signs of Four-level zombies below. Their strength was formidable enough to bring down a helicopter, so he had to be on guard at all times. Fortunately, there were no dangers encountered all the way to Zijin City Base. Wang Tao contacted Lan Yulian. ¡°Wang Tao, is that you? Are you on that helicopter?¡± Before Wang Tao could speak, Lan Yulian¡¯s voice came through, full of excitement. ¡°Yes, clear a flat area for me to land.¡± Zijin Base was large, but it also had many people. Wang Tao was worried that excited or curious individuals might get in the way. ¡°Okay!¡± Lan Yulian quickly cleared an area for landing, located in front of a large warehouse, with vehicles and personnel waiting nearby. Once the helicopter landed, Wang Tao and his companions got out, and someone immediately brought a vehicle to take the helicopter into the large warehouse. Lan Yulian was quite considerate. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Just as Wang Tao got off the aircraft, Lan Yulian rushed over excitedly. Wang Tao stroked her hair and said, ¡°It¡¯s been two months, and you¡¯re still so beautiful!¡± Among the women around Wang Tao, besides Jiang Shixue, it was Lan Yulian who maintained herself the best. Jiang Shixue¡¯s exceptional case was due to her unique constitution, unparalleled by anyone. Lan Yulian, on the other hand, was the leader of a power, so she generally didn¡¯t go outside to scavenge for supplies. And as a ¡®nurse¡¯, she kept herself in good condition. ¡°` Chapter 679 - Chapter 679: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_2 Chapter 679: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_2 Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s praise, Lan Yulian was very pleased. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, then released Wang Tao and suddenly hugged Jiang Shixue by her side. ¡°Little Xue! I¡¯ve missed you so much!¡± Jiang Shixue was somewhat embarrassed but also hugged Lan Yulian back, knowing that both she and Lu Yingfeng were especially fond of her. Wang Tao, on the other hand, hugged Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng was slightly embarrassed, her face turning a rosy red. Wang Tao pinched her cheek and then smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Mm~¡± The group returned to the central area of the base, and Wang Tao introduced Lan Yulian, Lu Yingfeng, and He Jijun to each other. It was then that Lan Yulian noticed that Wang Tao also had a dog with him. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s its name?¡± Lan Yulian asked curiously. ¡°Lightning. Everyone in the military base is gone, only it¡¯s left¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. The reason he kept Lightning with him was that he wasn¡¯t clear on how exactly Lightning should ascend, so he thought that bringing it along might help find a way. ¡°Poor little thing¡­¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s maternal instincts kicked in, and she snuggled Lightning intensely. She then recounted the incident concerning the suspected Level 4 zombie in detail. ¡°In the recent period, there have been a total of four Level 3 Zombie Lords around our base. But now all four Zombie Lords are dead; it must have happened last night, given that I saw those zombies during the day yesterday. Those Zombie Lords were all torn apart, lying dead among the horde of zombies¡­¡± Lan Yulian took out a cell phone, which had photos taken on it. Although not very clear, one could roughly see that the deaths of these zombies were indeed gruesome. Just by looking at the bodies, it was impossible to determine the situation. Wang Tao also thought it was the handiwork of a Level 4 zombie. The strength of Level 3 Zombie Lords wasn¡¯t that disparate; it was unlikely they would end up in such a state. ¡°Did you hear any noises?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°It seemed like there was no noise¡­ I¡¯ve investigated, and no one in the base heard anything, including the guards.¡± ¡°Not a single noise?¡± ¡°None¡­¡± Lan Yulian shook her head, then as if remembering something, she hastily said, ¡°Oh right, these four lords all died in the same place, which is why I said they were killed at the same time.¡± ¡°Were these four zombies together before?¡± ¡°No, they were in different directions before¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange then¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned. The four Level 3 Zombie Lords weren¡¯t together before, but last night all of a sudden they came together and were slaughtered without making any noise. It wasn¡¯t that a Level 4 zombie couldn¡¯t do this, but it raised the question of whether the zombies now knew how to carry out their deeds in a covert manner? Or was it that this Level 4 zombie had a peculiar method that prevented these zombies from making noise before dying? ¡°I¡¯m worried that this might be a Level 4 zombie that is good at stealth or ambush. That would be very dangerous!¡± Lu Yingfeng suddenly spoke up. Wang Tao nodded. That was a concern for him as well. A Level 4 zombie might not be frightening, but one that excelled at stealth and ambush was indeed terrifying! ¡°By the way, did you pick up the Crystal Cores of these Level 3 lords? What kind of Cores were they?¡± The Cores could give an indication of the zombies¡¯ strengths. ¡°No, after discovering the deaths of these zombies, we sent someone with the Stealth Potion to sneak a look, but found nothing; their Crystal Cores were gone. With so many zombies around, they could have been kicked anywhere¡­¡± Lan Yulian said regretfully. After all, the Crystal Cores of Level 3 Lords were quite valuable. ¡°How about this, tonight I¡¯ll go out and see what exactly is going on,¡± Wang Tao suggested after some thought. There was no use analyzing the situation here; he had to go out and see for himself. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you!¡± Lan Yulian immediately raised her hand, only to be pushed down by Wang Tao. ¡°Are you coming to be my burden?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian pretended to be very angry, but Wang Tao was clearly not buying it. He pinched her cheek and said, ¡°Tonight, none of you should come out, it¡¯ll just be me and Little Xue.¡± The others couldn¡¯t see in the dark and would indeed be a burden at night. ¡°Alright then.¡± Lan Yulian had already arranged for people to keep watch over the surroundings, and so far, no abnormalities had been detected. Wang Tao walked around the base with Lan Yulian and the others, getting to know the situation in the base. There was no doubt about it, Lan Yulian truly had a talent for management. After bringing together the survivors of Zijing City to the base, she managed everything in an orderly fashion, with hardly any trouble arising, and before the tide of zombies arrived, it was a flourishing sight to see. It was only then that Wang Tao learned the group of survivors from Duzhu Town had indeed come to Zijing City, and Lan Yulian had taken them all in. The original Zijin Base had nearly ten thousand people. After the change in leadership and Lan Yulian brought over other people from Zijing City, the numbers swelled to over ten thousand. Afterward, other outsiders and survivors from Duzhu Town joined, and now the population of the entire Zijin Base had reached twenty thousand. ¡°To be precise, there are 21,944 people ¡ª oh no, that¡¯s wrong, a new baby was born in the base yesterday, so now there are 21,945 people!¡± Lan Yulian said proudly to Wang Tao. ¡°Oh? There¡¯s a new baby?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. In a post-apocalyptic world, surviving on one¡¯s own was already difficult enough. Most people would not choose to have children, as no one wanted their child to suffer in such a world. Chapter 680 - Chapter 680: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_3 Chapter 680: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_3 Wang Tao himself had the same idea; he didn¡¯t have the slightest intention of having children. But then again, he had been with quite a few women, sometimes without taking any safety measures, and yet he had never ¡°hit the target¡±¡­ ¡°Could there be something wrong with me?¡± Wang Tao suddenly began to doubt himself. After all, if a man and a woman can¡¯t have children, there could be a problem with either party, but if one man with many women still can¡¯t, that¡¯s a hundred percent a problem with the man¡­ Shaking his head, Wang Tao hurriedly dismissed the thought. Children were too far removed from him, not something he could consider right now. Lan Yulian, of course, had no idea Wang Tao had thought so much in that instant. When she heard Wang Tao¡¯s surprise about the birth rate at the base, she said with some pride: ¡°Ahem, before I took over this base, the birth rate of newborns here was almost zero¡ªno one wanted to, and no one dared to have children. But in the two months since I took charge, there have already been more than twenty newborns! Unfortunately, we¡¯ve lost a few shortly after birth¡­¡± Lan Yulian sighed. Medical conditions are poor now, and newborns are very fragile; a slight misstep can lead to their demise. The first time Lan Yulian saw a deceased infant, she was upset for a good half-month¡­ However, Lan Yulian quickly raised her head again and said with a smile: ¡°The new generation represents hope! If a base has no newborns, then it is doomed to destruction, but our Zijin Base already has nearly thirty newborns, so I believe our base will be able to exist forever!¡± Seeing Lan Yulian, whose face seemed to radiate light, Wang Tao suddenly felt a little reluctant to burst her bubble. But Wang Tao had a responsibility to inform Lan Yulian of the current situation. ¡°Jade Lotus, I think you¡¯re amazing, and I am inferior to you. But I have to tell you, the situation right now¡­ is tough.¡± Wang Tao looked at her seriously. Lan Yulian felt a bit flustered under Wang Tao¡¯s gaze and said subconsciously: ¡°It¡¯s just a horde of zombies! Our base can hold up for now! Plus, we¡¯ve got you! You¡¯re a Level 4 now, and you¡¯re so strong¡­ You¡¯ll protect us, won¡¯t you?¡± Towards the end, Lan Yulian¡¯s tone suddenly grew weaker. Asking Wang Tao to protect Zijin Base meant asking him to take on a great risk. She wanted to protect the people of the base, but she also didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to get hurt¡­ Seeing Lan Yulian like this, Wang Tao stroked her face. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll protect you, protect all of you. But, you haven¡¯t seen those formidable Level 4 zombies, those Giant Zombies tens of meters high, like skyscrapers. If they come, they can step right into Zijin Base with a single step¡­¡± Wang Tao talked to Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng about the situation in Wuyang City. Hearing about the Giant Zombie that could take down an airplane, their eyes filled with horror, and then they fell silent. ¡°And let me tell you some bad news. Before we got in touch with you, we had contacted another base. They were trapped by the horde too. As we were preparing to go support them, their base fell, easily breached by the Giant Zombie¡­¡± ¡°How could this be¡­¡± If the Giant Zombie hadn¡¯t attacked a human survivor base, Lan Yulian might still have been a little hopeful, but now with an example right there, she lost that last shred of hope. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t finished with her yet and continued: ¡°When I was piloting the military transport plane, I encountered a Giant Zombie. It wasn¡¯t in the city center; it was moving with the horde, heading east.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The east of Wuyang City¡­ is Zijing City! Lan Yulian suddenly felt ice-cold all over as if she had lost all her strength at once. Wang Tao wrapped his arms around her. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to discourage you, I just think you should know the reality of our current situation.¡± ¡°¡­So, if a lot of level 4 zombies or giant zombies really did come, what would you do?¡± Lan Yulian looked up, biting her lip as she gazed at Wang Tao. ¡°I¡¯d take you both with me. That¡¯s all I could do. After all, I only have one helicopter.¡± Wang Tao spoke very calmly. In truth, if that situation really occurred, even if he left, he wouldn¡¯t know where to go¡ªhe himself was still lost¡­ ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes suddenly reddened a bit. She was the leader of the Zijin Base; she didn¡¯t want to abandon these survivors. If she just left, what would make her different from a murderer? But¡­ she was truly powerless! If even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t manage it, what could she possibly do? ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t think too much! This is all Wang Tao¡¯s speculation. What if the zombie tide passes quickly and no serious danger arises? You know, no matter the tide, it¡¯s bound to recede eventually! And even if there really is danger, that¡¯s a problem for later. By then, we might already have a solution!¡± He Jijun suddenly spoke up. He felt that the morale of the group was somewhat low and needed a boost. ¡°Ha ha, that¡¯s true. I¡¯m talking about the worst-case scenario, but ever since the apocalypse, I¡¯ve been quite lucky and have never encountered any dead end situations. Even if I did, I always managed to turn danger into safety¡­ I believe that we will ultimately be alright!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily, then planted a firm kiss on Lan Yulian¡¯s face. Lan Yulian glared at Wang Tao, but she didn¡¯t say anything more. He Jijun was right. Even if real danger came, it would be later. They were at least safe for now, and there was no need to flee yet¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go see the newborns.¡± Lan Yulian suddenly suggested. Wang Tao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± Lan Yulian led Wang Tao to the base¡¯s hospital. The conditions in the hospital were simple, but the space was large, with many different areas sectioned off. The maternity ward was one such area, where the mothers were concentrated, with special care and diets provided. Lan Yulian gave them excellent treatment. Wang Tao saw the more than twenty newborns. The just-born babies were all wrinkly and looked quite ugly, and they also had a bit of a smell. But Lan Yulian didn¡¯t mind it at all. Suddenly, she handed one of the babies to Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at the wrinkled little face of the child, and then at Lan Yulian¡¯s expectant gaze, he shook his head and didn¡¯t take it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve seen enough. I¡¯m going back to get ready; I¡¯ll head out tonight.¡± After speaking, Wang Tao turned and walked away, without a hint of reluctance. Lan Yulian stiffened, her complexion a touch pale. Chapter 681 - Chapter 681: Chapter 278 True Illusion_1 Chapter 681: Chapter 278 True Illusion_1 Evening. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left Zijin Base. As they jumped down from the tall wall, Jiang Shixue suddenly whispered, ¡°Those little babies were quite cute¡­¡± Thud¡ª The two landed, and the surrounding zombies, sensing Wang Tao¡¯s presence, immediately pounced on them. Wang Tao casually sent out a shockwave that shattered the zombies. He turned his head to look at Jiang Shixue. His green eyes betrayed no emotion. Jiang Shixue scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°Cough, I mean¡­¡± ¡°They were quite cute,¡± Wang Tao interrupted her, then added, ¡°Let¡¯s go, see if there are any four-level zombies.¡± ¡°Oh~¡± There were many zombies outside the base. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to waste time with them, so he directly used a Stealth Potion. Jiang Shixue¡¯s physical condition was special; she had the effect of a Stealth Potion naturally, so she didn¡¯t need to use one. After using the Stealth Potion, the zombies around them quieted down a lot. As long as Wang Tao didn¡¯t get too close to them or linger near them, they wouldn¡¯t usually be attacked. First, Wang Tao went to the place where the four Level 4 Lord zombies had died. A day had passed, and the flesh and blood of those four Level 3 Lords could still be seen. Zombies don¡¯t have the habit of cannibalizing each other, so these remains were left untouched. Wang Tao searched the area but found no Crystal Cores. He wondered if the zombies had kicked them away since zombies don¡¯t eat Crystal Cores. Confirming there was nothing to be found, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went to other areas around the base to look but found nothing there either. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry. He was prepared to wander outside for the night and search thoroughly. ¡°Hmm? Two Level 3 Lords?¡± At some distance from the base, Wang Tao spotted two Level 3 Lord zombies, each with 60,000 HP. These two zombies were clearly heading towards the base. Wang Tao¡¯s first instinct was to kill them, but he quickly restrained himself. The previous four Level 3 Lords had been killed by a four-level zombie. If that four-level zombie was nearby, wouldn¡¯t these two Level 3 Lords be targeted as well? Wang Tao thought it was a definite possibility. Hence, Wang Tao didn¡¯t kill the two Level 3 Lords; instead, he followed them. In a horde like this, following those two zombies would normally be difficult. After all, Wang Tao used a Stealth Potion, not an invisibility potion; getting too close to the zombies would get him discovered. Luckily, Wang Tao had the Perception Ability, which allowed him to track the two Level 3 Lords from a distance. He didn¡¯t have to worry about being detected by the two zombies; he just had to be careful of the others around him. After tracking them for a while, the two Lord zombies arrived outside Zijin Base. They seemed eager to get in, lured by the many human scents inside, but alas, the wall was too high for them to scale. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Both Level 3 Lords were extremely enraged. They even commanded the ordinary zombies around them to attack the high wall. But it was clearly a futile effort. After being busy for quite some time with no success, one of the Lords dispersed the other zombies but the other Lord seemed reluctant to do so. The two Lords growled at each other. Wang Tao, watching from afar, was surprised. ¡°Eh? Zombies can quarrel? This is enlightening¡­¡± ¡°Not only are they quarreling, they seem about to come to blows?¡± Jiang Shixue hadn¡¯t finished speaking when the two Lords started fighting! One punched, another slapped, as if they were children squabbling. But these were Level 3 Lords with formidable bodies. Their punches and slaps could cause serious damage. In the blink of an eye, both zombies had lost a significant amount of HP. ¡°This is really eye-opening, seeing zombies fight for the first time¡ªwait!¡± Wang Tao was initially ready to enjoy the spectacle, but suddenly he felt something was off. Regardless of whether zombies fight among themselves, even if they did, would these Lord zombies attack each other with such a turn-based style? But Lords have Abilities! They seemed to be seriously fighting, but they weren¡¯t using any Abilities? Using Abilities should be instinctive for zombies, right? Had they lost their instincts? Something wasn¡¯t right! Especially when the HP of the two Lords kept dropping, yet they stuck to this turn-based fighting style, Wang Tao was now certain that something was wrong with these zombies! ¡°In this situation¡­¡± Wang Tao turned to Jiang Shixue, ¡°I get the feeling that these two Level 3 Lords are being controlled.¡± ¡°I have the same feeling!¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. Come to think of it, both Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had the ability to control others. However, their methods of control were different. Jiang Shixue could somewhat manipulate others¡¯ thoughts through her Hidden Ability, the Eyes of Contract. Though it was called control, it was actually more like guidance, or giving a suggestion that made one subconsciously follow Jiang Shixue¡¯s intention. This ability could not affect those of the same level, only those weaker than her. The weaker the opponent¡¯s spiritual power, the easier for Jiang Shixue to succeed. Her ability wasn¡¯t very useful in combat since she could defeat those she could control, and she couldn¡¯t control those she couldn¡¯t defeat¡­ Especially since zombies had very simple minds, or rather no minds at all. Guiding them was quite troublesome for Jiang Shixue¡­ As for Wang Tao¡¯s control ability, it was Mental Disturbance. Chapter 682 - Chapter 682: Chapter 278 True Illusion_2 Chapter 682: Chapter 278 True Illusion_2 Wang Tao¡¯s ability was the exact opposite of Jiang Shixue¡¯s. The simpler the mind, the easier it was for Wang Tao to interfere, and those brainless zombies were very easy to manipulate. However, it was ineffective against humans, unless they were literally brain dead¡­ So, Wang Tao¡¯s ability wasn¡¯t very effective on humans but worked well on zombies. Of course, this was only true for zombies whose levels and spiritual power were inferior to his own. Therefore, they generally didn¡¯t use this kind of control ability. Wang Tao didn¡¯t think of it at first. But looking at the situation now, it was clear that control was at play! ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out!¡± Now that he remembered he had this ability, Wang Tao immediately activated Mental Disturbance, rounding up a few ordinary zombies to surround himself. He prepared to have these zombies clear the way as he and Jiang Shixue snuck over to see what was actually happening. Soon, the two Level 3, Lord zombies were down to a sliver of HP, and Wang Tao, along with Jiang Shixue, gradually made their way to the vicinity. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt the scene before his eyes change, transforming into a gray and lifeless world with many humans around him with vacant stares. These people were all standing around, hardly moving, but among them, two of the humans were hitting each other with punches and slaps! Both of them were trying to bite each other, but they were blocked, so they could only fight with punches and kicks. Wang Tao turned his head, just as Jiang Shixue also turned hers; both of their eyes¡ªone red, one green¡ªshowed a hint of surprise. Watching one of the ¡°humans¡± in the fight fall, Wang Tao said, ¡°This feeling¡­ is almost the same as the Illusion Beast we encountered in Zijing City!¡± Wang Tao and his companions had also been trapped in an illusion just like this before! However, the previous illusion had been much more realistic; Wang Tao knew it was an illusion but could not spot a single flaw! Yet, this current illusion was fraught with flaws¡ªjust as Wang Tao was about to criticize the multitude of flaws in the illusion, the scene before his eyes changed again! Suddenly, it became an empty basketball court with several tall people playing, surrounded by a crowd of spectators. Wang Tao himself hadn¡¯t changed at all, still in his combat suit. Jiang Shixue was the same as well, wearing the JK uniform Wang Tao had given her. ¡°It¡¯s definitely that kind of Illusion! Perhaps it¡¯s that Level 4 monster!¡± Wang Tao grinned. The people playing basketball approached and invited Wang Tao to join them. Wang Tao responded with a Shockwave. Bang! In an instant, flesh flew, and the basketball court was filled with blood, eliciting a continuous series of Screams from the spectator stands¡­ everything felt incredibly real. It would have been even better if they didn¡¯t have red HP bars above their heads. Wang Tao launched indiscriminate attacks around him, and in an instant, there were a great number of casualties, turning the basketball court into a slaughterhouse. Looking at these gory scenes, Wang Tao remained completely unfazed, cranking his Perception Ability to the max as he searched meticulously. Suddenly, Wang Tao swung his sword towards a certain spot. ¡°Found you!¡± Bang! There seemed to be nothing in front of him, but Wang Tao¡¯s blade was blocked! Wang Tao saw a slight tear in the scene before him, but it quickly stabilized again. ¡°Got away?¡± In Wang Tao¡¯s perception, the thing with immense energy he had ¡°seen¡± escaped quickly after taking a hit from him. Sizzle¡ª Right after, Wang Tao saw the scene before him fracture, the basketball court disappearing, transforming into the wilderness. The people slaughtered by Wang Tao in the basketball court also disappeared, turning into a pile of zombie limbs and remains on the ground. Wang Tao didn¡¯t care about the scene before him; he immediately surveyed his surroundings and pushed his Plant Affinity and Perception to their limits. In the distance, Wang Tao caught a glimpse of a black shadow that flashed by! Although he did not see the entire figure, Wang Tao caught sight of its HP bar. [HP: 116746/120000] [Mana: 90000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 80%] [Awakening: Real Illusion] [Real Illusion: Increases defensive power, can create a Real Illusion area, and affect the consciousness of all living beings within it] Wang Tao felt that this had to be the Level 4, Monster Lord he had encountered three months earlier! Compared to before, this monster¡¯s HP had only increased by 20,000. This showed that increasing HP beyond 100,000 must be very difficult. And this time, Wang Tao had finally seen its Awakening. ¡°Real Illusion!¡± The monster¡¯s Awakening was to create an illusion, which was close to what Wang Tao had anticipated. When he had first encountered this monster, Wang Tao was very afraid, as it was Level 4. But now, Wang Tao felt he could put up a fight! Even if Wang Tao couldn¡¯t detect the flaw in the illusion, which was too much like the real world, he could see HP bars! A group of normal humans with red HP bars over their heads¡­ anyone with a brain would know what to do! So, no matter how realistic his illusion was, it was not much use to Wang Tao! Apart from the illusion itself, Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel it had any other attacking ability. This illusion relied on affecting the consciousness of living beings to attack. For example, making the zombies attack Wang Tao, or causing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue to kill each other. But zombies below Level 4 were not a significant threat to Wang Tao, unless there were a lot of them. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue wouldn¡¯t be subjected to mental control¡ªnot to mention them, even Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan from before were not much affected. Wang Tao estimated that the control ability of this illusion was similar to his Psychic Disturbance Ability; the lower the intelligence and the weaker the mental strength, the easier it was to be controlled. Chapter 683 - Chapter 683: Chapter 278 True Illusion_3 Chapter 683: Chapter 278 True Illusion_3 ¡°` As long as Wang Tao is not deceived by the illusion, then it poses no threat to him! It was only now that Wang Tao realized that the four Level 3 Zombie Lords that Lan Yulian mentioned were brutally murdered were not actually killed by fourth-level zombies, but were made to kill each other by this Illusion Beast! As to why the Illusion Beast would make the Level 3 Lord Zombies kill each other¡­ Wang Tao glanced at the nearby corpses of the two recently deceased Level 3 Zombie Lords and saw that their Crystal Cores were gone ¡ª it was for the Crystal Cores that the Illusion Beast had killed these Zombie Lords! Upon discovering the identity of this fourth-order monster, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too surprised by the outcome. The information provided by the military base had indicated that these monsters and zombies were not of the same kind. Wang Tao could also observe that these monsters had internal impurities and needed Crystal Cores as well. This fourth-order monster¡¯s illusion affected all the zombies within its range; within the illusion, whether the zombies attacked or not was controlled by the monster. Now that the illusion was gone, the zombies were no longer under control and immediately attacked Wang Tao upon seeing him. After Jiang Shixue cleared away the besieging zombies, she asked Wang Tao: ¡°Brother, shall we chase it?¡± ¡°Chase!¡± Wang Tao nodded. He felt that this fourth-order Illusion Beast was less of a threat than the Flame Monster. During his battle with the Flame Monster, although Wang Tao could somewhat resist fire, the flames still caused some damage to him, and the Flame Monster, having a strong physique, could make him lose a lot of HP when it hit him. But this illusion created by the Illusion Beast was completely ineffective against Wang Tao. He was not affected at all! This was as if the Illusion Beast had one less awakening! Previously when he faced this Illusion Beast, he lacked the strength and didn¡¯t fully understand its method of attack, so he would run as far as possible. But now¡­ the monster had actually run away first! This could only mean that the Illusion Beast was afraid! Aside from its illusion attack, it likely had no other formidable methods of attack. Therefore, Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t let it go! Wang Tao collected the spoils from the zombies he had just killed before setting off in pursuit of the Illusion Beast. Although the monster was fast, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity had a large range. With plenty of plants around, he easily perceived a large creature moving quickly. The Illusion Beast moved much faster than Level 3 zombies and didn¡¯t move in a straight line, making quite a few feints. But Wang Tao was a bit faster than it! Coupled with his ¡°radar¡± and ¡°x-ray vision¡±, the Illusion Beast¡¯s movements were completely visible to Wang Tao, and there was nowhere to hide. ¡°Over here!¡± Chasing the beast through a dilapidated residential area, Wang Tao suddenly slashed at a small house. Whoosh¡ª A Shockwave directly shattered a wall, causing the already damaged house to collapse with a boom. Amidst a cloud of dust, a bulky figure appeared. Wang Tao finally saw the true face of the Illusion Beast. ¡°What is that? A pig?¡± The Illusion Beast was entirely black and very fat, with rough bristles all over its body. Its chubby black face sported a large nose, big ears, and white canines¡­ It resembled a wild boar! But it wasn¡¯t quite the same as a real wild boar since wild boars aren¡¯t that fat, and even domestic pigs are not as plump as it was. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Wild Boar Monster¡¯s eyes emitted a faint red glow as it roared at Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao¡¯s vision blurred momentarily as he re-entered the illusion it had created. This time, it was a large gym, but there were no bulky muscle men around, only hot-bodied beauties. Wang Tao had to admit, it was quite a pleasant sight. But the thought that these beauties were actually disgusting zombies instantly killed any interest he had. He vanished in a flash, then fiercely struck at one of the curvaceous beauties. Bang! [-3284] ¡°The defense of this Wild Boar Monster is really high!¡± Could his attacks only take away just over three thousand HP with a single strike? This defense was even higher than the Night Demon¡¯s! But that one strike dispelled the illusion. The illusion seemed related to the state of the Wild Boar Monster; when it got injured, it affected the use of its illusion. Roar¡ª The Wild Boar Monster roared angrily and charged at Wang Tao. Its speed was clearly not a match for Wang Tao¡¯s, who easily dodged its attack. Jiang Shixue suddenly appeared from the other side and blocked the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s path, scratching it twice. [-726] [-673] Jiang Shixue¡¯s attacks were like tickles to the Wild Boar Monster. Wang Tao felt that the Wild Boar Monster was different from the Night Demon; the Night Demon had strong all-around physical qualities¡ªattack, defense, speed, and so on. The Wild Boar Monster seemed to be just thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, after all, its speed wasn¡¯t very fast, even slower than Wang Tao¡¯s. Seeing that a large number of zombies had already been attracted, Wang Tao prepared to use his Awakening to end the battle quickly. But as if he had thought of something, a baton suddenly appeared in his hand. After activating the Mutant Explosion-proof Baton, he hadn¡¯t used this equipment to fight against strong enemies. Wang Tao wanted to know if the electric shock effect would work on fourth-order monsters. Wang Tao approached the Wild Boar Monster and swung the baton at it, generating a spark of electricity. [-2133] [-10283] The Wild Boar Monster instantly stiffened as two damage numbers popped up. One was the physical damage from the baton, the other the damage from the electric current! The physical damage from the baton was less than with the great cleaver since he couldn¡¯t use high-frequency vibration. But the electric damage from the baton was five times the physical damage! Seeing this, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°It looks like I won¡¯t need to use my Awakening to deal with you!¡± Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure why this was the case, he suddenly had a shield in his hand, crackling with electric arcs. ¡°` Chapter 684 - Chapter 684: Chapter 279: The Tusk Long Knife_1 Chapter 684: Chapter 279: The Tusk Long Knife_1 ¡°` Wang Tao held an electric shield in one hand and a stun baton in the other. With a flash, he appeared by the side of the Wild Boar Monster. Bang! [-2011] [-10203] The Wild Boar Monster¡¯s HP dropped by over ten thousand again. The electric current on the stun baton had a certain paralyzing effect. The Wild Boar Monster had intended to counterattack, but upon being struck by the current, its body stiffened instantly, and its attack was interrupted. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± However, the paralysis didn¡¯t last long, and the Wild Boar Monster quickly recovered. It used True Illusion again, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were once again plunged into the illusion. In Wang Tao¡¯s vision, the Wild Boar Monster disappeared! The premise for Wang Tao to see the HP bar was that his eyes could see the object. Now that he could no longer see the Wild Boar Monster, naturally, he couldn¡¯t see its HP bar either. But it didn¡¯t matter, Wang Tao still had his Perception Ability. His Perception Ability allowed him to ¡°see¡± clearly that a massive energy was rushing towards him from the side! Wang Tao immediately raised his shield. Bang! Sizzle¡ª A muffled sound as the Wild Boar Monster slammed hard against the shield. [-11293] The shield itself couldn¡¯t cause damage, but the electrical current on the shield struck the Wild Boar Monster, dealing over ten thousand damage in an instant! Wang Tao felt a numbness in his left hand and saw a few dozen HP drop from his health. The Wild Boar Monster was very strong; the shield blocked most of the damage, but he still lost some HP. He swung his stun baton through the air with his right hand. [-2291] [-11285] The illusion shattered once again. The Wild Boar Monster, now somewhat scorched from the electricity, didn¡¯t continue to fight blindly and turned to run. Fight lost, escape! Jiang Shixue, who had been ready at the side, immediately blocked its path. While she didn¡¯t cause any damage, she successfully stopped its escape. Wang Tao charged over once more. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Being continuously shocked, the Wild Boar Monster was clearly enraged. It planted its limbs on the ground, kicked with its hind hooves, and charged at Jiang Shixue! This time it was smart not to attack Wang Tao but chose to go after Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s charge. The Wild Boar Monster crashed into a civilian house, causing the small building to collapse. If it had hit Jiang Shixue, she would have been bruised all over. ¡°Looking to die!¡± Wang Tao immediately rushed into the rubble. Even though the dust affected Wang Tao¡¯s vision, his Perception Ability firmly locked onto the position of the Wild Boar Monster. After using Mental Shock several times and realizing it wasn¡¯t very effective, Wang Tao released two [Night Demon Type I]. It was night, so summoning [Night Demon Type I] was naturally not a problem. [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s combat effectiveness in actual combat was quite good. Even though they didn¡¯t have much HP and were not at their peak state, they could suppress and beat the Wild Boar Monster when co-operating with Wang Tao! After all, the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s strongest ability was Illusion, but Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were not greatly affected by the illusion. Since the two [Night Demon Type I] were controlled by Wang Tao, they were also unaffected by the illusion. Essentially, Wang Tao had nullified the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s Awakening. In a moment, the charred Wild Boar Monster had its skull smashed by Wang Tao¡¯s baton. [-1823] [0/120000] Clatter¡ª A pile of items burst out. Wang Tao picked up the Loot Pack and then checked the items dropped by the Wild Boar Monster itself. A pair of tusks, a piece of pigskin, and a spherical object all had names. Not having time to look further, Wang Tao had the [Night Demon Type I] carry the corpse of the Wild Boar Monster and left the area with Jiang Shixue. Their battle hadn¡¯t lasted long, but it had made quite a commotion and a large number of zombies had already come over. Wang Tao had no reason to get entangled with these zombies. Before returning to Zijin Base, Wang Tao circled around the bases nearby to ensure he didn¡¯t see any other Level 4 zombies or monsters. Then he contacted Lan Yulian to open the gate. ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay¡ªwhat is this thing?!¡± Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng had been waiting up for Wang Tao, as were He Jijun and Lightning. Both women were startled when they saw a tall Night Demon carrying an even larger Wild Boar Monster and immediately became alert. ¡°This is a weapon [Night Demon Type I], formed from the heart of a Level 4, Lord Night Demon¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained about the Night Demon Type I. ¡°There¡¯s such a thing?¡± The two women were extremely shocked, but since Wang Tao had Entangling Roots on him and Iron Tree Vines in his hands, which were both weapons, the appearance of a weapon capable of assisting Wang Tao seemed¡­ somewhat reasonable. Lan Yulian came over curiously and cautiously poked at the Night Demon Type I, which didn¡¯t react. ¡°And this?¡± Lan Yulian then pointed at the corpse of the Wild Boar Monster being carried by the Night Demon Type I. Obviously, it wasn¡¯t a zombie but looked like a¡­ wild boar? Did Wang Tao happen to hunt a wild boar while he was out? Wang Tao explained with a smile: ¡°This was the culprit behind the deaths of those Level 3, Lord zombies earlier, although it¡¯s not a Four-level zombie, but a Level 4, Monster Lord.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The two women were shocked again. It wasn¡¯t a Level 4 zombie that hunted its kind, but this Level 4 monster that did the killing? And Wang Tao had killed this Level 4 monster so quickly? This was a Level 4, Monster Lord! And it was already dead? They hadn¡¯t heard any commotion! Eager to see more, the two women crowded around, but they couldn¡¯t tell from its appearance that it was a Level 4 monster. ¡°Woof woof!¡± Lightning barked twice at the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s corpse, as if celebrating Wang Tao¡¯s successful hunt. ¡°` Chapter 685 - Chapter 685: Chapter 279: The Tusk Long Knife_2 Chapter 685: Chapter 279: The Tusk Long Knife_2 Wang Tao patted Lightning on the head, then turned to Lan Yulian and the other woman, saying, ¡°Actually, this Fourth-order Monster is the one I told you about before, the one that can create illusions¡­¡± ¡°So it was that one!¡± Lan Yulian and her companion exchanged a glance, both quite surprised. Wang Tao had previously warned Lan Yulian and the others about this monster, telling them to be on guard. When Wang Tao left, he even made a point of searching in Zijing City but didn¡¯t find the creature. He had thought the monster had left Zijing City. But now, it seemed that the monster had either come back after leaving, or it had been hiding somewhere that Wang Tao hadn¡¯t discovered. Anyway, it was good that they had killed it, for the biggest threat to the base was now eliminated. Wang Tao explained the situation with the Wild Boar Monster in detail to the two women and He Jijun so that they would know how to deal with similar creatures if they encountered them in the future. All of them listened with some curiosity, having never experienced such a True Illusion themselves; they didn¡¯t know what it was like. ¡°I think this must be an evolution of a wild boar. It should be edible¡­ of course, first we¡¯ll test it. The base is raising small animals, right¡­¡± Wang Tao said, pointing at the corpse of the Wild Boar Monster. When he was at the farm run by Xu Xiaojun, he had caught many large fish, which had also gone through evolution and were edible. Wang Tao guessed this Wild Boar Monster was probably the same, but it was best to test it on small animals first, for safety¡¯s sake. ¡°Okay!¡± Lan Yulian nodded excitedly; she had never eaten monster flesh before. She summoned someone to take the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s body down for processing. Wang Tao first took out all the bones from the corpse, as they might be useful as crafting materials¡­ Wang Tao had originally planned to spend a night outside, but now he had completed his mission ahead of schedule. There was still plenty of time to sleep. Of course, he couldn¡¯t sleep without carefully checking his Loot Pack first. In his room, Wang Tao took a bath first. When he came out, he found Lan Yulian looking at him with tender affection. Wang Tao pinched her cheek. ¡°I need to check today¡¯s loot first.¡± Lan Yulian hugged Wang Tao¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you~¡± Wang Tao started to take things out. Lan Yulian had seen Wang Tao use his Space Backpack so many times that it didn¡¯t surprise her anymore. The Wild Boar Monster itself had dropped 4 items, and the Loot Packs that burst out numbered 5. By killing the Wild Boar Monster, Wang Tao gained 1 point of Advanced Special Energy and 1 Awakening Key, but his HP still hadn¡¯t increased. This time, he hadn¡¯t used Awakening to kill, so he hadn¡¯t wasted any Awakening Energy, which meant he effectively gained 200 Awakening Energy. Then there were the 4 items dropped by the Wild Boar Monster: a Power Crystal Core, fangs, Boar Skin, and a small round ball resembling a ping pong ball. [Obtained: Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Mental Defense x1] This was a red Defense Crystal Core; Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. Since the Wild Boar Monster was able to use illusions, its spiritual power should have been quite high. Wang Tao had tried attacking it with spiritual power and found it ineffective, so he stopped. After all, consuming too much spiritual power could affect one¡¯s combat effectiveness. [Obtained: Fourth-order¡¤Wild Boar Fang x4] [Fourth-order¡¤Wild Boar Fang: Crafting material, can add the Bleeding Property to equipment] This fang seemed pretty good; the ¡°Bleeding¡± property sounded quite powerful. However, the name of this material¡­ simply Wild Boar Fang, felt a bit too straightforward. [Obtained: Fourth-order¡¤Wild Boar Skin x1] [Fourth-order¡¤Wild Boar Skin: Crafting material, can add to equipment¡¯s defensive power, Mental Defense, and Weakness to Fire and Electricity Attributes] Upon seeing the attributes of the Wild Boar Skin, Wang Tao opened his mouth, not sure what to say. Adding to equipment¡¯s defensive power and Mental Defense made sense, but adding weakness to fire and electricity? Using this kind of material in equipment that came with weaknesses was somewhat troubling. Wang Tao suddenly realized why he had caused so much damage when he attacked the Wild Boar Monster with the Mutant Explosion-proof Baton. It turned out he had accidentally found the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s weakness by chance! That being said, if he hadn¡¯t thought to use the baton, then he likely would have used Awakening, which was fire-based¡­ All in all, the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s death was not a fluke. But what intrigued Wang Tao the most was the last item. [Obtained: Reality Illusion Pearl x1] [Reality Illusion Pearl: Contains a certain amount of spiritual power that can be fused. If one¡¯s own spiritual power is higher than that of the Reality Illusion Pearl, one can acquire a Hidden Ability. If one¡¯s own spiritual power is lower, they will be trapped in the True Illusion forever] Hiss¡ª Another thing that could add a Hidden Ability! But¡­ this thing is a bit scary to use! Without a way to see the specific values of spiritual power, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how much spiritual power he had, nor the amount contained in the Reality Illusion Pearl. If he didn¡¯t have higher spiritual power than the pearl, then it would be over for him! The Hidden Ability provided by the Reality Illusion Pearl would likely be related to spiritual power and was definitely a good thing, but unfortunately, Wang Tao dared not use it now¡ªand it wasn¡¯t even about whether he dared to use it or not. The moment Wang Tao picked up the pearl, a prompt suddenly appeared. [Note: Each person can obtain up to four Hidden Abilities, including those that have already been Awakened. If one acquires a fifth Hidden Ability, it will randomly replace one of the existing abilities. If all Hidden Abilities have already been Awakened, a fifth Hidden Ability cannot be acquired] Chapter 686 - Chapter 686: Chapter 279: The Tusk Long Knife_3 Chapter 686: Chapter 279: The Tusk Long Knife_3 ¡°¡­¡± Okay, Wang Tao was thinking that if he were to fuse with it, he¡¯d be taking a big risk. But now, it seems he wasn¡¯t even in a position to consider fusion. He had a total of four hidden abilities: Body Strengthening, Night Vision, Plant Affinity, and Fire Element. Among these abilities, Wang Tao initially thought Fire Element was the weakest. However, the reality proved to Wang Tao that Fire Element, once awakened, was incredibly powerful! As for the other three hidden abilities, they were all very useful to Wang Tao. If it meant taking a risk for one hidden ability, he might be willing to take that risk. But if it also meant losing an existing hidden ability, then it was not worth it. Wang Tao quickly made a decision, he would not use this Reality Illusion Pearl. It would be better suited for someone else. And the only other people with comparably high spiritual power¡­ seem to be only Jiang Shixue and He Jijun. But still, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know whether their spiritual power was higher or lower than what the Reality Illusion Pearl required. To let them fuse with it would be far too risky! In the end, Wang Tao decided to wait and see. He wasn¡¯t able to judge the strength of spiritual power at the moment. Then Wang Tao looked at the other five Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained four Crystal Cores: a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] and another blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete]. ¡°No Awakening Crystal Core¡­ Such a corpulent body, and yet there¡¯s an Athlete?¡± The absence of an Awakening Crystal Core disappointed Wang Tao. But he was surprised to find the Athlete among them. However, the Wild Boar Monster was indeed agile¡­ Could this mean that exercising can¡¯t help with weight loss? Is obesity related to genetics? Wang Tao inwardly complained, then turned his attention to the second Loot Pack. [Received: Illusion Explosion Fruit x10] [Illusion Explosion Fruit: When thrown, it explodes silently upon hitting an obstacle, creating a 5-meter radius illusion that lasts for 10 minutes.] This item seemed interesting, though how effective it was would be the deciding factor. If it could replicate even a part of the effects of the real illusion, that would be quite nice. After all, apart from Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and He Jijun, there were many people with weaker spiritual power. Inside the third Loot Pack were potions, and at last, there were potions that could permanently enhance attributes. [Received: Mental Potion (Small) x20] [Received: Defense Potion (small) x20] [Received: Mental Boosting Potion x20] [Received: Defense Growth Potion x20] Wang Tao used both types of growth potions. Then he thought that, in the future, if he obtained more potions like these, he could share them with others. The strength added by these potions wasn¡¯t calculated by percentage, but by a fixed value. His values were already very high, so the proportional increase for him was not great. The more he used, the less effective they became¡ªthis was a marginal effect. At this point, it would be better to give them to others for a better outcome. The fourth Loot Pack contained Awakening Energy Pearls. [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Satisfied with the pearl, Wang Tao nodded his head in contentment. The drop rate of both Awakening Crystal Cores and Awakening Energy Beads was low. The Wild Boar Monster didn¡¯t drop any Awakening Crystal Cores or Energy Beads itself and the Loot Packs didn¡¯t contain any Awakening Crystal Cores either¡­ It was lucky that there was an Energy Bead in the pack, otherwise Wang Tao¡¯s luck would have been too dismal. The last Loot Pack contained Blueprints. [Received: Wild Boar Leather Top Armor Blueprint x1] [Received: Boar Tusk Long Knife Blueprint x1] [Wild Boar Leather Top Armor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a piece of leather armor. Required materials: Level 4 Wild Boar Skin x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Rope x30, Nail x30, Rubber x30, Plastic x30] [Wild Boar Leather Top Armor: Attributes unknown] [Boar Tusk Long Knife Blueprint: Can be used to craft a long knife. Required materials: Level 4 Wild Boar Fang x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Rope x30, Nail x30] [Boar Tusk Long Knife: Attributes unknown] There were two blueprints, one for Wild Boar Leather Top Armor and one for a long knife. The core material for the leather top was Wild Boar Skin, and unfortunately, the piece Wang Tao had contained two weaknesses, which was a bit frustrating. But since it was the only piece of Level 4 Wild Boar Skin he had, he had no choice but to use it for the crafting. The bones he had prepared earlier would not be needed for now. As for the tusk long knife, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure of its quality yet, but it only needed a single Wild Boar Fang, which deserved a thumbs-up. He had four fangs on hand and could save three of them. Wang Tao took out the necessary materials, and two streams of rainbow light flashed by, resulting in two pieces of equipment appearing at the same time. [Wild Boar Leather Armor Top] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, Defense +70, Mental Defense +30, Weakness to Fire (increased damage from fire), Weakness to Lightning (increased damage from lightning)] The Wild Boar Leather Top was a brown piece of armor and had a wild beauty to it. However, it was regrettable that it couldn¡¯t inlay Crystal Cores and its Suit Attributes were not immediately apparent. Moreover, with two fatal weaknesses¡­ the value of this equipment was greatly discounted, and Wang Tao even felt it was not suitable for his comrades¡­ [Boar Tusk Long Knife] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, Attack Power +70, Comes with a Bleeding effect (requires Awakening Energy)] The Boar Tusk Long Knife was a metallic long knife with a certain degree of curvature, contrasting sharply with the broad Bone Knife Wang Tao was currently using. This knife had better attributes and even carried a Bleeding effect. Though it lacked the 5% increase in attack speed, its overall attributes were stronger. Without any hesitation, this was Wang Tao¡¯s new equipment. Chapter 687 - Chapter 687: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_1 Chapter 687: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_1 Wang Tao played with the Boar Tusk Long Knife a bit, noticing a significant difference in touch compared to the Sharp Bone Blade. But he quickly adapted to it. ¡°Not bad!¡± Lan Yulian had been watching silently by his side, already used to Wang Tao¡¯s various miraculous actions. After Wang Tao finished reviewing all of his combat power, Lan Yulian then leaned on his arm again. ¡°It¡¯s late, time to rest¡­¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao directly scooped up Lan Yulian, and they both tumbled into the covers. The next day. When Wang Tao woke up, he found that both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng had already gotten up before him. As for why Lu Yingfeng was there, naturally, she had been called over by Lan Yulian the night before. ¡°Brother, you were too noisy last night!¡± After Wang Tao got up and emerged from his room, he happened to meet Jiang Shixue walking out with Lightning. Jiang Shixue¡¯s face was flushed as she complained to Wang Tao. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s all Lan Yulian¡¯s fault!¡± Wang Tao quickly blamed her, but Jiang Shixue did not dwell on the matter. After a simple breakfast, Lan Yulian told Wang Tao that they had tested the body of the wild boar monster on smaller animals, and nothing had happened. On the contrary, it seemed like the small animals had evolved to some extent¡ªthey had become stronger! ¡°Hm?¡± Upon hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, Wang Tao¡¯s first reaction was to look at Lightning. He had not yet found a way to enable Lightning¡¯s ascension and wondered¡­ could this be the correct method? Wang Tao had tried many methods before, but none could induce Lightning¡¯s ascension. Additionally, he had hardly encountered any monsters before, and Lightning certainly couldn¡¯t be expected to eat zombies¡­ Suddenly, Wang Tao remembered last night when he made the Night Demon carry back the wild boar monster, Lightning had barked at him twice. Wang Tao thought it was Lightning welcoming him back¡­ A welcome was certainly part of it, but perhaps Lightning had also wanted to eat the wild boar monster! However, Lightning was too well-behaved, and after seeing no reaction from Wang Tao, it had stopped barking. The more Wang Tao thought about it, the more likely it seemed. So he squatted down and hugged Lightning¡¯s head. ¡°Do you want to eat that wild boar from last night?¡± Lightning was very intelligent and could understand some human speech. Even if it didn¡¯t understand, it would guess what was going on from Wang Tao¡¯s expression and gestures. When Wang Tao asked this and even gestured with his hands, Lightning immediately barked twice and wagged its tail frantically. Wang Tao took this as Lightning¡¯s affirmation and immediately said to Lan Yulian: ¡°Jade Lotus, bring over some meat of the wild boar monster!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Shortly after, Lan Yulian came over with a large bowl of raw meat. Since the wild boar monster was not a zombie, there was no need to worry about infection with the virus; as long as its meat was confirmed to be non-toxic, they could eat it. Wang Tao placed the meat in front of Lightning, and it immediately began to drool. ¡°Woof!¡± It was very eager, but since Wang Tao hadn¡¯t given the command, it naturally didn¡¯t start eating. ¡°Eat it!¡± Wang Tao rubbed its head. Upon Wang Tao¡¯s permission, Lightning immediately dove into its meal. Wang Tao watched Lightning closely to see if any negative status indicators would appear above its head. By the time Lightning finished eating the bowl of meat, it was completely safe. Then, somewhat excitedly, Lightning went up to Wang Tao, burrowed into his arms, and then fell asleep. ¡°Ascended?¡± Seeing Lightning¡¯s state, Wang Tao burst into happy laughter. The people around him had all ascended to Level 3, only leaving Lightning, the military dog, still at Level 1. Now, at last, he had found the method for ascension! Wang Tao then told Lan Yulian: ¡°Keep most of that wild boar meat for me; I¡¯m not sure how much Lightning will need to eat. We might need more in the future.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lan Yulian immediately nodded her head. ¡°Lightning is going to ascend! That¡¯s great!¡± Jiang Shixue stroked Lightning¡¯s fur somewhat relievedly. ¡°It¡¯s truly a good thing we came out this time.¡± Monsters were much less common than zombies. It was very difficult for Wang Tao to encounter them normally. If not for killing the wild boar monster this time, it was uncertain when the next opportunity would arise. Even if Lightning had a chance to ascend later, it was definitely better for it to ascend sooner rather than later. Wang Tao had originally planned to return to the military base today. Although there were many zombies at Zijin Base, they were not a great threat without the presence of four-level zombies. In contrast, it would be a big trouble at the military base if, without Wang Tao present, the four-level zombies in Wuyang City¡¯s urban area moved there. However, since Lightning had ascended, he decided to wait another day, which didn¡¯t bother him. Wang Tao made contact with the military base. Yang Changhong told him that everything was fine there; they had taken Ding Yuqin and a few others to hunt zombies in the surrounding area and had made quite a bounty. The zombies within the urban area of Wuyang City were mostly inactive, staying put within the city. Regarding the matter of contacting the base that Ding Yuqin and the others had mentioned, they were still busy with it, with no progress made for the time being. But this was also because many underground lines were damaged and had not been repaired yet. If they could fix these lines, there was a chance they might establish contact. Wang Tao was not disappointed; it would be best to establish contact, but if it couldn¡¯t be done, there was no helping it. He set his expectations very low. After ending the communication with Yang Changhong, Wang Tao had nothing else to do, so he prepared to take Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng out to kill zombies. Last night, Wang Tao had used the Crystal Core to level up their Abilities to Level 3 +10, but their HP had not yet reached one hundred thousand. So, he took them out to boost their HP. There were many zombies outside the base. They haven¡¯t seen any Level 3 Lords yet, but there were Level 3 Elites, which were enough for them to increase their HP. Chapter 688 - Chapter 688: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_2 Chapter 688: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_2 Wang Tao also carefully observed to see if there were any Night Demon¡¯s Nests, as he had seen many Night Demons last night. There must be a nest here, but sadly he found none. However, starting from noon, Wang Tao felt that the Level 3 Zombies seemed to be increasing in number, and by the afternoon, he had already encountered several Level 3, Zombie Lords. With the help of these Level 3, Zombie Lords, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both reached the 100,000 HP limit. The pace was definitely fast, but Wang Tao¡¯s expression was very serious. ¡°These zombies are not quite right¡­¡± Wang Tao felt that there were more zombies than before, and Level 3 and above were appearing more frequently. Moreover, their aggressiveness had strengthened¡ªWang Tao, to save trouble, had administered the Stealth Potion to both women. Normally, after taking a Stealth Potion, as long as you don¡¯t get too close to zombies, they can¡¯t detect you. But now, these zombies were coming from afar. It wasn¡¯t that they had discovered the three individuals who had used the Stealth Potion, rather they seemed to want to come over and pick a fight! Wang Tao had just seen zombies fighting each other! Normally, zombies should be more or less harmonious¡­ Could there be a Wild Boar Monster? That shouldn¡¯t be the case, as Wang Tao had not sensed the presence of a Level 4. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s Perception was not that sharp. But Lu Yingfeng was also frowning a little. ¡°I feel like there¡¯s something off about the zombies¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s head back first!¡± Carrying the two women, Wang Tao quickly ran towards Zijin Base. They had just run quite a distance while hunting a Level 3, Zombie Lord, and could no longer see the base. The closer they got to the base, the more Lan Yulian began to frown. She often observed the zombies around the base. Although she wasn¡¯t clear on exactly how many zombies besieged it, she could still feel a rough density of zombies around. Now, even before they reached the base, she felt it was getting crowded with zombies! This density was at least two or three times more than before, which meant that the number of zombies had increased! Zijing City was already filled with zombies, and their numbers were increasing? By the time Wang Tao and the two women returned to Zijin Base, all three of their faces looked grim. Because the number of zombies surrounding the base outside had indeed increased a lot! And everywhere, there were Level 3 Elite Zombies, with more than a dozen Level 3, Zombie Lords! ¡°Why are there so many more zombies¡­¡± ¡°Either they came from other places, or the zombies of Zijing City have all found out about this place and are rushing over!¡± Wang Tao felt the second possibility was more likely. After all, Zijing City was huge, and it was impossible for all the zombies to spot the location of Zijin Base. Most of the zombies were scattered elsewhere. Now it seems that somehow they¡¯ve discovered the base and are heading this way. ¡°What should we do¡­¡± Seeing so many zombies, Lan Yulian was slightly panicked. If these zombies really coordinated an attack on the high walls of the base, the walls might not hold up¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll go take care of those Level 3, Zombie Lords first,¡± Wang Tao said. Because there were too many zombies here, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let someone watch the gate from inside but directly used special Tendrils to grab the protrusions on the wall and, like a spider spitting silk, sent the two women inside. His Tendrils were now twenty meters long, enough to get over the wall without any issue. After sending the women in, Wang Tao directly jumped into the crowd of zombies and activated Entangling Roots. At this point, the Entangling Roots weapon was not really suitable for Wang Tao to fight with Level 4 or higher zombies or monsters. That¡¯s because the Entangling Roots was Level 3. The disadvantage of fighting with Level 4 was not a minor one¡ªperhaps after a few hits, Wang Tao would be fine, but the Entangling Roots would be done for. Just like in the previous battle with a Level 4 Night Demon, the Night Demon swiped away more than 10,000 HP from the Entangling Roots in one claw strike. But with Wang Tao¡¯s current defensive power, the Night Demon could only take about 1,000 HP from him. The Attributes added by the Entangling Roots were not significant in front of a Level 4. Not to mention, when Wang Tao used Starfire Prairie, the Entangling Roots couldn¡¯t be utilized either. So, the Entangling Roots might become a burden to Wang Tao in fights with Level 4. However, that doesn¡¯t mean the Entangling Roots were completely useless. In confronting a large number of Level 4 and below zombies, the Entangling Roots were still very useful¡ªit could wrap Wang Tao all around, preventing him from being attacked by zombies, to avoid infection. Wang Tao then could confidently dish out attacks! Thump! Wang Tao landed squarely in the midst of the zombies. A curved long knife appeared in his hand instantly, slashing through the void in front of him. [-30000] [-42000] [-35000] [-38000] [-50000] [¡­] A vast number of Level 3 Ordinary Zombies were instantly killed by the Shockwave! None of the Level 3 Ordinary Zombies could withstand a blow from Wang Tao, and even the Level 3 Elite Zombies could at most withstand two hits from him. But Wang Tao¡¯s target wasn¡¯t them; it was the more than a dozen Level 3, Zombie Lords. Wang Tao quickly picked up the loot that dropped around him and appeared in front of one of the Level 3, Zombie Lords, unleashing a Continuous Slash. [-20606] [-19394] This Level 3, Zombie Lord only had 40,000 HP and was instantly killed by Wang Tao! He quickly picked up the loot and then rushed toward another Level 3 zombie, executing another Continuous Slash. Continuous Slash proved to be effective against zombies that were not as strong as him but still had a significant amount of HP. Chapter 689 - Chapter 689: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_3 Chapter 689: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_3 [-21383] [-20948] [-2138] [-2094] It was still two strikes, each dealing twenty thousand HP, but this Level 3, Lord Zombie had fifty thousand HP, so Wang Tao¡¯s Continuous Slash couldn¡¯t kill it instantly. However, Wang Tao¡¯s longsword had a Bleeding attribute. The damage from the bleed was roughly a tenth of the damage of each strike, causing the Level 3, Lord Zombie to instantly lose over four thousand HP! In the blink of an eye, it was down to a little over three thousand HP. But this Bleeding effect wasn¡¯t a one-time occurrence, it lasted for two seconds, losing about a tenth of its HP every second! Consequently, two more damage numbers popped up above the head of the Level 3, Lord Zombie. [-2138] [-1299] [0/50000] HP depleted! ¡°This sword is so satisfying!¡± Before, when Wang Tao was with Jade Lotus and the others, farming HP, he didn¡¯t use this longsword out of fear of killing the zombies in one hit. Now, this was the first time he used it. This Bleeding effect lasted for two seconds with each strike, the initial bleed damage occurring simultaneously with the strike, resulting in three bleed events in two seconds. And since each bleeding damage was roughly a tenth of the strike¡¯s damage, that amounted to an extra 30% damage per strike! Wang Tao charged towards the other zombies once more. Protected by the Entangling Roots, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to care about attacks from zombies below Level 4, he just cut his way through! It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to take care of the remaining Level 3, Lord Zombies. After dealing with some Level 3, Elite Zombies, he then returned to the base. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Jade Lotus and a few others were waiting for him on top of the wall. As Wang Tao approached, Jade Lotus, without lingering, hastily handed him the binoculars. Wang Tao looked in the direction she indicated. ¡°Damn!¡± The thrilling sensation of instantly killing those Level 3, Lords vanished instantly. In the direction Jade Lotus pointed, a vast number of zombies were approaching! ¡°This number¡­ It must be hundreds of thousands, even millions¡­¡± Jade Lotus¡¯ lips trembled as she spoke. There was no way to count the exact number of zombies because the horde was truly endless. Previously, during the zombie horde event, there were at least hundreds of thousands of zombies surrounding Zijin Base! Today, when Wang Tao took them out to hunt zombies, more arrived near the base! And now, there was a continuous stream of them heading this way! Especially since many Mad Demon Zombies were seen dashing towards them. Mad Demons can climb walls! Although the outer wall of the base wasn¡¯t short, under normal circumstances, Mad Demon Zombies couldn¡¯t climb into it, but what if the base of the wall was filled with zombies¡­ They really weren¡¯t giving their base any chance to survive! Jade Lotus instinctively grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°Wang Tao¡­ what do we do¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brain began to operate frantically. Zijin Base had the protection of high walls, so it would definitely be able to withstand the zombies for a short time. But the premise was that they had to clear the Mad Demons, Elites, Lords, and such. Mad Demon Zombies could climb walls, and Elite and Lord Zombies might have some unforeseen Special Abilities, so these had to be dealt with first. As for the Ordinary Zombies, they posed no threat for the time being, but the most significant threat might come from them later on. There were just too many of them! Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they could eventually knock down the high walls, especially since the base was only half-finished, with many parts of the wall being reinforcements and nowhere near as firm as originally designed. Of course, there was also the greatest hidden threat: the Four-level zombies! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t yet seen any Four-level zombies, but with so many zombies around, he wouldn¡¯t believe for a second there were none among them. And the strength of the Four-level zombies varied; if it was a Flame Monster, Wild Boar Monster, or a Black Skin Night Demon, Wang Tao could handle them. But if a Four-level zombie appeared that he couldn¡¯t handle¡­ ¡°We can¡¯t hold them off. Be prepared to retreat at any moment.¡± Wang Tao spoke with a calm expression. ¡°¡­Is there really no other way?¡± Jade Lotus¡¯ face turned pale. There were twenty thousand people in Zijin Base! Wang Tao did not respond. Zombies were endless, and there was no escape from Zijin Base. Even if they could hold on, the base would eventually be overrun by zombies. Unless the number of zombies was fixed and they could be killed off slowly, or Wang Tao had another way out, leading everyone to break out of the base and fight to the death. Otherwise, staying here would be a slow death ¡ª no, given the current scale of the zombie horde, it might be a swift one! Jade Lotus clearly understood this too, but as the leader of the base, she didn¡¯t want to retreat without a fight. She wanted to protect these people, the children who had been born only days ago, but¡­ she was helplessly powerless. Tears welled up in Jade Lotus¡¯ eyes, while Ying Feng sighed and started eyeing Jade Lotus unintentionally. She knew Jade Lotus was a person with strong convictions but also a bit soft-hearted. There was a possibility that Jade Lotus would choose to stay and perish with the base¡­ Ying Feng didn¡¯t want Jade Lotus to die, and she knew Wang Tao didn¡¯t either. If Wang Tao truly wanted to take Jade Lotus away and she disagreed, Ying Feng would help knock Jade Lotus out! For Jade Lotus¡¯ safety, she was willing to be the villain. Looking at Jade Lotus¡¯ somewhat desperate yet stubborn face, Wang Tao thought for a moment and then said. ¡°You guys start organizing people to kill the zombies. I¡¯ll contact the military base.¡± Wang Tao had never thought of himself as particularly clever or strong enough to be a savior. But if there really was a chance, he definitely wouldn¡¯t want to give up! Wang Tao soon got in touch with the military base, prepared to tell Wei Zhenguo and the others about the situation here to see if they had any ideas. But before he could speak, Han Rui¡¯s excited voice rang out first. ¡°Wang Tao! We¡¯ve made contact with the base to the west! It¡¯s a super-large Survivor Base!¡± Chapter 690 - Chapter 690: Chapter 281 Disaster Class_1 Chapter 690: Chapter 281 Disaster Class_1 ¡°A super huge Survivor Base? Where exactly is it located? What¡¯s the situation? Don¡¯t rush, take your time explaining!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat excited. Could there really be a large-scale Survivor Base? This sudden revelation gave Wang Tao a feeling of not being alone anymore! ¡°That Survivor Base is in West Province, it¡¯s a super large-scale Survivor Base organized and constructed by the Government! It¡¯s called Changhe City Base!¡± Han Rui immediately explained. ¡°West Province? Changhe City Base?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but after thinking it over, not as surprised. Although West Province wasn¡¯t the westernmost province of Qian Country, it was located in the west, a place with high altitude, a lagging economy, and sparse population. Fewer people meant fewer zombies, naturally the safety was relatively higher. It made sense to build a large-scale Survivor Base in such a place. However, there was a thousand kilometers between West Province and Wuyang Province¡­ That was really far! ¡°As for how big the base city actually is, even their own people can¡¯t say for sure because the base is continuously expanding. Plus, various survivor forces have joined this base, including the Rush Army, Hope Research Institute, Northern Sea Union, and other large forces¡­ They now have hundreds of thousands of survivors there!¡± Han Rui spoke of these survivor forces, most of which Wang Tao had never heard of; he only knew about the Hope Research Institute. The Hope Research Institute was no small feat; the Inhibitors were researched by them! The military base here had been in contact with them before, but the communication eventually broke off. But wasn¡¯t the Hope Research Institute in the northern Capital City? Moving from the Capital to the west? How could they traverse such a long distance? Of course, all these things weren¡¯t the main point. The main point was that Changhe City Base was very big, had a large population, and was surrounded by few zombies, making it a very good Survivor Base! Han Rui continued to explain: ¡°Changhe City Base says that recently, there have been large numbers of zombie hordes appearing everywhere. Hiding outside is most likely waiting for death, taking the initiative to attack still has a slim chance. There, they don¡¯t have zombie hordes, it¡¯s much safer¡­ so they¡¯re inviting us over and will provide us with food, safety, and even work¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°As long as we know the exact location, there is a chance to go there, but¡­¡± Zijing City Base still had more than twenty thousand people! Could he really leave all these people behind and escape alone? ¡°There are also many details we haven¡¯t clarified, because the signal was lost. Old Wei said it was a problem with our lines here, it¡¯s currently being repaired, and communication should be restored soon¡­¡± ¡°Okay, let me know once the communication is reestablished.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± After ending the call with Han Rui, Wang Tao called over Lan Yulian and the others. ¡°Han Rui got in touch with a large-scale Survivor Base, called Changhe City Base. It¡¯s said to be very safe there, no zombie hordes. The people there have also invited us over¡­¡± Wang Tao repeated to them what Han Rui had just told him. ¡°A large-scale Survivor Base! That place doesn¡¯t have zombie hordes?!¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes initially lit up. But once she heard that the base was in West Province, the light in her eyes dimmed instantly. Such a distance was impossible to traverse! Even if the planes could get there, there were still so many people in the base¡­ Lan Yulian stopped talking, her body slumped as if deflated. Wang Tao put his arm around her shoulders and comforted her: ¡°Don¡¯t lose heart, I¡¯ll think of another way.¡± ¡°Mhm¡­¡± Lan Yulian murmured softly. She was starting to feel desperate. She knew it wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to save the survivors of Zijing Base, but that there really was no way to save them! How could more than twenty thousand people possibly reach West Province? She even felt that helicopters might not be able to make it over¡­ After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao said: ¡°Once Lightning wakes up, I¡¯ll make a trip back to the military base.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± That evening, Wang Tao didn¡¯t wait for a message from Han Rui. He took the initiative to ask and was told that the line problems hadn¡¯t been fixed yet. So, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went out again to hunt several Level 3, Lord zombies. However, they didn¡¯t encounter any Four-level zombies. Without Four-level zombies, Zijing Base could still hold on for a while. The next morning, Lightning woke up. ¡°Woof! Woof! Woof!¡± After waking up, Lightning had clearly grown bigger and become much stronger. Seeing Wang Tao, it immediately rubbed excitedly against him. Lightning¡¯s HP had reached [5000/5000], successfully ascending to Level 2. Wang Tao patted Lightning¡¯s head, then turned to Lan Yulian: ¡°Will you come with me to the military base?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lan Yulian remained silent. She knew that if Wang Tao really insisted on taking her, she couldn¡¯t resist. But her silence expressed her stance¡ªshe wasn¡¯t unwilling to go; she didn¡¯t want to leave so many survivors behind to die. Wang Tao stood up, patted Lan Yulian on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m leaving first, if there¡¯s any danger, or if there¡¯s a suspicion of Four-level zombies appearing, contact me immediately.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Vrrrrr¡ª Wang Tao and his group left Zijing Base. Lan Yulian watched the plane leave. Suddenly, she turned to Lu Yingfeng beside her: ¡°If Wang Tao had insisted on taking me just now, and I had refused, were you planning to knock me out, tie me up, and take me away?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Yingfeng admitted it straightforwardly. ¡°¡­Sigh!¡± Lan Yulian gave Lu Yingfeng a fierce stare, but in the end, she heaved a helpless sigh. Chapter 691 - Chapter 691: Chapter 281 Disaster Class_2 Chapter 691: Chapter 281 Disaster Class_2 ¡°` How can this predicament be solved¡­ Do we really have to give up on these people¡­ Aboard the helicopter. Watching the densely packed zombies below, Wang Tao also sighed. ¡°With so many zombies, even if they just stood there without fighting back, I couldn¡¯t kill them all¡­¡± Zijing City has a population of a million, you can imagine the number of zombies. Plus, there are those that have come from other places¡­ There¡¯s just no way to stop them! Not to mention the existence of terrifying species like the Giant Zombie, no matter how tough the walls of Zijin Base are, they can¡¯t stand against them. If a large number of zombies attack Zijin Base at the same time, or if the Giant Zombie comes, then Zijin Base would definitely fall¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a pity that there are no lethal weapons in the military base, otherwise missiles or even small nukes would definitely solve the crisis. Even if this would lead to some escaping and becoming stronger, we can¡¯t care about the future anymore¡­¡± He Jijun spoke with some regret. The constitution of these zombies is very particular, and military bases have conducted experiments before. If lethal weapons, especially nukes, are used against the zombies, any that slip through would become even stronger! Of course, these are issues to consider after the attack. If there really are insurmountable problems, then using lethal weapons isn¡¯t out of the question. Future issues can be dealt with in the future, at least for now, we can survive. But the problem is, the military base doesn¡¯t have such weapons¡­ It¡¯s just bad luck. After some time, the helicopter safely returned to the military base. Although many zombies were spotted along the way, there was no encounter with a Giant Zombie, and the one previously seen moving east from Wuyang City had disappeared. This allowed Wang Tao to breathe a sigh of relief for now, as long as the Giant Zombie doesn¡¯t go to Zijing Base, the base can still hold out for a while. Humming¡ª¡ª After the plane landed, Ding Yuqin and a few others were waiting outside. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yuqin rushed over and embraced Wang Tao. ¡°Have you made contact?¡± Wang Tao asked. He was naturally referring to Changhe Base City to the west. ¡°Not yet, these lines are complicated to fix, but Old Wei said that we should be able to make contact today!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao arrived at the command center and then gathered everyone to discuss the situation of Zijing City Base. ¡°What? Twenty thousand survivors!¡± Hearing that there were twenty thousand survivors in Zijing Base, everyone was genuinely pleased. But hearing that the entire Zijing Base was surrounded by a tide of zombies, with no way out except by helicopter, and that the base itself might fall¡­ everyone¡¯s faces turned gloomy again. If Zijing Base isn¡¯t safe, it would be best to move the survivors there to Changhe City Base. But their helicopters were only so big and couldn¡¯t carry that many people! Even if the previous military transport plane hadn¡¯t crashed, it could at most carry a couple of hundred people¡­ This was a drop in the bucket for twenty thousand survivors. Everyone¡¯s gaze subconsciously turned to Wang Tao. They knew Wang Tao¡¯s character and moral fiber, back at Shuize Base, they would have been dead if he hadn¡¯t taken the initiative to stand up. But at least there was a glimmer of hope back then, and Wang Tao had a chance to fight for his life. But now, in this situation, Zijing Base might be said to have no chance at all! Unless all these zombies dispersed and no Level 4 zombies appeared¡­ which clearly was impossible. So, what was Wang Tao planning to do? Squeezing onto the helicopter could add a few more seats, but that¡¯s all¡­ ¡°I am planning to go to the urban area.¡± Wang Tao said to the others. ¡°To hunt Level 4 zombies?¡± Ding Yuqin asked tentatively. ¡°Yes. To tell you the truth, I don¡¯t know how to save those twenty thousand survivors right now. But I do know that strength is fundamental. With strength, there are ways to resolve issues; without it, everything is but empty talk. So we need to enhance our abilities! Before the greatest crisis arrives, we must improve our strength as much as possible!¡± Wang Tao said with determination in his eyes. Currently, he was the only Fourth-order Superpower, and their strength was limited. But if they could have a few more Fourth-order Ability Users, or even if everyone reached Level 4, then they might be able to solve the problem¡ªlet¡¯s not mention anything else, at least they would be able to fend off many Four-level zombies, and might even be able to hunt the Giant Zombie! ¡°Enhance our strength!¡± Everyone clenched their fists as well. ¡°Little Xue, Old He, Little Jun, Han Rui¡­¡± Wang Tao picked a few people to join him. As for the others, they stayed in the base; some repaired the lines, some maintained contact with Lan Yulian¡¯s side, and some hunted the surrounding zombies to increase their HP. Nobody was idle. The helicopter, just refueled, took off from the military base once more and flew towards the urban area of Wuyang City. From a distance, Wang Tao could see the Giant Zombie. ¡°These Giant Zombies are not returning to the city center anymore! They keep lingering on the outskirts of the urban area¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat distressed. The Giant Zombies would obstruct their path, causing them to waste a lot of time. Time was of the essence now, and wasting time was wasting life. Moreover, with the Giant Zombies lingering on the outskirts of the city, there was a chance they might leave the urban area at any moment. With at least a dozen Giants in the Wuyang City urban area, if they all came out¡­ not to mention the military base, even Zijing Base would be doomed! ¡°No choice, we have to take a detour.¡± He Jijun piloted the helicopter away from the area. After several detours, they finally found a spot without any Giant Zombies. ¡°` Chapter 692 - Chapter 692: Chapter 281 Disaster Class_3 Chapter 692: Chapter 281 Disaster Class_3 After the plane entered the urban area of Wuyang City, Wang Tao could clearly feel that the zombies here were more active. Under normal circumstances, if it was raining, during the daytime, and no one was disturbing them, these zombies would stand in the rain in a daze. Because the rain was beneficial to them, it was like they were absorbing nutrients. But now, the zombies in the rain appeared to be very excited and lively, resembling their nocturnal counterparts, as if they had been buffed with frenzy. But it was daytime¡­ Wang Tao had no idea what chaos nighttime would bring here. Wang Tao maximized his Plant Affinity and Perception abilities, carefully searching every corner of this place. He currently had two Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores on hand, and if he could get two more, he would have the capital to train another Awakener! With one more Fourth-order Superpower, their combat power would increase. Moreover, killing Level 4 Zombie Lords would grant him Advanced Special Energy, which could boost his chances of success for a Second Awakening, giving him the opportunity to undergo it! Not to mention that killing Level 4 zombies would yield various items and equipment. This could also enhance everyone¡¯s strength. Anyway, no matter what, he was determined to slay the Level 4 zombies in Wuyang City! But¡­ the more he wanted to find something, the harder it seemed to find. Wang Tao thought there should be quite a few Level 4 Zombie Lords in the urban area of Wuyang City, considering the number of Giant Zombies, it would be normal to have Level 4 Zombie Lords as well. However, after searching all afternoon, flying to the city center, he found nothing. He didn¡¯t even locate the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. He did find a Mad Demon Lair, but upon perceiving it, Wang Tao found that the Mad Demon Lair only had Mad demons of similar strength and no Level 4 Lord Mad demons. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go back.¡± As it was getting dark, Wang Tao had no choice but to head back home. ¡°Hm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt his Plant Affinity detected a huge figure. This figure was very large, but it was definitely not a Giant Zombie! But just after Wang Tao perceived this figure, it disappeared from his Perception. Wang Tao thought the figure had evaded his Perception, but after testing it again, he realized it wasn¡¯t that the giant figure had hidden; instead, the medium of his Perception¡ªthe plants¡ªhad died! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± This was Wang Tao¡¯s first encounter with such a situation. When he used Plant Affinity to perceive zombies, he had encountered zombies suddenly dying or fleeing, but he had never encountered the death of plants! After all, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity wasn¡¯t limited to using just one kind of plant for Perception; he could use most plants. He had been using a large area of moss, and there was a lot of it scattered over a wide range. But in that moment just now, all of that moss died! ¡°Could it be that the figure sensed my Perception and eradicated all these plants?¡± Wang Tao quickly shared his discovery with everyone. ¡°Could it be there¡¯s a zombie with a Perception ability especially strong, or maybe there¡¯s a zombie with a Hidden Ability similar to yours?¡± Han Rui analyzed with a frown. ¡°Not sure¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then said to He Jijun, ¡°Old He, don¡¯t go yet, I want to see what¡¯s really going on.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The helicopter didn¡¯t leave but started circling nearby. Wang Tao meticulously used his [Plant Affinity] and [Perception] Superpower to ¡°look¡± at the surrounding situation. Soon, Wang Tao made a discovery. ¡°Found it again! But¡­ the plants are dying!¡± The very moment Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability perceived the huge figure, the plants around the figure died! Moreover, more and more plants were dying! It seemed like wherever this huge figure went, the plants there would die! Wang Tao could only judge the position of that huge figure from the brief information of the plants before their death. Wang Tao ¡°saw¡± more and more plants dying, and the direction of these deaths¡­ was toward their helicopter! ¡°It seems to be coming! Be alert!¡± Wang Tao immediately called out a warning. The others couldn¡¯t see anything but were ready for battle. ¡°Click, clack, click, clack¡­¡± Suddenly, a clicking sound came from inside the helicopter. Although the propeller noise was loud, it could not cover up this clicking because the sound came through the headset. And the sound was getting faster and more urgent. ¡°Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled, and the others were also confused. But upon hearing the rapid clicking, He Jijun, without a word, yanked the control stick, causing the plane to ascend rapidly! After Wang Tao¡¯s inquiry, he shouted loudly, ¡°The Geiger counter on the plane is going off! Radiation! A large amount of radiation has appeared!¡± ¡°Ah? Radiation?¡± Everyone was somewhat puzzled, wondering how radiation could be involved at this time. Could there be some kind of nuclear leak? Boom¡ª Just then, a building below the helicopter suddenly collapsed. The Geiger counter¡¯s noise grew even more frantic. Wang Tao and the others quickly looked down and saw a huge figure slowly emerging from a cloud of dust! ¡°God! What the hell is that!¡± Seeing the figure, everyone felt a tingling on their scalps. It was a giant monstrosity in the shape of a meatball, made up of countless zombies, animals, and even mechanical parts! The spot it emerged from seemed to be a subway entrance, with nearby buildings completely destroyed. The zombies around it were collapsing in waves, and the green plants nearby were withering at a visible rate! This meatball had many pairs of eyes, all staring dead at the helicopter, watching everyone get goosebumps and stiffening their bodies. A terrorizing aura directly intimidated everyone! When Wang Tao saw the meatball¡¯s HP bar, he broke out in a cold sweat. [HP: 1000000/1000000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 5 ¨C Disaster] [Cataclysmic Awakening: Radiation] [Radiation: Carrying a large amount of radiation] Chapter 693 - Chapter 693: Chapter 282: Radiation Zombies_1 Chapter 693: Chapter 282: Radiation Zombies_1 When this fleshy zombie appeared, not only did the plants near it wither away, but the zombies around it were also rapidly losing HP! In an instant, the HP bars of all the zombies around it got wiped out! Wang Tao broke out in a cold sweat the moment he saw the specific attributes of this fleshy zombie. One million HP bars¡ªthis was the zombie with the highest HP he had ever seen! Moreover, it wasn¡¯t Level 4, but a Level 5 Zombie! Level 5¡­ Disaster! Disaster Class! Wang Tao had never seen this level before; it was obviously a tier above Lord Rank. It didn¡¯t have Mana, so it probably didn¡¯t have Ability, but it had a Cataclysmic Awakening Radiation¡ªit carried a large amount of radiation! No wonder all those plants and zombies died! ¡°Click, click, click¡ª¡± Inside the helicopter, the Geiger counter continued to buzz, and Wang Tao saw that everyone, including himself, had a negative status appearing above their heads. [Radiation: Your body has been lightly irradiated; resting for some time will restore you to normal.] [-100] [-100] [-100] [¡­] Good lord, losing 100 HP per second is considered light radiation? Then what would moderate or severe radiation look like? And to think we could be irradiated from such a distance, from such a height? ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here! It¡¯s a Level 5 zombie carrying a large amount of radiation!¡± Wang Tao shouted immediately. ¡°Level 5 Zombie!¡± Everyone exclaimed in shock. They had barely seen any Level 4 zombies, and now a Level 5 had appeared? Could the evolution speed be any more terrifying! He Jijun had already begun to ascend the helicopter when he heard the Geiger counter, but he didn¡¯t know the specifics, so he was waiting for Wang Tao¡¯s update. Now, hearing it was a Level 5 Zombie carrying a large amount of radiation, he didn¡¯t say a second word, turned the helicopter around, and left without looking back! The fleshy zombie presumably did not have a Ranged Attack ability. Upon seeing the helicopter flying away, the heads on its body let out reluctant roars before it sank back into the subway tunnel. After the fleshy zombie left, all that remained was silence. Aboard the helicopter, once Wang Tao saw that the fleshy zombie had re-entered the underground, he finally put down the binoculars. ¡°It probably didn¡¯t follow us.¡± Upon hearing this, the others did not relax. ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay? I keep feeling a bit uncomfortable¡­¡± Han Rui gripped Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We¡¯ve been irradiated, but the symptoms are mild and will soon pass.¡± Wang Tao grasped Han Rui¡¯s hand back. The helicopter had left the spot where the fleshy zombie appeared, but they were still continuously losing HP! Although it wasn¡¯t as much as losing 100 HP per second as before, it was still a loss of dozens of points. Thankfully, the number was slowly decreasing. Otherwise, even if they had 100,000 HP, they couldn¡¯t sustain continuous HP loss! ¡°We might have gotten some radiation on the plane, we¡¯ll have to wash it after we get back, and we¡¯ll have to decontaminate ourselves too¡­¡± He Jijun spoke up at that moment. He clearly had some experience in this area. ¡°That zombie was too terrifying¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and said. He was the straightforward type. While he would fear zombies, he typically wouldn¡¯t openly express fear or terror. But this time, he genuinely felt afraid. Even though everyone except Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see their HP bars or that they were losing HP, they clearly felt physically unwell and could vaguely sense their Life Energy diminishing! If they had stayed there any longer, even if the zombie didn¡¯t attack them, they felt they might have died! It was everyone¡¯s first time encountering such a zombie. If they felt so terrible from so far away, wouldn¡¯t they just drop dead if they got any closer? ¡°Indeed terrifying!¡± Wang Tao nodded. Considering the fact that they were losing 100 HP per second even from such a distance, if they got any closer, it could be 1,000 or even 10,000! They probably would die on the spot! At that moment, as if something had dawned on Wang Tao, he suddenly spoke: ¡°I think I understand now why those Giant Zombies aren¡¯t in the center of the urban area but have moved to the outskirts¡­¡± With that reminder, everyone understood. Considering the scope of death among the plants and zombies around the fleshy zombie when it appeared, it¡¯s likely that the Giant Zombies were also afraid of this radiation, so they were forced to leave the city center! After all, the radiation carried by the fleshy zombie was unreasonably strong! It didn¡¯t even need to lift a finger; just by standing there, it could cause a massive amount of death! If they got any closer, even those Giants with several hundred thousand HP might not be able to withstand it! ¡°Disaster Class¡­ this is a disaster, isn¡¯t it¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. Disaster, the name truly matches the reality! After some time, the helicopter finally left Wuyang City¡¯s urban area. Upon departing, they were spotted by a Giant Zombie, which immediately started to chase after them. He Jijun directed the helicopter in the opposite direction of the military base to shake off the Giant Zombie before flying towards the military base. It was already night by the time they returned to the military base. The journey went smoothly without any mishaps. After the helicopter landed, He Jijun immediately led everyone in washing down the helicopter to remove any remaining radiation. Then Wang Tao and the others took a bath with soap, took some iodine tablets, and other medicines, and the HP loss above their heads finally stopped. ¡°Phew¡ªfinally feeling a lot more relaxed¡­¡± Chapter 694 - Chapter 694: Chapter 282: Radiation Zombies_2 Chapter 694: Chapter 282: Radiation Zombies_2 Han Rui was helping Wang Tao get dressed as she spoke. ¡°These zombies are truly terrifying!¡± If it weren¡¯t for their flight in the sky, if it weren¡¯t for He Jijun¡¯s quick reactions, if it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s decisive evacuation¡­ If they had been any closer, or a bit slower, the trouble would have been great! The two of them left the room together, and then Wang Tao called everyone over to tell them about the radiation zombies. ¡°Level 5? Disaster Class¡­¡± ¡°Zombies carrying a significant amount of radiation¡­¡± ¡°Just approaching them can lead to death¡­¡± Upon hearing this news, everyone looked shocked and their faces turned grim. They had yet to understand the Four-level zombies, and now a Level 5 disaster zombie had appeared? How were they supposed to survive this! ¡°This Level 5 zombie, I feel it might be related to the small-yield nuclear bomb mentioned in the military base log¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo suddenly said at this moment. There were many important pieces of information in the military base¡¯s logs, which Wang Tao had shared with Wei Zhenguo and the others. ¡°It¡¯s possible!¡± Wang Tao nodded thoughtfully. The log mentioned that the previous small nuclear bomb had melted a large number of zombies within its range, with only one zombie surviving the ordeal. This zombie had mutated and later caused a lot of trouble for the military base, fortunately being killed in the end. But now, reviewing the log, Wang Tao felt that they had missed something. Could that zombie have hidden in the sewers or the subway? It first underwent radiation mutation, and was then exposed to numerous episodes of corrosive acid rain¡­ and now it had evolved into an even more terrifying disaster-level zombie! ¡°The military base¡­ we can¡¯t stay here for long!¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. This place was already coveted by Giant Zombies, which could attack the base at any moment, and now they faced swarm attacks, zombie frenzy, and even Level 5 disaster zombies! All of these were telling Wang Tao that the military base was no longer safe to stay in! He couldn¡¯t afford to take his chances; otherwise, when danger really struck, it might be too late to run. Especially if all these threats arrived at once¡ªthe zombie swarm, Giant Zombies, plus a radiation zombie¡ªthey could flatten the military base in an instant! After all, the base¡¯s defences weren¡¯t bolstered by high walls or anything of the like, relying on modern weapons. But those weapons had been exhausted previously, leaving nearly nothing in stock. As for hunting the Four-level Lord zombies, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even want to think about that now. Under these circumstances, there was no way to go after them. Considering it was a Level 5 disaster zombie, if Wang Tao ran into it, he felt certain he would be dead¡­ Upon hearing Wang Tao say they couldn¡¯t stay any longer, Ding Yuqin immediately asked in a low voice: ¡°So, are we heading to Zijin Base or Changhe City Base?¡± She knew Wang Tao was in a dilemma, but a decision had to be made regardless. Before Wang Tao could speak, Nie Siyan suddenly came running over. ¡°Brother Wang! The lines have been fixed! We¡¯ve reestablished contact with Changhe City Base!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao immediately got up and went to the communication room, picking up the microphone. ¡°Hello, this is Wuyang Military Base, I¡¯m survivor Wang Tao.¡± ¡°Shzz¡­ Hello, I¡¯m operator Li Ping. We¡¯ve finally gotten back in touch with you! We thought you might have already¡­¡± A very excited female voice came from the other end, which relaxed after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, then she quickly added. ¡°Can you leave Wuyang City now? We¡¯ve observed that the zombies are becoming increasingly frenzied recently, and if you don¡¯t escape soon, it might really be too late!¡± Hearing her words, Wang Tao asked: ¡°I want to know, on the route from Wuyang City to your base city, are there any large zombies, like the Giant Zombies? If so, could you suggest a safe path for us? Our plane is quite vulnerable to Giant Zombies¡­¡± Wang Tao was informed about the situation with the Giant Zombies through a previous conversation with Han Rui. These were not unique to Wuyang City; people in Changhe City Base had also encountered them, but not near the base city. ¡°Ah? You still have a functional plane?¡± Han Rui hadn¡¯t mentioned this before, and Li Ping seemed surprised, but then as though realizing something, she quickly spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ll provide you with an aerial route, it should be relatively safe, but please, don¡¯t fly too high!¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Li Ping immediately explained: ¡°Not long after the apocalypse began, the satellites stopped working; they had been destroyed by a strange energy! Afterward, this energy began to descend, and any electronic devices hit by this energy would malfunction, including planes flying high above! According to our tests, currently, if you fly above three thousand meters, planes will develop problems and lose control! So please, don¡¯t fly too high. We recommend staying below two thousand meters, ideally around one thousand meters!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth but found himself speechless. Flying high could cause a loss of control? It was no wonder that the transport plane had suddenly gone out of control¡ªthat time, He Jijun had instinctively flown higher when they encountered the Giant Zombie. And indeed, that transport plane was capable of reaching great heights. As for helicopters, He Jijun usually didn¡¯t fly very high, about one thousand meters up, since Wang Tao needed to observe the zombies on the ground; flying higher would prevent him from seeing them. Sometimes they would fly as low as a hundred meters, like when they were searching for Level 4 zombies in urban areas¡­ Wang Tao had thought that the area where the transport plane crashed was a No-fly Zone. Now he had finally figured it out¡ªall of high altitude was a No-fly Zone! Chapter 695 - Chapter 695: Chapter 282: Radiation Zombies_3 Chapter 695: Chapter 282: Radiation Zombies_3 ¡°So that¡¯s the situation. If only we could have contacted you earlier, we¡¯ve already lost a military transport plane¡­¡± Wang Tao said somewhat helplessly. ¡°¡­Condolences.¡± Li Ping was silent for a moment, she had thought that all the crew members on Wang Tao¡¯s side had perished. After all, flying above three thousand meters and suddenly losing control was practically a death sentence. Even with parachutes, it might be too late¡ªthe military transport wasn¡¯t a fighter, lacking specialized ejection seats¡­ Wang Tao wasn¡¯t aware of this little misunderstanding, and he asked about some issues concerning Changhe City Base. Li Ping was forthcoming with all she knew, and an image of a huge Survivor Base began to form in Wang Tao¡¯s mind. A city with a large population, strong combat capabilities, and no formidable zombies nearby! Wang Tao could already confirm that this was the base he was looking for! Wang Tao also gave a brief description of the situation in Wuyang City. Upon hearing about the appearance of Level 5 Zombies, Li Ping was startled. ¡°Level 5 Zombies! Even higher than Lord Rank, a Disaster Level? My God! This information is quite important. Thank you, Mr. Wang Tao!¡± Apparently, they had possibly not seen a Level 5 Zombie before. This was actually good news. Because there were so many people there and since they hadn¡¯t seen any, it indicated that Level 5 Zombies were extremely rare¡ªperhaps there was only one¡­ When Wang Tao felt the time was right, he then said: ¡°There are still some survivors here at Wang Tao¡¯s location. The helicopter can¡¯t take everyone away¡­ So, can you send someone to support us?¡± After communicating with Li Ping, Wang Tao had an idea¡ªto leverage the strength of the city base to rescue the people from Zijin Base! Wang Tao didn¡¯t really expect the other party to come in person. His request wasn¡¯t high; from what Li Ping said, Changhe City Base obviously had planes, so if they could air drop some weapons or even vehicles, that would give the survivors at Zijin Base a fighting chance. That would be enough. ¡°Rescue?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Li Ping immediately felt troubled. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Wang. It¡¯s not that we aren¡¯t willing to rescue you. It¡¯s just that you are too far away¡­¡± No matter the time or the deed, one must always consider the cost and benefit. Especially now, in an apocalyptic world where every life is precious, if rescuing a few would cost more lives, it would be a loss not worth the gains! Hearing the refusal, Wang Tao was immediately disappointed. Yet, he hadn¡¯t given up. ¡°I can exchange supplies, such as Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, I¡¯m very sorry, it¡¯s not a matter of Crystal Cores¡­¡± Li Ping continued to shake her head. ¡°I¡¯m just asking for some air drops. Is that not possible either?¡± ¡°Just air drops? Theoretically, it should be possible. But it¡¯s not feasible right now, as the weather here is bad. Every day we have fierce winds and lightning, making it impossible for planes to take off¡­¡± Qian Country is vast, and it¡¯s normal for different regions to have varying climates. Just because planes can fly in Wuyang City doesn¡¯t mean they can in the City Base¡­ ¡°I see¡­ Okay then, I¡¯ll think of another way. Even if these 20,000 or more people could make it to the City Base, who knows how many would be left by then¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice carried an undeniable resignation and beside him, Ding Yuqin and the others all sighed. So it¡¯s still no good, huh¡­ ¡°Ah? Wait a minute!¡± Just at that moment, Li Ping on the other end of the line suddenly exclaimed. ¡°What you just said¡­ I didn¡¯t catch it clearly?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Was the signal failing again? ¡°I said, I can only think of another way myself.¡± ¡°No, there was another sentence!¡± ¡°Uh¡­ Even if these 20,000 or more people¡ª¡± ¡°20,000 or more people!¡± Before Wang Tao could finish, he was interrupted by the other party. ¡°Did you say you have 20,000 or more people?!¡± Li Ping sounded both shocked and surprised. ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°But didn¡¯t you tell us before that you only had about a dozen people?¡± The other party quickly asked. Wang Tao looked at Han Rui, who just shrugged in response. It was vital to be cautious. Not knowing anything about the other side during their first contact, Han Rui naturally kept some information hidden. Moreover, she didn¡¯t count the people at Zijing City Base; she only considered the military base. There were over thirty people at the military base, so it was reasonable for her to say there were over a dozen people. So Wang Tao explained: ¡°We have two bases here. There are about a dozen people at Wuyang Military Base, but there are over 20,000 people at Zijing City Base. However, these 20,000 or more people are trapped by a horde of zombies, and we¡¯re having a difficult time right now. So, I was hoping for some air support from you¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, please hold on! I need to report this!¡± After speaking to Wang Tao, Li Ping immediately went silent. Wang Tao and the others looked at each other, unclear about what was happening. After a while, a robust and powerful voice came through the other side. ¡°Mr. Wang, hello. I am Hou Zhiyuan, Commander of the Third Legion of the City Base. May I confirm with you, is it true that you have over 20,000 survivors?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Do you have equipment capable of recording video? I need you to film all your survivors and send it to us. I need to be sure you are not deceiving us.¡± Hou Zhiyuan continued. ¡°Hmm? Why?¡± Wang Tao frowned upon hearing this. There was nothing to deceive about, and it wouldn¡¯t bring him any benefits. ¡°Because if it is true, I will dispatch the Third Legion to rescue you!¡± Wang Tao was stunned for a moment, then said in surprise: ¡°You¡¯re going to send people over? That¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Rescuing people is harder than simply killing zombies. They not only had to come over, but also bring people back! The risk was exponentially greater! ¡°With over 20,000 survivors, no matter the risk, they must be rescued! You don¡¯t have to worry about us; you just need to send the video to me and then hold on and wait for rescue!¡± Chapter 696 - Chapter 696: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_1 Chapter 696: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_1 ¡°` The next day. The helicopter left the military base, flying toward Zijin Base. Even after a night had passed, Wang Tao was still somewhat excited. The twenty thousand survivors at Zijin Base¡­ might have a chance! ¡°Old He, do you think they¡¯re reliable?¡± Wang Tao looked toward the main pilot, He Jijun. ¡°Hard to say, but I think they should be fairly reliable. Of course, I have no basis for that, just a gut feeling, haha!¡± He Jijun laughed heartily. Wang Tao smiled and shook his head, then said no more. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. If he didn¡¯t get his hopes up too much, he wouldn¡¯t be disappointed. Of course, this was just for him personally. For most people, it was still necessary to have hope. After a while, the helicopter arrived over Zijin Base. Wang Tao could clearly feel that the number of zombies surrounding the base had increased a lot. Moreover, these zombies were no longer just encircling the base, they had begun to attack Zijin Base! The zombies continuously slammed against the high walls, and even some Mad Demon Zombies began to stack on top of each other, trying to climb over the wall! Fortunately, there were survivors on top of the wall defending it. They threw down stones, wood, and even used flamethrowers and firearms to stop the zombies. At this critical moment of life and death, there was no need to worry about the noise anymore, and also the din from the zombies¡¯ howling together wasn¡¯t small. The arrival of the helicopter instantly attracted a lot of attention from the zombies, which became even more frenzied. They stared at the helicopter with their gray-white eyes, as if trying to bring it down! Wang Tao also saw several Level 3 Zombie Lords. But these Level 3 Zombie Lords were not at the foot of the high wall; they were farther away, out of the reach of the survivors¡¯ attacks on the wall. Before coming to Zijing City, Wang Tao had already taken out his phone and recorded the situation along the way. Over Zijin Base, he took some key videos before asking He Jijun to land. Buzz, buzz¡ª The helicopter slowly settled on the helipad specially designated by Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were waiting below with umbrellas for him. ¡°When did these zombies start attacking?¡± Wang Tao asked upon getting off the helicopter. ¡°It started last night. They went crazy! I suspect there¡¯s a Zombie Lord commanding them. I specifically had people shoot at those Zombie Lords, but the zombies¡¯ attack didn¡¯t weaken at all. Those Zombie Lords, however, smartly hid in the back¡­¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face was very grim. Wang Tao instantly understood. No wonder those Zombie Lords did not come over; they were actually scared off by Lan Yulian. Zijin Base already had some armed soldiers, and Wang Tao had also air-dropped some weapon equipment for Lan Yulian. However, because the gunfire was too loud, they usually didn¡¯t use them. But under the current circumstances, there were no such concerns. Even Level 3 Zombie Lords had to avoid the edge of modern firepower. ¡°I¡¯ve brought you some weapons this time.¡± Wang Tao had the cargo removed from the aircraft. Lan Yulian looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated. She really wanted to ask about the situation with the large survivor base, whether there was a possibility of retreating there. But she was afraid to receive a disappointing answer¡­ Wang Tao did not tell Lan Yulian about Changhe City Base¡¯s plans to rescue them. It¡¯s better not to get too excited until things were certain. Moreover, Wang Tao was a bit skeptical¡ªnot that he doubted the others¡¯ willingness to come, but he didn¡¯t know how they would arrive, considering the thousand kilometers separating them, all swarming with zombies, and such a journey¡­ seemed like a fatal endeavor! After all the cargo was unloaded from the aircraft, Wang Tao turned to Lan Yulian and said: ¡°Gather everyone who¡¯s not busy right now; I need to make a video and have them all filmed.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat puzzled, but didn¡¯t ask further. Zijin Base had a large indoor assembly hall, initially designed for large meetings, and it could accommodate many people. It didn¡¯t take long for everyone who wasn¡¯t on guard duty at the wall or on shift rotation, including logistics staff, to arrive. After all, Wang Tao only needed to make a video, which wouldn¡¯t take too much time. The survivors inside the base didn¡¯t know what was going on and whispered among themselves, generally feeling it might be something like a pre-battle mobilization. For a moment, everyone¡¯s faces were filled with sadness and fear. Hiding within the high walls of the base, they were still unable to escape the zombies¡­ When everyone had gathered, Wang Tao came out with Lan Yulian and a few others. Looking at the throng of people, Wang Tao¡¯s emotions became a bit complex. If the base fell, these people would all become food for the zombies¡­ Lan Yulian had everyone line up properly, the strong and tall standing at the back, and women and children at the front. ¡°Everyone look at me, at the camera!¡± Lan Yulian held up her phone and shouted, and once everyone was looking at her, she then activated the video recording mode and captured everyone. Some survivors, seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s action, felt a chill in their hearts and began whispering: ¡°This kind of feels like we¡¯re taking a final photograph¡­¡± As one person spoke out, the others instantly felt a cold shiver down their spines. It seemed indeed possible! After a person¡¯s death, something should be left behind as proof they had lived. Now, as they had nothing much to leave behind, leaving a video for others to see seemed reasonable¡­ if there were to be others after them. ¡°` Chapter 697 - Chapter 697: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_2 Chapter 697: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_2 And not just them, even Lan Yulian herself felt this way. Although the survivors were very afraid, they all obediently stood there. One reason was Lan Yulian¡¯s high prestige; another was that they too knew they had nowhere else to turn. Looking at those docile yet frightened faces in the camera, Lan Yulian sighed helplessly. Then she lifted her phone and approached the infants being held in arms. ¡°Come on, smile~¡± Lan Yulian teased one of the infants who was staring wide-eyed. Perhaps it was Lan Yulian¡¯s gentle manner, so comforting and familiar, that the infant immediately broke into a grin, smiling happily. ¡°Such a good baby~¡± Lan Yulian filmed for a good while before moving away. If these were truly to be their last images, Lan Yulian hoped to capture a smiling face. The adults certainly couldn¡¯t manage a real smile¡ªonly a forced one at best. Only these little children, who understood nothing, could smile from the heart. After filming for a while, Lan Yulian finally approached Wang Tao. ¡°Will this do?¡± Wang Tao quickly watched the video and nodded. ¡°It should be enough. I¡¯ll take a few more pictures.¡± After taking a few more photos, Wang Tao nodded at Lan Yulian. ¡°All set. I¡¯m off to get busy.¡± Wang Tao sent the video and photos to the military base, which then forwarded them to Changhe City Base. Theoretically, it should¡¯ve been transmitted quickly. But, as expected, a minor mishap occurred¡ªthe underground cables were damaged again. With no other option, Wei Zhenguo and others left at the military base started repairs, busy until the evening, before the documents were finally sent. ¡°Wang Tao, the situation isn¡¯t looking good. The underground cables are having a lot of issues, and we can¡¯t repair them indefinitely. We might lose contact with Changhe City Base any moment¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo conveyed to Wang Tao during their call. They¡¯re actually quite lucky now; the damaged cables are not too far from the military base, allowing for repairs. But if the lines were to fail at a distant location, let alone repairing them, they might not even be able to locate the issue¡­ ¡°I hope we can finalize everything quickly¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed. ¡­ Changhe City Base. At night, the communication hall was brightly lit. A middle-aged man in military uniform, tall and burly, stood in the hall, looking at a map of Changhe City Base on the wall. He was Chief Hou Zhiyuan of the Third Legion of Changhe City Base. ¡°Chief Hou, there¡¯s a message!¡± Suddenly, someone shouted with excitement. Hou Zhiyuan immediately turned and walked over to a workstation. At the workstation, there was a computer and a phone, with a woman in her thirties, Li Ping, seated at it. Hearing the commotion, many others gathered around. They all knew that Li Ping had made contact with a base that was suspected to have twenty thousand survivors! If it were true, it would be a major event for the entire Changhe City Base! After all, twenty thousand survivors! ¡°Put it on the big screen!¡± Hou Zhiyuan ordered immediately. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Li Ping connected to the big screen. There was a video and a few photos. She opened the video. ¡°Heh-heh¡­ roar¡­¡± As soon as the video played, it was filled with various zombies growling. The video was from a bird¡¯s-eye view, probably shot from a helicopter. One could clearly see the zombies¡¯ heads were tilted back, showing their pale pupils and ferocious expressions. As the helicopter flew, a dense, unending stream of zombies was revealed! ¡°Heaven¡ª¡± Li Ping covered her mouth, and the others were also startled by the scene. ¡°So many zombies¡­ such a terrifying horde!¡± ¡°Can they¡­ Can they survive this!¡± ¡°It¡¯s horrifying!¡± ¡°We¡¯re really lucky to be living in the base city¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Compared to the others¡¯ fear, Hou Zhiyuan watched the horde with an expressionless face. Then, the video switched to a base of a decent size. The base¡¯s high walls were completely surrounded by the horde! ¡°There¡¯s a Survivor Base!¡± ¡°Judging by the style of the base, it must be one left behind by the Government¡­ but it¡¯s tightly besieged by the horde!¡± ¡°The base¡¯s walls don¡¯t look too high, if too many zombies gather, they might be able to climb over!¡± ¡°They have no way out¡­¡± ¡°Given the size of the horde and their Weapon Equipment, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll last much longer¡­¡± Everyone in the hall whispered among themselves. Hou Zhiyuan remained silent. The video then shifted again, this time to the interior. It was a spacious hall, filled with people. The people were yellow and pale, wearing patched clothes, with unkempt hair. Yet, they stood in order, clearly disciplined. ¡°So many survivors!¡± Someone in the communication hall instinctively exclaimed. The camera slowly moved across their faces, clearly capturing the fear in their eyes. Seeing the expressions of those survivors in the video, nobody spoke again. They could empathize. They had felt the same terror, the same helplessness. If they hadn¡¯t been fortunate enough to be rescued by the army, they might have been worse off than these survivors¡­ Then, the camera moved to a slightly overweight woman. She appeared to be in better mental and physical state than the others, as if she had been given preferential treatment. Could she have some special status? Chapter 698 - Chapter 698: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_3 Chapter 698: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_3 The image continued to move, settling on the woman¡¯s embrace. A delicate little face was revealed. ¡°A baby!¡± In the communication hall, Li Ping exclaimed softly. The others also shone with excitement in their eyes, even the usually calm Hou Zhiyuan¡¯s expression flickered with emotion. In the video, the baby was staring with clear, curious eyes at the camera. Then the videographer gently teased the baby, who quickly broke into a smile. Seeing the baby¡¯s innocent smile, everyone in the communication hall subconsciously smiled along, including Hou Zhiyuan. The scene moved again, showing there were surprisingly more than twenty babies! Some babies were crying, being softly comforted by their mothers; some were deep in sleep, looking utterly content; others were looking at the camera, laughing out loud when teased by the cameraperson¡­ As they looked at these heartwarming scenes, everyone in the communication hall unconsciously curled the corners of their lips into smiles. The birth rate in the post-apocalyptic world was very low, and the infant mortality rate was terrifyingly high! Even in their Changhe City Base, not many babies were born successfully, almost as if they had been cursed! This had nothing to do with medical conditions, as the medical facilities in their base city were not bad¡­ The sight of these newborns seemed like a glimpse of hope for the future. The video ended with the smile of the last baby. The screen was now dark, and no one spoke. Hou Zhiyuan took a deep breath and then said to Li Ping, ¡°Look at the photos again.¡± The photos were much clearer than the video, but this only made the fear on the survivors¡¯ faces more visible. Besides the photos, there was detailed data. There were now a total of 21,945 people in Zijin Base, mostly ranging from 15 to 40 years of age. Aside from the babies, there were no children or old people, just young and middle-aged adults. After all, those with poor constitutions had been weeded out. Aside from the detailed population within the base, there was also information about the distribution of zombies. ¡°Level 5 Zombie!¡± ¡°Disaster Class?¡± ¡°A source of wide-scale radiation that kills both plants and zombies? No wonder they called it Disaster Class!¡± Seeing the information about the Level 5 Zombie, everyone¡¯s expressions turned grim. Hou Zhiyuan¡¯s face was very serious, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the exact location of the Level 5 Zombie. Thankfully, the Level 5 Zombie was in the urban area of Wuyang City, which veered off from the planned rescue route. Otherwise, based on the description given above about the Level 5 Zombie, it would be uncertain whether they could even go ahead with the rescue¡­ ¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t return to the military base immediately. He stayed to wait for news and took the time to clear out the zombies surrounding Zijin Base. ¡°These zombies are really insane¡­¡± Facing the relentless Mad Demon Zombies charging at the city walls, Wang Tao casually unleashed a Shockwave that shattered dozens of Mad Demon Zombies. But they didn¡¯t know fear and still crazily charged at the wall. ¡°Leave these Mad Demon Zombies to you. I¡¯m going to take care of those Level 3 Lords!¡± Wang Tao felt that these zombies were likely being directed by a Zombie Lord and that eliminating them should help ease some pressure. ¡°Be careful!¡± Lu Yingfeng advised from the side. ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao leaped down from the high wall. As he fell, his body was instantly wrapped tightly by Entangling Roots. Thump! After landing, Wang Tao charged straight for the Zombie Lord hidden within the horde. The strength of the Level 3 Lord was formidable, but for the current Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t much of a challenge. It took only a few moves to deal with one Level 3 Lord, and then Wang Tao went on to kill the second, the third¡­ Until he could no longer find any more Level 3 Lords in his field of view, he then returned to the top of the wall, catching his breath. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Even though the zombies were no match for him, killing so many was still an exhausting task. Seeing the zombies below the wall suddenly become somewhat disorganized, Wang Tao immediately smirked. Just as he thought, they were following commands! Without the direction of a Level 3 Lord, their efficiency greatly diminished. Then, Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie crackled with Lan Yulian¡¯s voice. ¡°Wang Tao, someone from the military base is looking for you.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m coming!¡± Wang Tao went to Zijin Base¡¯s communication room to pick up the receiver. ¡°Ssshh¡­¡± The military base relayed the signal, and after a moment, a solemn male voice came from the other side. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, we have confirmed the video you sent. We will dispatch a rescue team, but the journey is long¡ªwe need you to hold out for three days!¡± ¡°Three days? Okay! We¡¯ll hold out! But our communication lines here are not very good and may cut out at any time¡­¡± Wang Tao meant that if they lost contact, it wasn¡¯t necessarily because the base had fallen¡ªit could just be that the equipment had malfunctioned. He was concerned that if communications were cut, the other side might assume they were all dead and abandon the rescue. Hou Zhiyuan apparently caught Wang Tao¡¯s concern and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Once our men are dispatched, they won¡¯t give up halfway. You only need to hold on and wait for rescue; leave the rest to us!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± After ending the call with Hou Zhiyuan, Wang Tao immediately went to find Lan Yulian. ¡°I need to make a trip back to the military base.¡± ¡°Now? It¡¯s about to get dark¡­¡± Lan Yulian sounded concerned. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I need to go back and bring all the resources and equipment from the military base here.¡± ¡°Ah? Aren¡¯t you going to defend your military base then?¡± ¡°I have decided to give up the military base and make a stand here at Zijin Base,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lan Yulian was at once surprised and worried upon hearing this. ¡°You¡¯ve really decided¡­¡± ¡°What I just contacted was the Changhe Base City. They said they would send someone to rescue us!¡± Lan Yulian was instantly stunned. ¡°They¡­ are sending someone to rescue us? A two thousand kilometers round trip?¡± ¡°Yes. So¡­ hold on, and wait for rescue!¡± Chapter 699 - Chapter 699: Chapter 284 Abandoning the Base_1 Chapter 699: Chapter 284 Abandoning the Base_1 Wang Tao returned to the military base at night. This was the first time Wang Tao had taken a flight in the dark, but luckily, the journey was safe without any mishap. ¡°Wang Tao! They actually sent someone over¡­¡± Ding Yuqin and the others were extremely excited to see Wang Tao, as Changhe City Base had surprisingly agreed to send help for the survivors at Zijin Base! ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it either, but it¡¯s good news. We¡¯ll all head to Zijin Base tomorrow!¡± ¡°What about the military base?¡± Yang Changhong asked subconsciously. ¡°This place¡­ we can only abandon it.¡± Looking at the vast military base, Wang Tao felt somewhat reluctant to leave, but there was no other choice. The military base was too close to Wuyang City¡¯s urban area and could be flattened by the Giant Zombie at any moment. If they left now, they might be able to save the base, as the most dangerous zombies might not come if there were no humans around. The military base still had some food, weapons, and ammunition. These couldn¡¯t be wasted. All the food was processed by Wang Tao into nutrient solutions for easy transport. The weapons and ammunition were loaded onto helicopters. Everyone packed up throughout the night, and by the next morning, everything was ready. The people and goods couldn¡¯t be transported in one go by the helicopter; it would take two trips. Wang Tao had He Jijun transport the goods first. The first transport of goods went smoothly, and the helicopter returned to the military base. Wang Tao used his authority to lock up the entire military base. Maybe it would be useful in the future, or perhaps it would never be used again. Either way, keeping the military base intact was a good thing. After making sure nothing was left behind, Wang Tao led everyone onto the helicopter. Whirring¡ª The helicopter took off, and Wang Tao took one last look at the military base before taking a deep breath. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± During the flight, Wang Tao kept a close watch on the zombies¡¯ activities on the ground. The zombies that ran out of Wuyang City didn¡¯t all head towards Zijing City; they also roamed in other directions. This was good news for Wang Tao. However, along the way, Wang Tao spotted a Giant Zombie straying from Wuyang City¡¯s urban area! Although this particular Giant Zombie wasn¡¯t heading towards Zijing City, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t guarantee that others wouldn¡¯t¡­ They could only take it one step at a time. When they arrived at Zijin Base in the afternoon, perhaps due to the frequent helicopter usage that day, there were even more zombies around the base. When the helicopter landed inside the base, the zombies outside became more frenzied. ¡°What on earth got into these zombies¡­¡± Wang Tao commented, then Ding Yuqin and the others met Lan Yulian and her group. ¡°Zhang Hong!¡± Lan Yulian and Yang Changhong hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time and embraced. Seeing the close interaction between Yang Changhong and Wang Tao, Lan Yulian¡¯s gaze towards Wang Tao suddenly carried a hint of subtle grievance. Although she had guessed as much, guessing was one thing and seeing it with her own eyes was another. Then Lan Yulian also met Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Li Qiuyu, and the others. Wang Tao had already introduced them to each other in advance, so they were all mentally prepared. When the girls met, there was a slight competitive tension, but they all knew that now was not the time for jealousy, so they all tacitly glared at Wang Tao together. If they could get through this crisis, they would settle the score with Wang Tao later! ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao pretended not to see it and called everyone to bring over the weapons that had been transported previously. ¡°Mount these heavy machine guns on the wall; they should be able to hold off a lot of zombies. Distribute some bombs and hand grenades as well¡­ then everyone go kill some zombies!¡± If they were preparing for a desperate defense, they couldn¡¯t afford to waste time. ¡°Yes!¡± The crowd responded and moved the weapons and ammunition to the top of the tall wall. The high wall of the base had specially designed shooting areas, like small houses that could keep out corrosive acid rain and protect the weapons from corrosion. Ratatat¡ª Once the heavy machine guns were in place, they immediately began firing at the zombies outside! The firepower of heavy machine guns was much greater than that of rifles and pistols. It shattered a swath of Mad Demon Zombies in an instant! Seeing the destructive effect, Lan Yulian and the others hadn¡¯t had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief when they saw even more Mad Demon Zombies rushing forward! ¡°We can never finish killing all these zombies¡­¡± ¡°Just managing to suppress the zombie attacks for now is enough; we can¡¯t ask for too much.¡± After mounting all the heavy machine guns, Wang Tao checked the tide of zombies and spotted three Level 3, Lord zombies. Without a second word, Wang Tao jumped down and spent some time taking down the three Zombie Lords. After collecting the spoils, Wang Tao used Iron Tree Vines to return to the top of the high wall. Without the Zombie Lords, the Mad Demon Zombies¡¯ attack became somewhat disorganized. ¡°Call me if another Zombie Lord shows up.¡± Ordinary zombies were left to others; Wang Tao only needed to deal with Zombie Lords because his physical strength was limited. If he wasted too much time on ordinary zombies, it would be a loss. Wang Tao returned to the central area of the base. ¡°Wang Tao, I want to tell everyone about the reinforcements¡­¡± Lan Yulian suddenly said to Wang Tao. In the past couple of days, because the zombies had begun to attack Zijin Base fiercely, it had caused panic among the survivors inside the base. She wanted to give the survivors some confidence; otherwise, they might collapse. ¡°No problem. They definitely need to know about it.¡± Chapter 700 - Chapter 700: Chapter 284 Abandoning the Base_2 Chapter 700: Chapter 284 Abandoning the Base_2 Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Shall we announce this news together? After all, you¡¯re the one who fought for it¡­¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at Wang Tao. If it wasn¡¯t for Wang Tao, they would never have had this opportunity. Although having an opportunity didn¡¯t guarantee success, without one there was no chance at all. What Wang Tao had done should be known to everyone. ¡°Of course.¡± Lan Yulian once again gathered all the survivors at the base to the assembly hall. The survivors were all somewhat uneasy, not knowing what their leader was up to this time. Once everyone had arrived, Lan Yulian looked at the group of survivors with their sallow complexions, picked up a megaphone, and began to speak: ¡°Folks, by now you all must be aware of our base¡¯s situation. We are like an isolated island within Zijing City at the moment, at constant risk of being overwhelmed by a tide of zombies¡­¡± Lan Yulian outlined the current situation. Although everyone was already aware, hearing it from the leader herself still caused a wave of panic in their hearts. Could it be that the base still couldn¡¯t hold off the tide of zombies, and they were going to die in this onslaught¡­? ¡°But we must not give up. If we give up, then we truly lose everything. As long as we keep persisting, there will always be hope to survive! And now, I have some good news to share with you all¡ª¡± Good news? The survivors were all stunned for a moment. What good news could there be in times like these? Could it be that their leader, Lan Yulian, had attained Level 4? But even at Level 4, she wouldn¡¯t be able to resolve the zombie tide outside, right? ¡°Before I get to the good news, let me introduce someone to you. This is¡­¡± Lan Yulian gestured towards Wang Tao who was standing beside her. Before she could finish, someone from the crowd shouted: ¡°That¡¯s Mr. Wang Tao, we know him!¡± After that person spoke, others joined in. ¡°Yes, we know him!¡± Even though Wang Tao hadn¡¯t stayed long at Zijin Base, he knew a lot of people there, and he had a very good reputation. The reason was simple. When he was in Zijing City, he had rescued many from the city sports center. Those people spread the word about him after returning, and soon enough, everyone knew and recognized Wang Tao. Furthermore, those who came from Duzhu Town later had also followed Wang Tao¡¯s advice, which led them to Zijin Base. Although they had suffered hardships and lost some people along the way, many had successfully made it to Zijin Base, all of whom owed Wang Tao their thanks. Of course, there was also the rumor within the base that Wang Tao was the leader¡¯s man! Although the leader hadn¡¯t admitted it directly, she hadn¡¯t bother to clarify either. So Wang Tao was not an unknown figure here; his reputation preceded him. Seeing that the survivors recognized Wang Tao, Lan Yulian felt happy inside. Then she continued: ¡°Good, since everyone knows him, I won¡¯t waste any more words. Mr. Wang Tao previously made contact with a large survivor base in another province¡­¡± Whoosh¡ª As soon as Lan Yulian spoke these words, the survivors below immediately started whispering to one another. Some were curious, others excited. In the midst of such a terrifying zombie tide, there were other survivor bases! Could they possibly help each other? Or was there a chance of them reaching other bases? After all, their base was surrounded by thousands of zombies. Under these circumstances, the base was bound to fall sooner or later¡­ Lan Yulian allowed them to discuss for a while before continuing: ¡°It¡¯s a large survivor base organized by the Government, known as Changhe City Base, located in West Province. There are hundreds of thousands of survivors there and a massive amount of armed strength! Most importantly, they have fewer zombies there and no zombie tides!¡± These simple sentences sparked a look of longing in everyone¡¯s eyes. But upon hearing that the base was in West Province, their hopes seemed to shatter instantly. West Province was a thousand kilometers away from Wuyang Province! In this world overrun with zombie tides, even a hundred kilometers, let alone a thousand, seemed impassable! A thousand kilometers might as well be a suicide mission. Although there was a helicopter currently at the base, which likely belonged to Mr. Wang Tao, a single helicopter could only carry a handful of people. And they had over twenty thousand people at the base¡­ As the faces of the survivors began to fill with despair once more, Lan Yulian promptly added: ¡°After extensive discussions between Mr. Wang Tao and the other party, Changhe City Base has decided to send people over to rescue us!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The survivors were stunned, finding it hard to believe their own ears. ¡°Rescue us?¡± ¡°From a place thousands of miles away?¡± ¡°That¡¯s over two thousand kilometers back and forth. How could they possibly¡­¡± The survivors could hardly believe that anyone would come to rescue them, having seen too much darkness in this apocalyptic world. Suddenly glimpsing light, they found it somewhat difficult to get used to. ¡°You heard it right, they are coming to rescue us! I assure you!¡± After Lan Yulian¡¯s confirmation, the survivors slowly began to buzz with conversation. ¡°Oh my!¡± ¡°They really intend to rescue us from such a long distance?¡± ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± ¡°Does this mean we¡¯re saved?¡± ¡°If they dare to come to rescue us, that must mean they¡¯re very powerful. We might really be saved!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing everyone whispering to each other, Lan Yulian coughed once, drawing all eyes to her. Chapter 701 - Chapter 701: Chapter 284 Abandoning the Base_3 Chapter 701: Chapter 284 Abandoning the Base_3 ¡°So, all we need to do now is to hold on. In a few days, reinforcements will arrive! As long as we can hold on for these few days, we can all survive!¡± Lan Yulian exclaimed loudly. After hearing these words, a glimmer of light indeed returned to the eyes of the fearful and numb survivors. ¡°Next, everyone should continue with their duties and be ready to join the battle at any moment. I believe that as long as we work together, we can surely overcome this crisis!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± When they had arrived, these survivors were all listless. But upon leaving, their spirits were noticeably uplifted. After all, persistence without hope is entirely different from persistence with hope. After everyone had left, Lan Yulian turned to Wang Tao. ¡°Do you think they can make it here in two days¡­¡± Lan Yulian had sounded very confident just now, but in truth, she was quite anxious. However, as the leader, if she didn¡¯t display confidence, then nobody else would be able to believe in her. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either, just hope they can get here smoothly without running into too much danger¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed. He couldn¡¯t be certain about such things, but having hope was still a good thing. ¡°I¡¯m going out to kill some zombies, to help Lightning increase its strength.¡± Ever since Lightning¡¯s Level 2 Ascension, there hadn¡¯t been time to increase its HP. Now that they were planning to defend Zijin Base to the death, they naturally needed to bolster Lightning¡¯s strength. ¡°Okay, be careful!¡± Wang Tao walked around the top of the wall and found a spot where there were relatively fewer zombies. He then hugged Lightning and jumped down. Lightning currently only had a little over five thousand HP, with much room for improvement. The zombies outside the base varied from Level 1 to Level 3, with most being Ordinary Zombies, and occasionally there were some Elite Zombies. He hadn¡¯t seen any Zombie Lords, however. Wang Tao had Lightning follow closely behind him, then he took out his Mutant Explosion-proof Baton. His attack power was too high; if he used the tusk long knife or the Shockwave, he might kill the zombies outright. But if he used the baton, those stunned by the electric shock ¡ª as long as they didn¡¯t have a weakness to electricity ¡ª many could still survive. Wang Tao waited for the right moment and swung the baton at a zombie. Zzzzzzt¡ª An arc of electricity flashed, and the zombie Wang Tao attacked had its head smashed to pieces, instantly killing it. At the same time, the electric arc spread from that zombie to others around it, stunning a group of zombies! These shocked zombies weren¡¯t dead but were all severely injured. Wang Tao immediately commanded Lightning to rush over and finish off the surviving zombies. Every zombie Lightning killed caused its HP bar to surge up a good amount. After all, it was only Level 2, and the zombies left by Wang Tao were Level 3, meaning Lightning was engaging in higher-level kills, and the HP gained was tripled. In not too much time, Lightning¡¯s HP reached 29,999. ¡°Let¡¯s go, back inside!¡± Wang Tao picked up Lightning and used the Iron Tree Vines to latch onto a protrusion on the wall, returning inside like a spider. Then Wang Tao found Lan Yulian and took out some of the meat from the Fourth-Order Wild Boar Beast they had earlier set aside. ¡°Eat up!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if eating this meat would allow Lightning to ascend, but since Lightning was only Level 2 and the boar beast was Level 4, even if it couldn¡¯t ascend, eating more meat should be beneficial. After all, eating the meat of these creatures could slightly increase base attributes. ¡°Woof woof!¡± Lightning barked, then began to feast heartily. Compared to last time, Lightning ate much more, but there were no changes. Just when Wang Tao thought it might not work, Lightning suddenly stopped eating, then ran over to Wang Tao¡¯s feet and lay down next to them. ¡°Eh? It really worked!¡± Wang Tao was slightly surprised. It seemed that the meat of the fourth-order creatures had a greater effect on Lightning than on humans! Furthermore, Wang Tao felt that, in some ways, Lightning was also a sort of creature. After all, it too had mutated from an animal. However, Lightning couldn¡¯t use Abilities or fuse with Crystal Cores. It was different from the creatures Wang Tao had seen before; rather, it was more similar to Jiang Shixue¡­ No matter what, Lightning¡¯s Ascension was a good thing. Once it reached Level 3, it could fight by Wang Tao¡¯s side. Currently, its strength and HP were too low, and bringing it into battle would be a burden. ¡­ The addition of Wang Tao and his group greatly relieved the pressure on Zijin Base. After all, he had moved all the Thermal Weapons from the military base over. Against zombies below Level 4, Thermal Weapons were still effective. ¡°It seems like the zombie horde¡¯s attacks have slowed down a lot¡­¡± Atop the wall, Lu Yingfeng put down the binoculars and said to Yang Changhong beside her. ¡°Indeed. I suppose these zombies can¡¯t possibly keep attacking non-stop. They probably need to rest too¡­ It¡¯s already getting dark. Let¡¯s go down and eat something; we can¡¯t fight on an empty stomach.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± A few of them walked down from the wall. Lu Yingfeng informed Wang Tao about the changes in the zombie movements. Wang Tao nodded and said: ¡°Then it seems we can rest a bit now. But we can¡¯t relax; after all, zombies are more active at night. If there¡¯s any problem, call me immediately.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± After dinner, the group began their shifts. The attacks from the zombies outside the base had slowed but hadn¡¯t stopped. Tonight was doomed not to be peaceful. Wang Tao went straight to rest. He was the highest Combat Power within the base and needed to be ready for any sudden situation. When nothing was happening, it was important to rest well and gather strength. At night, Ding Yuqin quietly woke Wang Tao up. ¡°Wang Tao, Four-level zombies are suspected to have appeared in the horde!¡± Wang Tao opened his eyes. ¡°Four-level zombies¡­ they¡¯ve finally come!¡± An attack of this scale by the horde would not be possible without Four-level zombies. So they had been waiting for the night to attack! ¡°I¡¯ll go take a look!¡± Chapter 702 - Chapter 702: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_1 Chapter 702: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_1 Wang Tao reached the top of the high wall. He could clearly feel that the zombies¡¯ attacks at night were more ferocious than during the day. Fortunately, even the Mad Demon Zombies couldn¡¯t climb the high wall under the suppression of modern firepower. However, Wang Tao¡¯s primary focus was not on these Ordinary Zombies. He looked into the distance. On the rooftop of a civilian house outside Zijin Base, stood a slender figure. It wore a white lab coat and a mask, appearing to be a female doctor, but in its hand was a blood-drenched chainsaw! [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Level: Level 4, Lord] [Awakening: Cutting] [Cutting: Attack carries Cutting Attribute] This was a Level 4, Lord Zombie with 120,000 HP. Merely from the description of the awakening, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear about what the Cutting Attribute was. But obviously, it must be a passive ability that added to the attack, and the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s attack must be very strong! At this moment, the Chainsaw Zombie looked up, as if it had let out a silent roar. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hear anything, but he could clearly feel that the zombies below were suddenly becoming more frenzied, and then they started to assault the high walls of the base! At this time, many Night Demons appeared. Night Demons were much more formidable than Ordinary Zombies, with the lowest being Level 3 Elites. Moreover, like the Mad Demon Zombies, they were also very agile. If not suppressed in time, they might indeed be capable, with the help of other zombies, of climbing the high walls! Wang Tao casually dealt with a few Night Demons that were about to climb up, then took out his ultraviolet flashlight, ultraviolet illumination flares, and strip ultraviolet lights. ¡°Use these to block the Night Demons!¡± Since Night Demons had a fatal weakness of being vulnerable to ultraviolet light, there was no need to confront them head-on. As long as they were blocked by the ultraviolet light, they would retreat on their own before daylight. ¡°Alright!¡± The people immediately installed the strip lights on the high wall. Suddenly, a purple glow was cast out. The bodies of the Night Demons climbing the wall instantly emitted green smoke. With a shriek, the Night Demons fell off. This height naturally couldn¡¯t kill them, but it could stop their advance. The others also kept ultraviolet flashlights and flares close by, ready to respond at any moment. Seeing that these Night Demon Zombies couldn¡¯t charge up, Wang Tao then said to everyone: ¡°You block the other zombies. I¡¯ll take care of that Level 4 Zombie!¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Jiang Shixue immediately spoke up. ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless when dealing with a Level 4, Lord Zombie. The Chainsaw Zombie was some distance from the base, it had shown itself once before but then retreated back into the darkness. Besides Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao, no one else could see it, and only the two of them could take it on. ¡°Wang Tao, be extra careful!¡± After being admonished by everyone, Wang Tao activated the Entangling Roots and jumped down directly. Bang! When Wang Tao landed, a shockwave erupted, clearing the surrounding zombies, and then he and Jiang Shixue rushed towards the Chainsaw Zombie together. The Chainsaw Zombie seemed to have seen Wang Tao, and as soon as it noticed him charging over, it immediately raised its chainsaw and wobbled off the building, walking towards Wang Tao. As soon as the Chainsaw Zombie entered his attack range, Wang Tao unleashed a semi-transparent shockwave. He then saw the Chainsaw Zombie raise its chainsaw as if it was going to chop through the shockwave. ¡°You think you can block this¡ª¡± Just when Wang Tao was about to say that the Chainsaw Zombie couldn¡¯t possibly block an energy-based attack, he saw the blood-drenched chainsaw come into contact with his shockwave, emitting a ¡°pchit¡± sound. [-0] [120000/120000] ¡°It actually blocked it?¡± Wang Tao was seeing a deduction of 0 HP for the first time. When he previously fired at the Giant Zombie with a heavy machine gun, he at least took off a few points of HP¡­ Wang Tao was surprised but not panicked. He unleashed two successive shockwaves, accompanied by a Mental Shock. [-0] [-0] [-0] ¡°The Mental Shock didn¡¯t work either?¡± Although these three attacks were blocked, Wang Tao had already reached the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s side. He held a knife in one hand and took out a pistol with the other. Swinging the knife, firing the gun. Bang! The Chainsaw Zombie used the chainsaw to block Wang Tao¡¯s knife, but the Air Bullet hit the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s head. [-3108] The damage of three thousand was not high. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Chainsaw Zombie roared in anger, and the mask on its face was torn apart. Then, just as Wang Tao¡¯s vision blurred, the chainsaw was already in front of him, chopping at his body. Buzzing¡ª Pchit! [-32384] [110000/110000 (67616/100000)] Wang Tao himself wasn¡¯t injured, but the Entangling Roots lost over thirty thousand HP! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao quickly retreated. The damage was a bit terrifying. Three hits would kill the Entangling Roots! Previously, the Level 4, Lord Night Demon could inflict fifteen thousand damage to the Entangling Roots. This Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s attack damage was twice that of the Lord Night Demon! However, the Night Demon¡¯s attacks had some penetration attribute, which could pass through the Entangling Roots and harm Wang Tao, but the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s attack could only damage the Entangling Roots. Of course, whether or not it could penetrate, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to find out what it felt like to be hit by this chainsaw¡¯s attack. As he retreated, he immediately used the Iron Tree Vines to pull over several Ordinary Zombies and threw them towards the Chainsaw Zombie. Pchit! With the chainsaw in hand, the Chainsaw Zombie easily bisected these Ordinary Zombies. And to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, after being bisected, the zombies¡¯ HP bars were actually zeroed! Logically, unless a zombie¡¯s head was blown off, attacking other parts of its body might result in HP loss but definitely not death! After all, zombies could even live with just their heads remaining. Chapter 703 - Chapter 703: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_2 Chapter 703: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_2 ¡°` But now, these zombies chopped in half were indeed as dead as they could be¡­ This Chainsaw Zombie had something going for it! Wang Tao became even more vigilant. He gave Jiang Shixue a heads up and then charged at the Chainsaw Zombie again. He still had a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. While he swung the knife he fired the gun simultaneously, forcing the Chainsaw Zombie to make a choice. This time, the Chainsaw Zombie blocked the Air Bullet. Wang Tao¡¯s tusk long knife cleanly struck the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s body. [-0] [-6173] [-617] [¡­] The damage from the high-frequency vibration was still high, slashing six thousand HP off the Chainsaw Zombie. And there was an additional bleed damage thrice, roughly around eighteen hundred. It was as if Wang Tao¡¯s single strike could deal eight thousand damage! After landing a successful hit, Wang Tao did not press on; he immediately retreated. The chainsaw missed its target. Seeing his attack had been effective and that he had evaded the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s strike, Wang Tao roughly knew how to fight it now. The Chainsaw Zombie was quick to react and attack, but the chainsaw, after all, was not a shield; it couldn¡¯t block all attacks. Especially since Wang Tao was using two different modes of attack from varying angles, the Chainsaw Zombie could only block one. The other would hit its mark. But after striking a blow, he could not pursue his advantage but had to retreat immediately because the Chainsaw Zombie would surely launch a very fast counter-attack at Wang Tao, too quick for Wang Tao to see its movements clearly. If this strike hit him, Entangling Roots would lose over thirty thousand HP! So, there was no need to clash head-on with the Chainsaw Zombie, nor to be greedy. Simply strike and retreat. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Chainsaw Zombie, having missed its target, became even angrier. The zombies nearby, as if following the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s command, all swarmed towards Wang Tao. Jiang Shixue immediately took them on to provide Wang Tao with the space to fight. ¡°Bring it on!¡± Wang Tao charged at the Chainsaw Zombie once more. It was the same old tactic, one hand firing the gun, the other swinging the knife. He forced the Chainsaw Zombie to answer the multiple-choice question. But this time, the Chainsaw Zombie chose the third option. [-3002] [-6281] [-628] [¡­] Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet and high-frequency vibration both hit the Chainsaw Zombie. Because it didn¡¯t block the attack! Thud! The chainsaw heavily struck Wang Tao¡¯s chest, and a powerful force sent him flying. [-42652] [110000/110000£¨24964/100000£©] Entangling Roots had only a little over twenty thousand HP left and could no longer withstand any attack from the Chainsaw Zombie. Upon landing, Wang Tao immediately deactivated the armor mode of Entangling Roots. Entangling Roots was still useful to Wang Tao, and even if it truly wasn¡¯t anymore, it was his battle companion¡ªWang Tao did not want it to die. ¡°That damage is really high!¡± Just as Wang Tao complained to himself, he saw the Chainsaw Zombie, holding the chainsaw aloft, charging towards him at high speed. Any zombie in its path got sliced into two halves! A somewhat ferocious shield suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Bang! The chainsaw struck the shield. Wang Tao didn¡¯t lose any HP, and a spark of electricity flashed by. Crackle¡ª [-1024] [96677/120000] ¡°This thing isn¡¯t afraid of electricity?¡± Seeing that the current from the Electric Shield only caused a thousand damage to the Chainsaw Zombie, Wang Tao also gave up on the idea of trying it with an electric baton. With a forceful push from his left arm, he thrust the shield forward sharply. The Chainsaw Zombie instantly staggered backward several steps. Wang Tao, holding the long knife in his right hand, struck the Chainsaw Zombie with it. [-5328] [-532] [¡­] [89728/120000] Another seven thousand damage! The damage from wielding the knife with one hand might be lower, but it was still significant. While making this cut, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even look at the outcome, but immediately raised his shield instead. Bang! As expected, the chainsaw hit the shield. [-1003] Wang Tao again successfully blocked the strike without taking any damage, and even reprised a thousand HP from the Chainsaw Zombie! Is that all? Wang Tao pressed his advantage, one hand with a shield, the other with a long knife. As the Chainsaw Zombie attacked, he would immediately block with the shield and, in the moment he blocked the attack, he would slash the Chainsaw Zombie with the long knife. Although this slowed down his attacking speed considerably, it was much safer. In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao had made four cuts, and the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s HP had already dropped below sixty thousand. At this point, the Chainsaw Zombie roared and raised its chainsaw, spinning it around like a windmill. Whirring¡ª The chainsaw roared! Wang Tao had seen this move before from a Terrorizer, so he immediately backed away, not giving the Chainsaw Zombie a chance. Then he saw the Chainsaw Zombie complete a circle and not stopping! Instead, it spun like a top, speeding towards Wang Tao and cutting every zombie in its path in half! ¡°What the hell!¡± Wang Tao was startled and promptly raised his shield to fall back. The Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s move seemed extremely damaging, and there was no need to meet it head-on. At the same time, Wang Tao urged Jiang Shixue to retreat quickly to avoid being hit by the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s attack, as her small frame might not be able to withstand it. Thud¡ª The Chainsaw Zombie spun faster and faster, dismembering a large number of zombies around it and even grinding some into mincemeat! Wang Tao was astonished, then, as if struck by a thought, he looked down at his shield subconsciously. ¡°Damn!¡± It was then Wang Tao realized that his shield¡¯s Durability had decreased by nearly half! [Durability +70] The Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield¡¯s Durability was originally 100. Although Wang Tao had used it a few times, he had not consumed any Durability before. ¡°` Chapter 704 - Chapter 704: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_3 Chapter 704: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_3 And now, had he just blocked six attacks from the Chainsaw Zombie? Six hits had cost him 30 Durability points, that is, 5 Durability points per hit! Wang Tao retracted what he had just said; he should not have underestimated the Chainsaw Zombie¡ªthat thing was too fierce! This was a Level 4 Shield with +100 defensive power! ¡°Little Xue, the attack power of this Chainsaw Zombie is too high, don¡¯t go over there at any cost.¡± Wang Tao reminded Jiang Shixue, who was not far away, once again. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. She was well aware of her own limits, knowing that she was no match for the Chainsaw Zombie, so she wouldn¡¯t rashly rush over; helping Wang Tao to clear the ordinary zombies around was enough. The Chainsaw Zombie, spinning like a top gone wild, would shred anything it touched¡ªincluding buildings and other zombies! For a moment, it seemed as though the Chainsaw Zombie had even started a small tornado! However, when the Chainsaw Zombie was spinning, its speed was not fast, at least not as fast as before, and Wang Tao could easily dodge its attacks. But watching the path the Chainsaw Zombie was taking, Wang Tao internally voiced his concern. Whether intentional or not, it was heading straight for the base! Though the high walls of the base looked sturdy, thinking of the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s Awakening description ¡°Cutting: Attacks come with a Cutting Attribute,¡± and recalling the 30 Durability lost from his own Level 4 Shield, Wang Tao felt that the high walls might not hold it off! If it couldn¡¯t be held off and the high wall was breached with a large cut¡­ it had to be stopped! Wang Tao originally planned to wait until it stopped spinning to make his move. After all, the Chainsaw Zombie wasn¡¯t as fast while spinning, and it couldn¡¯t hit him. But plans seldom match changes. Better safe than sorry¡ª if it really did break through the high wall, there would be no repairing it. Wang Tao hurled a Shockwave at the Chainsaw Zombie and fired an Air Bullet. [-0] [-0] But to no effect. ¡°In that case¡­¡± Wang Tao had wanted to save an Awakening, but facing the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s Spinning Top State, his Ranged Attacks were ineffective. Melee attacks were a bit risky, so for safety, he had to go all out! ¡°Starfire Prairie!¡± Whoosh¡ª Flames blazed up around Wang Tao. In a flash of light, Wang Tao stood in front of the Chainsaw Zombie. He lifted his Flame Long Sword high with both hands and struck the still spinning Chainsaw Zombie. Bang! [-0] Although the strike caused no damage, the Chainsaw Zombie was sent flying, and its Spinning Top State was broken by Wang Tao! Crash¡ª The Chainsaw Zombie smashed through several houses! Wang Tao shimmered and followed into the building. The dust in the air did not affect his Perception. He located the Chainsaw Zombie. Seizing the moment before it could get up, he struck it with another blow. [-18938] [-1893] [-1029] [¡­] [28937/120000] His sword hit solidly on the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s head, and with the Bleeding and Burn Damage, it nearly caused thirty thousand damage in one hit! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Chainsaw Zombie, now ablaze, let out an angry roar and then turned tail and fled, with an incredible speed! Zombies above the level of a Lord have some rudimentary intelligence, at least they know when to run if they¡¯re outmatched. But with Wang Tao having awakened his power, naturally he wouldn¡¯t let it get away. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao directly threw his Flame Long Sword in his hand. Thud! The Flame Long Sword struck right into the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s head! [-24248] [-2484] [-2205] [0/120000] The HP bar of the Chainsaw Zombie dropped to zero! If it hadn¡¯t run away, Wang Tao might still have had to put in some effort to kill it. After all, the chainsaw it wielded was quite peculiar and could block Wang Tao¡¯s attacks. But it fled and even showed its back to Wang Tao. That was simply begging for death. When using Starfire Prairie, it consumes 10 points of Awakening Energy per second, but it starts at 100 points of energy, meaning Wang Tao had to use it for at least ten seconds. The speed at which he just killed the Chainsaw Zombie was very fast, and there were still three seconds left before the ten seconds were up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t start collecting the spoils immediately; instead, he rushed into the horde of zombies and released shockwaves like crazy. Swipe¡ª The area beneath the high wall instantly turned into a sea of fire! Countless zombies were shattered and burnt to death. By the time the flames on Wang Tao died down, there were no zombies left standing around him. ¡°Pretty exhilarating¡­¡± Awakening abilities are captivating. But they consume too much energy, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare use it recklessly. It could only be a trump card. Wang Tao walked out of the sea of fire and approached the Chainsaw Zombie. The chainsaw from the Chainsaw Zombie was named, which made Wang Tao grin as he picked up all the dropped loot and then returned to the top of the high wall with Jiang Shixue. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Seeing Wang Tao climb up using the Iron Tree Vines, Lan Yulian, Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and the others came to Wang Tao¡¯s side, visibly shocked. ¡°Was that flame just now your Awakening?¡± ¡°Badass!¡± ¡°That¡¯s too powerful! We haven¡¯t killed as many zombies as you did, and you even killed a Level 4 Zombie Lord!¡± Everyone was full of admiration. Wang Tao had told them about the need for Awakening to ascend to Level 4, and that his Awakening involved fire. But aside from the few who had previously joined him to hunt Four-level Zombies, the others had never seen what Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening looked like. After all, Awakening Energy is precious and can¡¯t be wasted recklessly. Now having seen with their own eyes how Wang Tao descended like a fire god and burned all the zombies beneath this wall to ashes, the scene was breathtakingly badass! Wang Tao said with a smile: ¡°You guys will be able to awaken too sooner or later, and you could even be stronger than me.¡± The others shook their heads. They weren¡¯t even pondering an Awakening more powerful than Wang Tao¡¯s; they would be willing to take even a lousy Awakening, as long as they could ascend to Level 4¡­ After the death of this Chainsaw Zombie, the zombies¡¯ attacks instantly became disorganized. The pressure everyone felt greatly decreased. Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave the high wall, just in case other Four-level Zombies appeared, and he took the opportunity to check the spoils of battle. Chapter 705 - Chapter 705: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_1 Chapter 705: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_1 Killing the Chainsaw Zombie brought Wang Tao an Advanced Special Energy and an Awakening Key. He now had amassed 5 Awakening Keys! The Chainsaw Zombie dropped three items and burst out five Loot Packs. The three items were the Red Crystal Core in its head, an Awakening Energy Pearl, and its chainsaw. [Acquired: Fourth Order Crystal Core: Promotion x1] [Acquired: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Acquired: Fourth-Order Weapon¡¤Bloody Chainsaw] The Ascension Crystal Core and Energy Pearl need no mention, but this chainsaw ¨C it¡¯s actually a fourth-order weapon! [Fourth-Order Weapon¡¤Bloody Chainsaw] [HP: 10000/10000 (Upper limit 100000)] [Status: Dormant] [Enhancement: Bone Removal] [Compatibility: 0%] [Bone Removal: Can directly strip away life energy] [Note: The upper limit of HP cannot be increased using crystal cores; it can only be raised by killing lifeforms of level 3 or higher] Upon seeing the attributes of the Bloody Chainsaw, Wang Tao suddenly understood. No wonder the Chainsaw Zombie directly killed the zombies after chopping them in half. It turned out that this chainsaw could directly strip away life energy! That meant this chainsaw was very effective against zombies! There was no need to aim specifically for the zombies¡¯ heads; hitting their bodies could kill them too! The Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s upper limit of HP increased differently from other weapons; it couldn¡¯t be enhanced using crystal cores and could only be raised through killing lifeforms of level 3 or higher. However, for Wang Tao, this was not bad news. Because the consumption for upgrading fourth-order weapons was too great, he didn¡¯t have enough crystal cores. Being able to raise its potential through killing zombies was the best possible outcome. The only question was how strong exactly was the attack power of this Bloody Chainsaw¡­ Unable to contain his curiosity, Wang Tao fed the chainsaw some crystal cores to increase the compatibility slightly and tested it on a few zombies. Then Wang Tao frowned. The damage of the Bloody Chainsaw¡­ wasn¡¯t high! When the Chainsaw Zombie wielded the chainsaw, it could chop the Entangling Roots causing over thirty thousand damage to HP, killing many zombies with a single cut. But after Wang Tao¡¯s tests, he found that the damage of this chainsaw was about the same as when he fought with his bare hands. Moreover, the mechanism of this chainsaw was very peculiar; the chainsaw itself lost HP while being used! Wang Tao had never seen equipment that lost HP before. No wonder it had a health bar. Luckily though, every time it killed a zombie, it would regenerate HP and the upper limit of its HP would increase. If it could continuously kill zombies, then it would be fine. But if it couldn¡¯t kill zombies, then it might end up ¡®dying¡¯ itself¡­ As for why its damage was so low¡­ it was obviously because of that Chainsaw Zombie. Its Awakening [Cutting] was a pure attacking ability. [Cutting] combined with the [Bloody Chainsaw] had an effect greater than the sum of their parts. ¡­ After returning to the high wall, Wang Tao checked the five Loot Packs once more. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained a total of five crystal cores: a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength], another red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense], and an orange [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: High Speed Rotation]. There was one Awakening Crystal Core, which was not bad. Wang Tao had seen most of the other crystal cores before, but he was seeing the last core for the first time. [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: High Speed Rotation] [Quality: Orange (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: Reduced vision)] [High Speed Rotation: Consumes energy to rotate at a balanced, high speed] This was the ability the Chainsaw Zombie had used before. The description alone didn¡¯t hint at how powerful this ability could be. However, considering the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s prior engagement, if one had a suitable weapon to hand, this ability could be terrifying. Wang Tao looked toward the second Loot Pack. [Acquired: Cleansing Potion x20] [Acquired: Purification Agent (Experimental) x5] [Acquired: Deactivating Potion (Experimental) x20] ¡°Eh?¡± Upon seeing the contents of this Loot Pack, Wang Tao thought he had seen wrong. He rubbed his eyes, but there was no mistake! These were Cleansing Potions, Purification Agents, and Deactivating Potions! [Detoxification Potion: Can eliminate 1% of impurities in the body] [Purification Agent (Experimental): When used on zombies mutated for no longer than 3 days, there¡¯s a certain probability to purify the virus in their bodies, and a certain probability to cause self-combustion. Ineffective against zombies mutated for over 3 days (Note: This potion is an experimental version with certain unknown side effects)] [Deactivating Potion (Experimental): Can reduce the zombie virus activity in the infected for 3 to 10 days. After the decrease in virus activity, the mutation into a zombie will not occur] Previously, Wang Tao had only obtained one [Detoxification Potion], one [Purification Agent (Experimental)], and two cases of Deactivating Potion [Experimental]. Besides acquiring Deactivating Potion after Wu Fei¡¯s mutation into a zombie, the rest were obtained from the Green-eyed Zombie below Shuize First Hospital. Wang Tao had hypothesized that such potions could only drop from doctor-class zombies. But since he hadn¡¯t encountered any special doctor zombies afterward, he couldn¡¯t confirm his guess. But now, Wang Tao felt his guess must be correct! He had previously thought that this Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s past life seemed a bit like a doctor¡¯s, except it was too incongruous holding a chainsaw. Now it appeared that it really was a doctor. Of these three potions, Wang Tao most coveted the Detoxification Potion. He had gotten five bottles previously and, after using them sparingly, now only had one bottle left. Chapter 706 - Chapter 706: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_2 Chapter 706: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_2 ¡°` For Wang Tao, the greatest benefit of this potion was that it allowed him to synthesize Crystal Cores that contained impurities! Some Crystal Cores were too rare, potentially impossible to find a second one of, or simply unattainable at the moment. In such cases, to fuse the Crystal Cores, one would have to endure the internal impurities. For instance, when Wang Tao previously fused a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core, it was already difficult for him to obtain 4 Ascension Crystal Cores, let alone gather 12 to ascend. Therefore, he had to tolerate the internal impurities and use a Cleansing Potion afterwards. Now, having acquired 20 Cleansing Potions all at once, which equated to being able to clear 20% of the internal impurities, this should last Wang Tao for quite a while! As for the ¡°Purification Agent (Experimental)¡± and ¡°Deactivating Potion (Experimental),¡± both were also great finds. The Purification Potion was the one that saved Jiang Shixue; without it, there would be no Jiang Shixue. Of course, the use of the Purification Potion was very strict, with significant side effects, and luck played a large part¡­ The Deactivating Potion had a similar effect to the Inhibitor but took effect faster and without any side effects. Once used, one would definitely not turn into a zombie within three days. However, its duration wasn¡¯t as long as the Inhibitor¡¯s, at most ten days. Compared to the Inhibitor, each had its advantages. But in urgent situations, the Deactivating Potion was more suitable. It was a life-saving item indeed. Contentedly storing away these three potions, Wang Tao turned his attention to the third Loot Pack. Inside was a set of clothes. [Gained: Female doctor¡¯s suit x1] [Female doctor¡¯s suit: Durability+10, Tear resistance+10] It was a somewhat fitted white lab coat, which Wang Tao thought Lan Yulian should wear. She was a doctor by profession and now also acted as a healer; the coat suited her perfectly. If it could be paired with black stockings, it would be even more fitting. The fourth Loot Pack contained an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Gained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The Chainsaw Zombies had already dropped an Awakening Energy Pearl, and now one more erupted from this Loot Pack. It also contained an Awakening Crystal Core, plus the 100 Awakening Energy gained from killing the Chainsaw Zombies¡­ This meant that Wang Tao effectively traded 100 Awakening Energy for 400, profiting three hundred! Finally, the last Loot Pack, not surprisingly, contained Blueprints. [Gained: Far-sighted Glasses Blueprint x1] [Gained: Sharp scalpel Blueprint x1] [Gained: High-power cardiac pacemaker Blueprint x1] There were three Blueprints in total this time, though they didn¡¯t seem to be for conventional Weapon Equipment. [Far-sighted Glasses Blueprint: Can be used to craft a pair of glasses with a binocular feature. Required materials: Any glasses x1, A Crystal Core x1] [Far-sighted Glasses: Attributes unknown] The making of these Far-sighted Glasses was very simple; any pair of glasses plus a Crystal Core would do. Wang Tao went to Lan Yulian for a pair of sunglasses and then casually took out a Level 1 Crystal Core. In the blink of an eye, the glasses were crafted. [Far-sighted Glasses: Vision+5] These were a pair of sophisticated looking gold-rimmed glasses. Wang Tao tried them on and found that he could freely adjust the focus of the lenses, indeed making them usable as binoculars. However, they were not fitting for Wang Tao to wear. Not only were they impractical for combat, but his Night Vision Ability had already enhanced his vision; his eyesight was already excellent, and he also had regular binoculars¡­ So these glasses weren¡¯t very useful for him. Therefore, Wang Tao gave the Far-sighted Glasses to Lan Yulian, and while he was at it, he also handed over the Female doctor¡¯s suit. Lan Yulian was clearly happy to receive gifts from Wang Tao. However, upon seeing the white lab coat, she gave Wang Tao a reproachful look. While the clothes were proper, whether Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts were proper or not was another matter. Wang Tao didn¡¯t try to explain, as a straight tree does not fear a crooked shadow. He explained to Lan Yulian how the glasses worked. She was quite interested in them, being usable as binoculars. Wang Tao told her to have fun with them, and he then started crafting the other two pieces of equipment. [Sharp scalpel Blueprint: Can be used to craft an extremely sharp scalpel that can be reused. Required materials: Surgical Knife x1, A Crystal Core x1] [Sharp scalpel: Attributes unknown] The materials needed for the Sharp scalpel were also simple; Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack was stocked with many Surgical Knives, all previously dropped by zombies at the hospital. He used these as disposable throwing weapons. Wang Tao casually took out a Surgical Knife and began crafting. A rainbow of light flashed, and the Sharp scalpel was complete. [Sharp scalpel: Sharpness+5, Automatically sterilized upon use] This scalpel was clearly not suitable as a throwing weapon¡ªit was too wasteful. It would be perfect for a doctor¡¯s use. Both Lan Yulian and Chen Zhuang could use it. Since Lan Yulian was nearby, Wang Tao gave it to her. After all, Lan Yulian was now a pure healer. Chen Zhuang, on the other hand, was a combat medic; his priority was fighting, secondary was healing. [High-power cardiac pacemaker Blueprint: Can be used to craft a high-power cardiac pacemaker. Required materials: Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Battery x20, Electronic Components x20, Rubber x20, Plastic x20, Cable x20] [High-power cardiac pacemaker: Attributes unknown] Huh? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised as he saw the attributes for this last Blueprint. The equipment crafted from the first two Blueprints were just average, auxiliary items that wouldn¡¯t enhance combat abilities. Even without those two pieces of equipment, there wouldn¡¯t be much impact on Wang Tao. ¡°` Chapter 707 - Chapter 707: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_3 Chapter 707: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_3 But this high-power cardiac pacemaker was different; it required more materials to produce, and most importantly, it needed a Level 4 Crystal Core. Based on Wang Tao¡¯s experience, the higher-grade materials required, the better the resulting product would be! Wang Tao suddenly felt a bit excited. He immediately took out various materials and began crafting. A rainbow flash passed, and a small yellow-white device appeared in front of Wang Tao. [High-power cardiac pacemaker: Can restore 100 HP for a mammal whose HP has reached zero within the past hour and has no significant damage to vital organs. Effective only once per day for the same target] ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Seeing the attributes of this cardiac pacemaker, Wang Tao was shocked. In a sense, this was equivalent to resurrection! The key vital organs likely referred to the brain and heart. This meant that as long as the death wasn¡¯t too horrific, there was a chance of bringing them back! Lan Yulian had strong healing abilities and was very useful. However, her healing required that the person was still alive; if they were dead, she was powerless to reverse it. But this cardiac pacemaker, even if the HP bar had reached zero, which meant death, there was still a chance to revive them! This was truly amazing! Especially now, when everyone might need to become a soldier, having such a resurrection device at hand increased the chances of surviving the crisis! After further study, Wang Tao found out that the pacemaker used batteries as its energy source. However, ordinary batteries wouldn¡¯t work; it required the specific batteries that were dropped by Wang Tao. Fortunately, Wang Tao had plenty of materials and batteries, enough for its use. As for why the cardiac pacemaker was so powerful, Wang Tao naturally did not know, but it didn¡¯t matter. He didn¡¯t need to understand the principles; all that mattered was that it worked. Wang Tao then called over Lan Yulian and explained the functions of the high-power cardiac pacemaker to her. ¡°You can revive the dead?¡± Lan Yulian looked incredulous. However, Wang Tao obviously had no need to lie to her. In this post-apocalyptic world, the emergence of any strange items was not surprising. Lan Yulian quickly became excited. ¡°Wang Tao, does that mean we won¡¯t have any more deaths from now on?¡± Wang Tao shook his head and said: ¡°That¡¯s definitely impossible. There are many limitations. All I can say is, from now on, if someone dies within the base, we should try to keep the body intact; we might actually be able to bring them back to life!¡± ¡°That¡¯s still amazing! I¡¯ll instruct them right away that if they encounter danger, they must protect their comrade¡¯s body at all costs!¡± Lan Yulian immediately ran off, full of energy. After checking the spoils of war, Wang Tao went up on the high wall. With the death of the Level 4 Zombie Lord, the rest of the zombies outside the base attacked in a somewhat disorderly fashion, not as organized as before. But there were still a lot of zombies, and even a chaotic assault was troublesome for the base. Especially troublesome were the occasional Level 3 Zombie Lords that appeared¡ª as long as a Zombie Lord was present, it could control the other zombies and lead them in very methodical attacks! Therefore, He Jijun and the others watched carefully for the appearance of any Zombie Lords within the horde, ready to kill them the moment they showed up! Under the firepower of heavy machine guns and anti-materiel sniper rifles, even Level 3 Zombie Lords couldn¡¯t withstand for long. He Jijun and his team had already killed many of them. However, everyone¡¯s expressions weren¡¯t exactly joyful, as there were just too many Level 3 Zombie Lords! Normally, days would pass without seeing a single Lord, and one couldn¡¯t find a Zombie Lord to hunt even if they wanted to. Now, however, Level 3 Zombie Lords appeared as if they cost nothing¡­ Fortunately, with Wang Tao present, who had dealt with the Level 4 Zombie Lord, the situation was somewhat less problematic. Wang Tao watched from the wall for a while before saying to everyone: ¡°I¡¯m going down to kill some zombies. If there¡¯s any emergency, just call me.¡± Wang Tao wanted to increase the blood limit for the Bloody Chainsaw. The Bloody Chainsaw could only increase its HP limit by killing zombies of Level 3 or higher. This included Level 3 Lords, Elite, and Ordinary. There was an abundance of Elite and Ordinary zombies. Especially, there were many Night Demons below, which were deterred by the ultraviolet lights on the high wall and dared not approach, remaining in the darkness below without leaving. For Wang Tao, these were all ¡®exp packages¡¯ for the Bloody Chainsaw! ¡°Be careful!¡± The people admonished. Wang Tao jumped down from the city wall, activating the Entangling Roots as he did. To deal with the large number of lower-level zombies, the Entangling Roots were quite useful. Holding the chainsaw, Wang Tao charged directly into the horde of zombies. Whirring¡ª There was a big difference in the feel between a chainsaw and a knife. Using a knife required chopping and was more strenuous. But with the chainsaw, it was different. One simply had to press the start switch and then just hold the chainsaw to the zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even need to aim for the head or anything; the Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s special properties meant that cutting any part of a zombie did damage, allowing Wang Tao to unleash mayhem. Whirring¡ª In an instant, flesh and blood flew in all directions. Fortunately, Wang Tao had the Entangling Roots to block all that filthy stuff. Otherwise, with the killing power of the chainsaw, Wang Tao figured he would be completely covered in zombie blood and flesh. And amid Wang Tao¡¯s frenzied carnage, the HP bar of the Bloody Chainsaw visibly began to rise. Wang Tao had no idea how many zombies he killed until he saw the Night Demons begin to flee in terror, at which point he noticed that it was almost dawn. The first thing Wang Tao did was not to check the Bloody Chainsaw, but to clench his fist. ¡°Another day has passed!¡± The three-day agreement he had made with Shi Hou Zhiyuan of Changhe City Base was down to the last day! Chapter 708 - Chapter 708: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_1 Chapter 708: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_1 Dawn was approaching. The night demons beneath the high walls receded like the tide. The attacks of the mad demon zombies also began to slow, and the other zombies were no longer as frenzied as before. Wang Tao looked around and, after confirming there were no zombie lords, he then returned to the base. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Atop the high walls, everyone was somewhat exhausted. Although there was no danger tonight, no one dared to relax in the slightest, their spirits highly concentrated, which was absolutely exhausting. Now, although the zombies were still assaulting the high walls, the frequency had reduced significantly, and the people could finally take a brief rest. ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± Wang Tao asked the crowd. ¡°We¡¯re all good!¡± ¡°Okay, then I¡¯m going to rest. Call me if there¡¯s anything.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He hadn¡¯t rested at all tonight and was the busiest among them. Although he still had plenty of energy, he needed to maintain a good state. After all, he was the only one in the entire base who could handle four-level zombies. When Wang Tao went to rest, he also glanced at the Bloody Chainsaw. Its HP had risen to 50,000; one more time and it would probably reach a hundred thousand blood! After using the Bloody Chainsaw to kill so many zombies, Wang Tao had pretty much figured out the proper use of this weapon. The damage of the Bloody Chainsaw did indeed have some relation to its own HP, but the increase wasn¡¯t significant. The main purpose of this HP was to improve endurance! When using it, it consumes 100 blood per second. A Bloody Chainsaw with 10,000 blood could only be used for 100 seconds under normal circumstances, which is less than two minutes. One with 50,000 blood could last for 500 seconds, more than eight minutes. That was a significant increase in endurance. Of course, the Bloody Chainsaw could regain health by killing zombies. Killing any zombie with it would regenerate health for the Chainsaw. The only question was how much. And only by killing level 3 or higher zombies could the Chainsaw¡¯s maximum health limit be increased. Overall, the Bloody Chainsaw was still quite good to use. After all, it was very simple to operate: just start the chainsaw and press it against the zombies. Wherever you hit a zombie, it would lose health. When dealing with large-scale zombie attacks, using the chainsaw might not be as efficient as using a shockwave, but it was much less effort-consuming. After all, it didn¡¯t require Wang Tao to do much. Killing zombies even gave Wang Tao a feeling of slacking off¡­ The only drawback might be that the damage wasn¡¯t very high. Back in the central area, Wang Tao had something simple to eat and then rested. He had barely slept last night, so now was the time to catch up on sleep. In the afternoon, Wang Tao suddenly felt something damp on his face. Opening his eyes, he found Lightning licking him with a big tongue. ¡°Go away! Don¡¯t be a bootlicker!¡± Wang Tao pushed Lightning¡¯s head away. After Lightning¡¯s successful ascension to level 3, its body had grown significantly larger, now resembling a small calf, looking majestic and powerful! Jiang Shixue could probably use it as a mount. Wang Tao played with Lightning for a bit, then rubbed its head and said: ¡°Later, I¡¯ll take you out to boost your health bar, aiming to get you to a hundred thousand blood quickly!¡± ¡°Woof!¡± After washing his face, Wang Tao walked out with Lightning. Lan Yulian and others were already outside. Lightning had also just woken up not long ago, and everyone marveled at its size. Having such a big dog around felt very secure. After that, Lan Yulian told Wang Tao that the onslaught of the zombie horde had slowed down, and they should be safe for the time being. ¡°Seems like zombies can get tired too, huh!¡± Wang Tao laughed. Everyone laughed along. After holding off such a fierce attack last night, they were feeling somewhat confident now. Wang Tao and the others had a simple lunch together, and he inquired about their equipment and ammunition. There wasn¡¯t much ammunition left from the military base, and though it would have been enough for them, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be if used against the zombie horde. ¡°Judging by the intensity of yesterday¡¯s attack, our ammunition should last about three more days.¡± Ding Yuqin said, holding a list. ¡°Three days, that¡¯s not too bad.¡± Wang Tao nodded. According to the agreement with Changhe City Base, reinforcements should arrive by this time tomorrow. Even if there were any problems, delaying it by one or two days would be sufficient. As for whether the other side would be able to come over, Wang Tao felt that they must be aware of the difficulties on the road, and since they dared to agree, they definitely had the means to do so. After lunch, Wang Tao went out of the base with Jiang Shixue and Lightning. Jiang Shixue had also reached the pinnacle of level 3, but both Wang Tao and she were unclear on how to awaken. After all, Jiang Shixue was different from the others. Wang Tao had also tried feeding her blood once before, but it didn¡¯t work this time. However, it was understandable. After all, ascension to level 4 required awakening, and if awakening was so easy to achieve, it wouldn¡¯t be called awakening. So, Wang Tao thought that if conditions allowed, it would be best to take Jiang Shixue out to kill more zombies, perhaps that might present the opportunity for awakening. Outside Zijin Base. The zombie horde¡¯s attacks had weakened, but they had not retreated. And even though so many zombies were killed last night, today it seemed like there were even more than yesterday. ¡°These zombies¡­ really are endless!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed, then took out the chainsaw and began hunting zombies. There were no zombie lords in sight for the time being, but there were quite a few level two and level three elite zombies. Especially a lot of mad demon zombies; those were groupings of level two and three zombies. Chapter 709 - Chapter 709: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_2 Chapter 709: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_2 ¡°` Lightning strikes killed the zombies and added to his HP, and the Bloody Chainsaw did the same when it killed Level 3 zombies. Therefore, Wang Tao activated Entangling Roots and charged directly into the mob of Mad Demon Zombies, starting a frenzy of slaughter. Buzzing¡ª It has to be said, the Bloody Chainsaw was extremely effective against Ordinary Zombies, hardly requiring any effort. By the time only a few Mad Demon Zombies remained, they all started to flee. Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t let them go, but during the pursuit, he suddenly thought, he had previously followed Night Demons to find the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Now following these Mad Demon Zombies, could he find a Mad Demon Lair? Thinking it, he did it. He didn¡¯t kill those few Mad Demon Zombies but instead followed them with Jiang Shixue and Lightning to see where they intended to go. About ten or so minutes later, Wang Tao grinned. Indeed, he had found it! It was a place that looked like a hotel, and he could sense a large number of Mad Demon Zombies inside! Wang Tao had passed by several Night Demon Nests, but he hadn¡¯t entered a Mad Demon Lair before. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s take a look inside!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t timid; he went straight in. He had just scouted the area and found that it was only filled with Level 1, Level Two, and Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies, with no other types of zombies or any Level Four zombies present. This was why he was so fearless. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± When Wang Tao, one person and one dog, appeared at the entrance of the hotel, they instantly drew the attention of the Mad Demon Zombies inside. Mad Demons are different from Night Demons; they aren¡¯t afraid of Ultraviolet Light. Upon seeing Wang Tao, the uninvited guest, a large number of Mad Demon Zombies immediately ran out of the hotel. ¡°Kill!¡± Wielding the Bloody Chainsaw, Wang Tao charged into battle, with Jiang Shixue and Lightning following behind him. Dealing with Mad Demon Zombies of these levels was naturally not difficult for Wang Tao. Their numbers weren¡¯t too many, at least not as many as a zombie horde, so Wang Tao could easily handle them. After some time, there wasn¡¯t a single zombie left standing inside the hotel. Lightning¡¯s HP had reached 80,000, and the Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s HP finally reached 100,000. Wang Tao began cleaning up the battlefield. The Mad Demon Zombies themselves didn¡¯t have Crystal Cores, and the Loot Packs that Wang Tao looted mostly contained materials, so there wasn¡¯t anything particularly valuable. However, inside the lair, there was some flesh that could hatch Mad Demon Zombies. After destroying all of this flesh, Wang Tao ended up with a large pile of Extraction Crystal Cores! Moreover, these Extraction Crystal Cores were not merely Level Two; there were Level 1, Level Two, and Level 3 ones! ¡°Hiss¡­ struck it rich!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected to find such valuable items inside a Mad Demon Lair. These Crystal Cores were of no use to Wang Tao himself, but to others, they were invaluable, especially the Level 3 Extraction Crystal Cores. Lan Yulian and her group were all at Level 3! Although the Crystal Cores they fused with were all selected by Wang Tao and were essentially flawless, using the Extraction Crystal Cores with HP Enhancement Crystal Cores could potentially increase their extra HP! Wang Tao previously obtained an extra 10,000 HP this way. Of course, he didn¡¯t use Extraction Crystal Cores but instead utilized his Special Energy Extraction Ability, but they should be similar. The HP Enhancement Crystal Cores came from the Night Demon and were all Level 3; thus, they could only be used with Level 3 Extraction Crystal Cores. After his Ascension to Level Four, Wang Tao realized how difficult it was to increase his HP. Allowing them to gain an extra 10,000 HP while at Level 3 was quite significant. Moreover, Awakening required 100,000 HP. Wang Tao had 110,000, leaving him with some to spare. He was unsure what would happen if one had exactly 100,000 HP¡­ If everyone could increase their HP to 110,000, then that worry would be gone. After collecting all of the loot, Wang Tao used the walkie-talkie to inquire about the situation at the base. Jade Lotus reported that no Level 4 zombies had appeared and that the attack from the horde wasn¡¯t in a state of Frenzy, so the base was still safe. Thus, Wang Tao didn¡¯t return but continued with Jiang Shixue and Lightning, searching Zijing City for zombies to see if they could find another Mad Demon Lair. Although they searched for half a day without finding a second Mad Demon Lair, Wang Tao did come across a Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Unfortunately, this Night Demon¡¯s Nest was quite significant, but it contained no Level 4 Night Demons, only Level 3 Night Demons. But a mosquito¡¯s leg is still meat, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t let it go. After clearing out this Night Demon¡¯s Nest, Lightning¡¯s HP also reached 100,000. For the now, killing these Level 3 zombies was incredibly easy for Lightning, who could bite them to death in just a few bites. ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to base!¡± Since the base was currently surrounded by a zombie horde, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to stray too far away. However, as they were leaving the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Lightning all looked toward the east at the same time. Thud, thud¡ª A towering figure in worn-out metal armor, carrying a metal pillar similar to a utility pole on his shoulder, walked past in the distance. ¡°Level 4 Lord Zombie!¡± Upon seeing the zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. But before he could say anything, he saw a thin, shriveled, hunched-over figure emerge from behind the tall one. ¡°Two Level 4 Lord Zombies¡ªNo! There¡¯s more!¡± A massive obese zombie and another deformed one covered in green mist appeared! Four Level 4 Lord Zombies! ¡°Run!¡± If it were only one Level 4 Lord, Wang Tao would definitely have tried to see if he could defeat it. But suddenly, there were four! Without a second word, Wang Tao turned and ran. ¡°` Chapter 710 - Chapter 710: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_3 Chapter 710: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_3 Jiang Shixue and Lightning closely followed behind Wang Tao. The level 4 zombies seemed not to have noticed Wang Tao, so they did not give chase. Their pace remained unhurried, but the direction they were heading¡­ Zijin Base! ¡°Everyone, pay attention! Level 4 zombies are coming!¡± Wang Tao immediately used the walkie-talkie to notify Zijin Base. A moment later, Wang Tao used Iron Tree Vines to successfully scale into the base. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s going on!¡± Lan Yulian and her group looked at Wang Tao with palpable tension. ¡°Four level 4 Zombie Lords are coming from the east!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression was grave. He knew that apart from the Chainsaw Zombies, other level 4 Zombie Lords were bound to arrive, but with four appearing all at once, they were going to be tough to handle! ¡°That many!¡± Everyone was startled. If it were only one or two level 4 Zombie Lords, they might barely be able to cope with the firepower of Wang Tao and the heavy machine guns. But the sudden appearance of four¡­. It felt like an insurmountable battle! ¡°Don¡¯t panic. None of these four zombies are overly large, so the high walls of the base should hold them back. As long as we can keep them outside the walls, we certainly have means to cope! Have all ability users stand by, I have some weapon equipment to distribute¡­ Get ready for the fight!¡± Though Wang Tao was worried, he did not show it. If he too seemed afraid, it would greatly affect morale. ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone responded in unison. Wang Tao took out the Iron Tree Armors, Bone Hand Crossbows, Hand Axes, and the like that he had made, and handed them over to Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian immediately used the broadcast system to inform everyone about the level 4 zombies. At this point, there was no point in concealing the news; only with everyone working together could there be a chance to solve the problem. When the survivors inside the base heard this news, they were all very nervous, but they also knew there was no way back. Those capable of fighting donned their armor and took up their weapons, ready to join the battle at any moment. Zijin Base housed twenty thousand people, one tenth of whom were ability users, totaling around two thousand. These two thousand people were the backbone of the base. This number of ability users was actually controlled deliberately by Lan Yulian. After all, they were not a small base but a relatively well-functioning large one. For such a base to develop, besides ability users hunting zombies, there were those in charge of cooking, farming, and even doing laundry and other logistical tasks. Every part of the base needed people, but not every part needed ability users. Many tasks could also be done by ordinary people. Of course, if one became an ability user, their physical fitness would improve across the board, and they might perform even better. But aside from whether or not it was worth it, there simply wasn¡¯t enough Crystal Cores. Crystal Cores came in many varieties; for some lousy ones, using them was worse than not using them at all. Plus, to become a qualified ability user, a single Crystal Core was obviously not enough. It would take many to cultivate an ability user worth mentioning. So, rather than distributing these Crystal Cores to everyone, providing a slight boost in strength, it was better to concentrate them on a subset of individuals, making these few much stronger. These people were either existing ability users who came from other places, or those with certain combat abilities or contributions, promoted by the base. The base¡¯s resources would be skewed towards these ability users, and they would be treated with more respect. As for whether ordinary people might be jealous, of course, some would be. But there was no helping it; while the base was fair, it was not absolutely so. Everything still depended on strength. Furthermore, some people were not even willing to become ability users. Despite better treatment for ability users, they would have to venture outside to kill zombies, risking their lives. Being an ordinary person, contributing to the base, and being protected by ability users, could also be a good thing. Among these two thousand ability users, there were one thousand five hundred Level 1 ability users, four hundred Level 2 ability users, and one hundred Level 3 ability users. Relying solely on these ability users was clearly not sufficient to hold back the zombie horde. After all, there were far too many zombies, and there were also numerous Level 2 and Level 3 Elite Zombies. But the base had high walls that could block most zombies. As long as the walls stood, the base was secure. Then there were the thermal weapons. The base already had a military force established by the former base leader, General, in the aftermath of the apocalypse. Although their numbers were not large, they were equipped with thermal weapons. In terms of lethality, many ability users could not compare, but due to the loudness of gunfire, they usually would not take action. Furthermore, Wang Tao had moved over the weapon equipment from the military base. While there were no large weapons, there were plenty of heavy machine guns, anti-tank sniper rifles, and the like. With these devices against zombies, even Level 4 zombies could be dealt with! Under Lan Yulian¡¯s mobilization, the base¡¯s combatants were divided into two batches. The first batch had all arrived at the high walls, ready to face the zombies. The second batch rested, prepared to rotate in at any moment. The four Level 4 Zombie Lords Wang Tao mentioned had not yet been seen by anyone. But it was palpably clear that the zombies below the wall were becoming increasingly frenzied, and even more zombies were walking in from a distance! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The zombies below let out a shriek, and then, just like the previous night, began to scale the wall! If it were only a small number, even the Mad Demon Zombies wouldn¡¯t be able to scale the high walls of the base. But there were countless zombies climbing all at once; for every one that fell, another took its place; they climbed over one another, scaling the wall mutually! A moment later, the zombies piled up at the foot of the high wall like ants. If left unchecked, surmounting the high wall was just a matter of time. ¡°Attack!¡± Lan Yulian roared. The survivors wielding flamethrowers and firearms immediately pulled their triggers. Whooosh¡ª Da-da-da¡ª Surge after surge of flames and bullets rained down upon the zombies, instantly knocking down swathes of them, but immediately, more zombies filled their places, as if they were never-ending! Chapter 711 - Chapter 711: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_1 Chapter 711: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_1 Wang Tao watched the surging tide of zombies, his heart unmoved. ¡°Still not coming out, huh¡­¡± He was waiting for the appearance of a Level 4, Lord Zombie, but those several Level 4 Zombies seemed to be planning to use Ordinary Zombies to wear down the base first, as they themselves had not shown up the entire time. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to think that those four Level 4 Zombies had left; they were definitely hiding somewhere! After waiting a while longer and seeing that the Level 4, Lord Zombie still wasn¡¯t showing up, Wang Tao took out an anti-materiel sniper rifle. Aiming, he squeezed the trigger. Bang! An Ordinary Level 3 Zombie¡¯s head exploded. This rifle was powerful, capable of killing an Ordinary Zombie with a single shot. Since the Level 4 Zombies were not showing up, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t just wait idly; he started killing other zombies to relieve some of the pressure on everyone else. As Wang Tao picked off more than a dozen zombies with his sniper rifle, suddenly, a thick object shaped like a pillar flew in from a distance, crashing toward the high wall of the base. Boom! There was a huge noise, and everyone felt the wall tremble as if there had been an earthquake. People quickly looked and could see a small dent appearing where the wall had just been hit! A metal pillar, as thick as a utility pole, rolled on the ground, crushing many zombies underneath it. If there were a few more metal pillars, it would probably create a hole in the high wall of the base! ¡°Such terrifying power!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat astonished. At that moment, a bald figure appeared from within the zombie horde, over three meters tall with muscles like coiled dragons, wearing what looked like a set of tattered metal armor. On closer inspection, the armor was actually fused with its flesh. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakened: Tenacity] [Tenacity: All basic attributes increased, significant increase in strength and defense] This was one of the four Level 4, Lord Zombies that Wang Tao had seen earlier. Its Awakening Ability was the same as the Explosion-proof Zombie Wang Tao had encountered before, but their appearances differed slightly. Seeing that its weapon did not manage to breach the high wall, the bald zombie clearly grew angry. It let out a roar and began striding towards the base. Its speed was not fast, which was good news for Wang Tao. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t act rashly because three other Level 4, Lord Zombies had not yet made an appearance. Thud, thud¡ª The bald zombie strode step by step towards the base. All manner of bullets were welcomed onto its body. [-321] [-33] [-123] [-82] [¡­] Even against heavy machine guns and anti-materiel sniper rifles, they could only inflict a few hundred points of damage. And each time, it would regenerate 100 HP on its own. [+100] [+100] [+100] [¡­] ¡°Just like the Explosion-proof Zombie!¡± This scene was all too familiar; the previous Explosion-proof Zombie had done the same. The more it was attacked, the more HP it gained! ¡°Don¡¯t attack it!¡± Wang Tao immediately called for a halt to the attack. Such zombies could only be damaged by hitting their head, and if you couldn¡¯t hit the head accurately, you¡¯d only help it regenerate health. In fact, the more you attacked it, the more health it would gain. Lan Yulian immediately ordered others to shift their attack targets, while Wang Tao and He Jijun, who was good at shooting, controlled the heavy machine gun to attack the head of the bald zombie. The heavy machine gun bullets could deal over three hundred damage each time, and since it could regenerate one hundred, it effectively meant they were inflicting two hundred damage. Given enough time, they could wear it down! But the bald zombie clearly wasn¡¯t giving them that opportunity. Braving the surging gunfire, the bald zombie arrived at the base of the high wall, then picked up its huge metal pillar and slammed it hard against the wall. Boom¡ª Another huge noise. Another shallow pit appeared in the wall. Boom¡ª The bald zombie continued to swing the metal pillar, seemingly determined to break down the wall. ¡°We can¡¯t let it keep smashing like this!¡± Wang Tao immediately said to He Jijun beside him, ¡°Old He, you go fly the plane! If any other Level 4 Zombies show up, cover me! I¡¯m going to deal with it!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The helicopter was ready and could take off at any moment. He Jijun immediately went with his men to start the helicopter. Wang Tao waited a while, and once he saw the helicopter had taken off, he jumped down from the high wall. Thud! Wang Tao landed directly on the shoulder of the bald zombie. Then he raised his long knife and delivered a blow to its head. [-2023] [-202] [-202] [-202] ¡°Such high defense!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s blow only caused a little over two thousand damage. After landing the blow, he immediately jumped down. The sudden attack enraged the bald zombie. It let out a roar, released the metal pillar, and swiped at its own shoulder. However, Wang Tao had already left the spot, so its strike naturally missed. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The bald zombie immediately gave up attacking the wall and roared as it pursued Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t continue to engage it in combat but instead ran away to a distance. After all, fighting under the high wall could damage it, and the surrounding bullets could also accidentally hit him. Swish¡ª Wang Tao cleared the surrounding zombies in a flash with a few Shockwaves. The bald zombie had also caught up, lifting its metal pillar to strike down at Wang Tao. But its speed was slow, and Wang Tao easily dodged the blow, also moving farther away to avoid potential Shockwaves. Thud! The bald zombie¡¯s strike cracked the ground, although there was no Shockwave, the impact caused many nearby zombies to lose their balance. Wang Tao took advantage of the bald zombie¡¯s action and charged forward, climbing up the metal pillar to its face. Wang Tao swung his knife, slashing multiple times. Bang! [-1029] [-102] [¡­] [-1129] [-112] The damage from the Continuous Slash was similar to that of the high-frequency vibration, amounting to just over two thousand in total. Chapter 712 - Chapter 712: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_2 Chapter 712: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_2 ¡°` Roar¡ª The bald zombie let out a furious roar and then swung a metal pillar, smashing it towards Wang Tao. But at this moment, in front of Wang Tao, he dodged immediately, and the bald zombie¡¯s club hit itself on the head! Bang! [-3193] Seeing the number of 3,000 HP popping up above the bald zombie¡¯s head, Wang Tao exclaimed in admiration. This bald zombie is a bit dumb! Roar¡ª Staggering, the bald zombie roared again, the hefty metal rod spinning in its hand. Wang Tao had already dodged, but the surrounding zombies were not so lucky; they were directly smashed by the bald one. Seeing the bald zombie acting as if it had gone crazy, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush in this time, but suddenly used Mental Shock on the bald zombie! Swipe¡ª The bald zombie¡¯s body froze for a moment, and a damage number of [-2834] also appeared above its head! ¡°It¡¯s effective!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed. Ever since he had learned the ability Mental Shock, he hadn¡¯t used it often. Under normal circumstances, it wasn¡¯t necessary; after all, a knife was simpler. And when it was necessary, the opponent¡¯s spiritual power would often be quite strong, rendering it ineffective. He had tried it before on a few four-level zombies and monsters, but to little avail. Moreover, abilities of the Psychic System consumed spiritual power, and using them too much would exhaust him. That¡¯s why Wang Tao didn¡¯t use them often. Now, seeing the bald zombie looking not so bright, Wang Tao guessed its spiritual power might not be very high. So he tried it, and sure enough, it was! Taking advantage of the moment when the bald zombie was slightly dizzy from the Mental Shock, Wang Tao charged again, his long knife now replaced by an electric baton. Bang! [-932] [-173] Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao decisively switched his weapon back. It was clear that the bald zombie was not afraid of electricity; the damage from the electric baton was minimal. Roar¡ª After recovering, the bald zombie began to swing its metal pillar wildly at anything nearby. This time, it seemed to have learned its lesson and didn¡¯t smash its own head again. But Wang Tao used Mental Shock once more, causing the bald zombie¡¯s movements to stutter. By the time it reacted, Wang Tao had already slashed it twice more. Wang Tao¡¯s Mental Shock could cause the bald zombie to experience a brief dizziness of about half a second to a second, enough time for Wang Tao to strike and retreat. However, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t keep using Mental Shock indefinitely; too much would also be unbearable for him. After several exchanges like this, the bald zombie hadn¡¯t even touched the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes, yet its HP was already reduced to half. Wang Tao did not relax at all but became even more vigilant. Because the other three four-level zombie lords had yet to appear! Getting too relaxed and suffering a sneak attack would be a huge loss. Whirring¡ª At this moment, the helicopter had already flown out of the base. Both side doors of the cabin were open, exposing the barrels of four heavy machine guns. Seeing air support had arrived, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. While the heavy machine guns on the aircraft might not be able to kill the four-level zombies, they should be able to inflict some damage. As long as they could cause damage, they would attract the zombies¡¯ attention. If Wang Tao had to face four four-level zombies alone, it would be suicide, but with support from the aircraft overhead, he would be much safer. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao directly charged at the bald zombie, using Mental Shock on it while also slashing with his knife. [-2384] [-2192] [-219] [¡­] But it wasn¡¯t clear if the bald zombie was getting used to the Mental Shock; the damage from the Mental Shock was gradually decreasing, and the duration of dizziness was getting shorter. Roar¡ª The bald zombie roared and lifted the metal pillar to smash it towards Wang Tao. But this time, the pillar slipped from the bald zombie¡¯s grasp. Wang Tao was quick, fully capable of dodging the strike, but the pillar was thrown towards the hovering helicopter! With no choice, Wang Tao had to intercept the blow meant for the helicopter! Entangling Roots immediately covered his entire body, and then the metal pillar harshly struck Wang Tao¡¯s back. [-53533] [-736] [109264/110000£¨46467/100000£©] Wang Tao felt as if he had been hit by a train, smashing into the horde of zombies with the pillar, incidentally crushing a dozen of them. ¡°Shit!¡± Wang Tao stood up clutching his back. The blow from the bald zombie had directly taken more than 50,000 HP from the Entangling Roots, and over 700 from him¡ªabsolutely terrifying! Entangling Roots was a Level 3 weapon after all, and its defensive power wasn¡¯t as high as Wang Tao¡¯s own. In this Level 4 combat, it was evidently struggling. Wang Tao prepared to charge again, but paused when he saw the metal pillar lying on the ground. Then he waved his hand at the pillar¡­ and it disappeared! The bald zombie¡¯s weapon, the metal pillar, was collected into Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack! ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao just discovered that the metal pillar lying next to him had a name, so he tried, and indeed it was collected into the Space Backpack! ¡°Haha!¡± Wang Tao laughed loud. The charging bald zombie, looking at the spot where its metal pillar lay, seemed a bit dumbfounded. Without its weapon, the bald zombie¡¯s attack power was significantly reduced, yet its slap attacks were somewhat quicker. But this slight increase in attack speed was clearly no match for Wang Tao. Shortly after, the bald zombie had just a sliver of HP left. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and drove his blade straight into its skull. [-1823] [0/100000] The four-level zombie lord¡¯s HP depleted to zero, and this time Wang Tao didn¡¯t even need to Awaken. ¡°` Chapter 713 - Chapter 713: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_3 Chapter 713: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_3 He quickly gathered all the loot, and then opened the walkie-talkie to ask: ¡°Have you seen any other Four-level zombies?¡± ¡°No, haven¡¯t seen any.¡± He Jijun replied. Wang Tao found it strange, four Four-level zombies had obviously come, so why had only one appeared? Could it be that these zombies wanted to attack one by one? That was exactly the situation Wang Tao hoped to see! Facing opponents of the same level, he wasn¡¯t afraid of a drawn-out fight, but feared being surrounded. After confirming once more that there were no Four-level zombies around, Wang Tao then used the Iron Tree Vines to wrap around the hook under the helicopter, and was brought back to the base. ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay!¡± As soon as Wang Tao landed, Ding Yuqin and the others rushed over, with Lan Yulian casting several heals on Wang Tao. Because Wang Tao chose to fight the bald zombie far away from the high wall to prevent it from attacking, with some buildings in between for cover, except for He Jijun, no one else saw the specifics of the battle. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve dealt with that Four-level zombie. Did you see any other Four-level zombies appear?¡± Wang Tao asked after drinking a few bottles of nutrition solution. ¡°No. Only a few Level 3 Lords appeared, which we took care of.¡± Everyone shook their heads. ¡°Pay more attention, let me know if there¡¯s any movement.¡± Wang Tao needed to rest for a while, his fight with the bald zombie hadn¡¯t lasted long, but it was very energy-consuming; after all, the slightest carelessness could have been fatal. Before resting, Wang Tao first checked the loot. Killing the bald zombie, he obtained 1 Advanced Special Energy, 1 Awakening Key; he now had six Awakening Keys. The bald zombie itself dropped a Crystal Core, an Awakening Energy Pearl, the Metal Pillar, and Tattered Armor. [Obtained: Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Strength x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Black Iron Stick x1] [Obtained: Black Iron x10] The Black Iron Stick was its weapon, and the Black Iron was from its Tattered Armor. Then there were five Loot Packs. The first pack contained five Crystal Cores, all of which Wang Tao had seen before. They were Red [Level 4 Crystal Core: Awakening], Orange [Level 4 Crystal Core: Ascension], Blue [Level 4 Crystal Core: Versatility], Blue [Level 4 Crystal Core: Defense], and Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core: Return to Light]. In the second Loot Pack were Strength and Defense Potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Strength Potion (small) x20] [Obtained: Defense Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Defense Potion (small) x20] The third Loot Pack contained another Energy Bead. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Two Awakening Energy Pearls, along with one Awakening Crystal Core, plus the 100 Awakening Energy gained from killing the zombie¡­ just these Awakening Energy alone were a huge gain. Yesterday, Wang Tao upgraded his Awakening Energy limit a bit; now it was 600. If he used it all on Starfire Prairie, he could use it for a minute. A real man for a minute! In the fourth Loot Pack was more Black Iron. [Obtained: Black Iron x10] [Black Iron: A crafting material that can increase equipment¡¯s defense, fire resistance, and ductility.] Although this material didn¡¯t add as many attributes as Black Stone Armor, any material that could add attributes was a good one. Usually, when such materials were dropped, there would be corresponding Blueprints. As expected, the last Loot Pack contained Blueprints. [Obtained: Black Iron Heavy Armor Blueprint x1] [Black Iron Heavy Armor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a set of Black Iron Heavy Armor. Required materials: Black Iron x10, a Crystal Core x1] [Black Iron Heavy Armor: Attributes unknown] The materials required for this Blueprint were simple; only Black Iron and a Crystal Core. Except for crafting equipment, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what else these materials were useful for, so he immediately started crafting. Shortly after, a set of pitch-black heavy armor appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack. [Black Iron Heavy Armor] [Level 4 (Epic)] [Durability +300, defensive power +200, speed -50%, fire resistance, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] ¡°Holy smokes!¡± Seeing the attributes of this armor set, Wang Tao was shocked. Durability of 300, defense of 200; these were the strongest attributes Wang Tao had seen to date. But the reduction of speed by 50% was a deadly weakness for someone like Wang Tao who preferred high mobility. He would have to research how to use this armor set properly. ¡­ Until night fell, no other Four-level zombies appeared. Lan Yulian hurriedly switched to the second batch of people, allowing the previous combatants to rest. Wang Tao was well-rested by now, watching the mad demons beginning to appear beneath the wall, he took out various ultraviolet lighting tools. He told everyone to prepare. At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s ears twitched. ¡°There¡¯s movement!¡± He quickly grabbed his binoculars and looked into the distance. ¡°¡­Damn!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s Night Vision Ability clearly saw that within his field of view were endless zombies! Among these zombies, the figures of three Four-level zombies stood out! They were the same three Four-level zombies from before! No wonder they hadn¡¯t appeared earlier; they had been gathering other zombies from different places! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lan Yulian asked nervously. ¡°Those three zombies I mentioned before, they¡¯ve brought a huge number of zombies here!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face looked grim. ¡°How many¡­ is a huge number?¡± The others looked anxiously at Wang Tao. Weren¡¯t the zombies besieging their base already a ¡°huge number¡±? Wang Tao pointed towards the zombies outside the base and said: ¡°Three times more than this, maybe even more! The objective of those three Lord zombies¡­ is to directly break through our base!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The others were somewhat flabbergasted. Were the zombies now so smart they even knew how to strategize and lead troops? ¡°Everyone, get ready to fight! If we can get through this wave, we can wait for the rescue. If we can¡¯t hold on¡­ then it¡¯s all over!¡± Chapter 714 - Chapter 714: Chapter 289: Proper Use (Two-In-One Mega Chapter)_1 Chapter 714: Chapter 289: Proper Use (Two-In-One Mega Chapter)_1 Zijin Base¡¯s exterior was swarming with zombies at a visibly alarming rate. They screamed and howled, climbing up the tall walls. Da-da-da¡ªda-da-da¡ª The heavy machine guns mounted on the wall fired down below; the zombies at the front were riddled with holes, but countless more took their place. In the blink of an eye, the base of the wall was piled high with zombie corpses, which served as a ladder for the other zombies. ¡°Gasoline!¡± Someone shouted, and barrels of gasoline started pouring down onto the heap of bodies. Bullets struck the gasoline, and flames erupted instantaneously, swallowing the zombies in a sea of fire. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Sizzle¡ª The ignited zombies¡¯ body fat emitted crackling noises. But the secretion of black blood with fire-retardant properties began to reduce, even extinguish, the flames. Without pain or fatigue, they emerged from the fire and continued their assault on the wall. ¡­ ¡°These zombies are tough to deal with! Even fire can¡¯t kill them¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo complained as he reloaded, watching some zombies¡¯ flames slowly extinguished atop the tall wall. Unless they were directly doused in gasoline over their heads, these zombies might really be unburnable. Wang Tao remained silent. He was firing his rifle at the Elite Zombies in the horde while keeping an eye on the three zombies that stood out from the rest¡ªthree Level 4 Lords! After the arrival of these three Four-level Lord zombies, the situation didn¡¯t unfold as Wang Tao had predicted¡ªthey didn¡¯t lead a massive zombie charge against Zijin Base. Instead, they waited from afar while sending Ordinary Zombies ahead! Wang Tao felt that these zombies had truly become cunning, capable not only of strategic deployment but also of using these cannon fodder to wear down their enemies. The base¡¯s ammunition was limited, and people could weary. If the base was so depleted by other zombies that they ran out of bullets and supplies, by the time the Four-level Zombies attacked, they would stand no chance. ¡°Wang Tao, how about we rush out together! We¡¯ll hold off the other two Four-level Zombies, and you take care of the third. As long as we can split them up, I believe you can take them down!¡± Xiang Hong Bin suddenly said. Back at the military base, Wang Tao used a military printer to make a prosthetic limb for him. Although he lacked the combat power of a normal person, he still had the ability to fight, which is why he was also on the frontline. Hearing this, the others turned their eyes towards Wang Tao. What Xiang Hong Bin said was also a viable strategy. They all knew Wang Tao was a strong fighter, capable of taking down a Level 4 Lord Zombie, but it needed time and had to be a 1v1 fight. With three Level 4 Lord Zombies present, Wang Tao obviously couldn¡¯t handle them. But if they could temporarily distract the other two, giving Wang Tao time and space, he would surely take care of the problem! But there was one major issue¡­ ¡°I disagree because you would die,¡± Wang Tao flatly refused. He had fought against Level 4 Lords multiple times and knew how terrifying they were. Put simply, if Wei Zhenguo and the others were to fight these two Level 4 Lords, casualties would be inevitable! It¡¯s just a matter of how many would die; total annihilation was possible. Having recently reunited, Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t accept such a scenario. ¡°But if we don¡¯t do this, we¡¯re just slowly dying!¡± Xiang Hong Bin sighed. He wasn¡¯t afraid to die; what he feared was dying without achieving anything. ¡°There will be a way. I¡¯ll think of something,¡± Wang Tao still shook his head. ¡°Ah¡­¡± Seeing this, everyone else refrained from saying anything further. Ding Yuqin came up to Wang Tao¡¯s side, gripped his hand tightly, and whispered: ¡°We trust you, Wang Tao! But if there really is no other way¡­ you can retreat in time!¡± To ¡°retreat in time¡± meant to give up on the people of Zijin Base. Ding Yuqin feared Wang Tao would become obstinate and fight to the death against these zombies. Wang Tao certainly had the chance to retreat. She admitted, she was selfish. But as long as Wang Tao was alive, her selfishness was justified. She was never a generous person to begin with. Looking into Ding Yuqin¡¯s watery eyes, Wang Tao smiled and caressed her cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if it really comes to that, I¡¯ll make sure there¡¯s a way out for myself,¡± Wang Tao could leave by helicopter at any time. But he didn¡¯t want to flee ignominiously, especially when there was still a chance. ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Ding Yuqin tilted her head, rubbed her face into Wang Tao¡¯s palm, then decisively turned away, picked up her rifle, and resumed firing skillfully at the base of the wall. Wang Tao took a deep breath and looked again at the three Level 4 Lord Zombies hiding in the dark distance. The first zombie was a gaunt and withered one, hunched over. [HP: 150000/150000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Boulder Armor] [Boulder Armor: For the duration, defensive power is greatly increased.] Was this some kind of Earth Awakening? It seemed a bit similar to his Starfire Prairie. He didn¡¯t know how much this increased the defensive power, nor how long this Awakening would last¡­ The second zombie was over two meters tall, extremely obese. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Flame Explosion] [Flame Explosion: Concentrate Awakening Energy to form a massive Fireball and explode.] Clearly, it was a Fire System Awakening Ability and by its description, the Awakening¡¯s power seemed considerable. The third zombie was a deformed one, surrounded by a yellow-green fog. Chapter 715 - Chapter 715: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 715: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Corrosive Poison Gas] [Corrosive Poison Gas: Generates an extremely corrosive poison gas both inside and outside the body] This awakening ability seems related to poison, akin to the skill of the Poisonous Fog Zombie that Wang Tao had encountered before. However, it must be different as awakenings are far more powerful than ordinary abilities. Once released, the gas could probably kill or injure a large number¡­ Wang Tao felt that the awakening abilities of these four Level 4, Lord zombies were all troublesome, and he couldn¡¯t possibly handle them all at once. If he had to choose an opponent, he would definitely pick the fat zombie. After all, it was a fire awakening, which he could also perform. Wang Tao felt that the most difficult one to deal with would be the deformed zombie with the lowest HP. After all, poison isn¡¯t easy to defend against¡­ Wang Tao picked up the sniper rifle, aimed at the fat zombie, and then pulled the trigger. Bang! A .50 caliber bullet instantly reached the front of the fat zombie, which suddenly opened its mouth. Woosh¡ª A small fireball shot out from its mouth, hitting the bullet head-on. Then¡­ the bullet dropped to the ground. Seeing this, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned somewhat ugly. It could actually block a bullet! And it did so proactively; its reflexes were impressively strong! As for whether that fireball was its awakening ability, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure¡­ It didn¡¯t seem likely. After all, an awakening ability shouldn¡¯t be this weak. Wang Tao took another shot at the deformed zombie. Bang! The bullet instantly reached the deformed zombie, entering the layer of poisonous gas surrounding it. The semi-transparent gas had a wide range, and it was clear to see the bullet slowing down upon entering the gas before rapidly corroding. In the blink of an eye, the bullet turned to dust. The bullet was ineffective against the deformed zombie. Not willing to believe it, Wang Tao aimed at the short and shriveled zombie. Bang! [-5223] The bullet instantly struck the shriveled zombie¡¯s head, dealing five thousand damage! Wang Tao immediately felt elated. Could the breakthrough in dealing with these three Level 4, Lord zombies be through the shriveled one? But he quickly discovered that, after being attacked, the shriveled zombie¡¯s body immediately flashed with what looked like a full body armor made of rocks, covering it entirely, including its eyes. The once shriveled zombie turned into a muscular man in an instant. ¡°Is this the ¡®Rock Armor¡¯ awakening?¡± Wang Tao fired at it again. Bang! [-24] The bullet hit its yellowish-brown armor, and a large 24 appeared above its head. Disbelieving, Wang Tao fired several shots. [-21] [-15] [¡­] Wang Tao waited a while, but the stone armor on the Stone Armor Zombie didn¡¯t disappear. ¡°Crap!¡± Wang Tao put away his rifle, his expression very ugly. All three of the Level 4, Lord zombies had the ability to resist bullets! Considering their awakenings, Wang Tao suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. When he was covered in flames, he could also block bullets. But Starfire Prairie lasted only 10 seconds, which was too short. Unlike these zombies, who could block continuously! Suddenly, Wang Tao felt that the bald zombie he had killed before, whose awakening boosted its defensive power, compared to these three zombies, had the weakest defense, right? After all, its awakening was related to physique, simply having strong physical qualities and high bodily defense. On the other hand, though these three zombies might not have as strong a physique, they had ways to block bullets. The bullets had no effect on them at all! At least the bullets inflicted over two hundred damage to the bald zombie¡­ This was going to be tough! ¡°Gasoline! Pour the gasoline quickly!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve run out for now, we¡¯re getting it!¡± Someone was shouting from atop the high wall. Wang Tao glanced up and saw that many zombies were climbing the walls using the bodies of their companions; they were almost over the top. Wang Tao immediately ran over, pulled out his long knife, and swung several shockwaves at the zombies below. Splat¡ª More than a dozen zombies were instantly shattered. The wall of zombie corpses collapsed thunderously.Update by n0vgo .c0 ¡°Th-thank you!¡± The one who had been shouting quickly expressed his gratitude to Wang Tao. Wang Tao nodded slightly, not saying much else. These few people were Level 2 Ability Users from within the base, clearly struggling to fend off the siege of so many zombies. Even if some of them had the ability to produce shockwaves, which could harm an area, the damage they could deal was limited due to their lower strength, only managing to slightly delay the zombies¡¯ assault. If the zombies¡¯ numbers grew or they made any slight mistake, their lives would be at risk. Wang Tao looked down at the wall, where numerous zombies were climbing up over their own kind¡¯s bodies. He had to use several shockwaves in a row before finally clearing that area momentarily, greatly relieving the pressure on the others. Then, a wide green halo suddenly appeared, covering many people on the wall, and some people¡¯s HP bars began to rise¡ªLan Yulian had activated Healing Light. Healing Light was a sustained ability, which she could use continuously as long as she didn¡¯t run out of mana. Meanwhile, she was holding a [High-power cardiac pacemaker] against someone covered in blood. Sizzle¡ª Hum¡ª The person¡¯s chest suddenly convulsed, and then he opened his eyes in bewilderment. ¡°Am I dead¡­¡± Lan Yulian threw a healing spell at him and then patted his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re not dead, take a good rest,¡± she said. ¡°Thank you, boss!¡± The man, although unsure of what had happened, was definitely grateful to have his life back. He quickly gave his thanks and then went to the side to start treating himself with a medical kit. Chapter 716 - Chapter 716: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 716: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Jade Lotus confirmed that no one had died for the time being and then came over to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Thanks to your heart pacemaker, otherwise we would have lost many people¡­¡± Seeing the fatigue in Jade Lotus¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao put his arm around her shoulders. ¡°You should rest too. I¡¯ll hold them back for a while.¡± ¡°Okay. Be careful!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t immediately deal with the three Zombie Lords, he swiftly moved along the high wall, clearing the zombies wherever they were the most concentrated. As a fourth-order superpower, his intervention instantly relieved a lot of pressure on everyone. However, this was obviously not a solution. The zombies outside were endless. If they didn¡¯t deal with the Level 4 Zombie Lords, the ordinary and Elite Zombies would continue to barrage the base¡¯s high walls without end. Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t outlast so many zombies with his physical strength. While Wang Tao continued to ponder how to deal with the Level 4 Zombie Lords, he suddenly froze. The three Zombie Lords in the distance¡­ had disappeared! Previously, these three Zombie Lords had been outside the southern high wall of Zijin Base, including the Chainsaw Zombie and Bald Zombie killed by Wang Tao¡ªthey were all in that direction. As the southern side was the city center of Zijing City, it was where the most zombies and the fiercest siege attacks occurred. The zombies from the other three directions were relatively fewer. Most of the people with strong abilities, like Wang Tao, were stationed here. But after Wang Tao had quickly circled the base wall, he returned to find the three fourth-level zombies gone! They were too far away for most to see, only Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue with their Night Vision Ability could spot them. Wang Tao had just left, and Jiang Shixue was elsewhere helping kill zombies and hadn¡¯t been keeping a close watch, so no one noticed the disappearance of the fourth-level zombies. ¡°Could they have left?¡± Wang Tao quickly shook his head. It was obviously impossible. To the zombies, human flesh was their catalyst for rapid evolution; they wouldn¡¯t just leave! Wang Tao suddenly had a bad feeling and immediately shouted into the walkie-talkie: ¡°Those three Level 4 zombies have disappeared! Everyone be alert and check their whereabouts!¡± ¡°Ah? Gone?¡± Everyone was startled for a moment. Like Wang Tao, they all thought it impossible for the Level 4 zombies to have left¡ªthey must still be around, just hidden! And an enemy in hiding would be even more terrifying! Everyone instantly became tense, but before they could start looking, a loud boom shook the ground! ¡°What¡¯s happening!¡± Wang Tao hurriedly looked towards the source of the noise¡ªthe western high wall of Zijin Base. At that moment, all walkie-talkies sprang to life with a roaring sound emanating from them. ¡°Sss¡­ The western high wall has been breached! We need backup!¡± ¡°What! The wall has been breached!¡± Wang Tao and the others were shocked. After leaving some to continue guarding the southern wall, the rest quickly headed for the western wall. Wang Tao found it hard to believe. He hadn¡¯t heard any significant commotion, and the three fourth-level zombies had mostly been in his line of sight until they briefly disappeared¡ªhad that short period been enough to breach the wall? But the intermittent roars coming from the walkie-talkie told Wang Tao it was true. Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned ugly. This base was a semi-completed one. Many areas were constructed later, and some of the high walls were among them, nowhere near as sturdy as the original ones¡ªand a part of the western wall was precisely one of these additions! Wang Tao was the first to reach the vicinity of the western wall. He saw that the western high wall had split open, leaving a huge gap! Countless zombies poured out from the breach, madly rushing into the base! Several human bodies were torn apart and devoured by the zombies. Fortunately, a group of soldiers with machine guns provided suppressive fire from outside, preventing the zombies from spreading further into the base. But it was clear the soldiers couldn¡¯t hold on much longer! Wang Tao quickly rushed towards the gap. At the same time, he maxed out his Perception and Plant Affinity to search for the fourth-level zombies. This massive breach had to be the work of a Level 4! Ordinary zombies causing such a commotion would definitely not be so unnoticed, the base¡¯s combatants would have detected it! ¡°Found them! Three¡­ four of them!¡± Wang Tao immediately located the Level 4 Zombie Lords. They were outside the breach, seemingly still considering sending in the fodder first, hence they hadn¡¯t entered right away. What shocked Wang Tao was that there weren¡¯t just three but four Level 4 Lords¡ªand the fourth was¡­ a Night Demon! Wang Tao understood instantly¡ªit was the Level 4, Lord Night Demon that had created the breach! The other three Level 4 Lords had been distracting everyone¡¯s attention at the southern wall while the Night Demon launched a sneak attack on the weaker section of the western wall! Wang Tao had seen the other fourth-level zombies during the day; at that time, there was no Night Demon, so he assumed there were only four Level 4 Lords. But it turned out there were five! And they were even capable of strategic deception! Without any more time to think, Wang Tao charged ahead and within moments arrived at the swarm of zombies below the breach. Starfire Prairie! Whoosh¡ª Flames burst forth from Wang Tao, the intense heat wave pushing back the zombies nearby. Wang Tao lifted his Flame Long Sword with one hand and charged into the dense mass of zombies like a shooting star. Moments later. Boom! Giant flames lit up the night sky. Wang Tao swung his sword, and the flaming shockwave ignited and shattered a vast number of zombies. Chapter 717 - Chapter 717: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 Chapter 717: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 [Starfire Outbreak] is not an ordinary flame; rain cannot extinguish it, nor can the blood on the zombies stop it from burning. Wang Tao repeatedly swung his sword, sending several flame shockwaves crashing into the horde of zombies. In an instant, the gap in the western wall turned into a sea of fire. Countless zombies howled and struggled in the flames, but could not step out of the inferno! ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Seeing that he had successfully stopped the zombies, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. If he didn¡¯t quickly block the zombies, it would be impossible to stop them once they overrun the base. For this reason, Wang Tao did not hesitate to use his Awakening, and the effect was immediate. By now the others had finally reached the western wall, since they were much slower than Wang Tao. ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°I never imagined there would be such a big gap here! Thank goodness Wang Tao stopped the zombies, or the consequences would be unthinkable!¡± Seeing the scene at the western wall, everyone exclaimed subconsciously. Amid the raging fire, Wang Tao turned back, his tone solemn: ¡°There¡¯s also a Level 4 Lord Night Demon, I¡¯ll go kill it first.¡± The strength of the Level 4 Lord Night Demon might not be the strongest among these zombies, but its ability to find the weak points in the high wall and cause destruction was absolutely lethal for the base! If it were to damage other areas a few times, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up. So he had to kill this Level 4 Lord Night Demon first! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao charged straight toward the gap at the base of the high wall. That Level 4 Lord Night Demon was right behind the gap, along with three other Level 4 Lord Zombies. With a casual flick of his hand, Wang Tao sent out two more flame shockwaves, igniting and shattering dozens of zombies. Then he saw the Night Demon wearing black bone armor. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Awakening: Robust] ¡°Die!¡± Ignoring the three Lord Zombies not far from the Black Skin Night Demon, Wang Tao instantly sprinted in front of the Black Skin Night Demon and swung his sword down. Bang! [-22193] [-2219] [¡­] The high-frequency vibration along with bleeding and fire damage, one slash cost the Black Skin Night Demon thirty thousand HP! The Black Skin Night Demon let out an enraged roar, scratching Wang Tao¡¯s chest twice. [-2528] [-2483] [+1000] The Night Demon only inflicted five thousand HP damage on Wang Tao, after all, Wang Tao was in the Starfire Outbreak state, with boosted defense attributes, and his own equipment¡¯s defensive power, so the damage inflicted by the Night Demon wasn¡¯t high. If it had been someone else here, they might have been instantly killed! Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Outbreak could regenerate HP, and he gained another thousand. The other three Lord Zombies charged at him in an instant. The Stone Armor Zombie roared as it pounced toward Wang Tao, but Wang Tao suddenly had a shield in his hand, blocking its attack. The Deformed Zombie waved its twisted arms, and green poison gas began to spread. [-1028] [-1023] [¡­] The poison gas inflicted a thousand damage on Wang Tao every second, fortunately, Wang Tao could regenerate HP to temporarily offset it. However, Wang Tao still kicked the Deformed Zombie hard, sending it flying away. Meanwhile, a nearby obese zombie opened its gaping mouth, and a fireball appeared. The fireball grew larger and larger until it turned into a water-tank-sized fireball that smashed down on Wang Tao. Boom! Wang Tao and the surrounding zombies were instantly engulfed in flames! ¡°Wang Tao!¡± The people inside the wall were startled by this scene. The flames quickly dissipated, and Wang Tao stood there unscathed. But the zombies around him had melted away. ¡°This Awakening is pretty amazing!¡± [-4093] Wang Tao, still in his Starfire Outbreak state, took four thousand damage from this huge fireball! The amount of fire damage from the obese zombie¡¯s Flame Explosion Awakening was much higher than that of Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Outbreak flames! However, it was understandable since Starfire Outbreak is a persistent increase in status with the fire being secondary, whereas the Flame Explosion is an active attack type of Awakening, with flames being the primary damage. So, the disparity was normal. After taking so many hits, Wang Tao did not deal with the Four-level zombies but instead grasped the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s neck and quickly left the area. Roar¡ª The Night Demon roared, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Wang Tao. [-2653] [-2439] Wang Tao didn¡¯t defend and just swung his sword at its head. [-20737] [-2073] [¡­] The Stone Armor Zombie lacked long-range attack ability and couldn¡¯t reach Wang Tao for the time being. The Deformed Zombie twisted its body wildly, spraying out a jet of poison gas that instantly enveloped Wang Tao and the Night Demon. [-2092] [-2124] [¡­] Wang Tao began to lose two thousand HP every second; the poison gas had increased in damage! Thankfully, Wang Tao was fast enough to get out of the poison gas area quickly. In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao had retreated to the gap. And the Night Demon in his grip¡­ had become a corpse. Seeing that the three Lord Zombies did not chase after him, Wang Tao immediately stopped using Starfire Outbreak. He had used Starfire Outbreak for thirty seconds, using up 300 Awakening Energy, and killing the Night Demon Zombie replenished 100. With a total of 600 energy, he now had 400 left. ¡°Jade Lotus, heal!¡± As Wang Tao quickly gathered the spoils of war, he shouted back to his comrade. Lan Yulian had been waiting for Wang Tao, and even before he spoke, Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing Glow had already descended upon Wang Tao¡¯s head. While the amount of HP her healing ability restored wasn¡¯t high, she was quick, which meant she could still add quite a bit of HP for Wang Tao. Additionally, Wang Tao had another HP regeneration ability, Nutrient Absorption Ability that he had previously merged. This was a passive ability; just standing on the ground allowed him to regenerate HP. Although the regeneration rate was very slow, just a few dozen points per second, and the higher his current HP, the slower it healed, having it was still better than nothing. Chapter 718 - Chapter 718: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Chapter 718: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Ding Yuqin and the others were now by Wang Tao¡¯s side, blocking the breach. They had just cleared out the zombies left in the sea of fire by Wang Tao; now the base was free of zombies and temporarily safe. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Everyone asked with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie was, after all, a boost to all attributes, so during its duration, his defensive power remained very high. Moreover, with Lan Yulian, the healer, around, any lost HP would quickly be replenished. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Ding Yuqin asked subconsciously. Those three four-level zombies were now outside, not choosing to enter, but other zombies at the breached section of the high wall were still charging in, and there were still more and more zombies converging towards this place¡­ These three Zombie Lords were clearly preparing to focus their attack here. With a casual Shockwave from Wang Tao that killed dozens of ordinary zombies, he said solemnly: ¡°We can only defend to the death!¡± There was no other way now; they had to defend the breach to the death. Furthermore, Wang Tao felt lucky; although these few Zombie Lords possessed certain intelligence, they weren¡¯t that smart. Had they thought to attack the base directly with themselves instead of using the cannon fodder to enter first, the base might have already suffered heavy casualties. After all, within the entire base, only Wang Tao was capable of facing a Level 4 Lord; there were four of them. If they had scattered, Wang Tao alone would not have been able to cope¡­ But now it turned out fine; even though a huge breach had been made in the high wall, after the zombies that rushed in were blocked and killed by Wang Tao, the rest of the zombies and the three Zombie Lords were kept outside! This was a silver lining amidst misfortune. Now as long as Wang Tao and the others could hold this breach, it would be enough! At this time, inside the base, apart from those defending other places, other survivors wielding weapons gathered at the breach, right behind Wang Tao and his group. Now there were only two types of people inside the base: combatants and logistical personnel. The combatants were those over two thousand Ability Users, and the logistical personnel were the rest, over ten thousand people. But now, the logistical personnel had become combatants, ready to join the battle at any moment. After all, with such a large breach in the high wall, if they couldn¡¯t stop these zombies, the base would fall! Their combat strength might be weak, but it was not nonexistent. If it came down to everyone having a life-and-death struggle with the zombies, killing even one zombie would mean they had gained something! Looking at those survivors who had taken up weapons on their own, trembling with fear but ready to fight to the death, Wang Tao and his people did not say much, all grabbing guns and firing wildly. Ratatat¡ª The zombies outside continued to surge in from the breach, and the group held firm against them. But now, with the absence of the high walls, blocking them was much more difficult than before. What worried Wang Tao the most now was that these three Level 4 Lords would leave this place to attack elsewhere. Because he would surely have to follow them, since nobody else was qualified to fight them. But if he wasn¡¯t here at this breach, it was really uncertain whether it could be held¡­ especially since the breach was so large. After again blocking several assaults from the zombie horde and killing the nearby zombies during the lull, both good news and bad news arrived simultaneously. The good news was that these few Zombie Lords hadn¡¯t left; they were still outside waiting, still intending to focus their attack here. The bad news was that the zombies at the other three sides of the high wall had begun their onslaught again; after Lan Yulian reassigned some of the people from those areas, they were struggling to hold back! Now, two choices lay before everyone. Either they call back some of the people from this breach, which would greatly increase the pressure here, or they let the people at the other three walls hold their ground, trusting that they could defend their positions. Everyone instinctively looked to Wang Tao. After a brief moment of thought, Wang Tao spoke up: ¡°Call the people back, I can hold this place!¡± He trusted himself more than others. If there were no Level 4 zombies elsewhere, having more people would definitely mean those places could be held. With fewer people, it was not so certain. He felt that even with a small number of people, he could hold this breach. ¡°Alright!¡± Lan Yulian immediately began assigning tasks. Soon, most of the combat personnel left the area again. Lan Yulian chose to stay by Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with you!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao did not refuse; having a healer by his side increased the likelihood of holding the breach. ¡°I¡¯ll stay too!¡± Ding Yuqin and Han Rui said at the same time. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak; she just quietly looked at Wang Tao. Li Qiuyu was nervously holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand. Yang Changhong and Lu Yingfeng exchanged glances, both seeing the resolve in each other¡¯s eyes. Xu Xiaojun, Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and others did not leave either; all looked toward Wang Tao. ¡°Woof woof!¡± Even Lightning barked twice. ¡°You guys¡­ fine then.¡± Wang Tao felt they were making the atmosphere too heavy, as if he was heading off to die. However, he ultimately did not refuse. He turned on the walkie-talkie again. ¡°Old He, pay more attention to them!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± He Jijun had just taken off in the helicopter, which was equipped with four heavy machine guns, providing a decent fire support. Roar¡ª The area that had just been cleared was once again swarming with countless zombies, and a new round of combat began. This time, there were not as many combat personnel, only Wang Tao and his group. Chapter 719 - Chapter 719: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 Chapter 719: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 Wang Tao stood alone at the breach, a shockwave could kill dozens of zombies at once, but the zombies had no concept of fear and kept swarming towards the base relentlessly. Ding Yuqin and the others also started to attack, momentarily holding back the zombie onslaught. However, as more and more zombies arrived, everyone other than Wang Tao began to feel the pressure. Especially with those three-four-level Zombie Lords lurking menacingly outside, not only did they have to stop the zombies but also prevent sneak attacks¡ªwhich, under high mental concentration, drained their physical and mental strength significantly. After Wang Tao once again sliced through dozens of zombies with a single strike, he suddenly remembered the armor he had obtained from killing the bald zombie. [Black Iron Heavy Armor] [Level Four (Epic)] [Durability+300, defensive power+200, speed-50%, fire resistance, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] It was a set of armor that could protect the whole body with an incredibly high defensive power. But it came with the side effect of halving one¡¯s speed. For Wang Tao, speed was more important than defense; after all, with enough speed, you wouldn¡¯t get hit. But under the current circumstances, Wang Tao had been staying put at the breach without moving much, so the importance of speed was negligible! Why not give it a try? No sooner had he thought of it than Wang Tao immediately donned the Black Iron Heavy Armor. The Black Iron Heavy Armor was jet black, and it looked handsome when worn. Especially when someone with Wang Tao¡¯s build put it on and stood there¡ªit was like standing a door god! At that moment, Wang Tao felt one thing¡ªheavy! No wonder the speed was reduced by 50%! The reduction wasn¡¯t just in movement speed, but also in attack speed! Wang Tao felt as though he had been sealed, clumsy and powerless. Fortunately, Wang Tao was strong, and he quickly adapted to the weight. He strode to the middle of the breach and looked at the zombies, swinging his blade fiercely. The slash was much slower than before, but the power of the shockwave hadn¡¯t diminished, instantly shattering a large number of zombies. Some of the faster zombies had already reached Wang Tao, but facing their bites, Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to dodge. Clang, clang, clang¡ª The zombies¡¯ attacks hit Wang Tao, making tinkling sounds, but they didn¡¯t cause any damage! Wang Tao swung his sword again, easily disposing of the zombies in front of him. After holding out like this for a few minutes, Wang Tao laughed heartily. ¡°Indeed, this is the proper way to use the Black Iron Heavy Armor!¡± With the Black Iron Heavy Armor on, he was indeed heavier and slower, but he didn¡¯t have to actively defend! As long as the four-level zombies didn¡¯t take action, no zombie could break through his defense! And all he needed to do was attack with all his might! This actually increased Wang Tao¡¯s efficiency by quite a bit! However, Wang Tao¡¯s joy didn¡¯t last long; the zombie horde intensified its attack again, and this time, those three four-level zombies came with it! ¡°Can¡¯t wait any longer, can you!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath and then said to Lan Yulian and the others nearby: ¡°Fall back!¡± Upon hearing this, they didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately moved away from Wang Tao. Wang Tao watched the three approaching four-level zombies, took another deep breath, and suddenly flames flared up on him. Starfire Prairie! Originally, Wang Tao had thought if those three Zombie Lords began their attack, he would have He Jijun start the plane to try to attract one or even two zombies away. After all, facing three four-level zombies at once was too difficult. But now, having donned this set of Black Iron Heavy Armor, Wang Tao felt he could take on these three zombies! Roar¡ª The first to rush over was the Stone Armor Zombie, raising its cauldron-sized fist and hammering down at Wang Tao. ¡°` Thump! [-1129] [+1000] It hit Wang Tao for just over a thousand HP, and Wang Tao instantly regained a thousand. The defense of the Black Iron Heavy Armor was indeed strong! ¡°Is that all?¡± Wang Tao immediately raised his flaming longsword and delivered a strike to its skull. Bang! [-1182] [-118] [¡­] ¡°¡­¡± Turns out they were about even. This Stone Armor Zombie¡¯s defense was absurdly high! Just then, the Deformed Zombie, bringing a toxic gas with it, rapidly attacked Wang Tao. Seizing the opportunity, Wang Tao suddenly lifted his leg and kicked it fiercely. Bang! The Deformed Zombie got sent back just as quickly as it had approached. But though it was gone, the toxic gas it left behind lingered, persisting for ten seconds. Wang Tao was losing over a thousand HP every second, losing over ten thousand in ten seconds! Fortunately, Wang Tao could recover 1000 HP every second, basically neutralizing the effect. The attack from the obese zombie arrived last; from a distance, it spat out a fireball that expanded to a certain size before heading toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao took the initiative to attack, confronting the fireball head-on. Boom! Wang Tao was engulfed by the surging flames once again. Hundreds of zombies around him instantly perished, while he himself lost three thousand HP. Wang Tao immediately unleashed a Shockwave at the obese zombie. [-3548] The Flame Zombie had a pretty high defensive power, and the fire damage carried by the Shockwave didn¡¯t affect it much. The nearby Stone Armor Zombie attacked again. After exchanging a few blows with Wang Tao, each inflicted over a thousand points of damage on the other, neither gaining an advantage. Wang Tao took the chance to carefully observe, and none of these three zombies had the Blood Regeneration Ability! Although zombies naturally regenerate HP much faster than humans, it was still different from a professional Blood Regeneration Ability. Wang Tao suddenly felt that he might actually have a chance to defeat these three Level Four Zombie Lords? After all, he could regenerate 1000 HP every second with his Starfire Prairie, and Lan Yulian could also heal him. The zombies, lacking powerful Blood Regeneration methods, would eventually be worn down! Only¡­ Wang Tao glanced at his own Awakening Energy, and the 300 Energy he had was obviously not enough; now only 100 remained. ¡°All in!¡± Clenching his teeth, Wang Tao directly used his own Advanced Special Energy to exchange for Awakening Energy! One Advanced Special Energy was equal to 100 Awakening Energy, which meant sustaining Starfire Prairie for 10 seconds. Wang Tao had 44 Advanced Special Energy! He had originally planned to save these Advanced Special Energy for the next Awakening, as they could be used to increase the success rate of Awakening. But now, seeing the possibility of killing these three Zombie Lords, he thought that if he could eliminate them and protect the base¡¯s twenty thousand survivors, then it would be worth it! ¡°` Chapter 720 - Chapter 720: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Chapter 720: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 ¡°` Boom! Wang Tao swung his blade, and amidst the sky full of firelight, the Four-level Zombie was repelled once again. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t remember how many times he had driven the creature back, but each time these three Level 4 Zombie Lords charged, he would do his utmost to repel them. So long as they could be kept outside the base, there was still a fight to be had. This time, after being pushed back, these three Four-level Zombies didn¡¯t charge again. Instead, countless ordinary Zombies took their place. Huff¡ª Seeing this surging horde of Zombies, Wang Tao actually let out a sigh of relief. Battling Four-level Zombies required him to give 120% of his energy, whereas fighting these ordinary Zombies, he could rely on the high defense of his armor to withstand the damage, which wasn¡¯t as exhausting as dealing with Four-level Zombies. Moreover, he could now cancel the Starfire Prairie status. The flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body gradually extinguished. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to cancel it, but the consumption was too great; it was better to save energy whenever possible. After Wang Tao canceled his Awakening, Lan Yulian and others hurried over to help block the Zombies and heal him. The flames during Starfire Prairie status attacked indiscriminately, so Lan Yulian and the others didn¡¯t dare get too close, lest they be burned. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± While everyone else was holding back the Zombies, they asked with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He might have dropped to Half Blood, but those few Four-level Zombies weren¡¯t having an easy time either. It had to be said that this set of Black Iron Heavy Armor was perfect for this kind of defensive battle. It almost ignored the damage from Zombies below Level 4, and the damage from Four-level Zombies was also greatly reduced. Of course, there was a problem; that was, once Wang Tao¡¯s speed was greatly reduced, he could no longer pursue. In the past, after repelling the Four-level Zombies, he would likely have chased after them. But now, he couldn¡¯t catch up¡­ Wang Tao was now more worried about those three Four-level Zombies splitting up and attacking other parts of the base. But fortunately, these Four-level Zombies weren¡¯t that smart. They seemed to be fixated on the breach in the high wall and refused to give up. Moreover, like him, the Four-level Zombies couldn¡¯t use their Awakening abilities without restriction. Otherwise, if they kept emitting poison gas and spitting fireballs, it would be unbearable for him. With Ding Yuqin and the others joining in, the pressure on Wang Tao was greatly reduced. Together, they held off the Zombie onslaught, preventing a single one from entering the base. However, the number of Zombies outside the base didn¡¯t decrease; in fact, it seemed to be increasing. Everyone¡¯s faces were serious. Zijing City had a million-level population of Zombies; if all were attracted here, even without the Four-level Zombies, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold them off¡­ After seeing the situation, Wang Tao immediately called to He Jijun, ¡°Old He, come give me a ride!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Buzz buzz¡ª He Jijun piloted the helicopter to hover above Wang Tao¡¯s head. Wang Tao said to the others, ¡°Hold them off for a bit, I¡¯ll be right back!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao pointed at the sky, two Iron Tree Tendrils shot out from his wrist, instantly grabbing onto the hook beneath the helicopter. Then, Wang Tao was hoisted up by the helicopter, flying into the throng of Zombies outside. Wang Tao produced a Red Hand Grenade in his hand. [Explosion Grenade: Contains a certain amount of Awakening Energy. Once detonated, it creates an explosion within a 50-meter radius.] It was a spoils of war he had obtained after killing a Flame Monster, totaling ten of them, and he had not used them yet. It¡¯s not that he was reluctant, but the radius of these things was quite large and could easily harm his own people.Upd@te by novg0.co Now that there were more and more Zombies outside, and everyone was having a harder time holding them off, Wang Tao felt it was time to use them. The helicopter quickly flew over the swarm of Zombies, many of which were attracted and looked up with howls. Wang Tao gave careful attention to those three Four-level Zombies; they had naturally seen the helicopter but didn¡¯t come over. Only the obese Zombie¡¯s belly swelled, its mouth wide open, slowly forming a Little Huo Fireball. Among these three Zombies, the one with the highest instant damage was naturally the obese Zombie. Its Awakening ¡°Flame Explosion¡± was like a bomb, capable of blowing up and burning a large number of Zombies, and it was a Ranged Attack. However, if there was a downside, it was that its Awakening wasn¡¯t instant; or rather, the damage of an instant attack was low. It needed to accumulate power to make the Fireball larger. The larger the Fireball, the farther the attack distance, and the higher the damage. So as long as Wang Tao wasn¡¯t ambushed and saw it charging up the Fireball, he had a way to deal with it. Just like now, when he saw the fireball appearing in the obese Zombie¡¯s mouth, Wang Tao immediately put away the Explosion Grenade and took out a pistol, aiming at it and pulling the trigger. Bang! A transparent Air Bullet shot out from the barrel, and after a brief flight, hit the obese Zombie in the forehead. [-3128] The damage wasn¡¯t high, but the Air Bullet successfully caused the obese Zombie¡¯s head to jerk upward. Pffft¡ª The Fireball that was still in the making in its mouth sprayed out instantly. Boom! The Fireball exploded right above the obese Zombie. It was fine, but the Zombies around it were blown to death, melted on the spot. Seeing that the obese Zombie couldn¡¯t threaten the helicopter anymore, Wang Tao took out the Explosion Grenade again, found a place dense with Zombies, and gently tossed it. Whoosh¡ª A small Red Hand Grenade fell amongst the Zombies. Then, boom¡ª A blazing fireball erupted from the grenade, expanding rapidly. In the blink of an eye, about a fifty-meter radius turned into a sea of fire! This wasn¡¯t ordinary flame, it was similar to the Starfire Prairie flames used by Wang Tao, which the Zombies couldn¡¯t withstand. Their HP quickly reached zero, and they were even burned to cinders! ¡°` Chapter 721 - Chapter 721: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 721: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Wang Tao roughly estimated that with the density of these zombies, that single hand grenade must have incinerated at least a thousand zombies! Moreover, the flames wouldn¡¯t die out quickly but would continue to burn for a long time. During its duration, it was a one-way trip for any zombies that came near! ¡°Not bad!¡± This was the first time Wang Tao had witnessed the power of these hand grenades, and while they weren¡¯t as powerful as the abilities of the Flame Monster he¡¯d seen before, they were more than enough against these ordinary zombies. ¡°Continue!¡± Wang Tao directed He Jijun to fly towards other areas dense with zombies and threw several more hand grenades. Boom! Boom! Boom! The night sky turned red, and nearly all survivors inside the base could see the roaring flames. The western wall outside was completely cleared, even the three level 4 zombies had retreated quite a distance. ¡°Old He, take a round to the other three directions!¡± As the sea of fire at the western wall would burn for a while, preventing zombies from entering, Wang Tao took the opportunity to head to other places to help ease the pressure on everyone else. Humming¡ª The helicopter flew northward. ¡°It¡¯s a pity, we couldn¡¯t burn the level 4 zombies to death¡­¡± Wang Tao sighed. When he threw the hand grenades, he specifically targeted the area near those three level 4 zombies, but the flames that could kill level 3 zombies couldn¡¯t kill them. Plus, they were fast and had run out of the inferno. Of course, the outcome was still very good. With a few grenades, at least ten thousand zombies had been incinerated! And those three level 4 Zombie Lords were also severely wounded! If it weren¡¯t for the base behind him that needed defending, Wang Tao might have switched his equipment and chased after them. The helicopter quickly reached the northern wall of the base. There were many zombies here too, but they were nothing compared to the Western wall. Wang Tao dropped an Explosion Grenade, killing countless zombies in moments, significantly relieving the pressure on the survivors atop the high wall. Then the helicopter went to both the eastern and southern walls, dropping a grenade at each location before Wang Tao returned to the breach at the western wall. Thud! Wang Tao released the helicopter, landing heavily. The fire outside was still burning, but it had greatly weakened. Beyond the flames, some shadowy figures could be seen. It seemed like they were waiting for the fire to die down¡­ ¡°These zombies are really insane!¡± Seeing this, the complexion of those watching turned grim. ¡°They¡¯re all under the control of those three level 4 Zombie Lords¡­¡± Zombie Lords could influence or even control other zombies. With these three level 4 Zombie Lords together, they could affect a lot of zombies. If they weren¡¯t dealt with, the zombies assaulting the base would never retreat. ¡°Wang Tao, should we charge out and fight those three Lords to the death!¡± Hong Bin spoke to Wang Tao. He had previously wanted to fight to the death against the zombies but was stopped by Wang Tao. Before, it was because he saw no hope and wanted to exert his last bit of strength. This time, it was because he saw hope¡ªWang Tao¡¯s strength exceeded his imagination, and he felt that if they charged out and fought those three zombies together, they might have a chance to win. However, Wang Tao still shook his head. ¡°No rush. They will come to us!¡± Going out to fight the level 4 Zombie Lords was too risky, and if they were surrounded by a large horde of zombies, they would be in great danger even without those three level 4 zombies taking action. And as long as these three zombies weren¡¯t willing to give up this place, they would inevitably come again. Wang Tao, clad in Black Iron Heavy Armor, was meant for defense. As long as his Awakening Energy wasn¡¯t depleted, he could hold his ground, and even turn the tables! As expected, as the fire started to wane, zombies began charging through the flames toward his location, and right behind these zombies were those three level 4 Zombie Lords. ¡°Prepare for battle!¡± Wang Tao, holding his long sword, stepped towards the approaching zombies. Once the zombies entered his attack range, Wang Tao unleashed a Shockwave, instantly slaying a large swath of them. But at that moment, a figure clad in Stone Armor suddenly appeared beside Wang Tao! Instantly, a shield appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Bang! The sneak attack from the Stone Armor Zombie was successfully blocked by Wang Tao. Then, with his sword in one hand, he swung fiercely. Bang! [-323] [-32] [¡­] Without using Starfire Prairie, the damage Wang Tao dealt to it was frighteningly low. But Wang Tao was already accustomed to the high Defense of its Stone Armor and was hardly surprised. Suddenly, though, Wang Tao¡¯s gaze sharpened. Because he noticed that the Stone Armor on the zombie¡­ seemed to have a small crack in it! He hadn¡¯t seen wrong; there was indeed a crack! Wang Tao was instantly overjoyed. He had been wondering why this zombie¡¯s Awakening Ability was so enduring! Clearly an active Awakening, once used, the Stone Armor seemed to become a part of its body and hadn¡¯t faded. This was much more enduring than Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie! But now, Wang Tao understood. This Stone Armor created by its Awakening Ability probably had no time limit but perhaps a Durability limit! Now, after so many hits from Wang Tao, its Durability was likely almost depleted! This was an opportunity! Wang Tao immediately yelled to the others: ¡°Hold off the other zombies! I¡¯ll take care of this one!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The others responded. Flames instantly erupted around Wang Tao, and he pushed the Stone Armor Zombie into the horde of zombies. Then, abandoning defense, he gripped the sword in both hands and ruthlessly hacked at the Stone Armor Zombie. [-1283] Chapter 722 - Chapter 722: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 722: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 ¡°` [-128] [¡­] [-1328] [-132] [¡­] In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao had slashed six times, and he had been hit three times by the Stone Armor Zombie. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t care, his seventh slash came swinging down. Bang! Crash¡ª¡ª This slash shattered the Stone Armor Zombie¡¯s armor like it was made of porcelain, revealing the shriveled and skinny figure inside. Wang Tao¡¯s eighth slash followed immediately. [-33584] [-3358] [¡­] Without its Stone Armor, Wang Tao¡¯s slash dealt over thirty thousand points of damage! It even shocked Wang Tao himself! The Stone Armor Zombie had already lost some HP and had recovered a bit after exiting combat. Now its HP stood at one hundred and thirty thousand, and Wang Tao¡¯s slash had removed over thirty thousand¡ªno, including the subsequent bleeding damage, that was forty thousand HP! Roar¡ª¡ª With a roar, the Stone Armor Zombie turned tail to run! Whether its Awakening had a cooldown or other restrictions, it didn¡¯t use it again but chose to flee instead. Luckily, Wang Tao had ample experience fighting zombies and anticipated its flight. So, as it ran, Wang Tao was already blocking its path, and swung his sword once more. The Stone Armor Zombie immediately raised its hand to block, but Wang Tao¡¯s Flame Long Sword cut right through its hand and continued on to its head! [-34871] [-3487] [¡­] Roar¡ª¡ª The Stone Zombie punched frenziedly with its other hand, but Wang Tao took the hits and slashed again. Splurch! [-3022] [0/150000] A fatal blow to the head. Crash¡ª¡ª A pile of items burst out. Wang Tao was thrilled. The threat posed by three Level 4 Lords was exponentially greater than the threat of two! He felt assured in killing any single Four-level zombie. With two, killing them was uncertain, but he was confident he could keep his ground. However, with three, he could barely hold them off and was likely to be defeated. That¡¯s why the fight was so tough. His only chance for victory was to take down the Four-level zombies one by one. And now, he had succeeded! He had slain the zombie with the highest defense, the one that had been the toughest for him! The remaining two Level 4 Lords didn¡¯t have such high defense, and Wang Tao was wearing the incredibly strong Black Iron Heavy Armor! Wang Tao now felt he might indeed be able to kill all these Level 4 Lords! Wang Tao collected the spoils of battle and then rushed back immediately. Meanwhile, the Deformed Zombie had reached the breach beneath the wall, with poison gas surrounding it for more than ten meters. Ding Yuqin and others were trapped in the poison gas, quickly losing HP. Lan Yulian activated Healing Light and used her Healing ability to replenish their HP, but the rate of healing couldn¡¯t keep up with the HP loss! ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Xu Xiaojun hefted his Broken Giant Axe, then put forth all his strength into both hands. Bang! [-1021] The axe only dealt a thousand points of damage to the Deformed Zombie, but the force knocked it back! As persistent as the poison gas was, it would dissipate if the zombie wasn¡¯t present, no matter how long-lasting it might be. After ten seconds, the poison gas slowly faded. Revealing Ding Yuqin and the others, almost all on their knees, faces turning cyan. They were all at critical HP! At this time, they saw a red light flickering in the distance. They looked up to see a massive fireball speeding towards them! Boom! With a loud explosion, the fireball burst, igniting the air, momentarily blinding everyone and scorching their lungs, making them think they were going to die. But moments later, as they slowly regained consciousness, they realized they were not dead. A figure, hotter than the fireball, stood with a Shield held aloft, guarding them. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± They exclaimed. Wang Tao turned back, his tone low, ¡°You all fall back, leave the rest to me!¡± Wang Tao put away his shield and charged towards the corpulent zombie in the distance. In his hands suddenly appeared two black hearts. He fiercely threw them at the Deformed Zombie. Whizz¡ª¡ª In the air, the two hearts pulsated and turned into two ink-black Night Demons! Thud! The two [Night Demon Type I] plunged headlong into the poison gas. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even look at how the [Night Demon Type I] were faring in battle, nor did he control them. He simply gave the two [Night Demon Type I] one order¡ªto fight the Deformed Zombie to the death! At that moment, Wang Tao himself became like a meteor walking on the earth, dragging a long orange tail flame, and reached the corpulent zombie. Perhaps because of its size, the corpulent zombie was the slowest among the Level 4 zombies, even slower than Wang Tao wearing the Black Iron Heavy Armor. Plus, it didn¡¯t run, so it quickly came face-to-face with Wang Tao. Roar¡ª¡ª The corpulent zombie opened its mouth wide, and a small fireball began to form again. But Wang Tao did not back down; instead, he closed in instantly and landed a mighty uppercut with his fist the size of a casserole dish. Bang! [-2283] His punch hit the corpulent zombie¡¯s chin. The damage wasn¡¯t high, but it successfully silenced the zombie. Wang Tao faintly heard a ¡°boom¡± as the fireball exploded inside the corpulent zombie¡¯s mouth! [-28393] ¡°That worked?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. His intention was to stop the corpulent zombie from spitting out the fireball, but he hadn¡¯t expected it would actually hurt it! It seemed that once its Awakening was used, it couldn¡¯t be cancelled? And its mouth was its weak spot? ¡°` Chapter 723 - Chapter 723: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 Chapter 723: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 The obese zombie was zapped by its own fireball, its head buzzing as if it were in a daze. Wang Tao produced a flame long sword in his hand once more and thrust it straight into the obese zombie¡¯s mouth! [-12893] [-1289] [¡­] Wang Tao felt like he was stabbing into a block of steel, unable to penetrate, but still, the obese zombie lost over ten thousand blood! So, force is indeed its weakness! The obese zombie had a total of 120,000 HP, and now only a little over 60,000 remained. Suddenly, flames erupted all over its body¡ªnot from Wang Tao, but from inside out. Wang Tao was suddenly overcome with a sense of familiarity. He exerted all his might and viciously kicked the obese zombie. Thud~ The obese zombie was kicked right into the midst of the horde. And then¡ª Boom! A small mushroom cloud rose among the flames that filled the sky, and Wang Tao was enveloped in it as well. However, Wang Tao was at the edge and did not suffer much damage. ¡°Explosion! I knew it¡­¡± Wang Tao immediately rushed into the firestorm and soon found the obese zombie¡¯s location, which was left with merely a sliver of blood! Without hesitation, Wang Tao slashed with his sword. Squish! [-1000] [0/120000] The obese zombie is dead! And just then, Wang Tao felt he could no longer make contact with his two Night Demon Type I. He quickly gathered up the spoils of war and immediately rushed towards the Deformed Zombie¡¯s location. Moments later, Wang Tao reached the Deformed Zombie and without pausing, plunged into the poison gas. The Night Demon Type I were no longer in sight. Their mission was to hold off the Deformed Zombie, and now it had been completed. Wang Tao hefted the flame long sword and launched an attack at the Deformed Zombie. The Deformed Zombie¡¯s defense wasn¡¯t high, and after being entangled by Wang Tao, it quickly ran out of HP after a few slashes. Squish! [-18273] [0/100000] The HP bar of the Deformed Zombie cleared to zero! All three Level 4 zombies, annihilated! But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t feeling joyous because he too was poisoned down to a thread of health. After collecting all the loot, Wang Tao hurriedly ran back to the base. The damage from the poison gas accumulated increasingly, and his HP dropped rapidly while fighting the Deformed Zombie. He needed to get back quickly to Jade Lotus for healing, or else he¡¯d be poisoned to death soon! And just at that moment, Wang Tao suddenly felt the ground tremble. He immediately turned his head and saw a tall figure emerge amid the horde. ¡°Giant Zombie¡ªwait, why is it so short?¡± [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4, Lord] [Awakening: Giant] From a distance came a Giant Zombie, but¡­ it was a hundred thousand blood Giant Zombie! It stood roughly over twenty meters tall, minuscule compared to the typical sixty or even eighty-meter giants. It looked almost like a juvenile! Of course, even at just over twenty meters tall, it was still very noticeable against the night sky illuminated by the flames. Not only did Wang Tao see it, but Jade Lotus and all the survivors in the base did as well. ¡°Oh my¡ª¡± ¡°Giant Zombie¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re done for!¡± The sight of this figure sent waves of despair, not only among the other survivors in the base but even on the faces of Jade Lotus and her group. Wang Tao¡¯s battle just now had been too swift, all within the horde. Plus, Jade Lotus and the others had spent some time in the poisonous gas¡­ so they were unclear about the specific state of combat between Wang Tao and the Level 4 zombies. All they knew was that Wang Tao had rushed over amidst his busy schedule to save their lives. Now, seeing the Giant Zombie, even if they had all the confidence in the world, they felt despair. Three Level 4, Lord zombies, plus one Giant Zombie. There was no chance at all! The other survivors in the base began to pray, praying for Wang Tao and the others. They knew that their only hope for salvation lay with Wang Tao and his group. ¡°Wang Tao¡­¡± Ding Yuqin and the others also instinctively shouted out Wang Tao¡¯s name. At such a time, they felt that if there was any hope left, it could only be Wang Tao. But outside was a sea of fire and zombies, and they couldn¡¯t see where Wang Tao was, nor did they know whether he was alive or dead. But just then, they saw a huge, bright, and scorching flame emerge not far away. Even among the sea of fire, these Blazing Flames were extraordinarily conspicuous. And then, they saw a giant that stood over five meters tall slowly rise within those flames, a Flame Giant! ¡°Heavens! What is that?¡± The sight of another giant nearly caused the survivors to collapse. One Giant Zombie was hard enough for them to survive; with two giants appearing, their fate was sealed without any hope for survival! Although this giant didn¡¯t seem as tall as the one in the distance, its body was enwrapped in flames, which made it seem even more powerful! But¡­ why did that Flame Giant¡¯s armor look somewhat familiar? ¡°Is that¡­ Wang Tao?!¡± Unlike the other survivors, when Ding Yuqin and the others saw the Flame Giant, they experienced a mix of surprise and disbelief. ¡°It is Wang Tao!¡± Zhang Hong and the others quickly came out to explain. Wang Tao had used his Berserk Ability only once before, something Ding Yuqin and the others had not witnessed. Even though Wang Tao had grown much larger after his berserking, with flames covering his body, there was no doubt that it was him. ¡°It really is him!¡± Ding Yuqin and the others exchanged glances, feeling somewhat excited. Though they didn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao had transformed in such a way, this ¡°Flame Giant¡± Wang Tao was obviously much stronger! Chapter 724 - Chapter 724: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Chapter 724: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 ¡°` Does Wang Tao have a way to deal with that giant zombie?! ¡°Wang Tao!¡± The crowd silently cheered and prayed for Wang Tao in their hearts. At the same time, they were all gripping their weapons tightly, ready to join the fight at any moment. They didn¡¯t know if Wang Tao could win, but if they were needed, they wouldn¡¯t shrink back! Lan Yulian hurriedly broadcasted to the other survivors, telling them that this Flame Giant wasn¡¯t a zombie or a monster, but their base¡¯s guardian deity, Wang Tao! ¡°It¡¯s actually Mr. Wang!¡± ¡°Mr. Wang is so strong! But¡­ can he really beat the giant zombie? I heard that a giant zombie could ravage a city¡­¡± ¡°Go Mr. Wang!¡± ¡°May the heavens bless Mr. Wang to be safe and sound!¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°Sigh¡­¡± In the sea of fire, Wang Tao sighed as he saw himself become incredibly huge after triggering Berserk. He had remnants of poison gas on his body which caused his HP to continuously drop. Originally, he planned to find Lan Yulian for blood regeneration, but then he saw the giant zombie appear. Because he stared for a bit too long, his HP dropped below 30%, triggering Berserk. HP, mana, physical strength, spirit all restored to full! Aside from defense, all other attributes were enhanced! And the Black Iron Heavy Armor was proportionally enlarged, which was an effect of the extensibility attribute, and he still maintained the Starfire Original Status! This was originally Wang Tao¡¯s last resort since his Berserk could only be activated once a day, and he didn¡¯t know what would happen afterward¡­ ¡°Well, since it has come to this, let¡¯s see if you, an underage giant zombie, are truly invincible!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath and then sprinted towards the giant zombie. Thud, thud¡ª Wang Tao was only five meters tall, still a significant difference from the giant zombie¡¯s twenty meters. However, his momentum was no less intimidating than that of the giant zombie, especially with the fierce flames burning around him, making him look like a demon returned from hell! Roar¡ª The giant zombie clearly noticed this tiny figure only as tall as its knee. Although Wang Tao¡¯s flames instinctively repulsed it, Wang Tao¡¯s human scent was far more enticing than others! It immediately shifted its target and walked towards Wang Tao. Attracting the giant zombie¡¯s attention, Wang Tao pulled out the tusk long knife. Then, somewhat annoyed, he discovered that although his body had enlarged, his weapon did not change; the long knife, formerly quite slender, became a ¡°dagger¡± in his hand¡­ Of course, a dagger wasn¡¯t unusable, certainly better than going empty-handed. Wang Tao immediately took this ¡°dagger¡± and sprinted towards the giant zombie. Whoosh¡ª His increased size did not diminish Wang Tao¡¯s speed at all. The survivors only saw a flash before the Flame Giant reached the front of the giant zombie. At the same time, everyone sensed the terror of the giant zombie¡ª Wang Tao had transformed into the Flame Giant not far from the base¡¯s entrance, and the survivors could feel the grandeur of Wang Tao¡¯s form. However, now that Wang Tao was beside the giant zombie, they saw him only reaching its knee! The disparity in size was immense! Everyone grew tense, and many even prayed to the gods for Wang Tao¡¯s safety. At that moment, Wang Tao himself felt the pressure mounting. Only when up close could he feel the giant zombie¡¯s terrifying aura. It was similar to the first time he encountered the Black Mist Monster in Shuize County, that shivering sensation all over! But unlike before, Wang Tao could no longer be intimidated by mere presence, nor was he unable to move. Although the giant zombie was huge, it was also Level 4. Who else isn¡¯t Level 4 nowadays! Whoosh! Wang Tao swung his long knife, launching a Flame Shockwave at the giant zombie¡¯s head. The range of his shockwave was about ten meters or so, and with his five-meter stature, he could just reach the twenty-meter tall giant zombie¡¯s head. But the giant was quick to react. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s attack, it stretched out its monumental palm and blocked the Flame Shockwave! [-217] [-102] ¡°¡­¡± The Shockwave hit for two hundred HP, and the flame burned for another hundred HP. That wasn¡¯t all, the HP the giant zombie lost began to slowly rise back up! No blood regeneration figures appeared above its head, but the small amount of HP it lost was increasing. Clearly, it wasn¡¯t an ability to regenerate HP, but rather it had high-quality physical attributes that made its passive blood regeneration very strong! Wang Tao swung his knife again, sending another Flame Shockwave flying at the giant zombie¡¯s head. Just like before, the giant zombie blocked it with a slap of its hand. Its hand was extremely hard, and the Flame Shockwave had no effect on it. After blocking Wang Tao¡¯s attack, the giant zombie bent down and reached for Wang Tao. Wang Tao deftly dodged the giant zombie¡¯s attack and continued to strike it several times. Only one blow hit the giant zombie¡¯s head. [-1003] The rest of the damage, merely a hundred or even only dozens of HP, hit the giant zombie¡¯s body. Wang Tao¡¯s own flame damage also didn¡¯t burn much of the giant zombie¡¯s HP. Although Wang Tao¡¯s damage was low, he felt he truly had a chance to win! After all, a thousand damage was still damage. He just needed to hit the giant zombie¡¯s head a hundred times¡ªno, considering the giant zombie¡¯s own blood regeneration, maybe one hundred fifty times. Just a hundred fifty hits to the giant zombie¡¯s head and he could kill it! ¡°` Chapter 725 - Chapter 725: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 Chapter 725: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 But the Giant Zombie clearly didn¡¯t give Wang Tao this chance, after being attacked by Wang Tao, the Giant Zombie¡¯s eyes were filled with a red glow, it was as if it had gone into a frenzy, its speed suddenly increased by a large margin! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao was originally dodging the Giant Zombie¡¯s attack while flinging Shockwaves at its head, but after the Giant Zombie¡¯s speed increased, Wang Tao had no way to attack and had to focus all his energy on dodging the attacks. However, because the Black Iron Heavy Armor slowed him down a lot, even though he tried his best to dodge, he still got hit by the Giant Zombie¡¯s punch. Bang! [-5283] Wang Tao was hit by the punch until he felt a bit dizzy! Seeing this damage number, Wang Tao¡¯s face didn¡¯t look good. After his frenzy, although his defense decreased a bit, the Starfire Original Status had added a lot of defensive power, so the reduced defense state must have been canceled out, plus he was wearing the high defense Black Iron Heavy Armor¡­ And the Giant Zombie could still deal over five thousand damage to him! If it were someone else, they might have been blasted by a single punch! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao dodged another punch from the Giant Zombie and then looked for an opportunity to attack, but he was constantly dodging and taking hits passively, with no chance to attack the Giant Zombie! No other choice, Wang Tao could only back off temporarily. The Giant Zombie¡¯s attack speed was very fast, and its movement speed wasn¡¯t slow either, considering its long legs. But its agility was relatively lower, even lower than Wang Tao in his Black Iron Heavy Armor. So Wang Tao circled a few times and successfully escaped the Giant Zombie¡¯s attack range. After disengaging from combat, Wang Tao immediately ran towards the area with more zombies. The Giant Zombie chased after him, as it was originally attracted by the humans at Zijin Base, but it now ignored these people as if it was determined to take Wang Tao down. When the large and the small Giants were running outside the base, the unfortunate ones were the ordinary zombies. They were either ignited by the flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body or trampled to death by the Giant Zombie, leaving a large number of casualties. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t show any signs of relief because he found that after he had escaped from the Giant Zombie, he couldn¡¯t attack it anymore¡­ Because his attack Abilities were too short-ranged, only the Air Bullet could reach the Giant Zombie. But the Air Bullet¡¯s damage wasn¡¯t high, and it had a ten-second cooldown, which the Giant Zombie could easily block. At this moment, He Jijun had already flown over in a helicopter, with the Heavy Machine Gun on the aircraft spraying bullets crazily at the Giant Zombie. But the Giant Zombie casually swatted away the incoming bullets, and even if some bullets hit it, they could only reduce its HP by tens to a couple of hundred. However, the Giant clearly found the helicopter annoying, it immediately stopped chasing Wang Tao and picked up a few large rocks from the ground, hurling them at the aircraft. Humming¡ª He Jijun quickly pulled the joystick to retreat. The helicopter¡¯s agility was limited, and a hit could mean the destruction of the machine and the loss of life. After seeing this scene, Wang Tao hurriedly attacked again toward the Giant Zombie to attract its attention. Seeing that annoying ¡°fly¡± fly away, the Giant Zombie then continued to chase and attack Wang Tao! After being chased for a while, the distance between Wang Tao and the Giant Zombie was getting closer. Wang Tao¡¯s speed was slowed down so much by the Black Iron Heavy Armor that he wasn¡¯t as fast as the Giant Zombie now. ¡°I can¡¯t keep this up!¡± Wang Tao decisively turned around and charged back towards the Giant Zombie. Constantly running wasn¡¯t a solution, especially since his Awakening Energy was limited and shouldn¡¯t be wasted like this. As he charged at the Giant Zombie, Wang Tao jumped high, holding the ¡°Dagger¡± and stabbing towards the Giant Zombie¡¯s head. The Giant Zombie immediately reached out its hands, attempting to grab Wang Tao. Wang Tao really wanted to endure the Giant Zombie¡¯s attack and go head-to-head with it, but he ultimately held back. Fighting the Giant Zombie head-on wasn¡¯t wise, after all, if the Giant Zombie died, it was just dead, but if he encountered any problems, both he and Ding Yuqin would suffer the consequences! There were still thousands of zombies left to be dealt with! Wang Tao immediately took out the Shield and rammed it against the Giant Zombie¡¯s hands. Sizzling¡ª A flash of electric arc passed by, and the Giant Zombie didn¡¯t lose much HP, but its palm did tingle for a moment, allowing Wang Tao to land on the ground. Thud! Once on the ground, Wang Tao immediately rushed toward the Giant Zombie. The Giant Zombie¡¯s hand had only tingled momentarily; its overall movements weren¡¯t affected, and it bent down to grab Wang Tao again. Bang! The collision between Wang Tao¡¯s long knife and the Giant Zombie¡¯s fist caused the Giant Zombie to lose over a hundred points of HP, while Wang Tao was knocked back more than ten meters. Watching the Giant Zombie take large strides toward him again, Wang Tao sighed internally. His weapons and attack Ability were too short! He could not reach the Giant Zombie¡¯s head. If he could just reach the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, he wouldn¡¯t be so passive. Wang Tao tried using a Black Iron Stick he had previously obtained but found it too short still. ¡°If only I had a really big Weapon, or an Ability with a long attack range¡­ Huh?¡± While pondering, Wang Tao suddenly realized he had forgotten an important weapon! Swish! He immediately put away the tusk long knife, then a chainsaw appeared! The Bloody Chainsaw! This was a Fourth-Order Weapon, inherently possessing a Bone Removal attribute. [Bone Removal: Can directly remove Life Energy] The Bloody Chainsaw didn¡¯t deal high damage and wasn¡¯t as good as Wang Tao¡¯s other Weapons, so he had subconsciously overlooked it. But this Bone Removal¡­ Could it directly kill the Giant Zombie? No sooner had the thought come to him than Wang Tao took up the flaming Bloody Chainsaw and rushed at the Giant Zombie! In Wang Tao¡¯s hand, the chainsaw was like a small Dagger, but when this small Dagger cut across the Giant Zombie¡¯s large hand¡ª [-1123] Effective! Seeing the damage indicator appear above the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, Wang Tao was overjoyed! A thousand damage wasn¡¯t too much, but it signified the possibility of killing the Giant Zombie! With agility superior to the Giant Zombie, Wang Tao began to dodge agilely at its feet. While dodging the Giant Zombie¡¯s various Attacks, Wang Tao would occasionally land a few strikes on it. [-1176] [-1065] [-1022] [¡­] Even after mastering this attack pattern, Wang Tao released his Starfire Prairie State, as he didn¡¯t have much Awakening Energy left and needed to save it. After a while, Wang Tao was once again critically low on HP, with only twenty thousand remaining, but the Giant Zombie was just a thread away from death! To ensure a foolproof victory, Wang Tao reactivated Starfire Prairie and, a few seconds later, made his sawing cut. Splurt! [-1287] [0/100000] The HP bar of ¡°Giant Zombie?Juvenile Version¡± dropped to zero! Chapter 726 - Chapter 726: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Chapter 726: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Flames soared into the sky outside Zijin Base, and the survivors inside could only hear the Giant Zombie¡¯s roaring and the sounds of battle. After all, Wang Tao had lured the Giant Zombie away, and no one could see what exactly was happening. At that moment, everyone faintly heard a ¡°boom,¡± and it seemed like the ground itself had trembled. The Giant Zombie¡¯s roaring suddenly seemed to disappear. Everyone¡¯s heart tensed up in an instant. Had Wang Tao won? Or¡­ lost? Those survivors who hadn¡¯t participated in the fight didn¡¯t even dare to breathe, as if they feared that any additional breath might affect the outcome of the battle. Some even closed their eyes, praying for Wang Tao. Ding Yuqin and her companions clenched their fists tightly as well; had the fire outside not been too intense, they really would have wanted to rush out. Thump, thump¡ª At this time, a series of deep footsteps sounded from afar. A catch in their hearts¡ªcould it be that the Giant Zombie wasn¡¯t dead?! But quickly, joy spread across their faces. Because in the midst of the roaring flames, a huge figure emerged, burning like the sun. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Wang Tao!¡± ¡­ Wang Tao had successfully killed the Giant Zombie. However, his Frenzy state had not yet subsided; Frenzy could last an hour, and he planned to take advantage of this state to kill more zombies. After all, although the Giant Zombie was dead, the onslaught outside had not yet ended. Wang Tao didn¡¯t return to the base but charged directly into the horde of zombies outside the breach in the west wall. He wielded the Bloody Chainsaw in one hand and The Tusk Long Knife in the other, slaughtering zombies in a frenzy. The Bloody Chainsaw was instrumental in killing the Giant Zombie. If it weren¡¯t for the Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s ability to directly attack the Life Energy of foes, with the height difference between him and the Giant Zombie, he would have had no way to inflict substantial damage. Moreover, using the Bloody Chainsaw cost HP, and it lost HP at a faster rate than the Giant Zombie. Given the situation at that time, the Bloody Chainsaw might have bled to death before killing the Giant Zombie. But luckily, there were plenty of zombies around. While fighting the Giant Zombie, Wang Tao had also taken time to kill off the Level 3 zombies around him. This allowed the Bloody Chainsaw to maintain its HP at a Half Blood status and eventually wear down the Giant Zombie! The Bloody Chainsaw, like Wang Tao, was at low HP and needed to be healed quickly. Now in an Enhancement state after Frenzy and decked out in Black Iron Heavy Armor with absurdly high Defense, Wang Tao plunged into the horde of zombies like a tiger among sheep. No zombie lasted more than three seconds before him, nor could any zombie harm him. But the sheer number of zombies was overwhelming, and no matter how strong Wang Tao was, he was only one man with limited Physical Strength and Spirit. He could momentarily hold off the zombies¡¯ attack, but it was impossible for him to kill them all. Although there was no longer a Level 4, Lord Zombie to lead the horde, their attack was still chaotic. But Zijin Base¡¯s western wall had a gaping hole, and the zombies didn¡¯t need any tactics¡ªjust a relentless surge into the breach. Once Wang Tao saw that the Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s HP had been fully restored, he put away the long knife and the chainsaw, and a large metal stick appeared in his hands. With each swing of the stick, he broke countless zombies and then retreated back to the breach in the high wall. Wang Tao stood at the breach, wielding the colossal Black Iron Stick. With a swing, he could kill swathes of zombies, even without using a Shockwave. With him standing there, no zombie could make it through! The survivors inside the base all saw this towering figure and were both stirred and teary-eyed. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao isn¡¯t dead! He¡¯s still protecting us!¡± ¡°Mr. Wang Tao¡­ *sob*¡­¡± ¡°I hate feeling so helpless, unable to fight alongside Mr. Wang Tao!¡± ¡°Could this be the work of our prayers to the gods?¡± ¡°What bullcrap gods! Mr. Wang Tao is our base¡¯s guardian deity, our one true god!¡± ¡°¡­You¡¯re right!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ding Yuqin and the others quickly came to Wang Tao¡¯s side, with Lan Yulian fearlessly administering healing to Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s HP began to slowly rise. ¡°Woof! Whine~¡± Lightning also cried out anxiously to Wang Tao. ¡°Are you all alright?¡± While slaughtering a massive number of zombies, Wang Tao took the chance to vigorously rub Lightning¡¯s head and didn¡¯t forget to express his concern for everyone else. ¡°We¡¯re all fine! Thanks to Jade Lotus, with her healing, not a single person died!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly responded. Actually, they too had suffered badly. While Wang Tao went to attack the Stone Armor Zombie, the Deformed Zombie had come to attack them. The poison gas released by the Deformed Zombie almost wiped them out, but thanks to Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability and Wang Tao¡¯s timely reinforcements, their crisis was averted. Later when Wang Tao went to battle the Zombie Lord, countless zombies began to assault the base, and they defended desperately in their weakened state¡­ However, these things were nothing compared to what Wang Tao had been through; if not for him, the base would have been destroyed countless times. So, no one mentioned how tough they had it because it paled in comparison to Wang Tao¡¯s hardships! Even when the Giant Zombie appeared, Lan Yulian told everyone that maybe they should let Wang Tao come back and abandon the base¡ªto leave together instead¡ªsince she was the one who most wanted to save the base, but now she was the one who most wanted to leave, not willing to let Wang Tao sacrifice himself. Chapter 727 - Chapter 727: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 727: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Thankfully, everyone chose to trust Wang Tao. As long as he didn¡¯t retreat, he definitely had a way to solve the problem. Indeed, Wang Tao eventually killed the Giant Zombie! Wang Tao glanced at the crowd. Although they were all low on HP, there was indeed no life-threatening danger. He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that everyone is alright. Dawn is approaching, and the zombies¡¯ attacks will definitely not be as frenzied as they are now. Let¡¯s hang in there and try to hold out until daylight!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± With the Four-level zombies killed and the Giant Zombie dead, as long as they could withstand the onslaught, there was a good chance the base would survive. As for reinforcements¡­ to be honest, Ding Yuqin and the others didn¡¯t hold out much hope. Living in the apocalypse for so long, they had all developed the habit of believing in themselves, their comrades, and Wang Tao. To them, those unfamiliar reinforcements would be great to have, but if they didn¡¯t arrive, they would surely be disappointed, but not hopeless. However, Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts differed. He actually believed the reinforcements would come because he had met Colonel Luo Guozhong from the military base and knew they were people of their word! ¡­ After killing an unknown number of zombies, the sky had begun to lighten. Wang Tao felt his Berserk state was about to end. Looking at the endless sea of zombies outside, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then charged out. The moment he rushed out, flames engulfed his body. He wanted to kill as many zombies as possible before the Berserk state ended, to keep the sea of fire burning and stop the horde from breaching the base perimeter. Boom! Flame Shockwaves burst forth from Wang Tao¡¯s hands one after another, shattering and igniting countless zombies. Starfire Prairie once again displayed its terrifying power, turning the outside of the base into a sea of fire that seemed incapable of being extinguished. The survivors at the base, seeing the sky lit up by flames again and that figure shining amongst the horde of zombies like the sun, were all moved to tears. Within the sea of fire, Wang Tao¡¯s ears twitched as he seemed to hear some noise. He suddenly turned his head to look into the distance. ¡°No way! Could there be something unexpected?¡± ¡­ Clang¡­ Clang¡­ Hissss¡ª Under the night sky, in the pouring rain, a piercing screech of brakes sounded. A Black dragon-like train slowly decelerated until it came to a halt. This was a menacing-looking train. Sharp weapons and artillery were mounted on the train, and the front of the locomotive sported a massive steel plow; the severed limbs and remains on these weapons and plow told of the turbulent journey it had survived. When the train stopped, a horde of zombies swarmed towards it. Ratatat¡ª A brief but rapid burst of gunfire erupted, cutting down the encircling zombies like wheat. After temporarily clearing the zombies around them, the large doors of the train¡¯s cars opened one after another. Rumbling¡ª One after another, tracked and wheeled steel beasts rapidly drove out of the cars. Their dark muzzles and heavy machine guns were all aimed in the direction of Zijin Base. Qian Country¡¯s Type 400 Main Battle Tanks! Qian Country¡¯s Type 400 Wheeled Combat Vehicles! Whirring¡ª The sound of helicopter rotors filled the air as four black specters flew low. The six-barreled Gatling guns and dense rocket pods on them seemed to glisten with a cold light. Qian Country¡¯s latest generation armed helicopter ¨C Type 400! Clack¡ªClack¡ª Several towering figures, three meters tall, stepped out from the cars. They were covered in heavy metal from head to toe. Their legs, shoulders, and backs were laden with various weapons. In their hands, they held six-barreled Gatling guns! Whirr~ The faint ice blue lights turned on on the sci-fi helmets of the metal figures, resembling emotionless killing machines. Hope Research Institute mass-produced product¡ªPowered Armor D-100! ¡°Quick, quick, quick!¡± Last came the modified military trucks and a group of figures wearing black Mechanical Exoskeletons, equipped with Night Vision goggles, and fully Armed in camouflage. ¡°There¡¯s light to the east¡­ coming from Zijin Base! First squad, second squad, third squad, advance towards Zijin Base! Air squad, provide support! Fourth squad, protect the Clearing Train!¡± A calm male voice came from inside one of the Powered Armors. ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± The soldiers responded. They used the Mechanized Infantry and Battle tanks cooperative tactics, rapidly advancing towards Zijin Base. On the way, the commotion drew zombies from the horde, who swiftly converged on them. Rumbling¡ª Boom! The leading main battle tanks mercilessly crushed the charging zombies under their tracks and blew up large numbers of zombies with their cannons! Ratatat¡ª From the armored vehicles, numerous bullets and shells rained down on the zombies. Pu pu pu¡ª The six-barreled Gatling guns in the hands of those in Powered Armors spewed long red flames, tearing swathes of zombies to pieces in an instant! Under such fierce firepower, the zombie horde seemed much more fragile. The closer they got to Zijin Base, the more blinding the light of the fire became. Upon seeing the fire that dyed half the sky red, the captain inside the Powered Armor looked troubled. ¡°Are we too late¡­¡± However, his gaze remained firm. ¡°Even if there is only one person left, we have to bring them back!¡± ¡°Continue advancing!¡± Rumbling¡ª The army continued to move forward, smashing through any demons or ghosts in their path like a gigantic bulldozer. After some time, the troops finally reached the western wall of Zijin Base. The zombies there were like a black tidal wave, endless at a glance. Chapter 728 - Chapter 728: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 728: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 In the midst of the horde of zombies, a ruined base stood tall. And outside this broken base, there was a sea of blazing red flames. Countless zombies were roaring in the sea of fire, burning and vanishing. ¡°It¡¯s not the base that¡¯s on fire, but outside the base?¡± The captain was a little surprised, then very delighted. ¡°Could there be many survivors?!¡± ¡°Warning! Unknown creature detected ahead!¡± Suddenly, a warning sounded in the captain¡¯s ears. A real-time image popped up in front of him. It was a bird¡¯s-eye view, showing a sea of flames. In this sea of fire, there was a giant over five meters tall, clad in full body armor, its flames dazzling like the blazing sun. As he saw this Flame Giant, the giant also happened to look up. Those Eyes of Flame seemed to be making eye contact with him! The captain was startled. ¡°What Level is this monster! Such a strong aura of pressure!¡± Even through the screen, he felt a bit short of breath and his heart rate quickened! ¡°The energy emanating from the Flame Giant has reached Level 4! But¡­¡± The tone of the Wu Zhi pilot suddenly turned a bit strange. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Asked the captain. ¡°But¡­ he seems to be human?¡± ¡°What?¡± The captain was stunned for a moment, but thinking of the strange abilities of the Ability Users, he quickly said: ¡°Don¡¯t attack him! Clear the zombies around the base first and try to make contact with the radio! We¡¯ll be there soon!¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± The Wu Zhi pilot immediately targeted the zombies outside the sea of fire, flipping the safety switch in his hand and pressing a red button. Whizz whizz whizz¡ª Rockets mounted on the side of the aircraft were activated, pouring down on the ground zombies one after another! ¡­ On the ground. The color inside Wang Tao¡¯s helmet wasn¡¯t looking too good. He had just sensed some disturbance to the west, as if another large creature was approaching the base. The distance was a bit far, beyond the range of his Perception Ability. Moreover, with the plants all around nearly burnt to death, he couldn¡¯t use his Plant Affinity. But his gut feeling was definitely not wrong; certainly there was some large creature coming! According to Wang Tao¡¯s experience with zombies, it shouldn¡¯t be a Giant Zombie¡ªthat was the only good news. He immediately headed towards the base and quickly notified the others. ¡°An unknown creature is coming; be ready to fight at any time!¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt as if he was being watched. He instantly turned his head, looking up into the sky. ¡°What is that?¡± He saw something black hovering in the distance up high. Then he heard a buzzing sound. This buzzing sound¡­ Wang Tao was all too familiar with it! Whizz whizz whizz¡ª But before Wang Tao could speak, streaks of light appeared in the sky, then continuously landed amidst the zombies outside the sea of fire. Boom boom boom! A series of violent explosions erupted, tearing countless zombies to shreds, melting them! The survivors inside the base were startled by the noise, but seeing Wang Tao¡¯s silhouette still there, they quickly calmed down. Ding Yuqin and others quickly asked. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s the situation outside!¡± Their view was blocked by the sea of fire, they couldn¡¯t see outside, only hearing a series of explosions. Before Wang Tao could speak, He Jijun¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s earpiece. ¡°Haha! Fire Snake-200-A!¡± This statement made most people puzzled, not knowing what it meant. But Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and Lu Gang first looked incredulous, then said excitedly: ¡°Fire Snake-200-A rockets? Wu Zhi-400? Could it be¡­¡± Being inside the base, their hearing and sight were obstructed, and outside there were the roaring zombies, which were nothing compared to He Jijun flying in the sky. ¡°That¡¯s right! Our reinforcements¡­ have arrived!¡± He Jijun said loudly. ¡°Reinforcements?¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. As if to prove He Jijun¡¯s words, everyone suddenly felt the ground tremor slightly. Then¡ª Boom! Boom! Boom! Dada dada¡ª Pupupu¡ª Succeeding explosions followed by the ceaseless sound of gunfire. This time, everyone could clearly hear gunfire and artillery! The reinforcements had really arrived! In the midst of the fire, Wang Tao¡¯s body began to slowly shrink, and the flames on his body gradually extinguished. He quickly walked out of the sea of fire and joined Ding Yuqin and the others. ¡°Wang Tao! It¡¯s the reinforcements!¡± Everyone excitedly looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the reinforcements!¡± Wang Tao looked towards the horde of zombies not far away. Suddenly, a red light flickered, accompanied by a ¡°pupupu¡± sound, and a gap was violently torn in the dense crowd of zombies. Limbs and flesh flew everywhere! And among this scattered flesh, a burly figure appeared, his whole body shining with a metallic luster, holding a six-barrel Gatling gun. ¡°What is that?!¡± Then came a second, a third¡­ a total of six! Pupupu¡ª Wherever the Powered Armor went, nothing was spared. ¡°¡­¡± Observing those wielding Gatling guns, looking like they had stepped out of a movie, and comparing them to the axes, long knives, whips, and daggers in their own hands, Wang Tao suddenly fell silent. The style¡­ seemed a little different, didn¡¯t it? Why did it seem like they were primitives? And had technology advanced so much? Even these sci-fi Powered Armors were now a reality? Wang Tao silently retracted his Black Iron Heavy Armor and revealed his true appearance. Not just him, seeing these Powered Armors, including the retired and active military personnel like He Jijun and Wei Zhenguo, were also bewildered. Chapter 729 - Chapter 729: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 Chapter 729: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 They didn¡¯t have this thing when they were in service! Boom! Just then, a violent explosion sounded in the distance, causing the ground to tremble. Rumble¡­ Following that was a deep roar of engines rising up amidst the pervasive dust and smoke; a thick smoldering barrel of a cannon slowly emerged. It was an imposing and impressive camouflage tank, at the rear of which fluttered a stark red flag in the wind! ¡°Type 400 main battle tank!¡± Finally seeing something familiar, Wei Zhenguo quickly spoke up loudly. One tank, two tanks, three tanks¡­ a total of ten main battle tanks! Accompanying the main battle tanks were over ten wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, equipped with machine guns! ¡°Type 400 wheeled IFV.¡± Between the tanks and IFVs, interspersed a group of well-trained, fully armed soldiers wearing mechanical exoskeletons. The mechanical exoskeletons they wore bore some resemblance to Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Mechanical Arm, but appeared to be lighter and more excellent than the Mechanical Arm. Humming¡­ At that moment, a familiar sound of propellers approached. Everyone instinctively looked up. They saw, in the fiery-red sky, the shapes of four black helicopters bristling with multiple machine guns and rocket launchers. ¡°Armed helicopter-400!¡± Boom! Ratatat! Pupupu! Boom boom boom! The sounds of gunfire, cannon blasts, and roaring engines sent tremors through the survivors within the base. It was then they realized¡ªreinforcements had arrived! The survivors cried tears of joy. The reinforcements had really come, and they had come early! Under the relentless advance of the steel tide, the zombies outside the western wall were completely cleared out! What Wang Tao had not managed to do before was swiftly accomplished by this army! Of course, the military had only cleared the zombies in the area beyond the inferno on the western wall. The tide of corpses had not disappeared! Even though it was already daylight and the zombie attacks were no longer as frenzied as before, there was still an endless stream of zombies approaching from the distance. However, these zombies were held off by the formidable firepower and were temporarily unable to breach the base¡¯s perimeter. Hum¡­ At this moment, one of the powered armors sprouted several blue flames from its back and feet, as if gliding swiftly across the ground, passing by the edge of the sea of fire, to arrive in front of Wang Tao and his group. Up close, it was evident that the powered armor was somewhat crude in appearance, not as refined as Wang Tao had imagined, but this fit the current circumstances all the more. Click¡ª Whoosh¡ª The visor of the powered armor opened, revealing a face with thick eyebrows and large eyes. ¡°Comrade, hello! I am Captain Duan Xuchang from the 4th Squad of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Legion of Changhe City Base. I¡¯m here to take you home!¡± Upon hearing Duan Xuchang¡¯s words, everyone was suddenly filled with an indescribable emotion. Unnoticed by many, the corners of their eyes began to moisten. Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°My name is Wang Tao! Thank you for coming from afar to rescue us! Two thousand survivors of Zijin Base are ready and waiting for evacuation!¡± Ever since it was confirmed that Changhe City Base would send a rescue, Lan Yulian had gotten everything ready for retreat. The supplies they could take with them were taken, and those that couldn¡¯t were sealed underground with signs left behind. If any latecomers arrived, they could use these supplies in an emergency. Although leaving behind many things felt like a pity, they had to sacrifice some for the sake of their lives. So now they were ready to evacuate lightly equipped, able to move as soon as they picked up their things. ¡°Good, let¡¯s leave now! The horde of zombies can never be completely wiped out, and we can¡¯t hold them off forever. While we still have the chance, let¡¯s retreat quickly!¡± Duan Xuchang nodded with satisfaction. What he feared the most was that the survivors would dawdle, delaying the evacuation. Right now, in the midst of the zombie horde, every minute they stayed spelled added danger, after all, their supply of ammunition was finite. While Duan Xuchang spoke, several modified military trucks had already approached. Seeing these trucks, Wang Tao was a bit puzzled. Did they really come all this way in trucks, planes, and tanks? Could these vehicles travel such a distance? And even if they could, the fuel consumption¡­ As if perceiving Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, Duan Xuchang explained: ¡°We came by train. We¡¯ll also evacuate everyone by train later!¡± Wang Tao suddenly realized. No wonder; he thought that if the tanks had to travel such long distances, aside from the question of whether they could make it, the fuel costs alone would be unbearable¡­ ¡°I¡¯ll go check on the evacuation of the people in the base!¡± Lan Yulian had just arranged for the survivors to evacuate via the radio, but she was a bit worried and decided to check in person. Duan Xuchang immediately gestured. Humming¡­ Two powered armors with a squad of mechanical exoskeleton soldiers came over. ¡°Let them assist you,¡± he said. He feared the survivors might have hesitations or concerns, and these soldiers would be able to alleviate them effectively. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lan Yulian led the group into the base. Duan Xuchang did not enter. He needed to stay outside and command the forces, to prevent the zombie horde from breaking through. Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and several others, out of curiosity and excitement, circled around Duan Xuchang. ¡°Captain Duan, this is¡­ powered armor?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked curiously. He wanted to touch it but was too embarrassed to do so. Duan Xuchang nodded. ¡°Correct. This is the D-100, a mass-produced product developed by the Hope Research Institute.¡± ¡°Wow! Mass-produced already!¡± The crowd exclaimed in shock. If it was a custom product, although they would be surprised, they wouldn¡¯t be this stunned. But mass production meant a whole different concept! ¡°I didn¡¯t have these things back when I was in service before the apocalypse! Have we old folks fallen out of step with the world¡­¡± Chapter 730 - Chapter 730: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Chapter 730: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 ¡°` Xiang Hong Bin muttered to himself. Duan Xuchang looked at the middle-aged man dressed in military uniform, whose body was extensively disabled, and he felt a certain solemn respect for him. ¡°Comrade, all of this was developed after the apocalypse. There was none of this before the apocalypse¡ªno, I can¡¯t say there was none, but rather there were related designs before the apocalypse, but there were many difficulties that couldn¡¯t be solved. So not to mention mass production, even custom-made ones couldn¡¯t be manufactured.¡± ¡°I see. Then what¡¯s the power source for this powered armor? Gasoline? But I didn¡¯t smell any oil¡­ Could it be electricity? But are there batteries with such a large capacity nowadays? Could it possibly be the legendary nuclear power battery? How¡¯s its endurance? Is it powerful in actual combat? Is it expensive? Once we get to the city base, can we also get a set?¡± Lu Gang immediately asked a barrage of questions. Wei Zhenguo and the others were still calm, with age on their side, they were relatively more composed. But young people like Lu Gang had almost zero resistance to such war machines. ¡°The energy source¡­ is something you¡¯ve all seen!¡± Duan Xuchang deliberately teased them. ¡°Crystal Core?¡± The always silent Wang Tao suddenly spoke up. Duan Xuchang looked at Wang Tao with a bit of surprise. ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the Crystal Core! Hope Research Institute has developed other applications for Crystal Cores, which include providing energy for powered armor.¡± Wang Tao nodded silently. The Hope Research Institute had already researched many things before, like the Crystal Core Synthesizer, Energy Detector, and the like. Now they were focusing on researching the Crystal Core, so it was reasonable if they really could develop other uses for it. ¡°Impressive!¡± Xiang Hong Bin gave a thumbs up. ¡°They really are impressive!¡± Duan Xuchang nodded, then turned to Xiang Hong Bin and the others. ¡°But you are impressive too! To be honest, when we saw the scale of the zombie horde, we were already prepared to return without achieving anything. But unexpectedly, over twenty thousand of you survivors actually held out!¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s words were not mere politeness, they were sincere admiration. Only those who had experienced the terror of the horde could understand how difficult it was for Zijin Base to survive. Wei Zhenguo and the others turned to look at Wang Tao upon hearing this. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Wang Tao, our base would have fallen long ago!¡± Wang Tao immediately shook his head with a smile. ¡°These are all the results of our collective efforts; we couldn¡¯t have done it without anyone.¡± Duan Xuchang looked at Wang Tao with curiosity. ¡°Is Comrade Wang Tao an Awakener and a fourth-order ability user?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao did not conceal it and nodded directly. ¡°Impressive!¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression showed both admiration and respect. Anyone who could become a fourth-order ability user was a rare talent! Especially for someone like Wang Tao to become a fourth-order ability user in such an environment, his efforts must have been much greater than others! However, Wang Tao keenly sensed that, after confirming he was a fourth-order ability user, Duan Xuchang did not show any shock. That probably meant one thing¡ªhe had seen other fourth-order ability users! Wang Tao was not surprised. The saying goes, a glimpse into a leopard from a tube¡ªafter seeing the strength of this military force, he knew Changhe City Base must be very powerful! Without a doubt, they could kill four-level zombies. So it was normal for a fourth-order ability user to emerge. Not to mention that Duan Xuchang himself was also a top third-order ability user. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 18500/28000] [Grade: Level 3] [Internal Impurity: 30%] What Wang Tao was more curious about now was just how powerful this powered armor was. Whether ability users combined with powered armor could achieve an effect of 1+1>2¡­ However, considering it was someone else¡¯s privacy, Wang Tao did not inquire further. ¡­ Lan Yu Lian was quite efficient, or rather, the survivors at the base were well-prepared. As soon as she explained the situation, the survivors immediately began to line up in an orderly fashion for departure. Pregnant women and children were at the front, those physically weaker in the middle, with those who were stronger trailing behind. Duan Xuchang and his men had ten trucks, but clearly, these trucks couldn¡¯t carry over twenty thousand people. Apart from women, children, and supplies that were placed on the vehicles, the other survivors walked on foot. Those who were still alive by now couldn¡¯t be physically weak; protected by the troops, following the convoy, would not be a problem at all. Looking at the excited faces of these twenty thousand people, Duan Xuchang including the other soldiers were also feeling a bit excited. The survivors were excited because reinforcements had come to rescue them, and they had a new home. The excitement of Duan Xuchang and the rest came from the fact that they had completed half their mission¡ªsaving a life was a very fulfilling thing, let alone saving over twenty thousand lives! The Zijin Base survivors were of high quality, following the queue orderly and undergoing the military¡¯s inspection. It was a thousand-mile journey back and forth; the military could not afford any accidents. If there were any infected individuals, it would be very troublesome. So a quick check was necessary. Of course, even if there were infected individuals, they wouldn¡¯t abandon them; at most, they would inject them with inhibitors. Soon, the survivors¡¯ check was complete, and they were ready to set off. ¡°Attention everyone, advance slowly!¡± Duan Xuchang closed his face shield and issued the order to retreat to the convoy. Rumble rumble¡ª Main battle tanks led the way at the front, wheeled infantry fighting vehicles and soldiers formed the outermost protection, two Wu Zhi helicopters had already left to scout ahead, and another two followed above the convoy. As for the powered armors, they acted as emergency fire fighters, moving to wherever danger emerged. Everyone took one last look at Zijin Base. Lan Yu Lian and a few others were somewhat reluctant to leave, as it had been their home for quite a long time. But there was no choice, these more than twenty thousand people could not withstand the horde of zombies. They could only go to a safer place. ¡°` Chapter 731 - Chapter 731: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 Chapter 731: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 Outside, there were still a large number of zombies, and the survivors were somewhat afraid, but the presence of the military gave everyone a strong sense of security, so no chaos ensued. The survivors, with nervous and excited hearts, slowly made their way towards the train under the protection of the military. Now that it was fully light, there was no worry about not being able to see the path. At that moment, a cry of alarm suddenly came through Duan Xuchang¡¯s earpiece. ¡°Captain! A Giant Zombie has been spotted¡ª¡± ¡°Where is it!¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s face turned solemn. On their way here, they had specifically scouted for any Giant Zombies and found none. Had it come from somewhere else? If there were a Giant Zombie, it could be problematic to bring these twenty thousand people back unharmed! ¡°Er¡­ it¡¯s not a live one, Captain; it¡¯s the corpse of a Giant Zombie!¡± ¡°¡­¡± After confirming the location, Duan Xuchang hurried over to take a look. ¡°It really is the corpse of a Giant Zombie that¡¯s been scorched! However, this Giant Zombie¡¯s size is much smaller¡­¡± But even smaller, it was still a Giant Zombie, whose physical abilities are unmatched by any other zombies discovered so far! To kill such a zombie, even for a fully armed military force like theirs would be troublesome. And if they were still on a protection mission, like now, there could have been casualties. Thankfully, the Giant Zombie was already dead. After ensuring there was no danger nearby, Duan Xuchang returned to the squad. ¡°Comrade Wang Tao, you¡­ killed a Giant Zombie?¡± ¡°Yeah, we killed it before you arrived. But it was a smaller Giant Zombie, its strength should be much weaker than the larger ones.¡± Wang Tao explained. During his battle with the Giant Zombie, he had covered a large area. Moreover, Wang Tao had intentionally lured the Giant Zombie deep into the mass of bodies, so Duan Xuchang and his team did not notice it right away when they arrived. ¡°Impressive!¡± Duan Xuchang exclaimed in admiration. Regardless, it was a bona fide Giant Zombie. Killing one was no small feat. Moreover, judging by the appearance of Wang Tao and his company, it seemed they hadn¡¯t paid too high a price. These survivors¡­ were truly strong! What Duan Xuchang didn¡¯t know was that this Giant Zombie had actually been killed by Wang Tao alone. Furthermore, before killing the Giant Zombie, Wang Tao had also killed five Level 4, Zombie Lords! ¡­ Boom! Ratatatat¡ª Amidst the roar of gunfire and the blasts, the squad advanced slowly yet resolutely. Leading so many survivors indeed slowed down the squad¡¯s pace. However, the military¡¯s firepower was fierce, and their defense was strong. These zombies, still made of flesh and blood, could not stop everyone¡¯s advance. ¡°This sense of safety¡­ is something we couldn¡¯t even dare to dream of before!¡± Among the group, Wang Tao and his companions couldn¡¯t help but remark. ¡°Indeed.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He had always been the one protecting others before, but now he was getting a taste of being protected, and he couldn¡¯t deny that it was quite enjoyable. Of course, he didn¡¯t let down his guard, constantly observing the surroundings. Until they reached Changhe City Base, anything could happen, so he couldn¡¯t be too happy too soon. Suddenly, Wang Tao turned his head to look into the distance. And saw countless frenzied figures rushing towards the squad! ¡°A large number of Mad Demon Zombies are attacking!¡± ¡°Soldiers are yelling a reminder,¡± obviously meant for Wang Tao and his group, given their use of wireless communication. The team temporarily halted their advance, assuming defensive positions on the spot. If it were just their own soldiers, they would definitely have steamrolled their way through. But now, they¡¯re still protecting over twenty thousand people. The formation isn¡¯t as tight as it was before, with gaps present. The safety of these survivors had to be taken into account. Boom! Boom! Boom! The tanks pivoted their barrels and blasted towards the Mad Demon Zombies. For a moment, the earth shook and the mountains trembled. The power of the tank¡¯s main gun was undeniable; no intact bodies were left within the explosion radius. However, there were simply too many zombies now! The group of Mad Demon Zombies were intermingled with Ordinary Zombies, and though the tank fire killed many, some Mad Demon Zombies still rushed over. Whirring¡ª Then the gunfire ceased, and several Powered Armors walked over. Faint blue light emitted from their backs and legs, and then they surged towards the group of crazed zombies, as if they had hit the acceleration button. The Powered Armors carried numerous weapons, including Gatling guns, as well as other firearms and melee weapons. Upon diving into the zombie horde, they pulled out large cleavers, spears, dual blades¡­ each one had different weapon styles, but all were sparking with electricity. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback, not expecting the Powered Armor¡¯s weapons to be electrified. Thanks to their high Defence, the Powered Armors didn¡¯t need to take any defensive actions after entering the zombie mass, as no zombie could breach their defense; they just needed to attack. For a time, arcs of electricity flashed. This was a one-sided slaughter. A short while later, all the Mad Demons were disposed of, and the Powered Armors returned unscathed. ¡°Continue advancing!¡± Duan Xuchang waved his hand, and the team resumed their organized advance. ¡°Those Powered Armors are so powerful! I really want one!¡± Watching the Powered Armors, Xiang Hongbin almost drooled. The Powered Armors could attack from a distance or engage in close combat, had high Defense, and they didn¡¯t even need to lift their legs to walk! Plus, from what he observed, they might also have various functions, like Fire Resistance, Poison Resistance, and Noise Reduction! Getting inside one of those Powered Armors would be far better than the hard life they led as ordinary Ability Users! ¡°Definitely strong!¡± Wang Tao nodded, then said in a low voice, ¡°When we reach Changhe City Base safely, I¡¯ll see if I can snag a couple!¡± Wang Tao was not immune to the lure of such big toys. Duan Xuchang mentioned these were mass-produced Powered Armors. Without a significant production volume, they wouldn¡¯t count as mass-produced. If there was a substantial number, there surely would be a way to get some. Ultimately, it was just a matter of what price one was willing to pay. ¡°Haha, alright! We¡¯ll wait for your good news then!¡± The few chatted quietly among themselves. After that, the journey went smoothly for a while, and as the sound of cannon fire died down, they beheld the ¡°Black Dragon¡± lying on the railroad tracks in the distance. ¡°Whoa! Is that the train they mentioned? It¡¯s huge!¡± Chapter 732 - Chapter 732: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Chapter 732: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 ¡°` This was a gigantic black train clad in steel armor, equipped with sharp tools, and even had cannons on the top. It was clearly visible that the body of the train was adorned with fragments of zombie remains. Its front was fitted with a huge steel plow, which seemed like it could easily push aside any obstacle in its path. ¡°This is the train they rode on! No wonder they could make it here!¡± Upon seeing the train, Wang Tao and the others were all extremely astonished. If this thing charged into a horde of zombies, it could probably instantly crush countless numbers of them! Beside the train was a fully armed team, some of whom were outfitted with Powered Armor. They had cleared all the zombies around the train and used barriers to block the advancing horde, temporarily preventing zombies from getting through. As the group arrived, the massive steel doors of the carriages immediately opened. Duan Xuchang approached Wang Tao and the others to explain: ¡°This is our obstacle-clearing train, as its name implies, it can clear obstacles from the tracks as it moves. However, not all obstacles can be cleared. We sent a Wu Zhi ahead to scout our route before we came. That is why our speed was slower; we spent most of the time planning our route and clearing obstacles. Our return will be much easier because we¡¯ll follow the path we¡¯ve already taken. Of course, airplanes will continue to scout ahead to ensure our safe return!¡± ¡°I see, that¡¯s really impressive!¡± Wang Tao praised sincerely. His anticipation for Changhe City Base grew even more. ¡°Board the train!¡± Duan Xuchang called out, and the soldiers began leading the survivors aboard. The obstacle-clearing train was much larger and longer than an Ordinary train. With the inclusion of two locomotives, this train totalled thirty carriages. Tanks, armored fighting vehicles, military trucks, and all kinds of Weapons and ammunition only occupied five carriages. The remaining twenty-three carriages were all designed for carrying people! The passenger carriages had three levels, each capable of fitting in over three hundred people, allowing for a full load of one thousand people per carriage! This capacity was terrifying, given that an Ordinary train has a seating capacity of about a hundred people, with standing tickets reaching at most two or three hundred people. The comparison was incomparable to these carriages that can seat a thousand. Thus, even with twenty thousand survivors, this obstacle-clearing train could pull them all. Of course, with so many survivors packed together, the riding experience would certainly not be comfortable. Yet nobody complained about this, as just being alive was fortunate enough, and they were very content. The passenger carriages had three doors each, two small ones at the front and back, and a particularly large one in the middle. This door was for the convenience of survivors in special situations. Even so, boarding the train with over twenty thousand people still took a considerable amount of time. The zombies outside had already launched several assaults, but fortunately, they were all repelled by the military¡¯s heavy firepower. Only after all the survivors were aboard did the tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and other vehicles drive into the train. He Jijun¡¯s helicopter also landed on the train, as there was a designated place for it. The top of the train was also equipped with many grenade launchers, which provided cover while the tanks entered the train, blocking a large number of zombies. After the personnel and vehicles had successfully boarded, the remaining soldiers and Powered Armor began to board the train. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, please follow me to carriage number two,¡± Duan Xuchang invited. ¡°Can it come too?¡± Wang Tao asked, referring to Lightning who had been following him around. ¡°Of course,¡± Duan Xuchang nodded. In fact, he was quite intrigued by Lightning, the military dog that resembled a calf, and was planning to ask Wang Tao later about the training methods. Duan Xuchang led Wang Tao and the others into the first carriage behind the locomotive, carriage number two. Rumble rumble¡ª The train started moving, then gradually picked up speed. As the firepower weakened, the zombie tide finally broke through the temporary barriers and reached the sides of the train. But the train was tightly covered in steel plates all around, and the few pieces of glass were all bulletproof, leaving the zombies without any means of intrusion. Moreover, there were many sharp blades on the body of the train, so when the train picked up some speed, countless zombies were seen being dismembered and beheaded! Inside carriage number two. Watching the desolate, dilapidated scenery slowly recede, and one zombie after another being shredded by the cutters on the outside of the train, the mood of Wang Tao and his companions was somewhat complex. ¡°Comrades, do you need food? The specialty cuisine from Changhe Base.¡± Duan Xuchang, who had removed his Powered Armor, asked with a smile. After returning to the train, Duan Xuchang was noticeably more relaxed. As soon as Wang Tao nodded, Lan Yulian immediately raised her hand. ¡°Needed!¡± ¡°Alright, please wait a moment.¡± Carriage number two was where most of the soldiers from the military team were located, along with similar setups in carriages three, twenty-eight, and twenty-nine¡ªthat is, the two carriages closest to each locomotive. Of course, there were also soldiers stationed in the other carriages, reporting their respective carriage¡¯s status at regular intervals to prevent any problems. Carriage number two was naturally not as crowded as the other carriages housing the survivors, as it had restrooms and a hall, which was furnished with an array of weapons, food, and a few sets of Powered Armor. The specialty cuisine Duan Xuchang was referring to was a blackish chunky food, somewhat reminiscent of guilinggao. ¡°What is this? Jelly?¡± Ding Yuqin asked with some curiosity, looking at the food inside the stainless steel lunchbox. ¡°It¡¯s a protein block, it actually tastes not bad. Though I think you may not really want to know how it¡¯s made.¡± ¡°` Chapter 733 - Chapter 733: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 733: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Duan Xuchang directly stuffed a piece into his mouth. After such a long battle, he too needed to replenish his physical strength. The other soldiers beside him stuffed the food into their mouths while looking at everyone with a smile, seeming rather malicious. ¡°Protein?¡± Lan Yulian frowned slightly, unsure as she said, ¡°This¡­ wouldn¡¯t happen to be made from insects, would it?¡± As a doctor by profession, she had some knowledge about dietary matters. There were many foods high in protein, but in a post-apocalyptic environment, most of them would definitely be hard to come by. Insects had plenty of proteins in their bodies and, comparatively speaking, were also more common. Upon hearing this, Duan Xuchang looked at Lan Yulian with some surprise, then nodded and said: ¡°Madam Lan, you guessed right, this is Cockroach Paste made from the mutated giant cockroaches and other insects.¡± Thump! Ding Yuqin involuntarily took a step back. It wasn¡¯t just her, the faces of the other women also turned pale. Especially Li Qiuyu, who was visibly turning white. She was originally a bit hungry, but now, after hearing this, her stomach churned, and she almost vomited. Wang Tao was about to dig into his meal box when he heard their conversation. He quietly put the meal box down, suddenly feeling not hungry at all. It wasn¡¯t that they were being finicky, cockroaches were just too disgusting! ¡°Haha!¡± Seeing this, Duan Xuchang and the soldiers burst out laughing. They had no ill intentions; the reaction of Wang Tao and others just reminded them of their own initial disgust. But now¡­ they had long gotten used to it! But then, Yang Changhong seemingly pulled out some jerky from nowhere and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°Here you go!¡± Lan Yulian also produced some dried fruits, Han Rui brought out some dried small fish, and Lu Yingfeng handed over some meat pies¡­ All of which they gave to Wang Tao. Duan Xuchang and the group of soldiers couldn¡¯t laugh anymore. A few of the more familiar soldiers quietly gave Wang Tao the middle finger. They didn¡¯t even have girlfriends, yet Wang Tao was surrounded by beauties¡­ They really couldn¡¯t stand it! And this was the post-apocalypse, they were supposed to be the survivors in need of rescue, yet their meals seemed better than their own¡­ Who exactly needed saving here! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t thought there was anything special about it, but seeing Duan Xuchang and the others suddenly looking deflated, he now burst into laughter. ¡°Okay, I admit, this Cockroach Paste is indeed a bit challenging for me. How about everyone tries the special products from Zijin Base?¡± As Wang Tao spoke, he took out all the food items. Seeing the table full of food, the soldiers subconsciously swallowed hard. These things weren¡¯t cheap even in the base¡¯s market! But quickly, their attention shifted from the food to Yang Changhong and the other women, or more precisely, to the object that looked like a water pouch at their waists. ¡°Where did you get these foods from?¡± Duan Xuchang asked with a furrowed brow, somewhat astonished. ¡°You mean this?¡± Wang Tao took the Magical Stomach Pouch that Yang Changhong handed to him. In front of everyone, he took out a¡­ roast suckling pig! Zijin Base had raised many mutated pigs previously, each one quite large, obviously impossible to take with them. So they were slaughtered. Most of the pigs were turned into nutritional liquids, with some preserved as jerky and other easily stored foods. A few of the smaller pigs were roasted directly and placed into the Magical Stomach Pouch. Inside the Magical Stomach Pouch, it was like a refrigerator, keeping food fresh for a long time, though it did get a bit cold. Of course, the problem now wasn¡¯t whether the food was cold or not, but the fact that such a large roast suckling pig was taken out of such a small bag! Could this be a kind of Ability? Seeing that they seemed unfamiliar with the Magical Stomach Pouch, Wang Tao explained a bit. ¡°This is called the Magical Stomach Pouch. It¡¯s an organ from the body of a zombie with the ¡®Spittle Nail¡¯ Ability¡­¡± ¡°Ah? There¡¯s such great stuff in a zombie¡¯s body!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Duan Xuchang and the others were somewhat shocked. ¡°Have you all encountered Spittle Nail zombies before?¡± Wang Tao asked, curious. Some zombies had a certain regional characteristic, so perhaps they didn¡¯t have Spittle Nail zombies in their area? ¡°We have¡­ we even killed one on our way here¡­ but nobody mentioned it had such good stuff in its body¡­¡± Duan Xuchang was not one to dwell on regrets, but at that moment, he was certainly annoyed. The Magical Stomach Pouch was somewhat of a artifact in a way, and they had missed out on it¡­ Hearing them, Wang Tao roughly understood. If they had killed zombies, they might only collect some of the more obvious drops from the zombie bodies, like the Crystal Cores, Weapons, or Awakening Energy Pearls. As for something like the Magical Stomach Pouch, which was inside a zombie¡¯s body, unless they had some special hobby of dissecting zombies, it was unlikely they would discover it¡ªeven if there were professionals dissecting zombies to research, they might not dissect a Spittle Nail zombie¡­ Even though they may have encountered Spittle Nail zombies, they wouldn¡¯t know about it. Wang Tao had discovered it because he could see the names and explanations of items. Without that ability, it was highly probable that he himself wouldn¡¯t have found it. ¡°Hey! It¡¯s no big deal, I have some spares, I¡¯ll give a few to you guys.¡± Chapter 734 - Chapter 734: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 734: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Wang Tao immediately took out a few more Magical Stomach Pouches. Since these people had risked their lives to come and rescue them from far away, it seemed quite appropriate to offer them a small gift. ¡°Then I¡¯ll gladly accept!¡± Seeing these Magical Stomach Pouches, Duan Xuchang¡¯s eyes lit up. He didn¡¯t bother with formalities and took them straight away. In the post-apocalyptic environment, for these soldiers, there wasn¡¯t any particular etiquette about accepting gifts. After all, it was the end of the world, and survival was of the utmost importance! If something given to you could increase your chances of surviving, then you absolutely had to accept it! Otherwise, if the superior officers knew he had refused, he would most probably get a scolding! Wang Tao showed Duan Xuchang and the others how to use the Magical Stomach Pouches, and once they¡¯d learned, they immediately began to put Cockroach Paste in and take it out, doing it over and over, clearly having a great time. Watching these guys, Wang Tao thought to himself that perhaps the technological level of Changhe Base was very advanced, but when it came to knowledge about zombies, those people might not be as informed as he was¡­ ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to try? I think it tastes alright, no weird flavors or anything.¡± Wei Zhenguo held up some Cockroach Paste and raised an eyebrow at Wang Tao. For these soldiers, they really didn¡¯t have as many concerns and could just stuff the Cockroach Paste into their mouths as if nothing was the matter. And in all fairness, this was way more palatable than the insects and such they had to eat while on missions in the wilderness before. ¡°No way!¡± Wang Tao shook his head decisively. If the cockroaches were processed into a nutritional liquid, he might not feel too comfortable about it, but he wouldn¡¯t have much concern about the liquid itself since anything produced by a Food Compressor should be very safe. But who knew how Duan Xuchang¡¯s Cockroach Paste was made, and what if there were still cockroach eggs remaining in it¡­ No, the more he thought about it, the more disgusted he felt. Wang Tao hurriedly shook his head to dispel the thought. ¡°Young man, you don¡¯t know what¡¯s good!¡± Wei Zhenguo shrugged his shoulders and then he, along with Xiang Hongbin and Lu Gang, began munching on the Cockroach Paste relishing every bite. At this moment, a soldier came over with a few people. ¡°Old He!¡± Wang Tao waved at He Jijun. He Jijun had been piloting the helicopter and after securing it in the middle of the train, made his way towards where Wang Tao was. However, the train was quite long, and there were a lot of survivors in the middle carriages, so he was a little delayed. Duan Xuchang immediately put down the Magical Stomach Pouch and went over to introduce himself to He Jijun. He had already learned about the general identities of Wang Tao and his group from Wang Tao himself. Naturally, he knew about He Jijun, the seasoned Soldier King. After officially meeting He Jijun, Duan Xuchang suddenly felt like he might not be able to beat him! As an Ability User, these feelings were usually quite accurate, which meant¡­ he really might not be able to win? What a bunch of people! Duan Xuchang felt somewhat amazed inside. He could clearly sense that most of the people around Wang Tao were very strong. As for Wang Tao himself, there was no need to mention it ¨C a Fourth-order Superpower, he certainly would be thrashed without external assistance! Even if he were to operate Powered Armor, whether he could win was still questionable¡­ Perhaps because they were all soldiers and had common topics to discuss, Duan Xuchang, Wei Zhenguo, He Jijun and the rest quickly struck up a conversation. Wang Tao didn¡¯t interrupt and continued to eat while listening to Duan Xuchang talk about Changhe Base. In fact, Duan Xuchang didn¡¯t say much, only that Changhe Base might be the biggest Survivor Base in Qian Country, a home for all survivors. Changhe Base was great, but it wasn¡¯t a paradise untouched by the outside world¡­ The details were complicated, and saying too much would ruin the surprise, so Duan Xuchang suggested that they would find out when they got there. Especially Wang Tao himself, as a Fourth-order Ability User, he would be well-regarded even in Changhe Base, and the treatment would certainly not disappoint him¡­ Everyone was even more excited by his comments. After a quick meal, Duan Xuchang left. He was the captain of this rescue operation, with two deputy captains. They formed the highest leadership of this team and had to ensure that at least one person was monitoring the entire train at all times. He was off to inspect the inside of the train to relieve someone from their shift. Wang Tao wanted to study their Powered Armor, and now that they were familiar with each other, with He Jijun and the others having a mutual military connection, Duan Xuchang probably would not refuse. Indeed, Duan Xuchang did not refuse, but the issue was that the Powered Armor was DNA-bound! Only they could use it, others could not; this was an anti-theft measure developed by the Hope Research Institute. In that case, there was nothing to be done, and Wang Tao and his team could only look on enviously. After Duan Xuchang left, Lan Yulian also took some people to check on the survivors in the carriages, especially the babies, to see if there were any issues or if they needed help. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go, instead he looked out the window. The windows of the train were not large, but he could still observe the outside situation. The train wasn¡¯t traveling very fast, but it was very stable, and the obstacles and zombies outside were crushed directly by the train. The bulletproof glass of the windows was coated with a layer of black blood. After ensuring there was no danger, Wang Tao found a rest room and prepared to take a rest. From resisting the tide of zombies until now, he had not had a moment¡¯s rest, and even though he was a Fourth-order Ability User, after fighting so many intense battles, he was starting to feel quite worn out. Chapter 735 - Chapter 735: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 Chapter 735: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 ¡°` Before resting, Wang Tao wanted to check the loot from the fourth-level zombies he had killed, including the Giant Zombie. There had been too many battles before, and he hadn¡¯t had time to examine them closely. First, he glanced at his attributes. The advanced Special Energy, which initially numbered over forty, was now down to only 20. A large amount of the advanced Special Energy had been exchanged for Awakening Energy and had been used up in the previous battles, which added to the woes of his already strained resources. Wang Tao had hoped to save more Special Energy to increase the success rate of his next Awakening, but it seemed to be a distant dream. After all, it would take 10 advanced Special Energies to increase the success rate of Awakening by just 1%¡­ As for the Awakening Keys, after killing several fourth-tier Lord zombies, Wang Tao now had a total of 11 Awakening Keys. He could undergo the second, third, or even fourth Awakening. However, the success rate of subsequent Awakenings would be lower at 50% for the first, 40% for the second, and so on, bottoming out at 10%¡­ If there was a 50% success rate, Wang Tao felt it was worth taking a chance. But with anything below 50%, he didn¡¯t think it was worth the gamble. He would need to use the advanced Special Energy to increase the success rate instead. However, accumulating advanced Special Energy was now very difficult, as he needed to kill fourth-tier Lord-class creatures¡­ He could only say to take it slowly. Next were the items and Loot Packs dropped by the fourth-tier Lord zombies. That fourth-tier Night Demon Lord that created a breach in the high wall dropped[Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength], [Fourth-Order Weapon ¨C Night Demon Type I], and 5 Loot Packs. It seems that this [Night Demon Type I] is a guaranteed drop from fourth-tier Lord Night Demons, since it was their heart! Wang Tao would have to look for opportunities to kill more fourth-tier Lord Night Demons in the future. After all, [Night Demon Type I] was quite useful at night. The previous two [Night Demon Type I] had fallen into the hands of the Deformed Zombies which released poisonous gas¡­ They had too little HP, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had the chance to nurture them. Now that he had another one, he could consider raising it if the opportunity arose. Then came the 5 Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 5 Crystal Cores. They were a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost], and a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost]. Having both an Awakening and an Ascension crystal core was great. The second Loot Pack contained Potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] There was only one type of Strength Potion, but with 20 bottles, it was still quite good. The third Loot Pack contained Ultraviolet Equipment. [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x100] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x20] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x5] This was exactly the same as what had dropped from the previous fourth-tier Lord Night Demon. The fourth Loot Pack contained an Awakening Key. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised, as these physical Awakening Keys were even harder to obtain than Awakening Energy Pearls. With this one, he now had two. The biggest difference between a physical awakening key and the one merged into his body was that it could be used by others. So Wang Tao had always kept it without merging. If he really needed it, he could merge it later, and if not, he could give it to others in need. People like Ding Yuqin were also reaching the threshold for Awakening, so perhaps he could let them try it later. The last Loot Pack contained two Blueprints. [Obtained: Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Ring Blueprint x1] [Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint: Can produce a set of Night Demon Leg Armor. Required materials: Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone*10kg, Level 4 Crystal Core*1, Iron Block*20, Steel Wire*20, Nails*20, Screw*20, Rubber*20] [Night Demon Leg Armor: Attributes unknown] [Night Demon Ring Blueprint: Can produce a Night Demon Ring. Required materials: Night Demon Bone*1kg, Level 4 Crystal Core*1] [Night Demon Ring: Attributes unknown] ¡°A Ring?¡± Seeing the blueprint for the leg armor didn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao; what surprised him was the existence of a ring blueprint, a type of equipment he had never encountered before. After killing Night Demons, Wang Tao had made a point of collecting their bones, which he stored in the [Magical Stomach Pouch]. The Magical Stomach Pouch could only contain food, and other items wouldn¡¯t fit. But the bones and flesh of zombies could be put inside, so did that classify them as food? Wang Tao felt somewhat speechless, but it was convenient for him nonetheless. Wang Tao first crafted the leg armor. [Night Demon Leg Armor] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Durability +75, defensive power +75] The attributes were exactly the same as the Night Demon Breastplate. He needed leg armor, and now with this, Wang Tao had the full set of fourth-tier Night Demon gear, including gloves, chest armor, leg armor, belt, and combat boots. Night Demon Equipment was relatively understated when compared to Black Iron Heavy Armor. Black Iron Heavy Armor was immediately noticeable when worn, but Night Demon Breastplate was different. This armor was more fitted and could be covered with another layer of clothing, like how Wang Tao wore a Combat Suit over the Night Demon Equipment. ¡°` Chapter 736 - Chapter 736: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Chapter 736: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Of course, when it comes to being unassuming, nothing beats the Black Stone Armor Set, which is almost like autumn clothes and is Wang Tao¡¯s personal clothing. Moreover, this is the most comfortable equipment that Wang Tao has ever experienced. Although the Night Demon Set is also quite lightweight, compared to ordinary clothes, it is not as comfortable. If Wang Tao were to wear the Black Iron Heavy Armor now, he would essentially be wearing three sets of equipment. From the inside out, these would be the Black Stone Armor Set, the Night Demon Set, and the Black Iron Heavy Armor. However, Wang Tao tested and found that the attributes of these three sets of equipment couldn¡¯t be fully combined. The attributes of the Black Stone Armor Set could be added to either the Night Demon Set or the Black Iron Heavy Armor. But they could not be added to both sets of equipment at the same time; it could only be the Black Stone Armor Set plus whichever was the outermost layer. For instance, if Wang Tao wore all three sets at the same time, the attributes would be those of the ¡°Black Stone Armor Set + Black Iron Heavy Armor.¡± The Night Demon Set¡¯s attributes would not apply, unless Wang Tao took off the Black Iron Heavy Armor or if it became damaged. The attributes of the Night Demon Set and the Black Iron Heavy Armor could not be added together either. If Wang Tao wore only those two without the Black Stone Armor Set, then only the attributes of the outermost Black Iron Heavy Armor would be effective. So, all things considered, the Black Stone Armor Set turned out to be the most impressive. But even though the attributes could not be combined, that didn¡¯t stop Wang Tao from putting on the Night Demon Set first followed by the Black Iron Heavy Armor. That way, if the Black Iron Heavy Armor was damaged, he would still have the Night Demon Set as a backup. It was like having an extra life-saving measure. Of course, under normal circumstances, he would not wear the Black Iron Heavy Armor, because the 50% reduction in speed was far too debilitating¡­ After donning the Night Demon Leg Armor, Wang Tao crafted this ring. It was a matte black ring with a simple design, seemingly unremarkable. [Night Demon Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Attack Speed +5%, Movement Speed +5%, Level 4 Night Demon Set (Unfused)] Looking at the attributes of the ring, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. The ring had no Durability attribute; it only added 5% speed, and there was a ¡°Level 4 Night Demon Set¡± attribute. This puzzled Wang Tao; hadn¡¯t the attributes of his Night Demon Set already been activated? It was a passive attribute that could enhance his physical abilities. So why was there another one? And what did ¡°Unfused¡± mean at the end? Wang Tao looked for a detailed explanation. [Level 4 Night Demon Set (Unfused): Allows Level 4 Night Demon equipment to be fused into the ring. After fusion, one can wield or remove the gear at will.] ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was quite surprised by this explanation. Fuse the Night Demon Set into the ring? And then put it on or take it off just by thinking about it? When Wang Tao retrieved equipment from his Space Backpack, except for weapons which could be taken out and used right away since they were in his hands, he had to wear other protective gear before their effects would come into play, which took some time. According to this ring¡¯s description, if Wang Tao fused the Night Demon Set into it, he could just think it, and the equipment would automatically be worn or removed? He definitely had to try this! When Wang Tao prepared to fuse, a prompt appeared. [Fusable Equipment: Level 4 Night Demon Gloves, Level 4 Night Demon Breastplate, Level 4 Night Demon Leg Armor, Level 4 Night Demon Belt, Level 4 Night Demon Boots] All five pieces of his Level 4 Night Demon Equipment were available for fusion. Without hesitation, Wang Tao started the process. Then he saw each piece of Night Demon Equipment turn into a rainbow of light and fuse into the ring. A moment later, the ring¡¯s appearance changed slightly, featuring a faint Night Demon icon. The attributes of the ring naturally underwent a significant change. [Night Demon (Set)] [Level Four (Epic)] [Attack Speed +5%, Movement Speed +5%, Level 4 Night Demon Set] [Level 4 Night Demon Set: Durability +400, Defensive Power +80, Attack Speed +10% (Includes: Gloves, Chest Armor, Belt, Leg Armor, Combat Boots)] Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in admiration. Previously, each part of the Night Demon Set had a Defense and Durability ranging from +70 to +75, but now the total Durability had increased beyond their previous sum. The Defense was also 5 points higher. The Defensive Power attributes of the different parts of the equipment hadn¡¯t been cumulative but rather represented the Defense of that particular part. And now, it was as if every part boasted a Defense of +80! The Attack Speed was the attribute from the Night Demon Gloves. With this fusion, without going into other details, just the improvements in Durability and Defense made it quite comfortable. Then, Wang Tao tested the ¡®wield at will¡¯ function of the ring. After putting the ring on his finger, with just a thought, the entire Night Demon Set instantly clothed him! Another thought, and the whole set disappeared. ¡°Not bad, not bad!¡± This feature was indeed splendid since the sensation of wearing the Night Demon Equipment was quite different from ordinary clothing. He would wear it only in combat, as it certainly wouldn¡¯t be very comfortable for daily wear. Now, being able to change gear with a single thought might not greatly enhance his combat power, but comfort was definitely maxed out. Moreover, after seeing the functionality of this ring, Wang Tao thought there must be other rings out there. If there were a ring that could fuse the Black Iron Heavy Armor, that would be great, given that wearing the Heavy Armor was so inconvenient, yet such high-defense gear could be very useful at times¡­ Chapter 737 - Chapter 737: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 Chapter 737: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 After a few more trials, Wang Tao touched his ring contentedly and then turned his attention to the loot from other zombies. The loot from the Stone Armor Zombie included a [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], an [Awakening Energy Pearl x1], and four loot packs. Although it only dropped two items, the presence of the Awakening Energy Pearl was still quite good. Then came the loot packs, the first of which contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag featuring a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength], and purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense] and [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C HP Increase]. There were no Awakening Crystal Cores this time, which left Wang Tao slightly disappointed, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal, since he had an Awakening Energy Pearl anyway. The second loot pack contained potions. [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Received: Defense Potion (Medium) x20] Forty bottles of potions were also quite nice. The third loot pack surprisingly contained another Awakening Key. [Received: Awakening Key x1] With this key, Wang Tao now had three physical Awakening Keys! He was already considering whom to try awakening first¡­ The last loot pack contained a set of clothes. [Received: Security Guard Uniform x1] [Security Guard Uniform: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10] So that Stone Armor Zombie, looking like an old man, was actually a security guard in his past life? Wang Tao was slightly surprised. He had owned a Security Guard Uniform before, but that one only had attributes of +1; this one was +10, which was clearly much better. Overall, the loot from the Stone Armor Zombie was rather average. Of course, ¡°average¡± is only in comparison to that Level 4 Night Demon Lord, and it was actually quite good¡­ Wang Tao continued to check over the items, and next up was the Deformed Zombie that could emit poison. It had dropped four items and five loot packs. The four items were a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense], an [Awakening Energy Pearl x1], [Corrosive Poison Tooth x2], and [Strange Poison Sac x1]. [Corrosive Poison Tooth: Crafting material, can add Poison Attribute to equipment] This material was quite good with its additional attribute. And there was another Awakening Energy Pearl, Wang Tao was really lucky. However, what interested him most was the Strange Poison Sac. [Strange Poison Sac: After consumption, there¡¯s a one-third chance of poisoning, a one-third chance nothing happens, and a one-third chance of gaining a Hidden Ability] ¡°This thing is quite interesting¡­¡± The Strange Poison Sac was yet another item that could grant a Hidden Ability, but the odds were only one in three. Clearly, this was quite low. One-third chance of nothing happening wasn¡¯t bad, but the chance of poisoning was troubling. It didn¡¯t specify what kind of poison or how strong it was¡­ If it¡¯s like the poison gas from the Deformed Zombie, then the risk was too great; it could be fatal. So this item needed to be used with caution, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t keen on letting his people use it, considering the risk. When he got back to Changhe Base, he would see if he could trade it with others. After all, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t scam anyone; he would make the effect of this item clear, and it was up to others if they wanted to trade¡­ no pressure. Wang Tao looked at the five Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained six Crystal Cores: a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete], a white [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Rejuvenation], and a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Stealth]. With Ascension, Omnipotent, and Awakening, it was quite nice. However, the fact that it had a Stealth Ability¡­ with its body emanating green poison gas wherever it went, it was easily detectable from afar, making Stealth pretty useless. The second Loot Pack contained a pile of Potions and Blueprints! [Acquired: Stealth Potion (Small) x20] [Acquired: Stealth Potion (Medium) x20] [Acquired: Weakness Potion (small) x20] [Acquired: Weakness Potion (Medium) x20] [Acquired: Blueprint for Stealth Potion (Small) x1] [Acquired: Blueprint for Stealth Potion (Medium) x1] [Acquired: Blueprint for Weakness Potion (small) x1] [Acquired: Blueprint for Weakness Potion (Medium) x1] Totaling 80 bottles of potions! And also came with crafting blueprints! Wang Tao still had quite a few Stealth Potions, but not many Weakness Potions left, as they were used up in previous battles. Moreover, Wang Tao had only seen and possessed the small Weakness Potion before and hadn¡¯t encountered the medium-sized ones. [Weakness Potion (small): Creatures contaminated with the Weakness Potion will have their overall attributes reduced by 1%-20% (depending on the dosage), lasting for 10 minutes, with a cooldown of 12 minutes for the target.] [Weakness Potion (Medium): Creatures contaminated with the Weakness Potion will have their overall attributes reduced by 1%-40% (depending on the dosage), lasting for 10 minutes, with a cooldown of 12 minutes for the target.] The small Weakness Potion could weaken up to 20%, while the medium one went up to 40%! If he had had these potions during his fight with the Level 4 Zombie Lord, he feared the battle might have been much simpler. As for the four Blueprints, naturally, he would be able to craft them permanently once learned. However, aside from Crystal Cores, core materials were also needed to create these four types of potions. [Blueprint for Stealth Potion (Medium): Once learned, you can craft five Stealth Potions (Medium) at a time. Required materials: Stealth Mushroom x1, Level 2 Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal of food] [Blueprint for Weakness Potion (Medium): Once learned, you can craft five Weakness Potions (Medium) at a time. Required materials: Weakness Mushroom x1, Level 2 Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal of food] Currently, Wang Tao only had Strength Mushrooms and Defense Mushrooms, he had never seen the other kinds of mushrooms, so he could only learn the recipes for now and check if they were available at Changhe Base later on. After all, Changhe Base was populous and powerful, they might have what Wang Tao needed. He turned his attention to the third Loot Pack. [Acquired: Corrosive Poison Gas Bomb x10] [Corrosive Poison Gas Bomb: Releases a large area of corrosive poison gas, and creatures that stay in the gas will continue to lose HP, with the rate of HP loss increasing over time.] This Corrosive Poison Gas Bomb seemed to have the effect of an Awakened Deformed Zombie? He guessed it was probably about as strong as the Explosion Grenades. Wang Tao had used quite a few Explosion Grenades before, and now he only had two left. These Corrosive Poison Gas Bombs could be an excellent addition to his arsenal! Chapter 738 - Chapter 738: Chapter 293 Fireball Special Ability_1 Chapter 738: Chapter 293 Fireball Special Ability_1 ¡°` The fourth Loot Pack from the Deformed Zombie contained an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Wang Tao had even considered raising the limit of his Awakening Energy. He currently had a maximum of 600, which still only allowed him to use Starfire Prairie for a mere minute¡­ The last Loot Pack contained equipment Blueprints. [Obtained: Corrosion Armor Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Corrosion Spear Blueprint x1] [Corrosion Armor Blueprint: Can craft a set of Corrosion Armor. Required materials: Corrosive Poison Tooth x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Nails x20, Screws x20, Rubber x20] [Corrosion Armor: Attributes unknown] [Corrosion Spear Blueprint: Can craft a Corrosion Spear. Required materials: Corrosive Poison Tooth x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Nails x20, Gear x20, Blade x20] [Corrosion Spear: Attributes unknown] After looking over the materials needed for the two blueprints, Wang Tao took a sigh of relief. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t require anything like Deformed Zombie bones. He hadn¡¯t collected its bones because its entire body was poisonous; even in death, it emitted a cloud of poison gas causing continuous HP loss if one stayed near it. Therefore, apart from the Loot that burst forth, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to take anything else. Without hesitation, Wang Tao immediately began the crafting process. Amidst the flashing of two iridescent lights, the two pieces of equipment were completed. The first piece was a suit of deep green Battle Armor that covered the entire body tightly. The style of the Battle Armor was quite modern, with the helmet featuring several tubes that resembled those on an oxygen mask¡ªwas it a gas mask? The second piece was a 6-meter long Red spear with gears and other things on it, exuding a steampunk vibe. [Corrosion Armor] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +100, defensive power +80. After wearing, the user is corroded, resulting in continuous HP loss. A large area of poison gas is also formed, causing all creatures within its range, excluding the user, to lose HP continuously (Poison Gas Attribute not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] Wang Tao frowned upon seeing the attributes of this suit of Battle Armor. If he hadn¡¯t misunderstood, wearing this armor would cause continuous HP loss? Well, that weakness is rather severe! Although he owned equipment with weaknesses, there were ways to avoid those weaknesses. For example, if one was susceptible to fire, one would simply avoid places with fire¡­ But this set of armor caused blood loss the moment it was donned! Unless one didn¡¯t wear it, the blood loss was inevitable! However, the armor also had a passive ability that emitted a large area of poison gas, inflicting continuous HP loss on other creatures! Wang Tao felt that this poison gas might be similar to that of the Deformed Zombie. Without saying much more, as long as the damage was even ten to twenty percent of what the Deformed Zombie¡¯s poison could do, it would be quite powerful! So, was this a set of equipment that harms the enemy much but the user slightly less so? It wasn¡¯t clear how much HP the wearer would lose and how much the surrounding creatures would suffer. If the wearer¡¯s HP loss was less than that of surrounding creatures, then it might be an ace in the hole during critical moments. But if the wearer lost too much HP, it wouldn¡¯t be very effective¡­ Wang Tao really wanted to try it out, but he was on the train, so he definitely couldn¡¯t mess around. After all, it was labeled as ¡°large area¡± poison gas. He would find a chance to test it after getting off the train. If the amount of his HP loss was tolerable, then he would keep the equipment. But if the HP loss was too severe, then he might have to trade it with someone else¡­ [Corrosion Spear] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +100, Attack power +80. During an attack, the user is corroded, causing continuous HP loss. A small area of poison gas is also formed, causing all creatures within its range, excluding the user, to lose HP continuously (Poison Gas Attribute not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] The Corrosion Spear was similar to the Corrosion Armor, corroding the user, causing continuous HP loss, and emitting poison gas. However, the difference was that the Corrosion Armor had a passive ability¡ªonce worn, it would result in HP loss and emit a large area of poison gas. Whereas the Corrosion Spear had an active ability¡ªonly during an offensive attack would it cause HP loss and emit a small area of poison gas. Compared to the Corrosion Armor, Wang Tao preferred the Corrosion Spear. Having control over the effect was always more convenient. Moreover, the Corrosion Spear¡¯s attack power was very high. Wang Tao¡¯s Tusk Long Knife only added 70 to attack power, but the Corrosion Spear added 80! He would try out the spear later to see its effects. If it was good, he might keep it for his own use¡­ Overall, the Loot Pack that the Deformed Zombie dropped was plentiful and of high quality, providing Wang Tao with rich rewards. After storing these two pieces of equipment, he continued to inspect the Loot Packs from other zombies. The Fat Zombie dropped two items and five Loot Packs. The two items were a Purple Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Mental Enhancement and Red Fire Bones x10. [Fire Bones: Crafting material, can add Fire Resistance attributes to equipment] It was a crafting material. Called Fire Bones, they actually just had fiery imprints on them, not literally aflame. This crafting material could add extra attributes, which seemed quite useful. It¡¯s a pity no Awakening Energy Pearls were dropped¡­ Then came the five Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 5 Crystal Cores: an Orange Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion, a Purple Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility, a Red Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Slow Healing, a Blue Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Explosion, and an Orange Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Fireball. ¡°` Chapter 739 - Chapter 739: Chapter 293: Fireball Special Ability_2 Chapter 739: Chapter 293: Fireball Special Ability_2 ¡°` [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Slow Healing] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: Obesity)] [Slow Healing: Passive Ability, when HP is below 50%, regen 10 HP per second until it reaches 50% and then stops] Wang Tao had never seen this Crystal Core before, and he didn¡¯t expect the obese zombie to have a blood regeneration ability. However, this healing ability was very slow, and it only worked when HP was less than half. Wang Tao killed it so quickly that it was normal for him not to notice. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Explosion] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: HP drops to 1% after use)] [Explosion: Compress all awakening energy, then burst out instantaneously (Power depends on the amount of awakening energy, only Fire Awakened can fuse it)] When Wang Tao killed that Flame Monster before, he obtained an Epic Explosive Crystal Core. This ability had a high limit. When that Flame Monster used it, it was like a small nuclear bomb. Of Wang Tao¡¯s four abilities, one of them, [Iron Wall] had fused with his hidden ability to become the awakened [Starfire Outbreak], so he now had a slot open and could fuse with another Crystal Core. Wang Tao had his eye on the Explosion, as he was a Fire Awakened now and could use this ability. But the side effect was ridiculous, his 100,000 HP would instantly drop to 1,000 HP after use! Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t tolerate this, he had to get rid of this side effect. He now had two Explosion Crystal Cores. If he was lucky enough to get another one in the future, then he could confidently learn this ability! [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Fireball] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: First fusion reduces HP limit by 100,000, subsequent fusions reduce it by 10,000)] [Fireball: Consume energy and awakening energy to launch a fireball (only Fire Awakened can fuse it)] The obese Awakened [Flame Explosion] was about gathering awakening energy to form a huge fireball and detonating it. But when Wang Tao attacked the obese zombie with a sniper rifle, it spat out a fireball that melted the bullet. Wang Tao felt at the time that this little fireball might not be its awakening, but just one of its abilities! However, during the later fight with the obese zombie, whenever Wang Tao saw flames in its mouth, he would interrupt it. So he couldn¡¯t confirm if his guess was right. Now it seemed, it was indeed the case! Seeing the detailed attributes of this fireball crystal core, Wang Tao also began to consider fusing with it. The side effect of fusing the fireball was a deduction of 100,000 from the HP limit, which was substantial, but Wang Tao could afford it; he had 110,000 HP, enough to spare. And even if he lost 100,000 HP, he could quickly regain it! Wang Tao most wanted to fuse with the Explosion, but he was short of a crystal core, there was no helping it. Maybe he could first fuse with this fireball crystal core to try out? But Wang Tao¡¯s Advanced Special Energy did not have the Extraction abilities anymore, if he fused with the fireball, unless he found a Level 4 Extraction Crystal Core, he would not be able to change his superpower¡­ Of course, these were not big problems. Wang Tao had Level 1, 2, and 3 Extraction Crystal Cores in his hands, getting a Level 4 would just be a matter of time. The only problem now was, if he wanted to undergo a Second Awakening, he would need to randomly fuse one of his abilities into the awakening. Wang Tao speculated that the stronger the fused ability, the stronger the awakening would be. So he was saving his other three abilities for the awakening. If he fused with the fireball now, it might randomly select the fireball during the awakening¡­ Nevertheless, Wang Tao eventually decided to fuse. Because the second Awakening was too far off, and without improving the odds, he would not recklessly awaken. He had no idea when the Second Awakening would be, surely he couldn¡¯t go without enhancing his strength until then. By the time he could undergo a Second Awakening, he believed he would probably already have a Level 4 Extraction Crystal Core. Wang Tao could accept the side effect of the fireball. As for the internal impurities, it did not matter, he still had more than twenty bottles of Cleansing Potion left unused. After placing the fireball crystal core in his mouth, it immediately melted into his body. A moment later, the fusion was complete! Wang Tao¡¯s HP limit decreased by 100,000, now reduced to 10,000. And he gained a new superpower¡ª [Level 4 Superpower¡¤Fireball (+1)] Wang Tao closed his eyes to carefully feel it, and then he roughly understood how to use this fireball. Using this fireball consumed both Mana and Awakening Energy. However, each use only consumed 1 point of Awakening Energy and some Mana. The reason why it¡¯s ¡°some Mana¡± is that the more Mana consumed, the bigger the fireball. Conversely, if only a tiny bit of Mana is used, only a very small fireball can be created. But this fixed consumption of 1 Awakening Energy is constant, every use of the fireball will consume 1 Awakening Energy. Compared to [Starfire Outbreak], the fireball is extremely economical; [Starfire Outbreak] consumes a minimum of 100 Energy and can only be used for 10 seconds¡­ The fireball¡¯s consumption is so much more frugal! Of course, less consumption means less power. There¡¯s no comparison between the power of the fireball and [Starfire Outbreak]. Including the obese zombie¡¯s awakening [Flame Explosion], the Flame Monster¡¯s ability [Explosion], and the like, all of these have much greater power than the fireball! Especially [Flame Explosion]. Although both involve creating fireballs, [Flame Explosion] not only has flame damage but explosion damage too. The larger the fireball, the more powerful the explosion, and the higher the damage. ¡°` Chapter 740 - Chapter 740: Chapter 293: Fireball Special Ability_3 Chapter 740: Chapter 293: Fireball Special Ability_3 Although this fireball special ability can also grow in size, it just simply enlarges; the damage from the flames remains the same, without any explosive damage¡­ We can simply understand that Flame Explosion is akin to a bomb detonation, where both the shockwave and the high temperature are lethal. On the other hand, the fireball is just about starting a fire, depending on burning to damage the enemy. Of course, this doesn¡¯t mean that the fireball is trash, as this comparison is with awakening abilities. Compared to ordinary offensive abilities, the fireball is still quite powerful. After all, other abilities don¡¯t consume awakening energy, but the fireball requires the use of 1 awakening energy¡­ After Wang Tao roughly understood the fireball special ability, he snapped his fingers. Pop~ A¡­ little flame instantly appeared at his fingertip! That was the effect of using up 1 awakening energy and a very small amount of mana. Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel any burn, but rather, a sense of warmth that was quite comfortable. It was a pity he didn¡¯t smoke; lighting a cigarette with the small flame on his fingertip would have been really cool. ¡°Woof~¡± Lightning, lying by Wang Tao¡¯s feet, cocked its head and let out a bark, seemingly perplexed. When Wang Tao had been on fire before, his whole body was ignited, and those flames were fierce and extremely hot. Lightning didn¡¯t dare to come close to Wang Tao. But now, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t aflame all over; only a small flame appeared at his fingertip. This little flame didn¡¯t scare Lightning; in fact, it even snuggled closer to Wang Tao. After all, it was December now, and it had become quite cold. ¡°Haha!¡± Seeing Lightning¡¯s action, Wang Tao laughed and petted its head. Not gonna lie, after learning this special ability, it could be used to keep warm in the winter! With a thought from Wang Tao, the flame at his fingertip disappeared. The temperature in the room also gradually decreased. Wang Tao tried several more times, getting familiar with some of the operations of the fireball but it was hard to say how powerful it was without being able to test it inside the vehicle¡­ Wang Tao continued to check the loot. The second loot pack contained hand grenades. [Obtained: Explosion Grenades x10] The fat zombie actually dropped 10 explosion grenades! Wang Tao had previously used 8, aware of their potency, and he had felt somewhat distressed as he only had two left. Now he had gained another 10! That meant he now had 12 explosion grenades! In the midst of a zombie horde, killing tens of thousands of zombies would be no problem. If he combined that with the previously acquired corrosive poison gas bomb¡­ it was hard to say how great the power would be. Wang Tao looked at the third loot pack. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another awakening energy pearl! Wang Tao had been a bit disappointed before, but now he instantly felt at ease. Although the drop rate for awakening energy pearls was low, Wang Tao¡¯s extra loot for killing zombies effectively meant his drop rate was much higher than others. The last loot pack contained two blueprints. [Obtained: Flaming Robe Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Flame Bracelet Blueprint x1] [Flaming Robe Blueprint: Can be used to craft a flaming robe. Required materials: Fire Bone x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Flaming Robe: Attributes unknown] [Flame Bracelet Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Flame Bracelet. Required materials: Fire Bone x1, Fourth-tier Crystal Core x1] [Flame Bracelet: Attributes unknown] These two blueprints are quite interesting, one for a robe and one for a bracelet, which are pieces of equipment Wang Tao had never seen before. Moreover, the required materials are minimal, needing only one Fourth-tier Crystal Core and one Fire Bone. Without further ado, Wang Tao immediately started crafting. Having slain many Level 4 Zombie Lords, he had some Fourth-tier Crystal Cores in his possession. Moments later, both pieces of equipment were crafted. [Flame Gauze Dress] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +50, Defensive Power +50, Fire Resistance, Ability: Not Inlaid (Activation of Awakening Energy Required)] Seeing the Flame Gauze Dress made Wang Tao raise an eyebrow. The attributes of this robe weren¡¯t strong and ranked quite low among the fourth-tier equipment. Several third-tier pieces had similar or even higher attributes. But this robe looked really cool¡ª The design of the Flame Gauze Dress was that of an ordinary long robe, much like a regular gown. However, its material seemed to be ablaze with red and yellow light slowly flowing through it! The Flame Gauze Dress was thin, wearing it felt like being wrapped in flames¡ªit came with its own special effects! Wang Tao tried it on himself and indeed, it looked very cool and attractive. However, the attributes of the Flame Gauze Dress couldn¡¯t stack with those of his Night Demon Set. So for Wang Tao, this piece of equipment was somewhat of a white elephant; he would definitely choose the Night Demon Set. Besides, it was a bit odd for a guy like him to wear such a robe¡­ Of course, apart from its appearance, the robe also had its merits¡ªfire resistance and an inlay for special ability. Wang Tao actually had three other pieces of equipment capable of inlaying an ability. They were two Black Stone Armor Equipment pieces and the Black Iron Heavy Armor suit. But he had not inlaid any Crystal Cores yet, not because he didn¡¯t want to but because he hadn¡¯t found the appropriate ones. Fourth-tier equipment could only be inlaid with Fourth-tier Crystal Cores, and although he had some in his possession, there weren¡¯t many worth setting into equipment¡­ This inlaying ability was quite good, equivalent to having an extra ability, and needed careful selection. Wang Tao had indeed thought before about whether to set the Explosion inlay into his equipment or not. After some consideration, he decided not to. After all, equipment cannot be leveled up, and it always needs to be replaced. An ability stays with him for much longer than equipment. Moreover, abilities can be evolved and might reach level 5 or level 6 in the future! Once set into equipment, they would remain at fourth-tier, probably just level 1¡­ Of course, Wang Tao was still quite curious about what it would look like after inlaying. Should he¡­ try it out? He wouldn¡¯t be using the Flame Gauze Dress for himself anymore and would definitely give it to someone else, so he might as well try it out first. Wang Tao flipped through his Space Backpack and took out some Fourth-tier Crystal Cores. He discovered that the Awakening Crystal Core could not be inlaid, nor could the Omnipotent Crystal Core, and the Ascension Crystal Core was certainly out of the question. Wang Tao shrugged; it seemed that exploiting a bug was not an option. He picked and chose carefully and finally decided to try inlaying a Slow Healing Crystal Core. Then, several prompts appeared. [Note 1: Success rate of inlaying is related to the Quality of the Crystal Core] [Note 2: After a successful inlay, Awakening Energy is required to activate it] [Note 3: Using the inlaid ability will consume the Energy inside the Crystal Core, which will be destroyed once the Energy is depleted] [Note 4: The inlaid Crystal Core cannot be detached but can be re-inlaid (the original Crystal Core will be overwritten and destroyed)] Chapter 741 - Chapter 741: Chapter 294 Giant Slayer_1 Chapter 741: Chapter 294 Giant Slayer_1 This equipment embedding was somewhat different from the Rush Suit that Wang Tao had before. The Rush Suit came with a Rush Ability, but it required the embedding of Crystal Cores to provide energy, thus granting usage count. All equipment within the suit could be embedded with Crystal Cores, and the more and better quality the Cores embedded, the more usage counts were obtained. However, with this equipment¡¯s embedding, it did not have an ability on its own, but rather it would gain whatever ability of the Crystal Core that was embedded into it. Of course, not all Crystal Cores could be embedded, for instance, special Crystal Cores like Omnipotent, Ascension, and Awakening ones could not be used for embedding. The success rate of embedding was related to the quality of the Crystal Core. Using an Epic Crystal Core was a hundred percent successful, and an Excellent Crystal Core had an eighty percent success rate¡­ similar to the situation with Ability Users fusing with Crystal Cores. After a successful embedding, it still required Awakening Energy to activate, meaning if one was not a Fourth Order Awakened One, the ability embedded on this equipment could not be used¡­ The ability on the equipment also consumed its own Crystal Core Energy, and once the energy was depleted, the ability could no longer be used until a new core was embedded. But this equipment could only have one Crystal Core embedded, so it was not known how many times the ability could be used with this one Crystal Core¡¯s energy. Moreover, Wang Tao was preparing to embed a Passive Ability. How would a Passive Ability consume energy? Wang Tao¡¯s Night Demon Set was an all-attributes enhancement Passive Ability, but this ability only consumed Awakening Energy, not Crystal Core Energy, and the Night Demon Set could not be embedded with Crystal Cores either¡­ With curious anticipation, Wang Tao went ahead and embedded the ¡°Slow Healing.¡± It was a red crystal core with an 80% chance of success, and unsurprisingly, the embedding succeeded on the first try. [Flame Gauze Dress] [(Fourth-tier (Excellence))] [Durability +50, Defensive Power +50, Fire Resistance, Ability: Slow Healing (Attribute not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] The ability had been embedded, and Wang Tao immediately used Awakening Energy to activate it. [Slow Healing: When HP falls below 50%, recover 10 HP per second until reaching 50% HP (Activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy and 3% Crystal Core Energy daily. Once activated, binds to the user, rebinds after change of user)] Seeing this attribute, Wang Tao immediately understood. It was similar to the Night Demon Set, which also consumed 1 Awakening Energy daily. However, this equipment also consumed 3% Crystal Core Energy every day. This meant the ability embedded in the equipment could be used for a month before the Crystal Core Energy would be exhausted. This was far better than Wang Tao had imagined; after all, a month was not a short period. The consumption was not a daily affair but only occurred when used. For example, only after Wang Tao put it on would it begin to consume today¡¯s Awakening Energy and Crystal Core Energy. If Wang Tao did not wear it the next day, it would not consume any energy. Wang Tao then activated the Corrosive Spear he had just crafted for comparison. [Corrosive Spear] [(Fourth-tier (Excellence))] [Durability +100, Attack Power +80. When attacking, the user will be corroded, continuously losing HP. It will also generate a small area of poison gas, causing all living creatures within the area, except the user, to continuously lose HP (Activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy daily. Once activated, binds to the user, rebinds after change of user)] The attribute of Corrosive Spear after it was activated was different from that of the Flame Gauze Dress. It did not need to consume Crystal Core Energy, since it also had no Crystal Core embedded, only needing to consume 1 Awakening Energy every day. Wang Tao began to understand the difference between these equipment¡ª Fourth-tier and above equipment, if it came with its own abilities, only required Awakening Energy upon activation, without the need for other consumptions. If the abilities were not inherent to the equipment but were instead bestowed through embedded Crystal Cores, then besides consuming Awakening Energy, it would also consume Crystal Core Energy. With that in mind, it appeared that equipment with inherent abilities might be better? Not necessarily¡ªbecause the inherent abilities of the equipment could not be changed. But with embedding, one could choose different Crystal Cores! Even though embedded Crystal Cores couldn¡¯t be removed, they could be over-written, which merely resulted in the loss of one Core. So, both methods had their own advantages. The only downside was that fourth-tier and above equipment with abilities would bind and consume Awakening Energy. Hence, only fourth-tier and above Ability Users were able to use them, and those below fourth-tier couldn¡¯t utilize these abilities nor unleash the full potential of these equipment¡­ Then, Wang Tao called Jiang Shixue over to try on the Flame Gauze Dress. Jiang Shixue was still a Level 3 Ability User and could not activate the abilities embedded in the equipment, so she couldn¡¯t use them, but neither would she consume energy. Wang Tao nodded to himself, feeling quite pleased with this. Since she couldn¡¯t use the ability, no energy would be consumed. It was quite energy-efficient. ¡°This dress is so pretty¡­¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes shone as she looked at the Flame Gauze Dress. ¡°Then it¡¯s yours,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. But Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°The dress is pretty indeed, but it¡¯s not suitable for me. It¡¯s too eye-catching. I prefer to attack stealthily¡­¡± Jiang Shixue was very fast and agile. When she fought together with Wang Tao, she usually took the role of side-attacking, making it hard for zombies including other humans to defend against her. But if she were to wear this dress that resembled flames, she would be spotted from afar. ¡°True¡­ Alright. It really doesn¡¯t quite suit you¡­¡± Chapter 742 - Chapter 742: Chapter 294 Giant Slayer_2 Chapter 742: Chapter 294 Giant Slayer_2 Wang Tao nodded. He felt that Jiang Shixue was more suited to the Night Demon Set and decided to see if he could obtain another Night Demon Set for Jiang Shixue to wear. As for whom to give the gauze dress¡­ It was indeed not easy to decide, since there was only one dress, and he couldn¡¯t favor one over another¡­ Wang Tao shook his head, deciding not to think about it for now. He looked at the second piece of equipment he had just crafted. [Flame Bracelet] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Attack includes fire damage] The Flame Bracelet was a cool piece of equipment just like the Flame Gauze Dress, primarily in orange-red, with what seemed like flames flowing over it. However, its attributes were simple, without any additional ones¡ªjust the ability for its attacks to include fire damage. Just by these words alone, it was not yet clear how high the damage was. But Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Fire Blazing the Plains also dealt fire damage! To a certain extent, wouldn¡¯t this be like a ¡°Starfire Prairie ¨C Youth Edition¡±? Wang Tao put on the bracelet. Hmm¡­ It was as eye-catching as the gauze dress. However, the bracelet could be covered by clothes¡­ Go to ????????????????????.co As for the power of the fire damage, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t test it for the time being, as he obviously couldn¡¯t hit his own people, nor could he bring himself to do it. He would try it out after the train stopped. He had finished going through the loot from those several fourth-order Lord zombies. Next was the main event, the loot from the Giant Zombie! In total, the Giant Zombie dropped 5 items and 6 Loot Packs. This was probably the second most loot that Wang Tao had obtained from a single zombie. The record-holder was the Glutton Zombie, which would drop a large amount of food upon defeat, so it was incomparable. [Obtained: Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Blood Beads x1] [Obtained: Eye of the Giant x2] [Obtained: Giant¡¯s Heart x1] The Crystal Core extracted from the Giant Zombie¡¯s head was a Promotion type, and it was of orange quality. Wang Tao¡¯s luck was undeniable. Then there was the Awakening Energy Pearl. He had saved quite a number of them now and was planning to upgrade his Awakening Energy cap. The remaining three items were all new to Wang Tao. [Blood Beads: Randomly increases HP limit] This looked like a red meatball, but it was hard to the touch, almost like touching jade. The specific attribute of the Blood Beads made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up¡ªincreasing HP limit! Although the increase was random, it didn¡¯t stop it from being a good item, especially since the HP cap was currently at 100,000, and it was no longer possible to increase the HP limit by killing zombies. Wang Tao was just fretting over how to increase his additional HP, and this Blood Bead presented an opportunity! However, he didn¡¯t use it right away because after fusing with the Fireball ability, his HP limit had already dropped to 10,000. He wasn¡¯t sure if using the Blood Bead would increase his current HP limit or his additional HP limit¡­ If it wasn¡¯t additional HP, then using it now would be too much of a loss, as he could gain up to 110,000 HP by killing zombies. So, to be safe, he decided to wait. He would use it once he had increased his HP limit back to 110,000. ¡°Not sure whether this Blood Bead is guaranteed to drop from the Giant Zombie, or if I was just lucky¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself, stroking his chin. In the future, if he had the opportunity to kill a Giant Zombie, he definitely couldn¡¯t miss it! [Eye of the Giant: Crafting Material] [Giant¡¯s Heart: Crafting Material] The Eye of the Giant was a pair of giant eyeballs, and the Giant¡¯s Heart was an enormous heart, both of which were quite chilling to look at. Wang Tao had thought that the Giant¡¯s Heart might be like the Night Demon Heart and could summon a Giant Zombie ¡°Weapon¡±, but unfortunately, it was not the case. Then he looked at the five Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 6 Crystal Cores: a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Exraction], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Defense], and a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense]. Apart from the Omnipotent and Awakening Special Crystal Cores, there was surprisingly an Exraction Crystal Core! This pleased Wang Tao immensely. After all, since his ¡°Special Energy¡± had been upgraded to ¡°Advanced Special Energy¡±, he couldn¡¯t extract or synthesize his own abilities anymore. But this fourth-tier Exraction Crystal Core could allow him to change his ability! He had just been mentioning that when he could undergo a Second Awakening, he might be able to get an Exraction Crystal Core, and now he had gotten one! Then, Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another Awakening Energy Pearl! Wang Tao checked and found that he now had a total of 15 Awakening Energy Pearls and 9 Awakening Crystal Cores. These amounted to 2400 Awakening Energy, which could perfectly raise his cap from 600 to 1000 if used to upgrade the Awakening Energy limit. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t planning on upgrading right now. After all, his 600 energy hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet, and if he upgraded, his current energy would drop to 0. If he encountered danger on the way, he would have to exchange Advanced Special Energy for Awakening Energy, which wouldn¡¯t be very cost-effective. It would be better to upgrade after reaching safety. Wang Tao looked at the third Loot Pack. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x30] [Obtained: Defense Potion (Medium) x30] [Obtained: Life Elixir (Small) x30] [Obtained: Energy Potion (Small) x30] Chapter 743 - Chapter 743: Chapter 294 Giant Slayer_3 Chapter 743: Chapter 294 Giant Slayer_3 Wang Tao had seen strength and defense potions before, but this was the first time he encountered life elixirs and energy potions. [Life Elixir (Small): Increase HP cap by +1000 (up to a maximum of 10 bottles)] [Energy Potion (Small): Increase energy cap by +1000 (up to a maximum of 10 bottles)] They were potions that increased the cap on HP and energy! However, there was a limit, one could only consume a maximum of 10 bottles, but this was already pretty good, after all, 10 bottles combined were 10,000 HP and 10,000 mana! Wang Tao temporarily saved the life elixirs as his current HP was 10,000; it would be a big loss to waste them now, so he held off for now. He planned to consume them together with the [Blood Beads] once his HP reached 110,000. As for the energy potions, he had no hesitation and consumed all 10 bottles in a row. Moments later, Wang Tao¡¯s mana cap increased by 10,000, now standing at [65000/65000]. Wang Tao was somewhat of a perfectionist; 65,000 just didn¡¯t look as good as 70,000 to him. When they were safe again, he planned to find Ding Yuqin and the others to use ¡°Yin and Yang Balance¡±¡­ ahem, with no other meaning but simply to see if they could increase the mana cap further. For now, there was no rush since they hadn¡¯t left danger behind and couldn¡¯t let their guard down. The fourth loot pack contained an awakening key. [Acquired: Awakening Key x1] Another awakening key obtained, Wang Tao now had four physical awakening keys. He didn¡¯t need them for himself at the moment but could offer them to others. He planned to discuss later who should undergo awakening first. Considering the 50% success rate for the first awakening with one secret key, if four people attempted awakening at the same time, at least two should succeed, right? The fifth loot pack contained something Wang Tao had not seen before. Go to ????????????????????.co [Acquired: Gem Slot Opener x2] [Gem Slot Opener: Can open a gem slot on equipment without any existing slots] ¡°Equipment can be socketed?¡± Wang Tao was first surprised, then pleasantly so. He didn¡¯t possess many pieces of equipment that could be inset with abilities, so this item was quite valuable. For example¡­ could he add a slot to his weapon? Although his tusk long knife was decent, it would be better if he could inlay it with an ability! Wang Tao leaned toward inlaying an active attack type ability, but he didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores to choose from¡­ so that would have to wait for later. Wang Tao looked towards the last loot pack, which unsurprisingly contained blueprints. [Acquired: Giant Slayer Ring Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set Blueprint x1] [Giant Slayer Ring Blueprint: Can craft a Giant Slayer Ring. Required materials: Eye of the Giant x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Giant Slayer Ring: Attributes unknown] [Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Blueprint: Can craft a piece of Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor. Required materials: Giant¡¯s Heart x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor: Attributes unknown] There were two blueprints, one for a ring and one for a heavy armor suit. The required crafting materials were quite simple, and Wang Tao immediately began to craft. Moments later, both pieces of equipment were crafted successively. The Giant Slayer Ring was a piece of equipment that looked even more simple than the Night Demon Ring, all silver and unassuming in appearance. Of course, the appearance didn¡¯t matter, what was important were the attributes. [Giant Slayer Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Attack against lives awakened as ¡°Giant¡± deals +10% damage; when attacked by lives awakened as ¡°Giant,¡± receive -10% damage] ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing the attributes of the ring, Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. That meant when he attacked Giant Zombies, the damage he dealt would increase by 10%, and when Giant Zombies attacked him, the damage he received would be reduced by 10%! Wouldn¡¯t this add up to an effective 20% in his favor? Of course, in practice, it certainly wasn¡¯t as much as 20%. After all, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t just stand toe-to-toe with Giant Zombies; he would prioritize dodging their attacks. It didn¡¯t matter if the damage reduction was 10% or even 50%, he wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it¡­ especially since he had seen Giant Zombies with as much as four hundred thousand HP! He definitely didn¡¯t want to test his luck against such powerful Giant Zombies. Regardless, the attributes of the ring were quite nice. The next time he encountered a Giant Zombie, his odds would be better. Then he turned his attention to the second piece of gear. It was a set that looked very ancient, plain without any fancy adornments, but its attributes were far from ordinary. [Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor] [Level Four (Epic)] [Durability +300, defensive power +100~300 (the larger the body size, the higher the defense), speed -20%, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao frowned. The durability was significantly increased, the same as the Black Iron Heavy Armor. But the defensive power¡­ it fluctuated, higher with larger body size, from a minimum of +100 to a maximum of +300! If the defense could reach +300, then this defense would far exceed the 200 defensive power of the Black Iron Heavy Armor, and the Black Iron Heavy Armor even had the downside of reducing speed by 50%, whereas Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor only reduced it by 20%. However, the defensive power of Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor depended on body size, and for Wang Tao¡¯s two-meter height¡­ He immediately tried it out, then was left speechless. [Durability +300, defensive power +125, speed -20%, Ability: Not Inlaid] It was fair to say that the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor was passable, but it wasn¡¯t quite right for Wang Tao. Although it added a defensive power of 125, the reduction in speed by 20% was a significant drawback. If it had 200 defensive power, then even with a speed reduction of 20%, it wouldn¡¯t matter, but it was a pity there was only 125¡­ After reviewing these spoils, Wang Tao yawned, unable to resist the fatigue. Jiang Shixue had already left, and the room was left with only his Lightning. Wang Tao petted the Lightning lying on the floor asleep, then he flopped onto the bed to rest as well. He didn¡¯t know how long he slept, but suddenly Wang Tao felt the train come to a stop. ¡°Are we there already?¡± He groggily opened his eyes. At that moment, the speaker in the small room sounded. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the path ahead is blocked; we need to go down and clear it.¡± Chapter 744 - Chapter 744: Chapter 295 Blocking the Road_1 Chapter 744: Chapter 295 Blocking the Road_1 Hearing the sound from the horn, Wang Tao instantly woke up. When he stepped out of his room, Ding Yuqin and He Jijun had also arrived in the lobby. They, too, had been resting and were awakened by the sound of the horn. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Tao looked outside the window. From this position, he could only see the scenery on both sides, not directly ahead. This train car housed the command room, which had surveillance equipment to monitor the surroundings of the train. But without Duan Xuchang and the others¡¯ permission, it wouldn¡¯t be right for Wang Tao to barge in. ¡°The path ahead is blocked, and the clearing train can¡¯t move for now. We¡¯ve already sent people to clear it.¡± At that moment, Duan Xuchang came over holding a display screen. The screen showed the view from the front of the train, and it was clear to see that the entrance of a small train station was ahead, with a mass of collapsed buildings. The rubble had fallen onto the tracks, completely obstructing the path. Although they were on a clearing train, the current obstacle was naturally beyond their ability to clear. Plus, it was uncertain whether the railroad inside was damaged¡­ ¡°Need any help?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Not for now. If there really is an issue, I¡¯ll let you know.¡± Duan Xuchang shook his head but didn¡¯t make his refusal final. Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Duan Xuchang went back to his business. Before leaving, he opened up the command room, allowing Wang Tao and the others to enter and watch the surveillance. The clearing train was equipped with more tools than Wang Tao had anticipated, and he even saw equipment similar to bulldozers and excavators slowly removing the debris ahead. Although not quick, it was clearly effective; given some time, it should be possible to clear completely¡­ no wonder it was called a clearing train! It was now past four in the afternoon, and heavy rain continued outside, casting a gloomy sky. The train attracted some zombies, but since this train station was rather remote, there weren¡¯t many. Soldiers blocked them outside. The weapons used by the soldiers were not the firearms previously seen in the rescue operation at Zijin Base, but a combination of silencers and subsonic bullets. Subsonic bullets travel slower than the speed of sound in the air, and with silencers, the noise they make is minimal. No need to worry about attracting zombies from other areas. Of course, the trade-off for the reduced noise was decreased power. They wouldn¡¯t be sufficient against large numbers of zombies. There was no such issue for now. Wang Tao went through all the surveillance feeds and assured himself there was no problem before he finally set aside his worries. However, Wang Tao could no longer sleep, and the others felt the same, so they chatted and ate some food in the hall. Wang Tao also took out some equipment to see if any of them wanted it. The group had grown accustomed to Wang Tao occasionally producing novel items. First was the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set, which Wang Tao could not use himself. After all, he usually wore the Night Demon Set in combat, and the Black Iron Heavy Armor for special situations. This Giant Set was neither here nor there for Wang Tao; the main issue was he couldn¡¯t trigger the full-value defensive power attribute¡­ But after asking around, everyone seemed uninterested in the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set. Including Xu Xiaojun, the biggest among them. ¡°I¡¯m already not that fast; if my speed is reduced further, it will really disrupt my combat rhythm¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head as he spoke. The 20% reduction in speed from the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set affected not just attack speed but also mobility. It was fine for Xu Xiaojun¡¯s attack speed to be slow, but if his movement speed were reduced, he might not be able to keep up with the team, considering his usual lack of speed. Of course, the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set could be inlaid with Crystal Cores, and if one could inlay a powerful Ability, then the reduced speed wouldn¡¯t matter. However, besides Wang Tao, the rest were Level 3 ability users. Even if they had Abilities, they couldn¡¯t use them. ¡°Alright then.¡± Wang Tao shrugged and put the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set away again. He had actually thought of a use for the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set, which was to wear it during a Berserk state. At that height of five meters, he might have been able to make good use of the Giant Set¡¯s strength. But there was a minor issue: if Wang Tao entered a Berserk state, that meant a perilous situation without time to change armor leisurely¡­ If only he could get something like the Night Demon Ring, which would allow instant armor change¡­ The Corrosion Armor and Corrosive Spear were also brought out by Wang Tao. As anticipated, when the group heard that these items would cause self-harm during use, they immediately refused. They hadn¡¯t Awakened yet, and losing HP was one thing, but without the Poison Gas Attribute, it would be too much of a loss¡­ Then Wang Tao took out the Flame Gauze Dress. When this item was revealed, everyone gasped in surprise. After all, they had never seen such a phenomenon where flames seemed to flow across a garment. Especially the women, who were wide-eyed and enthusiastic. ¡°Who wants this Flame Gauze Dress?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. The women looked at each other, each wanting the dress but too embarrassed to say it outright. So, they recommended each other and then looked at Wang Tao with a hint of reproach. ¡°It¡¯s all because of this heartbreaker! Making people feel so awkward¡­¡± Chapter 745 - Chapter 745: Chapter 295 Blocking the Road_2 Chapter 745: Chapter 295 Blocking the Road_2 If it weren¡¯t for the timing, the women would have loved to give Wang Tao a good beating, feeling that he was only trying to watch them compete for it on purpose! Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t do it intentionally, nor did he have such a bad taste. It was mainly because he found it hard to choose, just wanting to take the easy way out. ¡°Then let¡¯s do this, draw lots. Whoever draws it gets it.¡± Wang Tao made some simple lots. Except for Jiang Shixue and Nie Siyan, the other women all got excited. Jiang Shixue had said earlier that she didn¡¯t need any, and Nie Siyan was, after all, at most considered a subordinate of Wang Tao¡¯s and naturally couldn¡¯t compare to Ding Yuqin and the others. ¡°Ah? Do I, do I get a share too¡­¡± Li Qiuyu looked at the slip of paper handed to her, feeling a little embarrassed as she spoke. She hadn¡¯t really had anything happen with Wang Tao, but in the current situation, she was already considered by everyone to be Wang Tao¡¯s woman, which left her with a bit of an explanation to do. ¡°Go ahead and draw.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t elaborate further. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Li Qiuyu picked up a small slip of paper with her head lowered. Go to ????????????????????.co A moment later. Lan Yulian let out an exclamation of surprise. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s me!¡± ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± The other women expressed a bit of envious gratitude. It wasn¡¯t just because the equipment looked nice, but more importantly, it was a gift from Wang Tao. ¡°Thank you all for letting me have it!¡± Lan Yulian didn¡¯t stand on ceremony any longer. After all, it had been agreed upon earlier, and any more politeness would seem fake, and she really did like it. Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t very tall, just over one meter sixty. After donning the Flame Gauze Dress, it seemed as if she were enveloped in flames. ¡°It looks great!¡± He Jijun, who was beside her, smiled and commented, even he felt the equipment looked fantastic. Wang Tao nodded to himself in agreement. Lan Yulian wearing this set of equipment was quite suitable actually, not because of the appearance, but because Lan Yulian was a healer, not someone who charged to the front lines. This dress had a lower defense than other fourth-tier armor, but that wasn¡¯t much of a problem for her. Moreover, the equipment was quite conspicuous, allowing the injured to easily spot her and receive treatment. As for the Awakening attributes, Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t use them for now, but after her Awakening, the ability to slowly recover HP could still provide her with help. After all, as long as the healer didn¡¯t die, she could save more people. Lan Yulian, wearing the Flame Gauze Dress, turned around for everyone to see and then came up to Wang Tao, giving him a hug with a slightly flushed face, quickly letting go. ¡°Thank you!¡± Wang Tao smiled, then took out the Flame Bracelet. ¡°Wow!¡± The sight of this equipment made everyone exclaim in awe. There was no helping it; the flowing flame effect was simply too stunning. ¡°This bracelet deals fire damage during attacks, but I also don¡¯t know the exact effects of the fire damage yet. I¡¯ll test it out later and then see who would be most suitable for it.¡± If the Flame Bracelet greatly enhanced Wang Tao¡¯s abilities, he would keep it for himself. If the effect was negligible or only provided a minor boost, he would give it to someone else who was more suitable. The women all looked excited, yet they sincerely hoped it would provide Wang Tao with a greater boost. Wang Tao then brought out a brown leather armor top. ¡°This is the Wild Boar Leather Armor Top¡­¡± [Wild Boar Leather Armor Top] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability+70, Defense+70, Mental Defense+30, Weak to Fire, Weak to Electricity] This was the blueprint that dropped from the Wild Boar Monster that could create illusions, along with the Boar Tusk Long Knife that Wang Tao had been using all this time. The long knife was quite handy, but the natural weakness to electricity and fire that came with the Wild Boar Leather Armor Top was rather annoying. Previously, when dealing with the corpse tide, Wang Tao used fire everywhere, which obviously made this piece of equipment impractical to wear. Thus, Wang Tao did not present it. But it was, after all, a fourth-tier item, giving a 70-point boost to defense and an additional 30 points to mental defense, both of which were pretty good attributes. Wang Tao gave a brief introduction to the equipment and asked if anyone was interested. But everyone shook their heads. The weakness to electricity was okay since, under normal circumstances, they weren¡¯t likely to be electrocuted. However, the weakness to fire made it unsuitable, especially since Wang Tao¡¯s strongest state was Starfire Prairie, where he would be spreading fire everywhere. Wearing this equipment simply wouldn¡¯t work with Wang Tao¡¯s strategy. ¡°All right. We can see if this armor top can be traded with someone else later on.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t pushy. Everyone indeed already had their equipment; they were outfitted with the Iron Tree Standard Armor, the White Bone Standard Crossbow, and the Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe made by Wang Tao. However, these were all Level 3 standard equipment, and their attributes were a bit lower compared to ordinary equipment¡­ Then Wang Tao took out various potions and such, distributing them to everyone. After a major battle, Wang Tao had acquired many things, more than he could use himself, so it was a good opportunity to help improve everyone¡¯s strength. After all, they hadn¡¯t reached Changhe City Base yet; increasing one¡¯s strength even a little bit added an extra level of security. Last of all, Wang Tao brought out four physical awakening keys. ¡°These are physical versions of the awakening keys¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced them, and upon hearing his words, everyone¡¯s breathing became a bit hurried. Even He Jijun showed an expression of considerable interest. It was, after all, a chance for Awakening! ¡°The first Awakening has a 50% chance of success. Theoretically, these four awakening keys should yield two Awakeners. But an Awakening requires one to sleep for 24 hours, and we are not yet out of danger, so now is not the best time to attempt it. Moreover, most of you are just one step away from raising your Ability to Level 4¡­ Once we get to the Changhe Base, I¡¯ll provide you with the Ascension Crystal Cores then.¡± Chapter 746 - Chapter 746: Chapter 295 Blocking the Road_3 Chapter 746: Chapter 295 Blocking the Road_3 Deciding exactly which four people to awaken was something Wang Tao needed to deliberate on, but one thing was certain¡ªthose with higher combat abilities would be prioritized for awakening. However, Wang Tao did not have many Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores on hand, only a total of 9. It was impossible to raise everyone¡¯s abilities to Level 4. Therefore, he decided not to distribute them yet and would wait until he had selected the individuals for Awakening before giving out the crystal cores to those in need. Wang Tao brought this up now to give everyone a heads up. After all, they were a team, and it was important that they be aware of the strategic resources he held. ¡°Okay!¡± The crowd nodded in anticipation. ¡­ The clearance operations outside had continued from the afternoon into the night. There was both good news and bad news. The good news was that the train tracks were mostly clear of issues; once they finished clearing them, they could directly pass through without needing to detour. Trains, unlike cars, needed rails to travel on. Detouring in such a remote area would mean taking a significantly longer route. Since they were familiar with this path from their inbound journey, it was preferable to return the same way, avoiding the unknown risks of other routes. However, the bad news was that they wouldn¡¯t be able to finish clearing today. They would have to work overtime into the night and strive to be done by tomorrow. According to the original plan, they should have reached Changhe Base within a day. However, with the roadblock, they were set back at least half a day, not to mention they had to spend the night here. Once the barrier-clearing train picked up speed, it could smash through zombies effortlessly. As long as they didn¡¯t encounter any powerful zombies or situations like today¡¯s roadblock, they could ignore many zombies. And even if they did encounter powerful zombies, there was a good chance the zombies wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up. Go to ????????????????????.co But if the train were to stop and lose its mobility, it could become dangerous instead¡­ They would need to be extra vigilant tonight. Fortunately, Wang Tao and his group had slept through the morning. Their rest might not have been the best, but they were refreshed enough to stand watch at night. Duan Xuchang did not object to this arrangement. The more people and eyes, the better. Hum~ The door of carriage No. 2 opened, and Wang Tao, with an umbrella, along with Jiang Shixue and Lightning, stepped down. Both humans and the dog possessed Night Vision Ability and were naturally adept in environments like the night. The zombies surrounding the train had already been eliminated. Since the area was remote, there were no more zombies approaching for the time being, so the outside was relatively quiet, with only the sound of machines clearing obstacles. Wang Tao wanted to find a few zombies to test the capabilities of the Flame Bracelet. But the soldiers had been too thorough in their daytime work. After making a round, he did not find a single living zombie. Having no other choice, Wang Tao moved a bit farther away from the team. His radio was connected to Duan Xuchang¡¯s team, so in case anything happened, there was no worry about missing any news. ¡°Finally found some!¡± In a dilapidated village away from the railway, Wang Tao found over ten Ordinary zombies, all Level Two, each with over 20,000 HP¡ªenough for Wang Tao to test his capabilities. Wearing the Flame Bracelet, Wang Tao strode up to a zombie and punched it. Bang! [-3058] Wang Tao did not punch with full force, and since he hit the zombie in the chest, there was minimal damage. With his punch, a faint glimmer of firelight sparkled, following which the chest of the zombie seemed to show a hint of charring. Beyond that, there were no other changes. ¡°Huh? Is that all?¡± Wang Tao frowned and kicked the zombie to the ground. He then took off the bracelet and punched the zombie in the same spot with the same force. Bang! [-3029] ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao felt his control of the punch was very precise. The difference in damage likely wasn¡¯t an error¡­ So Wang Tao tried a few more times. At one point, the chest of this zombie suddenly burst into flames. It didn¡¯t have much HP left and was burned to death straight away. ¡°I think I sort of understand¡­¡± Wang Tao tried on a few other zombies and then confirmed his deduction¡ªthe fire damage associated with the Flame Bracelet was a different beast from the burning of Starfire Prairie. When using Starfire Prairie, in addition to an increase in all attributes, his body, equipment, and weapons would catch fire, and many of his attacks would carry fire damage! This fire was tangible and hot, capable of continuous burning, and the zombies couldn¡¯t withstand it. However, the fire attribute damage from the Flame Bracelet couldn¡¯t directly light zombies on fire. Instead, it slightly enhanced his attack damage, imbuing his attacks with the fire attribute¡ªfire attribute did not mean burning; the slight charring on the zombies was from the fire attribute. But persistently attacking with fire attribute had a certain chance of causing burning! It was hard to say exactly what that chance was; probabilities like this required a large sample size to get an approximation. The chance wasn¡¯t high, and it was related to the frequency of attacks¡ªthe faster you attack, the greater the chance of igniting a burn. As for how much this fire attribute increased damage¡­ for Wang Tao, it might be around 1%, possibly even less. For him, this bracelet was somewhat superfluous. This fire attribute damage was not even comparable to the flame damage from Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening. Of course, the Flame Bracelet wasn¡¯t trash. Even a 1% increase in damage was still a solid boost. Moreover, the damage from the fire attribute when triggered could be quite impressive. This wasn¡¯t ordinary fire; blood from zombies and even rain from the sky wouldn¡¯t extinguish it immediately. But this burning ability was of little use to Wang Tao because he had just learned the Fireball special ability¡­ ¡°Heh heh¡­¡± The last few zombies in the village ran towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao held the umbrella in his left hand and cupped his right palm upwards, as a palm-sized flame emerged above it. When the fireball grew to the size of a basketball, Wang Tao extended his hand, and the fireball immediately flew out, smashing directly into one of the oncoming zombies. Boom¡ª The fireball exploded, and the fierce flames instantly enveloped everything around it. A moment later, all the zombies¡¯ HP bars dropped to zero. But at the same time, half the village was set on fire¡­ Chapter 747 - Chapter 747: Chapter 296 Half Step to Perfection_1 Chapter 747: Chapter 296 Half Step to Perfection_1 Looking at the ignited village, Wang Tao felt a bit embarrassed as he touched his nose. It was his first time fighting with the fireball special ability, and he had failed to control his strength, setting the small village ablaze. At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie crackled to life. ¡°Sss¡­ Wang Tao. There are flames outside; it looks like quite a few buildings have been set on fire. Did you do that?¡± It was Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice, sounding somewhat anxious. ¡°Ahem, a little accident, nothing serious,¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Phew¡ªthat¡¯s good; I thought you encountered some danger¡­¡± Ding Yuqin breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t shown off his newly-learned fireball ability in front of everyone; Ding Yuqin and the others thought Wang Tao was using an Awakening¡­ Firelight was very noticeable at night, and although zombies naturally feared fire, they were also attracted to the light. In a short moment, the village had attracted a large horde of zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave; these zombies were perfect for him to practice on. Go to ????????????????????.co After he had killed all the zombies that were attracted here, Wang Tao had essentially mastered the fireball ability. There would be no more situations like just now¡ªsetting an abandoned village on fire just to kill a few ordinary zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± As the flames were gradually extinguished by the rain, Wang Tao walked towards the location of the train with Jiang Shixue and Lightning. Just as they were halfway there, the walkie-talkie crackled again, but this time it was Duan Xuchang. ¡°Attention all units, a Night Demon has been spotted inside the train station!¡± ¡°Night Demon!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly ran back. When Wang Tao returned to the vicinity of the train, all the machines that had been clearing obstacles were gone, replaced by ten powered armors, several infantry fighting vehicles, main battle tanks, and soldiers in mechanical exoskeletons. Above, there were two Wu Zhi helicopters hovering. ¡°Where¡¯s the Night Demon?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. One of the powered armors turned to face Wang Tao. ¡°Inside the ruins of the train station, our people killed a Night Demon. It seems like there¡¯s a Night Demon¡¯s Nest in there, but we¡¯re still not clear on the precise location of the entrance; we¡¯re searching for it.¡± For most people, killing a Night Demon didn¡¯t carry many benefits. After all, Night Demons are difficult to deal with and don¡¯t have Crystal Cores. Usually, if they encounter a Night Demon, they would flee if they could, and fight only if they absolutely must. However, for Duan Xuchang¡¯s military force, fleeing was obviously not an option, and they had the capability to deal with Night Demons. So, upon discovering a Night Demon, Duan Xuchang immediately stopped the obstacle clearance operation, mobilized his force, and prepared to find and eliminate the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! This train station was in a rather remote location with fewer zombies around. Even if there was a Night Demon¡¯s Nest, the number of Night Demons wouldn¡¯t be large, so it should not be too difficult for them to clear it out. With their combat power, even a Level 4 Night Demon could be easily handled. ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± Wang Tao offered. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll share the visuals with you.¡± Ding Yuqin and the others also came out, with Wei Zhenguo holding a smartphone that displayed an overhead infrared thermal imaging view. Although zombies¡¯ bodies don¡¯t have much temperature, any object with a temperature above absolute zero radiates infrared light. As long as there¡¯s a temperature difference between the zombies and their environment, the thermal imager can detect them. Of course, the thermal imaging view isn¡¯t like the X-ray vision you¡¯d see in some of Wang Tao¡¯s games where walls and ruins wouldn¡¯t block the view. Still, zombies weren¡¯t likely to deliberately hide from this, so they could be found as soon as they appeared. Wang Tao found this quite interesting and studied it carefully. In terms of detection, this was far inferior to Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability was equivalent to X-ray vision. Infrared thermal imaging was a bit like Plant Affinity, easy to be limited. But¡­ infrared thermal imaging could see very far! In theory, as long as the object was big enough, infrared thermal imaging could see infinitely far, like being able to see the sun, the moon, etc. But most zombies were not large, and various other factors could interfere, so the range was definitely not that extensive. According to Duan Xuchang, the thermal imager on the Wu Zhi helicopter could detect zombies from over ten kilometers away. The thermal imagers within their powered armors could see up to five kilometers, and the ones carried by exoskeleton soldiers could see two to three kilometers. In terms of distance, this was far superior to Wang Tao¡¯s Perception and Plant Affinity! Despite various limitations, in this situation, it was still very useful. It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to spot a yellow figure in the visuals, with movements characteristic of a Night Demon! ¡°Found it! Right over there¡­ Let¡¯s go!¡± At the same time, Duan Xuchang gave the coordinates. He took 3 powered armors and 8 infantry fighting vehicles there. The other personnel, including the tanks, stayed around the train. After all, the train was long and big, containing many survivors who needed a large military force for protection. Whirr¡ª Under Duan Xuchang¡¯s lead, blue flames shot out from the back of their four powered armors as they swiftly glided across the ground. Any obstacles they encountered were smashed apart by the large feet of the powered armors, leaving shallow grooves in the ground. Wang Tao watched with envy; as soon as he got to Changhe Base, he was determined to find a way to get a powered armor to play with! Probably the sound of the helicopter attracted the Night Demon; as Wang Tao ran towards the coordinates, he saw more and more Night Demons appearing on the screen. Chapter 748 - Chapter 748: Chapter 296 Half Step to Perfection_2 Chapter 748: Chapter 296 Half Step to Perfection_2 ¡°` Night Demons usually sleep in their nests during the day and go out at night. Thus, these Night Demons were coming from all directions, and it was still unclear where their nest was. But it was definitely in this region. As Wang Tao ran, he activated his Perception and Plant Affinity abilities. Before long, they arrived at the coordinates, escorted by four powered armors and eight infantry fighting vehicles. Under the shine of the vehicle headlights, the fleeting shadows of a few Night Demons could be seen. The infantry vehicles stopped, and a group of fully armed soldiers in mechanical exoskeletons immediately disembarked, each powered armor also wielding a six-barrel Gatling gun. They all aimed at the precise locations provided by the thermal imaging and then pulled the trigger. Ratatat¡ª Pupupu¡ª In an instant, gunfire erupted, lighting up the sky. The Night Demons, sensing an approaching threat, prepared to ambush. However, they didn¡¯t expect to have already been spotted by the military and were met with preemptive strikes. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Night Demons howled as they pounced towards the group. But under such heavy firepower, they obviously couldn¡¯t make it through, and in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen Night Demons had been riddled with holes. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s exhilarating!¡± Go to ?????????????????.co Lu Gang spoke up, somewhat excited. Although he possessed an Ability, he preferred this kind of attack that relied on a blanket of firepower. No matter whether it was a Level 3 Night Demon or not, under a barrage of bullets, they would all be shredded! Wang Tao nodded to himself, feeling quite thrilled. Especially the ¡°pupupu¡± sound of the Gatling gun¡ªit made him want to pull the trigger and experience the rush for himself¡­ Night Demons were relatively intelligent among the zombies. Once they realized they could not launch a frontal assault, they immediately dove into the ruins, avoiding a direct fight and instead consistently ambushing. This indeed made things much more difficult for Duan Xuchang and his team. After all, infrared thermal imaging couldn¡¯t penetrate the ruins, and by the time they noticed a Night Demon emerging, its attack was already upon them. Whoosh¡ª A blood-red figure suddenly darted out from a bunker and lunged at a powered armor. Bang! The soldier inside the powered armor didn¡¯t see the Night Demon coming, had no time to defend, and was knocked to the ground. However, the powered armor¡¯s defenses were robust, and the Night Demon managed merely to leave a few faint white marks on it. Ratatat¡ª A short-barreled Rush gun suddenly popped out from the shoulder of the powered armor, and it fired upon the Night Demon that was pressing down on it. Although this Rush gun was clearly not as powerful as the Gatling gun, the Night Demon did not suffer significant damage but was forced back. Whirr~ The powered armor made a sound of machinery in motion, then quickly got back up. The rotating gun had fallen during the Night Demon¡¯s pounce, but he pulled out a folding broadsword crackling with electricity. Gripping the broadsword, blue flames flickered behind the powered armor as it accelerated sharply, rushing towards the Night Demon. Raising the broadsword, it chopped directly at the creature¡¯s head. While the D-100 model powered armor might not be very nimble when moving, their combat agility was certainly no issue. Wielding the broadsword, the soldiers could slash a 50,000-HP Night Demon to death in just a few strokes. Whoosh¡ª At that moment, even more Night Demons appeared, all pouncing towards that powered armor. This time prepared, the powered armor wasn¡¯t knocked down again, and the broadsword sparked with electrical arcs as he brandished it, quickly annihilating the surrounding Night Demons. As Wang Tao¡¯s group was in the midst of the military forces, they didn¡¯t have many opportunities to act. So, they observed the combat effectiveness of these powered armors. Wang Tao felt that the combat power of the D-100 powered armor clearly surpassed that of Level 3. Both in terms of attack and defense, it was stronger than Level 3. Only in speed was it slightly inferior¡ªnot that it wasn¡¯t fast, but that it lacked agility when moving, though it was quick in a straight line. However, these powered armors were not stronger than Level 4¡ªif you only consider physical prowess, the powered armor obviously had Level 4 standards because they were wholly encased in metal, and Level 3 Night Demons couldn¡¯t harm them at all. But Level 4 had Awakening Abilities! With Awakening Abilities included, the powered armor clearly fell short. For instance, Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie¡ªhe felt he could cook the people inside those powered armors¡­ So, the D-100 powered armor was equivalent to something above Level 3, yet somewhat lacking compared to Level 4. Level 3 Perfection? Half-Step Level 4? Wang Tao mused with some amusement. Of course, this was just Wang Tao¡¯s personal feeling, and not necessarily accurate, as powered armors were equipped with many modern weapons. Not to mention anything else, just the six-barrel Gatling guns in their hands, with sufficient bullets, could inflict damage not inferior to that of a Level 4 with an Awakening Ability¡­ In this area, with fewer than twenty Red-skinned Night Demons facing formidable firepower, they were quickly cleared out. ¡°Everyone be careful, we haven¡¯t found the Night Demon¡¯s Nest yet,¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice rang in Wang Tao and the others¡¯ earpieces. Wang Tao had also used his Plant Affinity and Perception to scout around. Apart from discovering a Level 3 Night Demon hiding in a pile of ruins, no other signs were found. Clearly, the Night Demon¡¯s Nest was not in this region. A high-power Ultraviolet flashlight appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, which he then shone towards a certain pile of ruins. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± A howl from a Night Demon immediately came from inside. Then, a Red-skinned Night Demon quickly burrowed out, patches of its skin showing signs of burning. Ratatat¡ª A stream of red fire instantly enveloped it, and within a few seconds, the 50,000-plus HP Level 3 Night Demon was torn to shreds. ¡°` Chapter 749 - Chapter 749: Chapter 296 Half Step to Perfection_3 Chapter 749: Chapter 296 Half Step to Perfection_3 ¡°There was still one hiding!¡± Enclosed within his powered armor, Duan Xuchang muttered to himself, before looking at the flashlight in Wang Tao¡¯s hands with a hint of surprise in his voice. ¡°This thing is pretty useful!¡± They hadn¡¯t seen Wang Tao¡¯s ultraviolet equipment when they came to rescue Zijin Base previously, as the Night Demons had already been dealt with. ¡°You guys don¡¯t have something similar?¡± Wang Tao asked, somewhat puzzled. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about the others, but I definitely don¡¯t have such a flashlight. I remember there were people researching portable ultraviolet lighting equipment before, but the low-power devices were useless against Night Demons, and the high-power devices were too big or required an external power source, making them difficult to carry. I do have some ultraviolet lighting devices, but they are all in the vehicle¡­ I wonder how far the research has gotten now,¡± Duan Xuchang explained to Wang Tao while checking the infrared thermal imaging. ¡°I see¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly realized. He used batteries dropped by Ordinary zombies to power his high-power ultraviolet flashlight, and even though it used a lot of energy, it was, after all, still quite portable. ¡°Then I¡¯ll give you some.¡± Lu Gang and the others all carried packs, and Wang Tao pretended to take out a bunch of high-power ultraviolet flashlights from his pack. He might not have many other things, but he definitely had plenty of ultraviolet equipment. Every time he killed a Night Demon, it would drop an ultraviolet flashlight and several ultraviolet illumination flares. Duan Xuchang¡¯s mouth opened slightly inside the powered armor. He had thought that the ultraviolet flashlight Wang Tao had was some kind of custom-made product; he hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to produce so many at once! Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Thanks!¡± Duan Xuchang did not stand on ceremony and didn¡¯t ask where Wang Tao got all these from. He immediately took them and distributed them to several powered armors and soldiers. He had already seen the effect; these things were very good at dealing with Night Demons. They didn¡¯t expect to harm the Night Demons with them, as long as they could drive them back. ¡°Report, another group of Night Demons has been found! They¡¯re one kilometer to the south!¡± At this moment, the Wu Zhi in the sky spotted some movement. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Duan Xuchang immediately called his team to head over. If they didn¡¯t deal with these Night Demons, they would have trouble clearing obstacles at night, which would waste a lot of time. The longer they stayed in the wilderness, the greater the likelihood of variables. So they had to eliminate these Night Demons. Wang Tao and his party naturally followed the team. Shortly after, everyone saw a large number of Night Demons through their thermal imagers¡ªthere were over a hundred of them! How could there be so many Night Demons in this remote little place? ¡°Everyone be alert, the Night Demon¡¯s lair might be here!¡± Duan Xuchang immediately began issuing orderly commands; this clearly wasn¡¯t his first time undertaking a mission to clear out a Night Demon¡¯s Nest. And after Wang Tao arrived, he quickly found the location of the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! Night Demon nests are usually in dark and damp places. Inside the nest, there are either lots of plants, which Wang Tao could quickly discover through his Plant Affinity, or the nest is entirely covered with Incubation Flesh with no plants. But everywhere outside the nest, there are plants¡ªif there are no plants at all in your area, then clearly something is wrong, so Wang Tao would find it in time. For example, right now, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity vision showed a blank area, but there were plants all around it, so it was clearly problematic¡ªinside lay the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how many Night Demons were in the nest, but it obviously wasn¡¯t small! With the arrival of the army, these Night Demons roared and charged toward the military. They were quickly driven back but then, like the previous Night Demons, started to attack from the flanks. Wang Tao sensed there might be Level 4 Night Demons in this nest and didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity. Instantly, something resembling a mortar appeared in his hand. He aimed the ¡°mortar¡± at the sky and launched it. Bang! A purple light point soared into the sky and then exploded violently. The intense purple light turned the area into daylight! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Sizzle¡ª Numerous Night Demons were exposed to ultraviolet light, their bodies uttering sizzling burning sounds as they let out pained roars, and their HP began to continuously decrease! The Night Demons couldn¡¯t focus on attacking anymore and began to run frantically, but wherever they looked there was ultraviolet light! They didn¡¯t know where to run, flailing like headless flies! Duan Xuchang and others were somewhat dumbstruck, what on earth was this? A flare that emitted a strong ultraviolet light? Using this against Night Demons was like cheating! ¡°Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs! They last for 3 minutes!¡± explained Wang Tao immediately, then added, ¡°Right, help me bomb this coordinate!¡± Duan Xuchang didn¡¯t understand what Wang Tao wanted to bomb at first, but he still had the Wu Zhi above fire a few rockets at the coordinates Wang Tao mentioned. Whizz¡ª Boom boom boom! The ground trembled as it was blown open, revealing a large hole! ¡°We¡¯ll go into the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, you guys handle the outside!¡± Wang Tao immediately led a group of people into the nest. He hadn¡¯t located the actual entrance to the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, but that wasn¡¯t important¡ªhe had blasted an opening. ¡°¡­¡± Only then did Duan Xuchang on the other side realize that the place Wang Tao had them bomb was actually the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! However, he didn¡¯t say much else. He ordered his men to quickly clean up the Night Demons outside and then go down to support Wang Tao. Underground. Upon entering, Wang Tao immediately gasped in shock. ¡°Hiss¡ªsuch a large nest!¡± In his view, there was Incubation Flesh and numerous undeveloped Night Demons everywhere! And he sensed several powerful energy bodies¡ªthere were Level 4, Lord Night Demons, and seemingly not just one! Chapter 750 - Chapter 750: Chapter 297 Parasite_1 Chapter 750: Chapter 297 Parasite_1 ¡°There¡¯s a Level 4, Lord Night Demon!¡± Wang Tao immediately alerted everyone. Upon hearing this, everyone became vigilant. Lan Yulian quickly put on the Flame Gauze Dress that Wang Tao had given her, instantly illuminating the lair. Before, Wang Tao had told her that the equipment had durability, and once its durability was gone, the equipment would be damaged. Lan Yulian was reluctant to let the dress be damaged, so she normally didn¡¯t wear it. After all, the dress was very thin and could be packed away easily, only to be worn when necessary. The others quickly took out their ultraviolet illumination flares; Wang Tao had given them plenty of flares and told them not to be sparing with them. Under the glow of the Flame Gauze Dress and the ultraviolet illumination flares, it was apparent that most of the Night Demons seemed to be outside; there wasn¡¯t a single ordinary Night Demon inside the lair. But Wang Tao could sense clearly the presence of three powerfully energetic figures deep within the lair! Three Level 4 Lords! If it had been before, Wang Tao might have hesitated to go down. But now his strength had increased significantly, so naturally he would not hesitate. After all, the Night Demons had a fatal weakness to ultraviolet light. As long as they ensured the ultraviolet light was functioning properly, they would basically be invincible. However, due to the side effects of having fused with the Fireball Ability earlier, Wang Tao now only had ten thousand HP. To be cautious, Wang Tao activated Entangling Roots. Whether those three figures had noticed Wang Tao¡¯s group was unknown, but in any case, they had not come up. Go to ?????????????????.co Since that was the case, Wang Tao was not in a hurry to go down either. He wanted to kill off the incubation flesh and the unformed Night Demons first. Because once Duan Xuchang and others finished clearing the Night Demons outside, they would surely come down. Upon seeing the incubation flesh and such, they definitely wouldn¡¯t go easy. But since they couldn¡¯t drop loot, to kill these things would just be a waste. Therefore, it was better to let Wang Tao deal with them first. In killing these defenseless creatures, Wang Tao was naturally very fast. Especially after he had learned the Fireball special ability, a wave of his hand would unleash a swath of flames, and soon all the incubation flesh and unformed Night Demons were burned to death. ¡°Level 3 Extraction Crystal Core, Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Core¡­ not bad, not bad!¡± This Night Demon¡¯s Nest was stronger overall than any Wang Tao had encountered before, and the loot was better too. Previously, they only dropped Level 2 Crystal Cores, but this time they were all Level 3! With the death of these pieces of flesh, Wang Tao¡¯s group quickly progressed to the depths of the lair, where they encountered two ferocious figures. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] The attributes of these two Black Skin Night Demons were identical, both being Level 4 Lords with 120,000 HP. But these weren¡¯t the main focus; the focus was on the significantly obese Black Night Demon behind them! [HP: 150000/150000] [Mana: 150000/150000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] This Night Demon was so fat it seemed to be stuck in the cave, unable to come out. ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± When the two Black Skin Night Demons noticed Wang Tao and his group¡¯s arrival, they howled but did not approach. Instead, they firmly guarded the obese Night Demon¡¯s side. Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed immediately. Given the obese Night Demon¡¯s size, and the way those two Black Skin Night Demons protected it¡­ it felt like they were guarding a Matrix Night Demon? But weren¡¯t Night Demons cultivated from incubation flesh? How could there be a Matrix? Wang Tao was puzzled, but that didn¡¯t stop him from taking action. ¡°Throw the flares!¡± At Wang Tao¡¯s command, everyone immediately hurled their ultraviolet illumination flares at the three Night Demons. Whoosh¡ª¡ª In an instant, the entire cave was enveloped in ultraviolet light! Normally, such a burst of ultraviolet light would have caused the Night Demons to retreat temporarily. Even if the ultraviolet light didn¡¯t fatally injure the Level 4, Lord Night Demons, they would still instinctively flee. But now¡­ it was clear to see, under the burning of ultraviolet light, the two Night Demons in front let out agonized roars, smoke rising from their bodies. Yet, they didn¡¯t flee or even take a step back! They were blocking the cave entrance, preventing everyone from throwing their ultraviolet illumination flares inside. ¡°They really are protecting that obese Night Demon!¡± Wang Tao was almost certain in his heart that this was indeed a Matrix Night Demon! ¡°Attack!¡± With the order, everyone began their assault. Since the two Black Skin Night Demons weren¡¯t fleeing, they naturally started with ranged attacks. Ratatat¡ª¡ª Gunfire erupted in a flurry. Roar¡ª¡ª The two Black Skin Night Demons clearly wanted to charge over; if they managed to reach them, everyone except Wang Tao would surely not withstand it. So Wang Tao took out a Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb and fired it at the three Night Demons. Bang! Instantly, the whole cave was filled with dazzling purple light. Forget the Night Demons; even Ding Yuqin and the rest were blinded and could not keep their eyes open. Only Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Han Rui were unaffected. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes could adjust to the incoming light, and Han Rui had the Perception Ability and could see without using her eyes. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao saw that everyone was affected by the illumination bomb and thus unable to attack. He cursed under his breath. The Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb was too powerful, especially in such confined spaces; it was practically an indiscriminate attack. Still, fortunately, although their situation was somewhat dire, the Night Demons had it worse. The two Black Skin Night Demons developed major cracks on their bodies, their HP plummeting. They buzzed around the cave chaotically, like headless flies, even forgetting to protect the obese Night Demon behind them. Chapter 751 - Chapter 751: Chapter 297 Parasite_2 Chapter 751: Chapter 297 Parasite_2 As for the obese Night Demon, its body was also cracking and burning, losing HP and emitting a hiss. But it did not run around aimlessly. ¡°Everyone, fall back!¡± Wang Tao ordered the others to retreat while he charged forward with Jiang Shixue and Han Rui. Wang Tao held a knife in one hand and dragged a fireball with the other. In the blink of an eye, he was beside one of the Black Skin Night Demons. Although the Black Skin Night Demon was in a lot of discomforts because of the Ultraviolet Light, it still reacted when Wang Tao came close. It immediately reached out to grab him. Wang Tao swung two strikes, not to attack the Black Skin Night Demon but to block its Attack. After all, the Entangling Roots he was wearing could not withstand several attacks from the Black Skin Night Demon. After blocking the Attack of the Black Skin Night Demon with his knife, the fireball in Wang Tao¡¯s hand had grown to the size of a balloon. He instantly slapped it onto the body of the Night Demon. Bang! [-30147] This hit directly knocked out thirty thousand of the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s HP! Seeing this damage, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Indeed, it was an Ability that consumed Awakening Energy, and the damage was even higher than his high-frequency vibration Attack! Furthermore, the burning damage was continuous; the Black Skin Night Demon was set ablaze all over, losing HP continuously! Go to ????????????????????.co At this time, another Black Skin Night Demon appeared behind Wang Tao. Although its body was smoking from the Ultraviolet Light burns, it still tried to ambush Wang Tao. But Jiang Shixue and Han Rui attacked the Night Demon simultaneously! For a Black Skin Night Demon with 120,000 HP, the Attacks of Jiang Shixue and Han Rui didn¡¯t cause too much damage but successfully thwarted its attempt to ambush Wang Tao. The Night Demon immediately switched targets, beginning to Attack Jiang Shixue and Han Rui. Both women were quite fast, and the Night Demon, under the influence of the Ultraviolet Light, had its overall abilities suppressed, reducing its speed significantly. As a result, it couldn¡¯t catch up with the two women for the time being. Meanwhile, Wang Tao, taking advantage of the brief moment the two women had bought him, unleashed various Attacks on the first Black Skin Night Demon. In less than a minute, at the cost of taking a hit while wearing the Entangling Roots, Wang Tao successfully killed the Black Skin Night Demon. Wang Tao quickly collected all the loot and rushed towards the other Night Demon. The gap between Level 3 and Level 4 was still too large, especially since the Black Skin Night Demon Awakened a Passive Ability that enhanced its physical fitness. Even in this environment full of Ultraviolet Light, the two women were still being suppressed by the Black Skin Night Demon. Jiang Shixue had slightly higher Defensive power. She took the initiative to block several Attacks for Han Rui, who otherwise might have been injured. However, the Night Demon wasn¡¯t faring well either. Its body was smoking from Ultraviolet Light burns and had sustained multiple attacks from Jiang Shixue and Han Rui, getting injured in the process. When the Night Demon pounced on the two women again, Wang Tao suddenly appeared, standing in front of them. ¡°Leave the rest to me!¡± With Wang Tao¡¯s intervention, the tide of the battle turned instantly. In just thirty to forty seconds, he chopped off the head of the Night Demon! After killing two Level 4 Lord Night Demons in succession, Wang Tao did not push deeper but led the two women to retreat instead. The three went to Lan Yulian for healing. Seeing that Jiang Shixue was injured, Wang Tao touched her hair with a sense of self-reproach. ¡°It¡¯s my fault; I didn¡¯t consider things thoroughly.¡± The problem indeed lay with him. He hadn¡¯t anticipated that the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb would be so bright in such an enclosed space, causing temporary blindness to everyone except the three of them, including Lightning. Even with closed eyes, the intense light was too much to bear, almost like being hit by a Shockwave. As a result, despite having many people, they were unable to Attack¡­ Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t say a word but rubbed her cheek against the palm of Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Once everyone¡¯s HP had recovered sufficiently, the glow from the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb finally weakened, and people began to slowly regain their eyesight. ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine!¡± ¡°Woof!¡± After ensuring there were no issues, Wang Tao then led the group to the obese Night Demon. Wang Tao had been observing, and he noticed that this obese Night Demon, whether due to its size or for other reasons, couldn¡¯t run away and had been enduring the Ultraviolet Light burns the whole time. In the space of two to three minutes, its HP was down to half! Although Night Demons were averse to Ultraviolet Light, the damage it caused to them was not particularly high, it mainly made them uncomfortable and forced them to retreat. They truly feared the sun. So, for them to lose seventy to eighty thousand HP to this artificial Ultraviolet Light was quite astonishing. But, naturally, this was something Wang Tao was pleased to see. He stretched out his hand, and a fireball materialized in his palm. He then threw it at the obese Night Demon. ¡°Attack!¡± [-32833] Ratatat¡ª [-527] [-625] [¡­] Various Attacks hit the obese Night Demon almost instantly. Though it was quite fat, its Defense power was about the same as most Night Demons, and it did not appear to be particularly troublesome to deal with. Moreover, it did not fight back, only continuing to block bullets while howling. ¡°A live target?¡± While Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure why this was happening, he saw an opportunity to be seized! He also kept his distance, alternating between fireballs and Shockwaves for ranged Attacks on the obese Night Demon. Everyone else had guns and pulled their triggers at the obese Night Demon. Although the damage from their rifle bullets wasn¡¯t immense, with so many people and guns, the thick hail of bullets soon brought the obese Night Demon down to a sliver of HP. Wang Tao charged another fireball, preparing to end the life of the obese Night Demon. Chapter 752 - Chapter 752: Chapter 297 Parasite_3 Chapter 752: Chapter 297 Parasite_3 But at that moment, the obese Night Demon suddenly threw a black object at the crowd! The speed it was thrown was extremely fast, and everyone including Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had no time to react. By the time they did react, the black object had already reached Lan Yulian. And Lan Yulian, who was still restoring HP for Jiang Shixue, hadn¡¯t even noticed it. ¡°Look out¡ª¡± As Wang Tao threw a Fireball at the obese Night Demon, he was already rushing towards Lan Yulian, but it was obviously a bit too late. Just as the object was about to land on Lan Yulian¡¯s face, a dark shadow suddenly appeared and bit the thing in its mouth! It was Lightning! Whish¡ª Wang Tao finally reached Lan Yulian¡¯s side, he immediately shielded her behind him, and then looked at the object Lightning had bitten. It was a worm the size of a baby¡¯s arm, rotten all over¡­ a worm? Lightning¡¯s teeth had the Hidden Ability ¡°Iron Teeth,¡± and with its Level 3 status and 100,000 HP, it was not weak. But it seemed that even Lightning was struggling to control this worm! Its muscles were taut, clenching its bite on the creature. The worm twisted its body crazily in its mouth, causing Lightning to be jerked about. Go to ????????????????????.co Could this worm¡¯s strength be comparable to that of Lightning? Then Wang Tao saw the attributes of the worm; it only had HP and Level as its Attributes, but¡­ [HP: 83747/100000] [Level: Level 5 Elite] A Level 5 Zombie with 100,000 HP?! Boom! At that moment, the Fireball Wang Tao had thrown hit the obese zombie. [-14283] [0/150000] The obese zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even glance at the Loot Pack of the obese zombie, he immediately reached out and grabbed the worm from Lightning¡¯s mouth. Squeak¡ª Once in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, the worm let out an unpleasant cry, trying to escape. Wang Tao felt the great strength of the worm, but with his Entangling Roots hand, he held it tightly, and it couldn¡¯t break free. Wang Tao was ready to activate his Awakening at any moment, but the worm only struggled furiously in his hand and showed no aggressive behavior. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to have any attack power?¡± Wang Tao frowned. While the Zombie bug was in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, it kept losing HP. It wasn¡¯t from Wang Tao attacking it, but from the exposure to ultraviolet light. This worm feared ultraviolet light, so it clearly had a connection with Night Demons. Unable to understand what exactly the Zombie bug was, Wang Tao showed no mercy. He took up his long knife and began to hack at the worm relentlessly. In the blink of an eye, the worm stopped moving. At the same time, several Loot Packs emerged. Besides the packs, an orb-like object from inside it fell into Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Obtained: Level 5 ¨C Night Demon Parasite (Pupa) x1] [Level 5 ¨C Night Demon Parasite (Pupa): After the adult emerges, it can parasitize some life forms. If life is parasitized, there is a certain probability of turning into a Level 5 Night Demon within seven days. In conjunction with incubation flesh, the probability of success increases.] ¡°Night Demon Parasite?!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned ugly as he realized that the insect was actually a parasite! Now, besides the virus infection, could there also be this parasitic capability of transmission? He just didn¡¯t know what the ¡°certain probability¡± was¡­ If it was high, that would be terrifying! Moreover, Wang Tao suddenly thought of a very serious issue ¡ª in case of a zombie virus infection, one could be detected through observation and instruments, but what if it was a parasitic infection? If it couldn¡¯t be detected, then it would be like a ticking time bomb! Of course, even if humans weren¡¯t parasitized, it would still be troublesome if the zombies were, because that would lead to a large number of Night Demons¡­ After collecting several Loot Packs from the Night Demon Parasites, Wang Tao approached the corpse of the fat Night Demon. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Only then did Wang Tao discover that many Parasitic Insect Eggs were underneath this obese zombie! No wonder it never left! It indeed was a Matrix Night Demon! But this Matrix Zombie was very different from other Matrix Zombies¡­ [Acquired: Level 5 ¨C Night Demon Parasite (Pupa) x13] [Acquired: Level 4 ¨C Night Demon Parasite (Pupa) x56] There were both Level 4 and Level 5 eggs! However, he didn¡¯t see any corpse of the parasite. Wang Tao guessed that this obese Night Demon might have only this one mature parasite, and it was fortunate that Lightning intercepted it. Otherwise, if Lan Yulian was parasitized, he wouldn¡¯t know how to save her¡­ Wang Tao packed away all the Loot and then turned to the others and said, ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± While exiting, Wang Tao explained to everyone what the insect was. ¡°The Night Demon Parasite!¡± Everyone gasped in shock. Now, if one were infected by the zombie virus, it could be dealt with an Inhibitor. So although they respected the zombie virus, they were no longer as fearful as before. But what if one were parasitized? Becoming a Night Demon would be no different from being dead¡­ ¡°From now on, everyone be more cautious. We must kill this type of parasitic creature if we encounter one!¡± These parasites were indeed terrifying, but fortunately, this one was large in size, so they could take precautions. If it had been one of those parasites invisible to the naked eye, then it would truly be a hopeless situation¡­ By the time Wang Tao and his group reached the surface, Duan Xuchang was still fighting the Night Demon. ¡°Hm? It¡¯s not over yet?¡± Wang Tao frowned and then realized that the carcasses of Night Demons had already piled up in a circle around them! ¡°New Night Demons have arrived?¡± Wang Tao immediately opened his walkie-talkie and asked. ¡°Yes, quite a few Night Demons have come, and there are two Level 4 Night Demons! Otherwise, we would have finished the battle by now!¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s breathless voice came through. ¡°We¡¯ll come help you!¡± After locating Duan Xuchang¡¯s position, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush over, but instead took out a Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb. The flare from before had already gone out. Bang! Purple light soared into the sky! In an instant, the entire nocturnal battlefield was lit up as if it were daytime. Many Night Demons howled as they once again became headless flies. Chapter 753 - Chapter 753: Chapter 298: Full Set of Equipment_1 Chapter 753: Chapter 298: Full Set of Equipment_1 As Wang Tao and his team joined the fight, the situation quickly became one-sided. Of course, this wasn¡¯t solely due to Wang Tao and his team¡¯s efforts but also because each Night Demon killed meant one less enemy while the soldiers remained unscathed, growing stronger as the battle went on. When the illumination from the flares in the sky slowly died out, the brief but intense battle finally came to an end. Duan Xuchang began to lead his men in cleaning up the battlefield. ¡°Although Night Demons don¡¯t have Crystal Cores, some things on their bodies are still very useful. For example, these Night Demon claws can be used to make weapons, which are worth quite a bit of money at Changhe Base!¡± Worried that Wang Tao might not understand, Duan Xuchang explained this to him considerately. ¡°Thank you!¡± Wang Tao, of course, knew that these materials were useful, but it was only right to express his gratitude since it was well-intentioned advice. As for the Night Demon materials, Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t waste them. However, he only collected the loot from Night Demons his group had killed, leaving behind what belonged to the military troops. Cleaning up the battlefield took even longer than the fight itself. After confirming there were no zombies left in the area, Duan Xuchang led his troops back to the train. All was well at the train, as both Ordinary zombies and Night Demons had been lured to the recent battlefield and were completely slaughtered. Since this place was rather remote, after clearing out those zombies, there were absolutely none left, at least for the time being. On the way back, no accidents occurred, and Wang Tao finally found time to talk to Duan Xuchang about the Zombie Parasites. ¡°Zombie Parasites!¡± Go to ????????????????????.co Inside his Powered Armor, Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression turned serious. This was indeed a very important piece of news, something that needed to be reported immediately once he returned. He then asked curiously: ¡°So you mean to say that you encountered a Level 4 Night Demon down there?¡± Duan Xuchang wasn¡¯t actually aware of the specifics of Wang Tao¡¯s team¡¯s fight below. This was because after Wang Tao¡¯s team went down, not just one but several Level 4 Lord Night Demons came from afar. Duan Xuchang assumed that most of the Night Demons, including their Lords, were outside and even if there were Night Demons inside the cave, there wouldn¡¯t be many or they wouldn¡¯t be powerful. Later, when Wang Tao¡¯s team surfaced quickly, with some signs of battle but no injuries, Duan Xuchang was even more convinced of his initial judgement. However, at that time, the battle was so intense that he only asked Wang Tao whether the cave had been cleared out, without delving further. Later, during the cleanup, he sent two Powered Armors to check out the Night Demon¡¯s Nest and left after confirming there were no Night Demons left. So, up until now, he was still unaware of the specifics of Wang Tao¡¯s team¡¯s encounter. But after their exchange just now, he found out that Wang Tao¡¯s team had actually faced three Level 4 Lord Night Demons! And on the surface, he had also encountered three Level 4 Lord Night Demons¡ªthat meant there were a total of six Level 4 Lord Night Demons in today¡¯s battle! ¡°Wow, we were really lucky you guys came over! Otherwise, the outcome of this battle would have been hard to predict¡­¡± Duan Xuchang suddenly felt a bit apprehensive. With the military¡¯s strength, they naturally had the capability to eliminate six Level 4 Lord Night Demons, but he had left the majority of the troops near the train to protect the survivors. Only a small fraction of people came to fight, and they hadn¡¯t even deployed any tanks. If they had encountered an assault by six Level 4 Lord Night Demons while fighting Night Demons, they would have certainly suffered casualties! Not to mention, Wang Tao had provided them with high-powered ultraviolet flashlights, incendiary rounds, and the two airborne devices that fired large ultraviolet incendiary rounds which could change the course of the battle! If Wang Tao and his team hadn¡¯t been there, although they would have eventually won¡ªDuan Xuchang would definitely have called in the main forces if they were losing¡ªthere was no doubt that they would have suffered casualties! It would¡¯ve been challenging for anyone other than those in Powered Armors to withstand an ambush by so many Level 4 Lord Night Demons! Of course, this wasn¡¯t to blame Duan Xuchang for underestimating the threat. One reason was that he needed a large number of people to protect the survivors, which was his mission. Another reason was, who would have thought that a Night Demon¡¯s Nest could house so many Lord Night Demons! Normally, Zombie Lords have their own territories, and aside from situations like a zombie horde, Lords don¡¯t usually coexist. Instances like finding both a Level 3 Lord Night Demon and a Level 4 Lord Night Demon in the same nest were rare enough. He had never before seen two Level 3 or Level 4 Lord Night Demons in the same nest because a zombie group only needs one leader; more leaders would just lead to chaos. And here they were today, with six Level 4 Lord Night Demons! Duan Xuchang also became more alert; sometimes ¡°common sense¡± isn¡¯t so reliable! ¡°We support each other, right?¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He had previously encountered similar unusual situations where the number of zombies, which should have been limited, was unexpectedly high. Now Wang Tao also had experience. When faced with such situations, there was a 90% chance that they had encountered a mother zombie! It¡¯s just that the mother zombie they encountered today was a bit more terrifying than the ones they usually came across! On the way back, the two chatted some more. Duan Xuchang was quite interested in the Flame Gauze Dress that Lan Yulian was wearing. After all, that thing was way too conspicuous at night! And surprisingly, once the soldiers realized that the person wearing the Flame Gauze Dress was a healer, they would consciously head toward Lan Yulian whenever they got injured. Because Lan Yulian was so conspicuous, a quick glance around was all it took to find her position. This greatly increased Lan Yulian¡¯s healing efficiency! Chapter 754 - Chapter 754: Chapter 298: Full Set of Equipment_2 Chapter 754: Chapter 298: Full Set of Equipment_2 Her healing ability was primarily for individual targets, and with such a large battlefield, where she couldn¡¯t see HP bars, trying to find and heal each injured person was quite troublesome. It would be much simpler if the injured could come to her, allowing her to just mechanically release healing¡­ Out of curiosity, Wang Tao simply explained that the equipment was made from materials taken from a Flame Monster. Duan Xuchang clearly believed this explanation, since after all, if claws from a Night Demon could be made into weapons, it made sense that other materials could be crafted into armor. He was only particularly interested in what these Flame Monsters looked like, so he wouldn¡¯t miss out on them if they encountered any in the future. ¡°Are you very interested in this kind of cool equipment?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow and asked. ¡°Not really. I prefer practical equipment myself. But this kind of cool gear is obviously going to be popular and would sell for a lot of money in Changhe Base, maybe even enough to trade for a set of Powered Armor!¡± Duan Xuchang explained with a smile. Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Indeed, Powered Armor could be bought! He happened to have a bunch of things he couldn¡¯t use, so once he got to Changhe Base, he would sell them! The group smoothly returned to the train, and Duan Xuchang immediately ordered the continuation of the clearing operations, but this time, some soldiers and Powered Armors stood guard on the perimeter. Wu Zhi also flew up from time to time to observe the situation, ensuring their safety. Wang Tao and his companions obviously couldn¡¯t sleep; they exchanged combat experiences and summarized the fight. Go to ????????????????????.co Wang Tao also did a self-review, deciding that he must be careful the next time he used the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb so as not to blind his allies. He also praised the big hero of the operation¡ªLightning. It possibly saved Lan Yulian¡¯s life! Wang Tao took out a pile of food and let Lightning eat its fill, then he began to examine his spoils of war. Not to mention anything else, just in terms of HP, Wang Tao had recovered to 110,000 HP once again! Aside from the Level 3 Night Demons, he had killed a Level 5 Zombie Parasite and four Level 4 Lord Zombies today¡ªthe reason it was four Level 4s was because after they emerged from the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, they helped Duan Xuchang ease the pressure by killing a Level 4, Lord Night Demon. Anything above Level 4, Lord was a level-skipping kill for Wang Tao, and a single Night Demon could add more than 20,000 to his HP limit! If he included the ordinary Night Demons, Wang Tao received at least 150,000 HP! The 100,000 HP he had lost from fusing with the fireball crystal core were fully restored after this one battle! Seeing his HP fully restored, Wang Tao immediately took out two items¡ª [Life Elixir (Small): Increases HP limit by +1000 (up to 10 bottles can be consumed)] [Blood Beads: Randomly increases HP limit] These were spoils from the Giant Zombie, valuable items that could increase the HP limit. He hadn¡¯t used them when his HP was low, for safety, but now that his HP was full, he had no concerns! Wang Tao first used the Life Elixirs. A person could use up to 10 bottles, and he had 30, which was more than enough. A moment later, Wang Tao smacked his lips, feeling a bit of sweetness. Then he looked at his HP bar. [120000/120000] One hundred twenty thousand HP! Keep going! Wang Tao then put the [Blood Beads] in his mouth. Similar to fusing crystal cores, the Blood Beads instantly vaporized and merged into his limbs and bones. Then, Wang Tao felt an improvement in his physical fitness; he checked his HP. [150000/150000] ¡°Hiss¡ªBlood Beads added thirty thousand HP!¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. He was directly at one hundred fifty thousand now! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know where his strength would rank in Changhe Base, but he felt his HP was probably the highest, right? The increase in HP also brought some improvement to his physical fitness! Although awakening was more important than physical fitness after Level 4, the sensation of upgrading was still exhilarating. Next, Wang Tao looked at the Advanced Special Energy. By killing four Level 4, Lord Night Demons, he had obtained four Advanced Special Energies. Killing the Level 5 Night Demon Parasite had gotten him two Advanced Special Energies. So he now had a total of 26 Advanced Special Energies. Then there were the Awakening Keys. Wang Tao had obtained four. He didn¡¯t receive any from killing the Level 5 parasite since only same-level or higher-level kills of Level 4 and above lords would yield them. The Level 5 parasite was only at the Elite rank, and so naturally, he didn¡¯t get any. Next was Awakening Energy. Since the opponents in this fight were all Night Demons and he had plenty of Ultraviolet equipment, combined with a substantial increase in his strength and having learned Fireball and such, he didn¡¯t use Awakening and saved quite a lot of Awakening Energy. Awakening Energy is only obtained from killing Lords, so he had gained 400 Awakening Energy this time. He had over 200 before, and now he had reached the 600 maximum, so he could increase his Awakening Energy limit. Without hesitation, Wang Tao immediately upgraded. After all, Awakening Energy recovered 100 every day, and it felt somewhat wasteful if he didn¡¯t raise the limit while at maximum. A moment later, all 600 Awakening Energy had been used up, and Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Energy limit had reached 700! Wang Tao decided not to upgrade further for the time being. It wouldn¡¯t be too late to continue upgrading after reaching Changhe Base. With the Awakening Crystal Cores and Energy Beads he had, reaching 1000 wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Then came various spoils of war. The loot from those three Level 4, Lord Night Demons and the broodmother they exploded from were mostly identical. Cores included [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion] *4, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility] *4, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Energy Boost] *4, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: HP Boost] *4, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening] *2, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Bloodline Inheritance] Chapter 755 - Chapter 755: Chapter 298: Full Set of Equipment_3 Chapter 755: Chapter 298: Full Set of Equipment_3 ¡°` [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x3] The mother zombie only had two Awakening Crystal Cores, but there were three Awakening Energy Pearls. That amounted to a whopping 400 Awakening Energy! And this mother zombie had one more Crystal Core than the three Lord Night Demons. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Bloodline Inheritance] [Quality: 100% (Epic) [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] [Bloodline Inheritance: Allows one to transfer a portion of one¡¯s own strength to someone else, no more than one¡¯s own strength limit (One¡¯s strength won¡¯t permanently decrease, but will need some time to recover.)] Wang Tao had previously obtained a Level 3 version of this type of Crystal Core from a mother zombie. He felt this kind of Crystal Core was also quite good, and he planned to study later how to use it more effectively¡­ [Obtained: Fourth-Order Weapon¡¤Night Demon Type 1 x4] They also dropped four hearts, that is, four Night Demon Type 1s. Wang Tao now had five Night Demon Type 1s in his possession! Next came the materials, potions, and the Ultraviolet Suit. [Obtained: Fourth-tier¡¤Night Demon¡¯s Claw x8] Go to ????????????????????.co [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x60] [Obtained: Strength Potion (Small) x60] [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x4] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x400] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x80] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x20] [Obtained: Awakening Key x2] What delighted Wang Tao the most among these was that he had gained two more physical awakening keys! He now had six physical awakening keys in his hands, which could awaken six people! However, Ascension Crystal Cores were momentarily in short supply, so simultaneous awakening for six people was still challenging¡­ Last were the blueprints dropped by the four Level 4 Lord Night Demons, a total of eight blueprints! [Obtained: Night Demon Helmet Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Belt Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Boots Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Gloves Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Blade Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Ring Blueprint x1] Seeing these blueprints, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in excitement! Each blueprint was unique, and he had just looted a full set of equipment, including the ring, all at once! And this time, there was an additional Night Demon Helmet Blueprint. [Night Demon Helmet Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Night Demon Helmet. Required materials: Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone*10kg, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Screw x20, Rubber x20] [Night Demon Helmet: Attributes unknown] Previously, Wang Tao was saying that Jiang Shixue would suit the Night Demon Set well, and that he would try to get her a set¡­ and now here it was! Wang Tao promptly crafted all of the Night Demon Equipment. He first checked the helmet, which he had never seen before. [Night Demon Helmet] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] ¡°` [Durability +75, Defense +75] This was a matte black full-coverage helmet that protected the mouth and chin. There were slight protrusions on either side of the helmet¡¯s top, resembling ears, and a very small pair of goggles covered the eyes¡­ The helmet looked very simple and lightweight overall. As for attributes, it added 75 points each to durability and defense, which was quite nice. Then Wang Tao checked the Level 4 Night Demon Blade. [Night Demon Blade] [Level Four (Epic)] [Durability +70, Attack Power +70, Attack Speed +25%] The durability and attack of the Level 3 Night Demon Blade both increased by 55, but the Level 4 went straight up by 70! This was on par with Wang Tao¡¯s tusk long knife. However, the tusk long knife had a bleeding ability, while the Night Demon Blade provided a 25% increase in attack speed! It was hard to say which weapon was stronger or weaker, but Wang Tao still preferred longer weapons; daggers were definitely not his style. He planned to give this set of Night Demon equipment to Jiang Shixue, including the dagger and helmet. Wang Tao himself had plenty of equipment, he wouldn¡¯t miss this helmet, and he could continue to kill Night Demons to obtain blueprints. As for the dagger, this Level 4 dagger was likely to deal more damage than Jiang Shixue¡¯s claws. Wang Tao fused all of this equipment into the Night Demon Ring. [Night Demon Ring (Set)] [Level Four (Epic)] [Attack Speed +5%, Movement Speed +5%, Level 4 Night Demon Set] [Level 4 Night Demon Set: Durability +560, Defense +80, Attack Power +70, Attack Speed +35% (includes: Dagger, Gloves, Helmet, Chest Armor, Belt, Leg Armor, Combat Boots)] Wang Tao¡¯s Night Demon Set had 5 pieces, but this one had 7 pieces, adding a dagger and a helmet. So, there was a bit more durability, and it included the dagger¡¯s attack and attack speed attributes, but the defensive power attribute was the same as his own set. Wang Tao was resting in a small room at that time. He called Jiang Shixue over and directly handed her a ring. ¡°Bro~¡± Jiang Shixue was stunned for a moment when she saw the ring, then suddenly became a bit shy. ¡°Uh, don¡¯t think too much, it¡¯s a set of equipment!¡± Wang Tao rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair a bit speechlessly. ¡°¡­¡± Jiang Shixue quickly learned how to use the Night Demon Set. The moment Jiang Shixue had the thought, her school uniform transformed into a set of a matte black, full-body Night Demon Suit! Jiang Shixue was quite slender, so wearing the Night Demon Set gave off a completely different vibe than Wang Tao. Moreover, since the Night Demon Set was rather form-fitting, Wang Tao thought it looked even better on Jiang Shixue. ¡°Not bad, not bad!¡± Wang Tao held a mirror for Jiang Shixue to see herself. She was also very happy with the effect. She would make the dagger disappear for a moment, then reappear the next, playing to her heart¡¯s content¡ªThe set inside the ring didn¡¯t need to be worn all at once, it could be donned according to one¡¯s thoughts. Whoosh¡ª The Night Demon Helmet on Jiang Shixue¡¯s head vanished, revealing her delicate little face. She stood on tiptoe and gently kissed Wang Tao¡¯s cheek. ¡°Thank you, bro~¡± After saying that, she ran off. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He then turned his attention to the Loot Pack that had dropped from the ¡°Level 5 Night Demon Parasite.¡± Chapter 756 - Chapter 756: Chapter 299: Zombie Evolution_1 Chapter 756: Chapter 299: Zombie Evolution_1 ¡°` Upon killing the Level 5 Zombie Parasite, in addition to the Loot Pack, it only dropped one item, which was its insect egg. [Level 5¡¤Night Demon Parasite (Insect Egg): After reaching adulthood, it can parasitize a portion of life. There¡¯s a chance within seven days that the life parasitized will turn into a Level 5 Night Demon, and with the use of Incubation Flesh, the success rate will increase] This insect egg is a thumb-sized, earthy yellow sphere, bigger in size compared to that of a Level 4. If it weren¡¯t mentioned, one might never guess it was an insect egg! After killing this Night Demon Parasite, that it would drop an insect egg was unexpected, but it¡¯s unknown if this egg, once hatched and killed, would continue to yield more eggs. If it did, wouldn¡¯t that amount to being invincible? Wang Tao thought that was probably not the case and there might be some other conditions¡­ Moreover, how is this insect egg supposed to be incubated? Wang Tao held the egg, lost in thought. To ordinary people, such an egg would be extremely dangerous. However, for Wang Tao, that wasn¡¯t necessarily the case. If he was able to incubate the parasite egg and then kill it, wouldn¡¯t that be the same as killing a Level 5 Elite Zombie? If he was bolder, and after incubating the parasite egg, allowed it to parasitize a zombie, turning the zombie into a Level 5 Night Demon which Wang Tao then killed, he would be able to obtain the loot of a Level 5 Zombie! Currently, in Wang Tao¡¯s possession were 14 Level 5 and 56 Level 4 Night Demon Parasite eggs, totaling 70 eggs. Go to ????????????????????.co If even a third or a fifth of them turned into Night Demons and Wang Tao killed them, wouldn¡¯t he be able to gain a lot of loot! Hiss¡ª Wang Tao quickly shook his head. The idea was too dangerous, and it was better not to think about it for now! After all, he hadn¡¯t fought a Level 5 Zombie yet and didn¡¯t know whether he could win¡­ Even if he were to do so in the future, he would have to ensure safety measures were in place. Otherwise, it would be suicidal. As for how exactly to incubate these eggs, Wang Tao figured there are likely two possibilities. One is time, where hatching would occur when a certain period has passed. The other is by providing nutrients, possibly requiring some meats, blood, and the like¡­ Later, when it was safe, Wang Tao planned to test with two Level 4 insect eggs. Even if they both hatched into Level 4 Night Demons, he would be able to cope. As for the current batch of eggs, they were of course to be stored in the Space Backpack; he didn¡¯t trust anywhere else. Then Wang Tao looked towards the Loot Packs that burst from the parasite, a total of five, a decent number. The first pack contained a heart. [Obtained: Fourth-Order Weapon¡¤Night Demon Type 1 x1] It was a Night Demon Type 1, and the four Night Demon Zombies he had previously killed had also each dropped a heart. Including those and the one Wang Tao already had, he now had six Night Demon Type 1s! If he released all six Night Demon Type 1s at the same time, their damaging power would certainly be stronger than that of a Level 4, Lord Night Demon! In Wang Tao¡¯s view, these Night Demon Type 1s arguably had three disadvantages. The first is that they cannot think independently and need commands. Of course, this isn¡¯t necessarily a disadvantage. The second is that they are vulnerable to ultraviolet light, so they can only be used at night. Moreover, they are not viable in combat against Night Demons because Wang Tao would need to use ultraviolet tools. The third is that they only have ten thousand HP, so their HP is quite low, and they could easily be quickly killed. If Wang Tao could increase their HP to a hundred thousand blood volume, six Night Demon Type 1s, with a total HP of six hundred thousand, should be able to handle ordinary Level 4 Lord Zombies. However, Wang Tao was short on Crystal Cores, so for the moment, there was nothing he could do. Actually, Wang Tao was also waiting for the zombie evolution after this rain stopped. As per the precedent, after every corrosive acid rain, zombies would undergo an evolution. While Wang Tao definitely didn¡¯t want to see the zombies evolve, this kind of event was beyond human control. So, he had to accept the fact that zombies would become increasingly stronger. Currently, Wang Tao had encountered Level 4, Lord Zombies, and even witnessed a Level 5 disaster zombie, but he had yet to come across an Ordinary Level 4 or an Elite Level 4 zombie. Elite or higher beings all possess Crystal Cores, and Elites are much more numerous than Lords! For now, if Wang Tao wanted to obtain a Level 4 Crystal Core, he would have to kill Level 4, Lord Zombies. Level 4 Lords are not only more dangerous but also rarer in number, which is why Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores in hand. Wang Tao felt that after this heavy rain, there should appear Level 4 Elite Zombies¡­ If he encountered a large number of Level 4 Elite Zombies, the speed at which Wang Tao acquired Crystal Cores would naturally increase greatly! Then whether he wanted to facilitate faster Awakenings for everyone or upgrade the Night Demon Type 1s to a hundred thousand HP, it would be relatively simpler. Of course, after the widespread evolution of zombies, the post-apocalyptic environment would become even more dangerous. So he had to hurry to improve his strength! Wang Tao turned to the second Loot Pack. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another Awakening Energy Pearl! Counting the previous ones, Wang Tao now had 19 beads and 11 Awakening Crystal Cores, which amounted to 3000 Awakening Energy. Enough to raise the Awakening Energy limit to 1100! The third Loot Pack contained Crystal Cores, but there were only two. One red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Exraction] and one orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Healing] ¡°` Chapter 757 - Chapter 757: Chapter 299: Zombie Evolution_2 Chapter 757: Chapter 299: Zombie Evolution_2 ¡°` It was a Level 5 Zombie bug, yet the Crystal Core it burst forth was only Level 4¡­ Wang Tao felt it was probably due to its relatively weaker strength. After all, it was just a parasite. Apart from its 100,000 HP, it had no other Attributes; the fact that it could drop a Crystal Core was already quite remarkable. This Level 4 Extraction Crystal Core was still very useful to Wang Tao. Including this one, he only had two. However, both Crystal Cores were of high Quality, one orange and the other red. Unless his luck was exceptionally bad, it was almost certain that he wouldn¡¯t fail. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Healing] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: Own attack power decreased by 10)] [Healing: Consumes energy to add a certain amount of current HP to a single life] And this second Healing Crystal Core was the fused Ability of Lan Yulian. It was only now that Wang Tao realized that the side effect of this Crystal Core was a reduction in attack power by 10. Now it didn¡¯t seem like a big deal, but during the early days of the apocalypse, losing those 10 points of attack could hurt. For instance, you might have been able to kill a zombie, but you fell just short and got counter-killed instead¡­ Luckily, Lan Yulian had been with Lu Yingfeng all along, one healing and the other attacking. They supported each other, so there were no issues. This Healing Crystal Core wasn¡¯t much use to Wang Tao, but Lan Yulian could use it. It could also be given to someone else to develop another healer! As for how exactly to use it, he would have to study it later¡­ Inside the fourth Loot Pack was an Ultraviolet Suit. Go to ????????????????????.co [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x100] This only included one Ultraviolet flashlight and 100 Ultraviolet flares, which seemed fairly stingy. But after all, it was from an Elite Zombie; one couldn¡¯t be too demanding. The last Loot Pack contained a Blueprint. [Obtained: Ordinary Healing Earrings Blueprint x1] [Ordinary Healing Earrings Blueprint: Can be used to craft a pair of Healing Earrings. Required materials: Level 4 Crystal Core x1, bones of any Fourth-Level Organism x1kg] [Ordinary Healing Earrings: Provides a certain boost to Healing ability] Wang Tao was somewhat surprised to see this Blueprint. It wasn¡¯t equipment prefixed with ¡°Night Demon,¡± but rather gear that provided a bonus to Healing! Moreover, it was a pair of earrings that Wang Tao had never seen before. Wang Tao¡¯s Magic microcapsule still had plenty of bones from Level 4, Lord Zombies, so he took out some bones and a Level 4 Crystal Core. Then, he began the crafting process. A rainbow light flashed. A pair of earrings that looked like they were made of white jade appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. ¡°They look pretty nice¡­¡± Wang Tao examined the specific Attributes of the earrings. [Ordinary Healing Earrings] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Healing ability +10%, grants Attribute attack (If the wearer themselves has an Attribute attack, it can endow the healed individual with Attribute attack)] ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao let out a light exclamation. The extra 10% to Healing Ability wasn¡¯t worth mentioning; that was definitely a strong feature. But this granting of an Attribute attack, if he hadn¡¯t misunderstood, meant that if Lan Yulian had a Fire attribute attack, then when she healed others, she could also endow them with a Fire attribute attack, right? If that was indeed the case, then this was incredibly powerful! Even though Lan Yulian herself didn¡¯t have an Attribute attack, Wang Tao had a Flame Bracelet that could add Fire attributes to his attacks! Wang Tao had tested the Flame Bracelet himself, and it didn¡¯t offer him much of an upgrade. So he was already planning to give it to someone else. Now it seemed perfect for Lan Yulian! After all, giving it to someone else would only enable that one person to have a Fire attribute attack, but if Lan Yulian was healing people, she could grant many people the Fire attribute attack! That was clearly much more suitable! Wang Tao immediately called Lan Yulian over. A short while later, Lan Yulian entered, looking somewhat puzzled. ¡°I have something for you.¡± Wang Tao brought out the Flame Bracelet. ¡°Ah?¡± Lan Yulian looked incredulous. Wang Tao had shown the Flame Bracelet in front of everyone before, and although she liked it, he had also said that it was for adding Fire Attribute attacks, thus obviously not fitting for her role as a healer. She had been wondering to whom Wang Tao would give the bracelet, never expecting that it would be offered to her. Lan Yulian instinctively waved her hands dismissively. ¡°I don¡¯t want it! It¡¯s not suitable for me; it would obviously increase others¡¯ power more than mine¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want it¡ªthe bracelet was actually quite beautiful. Mainly, it was because there were too many women associated with Wang Tao. If a healer like her were to take such an attack-enhancing bracelet, what would the others think? She didn¡¯t want to create rifts within the group, nor did she wish to trouble Wang Tao. Seeing how understanding Lan Yulian was, Wang Tao smiled, but he still personally fitted the Flame Bracelet on her wrist. Then, without waiting for Lan Yulian to speak, he took out a pair of earrings. ¡°These are for you too. Don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll put them on for you.¡± Lan Yulian opened her mouth, surprised. Were these earrings also equipment? By the time Wang Tao helped her with the earrings, Lan Yulian suddenly felt a bit different. ¡°Huh?¡± Lan Yulian touched the earrings in surprise. She couldn¡¯t quite identify the difference, but something definitely changed. ¡°Try casting a Healing spell.¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°` Chapter 758 - Chapter 758: Chapter 299: Zombie Evolution_3 Chapter 758: Chapter 299: Zombie Evolution_3 ¡°` Lan Yulian didn¡¯t hesitate and healed Wang Tao right away. Then, her eyes widened in shock. She clearly saw Wang Tao¡¯s palm suddenly turn a bit red! Lan Yulian was immediately filled with surprise and doubt. ¡°My healing¡­¡± Wang Tao saw a new status appear below his HP bar. [Fire attribute attack: countdown 59 seconds] He had gained a ¡°one-minute fire attribute attack¡± status! A minute might not seem long, but in a battle with zombies, a minute could determine life or death. Therefore, a minute-long fire attribute attack was quite impressive! Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian to heal him once more. He found that, after the second healing, his fire attribute attack countdown reset to one minute. In other words, as long as Lan Yulian kept healing him, he could maintain the fire attribute attack indefinitely! This mechanic was quite good, especially for an endurance battle! Seeing Lan Yulian a little confused, Wang Tao explained it to her: Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°The purpose of these earrings is to enhance your healing ability, and while you heal others, you also transfer the flame bracelet¡¯s fire attack to them¡­¡± ¡°Ah? It can do that?¡± Lan Yulian was astonished. If that was the case, then wearing the flame bracelet made sense for her, didn¡¯t it? Now somewhat enamored with it, Lan Yulian gently touched the bracelet and then took a mirror to look at the earrings. Both the bracelet and the earrings were beautiful, especially since they were a gift from Wang Tao! She adored them. After the fire attribute effect on him had disappeared, Wang Tao said: ¡°Try releasing Healing Light.¡± Healing Light was a healing ability that Wang Tao had previously merged for her. Although this ability didn¡¯t greatly increase HP for a single person in one go, as a group-area ability, it continually healed any humans within the range of Healing Light. The longer and the more people stayed within it, the more potential the ability had. ¡°Okay!¡± Lan Yulian immediately used Healing Light. An aura emerged from Lan Yulian, swiftly enveloping Wang Tao, and they both noticed their hands appeared slightly red. Wang Tao then looked at his attributes again. [Fire attribute attack: countdown 3 seconds] Under the scope of Healing Light, Wang Tao had a fire attribute attack for 3 seconds. And since Healing Light healed every second, just as his fire attribute attack was about to last for two more seconds, he would gain another 3 seconds of fire attribute attack! Since the consumption of Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing Light was low and couldn¡¯t be interrupted, she usually had it activated throughout previous battles. That meant as long as someone was within Lan Yulian¡¯s range of Healing Light, they would continuously have fire attribute attack! On top of that, the healing effect of Healing Light had increased by 10%¡­ Lan Yulian¡¯s support capabilities had been greatly enhanced in an instant! For Wang Tao, the fire attribute¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t high, unless he managed to ignite the target, but since he had learned the fireball special ability, the igniting effect was much better than the fire attribute attack. So, fire attribute attack wasn¡¯t very useful for him. But it might be different for others! After all, not everyone possessed fire-based abilities or had gone through an Awakening. Having a fire attribute attack for additional damage was quite nice. Furthermore, if they were lucky enough to trigger the ignition ability, the damage would be even higher. Even if everyone had the worst luck and couldn¡¯t trigger the ignition effect, just the added fire attribute damage alone would be significant ¨C a few percent increase per person could result in a huge cumulative boost with a group of fifteen or twenty people involved! Once Lan Yulian put on the [Flame Bracelet] and the [Ordinary Healing Earrings], in a way, her healing ability had transformed into an attacking ability! Wang Tao gave Lan Yulian a thorough explanation of these effects because if he didn¡¯t clarify, Lan Yulian would surely waste a lot of time figuring it out on her own. ¡°Am I really that powerful?¡± Lan Yulian looked at her hand, somewhat disbelieving. Wang Tao smiled and took her hand, saying: ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it soon. In the future, you alone may be a match for an entire army!¡± ¡°That¡¯s an exaggeration¡­¡± Lan Yulian immediately hugged Wang Tao¡¯s arm and then gave a kiss on his face. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to them!¡± With her support ability greatly strengthened, she naturally needed to inform her teammates in advance. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡­ The next day, at seven o¡¯clock in the morning. Before breakfast, Wang Tao went out to check on the train station clearing situation. ¡°That was quick!¡± Wang Tao was surprised to find that the blockage on the path had been mostly cleared! ¡°As long as there¡¯s no zombie disturbance, our efficiency is definitely not a problem!¡± Duan Xuchang, clad in powered armor, came over and looked at the tracks before adding, ¡°In about three more hours, we should be able to go through.¡± ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up without delay. Duan Xuchang¡¯s estimate was quite accurate. With ten minutes to spare before the three-hour mark, all the obstructions on the tracks had been cleared! Wang Tao specifically used his Perception to check, ensuring there were no more zombies in the area. ¡°Board the train!¡± At Duan Xuchang¡¯s shout, everyone began to board the train. Accompanied by a deep rumbling, the train started moving slowly. ¡°We can finally leave.¡± On the train, Ding Yuqin and her group all breathed a sigh of relief. Remaining here always carried a certain unease. The train slowly left the small station, and the noise quickly attracted other zombies from different areas. But the train¡¯s speed picked up, leaving most zombies unable to keep up; those that could catch up or were blocking the tracks were mercilessly cut down or even smashed by the train! Watching these brutal images through the monitor, Wang Tao and the others felt an inexplicable sense of catharsis. Just then, Duan Xuchang, who was gazing out at the sky through the window, suddenly spoke. ¡°The rain¡­is getting lighter.¡± Everyone¡¯s expression became serious upon hearing this. The rain is stopping? That would mean the zombie evolution was imminent! ¡°` Chapter 759 - Chapter 759: Chapter 300 Rainbow After Rain_1 Chapter 759: Chapter 300 Rainbow After Rain_1 Seeing the train depart smoothly had initially brought joy to everyone. However, their expressions instantly turned serious when they saw that the rain seemed about to stop. The stopping of the rain meant that the zombies would evolve! According to past experience, the longer the rain lasted, the stronger the zombies would evolve once it stopped. This rain had been falling for more than two months! Nobody knew how strong the zombies would become this time! Duan Xuchang sensed the atmosphere becoming somewhat oppressive and tried to lighten the mood with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry too much, everyone. We¡¯re not far from Changhe City Base now. At our current speed, we should arrive by this afternoon! Once we¡¯re inside the base, any danger will be kept at bay!¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Seeing Duan Xuchang¡¯s confident expression, everyone relaxed slightly. However, their vigilance did not wane, knowing that caution was paramount, especially on the eve of victory! Duan Xuchang also began to arrange for a large number of people to be on duty. There was no need to rest now; they could rest well once they safely returned to the base. Following the actions of these soldiers on the train, the survivors from Zijin Base weren¡¯t fools either, and quickly some guessed that they might be nearing their destination. From the monitors, one could see that they were a mix of excited and anxious. ¡°I¡¯ll go and soothe them.¡± Lan Yulian spoke up. Go to ????????????????????.co About to enter a new environment, nobody knew what it would be like or whether it could accommodate ordinary people like them. Although the promises made before had sounded good, those were others¡¯ words. Without witnessing it themselves, they certainly wouldn¡¯t feel assured. Lan Yulian understood their feelings; as the former leader of these survivors, it was natural for her to go and calm and reassure them. As for why she was referred to as the ¡°former leader,¡± that was because after arriving at Changhe Base, Lan Yulian probably wouldn¡¯t lead them anymore. She had become the leader at the clubhouse out of necessity for survival. Later, she became the leader of Zijin Base because she felt she could lead them to live well. If these survivors were now safe, there was naturally no need for her to continue as leader. Compared to being a leader, she preferred to stay by Wang Tao¡¯s side and help him. ¡°We¡¯ll go with you.¡± Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and a few others also spoke up. They also had experience in calming and reassuring people. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lan Yulian then led them over. Wang Tao did not join; he was not good at these sorts of things. Yang Changhong looked at the fast-moving scenery outside the window. She rested her head on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder, her face tinted with a touch of melancholy. Yang Changhong initially aimed to find her sister. Just when she thought all hope was lost, she suddenly stumbled upon some clues. Just as she believed she might find her sister, the leads vanished, and she experienced a super zombie tide¡­ Although she had come to accept the reality that her sister could not have survived, she still felt a sense of reluctance¡­ but what could she do about it? On her own, she couldn¡¯t change anything. Even if she managed to arrive at Changhe Base safely, her sister¡­ Wang Tao kissed Yang Changhong on the forehead and then hugged her shoulders tightly. Apart from Yang Changhong, who was searching for someone, He Jijun was also initially looking for his granddaughter. But He Jijun had long since accepted reality, after all, he had seen his granddaughter turn into a zombie with his own eyes¡­ But He Jijun had not given up hope. He was already old, with no elders above or young ones below. To him, this world held little to look forward to. If it weren¡¯t for the task of finding his granddaughter, perhaps he would have given up on resistance long ago¡­ That was probably what drove him to keep living. The others, more or less, also had their own reflections. After all, they would arrive at Changhe Base in a few hours and start a new life. No one knew whether this new life would be good or bad, or even how long they would be able to live¡­ Compared to them, Ding Yuqin and the others who were Wang Tao¡¯s initial companions, were more composed. They had always been wandering, and had long been eager to find a place where they could live in peace. Even if Changhe Base wasn¡¯t great, it was bound to be better than wandering, not to mention that Changhe Base sounded quite promising. Li Qiuyu, not far away, stole a glance at Wang Tao. She subconsciously tightened her grip on Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, her little face troubled. She was unsure how Wang Tao would arrange things for her afterward¡­ As for Wang Tao himself, he didn¡¯t have any particular feelings for the moment. After all, in the more than half a year since the apocalypse began, he had changed locations too many times and had grown accustomed to it. His first impression of Changhe Base was quite good. Moreover, he was really looking forward to getting his hands on some Powered Armor to play with! ¡­ Some time later, Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. ¡°The rain is really about to stop.¡± Wang Tao got up and came to the window. It was pouring rain when they set out in the morning, but now it had turned to a lingering drizzle. The distant dark clouds seemed about to disperse, and one could barely make out the sun behind them. Occasional rain could brighten one¡¯s mood, but ongoing rain could become irritating. Now, seeing the sun about to break through the clouds, everyone¡¯s spirits were uplifted. At that moment, Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice came through everyone¡¯s earpieces. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, although I would have liked for everyone to arrive safely at Changhe Base, I must now interrupt, for we might have a little trouble that needs resolving.¡± At his words, everyone¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°What trouble?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. Chapter 760 - Chapter 760: Chapter 300 Rainbow After Rain_2 Chapter 760: Chapter 300 Rainbow After Rain_2 ¡°Hold on, let me show you something.¡± A picture appeared on the surveillance room¡¯s screen, showing a dense mass of zombies! ¡°A horde¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but not completely so. The route the snowplow train traveled was very remote, far from any cities. Aside from encountering a large horde in Zijing City at the beginning, there hadn¡¯t been much in the way of hordes after leaving Zijing City. Seeing so many zombies now, everyone instinctively tensed up. Duan Xuchang explained: ¡°This horde is right on our inevitable path, we had passed through here on our way here. Naturally, we¡¯ll have to go through it on our way back as well. Taking a detour would be too far, plus there are many uncertainties. So the road ahead might be somewhat bumpy. But don¡¯t worry, do your best to calm the other survivors¡­ If all goes well, this should be our last trouble before we reach Changhe Base smoothly!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao nodded. Lan Yulian and a few others were still with the other survivors and hadn¡¯t returned to his car, so Wang Tao contacted her to explain the situation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Wang Tao, I¡¯ll calm them down!¡± Whirr¡­ Soon, the sound of helicopter rotors beating the air reached Wang Tao and the others, and then they saw two helicopters laden with weapons fly out. Go to ????????????????????.co There were a total of four armed helicopters on the snowplow train ¨C usually, two helicopters would scout and clear the way while the other two rested, rotating in shifts. Now that the other two resting Wu Zhi helicopters were also flying out, it meant that they were truly on the last leg of their journey. Even in hunting a rabbit, a lion uses all its strength. At this point, Duan Xuchang would allow no mistakes. The helicopters were naturally much faster than the train; while the people on the train had yet to see the zombies, the helicopters were already exchanging fire with them. Wang Tao could faintly hear some explosions. A moment later, Duan Xuchang appeared with several soldiers, having been in the lead car all this time. Wang Tao noticed Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression was very serious¡­ The situation seemed somewhat tricky. He immediately asked: ¡°What¡¯s the status?¡± ¡°These zombies are much stronger than when we came¡­ which means they might have already completed their evolution! The firepower from the Wu Zhi helicopters alone is not enough¡­ We have to take action ourselves!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Completed their evolution? Everyone¡¯s faces didn¡¯t look good. So they really couldn¡¯t reach their destination smoothly after all¡­ ¡°What exactly do you mean? Do you need our help?¡± Wang Tao asked again. For this operation, Duan Xuchang was the overall commander. Wang Tao would naturally respect his ideas. If they were needed, then Wang Tao would lead his people into action. If not, then Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t add to the chaos. ¡°We don¡¯t need¡ªwait, I need to borrow your transport helicopter!¡± Duan Xuchang was about to say they didn¡¯t need help, thinking that they could resolve the issue through heavy firepower. But then he thought of Wang Tao¡¯s transport helicopter; if they used the helicopter to airlift their powered armors into the midst of the zombie horde, it would save a lot of time and result in a significant impact! ¡°The helicopter? No problem!¡± Wang Tao immediately agreed, then turned to his people to instruct: ¡°Old He, you¡¯ll fly the plane, Little Xue will come with me, and I¡¯ll call Jade Lotus in a moment¡­¡± As the main force of this attack was still Duan Xuchang and his men, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to bring too many people, just two pilots, one bodyguard, and one medic would suffice. ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone responded. The military transport helicopter was parked in a carriage in the middle of the train, and Wang Tao and his group quickly made their way there. Meanwhile, Duan Xuchang gathered his men to begin suiting up in powered armor. Once He Jijun had everything ready for the helicopter to take off at any time, Duan Xuchang arrived with five additional powered armors. One after another, the six powered armors boarded the aircraft, and He Jijun pulled on the control stick. Whirr¡­ The helicopter left the train and sped towards the front. It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to see the horde. Boom, boom, boom¡­ Pop, pop, pop¡­ All four Wu Zhi helicopters were attacking the zombies on the ground, with many zombies riddled with holes, but there were too many zombies, and the helicopters could only kill, not stop them. The size of this horde was actually not large, not comparable to the size of hordes seen in Wuyang City or Zijing City. However, these zombies were much stronger than those in the previous hordes! Wang Tao could clearly see that the dark mass of zombies below was mostly made up of Level 3 and even Level 4 zombies! ¡°Indeed, they have evolved! Fourth-order Elite Zombies have appeared!¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. This matched his previous conjecture; after the evolution of the zombies, both Fourth Order Ordinary and Fourth Order Elite Zombies had indeed appeared! Whirr¡­ After confirming there were no excessively large or ranged attack zombies among them, the helicopter started to slowly descend. A few meters from the ground, the doors opened. Thud, thud, thud¡­ The six powered armors landed one after another. Although the height wasn¡¯t great, the powered armors were heavy and immediately crushed many zombies beneath them. Rat-a-tat-tat¡­ Armed with Gatling guns, the powered armors opened fire on the zombies, quickly clearing the nearby area. Then, they drew out electrically charged broadswords and charged into the densest part of the horde. ¡°Old He, fly a bit higher and watch your altitude! Little Xue, stand by on the plane! Jade Lotus, come down with me!¡± Wang Tao addressed the people inside the helicopter. Chapter 761 - Chapter 761: Chapter 300 Rainbow After Rain_3 Chapter 761: Chapter 300 Rainbow After Rain_3 ¡°` ¡°Great!¡± Everyone nodded. Wang Tao wrapped his arms around Lan Yulian¡¯s waist and then jumped straight down from the plane. Thud! The distance was naturally no difficulty for Wang Tao, neither he nor Lan Yulian lost any HP. Moreover, they landed right in the middle of the several powered armors where Duan Xuchang and his team were positioned, a zombie-free and very safe area. Lan Yulian immediately used Healing Light. A green halo spread out from Lan Yulian as the center, enveloping all the powered armors in the vicinity in the blink of an eye. As for Lan Yulian¡¯s role as a healer, Duan Xuchang had seen it before and naturally showed no surprise. However, when they attacked the zombies, they suddenly felt something was different. ¡°Hmm? Is there fire on our blades?¡± Duan Xuchang was puzzled. Wasn¡¯t his blade supposed to be electrically charged? Why were there sparks of fire when killing zombies? Go to ????????????????????.co Squelch! Duan Xuchang¡¯s blade chopped onto the head of a fourth-order elite zombie. The blow wasn¡¯t fatal, but flames instantly burst out over the head and body of the elite zombie! ¡°It¡¯s not an illusion!¡± Watching the zombie burst into flames, Duan Xuchang immediately shifted his attacks to other targets. By the time he had killed other zombies, the first one had been burned to death, and the flames had spread to others. ¡°The damage from this fire is so high!¡± Duan Xuchang was surprised and then noticed that his five teammates in powered armors were also occasionally setting zombies on fire, causing massive zombie casualties! ¡°What are these flames?¡± If unsure, just ask. Duan Xuchang felt it was probably related to Wang Tao and the others. ¡°This is fire damage that Jade Lotus added to them. Fire damage has a chance to ignite,¡± explained Wang Tao. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Duan Xuchang was immediately startled. A healer can do that? Is it an ability or equipment? He was very curious but didn¡¯t have time to ask more questions. The chance of triggering ignition from fire attribute was not high, but with six powered armors and their fast attack speed¡­ In just a moment, the area turned into a sea of flames! Seeing that her healing was effective on the powered armors and worked very well, Lan Yulian excitedly turned to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡ª Hmm?¡± It was then that Lan Yulian noticed Wang Tao frowning at something in his hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond immediately but instead passed the object in his hand to Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian realized that what Wang Tao was holding was a red crystal core. But she felt something was different about this crystal core¡­ Lan Yulian instinctively took it and then seemed to realize something. ¡°Eh? Where¡¯s the shadow inside this crystal core?¡± It¡¯s well-known that inside every crystal core there¡¯s a tiny shadow, and to determine the exact ability of the crystal core, one would look at the shadow inside. For instance, a shadow of a stomach indicates a Glutton Crystal Core; a black shadow of a little man signifies Toughness; and a ¡°+¡± indicates an Ascension Crystal Core¡­ But the red crystal core Wang Tao had given her¡ªhad nothing inside, just pure red¡­ What¡¯s going on? Wang Tao charged into the horde of zombies, killed another fourth-order elite zombie, and successfully obtained a purple crystal core from its brain. [Level 4 Crystal Core] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40%] ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± The names of the two crystal cores Wang Tao had just obtained didn¡¯t have any ability suffix, and there were no ability shadows inside the cores! Could it be that the crystal cores no longer contained abilities? Skeptical, Wang Tao killed several more elite zombies, including fourth, third, and even second level ones. He obtained several crystal cores. These crystal cores only had the level, quality, and purity attributes, but no abilities! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening and could only continue to kill zombies. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± At this moment, Lan Yulian passed him a blue Level 2 crystal core. Although she was primarily a healer, she was not without combat capabilities and easily killed a level 2 zombie. The crystal core she handed to Wang Tao had a shadow inside! ¡°Level 2 Rush Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brows, having just noticed that it was from a level 2 zombie Lan Yulian had killed. This meant that after evolving, some zombies¡¯ inner crystal cores contained abilities, but most did not? Although the crystal cores without abilities had no side effects, they¡­ seemed impossible to merge. What use were unmergeable crystal cores? Wang Tao¡¯s expression grew heavy. ¡­ Some time later, the train arrived. Although there were still many zombies in the horde, those near the railroad tracks had been mostly cleared out. Clang clang¡ª The train slowed down a bit and opened its side doors. ¡°Get on!¡± Duan Xuchang called out. Their powered armors¡¯ backs and soles emitted blue flames, and they jumped onto the train in a flash. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao embraced Lan Yulian¡¯s waist and easily jumped on board as well. ¡°Comrades, the final problem has been solved! We should arrive in about three hours!¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s powered armor face mask opened as he smiled and told everyone. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Hearing this, everyone was extremely excited. They were finally arriving! Wang Tao also set aside his concerns about the crystal cores for now. A little over two hours later, the scenery outside grew more barren, the rain completely stopped, and the sunset burst through the clouds, dyeing the sky golden. Overwhelmed by the beautiful scene, everyone was somewhat intoxicated. ¡°Hey? A rainbow!¡± At that moment, Ding Yuqin suddenly exclaimed, pointing somewhere. Everyone followed Ding Yuqin¡¯s direction and indeed saw a colorful rainbow spanning the sky. ¡°Wow! So beautiful!¡± The women instinctively marveled. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived!¡± Suddenly, Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s earpieces. Everyone quickly turned around. A huge shadow slowly emerged on the horizon! ¡°` Chapter 762 - Chapter 762: Chapter 301 Changhe Base_1 Chapter 762: Chapter 301 Changhe Base_1 This was an expansive plain with no skyscrapers or zombies in sight, just a straight railway. And at the end of the railway, there appeared to be a Survivor Base so vast that it seemed to have no end! ¡°Is that Changhe Base¡­¡± The people on the train all widened their eyes. Changhe Base was some distance from the train, but one could still feel its enormity even from afar. What would it be like to get any closer? And most importantly, there were really no hordes of zombies here! ¡°This is Changhe Base!¡± Dressed in powered armor, Duan Xuchang walked over. The threat hadn¡¯t been completely neutralized, so naturally, he hadn¡¯t let his guard down. He then said to Wang Tao: ¡°Wang Tao, you must have noticed that the zombies were a bit different just now, right?¡± ¡°Are you talking about the Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao produced a Blue Crystal Core in his hand. ¡°Right! Most Crystal Cores no longer have that shadowy figure inside them! According to our recent research, it seems that these Crystal Cores no longer contain any abilities. I just had someone test it out, and these Crystal Cores can no longer be fused¡­¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression was somewhat grave. Go to ????????????????????.co He didn¡¯t know whether this change was good or bad, but it would undoubtedly become a thorny issue for many people. ¡°I also killed quite a few Elite Zombies, but only a few of them had Crystal Cores with abilities. The rest had none¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He could see the attributes of Crystal Cores, so he was sure that most of them truly lacked abilities. But as for what was happening specifically, he had no idea. Thankfully, only the Crystal Cores inside the zombies had changed. The ones he carried on him were still fine. The two exchanged information for a while but still had no clue. ¡°It seems we can only count on the Hope Research Institute now¡­¡± Duan Xuchang sighed. If it was just this one change, that would be fine. He feared what kind of chain reaction might follow¡­ The two didn¡¯t speak anymore. As the train drew nearer to Changhe Base, other vehicles began to appear around the train. ¡°There are survivors!¡± Seeing the modified vehicles racing alongside the train, Nie Siyan extended her hand to greet them. However, the windows on their side were one-way, so those outside couldn¡¯t see in. The survivors were curious about the train and occasionally stuck out their heads to whoop and holler. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow as he watched these survivors. Most of them were Level 2 and Level 3 ability users, quite strong. Gradually, more and more vehicles surrounded the train. Some obviously had come from inside the base, but upon seeing the train, they turned around and followed next to it¡­ It seemed they were quite interested in the survivors inside the train. Seeing this, Duan Xuchang explained: ¡°Apart from being curious, these people might want to recruit you to their groups. There are many organizations and forces within the base city¡­ To put it nicely, it¡¯s quite free; to put it less kindly, it¡¯s a mixed bag. So I suggest you not join any forces casually. With so many of you, just wait for the upper echelons of the base to make arrangements¡­¡± ¡°I see¡­ I understand,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then asked, ¡°Is the situation inside the base city quite chaotic?¡± Duan Xuchang explained: ¡°Some areas are indeed quite chaotic. After all, as you know, many people become restless once they have power. Many have now become powerful ability users, so¡­ But you don¡¯t need to worry too much. Generally speaking, our base city has many rules and regulations, and everyone tends to abide by them.¡± This was also within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. If there truly was a Utopia-like large base now, he would actually find it questionable¡­ The train kept moving closer to Changhe Base, and the excitement of the twenty thousand survivors on board grew. ¡°Such a huge base!¡± Ding Yuqin and her group were also increasingly astonished. They could no longer make out the entire layout of the base. Their entire view was dominated by the towering wall that seemed to have no end! When the train finally arrived at the base¡¯s main gate, Wang Tao, along with everyone else, was astounded. From this position, when they looked up out the windows, they couldn¡¯t see how high the outer wall of the base was! ¡°This wall¡­ seems like it could stop a Giant Zombie!¡± Wang Tao murmured to himself. ¡°That¡¯s right, the tallest Giant Zombie we¡¯ve seen so far was over eighty meters. Meanwhile, our outer city wall is more than one hundred meters tall!¡± Duan Xuchang nodded with some pride. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Everyone gasped in awe. No wonder they couldn¡¯t see the top from here, one hundred meters tall! That was equivalent to at least thirty or forty floors of a high-rise building! The outer wall of Zijin Base was only about ten meters tall, and it was enough to hold back a massive tide of zombies. If it weren¡¯t for the Level 4 Night Demon Zombie that caused destruction to the wall, it would have held for a long time! Hence one could imagine how strong the defenses of a wall over one hundred meters tall would be! After all, to build a wall so high, it couldn¡¯t possibly be tall without also being thick; its thickness must be incredibly significant as well! Wang Tao was full of amazement. If he hadn¡¯t seen it with his own eyes, he would never believe that it was possible to build such a huge wall during the apocalypse! Rumble rumble¡ª The train slowly approached, and the massive gate of the city wall gradually opened. Even this gate was taller than the outer wall of the previous Zijin Base! And when the gate opened, the inside was pitch-black as if there was no end to it. Hum! Dull yellow lights began to illuminate within the tunnel of the gate. Chapter 763 - Chapter 763: Chapter 301 Changhe Base_2 Chapter 763: Chapter 301 Changhe Base_2 ¡°My goodness! How thick is this wall?! Opening the door actually reveals a tunnel!¡± Xiang Hongbin muttered in disbelief. This gate must not be used often, as the vehicles following the train had all entered the base through another smaller door. Of course, even that ¡®small¡¯ door was quite large and tall enough for trains to pass through without any problem. Clank-clank¡ª As the train entered the tunnel behind the door, everyone could see just how thick those two doors were. It seems unlikely that even an ability user could push these doors open. What a sense of security! A moment later, everyone felt a flash of light as the train finally emerged from the wall tunnel and officially entered Changhe Base. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Changhe Base!¡± By this time, Duan Xuchang had already taken off his powered armor and put on a crisp dark green military uniform. Wei Zhenguo and a few others only now realized that his uniform¡¯s insignia and epaulets were different from what they had on their own uniforms. Perhaps noticing their confusion, Duan Xuchang pointed at his shoulder insignia and the badge on his chest, smiling as he spoke: ¡°Changhe City Base underwent a reform a while back. There is no longer a Government or Government Army, and all previous identities have been nullified. We are now under the jurisdiction of the Third Legion.¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others suddenly came to an understanding. Go to ????????????????????.co Hearing that there was no Government or Government Army, they felt somewhat wistful but not overly surprised. After all, with a large number of ability users now around, it wouldn¡¯t be possible to adhere to the old system anymore. Even if the base had been built by Government Army, seeing that civilian ability users were becoming increasingly strong, they would eventually cede some authority¡­ ¡°Who now controls the Changhe Base inside?¡± He Jijun suddenly asked. They had assumed that the place was governed by the Government or the Government Army, but now it seemed that was not the case. ¡°Changhe City Base is too large to be ruled by a single force or person. If you¡¯re referring to the highest governing body of the base, that would be the Changhe Committee¡­¡± ¡°Committee¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo and his companions exchanged glances. When they were at the Shuize Base, they had also formed a committee¡­ It indeed seemed like a suitable system. Amidst their conversation, the train gradually came to a stop. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, we¡¯ve arrived.¡± This was a huge train station, now crowded with people. Besides the onlookers, there was a fully armed platoon of soldiers. Hum¡ª The second carriage was the first to open its doors. Wang Tao, led by Duan Xuchang, started alighting from the train. As soon as he stepped off, Wang Tao saw a muscular middle-aged man surrounded by a group of soldiers, who laughed and said: ¡°Welcome to Changhe Base! I am Chief Hou, the Legion Chief of the Third Legion.¡± Hou Zhiyuan was a Level 3 ability user with a hundred thousand blood but no hidden ability. Wang Tao felt that with the combat strength under his command, Hou should have the power to awaken, but unfortunately, without a hidden ability, he didn¡¯t meet the conditions for awakening¡­ ¡°Hello! I am Lan Yulian, the former leader of Zijin Base. I greatly appreciate your rescue efforts!¡± Lan Yulian was walking at the front alongside Wang Tao. After introducing herself, Wang Tao followed: ¡°Chief Hou, hello. I¡¯m Wang Tao, the one who contacted you from the military base before. Thank you very much for your assistance!¡± ¡°Ha! No need for formalities, it¡¯s only right for us survivors to help each other! I¡¯ve arranged a place for you to rest. Shall we get your twenty thousand survivors settled first?¡± Although they were in Hou Zhiyuan¡¯s territory, he did not come across as overly assertive; in fact, his tone with Wang Tao and the others was quite consultative. ¡°We appreciate it, Legion Chief Hou!¡± Naturally, Lan Yulian wouldn¡¯t refuse. After she accepted, Duan Xuchang began to sequentially open the other carriage doors. Hou Zhiyuan immediately waved his hand, and several military trucks drove over. The survivors who disembarked from the train were visibly excited and yet a bit restrained. They involuntarily glanced at Lan Yulian and Wang Tao, and only after seeing both nod did they get on the trucks. Before boarding, they went through another check to ensure no one was carrying the zombie virus. The onlookers outside the train station, seeing so many survivors emerge from the train, all had their eyes light up. But as they saw these survivors being taken away by the Third Legion¡¯s people, most of them shook their heads in disappointment and left, with only a few not giving up hope. ¡°They all want to recruit you newcomers into their ranks. Pay them no mind!¡± Hou Zhiyuan waved his hand dismissively and then massaged his temples, saying: ¡°I¡¯m relieved to see you¡¯ve all returned safely. However, the zombies have evolved today and some changes have occurred, so I have many things to take care of. I¡¯ll let Duan Xuchang take you around the base to get familiarized. I¡¯ll find time to have a meal with you guys in the next few days!¡± ¡°You¡¯re busy!¡± Lan Yulian promptly responded. Hou Zhiyuan left hastily. As for the arrangements for the newcomers, he did not elaborate on them. Nor did he mention the great achievement of rescuing twenty thousand people. Wang Tao felt that Hou Zhiyuan¡¯s deployment of troops to rescue so many people certainly demonstrated a genuine desire to help Zijin Base, but he definitely had his own objectives as well. Now that they had arrived at Changhe Base and learned about the general situation, Wang Tao thought that Hou Zhiyuan might want these survivors to join his legion! Chapter 764 - Chapter 764: Chapter 301 Changhe Base_3 Chapter 764: Chapter 301 Changhe Base_3 ¡°` If Wang Tao really had such an idea, he wasn¡¯t opposed to it. On the contrary, he was somewhat pleased. After all, this was equivalent to not only having saved these survivors but also having secured jobs for them! Naturally, this was a good thing! ¡°Please follow me, everyone,¡± Duan Xuchang led Wang Tao and the others onto a minibus. On the bus, there was a device for detecting internal impurities, presumably prepared especially for Wang Tao and his group. Everyone was checked in turn, and once it was confirmed that there were no problems, the vehicle finally left the train station slowly. Seeing that Wang Tao and his group didn¡¯t even exit the station but left directly by bus, the people remaining outside the train station sighed. ¡°Alas, there¡¯s no hope now! We can¡¯t rope them into our organization now, and it¡¯s going to be even harder later!¡± ¡°This Third Legion is really meddlesome. Can¡¯t they let the survivors move freely!¡± ¡°Are you an idiot? These survivors were obviously saved by the Third Legion! Do you think they would leave the survivors they painstakingly rescued just for your organization?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Could it be¡­ that the Third Legion wants to absorb all these ten to twenty thousand people? Can they really handle that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s unlikely that they would absorb them all, since joining these legions also has assessments, and they don¡¯t just take anyone. But they definitely want to absorb some¡­ the last operation cost the Third Legion some manpower, and this time they can probably replenish a good wave of fresh blood¡­¡± ¡°Damn, why don¡¯t we have such good luck! We¡¯ve been outside for so many days and hardly encountered any survivors. We also lost quite a few people last time, and without replenishing our manpower soon, our organization is going to exist in name only¡­¡± Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Hey! There are so many people in our base. You don¡¯t need to keep eyeing newcomers!¡± ¡°Cough, but aren¡¯t newcomers both cheap and easy to manipulate¡­¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡°Freshly made cockroach paste! A must-have essential for home and travel! Don¡¯t miss out as you pass by¡­¡± ¡°Daggers made from Level 3 Night Demon claws, sharp enough to cut hair and slice through iron like mud! Only one available in the entire Changhe City Base! Being sold at a tearful discount of seventy percent off!¡± ¡°Finely decorated apartments near the Special Ability University, only three units left, available for rent or purchase! First come, first served!¡± ¡°Giant creature barbecue grand opening special! Match the amount you top up!¡± ¡°Mutant Rats trained for battle ready for sale, come and make an offer!¡± ¡°¡­¡± On the minibus, Lan Yulian looked out at the broad streets bustling with survivors, listening to all sorts of bizarre hawking voices, and exclaimed, ¡°This is what a real base looks like!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling the same. Compared to other survivor bases, the biggest difference with Changhe Base was its ¡°liveliness.¡± The bases they had stayed at before were merely ¡°gatherings of survivors struggling to live.¡± Now in Changhe City Base, it was not just a place for survivors but a human society! At other bases, no matter how safe it seemed, deep down they never felt truly secure. All that occupied their minds were thoughts of killing zombies, enhancing their strength, surviving¡­ But upon arriving here, to speak of a sense of safety was one thing; now, their first thought wasn¡¯t about how to kill zombies and increase their strength, but how to live well in the base! Previously, they thought about surviving, but now¡­ they were thinking about living! Seeing everyone¡¯s amazement, Duan Xuchang said loudly, ¡°There are many more nice places within the base city. You should explore more later on, and I believe you will definitely fall in love with this place!¡± ¡°Thank you! But we¡¯ve already fallen for it¡­¡± Lan Yulian said, somewhat emotionally. Duan Xuchang intentionally took Wang Tao and the group around the streets to experience the local flavor of the base city, then finally had the driver take them to an area protected by soldiers. ¡°This is one of the territories belonging to our Third Legion. Some high-ranking officers¡¯ families live here. We¡¯ve arranged for you to stay here temporarily, and you¡¯re free to move out anytime. But I personally suggest that you might as well wait until you¡¯re familiar with the base and figure out your future direction before moving out¡­¡± Listening to Duan Xuchang¡¯s words, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°Future direction? What do you think would be suitable for us?¡± ¡°Haha, of course, I hope that you can join our Third Legion! But I also know that¡¯s unlikely¡­ As for my advice, that¡¯s, for now, no advice. Because you exceptional Ability Users coming to the base, the higher-ups will definitely give you some preferential treatment, so wait and see what the specifics are, and then consider what to do¡­¡± Duan Xuchang explained with a smile. He knew that powerful Ability Users generally didn¡¯t want to join the military because the military was the place with the strictest rules, even in these apocalyptic times. After all, soldiers fight in coordinated teams, they don¡¯t just represent themselves, but rather a group. If one person makes a mistake, it could even jeopardize the entire Legion! So, strictness is a must. And for many Ability Users, having finally gained such strong powers, to abide by such strict rules was out of the question! So, most Ability Users were reluctant to join the military. Of course, those who were originally military personnel, like Wei Zhenguo and his team¡­ Duan Xuchang was very keen to recruit them into the Legion. However, as Duan Xuchang had just mentioned, they would first have to see how the upper levels would allocate Wang Tao and his group and what kind of treatment they would receive. Then he could consider if he could recruit them into the Third Legion¡­ ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded. He had to admit, Duan Xuchang was quite sincere, and Wang Tao had a very favorable impression of him and the whole Third Legion. After showing Wang Tao and the others around the rooms prepared for them, Duan Xuchang said, ¡°Next, I¡¯ll give you a primer on some common issues within the base city¡­¡± ¡°` Chapter 765 - Chapter 765: Chapter 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_1 Chapter 765: Chapter 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_1 ¡°First of all, currency. Our base city has its own currency system. After all, with so many people and so many items needing to be traded, bartering would definitely be very troublesome¡­¡± ¡°Our currency is officially called ¡®Crystal Core Exchange Currency¡¯, commonly known as Crystal Coin. As the name implies, Crystal Coins can be directly exchanged for Crystal Cores and are trusted by everyone!¡± ¡°The reason we don¡¯t directly trade with Crystal Cores is that their quality, type, and level vary, which leads to significant price differences. Essentially, it¡¯s still a form of bartering, which is quite cumbersome. But after converting various Crystal Cores into Crystal Coins according to their respective rates, trading becomes much easier¡­¡± ¡°But now there¡¯s a problem¡ªmost Crystal Cores no longer have abilities, so Crystal Coins might collapse! Therefore, I personally suggest that you hold off on exchanging for Crystal Coins for the time being¡­¡± Duan Xuchang first explained the currency system within the base city. When Wang Tao heard the first part of the explanation, he was ready to exchange some currency, as being without money would make things difficult no matter where you are. But after hearing that Crystal Coins were tied to Crystal Cores and might collapse, he immediately became cautious. ¡°Thank you! If you hadn¡¯t warned me, I would have gone to exchange for Crystal Coins right afterward¡­¡± Wang Tao expressed his sincere thanks. ¡°No need to be polite.¡± Duan Xuchang first smiled, and then sighed helplessly, ¡°Ah¡­ I¡¯ve saved up some Crystal Coins myself, and if they lose value, I¡¯ll have nowhere to cry¡­¡± Who would have thought that zombies evolved and in the process, they caused the abilities in Crystal Cores to evolve away¡­ Wang Tao shrugged helplessly; naturally, there was nothing he could do about such things. However, he believed that Crystal Coins probably wouldn¡¯t collapse. Go to ????????????????????.co After all, so far, the Hope Research Institute had created a lot of equipment that could use Crystal Cores, such as powered armor and the like. Previously on the train, Duan Xuchang had experimented. Those Crystal Cores without abilities couldn¡¯t be merged, but they could still be used in powered armor. Therefore, Wang Tao felt the price of Crystal Coins would certainly fluctuate, but a total collapse was unlikely. ¡°Next, let¡¯s talk about the base¡¯s ranking system and the distribution of major forces. The Base Committee naturally holds the highest authority, and the specific executive arm is the Municipal Office¡­¡± ¡°As for the classification of the levels of major forces¡ªif a force has a member who becomes a committee member, it is considered a large force!¡± ¡°There are currently 23 members in the committee. Each legion has two members serving as committee members, and the other forces only have one. And there are a total of six legions. So, there are 17 large forces in total.¡± ¡°The names of the Six Major Legions are simply from the First Legion to the Sixth Legion. The ranking of these legions is not based on strength, but on the order in which they were established. However, the earlier a legion was established, the longer it has developed, and the stronger its strength¡­ Therefore, it¡¯s not wrong to say that a legion¡¯s name also suggests its ranking. For example, our Third Legion is ranked third¡­¡± ¡°As for what exactly a legion is, you can simply understand it as the regular army from before the reforms. We have a complete combat system, equipment, and a large number of soldiers¡­¡± ¡°We, the Six Major Legions, are the founders of Changhe Base, the strongest combat power of the base, and the firmest foundation stone of the base! The other committee member seats and such are actually voluntarily given by us¡­¡± ¡°Apart from the Six Major Legions, the remaining large forces include the Hope Research Institute, the Rush Army, the Northern Sea Union¡­¡± ¡°Among these forces, the Hope Research Institute naturally holds the most transcendent status. Various equipment related to Crystal Cores, potions, and so on are all developed by the Hope Research Institute¡­¡± Wang Tao was very interested in the Hope Research Institute, especially the powered armor they produced. Moreover, Wang Tao wanted to get a set of prosthetic limbs for Xiang Hongbin. The prosthetics Xiang Hongbin was using now were 3D printed at a military base, and while not unusable, there was still much room for improvement. Judging from the level of technology displayed in the powered armor and mechanical exoskeletons, getting a better set of prosthetics for Xiang Hongbin shouldn¡¯t be hard¡­ ¡°Finally, it¡¯s about the division of areas within the base. Apart from our Six Major Legions, which are spread out all over the base, the other forces usually have fixed areas of activity. For example, the Hope Research Institute is located right in the center of the base¡­¡± ¡°You can completely think of this place as a normal city. Of course, it¡¯s still quite different from cities before the apocalypse, such as now we have Special Ability Training Fields, firearm weapon shops, Special Ability Schools, and even casinos, pleasure venues¡­ cough, in short, Changhe Base is large, and its functions are quite complete. I can¡¯t explain all the details at once, you¡¯ll have to slowly discover them yourself¡­¡± Listening to Duan Xuchang¡¯s introduction, everyone showed an interested expression. This Changhe Base sounds truly great! There are even various entertainment facilities! When do entertainment facilities appear? Naturally, when there¡¯s a higher sense of security. Otherwise, who would be in the mood for entertainment when living in constant fear? This indicates that Changhe City Base is indeed safe! Duan Xuchang further explained: ¡°But this doesn¡¯t mean that survivors can live carefree upon arriving at our Changhe Base. The base is our home, and its development depends on everyone. Everyone should contribute to the base, and the level of contribution will determine an individual¡¯s power and status within the base! This is very important!¡± Chapter 766 - Chapter 766: Chapter 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_2 Chapter 766: Chapter 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_2 ¡°Although our base has a safety net, even if survivors do nothing, the base won¡¯t let them starve to death,¡± the consequence is that these people might be compulsorily drafted to fight at any time! So after arriving at the base, it¡¯s better to find a job for yourself. There are many job positions at our base, and even if you really can¡¯t do anything, selling your labor is also an option¡­ This definitely won¡¯t be a problem for you. I won¡¯t go on about it.¡± Wang Tao and the others all nodded, which was what they expected. Not to mention Changhe Base, even the various bases they had seen before, regardless of size, all had something similar to Contribution Points. Survivors couldn¡¯t just freeload at the base; they had to contribute. Although this divided people into different ranks¡ªactually, it was also divided before the apocalypse, just not so overtly¡ªit also gave people the motivation to climb upward. And now, under these circumstances, those with greater strength and more contributions should indeed have privileges. This was not about oppressing ordinary people but rather providing an alternative form of protection for them¡ªif these people weren¡¯t granted privileges, not to mention whether they would be willing to contribute to the base in the future, the real question was, even if you didn¡¯t grant them privileges, couldn¡¯t they just take them? After all, they were powerful and could get what they wanted anyway! If things really developed to that point, the consequences would be severe¡ªit would¡¯ve been possible to settle things through negotiation and peace, but force was used instead. And the ones to suffer would be the whole base! So, this was actually a form of protection for ordinary people! The founders of the base, the Six Major Legions, were willing to give up some of their interests, also considering this problem. Of course, since ranks were explicitly assigned, there would naturally be exploitation of some people, which was inevitable and temporarily unsolvable. However, for Wang Tao and his group, with their abilities, not to mention the upper ranks, atleast being in the middle class was definitely not a problem. ¡­ Duan Xuchang talked a lot more with Wang Tao and his group, continuing until late into the night. He finally realized it was getting late, so he stood up to take his leave. Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Haha, maybe it¡¯s because I was too tense before, now that I feel safe I¡¯ve become more talkative, I hope you don¡¯t mind!¡± ¡°What are you talking about, we¡¯re really grateful you told us all this stuff! Stay for a meal with us!¡± Wang Tao was ready to invite Duan Xuchang for a meal, but Duan Xuchang declined. ¡°I haven¡¯t gone home today yet, my wife is waiting at home!¡± Seeing the happiness on Duan Xuchang¡¯s face, Wang Tao nodded with a smile. ¡°Alright then, I really envy you!¡± Being able to be with your wife in the apocalypse was indeed enviable. But as soon as Wang Tao expressed his envy, he immediately felt several gazes directed at him. ¡°Haha, it should be me envying you! Sleep well!¡± Duan Xuchang winked at Wang Tao and then left laughing. Wang Tao personally saw him out and, upon returning, found that Wei Zhenguo and the others had taken some food to their respective rooms. Only Ding Yuqin and a few other women, along with Lightning, were left. Seeing the women staring at him, Wang Tao felt a slight thrill in his heart. Could it be that tonight he could relax properly with all the women? However, clearly, he thought too much. The women suddenly glared at him in unison, then all retired to their rooms as well. Even Jiang Shixue, who usually liked to stick close to Wang Tao, left, leaving only Lightning looking at Wang Tao expectantly. ¡°¡­Sigh! Poor us, it¡¯s just you and me from now on!¡± Wang Tao intentionally sighed loudly. Seeing that he received no response, he simply patted Lightning¡¯s head and then took out some food. After eating simply with the dog, he returned to his room. The place Duan Xuchang had arranged for Wang Tao and his group was a small courtyard with many rooms, but only their group was in the entire yard, so it was quite peaceful. In the room. Wang Tao lay in bed, with Lightning lying under the bed. Without turning on the light, Wang Tao lay with his eyes open, looking at the ceiling. ¡°What a comforting feeling¡­¡± Wang Tao mumbled. Since the apocalypse began, this was the first time he felt such a strong sense of security. This feeling was really comfortable! ¡°Sleep!¡± Wang Tao closed his eyes, not having slept soundly for a long time. But just as Wang Tao was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard the sound of a door opening. Lightning, who laid on the ground, immediately raised its head, but soon lay down again. Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows lifted. He was curious as to who the visitor was. But he didn¡¯t look, nor did he use his Perception. He closed his eyes and even deliberately made a soft snoring sound. Before long, Wang Tao felt a soft body gently climb onto his bed. After coming into contact with the other¡¯s body, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to look to instantly know who it was. ¡°Sister-in-law, you¡¯re in the wrong room.¡± Wang Tao suddenly spoke out. Ding Yuqin was startled by Wang Tao¡¯s voice, her face slightly flushed, and she lightly hammered Wang Tao¡¯s chest in mild annoyance. ¡°You¡¯re pretending to be asleep to scare me!¡± Wang Tao wrapped his arm around Ding Yuqin¡¯s waist, looking at her watery eyes in the dark and teasing: ¡°Sister-in-law hasn¡¯t answered me yet, I said you¡¯re in the wrong room.¡± ¡°Hmph~¡± Ding Yuqin ignored him. But feeling Wang Tao¡¯s wandering hands, she bit her lip and then whispered in Wang Tao¡¯s ear: ¡°Bad man! I didn¡¯t get the wrong room, I came to sleep with you!¡± Chapter 767 - Chapter 767: Chapter 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_3 Chapter 767: Chapter 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_3 ¡°` Ding Yuqin, who usually has a thin skin, said something like this, and Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t stand it. ¡°¡­to think she would call me bad! Just you wait!¡± He prepared to teach Ding Yuqin a lesson, but suddenly there was more noise from outside the door. Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin are Ability Users who, when awake, naturally would not miss any slight movement due to their Perception Abilities. Both instinctively stopped what they were doing. Lightning raised its head, then quickly lowered it again. A moment later, Wang Tao felt another person climb onto his bed. This touch, this scent¡­ ¡°Ah!¡± Han Rui suddenly let out a cry of surprise; she thought there was only Wang Tao in the bed, but to her shock, she touched another person. ¡°Officer Han, did you walk into the wrong room too?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s teasing, Han Rui¡¯s face turned red as blood. She somewhat regretted not using her Perception to check first! But it wasn¡¯t too late; she quickly used her Perception to take a look and found this ¡°energy body¡± to be very familiar¡­ it was Ding Yuqin! Go to ????????????????????.co This immediately relieved Han Rui quite a bit, at least it was a familiar person whom she had relied on for a long time. Besides, it wasn¡¯t the first time the three of them had¡­ Awkward as it was, it didn¡¯t feel too embarrassing. However, Han Rui¡¯s skin was also thin, and she immediately spoke: ¡°Sorry, I went to the wrong room!¡± After saying that, she was about to get up and leave. Wang Tao was about to stop her, but someone beat him to it¡ªDing Yuqin grabbed her arm. Having been teased by Wang Tao, Ding Yuqin was still somewhat embarrassed. But now, seeing the very awkward Han Rui, she suddenly didn¡¯t find it embarrassing! So she definitely had to make Han Rui stay! Besides, if Han Rui hadn¡¯t come, that would be one thing, but since she came, there was no need to leave; otherwise, it would seem like she was being overbearing. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t the first time¡­ Han Rui of course didn¡¯t really want to leave. With Ding Yuqin pulling her, she didn¡¯t struggle free, just blushed even more deeply. Wang Tao took the opportunity to wrap his arm around Han Rui¡¯s waist. ¡°Since you¡¯re here¡­ the bed is big, there¡¯s enough room.¡± Han Rui lay half reluctantly and half willingly in Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. Just as Wang Tao, with one arm around Ding Yuqin and the other around Han Rui, was about to ¡°deeply communicate¡± with the two, there was more noise outside the door! And this time, it wasn¡¯t just one set of footsteps, but two! Lightning this time didn¡¯t even bother to lift its head; it clearly already knew who it was. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes immediately lit up, could it be that tonight is really going to be¡­ However, it seems the two people outside didn¡¯t come together. When they saw each other, they both seemed startled, and then left as if fleeing. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao immediately used his Perception Ability to check. One was Yang Changhong, and the other was Lan Yulian. He felt somewhat disappointed, while Ding Yuqin and Han Rui in his arms both breathed a sigh of relief. Then both of them turned to look at Wang Tao simultaneously, their faces showing a faint reproach. ¡°Hmph~¡± The two of them agreed in silent understanding that they needed to properly punish Wang Tao tonight! ¡­ The next day. When Wang Tao woke up, there was no sign of the two women beside him, and even Lightning was gone from the side of the bed. When he had washed up, dressed, and walked out, he saw Wei Zhenguo and the others playing with Lightning in the courtyard. As military men, they naturally had a genuine fondness for military dogs, and even though Lightning¡¯s size was now akin to a small calf and somewhat intimidating, they still adored the animal immensely. ¡°Huh? You¡¯re actually up?¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo immediately raised an eyebrow. ¡°What is that supposed to mean!¡± Wang Tao gave him a glare, as if to say he doubted his own ability! ¡°Haha!¡± Xiang Hongbin and the others beside him laughed loudly. Not far away, Ding Yuqin and the other women who were preparing breakfast had very calm expressions. Just by looking at them, one wouldn¡¯t guess what happened last night. They sure can act! Wang Tao complained inwardly and then prepared to go offer his help, only to be chased away by the women on account of ¡°getting in the way.¡± Wang Tao shrugged helplessly, they weren¡¯t like this last night. Having no choice, Wang Tao had to go and play with Lightning, which made the dog incredibly happy. ¡­ After finishing the sumptuous breakfast prepared by the women, everyone suddenly didn¡¯t know what to do. There was no need to go outside to fight zombies, no need to stand guard, no need to check the defense facilities of the base, no need to comfort the frightened survivors¡­ the sense of security within Changhe Base made them all a little unaccustomed. ¡°Duan Xuchang told us to wait for the notification from above. Before the notice arrives, we don¡¯t have anything to do, so let¡¯s get some good rest. It¡¯s a rare opportunity to rest¡­¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Even if the base was secure, they couldn¡¯t stay there forever; they still needed to go out and kill zombies to enhance their strength. They would surely get busy in the future, so now was indeed a rare chance to rest. However, Wang Tao seemed to remember something and quickly added: ¡°Oh right! I¡¯ve recently accumulated a batch of HP Enhancement Crystal Cores and Exraction Crystal Cores, and I can use this time to enhance everyone¡¯s strength.¡± Wang Tao had 110,000 HP, and the reason why he had an extra 10,000 was due to the HP Enhancement Crystal Cores. After merging and then extracting the HP Enhancement Crystal Core, the boost in HP remained! Before, as there were not enough Exraction Crystal Cores, Wang Tao was unable to let everyone else use them. Now that he had enough Crystal Cores, he could enhance the others as well. ¡°Great!¡± Everyone was eager and looking forward, not standing on ceremony. After spending some time. Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and several others got their HP raised to 110,000! Next, it was time to prepare them for Awakening! Wang Tao had six physical awakening keys, but there were not many Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores, only enough for three people to use¡­ Who to let go first? Just as Wang Tao was about to discuss it with everyone, Duan Xuchang came over with several strangers. ¡°Good morning, everyone! Let me introduce you, this is Cui Sheng, Secretary Cui!¡± A middle-aged man in a sharp suit with a friendly smile on his face was already extending his hands towards Wang Tao from a distance. ¡°Mr. Wang, hello! Just call me Little Cui!¡± ¡°` Chapter 768 - Chapter 768: Chapter 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_1 Chapter 768: Chapter 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_1 ¡°Secretary Cui, hello!¡± Wang Tao shook hands with this Cui Sheng. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a lot about Mr. Wang before and have always wanted to visit, but I was tied up with too many things and it got delayed. Please don¡¯t take offense, Mr. Wang. Today, at last, I meet you in person!¡± A brilliant smile spread across Cui Sheng¡¯s face. ¡°Oh? You¡¯ve heard about me?¡± ¡°Of course! Mr. Wang is a famous Awakener! I¡¯ve heard your name being praised to the skies!¡± Pride gleamed on Cui Sheng¡¯s face, as if knowing Wang Tao¡¯s name was a matter of great honor. It was the first time Wang Tao had been so blatantly flattered and it took some getting used to. ¡°Ahem, so this is¡­¡± ¡°Oh, I apologize, I apologize! I got too excited seeing you¡­ My name is Cui Sheng, I am the secretary to the Municipal Office. I¡¯m here on behalf of the office¡­¡± Cui Sheng hastily explained. Wang Tao suddenly understood. The Municipal Office was Changhe City Base¡¯s highest administrative authority; almost all matters within the base were handled by it. Go to ????????????????????.co The Municipal Office was like the olden days¡¯ Government, representing the entirety of Changhe City Base. As Cui Sheng was here on behalf of the Municipal Office, he was essentially the official representative of the entire Changhe City Base. ¡°Secretary Cui, Captain Duan, please come inside!¡± ¡°Ah! Please, after you!¡± Wang Tao led the group inside. Three others had come with Cui Sheng, and they looked like his subordinates. Since Cui Sheng didn¡¯t introduce them, Wang Tao didn¡¯t ask further. Upon seeing the many beautiful women around Wang Tao, Cui Sheng only spared the women a quick glance to register their appearances firmly in his mind, then immediately turned his head away without looking further. As for the men like Wei Zhen Guo, Cui Sheng greeted them very politely and warmly. However, he was startled when he saw Lightning. Captain Duan hadn¡¯t told him that there was such a large mutant beast here! With such a large body, it must be at least a Level 3! A hint of envy flickered in Cui Sheng¡¯s eyes. Wang Tao observed Cui Sheng discreetly. [HP: 1000/1000] [Internal Impurity: 5%] Cui Sheng turned out to be an Ordinary person, not even Level 1, which surprised Wang Tao a bit. Couldn¡¯t afford a Crystal Core? What exactly is this Municipal Office secretary¡¯s position? It doesn¡¯t seem great! But the 5% impurity in his body suggested that he had likely merged with about 10 Crystal Cores. 10 Crystal Cores and still not an Awakener? It could only mean that either the Crystal Cores were inferior, or he was incredibly unlucky, or perhaps a bit of both. ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± After inviting Cui Sheng to sit, Nie Siyan immediately went to pour water, and Cui Sheng eagerly thanked her before taking out a tablet and a pen and offering them to Wang Tao with great courtesy. ¡°Mr. Wang, I¡¯m here to conduct your identity registration. Could you please fill this out? Only once registered in the system can you be considered an official member of the base city¡­¡± Wang Tao took the tablet, which displayed a form. The content of the form was straightforward, without unnecessary frills, simply asking for name, age, gender, special skills, and ability user¡¯s level among other details. Just a standard personnel registration, which made Wang Tao suspect there must be another agenda for the secretary to personally make the trip. As expected, while Wang Tao was filling out the form, Cui Sheng brought up another point: ¡°Mr. Wang, since your arrival in Changhe City Base, do you have any particular thoughts or requests? As you know, our base places high value on talent¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised, and he said with a smile: ¡°I¡¯m new here and not very familiar with the place. How about you give me an introduction?¡± ¡°Certainly!¡± Cui Sheng immediately nodded, then began to explain without missing a beat. ¡°Based on our past experience, those strong ability users who have joined our base¡­¡± Cui Sheng, or rather the Municipal Office, assumed that a Level 4 ability user like Wang Tao, along with a group of Level 3 ability users, would most likely be unwilling to live the life of ordinary people peacefully. But it wasn¡¯t entirely impossible, as there had been previous cases. Cui Sheng¡¯s visit was aimed at subtly probing Wang Tao¡¯s intentions. If Wang Tao and his group truly desired to lead the lives of ordinary people¡­ he would certainly try to dissuade them! After all, a fourth-order superpower was a force to be reckoned with; such strength was wasted if one settled for an ordinary life. They should at least make some contributions to the base, right? Of course, the base wouldn¡¯t exploit labor for nothing; they would provide plenty of benefits in return. Cui Sheng explained that those foreign ability users who arrived at the base city typically chose one of three directions for development. The first was to join a legion, another combat force, or establish their own organization. This was the most popular option. The second was to apply for an official position within the base, akin to a ¡®base civil servant.¡¯ This was the second most chosen path. The third was to run profit-making venues or businesses within the base city¡­ and this was the least chosen because it required a certain flair, and without the brains for it, you couldn¡¯t make it work. However, all three development directions had a common aspect to consider, which was to enhance one¡¯s own strength! In a post-apocalyptic world, strength was the foundation of everything! Without strength, everything else was like a castle in the air, gone in the blink of an eye. So improving one¡¯s own strength was essential! Cui Sheng wanted to know in which direction Wang Tao was planning to develop, so the Municipal Office could offer Wang Tao some preferential treatment. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just these three directions¡ªthere were other niche options. Also, these weren¡¯t mutually exclusive; if you had the capacity, you could pursue multiple at once. For instance, some powerful ability users not only formed teams to hunt zombies but also held part-time positions at the Municipal Office¡­ Chapter 769 - Chapter 769: Chapter 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_2 Chapter 769: Chapter 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_2 Regarding this issue, Wang Tao would definitely need to go out and hunt zombies, but he couldn¡¯t possibly join a legion. Therefore, his only options were to join another force or to establish his own organization. Wang Tao pondered for a moment and said, ¡°I will establish a small organization.¡± As for this answer, Cui Sheng wasn¡¯t surprised. Most ability users made this choice, preferring to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix. ¡°Then, when you¡¯re ready to establish your organization, please be sure to inform me. I will take care of all the procedures for you!¡± Cui Sheng immediately patted his chest and said. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll trouble you with that.¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded. Since others were willing to help, he definitely wouldn¡¯t refuse. Moreover, from what Cui Sheng insinuated, it was clear that the city hall was obviously going to offer him some benefits. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all, no trouble!¡± Cui Sheng waved his hands repeatedly, and after Wang Tao finished filling out the forms, he swiped on the tablet¡ª ¡°The last item is about your residence. Our base city is very large, and all survivors within the base are allocated houses for free. You and your friends are certainly no exception. Where would you prefer to choose?¡± The tablet displayed a map of Changhe Base. All marked locations were available for selection. According to the situation within the base, the best areas were the central regions, while naturally, the worst were along the edges. Go to ????????????????????.co The edge areas had no markers¡ªdid this mean Wang Tao couldn¡¯t choose them? As if seeing Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, Cui Sheng quickly explained, ¡°Our base is fairly good in all aspects, but there are some mixed elements. To avoid any disturbance to you, I¡¯ve removed some houses that do not match your status. The marked areas now all have relatively high-quality neighbors! Of course, this doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t choose other areas. You can choose any, but I personally wouldn¡¯t recommend it¡­¡± ¡°I see, that¡¯s very thoughtful!¡± One had to admit, this Cui Sheng really knew how to get things done. ¡°Oh, not at all!¡± Cui Sheng quickly waved his hands. This wasn¡¯t only for Wang Tao¡¯s consideration but also for the ordinary people. If Wang Tao chose a poor environment and then some lower-class person, ignorant of his own limits, angered Wang Tao, there¡¯d be nowhere to reason if Wang Tao killed them¡­ Wang Tao briefly looked over the options, the locations closer to the city center were better, but the houses were also getting smaller¡­ However, since they were free, he couldn¡¯t ask for too much. So Wang Tao chose a middle-ground location¡ªthe house was neither too big nor too small, and it was neither too far nor too close to the city center. After Wang Tao made his choice, Cui Sheng allowed Wei Zhenguo, Ding Yuqin, and the others to choose. ¡°One house per person?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had specifically chosen a small courtyard, thinking it would be convenient for many people, but now everyone gets their own? ¡°Of course! You and your companions are all qualified to receive free housing.¡± In reality, Wang Tao could choose freely, whereas the others weren¡¯t able to choose as freely as he could. After all, there were not a few Level 3 ability users within the base, and those positions were quite desirable, making it difficult to get such houses for free. But since they were with Wang Tao, who was an Awakener! There weren¡¯t many Awakeners in the whole base! Wang Tao was an individual marked by the city hall for good relations, with the ideal outcome being that Wang Tao would take up a position within the base and fully become one of their own! However, since Cui Sheng was meeting Wang Tao for the first time, he didn¡¯t dare to say too much, fearing it might cause resentment. For others, taking up a post within the base and receiving a salary would certainly be a good thing. But who knew what Wang Tao thought, as many powerful individuals did not like to be constrained and had somewhat peculiar personalities¡­ and besides, not all of them cared for such small rewards¡­ Nevertheless, Cui Sheng did not give up. He was just a minor secretary and although he held a position in the city hall, it was not an official one, and he was considered contractual. There were many others like him, and the competition was fierce! For someone like him, with no power, no influence, and no strength, climbing up the ranks on his own was impossible, so he had to look for other means. The arrival of Wang Tao gave him a glimmer of hope¡­ ¡°Tsk tsk, these welfare benefits are quite good!¡± Wang Tao laughed and shook his head. Soon, everyone had made their choices, mostly opting for locations around the house Wang Tao had chosen. Even Lightning was allocated one. ¡°You don¡¯t have to decide right now, you can go and see the place in person.¡± Cui Sheng thoughtfully reminded him. ¡°No need, I¡¯ve already seen the photos, let¡¯s go with this one.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. If the house wasn¡¯t satisfactory, he could always change it later. Since it was free, he didn¡¯t want the hassle. ¡°Alright!¡± Cui Sheng clicked to confirm, entering the information into the main system, and then took two cases from someone behind him. ¡°Mr. Wang, these are welcome gifts prepared by our city hall for you and your friends. Please check them.¡± Cui Sheng opened the two cases, the first contained more than a dozen black cards. The second case held a dozen or so devices resembling wristwatches. Underneath the cards was a note, and on the cards was a long string of numbers, resembling a bank card. ¡°These are Crystal Coin Storage Cards, commonly known as Crystal Coin Cards. They are essentially the same as the bank cards of the past. They contain crystal coins that can be used in any card-swiping machine and info wristwatch within the base, and you can also exchange them for crystal cores of equal value at the bank. However, due to some changes in crystal cores, the exchange rate has fluctuated¡­ Of course, you can still use them normally.¡± Chapter 770 - Chapter 770: Chapter 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_3 Chapter 770: Chapter 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_3 Well, I didn¡¯t expect City Hall to be so direct, just handing out money¡­ Wang Tao was quite surprised, but he found it to be good; after all, he might not have use for other things, but Crystal Coins were definitely useful to him. Cui Sheng then pointed to the wristwatch and said, ¡°This is a communication wrist device, which records your personal details, account information, and other data. The wrist device connects to our base¡¯s network, allowing you to communicate, publish information, and conduct Crystal Coin transactions and other activities. However, this requires a network connection, meaning it only works within our base. If you leave the base, the device will go offline, restricting many of its functions. Oh right, the wrist device also charges a fixed monthly fee of 10 Crystal Coins¡­¡± After listening to Cui Sheng¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao looked at his communication wrist device, which was quite bulky and a bit clumsy-looking, but he appreciated its functionality. Next was the Crystal Coin Card, similar to the bank cards of the past, each card inscribed with a name and specific information; even Lightning had one. Wang Tao quickly glanced at the notes, finding that most people, including Lightning, had 1,000 Crystal Coins written on theirs. Lan Yulian¡¯s note had 5,000 Crystal Coins while Wang Tao¡¯s own note displayed 20,000 Crystal Coins. Cui Sheng explained: ¡°According to our base city¡¯s standards, a Level 1 ability user joining the base for the first time can receive a 10 Crystal Coin subsidy; a Second-Order Superpower Owner can get 100 Crystal Coins; a Level 3 ability user can get 1,000 Crystal Coins; and a Fourth-order Superpower can get 10,000 Crystal Coins¡­ If you have other roles, such as being a Force Leader or saving many survivors, there might be additional bonuses.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao nodded. City Hall was quite generous in this regard; he just wasn¡¯t sure about the purchasing power of 1 Crystal Coin. However, judging by the envious expressions of Cui Sheng and Duan Xuchang by his side, these Crystal Coins must be quite valuable. Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Mr. Wang, now that the items have been delivered, I won¡¯t disturb you any further. This is my contact information. Should you need anything, please inform me directly; I am always available. As for your residence, since it¡¯s been unoccupied for a while, I will have someone clean it inside and out, which might take about a day. After it¡¯s clean, I will contact you.¡± Cui Sheng handed over a business card with a series of numbers on it, which Wang Tao could use to contact him through the wrist device. ¡°Alright, thank you for your trouble. Take care.¡± Wang Tao stood up. ¡°Please, stay.¡± Duan Xuchang saw Cui Sheng out, then returned and said to Wang Tao, ¡°As I said, our base is quite generous! There¡¯s been a lot of fluctuation between Crystal Coins and Crystal Cores exchange rates, so it¡¯s hard to give a precise figure. But, if we go by the previous rates, 10,000 Crystal Coins could be exchanged for two or three Level 4 Crystal Cores!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, the purchasing power of the Crystal Coins was higher than he had imagined! Including Lightning, there were 17 people in their group. Fifteen of them received 1,000 Crystal Coins, Jade Lotus got 5,000 Crystal Coins, and he himself received 20,000 Crystal Coins. That added up to a total of 40,000 Gold Coins. Didn¡¯t that amount to about 10 Level 4 Crystal Cores? ¡°Indeed, quite generous!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he nodded. He planned to check later if these Crystal Coins could be exchanged for a Level 4 Crystal Core; he was in dire need of them. It would be great if the exchange was possible, but it seemed unlikely¡ªanyone with such items would probably use them for themselves instead of trading them away¡­ ¡°By the way, this Cui Sheng is a secretary from City Hall. While his benefits are not bad, he¡¯s not officially employed, so he¡¯s sure to want to climb higher. If he can serve you well and get you into a somewhat official position in City Hall, he would earn significant benefits¡­¡± ¡°No wonder¡­¡± Wang Tao thought to himself; no surprise the man was so deferential¡ªhe had an agenda! ¡°Actually, I personally suggest you take up a position at City Hall as well, even just nominally. I¡¯m not saying this just for the extra salary, but it¡¯s also about contributing to the base, haha! Of course, joining the base doesn¡¯t mean you can take up a position right away; there¡¯s still a period of assessment needed¡­¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll consider it.¡± Wang Tao disliked inconvenience, but he recognized Duan Xuchang¡¯s good intention. It was already noon, and Wang Tao invited Duan Xuchang to stay for lunch. Duan Xuchang did not refuse. After completing the mission to rescue Zijin Base, he had a long vacation and could arrange his time freely. Hosting Wang Tao for these few days was also a chance for him to relax. After lunch, Duan Xuchang called for a minibus and took Wang Tao and his group around the nearby area. With money in hand, Wang Tao intended to spend some, but nothing he saw seemed worth it. ¡°The base center has a lot for sale, even Powered Armor. But that¡¯s really expensive¡­¡± Duan Xuchang explained to Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up; he was just about to ask Duan Xuchang where he could buy Powered Armor. Once Cui Sheng had cleaned the house, he would move there and visit the city center to see if he could get a Powered Armor set to study! The group spent the afternoon strolling around, with plans for Duan Xuchang to take Wang Tao out after dinner. Changhe Base had a vibrant nightlife, after all. But suddenly Duan Xuchang received a message, apparently an urgent matter. ¡°Sorry, I need to leave for a bit.¡± ¡°No worries, go ahead.¡± After seeing Duan Xuchang off, Wang Tao turned to the others and said, ¡°How about going out on our own after dinner? I hear there¡¯s some exciting performance here¡­¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. It had been a long time since they had been so relaxed. After dinner, the group headed to the streets, ready to follow Wang Tao to see the thrilling performance. Just then, they saw a patch of red in the dark sky in the distance. ¡°What is that?¡± Chapter 771 - Chapter 771: Chapter 304: Meteorite Rain_1 Chapter 771: Chapter 304: Meteorite Rain_1 Changhe Base, 7 o¡¯clock in the evening. Some streets were still bustling with traffic, and neon lights one after another flickered on. Scantily clad women, vendors pushing carts, fortune-tellers mumbling to themselves, gangsters surrounded by onlookers engaged in fights¡­ The rich nightlife of Changhe Base had begun. However, suddenly, people noticed a flickering red light before their eyes and, instinctively looking up, they saw that the night sky¡¯s dark clouds had been tinged with a faint red hue without them noticing. ¡°What¡¯s that¡­¡± Everyone was somewhat bewildered. Then a trail blazed past overhead with a red tail flame. ¡°A shooting star?¡± People exclaimed in surprise, and some even began to make a wish with palms pressed together. Then came a second red tail flame, and a third¡­ ¡°Wow! A meteor shower!¡± Now many people were getting excited, even those who weren¡¯t superstitious started to make wishes. Go to ????????????????????.co Having seen a rainbow a few days ago, and now a meteor shower¡­ Didn¡¯t this foretell good fortune coming their way? But some people were confused. ¡°Why does it feel¡­ like some of the meteorites are headed straight for us?¡± Buzz¡ª Suddenly, an ear-piercing alarm sounded throughout the streets and alleys. ¡°Level one alert! Meteorite incoming! Everyone, find shelter close by!¡± ¡°Level one alert! Meteorite incoming¡­¡± Whoosh¡ª People were startled, and many were frozen for a moment in shock. But after all, they had lived through the apocalypse; although most of them might not be very strong, their survival instincts were still sharp. Upon hearing the alarm and the messages from the broadcasts, people on the streets immediately began running into the buildings on both sides. Those who couldn¡¯t get away in time took cover in the corners of the walls. The expressions on people¡¯s faces were filled with panic. Meteor showers were beautiful, but if it was a meteor shower that could hit them, that was deadly! ¡°Don¡¯t panic, everyone evacuate orderly!¡± A fully armed squad of soldiers appeared; they were part of the City Defense Army that normally patrolled the base. ¡°Follow me, don¡¯t push!¡± There were also some uniformed personnel directing the crowd; these were the base¡¯s police officers. With the military and police present, the chaotic crowd quickly stabilized. At that moment, suddenly a few people and a mutated large dog squeezed out from the crowd and ran toward where a meteorite was about to crash. ¡°Hey! You¡ª¡± A soldier in military attire was about to remind them that at times like this, even if you were an Ability User, it was best to take cover. But he saw the person at the front of the group turn his head to look at him. Boom¡ª The soldier felt as if he had been struck by an indescribable aura, those green eyes rendering him breathless! Awakener! The soldier immediately sealed his lips. He didn¡¯t expect that group to be led by Fourth-order Superpower users! If they encountered danger, his squad might all be killed while those people might be unscathed! So he said no more, for those who could awaken to become Fourth-order Superpower users were certainly not fools. On the other side, Wang Tao withdrew his gaze. It wasn¡¯t that he intentionally intimidated others; it was just that when he was serious, he naturally exuded an imposing aura. ¡°Head west!¡± Wang Tao called out, and the rest followed immediately. He had seen a meteorite about to crash inside the base, and he wanted to check out the situation. When he first noticed the meteorites, Wang Tao too was shocked. But after a brief observation, he realized the meteorites were not targeting the base. Perhaps one or two might fall inside the base by chance, but most of them seemed to be crashing elsewhere. That¡¯s why he dared to run out. Otherwise, if a large number of meteorites were crashing towards the base, even as a Fourth-order Awakener, he wouldn¡¯t dare to run around. After all, compared to natural disasters, his power was nothing. Wang Tao made a rough estimate of where the meteorite was going to fall. ¡°It should land in that area ahead¡­¡± There were buildings there, and many people had taken refuge inside. If the meteorite fell, those people were likely doomed! ¡°Everyone, leave this building!¡± Wang Tao got to the outside and yelled at those inside. Some people poked their heads out to look at him, but no one left. They took shelter inside, clearly unable to see the trajectory of the meteorite above their heads. The broadcast had just instructed them to find a nearby place to hide. Running out now, wouldn¡¯t that be courting death? If Wang Tao had been dressed in a military or police uniform, they might have trusted him more. But he was dressed like an ordinary survivor, though somewhat burly and likely an Ability User, but obviously the people¡¯s trust in him wasn¡¯t high. Wang Tao frowned at their attitude, but he didn¡¯t plan to say any more. After all, this wasn¡¯t Zijin Base, and he couldn¡¯t expect people to trust him unconditionally. So, Wang Tao stretched out his hand and a fireball appeared in his palm. The fireball grew larger, and an aura of destruction started to spread. ¡°Leave, or die.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± The survivors hiding in the building were taken aback. Among them, there were experienced Ability Users who knew that Wang Tao¡¯s fireball wasn¡¯t an ordinary ability and was likely related to Awakening! This was a Fourth Order Awakened One! If a Fourth-order Awakener made a move against them, none of them might survive! ¡°Run, run now!¡± Even though they didn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao was doing this, between ¡°dying right now¡± and ¡°possibly dying later,¡± they distinctly chose the latter. But many of them thought to themselves that if they survived today¡¯s calamity, they definitely needed to secretly report Wang Tao! Chapter 772 - Chapter 772: Chapter 304: Meteorite Rain_2 Chapter 772: Chapter 304: Meteorite Rain_2 Even Ability Users and Awakeners have privileges, but threatening so many people in this kind of situation is unjustifiable! Wang Tao, of course, did not know what these people were thinking, and even if he did, he would not care. He calmly watched the group leave the building, then turned his gaze to the sky. ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± A meteor with a red tail grew larger and larger! Wang Tao and the others quickly retreated. Then¡ª Boom! A loud crash shook the earth and mountains! The meteor struck the very building they had just left with precision. The entire building was instantly leveled to the ground, with a scorching blaze erupting. Those who had not left yet suffered painfully hot cheeks from the high temperature. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± Wang Tao turned back to look at everyone. ¡°We¡¯re fine!¡± Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Woof!¡± Everyone answered in unison. Seeing that no one was injured, Wang Tao looked up at the sky again to make sure there were no more meteors falling anytime soon, and then he ran towards the site of the meteor impact. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The fireball in Wang Tao¡¯s hand was still alight, and he hadn¡¯t thrown it. After all, he wasn¡¯t sure of the meteorite¡¯s condition or whether there were any dangers inside. Meanwhile, Wang Tao kept an eye on his HP bar to see if any negative status effects appeared. Fortunately, as the group approached the large crater made by the meteor, they encountered no dangers. ¡°Such a huge pit!¡± A basketball court-sized crater emerged amidst flames and smoke. And inside the pit was a meteor the size of a washbasin. ¡°Is that thing from the sky some kind of celestial metal?¡± Yang Changhong murmured. ¡°I¡¯ll go pick it up.¡± The flames below did not deter Wang Tao, who was not afraid of fire, and he quickly approached the meteor. ¡°Huh?¡± But upon seeing the meteor up close, Wang Tao paused. This meteor actually had a name! After ensuring the surroundings were safe, Wang Tao immediately extinguished the fireball in his hand, then he placed his hand on the scorching meteor, which disappeared instantaneously. [Obtained: Level 5 Energy Crystal Meteorite (Outstanding) x1] [Level 5 Energy Crystal Meteorite (Outstanding): Contains a world of its own, can be opened (requires Level 5 Crystal Core x8)] ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Surprised by the attributes of the meteor, Wang Tao was taken aback. This was actually a Level 5 meteor of outstanding quality! And it seemed to contain something valuable that could be unlocked! But to unlock this meteor, he would need 8 Level 5 Crystal Cores! Ridiculous! He hadn¡¯t even seen a Level 5 Zombie, save for a terribly fearsome Catastrophe Zombie, let alone gather so many Level 5 Crystal Cores! However, could this indirectly suggest that there indeed were valuable items inside? Generally speaking, the greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward! After scouring the large crater and ensuring there was nothing else besides this meteor, Wang Tao returned to the group. ¡°What¡¯s the situation down there?¡± Ding Yuqin asked curiously. Wang Tao stretched out his hand, and a washbasin-sized meteor appeared in his palm. The meteor, originally burning hot, had cooled to a normal temperature after being stored and retrieved from the Space Backpack. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t looked closely just now, but now he noticed the meteor had eight small pits, about the size of a Crystal Core, presumably meant for inserting them. ¡°Touch it and see if you can feel anything.¡± Wang Tao first handed the meteor to Ding Yuqin. The meteor was still quite heavy, but Ding Yuqin, no longer the weakling she had been, easily picked it up. ¡°Huh?¡± Upon touching the meteor, Ding Yuqin let out a soft exclamation. ¡°I feel like there¡¯s something inside the meteor, but it requires¡­ 8 Level 5 Crystal Cores to unlock it?¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat taken aback, doubting her own perception. 8 Level 5 Crystal Cores? Upon hearing Ding Yuqin¡¯s words, Wang Tao instantly understood. He had had the same feeling when he touched the meteor, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was just psychological, since he had already seen the meteor¡¯s specific information ¡ª it could¡¯ve been a suggestion. However, it was proven that it was not his illusion; it was real. That is to say, besides him, others could also know that there was something hidden inside the meteor, and that 10 Level 5 Crystal Cores were needed to open it! Wang Tao let the others try as well, and Han Rui, Wei Zhen Guo, and the rest could also vaguely sense the method to open this Crystal Core. But the outrageous requirement for unlocking it left everyone baffled. After all, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even have many Level 4 Crystal Cores, let alone where to find Level 5 Crystal Cores, and 8 of them no less¡­ The Energy Crystal Meteorite could only be temporarily stored at the bottom of the Space Backpack for now, to be opened later if an opportunity arose. ¡°Wang Tao! There¡¯s another meteor that has fallen at the base! It¡¯s not far from us!¡± At that moment, Lan Yulian pointed in a direction. Wang Tao glanced over and immediately beckoned. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The group started towards the second meteorite¡¯s fall site. After incidentally rescuing two groups of people along the way, Wang Tao and his team successfully arrived outside the meteor pit. At a glance, they could see a home bathtub-sized meteor in the center of the large pit! ¡°What a huge meteor!¡± There was a hint of excitement in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes; such a large meteor must contain many good things! Wang Tao quickly made his way into the flames and collected the large and heavy meteor into his Space Backpack. Chapter 773 - Chapter 773: Chapter 304: Meteorite Rain_3 Chapter 773: Chapter 304: Meteorite Rain_3 [Item Acquired: Level 4 Energy Crystal Meteorite (Ordinary) x1] [Level 4 Energy Crystal Meteorite (Ordinary): Contains vast potential, can be activated (requires two Level 4 Crystal Cores)] ¡°Huh, this one is different!¡± This notably larger meteorite is of ordinary quality and has two small pits on its surface for placing crystal cores. To activate it, all one needs are two Level 4 Crystal Cores! This is much easier than the Level 5 meteorite from before! ¡°Should I give it a try?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat tempted; he did have two Level 4 Crystal Cores he could use. He immediately returned to Ding Yuqin and the others, saying: ¡°You guys keep an eye on the other meteorites¡¯ falling directions, I¡¯ll try to open this one to see what¡¯s inside!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The group responded. Before using the crystal cores to open it, Wang Tao wanted to try if he could break it open directly. However, after several attempts, he found it completely unbreakable. ¡°As expected, there¡¯s no cutting corners¡­¡± Go to ????????????????????.co There was no choice but to use the crystal cores. Wang Tao took out two ordinary quality Level 4 Crystal Cores. Since there was no specification regarding the quality needed, it made sense to use the white, ordinary quality ones. He placed the two crystal cores into the small pits on the surface of the meteorite. As soon as the crystal cores were in place, they were immediately sucked in. The meteorite began to vibrate slightly, and the crystal cores emitted a faint white glow. Crack¡ª In front of everyone, the bathtub-sized meteorite, like an overripe watermelon, started with a crack and then the fissure spread. Bang! It ultimately split in two, with most of its interior being stone. Only at the very center was there a palm-sized pit. And in this small pit lay a crystal core? The quality was white [Tier-4 Crystal Core ¡¤ Self-Detonation x1]? ¡°¡­¡± Such a large meteorite contained only a palm-sized hollow? And it contained a crystal core? Not only just one crystal core, but a Tier-4 Self-Destruct Crystal Core of white quality? Wang Tao had used two Tier-4 White Crystal Cores to open it! ¡°A total loss!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face was grim. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t afford the loss, but he felt cheated and that was very frustrating. The rest also felt speechless, never expecting such a huge meteorite to contain such junk. ¡°Looks like one can¡¯t just casually open these ¡®Energy Crystal Meteorites¡¯; there¡¯s a risk of making a loss¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head helplessly. At that moment, several more meteorites fell towards the base from afar. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Keep collecting meteorites!¡± Wang Tao and his group advanced again towards the area ablaze with fiery light. Though the meteor shower looked quite scary, not many landed inside the base. Given the vast size of the base¡­ when the impacts were averaged out, the ratio of casualties hit by the meteorites wasn¡¯t high. Wang Tao also saved several groups of people, not knowing how many times he had been thanked. He had picked up several meteorites but hadn¡¯t opened them. After all, he didn¡¯t quite understand the situation now and thought to study them later. Otherwise, if he kept losing on each attempt, there would be no way to continue playing. ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± Suddenly, everyone heard a roar within the base! Wang Tao frowned; could it be that someone was keeping a mutant beast? Buzzing~ Just then, Wang Tao¡¯s wrist communicator vibrated as Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice came through. ¡°Wang Tao, can you come over? We¡¯re on the same street we went to with you today. There¡¯s a fourth-order monster here! There are a lot of civilians around, and it¡¯s not easy to use heavy firepower. My powered armor is out for maintenance¡­¡± ¡°What! A fourth-order monster! I¡¯m on my way!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned serious. Upon confirming that the fourth-order monster Duan Xuchang mentioned was the roar he had just heard, Wang Tao immediately led the group over. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s see what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡­ Ratatat¡ª ¡°Help!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t run around!¡± At a certain square inside the base, chaos reigned. A pitch-black monster, boasting thick armor and legs sharp like blades, was rampaging and destroying everything in sight. Beneath it were many fresh red bloodstains, but no bodies. Many ordinary people were lying on the ground or hiding in corners nearby; perhaps the monster had a blind spot in its vision and temporarily hadn¡¯t noticed these people hiding. Ratatat¡ª More than twenty soldiers were unloading their firepower on the monster, but its shell was too thick, rendering the small-caliber bullets completely ineffective! They had heavy weapons at their disposal, but they didn¡¯t dare use them since there were still many people directly below the monster. ¡°Damn it! If I¡¯d known, I wouldn¡¯t have been so impulsive!¡± Among the team, there were a few individuals dressed like survivors from the apocalypse. One of them, a lean, bald man, was furious with rage. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, I¡¯ve already called for help!¡± Duan Xuchang immediately reassured him. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡ª¡± Before Duan Xuchang could finish, his vision blurred as a burly figure appeared before them. The bald man jumped in shock, while Duan Xuchang¡¯s face lit up with surprise. ¡°You got here so fast!¡± ¡°I was nearby,¡± Wang Tao said, gazing at the huge figure not too far away. Somewhat puzzled, he asked Duan Xuchang, ¡°Captain Duan, how did this thing get into the base? Could it climb over the high walls of the base, or fly in?¡± Could such a tall stronghold also be unsafe? Confronted with Wang Tao¡¯s doubts, before Duan Xuchang could reply, the bald man beside him said with remorse: ¡°It¡¯s all my fault! I picked up a big meteorite in the meteor pit earlier. I felt something good inside it and that it could be opened with crystal cores! I intended to try later, but I couldn¡¯t resist and used four crystal cores to open it¡ªand out popped this fourth-order monster! It¡¯s killed a lot of ordinary people! I deserve to die!¡± Wang Tao: ¡°¡­¡± To think that opening these ¡°Energy Crystal Meteorites¡± could yield a loss or even unleash a monster? Wang Tao took a deep breath and then addressed the two men: ¡°You guys get ready to rescue the people; I¡¯ll take care of it!¡± Chapter 774 - Chapter 774: Chapter 305 Monster Expansion_1 Chapter 774: Chapter 305 Monster Expansion_1 ¡°` Roar¡ª The monster swung its numerous sharp claws, wildly destroying everything around it. Not only humans were killed by it, but trees, buildings, and even the ground were destroyed¡ªit was like a killing machine, eliminating everything in sight. Wang Tao looked at the attributes of this monster, which bore some resemblance to a cockroach. [HP: 148790/150000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakened: Tenacity] [Tenacity: All basic attributes increase, with significant enhancements to Strength and Defense] This was a Level 4, Monster Lord. Its awakening ability, like the zombies Wang Tao had encountered before, was a passive type that enhanced physical quality, particularly notable in Strength and Defense. When he had previously killed zombies with this kind of ¡°Tenacity¡± awakening, it had been quite troublesome, because those zombies had an ability named ¡°Return to Light¡±¡ªthey would regenerate 100 HP with every attack they suffered. Go to ????????????????????.co Alone, this ability wasn¡¯t strong, but coupled with extremely high Defense, it was outrageously powerful. However, the monster in front of them didn¡¯t have the Return to Light ability! It was clear to see that although the bullets did very little damage to the monster, sometimes even too little to penetrate its defenses, it wasn¡¯t regenerating HP! Moreover, this monster wasn¡¯t using any abilities either; it was relying solely on its formidable physique to attack. That made things much simpler for Wang Tao! With a thought, a slender, curved Bone Knife appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Then, his figure vanished instantly. When he reappeared, he was already beside this ¡°Cockroach Monster.¡± The Cockroach Monster was quite tall; Wang Tao, standing in front of it, could barely touch its head. So, how big was the Energy Crystal Meteorite for such a large creature to emerge from it? But Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen any large meteorites before, and if there had been one of such size, he would definitely have noticed its fall¡­ Wang Tao was puzzled but had no time to think further. He raised his long knife and slashed at the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head. Bang! [-332] [-33] Seeing the damage from this strike, Wang Tao was somewhat prepared for it internally, but he still felt a bit helpless. With this rate of damage, he would need to strike the Cockroach Monster four or five hundred times to kill it¡­ This was why Wang Tao hated encountering enemies with high Defense. Roar¡ª Although the damage from Wang Tao¡¯s strike wasn¡¯t high, the damage inflicted by others on the monster before was even lower. Therefore, the monster¡¯s attention was immediately drawn to Wang Tao, and when it realized that the one attacking it was just a little fellow, it let out an angry roar and swung its gleaming, icy arms towards Wang Tao like a lawnmower. Although Wang Tao was already wearing the Night Demon Set, he had no intention of taking the beast¡¯s blows head-on. Upon seeing the monster¡¯s offensive, he immediately retreated. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao was fast and retreated more than ten meters in an instant. The Cockroach Monster¡¯s attacks all missed, but it clearly didn¡¯t want to let Wang Tao go; it stopped attacking others and began to chase him down with long strides. Seeing how easily he had attracted the monster¡¯s aggro, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. There were many survivors hiding in the square. Duan Xuchang, afraid of hitting these people, didn¡¯t dare to use heavy weapons. Wang Tao, of course, didn¡¯t want to harm the innocent, so he had to attract the monster away. Previously, the attacks of Duan Xuchang and the others were too weak to attract the monster¡¯s aggro. Although Wang Tao had only inflicted a little over three hundred HP of damage to the Cockroach Monster, that amount of damage was considered the highest among all. Therefore, it immediately caught the attention of the monster, which could not tolerate someone inflicting such high damage on it¡ªit wanted to kill Wang Tao! Surrounded by buildings and crowds, Wang Tao quickly scoped out his surroundings, then immediately started heading north. Because not far to the north, there was a large pit on the ground, still smoking and burning. Clearly, it had just been smashed out by the meteorite. Rumble¡ª Wang Tao was fast, but the Cockroach Monster wasn¡¯t slow either. Its dozens of knife-like legs propelled it rapidly as it pursued Wang Tao, dragging its thick shell along. Not far away, seeing the monster drawn off by Wang Tao, Duan Xuchang immediately waved his hand. ¡°Go! Rescue them!¡± Ding Yuqin and the others went to rescue people as well; facing such a high-defense monster, their output was limited and it was more worthwhile to save more survivors. Lan Yulian, draped in her garment that resembled flames, was very conspicuous on the chaotic battlefield. She activated the Healing Light, and a green aura spread out from her as the center, radiating towards the surroundings. Everyone within the light felt a warm sensation all over their bodies. At the same time, she shouted: ¡°Bring the injured to me first!¡± For severely injured patients, Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t provide treatment; that generally required surgery. But she could use [Healing] to keep the injured alive until medical personnel arrived. Even if someone¡¯s HP dropped to zero, she could bring them back with a ¡°High-power cardiac pacemaker.¡± Soon, a large number of injured people gathered around Lan Yulian. After all, her clothing was striking to the eye, and the injured only needed to run towards the ¡°human flame¡± to get help. Lots of injured people thanked Lan Yulian gratefully. Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t someone with a strong vanity, but seeing so many lives saved through her aid filled her with satisfaction. ¡°This is what a Healing-Type Extraordinary Function Human is all about!¡± Seeing the monster depart, the scene was quickly brought under control, and Duan Xuchang sighed with emotion. ¡°` Chapter 775 - Chapter 775: Chapter 305 Monster Expansion_2 Chapter 775: Chapter 305 Monster Expansion_2 Healing-Type Crystal Cores are too scarce, even within the hundreds of thousands population of Changhe Base, they are exceedingly rare. Furthermore, not all Healing ability users are created equal, and Lan Yulian is among the best! If there were more ability users like Lan Yulian, their battles would be so much easier¡­ ¡°This beauty¡¯s healing ability is so strong! She can heal such a wide area! I wonder if we could pull her into our team¡­¡± The bald man exclaimed. Standing beside him, Duan Xuchang gave him a somewhat speechless glance upon hearing this. ¡°If you could become an Awakener, maybe there¡¯d be a one percent chance.¡± ¡°¡­Damn, I forgot, she came with that Awakener big shot!¡± The bald man suddenly felt a bit awkward. Even without an Awakener, with the strength of their team, it was already difficult to invite a Healing-Type Extraordinary Function Human of that caliber, let alone now that she was clearly mixing with Awakeners, making them even less hopeful. ¡°Save people, save people! I was thinking too much!¡± The bald man shook his head and stopped daydreaming. Elsewhere. Go to ????????????????????.co After Wang Tao lured the monster to the meteor pit, he immediately turned around. At some point, a massive fireball had appeared in his hand. With an outstretched hand, the fireball immediately flew towards the Cockroach Monster. Although the Cockroach Monster was fast, it must¡¯ve relied on its high defense or maybe it wasn¡¯t very clever, because it didn¡¯t dodge the fireball. So¡ª Boom! When the fireball hit the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head, a burst of intense flames erupted, turning the entire meteor pit into a sea of fire! Hiss¡ª The Cockroach Monster screamed in agony! Its shell¡¯s defense may have been high, but it obviously couldn¡¯t withstand Wang Tao¡¯s fireball! [-15338] [-3278] [-3203] [¡­] Massive damage numbers floated above its head as flames engulfed its entire body! Wang Tao, who was relatively close, could even smell an unpleasant burnt stench. The Cockroach Monster flailed its sickle-like claws in a frenzy. Wang Tao, with his agile movements, dodged numerous attacks, but still got hit by one claw. [-6842] [-684] [¡­] Nearly seven thousand damage floated above Wang Tao¡¯s head! And there was Bleeding damage as well! ¡°Such high damage!¡± Despite wearing the Black Stone Armor Set and Night Demon Set, Wang Tao still took such high damage¡ªif others were hit, they might lose tens of thousands of HP, or even be insta-killed! After retreating, the flames continued to burn on the Cockroach Monster, though the damage decreased. But that didn¡¯t matter, as Wang Tao prepared another large fireball in his hand. Boom! [-16432] [-3142] [-3323] [¡­] After being attacked by fireballs twice in succession, the Cockroach Monster was clearly in much pain and anger. It no longer cared about the flames on its body, and like a ¡®firebug,¡¯ it lunged at Wang Tao. The long sword in Wang Tao¡¯s hand disappeared, replaced by a large, thick, and long Black Iron Stick. Clutching the stick with both hands, as the Cockroach Monster charged at him, Wang Tao swung the stick down on its head. Thud! [-1063] The enormous body of the Cockroach Monster was immediately sent flying, crashing into the edge of the meteor pit. Several cracked but not fully collapsed houses couldn¡¯t withstand the impact and collapsed thunderously, falling on the Cockroach Monster and burying it in the rubble instantly. Meanwhile, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but let out a soft ¡°huh¡±. He had intended to repel the Cockroach Monster and attack it with fireballs from a distance, which is why he chose the Black Iron Stick¡ªbut he hadn¡¯t expected the stick¡¯s damage to be surprisingly good, enough to cause a thousand HP worth of damage. Indeed, when dealing with monsters with thick armor, blunt weapons were the way to go. Boom¡ª The Cockroach Monster burst out of the rubble, and although it had been buried, the flames on its body had also been extinguished. It roared and charged at Wang Tao again. Wang Tao held the stick in his right hand and produced a fireball in his left. As the Cockroach Monster approached him, Wang Tao struck with the stick first, sending it flying once again. This time, using one hand, the strength was slightly less, so the Cockroach Monster didn¡¯t fly as far. Nonetheless, it gave Wang Tao enough time. By the time the Cockroach Monster charged again, the fireball in Wang Tao¡¯s hand had grown to the size of a water tank! Wang Tao¡¯s Fireball special ability needed to be powered up, the longer the charge time, the larger the fireball and the higher the damage, though there was a limit. The current size of the fireball represented Wang Tao¡¯s maximum charge limit. Thus, the huge fireball mercilessly smashed onto the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head. Boom¡ª [-30189] [-4128] [-4211] [¡­] The Cockroach Monster let out a piercing scream, clearly tormented by the burning flames. It rolled frantically on the ground, trying to put out the flames on its head. While it was down, Wang Tao aimed to take its life. Hoisting the Black Iron Stick, he launched a furious assault on its head. [-1283] [-1123] [¡­] Although the damage from the Black Iron Stick¡¯s attacks couldn¡¯t compare to the fireballs, Wang Tao was fast. One after another, the damage numbers flew from the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head. The Cockroach Monster thrashed its claws wildly, but they were not as long as the Black Iron Stick and couldn¡¯t reach Wang Tao. Moments later, once the flames on the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head were extinguished, it was left with only a sliver of HP. Once again, a fireball appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. This time he didn¡¯t need to charge too much; feeling it was about right, he slammed the fireball directly onto the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head. [-12345] [-4587] [-2389] [0/150000] The Cockroach Monster¡¯s HP bar hit zero, and a huge pile of things burst out. In addition to the Loot Pack, the Cockroach Monster¡¯s claws, shell, and feelers all had names! Chapter 776 - Chapter 776: Chapter 305 Monster Expansion_3 Chapter 776: Chapter 305 Monster Expansion_3 Wang Tao packed away these named items and then walked out of the meteor pit. At this time, meteors were still streaking across the sky, occasionally smashing towards the base, but the area near the plaza was safe. After all, there was only that cockroach monster, which Wang Tao had lured away. Although the people near the plaza couldn¡¯t see the specifics inside the meteor pit, they were all paying close attention. When they saw a tall figure emerge from the flames, everyone cheered. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yuqin and others quickly ran over to check if Wang Tao was hurt, and Lan Yulian hurriedly administered healing to him. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Wang Tao shook his head and then asked, ¡°How is everyone?¡± ¡°Apart from a few people who were eaten by the monster before we arrived, the rest of the injured have basically been out of danger. Even those with serious injuries can hold on for now; it all depends on when the doctors arrive¡­¡± Before Lan Yulian could finish, she saw a team of vehicles flashing blue lights approaching from a distance. ¡°The doctors are here! They¡¯ll most likely all be able to save their lives.¡± Lan Yulian breathed a sigh of relief. At this point, Duan Xuchang and his group also ran over, and Duan Xuchang asked with concern: ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I killed that monster, its body is in the meteor pit.¡± Go to ????????????????????.co Wang Tao had already taken the spoils from the monster¡¯s body, but what he took were the named items and the Crystal Cores. Given the cockroach monster¡¯s enormous size, there were sickle-like legs and a thick shell among other valuable materials on its body¡ªall of which were quite rare¡ªso the corpse of the cockroach monster was still of great value. But fair¡¯s fair! Wang Tao took the lion¡¯s share, so he ought to let others have a sip of the soup. ¡°Okay!¡± Duan Xuchang immediately ordered some of his subordinates to remove the monster¡¯s corpse, while others helped to transport the injured to the vehicles. When the meteors first struck the base, a top-level emergency alarm went off, directing everyone to find cover and hunker down. However, after some time had passed, they realized that only a few meteors would actually strike the base, with most of them seemingly flying off elsewhere. Thus, the alarm level was lowered, and a large number of rescue workers began to appear outside. Looking up, Wang Tao saw that the sky was stained red, with swathes of meteor showers passing overhead, making for a stunning view. While occasionally a meteor would fly toward the base, not many landed within it, and those that did were relatively small in size. As long as there were precautions in place to predict the landing sites of the meteors and evacuate the nearby residents in time, many casualties could be avoided. Of course, the prerequisite was to refrain from tampering with those Energy Crystal Meteorites. Wang Tao glanced at the information wristband in his hand, which showed a broadcast from City Hall. They instructed everyone who came into contact with the meteorites not to open them rashly¡ªthey contained great danger! Anyone who opened a meteorite and caused serious consequences would face a court trial, even if they survived the incident. The punishment was quite severe. As for the bald man who opened the first meteorite, he would definitely face some trouble, but nothing too serious. After all, the ignorant are not guilty, and nobody knew what was inside these meteorites. Although a Level 4, Lord Monster had emerged from within, in a way, it served as a warning to everyone¡­ But speaking of the monster, Wang Tao looked at the bald man with some curiosity. ¡°Did that monster really crawl out of the meteorite? I didn¡¯t see such large meteorite debris!¡± ¡°Boss! The meteorite was only as big as a small car. After I opened it with a Crystal Core, the creature inside began to expand, and then it grew to this size¡­¡± The bald man quickly explained. ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood. He thought it strange that he hadn¡¯t seen such a large meteorite. If that meteorite had been much larger than the monster itself, the death toll would have been even higher¡ªnot from the monster but from the impact of such a large meteorite. Fortunately, this was not the case. However, a new problem arose. If the monster¡¯s size wasn¡¯t as big as initially presented by the Energy Crystal Meteorite, didn¡¯t that mean that even smaller Energy Crystal Meteorites could potentially contain monsters? Wang Tao had just picked up several smaller Energy Crystal Meteorites. He had thought that such small meteorites were unlikely to contain monsters. But now, upon reconsideration, it wasn¡¯t so certain¡­ ¡­ The meteor shower continued. After the initial panic, the base¡¯s residents had all found shelter. During the construction of the base, many safety facilities had been installed, such as underground air-raid shelters. The limited destructive power of these small meteorites meant that those underground were essentially safe. The people on the ground were either Ability Users or military and police personnel¡ªall fighters with strong physical conditions. As long as they could spot the small meteorites in time, avoiding them was not a problem. Order within the base slowly began to be restored. After ensuring there were no issues near the plaza, Wang Tao¡¯s group made their way around to other areas. He thought about picking up a few more ¡°Energy Crystal Meteorites¡± and did find two. However, as order was restored in the base, other Ability Users and the military became more active. Whenever a meteorite fell, they would surround it. It wasn¡¯t easy for Wang Tao to take what others coveted, so he didn¡¯t collect much afterwards. As the red clouds in the sky gradually faded and the meteor shower slowly dissipated, everyone let out a sigh of relief. ¡°It should be over, right?¡± Ding Yuqin looked up at the sky dotted with stars, uncertainly saying. ¡°It should be over. You should all go back and rest now. Leave the clean-up work to us!¡± Duan Xuchang said. Many places within the base were in disarray and needed to be sorted out. Naturally, there was no need to trouble Wang Tao and his group with this labor. ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 777 - Chapter 777: Chapter 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_1 Chapter 777: Chapter 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_1 ¡°` When Wang Tao returned to the small courtyard, it was already two o¡¯clock in the morning. The meteor shower had lasted a full four hours, and he wondered how many meteors had fallen on this planet. Wang Tao had intended to go out to the base to see for himself, as there were so many meteors inside the base, there must have been some outside too. However, after seeing the army deploy a large number of helicopters to fly out, he reconsidered and decided against it, thinking it wouldn¡¯t matter since he already had some meteorites. Now, he was very curious about what else might be contained within these meteorites. Wang Tao looked at his Space Backpack. Not counting the Energy Crystal Meteorite he had opened before, he still had seven left. It felt quite ridiculous when he thought about it. He had spent two ordinary quality Level 4 Crystal Cores, and as a result, he obtained one ordinary quality Level 4, Self-Destruct Crystal Core¡­ such a loss! He wondered if the other Energy Crystal Meteorites would also be a similar letdown. In fact, for Wang Tao, even if there were a fourth-order monster inside, it would be lucrative. After all, monsters were treasure troves, capable of dropping Loot Packs. His only fear was encountering more useless items like the Self-Destruct Crystal Core¡­ The seven Energy Crystal Meteorites Wang Tao held varied in size; the largest were as big as two household bathtubs, and the smallest about the size of his fist. However, the size of a Star Meteorite wasn¡¯t directly correlated to the size of the contents within, since he had previously opened a bathtub-sized meteorite that contained only a single Crystal Core. Out of the seven meteorites, two were Level 5, and the remaining five were Level 4. Go to ????????????????????.co Among them, one of the Level 5 meteorites was of excellent quality and required eight Level 5 Crystal Cores to open. The other was of epic quality and needed ten Level 5 Crystal Cores! Opening these two meteorites in the short term seemed impossible. The other five Level 4 Star Meteorites could be classified as one excellent, two excellent, one outstanding, and one epic. To open them, they required four, six, eight, and ten Level 4 Crystal Cores, respectively. The Level 4 White Rank Meteorite he had previously opened required two Level 4 Crystal Cores. Wang Tao began to discern a pattern with the Energy Crystal Meteorites¡ªthe quality of the meteorite affected the number of Crystal Cores needed to open it! To open a white quality Energy Crystal Meteorite, two cores of the same level were needed; blue required four; purple required six; red required eight; and orange required ten! Although these meteorites had no color differentiation, and it was impossible for others to tell their exact quality, the positions for placing the Crystal Cores hinted that those with slots for two were of ordinary quality, while those with slots for ten were of epic quality. Since different numbers of Crystal Cores were needed to open the meteorites, Wang Tao speculated that the contents must also vary. The items from an orange meteorite needing ten cores could be the best, whereas those from a white one needing only two could be the worst. Of course, describing them as ¡°good¡± or ¡°junk¡± might not be entirely accurate because these things could contain monsters! For Wang Tao, releasing a fourth-order monster was highly likely to be profitable¡ªthat¡¯s ¡°highly likely¡± because if a monster as strong as a Giant Zombie emerged, he would not be able to defeat it. But for others, especially those below Level 4, releasing a monster could spell disaster¡­ unless they had prepared and surrounded themselves with a large group of armed forces when opening the meteorite. Wang Tao also had a minor problem now. That was whether the quality of the Crystal Cores used to open the meteorites would affect the contents inside? For example, if he used ten ordinary quality and ten epic quality Crystal Cores to open the same meteorite, would the results be different? Wang Tao felt tempted to open a few meteorites to experiment, but he refrained. If he opened them now and a monster emerged, it would be problematic. After all, the base had just been through chaos, and everyone was on edge. There was no need for him to create more panic. Another reason was that Wang Tao did not want to use his own Crystal Cores for the opening. Most of the cores he had featured Abilities, and nowadays, most cores retrieved from zombie brains lacked Abilities. As one can imagine, even the white quality cores with Abilities would become very valuable, so it would be preferable to use cores without Abilities for the openings. Lastly, he could let others do it first and then inquire about the contents. Wang Tao believed that others could not resist. Especially the city hall, they probably had many star meteorites and would definitely experiment with them¡­ These seven meteorites were still in Wang Tao¡¯s possession; Ding Yuqin had not even had the chance to examine them. Wang Tao handed over the stones for them to study and cautioned them not to open them. Then he turned his attention to the loot from the Cockroach Monster. It was an unexpected reward. He had killed a Level 4, Monster Lord within such a safe base¡­ a rather peculiar feeling. By killing the Cockroach Monster, he obtained 100 Awakening Energy, 1 Advanced Special Energy, and 1 Awakening Key. He now had 27 units of Advanced Special Energy and 12 Awakening Keys. In addition, the monster had dropped five items and five Loot Packs. [Received: Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] ¡°` Chapter 778 - Chapter 778: Chapter 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_2 Chapter 778: Chapter 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_2 [Acquired: Level 4, Flexible Tentacles x4] [Acquired: Level 4, Sharp Claws x10] [Acquired: Level 4, Resilience Shell x10] The Cockroach Monster¡¯s head had dropped a red Quality Crystal Core, which unfortunately held no Ability. There was also an Awakening Energy Pearl, a pretty good stroke of luck. The remaining three items were all crafting materials. [Level 4, Flexible Tentacles: Crafting material, can increase equipment¡¯s Mental Defense] [Level 4, Sharp Claws: Crafting material, can increase equipment¡¯s Bleeding Property] [Level 4, Resilience Shell: Crafting material, can increase equipment¡¯s defensive power] All three materials came with additional attributes, especially the Sharp Claws, which even had a Bleeding property! Equipment crafted with these materials was bound to be remarkable! Then there was the Loot Pack. The first Loot Pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag. Upon seeing the attributes of the Crystal Cores inside, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. Go to ????????????????????.co Although most of the Crystal Cores inside zombies no longer contained Abilities, the ones from his Loot Packs still did! The bag contained a total of six Crystal Cores, which were a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Physical Enhancement], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Defense], and a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength]. Omnipotent, Ascension, and Awakening ¨C he¡¯d gotten all three special Crystal Cores! The other three Cores were fairly ordinary, but Wang Tao wasn¡¯t picky. After all, these were Ability-bearing Crystals Cores, currently of high value. Inside the second Loot Pack were potions. [Acquired: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Acquired: Defense Potion (Medium) x20] Twenty bottles each of Strength and Defense Potions, quite common. Wang Tao looked towards the third Loot Pack. [Acquired: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another Awakening Energy Pearl! Wang Tao counted, he now had 21 Awakening Energy Pearls in hand. He was planning to start increasing his Awakening Energy limit shortly. Then came the fourth Loot Pack. [Acquired: Awakening Key x1] One physical Awakening Key, with this addition he now had a total of seven. The last Loot Pack contained Blueprints, three of them! [Acquired: Sharp Long Knife Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Black Shell Armor Suit Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Physical Necklace Blueprint x1] [Sharp Long Knife Blueprint: Can craft a Sharp Long Knife. Required materials: Level 4 Sharp Claws x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Blade x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30, Rubber x30] [Sharp Long Knife: Equipped with Armor Breaking Attribute] [Black Shell Armor Suit Blueprint: Can craft a full set of Battle Armor. Required materials: Level 4 Resilience Shell x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Rubber x30] [Black Shell Armor Suit: Comes with a Repair Attribute] [Physical Necklace Blueprint: Can craft a Physical Necklace. Required materials: Level 4 Flexible Tentacles x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Physical Necklace: Comes with a Focus attribute] All three equipment pieces came with additional attributes! And the core materials needed for these three pieces of equipment also had additional properties! Does that mean each piece of equipment carried at least two additional attributes? Wang Tao immediately began crafting. A moment later, all three pieces of equipment were crafted. [Sharp Long Knife] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +80, Attack power +80, comes with Armor Break and Bleeding effects (Armor Break and Bleeding effects require Awakening Energy)] This was a subtly curved matte black slender knife, its Durability and Attack power both increased by 80 points, which was 10 points more than the tusk long knife used by Wang Tao! And while the tusk long knife only had a Bleeding property, this knife had not only Bleeding but also an Armor Break property! [Armor Break: Ignores a certain amount of Defense] The explanation for the Armor Break property was roughly what Wang Tao had envisioned. He felt the ¡°Armor Break¡± would be particularly effective against enemies with high defense. However, to truly understand its effectiveness, a field test was necessary. Wang Tao picked up the long knife and swung it, finding it handled much better than the tusk long knife. The tusk long knife¡¯s curve was a bit too pronounced, but the angle of this Sharp Long Knife was just right. ¡°I¡¯ll be using you from now on!¡± Wang Tao was very satisfied as he put away the Sharp Long Knife, his new weapon of choice. As for the retired tusk long knife, it could be given to someone else to continue its service. The second piece of equipment was a set of matte black full-body Battle Armor. The only problem was the armor¡¯s design was a bit peculiar, resembling the shell of a beetle, which to Wang Tao¡¯s personal taste, was somewhat ugly. [Black Shell Armor Suit] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +120, defensive power +120, comes with a Restoration effect (Restoration effect requires Awakening Energy)] As ugly as the armor was, its attributes were beyond reproach. Durability and defensive power both increased by 120 points. Moreover, it also came with a ¡°Restoration¡± Attribute. [Restoration: Slowly restores equipment Durability] Wang Tao was surprised; this was an attribute that restored Durability! The durability of the equipment he crafted was generally limited. When Durability ran out, the equipment would be damaged. Currently, he had no way to restore Durability, nor did he know how to do so. So in a sense, all his current equipment was somewhat disposable. Chapter 779 - Chapter 779: Chapter 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_3 Chapter 779: Chapter 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_3 ¡°` Of course, except in some special cases, the durability loss rate of equipment is actually quite slow. Wang Tao has yet to have any of his equipment¡¯s durability normally wear down to nothing. The times his gear was destroyed were all due to special circumstances. If this repair attribute can restore durability, doesn¡¯t that mean the equipment will never wear out? This set of battle armor has pretty impressive attributes, but Wang Tao doesn¡¯t plan to wear it himself. One reason is that he already has a surplus of equipment, and he doesn¡¯t need this one; another is that the armor is a bit ugly¡ªit makes him look like a beetle when he puts it on¡­ Wang Tao thinks that Xu Xiaojun would be quite suitable for this set of armor. After all, it has high defense without slowing the wearer down. As for whether Xu Xiaojun is willing to wear it, Wang Tao thinks it won¡¯t be a problem. Xu Xiaojun doesn¡¯t care about appearance, and the root armor Wang Tao had given him earlier was pretty ugly. To Xu Xiaojun, as long as the attributes are good, that¡¯s all that matters. [Physical Necklace] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Mental Defense +20, Physical Strength Consumption -20%, comes with Focus Effect (Focus Effect requires Awakening Energy)] The design of the Physical Necklace is quite simple; it is called a necklace, but it doesn¡¯t even have a pendant in the middle¡ªit looks like a plain black rope. But as long as the appearance isn¡¯t ugly, the main thing is the attributes. And the attributes of this Physical Necklace, Wang Tao can only say they are very strong! Equipment that boosts Mental Defense is relatively rare, as most gear doesn¡¯t include it, so a bonus of 20 is already quite good. Go to ????????????????????.co Then there¡¯s the attribute that reduces physical strength consumption by 20%! This is equivalent to indirectly increasing the upper limit of physical strength. In a way, this ability can be considered a god-tier skill. Moreover, it has a Focus attribute! [Focus: Reduces the energy consumption when using abilities] ¡°This Focus attribute is good!¡± The necklace itself reduces physical strength consumption, and this Focus reduces energy consumption¡ªisn¡¯t this going to make battles last even longer? Without a doubt, Wang Tao definitely plans to use this necklace for himself. After putting on the Physical Necklace, Wang Tao suddenly felt as if his body had become much lighter, especially when moving around; it was very smooth and comfortable¡­ That must be the effect of reducing physical strength consumption by 20%! As for the Focus attribute, Wang Tao fired an Air Bullet ability into the sky and then took off the necklace and fired another Air Bullet ability. After a comparison, he arrived at a rough conclusion¡ª ¡°Energy consumption reduced by 20%!¡± Wang Tao was instantly thrilled! A reduction of 20% in both physical strength and energy consumption! This was a significant boost to his combat effectiveness! If only there was also a reduction in spirit consumption or even Awakening Energy consumption¡­ Forget it, no need to dream. Wang Tao quickly shook his head. He took out the Black Shell Armor Suit to give to Xu Xiaojun. After everything that happened that night, everyone was still up. Xu Xiaojun, as Wang Tao had thought, didn¡¯t mind about how the equipment looked. After trying on the armor, Xu Xiaojun thanked Wang Tao very happily. ¡°Thank you, Brother Wang! I can feel that this set of armor is much stronger than what I had before!¡± ¡°Haha, glad you like it!¡± Wang Tao chatted with everyone for a bit more, and then he went back to his room to prepare for bed. However, before going to sleep, Wang Tao planned to increase his Awakening Energy limit. He had just recovered some Awakening Energy, and it was now a round number[400/700]. So Wang Tao first took out one Awakening Energy Pearl to bring his current energy up to 500, then took out two Awakening Crystal Cores to fuse them. He had a total of 12 Awakening Crystal Cores; fusing them would leave him with 10. Moments later, the fusion of the Awakening Crystal Cores was completed. Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Energy reached 700, and as a result, his Internal Impurity also went up to 2%, which had lingered since he fused the Fireball special ability without cleansing. Wang Tao took out two bottles of Cleansing Potion and quickly cleared the Internal Impurity. Once free of impurities again, he felt a whole lot lighter. Then Wang Tao used up all his Awakening Energy to bring his limit to 800. He then used eight Awakening Energy Pearls to increase the limit to 900, and finally nine Awakening Energy Pearls¡­ When he was down to four Awakening Energy Pearls, Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Energy limit finally reached 1000! For Wang Tao, who had a touch of OCD, an Awakening Energy limit of 1000 looked very pleasing to the eye. ¡°Time to sleep!¡± ¡­ Early morning. Wang Tao woke up and checked the time; it was already past 9 AM. He isn¡¯t someone who loves to stay in bed, but he had wasted some time playing games last night because Yang Changhong had sleepwalked into his room. ¡°Wang Tao, I saved you some breakfast.¡± Seeing Wang Tao awake, Ding Yuqin reheated breakfast for him. ¡°Sister-in-law is always thoughtful!¡± Ding Yuqin gave him a look and then said: ¡°Secretary Cui is here.¡± ¡°Hmm? When did he come?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°He came at seven in the morning, has been waiting in the reception room for two hours.¡± ¡°He waited that long? Then have him come over.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Moments later, Ding Yuqin brought Cui Sheng to the dining room. ¡°Good morning, Mr. Wang!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, who was having breakfast, Cui Sheng quickly walked over, smiling ear to ear as he greeted him. ¡°Good morning. Secretary Cui, what brings you here so early¡­?¡± Wang Tao looked up, his expression curious. ¡°You and your team killed a Level 4 Lord Monster last night, saving many people! The city hall is very grateful for the contributions you and your team have made! The city hall will send you a formal thank-you gift soon, but there¡¯s been a lot going on, and the thank-you gift will take a little while longer. I hope Mr. Wang will understand! My purpose today, aside from relaying the city hall¡¯s gratitude, is to deliver the spoils of battle to you¡­¡± ¡°Spoils of battle?¡± Wang Tao doesn¡¯t care much about the thank-you gift, but this mention of spoils of battle piques his interest. ¡°Yes, the Level 4 Lord Monster you killed yesterday had many high-value spoils on it. Although you left the monster¡¯s body behind, you will get your full share, please check them!¡± ¡°` Chapter 780 - Chapter 780: Chapter 307: Flying Zombie_1 Chapter 780: Chapter 307: Flying Zombie_1 The spoils of war Cui Sheng mentioned totaled three parts. The first part of the spoils was protein blocks, commonly known among survivors as ¡°Cockroach Paste.¡± The body of the monster that Wang Tao killed yesterday had been inspected overnight at the city hall and determined to be non-toxic and then processed into protein blocks. No matter what the raw materials of the protein blocks were or how they tasted, the fact was that they were considered a solid currency in Changhe Base. Because they were nutritionally rich, cheap, and easy to carry and store, they were essential goods for both home life and travel. Seeing as the Cockroach Monster looked like an insect, it made sense that it was rich in protein, suitable for producing protein blocks. The protein blocks made from it were divided into three equal parts. Wang Tao took one part, Duan Xuchang¡¯s team took another, and the city hall the last one. ¡°The monster weighed a total of 10 tons. Discarding various shells, bones, and so forth, there were 4 tons of edible parts. Then, these 4 tons of raw food material were processed and compressed with other ingredients¡­ until we finally ended up with 3 tons of protein blocks. Divided into three parts, each portion was 1 ton. Based on the standard size of a protein block at about 50g, this 1 ton amounts to 20,000 blocks¡­¡± Cui Sheng gave a very detailed explanation. In fact, protein blocks weren¡¯t considered valuable goods, being the most basic food within Changhe Base. If they were too expensive, many people wouldn¡¯t be able to afford to eat. With the current prices, one Crystal Coin could buy several dozen blocks, so these 20,000 blocks were roughly equivalent to only a few hundred coins. But it wasn¡¯t a matter of money, it was about principle¡ªthe protein blocks were Wang Tao¡¯s spoils of war. Having agreed to divide them equally, it was only natural that Wang Tao¡¯s share should be delivered. Even if they were worth only one Crystal Coin, they still had to be divided rightly! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t particularly interested in the protein blocks themselves, but he was quite curious about how the city hall managed to turn that monster¡¯s carcass into protein blocks overnight. After all, it was a creature weighing several tons. To have processed it into protein blocks in just one night was very fast indeed! Could it be they also had something akin to a Food Compressor? ¡°Mr. Wang, would you like these protein blocks brought inside, or would you rather store them in the bank?¡± Go to ????????????????????.co After explaining, Cui Sheng asked. ¡°Oh? They can be stored in the bank too?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°Of course! Whether it¡¯s Crystal Cores, weapons and ammunition, or food, all can be stored in the bank. For food in particular, these protein blocks are quite welcomed, since they can¡¯t be kept for a long time. Storing too much by yourself and having it spoil would be such a waste. It¡¯s better to let the bank handle it properly¡­¡± Wang Tao gained a bit of insight. ¡°Bring them in.¡± To Wang Tao, the method of storage didn¡¯t really matter. He could keep the protein blocks in the Magical Stomach Pouch or process them into nutrient solution again. ¡°Right away!¡± Cui Sheng¡¯s vehicle was parked outside, and he immediately had the one ton of protein blocks moved into the yard. Twenty boxes in total, with each box containing 1,000 blocks. Wang Tao opened one of the boxes to look; all the protein blocks were neatly arrayed, resembling gelatin. Actually, if one didn¡¯t know the raw material of the protein blocks, they appeared quite presentable. ¡°How did you produce these? The speed is quite fast!¡± Wang Tao directly inquired. Cui Sheng didn¡¯t conceal anything and immediately explained: ¡°The Hope Research Institute has developed a set of equipment specifically for producing these protein blocks, and all these devices are installed in the factory. With sufficient raw materials and the factory running at full capacity, we can quickly finish producing these protein blocks.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao nodded, this was more or less what he had expected. Then Cui Sheng brought out the second and third parts of the spoils. ¡°These are the processed legs and shells¡­ They can be used to forge weapons or armor. Materials from a Level 4 creature are highly sought after! If you aren¡¯t very familiar with weapon equipment crafting, you can also ask our city hall to help with the forging¡­¡± When Wang Tao collected the spoils the day before, he only took items that were named. Any unnamed items were left behind. For example, the monster had many limbs, but only 10 had names and could be put into the storage space. The rest couldn¡¯t be stored, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t take them. Now Duan Xuchang had sent them over to him¡­ Wang Tao felt these items were of little use to him, as all the equipment he used were made from design diagrams. However, since they were personally delivered, naturally, Wang Tao accepted them. After handing over these items to Wang Tao, Cui Sheng did not leave. He coughed discreetly and then asked softly: ¡°Mr. Wang, I heard that last night you picked up some meteorites¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao gave Cui Sheng a glance at once. Good grief, no wonder he had delivered the items early in the morning and insisted on not taking advantage of Wang Tao; he was waiting for an opportunity! ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, Mr. Wang! According to the rules of Changhe Base, whatever unclaimed items one finds belong to them. Our city hall definitely wouldn¡¯t take something that belongs to someone else!¡± Cui Sheng, fearing Wang Tao had misunderstood, quickly explained. ¡°What do you mean then?¡± ¡°Well, as you know, the contents of these meteorites are uncertain. They may contain valuable items but might also have worthless items, or even monsters! And to open these meteorites would require a substantial number of Crystal Cores¡­ Therefore, our city hall wants to discuss with the person who found the meteorites to see if we could share the risk¡ªwe would both contribute Crystal Cores, and after opening them, divide the contents based on the contribution ratio! If monsters appear, we would also fight them together¡­¡± Chapter 781 - Chapter 781: Chapter 307: Flying Zombie_2 Chapter 781: Chapter 307: Flying Zombie_2 Upon hearing Duan Xuchang¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows instantly raised. ¡°So the City Hall wants a piece of the Energy Crystal Meteorite action too?¡± But he had to admit, it sounded like a good method. After all, these Energy Crystal Meteorites seemed to be Level 4 and Level 5, and not to mention the Level 5 Crystal Cores, even the Level 4 Crystal Cores were extremely precious at the moment. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many, and he had to think carefully about trying to open all the Energy Crystal Meteorites he had, let alone others. If someone was willing to share the risk, it was indeed a good idea. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need it. Sharing the risk meant sharing the rewards. Wang Tao had the ability to open them himself, so there was no need. He didn¡¯t care about the risks; if monsters appeared, he was very likely to be able to deal with them. ¡°Your idea is quite interesting, but I don¡¯t need it,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Cui Sheng, hearing this, was immediately disappointed. His task from the City Hall was to hope that Wang Tao would bring out his meteorites for everyone to study together. If he could handle this well, the leaders would reward him. But he knew it was a difficult task. After all, Wang Tao was a fourth-order Superpower. Apart from whether or not Wang Tao lacked Crystal Cores, a Fourth-order Ability User like him could earn Level 4 Crystal Cores by hunting Four-level zombies. Such a powerful individual would certainly not be willing to share his possessions with others. However, Cui Sheng was still somewhat hopeful, and he hurriedly said: ¡°Mr. Wang, there¡¯s no need to rush your decision. You could think it over, the City Hall will definitely not cheat you! After all, those meteorites require Level 4 Crystal Cores to open, and Level 4 Crystal Cores are too precious now. If no one shares the risk, if there¡¯s a loss¡­ Also, you might not know, but some forces are preparing to cooperate with the City Hall to jointly open the meteorites¡­¡± Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Oh? Some have already agreed to cooperate?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°Yes! Most people will probably choose to collaborate for shared wins! Of course, how you decide is your own right, but I personally suggest you think it over again¡­¡± Wang Tao actually pondered for a moment, then suddenly said: ¡°Since so many people are joining, maybe I should also help you share some of the risk?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Cui Sheng didn¡¯t immediately understand what he meant, then uncertainly said: ¡°You mean, instead of bringing out the meteorites, you¡¯ll contribute Crystal Cores to share the risk with others?¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded. This was a new idea he just came up with. He was curious about what exactly was inside those meteorites. Moreover, he wondered if using Crystal Cores of different qualities would yield significantly different outcomes. He had originally planned not to open his own meteorites first but let others do so, then find out what they discovered. But there was one issue¡ªthere was no guarantee he would get accurate information. And even if he could get it, it would likely be a version that held something back. Putting himself in their shoes, if he had discovered something valuable, would he transparently tell others what was inside upon being asked? Most likely not. So if he asked others, he probably would receive a less forthcoming answer. However, if he were one of the stakeholders, even a minor one, he would be entitled to know what was inside! Then finding out what could come out of those meteorites would be a piece of cake! Of course, whether this idea was acceptable depended on City Hall¡¯s willingness. Anyway, he thought he¡¯d give it a try. Whether it worked or not, he wouldn¡¯t lose out. ¡°Mr. Wang, please wait a moment while I report your idea to my superiors!¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Cui Sheng, not daring to delay, quickly reported Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts to his superiors through his information wristband. A moment later, Cui Sheng returned with a joyful expression. ¡°Mr. Wang, our leader thinks it¡¯s a pleasure to cooperate with you! If there¡¯s no issue on your part, let¡¯s just verbally agree for now. Later, once we¡¯ve prepared those meteorites, we¡¯ll get in touch with you!¡± ¡°Oh? Agreed? Okay, then contact me whenever needed.¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. He had thought the City Hall wouldn¡¯t agree to let him have a share, but they had unexpectedly consented. What Wang Tao didn¡¯t know was that the City Hall had acquired quite a number of meteorites this time, and with others¡¯ contributions, even more. However, the number of Level 4 Crystal Cores in the City Hall¡¯s possession was limited. If they were to carry all the risk, their burden would be significant. But they had to participate because the City Hall¡¯s reasoning was much like Wang Tao¡¯s¡ªthey didn¡¯t necessarily have to obtain what was inside the meteorites; their main concern was to find out what was inside to determine its worthiness to be opened! If they were to rely on others¡¯ word, there was no guarantee of getting the truth. As stakeholders, they would surely know the specific situation. Under the condition of keeping ¡°City Hall informed¡±, if someone could help share some of the pressure, that wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing. Cui Sheng left cheerfully, apparently having completed his mission. Not long after his departure, Duan Xuchang came over. ¡°Wang Tao, thank you for your help yesterday!¡± Although thanks had been offered yesterday, Wang Tao had saved so many people, so repeating his gratitude seemed more than appropriate. Moreover, Duan Xuchang wasn¡¯t just expressing thanks verbally; he also brought over his share of the spoils to Wang Tao! Chapter 782 - Chapter 782: Chapter 307: Flying Zombie_3 Chapter 782: Chapter 307: Flying Zombie_3 ¡°A reward undeserved is a gift unwarranted; you killed the monsters, so these spoils of battle should belong to you!¡± Looking at the clusters of egg whites, claws, shells, and the like, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but mix laughter with tears. ¡°Cui Sheng just gave me a batch¡­ and besides, I have no use for this stuff! I¡¯m really not lacking in materials like these; you take them all! If you really feel bad about it, then next time we go out to hunt zombies together, you can just let me have a few kills.¡± Wang Tao said somewhat helplessly. If he could really blow up a few more loot packs, that would definitely be better than this stuff. ¡°¡­Alright! Haha, then we¡¯ll do it together next time!¡± Duan Xuchang wasn¡¯t one to fuss over such matters; since Wang Tao said so, he would just take the items back with him, which would be very useful to him and his team. However, before leaving, he expressed something seriously to Wang Tao: ¡°I came to tell you an important piece of news today!¡± ¡°What news?¡± ¡°Flying zombies and monsters have appeared outside!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth. Go to ????????????????????.co This news wasn¡¯t really unexpected, because when he saw those odd and bizarre zombies and monsters before, he had considered this possibility. After all, birds can fly, so the existence of zombies and monsters that could fly seemed plausible. ¡°I was called away earlier because of this situation. And you might not know, but last night during the meteor shower, two of our helicopters that took off were attacked by flying monsters and crashed!¡± ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression became somewhat unsightly. Didn¡¯t that mean the sky was no longer safe¡ªthe sky wasn¡¯t safe to begin with, as flying too high would destroy all the electronics on the aircraft, but at least low-altitude flight was possible. But now¡­ was even low-altitude flight not an option anymore? ¡°We¡¯re still researching how high one can fly before attracting flying zombies and monsters, but what can be anticipated is that the sky will no longer be safe in the future! It¡¯s probably going to be difficult to repeat those high-altitude helicopter reconnaissance and trailblazing missions from before! Luckily, we returned early. If we were a few days late getting back to base, we might be trapped outside right now¡­¡± Duan Xuchang sighed. His biggest concern, which he hadn¡¯t voiced, was that even though Changhe Base¡¯s walls were very high, they couldn¡¯t block flying creatures! Especially those flying zombie monsters, which didn¡¯t have any electronics on them, meant they could potentially fly very high¡­ Wang Tao obviously realized this as well, but he had no immediate solution either. It was a step-by-step situation¡­ ¡°I should go now, I still need to study these flying zombies, I¡¯ll inform you once we have concrete results.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After Duan Xuchang left, the sense of urgency that had almost dissipated in Wang Tao returned. He had thought that arriving at Changhe Base meant safety, but now it seemed that might not be the case. Wang Tao gathered everyone and relayed what Duan Xuchang had just told him. Everyone¡¯s expressions turned somber upon hearing the news. ¡°But there¡¯s no need for everyone to worry too much. Changhe Base is different from our previous base; Changhe Base is very strong! They have tanks, cannons, powered armors¡ªeverything! Even if we really encounter danger, we should be able to handle it!¡± Wang Tao first reassured everyone, then continued: ¡°However, we can¡¯t let our guard down; we have to enhance our strength! After all, strength is the foundation of everything!¡± While saying this, Wang Tao took out the physical awakening key and ascension crystal core. He had a total of 7 physical awakening keys, which meant up to seven people could awaken at the same time. But he only had 16 high-quality, level 4 ascension crystal cores, which were ready for direct use. However, they were enough for at most four people. So right now, Wang Tao could only let four people attempt awakening. Lightning, the military dog, was the first to be excluded because it doesn¡¯t need a crystal core to awaken. Previously, Wang Tao fed it the flesh of a level 4, monster lord, and it successfully ascended to level 2 and then level 3. But now, after level 3, it was unclear how to ascend further. When they killed the cockroach monster yesterday, Lightning was there too, but it showed no desire to eat. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how Lightning would advance in rank, but it was certain that it couldn¡¯t use crystal cores. The second to be excluded was Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue had regained her memory, and her internal impurity had fallen to 50%, making her appear almost like a normal human. However, she had no ability and couldn¡¯t fuse crystal cores. Thus, she couldn¡¯t merge with ascension crystal cores either¡­ Jiang Shixue¡¯s advancement to level 3 was because she drank Wang Tao¡¯s blood. But a few days ago, Wang Tao let her drink some of his blood again, but unfortunately, it had no effect. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if the quantity was too little or if his blood had stopped working¡­ so Jiang Shixue was also excluded. Then came Nie Siyan and Gao Hua; these two were the utility persons previously selected by Wang Tao. It would be their turn only after everyone else¡¯s. Next were Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, Chen Zhuang, and Li Qiuyu. Their relations with Wang Tao were relatively good, but their strengths were slightly lacking. Especially Xiang Hongbin and Lan Yulian, one was disabled and the other was feeble¡­ so they also had to fall back in line. Lastly, Yang Changhong was excluded because she had no hidden attributes. Moreover, not just her, but Li Qiuyu, Lu Gang, Chen Zhuang, Gao Hua, and Nie Siyan also lacked hidden attributes¡ªWang Tao had forgotten, but now that he remembered, he had to exclude them again¡­ So in the end, there were seven candidates left. They were Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Lan Yulian, Lu Yingfeng, He Jijun, Xu Xiaojun, and Wei Zhenguo. After a discussion with everyone, Wang Tao finally selected four candidates. The first was Lan Yulian, and there was no other reason than because she was a healer. If she became stronger, the entire team would be stronger! Chapter 783 - Chapter 783: Chapter 308 Half Success_1 Chapter 783: Chapter 308 Half Success_1 The second was He Jijun. Although he was the oldest among them, he was the most experienced in battle. Moreover, his hidden ability was ¡°old but vigorous,¡± so there was no need to worry about his combat strength declining due to age. The third was Wei Zhenguo, one of Wang Tao¡¯s earliest acquaintances and a friend whose character and strength were both recognized by Wang Tao. The last was Han Rui, who was the second person to follow Wang Tao, and her own strength was certainly strong enough. After confirming the candidates, Wang Tao had them start fusing with the Ascension Crystal Cores. Each of them had four abilities, so they needed a total of 16 Ascension Crystal Cores. All these Ascension Crystal Cores were of Excellent and Epic quality. Without any accidents, all four of them succeeded in the fusion. Next up was the fusion with the Awakening Key. Just like with the Crystal Cores, they placed the Awakening Keys in their mouths, and the fusion was quickly completed. ¡°I think I can feel the Awakening Key¡­¡± Lan Yulian spoke in amazement. She could clearly ¡°see¡± a light point in her body resembling a star. It seemed that with just a thought, she could begin the Awakening! ¡°Start.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the four immediately chose to Awaken! They instantly felt the Secret Keys inside their bodies disappear, and then their HP limits began to plummet. 110,000 HP dropped to 10,000 in the blink of an eye! Wang Tao had previously had them fuse with HP Enhancement Crystal Cores, so their HP limit was 110,000. Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°One of my abilities disappeared!¡± Lan Yulian exclaimed. ¡°Me too!¡± He Jijun spoke up. After the two of them spoke, they felt very tired and immediately laid their heads down on the table. The remaining Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui glared at each other. ¡°My ability is still there¡­¡± ¡°Mine too¡­¡± Wang Tao said somewhat helplessly, ¡°Then it seems you two have failed.¡± ¡°¡­¡± The onlookers nearby were all stunned. Although Wang Tao had said that there was a 50% probability of failure on the first Awakening, seeing two out of four people fail right before their eyes made their hearts sink instantly. This was really a 50% failure rate! Moreover, after a first failure, further Awakenings would become more difficult, and the success rate would decreasingly become even less, eventually dropping to 10%! Wang Tao was also quite helpless. It was said to be 50%, and indeed it was 50%; out of the four, only two had succeeded¡­ Seeing Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui appearing somewhat out of spirits, Wang Tao went over and patted their shoulders, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t be too sad about it, failure is nothing to worry about. We still have chances, and as I told you before, there is a way for an Awakener to increase the success rate of others¡¯ Awakenings, but that method requires time to accumulate. In other words, as long as we have enough time, everyone will be able to Awaken!¡± The method Wang Tao was talking about was that after accumulating 100 Awakening Keys, one could extract an Advanced Awakening Secret Key. An Advanced Awakening Secret Key had a 70% success rate. However, an Advanced Awakening Secret Key required the collection of 100 Awakening Keys to work, which meant having to kill 100 Level 4 Lords! Wang Tao currently only had 12 keys, which was far from enough. But if zombies and monsters of Level 4 Lords become more common in the future, his collection speed would increase rapidly¡­ ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s just Awakening! No big deal! You all Awaken first, and then you can just protect me later, haha!¡± Wei Zhenguo first sighed, then laughed. He was somewhat disappointed, but not heartbroken. If they could Awaken, that was best; if not, there was no need for excessive disappointment. Wei Zhenguo felt fortunate just to be alive, considering each additional day as a bonus. He just felt a bit guilty for wasting a few of Wang Tao¡¯s Crystal Cores and Awakening Keys. Compared to Wei Zhenguo, Han Rui was very upset. She wanted to quickly improve her strength to help Wang Tao, but now it seemed she was more likely to hold him back¡­ After all, she would need two Awakening Keys for her next try, and her Awaken probability had also decreased to 40%. Logically, it was not suitable for her to attempt Awakening again; it would be better to give this chance to someone else. Seeing Han Rui biting her lip, tears welling up in her eyes, Wang Tao kissed her forehead. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t worry about it. Even if you fail again in the future, I¡¯ll still protect you!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t realize that his words only made Han Rui feel worse. She couldn¡¯t bear the thought of being the only one to remain at Level 3 while others succeeded in their Awakenings, still needing Wang Tao¡¯s protection¡­How was she any different from being useless? ¡°Wuwu¡­¡± Han Rui burst into tears and buried herself in Wang Tao¡¯s arms. ¡°¡­If you can¡¯t say anything nice, don¡¯t say anything at all!¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a look, then quickly took Han Rui into her arms to comfort her. Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders and then said, ¡°Take Old He back to his room. By this time tomorrow, we¡¯ll know what they have Awakened into!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others carried He Jijun away. Wang Tao, meanwhile, carried Lan Yulian to his own room. He was very much looking forward to Lan Yulian¡¯s Awakening; after all, a significant increase in her strength was akin to an enhancement of the team¡¯s overall strength under Wang Tao. ¡­ At two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Cui Sheng came over again. ¡°Mr. Wang, the City Hall has decided to open some of the meteorites this afternoon to assess the situation. Do you have time to be there?¡± Cui Sheng was quite an interesting man. Despite having Wang Tao¡¯s contact information, Cui Sheng never reached out but would always come in person for any matter. Chapter 784 - Chapter 784: Chapter 308 Half Success_2 Chapter 784: Chapter 308 Half Success_2 ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Because monsters might appear and cause panic among the residents, the city hall has set up a temporary camp outside the east gate of the base.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go then,¡± Wang Tao nodded, his anticipation for those energy crystal meteorites evident. ¡°Sure thing! Are you going alone, or¡­¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment, preparing to bring Xiang Hongbin, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan with him. He had already planned to get a better prosthetic for Xiang Hongbin, and this was a good opportunity to ask around; the city hall should have something like that. As for Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun, they were naturally there to lend a hand with miscellaneous tasks. However, Lightning, who had been playing with Lu Gang and the others, somehow sensed Wang Tao was about to leave and promptly ran over, nuzzling his head against Wang Tao¡¯s leg. ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll bring you along too.¡± ¡°Woof!¡± Thus, Wang Tao set off with Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, Xiang Hongbin, and Lightning in the car. Cui Sheng had prepared several vehicles, including one elongated off-road vehicle, all bearing the city hall¡¯s insignia. After all, as a fourth-order superpower, Wang Tao might not care much for pomp, but he certainly had to pay attention to these details. Go to ????????????????????.co In the car, Cui Sheng briefed Wang Tao on the current situation. ¡°Currently, apart from you and our city hall, there¡¯s also the Hope Research Institute, the Fourth Legion, the Rush Army, the Universe Alliance, the Loyalty Guild¡­¡± After Cui Sheng¡¯s introduction, Wang Tao had a general understanding of these factions. It¡¯s worth mentioning that the bald man who had opened the meteorite and released the monster was a member of the Loyalty Guild, or more precisely, an associate member. Such associate members usually fall into two categories. The first is those who simply lack the strength and are not accepted as official members, so they serve as associates, performing well and waiting for an opportunity. The second is those who have the strength, but for some reason, want to join a faction without being too restricted, so they become associate members. The bald man fell into the latter category. The Loyalty Guild was a major power, with its gang leader being one of the 23 committee members. According to Cui Sheng, the city hall had not really punished the bald man but had symbolically fined him some money. After all, ignorance is no fault, and the bald man had, in a way, muddied the waters for them. Also, there were others who had opened the meteorite and released monsters, so it wouldn¡¯t be fair to penalize everyone. However, this morning, the Loyalty Guild severely punished the bald man in the square where the cockroach monster had been destroyed. With many onlookers present, the bald man, stripped naked, was beaten half to death. If not for the rational pleas of the bystanders, the bald man might have been beaten to death. After punishing the bald man, the Loyalty Guild also provided a significant amount of money and supplies to the people injured by the cockroach monster and the families of those who had died, calling it compensation. The citizens who received the money were immediately tearfully grateful, for they had not yet received compensation from the city hall, but they had already received the Loyalty Guild¡¯s payment. They would be getting two compensations! Hearing these things, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. From the perspective of the public, the Loyalty Guild had done nothing wrong. They had punished the root cause of the calamity and provided financial assistance to the victims. But from the city hall¡¯s perspective, these actions of the Loyalty Guild were quite intriguing. After all, the city hall was the actual authority at Changhe Base, the official organization here. You punished someone the city hall didn¡¯t punish, you compensated someone the city hall hadn¡¯t compensated yet¡­ What are you trying to do? ¡°This is quite interesting! Are your leaders very upset?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. Cui Sheng looked at Wang Tao with a surprised expression. ¡°Mr. Wang, how did you know? I got scolded by the leaders today¡­ cough!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond, suspecting that Cui Sheng¡¯s surprise might be feigned, and instead asked, ¡°Is that bald man here today?¡± Wang Tao was curious if the bald man had volunteered for this punishment. After all, no matter what, he was a level 3 ability user. To be humiliated in front of so many ordinary people¡­ ¡°No, he¡¯s been severely injured and is recuperating at home,¡± Cui Sheng quickly replied. Wang Tao nodded and didn¡¯t say anything more, continuing to listen to Cui Sheng explain the other factions. ¡­ An hour later, the vehicle convoy arrived underneath the East City Gate. While not his first time seeing the tall walls of Changhe Base, Wang Tao was still amazed each time. He had no idea how they managed to build such tall walls in such a short amount of time. There were fully armed soldiers guarding the city gate. You had to register to leave, and you were checked upon entry. Humming¡­ After Cui Sheng identified himself, one of the sturdy small doors opened. The vehicles proceeded one by one through the gate. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was psychological, but once outside the base, the air felt murkier to him. ¡°Mr. Wang, it¡¯s just up ahead!¡± Cui Sheng pointed forward. Not far ahead was an area covered with military green tents. Around the tents, there were parked infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, big guns, a large number of soldiers in mechanical exoskeletons, a couple of powered armors, and two armed helicopters sitting on the ground¡­ The size of this operation was staggering! All Wang Tao could say was that the city hall was well-prepared. Soon, the vehicle convoy arrived at the temporary camp. The stationed soldiers cleared the way, allowing the convoy to pass smoothly into the camp. In the car, compared to the quite unfazed Wang Tao, Cui Sheng seemed a bit excited. He had rarely participated in events of this scale; if not for Wang Tao, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have qualified. Chapter 785 - Chapter 785: Chapter 308 Half Success_3 Chapter 785: Chapter 308 Half Success_3 However, no matter how excited he was, he never forgot his primary duties. When the car slowly came to a stop, he was the first to alight and jogged over to help Wang Tao open the car door. ¡­ Outside the camp¡¯s main tent stood a group of people. Watching the convoy with the municipal hall¡¯s emblem approaching slowly, one of the men¡ªbroad-backed and bearish, with a terrifying scar on his face¡ªspoke: ¡°Is this the new arrival?¡± Next to the scar-faced man stood another dressed in military uniform, tall and thin, with rather handsome features. He explained: ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him. His name is Wang Tao; he¡¯s an Awakener.¡± ¡°Tsk, tsk, to awaken out there in the wild¡­ quite impressive!¡± The scar-faced man remarked with admiration. Only those who had struggled toward Awakening, or who had already become Awakeners knew how difficult it was. Most of the Awakeners inside Changhe Base relied on numbers and equipment advantages to slowly accumulate the conditions necessary for Awakening. Someone like Wang Tao, who awakened outside of Changhe Base through his own power or that of some small group, was undoubtedly a rarity. This also indicated one thing¡ªWang Tao was very strong before his Awakening! Go to ????????????????????.co At that moment, a man in full black armor, who occasionally twirled his greatsword, sneered: ¡°Heh, no matter how formidable one is before Awakening, once Awakened, all Awakeners are on the same starting line, all equally strong! There¡¯s no need to boost the morale of others at the expense of our own prestige.¡± Upon hearing this, some people remained expressionless, while others nodded quietly. But there were also those who objected. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not the right way to put it. We¡¯re all one family! To live harmoniously and safely through the apocalypse¡ªthat¡¯s all that matters!¡± The speaker was a somewhat portly middle-aged man, with a gentle smile on his face. When he spoke up, the armored man huffed but said nothing further. Whirr whirr¡ª The convoy came to a stop not far from the group. The passenger door opened, and a middle-aged man dressed like a secretary and wearing a suit, hurried out of the car and proceeded to open the rear door. ¡°Hah, where did they find such a lackey!¡± The armored man said disdainfully. As soon as he spoke, a few people glanced subtly at the man standing among them dressed in a fine suit, his hair meticulously combed. The suited man spoke expressionlessly: ¡°It might have been from my side.¡± ¡°?¡± The armored man didn¡¯t react immediately, while someone beside him whispered a reminder: ¡°That guy is an underling of Head Secretary Gu.¡± ¡°Cough cough~¡± The armored man became visibly embarrassed and quickly turned his head. Everyone else tried not to laugh, though they said nothing. After Cui Sheng opened the car door, out stepped a very robust man in a suit, followed by a woman dressed like a secretary in a dress suit, looking like bodyguards as they took their positions to one side. Following them, a brawny man with facial disfiguration and multiple disabilities adorned with prosthetic limbs exited the vehicle. Seeing this man, everyone frowned. Such injuries¡­ and he¡¯s still alive? In his hand, the disabled brawny man held a chain leash, and at the end of it came a large military dog! Upon seeing the military dog, everyone¡¯s heart cried out¡ªwhat a majestic dog! And¡­ is that a Level 3 Mutant beast? Hiss¡ª Almost everyone¡¯s eyes gleamed! A Mutant beast, and a military dog at that! It was a rare commodity indeed! Finally, a man with an exceptionally muscular build, dressed in casual clothes and with handsome features, stepped down. ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± Looking at the group before him, Wang Tao nodded slightly. ¡°Mr. Wang, hello, I¡¯m Gu Yun.¡± The suited man came forward, reaching out his hand. Following behind Wang Tao, Cui Sheng hurriedly whispered an explanation: ¡°Mr. Wang, this is our municipal hall¡¯s Head Secretary Gu!¡± ¡°Head Secretary Gu, hello!¡± Wang Tao shook hands with Gu Yun. [HP: 35000/35000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] This Gu Yun was an ordinary Level 3 ability user, with no Hidden Ability, and even his HP had not reached its maximum. In the municipal hall, the difference between a head secretary and a secretary might seem like just one word, but in reality, it was a vast divide. The head secretary held a senior management position, overseeing all the work of the municipal hall, serving the primary leadership. On the other hand, a secretary in the municipal hall, if not holding any additional roles, was just a lackey with no formal position, let alone various powers. Gu Yun was Cui Sheng¡¯s direct superior. Cui Sheng¡¯s respectful treatment of Wang Tao and the personal delivery of Wang Tao¡¯s spoils were surely at Gu Yun¡¯s behest. Otherwise, even if Cui Sheng had the guts, he didn¡¯t have the authority. ¡°Mr. Wang, please, let me introduce¡­¡± Gu Yun led Wang Tao over to the group, introducing them swiftly according to their positions: ¡°This is Qi De, the boss of the Rush Army.¡± Qi De was a broad-shouldered man with a scar on his face, only slightly shorter than Wang Tao at about one meter ninety in height, but even bulkier than Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun! ¡°Haha, Mr. Wang, hello! Fame really does precede the man! Welcome, welcome!¡± Qi De laughed heartily as he extended his hand. His features, somewhat fierce-looking, especially with the scar that wriggled like a centipede when he smiled, were intimidating. ¡°Boss Qi, hello!¡± Wang Tao shook hands with him. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Grade: Level 4] [Awakening: Strength] [Strength: All basic attributes are comprehensively enhanced, with significant strength increase (proportional to the Awakening Energy limit)] This was the first time since his own that Wang Tao had seen an Awakener apart from himself. Moreover, Qi De¡¯s Awakening was a passive one. Passive awakenings definitely did not burst with power like active awakenings, but they lasted longer, being passive in nature. But Wang Tao always had one question: for a passive Awakening, it seemed like Awakening Energy was of little use, right? Now that he saw Qi De¡¯s attributes, Wang Tao understood that Awakening Energy was also useful for passive Awakeners! Chapter 786 - Chapter 786: Chapter 309: Three Level 4s_1 Chapter 786: Chapter 309: Three Level 4s_1 When Wang Tao shook hands with Qi De, he could distinctly feel Qi De¡¯s strength in the handshake. Hmm? Just as Wang Tao thought this might be an intimidation tactic, Qi De suddenly retracted his hand and then burst out laughing: ¡°Haha! Mr. Wang surely is a master of physical technique!¡± ¡°Physical technique?¡± Wang Tao frowned, referring to physical fitness? Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, a man in military attire, with somewhat handsome features, walked over and explained: ¡°To ascend to Level 4, one must undergo an awakening, and this awakening is linked to various elements. ¡®Physical¡¯ is one of the elements awakened, commonly referred to as ¡®physical technique¡¯ or ¡®system awakeners.¡¯ Clearly, Mr. Wang, you are a master of physical technique just like Qi De¡­¡± Wang Tao immediately realized that this ¡°physical technique¡± was referring to awakening. Excluding those zombies and monsters, Wang Tao had only seen one other awakener before today, so he wasn¡¯t very knowledgeable about human awakenings. But obviously, Qi De had misunderstood because Wang Tao¡¯s awakening was related to the fire system. The man in the military uniform extended his hand. ¡°Hello Mr. Wang, my name is Shang Heng, Deputy Commander of the Fourth Legion.¡± Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°Hello.¡± Wang Tao shook his hand. This Shang Heng was not an awakener but an ordinary ability user with an HP of a hundred thousand. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Grade: Level 3] From his mana, it could be inferred that he possessed four abilities and had merged with four Ascension crystal cores. Unfortunately, he did not have a hidden ability and was unable to undergo an awakening. ¡°I had heard Commander Hou mention Mr. Wang before, and indeed your reputation is well-deserved!¡± Shang Heng laughed heartily. The Commander Hou he mentioned was obviously Hou Zhiyuan, the Commander of the Third Legion. Wang Tao felt that this was merely Shang Heng¡¯s politeness, as if Hou Zhiyuan had truly talked about him, Shang Heng should have known he was a fire awakened. ¡°Commander Shang flatters me, I hope to continue receiving everyone¡¯s support in the future!¡± Wang Tao shook his head as he smiled. ¡°Eh! It¡¯s not for me to support, let¡¯s say we support each other!¡± Shang Heng waved his hands repeatedly. Even though he was the deputy commander of a legion, with strong personal ability and even stronger influence, Wang Tao was a fourth-order superpower, so he definitely couldn¡¯t act arrogantly. As people chatted and joked, a middle-aged man with a big belly and a face smiling like the Maitreya Buddha came over. ¡°Mr. Wang really carries an impressive aura! I heard that Mr. Wang could easily take on a Level 4 Monster Lord on his own, admirable! I sincerely admire you! I¡¯d like to invite Mr. Wang for a drink later, I hope you will accept!¡± ¡°This is Deputy Guild Leader Zhou Long from the Loyalty Guild.¡± Secretary-General Gu Yun explained with a smile. ¡°So this is the Guild Leader of the Loyalty Guild! My apologies for not recognizing you!¡± Hearing that the other was the deputy gang leader of the Loyalty Guild, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 35200/35200] [Grade: Level 4] [Awakening: Black Quicksand] [Black Quicksand: Creates a field of black quicksand] Zhou Long was an earth-system awakener. Judging by the description of his awakening, it should be a large-scale control type awakening. Control-type abilities are more effective with more people around. Especially large-scale control abilities, which are very suitable for group battles. ¡°Eh? Mr. Wang, have you heard of me?¡± Zhou Long was curious. ¡°Of course. The monster that I killed last night was released by one of your Loyalty Guild, right? I killed a Level 4 Lord Monster and got quite a few spoils of war thanks to him, so I should be thanking him, actually!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°That guy! He used to be one of my most trusted men, but after that incident, I made sure he was severely punished. After all, regardless of anything else, the fact that the monster he released hurt quite a few ordinary citizens can¡¯t be disputed¡­¡± Zhou Long¡¯s face showed a look of distress. It was unclear if his distress was for his bald former subordinate or for the disaster-stricken civilians. Moreover, Wang Tao noticed that when Zhou Long said this, the expressions on the other people¡¯s faces didn¡¯t change much, but he could distinctly catch Gu Yun¡¯s lips twitching. But Gu Yun didn¡¯t dwell on this matter. He gestured towards a person wearing full armor, holding a large sword: ¡°Mr. Wang, this is Deputy Alliance Leader Huang Wu from the Universe Alliance.¡± Since Huang Wu was wearing a full set of armor, with a helmet and visor, Wang Tao could not see his face, but he felt that, compared to the others, this one was not as enthusiastic towards him. Still, Wang Tao politely said: ¡°Hello Alliance Leader Huang.¡± Whether others were friendly or not was of no concern to him. Maybe that was just how he was, and since it was the first time Wang Tao was meeting everyone, a little politeness was sufficient. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Grade: Level 4] [Awakening: Piercing Heart Bones] [Piercing Heart Bones: All-round enhancement of basic attributes, attacks carry poison] Huang Wu¡¯s ability should be considered a passive¡­ poison system ability? Wang Tao had previously killed a four-level zombie that could poison, which had been quite troublesome to fight. However, that zombie¡¯s awakening was active, while Huang Wu¡¯s was passive, leaving Wang Tao curious about the strength of Huang Wu¡¯s awakening. ¡°Mm, hello.¡± Huang Wu responded with a nasal grunt, the tone indifferent. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go in. There are others waiting inside!¡± Gu Yun gestured with an inviting smile. There were other people around, but it seemed like they were all attendants, secretaries, and the like, so he didn¡¯t bother to introduce them. ¡°Sure.¡± Chapter 787 - Chapter 787: Chapter 309: Three Level 4s_2 Chapter 787: Chapter 309: Three Level 4s_2 Wang Tao didn¡¯t introduce Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan either. As for Xiang Hongbin and the Lightning he was holding, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to introduce them, as people had already gathered around. ¡°Judging by the look of your dog, it must be a military dog, right?¡± Qi De asked with a hint of envy. ¡°That¡¯s right, its name is Lightning, and it¡¯s a military dog.¡± Xiang Hongbin said, somewhat proudly petting Lightning¡¯s head. Everyone around Wang Tao liked Lightning, and of course, Xiang Hongbin was no exception. Every time he saw someone else¡¯s envious look, he felt great! ¡°It¡¯s a Level 3, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Can I pet it?¡± Qi De could hardly restrain himself. ¡°Of course, he¡¯s very obedient.¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded. Go to ????????????????????.co Qi De reached out his hand and then hesitated, asking: ¡°Are you sure?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback, noticing a hint of fear on the face of this Awakener who seemed incredibly fierce. Maybe sensing Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Qi De touched his nose somewhat awkwardly. ¡°Ahem, I was bitten by a dog when I was a kid, left me with some trauma.¡± He didn¡¯t hide the reason, candidly stating it. ¡°Ha ha!¡± Wang Tao burst into laughter upon hearing this. However, feeling it might be a bit impolite, he then said: ¡°Then you can rest assured, Lightning is a well-trained military dog, very smart, it won¡¯t bite you. Right, Lightning?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s last sentence was addressed to Lightning. ¡°Woof~¡± Lightning barked at Wang Tao and then looked at Qi De with his tongue out. Qi De thought this military dog was too cute! He took a deep breath and then rubbed Lightning¡¯s head. Lightning half-closed his eyes and nuzzled into his palm. ¡°Awesome!¡± Qi De shouted in his mind. After he petted Lightning, it was as if some switch had been flipped. Head Secretary Gu Yun, Deputy Legion Commander Shang Heng, Deputy Gang Leader Zhou Long of the Loyalty Guild, and even Huang Wu who had been rather cold to Wang Tao all came over. Actually, they had wanted to pet Lightning the moment they saw him. But given it was their first meeting with Wang Tao, and unsure of his temperament, they pondered if Wang Tao would mind others touching his pet. Now, seeing that although Wang Tao was well-built, he was good-natured, especially after they saw Qi De had already touched Lightning, they immediately gathered around and started petting Lightning. Lightning was quite happy, as it liked to play with others. However, Xiang Hongbin was a bit speechless. At that moment, after Shang Heng had stroked the dog¡¯s head a few times, he approached Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Are you a soldier?¡± There¡¯s a different feel to ex-soldiers. Even though Xiang Hongbin was not in uniform and even had a disability, his mere presence emitted a military demeanor that Shang Heng could sense. ¡°Hmm, I used to be in the Security Army,¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded. ¡°Haha, I knew it! Looking at your injuries, most people wouldn¡¯t have been able to endure, but it really takes a soldier! Hello, I¡¯m Shang Heng!¡± Shang Heng extended his hand towards Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Xiang Hongbin.¡± Xiang Hongbin shook his hand. There certainly were many things soldiers could talk about, as Shang Heng and Xiang Hongbin struck up a conversation. Wang Tao then addressed Gu Yun, who had just finished petting Lightning and was leading the way upfront: ¡°Head Secretary Gu, do you know where I can buy prosthetic limbs?¡± ¡°Prosthetics? You mean for Mr. Xiang here? There are many places in the base where you can find prosthetics, but if you don¡¯t want to reduce combat ability, or even want to enhance it, you¡¯ll have to buy custom products from Hope Research Institute.¡± Gu Yun turned and explained to Wang Tao. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. Hope Research Institute was evidently synonymous with technology now. However, Wang Tao had learned from Cui Sheng that, as good as Hope Research Institute¡¯s products were, some of them weren¡¯t necessarily available for purchase. It wasn¡¯t a question of money but rather limited production and the need to wait in line¡­ Products like prosthetic limbs would definitely be best if tailor-made by Hope Research Institute. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t familiar with them¡­ so he was looking to see if there were any shortcuts available from others. While Gu Yun didn¡¯t know Wang Tao¡¯s precise thoughts, he could guess the gist. He smiled and said: ¡°If it¡¯s just the prosthetics, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. People from Hope Research Institute are here today, just talk to them later, they will surely do you a favor. They¡¯re right inside.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The temporary camp¡¯s tents were a combination of multiple tents stitched together, creating a vast space filled with various weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Gu Yun led Wang Tao for a while and arrived at a brightly lit hall. The hall was bustling with figures in white coats, some operating instruments, others recording data¡­ In front of them lay a large array of differently sized meteorites. Energy Crystal Meteorites! ¡°All the meteorites that we¡¯ve brought out first are here.¡± Gu Yun pointed to those meteorites and told Wang Tao. ¡°So many!¡± Wang Tao was surprised. He glanced over and guessed there were more than a hundred meteorites! No wonder the city hall agreed to let him have a share! If no one else shared the risk, opening up all these meteorites would consume a tremendous amount of Level 4 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao thought the seven meteorites he had were already a lot, but here they had hundreds! ¡°It¡¯s not only from our city hall, but Qi De and the others have also brought theirs, all put together.¡± Gu Yun explained. Chapter 788 - Chapter 788: Chapter 309: Three Level 4s_3 Chapter 788: Chapter 309: Three Level 4s_3 Although the meteorites were a collective haul, Gu Yun just said that these were the first batch they had taken out, and there were obviously more to come! Wang Tao suddenly felt so poor¡­ ¡°Where did you get so many meteorites from?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. He had raced around many places when the meteorite rain occurred last night, but he had only found seven. ¡°Not many meteorites fell within our Base last night, but there were quite a few outside; these were all picked up from outside.¡± This was pretty much what Wang Tao had guessed. These people had many subordinates and a lot of planes, so their efficiency in collecting meteorites was certainly much higher than Wang Tao¡¯s. ¡°Miss Qu, Mr. Wang is here.¡± Gu Yun addressed one of the figures wearing a white lab coat, slender in stature, with black hair pinned up high. The person was holding a bunch of knives, pliers, electric drills, and whatnot, destructively dissecting a meteorite while taking notes. Upon hearing someone speak, she looked up and adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, revealing a pretty face that appeared to be in her early thirties. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] Go to ????????????????????.co [Grade: Level 3] A Level 3 ability user with no hidden abilities and a hundred thousand HP. The woman didn¡¯t show much expression upon seeing Wang Tao. When she saw Xiang Hongbin behind him, her expression turned to slight surprise, as if she¡¯d thought of something, her brows furrowing. And when she caught sight of Lightning being led by Hong Bin, she paused, then whooshed over to Lightning¡¯s side in an instant. The woman bent slightly, her eyes shining as she gazed at Lightning. ¡°It¡¯s a mutant beast! Can I touch it?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. Lightning¡¯s charm was indeed invincible. Lightning differed from other mutant monsters. Some creatures, like the Wild Boar Monster Wang Tao had encountered before, had undergone major changes in appearance. Wild boars weren¡¯t good-looking to begin with, and after mutating, they became even uglier. But Lightning was different; it retained the shape of a shepherd dog. Compared to before, it was only larger and more muscular. In non-combat situations, it didn¡¯t look ferocious but rather had a somewhat goofy temperament. With Wang Tao¡¯s permission, the woman immediately grabbed Lightning and began doting on it. ¡°This is Miss Qu Shilin, an expert from the Hope Research Institute, and the chief consultant for this event. If you¡¯re looking to customize a prosthesis, you can talk to her,¡± Gu Yun explained. ¡°Okay!¡± Just as Wang Tao was about to greet Qu Shilin, she suddenly looked up and said to Wang Tao, ¡°Can I buy your dog? Name your price!¡± ¡°¡­Not for sale.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Lightning was his companion; it wasn¡¯t a matter of money. Seeing Wang Tao reject the offer without a second thought, Qu Shilin¡¯s brows furrowed, and then she said, ¡°I¡¯m serious. Think about it. Money is not an issue!¡± ¡°Lightning is my battle companion; it has nothing to do with money.¡± Wang Tao furrowed his own brows. They had just met, and she was a stranger, yet she wanted to buy his companion? ¡°Its name is Lightning? Sorry, I was being presumptuous,¡± Perhaps sensing Wang Tao¡¯s annoyance, Qu Shilin apologized graciously. Wang Tao¡¯s frown eased. It seemed that this woman hadn¡¯t intended to offend; she was just too fond of Lightning. But before he could speak, he heard Qu Shilin continuing, ¡°Then, can I rent it from you? I¡¯m willing to pay! How about 100 Yuan a day?¡± ¡°?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Did this woman like Lightning so much that she was willing to pay just to take it home for cuddles? Lightning was his good companion; how could he engage in such a betrayal of his dog¡¯s dignity! But 100 Yuan, huh, Wang Tao might not be impressed by the price, but this Qu Shilin clearly looks like a wealthy lady. If she could offer more money, it doesn¡¯t seem like a bad idea¡­ However, Wang Tao had a question. ¡°What do you want to rent Lightning for?¡± Could it really be just to pet at home? Qu Shilin replied without hesitation: ¡°For research, of course! Mutant beasts are hard to come by, and most of them have no intelligence, untrainable, and vicious. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a mutant beast like Lightning!¡± ¡°¡­Lightning, come back!¡± Wang Tao called out with a dark face, and Lightning immediately left Qu Shilin¡¯s embrace, wagging its tail as it came to Wang Tao¡¯s side. Wang Tao petted its head and then looked somewhat speechlessly at Qu Shilin. ¡°Out of the question!¡± Want to research Lightning? Don¡¯t even think about it! Who knows if Lightning would end up sliced or tormented! Wang Tao had thought this woman liked Lightning, but she actually wanted to use Lightning as a lab rat! ¡°¡­¡± Qu Shilin didn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to refuse so decisively. She was about to say more when Gu Yun hurriedly intervened to smooth things over: ¡°Miss Qu, everyone is here; we can get ready to activate the meteorite.¡± ¡°Oh, almost forgot!¡± Qu Shilin smacked her forehead and then instructed everyone: ¡°You discuss among yourselves where to start, and make sure the agreements you¡¯ve signed with each other are ready. Let¡¯s not waste any time!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Everyone agreed in unison. Then Qu Shilin turned to look at Wang Tao again. ¡°Are you really not willing to rent him out? I swear, I promise not to hurt it!¡± She was still somewhat hopeful. ¡°It¡¯s not up for discussion.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Fine then¡­¡± Qu Shilin was a bit disappointed, but Wang Tao could tell she hadn¡¯t given up yet. This made Wang Tao frown. This was his first contact with someone from the Hope Research Institute, and it wasn¡¯t going very smoothly¡­ He had wanted to get Xiang Hongbin a set of custom prosthesis, but now that seemed difficult. Still, Wang Tao was prepared to give it a try. ¡°Miss Qu, I heard that Hope Research can make custom prostheses. Could you make a set for a friend? We can negotiate the price.¡± As Wang Tao said this, he felt a bit nervous. He was worried that Qu Shilin might use Lightning as a bargaining chip. If that were the case, he would need to make a tough decision¡­ Qu Shilin glanced back at Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Him?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao was braced for rejection or some form of leverage. But to his surprise, Qu Shilin nodded readily. ¡°Of course, there¡¯s no problem! Once we¡¯re back at the base, you can bring him to see me anytime.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao paused, then uncertainly added, ¡°Are there no strings attached?¡± Qu Shilin gave him a look. ¡°What strings attached? You don¡¯t think I would take the opportunity to blackmail you with Lightning, do you? What kind of person do you take me for? Besides, if you provide me with a research subject, I should be thanking you! How about this, I won¡¯t charge any money, just let him cooperate with me well.¡± After speaking, Qu Shilin slightly toyed with her eye, and it seemed as if a cold light flickered within. Xiang Hongbin: ¡°¡­¡± He suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Wait, can¡¯t you ask for my opinion first, seeing as I¡¯m the person concerned? Chapter 789 - Chapter 789: Chapter 310 Iron Beetle_1 Chapter 789: Chapter 310 Iron Beetle_1 Customizing the prosthetics went more smoothly than Wang Tao had anticipated, and he didn¡¯t even have to spend any money. ¡°Old Xiang, after we move to our new home, I will take you to the Hope Research Institute. You must cooperate well!¡± Wang Tao patted Xiang Hongbin¡¯s shoulder, his tone grave and earnest. ¡°I suddenly feel that wearing this ordinary prosthetic limb is quite good¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke up weakly. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao had never seen Xiang Hongbin like this before; it was said that even at the moment of his sacrificial charge, he was spirited and passionate. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say before that you¡¯d rather die standing than live kneeling? You said that being disabled is no different from being dead¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Cough, that was before. I¡¯ve come to terms with it now. Sometimes it¡¯s quite nice to be a disabled person, especially since I have you all protecting me¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke with a little discomfort. ¡°Old Xiang, that¡¯s not like you! Would you really say such a thing?¡± Wang Tao looked surprised. Go to ????????????????????.co ¡°People change. It¡¯s normal!¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s lone eye shifted away, seemingly unable to meet Wang Tao¡¯s gaze. ¡°No!¡± Wang Tao shook his head ¡°The Old Xiang I know isn¡¯t like this! Could it be that you¡¯re scared?¡± At these words, Xiang Hongbin became furious, turning his head and glaring at Wang Tao. ¡°Scared? I, Xiang Hongbin, wouldn¡¯t even blink when going to my death!¡± ¡°Then why are you afraid to go?¡± ¡°Heh, I just don¡¯t want to trouble anyone, that¡¯s all!¡± Xiang Hongbin was still being stubborn. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, not at all!¡± Qu Shilin suddenly interjected. ¡°¡­It¡¯s just customizing a prosthetic limb, what¡¯s the big deal, let¡¯s go!¡± Seeing that there really was no way to refuse, Xiang Hongbin had no choice but to reluctantly agree. It wasn¡¯t that he was cowardly, but when he had made eye contact with Qu Shilin, he had felt a hair-raising sensation! His years of battle experience warned him that it was very dangerous¡­ Wang Tao, seeing that Xiang Hongbin had agreed, immediately nodded in satisfaction. He knew that Xiang Hongbin cared a lot about his disability, especially since he was combat personnel on the front lines. This level of disability was almost equivalent to taking his life. If everyone else kept getting stronger while Xiang Hongbin remained stagnant or even regressed, it wouldn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao if one day Xiang Hongbin sought to end his life. So if there was a chance to restore Xiang Hongbin¡¯s combat ability, Wang Tao would certainly do his utmost to help! ¡°Old Xiang, don¡¯t worry, you will be fine!¡± Wang Tao patted Xiang Hongbin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°¡­How about letting Lightning come with me?¡± Xiang Hongbin suddenly said. ¡°No way!¡± Wang Tao immediately stroked Lightning¡¯s head. Xiang Hongbin was already in this state, which, to put it bluntly, was like a broken pot beyond mending, but Lightning was in good condition; he couldn¡¯t let Lightning fall into this woman¡¯s hands! Furthermore, stepping back ten thousand paces, if Qu Shilin really had some ill intentions, then sending Lightning to her would be very dangerous. But Xiang Hongbin was different; after all, he was a living, breathing person. As long as she wasn¡¯t foolish, she would know what to do. ¡°¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s decisive refusal, was momentarily speechless. Wang Tao really knew everything. Qu Shilin approached the two of them, her expression serious: ¡°I want to study him, because I¡¯ve never seen a case where someone has suffered such grave injuries and yet didn¡¯t die. Plus, he is a soldier, with a strong will, the perfect subject for my experiments! Rest assured, he will definitely stay alive!¡± Qu Shilin assured them Xiang Hongbin would live, but the problem was that Xiang Hongbin was already quite alive¡­ and as she spoke, she subconsciously touched tools like pliers and electric drills. ¡°Miss Qu, no need to explain further, we believe you!¡± Wang Tao hastily interrupted. If she continued, Xiang Hongbin might truly beat a retreat. At that moment, Gu Yun came over with an agreement in hand. ¡°Mr. Wang, please take a look and if you confirm there¡¯s no issue, sign here.¡± The content of the agreement was naturally about the opening of the meteorite. There were a total of one hundred fourth-order meteorites here, and they planned to open all one hundred of them. If they couldn¡¯t finish today, then it was no big deal to take a few more days. After all, everyone was eager to find out what was inside them. Then there was the issue of specific contribution ratios¡ª the city hall both provided Crystal Cores and meteorites; others only provided meteorites; while Wang Tao was only providing Crystal Cores. Wang Tao had told Cui Sheng before that he could provide a Crystal Core for each meteorite. But Wang Tao had not expected there to be one hundred fourth-order crystal energy meteorites here¡­ ¡°Mr. Wang, are you sure you don¡¯t want to change your contribution ratio?¡± Gu Yun asked considerately. For one person to offer one hundred Level 4 Crystal Cores was an enormous challenge! Even leaders like Qi De of the major forces couldn¡¯t simply produce so many on demand. After all, they were now cooperating with the city administration, obviously to save money¡­ Gu Yun was not looking down on Wang Tao, but he thought that Wang Tao probably couldn¡¯t produce that many. Of course, this situation was also partially his fault for not clarifying it, mainly because he himself had not expected these people to come together and manage to gather one hundred meteorites, and this was only the first batch¡­ So he felt that if Wang Tao wanted to change his mind, he could adjust according to his ability. However, Wang Tao made a grand gesture. ¡°No need, just a hundred Level 4 Crystal Cores.¡± ¡ª hiss ¡ª Gu Yun looked at Wang Tao with a mix of astonishment and uncertainty, could he really produce them? One hundred Level 4 Crystal Cores represented that Wang Tao had killed a hundred Level 4 zombies, most of which were Zombie Lords! Chapter 790 - Chapter 790: Chapter 310 Iron Beetle_2 Chapter 790: Chapter 310 Iron Beetle_2 Because the fourth-order Elite Zombies appeared after rainfall, and Wang Tao had just arrived at Changhe Base. Even if he had encountered fourth-order Elite Zombies at that time, he couldn¡¯t have killed too many, as they did not stay outside for long before entering the base. After they entered the base, those fourth-order Elite Zombies outside mostly joined the large zombie horde. Faced with a zombie horde composed of a massive number of level 4 Lords and fourth-order Elites, not even the firepower-rich Six Major Legions dared to act rashly. They all tried to lure and slowly chip away at¡­ That¡¯s why level 4 Crystal Cores were still so hard to come by. If Wang Tao had 100 level 4 Crystal Cores in his possession, that would mean he had killed many level 4 Lords! Gu Yun was somewhat skeptical of the truthfulness of Wang Tao¡¯s words, not only questioning if Wang Tao¡¯s strength was sufficient but also wondering if there really were so many level 4 Lords for him to kill? Upon seeing the distrust in Gu Yun¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. A hundred level 4 crystals¡­ he did indeed have them! To be precise, he had 130 level 4 Crystal Cores left. After all, killing a Zombie Lord could result in many Crystal Cores dropping. But Wang Tao had no intention of bringing out all these level 4 Crystal Cores because some of them either had abilities or were special Crystal Cores. Using these to open meteorites would be too wasteful, and he couldn¡¯t bear it. However, there were 30 Crystal Cores without abilities, which he had acquired during the last zombie wave on his way to Changhe Base, where many fourth-order Elite Zombies were blocking the road, and those were the ones Wang Tao had killed. Wang Tao waved over to Nie Siyan, who was not far away. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï Nie Siyan came over quickly with a small box and opened it in front of Gu Yun. Inside, 20 white and blue level 4 Crystal Cores without abilities were neatly arranged. These were what Wang Tao had prepared in advance; he had thought that 20 Crystal Cores would be about right. The remaining 10 were Purple Quality or higher and were in Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack. Gu Yun¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw these 20 Crystal Cores. Although there were only 20, this still indicated Wang Tao¡¯s strength. As for the fact that these Crystal Cores had no abilities, Gu Yun was not surprised, as the City Hall¡¯s preparations were mostly No Ability Crystal Cores as well. This must be the Crystal Cores Wang Tao got on his way to Changhe Base, obtained from killing fourth-order Elite Zombies. At that time, the fourth-order Elite Zombies had just appeared and were relatively easier to kill. It became harder to kill them once those Elite Zombies and level 4 Lords had joined forces¡­ ¡°Take these 20 level 4 Crystal Cores first, and I still have 10 high-quality level 4 Crystal Cores. If all these 30 are used up¡­¡± Wang Tao looked at Gu Yun and said with a smile. ¡°You guys lend me some, or I¡¯ll ask for a loan from you.¡± Since Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to use his Special Crystal Cores, he would have to borrow from elsewhere. He felt certain that the City Hall would have them. ¡°¡­¡± Gu Yun was somewhat speechless. City Hall indeed had Crystal Cores, after all, it was the official of Changhe Base, and all the taxes within the base were collected by City Hall. Many organizations were also under its umbrella, such as Changhe Bank¡­ So they were quite wealthy. Gu Yun was speechless because, if Wang Tao had not shown these 20 level 4 Crystal Cores first, there would have been suspicions of trying to get something for nothing. But since Wang Tao had presented these level 4 Crystal Cores, it proved his strength. It was equivalent to telling Gu Yun: lend me Crystal Cores, I can repay. ¡°Let¡¯s follow the rules of Changhe Bank for VIP customers. City Hall will lend you 70 low-quality level 4 Crystal Cores. If you can repay them within seven days, no interest will be charged. If you can¡¯t repay, a certain percentage of interest will have to be paid¡­ but these Crystal Cores can only be used to open Meteorites, and I will keep them¡­¡± Gu Yun was wary of Wang Tao running off with the loan. Although he felt this was unlikely, after all, Wang Tao was a fourth-order Superpower, running away with such a small amount seemed too low. But rules were rules, and everything had to be clearly discussed first. ¡°Haha! Okay!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. He was just trying to see if he could borrow Crystal Cores by using his status as a fourth-order Superpower. It was best if he could borrow them without trouble. If not, he would have to pawn other things for a loan. He had plenty of valuable items in his possession. But now, it seemed that just with his identity as an Awakener, he could still borrow Crystal Cores. Wang Tao and Gu Yun signed a supplementary loan agreement. Once they confirmed there were no issues with both agreements, they could finally begin! Since monsters might be inside the meteorites, all of them had to be taken outside. Otherwise, if monsters emerged and destroyed the equipment here, it would become troublesome. This equipment belonged to the Hope Research Institute, which had moved some devices out to research the contents of the meteorites more closely. ¡°Let¡¯s test the waters with 10 Meteorites first.¡± Gu Yun, holding ten Meteorites, led everyone out of the big tent to an open area surrounded by the army. The surrounding heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, vehicle-mounted machine guns, tank cannons, howitzers¡­ all kinds of firepower were aimed at this area. If any monsters appeared, they would likely be turned into a sieve. ¡°I¡¯m a bit eager to get started!¡± Qi De rubbed his hands together, his eyes filled with excitement. The others felt the same way; they had picked up these meteorites but hadn¡¯t yet had the chance to open them, so they were very curious about what might be inside. The 10 Energy Crystal Meteorites Gu Yun chose were numbered 1 through 10. Chapter 791 - Chapter 791: Chapter 310 Iron Beetle_3 Chapter 791: Chapter 310 Iron Beetle_3 Meteorite 1 and 2 were about the same size, and both could be opened with just two Crystal Cores. Meteorite 3 and 4 also looked similar, requiring four Crystal Cores to be opened. Meteorite 5 and 6 needed six Crystal Cores to open¡­ Meteorite 9 and 10 required ten Crystal Cores to unlock. Once everyone was ready, Gu Yun looked at the group. ¡°Who will do the opening?¡± Having ascended to Level 3 not long ago, he was the weakest among them. If something like a monster were to come out, there could be danger¡­ Not just him, but the other Level 3 ability users also shook their heads, including Qu Shilin who was very interested in the meteorites. After all, one¡¯s own life is most important. All eyes turned towards the four Awakeners. ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Wang Tao spoke up directly. The other three Awakeners were somewhat tempted but also hesitant. After all, nobody knew what was inside these meteorites. Monsters were actually the lesser worry, according to what the bald man said before; the monsters inside did not attack immediately upon release and needed time to expand, which was enough for them to react. What they were concerned about was other potential dangers, such as the possibility of toxic gas or other unforeseen threats that even Awakeners couldn¡¯t easily avoid. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t afraid because he could see attributes. Seeing that no one opposed, Gu Yun handed the Crystal Cores and Meteorites 1 and 2 to Wang Tao. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?¦Ï ¡°Then please, Mr. Wang, do be careful.¡± The others backed away a bit. Wang Tao had Xiang Hongbin and the others lead Lightning away as well. Then Wang Tao looked at the two Energy Crystal Meteorites. They were both the size of basketballs, both of white quality, meaning that two Level 4 Crystal Cores were needed to open them. Since the two meteorites were so similar, Gu Yun and the others decided to conduct a not-so-rigorous comparative experiment. The four prepared Crystal Cores included two Epic Crystal Cores and two Ordinary Crystal Cores. Epic Crystal Cores were precious, but since these had no abilities, they could be used for the experiment. Epic Crystal Cores would open Meteorite 1, and Ordinary Crystal Cores would open Meteorite 2. Then they would compare the differences in the contents. While the experiment wasn¡¯t strict, similar experiments, if conducted enough times, could still reveal some issues. For example, if the items from the Epic Crystal Cores consistently turned out to be better, or if the monsters were stronger, then it could be generally confirmed that the quality of the Crystal Core affected the contents. Wang Tao took the two Epic Crystal Cores and placed them in the grooves of the Energy Crystal Meteorite Number 1. Crack¡ª The Crystal Cores emitted a faint orange light, and the meteorite cracked. Then a black shadow the size of a palm suddenly emerged from the meteorite. ¡°A monster on the first try? No¡ª¡± Wang Tao instinctively wanted to dodge, and the others on standby tightened their faces, ready for combat. But Wang Tao realized that the creature¡¯s attributes did not belong to a monster, so he grabbed it! It felt ice cold in his hand. Only then did everyone see that what Wang Tao held was something resembling a beetle. ¡°Mr. Wang, are you alright?¡± Gu Yun called out. Monsters were generally big, but not all were large. So when they saw Wang Tao grab the ¡°insect¡± with his hand, everyone was quite astonished. If this thing were poisonous, Wang Tao would be out of luck. ¡°I¡¯m fine, we¡¯re lucky, the first thing we opened was something good.¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. Seeing that Wang Tao seemed indeed unharmed, everyone hurried over. Wang Tao displayed the creature in his hand. It was a palm-sized black beetle which had stopped moving much after being caught. [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle] [HP: 10000/10000 (Limit 100000)] [Status: Can be awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (requires consumption of a Fourth Rank Bug Tribe corpse to activate)] [Compatibility: 0%] [Independent Attack: Can follow the owner¡¯s commands to attack independently] [Armed: Covers the owner¡¯s entire body and provides certain attribute enhancement] This was a Level 4 weapon! But this was different from the weapons Wang Tao had seen before. The first one he had come across was the Entangling Roots, providing attribute enhancement by being worn on the body. Though the Entangling Roots were Level 3 and couldn¡¯t offer much help to Wang Tao now, he still wore them on his wrist. Later, Wang Tao encountered the Iron Tree Vines which provided splitting and independent attack enhancements. This weapon was very useful; even though it was Level 3, it was as if Wang Tao had several additional arms, so he was still using them. Then there was the Night Demon Type 1, a weapon with only independent attack capability, serving as a personal enforcer for Wang Tao. Lastly was the Bloody Chainsaw, its enhancement was ¡°Cutting,¡± a pure attacking ability. Now, the enhancements offered by this Iron Beetle were independent attack and armor. It wasn¡¯t clear how strong the independent attack would be, but the armor was obviously meant to be biological armor like the Entangling Roots! The previous Entangling Roots had been a great help to Wang Tao, giving him the capital to challenge beyond his level! So he was quite fond of this type of weapon. But what exactly were these ¡°Insect race¡±? Could it be related to the Cockroach Monster they had killed before? ¡°This is¡­¡± The crowd was curious. This shouldn¡¯t be a monster, otherwise Wang Tao would have been attacked. But it definitely was an insect¡­ Could it be just an ordinary insect? Gu Yun and the others clearly hadn¡¯t seen such a thing before, or maybe they had but didn¡¯t recognize its significance and missed out. ¡°This thing¡­ I¡¯ll refer to as a ¡®Weapon¡¯.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°A weapon? Is it some kind of weapon then?¡± Having verified that Wang Tao was alright, Shang Heng curiously touched the insect in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. The creature didn¡¯t react, as if it were dead. Qu Shilin, who had been silent up to this point, had her eyes light up. Suddenly, she produced a small box from her hand, filled with various instruments¡­ or rather, tools. Chapter 792 - Chapter 792: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_1 Chapter 792: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_1 ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Seeing the toolbox in Qu Shilin¡¯s hand, Wang Tao was on guard. Qu Shilin nonchalantly hid the briefcase behind her, then brushed her hair behind her ear and said, ¡°Ahem, I¡¯m just quite curious¡­¡± Upon seeing this, Gu Yun immediately spoke up, ¡°Miss Qu, let¡¯s not take this thing apart, shall we?¡± The city hall had previously agreed with the Hope Research Institute to allow them to study what¡¯s inside the meteorite. However, which parts they could study and which they couldn¡¯t were not for the Hope Research Institute to decide, because they had neither taken the Crystal Core nor the meteorite, and the ownership of these items had nothing to do with them. Of course, if the people from the Hope Research Institute really wanted to study something, everyone would certainly give them face. But the precondition was that it should not harm their own interests. And Wang Tao had just said that this beetle was a weapon! Judging from Wang Tao¡¯s tone, he had obviously seen something similar before, so it was unlikely that he was deceiving everyone. So everyone was curious about what this weapon was and whether it could directly or indirectly enhance their combat power. If it could, then the importance of this weapon was immense, and they definitely couldn¡¯t let Qu Shilin just dismantle it. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï ¡°¡­¡± Did they all distrust her so much? Where was the basic trust between people? Watching the somewhat tense looks of several people, Qu Shilin glared at them. However, she put down the briefcase. Everyone relaxed at once. If Qu Shilin had insisted on forcibly dismantling it, it would have been somewhat troublesome. After all, no one wanted to fall out with the research institute, but thankfully, Qu Shilin was not unreasonable. All eyes turned to Wang Tao. Gu Yun asked, ¡°Mr. Wang, could you please introduce it?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Wang Tao nodded, then added, ¡°I need a Level 2 Crystal Core.¡± The Iron Beetle¡¯s compatibility was 0%, and it couldn¡¯t be used. At least 1% was necessary. And to increase the compatibility, one needed either their own HP or a Crystal Core. For a Fourth-order weapon, a Level 2 Crystal Core could increase the compatibility by 1%, Level 3 by 10%, and Level 4 by 100%. Gu Yun didn¡¯t hesitate to take out a Level 2 White Crystal Core without any Ability. Wang Tao took the Crystal Core and silently communicated with the Iron Beetle. Then they saw the Iron Beetle suddenly move; it crawled onto the Crystal Core as if it was feasting. In the blink of an eye, the Crystal Core vanished. Now, the Iron Beetle¡¯s armed capabilities had not been activated, and couldn¡¯t be used, it could only perform Independent Attacks. To make it attack, it was similar to the Night Demon Type 1, not directly controlled, but commanded. Wang Tao threw the Iron Beetle and gave it a command to guard him. And then everyone saw that while the Iron Beetle was in the air, its body began to expand! In the blink of an eye, upon landing, it had grown to a size similar to Lightning! ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning barked cautiously from the side. ¡°Sss¡ª¡± Gu Yun, Qi De, and the others all gasped in surprise. They were clearly seeing such a scene for the first time. After the Iron Beetle grew larger, it immediately came to Wang Tao¡¯s side, walking slowly around him like a guard. ¡°Is it¡­ acting as your bodyguard? Does it have intelligence?¡± Shang Heng immediately asked. It was clear to anyone that this giant beetle was protecting Wang Tao. ¡°You could consider it a bodyguard, or you could have it attack. As for intelligence, it has some, but not much,¡± Wang Tao explained. The weapon¡¯s intelligence was limited to understanding Wang Tao¡¯s words and executing his commands, but it had no capacity to discern or think. It was like a pure tool. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Shang Heng immediately said, ¡°Then, can it demonstrate an attack? I have the tools here!¡± Shang Heng asked a soldier to bring over three dummies: one made of wood, another wood dummy dressed in armor, and a third wood dummy covered with steel plates. These were their props for testing weapons, and now they could conveniently be used for demonstration. Wang Tao issued a command for the Iron Beetle to attack the wooden dummy. Whoosh¡ª The Iron Beetle, though appearing round and chubby, was not slow. It reached the first wooden dummy in the blink of an eye, aiming its pincer-like horns at the dummy. Crack¡ª The wooden dummy instantly shattered. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s some decent damage!¡± Everyone was somewhat surprised. This wooden dummy was much harder than an ordinary person, but the beetle snipped it apart instantly¡ªnot just cutting, but shattering! The Iron Beetle¡¯s horns seemed to trigger something like a Shockwave during the attack, which combined with the snipping to completely shatter the dummy. ¡°This is at least Level 2 strength, right?¡± Gu Yun spoke up. A Level 1 Ability User could destroy a wooden dummy, but definitely not with such lethal force. Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak; he commanded the Iron Beetle to attack the armored wooden dummy. Bang¡ª The armored dummy was also snipped apart, not as thoroughly destroyed as the wooden dummy, but most of the armor shattered. ¡°More than that! This is at least Level 2 pinnacle strength!¡± Qi De¡¯s eyes lit up. Though he was a Fourth-order Superpower, now Levels 2 and 3 were the main force. Having an obedient Level 2 pinnacle assistant would be quite impressive. Wang Tao remained silent. He once again ordered the Iron Beetle to approach the steel-plated wooden dummy. The steel plates on the wooden dummy were pitted with many small indentations and a few sparse holes. It was clearly well-worn; the surface bore the marks of bullet impacts. Chapter 793 - Chapter 793: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_2 Chapter 793: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_2 The Iron Beetle opened its large pincers and clamped down on the steel-plated dummy. Bang¡ª¡ª The part of the steel plate that was attacked by the pincers broke apart directly! The wooden dummy inside was cleaved into two! ¡°Holy crap!¡± Everyone exclaimed in shock. ¡°Level 3, this definitely has the strength of Level 3! Even the bulletproof steel plate can be sliced up! Without Level 3 strength, this would be impossible!¡± At this stage, reaching Level 4 Awakening was exceedingly difficult¡ªLevel 3 was the pinnacle most could achieve. This beetle actually had Level 3 battle power, impressive indeed! However, what Wang Tao said next left everyone somewhat stunned. ¡°This ¡®Iron Beetle¡¯ is not just Level 3, it¡¯s Level 4.¡± ¡°What? Level 4?¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback, then they looked at Wang Tao with skepticism. In the entire Changhe Base, with hundreds of thousands of people, how many Level 4s had there been? Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï And they hadn¡¯t felt the aura of a Level 4 in this insect. The more powerful you were, the keener your senses became. If it really was Level 4, they would have sensed it! ¡°It¡¯s indeed Level 4 by itself, but it hasn¡¯t been able to exhibit its full strength. To bring out all of its power, you need to raise the ¡®Compatibility¡¯ and nourish it¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained ¡°Compatibility¡± and ¡°nourishment.¡± Actually, even if they couldn¡¯t see the specific attributes, as long as it was a weapon they had awakened themselves, they could gradually sense this information, but it would take time to explore. Wang Tao¡¯s explanation could save them a lot of time. ¡°So you mean, if its Compatibility is increased and it¡¯s nourished, it will reach Level 4 battle power?¡± Zhou Long¡¯s eyes shone with excitement. ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then continued to explain. ¡°Of course, I am judging based on my previous experiences. I¡¯ve never seen this Iron Beetle before, so I can¡¯t be completely certain it will reach Level 4 battle power, especially since we have an Awakening at Level 4, which it lacks. But what¡¯s certain is that it¡¯s stronger than the vast majority of Level 3s. Perhaps we can think of it as a Level 4 that hasn¡¯t Awakened¡­¡± According to Wang Tao¡¯s experience, most Level 3 ability users definitely couldn¡¯t beat an independently attacking Fourth-Order Weapon. But based on his own strength at Level 3, he could. So Wang Tao said the Iron Beetle was stronger than the ¡°vast majority¡± of Level 3s. He emphasized precision. ¡°Fourth Order Battle Power!¡± ¡°At the very least, it¡¯s at the pinnacle of Level 3 combat strength!¡± ¡°So this is a ¡®Weapon¡¯! A biological weapon!¡± ¡°¡­¡± If this weapon had Level 3 battle power, they would be thrilled. But if this weapon possessed Level 4 battle power, they would go wild! After all, this was Level 4! Not to mention all of humanity¡ªat least, it was the highest battle power in Changhe Base! ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry and nourish it, increase its Compatibility! I want to see its Level 4 strength!¡± Zhou Long immediately said. ¡°Right, how many Crystal Cores do we need? We¡¯ll provide them!¡± Qi De spoke generously. The others were also looking at Wang Tao eagerly. Who would mind a few Crystal Cores? Hearing their words, Wang Tao¡¯s expression suddenly became odd. As previously mentioned, there were a total of 100 Energy Crystal Meteorites here, Wang Tao took out 100 Crystal Cores, and each meteorite was infused with one core each. The city hall had about the same share as Wang Tao, also investing in one share per meteorite, but they provided more Crystal Cores, with some meteorites requiring multiple cores to activate. The meteorites brought by others had no Ordinary quality; they were all Energy Crystal Meteorites of excellent quality or above, which only activated with at least four or more Crystal Cores. The meteorites that only required two Crystal Cores were from Wang Tao and the city hall. This meant that no one else had a share in the contents of this meteorite¡ªthe Iron Beetle belonged to both the city hall and Wang Tao. So if Qi De and the others provided Crystal Cores for Wang Tao to experiment with, they would be making a huge loss, as they clearly did not know the amount needed. Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t deliberately scam anyone, so he was ready to clarify the matter, speaking in an unhurried manner: ¡°Increasing Compatibility is fine; to maximize it, you only need 100 Level 2 Crystal Cores, or 10 Level 3 Crystal Cores, or even 1 Level 4 Crystal Core¡­¡± Hearing Wang Tao say this, everyone frowned slightly. Exchanging one Level 4 Crystal Core for Level 4 battle power was not cheap, but definitely worth it! However, there seemed to be more to Wang Tao¡¯s statement¡­ ¡°But the use of a weapon decreases Compatibility. The more you use the weapon, the more the Compatibility diminishes. If the weapon were a car, then Compatibility would be the fuel, which continuously gets consumed as the car runs¡­.¡± ¡°Continuous consumption¡­ well, that¡¯s still okay.¡± Again, if several Level 4 Crystal Cores are traded for a single Level 4 combat power, it¡¯s a huge bargain! Wang Tao continued to explain: ¡°However, these are actually trivial matters, just a few Level 4 Crystal Cores, which I believe everyone can afford. The most important thing is nourishing the weapon with Crystal Cores or one¡¯s own HP to bring the weapon¡¯s power up to its limit. To nourish the Iron Beetle¡­ it requires 10,000 Level 2 Crystal Cores, or 1,000 Level 3 Crystal Cores, or 100 Level 4 Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°What?¡± The crowd was a bit stunned. 10,000 Level 2 Crystal Cores, 1,000 Level 3 Crystal Cores, or 100 Level 4 Crystal Cores? Good lord, this thing¡¯s a Gold Eating Beast! The cost was simply terrifying! Chapter 794 - Chapter 794: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_3 Chapter 794: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_3 ¡°So, are you all certain you want to take out the Crystal Cores for me to experiment with?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. The faces of the crowd immediately showed signs of embarrassment. They had seen Wang Tao take out a Level 2 Crystal Core, and they subconsciously thought that was what the Iron Beetle Weapon required¡ªa Level 2 Crystal Core. And that wasn¡¯t wrong; a Level 2 Crystal Core would indeed work, but it would require ten thousand of them! The meteorite that only needed two Crystal Cores to activate had been brought over by the city hall. Wang Tao and the city hall owned the rights to both the meteorite and the contents inside, nobody else was involved. If it were their own Iron Beetle, they could scrape together the Cores, tooth and nail, as it would be worth the extra expense for Fourth-order fighting power. But this wasn¡¯t theirs; they were simply curious, and couldn¡¯t justify spending the money needlessly¡­ ¡°Ahaha, Mr. Wang, it just suddenly occurred to me that I don¡¯t have many Crystal Cores left, only enough to activate these meteorites, so I¡¯m unable to nourish this weapon, sorry!¡± Shang Heng hurriedly spoke up. While he felt quite good about this Wang Tao and thought he could become friends with him, that didn¡¯t mean he was willing to be a chump. The others hastily declined as well. Pride mattered for nothing, the wallet was what truly mattered. Wang Tao chuckled and shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ll provide the Crystal Cores.¡± At this point, Gu Yun suddenly spoke up. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0 Wang Tao was taken aback for a moment. ¡°Head Secretary Gu, are you sure? This is not a small sum!¡± Although the Iron Beetle belonged to him and the city hall, they had yet to discuss how exactly they would allocate it. Gu Yun was already offering up the Crystal Cores? ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. As for our distribution issue¡­¡± Gu Yun came beside Wang Tao and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll be upfront with you. Our city hall is very interested in this weapon. Let¡¯s have a thorough discussion later. If you let us have it, we¡¯ll definitely ensure you won¡¯t be disappointed!¡± Gu Yun appeared to be quite generous. In reality, it wasn¡¯t so much about him being generous since it wasn¡¯t his personal Crystal Cores, but the city hall¡¯s. He wasn¡¯t the one who would wince at spending them¡­ Upon hearing Gu Yun¡¯s words, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. He did want the weapon, but if the city hall was truly willing to give him a generous compensation, he could consider parting with it. So, Wang Tao leaned in a bit closer and whispered in Gu Yun¡¯s ear: ¡°Actually, this Iron Beetle Weapon has another very powerful function that I couldn¡¯t demonstrate due to inadequate conditions. I¡¯ll explain it to you in detail later.¡± Wang Tao always made sure not to shortchange his own people or partners. If he had been unaware of the Iron Beetle¡¯s function, that would have been one thing, but knowing it, he was certainly going to be clear about it. ¡°Oh? Another function!¡± Gu Yun¡¯s eyes lit up. But he tactfully refrained from asking further. One reason was that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t demonstrate it right then, and the other was that the Iron Beetle belonged to both the city hall and Wang Tao. It was their prerogative to show it off or not to others¡­ ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll talk about it in detail later!¡± Gu Yun nodded and didn¡¯t rush to take out the Crystal Cores for nourishment either. The others watched Wang Tao and Gu Yun exchange whispers, especially noting the sudden gleam in Gu Yun¡¯s eyes; they immediately felt a pang of curiosity. It was clear that Wang Tao had shared something with Gu Yun that they weren¡¯t privy to! They wanted to know too! But whether to share that information or not was the other party¡¯s right, so they couldn¡¯t rightly ask. Qu Shilin¡¯s gaze flickered as she watched Wang Tao and Gu Yun, pondering how she might borrow this biological weapon for study¡­ Wang Tao handed the Iron Beetle over to Gu Yun and taught him how to control it. Although the rest couldn¡¯t try it out, like diligent students, they listened intently to Wang Tao¡¯s explanation. After all, without him, they never would have had access to such knowledge. As for the method to control the weapon, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hold back. If others wanted to listen, they could. To some extent, this also served to increase everyone¡¯s collective combat capability. ¡°So, it requires using consciousness to perceive and control¡­¡± Everyone suddenly realized how Wang Tao was able to control the Iron Beetle. ¡°So, how did you figure out you could manipulate it like this?¡± Qu Shilin, who had been silent until now, asked with curiosity. The others also turned towards Wang Tao; they were curious as well about how he had made the discovery. Because using consciousness for Perception sounded simple, but in practice, it would be tough to find that method without someone pointing it out! Take the Iron Beetle, for example. When Gu Yun tried it, he placed the beetle in front of himself, closed his eyes, and slowly searched for that ¡°Light Point¡± with his consciousness. Only by locating this Light Point and fusing with it could he control the Iron Beetle. Under normal circumstances, who would think of such a thing? Most people only trust their senses like eyesight, hearing, etc. Concepts like consciousness are beyond the realm of the five senses. Ordinary people can¡¯t even sense what consciousness is, let alone Ability Users who can vaguely perceive it. So who could have guessed that this Biological Weapon would be controlled through the Perception and manipulation of consciousness? Wang Tao naturally wouldn¡¯t say he could see Attributes. He made up a random excuse. ¡°It was an accident. The first time I killed a Level 4, Lord Night Demon, I accidentally discovered I could establish a connection with its heart. That¡¯s how I found out about this weapon¡­..¡± Everyone nodded subconsciously, then felt that something didn¡¯t quite add up. Qu Shilin suddenly looked at Wang Tao with intensity. ¡°Wait! Are you saying that the heart of a Level 4, Lord Night Demon is also a weapon?¡± It clicked for everyone then. Wang Tao said the Night Demon Heart was a weapon? ¡°Yes, it¡¯s essentially like a Level 4 Night Demon being controlled by someone.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Regarding the Night Demon Heart, he had no intention of hiding the truth. From the fact that Gu Yun and the others hadn¡¯t seen a weapon like that, it was clear they hadn¡¯t discovered its use. But they had definitely killed Level 4, Lord Night Demons. This meant that they most likely wasted the Night Demon Hearts. Wang Tao naturally wanted everyone to be aware of this so that it wouldn¡¯t be wasted. And sure enough, after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s confirmation, almost everyone was beating their chests and stomping their feet in regret. ¡°Damn it! We just destroyed a Night Demon¡¯s Nest a few days ago! We only kept the bones and Claws of that Level 4, Lord Night Demon; everything else was burned to ashes¡­¡± ¡°Who hasn¡¯t? Just last week, I personally crushed a Level 4, Lord Night Demon¡¯s heart. I wondered why it wouldn¡¯t break no matter how much I stepped on it; in the end, I had to use Fourth-order fighting power to crush it¡­ I was so thrilled at the time! And now¡­ Damn!¡± ¡°The last time I led our Legion, we razed a major Night Demon¡¯s Nest to the ground. Except for the Crystal Cores and some hard materials, we destroyed everything else with artillery fire, including the hearts of two Level 4, Lord Night Demons. Yes, two hearts¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± A group of people fell into a state of regret and self-reproach. Especially those three Fourth-order Superpower individuals; they had all killed Level 4, Lord Night Demons. To think that they personally destroyed several Level 4 Night Demons that could have been under their control filled them with remorse. But some were not only not distressed, they were actually excited. ¡°Wang Tao! Come to my house tonight!¡± Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao with bright eyes. ¡°Ah? Why?¡± Wang Tao was guarded. ¡°In my previous research on Night Demons, I collected a lot of parts from them. I still have over a dozen hearts of Level 4, Lord Night Demons lying around my bedside! Help me see if you can awaken them!¡± Qu Shilin spoke with some excitement. Wang Tao: ¡°¡­¡± Everyone: ¡°¡­¡± Chapter 795 - Chapter 795: Chapter 312: Ten Meteorites_1 Chapter 795: Chapter 312: Ten Meteorites_1 Hearing Qu Shilin¡¯s words, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned.¡± Placing over a dozen Night Demon hearts on one¡¯s bedside? Aren¡¯t you afraid of having nightmares at night? Wang Tao suddenly offered a silent condolence to Xiang Hongbin¡ªOld Xiang, wish you luck! As for the over a dozen Night Demon hearts, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. After all, he alone had acquired eight hearts; two Night Demon Type I had died in the previous battle at Zijin Base, and he still had six hearts in his possession. Given that Changhe Base housed hundreds of thousands of people, had a large number of combatants and heavy firepower, it was entirely normal for them to kill a large number of Night Demons or even destroy many Night Demon nests. The question was whether they retained the hearts. Although Qu Shilin¡¯s hobby was somewhat peculiar, her luck was clearly good. When the others heard what Qu Shilin said, their eyes widened. Over a dozen Night Demon hearts? According to what Wang Tao said, although the [Night Demon Type I] activated by these Night Demon hearts could only act at night, just like Night Demons, their combat power was indeed solid! Over a dozen Level 4 powers at night? That¡¯s practically invincible at night! Everyone¡¯s eyes were turning red. What people fear is comparison. If they didn¡¯t know about this, it would be fine. If they knew, but everyone was out of luck, then they could only exchange wry smiles and search for some comfort in each other. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï But if someone struck it rich while they were down on their luck! What¡¯s more, what they earned was something they had previously discarded or destroyed out of ignorance¡­ The disparity was immediately apparent, and it created an imbalance in their hearts! Envy, jealousy! Whoosh¡ª Several people instantly surrounded Qu Shilin. ¡°Miss Qu, sell me a few Night Demon hearts! We can negotiate a good price!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of having so many? You¡¯re not even a fighter. It would be a bigger improvement for us, please be kind and sell me a few!¡± ¡°Sister, my dear sister¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± In response to this scene, Qu Shilin simply waved her hand dismissively. ¡°Not selling! Each and every one of them are research subjects for me and our research institute, I won¡¯t sell any! Stop dreaming about buying from me, you¡¯re better off killing more Night Demons to get the real deal!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Seeing Qu Shilin¡¯s resolute stance, everyone sighed. If these Night Demon hearts were in someone else¡¯s hands, to put it bluntly, they would have done anything necessary to get their hands on them! But this was Qu Shilin, and she had the Hope Research Institute backing her! Threats and bribes were definitely not going to work. But Qu Shilin was also right; they had to find a way to kill more Level 4 Lord Night Demons in the future! Watching as everyone gradually calmed down, Wang Tao immediately spoke up: ¡°We should continue with the meteorites.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. The pain of thinking about the Night Demon hearts was too much; better to set that aside for now and shift their attention back to the meteorites. Wang Tao had just extracted a Fourth-Order Weapon from the first meteorite; among the remaining ninety-nine, there must be many other treasures! With this thought in mind, everyone grew excited. They might not have gotten a share of the Iron Beetle, but they were involved with the subsequent meteorites, and they were sure they wouldn¡¯t walk away empty-handed! Wang Tao picked up the second meteorite. This meteorite was to be opened with two Level 4 Ordinary Crystal Cores. Wang Tao directly placed the Crystal Cores into the indentations on the meteorite. The cores radiated two faint white glows. Crack¡ª The meteorite split open. A White Crystal Core was revealed inside. [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Glutton] ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao took out the Crystal Core somewhat reluctantly. ¡°Took a loss this time.¡± The Glutton Crystal Core was basically useless, even if Wang Tao could eliminate its side effects; it was still considered trash. In some ways, it was even worse than a Self Detonation Core. Not to mention it was a White Crystal Core with a low fusion success rate. It could pretty much be seen as a No Ability Crystal Core. So it was as if two No Ability Tier-4 White Crystal Cores had turned into one, a 50% loss! However, could this indicate that the products from an Epic Crystal Core were better than those from an Ordinary one? After all, these two meteorites were very similar, but the outcomes were totally different¡­ Wang Tao looked at the four Crystal Cores that had lost their energy and shook his head. The sample size was still too small to draw conclusions. He¡¯d have to wait and see what followed. If similar situations kept occurring, there might be a problem. Gu Yun just shrugged when he saw the White Crystal Core, as he was mentally prepared for this. As for the others, they were initially disappointed that Wang Tao hadn¡¯t uncovered anything significant. Then they breathed a sigh of relief because this meteorite belonged to Wang Tao and the City Hall. If anything of value had emerged, it wouldn¡¯t have had anything to do with them, and they would have been envious all over again. The next eight meteorites were practically all related to them. They looked eagerly at Wang Tao, hoping for good outcomes. Meteorites number three and four were another similar pair, each the size of a water bottle, Blue Excellent Quality, and requiring four Crystal Cores to open. Wang Tao first took out four Orange Crystal Cores and placed them in the indentations on meteorite number three. The cores flashed with orange light and quickly lost their energy. Crack¡ª The meteorite split open, revealing its contents. ¡°A Red Crystal Core!¡± [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] Wang Tao removed the Crystal Core and said to everyone with a smile: ¡°Made a profit this time!¡± Strength was a fairly common and rather good Ability. For those who were big and brawny, it was equivalent to having no side effects. Therefore, among Ability Users, those who merged with Strength were fairly numerous. ¡°Haha! Mr. Wang, good luck! Thank you so much!¡± Chapter 796 - Chapter 796: Chapter 312: Ten Meteorites_2 Chapter 796: Chapter 312: Ten Meteorites_2 Qi De burst into laughter, his frustration instantly swept away. Because this meteorite was his! And it just so happened that he had the power ability; he was in need of a level 4 strength crystal core! This was even a red crystal core ¡ª as long as his luck wasn¡¯t too terrible, it was basically a sure thing! Of course, only about a little more than half of this crystal core belonged to him. The rest, a smaller portion, naturally went to the city hall and Wang Tao, as both had contributed the crystal cores necessary to open it. A crystal core couldn¡¯t be split, of course. How to divide it would have to be discussed after all the meteorites had been opened. But this one would definitely be given to him ¡ª they had agreed in the contract that whoever needed it would get priority. And if everyone needed it, it would go to the one with the larger share. He met both conditions. ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± Everyone congratulated Qi De. Although the red crystal core was exchanged for four orange crystal cores, those were no-attribute crystal cores and clearly not as valuable as this red strength crystal core. Not to mention it was precisely what Qi De needed¡­ Qi De made a killing! Wang Tao put down the crystal core and picked up meteorite number four. This time it was naturally opened with four white crystal cores. He placed the crystal cores in the notches as the white light inside flickered. Crack¡ª ¡°Another white crystal core, but not too bad, it¡¯s usable¡­¡± [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Defense] Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?? Wang Tao took out this crystal core and everyone saw it was a defense crystal core. ¡°Not bad, not a loss!¡± Shang Heng said with a frown. This meteorite was his, and whether it was a loss depended on if he had a need for it. But defense as an ability was pretty average on its own. Besides, this was just a white crystal core; the success rate for fusion was very low¡­ so it was definitely not a gain. Wang Tao¡¯s movements didn¡¯t stop as he continued to open meteorite number five. Meteorite numbers five and six were both of purple quality and required six crystal cores to open. He still used orange crystal cores for meteorite number five, then white crystal cores for number six. After spending six level 4 epic crystal cores, meteorite number five yielded an awakening energy pearl. Everyone had clearly seen awakening energy pearls before. Seeing that a meteorite could produce an energy bead was a surprise for everyone. Whether it was a loss wasn¡¯t easy to say; it depended on how much they valued their awakening energy limit. Although they couldn¡¯t see the specific numbers like Wang Tao could, they had a general idea and knew that their awakening energy limit related to their combat power. But increasing it was difficult; it required time and luck to accumulate slowly¡­ Wang Tao felt that the awakening energy bead neither gained nor lost; it was a good item, but it had cost six level 4 epic crystal cores¡­ He then used six level 4 ordinary crystal cores to open meteorite number six. Inside was a level 4 white self-destruct crystal core. ¡°¡­ A terrible loss.¡± Wang Tao took out the crystal core and showed it to everyone. These meteorites had a high chance of yielding crystal cores. ¡°Am I really this unlucky¡­¡± Zhou Long rubbed his temples in some helplessness. He had brought this meteorite. The city hall and Wang Tao each contributed one level 4 ordinary crystal core, and he added a meteorite plus four level 4 ordinary crystal cores, only to receive a white self-destruct crystal core¡­ What a loss! But this was like gambling; they were prepared for this possibility before deciding to open it, so it wasn¡¯t too heartbreaking. Wang Tao shook his head; aside from the first meteorite being a windfall, only the red strength crystal core was decent. The rest were not too good. ¡°Could it be my luck has run out?¡± Wang Tao continued with the meteorite openings, moving on to meteorites number seven and eight. These two meteorites were not small, together roughly the size of a standard table. Moreover, they were of outstanding quality and required eight crystal cores to open. He placed eight epic crystal cores on meteorite number seven. A moment later, with a crack, the meteorite split open, then quickly broke apart like a ripe watermelon. A broad, flat object, resembling something crafted from bone, appeared before Wang Tao. [Iron Bone Knife] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +60, Attack power +60, Speed +10%] Huh? It was actually a weapon! Wang Tao was quite surprised. The weapons he had seen before were either dropped by zombies, with names but obscure attributes, or crafted from blueprints, which had detailed attributes but required blueprints and various materials, making it a hassle. This was the first time he had seen a weapon with detailed attributes that wasn¡¯t crafted from a blueprint. As for the attributes of this knife, Wang Tao thought they were pretty good. Although its durability and attack power only added 60, and his own weapons added 70 or even 80, it was certainly much better than the ordinary cold weapons others made ¡ª not to mention it had a 10% increase in attack speed. Wang Tao felt it was well worth the eight level 4 no-attribute epic crystal cores! ¡°What is that?¡± Seeing Wang Tao pick up the Iron Bone Knife, the others grew curious. The Iron Bone Knife didn¡¯t look much like a knife; it was more like a miniature surfboard. ¡°A knife.¡± Wang Tao grasped the handle and swung at the steel-plated wooden dummy that had been damaged into two pieces by an iron beetle. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to exert much force, but with a flash of the blade, followed by a chuff sound, the remaining upper half of the wooden dummy was cleanly split in half vertically. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Seeing this scene, everyone was astonished. Chapter 797 - Chapter 797: Chapter 312: Ten Meteorites_3 Chapter 797: Chapter 312: Ten Meteorites_3 These Fourth-order Superpower Users could also destroy steel and wooden dummies, but they definitely didn¡¯t do it as effortlessly as Wang Tao! They had just perceived very clearly that Wang Tao had not Awakened, hadn¡¯t used any Abilities, and even the muscles on his arms hadn¡¯t bulged much, it was just a casual wave of his arm, and the steel and wooden dummy was chopped in half! This demonstrated two issues. The first was that Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition was strong, and even a casual swing had great strength¡ªthis was actually within their expectations, after all, given Wang Tao¡¯s build, and they had all assumed that Wang Tao was a System Awakener. The second was that this weapon was powerful! If the weapon hadn¡¯t been powerful and it was just Wang Tao¡¯s great strength, then the steel dummy would not have been cut so neatly in half, but would have been shredded like the Iron Beetle did to the steel and wood dummy. But now, everyone could clearly see that Wang Tao hadn¡¯t exerted much force, yet the steel and wooden dummy was neatly sliced open! One could imagine how sharp the Bone Knife was! Swoosh¡ª Everyone immediately came over to Wang Tao, and someone asked subconsciously: ¡°Wang Tao, is this knife very strong?¡± It had always been Wang Tao who opened the Meteorites, and it seemed like he knew a little bit about everything, plus Wang Tao¡¯s expression was very calm, so everyone subconsciously thought that Wang Tao probably knew a lot. In fact, that was indeed the case. Even if Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, he would understand by looking at the detailed Attributes of the equipment. ¡°This knife is quite good, I can¡¯t say exactly how strong it is, you¡¯ll know after you try it.¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï Wang Tao handed the knife over. The others couldn¡¯t see the data, so naturally, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t explain the detailed data of the Iron Bone Knife, he could only let them try it for themselves. ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± Qi De immediately stood out, he was obviously very interested in this knife. The others didn¡¯t compete for it. Among these people, there were only two who were fairly skilled with knives. One was Huang Wu, dressed in full Armor, holding a large knife in his hand, and the other was Qi De, who was dressed in casual clothes, with his hands empty. The reason Qi De didn¡¯t have a weapon in his hand wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want one; his weapon had been damaged during a previous battle, and he had ordered a new one from the institute, which wasn¡¯t yet complete. Qi De took the knife from Wang Tao, and as soon as he held it, he felt its weight. The Bone Knife was heavier than he had anticipated. Qi De¡¯s eyes lit up immediately; he liked knives with weight, as they gave a sense of presence in battle! He gripped the Iron Bone Knife tightly and swung it at the steel and wood dummy that was already cut in half. Chop! The steel was easily cut through once again. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Qi De exclaimed in surprise, startling the others. ¡°What happened?¡± Everyone asked hastily. ¡°This knife is freaking awesome! Not to mention its power, when I attack with it, it¡¯s actually faster than my normal speed! Can you believe that?¡± Qi De looked at the Bone Knife in his hands with amazement. Their Perception as Ability Users was naturally keen. Let alone a 10% increase in speed; they would be able to detect even a 1% increase. After all, they were well aware of their own strengths. ¡°It can also increase attack speed?¡± The rest were a bit puzzled, while Wang Tao nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, this knife indeed increases attack speed. After I tried it just now, I feel it probably adds about 10% or so.¡± Hiss¡ª Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. If it could add 10% to attack speed, that was indeed formidable! Qi De tried it again, then let everyone else have a go, including Huang Wu, who liked to use knives, and Qu Shilin, who didn¡¯t. After trying the knife, Huang Wu instantly became quite attached to it! Before seeing this Iron Bone Knife, he was quite satisfied with his own knife because it was custom-ordered from the institute at a high price and was a pretty good knife. But now, he only wanted to say, that knife was trash! Whether it was the feel, the power, or the ability to increase attack speed, the Iron Bone Knife crushed it! Let¡¯s be clear, he wanted this knife! Qu Shilin, sensitive both to data and her own body, conducted some simple tests, took out a tablet computer, sketched and wrote on it, and then said seriously to everyone: ¡°Wang Tao is right, it indeed increases attack speed by about 10%!¡± After the testing, everyone had a rough idea in their minds, and now with Qu Shilin¡¯s confirmation, they were even more excited. It really added 10% to attack speed! That attribute was very strong! If they fought a duel with someone of the same skill level, where both could deliver a fatal strike, that 10% increase in attack speed would always let them strike first, effectively giving them an invincible position! In real combat, many fights finish very quickly. Being able to take the initiative could lead to constant suppression, pressing the enemy until their defeat. Just like when Wang Tao had a close combat with the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, with his Awakening on, his speed was much faster than the Night Demon¡¯s, he pressed the Night Demon the entire fight, killing it in just a few seconds. Provided other attributes weren¡¯t holding you back, the faster the speed, the higher your limit! ¡°Head Secretary Gu, how about selling this knife to me!¡± Qi De looked at Gu Yun with eager eyes. The Meteorite that produced the Iron Bone Knife was provided by the City Hall. The City Hall owned a large share, while Wang Tao owned a small share worth A Crystal Core. ¡°Haha, let Mr. Wang continue opening the Meteorite first. How we¡¯ll distribute it, we can discuss after that¡¯s all done!¡± Gu Yun didn¡¯t directly agree, but he didn¡¯t outright refuse either. Whether to sell it or not would depend on how things went. After all, there were still so many Meteorites left! ¡°Okay!¡± Qi De nodded and then with much reluctance, handed the knife back to Gu Yun. Huang Wu had also wanted to speak up about buying the knife but, seeing Qi De jump in, he refrained. It was a good thing Gu Yun hadn¡¯t agreed. ¡°I hope I get something good from my Meteorite!¡± Under his helmet, Huang Wu¡¯s eyes silently watched Wang Tao handle Meteorite number 8, which belonged to him. Wang Tao took a step back after he opened the Meteorite using 8 Ordinary Crystal Cores. ¡°Finally, a monster has appeared!¡± Chapter 798 - Chapter 798: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_1 Chapter 798: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_1 ¡°Monster!¡± As soon as everyone saw Wang Tao suddenly leave the meteorite, they all realized what was happening. The Awakeners swiftly advanced, while the others immediately retreated! Based on past experiences, the monsters that emerged from fourth-order meteorites were also of the fourth order; level 3 ability users might be a drag here. A black object flew out from Meteorite No. 8, rapidly growing in size upon landing. In the blink of an eye, a monster the size of a truck appeared in everyone¡¯s field of view. It was a scorpion-like creature, but it had two tails, each ending in a venomous stinger. [HP: 150,000/150,000] [Mana: 150,000/150,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Poison Needle Explosion] [Explosive Poison Needle: Fires poison needles, causing massive damage] Hiss¡ª After the Dual-tail Scorpion emerged, it immediately raised its head and let out a hiss that caused physical discomfort. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï Apart from Wang Tao and the other fourth-order ability users, the rest of the ability users felt uncomfortably compelled to cover their ears. The surrounding soldiers even fell to the ground clutching their heads, looking to be in great pain. Wang Tao was all too familiar with this kind of attack. He immediately shouted: ¡°This Dual-tail Scorpion can launch mental attacks.¡± If it were a physical attack, one might block it with equipment, but there was no way to block a mental attack. Currently, the only equipment that could add mental defense seemed to be Wang Tao¡¯s. Those below level 3, especially the soldiers, obviously couldn¡¯t withstand it. However, the spiritual power of ability users was inherently strong, and fourth-order ability users even more so. Even without equipment that increased mental defense, just relying on their own spiritual power, they could withstand some of it. Apart from Wang Tao, the other three fourth-order ability users felt somewhat uncomfortable, but it was nothing serious. ¡°Nobody attack!¡± Shang Heng, clutching his head, quickly ordered the soldiers of his legion. Guns and cannons are indiscriminate; with the soldiers affected by the mental attack, firing at this moment could potentially lead to friendly fire. Enduring the headache, Shang Heng looked at the fourth-order ability users present. ¡°What do you say?¡± He meant whether to let the ability users take over or to provide cover fire. The site where the meteorite was activated was within a semi-encirclement by the military, and they, the powerful individuals, were also in the middle. Now there were two choices: either the ability users would withdraw to allow the military to provide cover fire, or the military would temporarily hold fire, leaving the ability users to deal with the fourth-order Dual-tail Scorpion. ¡°You guys fall back, let us handle this!¡± Zhou Long immediately spoke up. This was just the first fourth-order monster, and there might be more to come. They were, after all, fourth-order ability users; how could they just watch the first fight? Plus, it was a good opportunity to check out the strength of the others! Usually, these Awakeners each led their own teams out to battle. Unless on some major event, they seldom teamed up with other Awakeners. Although they knew each other, they had not cooperated much, and were not clear about the specific strengths of other Awakeners, knowing only a general idea. Now was a good chance to get to know each other better. Seeing the other Awakeners had no objections, Shang Heng immediately directed the army to retreat. The mental attack of the Dual-tail Scorpion had a range, and the soldiers soon stopped being affected after the army retreated a certain distance. On the other side, Huang Wu, wearing full-body armor and wielding a large saber, was the first to charge forward. Bang! His blade, shimmering with a faint green glow, slammed viciously into the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s head. Bang! But the Scorpion¡¯s massive pincers blocked Huang Wu¡¯s strike, even knocking him flying! This monster wasn¡¯t a zombie; it didn¡¯t necessarily have to be hit in the head; hitting other areas would also deduct HP. However, the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s huge pincers were evidently quite hard, being its weapons, so they wouldn¡¯t lose HP, but a faint green poisonous gas covered the scorpion¡¯s pincers. Wang Tao clearly saw a poisoning indicator appear below the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP bar. [-1033] [-1127] [-1283] Poisoning lasted for three seconds, deducting about a thousand HP each second. Apparently, this was Huang Wu¡¯s Awakening [Bone-piercing Poison]. [Bone-piercing Poison: All basic attributes are comprehensively enhanced, and attacks carry poison] This was a passive Awakening, causing his attacks to carry poison. The burst of this Awakening might not be high, but it was long-lasting. It was unclear how its damage was calculated¡­ Huang Wu, knocked away, crashed heavily onto the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. He quickly got up, apparently unhurt; his armor did have a certain defensive power. Whoosh¡ª While Huang Wu was being knocked away, Qi De, wielding an Iron Bone Knife, rushed forward. The Iron Bone Knife was naturally borrowed temporarily from Gu Yun, after all, a swordsman without a sword would definitely be greatly diminished in combat effectiveness. Wang Tao believed Qi De definitely had a backup weapon. He was an Awakener after all; in case his main weapon was damaged, it was impossible for him not to have prepared a backup. But it was probably because he wanted an excuse to use the Iron Bone Knife, so he didn¡¯t bring out his backup weapon. Gu Yun probably knew as well, but since it was just someone wanting to use a weapon and they were all working to defeat the monster, he didn¡¯t say much. In the blink of an eye, Qi De sprinted up to the Dual-tail Scorpion. Although he was a large man and didn¡¯t seem to be adept at speed, his speed was actually not slow, especially since he wasn¡¯t wearing armor, making him light on his feet! He easily dodged the Scorpion¡¯s attack, circled around its two large pincers, and went straight for the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s face. Chapter 799 - Chapter 799: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_2 Chapter 799: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_2 ¡°` [-6234] Qi De¡¯s blade struck heavily on the head of the Dual-tail Scorpion, a damage figure of 6000 floated up. ¡°Pretty high damage!¡± Wang Tao nodded to himself. The Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s whole body was encased in a shell, and even if it lacked defensive abilities, with that shell alone, its defense wouldn¡¯t be low. Qi De¡¯s damage was quite impressive. After being hit, the monster not only unleashed a Mental Attack from its mouth but also started to violently shake its pincers, attacking Qi De. Although Qi De was very agile and dodged most of the attacks, one still hit him, but Qi De reacted quickly by raising the Iron Bone Knife. Block. Bang! [-1029] Qi De was sent flying back over ten meters. ¡°Shit! What a strong force!¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.?¦Ï Although Qi De couldn¡¯t see the HP he lost, he could definitely feel an internal injury. He had used his weapon to block the attack and still got hurt, so the strength of the Dual-tail Scorpion was tremendous! Bang¡ª Just as the Dual-tail Scorpion continued its pursuit of Qi De, a loud gunshot rang out. [-3253] A damage of over 3000 appeared on the scorpion¡¯s head, causing it to immediately halt and turn towards Wang Tao¡¯s direction. Wang Tao turned his head and saw that Zhou Long was the one who fired the shot. Zhou Long was cradling a large, oddly shaped gun in his arms. But judging by its thick, black barrel, calling it a cannon wouldn¡¯t be wrong. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Zhou Long immediately patted the gun in his hand and said, ¡°A trial product from the Hope Research Institute¡ªCrystal Energy Gun!¡± ¡°Crystal Energy Gun? Is this thing powered by a Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°That¡¯s right! But it has quite a few imperfections, like the great recoil, high energy consumption, and the need for recharging¡­¡± Zhou Long looked a bit helpless. His Awakened Ability was of a controlling nature; although capable of dealing damage, he certainly couldn¡¯t release his Awakening at every enemy he saw. Additionally, his Ability was mostly supportive¡­ which meant his attacking ability was quite limited. And this Crystal Energy Gun could make up for his lack of attack power! He usually wore Powered Armor and wielded this Crystal Energy Gun to kill enemies. The gun¡¯s biggest downside was the excessive consumption of Crystal Cores¡ªevery shot was like shooting money! ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao praised sincerely. He had already been shocked when he saw that the Powered Armor was powered by a Crystal Core. Now, seeing this gun using Crystal Cores as bullets¡­ the Hope Research Institute had extended their research to weapons as well! Wang Tao thought the power of the gun must be at least Level 4. He had initially only wanted to get himself a set of Powered Armor, but now he had another goal! At that moment, the Dual-tail Scorpion was being struck from both sides by Qi De and Huang Wu, forcing it to abandon its intention of attacking Zhou Long and venting its rage on the two close-quarters Awakeners. Zhou Long, after the Crystal Energy Gun was fully charged, seized an opportunity to take a potshot, which provoked another furious roar from the scorpion. Seeing everyone attacking, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t keep slacking off. So, a handgun appeared in his hand as well. The group, including Qi De, and Yun and others not far away, were all paying attention to Wang Tao. After all, they were quite familiar with each other, but almost knew nothing about Wang Tao, only aware that he was a strong Awakener. Thus, they were curious to know just how strong Wang Tao¡¯s combat abilities were. What they saw in Wang Tao¡¯s hand was¡­ a handgun? If they weren¡¯t mistaken, it seemed to be a military model of the Type 400 handgun. It was a fine weapon, beloved by militaries even before the Apocalypse. But could it harm a fourth-order monster? Wasn¡¯t Wang Tao¡¯s slacking off a bit too extreme? As everyone was rendered speechless, they saw Wang Tao fire at the Dual-tail Scorpion. Bang! A gun noise, clearly distinct from ordinary handguns, sounded. [-3342] Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet inflicted over 3000 HP of damage on the Dual-tail Scorpion, comparable to Zhou Long¡¯s Crystal Energy Gun. The scorpion was knocked askew by the shot. This raised the eyebrows of those watching Wang Tao. They had misjudged; Wang Tao¡¯s handgun was no ordinary gun! Could it be something similar to a Crystal Energy Gun? Or perhaps an Ability? They felt the likelihood of an Ability was greater. That made them very interested indeed because such ranged attacking Abilities were rare, and those utilizing guns for attacks were even rarer. However, wasn¡¯t Wang Tao a System Awakener? Shouldn¡¯t he be better at close combat? Was he concealing his strength or had he played his trump card? For a moment, everyone was somewhat confused¡­ Wang Tao had certainly concealed a portion of his strength. He felt that with four Awakeners present, along with a bunch of Level 3 Ability Users, various Weapon Equipment, and Powered Armor and such, it should be very easy to kill this 150,000 HP Level 4, Lord. There was no need to show off with an Awakening; he wasn¡¯t the type to seek the limelight. Besides, he had only just raised his Awakening Energy limit to 1000, and it wasn¡¯t fully recharged yet, so he needed to conserve it. Of course, snatching the kill would be even better. Under the combined attack of the four, the Dual-tail Scorpion continuously launched Mental Attacks, but its mental attacks weren¡¯t strong, and aside from Wang Tao, the other three could withstand them. The Dual-tail Scorpion, obviously enraged, no longer used Mental Attacks and instead directed all its fury at Qi De, who it attacked furiously. ¡°Shit!¡± Qi De cursed under his breath. Generally, zombies and monsters tend to focus on the most threatening individual. This meant that among the four, Qi De had the highest Attack. To Qi De, this show-off moment was somewhat enjoyable, but the danger escalated dramatically once he became the focus of the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s attention. ¡°` Chapter 800 - Chapter 800: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_3 Chapter 800: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_3 After all, to increase his speed and agility, he didn¡¯t wear armor or similar equipment, so his defensive power was not high. He had to be fully alert to deal with the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s attacks. While the Dual-tail Scorpion was distracted by Qi De, the others frantically unleashed their damage output. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go over, staying in the distance to slack off. His Air Bullet Ability had a cooldown of about 10 seconds, so he fired one shot every 10 seconds, aiming for the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s head. Each shot could deal over three thousand HP in damage. Although the damage per hit wasn¡¯t high, it was stable. Coupled with the attacks from the others¡­ the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP was rapidly depleting. During the attack, Wang Tao noticed something interesting¡ªamong the four of them, Qi De had the highest single-hit damage, but the overall highest damage was from Huang Wu. Huang Wu¡¯s Poison Attribute was different from Wang Tao¡¯s Bleeding Property, which was ten percent of Wang Tao¡¯s attack damage, whereas the Poison damage seemed to be fixed! No matter where Huang Wu attacked the Dual-tail Scorpion, whether his attacks were blocked or not, whether he chopped for three thousand HP or didn¡¯t cause a scratch, his Poison attack was always there! Moreover, it was every three seconds, dealing over a thousand damage per second! Huang Wu obviously understood his advantage, so he didn¡¯t furiously slash multiple times like Qi De when an opportunity arose. He would slash once and then run away. Since his Poison couldn¡¯t stack, one slash per second resulted in three seconds of Poison damage, and ten slashes per second still equaled three seconds of Poison damage! For him, rather than risk a head-on clash with the Dual-tail Scorpion, it was better to slowly kill the enemy with poison damage! Then Wang Tao discovered that the Dual-tail Scorpion seemed incapable of determining who had caused it the most total damage. It only felt that Qi De¡¯s attacks hurt the most, so its aggro was always on Qi De! Presumably other than Huang Wu, everybody else also thought Qi De dealt the most damage, as Huang Wu¡¯s poison damage was very inconspicuous. It must be said, Huang Wu¡¯s combat method was very cautious, but effective. Especially in team battles, the enemy might be poisoned to death without realizing it! Wang Tao also had two pieces of equipment that could inflict poison, and he wondered if he could achieve a similar effect. He planned to give it a try later¡­ Under the group¡¯s assault, the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP had halved, dropping to just over seventy thousand. At this rate, it would take at most another two minutes to kill the scorpion. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.?¦Ï And when the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP fell below seventy-five thousand, its two tails, which had not attacked so far, suddenly stirred. Whiz¡ª A green light appeared on the poison needles of the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s two tails, and then they suddenly detached from the body and flew out! One target was Qi De, and the other was Zhou Long. The Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s tails had remained dormant until now, and as the saying goes, ¡°When something out of the ordinary arises, there must be a monster,¡± so everyone had been on guard for its tails. As soon as they saw it raising its tail, they had already retreated. However, nobody expected the scorpion¡¯s tail needles to be able to shoot out! ¡°Damn!¡± Upon finding themselves the targets of the poison needles, both Qi De and Zhou Long cursed under their breath. Zhou Long, especially, was distressed. He was so far away and yet still targeted? Qi De, not knowing where he produced it from, took out a small round shield. He was too close to dodge, so he directly raised the shield, ready to block the poison needles. But the poison needles didn¡¯t hit the round shield, instead, they suddenly exploded. Boom¡ª A ten-meter radius around Qi De was engulfed in green poison gas! ¡°Ahh¡ª¡± Qi De screamed miserably within the toxic cloud. ¡°Qi De!¡± The others were shocked. The poison needles were not only a ranged attack but also an area explosion attack! The other needle had already reached Zhou Long. Zhou Long was startled by Qi De¡¯s condition. He was unclear about the damage these poison needles could inflict, but he certainly did not want to find out firsthand. So he suddenly pressed his hand against the ground. In the blink of an eye, the ground beneath his feet turned into black quicksand, and Zhou Long sank right into it. Zhou Long¡¯s Awakening: Black Quicksand. At that moment, the poison needle arrived at his location and exploded with a bang. Boom¡ª A puff of green smoke instantly spread out. The scope of Zhou Long¡¯s black quicksand was just large enough to encircle the poison fog. Quickly, everyone saw Zhou Long climbing out from the edge of the quicksand in an inelegant fashion. He spat out a mouthful of sand, was about to speak, but suddenly his eyes widened because he saw two new poison needles appear on the tail of the Dual-tail Scorpion! Isn¡¯t this thing supposed to be a one-time use? Could this be the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s awakening? The others had naturally noticed the changes in the Dual-tail Scorpion as well. Seeing the green light emerging from its tail, ready to strike again, Wang Tao calmly shouted, ¡°Shang Heng, suppress it!¡± Rat-tat-tat¡ª Pff-pff-pff¡ª Before Wang Tao finished speaking, various bullets and machine gun fire rained down upon the Dual-tail Scorpion. The damage from a single bullet was not high, but with so many bullets attacking at once, the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP started to slowly decrease. Most importantly, it caused the two poison needles on its tail to veer off target, one shooting into the sky and the other slamming into the ground. The source of this firepower was not ordinary soldiers but several powered armors. Wang Tao had noticed the powered armors approaching and had given Shang Heng the attack command. Their position was blocking the main force¡¯s line of fire, making it certain that the troops¡¯ attack would cause friendly fire. After temporarily suppressing the Dual-tail Scorpion, Wang Tao immediately rushed into a cloud of poison fog and pulled Qi De out. ¡°Cough cough! Thanks!¡± Qi De¡¯s face was green, but aside from falling into a brief state of weakness and losing half his HP, he was not seriously harmed. If there had been actual casualties, Wang Tao would have charged forward earlier. His calmness stemmed from seeing that Qi De¡¯s HP bar within the poison fog was fairly healthy, and no severe negative effects were present. After all, Qi De was also a fourth-order ability user and was not that fragile. While under firepower suppression, Wang Tao and his team temporarily retreated. Seeing the path clear, Shang Heng immediately ordered the howitzers and tanks to open fire. Boom¡ª Under the fierce bombardment, Wang Tao clearly saw the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP turn to a sliver. He immediately raised his hand and fired a shot. Bang! [-324] [0/150000] Seeing the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP bar hit zero and a bunch of loot packs burst out, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. The military¡¯s firepower was too intense, almost stealing his kill! Fortunately, with a 300 damage hit, he managed to secure the head of the Dual-tail Scorpion. Chapter 801 - Chapter 801: Chapter 314: Awakening Science Chapter 801: Chapter 314: Awakening Science The venom of the Dual-tail Scorpion did not last long, and perhaps due to the strong resistance of the Ability Users, the toxin in Qi De¡¯s body gradually disappeared. In the end, he was left with thirty thousand HP, which amounts to about two-thirds lost to the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s venomous sting. The greenish color on Qi De¡¯s body slowly faded, but his face still looked terrible. This battle could only be described as¡­ a mess. Four fourth-order superpowers battling a Level 4 Lord only to be this disheveled! Although these fourth-order ability users admittedly had never really worked together before. Even when they did cooperate, it was in the form of each leading a group of underlings, lacking this kind of personal combat coordination¡­.But regardless of the reasons, they had performed terribly this time. After all, they were all fourth-order Ability Users, Awakeners! They shouldn¡¯t have had such a battle result. Not to mention overwhelming or k.o.¡¯ing, they should at least have dominated the Dual-tail Scorpion, right? But the reality was that they were the ones being suppressed! If it weren¡¯t for Shang Heng¡¯s Powered Armor Team stepping in time, they would have been even more embarrassed. Embarrassing indeed! Being embarrassed is one thing, but this time, it happened in front of so many people¡­ They were completely shamed! The few of them reflected briefly and quickly summed up the reason¡ªthey all hadn¡¯t given their full effort! Especially this Zhou Long, whose Awakening Ability was a powerful area control ability. The moment he unleashed his Awakening, he could control the Dual-tail Scorpion swiftly. At that point, couldn¡¯t they fight however they wanted? But Zhou Long didn¡¯t release his Awakening right away. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï He probably wasn¡¯t hiding his skills, since everyone knew about this ability, he might just have wanted to save Awakening Energy. Too bad he didn¡¯t manage to save it¡ªfrom avoiding the venomous stings, he directly hid in the Black Quicksand he created with his Awakening, which was even less effective than controlling the Dual-tail Scorpion right from the start. Then, there were Qi De and Huang Wu. Everyone felt that they certainly didn¡¯t use their full strength either. However, since both of their powers were Passive Abilities, even if they were holding back, there shouldn¡¯t be much to hide. As for Wang Tao¡­ they couldn¡¯t really tell. They had never interacted with Wang Tao before and weren¡¯t familiar with him. They also didn¡¯t know how strong Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet damages were, but judging from how the Dual-tail Scorpion roared when hit, the damage shouldn¡¯t have been low¡­ After the Dual-tail Scorpion was killed, its body released a large cloud of venom fog which enveloped the nearby area. Using artillery shelling should be able to disperse these venom clouds, but the corpse of the Dual-tail Scorpion might be damaged, so there was no need for such brute force. Besides, the venom fog was slowly dissipating, and they could just wait a while longer. Gu Yun led some people over, holding a lot of protein blocks and water in their hands. During the battle, these third-order Ability Users all hid. After all, it was a battle between fourth-orders, and although they were third order or even Tier-3 Peak Ability Users, the gap with fourth-orders was still significant. Before River Base had a fourth-order superpower, if they wanted to kill a Level 4 Lord, they had to rely either on firepower coverage or human lives¡­ So they were well aware. In the battle of fourth-orders, they might end up being more of hindrance, so it was better to hide. If things really couldn¡¯t be handled, they could come out in a desperate fight. But although they had hidden, everyone watched the battle process clearly. As for a few Awakeners not giving their all, Gu Yun could only say that he was used to it. In the post-apocalyptic world, with no legal constraints, things like poor cooperation, deliberately hiding abilities, and not trying one¡¯s best were far too common. As long as no one was backstabbing, that was considered a good teammate. Gu Yun knew Qi De and the others looked upset, definitely because the battle went awry, but another reason was the embarrassment in front of so many people, as everyone cares about face. However, Gu Yun noticed that Wang Tao seemed quite calm, unlike those three. He wasn¡¯t sure if Wang Tao had held back, or if he really had tried his best¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s rest first, and replenish some energy,¡± Gu Yun spoke up. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s wait till it¡¯s safe to go over. I think this venom fog might be deadly to those below Level 4,¡± Shang Heng nodded. No one else objected, so they took the opportunity to eat some food and rest. Qi De was frantically eating the protein blocks. He was heavily wounded now; that Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s sting almost cost him his life. He was the most miserable among them. Wang Tao had Nie Siyan bring some medical kits. He didn¡¯t want to expose his Space Backpack, so before coming here, he had Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun carry a lot of stuff, and they could take what they needed directly from them. Wang Tao handed the medical kit to Qi De, the kits he obtained from killing monsters contained potions that restored 100 HP each, and he had also added some Hemostatic Drugs that added 1000 HP. Now, this single medical kit could restore 1100 HP. For Qi De, who had a hundred thousand blood, 1100 HP wasn¡¯t much indeed, but it was genuinely replenishing. So after using the medical kit, Qi De immediately brightened up. ¡°This medicine is miraculous! I can actually feel my wounds healing¡­ is this like Healing ability?!¡± Wound recovery was a slow process, usually imperceptible. The last time Qi De felt this was when a Healing ability user had healed him. Chapter 802 - Chapter 802: Chapter 314 Awakening Science Popularization_2 Chapter 802: Chapter 314 Awakening Science Popularization_2 Wang Tao¡¯s medical kit actually had an effect similar to healing! Although it wasn¡¯t as strong as a healing ability, this still pleasantly surprised him. If he had such medical kits, wouldn¡¯t it be like having a nurse by his side? When the others heard what Qi De said, they were all somewhat shocked. A medical kit comparable to a healing ability? Seriously? Qu Shilin looked skeptically at the medical kit in Qi De¡¯s hand. Their Hope Research Institute was also conducting research in this area and had made some progress¡­ But the medical kit Wang Tao brought out was obviously not something from the Hope Research Institute. ¡°Mr. Wang, can you sell me a few medical kits?¡± Qu Shilin wanted to buy a few to study. ¡°Not for sale. But I can give them to you.¡± Seeing that everyone was very curious, Wang Tao smiled and gave out a few medical kits to each person. This type of medical kit now added too little HP. In Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, it belonged to the outdated products, after all, he had an exclusive nurse. He had a bunch of medical kits that he couldn¡¯t use up, so it was just right to give them away as a favor to others. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°Many thanks!¡± Seeing the medical kits Wang Tao handed over, Gu Yun and the others didn¡¯t feign politeness, and they immediately thanked Wang Tao. Qu Shilin was particularly pleased and said to Wang Tao: Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã? ¡°Mr. Wang, I won¡¯t offer you thanks anymore, I promise you, I will definitely keep your disabled brother alive!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Xiang Hongbin was not in imminent danger of death. He was still alive and well¡­ Xiang Hongbin: ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more and handed a few more medical kits to Huang Wu. Looking at the medical kits Wang Tao handed over, Huang Wu felt a bit awkward because before Wang Tao arrived, he had said some unflattering things about Wang Tao. Even though Wang Tao hadn¡¯t heard it, the others had. If he accepted Wang Tao¡¯s gifts, wouldn¡¯t that be embarrassing? However, after seeing the others probing the medical kits and not paying attention to him, Huang Wu quickly took them. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± He whispered his thanks and then quickly moved aside. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it.¡± Wang Tao gave a smile. This Huang Wu was always in full body armor, wearing a helmet, and a face mask. Wang Tao still didn¡¯t know what he looked like. Huang Wu was very powerful, based on his passive awakening that added poison to his attacks. So his power wouldn¡¯t be directly evident, and the others might not be clear about his true strength. ¡°By the way, who killed the Dual-tail Scorpion? Did anyone see it?¡± It seemed as though Gu Yun suddenly remembered something and asked. ¡°Don¡¯t know. The fight was too intense just now, making it impossible to judge. We can only go back and check, hoping to find out¡­¡± Shang Heng shook his head. Awakening requires a ¡°key¡±, without this ¡°key¡±, one can¡¯t awaken. Some people, after killing a Level 4 Lord, would produce a key in their body. But there are also people who, after killing a Level 4 Lord, would not obtain a key. Exactly which type of people have it, and which do not, they were also unclear at the moment. If it was found that someone killed a Level 4 Lord and obtained a key, that person would be considered an ¡°Awakening Reserve¡±, and such a person would be heavily trained by various factions! But Shang Heng couldn¡¯t find out who killed the Dual-tail Scorpion at this time and had to go back and check it slowly. Qi De and the others all looked towards Shang Heng; if Shang Heng was lucky, it was indeed possible for an Awakener to emerge from his Legion. Of course, the chances were not high, as obtaining the key was just one known condition for awakening, and there were many unknown conditions that followed¡­ Becoming an Awakener was very difficult! Not to mention, it was still uncertain if anyone had gotten the key¡­ However, no matter how you looked at it, this stroke of luck had indeed fallen into Shang Heng¡¯s lap, and they were all somewhat envious. Perhaps because Gu Yun thought that Wang Tao had just arrived at Changhe Base and was not very familiar with these matters, he gave Wang Tao a brief explanation. And when Wang Tao heard these words, his expression became somewhat strange. It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t understand, but rather he understood all too well! Wang Tao also roughly understood Changhe Base¡¯s knowledge about awakening¡ª Apart from Wang Tao himself, no one else could see Attributes, so naturally, they couldn¡¯t see Hidden Attributes either. Perhaps some people would discover some mysterious aspects of themselves or others, but they hadn¡¯t connected these discoveries to awakening. They only knew about an ¡°Awakening Key¡±. So now, they had two views on awakening. Some believed awakening was random, and those with good luck could get a key, qualifying them for awakening. Others thought that those capable of awakening followed a certain pattern, but they just hadn¡¯t found this pattern yet. Wang Tao knew that awakening did indeed have a pattern¡ªit required Hidden Attributes. But obviously, they didn¡¯t know this¡­ At the same time, Wang Tao also heard from Gu Yun something he himself didn¡¯t know¡ªthat people without Hidden Attributes would not obtain an Awakening Key when killing a Level 4 Lord, essentially killing in vain. None of the people around Wang Tao had ever killed a Level 4 Zombie Lord, and Wang Tao had not exchanged information with others, so he was not aware of this information. After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao spoke: ¡°Regarding awakening, I actually have done some research¡­¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Hearing what Wang Tao said, everyone turned their attention towards him. Since Wang Tao was an Awakener and claimed to have researched awakening, his words were likely to be based on something solid, and so they all paid close attention. ¡°I wonder if everyone has carefully observed their own circumstances during awakening. For instance, do you know how you awakened?¡± Chapter 803 - Chapter 803: Chapter 314: Awakening Science Popularity_3 Chapter 803: Chapter 314: Awakening Science Popularity_3 Wang Tao asked. ¡°¡­¡± Qi De and his two companions looked at each other, then shook their heads together. Some of them were confused when they awakened, and although some absorbed experiences from predecessors and understood a little, the predecessors didn¡¯t know much either, so they were still confused. Awakening was something that happened in an instant, and since they had only experienced it once, they couldn¡¯t explain it clearly either. Even Hope Research Institute¡¯s research on awakening wasn¡¯t in-depth. They wanted to capture an Awakener to study, but since the person had already awakened, who would be willing to become a lab rat¡­ Seeing them shake their heads, Wang Tao frowned and said: ¡°You don¡¯t understand it at all? Don¡¯t you know that when you awakened, an Ability fused into the awakening? Directly losing one Ability, that should be easy to notice, right?¡± ¡°Ah? An Ability fused into the awakening? Really?¡± Qi De and the others were shocked. ¡°Losing an Ability isn¡¯t the price paid for awakening¡­ But now that you mention it, it does seem possible! I lost a passive Ability that improved my physical fitness, and my awakening is akin to an increase in physical fitness. But that Ability¡¯s enhancement was so minor it was almost negligible, whereas my awakening greatly increased it, so I didn¡¯t link the two together¡­¡± Qi De had a moment of realization. Some things aren¡¯t difficult to understand, but without the right approach, you could remain puzzled forever. With just a hint from Wang Tao, Qi De felt it made sense! Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.?¦Ï Zhou Long and Huang Wu first frowned, then also appeared to come to a realization. They both thought carefully about their own conditions, which seemed to really match what Wang Tao was saying! The two didn¡¯t speak, but their expressions didn¡¯t hide anything, and the others could observe it¡ªwhat Wang Tao said seemed to be correct! So, everyone looked at Wang Tao, their eyes bright with eagerness. For most people, awakening was a very foreign term. Even for them, their understanding of awakening was very superficial. Moreover, with the current scarcity of Awakeners and lack of samples, systematic research was not feasible¡­ hence, the slow progress in research on awakening. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s seemingly well-researched take on awakening, and judging by the reactions of the other three Awakeners, people were instantly excited! If they could really understand what awakening was, did they too have a chance to awaken? Did the hundreds of thousands of people at Changhe Base also have a chance to awaken? ¡°It seems you¡¯ve already confirmed what I said.¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded, then continued, ¡°It might be because I¡¯m good at observing. When I awakened, I noticed quite a few things. After some speculation and verification¡­ I¡¯ve roughly summarized some of the patterns of awakening.¡± ¡°Patterns!¡± A gleam of excitement flashed in everyone¡¯s eyes. Was there really a pattern to awakening? ¡°I think there are roughly three conditions needed for awakening,¡± he said. ¡°The first condition is that your own strength must reach the pinnacle of Level 3. This condition is probably known to everyone, as killing zombies and monsters can increase one¡¯s strength. I won¡¯t go into details.¡± ¡°The second condition is that all your Abilities must be upgraded to Level 4. You should know this one as well¡ªdon¡¯t know it? Well, this is also one of the conditions.¡± ¡°The third condition, which I believe is the most important, is that you have an exceptional skill that is different from ordinary people! It¡¯s difficult to describe what this skill is¡­ I call it ¡®Hidden Attributes.¡¯ Only with Hidden Attributes, when you kill a Level 4 Lord can you obtain the ¡®Awakening Key¡¯!¡± ¡°Awakening is the fusion of these three conditions¡ªintegrating your own strength, one of your Max Level Abilities chosen at random, and your Hidden Ability! If the fusion is successful, that¡¯s awakening. If the fusion fails, your strength will fall slightly, and you¡¯ll need to continue killing zombies. Your Awakening Key will disappear, but your Abilities and Hidden Attributes will still be there¡­¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m not necessarily correct, but you can verify this once you have the chance¡­¡± After Wang Tao finished speaking, Qu Shilin personally handed him a cup of water. ¡°Thank you.¡± Wang Tao just happened to be thirsty and drank it all in one go. ¡°It¡¯s I who should thank you!¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes were glowing as she looked at Wang Tao. She couldn¡¯t judge the truth of Wang Tao¡¯s words for the moment. But judging from Qi De and the others¡¯ expressions, Qu Shilin thought there must be some truth to it. If what Wang Tao said was all true, then it was very valuable knowledge for her and the others! Even if it couldn¡¯t make them awaken, at least it would let them understand how awakening came about! With this theory from Wang Tao, perhaps following this ¡°pattern,¡± they could produce more Awakeners! Wang Tao laughed when he heard Qu Shilin¡¯s words. He was telling the truth, albeit expressed in a different way. If someone were to follow his instructions¡ªfinding a few people with Hidden Attributes, elevating them to the Third Order Peak, ensuring all their Abilities are Max Level, and then killing a Level 4 Lord to get the Awakening Key, then surely some among them would awaken. After all, the probability of a successful first awakening was 50%¡­ For Wang Tao, sharing this information was just a matter of speaking; it cost him nothing. But if his words resulted in the emergence of many Awakeners, that was definitely what he hoped to see. With more human Awakeners, the chances of surviving the apocalypse would increase. Although the River Base seemed very safe for now, who could predict the future? And now, with the appearance of Flying Zombies, Changhe Base didn¡¯t seem as safe as before¡­ People were digesting Wang Tao¡¯s words. Mainly this Hidden Attribute, according to Wang Tao, those who possessed Hidden Attributes were the seeds of Awakening! If only they could find a way to discover this Hidden Attribute¡­ At this moment, Gu Yun reminded them: ¡°The fog from the Dual-tail Scorpion has dissipated.¡± Everyone immediately snapped back to reality. Wang Tao¡¯s words would need to be thoroughly studied later. But now, it was time to check out the spoils of war! Seeing the corpse of the Dual-tail Scorpion, Wang Tao quietly said to Gu Yun: ¡°Give me that Iron Beetle.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t take the Iron Beetle Weapon but had Gu Yun keep it safe. Gu Yun immediately gestured, retrieved the Iron Beetle from one of his subordinates¡¯ briefcases, then asked in puzzlement: ¡°What is this¡­¡± ¡°Remember I mentioned it had another powerful feature, but the conditions weren¡¯t met then? Now¡­ the conditions are sufficient.¡± Chapter 804 - Chapter 804: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac Chapter 804: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac The Iron Beetle was the size of a palm when asleep, and only when Wang Tao commanded it did it grow to a size comparable to Lightning. So, for safety¡¯s sake, Gu Yun placed it in a briefcase and assigned a group of subordinates to guard it. Of course, Gu Yun could carry it on his person. However, his Level 3 strength was too weak. If a Fourth-order Superpower became tempted to steal it¡­ Although the likelihood was extremely low, he still couldn¡¯t afford to take the risk. Moreover, the item didn¡¯t belong to him, but to Wang Tao and City Hall. As the Secretary-General, he could only be considered a spokesperson for City Hall, so he also had to avoid any suspicion. When Gu Yun heard Wang Tao say that the criteria to activate the Iron Beetle¡¯s second function had been met, he curiously asked, ¡°What criteria?¡± He still had no idea what the Iron Beetle¡¯s second function was. Wang Tao explained, ¡°The Iron Beetle¡¯s second function is called ¡®Armed,¡¯ transforming into a set of Full Body Armor for the owner to wear. This armor not only protects the owner from damage but also provides an enhancement to certain attributes. To activate this feature, the Iron Beetle needs to consume the corpse of a Fourth Rank Bug Tribe. And this Dual-tail Scorpion should be part of the Bug Tribe¡­¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Gu Yun was a bit shocked. Not only could this Iron Beetle aid its owner in combat, but it could also transform into armor to increase the owner¡¯s combat power? This was incredibly impressive! However, there was a small problem¡ªthe Dual-tail Scorpion was killed by everyone together, so the creature¡¯s corpse belonged to all of them. He would need to persuade others to relinquish the corpse. Typically, the corpse could probably be used to produce something like Cockroach Paste, which wasn¡¯t very valuable. But now, under special circumstances, if Zhou Long and the others drove a hard bargain, that would be problematic¡­ Gu Yun was a bit troubled. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.?¦Ï However, the good news was, the others didn¡¯t know that the Iron Beetle required the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body, so he had the upper hand¡­ While Wang Tao and Gu Yun murmured to each other, the others grew curious. Although they consciously didn¡¯t come over to inquire, they weren¡¯t blind and could see that Gu Yun had brought the Iron Beetle. What was he up to? The others were puzzled but didn¡¯t ask further. Wang Tao brought the Iron Beetle with everyone to the side of the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s corpse. By then, the Dual-tail Scorpion was riddled with holes, likely with dozens of bullets that could be dug out of its body. The shell and other materials were obviously no longer usable, but its claws and two tails were still intact. Seeing this, Wang Tao understood. The claws and tails hadn¡¯t been damaged probably because they all had names. Wang Tao had previously found that trying to destroy materials with names required a lot of effort. Moreover, once Shang Heng realized the Dual-tail Scorpion was dead, he had ceased the attack and hadn¡¯t mutilated the corpse, so it was well-preserved. Upon seeing the four intact materials, the others¡¯ faces brightened. The claws and tails clearly looked useful, likely to make excellent equipment! Seeing their reactions, Wang Tao slightly furrowed his brow, wondering how he could obtain these four named materials for himself, for giving them to others would be too wasteful¡­ ¡°How should we distribute this?¡± Qi De scratched his head. The Dual-tail Scorpion was a creature from Meteorite No. 8, and Meteorite No. 8 belonged to Huang Wu. Logically, the Dual-tail Scorpion would also be his. But the opening of Meteorite No. 8 with a Crystal Core involved contributions from Huang Wu, City Hall, and Wang Tao, so City Hall and Wang Tao also had stakes. Additionally, the Dual-tail Scorpion had been killed collectively, with everyone contributing effort. Particularly Shang Heng, whose military had expended a lot of ammunition; they couldn¡¯t go unacknowledged. So, divvying up the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s corpse was a bit complicated. Apart from Huang Wu, who had the major share, it was difficult for others to claim a part. ¡°It¡¯s simple, we¡¯ll convert the monster¡¯s body into Crystal Coins, then distribute them based on the agreed ratios,¡± Qu Shilin said with a smile. She wanted the corpse for research, although it was already dead. Qu Shilin¡¯s suggestion was indeed a way to go about it. When you don¡¯t know how to divide something, selling it and converting it into money makes distribution easier. But at this stage, some things couldn¡¯t be bought with money. For instance, the claws and tails of this Dual-tail Scorpion, which were obviously usable for crafting equipment. But since this was their first encounter with these materials, it was hard to estimate their strength, so pricing this material wasn¡¯t straightforward. Moreover, they preferred to convert these materials into usable equipment rather than selling them outright. After all, no one was short on money. ¡°Let¡¯s see what exactly we have first; we can decide on distribution after that,¡± Wang Tao then spoke up. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± everyone nodded. Shang Heng then called soldiers to loot the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body. Wang Tao approached the corpse and tapped around it as if he was very interested in the Dual-tail Scorpion, when in fact he was collecting the Loot Pack that burst out into his Space Backpack. Meanwhile, the soldiers had already checked everything on the Dual-tail Scorpion. Besides two claws and two tails, there was also a Crystal Core, a Poison Sac, and an Awakening Energy Pearl. It had to be said, the loot from this Dual-tail Scorpion was quite substantial. Upon seeing the specific attributes of these items, Wang Tao let out a light gasp. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mr. Wang?¡± Chapter 805 - Chapter 805: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac_2 Chapter 805: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac_2 Gu Yun immediately asked. Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s something good in here, really good stuff.¡± He didn¡¯t lower his voice on purpose, so everyone else heard him, and they immediately turned their gaze to Wang Tao. Zhou Long asked, ¡°What good stuff?¡± Wang Tao picked up the palm-sized poison sac and said, ¡°Personally, I think the most valuable thing from the Dual-tail Scorpion is this poison sac.¡± [Strange Poison Sac: After consuming, there¡¯s a one-third chance of poisoning, a one-third chance nothing happens, and a one-third chance to gain a hidden attribute.] Wang Tao also had one of these strange poison sacs. It was from the zombie that emitted corrosive poison gas that he had killed earlier at Zijin Base. The two poison sacs looked almost identical, and their attributes were exactly the same. ¡°What¡¯s so special about this poison sac? To make poison fog weapons?¡± Shang Heng was somewhat puzzled. Perhaps as a consequence of his military career, his first thought upon seeing something was whether it could be made into a weapon. Plus, the Hope Research Institute had long been working on toxin weapons and had achieved some success in stages. Thus, Shang Heng thought it might be a material for making weapons. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã? But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Of course not. Even if it could be made into a weapon, using it to make weapons would be too much of a waste!¡± In just a couple of sentences, Wang Tao had piqued everyone¡¯s curiosity. Too much of a waste to make a weapon? ¡°Stop beating around the bush, tell us quickly!¡± Qu Shilin instinctively grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s arm and said. Among this group, her curiosity was the most intense. But it was understandable¡ªwithout a strong curiosity, she couldn¡¯t have become a scientist. The others were also looking at Wang Tao with great curiosity and anticipation. The Wang Tao they knew now had completely transcended their previous stereotypes. In their eyes, Wang Tao used to be a System Awakener with strong combat abilities but limited knowledge. To put it bluntly, Wang Tao was viewed as a simpleton with brute strength. They said Wang Tao was strong in combat because he had led so many people to survive in the harsh conditions outside and had even become an Awakener. Such a person¡¯s combat abilities unquestionably had to be strong. And they thought Wang Tao had limited knowledge because he had lived in a place with no scientific researchers, fewer people, and even fewer zombies and monsters. Therefore, Wang Tao¡¯s insights and knowledge must have been limited. They felt that Wang Tao becoming an Awakener was at least 90% luck! So, regarding this new Awakener Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t that they looked down on him, but they all had a faint sense of superiority. However, after interacting with Wang Tao today, their impression of him completely changed¡ªWang Tao knew so much! Whether it was knowledge about the Iron Beetle Weapon or knowledge related to Awakening, Wang Tao was way ahead of them! This made them feel as if they were the true simpletons. Regardless of whether Wang Tao was just lucky to discover these things, at least he truly understood them. They weren¡¯t sure if Wang Tao understood other things, but they took his words very seriously. So, after hearing what Wang Tao had said, they were all pondering what other uses there could be for the poison sac besides making weapons. It couldn¡¯t possibly be something to eat, could it? ¡°I guess some of you have already guessed it, this thing is indeed for eating.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Ah?¡± Everyone was stunned. That thing was not to be eaten recklessly! This poison sac came from a Level 4, Monster Lord, and who knows how many toxins were inside. If eaten, even the research institute might not be able to save the person! Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to explain but suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned to you before that there are three prerequisites for Awakening. The first is to increase one¡¯s strength to the third-order peak, the second is to max out all abilities, and the third is to have a hidden attribute. Among these, the first two are relatively simple and can be achieved with effort. But the third condition is the hardest because hidden attributes are entirely dependent on luck¡­¡± The audience nodded subconsciously. After hearing about the concept of hidden attributes from Wang Tao, they all felt a sense of helplessness. Wang Tao had said that hidden attributes seemed to be innate. But before the apocalypse, hidden attributes were not activated, so no one discovered them. After the apocalypse, if you had hidden attributes naturally, then killing a few zombies would activate them. But if you weren¡¯t born with them, then no matter how many zombies you killed, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference. For example, those who were already at the third-order peak, if they still didn¡¯t have a hidden attribute, then they probably never would. Of course, what exactly a hidden attribute was, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say for sure since everyone¡¯s hidden attribute was different. It was up to them to figure out. In any case, the hidden attribute was the most difficult condition to meet, and without it, one was doomed to never Awaken. ¡°But there was one thing I didn¡¯t mention before, and that is that although hidden attributes are innate, they can also be acquired later in life! It¡¯s just very hard and also a matter of luck¡­¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the audience, not being fools, immediately turned their gaze to the poison sac in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. ¡°Could it be¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, this poison sac is something that can give a person a hidden attribute.¡± ¡ªHissss¡ª Their pupils all dilated a bit. If that¡¯s the case, does that mean Awakeners can actually be cultivated?! ¡°What exactly has to be done? Eat it?¡± Shang Heng eagerly asked. He was a vice commander of the Fourth Legion but only a Level 3 ability user¡­ So, compared to others, he was very eager. Chapter 806 - Chapter 806: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac_3 Chapter 806: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac_3 Before he had met Wang Tao, he believed that his inability to awaken was due to bad luck. As long as he killed enough Level 4 Lords, he would eventually awaken. But after Wang Tao had given him a briefing on awakening, he felt somewhat disheartened. It turned out that whether one could awaken or not might have been determined at birth. His current inability to awaken was likely due to the lack of Hidden Attributes, meaning he might never awaken. At the time, he had even considered resigning from his position as deputy commander. After all, if others became stronger, awakened, and he was still treading water, how could he command respect? And now, hearing that Hidden Attributes could be obtained postnatally, he was instantly excited. Did this mean¡­ he still had a chance? ¡°Yes, just eat this Poison Sac. First, close your eyes and feel the Poison Sac with your consciousness, then you¡¯ll be able to detect how it differs from ordinary materials¡­¡± Using one¡¯s consciousness to sense this special kind of thing was also something Wang Tao had discovered unintentionally. This way one could clearly feel that this thing was different from ordinary materials. Wang Tao was essentially teaching them a method of identification, to prevent others from thinking he was talking nonsense. Following Wang Tao¡¯s instructions, everyone closed their eyes and used their consciousness to perceive the Poison Sac in their hands. Their Perception couldn¡¯t extend outward, so they had to hold the Poison Sac and carefully feel it. It didn¡¯t take long for them to notice the difference. When they used their consciousness to sense other materials¡­ they couldn¡¯t detect anything. But when sensing this Poison Sac, they could clearly feel a faint Energy in their hands! Even though this energy was very faint and didn¡¯t seem special, it was the difference between having something and having nothing! This Poison Sac really was different from other materials! Wang Tao probably had no need to lie to them, perhaps eating this Poison Sac really could grant Hidden Attributes! Everyone was invigorated at the thought. Wouldn¡¯t eating this Poison Sac be equivalent to joining the Awakening Reserves? Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï Wang Tao then added: ¡°But I have to clarify in advance that there is a certain risk in eating this Poison Sac. And I can¡¯t guarantee a hundred-percent chance of acquiring Hidden Attributes. After eating it, there are three possible outcomes: nothing happens, poisoning, or gaining a Hidden Attribute. The chances of each are probably about the same¡­¡± Hearing this, everyone¡¯s excitement cooled down a bit. With only a one-third chance, the odds weren¡¯t high. But even if they weren¡¯t high, it was still a chance, giving those without Hidden Attributes hope. And on the flip side, the chance of poisoning was also one-third, which wasn¡¯t high either¡­ Anyway, no matter how you looked at it, the Poison Sac was indeed the most valuable of all the spoils! So the question arose, how should this Poison Sac be distributed? The Poison Sac couldn¡¯t be split, and its value couldn¡¯t be easily calculated in Crystal Coins¡­ ¡°How about this, you guys take everything else, and I¡¯ll pass on my share of this most valuable Poison Sac. You figure out how to divide the Poison Sac.¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°Hm, you don¡¯t want it?¡± Zhou Long looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. If the Poison Sac was really so good, would Wang Tao not want it? He suddenly had some doubts. Wang Tao seemed to be aware of Zhou Long¡¯s thoughts, and he suddenly reached into his chest, then took out another Poison Sac identical to the first one. ¡°Because I already have another one.¡± ¡°Another Poison Sac!¡± Seeing the two identical Poison Sacs, everyone was very surprised. That being the case, Wang Tao¡¯s credibility suddenly increased! ¡°Alright! Since Mr. Wang already has one, then we can take this Poison Sac. Thanks for Mr. Wang¡¯s generosity! I agree to give Mr. Wang everything except for the Poison Sac!¡± Zhou Long immediately laughed. With one less Wang Tao, there naturally was one less competitor. Others eligible for distribution, after a little thought, also agreed. The value of the Poison Sac was high, and even if they couldn¡¯t get a share, they would receive a considerable compensation, so they weren¡¯t losing out. Of course, they still hoped the Poison Sac would be allocated to them¡­ Seeing that there were no objections, Wang Tao immediately collected the two enormous pincers, the tail, the Crystal Core, and the Energy bead. Materials from the creature¡¯s body were classified as food, so Wang Tao could directly put them into his Magical Stomach Pouch. ¡°Eh? Where did the big pincers and tail go?¡± As others were discussing how to divide the Poison Sac, Qu Shilin had been focusing on the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body. She knew the Poison Sac was valuable, and she wanted to study it, too. But she didn¡¯t need to think too hard to know that nobody would be willing to hand over the Poison Sac for her research. So she tried to shift her attention elsewhere. No chance for the Poison Sac, but there might be a chance with the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body! And then she saw Wang Tao¡¯s pincers and tail vanish! Where could such large things have gone? Qu Shilin¡¯s exclamation caught everyone else¡¯s attention. ¡°In here.¡± Wang Tao jostled the Magical Stomach Pouch in his hand. He then gave everyone a simple explanation. ¡°Ah? There¡¯s such great stuff on zombies!¡± Everyone was a bit flabbergasted. Wait, why does it feel like we¡¯re not living in the same apocalypse? How come you find everything? Are you using a cheat version? Qu Shilin was even staring at Wang Tao with shining eyes. She didn¡¯t care about anything else now; she just wanted that Magical Stomach Pouch! Because she had many biological materials she liked and wanted to carry with her! Everyone pondered how they might purchase the Magical Stomach Pouch from Wang Tao. But such an amazing tool for expeditions, if it was theirs, they surely wouldn¡¯t sell it¡­ Wang Tao paid no attention to the others¡¯ stares, instead, he took an Iron Beetle out of his pocket. Whoosh¡ª The Iron Beetle instantly grew in size. ¡°Hm?¡± The crowd was somewhat puzzled. Then they were baffled again. They watched as the Iron Beetle rushed to the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s corpse, opened its mouth wide, and began to feast on the body! The truck-sized Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body began to disappear at an unfathomable rate. Moments later, the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body was completely consumed by the Iron Beetle, leaving neither bones nor scraps behind. ¡°Ah?¡± Chapter 807 - Chapter 807: Chapter 316 Armed Chapter 807: Chapter 316 Armed ¡°What¡­ what is this situation?¡± The crowd watched dumbfounded as the Iron Beetle cleaned off the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s corpse. They were all somewhat stunned, as yet another situation beyond their comprehension had emerged! ¡°Mr. Wang, what is this?¡± Shang Heng was the first to snap out of it and asked hastily. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, just a minor feature of the Iron Beetle.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. Because Gu Yun wanted to keep a card up his sleeve, he had asked him not to display the Iron Beetle¡¯s second function in front of everyone. This Iron Beetle belonged to the City Hall and Wang Tao, and if they chose not to display it, no one else could say anything. Wang Tao didn¡¯t really care, as his partner had made a request, so he wouldn¡¯t reveal it. But hiding the act of feeding the Iron Beetle with corpses wasn¡¯t an easy thing, unless they carried the bodies away in a vehicle and fed the Iron Beetle in secret. However, this wasn¡¯t something scandalous that needed to be done so sneakily. And he was also very curious about what the Iron Beetle¡¯s second function would look like once activated. Seeing that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t inclined to say much more, everyone suddenly became anxious. Wang Tao¡¯s image in their hearts had already become synonymous with a ¡°know-it-all,¡± and the bits of knowledge shared by Wang Tao were crucial! Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã? If they hadn¡¯t seen it, it would have been fine, but now that they had, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t talking, was it not tantamount to telling them: I know of a great thing, but I just won¡¯t let you in on it! Could they tolerate that? Clearly not! Therefore, several people immediately turned their gaze towards Gu Yun. The fact that Wang Tao intentionally hid this information obviously indicated Gu Yun¡¯s involvement! Considering their interactions with Wang Tao, they knew he wasn¡¯t stingy, especially with knowledge. Wang Tao was quite willing to answer questions for everyone. ¡°Why are you all looking at me?¡± Faced with three Awakeners staring at him fiercely, Gu Yun suddenly felt immense pressure. But for his own sake and for City Hall, he still needed to keep some trump cards in hand. Within Changhe Base, the power structures were intertwined and highly complex. The ones with the greatest status and authority were naturally the committee. But the committee wasn¡¯t just one person; it consisted of 23 members. With so many people involved, it basically became difficult to have a single-minded approach. They might have been united in the bigger picture, but they each certainly had their own agendas. This was because many of the members had their own forces; the committee was everyone¡¯s, but the forces only belonged to their respective owners¡­ Not to mention the committee obviously couldn¡¯t do everything by themselves. The base needed functioning, and just the 23 of them obviously wouldn¡¯t suffice. An institution was required to carry out their directives, and that was City Hall. City Hall was the executive authority of the entire base, responsible for all sorts of major and minor matters. But to have tens of thousands in the base obey City Hall, it wasn¡¯t enough to just talk the talk; authority was needed. The power was granted by the committee, and the authority came from tangible strength, such as the Police Department and the City Defense Army, which maintained order and stability at Changhe Base and were under the command of City Hall. However, it was the apocalypse, with so many zombies, monsters outside¡­ Thus, there was also a need for external combat power. This kind of external combat force consisted of the Six Major Legions. According to the current rules of Changhe Base, City Hall was half a step higher than the Six Major Legions and theoretically could command them. But each legion had two committee members within. Committee members held higher ranks than City Hall¡­ So, on the surface, the Six Major Legions were subordinate to City Hall, but in reality, City Hall had no authority to command them. They could only negotiate or apply to the committee. Similarly, City Hall couldn¡¯t command other large forces, nor could the committee itself, since large forces were privately owned and not governed by the committee. Of course, if the committee really wanted to take charge, they certainly could, as the highest power structure. But the problem was, each large force had a member in the committee; those were private forces of the members¡­ Consequently, while the various major forces within Changhe Base were a single entity, they were also independent units. There was cooperation, competition, and, naturally, caution between them. As the Secretary-General of City Hall, Gu Yun did not serve the committee directly, but rather the mayor. Although the mayor was appointed by the committee, one couldn¡¯t leap over this hierarchy. From his perspective, he certainly had to consider City Hall first. City Hall needed to keep some things to itself and couldn¡¯t disclose everything. The second function of this Iron Armored Beetle, ¡°Armed,¡± had already been introduced to Gu Yun by Wang Tao. Gu Yun simply understood it as: a Fourth-order Superpower armed with this Fourth-order Iron Armored Beetle could potentially become the strongest combat power at Level 4! So this was a powerful trump card that should not be casually revealed. Even if he ultimately had to give in to pressure and disclose it, he hoped the other party would offer something in return; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to justify it! But the more he prevented Wang Tao from speaking, the more the others felt it was an important matter and were even more eager to find out! The group didn¡¯t make things hard for Wang Tao; they all started to nag at Gu Yun with a mix of soft and hard tactics. Wang Tao was not interested in the tug-of-war between Gu Yun and the others; he turned his attention to the Iron Beetle¡¯s new attributes. [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle] [HP: 50000/50000 (Maximum 100000)] [Status: Can Be Awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (HP, Attack, Defense)] [Compatibility: 1%] [Independent Attack: Can independently carry out attacks upon owner¡¯s command] [Armed: Covers the owner¡¯s body and enhances HP, Attack, Defense attributes] Chapter 808 - Chapter 808: Chapter 316 Armed_2 Chapter 808: Chapter 316 Armed_2 ¡°` The Iron Beetle previously had 10,000 HP, but now it¡¯s directly increased to 50,000! That¡¯s the equivalent of saving 50 Level 4 Crystal Cores! Then, its armed attribute was also activated, increasing HP, attack, and defense¡ªthese three attributes. This is similar to the Entangling Roots, but the Entangling Roots have one more attribute: fire resistance. Of course, the enhancement of the Iron Beetle is absolutely much stronger than the Entangling Roots. After all, there¡¯s a gap between Level 3 and Level 4. Wang Tao was a little eager to test the effects of the Beetle Armor, but since he had promised Gu Yun to remain silent, he naturally suppressed the thought. Taking advantage of this time, Wang Tao quickly reviewed the loot from killing the Dual-tail Scorpion. First was Advanced Special Energy x1, Awakening Key x1. He now had 28 pieces of Advanced Special Energy and 13 Awakening Keys. Then, Wang Tao silently transferred the contents of the Magical Stomach Pouch into his Space Backpack. [Obtained: Level 4 ¨C Toxic Tail Sting x2] [Obtained: Level 4 ¨C Strong Claws x2] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense] Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï One Energy bead, one purple Mental Defense Crystal Core, and two types of materials. What¡¯s more, both types of materials come with attributes! [Level 4 ¨C Toxic Tail Sting: Crafting material, can add poison attribute to equipment] [Level 4 ¨C Strong Claws: Crafting material, can add knockback attribute to equipment] Wang Tao had seen the poison attribute before, but this was his first encounter with the knockback attribute, and he was somewhat impatient to see the finished equipment. Then, there was the Loot Pack from the Dual-tail Scorpion. This time, the pack was quite small, with only three items. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained six crystal cores. They were a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Strength], a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Mental Shock], and a white [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Physical Enhancement]. Although there were no Orange Crystal Cores, Promotion, Versatility, and Awakening were all present. Seeing the Power Crystal Core, Wang Tao wondered if he should sell it to Qi De? It seemed he was quite in need of this type of crystal core¡­ The second Loot Pack contained a physical awakening key. [Obtained Awakening Key x1] This came as a pleasant surprise to Wang Tao; he had previously used four physical Awakening Keys for Lan Yulian and others, and now with this one included, he still had four left! However, he was short on Ascension Crystal Cores; he only had one, the one he had just received, so he would still have to go hunting zombies! The last Loot Pack naturally contained Blueprints. [Obtained: Blueprint for creating Poison Scorpion Whip x1] [Obtained: Blueprint for creating Powerful Pincer x1] [Blueprint for creating Poison Scorpion Whip: Can create two Poison Scorpion Whips. Required materials: Level 4 Toxic Tail Sting x2, Level 4 Crystal Core x2, Iron Block x30, Blade x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30, Rubber x30] [Poison Scorpion Whip: Attributes unknown] [Blueprint for creating Powerful Pincer: Can create two Powerful Pincers. Required materials: Level 4 Strong Claws x2, Level 4 Crystal Core x2, Iron Block x30, Blade x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30, Rubber x30] [Powerful Pincer: Attributes unknown] These two blueprints could create four pieces of equipment. Clearly, both pieces of equipment were for dual wielding. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± Wang Tao almost prepared to craft on the spot, but it was clearly not appropriate now, so he had to hold back and wait until later. ¡°Mr. Wang?¡± At this moment, Wang Tao saw a small hand waving in front of him. ¡°Miss Qu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao turned his head. ¡°I noticed you were spacing out; are you alright?¡± Qu Shilin asked with some concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you for your concern, Miss Qu.¡± Wang Tao smiled and thanked her. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. Oh, could I take a look at your stomach pouch? I¡¯ve never seen anything quite so amazing before.¡± Qu Shilin immediately said. ¡°Of course, no problem, but it¡¯s quite cluttered with a lot of things inside. I¡¯ll show you a new one instead.¡± Everything from the Magical Stomach Pouch had been transferred to the Space Backpack by Wang Tao, but since Qu Shilin had just seen him put the materials into the pouch, it was difficult to explain, so he simply produced a new one. Qu Shilin was not interested in the contents of the Magical Stomach Pouch; she was simply curious to see the pouch itself. Now hearing that Wang Tao had a new one, she immediately became a little excited. If Wang Tao only had one, it would likely be difficult for her to get her hands on it. But with Wang Tao having a new one, the difficulty was certainly reduced! As she took the Magical Stomach Pouch from Wang Tao and learned how to use it under his guidance, she quickly mastered it. ¡°This is just too incredible!¡± Qu Shilin exclaimed in amazement as she watched the Cockroach Paste go in and out of the pouch, ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Wang Tao always enjoyed seeing someone marvel at something they had never seen before. Not minding Wang Tao¡¯s nonchalant showoff, Qu Shilin continued to investigate for a while before asking directly: ¡°Mr. Wang, this stomach pouch¡­ do you sell it? I would like to buy!¡± Qu Shilin was also very straightforward, without beating around the bush. ¡°Well¡­ Zombies with this kind of Magical Stomach Pouch are very rare, I only come across them by luck¡­¡± Wang Tao expressed his difficulty with a troubled look. But Qu Shilin¡¯s face lit up with pleasure. Because Wang Tao had not directly refused, that meant there was still a chance! ¡°Mr. Wang, you also said that the pouch can only hold food and the like, its uses are definitely limited, and besides, most things are actually kept at home¡­ ¡± Qu Shilin started cajoling both softly and firmly, and in the end, she even made a promise emphatically: ¡°` Chapter 809 - Chapter 809: Chapter 316 Armed_3 Chapter 809: Chapter 316 Armed_3 ¡°Mr. Wang, you name the price, I promise not to haggle!¡± The tone of a rich lady! ¡°This¡­ it¡¯s really not about the money¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face seemed to soften somewhat. ¡°Ten thousand, twenty thousand, or maybe fifty thousand?¡± Qu Shilin began to offer prices. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t actually too clear about the purchasing power of Crystal Coins, as he hadn¡¯t really gone shopping much since he arrived at Changhe Base. Moreover, he couldn¡¯t just name a price at random. Considering Qu Shilin¡¯s ability and status, he wanted to do long-term business with her, not just make a quick deal. After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao sighed and said: ¡°I originally didn¡¯t want to sell it, but meeting you in the apocalypse must be fate. I also greatly admire the scientific contributions Miss Qu has made¡­ How about this, let¡¯s not talk about money anymore. Let¡¯s see if you have something I need, and I¡¯ll trade the Magical Stomach Pouch for it.¡± When Qu Shilin heard this, she was first delighted, then frowned and said: ¡°I don¡¯t seem to have anything valuable on hand, just a few Powered Armors¡ª¡± ¡°That¡¯s it, I want a Powered Armor!¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?? Qu Shilin hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Wang Tao interrupted her. Wang Tao had always wanted to get his hands on a Powered Armor to play with but hadn¡¯t had time to go to the city center. Since Qu Shilin had one, that was perfect. ¡°A Powered Armor? Deal! Let¡¯s exchange contact information, and I¡¯ll have someone deliver it to you later!¡± Qu Shilin happily exchanged contact information with Wang Tao, holding the Magical Stomach Pouch. As for the model of the Powered Armor, Qu Shilin didn¡¯t mention it and Wang Tao, not understanding, didn¡¯t ask either. He simply wanted to play with one, after all, it was a childhood dream! Plus, a Fourth-order Ability User with Powered Armor could potentially receive a significant boost to combat power! While both individuals felt they came out ahead, Gu Yun came over. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s no helping it, please show them the Iron Beetle, Mr. Wang. They¡¯ve agreed to pay a viewing fee¡ªyou¡¯ll get a cut too. This way, I¡¯ll have given the City Hall an explanation¡­¡± Gu Yun spoke somewhat reluctantly. If possible, he certainly wanted to keep the Iron Beetle¡¯s armed function hidden¡­ He just hoped that the armed ability Wang Tao described was low-key enough that others couldn¡¯t discern its true potential. ¡°Viewing fee? Okay!¡± Wang Tao nodded. He was somewhat surprised by the viewing fee but didn¡¯t mind it. He was also very curious about this armed ability and had been eager to test it. The crowd gathered around, looking at Wang Tao with anticipation. They only knew that something Gu Yun desperately wanted to hide was related to the Iron Beetle, but they didn¡¯t know the specifics. Of course, they weren¡¯t foolish; if Gu Yun tried to trick them, they would certainly be able to tell. ¡°Bring a Level 4 Crystal Core, to raise the compatibility.¡± Wang Tao said to Gu Yun. Gu Yun, or rather City Hall, clearly wanted this Iron Beetle, and so did Wang Tao. But there was only one item, and it couldn¡¯t be split in half. As for the Iron Beetle¡¯s stake, City Hall had a larger share than Wang Tao. After all, City Hall had contributed a Star Meteorite and an Epic Crystal Core, while Wang Tao had only provided an Epic Crystal Core. Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t compete with City Hall; the rules had been clearly established in the contract before. Seeing how much Gu Yun valued the Iron Beetle, Wang Tao had already given up on fighting for it and decided to let them have it. There was no need to antagonize them. Of course, if it was given to City Hall, City Hall would certainly have to compensate Wang Tao correspondingly. And the more powerful the Iron Beetle, the more compensation there would be. So Wang Tao prepared to test just how strong the Iron Beetle really was. Nourishing the Iron Beetle to its maximum HP was definitely out of the question, as it would require 50 Level 4 Crystal Cores, which Gu Yun couldn¡¯t provide at the moment since all were designated for unlocking the Star Meteorite. However, increasing the Iron Beetle¡¯s compatibility was achievable; it didn¡¯t require many Crystal Cores, and just one Level 4 Crystal Core could increase the compatibility to 100%. Since Wang Tao had decided to give the Iron Beetle to City Hall, he naturally couldn¡¯t bear the cost of using his own Crystal Cores. After all, it wasn¡¯t his Crystal Core, so it didn¡¯t hurt to ask. Wang Tao directly asked Gu Yun for a Level 4 Crystal Core. When the crowd saw Wang Tao feed the Iron Beetle the white Level 4 Crystal Core handed over by Gu Yun, they were filled with expectation. It seemed Gu Yun hadn¡¯t deceived them; consuming a Level 4 Crystal Core certainly meant it was something very powerful! Moments later, the Iron Beetle completely integrated the Level 4 Crystal Core, achieving 100% compatibility, and then Wang Tao turned to the onlookers with a smile and said: ¡°This is the Iron Beetle¡¯s second ability, Armed.¡± As he spoke, Wang Tao had already commanded the Iron Beetle in his mind to activate its armament. They watched as the palm-sized Iron Beetle landed on the ground and suddenly began to expand and grow larger. When it had conducted an Independent Attack before, it had been about the same size as Lightning. Now, whether it was because the HP had reached 50,000 or because its armament was just so, the Iron Beetle suddenly grew to the size of a car! And the appearance was even more fearsome than before! Amidst the gasps of the people, the underbelly of the fearsome Iron Beetle suddenly split open, revealing a humanoid cavity. It then leaped directly towards Wang Tao¡¯s back, the cavity splitting open just enough to accommodate Wang Tao¡¯s body, completely enveloping him. With a series of ¡°click-clack¡± noises, the Iron Beetle¡¯s body twisted and reshaped quickly. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a towering figure about two stories high, burly, with a shell on its back and eyes glowing with a faint yellow light! ¡°Oh my God¡­¡± The crowd looked up, mouths agape. ¡°What is that thing!¡± Soldiers in the distance looked at the ¡°monster¡± in shock. ¡°The Iron Beetle¡¯s second ability, Armed.¡± Wang Tao spoke. His voice seemed to come through some organ of the Iron Beetle, completely unlike his normal tone. It was hoarse, suppressed, instilling fear in people! Qi De, Huang Wu, and Zhou Long, the three Awakeners, had not felt any pressure from Wang Tao before. But now, a crushing sense of oppression inundated them! They even felt that they were no match for Wang Tao anymore! Chapter 810 - Chapter 810: Chapter 317: Each With Their Own Schemes Chapter 810: Chapter 317: Each With Their Own Schemes ¡°What is this thing!¡± ¡°A monster?¡± ¡°What a terrifying feeling!¡± ¡°A biological version of powered armor?¡± ¡°¡­¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao armed with the Beetle Armor, everyone uttered cries of astonishment. Even Gu Yun, who was somewhat prepared mentally, was stunned. He had previously hoped that the Beetle Armor ability would be somewhat low-key, but now¡­ seeing this six-meter-tall, fierce figure, there was nothing low-key about it! He could even imagine that it wouldn¡¯t be long before the story of this ¡°monster¡± started spreading within Changhe Base! ¡°So this is what you¡¯ve been wanting to keep hidden¡­ an Awakener plus this thing, how strong it must be!¡± Qi De murmured to himself. Although Wang Tao was just standing there without demonstrating any combat power, as an Ability User, his Perception was very sharp. He felt that, facing Wang Tao in this state, he basically had no chance of winning! Huang Wu and Zhou Long felt the same, sensing that they were no match for Wang Tao. They even doubted whether the three of them together could defeat Wang Tao¡­ Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã¦Ï After the shock, came a wave of excitement. If Wang Tao could use this Beetle Armor, so could they! If they were in Wang Tao¡¯s place, wouldn¡¯t they be just as strong! Although the Beetle Armor belonged to the City Hall and Wang Tao, and most likely would end up with City Hall, the Beetle Armor came from the Celestial Meteorite, and they still had many meteorites unopened! They still had a chance to obtain the Beetle Armor! ¡­ Meanwhile, inside the Beetle Armor, Wang Tao was carefully feeling the enhancement it provided. The enhancement from the Beetle Armor was indeed good, but not as strong as others imagined. Because the combat capability limit of such weaponry depended on its user. The Beetle Armor was essentially an enhancement to physical Attributes, and Wang Tao¡¯s physical attributes were originally strong, only now it felt like returning to the essence, which is difficult for others to perceive. But after being equipped with the Beetle Armor, it was like displaying his hidden physical attributes. His physical attributes combined with the Beetle Armor¡¯s own attributes made the combined aura very terrifying. For Wang Tao, the greatest boost from the Beetle Armor was not in terms of attack. Currently, Wang Tao¡¯s strongest attacks were [Starfire Outbreak] and fireball special ability, but both were unaffected by the Beetle Armor. Moreover, Wang Tao felt that he couldn¡¯t release [Starfire Outbreak] while in the Armored Beetle, or else the Beetle Armor might be burned to death¡­ His Entangling Roots even have Fire Resistance, he almost burned the Entangling Roots during a test; let alone the Beetle Armor which lacks Fire Resistance¡­ The greatest enhancements the Beetle Armor provided Wang Tao were in HP, Defense, and physique. [150000/150000 (50000/50000)] Wang Tao¡¯s total HP after wearing the Beetle Armor was 200,000! This HP should be considered rather exaggerated among human survivors. Moreover, the Beetle Armor hadn¡¯t reached its limit yet, now only at 50,000. If it were nourished with fifty Level 4 Crystal Cores and reached 100,000 HP, it would be even stronger. As for Defense, Wang Tao was not yet clear how high it was, but just by the appearance of the Beetle Armor and how it felt on him, he knew it must be high. Last was the physique, Wang Tao now stood six meters tall, one meter taller than his 5-meter height when he Triggered Berserk! His physique was proportionally enlarged after entering Frenzy, still maintaining a human shape. Now, armed with the Beetle Armor, he had completely transformed into a fearsome monster! The visual oppression was much stronger! Although there were some zombies and monsters taller than six meters, those were only a minority; most zombies still had a human-like size. If Wang Tao entered a crowd of zombies in this form, he¡¯d be the monster! The increase in size meant Wang Tao¡¯s attack range was larger. A casual reach could burst many zombies. A simple kick could disassemble many zombies¡­ The combat advantage brought by this physique was quite apparent! However, the increase in size wasn¡¯t all advantages; there were disadvantages too. Firstly, such a large size was too conspicuous, whether among crowds of people or zombies, making him stand out greatly, and likely to be targeted for group attacks. Secondly, he couldn¡¯t use his own weapons, and the damage from Wang Tao¡¯s weapons was not low¡­ Then, Wang Tao simply tested it out, although both the entangling roots and the beetle armor were arming him, there were still some differences. Simply put, the Entangling Roots were like Wang Tao wearing a piece of clothing, which did not hinder his movements and were very flexible, like an extension of his limbs. Moreover, the size of the Entangling Roots changed according to Wang Tao¡¯s physique, so it didn¡¯t make Wang Tao feel awkward. But the Beetle Armor was different. It was like a vehicle, inherently large and unchanging, less flexible than the Entangling Roots, and even operating it had a bit of delay! The reason for the delay was related to the characteristics of weapons. Since weapons were living entities, when Wang Tao used a weapon, for the most part, he was issuing commands to the weapon, which then executed the commands. Although the communication was through the conscious level and the delay was very minimal, there still was a delay. Therefore, when using the Beetle Armor, Wang Tao always felt a slight delay¡­ Chapter 811 - Chapter 811: Chapter 317: Each With Their Own Schemes_2 Chapter 811: Chapter 317: Each With Their Own Schemes_2 For ordinary people, the delay would definitely not be perceptible, but for someone with sharp perception like Wang Tao, it was quite noticeable. And Entangling Roots basically didn¡¯t have this kind of delay, because oftentimes, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to command the Entangling Roots. The Entangling Roots were his clothes; he didn¡¯t need them to move on their own, he just moved with them. They could fight on instinct. For example, if Wang Tao was ambushed, he might not have even reacted in his mind, yet his hands had already moved to block the attack¡ªthat was the instinct of battle. The Iron Beetles couldn¡¯t do that, they were too big and too heavy. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t issue commands to the Iron Beetles, it was like a car without an onboard computer¡ªit couldn¡¯t even move. Even if it could move, it would only be because Wang Tao was forcibly dragging it along. Just now, he had heard someone say that the Iron Beetles were like a biological version of powered armor, and Wang Tao thought he was right. Of course, most things have their drawbacks, but as long as their advantages outweigh their disadvantages, then they are considered good. The advantages of these Iron Beetles were obviously far greater than their disadvantages, and some shortcomings were only perceivable to Wang Tao¡­ Wang Tao had walked a round while clad in the Beetle Armor, becoming more familiar with it. The current form of the Beetle Armor could be divided into two parts, one being the body and the other the shell. The body consisted of arms, legs, and a head. It just looked a bit more ferocious. The key was the shell, which Wang Tao felt probably had high defensive power. During battle, this shell could be used as a shield! Perhaps due to its size and weight, there was no negative effect on speed in the Beetle Armor¡¯s attributes, but in reality, it still affected the speed somewhat. However, this was a minor issue that could be adapted to over time. Last of all, Wang Tao felt oddly exhilarated by this perspective¡ªhe towered above the others, who all looked like dwarves. It gave him a feeling that he could crush a swath of little dwarves with a single step¡­ What Wang Tao really wanted to test were its defense and combat capabilities, but now clearly wasn¡¯t the right time. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã? After studying it for a while longer, Wang Tao finally deactivated the Beetle Armor¡¯s armed status. Click¡ª The Beetle Armor wriggled, transformed, and then rapidly began to shrink. Wang Tao¡¯s figure became visible again. Then, the Beetle Armor turned into the size of a palm and landed in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. ¡°This should be okay, right? I can¡¯t demonstrate the actual combat power here; that needs a real battle.¡± Wang Tao was also experiencing the Beetle Armor for the first time, and sparring with others could potentially injure someone if he wasn¡¯t careful. The actual combat power had to be tested in real combat. ¡°¡­¡± The crowd remained silent, their eyes on Wang Tao as if looking at a monster. No, to be precise, their eyes were fixated on the Beetle Armor in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. They were all extremely excited and exhilarated. This ¡°weapon¡± had surpassed their understanding, but no matter, it wasn¡¯t an enemy, it was a tool to aid them! If they had this kind of weapon, unless they encountered an enemy above Level 4 or a particularly formidable Level 4, wouldn¡¯t they be able to stride through most situations? ¡°So this is a ¡®weapon¡¯!¡± ¡°Damn impressive! I want one too!¡± ¡°Armed with the Beetle Armor, definitely the Strongest Fourth-Order Combat Power!¡± ¡­ ¡°Here, take it.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t think too much and directly tossed the Beetle Armor to Gu Yun. Gu Yun hastily extended his hand. At that moment, Gu Yun clearly perceived several extremely dangerous gazes on his back! He held his breath, his eyes fixed on the Beetle Armor thrown by Wang Tao, though his ears were pricked up, ready to draw a gun for self-defense at any time. He had never felt a second to be so long. Thump¡ª The Beetle Armor finally landed in Gu Yun¡¯s hands. The murderous gazes felt tangibly real at that moment! Gu Yun clenched the Beetle Armor tightly, suppressing the urge to draw his gun. Suddenly, the feeling of danger vanished instantly, as if it had never existed. Everything just seemed like an illusion, but the cold sweat on Gu Yun¡¯s back told him it was all real. Whew¡ª Gu Yun heaved a sigh of relief inside, but his expression remained calm as if he hadn¡¯t noticed anything. He even smiled at Wang Tao: ¡°Mr. Wang, how does it feel? How is the enhancement provided by this Beetle Armor?¡± Wang Tao looked at Gu Yun somewhat surprised, then nodded. ¡°Feels great, the enhancement¡­ very strong.¡± The brief moment had been crystal clear to Wang Tao. When he had tossed the Beetle Armor to Gu Yun, except for Qu Shilin and Shang Heng, the look in everyone else¡¯s eyes bore naked murderous intent! It was as if they were telling Gu Yun: I¡¯m going to kill you and take your Beetle Armor! At that moment, Wang Tao thought Zhou Long and the others were about to take action, and he thought Gu Yun was about to strike back preemptively. That murderous intent, Gu Yun couldn¡¯t have been oblivious to it. But the outcome surprised Wang Tao, Zhou Long and the others didn¡¯t act, not even stepping forward, and Gu Yun didn¡¯t counterattack either, instead, he chatted merrily with Wang Tao as if he hadn¡¯t felt anything at all. After a moment of reflection, Wang Tao probably understood what had happened¡ª The others had intentionally shown their murderous intent, aiming to provoke Gu Yun into making the first move! If Gu Yun opted to strike first out of fear, then he would be done for. His strength was already the weakest, he couldn¡¯t possibly beat the others. And if he initiated, then he wouldn¡¯t have had the higher ground, giving the others a reason to attack him! Chapter 812 - Chapter 812: Chapter 317: Each With Their Own Schemes_3 Chapter 812: Chapter 317: Each With Their Own Schemes_3 But as long as he didn¡¯t make a move, anyone who wanted to strike him first would have to think twice. After all, Gu Yun represented the City Hall, the entirety of Changhe Base. Moreover, with Shang Heng¡¯s Fourth Legion there to back him up, the legion and the City Hall were certain to stand together. Unless Zhou Long and his group no longer cared about their place in Changhe Base and were confident enough to take on the Fourth Legion without fear of being hunted down by other legions afterward¡ªclearly, that wouldn¡¯t be worth it. So there was no way they would initiate a conflict. However, that being said, they weren¡¯t fools; how could they be unaware of the consequences? Did they have some sort of preparations? Or was there even a chance that Shang Heng had been bought off by them? And there was another critical point: in a post-apocalyptic world like this, it was easy to drive people insane! Who could guarantee they weren¡¯t madmen? What if they didn¡¯t consider any consequences and just wanted to kill for loot? If that really was the case, then if Gu Yun acted later, he would surely die, but acting first might give him a chance to survive! Therefore, at that moment, Gu Yun was under tremendous pressure! If he had failed to restrain himself, things might have ended up differently. Fortunately, he had managed to hold back. As it turned out, he made the right bet¡ªthe others, even if they were Awakeners, didn¡¯t dare act rashly. Not because they were afraid of him but because they didn¡¯t want to make enemies of the entire Changhe Base. As for the question of whether Zhou Long and his group would offend the City Hall by doing this, Wang Tao¡¯s answer was¡ªno. Because they hadn¡¯t done anything at all! Basically, they just gave Gu Yun a look, and that was all. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï If Gu Yun couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure and struck first, they would immediately counterattack and achieve their goal. If Gu Yun held back¡­well, then he held back. After all, they hadn¡¯t lost anything. Gu Yun was gambling with his own life, and he won. They simply looked; winning or losing didn¡¯t matter to them¡ªin fact, they couldn¡¯t lose. It was either a win or a draw. The reason for the disparity between Gu Yun and them was simple and came down to just one thing¡ªstrength. Gu Yun¡¯s strength came from the City Hall, while theirs came from within themselves! As long as they could ensure that their own strength could easily crush Gu Yun, they would remain invincible! So in the end, the real key was one¡¯s personal strength. In a post-apocalyptic world, strength is king! If Gu Yun had been a Fifth Tier Psychic, then it would be Zhou Long and his group sweating bullets now¡­ Having realized all this, Wang Tao began to view Gu Yun with new respect. Someone who could become the secretary-general of the City Hall really was not simple. Even if his personal strength was weaker, he was by no means lackluster in other respects. If it had been Wang Tao facing this situation¡­Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t have struck first either. But he wouldn¡¯t bet with his own life; it would be based on the confidence in his own strength¡ªhe was certain he could counter-kill. And then Wang Tao suddenly thought that if an outsider like him could see these issues, then Shang Heng, the deputy commander of the Fourth Legion who was very familiar with this place, must have noticed! But he had shown no reaction. Logically, the Fourth Legion was the backbone of Gu Yun¡¯s confidence. They were supposed to be on the same side, right? Wang Tao maliciously speculated for a moment¡ªwas Shang Heng also waiting for an opportunity? For instance, if Gu Yun struck first, Zhou Long and his group would be ¡°forced¡± to counterattack, kill Gu Yun, and take the Iron Beetle. Then Shang Heng could find some reason or charge to lead the troops to kill Zhou Long and his group, and wouldn¡¯t the Iron Beetle then fall into the hands of the Fourth Legion? Three Fourth-order Superpowers couldn¡¯t possibly defeat the formidable firepower of the Fourth Legion, even if it was just a part of the legion¡¯s battle power. Wang Tao shook his head. Except for himself and Qu Shilin, each of them had their own hidden agendas! Wang Tao glanced over at Qu Shilin subconsciously, and she happened to look back at him. Upon their gazes meeting each other, they both instantly realized¡ªshe (he) had also seen through it. ¡­ ¡°This Iron Beetle is really powerful!¡± Zhou Long came over with a face full of wonder. He looked at the Iron Beetle in Gu Yun¡¯s hands, acting as if nothing had happened at all. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s very impressive. I¡¯ve never seen anything this magical before!¡± Gu Yun spoke with a smile, showing no sign of abnormality either. Then, as if something occurred to him, Gu Yun asked: ¡°By the way, Mr. Wang, can I use the Iron Beetle¡¯s armed abilities?¡± Suddenly, Gu Yun realized that if he could use the Iron Beetle, wouldn¡¯t it mean he also had Fourth Order Battle Power? ¡°Of course, you can,¡± Wang Tao first nodded and then added uncertainly, ¡°However, I¡¯m not sure how much its strength will be reduced when you use it. The enhancement the Iron Beetle provides is somewhat related to the user.¡± ¡°Shall I give it a try?¡± Gu Yun seemed eager to try. ¡°Ok, I¡¯d like to see what happens too,¡± Wang Tao nodded. Then he taught Gu Yun how to use the Iron Beetle. Weapons are bound to their owners, and although the original owner can allow someone else to use them without unbinding, they will not exhibit their full potential. The Iron Beetle was currently bound to Wang Tao. To rebind it to someone else, it would have to be put back into a Sleeping State and then awakened. Wang Tao did not know how long the Iron Beetle needed to sleep, so he slipped it into the Space Backpack when no one was looking, then immediately took it out again. Now, the Iron Beetle was in a Sleeping State. After a series of operations, Gu Yun successfully bonded with the Iron Beetle. In the blink of an eye, Gu Yun transformed into a six-meter-tall monster. That terrifying sense of oppression attacked once more! However, after turning into the monster, the monster¡¯s eyes emitting a faint yellow light suddenly glanced at Zhou Long and the others. Swipe¡ª Zhou Long instinctively took a step back. ¡°Heh¡ª¡± A soft chuckle seemed to emanate from within the Iron Beetle, and then it left to move around in the open space. ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Zhou Long¡¯s face was a tad embarrassed, but soon he put on a smile and approached Wang Tao to inquire about the Iron Beetle, with everyone else listening intently. Wang Tao only briefly described his usage experience. He didn¡¯t say much more, nor could he, because many things can only be understood after real combat. After wandering around for a bit, Gu Yun returned. Upon leaving the Iron Beetle, his face glowed. ¡°It¡¯s so strong! I feel like I have Fourth Order Battle Power when I wear it! Real, solid Fourth Order Battle Power!¡± Gu Yun announced, laughing. Upon hearing this, everyone was very envious. If Gu Yun had Fourth Order power just by wearing the Iron Beetle, a Fourth Order ability user wearing it would definitely possess peak Fourth Order Battle Power! This time, Gu Yun didn¡¯t put the Iron Beetle into a box; he simply kept it in his pocket. Then he quietly told Wang Tao that after putting on the Iron Beetle, the Compatibility was only 50%. He could see the remaining 50%, but it was as if it were sealed and unusable¡­ This was clearly different from the Entangling Roots. When Wang Tao first used the Entangling Roots at Level Two, he was able to increase the Level 3 Entangling Roots compatibility to 100%. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if this was solely because the Iron Beetle was different from the Entangling Roots, or if it was because Fourth Order Weapons differed from Level 3 Weapons. He felt it was more likely the latter. After all, the gap between Level 4 and Level 3 was vast. Just like many Fourth Order equipments require Awakening Energy, which Level 3 individuals cannot fully exploit, it seemed reasonable that a Level 3 ability user couldn¡¯t fully utilize a Fourth Order Weapon¡­ Gu Yun then said to Wang Tao: ¡°Mr. Wang, it¡¯s getting late. Please continue with the meteorites. After these two are processed, our task for today will be complete.¡± Chapter 813 - Chapter 813: Chapter 318: Showing Off Chapter 813: Chapter 318: Showing Off Before attempting the meteorites, Gu Yun had planned to test the waters with 10 star meteorites, and then continue unlocking more. Although there were some losses with these 10 star meteorites, they also yielded many valuable items, particularly the appearance of a monster, added to the trials with the Iron Beetles, which consumed a considerable amount of time. The sun was now setting in the west, and night was about to fall. Even though they were all standing at the entrance to Changhe Base, the night in this apocalyptic world remained dangerous. Thus, Gu Yun decided to unlock the last two meteorites and then retreat, leaving the rest for tomorrow. No one else objected. In order to survive the apocalypse, being cautious and careful was essential. After all, with the meteorites in their possession, unlocking them a day early or late didn¡¯t make much difference. Wang Tao brought over the ninth Energy Crystal Meteorite. It was of Epic Quality, requiring ten Crystal Cores. This particular meteorite was unlocked using Epic Crystal Cores. A moment later, the meteorite cracked open, and another Crystal Core appeared. But seeing this Orange Crystal Core, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°A Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core!¡± ¡°What, an Ascension Crystal Core?¡± Everyone overheard and immediately rushed over. After confirming it was indeed an Ascension Crystal Core, they were overjoyed. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï An Ascension Crystal Core, and an Orange one at that with a 100% fusion success rate! This was a prerequisite for becoming an Awakener! Gu Yun couldn¡¯t help but break into a smile because this ninth meteorite belonged to City Hall! Wang Tao was entitled to a share of this Crystal Core but only a tiny fraction. Gu Yun certainly wasn¡¯t going to give it to him; he would provide Wang Tao with compensation equivalent to the value of the Crystal Core. Of course, Wang Tao had no issues with this arrangement. Although he very much desired the Crystal Core, he was only a minor shareholder in this meteorite and had no say in the matter. Then it was time for the last, the tenth meteorite. The ninth had been unlocked with Epic Crystal Cores, while the tenth was prepared for unlocking with Ordinary Crystal Cores. Wang Tao placed the ten Crystal Cores into the indentations on the meteorite one by one. The Crystal Cores emitted a faint white light as they were drained of energy by the meteorite, slowly dimming. Crack¡ª A crevice formed in the meteorite, growing wider and wider until the entire meteorite split in two in an instant. Whoosh¡ª A slender black shadow shot out from the meteorite. ¡°So lucky? Another monster!¡± Wang Tao stepped back while speaking in surprise. ¡°¡­¡± The others were rendered speechless by his comment. Encountering a monster was a stroke of luck? It could be said that way¡­ but only if they could defeat the monster. If not, it would be a disaster. Seeing the black shadow that had emerged start to swell, Shang Heng looked towards the several Awakeners present. This time, without waiting for him to speak, Zhou Long immediately said: ¡°You stay back, let us handle it this time!¡± Zhou Long felt humiliated by his previous battle against the Dual-tail Scorpion. He was determined to redeem his reputation in this fight! For someone of his standing, face was of great importance, as respect came only to the strong! He wanted people to respect him, to join their Loyalty Guild, so he had to demonstrate his strength. He couldn¡¯t, however, perform to show off his strength in front of everyone all the time. He could only display his proper strength at certain times, letting the spectators naturally spread the word. If survivors had a choice, they would naturally want to join the forces of the strong. The pathetic side of Zhou Long shown in the previous fight, if spread, would be inappropriate for both him personally and the Loyalty Guild. Hence, he had to restore his image. Huang Wu and Qi De shared the same thoughts. They wanted to display the strongest¡ªor at least appear to be the strongest¡ªside of themselves. After exchanging glances, it was as if they all conveyed the same message: no more holding back, time to give it our all. As for Wang Tao, they actually felt that he probably hadn¡¯t concealed much. After all, judging by his recent behavior, Wang Tao seemed eager to share everything he knew without expecting anything in return. They had to admit, Wang Tao was quite generous! Clearly, Wang Tao was not as calculating as they were. Moreover, what Huang Wu had said before was right; how strong one was before Awakening was a thing of the past¡ªafter awakening, it was like the arrival of the apocalypse, where everyone once again stood on the same starting line, equally strong! So they believed Wang Tao must have tried his best. Wang Tao naturally did not voice any opinions, as he was agreeable to any form of battle. Whether it was Awakeners fighting in a team or relying on military firepower, he had one goal¡ªto snatch the kill. All this took longer to say than it actually happened. In the blink of an eye, the monster that had run out already expanded to the size of a truck, though it was much longer, resembling a small train. ¡°What the heck is this? A centipede?¡± Someone exclaimed. It was a centipede-like multi-legged arthropod monster, predominantly yellow and black in color. It had two yellow antennae flickering on its head along with a pair of sharp black mandibles. The rest was covered in a shell with slender, sharp legs like iron thorns¡ªanything beneath its feet would likely be instantly turned into mince. Chirp¡ª After the monster grew bigger, it let out a grating screech, then charged towards the group. Rumble rumble¡ª As it charged, it truly resembled a train, leaving two long trails in its wake, kicking up clouds of dust with its thorny legs, and even causing the ground to tremble. Wang Tao was closest to the monster, and as it charged towards him, he remained unperturbed; instead, he named it. ¡°Iron Thorn Centipede seems like a fitting name!¡± [HP: 100,000/100,000] [Mana: 60,000/60,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Robust] [Robust: All Basic Attributes significantly boosted] Chapter 814 - Chapter 814: Chapter 318 Show Off_2 Chapter 814: Chapter 318 Show Off_2 This Iron Thorn Centipede only had a hundred thousand blood, and sixty thousand mana, attributes that were relatively low among Level 4 Lords. Its Awakening and that of the Lord Night Demon were the same, both enhancing physical qualities. Clearly, it was a melee fighter. However, with its numerous sharp limbs, it would be extremely dangerous if one were to be entangled by it. Boom¡ª Just as the Iron Thorn Centipede was about to reach Wang Tao, its speed suddenly began to slow. Unbeknownst to it, patches of black quicksand had appeared beneath its feet. The faster its limbs flailed, the deeper it sank. As the quicksand spread wider and became more abundant, the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s speed slowed even further. Until all its limbs were engulfed by the quicksand, it was brought to a complete stop. At that moment, the Iron Thorn Centipede was still several meters away from Wang Tao. Wang Tao could even make out a drop of transparent venom falling from its black chelicerae. Wang Tao drew his pistol and aimed at the head of the Iron Thorn Centipede. Bang! [ -4378 ] An Air Bullet struck the head of the Iron Thorn Centipede, inflicting over four thousand damage. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï The mana consumption of the Air Bullet Ability was fixed, not allowing for an adjustment in force output. Therefore, against enemies with the same Defense, its damage was also relatively consistent. When Wang Tao had previously shot the Dual-tail Scorpion, he had taken just over three thousand blood. Now with over four thousand damage, the damage had increased by thirty percent. It indicated that the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s Defense was significantly lower than that of the Dual-tail Scorpion. But that was to be expected since the Dual-tail Scorpion had a hundred and fifty thousand blood, whereas it only had a hundred thousand, a gap in their strength. The Air Bullet Ability had a ten-second cooldown, so after firing once, Wang Tao did not attack again. Whoosh¡ª Qi De, holding a Bone Shard Greatsword, burst out from the side. He charged into the quicksand and just as he looked like he would sink, the sand beneath his feet suddenly hardened, allowing him to move across this patch of quicksand as if on flat ground! In the blink of an eye, Qi De reached the Iron Thorn Centipede and struck its head with his sword. Thud! [ -8238 ] A dull sound resounded as the Iron Thorn Centipede lost over eight thousand blood. Though the monster was trapped in the quicksand, its body could still move. Its flat head turned round, and its sharp chelicerae snapped towards Qi De¡¯s waist like guillotine blades! If Qi De were bitten, he would likely be severed at the waist! Qi De slightly squatted, flexed his legs, and leapt over ten meters high, avoiding the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s chelicerae. With both hands on the hilt, he brought his sword blade down from above. Squish! [ -12353 ] The sword plunged directly into the head of the Iron Thorn Centipede! Yellow-green mucus splattered as twelve thousand damage appeared. Squeal¡ª The Iron Thorn Centipede let out a painful shriek, shaking its head violently and flinging Qi De away. Qi De took advantage of this momentum to land nimbly outside the quicksand. On the other side of the Iron Thorn Centipede, Huang Wu appeared silently. Wielding his gleaming greatsword, he struck at the Iron Thorn Centipede. [ -3373 ] [ -1282 ] [ -1227 ] [-1265] Huang Wu¡¯s slash only caused three thousand damage, but his three-second poison attack dealt over three thousand damage to the Iron Thorn Centipede, amounting to a total of seven thousand damage per slash! Huang Wu immediately retreated after delivering the slash. By the time the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s attack reached him, he had already moved to another part of its body and delivered another slash. [-3283] [-1232] [-1262] [-1276] The Iron Thorn Centipede howled in pain. Although its hundreds of legs couldn¡¯t step out of the Black Quicksand, that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t move; it frantically waved its legs, causing a flurry of slashing and stabbing. However, Huang Wu¡¯s speed had increased significantly, and facing such a barrage of attacks, not only did he avoid being hit, but he also took the opportunity to slash the Iron Thorn Centipede two more times. Bang! [-4633] With a loud noise, the Iron Thorn Centipede lost over four thousand HP. Not far away, Zhou Long was half-crouching, his left hand pressed against the ground, under which was a patch of Black Quicksand. In his right hand he held a strangely shaped rifle, its muzzle still trailing wisps of blue smoke! In just a short moment, the Iron Thorn Centipede was left with only fifty thousand HP! Indeed, a few Awakeners going all out could suppress a Level 3 Lord with only a hundred thousand blood! Just then, a shadow as tall as a two-story building suddenly appeared; it charged directly into the Black Quicksand and hammered a punch right at the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s head. [-3222] Gu Yun couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and directly used his Beetle Armor to join the fight! The Iron Thorn Centipede, hurt, immediately swung its massive mandibles towards Gu Yun for a bite. With its ferocious fangs, it could only manage to clamp onto his leg in front of Gu Yun, who was clad in Beetle Armor. Bang! [-1024] The Iron Thorn Centipede bit down hard, leaving a white mark on the Beetle Armor leg and causing a loss of a thousand HP. This attack was clearly not a problem for the Beetle Armor with its fifty thousand HP. The Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s fangs were likely poisonous, but the poison was ineffective against Beetle Armor, as its fangs couldn¡¯t penetrate it! Realizing that the Beetle Armor could completely block the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s attacks, Gu Yun raised his spiked arms and hammered down on the Iron Thorn Centipede furiously! [-2322] [-2177] [¡­] Bang, bang, bang¡ª The Iron Thorn Centipede was hammered until it staggered, its body flailing and its legs grasping blindly. Gu Yun, relying on his high defense, didn¡¯t dodge at all, enduring the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s attacks and trading blow for blow with it! Gu Yun even pulled the Iron Thorn Centipede out of the Black Quicksand like pulling out earthworms, then slammed it back into the sand with force, and stomped on it a few times for good measure. It had to be said, the close-quarters combat between Gu Yun and the Iron Thorn Centipede could be described as a brutal feast, causing everyone nearby to have their adrenaline surge! Chapter 815 - Chapter 815: Chapter 318 Show Off_3 Chapter 815: Chapter 318 Show Off_3 ¡°Awesome! So awesome!¡± ¡°A slaughter, a complete slaughter!¡± ¡°We humans can slaughter monsters like this now!¡± ¡°¡­¡± The bystanders were excitedly discussing, as if they were the ones fighting the Iron Thorn Centipede. However, some soldiers were a bit bewildered. If everyone could do this from now on, would their firearms be retired¡­ Qi De and the others stopped attacking, staring dumbfounded at Gu Yun and the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s fierce battle. Is this the combat ability of the Beetle Armor¡­ This is so freaking brutal, so damn thrilling! Everyone¡¯s breathing became more rapid. If they hadn¡¯t been lacking strength, who would want to duck and hide like a mouse? They too wanted to fight monsters in such an exhilarating way! ¡­ As compared to others¡¯ excitement and complex emotions, Wang Tao was quite calm. The combat power of Gu Yun, or rather the Beetle Armor, was completely within his expectations. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?? This was still because Gu Yun¡¯s strength was weak, and the Beetle Armor hadn¡¯t reached its upper limits. Otherwise, it would be even more violent! If Qi De and his two companions were equipped with Beetle Armor, they wouldn¡¯t need any assistance and could basically single-handedly slaughter this Iron Thorn Centipede! Wang Tao glanced at his Air Bullet Ability, which was available for use again. However, seeing Gu Yun enjoying battling the Iron Thorn Centipede, Wang Tao didn¡¯t interfere further. Only when the Iron Thorn Centipede had a sliver of HP left did Wang Tao finally raise his handgun. Bang! [-3234] [0/100000] A gunshot rang out, and the HP of the Iron Thorn Centipede was wiped clean. Gu Yun punched the Iron Thorn Centipede again, and found that the creature had suddenly lost all its strength. ¡°Ah? Dead?¡± Gu Yun punched it once more. Realizing the Iron Thorn Centipede really wasn¡¯t moving anymore, he let go of its body. Thud¡ª The Iron Thorn Centipede landed softly in the quicksand. Not far away, Zhou Long withdrew his hand. The ground began to harden, and the black quicksand he had created slowly disappeared. The three awakeners approached the corpse of the Iron Thorn Centipede, looking at the monster that had been hammered beyond recognition, their faces showing slight annoyance. ¡°Shit! We intended to redeem some reputation, but you guys totally stole the show!¡± Zhou Long ranted silently in his mind. The first half of the battle was perfect. Through their collective effort, they had kept the Iron Thorn Centipede suppressed! Without any surprise, they would have slain the Iron Thorn Centipede with an effortless posture and won the cheers of the crowd. But unexpectedly, an unexpected thing happened¡ª They never anticipated that Gu Yun would join the battle wearing Beetle Armor, dominating the Iron Thorn Centipede with an absolutely crushing manner. Seeing this scene, they couldn¡¯t help but get excited, not to mention everyone else. They could already imagine that from today onward, Gu Yun¡¯s fame would spread far within Changhe Base. Regardless of the methods used or the power leveraged, the fact that a level 3 ability user had pummeled a level 4, Lord Iron Thorn Centipede was undeniable. At that moment, the three knew that their hopes of redeeming their image were definitely not going as planned. So, they prepared to seize the kill at the end of the battle. Since Gu Yun had stolen the spotlight, they could only try to steal the kill to mitigate their losses. After all, slaying a level 4 Lord provided an Awakening Key and replenished Awakening Energy. But the problem was, they couldn¡¯t see the HP bar and had no idea how much longer the Iron Thorn Centipede could survive. Watching the Iron Thorn Centipede still bouncing around after being hammered by Gu Yun, they thought it still had some resilience left. Then they saw Wang Tao casually fire a shot, and the Iron Thorn Centipede was instantly dead¡­ What kind of incredible luck was this! If they remembered correctly, Wang Tao didn¡¯t move a single step during the entire battle. And he fired only two shots, one at the start and one at the end. Damn! The more the three of them thought about it, the more uncomfortable they felt. They didn¡¯t set any traps, and it was all for nothing! Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t know what they were thinking, nor did he care about showing off. He just wanted the loot pack. Also, it wasn¡¯t just good luck for Wang Tao; he had been keeping an eye on the HP of the Iron Thorn Centipede. If it had been under a widespread barrage from the military, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy for Wang Tao to seize the last hit. He was lucky last time. But this time was different. Zhou Long and the other two hadn¡¯t made their move, and although Gu Yun kept attacking, his strength was limited, making it look more brutal than it actually was, so the damage wasn¡¯t high. Therefore, Wang Tao had ample time to prepare to steal the final hit! When he saw the HP of the Iron Thorn Centipede drop to the slaying point, Wang Tao easily took its head with one shot. Everything went smoothly, all within Wang Tao¡¯s control. ¡­ ¡°This is the power of a Fourth-Order Weapon, this is the Beetle Armor!¡± Gu Yun disarmed the Beetle Armor, unable to hide the excitement on his face. As a Level 3 ability user, he had thrashed a Level 4 Lord! Although it wasn¡¯t a solo fight and he didn¡¯t get the final hit, he really did thrash a Level 4 Lord! Thrilling! Absolutely thrilling! Wang Tao was very close to the Iron Thorn Centipede; he took a few steps forward and stowed the loot pack into his Space Backpack. Then he went through the loot of the Iron Thorn Centipede again. This Iron Thorn Centipede was obviously poorer than the Dual-tail Scorpion; the loot it dropped wasn¡¯t much. Aside from the loot pack, it itself dropped a Power Crystal Core and its pair of mandible materials. By this time, everyone had already gathered around, and Gu Yun spoke up: ¡°What does everyone want?¡± This Meteorite belonged to the Fourth Legion; City Hall and Wang Tao had provided the Crystal Core to open it, and everyone else had participated in the battle¡­ so everyone had a share in this Iron Thorn Centipede. ¡°I want its fangs,¡± Wang Tao said directly. There was a lot of material on the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s body, just its legs alone numbered over a hundred, all of which could be used to make weapons. But none of that mattered to Wang Tao; he only wanted items with a name. ¡°I want its main body!¡± Zhou Long, Qi De, and Huang Wu all spoke at the same time. Gu Yun immediately frowned. It was always tricky when multiple people wanted the same thing during the distribution of loot. However, before Gu Yun could speak up, Shang Heng smiled and said: ¡°Sorry, this monster¡¯s main body belongs to our Fourth Legion.¡± The Fourth Legion, although they hadn¡¯t fought, had provided Meteorite number 10 and a significant number of Crystal Cores; they had first pick, and no one could outbid them. Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled: ¡°What do you all want this monster¡¯s body for?¡± This thing isn¡¯t very valuable, right? Seems like it could only be used to make a few hundred bucks worth of Cockroach Paste? Gu Yun, who hadn¡¯t caught on earlier, now realizing Shang Heng also wanted the monster¡¯s body, finally understood and exclaimed: ¡°You guys¡­ want to feed the Beetle Armor?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao was immediately speechless; he wasn¡¯t even sure he could activate another Beetle Armor, and these guys were so confident? The monster¡¯s main body eventually went to the Fourth Legion. Qi De got the Power Crystal Core, Zhou Long and Huang Wu got the Iron Spike-like legs, City Hall claimed the reasonably good Armor Shell, and Wang Tao smoothly got a pair of large fangs. With the loot from the Iron Thorn Centipede distributed, the sun had set, and everyone started heading back home. Gu Yun, Zhou Long, and others invited Wang Tao for dinner. It was obviously an attempt to win him over. Although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t shown much combat power, he did seem to know a lot. Wang Tao naturally declined as he hadn¡¯t finished organizing his loot for the day. Chapter 816 - Chapter 816: Chapter 319 Distribution Chapter 816: Chapter 319 Distribution Before everyone returned to the city, they had to distribute today¡¯s gains according to their respective shares. There were a total of 10 meteorites, among which 1 revealed a Fourth-Order Weapon, 1 revealed an Awakening Energy Pearl, 1 revealed a knife, 2 revealed monsters, and 5 revealed Crystal Cores. According to the previously established rule, the party that provided the meteorite held a 50% share of that meteorite; the party that provided the Crystal Cores held the other 50% share. Combat or special circumstances were calculated separately. For example, for meteorite number 1. The meteorite itself was provided by City Hall, which held 50% of the shares. The two Crystal Cores used to open meteorite number 1 were provided by City Hall and Wang Tao, so City Hall and Wang Tao split the other 50% of the shares, meaning each held 25%. Thus, the Iron Beetle that emerged from meteorite number 1, City Hall held 75% of its shares, and Wang Tao held 25%. For instance, meteorite number 9. The meteorite was provided by City Hall, which held 50% of the shares. For the ten Crystal Cores used to open meteorite number 9, City Hall contributed 9 and held 45% of the shares, while Wang Tao contributed 1 and held 5% of the shares. Thus, the Orange Ascension Crystal Core that emerged from this meteorite, City Hall held 95% of the shares, and Wang Tao only 5%. Therefore, of the items obtained from these meteorites, Wang Tao had a share in all of them, but Wang Tao always held the smallest portion and had no say. ¡°Mr. Wang, this Iron Beetle¡­¡± Gu Yun looked at Wang Tao. Although City Hall held 75% of the shares of this Iron Beetle and did not need to consult Wang Tao¡¯s opinion to take it away, Gu Yun definitely wouldn¡¯t do that. After all, he regarded Wang Tao as a partner and the necessary respect was still to be maintained, especially since he hoped for future cooperation. ¡°Seeing that you also quite like it, I won¡¯t deprive others of their beloved, the Iron Beetle is yours.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He couldn¡¯t compete anyway, better to graciously let it go. After all, he had already demonstrated almost all of the Iron Beetle¡¯s abilities, and everyone knew this Iron Beetle was powerful and valuable. That share of 25% was clearly not cheap. It was now a matter of how much compensation City Hall would offer him. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang, for your generosity!¡± Gu Yun was immediately overjoyed. He was definitely going to take the Iron Beetle, but he also didn¡¯t want to cause a rift with Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s initiative to give it up naturally made both parties very happy. Gu Yun then asked: ¡°What about this Iron Bone Knife and Ascension Crystal Core¡­?¡± The Iron Bone Knife that emerged from meteorite number 7 and the Orange Ascension Crystal Core from meteorite number 9, City Hall also held a majority of the shares, with Wang Tao having only a minor share. ¡°I¡¯m not going to fight for those either.¡± Wang Tao continued shaking his head. With these two items, he held only 6% and 5% of the shares, respectively, so he couldn¡¯t really contest them. ¡°Mr. Wang, you are so magnanimous!¡± Gu Yun¡¯s face was filled with smiles, these items were all very precious, and he had not expected Wang Tao to give them up either, thinking maybe Wang Tao would demand one. After all, Wang Tao had already let the most important Iron Beetle go to City Hall, so it would be reasonable for Wang Tao to desire the knife or Ascension Crystal Core, even though Wang Tao held very little of their shares. Now seeing Wang Tao relinquishing all three valuable items, while Gu Yun was happy, he also felt somewhat embarrassed. After all, everyone was frantically improving their strength during this time period, these items were very valuable, and money might not necessarily buy them¡­ ¡°Mr. Wang, rest assured, we have professional evaluators who will soon appraise these items and compensate you accordingly.¡± Gu Yun said earnestly. ¡°Haha, okay!¡± Wang Tao laughed. After negotiating with City Hall, he still had to distribute shares with others. Wang Tao, like City Hall, hadn¡¯t kept anything for himself; his share was converted into Crystal Coins. Glutton, Defense, Self-Destruct Crystal Core ¡ª these Wang Tao clearly lost out. Awakening Energy Pearl and Power Crystal Core gained him. Dual-tail Scorpion and Iron Thorn Centipede won¡¯t be mentioned, those were already distributed. The payout from City Hall would be delayed by about two days. Other items would be settled quickly, mainly because they weren¡¯t very valuable, so they were settled on the spot. Ultimately, excluding the money yet to be settled by City Hall and two monsters¡¯ gains, Wang Tao altogether received 50,000 Crystal Coins. The 10 Crystal Cores that Wang Tao offered were worth about 40,000 Crystal Coins at the current exchange rate. That meant Wang Tao made a profit of 10,000 Crystal Coins. If the loot from the monster battles and the eventual settlement from City Hall were added, Wang Tao would have made a killing. Not only did Wang Tao profit, but everyone else did too. They originally thought this might be a gamble, where breaking even would be considered good. They hadn¡¯t expected to make such a profit! Everyone was happy on the way back, and they agreed to continue opening meteorites the next day. There was hardly any network signal outside the base, but as soon as he entered the base, Wang Tao¡¯s personal account immediately received a transfer of 10,000 Crystal Coins. Including the 40,000 Crystal Coins that City Hall had previously given to Wang Tao¡¯s team, he now had a total of 50,000 Crystal Coins. ¡°Mr. Wang, I¡¯ll prepare things on my side. After tomorrow, you can have Mr. Xiang come over anytime for the prosthetic production¡ªoh no, to participate in prosthetic production.¡± Inside the car, hearing the voice from Wang Tao¡¯s informational wristwatch, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Okay, thank you Miss Qu!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°No problem at all! See you later!¡± Inside the neighboring car, Qu Shilin was lowering the car window and waving at Wang Tao, who also waved back to her. Chapter 817 - Chapter 817: Chapter 319 Allocation_2 Chapter 817: Chapter 319 Allocation_2 ¡°Goodbye.¡± The others had left even before Qu Shilin, and now there was no one left. ¡°Let¡¯s go, head back.¡± Wang Tao said to Cui Sheng, who was in the passenger seat. During their stay at the temporary camp, Cui Sheng obviously wasn¡¯t qualified to be in their area, so he had been waiting outside. ¡°Alright!¡± After the sky had completely darkened, the convoy arrived at the temporary residence Duan Xuchang had prepared for Wang Tao and the others. ¡°Mr. Wang, I wish you a happy and relaxing evening!¡± Cui Sheng left with the convoy. Hearing the commotion, Ding Yuqin and the others hurried over. ¡°Wang Tao, nothing went wrong, did it?¡± ¡°Nothing, it was very safe.¡± Wang Tao smiled. Then he simply introduced to everyone the items that had been extracted from the meteorites that day. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?? Hearing that so many good things could come from a meteorite, everyone was amazed. ¡°In the future, when we go out, if we see these kinds of meteorites, as long as they¡¯re not in too dangerous places, we must not miss them,¡± Wang Tao instructed. ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone nodded. After a simple dinner, Wang Tao also checked on He Jijun and Lan Yulian¡¯s conditions. Both were sleeping soundly with no unexpected issues. Assured that there were no problems, Wang Tao returned to his room to sort through his loot. He had slain the Iron Thorn Centipede, obtaining 1 Advanced Special Energy, 1 Awakening Key, and 100 Awakening Energy. The materials dropped by the Iron Thorn Centipede, which Wang Tao took, were its large fangs. [Obtained: Level 4 Sharp Poisonous Fang x2] [Level 4 Sharp Poisonous Fang: Crafting material, can add poison attribute to equipment] This material was quite good, with additional attributes. Then came the 3 Loot Packs. The first Loot Pack contained 5 Crystal Cores. They were a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion], a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Physical Enhancement], a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Haste], and a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Strength]. This time there were no Awakening Crystal Cores, but the other cores were not bad either. The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x20] Two types of medium potions, not bad. The last Loot Pack contained a blueprint. [Obtained: Death Scythe Blueprint x1] [Death Scythe Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Death Scythe. Required materials: Level 4 Sharp Poisonous Fang x2, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30] [Death Scythe: Attributes Unknown] Seeing the blueprint, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°I¡¯ve obtained a new type of equipment!¡± he exclaimed. Without a second thought, Wang Tao immediately began the crafting process. After a moment of dazzling rainbow lights, a huge and ferocious sickle materialized before Wang Tao. It was a pure black sickle, even the blade was black, about two meters and twenty centimeters in length. It consisted of a massive blade and a curved metal handle, quite heavy and rather exaggerated in design. As for its attributes, they were also quite impressive! [Death Scythe] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Durability +100, Attack power +80, attacks carry a poison effect (poison effect requires Awakening Energy)] This sickle had an Attack power of +80, the same as Wang Tao¡¯s Sharp Long Knife, but the Durability was 20 points higher than the knife¡¯s. However, while the Sharp Long Knife had two attributes, Armor Break and Bleeding, the Death Scythe only had the Poison attribute. Even with one less attribute, the weapon was still exceptionally formidable. Wang Tao, who had previously thought the Iron Thorn Centipede was rather poor, now saw that although it dropped few items, their quality was not low! Wang Tao swung the sickle around in the room a couple of times; although the weapon was a bit heavy, it felt good. After all, Wang Tao was also very strong. As for who would use this weapon, Wang Tao would test whether it or the Sharp Long Knife did more damage. He would use whichever did more damage, and the other could be used by someone else. Although the Sharp Long Knife had two attributes, it didn¡¯t necessarily mean higher damage. He would need to test them to know for sure. Wang Tao then took out the blueprints for the ¡°Poison Scorpion Whip¡± and ¡°Powerful Pincer¡± he had obtained from killing the Dual-tail Scorpion and began crafting. Moments later, both pieces of equipment were also completed. The Poison Scorpion Whip was not one single whip but two, with segments resembling a scorpion¡¯s tail. There was a poison hook at the end of each whip. [Poison Scorpion Whip] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +70, Attack power +70, attacks carry a poison effect (poison effect requires Awakening Energy)] Both whips had identical attributes, with an Attack power of +70, and both possessed a poison attack. Overall, their attributes were very good. Wang Tao was rather pleased; creating two pieces of equipment from a single blueprint was thrilling. Wang Tao tried them out. The whips were lightweight, and he felt they could easily be wound around the arm for convenient carrying. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how to use whips, so they naturally didn¡¯t feel great in his hands. Wang Tao had crafted a whip-type weapon before, but when others had tried it, they weren¡¯t quite adept at using it. Therefore, the whip had been passed around in their group, with whoever wanted to try it out using it. Wang Tao had previously obtained a [Crystal Core ¨C Whip], which would work really well fused with whip-type weapons. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Flogging] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Damage with non-whip weapons reduced)] Chapter 818 - Chapter 818: Chapter 319 Allocation_3 Chapter 818: Chapter 319 Allocation_3 [Whip: Passive Ability, increases damage when using whip weapons] However, the attributes of that whip were mediocre at the time, so there was no need to switch Abilities just for a whip. But now it was different; this Poison Scorpion Whip had stronger attributes, and since there were two whips, it was necessary to switch to this Whip Ability. ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll ask who wants to use a whip¡­¡± Wang Tao himself certainly wouldn¡¯t use it, but he could offer both the weapon and the Crystal Core to those who were interested. Wang Tao put away the whip and looked at the second piece of equipment. [Powerful Pincer] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +70, Attack power +70, attack includes Knockback effects (Knockback effects require Awakening Energy)] [Knockback: Can to some extent repel the opponent] There were also two of these pincers, which were more like a pair of gauntlets rather than pincers, meant to be worn on the hands. They were black and yellow overall and somewhat resembled the pincers of a Dual-tail Scorpion in shape, though there were significant differences. They were overall shorter and not as ferocious-looking. Wang Tao tried them on and had to admit, they felt quite good. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï But as the saying goes, ¡°a longer weapon is a stronger weapon,¡± and although Wang Tao also knew boxing, he had gotten used to using knives, so this gauntlet-like equipment naturally wasn¡¯t suitable for him. He¡¯d look around to see who might use it, and if someone was willing, he¡¯d prioritize giving it to his own people; if not, he¡¯d sell it. He estimated it could fetch quite a sum. Of course, Wang Tao also needed to test out just what this Knockback Attribute was all about. ¡­ The next morning. Lan Yulian and He Jijun would wake in another two hours. Wang Tao was looking forward to what their Awakening would be like. Especially Lan Yulian; her Hidden Ability was related to Healing, so it was highly likely her Awakening would also involve healing. If she could awaken a powerful Healing Ability, that would be awesome¡­ Shortly after Wang Tao had breakfast, Cui Sheng arrived again. ¡°Mr. Wang, this is a thank you gift from the City Hall¡­¡± Last time, when the meteorite struck, Wang Tao had killed a monster and saved many people. Cui Sheng had mentioned City Hall would send a thank you gift, and now he was delivering it. The thank you gift consisted of a medal, a silk banner, and a card. Wang Tao glanced over the medal and silk banner, as he didn¡¯t care much for those. It was the card that mattered more to him. This was a temporary, anonymous bank card with Crystal Coins inside. By scanning it with his Informational Wristwatch, he could transfer the money into his own account, after which the card would be discarded. Wang Tao scanned it, and it had 10,000 dollars in it. Although the exchange rate between Crystal Coins and Crystal Cores had been fluctuating recently, the purchasing power of the coins was still strong. 10,000 dollars was a considerable amount, showing that the City Hall was quite generous. He had just accepted the money when Cui Sheng handed him another card and an envelope. ¡°Mr. Wang, this is the profit share from yesterday. Please check it,¡± he said. ¡°Oh? So soon?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, as he had thought it would take a few days. He accepted the card but didn¡¯t look at the amount first; instead, he read the letter in the envelope. The letter detailed the value of the items and the amount Wang Tao was entitled to. There were three items in total: the Iron Beetle, Iron Bone Knife, and the Orange Ascension Crystal Core. Upon seeing the detailed figures, Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. The City Hall¡¯s valuation for the Iron Beetle was 1 million Crystal Coins! This price far exceeded Wang Tao¡¯s expectations; he had thought it would be good if it reached around one hundred thousand. After all, the purchasing power of Crystal Coins was strong; a million would surely allow one to live comfortably in Changhe Base for a lifetime. It seemed that City Hall placed great importance on the Iron Beetle, perhaps conducting numerous tests on it. They might have even nourished the Beetle up to 100,000 HP by now, so they knew how strong it really was! The Iron Bone Knife was valued at 100,000 Crystal Coins by the City Hall. This price wasn¡¯t low either, considering that Wang Tao felt the knife¡¯s attributes were just mediocre. Finally, the Orange Ascension Crystal Core was priced at 120,000, which was also higher than what Wang Tao had anticipated. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt like he might be a bit naive, not daring to think too high¡­ Then came the specific amounts divided: Wang Tao owned 25% of the Iron Beetle, receiving 250,000; 6% of the Iron Bone Knife, receiving 6,000; 5% of the Ascension Crystal Core, receiving 6,000¡­ totaling 262,000. At the end of the letter, they kindly reminded Wang Tao that the price of Crystal Coins and Crystal Cores was still fluctuating and very unstable. If Wang Tao had any concerns, he could wait until the prices stabilized to claim his money, and if the price of Crystal Coins fluctuated significantly, City Hall could even compensate for the difference. Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t do that; they had already given the money so readily, he didn¡¯t need to take advantage of these small benefits. Wang Tao looked at the card; it had exactly 262,000 in it. Beep¡ª¡ª Swipe card, transfer funds. Wang Tao transferred all 262,000 to his account. With this, he now had a total of 322,000 Crystal Coins. ¡°Mr. Wang, if you have nothing else for me, I will take my leave. Also, your house is ready; you can move there anytime,¡± Cui Sheng spoke very respectfully. ¡°Hmm¡ª¡± Wang Tao nodded, then as if suddenly remembering something, he immediately asked, ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t we opening the meteorite today?¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, I haven¡¯t received any notice to take you out of the city today. Should I inquire for you?¡± Wang Tao frowned, then waved his hand. ¡°¡­Never mind, you can go back.¡± ¡°Yes. You can contact me anytime if you need anything,¡± After Cui Sheng left, Wang Tao frowned. ¡°What does this mean? They said we would open the meteorite today, now it¡¯s not happening? Or did they kick me out?¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Never mind, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± After opening some meteorites yesterday, he had already gained some basic understanding of them. Perhaps some details were not entirely accurate, but it was enough for him, and there would be more opportunities in the future. Chapter 819 - Chapter 819: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core Chapter 819: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core Wang Tao looked at the Energy Crystal Meteorite in his hand. There were a total of seven pieces, five of which were Level 4. ¡°I¡¯ll find some time to open them later¡­¡± Since the Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s possession all had Abilities, it would have been too wasteful to open them before. But now, Wang Tao had over three hundred thousand Crystal Coins, which was just enough to exchange for some No-attribut Crystal Cores to use. However, there was no rush. He would first wait for Jade Lotus and Jijun to wake up and see their awakening situation, then move houses, since living in the Third Legion¡¯s area was not ideal for long. Finally, he had to take Hong Bin to the Hope Research Institute to find Shilin to customize his prosthetic¡­ Once all these matters were dealt with, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to go outside the city to open the meteorite. Two hours later. Jade Lotus groggily opened her eyes, and immediately saw Wang Tao beside her bed. As for others such as Ding Yuqin, she subconsciously ignored them. ¡°Wang Tao~¡± Jade Lotus was still somewhat sleepy and instinctively reached out to touch Wang Tao¡¯s face. Wang Tao held her little hand and smiled as he said, ¡°Congratulations on your successful awakening!¡± ¡°Ah? I¡­ I am a Fourth-order Superpower now!¡± Jade Lotus finally reacted somewhat belatedly, getting so excited that she jumped up from the bed and almost hit Wang Tao¡¯s nose. Wang Tao quickly held her shoulders. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã? ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited, stay calm!¡± ¡°A Fourth-order Superpower, how can I not be excited!¡± Jade Lotus hugged Wang Tao tightly and gave him a big kiss on the face, then looked at him with a bit of smugness and said, ¡°Guess what ability I awakened?¡± Although others couldn¡¯t see specific Attributes, an Awakener could still perceive roughly what Ability they had awakened with. After pretending to ponder for a while, Wang Tao replied, ¡°I guess it¡¯s a Passive Ability, one that enhances your Healing ability!¡± ¡°Ah? How could you guess that!¡± Jade Lotus was immediately astonished, then she gently punched Wang Tao in the chest a few times. ¡°Hmph, boring, really boring!¡± ¡°Haha! Unless you say I¡¯m clever!¡± Wang Tao laughed and pinched Jade Lotus¡¯s little nose. Of course, he hadn¡¯t guessed correctly, he had seen Jade Lotus¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 6%] [Awakening: Spring Rain] [Spring Rain: all Healing Effects significantly enhanced] The description of Jade Lotus¡¯s Awakening, Spring Rain, was very simple. The phrase ¡°significantly enhanced¡± was not very specific, but it was certain that the enhancement was substantial, without any wordplay in the description! Moreover, this was a Passive Awakening. Active and Passive Awakenings each had their advantages and disadvantages. Active Awakenings excelled in burst strength, while Passive Awakenings excelled in longevity. For Jade Lotus, who acted as a healer, having a Passive Awakening was quite good because the longer she lasted, the longer her teammates could last! ¡°Which Ability did you lose?¡± Wang Tao asked; he hadn¡¯t had the chance to ask yet as Jade Lotus had fallen asleep soon after. Just looking at this Awakening, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear which of Jade Lotus¡¯s Abilities it had merged with. ¡°My ability to heal injuries was merged.¡± Jade Lotus explained. She had learned a total of four abilities, which included Healing, treating injuries, Healing Light, and Running. Three were for healing, and the last one was for saving oneself. The ability to treat injuries was also good, but sometimes it was rather superfluous. For minor injuries, it didn¡¯t matter whether they were treated or not, and for major injuries, they generally required surgery; she couldn¡¯t heal them quickly¡­ So this ability was a bit awkward. Of course, having it was definitely better than not having it. Now that she no longer had this ability to treat injuries, it remained to be seen if the enhancement from Jade Lotus¡¯s passive Awakening was strong enough¡­ ¡°Jade Lotus, congratulations!¡± ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± People like Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, and others finally chimed in. Ying Feng, especially, looked at Jade Lotus with a mix of grievance, as if to say she favored love over friendship. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Jade Lotus laughed awkwardly, then went over to hug Ying Feng¡¯s arm and discussed with the other girls the sensation of Awakening, changes after Awakening¡­ At that moment, Zhen Guo and Jijun emerged arm in arm from the neighboring room. Wang Tao immediately spotted Jijun¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakening: Old but Vigorous] [Old but Vigorous: all Basic Attributes comprehensively enhanced. The older the age, the greater the enhancement] Jijun¡¯s Awakening was quite interesting, sharing a name with his previous Hidden Attributes. Though the name wasn¡¯t important, the Attributes themselves were. His Old but Vigorous Awakening¡­ Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how strong it was. Obviously, it was a Passive ¡°body¡± type of Awakening. Just looking at the description, it was hard to say how strong it was without testing it first. ¡°Old He, congratulations!¡± Wang Tao smiled and went over to bump fists with Jijun. ¡°Hahaha! Didn¡¯t think this old man would have a day of Awakening!¡± Jijun laughed heartily. He had never felt his body to be as good as it was now, and even he didn¡¯t know how strong he was at the moment! ¡°Which Ability was merged?¡± Wang Tao curiously asked. After pausing to feel it for a while, Jijun then said, ¡°It¡¯s that one¡­ Athlete!¡± Wang Tao nodded, which was what he had suspected. Jijun¡¯s four Abilities were Rush, Precision Shooting, Athlete, and Mental Enhancement. Since this Awakening was to enhance physical quality, it was likely related to the Athlete Ability. Chapter 820 - Chapter 820: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core_2 Chapter 820: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core_2 ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go outside and give it a try!¡± Wang Tao led a group of people into the courtyard. Testing Jade Lotus¡¯s awakening was temporarily impossible since everyone was at full HP; it wouldn¡¯t make sense to injure them severely just for a test. However, they could test Jijun¡¯s. They had no idea until they tested it, and it was quite a shock! Just speaking in terms of physical fitness, Jijun was much stronger than Wang Tao! He was the strongest among all of them! Wang Tao didn¡¯t originally want to use his awakening, but he couldn¡¯t compete otherwise, so he activated Starfire Prairie. As a result, Wang Tao was a bit stunned¡ªonly when in the state of Starfire Prairie could his physical condition barely match Jijun¡¯s! Keep in mind that during Starfire Prairie, all his attributes greatly increased! And just barely matching Jijun¡¯s? Wang Tao looked again at Jijun¡¯s attributes, and he seemed to understand the meaning of ¡°the older you are, the greater the enhancement.¡± Jijun was¡­ 66 years old! ¡°Hahaha! Wang Tao, you seem a bit off your game!¡± Jijun stroked his chin, where his beard had been singed, and chuckled. Wang Tao had just activated Starfire Prairie and burned off a few of his beard hairs, but it was no big deal. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?? ¡°Old He, you¡¯re incredibly strong!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. Speaking of which, this was the second time Wang Tao had seen someone surpass him in physical fitness. The first time was Jiang Shixue, who at the time completely outclassed Wang Tao in physical fitness in every aspect. However, as Wang Tao¡¯s strength increased, he gradually surpassed her. Especially now, since Jiang Shixue was still Level 3, she naturally couldn¡¯t compare to Wang Tao. As for Little Jun, his physical fitness was also very strong, but he was more specialized, being notably strong in strength and defense but nowhere near Wang Tao in speed. Now, Jijun¡¯s condition was like Jiang Shixue¡¯s in the past¡ªwhether it was strength, speed, or reflexes, he completely overpowered Wang Tao in all areas! Without using Starfire Prairie, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t compete at all! If even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t match him, it was needless to say for the others; they were all completely outclassed. Even Wang Tao felt that Jijun might be the person with the strongest physical fitness at the River Base. Of course, Jijun¡¯s physical fitness was much better than Wang Tao¡¯s, but his combat power might not necessarily be stronger than Wang Tao¡¯s. After all, physical fitness was just one aspect for Wang Tao; his forms of attack were diverse, with his strongest being setting fires. Nevertheless, after awakening, Jijun was incredibly strong indeed. If he were armed with appropriate weapons and equipment, his potential would be terrifying. But saying so, Jijun sighed. ¡°I was originally thinking of going into shooting, but this¡­¡± He hadn¡¯t expected that at his age, what awakened was his physique, which was somewhat outrageous. ¡°Haha, why don¡¯t you stop trying to take it easy and just work hard physically!¡± Wang Tao burst into laughter. The others laughed as well. Zhen Guo even marveled, ¡°At your age and with your physique¡­ saying you have strong physical fitness, people probably wouldn¡¯t believe it out there!¡± At 66, Jijun¡¯s hair and beard were almost entirely white, and his body was quite frail, not at all resembling someone with a System Awakening. If Wang Tao now seemed a bit like he had returned to simplicity, where people couldn¡¯t sense his combat power, then Jijun was truly that simplicity personified¡ªeven when he sparred with Zhen Guo, Zhen Guo still felt Jijun was just an ordinary person! Although Jijun overwhelmed Zhen Guo, Zhen Guo¡¯s reason told him Jijun was strong, but he still couldn¡¯t sense Jijun¡¯s strength¡­ it was ridiculous! Zhen Guo was sure that if anyone ever fought against Jijun, they would definitely suffer a huge loss underestimating him! ¡°This isn¡¯t even your limit, Old He. You can further increase your Awakening Energy limit to make your physical fitness even stronger! Jade Lotus can also increase her Awakening Energy limit¡­¡± Wang Tao taught them how to increase their Awakening Energy limit. For Awakeners, this was something they could pick up after a little familiarization. Then Wang Tao brought out the Awakening Crystal Cores and Awakening Energy Pearls, letting them increase their limit. Having just awakened with a limit of only 100 Awakening Energy, Wang Tao felt it was still too little. After some effort, both Jade Lotus¡¯s and Jijun¡¯s Awakening Energy limits had been increased to 500. Jade Lotus was okay, not feeling much yet. But Jijun could clearly feel his physical fitness had enhanced even further! ¡°Old He! With you being so strong, how are we supposed to catch up?¡± Zhen Guo shook his head helplessly. ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll just kill more zombies with Wang Tao and gather more Crystal Cores for you guys. Then you¡¯ll definitely get stronger! I¡¯m old; the world is for you young folks!¡± Jijun¡¯s words deeply moved Zhen Guo and the others. But Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, given Jijun¡¯s awakening that made him stronger with age. For Zhen Guo to surpass Jijun in the future, he could only say there was a chance, but it would be difficult! Wang Tao noticed Old Xiang¡¯s envious look, walked over, and patted his shoulder. ¡°Old Xiang, how are the preparations?¡± What Wang Tao referred to naturally was the custom prosthetics appointment with Qu Shilin. ¡°Ready anytime!¡± Old Xiang¡¯s face was resolute. ¡°Great! So let¡¯s move first, then we¡¯ll take you to the Hope Research Institute. Afterwards, we¡¯ll go out for a bit to kill some zombies for Jade Lotus and Old He, to further enhance their strength¡­¡± Both Jade Lotus¡¯s and Jijun¡¯s HP had dropped to 10,000. They needed to restore their HP to 110,000. Chapter 821 - Chapter 821: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core_3 Chapter 821: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core_3 ¡°No problem!¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded. Moving might sound troublesome, but Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t have much to move, the biggest item being the helicopter. The helicopter was still parked within the Third Legion, so there was no need to move it for the time being. However, their current residence was arranged by Duan Xuchang, so they definitely had to inform Duan Xuchang before leaving. ¡°I hope he¡¯s not out on a mission¡­¡± Wang Tao muttered, then tried to contact Duan Xuchang. Fortunately, Duan Xuchang was in the city and not out. When Duan Xuchang heard that Wang Tao was planning to move, he said he would come right over and asked Wang Tao to wait. By the time Wang Tao and the others had packed up, Duan Xuchang had just arrived. ¡°Won¡¯t you stay a few more days? It¡¯s not like anybody else is living here.¡± Duan Xuchang asked politely. ¡°No, it¡¯s a bit embarrassing to keep troubling you guys, and we¡¯ve got the place sorted out, so we might as well move over while there¡¯s nothing much happening today.¡± ¡°What trouble? It¡¯s no trouble at all!¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã? Duan Xuchang waved his hand, but he didn¡¯t insist, as most people are not comfortable living under someone else¡¯s roof. Then, seeming to remember something, he asked Wang Tao, ¡°By the way, I heard you went with City Hall to mine some meteorites yesterday? How was the haul¡ªoh, sorry, I¡¯m just curious. If it¡¯s inconvenient, just ignore my question!¡± ¡°Indeed, I went with them to mine meteorites. As for the haul, I can only say¡­ I made a little profit, but the others, especially City Hall, made a huge profit!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything; after all, no one had prohibited him from speaking, and many people had witnessed what had happened, so it couldn¡¯t be hidden. It wouldn¡¯t take many days before it all came out. ¡°I see, a huge profit, no wonder! Today I saw many forces heading out of the city to mine meteorites, not just City Hall and the Fourth Legion but also the Loyalty Alliance, the Rush Army, and so on¡­¡± Upon hearing Duan Xuchang¡¯s words, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows shot up. These people had indeed left him out of the loop. However, he could understand why. They had invited him to participate before because they hadn¡¯t been sure if it would be profitable or not, so they needed people to share the risk. Now that they saw even casually mining 10 meteorites turned out to be highly profitable, why would they need anyone to share the risk? What they¡¯d be sharing wouldn¡¯t be risk, but profit! So, it was normal for them to exclude Wang Tao. Wang Tao guessed that they must be acting on their own, with City Hall not cooperating with anyone else now. After inquiring further, Duan Xuchang confirmed his suspicion. City Hall, apart from pairing with the Fourth Legion, had gone their separate ways from other forces. Obviously, everyone didn¡¯t want to share their windfall! ¡°Your Third Legion must have gotten quite a few meteorites, right?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t mention it!¡± Duan Xuchang grimaced when the subject came up. ¡°Our legion discovered flying zombies, didn¡¯t we? Then we sent a large number of soldiers to investigate. We killed many zombies, but we didn¡¯t find any meteorites in that area. Our entire legion barely picked up a few meteorites!¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s¡­¡± Wang Tao had thought that the Third Legion had also obtained quite a few meteorites. ¡°Now, if you want to pick up meteorites in the wild, apart from being lucky, the main thing was whether anyone noticed where the meteorites fell on the night of the meteor shower! We can forget about the distant places, but as for the meteorites near our base, they were basically claimed by those lucky and quick-responding forces. Our legion¡¯s main forces were out on missions at that time. We were unlucky, with no meteorites falling nearby, and we didn¡¯t see any nearby. By the time we found some clues, the meteorites had been picked clean¡­ Of course, there are definitely still quite a few meteorites out there, but it¡¯s pretty dangerous, and we are considering whether or not to go after them¡­¡± Listening to Duan Xuchang¡¯s resigned explanation, Wang Tao shrugged. There was nothing that could be done, sometimes luck is part of your strength. ¡°Oh well, let¡¯s not think about that now! However, we have made a new discovery, which I was actually preparing to discuss with you.¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression became serious. ¡°What discovery?¡± ¡°We found that inside the bodies of those ordinary zombies outside, there is a type of gray Crystal Core¡­¡± ¡°Ordinary Zombies? Gray Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Even Ordinary Zombies have Crystal Cores now? ¡°Exactly like this one.¡± Duan Xuchang took out a Crystal Core and handed it to Wang Tao. Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. It really was a Gray Crystal Core, just much smaller than a normal Crystal Core. As for its attributes¡­ [Level 1 Crystal Core] [Quality: Inferior quality (2%)] [Purity: 5% (Side effects: None)] Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao was somewhat confused. No Ability was one thing, but these attributes were just too trashy, right? ¡°We¡¯ve already had the research institute test it, and they said the energy inside this Crystal Core is much less than that of a Level 1 White Crystal Core, roughly only about one-tenth¡­¡± Duan Xuchang explained. ¡°So what¡¯s the use of this Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. ¡°It¡¯s not clear for the time being, but the strengthening of Ordinary Zombies seems to be related to these Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Ordinary Zombies becoming stronger was definitely not a good thing, but if Ordinary Zombies had Crystal Cores in their bodies¡­ that would be a different story. After all, things like Powered Armor consume Crystal Cores, so these inferior quality Cores should also be usable, right? Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a clue for the time being and decided to wait and see how things developed. After chatting with Duan Xuchang for a while and having a simple lunch, Duan Xuchang personally led Wang Tao and his group to move houses. By a little after two in the afternoon, Wang Tao finally arrived at his new home. It was a villa district with mountains and water, which looked much more beautiful in person than in the photos. Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. It looked pretty good, reminiscent of his time in Shuize Base. He had already notified Cui Sheng on the way here, and now Cui Sheng was waiting for him at the main entrance. ¡°I won¡¯t go in. I¡¯m still busy over on my side. You¡¯ve got to treat us to a meal later, now that you¡¯ve moved to a new house!¡± Duan Xuchang said with a smile. ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll call you in a few days!¡± ¡°Hahaha, great!¡± Duan Xuchang hurriedly left. He was busy but still made time to help Wang Tao move. ¡°Mr. Wang, good afternoon!¡± Only then did Cui Sheng run over to greet him. ¡°Mm¡­¡± Wang Tao nodded, just about to say something to Cui Sheng, when a message suddenly came through on his Informational Wristwatch. It was from Gu Yun. ¡°Huh?¡± Upon seeing the details of the message, Wang Tao was immediately surprised. Because it was a work log, detailing a large number of Crystal Cores and the specific Items obtained upon opening them. Looking at the time¡­ it was exactly from this morning. Chapter 826 - Chapter 826: Chapter 323 Starfire Society Chapter 826: Chapter 323 Starfire Society Entry and exit from Changhe Base were very strict. Aside from being authorized by the military, City Hall, and other authoritative departments, ordinary people who wanted to enter or exit the city had to register as a force first, enroll as field staff within the force, then apply, and only after approval could they leave. The reason for these complications was naturally due to the zombie virus. At any time, one could not slacken the protection against the virus. The so-called ¡®a dike collapses because of an ant hole,¡¯ many bases were destroyed not because they encountered irresistible disasters, but because the defenses were inadequate, allowing the zombie virus to break through from the inside¡­ Therefore, Changhe Base was particularly strict in this regard. Although for ordinary people, there really was no need to go outside. The base was so big, it had everything within, and it was so dangerous outside, leaving was simply courting death. But there were always those who were disobedient, so rules certainly had to exist. Previously, Wang Tao left the city using a route authorized by the City Hall. Now there was no need to trouble others, registering a force directly was fine. Wang Tao had Jade Lotus register a force under her own name, named it Starfire Society, derived from Wang Tao¡¯s awakening ¡°Starfire Outbreak.¡± The president was Jade Lotus. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered to manage affairs, and Jade Lotus had experience, so she was burdened with the task. All of their group joined the Starfire Society and were set as field staff, then finally applied to leave the city. Registering a force was relatively troublesome in itself, requiring various assessments and checks among other things, and setting people as field staff within the force was also quite complex, needing registrations, tests, etc. Wang Tao directly called Cui Sheng to help run some errands. To Wang Tao¡¯s orders, Cui Sheng was not only not unhappy but rather excited. After all, Wang Tao was a big shot, and running errands for a big shot was something many desired. He wasn¡¯t afraid of being troubled by the big shot; he was afraid of being forgotten by him. Wang Tao asked Cui Sheng for help after returning from the research institute, by which time it was already night. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0 The next morning, while Wang Tao was having breakfast, Cui Sheng came over with all the necessary documents. ¡°Mr. Wang, all the procedures for the Starfire Society are now in order, and the application for leaving the city has also been approved; you can leave at any time, you just need to register before leaving,¡± he said. Wang Tao glanced briefly at the documents. The name of the Starfire Society was fine, president Jade Lotus, vice-president Zhang Hong, Wei Zhenguo¡­ member Wang Tao¡­ all were in order. Wang Tao held no position, just a small soldier within the Starfire Society. ¡°Very good, thank you for your hard work,¡± he said. Wang Tao handed the documents to Jade Lotus. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble! Serving Mr. Wang is my honor!¡± Cui Sheng hastily spoke up. Actually, it definitely was troublesome; he had run around various departments overnight to get this matter sorted. Since the founder of the Starfire Society was Jade Lotus, her previously registered identity was a Level 3 ability user. She had not actively updated it, so it remained that identity. A Level 3 ability user, though strong, was not a standout at the base where there were many Level 3 ability users. Those employees had long since finished work and even gone to sleep; Cui Sheng received many cold stares for disturbing them. He could have approached his superior, but he did not. He felt that bothering others over such trivial matters would make him appear incompetent. He could also have used Wang Tao¡¯s position as a fourth-order Superpower, which would certainly mean green lights all the way. But he didn¡¯t do that either because he was guessing at Wang Tao¡¯s intentions¡ªWang Tao himself had not taken the position of president, was it because he didn¡¯t want to show himself up? If he used Wang Tao¡¯s name, wouldn¡¯t that be inappropriate? So he relied solely on his capabilities and connections to get this small matter done, the cost being some favors and a sleepless night. But this was not necessary to mention to Wang Tao, after all, the big shot cared not about the process, only the results. As long as the big shot was satisfied with the outcome, that was enough. ¡°How much are the total fees?¡± Wang Tao asked, looking up. Cui Sheng quickly said, ¡°A total of 1255 Crystal Coins. Among these, registering the force cost 1000 Crystal Coins¡­¡± Regarding these costs, Cui Sheng did not pretend to have paid them on Wang Tao¡¯s behalf; the cost was what it was. After all, Wang Tao was not lacking in money¡ªif he implied to have paid the expense himself, wouldn¡¯t he be trying to curry favor? This kind of thought was definitely improper! What status did he have to make an Awakener owe him favor! Such actions would certainly displease Wang Tao, so he was very careful about it. ¡°Hmm,¡± Wang Tao nodded, then had Nie Siyan transfer the money to him. However, after Nie Siyan transferred the money, she gave him an additional Level 1 Crystal Core. Seeing this Crystal Core, Cui Sheng¡¯s eyes widened. This was an orange Level 1 Crystal Core. Importantly, this Crystal Core had an ability! If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, this was an ¡°Athlete¡± Crystal Core, passively enhancing physical fitness! ¡°Mr. Wang, this¡­¡± Cui Sheng¡¯s lips trembled. He was still an ordinary person; if he could merge with this 100% success rate Crystal Core, then he would become an ability user! Perhaps to other ability users, this wasn¡¯t much, but for him, it meant a world of difference! ¡°A fee for running errands,¡± Wang Tao said casually. A mere errand-running fee obviously didn¡¯t warrant such a Crystal Core, but since Wang Tao had been at the base, Cui Sheng had always served diligently and loyally up to now, and Wang Tao was quite satisfied with him. So giving a reward was appropriate, after all, he would still need someone to run errands in the future. Chapter 827 - Chapter 827: Chapter 323 Starfire Society_2 Chapter 827: Chapter 323 Starfire Society_2 ¡°Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Wang!¡± Cui Sheng quickly bowed in thanks. He didn¡¯t bother with polite refusals and promptly accepted the offer. Between big shots, courtesy was common, but the status between him and Wang Tao was not equal; this was a reward from Wang Tao. If he had refused, it would have seemed ungrateful. Moreover, everyone was an adult and knew that interests were the foundation of relationships. He devoted himself to serving Wang Tao precisely to gain something from him. If he had refused everything, Wang Tao might have suspected ulterior motives¡­ After finishing breakfast, Wang Tao said to everyone: ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re leaving the city.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Cui Sheng was still waiting outside, and when he saw Wang Tao and his group come out, he hurried to open the car door for them. This time, Wang Tao was in an armed bulletproof minibus. It had enough space for everyone. They could have taken a helicopter, which was parked within the Third Legion. However, Duan Xuchang had previously warned Wang Tao that there were flying zombies and monsters outside. If the plane flew too low, it was likely to be attacked, and if it flew too high, it might stall¡­ For safety sake, they had decided against using the aircraft for now. The vehicle left the villa district and, after a while, arrived outside the East City Gate. ¡°Mr. Wang, I wish you a victorious return!¡± Cui Sheng said respectfully. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡°Let¡¯s hope so,¡± Wang Tao replied. After registering, the vehicle smoothly left the Changhe Base through a side entrance. On their first visit to Changhe Base, they had used the East City Gate. So, seeing the railway tracks outside the city evoked a sense of nostalgia in everyone. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s that for?¡± Ding Yuqin suddenly pointed to an area cordoned off by soldiers and asked. Wang Tao glanced over and said with a smile: ¡°That¡¯s where the City Hall and the Legion are mining the meteorite.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s here!¡± Ding Yuqin realized and then felt somewhat aggrieved. ¡°Hmph! I hope they never find anything good!¡± The City Hall had promised to call Wang Tao the next day but had changed their plans without notice, which naturally upset him and his team. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them,¡± Wang Tao said, shaking his head dismissively, as it was irrelevant to him since he had already reviewed the data and drawn his conclusions. At the city gate, there was still a considerable flow of people. As they moved further from the base, the number of people dwindled. However, there were neither zombies nor monsters nearby, making their journey unusually safe, something they were not quite accustomed to. Previously, whether at a military base or at Zijin Base, they had become used to seeing hordes of zombies as soon as they stepped outside¡­ The lack of zombies was probably due to the geographic location; Changhe Base was built on a wasteland where not only were there no cities nearby, there weren¡¯t even other buildings, so the absence of zombies was normal. After a long walk, they finally encountered zombies. Everyone actually breathed a sigh of relief; Wei Zhenguo even exclaimed: ¡°I almost thought it was before the apocalypse¡­¡± Everyone grabbed their weapons and disembarked. This was a group of ordinary zombies, ranging from Levels 1 to 3. Wang Tao let Lan Yulian and He Jijun take action. One of the main purposes of this outing was to boost their HP to 110,000. He Jijun¡¯s strength was unquestionable. Wielding an axe, he easily chopped down these ordinary zombies. Although Lan Yulian was not skilled in combat, her level allowed her to easily defeat them as well. Moments later, the group of zombies had all been decapitated. Inside their heads were gray crystal cores. [Level 3 Crystal Core] [Quality: Inferior quality (2%)] [Purity: 4% (Side effects: None)] Looking at the crystal core in his hand, Wang Tao frowned slightly, as he was not sure what it could be used for yet. However, the strength of these zombies was indeed a lot stronger, just as Duan Xuchang had described. While this posed no threat to Wang Tao and his team, it could significantly affect weaker ability users¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± After checking the zombie corpses and confirming there was nothing else, Wang Tao led everyone to the car and headed for the address Qu Shilin had given. Wang Tao was quite curious about this place. When he previously found the strength mushroom, there were also defense mushrooms nearby, and he wondered if there were any other special plants here. On the road, Wang Tao unexpectedly came across a group of over a hundred roaming zombies. Although there was no Level 4, Lord, there were Level 3 and Level 4 ordinary and elite zombies. This was an opportunity not to be missed, so Wang Tao led his team into the midst of the zombies and started a massacre. For Wang Tao¡¯s team, all of whom were Level 3 ability users or higher, including three Level 4 ability users, this group of zombies obviously posed no threat. However, to let Lan Yulian and He Jijun have all the kills, they spent a bit more time than usual. After clearing out the group of zombies, Wang Tao obtained many crystal cores. Although none of them bore any abilities, being Level 3 and Level 4 crystal cores, they were still very valuable. The most important thing, however, was that Lan Yulian and Xiang Hongbin reached 50,000 and 60,000 HP, respectively. Although their HP wasn¡¯t full yet, they were already above the safety line, so Wang Tao no longer needed to worry. At three in the afternoon, Wang Tao and his team finally arrived at the hillside Qu Shilin had mentioned. ¡°It should be¡­ this way, let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao parked his vehicle at the base of the hill, leaving some people to watch the car while he led others up the hill. The hill was quite bare of trees due to the season. Following the map Qu Shilin had given to Wang Tao, they quickly found the specific spot. It was a very hidden cave, camouflaged on the outside just as Qu Shilin had described. Wang Tao checked and the disguise appeared untouched. But Wang Tao did not let his guard down. He carefully peeled back the entrance¡¯s disguise, revealing a slightly smaller entrance. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a faint green light, clearly showing that the interior was spacious with a sinuous downward leading tunnel that he couldn¡¯t see where it led. There was nothing dangerous or any mushrooms in sight within his range of view. ¡°It¡¯s safe, come in!¡± Wang Tao led several people inside. Then he carefully sensed his surroundings using his plant affinity. Everything within his range of perception was safe. However, the cave was very deep, and even his plant affinity couldn¡¯t reach the bottom. Qu Shilin had previously told Wang Tao that the team cooperating with her had ventured deep into this cave and they had found nothing inside but mushrooms and other similar things. Wang Tao had initially thought this information was reliable, but now, seeing the actual situation, Wang Tao felt that the team hadn¡¯t told the truth. Because the cave was too deep and sloped downward at a steep angle, with some parts having a 90-degree drop. So not to mention whether they dared to go down, whether they could come back up was a big issue. Wang Tao felt that the team probably had not ventured down, but had also not encountered any danger, so they said it was safe here. Clearly, there were no zombies in such a place, but whether there were other monsters was uncertain. However, Wang Tao did not plan to go deep because he had already spotted strength mushrooms not far away. He saw a large cluster of pure white mushrooms, speckled with red, around a corner. Wang Tao walked over and picked one. [Obtained: Strength Mushroom x1] [Strength Mushroom: Crafting material, edible. Consuming it temporarily boosts strength but induces hallucinations for a duration.] ¡°These are the mushrooms. Go ahead and pick them. I¡¯ll keep watch.¡± I waved my hand. ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone immediately sprang into action. There were more strength mushrooms here than Wang Tao had anticipated. After picking the entire area clean, they had gathered over twelve hundred! Besides the hundred promised to Qu Shilin, the rest could be used to make many strength potions!¡±Hmm?¡± Just as Wang Tao had put all the mushrooms into his space backpack, his brow suddenly arched. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming!¡± Chapter 828 - Chapter 828: Chapter 324: Fourth Order Disaster Chapter 828: Chapter 324: Fourth Order Disaster Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability was always active. In such wild mountains and ridges, the Plant Affinity Ability could be fully utilized. After putting all the Strength Mushrooms into his Space Backpack, Wang Tao suddenly perceived that people were approaching from afar, and there were quite a few of them. For safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao immediately evacuated. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming, let¡¯s get out of here first.¡± Everyone was a bit surprised, but since all the mushrooms in the cave had been taken and there was nothing else, they all followed Wang Tao and quickly retreated. As soon as they had exited, Nie Siyan¡¯s voice came through the earpieces. ¡°Brother Wang, I just saw a lot of people climbing up the mountain from another place! There¡¯s a military force among them, and judging by their insignia, they seem to be from the Sixth Army Corps¡­¡± ¡°The Sixth Army Corps, huh¡­¡± Wang Tao frowned. He was planning to leave since he had already achieved his goal. But upon hearing that there were people from the Legion, Wang Tao stopped; he decided to see what the situation was. In Changhe Base, you might not trust other survivors, or even the City Hall, but you can definitely trust the Six Major Legions. The Six Major Legions were the founders of Changhe Base, built with their blood and tears. Most of the survivors were rescued by them and brought to Changhe Base, and they hoped even more for Changhe Base to develop better and faster. According to the survivors inside Changhe Base, if you¡¯re temporarily trapped in the wilderness and encounter other forces, you might need to carefully consider whether the risk of staying trapped is greater or the risk of asking for help from others is higher. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï After all, in the wilderness, if someone really wants to rob and harm others, as long as they don¡¯t leave any traces, there¡¯s no way to investigate it. People die out there every day. But if you encounter a Legion, regardless of which one, you can safely and boldly ask for help. They definitely won¡¯t cheat you. The only thing you have to pay, once you¡¯re back in the city, is a rather expensive bill. Life is certainly more important than money. If you don¡¯t pay anything, everyone might actually feel uneasy. This clearly priced behavior, on the other hand, makes everyone feel more at ease. And to be honest, the weapons, equipment, and personnel of the Legions are much better than those of other forces; they might not even value you¡­ So when you encounter a Legion outside the city, there¡¯s no need to be afraid at all, and most people want to cooperate with the Legions, given their good reputation. Since there were military folks among the group that had arrived, Wang Tao decided not to leave and instead wanted to see what these people were doing. Wang Tao and his group waited at the entrance of the cave for a while when they suddenly heard noises approaching. ¡°There are people here!¡± A startled shout came from a distance followed by a series of cautious voices. It was somewhat ironic that the Legion had nothing against other people, but other people might have ulterior motives toward the Legion. Therefore, in the wild, people might feel safe when they see the Legion. However, when the Legion faces other people, they are very vigilant. There have been occasional incidents where members of small Legion squads were ambushed because the equipment of Legion members was too good. If some ruthless people found a lone Legion member, they would be tempted to take risks¡­ Wang Tao and the others were on the mountain, while the newcomers were below. There were various dead trees blocking the line of sight, so they were quite close when they spotted Wang Tao and his group. Wang Tao could see the situation with these people clearly. About one-third were from the Legion, while the rest were from other forces, dressed in various styles. And there were several familiar faces. ¡°Who¡¯s up there, identify yourselves!¡± A person with a loud voice shouted from below. ¡°Starfire Society, Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao identified himself. Although Lan Yulian was the boss of the Starfire Society, it was likely that this group didn¡¯t know Lan Yulian. But Wang Tao was different as he had acquaintances. Sure enough, after Wang Tao announced his name, someone spoke up loudly. ¡°Mr. Wang? Is that you?¡± Hearing this familiar voice, Wang Tao immediately responded: ¡°Boss Qi, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°It really is you! We¡¯re all friends here!¡± A moment later, the Legion ceased their caution, and a large group of people appeared in front of Wang Tao. Wang Tao immediately recognized three acquaintances¡ª Qi De, the boss of Rush Army; Deputy Guild Leader Zhou Long of Loyalty Guild; and Deputy Alliance Leader Huang Wu of Universe Alliance. These were the individuals he had previously joined forces with to open a meteorite. ¡°What a coincidence! To think I would run into Mr. Wang here!¡± Qi De came over with a laugh. Today, Qi De wore a set of silver armor and held the Iron Bone Knife he had before. The Iron Bone Knife was clearly bought from City Hall, and the style of his armor was different from that of the others, which meant it was probably obtained from the meteorite¡­ It seemed that he had reaped quite a bit from opening the meteorite! ¡°Haha, it¡¯s Mr. Wang! Are you also here for this?¡± Zhou Long grinned, pointing to the cave where Wang Tao had previously been picking mushrooms. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t quite sure what Zhou Long meant by that. It shouldn¡¯t be about mushroom picking, as it would be too ridiculous for all these fully armed people to gather mushrooms. Wang Tao shook his head and said: ¡°No, I was just passing by, planning to go up the mountain to see if there were any monsters or something. Then my people at the bottom of the mountain discovered that someone was coming, so I waited here to see what was going on.¡± Aside from concealing the mushroom picking, Wang Tao slightly modified the rest of the story and shared it. Chapter 829 - Chapter 829: Chapter 324 Fourth Order Disaster_2 Chapter 829: Chapter 324 Fourth Order Disaster_2 Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, both Qi De and Zhou Long¡¯s faces betrayed a look of sudden realization. They had been wondering how Wang Tao had gotten the information, and it turned out to be a coincidence. Huang Wu and Wang Tao nodded without saying much. He could see Wang Tao was still slightly embarrassed. Then, the three turned their attention to one of the powered armors. This powered armor looked different from the rest, simply put, it looked better. A certain celebrity once said, the better a weapon looks, the stronger its combat power. Clearly, this powered armor should be stronger than the others. Clank¡ª The mask of the powered armor opened, revealing the spirited face of a woman inside. ¡°Mr. Wang, hello, I am the commander of the Sixth Army Corps, Cheng Yiyi.¡± ¡°Commander Cheng, hello!¡± That the commander of the Sixth Army Corps was a woman mildly surprised Wang Tao. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Level: Level 3] According to her attributes, she was clearly a peak Level 3 Ability User, not weak at all. Unfortunately, without hidden attributes, awakening was difficult. However, speaking of which, Wang Tao had met two corps commanders, and both were Level 3 Ability Users. Wang Tao began to doubt whether their corps had any Awakeners¡­ Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã? Cheng Yiyi was also surprised by Wang Tao because he was accompanied by several beautiful women. It seemed to her almost as if they were here for a picnic. But after all, Wang Tao was an Awakener, and even if it really were a picnic, he had the strength for it. After sizing each other up, Cheng Yiyi spoke again: ¡°Mr. Wang, we are preparing to hunt a monster. Do you want to join us? If you participate, follow my command. If not, please stay away, because swords and spears have no eyes.¡± Cheng Yiyi did not beat around the bush, directly stating her intentions. ¡°Hmm? Hunt a monster?¡± The team led by Cheng Yiyi numbered one to two hundred people. Although not many in number, the team included 20 powered armors. The rest were all armed with mechanical exoskeletons, so their overall combat power was not to be underestimated. Zhou Long and his group were Fourth-order Superpowers, with each leading a team. Though their numbers were small, they were clearly elites, with similarly strong combat power. Such powerful teams coming together felt almost like overkill to slay a Level 4 Lord. What kind of monster were they hunting? Curious, Wang Tao wanted to see the specifics of the situation, so he nodded straightforwardly. ¡°I¡¯ll join!¡± Seeing Wang Tao join, the expressions of the others plainly shifted. Zhou Long¡¯s usually smiling face suddenly stiffened; he clearly did not want Wang Tao to join. The more people there were, the less spoils to share. They were completely sufficient themselves, but since it was an operation organized by Cheng Yiyi, he couldn¡¯t well say much. Qi De¡¯s face showed a hint of pleasure, feeling that Wang Tao was quite lucky. Luck was an enigmatic thing, but vitally important. Although Wang Tao¡¯s joining meant sharing a piece of the pie, if it led to obtaining plenty of good stuff, it would be a gain. Huang Wu¡­ still in full gear and wearing a mask, his expression was unclear. As for Cheng Yiyi, she had a cool expression, her exact thoughts unapparent. Yet it seemed she wanted Wang Tao to join; otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have given those two options. Wang Tao caught everyone¡¯s reaction but said nothing, simply looking toward Cheng Yiyi. ¡°Good! Then your group will be the fifth team. Follow my orders later on!¡± Cheng Yiyi did not give Wang Tao any special privileges because he was an Awakener; he still had to follow her command. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He wasn¡¯t resistant. Back in Zijing City, he often let He Jijun command. Leadership skills were not combat abilities, especially in large-scale operations, where he and professionals differed greatly. Seeing Wang Tao agree without objection, Cheng Yiyi nodded with satisfaction. She did not like cooperating with Awakeners much, as they often tried to take command away from her. It wasn¡¯t that she looked down on some people, but some did not understand even the professional terms, let alone tactics, yet still wanted to command her troops, which was frankly a joke¡­ ¡°Alright!¡± Cheng Yiyi connected Wang Tao¡¯s radio to her team¡¯s network and then said to Wang Tao: ¡°When I used the energy detector earlier, I found a huge mass of energy here, stronger than any Level 4 Lord I¡¯ve encountered, and it¡¯s even possible that it¡¯s a Level 5 monster. Right underground. So I planned to force it out¡­¡± ¡°Energy detector?¡± It was the first time Wang Tao had heard this term. ¡°The latest product from Hope Research Institute¡­¡± It was then that Qi De spoke up, explaining to Wang Tao. After hearing the explanation, Wang Tao suddenly understood. The energy detector was essentially a super-wide-range [Perception] Superpower, only the Perception Ability was very precise, while the energy detector was quite vague. It¡¯s said to be able to detect large-scale energy fluctuations, but so far, it could only sense the energy of Lords Level 4 and above, and moreover, it has to be a large volume. For instance, a human of Level 4, it couldn¡¯t detect for the time being. This trial version of the detector was given by the institute to each Legion for testing. Cheng Yiyi had only been using it for a short while before she discovered a big one. Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity. After all, the detector had only sensed this one gigantic energy mass nearby, with no other energy signatures. And since there were no zombies around, there was a high probability that this was the only monster here. Wang Tao nodded, agreeing that if it had been him, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have let this opportunity pass either. According to the information received so far, there were actually many Level 4 Lords, especially zombies. But those zombies were among hordes, making them difficult to deal with. A solitary Level 4 Lord like this was hard to find, especially one that seemed stronger than a Level 4 Lord¡ªthat one simply couldn¡¯t be missed. Of course, the detector also made a judgment, stating that the energy mass was at most Level 5 and would not exceed that. That¡¯s why they had come. After all, with their collective Combat Power, if a Level 5 monster really appeared, perhaps they could give it a try, but anything above Level 5 was definitely a no-go¡­ ¡°Commander Cheng, are you sure the monster is in this cave?¡± Watching Cheng Yiyi direct some people to move various things into the cave, Wang Tao asked. ¡°Yes, one hundred percent inside. I¡¯ll find a way to force it out, you guys just need to guard the outside.¡± Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t know there was a cave here, but since the detector indicated the monster was underground, there must be a cave on the mountain. Hence, she prepared weapons specifically for this situation. Wang Tao and the others waited outside. Soon, they saw smoke wafting from inside the cave. ¡°Trying to smoke the monster out?¡± Wang Tao realized. Zombies weren¡¯t afraid of smoke or such things, but monsters were different. He could also distinctly tell that this smoke was very pungent and choking, though he had no idea what substances had been added to it. Everyone waited quietly, and after half an hour, just when Qi De and the others were wondering if the device was malfunctioning, they suddenly felt a slight tremor under their feet. ¡°There¡¯s movement!¡± Everyone immediately gripped their weapons, becoming alert. At that moment, Cheng Yiyi¡¯s voice came through in everyone¡¯s earpieces. ¡°There¡¯s another exit to the north, it¡¯s escaped through there! Chase it!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao and his group immediately chased towards the north. They ran downhill to the foot of the mountain in the north when they suddenly heard a booming sound. A torrent of rubble flew, and a giant shadow burst out from the ground. ¡°A snake?¡± Someone exclaimed upon seeing the creature¡¯s true form. Rat-a-tat-tat¡ª Cheng Yiyi had already started providing covering fire. But the Giant Serpent didn¡¯t flee; instead, it reared up half its body and charged at the group. Seeing the Giant Serpent¡¯s attributes, Wang Tao¡¯s expression instantly turned grave. [HP:200000/200000] [Mana:0/0] [Level:Level 4 ¡¤ Disaster] [Cataclysmic Awakening: Life Draining] [Life Erosion: Surrounding life forms continuously lose HP] Chapter 830 - Chapter 830: Chapter 325: Healing Demonstrates Power Chapter 830: Chapter 325: Healing Demonstrates Power This was a Fourth-Order Disaster-level monster with 200,000 HP! Wang Tao had encountered a Disaster-level once before in Wuyang City, which was a Level 5 Disaster-level zombie. Its Cataclysmic Awakening was ¡°Radiation.¡± Wang Tao, at that time aboard a helicopter, heard the urgent beeping of the Geiger counter and saw zombies falling in droves below. He swiftly fled the scene, knowing he was no match for that creature. Since then, Wang Tao had never seen a Disaster-level again, and of course, not a Level 5 either. And now, Wang Tao encountered another Disaster-level! This Disaster-level monster¡¯s awakening was an ability that caused the life energy of nearby living beings to continuously drain, sounding somewhat similar to the previous ¡°Radiation¡±¡­ [Life Drain: Nearby life continuously loses HP] However, this Disaster-level was Level 4. If it had been Level 5, Wang Tao might have run immediately, but Level 4¡­ Wang Tao glanced at the group of people on his side, seeming like they might stand a chance? Da-da-da¡ª A torrent of fire enveloped the Black Giant Snake, and bullets hitting it only sparked without causing any real damage. However, they did stop the Black Giant Snake¡¯s advance. ¡°Such high defense! What kind of monster is this! It feels much stronger than Level 4! But it doesn¡¯t quite seem to be Level 5¡­¡± Looking at the Black Giant Snake, Qi De spoke seriously. He had seen a Level 5 Zombie Lord before. Although this monster felt strong, it didn¡¯t quite compare to the feeling he got from a Level 5 zombie¡­ Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï ¡°This is a Disaster-level creature, a level higher than a Lord Rank.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Disaster-level?¡± The others instinctively looked towards Wang Tao, hearing this term for the first time. ¡°Since they are disasters in themselves, I call them Disaster-level. Like this Black Giant Snake, I¡¯ve seen similar ones before; nearby life will continuously lose life energy! No creature can stay near it for long, not even a Giant Zombie!¡± Wang Tao intended to kill the Black Giant Snake, so he had to mention its ability. But he couldn¡¯t make it obvious that he saw the creature¡¯s attributes, so he only mentioned he had seen similar ones before. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°Nearby life will continuously lose life energy? Even Giant Zombies can¡¯t withstand it?¡± This ability was too outrageous! Did they even have a chance to win? And how wide was this ¡°nearby¡± area? Just as everyone started to worry and wonder, they saw someone at the very front of the team, who was not under attack, suddenly collapse. ¡°Not good!¡± Watching this scene, the group immediately thought of Wang Tao¡¯s words; was this a loss of life energy? The fallen were quickly dragged back by their teammates, and then several green lights fell on these individuals, who then groggily woke up. Wang Tao was somewhat surprised because the healing wasn¡¯t from Lan Yulian but from people within the legion, who had healing-type ability users, and more than one. Although their healing abilities were not as good as Lan Yulian¡¯s, healing about one thousand HP each time, it was enough to keep the injured out of mortal danger. Wang Tao now realized that the Black Giant Snake¡¯s awakening [Life Drain] was a simple and crude passive awakening that directly reduced HP! The few Level 3 ability users at the front of the team were losing between five thousand to ten thousand HP each second! The exact amount varied, seemingly related to the ability users¡¯ own strength, as Level 3s also had their strong and weak. If it were below Level 3, wouldn¡¯t they die instantly? Regarding the range of [Life Drain]¡ª ¡°I measured roughly, and the warrior in front is about fifty meters away from the Black Giant Snake¡­ Losing life energy from so far away?!¡± Qi De looked very troubled. A radius of fifty meters was far too vast! Ability users capable of ranged attacks were few, and those who could attack from fifty meters away were even fewer! This radius of fifty meters essentially excluded most ability users! As a pure melee Awakener like Qi De, he couldn¡¯t use his formidable strength at all! ¡°Retreat first!¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s ears. The retreat began in an orderly manner, and then Cheng Yiyi added: ¡°Zhou Long, can you trap it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try!¡± Zhou Long stepped forward, placing his hand on the ground, and slowly, a patch of Black Quicksand began to form beneath his palm. Zhou Long¡¯s Awakening: Black Quicksand could act as a ranged ability, but when he used this awakening, his hand had to be on the ground, and he had to maintain it within a certain range. However, this range¡­ did not reach fifty meters! Thus, everyone saw clearly, when Zhou Long¡¯s Black Quicksand appeared under the Black Giant Snake, it indeed trapped the snake, but Zhou Long¡¯s condition also seemed off. After holding on for half a minute, Zhou Long immediately let go and followed the large group to retreat. After he left, the Black Quicksand slowly dissipated. The Black Giant Snake that had just been trapped briefly regained its mobility. Da-da-da¡ª Countless bullets landed on the Black Giant Snake, but they could only slightly slow its pace. Given the current situation, it would quickly catch up with the team. On the other side, Zhou Long¡¯s complexion was somewhat pale. ¡°I feel a bit sick; heal me!¡± Whoosh! Several green lights fell on Zhou Long¡¯s head, and he felt somewhat better. ¡°I just felt like I might die at any moment¡­¡± Zhou Long was a bit shaken and somewhat incredulous. Chapter 831 - Chapter 831: Chapter 325: Healing Shows Power_2 Chapter 831: Chapter 325: Healing Shows Power_2 He was a Fourth-Order Superpower, at the same level as this monster. The gap shouldn¡¯t be this vast! The others looked equally grim. If Zhou Long, a Fourth-Order Superpower, couldn¡¯t hold the line, then they had no chance of fighting! ¡°Wang Tao¡­¡± Lan Yulian tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s sleeve, meaning to ask if he should intervene. ¡°Let me think¡­¡± Wang Tao had just observed that Zhou Long was losing over a thousand HP per second. Although this rate was lower than others, it was still terrifying because, at this rate, he would lose over seventy thousand HP in a minute, yet his total HP was only a hundred thousand¡­ The defense of the Black Giant Snake was extremely high, many bullets that hit it showed no damage at all! Its defense was even higher than that of the Giant Zombie! So, killing this Black Giant Snake quickly was impossible, but over a long period, the HP loss was too frightening¡­ However, they weren¡¯t entirely out of options, thanks to Lan Yulian! Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability¡­ ¡°Jade Lotus, listen to my command later and try a few healings,¡± Wang Tao immediately said. ¡°No problem!¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã? ¡­ The team kept slowly retreating. Although under Cheng Yiyi¡¯s command there were no casualties yet, continuing like this was not a solution. More and more people were getting injured, and their injuries weren¡¯t recovering anytime soon. The team would inevitably collapse. Cheng Yiyi had to make a decision now, whether to keep fighting or to run. They had many vehicles on the other side of the mountain. If they really needed to flee, now was their chance. But giving up on this Fourth-Order Disaster-level monster was something she was reluctant to do! Cheng Yiyi¡¯s mind was racing, looking for a way to break through. Putt¡ª At that moment, a faint sound arose. Although the sound was faint, the light was dazzling, and the energy huge. Cheng Yiyi immediately turned her head and saw Wang Tao holding a strangely shaped large handgun, the air at the muzzle trembling. Hiss¡ª The Black Giant Snake let out a hiss, seeming both angry and pained. ¡°Crystal Energy Gun!¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up. The Crystal Energy Gun was effective? Unfortunately, her team did not have any Crystal Energy Guns, as their use was terrifyingly costly! If she were to arm her troops with Crystal Energy Guns, a single battle might bankrupt her, and there weren¡¯t enough guns for her use¡­ She did have a Crystal Energy Gun, but it was in the hands of a deputy leader, not with her. ¡°Mr. Wang, is the Crystal Energy Gun effective?¡± Cheng Yiyi quickly asked. ¡°It¡¯s effective, but not much,¡± Wang Tao said with a frown. [-1533] He had just knocked off fifteen hundred of the Black Giant Snake¡¯s HP, which was more damage than all the previous attacks of the army combined. But this damage figure was still too low, considering it was a definite Fourth-Order Attack, yet it only dealt fifteen hundred damage. If the Black Giant Snake stood still and let him shoot, he would need to fire one hundred and thirty or more shots, consuming eight Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores, to kill the Black Giant Snake! And the consumption wasn¡¯t even the main issue, the main issue was time! The Crystal Energy Gun¡¯s attack interval was fifteen seconds, so it would take him over a half-hour to fire all those shots! The Black Giant Snake obviously wouldn¡¯t give him that opportunity. Wang Tao immediately raised his hand and fired another shot, his Crystal Energy Gun hadn¡¯t fully cooled down yet, so this shot was an Air Bullet. Bang! [-1622] The damage from the Air Bullet was about the same as the Crystal Energy Gun. If he added Air Bullets, he could shoot ten times a minute. With this damage of fifteen or sixteen hundred, it meant he would need at least several minutes to kill the Black Giant Snake! Under the current situation, holding out for that long was definitely impossible. But if Lan Yulian, a Fourth-Order Healing-Type Superpower, joined in¡­ Wang Tao still did not know how much Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability had improved. ¡°Jade Lotus, heal that person and then use ¡®Healing Light.¡¯ ¡°Okay!¡± Lan Yulian immediately waved her hand, and a slightly darker green light fell on the person¡¯s head. Swish¡ª [+12132] ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing the number, Wang Tao was startled. A healing ability that added ten thousand HP to someone? To think, other healers in the team could only add about a thousand HP at a time, this was ten times that amount! Even more bewildered than Wang Tao was the ability user who got the HP. Just moments before, he had felt utterly drained, as if he was about to pass out. He had even prepared himself to fall to the ground, but then he saw a faint green light before his eyes, and he instantly felt strength surge through his body! He even wondered if he had died, and this was just an illusion¡­ After releasing that healing ability, Lan Yulian immediately used Healing Light. Shh¡ª A life-symbolizing green glow radiated out from Lan Yulian at its center, instantly spreading far and wide. Everyone within range instantly saw notifications of HP recovery appear above their heads. [+1029] [+1123] [+1009] [+1087] [¡­] ¡°A thousand HP per second! It¡¯s really strong! We can¡¯t possibly lose this battle now!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed somewhat astounded. During the intense battle just now, Lan Yulian¡¯s healing had not caught much attention. But now, the Healing Light was extremely noticeable, immediately drawing most people¡¯s attention. Those within the range of the Healing Light even cried out in surprise. ¡°What is this? I feel my condition improving continuously!¡± ¡°A range healing ability? Such strong healing powers!¡± ¡°My wounds are healed!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Qi De, Zhou Long, and Huang Wu were also somewhat dumbfounded as they looked towards Lan Yulian. They hadn¡¯t felt much when Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t made a move earlier. But now that Lan Yulian had acted, especially feeling the warm sensation over their bodies, they were all somewhat shocked as they watched her. ¡°Level 4 healing-type ability user!¡± They knew Wang Tao had a healer with him, but they had no idea it was a Level 4 one! Although they couldn¡¯t see the HP bars, they could distinctly feel that the effects of Lan Yulian¡¯s range healing ability were nearly the same as the individual effects from other healing-type users! Other healing-type users could only heal one person at a time, and each release had a cooldown of about 10 seconds. But Lan Yulian¡¯s range healing ability instantly covered hundreds of people! And moreover, it was an ability that healed every second continuously! Is this the power of a healing-type Awakener! Cheng Yiyi also noticed, and she immediately drove her powered armor over to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, is your companion a healing-type Awakener?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then said to Cheng Yiyi, ¡°I think we have a chance to kill the Black Giant Snake now. We can have the awakeners hold back the Black Giant Snake, don¡¯t let it get near, and Lan Yulian keeps healing the awakeners to ensure their lives. Then we can attack from a distance¡­¡± With good coordination, Wang Tao even felt they could kill the Black Giant Snake without any injuries! Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s plan, Cheng Yiyi decisively said, ¡°Zhou Long, you go and hold back the Black Giant Snake! Huang Wu and Qi De, you guys attack and block the Black Giant Snake! Our healing-type Awakener will be behind you, and can keep you alive! Then the rest of us will attack the Black Giant Snake from a distance!¡± If they hadn¡¯t seen Lan Yulian¡¯s strength, Zhou Long and the others would definitely not have agreed to this plan as it sounded like a suicide mission. But now, with a powerful healing-type Awakener at their back, why not give it a try! ¡°Roger that!¡± Zhou Long and the others immediately charged forward. At that moment, Lan Yulian appeared to think of something and suddenly took out a garment that looked like it was made of flames. She draped the garment over herself, and then a faint red hue could be seen within the green aura centered on her. Then to everyone¡¯s amazement, the bullets they fired started showing a hint of red glow. Da da da¡ª The Black Giant Snake, which had been completely ignoring the bullet attacks before, suddenly let out a roar of pain when these red-glowing bullets hit it! Chapter 832 - Chapter 832: Chapter 326 Combined Strike Kill Chapter 832: Chapter 326 Combined Strike Kill ¡°Huh? Fire attribute attacks are effective?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He could see clearly that most bullets fired at the Black Giant Snake did no damage, and the occasional hits only caused a few points of damage. But now, when Lan Yulian made it possible for their bullets to have the Fire Attribute, they didn¡¯t just fail to damage at all, but actually caused one or two points of damage! One or two points of damage isn¡¯t much, but this is the difference between nothing and something. After all, Zheng Yiyi and her team had fierce firepower. As the saying goes, constant dripping wears away a stone. Even if an individual bullet did little damage, when added together, the damage was still significant. Rat-tat-tat¡ª Countless red bullets hit the Black Giant Snake and then, with a ¡°boom,¡± a flame suddenly erupted on the serpent¡¯s body. The serpent hissed in pain, as if it was suffering. The Fire Attribute triggered a burn! The flame from an Ability was different from ordinary fire. Faced with ordinary flames like from bullets, flamethrowers, or rocket launchers, the snake would simply ignore the attack, unable to penetrate its defense. But an Ability User¡¯s Fire Attack could break through! After being hit so many times, the Black Giant Snake was clearly very angry. Despite the hail of bullets, it charged directly towards the direction of Cheng Yiyi! The Cataclysmic Awakening of the Black Giant Snake was terrifying. Within a radius of fifty meters, a Level 3 ability user would lose between five thousand to ten thousand HP every second. If it were Level Two or Level One, they would probably be wiped out instantaneously! The one or two hundred people led by Cheng Yiyi, although elite, didn¡¯t have many Level 3 ability users. Most of them were Level Two or even Level One. If the Black Giant Snake got close to them, they could be annihilated! Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï Fortunately, Zhou Long made a move. ¡°Stop!¡± Perhaps still a bit uncertain, Zhou Long shouted, seemingly to boost his confidence. The ground beneath his palm began to slowly display a large patch of Black Quicksand. His Awakening, if used against people, may not be very effective, as people can run and dodge, not simply waiting for the quicksand to form. But monsters were different. The Black Giant Snake didn¡¯t know how to dodge and charged right into the Black Quicksand, instantly being restricted to a crawl¡ªits Speed reduced by at least 90%! While the Black Quicksand controlled the Black Giant Snake, Zhou Long also fell within range of the [Life Drain]. He began losing HP continuously. [-1134] [-1187] [-1276] [¡­] Losing a bit over a thousand HP every second. Zhou Long couldn¡¯t see it, but he could feel it was very uncomfortable. Just then, a light green tinged with red rapidly approached Zhou Long. Before he knew it, he was enveloped in it. [+1182] [+1123] [+1268] [¡­] Zhou Long¡¯s HP began to recover by a little over a thousand every second! Wang Tao watched this scene, nodding his head in satisfaction. The loss and gain of HP were roughly even, so there was no danger to his life. But Zhou Long was gritting his teeth in discomfort because losing HP felt awful, while gaining it back felt great¡­ This alternation between discomfort and relief was a bit torturous. Nevertheless, to kill this Disaster monster, likely the first kill, he had to endure! At this time, Qi De, wielding the Iron Bone Knife, had already charged under the Black Giant Snake and struck it violently with his blade. [-3134] This attack did the highest damage of all, prompting the Black Giant Snake to open its mouth wide and bite towards Qi De. Qi De leaped high in the air, evading the attack from the Black Giant Snake. Then, without looking back, he ran towards Lan Yulian, his face showing a hint of panic. ¡°Healing! Healing!¡± Swipe! [+12878] A green light fell on Qi De¡¯s head. ¡°Phew¡ª That scared me to death!¡± Qi De finally took a deep breath. Wang Tao frowned; he realized that this Black Giant Snake¡¯s Cataclysmic Awakening did not simply deduct over a thousand HP from Fourth-order Superpower users per second, but the closer one was to it, the more HP was deducted! When Qi De had gone beside the Black Giant Snake, he was losing over five thousand HP every second! To land that one strike, he spent more than ten seconds of time. Although he successfully inflicted over three thousand damage to the Black Giant Snake, he paid the price of seventy thousand HP! If he had been greedy just now and struck one or two more times, he might already be dead! After all, Lan Yulian¡¯s healing had a range, and it would be powerless if too far away. Bang! [-1653] After firing an Air Bullet, Wang Tao immediately warned: ¡°Stay away from the Black Giant Snake! The closer you are, the more Life Energy you lose! Even Fourth-order Superpower users can¡¯t withstand it for 20 seconds!¡± Wang Tao initially wanted to try out his Sharp Long Knife. This knife had an Armor Breaking Attribute, and he thought it would be effective against creatures with high Defense. But considering the situation, Wang Tao quickly discarded that idea. A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall; they could win the battle systematically without taking unnecessary risks. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s warning, Huang Wu, who was ready to rush in, hesitated. He struggled for a moment but eventually charged forward. This surprised Wang Tao; was Huang Wu so brave, unafraid of death? Qi De, as if knowing what Wang Tao was wondering, immediately bared his teeth and said: ¡°He¡¯s trying to get an ¡®assist¡¯! If we manage to get the first kill of a Disaster-level monster, not to mention the vast rewards from the City Hall, it¡¯s a huge honor in itself! He won¡¯t allow himself to miss this opportunity!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Is that a thing? But if you put it that way, then I¡¯ve got to give it my all! Chapter 833 - Chapter 833: Chapter 326 Combined Strike_2 Chapter 833: Chapter 326 Combined Strike_2 ¡°` Pfft! [ -1512 ] Wang Tao fired another shot, this time the damage came from the crystal energy gun itself. After seeing the possibility of gradually wearing down the Black Giant Snake, he had considered whether he could fire fewer shots to save some crystal cores. After all, he was using a Level 4 Epic Crystal Core. But now, he was ready to speed things up. Meanwhile, Huang Wu had already charged up to the Black Giant Snake and struck it with his blade. [ -233 ] This strike only dealt a little over two hundred damage, the lowest among all the awakeners involved. But the subsequent poison damage was significant. [ -1022 ] [ -923 ] [ -1022 ] These numbers combined were even higher than what Qi De had achieved. After his attack, Huang Wu quickly retreated. However, the Black Giant Snake¡¯s tail was already sweeping toward him, and it seemed like he couldn¡¯t dodge it. In the nick of time, he activated his speed ability and narrowly avoided the hit. Without looking back, he ran straight towards Lan Yulian. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?? When his HP was just a sliver away from depletion, a green light finally fell upon him. [ +12746 ] ¡°Whew¡ªThat was close!¡± Huang Wu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He had felt like he almost died just now; he never wanted to experience that feeling of dancing on the edge of a knife again! But the outcome was good, he had successfully landed a blow on the Disaster-level Black Giant Snake! If they could actually slay it, then he would be one of the contributors to the kill! Of course, he could have just taken a gun and shot the Black Giant Snake a few times to count as having contributed to the kill. But as a Fourth-order Superpower, he did need to maintain some pride¡­ ¡°Old He, do you want to go and take a slash too?¡± Zhen Guo nudged He Jijun¡¯s arm. He Jijun put down the Air Bullet Rifle he was holding and shook his head firmly. ¡°No. If we can win the battle, there¡¯s no need to take risks.¡± He was rather rational, and didn¡¯t have a strong complex for personal heroics. In the current situation, he found it quite agreeable to join forces with the crowd and collectively take down the Black Giant Snake¡ªno need for showboating. Wang Tao nodded; their thoughts were similar. He hadn¡¯t used his Fireball, which should be able to damage the Black Giant Snake, but there was no need to waste Awakening Energy. At this pace, they could just keep hitting it slowly. The Black Giant Snake couldn¡¯t use any abilities and naturally had no means of healing itself, but its own Blood Regeneration speed was very fast¡ªit was just too physically resilient. So they were truly just whittling down its HP slowly¡­ Bang! [ -1622 ] After Wang Tao fired another shot, he suddenly had a thought and immediately contacted Jiang Shixue using the radio. Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle was still parked at the bottom of the mountain, with Jiang Shixue, Nie Siyan, and a few others guarding it. Since they had come out quite a distance this time, the vehicle was very important. If anything happened to it, the walk back would be troublesome. ¡°Bro! How¡¯s the situation over there? Is it safe?¡± Jiang Shixue, knowing Wang Tao was in battle, had not taken the initiative to contact him. ¡°Things have stabilized for now; it¡¯s safe at the moment. I just thought of something¡ªgo down into that cave and see if there are any mushrooms or something¡­ But be careful, if there¡¯s danger, retreat immediately¡­¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that there might be mushrooms inside the cave too! It was definitely safe in the cave now because the Black Giant Snake¡¯s Cataclysmic Awakening was an indiscriminate attack. Any creature inside would surely be dead by now. Jiang Shixue had Night Vision, her claws were sharp, and she could climb walls¡­ Even if she encountered danger in the cave, she should be able to escape. ¡°Okay!¡± ¡­ Ratatat¡ª The relentless gunfire continued to engulf the Black Giant Snake. After Lan Yulian had imbued everyone with Fire attribute attacks, the Black Giant Snake¡¯s HP also slowly began to decrease. From its two hundred thousand HP, it now had just over a hundred thousand left. At this rate, another ten to twenty minutes would be enough to wear it down completely! Although they couldn¡¯t see its health bar, they could feel that the Black Giant Snake¡¯s attacks seemed to have weakened a bit, which thrilled everyone. Were they really going to slay this Disaster-level monster?! ¡°` If they could kill the Black Giant Snake this time, Lan Yulian would definitely be the hero. All tactics had been developed around her, and without her, at least a large number of people would have died. Next would be Wang Tao. Although Wang Tao seemed relaxed¡ªand indeed was relaxed¡ªhe was absolutely the main force in attack! His Air Bullets combined with the Crystal Energy Gun could inflict 15,000 points of damage to the Black Giant Snake per minute. This damage was unmatched by anyone else! Without Wang Tao, attempting to grind down the Black Giant Snake to death with just the others would be futile; even if they used up all their bullets and exhausted their energy, it¡¯s doubtful they could have killed it, given the snake¡¯s strong healing ability¡­ Then, there were Cheng Yiyi and Zhou Long. Cheng Yiyi was the commander, with everyone, including Wang Tao and Lan Yulian, following her orders. It was precisely because of her command that when they were first attacked by the Black Giant Snake, the formation didn¡¯t collapse and they immediately used massive firepower to halt its advance. Otherwise, if the Giant Serpent had charged at them¡­ even Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t have saved them. Afterward, everyone calmly attacked the Black Giant Snake under her direction, and although some were injured, no one died! Zhou Long needs no further mention. Everyone could attack the Black Giant Snake with confidence because Zhou Long¡¯s Black Quicksand completely controlled its movement! Although it didn¡¯t control the serpent fully, as it still thrashed in the Black Quicksand, slowly inching forward, Zhou Long could control the extent of the Black Quicksand and move it along with him. That¡¯s why they were able to keep the Black Giant Snake trapped. Without Zhou Long, they probably would still have been able to kill the Black Giant Snake thanks to Lan Yulian and Wang Tao, but the price would have been high, and many would have likely died¡­ As for who suffered the most, it was naturally Zhou Long, for he was the only one constantly within the range of the serpent¡¯s Awakening [Life Drain], losing HP continuously, while Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing Light enveloped him, constantly regenerating his HP. The experience of continually losing and regaining HP was truly agonizing¡­ At that moment, Zhou Long¡¯s voice rang out in the earpieces of everyone. ¡°Everyone¡­ how much longer do you need? I can¡¯t hold on much longer¡­¡± Upon hearing Zhou Long¡¯s words, everyone instantly became tense. ¡°Zhou Long, what¡¯s your situation?¡± Cheng Yiyi hurriedly asked. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted¡­ and mentally drained too¡­ My Awakening, though not consuming much Awakening Energy, continuously drains my physical strength and spirit¡­ I¡¯m about to collapse¡­¡± Zhou Long said weakly. His Awakening Ability was different from the others. A typical Active Awakening would consume a significant amount of Awakening Energy either instantaneously or continuously. Zhou Long¡¯s was different; his Awakening didn¡¯t consume much Awakening Energy, which is why he had been able to hold out until now. If it had been as consuming as Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie, he wouldn¡¯t have lasted even a minute. But there was a cost¡ªcontinuous drain on his spirit and physical strength. So he felt sleepy and tired, dying to lie down and sleep. He felt that if he held on any longer, he might suddenly drop dead¡­ After listening to Zhou Long¡¯s explanation, everyone¡¯s expressions changed drastically. Without Zhou Long¡¯s Black Quicksand, they would certainly suffer casualties! Lan Yulian¡¯s healing was powerful, but those Level Two and Level One individuals exposed to the serpent¡¯s Awakening would likely die instantly, leaving no chance for Lan Yulian to replenish their HP! Cheng Yiyi immediately calculated in her mind whether or not to have those with lesser strength withdraw while those with greater strength stood up against the Black Giant Snake. However, Wang Tao suddenly spoke: ¡°Consuming too much physical strength and spirit? Wait for me!¡± Under everyone¡¯s puzzled gaze, Wang Tao charged towards Zhou Long. Upon entering the Life Drain area, Wang Tao immediately felt uncomfortable. In his hand, he had a [Rejuvenation] Potion which could instantly restore his spirit and physical strength to full, but at the cost of being weak for the whole next day. Wang Tao directly forced open Zhou Long¡¯s mouth and poured the entire potion down his throat. Glug~ Zhou Long was somewhat dazed, but he was in no state to resist. Then he miraculously found that his physical strength and spirit were fully restored¡ªhe was neither sleepy nor tired anymore! ¡°Keep it up!¡± Wang Tao patted him on the shoulder, then immediately withdrew since staying within the [Life Drain] range was too uncomfortable. ¡°¡­¡± Zhou Long suddenly felt like it might have been better to just pass out. He had to continue enduring the torment! Zhou Long once again experienced the feeling of time dragging on endlessly. Just as he was about to give in, he suddenly heard a thunderous noise. Looking up, the Black Giant Snake¡­ had collapsed? ¡°Is it dead? Which lucky bastard killed it? It¡¯s the first kill of a Disaster-level creature¡­¡± Zhou Long couldn¡¯t hold on any longer and as he collapsed to the ground, he began to snore. Chapter 834 - Chapter 834: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter) Chapter 834: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter) Seeing that his shot had emptied the HP bar of the Black Giant Snake, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but break into a grin. Seeing the HP bar was always satisfying, putting other things aside, at the very least, snagging the last hit was a sure thing! Especially since the defense of this Black Giant Snake was so high, causing others to inflict low damage and reduce HP slowly, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to worry about the Giant Serpent suddenly dropping dead. He just needed to watch its HP and trigger his gun when it had only a thousand HP left. But this couldn¡¯t really be considered kill-stealing, since he was the main attacker. If there¡¯d been a damage counter, one would see that his attacks alone accounted for more than half of the total. If Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t added Fire attribute attacks to the others, their damage likely wouldn¡¯t even have reached half of that. Wang Tao did a lot of damage, but the cost was also significant. For instance, the Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores, which served as ¡°bullets¡± for his Crystal Energy Gun, he had used up as many as six! The Blood Regeneration speed of the Black Giant Snake was too fast, doubling the consumption Wang Tao had expected. Thankfully, killing the monster would result in extra Loot Packs, otherwise, he might have made a loss¡­ Of course, even without the Loot Packs, Wang Tao still had to kill it. After all, this was likely the first kill of a Disaster-level creature, and Wang Tao was quite curious whether it would drop anything good. ¡°Everyone rest on the spot!¡± After seeing the Black Giant Snake die, Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t go to check the corpse right away. Instead, she had everyone quickly rest and reorganize. After all, they were in the wild, and securing their personal safety was paramount. As to who killed the Giant Serpent, Cheng Yiyi wasn¡¯t sure either. The firepower just now was intense, and it seemed like the Black Giant Snake was battered badly, as if everyone¡¯s attacks were potent¡­ Plus, she couldn¡¯t see the exact damage numbers, so she couldn¡¯t judge. Wang Tao may have had high damage, but he attacked less frequently. When Wang Tao fired his gun just now, countless bullets also hit the Giant Serpent. She felt it wasn¡¯t certain that Wang Tao would get the kill, as it largely depended on luck¡­ Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?? ¡°Zhou Long has fainted!¡± Qi De had been slacking off with a gun after striking that one blow, quite comfortably at that. Seeing Zhou Long faint, he immediately rushed over and carried Zhou Long back. Wang Tao saw Zhou Long still had over fifty thousand HP; he had just fainted from exhaustion and didn¡¯t look further. He held Lan Yulian¡¯s hand beside him and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face was very pale. Although she wasn¡¯t as uncomfortable as Zhou Long in this battle, she was also very tired. After all, Healing abilities consumed Mana, and when too much Mana was expended, one would naturally feel mentally fatigued, and there was nothing available to recover Mana¡­ It was only because she was familiar with her abilities and knew how to conserve her energy, and combined with the gradual increase in her Mana, that she could hold out until now. But even so, her Mana was nearly depleted. ¡°I¡¯m okay, just a bit tired¡­ But it was worth it to kill this monster!¡± Lan Yulian, with her eyes closed, leaned on Wang Tao, the corners of her mouth slightly raised. This was her first time exerting her full power after her Awakening. Because of her, although some members of their three-hundred-person team were injured, none died! This sense of achievement was something she¡¯d never experienced before! ¡°How about I replenish some of your energy later?¡± Wang Tao suddenly whispered teasingly into her ear; his Yin and Yang Balance ability could replenish both of their Mana, though the process was somewhat special. ¡°No way!¡± Lan Yulian immediately shot Wang Tao a disapproving look. There wasn¡¯t a private space for their Yin and Yang Balance now. If it were just the two of them, she¡¯d be quite willing. ¡°Madam Lan, are you alright?¡± Cheng Yiyi walked over in her Powered Armor. ¡°I¡¯m okay, just a little too tired¡­¡± Lan Yulian struggled to leave Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. Cheng Yiyi was considering inviting Lan Yulian to her Legion. Although Lan Yulian was the president of an organization, that didn¡¯t interfere, and there was no need for Lan Yulian to stay permanently; having her as a consultant would also be nice. But seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s exhausted face, she held back for the moment and instead directly said, ¡°We owe you a lot this time! You guys have priority in distributing the Loot!¡± She didn¡¯t mince words and allowed Wang Tao first dibs on the loot. If they hadn¡¯t encountered Wang Tao and his group by chance, they would have had no way to deal with the Black Giant Snake. The Giant Serpent caused those around it to continuously lose Life Energy, preventing close combat and forcing them to attack from a distance. But the Giant Serpent¡¯s defense was too strong, and their Ranged Attacks were ineffective. And among their three Awakeners, at least two and a half were close-combatants, unable to engage in melee either¡­ So it wasn¡¯t that they weren¡¯t powerful, but their abilities were just perfectly countered by this Giant Serpent. ¡°Haha, sure thing!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony, after all, he had consumed so many Crystal Cores, so it was only right that he got first pick of the loot. Once everyone had rested and was ready to inspect the Black Giant Snake¡¯s corpse, suddenly someone exclaimed, ¡°I feel terrible¡­¡± ¡°Retreat quickly!¡± Seeing the pallor on the faces of those at the front suddenly change, Cheng Yiyi immediately ordered a retreat. Wang Tao¡¯s brow instantly furrowed. The people at the front were losing HP! This Disaster-level Giant Serpent was already dead, how could it still cause ongoing HP loss? The team retreated again, and several Healing ability users in Cheng Yiyi¡¯s team rushed to replenish the few affected. Everyone¡¯s faces looked grim. Chapter 835 - Chapter 835: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 835: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 If that¡¯s the case, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to take the loot! All that busywork for nothing? Wang Tao didn¡¯t think so, because he saw very clearly that although those people were losing HP, the rate of HP loss wasn¡¯t as horrifying as before. When the Black Giant Snake was alive, a Level 3 ability user would typically lose ten thousand HP just by entering its [Life Drain] range. But now, those Level 3 ability users only lost a little over a thousand HP. In other words, this [Life Drain] hasn¡¯t disappeared but its effect has been reduced by ten times? ¡°I can feel that the effect of this life drain has been reduced, probably by about ten times¡­¡± Wang Tao spoke up. His words, as a Level 4 ability user, carried a lot of weight and were highly trusted. ¡°If it¡¯s been reduced by ten times, then we might be able to go take a look. How about this, Qi De, Huang Wu, and Wang Tao, the three of you go check it out?¡± Cheng Yiyi suggested. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded, and seeing Wang Tao¡¯s agreement, Qi De and Huang Wu also nodded. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t go, they would have to think twice. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t trust Wang Tao, but it¡¯s always good to be wary of others. Moreover, Lan Yulian was currently unable to heal, so if something happened to them without strong healing, that would be troublesome¡­ Wang Tao voluntarily walked into the range of the [Life Drain]. Although its effect had weakened, its range hadn¡¯t changed, still with a radius of about fifty meters. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï [-103] Seeing the HP bar above his head drop, Wang Tao was immediately relieved. The sensation of losing HP was still unpleasant, but it really had been reduced by ten times; before it was a thousand HP lost. Qi De and Huang Wu, who had previously circled around the Black Giant Snake, were very sensitive to the feeling of life erosion. They could clearly feel that the rate at which their lives were being drained was not as fast as before, which allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief. However, as they got closer to the corpse of the Giant Serpent, all three of them felt increasingly uncomfortable. By the time they touched the snake¡¯s body, the HP bars above their heads were dropping by five hundred every second. But after all, they were ability users with a hundred thousand HP, and Wang Tao even had a hundred and fifty thousand HP. So even with five hundred HP being deducted every second, they could hold on for at least three minutes. Qi De and Huang Wu endured their discomfort and searched for the Crystal Core. The body of the serpent was so large that finding the core was quite troublesome, so the two of them worked together to speed up the process. Wang Tao, on the other hand, collected the Loot Packs that only he could see and then checked for other dropped materials. ¡°There really are materials!¡± Wang Tao found that a pair of the giant snake¡¯s fangs and several scales had names. This was a monster that everyone killed by working together, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t put these materials into his Space Backpack. After ensuring there were no oversights, he then regrouped with Qi De and Huang Wu. Just as Qi De and his companions extracted the Giant Serpent¡¯s Crystal Core, to everyone¡¯s surprise, there were actually two Crystal Cores in the snake¡¯s head! Besides the Crystal Cores, there were three other items. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything we¡¯ve missed, let¡¯s head back quickly¡­¡± Qi De¡¯s face was somewhat pale, as his HP was down to half. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao and the others took the items and promptly left the Black Giant Snake. ¡°Are you all alright!¡± Back with the group, Cheng Yiyi immediately asked with concern. Healing abilities were cast upon Qi De and Huang Wu; these were the healing ability users under Cheng Yiyi¡¯s command. As for Wang Tao, naturally, Lan Yulian personally administered the healing. Even though Lan Yulian had almost depleted her energy, she had recovered some by now. Qi De and Huang Wu were somewhat envious; they too longed for such strong healing! Shaking his head, Qi De took out what they had found. ¡°We¡¯re fine. Here are the spoils.¡± Wang Tao also brought out the snake fangs and scales. Once the fangs and scales were removed from the Black Giant Snake, they no longer had [Life Drain], so there was no need to worry about potential danger. Seeing all the loot, everyone was excited. ¡°How do you all think we should distribute these spoils? I personally think we should first determine the value of these items and then distribute them based on contribution. What do you think?¡± Cheng Yiyi looked at everyone as she spoke. According to the rules of Changhe Base, there were two methods of distributing loots among the survivors who collaborated. The first method was ¡°Quick distribution.¡± It involved taking whatever you were interested in, with those who contributed more having the first pick, but it had to be done on the spot. If you didn¡¯t understand an item, you¡¯d have to take a gamble on your luck. Once distributed, no one could have any objections, even if they ended up at a loss. The second method was ¡°Fair distribution.¡± It involved first clarifying the approximate value of the items. Those who made greater contributions naturally got the items of higher value. If there were too few items to split up well, then they would be converted into Crystal Coins. Generally, more people preferred ¡°Quick distribution.¡± One reason was speed, without beating around the bush. Another was that evaluating the value of unfamiliar items could be troublesome, often requiring a trip back to the city to consult others. If the spoils didn¡¯t enter one¡¯s own pocket immediately, it introduced an element of uncertainty. Besides, entrusting someone to hold on to these spoils was another issue; many people didn¡¯t trust others that much¡­ So, for convenience, most people chose this first method. Chapter 836 - Chapter 836: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 836: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 In some relationships which are relatively good, especially among the Six Major Legions, where there is mutual trust, they prefer to ascertain the value first and then distribute according to contributions, which is called ¡°fair distribution.¡± The advantage of this distribution method is its fairness; it generally doesn¡¯t let anyone feel shortchanged. However, the disadvantage is that it¡¯s relatively slow; it is quite normal for researchers to spend a week determining the value of an item¡­ This Black Giant Snake was killed by everyone working together, notably with significant contributions from Wang Tao and his group. Cheng Yiyi would surely respect the ideas of Wang Tao and the others. ¡°I agree with Commandor Cheng¡¯s plan.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He didn¡¯t mind, as he wasn¡¯t the type to take advantage; fair distribution suited him well. Of course, he had already taken the greatest advantage¡­ Since Wang Tao had agreed, naturally, there were no objections from the others. Qi De, Huang Wu, and Zhou Long all unconsciously looked at Wang Tao. After all, Wang Tao had left them with the impression of being scholarly. Qi De was particularly expectant as he spoke: ¡°Mr. Wang, do you know the value of this item?¡± If Wang Tao knew the value of these items and could distribute them on the spot, wouldn¡¯t that be both fair and quick! Cheng Yiyi was curious, and seeing her confusion, Qi De quickly explained that Wang Tao was a very knowledgeable person, aware of many things. Huang Wu and Zhou Long also nodded in agreement with Qi De. Zhou Long had just woken up; he was originally meant to sleep much longer, but his subordinates had forcibly woken him due to the distribution of the spoils of war. After hearing this, Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao somewhat surprised. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡°Mr. Wang, then you¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this a coincidence! I actually recognize these few items!¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. Hearing this, everyone looked at Wang Tao with anticipation. They didn¡¯t mention the items like the Giant Serpent¡¯s teeth and scales¡ªactually, except for Wang Tao and his group, the others didn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao would want these items. The teeth might be used to create weapons, but those scales¡­ There were so many scales on the serpent, there were plenty to go around when the time came! Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t explain the difference between these materials and ordinary materials; he skipped over these two types of materials and looked at the other spoils of war. Two Crystal Cores, one Advanced Awakening Energy Bead, one bead of unknown use, and an item resembling a key. Seeing these four items, Wang Tao also felt a bit excited. These were all desirable items! Wang Tao first looked at the Crystal Cores: the two Crystal Cores exploded out of the Black Giant Snake were both orange. [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Advanced Defense] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: body stiffness)] [Defense: Passive Ability, greatly enhances personal defense] The first Crystal Core was Advanced Defense; Wang Tao had only seen ordinary Defense before. Defense was a more common Crystal Core, but this Advanced Defense, which greatly increases personal defense, should be quite good. Moreover, this was an Epic-level one, and its value should be high. The second Crystal Core was a [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening] Awakening need not be mentioned, it was also a very valuable Crystal Core, precisely what Fourth-Order Superpower users like them were missing¡­ Both of these Crystal Cores were quite valuable. Then Wang Tao looked at the Awakening Energy Bead, which was not just any Awakening Energy Bead but also included the word ¡°Advanced.¡± [Advanced Awakening Energy Bead: After use, one can gain 500 Awakening Energy] A regular Awakening Energy Bead only adds 100 Awakening Energy, but this adds 500! Truly worthy of being high-grade! Wang Tao explained the Advanced Defense Crystal Core and the Advanced Awakening Energy Bead to everyone. ¡°Advanced Defense¡­ Advanced Awakening Energy Bead¡­¡± Everyone was a little excited. This item was obviously worth a lot of money, especially since the Awakening Energy Bead was currently considered priceless in Changhe Base; as soon as it appeared on the market, it would be bought immediately. Not to mention that this was of advanced quality! However, among the items dropped by the Giant Serpent, these Crystal Cores and Energy Beads were not the most valuable; the last two items were the most valuable! Wang Tao held the green bead, which was bigger than the Awakening Energy Bead, in his hand, then turned to Qi De and the others and said: ¡°When we opened the meteorite earlier, we encountered that Dual-tail Scorpion which had a poison sac inside that could give one a chance at obtaining a Hidden Attribute¡­¡± ¡°Could this bead also be something that grants Hidden Attributes?!¡± Qi De immediately exclaimed in surprise. When they first got these items, they were all within the range of [Life Drain], continuously losing HP, which was quite uncomfortable. Thus, they didn¡¯t have time to use the method Wang Tao taught them earlier to perceive this bead, and they didn¡¯t think it could be something like this; if it were a poison sac, they might have realized it sooner. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is something that, after being consumed, will definitely grant a Hidden Attribute.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then looked again at the bead. [Strange Snake Bead: Level 3 Serpentine consumes it may ascend one level and has a certain chance to ascend to Disaster Class, humans consume it to get a Hidden Attribute] The attributes of this Snake Bead, and the Magic Seeds and Magic Flame that Wang Tao had encountered before, were very similar. It was much better than the Strange Poison Sac, which only had a one-third chance of granting a Hidden Attribute, while this Snake Bead, when consumed by humans, definitely granted a Hidden Attribute! Chapter 837 - Chapter 837: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 Chapter 837: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 As for the possibility of a serpent below Level 4 ascending after consuming this, it definitely needn¡¯t be considered. Although, if it could ascend a Disaster-level monster, killing another Disaster-level would still be very profitable. But this is only for serpentine use, and there¡¯s currently no way to find a Level 3 one, which is even harder, and totally unnecessary. It¡¯s better to have a person gain Hidden Attributes. So Wang Tao didn¡¯t mention that the bead could be fed to serpents¡ªand he wasn¡¯t keen on explaining it either. After all, he could say he had seen it used on humans, but he certainly couldn¡¯t have fed it to serpents himself, could he? Thus, there was no need to elaborate, as it was not applicable anyway. Qi De and his two companions gasped on hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words. ¡°Hidden Attributes that are certain to be obtained!¡± Gleaming eyes among the three of them. Zhou Long wasn¡¯t sleepy anymore, so he hurriedly asked, ¡°Is there no chance of poisoning or something?¡± Wang Tao shook his head with a smile, ¡°No. There¡¯s no failure, no poisoning, you¡¯ll just definitely get a Hidden Attribute, but what specific Attribute it is isn¡¯t certain, it¡¯s totally random.¡± The three looked at each other, excitement evident in their eyes. This meant that by consuming this Snake bead, it would be like having one foot already inside the threshold of Awakening! This bead must be secured¡ªthought all three simultaneously. Meanwhile, Cheng Yiyi, perplexed, spoke up, Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡°What¡¯s a Hidden Attribute?¡± ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t know?¡± Wang Tao looked at her with some confusion. ¡°Should I know?¡± Cheng Yiyi frowned, feeling like she had missed something. Wang Tao turned to look at Qi De and his companions, who coughed dryly and looked away. Wang Tao was a bit speechless. He had once educated Qi De and his peers about Awakening, hoping they¡¯d share the knowledge so that more Awakeners might emerge. Even just one or two more Awakeners would make Wang Tao happy. But clearly, they hadn¡¯t spread the word. Not just the Ordinary people, even Legion Commander Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t know about this¡­ It showed how tight-lipped these people could be! ¡°Hidden Attributes are¡­¡± Wang Tao repeated his earlier explanation to Cheng Yiyi. ¡°What? There¡¯s such a thing as Hidden Attributes! No wonder I¡¯ve killed a Level 4, Lord, but never felt the Key they talked about¡­ It¡¯s because I don¡¯t have Hidden Attributes¡­¡± After listening, Cheng Yiyi felt a sudden revelation! But soon, she was troubled again. Not having Hidden Attributes meant she definitely couldn¡¯t awaken. No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible¡ªit was innate¡ªwait! It was only then that Cheng Yiyi realized what Wang Tao had just said. By eating this green Snake bead, one would obtain a Hidden Attribute with a hundred-percent certainty! If she ate this bead, does that mean she, too, had a chance to awaken?! Inside her Powered Armor, Cheng Yiyi¡¯s chest heaved violently. In just that brief moment, she had experienced an emotional rollercoaster¡ªafter hearing Wang Tao¡¯s exposition, she thought she¡¯d never be able to awaken in her lifetime, which left her quite despondent. But upon hearing that consuming the Snake bead would grant a Hidden Attribute, she was instantly thrilled again¡ªshe still had a chance! When Qi De and the two others saw the expression on Cheng Yiyi¡¯s face, they suddenly felt a sinking feeling in their hearts. Oh no, they had forgotten about Cheng Yiyi! She hadn¡¯t awakened yet! They had assumed that Wang Tao might contend for the bead, and by offering him certain benefits, they could perhaps persuade him to give it up. After all, they were somewhat wealthy. But if Cheng Yiyi also entered the fray, there was no way they could beat her! They couldn¡¯t match Commander Cheng¡¯s overall contributions, and they lacked the wealth and influence of the Sixth Army Corps¡ªeven if the Sixth was ranked last among the Six Major Legions, it wasn¡¯t to be underestimated! Cheng Yiyi had strong adaptive capabilities, and soon calmed herself down. She didn¡¯t rush to decide who would own the Snake bead, instead, she turned to Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, this last item¡­¡± All eyes were on Wang Tao, as they had never seen this Key-shaped object before. When Qi De and his friends first obtained the Key, they felt an urge to swallow it. But since they had no idea what it was, they didn¡¯t dare to do so haphazardly. However, they could sense that it needed to be consumed. ¡°I just explained to Commander Cheng, to awaken, Hidden Attributes are the most basic and important requirement. And once you have Hidden Attributes, by killing organisms above Level 4, Lord, you will obtain an Awakening Key. Only with all the necessary conditions met, including an Awakening Key, can one awaken¡­ And this thing, it¡¯s a Physical Awakening Key!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Qi De and the others were left agape. ¡°There¡¯s a physical form of this thing? I thought you had to personally kill a Level 4, Lord¡­ Well, if there¡¯s a Physical Key, that means you can help others awaken¡­¡± ¡°But even with all the right conditions, the probability of awakening on your first try is only 50%¡­ It¡¯s still tough to awaken!¡± ¡°Sigh, luck played a big role in our awakenings¡­¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s eyes sparkled even more. She had just been wondering¡ªeven if she eventually got the Snake bead, without an Awakening Key, awakening soon wouldn¡¯t be feasible. She would still need to hunt another Fourth-Level Organism. Chapter 838 - Chapter 838: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Chapter 838: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 ¡°` She did know of some places where Level 4 zombies resided, but those areas were extremely dangerous and not easy to kill. For the moment, she couldn¡¯t find any Level 4 Lords that were easy to deal with¡­ However, Wang Tao shook his head at this moment. ¡°No, no, no, if you use an Ordinary Awakening Key to awaken, then the success rate is indeed only 50%, but if you use this key, it might not be the case!¡± ¡°Ah? Is this key different?¡± The crowd was momentarily stunned. ¡°I call this type of key a High-level Secret Key, and the success rate of awakening with it is 70%!¡± [Advanced Awakening Secret Key: The key necessary for awakening (Success rate 70%)] [Note: When used alone, the Advanced Awakening Secret Key has a success rate of 70%; when used with one or more Ordinary Awakening Keys, the success rate averages out.] Wang Tao had known about the Advanced Awakening Secret Keys before, but had never seen one before. This was the first time he saw an Advanced Awakening Secret Key. A success rate of 70% was quite high, considering the success rate for the first awakening with an Ordinary Awakening Key was only 50%. Yet another hint popped up with this key, and after Wang Tao took a look, he roughly understood its meaning¡ª If awakening requires only one key, then naturally it¡¯s the first awakening. Thus, the success rate with an Advanced Awakening Key is 70%. If the first attempt is unsuccessful, or for those with more than two Hidden Attributes, they can try a second awakening. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã¦Ï Without the Advanced Awakening Secret Key, the success rate for the second awakening is 40%, a relatively low probability. But if you use an Advanced Awakening Secret Key, then it¡¯s the high-level 70% plus the ordinary 40%, divided by two, which averages out to 55%¡ªmeaning the success rate for the second awakening is 55%! Although the probability is still not high, for awakening, above 50% is already considered high! If it¡¯s the third awakening, the normal probability is 30%. Add one Advanced Awakening Secret Key, and then it¡¯s 70%+30%+30% divided by 3, which is a 43% success rate. While this success rate is higher than 30%, it still doesn¡¯t exceed 50%, so Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t worth it. However, turning back to the subject, as long as you have enough Advanced Awakening Keys, two for the second awakening, three for the third awakening¡­ then your success rate for awakening stays at 70%! Therefore, Wang Tao thought that with only one Advanced Awakening Key, it would be relatively worthwhile to use it for the first or second awakening, but not beyond the third, because it wouldn¡¯t surpass the 50% probability. Of course, if there are plenty of Advanced Awakening Keys, then it doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s a pity that there is only one right now¡­ ¡°An Advanced Awakening Secret Key with a 70% awakening success rate¡­¡± The people exclaimed in amazement, as this was the first time they had heard of such a thing. ¡°If you eat the Snake Bead to gain a Hidden Attribute and then use this High-level Secret Key¡­ Wouldn¡¯t that directly turn you into an Awakener?¡± Zhou Long muttered to himself. ¡°In theory, that¡¯s the case. The premise is not to have too bad luck, since this is a 70% chance, not 100%, and there is still the possibility of failure¡­¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Qi De and the others slowly fell into silence. A Snake Bead, coupled with an Advanced Awakening Secret Key, almost guaranteed becoming an Awakener! The value of these two items was immensely high! They all wanted the Snake Bead and the Advanced Awakening Key! But it was highly likely that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get either, let alone both at the same time! After introducing all of these items, it was time for Wang Tao to choose his loot first, as everyone had agreed beforehand. But Cheng Yiyi suddenly spoke: ¡°Mr. Wang, please come with me for a moment.¡± She clearly had something she wanted to discuss with Wang Tao alone. Qi De and the others were not surprised by this situation. If they were in her shoes, they¡¯d want to talk to Wang Tao as well, to see if they could negotiate to prevent him from taking those two items. Especially for Cheng Yiyi, who was not an Awakener and had no Hidden Attributes, she was the one who needed the Snake Bead and Advanced Awakening Key the most! ¡°` ¡°Sigh¡­¡± Qi De and his two companions sighed. They felt they were out of the running, and it ultimately came down to whether Wang Tao or Cheng Yiyi would get the items. Not to mention Wang Tao, his team had made a significant contribution to killing the monster. As for Cheng Yiyi, although her contribution to the kill wasn¡¯t as great as Wang Tao¡¯s, she was the one who organized this operation, and it was she who discovered these monsters. Thus, she had a sizable share in the final distribution of the loot. Qi De and the others had to step back¡­ On the other side. Cheng Yiyi spoke seriously to Wang Tao: ¡°Mr. Wang, let¡¯s not beat around the bush. I want the snake bead and the advanced awakening secret key. But with my contribution points, it¡¯s clear that I can¡¯t take both. So, I hope you can give me this chance. Of course, I¡¯ll compensate you with crystal coins or other items, and I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t be at a loss! Moreover, you can tell me what you want in compensation, and I¡¯ll try my best to satisfy you¡­¡± The snake bead was also very useful to Wang Tao. Yang Changhong hadn¡¯t awakened any hidden attributes yet, and Wang Tao had been thinking of securing one for her, but he hadn¡¯t had the chance. Although he had items that could enhance hidden attributes, they all came with a risk of failure, unlike this 100%-guaranteed snake bead. As for the advanced awakening secret key, there was no need to say more. Not to mention others, Wang Tao himself wanted to use it because he wanted to undergo a second awakening. However, Wang Tao also knew that taking one item wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but taking both would be quite difficult. After all, everyone agreed that the value of the snake bead plus the advanced awakening secret key accounted for over 95% of the total value gained this time! After all, this equated to a 70% chance of training an awakener in a short time, and it wasn¡¯t a random training but one where you could freely choose who to awaken! When Wang Tao collected the loot pack from the Giant Serpent earlier, he glanced through it, and the items inside were better than the ones available now. Even if he didn¡¯t take these items, he considered the operation a huge success. But after all, these items were rightfully his, earned through hard work, and he wouldn¡¯t just give them away for free. So Wang Tao pondered for a moment and said: ¡°How about this? I won¡¯t fight over these two items, and you can just give me whatever compensation later. Besides these two items, all other items, including the corpse of this Giant Serpent, go to me, and you handle the compensation for Qi De and his team. Additionally, I¡¯d like to make a small trade with you¡­¡± At the beginning of Wang Tao¡¯s words, Cheng Yiyi was visibly excited. If Wang Tao was willing to part with the loot, she was certainly willing to compensate him. As for giving Wang Tao all the other loot from the Giant Serpent, she naturally agreed, since the value of those items wasn¡¯t as high as that of the snake bead and the key. As for the body of the Giant Serpent, although odd in that it could still unleash [Life Drain] even after death, it definitely wasn¡¯t something she could make sense of in a hurry, and its value was surely not as high as the snake bead and the secret key! So giving it all to Wang Tao was naturally no issue. The only question was, what did Wang Tao mean by the rest of his statement? ¡°Mr. Wang, what is this trade you¡¯re proposing?¡± ¡°I have two ordinary physical awakening keys, which I¡¯d like to exchange for that advanced awakening secret key. Do we have a deal?¡± Two physical awakening keys suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, slightly different in appearance from the advanced real body awakening secret key, and evidently not as high-level. ¡°Two physical keys!¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s breathing instantly grew rapid. Wang Tao actually had two physical awakening keys?! To trade or not to trade? The advanced awakening secret key had a 70% success rate; as long as luck wasn¡¯t too poor, one should be able to awaken. The ordinary awakening secret key had a 50% success rate; theoretically, there was a fifty-fifty chance of awakening. But with good luck, both could awaken! Then again, if luck was bad, neither would be awakened¡­ A dilemma indeed! Wang Tao didn¡¯t disturb Cheng Yiyi and quietly waited. The reason he wanted to exchange for the solid advanced awakening key was because after killing the Black Giant Snake, apart from gaining advanced special energy, 100 awakening energy, he had also obtained a secret key. But it wasn¡¯t an ordinary secret key; it was a high-level secret key! However, this secret key wasn¡¯t physical, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t take it out; it was only usable for himself. And the conditions for Wang Tao¡¯s second awakening were already met, but he wasn¡¯t willing to gamble with just a 40% success rate. Now, if there was a 70% success rate, Wang Tao felt it was worth trying for the second awakening! Chapter 839 - Chapter 839: Chapter 328: Awakening Seed Chapter 839: Chapter 328: Awakening Seed Cheng Yiyi and Wang Tao returned to the crowd, and Wang Tao spoke up immediately: ¡°This time, I only want the Giant Serpent¡¯s body, materials, Crystal Core, and Awakening Energy Pearl. I don¡¯t need anything else.¡± The items he mentioned seemed numerous, but their value was far less than that of the Snake Bead and the Secret Key. Qi De and his companions immediately understood, realizing Wang Tao had already discussed this with Cheng Yiyi. They sighed internally; since even Wang Tao had conceded, they had no chance of claiming these items anymore. Sure enough, Cheng Yiyi then said, ¡°I want the Snake Bead and the Advanced Awakening Secret Key. I can convert the value of these items into Crystal Coins and transfer them to you according to each person¡¯s Contribution Points later. What do you think?¡± ¡°We have no objections¡­¡± Since Wang Tao had already discussed it with Cheng Yiyi, Qi De and the others naturally couldn¡¯t argue. They simply nodded in agreement. Of course, they were not at a loss. Or rather, after killing this Black Giant Snake, no one would be at a loss; it was merely a matter of earning more or less. The people trusted Cheng Yiyi relatively well. When she said she would transfer the Crystal Coins to them later, none of them objected. ¡°Then, the body of this Giant Serpent¡­¡± Cheng Yiyi turned towards Wang Tao. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡°Just leave it here for now, as it can¡¯t be moved at the moment. I¡¯ll think of a solution later, perhaps after some time, we might be able to approach it.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. The body of the Black Giant Snake now belonged to Wang Tao, but it still had the [Life Drain] effect on it. For the moment, it couldn¡¯t be moved. Actually, this was something worth researching. If the body had belonged to Cheng Yiyi, she would definitely have sold it to a research institute. But now that it belonged to Wang Tao, how to handle it was his affair. ¡°Okay!¡± Cheng Yiyi nodded, then added, ¡°It¡¯s getting dark soon. We¡¯re preparing to head back. What about you?¡± ¡°We¡¯re heading back too, Commandor Cheng, shall we go together?¡± Zhou Long immediately said. He was extremely tired and wanted to head back to sleep soon. Furthermore, after midnight, he would go into a state of Weakness, which would be very dangerous in the wilderness¡ªit was essential to get home. ¡°Alright.¡± Cheng Yiyi nodded. ¡°Us too!¡± Qi De and Huang Wu also needed to return, as their mission was complete, and there was naturally no need to stay in the wilderness any longer. ¡°We¡¯ll stay here, we still have some things to handle¡­¡± Wang Tao shook his head. The matter of restoring the maximum HP limit for Lan Yulian and Jijun was not yet finished, and naturally, they couldn¡¯t leave just yet. ¡°Then be careful!¡± Cheng Yiyi wasn¡¯t surprised; Wang Tao and his group were strong, so staying out overnight while unfinished business remained was normal. Before leaving, they all made another trip to the Giant Serpent Cave. Although they felt there was probably nothing inside, they were still curious and took a quick look. As expected, they found nothing, because the inner part of the cave had completely collapsed and was inaccessible. Then they asked Wang Tao about selling the Potion he had used on Zhou Long before. They did not know how Wang Tao had revitalized Zhou Long; they even thought Wang Tao had some special Ability. But according to Zhou Long, it was because Wang Tao had given him a Potion that he had bounced back! Curious, they approached Wang Tao, and he simply explained that it was a kind of Potion called ¡°Rejuvenation,¡± which could instantly restore one¡¯s Spirit and Physical strength to full. However, the Potion could only be used once a day, and after midnight on the following day, there would be a weakness status lasting the entire day. Qi De and his companions were amazed by the miraculous effects of the Potion. They thought this was a new product from the Hope Research Institute, but Wang Tao denied it and did not reveal its origin. Seeing his reluctance, they tactfully stopped probing and instead asked Wang Tao if he had any extra to spare, as they were willing to pay a high price to buy some. Having the Rejuvenation Potion at a critical moment could save lives! Spending more money on something that could save their lives was naturally no problem. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t accept money but gifted them a few instead. ¡°I don¡¯t carry many ¡®Rejuvenation¡¯ Potions, but considering our relationship as comrades-in-arms¡­ I¡¯ll give you guys a few!¡± Wang Tao gave Cheng Yiyi, Qi De, Huang Wu, and Zhou Long each five Potions. The cost of making a Rejuvenation Potion was extremely low, only needing a Crystal Core, 300 ml of Purified Water, and 30 kcal of food to produce five Potions. Therefore, they were of little value to Wang Tao. Of course, even if they were of little value, he wouldn¡¯t give them away for free. His reason for giving them for free was naturally to let Cheng Yiyi and the others help promote it for free. Wang Tao planned to produce more Potions to sell later on. After all, the currency at Changhe Base was pegged to Crystal Cores, and earning more money was equivalent to earning more Crystal Cores. ¡°You¡¯re giving them to us? Thank you!¡± The group didn¡¯t hesitate to accept, although they weren¡¯t exactly aware that Wang Tao could make the Rejuvenation Potion himself, they could somewhat tell he likely had a good stock of it. So, they planned to test it thoroughly when they got back, and if it really was effective, they would return to buy more from Wang Tao. After receiving the Potions, Cheng Yiyi and her group left. Wang Tao contacted Jiang Shixue, asking them to bring a vehicle over, planning to rest near the Giant Serpent¡¯s body that night. This location was at the base of the mountain, and another entrance to the Giant Serpent¡¯s cave was nearby, where they could set up tents inside the cave. Chapter 840 - Chapter 840: Chapter 328: Awakening Seed_2 Chapter 840: Chapter 328: Awakening Seed_2 The sun had already set, so it was pointless to go out searching for zombies now. Wang Tao intended to rest well tonight. He had already inquired with Cheng Yiyi about the nearby situation and knew where to find zombies; he could head directly there tomorrow. While waiting for Jiang Shixue and the others to arrive, Wang Tao checked out the loot. Defeating the Black Giant Snake, a fourth-order Disaster-level monster, had yielded him 2 Advanced Special Energy, 200 Awakening Energy, and 1 Advanced Awakening Secret Key. Compared to a Level 4 Zombie Lord, these spoils were doubled, truly befitting a Disaster-class creature! Then there were the two types of materials that others tended to overlook. [Obtained: Lethal Poison Fangs x2] [Obtained: Tenacious Snake Scales x2] [Lethal Poison Fangs: Crafting material, can add poison attribute to equipment] [Tenacious Snake Scales: Crafting material, can add defensive power to equipment] Both materials had additional attributes and were very decent indeed¡­ Next were the Loot Packs. There weren¡¯t many Loot Packs dropped by the Giant Serpent, only four. However, Wang Tao had glanced over them and found that the contents of these four packs were very promising. The first pack was a Crystal Core Gift Bag containing four Crystal Cores. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?? Wang Tao generally received 5 to 6 Crystal Cores for defeating higher-level opponents, so four cores was on the lesser side. But fewer didn¡¯t mean lower quality; these four crystal cores were the [Level 4 Crystal Core: Promotion], [Level 4 Crystal Core: Versatility], [Level 4 Crystal Core: Awakening], and [Level 4 Crystal Core: Extraction]! All four crystal cores were special, and all were Orange Epic Crystal Cores! This was the highest quality of crystal cores Wang Tao had ever received from any loot pack to date. Naturally, he was thrilled to accept these cores which were all useful to him. The second Loot Pack contained a physical awakening key. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] The Black Giant Snake had already dropped an Advanced Awakening Secret Key, and now to find another Awakening Key in the loot pack was very lucky. Too bad this one was ordinary; it would have been better if it were advanced¡­ The third Loot Pack contained something Wang Tao had never seen before. [Obtained: Awakening Seed x1] [Awakening Seed: Plant on the corpse of a Level 4 Lord or higher monster, and it will bear an Awakening Fruit.] This item resembled a broad bean and looked rather ordinary, but given its description, it was very likely something formidable. This was also why Wang Tao had specifically asked for the Giant Serpent¡¯s corpse¡ªhe planned to plant this Awakening Seed on it! After all, it said that it had to be a Level 4 Lord or higher-level creature, so the Giant Serpent, being of Disaster class, should suffice. While Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what the ¡°Awakening Fruit¡± was, it was clearly related to awakening, and things related to awakening were generally good. Therefore, he was quite eager to see the outcome! The last Loot Pack naturally contained equipment blueprints, but they were not quite what he had anticipated. [Obtained: Flowing Bracelet Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Life Ring Blueprint x1] [Flowing Bracelet Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Flowing Bracelet. Required materials: Level 4 Crystal Core x1, any Level 4 material x1] [Flowing Bracelet: Attributes unknown] [Life Ring Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Life Ring. Required materials: Level 4 Crystal Core x1, any Level 4 material x1] [Life Ring: Attributes unknown] The two blueprints were for a bracelet and a ring respectively. Seeing the previous fangs and scales, Wang Tao assumed he might get weapons or armor, but instead, he found blueprints for the much less common rings and bracelets. The crafting materials required for these two pieces of equipment were quite straightforward: just any Level 4 Crystal Core and one Level 4 material would suffice. Wang Tao still had plenty of Level 4 materials, but he wanted to test whether using materials with additional attributes would result in bracelets or rings with extra attributes. Since both blueprints were from the Giant Serpent, Wang Tao decided to use materials from the serpent¡¯s body. Fangs for the bracelet and scales for the ring. In just a moment, both items were crafted. [Flowing Bracelet] [Level Four (Epic)] [Wearer¡¯s HP decreases by 1% per second (capping at 99% loss), Attack power increases by 1% per second (capping at 99% increase)] This was a crystal-clear black bracelet, looking as beautiful as a black gem. However, appearances didn¡¯t matter; the attributes were what counted. And the attributes left Wang Tao somewhat baffled. He had not expected the bracelet to have such a terrifying negative status effect! For example, with his total HP at 150,000, losing 1% HP every second meant he was losing 1,500 HP every second! That number was somewhat frightening, as the Healing Light of the Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t keep up, considering it could only restore slightly over a thousand HP per second. Even though the loss of HP had a cap, it wouldn¡¯t go beyond 99%, so there was no fear of instant death. But if Wang Tao was left with only 1,500 HP, that would still be very dangerous! At the same time as it carried the ¡°Up to 99% HP reduction¡± negative status, the Flowing Bracelet also had a significant buffing status¡ªattack power increased by 1% every second while worn, up to a 99% increase! Wang Tao had never seen equipment that increased stats by percentage, especially attack power! This was essentially doubling the damage. If it were someone with a low attack power to begin with, say increasing from 10 to 20, the boost would be almost negligible. But if used by someone with high attack power, going from 100 to 200, the effect would be very significant. And Wang Tao¡­ was the latter! If there were no other means to regenerate HP, fifty seconds after Wang Tao put on the bracelet, his attack power could increase to the maximum. Meanwhile, his HP would drop to 50%, meaning he would be at half blood. Half blood wasn¡¯t the end, as he would continue to lose HP, eventually bottoming out at 1,500. In an actual fight, maintaining the highest attack power would likely last only around ten to twenty seconds. Wang Tao felt a bit helpless. The bracelet¡¯s ability was strong, but the limitations were significant. It couldn¡¯t be worn casually, only at pivotal moments, and it was preferable to have Lan Yulian nearby. If there was a healer constantly restoring his health, then the bracelet would be a divine artifact! Without a healer, though, it could only serve as a powerful yet restricted trump card¡­ [Life Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Stores HP upon making a kill, with stored HP available for self-use, current stored HP: 0/100,000] ¡®Huh?¡¯ Seeing the ring¡¯s specific attributes, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The ring was essentially like indirect HP regeneration! It stored HP on kills, up to a hundred thousand, which was like having a backup HP reserve of 100,000! Wouldn¡¯t the Life Ring go well with the Flowing Bracelet? He would need to research more on how best to utilize these two pieces of equipment¡­ At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly remembered he had specifically used materials with attributes to craft the bracelet and the ring, but the attributes of those materials had not appeared on the equipment¡­ However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too disappointed, considering it was already a big win to obtain these two items. Wang Tao put on the [Life Ring], and as for the [Flowing Bracelet], he placed it into his Space Backpack for future use. Then, the Awakening Seed, which resembled a broad bean, appeared in his hand. ¡°Since there¡¯s no way to take the giant serpent¡¯s corpse with me, might as well plant the seed now and see what happens¡­¡± Still affected by the residual [Life Drain], Wang Tao approached the corpse of the giant serpent and placed the seed in a wound on its body. The seed immediately sprouted roots that buried deep into the serpent¡¯s flesh, then¡­ there was no further motion. [Awakening Fruit Maturation Countdown: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes] ¡°¡­7 days, huh!¡± Wang Tao frowned; this was quite a long wait. Still, the place was relatively safe, and waiting seven days wasn¡¯t impossible. At that point, Jiang Shixue and the others came over in a minivan. ¡°Brother! There are quite a few things inside the cave¡­¡± Chapter 841 - Chapter 841: Chapter 329: Cave Harvest Chapter 841: Chapter 329: Cave Harvest Humming¡ª The minibus arrived. Seeing Jiang Shixue and her group get off the bus, Wang Tao asked with concern, ¡°Is everyone okay? I saw that the cave had collapsed¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine! It¡¯s just, cough¡­¡± Jiang Shixue scratched her head with some embarrassment, ¡°I accidentally caused the cave to collapse after the giant serpent left because the cave became very fragile¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wang Tao said that when they went to chase the giant serpent, they didn¡¯t notice any problems with the cave, but upon their return, they found that the depths of the cave had completely collapsed¡­ It turned out that this was related to Jiang Shixue. However, Jiang Shixue quickly spoke up with some small excitement, ¡°Bro! There are quite a few things in the cave!¡± Jiang Shixue pulled Wang Tao to the vehicle and opened several boxes. ¡°Huh? There are indeed other types of mushrooms!¡± Wang Tao had found over a thousand Strength Mushrooms in the cave at noon today. At the time, he wondered whether there might be mushrooms beneath the cave too, but since he wasn¡¯t sure if it was safe to go down and didn¡¯t want to take the risk, he didn¡¯t venture below. Now, it seemed his decision not to take the risk was right, as there was a disaster-class giant serpent below. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï And indeed, there were other mushrooms down there. Wang Tao collected all the mushrooms in the large box into his Space Backpack. [Item acquired: Defense Mushroom x1023] [Item acquired: Stealth Mushroom x1257] [Item acquired: Weakness Mushroom x1134] [Item acquired: Rapid Mushroom x1343] [Item acquired: Spirit Mushroom x1074] Counting the Strength Mushrooms he had obtained before, there were a total of six kinds of mushrooms, each with over a thousand! Wang Tao had already learned how to make potions from these six kinds of mushrooms. In the coming period, a large number of potions would be crafted by his hands! Now, Wang Tao didn¡¯t use potions as much anymore. After all, potions had a cooldown time, and he only used them at critical moments, which were not very common at present. For instance, in killing the disaster-class black giant serpent today, he almost did nothing more than fish, naturally, there was no opportunity to use potions. After collecting the mushrooms, Wang Tao was about to speak with Jiang Shixue when he saw her open another box. ¡°Bro! There¡¯s more!¡± ¡°This is¡­¡± Seeing the items in the box, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. It was a washbasin-sized, grayish-white oval item. [Item acquired: Level 4: Snake Egg x10] [Level 4: Snake Egg: Can hatch into a serpentine creature of Fourth Order Elite or higher (Hatch condition: Consume 100,000 HP)] ¡°Bro, what is this? It feels like it¡¯s a snake egg¡­¡± Jiang Shixue asked curiously. ¡°Indeed it¡¯s a snake egg, and it¡¯s alive. It can be hatched into a level 4 snake!¡± Wang Tao clicked his tongue in amazement. He had thought that the Black Giant Snake Cave should not contain any living creatures since that [Life Drain] Cataclysmic Awakening was too perverse. But there were ten snake eggs, all of them alive. Could it be that ¡°a serpent¡¯s venom does not harm its offspring¡±? ¡°Really snake eggs! They can be hatched?¡± Everyone, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, was very curious. ¡°Wanna try hatching one? It can only hatch serpentine creatures of Fourth Order Elite or above, probably, at most, a Fourth Order Elite or a Level 4 Lord, can¡¯t possibly hatch a Fourth Order Disaster, right?¡± Wang Tao said, stroking his chin. He was quite curious about the snake egg. And speaking of snake eggs, Wang Tao suddenly remembered the Night Demon Parasite he had acquired before. He had nearly forgotten about the parasite until now, but perhaps there was time to use the parasite to cultivate Night Demons? After all, aside from cultivating them for hunting, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what else they could be used for¡­ The snake egg and the parasite were somewhat similar, except parasites need to infest another¡¯s body, such as zombies, monsters, or even humans, whereas the snake egg could be hatched directly. The hatching condition was not difficult, just the consumption of 100,000 HP, which was a matter of a few healings with Lan Yulian, the healer. In addition to the mushrooms and snake eggs, there was also a type of grass in the cave. This plant looked like ordinary withered grass that had lost its life energy, but Jiang Shixue felt that anything that could grow in the Giant Serpent Cave must be extraordinary, so she pulled out these withered grass as well. It turned out her hunch was right. Wang Tao picked up the withered grass from the last box. [Item acquired: Withered Life Grass x550] [Withered Life Grass: Upon consumption, increase max HP by 1000 (maximum of 10 pieces can be used)] This seemingly unremarkable grass was actually a fantastic item for increasing max HP! After reaching 100,000 HP, it¡¯s very difficult to further increase the max HP limit. Only certain crystal cores and odd items can increase it. Wang Tao had increased his HP limit three times before. The first time was by integrating an HP Enhancement Crystal Core that added 10,000 HP. Everyone around Wang Tao also used this method, and now they all had 110,000 HP. The second time was when the Blood Beads that burst out from the killing of the Giant Zombie provided a random increase, which gave Wang Tao an additional 30,000 HP! This was clearly excellent, but opportunities like this were hard to come by, relying on luck or possibly going after giant zombies again to see if they would burst out more¡­ The third time was by using the Life Elixir (Small) that burst out from the Giant Zombie, where one potion added 1000 HP, and a person could consume up to ten bottles, amounting to 10,000 HP. Wang Tao still had twenty bottles of this potion on hand, which he planned to give to Lan Yulian and others later. Chapter 842 - Chapter 842: Chapter 329: Cave Harvest_2 Chapter 842: Chapter 329: Cave Harvest_2 So Wang Tao now has an HP limit of 150,000. And the effect of the ¡°Withered Life Grass¡± is almost the same as the ¡°Life Elixir (Small),¡± both increase HP by 1000, up to a maximum of 10,000 HP. But this withered life grass has a different name than the potion, so it should be possible to use it repeatedly! Wang Tao immediately picked up a blade of grass and chewed it in his mouth. This withered life grass looked quite yellow and dry, feeling like fodder for cattle, but once it was in his mouth, just like a Fusion Crystal Core, it quickly melted away into his limbs and bones. A moment later, Wang Tao found his HP limit had increased by 1000, now at 151,000. ¡°Indeed, it works!¡± Wang Tao explained to Jiang Shixue and the others, then distributed the withered life grass for them to consume. After a while, Wang Tao had consumed another nine blades, and his HP limit reached 160,000! The others had their HP increased to 120,000! Moreover, Wang Tao found that this stuff was effective for Jiang Shixue and Lightning too. They could not merge with Crystal Cores, so they had always been at 100,000 HP, but now they had reached 110,000. Although one couldn¡¯t visually see the increase in HP, the improvement in their physique was quite evident and exhilarating. Smiles were brimming on their faces, after all, nothing was more exhilarating than the enhancement of their own strength. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect the Giant Serpent Cave to have so many good things! It seems that if we encounter such creatures again in the future, we need to carefully loot their lairs after killing them¡­¡± Wang Tao silently thought to himself. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡­ When night fell, Wei Zhenguo and the others had set up tents in the cave at the foot of the mountain. The deeper parts of the Giant Serpent Cave had collapsed, but the closer to the outside, the more intact the cave was. It was naturally sufficient for them to set up a few tents. Wang Tao arranged for people to take turns on watch, ensuring safety through the night. Then he entered Lan Yulian¡¯s tent. There was no other implication, he just wanted to replenish Lan Yulian¡¯s mana. After all, Lan Yulian had exhausted all her mana today, and if she lacked mana, it was not a good thing for the team. After some effort, Lan Yulian¡¯s mana was finally replenished. She lay in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, her face flushed, gazing at Wang Tao with a resentful look. There were other tents around theirs, and to avoid making any odd noises, Lan Yulian had a rather hard time. Wang Tao kissed Lan Yulian¡¯s forehead, then gently patted her back. ¡°Go to sleep.¡± Lan Yulian glared at Wang Tao fiercely, then curled up in his arms and soon fell asleep. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t sleep just yet; a key appeared in his hand. An Advanced Awakening Secret Key! He had previously exchanged two ordinary physical awakening keys for this Advanced Awakening Secret Key from Cheng Yiyi. Wang Tao wanted to undergo a second awakening, for which he needed two Awakening Keys. If he used ordinary keys, then there was a 40% success rate. Based on this success rate alone, it wasn¡¯t impossible to take the chance. But the problem was, if he lost the gamble, then Wang Tao would need three Awakening Keys to continue awakening, and the success rate would drop to 30%! That was definitely an unwise bet for Wang Tao. He had obtained an Advanced Awakening Key by killing the Giant Serpent today, but he only had one, and he needed two, so he naturally set his sights on the Solid Advanced Awakening Key. Everyone wanted this Key, and Wang Tao could have fought for it if he had insisted, given his significant contributions. But this key belonged to everyone, and he would definitely need to compensate the others later. The compensation was tolerable; it was owing a favor he did not want. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t afraid to spend money, but he did not like to owe favors. So he let Cheng Yiyi have the items, then sought to trade her for two Ordinary secret keys. In this way, he wouldn¡¯t have to spend money or owe anyone a favor, but instead, Cheng Yiyi would not only have to pay him but would also owe him a favor¡­ To Cheng Yiyi, surely fusing one Advanced Awakening Secret Key would be more secure. But after all, it was only one secret key, whereas Wang Tao was prepared to trade her two Ordinary Awakening Secret Keys! In the end, she couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and agreed to trade her Advanced Awakening Secret Key for the two Ordinary Awakening Secret Keys that Wang Tao had. She decided to take a gamble: with a 50% success rate, one of the two keys should lead to an awakening. If she could awaken one, it wouldn¡¯t be a loss, and if both awakened, that would be a huge gain! Of course, just having secret keys wasn¡¯t enough to awaken, one also needed Hidden Attributes. She didn¡¯t have any Hidden Attributes, and although the Snake Bead could add one, there was only one of those. So, if she wanted to take a chance on two Awakeners emerging, she would also need something that could grant Hidden Attributes. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s Strange Poison Sac was bought by her. The Strange Poison Sac had a one in three chance to grant Hidden Attributes. Although this probability was worth a shot, there was also a one in three chance of Poisoning, which is why Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to use it on his own people. Since Cheng Yiyi wanted to buy it, Wang Tao sold it to her at a friendly price. Not too expensive; he only charged 500,000 Crystal Coins. After all, it wasn¡¯t a guaranteed way to obtain Hidden Attributes, and most importantly, there was a certain risk involved, so the price would definitely not be too high. As for the specific price of the Snake Bead¡­ Cheng Yiyi couldn¡¯t give a definitive answer yet. She said she would discuss it thoroughly and then give a reasonable price, ensuring they wouldn¡¯t be disappointed. The Legion had a good reputation, and everyone tended to trust them, so all they had to do was wait for Cheng Yiyi¡¯s news¡­ Wang Tao immediately fused the Advanced Secret Key. Before long, he felt that a very bright ¡°Light Point¡± had been added to his body¡ªthese secret keys appeared as individual light points within him. Ordinary secret keys weren¡¯t as bright as those of Advanced Secret Keys, making them easy to distinguish. Wang Tao really wanted to start his Second Awakening right away. His luck had always been good, and with a 70% probability, he should be successful. However, since he was currently in the wilderness and awakening required 24 hours of sleep, it was too unsafe, so it was better to go back and do it. A night without incident. The first thing Wang Tao did upon waking up was to check on that Awakening Seed. Wang Tao was extremely curious about the [Awakening Fruit] that the Awakening Seed could produce. Just from the name, Awakening Fruit sounded extraordinary¡ªcould it be that anyone who ate it would immediately awaken? If that was the case, then the fruit would be phenomenal! Absolutely the most impressive thing currently around! But Wang Tao thought it wouldn¡¯t be that simple; even if it did have that effect, there would undoubtedly be various conditions¡­ The second day had come, and the [Life Drain] effect on the Giant Serpent¡¯s corpse hadn¡¯t disappeared yet, but the effect had weakened somewhat. Wang Tao compared it to yesterday and did some calculations. He felt that in about six or seven days, [Life Drain] might disappear altogether. And that time frame would coincide with when the Awakening Fruit was supposed to grow. ¡°It¡¯s grown up!¡± In front of the Giant Serpent¡¯s corpse, where Wang Tao dropped the Awakening Seed the day before, a delicate sapling over ten centimeters tall had appeared. ¡°This should be considered the ¡®Awakening Tree¡¯ now¡­¡± The sapling looked fragile, but when Wang Tao tore apart the flesh of the Giant Serpent, he suddenly felt his scalp tingle. Because inside the flesh were densely packed roots! In just one night, the Awakening Seed had completely taken root in the Giant Serpent¡¯s body! ¡°Looking forward to it more and more¡­¡± Wang Tao left the Giant Serpent¡¯s corpse, and Jiang Shixue and the others who came later didn¡¯t quite understand, so Wang Tao explained the Awakening Seed and the Awakening Fruit to them. After hearing about it, everyone marveled and became very curious about what it would grow into. Today, Wang Tao had planned to take everyone to kill zombies, topping up Lan Yulian and He Jijun¡¯s HP to their full values as he had got a lot of locations of zombie groups from Cheng Yiyi. However, the Awakening Seed needed seven days to grow, and if he left, it would be problematic if the sapling were destroyed by others or creatures. So the plan to kill zombies was put on hold for the time being. Wang Tao decided to capture a few zombies to see if he could breed some Night Demons, and at the same time, incubate another Snake Egg¡­ After all, it was just a matter of waiting, so he might as well kill some time. Chapter 843 - Chapter 843: Chapter 330: Reopening the Meteorite Chapter 843: Chapter 330: Reopening the Meteorite Wang Tao instructed Xu Xiaojun and the others to capture a few living zombies, while he himself took out a snake egg. To incubate this Level 4 snake egg, it was necessary to consume a hundred thousand HP. Wang Tao naturally took action himself, as he had 160,000 HP and Lan Yulian was there to replenish his blood, so there wouldn¡¯t be any problem. As he held the snake egg, Wang Tao soon felt a very vague consciousness. Then, with a thought, he saw his current HP plummet wildly, and after 10 seconds, only 60,000 HP remained. Wang Tao¡¯s complexion grew somewhat pale; this rapid reduction in HP was not pleasant. Since Wang Tao wanted to see how this HP was deducted, he did not let Lan Yulian heal him immediately. Now that he had a basic understanding, he immediately beckoned her. Whoosh¡ª A healing light accurately landed on Wang Tao, [+13272] Wang Tao immediately felt much better, and then he noticed that the snake egg in his hand had changed color. The snake egg was previously grayish-white like a stone. If no one mentioned it was a snake egg, most people would probably take it for a stone. But now, the snake egg had turned red! More precisely, it became somewhat translucent, displaying many blood-red lines both inside and outside. ¡°Huh?¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.?¦Ï ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°It looks like there¡¯s blood inside¡­¡± The others also noticed the changes in the snake egg and curiously began discussing it. Wang Tao saw that a countdown had appeared on the snake egg. [Hatching Countdown: 23:59:59] ¡°Does this also need a day¡¯s time¡­¡± Wang Tao thought the hatching would be quick but didn¡¯t expect it to require a day. However, he was also waiting for the Awakening Fruit to mature, so he could wait for both. As long as he kept track of the time and didn¡¯t forget, that would be fine. After all, whatever hatched, even if it were the lowest, would be a Level 4 Elite creature and potentially very dangerous; he couldn¡¯t be careless. After placing the snake egg in the vehicle, his HP had already recovered to full value. In less than a minute, Lan Yulian had replenished his health by a hundred thousand HP! It must be said, Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability was truly powerful! Normally, an average Level 3 ability user¡¯s healing ability could restore about a thousand HP, with a cooldown of 10 seconds. But Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability could now restore over 12,000 HP! And the cooldown was only 5 seconds! The difference between the two was enormous! As for why Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability was so strong¡­ Wang Tao had also looked into it and then recognized what differentiated her from the others. Among the healing-type ability users near Cheng Yiyi, not only were there level 3 users, but there were also two level two and one level one ability users. Wang Tao, through previous observations, had arrived at a fairly reliable conclusion¡ª If you only consider the ¡°Healing¡± ability, an ordinary Level 1 healing-type ability user could probably heal between twenty and two hundred HP; a Level 2 healing-type could heal from two hundred to over five hundred HP; and a Level 3 healing-type could heal from five hundred to over a thousand HP. This fluctuation range was related to their ability levels, such as if a Level 3 ability user¡¯s ability level were maxed, then they could heal about a thousand HP. As for their ability¡¯s cooldown time, it was all 10 seconds. Lan Yulian was different; she had a ¡°Rescuing the Dying and Healing the Injured¡± hidden attribute before her awakening. [Rescuing the Dying and Healing the Injured: Quite skilled in medical emergencies] This hidden attribute did not increase Lan Yulian¡¯s healing effect but halved the cooldown time of her healing ability! Wang Tao remembered clearly, Lan Yulian¡¯s previous healing effect was also around a thousand HP, but the cooldown was only 5 seconds! However, because Wang Tao had not seen other healing-type ability users before, he was unaware that Lan Yulian¡¯s ability cooldown time was reduced. Since her awakening, the hidden attribute had become the passive awakening ¡°Spring Rain.¡± [Spring Rain: All healing effects significantly enhanced] This passive awakening not only retained the previous ¡°cooldown reduction¡± effect but also increased her healing effect by 10 times! Thus, theoretically, Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability should reach slightly over 10,000 HP. But Wang Tao had previously given her a pair of earrings that increased the healing effect. After testing, the healing effect increased by about 20%¡­ thus, Lan Yulian¡¯s final healing ability¡¯s effect was over 12,000 HP! Given the population scale of Changhe Base, there should be quite a few healing-type ability users, and Lan Yulian was definitely one of the best, possibly even number one. With Lan Yulian¡¯s current ability, it could increase their entire team¡¯s security by more than ten times! Then Wang Tao thought of Ding Yuqin, whose hidden attribute ¡°Blood Pack¡± was also a kind of healing ability. He wondered what form her awakening would take¡­ ¡­ Half an hour later, Xu Xiaojun and the others returned. Along with them came ten Level 3 Ordinary Zombies whose limbs had been chopped off. Wang Tao only needed living zombies; these crippled zombies obviously met the requirement. He planned to parasitize ten zombies, which should also reveal the success rate of parasitism, giving him a baseline. Wang Tao brought the zombies to the cave. Since there was sunlight outside, and then Chapter 844 - Chapter 844: Chapter 330: Reopening the Meteorite_2 Chapter 844: Chapter 330: Reopening the Meteorite_2 Holding the Night Demon Parasite Bug Egg in his hand was almost like holding a glass bead, but as soon as he stuffed it into a zombie¡¯s mouth, it instantly melted and turned into something resembling black snot, burrowing down the zombie¡¯s throat. Hehe¡ª¡ª Some zombies let out a roar, seemingly a bit uncomfortable. Other zombies, however, showed no change, as if they felt nothing at all. Wang Tao carefully observed and noticed that the HP bars above the zombies¡¯ heads did not show any status change. This meant he couldn¡¯t determine whether they were parasitized or know the exact timing for their transformation into Night Demons. This made Wang Tao even more cautious because it meant if a human were parasitized, he would not be able to tell either. However, the description of the Night Demon Parasite stated that results would show within seven days after parasitism. If nothing happened after seven days, it was clear that the parasitism had failed. Wang Tao waited in the cave for a while and, upon seeing no changes in the zombies other than their roars at him, decided to lead everyone out. ¡°The parasitism probably won¡¯t happen so fast, let¡¯s just wait,¡± he said. It would take six and a half more days for the Awakening Fruit to ripen, one more day for the Snake Eggs to hatch, and up to seven days for the effects of the Night Demon Parasitism¡­ What Wang Tao needed to do now was just wait. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t just sit around idly, he took out five Energy Crystal Meteorites. He had a total of seven meteorites, but two of them were Level 5. Setting aside whether he had a Level 5 Crystal Core, even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t dare to use it; if a Level 5 monster emerged, it wasn¡¯t clear whether he could defeat it¡­ so he could only use the Level 4 ones. These five fourth-order Star Meteorites were one Excellent, two Excellent, one Outstanding, and one Epic. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï That is to say, in total, 34 Level 4 Crystal Cores were needed to activate them. Based on the pattern Wang Tao observed before and excluding the factor of luck, the higher the quality of the meteorite and the better the quality of the Crystal Cores used, the more likely it was that the resulting items would be good. For example, using ten Epic Crystal Cores to open an Epic meteorite, this would most likely have the best chance of yielding good items. But this method also had the highest cost! However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t short of money now, and he planned to use all Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores! Before leaving the city, Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to be so extravagant. He was prepared to ¡°use Excellent Crystal Cores for Excellent meteorites, and Epic Crystal Cores for Epic meteorites.¡± After all, he didn¡¯t have many Crystal Cores, and most of them had abilities, which would be a loss to use for meteorites. But this time, he encountered Cheng Yiyi¡ªsetting aside other items yet to be split, Cheng Yiyi spent five hundred thousand Crystal Coins and bought that Strange Poison Sac from him. Crystal Coins are intangible and require connection to the Changhe Base network to trade, so it¡¯s impossible to trade on the spot in the wild. Conveniently, Cheng Yiyi also had many Crystal Cores without abilities, so she asked Wang Tao whether she should transfer the money to him after returning or give him the Crystal Cores directly. Since she had Crystal Cores and Wang Tao needed them to open Star Meteorites¡­ Wang Tao took 30 Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores. According to the current exchange rate, these Crystal Cores could be exchanged for 250,000 Crystal Coins, and Cheng Yiyi would transfer the remaining 250,000 Crystal Coins to him later. Due to the large influx of No Ability Crystal Cores, the exchange rate between Crystal Cores and Crystal Coins has been falling. Now, the amount of Crystal Coins one can get from a Crystal Core is less than before. However, this doesn¡¯t affect Wang Tao since he has immediate needs. Wang Tao took out four Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores and inserted them into the first meteorite. This meteorite was not big, only the size of a ball. Everyone gathered around, watching with both curiosity and caution. The four Crystal Cores emitted a faint orange glow, then the light faded, and the cores were depleted of energy. Crack¡ª¡ª A crack formed in the meteorite, growing larger until the meteorite split completely in two. Amidst everyone¡¯s vigilant gazes, an Orange Crystal Core appeared. Uncovering a Crystal Core on the first try made Wang Tao frown a little. In the Energy Crystal Meteorites, the ratio of Crystal Cores to other items was about 1 to 1, but Crystal Cores could turn out useless, whereas other items were generally decent, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t really want to see Crystal Cores. However, after seeing the attributes of this particular Crystal Core, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t a useless Crystal Core but an Orange Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! Wang Tao was in need of this Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core since many people around him were capable of awakening, and each person would need at least four Ascension Crystal Cores. This was a substantial consumption, and the Ascension Crystal Cores Wang Tao had were not enough. Being able to supplement it with an Epic Ascension Crystal Core was quite good. ¡°Not bad, a Level 4 Epic Ascension Crystal Core, that¡¯s a good start. Continue!¡± Wang Tao put away the Crystal Core and took out the second meteorite. This meteorite was about as large as a computer case and of outstanding quality, which meant it needed six Crystal Cores to open. Wang Tao took out six Epic Crystal Cores and inserted them in sequence. ¡°` Crack¡ª A moment later, the crystal core cracked open, revealing another crystal core. However, upon seeing this crystal core, Wang Tao¡¯s face instantly turned dark. This was a Level 4 Epic Self-Destruction Crystal Core. Exchanging 6 Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores without abilities and an excellent quality star meteorite for this thing¡­ What a loss! ¡°Lost out¡­¡± Ding Yuqin immediately grasped Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay, a small loss is not a loss!¡± Although Wang Tao¡¯s heart was bleeding, his face remained calm. He took the third meteorite, which was also an excellent quality Level 4 meteorite, only its size was as big as a bowl. After placing the 6 Epic Crystal Cores inside, the light twinkled and then the meteorite cracked open. A key appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°Eh?¡± Upon seeing this object, everyone instinctively looked towards Wang Tao. Yang Changhong even directly spoke up: ¡°Isn¡¯t this the same as the key you exchanged with Cheng Yiyi?¡± Wang Tao was full of surprise. This was actually an Advanced Real Body Awakening Secret Key! Including this key, Wang Tao had only seen an Advanced Awakening Key three times, and they had all been in the last couple of days, and now they were all in his possession! The rarity of this item goes without saying, it¡¯s perfect whether for someone undergoing their first awakening or subsequent ones. ¡°Yes, this is another Advanced Awakening Key! We¡¯re in luck!¡± Wang Tao stored the key away, and the loss from the previous meteorite was fully recovered. Then he took out the fourth meteorite, which was of outstanding quality and required 8 crystal cores to unlock. It was the largest meteorite Wang Tao had, about the size of a desk. It was just that Wang Tao¡¯s experience of previously opening a large meteorite and getting a white self-detonation crystal core was still vivid in his mind, which cast a bit of a shadow over him. ¡°Hopefully it will be something powerful, just don¡¯t be another crystal core¡ªno, definitely not another crystal core!¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself, then heard a crack, and the meteorite split open, as a dark shadow burst forth from inside! ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Seeing the shadow, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately alerted everyone: ¡°It¡¯s an Insect Clan Monster, prepare for battle!¡± The moment the creature emerged from the meteorite, Wang Tao tried to attack it, but there was no reaction, and his attacks seemed to vanish. He could only attack once the creature had fully enlarged¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand the principle, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem. The Insect Clan Monster quickly swelled to the size of a house. It had a body like a black ant with fiery red patterns. Its large and ferocious form was intimidating! But everyone was eager to try their hand at it. Especially He Jijun, who hadn¡¯t had a real battle since his awakening! Wang Tao looked at the attributes of this ¡°Fire Patterned Ant.¡± [HP: 150,000/150,000] [Mana: 120,000/120,000] [Level: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Strength] [Strength: All basic attributes are comprehensively enhanced, with a significant increase in strength] ¡°` Chapter 845 - Chapter 845: Chapter 331 Effortless Slaying Chapter 845: Chapter 331 Effortless Slaying This was an Insect Clan Monster that Wang Tao had never seen before, but he had seen its Awakening because it was exactly the same as Qi De¡¯s. Both passively enhanced physical qualities and greatly increased strength. But, obviously, it was much stronger than Qi De! Squeak¡ª The Fire Patterned Ant let out a strange cry and charged towards Wang Tao and his group. The group was prepared. Xu Xiaojun, clad in heavy armor and wielding a shield, stood his ground. Bang! [-2343] The Fire Patterned Ant heavily smashed its mandibles against Xu Xiaojun¡¯s shield. Xu Xiaojun was pushed back dozens of steps, losing more than two thousand HP. ¡°Such incredible strength¡­¡± Xu Xiaojun felt his hands go numb, almost losing sensation. The gap between Level 3 and Level 4 was indeed too vast, even his Level 4 gear wasn¡¯t enough. However, by that time, He Jijun had also appeared beside the Fire Patterned Ant. He raised his curved long knife, leaped high, and swung at the side of the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s face. Bang! Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.§ã? [-4128] [-412] [-412] [-412] With one swing, He Jijun slashed four thousand HP from the Fire Patterned Ant, and with the Bleed Effect from the Tusk Long Knife, it made a total of five thousand HP. The damage numbers were lower than Wang Tao had expected. He Jijun¡¯s physical attributes were robust, and combined with the attack power of the Tusk Long Knife, the damage shouldn¡¯t be so low. Clearly, this Fire Patterned Ant had high defensive power, likely possessing a Defense Ability. Pained by the attack, the Fire Patterned Ant immediately turned its head to bite at He Jijun. Its mandibles seemed like scissors, capable of shearing a person in two! However, after swinging once, He Jijun immediately retreated, not opting for a head-on clash with the Fire Patterned Ant. Competing in defense with a monster was clearly unwise. After missing its strike, the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s mandibles deeply embedded in the ground. Then, as it suddenly raised its head, a large chunk of soil went flying, as it swung its head throwing it towards Wang Tao and his team. ¡°It has ranged attacks too?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but it was not a big problem. The team quickly retreated, effortlessly dodging the attack, and during the retreat, Lan Yulian cast a healing spell on Xu Xiaojun. Seeing its attack was ineffective, the Fire Patterned Ant seemed a bit unhappy; it let out an angry roar and charged again at He Jijun. At this moment, bullets fired by Ding Yuqin and others hit the Fire Patterned Ant. They were not weak, but since this was a Level 4 Lord, there was no need for them, still being Level 3, to take risks. Shooting from a distance also gave them a sense of participation. However, competitive individuals like Wei Zhenguo, Lu Gang, and Lu Yingfeng still went in with their weapons to exchange a few blows with the Fire Patterned Ant. A mere Level 4 Lord, after all, with Lan Yulian there, the group was unafraid. Their attacks did not inflict much damage on the Fire Patterned Ant, but it clearly agitated it. It immediately abandoned He Jijun and charged towards the group. At that moment, Wang Tao took out a massive sickle and charged forward. Since everyone was his own people, Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t slack off anymore; he also wanted to test how the Death Scythe and Sharp Long Knife compared in terms of attack power. Seeing someone daring to charge directly at it, the Fire Patterned Ant opened its huge mouth and, amidst a strange roar, bit towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao held the sickle in one hand and suddenly stretched out his other hand, from which Iron Tree Vines shot out, catching one of the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s feelers before it could bite him. The vines contracted, lifting Wang Tao into the air and directly onto the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s head! As Wang Tao dodged the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s attack, he gripped the massive sickle and fiercely slashed at the somewhat flattened head of the Fire Patterned Ant. Bang! [-8242] [-1034] Wang Tao¡¯s slash, enhanced with high-frequency vibration, cut over eight thousand HP from the Fire Patterned Ant, with an additional thousand HP from Poison Attribute, totaling nine thousand HP. The overall damage was significantly higher than He Jijun¡¯s, but that was because He Jijun lacked high-frequency vibration. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t use high-frequency vibration, their damage would be similar. Poison Attribute only dealt damage once, unlike Bleeding, which damaged three times. The damage from Bleeding was based on the attack damage, with each instance of bleeding being 10% of the attack damage. The higher the attack damage, the higher the Bleeding damage. It was unclear how Poison Damage was calculated; cutting eight thousand HP and poisoning for a thousand seemed high, but with only one instance of damage. If it were Bleeding for three instances, it would total two thousand four hundred HP, so Bleeding damage appeared to be higher for now¡­ What seemed like a lengthy explanation had actually happened in just a moment. When the Fire Patterned Ant realized that this tiny creature was actually on its head, it couldn¡¯t bear it anymore, starting to swing its claws and feelers, trying to knock Wang Tao off. Wang Tao firmly held onto the root of the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s feelers with the vines, keeping himself from being thrown off, and then he used the Death Scythe to make several more cuts, all using high-frequency vibration. Each cut inflicted damage around eight or nine thousand. It seemed this was the approximate damage range for the Death Scythe. Then, Wang Tao could no longer maintain his stance and was thrown off, landing next to He Jijun. He Jijun reached out, supporting Wang Tao¡¯s back, and stopped his retreat. Wang Tao immediately handed the sickle to He Jijun. ¡°Old He, try this weapon when you get a chance!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± For most weapons, the sickle had a rather odd shape, and He Jijun was slightly unaccustomed to it. Chapter 846 - Chapter 846: Chapter 331: Easy Slaying_2 Chapter 846: Chapter 331: Easy Slaying_2 Wang Tao didn¡¯t wait for him to adapt, and as soon as he saw the Fire Patterned Ant charging at him again, a long knife instantly appeared in his hand. Whoosh! Wang Tao charged at the Fire Patterned Ant again. This time, the Fire Patterned Ant seemed to have learned its lesson. It didn¡¯t just try to bite Wang Tao with its large jaw but also used its legs and even antennae to attack him. Wang Tao intended to use the tendrils again, like flying over like a spider, but seeing the situation, he reckoned that he would probably be intercepted halfway. So, a shield appeared in his hand. Bang! [-1021] All of the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s attacks struck the shield. Wang Tao took a step back, feeling somewhat numb. Even while holding the shield, Wang Tao had lost over a thousand HP, indicating the high damage of the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s attack. However, his electric shield also reflected back more than a thousand HP worth of damage to the Fire Patterned Ant, so it wasn¡¯t a complete loss. The Fire Patterned Ant, being large in size, was relatively less agile. After this attack, it needed a very brief moment to react, and Wang Tao took advantage of this moment to immediately leap up high, then stepping on the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s large jaw, he quickly ran up to its head. Then he grasped the knife with both hands and slashed down on its head. Squish! [-10472] Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã? [-1047] [-1047] [-1047] Using the same location, the same high-frequency vibration, and the same weapon with equal attack power, Wang Tao¡¯s previous strike with a sickle had caused eight thousand HP damage, and with poison attack, a total of nine thousand HP. This time, Wang Tao¡¯s single strike caused ten thousand, and along with three bleed damages, it accumulated to thirteen thousand HP! Clearly, the additional two thousand or more HP damage was from the Armor Breaking attribute! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how exactly the Armor Breaking damage was calculated, but this Armor Break was not just a simple damage boost, it genuinely ¡®broke¡¯ the armor¡ªhis strike had actually pierced directly into the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s head! This was equivalent to breaking the armor in that specific small area, right? So Wang Tao pulled out his long knife and struck the same spot again. Squish! [-15038] [-1503] [-1503] [-1503] The total damage of this strike neared twenty thousand! Seeing this number, Wang Tao roughly understood the specific meaning of the Armor Breaking attribute. When attacking with the Armor Breaking attribute, it could ignore a part of the defense, allowing his attack to increase, but it also genuinely ¡®breaks the armor,¡¯ penetrating the opponent¡¯s shell! Normally, the hardness of these creatures¡¯ shells is related to their HP levels; only by reducing the opponent to critical HP levels could one possibly penetrate the shell, and then the inflicted damage would increase. But now, even when the Fire Patterned Ant still had a lot of HP left, the Armor Breaking attribute could directly penetrate the shell! Thus, when Wang Tao attacked this shattered spot, the damage would be even greater! And it wasn¡¯t just Wang Tao. If others attacked this spot, their damage would definitely also increase, especially since its shell wasn¡¯t as strong as before! After figuring this out, Wang Tao immediately grinned. The Armor Breaking attribute of his Sharp Long Knife was indeed very effective against creatures with shells! However, if it were used against those soft-bodied zombies that he had encountered earlier, like bugs, then the Armor Breaking attribute probably wouldn¡¯t be very effective, a case of specializing in a particular skill¡­ While mulling over this, Wang Tao struck three more times. Each hit caused nearly two thousand damage, and in just a short moment, the Fire Patterned Ant was left with just over forty thousand HP. Squeak¡ª The Fire Patterned Ant went completely mad, twisting its body wildly, even rolling on the ground! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t stay on its head anymore, so he had to jump down. Seeing Wang Tao, this little bug, leave its body, the Fire Patterned Ant immediately charged at Wang Tao. It ignored the attacks from Jijun and the others, even though Jijun was jumping on its face, but its target was still Wang Tao! Jijun¡¯s damage was not low, when the Fire Patterned Ant charged at Wang Tao again, it was left with just over ten thousand HP. While Wang Tao¡¯s hands had already conjured a little, charged Fireball well in advance, and as soon as the Fire Patterned Ant reached him, he hurled this massive Fireball at it. Boom¡ª The Fireball hit the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s head, immediately turning it and the surrounding area into a sea of flames. But what shocked Wang Tao was that his massive Fireball didn¡¯t kill it instantly! [-15821] [2126/150000] Previously, when he used the Fireball against the Cockroach Monster, his fully charged Fireball could deal thirty thousand HP damage, but against the same level Fire Patterned Ant, it only caused fifteen thousand damage. ¡°Is its shell fire-resistant?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to ponder, He immediately followed up with a Shockwave. Puchi! [-581] [0/150000] The Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. Seeing that the kill was his own, Wang Tao instantly breathed a sigh of relief. The others were also attacking, although the damage wasn¡¯t high, but with so many people attacking, there was still a chance to snatch the kill. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to let others have the kill, it¡¯s just that others killing the monster wouldn¡¯t include a Loot Pack, not as profitable as him making the kill. Watching the Fire Patterned Ant collapse with a thud, everyone¡¯s attacks also ceased. The flames lingering on the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s body quickly extinguished, normally, the flames should have continued burning for a while. ¡°Its shell really does have fire resistance ability!¡± Wang Tao said his fully charged Fireball wouldn¡¯t have such low damage otherwise. ¡°Time to clean up the battlefield!¡± Wang Tao called out, and everyone immediately began clearing the battlefield. By slaying this Fire Patterned Ant, Wang Tao obtained 100 Awakening Energy, 1 Advanced Special Energy, and 1 Awakening Key. Then the Fire Patterned Ant dropped four items and five Loot Packs. The four items were a pair of its large jaws, a pair of antennae, a Purple Crystal Core, and an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Obtained: Level 4: Fire Ant¡¯s Jaws x2] [Obtained: Level 4: Fire Ant Antennae x2] [Obtained: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Defense] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The items it dropped were quite good, its possession of a Defense Crystal Core was within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. However, the fact that its shell with Fire Resistance Ability wasn¡¯t a named piece of equipment meant it was of no use to Wang Tao; he could sell it to Shilin later, she would probably like it. Then Wang Tao checked the Loot Packs. The first pack contained five Crystal Cores. These included a Red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Promotion], an Orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotence], a Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a Blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Perception], and a Red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Fire Attribute Resistance]. There was actually a Perception Crystal Core, which was a pleasant surprise for Wang Tao. Perception Crystal Cores were rare; so far, he had only seen Han Rui and himself with Perception Ability! This Perception Crystal Core might allow everyone to switch their Ability! Then there was another Crystal Core Wang Tao had never seen before. [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Fire Attribute Resistance] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: Naturally reduced Mana regeneration speed)] [Fire Attribute Resistance: Passive Ability, strong resistance to Fire attribute attacks] ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing the properties of this Crystal Core, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. So not only was this Fire Patterned Ant fire-resistant, but it also had a specific passive Ability for fire resistance! However, Wang Tao felt this Ability wasn¡¯t very useful except on specific occasions, like facing a very powerful Fire Attribute zombie monster or something similar. After collecting all the Crystal Cores, Wang Tao opened the second Loot Pack. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Defense Potion (Medium) x20] Twenty bottles each of Strength and Defense Potions, that was quite decent. The third Loot Pack contained an Awakening Energy Pearl, the fourth one an Awakening Key. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] Another Awakening Key obtained! Wang Tao had earlier traded two ordinary physical Awakening Keys with Cheng Yiyi, now they were replenished. He now had a total of four ordinary physical Awakening Keys. Inside the last Loot Pack were Blueprints. [Obtained: Giant Axe Double Knives Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Perception Ring Blueprint x1] Seeing these two Blueprints, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The first Blueprint could produce two knives, and the second could produce a pair of rings. Chapter 847 - Chapter 847: Chapter 332: Perception Ring Chapter 847: Chapter 332: Perception Ring [Giant Axe Double Sword Blueprint: Allows crafting of two Giant Axe Swords. Required materials: Level 4: Fire Ant¡¯s Eel*2, Level 4 Crystal Core*2, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30] [Giant Axe Double Swords: Attributes unknown] [Perception Ring Blueprint: Allows crafting of two Perception Rings. Required materials: Level 4: Fire Ant Antennae*2, Level 4 Crystal Core*2] [Perception Ring: Attributes unknown] These two blueprints, one can craft two swords and the other can craft two rings. This is basically like getting a two-for-one deal. Wang Tao started crafting immediately. Seconds later, the double swords were first to be completed. [Giant Axe Double Swords] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, Attack Power +70] The two Giant Axe Double Swords had identical designs: both were wide, black, curved blades that resembled the jaws of a Fire Patterned Ant by about eighty percent, giving a hefty feel when held in hand. Just by their attributes alone, they were comparable to the Poison Scorpion Whip. However, the whip had an additional poison attack attribute, while these two swords did not. These attributes were average for Wang Tao, but since they were a pair of swords, his expectations weren¡¯t too high; the deal was still very profitable. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã? Wang Tao asked if anyone else was interested in using double swords. Theoretically, wielding two weapons should definitely yield a higher attack damage than wielding just one, since there is a difference between slashing once and slashing twice simultaneously. But the difficulty of using two weapons was much greater than using one. Moreover, attacks in actual combat situations are accompanied by movement, positioning, tactics, and other variables. Someone accustomed to wielding a single weapon might increase their attack power by choosing to wield two, but other aspects could be greatly weakened¡­ In Wang Tao¡¯s team, only Jiang Shixue used two daggers, while everyone else used single weapons. So when Wang Tao asked if anyone wanted to use the two swords, everyone instinctively shook their heads. ¡°One sword is fine, but I really can¡¯t handle two¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s split them up and use them separately¡­¡± Wang Tao shrugged. The swords were too wide and hefty, which made them uncomfortable for many. Eventually, the two Giant Axe Double Swords were given to Wei Zhenguo and Lu Gang. He Jijun actually quite liked big swords; they reminded him of some glorious days from his past. But Wang Tao said the damage of these swords wasn¡¯t as good as the Boar Tusk Long Knife, and since He Jijun was a pragmatic person¡­ he stuck to using the long knife. As for the sickle that Wang Tao had previously let him try¡­ although Wang Tao said the sickle¡¯s damage was higher, he really wasn¡¯t comfortable with such a weapon and finally went back to using long knives. Speaking of the sickle, Wang Tao looked at the others. ¡°Anyone interested in using this sickle?¡± He had previously asked He Jijun to attack a Fire Patterned Ant with the sickle and had observed the damage, so he had a rough idea of what the poison attack on the sickle meant. The damage from a poison attack was different from bleeding; bleeding damage was 10% of the total damage for a single hit, so three seconds of bleeding amounted to 30%¡­ but the poison attack¡¯s damage appeared to be more fixed. Wang Tao¡¯s strike had reduced the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s HP by over eight thousand, while the poison damage was around one thousand. When He Jijun inflicted five thousand damage on the Fire Patterned Ant, the poison damage was still around one thousand. This poison damage was somewhat similar to Huang Wu¡¯s Awakening ability, ¡°Bone-piercing Poison¡±, where the poison attack¡¯s damage was roughly the same regardless of how high or low the damage to the monster was. However, Huang Wu¡¯s awakened poison had three instances of damage, but weapon-associated poison attack only had one instance, and it wasn¡¯t as high as Huang Wu¡¯s Awakening damage. So Wang Tao thought this type of poison attack was suitable for people with low attack power, or for creatures with particularly high defense. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t suited for it because he had high attack power, making bleeding attributes more cost-effective for him. Not to mention his sword had an Armor Breaking attribute¡­ After everyone tried the Death Scythe, they mostly felt it wasn¡¯t quite right for them, given its peculiar design. But Yang Changhong seemed eager as she raised her hand. ¡°Can I use it?¡± She was also capable of high-frequency vibrations, so using this sickle should yield high damage. Although she wasn¡¯t used to it, practicing would probably solve that. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao then gave the sickle to her outright. However, the sickle¡¯s poison attack required an Awakening to use, and since Yang Changhong didn¡¯t have any Hidden Attributes, she couldn¡¯t Awaken¡­ Wang Tao would later see if there was anything that could grant Hidden Attributes to get one for Yang Changhong. He did still have a ¡°[Reality Illusion Pearl]¡± that could grant Hidden Attributes, but it required someone with high spiritual power to use; those with low spiritual power risked danger, and he felt there was no need to expose Yang Changhong to such risks. Wang Tao then proceeded with crafting the rings. Moments later, the two rings were also completed. The rings were silver overall and adorned with some patterned embellishments, looking quite decent. But the appearance didn¡¯t matter much. What was important was the attributes, and these made Wang Tao frown. [Perception Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Mutual perception between Perception Rings] ¡°What does this mean?¡± Just from this description of the attribute, Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°Sis-in-law, come here a moment!¡± Wang Tao called Ding Yuqin over and directly put one of the rings on her finger. Ding Yuqin was at first confused, then a bit excited. Although she knew that Wang Tao was likely letting her test the equipment, her heart rate still quickened when he personally placed the ring on her finger. She felt as though she could even sense Wang Tao¡¯s heartbeat¡ªnot as if, she really did feel it! Chapter 848 - Chapter 848: Chapter 332: Perception Ring_2 Chapter 848: Chapter 332: Perception Ring_2 Ding Yuqin suddenly widened her eyes, looking somewhat foolishly at Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s expression was also very surprised, but he soon showed a look of realization. After he and Ding Yuqin both put on the Perception Rings, they had a subtle connection between them that was indescribable; even if he closed his eyes and shut down his senses, he could still perceive Ding Yuqin¡¯s location, feel her heartbeat¡­ and even talk to her directly in his mind! ¡°Sister-in-law?¡± Wang Tao called out in his mind. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Ding Yuqin excitedly looked at Wang Tao, her voice appearing in his mind without her lips moving. ¡°So this is what the perception is all about!¡± Wang Tao pinched Ding Yuqin¡¯s rosy cheek with some delight, then said in his mind: ¡°Sister-in-law, move farther away. I want to test how far this perception can reach.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin immediately ran outside with Han Rui and the others, who were all confused, not knowing what Wang Tao was doing. Wang Tao briefly explained to everyone. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡°The rings interact with each other? And you can talk in your minds? Badass!¡± Everyone was also very surprised, but it was the apocalypse, and nothing strange was too surprising. After some testing, Wang Tao was amazed to find that he couldn¡¯t determine the upper limit of the perception range! At the farthest distance from Ding Yuqin, they were several kilometers apart, but he could still sense her location and talk to her, only the sensation of her heartbeat was gone. Because they were in the wilderness and there might be unknown risks, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let Ding Yuqin go too far. After gaining a rough understanding of the ring¡¯s abilities, he asked her to come back. Then Wang Tao stroked the ring on his hand, summing up his thoughts inside. In short, these two Perception Rings were like a device that could ¡°see¡± the location of teammates and allow them to communicate with each other. Although the rings did not increase any combat ability, this ability was indeed very strong, much better than any radio device, and the communication was more convenient. At certain times, it could be very useful. ¡°Wang Tao, this¡­¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat reluctant to remove the ring and give it back to Wang Tao, but he stopped her. ¡°This ring is a gift for sister-in-law.¡± The ring was already on Ding Yuqin¡¯s hand. Taking it off and giving it to someone else would make her feel a bit uncomfortable. There was no need for Wang Tao to take it back. He could just give it to Ding Yuqin, and if in the future they really needed someone else to use the ring to cooperate with him, they could just borrow it from Ding Yuqin. He believed she wouldn¡¯t be stingy. ¡°Ah? Really? But¡­ it¡¯s not much use to me!¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat surprised, yet felt it was wasteful to give it to her. After all, her combat ability was average. If it were given to someone who had a good rapport with Wang Tao, like Jiang Shixue or Lan Yulian, it would surely bring a much greater improvement to Wang Tao. ¡°I haven¡¯t really given you anything either. It¡¯s rare that I give you a gift, and if you refuse, you¡¯ll really make me sad¡­¡± Wang Tao had spoken such words, so naturally, Ding Yuqin couldn¡¯t refuse anymore. She felt very touched in her heart, almost wanting to give Wang Tao a long kiss, but she was too shy to do so. The other women also looked on enviously, but everyone sensibly did not say much. Wang Tao thought that they should be able to encounter such monsters again in the future. If they drop another Perception Ring or something, then everyone could have one! And speaking of rings, Wang Tao thought of his Life Ring and took a glance at it. [Life Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Kills store HP that can be used for oneself; current stored HP: 15000/100000] After killing the Fire Patterned Ant, the Life Ring received 15000 reserve HP. And since the Fire Patterned Ant had 150,000 HP, that meant¡­ one-tenth of the life energy of killed creatures was stored in the Life Ring? That¡¯s not hard to manage; he just needs to kill a few more zombie monsters to fill it up. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s continue opening the meteorite!¡± Wang Tao still had one last meteorite that hadn¡¯t been opened. After being busy with the previous meteorite that released the monster, it was finally time to open the last one. Everyone crowded around excitedly. ¡°It would be great if another monster comes out of this one!¡± Han Rui spoke with a bit of excitement. For them, a Level 4 Monster Lord posed no real challenge, yet defeating one would yield an abundance of spoils. As long as a monster was opened up, it was a blood-earned profit. The tenth meteorite was the size of a washbowl, with ten indentations on its surface. Wang Tao placed ten Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores into them; the crystal cores emitted a faint orange glow before the light dimmed, and with a ¡®crack¡¯, a fissure split the meteorite, which then quickly broke neatly in two. A palm-sized dark shadow scurried out from inside the meteorite. Everyone thought it was a monster, but Wang Tao caught the dark shadow in his hand. Wang Tao said with some surprise, ¡°It¡¯s not a monster; it¡¯s an Armored Beetle weapon!¡± Only then did everyone see clearly that what Wang Tao was holding was something that resembled a black beetle. [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle] [HP: 10000/10000 (Upper Limit 100000)] [Status: Can Be Awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (requires consumption of a Fourth Rank Bug Tribe corpse to activate)] [Compatibility: 0%] This was an Armored Beetle, identical to the one he¡¯d obtained before. Wang Tao had previously discussed the Armored Beetle with Ding Yuqin and others, but since Gu Yun had taken it, they had only heard about it without actually seeing one. Now, seeing the still beetle in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, they all came over curiously and poked at it. ¡°This is the Armored Beetle? It looks just like an ordinary, oversized beetle¡­¡± Lan Yulian muttered. Wang Tao took out a Level 2 Crystal Core and used it to enhance the beetle¡¯s Compatibility. Once the crystal core disappeared, the beetle¡¯s Compatibility changed to 1%. The moment he willed it, the Armored Beetle leaped from Wang Tao¡¯s hand, landed on the ground, and began to swell, quickly growing to the size of Lightning. The nearby Lightning had already seen this device once before, so it wasn¡¯t as alarmed as last time and simply barked at it. Wang Tao patted Lightning¡¯s head, then commanded the Armored Beetle to perform various actions, amazing onlookers. ¡°The Armored Beetle¡¯s armed ability needs to be activated, which requires consuming the corpse of a fourth-order member of the insect race. Fortunately, we have a corpse right here!¡± Wang Tao explained with a smile, then directed the Armored Beetle toward the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s corpse. ¡°Eat.¡± Under Wang Tao¡¯s command, the Armored Beetle immediately pounced on the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s body, which visibly started to shrink. Witnessing that the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s hard shell was being consumed in just a few bites made Wang Tao slap his forehead in realization. He had initially planned to sell the shell to Qu Shilin, as this fire-resistant shell should have been excellent material. But now, the beetle had completely consumed it¡­ ¡°Ah well, what¡¯s eaten is eaten, there will be more in the future¡­¡± The Armored Beetle soon finished off the large Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s corpse. It was hard to imagine how it managed to rapidly devour so much. The Armored Beetle returned to Wang Tao¡¯s side, shrinking back to a small beetle form. By then, its attributes had changed. ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao noticed that its attributes were a bit different from those of the previous Armored Beetle. [HP: 50000/50000 (Upper Limit 100000)] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (HP, Attack, Defense, Fire Resistance)] The HP remained the same at fifty thousand as the other Armored Beetle, but the enhancement attributes now included ¡°Fire Resistance¡±! Wang Tao suddenly considered that the previous Armored Beetle had devoured a Dual-Tail Scorpion corpse, which was basically just a shell, as its large pincers, tail, and even shell had been removed. Whereas this Fire Patterned Ant, despite having some materials removed by Wang Tao, still had its fire-resistant shell. Could it be that because the Armored Beetle consumed a shell with Fire Resistance Ability, it now also had fire resistance? If that was truly the case, then this was a significant discovery! Chapter 849 - Chapter 849: Chapter 333: Night Demon Hatching Chapter 849: Chapter 333: Night Demon Hatching ¡°Is there anyone who¡¯d like to try the Armored Beetle weapon equipment?¡± Wang Tao looked around and asked. ¡°I want to!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± Everyone eagerly raised their hands. Everyone was clearly very interested in this kind of weapon that could arm oneself. So Wang Tao taught them how to use it. Normally, the weapon would bind to the person who activated it; others could use it with the binder¡¯s permission, but many of its effects wouldn¡¯t be fully utilized unless it was unbound and rebound to another person. But unbinding was very troublesome, and even Wang Tao hadn¡¯t known how to do it before. After some research, he discovered that to unbind, one had to deplete the compatibility to 0%, letting the weapon fall into a dormant state, then the person who reawakens it is effectively re-binding it. Fortunately, Wang Tao could exploit a bug. He simply placed the weapon into the Space Backpack, causing it to automatically enter a dormant state. When he took it out again, it could be rebound. Everyone watched as the Armored Beetle transformed from the size of a car to a ¡°little giant¡± two stories tall, and they all gasped in amazement. Just from visual effects alone, this Armored Beetle was far stronger than Wang Tao¡¯s Entangling Roots! The Entangling Roots were like wearing a suit of armor, while the Armored Beetle was like wearing a large set of powered armor! Of course, the actual strength of the Armored Beetle was also much greater. For example, when Ding Yuqin and the others wore it, they could distinctly feel the great enhancement it brought. It directly gave them Fourth Order Battle Power! Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï ¡°If each of us could have an Armored Beetle¡­¡± Ding Yuqin said, almost without thinking. ¡°It¡¯s not feasible for now, but maybe in the future.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Getting the Armored Beetle was purely down to luck, and the Star Meteorites and Crystal Cores from which it could be extracted were highly valued. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t keep extracting them indefinitely. But in the future, with more money and more meteorites, it was indeed possible since they didn¡¯t have many people¡­ After some time, everyone had a chance to try the Armored Beetle. Each person was stunned by the enhancement it provided. Although there were some negative effects from the Armored Beetle equipment, such as reduced agility, the massive enhancement it provided made these drawbacks trivial. Wang Tao also conducted his own tests, finding no significant difference from the previous Armored Beetle. There was an additional Fire Resistance Ability, but it wasn¡¯t something he could easily demonstrate¡ªhe couldn¡¯t just set the Armored Beetle on fire¡­ After everyone had tested it, Wang Tao roughly concluded a reliable theory¡ªthe weaker the person, the greater the enhancement provided by the Armored Beetle armor! A Level 3 ability user using the Armored Beetle would gain bona fide Fourth Order Combat Power! Even without an Awakening, the enhancement alone nearly put them on par with Fourth Order ability users who had passive physical upgrades. If a Fourth Order ability user, like Wang Tao, He Jijun, or Lan Yulian, used the Armored Beetle, the increase in combat power was terrifying. However, relative to others, the enhancement was least for Wang Tao and greatest for Lan Yulian. One could simply understand that, excluding combat experience, personal intelligence, weapon equipment, and other factors, if Wang Tao¡¯s personal combat power was 9 points, then after being equipped with the Armored Beetle, his combat power would increase to about 12 points, an enhancement rate of 33%. If Xu Xiaojun¡¯s personal combat power was 2 points, after being equipped with the Armored Beetle, his combat power would likely increase to about 9 points, an enhancement rate of 350%! Now if Lan Yulian¡¯s personal combat power was 1 point, then after being equipped with the Armored Beetle, her combat power would likely get to about 8 points, giving her an enhancement rate of 700%! So the weaker one¡¯s own strength, the stronger the enhancement provided by the Armored Beetle! But there¡¯s a limit to this strength, because the Armored Beetle itself has its strengths, and its maximum is probably around 10 points. For someone as strong as Wang Tao, it could only slightly enhance his combat power, but even then, it wouldn¡¯t exceed 11 or 12 points; any more would surpass the Armored Beetle¡¯s capabilities. However, similarly, the Armored Beetle also had a lower limit. For someone relatively weak like Lan Yulian, it could still boost her up to about 8 points¡ªeven if she knew no techniques and had no combat abilities, just with the Armored Beetle¡¯s own physical qualities, she could pummel any creature below Fourth Order to death! So Wang Tao figured the combat power enhancement from the Armored Beetle armor would roughly be between 8 to 12 points. Of course, to what extent this lower limit can still be lowered, Wang Tao currently couldn¡¯t test it. Even though Lan Yulian, the weakest among them, had her merits. Although she was a healing-type ability user and generally didn¡¯t engage in combat, she had a lot of post-apocalyptic combat experience before becoming a healer. She actually wasn¡¯t weak. The truly weak Level Two, Level 1 ability users or even ordinary people, whether they could handle this Armored Beetle equipment, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say. He didn¡¯t have such people around him, so naturally, he couldn¡¯t test it. Wang Tao guessed there must be a baseline. For example, if an ordinary person were to arm themselves with the Armored Beetle and then punch a Giant Zombie, it might turn out that the Armored Beetle was fine, but the ordinary person could be shaken to death. Such a scenario wasn¡¯t impossible¡­ He planned to ask Gu Yun later; the City Hall would surely conduct various tests on the Armored Beetle, and they should be able to determine the minimum conditions required to use it. Chapter 850 - Chapter 850: Chapter 333: Night Demon Hatching_2 Chapter 850: Chapter 333: Night Demon Hatching_2 Of course, the Iron Beetle¡¯s strength comes with a cost, and that cost is the Crystal Core. After all, as a fourth-order weapon, whether it¡¯s for nourishment or daily consumption, the use of Crystal Cores is considerable. Without a fair amount of funds on hand, it¡¯s truly unaffordable. Moreover, one must always keep an eye on the Iron Beetle¡¯s HP. It¡¯s not a big deal if it¡¯s damaged; it can be healed using Crystal Cores, which just means consuming more of them. But if you let it die carelessly¡­ Wang Tao has not yet encountered a weapon that has perished, but if a weapon¡¯s HP bar hits zero, there¡¯s a high chance it can¡¯t be saved. So, during regular use, one must be cautious and maintain it well. Even if you can¡¯t see the HP bar, as soon as you notice that the weapon is covered in damage and its status seems off, you must quickly recall it¡­ After everyone finished their tests, they all felt somewhat unsatisfied. After all, they had transformed into giants after being armored by the Iron Beetle, a sensation they had never experienced before, and it was exhilarating. ¡°Testing like this is boring; when the opportunity comes, I¡¯ll let you try it out in real combat!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. The Iron Beetle would naturally stay with Wang Tao, but he wouldn¡¯t use it alone; he would let others experience it more often because personally, he wasn¡¯t quite used to the Armored Beetle. That said, the Iron Beetle¡¯s armor has its limits. If the Iron Beetle¡¯s maximum potential is 12 marks and Wang Tao could explode with a force of 13 marks, then the Iron Beetle would be somewhat restrictive for him¡­ Moreover, the Iron Beetle¡¯s agility and the like are inferior to Wang Tao¡¯s. Comparatively, Wang Tao was more accustomed to using weapons like Entangling Roots, similar to armor. Although his size would increase slightly, his agility didn¡¯t disappear. On the contrary, it felt like an extension of his own body, very comfortable to use. Unfortunately, the current strength of Entangling Roots was too weak and, unless in some specific situations, it couldn¡¯t help Wang Tao much anymore. However, speaking of it, the Iron Tree Vines weapon was now a great help to Wang Tao. Although it¡¯s also at level 3 and easily broken against powerful enemies, Wang Tao didn¡¯t use it for combat. Most of the time, he used it as a grappling hook, which was essentially like having an extra leg¡­ ¡°Real combat? Can I participate too?¡± Lan Yulian said with eager anticipation. She had just tried it for a while and only felt exhilarating, especially the sensation of smashing everything with one punch, something she had never felt since becoming a Healing-Type Ability User. ¡°Of course, you can¡ª¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã? Wang Tao began to respond with a smile, but before he could finish, he suddenly turned his head to look at a cave not far away. Jiang Shixue almost simultaneously turned to the cave, whispering, ¡°It seems there¡¯s some movement inside the cave¡­¡± ¡°Indeed, a Night Demon has successfully hatched!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s perception range wasn¡¯t that large, but his Plant Affinity Ability clearly sensed something moving chaotically inside the cave, tied up with iron chains, allowing them to move only within a certain range. Judging by their range of movement and their speed, they were obviously not ordinary zombies. Not to mention, those ordinary zombies had been disabled, unable to move. ¡°Yulian, your chance for real combat has come!¡± Wang Tao directly tossed the Iron Beetle to Lan Yulian. Aside from armoring, the Iron Beetle also had the capability to fight independently. However, Wang Tao and Gu Yun had also roughly tested it together, and their Iron Beetle, nurtured to 100,000 HP, had an independent combat power that didn¡¯t surpass a Level 3 Night Demon Type 1. So, unless under special circumstances, it was more cost-effective to use the Beetle Armor on oneself. Lan Yulian caught the Iron Beetle and quickly completed the armoring process. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a two-story-tall creature with a shell on its back. The cave was quite spacious, and Lan Yulian, at five to six meters tall, could enter, but she sometimes bumped her head and had to keep it tucked in, which looked rather comical. ¡°Eh?¡± Yet, Lan Yulian discovered that she seemed to have some night vision capability. Wang Tao was also surprised; he hadn¡¯t tested it at night before and had no idea the Iron Beetle possessed night vision ability. However, Lan Yulian mentioned that her vision wasn¡¯t very clear, resembling that of black-and-white night vision devices¡­ Obviously, this couldn¡¯t compare with the night vision of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, but having some ability was better than none. Not long after entering the cave, a dark figure suddenly appeared before them. Because it was rather dark and some were using flashlights, they hadn¡¯t made out what it was before they saw Lan Yulian swing out a hand. Splat! [-23843] The dark figure was hurled away, crashing into the wall. Only then did everyone clearly see that this was a Night Demon clad in white bone armor. [HP: 76157/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Elite] This was a fourth order elite Night Demon. At first, when fourth-level organisms appeared, they were all at the Lord rank, and Lords had undergone an awakening, so Wang Tao thought that anything above fourth order had to be awakened. But later on his way to Changhe Base, intercepted by Duan Xuchang, some fourth-order elites and even ordinary level zombies showed up, and that¡¯s when Wang Tao realized that these ordinary and elite zombies hadn¡¯t awakened¡­ So one couldn¡¯t equate the fourth order with awakening completely. Just like the fourth-order Night Demon before him, though it was at the fourth order, it hadn¡¯t awakened, so its strength was much weaker than that of a fourth order, Lord Night Demon. Still, it was stronger than a level 3 Lord Night Demon. Lan Yulian had slapped it with a light palm, dealing over twenty thousand HP damage, and left the Night Demon a bit dazed. Especially when the Night Demon clearly saw Lan Yulian¡¯s terrifying appearance, it immediately ran backwards! ¡°Hm?¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The fourth-order elite Night Demon just ran away? Wang Tao had previously thought that, armored with the Beetle Armor, he was probably comparable to a fourth-order Lord. It seemed his guess was not wrong, as the fourth-order elite Night Demon apparently felt the lordly aura of the Armored Beetle and just fled. Otherwise, Night Demons wouldn¡¯t flee so readily, especially upon seeing humans¡­ Wang Tao had encountered fleeing Night Demons before, but they ran only after their HP was crippled, and this one still had plenty left. ¡°Chase!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s group continued deeper. With his Plant Affinity Perception, he clearly sensed that there were two Night Demons this time, with another one in the depths of the cave, seemingly seeking out the other Night Demon. Soon, the group saw the other Night Demon. The cave¡¯s end was blocked off; the two Night Demons had no way out. Apart from the white-boned armored Night Demon that Lan Yulian had just slapped, there was another Night Demon clad in black bone armor. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] One fourth-order elite, and one fourth-order Lord! ¡°Throw!¡± With a wave of Wang Tao¡¯s hand, the group immediately threw out several ultraviolet illumination flares. After all, there was a fourth-order, Lord Night Demon, and most of Wang Tao¡¯s team were at level 3, so it was only right to respect the opponent¡¯s strength. As soon as the ultraviolet illumination flares were used, the two Night Demons started to roar ferociously. To the fourth-order Night Demons, these didn¡¯t deal much damage but made them extremely uncomfortable, hesitant. Wang Tao had his people throw flares in a semicircle, effectively encircling both Night Demons, then he waved his hand once more, signaling everyone to advance with weapons in hand. For his people, Night Demons were also a good sparring partner, as fighting other fourth-level creatures might be dangerous not knowing their abilities. But everyone clearly understood the abilities of Night Demons, after all, they had destroyed countless Night Demon¡¯s lairs alongside Wang Tao¡­ The battle was without surprise; after being tormented for a while, the two Night Demons were effortlessly beheaded by Wang Tao. A bounty of loot exploded from them. Of course, the ¡°tormenting¡± was mainly instigated by Lan Yulian. After all, with her armored Beetle form, she could truly crush Night Demons in her grasp¡­ Wang Tao checked the zombies, two of them were gone, leaving behind only two broken chains; the remaining eight were intact. ¡°I hope you guys step it up and incubate a few more. This isn¡¯t even enough to kill¡­¡± Chapter 851 - Chapter 851: Chapter 334: Pet Snake Chapter 851: Chapter 334: Pet Snake Wang Tao briefly checked the loot from these two Night Demons. The hatched Night Demons were basically identical to the ones they had encountered before, so naturally, their loot wasn¡¯t much different either. The Level 4 Elite Night Demon didn¡¯t have a Crystal Core in its head, and since it wasn¡¯t considered an over-level kill, it only dropped a Loot Pack, which contained an Ultraviolet Suit. [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells x60] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strips x10] Compared to the Level 4 Lord Night Demon, the pack did not include Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs, and there were far fewer ultraviolet items in general. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind; these were all useful tools against Night Demons, and he accepted them all. The focus was on the loot from that Level 4 Lord Night Demon. Killing it had yielded 1 Advanced Special Energy, an Awakening Key, and 100 Awakening Energy. It itself dropped a Crystal Core, a pair of claws, a heart, and five Loot Packs. [Obtained: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength x1] [Obtained: Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claws x2] [Obtained: Fourth-Order Weapon ¨C [Night Demon Type I]] The heart of an elite Night Demon was just an ordinary heart, easily crushed. However, the heart of a Lord Night Demon was a [Night Demon Type I] weapon, not easily destroyed. After finding the correct usage, one could gain a compliant ally. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?0 The first out of the five Loot Packs was a Crystal Core Gift Bag, containing five Crystal Cores. These were the familiar faces, including an Orange [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion], a Red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening], a Red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence], a Purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Energy Boost], and a Blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: HP Boost]. The second Loot Pack contained potions, the third an Ultraviolet Suit, the fourth an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x10] [Obtained: Strength Potion (Small) x10] [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells x100] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strips x20] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs x5] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The last Loot Pack naturally contained Blueprints, all of which had been seen before. [Obtained: Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint x1] Night Demon Equipment was indeed very good, and currently only Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue each had a set, and they both still had Night Demon Rings that could be instantly worn. If they could gather more Night Demon Sets and equip everyone, that would be very comfortable. Wang Tao crafted these two pieces of equipment and then had He Jijun wear them. As the second strongest after Wang Tao himself, it was only natural that He Jijun should be well equipped. Wang Tao still had many Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, so gathering a complete set of Level 4 Night Demon Equipment for He Jijun should not be a problem. If it was not enough, then they could just destroy a few more Night Demon¡¯s Nests¡­ After checking the loot, Wang Tao glanced at his Life Ring. [Current stored HP: 35000/100000] It was already 35,000 HP. It seemed that not only killing Lords but also Elite kills could store HP, which greatly eased Wang Tao¡¯s mind. If only killing Lords had allowed for storing HP, that would have made the difficulty far too great¡­ Then Wang Tao went to check on the remaining eight zombies, tethered by iron chains, showing no changes, and it was not apparent who might turn into a Night Demon. By then, it was already getting late, so Wang Tao had Ding Yuqin and the others cook some food while he went to check on the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s corpse. He could clearly feel that the Awakening Tree had grown a lot compared to earlier. In the morning, it had still been a sapling. Now, by evening, it had grown half as tall as a person. At this rate, Wang Tao felt it would not be small in size, perhaps it could grow into a towering tree. At night, while on duty, Wang Tao paid special attention to those few zombies, but until the next morning, no Night Demon had emerged, which somewhat disappointed him. ¡®Never mind¡­¡¯ Wang Tao shook his head. After eating breakfast prepared personally by Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao contemplated whether to capture a few more zombies to breed Night Demons. After all, he still had plenty of Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, but just then, Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in his headset: ¡°Brother! The egg has hatched!¡± Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s figure instantly disappeared. He was somewhat annoyed, He had intended to remove the snake egg just before it completed hatching, as it would have been troublesome if the hatched snake damaged the van. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the snake egg! Fortunately, Jiang Shixue had not forgotten and had kept an eye on the snake egg, or there might have been real trouble. When Wang Tao¡¯s figure appeared again, he was already outside the minibus. ¡°Where¡ª¡± Just as Wang Tao began to speak, he suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if a faint and unfamiliar consciousness had appeared in his mind. Frowning, he looked towards the inside of the bus, just in time to see a palm-sized triangular snake head poke out of the bus door, its brown vertical pupils looking at Wang Tao. Then, suddenly, it soared into the air, lunging at him! Whoosh¡ª Facing such an attack, Wang Tao made no move to defend himself. Instead, the snake, as thick as a bowl, coiled around Wang Tao. It flicked its tongue as it slithered over him, but it did not bite him! Jiang Shixue walked out of the bus with a curious and cautious expression and explained: ¡°When I found it, the snake egg had already cracked, and it had almost finished eating its shell, but it didn¡¯t attack me when it saw me¡­¡± Chapter 852 - Chapter 852: Chapter 334 Pet Snake_2 Chapter 852: Chapter 334 Pet Snake_2 ¡°Wang Tao!¡± At this time, others also arrived with weapons. Seeing that a black giant snake was coiled around Wang Tao but not attacking, everyone was confused but remained vigilant. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t attack us¡­,¡± Wang Tao spoke, patting the head of the black snake, which flicked its tongue and licked his hand. Then Wang Tao pulled the black snake off himself. The snake showed no signs of aggression and seemed very well-behaved. The situation after the snake egg hatched was different from what Wang Tao had imagined. He thought it would be a monster, but now it seemed like a monster that was more like a¡­ pet? [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Elite] After interacting with the black snake, Wang Tao faintly sensed its location, a feeling somewhat like a weakened version of a Perception Ring. Moreover, when Wang Tao tried communicating with the snake in his mind, it seemed to really hear and understand him! Wang Tao told it to coil up by itself, and it tilted its head to look at him, then actually coiled into a heap on the ground! Although the black snake could understand Wang Tao¡¯s words, it seemed unable to express its own thoughts, so Wang Tao could only communicate one-way. He couldn¡¯t have a conversation like Ding Yuqin could. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?0.?¦Ï Even so, this ability to communicate with the black snake was still very impressive. It felt a bit like controlling a [Night Demon Type I], but the [Night Demon Type I] was rather dull, while this black snake was somewhat more clever¡­ ¡°This is pretty interesting!¡± Wang Tao shared his findings with everyone, and they were all amazed. ¡°So, it¡¯s essentially your pet now?¡± Ding Yuqin asked, slightly scared but also excited. Many people naturally feel terrified of cold-blooded animals like snakes, especially women. Even though Ding Yuqin and the others had reaches Level 3 strength, they were still somewhat uneasy seeing a snake, let alone one that was at Level 4 and stronger than them! ¡°Yeah, it should be. I think this might be because I used my life energy to hatch it¡­¡± Wang Tao petted the black snake¡¯s head, and it rubbed against his palm, showing great affection. Wang Tao felt it must be somewhat intelligent; from the moment it hatched, it hadn¡¯t attacked anyone. It seemed to know that these people were all friends of Wang Tao. Once everyone was sure the black snake wouldn¡¯t attack them, they all came closer. Someone even touched it; its body was cold, feeling entirely different from touching Lightning. Lightning came over to Wang Tao¡¯s side, watching the black snake warily, as if ready to pounce at Wang Tao¡¯s command. Wang Tao chuckled and ruffled Lightning¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± Then, Wang Tao and the others observed the black snake for a while, and they unanimously agreed that it seemed to be a non-venomous python. The black snake was very gentle, allowing people to handle it without showing any signs of its Level 4 status. Speaking of its level, Wang Tao found it somewhat miraculous. Although the description on the snake egg said a Level 4 Elite or higher serpent would emerge after hatching, it still felt unbelievable that a newly hatched snake possessed such strong abilities. Jiang Shixue mentioned that the black snake didn¡¯t exude a Level 4 aura before it ate its eggshell. But after it finished the eggshell, its aura turned Level 4. The eggshell clearly stored a lot of nutrients. After all, it was laid by a Catastrophic Serpent¡ªbeing strong from birth being a Level 4 Elite seemed reasonable. However, Wang Tao was slightly dissatisfied with one thing¡ªthe size of the black snake. If it were bigger, about the size of the Catastrophic Serpent, it could at least be used as a mount. Or if it were smaller, able to coil around Wang Tao¡¯s wrist, it might serve as a surprise weapon in battle. But its current size¡­ as thick as a bowl¡¯s rim, more than three meters long, and about fifty kilograms. This size wasn¡¯t big but wasn¡¯t small either, roughly like a normal python. So, it couldn¡¯t be used as a mount and wasn¡¯t easy to carry. It was obviously impossible to wear it on the body; it just had to follow the group like Lightning¡­ ¡°I wonder if you¡¯ll grow bigger. I hope you get a bit more imposing¡­¡± After muttering to himself, Wang Tao directed the black snake through some simple tests. The black snake had mana, but no particular Ability was tested. Wang Tao thought it might be similar to Night Demon: not without Ability, but its Ability might be all Passive, like boosting vitality, HP, and such. Its physical constitution was strong, and it was quite powerful. Wang Tao tried, and if it were to coil around someone, even a Fourth-order Awakener might be in danger. However, since it hadn¡¯t awakened, compared to a Fourth-order Awakener, its strength was somewhat lacking if it were in a direct fight. As for its actual combat capability, since there were no enemies present, it was temporarily impossible to test. Wang Tao felt it probably wouldn¡¯t be too weak, considering it¡¯s a Fourth Order Elite, after all. ¡°From now on, you¡¯ll be called Blacky.¡± Wang Tao petted the black snake¡¯s head. The black snake flicked its tongue and then slowly coiled around Wang Tao again. Perhaps because Wang Tao used his own HP to hatch it, it especially liked being around him, a bit clingy. Unfortunately, its appearance was too unsettling for many. Ding Yuqin and the others touched it out of curiosity but immediately kept their distance afterward. Chapter 853 - Chapter 853: Chapter 334: Pet Snake_3 Chapter 853: Chapter 334: Pet Snake_3 At that moment, Wei Zhenguo suddenly asked: ¡°Wang Tao, don¡¯t you still have nine snake eggs?¡± ¡°Yes, there are nine.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He hadn¡¯t known before that the snake eggs would hatch into snakes that obeyed his commands. For safety¡¯s sake, he hadn¡¯t dared to hatch too many, only trying out one to test the waters. After all, if they were to hatch a group of Level 4, Lords, or higher monsters all at once, they would be difficult to handle. ¡°Should we continue hatching them?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked again. ¡°Of course!¡± Wang Tao nodded again. Since the hatched snakes were obedient, even serving as pets, he definitely needed to hatch them. Even if what hatched were Fourth Order Elites, it would significantly increase their team¡¯s combat power. Then Wang Tao looked around at everyone and asked: ¡°Who wants to try hatching? Whoever hatches it will own the pet! However, I feel that hatching these creatures seems to have something to do with spiritual power. It might be problematic if your spiritual power is too low¡­ Of course, you¡¯re all at Level 3 or 4, so there should be no problem with that.¡± Everyone glanced at each other, only Wei Zhenguo and a few other men raised their hands. Ding Yuqin and the other women all shook their heads; even Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak up. She wasn¡¯t afraid, but she preferred Lightning to snakes. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡°We¡¯d better not¡­¡± Ding Yuqin quickly waved her hand. Women were naturally quite fearful of such cold-blooded animals. Even though the hatched creature would be their own pet, it was still a snake and somewhat repulsive. They would definitely be willing if it were a dog like Lightning. ¡°Then I¡¯ll do it!¡± ¡°I can too!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Wei Zhenguo, Xu Xiaojun, Chen Zhuang, and Gao Hua all raised their hands. He Jijun wasn¡¯t interested in snakes and didn¡¯t raise his hand. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t insist, so the four of them each hatched one snake egg. Hatching these snake eggs required one day and 100,000 HP; as for the time, they just had to wait. Regarding HP, with the healer around, there was nothing to worry about. After they began hatching, their faces quickly turned pale. Prepared beforehand, Lan Yulian immediately activated the Healing Light Aura and then began healing them. It took some time before their HP was fully restored. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± The group all let out a long breath. This act of hatching snake eggs using their own life energy was indeed not very pleasant. The four snake eggs also turned red like the one Wang Tao had hatched before, and they placed them inside the vehicle. If nothing unusual happened, by this time tomorrow, Wang Tao¡¯s team would have five Level 4 Elite serpents! After the four snake eggs were successfully hatched, Wang Tao would check their condition and then decide who would hatch the remaining five eggs. Because after the snake eggs hatched and connected with their consciousness, it did affect their spiritual power somewhat. It was like a piece of their spiritual power had been allocated to the snake. So Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if continuing to hatch would be problematic; it was better to be cautious. Wang Tao had wanted to test Blacky¡¯s combat effectiveness, but there were no zombies nearby. Xu Xiaojun and his group had to travel far to catch zombies the previous day. Wang Tao thought it over and decided against it, believing that the zombies in the cave could still hatch into Night Demons. Once the Night Demons were hatched, he would let Blacky try them out. Since he had control over the situation, even if Blacky couldn¡¯t win, there would be no risk to its life. Thus, Wang Tao and his group didn¡¯t go anywhere today and just waited around for a day. Nothing happened, and the zombies in the cave were still very much alive. This made Wang Tao somewhat helpless, but he unexpectedly discovered that his 1000 Awakening Energy had fully recovered today. Since there was no battle right now, Wang Tao decided to upgrade. Moments later, the upper limit of his Awakening Energy increased to 1100, and the strength and duration of his Awakening Ability improved slightly. The next day, under the attention of everyone, they watched the four snake eggs hatch successfully. Their appearance and color were very similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Blacky, and they were all Fourth Order Elites, with no Lords appearing. To distinguish them, Wang Tao named them Er Hei, Sanhei, Si Hei, and Wu Hei. Regarding Wang Tao¡¯s naming ability, everyone had already run out of fucks to give. Then Wang Tao asked Wei Zhenguo and the others about their feelings. After successfully hatching and interacting with the Black Snakes, they could feel that some of their ephemeral spiritual power had indeed been utilized. Their spiritual power was far less than Wang Tao¡¯s, and they felt that hatching another such snake could potentially affect them. So Wang Tao decided not to let them hatch any more, and they would discuss the remaining five eggs later. Hatching them himself shouldn¡¯t have much impact, but since they are all Fourth Order Elite snakes, the benefit to Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that great. He himself didn¡¯t need to hatch so many¡­ ¡­ On the fifth day of planting the Awakening Seed. Early morning, there were still no changes in the zombies in the cave. ¡°These parasites, could they have all failed¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. If there really were only two successful attempts, then the success rate was still a bit low. Of course, a low success rate was actually a good thing, but for the current Wang Tao, having no Night Demons meant earning a lot less. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that smell?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao smelled a very pleasant fruit fragrance. Not just him, the others smelled it too, and they were all surprised. Lightning, Blacky, and the others were exceptionally excited. Jiang Shixue subconsciously licked her lips, feeling her mouth crazily secreting saliva. ¡°It seems to be¡­ coming from the direction of the Awakening Tree? Let¡¯s go and see what¡¯s happening!¡± Chapter 854 - Chapter 854: Chapter 335: Guarding the Great Tree Chapter 854: Chapter 335: Guarding the Great Tree When Wang Tao and his group arrived near the remains of the Fire Patterned Ant, they discovered the body was gone, and in its place was a huge tree as tall as a ten-story building, the species of which was unrecognizable! ¡°The monster¡¯s body is gone? The tree has grown this big?¡± ¡°I remember there was nothing here yesterday¡­ It grew this big overnight!¡± As they gazed at the lush and towering tree before them, everyone was somewhat in disbelief. Wang Tao also opened his mouth in astonishment. He had specifically checked on the Awakening Tree last night. It was clearly a small tree then, and there were still many Fire Patterned Ant bodies around. Yet this morning, those bodies were gone, and a towering tree had sprung up. It was already winter. Although it hadn¡¯t snowed yet, the outside was already a bleak scene. The trees on and below the mountain were bare, with hardly any green to be seen. So, a tree as green as emerald standing here seemed rather out of place. If it weren¡¯t for the countdown on the trunk of the big tree, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t dare to believe that this was the same little tree from last night. [Awakening Fruit maturation countdown: 2 days 11 hours 58 minutes] ¡°Big brother, look!¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly pointed at something and spoke to Wang Tao. Wang Tao turned his head in the direction of her voice, and his eyes fell on a green fruit that he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier amidst the array of green leaves. As he looked at the fruit, he suddenly felt that its fragrance was even richer¡ªit was coming from the fruit itself! Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï Although the fruit seemed unripe and very green, Wang Tao had a feeling of ¡°it must be delicious!¡± Wang Tao immediately turned to look at the others, who were also attracted by the fruit. Among them, Jiang Shixue reacted the most; her mouth was gleaming slightly. Wang Tao reached out to wipe her mouth. Only then did Jiang Shixue realize she was drooling. She blushed instantly and scratched her head sheepishly. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know what happened, I just found the fruit very fragrant and really wanted to eat it¡­ But I can also tell that it¡¯s not ripe yet¡­¡± Upon hearing Jiang Shixue¡¯s words, Wang Tao frowned slightly. From his experience so far, whenever there was something irresistible to eat, it usually benefitted him! For example, in the beginning, he really wanted to eat a Crystal Core, and the first Crystal Core he merged with was one he suddenly ate uncontrollably. If Jiang Shixue really wanted to eat this fruit, there was a high probability that it would be beneficial for Jiang Shixue! Perhaps it could even awaken her? While Wang Tao was contemplating, another person discovered more fruits on the tree. ¡°There¡¯s another fruit here!¡± ¡°And here too!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Due to the tree¡¯s massive size and the dense leaves, everyone didn¡¯t notice the other fruits at first. Now, after looking carefully, they discovered there were many more fruits on the large tree! The exact number was uncertain, but there seemed to be twenty or more. ¡°Huh? Do you want to eat it too?¡± Ding Yuqin noticed Lightning sticking out its tongue, drooling all over the floor. And it wasn¡¯t just Lightning; the Black Snakes also seemed extremely excited. Blacky came to Wang Tao¡¯s side and started climbing on him, but its eyes were still fixed on the fruits on the tree, as if it really wanted to eat them. Seeing this, Wang Tao became even more convinced of his previous judgment¡ªeating the Awakening Fruits should be beneficial, especially for these beasts. Maybe they could even awaken! However, Wang Tao suddenly thought of another issue. He quickly asked the others. ¡°You all can smell the fragrance, right?¡± Everyone immediately nodded. ¡°Yes! It smells amazing! It¡¯s a fruity scent and very pleasant! I have never smelled such delicious fruit before!¡± Especially Jiang Shixue, who swallowed her saliva and said: ¡°I really want to eat it¡­¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression immediately became serious. ¡°Everyone, pay attention! I¡¯m not sure how far this fragrance can spread, it might attract zombies and other creatures¡­¡± As soon as he said this, everyone felt a chill. If they smelled this scent in the wild, they would likely come to check it out, not to mention those simple-minded zombie creatures! Wang Tao looked around; so far, everything was safe, but the Awakening Fruit needed more than two days to mature, and whether it stayed safe was uncertain. ¡°Let¡¯s do this: we¡¯ll drive the car under the tree and rest here for the night!¡± After the Awakening Tree absorbed and digested the bodies of the Fire Patterned Ants, the area was free from the [Life Drain] effect, making it safe to stay for a while. In case any zombie creatures or the like did come, Wang Tao himself wasn¡¯t worried, but he feared they might damage the Awakening Tree. It had taken so long to grow; if it were destroyed now, it would be a severe loss. ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone agreed, then went to bring the cars over, setting up tents and such under the tree. Upon arriving under the tree, Lightning and Blacky showed great excitement. Lightning was somewhat better since it couldn¡¯t climb; it just ran excitedly around Wang Tao. But the Black Snakes directly climbed up the tree. Wang Tao quickly instructed them not to touch the fruits, as they were not ripe yet. They would discuss it once they were mature. The Black Snakes, being sensible, quietly stayed in the tree after climbing it, each snake watching over a fruit as if guarding them. Chapter 855 - Chapter 855: Chapter 335: Guarding the Great Tree_2 Chapter 855: Chapter 335: Guarding the Great Tree_2 Then, Wang Tao and the others stayed under the tree for a whole day. Besides the fruits on the tree starting to turn slightly yellow and their fragrance growing increasingly intense, there hadn¡¯t been any incidents. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t let his guard down for even a moment, considering it would take some time for the aroma to spread. He estimated that the scent had already traveled far and wide by now; it all depended on whether there were any zombies nearby¡­ At night, after arranging shifts for people to stand watch, Wang Tao immediately went to sleep. There might be a battle coming up, and he needed to conserve his strength. While he was sleeping soundly, someone suddenly woke him up. ¡°Wang Tao! Zombies are approaching!¡± Upon hearing the voice, Wang Tao instantly awoke. It was Jiang Shixue who had roused him. Only he and Jiang Shixue had night vision ability, so their watch shifts were staggered to ensure someone could see clearly at night. After getting up, Wang Tao looked in the direction Jiang Shixue was pointing and immediately saw a group of zombies shuffling towards them. From the angle of their approach, they were definitely attracted by the Awakening Tree! Wang Tao took a quick glance and saw they were mostly ordinary zombies, not even a single Fourth Order among them. But Wang Tao was not careless and woke everyone up. ¡°Zombies are coming. I¡¯ll go kill them. You all stay alert to our surroundings.¡± Wang Tao wanted to test if his Life Ring could increase its stored HP by killing ordinary zombies. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??¦Ï.§ã¦Ï He hadn¡¯t encountered ordinary zombies before, and naturally, he hadn¡¯t had the chance to test it. Now that zombies were coming, it was a good opportunity to make use of waste. ¡°Okay!¡± The group responded in unison. These ordinary zombies were mainly Level Two and Level Three, with none exceeding 50,000 HP, but there were quite a few of them¡ªmore than thirty. The zombies had not noticed Wang Tao and his party, but were simply lured here by the scent. They twisted their bodies towards the large tree. Whoosh¡ª A shockwave suddenly appeared, and several zombies in front of the horde were instantly shattered. Roar¡ª Only then did the zombies realize that a human had appeared in front of them. Though the fruit of Awakening was fragrant, the scent of humans was no less intense, so they immediately shifted their target and rushed towards Wang Tao rapidly. Moments later, they became shreds of flesh on the ground. Wang Tao looked at his Life Ring and couldn¡¯t help but grimace. [Current Stored HP: 100000/100000] The HP stored in the ring was full! It seemed that killing ordinary zombies was no problem, which was a relief. While the world might lack other things, there was an inexhaustible supply of ordinary zombies! But Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to rejoice when Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice rang out in his earpiece. ¡°Brother, a lot of ordinary zombies are coming from the east!¡± Wang Tao was on the west side, and because of the large tree¡¯s obstruction, he couldn¡¯t see the situation to the east. ¡°You all attack at will!¡± Wang Tao immediately ordered. He had already tested the ordinary zombies, and the others were of no use to him. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone sprang into action. Since Wang Tao had anticipated the possibility of enemy attacks, he had hung many lights on the tree, including ultraviolet strip lights. Ding Yuqin immediately turned on the lights, and the area around the large tree lit up like daylight, leaving the zombies with nowhere to hide under the ultraviolet light. Amidst these zombies, the sound of burning could occasionally be heard. ¡°There are Night Demons mixed in among them!¡± Everyone was on guard, but they didn¡¯t panic. The incoming zombie horde numbered over a hundred, but to the group, they posed no challenge. Moreover, it was a good opportunity to test the combat abilities of the Black Snakes. With their Fourth Order Elite strength, dealing with these zombies, which were all below Fourth Order, was a one-sided slaughter. Wang Tao took the chance to observe them and noticed the scales of these Black Snakes were very hard. The zombies couldn¡¯t penetrate the scales to attack them, so they were unable to release the zombie virus. As long as they weren¡¯t infected by the zombie virus, they could easily handle these ordinary zombies. As for the Black Snakes¡¯ methods of attack, there were basically two. One was to coil around the zombie¡¯s head and then suddenly exert force, bursting the zombie¡¯s head on the spot. The other was to use their tail to lash out, smashing the zombies¡¯ heads to pieces. Seeing this, Wang Tao nodded in approval. He had been worried that these newly born Black Snakes wouldn¡¯t have combat experience, since zombies, unlike other creatures, had to be hit in the head. But Wang Tao¡¯s concerns were unfounded; these Black Snakes might have inherited some hunting experience, as they handled the zombies with ease. Without Wang Tao and the others needing to lift a finger, the five snakes plunged into the horde, causing chaos and quickly annihilating the sizeable and reasonably powerful zombie group. After killing these zombies, the Black Snakes immediately returned to the tree to guard their fruit. ¡°So strong!¡± Looking at the scattered remains, Ding Yuqin was amazed. The Black Snakes, seemingly not very impressive, had a killing power even higher than theirs. ¡°After all, they are Fourth-Level Organisms. Such killing power is reasonable,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Naturally, the combat power of these Black Snakes was unquestionable; it was just that their appetites were quite large. The amount of food one Black Snake needed was more than an ordinary Level 3 ability user, a good thing Wang Tao had plenty of food. Otherwise, a few more days in the wild could have driven them to poverty with their consumption¡­ After dealing with this batch of zombies, no other creatures approached for the time being, but Wang Tao and his companions naturally couldn¡¯t sleep anymore and stayed up all night guarding the surroundings of the tree. Chapter 856 - Chapter 856: Chapter 335: Guardian of the Great Tree_3 Chapter 856: Chapter 335: Guardian of the Great Tree_3 ¡°` In the latter part of the night, zombies came again! But this time, it was Night Demons, a large group of them¡ªit felt as though an entire Night Demon¡¯s Nest or even several had emerged at once! Among them were many white ones, and there were also three black ones! Red Night Demons are Third-order Elites, blue Night Demons are Level 3, Lords. White Night Demons are Fourth Order Elites, Black Night Demons are Level 4, Lords. So, even without Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, everyone could see that many Level 4 Night Demons had arrived! However, the group wasn¡¯t panicking¡ªnot least because, though they might be short on various supplies, they certainly had enough ultraviolet light equipment to handle these Night Demons! ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± After arriving, the group of Night Demons began to howl in the distance, not daring to come closer. Wang Tao had fitted the large tree with ultraviolet strip lights, and now the entire tree was like a glowing ultraviolet lamp, emitting deadly ultraviolet rays in all directions. Though these ultraviolet rays weren¡¯t lethal to Level 4 Night Demons, they were indeed uncomfortable and terrifying, so the creatures lingered outside, hesitant to approach. Clearly not willing to tolerate such a significant threat outside, Wang Tao reached out, flipped his hand, and an Iron Beetle appeared in his palm. Wang Tao had grown quite familiar with the Iron Beetle, but he¡¯d yet to properly arm one and send it into battle¡ªwhat better opportunity than now? The multitude of Level 4 Night Demons would be more than enough for a test. Click¡ª¡ª Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï??0.?¦Ï Wang Tao threw the Iron Beetle, and it immediately began to inflate and wriggle. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a two-story-tall standing beetle monster. Wang Tao merged with it and then charged forward. Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡ª Though not as tall as the large tree, the Iron Beetle¡¯s size still stood out among the group of Night Demons. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have any weapons in hand, mainly because there weren¡¯t any that suited the beetle¡¯s size. Clenching both fists, he just hammered away at the Night Demons! Bang¡ª¡ª A Third-order Night Demon failed to dodge in time and was smashed to the ground by Wang Tao¡¯s punch. When Wang Tao lifted his fist, all that was left on the ground was a disgusting mash of flesh. Seeing the result of his casual strike, Wang Tao let out a sigh. ¡°No wonder people like Jade Lotus, who don¡¯t usually fight, find this thrilling! The feeling of raw power is truly exhilarating!¡± Wang Tao inwardly marveled, but his hands did not stop moving. One punch for each small Night Demon, like playing Whack-a-Mole! Roar¡ª¡ª The Level 4 Night Demons had been looking for a way to get close to the large tree, but now, seeing Wang Tao slaughtering their kind, they could no longer restrain themselves and rushed at him. Size doesn¡¯t determine everything, but it has its advantages. Under normal circumstances, these Night Demons could only attack Wang Tao¡¯s legs and were unable to reach any other part of his body. But attacking the legs of an Iron Beetle clearly wouldn¡¯t harm Wang Tao. The Night Demons seemed to understand this, so they started to jump like fleas, aiming for Wang Tao. Bang! Bang! Each time they jumped up, Wang Tao sent one flying, and if they were particularly unlucky, he would crush them completely! Now, it was as if Wang Tao were swatting mosquitoes, thoroughly enjoying himself. ¡°So powerful!¡± Watching Wang Tao easily handle the Night Demon Group, everyone exclaimed in admiration. Though everyone had an Iron Beetle, it performed differently depending on its user, expressing its full potential only in the hands of Wang Tao. However, in reality, it wasn¡¯t as easy for Wang Tao as everyone imagined. Since the Iron Beetle hadn¡¯t reached its power limit and still stood at 50,000 HP, although the Night Demons didn¡¯t pose a threat to Wang Tao, their various attacks upon the Iron Beetle did cause HP loss. The saying goes, ¡°even ants can kill an elephant,¡± and facing a group of Level 4 Night Demons, there was certainly a risk if the battle dragged on for too long. Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian to try using healing on him, and unsurprisingly, Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing couldn¡¯t restore HP to the Iron Beetle. However, it could bestow a Fire Attribute attack¡­ Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand the principle behind this, but it was all right; a Fire Attribute attack could still increase damage. He then addressed the others: ¡°Let¡¯s all join in, make it a quick battle!¡± After saying this, Wang Tao charged at one of the Level 4, Lord Night Demons. As for the other Elite Night Demons and Level 3s, he left them to the rest. With one Level 4, Lord Night Demon left to contend with, He Jijun rushed towards another. The last one was surrounded and attacked by several Black Snakes. Once everyone joined the fight and several large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs lit up the night sky, the Night Demon Group began to break down. Especially after Wang Tao, dressed in Beetle Armor, swiftly dealt with the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, the Night Demon Group instantly began to collapse. Over ten minutes later, the other two Level 4, Lord Night Demons were taken down by Wang Tao, and the remaining Night Demons were few in number. Bang¡ª¡ª Wei Zhenguo made a Rush, jumped into the midst of the last few low-HP Night Demons, and took them down with a Shockwave. ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. With that, the entire group of over a hundred Night Demons had all been dealt with. Wang Tao deactivated the Beetle Armor and then began to quickly clear the battlefield. After cleanup, no one dared to relax, continuing to guard beside the large tree. But they waited until sunrise, and no more zombies appeared. This left Wang Tao somewhat disappointed. ¡°Is that it? I thought more zombies would come!¡± Defeating zombies, especially Level 4, Lord zombies, could yield many great rewards, and naturally, Wang Tao would hope for more to come his way. Everyone had a bit of breakfast and then continued to guard the Awakening Tree. ¡°The scent of the fruit is getting stronger and stronger¡­¡± Everyone involuntarily swallowed. Wang Tao checked the countdown timer on Awakening Fruits, only a little over one day left, they would ripen by tomorrow night! Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡ª Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly. ¡°Something¡¯s coming again!¡± ¡°` Chapter 857 - Chapter 857: Chapter 336: Slaying the Giant Again Chapter 857: Chapter 336: Slaying the Giant Again Thud, thud, thud¡ª As the ground trembled ever so slightly, a massive silhouette appeared in everyone¡¯s line of sight. ¡°Giant Zombie!¡± Seeing this figure, everyone¡¯s faces were very serious. Their previous experiences in Wuyang City and Zijing City were not exactly pleasant. This Giant Zombie¡¯s stature was clearly not as enormous as those with hundreds of thousands of HP, but it was a bit taller than the one Wang Tao had killed before, which had a hundred thousand HP. The Giant Zombie with a hundred thousand HP stood 20 meters tall, while this one was estimated to be about 24 or 25 meters. It was only slightly shorter than the Awakening Tree, which now stood at 30 meters. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Giant] This Giant Zombie had 120,000 HP. The greater the HP of a Giant Zombie, the larger its size. Its Awakening [Giant] is related to its size¡ªthe larger the size, the stronger the power! Thus, Giant Zombies are different from other species; a difference in HP of one or two thousand may not signify much difference in strength for other species. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï But between Giant Zombies, a difference of twenty thousand HP might imply a noticeably significant gap in strength. Like this one with 120,000 HP, it was undoubtedly much stronger than the previous one with a hundred thousand HP! And it wasn¡¯t just a single Giant Zombie that came; there was also a large group of zombies following at its feet. At a glance, they were all Level 3 and Level 4 Ordinary and Elite Zombies. Clearly, their target was the Awakening Fruit! ¡°A tough battle ahead¡­¡± He Jijun¡¯s tone was grave. If it were only one Giant Zombie, it would have been easier to handle, but this Giant Zombie had brought with it thousands of minions with no minor strengths¡­ ¡°Leave the Giant Zombie to me; handle the rest of the zombies yourself. Old He, you take command!¡± Wang Tao immediately spoke up. Before, he had killed that Giant Zombie by triggering the Frenzy Passive and combining it with the Awakening Fire Blazing the Plains. Although the current Giant Zombie was stronger, Wang Tao was no longer the same as he used to be. He might not be able to kill the Giant Zombie quickly, but there should be no problem in holding it off. As long as he could block the Giant Zombie and prevent it from destroying the Awakening Tree, Wang Tao¡¯s goal would be achieved. Killing the Giant Zombie was just a matter of time, and Wang Tao was still confident about this. ¡°No problem!¡± He Jijun nodded and quickly started to command. Wang Tao, meanwhile, activated his Beetle Armor. Woosh¡ª As the Iron Beetle landed, it rapidly expanded, instantly transforming into a gigantic beetle monster five or six meters tall, swiftly enveloping Wang Tao. Taking strides, Wang Tao charged at the Giant Zombie. The Giant Zombie had not noticed Wang Tao and the others beneath the Awakening Tree until Wang Tao rushed out, drawing the Giant Zombie¡¯s attention. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± With a bellow, the Giant Zombie advanced towards Wang Tao with oppressive steps! Thud, thud, thud¡ª As the Giant Zombie quickened its pace, it trampled many of its kind to death. However, it clearly didn¡¯t care about the life and death of its kind; its only desire was to devour Wang Tao, this ¡°big insect.¡± But when still a distance away from Wang Tao, the Giant Zombie suddenly bent down, picked up a large rock from the ground, and hurled it directly at Wang Tao! Wang Tao knew the Giant Zombie could throw things, so he was already prepared. As soon as he saw the Giant Zombie bend down, he picked up a large rock and threw it at the Giant Zombie first. Whoosh¡ª One large and one small rock flew towards each other in succession. Wang Tao swiftly dodged, avoiding the rock hurled by the Giant Zombie. However, the Giant Zombie was hit squarely by the rock thrown by Wang Tao. Bang! The rock hit the Giant Zombie¡¯s knee, but it didn¡¯t even wobble. Though Wang Tao didn¡¯t have high hopes for the rock, he was already charging forward and, leaping up, he delivered a kick right onto the knee of the Giant Zombie. Bang¡ª The kick landed, much like the thrown rock, doing virtually no damage. The main aim for Wang Tao was to topple the Giant Zombie. Despite the human-like form of the Giant Zombie, it had an exceptionally stable base. Wang Tao¡¯s kick only made it sway slightly, with no sign of falling. But this managed to enrage the Giant Zombie, which let out a furious roar and lifted one massive foot, stomping towards Wang Tao! The stomping of the Giant Zombie inflicted high damage, with many zombies being directly crushed to death. But the move was quite conspicuous, and with Wang Tao¡¯s focused attention, he easily evaded it. Seeing that it missed several stomps, the Giant Zombie slowly bent down and lashed out with a palm strike towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao was already fast, but his speed decreased slightly with the Beetle Armor. The Giant Zombie¡¯s palm came swiftly¡­ and as there was no escape, Wang Tao immediately turned his body, taking the slap on his back¡¯s shell armor. Smack! [-509] Wang Tao was jolted, his body going numb. But beyond that, there were no other issues. Seeing that the Beetle Armor only lost five hundred HP, Wang Tao immediately grinned. The Beetle Armor proved its worth as a Fourth-Order Weapon! Although it reduced Wang Tao¡¯s agility and speed somewhat, its defensive power was unquestionably impressive! When Wang Tao fought the Giant Zombie with a hundred thousand HP before, even wearing the Black Iron Heavy Armor, the Giant Zombie could deal over five thousand damage with a single punch. Yet now, facing this slightly stronger Giant Zombie, Wang Tao lost only five hundred HP, which was also the HP of the Beetle Armor! Even though this part of the shell was the sturdiest area of the Beetle Armor, facing a Giant Zombie and holding up to this extent was remarkably strong. Chapter 858 - Chapter 858: Chapter 336: Another Giant Slain_2 Chapter 858: Chapter 336: Another Giant Slain_2 Wang Tao had been uncertain if he could kill the giant zombie on his own. But now, he felt he had at least a 70% chance! Whoosh¡ª¡ª The other hand of the giant zombie also swatted over. But even if Wang Tao was slow, having been hit once already, he wouldn¡¯t be hit a second time within a short period. Wang Tao instantly dodged the attack and took out a ¡°mini chainsaw¡± from somewhere on his body. After being equipped with Beetle Armor weapons, it was impossible to use the Space Backpack¡ªmore precisely, it could be used, but whatever was taken out would be in Wang Tao¡¯s hands, which meant inside the body of the beetle¡­ So Wang Tao had placed his weapons on his body in advance. Buzz buzz¡ª¡ª The chainsaw instantly started cutting into the giant zombie. [-813] A number over eight hundred popped up. Previously, when Wang Tao attacked the giant zombie with the Bloody Chainsaw, he could cut off a thousand HP, but now it was only eight hundred¡­ This showed that the giant¡¯s defense had greatly increased. After being attacked, the giant zombie grew even angrier. It bent over and started clawing at Wang Tao with both hands! But after landing a hit, Wang Tao immediately retreated and avoided the giant zombie¡¯s attack. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï Then, out of nowhere, Wang Tao produced a ¡°mini long knife¡±. With the chainsaw in one hand and the long knife in the other, he slashed at the legs of the giant zombie. [-831] [-32] [-3] [¡­] The Bloody Chainsaw still cut off eight hundred HP from the giant zombie, but his sharp long knife only managed to cut a little over thirty HP, less than the giant zombie¡¯s natural blood regeneration rate. Even with bleeding and armor-breaking attributes, the sharp long knife still couldn¡¯t inflict significant damage. For Wang Tao, this came as no surprise. After all, a zombie¡¯s weakness is its head. Attacking its legs without causing much damage was normal. The long knife wasn¡¯t a chainsaw; it lacked the attribute of directly cutting life energy. Wang Tao just wanted to try it out and seeing no success, he decided to let it go. He immediately put away the long knife and focused on using the chainsaw to attack the giant zombie. Although the Beetle Armor wasn¡¯t agile, the giant zombie was even less so. Essentially, for every three strikes Wang Tao landed on the giant zombie, it could only hit Wang Tao once, and that one hit would be blocked by the beetle shell! Given the current situation, Wang Tao felt he was fully capable of wearing down the giant zombie to death. Even if the Bloody Chainsaw constantly drained blood during use, there were so many zombies around; killing some would allow him to regenerate blood. The Beetle Armor greatly boosted Wang Tao¡¯s abilities, especially against a large, less agile giant zombie like this. In some sense, it also circumvented the Beetle Armor¡¯s drawbacks. The only thing that really bothered Wang Tao was that he couldn¡¯t use his Awakening, not even a fireball. Such ¡°weapons¡± were not equipment; they were living. If Wang Tao used Starfire Prairie, even if the beetle had fire resistance ability, it would be burned to death by him! Fire blazing from the inside out is something the beetle would probably not withstand for long. So Wang Tao now couldn¡¯t use his most powerful attacks. This could only mean¡­ there are gains and losses. If he didn¡¯t equip the Beetle Armor, he could unleash his most powerful attack, but his defensive power would be much weaker, and he¡¯d be in more danger. Even the Black Iron Heavy Armor¡¯s defensive power was no match for the Beetle Armor because with the heavy armor on, it was still him who would take the hits. But with the Beetle Armor, it was the beetle taking the hits. If he equipped the Beetle Armor, although many attack methods were unavailable, the defense was high enough! Wang Tao had the Bloody Chainsaw, which could inflict damage on the giant zombie, so he could slowly grind it to death. This was much safer! ¡­ One minute later, the giant zombie, continuously losing blood, roared and took a step toward Wang Tao. With a roll, Wang Tao dodged the giant zombie¡¯s huge foot, but couldn¡¯t evade the tips of its toes and had to rely on the shell on his back. Bang¡ª¡ª [-725] Wang Tao felt a powerful force coming from behind, then felt as though he was being kicked away like a ball. After sending Wang Tao flying, the giant zombie didn¡¯t pursue but instead moved swiftly towards the Awakening Tree. With its size, it only took a few steps to reach it. ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao, still in the air, immediately cursed under his breath. With the giant zombie¡¯s size, even if it didn¡¯t mean to destroy the Awakening Tree, its every move was bound to cause destruction! Wang Tao absolutely wouldn¡¯t allow this to happen, but he was knocked away and temporarily couldn¡¯t attack. So he immediately shouted: ¡°Block the giant zombie!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The people who were fighting other zombies heard the shout and immediately ran towards the giant. Wei Zhenguo and others were the first to arrive, launching rapid attacks against the giant. But due to their smaller size, they could only reach the giant zombie¡¯s legs, which was like a tickling to the giant and could not stop its stride at all. Swoosh¡ª¡ª However, at that moment, an orange light suddenly shot out from below, striking accurately at the giant zombie¡¯s head. [-322] It was an attack from the Crystal Energy Gun! Before the fight, Wang Tao had given the Crystal Energy Gun to Lan Yulian. He told her to attack when the opportunity arose. This time they were dealing with a giant zombie, and since all the fighters were allies, naturally, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t just hang back and snipe with the Crystal Energy Gun. If nobody could effectively block the giant zombie, there would certainly be casualties. So, he handed the Crystal Energy Gun over to Lan Yulian, the healer. But the Crystal Energy Gun, which could deal over three thousand damage to other Level 4 Lords, only did three hundred damage to the giant zombie¡¯s head¡­ It goes without saying, the giant zombie¡¯s defensive power was truly high! Chapter 859 - Chapter 859: Chapter 336: Slaying the Giant Again_3 Chapter 859: Chapter 336: Slaying the Giant Again_3 Wang Tao really wanted to know how much damage his sharp long knife could do if he chopped it onto the giant zombie¡¯s head. But unfortunately, the giant zombie was too tall. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t reach its head at all. Even if he jumped wearing the beetle armor, he could only hit its knee¡­ However, the damage from the crystal energy gun wasn¡¯t high, but it still had an effect. This shot instantly attracted the giant zombie¡¯s aggro, causing its attention to shift once again as it moved towards Lan Yulian. As a healer, Lan Yulian was clearly no match for the giant zombie. After firing this shot, she immediately retreated. The others who had arrived also launched attacks on the giant zombie, buying time for Lan Yulian to withdraw. Perhaps annoyed by the ¡°low damage, high frequency¡± attacks, the giant zombie simply kicked out at the crowd. Boom¡ª Several people were sent flying. Yang Changhong was the most unfortunate; although she blocked the blow with the Death Scythe and avoided fatal damage, she was sent flying high into the air! The fall would have likely been deadly. But at this moment, Wang Tao finally arrived and reached out his big hand to catch Yang Changhong. ¡°Ah¡ªThank you!¡± Yang Changhong, still in Wang Tao¡¯s palm, was quite shaken up. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï A level 3 ability user really shouldn¡¯t get close to a giant zombie! ¡°You retreat first.¡± Wang Tao put down Yang Changhong, then picked up the Death Scythe that she had dropped. Just as he was about to return the weapon to her, a thought suddenly struck Wang Tao. ¡°The poison mist attack on this kind of weapon, does it have any effect on the giant zombie¡­ Let¡¯s try!¡± No sooner thought than done, Wang Tao immediately threw his sharp long knife to Lan Yulian. ¡°Use my knife first!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Then Wang Tao, holding a ¡°Mini Scythe¡± in one hand and a ¡°Mini Chainsaw¡± in the other, charged at the giant zombie. Whirr whirr¡ª [-532] The Bloody Chainsaw first struck the giant zombie¡¯s leg, showing over five hundred damage, followed closely by the Death Scythe in the same spot. [-21] [-408] A twenty popped up for normal damage, and then another four hundred for poison damage! ¡°The poison damage really works!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed. Though four hundred damage might not seem high, it would increase his efficiency by 50%! Wang Tao was about to tell others to back off and leave the rest to him. But then he saw the giant zombie suddenly give up attacking others and charged straight at him. Wang Tao immediately retreated at full speed. Boom, boom, boom¡ª The giant zombie pursued relentlessly as though it wouldn¡¯t stop until it had devoured Wang Tao. ¡°Could the poison attack be arousing stronger aggro?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. During the retreat, Wang Tao braced himself against the giant zombie¡¯s attack with the beetle¡¯s armor shell on his back and immediately struck the giant twice more. [-833] [-20] [-419] That was over twelve hundred damage! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The giant zombie roared, its eyes turning red. ¡°The poison attack does indeed attract more aggro!¡± This was naturally good for Wang Tao. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the giant zombie attacking him; he was worried it would target others instead. As long as the giant zombie¡¯s aggro was focused on him, he could rely on the beetle armor¡¯s defense, the Bloody Chainsaw, poison attack, and other weapon equipment to gradually wear down the giant zombie! But on the other hand, Wang Tao felt that the giant zombie was smarter than those insect clan monsters. The insect clan monsters had no idea who had released the poison, and their aggro wasn¡¯t focused on the person who did. But the giant zombie immediately realized that Wang Tao was the culprit, which seemed to indicate that it was somewhat smarter¡­ Yet no matter how smart it was, that was all it amounted to. The outcome was already determined at the moment the giant zombie decided to pursue Wang Tao to the death. Some time later. Boom¡ª [-283] [0/120000] The HP of the giant zombie dropped to zero and it collapsed with a thunderous crash. Wang Tao immediately deactivated the beetle armor and then took out a crystal core to restore its HP. The battle with the giant zombie, although time-consuming, turned out to be simpler than Wang Tao had expected. He himself was unharmed; it was the beetle that had a tough time, bearing all the damage. And Wang Tao wasn¡¯t failproof; he also made mistakes, like when he was hit outside the shell¡¯s protection by the giant zombie and lost three thousand HP in a single blow! Fortunately, Wang Tao had ample experience, or the beetle really might have been in danger¡­ But no matter what, this stronger giant zombie too was slain by Wang Tao. And he did so virtually unscathed and without using his Awakening, which certainly counted as a grand victory! Meanwhile, the battles of others had also ceased. The large number of zombies brought by the giant zombie were all successfully eliminated by He Jijun and his group. ¡°Hurry and clean up the battlefield!¡± Wang Tao immediately shouted. There were many zombies this time, and zombies meant crystal cores. These crystal cores alone were a significant treasure. Wang Tao suddenly thought that the ability of the Awakening Fruit to attract zombies was quite good! The waves of zombies that had come these past few days had been more profitable with each wave! It was uncertain, however, if more zombies would come later¡­ After cleaning up the battlefield, the beetle had fully restored its HP¡ªthe beetle was like an indestructible little cockroach, as long as you had enough crystal cores. It truly lived up to being a biological weapon. Wang Tao and his companions continued to guard the Awakening Fruit under the big tree, waiting for potential enemies. But they waited until the next day and no zombies or monsters appeared. Today was the last day for the Awakening Fruit to ripen. The fruits on the tree had turned a splendid golden yellow. Chapter 860 - Chapter 860: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens Chapter 860: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens ¡°The fruits are about to ripen!¡± Seeing these golden fruits, everyone was somewhat excited. After waiting for six days, the Awakening Fruits were finally about to mature! ¡°Only half a day left, let¡¯s not let our guard down, there might still be danger¡­¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too worried, as long as there weren¡¯t a substantial number of Level 4 Lords or Level 5 lives, there wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem for them. ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone nodded. Yesterday, there were Night Demon Zombies and Giant Zombies, so the group was rather tense, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t even have time to look at the loot. Seeing there was no immediate danger, Wang Tao flipped through the loot. First were the Ordinary and Elite Zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t kill many of these zombies, so there weren¡¯t many Loot Packs, but these zombies all had Crystal Cores. He obtained 153 Level 4 Crystal Cores of various colors and 319 Level 3 Crystal Cores! The remaining over sixteen hundred Crystal Cores were all grey. However, these Crystal Cores had few Abilities, only a few¡­ The probability was too low. Of course, even without Abilities, these Crystal Cores were very valuable, if converted into Crystal Coins, Wang Tao estimated it might be a few hundred thousand? Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã? Then there was killing three Level 4 Lords, Night Demons, and that Giant Zombie, which brought Wang Tao 4 Advanced Special Energies, 4 Awakening Keys, and 400 Awakening Energies. The items dropped by the Night Demon Lord were not much different from before. [Received: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength x3] [Received: Level 4 ¨C Night Demon¡¯s Claw x6] [Received: Fourth-Order Weapon ¨C Night Demon Type 1 x3] [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) x60] [Received: Strength Potion (Small) x60] [Received: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x3] [Received: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x300] [Received: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x60] [Received: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x15] [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x3] [Received: Awakening Key x2] For Wang Tao, his favorites were naturally the physical Awakening Keys. Of course, there were also Blueprints. [Received: Night Demon Belt Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Boots Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Gloves Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Helmet Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Belt Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Ring Blueprint x1] Another complete set of Night Demon Equipment Blueprints, only missing the Dagger Blueprint. But these were prepared for He Jijun to use, so a dagger wasn¡¯t necessary. Wang Tao had noticed that when he dropped Blueprints, he generally wouldn¡¯t drop duplicates but would drop a complete set before starting to drop duplicates. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a mechanism or just good luck. After some crafting, all equipment was produced, and then Wang Tao took the two pieces of Chest Armor and Leg Armor that were on He Jijun, and fused them all into the Night Demon Ring. This way, He Jijun could instantly switch into the Night Demon Set just like Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Then Wang Tao looked at the loot from the Giant Zombie, which was the focus of this haul. The Giant Zombie itself dropped 5 items and 5 Loot Packs. This was one pack fewer than the last Giant Zombie. [Received: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening x1] [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Received: Blood Bead x1] [Received: Giant¡¯s Eye x2] [Received: Giant¡¯s Heart x1] Seeing this Blood Bead, Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. [Blood Bead: Randomly increases HP limit] Could this item be a guaranteed drop from the Giant Zombie? If that was the case, then this Giant Zombie was a must-kill! Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately used the Blood Bead. A moment later, Wang Tao could clearly feel that his strength had significantly increased, and he checked his HP. [180000/180000] 180,000 HP! Previously, it was 160,000, and this time it had increased by 20,000. Although it was not as much as the last Blood Bead, which increased his HP by 30,000, Wang Tao had no right to complain. Then Wang Tao looked at the Crystal Core Gift Bags. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained six Crystal Cores. They were respectively Orange [Level 4 Crystal Core: Ascension], Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core: Omnipotent], Red [Level 4 Crystal Core: Exraction], Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core: Strength], Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core: Defense], and White [Level 4 Crystal Core: Mental Defense]. All the Crystal Cores, like those dropped by the previous Giant Zombie, included Ascension and Omnipotent ones, and especially the Exraction Crystal Core which was a good item that money couldn¡¯t buy. The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) x30] [Received: Defense Potion (Medium) x30] [Received: Life Elixir (Small) x30] [Received: Energy Potion (Small) x30] Apart from Strength and Defense Potions, there were still potions that increased HP and Energy limits. Although each person could only use 10 bottles of these potions, Wang Tao had already used them, and these potions were perfect for others to use. The third Loot Pack contained an Awakening Key. [Received: Awakening Key x1] Another physical Awakening Key had been obtained, and Wang Tao now had 7 physical Awakening Keys. However, he still lacked some Ascension Crystal Cores. He planned to collect more Ascension Crystal Cores to let them undergo another Awakening! Then came the fourth Loot Pack. [Received: Gem Slot Opener x2] [Gem Slot Opener: Allows a gem slot to be opened on equipment that does not have one] Last time he killed the Giant Zombie, he also got two Slot Openers. Now he had four in total. Chapter 861 - Chapter 861: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens_2 Chapter 861: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens_2 The items were indeed valuable, but Wang Tao planned to carefully research what Crystal Core to inlay after returning to the city this time. The knife he was holding was quite remarkable and was worthy of being inlaid. Additionally, the gear he was wearing also had slots for inlaying, which should not be wasted. The last Loot Pack contained a Blueprint, but this time there was only one. [Acquired: Giant Slayer Ring Blueprint x1] He already had one of these rings because he had worn it during his previous battle with the Giant Zombie. When attacking a Giant Zombie, it could increase the damage he dealt by 10%, and when attacked by a Giant Zombie, it could reduce the damage he received from the Giant Zombie by 10%. But to be honest, whether the ring had triggered during the previous battle was uncertain to Wang Tao. Since he had used the Beetle Armor and was unable to use Awakening or Ability, whether the ring¡¯s increased damage could trigger was debatable, and he had no time to test it at that moment¡­ After crafting the ring, Wang Tao suddenly thought of a question¡ªcould he trigger the effects of two Giant Slayer Rings at the same time if he wore both? Upon putting on both Giant Slayer Rings, Wang Tao felt nothing, nor did any prompt appear. Wang Tao felt there probably wasn¡¯t such a bug, but he couldn¡¯t rest without trying it out. ¡°I¡¯ll find an opportunity to test it in the future¡­¡± Wang Tao thought quietly to himself. ¡­ Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í??.§ã¦Ï It was already noon, and still no zombies or monsters had come. Ding Yuqin cooked some food, and Wang Tao and his companions had a simple meal. At that moment, Wang Tao seemed to sense something and suddenly looked towards the cave of the Giant Serpent. ¡°Another Night Demon has appeared. You guys continue to stay here; I¡¯ll take a look!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao immediately rushed into the cave. He had used Night Demon Parasite Pupa to infect 10 zombies the previous day. After the appearance of two Night Demons on the first day, there had been no activity from the remaining zombies until today. Wang Tao thought the parasitism rate might only be around 20%, but now there was new noise! He rushed deep into the cave and instantly saw a white Bone Armored Night Demon. Seeing its Attributes, Wang Tao¡¯s expression darkened. He had hoped for a Lord Night Demon to appear, but it turned out to be an Elite, which was a bit of a letdown. After all, the loot dropped by an Elite Night Demon was rather disappointing, and Wang Tao felt almost too lazy to engage. Therefore, Wang Tao took out three Night Demon Hearts and, in the blink of an eye, they turned into three pure Black Night Demons! Roar¡ª Under Wang Tao¡¯s command, the Night Demon Type I immediately charged towards the Fourth Order Elite Night Demon. When the Elite Night Demon saw Wang Tao come in, it bared its teeth and prepared to attack, but was confused by the sudden appearance of three very different kin that were also about to attack it. Its reaction was a fraction slow, and it was instantly suppressed and beaten by the three Night Demon Type I. Even though the Elite Night Demon had 100,000 HP and each Night Demon Type I only had 10,000 HP, it was still a three-on-one fight, and the strength of the Night Demon Type I was not to be underestimated. The Elite Night Demon quickly came under heavy pressure. It wanted to flee, but the escape route was blocked, leaving no chance to get away. Watching the Elite Night Demon get thrashed, Wang Tao first nodded silently, then felt a bit helpless. The [Night Demon Type I] was actually quite good, but for Wang Tao at the moment, its role was somewhat awkward. Wang Tao rarely fought at night since zombies had home advantage and even though he was strong, he still needed to be cautious. Besides, [Night Demon Type I] could not be used during the day. If forced to fight at night, it was likely to encounter Night Demons. During combat with a Night Demon, he would inevitably use ultraviolet tools, which worked exceptionally well against them. Especially the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb, it was like an artificial mini-sun, able both to suppress Night Demons and illuminate the battlefield, which was very convenient. But ultraviolet light would also suppress [Night Demon Type I], after all, they were also Night Demons by nature. So [Night Demon Type I] was in an awkward position¡ªuseless during the day and unusable at night. Adding the one from yesterday, Wang Tao had exactly ten [Night Demon Type I], but other than using it for testing, he rarely used it in normal combat. In fact, the Night Demon Type I wasn¡¯t even used as frequently as the Bloody Chainsaw, which was only for specific situations¡­ Pfft¡ª As Wang Tao pondered, the Fourth Order Elite Night Demon was killed by the [Night Demon Type I]. ¡°Huh?¡± But to his surprise, this Fourth Order Elite Night Demon actually dropped a Loot Pack. ¡°Things killed by [Night Demon Type I] are considered as killed by me? That¡¯s quite interesting¡­¡± Wang Tao had not noticed this before, as he had also sent [Night Demon Type I] to attack Ordinary Zombies, but never stared at the [Night Demon Type I]; if there were any Loot Packs, he probably assumed they were from his own kills. But thinking about it, it did seem reasonable. After all, [Night Demon Type I] was bound to him, and even using Beetle Armor to kill zombies could earn him Loot Packs, so it was not exceptional for these independently attacking Night Demons to drop Loot Packs. What if he gathered a group of [Night Demon Type I] to specifically hunt zombies at night? Now that zombies all had Crystal Cores and the strength of [Night Demon Type I] was not weak, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult to kill these Ordinary and Elite Zombies. Chapter 862 - Chapter 862: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens_3 Chapter 862: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens_3 ¡°That¡¯s one way to do it, but we need to nourish the [Night Demon Type I]. Its HP of ten thousand is too low; it could easily be worn down if it encounters too many zombies¡­¡± Wang Tao planned to try raising a few [Night Demon Type I] soon. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to raise more, mainly because he needed a lot of Level 4 Crystal Cores. Moreover, he had to first nourish the [Armored Beetle] to 100,000 HP¡­ Wang Tao packed up the Loot Pack containing the Ultraviolet Suit and took back the three [Night Demon Type I]. Then Wang Tao checked on the remaining seven zombies; they were all fine and were still baring their teeth at Wang Tao. Wang Tao had first planted the Awakening Seed, and then used the Night Demon Parasite Pupa. They both required seven days. So, Wang Tao had to wait another half-day to be sure whether any more Night Demons had hatched. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s happening?¡± When Wang Tao returned to the base of the big tree, everyone asked worriedly. ¡°It¡¯s just an Ordinary Elite Night Demon,¡± answered Wang Tao, shaking his head. Seeing his response, everyone else refrained from asking further. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao frowned and asked oddly, ¡°Have you guys noticed that the leaves of this tree have turned yellow?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Everyone looked up to see the leaves tinged with yellow among the green, to which Ding Yuqin uncertainly replied: ¡°Now that you mention it, the leaves really have turned yellow¡­¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã? They had all been here the whole time, constantly watching the tree, possibly not very sensitively. Wang Tao had just left for a while and on returning noticed the leaves had yellowed considerably. ¡°Could this be a sign that the fruits are maturing¡­¡± The group found this odd, but since it was beyond everyone¡¯s understanding, they didn¡¯t dwell too much on it. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more and continued waiting. In a few more hours, the fruits on the tree would mature! However, after waiting another hour, everyone exchanged glances. The leaves of the big tree had not only turned yellow but also began to fall. A light breeze blew, scattering a large number of yellowed leaves from the tree onto everyone¡¯s shoulders, giving a sense of autumn. As these leaves fell, the golden Awakening Fruits on the tree became even more prominent. Another two hours passed, and the sun was about to set. There was only one last hour until the Awakening Fruits matured, and at this time the Awakening Tree¡­ practically had no leaves left, the whole tree looked almost dead! Having observed the changes in the Awakening Tree, Wang Tao voiced, somewhat exasperated: ¡°This Awakening Tree, could it be that it only bears fruit once in its lifetime, and dies after bearing?¡± Wang Tao had previously thought about what to do with the Awakening Tree once the fruits were harvested. He didn¡¯t have the time to keep watch here, nor did he have the manpower, so should he sell this Awakening Tree to the City Hall or to the Legion? And how often does this Awakening Tree bear fruit, and would it need to be fed monster corpses next time? Now it seemed he had worried too much. The Awakening Tree appeared to bear fruit only once¡­ However, seeing those sparkling golden fruits, Wang Tao still smiled broadly. One harvest was enough; having the Awakening Fruit was what mattered. Moreover, there were more fruits than he had anticipated! Previously, the leaves had obscured the fruits, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t know exactly how many there were, but now with no leaves on the tree, it was easy to count¡ªthere were 33 fruits in total! Although it was still unclear what use the Awakening Fruits had, or how they were related to awakening, their golden appearance alone signaled their high quality. Acquiring 33 Awakening Fruits at once was indeed quite good. ¡°Just one more hour to go, let¡¯s wait a bit longer,¡± said Wang Tao. The others were also looking forward to it, especially Jiang Shixue, Lightning, and the five Black Snakes, who were drooling again. At such a crucial moment, it was vital not to relax. Wang Tao kept his Plant Affinity Ability active. There was a lot of withered grass nearby, which maximized this ability. Everything around was under his watch. As the maturation time drew nearer, the color of the Awakening Fruit became increasingly splendid, almost as if it were emitting a golden light. Meanwhile, the Awakening Tree was turning increasingly desolate and had even begun to wither. Visibly, these branches were starting to break and fall, turning into dust upon hitting the ground, as if they had long since rotted away. ¡°This Awakening Tree is really dead¡­¡± Wang Tao had been somewhat uncertain before but now could confirm that after the Awakening Fruits matured, the Awakening Tree indeed died, a one-time occurrence. Soon, this towering tree was left with only the trunk and the branches holding the Awakening Fruits; every other part had decayed. But given the current situation, the remaining parts would decay too. Now, there were only 3 minutes left until the Awakening Fruits matured, and the tree might just collapse the moment the fruits matured. The Black Snakes had been called down by Wang Tao, after all, the Awakening Fruits weren¡¯t fully mature yet, and if the snakes damaged the tree beforehand, what if something happened to the fruits¡­ The final thirty seconds, the entire Awakening Tree teetered on the verge of collapse. Just as Wang Tao and the others, who were holding bags ready to catch the Awakening Fruits under the tree, suddenly heard a fierce cry from afar. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Everyone looked up. A huge figure with spread wings, obscured by the last sliver of sunset, flew towards them! ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao cursed under his breath, then quickly said: ¡°Prepare to retreat to the cave!¡± The van instantly started and began running into the cave. Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t board but instead looked towards the Awakening Fruits on the tree. When the countdown finally ended, a loud crash was heard as the teetering tree collapsed, the thirty-three glistening Awakening Fruits falling from the sky. Wang Tao and the others quickly caught the fruits, then ran towards the cave without turning back. ¡°Rush!¡± Boom boom boom¡ª ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Chapter 863 - Chapter 863: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit Chapter 863: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± When the giant bird appeared, it was actually still very far away. But Wang Tao decisively let some people leave first, while he and those capable of the ¡°Rush¡± stayed behind to grab the Awakening Fruits. When the Awakening Tree collapsed with a roar and they caught the Awakening Fruits, Wang Tao immediately felt a piercing cold wind assault him. He ordered everyone to ¡°Rush¡± toward the cave to escape. Half a second after they burst out, they heard a loud boom, and the earth shook. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to look back, and continued running towards the cave. But when had the sky darkened? Everyone looked up to see a pair of wings gleaming with a metallic sheen shading the sky! ¡°Rush!¡± Boom! Two claws sharp as knives plunged fiercely into the ground, lifting the earth, bursting dead trees, and scattering stones everywhere. In the midst of the chaos, Wang Tao and a few others finally reached the entrance of the cave. Another ¡°Rush¡± and they were deep inside the cave. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã? Boom¡ª The moment the few of them entered the cave, they felt the light dim; turning back, they saw a ferocious giant claw blocking the entrance of the cave. But this cave was deep, and it clearly couldn¡¯t reach them. Without stopping, Wang Tao and his group continued to run deeper inside. They didn¡¯t hear any movement from behind until they reached the very depths of the cave; that¡¯s when they finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°What the hell was that thing just now!¡± Lan Yulian got off the bus. It was fortunate that Wang Tao had them leave earlier. If they¡¯d delayed even a few seconds, the vehicle would have definitely been caught up to. ¡°That was¡­ a Level 5 Monster Lord!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face was grave. This was a monstrously large bird with wings that could block out the sun, resembling an eagle that had mutated. [HP: 300,000/300,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Grade: Level 5 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Giant] Three hundred thousand HP, a Level 5 Monster Lord with [Giant] awakening, and a flying monster! Truthfully, any one of these attributes alone would not necessarily worry Wang Tao. But they were combined! Three hundred thousand HP plus a Level 5 Monster Lord was already terrifying enough, but it also had an [Awakening: Giant]. The giant awakening was one thing, but it could freaking fly, too! [Giant: Size grows without limit, all basic attributes greatly enhanced. The larger the size, the stronger the power.] [Giant] was an unbounded awakening ability, where size determined the level of power. The Catastrophic Black Serpent they had cooperated to kill a few days ago was big enough. But the cave of the Black Serpent was only just large enough for the claws of the Giant Eagle! Wang Tao felt like he was facing a ¡°flying Giant Zombie¡± that was Level 5! Wang Tao had no confidence in defeating it, even with Lan Yulian and the others. To defeat a monster of this caliber, Wang Tao felt the only possibility was to mobilize the Legion and bomb it with their advanced weapons! He heard the Legion had missiles and even nuclear weapons among their heavy artillery. They wouldn¡¯t normally use such weapons, but there was no doubt about their destructive power. Wang Tao thought that bombing was currently the only way to kill the Giant Eagle. Of course, this was a significant risk¡ªif it didn¡¯t die, it could evolve into something even more terrifying! ¡°A Level 5, Monster Lord?¡± After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone let out a gasp of surprise. However, after thinking about it carefully, even the previous Catastrophic Black Serpent wasn¡¯t this terrifying; only something above Level 4 would have such a presence. Wang Tao used [Plant Affinity] to carefully sense the surroundings, and even though many grasslands outside had been destroyed, he could still feel the giant eagle guarding outside. So he said: ¡°It¡¯s still out there; let¡¯s not go out for now. We¡¯ll spend the night here. As for tomorrow, well, we¡¯ll see¡­¡± Wang Tao had originally planned to leave tomorrow morning because, by then, it would have been over seven days since the Night Demon Parasite experiment. If it still couldn¡¯t hatch a Night Demon by then, it would truly be incapable of hatching. But with the current situation, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how many days they would end up staying in the cave. ¡°Alright!¡± Naturally, no one objected; a Level 5 Monster Lord was not something they could handle at the moment. At this moment, Wang Tao took out a plump and rounded Awakening Fruit, glittering with golden light. They had been working so hard for so many days, just for it. Whoosh¡ª Lightning, five Black Snakes, and Jiang Shixue all instantly gathered around. They were even drooling. Seeing the attributes of the Awakening Fruit, Wang Tao finally understood why they all coveted the fruit so much. [Awakening Fruit: Extremely delicious, highly coveted by many creatures] Reading this description, could the Awakening Fruit be that delicious, making one unable to stop wanting it? But the taste of the Awakening Fruit wasn¡¯t the point, the point was its five detailed attributes¡ª [A Third Order Human consuming it can ascend to Level 4] [A Third Order Non-Human consuming it has a low probability of awakening] [A Human Above Third Order consuming it increases their Awakening Key by 1] [A Non-Human Above Third Order consuming it moderately increases their endurance] [Creatures Below Third Order consuming it have a high probability of exploding and dying] These five attributes of the Awakening Fruit were very powerful¡ªof course, from a certain perspective, even the last one was strong! Now, looking at the first attribute¡ªif a Third Order Human consumes it, they can ascend to Level 4! So does that mean, regardless of whether you have Hidden Attributes or an Awakening Key, just by eating this fruit, you can directly awaken? That would be incredibly overpowered¡ªwait, hold on! Wang Tao took a closer look again. The description states, ¡°A Third Order Human consuming it can ascend to Level 4,¡± but it only mentions ¡°ascension to Level 4,¡± not ¡°awakening!¡± Chapter 864 - Chapter 864: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit_2 Chapter 864: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit_2 Generally speaking, ascending to Level 4 means one has awakened, and without awakening, one cannot ascend. But the issue is, the second attribute says, ¡°After consumption by Third Order Non-Human, low probability of awakening, ascension to Level 4,¡± which mentions awakening, yet the first attribute doesn¡¯t mention anything about awakening! Furthermore, Wang Tao has also encountered some Ordinary Level 4 zombies and Elite Zombies, that hadn¡¯t awakened but had still ascended to Level 4! Wang Tao looked at the first attribute again and suddenly had a new understanding¡ª¡ªafter a Third Order Human eats this Awakening Fruit, they can ascend to Level 4, but they won¡¯t awaken! If one were to draw a parallel with the zombies and monsters, the normal awakened beings are ¡°Level 4, Lords,¡± whereas those that eat the Awakening Fruit would be ¡°Fourth Order Elite.¡± Wang Tao felt that this understanding must be correct. Because if that¡¯s the case, then it makes more sense. After all, awakening requires ¡°Awakening Key, Hundred Thousand Blood Volume, Hidden Ability, Ability¡± as conditions. If a single ¡°Awakening Fruit¡± could directly replace so many conditions, then these conditions would seem to become meaningless. But if the ¡°Awakening Fruit¡± merely breaks the ¡°shackles of Third Order¡±, simply allowing one to ascend from Third Order to Fourth Order, then that would seem reasonable. After all, monsters have distinctions between Elite and Lord, so it¡¯s not strange for humans to have this distinction too¡­ Of course, even if the Awakening Fruit cannot directly awaken humans, ascending to Level 4 is still very powerful. Because for those without Hidden Attributes, unable to awaken, the limit seems to be Level 3. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.?0 If they could ascend to Level 4, even without awakening, they would definitely be stronger than when they were Level 3 Humans, which is naturally an enhancement in strength! And perhaps they might even ascend to Level 5 or even Level 6 later! So, for humans, especially those who cannot awaken, this Awakening Fruit is undoubtedly a great thing! Then there¡¯s the second attribute¡ªafter consumption by Third Order Non-Human, a low probability of awakening, ascension to Level 4. ¡°Non-Human¡± probably refers to creatures like Lightning, Black Snake, and¡­ lifes like Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue¡¯s situation is a bit strange. Before she regained her memory, she was originally a zombie. After regaining her memory, even though she no longer acted like a zombie, she still couldn¡¯t merge with Crystal Cores, which all humans could. So to say she is ¡°Non-Human¡± doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem, right? For such Non-Humans, if they consumed this Awakening Fruit, there is a small probability for awakening, to ascened to Fourth Order! Wang Tao had always wondered how to help Jiang Shixue and Lightning awaken, and here was the answer! However, it mentions a low probability of awakening¡ªjust how low is this probability? Fortunately, there¡¯s no indication on the Awakening Fruit that only one can be eaten, so if one doesn¡¯t awaken, it seems they could continue eating¡­ Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t entirely sure. They would find out after letting Jiang Shixue try it. Speaking of this awakening, Wang Tao looked over the conditions again, which stated, ¡°Low probability of awakening, ascension to Level 4.¡± ¡°Low probability of awakening¡± and ¡°ascension to Level 4¡± don¡¯t seem to be in a progressive relationship. Does that mean that after a Non-Human eats the Awakening Fruit, they will definitely ascend to Level 4, but it¡¯s not guaranteed they will awaken? Wang Tao shook his head; the specifics could only be known after testing. But then again, since Jiang Shixue has Hidden Attributes, her chances of awakening should be greater, right¡­? Wang Tao turned to the third attribute¡ªafter consumption by Human Above Third Order, one Awakening Key is added. This is an attribute that Wang Tao can utilize, and it¡¯s very powerful! After all, this is an Awakening Key, obtainable only by personally killing a Zombie Lord of Fourth Order. And what¡¯s more crucial is that there¡¯s no limit mentioned on the amount that can be consumed! So doesn¡¯t that mean if he has enough Awakening Fruits, he could keep getting Awakening Keys! Of course, the Awakening Fruit seems hard to come by. Wang Tao has only 33 of them, so it¡¯s not possible for him to obtain unlimited Awakening Keys. Next is the fourth attribute¡ªafter consumption by Non-Human Above Third Order, a slight increase in physique. I wonder if that Giant Eagle outside was attracted by this attribute, or if it simply coveted the deliciousness of the Awakening Fruit. The attribute mentions a slight increase, but since these are Permanent Attributes, small increments can add up to significant improvements¡­ The last attribute¡ªafter consumption by Creatures Below Third Order, high probability of bursting and dying. This attribute¡­ one can only say it¡¯s powerful yet perilous. Any fool can tell the Awakening Fruit is valuable, and if it¡¯s mistakenly eaten by someone below Third Order, they might just be done for, given the high probability! This will require caution in the future. ¡­ After examining the properties of the Awakening Fruit, Wang Tao explained them to everyone. Hearing about the multifunctionality of the Awakening Fruit, everyone was astonished. Jiang Shixue was especially eager, gazing at Wang Tao intensely; she was very keen to awaken. Previously, when she and Wang Tao were both at Third Order, she could often work together with him. But ever since the monsters grew stronger, and Wang Tao awakened while she remained stagnant, she found it increasingly difficult to coordinate with Wang Tao¡­ she disliked this feeling. Feeling Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze, Wang Tao immediately said with a smile, ¡°Little Xue, of course you¡¯ll be included!¡± He then gave Lightning a rub and patted Blacky. ¡°Including you¡ªoh, right, and you two as well.¡± The Awakening Fruit had significant benefits for these ¡°Non-Humans¡±, and naturally, Wang Tao was not stingy. ¡°But now¡¯s not the right time. After all, there¡¯s still a monster outside, and if you were to awaken, it would require a full day and night¡­¡± Wang Tao himself was ripe for a Second Awakening, but he dared not go through with it here. For safety¡¯s sake, it would be better to return to the city before awakening. Chapter 865 - Chapter 865: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit_3 Chapter 865: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit_3 And even if they had all awakened, they wouldn¡¯t be a match for the giant eagle outside. ¡°I understand!¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. Lightning and Blacky also nuzzled up next to Wang Tao. Wang Tao told everyone, ¡°Let¡¯s rest well tonight and see if the bird leaves tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After dinner, Wang Tao arranged for people to stand guard. Standing guard was to guard not only against the giant eagle outside but also against the zombies chained not far away in case a Night Demon was hatched. ¡­ The night passed without incident. The next morning was eerily quiet; the giant eagle seemed to have left, but Wang Tao used his Plant Affinity to scan around and clearly ¡°saw¡± that on the mountain above them, there stood a huge creature. ¡°It crouched there all night?¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat uneasy. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.?¦Ï He also looked at another entrance deep inside the cave, which was tightly blocked and completely impassable. They had no choice but to continue waiting. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t just wait idly; when he had killed a giant zombie last time, he had obtained many Level 4 Crystal Cores without abilities, mostly of low quality. This was a good opportunity to nourish the [Armored Beetle]. After taking out 50 White Crystal Cores and a few Blue Crystal Cores, the HP limit of the [Armored Beetle] finally increased to 100,000. It was now a fully evolved Armored Beetle. Of course, even so, it wasn¡¯t a match for the giant eagle, so the wait continued. Wang Tao then checked on the seven zombies chained up. It had been over seven days since the Night Demon Parasite test, but they still hadn¡¯t turned into Night Demons. Clearly, the remaining seven Night Demon Parasite Pupae had all failed. That meant the rate of successful parasitism was about one-third. Wang Tao still had some insect eggs left, which could have been used for further experiments with the zombies. However, with such a significant threat outside, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to hatch any Night Demons. So, Wang Tao killed those zombies and quietly waited for a chance to leave. As it turned out, he ended up waiting seven days. During those days, Wang Tao could clearly sense that the giant eagle moved several times but was always nearby and always within the range of his Plant Affinity. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had this ability, he might have actually gone out, since it was seemingly very safe outside with no disturbances at all. It could be said that the giant eagle was very intelligent, even understanding some tactics. Unfortunately for the eagle, Wang Tao could detect its presence, and as long as it didn¡¯t leave, Wang Tao would inevitably stay put. Wang Tao suddenly felt that he had killed the seven zombies too early; seven days was enough to hatch a batch. And over such a long period, they could have let Jiang Shixue and the others consume Awakening Fruits, and even he could have tried for a Second Awakening¡­ Of course, there was no medication for regret in the world, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t really regretting it; he was just complaining. After all, he had been keeping his abilities fully active while waiting for an opportunity, not having time for anything else. As soon as the giant eagle left, he would immediately slip away. He didn¡¯t believe that the giant eagle could outlast him! Not to mention anything else, he had plenty of Nutrient Solution, and he had time to wear it down. Besides, the space inside the cave was large enough for their daily needs. Just when Wang Tao had resolved to outlast the giant eagle, that morning, he suddenly couldn¡¯t sense the giant eagle¡¯s location anymore. ¡°Hmm? It left?¡± The giant eagle had flown up before, but it had always come back down quickly, unlike this time when it disappeared for so long. However, Wang Tao still didn¡¯t let his guard down and continued to wait. Over an hour later, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t feel the giant eagle¡¯s presence, and he became a bit excited. The giant eagle seemed to have really left! ¡°I¡¯ll go out and check. Wait for my signal; we might need to evacuate at any moment!¡± Wang Tao felt that the giant eagle might have really gone, unless it had been circling in the sky all this time, evading detection by his Plant Affinity. If that was the case, then Wang Tao could only admit that it was incredibly cunning¡­ Wang Tao cautiously made his way to the cave entrance and searched the area thoroughly inside and out to make sure there were no problems before he stealthily stepped outside. Once outside, Wang Tao immediately looked up at the sky. The weather was nice today, the sky was clear and cloudless. There was nothing in the sky. Wang Tao quickly scanned the surroundings. There were quite a few traces of the giant eagle¡¯s activity; many places were a mess, but there was no sign of the eagle itself. After making sure several times that there was no giant eagle, Wang Tao immediately used his Perception Ring to communicate with Ding Yuqin, ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s safe now, lead the people to evacuate!¡± Buzz¡ª The people had been ready for a while, and upon hearing Ding Yuqin¡¯s command, they immediately drove to the entrance. As they passed by Wang Tao, the car door opened, and the car barely stopped. Wang Tao quickly jumped into the vehicle. ¡°Quick, quick, quick!¡± The minibus sped forward. Wang Tao deployed his Perception Ability to its fullest, while the others kept a vigilant watch on the sky from all angles, monitoring for the giant eagle and at the same time fearing that they would see it. Fortunately, nothing untoward occurred all the way until they reached the outskirts of Changhe Base. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Let¡¯s enter the city.¡± While they were in line to enter the city, a barrage of messages suddenly popped up on Wang Tao¡¯s informational wristwatch. ¡°Wang Tao, you must be safe, right? Sorry, I had no idea the Mushroom Cave was so dangerous¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, are you all right? If you¡¯ve safely returned, please be sure to contact me¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, this is your share of the payments, please check your account¡­¡± ¡°Mr. Wang? Haven¡¯t you come back yet?¡± ¡°Mr. Wang¡­¡± It then dawned on Wang Tao that they had been in the wilderness with no network for¡­ more than half a month! In a post-apocalyptic world, being missing for a day meant danger. Missing for a week usually meant you were gone for good. And they had been missing for over half a month¡­ ¡°Well, I hope we haven¡¯t been struck off the base¡¯s register.¡± Chapter 866 - Chapter 866: Chapter 339: City Interlude Chapter 866: Chapter 339: City Interlude ¡°I¡¯m Wang Tao¡­¡± Looking at this string of messages, Wang Tao first replied to Duan Xuchang. Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice message quickly returned. ¡°Wang Tao? I knew you were all right! You disappeared for over half a month¡­ I¡¯ll come to find you later!¡± The two exchanged a few words, and in response to Duan Xuchang¡¯s concern, Wang Tao said he was trapped. Then Wang Tao replied to the city hall secretary, Gu Yun. He was a bit worried that he might be dismissed, and his small villa might be taken back, since he had not even lived there for many days. Fortunately, however, that had not happened. ¡°Mr. Wang, I thought¡­ it¡¯s good you¡¯re back! As for the house and such, you don¡¯t need to worry at all, as long as someone is not officially confirmed dead, these will be permanently retained¡­¡± After chatting briefly with Gu Yun, Wang Tao ended the conversation proactively and replied to Qu Shilin. ¡°Miss Qu, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve brought back the mushrooms you wanted. I hope it¡¯s not too late.¡± No sooner had the message been sent than Qu Shilin replied. ¡°Heaven! You¡¯ve finally returned, I thought¡­ Regarding the Mushroom Cave, I really didn¡¯t know it was so dangerous there; I wasn¡¯t trying to trick you. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe¡­ Commander Cheng Yiyi and the others have returned, but you were nowhere to be seen¡­¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.?¦Ï Qu Shilin had a lot to say, and from her words, Wang Tao roughly understood the situation. After Cheng Yiyi and others came back, they publicized the killing of the Catastrophic Serpent, a deed that definitely needed to be announced, not only for the reputation of their force but also to boost the confidence of the residents of Changhe Base. Thus, those who participated in the battle from the Starfire Society had become somewhat famous. It was only then that Qu Shilin realized the place they deemed the Mushroom Cave harbored such a terrifying Disaster-level creature! Qu Shilin had wanted to go and see the Giant Serpent, but she heard that staying near the carcass of the serpent was dangerous, that staying too long could be deadly! Moreover, the corpse of the serpent was already private property of the Starfire Society, and investigating without their permission was deemed illegal¡­ so Qu Shilin refrained from going. She planned to wait for Wang Tao¡¯s return to thoroughly inquire about the situation. But this wait lasted over half a month without any news from Wang Tao. Since the Sixth Army Corps had not disclosed the details of the battle with the Black Giant Snake, Qu Shilin was unaware of how Wang Tao encountered the serpent. She had thought Wang Tao was attacked by the serpent while collecting mushrooms, so she felt very guilty. Therefore, a week after Wang Tao went missing, she hired a team, preparing to go out and search. The team hadn¡¯t arrived yet when they saw a terrifying Giant Eagle from afar, and scared, the team abandoned the mission and hurried back without even wanting their payment. Upon receiving this news, Qu Shilin felt that Wang Tao and his team most likely had very slim chances of survival. Hearing now that Wang Tao had returned alive, she was greatly relieved. ¡°Not only me, but the Sixth Army Corps also seemed to have sent people to find you. But since they encountered a Giant Eagle as well, they dared not proceed further¡­¡± Hearing that people cared for him and even sent teams to find him, Wang Tao felt a warmth in his heart. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll talk more later. I need to reply to their messages first¡­¡± Wang Tao then replied to Cheng Yiyi¡¯s message. A moment later, Cheng Yiyi¡¯s message also arrived. ¡°Mr. Wang, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe. I did indeed send people to search for you¡ªafter all, if you were really gone, I would have saved a good amount of money, haha¡­¡± From her tone, Cheng Yiyi seemed quite happy. Both personally and professionally, she did not hope for anything bad to happen to an Awakener like Wang Tao or a Super Healer like Lan Yulian, as talents like these were exceptionally rare. Wang Tao briefly chatted with her, and then received a rather unexpected message. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, our funds are quite tight at the moment, so I¡¯ve transferred some Crystal Coins to you, and I plan to cover the rest with Meteorites. How does that sound to you?¡± ¡°Hmm? With Meteorites? Don¡¯t you need them yourselves?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Meteorites were valuable items, previously selling at high prices when money couldn¡¯t even buy them. Why would they suddenly use Meteorites to settle accounts? ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s like this¡­¡± After Cheng Yiyi¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao roughly understood the situation¡ª Over the past month and a half, various powers within the base had cracked open a large number of meteorites, but many had suffered losses. Plus, they realized that it was more cost-effective to buy the finished products than to try unlocking Meteorites! For instance, someone was interested in an Item and planned to obtain it through Meteorites, but after spending 1 million, they still failed to get it. However, someone else succeeded and sold it for only 500,000¡­ So, why spend so much when a 500,000 solution was available! Rational people decided not to try their luck with Meteorites anymore and simply bought what they needed with money! Selling the Meteorites could even fetch enough money to buy the required finished products. Cheng Yiyi, clearly one of the rational ones, was also constrained by funds. The Sixth Army Corps was not only the weakest among the Six Major Legions but also the poorest. For Wang Tao, however, he did need Meteorites. Sometimes having good luck meant he could do as he pleased! So, Wang Tao agreed to Cheng Yiyi¡¯s proposal, and even suggested that he could return the transferred Crystal Coins and take Meteorites instead! Cheng Yiyi was overjoyed at his proposal, and after confirming multiple times that Wang Tao was serious, she said she would personally deliver the Meteorites to Wang Tao¡¯s house soon. Chapter 867 - Chapter 867: Chapter 339: Entering the City - Side Story 2 Chapter 867: Chapter 339: Entering the City ¨C Side Story 2 After finishing that small deal, it was finally Wang Tao and his group¡¯s turn to enter the city for inspection. Wang Tao ended the call. It was now the afternoon, and the sun was about to set, which was peak time for entering the city. The inspection was rather tedious, so they had to queue for a while. Logically, the inspection for Wang Tao and his group should have been quick, as they were led by an Awakener. But in reality, during the inspection, a small issue occurred¡­ The inspection staff needed to check the vehicle¡¯s inside and outside for any blind spots where zombies might be hiding. They didn¡¯t find any zombies, but they found five Black Giant Snakes! Who could imagine, just when they thought it was just a routine inspection, that they would see such a group of horrifying snakes hissing at them! The unmistakable Fourth-Level aura from the Black Snakes was something these Ordinary people simply couldn¡¯t withstand! The few inspectors in white protective suits were stiff all over, their faces turned pale, and they just collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, Wang Tao slapped his forehead ¨C he had forgotten to mention earlier that there were snakes in the vehicle. The inspectors weren¡¯t too afraid when they saw Lightning the military dog, since Lightning was registered and recorded in the base system with a proper identity. The system¡¯s information clearly stated that Lightning was a military dog with a good temperament that didn¡¯t bite people randomly. Of course, the most important point was that Nie Siyan had submitted the identity list in advance, explaining that Lightning was in the car but not the five Black Snakes. Wang Tao had been busy replying to messages and had forgotten about this. Blacky and the others were legitimate Fourth-Level Organisms, while these few inspectors didn¡¯t even have 1000 HP. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?0¦Í??.§ã¦Ï The aura of a mutant beast was naturally stronger than that of a human, and Blacky and the company didn¡¯t hide their aura like Lightning did. The first time Wang Tao encountered a Black Mist Monster, he had been so frightened that he could hardly walk, let alone them. Crash¡­ The commotion caused by the inspectors immediately alerted the City Defense Army on duty. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± This squad of the City Defense Army was armed, but they did not point their guns at Wang Tao and his group. They felt somewhat nervous. Right after Wang Tao¡¯s identity information was registered, they received a prompt¡ªthis team included a Fourth-order Superpower! Could it be that someone had angered this big shot? ¡°Ahem, it seems there was a small misunderstanding.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. Then they saw a Black Giant Snake as thick as a bowl slither out from the vehicle, followed by a few similar snakes! ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± ¡°This is¡­ Fourth, Fourth-Level Organism?!¡± The soldiers were shocked. The City Defense Army wasn¡¯t like the inspection staff; they were all at least Level 1 and had professional training, so they weren¡¯t completely frightened. Their experience told them that these snakes seemed to be¡­ Fourth-Level Organisms! ¡°I forgot to register their information, which caused the staff to be frightened. I¡¯m very sorry for the trouble¡­¡± Wang Tao said while stroking Blacky¡¯s head. The leader of the City Defense Army squad organized his words before speaking: ¡°Mr. Wang, are these¡­ your new team members?¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Sort of. I picked them up outside; they are quite obedient, don¡¯t worry.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, while the squad of the City Defense Army was astounded, they all were frantically complaining in their minds. Picked up? These were Fourth-Level! Fourth-Level! How could he speak about it so casually! However, as long as it was confirmed that these terrifying Big Snakes were intentionally brought back by Wang Tao and not sneaking a ride into the city, there was no problem. ¡°Please register them¡­¡± The leader of the City Defense Army pulled out a tablet and requested Wang Tao to fill in some details such as the Black Snakes¡¯ features, names, and relationship, etc. Registration was akin to obtaining a temporary identity. The next time these snakes were seen, at least their origin could be traced, preventing so much fear. The inspectors had already been carried away. ¡°They are all right, aren¡¯t they?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Mr. Wang, rest assured, they are fine. Just a bit of rest needed; you don¡¯t need to worry!¡± The leader of the City Defense Army quickly shook his head. Those people were just scared, without any actual harm done. The City Hall would just give them some leave and a bit of compensation for emotional distress later. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then quickly filled in the registration information. After ensuring everything was okay, Wang Tao waved his hand to the City Defense Army leader. ¡°You¡¯re busy, so I¡¯ll head back now.¡± ¡°Of course, Mr. Wang, have a safe journey!¡± After Wang Tao and his group left, the leader of the City Defense Army immediately instructed his subordinates: ¡°Hurry and report this! Say that Mr. Wang Tao has brought back five Fourth-Level Big Snakes!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡­ Back on the minibus, Wang Tao had a rather ominous feeling. The mention of the use for the Night Demon Heart had excited the Awakeners previously. The appearance of the Iron Beetle had even made the City Hall renege on its verbal agreement to mine the Meteorite with him. Now that he had brought back these Fourth-Level Big Snakes, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine that for the next while, many people would be seeking him out, asking how he had managed to get these snakes¡­ ¡°Eh? Is there a festival coming up soon?¡± Lan Yulian suddenly spoke up. Wang Tao looked in the direction of her voice and noticed that the buildings and trees around were decorated with joyous red ornaments. He also felt puzzled. The concept of a festival seemed very distant. Ding Yuqin glanced at her wristwatch then spoke with uncertainty: ¡°I think¡­ it¡¯s almost New Year? Next month¡­¡± Chapter 868 - Chapter 868: Chapter 339: Entering the City - Side Story 3 Chapter 868: Chapter 339: Entering the City ¨C Side Story 3 ¡°Ah? New Year¡¯s?¡± Everyone was a bit dazed. Calculating the time, it had been about ten months since the apocalypse began¡­ Time really flies! ¡°New Year¡¯s, huh, that¡¯s indeed something to celebrate. Let¡¯s take a good rest during the New Year¡¯s period¡­¡± Wang Tao felt a bit emotional, realizing that the apocalypse had been going on for so long without noticing. Unfortunately, up until now, he still couldn¡¯t see any hope of returning to the world before the apocalypse¡­ ¡­ After spending some time, everyone finally returned to the Autumn Water Pavilion Villa Area. Since the villa had been unoccupied for half a month, a layer of dust had settled. Just as Wang Tao was about to start cleaning up with a few others, Duan Xuchang arrived. ¡°Wang Tao! Haha, I knew for sure you were still alive!¡± Duan Xuchang walked over and embraced Wang Tao. Before Wang Tao could respond, Duan Xuchang spoke again, his face alight with surprise: Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í??.§ã¦Ï ¡°I heard you brought back a few Fourth-Level Giant Serpents from outside? Is that true or false?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He knew this information would definitely spread. ¡°True. Blacky¡ª¡± Wang Tao called Blacky over. ¡°Hiss¡ª It really is Level 4!¡± Seeing Blacky, Duan Xuchang¡¯s face was filled with shock. He had already been surprised when he saw Lightning. After all, there were many military dogs in the base, but not to mention Level 3 military dogs, there wasn¡¯t even a Level 1¡ªbecause besides humans, other animals couldn¡¯t fuse with Crystal Cores. Unless some mutation occurred, it was impossible to artificially breed mutant beasts. They had asked Wang Tao about Lightning¡¯s situation before, and Wang Tao had told them plainly that Lightning had ascended to Level 2 only after fusing with a tooth dropped by a Level 3 Zombie Dog. That was clearly an impossible situation to replicate, so everybody gradually gave up on the idea of breeding military dogs. After all, luck is too ephemeral. But now, Wang Tao had suddenly brought back one¡ªno, five Level 4 Giant Serpents! How exactly did Wang Tao bring these Fourth-Level Organisms back? Did he have a special method of control? Could others replicate Wang Tao¡¯s actions¡­ These were all very important questions! However, Duan Xuchang didn¡¯t immediately ask these questions. Instead, he looked at Wang Tao somewhat expectantly and said: ¡°Can I touch it?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s very gentle.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The snakes, Blacky and the others, had no malice towards humans. After all, they were hatched from Snake Eggs using HP by Wang Tao and others, and humans were the first creatures they saw upon birth. So, just as humans were curious about them, they were also curious about humans. When Blacky ended up completely entwining Duan Xuchang, who was too scared to move, too scared to even twitch. After Wang Tao called Blacky back, Duan Xuchang finally took a breath of relief. ¡°My goodness! I never thought that one day I¡¯d be wrapped up by a Level 4 Giant Serpent and still be alive to tell the tale!¡± Duan Xuchang was a bit emotional and also excited. He could see that the serpent was very obedient to Wang Tao. If they could have such an obedient helper, not to mention Level 4, even Level 3, Level 2, or even Level 1, that would provide them with great assistance! ¡°Wang Tao, I want to ask, this Giant Serpent¡­ are you selling it?¡± Duan Xuchang scratched his head as he asked. ¡°Of course not.¡± He wasn¡¯t surprised by Wang Tao¡¯s refusal. If it were him, he wouldn¡¯t sell it either. After all, that¡¯s Fourth Order Battle Power! Then he looked at Wang Tao eagerly and said: ¡°Ahem, I¡¯m quite curious; where did you catch these snakes¡­ Of course, if it¡¯s a private matter, just pretend I didn¡¯t ask.¡± ¡°These snakes weren¡¯t caught by me, but hatched from Snake Eggs. Because I hatched them, they followed me and are very obedient,¡± Wang Tao said without concealing anything. If his words alone could enhance the strength of the base, of course, he was willing to share. ¡°Ah?¡± Duan Xuchang was extremely shocked; the outcome was completely different from what he had imagined. He had thought Wang Tao had controlled these snakes using some snake charming techniques. But after giving it more thought, Wang Tao¡¯s explanation made more sense¡ªtaming a mutant beast would undoubtedly be difficult, but if they were raised from a young age, that might be different! ¡°Thank you! This is important information! I must go now, but I¡¯ll treat you to dinner tomorrow; you must come!¡± After speaking, Duan Xuchang ran off. ¡°You guy¡­¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; Duan Xuchang was obviously there on a mission, and once done, he left without sentiment. No sooner had Duan Xuchang left than another visitor arrived. ¡°Wang Tao! Seeing that you¡¯re really okay, I can finally rest easy!¡± The visitor was Qu Shilin. She quickly came over and lightly embraced Wang Tao before breaking away immediately. ¡°Miss Qu, good afternoon!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Hey! Just call me by my name, no need to be so formal!¡± After exchanging a few words, Wang Tao invited Qu Shilin into the house. Qu Shilin adjusted her glasses, then suddenly said with excitement: ¡°Right, I heard you brought back a few Fourth-Level Giant Serpents¡­¡± Wang Tao shrugged and once again called Blacky over. ¡°Wow!¡± Seeing that there really were Fourth-Level Giant Serpents, Qu Shilin excitedly hugged Blacky. She wasn¡¯t scared at all, much braver than Duan Xuchang. It was as though she was hugging a kitten or a puppy, not a serpent. Her enthusiasm made Blacky a bit overwhelmed, as it struggled to slip away from her arms. Wang Tao looked on with a wry expression. After Blacky had slipped away, Qu Shilin reluctantly turned to Wang Tao and said: ¡°Where did you get these from? Can you help me get one too? I¡¯m willing to pay a good price!¡± Wang Tao repeated what he had just told Duan Xuchang. ¡°Hatched from Snake Eggs?¡± Qu Shilin was just as surprised, then she asked: ¡°What do the eggs that hatched them look like?¡± ¡°Blacky was hatched from an egg that looks similar to a stone¡­¡± ¡°A stone? Wait a minute¡ª¡± Qu Shilin said with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. ¡°How about this¡­ you come to my house and take a look? I think I have the kind of egg you¡¯re describing¡­¡± ¡°¡­¡± You have it too? What exactly have you collected?! Chapter 869 - Chapter 869: Chapter 340: Millionaire Chapter 869: Chapter 340: Millionaire Qu Shilin had two homes, one was the research institute, and the other was the small villa she bought herself. The ¡°home¡± she referred to was the second one, but that location was a bit far, and it was quite late now, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t go over. ¡°Alright¡­ but we had an agreement, you must visit sometime! I¡¯ve collected quite a few strange stones, you never know, there might be Mutated Beast Eggs among them!¡± Qu Shilin felt that with so many stones she had collected, at least one or two must be lucky, right? ¡°Can do.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Watching the Giant Serpents playing together in the distance, Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes were full of envy. ¡°You really won¡¯t sell? Or at least rent me one¡­¡± ¡°Not negotiable.¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then explained, ¡°These snakes are essentially bound to us and only listen to our commands. If you wanted to research them and I wasn¡¯t around, you might get bitten back. I don¡¯t think you could win against a Fourth-order Monster.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Qu Shilin felt a bit scared. After all, she was only Level 3, and a fairly weak Level 3 at that¡­ ¡°Are they Lords or Elites?¡± Qu Shilin asked. Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ??¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï Having not seen too many live monsters, she wasn¡¯t very good at judging. In her eyes, the pressure from both Fourth Order Elites and Lords was terrifying, but it didn¡¯t affect her much. Even if she was weak, she was still a genuine Level 3 ability user. ¡°Fourth Order Elites.¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat disappointed. The description on those Snake Eggs had mentioned the possibility of hatching Fourth Order Elites or higher Serpentine creatures. Unfortunately, all five eggs hatched into Elites¡­ It was uncertain whether they had a chance at Ascension to Level 4, Lord. ¡°That¡¯s still pretty strong! Our base hasn¡¯t even had many Level 4s up to now!¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes had a hard time leaving those Black Snakes; she really wanted a pet like that. ¡°Then can you tell me about the Catastrophic Serpent you encountered before¡ª oh right, these Black Snakes, they couldn¡¯t possibly be from that Catastrophic Serpent¡¯s eggs, could they?¡± Qu Shilin initially wanted to ask about the Catastrophic Serpent, but as she spoke about it, she suddenly made a connection between the Catastrophic Serpent and these Black Snakes. After all, both were serpentine, and both had been encountered by Wang Tao. And about this, Wang Tao had no intention of concealing it. ¡°These are indeed from that Catastrophic Serpent¡¯s eggs. I found them inside its body during the dissection by accident¡­¡± Of course, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say that he had obtained these eggs from inside a snake cave, otherwise, it could cause Cheng Yiyi and others to feel discontent, even believing Wang Tao had manipulated them deliberately. While Wang Tao didn¡¯t care much about what others thought, there was no need for him to take the blame. After all, it was only after Cheng Yiyi and the others had left that he learned about the good stuff in the cave from Jiang Shixue. Naturally, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to forcefully dissociate the Snake Eggs from the Catastrophic Serpent. Being secretive might actually look worse, so he simply said the eggs were from the Catastrophic Serpent¡¯s stomach. After all, they had already agreed that the carcass of the Catastrophic Serpent belonged to Wang Tao, and anything inside it was his, with no objections. ¡°It really is!¡± Qu Shilin was somewhat surprised. ¡°As for that Catastrophic Serpent¡­¡± Wang Tao shared with Qu Shilin the situation at that time since it was the first Disaster Class monster and held significant research value. ¡°As for its body¡­ at that time a Giant Eagle appeared and ate it,¡± Wang Tao fibbed. Regarding the Awakening Fruit, Wang Tao himself hadn¡¯t figured it out yet, and naturally wouldn¡¯t expose it for the time being. ¡°That¡¯s such a pity¡­¡± Qu Shilin was suddenly disappointed. She had hoped to study the corpse of the Catastrophic Serpent that was too dangerous to approach when alive, but now the body was gone. However, it was indeed new information to Qu Shilin that the Giant Eagle observed by the search team she had engaged turned out to be a Level 5, Lord with a [Giant] Awakening. This was important news concerning the safety of Changhe Base! She had to report it. And as Wang Tao spoke about the Catastrophic Serpent, he suddenly brought up: ¡°Right, this is a good opportunity to give you the mushrooms.¡± One of Wang Tao¡¯s tasks during this outing was to agree to Qu Shilin¡¯s request to collect mushrooms. She only wanted 100 Strength Mushrooms, and the rest were Wang Tao¡¯s. However, Wang Tao had gained a lot this time, not only Strength Mushrooms, but he had also gathered a bunch of Defense Mushrooms, Spirit Mushrooms, and the like. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t stingy, pulling out 100 of each kind to give to Qu Shilin. ¡°Ah? There are other types of mushrooms too!¡± Qu Shilin was surprised. ¡°They¡¯re all from the cave, I kept some, and these are for you.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Thank you!¡± Qu Shilin didn¡¯t play coy and happily accepted the mushrooms. She also explained: ¡°The energy in these mushrooms is quite miraculous, but it comes with side effects. I¡¯m currently researching how to extract this energy. Once I have a breakthrough, you¡¯ll be the first one to try it!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Why did Wang Tao feel like Qu Shilin was treating him like a guinea pig? Looking at an excited Qu Shilin, Wang Tao considered for a moment, then pulled out several Potion bottles from his pocket and handed them to her. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s this¡­¡± ¡°If by ¡®extracting¡¯ you mean pulling the Strength from these ¡®Strength Mushrooms¡¯ to make a side-effect-free Potion, then you might need this¡­¡± Wang Tao briefly explained the function of these Potions. Chapter 870: 340 Millionaire_2 Chapter 870: Chapter 340 Millionaire_2 ¡°???¡± After listening, Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao with a head full of question marks. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me where these potions come from, if you ask, it¡¯s because I picked them up. You see, I don¡¯t look like someone capable of making this stuff¡­¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Qu Shilin didn¡¯t press further. She indeed felt that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t possibly make such things; after all, human energy is limited. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t possibly engage in scientific research while also fighting outside, right? Even if Wang Tao was a genius, he didn¡¯t have any equipment, so he couldn¡¯t have just made it out of thin air. Qu Shilin didn¡¯t dwell on the origin of the potion any longer. She said to Wang Tao excitedly: ¡°If these potions really are as miraculous as you say, then maybe I can replicate them! If I succeed, you will have made a great contribution to our base!¡± ¡°Perhaps. As long as it can help someone, that¡¯s good enough for me.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t care much about these honors. ¡°By the way, how¡¯s Hong Bin doing?¡± Wang Tao almost forgot about Xiang Hongbin. ¡°His prosthetic limb is still being made, it might take another half month. But don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll make sure he returns to your side in one piece before the New Year!¡± Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ?¦Ï¦Í?0.§ã¦Ï ¡°¡­Okay!¡± Wang Tao figured that Xiang Hongbin must not be feeling too well at the moment. But as long as he could provide him with a set of prosthetics to fight with, it would all be worth it. Qu Shilin didn¡¯t plan to stay much longer with Wang Tao. She was ready to return to the Hope Research Institute to study the potion given by Wang Tao and to report about the Giant Eagle. Before leaving, Qu Shilin took something down from her vehicle. ¡°This is for you, your remuneration for picking mushrooms!¡± The item Qu Shilin gave was a device about the size of an ordinary washing machine. ¡°What is this?¡± Wang Tao was curious. ¡°This is the latest model of the Crystal Core Synthesizer. The previous Synthesis Extractor has been renamed to the Crystal Core Extractor¡­¡± The Hope Research Institute had long ago created a device called the Crystal Core Synthesis Extractor. Its function was to extract the side effects from a Crystal Core and, by consuming more crystal cores, to synthesize a non-side effect Crystal Core. Many forces within the base had this kind of device, and it was quite widespread. The device wasn¡¯t expensive, but it consumed a lot of crystal cores, so not just anyone could use it. And now, the synthesizer Qu Shilin mentioned was impressive¡ªit literally synthesized multiple Crystal Cores into one. However, it didn¡¯t synthesize normal colored Crystal Cores, but those gray low-quality Crystal Cores! ¡°Do you mean to say, this device can turn low-quality Crystal Cores into White Crystal Cores?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. He had been unaware of the use for the gray Crystal Cores produced by the Ordinary Zombies, considering their attributes were so rubbish. But Qu Shilin told him that gray Crystal Cores could be turned into White Crystal Cores? ¡°Exactly! Do you have any Crystal Cores? Let me show you a demonstration. It requires ten gray Crystal Cores, and currently, this machine can only handle up to Level 4. After all, we haven¡¯t seen a Level 5 Crystal Core yet, so we can¡¯t set it up for them¡­¡± Qu Shilin looked a bit smug as she had also participated in the development of the Crystal Core Synthesizer. ¡°I do!¡± Wang Tao immediately took out ten Level 4 Gray Crystal Cores from his pocket. These were obtained from killing the ordinary zombies during the Giant Zombie attack. He had many of these Crystal Cores piled up in his Space Backpack like trash. [Tier-4 Crystal Core] [Quality: Inferior quality (2%)] [Purity: 3.5% (Side effects: None)] Qu Shilin inserted the Crystal Cores into the device one by one and explained to Wang Tao: ¡°After our research, we found that gray Crystal Cores are different from other Crystal Cores. They are like pieces of a puzzle that can fuse with each other! Colored Crystal Cores above white are a whole and cannot undergo this kind of fusion¡­ Therefore, ten gray Crystal Cores can be synthesized into one White Crystal Core! However, there is a consumption¡ªelectricity. We are researching more energy-efficient devices¡­¡± If gray Crystal Cores could be turned into White Crystal Cores, then using some electricity was definitely not a problem. So far, gray Crystal Cores seemed to have no use at all. However, even No Ability White Crystal Cores could be useful, such as providing power for the Powered Armor, supplying bullets for the Crystal Energy Gun¡­ Whirring¡ª While the two were talking, Qu Shilin plugged in the machine and after a vibration, a White Crystal Core appeared. [Tier-4 Crystal Core] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effects: None)] ¡°Sss¡ª¡± Seeing that it was truly a genuine Tier-4 White Crystal Core, Wang Tao was somewhat taken aback. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean, gray Crystal Cores are valuable now?¡± Before Wang Tao left the base, many people had gray Crystal Cores, but they were not valuable, and many even turned them into ornaments¡­ ¡°Yes, gray Crystal Cores are valuable now! Since our research institute announced this, the value of gray Crystal Cores has been on the rise¡ªoh right, the committee took this opportunity to revalue the Crystal Coins. Now 1 Crystal Coin is equal to ten Level 1 gray Crystal Cores¡­¡± After Qu Shilin¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao understood the current pricing of Crystal Cores. Before he left, because of the emergence of No Ability Crystal Cores, the exchange rate between Crystal Cores and Crystal Coins was always fluctuating and difficult to stabilize. Now, due to the massive appearance of gray Crystal Cores, the committee intervened, and the exchange rate between Crystal Cores and Crystal Coins finally settled down¡ª Chapter 871 - 340 Millionaire_3 Chapter 871: Chapter 340 Millionaire_3 A Level 1 Gray Crystal Core is equal to 0.1 Crystal Coin; a Level 1 White Crystal Core is equal to 1 Crystal Coin; a Level 1 Blue Crystal Core is equal to 2 Crystal Coins; a Level 1 Purple Crystal Core is equal to 3 Crystal Coins; a Level 1 Red Crystal Core is equal to 4 Crystal Coins; and a Level 1 Orange Crystal Core is equal to 5 Crystal Coins. This is the exchange rate for Level 1 Crystal Cores, and for higher levels, it¡¯s¡ª A Level 2 Gray Crystal Core is equal to 1 Crystal Coin; a Level 2 White Crystal Core is equal to 10 Crystal Coins; a Level 2 Blue Crystal Core is equal to 20 Crystal Coins... A Level 3 Gray Crystal Core is equal to 10 Crystal Coins; a Level 3 White Crystal Core is equal to 100 Crystal Coins... A Level 4 Gray Crystal Core is equal to 100 Crystal Coins; a Level 4 White Crystal Core is equal to 1000 Crystal Coins... and a Level 4 Orange Crystal Core is equal to 5000 Crystal Coins! Of course, all the above Crystal Cores are No Ability Crystal Cores. The value of Crystal Cores with abilities is calculated differently, not going below this price at minimum, and potentially far exceeding it at maximum, such as Ascension crystal cores, which are priceless. ¡°This kind of Crystal Core Synthesizer has already been purchased by the banks. However, due to the abundance of Gray Crystal Cores, one needs to make an appointment and queue up for synthesizing. Even on the black market, it takes 11 or 12 Gray Crystal Cores to exchange for one same-tier White Crystal Core... With this device, you can synthesize Crystal Cores at home! It¡¯s very convenient!¡± Qu Shilin explained with a smile. ... ¡°Black market?¡± It was the first time Wang Tao heard this term. ¡°You haven¡¯t been there? The black market claims to be a place where you can buy and trade anything... of course, just take it with a grain of salt. Many people on the black market are anonymous, and there are lots of scammers... but it¡¯s okay to buy some little trinkets, many of my collectibles were bought from the black market, including the previous Night Demon Heart. Hehe, last time I announced the use of the Night Demon Heart on the black market and made a lot of people regret their decisions...¡± Seeing that Wang Tao had never been to the black market, Qu Shilin explained it to him. Simply put, the black market is a chaotic marketplace where one can trade anonymously, but any trade within it is not protected by the city¡¯s laws. As to whether one can acquire quality items or make suitable trades, that¡¯s certainly possible, but it¡¯s not something an average person can manage. Most are just easy targets in the black market. ¡°City Hall actually allows such a place to exist?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite understand. In a way, wasn¡¯t this challenging the authority of City Hall? Qu Shilin immediately leaned in and whispered in Wang Tao¡¯s ear: ¡°It¡¯s said that the black market is related to several committee members, so they turn a blind eye... ¡± ¡°...¡± Well, that made sense. Wang Tao planned to check out the black market later, in case there were good materials to be found or a chance to get a great deal. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s interest, Qu Shilin immediately said: ¡°The black market isn¡¯t a fixed place, you have to wait for notification of when it opens, and only members receive notifications. Membership is by invitation, and being invited by higher-level members can give you a higher initial level. The black market opens weekly; next time it opens, I¡¯ll take you there, as my level is pretty good...¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Tao nodded. He wasn¡¯t planning on going out soon anyway, so he had time to visit this so-called black market. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go first, I won¡¯t disturb your rest!¡± Qu Shilin was eager to head back to the research institute to study the Potions that Wang Tao had given him. After Qu Shilin left, Wang Tao took another look at the Crystal Cores he had. Just counting the No Ability Crystal Cores, Wang Tao had over a hundred assorted Level 4 Crystal Cores, more than three hundred assorted Level 3 Crystal Cores, over a thousand Level 3 Gray Crystal Cores, over six hundred Level 4 Gray Crystal Cores, and various Level 1 and Level 2 Crystal Cores... Based on the base¡¯s latest exchange rate, he should have around six hundred thousand Crystal Coins. That was a bit more than he had previously estimated, mainly because those Gray Crystal Cores were also worth quite a bit. However, speaking of Gray Crystal Cores, Wang Tao suddenly remembered something. Since the research institute could invent a device that synthesizes Gray Crystal Cores, could he synthesize Gray Crystal Cores, too? Wang Tao immediately looked at his Space Backpack, found a Gray Crystal Core, and discovered... he really could synthesize! ¡°...¡± Wang Tao had always considered Gray Crystal Cores to be junk, so he subconsciously ignored his own ability to synthesize them, throwing them into his Space Backpack without a second thought... Now that he tried it, just like with the device, 10 Gray Crystal Cores could be synthesized into one of the same-tier White Crystal Cores, and he could synthesize up to 10 at once. Moreover, his own synthesizing process didn¡¯t consume electricity, and he could synthesize in bulk, which was much faster than using the device. So Wang Tao took out all the Gray Crystal Cores from his Space Backpack, and with a thought, all of the same type of Gray Crystal Cores began to synthesize. In the blink of an eye, all these Crystal Cores turned into the same-tier White No Ability Crystal Cores. Gray Crystal Cores were quite an eyesore, but the White Crystal Cores were much more pleasing to the eye. Then Wang Tao checked his financial account again. He had total assets of three hundred thousand, of which he had given one hundred thousand as pocket money to various people and kept two hundred thousand for himself as a reserve. After coming back this time, Cheng Yiyi transferred twenty-five thousand to him, which was the money for the [Strange Poison Sac] she had previously bought. As for the money from the [Strange Snake Orb], Wang Tao had her exchange it all for Meteorite, which she would deliver later. Since the value of Crystal Cores and Crystal Coins was directly linked and Crystal Cores were akin to cash, adding together his Crystal Coins and Crystal Cores, he had roughly over a million. ¡°So, am I now considered a millionaire?¡± Wang Tao laughed and shook his head. As for Crystal Coins, he wasn¡¯t that concerned. Besides, the valuables he had were far beyond the value of these Crystal Coins. It was already dark, and it was unlikely that anyone would come by at this hour. So Wang Tao called for Jiang Shixue, Lightning, and the Black Snakes. He was ready to test the Awakening Fruit! Chapter 872 - 341: Both Awakened Chapter 872: Chapter 341: Both Awakened ¡°Can I eat it now!¡± Staring at the golden Awakening Fruit in front of her, Jiang Shixue swallowed hard. Lightning had already drooled a puddle next to her. A few Black Snakes were also hissing, flicking their tongues, and rubbing against Wang Tao. Speaking of which, perhaps because Blacky was born earliest and was the eldest among them, the other four snakes tended to listen to Blacky, who in turn listened to Wang Tao. As a result, although Wang Tao was not the master of Er Hei and Wu Hei, he could indirectly make them obey through Blacky. ... Of course, this was provided that their real masters didn¡¯t give explicit orders, otherwise the Black Snakes would still prioritize their masters¡¯ commands... ¡°You can now, go ahead and eat.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he patted Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. He had taken out seven Awakening Fruits at once, prepared for Jiang Shixue, Lightning, and the five Black Snakes. Wang Tao wanted to see what would happen after they ate them. According to the description of the Awakening Fruit, there was only a small probability that non-human creatures at Level 3 would awaken after consuming it. Wang Tao wondered just how ¡°small¡± this small probability was. After all, he still had more than twenty Awakening Fruits, so he should be able to experiment a bit. If awakening didn¡¯t occur on the first try, Wang Tao was prepared to accept it... As for feeding the five Black Snakes, naturally, he wanted to see just how ¡°slight¡± the alleged slight increase to their physique would be... Jiang Shixue immediately grabbed an Awakening Fruit, opened her cherry-like mouth, and bit into it. As soon as Jiang Shixue bit into the Awakening Fruit, it seemed to vaporize instantly, entering her mouth as if it... fused like a Fusion Crystal Core? ¡°Mmm... delicious!¡± Jiang Shixue held the Awakening Fruit in her arms and looked a bit dazed, but she couldn¡¯t help exclaiming with delight. Just as Wang Tao was about to say something, he saw a haze come over Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes. ¡°Brother, I¡¯m so sleepy...¡± After saying this, Jiang Shixue¡¯s head tilted and she fell into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. ¡°Is this... an awakening?¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. If she hadn¡¯t awakened, she wouldn¡¯t have fallen asleep. But if she had awakened from the very first Awakening Fruit, what luck that would be! Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue in his arms, then turned to Lightning. ¡°Lightning, your turn!¡± ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning immediately picked up a fruit and, just like Jiang Shixue, it vaporized and went straight into Lightning¡¯s depths. ¡°Woof~¡± Then Lightning glanced at Wang Tao and, with a sway, collapsed at Wang Tao¡¯s feet. ¡°Eh? Did you awaken too?¡± Wang Tao was truly shocked this time. One person and one dog each ate a fruit and both awakened ¡ª was this really the small probability? That¡¯s a 100% rate! Was their luck so incredible? Wang Tao first suspected that it might just be their good luck, but then he shook his head. ¡°No! That can¡¯t just be luck; perhaps it¡¯s because both Jiang Shixue and Lightning possess Hidden Attributes...¡± To awaken, Hidden Attributes are essential. With Hidden Attributes, there¡¯s the possibility of awakening. Without them, there¡¯s no chance of ever awakening. Like these Black Snakes, they did not have Hidden Attributes. But both Jiang Shixue and Lightning did! Maybe it was because they had Hidden Attributes that they could awaken directly! The small probability of awakening mentioned by the Awakening Fruit might refer to the small chance of providing a Hidden Attribute first, and then awakening begins... Wang Tao felt this explanation made sense, but to know for sure, he would have to wait for Jiang Shixue and Lightning to wake up and see what Abilities they had awakened and whether their Hidden Attributes were still there. If the Hidden Attributes were gone, it would confirm Wang Tao¡¯s reasoning. If they were still there... then they were just incredibly lucky. After stroking Lightning¡¯s head, Wang Tao then said to the five Black Snakes: ¡°You can eat now too!¡± Hiss hiss¡ª¡ª The five Black Snakes swallowed these fruits one after another. Like before, the Awakening Fruits vaporized and entered their mouths. However, unlike Jiang Shixue and Lightning, they didn¡¯t fall asleep and remained alert and energetic. Wang Tao checked the snakes¡¯ Attributes; their HP and Mana had both increased by 10,000. They had 100,000 before, but now each had 110,000. Beyond HP and Mana, there were no other changes. However, Wang Tao had asked Blacky and the others to test their physical fitness before the experiment. Now, after eating the Awakening Fruits, it was time for another test. After a thorough testing session, Wang Tao concluded that although the Black Snakes¡¯ HP and Mana had increased by 10,000, equivalent to a 10% increase, their physical fitness had only improved by 2%... so much for the ¡°slight¡± increase. And of that 2% increase, perhaps 1% was due to the rise in HP. Theoretically, the more HP one has, the stronger the physique... So, it could be simply understood that one Awakening Fruit could enhance their physical fitness by 2%. If Wang Tao could add a zero, bringing it to 20%¡ªno, even a 10% increase, he would consider investing in them. But with only a 2% increase, Wang Tao felt it wouldn¡¯t be cost-effective to invest in them. After all, he had a total of 33 Awakening Fruits, with 26 left. Even if all of those were given to Blacky, at most, it would only increase its physical fitness by about 50%. This increase was clearly not enough to beat a Level 4 Lord. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t certain that each fruit would continue to offer a 2% increase. Perhaps, just like when he consumed Potions that added Permanent Attributes, the initial gains were noticeable, but the effects would diminish over time. For instance, these Potions now had almost no effect on him... Chapter 873 - 341 Double Awakening_2 Chapter 873: Chapter 341 Double Awakening_2 If he gave the Awakening Fruit to Blacky, it would at least add one Awakening Key... but giving it to the others could allow them to attain Level 4. So obviously, it wasn¡¯t a very cost-effective decision to feed the Awakening Fruit to Blacky and its kind. The best option naturally would have been to feed it to non-human entities like Jiang Shixue and Lightning, but they no longer had such beings in their team... Perhaps they might encounter some in the future, but that was a matter for later. Wang Tao looked at Blacky. After they had consumed the Awakening Fruit, they seemed to have a sense of ¡°fulfilling their wishes¡± and no longer pestered Wang Tao for more fruits. It seemed tasting it was enough for them. Seeing this, Wang Tao had reason to suspect that their desire to eat the Awakening Fruit, aside from improving their physical qualities, was perhaps largely influenced by its taste. Wang Tao said to everyone: ... ¡°I won¡¯t give you the Awakening Fruit for now. Based on my speculation, although consuming it would allow you to ascend to Level 4, you wouldn¡¯t awaken. The combat power difference between being awakened or not is the same as that between an Elite Monster and a Lord Monster. Currently, I¡¯m unclear whether one can still awaken after reaching Level 4...¡± Wang Tao now harbored a doubt: whether or not they could still awaken after ascending to Level 4. If so, giving the Awakening Fruit to his team would be fine, akin to boarding the train first and buying the ticket later. But if they couldn¡¯t awaken after their Level 4 Ascension... that would be tantamount to sabotaging their prospects¡ª a huge loss! Although Wang Tao felt it was possible to awaken after the Level 4 Ascension, since he himself could undergo a Second Awakening... he couldn¡¯t guarantee this and thought it better to be cautious. Therefore, Wang Tao decided not to give them the Awakening Fruit for the time being. He would do more research on Level 4, clarify these questions, and it wouldn¡¯t be too late to let them eat it afterward. ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone nodded. Though the Awakening Fruit was very enticing, and they really wanted to taste it, they knew that compared to their future prospects, gastronomic pleasure was clearly not as important. Wang Tao stored most of the Awakening Fruits but kept three. He himself, He Jijun, and Lan Yulian were all Fourth-order Awakeners, so it was no issue for them to eat the Awakening Fruits. Wang Tao had long been curious about what the Awakening Fruit tasted like. ¡°The three of us can eat!¡± Under the envious gazes of the others, Wang Tao immediately took a bite of the Awakening Fruit. ¡°Hmm¡ª¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened instantly. How to describe this taste? It was like a combination of all the delicious food he had ever eaten. The moment he bit into the Awakening Fruit, Wang Tao felt as though he had devoured thousands of delicacies! This sensation lasted for about ten seconds. When Wang Tao came back to his senses, the Awakening Fruit in his hand had disappeared. ¡°The fruit in your hand vaporized suddenly and went directly into your mouth...¡± Ding Yuqin explained from the side. Wang Tao licked his lips, still wanting more. He felt that the taste of the Awakening Fruit wasn¡¯t conveyed through taste buds but appeared directly at a spiritual level of consciousness... All he could say was, it was very high-class. Wang Tao checked his attributes and indeed, there was an additional Awakening Key, a pity it was ordinary; a high-level key would have been fantastic... He Jijun and Lan Yulian also tried the Awakening Fruit, and after savoring it, both praised the flavor endlessly. Like Wang Tao, they found the Awakening Fruit incredibly delicious, but when it came to describing the exact taste, they were at a loss for words. Anyway, it was just extremely delicious... Wang Tao carried Jiang Shixue to his room, and Lightning was also brought over by Xu Xiaojun. Wang Tao wanted to check their attributes immediately after their successful awakening. Once the two of them had awakened successfully, Wang Tao felt he could attempt a Second Awakening! As for the others, Wang Tao had accumulated quite a number of Awakening Keys but, just like the last time, he was short of Ascension Crystal Cores, so only one person could be awakened at this time. Therefore, Wang Tao decided to wait and, after accumulating a batch of Ascension Crystal Cores, he aimed to enable multiple people to awaken at the same time. Wang Tao felt that if they were to awaken one by one, they might continuously fail. After all, there¡¯s only a 50% chance of success. However, if several people were to awaken together, surely they couldn¡¯t all fail, and there would be some success... Of course, this was somewhat superstitious, but it was also a way to set his mind at ease. It was getting late, and everyone went back to sleep. In the next list of candidates Wang Tao had prepared for awakening, Ding Yuqin¡¯s name was included. He was very curious about what this ¡°Blood Replenishing Pack¡± with hidden attributes would be like after awakening. Therefore, Wang Tao had an all-night talk with Ding Yuqin, and the two had a Deep Communication. Wang Tao was very satisfied, and Ding Yuqin also gained a lot... The next day. While Wang Tao was eating breakfast, Cui Sheng arrived. During the more than half a month that Wang Tao was away from the base, Cui Sheng had sent him a few messages, but not many. It conveyed his concern while also being careful not to overstep. After all, he was just a secretary at City Hall, a person serving Mr. Wang, and couldn¡¯t presume too much. Upon meeting again, Wang Tao noticed that Cui Sheng had reached Level 1, with an HP of 5000. This was equivalent to the pinnacle of Level 1, and he could ascend to Level 2 if the conditions were met. Wang Tao wondered whether Cui Sheng had leveled up on his own, or had someone help him. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± Seeing Wang Tao again, Cui Sheng was even more respectful than before. After all, his status as an Ability User was given by Wang Tao. It must be said that, although Ability Users and Ordinary people live together, they are almost like people from two different worlds. Before he became an Ability User, when people were polite to him, it was because of his status as a City Hall secretary. After he became an Ability User, when people were polite, it was because of his new status! Moreover, he could distinctly feel that people were being more polite and sincere now, especially his colleagues, who smiled brightly at him. The City Hall even started giving him a raise, and his superiors became kinder... However, this is understandable since his secretarial position didn¡¯t even count as a regular job and could be dismissed at any time. But his status as an Ability User was tangible and undeniable by anyone! He enjoyed his new identity greatly, so his respect for Wang Tao grew even more profound. ¡°Becoming an Ability User, congratulations!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°This is all thanks to Mr. Wang, I will never forget it in my life!¡± Cui Sheng said earnestly. Wang Tao shook his head with a smile, and then asked, ¡°The reason you are here today is...?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about the Chinese New Year... It¡¯s our important traditional festival that occurs once a year. Although it¡¯s the post-apocalyptic era, we have solved the food and clothing issues for everyone in the city... So, City Hall is planning some celebrations and we sincerely invite you to be our special guest...¡± Upon hearing Cui Sheng¡¯s words, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. In simple terms, during the upcoming New Year¡¯s celebrations next month, City Hall intended to have a grand celebration with various activities and a gala night. Having persisted till now in the post-apocalyptic world was indeed something to celebrate. They invited Wang Tao to be the special guest, including the Starfire Society on the guest list as well. Regarding the gala and other festivities, frank speak, Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel very positive about it. After all, the last gala took place at Shuize Base, and then the base was destroyed... But things were different now; surely it wouldn¡¯t be the traditional kind of celebration. After listening to some of Cui Sheng¡¯s introductions, Wang Tao felt it was quite interesting. City Hall was going to start the promotion in a few days, and Cui Sheng had come to give Wang Tao a heads-up. If Wang Tao agreed to attend, City Hall would formally send out an invitation and promote Wang Tao¡¯s name. Otherwise, it would be a bit awkward if they advertised it and Wang Tao declined. ¡°Okay, I will be there on time.¡± Chapter 874 342: Becoming Famous "Mr. Wang, the Starfire Society is a member that killed a Disaster-level monster, and City Hall has rewards for such ''heroic deeds''. Here are the rewards issued by City Hall to the Starfire Society, please take a look." Cui Sheng passed a badge, a trophy, and a Crystal Coin Storage Card. Wang Tao briefly glanced at the badge and trophy, then swiped the Crystal Coin Card on his wrist. "100,000 Crystal Coins?" Seeing the number, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. City Hall is quite generous! One should know that the forces involved in killing the Catastrophic Serpent, besides the Starfire Society, included the Sixth Army Corps, the Rush Army, the Loyalty Guild, and the Universe Alliance. Since the Starfire Society received 100,000, the others surely received no less. If each force got 100,000, then the total would be 500,000¡ªa significant amount! The value of Crystal Coins is tied to the Crystal Core, making it a strong purchasing power. Moreover, the key point is that City Hall didn''t gain anything themselves, all were claimed by Wang Tao and his team. Yet, City Hall still offered such a substantial reward... Cui Sheng saw the confusion in Wang Tao''s eyes and immediately explained: "Our base has always encouraged the public to go out and hunt zombies and monsters, so in this regard, we have always been quite generous. For such heroes, spiritual rewards are natural, but material rewards are even more necessary. After all, whether it''s about leveling up or going out to fight, it all costs money..." "There''s certainly logic in that," Wang Tao quietly nodded. Becoming an ability user makes one strong, but it also costs a lot. No matter how appealing spiritual rewards may sound, they''re not as effective as practical ones. Only by doing this can one attract more people to go out and hunt zombies and monsters. With more people going out, although there may be more sacrifices, the chances of strong individuals emerging are higher. As long as a strong individual appears, the base''s strength will increase... "At that time..." Cui Sheng and Wang Tao discussed the situation at that time. After the Sixth Army Corps reported the killing of the Catastrophic Serpent, City Hall arranged for a grand publicity, parading through the entire base. Many people only then realized that above the Lord Rank, there was a Disaster level. Since all members of the Starfire Society were outside, the only person in the city was undergoing treatment at the research institute and couldn''t appear. Thus, among the first five forces to kill a Disaster-level, only four were present. Logically, the four forces of the Sixth Army Corps should have gained significant reputation, and the Starfire Society missed a great opportunity. However, the actual situation was somewhat different¡ªwhile those four forces did indeed gain high prestige, the Starfire Society also became famous! The absence of the Starfire Society members from the publicity wasn''t due to any inside story, but because they were outside the city and couldn''t return. Thus, the publicity for the Starfire Society couldn''t be canceled. This created a peculiar situation¡ªalthough the Starfire Society members weren''t present, the publicity was not diminished. Upon seeing this, the public wondered, ''Hey? Wasn''t it said that it was a collaboration of five forces that hunted the Disaster-level monster? Why have only four shown up? What happened to the Starfire Society?'' Then they inquired and found out that the Starfire Society was a newly established force. There was very little public information about the Starfire Society currently known, but three points were certain. The first point, members of the Starfire Society were not locals from River Base. It was said they all survived in extremely harsh conditions amidst waves of zombies! The second point, in their first outing after registering, they and other forces together killed a Fourth-Order Disaster-level monster! The third point, there were very few members of the Starfire Society, only about a dozen, but each of them was exceedingly strong! The weakest among them were Level 3 ability users, the strongest were Fourth-order Awakeners! Among them was a super powerful Healing-type Awakener! They were absent from the publicity because they were few in number, still out on missions, and couldn''t return temporarily... The public summarized these three messages, and several keywords immediately came to mind¡ªelite, mysterious, powerful, indifferent to fame... The more a force is perceived as ''mysterious and powerful,'' the more the public loves to delve deep, as gossiping is in human nature. Then someone found the group from the former Zijin Base. These people were not very familiar with Wang Tao and his group, even if they had once been the head, Jade Lotus, they knew her not much. But they were very grateful for Wang Tao and his team, so they did not skimp on various praises, and all evaluations of Wang Tao, Jade Lotus, and others were positive. Thus, the people of River Base got the answers they wanted¡ªthe Starfire Society was a very strong and mysterious force! The people of the Starfire Society had a good reputation and strong abilities, yet they were also quite mysterious! In this atmosphere, the Starfire Society became increasingly popular... Of course, if we look at the overall renown, the Starfire Society still is not as established as other veteran forces, as it has just been formed recently. But the momentum of the Starfire Society has become unparalleled for a time! A large number of people wanted to join the Starfire Society, they had even begun submitting their resumes. A force''s reputation and prestige are very important, and the Starfire Society had quickly advanced ahead of many older forces. If the Starfire Society began recruiting, they could become a top medium-sized force in minutes! Were it not for the fact that becoming a major force requires someone in the force to serve as a committee member, with today''s popularity of the Starfire Society, it would most likely have been able to become a major force! Chapter 875 342: Becoming Famous (Part 2) Of course, everyone understood that the Starfire Society couldn''t possibly open up recruitment to everyone; the more critical the times, the more selective they needed to be. They couldn''t afford to be careless. But no matter what, this had made many powers envious and jealous. However, such envy was futile because, after all, the Starfire Society was a power that participated in the first kill of a Disaster-level monster. Their strength was beyond doubt; ordinary people simply didn''t have such capabilities... "So, you''re saying that the Starfire Society is very popular now?" Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He had only established the StarFire Society for the convenience of entering and leaving the base. He had never considered expanding its scale. He was self-aware and knew that he wasn''t very good at management. As for Lan Yulian, she did have experience¡ªin fact, not just her but also Yang Changhong, Han Rui, Wei Zhenguo, and He Jijun had relevant experience, as they were all no ordinary people before the apocalypse. However, they all made it clear that they were not interested. Managing and operating was too tiring, and they preferred to go out and kill zombies with Wang Tao instead. The Starfire Society might recruit, but definitely not on a large scale. Fame and popularity were things Wang Tao could take or leave. "Yes, the Starfire Society has been very popular recently. However, it was most popular last week, and now it''s starting to cool down..." Cui Sheng hurriedly explained. "Hmm..." Wang Tao nodded, chatted with Cui Sheng a bit more, and then Cui Sheng took his leave after seeing that Wang Tao had no further instructions. He still had to report the fact that Wang Tao was willing to be a guest of honor. After Cui Sheng left, Lan Yulian handed Wang Tao a tablet filled with various resumes that had been submitted. "I''ve never looked at our Starfire Society''s backend before. I just took a glance, and there are so many resumes..." Lan Yulian spread her hands. The Starfire Society was just the few of them; there weren''t that many matters to attend to, so she hadn''t bothered with these things after she returned and was unaware that the Starfire Society had suddenly become popular. "Haha, take your time looking through them. They''re all talents!" Wang Tao said with a laugh. Lan Yulian just shrugged her shoulders. She wasn''t interested in these. All she wanted to know now was how Jiang Shixue and her Lightning awakening ability were. ... The entire morning, except for Cui Sheng''s visit, no one else came, and Wang Tao and his group didn''t go out. The pressure from the Level 5 Giant Eagle they encountered before was too great, so they needed to properly relax. In the afternoon, Cheng Yiyi arrived. She wasn''t wearing Powered Armor today but was dressed in a military uniform, looking both beautiful and valiant. However, the most eye-catching thing about her was not her appearance, but her attributes. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Level: Level 4] [Awakening: Poison Bullet] [Poison Bullets: Fired bullets carry poison] Cheng Yiyi had awakened. Wang Tao was not too surprised by this, as the Secret Key had a 50% chance of successful awakening. Although not high, it was not low either. He had used two Ordinary awakening secret keys in exchange for Cheng Yiyi''s Advanced Awakening Secret Key. Cheng Yiyi was taking a gamble; as long as she awakened, it was like earning an Awakening Key... and now, it seemed she had clearly won her bet. But Cheng Yiyi''s awakening [Poison Bullet] was quite interesting. Bullets carrying poison upon being fired? This was clearly a passive Poison Awakening, similar to Huang Wu''s [Bone-piercing Poison]. Huang Wu''s awakening added poison to his attacks, which covered a wider range. Cheng Yiyi''s awakening involved her bullets carrying poison, narrowing the range considerably. Just from the descriptions, Huang Wu''s awakening seemed stronger. But in reality... it was hard to say! ``` Wang Tao and Huang Wu had fought together twice before, and upon careful reflection, Wang Tao realized that Huang Wu had never made a ranged attack. When deploying poison, Huang Wu always preferred close combat, using a knife! At the time, Wang Tao thought Huang Wu simply favored close combat and knives, so he didn''t think too much about it. But now, considering Cheng Yiyi''s awakening [Poison Bullet], Wang Tao had to wonder... Did Huang Wu avoid ranged attacks because he didn''t want to, or was it because he couldn''t? If Wang Tao could poison with his ranged attacks, he certainly would prefer using them. Putting aside damage, safety came first! Previously, during the hunt of the Catastrophic Serpent, in order to land an assist, Huang Wu braved heavy HP loss to approach and strike the serpent. If his ranged attacks could carry poison, Wang Tao felt he wouldn''t have taken such a risk... So, if Wang Tao guessed correctly, Huang Wu''s [Bone-piercing Poison] must be limited to melee range, and firearms couldn''t trigger it, maybe not even any form of ranged attack. Cheng Yiyi''s awakening [Poison Bullet], however, was specifically for bullets and could be used at any distance! With good marksmanship, this could be a great ability. If it still worked when wearing powered armor, then the ability would be really impressive! Of course, the ability had its limitations. Without a gun or bullets, it would be basically useless. And the specific damage of the toxin remained unknown... "Mr. Wang, we meet again!" While Wang Tao was contemplating, Cheng Yiyi walked up briskly, extending her hand with a big smile towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao shook her hand. Cheng Yiyi''s hand looked soft and tender, but Wang Tao could clearly feel the calluses, which showed she was a woman accustomed to shooting a lot. "Commander Cheng, congratulations on your awakening!" Wang Tao congratulated her with a smile. "Did Mr. Wang figure it out? It seems my ability to hide it still needs work..." Cheng Yiyi frowned slightly. Hearing her words, Wang Tao only then noticed that the aura she emitted as an Awakener was indeed very weak. Most people probably wouldn''t be able to tell. Wang Tao had seen many Awakeners by now and was getting to know some characteristics of Awakeners. System Awakeners, especially those with passive abilities like Qi De, have a very distinct presence. It''s easy to tell they are Awakeners, and they have to work hard to conceal their aura. As for Wang Tao, an active Fire Awakened with no distinct physical traits, it was relatively easier to hide his aura. Coupled with his own proficiency, most people probably couldn''t see through Wang Tao''s strength. Cheng Yiyi''s awakening seemed to also be easy to hide, but since she had only recently awakened and was advancing to Level 4, her physical attributes would have improved significantly, making it more difficult to hide. Of course, she was already doing quite well, but it was Wang Tao who could see through attributes. "Haha, maybe it''s because I''ve seen more Awakeners and have more experience now!" Wang Tao said with a laugh. Cheng Yiyi gave Wang Tao a look. She wanted to say she had met more Awakeners than Wang Tao, but if she hadn''t known Wang Tao was an Awakener beforehand, she wouldn''t have been able to identify him as one. It wasn''t that she necessarily wanted to hide her powers or pretend to be a pig to eat a tiger or anything. Mainly, being good at hiding it signified a deep understanding of one''s own awakening, a symbol of strength... "You''re right about that." But Cheng Yiyi didn''t dwell too much on this matter. After all, she was confident she would continue to grow stronger. She continued: "Mr. Wang, I''ve brought the item I promised you, please take a look and see if there''s any problem..." Cheng Yiyi waved her hand, and soldiers carried several large boxes from her off-road vehicle. Cheng Yiyi personally opened the boxes, revealing meteors of various sizes inside. There were all qualities from Ordinary to Epic, and there were even Level 5 ones! Level 4 and Level 5 meteors didn''t look much different, except for the size of the slot to place the Crystal Core. Level 4 meteors had a smaller slot, while Level 5 had a larger one. The difference was quite evident when compared side by side. Clearly, Cheng Yiyi had brought these on purpose. "Cough, Mr. Wang, I don''t have many meteors left, so I could only bring some Level 5 meteors to make up the number. If you don''t like it, I can exchange them for Crystal Coins..." ``` Chapter 876 343: Really Lucky Level 5 Meteorites are naturally even more precious than Level 4 Meteorites, but because there are no Level 5 Crystal Cores available now, and there might not be any for a long time, the price of Level 5 Meteorites isn''t too expensive. Even so, there are few buyers. Logically speaking, stockpiling some Level 5 Meteorites and waiting for the large-scale appearance of Level 5 Crystal Cores to sell at a high price would likely be profitable. But the problem is, nobody knows how many Meteorites there are in the world; what if more and more Level 5 Meteorites are discovered later? Moreover, investing a large amount of Crystal Coins in stockpiling goods will inevitably affect one''s own development. In this post-apocalyptic environment, personal strength is the most important. If one falls behind the main force in strength because of the desire to earn money, it would be a loss-making deal ... Therefore, at present, many people also have a stock of Level 5 Meteorites, but they don''t stock too much. Compared to stockpiling, it''s still most important to use money to enhance personal strength. Especially lately, things like [Night Demon Type I] and [Armored Beetle] are extremely popular. If given the chance, they would definitely prefer to spend money on such items. As for Wang Tao, he is quite interested in Level 5 Meteorites. Although he doesn''t have a Level 5 Crystal Core in his possession, he does have Level 5 Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs. These eggs have the opportunity to hatch into Level 5 Night Demons, which have significant weaknesses ... Wang Tao felt that once he increased his strength a bit more and Jiang Shixue and the others had awakened, even if they faced a Level 5 Lord Night Demon, they would have a great chance of success! "Level 5 Meteorites are not a problem; I''ll even take Level 6 if you have them," Wang Tao agreed without hesitation. He had just said this casually, but Cheng Yiyi''s eyes lit up at the mention. "Really? I actually have a Level 6 Meteorite! Do you want it?" There are very few Level 6 Meteorites, and even if they can''t be opened now, their price is not cheap. The price of a single Level 6 Meteorite is equivalent to all the Meteorites Cheng Yiyi brought to Wang Tao today! When Cheng Yiyi accidentally saw the Level 6 Meteorite before, she was overjoyed, but when she looked at the market price, she realized that while some people would buy Level 5 Meteorites, no one really bought Level 6 Meteorites. So currently, Level 6 Meteorites are in a situation where there is a price but no market. The market value is indeed high, but no one is willing to sell. Basically, whoever finds them hoards them. Cheng Yiyi did want to sell the Level 6 Meteorite in her possession, but selling it too cheaply would be a loss, and selling it too expensively meant no buyers, which was quite awkward ... If Wang Tao really wanted it, she would definitely agree. "You really have one?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised and thought for a moment before saying: "How about this, hold onto that Level 6 Meteorite for now. I''ll see if I have any good items to exchange with you. I definitely won''t let you lose out!" Wang Tao certainly couldn''t let Levels 4 and 5 Meteorites slip away, but he wanted the Level 6 Meteorite too, so he simply made a reservation with Cheng Yiyi right then. "Alright!" Cheng Yiyi was immediately overjoyed. She hadn''t had much contact with Wang Tao, but through the few limited interactions, she found Wang Tao to be quite principled. The good items he mentioned would definitely not be trash aimed to deceive anyone. "Let me tell you about the specific distribution of this batch ..." The Meteorites Cheng Yiyi brought Wang Tao today were part of the benefits divided from the "Snake bead" obtained from killing the Catastrophic Serpent. At that time, the most valuable things on the Catastrophic Serpent were the "Snake bead" and the "Advanced Awakening Secret Key," and everyone agreed these two items accounted for 95% of the total value! And both of these most valuable items were taken by Cheng Yiyi. The Serpent was killed with concerted effort, so it wouldn''t be fair for the others to walk away empty-handed. Hence, after taking these items, Cheng Yiyi compensated others with Crystal Coins according to their contributions. As for the contributions, Cheng Yiyi also provided a detailed answer. The Starfire Society contributed the most at 45%, the Sixth Army Corps came second with 25%, Zhou Long''s Rush Army was third with 20%, and Qi De''s Rush Legion and Huang Wu''s Universe Alliance were tied for the fourth with 5% each. This method of distribution was obviously not perfectly fair. In Wang Tao''s view, his Starfire Society should account for at least half of the contribution. Although he had been slacking off, his damage was high, and Lan Yulian could ensure that nobody died ... Without him and Lan Yulian, the Sixth Army Corps would have suffered many casualties and might not have been able to kill the Catastrophic Serpent. The other half would belong to the Sixth Army Corps and Zhou Long''s group. As for Qi De, Huang Wu, and their respective forces ... they fought vigorously and made an effort, but it was all ineffective damage ... However, it wasn''t Wang Tao''s place to explain these things since only he could see the precise damage numbers ... Cheng Yiyi''s method of distribution wasn''t absolutely fair, but it was relatively fair. The Starfire Society accounted for 45% of the contribution. Wang Tao had already taken away items and the Giant Serpent''s body, which were worth 5%, so the Starfire Society still had 40% left. After returning to the city, Cheng Yiyi valued the Snake bead at 2.1 million Crystal Coins and the Advanced Awakening Secret Key at 750,000 Crystal Coins, totaling 2.85 million Crystal Coins. This valuation was actually a bit low, but since it was loot from killing the monster cooperatively, the internal settlement price had to be lower than the market price; otherwise, it wouldn''t be called an internal settlement ... Based on the respective contribution ratios, the Starfire Society would receive 1.14 million, the Sixth Army Corps 750,000, the Rush Army 600,000, and the remaining Loyalty Guild and Universe Alliance would get 150,000 each. Chapter 877 343: Really Good Luck_2 So in total, the Sixth Legion must pay out 2.1 million to settle the matter. Although this sum might not seem too high, for the Sixth Legion, it was a significant expenditure, as they were the poorest among the legions. Furthermore, most of their assets were tied up in weapon equipment; they did not have much cash on hand. Most importantly, they had previously spent a considerable amount of money on opening meteors! Though the meteors were obtained for free, the cost to release the Crystal Cores from them was quite literal. Additionally, the Sixth Legion had suffered some minor losses in their meteor ventures... Therefore, Cheng Yiyi was contemplating whether the debt owed to Wang Tao could be settled with meteors instead. "The current selling price for a fourth-order meteor depends on the value of the Crystal Core required to open it. We assume that a meteor of the same level is opened with a Crystal Core of the same level..." Cheng Yiyi went on to explain the pricing of meteors. It is commonly accepted that Ordinary Crystal Cores open Ordinary Meteors, and Epic Crystal Cores open Epic Meteors. The price of a meteor is equal to the price of the Crystal Core used to open it. That means, to open a Level 4 Ordinary Meteor, two Tier-4 White Crystal Cores are needed, and if these two White Crystal Cores are valued at 2,000, then the meteor''s price is also 2,000. A Tier 4 Epic Meteor requires ten Orange Crystal Cores to open, and if these ten Orange Crystal Cores are worth 50,000, then the meteor''s price is also 50,000! The gap between these prices is quite absurd. However, this pricing was not set randomly but was derived from countless people''s bloodied experiences. Inexpensive meteors almost always result in losses, even when using Orange Crystal Cores to open them, such as Wang Tao''s record of summoning an Iron Beetle from an Ordinary Meteor, which remains unsurpassed to this day. Whereas with expensive meteors, even if they result in losses, they won''t be as severe, allowing for some recoupment of HP. So, the price for a fourth-order White Meteor is 2,000, a Blue Meteor is 8,000, a Purple Meteor is 18,000, a Red Meteor is 24,000, and an Orange Meteor is 50,000... Of course, these are standard prices. In actual trading, these figures can fluctuate¡ªthe smaller and uglier the meteor, the cheaper it is; the larger and more aesthetically pleasing, the more expensive. This is a sort of mystique associated with meteor opening. As for the price of Level 5 Meteors, it is naturally lower than the standard price, even halved in some cases. Currently, since there are no Level 5 Crystal Cores, the prices for meteors are significantly discounted... Cheng Yiyi owes Wang Tao 1.14 million, of which 600,000 is from fourth-order meteors, a total of 30 pieces, comprising 6 Epic Meteors and 24 Superior Meteors. The remaining 540,000 is from Level 5 Meteors, in total 5 pieces, exactly one of each quality. It must be said, Cheng Yiyi has offered meteors of quite high quality. However, such high-quality meteors consume more resources to open, and Wang Tao has a preference for using Epic Crystal Cores for meteors of any quality... Wang Tao quickly calculated that if he wanted to open all the fourth-order meteors given by Cheng Yiyi, he would need over two hundred and fifty Tier 4 Epic Crystal Cores. Converted to Crystal Coins, that would be around 1.23 million! "..." He had managed to save up only 1 million. Was he supposed to give all of that away? "Mr. Wang, are you satisfied with these meteors?" Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao and asked. "Satisfied! Very satisfied!" Wang Tao nodded with a smile. Seeing that he seemed genuinely pleased and not just offering a polite response, Cheng Yiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although these meteors were valued at this price, they were not easy to sell. If Wang Tao didn''t take them, she would have to find a way to sell these meteors, which would be rather troublesome. It saved her a lot of hassle that Wang Tao was satisfied. As for the idea of keeping the meteors to open them herself... she swore, she would never open another meteor again! Just thinking about it brought tears! After personally delivering the meteors to Wang Tao, Cheng Yiyi didn''t leave but chatted with him about various topics. Suddenly, as though remembering something, she blurted out: "Oh, I heard that Mr. Wang has brought back a few fourth-order serpentine monsters? Is that true?" Wang Tao knew Cheng Yiyi would not come over in person without asking about the fourth-order Black Snakes. "True." Wang Tao nodded. "Ah? Then... may I see them? I have never seen a fourth-level organism that obeys human commands..." Cheng Yiyi looked forward with anticipation. "Sure, please follow me." Wang Tao led Cheng Yiyi to the backyard of the villa. The weather was nice today, with bright sunshine, and several black snakes were basking in the sun in the yard. At the sight of these snakes, Cheng Yiyi''s pupils shrank in an instant. It''s so similar, too similar! These black snakes bear an eighty percent resemblance to that catastrophic serpent in appearance! The only difference is the huge size disparity between them. The colossal body of the catastrophic serpent is almost as thick as a car, emanating an extremely oppressive presence. On the other hand, these smaller black snakes are only about as thick as the mouth of a bowl, similar in size to large pythons. Upon hearing that Wang Tao had brought back several fourth-order black snakes, Cheng Yiyi started to suspect whether these snakes might be related to the disaster-class giant serpent. After all, they were both serpents, both black, and the timing was such a coincidence... Of course, it could really just be a coincidence; the apocalyptic world is full of them, so Cheng Yiyi wasn''t too certain. But having seen this giant serpent in person today, she felt there was a 70% chance these black snakes were related to the earlier catastrophic serpent! However, Cheng Yiyi didn''t ask further. After all, if there was something Wang Tao was intentionally hiding, it would be somewhat awkward if she brought it up outright. To her surprise, Wang Tao took the initiative to explain. "Guess how these snakes came about?" Wang Tao said with a smile, motioning her to come closer. Immediately, Blacky led the other four black snakes towards Wang Tao. The fourth-level aura of these snakes couldn''t be concealed; feeling the gaze of these snakes, Cheng Yiyi felt as if her hair was standing on end! It wasn''t that she was afraid of these snakes, but seeing them reminded her of the disaster-class giant serpent with its terrifying and eerie abilities. Every time she thought about it, she felt a chill. If it hadn''t been for Lan Yulian, the super healer, they wouldn''t have known how many of them would have died... But then Wang Tao''s words brought her back to reality. "How did these snakes come about? Don''t tell me they were..." Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao incredulously. "It seems like you''ve guessed it. That''s right, these black snakes all hatched from the eggs laid by the catastrophic serpent." Wang Tao didn''t mention where he got the snake eggs from but clarified the relationship between Blacky and the giant black snake. "They''re really related to the catastrophic serpent!" After hearing Wang Tao''s acknowledgment, Cheng Yiyi expressed her amazement. Then, without waiting for Wang Tao to speak, she quickly said: "I know! You found them inside the stomach of the disaster-class giant serpent!" Without needing Wang Tao''s explanation, she concocted a plausible explanation for him. Wang Tao just shrugged, which was as good as a confirmation. Cheng Yiyi was first filled with envy, then suddenly felt regret. If she had known that such treasures were in the belly of the catastrophic serpent, she would have definitely searched thoroughly! However, because the serpent''s corpse was also afflicted with [Life Drain], no one dared to stay near it for long. So, they quickly searched for spoils of war before hastily leaving. When Wang Tao asked for the serpent''s body, they were very happy to agree... In hindsight, they were at a great loss! But this was a deal that had already been made, agreed upon by everyone. Despite her regret, she wouldn''t go back on it. "I''m envious, your luck is truly good..." Cheng Yiyi sighed. She thought that Wang Tao might not have known about the snake eggs inside the giant serpent because she had been there the whole time and Wang Tao hadn''t performed any dissection. Including Wang Tao, no one could stand the effects of Life Drain... So all she could say was, Wang Tao was lucky. What was thought to be something of little value and hard to deal with turned out to be fourth-order black snakes that recognized him as their master... "Haha, my luck is not bad, right!" Wang Tao chuckled, and then comforted her, "Your luck isn''t bad either! With a 50% chance, you successfully awakened and won a Secret Key." These words were meant to comfort her, but Cheng Yiyi''s expression suddenly turned strange. "I had someone use another Secret Key... They awakened too." "..." Chapter 878 344: The Master of Deduction "So, both of your awakening secret keys succeeded?" Seeing Wang Tao''s surprised expression, Cheng Yiyi''s face immediately revealed a smile. "Yes, both were successful." Hiss¡ª Cheng Yiyi really has good luck! Last time, Wang Tao gave four awakening secret keys to Lan Yulian and her group, but only two succeeded, making the success rate exactly 50%... Yet both of Cheng Yiyi''s ordinary awakening secret keys were successful, a 100% success rate! Perhaps feeling that wasn''t shocking enough, Cheng Yiyi continued: "Moreover, neither of our awakeners had hidden attributes before. I first fused the strange poison sac I traded from you, thinking if I failed, I would then fuse the snake bead, but to my surprise, I succeeded... So the snake bead was spared and given to someone else." "Ah?" The success rate of an ordinary awakening secret key is after all also 50%, and both succeeding could still be considered reasonable. But the [Strange Poison Sac] only has a one-in-three chance of granting hidden attributes! Of course, a one-in-three chance is not zero, and success is certainly possible. But the problem is, not only did Cheng Yiyi succeed in fusing the [Strange Poison Sac] with a one-in-three chance, but she also succeeded in her 50% chance awakening! Both being successful, that meant a one-in-six probability. This is even lower than the chance of obtaining an ability from a white crystal core! "Your luck... is awesome!" Wang Tao raised his thumb in approval. Both [Snake Bead] and [Strange Poison Sac] are things that can enhance a person''s hidden attributes. Cheng Yiyi''s estimated price for the [Snake Bead] was 2.1 million crystal coins, which was still somewhat of a friendly underestimation, while she bought the [Strange Poison Sac] from Wang Tao for 500,000 crystal coins¡ªthere''s a fourfold price difference between the two! So the success of the [Strange Poison Sac] was tantamount to Cheng Yiyi making over 1.5 million in profit! Of course, this wasn''t only due to Cheng Yiyi''s good luck, but also her willingness to gamble. If she had failed, she would have lost 500,000. "I have to thank Mr. Wang for this! Without trading with you, I wouldn''t even have had the chance to gamble!" Cheng Yiyi first laughed heartily, then suddenly sighed, "But... never mind, let''s not talk about it." It was precisely because of this success that Cheng Yiyi developed a slight misperception about her own luck, which led her to open a batch of meteorites. As a result... now she could only use meteorites to pay off her debts! Wang Tao was a bit curious about what had happened to Cheng Yiyi, but seeing her reluctance to elaborate, he didn''t inquire further. Nowadays, who doesn''t have a few sad stories? It wasn''t surprising. At this moment, Cheng Yiyi turned to look at the black snake by Wang Tao''s side and asked: "Are you selling this little snake?" Wang Tao shrugged; everyone who saw the black snake asked this question. "Of course not. Not to mention whether I''m willing or not, even if I were willing, it only obeys its master, me. No one else can control it. Unless you want to take it home to make soup or kill it to obtain its crystal core, otherwise it''s of no use..." Cheng Yiyi immediately looked disappointed. Although she had previously spent money on a Night Demon heart, that [Night Demon Type I] could only be used at night, which was a significant limitation. Moreover, the [Night Demon Type I] seemed not very smart. Without her control, it couldn''t exert its full strength. "Then the strength of your Starfire Society has increased a lot! You already had two fourth-order awakeners. Now adding five fourth-order black snakes..." Cheng Yiyi''s tone was filled with envy. Although these five black snakes were only elite level and there was a gap between them and fourth-order awakeners, after all, these were five snakes that could understand human orders! If they were to cooperate with each other or with humans, the combat power they could wield would probably not be inferior to that of awakeners! Hearing her say this, Wang Tao really wanted to boast that he also had five snake eggs yet to be hatched, but after thinking about it, he still didn''t boast. The main reason was that Wang Tao wasn''t sure whether to keep the remaining five snake eggs for his own people to hatch or to sell them. Hatching snake eggs requires a certain amount of spiritual power, and to make them obedient requires even more spiritual power. After Wei Zhenguo and others successfully hatched their snakes, they felt that they could only hatch one snake for the time being; continuing to hatch would affect their combat power. And Ding Yuqin and the other women didn''t particularly like such cold-blooded animals, and Wang Tao didn''t insist. Maybe there would be better options waiting for them in the future. As for Wang Tao himself, he felt that with his spiritual power, he could still hatch more eggs, but having a bunch of fourth-order elite monsters wouldn''t be very useful to him; at least fourth-order lords would be of help. When he unleashed his full firepower, even Lan Yulian wouldn''t dare to approach. If he had a group of snakes with him, he might accidentally end up having barbecue on the battlefield one day. So Wang Tao decided to think it over again about how to deal with these remaining five snake eggs, whether to keep them for himself or to sell them. If someone was willing to trade something like a level 4 ascension crystal core for them, he would be quite willing to sell them. ... Since there was no way to buy the black snake, Cheng Yiyi no longer talked about these enviable topics. She held Blacky in her arms, sitting in the yard, sipping the tea Nie Siyan had just brought over, and chatting with Wang Tao about the situation of awakeners. Cheng Yiyi didn''t know Wang Tao before and didn''t know much about him. From her brief interaction and what Qi De and others had said, she could tell Wang Tao was a very knowledgeable person. Generally, things like awakening and abilities are quite private. No one would talk about them lightly. But Cheng Yiyi was willing to share these with Wang Tao. She herself had many questions about her own awakening and thought she might get some useful information from him. Chapter 879 344: The Master of Deduction_2 "...My awakening is still unique to me¡ªI haven''t seen anyone with the same type¡ªby the way, can you tell what my Awakening is like?" Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao with some curiosity. Her question was a bit of a tough one. Since she had never publicly used her Awakening after it happened, Wang Tao definitely couldn''t tell. She just wanted to see how much Wang Tao knew and whether she could coax some information out of him. After all, people like Qi De held Wang Tao in high regard... "Give me a hint, maybe I can guess it." Wang Tao did not refuse Cheng Yiyi''s question. "Let me think... An Awakening merges with an Ability, right? The Ability I merged with is related to long-range attack abilities. Is that hint enough?" Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao, full of expectation. Wang Tao pretended to ponder with a frown and then spoke: "Then your Awakening... is a Poison System Awakening related to shooting! Are you shooting poison directly? Or firing bullets with poison? Most likely, it''s a Passive Awakening..." "How, how did you know!" Cheng Yiyi was dumbfounded. She looked at Wang Tao, somewhat shocked and somewhat skeptical. She even wondered if someone close to her had been bought off by Wang Tao! How else could he have figured it out? Could a guess be so accurate? Wang Tao remained very calm amidst Cheng Yiyi''s astonishment. "You got your Hidden Attributes from a Strange Poison Sac, and since Strange Poison Sacs are Poison System items, it''s very likely that your Hidden Attributes are related to poison. So, you must have a Poison System Awakening." "We shook hands just now, and the calluses on your hands indicate you use a gun frequently. Your merged Ability is related to long-range attack abilities... For someone skilled with guns, if they had a choice, they would definitely opt for an Ability related to firearms and shooting, as it would play to their strengths. As the commander of the Sixth Army Corps, you obviously had a choice. Therefore, the long-range attack Ability you merged with, is most likely a shooting-related Ability." "As is well known, an Awakening is related to ''Hidden Attributes'' and ''merged Ability.'' And since your Hidden Attributes are of the Poison System, and your merged Ability is a long-range attack Ability related to gunshot... Your Awakening is most likely one that shoots poison or has bullets coated with poison!" "As for whether it''s a Passive or Active Awakening... I''ve seen Huang Wu before, and he has a Passive Poison Awakening where his attacks are accompanied by poisoning. So I guess your Poison Awakening is probably Passive as well." "...All of the above is just my experienced perspective," Wang Tao explained with confidence and then looked self-assuredly at Cheng Yiyi. "So, did I guess right?" "You... you got it all right! It''s almost like magic!" As she listened to Wang Tao''s clear and logical explanation, Cheng Yiyi was inwardly amazed, and her eyes even began to sparkle with little stars. Not only did Wang Tao have a wealth of experience and knowledge, but he was also good at thinking, observing minutely, and clear in his logic! Wang Tao used the tiny hint she gave him and his keen observation of certain subtleties, coupled with his rich experience and knowledge, to deduce her Awakening almost perfectly! That was way too impressive! Cheng Yiyi even felt a little bit of admiration for him. No, she decided, she must find a way to bring Wang Tao to the Sixth Army Corps! Regarding Cheng Yiyi''s exclamation, Wang Tao calmly took a sip of tea. He thought his act was pretty decent, worthy of 82 points. Indeed, he had experience, but it certainly wasn''t that remarkable. The only reason he managed to guess was that he had already seen Cheng Yiyi''s Awakening Attributes. Deducing the process from a known result was incredibly easy. If the result was correct, any process seemed plausible. "You really are amazing..." After another exclamation of amazement, Cheng Yiyi further explained, "You guessed right! My Awakening is a Passive Poison System Awakening related to shooting! I can sense its name... Poison Bullet!" Cheng Yiyi didn''t hide anything and spoke directly. Of course, her understanding was limited, so she could only share what she knew. After listening to Cheng Yiyi''s explanation, Wang Tao nodded. What she said matched the awakening introduction; she hadn''t hidden anything. However, the awakening introduction was just a single sentence. To know the specifics, they needed to test it first. Moreover, they needed Wang Tao there to clearly see the data. Otherwise, at most, they would only get a rough idea or maybe not even that... "How about we go for a test? I''m quite interested in your awakening," Wang Tao suggested. "Sure!" The villa area where Wang Tao lived was built after the apocalypse, and while it might be lacking in some public recreational facilities, it certainly had enough shooting ranges and training halls. All the villas in this area belonged to Wang Tao and his group; naturally, that included the shooting ranges and training halls too. He planned to take Cheng Yiyi to the underground range next door. When Ding Yuqin and the others heard that Cheng Yiyi was going to test her awakening, they proactively came over to ask if they could also watch. "Of course, no problem!" Cheng Yiyi agreed generously. After all, since she had already told Wang Tao, she wasn''t afraid of his companions finding out. The group entered the shooting range, which was stocked with various firearms and bullets, and there were many targets in the distance. "Attacking these inanimate objects won''t trigger the effect of my awakening..." Cheng Yiyi suddenly spoke up. It seemed her poison was only effective on living beings. "That''s right, poison attributes can''t be triggered on inanimate objects..." Wang Tao nodded and then said, "In that case, I''ll set up some Night Demons for you as targets." As Wang Tao spoke, four Night Demon hearts appeared in his hand, which he then tossed towards the distance. After the hearts hit the ground and wriggled for a moment, they transformed into four grim Black Night Demons in the blink of an eye. Roar¡ª The shooting range was soundproofed and built underground, fitted with ordinary energy-saving bulbs, devoid of intense ultraviolet light. Naturally, this posed no problem for [Night Demon Type I]. "..." In the face of Wang Tao casually producing four [Night Demon Type I] and using them as targets, Cheng Yiyi could only comment, "Extravagant." But since Wang Tao had offered, she didn''t hold back. She picked up a handgun and fired several shots at the distant Night Demons. Then she switched to a submachine gun, rifle, sniper rifle, and tried out a variety of guns. When Cheng Yiyi ceased firing, Wang Tao stroked his chin and nodded thoughtfully to himself. Cheng Yiyi''s awakening was somewhat interesting. Though she, like Huang Wu, had a passive poison-releasing ability, their modes of activation were completely different. Huang Wu''s close-combat attacks would cause two to three seconds of a poisoning effect, with a total of three instances of poison damage. When attacking a Level 4, Lord Insect race with decent defense, he would poison for about a thousand HP per second. This poison damage was relatively fixed and didn''t fluctuate with the level of damage he inflicted; it seemed to be related to the monster''s defensive capabilities. Moreover, his poison damage couldn''t stack; whether he landed one slash or ten, it would still result in three instances of poison damage. So when facing powerful opponents, he would strike once and then run away, maximizing the use of his awakening. The poison effect of the Death Scythe that Wang Tao wielded was somewhat similar to Huang Wu''s awakening, though it only lasted for a second, clearly not as effective as Huang Wu''s awakening. On the other hand, the mechanism of Cheng Yiyi''s [Poison Bullet] was different¡ª Every bullet she fired carried poison, but the damage was very low, just a few points of poison damage. However, the poison damage could stack; the more times the [Night Demon Type I] was hit, the higher the poison damage. Chapter 880 345 Expert Consultant Cheng Yiyi''s "Poison Bullet" Awakening is quite interesting. Each of her bullets carries a poison attack and triggers poison damage five times, with each instance of poison damage calculated independently. Although the base value of her poison damage is very low, hitting the head of a Night Demon Type I, ordinary bullets could deal hundreds of damage, but poison damage would only be in the single digits. Her poison damage can stack! Theoretically, as long as she''s given enough time, her bullets could poison to death most opponents. Of course, that''s just theory. In practice, the Night Demon Type I would likely be killed by her bullets long before the poison could accumulate. But this doesn''t mean her Awakening is useless; it''s simply because Night Demon Type I''s HP is low and its defense is weak, preventing her from maximizing her Awakening''s capabilities. Wang Tao felt her Awakening was more suitable for attacking creatures with high HP and strong defense, like the Catastrophic Serpent, monsters with extremely high defense, or even Giant Zombies! Perhaps initially, Cheng Yiyi''s attacks wouldn''t cause high damage. For example, she might only deplete 10% of an opponent''s HP in ten seconds. But as she continues to shoot, the damage would increase¡ª40% in twenty seconds, and potentially 100% in thirty seconds, completely wiping out the enemy''s HP bar! So, her abilities would be better showcased against enemies with high defense and HP. It felt like the stronger the enemy, the stronger she became. Cheng Yiyi''s Awakening had very clear advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was its endurance, getting stronger as the battle went on. The downside was the lack of initial burst damage and heavy reliance on firearms and bullets. At the very least, she''d need a gun with a fast rate of fire, plenty of bullets, and that didn''t jam. As for bullet power... it doesn''t affect the damage of her Awakening, but she must penetrate the defenses to poison the enemy. If she can''t break through the defenses, the poison damage won''t trigger. So the firepower of the weapons can''t be too weak either... Of course, these drawbacks might be significant for others but were relatively easy for her to overcome. After all, she might not have many things at her disposal, but she definitely has plenty of thermal weapons. Now, the only question left was whether she could trigger this Awakening while wearing powered armor. Wang Tao didn''t have powered armor, but Cheng Yiyi said she had tested it, and the answer was yes! "...Then your Awakening is pretty good! Suitable for dealing with powerful enemies!" Wang Tao organized the various data he had observed into his own words, relayed them to Cheng Yiyi, and complimented her at the end. "..." Cheng Yiyi seemed to have some black lines above her head. High EQ: Suitable for dealing with powerful enemies. Low EQ: Useless most of the time. Not to mention whether she can actually defeat them, even finding them is a problem. For instance, the last Catastrophic Serpent they encountered was found using equipment. It took her a long time to discover that serpent. It''s not that there weren''t others out there, but many powerful foes were amidst the endless tide of zombies, like Giant Zombies and the like, searching for them would be suicidal... Of course, after listening to Wang Tao''s analysis, she was very satisfied with her Awakening overall. If they encountered another Catastrophic Serpent, her contribution wouldn''t just equal Lan Yulian''s but could even match or surpass Wang Tao''s¡ªshe didn''t know Wang Tao''s true strength and was calculating based on him using only Crystal Energy Guns. Plus, she also acquired a few Crystal Energy Guns. The combination of Crystal Energy Guns and Poisonous Bullets would certainly not be weak! "Weapons are a problem... I will have to primarily use machine guns in the future, preferably the Fire God Gatling, and I must make sure I have enough bullets. Of course, I need to have Crystal Energy Guns too..." Cheng Yiyi muttered to herself. The upper limit of her "Poison Bullet" Awakening depended on the weapon. If the weapons in her hands are stable and she has plenty of bullets, then her potential is frightening. There''s another point¡ªshe must not let the enemy get close. She can still shoot at close range, but she might be attacked, potentially disrupting her shooting rhythm, so it''s better to keep her distance if possible. "I''m thinking of sending my powered armor for retrofitting later, to increase ammo capacity... I could also specialize in an armored combat vehicle equipped with a Fire God Machine Gun and loaded with ammunition... Powered armor has the advantage of good mobility, but the ammo capacity is certainly not as high as an armored combat vehicle. However, the mobility of a combat vehicle is poor, especially if the enemy gets close, there''s no way to resist... Mr. Wang, what do you think?" Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao somewhat indecisively. She knew, of course, that she could have both, but with only herself and limited energy, it would be best if there were a way to balance both... Wang Tao thought Cheng Yiyi was also somewhat fearful of not having enough firepower. The ammo capacity of powered armor wasn''t small... But considering Cheng Yiyi''s Awakening, he understood. However, when it came to the issue of ammo capacity, Wang Tao suddenly thought of the [Armored Beetle]. Once armed, [Armored Beetle]''s size was much larger than powered armor and its mobility was not bad. If Cheng Yiyi could trigger the effects of [Poison Bullet] while using the [Armored Beetle]... That would be somewhat overpowered. To put it bluntly, with the [Armored Beetle]''s size, it could carry a small arsenal! Chapter 881 345 Expert Consultant_2 "Whether it''s enhancing the ammo capacity of the powered armor or getting a vehicle full of bullets, I think either works. Best if you have both, you''re not short on resources anyway. But perhaps there''s a method that could cover both bases..." Wang Tao spoke up. "What method!" Cheng Yiyi quickly turned to Wang Tao. She was merely asking out of a bit of unwillingness to accept her situation, but could Wang Tao really have a solution to this problem? "We can first test whether you can trigger your awakening ability when you are equipped with the Beetle Armor. If you can, then get yourself an Iron Beetle and have the research institute customize a weapon equipment system specifically for it. Then you''ll have both firepower and mobility! Plus, the Iron Beetle is strong in melee combat, so you won''t have to worry about being approached..." Hearing what Wang Tao said, Cheng Yiyi''s expression flared with excitement, but quickly her small face fell, and she said somewhat helplessly: "To my knowledge, there are only two Iron Beetles in the whole base, which people wouldn''t sell for any amount of money, they won''t even lend them. I''m not even talking about whether I can afford to buy it, I can''t even test it..." "Eh? There has been a lucky one who obtained an Iron Beetle?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The second [Iron Beetle] he had found had not been made public, and Cheng Yiyi obviously did not know about it, the two she mentioned did not include the one in Wang Tao''s possession. "Yes, someone found one. As for whether they''re a lucky one... I''m not in a position to comment, but I do know that the cost of them finding this Iron Beetle was four to five million Crystal Coins... The second Iron Beetle was found by the First Army Corps." Cheng Yiyi explained. "Four to five million Crystal Coins..." Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Whether this price to get an [Iron Beetle] was a gain or a loss was hard to say. After all, that amount of money was enough to buy both a [Snake Bead] and an [Awakening Key]. Purely in terms of combat power, a fourth-order Awakener would definitely be better than an [Iron Beetle], because an Awakener can continue to grow and increase in strength. Whereas an [Iron Beetle] can''t ascend and has no potential left. Not to mention, the [Iron Beetle] that Wang Tao first found was bought by City Hall for a million; he felt that was a more reasonable price. Any more expensive and it might not have been worth it. "But no problem, I can let you test it." Wang Tao flipped his hand, and a black beetle slowly crawled on the palm of his hand. "?" Seeing the beetle in Wang Tao''s hand, Cheng Yiyi was dumbfounded. She rubbed her eyes, somewhat disbelievingly looked at Wang Tao, then at the black beetle in Wang Tao''s hand. "Iron Beetle?" Cheng Yiyi asked uncertainly, as she had seen the First Army Corps'' [Iron Beetle] before, and it looked exactly like the one in Wang Tao''s hand. "Yep, Iron Beetle." Wang Tao nodded. "You found it?" Cheng Yiyi asked again. "Yep, I found it." Wang Tao nodded again. Cheng Yiyi opened her mouth but for a moment didn''t know what to say. If someone else had this [Iron Beetle], she could accept it, but wasn''t Wang Tao the first to find an [Iron Beetle]? It had only been a few days, and he found another [Iron Beetle]? Moreover, during this period, she had been observing individuals or powers within the base who were opening meteorites on a large scale, after all, she wanted to investigate the probability of finding good items. But she hadn''t heard anything about Starfire Society, about Wang Tao massively opening meteorites. To open meteorites on a large scale, one would need to exchange a lot of Crystal Cores, buy tons of meteorites! Even if you had both things, you would need a place and manpower. These are usually done outside of the base, which can''t be kept secret. Of course, these are not absolutes, maybe someone secretly hid outside to open meteorites, but there''s no need for that, nobody else would steal... especially for Wang Tao, even if someone tried, he wouldn''t be afraid. So Cheng Yiyi speculated that probably Wang Tao casually opened a few meteorites in the wild and found this! What sort of divine luck was this! It was even better than her luck in merging the Strange Poison Sac and successfully awakening! Cheng Yiyi was shocked, but Wang Tao just shrugged. He suddenly had an idea, a bit of mischief crossed his mind ¨C what if he told Cheng Yiyi that the Crystal Core he used to find the [Iron Beetle] was provided from her purchase of the [Strange Poison Sac], would that make her feel a bit more involved? "I want to try!" After the shock, Cheng Yiyi immediately looked at Wang Tao eagerly. This was not only about testing her awakening issue, but more importantly, she had never been equipped with an [Iron Beetle] before! Whether it was City Hall''s [Iron Beetle] or the First Army Corps'' [Iron Beetle], they treasured them dearly. They wouldn''t even let others try them, let alone have a look... "Okay, let''s go outside then. The space in this underground shooting range is too small for me to use my full abilities." Wang Tao and his group headed outside, and then Wang Tao had the [Night Demon Type I] stay just inside the entrance of the underground shooting range. There was a shadow in that spot, which prevented it from being exposed to the sun. Also, if they shot from outside, they would have a direct line of fire to it. Wang Tao tossed the [Armored Beetle] over to Cheng Yiyi''s side. Whoosh¡ª The Iron Beetle immediately began to swell and grow larger, transforming in the blink of an eye into a massive carapaced monster that was slightly shorter than his three-story villa. Cheng Yiyi looked up at the grotesquely shaped [Armored Beetle] before her, which also had a certain ugly charm, and she felt incredibly excited. The half-crouching [Armored Beetle]''s abdomen had already opened, and Cheng Yiyi immediately jumped up into it. Click¡ª The [Armored Beetle]''s abdomen closed, and its eyes emitted a yellow light as it stood up straight. Thud, thud¡ª Cheng Yiyi, as if she had been given a fun new toy, walked around the vicinity. Wang Tao threw her an ordinary rifle, which Cheng Yiyi caught with her hand. However, as the [Armored Beetle]''s hands were too big to use this standard firearm, she had no choice but to forcefully remove the trigger guard. She then daintily held the rifle between her index finger and thumb and used her other hand to pull the trigger. Bang¡ª The sound of the gunfire rang out, and the bullet hit the leg of the [Night Demon Type I], which was being used as a target. After all, it was Wang Tao''s weapon, and she was just testing whether it could trigger an Awakening, so she didn''t aim for the head. [-23] The damage wasn''t high, but that was just the kinetic energy of the bullet, without any poison damage. "Could it not work, or is there a probability issue?" Wang Tao had Cheng Yiyi test it a few more times, but they still couldn''t trigger the poison damage. When Cheng Yiyi, still slightly excited, jumped out of the Beetle Armor, Wang Tao shook his head somewhat helplessly. "It doesn''t work, it can''t be triggered¡ªwait, wait, try binding it!" Wang Tao suddenly remembered that the Armored Beetle was still bound to him. Although a non-bound person could use the Armored Beetle with Wang Tao''s permission, it wouldn''t exhibit its full power. Perhaps it would be different after binding? When Cheng Yiyi heard it couldn''t be triggered, her eyes showed disappointment. However, seeing that Wang Tao seemed to imply there was still a chance, she followed the method Wang Tao had taught her to bind the Armored Beetle. After completing the binding, Cheng Yiyi instantly felt a sense of ownership over the Armored Beetle. She could distinctly feel that when she previously used the Armored Beetle, it was restricted, but this time she could unleash all of its power! For a moment, she even thought about whisking the Armored Beetle away, but since she still valued her reputation, she quickly suppressed that shameless idea. After binding and arming it, Cheng Yiyi took another shot at the [Night Demon Type I]. Bang! [-22] [-4] [-4] [...] "As expected..." Seeing the continuous poison damage popping up after Cheng Yiyi''s shot, Wang Tao nodded in approval. Indeed, after the binding, it was different, and it was effective. Wang Tao shared the news with Cheng Yiyi, and she was overjoyed. Although she did not currently have the [Armored Beetle], at least it meant that her potential for improvement was substantial! Cheng Yiyi walked out of the Beetle Armor with some reluctance. She looked at Wang Tao and suddenly said: "Mr. Wang, I would like to offer a handsome sum to hire you as a special consultant for our Sixth Army Corps..." Chapter 882 346 The Six Major Legions Seeing Cheng Yiyi about to speak, Wang Tao thought she would discuss buying [Armored Beetle], but it turned out not to be the case. "Expert consultant? What''s that?" Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. "It means on matters concerning survival in the post-apocalyptic world, you''d help us answer some questions and provide some advice. You don''t need to stay in the military base all the time, and you can move about freely. However, I will provide you with a dedicated office..." Cheng Yiyi quickly explained. "Oh, so it''s just about talking the talk!" Wang Tao suddenly understood. He had thought Cheng Yiyi wanted his help with fighting or something, which would definitely not suit him since he must take lives in combat. But if it was just about speaking, then he could consider it. "...That''s one way to put it." Cheng Yiyi had some metaphorical black lines over her head as she continued. "I will pay you a signing bonus of 100,000, and then a weekly consulting allowance of 10,000 Crystal Coins. If you participate in other activities, there are additional allowances... Since we''ll be on the same team, if the Legion acquires any war spoils, you can enjoy discounts and have priority in purchasing them. Of course, you can also sell some of your unwanted items to the Legion..." Cheng Yiyi said a lot, summing it up¡ªbecoming an expert consultant for the Legion means almost no restrictions, but many benefits. In Changhe Base, jobs are usually paid weekly, but if it''s combat-related work, it''s usually settled daily. Wang Tao''s consultant role was a non-combat position, and the weekly allowance of 10,000 Crystal Coins that Cheng Yiyi offered was relatively high for non-combat roles within the base. After all, a Level 4 White Crystal Core without any Ability was worth 1,000, and 10,000 was equivalent to 10 Tier-4 White Crystal Cores per week. Not to mention the one-time signing fee of 100,000. Although Wang Tao didn''t care much for this amount of money, if he could get it by just talking, he didn''t mind putting in a bit of effort. Of course, the allowances and subsidies were secondary; Wang Tao wasn''t short of money. But the part about "having priority in purchasing war spoils from the Legion" intrigued him. "It sounds pretty good..." Wang Tao spoke up. "Of course, I''m sincerely inviting you! I must show enough sincerity! What do you think, Mr. Wang?" "I have to make it clear first, I''m not a know-it-all; I''m sure there are many things I don''t understand either, so I hope you won''t be disappointed later." Seeing that Wang Tao was interested, Cheng Yiyi was overjoyed and quickly said: "Please be assured, Mr. Wang, we will definitely not be demanding! Since I''m the one hiring you, even if the person knows nothing at all, it would only mean there''s a problem with my judgment; it has nothing to do with anyone else!" "Alright, let''s give it a try." Wang Tao smiled and nodded. When Cheng Yiyi saw that Wang Tao finally agreed, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you! I believe neither of us will be disappointed!" In the short span of today''s half-day, her thoughts had undergone several changes¡ª Before meeting with Wang Tao, she had intended to get some information out of him; she wanted to know how those fourth-order snakes were captured by Wang Tao. If she could learn some techniques from him! And since they were all snakes, if these snakes were related to that Catastrophic Serpent... After meeting Wang Tao and seeing that he spoke openly about the origin of the Black Snake, she thought of buying a Black Snake from Wang Tao... While discussing Awakening and testing for it, when she saw that Wang Tao had an Iron Beetle, she thought again if she could buy this Iron Beetle... Now, reflecting on how Wang Tao had used clues to deduce her Awakening, it suddenly dawned on her¡ªthose skills, technologies were Wang Tao''s, the fourth-order Black Snake was Wang Tao''s, and the Iron Beetle was Wang Tao''s! Why not just whisk Wang Tao away then! As long as Wang Tao joined their Legion, even though those things would still not be theirs, she could shamelessly borrow from Wang Tao and offer a rental fee or something. Would Wang Tao really be able to refuse outright? Probably not! Of course, she knew that getting Wang Tao to join the Sixth Army Corps directly would be difficult. If he were willing to join someone else''s power group, he wouldn''t have created the Starfire Society. So she didn''t talk about recruitment. Instead, she talked about hiring Wang Tao as an advisor. Good compensation was secondary; what mattered most was freedom¡ªshe would give Wang Tao almost no restrictions! Perhaps the only constraint would be that he couldn''t disclose the Legion''s secrets after learning them. She felt the offer she made was quite good. However, considering Wang Tao was a Fourth-order Superpower, he might not be interested, so she was rather nervous. Now that she saw Wang Tao finally agreeing, she was relieved and also very excited. Even if it was in this somewhat "auxiliary" role, getting Wang Tao to join their Legion was, in her opinion, one of the most correct things she had done so far! In Changhe Base, there were many people with strong combat abilities, but she hadn''t really come across anyone as intellectually agile and knowledgeable as Wang Tao. Cheng Yiyi was action-oriented¡ªnow that Wang Tao had agreed, she immediately contacted the Legion through her Informational Wristwatch to draft an electronic employment contract. The contract came quickly and it was straightforward without any twists and turns. Such contracts, to put it plainly, were highly restrictive for ordinary people, but for top-tier Ability Users like them, the symbolic nature might be greater than the legal force. After all, what can you do if an Awakener changes their mind? At most, you''d have a war of words. Chapter 883 346 The Six Major Legions_2 If he were a bit more hot-tempered, he might have resorted to violence. But before taking action, he would have to consider whether it was worth it¡ªto clash over some Crystal Coins or suffer losses and make a mortal enemy of an Awakener certainly wasn''t wise... Of course, if an Awakener consistently broke contracts, then perhaps no one would want to work with him in the future. So for these Awakeners, fulfilling contracts essentially depended on their conscience. Still, Wang Tao took the contract seriously and inspected it carefully¡ªhe was quite conscientious by nature. Moreover, this was probably the highest-paying job he had ever gotten in his life. The purchasing power of Crystal Coins at Changhe Base could be simply understood to be ten times what it was before the apocalypse. His monthly salary of over forty thousand Crystal Coins, if converted to the pre-apocalypse standard, would be over four hundred thousand a month¡ªcertainly a high income. After confirming that there were no issues with the contract, Wang Tao signed it directly. Was this him... halfway joining the Sixth Army Corps? As if afraid that Wang Tao would change his mind, Cheng Yiyi transferred the 100,000 signing fee and 10,000 weekly salary to him immediately after the contract was signed. The reason there was also a weekly salary was that today was Sunday, the day weekly salaries were settled. Wang Tao was now officially a consultant for the Sixth Army Corps, even if only for half a day, salaries still had to be paid! Seeing the urgency in Cheng Yiyi''s actions, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; he wasn''t going to go back on his word... After transferring the money, Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao and said, "Mr. Wang, how about you come with me to the barracks and get acquainted?" Wang Tao glanced at the time; there were still a few hours until dark. "Can we get back before dark?" he asked. Jiang Shixue and Lightning were about to wake up, and he wanted to see what kind of Awakeners they had become as soon as possible. "Of course! Our barracks are not far from here!" Cheng Yiyi immediately replied. "Since it''s not far, let''s go have a look then." Changhe Base was quite large, and its creators¡ªthe primary combat force¡ªwere the Six Major Legions. Thus, within the base, each legion had a main camp and several subsidiary camps. The barracks Cheng Yiyi was referring to was the main camp of the Sixth Army Corps. Ironically, the villa district where Wang Tao stayed was the closest to the main camp of the Sixth Army Corps compared to the locations of other legions. Cheng Yiyi''s car was waiting outside; she had a driver and two guards waiting in the villa''s living room. As they got into the car, Cheng Yiyi personally opened the door for Wang Tao, to the surprise of the driver and guards, though they wisely did not comment. On the car ride, Cheng Yiyi suddenly asked, "Mr. Wang, do you need bodyguards? How about I assign two to you?" "That won''t be necessary," Wang Tao waved off. With his strength, needing bodyguards? Who would be protecting whom! But bodyguards were not only for protection; often, they were more of a symbol of status. However, Wang Tao didn''t need such superficial things. Of course, if he could have two beautiful female soldiers like Cheng Yiyi as bodyguards, then he might consider it... Twenty minutes later, Wang Tao arrived at the headquarters of the Sixth Army Corps. It was more rudimentary than he had expected. There were tanks and artillery, but not many of them. Wang Tao had visited the Third Legion''s camp, and his helicopter was still parked with the Third Legion. The Third Legion seemed much more impressive than the Sixth Army Corps, whether in terms of equipment or personnel. "Welcome to our¡ªoh no, our camp!" Cheng Yiyi smiled as she spoke to Wang Tao. "It looks quite imposing..." Hearing Wang Tao''s comment, Cheng Yiyi was about to respond when she heard him continue, "But it feels a bit inferior to the Third Legion!" If Wang Tao were a guest, he definitely wouldn''t have made such a remark, but since he was now more or less one of their own, there was no need to be overly polite. "...Cough, we definitely can''t compare to the Third Legion!" Cheng Yiyi immediately felt somewhat awkward and helpless. "Maybe you''re not aware, let me explain, it''s not that we don''t try hard..." The car slowly entered the central command center of the camp, and during this time, Wang Tao learned about the situation of the base''s Six Major Legions from Cheng Yiyi. The names of the Six Major Legions were not ranked by combat power, but by the time they were established. Therefore, the earlier a legion was established, the longer its development and the stronger its strength. Wang Tao knew this bit of trivia because Duan Xuchang had mentioned it to him before. What Wang Tao didn''t know was that these legions were not just established at anyone''s behest; each was organized around a core unit, and the "core" strength directly determined the upper limits of the legion. For instance, why was the First Legion so powerful? Because the core unit of the First Legion was a Rocket Army from before the apocalypse. What is a Rocket Army? Nuclear missile units, conventional missile units, missile bases¡ªthese all comprise the Rocket Armies. The very definition of nuclear and conventional, full-spectrum deterrent forces! After surviving the first deadly wave of infection when the apocalypse struck, a part of this Rocket Army remained. If zombies were a nightmare for ordinary people, then this surviving Rocket Army was the nightmare for the zombies. They exterminated countless zombies with bombs, missiles, and even nuclear weapons! Although using such weapons did not replenish their HP, the Crystal Cores they gathered were tangible, all adding to their means to boost their strength. So why could such a massive Changhe Base be established? Chapter 884 346 The Six Major Legions_3 Are there really no zombies here? Obviously, that''s not the case. When the military led the survivors over during the relocation, quite a few zombies followed. However, they were met with a barrage of missiles from the Rocket Armies that decimated the ground! One could say that Changhe Base was created through bombardment. You can imagine how strong the First Legion must be with such equipment. Of course, after discovering that some zombies could resist radiation and only grow stronger if not killed by the blasts, nukes and many missiles became unusable or were simply depleted... Therefore, the First Legion gradually kept a low profile, but their acquisition of Crystal Cores and supplies from killing zombies continued; this was the capital for their growth. Take the Second Legion, for example. Why are they ranked second? Because their core force is a remnant of a pre-apocalyptic Air Force Airborne Troops! In the initial wave of infection, when satellites were still in orbit and planes could still fly, this surviving air force was nearly invincible for a time. The members of Hope Research Institute in Capital City and some important equipment were transported by them. However, a mysterious Energy later appeared that could bring down satellites. Planes couldn''t fly high anymore, having to fly lower and lower, and then with the appearance of Flying Monsters and zombies, the skies were no longer safe, and the low-altitude space was full of monsters... The Second Legion''s strength was greatly diminished. But they had already amassed quite a foundation before, so their Strength remained formidable. The Third Legion, their core force is comprised of a surviving Army Mobile Combat Troops. They have the most tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and artillery! The fully Armed Debris-clearing Train was their creation. The Fourth Legion''s core force is a certain Army border defense unit. Being also an Army, compared to the Third Legion, their arms might be slightly inferior, but their soldiers'' willpower is definitely second to none. It''s only natural that they are strong. The core force of the Fifth Corps was once a strategic support unit. Many of those who survived the Zombie Virus were technical staff. Their advantage lies in having many advanced technologies and equipment, but the problem is they were not from here. When they strategically relocated, they left behind much of their equipment. With the satellites gone, even if they had the equipment, much of it couldn''t function. However, the Fifth Corps now works closely with the Hope Research Institute. Things like Powered Armor and Crystal Energy Guns could only be made with their participation. Although their Combat Power may not be as good as the other legions, their importance is still significant. The last-ranked Sixth Army Corps'' core force is made up of remnants from a naval unit. Yes, they were originally the Navy. Comprised of vessel crews, marine corps, coastal defense forces, and others. Cheng Yiyi was a member of a naval women''s marine corps. How did these naval forces end up inland? The answer is simple: they fled for their lives. The other military forces could be said to have strategically relocated, preserving many vital forces and equipment. Cheng Yiyi and her group were simply fleeing for survival. According to Cheng Yiyi, the sea was more than a hundred times more dangerous than land! Their warships were destroyed, equipment lost, and they managed to escape by sheer reliance on the light Weapons in their hands. All the weapons, tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters, and such in the Sixth Army Corps were aided by the other legions. Thus, the Sixth Corps was the last to form, the fewest in number, with the most inferior equipment and the scarcest resources. They are at the bottom of the Six Major Legions. Of course, they are only at the bottom amongst the Six Major Legions; other forces within Changhe Base can''t compare. However, as zombies become increasingly powerful and the lethality of guns and bullets weakens, as Ability Users Awaken... the difference in Combat Power between the army and Ability Users will soon even out. All the legions had actually amassed quite a number of Crystal Cores, and in theory, they should have been able to create many Ability Users. But they had previously been cautious, not using Crystal Cores recklessly, and they used many for experiments¡ªevery device related to Crystal Cores consumed a massive amount of them. Moreover, merging with a Fusion Crystal Core was luck-dependent, and since Crystal Cores could contain impurities and have side effects, it was impossible to provide an unlimited supply to individuals without the devices being fully researched. It''s difficult to craft an expert solely with Crystal Cores... even if there are enough cores, the human body can''t withstand it. They have tried before, but the end result was that they painstakingly trained someone who then ended up becoming a zombie due to 100% Internal Impurity. But it''s different with good luck, which doesn''t make any sense at all. Like the Awakeners in the base, each one of them hit the jackpot in luck, being able to Awaken at this time; calling them the chosen ones wouldn''t be an exaggeration. The army''s current strength lies in its number of personnel and equipment advantage, but it''s uncertain for the future. This is also why Cheng Yiyi is so grateful to Wang Tao. Because of Wang Tao, their Sixth Army Corps gained two Awakeners, which hugely boosted their strength! ... "I see..." After understanding the basic situation of these Six Major Legions, Wang Tao nodded. Cheng Yiyi had explained some of his previous doubts. "Then let me tell you about our Sixth Corps. We have two honorary Commanders Rong and Yu, one Commander, three Deputy Legion Commanders... I am the current Commander, and there were two before me. Although they are old and retired, they are now committee members, continuing to contribute to the base... Our Legion previously had one Awakener, but now we have three¡ªno! Including you, that makes four! Eh? Looking at it this way, we''re no longer at the bottom in the number of Awakeners, are we!" Chapter 885 347: Marionette While speaking, Cheng Yiyi led Wang Tao to the command center of the camp. Cheng Yiyi said that the two Commander Rong and Yus were not here, as they were essentially always in the Committee Building. Moreover, they had transferred all authority over the Sixth Army Corps to Cheng Yiyi, so they were of little use in the Legion itself. In fact, regarding the title of "Commander Rong and Yu," Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He hadn''t expected both of these Legion commanders to choose to devolve their power. Although they were now committee members, with even higher authority, it wasn''t the same as personally commanding the Sixth Army Corps... Cheng Yiyi explained that although they had also become Ability Users, they weren''t particularly strong in terms of strength; their strengths lay in their intelligence and experience. Being a Legion commander wasn''t an office job; it involved going out to fight! The fighting ability of a Legion commander didn''t have to be the best in the army, but it had to be among the top few. Otherwise, as the strength of the other soldiers increased, they might no longer command respect. Both of the Legion commanders were not young anymore and, even as Ability Users, their physical condition was somewhat declining. In their words, being lucky enough to survive the apocalypse was already a blessing, and they were content with that. The role of Legion commander should be left to someone more capable. Nowadays, they were better suited to use their years of rich experience to lead the overall strategy, which is why they had become committee members in charge of setting the base''s strategic direction. Matters like the Sixth Army Corps were fully entrusted to Cheng Yiyi. "So that''s how it is..." Wang Tao nodded to himself. That made sense; in this post-apocalyptic world, strength ruled. If one''s own strength wasn''t sufficient, even if they controlled great power, the ultimate outcome wasn''t guaranteed. Age had caught up with them, their bodily functions were deteriorating, and so their strength would inevitably be surpassed by the younger generation. Not everyone''s physical condition was like He Jijun, growing stronger with age. It was better to cultivate Cheng Yiyi as a successor sooner rather than later, while they used their extensive experience to handle the big picture and left the rest to Cheng Yiyi... Not only the Sixth Army Corps, but other Corps were in similar situations. After all, when they first organized resistance, it was essential to have the older members lead the way to win others'' trust. These veterans were very useful in the early stages, but now that the base had stabilized and Ability Users were becoming stronger, their own power remained stagnant, which might not garner as much respect, especially in a place like a Legion¡ªwhere the old soldiers might have respected them, but Legions needed to recruit and the number of old soldiers would only diminish... So they took the opportunity during the establishment of the committee to become members. They could secure certain benefits for the Legion, which in turn supported them from behind. The successors they chose were definitely without issue; for instance, Cheng Yiyi had tremendous respect for those two former leaders. ... Inside the camp, Wang Tao met another Deputy Legion Commander. The Sixth Army Corps had a total of three Deputy Legion Commanders, but the other two were stationed in other camps and could not be met at the moment. Deputy Legion Commander Lin Kaiyang was a tall, burly man. He appeared to be about 2.2 or 2.3 meters tall, with his body covered in bulging muscles. Even Wang Tao, at two meters tall, seemed ordinary by comparison. "Mr. Wang! Welcome to join our Sixth Army Corps!" Lin Kaiyang extended his hand to Wang Tao with great enthusiasm. The notification about hiring Wang Tao as a military consultant had already been given by Cheng Yiyi in advance to the higher-ups within the Legion and the Commander Rong and Yus, so they all knew before Wang Tao even arrived. Cheng Yiyi had told Wang Tao that Lin Kaiyang was an Awakener of the Sixth Army Corps and the only one before, which was how the Sixth Army Corps was able to maintain its presence, as other Legions generally had two or more Awakeners. But now Cheng Yiyi and another Deputy Commander had awakened, totaling three Awakeners. With Wang Tao, who could also be considered half a member of the Corps, the Sixth Army Corps was no longer behind in terms of Awakeners. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 45200/45200] [Grade: Level 4] [Awakening: Strength] [Strength: All-round enhancement of all Basic Attributes, with significant increase in Strength (the degree of increase is related to the Awakening Energy upper limit)] Lin Kaiyang''s Awakening was exactly like Qi De''s, both being passive System Awakeners. Those with the [Strength] Awakening seemed to all have exceptionally large physiques, which looked intimidating, but when paired with his military uniform, it also conveyed a sense of security. "Hello!" Wang Tao smiled and shook his hand. "Commander Cheng had mentioned before that Mr. Wang is a rare talent. I was thinking about whether we could bring Mr. Wang over, but I didn''t expect that Commander Cheng had already made a move and succeeded!" Lin Kaiyang''s face seemed to carry a bit of regret, yet there was also a sincere joy. "Haha!" Cheng Yiyi suddenly laughed with a hint of pride. After exchanging pleasantries, Cheng Yiyi and Lin Kaiyang gave Wang Tao a tour of the area. It served both to familiarize Wang Tao with the actual situation of the Sixth Army Corps and to help him become known to others. The title of consultant was something that other forces might have, but it had not existed in the Sixth Army Corps before; it was a title established by Cheng Yiyi specifically for Wang Tao. Many within the Legion were unclear about this new position, and they were unfamiliar with Wang Tao, but seeing that both the Legion Commander and Deputy Legion Commander were accompanying him, it was evident to anyone that the position held weight, so they mentally noted Wang Tao''s appearance... Chapter 886 347: Marionette_2 Wang Tao also got a rough idea of the specific strength of the Sixth Army Corps. Changhe Base had a total population of over 500,000 people, and there were about 50,000 soldiers belonging to the six major legions, which seemed like a high ratio. However, considering it was the post-apocalyptic era, it wasn''t much. In fact, it felt somewhat low. Previously, there were talks of a massive expansion of the military forces, but it never happened due to a simple reason... there wasn''t enough money. Many people from Changhe Base wanted to join the six major legions because, for most people, the compensation provided by the legions was much higher than that offered by other powers within the base. High compensation meant more expenses, so if too many were recruited, the budget couldn''t handle it. Speaking of these 50,000, 49,000 belonged to the other five legions, and the Sixth Army Corps only had 1,000 people. It seemed like a huge gap, but having fewer people also had its upsides, as costs were lower. Relying on the military equipment assisted by the other legions, they weren''t really lacking in equipment. Moreover, Cheng Yiyi didn''t want to recruit too many people. She wanted to take the elite route. Since they couldn''t compete with the other legions in size, might as well change tracks. Although the six major legions supported each other, there was also competition. After all, competition lead to progress, and everyone wanted to be number one. However, Cheng Yiyi knew that claiming first place was impossible. She would be grateful if she could just shake off the last place. So her current goal was very clear¡ªaim for the second-to-last place! In addition to these 1,000 people, the Sixth Army Corps also had 10 main battle tanks, 10 pieces of powered armor, 20 cannons, 30 infantry fighting vehicles, 6 armed helicopters, 4 transport helicopters... plus some light weapons and such. All these were supported by other legions. Their overall strength wasn''t weak. With this firepower, aside from the other five major legions, there probably wasn''t any other power that could withstand them. Currently, in his role as an expert consultant, Wang Tao had no actual power within the Sixth Army Corps, at most he had the right to give suggestions. But Cheng Yiyi assured Wang Tao that if he needed anything, he could just tell her, and as long as it wasn''t too difficult, she would try her best to help. Since she had said as much, Wang Tao wasn''t going to be polite. Wang Tao directly brought up two things. The first was, if they came across any strange and mysterious items, they could let Wang Tao take a look, and he might buy them. If he knew what those things were, he would also tell them. The second thing was, if they encountered giant zombies, disaster-level monsters, or Level 5 Lords in the future that didn''t seem too exaggerated in size, and they chose not to hunt them, they could contact Wang Tao. He would pay them for the information, and if Wang Tao gained anything from it, he could give them some extra benefits. As for the first matter, Cheng Yiyi understood it well, which was also one of the reasons she invited Wang Tao in the first place. Even if Wang Tao didn''t mention it, she would have shown him those odd items. But the second issue shocked her. "You plan to hunt giant zombies alone? Disaster-level? Level 5 Lords?" What Wang Tao had just said was if the Sixth Army Corps wasn''t willing to hunt, they could inform Wang Tao, meaning he would go alone or with a small group of Ability Users to hunt them? "If I have the opportunity, I''ll definitely not let it pass." Wang Tao nodded. "..." Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao with some disbelief. Even with Lan Yulian, the massive healer, giving Wang Tao a high error tolerance, the recent cooperative hunt of a disaster-level zombie was still vivid in her mind. Without their cooperation, it wouldn''t have been possible for Wang Tao''s group alone to kill that Catastrophic Serpent, right? "What''s with that look? You''re underestimating me, aren''t you?" Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. "No, what I mean is..." Cheng Yiyi started to say something, but in the end, she didn''t say anything. Simply patting her chest, she assured, "Forget it, don''t worry, if there''s any news, I''ll definitely inform you!" "That''s good." Wang Tao nodded and then glancing at the sky, he said, "It''s getting late now, I should head back. If you have any questions, just contact me directly." After all, he had taken their money, so he had to provide service. "Won''t you stay for a meal before leaving? Our canteen is quite good!" Cheng Yiyi invited. "No, I have some things to take care of." Wang Tao shook his head. "Alright! I''ll see you out!" Cheng Yiyi personally escorted Wang Tao back to his villa and told him that she had already entered his identity into the system of the Sixth Army Corps. Wang Tao wouldn''t be stopped if he went on his own, and he could freely go most places. "Alright, then! See you next time." After watching Cheng Yiyi''s car leave, Wang Tao returned to the villa. He recounted the events he witnessed at the Sixth Army Corps today, which wasn''t a secret, and since Wang Tao was speaking to his own people, naturally, it didn''t involve any breach of confidentiality. After hearing this, everyone realized the disparity among the Six Major Legions was that vast. They had visited the Third Legion, which was far more powerful than the Sixth. "Right, Old He, you''ll take our helicopter to the Sixth Army Corps tomorrow. I''ve asked Cheng Yiyi to help us with the modifications." This was one of Wang Tao''s perks. He had already spoken to Cheng Yiyi in advance, agreeing to thoroughly maintain the helicopter inside and out, then modify the weapons, and finally integrate the communication system of the Sixth Army Corps. "Sure." He Jijun nodded. At that moment, Wang Tao checked the time. "They should be waking up soon. Let''s go have a look..." Wang Tao entered a room and saw Jiang Shixue lying in bed and Lightning under the bed, both waiting quietly. Suddenly, Jiang Shixue slowly opened her eyes. "Brother~" The first thing she saw was Wang Tao sitting not far away. "Haha! Finally awake!" Wang Tao laughed as he walked over. "Is this... have I awakened?" Jiang Shixue got out of bed and looked at her delicate little hands, still somewhat uncertain. Wang Tao touched her hair as he looked at Jiang Shixue''s attributes: "Of course you''ve awakened! Feel it carefully..." [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 150000/150000] [Level: Level 4, Lord] [Internal Impurity: 25%] [Hidden Attributes: Dark sharp claws] [Awakening: Marionette] Unlike ordinary humans, every time Jiang Shixue ascended in rank, her Mana would double. So now she had 150,000 Mana, which was already more than Wang Tao''s. Then there was her Level, having ascended to Level 4 while still maintaining Lord Rank. She also had two Hidden Attributes: one was [Eyes of Contract] and the other [Dark sharp claws]. [Eyes of Contract: Night Vision, to some extent Mind Control] [Dark sharp claws: Slight Armor Break ability] The former she had possessed for a long time, while the latter was infused by Wang Tao. Now, her [Eyes of Contract] Hidden Attribute was gone, replaced with the Awakening [String Puppet]! This confirmed that Wang Tao''s previous hypothesis was correct; her ability to awaken after consuming the Awakening Fruit was not due to luck, but because she had Hidden Attributes! If it were just good luck, and the Awakening Fruit had given her a Hidden Attribute, then she wouldn''t now be missing [Eyes of Contract]. Having confirmed his speculation was right, Wang Tao finally turned to Jiang Shixue''s new awakening. [String Puppet: Night Vision, Mind Control] Just looking at this Awakening, it seemed like there was no change? But this was an Awakening after all; there couldn''t be no change at all. The specifics would only be known after experimentation. Jiang Shixue''s previous [Eyes of Contract] was effective against those with very weak strength, but since Wang Tao generally attacked stronger opponents, and he seldom battled people, Jiang Shixue hardly ever needed this control ability. But now, with this Awakening... Wang Tao felt it might bring a pleasant surprise. Chapter 887 348: Control If Wang Tao wanted to know what effects Jiang Shixue''s [String Puppet] had, naturally, an experiment was necessary. He believed experiencing it himself was better than hearing it from others, as her type of Awakening could easily be misunderstood. Thus, Wang Tao directly addressed Jiang Shixue: "Use your Awakening on me." "Ah?" Jiang Shixue was initially stunned, then her eyes somewhat brightened as she looked at Wang Tao. "Really?" Including Jiang Shixue, people around didn''t know that Wang Tao could directly see through others'' Attributes because Wang Tao never mentioned it. They simply thought he was observant and knowledgeable. So Jiang Shixue, unaware she had been seen through, was still quite interested in controlling Wang Tao. "Really, give it a try¡ªoh right, Sister-in-law, please record a video!" Wang Tao said, smiling. "Okay! Pay attention now!" Jiang Shixue''s eyes suddenly cast a faint red glow as she looked at Wang Tao. He then felt as if he had spaced out for a moment, and when he came to, he found himself stroking Jiang Shixue''s hair while she took a deep breath. "Huh?" Wang Tao immediately felt very surprised. His feeling just now... was of having no feeling! It was as if he had spaced out, yet not quite. He only remembered asking Jiang Shixue to use her Awakening on him, and she agreed. Then... his hand was on her head. He didn''t recall when he had reached out, but seeing his hand there now, he felt surprised yet somehow it also seemed natural. "Hehe~" Jiang Shixue took a deep breath, revealing a slight, proud smile on her face. "Tired?" Wang Tao noticed a layer of fine sweat on Jiang Shixue''s head. "Your spiritual power is too strong. It was tough to control..." Jiang Shixue initially looked a bit distressed, then somewhat pleased. After all, she hoped that Wang Tao was powerful. After wiping her sweat, Wang Tao said: "Tell me exactly what happened¡ªoh right, Sister-in-law, the video!" Ding Yuqin and a few others also walked over in surprise. She showed Wang Tao the video she had just shot, and Jiang Shixue explained what exactly happened. After seeing the scene captured in the video, Wang Tao frowned. The video showed that when he asked Jiang Shixue to use her Awakening, a faint red glow appeared around her. Then his body suddenly stiffened, and he placed his hand on Jiang Shixue''s head, awkwardly stroking her hair. This process lasted only a second. During that second, Wang Tao''s gaze was blank, his expression stern, and his movements stiff... It simply wasn''t like him, or rather, it wasn''t like a living person at all! Although it was only for a short second, it still made everyone feel somewhat creeped out. Wang Tao himself also felt a chill run down his spine. String Puppet... did it turn him into a puppet? Most importantly, Wang Tao himself hardly felt anything. If he hadn''t known in advance that Jiang Shixue was going to use her Awakening on him, he might not even be aware that he was being controlled until now... This unknown feeling was terrifying. Everyone turned their gaze to Jiang Shixue, who immediately explained: "My Awakening is an Ability to control others'' minds. It''s somewhat similar to my previous Hidden Attributes, but there are significant differences..." Jiang Shixue''s [String Puppet] is an Active Awakening. There are two abilities, Night Vision and controlling others'' minds. The Night Vision seems to be similar to before, and using it naturally doesn''t consume Awakening Energy, but specific changes and details still need further testing. The main test now was her Ability to control peoples'' minds. When she used [String Puppet] on Wang Tao, she could roughly sense his spiritual power. She realized at that moment¡ªWang Tao''s spiritual power was very strong, on par with hers! If it had been her previous Hidden Ability, she clearly wouldn''t have been able to control Wang Tao, as that Ability could only control people with very low spiritual power and wasn''t generally very useful; she rarely used it. However, her current Awakening [String Puppet] was different; she could control even those whose spiritual power was almost equal to hers! She even felt that those with higher spiritual power than hers might also be controllable, but that would require certain conditions and an increase in her own strength. As for how she controlled Wang Tao, this was completely different from her previous Hidden Attributes. Her previous [Eyes of Contract] Hidden Attribute could indeed control others'' minds to some extent, but it was more about guiding and suggesting, making people subconsciously act according to Jiang Shixue''s thoughts. Or to put it more bluntly, it was a type of very brief hypnotism. But now, her [String Puppet] Awakening was different; it was outright control! She directly controlled Wang Tao''s body, making him touch her head! She felt as if Wang Tao were a marionette at her discretion, allowing her to control him to do anything! Of course, that was just her feeling; in reality, it certainly wasn''t so. She had only controlled Wang Tao to touch her head for a moment, and she was already sweating profusely. Moreover, the control lasted only a second, very briefly... While controlling Wang Tao, she could feel every movement of his, but she could also sense that those movements wouldn''t succeed because Wang Tao''s spiritual power was too strong! Chapter 888 348 Control_2 For example, if she wanted to manipulate Wang Tao into taking out weapons and going on a killing spree against the people around him, Wang Tao would instinctively resist such an action, even if his perception was blocked and he knew nothing of it. Wang Tao''s spiritual power was very strong; if he resisted, Jiang Shixue wouldn''t even be able to make him touch his own head, let alone attack others. It was highly likely that Wang Tao would snap out of it completely. If Jiang Shixue wanted to control the current Wang Tao, she had to choose something that wouldn''t cause Wang Tao any aversion. For instance, touching her head¡ªWang Tao obviously wouldn''t object to that. So Jiang Shixue gave it a try and, indeed, she could make Wang Tao place his hand on her head. As for the blank look in Wang Tao''s eyes and the stiffness of his body, that was related to Jiang Shixue''s ability. She felt that if her own strength continued to grow, she might be able to control a person to act completely normal, without giving anything away. But that was definitely impossible at the moment... Finally, there was the consumption of [String Puppet]. It was somewhat similar to Wang Tao''s [Starfire Outbreak], starting with a usage of 100 Awakening Energy each time, with no upper limit. However, 100 Awakening Energy for [Starfire Outbreak] could at least last 10 seconds, while Jiang Shixue''s [String Puppet] could only hold for 1 second. The duration was incredibly short... Of course, the amount of time she could control someone was related to Wang Tao''s level and the strength of his spiritual power. Whether it was always fixed at one second was something she would have to continue testing... "It''s magical!" Everyone was amazed by Jiang Shixue''s [String Puppet]. To be able to directly control others! Even Wang Tao could be controlled¡ªthis Awakening was too powerful! Although she only controlled Wang Tao for a second and didn''t make him do anything he wouldn''t want to do, it still couldn''t hide how formidable this Awakening was. After all, Wang Tao was already strong, but what if the person being controlled wasn''t Wang Tao, but someone else? Everyone else''s level and spiritual power were not as good as Wang Tao''s, so what would be the effect of controlling them? Everyone looked forward to Jiang Shixue with anticipation. Wang Tao then took out an Awakening Crystal Core. "Little Xue, try to see if you can fuse with this Crystal Core." Previously, Jiang Shixue couldn''t fuse with any Crystal Core, but an Awakening Crystal Core was different from the others; it had no attributes. After fusion, it simply added 100 Awakening Energy. Now that Jiang Shixue had awakened and had Awakening Energy, she should be able to use an Awakening Crystal Core to replenish her energy, right? "Eh? I can fuse now!" Jiang Shixue tried and suddenly widened her eyes. She could actually fuse now, and she felt her Awakening Energy was at full capacity! Wang Tao''s face immediately showed a smile¡ªif Jiang Shixue couldn''t fuse with an Awakening Crystal Core, the only ways to replenish her energy would be through Awakening Energy Pearls or to wait for it to recover over time, which would be far less efficient. Fortunately, Jiang Shixue could also fuse. Wang Tao then took out several other Ability Crystal Cores for Jiang Shixue to try, but she could no longer fuse with any other Crystal Cores. Although he had guessed this outcome, Wang Tao was still a little disappointed; if Jiang Shixue could fuse with other Crystal Cores, her combat effectiveness could have increased by another notch! Of course, she wasn''t bad right now. Wang Tao then took out a good number of Awakening Crystal Cores and let Jiang Shixue go through Synthetic Fusion, incidentally increasing her Awakening Energy limit. Wang Tao felt that 100 Awakening Energy was really not enough, only enough to release one Awakening, which for Jiang Shixue might last only one second. That was too short; she needed at least 500 energy to be passable. Moments later, Jiang Shixue''s energy limit reached 500. "Brother, I feel like my Awakening has become a bit stronger..." Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao with shining eyes. "Stop causing trouble for me, go control someone else and try!" Wang Tao said, smiling as he tousled Jiang Shixue''s hair. "Alright..." Jiang Shixue looked around at everyone, who were both nervous and expectant. Then, Jiang Shixue randomly selected a lucky individual¡ªYang Changhong. Then everyone watched in shock as Jiang Shixue controlled Yang Changhong, and it was completely different from when she controlled Wang Tao. When she controlled Wang Tao, she could only do so for one second. But when she controlled Yang Changhong, she could do it for five seconds! Within those five seconds, Jiang Shixue made Yang Changhong do many things, including spinning around, striking poses, and even kissing Wang Tao... She even picked up an iron rod and swung it at Wang Tao! It was clearly a lethal blow! Everyone watching had goosebumps. Previously, they were saying that Jiang Shixue''s ability to control others should be quite effective. Now it seems, indeed it is! Yang Changhong simply couldn''t, or rather, had no way to resist. "Ah?" When Yang Changhong snapped back to consciousness and saw herself holding an iron rod while being grabbed by Wang Tao, she was still a bit confused. "What did I just do?" She couldn''t remember anything from those five seconds at all. Wang Tao took the iron rod from Yang Changhong''s hand. "You were just controlled by Little Xue." "But... but I didn''t feel anything..." Yang Changhong furrowed her brows and thought hard, but her mind was indeed blank. "It''s normal that you felt nothing, I didn''t feel much either!" Wang Tao said with a laugh as he patted Yang Changhong''s shoulder. At this time, Jiang Shixue spoke up to explain: "When controlling Sister Changhong, I could sense her bit of resistance, especially when I made Sister Changhong attack Brother. Sister Changhong resisted fiercely. But her spiritual power is far too weak compared to mine, so this ''fierce resistance'' had basically no effect on me, which is why Sister Changhong was controlled by me..." Yang Changhong felt a bit embarrassed and scratched her head. "So I did resist, but it was as if I hadn''t resisted at all..." Wang Tao said with a smile as he took hold of Yang Changhong''s hand, and then had Jiang Shixue continue the experimentation a few more times. After consuming some more crystal cores, Wang Tao had a rough idea of this [String Puppet] Awakening in his mind. Jiang Shixue was able to control her peers, Wang Tao, Lan Yulian, and He Jijun, but the duration varied. She could control Wang Tao for one second, He Jijun for one and a half seconds, and Lan Yulian for two seconds. The control duration seemed to relate to the level of spiritual power of Wang Tao and his companions. Wang Tao had the highest spiritual power, followed by He Jijun, and Lan Yulian the lowest, so the time Jiang Shixue controlled them increased correspondingly. It might seem like just one or two seconds, and not very significant, but in actual combat, a second could change the tide of battle. Then, Jiang Shixue discovered an even easier method of control. If she tried to make Wang Tao do something he was unwilling to do, he would instinctively resist, and her success rate of control would be much lower. But if she merely made Wang Tao space out for a second, it was much easier! This was an excellent method of control, which seemed particularly useful against someone with high spiritual power like Wang Tao. After all, spacing out in battle could be fatal. As for controlling Level 3 individuals like Ding Yuqin, it''s only fair to say that the Awakening truly lived up to its name¡ªMarionette. Everyone would be under her control for about five to ten seconds. During those five to ten seconds, the controlled individuals were like real marionettes, completely at the mercy of Jiang Shixue''s manipulation. And after the control ended, they would not remember the memory of being controlled; it was as if all their senses had been sealed off... It could be said that if those below Level 4 were controlled by Jiang Shixue and she harbored malicious intent, they were basically as good as dead. After all, a lot could be done within those few seconds. As for the range of this control... it couldn''t be too far from Jiang Shixue, roughly up to thirty meters at most. This was a minor limitation, but it still didn''t diminish the power of the [String Puppet] Awakening! And just as they were still researching Jiang Shixue''s Awakening, a "woof" was heard, and Lightning woke up. Chapter 889 349: Gourmet Feast "Woof~" Lightning woke up and ran towards Wang Tao. As it ran, its calf-sized body rapidly shrunk! By the time it reached Wang Tao''s feet, it had returned to its original size. "Huh?" Wang Tao instantly became curious. He squatted down and patted Lightning''s head. "Your body size actually shrunk! Oh, I get it, it can change freely, right?" "Woof~" [HP: 110000/110000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Awakening: Gluttonous Feast] [Gluttonous Feast: The mouth does not get infected with the virus, can devour corpses including those of the same level, body size will increase. The larger the size, the stronger the power. The body size can freely change within a transformable range.] When Wang Tao first encountered Lightning, it was an ordinary dog. Later, when Wang Tao merged it with the teeth dropped by a Level 3 Zombie Dog, Lightning became a dog with hidden attributes. After that, Wang Tao figured out how to help Lightning advance in levels, and it ascended from Level 1 to Level 2 and Level 3, becoming an elite dog in the process. Now, after eating the Awakening Fruit, it successfully ascended to Level 4 and awakened, becoming a Level 4, Lord dog, and awakened! An HP of 110,000 and Mana of 50,000 weren''t noteworthy among other Level 4 Lords, but its awakening skill made Wang Tao''s eyes light up. "Gluttonous Feast..." Lightning''s previous hidden attribute was [Iron Teeth]. [Iron Teeth: Sharp teeth, mouth won''t be infected by zombie virus] This hidden attribute was also quite good, not to mention boosting strength, at least it ensured that it wouldn''t get infected with the zombie virus while biting zombies. This was very important because Lightning''s weapon was its teeth, and if it couldn''t bite zombies, then its strength would be reduced by over 95%! And now, the hidden attribute [Iron Teeth] evolved into [Gluttonous Feast]! Firstly, it retained Lightning''s ability to not get its mouth infected, undoubtedly a great skill for survival in the apocalypse. Secondly, it could devour monsters or corpses! After devouring a monster, its body size would increase, and as its size increased, so would its strength! This was just like a [Giant]! Giant Awakening means that own strength is linked to body size. However, Giant Awakening mentions "unlimited growth in size," but it doesn''t specify how to achieve the growth. But Lightning''s [Gluttonous Feast] is different, it clearly states that it must devour the same level beings or corpses. Lightning was now a Level 4 Lord, so its peers were also Level 4 Lords, but it''s unclear whether humans count, since normal humans don''t have "Lord" levels. Of course, whether it can devour humans or not isn''t a big deal, even if it could devour, Wang Tao wouldn''t go out of his way to hunt humans, there are enough zombies and monsters outside for Lightning to devour. As long as Lightning devours enough, wouldn''t its strength be like a [Giant]? Wang Tao thought it was possible! Lightning''s [Gluttonous Feast] awakening definitely had limitless potential! But they couldn''t test this devouring ability now, since there weren''t any Level 4 Lords here for it to eat. However, the ability to freely change size could be tested. "Lightning, try to become bigger and let me see!" Wang Tao rubbed Lightning''s head and said. "Woof~" Upon hearing Wang Tao''s words, Lightning barked, and its body immediately began to increase. If previously it was the size of a calf, now it was almost as big as a cow! Seeing the robust and muscular Lightning, Wang Tao felt it was very majestic and imposing! Lightning was distinctly different from those black snakes, which could not conceal their aura; just by seeing it, one could feel the terrifying Level 4 aura emanating from it! But Lightning was different; when it had just shrunk, it looked like an ordinary large dog, very ordinary. Wang Tao initially thought that Lightning had reverted to its original simplicity. But seeing it grow larger now and the terrifying Level 4 Lord aura emanating from it, he then understood that it wasn''t that Lightning had become simple again, but this Level 4 aura was attached to another form! Wang Tao had Lightning try a few more times, then discovered that Lightning could freely change its size. The smallest was its normal size, and the largest was just as big as it just was. As its size continued to expand, its strength also increased! "Very nice!" Wang Tao thought Lightning''s awakening was very suitable. If it really was like a Giant Awakening where size could grow infinitely but not shrink, then it wouldn''t be very convenient. After all, Lightning wasn''t living in the wild; it was living with Wang Tao. Its current state of free transformation made it suitable for living in the city, even a small dog house would suffice. However, what left Wang Tao speechless was that previously, Lightning was wearing a set of Level 3 [Wolf Dog Battle Armor], which had some stretchability but could only accommodate up to Lightning''s previous size. When Lightning''s size expanded to its maximum, the armor could no longer fit and automatically fell off. So, did Lightning''s strongest state cause it to "burst its clothes?" This armor added 50 defensive power and 10% speed, although these attributes were not that strong for Wang Tao now, it was the only piece of equipment Lightning could wear... Chapter 890 349 Gourmet Feast_2 "It looks like we''ll just have to make do for now and see if I can arrange some equipment for you later..." Wang Tao refit the battle armor onto Lightning, whose stature had returned to normal. "I''m planning to have you devour some zombies or something. When you can bite a giant zombie to death in one go, then I can just follow behind and coast..." "Woof~" Understanding Wang Tao''s words, Lightning immediately started to lick Wang Tao wildly. After playing with Lightning for a while, Wang Tao checked his own attributes. The second awakening required two secret keys, and he had already fused two advanced awakening secret keys. So, if he were to attempt the second awakening now, he would have a 70% probability! This probability wasn''t very high because Wang Tao had previously failed with an 80% success rate red crystal core. But it also wasn''t low¡ªit was much better than just over 50%. Wang Tao was considering whether to start the awakening process now or if it would be better to improve the success rate a bit more. If he failed this time, not only would he lose these two advanced awakening secret keys, but he would also need four awakening secret keys for his next attempt. And they would need to be advanced keys too since ordinary ones would only give him a 30% chance. That rate was too low for Wang Tao. Wang Tao considered himself lucky, but he didn''t dare gamble on this. If he lost the bet, the success rate for the awakening would continue to drop until it was as low as 10%, which would be disastrous... Wang Tao then checked his advanced special energy, which had already accumulated to over forty. "Maybe I should save up some more advanced special energy?" His advanced special energy couldn''t be fused with abilities now, but it could increase awakening energy and enhance the success rate of awakening. One unit of advanced special energy could add 100 awakening energy, equivalent to one awakening crystal core or one awakening energy pearl, while ten units of advanced special energy could raise the success rate by 1%! He had quite a bit of advanced special energy before, but most of it was used to increase the upper limit of his awakening energy. Otherwise, he might already have over a hundred by now. This 70% success rate for awakening was less than two-thirds. If he could use the advanced special energy to raise it to two-thirds or directly to 80%... that would certainly be safer. Wang Tao was torn, so he simply shared the dilemma with the others to get their thoughts. "I have an ability that can increase my own chances of awakening, but it requires killing some level 4, monster lords..." After hearing Wang Tao''s words, everyone surprisingly shared the same opinion¡ªthey hoped Wang Tao would accumulate more before undergoing the awakening. The reason was simple: with their current strength, defeating ordinary level 4, monster lords wasn''t a problem. For Wang Tao and his team, it was just a matter of time. Spending a bit more time to raise the success rate was clearly worthwhile! People like Lan Yulian and Jiang Shixue had their awakenings since they had no way to improve their chances of success. Earlier or later, it was all a risk, so it was obviously better sooner. But Wang Tao had a choice, and they were not in any crisis or life-or-death situation. There was no need to rush; being cautious was better. Being more stable now meant fewer worries later! After hearing their reasoning, Wang Tao felt they had a point. Reaching a two-thirds probability seemed much more reassuring. "But if we keep waiting, we still need to find a way to locate the level 4 lords... I''ve asked Cheng Yiyi to keep an eye out, but they''re going to attack first if they come across any. We''ll only know when they''re too tough for them to handle, and by then who knows when that will be..." Wang Tao spoke, somewhat conflicted. Hearing this, Ding Yuqin suddenly asked, "Didn''t you get a bunch of meteorites, Wang Tao? Inside there might be level 4, monster lords..." ``` "Huh?" Wang Tao was momentarily stunned, then he slapped his thigh, "Sister-in-law is right! How did I not think of that!" He agreed to let Cheng Yiyi use the meteorites to settle the debt, not to resell or hoard them, but purely for his own use. And the sooner he used them, the better. After all, the items that came from these Level 4 meteorites were all Level 4, and now was the time they were worth the most. Cheng Yiyi gave him 30 Level 4 meteorites, and these meteorites could at least produce some Level 4 Monster Lords, right? He felt his chances of summoning monsters were quite high. By killing these summoned monsters, gathering fifty Advanced Special Energy was no problem, and that would at least increase his chance of a successful Second Awakening by 5%! Wang Tao had originally planned to rest well in the city after coming back, but he didn''t expect Cheng Yiyi to settle her debt with meteorites, bringing him so many of them. It would be a waste not to use them. It was also a good chance to improve his Awakening success rate¡ªtwo birds with one stone¡ªno, three, since Lightning could devour some corpses too! So Wang Tao immediately said: "Alright! That''s settled, then. Let''s see if tomorrow or the day after is good to go out and crack open some meteorites!" "Great!" Everyone was also very much looking forward to this kind of blind box opening activity. Making money was secondary¡ªafter all, it was highly unlikely that Wang Tao would lose out. The main thing was the feeling of surprise. Since it was decided to go meteorite hunting tomorrow, Wang Tao planned rigorously. Within the base, there was a special Ability User Market, where numerous items related to Ability Users were for sale, including intelligence. Wang Tao planned to buy some intel to see where Zombie Lords or monsters might be found. This information might not be accurate, as zombies and monsters moved around and could also be killed by others, but having intel was better than having none. After all, Wang Tao was going out to find a place to unlock meteorites, and he would try his luck on the side. If he could encounter a Level 4 Lord, great; if not, no big deal. Intel wasn''t expensive, so he wouldn''t lose much. ... The next day. Wang Tao first went to the bank to exchange all his Crystal Coins for Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores. Wang Tao had a total of 1.3 million Crystal Coins, and one Level 4 Epic Crystal Core cost 5000 coins, so he could exchange for 260 Crystal Cores. He currently had 30 meteorites, including 6 Epic Meteorites that required ten Crystal Cores to open, and the remaining 24 were Superior Meteorites which could be opened with eight Crystal Cores each. Wang Tao always used Epic Crystal Cores to open the meteorites, meaning he needed 252 Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores. The Crystal Coins he had were enough to exchange for the Cores he needed. After exchanging for the Crystal Cores, Wang Tao then headed to the Ability User Market. There were many such markets, and Wang Tao went to the nearest one. This was Wang Tao''s first time at such a place, and from afar, it looked no different from a vegetable market. The only distinction was that you needed to register as an Ability User to enter. Qu Shilin had told Wang Tao before that these Ability User trading markets were a bit like black markets. However, the Ability User Market was legitimate, and identity proof was required for transactions. There were two types of sellers here: independent sellers and official sellers. The official seller was City Hall. Although their items were expensive, they were generally guaranteed to be reliable. The products sold by individual sellers varied in quality, but since the transactions were public and seller information could be tracked, selling fake goods or conning people would ensure retaliation unless one planned never to leave the city. The City Hall generally turned a blind eye to such retaliatory actions. So overall, the items in the Ability User Market might not be great, but they wouldn''t be too bad either. However, you couldn''t expect to find any underrated items here, because anything uncertain of its value would be sold off at the black market instead, where identities could remain hidden to avoid repercussions... Wang Tao came with Nie Siyan; she was like a bag-carrying attendant. After registering their identity information and entering the market, they immediately spotted a stall selling Night Demon Hearts. "Huh? This thing is that expensive?" ``` Chapter 891 350: Heart Swells Upon entering, the second big red stall had a black heart on display that looked somewhat intimidating, encased within a glass cover with an item introduction attached next to it. By now, a crowd had gathered around it, marveling at the Night Demon Heart. "The description here says this heart can turn into a Level 4 Night Demon that fights for you? That''s freaking awesome! Is that even real?" "If he has clearly stated its function, then the regulatory department must have confirmed its effects; otherwise, they wouldn''t have allowed it to be put up for sale..." "Hiss¡ªdoes that mean if I buy this thing, I basically get an Awakener bodyguard?" "Bodyguard? No, that''s a hitman, a lackey! If I had this thing, where couldn''t I go in this post-apocalyptic world?" People were already starting to fantasize about how life would be with the Night Demon Heart. But their dreams were quickly dashed by someone else. "Hey, wake up! Did you even look at the price? Can you afford it?" "Price? Just need to work a bit harder, save a little more¡ªsorry, excuse me!" The man was ready to launch into a tirade, but after seeing the price label next to the Night Demon Heart, he immediately deflated. Someone nearby exclaimed in shock: "1 million Crystal Coins... I couldn''t save up that much in this lifetime, the next, or even the one after that!" "Hiss¡ª1 million, isn''t that way too expensive!" The crowd''s gasps upon seeing the price were no less pronounced than when they first discovered the use of the Night Demon Heart. The price tag on this Night Demon Heart actually reached 1 million Crystal Coins! Wang Tao looked closely and saw that this Night Demon Heart was a [Night Demon Type I] with 10,000 HP. He was startled by the price as well. If the Night Demon Heart could really sell for 1 million Crystal Coins, he was willing to sell all the Night Demon Hearts he had. After all, 1 million Gold Coins was equivalent to 200 Level 4 Epic No-Attribute Crystal Cores, which was enough for him to open quite a few meteorites... At this moment, the stall owner of the Night Demon Heart lit up when he saw Wang Tao. He immediately stood up and enthusiastically said: "Sir, if you''re interested in it, we can provide a trial service!" Hearing his words, Wang Tao hadn''t even responded when the people nearby started to get upset. "Hey, what''s this? When I asked you if I could have a trial earlier, you said no! Why are you saying it''s possible now?" Facing the others'' queries, the stall owner clearly didn''t care to explain and completely ignored them, instead looking at Wang Tao with anticipation. "Sir, would you like to try it?" The stall owner naturally didn''t recognize Wang Tao. He was just an Ordinary Level Two and couldn''t discern Wang Tao''s strength. But he could sense that the beautiful woman carrying Wang Tao''s bag actually had a Level 3 capability! To have a Level 3 Ability User carrying bags, and a rare beautiful female Ability User at that, the man''s strength or status was imaginable! He was a big potential customer! Frankly, the other onlookers were losers; even if they tried it a million times, they couldn''t afford it. And compared to these losers, this sturdy guy in front of him, it was hard to say whether he could pull out 1 million, but at least he was richer than them! So he knew who was more important. "I can have a trial?" Wang Tao''s eyebrows rose. "Of course! Please, come this way!" All these stalls were set up on both sides of the marketplace roads, and behind them, there were some buildings. Some of these buildings were official shops run by City Hall, while others were rented by individuals. Rent for these shops here wasn''t cheap. Those who could afford to rent here might not be very wealthy, but their business operations had to be on a larger scale, at least. The stall owner was from a mid-sized faction, and these shops were rented by their faction. Wang Tao wanted to find out the bottom price for this Night Demon Heart; he thought the 1 million was a bit too high. So he followed the man into one of the shops. The shop was dimly lit; all doors and windows save for the main entry were sealed off. This was clearly to provide a space for the Night Demon¡ªotherwise, exposed to the daylight, the Night Demon would have been scorched to death. "May I have your last name, sir?" "Wang." "Mr. Wang, hello, let me explain to you..." The stall owner took his responsibility seriously and explained the precautions for [Night Demon Type I] to Wang Tao. However, the heart wasn''t bound to Wang Tao, and this so-called trial was just that¡ªa trial. He showed the [Night Demon Type I] to Wang Tao, letting him observe and feel its presence, and that was all. "What''s the actual price?" Wang Tao asked directly. "The price is firm at 1 million!" Seeing the stall owner''s confident eyes, Wang Tao immediately started to bargain. He thought he could, at least, knock some off the price, but the stall owner was adamant and would not budge. After a lot of effort, Wang Tao managed to bring the price down from 1 million to 900,000... but that was practically the same as 1 million! Could the Night Demon Heart really be worth that much? "I''m sorry, but 900,000 is still too much for me..." Wang Tao shook his head, appearing quite regretful. Seeing Wang Tao genuinely seemed unable to afford it, the stall owner was somewhat disappointed, but even so, he did not lower his price further. "No problem, business doesn''t always work out, but we still have respect for each other! Mr. Wang is always welcome to come back!" The stall owner was still pretty polite, personally escorting Wang Tao out. Seeing that the stall owner was seeing him out, Wang Tao''s brows furrowed. Is the Night Demon Heart really worth that much? Chapter 892 350: Heart Swells_2 The drawback of the Night Demon Heart is obvious, it can only be used at night. And night in the post-apocalyptic world is too dangerous, no one would go out unless they had to spend the night outside. It clearly shouldn''t fetch a high price! Now, Wang Tao had a basic understanding of the Crystal Coins and the prices at Changhe Base, and he thought it would be good if he could sell this thing for 300,000. But looking at the stall owner, his bottom line seemed to be 900,000. 900,000 compared to 300,000, that''s a difference of three times! If there really was such a high price, then Wang Tao could indeed sell the Night Demon Hearts he had. After all, they were of no use to him... Outside the shop, the crowd that had not yet dispersed saw Wang Tao and the stall owner come out, and with the Night Demon Heart still in the stall owner''s hands, they knew the deal had not been struck. The stall owner could tell there was something special about Wang Tao, and so could others. Since even someone as wealthy as Wang Tao could not afford it, it indicated that the stall owner hadn''t reduced the price much, leading to some people starting to jeer. "Hey! That''s what you get for pricing it so high, you swindler! Can''t sell it now, can you?" "You should have dropped the price earlier, the longer you wait, the less it''s worth! I bet in another ten days or half a month, when everyone has awakened, you won''t be able to sell it for 100,000, let alone a million!" "..." Hearing these words, others immediately joined in. "Exactly, exactly! Can''t sell it now!" Watching this group of people reveling in his misfortune, the stall owner was somewhat speechless and gestured dismissively with his hands. "Go on, get lost. What do you know? Don''t worry about whether I sell it for a high price or not, I''ll definitely be able to sell it! You can''t afford it anyway, why the unnecessary concern?" The onlookers wanted to see the stall owner break down, but he still looked as calm as ever, which instead made them wonder. Could this Night Demon Heart really be that powerful? Powerful enough to go head-to-head with a Level 4, Lord zombie? Otherwise, this price wouldn''t make sense! Wang Tao was also puzzled about where the stall owner''s confidence came from. Previously, the Iron Beetle he had produced was appraised by the City Hall for only 1 million. Of course, perhaps they valued it a bit low, and at that time Crystal Coins were more valuable... But now, it seemed selling it for over 2 million wouldn''t be a problem. Could these two Night Demon Hearts be worth an Iron Beetle? That was clearly impossible. However, seeing that the stall owner didn''t want to say more, Wang Tao didn''t ask further. He continued to browse around other places. There were a lot of items to see, including some monster parts, but there weren''t any special materials or corresponding design blueprints... so those materials were of no use to Wang Tao. After making a round, Wang Tao arrived at the place for trading information, called the "Intelligence Exchange." In the Ability User Market, the City Hall guarantees that most things are authentic, and if fake goods are found, the seller could be fined or even put on a wanted list. However, there is one exception that the City Hall doesn''t guarantee¡ªthe transactions inside the Intelligence Exchange. Because information intelligence is time-sensitive. Even if it''s all true, there can be inaccuracies, not to mention false information is hard to verify. So here, information could be true or false. To buy accurate intelligence, apart from insight and experience, luck is also very important. The people at the Intelligence Exchange were numerous and so was the information on the electronic screens. A lot of the information only included a beginning, for example: "Discovered a Level 4, Lord zombie with no minions by its side. This is an excellent opportunity to hunt it down, the specific location is¡ª" and there, the message would cut off, requiring payment to continue. The information varied, including some that were completely free, though not many. Most of it was behind paid content. Among these paid content, some were unrestricted in viewer numbers and could be seen by anyone; others were limited to a certain number of viewers, and once the limit was reached, the information became locked and unavailable to others; there were also exclusive pieces of information that could only be viewed by a single person, and once seen, the information would be deleted. As for pricing, naturally, the fewer people who could view it, the higher the cost. In addition to this information, there were others concerning recruitment, collaborations, task announcements, and so on. Wang Tao skipped over these to focus on information related to zombies and monsters. Except for the exclusive news which was quite expensive, other messages were much less than Wang Tao had anticipated. Wang Tao bought a big batch of information in one go, and it wasn''t expensive, amounting to just a few thousand dollars, with the exclusive news taking up the bulk of it. After purchasing that information, Wang Tao took another stroll around. Suddenly, he wondered whether he could also rent a shop? After all, he still had a lot of stuff that neither he nor his teammates could use, items like equipment and potions, which perhaps could be sold here? However, this was just a passing thought for Wang Tao; for now, he prioritized heading out of the city to mine meteorites and undergo a Second Awakening. By the time he got home, it was already noon, with just half a day left. Today clearly wasn''t suitable for an outing, and he hadn''t yet figured out where exactly to mine meteorites. Wang Tao called Ding Yuqin and the others over and shared with them the information he had bought, asking them to plan the route. This information wasn''t bought under a personal name, but on behalf of the Starfire Society, so it could be shared with one''s own people, but not leaked to other forces. Although it would be hard to pinpoint the source if there indeed was a leak, a hefty fine from City Hall awaited anyone caught or reported, as City Hall was particularly keen on imposing fines. After spending some time, Ding Yuqin and the rest planned out a relatively sensible route, making sure to pass through areas populated with zombies and monsters. If they were lucky, they might encounter one or two, which would be a huge gain. And even if they were really unlucky and didn''t run into a single one, it wouldn''t matter too much; after all, it was just information that cost a few thousand, and a bit of wasted time. Once the route was decided, Wang Tao told everyone, "Let''s set out tomorrow. But this time we won''t bring too many people, because I am not quite sure where that Level 5 Giant Eagle is..." If it were any other Level 5 Lord, Wang Tao wouldn''t necessarily be intimidated, but the combat power of this Giant Eagle was too strong; he felt no chance of victory. Moreover, it was a Flying Monster with extremely fast speed! If they were to venture out in a bulletproof minibus again like the last time and encountered the Giant Eagle, it would be a disaster. The current strategy was to hide upon encountering the Giant Eagle. Wang Tao considered looking for an opportunity to investigate where the Giant Eagle''s nest might be. Lords always have their territories, and even if the Giant Eagle regarded the entire sky as its domain, it would still rest somewhere. That location was its nest. If they could find its nest, they wouldn''t need to be so nervous right now. The unknown is the most terrifying; unpredictable, with the fear that the Giant Eagle could appear from any direction. But once they knew where it lived, they could temporarily list that area as off-limits and simply avoid it in their travels. After discussing for a while, Wang Tao decided to take only Lan Yulian, Jiang Shixue, Lightning, He Jijun, and Blacky with him. In other words, everyone going this time had Fourth Order Battle Power! If they really encountered an insurmountable danger, even if they couldn''t win, they should have no problem escaping. As for the vehicle problem... Qu Shilin had mentioned last time that she had a Crystal Energy Power Engine intended for vehicle modification, but it wasn''t ready yet. Wang Tao wondered about its current status and planned to inquire. So, Wang Tao sent a message directly to Qu Shilin. A few moments later, a reply came back. "Well, I do have a newly modified small Crystal Energy Powered Car, but it''s only been tested twice. Although there weren''t any problems with those tests..." "That''s good enough for me. I trust you quite a bit!" Wang Tao immediately said. He had previously used a Crystal Energy Gun manufactured by Qu Shilin, a test version, but it worked very well. "Okay! Then I''ll rely on you to test it!" Intellectuals have a way with words, making it sound like Wang Tao was being asked for a favor even though he was actually the one benefiting for free. Just as Wang Tao was about to express his gratitude, Qu Shilin suddenly asked, "Are you planning on going to the Cave?" "Hmm? The Cave? What''s that?" Wang Tao was startled. "Ah? You don''t know? It''s a massive underground space discovered while you were away, rumored to be filled with monsters and treasures! Several forces are supposed to be teaming up to explore it in the next few days¡ªoh right! The Cave is very dark and the terrain is complicated, so the Night Demon Type 1 is particularly suitable for the place. As a result, the price of Night Demon Hearts has skyrocketed. A lot of people have been asking me if I''m selling the hearts I have, and I''m still hesitating. What do you think, should I sell them or not? Give me some advice, it wasn''t easy gathering so many Night Demon Hearts..." Chapter 893 351 Out of the City Again "Cave..." Hearing Qu Shilin''s words, Wang Tao suddenly realized. No wonder the Night Demon Heart was selling so expensively, there was demand after all! That made sense! "Where is the cave? How can we get there? Do you know?" Wang Tao asked again. "Uh... I''m not really sure where exactly the cave is, because it is kept secret by those forces that discovered it. I only know about it because of my special work, and I thought you were one of the forces who discovered the cave, especially since you have always been out there... But if you haven''t discovered the cave, you might not be able to go, as it''s sort of their private territory. They keep it secret because they don''t want others sharing in the bounty..." "I see! I really didn''t know about this, thanks!" Wang Tao said suddenly. "Hey! We are friends! Oh, and you mustn''t say I told you, okay? Although I didn''t sign any confidentiality agreement, it still feels wrong to talk about it..." Qu Shilin hurriedly added. "Don''t worry, I definitely won''t tell. As for the Night Demon Heart matter, I suggest selling it off. The prices are very high right now, and the usefulness of the Night Demon Type 1 is limited. Even if you want to study it, you can always do that later when the prices drop..." As he was speaking, Wang Tao suddenly seemed to remember something. "However, don''t be in a hurry to sell; I also have some Night Demon Hearts. Let''s pool them together and see if we can get a good price! I''ll come see you this afternoon!" Since the Night Demon Heart was indeed so expensive, Wang Tao decided to deal with the hearts he had. Not talking millions, but three hundred thousand was not a loss, and five hundred thousand was a pure gain. That was enough for him. "Alright, I''ll be waiting for you!" After hanging up with Qu Shilin, Wang Tao immediately contacted Cheng Yiyi. "Consultant Wang, this is Cheng Yiyi." Hearing the address through the phone, Wang Tao was still not used to it. He paused for a moment, then spoke: "Commandor Cheng, what are you up to? Are you busy?" "Not busy. It''s almost New Year, and I plan to let our legion rest and recuperate, to fight again next year." Cheng Yiyi spoke in a relaxed tone. She had been busy for most of the half year since the apocalypse began, and this was somewhat of a holiday for her. "Do you know about the cave?" Wang Tao suddenly asked. "Cave? What cave?" Cheng Yiyi was utterly confused. Wang Tao immediately understood. Cheng Yiyi really didn''t know. If she did, she likely would have told him. Thus, Wang Tao briefly explained the situation with the cave, but he said he heard about it accidentally from the Ability User Market. "What? There''s such a place!" After hearing Wang Tao''s explanation, Cheng Yiyi spoke in a very surprised tone. Then she quickly added: "Hold on, let me inquire about what exactly is going on. If it''s true, our Sixth Army Corps must be involved!" Cheng Yiyi spoke resolutely. If she hadn''t known about this, it would be one thing, but now that she did, she absolutely needed to compete for it, even if it meant being shameless! In this apocalyptic world, everyone was racing against time, either advance or retreat. If others'' strength increased while they remained stagnant, they would be eliminated in the future. Broadly speaking, it was a matter of survival! "Good, I''ll wait for your good news!" After hanging up, Wang Tao nodded to himself. He had shared this news with Cheng Yiyi precisely to let her find out exactly what was going on, since being with the Sixth Army Corps, she had much easier access than their small Starfire Society. "Brother, should we change our plans?" Jiang Shixue asked from nearby. Wang Tao had not hidden the matters and everyone had heard about the cave. Wang Tao shook his head. "Hard to say, let''s see what happens on Cheng Yiyi''s end. Anyway, our schedule is flexible, at most the information we bought earlier becomes outdated, but that didn''t cost much, so no big deal." An hour later, Cheng Yiyi called again. "Consultant Wang, I''ve found out everything. There indeed is a cave, and there are some good things inside, but there are also many aggressive plants and animals, making it very dangerous. The location is jointly owned and was discovered by several major forces, including the Fourth Army Corps. They all signed confidentiality agreements, so they don''t disclose it and don''t allow others to be involved. However, after my efforts, our Sixth Corps can participate as well. It is scheduled ten days from now; I''ll notify you then..." Listening to Cheng Yiyi''s excited tone, Wang Tao''s face immediately showed a smile. Cheng Yiyi had not let him down, and he suspected she had traded some favors. However, if there really were good things in the cave, Wang Tao would make sure she didn''t end up at a loss. "Okay! Just notify me before you set out. I need to make a trip out soon, but it''s just for a few days, I should be back in time." "Alright! Be careful out there!" After ending the call, Wang Tao spoke to the others: "I''m going to the Hope Research Institute, then our plan remains unchanged; we leave tomorrow, and we''ll be back just in time for the event." "Alright!" The others nodded. ... Wang Tao visited the Hope Research Institute again. For some reason, Qu Shilin''s right arm was in a cast and suspended. Her HP was also dangerously low. Chapter 894 351: Leaving the City Again_2 "Your hand..." "Ahem, got injured at work, it''s nothing serious." Qu Shilin waved her other hand, seemingly a bit embarrassed. Wang Tao noticed she didn''t want to elaborate, so he didn''t press further. Qu Shilin immediately took Wang Tao to an underground parking lot. "Here it is, the Crystal Energy Car!" It was an off-road six-wheel pickup truck, styled in a way that seemed both post-apocalyptic and sci-fi, fitted with a lot of armor and cold weapons, looking incredibly menacing. Especially at the back of the vehicle, there were several jet-like exhausts, which made Wang Tao''s eyes light up. "This car is kind of cool!" Wang Tao genuinely complimented. "Haha, thanks for the praise! It''s been modified from a luxury car from before the end of the world, so of course it looks cool!" Qu Shilin was clearly pleased with the compliment on her work. She got in the car with Wang Tao and demonstrated all the functionalities of this vehicle to him. First and most importantly, the power system of the car. It had a Crystal Energy Engine that only required a Crystal Core to provide energy. Besides that, it didn''t need a fuel tank, water tank, or anything like that, which meant it saved a lot of space and was very quiet¡ªalmost as quiet as an electric motor. However, the cost of operating this setup was high since Crystal Cores cost money. According to Qu Shilin, aside from gray low-quality Crystal Cores which couldn''t be used, the engine could operate with any Crystal Core, from Level 1 to Level 4, but could only use one at a time. Additionally, the higher the level of the Crystal Core used, the longer the engine would work; and the higher the quality of the Crystal Core, the more stable the engine would be and the less likely it was to malfunction. This was similar to the Crystal Energy Gun. To put it simply, using a White Crystal Core could still get it running, and it could even go the same distance as with an Orange Crystal Core. However, the energy in a White Crystal Core was unstable and could damage the motor, so it was best to use an Epic Crystal Core. And since you could only use one Crystal Core at a time, if you wanted to use it steadily for a long time, it was best to use a Level 4 Epic Crystal Core. A no-attribut Level 4 Epic Crystal Core cost 5,000 bucks. If an average person owned this car, they probably couldn''t afford to drive it. The cost was indeed large, but still, it couldn''t compare with a Crystal Energy Gun¡ªthat was the real horror... The Crystal Energy Engine had two modes; what Qu Shilin just described was the normal mode, and then there was the Berserk Mode. In Berserk Mode, the engine would unleash its full potential, significantly increasing its power output. However, the consumption was terrifyingly high, much like that of a Crystal Energy Gun. However, this mode also caused some damage to the engine, so in order to avoid wrecking it, the system was programmed to only allow the use of Berserk Mode when an Epic Crystal Core was installed. After all, Epic Crystal Cores were the most stable. If a Crystal Core of lesser quality than Epic was used in Berserk Mode, the engine could truly become scrap. Next were the other features of the car¡ªactivating and deactivating various cold weapons, a toxic gas deployer inside the car, a radio station, and many other functions¡ªthe car was quite versatile. Lastly, the inner space of the car was huge. With three rows of seats, it could hold eight people and still have room for plenty of items. Most importantly, since it was a pickup truck, it had a cargo bed. The front could hold a large amount of resources, making it ideal for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Wang Tao felt that if he were to sell this car, he dare not specify how much it would fetch, but he was sure he could get at least 300,000 for it. Wang Tao was naturally extremely satisfied with this, but Cheng Yiyi still had some reservations. "We were a bit rushed for time, otherwise we could have installed a couple of heavy machine guns, Crystal Energy Guns, and stuff like that, then it would have been even more powerful!" "It''s already great as it is. This is more than enough for me!" Wang Tao said with a smile. "Alright, as long as you like it. You take the car for now; if there are any issues, come to me. Also, periodically send me data. You don''t need to send it manually; I can automatically receive the data as long as you''re within the base, just like with your Crystal Energy Gun... But speaking of Crystal Energy Guns, I have another one here, do you want it?" Qu Shilin first explained, then suddenly offered. "Yes!" Wang Tao had already experienced how useful a Crystal Energy Gun was, so he certainly wouldn''t mind having another. "Wait a second..." A moment later, Qu Shilin retrieved another Crystal Energy Gun. The Crystal Energy Gun she had given to Wang Tao before was designed like a pistol, larger than a handgun but still able to be wielded with one hand. The one she now presented was clearly a sniper rifle in design, resembling an anti-materiel sniper rifle¡ªbig in size with a long barrel, it looked extremely domineering. "This gun is a recent creation of mine. It has a long range, powerful impact, and high precision... but it does have two small flaws..." Qu Shilin gestured slightly with her index finger and thumb. "What flaws?" Wang Tao felt that with the previous advantages, flaws like that could be overlooked, right? "Cough, one is that it consumes a lot, each shot uses up a Crystal Core. Another is that it has a huge recoil, as for how huge..." Qu Shilin pointed at her right arm, which was in a cast. "I only fired once and both my arm and shoulder broke..." "..." Wang Tao was a bit stunned, even if Qu Shilin''s combat strength was weak, she was after all a Level 3 ability user with quite strong physical fitness. So, she fired just one shot and ended up critically injured with depleted HP? "Cough, let''s forget it then... I''ll go back and make some more improvements to this gun..." Seeing that Wang Tao didn''t respond, Qu Shilin thought he was frightened and immediately spoke again. "No need for that, I''ll try it later. It shouldn''t be a problem for me," Wang Tao shook his head. His interest in the Crystal Energy Gun was growing even more now. Once sure that Wang Tao was really willing to use the gun, Qu Shilin scratched her head and explained: "Originally we were researching the Crystal Energy Cannon, but when the energy got too powerful, it became hard to control, so the progress on the Crystal Energy Cannon has temporarily stalled. Then I had a sudden idea to shrink down the Crystal Energy Cannon..." "...so this is basically a cannon?" "Cough, a small cannon, just a small cannon..." "..." Wang Tao was somewhat at a loss whether to laugh or cry. "How about I take you to my place? I have a Level 4 healing-type awakener at home who can treat you." "That works! I''ll get to experience the power of a healing-type awakener too!" Qu Shilin''s eyes lit up. She generally didn''t like to trouble others, but there was no need to refuse when someone offered help willingly. "Oh right, I also have some stones similar to monster eggs at home... Never mind, next time. Next time you come back, you must take a look for me! And that Xiang Hongbin, next time you come over, he should be fully healed. He''s currently in a sterile room, so it would be inconvenient for us to go there..." Qu Shilin remembered the odd things she had collected, but those items were in another house of hers, far from here. Since Wang Tao was preparing to head out, she decided to wait until next time. "Sure. Just remind me next time, and I''ll go have a look," After Wang Tao agreed, he drove the Crystal Energy Car, bringing Qu Shilin back to his own place. Not to mention, the car was quite exhilarating to drive, but it was a pity speed limits applied within the city. He really wanted to experience just how berserk the Berserk Mode could be. Once back home, Wang Tao had Lan Yulian treat Qu Shilin''s injuries. The effect was immediate, and Qu Shilin''s arm was able to move freely right away. "Wow¡ª" Qu Shilin looked at Lan Yulian with the same admiration she had previously shown towards Lightning and Xiang Hongbin. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, then personally took Qu Shilin back to the research institute, and handed over the dozen or so Night Demon Hearts he had to her for sale. Those items were in high demand, and prices were sky-high due to their rare availability on the market. If sold as a bundle, they would fetch an even higher price. It depended on which power could afford them. In any case, Wang Tao''s expectations weren''t high; selling them for 500,000 a piece would be a huge profit. As for getting a million or something like that, it was unlikely they would sell for that, otherwise, the vendor''s Night Demon Hearts would have been bought up long ago. ... The next day. Wang Tao drove the Crystal Energy Car, taking Jiang Shixue and the others, and departed from the base again. After getting out, Wang Tao checked the direction and said: "Let''s first catch some zombies and store them in the back of the car, to feed them some Nightfiend worm eggs!" Since the main goal this time was to hunt zombies, Wang Tao planned to use up all the dozens of Nightfiend worm eggs, which could kill Night Demons while also accumulating more Night Demon Hearts to make money... Chapter 895 352 Scissor Bug Monster Wang Tao, based on the information he had purchased, went to one of the locations and sure enough, saw a small horde of zombies. Perhaps because these were all Level 2 Ordinary Zombies, the experts weren''t interested and ordinary people were reluctant to spend money on the information, so the zombie horde still existed. Without anything to say, Wang Tao drove the car right into them. This Crystal Energy Car was equipped with many blades and spikes, cold weapons made of special alloy as described by Qu Shilin, extremely hard and sharp, obviously posing no problem for these ordinary zombies. Wang Tao purposely adjusted the blades lower, then charged into the horde of zombies. After a few rounds, not a single one of this small group of ordinary zombies could stand. Of course, since Wang Tao had shown mercy, most of the zombies weren''t dead, but rather all their limbs were chopped off. Wang Tao looked at the disgusting scene, then glanced back at his vehicle''s bed. "Seems like it won''t fit..." He couldn''t possibly wait here for the Night Demon worm eggs to hatch, as it could take up to seven days. He planned to use the vehicle to transport these zombies, and if a Night Demon were to hatch, he would simply get out and kill it. However, since his vehicle was not a large one, originally just a pickup truck, the cargo space was limited, and he still had 46 Night Demon Level 4 worm eggs left, which he intended to use all at once. Thus, he needed 46 zombies. His vehicle obviously did not meet the criteria to load 46 zombies... As Wang Tao was considering whether to tie these zombies with a rope and drag them with the car, or find a flatbed to extend his vehicle, He Jijun spoke up. "Don''t you just need one living zombie? A zombie can still live with only a head left..." "..." After a while, Wang Tao stuffed the last Night Demon worm egg into a zombie head and then threw it into the vehicle''s bed. He felt that He Jijun made sense, as all he needed was a living zombie, and just having the head shouldn''t be a problem. Transporting 46 zombies, even those without limbs, was not feasible, but transporting 46 zombie heads was like carrying watermelons, not much of a problem. After getting into the car, Lan Yulian unconsciously gripped her hand. "Somehow it feels creepy... " Just the thought of a truckload of heads behind her made her feel uneasy. "It''s okay!" Wang Tao took her hand then said to He Jijun at the driver''s seat, "Let''s go." ¡ªBuzz¡ª The Crystal Energy Car emitted a soft sound and then left the area carrying the zombie heads. Following the previously planned route, they drove all morning. Not to mention encountering a Level 4 Lord Zombie, they hardly saw any ordinary zombies at all. "Let''s just stop here." Wang Tao was somewhat helpless; he had initially wanted to find a suitable place to open meteorites and maybe encounter creatures above Level 4. But whether others had gotten there first or the zombies had fled, he encountered no more after the initial wave. Although a bit speechless, Wang Tao''s main goal was still to open meteorites, and not encountering any wasn''t the end of the world. After all, he was still transporting dozens of zombie heads; they ought to contribute a few Lord Night Demons. Wang Tao chose to stop at an abandoned town, which was cleaned out of everything, including zombies, probably ransacked many times by survivors from the base. He chose this spot because it contained a derelict factory with an underground workshop¡ªa temporary campsite for those who temporarily couldn''t return to the city, providing overnight shelter. Wang Tao naturally didn''t need this campsite; he was considering that in case he encountered the Giant Eagle, he needed a place to hide. Running was not an option; no speed on ground could outpace that in the sky, so the best option was to find an underground space to hide, just like the previous Giant Serpent Cave and this underground workshop. Wang Tao first checked the underground workshop¡ªit was unoccupied, and all the defense measures were well set up and ready for use. Those who used it would generally arrange it properly afterward, a tacit code of wilderness survival. Wang Tao went back above ground, found a spot away from the factory, and pulled out a pile of meteorites. "Do any of you want to give it a try?" Wang Tao smiled at He Jijun and the others. All of them shook their heads simultaneously. "No, no, I''m quite aware of my own luck." Lan Yulian quickly waved her hands. The value of these things was ultimately too high; if she opened junk, even if Wang Tao didn''t say anything, she would feel guilty. "Well, then I''ll do it myself!" There were a total of 30 meteorites; 6 Epic Meteorites and 24 Superior Meteorites. Opening these meteorites required 252 Crystal Cores. When Wang Tao opened meteorites himself, he always used Epic Crystal Cores, their value being 1.26 million. The price of these meteorites was around 1.1 million. So essentially, if he couldn''t yield goods worth over 2.2 million, he was basically losing money... However, Wang Tao still had confidence in this regard. He took a deep breath, then placed 8 Epic Crystal Cores on a Superior Meteorite. Moments later, as the energy of the Crystal Cores was exhausted, the meteorite opened. An Epic Crystal Core appeared in view. "Damn, the first meteorite is a Crystal Core¡ª" Chapter 896 352: Scissor Bug Monster_2 Wang Tao was about to complain about his bad luck when he realized that the crystal core inside the meteorite was a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! "That''s not a problem anymore!" The cost of opening this meteorite was 72,000, which was tantamount to spending over seventy thousand for an Ascension Crystal Core. For Wang Tao, this was definitely a win, and he just happened to need one. A Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core doesn''t really have a high market value, with those of purple quality and above averaging around 100,000, and the higher the quality, the more expensive naturally. This Epic Ascension Crystal Core meant Wang Tao had earned about 80,000. But one couldn''t really buy them for that price because they simply weren''t available on the market. This item was essential for awakening, and every Ability User wanted to awaken. So, as soon as an Ascension Crystal Core appeared on the market, it would immediately be snatched up. Unless one was willing to pay a hefty premium, but Wang Tao wasn''t one to waste his money foolishly, as he needed too many crystal cores. If he resorted to buying at a premium, even he wouldn''t be able to bear it... This first meteorite was a great start; making money was minor, the acquisition of the Ascension Crystal Core was major. Wang Tao immediately opened the second meteorite. After opening it, he found another crystal core, but it was an Epic Self-Destruction Crystal Core. The second crystal core was a huge loss! The price of an Epic Self-Destruction Crystal Core was about equal to two Epic No-Attribute Crystal Cores, meaning Wang Tao lost almost sixty thousand. "This is really like a roller coaster..." Wang Tao shook his head. The third meteorite was quite large, and after opening it, a gray-white shield appeared. [Iron Bone Shield] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +70, Defense +70] This was an ordinary shield, and its attributes were too trashy for Wang Tao, but it might still be worth some money if sold to someone else, so that was probably a break-even deal. The fourth meteorite was relatively small, about the size of a water flask. After opening it, a black shadow flew out. "This is a win!" Wang Tao''s face lit up with joy, as this was a monster! After the black shadow landed, it started to expand, quickly turning into a huge creature. It was a flat-bodied brown Insect Clan Monster with antennae on its head and a shell on its back. Its rear was arched up like a scorpion, but it didn''t have a stinger; instead, it had a tail like a pair of scissors. Wang Tao thought it resembled an earwig, which he had seen when he was a child, though this insect clan monster was obviously much more ferocious. [HP: 150,000/150,000] [Mana: 100,000/100,000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Strength] [Strength: All basic attributes are comprehensively improved, and strength is greatly increased] This scissor bug monster''s awakening was a pure system awakening, just like the Fire Patterned Ant''s before. "Hiss¡ª" The scissor bug monster let out a strange hiss, then charged directly toward Wang Tao and his group. During its sprint, its "scissor" tail was raised high, seeming like it could easily snip someone in half! Seeing such an aggressive monster, not one person retreated. Jiang Shixue was itching to try a solo fight, as she had just ascended to Level 4 and hadn''t had a real battle yet. However, Wang Tao stopped her. "We still have so many meteorites to open, let''s wrap this up quickly!" "Okay!" Everyone responded in unison. A long knife instantly appeared in Wang Tao''s hand, and he charged directly at the scissor bug monster. He Jijun, wielding a curved saber, followed closely behind. Lightning and Blacky rushed in from the side. Jiang Shixue didn''t move but stood her ground. Bang! [-12,021] [-1,202] [...] Wang Tao jumped up high and struck the scissor bug monster''s head with his knife. After being attacked, the monster''s large scissor tail immediately snapped toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn''t want to experience how high its damage would be, so he prepared to retreat. But suddenly, the monster''s body stiffened and the giant scissor tail stopped abruptly. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao didn''t hesitate and immediately hacked at it a few more times. He Jijun and the others had also arrived, all taking advantage of these seconds to frantically attack the Scissor Bug Monster. A few seconds later, the Scissor Bug Monster''s tail snapped toward Wang Tao again, but this time, he decisively retreated. Bang! The Scissor Bug Monster''s tail plunged straight into the hardened road surface, sending countless bricks and stones flying, its immense strength pushing back both Lightning and Blacky. Wang Tao looked back at Jiang Shixue, who still had a faint red glow in her eyes. Wang Tao gave her a thumbs up. The Scissor Bug Monster had just been controlled by Jiang Shixue for a good three seconds. Three seconds might not seem like much, but for Wang Tao and the other Level 4s, those seconds were enough to strike many times. So now, as Wang Tao and the others temporarily retreated, the Scissor Bug Monster was left with only half its HP! If Jiang Shixue used her awakening as a control ability in this sort of group battle, it was incredibly powerful! What was most important was that Wang Tao felt Jiang Shixue didn''t seem to struggle controlling the Scissor Bug Monster as much as she did when she controlled him, without breaking a sweat. "Controlling these monsters is much easier than controlling you!" Jiang Shixue said with a smile. She sensed that if she were to control the Scissor Bug Monster to perform some action, it might only last for a second. But controlling it to space out allowed for three seconds! And Jiang Shixue didn''t exert much effort, unlike when she controlled Wang Tao, drenched in sweat. The Scissor Bug Monster was being mobbed by our group, and three seconds of being dazed was enough for many attacks. Guess if one more control session were to happen, the Scissor Bug Monster could be killed. However, awakening energy is precious after all; each use cost Jiang Shixue 100 energy. After testing the effect of awakening, there was no need to try again, and she rushed forward with Wang Tao. Although Jiang Shixue''s awakening was in the realm of psychic control, her physical fitness was also very strong. After awakening, her attack power was naturally not weak. The group swarmed all at once, and after some time, the Scissor Bug Monster''s HP bar was cleared by a slash from Wang Tao. Boom! Seeing the colossal Scissor Bug Monster fall, Wang Tao sheathed his long knife with great satisfaction. It had to be said that for their squad, all boasting Level 4 strength, dealing with a lone Level 4, Monster Lord with no underlings was too easy. Especially as the Scissor Bug Monster''s awakening was quite ordinary and not difficult to handle. Working together, they quickly finished it off. "Gather the loot!" Wang Tao called out, and they began to clear the battlefield. The monster itself dropped a large "scissors" from its tail and a Power Crystal Core. "This is too meager..." Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; a Level 4, Monster Lord had only dropped two items, which was indeed a letdown. Fortunately, the Loot Pack it dropped was not bad. Besides a Crystal Core and Potion, there was also an Awakening Energy Pearl, a physical Awakening Key and a Weapon Production Blueprint. Wang Tao did not use the blueprint, he was waiting to process all these meteors together later. "Lightning? You want to eat it?" Wang Tao asked as he patted Lightning''s head. "Woof~" Lightning seemed very excited. "Go ahead." Whoosh¡ª Lightning charged right beside the Scissor Bug Monster''s corpse, grew in size, and opened its mouth wide. Its mouth appeared to be a black hole, with the light nearby seeming to distort. The Scissor Bug Monster''s corpse began to shrink rapidly and, after a few seconds, became small enough to fit inside Lightning''s mouth. Lightning swallowed it in one gulp. Gurgle~ After swallowing the monster, Lightning''s aura suddenly rose slightly, its body size increased a bit, and its HP also increased by 1500! "Woof~" After gaining strength, Lightning barked, then quickly shrank in size and ran over to Wang Tao, rubbing against his leg. "Tsk tsk, this awakening of yours is amazing!" Wang Tao said, stroking Lightning''s head. Lightning and the Giant Zombie were the same, their strength increasing with no upper limit! Wang Tao felt a bit sentimental, and Lan Yulian felt even more so. She thought she, as a healer, probably wouldn''t need to take any action. "Continue opening the meteors..." Chapter 897 353 Continuous Monsters Wang Tao had consecutively opened 7 meteorites, and among them 5 contained junk, but 3 held Ascension Crystal Cores, making it a profitable haul. Unfortunately, no monsters appeared, and what Wang Tao wanted to see the most right now were Insect Clan Monsters. The 11th meteorite was opened. Crack¡ª The meteorite cracked open, and a black shadow emerged. "A monster has come!" No sooner had he mentioned the absence of monsters than the second one finally emerged from an opened meteorite. After the monster grew larger, Wang Tao realized it was the Cockroach Monster he had seen before. [HP: 150000/150000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakened: Tenacity] [Tenacity: All basic attributes are increased, with Strength and Defense greatly increased] "Attack!" With a shout from Wang Tao, everyone charged at once. The Cockroach Monster had high defensive power, but it stood no chance against several combatants with Fourth Order Battle Power, especially after Wang Tao used several Fireballs to take it down quickly. From the loot of the previous Cockroach Monster, Wang Tao considered the Blueprints for the Sharp Long Knife and the Physical Necklace to be the best. But not this time; neither of those Blueprints dropped, only a Blueprint for Black Shell Armor. After collecting all the loot, Wang Tao continued to let Lightning consume the body of the Cockroach Monster. Moments later, Lightning''s body size increased by another notch, and its HP also increased by 1500! After devouring monsters twice, Lightning''s HP had increased by 1500 each time, but Wang Tao was unsure if this increase was fixed or related to the monster''s HP. After all, this monster had 150,000 HP, a hundred times the 1500 increase, which seemed somewhat related... "Continue!" Patting Lightning on the head, Wang Tao proceeded to open the next meteorite. Perhaps sensing Wang Tao''s inner complaints, right after he opened the 12th meteorite, another monster appeared! "Haha, another monster!" Wang Tao burst into laughter immediately. For many powers, they hoped not to encounter monsters when opening meteorites. Even though monsters contained Crystal Cores and could drop valuable materials, this carried the risk of casualties. They would rather safely secure valuable Crystal Cores and other items. But for someone like Wang Tao, with strong power or for such powerful forces, they naturally hoped to encounter monsters. Finding other items could be hit or miss profit-wise. But if they found monsters, as long as they took proper precautions, they could almost surely profit! "I hope it''s something with a bit more strength..." Wang Tao muttered. After all, the stronger the monster, the better the drops would be. Unfortunately, Wang Tao didn''t get his wish; it was another monster with 150,000 HP and one he had seen before. [HP: 150000/150000] [Mana: 150000/150000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakened: Poison Needle Explosion] [Poison Needle Explosion: Fires poison needles, causing substantial damage] "Dual-tail Scorpion... Attack!" Wang Tao immediately led the charge! If it had been an unknown monster, like the previous Scissors Insect, Wang Tao might have been very cautious. But for a monster he had seen before, he was intimately familiar with its tactics, so it was easy for him and his team to kill this Dual-tail Scorpion. However, upon its death, the Dual-tail Scorpion''s body released a cloud of poison mist. While Wang Tao could withstand the mist to loot the body, there was no need to rush. "Let''s wait for the poison mist to dissipate before checking, and in the meantime, we''ll continue with the meteorites!" Wang Tao took out the next meteorite. After opening it, another dark shadow emerged. "Come on, there can''t be this many monsters, can there!?" Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised; he previously complained about only encountering one monster in the first ten meteorites, thinking it was a bit too few. But then, three monsters appeared in three consecutive meteorites! What a stroke of luck! After escaping from the meteorite, the black shadow landed and instantly swelled up, transforming into a shape not much smaller than a car. It was an Insect Clan Monster comprised of black and red, its body long and slim, without either venomous hooks or pincers, and appeared not to have strong combat power. But upon seeing its awakened ability, Wang Tao''s gaze sharpened. [HP: 150000/150000] [Mana: 150000/150000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakened: Corrosive Acid Liquid] [Corrosive Acid Liquid: Sprays a large area with Corrosive Acid Liquid] As soon as he saw the rear of the Insect Clan Monster lift, Wang Tao immediately called out: "Fall back!" Although everyone was puzzled, they still obeyed the command and retreated at once. Whoosh¡ª Then, they saw a vast amount of green liquid being ejected from the rear of the monster. Sizzling¡ª As the liquid hit the ground, it instantly emitted a hissing sound, and the ground''s bricks, withered weeds, and several nearby derelict houses were all covered with the liquid and then dissolved. "Such potent acid!" Faced with this destructive power, everyone''s heart chilled. Even though they had Lan Yulian, the healing class, who could save them if they were injured, getting hit by this acid looked very painful! And there was also the possibility of being left with scars... "It can spray a large quantity of Corrosive Acid Liquid, let''s move even further back!" Wang Tao led everyone to continue retreating. As they stepped back, the spots they just vacated were immediately covered by another wave of acid. Sizzling¡ª The group continued to fall back. Moments later, seeing that the surroundings of the Acidic Worm were entirely filled with acid, making it impossible to approach, Wang Tao slapped his forehead in dismay. Chapter 898 353 Continuous Monster_2 "Damn! Miscalculated, we shouldn''t have retreated!" Upon encountering an unknown danger, Wang Tao''s first instinct was naturally to run, but what he didn''t anticipate was that the acid sprayed by the Acidic Worm wouldn''t dissipate! After retreating several times like this, a fifty-meter radius around the Acidic Worm was engulfed in a murky fog of acid! Anyone who entered the range of the acid would lose HP. Though they had Jade Lotus on their side, which could stop the loss of HP, once the acid clung to their skin, it caused a burning and intensely uncomfortable sensation. Even Jijun, who had an extremely strong will, trembled at the mouth, let alone everyone else. If they had slain the creature before the acid had covered such a large area, there wouldn''t be so much trouble. But now the Acidic Worm had essentially laid down an Acid Array, and anyone wanting to enter would have to endure this pain. "I can rush in!" At that moment, Jijun spoke up. Although the acid was also hard on him, he could bear it. Jiang Shixue didn''t speak, just looked at Wang Tao, ready to charge in as soon as Wang Tao commanded. "Forget it, don''t charge in!" Wang Tao shook his head. The area covered by the acid was extensive, and entering it would continue to drain HP. Therefore, if they were to charge, they would need to bring Jade Lotus with them. Otherwise, if Jade Lotus was too far away, her healing would not reach them. Putting Jade Lotus, a healer, into the midst of such acid was somewhat dangerous. "Let''s attack from a distance!" Wang Tao handed over his Crystal Energy pistol to Jijun, then he took up the Crystal Energy Sniper Rifle. It was the perfect opportunity to test this gun''s power! Watching the beast that was still continuously spraying acid, Wang Tao raised his sniper rifle, having already loaded a Rank Four Orange Crystal Core with no attributes. He then aimed at the creature and pulled the trigger. Bang! A not-so-loud gun sound resonated by Wang Tao''s ear, but he stepped back involuntarily. Wang Tao felt his entire shoulder go numb, almost making him fall to the ground. "..." Wang Tao remembered Qu Shilin mentioning the sniper rifle''s heavy recoil, essentially comparing it to a cannon... It really was true! The recoil was such that anyone with a weaker physique probably would have fallen down immediately. However, a greater recoil meant greater power. As the beam of orange light hit the Acidic Worm, a huge damage number floated up. [-15384] Damage of fifteen thousand five hundred with one shot! Biu! At that moment, Jijun also fired his gun. An orange beam of light accurately hit the Acidic Worm''s head. [-3012] A fivefold difference in damage! True to its reputation as a downsized cannon! Wang Tao was utterly impressed by the damage of his own shot. After all, attacking this Acidic Worm directly, he probably would have inflicted just over ten thousand HP with a slash, making this shot equivalent to his all-out attack. But his attack required getting up close to use the high-frequency vibration, while this shot was from dozens of meters away¡ªa ranged attack! Relatively speaking, the ranged attack was definitely better! However, the cost of high damage was significant recoil, high consumption, and long cooldown times. Let''s not talk about the recoil, which probably only he, Jijun, and Jiang Shixue could handle. If others used this rifle, they might end up injured like Qu Shilin. Speaking of its high consumption, it''s because each Crystal Core loaded could only shoot one bullet! The Crystal Core Wang Tao just used was a Rank Four Orange Crystal Core, which meant his shot cost 5000 dollars! In terms of cost-efficiency, this Crystal Energy Sniper Rifle certainly was not as good as a Crystal Energy pistol, since a single Orange Crystal Core could be used for 18 bullets in a pistol, and if one bullet did three thousand damage, then 18 bullets would total fifty thousand damage¡ªmuch higher than fifteen thousand of this one shot... Finally, the cooldown time. After firing this shot, the small screen on the stock of the Crystal Energy Sniper Rifle displayed that there was still over fifty seconds to the next shot. That means, one could only fire once a minute! Whereas, the charging time for the Crystal Energy pistol was only 15 seconds. This gun doesn''t need charging yet the attack interval is still so long, which, according to Qu Shilin, is because the gun material''s strength isn''t sufficient. When shifting from a cannon to a gun, a lot of material is reduced and its strength also diminished. Continuous shooting wasn''t impossible, but it risked a burst barrel. The one-minute cooling period was the most appropriate timing tested by Qu Shilin. Wang Tao didn''t understand much about this aspect but he certainly trusted professionals, so instead of using a Crystal Core, he shot with his Air Bullet Ability. Bang! [-3123] The damage of the Air Bullet was similar to the Crystal Energy gun, both around three thousand. After being shot several times in a row, the Corrosive Worm grew unwilling, it immediately started charging toward Wang Tao, while still spurting Corrosive Acid Liquid as it ran. It was essentially a moving biological weapon. Seeing the range of the acid expanding further, Wang Tao decided not to drag it out. He didn''t have time to mess around with this creature any longer. Since the gun''s effectiveness had been tested, it was time for a quick resolve. Wang Tao tossed the gun to Jiang Shixue and then said to the others, "I''m going to quickly take care of this, you all watch out for any surprises!" "Okay!" After Wang Tao spoke, flames suddenly ignited around his body, causing the surrounding temperature to soar. Blacky, who had always stayed by Wang Tao''s side, was startled and scurried away hissing, while Lightning had already hidden by Jiang Shixue, demonstrating the importance of experience since it had lost quite a bit of fur to the flames before. After activating Starfire Prairie, Wang Tao immediately rushed into the acidic area. Sizzle sizzle¡ª The flames collided with the acid, making a sizzling sound. The acid began to evaporate, and Wang Tao was losing some HP, but it was not much of an issue for him. Although he was losing HP, it was minimal and not uncomfortable. Thus, Wang Tao charged unhindered to the Acidic Worm and raised his Flame Long Sword, hacking wildly at it. The Acidic Worm, seeing someone daring to charge at it, felt provoked and angrily sprayed a vast amount of acid again. However, all the acid that landed on Wang Tao evaporated, and even though it made him lose some HP, it barely affected him. Braving the torrent of acid, Wang Tao cleared the Acidic Worm''s HP within seconds. Boom boom boom¡ª The body of the Acidic Worm heavily collapsed to the ground. Wang Tao quickly collected his spoils and, considering that the state of Starfire Prairie was about to end, he hurried out of the acidic area. After all, Starfire Prairie would start using up Awakening Energy after 10 seconds, so it was better to save where possible. "That''s really impressive!" Jijun shook his head in admiration. This was the true combat power of Wang Tao. Although he hadn''t seen many Awakeners, he felt there probably was no one stronger than Wang Tao. "Hey! It''s quite intense, just not lasting." After the flames around him extinguished, Wang Tao said with a smile, waving his hand. Then, he briefly checked his loot. "Huh? A ''Strange Poison Sac''? Nice nice!" This thing could sell for five hundred thousand. Next, there were some materials, a Crystal Core, potions, Awakening Energy Pearls, a Physical Key, and two Equipment Blueprints. All things considered, it was quite a fruitful haul. Summoning monsters is indeed profitable! Wang Tao then looked at the bodies in the acidic field and petted Lightning''s head saying, "You''ll have to wait a bit for this body too; the acid should disperse soon." "Woof~" Lightning obediently wagged its tail. Wang Tao took out another Meteorite. "Continue!" The 14th Meteorite opened, revealing a trash Crystal Core. Disposed, next one. The 15th Meteorite contained a Physical Awakening Key. "Jackpot!" Wang Tao grinned as he took the key and then opened the 16th Meteorite. Inside was an Iron Bone Knife that Wang Tao had found before. Not bad, a small gain. In the 17th Meteorite, there was a complete set of armor. [Iron Bone Armor] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +60, Attack Power +60] These attributes, can only say they''re very average, and the armor looked kind of ugly; best to save it for selling later. Wang Tao opened the 18th Meteorite. A black shadow darted out, and seeing it expand and grow, Wang Tao let out a slight yelp. "Huh? Is this a Fire-type Monster?" Chapter 899 354: Epic Explosion This was a centipede-like monster, not too large in size, about the same as the enlarged Lightning, but it was engulfed in roaring flames. [HP: 150,000/150,000] [Mana: 150,000/150,000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Blazing Flame] [Blazing Flame: Body Burning Flame] The awakening of this Flame Centipede was exactly the same as the Flame Monster Wang Tao had encountered last time! The previous Flame Monster had been impervious to bullet damage, with bullets striking it only to be blocked by the flames. Only some energy-based damage, such as Air Bullets, Shockwaves, and Wang Tao''s Indirect Attack, could hit the enemy. The last Flame Monster also unleashed a powerful skill; if not for Wang Tao''s Frenzy that restored his HP to full when it fell below 30%, it would have been dangerous. Wang Tao didn''t know if this Flame Centipede in front of him was as formidable, but now he wasn''t the same as before. Even if this Flame Centipede was truly powerful, he could still handle it. "Many attacks are ineffective against it, cover me, I''ll take this one," Wang Tao said to his teammates. "Okay!" The team nodded in agreement. In terms of experience, no one in the team would contradict Wang Tao, even though He Jijun had never fought such a monster before. He felt his attacks should be effective, but he chose to trust Wang Tao. While they were speaking, the Flame Centipede let out a strange shriek and charged directly at Wang Tao and his group. The ground it traversed was set ablaze, including nearby lingering acid that was evaporated. Trails of flames lingered beneath its feet and behind its body. The Flame Centipede''s body wasn''t large, but its presence was even stronger than the Insect race Wang Tao had previously fought! Clearly, this Flame Centipede was likely much more powerful. But Wang Tao wasn''t the least bit intimidated, and without any attempts at probing, he drew his Sharp Long Knife and instantly flames engulfed his body. Whoosh¡ª A surging wave of intense flame instantly pounced on the Flame Centipede. Crack! The Flame Centipede froze in its tracks, and it seemed a flicker of doubt appeared in its compound eyes ablaze with fire. During its moment of hesitation, a Shockwave with flames landed directly on its head. [-3,123] The Shockwave dealt over 3,000 damage, which was quite decent. After all, Wang Tao''s previous battles against Flame Monsters had only managed to deal about 1,000 HP in damage. After being attacked, the Flame Centipede snapped out of it and charged straight at Wang Tao. If it were anyone else facing the Flame Centipede, they would probably have lost HP due to the high heat before the creature even got close. But Wang Tao was also enveloped in flames, which practically had no effect on him. His flames couldn''t burn it, and its flames couldn''t burn him. Bang! The large and small figures collided fiercely. A ring of flame Shockwave spread out from the space between Wang Tao and the Flame Centipede. Jiang Shixue and the others quickly retreated. "Wang Tao is really strong!" Lan Yulian exclaimed. While Wang Tao and the Flame Centipede were at full force, even watching from the sidelines could be dangerous. She wanted to heal Wang Tao but couldn''t reach him. However, Wang Tao didn''t need healing right now. Once in close quarters with the Flame Centipede, he immediately gripped the hilt of his knife with both hands, using Indirect Attack. Bang! [-5,018] [-501] [...] Wang Tao understood Indirect Attack to be an Ability that ignored a degree of Armor because it could deal damage through armor. His Sharp Long Knife possessed an Armor Break Ability that penetrated a certain amount of armor. Together with the enhancement from Wang Tao''s Starfire Prairie... one strike dealt an astounding five thousand damage! And it successfully destroyed a small chunk of the Flame Centipede''s shell on its head. Watching the Flame Centipede bite at him, Wang Tao didn''t dodge but instead inverted his knife and fiercely stabbed into the small area where the Armor was broken on the creature''s head. [-10,234] [-1,023] [...] This strike, utilizing high-frequency vibration, depleted ten thousand HP! High-frequency vibration could deal significant damage if it broke through the opponent''s Defense. But, if it couldn''t break through, then the ability''s damage would be relatively ordinary. Wang Tao was unsure if the high-frequency vibration could penetrate the flame protection around the Flame Centipede''s body, so he first tested it with Indirect Attack. However, to his surprise, whether due to his own high Attack power or the Flame Centipede''s defensive power being lower than he thought, it broke through the Defense in one go. Now that the Defense had been penetrated, things got simple for Wang Tao. He struck at the broken Armor, and his damage soared past ten thousand in one blow. Meanwhile, the Flame Centipede''s Attack had also reached Wang Tao. It bit viciously at Wang Tao''s waist, as if trying to bisect him. Wang Tao couldn''t dodge the Flame Centipede''s Attack in order to land his blow. But with the Night Demon Set on the outside and the Black Stone Armor Set underneath, his Defense was maxed out, so he took the hit head-on. [-2,020] [+1,000] [...] Is that all? Seeing the damage was only two thousand, Wang Tao felt completely at ease. Clearly, the Flame Centipede''s primary source of damage was its flames. Its constitution wasn''t as strong as those monsters with System Awakenings, but when it comes to fire, who was afraid of whom? And with Wang Tao''s Starfire Prairie restoring 1,000 HP every second, he didn''t need Lan Yulian''s healing to bring his HP back to full. Once certain the Flame Centipede couldn''t inflict fatal damage on him, Wang Tao didn''t need to worry about Defense anymore and went on the offensive with his full power! Chapter 900 354 Epic Explosion_2 Moments later, Wang Tao had lost ten thousand HP, while the Flame Centipede Monster had lost a hundred thousand! Now it had just over forty thousand HP left. Give Wang Tao a few more seconds, and he would be able to kill it. But at that moment, the flames engulfing the Flame Centipede Monster suddenly became much more fierce. The fire seemed to swell, and the flames shot up over ten meters high! That scene looked vaguely familiar to Wang Tao... Boom! The flames enveloping the Flame Zombie exploded, and a mushroom cloud of fire slowly rose, turning an area with a radius of a hundred meters into a sea of fire. "Wang Tao!" Lan Yulian and the others were startled from a distance. Fortunately, they were far enough away to not be hit by the flames, but Wang Tao was right at the center of the explosion! "He''ll be fine!" Jiang Shixue took Lan Yulian''s hand and comforted her. She had thought of the move that the fire monsters used before when she saw the flames on the Flame Centipede Monster start to expand, but at that time Wang Tao had not died. Now, Wang Tao was not the same as before. He was much stronger and doubtless fine facing this kind of crisis. Indeed, just as Jiang Shixue had thought, after the explosion, a figure emerged from the blazing flames, cursing under his breath. "Damn it! That thing''s damage is pretty high!" After Wang Tao walked out of the fire, he immediately cancelled the Starfire Prairie status. As soon as he recognized the ability unleashed by the Flame Centipede Monster as "Explosion," he had decided not to run¡ªbecause the range was too vast, and he couldn''t escape. He thought he would not suffer too much damage in Starfire Prairie status from the "Explosion." However, it turned out that the "Explosion''s" damage was indeed terrifying. Even though Wang Tao ignored most of the fire damage, just the explosion alone cost him several tens of thousands of HP. He had a total of 180,000 HP, and now only 80,000 remained. If he had been hit by the flames, he might have triggered Berserk again... This ability was somewhat terrifying! Seeing that Wang Tao was alright, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Lan Yulian quickly healed Wang Tao. "It''s good that you''re fine, Wang Tao. You scared me to death! Is that monster dead?" Feeling the Healing Glow on him, Wang Tao sighed comfortably, then replied: "Dead, after it used that ability, it was left with hardly any life. A light slash was all it took to finish it off." The side effect of "Explosion" was that after its use, HP dropped to 1%. For the Flame Centipede Monster with 15,000 HP, only 150 remained after using "Explosion," making it easy for Wang Tao to slay it. "That''s good to hear!" Only then did Lan Yulian completely relax. While his HP was recovering, Wang Tao checked the loot and immediately grinned. The Flame Centipede Monster itself had dropped three items. They were a Crystal Core, an Awakening Energy Pearl, and a pair of its large fangs. The item that pleased Wang Tao the most was the Crystal Core. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Explosion] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: HP reduces to 1% after use)] [Explosion: Compress all awakening energy, then burst forth instantly (The power depends on the amount of awakening energy, only Fire Awakened can assimilate)] This was a very strong Ability, and it suited Wang Tao, the Fire-Awakened. But the side effect of the Ability was fatal. If Wang Tao wanted to assimilate it, he would have to remove the side effect. However, to remove the side effect, three Crystal Cores were needed. But Wang Tao only had two Explosion Crystal Cores. One was obtained from killing a Flame Monster, and the other was obtained from killing a Fat Flame Zombie. He had not encountered any more Flame Zombies or monsters after that, so he couldn''t collect the third one. But today, he finally got the third Explosion Crystal Core! Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately started to synthesize the three Explosion Crystal Cores. Shortly after, the synthesis was complete. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Explosion] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (Side effect: None)] Seeing the attributes of the synthesized Crystal Core, Wang Tao wished he could start assimilating it right away. If I fuse this Ability, it will absolutely become the most damaging Ability Wang Tao currently has! After all, this Ability consumes Awakening Energy¡ªand it consumes all of the Awakening Energy! You can tell from these monsters just how powerful the Ability is. It''s much like another awakening! However, Wang Tao still held back and didn''t rush to fuse. Because the four Abilities he possesses are all very useful, he needs to wait for a second awakening, allow the new awakening to fuse with an Ability, and then free up a spot to fuse this Ability. No problem, just hold on for a bit. Wang Tao turned his attention to the other loot. The Flame Centipede Monster dropped four Loot Packs. The first pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag, all of which were Crystal Cores Wang Tao had seen before. The second pack held an Awakening Energy Pearl. The third Loot Pack contained Explosion Grenades. The last pack contained a blueprint for a pair of dual blades, which were rather interesting, as they inflicted Fire Damage. Fire Attribute Damage is not the same as Flame Damage. Flame Damage means the attack comes with flame, like when Wang Tao uses a Shockwave under Starfire Prairie Status, his Shockwave is aflame, capable of igniting the target directly. Fire Attribute Damage, on the other hand, adds a little extra damage on top of normal damage, which might ignite the target given enough luck or a sufficient number of hits... Clearly, Flame Damage is stronger than Fire Attribute Damage, but in any case, having some is better than none. Anything that boosts damage is good. Wang Tao collected all the items, planning to focus on crafting them later. He glanced at the corpses of the two monsters from before. The toxic gas and acidic liquid were still present, so Wang Tao didn''t go over for the time being and continued to open the meteorites. The 19th meteorite, upon being opened, contained a junk Crystal Core. Loss of HP, carry it away for the next one. Inside the 20th meteorite was an Ordinary piece of equipment. Not bad, not a loss. The 21st meteorite contained a physical awakening key. This time, a big gain of HP. The 22nd meteorite held another junk Crystal Core. Lost again. Inside the 23rd meteorite, finally another monster appeared. The monster that emerged was the previously encountered Iron Thorn Centipede. With the combined efforts of Wang Tao and his companions, they easily killed it. The 24th meteorite, the last with Superior Quality, opened to reveal another Insect Clan Monster. "Is the appearance rate of Insect Clan Monsters so high?" While grinning, Wang Tao joined forces with everyone and quickly dealt with this monster. With that, all 24 Superior Quality Level 4 Meteorites were opened. Now only 6 Epic Quality Meteorites remained. Gazing at these Epic Meteorites, Wang Tao rubbed his hands together. Theoretically, the items coming from Epic Meteorites should be better than those from Superior Meteorites¡ªbut luck is unpredictable. However, Wang Tao believed his luck to be quite good. As long as he performs consistently, there shouldn''t be a problem. Wang Tao took a deep breath and then opened the first Epic Meteorite. When he saw the Iron Beetle crawl out, he burst into laughter. "My luck, as expected, is not bad at all!" This was the third Iron Beetle Wang Tao had found! These creatures could endow a Level 3 individual with Level 4 Combat Power and take a Level 4 person to a higher level! Now, selling one for two to three million shouldn''t be a problem. And he also had two Insect Clan bodies that weren''t devoured by Lightning. One was the body of a Dual-tail Scorpion, surrounded by poisonous gas. The other was an Acidic Worm, surrounded by acid. Now, Wang Tao saw that the poison around the Dual-tail Scorpion had dissipated and the Acidic Worm''s acid was gone. Wang Tao first went to collect the loot from the Dual-tail Scorpion. He took a quick look¡ªthe scorpion''s tail could be used to make a pretty good weapon, so it seemed better to save the tail. But the Acidic Worm had dropped a rather Ordinary blueprint and nothing particularly special in terms of materials. So, Wang Tao let the Iron Beetle consume the Acidic Worm, and after removing its tail, let Lightning eat the Dual-tail Scorpion. Moments later, the Iron Beetle''s HP turned into 50,000, while its Armed Enhancement Attributes gained an [Acidic] effect. Chapter 901 355: Encounter with a Survivor ``` [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle] [HP: 50000/50000 (Limit 100000)] [Status: Can be awakened] [Amplification: Independent Attack, Armed (HP, Attack, Defense, Acid)] [Compatibility: 10%] ``` Wang Tao had already discovered that when the Armored Beetle devoured the corpses of the Insect race, it would inherit some of the corpses'' attributes. For instance, another Armored Beetle he possessed had devoured a member of the Insect clan that had some level of fire resistance, so it also acquired a fire resistance ability. However, the prerequisite for obtaining this ability was that the Armored Beetle''s devoured corpse had this ability. For example, the Armored Beetle in Wang Tao''s hand had devoured an Insect clan corpse with a shell that had a fire resistance ability, so it was able to have fire resistance. When Wang Tao saw the Dual-tail Scorpion and Acidic Worm, he pondered which one to let the Armored Beetle devour. The Dual-tail Scorpion could release poison needles, and the Acidic Worm could spray corrosive acid liquid, but these were their awakening abilities, which the Armored Beetle probably couldn''t inherit even if it devoured them. However, the Dual-tail Scorpion had poison in its tail; the Acidic Worm likely had acid inside it, in its stomach. So Wang Tao thought that if the Armored Beetle could devour these two corpses, it should be able to gain an extra ability. But then the problem arose. The Dual-tail Scorpion''s tails could be used to craft weapons, like the Poison Scorpion Whip Wang Tao had previously made. Although whips were harder to use, the attributes of this Poison Scorpion Whip were pretty good. If he allowed the Armored Beetle to devour the scorpion''s tails, he would be two weapons short. The equipment blueprint that came from the Acidic Worm was made from its shell, not related to corrosive acid liquid. Thus, Wang Tao finally decided to take the tails of the Dual-tail Scorpion to craft the Poison Scorpion Whip and feed its corpse to his Lightning. Meanwhile, the Acidic Worm''s corpse was fed to the Armored Beetle to see if it would gain an extra ability. It turned out that Wang Tao''s conjecture was right. The Armored Beetle indeed acquired an [Acid] ability. However, the Acidic Worm''s awakening was [Corrosive Acid Liquid], and the ability acquired by the Armored Beetle was [Acid]; there certainly was a big difference between the two... Wang Tao activated the Armored Beetle Armor. Buzz¡ª In the blink of an eye, the Armored Beetle transformed into a huge "Insect Clan Mech" which, in terms of appearance, didn''t look any different. Wang Tao directly entered the Armored Beetle, walked around a circle, and then the Armored Beetle suddenly opened up, spewing out a swath of acid toward an abandoned house. Whoosh¡ª The entire house was covered with acid, and there was some corrosive effect, but it was much weaker compared to the Acidic Worm''s awakening ability. And it seemed the Acidic Worm could endlessly spray corrosive acid liquid, like awakening energy cost nothing. But the Armored Beetle couldn''t spew indefinitely¡ªit could only do so about once every three minutes... Overall, it was a nerfed version of [Corrosive Acid Liquid]. Of course, this was already pretty good, considering it was an ability gained for free. Wang Tao deactivated the armor mode, then briefly explained the situation to Jiang Shixue and the others, who were all quite surprised. "If that''s the case, then in the future, these Insect clan corpses with special abilities will be very valuable?" Jiang Shixue suddenly said. "It seems so... But storing them is not easy, unless you have a Magical Stomach Pouch. Doesn''t this mean that the Magical Stomach Pouch will also become increasingly valuable?" Wang Tao shook his head. Lightning had already devoured the Dual-tail Scorpion''s corpse, gaining 1500 HP, and its body size grew a tad more. Running over, it rubbed against Wang Tao, who chuckled and patted its head. "Once you grow a bit bigger, I can then ride on you." Although the idea of riding a dog seemed a bit odd, if the dog was big enough, it should still be very cool... right? "Woof~" Lightning wagged its tail frantically. "Alright, let''s keep going with the meteorites, only five left." Wang Tao took out the second Tier four Epic Meteorite, about the size of a basketball. Upon opening, it revealed a junk Crystal Core inside. Wang Tao was unfazed and continued with the third Epic Meteorite, which contained a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core. Quite a profit. The fourth Epic Meteorite produced a monster. It was an Insect Clan Monster with a somewhat chubby body but covered in a shell, looking very defensively powerful. And in fact, its defensive power was indeed very strong. [HP: 150000/150000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Durability] [Durability: All basic attributes increase, greatly enhancing defensive power] This was the first time Wang Tao had seen such a passive awakening that increased defense. But that wasn''t a problem. Just having high defensive power, Wang Tao and the team rushed forward and, after some time, took the monster down. It dropped a whole bunch of items, among which was a Shield Blueprint that seemed quite nice. After collecting the spoils of war, Wang Tao didn''t immediately let Lightning devour the corpse, thinking that maybe another Armored Beetle would emerge. As it turned out, the fourth Epic Meteorite revealed a physical awakening key, while the fifth and sixth Epic Meteorites each yielded an Insect Clan Monster! While ultimately not another Armored Beetle, uncovering so many monsters was still good. Not only did it enhance Wang Tao''s Advanced Special Energy and other resources, but it also brought Lightning''s HP up to 122,000. ``` Chapter 902 355 Meeting Survivor_2 Overall, the Superior Meteorites and Epic Meteorites that Wang Tao activated were a steal. Although he encountered many monsters, he obtained lots of loot, not to mention an Iron Beetle... Once all the meteorites were opened, it had become night. The group gathered their belongings and made their way to an underground factory. This place served as a temporary camp for those who ventured outside. Anyone could use it, but they were expected to tidy up afterward. This was a mutual understanding among survivors. The underground factory was sizable with a dedicated passage for vehicles. Still deserted, Wang Tao, for safety''s sake, reinforced some of the traps around and placed Ultraviolet Strip Lights at the entrance. Night was when Night Demons were active, their Perception incredibly sharp. It was possible they might discover the group in the factory. If Night Demons blocked the entrance and harassed them, it would be quite troublesome. Wang Tao had no interest in ordinary Night Demons; without a Night Demon Lord, there was no need for him to intervene. Ultraviolet light was something Night Demons greatly despised and feared. If any did show up, the Ultraviolet Strip Lights would effectively block their path. After setting everything up, Wang Tao started crafting the Equipment Blueprints he had acquired earlier. After a while, Wang Tao ended up with a pile of equipment. Although he didn''t need it, it could be used by his teammates. Wang Tao checked his Advanced Special Energy, which was now over fifty. It could increase his chances of success for his Second Awakening by 5%. Now that all meteorites were processed, Wang Tao was ready to head to the coordinates of the zombies he had previously purchased. Finding a Level 4 Lord would be best; if not, no big deal¡ªafter all, he was dragging a trailer full of zombie heads, which should hatch some Night Demon Lords, right? Once these hatched Night Demon Lords were killed, Wang Tao''s success rate for the Second Awakening should be above two-thirds. That was the minimum Wang Tao was willing to accept; anything lower seemed too risky. Should he still fail with those odds, it would only mean that he had done all he could and that it was simply bad luck. That night, while Wang Tao and his group were resting, they suddenly opened their eyes. "Something''s coming!" The periphery of the temporary camp was outfitted with some alarm devices. If anything stepped on them, an alert would be sent to their Informational Wristwatches, causing the watches to vibrate intensely. Just now, the wristwatches of Wang Tao and his group had started to vibrate. "Let me see what''s going on!" Wang Tao opened his wristwatch and pulled up several surveillance feeds. These cameras were also part of the temporary camp''s setup and could be used by anyone who accessed the local network. The camp, however, did not supply power; each individual had to figure that out. Wang Tao''s slaying of zombies often resulted in various materials, including a type of battery. Despite its small size, this battery stored a significant amount of power, enough for the temporary camp to use for a while. "It''s Survivors and Night Demons!" The camp''s cameras lacked infrared devices, but with the moon present tonight, the faint moonlight allowed them to vaguely see several survivors being chased by a large group of Night Demons¡ªthere were at least a hundred of them! And the direction the survivors were escaping in was towards this temporary camp. "So many Night Demons..." The group looked to Wang Tao, wondering whether to intervene or not. In these apocalyptic times, some survivors were even more detestable than zombie monsters, leading to the saying, "In the wild, I''d rather encounter zombies than my own kind." However, it''s unfair to generalize as although many scumbags existed, there were also those desperately trying to survive the apocalypse. Wang Tao''s rule of thumb was, if he encountered survivors in the wild, as long as helping them didn''t put him in danger, he should at least try to save them. If it turned out they had ill intentions, he could always deal with them afterward. "Considering their speed, they should be able to make it here. We''ll just open the gate and let them in," Wang Tao said. Observing through the cameras, he noticed that although there were many Night Demons, none were Level 4. Not a single Elite or even a Lord was present. If there had been a Level 4 Night Demon, Wang Tao definitely would have taken action. Since there wasn''t, there was no need to go out; the group could make it here with their speed. "Okay." Lan Yulian and the others nodded. ... Meanwhile, a group was frantically running for their lives. A lanky man shouted loudly: "Hang in there, everyone¡ªthe temporary camp at the factory is just ahead! We''ll be safe once we get inside!" The only woman in the team replied: "But boss, these Night Demons are following too closely. What if they follow us into the camp?" The temporary camp had robust defenses, especially at the two large mechanized gates, which were highly secure. But it would take some time to open and close them, and the closely pursuing Night Demons would definitely take the opportunity to slip in. "Don''t worry, if it comes to it, I''ll sacrifice myself to hold them off for a while! Trust me!" the leader said through gritted teeth. Clashing with so many Night Demons was sure to result in deaths, even he could not handle it. But as long as he could prevent total annihilation of his team, dying would be a small price to pay. "Boss..." The others, hearing this, were choked up. "No more talking, run!" Chapter 903 355: Encounter with a Survivor_3 The group hurried towards the abandoned factory, but the closer they got to the factory, the uglier the boss''s face became. "There are people... inside the camp!" What he feared most was the camp being destroyed and people being inside it. In fact, to some extent, people inside the camp were scarier than the camp being destroyed. Because even if the camp were destroyed, unless it was completely obliterated, it would still retain some defensive power, especially since it was an underground camp with naturally stronger defenses. But if there were people inside the camp, they couldn''t open the door from the outside; it could only be opened from the inside. And the people inside, seeing them bring such a large horde of Night Demons... they''d be unlikely to open the door for them! If it were him, he probably wouldn''t open the door either, considering there were more than a hundred Night Demons! "It''s over!" The others felt a chill in their hearts. Just when they thought they were about to escape to safety, it turned out to be a dead end... The group felt somewhat desperate, their gazes instinctively turning to the boss. The boss gritted his teeth. "Go! Let''s keep pushing towards the camp!" Their physical strength was fading, and running anywhere else meant certain death; running to the camp, on the off chance that the people inside were kind¡ªalthough unlikely, there was still a sliver of possibility! With no other choice, they could only follow the boss to one of the temporary entrances to the camp. After rounding a bend, they saw a large gate leading underground; but seeing that gate, everyone paused in shock. "Why is that gate purple!" "I don''t know¡ªthe door is actually open!" They then realized that the large metal gate was indeed open! Although they didn''t understand the situation, the boss didn''t hesitate; he immediately roared. "Brothers, charge!" The Night Demons behind them were getting closer, the last few men could even smell the rot from the Night Demons'' mouths, their faces showing terror as they were about to be caught¡ª Sizzle¡ª All the Night Demons suddenly came to an abrupt halt. "Huh?" The group charged through the gate and then, baffled, saw that the Night Demons outside were just roaring in the distance, not taking a single step forward. Looking closely, they saw that the Night Demons were all beyond the range of the purple light. "Is this... an ultraviolet light lamp?" Everyone was puzzled. Just then they heard a humming noise as the gate began to close. The group finally breathed a sigh of relief. At that moment, footsteps could be heard. They quickly turned around and saw a tall figure emerge. "Thank you! Thank you!" They hurriedly expressed their gratitude, almost kneeling down. Wang Tao waved his hand nonchalantly and then asked curiously. "How did you provoke this group of Night Demons?" The men instinctively looked towards their leader, who gave a wry smile. "Cough, we planned to take a risk and check out the Night Demon''s Nest at night, isn''t it said that since Night Demons are out at night, their nests aren''t dangerous then? But..." "..." Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. The Night Demon''s Nest was indeed safer at night, but that was compared to the daytime. Do you not have any sense of your own strength? However, the mention of the Night Demon''s Nest immediately piqued Wang Tao''s interest. If there were so many Night Demons in the nest at night, that meant the nest wasn''t small, right? He was just a bit short on Advanced Special Energy! Sure enough, what the leader said next made Wang Tao''s eyes light up. "It''s all my fault... Who knew that Night Demon''s Nest would be so huge! It''s practically an Underground City..." Chapter 904 356: Hatching the Night Demon ``` Hearing the gang leader''s low complaint, Wang Tao suddenly said: "Underground City? Could you elaborate on that?" The boss was taken aback for a moment, then hurriedly replied: "Sure! But I don''t yet know your esteemed name, sir..." "Ordinary member of the Starfire Society, Wang Tao." When reporting names here, it''s common to include the faction one belongs to. It helps everyone quickly decide whether they should make contact or not, especially since some factions are enemies with each other. "Starfire Society?" They hadn''t heard of Wang Tao''s name, nor could they assess Wang Tao''s strength. But they had heard of the Starfire Society, which, after all, was a relatively famous force in Changhe Base lately. Of course, they didn''t know much about the Starfire Society, only that it was a powerful but very mysterious force. Although Wang Tao was an ordinary member of the Starfire Society, his strength shouldn''t be weak, right? "So Mr. Wang is a big shot from the Starfire Society! Nice to meet you! My name is Wen Guocheng, the boss of the Wild Lion Guild, and these are..." After Wen Guocheng introduced himself, he went on to introduce his four teammates one by one. There were five people in Wen Guocheng''s group, besides Wen Guocheng himself, who was a level 3 ability user, the others were all level 2. A level 3 plus four level 2s, and they managed to escape so many Night Demons by running... it has to be said, they had something going for them. "Nice to meet you all." Wang Tao nodded with a smile to the several people, appearing very approachable. However, when his gaze turned to the only female ability user in their team, he couldn''t help but take a second look. It wasn''t because of her looks¡ªher appearance was just passable in Wang Tao''s opinion¡ªbut because among the five of them, only this woman had hidden attributes. In other words, without any outside help, only this woman had a chance for awakening, while the other four had not the slightest chance. [HP: 7400/16000] [Mana: 3640/8000] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 40%] [Hidden attribute: Persistence] [Persistence: Patience above ordinary people] But this woman''s hidden attribute... Wang Tao felt it was a bit mediocre. After all, which ability user that had survived until now didn''t have persistence? Regardless of strength, at the very least their willpower was commendable. Of course, although hidden attributes are related to awakening, they do not indicate the strength of the awakening. Even if it''s a trifle now, as long as she can awaken, nothing is a problem. Speaking of hidden attributes, Wang Tao suddenly thought of something¡ªif he had these eyes that could see through others'' attributes, and if he brought all the people with hidden attributes into the Starfire Society, wouldn''t their Starfire Society become outrageously strong? After a brief contemplation, Wang Tao shook his head. This idea sounded good, but awakening was not as simple as just having a hidden attribute. In his team, except for a few individuals, everyone else had hidden attributes, but only a few had awakened. To awaken everyone, regardless of the time or effort spent, would be enormous. And with more people, various troubles might arise, unless he had the power to quell everything... Meanwhile, Wen Guocheng noticed Wang Tao''s gaze linger a few extra moments on Fu Yu, and he thought Wang Tao might be interested in the flower of their team, which made him immediately nervous. In the apocalypse, especially in the wilderness, being interested in someone is not about wanting to date them, it could lead to fatal trouble! Fu Yu, the person being watched, was also very nervous. Even though Wang Tao was handsome, strong, and seemed to exude a sense of security, it was still the wilds of the apocalypse. If she caught the fancy of a powerful individual, at best she could be abused, at worst her life could be at risk! Seeing the few people opposite him becoming tense, Wang Tao was somewhat confused. He believed his ability to hide his presence was quite good. Could it be that he exuded what was known as a king''s aura? One look from him and he frightened them considerably? Although puzzled, Wang Tao didn''t care too much and turned his gaze back to Wen Guocheng. Wen Guocheng immediately spoke up sensibly: "About that Night Demon''s Nest..." The Night Demon''s Nest was located in an underground mall in the town next door. The space of the underground mall itself was not small, and there was an abandoned air-raid shelter nearby; somehow the two had become connected... so the underground space was not only large but also intricate. If one got lost inside, even without the Night Demons, it would be hard to find a way out. The reason Wen Guocheng and his group were able to get out was first that they didn''t venture deep¡ªif they had gone deeper considering the number of Night Demons they encountered, they would have surely died. Second, they had parts of the map of the air-raid shelter¡ªthey thought that having the map meant even if they encountered danger, they wouldn''t get lost and end up in a dead end. In fact, it was indeed the map that guided them out. Without it, they would probably have died by now. Lastly, their team leader Wen Guocheng had an ability for group speed enhancement, which he used to keep accelerating them... As for the situation inside the Night Demon''s Nest, it could be summed up in one word¡ªhorrifying. The nest was covered with Incubation Flesh, and unformed Night Demons were everywhere. Dense and unending, it was as if they had entered the hell of Night Demons. When they first saw this, they were somewhat deterred. But remembering what they had heard, that a special herb grew inside Night Demon nests which could enhance one''s strength upon consumption, they decided to take the risk. However, they were very cautious and didn''t disturb the unformed Night Demons or the Incubation Flesh. Who knew that there would be so many Night Demons inside the cave! Even though there were no level 4s, the sheer number of level 3 Night Demons was too much! ``` Chapter 905 356: Hatching the Night Demon_2 After struggling to escape from the Night Demon Cave, they ran towards the nearest temporary camp... Wen Guocheng regretted it deeply, for he had believed the tall tale that the Night Demon''s Nest was devoid of Night Demons at night. The truth is, there might not be any Level 4 Night Demons at night in the nest, but Level 3 Night Demons were definitely present. Moreover, it was a huge Night Demon''s Nest, teeming with Night Demons. If it hadn''t been for Wang Tao opening the gate to the temporary camp and letting them in, they would have undoubtedly perished. By the end, although Wen Guocheng and the others still regarded Wang Tao with some vigilance, they were indeed very grateful. After all, no matter what, Wang Tao had truly saved their lives... But when they saw Wang Tao fall into thought, they became slightly uneasy again. They didn''t know if Wang Tao was pondering over the Night Demon''s Nest or considering how to deal with them. Although they couldn''t discern Wang Tao''s level, based on their experiences over time, they were certain that Wang Tao was above Level 3! If he were a powerful Level 3 ability user, he might have a chance to take them on all by himself, and they couldn''t guarantee that Wang Tao was alone¡ªthere might be others inside... After Wang Tao roughly understood the situation of the Night Demon''s Nest, he suddenly slapped his forehead and said: "Everybody come in and talk!" Because he had been drawn by the news of the Night Demon Cave, when he had asked questions earlier, he ended up blocking these people at the entrance of the first door of the temporary camp. Since this temporary camp was underground, its special structure greatly enhanced its defensive power, which included the gate area. To fully enter the camp, two doors were needed. The second door''s defensive power wasn''t as strong as the first one''s, serving as an emergency measure. "Thank you!" The group quickly expressed their gratitude. Regardless of Wang Tao''s other intentions, they had no other choice. To leave was certain death, so they could only follow Wang Tao inside. At that moment, Wen Guocheng suddenly asked: "Mr. Wang, what are those purple lights outside the camp gate..." "Ultraviolet light lamps." Wang Tao answered casually. Although Wen Guocheng and the others had already guessed, hearing Wang Tao confirm it still left them somewhat astonished. They had heard that the Hope Research Institute had developed such things as ultraviolet light lamps, but because the power and energy sources did not meet standards, these devices hadn''t yet appeared on the market, and they didn''t know if the research had been successful... Could this be a new product from the Hope Research Institute? Curiosity filled Wen Guocheng''s heart, but he didn''t dare to ask any more questions. After passing through the second door, they saw three more people and a dog¡ªno! There was also a snake! Seeing this snake, Wen Guocheng and his group jumped in fright. Although Blacky was the weakest among Wang Tao''s group, because it didn''t know how to hide its presence, it looked the most terrifying. The group was scared stiff and dared not move. However, Blacky just flicked its tongue at them and then turned its head and left. "Phew¡ª" The group all breathed a sigh of relief. That feeling of being watched by a Fourth-Level Organism was not pleasant; it was just as terrifying as being chased by so many Level 3 Night Demons just before! But they noticed that the Fourth-order Black Snake didn''t attack them; it simply walked away. This snake wasn''t a monster from the wilderness but a snake of the Starfire Society! The group was even more shocked. The Starfire Society actually had such a member? Since they often traveled outside, they didn''t know much about the Starfire Society and were unaware that it had a Fourth-Level Giant Serpent. Although Wen Guocheng was extremely shocked, he was quick to say diplomatically: "Greetings to the great seniors!" "Greetings to the great seniors!" The others hurriedly followed suit. They didn''t know the specific strengths and identities of these people, so calling them seniors seemed appropriate. "Hello!" Lan Yulian replied with a smile. Wen Guocheng''s group immediately felt as if they were basked in a warm spring breeze. However, He Jijun and Jiang Shixue simply nodded coolly, dispelling the warmth in their hearts. "Take a seat anywhere you like; there''s food over there. If you want to eat, feel free to help yourselves." Wang Tao called out and then went to discuss the Night Demon Cave with Lan Yulian and the others. Wen Guocheng and his group, hearing there was food, swallowed their saliva. They had thrown away everything they could to escape for their lives, and now, after expending a great deal of physical strength, they were starving. But looking in the direction Wang Tao had indicated, they saw the Fourth-order Black Snake coiled around a pile of food, which made their faces turn pale. "How dare we even think of getting food now?" "We''d better just keep enduring. If we get bitten by the Giant Serpent, we might not die, but we''d lose half our skin..." Wen Guocheng glanced at Wang Tao and several others who were quietly talking not far away, and he suddenly said to his teammates: "Mr. Wang seems very approachable, and that lady''s presence is as comforting as an angel''s, but... appearances can be deceiving! If they harbor any ill intentions towards us, we must resist with all our might!" "They have a Fourth-order Black Snake, and they might be Level 4 too, how can we resist?" Fu Yu asked somewhat disheartenedly. Hearing this, Wen Guocheng deflated a bit. "...Forget it, let''s leave it to fate!" "..." Everyone sighed in their hearts. Being weak really made them easy to manipulate... On the other side. After explaining the situation to several people, they all agreed to make a trip to the Night Demon''s Nest. It wasn''t just because there were many Night Demons in the nest, but more importantly, Wang Tao had previously mentioned that Night Demon Parasite egg''s probability of becoming a Night Demon was higher when there was Incubation Flesh! According to Wen Guocheng, that Night Demon''s Nest had a lot of Incubation Flesh! If Wang Tao took the whole car of Zombie Heads to the Night Demon''s Nest to incubate Night Demons, then the success rate should increase. So this was a win-win situation. "Alright, since everyone agrees, let''s not delay any further and head over now." It was two o''clock in the morning, with daylight around six. Before dawn, there should be fewer Night Demons in the nest. If it was just pursuing Night Demons of the scale that attacked Wen Guocheng, Wang Tao could easily handle them. By the time it was nearly dawn, the Night Demons that had gone out would return. Wang Tao felt that he should be able to defeat them, especially since he had so many ultraviolet light devices. As for the herbs that Wen Guocheng spoke of to increase strength, Wang Tao thought it might either be Withered Life Grass that could increase the HP cap by 1000 or something similar, or they had been deceived. Wang Tao leaned towards the latter but wasn''t all that interested in their affairs... After making the decision, Wang Tao approached Wen Guocheng and his group and said: "We have to go out for a bit, you guys just stay here and guard this place, and if I come back, open the door for me. If I don''t come back, don''t wait for us, just do what you need to do." Wang Tao had already learned the location and one of the entrances to the Night Demon''s Nest from Wen Guocheng, and he could head straight there. "Ah?" They were all surprised. What was Wang Tao doing going out in the middle of the night? "But the Night Demons outside..." Wen Guocheng cautiously spoke up. "They''ve already left." The Night Demons outside had already left? Upon hearing this news, Wen Guocheng and his group were overjoyed. If there were no Night Demons outside, it meant they had an additional escape route¡ªno, wait, all of Wang Tao''s group had left, so they had no intention of doing anything to them! They really were being paranoid... "Then...be careful!" Wen Guocheng and his companions didn''t think that Wang Tao was going to the Night Demon''s Nest, after all, there were too many Night Demons inside. Even with Level 4 strength, one couldn''t last against such an onslaught of Night Demons... Wang Tao left through another door where he could drive his car, which was parked on that side. Once Wang Tao and his group left, Wen Guocheng suddenly slapped his thigh. "Darn! I should have asked Mr. Wang to leave us some food..." On the other side, it didn''t take long for Wang Tao to arrive at the Night Demon''s Nest as described by Wen Guocheng. It was an entrance to an air-raid shelter that the car could drive straight into. There wasn''t a single Night Demon nearby, leaving him to wonder if it was because they had been lured away by Wen Guocheng''s group. Shortly after driving the car inside, Wang Tao saw a big patch of Incubation Flesh and Unformed Night Demons. After confirming there were no Night Demons around for now, Wang Tao didn''t venture further. Instead, he immediately took out three Zombie Heads infested by Night Demon Parasites and threw them directly into the Incubation Flesh. The Incubation Flesh started to squirm, swallowing the Zombie Heads whole. A moment later, the Incubation Flesh suddenly expanded, and three black silhouettes emerged. "Damn! Such a high success rate is one thing, but the incubation speed is also so fast?" Chapter 906 357: Level 5 Night Demon Wang Tao tossed three zombie heads containing Night Demon Parasite Pupa onto the Incubation Flesh. As a result, all three heads turned into Night Demons, and they were all Level 4 Night Demon Lords! The speed of incubation, the probability of turning into Night Demons, and the chance of becoming Night Demon Lords were all extremely exaggerated. But this was obviously a good thing for Wang Tao since he was there to slay Level 4 Lords. Wang Tao and the others, holding ultraviolet flashlights, began their attack on these three freshly-hatched Night Demon Lords who were still dazed. In a moment, all three Level 4 Night Demon Lords were slain by Wang Tao without causing much of a commotion. After securing the spoils of battle, Wang Tao waited carefully for a while, but no Night Demons appeared for the time being. "Continue and throw a few more zombie heads to test it out!" Wang Tao took three more zombie heads from the back of the truck and tossed them into the Incubation Flesh. After some time, two black figures crawled out from the Incubation Flesh. Although not all the heads turned into Night Demons, the two that did were both Level 4 Night Demon Lords! "Kill!" These two Lord Night Demons, like the ones before, hardly had time to react before Wang Tao and his companions attacked them. Although they began to resist instinctively, they couldn''t withstand the onslaught from Wang Tao and his group. After picking up the spoils from these zombies, Wang Tao cracked a smile. The efficiency of hunting Level 4 Lords was now incredibly high! He still had 40 zombie heads with Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs on the truck! Given the current situation, aided by the Incubation Flesh, should a 50% parasitic rate not be difficult to achieve? If that were true, then he could amass enough Advanced Special Energy this time! However, just as Wang Tao was about to continue throwing zombie heads, his gaze sharpened. "Night Demons are coming back!" Wang Tao quickly stored the Night Demon heads again and everyone prepared for battle. A moment later, several Night Demons appeared at the entrance of the cave. Perhaps disguised by the rotten smell inside the nest, the returning Night Demons didn''t detect Wang Tao and the others right away until they entered and noticed them. Roar¡ª They were merely a group of Level 3 Night Demons, which Wang Tao and his team easily eliminated with a few shockwaves. Wang Tao waited for a short while, and after confirming that there were no more Night Demons for the time being, he tossed another four zombie heads into the Incubation Flesh. Soon after, three Night Demons appeared, two of which were Level 4 Night Demon Lords, and one was a Level 4 Night Fiend Elite. These three Night Demons were also quickly slain by Wang Tao and his group. After these three experiments, Wang Tao could almost assuredly say that the probability of these incubated creatures becoming Night Demons and Night Demon Lords was indeed high! Out of a total of 10 Night Demon Parasites, 8 Night Demons emerged, 7 of which were Night Demon Lords! If he were to throw all the zombie heads he had into the Incubation Flesh, wouldn''t that be thrilling? What Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved about was that he hadn''t thoughtlessly thrown all the heads into the Incubation Flesh initially; he only wanted to try out three to test the waters. Otherwise, if he had thrown them all at once, and dozens of Level 4 Night Demon Lords emerged, even with ultraviolet equipment, he might not have been able to handle it. Wang Tao took out three more heads, but at this moment, he suddenly realized that the HP of these Incubation Flesh had decreased! The Night Demon Incubation Flesh had an HP of 100,000, and killing it would yield an Extraction Crystal Core. Wang Tao''s Extraction Crystal Cores were mostly obtained from here. He was so focused on slaying Night Demons before that he hadn''t noticed. Now he saw that the HP of this Incubation Flesh had dropped to just 1,000... Could it be that using Incubation Flesh to accelerate the hatching of Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs consumed its HP? The energy for incubating Night Demon Parasite Pupa didn''t appear out of nowhere. If Incubation Flesh provided energy for the hatching of Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, then it would surely lose some energy itself, and perhaps this energy was represented as HP... This deduction seemed quite reasonable! However, with that being the case, the HP of these Incubation Flesh now being 1,000 probably meant they couldn''t continue incubating... So, does one Incubation Flesh accelerate the hatching of ten Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs? "Let''s go deeper inside!" Wang Tao called out, and they continued driving deeper into the air-raid shelter, while Wang Tao conveniently slew the Incubation Flesh with only 1,000 HP. Since it was of no use any longer, he might as well recycle it. Although it only had 1,000 HP, it still exploded into an Extraction Crystal Core, which was Level 4, and Wang Tao was pleased to collect it. Upon reaching the next area with Incubation Flesh, Wang Tao repeated his approach, throwing in ten zombie heads in succession. Ultimately, 8 Night Demons emerged, 6 of which were Lords! "Indeed, Incubation Flesh is essential!" Wang Tao sighed. Previously, without using Incubation Flesh, the hatching probability for Night Demon Parasites was around 30%, and the chance of birthing Night Demon Lords was even lower at about 10%... Furthermore, not only was the probability low, but it also took a long time, with the longest incubation for one egg taking six to seven days. But now, the probability of hatching Night Demons was at least 80%! The rate of becoming Night Demon Lords was over 60%! Most importantly, the incubation time didn''t exceed thirty minutes! Compared to the usual six or seven days, it was terrifyingly fast! This development in itself wasn''t necessarily a good thing, but for Wang Tao at the moment, it was definitely beneficial! The group continued onward. Wang Tao indeed had good luck; he was almost out of zombie heads, and apart from encountering a group of Level 3 Night Demons returning at the beginning, they hadn''t encountered any more Night Demons since. Chapter 907 357: Level 5 Night Demon_2 Wang Tao was not afraid of Night Demons, but this could save him a lot of time, which was still pretty good. Before dawn, Wang Tao threw all the zombie heads he had into the Incubation Flesh. In total, 38 Night Demons hatched, among which there were 30 Level 4 Lords! If he had to face so many Level 4 Lords at once, Wang Tao would not be able to hold his ground, but he encountered only two or three at a time, and the Night Demons were not very vigilant right after hatching, easily falling prey to a sneak attack by Wang Tao and his companions. So despite the number of Night Demon Lords they killed, there was actually no difficulty involved. It was almost six o''clock now, and daybreak was approaching. Wang Tao had also reached the depths of the air-raid shelter. Along the way, all the Incubation Flesh and Unformed Night Demons he encountered were killed, and he obtained quite a few Exraction Crystal Cores and Omnipotent Crystal Cores. As for the spoils from the Night Demons, there was even less to say, as he could now outfit every member of his team with a Night Demon Set! However, he did not have time to craft them now and planned to fully equip the team later. According to the map given by Wen Guocheng, if they continued forward, they would see a tunnel sloping upwards, which was the one leading to the underground mall. Inside the underground mall were large numbers of Night Demons, and the herbs that could enhance strength that Wen Guocheng heard about were located there. Wen Guocheng and his team had previously reached this tunnel and had entered the underground mall. But they didn''t find any herbs, only a large number of Night Demons... Before long, Wang Tao and his companions saw a huge passage. Because the passage wasn''t straight, even with Night Vision it was impossible to see clearly inside, which gave a sense of unknown fear. "Wang Tao, should we go in?" Lan Yulian subconsciously held Wang Tao''s hand and said. Although she was a Fourth-order Superpower, she was still somewhat afraid when faced with such a situation. Wang Tao held her hand and then said with a smile, "No, let''s block the entrance first!" The Night Demons outside were due to return at dawn. The buildings outside the underground mall had collapsed, blocking all the entrances, and so far, the only known entrance was the air-raid shelter. If this was the only entrance, the Night Demons would have to return through here. All Wang Tao needed to do was wait inside the entrance and kill each one as they came back! "Ah?" Lan Yulian was initially stunned, then her eyes lit up. That did seem... indeed feasible! The group immediately started setting up their defenses. Talking about blocking the entrance, but they obviously couldn''t just block the main entrance to the air-raid shelter. If the Night Demons saw it and didn''t come back, what would they do? Therefore, to ensure the Night Demons obediently returned, Wang Tao blocked the middle of the air-raid shelter. And for safety, Wang Tao installed a large number of Ultraviolet Strip Lights at the tunnel entrance leading to the underground mall! This was certainly to prevent an ambush from the Night Demons in the mall. In case all the Night Demons inside rushed out, while those outside rushed in, Wang Tao and his team would be caught in a pincer attack from inside and out, which would be extremely dangerous. Therefore, they had to be thorough with their safety measures. After setting up at the tunnel entrance, Wang Tao and his companions immediately went to the middle of the air-raid shelter and began another round of preparations. As soon as they finished these arrangements, Wang Tao immediately looked up. "Night Demons are coming back!" The group braced for battle, and before long, several Night Demons appeared. They roared furiously on their way, seemingly angry about the death of the Incubation Flesh inside the cave, then they encountered Wang Tao and his team at the corner. "Go!" Among the group of Night Demons, there were a few Fourth Order Elites and a bunch of Third-order Elites. Without even a single Level 4 Lord, they were clearly no match for Wang Tao and his companions, who easily killed all the Night Demons. Soon, a large number of Night Demons returned, and Wang Tao and his team continued to act. As daybreak approached, more and more Night Demons returned from outside. From a few to dozens, and finally in the hundreds! "That''s a lot of Night Demons!" Everyone felt somewhat astonished inside, it was indeed a super-large Night Demon''s Nest. But Wang Tao frowned slightly because after killing a large number of Night Demons, he had not encountered any Level 4 Lord Night Demons, with the highest being Fourth Order Elites. "We''ve killed over a hundred Night Demons, why haven''t we encountered any Lords? Could it be that the Lord Night Demons didn''t venture out but stayed in the underground mall? Or could there be other entrances?" Just as Wang Tao was wondering, he suddenly heard a different roar. "Roar¡ª" ``` A towering figure emerged, charging towards the group. The Night Demon''s bone armor was dark green, its muscles knotted, and its size was several times larger than a Level 4 Night Demon! [HP: 200,000/200,000] [Mana: 100,000/100,000] [Grade: Level 5 - Lord] [Awakening: Robust] "The Lord Night Demon is here! But... it''s a Level 5 one!" Upon seeing the Night Demon''s attributes, Wang Tao quickly explained the situation to everyone. Under normal circumstances, Lord Rank zombies or monsters would not appear in the same territory. There are exceptions to special situations. After all, at the Lord Rank, they can command many underlings, and if there are too many Lords in one place, it can easily lead to chaos. No wonder Wang Tao hadn''t seen a Level 4 Lord; it turned out that there was a Level 5 Lord present! Everyone became vigilant once they heard it was a Level 5 Lord, and various ultraviolet tools were immediately brought out. Wang Tao held something that looked like a mortar barrel, and he rushed directly towards the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend. Then there was a loud "bang," and a huge purple light flashed, illuminating the entire air-raid shelter! All the Night Demons that were hit by the light emitted painful howls. This was a large ultraviolet illumination bomb! Having had prior experience, Wang Tao had already warned everyone when he fired the large flare, so He Jijun and the others had put on sunglasses they had prepared in advance, and weren''t greatly affected. The Night Demons, however, were in bad shape. The Level 3 Night Demons lost HP quickly, unable to withstand such intense ultraviolet light. Although the Level 4 Night Demons didn''t lose a lot of HP, their speed was greatly reduced due to being burned all over. As for that Level 5 Night Demon, its body also showed large areas of burning, sizzling with smoke. But its HP was dropping by only a few points per second, a trivial amount for it. Even though the loss of HP was minor, it was slowed down nonetheless. It was clearly not as fast as when it had charged over initially. This man-made intense ultraviolet light might not kill them outright, but it could inflict a bunch of negative statuses on them, significantly reducing the difficulty of killing them. The Night Demon''s perception wasn''t solely based on vision. Even in such bright light, it accurately charged towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao was naturally not affected either. A sharp long knife appeared in his hand, and he chopped at the head of the Level 5, Lord Night Demon. Bang! [-3022] [-302] [...] "Such high defense!" The cut from Wang Tao''s high-frequency vibrating blade only caused around three thousand points of damage. Night Demons are not known for their defense; they excel in attack and speed. But the defense of this Level 5 Night Demon was on par with the Level 4 monsters that had awakened defensive abilities. The Level 5 Night Demon was too fast, and despite being affected by the ultraviolet light, it managed to land a palm strike on Wang Tao''s chest in an instant. If it had been a Level 4 Night Demon, Wang Tao would naturally have been able to dodge the strike, but the speed of the Level 5 Night Demon was too fast, and Wang Tao couldn''t evade it. Bang! [-5138] That palm strike took away over five thousand HP! Even though Wang Tao wasn''t very good at defense, his physical condition was robust, and he was wearing a Black Stone Armor Set and a Night Demon Set. To still be hit for over five thousand damage... one must admit, the attack power of a Level 5 Night Demon is truly formidable! However, Wang Tao didn''t retreat in the slightest, and even a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Because after experiencing the defense and attack power of this Level 5 Night Demon, Wang Tao felt it was indeed strong, but not as strong as he imagined... He, at Level 4, could definitely kill it! ``` Chapter 908 358: Killing Level 5 Swipe¡ª In the dazzling purple radiance, a green ring enveloped Wang Tao and his companions, with "+1000 per second" appearing above Wang Tao''s HP bar. At the same time, an even more vibrant light fell on Wang Tao, instantly restoring his HP to full. The Jade Lotus was one of Wang Tao''s sources of confidence in killing the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend! Wang Tao gripped his longsword and once again struck at the head of the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend. However, when he swung his blade, an explosion-proof electric shield appeared in his hand. Even though he had a healer, it didn''t mean he could forsake defense; after all, getting hit still hurt a lot. Boom! Compared to ordinary zombies, the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend was somewhat intelligent, but not overly so. When Wang Tao brought out the shield, it attacked without hesitation, hitting the shield. Not only did this fail to cause any damage to Wang Tao, but it also got shocked. Roar¡ª The Lord Night Fiend roared in anger and attacked the shield even more fiercely. Wang Tao held up his shield in defense, getting pushed back step by step, and seemed slightly overwhelmed by the Lord Night Fiend, yet he sustained no substantial damage. However, simply being attacked wasn''t a solution, so Wang Tao took the opportunity to forcefully kick the Night Fiend. Though the Lord Night Fiend had a bulky physique, Wang Tao''s strength was not to be underestimated. It was directly kicked flying by Wang Tao. While catching his breath, Wang Tao produced a pistol and fired at the still airborne Night Fiend. [-603] The air bullet could only inflict a few hundred HP worth of damage, but some damage was better than none. Bang! [-3022] Another gunshot rang out almost simultaneously, dealing much more damage than the air bullet. "What a huge recoil!" He Jijun''s shoulder went numb from the shock of the Crystal Energy Sniper Rifle. Wang Tao had handed him the Crystal Energy Rifle when the Lord Night Fiend appeared. After firing that shot, He Jijun tossed the rifle to Lan Yulian and charged forward. The Crystal Energy Sniper Rifle had a cooldown of one minute, clearly too long to just wait out. As the Lord Night Fiend couldn''t dodge while in the air, it took two hits, enraging it further. As soon as it landed, it charged at Wang Tao again. But just then, a slender shadow suddenly appeared from the side and slammed into the side of the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend. Bang! [-1492] The Lord Night Fiend was sent flying again, with over a thousand damage inflicted on its head. After her successful sneak attack, Jiang Shixue didn''t stop her steps but continued charging towards the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend. Before it touched down, Jiang Shixue, with her super fast speed, struck the Lord Night Fiend several times. The Lord Night Fiend lifted its sharp claws and jabbed directly towards Jiang Shixue''s heart, but she suddenly retreated at high speed, evading its lethal strike. Unnoticed, a vine had wrapped around Jiang Shixue''s waist and pulled her away. "Roar¡ª" The Lord Night Fiend roared, its muscles swelling, then kicked off the wall powerfully, charging towards Jiang Shixue like a cannonball. But a gaunt shadow suddenly stood in front of Jiang Shixue, striking the charging Lord Night Fiend with all its might. Bang! [-1522] [-152] [...] Though He Jijun''s blow didn''t deal high damage, it successfully halted the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend''s assault. So, the Lord Night Fiend shifted its attack target, immediately engaging He Jijun in close combat. The Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend was strong, but He Jijun was no weakling. In terms of physical prowess, He Jijun couldn''t compare, but his rich combat experience, coupled with Lan Yulian''s healing, allowed him to withstand the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend''s attacks for a while. At that moment, the air in the air-raid shelter suddenly turned somewhat scorching. Sensing something, the Night Fiend immediately looked up, only to see a huge fireball flying towards it. A vine of Iron Tree also appeared around He Jijun''s waist. He instantly retreated, narrowly missing the fireball. As he was pulled close to Wang Tao, the fireball landed squarely on the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend. Boom! [-11023] The Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend was instantly engulfed in surging flames. The explosion of the fireball was very powerful, not only harming that particular Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend. The heads of other Night Fiends, confused and scurrying around due to the Ultraviolet illumination, also showed damage of several tens of thousands, with many being outright killed on the spot. After the explosion, this area was left with only that one Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend still standing, the others either killed or burned by the blast, lying heavily wounded! In such a densely populated enemy environment, Wang Tao''s fireball special ability could be exceedingly effective. Especially since the other Night Fiends were "controlled" by the large ultraviolet illumination bomb and were completely unaware of how to dodge, receiving the full brunt of the fireball''s damage! Roar¡ª An injured and blackened Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend emerged from the flames, its skin sizzling and burning from the fire and ultraviolet exposure, making a hissing noise... it looked quite pitiful. However, Wang Tao wasn''t deceived by its appearance. It only looked pitiful, but it actually still had tens of thousands of HP. Wang Tao, with one hand on his shield and the other on his sword, charged immediately. He Jijun and Jiang Shixue attacked from the sides, surrounding the Lord Night Fiend. Lan Yulian stayed behind, providing the trio with Healing Light while also constantly monitoring their statuses, ready to heal as soon as cooldowns finished. As for Lightning and Blacky, they were attacking the other Night Fiends. Though they too were influenced by the dazzling flare, they could discern directions and enemies through smell and sound, so problems weren''t too severe. The other Night Fiends, however, had a major issue under such intense UV light; their strength and senses were heavily suppressed, and they stood no chance against Lightning and Blacky. Chapter 909 358: Killing Level 5 - Part 2 Night Demons had already started running outside, but as daylight had arrived, going out meant certain death. They had no choice but to endure the discomfort and return. Lightning and Blacky were blocking this path, cutting them off and slaughtering them. For Wang Tao and his group, the air-raid shelter terrain was somewhat advantageous. Just the two animals, Lightning and Blacky, could block the path, so they didn''t have to worry about Night Demons sneaking up from behind to ambush them. However, this terrain also meant that Wang Tao couldn''t use the Beetle Armor. After all, the Beetle Armor was too large and might get stuck in the tunnel, turning it into a sitting duck! Otherwise, if Wang Tao used the two Beetle Armors he had, it would significantly increase their combat power. Of course, even without the Beetle Armor, it wasn''t a big problem. Under the intense ultraviolet light and the siege of four Awakeners, the Level 5 Night Demon Lord was not having a good time. Although it was not completely suppressed, it was indeed at a stalemate with Wang Tao and the others. And this kind of standoff was exactly what Wang Tao wanted to see. After all, he had a huge healer behind him, and he could afford to slowly wear down the Lord Night Demon. Although the Night Demon didn''t have the ability or awakening to regenerate HP, even though its passive HP regeneration was fast, it was not as quick as the rate at which Wang Tao and his group were depleting it¡ªthey were almost always at full HP! Therefore, killing this Level 5 Lord Night Demon was only a matter of time! This was Wang Tao''s first fight against a Level 5 Lord, and he was starting to get a rough idea of the power of a Level 5 Lord. It was unquestionable that a Level 5 Lord was much stronger than a Level 4 Lord. But if one only looks at the proportion of strength increase, the gap between Level 5 and Level 4 Lords was not as substantial as from Level 3 to Level 4. When Wang Tao was at Level 3, it was a strenuous task to kill a Level 4 Lord. But now, at Level 4, while they were hunting this Level 5 Night Demon Lord, they didn''t feel that excessive strain. Although this was also due to the increase in strength of Wang Tao and his teammates, Wang Tao believed that the more critical reason was their awakening¡ªwhen they were at Level 3 and had not "awakened," the gap with a Level 4 Lord who had awakened was naturally significant. But having awakened at Level 4, there wasn''t an essential change compared to Level 5! So to say, Level 5 Lords are strong, but not as overwhelmingly as the jump from Level 3 to Level 4! If Wang Tao could kill a Level 4 Lord while he was Level 3, why couldn''t he kill a Level 5 Lord now that he was Level 4? Not only did Wang Tao have this thought, but He Jijun, Jiang Shixue, and Lan Yulian also felt somewhat the same. They might not have said it out loud, but they were increasingly confident in the fight against this Level 5 Lord Night Demon! The Level 5 Lord Night Demon was having a hard time. The cramped space had already limited its capabilities, its advantage in speed was difficult to utilize, and the surrounding ultraviolet light inflicted a strong negative status, making its situation increasingly miserable. And most importantly, it could clearly perceive that these humans seemed invincible, and the main culprit was the woman in the back! It wanted to charge over and kill her, but it was firmly held back by the three people, and the narrow terrain made it impossible to get through... Night Demons are intelligent, and realizing that it might lose, it decisively decided to run! Immediately, it turned tail and ran towards the entrance without looking back. Wang Tao had seen Night Demons flee before, so he wasn''t too surprised, and he didn''t chase either. He knew this Night Demon Lord would return¡ªas daylight outside would kill it even faster! Wang Tao then took out a Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb and launched it at the Night Demon Group. Bang! The purple light, which had been dimming, once again intensified within the tunnel. Bathing in the ultraviolet light, Wang Tao and his comrades began hunting the other Night Demons. With the addition of Wang Tao and his team, the already desperate Night Demons stood no chance and were slaughtered en masse in just a moment. And then, not far away at a bend in the tunnel, another imposing figure appeared. The Level 5 Lord Night Demon had indeed come back! Upon seeing this, the corners of Wang Tao''s mouth curled up, and he charged directly towards the Level 5 Lord Night Demon. He Jijun and Jiang Shixue also instinctively ceased attacking the Ordinary Night Demons and rushed towards the Lord Night Demon. The three of them and the Night Demon clashed once more. After its return, the Night Demon''s attack speed and damage had greatly increased... it seemed even more frenzied than before! But with Lan Yulian''s support, these enhancements had little impact on Wang Tao and his teammates. After tangling again for a while, Wang Tao suddenly turned and looked toward the depths of the tunnel. From the passageway leading to the underground mall, there came a chorus of Night Demon roars. The Night Demons from the underground mall were coming! Wang Tao was somewhat nervous in his heart, after all, he didn''t know how many Night Demons were in the underground mall or their strength. If there were a large number of Night Demons or Level 5 Night Demons inside, and if they managed to break through the Ultraviolet Light barricade, then he might find himself fighting on two fronts, having to switch from offense to defense. Luckily, the Ultraviolet Lights were quite effective, or maybe Night Demons had a natural fear of Ultraviolet Light. Wang Tao only heard the roars of Night Demons but did not see any emerging from the tunnel entrance. Relieved, Wang Tao immediately turned to the others and said: ``` "For safety''s sake, let''s go all out for a quick victory!" "Okay!" As Wang Tao spoke, flames instantly ignited all over him. He charged like a flaming meteor, fiercely slamming into Lord Night Demon. The Lord Night Demon clearly felt Wang Tao''s threat had greatly increased, and it immediately abandoned its attacks on He Jijun and Jiang Shixue, preparing to rush towards Wang Tao. But just as they were about to clash, the Lord Night Demon''s body suddenly wavered and it stopped moving. Wang Tao, holding his Flame Long Sword, unceremoniously struck the Lord Night Demon. [-6832] [-683] [...] Blessed by [Starfire Outbreak], Wang Tao''s sword could chop for over seven thousand damage. This was a significant increase from before. Moreover, the Lord Night Demon was being controlled by Jiang Shixue''s awakened [String Puppet], and despite being hit, it showed no resistance. He Jijun also charged in from another side, wildly attacking the Lord Night Demon. Wang Tao, meanwhile, lifted his long sword with one hand and thrust it toward the head of the Lord Night Demon. [-7293] [-729] [...] Simultaneously, Wang Tao was charging a fireball in his other hand. After two more slashes, the Lord Night Demon finally came to its senses as it roared. It seemed to be somewhat confused when a fireball suddenly appeared in front of it and was directly shoved into its mouth. Boom! The battlefield was once again covered in surging flames. He Jijun and Jiang Shixue had already skedaddled and were not affected, but a large group of other Night Demons were dead or injured. The Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend at the center of the explosion was blasted into a charred mess, barely hanging on to a thread of life. "This thing still isn''t dead..." The life energy of a Fifth-Order Lord is strong, but unfortunately for it, it encountered Wang Tao. Wang Tao raised his Flame Long Sword and thrust it down into the head of the Night Demon. Pfft! [-1221] [0/200000] The HP bar of the Fifth-Order Lord Night Demon with two hundred thousand blood was emptied. A large pile of loot burst forth. Wang Tao quickly collected the loot, then started clearing out the other Night Demons. It took some time, but he cleaned out all the Night Demons in the tunnel. Looking at the severed limbs scattered about and hearing the unceasing roars coming from deep within the tunnel, Wang Tao immediately said: "Let''s go out and rest up a bit!" "Okay!" Although they were barely injured in the battle thanks to the Jade Lotus, their physical strength and spirit were greatly drained. For safety''s sake, the group quickly left the air-raid shelter on the Crystal Energy Car. ``` Chapter 910 359 Night Demon Type II "So this is the Level 5 Lord Night Demon, not as impressive as I expected!" At the entrance of the air-raid shelter, He Jijun laughed loudly. It wasn''t that he was arrogant, but having personally participated in killing a Level 5 Lord Night Demon, he certainly had to show off a bit. "Haha! Honestly, the strength of the Level 5 Lord Night Demon was a bit lower than I expected... but this also had to do with factors like the terrain, being suppressed by ultraviolet light, among other external reasons..." Wang Tao smiled as he handed out some nutrient solution to the group. Gulugulu~ After guzzling a few bottles of nutrient solution, they immediately felt much more comfortable. Wang Tao then said: "Let''s rest for a while, then we can enter again." Now that they were here and had killed the Level 5 Lord Night Demon, they definitely had to check out the depths of the Night Demon''s Nest. Not to mention the incubation flesh and the Unformed Night Demons that would yield many benefits after being killed, he definitely wouldn''t pass those up. Wang Tao quickly checked the surroundings to ensure there was no danger before sitting in the vehicle to examine the spoils of battle. He had thought about waiting until he got back to look, but this was his first time killing a Level 5 creature and he couldn''t wait, so he decided to take a peek now. First were the Advanced Special Energy, Awakening Energy, and Awakening Key obtained from overtaking a level. It was similar to when he had killed the Fourth Order Catastrophe Level Giant Snake before, obtaining 2 units of Advanced Special Energy and 200 units of Awakening Energy. But this time, he did not obtain an Advanced Awakening Key, just a regular one. Then there were the spoils that burst out of the Level 5 Lord Night Demon himself, totaling 5 items. An Orange Crystal Core, a pair of claws, a physical awakening key, an Awakening Energy Pearl, and a Night Demon heart. [Obtained: Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength x1] [Obtained: Level 5 Night Demon''s Claw x2] [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Level 5 Weapon: Night Demon Type II x1] "Level 5 Crystal Core..." This was the first time Wang Tao had seen a Level 5 Crystal Core, and compared to the Level 4 Crystal Core, it was bigger, but still square in shape. [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: Strength and body size are proportional, insufficient body size results in negative growth of strength)] The purity of the Level 4 Crystal Core was 35%, but the purity of the Level 5 Crystal Core had dropped to 30%... Wang Tao would need 3 Level 4 Crystal Cores to remove the side effects and impurities from a Level 4 Crystal Core. However, to remove the side effects and impurities from a Level 5 Crystal Core, the combined purity of 3 Level 5 Crystal Cores would only be 90%, so it would require 4 Crystal Cores! "The cost of synthesizing Level 5 Crystal Cores has increased quite a bit in the future!" Although he had anticipated it, seeing it in reality still made Wang Tao somewhat helpless. Shaking his head, Wang Tao turned his attention to the black heart. [Level 5 Weapon: Night Demon Type II] [HP: 10000/10000 (Upper limit 200000)] [Status: Can be awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack (Weakness: fears Ultraviolet Light)] [Compatibility: 0%] This was a Level 5 Night Demon heart, no longer a Type I, but a Type II. Just looking at the attributes, besides the HP upper limit increasing from 100000 to 200000, the other attributes seemed pretty much unchanged. But there definitely were changes, after all, this was a Level 5 Night Demon; it''s just that the specific strength data hadn''t been shown yet. Wang Tao tried it out, and quickly successfully bonded with this heart. He used 10 Level 4 Crystal Cores and increased the compatibility by 100%, compared to Level 4 weapons, the cost was ten times higher. However, that wasn''t the focus, he could afford that cost. The focus was on the cost to increase the HP limit... "As expected..." Wang Tao used one Level 4 Crystal Core to increase the HP limit of [Night Demon Type II] by only 100... this meant, to raise it to the full limit of 200000 HP, he would need 1900 Level 4 Crystal Cores, or 190 Level 5 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao was somewhat pained. He obviously couldn''t gather so many Level 5 Crystal Cores, and even if he had Level 5 Crystal Cores, he would prioritize using them for himself, not for boosting this [Night Demon Type II]. And if he used Level 4 Crystal Cores, despite needing nearly two thousand of them, any quality of Crystal Core could be used to boost weapon HP, unlike meteorites which specifically require Epic Crystal Cores, so using White Crystal Cores was most cost-effective. White Crystal Cores were priced at 1000 Crystal Coins each, so 1900 White Crystal Cores would be 1.9 million Crystal Coins. This price was within Wang Tao''s acceptable range, after all, this was a Level 5 Night Demon! To exchange 1.9 million Crystal Coins for Level 5 power, even if effective only at night, was still worth it! This Level 5 heart, Wang Tao naturally was not planning to sell it; he wanted to use it himself. But currently, he didn''t have enough Crystal Cores to increase its HP limit, so he would have to get back to it later. However, Wang Tao was now curious about this Night Demon heart, so he called over He Jijun and the others, and they came back to the entrance of the air-raid shelter. It was already daylight outside; Night Demons couldn''t be summoned in the presence of ultraviolet light, so they needed a place without ultraviolet light. Under the eager eyes of the group, Wang Tao threw out this Level 5 Night Demon heart. Thud¡ª After hitting the ground, the heart quickly swelled, and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a huge, dark green Night Demon. The bone armor on the Level 5 Lord Night Demon was dark green, but its body was still a mix of blood-red and pale white. However, this Level 5 weapon was entirely dark green, so it was instantly clear that it was different from the Level 5 Lord. Chapter 911 359 Night Demon Type II_2 This is quite similar to the Black Bone Armor Night Demon and the all-black Night Demon that are fourth-order weapons, although they''re the same color, you can still recognize them with a closer look due to their distinct features. As for the specific strength of this "Night Demon Type II"... Wang Tao did a simple test and found that although it only has 10,000 HP for now, it''s still stronger than the Level 4 Lord Night Demon. If it could be raised to 200,000 HP, it should be about as strong as the Level 5 Lord Night Demon that Wang Tao killed. "So this is a fifth-order weapon! It''s really too strong!" Jade Lotus couldn''t help but exclaim. Although the Level 5 Lord Night Demon had been killed by them, it was the result of their joint cooperation coupled with Wang Tao''s formidable attack power. If someone else encountered this Level 5 Lord Night Demon, the outcome could have been quite different. Similarly, if this fifth-order weapon Night Demon were to confront others, it was likely that few could withstand its power. Of course, the weakness of Night Demons not being able to act during the day still made the "Night Demon Type II" significantly less valuable. Wang Tao tried it with an ultraviolet flashlight, and this "Night Demon Type II" was pretty much on par with the Level 5 Lord Night Demon. Although artificial ultraviolet light was very uncomfortable for it and subjected it to many negative statuses, reducing its strength considerably, it didn''t lose HP as drastically as other Night Demons when exposed... it could still fight under artificial ultraviolet light! The precondition was that Wang Tao gave it orders; if it was left to its own, it would still instinctively avoid ultraviolet areas. Nevertheless, this was already quite good. If it was completely restricted by ultraviolet light, then its usefulness to Wang Tao would be greatly diminished, especially since Wang Tao liked to use ultraviolet lighting equipment at night... Now that it could withstand ultraviolet light, it could actually be of help to Wang Tao. After a brief test, Wang Tao put the "Night Demon Type II" away. Then he returned to the car to check the other loot. The Level 5 Lord Night Demon dropped a total of 6 loot packs. The first pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag with a total of five Crystal Cores, including an orange "Fifth Order Crystal Core: Promotion," a red "Fifth Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence," a red "Fifth Order Crystal Core: Awakening," a blue "Fifth Order Crystal Core: Energy Boost," and a purple "Fifth Order Crystal Core: HP Boost." These Crystal Cores were of the same type as those dropped by the Level 4 Lord Night Demon, except they were all fifth-order. Securing 6 fifth-order Crystal Cores all at once, Wang Tao felt very satisfied. Then, he looked at the second loot pack. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x30] [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x30] [Obtained: Attack Speed Potion (Medium) x30] There were 90 potions here, and all were medium-grade potions. This was the largest quantity of potions Wang Tao had obtained at one time. [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Small ultraviolet illumination flares x200] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x50] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x10] The third loot pack contained an Ultraviolet Suit. Compared to the fourth-order lord, the quantity of everything except the flashlight had doubled. Wang Tao already had more than enough ultraviolet equipment that he couldn''t use it all up... [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] The fourth and fifth loot packs contained an Awakening Energy Pearl and an Awakening Key. The Level 5 Night Demon originally dropped a physical awakening key, and now another had dropped, which was quite nice! It was a pity there wasn''t an Advanced Awakening Secret Key; that would have been even better... Wang Tao looked at the last loot pack, which contained two blueprints. [Obtained: Night Demon Short Knife Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Ring Blueprint x1] [Night Demon Short Knife Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Night Demon Short Knife. Required materials: Level 5 Night Demon''s Claw x1, Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Blade x20, Nails x20, Rubber x20] [Night Demon Short Knife: Attributes unknown] [Night Demon Ring Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Night Demon Ring. Required materials: Night Demon bone x1 kg, Level 5 Crystal Core x1] [Night Demon Ring: Attributes unknown] These two blueprints were for a dagger and a ring respectively. The ring was designed to store Night Demon Equipment and allowed for instant gear swaps. However, since there were no other Level 5 Night Demon Equipment pieces at the moment, it wasn''t needed for now. But this dagger was definitely useful. When he had first come out, Wang Tao had deliberately taken some Level 5 Night Demon bones in anticipation of potentially receiving equipment blueprints. However, there was no need to craft the Night Demon ring for now since there were too few Level 5 Crystal Cores. Hence, making the Night Demon Short Knife would suffice. Wang Tao took out the required materials and consumed a "Energy Boost" Level 5 Crystal Core he had just obtained. Then, he saw a ray of multicolored light flash past, and a matte black, exquisite short knife appeared in front of Wang Tao. Night Demon Short Knife Level 5 (Epic) Durability +100, Attack power +100, Attack Speed +40%, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate) Seeing the attributes of this knife, Wang Tao''s eyes lit up. While a Durability of 100 was nothing special, an Attack power of 100 was impressive. It was the highest attack power Wang Tao had seen on any piece of equipment. The most powerful weapon in his possession, in terms of attack power, was the "Sharp Long Knife," "Death Scythe," and "Corrosive Spear," but those only added 80. This dagger added a whole 20 points more! That''s a 25% increase! And this dagger also came with a "Attack Speed +40%" attribute! This was also the highest attack speed bonus Wang Tao had seen on any equipment. Not to mention, this weapon also had a slot for inlaying a Crystal Core. However, Wang Tao had tested before that only Crystal Cores of the same level as the gear could be inlaid. This Level 5 short knife could only accommodate a Level 5 Crystal Core, but Wang Tao only had a few of those, so inlaying one was certainly not an option for now. Of course, even without inlaying, this knife''s attributes were strong, stronger than the Sharp Long Knife. However, since Wang Tao''s Sharp Long Knife had both a "Bleeding" and "Armor Break" attribute, it could be uniquely effective in certain situations. "Who should use this dagger..." After a moment of thought, Wang Tao decided that he would use it himself. He was accustomed to using long weapons, as they say, "A longer weapon is a stronger one," and he was very comfortable with long knives. But the properties of this dagger were too good to pass up, so he decided to use this short knife as a secondary weapon! After all, he could store the weapon in his Space Backpack and usually wield the Sharp Long Knife, using the short knife at critical moments for an element of surprise. And with its attribute of a 40% increase in attack speed, the swift attacks would definitely catch people off guard given Wang Tao''s strength! Wang Tao did a simple test with the short knife and had to admit, it felt really good in hand and was extremely sharp, essentially cutting hair as though it were splitting bamboo. The only downside was its short length; Wang Tao was not adept at using short weapons, so until he got used to it, he could only use it at close quarters for surprise attacks. After sorting out the loot, the sun had risen. It was winter now, and the temperature was quite low. Despite their formidable constitution as Ability Users, they still could feel the cold. The warmth of the sun felt very comforting, but they had no time to enjoy it. "Everyone''s rested enough, right? Let''s go check out the underground mall!" Wang Tao said to everyone. "Sure!" The group was eager to explore. The flames in the air-raid shelter had died out. Wang Tao drove the car in and parked at the entrance to the tunnel leading to the underground mall. The Ultraviolet Strip Light was still on, but the roaring of the Night Demons was no longer audible; they had gone. To be cautious, Wang Tao summoned Night Demon Type II before entering. "You go ahead and scout the path!" Wang Tao commanded, and Night Demon Type II immediately scurried in. After a moment, it relayed a message of safety to Wang Tao. "Let''s go!" Wang Tao, along with a dog, a snake, and his companions, entered the tunnel. Chapter 912 360: Matrix Night Demon There was no light inside the tunnel, Wang Tao and Lightning led the way at the front, while He Jijun and Lan Yulian walked in the middle with ultraviolet flashlights, with Jiang Shixue and Blacky covering the rear. They proceeded in an orderly manner into the tunnel. The tunnel was very long, exceeding Wang Tao''s range of perception, so he couldn''t "see" what was specifically on the other side. After some time, the group finally made it through the passage. Wang Tao discovered several dead Fourth Order Elite Night Demons near a stationary Night Demon Type II, which surprised him. He had not directly ordered the Night Demon Type II to kill other Night Demons before; he simply told it to scout ahead. If there were other Night Demons, the Night Demon Type II could relay this information to Wang Tao, who would then issue an order to kill those Night Demons¡ªthis was the logic used by Night Demon Type I. Wang Tao thinking to himself what he wanted it to do was useless; he had to issue clear orders. If the orders were unclear, it wouldn''t be able to execute them, so it seemed rather dumb. But this Night Demon Type II was different, it had autonomously killed all the Night Demons at the tunnel entrance¡ªit could sense Wang Tao''s thoughts and had acted on them. Wang Tao was immediately pleasantly surprised, noting a significant difference between Types I and II. If the Night Demon Type I essentially lacked intelligence, then this Night Demon Type II had a bit of intelligence. Although still far from the capabilities of Lightning and Blacky, it was at least a step forward. Wang Tao had never used Type I before, but perhaps Type II could become a useful assistant... On the other side of the tunnel lay the vast underground mall. But there were no signs of the former mall, all his eyes could see were the red-black masses of Incubation Flesh and Unformed Night Demons. This space and the number of entities were much more than those found inside the air-raid shelter! Moreover, it wasn''t just one path anymore; there were many twisting, pulsating flesh tunnels leading to unknown places, which looked incredibly eerie. "This Night Demon''s Nest... how disgusting!" Lan Yulian muttered under her breath. Wang Tao nodded in agreement, then carefully observed and sensed around. Besides the dead Night Demons, there were no others currently around, and it was unclear where the remaining Night Demons had gone. Wang Tao was eager to kill all the Incubation Flesh and Unformed Night Demons, but he wasn''t in a hurry. He was now sure that their group could defeat a Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend, and he still had more than ten unused Night Demon Parasite Insect Eggs. Besides, there were still plenty of Night Demons in this nest which needed to be assessed in terms of their power. If there were multiple Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiends here, they definitely wouldn''t stand a chance against them¡ªalthough the probability was small, taking precautions was never wrong. Wang Tao chose one of the flesh tunnels, then gestured with his hand. "Come, let''s go in and see." "Okay!" The odor in the Night Demon''s Nest was foul, especially amongst these masses of Incubation Flesh; the smell was downright horrible. If not for Wang Tao and his companions being battle-hardened, they might have vomited on the spot. Enduring this pungent scent, they cautiously walked for a while until Wang Tao suddenly raised his hand. "I see Night Demons!" In Wang Tao''s perception, a large number of Night Demons appeared ahead, as if they were in a huge clearing? Wang Tao further honed his perception of the number of Night Demons... at least three or four hundred Fourth Order Night Demons! And this was just within his range of perception¡ªthere were definitely more beyond that! Wang Tao quickly handed out several Stealth Potions to everyone. "There are too many Night Demons inside, we need to act cautiously!" It had been a long time since he used a Stealth Potion, and upon using it again, the familiar sensation of breathing slowing, body cooling, and limbs feeling heavy returned. The group took some time to familiarize themselves with the effects of the Stealth Potion, then continued to move forward under Wang Tao''s lead. Moments later, they stepped out of the flesh tunnel without attracting the attention of any Night Demons, and Wang Tao finally saw those Night Demons. It was indeed a clearing, seemingly the hall of the underground mall, which was very spacious and the Incubation Flesh had not occupied it completely. Wang Tao could clearly see, in the middle of this hall, stood a dense mass of Night Demons! At a rough glance, at least several hundreds! If including the Night Demons he had previously killed, the number of Night Demons in this nest was at least over a thousand! And not just the quantity was staggering, but their strength was also tremendously strong, with only a few being Level 3; the rest were all Fourth Order Elites! "This isn''t right..." After his initial surprise, Wang Tao was puzzled. So far, it seemed that there was no second entrance or exit to this Night Demon''s Nest. Wang Tao and his companions had tightly guarded the air-raid shelter before, not letting a single Night Demon enter the tunnel, and all returning Night Demons were killed by them. Hence, these several hundred Fourth Order Elite Night Demons should not have gone out! But this didn''t make sense. It was night before, why wouldn''t the Night Demons go out? They should be going out to hunt, it''s not possible that they were always in the nest, right? Unless¡ªthese Night Demons had just been born recently, and it wasn''t that they didn''t go out, but that they simply hadn''t had the chance to go out yet! Just when Wang Tao came to this realization, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He saw from within a patch of Incubation Flesh, a very obese dark green Night Demon emerged. Chapter 913 360: Matrix Night Demon_2 [HP: 250000/250000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Grade: Level 5 - Lord] [Awakening: Robust] This is a Level 5 Lord Night Demon with 250,000 HP! When Wang Tao saw this Night Demon, he was instantly alarmed¡ªMatrix Night Demon! Wang Tao had encountered a similar Matrix Night Demon before, but it was a Level 4; it produced Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, and the eggs Wang Tao possessed were from that Level 4 Matrix Night Demon. Some of his previous doubts were immediately resolved¡ª No wonder there were so many Night Demons here; it turns out there was a Matrix Demon! No wonder these Level 4 Night Demons hadn''t ventured out. Wang Tao had guessed right; they hadn''t wanted to leave, not because they didn''t want to, but because they had just been born and hadn''t had the chance to leave yet! "Note, there''s a Matrix here..." Wang Tao explained this to Lan Yulian and He Jijun. They lacked night vision ability, so Wang Tao, not wanting to startle the enemy, did not use a flashlight. He was glad he made that decision and did not expect a Matrix Night Demon to be here. From prior combat experiences, the Matrix Night Demon was not strong, but it had a lot of insect eggs! The Level 4 Matrix Night Demon could produce Level 4 and Level 5 Bug Eggs, so this Level 5 Matrix Night Demon would definitely be no problem as well, implying that there might be Level 5 Night Demons here! Fortunately, they had all used Stealth Potions, they were still some distance away from those Night Demons, and had not been discovered. "What do you say?" Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao somewhat eagerly. The recently killed Level 5 Lord Night Demon had boosted her confidence greatly. But He Jijun''s expression was very serious. As a veteran soldier, he was well aware that the current situation was not like any before, and he had also considered the matter of the eggs. "Don''t rush; I need to look carefully to see if there are any Level 5 Night Demons around..." Wang Tao whispered. Logically, there should be Level 5 Lords here. He didn''t believe this Matrix Night Demon wouldn''t use Level 5 Bug Eggs, and there might even be Level 6 Bug Eggs! But Wang Tao hadn''t seen any yet, so he needed to be cautious. Getting ambushed by a Level 5 would be deadly! Wang Tao observed for quite a while and still did not spot any Level 5 Night Demons, but he noticed something interesting¡ªhe saw the process of these Night Demons being born! The Matrix Night Demon indeed produced eggs. It tossed the eggs into the mouths of the unformed Night Demons, and in a moment, a Level 4 Elite Night Demon appeared! Wang Tao watched it hatch many Night Demons, but they were all Level 4 Elites, not a single Level 4 Lord. This was entirely different from how Wang Tao used the eggs, as he could produce Level 4 Lords... Sometimes the Matrix Night Demon would not have time to toss the eggs, allowing some unformed Night Demons to naturally hatch. Then, the Night Demon would become a Level 3 Elite Night Demon. Wang Tao roughly understood what was happening! When he used Level 4 Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, he just needed to throw them into the Incubation Flesh containing the parasitized creature, and quickly, he would get a Level 4 Elite or a Level 4 Lord Night Demon. The cost was a reduction of 10,000 HP in the Incubation Flesh. This Matrix Night Demon, when using the eggs, placed them inside the bodies of the unformed Night Demons. Although this method could not hatch Level 4 Lords, only Level 4 Elites, it did not reduce the HP of the Incubation Flesh, which maintained 100,000 HP. This was a form of sustainable development; having many Lords might not be easy to manage, and managing Elites was much simpler... If there was no external intervention and an unformed Night Demon naturally hatched, it would be a Level 3 Elite, significantly weaker in power... So, to sum up¡ªnaturally hatched Night Demons were Third-order Elites; those that had Level 4 Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs embedded in them hatched into Fourth-order Elites; if using Incubation Flesh directly to hatch eggs, it could produce a Lord, but this would cause significant damage to the Incubation Flesh... Having understood all this, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. Because this clearly indicated that there might really be no other lords here, as a domain generally wouldn''t have too many lords. However, to be cautious, Wang Tao still didn''t go out and continued to check the situation here. After all, his Stealth Potion lasted for an hour, which was enough for him to use. Moreover, Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled¡ªeven if there were no lords, shouldn''t there be some Level 5 Elite Night Demons? This Level 5 matrix definitely has Level 5 Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, and perhaps even Level 6... About ten minutes later, Wang Tao finally saw a Level 5 Night Demon approaching. However, it wasn''t a lord but rather four Level 5 Elite Night Demons. Seeing these Level 5 Elite Night Demons, Wang Tao finally completely relaxed. He could now be fairly certain that, apart from this matrix, there was likely only that one Level 5 Lord Night Demon here before. After all, too many lords would make it unmanageable, and the elite night demons might not even know whom to listen to. This matrix was also intentionally controlling the types of night demons to prevent the appearance of Night Demon lords. And if there were no other Night Demon lords, then this matrix alone obviously couldn''t pose any threat to Wang Tao. As for those Level 4 Elite Night Demons and Level 5 Elite Night Demons, they naturally were a threat, and not a small one at that. But Wang Tao didn''t carry much else, the Ultraviolet Suit was definitely enough! Wang Tao used Perception once again to carefully probe around and, after confirming there was no problem, he spoke to his fellows: "The effects of the Stealth Potion will wear off in a few minutes, let''s make our move once it does!" "Alright!" The instant the Stealth Potion ended, the other night demons hadn''t yet noticed, but the matrix Night Demon suddenly lifted its head, its gaze bloodthirstily eyeing the direction where Wang Tao was. But what it saw wasn''t Wang Tao, but several large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs flying towards it like mini purple suns! Bang! Hiss¨C¨C The entire nest was instantly illuminated by ultraviolet light, the ultraviolet burning on the night demons'' skins, making sizzling and crackling noises. Countless night demons let out agonizing screams! Among them, that Level 5 Matrix Night Demon screamed the loudest, but its scream was not just one of pain but also seemed like a command. The initially panicked elite night demons, running around like headless flies, suddenly seemed to receive some signal and immediately rushed towards the position where Wang Tao and his group were. This was indeed the matrix Night Demon''s command! But simply commanding wasn''t enough, the night demons were deathly afraid of ultraviolet light, and it was indeed causing them a lot of damage, and this made these night demons forced to stop midway ¡ª because there was too much ultraviolet light around Wang Tao! High-powered ultraviolet flashlights, Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells, Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strips, and the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs that had already lit up the entire underground space earlier... With so many ultraviolet items in use simultaneously, even if it didn''t reach the degree of the sun, the discomfort it caused the night demons wouldn''t be minor. The night demons were like hitting an invisible wall, completely unable to advance any further! The command from the matrix was to attack Wang Tao at all costs, but they simply couldn''t come over... This resulted in them being stuck, unable to advance or retreat, frozen in place! Only those four Level 5 Elite Night Demons braved the ultraviolet light and charged over. "Indeed, not quite intelligent!" Wang Tao issued a command to Night Demon II to go and kill those Level 3 and Level 4 Elite Night Demons. It could withstand the ultraviolet light for now, and when it could no longer bear it, Wang Tao would have it revert to a Night Demon Heart. Wang Tao, meanwhile, engaged in battle with those four Level 5 Elite Night Demons alongside his group. It must be said, the difference in strength between elites and lords was substantial, after all, it was the difference between awakened and unawakened. It didn''t take long for Wang Tao to take out all those Level 5 Elite Night Demons and then head straight for the matrix Night Demon. While retreating, the matrix Night Demon flung its hand at Wang Tao, and several small black dots appeared, emitting some piercing shrill screams. "There truly are Level 6 Night Demon Parasites!" Wang Tao grinned, a small fireball appearing in his hand. "But they are just bugs after all¡ªdie!" Chapter 914 361: A Large Number of Insect Eggs The Matrix Night Demon hurled six black insect-like creatures at Wang Tao, each one fierce and ferocious, with two of them noticeably larger. These were the Night Demon Parasites that Wang Tao had seen before! The four smaller ones were Level 5 Night Demon Parasites, while the two larger ones were Level 6 Night Demon Parasites! [HP: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level Six - Elite] If these weren''t parasites but some other creature, Wang Tao would most likely have run away, after all, it was Level 6! But now, these were merely parasites. Wang Tao had previously killed a Level 5 parasite; it had no other abilities aside from being a bit stronger and having more HP¡ªnothing like a true Level 6 creature. As he charged at the Matrix Night Demon, a small fireball appeared in Wang Tao''s hand. The moment the Matrix Night Demon threw the Night Demon Parasites at him, Wang Tao hurled the fireball, which hadn''t been charging for long, straight at them. Boom! The fireball completely engulfed the six Night Demon Parasites and, without losing momentum, slammed into the Matrix Night Demon, with a string of damage numbers popping up. [-32748] [-31847] [...] [-15384] [...] [-10283] The fireball dealt over thirty thousand HP damage to the Level 5 Night Demon Parasites and fifteen thousand HP to the Level 6 Night Demon Parasites, while only removing ten thousand HP from the Matrix Night Demon. However, the damage was pretty good, as Wang Tao had inflicted similar damage on the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend with fireballs before. Roar¡ª¡ª The Matrix Night Demon roared for the other Night Demons to come to its aid. Its body was too bulky; the speed that Night Demons were so proud of was useless for it, posing almost no threat to Wang Tao. But the other Night Demons were under the effect of the ultraviolet light and were blocked by the Night DemonType II, the Lightning, and Blacky, and they simply couldn''t get through. The Night Demons couldn''t get through, but Jiang Shixue and He Jijun did, flanking the Matrix Night Demon on both sides and attacking. Although their damage wasn''t high, the Matrix Night Demon couldn''t fight back and could only passively take hits, roaring in anger all the while. After throwing a fireball, Wang Tao didn''t continue the assault but rushed towards the Night Demon Parasites. These parasites had lost a good amount of HP due to Wang Tao''s attack, but they hadn''t died yet, and they were fast. If they managed to burrow into his body, he might turn into a Night Demon, a danger that had to be eliminated first. The Level 6 Night Demon Parasite was only a little faster and stronger compared to the Level 5 one, aside from having much higher defense. To Wang Tao, this naturally wasn''t an issue. He effortlessly killed all six parasites. [Obtained: Level 5 Night Demon Parasite (Insect Eggs) *4] [Obtained: Level 6 Night Demon Parasite (Insect Eggs) *2] After the six Night Demon Parasites died, besides contributing some Special Energy, they each left behind an insect egg. To Wang Tao, these eggs were treasures, so he collected them all. Then Wang Tao charged towards the Matrix Night Demon again. The Matrix Night Demon was too fat, so fat that its limbs were buried in its flesh, rendering it almost unable to attack and could only defend passively. Even though it was a Fifth-Order Lord, it was being overwhelmed and beaten by He Jijun and Jiang Shixue, both Level 4. Of course, the damage inflicted by He Jijun and Jiang Shixue wasn''t high and didn''t cause much harm to the Matrix Night Demon. After Wang Tao arrived next to the Matrix Night Demon, he didn''t immediately go for the kill. He was hoping the Matrix Night Demon would throw out more Night Demon Parasites. After all, these parasites could be killed, and upon death not only would they drop insect eggs and some Ultraviolet set battle product packages, but he would also gain Advanced Special Energy! That was exactly what Wang Tao needed right now! Unfortunately, after waiting for a while, the Matrix Night Demon didn''t throw any more parasites. Wang Tao saw that there were still many insect eggs under it... maybe there were other conditions? Perhaps the eggs weren''t mature yet? Wang Tao didn''t understand very well, but he decided not to wait any longer. As the saying goes, one ought to not push one''s luck too far. Flames instantly ignited around Wang Tao, and he fiercely slashed his Flame Long Sword across the Matrix Night Demon. [-6263] [...] ... A moment later, the Flame Long Sword was planted in the brow of the Matrix Night Demon. Whoosh¡ª¡ª The bulky body of the Matrix Night Demon fell to the ground, and a heap of loot exploded out. Wang Tao quickly gathered the loot, then immediately proceeded to kill the other Elite Night Demons. After the death of the Matrix Night Demon, the rest of the Night Demons seemed to lose their bearings noticeably. They were already directionless due to the extensive ultraviolet light, and now they had descended into utter disarray, effectively reduced to a mob. Wang Tao and his companions, each armed with an Ultraviolet illumination flare in one hand and a weapon in the other, charged into the midst of the Night Demon Group. Ten minutes later, not a single Night Demon stood in the underground hall. "Phew¡ª¡ª" Wang Tao and his comrades took a breath. There were too many Night Demons here, and even though they were practically lambs to the slaughter, it still took some time, not to mention that the Night Demons were running around, making it more strenuous. Relatively speaking, killing the Fifth-Order Matrix Night Demon was simple and not exhausting... After checking several times with his Perception, and ensuring that no Night Demon had slipped through the net, Wang Tao went to pick up the Night DemonType II, which had since turned into a heart. After all, the Night DemonType II had too little HP and hadn''t reached its pinnacle strength, being unable to withstand too much ultraviolet light for long, thus it had turned into a heart. Chapter 915 361: A Large Number of Insect Eggs_2 After securing the night demon heart, Wang Tao had Lightning and Blacky on guard while he checked the loot. The focus was on those Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, such marvelous items! For Wang Tao, they were practically experience packs delivered to his doorstep! [Obtained: Level 4 Night Demon Parasite (Insect Eggs) x150] [Obtained: Level 5 Night Demon Parasite (Insect Eggs) x37] [Obtained: Level 6 Night Demon Parasite (Insect Eggs) x5] Looking at the hundred-plus parasite eggs, Wang Tao nodded with great satisfaction. "Right, I still have some Level 5 Bug Eggs in hand..." Wang Tao glanced at his Space Backpack. He had previously obtained Level 4 and Level 5 bug eggs; the Level 4 ones had been used up, but he hadn''t yet used the Level 5 ones, and there were still 13 left. Adding these 13 bug eggs, he had exactly 50 Level 5 bug eggs! "150 Level 4 bug eggs, 50 Level 5 bug eggs, 5 Level 6 bug eggs... quite the pattern!" Wang Tao promptly skipped over the Level 6 bug eggs, storing them in the Space Backpack for future use. Right now, killing a Level 5 Lord Night Demon required his full effort, let alone dealing with a Level 6 Night Demon¡ªthat would be outright seeking death. As for those Level 4 and Level 5 parasites... Wang Tao looked at the Incubation Flesh nearby and immediately broke into a grin. "We can''t waste all this Incubation Flesh. Let''s go outside and capture some zombies to see if we can hatch all these eggs!" After resting for a while, Wang Tao and the others went out, roaming around for a bit. Fortunately, they encountered a sizable horde of wandering zombies, about two to three hundred strong. Wang Tao and his companions immediately charged into the zombie horde and, just like before, hacked the zombies until only their heads remained, then loaded the heads into a vehicle and brought them back to the Night Demon''s Nest. Then, Wang Tao took a Level 5 parasite egg, stuffed it into a zombie head, and tossed the head onto a piece of Incubation Flesh. The Incubation Flesh began to writhe immediately, engulfing the head. However, after the Incubation Flesh swallowed the zombie head, there was no reaction for quite some time. If it had been a Level 4 egg, a Night Demon would''ve appeared by now. "Could it be that Level 5 Night Demons can''t be hatched?" Wang Tao frowned momentarily but didn''t panic. He decided to wait and see what would happen while checking the loot. The loot from the matrix night demon was similar to that of the Level 5 Lord Night Demon. It consisted of Crystal Cores, Potions, materials, hearts, Ultraviolet Suits, Awakening Energy Pearls, Blueprints, and the like. Among these items, there was an additional Crystal Core branded with "Bloodline Inheritance." [Level 5 Crystal Core - Bloodline Inheritance] [Quality: 100% (Epic)] [Purity: 30% (Side effects: None)] [Bloodline Inheritance: Can transfer a portion of one''s own strength to others, not exceeding one''s own strength limit (one''s own strength won''t permanently decrease, but it requires some time to recover strength)] Wang Tao also had two Crystal Cores with Bloodline Inheritance, but one was Level 3 and the other Level 4, both obtained from killing a matrix zombie. This seemed like a valuable support Ability. If used in conjunction with an Extraction Crystal Core, it might yield extraordinary results¡ªfor instance, after Wang Tao fused with it, he could transfer his strength to someone else and then use an Extraction Crystal Core to remove the Crystal Core, saving storage space. It just wasn''t clear what exactly "strength" referred to; that could be tested when the chance arose... Then there was the Night Demon Heart. The matrix night demon likewise dropped a Level 5 heart! [Obtained: Level 5 Weapon, Night Demon Type II x1] Wang Tao now had two Level 5 night demon hearts! He couldn''t immediately enhance these two Night Demon Type IIs to their peak prowess, but they were definitely stronger than many Fourth-order Superpowers. He was looking forward to seeing how they would perform with 200,000 HP each¡ªtruly at Level 5 strength, likely unstoppable. Tao was earnestly anticipating their performance at 200,000 HP! Last were the blueprints; the matrix night demon only dropped a blueprint for a Level 5 Night Demon Dagger, which could produce two daggers. Seeing that there was still no activity from the Incubation Flesh, Wang Tao went ahead and crafted the daggers. [Night Demon Blade] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [Durability+100, Attack power+90, Attack Speed+50%, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] Compared to the Night Demon short knife that Wang Tao had just made, the dagger''s attack power was 10 points lower, but its attack speed was 10% higher! None of the others used daggers, only Jiang Shixue did. Therefore, Wang Tao gave both daggers to Jiang Shixue. "Thank you, bro~" Jiang Shixue happily accepted them. Wang Tao smiled and then thought to himself that when he got back, he needed to inlay the equipment that should be inlaid. He had a lot of equipment that could be inlaid with Crystal Cores, but he had never inlaid any of them. He always wanted to find some of the best Crystal Cores to inlay, but with Crystal Cores, there was never a "best," only "better," and if he kept waiting, he would just keep waiting. If he truly waited until he found suitable ones, his equipment might be several generations behind by then. So there was no point in waiting. When he got back, he would try to see the effects of inlaying the Crystal Cores into the equipment. After all, he had a lot of equipment that neither he nor his companions could use. He would start by experimenting with those since once a Crystal Core was inlaid, it couldn''t be removed... "Bro! Something''s happening!" Jiang Shixue suddenly shouted. The group hurriedly looked in the direction of the noise and saw a Night Demon slowly crawling out from the Incubation Flesh where Wang Tao had thrown the Level 5 Bug Eggs. They were in luck, it was a Level 5 Lord Night Demon! [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 5 - Lord] [Awakening: Robust] It only had 100,000 HP, obviously not as much as the Level 5 Lord Night Demon with 200,000 HP that Wang Tao had killed before. But whether it was strong or weak didn''t matter. As long as it was a Level 5 Lord, the spoils Wang Tao received were basically the same. "Attack!" Taking advantage of the Night Demon''s disorientation, Wang Tao and his companions rushed forward. If it had underlings, dealing with this Level 5 Lord Night Demon would definitely have been a bit troublesome. But since it didn''t have any and they had set up a lot of Ultraviolet Suits around, plus Wang Tao and his companions went all out from the start... this newly born Level 5 Lord Night Demon couldn''t hold on for long before Wang Tao chopped off its head. "Phew¡ªlet''s rest a bit! Replenish some energy!" Wang Tao took out some Nutrient Solution and handed it to everyone. Wang Tao had to ensure that he and his companions were always at their peak condition to prevent any unforeseen incidents. Today''s battles might not have been too dangerous, but the intensity was definitely one of the highest they had experienced. After all, they were in the enemy''s lair, and there were just too many enemies. Besides physical exhaustion, they also had to maintain a high level of concentration... In short, they were very tired! Not just him, even the incredibly resilient He Jijun was starting to struggle. Wang Tao felt that it would take a considerable amount of time to use up all the Bug Eggs he had, especially with the presence of Level 5 Night Demons; he couldn''t relax in the slightest. However, Wang Tao suddenly frowned while collecting the spoils. He discovered that the Incubation Flesh beneath the just-killed Level 5 Night Demon had only 1,000 HP left! Previously, each Level 4 Night Demon hatched consumed 10,000 HP, and 100,000 HP worth of Incubation Flesh could hatch 10 times, ultimately leaving 1,000 HP. But now, hatching one Level 5 Night Demon consumed 99,000 HP? A piece of Incubation Flesh could only hatch one Level 5 Night Demon? Didn''t that mean that hatching a Level 6 Parasite was impossible? After all, the most Incubation Flesh had was 100,000 HP, and a Level 6 Parasite would definitely require more! Wang Tao suddenly realized¡ªno wonder there weren''t any Level 6 Night Demons here; they couldn''t be hatched! This didn''t impact Wang Tao much, since he wasn''t planning to hatch Level 6 Night Demons for the time being; being able to hatch Level 4 and 5 Night Demons was enough. The only concern Wang Tao now had was whether there was enough Incubation Flesh? After all, with 200 Level 4 and 5 insect eggs, Wang Tao felt the amount of Incubation Flesh might not be sufficient... Chapter 916 362: Wandering Horde of Zombies After a meticulous study, Wang Tao discovered that the amount of Incubation Flesh in the nest truly wasn''t sufficient. Left with no choice, he could only use whatever was available. Moreover, Wang Tao encountered a very frustrating issue¡ªthe Incubation Flesh required "Hundred thousand blood" HP in order to incubate a Level 5 parasite. If it was even slightly short, say 99999, it wouldn''t work! The remnants from his previous battle with the Night Demon caused many of the Incubation Flesh to lose blood. And he didn''t know how to replenish the HP of the Incubation Flesh... Thus, the idea of utilizing all 200 Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs was temporarily impossible to achieve. Wang Tao could only prioritize incubating Level 5 Night Demons first, letting those Incubation Flesh that couldn''t incubate Level 5 Night Demons incubate Level 4 Night Demons instead. In the end, Wang Tao only found four pieces of Incubation Flesh with "Hundred thousand blood." These were prepared for the Level 5 Night Demon Parasites. Including the previously successful incubation, this meant he could incubate a Level 5 Night Demon five times in total, just to see how many Lord Night Demons would appear. The remaining scarred Incubation Flesh totaled seven pieces, naturally reserved for the Level 4 Night Demon Parasites. Wang Tao naturally started with the Level 5 Night Demons, worried that too many emerging at once could cause the situation to spiral out of control. Thus, he didn''t implant all five Level 5 Bug Eggs into the zombies'' skulls all at once. His plan was to kill one Level 5 Night Demon then stuff the next Level 5 Night Demon Parasite Bug Egg into a zombie''s skull and toss it into the Incubation Flesh. This would be much safer, essentially preventing any accidents. But, naturally, the overall process was much slower. However, safety was paramount. Being slower didn''t matter, and it also provided a good opportunity to rest. By the time Wang Tao had used up all the Incubation Flesh, several days had passed. Inside the Night Demon''s Nest. Under the dim purple glow, looking at the plentiful harvest in front of him, Wang Tao with faint dark circles under his eyes felt that enduring the disgust and busying himself in the Night Demon''s Nest for so long had been worthwhile! A total of five Level 5 Bug Eggs had been incubated, four of which emerged, and three of these were Level 5 Lords! In other words, Wang Tao had killed three more Level 5 Lord Night Demons in addition to the previously slain Level 5 Lords and progenitors... shockingly, he had eradicated five Level 5 Lord Night Demons this time! Such an achievement, if disclosed, would definitely create a sensation across Changhe Base. As for the Level 4 Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, he used a total of 50 this time, 30 of which successfully hatched into Level 4 Lords! Setting aside other things, the [Night Demon Type I] alone meant Wang Tao had amassed a great deal, and these were quite valuable! Wang Tao collected all the spoils of war then carefully scoured the nest once more, letting Lightning devour all the bodies it could and taking all possible materials with him... After triple-checking that nothing was missed, including the strength-enhancing herbs Wen Guocheng spoke about, Wang Tao finally gave a wave of his hand. "Let''s go, let''s leave this place! I don''t want to stay here a moment longer!" The Night Demon''s Nest truly wasn''t a place for humans to stay; even though all the Incubation Flesh was gone, there were still plenty of severed limbs and such, which were very disgusting. He felt he would go mad if he stayed a few more days... If it weren''t for the necessity to incubate Night Demons, Wang Tao would have left earlier. "Finally, we can leave!" The others also breathed a sigh of relief. The group made their way from the tunnel to the air-raid shelter, got into the parked Crystal Energy Car, and swiftly left the Night Demon''s Nest. It was now evening, and the sun was about to set. Wang Tao squinting his eyes, said to the driver, He Jijun, "Head to that underground temporary camp we were at before, we need to rest well tonight. We''ve been nearly exhausted these past few days..." These past few days, both their bodies and spirits had been very worn out. They really needed a good rest. "Okay." On the way to the temporary camp, Wang Tao checked his Informational Wristwatch, noting he was soon due for the meeting he had scheduled with Cheng Yiyi to head to the Cave. After a good night''s rest today, they could return to the city tomorrow. As for the information about the "Lord''s location" he had purchased earlier, it was no longer needed since he had almost saved up enough Advanced Special Energy. He could start preparing for his Second Awakening once he got back! The journey was uneventful, and they smoothly returned to the previous temporary camp. What surprised Wang Tao was that he couldn''t open the door of the temporary camp, indicating that someone was still residing inside. He had been away for several days. Could it be that the previous group hadn''t left, or had new people arrived? "Is there anyone there, please open the door!" Arriving at the entrance, Wang Tao called out. He noticed that the Ultraviolet Strip Light he had left at the doorway was gone. The base had internal surveillance, and there were some audio devices near the door, so knocking here would definitely be heard. Moments later, a buzzing sound rang out, and the steel door opened. A familiar face appeared, that of Wen Guocheng. "Boss, you actually¡ªoh no, you''re finally back!" Wen Guocheng looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. In the post-apocalyptic world, losing contact usually meant death. The dangers of the outside world far exceeded the imagination! Wang Tao and his team had gone out late at night and hadn''t returned for days. Although they were powerful, a large wandering horde of zombies had appeared outside in the last two days! Given the terrifying strength of that horde, even Awakeners couldn''t withstand it; if Wang Tao''s group had encountered them, they would likely have been overwhelmed! Chapter 917 362: Wandering Horde of Zombies_2 But he hadn''t expected Wang Tao and his group to actually come back... "Somewhat unexpected?" Wang Tao said with a smile. "Cough, I thought... I thought the boss had gone back to the city!" Wen Guocheng hastily said. The word "death," no matter when, is always inauspicious, and he naturally didn''t want to displease Wang Tao, so he quickly changed his wording. Now that Wang Tao had returned, the previous speculations were just speculations after all. "Boss, please!" Wen Guocheng hurriedly made way, allowing Wang Tao and the car to enter. He had never seen Wang Tao''s car before, and now seeing this somewhat strangely shaped but very stylish car, he was surprised and suddenly understood something. In the apocalypse, if you see something ugly, it might be very useful. If you see something handsome, as long as it wasn''t produced before the apocalypse, then it definitely is very useful! Because in the apocalypse, practicality is prioritized, whatever it may be, there are generally none of those fancy things, no excess in appearance or design. If someone bothered to embellish its appearance a bit, then the functionality and value of that thing can be imagined. Moreover, a famous person had once said, in terms of weapon equipment, aesthetics equals combat power. If the weapons and equipment look good and meet the public''s aesthetics, they are strong! So viewing this crystal energy car, Wen Guocheng''s first impression was that it was both good-looking and practical, and his second impression was that it was awesome! He didn''t hear any sound from the car''s engine; it was very quiet... This seemed to be the legendary crystal energy powered car! Previously, the research institute had announced some things about crystal energy engines and cars, and he had some understanding of them. Although his knowledge was not extensive, he knew that it was a stable and fast vehicle! And if Wang Tao and his team had such a car, maybe they really could outrun a horde of zombies. So it made sense that they were still alive... Wen Guocheng quickly found a reasonable explanation. It wasn''t that he doubted Wang Tao''s strength, but that zombie horde was too terrifying, seemingly having a Level 5 Lord! They had not dared to go out at all these past several days... There was a small parking area inside this temporary camp where a few cars could be parked. Previously it was just my car, but upon coming back, Wang Tao found several more cars parked here. Wen Guocheng and the others had fled here previously without a car. "Hm? Quite a few people have come here?" Wang Tao asked, somewhat surprised. "Yes. Several groups have come in the past few days, all to escape the tide of zombies; we haven''t gone out for several days now..." Wen Guocheng explained. "A tide of zombies? What tide of zombies?" Wang Tao asked, frowning. "Ah? Boss, you didn''t know?" Wen Guocheng appeared shocked, but he dared not inquire further and hurriedly explained. "Just a few days ago, a terrifying tide of zombies appeared..." After Wen Guocheng''s explanation, Wang Tao finally understood what had happened. Wang Tao and his people had been at the Night Demon''s Nest for several days. They had only come out twice... The first time was the same day they killed the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend and came out to rest; the second time was to go outside to find zombies, to use as vessels for the Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs. Other than that, Wang Tao and his people had stayed underground in the nest all along, unaware of the outside situation. While they were underground, a terrifying horde of zombies had arrived outside. This horde''s numbers were extremely frightening, estimated to be in the tens of thousands! Not just in numbers, but the zombies'' strength was also formidable! Most of them were elite zombies of the third or fourth order, even fifth order, and it was said that their leader was a Level 5 Monster Lord! This was a Level 5 Lord! The strongest individuals at the base were just at the fourth order, they definitely stood no chance against a Level 5 Lord, especially such a leader who also brought a large number of minions; it was simply impossible to fight them. So, those who discovered this horde ahead of time either immediately fled, and those who couldn''t escape could only wait for death. This area still had some survivors, who lived relatively close to this temporary camp in the underground factory, so they all ran here to take refuge. Speaking of these events, Wen Guocheng was somewhat terrified, then mentioned how lucky he really was. Although their squad had almost been annihilated by the Night Demon before, they encountered Wang Tao, whose ultraviolet light shielded them from the Night Demon and he opened the gates of the camp, allowing them to take refuge. Afterward, Wang Tao went out, and they rested for a day and a night, preparing to go out again. After all, they hadn''t left the base just to sightsee. However, to thank Wang Tao again, they waited another day for Wang Tao and his group to return. But Wang Tao did not come; instead, other people arrived, bringing important news about a terrifying horde of zombies appearing, and now they couldn''t go anywhere but had to hide. In situations with no conflicting interests, survivors generally wouldn''t deliberately deceive one another. Therefore, Wen Guocheng took that information very seriously and canceled the previous plans to go out, deciding to wait and see how things would unfold. Subsequently, other people also arrived, confirming that the previous news was true. Thus, Wen Guocheng decided not to go out at all, waiting for the danger outside to disappear before doing anything else. Then, he actually saw the tide of zombies through surveillance. Although he didn''t see where the Level 5 Lord zombie was, the scale of that zombie horde was absolutely enough to annihilate him countless times over. Chapter 918 362: Wandering Horde of Zombies_3 They didn''t see a horde of zombies today, but they still didn''t dare go out. That''s because a squad had thought the menace was gone, that it was safe, but ended up dying a terrible death... Wen Guocheng was very glad he hadn''t gone out and was also thankful for his luck. He had brushed past death several times, and if any one of his decisions had been wrong, he might have become zombie fodder by now... Wen Guocheng sincerely thanked Wang Tao again. Wang Tao waved his hand, feeling that his own luck wasn''t too bad either? Today, for some reason, the swarm was nowhere to be found, and he encountered no danger on his way out. Then, Wang Tao''s brows furrowed again. "A Level 5 Monster Lord, to deal with or not... Better not!" Wang Tao quickly dismissed his bold idea. The reason he could kill the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend was not only because their team was strong, but also because of the terrain and the Night Demon''s fatal weaknesses. For Wang Tao, dealing with a Lord Night Demon with minions was more difficult than dealing with other Lords with no minions. Not to mention, this Lord had tens of thousands of underlings! If this Level 5 Monster Lord didn''t have any minions, Wang Tao might have tried, knowing he could run away if he couldn''t beat it. But it had tens of thousands of fairly strong minions, and they didn''t have a fatal weakness like ultraviolet light... so better not risk it. Life is precious, safety first. However, Wang Tao silently made a note of this information, thinking he definitely couldn''t pass up the opportunity if it presented itself later. In the time it took to converse, they arrived at the camp''s main hall. When Wang Tao had left, it was clean and tidy. But now, it was a complete mess, with various useful and useless supplies piled everywhere, and there were many unfamiliar faces. Wang Tao swept a glance around and saw they were mostly Level 2 and Level 3 Ability Users with not a single Awakener in sight. Moreover, Wang Tao noticed that Wen Guocheng''s teammates had been squeezed into a corner, seemingly having had a tough time these past few days. After Wang Tao entered, other people''s gazes also turned towards him. Some were expressionless, some had a hint of hidden distaste, and some didn''t disguise their hostility towards Wang Tao at all¡ªhe could clearly feel that this hostility was directed either at Wen Guocheng or himself. Wang Tao wasn''t angry but just a bit puzzled. He didn''t recognize any of these people and didn''t think he had offended anyone. However, when this group saw Lan Yulian and Jiang Shixue following Wang Tao, their interest, which had been somewhat lacking, immediately picked up. But before they could speak, Fu Yu, one of Wen Guocheng''s teammates and the woman who had caught Wang Tao''s attention before because of her Hidden Attributes, ran over excitedly and, to the surprise of Wang Tao and the others, hugged his arm. Tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke in a pitiful voice, "Big brother, you''re finally back!" Wang Tao could clearly feel several very unfriendly gazes on him. Wang Tao''s eyebrows rose, and he looked at Fu Yu with a half-smile. Feeling Wang Tao''s gaze, a chill ran down Fu Yu''s spine, but she gritted her teeth and clung tightly to Wang Tao''s arm without letting go. Wang Tao said nothing, instead turning his head to look at Wen Guocheng again. Wen Guocheng hastily waved his hands, indicating that he hadn''t put Fu Yu up to this. "Bro, we''re all just here seeking refuge from trouble, doing this... isn''t very nice, is it?" Chapter 919 363 Strange Snake Fruit The speaker was a man with shoulder-length hair, slender in stature. He sat casually in the chair, not even glancing at Wang Tao as a butterfly knife danced nimbly in his hand. [HP: 83600/100000] [Mana: 27100/31200] [Grade: Level 3] Wang Tao gave him a glance, then moved his gaze away. A person without Hidden Attributes was not worthy of Wang Tao''s attention. Among this group of people, aside from Fu Yu, there was only one person with Hidden Attributes. The others, even if they were at the Third Order Peak, had limited potential. In Wang Tao''s eyes, they were just a bunch of ordinary people, at best a bit stronger than the average person. He harbored no fear or caution towards them, only retained a basic sense of vigilance. So he said nothing and looked towards Fu Yu instead. He was curious to see how Fu Yu would explain herself. He Jijun, Lan Yulian, and Jiang Shixue all remained silent as well, their faces expressionless. He Jijun didn''t care about these things; to him, they were all just kids. Lan Yulian and Jiang Shixue didn''t care either, but when they looked at Fu Yu, who was still clinging to Wang Tao''s arm, their gaze revealed a hint of danger. Lightning at Jiang Shixue''s feet cocked its head, its little mind somewhat puzzled. It could feel that some people not too far away bore hostility towards Wang Tao, but Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue weren''t angry. And yet the woman holding onto Wang Tao''s arm, who clearly had no hostility towards them, seemed to make Jiang Shixue and Lan Yulian angry... What was going on? Unlike the confused Lightning, Fu Yu suddenly felt immense pressure, cold sweat running down her back, even having the sensation of being watched by a poisonous snake¡ªno, not just a sensation, she really was being watched by a snake! Blacky had somehow appeared on Wang Tao''s body, staring at Fu Yu and slowly crawling over, making its way from Wang Tao''s shoulder to hers. Fu Yu was dumbstruck! A Level 4 monster had climbed onto her, a mere Level Two?! She dared not move, not at all! Wen Guocheng beside her was equally stunned. Although Fu Yu''s obvious act of using Wang Tao as a shield was wrong, but¡ªbut they couldn''t just let the monster eat her, right?! Even if they really wanted to kill Fu Yu, they would have to find a sneaky opportunity, right? After all, the people from Changhe Base cared a great deal about reputation; nobody wanted a reputation for cruelty. If they killed Fu Yu in front of so many people, it would definitely not remain a secret! Unless... Wang Tao was planning to kill them all! Hisss¡ª Wen Guocheng''s scalp tingled at the thought. It couldn''t really be as he imagined, could it?! No, it couldn''t be! When traveling abroad, who doesn''t have conflicts? Since they were all sitting here, it meant that they didn''t want to escalate the conflicts too much¡ªat least not openly. But Wang Tao''s actions... As for the others not far away, due to the angle, they didn''t know what was happening here. They just all looked towards Wang Tao, waiting for his response. Wang Tao, of course, had no idea about Wen Guocheng and Fu Yu''s thoughts and didn''t care about what others thought. He was just curious about what was going on with Blacky. Because it wasn''t Wang Tao who had asked Blacky to scare Fu Yu; it came over on its own. And it wasn''t really to scare her, but rather conveyed a vague message to Wang Tao that there was something it liked here, maybe on Fu Yu''s body. So Wang Tao was curious about what could be on Fu Yu that was attracting Blacky. Hisss¡ª Blacky, flicking its tongue, slipped right into Fu Yu''s bosom from her neckline. The chilling sensation on her neck and chest nearly scared Fu Yu out of her wits. Was she really going to die, either eaten alive or poisoned first... She suddenly felt a pang of regret for her clever ploy. "..." Seeing Blacky dive into Fu Yu''s shirt, Wang Tao was at a loss for words. He wanted to cry out: What are you doing, you lecherous snake! But even though Blacky was quite large, only its head had gone inside, and after a few seconds, it came back out, holding a small red fruit in its mouth that looked like a tiny tomato. Blacky returned to Wang Tao''s side and spit the little red fruit into his palm. It rubbed against his hand and flicked out its tongue, as if it wanted to eat it. Blacky was sensible, knowing it shouldn''t eat random things without Wang Tao''s permission. But it wasn''t entirely sensible, because it wasn''t even Wang Tao''s thing to begin with¡ªit had just taken something out of someone else''s pocket. As for these details, Wang Tao glossed over them. But the attributes of the red fruit raised his eyebrows. [Strange Snake Fruit: Upon consumption by humans, a small chance to gain Hidden Attributes, high chance of poisoning. Serpentine creatures, on the other hand, gain a slight boost in strength and a small chance of Awakening.] The attributes of this [Strange Snake Fruit] were clearly meant to be a delicacy for serpentine creatures! Humans that consumed it had only a small chance of gaining Hidden Attributes and a high chance of being poisoned, and it was clearly stated to be Deadly Poison! Wang Tao didn''t know what kind of poison would be considered Deadly Poison, but he thought it should be life-threatening. As for serpentine creatures, consuming it would slightly boost their strength, and they even had a small chance of Awakening! Most importantly, there were no side effects. It was obviously more suitable for serpentine creatures to eat, making Blacky a prime candidate. "Where did this come from?" Wang Tao asked directly. Chapter 920 363 Strange Snake Fruit_2 At this moment, there was a strangely eerie silence around him, and it wasn''t until he spoke that Wen Guocheng and Fu Yu snapped back to reality. Fu Yu''s body was still very stiff, and her mind was somewhat chaotic, but she instinctively hurried to reply: "I, I picked it up on the way, and since I didn''t know what kind of fruit it was, I dared not eat it..." In the current post-apocalyptic world, unless one was in a situation where they would starve if they didn''t eat, they would eat whatever was available. But when encountering unfamiliar items under normal circumstances, it was better not to eat them and at least bring them back to have the research institute examine them... Otherwise, one wouldn''t even know how they died if they ate something recklessly. Although Fu Yu was somewhat hungry and really wanted to eat this fruit to tempt her appetite, she was able to hold off and resisted. "Picked it up on the way..." Hearing this, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. This thing could be picked up too? This luck was even better than his! Fu Yu, being rather tactful, noticed Wang Tao seemed interested in the red fruit, and she quickly whispered: "Boss, if you like it, this fruit is yours! And I still have more of this fruit!" "More?" Wang Tao was a bit surprised. If there was only one fruit, the probability of Blacky''s awakening might not be high, but if the fruits were plentiful, then perhaps an awakening was possible. After all, it wasn''t said that only one fruit could be eaten; if the quality wasn''t good enough, the quantity could make up for it! But before Wang Tao could respond, he heard a loud bang as someone slapped the table. Zhuo Yang was very angry. The fact that he hadn''t been able to get Fu Yu already irked him. Seeing Fu Yu throw herself into a man''s arms made it even worse. So, he spoke up, intending to give this big guy a lesson, and then teach him a lesson, making him understand who he could provoke and who he couldn''t! But the other party completely ignored him¡ªWang Tao and Fu Yu were whispering, paying no attention to him at all and didn''t even glance at him! This was a naked mockery to him! It was unbearable! If he didn''t respond in some way, wouldn''t it be letting the others watch a joke? So, he harshly slapped the table next to him, interrupting the whispers of Wang Tao and Fu Yu. He wanted to slap the table, and he also wanted to personally teach this big guy a lesson! He wanted to let the man know that even within the "safe zone," he was not someone to be trifled with! However, just as he angrily stood up and slapped the table, he saw a triangular snake''s head suddenly appear next to Wang Tao. Sss¡ª A sound not very loud but eerily terrifying and dreadful suddenly emerged. An aura akin to a shockwave from a Fourth Order crashed harshly onto Zhuo Yang and others around him. Everyone felt a chilling air shoot straight from their feet to their crown! "Four, Fourth-order Monster!" There was actually a Fourth-order Monster here! And it seemed to be on the side of the big guy! Why would this Fourth-order Monster listen to the big guy! What was their relationship! Many people were inwardly screaming, finding it unbelievable. After all, they had never seen a scene of humans and monsters coexisting harmoniously. As for Zhuo Yang, who had just stood up to slap the table, he was disbelief-stricken and was pulled back by a companion. If it had been before, he would definitely have asked his companion to let go, considering them a nuisance. But now, he was extremely grateful to his companion! After regaining his senses, he immediately sat back down! Zhuo Yang could feel that the snake was a Fourth Order Elite. With his Third Order Peak strength, dealing with a Fourth Order Elite would not usually be a problem. But the issue here was that this was not a wild Fourth Order Elite but one allied with humans! Capable of cooperating with humans and understanding human speech, its strength was definitely much stronger than that of a wild one! And another key point, to be able to cooperate with such a monster, or to make it obey, that person had to be incredibly strong and have a substantial background! Zhuo Yang was very angry, and he was quite irascible, but he was not foolish. If he remained confrontational now, it might really become a problem. So he sat down again and somewhat awkwardly turned his head, pretending as if he had not just slapped the table. The others were all deathly silent, not daring to speak. After all, if the biggest troublemaker had backed down, it would be foolish for them to step forward. Plus, they were all curious about who these people were, which faction they belonged to, and how Wen Guocheng knew such people... Wen Guocheng and Fu Yu felt quite pleased seeing this situation. Blacky, seeing that everyone had quieted down, then retracted its head, hissing and flicking its tongue while nuzzling Wang Tao''s hand. It wanted to eat the fruit badly. Fu Yu then hastily said: "I don''t have any fruit on me now, but I know where there is more! There are a lot there! However, there are many zombies in that area, and I''m not clear what type of fruit this is, so I just picked up one that had fallen, planning to sell it to the research institute..." Handing over unknown items to the research institute was common. If it turned out to be useless, it wouldn''t matter, but if it was useful, it could be a big profit. As for why Fu Yu only picked up one, apart from this one being a fallen fruit, which posed no danger, it also had to do with the abundance of the fruits. Generally speaking, the less there was of an item, the more precious it felt; abundance usually gave a sense of low value. Fu Yu didn''t know the specific uses of this "Strange Snake Fruit," so judging from its abundance, she deemed the fruit not very valuable, and hence, she did not risk collecting more. Chapter 921 363 Strange Snake Fruit_3 If she knew the specific function of this fruit, even if she didn''t have the ability to get it herself, Wen Guocheng would definitely do his best to get more of it... Wang Tao was surprised. Were there still many of these "Strange Snake Fruits"? Then he couldn''t miss out! Wang Tao asked about the exact location, and Fu Yu did not hold back any information, telling him everything she knew, while quickly letting go of Wang Tao''s hand. She felt that if she didn''t let go, Wang Tao might not do anything to her, but the two beauties by Wang Tao''s side probably wouldn''t let her off... "Mr. Wang, please!" At this point, Wen Guocheng hurriedly invited Wang Tao over. This temporary camp, other than the bathroom and the warehouse, had no other separate spaces, only a main hall. This was because the original layout was designed this way, without any major changes, and it also allowed survivors to look out for each other. After all, it was a temporary camp and they wouldn''t stay long. The best spots in the hall were a few sofas. Although they were occupied, as soon as the people saw Wang Tao approaching, they immediately nodded and bowed to make way, including Zhuo Yang, who tactfully left as well. After Wang Tao and his group sat down, everyone else immediately moved away a bit. After all, the snake wrapped around Wang Tao was a bit frightening. Wang Tao wasn''t very interested in what had happened with Wen Guocheng and the others, but Wen Guocheng still briefly mentioned it to Wang Tao. The group had been trapped here for a few days and were somewhat irritable. Seeing Fu Yu, whom they considered to be a beauty, naturally aroused some thoughts in them, so they started to pester Fu Yu. Wen Guocheng''s strength wasn''t strong, and he couldn''t protect Fu Yu, but it wasn''t just one person pestering her, but several. Those few, in their struggle, had inadvertently reached a sort of balance, which prevented anything from happening to Fu Yu... However, what surprised Wang Tao was that he thought they were purely interested in Fu Yu''s body, but that wasn''t completely the case. "Ahem, there were many people who came earlier, so I took down the Ultraviolet Light that you, Mr. Wang, had left behind, and gave it to Fu Yu to look after. After all, with so many people around, it would be bad if someone took it. These people were interested in the Ultraviolet Light, thinking it belonged to Fu Yu. At that time, we even had some minor conflicts over this lamp..." Wen Guocheng explained. If they could take Fu Yu and get the Ultraviolet Light, it would be killing two birds with one stone. "..." Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, not expecting these conflicts to be indirectly related to him. Just a few lamps causing conflicts? As for Wen Guocheng, he sounded nice saying he was keeping it safe, but he probably had ideas of keeping it for himself, too. However, for these trivial matters, Wang Tao wasn''t very concerned. He nodded and didn''t say much. As for being used as a shield, since Fu Yu was sensible enough to tell him about the Snake Fruit, Wang Tao decided not to hold it against her. Seeing that Wang Tao had no reaction, Wen Guocheng and Fu Yu were both very uneasy. They didn''t understand Wang Tao well and were unsure if he would cause them trouble later, and now they didn''t dare to ask directly... They could only wait and see how things would unfold. Wang Tao and his group rested casually on the couch for the night. Early the next morning, after confirming that there was no horde of corpses outside, an invigorated Wang Tao and his group left the temporary camp straight away. He was going to find those Snake Fruits and then head straight back to the city. Fu Yu and Wen Guocheng considered following Wang Tao, but ultimately, they didn''t dare to speak up. Chapter 922 364: Massive Harvest Wang Tao still hadn''t seen the exact situation of the zombie horde that Wen Guocheng mentioned. However, it wasn''t a big issue, as he had no plans to hunt down the Level 5 Zombie Lord right now anyway, and the absence of a zombie horde could save him some trouble. Following the route provided by Fu Yu, Wang Tao drove directly to the location. The place was a forest on Nameless Hill, not too far from the temporary base. Half an hour later, Wang Tao saw the grove. Even from a great distance, Wang Tao could see some scattered red dots halfway up the hill. "...So many?" Wang Tao was somewhat bewildered. He had thought Fu Yu had been using hyperbole when she said there was a large patch of Serpent Fruits here; he hadn''t been too concerned about the details since having some was good enough. But it turned out there really was a large patch! These red fruits hung on some low trees, and though they were brightly colored, they appeared quite ordinary because the fruits were too small and too numerous, instinctively making one assume these were just ordinary wild fruits. Blacky by Wang Tao''s side hissed excitedly, sticking out its forked tongue, seeming somewhat thrilled. However, when Wang Tao got closer and saw the specific attributes of the fruits and the surroundings, his eyebrows knitted together again. There were indeed a lot of these Strange Snake Fruits, but many of them were unripe. [Strange Snake Fruit (Unripe)]: Bitter in taste, non-toxic and harmless, eating them can stave off hunger.] The unripe Snake Fruits were somewhat greenish, not as bright and luscious as the ripe ones. They had no special effects when eaten, but they also contained no toxins, so they could be treated as a type of wild fruit that could fill one''s stomach. Normally, people would probably wait for the fruits to ripen before eating them, but if one ate the Strange Snake Fruits after they had ripened, that could be potentially life-threatening... These Snake Fruits were somewhat of a trap. Beyond the Snake Fruits, there were also many zombies. These zombies were all within the range of the Snake Fruits, as if they wanted to eat the fruits too? Wang Tao frowned. Can zombies eat these things? But soon, he found the reason¡ªnot the zombies eating the fruits, but rather many ordinary snakes hiding here, with the zombies coming to eat the snakes! Wang Tao did not go over immediately. He had He Jijun drive around the area in the car to make sure there weren''t any other dangers. Only then did they move within the growth range of the Serpent Fruits. "Hehe..." As soon as Wang Tao and his party appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of these zombies. They were all Ordinary Zombies of the Third or Fourth Order, which might be difficult for Wen Guocheng''s team to handle, but posed no difficulty to Wang Tao''s group. After spending a bit of time, all the zombies lay beneath the low trees. Seeing these dead zombies, Wang Tao''s eyebrows suddenly shot up. These zombies looked like they could serve as fertilizer to nourish the Serpent Fruit Trees! The Zombie Virus wouldn''t infect plants, and after a zombie died, the virus would completely disappear within seven days. If these zombies could indeed nourish the Serpent Fruit Trees, then the fruits could feed the snakes, the snakes would attract zombies, and so on in a continuous cycle... Well, he got himself a closed ecological loop! If this was truly viable, Wang Tao thought he could keep cultivating these Snake Fruits! However, there was one problem: the Serpent Fruit Trees could not kill zombies, and the ordinary snakes were not able to deal with the zombies either. Someone or something needed to kill the zombies for it to work... Leave Blacky here? No way! Wang Tao quickly shook his head. Although Blacky was considered strong within the base, it was nothing compared to the vast post-apocalyptic wilderness. Wang Tao didn''t feel comfortable leaving it here. What about transplanting these Serpent Fruit Trees into the base? Although they would lack the zombie fertilizer, these Snake Fruit Trees grew fine before without it! Wang Tao felt that transplantation was still a viable option. However, he didn''t act rashly, as he had previously heard of someone discovering edible wild fruits in the wilderness wanting to transplant them into the base, only for them to die after the move... He decided to leave this matter to the professionals. Not really understanding this area, Wang Tao thought it better to ask Qu Shilin later to see if they had any relevant experience or research... Of course, now wasn''t the time to think about these things. Wang Tao signaled for everyone to start picking the ripe fruits. Half an hour later, Wang Tao had picked all the ripe fruits from the Serpent Fruit Trees, totaling over a thousand! And there were at least a few thousand unripe fruits left! Seeing such a large number, Wang Tao was first delighted, but then he frowned again. The concept of "the fewer, the more precious" might not always hold true, but it often applied. Just how small was that "small probability" mentioned in the [Strange Snake Fruit]? He would have to try to find out... Blacky had been impatient for a while now, wriggling and fawning on Wang Tao. He laughed and patted Blacky''s head, then said, "Eat it. Let''s see what effect it has!" At the command, Blacky, who had been ready to pounce, immediately bit into a red Snake Fruit and swallowed it. Wang Tao could clearly feel that Blacky''s body heated up slightly after eating the fruit. Then he saw its HP increase by 100 points. Wang Tao waited a bit more but apart from the increase in HP, Blacky showed no other reaction. This left Wang Tao somewhat disappointed. Although he knew the chances of Blacky suddenly Awakening were slim, he couldn''t help but harbor some hope. And with only a 100-point increase in HP, it seemed a bit too little... Chapter 923 923: 364: Massive Harvest_2 Chapter 923: Chapter 364: Massive Harvest_2 ¡°Keep eating!¡± Wang Tao patted Blacky¡¯s head, and it immediately ate a second Strange Snake Fruit. More than ten minutes later, after Blacky ate a hundred Snake Fruits with only an increase of 10,000 HP and no other changes, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. This ¡°small probability¡± of Awakening truly lived up to its name¡ªwith not even a 1% chance... By now, Blacky¡¯s desire to eat wasn¡¯t as strong as before. Wang Tao vaguely felt that it could eat a maximum of a hundred in a short time and eating more would be ineffective. It¡¯d need to wait a day or a few days before it could eat more for an effect. Since Blacky was no longer eating, Wang Tao collected the remaining Snake Fruits. He had four snakes at home that he could feed them to. Wang Tao had also roughly understood the effects of the[Strange Snake Fruit]. ... It was similar to the [Tree Essence] he had in his possession. Consuming Tree Essence Liquid would add 100 HP and 100 Mana per use, with a maximum of ten times in one go. After that, there would be a cooldown period, which varied from person to person. Snake Fruit only increased HP and not Mana. However, it had more functions, but the side effects for human use were significant, making it unsuitable for people. Although Tree Essence Liquid didn¡¯t have as many functions as Snake Fruit and didn¡¯t have as many restrictions, it could be used by both humans and beasts. Wang Tao and his group were still using it¡ªafter reaching 100,000 HP, Tree Essence Liquid could no longer increase HP, but they could continue to increase their Mana, so their Mana was slowly rising... Regardless, the[Strange Snake Fruit]was beneficial for serpentine creatures, and it was easy to obtain. There was no need to fight monsters or anything like that; one could just pick them up in the mountains... ¡°Let¡¯s go. Hopefully, no one else discovers this place.¡± After confirming there was nothing left behind, Wang Tao left directly. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to share, but since humans couldn¡¯t eat these fruits, consuming them could lead to Deadly Poison, which could be fatal. However, in such wilderness areas, it was rare for people to explore. Survivors preferred exploring cities. Even though nearly a year had passed since the apocalypse, there were still a lot of resources in cities, so the likelihood of such places being discovered was relatively low. Now it was ten o¡¯clock in the morning. Wang Tao checked the map; if they headed back to the city now, with their vehicle¡¯s speed, they would surely arrive by evening. The vehicle took a turn and headed towards Changhe Base. In the car, the mood of Wang Tao and his companions had also lightened considerably since they were going home. After staying in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest for several days, they all longed for their own beds. On the way back, Wang Tao casually sorted through the gains of this trip. He felt that the loot from this expedition was even more significant than the last. Wang Tao¡¯s primary mission goal¡ªAdvanced Special Energy¡ªhad been met and even exceeded. He had initially planned to gather enough Advanced Special Energy to have a two-thirds chance for his Second Awakening. Now he could easily reach an eighty to ninety percent chance! Wang Tao always had good luck; such a probability shouldn¡¯t be a problem. If he still failed with such high odds, it would mean Awakening was not in his destiny... Besides Advanced Special Energy, he had also obtained many Awakening Keys. He now had a total of 120 Awakening Keys in his body! A hundred Awakening Keys could be combined into one Advanced Real Body Awakening Secret Key! However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry. After all, the Secret Keys couldn¡¯t run away from him; he would use them when needed. Then there were the physical awakening keys. Wang Tao now had a total of 50 Real Body Awakening Secret Keys. Yes, fifty! This meant Wang Tao could give fifty people a chance to undergo an Awakening! Of course, Awakening wasn¡¯t that simple; other conditions had to be met as well. But no matter what, having so many Real Body Awakening Secret Keys essentially meant enough for his own people to use for their first Awakening. However, a 50% chance was a bit disappointing. It¡¯d be great if he could increase that probability a bit... Additionally, Wang Tao killed so many Lords that he had also gained a lot of Awakening Energy. To avoid waste, he naturally used it to raise the limit of his Awakening Energy. His current Awakening Energy limit had reached 2000, which was a bit of an obsessive-compulsive comfort for him. Of course, the number was secondary; what was important was the increase in limit, which significantly extended his Awakening endurance. He could now use Starfire Prairie for 3 minutes and 20 seconds! Among those of equal level, aside from the Giant Zombies with their high HP, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know who or what could withstand his Starfire Prairie for over three minutes. As for whether he could defeat a same-level Giant Zombie with a high HP total while in full Awakening, Wang Tao thought it still wasn¡¯t possible. It wasn¡¯t because his strength was insufficient, but because the Giants were too tough elsewhere; hitting them didn¡¯t cause any HP loss, only headshots worked. And considering the Giants¡¯ massive size, they were like skyscrapers, and he simply couldn¡¯t reach high enough... even his Fireballs were hardly effective. Wang Tao¡¯s Ranged Attack ability wasn¡¯t as good as his melee combat, nor was it as far-reaching... If Wang Tao could learn some other Long-range Attack Abilities or learn to fly, then with his continuous three-minute Awakening, he should be able to hunt down Giant Zombies that were tens of meters tall... Shaking his head, Wang Tao looked towards the next gain, the Night Demon Heart. This time, he had killed a large number of Night Demon Lords, including Level 4 and Level 5 ones. Chapter 924 924: 364 Massive Harvest_3 Chapter 924: Chapter 364 Massive Harvest_3 The fourth Level Night Demon Hearts, which are [Night Demon Type I], he now had 70 of them! He also had 5 of the [Night Demon Type II]! Night Demon Hearts were quite expensive at the moment, and Wang Tao planned to sell all of the Type I ones after returning, as they weren¡¯t much help to him and were useless to keep. As for Type II, naturally, he would keep them for himself, as they were useful. Moreover, he planned to use Crystal Cores to max out the HP of the Type II. If he could get five 200,000 HP [Night Demon Type II]... just thinking about it felt awesome. Last were all kinds of Crystal Cores, materials, Equipment Blueprints, and the like. These things were completely sufficient for his own use, and after returning this time, he should be able to awaken quite a few people. Wang Tao immediately took out an Equipment Blueprint and began crafting. ... ¡°Woof!¡± However, at this moment, Lightning barked anxiously. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao followed Lightning¡¯s gaze to look into the distance, where the landscape was barren, with nothing in sight. ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°Everyone be alert!¡± Wang Tao immediately warned. Lightning¡¯s ears were much more sensitive than a human¡¯s; it could hear noises from far away. There must be something happening, or else Lightning wouldn¡¯t bark without reason. Moments later, Wang Tao¡¯s ears twitched, and the others looked on as well. They saw a number of small black dots appear on the distant horizon. Looking carefully, those wriggling black dots were actually ferocious human heads! ¡°Zombie horde!¡± Wang Tao had just mentioned that he hadn¡¯t seen any zombie hordes, and now on his way home, he encountered one... And the number... it seemed even greater than what Wen Guocheng had mentioned! Watching the distant zombie horde, Wang Tao felt like he was facing a formidable army. And it wasn¡¯t just their numbers; Wang Tao noticed a large number of Level 5 Zombies within the horde! Although he hadn¡¯t yet seen the Level 5 Lord, this many Tier-Five Elites were not something they could handle. ¡°Let¡¯s go quickly!¡± The car made a sharp turn and headed in the opposite direction. But they hadn¡¯t gone far when they spotted another group of zombies ahead! Likewise, there was a large number of Level 5 Zombies. ¡°We¡¯re being surrounded¡ªno, it¡¯s more like we¡¯ve accidentally walked into their meeting point. Damn! This luck...¡± Such a large horde of zombies precisely surrounding his car was clearly impossible; if zombies had such capability, humanity would have been finished long ago. So it was likely that they had walked into the middle of two merging hordes. Now the only options were to go left or right. But going right would take them further away from the base, so they could only go left. ¡°No choice but to spend money to get out of this disaster¡ªactivate the Crystal Energy Car¡¯s Berserk Mode!¡± After He Jijun operated the controls, he pressed the button. Boom¡ª The rear of the Crystal Energy Car suddenly emitted several blue flames, and its speed abruptly increased, shooting out like an arrow off its string. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Inside the car, experiencing the intense pushback, Wang Tao exclaimed. It was a good thing he had fastened his seatbelt just in time, or he might have been thrown out¡ªthe vehicles of the apocalypse didn¡¯t have seatbelts, only this one did. Seatbelts really were useful! The scenery flew by rapidly, and Wang Tao felt as though he was on a rocket. The car was stable, only slightly jolting. The zombies that had closed in were instantly turned into pieces, with limbs and flesh plastering the windows of the car. Not knowing how many minutes had passed, the car gradually came to a stop as its energy was depleted, with not a single zombie left behind them. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Everyone took a deep breath. It had to be said, the feeling was thrilling and exhilarating! However, the downside of Berserk Mode was also obvious¡ªafter activation, it was almost impossible to turn, and adjusting speed wasn¡¯t an option either. They were lucky this stretch of the road was fairly even and lacked obstacles, otherwise, they would have been in trouble... Later, Wang Tao planned to speak with Qu Shilin to see if they could make some improvements. After He Jijun replaced it with another fourth-tier Epic Crystal Core, he identified the direction and then headed towards Changhe Base. Chapter 925 925: 365 Flesh is Weak and HP is Low Chapter 925: Chapter 365 Flesh is Weak and HP is Low At dusk, as the sun set in the west, a continuous high wall appeared in the distance. ¡°Finally back...¡± Wang Tao let out a long sigh of relief. After escaping the zombie horde, he hadn¡¯t encountered any danger. It was just that the exterior of the car was covered in black blood and bits of flesh, which was somewhat nauseating. He wanted to clean it up quickly. Just then, Wang Tao suddenly felt a stirring in his heart. Through a hazy perception, he sensed a familiar presence in the direction of Changhe Base... it was Ding Yuqin. ... Wang Tao touched the Perception Ring on his hand. Although it wasn¡¯t the first time he had felt this, Wang Tao was still somewhat amazed. The range this ring could sense was much further than he had anticipated. Even from this great distance from Changhe Base, he was already able to vaguely sense Ding Yuqin¡¯s location. However, he could only sense her presence and not communicate with her. Of course, Wang Tao was already very satisfied, he at least knew that Ding Yuqin and the others were safe, and it also let Ding Yuqin know that he was safe; that was already enough. After all, since leaving the base there had been no network, and although the radio could be used, it had many limitations and was often unreliable... ... During the trip back to the city, Wang Tao noticed there were hardly any cars on the road. Normally, at this time, there should have been many people returning to the city... Beep-beep¡ª At that moment, an off-road truck pulled up close to Wang Tao¡¯s car, carrying about four or five people. The truck was old and looked like it had been cobbled together from multiple vehicles, a typical post-apocalyptic style. Of course, Wang Tao¡¯s car didn¡¯t look much better at that moment. In the trailer behind the truck, rusty steel was loaded up, with various bits and pieces stuffed into the crevices. Changhe Base was large, with a variety of jobs. Many of these jobs required leaving the base, but not all departures were for hunting zombies to collect Crystal Cores. Some were mainly about gathering supplies, commonly known as ¡°scavenging,¡± and these individuals called themselves ¡°Scavengers.¡± The people in this truck were clearly a group of Scavengers. Because of the corrosive acid rain, the exposed steel was basically corroded, but this corroded steel could still be used after reprocessing, so City Hall encouraged everyone to scavenge for discarded steel, which City Hall would continuously purchase. The group of Scavengers had clearly put in a lot of effort to collect a truckload of discarded steel. The window of the truck rolled down, and a middle-aged man with a big beard and a bald head cheerily yelled at Wang Tao¡¯s Crystal Energy Car: ¡°Hey! We¡¯re all still alive! Survived another day!¡± Wang Tao rolled down his window and replied with a smile, ¡°Yeah, survived another day.¡± He didn¡¯t quite understand why the bearded man was so excited. After chatting with the somewhat excited bearded man for a bit, Wang Tao finally understood the situation¡ª The reason there were so few returning to the city this evening was because either people had returned early, or they had hidden in the wilderness, or they had never made it back at all... naturally, this was due to the zombie horde. The scale of the zombie horde was bigger than Wang Tao had imagined. It wasn¡¯t just the two groups he had encountered merging together; there were hordes in other places too! The base had issued a warning several days ago, advising against unnecessary outings, and the security level had been raised several times since then. Under these circumstances, naturally, nobody dared to go out carelessly. With fewer people going out, naturally, fewer were returning. Those who were heading back to the base now were either people who had gone out before the base¡¯s security level picked up or those who wanted to take a risk. This bearded driver belonged to the latter group. At that time, the security level of the base wasn¡¯t very high, and after hesitating for a moment, he decided to take a risk and head out. Scavenging also involved a lot of competition, and it was quite fierce. After all, compared to hunting zombies, scavenging was less dangerous and safer. Some scavenger teams even specifically followed behind some Hunter Teams who were only after Crystal Cores and some easy-to-carry supplies. These scavengers would pick up the leftovers, also managing to get a share of the bounty. But now, due to the increased alert, fewer people were going out, and naturally, fewer were scavenging. The bearded man thought to seize this opportunity to make a gamble. At first, things went well, and he managed to get a truckload of discarded steel, but unfortunately, he still encountered the zombie horde. They had no choice but to abandon their truck and find a place to hide. Fortunately, the horde didn¡¯t find them, but the cost was being trapped for a long time. After carefully rationing their food until it was gone, they finally found a chance to escape! The bearded man¡¯s group was tense all the way, and when they finally saw the base and another vehicle returning under similar circumstances, his heart was moved, naturally wanting to share his experiences... Wang Tao understood his feelings. Although their experiences outside had been very different, they indeed both had returned from perilous conditions, so he didn¡¯t say much, simply listened and then offered the bearded man his blessings. This time entering the base, Wang Tao¡¯s Informational Wristwatch was not bombarded with countless messages like the last time. Because he had mentioned before leaving that he would be gone for about a week this time. Plus, Ding Yuqin and the others were all inside the base, handling some matters. So this time, it wouldn¡¯t make everyone think he had died outside like before. Chapter 926 926: 365 Flesh is Weak and HP is Low_2 Chapter 926: Chapter 365 Flesh is Weak and HP is Low_2 Of course, there were still quite a few messages. The most frequent were from Ding Yuqin who contacted Wang Tao daily on schedule. Although Wang Tao felt it was unnecessary, it was after all their way of showing concern, and Wang Tao responded to each message in turn. He was currently at the east gate of the base, still some distance from his villa, so he couldn¡¯t communicate directly with Ding Yuqin. However, their perception had become relatively clear. After the security check, the staff used a high-pressure water gun to wash the crystal energy car, quickly cleaning all the stains on the car. Blacky now also had a ¡°ID card¡± of Changhe Base, and this time it didn¡¯t scare anyone. ¡°The feeling inside the base is still the best, listening to these noisy sounds is just like listening to music...¡± ... Lan Yulian sighed. Wang Tao smiled, about to say something, but suddenly made a sound of surprise. ¡°Is it New Year already?¡± As he entered the city roads through the security check, aside from various festive decorations, there were also some signs that seemed like advertisements, reading ¡°New Year Countdown: Ten Days.¡± Wang Tao had noticed it was almost New Year the last time he came back, but he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to it. This time, he returned to find only five days were left. ¡°Brother! Your name!¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly pointed at the billboard. Beneath this billboard, in smaller letters, it mentioned that there would be some events during the New Year and that Wang Tao was one of the special guests. It was only then that Wang Tao remembered, Cui Sheng had previously invited him on behalf of the City Hall to be a special guest. At that time, Wang Tao planned to rest in the city and had nothing else to do, so he agreed. However, afterwards, to increase the success rate of his second awakening, Wang Tao had gone out again and had spent quite some time outside, and had forgotten about this event... Seeing his own name now, Wang Tao suddenly frowned. He realized he might be very busy during this period? He had to undergo the second awakening, participate in the Spring Festival event, and also visit the cave with Cheng Yiyi and the others... Would there be enough time? Yet on the other hand, the time Wang Tao had agreed to go to the cave with them was in these two days, but now with a massive zombie wave outside, could they still go to the cave? ¡°I¡¯ll ask Cheng Yiyi what the situation is later...¡± When he got back to Autumn Water Pavilion Villa Area, it had already gotten dark. Ding Yuqin and the others were waiting downstairs at Wang Tao¡¯s villa, and when they saw Wang Tao returning, their faces showed happy smiles. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Wang Tao got out of the car and was immediately enveloped in a big hug. ¡°Sis-in-law, did you miss me these past few days?¡± Wang Tao laughed as he released Ding Yuqin. ¡°I did~¡± Ding Yuqin spoke with a red face. Wang Tao kissed her forehead, and then hugged Han Rui, Yang Changhong, and Lu Yingfeng as well. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and talk.¡± Once inside, Wang Tao saw that Ding Yuqin and the others had already prepared a lot of hot food. Although Wang Tao and the others had replenished themselves with nutrient solution, the taste of nutrient solution was after all no match for real food, and they immediately felt their appetites whetted, devouring their meals voraciously. After the meal, Wang Tao shared the details of his recent trip with them. The post-apocalyptic world was very dangerous, and each outing was a precious experience. Wang Tao never skimped on sharing these, as his insights might help them overcome some difficulties at some point. Hearing about the massive Night Demon¡¯s Nest, a large number of Tier Four and Five Night Demons, and even numerous Night Demon Lords, everyone was amazed and regretful. They regretted that they were not able to see that rare situation themselves. Then, Wang Tao spoke about the zombie wave. Ding Yuqin and the others knew about zombie waves, but were unclear on the details, having never been outside. Hearing that there indeed was a Level 5 Lord leading the wave, they were all somewhat astonished, given not only the sheer number of zombies but also their strength. They wondered if the base had any countermeasures. Although the zombie wave was not headed towards the base, such a large group roaming outside could cause a lot of trouble for those venturing out... ¡°Oh right, there¡¯s also this.¡± Wang Tao took out the [Strange Snake Fruit]. Upon seeing this, Er Hei, Sanhei, and the other Black Snakes suddenly got a bit excited. ¡°Take these and eat.¡± Wang Tao gave them each 100 snake fruits and then briefly explained the origin and function of these fruits. Hearing that it could enhance the strength of serpentine creatures and even possibly awaken them, everyone thought it sounded great. Upon hearing that there were more outside, they immediately began whispering among themselves. This opportunity definitely couldn¡¯t be missed, but there was a horde of corpses outside, and the snake fruits were far from the base, making it impossible to send someone to watch over them. ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll go see Qu Shilin to find out if their institute has a way to transplant them. If we can move those fruits to our garden, it would be much more convenient,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. If they could transplant them to the villa¡¯s garden, that would indeed be nice. While several snakes were eating the fruits, Wang Tao took out a large amount of Night Demon Equipment. He had made them earlier in the vehicle using design diagrams. Wang Tao had killed so many Night Demons and obtained a large amount of Tier Four Night Demon Sets, even including Night Demon Rings that allowed for rapid equipment deployment. Wang Tao handed out this equipment to everyone, which instantly increased their strength by a notch. ¡°And this too...¡± Wang Tao brought out a pile of Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores. He actually always had a significant number of physical awakening keys on hand, but Ascension crystal cores were too few, and Ding Yuqin and the others consumed a lot... This time, Wang Tao had obtained a large number of high-quality Ascension crystal cores, enough for everyone to use! A moment later, everyone had integrated the Ascension crystal cores. Now, they just needed to integrate a physical awakening key, and they could attempt to awaken. However, they weren¡¯t in a rush, they wanted to wait until after Wang Tao¡¯s second awakening to try their own. After all, awakening required 24 hours, and they needed to ensure that either Wang Tao or someone else was awake in case they encountered any emergencies. Since they had already met all the requirements, they could awaken at any time, so there was no rush. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go meet Qu Shilin and Cheng Yiyi tomorrow. If all goes well, I¡¯ll start attempting my second awakening tomorrow night!¡± ... The next day, early morning. Wang Tao drove the crystal off-road vehicle alone to the Hope Research Institute. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Qu Shilin said, looking very happy to see Wang Tao. However, Wang Tao always felt that her happiness was not because of him as a person, but rather like she had developed something new and was eager to share it with someone... As it turned out, Wang Tao¡¯s feeling was accurate. Qu Shilin took Wang Tao to a large laboratory that looked technologically advanced. Inside the laboratory, a group of men and women in white lab coats were staring at the center of the lab, where a tall platform was located. On the platform, there was a structure with a muscular figure that shone with a metallic luster, stationed upright. Seeing the person with his eyes closed, Wang Tao was utterly surprised. It was none other than Xiang Hongbin! Compared to before, Xiang Hongbin looked completely different¡ªhalf of his face was still normal, while the other half had turned into silver metal, resembling a half-face mask. And his previously missing limbs, like his arms and legs, had now turned into mechanical limbs composed of steel, gears, and rivets! Many other parts of his body were also covered with metal! On his chest, half flesh and half machine, there was a round metal protrusion, inside which was a small cavity. Qu Shilin waved her hand, and a tall, thin researcher brought out a Level 4 Epic Crystal Core with no Ability and placed it on Xiang Hongbin¡¯s chest. Click¡ª A light sound as the crystal core locked into place and emitted a faint orange glow. Then, He Jijun¡¯s eyes suddenly opened¡ªone eye a normal dark brown, and the other a cold blue. Chapter 927 927: 366 Mechanical Body Chapter 927: Chapter 366 Mechanical Body ¡°Hiss¡ªhow cool is that!¡± Seeing Xiang Hongbin¡¯s current appearance, Wang Tao took a sharp intake of breath. Back at Shuize Base, Xiang Hongbin nearly got eaten by zombies while protecting everyone. When Wang Tao rescued him from the zombies, only half of his body remained. Although Wang Tao had saved Xiang Hongbin¡¯s life with various potions, Xiang Hongbin became completely disabled and would likely need an inhibitor for the rest of his life... Xiang Hongbin had a resilient character. If it had been peace time, he would have been unwilling, but he could have accepted the fact that he was disabled, after all, he had protected so many people, and it was worth it. But now it was the apocalypse, danger was everywhere, and his disability could only be a burden to everyone; he couldn¡¯t accept being a burden. If it hadn¡¯t been for Wei Zhenguo constantly comforting and encouraging him, he might have sought out a zombie to die with. But even so, Xiang Hongbin was starting to struggle to cope. ... When Wang Tao saw Xiang Hongbin again, he decided that he must find a way to restore hope to Xiang Hongbin. It was impossible to completely cure Xiang Hongbin, at least under the current circumstances. So, Wang Tao thought about whether he could help Xiang Hongbin regain combat power. At Wuyang Military Base, Wang Tao had 3D printed a set of prosthetics for Xiang Hongbin. These prosthetics allowed him to move normally and to have a certain level of combat ability. But after all, they were not custom-designed, so they were just ¡°usable.¡± Xiang Hongbin was quite satisfied, at least he was no longer a cripple. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t satisfied, because he knew they could do better, but they lacked the relevant professionals to create something better. He knew that Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t want to fall behind. By chance, when they arrived at Changhe Base and saw those powered armors, crystal energy devices, and other advanced weapon equipment, Wang Tao thought about whether the research institute could customize a set of prosthetics for Xiang Hongbin. The people at the research institute were professionals, and the things they custom-made would definitely be much better than standardized prosthetics printed by machines. Luckily, Wang Tao had met Qu Shilin, a technical guru, and asked her for help, money was not a problem. Qu Shilin was very interested after seeing Xiang Hongbin and was willing to help without even taking any money. Although Qu Shilin seemed a bit unreliable, giving off the feeling of treating Xiang Hongbin like a lab rat, she was, after all, a normal person and knew what could and should not be done. Plus, having used many products from the Hope Research Institute before, Wang Tao also had quite a bit of trust in the Institute, so they came to an agreement, and Xiang Hongbin went to the Hope Research Institute. After that, Wang Tao never saw Xiang Hongbin again. Qu Shilin said that it was quite complicated and would take a lot of time. But she promised it would definitely be finished before the New Year. Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand why just custom-making a set of prosthetics required so much time and why Xiang Hongbin needed to stay in the research institute at all times to cooperate... But after all, it was a good thing, and Xiang Hongbin had agreed to it, so based on his trust in Qu Shilin, Wang Tao didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Counting the time, Xiang Hongbin had already spent two months at the research institute. In these two months, many things had happened, and Wang Tao had almost forgotten about Xiang Hongbin. Now, he finally saw him again. And seeing him in person, Wang Tao finally understood why it took so much time and why Xiang Hongbin¡¯s cooperation was necessary. He and Xiang Hongbin had originally thought that it would be enough to make a set of tailor-made prosthetics with good combat ability. But now... he had practically become a metal cyborg! But saying that these modifications were all prosthetics seemed reasonable... The old Xiang Hongbin used to inspire pity and evoke a tragic feeling, a man who clearly had a story that made one unable to hold back tears. But the current Xiang Hongbin was simply a mix of tough guy, terrifying, a sense of security, technology, and various other complex feelings. He not only had a story, he could slap you into becoming a story! There was no denying it, Xiang Hongbin was truly handsome now! When Wang Tao thought of such a transformation of Xiang Hongbin taking two months, he didn¡¯t feel that it was a long time anymore, he actually thought it was quite short. Even without seeing the specific abilities, just the machinery that seemed to grow out of his body told you this wasn¡¯t an easy task. Hope Research Institute is awesome! ¡°Wang Tao?¡± While Wang Tao was marveling internally, Xiang Hongbin suddenly called out. After Xiang Hongbin¡¯s serious injuries, his voice had become hoarse, speaking like the friction of glass, hard to listen to. But now, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s voice was clearer and more normal. Although it was still not as good as the original voice, and even had a bit of an electronic tone, it was much better than before. And this voice, with his current look... Gotta say, it suited him well. ¡°Old Xiang! Congratulations on the rebirth!¡± Wang Tao laughed out loud and stretched out his arms, walking over. Click¡ªClick¡ª Various mechanisms that had been holding Xiang Hongbin all retracted one by one, and Xiang Hongbin, taking slow but steady steps, descended from the high platform. ¡°Rebirth, huh... It does seem like it can indeed be called a rebirth...¡± Xiang Hongbin muttered to himself and then embraced Wang Tao firmly. After being embraced, Wang Tao winced a bit, but thankfully he was in good physical shape, otherwise, the hug might have actually broken his ribs. ¡°Xiang Hongbin, you¡¯re too strong! Get used to your strength first!¡± Qu Shilin quickly yelled out and then ran over to pull Wang Tao out of Xiang Hongbin¡¯s arms. Chapter 928 928: 366 Mechanical Body_2 Chapter 928: Chapter 366 Mechanical Body_2 ¡°Are you all right?¡± ¡°Haha, thanks for the concern! I¡¯m fine!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. ¡°Phew... that¡¯s good!¡± Qu Shilin, relieved, patted her chest. ¡°Cough, sorry... a bit unfamiliar...¡± ... Xiang Hongbin scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, a sound of metal friction emanating from the back of his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go test it out first!¡± Qu Shilin led Wang Tao, Xiang Hongbin, and a group of researchers to the adjacent testing grounds. She had Xiang Hongbin test some items, while other researchers recorded and analyzed. She briefly explained Xiang Hongbin¡¯s situation to Wang Tao. The moment she saw Xiang Hongbin for the first time, she thought he was an excellent candidate for experimenting with ¡°mechanical bodies.¡± Before the apocalypse, such mechanical bodies had already been manufactured, and the technology was not a problem. However, due to limitations in materials and energy, there was still significant room for improvement... so let alone mass production, even custom-made ones were unusable. After the apocalypse, the Hope Research Institute inherited these valuable data, felt that this technology was very suitable for the post-apocalyptic environment, and decided to continue the research. Then, Crystal Cores emerged, enabling them to develop Crystal Energy Technology, and the appearance of various monsters provided many strange materials... This supplemented the previously lacking energy and materials. Now, with technology, energy, and materials all available, mechanical bodies would undoubtedly play a significant role. In their vision, these mechanical bodies differed from ordinary prosthetics, which are separate from the human body, each acting as independent entities. Prosthetics cannot move on their own and need to be driven and controlled by other parts of the body. For example, the mechanical arm Wang Tao had picked up from the airdrop¡ªalthough it added an extra hand, that hand still needed to be controlled remotely¡ªmeaning, you need an operational hand to manage it. If someone was reduced to a torso, then controlling the mechanical arm would likely only be possible with voice commands... These mechanical bodies, however, were different. Before use, they were independent, but once used, they fused with the body, becoming one with it! To control these mechanical bodies, no buttons were needed, just a functioning brain. You control them with your thoughts, just as you would control your limbs! Moreover, these could be swapped out and repaired. Theoretically speaking, as long as the brain was intact, no matter how severe the injury, one could not die! If mechanical bodies could be widely introduced in human society, they could significantly enhance human combat power, and there might even be no need to fear the Zombie Virus! Humans could completely confront zombies head-on, and zombies would probably be no match! Of course, all these were theoretically feasible, but there were still many difficulties to overcome in practical application. The most challenging aspects were not with the mechanical body equipment itself. The first problem was with the users. Because the mechanical body integrated with and connected to one¡¯s nerves, experiments had shown that during the integration process, users needed to have strong physical constitution and willpower! If the willpower was not strong enough, integration was simply impossible. Even if forced, control would be unattainable. Moreover, there would be various side effects, making it no better than ordinary prosthetics. If the physical constitution was not strong enough, one might die during the integration process... This issue was due to their inadequate technology, which could be resolved given time. However, what they currently lacked was time... Thus, they needed disabled individuals with strong physical constitution and willpower for testing. It might seem like such individuals would be plentiful, especially now in the post-apocalypse. But in reality, they were not easy to find. Especially in the early stages of the apocalypse, there was no concept of being severely injured. Forget being severely injured; even a small scratch from a zombie would lead to infection, mutation, and death within a few days... For a considerable period, the only distinctions were between ¡°uninjured¡± and ¡°dead.¡± Being injured was synonymous with being dead. Although the establishment and development of the base and the improvement of medical facilities revived many wounded and disabled people, ordinary disabled individuals were not suitable; the process required those with exceptionally strong physical and mental strength, which were difficult to find... When Wang Tao first saw Xiang Hongbin, his condition was so dire... Qu Shilin had no idea how he had survived! If he could survive all that, his willpower was certainly not a problem, and being a military man and a Level 3 ability user, his physical condition was definitely up to par. As it turned out, so it was indeed. Throughout all kinds of painful experiments, Xiang Hongbin couldn¡¯t remain completely silent but at least he could tough them out. This was far beyond what previous test subjects had managed... The second issue involved the integration of mechanical bodies with people and fluids. If a person was missing a hand, creating and integrating a mechanical arm would have a difficulty of ¡°1¡±. But if they were missing both hands, integrating two mechanical arms wouldn¡¯t be ¡°2¡±, but ¡°3¡± or even higher! Simply put, the more areas of the body that were modified, the greater the difficulty of integration became, and the lower the probability of a complete seamless integration. With Xiang Hongbin¡¯s condition, the sheer amount of modifications needed initially seemed impossible. It wasn¡¯t a question of his willpower, but of the technology not being adequate. Qu Shilin originally thought of taking things slowly, first integrating one hand, then one foot, gradually testing and improving with the hope that it ultimately would be successful. The only one who would suffer through the ordeal was the test subject like Xiang Hongbin. Although there was no risk to his life, the repeated experimenting was truly agonizing... However, sometimes luck turns out to be incredibly good¡ªWang Tao managed to obtain a [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle]! When others saw this kind of weapon, of course, they thought about enhancing their own combat power. But the researchers at the Hope Research Institute found it fascinating, slightly akin to their mechanical bodies, yet differing as one involved integration into the body and the other was a semi-integration; one primarily utilized mechanical technology, and the other biological technology... Couldn¡¯t they learn something from this? The Hope Research Institute took an interest in the Iron Armored Beetle at the City Hall. After a prolonged tug of war, the Iron Armored Beetle from the City Hall ended up in the hands of the Research Institute. Qu Shilin didn¡¯t go into specifics, but presumably, the institute had given a lot in return. Once they acquired the Iron Armored Beetle, the institute began tirelessly researching it. And then, they successfully dismantled the armed status of the Iron Armored Beetle¡ªthen couldn¡¯t put it back together... But the gain was substantial, they successfully merged some of the biological technology of the Iron Armored Beetle with their own mechanical technology! Coupled with enhancements from Crystal Energy Technology... Xiang Hongbin was their latest product! ¡°Xiang Hongbin¡¯s body still has many flaws. For example, it hasn¡¯t reached our expected sensation of being ¡®exactly like his original body¡¯... There¡¯s also a certain ¡®delay¡¯ when using it, somewhat like operating an Armored Beetle... Its appearance can¡¯t be made exactly like a human¡¯s¡ªlet¡¯s not even talk about being exactly alike; this design is more like powered armor than a person... Anyway, there are still many issues...¡± ¡°But I also believe that we will eventually create better mechanical bodies, indistinguishable from human bodies. Perhaps even reaching the legendary state of living with just a brain¡ªno, with just a consciousness!¡± There was a twinkle in Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes. ¡°I believe you can do it!¡± Wang Tao nodded earnestly. He truly believed that Qu Shilin could achieve it. Honestly, for him, since seeing the powered armor, the technological level of the apocalypse had already surpassed his understanding, and whatever outrageous inventions they came up with next, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised. ¡°Thank you!¡± Qu Shilin joyfully hugged Wang Tao, then continued: ¡°Now that I¡¯ve explained the origin of Xiang Hongbin¡¯s modifications, let¡¯s talk about his strength. You can see the specifics in the tests...¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about others, but his physical condition, I feel, can¡¯t be matched by many. If paired with various weapons... he completely possesses the combat power of an Awakener!¡± ¡°But there¡¯s a small flaw; he needs to consume Crystal Cores...¡± Chapter 929 929: 367: Millionaire Chapter 929: Chapter 367: Millionaire ¡°To have the combat power of an Awakener... that¡¯s quite impressive!¡± As he watched Xiang Hongbin undergoing the test, Wang Tao felt a bit amazed. Awakeners could awaken abilities that ranged from strong to weak, bizarre to diverse, but after awakening, they were invariably stronger than ordinary ability users! So far, Wang Tao had never seen anyone with the strength of a Level 3 ability user tough it out against a fourth-order Awakener. Xiang Hongbin was currently only Level 3. If he could exert the combat power of an Awakener with a Level 3 physique, then Wang Tao could only say that this prosthetic body modification was truly awesome! Moreover, Wang Tao suddenly thought of a question. If Xiang Hongbin could now possess the combat power of a fourth-order Awakener, what would happen if he awakened again? ... Xiang Hongbin did have hidden attributes, and the hardest condition for awakening had already been met... Wang Tao thought it was worth a try! As for the consumption of Crystal Core Energy, Wang Tao thought it was not a big deal. As the saying goes, ¡°Nothing that can be solved with money is a problem¡±¡ªthe real trouble starts when money is not enough. ... The tests for Xiang Hongbin were extensive and took some time. Many of the tests required physical strength, but Xiang Hongbin managed them without breaking a sweat or showing any strain, making it seem very casual. Qu Shilin was a bit curious about where Xiang Hongbin¡¯s limits were, but considering that his entire body was experimental and she had no replacements if something went wrong... she decided against pushing him further, opting to take it slow in the future. After all the tests were complete, an hour had passed. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Xiang Hongbin walked over with a big laugh and hugged Wang Tao again. This time he was careful about his strength¡ªit was just a hug like any ordinary person would give. When he had awakened earlier, he was still a bit groggy. His mind was heavy and fuzzy, and although he could recognize people, he was a bit slow, as if he hadn¡¯t fully woken up. Now, after warming up, he felt a lot clearer and utterly refreshed. ¡°Old He, how does it feel?¡± Wang Tao asked, smiling as he patted his shoulder. ¡°Great, I¡¯ve never felt this good before! When I used prosthetics before, they were just tools. Now... we are one! This isn¡¯t a tool¡ªit¡¯s my hands and feet! This feeling is really exhilarating!¡± Xiang Hongbin was both excited and moved. Those who had never been disabled couldn¡¯t understand his feelings at this moment. The sense from these prosthetics was far beyond ordinary value. Especially since he not only regained the ability to move freely, but more importantly, his combat power was restored and even enhanced! From now on, he was no longer a burden; he could go out and fight! ¡°Wang Tao, shall we practice together later?¡± Xiang Hongbin suddenly grinned and spoke. He didn¡¯t think he could beat Wang Tao, but he felt he knew Wang Tao well enough. Practicing with Wang Tao would give him a rough idea of his own level. Just looking at these data... he couldn¡¯t understand them, or he didn¡¯t know what they meant, and he always believed in actual combat. Data and such didn¡¯t matter to him. ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao was also looking forward to seeing Xiang Hongbin¡¯s combat capabilities. ¡°Then, when you guys spar, can I also come to watch?¡± Qu Shilin eagerly watched Wang Tao and Xiang Hongbin from the side. ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao nodded with a smile. ¡°Thank you!¡± Qu Shilin quickly thanked him and then went on to give Wang Tao a detailed introduction to the specific functions of Xiang Hongbin¡¯s prosthetic body. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s body had two types of power sources: one was his own physical strength, and the other was powered by the Crystal Core. Naturally, both could be used together. Using his own physical strength, although still stronger than the previous prosthetics, couldn¡¯t manifest his full strength. It would need to be combined with the Crystal Core Energy. Besides the enhancement of his physical attributes, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s prosthetics could also support a variety of custom weapons, including both melee and Crystal-powered Weapons. The specific Crystal-powered Weapons were not available yet, but Qu Shilin said they would soon be produced and equipped for Xiang Hongbin. Of course, using Crystal-powered Weapons would involve greater energy consumption... Furthermore, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s senses were also greatly enhanced, such as hearing enhancement, the ability to receive radio signals, and so on. The most significant improvement was his mechanical prosthetic eye that emitted blue light! This prosthetic eye was one of the most advanced technologies currently available at the research institute. It had features like telescopic, night vision, infrared, surveillance, projection, and more, with further upgrades possible in the future. It was somewhat similar to the functions of powered armor, but while the current powered armor was a first-generation product, this was considered a second-generation product. Whether in terms of size, portability, or various functions, the second generation was superior to the first. Wang Tao felt a bit envious as he listened. He could also see in the dark, but his eyes didn¡¯t have nearly as many functions. He was most interested in the projection feature. It was a holographic projection technology; Xiang Hongbin¡¯s blue eyes could project some 3D images, such as video surveillance or video calls. It seemed quite advanced. ¡°This mechanical prosthetic eye is currently the only finished product. However, we have now mastered the key technology and are preparing for mass production. The only issue is that not many people are eligible to use it...¡± Qu Shilin said somewhat helplessly, shaking her head. The biggest problem now was that only those with strong physical qualities and willpower were suitable for prosthetic body modification; most people couldn¡¯t undergo the modification, and forced modifications could lead to death... When this limitation is resolved, it could truly become widespread, and the overall strength of the base would also be enhanced. Chapter 930 930: 367: Millionaire_2 Chapter 930: Chapter 367: Millionaire_2 However, let¡¯s face it, there aren¡¯t many disabled people now. You can¡¯t let someone give up their perfectly good body just for a transformation... The three of them continued their research for a while. Wang Tao offered some personal suggestions for Hong Bin¡¯s modified body and incidentally shared some details about the Crystal Energy Car with Qu Shilin, as he had previously promised to help Qu test it. Qu Shilin took these details seriously and recorded them, planning to make improvements later. ¡°There¡¯s another thing...¡± Wang Tao came to see Qu this time because he wanted to know about the Snake Fruit transplantation. Although the transformation of Hong Bin was a pleasant surprise, he couldn¡¯t forget his main objective. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Qu Shilin was very interested. ... ¡°We do have technology related to ¡®special plant transplantation¡¯ here. This thing can¡¯t just be transplanted at random and requires some particular methods, all accumulated from our past experience. I can certainly help you, but I can¡¯t guarantee a 100% success rate. We will only know the specifics after looking further into it...¡± As Wang Tao had anticipated, there indeed were some methods available at the research institute, and Qu Shilin was willing to help. ¡°That¡¯s great! You really like your quirky stuff, don¡¯t you? How about, when it¡¯s time to transplant, I give you a small tree to play with?¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. ¡°Haha, sure!¡± Qu Shilin nodded immediately. She truly loved these quirky things. ¡°Then we won¡¯t disturb you any longer. We¡¯ll head back now. Old Xiang and the others haven¡¯t been seen for a long time...¡± Wang Tao stood up. He had planned to visit Cheng Yiyi after finding Qu Shilin, but he didn¡¯t expect Hong Bin to wake up. So he decided to take Hong Bin back first, meet with Zhen Guo and the others, and then go find Cheng Yiyi. ¡°Okay¡ªoh wait, hold on a second!¡± Qu Shilin went back to her bedroom and then handed a black card to Wang Tao. ¡°You previously gave me 12 Night Demon hearts to sell together, remember? This is the money from that sale.¡± Had Qu Shilin not mentioned it, Wang Tao would have almost forgotten about it. He curiously took the anonymous black bank card and swiped it on his informational wristwatch. Beep¡ª Seeing the number displayed, Wang Tao was immediately surprised. ¡°Wow, that much! You didn¡¯t accidentally give me your money, did you?¡± The card totaled 10.2 million Crystal Coins! One Level 4 Night Demon heart sold for 850,000? Had he become a millionaire just like that? Wang Tao¡¯s initial thought was that 300,000 would be okay, 500,000 would be a great profit, but selling for over 800,000 was a bit too high, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°No, I¡¯ve already taken my share,¡± Qu Shilin shook her head, then explained. ¡°These past few days, the price of Night Demon hearts has been fluctuating. It went as high as 1.1 million and as low as 500,000. However, no one was buying for 1.1 million, and at 500,000, the hearts were practically unseen, just teasing like a monkey show...¡± ¡°After a period of trading, the price of Night Demon hearts has stabilized. The basic variant, not nourished by a Crystal Core, goes for 700,000 to 800,000 Crystal Coins. This price is acceptable to both buyers and sellers...¡± ¡°However, since Night Demon hearts are quite rare, as soon as anyone sells them, they are quickly bought up, making it a seller¡¯s market... We sold so many hearts at once, saving them a lot of collecting time, so the price was a bit higher than if selling them individually, at 850,000 each...¡± Qu Shilin was somewhat excited talking about it. Although she was not very keen on money, the money here could be exchanged directly for Crystal Cores, which she loved, as her various studies all depended on Crystal Cores. Although most of the Crystal Cores were supplied by the research institute, she also had some personal projects that required self-funding, and without some money, she really couldn¡¯t support such research... Wang Tao and Qu Shilin were somewhat alike in that they weren¡¯t keen on money either, but since it could be exchanged directly for Crystal Cores, they still liked it. Besides, this was ten million! Wang Tao had never seen so much money in his life... But thinking about a single Night Demon heart selling for over 800,000, Wang Tao looked at the over seventy Night Demon hearts in his Space Backpack and fell into deep thought. Excluding the Level 5 hearts, just these Level 4 hearts alone could sell for fifty-six million! ¡°Just don¡¯t know if anyone can swallow that...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin and thought. These Level 4 Night Demon hearts were useless to Wang Tao and those around him; it would be better to sell them for money and exchange them for Crystal Cores. And selling them individually would be too time-consuming. Wang Tao wanted to sell them in a bundle, ideally to a powerful individual who could take all the Night Demon hearts off his hands at once. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Qu Shilin noticed Wang Tao was somewhat spaced out and nudged him. ¡°Cough, speaking of which, I still have some Night Demon hearts, could you help me sell them?¡± ¡°You still have some?¡± Qu Shilin was a bit surprised, but it made sense since Wang Tao had been out for such a long time and had killed several Lord Night Demons. ¡°Of course! After I sold so many Night Demon hearts last time, people have been contacting me, I can sell directly to them. The price of eight hundred thousand is very favorable...How many do you have?¡± ¡°Seventy, is there a force that can take them all?¡± Wang Tao said directly. ¡°What? Seventy!¡± Qu Shilin was startled. She made sure she had not misheard, not seven, but seventy! Not every Night Demon heart is a weapon, only the hearts of Night Demon Lords are [Night Demon Type I]. Wang Tao went out and killed seventy Level 4, Lord Night Demons? How is that possible! Not to mention whether one could defeat them, even if one could, where would there be so many Night Demons to kill! According to the information she had, a Night Demon¡¯s Nest at most has two or three Night Demon Lords, usually there is only one Lord. It¡¯s not possible that Wang Tao destroyed dozens of Night Demon¡¯s Nests in just a few days, is it? ¡°It¡¯s seventy, all [Night Demon Type I], right in the car, should I bring them over?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Qu Shilin was still somewhat skeptical. When she saw with her own eyes Wang Tao taking out seventy [Night Demon Type I] from the car, she was completely stunned. Then she quickly thought of a very important issue and urgently said, ¡°If you want to sell them as a bundle, there aren¡¯t many forces that can swallow that! After all, something worth fifty or sixty million, probably only the Six Major Legions can afford that...¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who buys them, as long as they can be sold, you handle the contacts... I¡¯ll send you a few pieces of equipment as a reward. These equipments are quite interesting, if you can figure out the manufacturing method, or get some inspiration from them...¡± Asking for help, one naturally cannot let others work for free. Wang Tao had many unused equipments, giving them to Qu Shilin for research was very appropriate. ¡°Equipment? The kind produced from meteorites? Great!¡± Qu Shilin didn¡¯t refuse and was quite excited. After leaving the [Night Demon Type I] behind, Wang Tao left the research center with Xiang Hongbin. He dropped Xiang Hongbin off at the villa first. ¡°Old Xiang?¡± Everyone couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s me! I¡¯m back!¡± Seeing the half-human half-mechanical Xiang Hongbin step forward, the eyes of Wei Zhenguo and the others reddened. Wang Tao did not disrupt their reunion; he went to the headquarters of the Sixth Army Corps. He wanted to ask Cheng Yiyi about the Cave. But Cheng Yiyi was not in the headquarters, as someone from the Corps was trapped outside, and she had personally led a team to rescue them. Wang Tao thought about sending her a message, wondering why she hadn¡¯t replied. However, Cheng Yiyi had left a message at the headquarters for Wang Tao, saying that the exploration of the Cave was postponed due to a surge of corpses, and it would be discussed after the New Year. Thus, Wang Tao left again. To celebrate Xiang Hongbin¡¯s return, Ding Yuqin and the others prepared a lavish dinner, and Wei Zhenguo and the rest got drunk. Wang Tao did not drink alcohol, as he still had the most important task to attend to. ¡°Second Awakening, I hope it does not let me down...¡± Chapter 931: 368: Second Awakening Chapter 931: Chapter 368: Second Awakening Wang Tao had been able to attempt a Second Awakening a while ago, but with only a 40% success rate. To Wang Tao, this rate might as well have been zero. Although he¡¯d usually had good luck, he was not willing to gamble. Should he lose the bet, the next attempt at Awakening would demand even more Secret Keys and face an even lower success rate. Later, he accidentally encountered a Catastrophic Serpent. After killing it, he obtained an Advanced Awakening Secret Key with a 70% success rate for himself, and the serpent also dropped a Solid Advanced Awakening Key. With these two keys, Wang Tao¡¯s success rate for the Second Awakening had increased to 70%, but he still felt it wasn¡¯t safe. After all, he had a failure on record when fusing an Epic Crystal Core with an 80% success rate, even though it was just that one time, he had indeed failed. If an 80% chance could fail, a 70% chance was naturally perilous... Fortunately, Wang Tao had a way to boost the success rate. The Advanced Special Energy he had obtained from killing beyond his level could increase his Awakening success rate by 1% for every 10 points. Therefore, Wang Tao thought he should increase the success rate a bit more. At least to over two-thirds or above 80%. As it happened, he still had plenty of Night Demon Parasite Insect Eggs and Energy Crystal Meteorites on hand, so he went out to hunt these creatures and also bought some information, hoping to encounter other Level 4 Lords. He ended up finding a massive Night Demon¡¯s Nest, which contained numerous Night Demons, and its Incubation Flesh significantly increased the hatching success rate for the Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs. Then Wang Tao made a killing. Not to mention anything else, at least his collection of Advanced Special Energy exceeded his expectations. Now, Wang Tao was ready to start his Second Awakening! Back in his room, Jiang Shixue, Ding Yuqin, and the others were all by his side. Seeing their somewhat nervous appearances, Wang Tao smiled and shook his head. He thought there shouldn¡¯t be any major issues; it wasn¡¯t the success rate he was worried about. What concerned him was whether, after already having awakened once, he could undergo a Second Awakening. Wang Tao had not seen any creature with two Awakenings before, but not having seen one didn¡¯t mean it was impossible. In theory, there should be no problem; he could also feel that he might attempt another Awakening. As to whether it would be successful... he would just have to give it a try. Before attempting the Awakening, Wang Tao decided to extract his [Fireball] Ability first. Based on his past experience, the specifics of an Awakening were related to the merged Abilities. The Fireball special ability was strong, but it was a single Ability, whereas his other three Abilities were the result of multiple Ability Fusions. If he could successfully awaken, Wang Tao felt that a fusion with multiple Abilities might be stronger. He just happened to have quite a few Level 4 Extraction Crystal Cores at hand, suitable for extraction from Fireball. A moment later, the [Fireball] was successfully extracted and became an Epic Crystal Core. Wang Tao turned his attention to his remaining three Abilities. [Berserk Enhancement], [Integration], [Yin Yang Harmony]. Any of these three Abilities, if fused during Awakening, would be acceptable to Wang Tao, so there was no need to worry about them. Wang Tao then looked at his Hidden Attributes. [Body Strengthening], [Night Vision], [Plant Affinity]. All three Hidden Attributes were of great help to Wang Tao; none was superfluous. Therefore, he could also accept the Awakening of any Hidden Attribute. Of course, Hidden Attributes were not Abilities, so even if he did not accept them, he couldn¡¯t change anything. Then came the final step¡ªincreasing the Awakening success rate! After spending a large amount of Advanced Special Energy, Wang Tao increased the Awakening success rate to 90%! If he still couldn¡¯t succeed with this rate, he would just have to accept it. After all the preparation was complete, Wang Tao sat on the edge of the bed, took a deep breath, and began to awaken. Instantly, the brightest two Light Points representing the Secret Keys in his mind disappeared¡ªthe two Advanced Awakening Secret Keys. Then Wang Tao saw his HP begin to drop. In the blink of an eye, it plummeted from 180,000 to 80,000, a loss of 100,000 HP. Wang Tao¡¯s expression did not change; he continued to wait. When he saw that one of his Hidden Attributes and an Ability had disappeared, Wang Tao finally cracked a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve succeeded!¡± A new status appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s HP bar¡ª[Awakening Success Countdown: 23:59:59]! At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly had an inexplicable feeling¡ªAttribute Abilities could not be fused in Awakening. His Fireball belonged to Attribute Abilities, which required him to awaken the Fire Attribute before he could use it. So, does that mean he didn¡¯t need to extract the Fireball Ability? He could have just awakened directly? But it didn¡¯t matter; it was just a waste of one Level 4 Extraction Crystal Core. He still had many Extraction Crystal Cores on hand, so it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Next, Wang Tao felt overcome by sleepiness and collapsed onto the bed. Seeing Wang Tao fall into a deep sleep, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. If he had fallen asleep, it meant the Awakening was possible. All that was left was to wait. ¡°I hope Wang Tao awakens a powerful ability...¡± Everyone hoped silently in their hearts. ... In his groggy state, Wang Tao felt like he had entered a strange place. This place was shrouded in a faint white light. Wang Tao lay within it, feeling not the slightest discomfort, but instead, a great sense of comfort. He had experienced this feeling during his first Awakening, which was amidst a sea of fire. So, just like the first time, Wang Tao lay down in the light, allowing it to seep into his body. Chapter 932: 368 Second Awakening_2 Chapter 932: Chapter 368 Second Awakening_2 This sensation was so comfortable that Wang Tao almost didn¡¯t want to get up. But it wasn¡¯t up to his will. When the white light ceased entering his body, Wang Tao opened his eyes. He saw the light fading, disappearing. Wang Tao felt somewhat confused but also somewhat clear-headed. Then he opened his eyes. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yuqin and the others stood by the bed, and upon seeing Wang Tao wake up smoothly, they all showed heartfelt joy on their faces. After all, it was a Second Awakening, and they didn¡¯t know how long Wang Tao would take to wake up; it wouldn¡¯t have been impossible for it to take a few more days... ¡°Good morning to everyone¡ªoh no, I mean, good evening!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He had slept for 24 hours, and now it was nighttime. ¡°Good evening!¡± After exchanging greetings, Han Rui suddenly asked curiously, ¡°Wang Tao, have you awakened?¡± The others also looked at Wang Tao curiously. They didn¡¯t feel the aura of an Awakener from Wang Tao, which was completely different from his previous awakening and the awakenings of Lan Yulian and others. But since Wang Tao was already an awakener, returning to a more natural state in terms of aura, it would be normal to not sense his strength... That¡¯s why everyone was very curious whether Wang Tao¡¯s awakening was a success or a failure. ¡°It was a success!¡± Wang Tao immediately said with a laugh. Phew¡ª Upon hearing that it was successful, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They felt at ease knowing he was successful and then looked at Wang Tao with great anticipation. Wang Tao looked at his attributes. [HP: 80000/80000] [Mana: 70000/70000] [Level: Level 4] [Hidden Attributes: Body Strengthening, Plant Affinity] [Ability: Berserk Enhancement, Mastery Fusion] [Awakening: Starfire Prairie Burning, Mental Development] [Awakening Energy: 2000/2000] Wang Tao¡¯s hidden attribute [Night Vision] and the ability [Yin Yang Harmony] have merged into awakened [Mental Development]! [Mental Development: Significantly enhances mind control ability, allowing for spiritual communication and energy recovery] Just by the name, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know the function of this awakening. And after reading the description... Wang Tao was even more confused. Wasn¡¯t this description too simple? What about all his other abilities? Things like Night Vision, Mental Attack, and Yin Yang Harmony were all gone? But it was fine, this was Wang Tao¡¯s own awakening; he could slowly experience and experiment with it. ¡°My new awakening isn¡¯t quite like the ones I¡¯ve seen before; even I¡¯m a bit puzzled. Let¡¯s go test it out...¡± Wang Tao said to the others. After his Second Awakening, the limit for his awakening energy didn¡¯t increase; it remained at the same 2000 as before, but his current awakening energy was full, giving him enough to test. ¡°Okay!¡± The group went to the training ground, enthusiastic. On the way to the training ground, Wang Tao also roughly explored his new capabilities. To his relief, his Night Vision Ability hadn¡¯t vanished; it was still a passive ability, just like before, and now when he used Night Vision, his eyes no longer emitted green light! This deserved a good review. Although Wang Tao had been able to freely adjust the brightness of his eyes before, the greener his eyes were, the clearer his vision. As soon as he activated Night Vision, even if he set it as low as possible, there would still be a green light coming from his eyes. In the pitch-black night, his eyes, glowing green, were still very noticeable, lacking a bit of concealment. Now that the green light is gone, his concealment has greatly improved. If his Night Vision Ability was seen as a function acquired later, it was now a natural ability inherent to his body! However, this wasn¡¯t completely accurate because this Night Vision Ability was not physical but rather mental! Beyond night vision, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception also remained. Similarly, his current Perception Ability is much different compared to before. His former Perception Ability could sense energy; every zombie, every human, every monster, they all had energy in them. Perception Ability meant judging the specific strength of others based on the strength and weakness of these energies, but he could only perceive energy and was blind to everything else. But now, it was different. Wang Tao was no longer sensing energy; he could actually see! This feeling was just like... the legendary out-of-body experience! He could clearly see and feel the people around him, the dust, the wind... He could see everything around him more clearly than with his eyes. The feeling was downright exhilarating! His previous Perception Ability was akin to using a wallhack in a game, and it wasn¡¯t the kind that you could openly use. Enemies nearby would appear as outlines or shaded figures in his vision. But now, he wasn¡¯t just using a wallhack; he had the perspective of a god! At a glance, he could tell who was strong and who was weak. However, compared with his previous Perception Ability, there was one downside¡ªhis viewing range had diminished. His prior Perception Ability could sense a radius of over twenty meters, but now it was reduced to only ten meters... This was a substantial decrease in range! Nevertheless, Wang Tao could feel that his range was improvable. The increase of Awakening Energy should eventually boost his Perceptual range. Of course, even without any improvements, this reduced range of Perception was still much stronger than before! This was entirely different, with no basis for comparison... After Wang Tao figured out his Night Vision and Perception, the group entered the training hall. They began testing Wang Tao¡¯s new Awakening. After a while, Wang Tao roughly understood what ¡°significantly enhanced Mind Control Ability¡± meant in his Awakening. The various Abilities under his ¡°Yin Yang Harmony¡± seemed to have disappeared, but in fact, they had all merged into the ¡°significantly enhanced Mind Control Ability.¡± Previously, he was almost unable to control his spiritual power. His spirit-related Abilities, such as ¡°Mental Attack,¡± ¡°Mental Barrier,¡± ¡°Mental Disturbance,¡± and the like, could only be used because of these Abilities. Without them, they were definitely unusable. But in reality, despite the variety of these Abilities, they were all composed of spiritual power. If Wang Tao could freely control his spiritual power, theoretically, even without learning the related Abilities, he could mimic similar attacks. Now, Wang Tao had the ability to control his own spiritual power! His current Night Vision and Perception Abilities were also manifestations of his ability to control his spiritual power. This was why Jiang Shixue¡¯s Awakening specifically mentioned having Night Vision Ability, while his did not, yet he could still see in the dark¡ªthe Night Vision was included in the ability to control his spiritual power. Of course, Wang Tao was now just able to control his spiritual power, having taken only the first step; he still had a long way to go. This was a process of gradual exploration. In the future, he would need to study it thoroughly, focusing preferably on a few key aspects, such as in Perception and Night Vision. Otherwise, he might become a jack of all trades, master of none... After comprehending this Ability, Wang Tao began to explore the second Ability of his new Awakening ¡°spiritual communication and energy recovery.¡± He understood spiritual communication to an extent, but what did energy recovery look like? Wang Tao spoke to Ding Yuqin: ¡°Sister-in-law, I¡¯ll try to communicate with you, please cooperate.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao with an expectant gaze. Wang Tao closed his eyes to concentrate, and after brewing his thoughts for a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Ding Yuqin. ¡°Sister-in-law?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s mouth opened slightly in surprise. Although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t spoken out loud, his voice rang in her ear¡ªno, it was more accurate to say it resonated in her mind. This felt somewhat like when Wang Tao communicated with her in his thoughts using the Perception Ring. However, the Perception Ring allowed mutual sensing between both parties. Now, although she could hear Wang Tao¡¯s voice, she could not sense any of Wang Tao¡¯s presence, nor could she reply to him... Chapter 933: 369 Mental Development (Request for Double Monthly Pass) Chapter 933: Chapter 369 Mental Development (Request for Double Monthly Pass) Wang Tao found the ¡°Spiritual Communication¡± ability quite interesting. Whoever it was, as long as they were within a certain range, he could make his own words resonate in the other person¡¯s mind, forcing them to listen. In combat, this was definitely a good way to issue commands. He could even directly distract the enemy by resonating in their minds... However, this ability also had its limitations. First was the distance. Wang Tao went outside to test it, and the distance was the same as his ¡°Divine Sense¡±¡ªhis detection ability could no longer be called perception, it was entirely a new ability. Wang Tao thought calling it ¡°Mental Detection,¡± ¡°Psychic Force,¡± or ¡°Divine Sense¡± would be more appropriate. He had to first see the person with his Divine Sense before he could speak to them. That is, only those within a ten-meter radius from him could hear his ¡°Spiritual Communication.¡± Honestly speaking, that distance was a bit short considering Wang Tao had a device known as a ¡°walkie-talkie.¡± Walkie-talkies could cover several kilometers... However, using a walkie-talkie required some operations beforehand, it wasn¡¯t as simple as seeing a person and starting to talk, and also required the other person to have a walkie-talkie turned on. But Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual communication didn¡¯t need that; he could just talk bluntly. Second, the other party could only listen to Wang Tao and couldn¡¯t respond. If it were possible to have two-way communication, then this ability would be even better. Unfortunately, it was only one-way communication. Wang Tao guessed that if the other person also had the spiritual communication ability, they should be able to talk to each other. For now, he could only make others listen to him... Even though the other party couldn¡¯t respond, Wang Tao could still know whether they heard him, what their reaction might be after hearing, and even communicate with Wang Tao in another way. Because the range of Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual communication was within his Divine Sense, and his Divine Sense could see everything around him. For example, after speaking to Ding Yuqin, he could observe her facial expression to see her reaction to his words. If Ding Yuqin wanted to communicate with him, she could use gestures, mouth words, or even whisper¡ªWang Tao could see everything around him, so naturally, he could hear the surroundings. So, although others couldn¡¯t use spiritual communication like him, as long as they were willing to figure out a way, communication between two people was still possible. Last of all, using the spiritual communication ability actually had some relation to the other party¡¯s spiritual power. The lower the other party¡¯s spiritual power, the easier it was for Wang Tao to speak. If the other person had high spiritual power like Jiang Shixue and didn¡¯t want to hear Wang Tao, then it was slightly more difficult for him to speak. Therefore, Wang Tao speculated that if there was someone with much higher spiritual power near him, he might not be able to talk to them¡ªmore precisely, couldn¡¯t talk to them without their permission. They had to agree first. It was similar to Wang Tao making a phone call: for people with low spiritual power, he could force them to listen. But for people with high spiritual power, they had to agree actively to listen; otherwise, Wang Tao¡¯s call couldn¡¯t get through... Of course, given the current situation, this wasn¡¯t a problem. After all, there should be very few people with such high spiritual power. Jiang Shixue was one, but Jiang Shixue wouldn¡¯t block Wang Tao; his spiritual power could enter her body unimpeded, so communication was naturally no problem. After testing spiritual communication, the remaining issue was how to restore energy. The energy restoration ability was tied to spiritual communication; they were part of the same ability. But when Wang Tao tested it just now, he hadn¡¯t restored any energy! Wang Tao was actually quite mana-draining now. Every time he used [Starfire Outbreak], although it started with 100 Awakening Energy and didn¡¯t consume mana, the abilities used in the Starfire Original Status drained mana, and more than usual. In his current [Mental Development], the Divine Sense and spiritual communication aspects didn¡¯t consume Awakening Energy but drained mana. Those offensive and defensive abilities consumed Awakening Energy, but exactly how much hadn¡¯t been figured out by Wang Tao yet. Although Wang Tao currently had 70,000 mana, which seemed like a lot, he also used a lot. So he still really needed an ability to restore mana. His previous mana restoration ability was [Yin Yang Harmony], which, though a bit peculiar in method, was very effective. [Yin Yang Harmony: When having sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, both parties¡¯ mana quickly replenishes to full, and the user permanently increases a certain amount of mana. The permanent increase in mana has a cooldown time, which is random] Now that this ability was gone, he needed to properly research how the new ability would restore mana... After studying carefully for a while, Wang Tao seemed to have a clue; it seemed that he needed to have deep communication with the opposite sex to restore mana? But what kind of ¡°deep¡± communication was this? Does it mean communicating while in bed? That would be superfluous... Generally speaking, abilities should get stronger and stronger, there shouldn¡¯t be a negative improvement, right? Wang Tao looked around, then fixed his gaze on Li Qiuyu. Li Qiuyu was the weakest among the group, naturally with the weakest spiritual power, perfect for trying it out. Wang Tao looked at her, then slowly used his spiritual power. Chapter 934: 369 Mental Development (Request for Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 934: Chapter 369 Mental Development (Request for Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Li Qiuyu found it odd, thinking something was on her face, she quickly touched her face. Gradually, her cheeks blushed slightly with a hint of shyness. She tried to avoid Wang Tao¡¯s eyes but didn¡¯t manage to look away. A few seconds later, she bit her lips, her eyes looked hazy as she stared at Wang Tao. ¡°Hmm~¡± Suddenly, Li Qiuyu¡¯s body went limp, and she almost fell to the ground. But somehow, Wang Tao was already there, gently wrapping his arm around her waist to support her. ¡°Sister Qiu Yu, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Ding Yuqin and the others were curious. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just did a small test on her with my new ¡®Awakening¡¯...¡± Wang Tao explained a bit awkwardly. Everyone was somewhat at a loss, but they didn¡¯t ask further. Li Qiuyu leaned tightly against Wang Tao¡¯s chest; her exposed ears and neck were red. Her body temperature was also very high, making Wang Tao feel like he was holding a small furnace. When Wang Tao helped her sit down, she lifted her head, Li Qiuyu slightly raised her head. Her eyes were misty, gazing dazedly and seductively at Wang Tao. ¡°What just happened to us...¡± She felt as if she had dreamt in those brief seconds about being together with Wang Tao, engaged in some deep communication, but if you ask what exactly it was... she couldn¡¯t remember... Anyway, it felt very strange, but also very... exhilarating! She felt an unprecedented comfort she had never experienced in her life! Especially when she faced Wang Tao again, she felt that he was different from before. She couldn¡¯t pinpoint the change, just that Wang Tao seemed handsomer and smelled better. They felt closer. She wanted to stay in his arms forever... If there weren¡¯t other people around, she might even have the impulse to kiss Wang Tao! Gosh, what¡¯s happening to me! Li Qiuyu was surprised, but she didn¡¯t feel panicked... This contradictory sensation left her feeling somewhat helpless. ¡°Cough, it¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry.¡± Wang Tao reached out to straighten some stray hair on her forehead. If it had been before, she would have dodged, not because she didn¡¯t want to, but because there were However, Yin Yang Harmony required physical proximity, and restoring energy was quite draining. But this new awakening was different. It didn¡¯t require physical contact but mental connection, merging together, me in you and you in me... After a round of mental deep communication, not only was his mana restored, but the upper limit of his mana also increased by 10,000. If it were up to Wang Tao to describe that previous moment, he, like Li Qiuyu, couldn¡¯t exactly articulate it; but he remembered that sensation, perhaps what legend calls ¡°spiritual communion¡±? Wang Tao didn¡¯t completely understand, but anyway this ability was very strong. It took just a few seconds and instantly restored both their mana to full, which was much stronger than the previous Yin Yang Harmony! And it didn¡¯t consume physical strength, at least not his. As for Li Qiuyu looking drained, perhaps it was because it was her first encounter with this event, and it was a bit too exhilarating... However, Wang Tao¡¯s mana restoring ability couldn¡¯t be used on just anyone. Firstly, the other person had to be of the opposite sex, which was a fundamental requirement for the communication. Secondly, the other person had to fully consent. Even though Wang Tao had strong spiritual power, So, telling Li Qiuyu about this wasn¡¯t a problem. As for Ding Yuqin and the others, Wang Tao decided to wait until bedtime to talk about it, otherwise it might embarrass Li Qiuyu. Chapter 935: 369 Mental Development (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Chapter 935: Chapter 369 Mental Development (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Li Qiuyu¡¯s face turned even redder after listening to Wang Tao¡¯s words. Although what Wang Tao said might sound mysterious and incomprehensible to others, as the person involved, she understood immediately what he meant. Simply put, it was that her spiritual exchange with Wang Tao was no different from doing the deed. No wonder she felt her clothes seemed suddenly a bit sweaty... Li Qiuyu instantly buried her head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest, not daring to look into his eyes. This ability would consume extra Awakening Energy, similar to Wang Tao¡¯s [Fireball] Ability, and the more spiritual power used, the greater the consumption would be. But if he used too much spiritual power, it wouldn¡¯t be as cost-effective as using Starfire Outbreak. However, Wang Tao had just awakened the Mind Control Ability, like a child learning to walk, so the power of this ability wasn¡¯t great. But Wang Tao believed this ability had potential; with future exploration, it might become a leading attacking skill... At this moment, Jiang Shixue suddenly asked with curiosity, ¡°Brother, since you¡¯ve awakened two abilities, can you use both of these awakenings at the same time?¡± She had awakened, but she had a Hidden Attribute, so she was quite interested in this sort of thing. Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s two awakenings were not independent of each other, and she felt maybe they could be used together... ¡°Hmm? I never really thought about that. Should we give it a try?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. His [Starfire Outbreak] was a continuous awakening, during which his attacks were accompanied by flames. What would happen if he used [Mental Development] during the duration of [Starfire Outbreak]? If his mental attack could carry flames... That would be awesome! With the thought, Wang Tao prepared to give it a try. However, it was not easy to test this. If he activated [Starfire Outbreak], he couldn¡¯t control the lethality, and it wouldn¡¯t be good if he hurt someone... How about going out of the city again tomorrow? ¡°Use this.¡± At that moment, Ding Yuqin handed over a [Night Demon Type I] heart. Wang Tao no longer had any Type I Night Demons on hand, only Type II. Before he had left on his trip, he had given Ding Yuqin and the others three Night Demon hearts in case of an emergency, leaving the rest to be sold by Qu Shilin. Although they no longer needed the [Night Demon Type I], if the [Night Demon Type I] was killed, it was still money after all... Lan Yulian: ¡°...¡± Chapter 936: 370 Hellfire (Double Monthly Votes Please) Chapter 936: Chapter 370 Hellfire (Double Monthly Votes Please) ¡°I wasn¡¯t slacking off, I used a healing...¡± Looking at the pile of ashes on the ground, Jade Lotus hurriedly explained. She had just tried to replenish the [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s HP, but for some reason she couldn¡¯t boost it, and the Night Demon turned directly to ash... The flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body slowly disappeared, and he calmed his excited emotions before speaking somewhat helplessly, ¡°I understand, it¡¯s not your fault.¡± The excitement was because [Starfire Outbreak] really could be stacked with [Mental Development] for use, and the power was terrifying, directly burning the [Night Demon Type I] to ashes! The helplessness was due to the fact that he had instantly killed the [Night Demon Type I] with just one move. By the time he wanted to pull back, it was already too late... and a [Night Demon Type I] was worth hundreds of thousands. That money was gone in an instant... As for why Jade Lotus couldn¡¯t replenish the [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s HP... It was not Jade Lotus¡¯s problem, but because Wang Tao had killed the Night Demon in an instant. If it was already dead, how could its HP be replenished? Although at that time the Night Demon¡¯s body was still there, and even the Night Demon¡¯s face showed an expression of pain, suggesting a possibility of salvation. But in reality, the moment Wang Tao ignited the [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s spiritual power, he directly burned it to nothing, effectively obliterating its soul! So, Jade Lotus thought the [Night Demon Type I] could still be saved, but the [Night Demon Type I] was already dead. And since Wang Tao had killed it instantaneously, even if Jade Lotus had prepared in advance it wouldn¡¯t have mattered... The moment the [Night Demon Type I] was glanced at by Wang Tao, it was already dead. Both its spirit and body had turned to fine ash, beyond rescue by anyone! It can only be said that the combined power of these two Awakenings was too strong! But the consumption was also terrifying. Normally, using [Starfire Outbreak] starts at 100 Energy. The attacking ability of [Mental Development] would normally max out at 100 Energy¡ªnot because the Awakening consumed little, but because Wang Tao¡¯s abilities were limited, and for the time being, that was his limit. So theoretically, Wang Tao¡¯s move should have consumed at most 200 Awakening Energy. Jade Lotus thought she might have made a mistake that caused Wang Tao to lose a Night Demon Heart, and her face soured slightly. ¡°It¡¯s all right!¡± Wang Tao said, smiling as he ruffled her hair. He then explained his ability to both her and the others. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s so strong!¡± After hearing it, everyone exclaimed in amazement. To be able to instantly kill a [Night Demon Type I], leaving no chance for Jade Lotus to replenish its HP! Although Wang Tao said the consumption was high, it was completely worthwhile, something that could be used as a trump card in the future! ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head back. I¡¯ve awakened. The rest is up to you guys.¡± Wang Tao now had many physical Awakening Keys and Ascension Crystal Cores, allowing others to attempt Awakening. Of all of them, Wang Tao was most curious about Xiang Hongbin. He wondered if Xiang Hongbin¡¯s half-human half-mechanical status could undergo Awakening and, if so, what would he be like after Awakening? Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone was somewhat excited. Did they finally have the chance to Awaken? ¡°How about, let the others Awaken first, I¡¯ll give up my chance to someone else...¡± At this moment, Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke up. Although she was no longer who she used to be, and now she wasn¡¯t a burden and had combat power, she still fell short compared to the others. So she felt it was most appropriate to give her chance to someone else. There were just over a dozen people in total, not counting those who had already Awakened and some without Hidden Attributes. There weren¡¯t many people left... Chapter 937: 370 Hellfire (Double Monthly Votes Please)_2 Chapter 937: Chapter 370 Hellfire (Double Monthly Votes Please)_2 A group of people returned to the villa, and Wang Tao gave them the physical awakening keys and ascension crystal cores. There were only 5 people prepared for the awakening this time, namely Ding Yuqin, Lu Yingfeng, Xu Xiaojun, Xiang Hongbin, and Lu Gang. It was a small number, but there was no helping it. Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, Lan Yulian, and He Jijun had already successfully awakened, naturally, they didn¡¯t need to awaken again. Han Rui and Wei Zhenguo had tried to awaken before, but they had failed. They, therefore, decided not to try for a second awakening. The success rate of a second awakening was only 40%... With such odds, Wang Tao felt there was no need to gamble, for if they lost, the next attempt would only have a 30% success rate... They might as well wait until they had collected some advanced awakening secret keys before trying to awaken again. As for the last five people, Li Qiuyu, Yang Changhong, Nie Siyan, Chen Zhuang, and Gao Hua... It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao didn¡¯t want them to awaken, it was because they didn¡¯t have hidden attributes. Hidden attributes were the foundation for awakening; without them, there was nothing to be done. However, Wang Tao did have a few items in his possession that could increase hidden attributes... ¡°I have a few items that can increase hidden attributes, but they all have limitations...¡± He took out 3 [Strange Poison Sacs] and 1 [Reality Illusion Pearl]. Strange Poison Sacs were obtained when he killed those venomous creatures from the Insect Clan. [Strange Poison Sac: After consuming, there¡¯s a one-third chance of poisoning, a one-third chance that nothing will happen, and a one-third chance of gaining a hidden ability.] This item only had a one-third chance of granting a hidden attribute and also a one-third chance of causing poisoning. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what this poisoning entailed, as he hadn¡¯t encountered it yet. However, he had obtained [Strange Snake Fruit] this time, and the information on the fruit mentioned ¡°deadly poison¡±... so Wang Tao had reason to speculate that ¡°poisoning¡± wasn¡¯t too serious and that ¡°deadly poison¡± was the more concerning issue. Otherwise, there wouldn¡¯t be a need to distinguish the two... But that was just Wang Tao¡¯s personal conjecture. As to the actual situation, he wasn¡¯t clear. As for the [Reality Illusion Pearl], its origin was even older. This was something Wang Tao obtained long ago in Zijing City when he killed a wild boar monster capable of creating illusions. [Reality Illusion Pearl: Contains a certain amount of spiritual power which can be fused. If one¡¯s own spiritual power is higher than the pearl, a hidden ability can be attained. If it is lower, one will be trapped in a true illusion forever.] The side effects of this [Reality Illusion Pearl] seemed even more significant, possibly worse than [Strange Poison Sac]. Poisoning from the sac was presumably not fatal, but being trapped in an illusion by the pearl... that could amount to a vegetative state! When the pearl was obtained, neither Wang Tao nor his companions had strong spiritual power. Including himself, Wang Tao felt that merging with this pearl was hazardous, so he had kept it stored away. Even now, Wang Tao thought using the pearl was risky. He himself could probably handle it. With his current spiritual power, if he couldn¡¯t use it, there likely weren¡¯t many others in the world who could. But he had no need to use it because a person can only gain a maximum of four hidden attributes, just like one can only gain four abilities. The difference with abilities, however, lies in the fact that after merging four abilities, no more can be merged unless the abilities are extracted. But if one already has four hidden attributes, one can still obtain more hidden attributes, though this will randomly displace one of the hidden attributes in one¡¯s body. Also, once hidden attributes become awakened abilities, they can¡¯t be replenished like regular abilities. For instance, if Wang Tao were to awaken four times and lose all his hidden attributes, he would be unable to gain new hidden attributes. Wang Tao was quite satisfied with his remaining two hidden attributes, [Body Strengthening] and [Plant Affinity], so there was no need for a change. A good swap would be fine, but a bad one could mean a severe loss. As for the others, although their strength had increased, Wang Tao always felt there was danger in merging with the pearl... He did not like to engage in uncertain matters, especially when the cost of losing could be equivalent to death. Inside was indeed strong spirituality, but it wasn¡¯t as strong as Wang Tao had expected... which was good! Wang Tao was still a bit conservative. He withdrew his spiritual power and then looked towards Yang Changhong. ¡°I just did some research, and I think with your spiritual power, you could fuse with this pearl. But I can¡¯t guarantee it with 100% certainty...¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be 100% sure; the spiritual power inside this [Reality Illusion Pearl] was only so much, and there might be areas he hadn¡¯t detected... However, Yang Changhong was obviously adventurous. ¡°Wang Tao, I trust you! And I trust myself!¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s eyes shone with excitement. Wang Tao had explained the pearl to her, and if her spiritual power was sufficient, then it would be a 100% success! ¡°Good, then go ahead and merge with it.¡± Wang Tao handed the [Reality Illusion Pearl] to her and then turned to the others without Hidden Attributes. Li Qiu Yu immediately raised her hand to indicate that she would not merge with the Poison Sac and let someone else have the opportunity. Today really was a lucky day! The proportion of successful awakenings was higher than he had expected... Chapter 938: 371 Multiple Awakenings (Seeking Double Monthly Pass) Chapter 938: Chapter 371 Multiple Awakenings (Seeking Double Monthly Pass) Wang Tao felt that as long as not fewer than four people succeeded in their attempt to awaken, it would be acceptable. Four qualifying was good, and five was a big win. As for more than five, he hadn¡¯t even considered it, given that there was only a 50% chance of success. But to his surprise, out of the eight people who attempted to awaken, six actually succeeded! Watching Ding Yuqin and Yang Changhong stare at each other in dismay, Wang Tao immediately walked over and patted their shoulders. ¡°...I failed.¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face soured. Although she felt that whether she awakened or not wouldn¡¯t make much difference to Wang Tao¡¯s strength, if possible, she would have rather given the opportunity to someone else. But this was a separate matter from her own failure to awaken; after all, the materials had been hard-earned by Wang Tao, and her failure left her feeling like she had squandered them... ¡°It¡¯s just a failure on the first try, don¡¯t worry. There will be other opportunities.¡± Wang Tao smiled as he ruffled Ding Yuqin¡¯s hair. ¡°Wu wu...¡± Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t really crying, just feeling very upset. ¡°Ahhh...¡± Yang Changhong beside her also let out a deep sigh. She didn¡¯t expect to awaken already, or rather, she hadn¡¯t thought about awakening now. After all, Wang Tao said she had no Hidden Attributes and wouldn¡¯t be able to awaken in the short term, so she was rather relaxed about it. But Wang Tao had just granted her a Hidden Attribute! This instantly excited her; she didn¡¯t have to wait anymore, she could awaken too! But this excitement lasted less than an hour before it was doused with cold water¡ªshe was able to awaken, but the awakening was a failure! Yang Changhong deeply experienced the adage ¡°the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment¡±. Especially since all these materials were hard-won by Wang Tao, her failure to awaken felt like a waste of resources. And if she wanted to try for a Second Awakening, it would be even harder... This was even worse than when she hadn¡¯t had any Hidden Attributes! Yang Changhong was always strong, but at this moment, she felt an urge to cry. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Stop being upset; my new awakening has a particularly interesting Ability. I¡¯ll take you two to experience it!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The two women didn¡¯t quite understand but were indeed distracted by his words. ¡°Do you want to join us?¡± Wang Tao then asked Han Rui. ¡°...No!¡± Han Rui, having been a police officer, had a keen sixth sense. She had a feeling Wang Tao¡¯s smile was somewhat mischievous. Wang Tao shrugged. Since Han Rui was unwilling, he wouldn¡¯t insist¡ªhe¡¯d just give her a private lesson later! ¡°Brother, can I experience it?¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. ¡°...Definitely next time.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. Now wasn¡¯t the right time to include Jiang Shixue. ¡°Oh...¡± Wang Tao returned to his room with Ding Yuqin and Yang Changhong, ready to study Spiritual Communication with them. Not only was this activity physically and mentally pleasing, but most importantly, it could restore Mana and increase the Mana limit... ... The next day, early morning. Seeing his Mana limit increase from 80,000 to 100,000, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help grinning from ear to ear. During their Deep Communication, all three of them had increased their Mana limits by 10,000! Wang Tao had previously used Yin and Yang Balance to increase their Mana limits, but this new awakening seemed to differ from his previous Abilities, as it could still be increased. However, this could only happen once, at least for a short period; they probably couldn¡¯t increase it again anytime soon. Moreover, for Wang Tao, not just anyone could increase it for him; it had to be someone with whom he could engage in very deep Deep Communication without resistance from either side. Simply put, they had to like each other. If either of them had other thoughts in their minds, then it wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°Wang Tao~¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that after he extracted his [Fireball] Ability the day before, he had yet to recombine it. Chapter 939: 371 Multiple Awakenings (Seeking Double Monthly Pass)_2 Chapter 939: Chapter 371 Multiple Awakenings (Seeking Double Monthly Pass)_2 And speaking of the [Fireball] Ability, he was reminded of the [Explosion] Ability he had prepared earlier. He now had an Ability slot open and was ready to fuse them. Wang Tao, holding these two Epic Crystal Cores, quickly completed the fusion. [Explosion: Compress all Awakening Energy, then burst it instantaneously (the magnitude of the power is related to the Awakening Energy). This was a very strong area-of-effect attacking ability, one that could straight-up produce a mushroom cloud! Wang Tao had been deeply impressed by it when he first saw it. However, this Ability consumed not just Mana but also Awakening Energy, and to increase its power, he would have to increase the Awakening Energy... Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how much energy was needed to create a mushroom cloud and couldn¡¯t experiment for the time being¡ªafter all, he couldn¡¯t test such a thing in the city. If it triggered a base alarm or even blasted his house to pieces, that would be troublesome. In the next few days, he might have to go out again, especially since so many Awakeners had suddenly appeared. Their awakenings might not all be suitable for testing within the city, and they might need to go outside for testing instead. That would be a good opportunity for Wang Tao to try out the Explosion Ability. After fusing the Abilities, Wang Tao began to organize the equipment in his Space Backpack and looked for gear that could be inlaid with Crystal Cores to test their effects. Wang Tao had actually already conducted some simple tests, but not many. He knew that same-tier equipment could only be inlaid with same-tier Crystal Cores, and special Crystal Cores, like Ascension, could not be inlaid. He had also inlaid a Crystal Core before¡ªit was the Flame Gauze Dress that he gave to Lan Yulian, inlaid with the [Slow Healing] Ability. [Slow Healing: When HP falls below 50%, recover 10 HP every second until reaching 50% HP then it stops (activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy per day, 3% Crystal Core Energy. Binds to the user upon activation. Rebinding required if changed.)] Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t been Awakened before, so she couldn¡¯t use this Ability. Now that she had awakened, she naturally could. However, her HP had never dropped below 50%, so the Ability had never been triggered. After all, she was a healer, and Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t let her take risks; her HP had always been full. So the Crystal Core hadn¡¯t been used much and could still last a long while... Beyond these examples, there were other aspects that Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite understand. This time, after spending some Crystal Core Energy, he finally began to roughly understand. Source: , updated on n?¦Ï¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï Inlaying equipment with Crystal Cores had its own intricacies¡ª Firstly, if it was an Ability he had learned, inlaying it into equipment meant he couldn¡¯t use the Ability from that piece of equipment. For example, if he had learned [Fireball], and then he inlaid another [Fireball], he couldn¡¯t produce two Fireballs at the same time... it was still impossible. The inlaid [Fireball] on the equipment would be ineffective for him. Secondly, Abilities that consumed Awakening Energy, like [Fireball] or [Explosion], could not be inlaid onto equipment. Originally, Wang Tao had thought that an [Explosion] Ability inlaid into equipment would be very powerful, but now it seemed it couldn¡¯t be inlaid at all... In addition, aside from those special Crystal Cores like Ascension that couldn¡¯t be inlaid, there were also some Crystal Cores that couldn¡¯t be inlaid¡ªor to be more precise, could be inlaid but would have no effect. For example, Crystal Cores that increased HP or Mana wouldn¡¯t have any effect if inlaid. The last point was that the inlaid Crystal Cores were actually related to the part of the equipment they were placed in. If inlaid in the wrong position, they could still fit but would have no effect or even be unusable. However, changing to the correct position would make them effective! For instance, the [High-Frequency Vibration] Crystal Core could be inlaid, but only onto a weapon, and it had to be a bladed weapon. If inlaid onto a blunt weapon like a club, the Ability would still work but wouldn¡¯t add much power. If inlaid onto chest armor or leg armor, it would have no effect at all and couldn¡¯t be used, thus wasting a Crystal Core... Therefore, inlaying equipment with Crystal Cores wasn¡¯t as simple as using any Crystal Core at hand; it required careful study. After some research, Wang Tao inlaid a Rush Crystal Core onto his Black Stone Armor Top. Although Wang Tao was not slow, and his speed over short distances even exceeded that of a Rush, the Rush Ability could instantly charge over thirty meters and could be used consecutively! So, for the time being, whether for attacking or escaping, this Ability was still pretty good. Then, Wang Tao inlaid a Jumping Crystal Core into his Black Stone Armor Pants. Even though his physical fitness allowed him to jump quite high, he hadn¡¯t learned the Jump Ability. By combining it with the Jumping Ability, his limit would be greatly enhanced! Then Wang Tao¡¯s dagger and Jiang Shixue¡¯s dagger could also be set with cores, but as they were Level 5 equipment, they could only be inlaid with Level 5 Crystal Cores. Although Wang Tao had Level 5 Crystal Cores in his possession, these were all dropped by the Night Demon Lord when he was killed, so they were mainly for abilities like Power and increasing HP, and were useless when set in weapons, so he would have to address that issue later. However, Wang Tao¡¯s main weapon, the Sharp Long Knife, could be inlaid with cores. Even though it didn¡¯t have any slots, he could use a Gem Slot Opener to create them. This was also true for the Night Demon Equipment he was wearing. But there was no need to open slots in the Night Demon Equipment because the pieces Wang Tao was wearing were Level 5, and even if he opened the slots, he didn¡¯t have any Crystal Cores to inlay them... As for the main weapon, the long knife, Wang Tao set an [Heavy Instrument] Crystal Core that he had obtained previously from outside. Sharp Long Knife Fourth-tier (Excellence) [Durability +80, Attack Power +80, comes with Armor Break, Bleed Effect (Armor Break, Bleed Effect require Awakening Energy) Ability: Heavy Instrument] [Heavy Instrument: When attacking a target with a melee weapon, the weapon¡¯s weight increases] Wang Tao tested it out and found that the meaning of Heavy Instrument was that when he held the knife, its weight did not change at all. It was only when he struck a target with the knife that the knife suddenly became very heavy. Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel it was too noticeable himself, but Zhen Guo, holding a Shield, was directly knocked to his knees by one of Wang Tao¡¯s strikes, even causing the ground to crack! This Ability seemed a bit brutal, but in terms of damage alone, the increase in weapon weight clearly could not compare to abilities of the [High-Frequency Vibration] tier. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have any suitable Crystal Cores for himself, and not just any Crystal Core could be set into a weapon... Anyway, he would make do with it for now and would switch to a better one when he found it later. Wang Tao also had two pieces of Heavy armor suit that could be inlaid in his Space Backpack, but he almost never used that kind of equipment now, so there was no rush. It was a pity that small items like rings couldn¡¯t be inlaid... ¡°Oh right, sister-in-law, how¡¯s your whip training going?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. The Poison Scorpion Whip he crafted was a very nice piece of equipment. Coupled with the [Whip] Ability he had previously obtained, it would be a good fit if someone learned to use whip weapons. However, none of the others could learn it, so Ding Yuqin decided to learn it herself. She didn¡¯t want Wang Tao¡¯s efforts to go to waste. ¡°How about we give it a try?¡± Ding Yuqin seemed eager to experiment. After a night of Deep Communication with Wang Tao, she had moved on from the shadow of her failed Awakening. ¡°Sure!¡± After a simple exchange with Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°Sister-in-law, you¡¯ve made great progress in training!¡± Yu Qin was already handling her double whips with ease. ¡°Hehe~¡± Wang Tao¡¯s praise made Yu Qin very happy, and it made all her continuous practice worthwhile. Then Wang Tao also sparred with Han Rui and Yang Changhong, and their progress was also obvious. Although they had not gone out with Wang Tao, they had not neglected their training, and even had Zhen Guo arrange military-style training for them, so as to keep up with Wang Tao and not fall behind. Li Qiuyu, who always said she was the weak link, didn¡¯t give up on improving herself either... Wang Tao found that comforting. Everyone was working hard! Just as Wang Tao was about to have a good sparring session with He Jijun and the others, Qu Shilin suddenly sent a message. It was about the sale of the Night Demon Heart. Chapter 940: 372: Sharing the Risk (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets) Chapter 940: Chapter 372: Sharing the Risk (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets) ¡°Is there an exchange meeting this afternoon?¡± ¡°Yes! It starts this afternoon and will last for three days. This meeting was organized at the last minute. I haven¡¯t paid much attention to it, and I only found out about it this morning. The specific situation is...¡± Qu Shilin explained it in detail to Wang Tao. This exchange meeting is actually somewhat related to the cave... The matter of the cave was originally concealed by several major powers. The ¡°cake¡± might only be so big, and the more people know, the less profit they might share. So, they decided to keep the information secret and resolve it quickly. However, the emergence of the zombie tide disrupted their plans. According to their original plan, they were supposed to explore the cave thoroughly today, but now they don¡¯t know how long the zombie tide will delay them. No one can keep a secret forever, especially when not just one or two people know about the cave, but rather several major powers. As time passes, more and more leaks are bound to surface. It is still unknown how long they need to stay at the base, and they might not even be able to go to the cave after the new year. The complete exposure of the information is just a matter of time and could be troublesome... Of course, these powers could actually guard the entrance to the cave and prevent others from entering. After all, everything outside is unowned, and in theory, as long as you can protect it, whoever discovers it owns it. But there is a problem: they are not sure how big the cave is or how many entrances it has. They have discovered two entrances so far, and these two are far apart from each other. Although one entrance can no longer be used, leaving only one entrance. But what if there are other entrances? One can imagine when this news completely breaks out, it will definitely trigger a craze to explore the cave and search for its entrances. If someone else finds them, they would be unstoppable. So these powers thought it better to ¡®guide rather than block¡¯. Considering the current situation, the complete exposure of the news is inevitable, possibly within the next few days; they can no longer secretly go and explore. Their only advantage now is knowing the specific location of the cave entrance... So they decided to actively disclose this information and invite other powers to participate. This way, not to mention anything else, but they will gain more favor than just ¡°blocking the entrance and not letting others in¡±. Source: , updated on ?¦Ï???.§ã0 Of course, they are not running a charity; they cannot let everyone participate unconditionally. Leaving aside the costs they incurred in discovering the cave, the complex interior of the cave means that having more people involved isn¡¯t necessarily a good thing. Thinking of the worse scenarios, what if someone specifically engages in vendettas or sneak attacks inside, then how will they explore? Therefore, the participation has certain thresholds, and the way of participation is rather special¡ªit¡¯s not about letting others go directly to explore but letting them invest indirectly in the exploration. In simple terms, do other people want to participate in exploring the cave? Of course, they can! All they need to do is to invest money or resources to these powers that discovered the cave. They can choose a faction they favor, and later, everyone will share the profits according to a certain ratio! When Wang Tao heard Qu Shilin explain this, he immediately exclaimed, ¡°What a move!¡± These people are all talents! Due to the appearance of the zombie tide, the matter of the cave could have become a crisis. Yet, through their manipulation, they turned it into a business opportunity! Wang Tao isn¡¯t sure how exactly it will be implemented, but he thinks this scheme really has potential. Because he learned from Cheng Yiyi that exploring the cave was highly likely to be profitable, but it wasn¡¯t a guaranteed profit. The cave had valuable items but was also very dangerous. By letting others invest money or resources, they effectively share the risks. This is like many tycoons doing business before the apocalypse, who, despite having the capacity to invest alone, would still find partners. The reason, apart from the partners¡¯ capabilities, was also to share the risks. The situation now is similar, by letting others bring capital, they also share a lot of the risk. Moreover, Wang Tao thinks this yields two more benefits. One is that everyone might originally be competitors, and more people entering the cave means greater competition and more chaos. A chaotic status is obviously not suitable for exploration. But now that outsiders are investing, everyone becomes collaborators. This stabilizes the situation! The other benefit is that these powers only allow outsiders to invest money and resources, not personnel. This means that the explorers of the cave are still these powers... that opens up many possibilities! If they encounter someone with ill intentions, what if they claim that they didn¡¯t make anything underground and actually incurred huge losses, causing all the previous investments by shareholders to vanish? What then? Even if they are not that deceitful, fiddling with minor details is still feasible. For example, a profit of 100 Yuan, but after some manipulations, it becomes 50... Whether other people will invest after learning this news will be evident at this exchange meeting, as explained by Qu Shilin. After the news of the cave was disclosed within a certain range, too many people wanted to invest! Hence, those powers decided to hold an exchange meeting, inviting other powers within the base to participate in the investment! Chapter 941: 372: Sharing the Risk (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets) - 2 Chapter 941: Chapter 372: Sharing the Risk (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets) ¨C 2 This exchange meeting can be simply understood as several major powers asking for money while those willing to give it keep coming incessantly! The reason everyone is willing to invest is partly because these powers have decent reputations. In the base, reputation is very important, the larger the power, the more they care about their reputation, and they put a lot of effort into maintaining it. So, many people think their credibility is relatively high. Another reason is, many people also understand that they can just treat it as a straightforward investment. Since it¡¯s an investment, it naturally involves risks, but as long as they believe the benefits outweigh the risks, it¡¯s worth investing in. Plus, investing money without sacrificing manpower has its benefits too, at least they keep their lives regardless of winning or losing... ¡°This exchange meeting not only involves others investing and buying shares, but it also doubles as a goods exchange. For example, our research institute will have a booth at this meeting, selling some trinkets to subsidize the household expenses...What I mean is, how about taking these Night Demon hearts there to sell? After all, [Night Demon Type I] is one of the top choices for investment...¡± Qu Shilin explained further. [Night Demon Type I] is a good item, but Wang Tao gave too many of them! A total of 70 Night Demon hearts, not many forces could handle that. Once she released this news, many major powers sent people there, wanting to take all but not willing to pay a high price. Moreover, these major powers seemed like they had already discussed it, as their offers were quite similar, leaving no room for Qu Shilin to gain an advantage. Qu Shilin felt somewhat helpless, as after all, this was something Wang Tao had entrusted her with. If she sold them at a lower price, even if Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, she herself would feel embarrassed. It¡¯s not that she needed to sell them at exorbitant prices, but at least they should not be cheaper than the last time, right? Upon hearing about this meeting, Qu Shilin went to inquire about it, then thought it might better to take the hearts there to see. Since they were reluctant to pay more, there were plenty of forces willing to spend money. It wasn¡¯t just these few major powers; there were others too. Those forces might act like the Sixth Army Corps to get a share of the pie¡ªthe major forces that discovered the cave could keep the smaller and mid-sized forces at bay, but they surely couldn¡¯t stop these major forces. Then, let them compete; that would drive up the price of the hearts! ¡°Okay, since I¡¯ve entrusted this to you, you make the decision.¡± Source: , updated on ?0¦Í?¦Ï.§ã¦Ï Whether a bit more money or a bit less, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very concerned, as long as he made a profit. He was actually quite interested in this exchange meeting, there might be some good items for sale... ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take the items over then, and I¡¯ll notify you once they¡¯re sold. I think they should sell out quickly and for a good price...¡± Qu Shilin nodded, then asked: ¡°I have another matter, when are you and Xiang Hongbin going to spar? You guys haven¡¯t secretly sparred without me, have you?¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s tone was somewhat suspicious. It had been over a day since Wang Tao returned to the city. He had previously promised to invite her to watch Xiang Hongbin¡¯s combat skills, but he hadn¡¯t notified her yet... She had reason to suspect that Wang Tao might have already secretly sparred with Xiang Hongbin. ¡°That hasn¡¯t happened. I still don¡¯t know Xiang Hongbin¡¯s exact combat power yet, and as for Xiang Hongbin... he¡¯s currently awakening.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Sss¡ª he¡¯s still able to awaken!¡± Qu Shilin was shocked. According to Xiang Hongbin¡¯s physical data, he had the power of an Awakener. Now that he had awakened again, wouldn¡¯t that be equivalent to having the power of two or even multiple Awakeners? Qu Shilin wished she could appear right beside Wang Tao now to see just how strong Xiang Hongbin really was. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s quite surprising, isn¡¯t it? How about this, once Xiang Hongbin wakes up tomorrow, we go out and test his strength together?¡± Wang Tao offered. Anyway, Xiang Hongbin had his present power thanks to Qu Shilin, so it was only right to let her witness it. Also, if the prosthetic parts on Xiang Hongbin had any issues, none of them were capable of fixing it, they would still need to rely on Qu Shilin. ¡°That would be great! Thank you!¡± Qu Shilin was overjoyed. Then, as if she remembered something, she quickly added: ¡°Oh, do you have time today? Why not come over to my place? I had mentioned before that I have some things akin to monster eggs at home that I wanted you to take a look at!¡± The venue for the exchange meeting was not far from Qu Shilin¡¯s mansion, he planned to deliver the Night Demon hearts there and then swing by his home. She had thought of this and casually brought it up. ¡°Sure, just give me the address, I¡¯ll head over now.¡± Wang Tao was free at the moment, and it was no trouble to help out Qu Shilin, especially since she had helped him a lot already. Plus, Wang Tao had just finished organizing the equipment in his backpack, many of which he no longer needed. He had previously talked about giving Qu Shilin some equipment as a reward, which he could bring over now. ¡°Great! I¡¯m at... I¡¯m at home waiting for you!¡± Qu Shilin immediately gave Wang Tao an address. After jotting it down, Wang Tao turned to Ding Yuqin and the others and said, ¡°Sister-in-law, I¡¯m heading over to Qu Shilin¡¯s place.¡± ¡°Okay, will you be back tonight?¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was at a loss for words, he had to come back tonight to watch over Xiang Hongbin and the others as they awakened. ¡°Just be good and wait for me at home, and I¡¯ll come back tonight and properly teach you a lesson!¡± Wang Tao gave Ding Yuqin¡¯s buttocks a slap. Ding Yuqin immediately gave him a sharp look, but the thought of last night¡¯s physical experience made her body go weak... ¡°Hmph~ Who¡¯s scared of who!¡± ... Wang Tao drove off alone in the Crystal Energy Car, leaving the villa area. On the road, as he passed by a bank, something suddenly occurred to Wang Tao. ¡°I almost forgot, I need to exchange some Crystal Cores!¡± Wang Tao had previously mentioned that he needed to max out the HP of both the [Armored Beetle] and [Night Demon Type II], as they were quite beneficial to him and his team. But he was out of Crystal Cores and needed to exchange some. He had spent all his Crystal Coins for opening a meteorite, but luckily, Qu Shilin had given him the money from selling the heart, ten million Crystal Coins, which was enough. Crystal Coins could be directly exchanged for Crystal Cores at a fixed rate, with only a small fee required. For efficiency, Wang Tao also opted for an expedited service, so despite the large quantity needed, it was quickly completed. Getting back in the car, looking at the 10,000 Tier-4 No-attribut White Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack, Wang Tao felt a bit of awe; Changhe Base had indeed produced a significant amount of Crystal Cores. Exchanging so many took just over ten minutes... Then, Wang Tao took out five Night Demon Hearts and two Iron Beetles. These five Night Demon Hearts were all Level 5 [Night Demon Type II] with a maximum HP of 200,000. To reach the max, 1,900 Tier-4 White Crystal Cores were needed per heart, so 9,500 Crystal Cores for five hearts. The two Iron Beetles had a max HP of 100,000, but they already had 50,000 HP, so they only needed 50 more cores each. In total, this added up to 9,700 Crystal Cores, a frightening expenditure, but luckily Wang Tao made a small profit from selling the Night Demon Hearts, which was just enough. ¡°Spending money is really fast!¡± Wang Tao reflected. The ten million he had just earned was almost completely spent in less than three days... When Wang Tao arrived outside Qu Shilin¡¯s villa, the Iron Beetles in his car had already integrated all the Crystal Cores, but the Night Demon Hearts had not yet, as there were too many. Normally, integrating Level 5 Crystal Cores would be better, but since Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many, and the bank couldn¡¯t exchange for Level 5 cores, he had to use Tier-4. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Qu Shilin had been waiting at the door as Wang Tao had contacted her before arriving. As Wang Tao got out of the car, she saw the Night Demon Hearts on the car seat. ¡°Eh? Why do these Night Demon Hearts in your car seem a bit unusual?¡± Qu Shilin frowned. As a researcher, her observational skills were quite sharp. ¡°Because these are Level 5.¡± Wang Tao said casually. ¡°Ah? Level 5? You can kill a Level 5 Night Demon? Really?¡± Qu Shilin was somewhat stunned. Chapter 942: 373 Mysterious Egg (Request for Double Monthly Tickets) Chapter 942: Chapter 373 Mysterious Egg (Request for Double Monthly Tickets) Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao, her eyes filled with disbelief. The heart of a Level 5 Night Demon, naturally, could only be obtained by killing a Level 5 Night Demon, and it had to be a Night Demon Lord! Ordinary Night Demon hearts would turn to ash upon exposure to light, only the Lord¡¯s Night Demon hearts could withstand sunlight, so the hearts in the car were indeed from a Night Demon Lord! Adding to that, she knew what a Level 4 Night Demon heart looked like, and there was no Level 3 Night Demon heart, thus indicating that the Night Demon hearts in Wang Tao¡¯s car were indeed Level 4 or above... Qu Shilin¡¯s mind was quick, she figured all this out in an instant¡ªWang Tao was not joking! But knowing was one thing, the reality still shocked her. After all, this was a Level 5 Lord Night Fiend! Although compared to ordinary zombies, Night Demons had fatal weaknesses, as gregarious creatures, they stayed in their nests during the day and came out together at night... Under these circumstances, killing a Level 5 Lord Night Demon was essentially challenging the entire Night Demon¡¯s Nest! So, had Wang Tao wiped out a nest with a Level 5 Lord Night Demon? If others were involved, she probably would have known about it, not because she was extraordinarily well-informed, but because anyone who did such a thing would surely make a big deal of it... If that was the case, then Wang Tao¡¯s combat power was too strong! Qu Shilin felt she needed to reassess Wang Tao¡¯s combat power. She had previously gone meteorite hunting with Wang Tao, but at that time, Wang Tao had mostly been slacking off, so she did not know his real combat power... Now, she was only seeing the tip of the iceberg! ¡°You...¡± Qu Shilin opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but eventually, it boiled down to two words, ¡°Awesome!¡± ¡°Haha, let¡¯s just take that as a compliment!¡± Wang Tao generously opened the car door, letting Qu Shilin take a look at those Night Demon hearts. ¡°Are you fusing these Night Demon hearts with a Fusion Crystal Core? Why don¡¯t you bring them over to my place for fusion¡ªwait a second!¡± Qu Shilin had thought about having Wang Tao bring the Night Demon hearts to her place, so she could observe them closely. As for buying them for research, she hadn¡¯t mentioned it; she knew it was highly likely Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t sell them, after all, these were Level 5! But upon seeing these Night Demon hearts, Qu Shilin was stunned. Because she realized there wasn¡¯t just one heart, but five! Heavens! Five Level 5 Lord Night Demon hearts! He had killed five Level 5 Lord Night Demons?! Seeing Qu Shilin somewhat dazed, Wang Tao waved his hand in front of her. ¡°Stop thinking about it, this Night Demon Type II has been quite helpful to me, I can¡¯t possibly give them to you.¡± This Night Demon Type II, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t sell for any amount of money. Qu Shilin snapped back to reality, and without speaking, just kept staring at Wang Tao as if she were looking at a monster. ¡°...Miss Qu, aren¡¯t you going to invite me in?¡± ¡°...Please come in! Just call me Shilin!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Looking at Qu Shilin¡¯s indescribable complex expression, Wang Tao found it quite interesting. As Wang Tao followed Qu Shilin inside, he brought the five Night Demon hearts still fusing with their Crystal Cores. Since these biological weapons could not fuse with Crystal Cores inside the Space Backpack, they had to be left outside. Since Qu Shilin was very interested, showing them to her was naturally no problem. Qu Shilin wanted to ask how strong Wang Tao really was, but then she thought that this wasn¡¯t something that could be understood just by talking about it, especially since she was hardly a fighter... Seeing it with her own eyes would be the only way to understand. So, she didn¡¯t ask; she planned to take any chance to go out with Wang Tao later on, to observe how he hunted zombies, as Wang Tao¡¯s strength might surpass what she had imagined! Wang Tao could probably guess that Qu Shilin might have been shocked by the five Level 5 Lord Night Demon hearts, so he briefly explained. ¡°I was able to kill these Level 5 Lord Night Demons mainly because of good luck¡ªwhat¡¯s with that look? I wouldn¡¯t lie to you... Okay, okay, I admit, my strength might be a tiny bit stronger than an ordinary person, but that¡¯s not the main reason; mostly it¡¯s because I have a lot of ultraviolet light equipment...¡± Wang Tao had always been a modest person, there was no need to boast about his strength. Qu Shilin rolled her eyes at Wang Tao. Did she look that gullible? However, she didn¡¯t press further, as this was already delving into Wang Tao¡¯s privacy. But concerning the ultraviolet light equipment Wang Tao mentioned, she was very interested, so she inquired about it. ¡°Huh? Don¡¯t you know?¡± Wang Tao had previously provided Duan Xuchang with some ultraviolet light equipment; they were probably meant for lab research by the Third Legion, right? On hearing this, Qu Shilin explained: ¡°Our lab has several teams; he might have handed it over to another team, I didn¡¯t particularly inquire about the ultraviolet light aspect.¡± ¡°I see, I still have a lot of ultraviolet light equipment, do you want it?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Qu Shilin didn¡¯t hold back. She naturally wouldn¡¯t refuse, given her strong curiosity and habit of conducting research. ¡°Then give me a moment.¡± Wang Tao went back to the car and took out a bunch of ultraviolet light equipment from his Space Backpack, putting it in a sack, along with the equipment he intended to give to Qu Shilin, and then carried it all inside. Having killed many Night Demons, Wang Tao had accumulated ultraviolet light equipment of various levels, which he simply couldn¡¯t use up. He planned to see if he could sell some later on. Giving some to Qu Shilin was of course no problem at all. Chapter 943: 373 Mysterious Egg (Request for Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 943: Chapter 373 Mysterious Egg (Request for Double Monthly Tickets)_2 ¡°Wow! So many!¡± Qu Shilin opened the sack, stared at the multitude of flashlights and flares inside, and especially after she personally tested a flashlight and felt the intensity of the ultraviolet light, she couldn¡¯t hide the joy on her face. No wonder Wang Tao said it was all thanks to ultraviolet equipment¡ªthese things were indeed powerful! ¡°This should be enough for you to dismantle, right? If it¡¯s not, just come and find me,¡± Wang Tao said generously as he waved his hand. ¡°Eh? Is this the equipment you were talking about?¡± ¡°Um...¡± Wang Tao carefully explained to Qu Shilin the abilities of this equipment. They didn¡¯t have much use for this retired military gear and keeping it was pointless, so it was better to give some to Qu Shilin for her research. After all, she had previously been able to create a mechanical body by disassembling Iron Beetles. Now, by giving her these ultraviolet light devices and weapon equipment, if she could figure something out, it would be beneficial for the whole base. ¡°And this type of equipment... impressive!¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes gleamed as she examined the items. She couldn¡¯t wait to gather her friends and start researching right away. As for where exactly these ultraviolet devices and equipment came from, she didn¡¯t ask too many questions. The equipment was one thing, as Meteorite could produce it. Maybe the ultraviolet devices were similar. Anyway, it was the apocalypse; anything was possible. And since Wang Tao hadn¡¯t mentioned it, she figured it was probably some serendipitous find... ¡°Alright, go back and study it later, didn¡¯t you say you wanted to show me your collection?¡± Wang Tao motioned in front of her once more. ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot about the main event!¡± Qu Shilin quickly put away the equipment and ultraviolet devices, then grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand and led him to her bedroom. The villa was similar to Qu Shilin¡¯s lab¡ªa clean residence, but filled with all sorts of bizarre items. There were many monster specimens like bodies and organs scattered around, creating an eerie sight. The monster eggs she mentioned appeared to be rocks and were all kept in her bedroom. Indeed, they were quite beautiful with their colorful and green hues. But after looking them over, Wang Tao saw that they seemed to be just rocks and materials, with no sign of monster eggs¡ªwait! ¡°Eh? There actually are some?¡± Wang Tao sounded surprised. ¡°Ah?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s comment, Qu Shilin suddenly got excited. She hadn¡¯t held out much hope; she just liked collecting these things and had amassed quite a few. If she didn¡¯t show them to Wang Tao, she would feel a little regretful. And now, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s reaction, could it be he¡¯d really found something? Wang Tao approached the window in Qu Shilin¡¯s bedroom. On the windowsill, there lay two palm-sized, multi-colored, oval rocks shimmering in the sunlight, and they were exceedingly beautiful. [Mysterious Egg (Epic Quality): Can hatch into a mysterious creature (Hatching conditions: Consume 100 HP)] These were indeed two eggs! Unlike the Snake Eggs from before, these two didn¡¯t show a Level 3 or Level 4 status, but they were labeled as Epic Quality. Moreover, the hatching condition for a Fourth-order Snake Egg was the consumption of 100,000 HP, while these two only required 100. That was a huge drop in difficulty! Generally speaking, the more it costs to obtain something, the better the resulting item. So does that mean these eggs were not as valuable as the Fourth-order Snake Eggs? But these eggs were of Epic Quality, something the Fourth-order Snake Eggs did not have... Wang Tao was uncertain about how valuable these mysterious eggs were. However, judging purely by aesthetics, these two eggs were clearly more captivating; those Fourth-order Snake Eggs looked like dusty rocks which most people would mistake for ordinary stones. In contrast, these two eggs were as attractive as gems. ¡°This must be a monster¡¯s egg, but I¡¯m not sure what kind, so I call it ¡®Mysterious Egg¡¯...¡± Wang Tao gave Qu Shilin a brief explanation. ¡°Wow! There really is one!¡± Qu Shilin was overjoyed. It didn¡¯t matter what kind of creature could be hatched; she was simply happy to have something in her possession. And she remembered the origin of these two eggs clearly: they were found by someone outside and sold as decorative items at a stall. The price of decorative items was very low, and even though these two eggs were beautiful, they were merely seen as colorful stones by everyone. Not just stones, even gold had lost its value; no matter how lovely the stone was, it was useless. So Qu Shilin bought these two eggs for a very low price. After she bought them, she conducted some research, but even with all sorts of professional equipment, she couldn¡¯t detect anything, just like everyone else. They were just two ordinary stones. Therefore, Qu Shilin placed the two eggs on the windowsill in her bedroom, and every morning when she woke up, the first light of dawn made the two colorful stones glitter beautifully, which always brightened her mood... But now, could it be that these two ornaments were actually a steal? Qu Shilin was excited, and then she picked up one of the eggs and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°Since there are two, let¡¯s each take one!¡± ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re giving it to me?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Qu Shilin really wanted a monster egg, didn¡¯t she? She finally had two and yet she was giving one to him? ¡°After all, you helped me find them! If it weren¡¯t for you, I definitely would have missed out, so let¡¯s share the find!¡± Qu Shilin said with a smile. She wasn¡¯t stingy, and she was also willing to build a good relationship with Wang Tao. ¡°Then I won¡¯t be polite.¡± Since the other party had said so, it would appear ungracious if Wang Tao demurred further. He thought about whether he should give Qu Shilin a Snake Egg since it¡¯s only polite to return the favor... Wang Tao searched the room and the whole villa again to make sure there were no other monster eggs before he and Qu Shilin returned to the living room. ¡°We can incubate them now, right!¡± Qu Shilin couldn¡¯t wait any longer. ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao was quite experienced in this area, and he showed Qu Shilin what to do. Soon, Qu Shilin began to feel a faint presence from inside the egg. ¡°It¡¯s really there!¡± Qu Shilin was thrilled. She had tried various methods to study this egg before, but she¡¯d never tried the ¡°use your heart to feel¡± approach. Essentially, this was about using spiritual power, and like everyone else, she couldn¡¯t project her spiritual power outward but could only sense it by touching the monster egg... At that moment, Qu Shilin¡¯s HP decreased by 100 points, and a prompt popped up on the colorful egg. Upon seeing the prompt, Wang Tao rubbed his eyes, thinking he¡¯d read it wrong. [Hatching Countdown: 359 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds (Requires close personal possession)] A hatching time of 360 hours? 15 days? Wow! A Snake Egg would hatch in 24 hours, this incubation time is 15 times longer than a Level 4 Snake Egg! And there was another requirement: it must be carried close to the body. What would happen if it wasn¡¯t carried closely? Wang Tao didn¡¯t see any severe punishment mentioned for not carrying it close, so he let Qu Shilin try it out. ¡°So that¡¯s what it means...¡± After testing, Wang Tao understood the rule. Close personal possession meant to keep it as near to oneself as possible, even through clothes. When Qu Shilin walked away from the colorful egg, the hatching countdown stopped. If she left it for more than a minute, the countdown would switch to counting up until it got back to 360 hours and stopped. In other words, the egg couldn¡¯t hatch without being carried on the person; it had to be kept close. And to hatch it required 15 days... Good grief, this felt like being a mother hen, which also takes around 21 days to hatch eggs... Wang Tao tested the colorful egg given to him by Qu Shilin and found that it was exactly the same; it also had to be carried for 15 days... When Wang Tao told Qu Shilin about this exasperating condition, she was actually quite interested. After all, she didn¡¯t go out to fight, so normally, she could just keep the egg in her pocket. ¡°Let¡¯s see who can hatch theirs first then!¡± Qu Shilin confidently looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. After Qu Shilin secured the colorful egg close to her body, she turned to Wang Tao and said: ¡°By the way, do you want to check out the exchange meeting? It¡¯s pretty close to here.¡± ¡°An exchange meeting, huh... Sure.¡± Chapter 944: 374: Expertise Direction (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets) Chapter 944: Chapter 374: Expertise Direction (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets) The venue for the exchange meeting was not far from Qu Shilin¡¯s villa; it was just a few minutes¡¯ drive away. Wang Tao was somewhat interested in this exchange meeting, as he had been at Changhe Base for quite a while and seemed to have never participated in such an event. The venue for the exchange meeting was quite large, with two floors in total. The first floor was the trading hall. The second floor was the exchange hall, which was the place where various forces sought to invest in the few major powers. ¡°There are so many people!¡± Upon entering the first-floor hall, Wang Tao was a bit surprised. At a glance, it looked like a vegetable market bustling with morning discounts, with the entrance to the hall blocked and impassable. Qu Shilin led Wang Tao through a VIP channel on the side, and took the opportunity to explain: ¡°Because trading at this exchange meeting isn¡¯t taxed, it has attracted a lot of people.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The operation of Changhe Base was mainly dependent on tax revenue. Aside from the black market and private transactions that were not taxed, regular transactions were taxable. Trades that incurred taxes were legitimate and recognized by the City Hall, which served as a form of protection. Trades without tax did not have such security. Therefore, it was only natural that the non-taxed, City Hall-recognized trades at the exchange meeting would attract a crowd. However, after a brief glance, Wang Tao didn¡¯t see anything of particular interest. There were just ordinary materials, medicines, weapon equipment, compressed food, etc. Clearly, these items were of no use to Wang Tao. As for the monster eggs and special materials he had imagined, not one was in sight. At most, he saw someone selling a Fourth Level Night Demon Heart, priced at 1.2 million, outrageously expensive. A crowd was discussing it, but not only was there no buyer, there wasn¡¯t even anyone haggling... Wang Tao¡¯s notion of snatching a bargain instantly vanished. ¡°Shall we go in and have a look?¡± After arriving, Qu Shilin felt a bit eager looking at the lively booths. ¡°Let¡¯s not, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything good, going would just be a waste of time.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Uh... okay then, let¡¯s go directly upstairs.¡± Qu Shilin trusted Wang Tao¡¯s judgment. If Wang Tao said there was nothing good, then most likely there wasn¡¯t. Even if there was, she might not be able to recognize it with her ability, so it was better to not waste time. There was a security check when going upstairs, requiring identity verification. ¡°This is to prevent people from causing deliberate trouble. Only those with a certain level of strength can go up,¡± Qu Shilin explained. This strength did not refer to personal ability, but financial power. Simply put: only the wealthy could participate in the event, and the poor should play elsewhere. Upstairs wasn¡¯t as chaotic, and there were far fewer people, though ¡°few¡± was relative to the downstairs¡ªthe place was actually still quite crowded. The rich were indeed numerous! There were separate exhibition halls here, each representing a major force. If you were interested in investing in a certain force, you would go directly to the corresponding hall. However, this wasn¡¯t as easy as just offering money or resources to invest in one. While individuals were choosing which major force to invest in, those forces were also choosing them. This was actually a process of mutual selection, somewhat reminiscent of a job fair... There was also an exhibition hall representing the City Hall officials¡ªwere they here to oversee? ¡°This looks quite formal!¡± ¡°City Hall places great importance on this matter. They have strictly prohibited any private profiteering or deliberate deception of partners... When exploring the Cave later on, City Hall will dispatch personnel to oversee, ensuring that the major forces report their findings truthfully...¡± Hearing Qu Shilin¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao was quite surprised. He had previously thought that these major forces only allowed financial investment, not personnel contributions, which meant a lot of room for manipulation. If someone intended to deceive their partners, there might be no way to stop it, and it could even go unnoticed. But unexpectedly, City Hall had spoken up and would personally send people to supervise! This changed the situation entirely¡ªif there were any deceitful acts now, it would be going against the entire base... After thinking about it some more, Wang Tao found it reasonable. If this had not been officially announced, that would¡¯ve been one thing. But now that it was public and looking for partners, this would certainly attract a lot of investment! If scandals about deception arose, the major forces would certainly lose their reputations, but City Hall would not escape blame either. Since City Hall was the official authority of Changhe Base, if such incidents occurred, the public would definitely demand an explanation. It would be difficult for City Hall, as offending the major forces was undesirable, but angering the public was even worse. If they wanted to avoid upsetting either side, chaos would likely ensue, possibly leading to unfavorable consequences. What City Hall needed was stability. They could not allow conflicts within the city, so it was better to be directly involved now and set the rules in place. If problems arose later, they could be resolved according to the rules. With City Hall¡¯s endorsement, the major forces would earn more public trust and attract more investment... Therefore, as long as you were serious about doing business and seeking investment, it was preferable to have City Hall¡¯s involvement. If anyone opposed City Hall¡¯s participation, wouldn¡¯t that indicate they had something to hide? Once City Hall got involved, they certainly wouldn¡¯t be doing it for nothing. Without mentioning anything else, taxes would likely be collected¡ªeven a small amount would bring in revenue. Chapter 945: 374 Proficient Direction (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 945: Chapter 374 Proficient Direction (Seeking Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Wang Tao thought this was pretty good¡ªit was a win-win-win situation. Of course, there was a premise that exploring the cave had to be profitable... if it didn¡¯t make money, then all discussions were moot. ¡°It¡¯s good to have City Hall involved; it reassures everyone.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Yes. I feel that this exploration might be one of the biggest events since the base was established.¡± Qu Shilin looked excited. She had heard that the cave contained many valuable items and some bizarre creatures, she was eager to obtain some samples for research! The second floor had a large exhibition hall belonging to the Hope Research Institute, and Qu Shilin led Wang Tao there directly. ¡°You guys have a lot of stuff!¡± Displayed here were various items: mechanical exoskeletons, powered armor, weapons, potions, vehicles¡ªeverything was available, including the Night Demon Hearts that were likely all from Wang Tao. Wang Tao had mentioned wanting to get a powered armor for fun before, and later Qu Shilin offered to gift him one, although it wasn¡¯t ready yet, so she asked Wang Tao to wait. He had waited so long he almost forgot about it, but seeing the powered armor now suddenly reminded him. Although Qu Shilin was a research scientist, she was also highly empathetic. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s gaze fixed on the powered armor, she suddenly slapped her forehead. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, the powered armor I promised you last time¡ªI forgot...¡± It wasn¡¯t really that she had forgotten; mainly, she had been busy heading the team making a mechanical body for Xiang Hongbin during that time, pushing other projects to the back. She hadn¡¯t forgotten initially, but as work piled up, it gradually slipped her mind. ¡°Wang Tao, you pick one; I can still make this decision!¡± Qu Shilin said to Wang Tao again. ¡°I¡¯ll take a look first.¡± Wang Tao followed Qu Shilin inside. The institute¡¯s exhibition hall was vast, and many people gathered around it. Seeing Qu Shilin bringing someone in, her colleagues grew curious. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Wang Tao, from the Starfire Society.¡± Wang Tao greeted them with a smile. While they weren¡¯t familiar with the name Wang Tao, they had heard of the Starfire Society. After all, it was one of the forces that had first killed a Fourth-Order Disaster-level monster, so it was quite famous. ¡°Hello!¡± The group introduced themselves to each other. Then Qu Shilin suggested that Wang Tao pick a powered armor, and no one objected, clearly affirming Qu Shilin¡¯s authority to make such decisions. ¡°Mr. Wang, may I show you around?¡± A thin middle-aged man asked with a smile. His name was Jiang Wenyou, as he had just introduced himself. ¡°Old Jiang is our institute¡¯s best researcher on powered armor!¡± Qu Shilin explained with a laugh. In the Hope Research Institute, these scientific personnel were generally referred to as researchers. Each researcher focused on specific areas, as everyone¡¯s energy was limited. Jiang Wenyou specialized in powered armor. ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao nodded and then curiously asked. ¡°By the way, I still don¡¯t know what your specialty is?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s question, Qu Shilin shrugged. ¡°I used to specialize in biotechnology.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then asked, ¡°So, the Crystal Energy guns, Crystal Energy cars, powered armor...¡± ¡°Those are just side projects I did in my spare time, not my main work.¡± ¡°...¡± Well, that¡¯s the whim of a big shot!. Before, Qu Shilin thought she had underestimated Wang Tao, and now Wang Tao felt he had underestimated Qu Shilin as well. Wang Tao had never used the powered armor crafted by Qu Shilin, but he had tried both the Crystal Energy Gun and the Crystal Energy Car, and found them very useful. He thought that Qu Shilin and her team had spent a long time researching and producing them, only to hear her say they were made haphazardly? Seeing the surprise in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Qu Shilin nonchalantly waved her hand. ¡°Hey, you might have misunderstood. Those Crystal Energy Guns and cars, I just used blueprints and copied them, it¡¯s nothing really special.¡± When Qu Shilin said this, before Wang Tao could react, Jiang Wenyou and a few others around them laughed. Jiang Wenyou spoke: ¡°Mr. Wang, what Professor Qu said is correct, but not entirely. Indeed, those crystal energy devices were made with the help of blueprints. However, Professor Qu was involved in creating those blueprints!¡± Wang Tao immediately gave a thumbs up. He secretly complained, how could Qu Shilin be as fond of keeping a low profile as he was! Qu Shilin gave them a speechless look. To Qu Shilin, such collaboration in developing blueprints seemed quite normal and nothing to boast about. If she could independently develop some results, that would be truly impressive. For instance, the mechanical body she crafted for Xiang Hongbin, which was developed by her team alone, that was something she was proud of... ¡°Mr. Wang, this way, please...¡± Jiang Wenyou moved to a powered armor and began introducing it to Wang Tao. Jiang Wenyou introduced them in great detail, and faced with Wang Tao¡¯s inquiries, he showed no impatience but was rather pleased, since this was the powered armor he had designed and manufactured, and he loved his work. Following his extensive introduction, Wang Tao gained a general understanding of the functions of these powered armors. They came in various models, each with some differences in functions, but broadly they could be categorized into four types: Speed, Attack, Defense, and Omnipotent. The Speed type of powered armor was lighter, and once it accelerated, most zombies couldn¡¯t catch up. The Attack type of powered armor was heavy, not very high in defense, but bristled with weapons, its bursting power extremely fearsome. The Defense type of powered armor was very heavy with strong defensive capabilities, able to withstand the onslaught of a horde of zombies. The Omnipotent type of powered armor was not outstanding in any particular area but was not lacking either, very balanced. This type was versatile with a high error tolerance, and it was the model with the highest possession rate. Duan Xuchang and Cheng Yiyi wore the Omnipotent type of powered armor. After looking around for a while, Wang Tao chose an Attack type powered armor. The reason was simple, because Wang Tao liked the machine guns, grenades, and rocket launchers mounted on the mecha. ¡°This powered armor consumes a lot, but I guess Mr. Wang isn¡¯t short of money... here¡¯s the key.¡± Jiang Wenyou handed over something that looked like a car remote control. The powered armor was bound with personal identity information, meaning only Wang Tao could use it once bound. To switch users, one must come to the Hope Research Institute to unbind and then rebind it. The reason it was so restrictive was naturally because the weapon was too powerful; if it were stolen, the consequences would be severe. Due to the limited space here, it was impossible to test it out. Wang Tao could take it out for a test tomorrow; he was quite fond of this big toy. At that moment, Jiang Wenyou spoke again: ¡°Does Mr. Wang need us to deliver it? If delivery is needed, it might have to wait because we¡¯ve had a rush sale today, and the few trucks we prepared beforehand aren¡¯t enough... But the Starfire Society has an exhibition hall here as well, you could also use your Starfire Society vehicle to take it back...¡± ¡°Huh? The Starfire Society¡¯s exhibition hall?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. The Starfire Society had only a few members, besides him, everyone else was at his villa, how could they possibly have an exhibition hall. Wang Tao looked to Qu Shilin, Qu Shilin shook her head, she didn¡¯t know either. ¡°Mr. Wang isn¡¯t aware? It¡¯s right over there...¡± Jiang Wenyou pointed in a direction, but because there were too many people blocking the view, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see what was happening there. Seeing Jiang Wenyou¡¯s serious demeanor, Wang Tao frowned. Could it be that someone was using the Starfire Society¡¯s name to swindle others? This he could not tolerate! ¡°I really didn¡¯t know, I¡¯ll have a look...¡± Without changing his expression, Wang Tao immediately walked toward the direction Jiang Wenyou had indicated. Moments later, Wang Tao saw the exhibition hall of the Sixth Army Corps. Next to the Sixth Army Corps¡¯ sign hung a sign for the Starfire Society. There were only two staff members, not a single visitor, and the place looked quite deserted. Chapter 946: 375: Investment Rebate (Request for Guaranteed Monthly Tickets) Chapter 946: Chapter 375: Investment Rebate (Request for Guaranteed Monthly Tickets) Seeing the Starfire Society emblem, Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved yet somewhat speechless. He was relieved because the ability to hang such a sign here signified that the force was officially recognized as capable of exploring the Cave. Although the sign was hung together with that of the Sixth Army Corps, primarily emphasizing the Sixth Army Corps, there might be some restrictions, but it was, after all, officially recognized. Previously, Wang Tao had told Cheng Yiyi that he would enter the Cave in the capacity of a consultant for the Sixth Army Corps. Except for him, no one from the Starfire Society could enter the Cave. But now that this sign was up, it should mean that more than just Wang Tao could go inside. And having heard that the number of spots to enter the Cave was limited, each additional spot given to Wang Tao meant one less for the Sixth Army Corps... It must be said, Cheng Yiyi was very generous! As for why I am somewhat speechless, it is because other exhibition halls were bustling with crowds, yet the area of the Sixth Army Corps was starkly quiet... the contrast was striking. Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t care much about these matters, after all, it concerned the Sixth Army Corps, and it felt like it lacked presence! ¡°Hello, may I ask you... Oh? Consultant Wang?¡± As Wang Tao approached, one of the female staff members at the Sixth Army Corps exhibition hall immediately came over politely, ready to introduce Wang Tao to the Sixth Army Corps, only to realize the visitor was Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t recognize this person, but he had been to the headquarters of the Sixth Army Corps before, so it was not strange that someone recognized him. Qu Shilin was somewhat surprised next to him, not expecting Wang Tao to have become a consultant for the Sixth Army Corps. Nevertheless, given Wang Tao¡¯s ability, granting him a consultant position was quite reasonable. ¡°You are...¡± ¡°You can just call me Little Ling!¡± The female staff member quickly said. ¡°Consultant Wang, hello, you can call me Little Liu!¡± The male staff member immediately spoke up as well. Though Wang Tao had no real authority within the Legion, his position as a shareholder was not to be underestimated, so they naturally showed him respect. ¡°Hello!¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded slightly, then asked curiously: ¡°Why does it seem so quiet around here?¡± ¡°Uh...¡± The two glanced at each other awkwardly. Little Ling scratched her head, a wry smile on her face. ¡°Because others aren¡¯t optimistic about our Sixth Army Corps, nobody wants to invest in us...¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. Although the Sixth Army Corps ranked last among the Six Major Legions, it was still one of the Six Major Legions, much stronger than a vast majority of forces. To not be highly regarded despite such strength... How high were these people¡¯s standards? ¡°It¡¯s like this...¡± Little Ling quickly explained to Wang Tao. During the time Wang Tao was away from the base, the Sixth Army Corps had dispatched troops for several missions. During one of the missions, a crisis occurred that left one of their teams stranded outside, sending out a distress signal. Consequently, Cheng Yiyi led the troops to rescue them. When Wang Tao returned, he visited the headquarters of the Sixth Army Corps and learned about this incident from Cheng Yiyi. However, Wang Tao had not delved into the specifics since Cheng Yiyi was not there, and he had returned. In Wang Tao¡¯s view, staying outside the city a couple more days was a normal occurrence, so he thought nothing of it, as he himself could stay out for half a month. Thus, he was not very aware of the specifics concerning the Sixth Army Corps. In reality, to rescue their comrades, the Sixth Army Corps paid a heavy price and their strength had regressed. Most importantly, Commander Cheng and two other Deputy Legion Commanders had not yet returned! Now, the Sixth Army Corps was left with one Deputy Legion Commander at the base, who was not an Awakener ¡ª among the Sixth Army Corps, not counting Wang Tao, there were only three Awakeners, all of whom were now trapped outside! So, the Sixth Army Corps was in a sort of headless state at the moment... If it were only a matter of the Sixth Army Corps weakening or even regressing, the problem could be temporarily overlooked as a lean camel is bigger than a horse. But without Cheng Yiyi and the two Deputy Legion Commanders, the issue became serious. Especially now, with a massive horde of zombies outside, could Cheng Yiyi and her team survive? If they could return, it would still be fine. But if they were to perish outside... then wouldn¡¯t investing in the Sixth Army Corps now be a total loss! Although all forces had declared that they would help each other upon entering the Cave, competition was definitely present. Without any Awakeners, the Sixth Army Corps simply had no chance to compete... This was the reason why nobody was outside the exhibition hall of the Sixth Army Corps. People are very pragmatic, and with so many options available, there was no need to invest in the uncertain factor of the Sixth Army Corps. ... ¡°Commander Cheng and the others are trapped...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression was very serious. When he had last visited the Sixth Army Corps, nobody had told him about this... However, upon reflection, it was not really anyone¡¯s fault, since he had not asked. After reading the message Cheng Yiyi had left for him, he had left without further inquiry. Additionally, since he hadn¡¯t encountered that Deputy Legion Commander, nobody had voluntarily informed him. After all, others presumably thought that Wang Tao, as a consultant, would know everything. But little did they know, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t been in town; he had been outside for many days, completely unaware... ¡°Is there any danger to Commander Cheng and the others?¡± Wang Tao asked. Little Ling and Little Liu were clearly not just ordinary staff; they were aware of this situation. ¡°Previously, our team outside received a message from the Commander, saying they were only temporarily trapped and were not in life-threatening danger, and that they would be able to return once the zombie horde passed. But when this kind of statement is made public, people simply don¡¯t believe it...¡± Chapter 947: 375: Investment Rebate (Request for Guaranteed Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 947: Chapter 375: Investment Rebate (Request for Guaranteed Monthly Tickets)_2 Little Liu explained somewhat helplessly. ¡°As long as everyone is safe, that¡¯s all that matters.¡± Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Cheng Yiyi was unharmed, everything else was trivial. As for recruiting shareholders or whatever, it was insignificant¡ªor perhaps it was significant... ¡°Did you just say that our Legion has suffered considerable losses recently?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Yes, we urgently need to replenish our military supplies and manpower... but our Legion has run out of money...¡± Little Ling explained quietly. The military isn¡¯t like other professions. They either go on missions or train at the base. It¡¯s impossible for them to have nothing to do, so the military¡¯s consumption is terrifying. City Hall does allocate funds to the Six Major Legions, but they can¡¯t always do so. We must rely on our efforts to make ends meet. The Sixth Army Corps is in desperate need of money. Though we could rely on assistance from other Legions, as one of the Six Major Legions, constantly receiving aid is somewhat embarrassing. Plus, even brothers settle accounts. The debts we owe will eventually have to be repaid... Therefore, if we could attract shareholders now and secure a large amount of funds, we could alleviate the immediate financial crisis of the Legion. But while it¡¯s easy to add frostings to a cake, offering help in times of real need is quite difficult. Given the current state of the Sixth Army Corps, no one is willing to invest. Little Ling and Little Liu were also very troubled, but there was nothing they could do. They couldn¡¯t force anyone to invest, after all. Even Wang Tao felt that the Deputy Legion Commander back in the barracks probably didn¡¯t expect to raise any funds during the conference, so he didn¡¯t take it too seriously and only sent two people over... ¡°Ahem, Consultant Wang, could you possibly think of a way to help our Legion?¡± Little Ling asked boldly. She¡¯d been part of the Legion for a long time. As they say, one¡¯s success is everyone¡¯s success, one¡¯s failure is everyone¡¯s failure. Of course, she hoped to see the Legion flourish. She wasn¡¯t sure of Wang Tao¡¯s capabilities or how formidable he was, but after all, Wang Tao was the only consultant of the Legion, so he must be stronger than the two of them... ¡°Lacking money...¡± Wang Tao muttered as he stroked his chin and frowned. He previously made ten million from selling the Night Demon Heart, but he had converted it into Crystal Cores and spent it all. So he was out of money too. Although Qu Shilin was still helping Wang Tao sell more Night Demon Hearts, and once these were sold, Wang Tao would become a millionaire again. But even if Wang Tao had the money, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for him to invest in the Sixth Army Corps, as it was an official army! Wang Tao knew that the Sixth Army Corps would certainly not go bankrupt. If a major crisis arose, City Hall would most likely bail them out. Moreover, the Sixth Army Corps had two committee members, who would not allow it to collapse. But to expect the Sixth Army Corps to recover or even enhance its strength was definitely impossible. If push came to shove and the Legion did go bankrupt, without a doubt, the other five Major Legions would take over. They wouldn¡¯t allow an outsider to control such a powerful armed force. The current military¡¯s destructive power was terrifying, and if an ambitious individual were to control an army, many unpredictable problems could occur. Even if City Hall and the other five Major Legions agreed to let Wang Tao invest in the Sixth Army Corps, it¡¯s a bona fide army! Who knows how much money would be enough; it probably was a bottomless pit... At present, it seemed most appropriate for other forces at the base to invest in the Sixth Army Corps. After all, there were many investors, and they were all dispersed, so clearly they wouldn¡¯t be able to control the Sixth Army Corps. Besides, their investment wasn¡¯t directly into the Sixth Army Corps, but into the exploration mission of the Cave. Of course, once the money was in the hands of the Sixth Army Corps, how it was spent would be up to them. Later, when it was time to explore the Cave, they would give the investors their fair share... ¡°Who put up this badge?¡± Wang Tao suddenly pointed to the badge of the Starfire Society and asked. ¡°We had contacted the Legion Commander earlier, and this was all arranged by him...¡± Wang Tao thought to himself that it made sense. ¡°Oh right, Consultant Wang, please take a look at this...¡± Little Ling quickly passed over a document. Wang Tao glanced at it; it listed the forces participating in this exploration of the Cave and the number of people each force was allowed to bring. The Sixth Army Corps could bring a total of 12 people, while the Starfire Society was allocated 3. Such a small number of people? Wang Tao furrowed his brows. He had thought that at least a hundred people would enter, but it turned out to be only these ten or so? However, after looking at the other forces, Wang Tao¡¯s brow smoothed out. It wasn¡¯t only the Sixth Army Corps that was short on numbers; the other forces were lacking in personnel as well. Above, it was said that the conditions in the cave below were quite special and having more people would actually be a burden. A smaller number of people with stronger individual combat power would be more suitable. Therefore, each major power had only this number of slots available. With such precious opportunities, Cheng Yiyi was able to give three spots to Wang Tao... It had to be said, she was really considerate, and Wang Tao liked making friends with such people. Since they were friends and he was a consultant for the Sixth Legion, Wang Tao felt obliged to lend a hand. But where should he start... Just as Wang Tao was pondering this, suddenly there came an exclamation. ¡°Eh? Mr. Wang?¡± Wang Tao turned his head and saw a familiar face. ¡°Mr. Zhou, long time no see!¡± The person arriving was Zhou Long, with whom he had cooperated twice before. ¡°It really is you, Mr. Wang!¡± Zhou Long appeared to be very happy. This puzzled Wang Tao; they had only cooperated twice, and their relationship wasn¡¯t that close, was it? Zhou Long jogged over, laughing and said: ¡°I was actually just about to contact you, Mr. Wang! I never expected to see you here!¡± Wang Tao thought it was just Zhou Long being polite, but when he saw Zhou Long light up his informational wristwatch, it displayed a half-written message. The intended recipient was Wang Tao, and the content was about wanting to purchase the Rejuvenation Potion. When Wang Tao and Zhou Long had hunted the Catastrophic Serpent together, he had given Zhou Long a Rejuvenation Potion to use. After they saw its effects, they wanted to purchase some from Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t ask for money but gave them a few potions, including several to Cheng Yiyi, hoping they would help advertise for him. Wang Tao had many of those potions, and they were also simple to make; he thought that if he ever needed money, he could make some Rejuvenation Potions to sell. But afterwards, no one contacted Wang Tao, so he forgot about this matter... ¡°I was about to contact you, Mr. Wang, to see if you still have any of those Rejuvenation Potions!¡± Zhou Long was looking at Wang Tao with great anticipation. ¡°I do have the potions. Today, I happened to bring a few, thinking you all didn¡¯t like them...¡± Wang Tao reached into his chest and pulled out about a dozen Rejuvenation Potions. ¡°Haha! Like them, how could we not?¡± Zhou Long grinned upon seeing the potions, then winced a bit and said, ¡°It¡¯s just that the side effects of this potion are a bit uncomfortable...¡± The side effect of the Rejuvenation Potion was a day of weakness. Wang Tao had experienced that weakness, and it was very uncomfortable. Moreover, one had to ensure they got back to a safe place before midnight; otherwise, that state of weakness could be deadly... Zhou Long, of course, couldn¡¯t stand the taste of this weakness either. That¡¯s why he would avoid using the potion if he could; the few Wang Tao had given him, he still hadn¡¯t used up. But now they were about to go into the cave, and his Loyalty Guild naturally had the credentials. He intended to get some Rejuvenation Potions as a reserve, as they could save lives at critical moments. The two quickly reached a deal, and Zhou Long left happily. Just then, Qu Shilin came over. ¡°What was that thing you just traded?¡± ¡°Rejuvenation Potion...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. ¡°Huh? There¡¯s such a thing?¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes lit up as she looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Here, this is for you.¡± Knowing what she meant, Wang Tao directly handed her a few potions. ¡°Thank you!¡± Qu Shilin expressed her gratitude with great delight. Looking at these potions, Wang Tao suddenly thought of a way that could both help the Sixth Army Corps attract investment and let him make a bit of money. It was just a matter of whether it would work or not... Wang Tao decided to give it a try. He went under the banner of the Starfire Society, took out the potions, and placed them on the table. Then he posted a sign next to it that read ¡°Investment Rebate Potion...¡± Chapter 948: 376: Help with the Platform (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Tickets) Chapter 948: Chapter 376: Help with the Platform (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Tickets) Wang Tao had quite a few valuable items in his possession, with the majority being impossible to replicate, thus depleting with each use. However, potions were different, especially the Rejuvenation Potion, which had a low production cost and could be made in large quantities. So Wang Tao simply decided to offer these potions as a benefit to those investing in the Sixth Army Corps... Before long, Wang Tao had written down the rules on paper. Little Ling and the others, along with Qu Shilin, more or less understood Wang Tao¡¯s intention, but they were still quite astonished when they saw the specific rules Wang Tao wrote. ¡°Investment Rebate Potion... In this Cave exploration mission, becoming a collaborator of the Sixth Army Corps will grant the opportunity to purchase ¡®Special Potions¡¯...¡± Qu Shilin opened her mouth. She had initially thought that Wang Tao was planning to give these potions to investors, but after reading the text, she realized her misconception¡ªWang Tao was not simply giving the potions away, he was providing a ¡°purchase opportunity,¡± selling the potions in his possession! Wang Tao had explained to her the effects of these potions, and she knew how powerful they were. Potions that could instantly restore physical strength and spirit were akin to a second life to some extent! As long as people tested and experienced the potion¡¯s ability, it would certainly attract a lot of purchasers¡ªthere was hardly a need for tests; Zhou Long¡¯s recent case was already an excellent advertisement. It all hinged on the price Wang Tao set. If it was not too outrageous, Qu Shilin thought it would attract quite a few people to invest in the Sixth Army Corps... When Wang Tao came to setting the price, he paused for a moment to think. The Rejuvenation Potion he had just sold to Zhou Long was priced at 100 Crystal Coins per vial, which wasn¡¯t high for Wang Tao and the others, but by Changhe Base¡¯s standards, the price was quite steep. 100 Crystal Coins could be exchanged for a lot of food, medicine, or bullets. Nonetheless, the price was reasonable, as 100 Crystal Coins could save a life in some circumstances, making it quite worthwhile. Therefore, Wang Tao continued with the price of 100 Crystal Coins per vial, which was the price after obtaining the ¡°purchase opportunity¡± from investing in the Sixth Army Corps. Without investment, the potions could not be purchased at all. Besides, this investment came in levels¡ªthe more one invested, the more potions they could buy... Wang Tao wasn¡¯t entirely sure if this method would work, but there was no harm in trying. In the end, Wang Tao would be selling the potions on behalf of the Starfire Society, not the Sixth Army Corps. He didn¡¯t have actual authority within the Sixth Army Corps and couldn¡¯t represent it. Such decisions needed to be discussed with others, but Cheng Yiyi was absent, leaving only an unfamiliar Deputy Legion Commander whom Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if he could trust. Even if the deputy were amenable, communication and coordination would be a hassle. Thus, Wang Tao decided to sell the potions under the name of the Starfire Society, which was no small and unknown force but rather had a decent reputation. Moreover, as a partner of the Sixth Army Corps, their trustworthiness was established. He would clearly state these details on paper. Whether or not others chose to invest in the Sixth Army Corps was their decision¡ªthe Starfire Society had no right to interfere. However, the Starfire Society had recently acquired a batch of excellent potions, prepared to share with their partners. As long as one invested in the Sixth Army Corps and became a partner, they could obtain these potions at an extremely low price. Concerning why there was still a cost, it was because considerable costs were incurred in procuring these potions. The Starfire Society may forgo making a profit, but they couldn¡¯t sustain losses either. Wang Tao believed that, given the effects of the Rejuvenation Potions, this price would definitely be considered conscientious! After completing the requirements, Wang Tao left a few potions behind and said to Little Ling and Little Liu: ¡°There are more potions in my car. I¡¯ll go and bring the potions over, you guys start promoting and warming up the crowd.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The two nodded excitedly. Although unsure if Wang Tao¡¯s method would work, there was still some hope. ¡°Do you need me to come with you?¡± Qu Shilin asked. ¡°No need, I know the way and will be back soon.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. There weren¡¯t many Rejuvenation Potions in his Space Backpack, and none in the car; he was looking for a place to make them on the spot. ¡°Alright.¡± Qu Shilin gave Wang Tao an identity tag granting free access to the second floor. While Wang Tao could have arranged this himself, it would take some time, making it convenient to use Qu Shilin¡¯s. Upon returning to his vehicle, Wang Tao immediately began production. The cost of making the Generator Potion was negligible. For him, the only real cost was perhaps time, considering making potions was an actual process... After producing a simple batch, Wang Tao brought the potions back upstairs. As soon as he reached the floor, he could sense an increase in noise with faint mentions of terms like Sixth Army Corps, Starfire Society, and Rejuvenation Potion. Looking closely, one could see a large group of people gathered around the Sixth Army Corps¡¯ location. Approaching, Wang Tao found Little Ling standing on a table, using a loudspeaker to introduce the ¡°Investment Rebate Potion¡± event. While it felt a bit low-key, the effect was undeniable, drawing a large crowd of onlookers. After pushing his way through, Qu Shilin, with her sharp eyes, immediately spotted Wang Tao. She ran over, somewhat surprised. ¡°You still have so many potions!¡± She had previously thought that these potions were rare and limited in quantity. Yet, Wang Tao had brought over so many more... Chapter 949: 376: Helping to Stand by (Request for Guaranteed Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 949: Chapter 376: Helping to Stand by (Request for Guaranteed Monthly Tickets)_2 ¡°Not many, just a few hundred. Use these for now, and I¡¯ll have some more sent over later.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, then placed the potions on the table. This action immediately caught the attention of many people. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, the Rejuvenation Potion has arrived!¡± Little Ling shouted at the top of her lungs. ¡°Is this potion really that miraculous?¡± Someone asked skeptically. ¡°It¡¯s a product guaranteed by the Starfire Society, please rest assured,¡± Wang Tao said at this moment. Given the current reputation of the Starfire Society, it indeed could guarantee certain things. ¡°So what exactly is this potion...¡± Facing everyone¡¯s questions, Wang Tao explained patiently. ¡°...So, this potion is really good, but it also has significant side effects; otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be available for just 100 crystal coins...¡± Wang Tao also responsibly disclosed the side effects. When Little Ling was shouting, in order to quickly attract people, she did not mention the side effects, so they were unaware. Now that they heard Wang Tao talk about it, they were initially surprised and then suddenly found it more credible. After all, there¡¯s no perfect thing, especially at this price, having flaws makes it real! Just then, Zhou Long also arrived. ¡°I can testify, the Starfire Society¡¯s Rejuvenation Potion is genuine, I¡¯ve used it before!¡± He wanted to build a good relationship with Wang Tao; hearing about this, he immediately came over. After all, it was an opportunity to curry favor just by talking, so why not do it. Sure enough, after receiving affirmation from Zhou Long, a well-known veteran, the spectators¡¯ trust visibly increased. People had already started asking Little Liu how much they needed to invest to buy the potion. Thinking it over, Wang Tao took out several potions and called out loudly: ¡°To better let everyone experience the effects of the potion, we are now looking for five volunteers, preferably those who are physically and mentally exhausted for a more noticeable perception... any volunteers? In addition to experiencing the Rejuvenation Potion, volunteers will also get an extra potion!¡± ¡°Me, me, me!¡± The moment Wang Tao finished speaking, many hands went up immediately. This wasn¡¯t a poison, just weakness for a day. Since they couldn¡¯t go out recently, being weak was tolerable. Not only could they experience the effects of the potion, but they would also get a potion for free¡ªeven though a single potion sold for 100 yuan, everyone here could afford it, but the prerequisite was investing in the Sixth Army Corps, which not everyone could afford... Wang Tao selected five volunteers, all of whom were in rather poor mental states. Physical conditions might not be evident, but mental states were clear¡ªfor example, those who were bleary-eyed and had big dark circles under their eyes, clearly not in a good mental state. Wang Tao chose those very people. He handed the potions to the five, who used them with some anticipation. Moments later, everyone was amazed to see that these volunteers¡¯ mental states visibly improved! ¡°Awesome!¡± The volunteers exclaimed. The sensation of instant, full recovery of physical strength and spirit was indescribable unless experienced. Exaggeratingly put, it felt almost like being reborn! The spectators, witnessing this effect, gleamed with excitement. The effect was remarkably clear, and the speed was rapid, just instantaneous. This meant it could be used on the battlefield! Imagine fighting zombies. Originally exhausted and on the brink of death, then suddenly using this potion and instantly regaining strength and spirit to turn the tide and kill the enemy... wouldn¡¯t that be thrilling! However, the price was indeed quite high¡ªthe potion itself was not expensive, but the cost of investing in the Sixth Army Corps was significant! Wang Tao had deliberately set some thresholds that required a certain amount of investment. If these investments were lost, it would be very upsetting... If it were an investment in other forces, they would definitely not hesitate, but this was the Sixth Army Corps, whose strength had recently declined, and the fate of all its Awakeners was unknown... Seeing the crowd still somewhat hesitant, Wang Tao thought for a moment and immediately pulled out two black hearts. ¡°Night Demon Type I!¡± Someone recognized them. These things were now very valuable. One heart was worth several hundred thousand. These two hearts were indeed [Night Demon Type I]. Previously, Wang Tao had left three [Night Demon Type I] for Ding Yuqin and the others. During a new Awakening test, they accidentally burned one to death, and now only these two remained, which were perfect for use as a display. For such a minor occasion, there was no need to bring out the [Night Demon Type II]. Wang Tao said nothing, just quietly placing these two Night Demon hearts on the table. When the onlookers saw these two Night Demon hearts, one could clearly feel that some of them became even more interested. The cave was pitch dark, and Night Demons could move about in it. A [Night Demon Type I] of level 4 was almost as powerful as a half fourth-order Awakener! The Night Demon hearts were brought out by Wang Tao, who belonged to the Starfire Society, a partner of the Sixth Army Corps... Thus, this was like enhancing the combat power of the Sixth Army Corps! Moreover, since the Starfire Society also had Awakeners, when they were together with people from the Sixth Army Corps, even if the Corps was short of three Awakeners, they wouldn¡¯t be considered weak! Perhaps feeling that the impact was still not strong enough, Wang Tao took out a black beetle. ¡°Armored Beetle!¡± Someone knowledgeable had already called out its name. The [Armored Beetle] was much rarer and stronger than Night Demon hearts. It immediately attracted everyone¡¯s attention. Wang Tao issued a command to the [Armored Beetle]. It instantly swelled and in the blink of an eye, transformed into a ferocious-looking large beetle. The space on the second floor was limited, naturally, it was not possible to activate the [Armored Beetle]¡¯s full armament, but it could launch an Independent Attack. Thus, Wang Tao set it in an Independent Attack mode. Whoosh¡ª Many people had heard of the [Armored Beetle] but had not seen it. When they heard someone mention the [Armored Beetle], they were skeptical. After all, this creature was too rare to see, and some doubted whether what Wang Tao had was real or fake. But now, after the transformation, the [Armored Beetle] told them that this was indeed an authentic [Armored Beetle]! After the appearance of the [Armored Beetle], not only were the surrounding onlookers excited, but people from other places, even from other major forces, began coming over. After all, this thing was genuinely powerful! Wang Tao still didn¡¯t speak, only letting the [Armored Beetle] stand behind him. If it had not been for the fact that it wasn¡¯t dark yet, and [Night Demon Type I] couldn¡¯t come out, Wang Tao would have liked to have a Night Demon stand guard as well. Of course, even without the [Night Demon Type I], the appearance of this [Armored Beetle] was shocking enough. Even though Wang Tao said nothing, everyone could sense his message: Our strength is formidable, feel confident investing! Those who were still undecided finally made up their minds to invest in the Sixth Army Corps at that moment. With both the [Night Demon Type I] and [Armored Beetle], Wang Tao had proven the prowess of the Starfire Society and the Sixth Army Corps. If it was about investing in the Sixth Army Corps, which had weakened in strength just to buy Rejuvenation Potions, one would have to consider whether it was worth it. But if one was investing in a very powerful Sixth Army Corps and could also buy some Rejuvenation Potions, then it wasn¡¯t a question of worth, but a matter of receiving a benefit! ¡°I want to invest!¡± Watching the excited crowd, Wang Tao said to Little Ling and Little Liu: ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you.¡± ¡°Rest assured! We guarantee to complete the task!¡± Wang then turned to Qu Shilin, saying: ¡°Miss Qu, could you do me a small favor by keeping these two Night Demon hearts and the Armored Beetle safe...¡± Wang Tao was preparing to go back. Helping the Sixth Army Corps was just a convenient action; he wasn¡¯t planning to stay there permanently. These three items would remain here as a showcase. ¡°Okay!¡± Qu Shilin immediately agreed. She had disassembled an [Armored Beetle] before and, although she gained a lot of insights from it, she couldn¡¯t reassemble it afterward... Now that she finally saw another, she wouldn¡¯t miss the opportunity to study it thoroughly! ¡°Just don¡¯t break it! I only have two left...¡± ¡°Hiss¡ª You actually have another one!¡± Qu Shilin gasped, covering her small mouth. ¡°...Don¡¯t even think about it, I¡¯m keeping it for myself.¡± Wang Tao had Qu Shilin bind the two [Night Demon Type I] and the [Armored Beetle], then he waved at her. ¡°I¡¯m leaving now, see you.¡± It was getting dark soon, and Lu Yingfeng and their Awakenings were nearly complete. Chapter 950: 377: Essence of Tree Chapter 950: Chapter 377: Essence of Tree By the time Wang Tao got home, it had already darkened. Ding Yuqin had already prepared the dinner, and there were still two hours until Lu Yingfeng and the others would wake up. ¡°Sister-in-law, there weren¡¯t any accidents with Ying Feng and the others, right?¡± Wang Tao asked as he entered. ¡°No accidents, they¡¯re all sleeping soundly!¡± Ding Yuqin shook her head, her tone somewhat envious. Although she was no longer saddened by her failed Awakening, her envy for others remained unchanged. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. During dinner, he brought up the matter of Cheng Yiyi being trapped. ¡°Ah? Cheng Yiyi is trapped outside? Is there any danger to her life?¡± Lan Yulian asked with some concern. She had previously fought alongside Cheng Yiyi and had a fairly good impression of her. ¡°They say it¡¯s not a big problem. Cheng Yiyi and the other two Deputy Legion Commanders are trapped, but with the three Awakeners there, even if they can¡¯t get out for now, keeping themselves safe shouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Phew, that¡¯s good then...¡± Lan Yulian was relieved. ¡°By the way, I got this news at a conference.¡± Wang Tao added. ¡°A conference?¡± Everyone was curious. Wang Tao then described the situation at the conference. Hearing that there were even Starfire Society banners in the exhibition hall, everyone was very surprised and curious. After finding out that the Starfire Society had three slots to enter the Cave, they looked at each other, all very interested in this Cave. ¡°We only have three slots. Jade Lotus and I definitely are going, and regarding the remaining slot... we¡¯ll see later. I¡¯m not clear about the specific situation inside, this time is mainly for exploration, and definitely more people will be able to enter later...¡± Wang Tao knew very little about the Cave¡¯s details, including Qu Shilin and the Sixth Army Corps. The first visit would focus on exploration, and once he clarified what was inside and what the benefits were, he¡¯d definitely try to bring more people in. ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone nodded. After dinner, there was still a little over an hour until Lu Yingfeng and the others would wake up. Wang Tao first contacted Qu Shilin, learned that the conference was still ongoing, and that there were still many people at the Sixth Army Corps¡¯ exhibition hall, now confident in the capabilities of the Starfire Society and the Sixth Army Corps. Qu Shilin felt the goal was achieved and planned to take Wang Tao¡¯s Iron Beetle and Night Demon Heart back to sleep. As for the Night Demon Heart that Wang Tao asked Qu Shilin to buy on his behalf, it was quite fortunate¡ª Normally it might have taken several days to sell them all, as the Night Demon Heart was not cheap, and many people were waiting to see if Qu Shilin would lower the price. However, after Wang Tao helped the Sixth Army Corps, many people started investing in the Sixth Army Corps. This created a sense of crisis among the other powers. Although a person could invest in multiple powers, they had limited funds. If everyone went to invest in the Sixth Army Corps, no one would invest in them! To attract people, these powers stopped waiting and began buying Night Demon Hearts from Qu Shilin directly. The Night Demon Heart was now a symbol of power; just displaying a few on a table could attract many people. Moreover, these were essential goods; although expensive, they were worth it. Qu Shilin estimated that in just two or three days, all the Night Demon Hearts would be sold. According to her pricing, these would bring in about fifty to sixty million Crystal Coins. Moreover, this was pure profit since the trades at the conference were tax-free. Hearing about all this money, Wang Tao grinned widely. Although he wasn¡¯t overly fixated on money, it was undeniably a good thing, better in abundance. After ending the conversation with Qu Shilin and seeing there was still time, Wang Tao went out to exercise in the yard. He now exercised whenever he had free time, especially since he had the [Body Strengthening] Hidden Attribute, which should not be wasted. While exercising, Wang Tao felt someone approaching. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Looking back, the newcomer was Li Qiuyu. The weather was rather cold now, and she was wearing thick pajamas. Even though the clothes were bulky, they could not conceal her impressive figure. Wang Tao unconsciously took another look, Jiang Shixue must have never gone hungry as a child. ¡°Cough, it¡¯s nothing, just passing by...¡± Li Qiuyu gathered her hair, somewhat unable to look directly into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°What is it, just tell me.¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Clearly, Li Qiuyu had come to find him, but then she denied it. ¡°...Really, it¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m leaving now!¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s face turned a bit red as she turned to leave. She actually wanted to ask about the incident before, when Wang Tao made her feel completely relaxed and comfortable, but she was a bit embarrassed to ask... Even though nothing specific had happened between them, she still felt as if something had, which was quite embarrassing. However, she had just turned around when Wang Tao stopped her. ¡°Wait a second. I just remembered something.¡± ¡°Ah? What, what is it?¡± Li Qiuyu thought Wang Tao might have read her thoughts, and her face turned even redder. ¡°I have a Crystal Core, specifically saved for you, but I had forgotten about it until just now...¡± ¡°Crystal Core?¡± Li Qiuyu was initially a bit disappointed to hear it wasn¡¯t what she had thought, but upon hearing Wang Tao had specifically kept a Crystal Core for her, she felt both surprised and curious. ¡°Yes, this kind of Crystal Core, you should extract an Ability from it first and then merge it.¡± Wang Tao gave her two Crystal Cores, one was an Extraction Crystal Core, and the other was Essence of Tree. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Tree Essence] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (Side effects: None)] [Essence of Tree: Only females can successfully merge, can produce a liquid that enhances biological strength] Previously, when Wang Tao received this type of Crystal Core, he thought about using it on Ding Yuqin and others when they met again to see the effects of the Ability. But after reuniting with Ding Yuqin and others, Wang Tao had forgotten about it. Now seeing Li Qiuyu, Wang Tao suddenly remembered... so he decided to let Li Qiuyu try it to see the actual effects. Since Li Qiuyu also did not go out to fight, merging an auxiliary type Ability wouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡°Oh~¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain in detail, and Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t ask further, trusting Wang Tao naturally, so she began to merge obediently. Moments later, the merger was complete. ¡°Hmm?¡± After the merge was complete, Li Qiuyu paused for a moment, then looked down at her breasts, which seemed to have grown larger. Her face turned red, and unable to look Wang Tao in the eye, she turned and ran off. ¡°Hmm? Why are you running? I haven¡¯t even seen the effects yet!¡± Just as Wang Tao was about to chase after her, the voice of Lan Yulian rang out in the house. ¡°Wang Tao! Little Feng is awake!¡± ¡°Coming!¡± Wang Tao responded. He decided to check their Awakening first and then look for Li Qiuyu later. Chapter 951: 378 Edge Exposure Chapter 951: Chapter 378 Edge Exposure Wang Tao returned to the villa. Lu Yingfeng was the first to wake up. ¡°Little Feng, how do you feel?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°I feel great! I have this urge to have a sparring match with you!¡± Lu Yingfeng clenched her fists. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, wondering if a girl needed to be this violent... But now that Lu Yingfeng had awakened, it seemed she really was a bit violent! [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 5%] [Awakening: Edge Exposure] Lu Yingfeng¡¯s previous hidden attribute was ¡°Hatred for Evil.¡± [Hatred for Evil: When attacking someone you consider bad, damage is slightly increased.] Now it had transformed into the awakened ¡°Edge Exposure.¡± [Edge Exposure: Attacks carry a sharp edge.] The description of this awakening was simple, but if it was as Wang Tao thought, then this awakening was truly awesome and violent. Wang Tao believed her fused ability must be high-frequency vibration... He directly asked: ¡°Which ability fused into your awakening?¡± ¡°High-frequency vibration!¡± ¡°Just as I thought...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s guess was correct. High-frequency vibration was already a very strong attack ability, and now that it had fused into this purely offensive awakening, its power must be formidable! ¡°Wang Tao, can you tell what type of awakening mine is?¡± Lu Yingfeng looked at Wang Tao with a mix of curiosity and anticipation. ¡°Let me guess... it should be a really strong offensive awakening!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lu Yingfeng¡¯s eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded her head. ¡°It is indeed an offensive awakening, but... as for how strong it is, I don¡¯t know...¡± She could only perceive roughly what the awakening was like, but as for its power, that would have to be tested to be known. Lu Yingfeng stretched out her hand and sliced the air. Then a pale golden light about ten centimeters long appeared from her fingertips. The hairs on Wang Tao and the others stood on end in an instant, as they all felt a strong sense of danger emanating from this golden light. ¡°Eh? What is this? I have this really dangerous feeling, and I¡¯m getting goosebumps...¡± Lan Yulian was slightly shocked and uncertain. ¡°This is my awakened Edge Exposure. But I don¡¯t really know how to explain it, it¡¯s like...¡± Lu Yingfeng furrowed her brows, unsure of how to explain. ¡°Sword Qi!¡± Wang Tao suddenly chimed in. ¡°Exactly! Just like the Sword Qi in martial arts novels!¡± Lu Ying Feng thought Wang Tao¡¯s explanation was very apt. Her edge did indeed resemble sword qi. ¡°Try it with a weapon, it should work too.¡± Wang Tao handed over his sharp long knife. ¡°Mhm!¡± Lu Yingfeng took the long knife and casually waved it through the air. A golden gleam appeared, longer and thicker than before, as if the air itself had been sliced in two. Wang Tao and the others instinctively took a step back, their skin prickling with pain, feeling as if they could be torn apart at any moment! ¡°So strong!¡± Everyone exclaimed. Lu Yingfeng¡¯s awakening was unlike any they¡¯d seen before; the awakenings and abilities they had encountered were strong, sure, but that strength was always somewhat subdued. Even with Wang Tao¡¯s Fireball ability and Starfire Prairie, they could feel its power, but couldn¡¯t perceive exactly how powerful it was¡ªthere had been people burned by Wang Tao¡¯s fire before. However, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s Edge Exposure was different¡ªthey not only felt its strength, they were also acutely aware that they would die if they were hit by that edge! That¡¯s why they instinctively kept their distance. Just like the name of the awakening, its edge was glaringly obvious! After some testing, whether Lu Yingfeng used her palm or a weapon, if she intended to attack, the edge would appear. The edge could be long or short, large or small. Currently, the longest it could reach was one meter, and the shortest was a faint golden circle on the surface of her palm. The actual power of the edge was also related to its size¡ªthe bigger and thicker it was, the more powerful it became. This power was much greater than her previous High-frequency Vibration Ability! And most importantly, high-frequency vibration could only be utilized with sharp objects, and it worked only on the weapon itself. It was akin to a single-target Skill. But this Edge wasn¡¯t restricted by the weapon used¡ªwhether with palms or a wooden stick, the edge could still be generated! With the edge reaching over a meter in length, it essentially became an area-of-effect attack! Although the area was relatively small, it was very persistent. Moreover, Lu Yingfeng could feel that with increasing strength, her edge would become larger. Eventually, it might be possible to slash out an edge spanning tens of meters... just the thought was exhilarating! But Wang Tao had another idea¡ªhe thought that as Lu Yingfeng grew stronger, her edge would be able to separate from her body, similar to a shockwave. Furthermore, he suspected that releasing the edge wasn¡¯t confined to just her hands¡ªit was possible that when Lu Yingfeng became strong enough, even her eyes could unleash the edge. Ultimately, she might be able to look someone to death! ¡°You really dare to dream...¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s ideas, Lu Yingfeng was somewhat speechless. ¡°Haha, I believe in your potential!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. This wasn¡¯t just wild speculation because after her awakening, Lu Yingfeng herself seemed to exhibit sharpness all over. Although her eyes couldn¡¯t emit an edge, one stern look from her felt like being pricked with needles... So Wang Tao thought her awakening might indeed develop in that direction. Wang Tao was very satisfied with the Edge Exposure awakening; the only pity was that it wasn¡¯t his own, and all he could do was watch enviously. Of course, Lu Yingfeng and her awakening matched perfectly¡ª The reason Lu Yingfeng had survived the post-apocalyptic burst was thanks to the ancestral knife techniques she had practiced since childhood. The effectiveness of her sword techniques now was much stronger than before the apocalypse. Now, having gained an edge similar to sword qi, combining her techniques with the edge, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say exactly how strong it would be, but its potential was definitely impressive! ¡°Let¡¯s increase your Awakening Energy limit.¡± Wang Tao took out some Awakening Crystal Cores for Lu Yingfeng to fuse. Using the edge consumed Lu Yingfeng¡¯s Awakening Energy, but her consumption wasn¡¯t a flat rate of 100. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure of the exact amount as he couldn¡¯t see it, but he could roughly feel that the larger the edge, the greater the consumption; when the edge was small, the cost was almost negligible. Such an arrangement was quite user-friendly; otherwise, if just one edge consumed 100 Awakening Energy, that would be terrifying. However, Wang Tao soon realized he¡¯d spoken too soon. When Lu Yingfeng¡¯s limit of Awakening Energy was raised to 1000, she discovered she could indeed release the edge as Wang Tao had suggested¡ªshe just hadn¡¯t felt it previously because she lacked sufficient Awakening Energy. But the consumption of a detached edge was much higher¡ªher 1000 Awakening Energy could at most be used 10 times, and with charging, it might be exhausted in a single use! This meant that the detached edge¡¯s consumption of Awakening Energy did start at 100... Chapter 952: 379: Immovable as a Mountain Chapter 952: Chapter 379: Immovable as a Mountain Boom¡ª Lu Yingfeng sheathed her long sword, taking a deep breath. The scene before her was a wasteland, as if it had been bombed. ¡°So awesome!¡± Clap clap clap! Lan Yulian clapped quickly. Lu Yingfeng had finally awakened, and her awakening was so incredible that she genuinely felt happy for her. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s impressive!¡± Wang Tao nodded. The move that Lu Yingfeng had just used was a charged Edge Exposure, not only did it have a reach of over a dozen meters, but its power was also comparable to that of a bomb. If she didn¡¯t charge up, her Edge Exposure could cut targets in two with its cutting effect. However, when she charged, it had an explosive effect, similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Fireball special ability, but its maximum power exceeded that of the fireball! That¡¯s because there¡¯s a limit to how much a fireball can charge, whereas Lu Yingfeng¡¯s Edge Exposure had no visible limit yet¡ª1,000 Awakening Energy was far from her cap. At this time, the others hadn¡¯t woken up yet. Awakening needed 24 hours, but the exact timing of waking up varied because there was a chance of actually falling asleep, and Wang Tao felt no need to consciously wake them. So the testing of Lu Yingfeng continued. Wang Tao had her fuse with a few Awakening Crystal Cores to replenish her Awakening Energy, and then they carried on with the tests. They learned quite a few pieces of information from these tests. For instance, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s Edge Exposure wasn¡¯t something she could trigger with a special ability. When Wang Tao used Starfire Prairie, his ability included flame damage. But Lu Yingfeng couldn¡¯t trigger Edge Exposure with other abilities. This didn¡¯t affect her much, though, since she primarily relied on her swordsmanship and didn¡¯t need other attack type abilities. Another piece of info was that her Edge Exposure, once detached, could currently travel up to 30 meters. As distance increased, its power gradually decreased until it completely dissipated after 30 meters. The optimal distance for unleashing Edge Exposure was 15 meters, as the power didn¡¯t weaken within this range. This was when her Edge Exposure was at its most powerful and had the farthest reach. Lastly, to boost the power of her Edge Exposure, Lu Yingfeng would need to enhance her strength and her weapon was important too. Therefore, she needed a high-damage weapon, and it had to be a saber since that was what she practiced. Wang Tao had many swords, but none were as good as a Sharp Long Knife. There was only one Sharp Long Knife, and Wang Tao decided to let Lu Yingfeng use his long sword, as his methods of attack were no longer limited to swords now. But Lu Yingfeng was stubbornly reluctant. Wang Tao had allowed her to awaken; how could she take his weapon? ¡°Then, how about this: I¡¯ll use the long sword myself, and you can use the dagger for now¡ªno refusals this time.¡± Wang Tao took out the Night Demon Short Knife. [Night Demon Short Knife] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [Durability +100, Attack power +100, Attack Speed +40%, Ability: Not Inlaid (needs Awakening Energy to activate)] The attributes of this dagger were strong, but it was too short for Wang Tao to use as a primary weapon; he still preferred long swords. Wang Tao had planned to fight with two swords, a long one and a short one, even though he wasn¡¯t very skilled with it yet, but he could practice slowly. However, since Lu Yingfeng was currently short of a high-damage blade weapon, Wang Tao thought this dagger suited her perfectly. Although the blade was short, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s Edge Exposure was like an extension of the weapon length! ¡°Then... okay!¡± Lu Yingfeng nodded, knowing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t use daggers, or she would have definitely refused. With this weapon, and donning the Night Demon Set, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s strength would return to its peak once her Awakening Energy was restored. Wang Tao looked forward to her combat abilities; Lu Yingfeng was already strong in combat, and now, coupled with her awakening and equipment... she might become the one with the second highest attack power after Wang Tao! ¡°All that¡¯s left is for you to get familiar with it and master it over time.¡± Wang Tao said to Lu Yingfeng. It was immediately apparent whether Lan Yulian had control over her awakening. When Lan Yulian first awakened, it felt like she was covered in thorns, making those around her uncomfortable. But now, after a series of tests, the aura of Edge Exposure around Lu Yingfeng had receded significantly, a clear sign that she had gained much more precise control. When she could appear as ordinary as Wang Tao, then her mastery of Edge Exposure would be perfect. ¡°Hmm!¡± Lu Yingfeng nodded firmly. She had to practice well and not hold Wang Tao and Lan Yulian back. ¡°Hahaha! Who would have thought that I too would one day awaken!¡± Suddenly, a boisterous laugh echoed from inside the villa, recognizable as Xiang Hongbin¡¯s voice. ¡°Old Xiang is awake! Let¡¯s go see!¡± Wang Tao led a few people back into the villa and saw Xiang Hongbin practicing military boxing in the living room. ¡°Old Xiang!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately ran over excitedly. Xiang Hongbin ended his routine and gave Wei Zhenguo a fierce hug, then hugged the others who came over. ¡°Old Wang, thank you!¡± Xiang Hongbin thanked Wang Tao earnestly. Although he knew the help Wang Tao had given him went far beyond what thanks could express... ¡°Haha, we¡¯re all family here, no need to be formal! Come on, let¡¯s see your awakening!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Level: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 5%] [Awakened: Tenacity] [Tenacity: All basic attributes increase, strength and defense greatly enhanced (the extent of enhancement is related to the upper limit of Awakening Energy)] Xiang Hongbin had awakened an ability of a system, and it was the ¡°Tenacity¡± Wang Tao had encountered several times before. However, Wang Tao had only seen it on zombies and monsters. Aside from Xiang Hongbin, he hadn¡¯t seen any other humans awaken this ability. As someone who had fought many monsters with Tenacity awakening, Wang Tao thought the ability was pretty strong. When he attacked those zombies with Tenacity awakening, he couldn¡¯t even reduce their HP... As for their strength, there was no need to mention it, their raw power was extremely terrifying! But Xiang Hongbin was different from other humans. He was currently in a half-human half-mechanical state, his innate strength and defense were already formidable. Now with this awakening that enhanced his physical quality and significantly increased his strength and defense, how strong must his constitution be? ¡°Come on, come on!¡± Not only did Wang Tao and his team want to see the test, but Xiang Hongbin himself was also very eager. After a simple test, everyone was somewhat amazed. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s physical quality was almost as strong as He Jijun¡¯s! It should be noted that before Wang Tao¡¯s second awakening, his own physical quality wasn¡¯t as good as He Jijun¡¯s. The reason being that He Jijun¡¯s awakening was outrageous, an awakening where the older one got, the stronger one¡¯s physical quality became. He Jijun was almost seventy years old, so you can imagine how much this awakening enhanced him. Therefore, just in terms of physical quality alone, He Jijun was stronger than Wang Tao at that time. Now, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s physical quality was no weaker than He Jijun¡¯s! Even sometimes stronger than He Jijun in aspects such as burst, pure strength, defense, and so on. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s burst was terribly frightening, even Wang Tao had to avoid his edge. But the cost was that his Crystal Core consumption rate doubled. Of course, this cost was bearable. It¡¯s just using up some Level 4 Crystal Cores. Once the Night Demon hearts sold by Qu Shilin and the Crystal Coins were credited to their account, they could exchange for a bunch of Crystal Cores again, so this consumption was naturally not a problem. As for strength and defense, there was even less need to say. His strength was not only great but also incredibly persistent, almost like a robot. As long as he had Crystal Cores to supply the energy, he practically had infinite strength. And defense... He should be the person with the highest defensive power in Wang Tao¡¯s team. With Tenacity awakening combined with a mechanical body, no one could compare to his defense! An idea suddenly struck Wang Tao¡ª What if he had Lu Yingfeng attack Xiang Hongbin, would Lu Yingfeng be able to break through Xiang Hongbin¡¯s defense, or could Xiang Hongbin block Lu Yingfeng¡¯s attack? It seemed quite interesting, maybe he could try it later... ¡°Old Wang, when are we going to have a match?¡± Xiang Hongbin looked forward to it with great expectation. Wang Tao was the strongest in their team, without a doubt. Xiang Hongbin also knew that he was no match for Wang Tao, but he wanted to know just how big the gap was between them. ¡°Alright, tomorrow then!¡± Wang Tao was also eager to spar with Xiang Hongbin. He always felt that Xiang Hongbin¡¯s practical combat capability should be stronger than what the data suggested since his mechanical body was too tough to handle! As long as his prosthetics didn¡¯t fail and he had enough Crystal Cores, his strength would remain reliably strong. At this time, the others also woke up one after another. Wang Tao first went to see Xu Xiaojun. He had thought that Xu Xiaojun would also awaken a systemic ability, given that Xu Xiaojun¡¯s physique was strong and the abilities he learned were mostly related to physical fitness. But when he saw his awakening, Wang Tao felt it didn¡¯t quite seem like a systemic awakening? [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Level: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakened: Immovable as a Mountain] Xu Xiaojun¡¯s previous hidden attribute was ¡°Stick to One¡¯s Heart.¡± [Stick to One¡¯s Heart: Not easily confused or led astray by external things] Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very familiar with this hidden attribute. He only knew that Xu Xiaojun himself was somewhat single-minded, his spiritual power wasn¡¯t high, but his resistance to Illusions was strong. But his current awakening, Wang Tao felt, was somewhat like a combination of the psychic system and physical system¡ª [Immovable as a Mountain: All basic attributes increase, not easily influenced by psychic abilities] What does ¡°not easily influenced by psychic abilities¡± mean? ¡°Little Jun, can you feel what your awakening is?¡± Wang Tao asked directly. ¡°I, I¡¯m not very clear, just that I feel like my strength has increased a lot...¡± Xu Xiaojun responded. Wang Tao thought for a moment and looked directly at Xu Xiaojun, who in turn looked back at him, a stand-off of gazes. ¡°...You don¡¯t feel anything?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly. ¡°Ah? Should I have some sort of reaction?¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head, unclear about what Wang Tao meant. ¡°...¡± When Wang Tao had just looked at Xu Xiaojun, he had silently used a mental attack. Although he hadn¡¯t used his full strength, there should have been some reaction, no? So, this ¡°Immovable as a Mountain¡± must be an awakening that offers extremely strong defense against, and perhaps even a certain degree of immunity to, psychic attacks! Chapter 953: 380 Potential Explosion Chapter 953: Chapter 380 Potential Explosion Wang Tao, to prove his hypothesis, used several mental attacks on Xu Xiaojun, each time intensifying the force. The results were mostly as Wang Tao had guessed¡ªif most of Wang Tao¡¯s mental attacks went practically unnoticed by Xu Xiaojun, it was only when Wang Tao increased the force that Xu Xiaojun felt the attack, but it was just a slight sensation. Although Wang Tao¡¯s skills in mental attacks were not yet proficient, such attacks would have caused significant HP loss to anyone else, yet on Xu Xiaojun, they were barely noticeable... Moreover, this awakening of Xu Xiaojun was not an active one but a passive one, which meant it didn¡¯t consume any energy! In other words, his incredibly strong spiritual defense power would always be there! ¡°Should we test the limits of Xu Xiaojun?¡± Wang Tao thought about it, then decided against it. He hadn¡¯t used his full strength just now. If he had, he might have injured Xu Xiaojun, but there was no need to do so. Since mental attacks were extremely dangerous, a slight miscalculation could lead to being killed instantly or turned into an idiot. Wang Tao was not very skilled in this area; it was better to be cautious. Knowing that Xu Xiaojun had very strong spiritual defense was enough. ¡°From now on, you¡¯re going to be the toughest member of our team!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, patting Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. ¡°Heh heh...¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. Enhancing physical defense was relatively easy, such as exercising or wearing various equipment, all of which could increase physical defense. However, enhancing spiritual defense was much more difficult. Wang Tao had strong spiritual power because he had merged with many spirit-related Crystal Cores, a condition not available to others; Jiang Shixue had strong spiritual power because she was extraordinarily talented, which also lacked replicability; He Jijun had strong spiritual power because he had been a soldier for many years and had experienced the front lines. Now in his sixties or seventies, his rich life experience gave him strong spiritual power... As for others, their spiritual power might be stronger than ordinary people¡¯s, but not nearly as strong. It would be very difficult for them to elevate their spiritual power to this level moving forward. Xu Xiaojun was different, though; he was not strong in spiritual power¡ªhe just had incredibly strong spiritual defense. If he were to use mental attacking abilities, the issue would not be whether he was weak or not, but that he simply couldn¡¯t use them effectively. Even if he learned psychic-system abilities, the power would be mediocre. But if a mental attack hit him, it definitely made the attacker question their life¡ªwhen Wang Tao attacked Xu Xiaojun and saw no anomaly, Wang Tao¡¯s first reaction wasn¡¯t that Xu Xiaojun had a strong spiritual defense, but whether he had made a mistake... Wang Tao felt that, under normal circumstances, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s awakening might not be very useful, but when encountering psychic-system zombies, monsters, or humans, letting Xu Xiaojun take the lead would definitely be very effective! However, having only strong spiritual defense was slightly unbalanced, which definitely wasn¡¯t good. It would be best if Xu Xiaojun¡¯s physical defense could also be strengthened! If Xu Xiaojun¡¯s spiritual defense could be combined with Hong Bin¡¯s physical defense, that would truly be impressive. However, such a thing couldn¡¯t be forced, and Xu Xiaojun¡¯s physical condition wasn¡¯t weak. If they could get him some high-defense equipment... then in future battles, both he and Hong Bin would be able to stand at the forefront! As for high-defense equipment, Wang Tao did possess some. However, they would slow the wearer down, and Xu Xiaojun was not fast to begin with; reducing speed would significantly weaken him... so such equipment was usable but only for emergencies. Wang Tao decided to keep an eye out, to see if he could get Xu Xiaojun a set of high-defense gear without such severe side effects. After finishing the tests on Xu Xiaojun¡¯s awakening, Wang Tao went to observe the last three people¡¯s awakenings. Lu Gang¡¯s awakening was of the physical system, but unlike most system awakenings which were passive, Lu Gang¡¯s was an active, sustained type. [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakening: Potential Explosion] [Potential Explosion: During the duration, all basic attributes are significantly enhanced] It was the first time Wang Tao had seen this Awakening. Just from the description, Wang Tao always felt it was similar to Awakenings like [Resilience], [Durability], [Robust] ¡ª perhaps even not as strong as those because those are passive Awakenings that don¡¯t consume Awakening Energy, whereas Lu Gang¡¯s this active, sustainable type of Awakening had a duration limit. Both are enhancements of physical condition, one permanently exists, and the other only for a certain time ¡ª obviously, the perpetual existence of passive Awakenings is stronger, isn¡¯t it? However, after some tests, Wang Tao realized it wasn¡¯t as simple as he had thought. Although Lu Gang¡¯s Awakening had a duration, the enhancement during this period was much stronger than those of the passive Awakenings! Lu Gang had a brief sparring session with Xiang Hongbin, and with the [Resilience] Awakening on his mechanical body, Xiang Hongbin was actually suppressed! Moreover, Lu Gang did so not through trickery or other attack methods; he purely used physical strength to overpower Xiang Hongbin. It was like a humanoid tyrannosaurus! Unfortunately, Lu Gang only suppressed Xiang Hongbin for 10 seconds before he, as if deflated, was sent flying with a punch by Xiang Hongbin... At that time, Lu Gang¡¯s Awakening Energy limit was 100, which meant that his [Potential Explosion] must have been consuming 10 Awakening Energy per second, roughly the same as [Starfire Outbreak]. However, when Wang Tao helped Lu Gang increase his Awakening Energy limit, he discovered that [Potential Explosion] and [Starfire Outbreak] were still different. As Wang Tao increased his own Awakening Energy limit, the duration of the [Starfire Outbreak] got longer. But Lu Gang¡¯s [Potential Explosion] was different. Even after increasing his Awakening Energy limit, it could still only last for ten seconds ¡ª because he couldn¡¯t use [Potential Explosion] consecutively. He expended 100 Awakening Energy to activate the Awakening, which lasted for 10 seconds, and then he would enter a cooldown period... Lu Gang estimated this cooldown might be around an hour. No wonder it¡¯s called Potential Explosion; it truly only lasted for ten seconds and couldn¡¯t be used consecutively, which indeed qualifies as an ¡°explosion.¡± Of course, even with these limitations, his Awakening was still very powerful. If timed well, these 10 seconds of explosion could claim countless victims. But Lu Gang himself was quite conflicted, grinning broadly one moment and frowning the next, because he preferred to snipe from afar and didn¡¯t much like close combat... Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay attention to the conflicted Lu Gang; his eyes turned to the last two Awakeners ¡ª Nie Siyan and Gao Hua. Both had gained Hidden Attributes through the [Strange Poison Sac], and since their Hidden Attributes were related to poison, their Awakenings were also of the Poison System. Chapter 954 381: Corrosive Poison Needle [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Level: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakening: Corrosive Poison Needle] [Corrosive Poison Needle: Condense 1 Corrosive Poison Needle, maximum storage of 3 needles] Nie Siyan''s awakening was also something Wang Tao had never seen before. After letting her test it for a while, he roughly understood the effects of this awakening. Nie Siyan''s hidden attributes were related to poison, which, when combined with her ability, Throwing Master, resulted in a throwing-type Poison Awakening. This type of awakening was different from all other awakenings Wang Tao had seen before, as it was one that could "store" energy. Nie Siyan could consume 100 Awakening Energy to condense a transparent poison needle about the size of a ballpoint pen refill. She could then throw this needle to inflict damage. When Nie Siyan had enough Awakening Energy, she could condense up to 3 needles. These needles would dissolve into her body and appear in her hand instantly whenever she wished. When the needle hit the target, it would quickly melt into their body without leaving any trace. This awakening was somewhat unpredictable, almost like how Wang Tao could instantly pull out a weapon from his Space Backpack. The damage from the poison needle was roughly equal to that of Wang Tao''s Air Bullet. However, since the Air Bullet is just an ordinary ability, the needle''s damage was somewhat low. But the needle''s damage was continuous, causing the victim to lose HP every second after being pricked. As to how long the effect lasted, Wang Tao and Nie Siyan had not figured it out yet because the duration of the poisoning was not fixed and varied. On the Iron Beetle, one needle lasted as long as a minute, with sixty instances of damage popping up above its head. Even though the damage per instance was not high, the aggregated damage was still considerable. And there was another crucial point, Nie Siyan could store her poison needles, and their damage could stack. Nie Siyan could store up to 3 needles and attack a single target with all of them. If all hit, that would mean triple the toxin damage! Such damage was significant. In battle, if someone could withstand the enemy''s attack and allow her to hit the target with all 3 needles, there might be a chance to poison a strong enemy to death! Unfortunately, Nie Siyan could only store up to 3 needles inside her body. For every needle she condensed, in addition to requiring a minute, she also needed 100 Awakening Energy. Once she had condensed the 3 needles, her awakening would go into cooldown, which lasted about an hour. Though not very long, this cooldown essentially made it impossible to condense needles continuously in combat. If her 3 needles weren''t depleted, and once the cooldown was over, if she condensed a fourth needle, then the first needle would disappear... So, she could only condense and store up to 3 needles at most. Nie Siyan had an inkling that as her Awakening Energy increased to a certain level, the number of needles she could store would also increase, possibly to 4, 5, or even more. However, she couldn''t tell how much Awakening Energy that would require. Wang Tao hadn''t wasted too many Awakening Crystal Cores on her, considering he had many people to attend to, and those cores were nearly depleted. Naturally, he would prioritize people like Lan Yulian and He Jijun, leaving Nie Siyan to wait for her turn. Overall, Wang Tao thought that the [Corrosive Poison Needle] awakening was pretty good. Theoretically, its potential was high. However, its lower limit and margin for error were quite low. Because this thing requires throwing, and the poison needles are too small, unlike Lu Yingfeng''s blades and Wang Tao''s fireballs which cause area damage, it''s just pure single-target damage. Throwing poison needles is a real test of skill, Wang Tao felt it was best to throw them from close range, and not to treat the poison needles as a long-range attack ability, as this would make it relatively easier to hit the target... While also being a Poison Awakening, Nie Siyan has a single-target attack ability, whereas Gao Hua has an area attack. [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 4%] [Awakening: Poison Explosion] [Poison Explosion: Releases poison gas, detonates poison gas within a certain range] Gao Hua''s Awakening allows him to release poison gas. However, his release of poison gas is very slow, and the affected area is quite small; the gas doesn''t have an explosive impact... Not only is the instantaneous damage from releasing the gas low, the sustained damage is also very minimal! If you just look at the release of the poison gas, it''s even inferior to some ordinary abilities. However, the important part of this [Poison Explosion] Awakening is the subsequent detonation. Gao Hua can spend 100 Awakening Energy to detonate all the poison gas he has released centered around himself! And he would remain unharmed. The power of this detonation is not insignificant. Additionally, the strength of the explosion is related to how much poison gas he releases. This is yet another ability that is theoretically very strong¡ªimagine he releases copious amounts of poison; the moment an enemy enters the range of his detonation, he detonates it, potentially killing them instantly. But the chances of such a scenario happening are almost nonexistent, after all, he is releasing poison, who would foolishly walk into it? Maybe not even the zombies, although most zombies don''t have much intelligence, they still have instincts... Of course, even if it''s not possible to achieve this theoretical scenario, in actual combat, this Awakening is still quite good. It''s just that this Awakening is not suited for fighting alone; it needs to be combined with others to unleash its full potential. And Wang Tao thought of something¡ªcould Gao Hua detonate other people''s poison gas? His Awakening description didn''t specify that he could only detonate poison gas he released himself... So Wang Tao had Nie Siyan run a test to see if Gao Hua could detonate the poison needles she threw. But whether the needles were simply thrown or had already hit an enemy, Gao Hua was unable to detonate them. However, Wang Tao did not give up, because he had two more pieces of equipment, [Corrosion Armor] and [Corrosive Spear]! [Corrosion Armor] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +100, defensive power +80, when worn, the wearer is corroded, continuously losing HP. Also forms a large range of poison gas, within which all creatures other than the wearer continuously lose HP (Poison Gas Attribute not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] Both pieces of equipment release poison gas, but the wearer will lose HP, so even with good attributes, they were not used by anyone. Wang Tao thought that maybe Gao Hua could give it a try! After a series of tests, a smile spread across Wang Tao''s face. It really works! And Gao Hua''s face was filled with utter despair. Because this was practically treating him like a poison gas bomb... Although the power was indeed not low, he always felt as though he was a Self-exploder... Chapter 955 382 Need Help Eight people had awakened together this time, and six of them were successful. There were just over a dozen people in total, ten of whom were Awakeners! Wang Tao wasn''t sure if these numbers were considered high, but the ratio was definitely the highest. He was quite satisfied with this outcome, and felt that his efforts had not been in vain. "Should we do some actual combat testing?" Xiang Hongbin looked at Wang Tao eagerly. Past tests had mainly focused on observation and sparring, which truly couldn''t reveal their full strength and potential. To gain a clearer understanding of their abilities, a real combat test would be preferable. Wang Tao thought for a moment and said, "Let''s test it, we''ll go out tomorrow." Although there was a zombie horde outside, they had the Crystal Energy Car and many Awakeners. As long as they could spot the zombie horde in advance and avoid being surrounded, escaping shouldn''t be a big problem. Compared to the zombie horde, Wang Tao was actually more worried about the Giant Eagle. However, the Giant Eagle hadn''t appeared recently, and Wang Tao hadn''t encountered it the last time he went out. He guessed that its nest might be far from here, so Wang Tao felt there wasn''t too much to fear. After all, he had undergone his Second Awakening and, together with so many other Awakeners, it should be manageable. "Good!" Hearing Wang Tao''s words, everyone was thrilled. During sparring, they had felt somewhat restrained since they had just obtained such powerful abilities and were unsure how to control themselves. An accidental heavy blow could hurt one of their own, which would be problematic. But if it was a real combat test, they could fully unleash their capabilities! "It''s already late at night. Rest well, everyone, rejuvenate and restore. We will go out together tomorrow," Wang Tao told the crowd. "Good!" Before going to bed that night, Wang Tao sought out Li Qiuyu. Previously, he had asked her to integrate the [Tree Essence] Crystal Core, but she had run off right after the integration, and since Lu Yingfeng and others had awakened, Wang Tao hadn''t sought her out. Later when testing the awakenings of others, Li Qiuyu did appear but stayed away, and Wang Tao, being busy, didn''t speak much about it. Now that he was free, Wang Tao had time to find her. He wanted to know if the effect of the Tree Essence was really as he had imagined. Wang Tao was a person with a strong desire for knowledge; not clarifying this issue would keep him awake at night... Arriving outside Li Qiuyu''s room, Wang Tao first used his spiritual power to check that there was only one person inside before knocking on the door. "Come in." Hearing the door open and assuming it was Jiang Shixue, Li Qiuyu didn''t pay much attention initially, but soon she realized the footsteps were not Jiang Shixue''s. When she looked up and saw Wang Tao, for some reason, her face flushed red. She quickly grabbed the blanket, wrapped herself tightly, and glared at Wang Tao: "You, why didn''t you knock before coming in!" Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. "Didn''t you ask me to come in?" "Er... What I meant was why didn''t you say anything!" "You already asked me to come in, what more should I say? Enough chit-chat, I have something important to discuss!" Wang Tao waved his hand, looking serious. Upon hearing it was something serious, Li Qiuyu''s expression also turned more solemn. "What''s the serious matter?" "Let''s test the abilities you gained from integrating that Tree Essence." "...No!" Li Qiuyu''s face turned bright red, visibly reluctant. But this was a serious matter, and Wang Tao did not allow any dissent. Thus, after some resistance, he lifted her blanket and studied in detail. The Tree Essence Crystal Core could only be integrated by females, and Wang Tao felt it probably had something to do with women''s unique physical structure. Now upon examining, indeed it did¡ªthe Tree Essence Liquid was produced from her chest. This also solved one of Wang Tao''s questions, yet he now had another¡ªwhether the Tree Essence Liquid produced by humans differed from that produced by plants. Such distinctions weren''t clear just by reading descriptions; it required personal experience and direct comparison to truly understand. Though eating strange substances might be risky, it was for scientific research, and Wang Tao felt responsible for carrying it out himself. "You... mmm..." ... The next day. When Wang Tao woke up, he found that Li Qiuyu was still sleeping, although she was just pretending. "I''m leaving now, stop pretending to sleep. After breakfast, we need to go out and take a walk." Wang Tao mercilessly exposed her, then left without looking back, and don''t ask whose butt he patted. "..." Turns out, the Tree Essence produced by Li Qiuyu really was different from that of plants; the essence from plants replenished HP and Mana, whereas hers restored physical strength and spirit! It was essentially an enhanced version of the Rejuvenation Potion, and its enhancement lay in the absence of side effects. If there were downsides, two could be noted. One was that it couldn''t be preserved for long; although Wang Tao could store it in the Space Backpack, it couldn''t be preserved anywhere else, losing its effect within a minute of being away from the body. The second downside was that the quantity was quite limited; it disappeared with just a slight draw by Wang Tao, cough. Overall, however, it was a very useful supplemental Ability. Especially combined with Wang Tao''s Mental Development, after deep mutual interaction from body to spirit, Wang Tao could restore both Mana and physical strength and spirit! If he joined with Ding Yuqin, then HP could be restored too... Hisss! This was practically like a fountain of youth in the game! Wang Tao was looking forward to it, and when he spoke to Ding Yuqin about it, she probably wouldn''t refuse... Chapter 956 382 Need Help_2 Everyone gathered at Wang Tao''s villa to have breakfast together. After the meal, Wang Tao spoke, "Let''s go, the application to leave the city has already been approved." Since there was a zombie tide outside, although the tide wasn''t near the base, the danger was still significant, so one had to submit an application if they wanted to leave the city. The City Hall would assess one''s strength, and those who were too weak were not allowed to leave. During breakfast, Lan Yulian had used her identity to apply for leaving the city. With her strength, naturally, there was no problem, and right after breakfast, her application was approved. "Let''s go, let''s go!" Hong Bin had been eager to depart for a while. In fact, Hong Bin no longer needed to eat ordinary food, as all the energy his body required was supplied by the Crystal Core. Of course, his not needing to eat didn''t mean he couldn''t, he still could. But eating these foods made digestion a bit troublesome. So, to save trouble, Hong Bin would avoid eating if possible. He had the patience for it. Yet, watching others eat deliciously, he felt a bit miserable... He really wanted to go out and teach those zombies a lesson to soothe his wounded soul. "Let''s go," said Wang Tao, waving his hand as the group headed to the garage. There were over a dozen of them, and they definitely couldn''t all fit in one Crystal Energy Car. However, it wasn''t a major issue because Wang Tao had spoken to Qu Shilin last night about needing more vehicles for today. Consequently, Qu Shilin had arranged for a trailer to be sent over overnight. Crystal Energy Cars were rare and mostly still in the experimental stage, and Qu Shilin didn''t have any spares. However, she did have a trailer. This high-strength off-road trailer could be attached to the rear of the Crystal Energy Car, making it quite convenient. Everyone boarded the vehicle, and after leaving the villa area, they took a slight detour and picked up Qu Shilin, who had been waiting on the street. "I''m so excited!" Once aboard, Qu Shilin spoke with some excitement. Yesterday, Wang Tao had told her that they were going out today to test Hong Bin''s combat abilities and asked if she wanted to join. Previously, if there was such an event, she insisted on being called, and naturally, Wang Tao wouldn''t forget about her. Qu Shilin didn''t hesitate and was waiting early in the morning. "Huh? You guys..." However, Qu Shilin suddenly paused because she noticed that the few people sitting in the car seemed a bit different. After all, Qu Shilin was a Level 3 Ability User. Though not very strong, her experience and Perception were substantial. She was familiar with the people around Wang Tao. But now, these people felt completely different from before! It felt like... they had awakened? Qu Shilin found it hard to believe. Awakening was normal, but for everyone in the car, except for her, to have awakened was not normal! "You all haven''t all awakened, have you?" Qu Shilin leaned toward Wang Tao and asked in a whisper. "No, it''s just that most people have awakened. There are still a few who haven''t," Wang Tao explained honestly. He was very familiar with Qu Shilin, and this wasn''t critical news, so it was naturally okay to tell her. "Ssss¡ª" Even though she had guessed it, hearing Wang Tao''s explanation still shocked Qu Shilin. This was about awakening! This wasn''t Ability, nor something achievable by merging with a high-quality, Ability-endowed Crystal Core. The conditions for awakening were too stringent, and most people couldn''t meet them. After all, she herself didn''t have Hidden Attributes, making it difficult for her to awaken. Even the chosen ones, who met all conditions, could face failure! Every Awakener benefitted from both strength and luck! Yet, among Wang Tao''s group of just a dozen people, a dog, and a few snakes, most had awakened? Even the dog had awakened... This was seriously disheartening! "I''m so jealous!" Qu Shilin didn''t ask Wang Tao how he managed it, but just gazed at him with eyes full of envy. "Haha, it''s just an awakening..." Wang Tao laughed, but sensing that Qu Shilin was really envious, he added, "When there''s a chance, I''ll see if I can get something that could reveal Hidden Attributes for you to try awakening as well!" Everyone around Wang Tao already possessed Hidden Attributes, and if he could obtain more items that could enhance Hidden Attributes in the future, he would consider offering one to Qu Shilin. After all, they were both partners and friends, and Wang Tao was not stingy. After all, there''s plenty to be gained from plucking a bit of wool from Qu Shilin... cough. "Ah? Thank you!" Qu Shilin suddenly became very happy. She had no particular requirements regarding the type or ability of awakening; she simply wanted to purely experience what awakening felt like. Later, when conducting research related to Awakeners, she could proceed more confidently... "Oh right, I almost forgot the main point!" Watching the car not yet leaving the city, Qu Shilin quickly took out an Iron Beetle and a Black Card to give to Wang Tao. "All those Night Demon Hearts were sold, and this is the Crystal Coins you''ve earned. Here is your Iron Beetle. As for those two Night Demon Hearts used to support the display, I had the Sixth Army Corps take control of them. The Iron Beetle is too precious; I was afraid something might happen, so I kept it myself..." Wang Tao had left the Night Demon Hearts and the Iron Beetle there to support the Sixth Army Corps. He wasn''t familiar with anyone else, so he asked Qu Shilin to temporarily look after them. Now that Qu Shilin had come out with him, she brought out the Iron Beetle. As for the two Night Demon Hearts, Qu Shilin thought that with Wang Tao''s strength, he probably wouldn''t need them. All sold? Hearing that all the Night Demon Hearts were sold, Wang Tao was surprised. He swiped his bank card on his informational wristwatch and was immediately astonished. There were a total of 60 million Crystal Coins on the card! The average price of a Night Demon Heart was over 850,000, which wasn''t low at all! "Impressive!" Wang Tao gave Qu Shilin a thumbs-up. "Hey, this has nothing to do with me. They were already great items, and then you created such a strong sense of urgency among those factions. They bought the Night Demon Hearts in competition..." At this point, Qu Shilin let out a chuckle. "If these people knew that the person putting pressure on them was you, and the one selling them the Night Demon Hearts was also you... They''d probably find it very amusing!" Wang Tao shrugged. At the time, he hadn''t thought too much about it; he just wanted to help the Sixth Army Corps, but he ended up indirectly selling his items quickly and for a high price... "However, your supply of Rejuvenation Potions might not be enough. There are quite a few people who want to invest in the Sixth Army Corps." Qu Shilin continued. "That''s okay, I''ll bring more when I get back." Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively. Looking at Wang Tao''s magnate-like demeanor, Qu Shilin really wanted to dissect him inside and out, to see just how many more valuable items Wang Tao still possessed... Amidst their laughter, the car left the base. After they came out, they didn''t encounter any zombie hordes, and didn''t even see a single zombie. They could only continue towards the distance. After walking for about two hours, they finally encountered some sporadic zombies, all of which were Level 1 or 2. These zombies clearly were no match for them. They were directly crushed by the cold weapons on the vehicle. "Where have all the zombies gone?" Hong Bin asked, puzzled. "These zombies must have followed the zombie horde..." Wang Tao explained, frowning. This area showed traces of a zombie horde passing through. If there were no formidable zombies, there was no way to have a real fight. Look for zombies in other places? That probably wouldn''t be easy either... But they definitely couldn''t provoke a zombie horde, right? That would be too inhumane... "Sizzle... sizzle..." Just then, the car''s radio suddenly made a noise. "Sizzle... Wang Tao? Is that you?" Hearing the voice from the radio, Wang Tao paused before responding in surprise, "Eh? Commander Cheng? Are you all right? How did you get in touch with me?" "Sizzle... We''re temporarily safe... You forgot, your radio is on our corps'' encrypted channel... Once you enter the range of my radio, I can see you..." "Ah... That''s really true!" Wang Tao examined it. He discovered the approximate direction of Cheng Yiyi''s radio signal marked on the vehicle''s electronic map. He hadn''t actually participated in any activities with the Sixth Army Corps since joining them as a consultant and wasn''t familiar with these details. But these little details weren''t important; Wang Tao continued to ask: "Do you need help then?" "Sizzle..." There was a pause on the other end before the voice continued: "Sizzle... If you are able, we might need a little help..." Chapter 957 383: Attracting Zombies What kind of question is that? What do you mean "if I have the ability"? Please remove "if". "Exact address." Wang Tao spoke up directly. The car''s electronic map could only show that Cheng Yiyi was roughly in the west, but her precise location was not visible due to the lack of satellites. The scope of the west was too vast; it was virtually impossible for Wang Tao to locate Cheng Yiyi. "Sizzle... We are... We''re okay for now, but there''s a horde of zombies outside... If you can draw some of the horde away and create an opening, we can break out..." Cheng Yiyi excitedly explained in detail to Wang Tao, and didn''t forget to instruct: "Don''t overdo it, okay? If it doesn''t work out, just leave it. We''re still safe here, even though we can''t get out, but there''s no danger to our lives..." "Don''t worry, just wait for news from Wang Tao." Wang Tao ended the call and then discussed with everyone how to conduct the rescue. Cheng Yiyi had just told Wang Tao that it started because their legion members were trapped, but not by a horde of zombies, so there was a possibility of rescue. Hence, Cheng Yiyi had led people over to perform the rescue. Even though they managed to save them, they ended up trapped themselves! This time, they were trapped by a horde of zombies. The reason they were trapped was not solely due to the horde of zombies¡ªthey had clear divisions of labor, made many contingency plans, and had scouts who provided early warnings before the zombies arrived. It wasn''t that easy for the horde to trap them. But coincidentally, they encountered that Giant Eagle! Listening to Cheng Yiyi''s description, it must have been the Level 5 Lord Giant Eagle Wang Tao had seen before! When the Giant Eagle saw them, it flew straight towards them, and from a distance, they felt the oppressive aura of the terrifying Giant Eagle! Cheng Yiyi immediately knew they couldn''t match its strength, so they started to retreat, and at that moment, the horde of zombies arrived. Cheng Yiyi''s group had many contingency plans, including strategies for dealing with flying monsters, but a plan is just a plan, and reality can differ. They hadn''t anticipated the creature being so powerful! Their bullets, even rocket-propelled grenades, had no effect on the Giant Eagle; their powered armor couldn''t withstand three strikes from the Giant Eagle¡ªthree hits and it would shatter. In the face of such a colossal disparity in strength, none of their emergency plans worked, and they began to flee. However, they were still strong, and although they were attacked by the Giant Eagle and inadvertently ran into the horde of zombies, their combat force remained largely intact. And importantly, the horde of zombies and the Giant Eagle started fighting each other! As the proverb goes: "When the snipe and the clam grapple, it is the fisherman who profits." While the Giant Eagle attacked the zombies, they took the chance to escape and then ran into a subway tunnel, finally escaping from both the zombie horde and the Giant Eagle. But outside the subway were zombies, as well as the Giant Eagle roosting on a large building. They were trapped. However, they were temporarily safe and they had found a subway entrance with fewer zombies, and the Giant Eagle was not there. At present, this seemed to be their only chance to break out. But if they just rushed out, it would definitely attract a large number of zombies. There were too many zombies in the distance; if they were surrounded, they would still have to retreat. Unless someone could draw away the zombies near the subway entrance and buy them some time, then the probability of breaking out would be much higher... Unfortunately, except for them, there was no one else around. Of course, even if there were people, they probably wouldn''t dare to come rescue them, considering not only the danger of the zombie horde but also the more dangerous Giant Eagle... Cheng Yiyi had never expected Wang Tao to show up. When she contacted him, she could hardly believe it, thinking the horde outside had dispersed. But she checked again, and there were still many zombies outside; the horde was still present. Cheng Yiyi didn''t know why Wang Tao had come out, and she didn''t ask too much. But it indeed was an opportunity, though she felt Wang Tao might not be able to manage it. She knew Wang Tao was strong, but facing a horde of zombies of this scale, even an Awakener would be ineffective... After some discussion, Wang Tao and his companions roughly determined a rescue plan. "First, we go and see exactly what the situation is. If it''s as Cheng Yiyi described, then we''ll attack the zombies, draw their attention, and escape using the Crystal Energy Car ... What do you all think?" Wang Tao looked toward the group, particularly at Qu Shilin. Since Cheng Yiyi said that drawing away the zombies nearby would suffice, he didn''t plan to act on his own and do anything extra. He trusted Cheng Yiyi wouldn''t joke with so many lives, and everything would proceed according to Cheng Yiyi''s plan. However, Wang Tao had Qu Shilin in the car. Previously, he had just wanted Qu Shilin to assess Xiang Hongbin''s combat situation, but hadn''t intended for Qu Shilin to take risks. So Wang Tao needed to seek Qu Shilin''s opinion; if Qu Shilin did not want to take risks, he would send Qu Shilin back first, then go to rescue Cheng Yiyi. Whether it was Qu Shilin or Cheng Yiyi, both were Wang Tao''s friends. He could not, for the sake of one friend, disregard the safety of another. But he definitely had to rescue Cheng Yiyi, not only because of Cheng Yiyi herself but because Wang Tao indeed intended to assess everyone''s combat capability first. There were hardly any zombies here now; the only option seemed to be heading to the zombie horde... Thus, for Wang Tao, it was killing two birds with one stone, capable of rescuing Cheng Yiyi while letting his team gain practical experience... Chapter 958 383 Attracting Zombies_2 "I agree!" Qu Shilin immediately raised her hand with some excitement. Upon hearing Qu Shilin''s words, Wang Tao asked in surprise, "Miss Qu, aren''t you going back? I can take you back first. The Crystal Energy Car has an explosion mode, which will be very fast round-trip, and it won''t delay my rescue mission." "How could I miss such a rare opportunity! I''ll stay with you. Don''t worry about me, I''ll just hide in the car!" Despite the risks, Qu Shilin decided to stay. She seldom had the chance to be on the front lines. It was indeed dangerous, but she would be with Wang Tao and his team, with 10 Awakeners, as Wang Tao had just mentioned! Moreover, Wang Tao and his team were traveling light without any encumbrances¡ª the only encumbrance might be herself¡ªso she was sure there would be no problem escaping. And there was another point, she was directly involved in the research and development of the Crystal Energy Car, so she had a lot of confidence in her own vehicle! Then, as if suddenly remembering something, Qu Shilin added, "Oh right, you can just call me by my name, no need to be so polite!" Although it was just a formality, calling her Miss Qu was too distant. She had mentioned it to Wang Tao before, and he might have forgotten, so she reminded him again. "Alright, then Shilin, let''s go." "Okay!" Humming~ He Jijun immediately steered the wheel and headed towards the location Wang Tao had just marked on the map. ... Cheng Yiyi was currently in a small-scale urban area that had a subway, though the network wasn''t extensive. Many places had collapsed, forming natural barriers, so as long as they guarded the entrances well, they could avoid danger. Of course, hiding wasn''t a long-term solution. They had limited supplies, which at best could last another three days before they''d run out of food, and then they would have no choice but to rush out and fight for their lives. In the dim light of the subway tunnel, faces filled with vigilance and a hint of despair were illuminated. No one spoke; they all silently cleaned their guns, awaiting the Legion Commander''s final order to rush into battle. Just then, footsteps approached, and a group of people came over, led by a few Powered Armors. Inside the lead Powered Armor, Cheng Yiyi looked at these resolute faces, took a deep breath, and said solemnly, "Gentlemen, I just contacted our consultant Mr. Wang, who is preparing to lead a team to draw the zombies away and create an opportunity for us to escape... Our chance has come!" Whoosh¡ª There weren''t many soldiers in the Sixth Army Corps, but their discipline was strong. They didn''t speak upon hearing this news, but one could clearly feel their breathing growing heavier. If they could live, who would choose to die? And the one coming to their rescue was their Legion''s consultant, no less! Although many did not know this consultant, merely aware that the Sixth Army Corps had such a person, and nothing more, they were willing to trust one of their own. Their own was certainly more reliable than outsiders; they wanted to trust their people! The morale of the soldiers, which had been somewhat low, was now invigorated. "Get ready for battle, everyone. We may need to rush out at any moment." "Yes!" Cheng Yiyi didn''t say much else; after communicating the good news, she left. They had been trapped for several days, and it was necessary to give everyone a morale boost. Cheng Yiyi wasn''t certain they could escape, but she chose to believe, and others were willing to believe as well. However, some were not so confident. "Can we really escape...?" Deputy Legion Commander Lin Kaiyang looked worried. There were too many zombies outside, and the Giant Eagle was terrifying. He not only doubted their ability to break out but also doubted whether Wang Tao would come to their rescue. Wang Tao might talk the talk now, but when faced with the actual tide of zombies, he might back down... After all, luring the horde in such a massive scale was akin to courting death, not to mention the even more terrifying Giant Eagle lurking on some building. Anyway, Lin Kaiyang was somewhat pessimistic. Hum~ The face shield of the Powered Armor lifted, revealing Cheng Yiyi''s petite face. She looked at Lin Kaiyang with a firm tone, "I trust Wang Tao''s character; if he said he would come, he definitely will. Even if he truly can''t make it, he will notify us in advance, not let us wait in vain. What we need now is to stay ready and seize the opportunity to break out!" Seeing Cheng Yiyi place such trust in Wang Tao, Lin Kaiyang''s face also became serious. "Alright! Then let''s get ready and wait for Consultant Wang''s good news!" Cheng Yiyi nodded, then turned to look at the thin man beside her who had remained silent. "Pei Hai, take some people to pay extra attention to the outside movements. If you see the Giant Eagle, make sure to inform me." Cheng Yiyi didn''t know where the Giant Eagle was at the moment. She felt the Giant Eagle wouldn''t leave so easily, which meant she had to watch out for Wang Tao. If the Giant Eagle appeared, she had to inform Wang Tao in advance; otherwise, facing such a sovereign of the skies, Wang Tao too would be in mortal danger. "Yes!" Cheng Yiyi then instructed a few other things to the rest, then she finally looked at the map. Based on the location reported by Wang Tao, it should take about two to three hours to get here. If he hadn''t arrived after three hours, it either meant Wang Tao had encountered danger, or he felt the situation was unmanageable and had left. Cheng Yiyi wanted to contact Wang Tao again to confirm if he would be able to come. An hour had passed since she last spoke to him, and Wang Tao hadn''t taken the initiative to contact her. There were some last-resort measures she needed to prepare in advance; if Wang Tao didn''t come, it would all be a waste... But after some thought, Cheng Yiyi still didn''t ask further. Since she had just said she believed in Wang Tao, it meant she truly did. All she needed was to wait for Wang Tao to contact her. "Let''s wait another hour or two..." Elsewhere. Wang Tao had already seen the undead swarm. "Damn, such a large swarm of zombies!" This time the swarm was much larger than the one Wang Tao saw last time, reminding him of the situation he had previously faced in Zijing City. But these zombies were much stronger than those in Zijing City, mostly Level 3 and Level 4 Ordinary and Elite Zombies. He had yet to see a Lord, but with such a scale, there surely must be a Level 5 Lord, just how many was unknown. Wang Tao didn''t intend to confront the zombies head-on. He told He Jijun to slow down and started circling the perimeter of the swarm, heading towards the subway entrance Cheng Yiyi had mentioned. After another twenty minutes, Wang Tao finally saw the iconic building next to that subway entrance. As expected, there were fewer zombies here. Of course, ''fewer'' was relative to the entire swarm; there were actually still a lot of zombies. "Are you all ready?" Wang Tao''s voice resonated directly in everyone''s minds. Since the car wasn''t big enough, some people were in the rear carriage; to notify them, Wang Tao could only use the intercom or Spiritual Communication. For him, Spiritual Communication was obviously more convenient. "Ready!" The voices of the group erupted through the intercom. Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao in surprise. How did he manage that? It was amazing! Wang Tao nodded, then turned on the car''s intercom. "Commander Cheng, are you there?" "Sssht... I''m here!" "In one minute, we will start attracting zombies. Get ready." "Ah? In one minute?" Cheng Yiyi was startled. Wang Tao was already here? That fast? Although she had many questions, now was certainly not the time to speak. She quickly added: "No problem!" Wang Tao nodded, then addressed everyone inside the car: "Disembark!" The Awakeners all got off, leaving the others and Qu Shilin in the car. Under Qu Shilin''s watchful eyes, a Fireball appeared in Wang Tao''s hand. "Ah? Buddy, how many more things do you have up your sleeve that you''re hiding from me!" This was the first time Qu Shilin had seen someone conjure fire out of thin air! Wang Tao quickly rushed towards those zombies. The Fireball in his hand grew larger, and as the zombies turned back sensing something, the Fireball smashed directly onto their heads. Boom¡ª Chapter 959 384 Testing the Waters Boom¡ª Massive numbers of zombies were engulfed in a sea of fire, strings of numbers leaping above their heads. Many zombies collapsed dead on the spot, and even those that didn''t succumb were left with a sliver of health. The sound of the fireballs exploding wasn''t actually that loud, but the flames and the heatwave rapidly drew the attention of other zombies in the vicinity. "Heh heh..." Quite a few zombies roared as they made their way toward the inferno. The heat from the fire was intense, so while they wanted to approach, they didn''t dare enter and could only hover around the perimeter. Several acutely sensitive zombies noticed Wang Tao and the others, disregarding the sea of fire as they ran straight toward them. A sharp long knife appeared in Wang Tao''s hands, and he sent out several shockwaves toward the advancing horde. A mass of zombies was instantly killed. After he had cleared out the zombies in front of him, Wang Tao didn''t immediately rush into the crowd of the dead. Instead, he returned to the front of the vehicle where a quaint-looking powered armor, its hatch wide open, awaited his entry. Wang Tao had wanted to test out the powered armor before but hadn''t found the time or simply forgot about it. The armor was a gift from Qu Shilin at yesterday''s exchange exhibition. Wang Tao really wanted to test the combat capability of the powered armor, and besides, the objective of his mission wasn''t to kill a certain number of zombies but to make enough noise to attract them away, giving Cheng Yiyi and the others more time to escape. Therefore, the lethality didn''t really matter as much as making a big commotion. And the noise from this attack-type powered armor was definitely not insignificant! Although Wang Tao had never engaged in combat while wearing powered armor, he had learned the basic controls, and they weren''t difficult, so naturally, he wouldn''t face any issues. Whirring¡ª The powered armor''s thrusters emitted blue flames as it launched toward the incoming horde. Spikes and blades appeared on the arms and legs of the armor as Wang Tao sprinted. A six-barrel Gatling gun also popped out from behind. Wang Tao, gripping the Gatling, immediately pulled the trigger towards the crowd of zombies. Pupu pupu¡ª A stream of fire burst from the barrel, spraying wildly over the zombies. Though these zombies were not low-level, they were still ordinary zombies and could not withstand the bullets. Wherever the stream of fire passed, the zombies fell in droves, like wheat being cut down. Wang Tao alone was holding off the onslaught of countless zombies! However, this spectacle was short-lived due to the terrifying rate at which the six-barrel Gatling gun consumed bullets. Even though it was an attack-type powered armor with an abundant supply of ammo, it could not keep up with Wang Tao''s method of holding the trigger down relentlessly, so it soon ran out of bullets. Wang Tao carelessly threw the Gatling to the ground, and several ordinary machine guns and grenade launchers popped out of his armor. He began shooting and bombing the horde once again. After these weapons also ran out of ammo, Wang Tao took out some submachine guns, pistols, and hand grenades... These rounds were quickly used up as well. "It''s exhilarating but doesn''t last long..." Wang Tao''s voice sounded in Qu Shilin''s earpiece. "...With the way you''re using ammo, no amount will ever be enough!" Qu Shilin couldn''t help but feel somewhat exasperated. Powered armors could carry a lot of ammunition, and attack-type armors had the most loadout capacity of all powered armors... So theoretically, Wang Tao should have had a substantial supply with him. But there was still a limit to how much one could carry. Not to mention anything else, the firing rate of the six-barrel Gatling gun alone could reach up to five or six thousand rounds per minute at its maximum! Normally, they would adjust the rate down a bit, where several hundred rounds per minute was already quite effective. However, Wang Tao operated it at its maximum setting! With just a few thousand bullets, a few pulls of the trigger exhausted his supply. With Wang Tao''s all-in fighting style, disregarding logistics from the start, no amount of ammunition would ever be enough! "Cough..." Wang Tao coughed dryly. What did he like about the powered armor? Naturally, it was the immense mobile firepower! If shooting a gun meant being petty with the ammo, then it wasn''t fun. Of course, his comfort with such extravagant consumption also stemmed from his own strength, which offered considerable confidence. In fact, his combat power in the armor was lower than without it ¨C after all, he couldn''t use his abilities then. He didn''t care about the consumption. In the worst-case scenario, he would just exit the powered armor and release the "seal"! But no matter what, the sensation of unleashing firepower while inside the powered armor indeed thrilled Wang Tao. "If only they could make the powered armor bigger and allow it to carry more ammunition, then it would be even more exciting..." As he muttered to himself, Wang Tao took out a chainsaw knife built into the powered armor. The chainsaw knife was similar to a chainsaw, with sharp, fearsome teeth on one edge of the blade that spun when driven by a motor. While it certainly wasn''t the most powerful melee weapon, it was definitely one of the most cost-effective ones when considering overall performance, along with the electric knife. Other melee weapons required high-quality materials for fabrication, and if the materials were subpar, so was the weapon. The chainsaw knife, however, could achieve significant damage with relatively ordinary materials, making it exceptionally cost-effective. If there was to be a drawback, it might be that it was too large and heavy. Even ability users would not find it comfortable to use for extended periods, but for powered armor, it was very suitable given the armor''s high load-bearing capacity. That''s why many powered armors now come equipped with either chainsaw knives or electric knives. Chapter 960 384 Testing the Waters_2 ``` Of course, the chainsaw knife on Wang Tao''s powered armor wasn''t made of ordinary material; it was much stronger than a standard chainsaw knife. Although, if we''re being honest, using a chainsaw knife to kill zombies was far less efficient than using his own weapons, but it was like unleashing a hail of bullets¡ªit was truly thrilling. Watching the chainsaw knife violently reduce zombies to minced meat was an adrenaline-pumping experience. Wang Tao felt that his decision to get this attack-type powered armor was the right one; it was exhilarating, whether for ranged or melee combat! As Wang Tao was indulging in his killing spree, a thunderous rumble sounded, and Xiang Hongbin rushed over to Wang Tao''s side, turning every zombie he passed into mush! Xiang Hongbin''s figure wasn''t as imposing as the powered armor, but he was still burly, especially with those cold mechanical parts on his body, making him look like a mini version of the powered armor. Standing together with Wang Tao''s powered armor, they paired quite well. "Haha, Old Wang, let''s see who kills more!" Xiang Hongbin laughed heartily. Although Wang Tao had just killed a large number of zombies, besides the fireball, he had mostly used thermal weapons, which were now out of bullets. So Xiang Hongbin thought that even without many thermal weapons, if he started killing zombies now, he still had a chance to beat Wang Tao! Of course, that was if Wang Tao didn''t leave his powered armor. If Wang Tao left the powered armor to use his group attack ability, then Xiang Hongbin certainly couldn''t compete. "Alright!" Wang Tao responded and with the chainsaw knife quickly killed two zombies. Though he had run out of ammunition, this was, after all, an attack-type powered armor. The cold weapons on it were of good quality, at least when it came to killing ordinary zombies. Plus, the power armor had a decent defensive power and could ignore many of the attacks from ordinary zombies. So plunging into the horde was basically a slaughter. Xiang Hongbin was not to be outdone; with a flick of his mechanical arm, two sleek, high-tech swords emerged and began to spin like electric fans, slicing any zombie they touched in half. A true battlefield meat grinder! A large-caliber handgun appeared in Xiang Hongbin''s other hand, and from time to time, he''d finish off any not-quite-dead zombies with a shot. "These two guys..." In the vehicle, Qu Shilin was somewhat speechless. She felt that these two alone might be enough to hold back the horde, right? However, no sooner had Qu Shilin thought this than the noise Wang Tao and Xiang Hongbin were making attracted even more zombies. Seeing the approaching tide of black that resembled an incoming wave, Qu Shilin''s scalp went numb. She knew about zombie hordes, but had hardly ever seen one. After all, they were scientists who were well protected and not meant to be on the front lines. "Hold tight!" Han Rui yelled, then sharply turned the steering wheel, readying the vehicle to make a swift getaway. The Level 3s stayed in the vehicle as their usefulness in this kind of fight was limited. They''d likely be a hindrance, so they did not get out and simply waited inside. Immediately after, He Jijun and the others also charged into the mass of zombies. With the strength of awakeners, they too slaughtered the zombies with ease. Wang Tao didn''t look around much; he focused his attention on the situation of the newly awakened, like Lu Yingfeng. In terms of sheer killing power, aside from Xiang Hongbin, it was Lu Yingfeng who was the strongest. Her sharpness was highly effective in large scale battles; a single swing of her sword would drop multiple heads. And most importantly, she was the most graceful of all! Her family''s sword techniques, combined with her blade, resembled a dance upon the battlefield, elegant and lethal! Not just Wang Tao, but even Lan Yulian, Ding Yuqin, and the other women watched with admiration shining in their eyes. As for the others... Xu Xiaojun''s lethality was quite ordinary. After all, his awakening was in spiritual defense, and though his attack power had increased, it wasn''t much compared to other awakeners. Lu Gang''s lethality was quite good; even though he always said he preferred sniping from a distance, this didn''t mean he was weak in close combat. Now, with his system awakening, he was slaughtering zombies as well. Nie Siyan and Gao Hua both used poison, but their poisons were somewhat different. Nie Siyan''s poison needles could instantly kill an ordinary zombie, but only one at a time. Group battles weren''t suited for her to shine. While Gao Hua was more appropriate for such situations. The poisonous gas he emitted was a continuous area-of-effect attack. The more zombies around, the more his poison could show its worth. And when the gas built up sufficiently and detonated, it could instantly kill a large number of zombies. Normally, zombies wouldn''t enter the poisonous gas, or if they did, they''d leave since they had a certain level of instinct. But there were so many zombies now, being pushed forward, they had no choice but to advance and couldn''t retreat. Thus, Gao Hua''s poisonous gas ability played out well... Ten awakeners, along with beings like Lightning and Black Snake at Level 4, stood in a line, directly holding back the tide of zombies! "This is the might of awakeners... so powerful!" Inside the vehicle, Qu Shilin once again expressed her amazement. She had never seen so many awakeners fighting at once¡ªjust these ten or so people and beasts could stop thousands of zombies. The view was absolutely stunning! If everyone in the base could awaken, then a zombie horde wouldn''t be an issue at all¡ªno, there wouldn''t even be a need for everyone to awaken; if only a small portion could, it was likely that they could even go on the offensive against the horde! ``` Chapter 961 384 Testing the Waters_3 But thoughts like these were just wishful thinking, as awakening a small part of humanity was as difficult as ascending to heaven. After all, if she, with her status and wealth, couldn''t awaken, then most people had no hope..... As time passed, the number of zombies only increased. Although Wang Tao and his group managed to hold back the horde, it was clear they couldn''t keep it up forever. Human strength has its limits, while zombies are endless! Seeing a large number of Fourth-order Elite Zombies, Level 5 Ordinary Zombies, and even Level 5 Elite Zombies appearing, Wang Tao knew they couldn''t keep resisting. If a Level 5 Monster Lord appeared, they would be in danger¡ªit was time to retreat. Wang Tao tried to contact Cheng Yiyi, but since the fight began, the radio had been unreliable. In the apocalypse, radios aren''t always functional and are susceptible to various interferences. Fortunately, they had made contact earlier... It could be said that they were lucky, but not that lucky.... So, Wang Tao said: "We''re retreating in one minute!" Giving Cheng Yiyi and her team one more minute should be enough. If they couldn''t manage to retreat in so much time, then the issue was on Cheng Yiyi''s end. "Okay!" .... Meanwhile. When Wang Tao notified Cheng Yiyi they would be attracting the zombies in one minute, Cheng Yiyi was somewhat stunned. She believed Wang Tao would come, but she hadn''t expected him to arrive so quickly. She thought it would take another hour or two.... But now was not the time for doubts, she immediately shouted through all channels. "Consultant Wang Tao has arrived with reinforcements. Everyone get ready; we are retreating in one minute!" Wow¡ª With these words, she could immediately feel the somewhat subdued soldiers begin to boil with excitement. Although they were disciplined, they couldn''t hide their excitement upon realizing they could survive. "He really came?" Lin Kaiyang could hardly believe it, but he had also heard the recent radio transmission. It wasn''t fake. "He''s here, and we''re about to retreat!" "Yes!" One minute later, they hadn''t heard any sounds of combat, but they could distinctly hear many more footsteps outside. The zombies had been lured away! It was Wang Tao! And since they couldn''t see or hear Wang Tao, it was clear he was at some distance from them, which meant they could safely run away¡ªhad Wang Tao been too close, it would have made their escape difficult, but this distance was just right! However, for the sake of safety, Cheng Yiyi waited a bit longer until there were almost no footsteps outside, and when gunfire and explosions could be heard in the distance, she decisively bellowed. "Everyone, charge with me!" Leading by example, Cheng Yiyi was the first to rush out, followed by Deputy Legion Commander Lin Kaiyang and Pei Hai, with others trailing behind. There were still quite a few zombies outside, but far fewer than before. Everyone used melee weapons to attack, trying to keep noise to a minimum. Even so, after they had cleared the zombies nearby, many more in the distance were drawn by the noise and headed their way. "Find our vehicles! Don''t engage in combat!" While Cheng Yiyi spoke against fighting, she glanced toward the area where guns were blazing, hesitant. Should she meet up with Wang Tao to fight the zombies together, or should she leave Wang Tao behind and just escape? "Legion Commander, we...." Pei Hai also looked at Cheng Yiyi, hesitant. "We can''t linger, the horde will surround us soon. We need to move fast and keep our distance from Consultant Wang, otherwise his efforts will have been in vain!" At that moment, Lin Kaiyang spoke calmly. Hearing this, Cheng Yiyi bit her lip. "Let''s go!" She immediately commanded the troops to head in the opposite direction from Wang Tao. Before leaving, she tried to contact Wang Tao again, but the radio was still just producing static. "Wang Tao, you must survive! I''ll wait for you at the base!" Chapter 962 385: Encounter with the Giant Eagle Again Pfft¡ª With a single slice, Wang Tao cleaved a hideous head apart, bursting it like a watermelon. "We can''t hold them back, go, go!" Wang Tao called out and turned to run. Whirring~ Blue flames shot from the back of the powered armor, propelling him forward a great distance in an instant. The others immediately followed Wang Tao in retreat. The zombie horde was now endless, and if they didn''t leave, they would be surrounded. Even Wang Tao wasn''t sure if he could break out if they were encircled. "Damn, this is terrifying!" Xiang Hongbin complained. He had seen many zombie hordes back in Wuyang Province, but since he was in a disabled state back then, he hardly ever took part in combat. So even though he knew zombie hordes were frightening, he could only speculate how terrifying they were by watching others. He couldn''t describe it clearly himself. Now, he finally understood the terror of a zombie horde¡ªeven if the zombies stood still and let him kill them, he wouldn''t be able to finish them off before his physical strength was depleted! Although he could use crystal cores to supply the energy his body needed, this did not mean he would never tire. His physical strength, spirit, and cybernetic body all had limits. These limits might be higher than most people''s, but certainly not higher than a zombie horde''s! Not to mention that these zombies weren''t just standing around waiting to be killed; they attacked tirelessly, wanting to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Even with his high defenses, he couldn''t relax and had to be constantly on edge... That''s what a zombie horde is! Zombie hordes cannot be overcome by human strength, at least not for now. No wonder it''s said there are only two ways to deal with a zombie horde: either hold out to the death, or run faster than them! "Indeed, terrifying..." Wang Tao nodded. He felt that if he stayed for 10 more seconds, he would have had to abandon the powered armor and exert all his strength. But even going all-out, he wouldn''t last very long. Of course, his goal was to attract the zombies, not to annihilate them. There were no Zombie Lords here, so he couldn''t possibly engage in a tough fight with the zombies; getting away was good enough. The crystal energy car had already been started, and the doors were open. The group rushed over and jumped into the car. Wang Tao had a bit more trouble as he had to first put the powered armor into the vehicle and then leave the powered armor to jump into the crystal energy car. When Wang Tao finally entered the crystal energy car, Han Rui, who had been prepared for a long time, immediately pressed the car''s berserk button. Whirring¡ª Blue flames shot out of the crystal energy car as it catapulted forward, sprinting hundreds of meters in the blink of an eye. Almost skimming the ground, the zombies that were about to surround them were hit and splattered into pieces. "Crap, I haven''t even buckled up yet!" Wang Tao gripped the seat tightly, his arm veins bulging. Han Rui apparently hadn''t heard Wang Tao. She gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to keep the car going straight. They had planned the retreat route when they arrived, which was to escape using the berserk mode along this road. The road here was very smooth with few obstacles, making it suitable for the crystal energy car to activate berserk mode. However, a lack of obstacles didn''t mean there were none at all. Han Rui had to control the steering wheel to avoid veering off course. Otherwise, with the speed of the crystal energy car in berserk mode, if there was an accident, everyone except Wang Tao might be wiped out... No one knew how long they had been sprinting until they could no longer see the zombies behind them. Only then did Han Rui turn off the berserk mode. "Phew¡ª" Everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. The high speed of the car was also a burden for them, especially since the road was very bumpy. People with poor physical constitutions might have passed out... Wang Tao quickly looked at Qu Shilin. Thankfully, although her face was pale and she was breaking out in a cold sweat, she hadn''t fainted. "Are you okay?" Wang Tao asked, patting Qu Shilin''s shoulder. "I... uh¡ª" Qu Shilin suddenly covered her mouth. Wang Tao reacted quickly and immediately opened the car door, then helped Qu Shilin out of the car. Vomit¡ª Qu Shilin threw up violently outside the car as if she was about to vomit her entire stomach out. Wang Tao gently patted her back and then passed her a bottle of water. "Thank you..." After throwing up, Qu Shilin felt much better, thanked Wang Tao, and took the water. "That''s not good, getting motion sickness in a car!" Wang Tao teased. "Glug glug¡ªvomit¡ª" After Qu Shilin rinsed her mouth and closed the door, she looked at Wang Tao with a face full of resentment. "Could you give me a heads up next time you accelerate, so I can prepare myself..." Wang Tao wanted to say that he himself wasn''t even seated securely when the car accelerated, so how could he spare a thought for her? After all, this wasn''t a pleasure trip, it was about survival. But as he was about to speak, Wang Tao suddenly changed his tone. "Cough, let me remind you, you built this car, so you should know it better than any of us," he said. "..." Qu Shilin opened her mouth, then spoke with a constipated expression. "There''s a problem with this car, especially the berserk mode; the acceleration is too rough. Most people can''t handle it... It''s my fault, I need to improve it when I get back!" Although she was physically weak, she was still a Level 3 ability user. Even she couldn''t stand the berserk mode, not to mention others. This was clearly a problem with her design, which had plenty of room for improvement. Seeing that Qu Shilin was embarrassed but still readily admitted the design flaw, Wang Tao immediately praised her with a smile, saying: "Actually, it''s not bad. Even though this car has some shortcomings, it''s really fast, a good tool for saving lives. Safety trumps every design element!" These words made Qu Shilin''s face look much better. She smiled wryly, shook her head, and then asked: Chapter 963 385: Encounter with the Giant Eagle Again_2 "By the way, has the Sixth Army Corps evacuated?" "Not sure, we lost radio contact a while back and haven''t been able to reconnect. I suppose they must have left, Cheng Yiyi is quite reliable." Wang Tao felt confident that Cheng Yiyi and her group had evacuated. Because he had previously observed the zombie swarms and noticed that a number of zombies had turned heads towards the direction of Cheng Yiyi. This indicated that Cheng Yiyi must have led people out to draw the zombies'' attention. If Cheng Yiyi and her team were in danger and unable to evacuate, they would most likely have moved towards him; since they hadn''t, it meant they were probably able to leave. "That''s good..." Qu Shilin breathed a sigh of relief; it would be too great a loss if Wang Tao and his group had taken such risks and the rescue still failed. "Where are we now?" Wang Tao asked the others. Ding Yuqin immediately passed over a tablet, displaying a map that specially marked out the approximate locations of the zombie tide and themselves. "We should be safe now, let''s hurry home. As for sparring with Old Xiang, let''s skip it. After all, we''re quite far from the base right now and need to bypass the zombie swarm. Managing to get back to the base before dark would already be lucky." The aim of Wang Tao and his group''s excursion was to test their combat abilities and to have a practice fight with Xiang Hongbin. With the combat ability testing already complete¡ªafter all, they had killed so many zombies earlier¡ªsparring with Xiang Hongbin was unnecessary. It was too dangerous outside, with the zombie tide possibly catching up to them at any moment; it was better to hurry home. "Mm!" Including Qu Shilin, everyone agreed with Wang Tao''s decision. After taking such a huge risk, they all just wanted to go home. Wang Tao and his group discussed and planned a route, letting Han Rui continue to drive them home. Although Han Rui was a woman driver, she was an experienced one with solid driving skills. Wang Tao then took out a large amount of Nutrient Solution to distribute amongst the group. "What''s this?" Qu Shilin asked, curious. "Nutrient Solution. This one has the flavor of steamed rice; I personally find it quite delicious." "Ah? Nutrient Solution?" The name alone indicated it was some sort of compressed food, but as far as she knew, Changhe Base didn''t have this kind of compression technology. Their research department produced things like compressed biscuits and Energy Bars, but those were expensive, and most people consumed protein blocks made primarily from cockroaches. She had never heard of this Nutrient Solution before. Trusting Wang Tao, Qu Shilin uncapped and took a sip without hesitation. "Mmm¡ª It really tastes like rice, delicious!" She finished the bottle in a few gulps. Sensing her physical strength slowly recovering, Qu Shilin looked at the empty bottle with disbelief. This kind of Nutrient Solution which was energy-rich, easy to carry, and great-tasting didn''t seem like something that would be produced after the apocalypse! It wasn''t only a matter of the technology involved¡ªsince the apocalypse, all manufacturing was aimed at practicality, where "not tasting bad" was the highest praise. Who would make something that tasted this good? Especially when Wang Tao stuffed several more bottles into her hands, in various flavors, she couldn''t stay calm. "You¡ªI''m going to take these Nutrient Solutions back for research, you don''t mind, do you?" Qu Shilin was about to ask where Wang Tao had acquired this, but considering it was his privacy, she didn''t¡ªassuming that if Wang Tao wanted to tell her, he would do so proactively. If Wang Tao chose not to tell, then her asking would be pointless. So, she said she wanted to take the Nutrient Solution back for research, which was indeed her true intention. "I don''t mind. As for how these Nutrient Solutions came about... I stumbled upon a ''Food Compressor'' before. It can compress various foods into Nutrient Solution; it''s idiot-proof and very convenient. However, the Food Compressor itself is quite large, so I''ve stored it at home..." "Ah?" As she heard Wang Tao''s explanation, Qu Shilin was stunned and then her eyes sparkled. "Food Compressor?! Can compress food into Nutrient Solution?! Idiot-proof..." It sounded very much like black technology from the research institution, but she knew they never made such a thing. Not only the research institution, but even before the apocalypse, this kind of device didn''t exist¡ªat least not in their country, or else she would certainly know about it given her clearance level. Then, Qu Shilin looked eagerly at Wang Tao. "Then... can I visit it after we go back?" "Of course." Wang Tao nodded. The reason he brought it up was a whim. Given how capable Qu Shilin and her fellow research institute colleagues were, he wondered if he could ask them to try to replicate a Food Compressor? Wang Tao had encountered several Glutton zombies before, some of which could drop Food Compressors, though the drop rate wasn''t high. He had collected a few of them. It was certainly no problem for him to lend one to Qu Shilin for research ¨C he could even take one out of the Space Backpack right now, but there was no need to reveal his Space Backpack just yet... Hearing Wang Tao''s agreement, Qu Shilin was immediately overjoyed. She suddenly had a delightful dilemma ¨C she didn''t know what to study when she got back! Should she continue her research on Mechanical bodies? Or improve the Crystal Energy Car? Or maybe study the Weapon Equipment that Wang Tao had given her? Then there was researching Nutrient Solution and the Food Compressor? She wanted to research everything, but alas, she couldn''t split herself into multiple parts! However, when Qu Shilin thought about how all these projects were related to Wang Tao, she suddenly felt like a country bumpkin ¨C knowing nothing, curious about everything... "Old Wang, what did that Giant Eagle you mentioned before look like?" At this point, Xiang Hongbin, who had been gazing outside, suddenly asked. "A pitch-black, brown eagle with wings that could block out the sun... Why?" Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. "Is it... this one?" Xiang Hongbin turned his head, and his prosthetic eye emitting blue light projected a holographic image. Although the projection was somewhat blurry, it was still possible to recognize that this was the Giant Eagle that Wang Tao had seen before. Wang Tao''s expression instantly became serious. He didn''t think this was a picture Xiang Hongbin had drawn based on his description. "Looks like we might have some trouble then..." Xiang Hongbin turned back to the window, pointing to a spot in the sky and said, "It''s over there, it has seen us." Wang Tao immediately picked up the binoculars and saw what looked like a small bird. It might look small, but being visible from this distance meant that the bird couldn''t possibly have a small body. And what was most important was that Wang Tao could see its HP bar. "That''s the one!" Wang Tao had thought the Giant Eagle would be perched on top of a building, but he did not expect it to be circling so high in the sky! Unless one was constantly looking at the sky through binoculars, it would certainly be impossible to spot. It was fortunate that Xiang Hongbin''s prosthetic eye had a telescopic function, and he spotted it while on guard. Otherwise, they might encounter the Giant Eagle the same way they did last time, by the time it was too late and already descending upon them! And now, the situation was different from before; to facilitate the Berserk mode usage for the Crystal Energy Car, the terrain ahead was very open, completely exposed from the air. If the Giant Eagle chose to attack at this time, there''d be nowhere to hide. "Change of plans, let''s find a place to hide immediately!" Whirr whirr¡ª The car immediately changed direction, heading towards an area with buildings. Although the car had a Berserk Mode, which was not necessarily weaker than the Giant Eagle in speed, they couldn''t keep it active indefinitely as the engine might have problems and they could also encounter various other issues on the road. So, it was better to find a hiding place. The Giant Eagle seemed to realize it had been discovered, as the black dot in the sky began to rapidly enlarge. This time, without the need for binoculars, everyone could feel a terrifying presence drawing closer and closer. But since they had discovered it in advance, before the Giant Eagle could strike, the car successfully plunged into this small county town. Although the buildings in this small county were generally not high, there was still some cover. Wang Tao found an opportunity and directly drove the car into the underground parking lot of a residential complex. Whoosh¡ª Chapter 964 386: The Person in the Garage "Phew¡ªsafe at last!" After entering the underground garage, that feeling of being targeted instantly disappeared. Wang Tao and his group all sighed in relief. This time, thanks to Xiang Hongbin''s early detection, their encounter with the Giant Eagle wasn''t as perilous as the last one. Fortunately, they saw an unblocked underground garage along the way and drove straight into it. Rumble¡ª At that moment, the light at the entrance of the garage was suddenly blocked, and a significant vibration occurred. Qu Shilin turned her head back. Although the light was blocked, she could still vaguely see a huge shadow. Clinging to Wang Tao''s arm, she expressed her worries: "It won''t come in, will it?" "The garage is too small, it can''t fit." Wang Tao glanced and saw the Giant Eagle''s claws had already reached into the garage entrance, but the garage was only so big. Unless it tore down the entire building, it couldn''t get in. "That''s good..." Qu Shilin patted her chest, still shaken by her first encounter with a Level 5, Lord creature. The oppressive feeling was terrifying. If she, who lacked combat abilities, faced the Giant Eagle without Wang Tao and others, she probably would have been too weak to walk... The Giant Eagle had already vanished, and light reappeared at the entrance of the garage. But everyone knew that the Giant Eagle was definitely waiting for them outside, so they would have to spend the night there. Wang Tao used his Plant Affinity to probe around, but there were no weeds in the garage of this residence, so Wang Tao couldn''t detect anything. "Han Rui, use your Perception to scan." Wang Tao said to Han Rui. His Perception Ability was gone, now transformed into mental detection or "Divine Sense," which was a powerful ability, almost like a god''s view, but its range was too short... so in this kind of situation, Han Rui''s Perception was more suitable. "Okay!" Han Rui scanned carefully, then shook her head at Wang Tao. "I haven''t detected any danger within range..." "Alright, let''s walk further inside." The car started again and continued towards the center of the garage. This was a rather upscale residential area; the underground garage was large, but there were very few cars, eerily empty, perhaps taken by those fleeing for their lives. After driving for a while, Han Rui suddenly spoke. "Found something... survivors?" "Hmm?" Wang Tao was surprised. There were still people here? "Let''s go check it out!" Soon, using the lights from the car, they saw that the scenery nearby started to change; abandoned cars became more frequent, even blocking their path. Wang Tao suddenly realized why there were no cars inside the garage; someone had moved the cars here to use them as defensive barricades. "They are inside, probably watching us..." Han Rui spoke. Once they got closer, Wang Tao could use his "Divine Sense" effectively; he sent a mental scan and instantly saw figures skulking behind cover. "They truly are survivors... but they don''t quite seem like people from the base..." Wang Tao frowned a bit. These people looked emaciated to the bones, severely malnourished, looking like they could collapse at any moment, yet their spirits seemed unnaturally high, not at all like they had been hungry for a long time... As for their strength, all were Ordinary Level Two. "You go and talk to them." Wang Tao said to Nie Siyan. Generally, women are more approachable, especially beautiful ones. "Alright." Nie Siyan put on a friendly smile, got out of the car, and walked over to the jumble of cars under the illumination of the car lights. "Is anyone there?" Nie Siyan called out, but got no response. Wang Tao could clearly "see" that the people on the other side were watching Nie Siyan, yet no one spoke. Nie Siyan continued calling: "Is anyone there? We''d just like to pass through and can offer some food as compensation..." After she spoke, the people on the other side still didn''t respond. However, they exchanged glances. Nie Siyan called out several more times, still getting no response. It was not until she said, "If there really is no one, we''ll have to move these road-blocking vehicles," that someone finally spoke. "Where are you folks from!" The voice sounded like nails on glass, making it uncomfortable to listen to. "We''re from the Starfire Society," Nie Siyan explained. "Starfire Society?" The people were puzzled, as if they had never heard of this name before. Wang Tao more firmly believed his own judgment¡ªthese people were likely not from Changhe Base; otherwise, they would have heard of the Starfire Society, even if they weren''t familiar with it, as it was quite renowned there for being the first to slay a Fourth-Order Disaster-level monster. Wang Tao used spiritual communication to inform Nie Siyan, and she immediately said: "We are from Changhe Base." Upon hearing this, Wang Tao could clearly sense a wariness appearing on their faces. "You''re from Changhe Base? How did you end up here!" The person seemed puzzled. After all, there was some distance from Changhe Base. "We ran here, chased by hordes of the dead and monsters..." Nie Siyan quickly replied. There was a pause on the other side before that person finally spoke again. Chapter 965 386: The Person in the Garage_2 "Wait a moment..." There was some rummaging on the other side, and then those crushed abandoned vehicles began to move, revealing just enough road for a vehicle to pass and the three people inside. Looking at the three dirty, frail figures, everyone except Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. They felt these three must be Ability Users, but there were no Ability Users at Changhe Base quite this destitute... The trio''s gaze was very cautious; they voluntarily cleared a path and specifically avoided the glare of the vehicle''s headlights. They seemed to be unaccustomed to the bright light. After entering, Wang Tao realized that they had crushed these abandoned vehicles to create a gate, and it was mounted on wheels; no wonder they had been able to move it so quickly. The space inside was larger than Wang Tao had imagined; besides various discarded vehicles, there were also heaps of assorted materials, resembling a junkyard. But there was not much light, only a few oil lamps flickering dimly... It looked somewhat eerie and strange. "Are there zombies outside?" Among them, the frailest person asked. "There aren''t many zombies, but there is a giant eagle," Nie Siyan explained. The three exchanged glances; they seemed to have never seen a giant eagle. The frailest among them stared at Nie Siyan and asked: "So, are you folks exiting through another exit, or are you here to seek refuge? This garage has only two exits, one is where you came from, and the other is behind us..." Nie Siyan looked toward the vehicle. Click¡ª The car door opened, and Wang Tao got out voluntarily. As the leader of the team, it was natural to exit the vehicle and communicate with a bit more courtesy. The burly Wang Tao contrasted sharply with them, making the three even more wary. "Hello, my name is Wang Tao. I''m the leader of this team." Wang Tao extended his hand. The trio didn''t shake hands, the frailest person rasped: "I''m Shang Qin. Are you leaving or seeking refuge?" Wang Tao withdrew his hand, feeling that his group wasn''t very welcome!! But he understood, as from another perspective, they had abruptly barged into someone else''s home; it would be strange for them to show a pleasant disposition. "Would it be alright if we stay here for the night?" Wang Tao withdrew his hand, his expression unchanged, still smiling as he asked. "Yes. Follow me." Shang Qin turned and walked away, the other two immediately followed him. Wang Tao waved his hand, and the vehicle slowly moved forward. After a while, Han Rui''s voice suddenly sounded in Wang Tao''s earpiece. "Wang Tao, there are quite a few people inside, about twenty¡ª no, over thirty people, but their strength isn''t strong, the strongest is Level 3, there are no Level 4s..." "Hmm." Wang Tao nodded. He knew there were more than these three people inside, but he hadn''t expected there to be over thirty... Soon, some tents appeared ahead. There were also several campfires, each with a pot on it, simmering something indistinctly, bubbling and steaming. Several frail figures stood around the pots; feeling the light from the lamps, they immediately got up, watching Wang Tao and his group with wary faces. Shang Qin went over and said something to them, and they continued sitting, but they moved closer to the campfires, intermittently glancing at Wang Tao''s group as if worried Wang Tao would snatch their food... "You can set up tents over there," Shang Qin pointed to a clearing not far away. "Thank you." Wang Tao nodded, then gave Nie Siyan a look; she immediately went back to the vehicle and then brought out a large bag of cockroach paste from Changhe Base, handing it to Shang Qin. "Sorry for the intrusion, consider this our lodging fee." "Okay." Shang Qin clearly recognized the protein blocks, accepted them directly, showing a hint of joy on his face. Wang Tao''s group parked their vehicle in that clearing, and naturally, they didn''t need to set up any tents¡ªthey could just sleep in the vehicle. Honestly, there was a lack of trust between Shang Qin''s group and Wang Tao, and Wang Tao didn''t trust them either... After all, when you''re away from home, it''s wise to be cautious. But perhaps because he received a significant amount of protein blocks, Shang Qin''s attitude noticeably improved. "Would you like some hot soup? We still have some leftovers." "No thanks!" Wang Tao quickly shook his head. He had just seen that the stuff in those pots was black with a hint of blue and had no idea what was being cooked. It smelled like herbal medicine... Wang Tao dared not drink it carelessly. Shang Qin nodded and did not say much before he left. Once he had left, Han Rui immediately looked at Wang Tao with a serious face. "Wang Tao, have you noticed that they are short on people?" Han Rui had previously told Wang Tao that there were over thirty people here, but now there were at most about twenty, missing more than ten people. "Where are they?" Wang Tao had naturally noticed, but the space in the garage was large, and his range for mental detection was limited, so he hadn''t seen the location of the additional ten or so people. "They''re over there... Those people are all gathered together! I feel... like they are imprisoned! Moreover, those people are very weak, all ordinary people, I feel... like they are all women..." Han Rui gestured with her eyes in a direction. Wang Tao followed her gaze, but the area was cluttered with many items and it was unclear what exactly was there. The other people, hearing what Han Rui said, all had a change in expression. "Imprisoned? Women?" Xiang Hongbin and Wei Zhenguo''s faces even displayed anger. "Should we go look and see what exactly is going on?" Xiang Hongbin said with a frown. Although such things were common in the apocalypse, it was one thing to not encounter them, but now that they had, he felt that if possible, they should help. Wang Tao did not answer but looked at Han Rui. "Are those imprisoned women in any danger of losing their lives?" "Not for the moment." Wang Tao nodded and then said: "You guys tidy up here, I''ll go over and take a look." "I''ll come with you!" Xiang Hongbin and several others spoke up. "No need to go so many, otherwise they might think we are up to something... Here''s what, Siyan and I will go." Nie Siyan had shown her face just now, and she was quite good at pretending, appearing harmless to humans and animals. "Okay!" Nie Siyan followed behind Wang Tao, heading towards Shang Qin''s group. "Mr. Shang, excuse the interruption. It''s our first time here, and we are very unfamiliar with this place. Could you show us around, like where it''s dangerous, where there are survivors... Do you smoke?" Wang Tao passed over a dried, homemade cigarette. Seeing the cigarette, including Shang Qin, the eyes of that group lit up. Shang Qin quickly took it and, not caring whether it was poisoned or not, lit it immediately in the fire, then took a deep drag. "Sss¡ªhuh¡ªrefreshing!" A few seconds after puffing clouds of smoke, Shang Qin then with a smile invited Wang Tao to sit. "Please, have a seat!" Wang Tao also sat down directly by the fire just like them. Then he noticed that these people were only focused on the cigarette in Shang Qin''s hand and did not pay any attention to Nie Siyan, the beautiful woman. "If you want to know where it''s dangerous, there are just too many places... There are zombies, monsters..." After listing a bunch of places and their approximate dangers, Shang Qin continued: "But if you ask where there are survivors, I really don''t know much. I only know that besides us, there are two other survivor factions in this place..." Two other survivor factions? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. There were so many people outside? He suddenly asked: "You must know about River Base, then why don''t you go to River Base? It''s too dangerous here..." These people were not without any strength, after all, they had Level 2 and 3 abilities. Going to River Base shouldn''t be a problem, right? Or was it because they wanted to be local tyrants here? Hearing Wang Tao''s words, Shang Qin and the others all looked up at Wang Tao. Wang Tao felt somewhat uncomfortable under their gaze. After a long while, Shang Qin finally said somberly: "The so-called bases are doomed to fail. Yet, this way of life is the future..." Chapter 966 387: Flesh Trade "The so-called bases are doomed to fail, and our way of life is the future..." Hearing Shang Qin''s words, Wang Tao looked at him as if he were looking at a fool. Whether the base would fail, he did not know, but he knew that this kind of life was definitely not the future¡ªfor based on the current evolution rate of zombies and monsters, people like them wouldn''t survive long, so they had no future. After all, zombies and monsters had even evolved to Level 5 Lords by now, and these people didn''t even have an Awakener; even if there were a few Level 3s, they had low HP. This power was too weak in Wang Tao''s eyes. If they didn''t go to Changhe Base, they had no future. However, even if these people went to Changhe Base, whether the base would accept them was another issue... Wang Tao discreetly glanced toward a nearby garbage pile. From his position, Wang Tao could clearly see through his mental detection that behind that garbage pile, there was an area enclosed by iron fences, where many disheveled women in thick but tattered clothes were chained up. Although Changhe Base long recruited survivors, it didn''t accept just anyone. If such morally corrupt individuals went unnoticed, it might still pass, but if discovered, not only would they be rejected, they might face justice! The disbelief on Wang Tao''s face was not hidden, and Shang Qin saw it clearly. He did not show much emotion in response, but instead seriously said, "You might not believe now, but you will believe in the future." No one else spoke; they just looked away and resumed staring at the iron pot, as if nothing had happened. Wang Tao shook his head and did not discuss the matter further with him. Wang Tao then asked about the situations of the other two survivor factions. Shang Qin did not hide anything, figuring it was the least he could do for the cigarette Wang Tao gave him. Of course, whether his information was true or not, Wang Tao would have to decide for himself. According to Shang Qin, the other two factions were similar to theirs, each consisting of about twenty people and also living underground¡ªone in a sewer, the other in an underground mall. In the current environment, living underground was clearly more economical since shelters were easier to manage; they just needed to block the entrances. One reason they hadn''t blocked the garage entrance here was because the garage was too large, and they had too few people. Spreading their defenses too thin would be disadvantageous. Another reason, Shang Qin said, was that they wanted to do business, which would be more convenient if they allowed guests to come in first. "Do business? What kind of business?" Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. A rare smile appeared on Shang Qin''s gaunt face. "Flesh trade..." Wang Tao had not expected him to be so forthright. However, what Wang Tao thought was quite different... He had assumed that Shang Qin and his group were keeping these women to satisfy their own desires, or more cruelly, to keep them as food! Yet, Wang Tao had not anticipated that they were actually keeping these women to entertain clients... But there was a significant problem¡ªthere were only three small factions here, totaling at most a hundred people. Could such a small number sustain their business? Those people couldn''t just do nothing but spend all their time in bed, right? Although puzzled, Wang Tao''s expression showed curiosity. "Flesh trade? But you are all men; could it be..." Shang Qin''s group consisted of over twenty men of various ages. In response to Wang Tao''s words, Shang Qin''s face twisted into a grim smile. "Of course not us. We have quite a few beauties here!" "..." With your skin-and-bones appearance, even if you really had beauties, you would have turned them into ghosts! Wang Tao was at a loss for words. He quietly used Mental Detection to see that those imprisoned women were as emaciated as Shang Qin''s group, their faces and heads filthy. Even if they had been beauties before, now they were no different from beggars. Seeing Wang Tao''s expression, Shang Qin quickly said, "Don''t believe me? Shall I call a couple for you to see? Oh, I understand¡ª" At this, Shang Qin suddenly adopted an enlightened expression. "I get it, you''re using reverse psychology, right? You also want to experience our beauties! Well, since you gave me this cigarette, I can let you have a free trial!" After speaking, Shang Qin didn''t wait for Wang Tao to refuse and quietly instructed someone beside him. The person immediately got up and headed toward the garbage pile. Wang Tao initially wanted to say he didn''t need any of this, but considering he was here to investigate, he chose not to delve further into the matter. Wang Tao''s silence made Shang Qin think he had guessed correctly, and his face showed great satisfaction. "You city people, always acting like you''re upright gentlemen, but who knows what you''re really thinking! I''ve seen many customers like you; today I can really satisfy you!" Wang Tao frowned. "Customers like you," he meant outsiders, right? That tone must be referring to outsiders. If it were just people from the other two factions, they would likely be regulars and wouldn''t talk like that. Could there really be outsiders in such a small place? Wang Tao was perplexed and directly asked, "Do you have customers from other places here?" Chapter 967 387 Flesh Business_2 Upon hearing Wang Tao''s words, Shang Qin looked at him with a puzzled expression. "You ''city people'' with your so-called nobility, don''t tell me you think you are the only ones alive in the world? We... might be even more resilient than you imagine!" "..." Wang Tao didn''t consider himself a city person. Perhaps someone like Qu Shilin, a scientist, could be regarded as one since they were better protected. Wang Tao had wandered through many places in the post-apocalyptic world, faced numerous crises, and encountered all sorts of people and events... He had made his way to Changhe Base step by step; he was not disconnected from the grassroots of the post-apocalyptic world, and he knew life was possible outside. However, what he could not understand was why these people didn''t go to Changhe Base? If it was only Shang Qin''s group that did not want to go, then it might indicate a problem with their thinking, but if there were others who also did not want to go, could it really be that everyone''s mindset was problematic? Wang Tao wanted to ask more questions, but at that moment, the man Shang Qin had instructed came over, dragging two iron chains that were fastened to two dirty women. These two women were both 1000 HP Ordinary humans, but their internal impurity levels were high, indicating they had attempted crystal core fusion and failed. Shang Qin stuffed the two iron chains into Wang Tao''s hands. "These are our top offerings. They are yours for tonight; you can do whatever you please. But don''t say I didn''t warn you¡ªdon''t release their chains, or else... you''ll be responsible for the consequences." The two women had numb expressions, but when they saw the neatly dressed, tall figure of Wang Tao, a glimmer of hope slowly emerged in their eyes. The garage was still secure, and Wang Tao didn''t have anything else to do, so he led the two women away. He intended to personally ask the two women some questions. As for Shang Qin''s people, with the strength of Wang Tao and the others, their fate was in the balance, no rush. Watching Wang Tao leave with his two "top offerings," Shang Qin felt even more confident in his judgment¡ªWang Tao had been itching for this opportunity and was just pretending otherwise. "Such good cigarettes..." Shang Qin took another deep drag of the cigarette Wang Tao had given him and then reluctantly snuffed it out. Good things shouldn''t be used up all at once; there were still long days ahead to enjoy them. Elsewhere. When Wang Tao brought the two women back, the others gathered around. In the dim light, the two women, seeing so many neatly dressed people, their stiff facial expressions began to show excitement, as if they had found a savior. Yet they seemed also fearful, instinctively hiding behind Wang Tao like kittens. The group looked sympathetically at the state of the two women. "Don''t be scared, you''re safe now. I have food!" Ding Yuqin brought over some cockroach paste, which the two women grabbed hungrily and began stuffing into their mouths as if they hadn''t eaten for a long time. "Slow down, don''t choke¡ªhere''s some water. Oh, right, let me unlock those chains for you!" The chains were bound around the women''s necks, but their hands and feet were also chained, and these chains were rather thick. Without a key, Ding Yuqin couldn''t open them. Xiang Hongbin came over and used his mechanical arm to feel the chains, then applied force at a certain point. Click¡ª The chains broke apart easily. For Xiang Hongbin, this was no trouble at all. As for the two women, they seemed not to care at all about being chained; they were focused solely on eating the cockroach paste in their hands. Wang Tao had wanted to ask the women about their situation, but seeing them eat like starving ghosts, there was no opportunity to inquire. He decided to wait and ask later; there was plenty of time. Just then, Wang Tao suddenly noticed strangers had arrived! The three individuals had entered from another entrance of the garage, the opposite direction from where Wang Tao had come in. "Could it be that there are no Giant Eagles in that direction, or that the Giant Eagles haven''t discovered this place?" Wang Tao stroked his chin, pondering. If it was safe from Giant Eagles, that would be good news. They could rest for the night and leave the next day... Wang Tao''s vehicle was parked on the other side and the lights were not very bright, so the three people hadn''t noticed Wang Tao and his companions. But Wang Tao had Night Vision and could see clearly. Wang Tao was sure they were strangers because of their excited and expectant expressions, which were completely different from the numb look of Shang Qin''s group. Clearly, they were not Shang Qin''s people. Shang Qin personally went to greet the three individuals and then had someone bring over a woman who was chained. The strangers handed Shang Qin a small bag, the contents of which were unknown. Shang Qin weighed it and, pleased, smiled. He then handed the chain around the woman''s neck to one of the strangers. Wang Tao thought the strangers would take the woman away, but instead, they dragged her to an open space, fiercely tied her to a post in such a way that all her limbs were immobilized, and then they began to disrobe. "Good grief, a live show? And is it 3 vs 1?" Wang Tao was shocked. Even though it was the end of the world, was this quite so brazen? Moreover, three grown men against one woman¡ªwas that appropriate? As Wang Tao considered whether to meddle or not, the three men were already springing into action. Despite the woman being chained up, it seemed the men were having trouble keeping up with the intense situation... Chapter 968 387 Flesh Business_3 Hiss! No wonder Shang Qin was so confident in these women¡ªdid they have innate gifts? Since there was no danger to their lives, Wang Tao didn''t bother with them for the time being. "Brother, what are you looking at?" Jiang Shixue came over. Wang Tao quickly covered Jiang Shixue''s eyes with his hand. "Kids shouldn''t look at this!" Jiang Shixue had night vision, and Wang Tao didn''t want these eye-stinging scenes to corrupt her vision. "Oh~" Jiang Shixue obediently turned her head away. By this time, the two women Wang Tao had brought had already finished eating the Cockroach Paste. They wanted more, but Ding Yuqin didn''t give them any more. After all, they had been hungry for too long and couldn''t eat too much at once. "Big brother..." The two women knelt beside Wang Tao, their faces filled with gratitude. Whenever it was feasible, Wang Tao liked saving people¡ªit gave him a great sense of achievement. "Get up, you are free now. Do you plan to wander in this apocalypse, or do you plan to follow me back to the base? These women were all unfortunate souls, and wandering in the apocalypse would definitely lead to death, so Wang Tao wanted to take them back to the base. However, upon hearing Wang Tao''s words, these two women were not as excited as he had expected. They just kept thanking Wang Tao and then started to undress, preparing to repay Wang Tao in their own way. Wang Tao naturally had no interest in such women, given that he was surrounded by beauties. However, what surprised Wang Tao was how quickly these two women undressed. Before anyone could react, their clothes were gone, revealing their dark and skinny figures. The faces of Ding Yuqin and the other women stiffened with surprise¡ªthey had just felt pity for these two women; how could they be so unreserved! Wei Zhenguo and the other men immediately turned around, following the principle of "See no evil." Wang Tao frowned; he was just about to make these two women put their clothes back on when they suddenly stood up, spread their arms, and lunged at Wang Tao. Wang Tao was usually unable to resist when beautiful women threw themselves into his arms. However, these two were obviously not beauties, and their smell was nauseating... so Wang Tao instinctively took a step back. But to his surprise, the speed of these two women suddenly increased, and Wang Tao''s casual step back was caught up instantly! At the same time, their eyes filled with copious red veins, the veins on their thin arms burst out, they bared their teeth and their long black nails swung at Wang Tao as if they were determined to jump on him. For a sudden attack like this, not only a Level Two, but even a Level 3 ability user could be caught off guard. Unfortunately for them, they had encountered Wang Tao. Wang Tao could tell something was off with the two women since the Internal Impurity in their bodies was skyrocketing, already reaching over ninety percent! Could they have turned into zombies? But since he had confirmed that they were attacking him, it actually made things simpler for Wang Tao. He didn''t move his body, not retreating half a step, just looked at them once. "Hmm¡ª" Both women groaned at the same time and then with a "thud," they fell to the ground in front of Wang Tao, passing out. From start to finish, it all happened in the blink of an eye. Ding Yuqin and the other women were still angry just a moment ago, then suddenly got startled. Seeing the situation easily resolved by Wang Tao, they finally breathed a sigh of relief. "What happened!" Xiang Hongbin and the others, who had just turned around, immediately turned back, then saw the two women collapsed at Wang Tao''s feet, their naked bodies showing many black veined patterns! "They are... turning into zombies¡ª" Xiang Hongbin was interrupted before he finished speaking, as he saw the black veins, black nails, and other zombie-related features on these women beginning to fade. Moreover, Wang Tao could clearly see that the Internal Impurity in their bodies was declining, slowly returning to the status they had been in before, around fifty to sixty percent. "Huh?" Chapter 969 388: Driven Out "What''s going on?" Wang Tao had seen Internal Impurity rise before, but he had never seen it skyrocket like this. Moreover, how could it decrease after the surge? This was beyond Wang Tao''s comprehension... You should know, even using an Inhibitor could only suppress the virus''s flare-up, but not reduce Internal Impurity. Currently, Wang Tao knew of only two ways to reduce Internal Impurity. One was Ascension. After each Ascension, Internal Impurity would reduce by 50%, which was how most people managed to decrease their Internal Impurity. The other was using a "Cleansing Potion", each bottle of which could reduce 1% of impurity, with immediate effects. But Wang Tao was the only one who had the Cleansing Potion, and not many at that, just enough for his own use. Clearly, neither of these methods applied to these two women, which is why Wang Tao was so surprised. "What happened to them?" Qu Shilin curiously poked one of the women''s body, but there was no response. The environment had been quite dim just now, and the women''s attack on Wang Tao followed by his quick subduing of them had happened too swiftly, so Qu Shilin hadn''t gotten a clear view of what had happened. She only vaguely noticed some changes occurring on their bodies. "Not sure, seems like they were turning into zombies, Internal Impurity almost reaching 100%. But... suddenly it was suppressed? Internal Impurity decreased, and they reverted to their previous state..." Wang Tao shook his head and then looked at Qu Shilin. She didn''t have any special Status on her head, so he couldn''t determine the reason. Perhaps Qu Shilin, the researcher, could discern some issues? Qu Shilin also looked puzzled after hearing Wang Tao''s words. "Internal Impurity? Turned into zombies? Let me test it." Qu Shilin fetched a portable detector that could measure Internal Impurity from the car. This device, newly created by their institute, had been installed in the car by Qu Shilin. Wang Tao naturally didn''t need this device, but Qu Shilin didn''t know that Wang Tao could see the Internal Impurity; she thought he was guessing, so she wanted to test it herself. Qu Shilin plucked some hairs from the two lying women and placed them inside the machine. Moments later, the device''s small screen displayed two lines of text. [Energy: Level 0] [Impurity: Level 10] Seeing these results, Wang Tao paused. The detectors had been enhanced through several iterations and were now more precise. Previously, it could only detect from Level 0 to Level 5, but now it could detect up to Level 10. Now each level represented 10% of Internal Impurity, so Level 10 meant 90%-100% Internal Impurity! But Wang Tao had clearly seen that the Internal Impurity on these two women was 54% and 60%... The detector''s results were different from what he saw! Wang Tao suspected something might be wrong with the device, after all, what he saw couldn''t be mistaken, right? "Internal Impurity at Level 10!" Qu Shilin''s face was very serious. Normally, when a human''s Internal Impurity exceeds Level 8, that is, over 80%, some zombie-like features would appear. Such as skin rot, whitening of the eyes, exposed blood vessels... These features resembled those infected by the Zombie Virus, always hinting at a possible mutation; suppressants were of no use then. "But these two women already have Level 10 Internal Impurity, yet they show no zombie features, which doesn''t make sense..." Qu Shilin muttered and then looked at Wang Tao again. "Oh right, you just said, they showed zombie features then they disappeared?" "Right." Wang Tao nodded. "That''s unscientific! How could zombie features disappear..." Seeing Qu Shilin''s bafflement, Wang Tao unconsciously glanced at Jiang Shixue; she was conveniently looking at him too, and they exchanged a knowing look. Jiang Shixue had not just shown zombie features before, but had fully turned into a zombie, yet ultimately Wang Tao had saved her. However, Jiang Shixue''s case was different; she had used a Purification Potion. And these two women, Wang Tao saw very clearly, they hadn''t consumed anything. These women''s Internal Impurity was not over 80% now, so not having zombie features made sense... Thus, it must be an issue with Qu Shilin''s detector. Or perhaps its detection principle may have some delays? Anyway, what Wang Tao saw directly corresponded with these two women''s current Status, so... what he saw must be accurate. At that moment, Qu Shilin suddenly added: "When too much Internal Impurity accumulates in a body, some changes occur, not just outwardly but internally as well. The detector measures this kind of change to determine how much Impurity there is inside. As far as I know, only Ascension can remove these changes; no other methods can reverse it. I guess, these two''s outward appearances reverted, but there might still be some residual traces inside, which is why the detector picked up a lot of Impurity..." Wang Tao silently nodded; Qu Shilin''s explanation seemed quite reasonable. Basically, Internal Impurity is like a person''s record. When Internal Impurity is high, it''s like having a criminal record. This record can only be partially erased through Ascension or a Cleansing Potion, while other methods can''t remove it. The detector acts like it''s checking through a person''s records, and as soon as it finds any criminal records, it directly confirms that the person is tainted. Chapter 970 388 Driven Out_2 "So, what''s their situation exactly? Could they turn into zombies again?" Ding Yuqin furrowed her brows and asked. Although she had a rather kind heart, she wasn''t a pushover. If these two were still a threat to Wang Tao, she wouldn''t hesitate to take action against them. "I don''t know..." Qu Shilin shook her head. "Not sure... but there''s definitely something wrong with these two." Wang Tao also shook his head. Leaving aside the issue of their sudden spike and dip in internal impurity, just the fact that their strength was questionable¡ª They were obviously ordinary people, but the speed at which they lunged at Wang Tao just now was no less than that of a Level 3! Wang Tao looked over at the 1v3 situation again; their battle hadn''t ended, and it seemed like the second round had started. And that woman had been tied to a pillar with chains the whole time without being released, but she hadn''t turned into a zombie or anything. Unable to discern anything for the moment, Wang Tao came back. "Let''s wake her up first and ask her." Wang Tao had just used a mental attack to knock these two women unconscious, controlling the strength precisely. If he had used slightly more force, they probably wouldn''t have survived. Nie Siyan came over and woke the two women up. "Uh..." The two women were a bit groggy upon waking up. When they saw Wang Tao, they instinctively tried to crawl over to him. "Big brother~" Everyone was on guard for a possible sudden attack, but they just crawled up to Wang Tao and didn''t show any intent to attack. "Why did you attack me?" Wang Tao squatted down, looking at the two women seriously. "Ah? We, we didn''t attack the boss..." The expressions on the two women''s faces were a bit blank, which didn''t seem like they were lying. "Hmm? Amnesia? You don''t have that memory?" Wang Tao frowned. But these two women might also be pretending... Wang Tao continued to inquire about the situation just now and used his spiritual power to carefully observe every move the two women made. If they were lying, it could be seen through certain details. After about ten minutes, Wang Tao stopped questioning them. The two women genuinely didn''t know anything, the memory of them attacking Wang Tao was gone. Everyone frowned. They had never seen this kind of situation before. Was it a mental issue, or had they encountered some mysterious phenomenon? Wang Tao discreetly probed the surroundings, but he didn''t feel like he was trapped in an illusion or anything... "Big brother, you must be mistaken, we really didn''t attack you! You just gave us so much food, why would we attack you?" Seeing the somewhat wronged looks on the women''s faces, Wang Tao shook his head. "Then it seems I haven''t been resting well lately, probably hallucinations... Let''s not talk about this anymore, put on your clothes." The two women, believing Wang Tao truly had no interest in them, shivered as they changed back into their clothes. It was only a few degrees now, still very cold. Once they had dressed, Wang Tao asked again: "I''m asking you, now that you''re free, do you plan to wander in the apocalypse, or do you plan to come back to Changhe Base with me?" Wang Tao had just asked this question, but the two women didn''t seem to hear it before, as they started undressing and then suddenly attacked Wang Tao, so they hadn''t answered. Now hearing the question again, the two women''s reactions were somewhat unexpected to Wang Tao. "Free? We don''t want freedom! We want food!" Looking at the somewhat terrified expressions on the two women''s faces, Wang Tao and his companions were all somewhat puzzled. If they were wandering in the apocalypse, they might indeed not be able to get food, after all, in their normal state, they were just ordinary people. But Wang Tao had only given them a choice, and he hadn''t actually suggested they go wander. Wang Tao''s intention was to take them back to the base, where there would be food, wouldn''t there? Wasn''t that better than being locked up with iron chains, selling their bodies for some food that wouldn''t even fill their stomachs? "I said, you can follow me to Changhe Base, you don''t have to wander around here..." "We can''t go! We can''t go to Changhe Base!" The two women shook their heads like rattle drums. "Hmm? Why?" Wang Tao frowned. "Because... we were driven out by Changhe Base!" There was a hint of fear in both women''s eyes. "?" Wang Tao was perplexed, wondering why Changhe Base would drive them out. That didn''t seem likely! Changhe Base was very short on people, and under normal circumstances, they wouldn''t drive people away. Unless they had a criminal record, like Shang Qin who was imprisoned and tortured¡ªif discovered, they definitely wouldn''t be let in. But these women were victims... Could it be that they had already been in the state of "suddenly becoming like zombies" when they arrived at Changhe Base? As if thinking of some sad events, one of the women wiped her tears and said: "We traveled a long way, facing life and death to reach Changhe Base, but they said we were unqualified for something, and so they drove us out... There was even a tide of zombies then, we almost died..." "Unqualified?" Wang Tao instinctively looked towards Qu Shilin. He hadn''t been at Changhe Base for long, and was not very familiar with many things here. Qu Shilin had been at Changhe Base much longer than him, so she should know something, right? Qu Shilin first frowned, then seemed to suddenly understand. "It looks like Wang Tao knows what''s going on..." Changhe Base classified people with more than 80% internal impurity as a high-risk group, and their danger level was even higher than those infected with the zombie virus. Those infected with the zombie virus were all on record, nobody would hide it. Because the base would sponsor a certain amount of inhibitors free of charge. But this kind of excessive internal impurities was rather concealed and the individuals themselves might not even know about it. And it wasn''t necessarily the fusion crystal cores that increased the internal impurities; other things might increase it as well... so the danger was relatively higher. If an official resident of the base had internal impurities reaching 80%, then they might be monitored every day, and that''s if you were still useful. If an ordinary person reached such high internal impurities, the base would send you to a special place for closed management. This place was full of people with high internal impurities, somewhat similar to a prison. But it was not as strict as a prison, except for not being able to leave freely, the life inside was not much different from outside. It was an unavoidable situation, as many bases were destroyed starting from the inside, which was a lesson learned from past experiences. If a zombie appeared within the base, it might lead to its complete downfall, so such matters had to be taken seriously. Moreover, the base already considered this quite humane, restricting freedom, but at least allowing these people to live inside the city, still alive. As for those outsiders, the base was much colder¡ªthose with more than 80% internal impurities were not allowed into the base. After all, this was like a ticking time bomb, never knowing when it might explode. If the base let too many such people in, it would be doomed sooner or later. The official residents of the base had contributed to it in one way or another, so it was only right for the base to provide them with a space to survive, but outsiders hadn''t made any contributions, and the base had no obligation to let these ticking bombs stay inside the base... "So you''re saying, the two of them were probably turned away from the base because of excess internal impurities?" Wang Tao looked at Qu Shilin and said. "That''s probably it." Qu Shilin nodded. To confirm her guess, Qu Shilin asked the two women some questions. Just as she thought, these two women had indeed fused with zombie cores before coming to Changhe Base, and not just a few¡ªthey were white crystal cores, so it made sense for them to have accumulated a lot of impurities inside. Seeing it this way, it was indeed reasonable to turn away those with excessive internal impurities. It was not worth risking the lives of hundreds of thousands within the city for a bit of kindness. Unless there was a way to solve the problem of their internal impurities... using the cleansing potion clearly wouldn''t work, as Wang Tao didn''t have many bottles. Ascension was one method, but it came with a hefty price. "Big brother, I know you are a good person, but we truly don''t need freedom, we would already be very grateful if you could give us some food..." Chapter 971 389: Its Voluntary Looking at the two women''s yearning gazes toward food, Wang Tao felt a twinge of pain. He naturally wanted to save people, but he couldn''t save too many. From what he had heard from Shang Qin, there were still a significant number of humans outside. Among them, many were likely rejected by Changhe Base, all belonging to high-risk groups. Moreover, these two women had the issue of possibly turning into zombies at any moment, which even Wang Tao couldn''t figure out. Bringing them back would carry risks. Unless he watched over them, or maybe took them to the research institute for Qu Shilin to study and find out what was really going on with them... Wang Tao had Nie Siyan give each of the women more protein chunks, and they were tearfully grateful. However, they didn''t eat them this time but hid them in their clothes, since protein chunks were quite filling. Wang Tao took the opportunity to ask how they had ended up locked in there. And their response surprised him. "You did this voluntarily?" "Yes! They saved us and then asked if we were willing to do these things in exchange for food. Of course, we agreed..." Wang Tao and the rest exchanged glances, all a bit stunned. It turned out they volunteered for this? And judging by the gleam in their eyes when they spoke about it, it didn''t seem like they were forced to say this. It seemed like they truly consented! "Why are you chained up then?" Wang Tao pressed further. "Because they said it would excite the men more, but we can take the chains off!" Upon hearing this, Wang Tao''s eyes narrowed. Something wasn''t right! The reason they were chained surely had to do with their potential to turn into zombies. The chains were there to prevent them from harming the customers! And Wang Tao clearly remembered that Shang Qin had even warned him not to remove the chains on the women carelessly, or else he would bear the consequences... So, obviously, Shang Qin and his people were aware of these women''s status! "Then why did you get so excited when you saw me?" Wang Tao asked again. He initially thought that the women saw him as a savior, hence their excitement. But now it seemed that wasn''t the case. "Because after serving a customer, we get food! And some customers might feel pity for us and give us extra food. They told us to look pitiful so that we could get more food... I know you are a good person, big brother, and I didn''t want to deceive you, so I told you everything!" "..." Wang Tao was somewhat at a loss for words. But if what these two women said was true, then their logic was consistent. Apart from the strangeness of their physical condition, everything else made sense... Could it be that he had wronged Shang Qin? There was a consensual agreement between the parties; it was a willing punch for a willing arm. He was the one who had meddled unnecessarily... "If I say I can take you back to Changhe Base, where you won''t be expelled, and you can live there long-term, would you come with me?" Wang Tao suddenly asked. Hearing this, the two women looked at each other, with no signs of excitement on their faces. "We... don''t want to go to Changhe Base, we like the life here. And honestly, we don''t have a good impression of Changhe Base, if we really went, something bad might happen..." "..." Well, this wasn''t just a question of whether they wanted to go or not; it felt like they were somewhat hostile toward Changhe Base! However, given their experiences, this was understandable. After all, they came to Changhe Base full of hope and hard work, only to be turned away. Anyone would feel upset... So, there was no need to bring them back. They subjectively did not want to go, even showed hostility toward Changhe Base, and they had some issues with their bodies... Bringing them back would be like bringing in a ticking bomb! As for the issues with their bodies... those couldn''t be figured out in an instant. Wang Tao was not fond of, nor saw the need to, force people into being lab rats. He planned to ask Shang Qin later on. But before that, Wang Tao asked the two women quite a few things about the place. Perhaps because Wang Tao had given them plenty of protein chunks, they were very forthcoming, even sharing details about the people they had received and the positions they had used. Although their talk made Ding Yuqin and the other women blush, the women spoke clearly and logically... indicating that their consciousness was clear. In their memory, there was nothing about themselves turning into zombies. They only knew they were ordinary people, who could survive in such a harsh post-apocalyptic environment only with the protection of Shang Qin and his men. Then Wang Tao received unexpected news. The two women said that besides him, they had also served other people from Changhe Base. Of course, what Wang Tao had done didn''t count as a real reception. But the others from Changhe Base had indeed engaged in "Deep Communication." Looking at the dirty pair, Wang Tao felt somewhat disgusted. Did those people have some special fetish? How could they go through with it? And in the base, there were various entertainment venues, including red-light districts, with high-end and cheap options. Even the cheapest were not too expensive, and surely better than what was in front of him, right? But then Wang Tao thought about the "3v1 battle" with the three outsiders, a battle that hadn''t ceased up to now. Although these women were not Ability Users, they had good constitutions, especially in such matters, probably giving quite an exhilarating experience... Maybe those people from Changhe Base were after that particular thrill? Chapter 972: 389: Voluntary_2 Chapter 972: Chapter 389: Voluntary_2 Shaking his head, Wang Tao no longer thought about such matters. No matter what other people thought, he had no interest in it anyway. Wang Tao waited for a while longer and saw that the 3v1 fight on the other side finally ended. The three men, adjusting their belts, left contentedly. Meanwhile, the woman remained tied to a pillar in a seductive pose. It appeared she had been mistreated, but from her expression, she seemed to be savoring the experience? A man walked over, helped the woman untie, and they talked. Then he served her a bowl of the hot soup they¡¯d cooked and handed her some black gunk, the nature of which was unclear, for her to eat. With one hand holding the soup and the other eating the food, the woman and the man seemed to have a harmonious relationship. It didn¡¯t look like she was enslaved. But the man only unlocked the chain that tied the woman to the pillar and did not remove the iron collar from her neck. The woman didn¡¯t mind and ate heartily. After they finished eating, Wang Tao finally addressed the two women beside him: ¡°I¡¯ll take you back now. Also... I have some issues with male ability, making it impossible for me to have ¡°deep communication¡± with women. I¡¯ve always felt inferior about this... so, I hope you can help keep my secret. Just say that I¡¯ve had ¡°deep communication¡± with you and it was very long-lasting, okay?¡± Wang Tao looked at the two women sincerely. He had been with these two women for a while and couldn¡¯t just do nothing, after all. The two women, upon hearing this, were surprised and suddenly understood. ¡°No wonder...¡± They thought to themselves, they had stripped naked, and this big brother was still indifferent. So this was the issue with him! ¡°Don¡¯t worry, big brother, we will definitely keep your secret. We¡¯ll say you¡¯re very strong...¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Seeing the women agree, Wang Tao nodded smilingly. ¡°Thank you. Let¡¯s go then.¡± The underground garage was vast, and Wang Tao was some distance away from Shang Qin. Plus, the lighting here was dim, so he thought the people with Shang Qin probably didn¡¯t know what had just happened here. Wang Tao took the two women back to Shang Qin¡¯s side. Seeing that the chains were gone from the two women, Shang Qin¡¯s pupils contracted. ¡°You... are you alright?¡± Shang Qin examined Wang Tao and the two women up and down. ¡°Huh? It was great! What else could have happened?¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Shang Qin opened his mouth as if he didn¡¯t know what to say and just waved the two women over. ¡°...Come here!¡± The two women obediently went over, and Shang Qin, who had procured new iron chains from somewhere, put them back on the women and then said: ¡°Have something to eat first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± He had two bowls of dark soup served to the two women and asked Wang Tao if he wanted any, explaining that it was made from wild vegetables, expired food, and the like. Wang Tao shook his head quickly, the smell alone made him want to vomit; drinking it might reduce his life by ten years. The two women seemed to enjoy the soup quite a bit, finishing quickly and looking a little wistful after. Shang Qin took them back behind the iron bars, relocking the gate, and then came to Wang Tao, asking with some suspicion: ¡°You¡¯re sure nothing happened?¡± Although he hadn¡¯t heard anything, it seemed rather implausible... ¡°Should something have happened?¡± Wang Tao countered. Shang Qin took a step forward, lowering his voice, and said: ¡°These two women are a bit crazy! Or maybe it¡¯s more accurate to say that all the women here are somewhat crazy! They have mental issues! They occasionally go mad and Attack people, especially during conjugal activities, they go especially crazy, almost zombie-like! And a lot of men like that, they think it¡¯s exhilarating. These two women are the craziest, so they¡¯re our top attraction. But in case a customer coincidentally encounters their Attacks... that¡¯s why we chain them up, to prevent any injuries to the customers...¡± Crazy? Mental issues? Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. This explanation seemed plausible too. Although the two women appeared quite lucid, many people with mental issues don¡¯t show it... However, since Wang Tao had said he hadn¡¯t encountered any surprises, he naturally had to play it to the end. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t come across any, but it sure was pleasurable. Seems like I¡¯m pretty lucky!¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m glad you liked it! Come over next time, and I¡¯ll let you experience something else, guaranteed satisfaction!¡± Shang Qin said with a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it! By the way, where did you find these women? Being with them is indeed much more enjoyable than with others...¡± Wang Tao started with a lecherous expression. Hearing this, Shang Qin sighed. ¡°Alas, speaking of which, they¡¯re all pitiful people... You might not know, but they, including us, had all been to the Changhe Base, but we were turned away...¡± What Shang Qin spoke of wasn¡¯t much different from what the two women had said, but the perspective was different. After being expelled, those two women had nowhere to go and would have died in the tide of zombies without help. Shang Qin and his group, having some abilities, had rescued some women and led them to wander here. He told Wang Tao that the relationship between them and these women was actually a partnership. The food they risked their lives to scavenge outside wasn¡¯t enough to feed everyone, so they had to rely on these women earning some food to barely make ends meet. The women had agreed to this arrangement, even happily... ¡°I see, you all are pitiful people!¡± Wang Tao pretended as if he was hearing it for the first time and exclaimed. The consistency between Shang Qin¡¯s and the two women¡¯s stories made them quite credible. But as for what exactly was going on with the two women, Shang Qin claimed he didn¡¯t know; they seemed insane, and all they had to do was keep the women locked up, who were there voluntarily. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come back to Changhe Base with us?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. Shang Qin immediately shook his head. ¡°Thank you for your kindness, but I¡¯ll repeat what I said before. The base is doomed to fall...¡± ¡°Alright.¡± It seemed Shang Qin and his group truly did not want to go to Changhe Base, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t press further. After getting back to the vehicle, Qu Shilin asked curiously: ¡°What did they say over there?¡± ¡°Shang Qin said he¡¯s not clear about it...¡± Wang Tao repeated what Shang Qin had told him. Everyone shook their heads upon hearing this. What Shang Qin said amounted to nothing; they still didn¡¯t know what was going on with these women. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not worry about this. If they want to stay here, let them be. Let¡¯s rest up well. Three outsiders just came through another entrance, and they didn¡¯t hear any sign of the Giant Eagle. It could be that it¡¯s not around, or perhaps it didn¡¯t notice the other exit... Anyway, this is our chance; let¡¯s see if we have an opportunity to leave tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The group got into the vehicle, sitting in their seats to rest and gather strength. Wang Tao glanced over at Shang Qin¡¯s group; they had already dismantled their cauldron, but the fire was still burning, and they were all lying next to it, sleeping. The night passed without incident. The next morning, the underground garage was still dark. Wang Tao and his group woke up, ate something simple, and then drove the car over to Shang Qin¡¯s area. ¡°We¡¯re going out to see if the old eagle has left, if it has, we¡¯ll head back too,¡± Wang Tao told Shang Qin. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll open the gate for you. Be careful, and come back again when you have the chance! Our top girl here is waiting for you! They both said you were great!¡± Shang Qin¡¯s face showed a smile any man would understand. ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao nodded and then, led by Shang Qin, drove out of their makeshift gate. There was still some distance to the exit, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush the vehicle out. Instead, he led a few people out quietly first to scout, even deliberately making a bit of noise. But, they found no sign of the Giant Eagle, and Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t see anything in the sky either. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao immediately signaled, and the vehicle drove out of the garage. Chapter 973 390: Suspected Level 6 The Giant Eagle had indeed left. Wang Tao guessed that the Giant Eagle might have left yesterday afternoon, since there were no incidents when the three outsiders arrived. If the Giant Eagle had been there, it definitely would have caused some commotion. Of course, waiting an extra night was not a waste of time for Wang Tao. After all, nights in the post-apocalyptic world are dangerous and not suitable for traveling. For his own safety, it was better to travel during the day. However, just because the Giant Eagle was not present didn''t mean it couldn''t appear. For safety''s sake, Wang Tao did not take the smooth main roads this time. Instead, he specifically chose to travel through ruins, obstacles, and even tight corners. In such places, it should be not easy to be spotted, and even if discovered, there were places to hide. Wang Tao and his group were extremely cautious on their way back, and Xiang Hongbin constantly kept his eyes on the sky. The Giant Eagle''s flying ability was too overpowered; it wasn''t a matter of whether they could beat it but that they couldn''t fight it at all... so they could only hide. Fortunately, the Giant Eagle seemed to have truly left, as Wang Tao did not see it even after traveling for most of the day. However, Wang Tao encountered a large number of zombies. "It''s not the previous zombie wave..." The zombies he encountered now couldn''t be considered a wave, just a group. And there was no Level 5 Lord among them, only a Level 4, Lord zombie. If it had been any other time, Wang Tao would likely not have let this Lord zombie pass, considering the scale of this zombie group was manageable for them. But now, uncertain of the Giant Eagle''s whereabouts, any battle might alert it, so Wang Tao decided to give it a miss. However, Wang Tao wanted to let it go, but this Level 4, Lord did not seem to agree. It appeared to have perception abilities; it spotted the Crystal Energy Car from afar and roared towards Wang Tao''s group. The surrounding zombies slowly turned their heads and then, hissing, charged towards the Crystal Energy Car. "Forget it, if you''re seeking death, there''s nothing I can do." Whether Wang Tao liked it or not, he had already alerted the group of zombies. "Charge!" The Crystal Energy Car accelerated, charging directly into the zombie group. Countless zombies also rushed towards the Crystal Energy Car. Upon contact, limbs and body parts flew in abundance. Inside the car, Qu Shilin was somewhat excited; this was the purpose she designed this car for! To move unimpeded among the zombies! Of course, it couldn''t truly be unimpeded. As more zombies blocked the way, the speed of the car would be reduced, potentially getting completely stuck. Losing mobility would be very dangerous. However, the people in the car were not ordinary. Those at Level 3 didn''t even have the qualification to attack. Wang Tao and the other Awakeners immediately got out of the car. Bang¡ª Everyone quickly cleared the zombies around the car using their unique abilities. Then under Wang Tao''s lead, they charged directly at the Level 4, Lord zombie in the center of the group. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Awakening: Robust] This was a health-system Level 4, Lord zombie with 120,000 HP. Although strong, it could not withstand the onslaught from so many Awakeners for more than a few seconds. Soon, Wang Tao found an opportunity and chopped its head off. After the Lord zombie died, the attacking zombies fell into disarray, and their attacks lacked coordination. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils, cleared the zombies around the car, and then got back into the vehicle. "Go, go, go!" There were many zombies in the group, but all they needed to do was take care of that Lord zombie. Buzz~ The Crystal Energy Car immediately accelerated, tearing countless zombies apart again as it charged out of the zombie group. Wang Tao quickly looked over the spoils. Just as he expected, the zombie had dropped a Perception Crystal Core. The other spoils were also decent, an unexpected gain. However, Wang Tao did not relax; he and Xiang Hongbin kept a vigilant watch on their surroundings until they burst out of the zombie group, and nothing untoward happened. But less than ten minutes after escaping that group, they encountered another group, also led by a Level 4, Lord zombie. This time, the zombies didn''t notice Wang Tao, but this group was blocking the must-pass route for Wang Tao, and taking a detour would cost a lot of time. Since that was the case, there was no choice but to continue fighting. The battle this time took longer than the last since Wang Tao and his team wiped out all the zombies. "Let''s go." The vehicle continued on its way. Twenty minutes later, they encountered another zombie group led by a Level 4, Lord. "Could it be because of the zombie wave... Why are we encountering so many Level 4, Lord zombies today!" Wang Tao was puzzled. "What do you say?" Everyone looked at Wang Tao with eagerness, wanting to try their luck. They had spotted this zombie group from a distance, and the Lord zombie of the group hadn''t noticed them and wasn''t blocking their path. So, they could completely avoid alerting these zombies and quietly leave. But just leaving like that felt somewhat unsatisfying! Wang Tao hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded firmly. "Quick battle, quick decision!" He was almost certain the Giant Eagle was not around, so he could take a bit of a risk. "Alright!" The car charged towards the zombie group, and Wang Tao and the other Awakeners jumped out of the vehicle. In a moment, this not-so-large zombie group was completely slaughtered. "Awesome!" Xiang Hongbin grinned and laughed widely. The feeling of being in full combat with all limbs intact was exhilarating. "Let''s go." Wang Tao quickly gathered the spoils and signaled everyone to leave. On the subsequent journey, they encountered many zombie groups. Some led by Level 4, Lords, some by Level 3, Lords, and some groups had no Lord, only Elite zombies... Chapter 974 390: Suspected Level 6_2 "I feel like we''ve walked right into the zombies'' lair..." Han Rui asked with some concern. When they had set out, other than the horde that had trapped Cheng Yiyi and her group, they had hardly encountered any zombies. But now, on their way back, there were zombies everywhere... Although it was not the same path, there were still way too many zombies! Upon hearing Han Rui''s comment, Wang Tao also frowned. They were heading towards Changhe Base; could it be that the zombies were all heading to the base as well? However, after walking a bit further, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. He realized these zombies were not heading toward the base because their direction was different. "It''s getting dark, let''s hurry home..." The map showed that they were quite close to Changhe Base now. They estimated that they should be able to reach the base by nightfall. They had wasted a lot of time killing zombies and taking detours, so if they had followed the normal route, they would have already arrived. "There''s another group of zombies ahead..." Xiang Hongbin warned them. Wang Tao had lost count of how many zombies they had killed along the way. Anyway, the 100,000 HP he had lost due to his Second Awakening had now been fully restored by killing zombies, back to 180,000. Not just him, the HP of the others had also nearly completely recovered. There was a group of zombies ahead, and although there wasn''t a Level 4, Lord this time, there was a large number of Fourth-order Elite Zombies. By taking out these zombies, they estimated that their HP should be able to fully recover. "Let''s go!" Without hesitation, they all charged in once again. However, as they rushed into the horde, Wang Tao discovered through his Plant Affinity that there were survivors amidst the zombies. The zombies were all gathered outside a dilapidated building, blocked by some obstacles. Inside the building, many survivors were desperately holding on and it was clear that they wouldn''t last much longer. As Wang Tao got closer, he used Mental Detection to take a look and found several familiar faces. "Is that them?" The familiar face inside was none other than Wen Guocheng, Fu Yu, and others whom Wang Tao had met before in that temporary underground safety zone. "They still haven''t returned to the city?" These people looked very wretched as if they hadn''t been back to the city. If they had, they probably wouldn''t have come out again. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He had already gone back, come out again, and now was going back once more. Yet, this group was still wandering outside... When he had left last time, if this group had had the courage to leave as well, they would probably have returned by now and not be trapped. Although speechless, he could only say that their luck hadn''t run out yet since they had encountered him again. Wang Tao didn''t bother hunting the elite zombies, after all, his HP was full, and Elite Zombies of the same level wouldn''t drop anything valuable. It was better to leave them for the others. Then Wang Tao and Han Rui carefully checked once more to make sure there were no Level 4, Lords present, and then led their people towards the abandoned building. ... Inside the building. "Hey, there seems to be some noise outside? There''s a fight going on!" "Could it be that the rescue forces have arrived?" "Rescue, my ass. We can''t even send out a distress signal, where would the rescue forces come from?" "But for real, people are coming!" "Maybe they are just passing by... No matter who it is, our chance has come. We''ll find the right moment to try and break out!" The group inside the building began to discuss whether they could take the opportunity to break out. "I see people! Hiss¡ªthey are treating the zombies like nothing, just walking right over here!" "The people around them are so strong, the zombies can''t touch them! They must be Awakeners, right?" "That''s the aura of Awakeners! We''re saved!" In the excitement of the group, Wen Guocheng suddenly gasped in surprise, his face lighting up with joy. "It''s that big shot from the Starfire Society we met before!" His teammates hurriedly got down and looked out the window, and indeed they saw Wang Tao and his group approaching with an air of nonchalance. "It really is him!" Several teammates were also very excited. They had briefly interacted with Wang Tao before and knew the big shot was a man of good character, and he seemed to be very wealthy; surely he wouldn''t care about their petty belongings. They didn''t have to worry about going bankrupt after being saved¡ªa common occurrence. "You know him?" When someone heard the commotion here, they immediately asked. "Ahem, yes, we do!" Wen Guocheng wanted to say that Wang Tao was his friend, but that would obviously be a lie. If he really had such a friend, would he still be trapped here? Yet even acquaintanceship made the others very happy¡ªit was at least someone familiar! "This big shot must have rescued us casually, we should quickly go out and not keep him waiting!" "Right, let''s hurry up!" The group ran out in a fluster. "Big shot! It''s us! We meet again! Thank you for saving our lives once more!" Wen Guocheng led the way, waving his hand. "Hmm. Then let''s hurry up, more zombies will come soon." Wang Tao waved his hand nonchalantly. The crowd was thrilled to see that Wang Tao didn''t mention any fee for the rescue. Usually, under such circumstances, the rescuers would name their price at this moment, insisting on compensation for the rescue. If they agreed, they would be saved; if not, the rescuers would turn away. During such times, one had no choice but to agree. But Wang Tao didn''t say a word, which meant he truly just lent them a hand out of convenience and didn''t intend to ask for any reward! They really had come across a kind person! The crowd dared not dawdle; they quickly drove out several sports cars from some hidden spots outside, then hurried to get in and drove towards Wang Tao''s location. "You have cars? That makes things even more convenient." Wang Tao nodded and then asked someone to bring over the Crystal Energy Car. By then, the zombies had been mostly hunted down by Xiang Hongbin, leaving only some lower-level Ordinary Zombies. "Let''s go." Wang Tao gestured and everyone immediately got into their cars, heading in the direction of Changhe Base. Wen Guocheng''s car had a radio, and after connecting with the radio in Wang Tao''s car, he was quick to offer a group of thanks again. "I''m just curious, how come you haven''t gone back yet? I had gone back and come out again, and you were still out here?" Wen Guocheng felt embarrassed upon hearing Wang Tao''s words. "Ahem, big shot, it was like this..." After Wen Guocheng''s awkward explanation, Wang Tao understood what had happened. They had wanted to leave when Wang Tao did earlier, as there were no longer any signs of a zombie tide outside, but they were still worried because a zombie tide was too terrifying. So they delayed leaving for a day, and as a result of that delay, another zombie tide arrived! This tide wasn''t the same as the previous one, but it was even more frightening. They felt chills all over just from watching those zombies through surveillance. They even suspected the lord among them was a sixth-order zombie... And that meant they definitely couldn''t leave. Fortunately, before Wang Tao left, he had given them some food, allowing them not to starve to death. And the group that had been coveting their female teammate, Fu Yu, had been scared off by Wang Tao and didn''t dare to bother them anymore. So they spent two peaceful days there. After the two days, the zombie tide finally left. Everyone decided to leave immediately; while there were still dangers, they feared another tide would trap them for good, as they had run out of food. However, they didn''t leave together, as they were not all of one mind. Wen Guocheng and his group weren''t so lucky. After leaving, they encountered a horde of zombies. Although it wasn''t as terrifying as a zombie tide, it was still quite perilous, and they strayed from their planned route. There was no choice but to slowly make their way towards the base. On the way, they met others who were also evading the zombie tide, and they proceeded together. Then last night, when they were sleeping, a group of zombies arrived outside... Fortunately, Wang Tao arrived, for without even one Awakener amongst them, they clearly had no chance of breaking out... "A suspected sixth-order Zombie Lord? Describe it to me in detail..." Chapter 975 391: Returning to the City Again "Is that the zombie suspected to be at level six..." Wen Guocheng hastily explained. After hearing his explanation, Wang Tao stroked his chin and fell into thought. It was a very thin zombie, surrounded by a group of larger zombies. They couldn''t see what it specifically looked like because it was too far away. But when that zombie turned its head, watching it on the monitor gave them all a chilling sensation! They had seen Level 5 Zombie Lords on the monitor before, but this didn''t feel the same, which is why Wen Guocheng suspected it was a Level 6 Zombie Lord. "Could it be a Disaster-level zombie?" Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke up. "It shouldn''t be. I''ve seen Disaster-level zombies and monsters, and they all have one thing in common¡ªthey operate alone. Since they are a disaster themselves, all living creatures around them will suffer. So this one might really be a level six Lord..." Wang Tao''s complexion looked somewhat grim. If it really was a level six zombie, then the evolution of zombies was happening too fast! So far, he had only ever killed a Level 5, Night Demon with significant weaknesses. As for the Giant Eagle, since it had a nearly limitless potential triggered by the "Giant" awakening, and it could fly, Wang Tao was sure he would be no match for it. Regarding the ordinary Level 5 Zombie Lords, because they had too many minions, Wang Tao had never fought them. Without those minions, he should have a chance at victory. Now, the highest level humans had reached was level four, and he could at most handle an ordinary Level 5 Zombie Lord, but here a Level 6 Zombie Lord was already emerging... The evolution of these zombies and monsters always seemed one step ahead of humanity! "Let''s be careful. Besides the mighty Giant Eagle, there is also a Level 6 Zombie Lord..." Wang Tao shared the news of the suspected Level 6 Zombie Lord with everyone. Although he said "suspected," Wang Tao felt it was almost a certainty. Wang Tao then asked Wen Guocheng which direction the Level 6 Zombie Lord had headed, and the convoy purposefully avoided that direction. The group was cautious along the way, and they encountered several zombie herds. However, these were all of average strength, and they were easily taken care of. It got dark before they could reach Changhe Base. Wen Guocheng and the others really wanted to find a place to rest¡ªnot because they were tired, but because it had gotten dark. The nights of the post-apocalyptic world were too dangerous, after all. But seeing that Wang Tao showed no sign of stopping, they didn''t dare to say anything more or stop on their own initiative. Being able to follow an Awakener powerhouse meant risking danger, but it was much safer than travelling alone. If they were to leave the group, they probably wouldn''t even know how they died. "Aren''t we resting tonight?" In the Crystal Energy Car, Qu Shilin asked. She hadn''t spent much time outdoors and had hardly spent a night in the wild, but she always revered the nights of the post-apocalyptic era. "We''re close now, so let''s not rest for the time being and try to get back as soon as possible," Wang Tao explained. He usually wouldn''t move at night, but in reality, he had quite a bit of experience doing so. With only an hour or two left to reach Changhe Base and fewer zombies the closer they got to Changhe Base, Wang Tao felt there was no need to wait another night. Otherwise, it might only add complications. "Okay." Qu Shilin nodded. She was just raising her own concern and naturally wouldn''t interfere with Wang Tao''s decision. With the arrival of night, terrifying roars could occasionally be heard in the distance, making one''s scalp tingle. Even the vague outlines of large figures could be seen in the distance. "Night Demons." Wang Tao spotted the Night Demons instantly. He immediately ordered someone to get the ultraviolet strip lights, hanging a circle of them around his vehicle. "No good! Night Demons are appearing¡ªhuh? What''s that?" The Survivors following Wang Tao were nervous upon seeing the Night Demons, but then they saw a purple glow emitting from the lead vehicle. Wen Guocheng, witnessing this scene, quickly pressed the accelerator and followed closely behind Wang Tao''s Crystal Energy Car. He knew the ultraviolet lights could keep Night Demons at bay! Others who hadn''t seen it before didn''t quite understand, but they weren''t fools. Judging by Wen Guocheng''s reaction, they could guess that the purple light must be beneficial. Thus, they all drove their vehicles closer. Wang Tao had installed ultraviolet strip lights on the vehicle, which were very powerful, almost as much as high-powered ultraviolet flashlights, but the area illuminated was much larger, enveloping several cars around. "Roar¡ª" Some Night Demons appeared around the convoy, and everyone prepared for battle. To their astonishment, the Night Demons didn''t attack but stood just outside the purple light, clearly wary. They weren''t wary of the people, it was the purple light that they feared! "Night Demons are afraid of the sun, and the sun emits ultraviolet light, so is this light ultraviolet?" Everyone was amazed; it was their first time seeing this phenomenon where the purple light could block Night Demons! Although Qu Shilin already knew about this, seeing the Night Demons unable to approach under the glow of the ultraviolet light was still surprising. She decided that once she got back, she would definitely research and manufacture these high-powered ultraviolet lights. They were practically a must-have for nighttime excursions, serving both as illumination and protection against Night Demons! Chapter 976 391: Returning to the City Again_2 ``` Wang Tao watched as the Night Demons were stopped by the ultraviolet light. He was initially too lazy to bother with them, but suddenly he noticed there were Level 4 Night Fiend Elites among them. There must be a Lord Night Demon in the Night Demon''s Nest, so the presence of Level 4 Night Fiend Elites meant there was a Level 4 Night Demon Lord! If it had been just a Level 3 Lord Night Demon, Wang Tao wouldn''t have been interested. But a Level 4 Lord was different, as defeating one higher than his level could yield many valuable items. This was a small county overgrown with weeds, and Wang Tao used his Plant Affinity Ability to carefully perceive, getting a rough idea of where those Night Demons came from. "You all continue traveling. I''m going to see if I can find this Night Demon''s Nest and will be back soon," Wang Tao said to his companions. Their vehicle was not moving fast, and Wang Tao could quickly catch up if he sped up a little. "Sure!" Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue and Lightning and left the group. Both he and Jiang Shixue had Night Vision Ability, suitable for fighting at night, while Lightning could devour the corpses of Lords, preventing any waste. As for the convoy''s progress, it was led by Xiang Hongbin, who also had Night Vision Ability, which was particularly useful at this time. Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Lightning got off the car, and Wang Tao decided to leave the Powered Armor because it was equipped with a high-power radio that could stay in contact with the convoy. The convoy stopped, and Wang Tao got out clad in his Powered Armor. "Boss, are you going to hunt Night Demons? Just tell us what you need us to do!" Wen Guocheng and others quickly asked. Seeing Wang Tao fully Armed, they thought he must be heading out to kill Night Demons. Although they were protected by the ultraviolet light, preventing Night Demons from breaking through, their numbers outside kept growing, and no one knew if the ultraviolet light would last. So, it made sense for Wang Tao to deal with some Night Demons. They felt that with their strength, they were probably unable to help Wang Tao, especially since there were so many Level 4 Night Demons outside and they didn''t even have a Level 4 amongst them. But that didn''t mean they could just sit back and enjoy the fruits of Wang Tao''s labor. If Wang Tao tasked them with something, they would definitely do it. They had to show the right attitude, or if the boss got annoyed and left them behind, regretting it would be too late. Besides, they really did want to help. If they could get on the boss''s good side, it would be beneficial for their future development! "I need to run an errand. Continue following the convoy," the voice of Wang Tao echoed from within the Powered Armor. "Yes!" Wen Guocheng and the others nodded promptly. Wang Tao surely didn''t need their help. They watched as Wang Tao stepped into his Powered Armor and engaged in battle with the Night Demons. Wen Guocheng and the rest envied him¡ªthey could only tremble in fear under the glow of the ultraviolet light, not daring to step out, while Wang Tao casually mentioned he had to take care of some business... Power really does allow one to do as they please! Da da da¡ª Boom¡ª Wang Tao made no small commotion, and as the convoy didn''t stop, the Night Demons following it were mainly drawn away by him, greatly relieving the pressure on many in the convoy. Wen Guocheng and the others were very moved. The boss clearly didn''t need to deal with these Night Demons and could have sped off directly. But for the sake of these deadweights, the boss had to get out and kill the Night Demons... What a good person! Wang Tao, of course, was unaware he''d been given another "good person card." He, Jiang Shixue, and Lightning took on the Night Demons together, and after the convoy had left, they resolved the encircling demons entirely. "Let''s go, check over there!" Wang Tao said as he fully activated his Plant Affinity, and after a moment, saw an abandoned factory. His Plant Affinity Ability let him sense the various movements around the factory, but not the situation inside¡ªclearly, there were no plants within. Given the state of disrepair of the factory, it was impossible for there to be no weeds, so evidently, it was a Night Demon''s Nest, likely covered with Incubation Flesh inside. Indeed, as Wang Tao arrived at the factory gate, he heard a series of roars inside, and several Night Demons ran out. "This is the place, kill!" Wang Tao unbarred his Powered Armor and stepped out. Operating the Powered Armor was quite thrilling, but it still constrained Wang Tao''s ability, and he wanted a swift resolution. The two humans and one dog immediately engaged with the group of Night Demons. Facing Wang Tao, who had awakened twice, along with the robust Jiang Shixue and Lightning, these Night Demons were no match, even the Level 4 Night Fiend Elites were easily slaughtered. Wang Tao fought his way into the nest, and indeed, there was a Lord Night Demon inside. But to Wang Tao''s surprise, this Night Demon Lord wasn''t Level 4 but a Level 5 Lord Night Demon with 200,000 HP! [HP: 200000/200000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 5 - Lord] [Awakening: Robust] Level 5 Lord is very strong, but unfortunately, it''s a Night Demon with a fatal weakness. Wang Tao promptly took out a large amount of Ultraviolet Light items and sealed off the entire Night Demon''s Nest with ultraviolet light. The Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend could withstand this synthetic Ultraviolet Light but was still weakened. Under so many Ultraviolet Light rays, it was thoroughly suppressed by Wang Tao. During the battle, Wang Tao tried using [Mental Development] awakening, which also proved useful against Night Demons. Although it couldn''t control the Night Demons as directly as Jiang Shixue could, it could still disrupt their minds, causing their attacks to miss their mark. ``` Chapter 977 391: Returning to the City Again_3 The Level 5 Lord Night Demon grew increasingly angry as the fight continued, but it was smarter than ordinary zombies; once it realized it was being overpowered, it immediately prepared to flee. Wang Tao had fought with the Night Demon so many times that he was already on guard for its escape. There was only one exit in the Night Demon''s Nest, and with a rush, Wang Tao instantly blocked it. "Get back!" Wang Tao''s blade struck the Lord Night Demon''s head, sending it flying back into the cave. "Together¡ªwait, let me handle this!" Wang Tao had initially planned to quickly finish it off with the help of Jiang Shixue and Lightning. But then Wang Tao wanted to try his "Awakening Fusion Technique: Hellfire". Last time, using [Starfire Outbreak] combined with [Mental Development], he incinerated a [Night Demon Type I] into ash, and even the regenerative powers of Lan Yulian couldn''t save it. However, at that time, Wang Tao wasn''t very skillful with his new awakening, and he couldn''t hold back even a bit of his strength. Now, after multiple uses and studies, Wang Tao had become quite adept with his new awakening, so he wanted to test out what effect it would have now. So, Wang Tao charged directly at the Lord Night Demon, grabbed its neck, and pinned it against the wall. Whoosh¡ª Flames burst forth from Wang Tao''s body, and his eyes, ablaze with fire, stared into the eyes of the Night Demon Lord. "Hiss¡ª" After locking eyes with Wang Tao, the Night Demon Lord let out a painful hiss. Then, flames appeared in its eyes, cracks formed on its body, and its HP... dropped to zero. [-32722] [0/200000] Wang Tao could clearly feel that in three seconds, it would turn to ash. "Damn, still no good, huh..." He actually wanted to burn the consciousness of the Night Demon while preserving its body... Theoretically, it should be feasible. But from the looks of it, though he had made some progress, his personal ability was still far from enough to perform such high-end maneuvers. Wang Tao deftly collected all the loot from the Night Demon within a second, then directly threw the corpse to Lightning. "Eat it!" Lightning immediately opened its massive mouth and swallowed the Level 5 Lord Night Demon whole. "Hey, it works!" Seeing Lightning''s HP limit increase, Wang Tao was overjoyed. If the Night Demon''s body had been turned to ash, naturally, Lightning couldn''t have devoured it. Although the Lord Night Demon was already dead, it wouldn''t be completely turned to ash for another three seconds, so Wang Tao wanted to test if eating it before it turned to ash would have any regenerative effect. And it turned out to be effective! This allowed Wang Tao to be at ease; the next time he used this move, he just had to let Lightning devour it quickly¡ªthere was no need to worry about wasting the corpses of zombie monsters. After killing this Level 5 Lord Night Demon, Wang Tao then dealt with all the other Night Demons in the nest. With this, Wang Tao added another notch to his record of dismantling Night Demon nests. "But these incubation fleshes..." The Night Demon was dead, but there were still some incubation fleshes left. And in Wang Tao''s possession were some unused Night Demon Parasite Eggs... "Since I''m here, it''d be a total waste not to use these incubation fleshes..." The process of using incubation flesh to breed Night Demon Parasites was quite fast and shouldn''t take up much time. Wang Tao instructed Jiang Shixue and Lightning to catch some zombies while he went into the powered armor and contacted Ding Yuqin and the others via radio. "I''ve destroyed this Night Demon''s Nest, but there''s some incubation flesh left. I don''t want to waste it, so I''ll need some more time; don''t worry about me." "Alright, stay safe!" Ding Yuqin and the others naturally knew what Wang Tao was up to, but Qu Shilin was clueless and asked concernedly. Wang Tao didn''t hide anything and briefly explained what he was doing with the breeding of Night Demons. Upon hearing this, Qu Shilin suddenly began to beat her chest and stomp her feet, regretting not having accompanied Wang Tao. She wanted to see how quickly a Night Demon could be cultivated, which would greatly aid her research. Moreover, she had never heard of Night Demon Parasites before and wanted to see them for herself. Unfortunately, the convoy had already traveled far, and she couldn''t possibly ask someone to take her to Wang Tao, so she could only silently be upset on the side. After ending the call, Jiang Shixue had already captured a group of zombies. Wang Tao immediately fed them Night Demon Parasites and then threw them into the incubation flesh. There were a total of four pieces of incubation flesh here, three of which were full health. Since Wang Tao had controlled his strength precisely during the battle, there was no significant destruction inside the nest. Only the incubation flesh with 100,000 HP could breed Level 5 Night Demon Parasites, so these three full-health pieces naturally bred Level 5 Night Demons. The remaining not full-health piece then bred nine Level 4 Night Demons. As for Level 6 Night Demons, these pieces of incubation flesh were not capable of breeding them, and even if they were, Wang Tao felt it was too risky, so he didn''t consider it for the time being. Before long, the first Lord Night Demon appeared, and it was Level 5. Wang Tao, along with Jiang Shixue and Lightning, immediately overwhelmed it. It was caught off guard just after being born and with only 100,000 HP, it was swiftly assassinated by Wang Tao. This time, Wang Tao didn''t use the "Fusion Technique." He straightforwardly chopped it down and allowed Lightning to devour the body. Although the Fusion Technique was powerful, it was too draining to use frequently... Wang Tao couldn''t handle that much consumption... Chapter 978 391: Returning to the City Again_4 Soon, the second and third Night Demons appeared. Although they were Fourth Order Elites, Wang Tao did not mind and continued the hunt. After a while, all the Incubation Flesh was left with just a sliver of HP, which was no longer of any use to Wang Tao. He mercilessly slayed the Incubation Flesh as they could drop Exraction Crystal Cores. Then, Wang Tao counted the Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs he had used this time, finding three from Level 5 and nine from Level 4. Two Level 5 Lord Night Demons, one Level 5 Elite Night Demon, three Level 4 Lord Night Demons, and three Level 4 Elite Night Demons then appeared. That is to say, only three Level 4 insect eggs failed to hatch. This probability was quite high, earning Wang Tao a tidy sum. After confirming there was nothing left out, Wang Tao beckoned to Lightning, who had just finished devouring the Night Demon corpses. "Let''s go." "Woof~" Lightning wagged its tail and ran over. This time, not only Wang Tao gained some benefits from exiting the city, but Lightning also had quite a harvest. Its Awakening allowed it to devour corpses of the same order to increase its HP limit. Having consumed many Lords, its HP had now reached 180,000, equal to that of Wang Tao. Wang Tao patted Lightning on the head and then entered his Powered Armor; he tried to contact Ding Yuqin but couldn''t reach her. Wang Tao wasn''t surprised; after all, the range of radios without a relay was limited. Changhe Base had installed some relay stations in some concealed places outdoors, but these devices were easily damaged by corrosive acid rain, requiring frequent maintenance and they couldn''t cover all the areas, only the frequently traveled ones. Wang Tao was currently in a more secluded area that was probably not covered. So, it was normal that he couldn''t get through. He just needed to follow the route he had planned. Wang Tao initially wanted to have Lightning enlarge and carry both him and Jiang Shixue, but Lightning''s size wasn''t that large yet, and the Powered Armor wasn''t light; Wang Tao couldn''t just abandon the Powered Armor... He might as well continue piloting the Powered Armor, as although it used up some Crystal Cores, he could still afford this expense. Wang Tao entered the Powered Armor, then said to Jiang Shixue, "Come, I''ll carry you." "Oh~" Jiang Shixue was picked up by Wang Tao and placed on his shoulder. The Powered Armor was large enough that having someone, especially someone as petite as Jiang Shixue, sit on the shoulder was no problem at all. "Let''s go!" Hum¡ª The Powered Armor jetted blue flames from the back and swiftly slid across the ground, while Lightning ran ahead to scout the path. They quickly departed from that location. The convoy''s moving speed wasn''t too fast. After using two Crystal Cores, Wang Tao''s radio finally made contact. "Wang Tao, are you guys alright?" "We''re fine and will catch up with you soon. Haven''t you encountered any issues?" "We''re safe too. Ever since you led the Night Demons away, we have not encountered any zombies." "That''s good." Soon, Wang Tao spotted the convoy and accelerated to catch up with them. "Boss!" Wen Guocheng and others, seeing a figure glowing with blue light sprinting through the night, had faces full of respect and slightly moist eyes. The boss had sacrificed a lot to lead the Night Demons away for their sake! Shortly after, Wang Tao rejoined the team. The rest of the journey was free from danger, and finally, in the early hours of the morning, they saw the high walls of Changhe Base. We''re finally back! Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Changhe Base also had personnel on duty at night. After verifying their identities, Wang Tao and his group smoothly entered the base. Chapter 979 392: Tampered "Boss, thank you so much for your help... If you have no further instructions, we''ll head back now..." After passing the security check, Wen Guocheng and others hurriedly came to the front of Wang Tao''s car to express their gratitude. Although Wang Tao had not discussed any reward, they were not without tact. They had already agreed that once they were back, they would sort through their possessions to see if there was anything worthy to offer, and find an opportunity to send it to Wang Tao. Whether Wang Tao wanted it or not was his business, but whether they gave it or not was a matter of their character; after all, they owed him their lives! Moreover, not to mention that Wang Tao was a formidable boss. If they could forge a relationship with such a boss, even just a nodding acquaintance, it might make things much easier for them in the city! It''s just that they were a bit puzzled now¡ªWang Tao, such a strong individual, was just an ordinary member of the Starfire Society. How powerful must the entire Starfire Society be! "Go ahead." Wang Tao waved his hand. Saving them was just a coincidental act and did not require much effort. If those had been people from major forces, Wang Tao might have asked for some reward, but these people clearly looked quite poor, so he treated it as doing a good deed. After these people left, Wang Tao turned to Qu Shilin. "Are you going to my place, or back to your villa or your research institute?" Qu Shilin hesitated for a moment before responding immediately. "To the research institute!" She actually wanted to go to Wang Tao''s house¡ªnot for any particular reason, just to talk with Wang Tao. Wang Tao knew a lot and had many secrets! However, she had also gained much from this outing, and she wanted to record everything, especially regarding prosthetics. Xiang Hongbin''s practical ability was stronger than she had anticipated and could be promoted further! Thus, she could only head back to the research institute. "Okay." Wang Tao nodded, it would require a slight detour, but it was not a big issue. "The experiences of the past few days were more exhilarating than this entire month!" Qu Shilin exclaimed, then looked intently at Wang Tao. "If there is another opportunity like this, can I still join you?" Heading out of the city was risky, but Wang Tao''s team was very strong! Although they were few, the sense of safety Wang Tao gave her was even greater than that of the army! And having fewer people also had its advantages, at least it made escaping quicker. Being targeted by that terrifying Giant Eagle yet managing to escape indeed provided a sense of security! "Haha, sure." Wang Tao laughed, not rejecting her suggestion. He was even thinking about having Qu Shilin investigate whether those wild Snake Fruits could be transplanted back. Wang Tao had originally planned to show them to Qu Shilin, but encountering the Giant Eagle had disrupted the plan. It would have to wait until next time. "Thanks!" Qu Shilin''s eyes narrowed into crescents. Wang Tao dropped Qu Shilin off at the research institute and when they finally returned to their own villa, it was past three in the morning. "It''s very late, everyone should rest well, you''ve all worked hard these past few days!" Wang Tao said to everyone. "Haha, I''m still not entirely satisfied!" Everyone laughed and then departed. When Wang Tao went back to his room, he didn''t rush to rest but instead started to organize the gains from the trip. The purpose of this trip was not to hunt zombies, but to test everyone''s actual combat abilities after awakening. They encountered numerous challenges such as Cheng Yiyi''s plea for help, zombie waves, and the Night Demon''s Nest, leading to plenty of battles and thus many spoils of war were collected. While checking the spoils, Wang Tao thought that this test of their abilities was largely successful, and he had a clear understanding of his team members'' combat skills. However, some things were not perfect, such as... he hadn''t had the chance to test his recently integrated [Explosion] ability. This was a wide-ranging lethal ability, likely very powerful, but using this ability would consume all current Awakening Energy, a desperate move indeed. Thus, it couldn''t be wasted on a few weak zombies or used recklessly in a zombie wave... so Wang Tao had never found the right opportunity. "Next time then..." Shaking his head, Wang Tao continued looking over the spoils. Crystal Cores, Secret Keys, equipment, potions... basically, these items, and of course, two fifth-order Night Demon hearts. He now had seven fifth-order Night Demon hearts in his possession. That is, seven [Night DemonType II]! Although Wang Tao didn''t use them much, it wasn''t because they weren''t strong, but because he hadn''t needed them yet... Wang Tao was looking forward to going to the Cave, having heard it was a place where Night Demons could excel. "I need to buy some more Crystal Cores tomorrow to get these two ''Night Demon Type II'' to 200,000 HP." Last time, Wang Tao had asked Qu Shilin to sell [Night Demon Type I] for sixty million, so buying some Crystal Cores was naturally affordable... After organizing these spoils, Wang Tao checked his informational wristwatch. When he had entered the city earlier, his wristwatch had received a bombardment of messages¡ªhe hadn''t yet had a chance to look at them closely. He now saw that most of the messages were from Cheng Yiyi. "Wang Tao, are you alright?" "Wang Tao, haven''t you come back yet?" "..." "I''m already preparing to borrow people from other legions, and I''ll come to get you tomorrow!" "There was a bit of an accident, I can''t act temporarily, delay the plan by a day, I''ll come get you the day after tomorrow!" Chapter 980 392: Tampered With_2 "..." "We''re leaving tomorrow, you need to hang in there!" "..." Seeing these caring words naturally made Wang Tao feel very comfortable. But Cheng Yiyi talked a bit too much, he wasn''t inside the city, and since Cheng Yiyi said so much, he couldn''t see it! Wang Tao checked the time these messages were sent, and the time Cheng Yiyi mentioned about leaving the city to find him was just a few hours later. Wang Tao hurriedly replied with a voice message. "Commander Cheng, you don''t need to come out to find me, I''ve already safely returned home." He needed to let Cheng Yiyi know he was back; otherwise, not only would Cheng Yiyi make the trip in vain, but she might also encounter dangers. After the message was sent, there was no reply for a while. "Are you asleep?" Wang Tao planned to wait a little longer, and if there was still no response, he would make the trip himself. After all, the Sixth Army Corps wasn''t far from here, and it wouldn''t take much time. Then, Wang Tao checked other messages. Aside from Cheng Yiyi, there were messages from the Secretary-General of City Hall, Gu Yun, former assistant Cui Sheng who had worked for Wang Tao, prominent figures such as Zhou Long, Huang Wu, and Qi De, Shang Heng of the Fourth Army Corps, and even his old acquaintance Duan Xuchang... Even people from the Sixth Army Corps were there, not Cheng Yiyi but someone he had met during a meeting... "Well, look at that..." Basically, everyone at Changhe Base who had Wang Tao''s contact information had sent him messages. Wang Tao looked at each message one by one. Cui Sheng reminded Wang Tao that tomorrow was New Year''s Eve and asked about the events Wang Tao had previously promised to attend, and whether he still had time for them. "Tomorrow is New Year''s Eve? To be precise, New Year''s Eve has already arrived..." Wang Tao was caught off guard, time really flew by... He had previously promised City Hall to participate in some events they organized. These events seemed to start from New Year''s Eve and would last for several days. If he had missed it, it would have been fine, but since he was back on time, Wang Tao naturally wouldn''t break his promise. "I''m already back, and I''ll prepare to participate in the activities." Wang Tao replied to Cui Sheng. Gu Yun''s message to Wang Tao also mentioned the activities, but the focus was on wanting to purchase Rejuvenation Potion and Iron Beetles from Wang Tao. He said as long as Wang Tao was willing to sell, the price was negotiable. Zhou Long and others had the same idea. Wang Tao''s past rule was that one could buy Potions only after investing in the Sixth Army Corps; the more one invested, the more they could buy. This was naturally fine for ordinary people since the Potion did have side effects; they couldn''t eat them like candy, and having a few bottles in reserve was enough. But it was different for people like Gu Yun because they had a lot of people and needed more. Investing in the Sixth Army Corps was okay, but they couldn''t invest too much. It wasn''t a matter of having the money but also involved some competitive issues. Thus, they specifically contacted Wang Tao to inquire if he could sell the items separately, even if the price was higher. Wang Tao was naturally willing to sell, after all, they weren''t not paying him. However, regarding the specific price and quantity, Wang Tao wasn''t prepared to negotiate personally, as he wasn''t adept at business. People like Yang Changhong, Lan Yulian, and Gao Hua had business experience and were better suited for this than Wang Tao. As for the Iron Beetles, Wang Tao had two, one with an additional Fire Resistance Ability and one that could spray acid. He could sell the one with Fire Resistance. The enhancement brought by the Iron Beetles had fairly fixed upper and lower limits. The enhancement was higher for weaker individuals, while for someone as powerful as Wang Tao, it was more optional whether to use it or not. Of course, the specifics of what price to sell for were left to others to negotiate; Wang Tao would just make the final decision. After replying to all these messages, Wang Tao''s Informational Wristwatch suddenly showed an incoming voice call, and it was indeed Cheng Yiyi. "Wang Tao, can you come downstairs and open the door!" Once connected, he heard Cheng Yiyi''s somewhat restrained excited voice. "..." As Wang Tao went downstairs, he saw a military SUV driving towards him from a distance. Squeak¡ª The vehicle made a sharp stop and steadied right in front of Wang Tao. Cheng Yiyi, wearing a military uniform, immediately rushed out and hugged Wang Tao tightly. Then, gripping his arms with some excitement and nervousness, she asked, "It''s so good that you could come back! Aren''t you injured, right? And are Jade Lotus and others safe too?" "Do I look like I''m injured?" Wang Tao shrugged and then smilingly said, "We are all very safe... let''s go inside and talk." Everyone else had gone to sleep, so Wang Tao went to make Cheng Yiyi a cup of hot tea. Cheng Yiyi held the cup tightly with both hands, her eyes full of gratitude when looking at Wang Tao. "Seeing you all return safely, I''m relieved! I really don''t know how to thank you... if it weren''t for you, we might never have been able to return..." "We are all family here; no need to be so formal," Wang Tao said smilingly. He felt even if he hadn''t gone to the rescue, Cheng Yiyi would have had a chance to break through, considering the three Awakeners, including her, were there and not weak. However, how many of their subordinates would have survived was uncertain. Aside from them, it was highly probable that the others would have died... Upon hearing this, Cheng Yiyi shook her head. Although she and Wang Tao were indeed close, even real brothers settle accounts. Moreover, this was a matter of saving lives, and it saved many at that; she definitely had to remember this favor. "I did intend to go find you, but they reminded me not to let your efforts be wasted, so I finally ran first..." Chapter 981 392: Tampering_3 Cheng Yiyi''s face was filled with guilt. Although Wang Tao had now safely returned, who knew what kind of dangers he had faced? Her decision to leave with the others at that time might have been the most logical one, but she still felt terrible and guilty. Especially after she returned to the base and found that Wang Tao hadn''t come back, her heart skipped a beat, and she felt like she truly deserved to die. If she had joined up with Wang Tao at the time, perhaps they could have all been rescued... Even now, with Wang Tao standing in front of her safe and sound, her feelings of guilt hadn''t dissipated. They might even linger for a long time... Seeing Cheng Yiyi like this, Wang Tao immediately patted her shoulder. "Commander Cheng, not coming to find me was the right choice. Because my car is not the same as yours; mine is the Research Institute''s latest experimental model with acceleration and top speed that are super fast! If we wanted to escape, it would only take us minutes. But if you had come, you would have slowed us down and affected our overall efficiency. Then, maybe none of us could have escaped..." Wang Tao''s words were meant to comfort as well as state a fact. If Cheng Yiyi had brought people to find him at that time, it really would have been quite troublesome. After all, the confidence Wang Tao had to lure the zombie horde wasn''t just from his own strength, but also from the Crystal Energy Car equipped with Berserk Mode. "..." When Cheng Yiyi heard Wang Tao''s comforting words, her guilt did lessen a bit, but... she felt even worse, because Wang Tao called them a burden! Since the apocalypse began, when had she ever been looked down upon like this? She''d see it as good enough not to disdain others, so when was it their turn to disdain her? But thinking back to the situation at the time, she couldn''t argue¡ª they were indeed a burden. Cheng Yiyi''s expression turned bitter. If someone else called her weak, she definitely couldn''t bear it, for she was a very prideful person. But when Wang Tao called her weak, she wasn''t angry at all because Wang Tao had the right to do so. Seeing her reaction, Wang Tao shook his head and said: "Alright, it''s all in the past. We''re still alive now, and that''s the best outcome. Don''t dwell on past events; look forward!" "Yes!" Cheng Yiyi nodded vigorously and then looked at Wang Tao to ask: "What was the situation like when you came to rescue us?" There was nothing to hide, so Wang Tao briefly explained. "At that time..." They really hadn''t been in any danger¡ªfirst, they attracted the attention of a large number of zombies, and before they could be surrounded, they just drove the Crystal Energy Car and slipped away. It wasn''t as difficult as Cheng Yiyi had imagined. The only time they were in danger was after evacuating when they encountered the Giant Eagle. However, because Xiang Hongbin had discovered the Giant Eagle in advance, they managed to easily dodge the Giant Eagle''s attack and avoided a big battle. As for later encountering Shang Qin in the underground garage, running into zombies on the way back, and sabotaging the Night Demon''s Nest on the road¡ªthese events were relatively easy to handle. So overall, their mission wasn''t dangerous; it was just a minor waste of time. "That''s good..." After hearing Wang Tao, Cheng Yiyi finally breathed a sigh of relief. "How about you? What was your situation afterward?" Wang Tao then asked in return. Cheng Yiyi also explained in detail what had happened before. "After you lured the zombies away from us, we left the cover and, by then, there were only a few scattered zombies left outside. We easily broke free from the encirclement. Then we ran wildly in the opposite direction from you, taking some time to completely shake off the pursuing zombies. We didn''t encounter any Giant Eagles or other hordes of zombies on the road... We made it back to the base safely before dark..." After explaining, Cheng Yiyi sighed again. "I''ve found that since you saved us, our luck suddenly got better..." "Well, misfortune might bring good fortune!" Wang Tao smiled. Given their previous situation, that Cheng Yiyi and her group could make it back to the base safely was indeed good fortune. Wang Tao encountered many zombies and even a Giant Eagle along the way. If Cheng Yiyi and her group had encountered the Giant Eagle, it''s likely that she wouldn''t be here today... "But..." Cheng Yiyi opened her mouth as if to say something but hesitated, seemingly unsure whether to speak. "But what?" Wang Tao was curious. "I don''t know if I should tell you... Never mind, we''re all on the same side, so it''s only right I tell you¡ª" Cheng Yiyi hesitated for a moment before speaking out, "I feel like someone has tampered with our radio equipment..." "Hmm? Is there a problem with the radio equipment?" Wang Tao''s expression turned somber, and then he remembered something, "Is that about the time we went to rescue you and suddenly couldn''t contact you through the radio?" Wang Tao remembered clearly that after he had unexpectedly made contact with Cheng Yiyi, they were able to communicate through the radio all the time. But when he got close to the zombie horde and told Cheng Yiyi to prepare for the breakout, the radio contact was lost. However, losing radio contact is a common occurrence, so Wang Tao didn''t think much of it at the time; he just thought it was bad luck for Cheng Yiyi. Wang Tao could only do his best to buy Cheng Yiyi and her group some time; whether they could escape or not was up to them. But if this wasn''t bad luck and was actually tampering, then the issue was serious¡ªsomeone wanted to take Cheng Yiyi''s life, perhaps even seeking to destroy the entire Sixth Army Corps! Chapter 982 392: Tampered With_4 Excluding Wang Tao, the Sixth Army Corps only had three Awakeners, namely Cheng Yiyi and two Deputy Legion Commanders, Lin Kaiyang and Pei Hai. At that time, all three Awakeners were trapped, along with the elite troops they led. If these three Awakeners and those elites all died, then the Sixth Army Corps would essentially be left in name only. "Um... the radio did seem to have some problems at that time." After nodding, Cheng Yiyi continued. "But it''s quite common for radios to have minor issues, and this kind of problem had also occurred several times before on this trip, so I didn''t think much of it at the time, just felt like it was my bad luck..." "But now that I think about it, those few times when problems occurred, they almost always happened at critical moments... Isn''t that too much of a coincidence?" Cheng Yiyi''s face didn''t look very good. "But I have no evidence, the radios were all sent for inspection, and nothing was detected. I don''t even have a suspect... So I didn''t know if I should talk to you about it, because I''m not sure if it''s because Wang Tao encountered difficulties and was stimulated, causing me to be a little paranoid..." Although this was just her speculation, it indeed seemed possible. After all, even if she was really unlucky, it couldn''t be that all the misfortunes happened at the same time, could it? However, she hoped even more that it was just her overthinking rather than someone tampering with the radios. Hearing Cheng Yiyi''s words, Wang Tao frowned. "Tell me in detail, when did those radios start failing." "Okay." Cheng Yiyi nodded. "There were more than ten issues this time..." After Cheng Yiyi finished speaking, Wang Tao''s frown deepened. "It sounds like someone really did tamper with your radios..." During this trip, Cheng Yiyi experienced about a dozen radio issues. This failure rate wasn''t actually high, especially since many of the issues were minor. For example, the vehicles suddenly couldn''t communicate with each other, then after a slap on the radio, contact was restored. They were used to these minor issues which weren''t much of a hindrance. There were a few more radio failures that caused minor impacts, but they quickly resolved them. However, two incidents caused significant trouble, one was when Wang Tao came to their rescue and just at the critical moment, contact was lost. Fortunately, Wang Tao caused a big enough commotion, drawing a large number of zombies. She was decisive enough and trusted Wang Tao, so she chose to charge out and eventually escaped successfully. And another time... was when Cheng Yiyi went to rescue their team¡ªCheng Yiyi came out this time to rescue a team from their legion that had been trapped¡ªbut due to the radio failure, a critical piece of information was missed, leading to her misjudgment, and she also got caught in the tide of zombies! From the perspective of an observer, Wang Tao thought that this situation was highly likely to have been tampered with. Thinking deeper, if there really was a behind-the-scenes mastermind, then it was possible that the Sixth Army Corps team got trapped as part of their scheme, aiming to lure Cheng Yiyi over. But unexpectedly, as the new year was approaching and there was a zombie horde outside, with all survivors staying inside the base, Wang Tao went out and just happened to receive Cheng Yiyi''s distress signal... "One must guard against others, whether there is an issue or not, you should treat it as if there is an issue. Think about it, if you died and the Sixth Army Corps was gone, who would benefit? You might find something... By the way, have you told anyone else about this?" "No... I only thought of it today, and I''ve only told you." Cheng Yiyi shook her head. "That''s good, I suggest you investigate secretly. If you need me, just ask." "Okay! Thank you! I won''t be going out anyway recently, and I''ll have plenty of time to investigate slowly. But there''s another very important matter..." Cheng Yiyi nodded earnestly and then suddenly stared at Wang Tao. "What matter?" Wang Tao was a bit puzzled. "I just found out, while I wasn''t in the base, you actually managed to secure a lot of investments for our Sixth Army Corps! We suffered considerable losses on this trip, and our vitality was greatly damaged. We probably wouldn''t have recovered for a long time. But with the investments you brought in, not only were our losses fully compensated, but our strength has also been greatly increased! If there really is a behind-the-scenes mastermind, they are probably grinding their teeth in frustration..." Chapter 983 393 Sudden Blizzard When it came to investments, Cheng Yiyi''s eyes sparkled as she looked at Wang Tao. Her expedition had suffered heavy losses, and the Sixth Army Corps had been greatly weakened, and they were not wealthy to begin with... It was truly a case of adding frost to snow. She had thought that the days to come would be tough and they would have to tighten their belts. But unexpectedly, while they were away, Wang Tao had managed to attract so much investment for the Sixth Army Corps! Of course, in name, everyone''s investment in the Sixth Army Corps was for the exploration of the cave, not a donation to the Sixth Army Corps. But this money had to be put to use to be effective, and naturally, that meant improving the combat power of the Sixth Army Corps. So, it was entirely accurate to say these investments were aimed at increasing the combat power of the Sixth Army Corps. Of course, when exploring the cave, the Sixth Army Corps would share the benefits with those investors. Cheng Yiyi would definitely be willing, after all, it was a win-win situation. Before she left the city, she never imagined they could attract so much investment. After being trapped, she felt even more that, even if they eventually escaped ascending to heaven, their exploration of the cave would most likely be outpaced by others¡ªthey had been missing for so long, surely no one would be willing to invest in them anymore, and they were not wealthy themselves... "I really owe you one! When we go exploring the cave together, you''ll have priority in allocation!" Cheng Yiyi expressed her thanks seriously. "You''re welcome," Wang Tao waved his hand, but he didn''t refuse the priority in allocation. "Um..." Cheng Yiyi seemed to think of something and suddenly became a bit coy. "What is it?" Wang Tao asked, puzzled. "Do you still have any of those Rejuvenation Potions? I also want to buy some..." Cheng Yiyi spoke up somewhat bashfully. From Wang Tao''s actions, it seemed that the amount of that potion was rather limited. And since he had sold them to those who invested in the Sixth Army Corps, she wasn''t sure if Wang Tao had any left... "Hey, what''s the big deal. I''ll give you some for free, no need for money." Wang Tao gestured with a wave of his hand. The cost of making the Rejuvenation Potion was extremely low and they were not difficult to manufacture, so giving some to Cheng Yiyi was of course no issue at all. "Ah? Giving them to me for free? That doesn''t seem right... Even though we have a good relationship, business is business, right..." Cheng Yiyi quickly waved her hand. If Wang Tao was just giving her the potion personally, she could accept it. But she was planning to buy the potions on behalf of the Sixth Army Corps, and if he was giving it to her for free, that favor would be far too great... "Don''t be so polite, they''re not worth much... But if you feel uncomfortable about it, I have some other potions here you could buy a little of?" Wang Tao said with a smile. "Hmm? Other potions?" Cheng Yiyi was a bit puzzled. Did Wang Tao have other types of magical potions aside from Rejuvenation? "Like these..." Wang Tao took out potions such as Strength, Defense, and Running ones from his pocket, explaining in detail their effects to Cheng Yiyi. He had plenty of potions and couldn''t possibly use them all himself. However, other than the Rejuvenation Potion, which could almost be produced in unlimited quantities, the production of other potions was limited by the availability of core materials. So, Wang Tao didn''t plan to sell these potions on a large scale as there would never be enough, but selling them on a small scale was doable, for example, to acquaintances like Cheng Yiyi. Although the Sixth Army Corps was rather poor, they had attracted a lot of sponsorship in the past few days, so they weren''t poor anymore. Upon hearing Wang Tao''s introduction, Cheng Yiyi''s eyes lit up. She had assumed that the Rejuvenation Potion was already miraculous enough, but she hadn''t expected there to be other types of potions specifically designed to enhance combat without side effects! "I want them!" Cheng Yiyi said immediately. She had to get her hands on these potions; with them, she could increase her team''s combat power by at least thirty percent! "You can take them back first to try out the effects..." Wang Tao handed Cheng Yiyi some potions, and if she was satisfied, it wouldn''t be too late to pay for them. "Alright!" Cheng Yiyi didn''t refuse, as she was eager to see for herself just how miraculous the potions were, not that she didn''t trust Wang Tao but because she wanted to witness it with her own eyes. "I came here to see if you had been hurt, but I''m leaving with so many fantastic items from you..." Cheng Yiyi scratched her head somewhat sheepishly, then her face brightened with excitement. "But I can guarantee that by the time we go to the cave, we absolutely won''t be the weakest link. At the very least, we should be mid-tier! The only pity is that I only have two Night Demon Hearts... and even those were acquired on this last trip out; otherwise, I''d have none at all..." When it came to the Night Demon Hearts, Cheng Yiyi''s expression showed a mix of envy and awkwardness. Though she had never been to the cave, reliable information indicated that the cave was a very suitable place for Night Demons to show their strength. Moreover, since the number of people allowed to enter was limited, but the use of external forces like Night Demon Hearts was not restricted, those with more Night Demon Hearts would be more adept for the cave... "Hmm? You went out this time for the Night Demon Hearts?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. But it made sense since Night Demon Hearts were being sold for high prices and indeed were very useful, so taking some risks for them was considered worthwhile. "Yes... I received reliable information that a Night Demon''s Nest had been discovered in the wilderness, and it seemed to have a Level 4 Night Demon Lord. So I sent out a team, and the process of hunting the Night Demons went smoothly, but after wrecking the nest, we suddenly encountered a corpse tide, and the team got trapped... I immediately led a rescue, but because we didn''t have the full picture, I got trapped as well. If it hadn''t been for your arrival... for one Night Demon Heart, we almost paid with our entire lives..." Chapter 984 393: Sudden Blizzard_2 Cheng Yiyi gave a wry smile as she explained. "Then your luck isn''t too bad, being able to get two Night Demon Hearts in one go." Wang Tao tried to comfort her. Generally, the chances of encountering two Night Demon Lords in a single nest are very low. Cheng Yiyi managing to get two Night Demon Hearts was indeed lucky. However, Cheng Yiyi shook her head. "There was only one Night Demon Lord in that Night Demon''s Nest. I bought the other heart before I left..." "Bought? How much?" Wang Tao asked instinctively. "850,000¡ªso expensive..." Upon mentioning the amount, Cheng Yiyi''s face showed how painful it was for her to spend that much. The Sixth Army Corps was already poor, and spending so much money made them even poorer. Luckily, Wang Tao had brought in some sponsorship... Upon hearing the amount, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. Why did that number sound so familiar... "Where did you buy it?" Wang Tao asked again. "From a researcher named Qu at the institute..." "..." Wang Tao thought the number sounded familiar because Cheng Yiyi had bought it from Qu Shilin. That meant she had bought Wang Tao''s Night Demon Heart... He opened his mouth but decided not to tell Cheng Yiyi about it. However, regarding the Night Demon Heart, Wang Tao did add a few more words. "I still have some Night Demon Hearts which might come in handy later." Naturally, Wang Tao meant Level 5 Night Demon Hearts. He had already dismissed Level 4 ones as beneath his consideration. "Yeah!" Cheng Yiyi was aware that Wang Tao had Night Demon Hearts, having seen him display them at the conference. However, she wasn''t aware that Wang Tao was referring to Fifth-order Night Demon Hearts... "By the way, don''t you also have an Iron Beetle?" At the last conference, Wang Tao had not only displayed Night Demon Hearts but also an Iron Beetle. "Yeah." Wang Tao nodded, then asked, "Do you want it?" Gu Yun had expressed interest in buying the Iron Beetle, and Wang Tao was also inclined to sell. However, his relationship with Cheng Yiyi was better, so if she wanted it, he could offer her a discount. Yet Cheng Yiyi just enviously shook her head. "I would like to, but can''t afford it... Although the Sixth Army Corps has obtained quite some sponsorship, that money needs to be spent on essentials. Cave environments are not quite suitable for Iron Beetles, and using that money to buy Night Demon Hearts would be better..." Since Cheng Yiyi said that, Wang Tao didn''t press further. He decided to sell the Iron Beetle to City Hall instead, where they had the funds to pay a high price. Cheng Yiyi chatted with Wang Tao for a while longer, then stood up to take her leave. "I need to get back... I was supposed to go out and find you guys at dawn. I even borrowed some soldiers from other army corps... But since you all have safely returned, I need to quickly return the soldiers before they start docking my pay... And think about it, I brought all these people here, and they did nothing, that cost me several meals!" Although she spoke of her loss, the expression on Cheng Yiyi''s face showed no joy. "Haha, all right, I''ll see you off... Regarding that ''hidden hand'' matter, if you can''t find anything or there''s nothing there, just let it go, but if there is something, please do let me know." No matter what, Wang Tao was still assigned to the Sixth Army Corps, so he needed to pay extra attention to this matter. "No problem!" Cheng Yiyi nodded earnestly. "Is it snowing?" As they stepped outside, Wang Tao noticed some feather-like stuff landing on his head. "It really is snow..." Although the weather had been getting colder, it had remained sunny. Moreover, it hadn''t snowed yet when Wang Tao had returned late at night, so the sudden late-night snowfall was a bit unexpected. If it had been before the apocalypse, Wang Tao used to like snow quite a bit. But now... It should be okay inside the base since City Hall was in charge, but for other survivors outside the base like Shang Qin, it might be tough... Watching Cheng Yiyi drive off, Wang Tao studied the snow more closely. After confirming it was normal snow that wouldn''t inflict any negative status, he finally felt relieved. "Time to sleep!" ... The next day. Wang Tao was awakened by the crackling sounds. Today was New Year''s Eve, and City Hall had already announced they would set off fireworks at certain locations, advising the public not to panic. Looking at Ding Yuqin curled up in his arms, Wang Tao kissed her on the forehead. They had agreed to get a good night''s sleep yesterday, but somehow they ended up in Ding Yuqin''s room, and he had kept her up all night, which he felt rather guilty about. "Wang Tao~" Ding Yuqin hadn''t been awakened by the fireworks, but after Wang Tao kissed her, she sleepily clung to his neck. "It''s still early, sis, sleep a bit longer." "No~ I need to get up too..." After some more cozy moments in the warm quilt, Ding Yuqin finally let go of Wang Tao. "Wow! It snowed!" Ding Yuqin opened the curtains to see everything covered in gleaming white and exclaimed in surprise. "Such heavy snow!" Wang Tao was surprised too. The snow had started only after midnight, and now it was just past eight in the morning. The snow had piled up so thickly in just about four hours¡ªthat was quite a heavy snowfall! Others had gradually woken up too; they had come back and gone straight to sleep, not venturing outside, and were unaware it had snowed last night. Seeing the heavy snow outside, everyone was quite astonished. Chapter 985 393: Sudden Blizzard_3 Lightning zipped out in a flash, frolicking in the snow. It wanted to invite Blacky out too, but Blacky was a snake. It was good enough that it wasn''t hibernating, let alone venturing into the snow. Seeing the downcast Lightning, the kind-hearted Jiang Shixue ran out to play with it. "I''ll go light some firewood." He Jijun spoke up. There was no central heating in the city, but there were fireplaces where wood could be burned. The villa''s yard also had plenty of firewood stored, enough to last some time. Though they were Ability Users with strong physiques and more resistant to the cold, it didn''t mean they didn''t feel cold. Once the fireplace was lit, several black snakes immediately slithered over, curling up comfortably beside the fire, bellies up... Yang Changhong, while toasting by the fire, excitedly proposed to everyone: "How about we build a snowman after breakfast?" She had only built snowmen when she was a child; ever since she started working, she hadn''t had the leisure to do so. She was eager to relive that childhood feeling. "Haha, I''m going to build a super big one!" Xiang Hongbin laughed heartily. The others were also interested; after all, it was a rare break. "But today is New Year''s Eve, we need to prepare more food..." Ding Yuqin also wanted to build a snowman, but with the New Year approaching, they needed to prepare some delicacies to feel the festive atmosphere. "I''m okay with washing vegetables, but please don''t ask me to cook!" Xiang Hongbin waved his hands repeatedly. Then, they began to divide the tasks among themselves. Wang Tao, meanwhile, took out his Informational Wristwatch, and unsurprisingly, a bunch of messages had appeared on it. The people who wanted to purchase the Rejuvenation Potion from Zhou Long, upon seeing that Wang Tao agreed to sell it to them, expressed their gratitude and said they would soon send someone to discuss the specific price and quantity with the Starfire Society. Since Wang Tao was selling in the name of the Starfire Society, naturally they needed to negotiate with the Society. After replying to all the messages, Wang Tao then checked the message from Gu Yun. Gu Yun said he had been busy lately and would come to discuss the matter of purchasing Iron Beetles with Wang Tao personally later. He asked Wang Tao to please reserve the Iron Beetles as they would definitely offer a satisfactory price. Wang Tao replied with an "okay." As soon as he replied, Gu Yun''s voice call came through. "Mr. Wang, happy New Year!" "Head Secretary Gu, happy New Year to you too!" After exchanging pleasantries, Gu Yun began to talk about the Iron Beetle situation again, lamenting bitterly. Wang Tao had initially let City Hall have the first Iron Beetle, but soon after, the Hope Research Institute got hold of it through persistent pleading. The institute had claimed they would return it after research, but they ended up dismantling it and couldn''t put it back together! Although the institute gave some benefits to City Hall, Iron Beetles were too rare, and now even money couldn''t buy them. City Hall had no choice but to wait. Now that Gu Yun heard Wang Tao had another Iron Beetle, while admiring Wang Tao''s luck, he thought that even if it cost more, they had to acquire this Iron Beetle! After all, Wang Tao had already given them priority for the previous Iron Beetle, indicating that perhaps Wang Tao didn''t place too much emphasis on it. As long as they showed a bit more sincerity, they should be able to secure it. It had been said before that there was also various competition within Changhe Base. Although City Hall was the management, if they didn''t do well, they could be replaced, not to mention the committee above them... So, they needed to improve their strength, and this Iron Beetle represented a Level 4 Combat Power! Moreover, this Level 4 Combat Power was not just for one person; it was something that everyone could use! Such an item was perfect for City Hall, so they were determined to acquire the Iron Beetle, even if it meant spending more money. "Mr. Wang, you must keep the Iron Beetle for us! Please don''t sell it to anyone else, including the people from our City Hall¡ªcough, you know, for the political achievements... I''m too busy right now, with a lot of things to take care of during the New Year, so I don''t have the time..." Gu Yun was straightforward, openly stating that securing the Iron Beetle for City Hall would be a solid political achievement. He needed to seize this opportunity and not let anyone else take it. Wang Tao didn''t mind; he considered it a favor sold to Gu Yun. "Oh, and regarding the New Year''s event, Mr. Wang, please remember to attend! There''s a gala tonight, and we''ll send a dedicated car to pick you up..." "Don''t worry, I''ll be there on time." The series of activities prepared by City Hall was starting from today. Wang Tao had already been informed in advance, and since he was back with no other engagements, he naturally could attend. As for the gala, of course, it wasn''t for Wang Tao to perform; he was a guest to be seated among the audience. Wang Tao was also looking forward to what kind of performance the City Hall would put on. After ending the call with Gu Yun, Ding Yuqin''s breakfast was ready. After a quick breakfast, Wang Tao and Yang Changhong went out to build snowmen together. However, as the snow continued to fall more heavily, they had to stop and clear it away. Otherwise, at this rate, the roads would quickly be blocked. Meanwhile, the base''s loudspeakers announced, asking citizens with a certain level of strength to participate in snow removal. Although there was a lack of snow removal machinery, Ability Users were generally more cold-resistant, and there were also plenty of Ability Users in the city. Thus, manual snow removal was quite suitable. "I was thinking about strolling the streets yesterday, getting a feel for the festive atmosphere in the base, but now..." Lan Yulian sighed with a sense of resignation. Chapter 986 393: Sudden Blizzard_4 City Hall had done a lot of preparation in advance to make the second New Year after the apocalypse have a festive atmosphere, and the streets were very lively, creating a really nice atmosphere, almost better than before the apocalypse. But then such heavy snow fell suddenly, making it impossible for anyone to stay outside¡ªlet alone people, even the red lanterns that were hanging on the trees and houses had turned completely white, not even a hint of red showing... "Heavy snowfall isn''t a good thing..." Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. Given this situation, he figured they wouldn''t be able to go anywhere for quite a long time. Inside the city was manageable, as they could remove the snow manually. But outside the base, no one was taking care of it. Who knew how thick the snow would get? With the accumulation of snow, vehicles would become impossible to operate... While Wang Tao was thinking about the situation outside, Qu Shilin suddenly called. "Wang Tao, have you seen the snow? It''s huge!" "...You didn''t just wake up, did you?" Wang Tao glanced at the time. It was already almost noon. "Ahem..." Qu Shilin felt a bit awkward, then quickly changed the subject. "I''m calling you about something important. This snow is so heavy, and we don''t know when it will stop. Subsequent travel might be troublesome... Aren''t you not going out right now? Why don''t you drive your Crystal Energy Car to the research institute, and we''ll prepare to modify it for this kind of severe weather..." "How thoughtful of you! I was just wondering what to do about traveling later, and here you are with a follow-up plan, really thoughtful!" Wang Tao said with a smile. "Hey, don''t flatter yourself! It''s not just you, a large number of vehicles in the city are being modified, you''re just included incidentally." Qu Shilin joked. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao frowned slightly. "A large number of vehicles in the city need to be modified?" That was no small project; it would require a lot of manpower and resources. If it were just one or two heavy snowfalls, there was no need to go through all this trouble... "Yes, a large number of vehicles in the city need to be modified. Our meteorological experts at the research institute predict that this snowfall will not only be heavy but also long-lasting. For the next month or even two months, it will turn into a land of ice and snow. This will cause a lot of trouble for our travel..." "Of course, this is just a forecast; the actual situation will only be certain after a couple of days. But it''s better to start preparing now, better safe than sorry! Your car is in the first batch, we''ll test the effects first. If it works well, then we''ll implement it on a large scale..." "Besides vehicle modification, there will be many other troublesome issues afterward, like thicker coats, how to stay warm, food sources... Just thinking about it gives me a headache, but these are not my responsibility¡ªoh right, I just remembered, you said last time you would give me a Food Compressor? Can you bring it along by any chance?" After listening to Qu Shilin''s words, Wang Tao looked very serious. A month or two of glacial conditions sounded chilling to the bone. The survivors outside the base... This was going to be tough! Even though Ability Users were more resistant to the cold, that didn''t mean they could stay in low temperatures forever; if exposed for too long, they could also freeze to death, let alone ordinary people... But this was not something Wang Tao could change. Even if those survivors came to Changhe Base, because of the high level of Internal Impurity in their bodies, they couldn''t enter the base. The base certainly couldn''t risk the safety of hundreds of thousands of people just to do a good deed... All one could hope for was that they found some place to overwinter. "Okay, I''ll drive the car over now, and I''ll bring the Food Compressor too..." After ending the call, Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin and the others: "I''m going to the research institute for a bit." "Okay, drive slowly on your way there, watch out for slippery roads..." Chapter 987 394: Ancestral Virus "This snow is seriously heavy..." Confronted with a vast expanse of white, Wang Tao could only reluctantly slow down. The road was not slippery for the time being, it was just the blizzard that made it impossible to see the path. It was clearly unwise to venture out at this time, but fortunately, Wang Tao was able to use his mind control ability. Although the detection distance wasn''t far, at least he could make sure not to drive into a ditch, though his speed was greatly reduced. After much delay and dawdling, he finally arrived at the research institute. At the entrance to the institute, several machines were automatically shoveling snow, but because of the heavy snowfall, a thick layer would accumulate soon after they cleared it away. They had no choice but to keep shoveling nonstop. Of course, shoveling snow was somewhat effective. For example, it allowed Wang Tao to spot Qu Shilin in the snow at a glance. She was wearing a military coat, wrapped up tightly, and was waving at Wang Tao. Wang Tao leisurely drove over to her, then said with a smile, "Were you waiting for me? That''s really too polite of you!" Qu Shilin hurriedly opened the door and got into the car. "In this freezing weather, I certainly don''t want to wait outside for you. It''s just that the snowstorm has affected the signal tower, preventing messages from getting out. I actually wanted to tell you not to rush in bringing the car over, as the snow is too heavy and the roads are treacherous... But I couldn''t get in touch with you. I did manage to contact Jade Lotus though, she said you had already set off, so I just waited to see if you could make it here without any mishaps..." Only then did Wang Tao notice that the signal on his informational wristwatch was intermittent. The base''s signal transmission methods were divided into wired and wireless. Fixed locations, like his villa, were connected by wires. Once outside, he had to rely on a wireless signal. Under normal circumstances, there would be a signal outside too. But since Qu Shilin mentioned that the snowstorm was interfering with the signal tower, there was nothing that could be done. "Thanks for your concern!" Wang Tao first expressed his gratitude and then frowned slightly. "If the wireless signal is down throughout such a large base city, could that cause some trouble?" Hearing this, Qu Shilin gave him a look. "Do you think everyone is as bold as you, running outside in such a heavy snowstorm? Most people would definitely stay at home at this time. Those with communication lines installed can receive messages, and those without can listen to the loudspeaker broadcasts..." "Er, that makes sense. I guess I was overthinking it..." Wang Tao laughed awkwardly. But Qu Shilin quickly continued: "However, there are some issues. Since no one can go out now, the evening''s event is likely canceled. I was actually looking forward to attending... And if this level of heavy snow continues for three to five days, it won''t just be about whether the event can go on, but whether people can manage their daily lives properly..." Wang Tao figured the event was probably off, and as for future issues, they would have to wait and see. Under Qu Shilin''s direction, Wang Tao quickly parked the car inside a workshop where people were already waiting for them. "We''re planning to make your car a bit more modular with specialized parts that can be swapped out quickly, like installing caterpillar tracks¡ªtracks are really effective in snow, even though they consume more energy. Of course, for a Crystal Energy Car, there''s no need to worry too much about carrying energy supplies, just bring more Crystal Cores. But this places new demands on the vehicle''s stability and lifespan..." Qu Shilin briefly explained to Wang Tao, who didn''t understand much about this and didn''t care much either. They could modify it however they wanted¡ªit wasn''t his money after all. While introducing, Qu Shilin also directed people to take down the Food Compressor from the car. The machine was quite large, though it didn''t look very high-tech. But appearances could be deceiving; the institute had not yet been able to replicate this food compression technology. "So this is the ''Food Compressor''..." Qu Shilin lightly touched the machine, her eyes shining with excitement. Regarding food, it was absolutely crucial to the base. If they could thoroughly research the technology of the Food Compressor, it would benefit everyone. At the very least, in the same amount of space, more food could be carried on outings. Qu Shilin tested it out by putting some food into the Compressor, and in moments, a nutrient solution appeared. Even if the food was dirty or even toxic, as long as it was edible, the Compressor could still produce clean nutrient solutions! There would be some loss in the process, but having something edible was good enough¡ªnot a situation to be picky. "This is a really good thing!" Qu Shilin marveled, then she looked at Wang Tao, hesitating as if she wanted to say something. As if knowing what she wanted to ask, Wang Tao immediately spoke: "The item was found, I don''t know who made it. So don''t ask me about its origins because I don''t know." "Alright~" Qu Shilin helplessly spread her hands. She was just curious anyway, who made it wasn''t important now because even if she knew, what could she do about it? The important thing was that the machine was now with her, and all she needed to do was figure out how it worked. "By the way, you probably still need the Food Compressor, right? So if you need it in the future..." Before Qu Shilin could finish, Wang Tao interrupted her. "No need, I was lucky and found another one. Feel free to study it without worries." "..." Looking at Wang Tao''s indifferent expression, Qu Shilin suddenly didn''t know what to say. Previously, she had believed that he had indeed found the device, but now Wang Tao was saying he had yet another one! Chapter 988 394 Ancestral Virus_2 This kind of miraculous thing, isn''t it already unbelievable to find just one, let alone two? That''s way too fake! However, seeing that Wang Tao didn''t seem to want to talk more about it, Qu Shilin didn''t press on. Anyway, there was no need to fuss over the origins of the thing right now. It couldn''t possibly have been made by Wang Tao, could it? What she needed to do now was thoroughly research the technology behind the Food Compressor. If it could be popularized throughout the base, it would definitely be great news for those going out. The only problem now was a small one that Qu Shilin was facing¡ªshe had too many projects on her hands! Mechanical body, Powered Armor, Crystal Energy Engine, Crystal-powered Weapons, Night Demon Heart, Iron Beetle, Food Compressor, the Weapon Equipment Wang Tao had previously given her, and her own favored research into biology and viruses... she was swamped, absolutely swamped! Qu Shilin sneakily glanced at Wang Tao, then placed her hands behind her back and coughed lightly. "Ahem, Wang Tao, could I discuss something with you?" "What is it?" Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. After getting to know Qu Shilin better, he found that she generally preferred to be straightforward. Why was she suddenly so shy? "Could you..." Qu Shilin extended her right hand, her index finger and thumb making a pinching gesture, "sponsor me a little bit of research funding?" "Huh? Research funding? Doesn''t your institute have its own budget?" Wang Tao was immediately surprised, not expecting Qu Shilin to be asking him for money. Logically speaking, research institutes should be quite wealthy, right? After all, this was Changhe Base''s strongest and only research institution. City Hall would surely not be stingy with investment in this area. And not to mention anything else, just the profit from the Inhibitor alone should be enough for the research institute to make a lot of money, so how could Cheng Yiyi be short on money? Seeing the confusion in Wang Tao''s eyes, Cheng Yiyi explained with a slight sense of helplessness: "The research institute does have money, but we also spend a lot. Not to even mention, just for researching the energy within the Crystal Core, we are directly using Crystal Cores, which is literally ''burning money''... Of course, the institute isn''t so poor to the point of borrowing money from others, since it is maintained by City Hall and can continue researching... But as the number of projects increases, the needed funds are growing too. Eventually, we might start running at a deficit. City Hall itself is short of funds, after all, they have to cover every aspect, we can''t depend on City Hall forever... So we have to figure out a way ourselves..." Hearing this explanation, Wang Tao silently nodded. No matter the era, research was always a money-burning endeavor. Qu Shilin continued to explain: "If you could become a sponsor of the research institute, whenever something new is developed, sponsors will certainly get priority access and enjoy VIP treatment! If it''s a marketable mass-produced product, there might be bonus dividends later on! If sponsors have any special needs, they can also request custom products... and there are many other perks!" "But we also have to be wary of sponsors taking our research results to do bad things, so we can''t just accept anyone who wants to sponsor... If you sponsor me personally, and something unexpected happens, I''ll be the one carrying the can..." She hadn''t planned to seek sponsors because accepting others'' money would mean less freedom. Even though the institute had a policy that sponsors should not interfere with any research, in theory, they could continue unaffected even after taking the sponsorship. But in reality, it was impossible to be entirely uninfluenced by others, as there''s a saying, ''he who pays the piper calls the tune''..." Qu Shilin still preferred to be uninhibited and a bit more free. But now, with more and more projects at the research institute, it was highly likely that subsequent funding wouldn''t keep pace... Especially with Qu Shilin personally juggling so many projects, the institute''s allocated funds were already insufficient, and she had even started putting her own money in. But research is a bottomless pit, and these funds are clearly not enough. So, when she returned this time and the institute mentioned finding sponsors again, she thought of Wang Tao. Strong abilities, wealthy, and not too busy¡ªclearly, a great partner for collaboration. Then again, just because she thought highly of Wang Tao didn''t mean he would think the same of her. Sponsorship required the satisfaction of both parties... Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao with eager eyes. "No problem, how much do you need?" Wang Tao nodded with a smile. He had a good relationship with Qu Shilin and, in Wang Tao''s view, research was a rather sacred endeavor that benefited the masses. If Wang Tao didn''t have the capability, then it was out of the question, but if he did, then supporting it was no issue. Seeing that Wang Tao didn''t reject but instead seemed quite interested, Qu Shilin finally breathed a sigh of relief. She believed that she had a good relationship with Wang Tao, but money was the thing most likely to cause a rift between friends. She didn''t care much for money herself, but who knew how Wang Tao viewed it... "Ahem, are you sponsoring me, or the whole research institute?" "Of course it''s you personally." "Ahem, I currently have 10 projects in my hands, so could you... sponsor me ten million Crystal Coins to start with?" Qu Shilin tentatively said. "Ten million, sure." Wang Tao agreed without hesitation. He currently had over sixty million Crystal Coins, and there were still some items he had acquired on his trip that he hadn''t sold yet. Additionally, he had many valuable items in his possession, so ten million Crystal Coins wasn''t a big deal for him. Chapter 989 394 Ancestral Virus_3 Moreover, Qu Shilin had ten projects, and if just one of them could randomly yield some results with the ten million, it would be quite the profit. "Thank you, thank you! With this ten million from you, I can pick one project to start..." Seeing that Wang Tao agreed without even blinking, Qu Shilin was overjoyed. She knew she had found the right person! But Wang Tao suddenly paused after hearing her say this. "Wait a minute! You just said you want to pick one project to start? Does that mean... this ten million can only support one project?" "...Ahem, to be precise, this ten million is the startup funding for one project..." Qu Shilin emphasized the words "startup funding", and after finishing her sentence, she looked at Wang Tao somewhat nervously, afraid that he would pull out his funding before he even paid. "..." Wang Tao had thought that the ten million could support all ten projects, but it turned out it could only support one, and it was just the startup funding at that, which meant more money would still be needed later on! Wang Tao felt somewhat troubled. According to Qu Shilin''s cash-burning method, his millions wouldn''t hold up! Before the apocalypse, he had been just an Ordinary working stiff; surely he wasn''t expected to still work and earn money in the apocalypse, was he? "Wang Tao, let me introduce to you my research projects..." Possibly because she feared Wang Tao might have second thoughts, Qu Shilin hurriedly started to explain to Wang Tao again, or rather... she began to sweet-talk him. "For instance, regarding Powered Armor, this is a joint research project with Jiang Wenyou. We both contribute funding and effort... Jiang Wenyou is the researcher who gave you the Powered Armor at the exchange meeting... Our ultimate goal is to create a Mecha as tall as several dozen or even hundreds of meters, comparable to a Giant Zombie! Capable of hunting Giant Zombies face to face!" "Not to mention the Crystal Energy Engine and Crystal-powered Weapons. We hope that when Ordinary people get their hands on these Weapons, they''ll also be able to kill formidable zombies! If each soldier in the army had a Crystal-powered Weapon, what''s there to fear from the zombies?" "..." "And there''s my favorite area of research, biotechnology and viruses. If we can make a breakthrough here, the impact would be even greater! For example... creating a real Zombie Virus antidote, so we won''t ever have to fear infection..." Towards the end, Qu Shilin''s eyes shone. Creating a Zombie Virus antidote was one of the ultimate goals that all researchers strove for, and she was no exception. Wang Tao had never been one for pie-in-the-sky promises, but, honestly speaking, Qu Shilin''s introduction had moved him¡ªnot the research outcome per se, but seeing hope for the future. After all, the apocalypse was so bitter; without hope, it would be tough to carry on... Of course, it would be even better if they could achieve tangible results. "It sounds... quite impressive. Not to mention anything else, if you really can come up with a cure for the Zombie Virus, then you''d be heroes to all of humanity!" Wang Tao nodded earnestly. Seeing that Wang Tao wasn''t backing out, Qu Shilin finally breathed a sigh of relief. But when Wang Tao brought up the Zombie Virus again, she couldn''t help but smile bitterly and shook her head. "Ah, to develop a Zombie Virus antidote... it''s too difficult! Even... I think it''s highly probable that it can''t be done..." "Huh? Weren''t you full of confidence a moment ago? What, you''ve changed your mind already?" Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. "Ahem, I don''t want to deceive you..." Qu Shilin appeared a bit embarrassed and then seriously explained: "I truly think a Zombie Virus antidote can''t be developed! Simply put, the current Zombie Virus is the result of countless mutations, and the types are diverse and complex. Just the ones we can observe number in the tens of thousands! Not to mention those we haven''t observed, those definitely exceed tens or even hundreds of millions! So even if we were incredibly lucky and did come up with an antidote, that would still just be one antidote, incapable of treating those tens or hundreds of millions of Zombie Viruses..." Upon hearing Qu Shilin''s explanation, Wang Tao frowned and said: "I don''t understand this field, but in my limited understanding, even if these Zombie Viruses have mutated, they must be related and have commonalities, right? If those patterns can be found, perhaps there''s still a chance?" Qu Shilin shook her head. "Your thinking isn''t wrong, but the problem is, the Zombie Virus has mutated so many times, and their differences are enormous. Moreover, the most important point is, they are still mutating, constantly evolving!" "Our research has found that the reason zombies can become stronger without doing anything is because the Zombie Virus in their bodies is continuously evolving! Each time they grow stronger, it represents a mutation in the Zombie Virus..." "So our research Speed can''t keep up with their rate of mutation; even if we did find an antidote, it might only be effective for one day. The next day, the effects would be significantly reduced, and by the third day, it could become ineffective..." "..." Wang Tao knew researching the Zombie Virus was difficult, but he hadn''t realized it was this challenging. "Of course, this doesn''t mean there''s no hope at all. If we can find the most original form of the Zombie Virus, there might still be a chance..." "The Ancestral Virus is the one from the first outbreak, and it has to be from the very beginning, the exact time of April 4th..." Chapter 990 394 Ancestral Virus_4 "This most primitive virus, which we call the ''Ancestral Virus,'' is the origin of the tens and millions of zombie virus variants that exist today. The zombie virus differs from other viruses, which may become new viruses after mutating. But even after mutating, the zombie virus still retains a connection to the Ancestral Virus that we can''t quite explain... Simply put, the Ancestral Virus is the ''root,'' and the current zombie viruses are the ''leaves''! If we could thoroughly understand the Ancestral Virus, we should be able to find a way to deal with the zombie virus! But..." "But that''s basically impossible. It''s been 10 months since the virus outbreak, so how could there possibly be any of the Ancestral Virus left that hasn''t mutated..." "Do you know why we were able to develop the Zombie Virus Inhibitor so early on, and now that we are safer and have better research conditions, we still haven''t made any major breakthroughs in the virus field? It''s not that we are slacking off; it''s because we were studying the early virus then. The potion that could control the early virus is also effective against the current virus. But now, we no longer have those research conditions..." Qu Shilin slumped, his complexion somewhat despairing. The more one knows about the zombie virus, the more they understand how difficult it is to develop a zombie virus antidote, and the more they despair. In the Hope Research Institute, many people are researching the zombie virus antidote project, but unless there is some major breakthrough, nobody even talks about it, because the more they do, the more despairing it becomes... "Does that mean, we''ll never be able to create a zombie virus antidote in our lifetime?" Wang Tao asked, frowning. "Perhaps that''s true, unless we can find the Ancestral Virus..." Qu Shilin shook his head. "The Ancestral Virus..." Wang Tao muttered softly. This was obviously an impossible task, unless there was some place where time had stopped at the moment of the virus outbreak; then maybe they would find the Ancestral Virus there. Or if someone could reverse time, directly going back to the early days of the apocalypse¡ªbut if one really had that ability, they wouldn''t be researching the Ancestral Virus at all; they would definitely be trying to prevent the apocalypse! Wang Tao hadn''t anticipated that his casual remark would yield such despairing information. However, his mentality was good, and now he had some strength as well, so even if it really was impossible to develop an antidote, he would still survive! "Sigh, I actually regret it a bit now. When the virus outbreak occurred, I sought protection immediately, which definitely made me safer, but I also lost the chance to study the virus on the front lines. If I had been able to study the Ancestral Virus a few more times, or even look at the predecessors'' research records more often, maybe there would have been some breakthroughs with the zombie virus..." Wang Tao suddenly asked: "Did any of the front-line researchers survive?" "...No." "Then that''s settled, surviving is the greatest victory, and we still have a chance!" Wang Tao slapped Qu Shilin''s shoulder; he used a bit of force, causing Qu Shilin to stumble. Qu Shilin couldn''t help but give Wang Tao a somewhat speechless look. "Alright, alright, let''s not talk about this. Anyway, I still have to thank you for your sponsorship. If there''s any benefit later, I''ll definitely think of you first! Of course, if you could sponsor me just a little bit more, that would be even better..." Qu Shilin extended his index finger and thumb to indicate a little more. "..." That gesture meant ten million! Even if Wang Tao was wealthy, he couldn''t afford such an expense! Wang Tao shook his head, just as he was about to say something, he suddenly paused. "What did you just say?" "Sponsorship?" "No, you just said, if you could study the Ancestral Virus a few more times, or observe the research records of the predecessors..." "Uh, I did say that..." Qu Shilin didn''t understand what Wang Tao meant. "I have something I want to show you, not sure if it''s of any use to you... could you come to my place?" Wang Tao spoke. "Ah? Sure." Qu Shilin didn''t ask further. Since Wang Tao''s car was being modified, Qu Shilin borrowed one from the research institute, which also had anti-skid chains, making it much easier to drive in the snow. "Oh? The snow has lessened!" After driving the car out, Qu Shilin was somewhat surprised. "Lessening of the snow is good..." Wang Tao and Qu Shilin returned to his villa together. Because the snow had lessened and the car had anti-skid chains, they returned much faster than before. While Qu Shilin was greeting others, Wang Tao came over with a thick kraft paper bag. "Take a look." "This is..." Qu Shilin curiously took it over; inside were neatly stacked files, and upon seeing the content of the files, her eyes suddenly widened. "Research records on the Ancestral Virus! How, how do you have these..." While carefully flipping through the pages, Qu Shilin spoke in shock. "So it really is the Ancestral Virus..." Wang Tao silently nodded, then slowly began to explain: "When the virus outbreak occurred, the First Hospital within Wuyang Province, Huangfeng City, and Shuize County also suffered a massive infection. At that time, there were a group of medical experts from the Capital City at the hospital, one of whom had brought along his truant daughter. His daughter got infected, but he survived. To save his daughter, he hid in the hospital''s morgue, using rudimentary equipment to research the zombie virus, hoping to find an antidote. Unfortunately, he failed, and he himself turned into a zombie, a mutant zombie... These documents are the research outcomes he left behind. He wrote in his diary that all this was useless and gave it to me. But I think it still holds some commemorative value, so I''ve kept it as a keepsake until now..." Wang Tao''s gaze was somewhat complicated. The one who left these documents was none other than the initial Green-eyed Zombie. From the time of the apocalypse till now, Wang Tao had experienced many things, among which the Green-eyed Zombie was quite memorable. After all, the Green-eyed Zombie had strong capabilities and could create many Elite Zombies, which allowed Wang Tao to have a thrilling time eliminating them. Moreover, the most important part was that the Green-eyed Zombie left behind a diary. Through the diary, one could feel the despair he had when he was still human, and his love for his daughter. Of course, the fact that Wang Tao acquired his night vision ability was also a reason. About the Green-eyed Zombie, except for Han Rui who had been through it with Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo and the others didn''t know the details, and Yang Changhong and his group had never even heard about it. Now hearing Wang Tao speak of it, everyone felt somewhat melancholic. Qu Shilin''s gaze was also very complex, the outcome of the Green-eyed Zombie was similar to those researchers fighting on the front lines. However, unlike them, the Green-eyed Zombie left behind some precious treasures that Wang Tao had managed to bring out! "These materials are the research data on the Ancestral Virus! To me, to the research institute, it''s all extremely important! I dare not say it could lead to a cure for the zombie virus, but there will definitely be findings! Therefore, these materials..." Qu Shilin eagerly looked at Wang Tao. "Of course I am giving them to you. They are completely wasted with me; only you can make their intended use come to fruition..." Wang Tao said without hesitation. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Qu Shilin, thrilled, tightly hugged the research materials. Chapter 991 395: Attending the Party ``` After obtaining the research materials on the "Ancestral Virus," Qu Shilin treasured them incredibly, wishing she could fly back to the research institute right away. ``` ``` But the lunch at Wang Tao''s home was already prepared, and the dinner was to be the lavish New Year''s Eve feast, so lunch was just something casual. However, this "casual" meal was relatively sumptuous, and Qu Shilin, tempted by the food, accepted Wang Tao''s invitation and stayed for the meal. ``` ``` Qu Shilin had thought that it wouldn''t hurt to leave after the meal, but then news came from City Hall that the snow had lessened and that the evening''s event would proceed as planned. ``` ``` Wang Tao and his group went outside to check and found that the sudden snowstorm had dissipated as quickly as a thunderstorm, leaving behind only scattered snowflakes. ``` ``` Though a thick layer of snow had already accumulated, as long as it stopped snowing, it could be cleared away quickly. ``` ``` Qu Shilin was also one of the guests attending the evening party, and she naturally received the message from City Hall inviting her to participate in the event. ``` ``` "Then I won''t go back after all. Otherwise, it''ll be a hassle for you to take me there. Why don''t we go to the party together?" ``` ``` Qu Shilin said to Wang Tao. ``` ``` "Sure, we can head over in the afternoon." ``` ``` Wang Tao nodded. ``` ``` "What about all the food we''ve prepared?" ``` ``` Ding Yuqin looked at the ingredients that were ready and felt a bit conflicted. ``` ``` Dinner would be provided at the evening party. ``` ``` "Let''s save it for tomorrow. Or we can eat it as a late snack when we get back. It''s no big problem." ``` ``` Wang Tao said with a smile. ``` ``` As Ability Users, leaving aside the difference in their strengths, all of them had enormous appetites; there was no possibility of food being wasted uneaten. ``` ``` "Alright then~" ``` ``` Ding Yuqin shrugged her shoulders. ``` ``` "By the way, I''ll transfer the money to you." ``` ``` Wang Tao then looked toward Qu Shilin. ``` ``` He had promised to sponsor Qu Shilin with ten million but hadn''t yet delivered. ``` ``` "Hehe... either way works for me!" ``` ``` Qu Shilin''s eyes curved into crescent moons and then she added, ``` ``` "But I need to confirm one more thing: are you sponsoring me personally, or the whole research institute? There''s a difference between the two..." ``` ``` Wang Tao immediately replied, ``` ``` "Of course, it''s for you personally. I don''t trust the others." ``` ``` Hearing this, Qu Shilin felt like she had found a kindred spirit. ``` ``` "Great! I definitely won''t let you down!" ``` ``` Qu Shilin was full of fighting spirit. ``` ``` After transferring ten million Crystal Coins to Qu Shilin, the snow outside had almost stopped. Wang Tao then began to marshal everyone to clear the snow. ``` ``` After working half the day, they finally cleared all the snow around the villa. ``` ``` "Hope it doesn''t snow this heavily again..." ``` ``` Wang Tao let out a sigh, just as he was about to head back inside when a convoy of dozens of vehicles approached, clearly heading for Wang Tao''s villa. ``` ``` "Mr. Wang!" ``` ``` After the convoy stopped at the villa''s entrance, Cui Sheng rushed over with bows and nods. ``` ``` "Secretary Cui. Congratulations on your Ascension!" ``` ``` Not having seen each other for a while, Cui Sheng had already reached Level Two. ``` ``` "This is all thanks to Mr. Wang''s blessing! Without Mr. Wang, there wouldn''t be a Cui Sheng today!" ``` ``` Cui Sheng was profoundly grateful. ``` ``` He was now officially in position, with status, wealth, and strength! And all this was thanks to Wang Tao, something he never forgot, nor dared to forget. ``` ``` After exchanging greetings and some small talk, Cui Sheng handed over several invitations, then asked very politely, ``` ``` "Mr. Wang, when would you be available to visit City Hall?" ``` ``` "Let''s go right now." ``` ``` Since the other party had already come over with a convoy, and he didn''t have anything else to do, Wang Tao took the invitations and nodded immediately. ``` ``` "Alright! I''ll wait for you outside!" ``` ``` Wang Tao glanced at the invites, then raised an eyebrow. ``` ``` The invitations included not only himself, all members of the Starfire Society, and Qu Shilin, but also a few Blackjack Snakes and Lightning. ``` ``` Can snakes and dogs even understand an evening party? ``` ``` But since the invitations were written, Wang Tao decided to bring them along. ``` ``` Blacky and the other snakes, preferring the warmth by the fireplace, were reluctant to leave as it was too cold outside. They had to be pulled away by Zhen Guo and others. ``` ``` Secretary Cui, standing nearby, had a twitch in his eye. These were Level 4 organisms, didn''t they have any dignity? ``` ``` As for Lightning, it was very excited, dashing around Wang Tao and urging him to hurry. It wasn''t afraid of the cold and was quite energetic, eager to go out and play. ``` ``` Wang Tao and others gradually boarded the vehicles. ``` ``` After setting out, they saw many people and machines clearing the snow off the roads. ``` ``` "Thank goodness the blizzard was short-lived, or we couldn''t live normally anymore..." ``` ``` Cui Sheng let out a sigh. ``` ``` Hearing his words, Qu Shilin silently shook her head. ``` ``` Although the snow had stopped now, according to her colleagues, it was likely to return, and it might be even heavier... so she wasn''t very optimistic about the situation. ``` ``` The roads had been cleared of snow, increasing the speed of the vehicles significantly. It didn''t take long for them to arrive at City Hall. The venue for the evening party was in a large auditorium next to City Hall. ``` ``` "The stage next door is still being adjusted. Let''s go to City Hall and have some tea first, Mr. Wang. How does that sound?" ``` ``` "Sounds good." ``` ``` The parking lot at City Hall was already full of parked cars, with more convoys arriving. People were getting out of their cars continuously, the men in suits and the women in evening gowns, all looking like high society. ``` ``` In contrast, Wang Tao and his group were dressed in ordinary casual clothing, although clean, still not quite matching the high standard. ``` ``` "All these people... such show-offs!" ``` ``` Qu Shilin complained under her breath. ``` ``` She was dressed in a military coat, looking even more down-to-earth than Wang Tao and his group. ``` ``` It was the apocalypse, as long as the clothes were wearable and warm, that should be enough. To specifically wear these impractical gowns was nothing if not showy. ``` Chapter 992 395: Attending the Party_2 Wang Tao and his group were also somewhat speechless, but as soon as they got off the vehicle, they immediately attracted a lot of attention, directly stealing the limelight from the "show-offs" present. The first to get off was Xiang Hong Bin. He had the largest build, so he sat nearer to the exit and was the last to get on and the first to get off. And as soon as his mechanical body appeared, it instantly captivated everyone''s gaze. "What is that thing?" "Powered armor? But the size doesn''t seem quite right, does it?" "Half mechanical body... Hiss! What kind of black technology is this!" "So cool!" "..." People who saw Hong Bin couldn''t move along, and they began fervently discussing in hushed tones. Hearing the discussions about him, Hong Bin didn''t say a word, just stood aside with a cool expression. Wang Tao and the others knew that Hong Bin was a talkative and cheerful character. Seeing him like this, they didn''t even need to think about it; they knew he was deliberately keeping silent to appear like a master. "So showy!" After getting off the car, Wei Zhenguo punched Hong Bin in the chest, producing a "thud." The others got out of the car one after another. Wang Tao''s group didn''t look ordinary, and they were also good-looking. However, they couldn''t compare to the visual impact of Hong Bin, so even though they were all handsome men and beautiful women, they didn''t attract much attention. However, when Blacky and the five Black Snakes came out, it immediately caused another wave of exclamations at the scene. "Fourth-level organisms!" "Five fourth-order biological snakes!" "..." Logically speaking, serpentine creatures are quite adept at hiding their presence, as most snakes rely on ambushes when hunting. But these five Black Snakes didn''t hide their presence well at all, and anyone with a bit of experience could see they were fourth-level organisms. The attention brought by these five Black Snakes was not less than that on Hong Bin, sparking a lot of discussion. "... These must be from the Starfire Society, right?" Some people concluded Wang Tao''s group''s identity through the Black Snakes. Wang Tao and his companions often went out, and when in the base, they stayed at home, seldom appearing in public spaces. As a result, many people only knew about the Starfire Society as a force and had no idea what the members of the Starfire Society looked like. The matter of the fourth-order Black Snake was not a secret, and currently, only the Starfire Society had them, so seeing the Black Snakes naturally led to the association with the Starfire Society. "You''ve become a star now!" Qu Shilin patted Blacky''s head. Blacky was dragging along listlessly behind Wang Tao, not caring about being a star ¨C it just wanted to go back and warm up by the fire. As for Lightning getting off the car, it didn''t attract much attention. After all, Lightning now looked like an ordinary military dog. "Mr. Wang, this way, please!" Cui Sheng led Wang Tao and the others into the City Hall building. The City Hall building was not tall, only three floors, but it covered a large area. This time, a spacious and bright tea hall had been specially prepared. After watching the evening show, they would come here for dinner. "Mr. Wang, happy New Year!" As soon as Wang Tao came in, he saw a familiar face. "Captain Duan, happy New Year!" The person who came was Duan Xuchang. The two bumped fists. Ever since Wang Tao came to Changhe Base, except for the first few days when Duan Xuchang hosted him, he rarely saw Duan Xuchang afterwards, who always seemed to be busy. Of course, Wang Tao was busy too, spending most of his time away from the base... "Why do I feel like you''ve gotten a lot stronger..." After letting go of Wang Tao, Duan Xuchang looked at him skeptically. Each time he saw Wang Tao, he felt he was a bit stronger than before, which was not unusual. But this time, he felt Wang Tao had improved a lot. However, if asked where specifically he had grown stronger, he couldn''t pinpoint... Wang Tao looked at Duan Xuchang with some surprise. Duan Xuchang''s strength hadn''t increased much. To Wang Tao, he seemed about the same as before, but his eyesight, or rather his sixth sense, was very keen, probably the result of extensive battle experience. "Haha, maybe a little upgrade," Wang Tao said with a smile. "... Indeed! Duan Xuchang''s eyes held a hint of envy. His strength had already reached its limit, the same as when he first met Wang Tao. Two months had passed, and he was still the same, whereas Wang Tao had improved by leaps and bounds. That''s the gap between an ordinary ability user and an Awakener! An ordinary ability user at most reaches Peak Level 3, but Awakeners have unlimited potential... While Duan Xuchang was contemplating, he saw Hong Bin. His eyes immediately widened. So strong! Wang Tao''s presence was more subdued; ordinary people couldn''t feel his strength, but Duan Xuchang could make a rough guess because he had interacted with Wang Tao more often and had keen combat instincts. But Hong Bin was different. The powerful aura emanating from him was not masked at all, or perhaps there was no way to mask it. He could sense a very strong power coming from Hong Bin, not from his level, but from the mechanical body on his person! "Hong Bin, what happened to you..." Duan Xuchang looked at Hong Bin in shock; he naturally recognized Hong Bin, who in his memory was still using prostheses. How had he changed so much in just a few days? "Haha! Isn''t it cool?" Hong Bin laughed and bumped fists with Duan Xuchang. Thud¡ª Using his mechanical hand, he bumped fists so hard that Duan Xuchang grimaced. Nevertheless, Duan Xuchang didn''t mind and immediately grabbed Hong Bin''s arm, studying it closely. Chapter 993 395: Attending the Party_3 "This is seriously badass! What''s your strength now? You must be comparable to an Ability User, right?" Duan Xuchang looked toward Xiang Hongbin. "Kind of." Xiang Hongbin nodded. In fact, his strength was stronger than that of an Ordinary Awakener, after all, his Mechanical body was comparable to that of an Awakener, and now he had awakened... Combining the two, his strength was definitely stronger than that of an Ordinary Awakener. But there was no need to show off; after all Duan Xuchang was not an Awakener; speaking too much might make Duan Xuchang uncomfortable. "Sure enough, a combat power of an Awakener... Then, this Mechanical body of yours is..." "Thanks to Miss Qu, if it weren''t for her, I''d still be disabled!" Xiang Hongbin looked behind at Qu Shilin. Only then did Xiang Hongbin realize, there was a woman tightly wrapped in a military coat behind them, petting Lightning''s head. "Hi!" Qu Shilin extended her hand and greeted Duan Xuchang. Duan Xuchang blurted out subconsciously: "Miss Qu, can I get these Mechanical parts installed on me?" Hearing that, Qu Shilin''s expression turned serious. "Theoretically, anyone can have a Mechanical body installed. But whether you can withstand it is another matter; it requires a resilient spirit -- I know you want to say your will is resilient, but I think the original body is better, because such a transformation is irreversible, and there''s a possibility of failure... so Xiang Hongbin''s current situation was really a desperate remedy. And since this is a prototype from our research institute, even if you wanted a transformation, it''s not possible for the time being; you''ll have to wait..." With that said, Duan Xuchang became somewhat conflicted. His strength had already peaked, and if nothing unexpected happened, this would be it for life. Although a Level 3 Awakener was much stronger than an Ordinary person, he was not satisfied! He still wanted to kill zombies, kill monsters, save Survivors! If his strength didn''t increase, he would eventually be left behind. So, seeing Xiang Hongbin, he thought the Mechanical body was his chance! However, what Qu Shilin said made him hesitate; he was fully able-bodied now, and if he underwent the transformation and failed, he would truly become a cripple... Wang Tao looked at Duan Xuchang''s tangled expression and patted him on the shoulder. "You don''t need to be in such a rush. Personally, I think that unless it''s absolutely necessary, it''s better not to undergo the Mechanical body transformation. But I understand your desire to improve your strength... How about this, if in the future we can get something that increases Hidden Attributes, I could prioritize selling it to you!" Hidden Attributes were no longer a secret; after Wang Tao''s repeated explanations, the information had spread throughout the base. Duan Xuchang certainly knew this, but he scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. "But... I don''t have money..." "... Then I''ll give you one later!" Wang Tao waved his hand magnanimously. He was perfectly willing to give Duan Xuchang one; after all, if it hadn''t been for Duan Xuchang''s rescue, the more than twenty thousand people at Zijin Base might have been gone. It''s just that he thought if he outright offered it as a gift, Duan Xuchang might not accept, so he said he''d sell it... "No, I didn''t mean that!" And upon hearing that Wang Tao wanted to give it to him, Duan Xuchang waved his hands repeatedly. He didn''t want to take advantage; he genuinely had no money. After all, he was just a team leader; with items costing tens or hundreds of thousands, he really couldn''t afford them... "Alright, alright, such things are exceedingly rare anyway, and who knows if we''ll stumble upon them in the future. Besides, maybe you''ll come across them on your own..." "..." Duan Xuchang was both grateful and a bit helpless ¨C he considered himself to have rather average luck, dreaming about such things was all he could do. "By the way, what have you been busy with lately?" Wang Tao changed the subject, but after speaking, felt it might be encroaching on privacy, so added, "Sorry, if it''s inconvenient, just pretend I didn''t ask." "Hey, it''s nothing I can''t talk about!" Duan Xuchang shook his head, then explained: "I remember I told you before, our Third Legion has always been focused on Flying Zombies and monsters. We''re still working on that! Although we have made some progress, I can''t say much about the specifics, but there''s something I can tell you..." Duan Xuchang moved a bit closer and whispered. "In other places, there are already quite a few Flying Zombies and monsters. The reason we don''t have many here is most likely because of the Giant Eagle ¨C it regards this area as its territory and doesn''t allow other creatures to fly over, it attacks them..." "Ah?" Wang Tao was momentarily surprised. This meant that, to some extent, the Giant Eagle was providing them protection, didn''t it? "But that''s only temporary. The stronger you are, the slower your strength grows; eventually, when other zombies and monsters aren''t afraid of the Giant Eagle anymore, I suppose we''ll get more Flying Zombies and monsters around here..." Listenting to Duan Xuchang''s words, Wang Tao nodded silently, then suddenly asked: "Since the Giant Eagle sees this place as its territory, it must be aware of our base, right? Why doesn''t it directly attack our base? With so many people here at the base..." Duan Xuchang looked at Wang Tao somewhat speechlessly. "Do you really think our base''s missiles and cannons are a joke? We let it alone, but if it dares to come here, we guarantee that it experiences what firepower coverage is! It''s smart; the reason it doesn''t come over must be because it senses the threat..." Chapter 994 395: Attending the Party_4 "I forgot about modern firepower..." Wang Tao slapped his forehead. It was not only the high walls that allowed the base to exist for so long but also firepower! However, this also eased Wang Tao''s mind. As long as the Giant Eagle didn''t dare to attack the base, it was fine. This was considered a safe zone for humans, otherwise, it would be troublesome. "Mr. Wang, happy new year!" At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a suit, sporting a big belly, and a face brimming with a smile like Maitreya Buddha approached him. It was Zhou Long from the Loyalty Guild. Just that Zhou Long''s suit seemed a bit ill-fitting, which looked somewhat comical. "Happy new year!" Wang Tao smiled and greeted him. "If only I knew, I would have dressed casual too! It''s all because of my spouse, insisting that I dress up. Even in a post-apocalyptic world, we still have to be so particular..." Seeing Wang Tao dressed in casual clothes, Zhou Long immediately had something to complain about. "Haha!" Wang Tao laughed heartily. His relationship with Duan Xuchang was relatively close, but with Zhou Long, it was quite ordinary. After drinking tea and chatting nonchalantly for a while, Zhou Long got up and left. Then, Cui Sheng came over. "Mr. Wang, the party is about to start soon, please make your way to the entrance..." "Eh? Just us?" Wang Tao was a bit surprised, as there weren''t many people in the tea room. "There are many more, but some arrived late and went directly to the venue," Cui Sheng explained. "I see." Wang Tao nodded and then joined the others en route to the party. "There really are a lot of people!" The venue was bustling with people everywhere. As soon as Wang Tao and his group entered, they instantly attracted a lot of attention. Just like before, all eyes were on Xiang Hongbin and the five Black Snakes. "Mr. Wang, Madam Lan, you''ve arrived!" Gu Yun approached them laughing heartily, aware of Xiang Hongbin''s presence, and therefore, not as surprised as the others. Seeing Wang Tao accompanied by Lightning and the Black Snakes, Gu Yun''s smile grew deeper, and he came over to whisper: "Mr. Wang, it''s like this, the party will be broadcast live to all the city''s residents, and there will be shots of the audience. We need to showcase our strength in front of the public, so... you know!" "..." With that explanation, Wang Tao understood. Plainly put, creatures like Blacky and Lightning were props the City Hall planned to use to show off in front of the citizens. If they could control even Fourth-Level Organisms, what else couldn''t they do? "Mr. Wang, this way, please! I have arranged for the Starfire Society to sit here. If there''s anything you''re not satisfied with, you can contact me at any time..." Head Secretary Gu personally led Wang Tao and his companions to a section in the front row. "This spot is quite good, don''t trouble yourself Head Secretary Gu, go ahead with your duties." "Great! If there is anything, you can directly instruct Cui Sheng, or call for me. I''ll be off to take care of things!" After Wang Tao and his group sat down, they noticed some snacks and a program list on a small table next to them. Wang Tao opened it and immediately exclaimed in admiration. He had previously mentioned that parties during the apocalypse should differ from those in peaceful times, and the program list confirmed this. Besides a small fraction of performances being singing and dancing, the rest were all sorts of things like pair sparring, combat drills, ability demonstrations, new weapon debuts, and even live monster hunting! "This seems quite interesting!" Wang Tao said, rubbing his chin. "Mr. Wang, hello..." Just then, Wang Tao heard someone calling him. Looking up, he saw a slender middle-aged man dressed in a Zhongshan suit, who appeared to be around sixty years old. "Hello, and you are...?" Wang Tao did not recognize him. The man smiled and said: "My name is Yao Guodong, the mayor of our Changhe City Base..." Chapter 995 396: Base Mayor In Wang Tao''s memory, the mayor of Changhe City Base was a mysterious figure, as he had never seen the mayor since his arrival at the base. All Wang Tao knew was that the man''s name was Yao Guodong; other details eluded him. Today, upon seeing the mayor, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised¡ªbecause Yao Guodong turned out to be an ordinary person with only 1000 HP and a negative status Wang Tao had never seen before. [HP: 1000/1000] [Curse: Fusion Crystal Core success rate reduced, recovers if no Fusion Crystal Core is merged within 30 days] [Internal Impurity: 70%] There are many ordinary people within the base, but Yao Guodong was the mayor¡ªa mere ordinary person as a mayor could be questionable in maintaining authority? But after seeing his negative status, Wang Tao understood why he was an ordinary person¡ªthe status actually lowered the success rate of merging Crystal Cores! Isn''t that absurd? Wang Tao had actually seen many negative statuses, like the most common [Corrosive Acid Rain], which anyone caught in the rain could easily get. There are also statuses like [Weakness], [Bleed], [Electrocution], [Combustion] related to combat. Some of these statuses are severe and could be life-threatening. However, these negative statuses usually last only briefly, such as Weakness, which at most lasts just one day. But the "Curse" over Yao Guodong''s head required 30 days to expire, and it would persist indefinitely if he attempted to merge a Crystal Core within those 30 days! Thirty days is neither long nor short, but time isn''t the point. What matters is that other than Wang Tao, it seemed no one else could detect this issue. Given that Yao Guodong still was not an Ability User, Wang Tao speculated that this "Curse" must have been contracted earlier. If it were recent, Yao Guodong should have become an Ability User by now... And if he contracted it earlier and had not discovered how to lift the curse, then it''s likely Yao Guodong kept attempting to merge with Crystal Cores, failing each time, thus creating a vicious cycle¡ªas evidenced by the high level of internal impurities, clearly from numerous fusion attempts. Wang Tao''s speculation was probably correct. Thus, in Wang Tao''s eyes, Yao Guodong was not just any ordinary person; he was an extraordinarily unlucky one. "Mayor Yao, good to meet you!" Wang Tao greeted Yao Guodong politely with a handshake. "I''ve heard much about Mr. Wang from long ago, and seeing you today, you truly are as talented as they say," praised Yao Guodong. "Oh, not at all, Mayor Yao appears older than I had thought, but you seem quite robust..." Unable to find anything else to compliment, Wang Tao could only praise his good health. "Old now! Not as fit as before..." After exchanging a few more polite remarks, Wang Tao said candidly: "I''m quite surprised to learn that Mayor Yao is not an Ability User..." Yao Guodong was the mayor, the highest administrative official in Changhe Base. Although Wang Tao was not familiar with him and unaware of his character, being a mayor and supported by many council members, he definitely had remarkable qualities. So if there was a way for Wang Tao to help solve his problems and make him an Ability User, Wang Tao would not mind helping, as it would be beneficial both publicly and privately. After hearing Wang Tao''s words, Yao Guodong gave a bitter smile. "Ah, it''s not something unspeakable. It''s just my bad luck..." ... In a post-apocalyptic world, one encounters various unexpected events, both good and bad, with most being unfortunate, like in the case of Yao Guodong. He contracted this curse a long time ago¡ªof course, he wasn''t aware of it as a curse. He only knew that after visiting a certain place, he fell seriously ill upon his return. Once he recovered, he didn''t feel there were any issues. But when it came time to merge Crystal Cores, he realized something was amiss¡ªhe failed every single attempt to merge! Although the likelihood of merging low-quality Crystal Cores was indeed low, he wasn''t trying to merge low-quality cores¡ªby that time, Changhe Base had already been established, and although he was not young, he had proven quite capable. Thus, he had exerted much effort in establishing the base and naturally enjoyed better benefits, including access to Crystal Cores of blue quality and above. Yet he failed to merge with all the blue, purple, and red Crystal Cores¡ªit was outrageous! At that point, Yao Guodong could still comfort himself by attributing it to bad luck, believing persistence would yield success eventually. But when he still failed after attempting to merge an Orange Crystal Core, he was utterly baffled. By then, the research institute had conducted numerous tests and determined the success rate for merging Orange Crystal Cores to be 100%, theoretically impossible to fail! Yet he failed... It was then that Yao Guodong realized this was not about bad luck, but a fundamental inability to merge Crystal Cores! He didn''t understand what was going on, and the research institute couldn''t diagnose the issue either. Remembering his severe illness and the lingering discomfort, he suspected that his continuous failures to merge Crystal Cores might be related to that event. But even if his guess was correct, what could he do? He couldn''t even begin to understand the underlying principle, let alone find a solution. He suspected that his constitution might have changed, preventing him from merging with any Crystal Cores. Even though it seemed far-fetched, it wasn''t impossible¡ªafter all, in a post-apocalyptic world, nothing was unexpected. Chapter 996 396: Base Mayor_2 Yao Guodong was feeling terrible, but he still didn''t give up, occasionally trying with an Orange Crystal Core. With his current status and position, Orange Crystal Cores were naturally readily available to him. Unfortunately, up until now, he had not been able to become an Ability User. Last month, during a medical checkup, the doctor told him that the level of Internal Impurities in his body had accumulated to Level 8, and they advised him not to continue using Crystal Cores. If it reached Level 9, even as the mayor, he would have to be put under house arrest! Yao Guodong had no choice but to stop using Crystal Cores. Now, he had basically given up, but he still felt a bit unwilling to let it go. His desire to become an Ability User, of course, wasn''t to go out and fight. As an administrative mayor, he didn''t need to be on the front lines. It was because after becoming an Ability User, one''s physical condition would improve, and barring any accidents, Ability Users live longer than Ordinary people! Better health, longer life¡ªthis was clearly what Yao Guodong hoped for, but unfortunately, it was unattainable... The reason Yao Guodong was rarely seen was that he was truly busy¡ªhaving to go to the Hope Research Institute for checkups, managing various affairs within the base, and even finding time to eat and sleep... He was overwhelmed. Therefore, it was normal that Wang Tao hadn''t met him. The reason Yao Guodong came to talk to Wang Tao today was naturally to seize the opportunity to get to know Wang Tao and then indirectly probe whether Wang Tao had any insight into this area, as generally, people with strong abilities tended to have a broader range of knowledge. He had originally planned to steer the conversation in this direction during their chat, but to his surprise, Wang Tao took the initiative to ask him, so he naturally told him everything. Of course, he didn''t hold out much hope, especially since even the Hope Research Institute couldn''t find the reason... But he had to try, as he couldn''t accept just being an ordinary person, he also wanted to live a few more years! Moreover, the most important thing was that if he could become an Ability User, the Internal Impurities in his body would be reduced by half, and he wouldn''t have to worry like he did now... ... Wang Tao''s expression became somewhat strange after listening to Yao Guodong''s explanation. "So you''re saying, you fused with many Crystal Cores before, and all attempts failed. Later, you slowed down the fusion rate, maintaining a frequency of two to three times per month, but still failed. Finally, you followed the doctor''s advice and stopped fusing..." "Yes..." Yao Guodong nodded helplessly. "How long has it been since your last Fusion Crystal Core attempt?" "Twenty-nine days, I remember it clearly, because I basically fused with two Crystal Cores a month before..." "..." Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; Yao Guodong seemed a bit unlucky! Not knowing about the "Curse," he had attempted Fusion with so many Crystal Cores before, and even when slowing down, he still fused twice a month. If he had fused just once a month, perhaps one of those intervals would have exceeded thirty days, and the Curse would have disappeared! And to really think about it, it was also because he was "too wealthy"! If he were just an ordinary person, upon realizing that he couldn''t succeed in fusing Crystal Cores, he might have given up, or at least would have taken a break, considering Crystal Cores are quite expensive. But Yao Guodong, being the mayor, wasn''t lacking Crystal Cores, so he kept experimenting. The more he experimented, the Curse became impossible to break, leading to a vicious cycle. However, while Yao Guodong was unlucky, at the same time, he was quite fortunate¡ªbecause he met Wang Tao. It had already been 29 days since he last attempted a Fusion Crystal Core, and in another 31 days, he would be successful. But now, with the high level of Internal Impurities in his body, continuing to fuse with Crystal Cores would be very dangerous, so he no longer planned to fuse with Crystal Cores. If Wang Tao didn''t remind him, he might never know that his Curse had already disappeared... "It seems that today, this mayor must owe me a favor!" Wang Tao instantly decided, to not directly tell Yao Guodong. Since he wanted Yao Guodong to owe him a favor, he should let it be a big favor. If he told Yao Guodong what was happening, then Yao Guodong might thank him greatly, but he himself would also be quite praiseworthy, since it was just a day''s difference anyway. But if Wang Tao could demonstrate that the successful Fusion Crystal Core was entirely due to his help and had nothing to do with Yao Guodong himself, then Yao Guodong would be especially grateful, and the debt to Wang Tao would be like a second lease on life! Whether or not it was a matter of gratitude was insignificant, but getting the mayor to owe him a significant favor was quite good. Although it was a bit shameless, Wang Tao and Yao Guodong did not have any personal relationship, and it was nice enough for him to offer help. If it were someone else, they might have seriously extorted Yao Guodong, or even hidden the solution... Moreover, if he explained the reason directly to Yao Guodong, it would be somewhat complicated for Wang Tao to explain how he figured it out. Even though an explanation was not necessary, it could be a bit of a hassle. Therefore, all things considered, Wang Tao decided not to tell him, but to wait until the negative status on his head disappeared and then give him a Crystal Core, allowing him to become an Ability User instantly. In that case, Yao Guodong would certainly attribute all credit to Wang Tao and that particular Crystal Core. As for which Crystal Core to use, Wang Tao would have to think about it. It would be better to get a more special Crystal Core to be more persuasive. "Mayor Yao, after hearing you... I suddenly feel like I might have come across your situation before..." Wang Tao suddenly spoke up. "Hmm? You''ve seen it?" After a moment of surprise, Yao Guodong looked at Wang Tao with a face full of surprise and anticipation. Chapter 997 396: Base Mayor_3 "However, you''ll have to first tell me where you went before you fell seriously ill..." Wang Tao was still very curious about this place and wanted to have a look if he had the chance. "It was at..." Yao Guodong hurriedly named the location and described the place in detail. Wang Tao felt that Yao Guodong probably had no need to lie to him, so he nodded. "Then it fits with the case, I''ve seen someone before who went to a place similar to what you''ve described, and he kept failing to integrate with the Fusion Crystal Core, making it impossible for him to become an Ability User¡ª" "And then what!" Yao Guodong impatiently interjected. "Then he died." "..." The expression on Yao Guodong''s face stiffened. However, Wang Tao said with a smile: "But his death had nothing to do with this matter; he died in battle during a zombie tide." "Phew¡ª" Yao Guodong was startled by Wang Tao. He had thought this issue might cost him his life! However, Yao Guodong quickly realized what Wang Tao meant¡ªthat man died battling in a zombie tide! Ordinary people wouldn''t have the standing to fight in a zombie tide, right? And Wang Tao''s next words confirmed his idea. "Initially, that person kept failing the integration with the Fusion Crystal Core too, but later, he suddenly succeeded. The reason for his success seemed to be because the Crystal Core he fused with was quite special..." "Can integrate with a special Crystal Core?!" Yao Guodong''s face was extremely excited. This meant there was hope for him too! "However, coincidentally, I happen to have such a Crystal Core..." "!" Yao Guodong looked at Wang Tao in disbelief and then waved his hand. "Mr. Wang, name your price!" If Wang Tao was unwilling to take out the Crystal Core, he probably wouldn''t have brought it up, but since Wang Tao mentioned it, it meant that Wang Tao was willing to sell! "Actually, the Crystal Core isn''t worth much; it''s just an Ordinary Ability. I''ve always been straightforward in my dealings and never take advantage of others in their time of need, so I''ll gift it to Mayor Yao. Mayor Yao, as the highest administrative officer of our base, has been working hard for Changhe Base for so long, and it''s well deserved!" Wang Tao said with a smile. Yao Guodong couldn''t quite believe it. Could this golden opportunity really be passing him by? He might not have much money himself, but he was the mayor, the face of the City Hall and the whole Changhe Base. If he could become an Ability User, the City Hall would definitely be willing to pay for it! But seeing that Wang Tao didn''t seem to be lying, Yao Guodong instantly understood. Wang Tao didn''t want money, but he probably wanted a favor in return! As for favors, Yao Guodong didn''t mind¡ªthey were good for both sides, especially since it was Wang Tao, a Fourth Order Awakener. It would be beneficial for them to have mutual favors. "However, I have this Crystal Core at my home, so how about I give it to Mayor Yao tomorrow? Oh right, before that person used this Crystal Core, there was a small step¡ªhe sat quietly in a room for a full day, completely emptying his mind... I''m not sure if it relates to some mystical factor, but I''d personally suggest that Mayor Yao also try it, just in case we overlook any possibility..." Of course, Wang Tao was making this up, because Yao Guodong was only at day 29, still one day short. If he waited one more day, his cursed status should disappear. Then, he could proceed with the Crystal Core fusion. "Okay!" Yao Guodong immediately agreed. To be able to become an Ability User, he would be willing to empty his mind even for ten days, not just one! After finalizing the matter with Yao Guodong, Yao Guodong excitedly shook Wang Tao''s hand. "Mr. Wang, I really don''t know how to thank you..." "Heh, Mayor Yao, don''t get too excited. After all, we haven''t succeeded yet. Don''t get your hopes too high, or the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment... If it works, great; if not, you won''t have lost anything..." Wang Tao softly withdrew his hand. "Mr. Wang is right, I can''t get overly excited. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment..." After all, Yao Guodong wasn''t an ordinary person, and he quickly calmed down. "The evening event will start soon, so I won''t disturb Mr. Wang any longer. Shall we chat another time?" "Sure!" After exchanging contact information, Yao Guodong left. His seat was in the front row, and he had to speak on the stage later. Once he left, Ding Yuqin and the others began speculating about Yao Guodong''s situation in whispers. Qu Shilin wanted to ask Wang Tao, as her sixth sense told her that the matter wasn''t as simple as Wang Tao had mentioned. However, she restrained her curiosity, understanding that with so many people around, it wouldn''t be easy for Wang Tao to discuss it openly. Not long after Yao Guodong had left, more people began to arrive. Those who arrived late were naturally heavyweights, like various committee members and leaders of major forces. Wang Tao quietly observed them and raised his eyebrows. The number of Fourth-order Awakeners was higher than he had anticipated! Aside from some who displayed the aura of Awakeners, some hid their abilities. It''s likely many people didn''t even know they were Awakeners! "Sneaky operators!" Wang Tao felt like groaning, but then he looked at his own group. Except for him and Lan Yulian, the rest didn''t have updated information. So, openly, their Starfire Society also only had two Fourth Order Awakened Ones, plus Xiang Hongbin, who couldn''t hide his aura, and those four Black Snakes... Forget it. It''s all the same when it comes down to it. "Consultant Wang!" Cheng Yiyi also came over with her group, and they sat next to Wang Tao. "Commander Cheng, aren''t you sitting up front?" Wang Tao was curious; Cheng Yiyi definitely had the standing to sit at the very front. "I had the seats rearranged a bit, after all, you are not only a member of the Starfire Society but also a consultant for the Sixth Army Corps!" Cheng Yiyi whispered in Wang Tao''s ear, "By the way, can you help us make a bit of a splash? It''s going to be broadcast live!" "...All right." Wang Tao shrugged. The evening event soon officially commenced. Chapter 998 397: Theres Still an Event The party began, and after the host delivered the opening remarks, the main leaders and guests were introduced, starting with the committee members seated at the very front, who also held the highest positions. Most people only knew that there were 23 committee members at the base, some knew the names of these 23 members, and very few knew what these members looked like... because these members usually kept a low profile and rarely appeared in public. Generally, on major occasions or when announcing important matters, it was the mayor who took the stage. However, the mayor had been showing up less frequently of late, and the frequency of appearances by Secretary-General Gu Yun had increased somewhat. Today, the public got to recognize these 23 committee members. Not to mention the ordinary people watching in front of the big screen, even many people at the event were very curious, including Wang Tao. Although Wang Tao had previously observed them, he only knew their attributes; he was still unclear about who was who. With the host''s introduction, Wang Tao also got to know these 23 committee members. There were 20 males and 3 females in total, ranging from over sixty years of age to some who looked to be in their thirties or forties. All of these members had strength above Third Order Peak, but none were awakeners. When Wang Tao first saw this, he was quite surprised. These members were the highest-ranking individuals in the whole base, yet none were awakeners? On closer examination, Wang Tao understood why¡ªmost of them did not have hidden attributes. Without hidden attributes, naturally, there was no chance of awakening. Only four people had hidden attributes, and at first glance, they were not the combative type, somewhat similar to Qu Shilin¡ªhigh level, but almost zero combat power. Another condition for awakening is obtaining an Awakening Key. Apart from Wang Tao, who could obtain a physical Awakening Key through Loot Packs, others had to personally kill a Level 4 Lord or higher-level organism. Obviously, this was a very dangerous task; even awakeners couldn''t guarantee a 100% chance of killing a Level 4 Lord. It would have been fine if those members had a certain combat ability; many of them seemed to have combat power. Unfortunately, they lacked hidden attributes. And for those two with hidden attributes, it was obvious they were not combat personnel, so they had no need to take the risk. Without personally killing a Level 4 Lord, there was no way to obtain an Awakening Key. Even with hidden attributes, awakening was impossible. But then again, if one had hidden attributes, could they resist the temptation of awakening? Unlikely, right? So, Wang Tao suspected there were two possibilities¡ª One possibility was that these four members were unaware they had hidden attributes. Seeing that other members with combat abilities failed to awaken, they deemed it highly unlikely for themselves to awaken, so they saw no need to try. The other possibility was that they had tried to awaken but failed. The process of awakening was tricky; without an Advanced Awakening Secret Key, the success rate for the first awakening was at its highest, but still only 50%... and if the first attempt failed, the subsequent success rates would drop even lower, and the required Awakening Keys would increase, making it even less likely to awaken. However, no matter how you looked at it, these committee members were indeed not awakeners. Wang Tao personally felt their true strength was lacking a bit... Of course, lacking physical strength didn''t mean their authority was any less significant. The position of the committee members alone speaks volumes, not to mention the forces in their hands, which did not rely on their individual performances. Each or pairs of these committee members were backed by significant powers. They might not be awakeners themselves, but there were awakeners within those powers. Moreover, these forces could also assist them in becoming awakeners... After the host finished introducing the 23 committee members, he continued with an introduction of the City Hall Mayor Yao Guodong and other officials. Once the officials were introduced, it was time to introduce the guests, and Wang Tao was there as a guest. It soon came to the Starfire Society, and the camera focused on Lan Yulian, for, after all, she was the president of the Starfire Society. Not many people knew Lan Yulian. Seeing that the Starfire Society was led by such a stunning female healer came as a surprise and admiration to many, as female Ability Users were relatively uncommon, female awakeners even more so, and there were no other female healer awakeners aside from Lan Yulian. Not to mention, Lan Yulian was also very beautiful. Then, the camera turned to Wang Tao, who smiled and nodded. Although he held no special position in the Starfire Society, he was a Fourth-order Awakener and the highest combat power of the society, so it was only natural for the camera to focus on him. Lightning was up next; his registration information was still Level 3 and had not been updated in time. Nevertheless, as a military dog, it received more attention than an ordinary Level 3 ability user. When the camera focused on Lightning''s face, many in the audience began discussing softly. After all, this Level 3 military dog was so handsome. Especially the soldiers from the various legions, they were all envious to death. Lastly, the camera pointed to Blacky and the five Black Snakes. At once, the chatter among the crowd grew louder, for these were Fourth-Level Organisms, and ones that could follow human commands at that! Even though they were not awakened organisms, they were undeniably tangible Fourth-Level beings. Many hoped to acquire such organisms as pets. Unfortunately, apart from the Black Snakes, there hadn''t been any other reports of anyone managing to get such obedient Fourth-Level creatures¡ªnot to mention Level 4, even those below Level 4 were rarely seen. Occasionally, some pets owned by people might mutate, but those were extremely rare and generally of low level, lacking significant combat ability. Chapter 999 397: Theres Still an Event_2 This is something money can''t buy! Everyone looked at the Black Snakes and the members of the Starfire Society with eyes full of envy. After all, who wouldn''t want such fighting partners? After the five Black Snakes had their moment in the spotlight, the camera continued to move, with Sixth Army Corps being next in line. At this moment, the five Black Snakes crawled over to Cheng Yiyi, even climbing onto her body. They hadn''t been this close to anyone else when they were with the Starfire Society members. Blacky and its companions made another appearance on camera alongside Cheng Yiyi. This instant again sparked much discussion, with everyone guessing why these Black Snakes were so intimate with the people from the Sixth Army Corps. "Did the Starfire Society sell these Fourth-order Black Snakes to the Sixth Army Corps? Ss¡ªsurely not, right? These are Fourth-Level Organisms!" "Lately, the Starfire Society and the Sixth Army Corps seem to be getting quite close..." "I heard that people from the Starfire Society hold important positions within the Sixth Army Corps, their relationship might be better than we imagined..." "If the Starfire Society and the Sixth Army Corps join forces, the other military factions will have to pay attention..." "..." The base seemed peaceful, yet it was filled with competition. If the Sixth Army Corps does indeed collaborate deeply with the Starfire Society, that would indeed be a matter of interest, given that the Starfire Society is not weak! The Starfire Society is famous for three things: first, their achievement of being the first to kill a Fourth-Order Disaster-level monster; second, their possession of five Fourth-order Black Snakes; and third, their leader is a Super Healer! Though the first kill is in the past and won''t be mentioned, the second and third points are truly valuable. So, it''s a common belief that even though the Starfire Society has few members, the value they represent is extremely high and not to be underestimated. As for their combat strength, it''s hard to evaluate, as they are quite mysterious and don''t make public appearances often, but their on-paper strength is certainly not weak. After all, they have two Awakeners, five Fourth-order Black Snakes, and it seems they also have an Iron Beetle, which is equivalent to a Fourth-order Awakener... So the Starfire Society has a visible strength of eight level 4 individuals! And right now, the only force that openly has eight Level 4s is the Starfire Society! This strength is enough for everyone to start taking them seriously. "It indeed has attracted a lot of attention..." Cheng Yiyi could feel many eyes turning towards her. Actually, she didn''t want to attract the attention of the people at the scene, but rather that of the civilians in front of the screens. Because the Sixth Army Corps had lost quite a few people last time, and Wang Tao had brought in a lot of sponsorships, she was preparing to recruit more people. The treatment in the Sixth Army Corps couldn''t compare with the other five major military factions, so they could only seek alternative ways, such as increasing their visibility and showing off their muscle strength... As for the Black Snakes climbing onto her, Cheng Yiyi didn''t feel the slightest bit uncomfortable; in fact, she gently stroked them. This left people even more confused, wondering if the Sixth Army Corps had really bought these Black Snakes. If that was the case, it would be big news... After the camera had moved away, Cheng Yiyi murmured softly: "If only I really had these Black Snakes..." After all, with only three Awakeners, these several Fourth-order Black Snakes would significantly enhance the Sixth Army Corps'' advanced combat capabilities. Upon hearing Cheng Yiyi''s words, Wang Tao suddenly thought of something¡ªhe still had five Snake Eggs in his possession. During the previous hatching, only the men, including Wang Tao, were willing to raise Black Snakes; Ding Yuqin and the other women were somewhat disgusted by these reptiles. As a result, those remaining five Snake Eggs were left untouched. At that time, Black Snakes did have a certain effect on their enhancement since they were Fourth-Level Organisms. But now, many in their team had become Fourth-order Awakeners, and their overall strength had increased significantly. Unless the Black Snakes awakened, their contribution to the team''s power was minimal. Even when combined, the five Black Snakes weren''t as useful as Lightning; Wang Tao had genuinely started treating them as pets. So, the five Snake Eggs he possessed were basically useless to him. Although they could potentially hatch into Level 4 Lords, the probability was too low, even lower than the chance of Lu Yingfeng and the others Awakening. As for consuming "Snake Fruit"... the five Black Snakes had been eating it lately, and other than a slight increase in HP, there hadn''t been much of a reaction. Wang Tao even began to doubt whether the Snake Fruit was a sham... After pondering for a bit, Wang Tao whispered in Cheng Yiyi''s ear: "Actually, I have a few Snake Eggs. If you want them, I can sell them to you for a cheap price later..." Cheng Yiyi''s eyes widened in an instant. "You, you still have some?!" She was shocked, not just because Wang Tao still had Snake Eggs, but that he could actually resist the urge to hatch them? Before Wang Tao could respond, Qu Shilin immediately leaned over. "Oh Wang Tao, you''ve been secretly hoarding Snake Eggs!" This made Wang Tao unhappy. "What do you mean ''secretly hoarding''? I''ve been very open and honest, okay?" "Then why didn''t you tell me?" "You didn''t ask, did you?" "I¡ª" Qu Shilin opened her mouth, then paused, realizing she actually hadn''t asked... She only asked Wang Tao where he got the Black Snakes and if he was selling them. She had never asked if he still had any Snake Eggs. Not just her, but also others who came to inquire about the Black Snakes from Wang Tao never asked if he had any Snake Eggs left. Chapter 1000 397: More Activities_3 "I want it!" Cheng Yiyi hastily spoke up, afraid that the snake egg would be snatched away by Qu Shilin. "I want it too!" Qu Shilin immediately spoke as well. Both women looked eagerly at Wang Tao. Wang Tao thought for a moment, then said to Qu Shilin first: "I''ll give you one. You can research it or incubate it, whichever you prefer." Qu Shilin had an unknown type of egg in her hand, and Wang Tao also had one. But that egg needed 15 days to incubate, so it was still early. Wang Tao had previously said he would give her one, but then he forgot, and this was a good opportunity to give it. Qu Shilin was overjoyed, while Cheng Yiyi''s face showed disappointment. But then Wang Tao turned to Cheng Yiyi and said: "I''ll give you four. I hope you can incubate a Level 4 Lord." Qu Shilin: "..." She should have asked how many snake eggs Wang Tao really had! Cheng Yiyi''s face showed excitement, but she quickly masked it. "Thank you! Name your price, and I''ll transfer the money to you afterward!" Wang Tao had thought it through since Cheng Yiyi was using the black snake for combat, it made sense to give her more. Cheng Yiyi suddenly realized that the sponsorship money Wang Tao had previously gathered seemed to be going right back into Wang Tao''s pocket... But it made sense, as the money was meant to enhance the combat power of the Sixth Army Corps, and she was indeed using it to enhance combat power. While they were exchanging words quietly, the guest introduction had finished. Next, it was time for the leadership speeches. Mayor Yao Guodong beamed as he took the stage, reminiscing about the past of Changhe Base, describing the present, and finally envisioning the future. Before the apocalypse, people got tired of this kind of rhetoric, but now, they listened eagerly, clearly needing the motivation and hope. After Yao Guodong finished, several other leaders took the stage to speak. Yao elaborated on the broad directions while the others provided specific data, generally indicating: the base was continuously improving, and a bright future awaited everyone. Clap clap clap¡ª After robust applause, the official performances began. Dancing, singing, and the like didn''t much interest Wang Tao, who was somewhat weary of beauty given the daily presence of so many beautiful women. It wasn''t long before the more intriguing events of contesting and showcasing began. And indeed, they were quite interesting, especially the Ability demonstrations. The various bizarre Abilities also broadened Wang Tao''s horizons. The only pity was that no Awakeners were demonstrating; Tao was more interested in Awakening. But that was understandable; Awakeners represented the highest combat power of the base, and having them perform on stage would clearly be a disrespect. Then came the showcasing of new Weapon Equipment, Crystal Energy Guns, Crystal Energy Engines, Powered Armor, and even Mechanical bodies were displayed. These items were quite impressive as they could significantly enhance combat power, but many were not yet available for mass production, so it was just a teaser for now. Among these, the most attention-grabbing was the newest Mechanical body. Especially when the camera shifted to Xiang Hongbin, it caused quite a stir at the venue. Everyone there was more than Ordinary, understanding what the Mechanical bodies signified¡ªpotentially a matter of life and death! Many were already planning to meet with Starfire Society after the evening to discuss and find out what it felt like to wear such a Mechanical body, and whether it truly enhanced combat power significantly... At that moment, Mayor Yao Guodong came up to Wang Tao and whispered: "Mr. Wang, don''t rush to leave after the evening event, there''s another activity..." "Oh? What activity?" Wang Tao was curious, as the end of the evening event usually meant dinner. "The evening event is prepared for all the residents of the base, but the activity that follows is prepared for people like us..." Chapter 1001 398 Zombies Freeze ``` The New Year''s Eve party didn''t last long, starting at six in the afternoon and ending by nine at night. The main purpose of the party was to demonstrate the base''s current strength to the residents and to depict a bright future, giving them confidence for the coming year. After the party ended, the live broadcast did too. Residents in front of their screens could have their New Year''s Eve dinner, and those who finished early might go to bed since it had been too cold these days and the warmth of a blanket was more inviting. Those who didn''t want to sleep so early could stay up until midnight to welcome the new year. Fireworks and firecrackers... were naturally absent. It wasn''t because there was fear of attracting zombies; Changhe Base was large enough that even if firecrackers were set off inside, the sound would not travel outside, to say nothing of the high walls. The main reason was that gunpowder was a strategic resource, better saved and used appropriately. However, when midnight came, the base''s loudspeakers would make noise, counting down to the new year, adding at least a bit of festive atmosphere. Meanwhile, in the grand hall where the evening party took place, the live broadcast party had ended, but the event had not entirely finished. The attendees evidently all received the message, so none of them left. Wang Tao looked at Qu Shilin with curiosity. "Do you know what the next activity is?" Yao Guodong had told Wang Tao not to leave, mentioning there was an activity to come but then left before Wang Tao could ask for details. Qu Shilin shook her head. "I don''t know either." Wang Tao turned to Cheng Yiyi on the other side. Cheng Yiyi seemed to know something. She explained softly, "It''s likely a trading meeting... because I received a notice earlier that there would be a trading meeting for the Six Major Legions after the party. But looking at the situation now, the meeting seems to have changed, no longer limited to just the Six Major Legions..." "A trading meeting, huh..." Wang Tao mused. In this grand hall, all the mid-level and above forces from the base seemed to be present. If a trading meeting were held at this time, the scale would be considerable. However, it seemed quite sudden, and they were unprepared... "What were you all preparing to trade?" Wang Tao leaned in and whispered. "Mostly things like weapons and equipment, I suppose. Anyway, I don''t have much to trade here..." Cheng Yiyi shrugged, then added, "But wouldn''t the items to be traded be unusable to others? After all, like tanks, missiles and such, these could only be traded internally within the Six Major Legions, it wouldn''t involve outsiders, right...?" Cheng Yiyi was also puzzled; it didn''t feel like a trading meeting to her. "Let''s just wait and see then..." Wang Tao didn''t ask any further. It wasn''t long before Gu Yun, holding a microphone, stepped onto the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry for the delay. The next activity is a last-minute addition, so we didn''t notify everyone in advance... But it''s a very important matter, so please don''t rush to leave... There are two things in total; let''s start with the first one¡ªtrading meeting..." "It really is a trading meeting!" Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. However, after listening to Gu Yun''s explanation, Wang Tao realized this trading meeting was different from what he had imagined. In addition to buying items with money in the traditional sense, there were also various collaborations. For example, one could pay the Six Major Legions to handle certain tasks; the more difficult the task, the higher the cost. Alternatively, one could pay for assistance in Awakening, which was probably very expensive, but if successful, it would be a huge gain. One could even "sell oneself"¡ªwhich actually just meant finding a boss to work under... In short, this trading meeting had a variety of trade forms and seemed quite interesting. "As for the second matter... The committee plans to send a team outside the city tomorrow, led by the Six Major Legions. Registration is open for everyone..." Whoosh¡ª The moment these words came out, they immediately caused a buzz. With such heavy snow and cold weather outside, heading out at this time was akin to seeking death! Although the snow had lessened that afternoon, it was not as terrible as the previous blizzard, but who knew if it would start up again! Wang Tao frowned as well. Going out of the city at this time was clearly unwise and too dangerous. Unless it was for substantial gain that outweighed the risks... Would it be a trip to the caves? But that wasn''t the previously mentioned timing, was it? Just then, Cheng Yiyi seemed to receive some information and promptly stood up to go to the committee''s side. Gu Yun waited for everyone to discuss for a while before continuing, "We just received news that it''s practically an icy wasteland outside the base. I know it''s not appropriate to go out at this time, but we discovered that the zombies... seem to be frozen!" "..." Zombies frozen? After a moment of stunned silence, the crowd instantly became excited. The City Hall had previously estimated the number of zombies outside the base at a conservative count of over 500,000, mostly Level 3 and 4 zombies, with a significant proportion of Elite Zombies. As for Zombie Lords, there were few, but there were a couple of Level 5, and it seemed there was even one Level 6. Leaving Zombie Lords out of the equation, just these Ordinary and Elite Zombies represented a vast quantity of Crystal Cores! ``` Chapter 1002 398 Zombies Frozen_2 Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to kill so many zombies. The only way would be to use missiles or even nuclear weapons, but those are last resorts to be avoided if possible; otherwise, they might create super zombies, which would cause major trouble for the base. But now, Gu Yun had announced that the zombies had been frozen! Wasn''t that their opportunity knocking? If they could take out these zombies, not only could a significant threat be removed, but more importantly, they could acquire the Crystal Cores inside the zombies'' heads! At this point, Gu Yun continued: "According to our estimates, the total value of the Crystal Cores from all the zombies in this horde is worth over a billion..." "Over a billion!" There were gasps of astonishment once more, and Wang Tao could feel many people''s breathing becoming rapid. A billion in value! If they could get their hands on all these Crystal Cores¡ªno, getting them all was impossible, but even if they got just one percent, that would be ten million! Let alone ten million, for an individual, a million would mean financial freedom, living out the rest of their days in the base with nothing to worry about! Of course, for people like them, just idling away was out of the question, but if they could actually get that much money, it would vastly increase their strength. "Does Head Secretary Gu mean that the Six Major Legions are going to lead us out to hunt these frozen zombies?" Someone eagerly asked. "Yes." Gu Yun nodded, and then added. "However, I must make it clear that the zombies outside haven''t been completely frozen. After all, if they were totally frozen, we wouldn''t be able to go out... but their movements have been severely restricted! So, if you want to join the Six Major Legions in going out, you can sign up... Of course, there''s still some danger involved, so it''s completely voluntary, and everyone is given a day to think it over without any rush. Now, let''s proceed with the official start of our trade meeting!" After Gu Yun finished speaking, he stepped down from the stage, and the crowd fell into discussion once again. It was at this moment that Cheng Yiyi came back. She approached Wang Tao and whispered: "I was wondering why I hadn''t heard about this! It''s really a sudden development, I just got the details cleared up..." "...So that''s what happened!" After listening to Cheng Yiyi, Wang Tao suddenly understood. Simply put, before the heavy snow, a group of people had been trapped outside. They had been in despair, but when the snow lessened, they quickly seized the opportunity and ran towards the base. On their way back, they were blocked by a horde of zombies. They thought they were in for a fierce battle, but they found the zombies were immobilized by the heavy snow! Of course, it''s not to say that the zombies had been turned into ice sculptures, but their movements were greatly hindered. So the group tried attacking and, sure enough, found these zombies were far easier to kill than before! After killing these zombies, they finally managed to escape back to the base. After their return, the guards at the base were surprised that people who had been trapped outside could actually come back, so they chatted a bit more. Then they learned about the zombies being frozen and promptly reported this news. At City Hall, where the news arrived, it coincided with the start of the evening event. Yao Guodong had left for a while precisely to deal with this matter. For ordinary people, frozen zombies might just be something to chat about over tea. But for City Hall, this could be an opportunity to wipe out the nearby zombie horde! If it was as the survivors said, and the zombies were indeed frozen, then assembling the military could certainly annihilate the horde! But hearing is not as good as seeing. The prerequisite for eliminating the horde was accurate information about the zombies being frozen. So, while reporting the news to the Committee, City Hall immediately dispatched people to investigate. And they had risked dispatching a helicopter for reconnaissance. They found the zombie horde, just like those people had said before, the zombies within the horde were also frozen, moving extremely slowly! This was simply a godsend! If they could really eliminate this zombie horde, not only would they resolve the threat of the zombies, but they would also obtain a large number of Crystal Cores! A win-win situation! And the timing was just right, if it were any earlier, and the zombies hadn''t been frozen, there would naturally be nothing they could do; if it were any later, by the time the zombies were completely frozen, the difficulty of killing them might be lower, but whether they could go out would be an issue¡ªif the temperature were too low, they were afraid of freezing to death too! Not to mention if there were blizzards, they wouldn''t even be able to see the road... so they couldn''t miss this opportunity, they needed to kill those zombies outside now! Just now, during the evening gala, the 23 members of the committee had actually held an internal meeting, and the plan to take the opportunity to hunt the zombies had been approved by a majority vote. Before the evening gala ended, Yao Guodong immediately arranged for someone to detain the guests in the auditorium, after all, this matter was better done sooner rather than later; they could finalize the ultimate plan today, and set out tomorrow! This was also the reason why the originally scheduled trade fair was suddenly expanded, from the Six Major Legions to all the forces present; they wanted everyone to take the opportunity to enhance their power now, rather than being a drag later on. And Cheng Yiyi didn''t know about it because the committee''s decision, which had just been passed, hadn''t been communicated to her in time. "In that case, this is indeed an opportunity..." Wang Tao nodded. Although the zombie horde was still some distance from the base and didn''t seem intent on assaulting the base, it was still a very big threat, especially since the horde kept growing and might one day besiege the base. If there was a chance to wipe out this zombie horde, it was definitely one to seize, not to mention the Crystal Cores... However, after hearing the whole story, Qu Shilin furrowed her brows. "But there is a problem¡ªhow can we ensure that there won''t be a blizzard once we go out tomorrow? Even though the heavy snow has stopped now, what if it snows again after we head out tomorrow?" This was something that simply couldn''t be guaranteed, because her meteorologist colleagues also couldn''t predict exactly when it would snow, they could only guess that there would be a higher frequency of snowfall during this winter season. "So, it''s a gamble, going out is very risky. Of course, the base has also considered the possibility of extreme situations arising, and they have some contingency plans..." Cheng Yiyi said. Lan Yulian and the others who had been silent up until now looked towards Wang Tao, asking whether he would go or not. "I think we can go because I''m not afraid of the cold, haha!" Xiang Hongbin suddenly burst out laughing. After his body was modified, it became resistant to both heat and cold, and his combat power would be higher in colder places¡ªbecause his mechanical prosthetics would heat up with prolonged use. If the temperature of his surroundings was low, it could assist in cooling down his mechanical body, preventing it from overheating and allowing it to maintain peak performance at all times! Wang Tao nodded and said, "We can consider it, let''s first see what the specific plans of the base are..." Gu Yun had only brought up the matter, but hadn''t discussed the specifics yet. Wang Tao was still somewhat wary of this mission, not of the zombies, but of nature itself... At this moment, the trade fair had begun. For the people present, the trade fair had come a bit too suddenly. Apart from the Six Major Legions, the others had no preparation and didn''t know what to trade. But now, after hearing what Gu Yun had said, they instantly had a clear objective¡ªtrade for items that could immediately improve their combat abilities! This time it was the Six Major Legions personally leading the teams, and since the establishment of Changhe Base, there had been few large-scale operations like this. Being with the Six Major Legions, safety was certainly assured, but since they were going to hunt zombies, personal safety was far from enough. They couldn''t let such a good opportunity go to waste; they had to seize it! People had already started hawking their wares; there were those selling weapons, those looking for win-win cooperation, and others selling all sorts of odds and ends, claiming they could enhance combat abilities... Wang Tao was about to take a look around when someone approached him. "President Lan, does your Starfire Society have some time? I''d like to seek your help with an Awakening..." Chapter 1003 399 Hidden Crisis "President Lan, do you have time at the Starfire Society? I would like to ask for your help in my awakening..." The visitor was a tall and rugged man, possessing the strength of Third Order Peak. Yet he was slightly bending his waist, looking at Lan Yulian with a face full of appeasement. Lan Yulian slightly frowned. However, before she could speak, the man immediately added: "I am willing to offer 500,000 Crystal Coins as a reward for your assistance..." Hearing this price, everyone was somewhat surprised. 500,000 Crystal Coins were not a small amount, let alone ordinary people, even most Ability Users couldn''t come up with so much money. But what the other party wanted wasn''t something else, it was an awakening... "You mean, let us help you kill a Level 4 Lord?" Lan Yulian spoke. To awaken at Third Order Peak, one needs three conditions: Hundred Thousand Blood Volume, Hidden Attributes, and an Awakening Key. Wang Tao had already told many people about these three conditions, which must have spread long ago. This man''s intention must be to personally kill a Level 4 Lord, thereby obtaining an Awakening Key, fulfilling one of the conditions. "Yes!" As expected, the burly man hastily nodded his head. If it''s just for an awakening key, this price of 500,000 Crystal Coins was quite appropriate. Lan Yulian cast a discreet glance at Wang Tao. Seeing that Wang Tao had no reaction, she immediately shook her head: "Sorry, we are not taking such jobs for the time being." "Well then... sorry for the disturbance." Hearing Lan Yulian''s refusal, the man opened his mouth, as if he wanted to offer more money, but he really didn''t have any money left, and ultimately he could only sigh in disappointment and left. After this person left, another one came, with the same purpose as the previous person, also wanting the Starfire Society''s help in personally killing a Level 4 Lord. But this time the price was 600,000. This person was also rejected by Lan Yulian. Then, a third person came, still wanting help killing a Level 4 Lord, and this time the price increased to 800,000! Still being refused by Lan Yulian, no one else came for the time being. After all, at 800,000, the price was already high, and there weren''t many who could offer more. Moreover, the most important part was that Lan Yulian clearly had no intention of bargaining¡ªshe probably didn''t reject it because the money wasn''t enough, but simply didn''t want to take the job. Once no one else disturbed her, Lan Yulian approached Wang Tao and whispered: "800,000 is not a small amount, are you sure we won''t take it? Or should we ask for a bit more?" "We won''t accept any amount, it''s not about the money." Wang Tao shook his head right away. His killing of a Level 4 Lord was an over-level victory, and it would burst out several Loot Packs. Just these items alone were not comparable to these few hundred thousand Crystal Coins. If he gave those kills to these people, it would be a loss for him! Another point was that all three of these people lacked Hidden Attributes... no Hidden Attributes, what kind of awakening? Even if Wang Tao really wanted to take the job, they wouldn''t be able to obtain an Awakening Key in the end, making it purely wasteful! This type of detrimental task, Wang Tao definitely was not willing. "Alright!" Since Wang Tao said so, Lan Yulian naturally wouldn''t oppose, but she asked curiously: "But why do they all come to our Starfire Society? Could it be they found out you are very capable?" Wang Tao looked at her with a slightly amused glance. "Obviously, it''s because of you. After all, you are a big healer mom, you can ensure their survival, maximizing their safety. If it were me, I would definitely want you to lead as well!" "Um..." Lan Yulian felt a bit embarrassed. She hadn''t realized she was that capable. When she was with Wang Tao, she felt like she was always skimming through, and it was always Wang Tao who exerted the effort... "That''s right!" The others nearby nodded as well. Healers were already scarce, and a healer Awakener was solely Lan Yulian. If it weren''t because she was the president of the Starfire Society, probably people would come to recruit her every day. Even now, there were always people looking to collaborate with Lan Yulian, but she had refused them all. Of course, those wanting to spend money to be led, aside from Lan Yulian, Starfire Society itself was also one of the reasons. Although few, the members of Starfire are strong, with eight or nine being public Level 4s, all elites. In many cases, an elite team is more suitable than a large troop¡ªlike when running away, they run faster. "But then again, if it''s about helping with awakening, it''s not necessary to personally kill a Level 4 Lord, just giving a physical awakening key would suffice..." Wang Tao muttered as he stroked his chin. The purpose of those people seeking leadership was to obtain an awakening key, and the effect of using a physical awakening key was the same, and no danger was involved... Wang Tao looked at the 60 physical awakening keys he still held. Would selling one for a million be too much? That would value them at least at 60 million. Of course, Wang Tao didn''t plan to sell them just yet¡ªor perhaps just sell a little? The members of this small team had not all awakened yet, so this valuable item was certainly to be used by their own. Besides, the current focus wasn''t the awakening keys but rather the Hidden Attributes. Without them, no matter how many keys were used, it would all be in vain. The trading conference continued. Another person came to the Starfire Society, but this time he wasn''t looking for Lan Yulian but for Wang Tao. To those unfamiliar with Starfire Society, they would think that Lan Yulian, the president, was the boss of Starfire Society, so they would go straight to Lan Yulian. But those who were familiar with Starfire Society knew that the president Lan Yulian was just the nominal leader and Wang Tao was the actual boss behind the scenes. Chapter 1004 399 Hidden Crisis_2 So those who came to find Wang Tao were already quite familiar with him. Like Zhou Long, Qi De, and others. They came to see Wang Tao, saying they hoped to look after each other when they went out tomorrow. Even though the Six Major Legions were leading the group, there could still be unexpected situations, so they needed to prepare in advance. According to them, it would be best to form a temporary small alliance or something similar, where they could resist danger together, share the spoils, and advance or retreat as a unit. For Wang Tao, cooperation was of course not a problem. But he didn''t want to be bound by any rules or the like. Plus, did he not know what schemes these people were cooking up? It was nothing more than their interest in Lan Yulian''s healing ability! If there really were any benefits, it was debatable whether they could be shared, but Wang Tao was definitely going to take the lead. And since they had cooperated with Wang Tao several times before, not one of them was able to beat him at taking the lead. Then, they would find out, it was always Wang Tao taking the lead. Killing would yield Awakening Keys and Awakening Energy, and they certainly wouldn''t feel good about it, but these were things Wang Tao had to take. After all, it would be a waste not to take the Loot Packs that could drop... So there was no helping it, Wang Tao wasn''t willing to cooperate with the others for now. "Not at the moment, because I haven''t decided whether to go or not." Wang Tao shook his head, directly rejecting their proposal. "Huh? You guys aren''t going?" Qi De and the others were somewhat surprised. With such a good opportunity, Wang Tao was unexpectedly not going? When they had inquired just now, they had assumed the Starfire Society was also participating. "It''s not that I''m not going, it''s that I haven''t decided yet. Let''s wait and see what City Hall has to say..." Wang Tao explained. "...Alright then." The group left with a touch of regret. They thought that Wang Tao was just making excuses, the Starfire Society would probably go, Wang Tao just didn''t want to cooperate with them, that''s all. However, Qi De and the others still didn''t give up. "How about this, if you guys go, and we run into any major danger, President Lan, please prioritize saving us, for a fee!" As Wang Tao had expected, these people were eyeing Lan Yulian''s healing ability. But the idea of paid healing left Wang Tao somewhat speechless. This was basically turning Lan Yulian into a "paid healer"! However, if a crisis did occur, Lan Yulian definitely wouldn''t stand by idly. Saving someone was a given, and it made sense to save someone familiar. "Alright." So Wang Tao nodded. Qi De and his companions immediately showed radiant smiles on their faces. They themselves were also training Healing-Type Extraordinary Function Humans, but the more they interacted with healers, the more they understood the strength of Lan Yulian. Having Lan Yulian there meant an extra layer of security. Although it seemed safer with the Six Major Legions, it was good to have a backup plan... Once they were certain that Wang Tao had agreed, they finally left satisfied. After Qi De and his group had left, people continued to come one after another. Basically, they were there for two things: seeking protection and seeking healing. At this point, the Starfire Society had become one of the hot topics. But aside from these, there were also many who came for Hong Bin. Hong Bin was a rather showy character, so he directly displayed his mechanical body, which made him quite an attraction. And people confirmed that mechanical bodies could indeed provide the combat strength of an Awakener! This excited everyone, as Awakening was too difficult, and many people might not have a chance to awaken in their lifetime. But if they opted for a mechanical body modification, wouldn''t that be much simpler? Although it might result in looking somewhat inhuman, it was, after all, an enhancement of strength! As a result, many people had already begun consulting the research institute. However, with the current level of technology, mechanical body modifications were not something that could be done carelessly, as sloppy work could endanger life. The research institute also kindly explained this to them. However, they did not refuse those who wished to participate in future prosthetic body modification experiments; after all, they needed experiment subjects. If they could produce another case like Hong Bin, that would certainly be good for them... Wang Tao no longer concerned himself with the matters of the Starfire Society; he let Lan Yulian and the others handle it while he toured other areas to see what else was being traded. Wang Tao noticed that there were rather few physical items being traded; most were negotiating about how to cooperate after going out tomorrow. It was understandable, though, since the trade fair had been so sudden that no one was fully prepared. With the frozen zombies scheduled to be hunted tomorrow, it was certainly necessary to plan for tomorrow, and to prepare contingencies like Qi De had done. Wang Tao had no need for such trades, so as he wandered, he eventually made his way to the area of the Six Major Legions, or rather, five of the Major Legions¡ªsince the Sixth Army Corps had neither bought nor sold much. Cheng Yiyi and her group had initially planned to buy some weapon equipment, as they had received some sponsorship and funds from Wang Tao. But after Wang Tao suddenly revealed that he had a fourth-order snake egg, Cheng Yiyi gave up on purchasing the weapon equipment and came to buy the snake egg instead. The weapon equipment was good, but not suitable for use in the caves. In contrast, if they could hatch these fourth-order black snakes, their effect in the caves was estimated to be no less significant than that of a Night Demon... As for Wang Tao himself, while he was very interested in the weaponry of the Legions, they didn''t sell to outsiders and only allowed transactions within the Six Major Legions¡ªothers weren''t even allowed a look. This irritated Wang Tao slightly, but then he thought, as a consultant for the Sixth Army Corps, if he visited in the name of the corps, he might at least be able to take a look, if not buy, right? Wang Tao tried it, and it indeed worked. When he arrived at the exchange site of the five Major Legions, no one stopped him, and the people there greeted him as Consultant Wang. Wang Tao felt quite pleased with this; having an identity certainly made a difference. As this trade fair was originally only for the Six Major Legions, they were all prepared; upon entering their area, one could see booklets laid out, which Wang Tao picked up to see what the five Major Legions had to offer. "Tanks, cannons, rockets, missiles... and even airplanes, hiss! There are even fighter jets! Good lord, these things are up for sale too?" Wang Tao was somewhat incredulous, and it wasn''t just a matter of whether they could sell them¡ªthings like fighter jets, he had never even seen before! Did the base actually have such impressive stuff? Duan Xuchang happened to be there, and he quickly came over upon seeing Wang Tao. "Wang Tao!" "Old Duan, you guys have fighter jets? Are those really for sale?" Wang Tao immediately asked in a soft voice. "Hey, those fighter jets are being sold by the Second Army Corps, and regarding whether they can be sold... of course, they can be sold, it''s just that they''re not very useful right now..." Duan Xuchang explained to Wang Tao. As mentioned before, airplanes couldn''t fly too high, or their electronic products would malfunction, leading to crashes; Wang Tao had already lost a transport aircraft this way, and satellites had also crashed because of this. And this No-fly Zone was continually getting lower, and the maximum safe altitude for flight had already become very low. Apart from helicopters, jet fighters that flew high were basically unusable. Of course, fighter jets could fly at extremely low altitudes, but this was too dangerous, with obstructions everywhere, making it easy for both the aircraft and the pilot to meet their demise, as well as attracting flying zombies and monsters... So unless it was a life-or-death situation, these fighter jets were basically collecting dust. After hearing Duan Xuchang''s explanation, Wang Tao suddenly came to understand. He had almost forgotten about this issue. But then Wang Tao suddenly thought of another problem. "If this No-fly Zone keeps getting lower, does it mean that eventually, all electronic products will become unusable when it reaches ground level?" Faced with this question, Duan Xuchang fell silent. This was exactly what they were worried about, a hidden crisis... Chapter 1005 400 Military Arms Deal Changhe Base still has a large number of electronic devices in use, and if they were to fully paralyze, it would cause communication disruptions, traffic to grind to a halt, powered armor to become inoperative, and weapon equipment to rely solely on manual operation... This would be a fatal blow to Changhe Base. "Is there really no way to avoid this?" Wang Tao asked, frowning. He also thought of mechanical bodies, which weren''t purely mechanical¡ªthey also had electronic components... This had been something that could not only allow disabled individuals to regain normalcy but significantly enhance human combat abilities, and as such, had garnered a lot of attention. But if they were to become unusable in the future, that too would be a blow... "I don''t know for the moment..." Duan Xuchang shook his head, then added with some uncertainty, "The base is heavily researching Crystal Energy Technology and biotechnology, maybe that could solve the problem?" "Maybe..." Technology wasn''t something that could make breakthroughs in a short time, and given the pace at which this crisis was approaching, it was uncertain whether the problem could be resolved before the crisis struck. One could only hope. Wang Tao shook his head and decided not to dwell on it any further. He wasn''t capable of changing the situation and could only look to researchers like Qu Shilin. Wang Tao then flipped through the small booklet prepared by the Legion and suddenly said: "Captain Duan, is it possible for me to buy these things?" "Of course, you can''t¡ª" Duan Xuchang began to shake his head instinctively, but then seemed to recall something and frowned slightly, "Are you talking about purchasing as a consultant for the Sixth Army Corps? That seems... possible?" Duan Xuchang wasn''t sure either since the rules were set by the higher-ups of these major Legions, who had the final say. "How about I ask for you?" Duan Xuchang offered. "Sure, I''ll also ask Commander Cheng." Wang Tao found Cheng Yiyi, and since he was using the reputation of the Sixth Army Corps to make the purchase, naturally he had to speak with Cheng Yiyi as well. When Cheng Yiyi heard what Wang Tao wanted, she immediately nodded. "You''re our Sixth Army Corps'' legitimately hired consultant, there''s no issue at all. As long as they sell, you can buy under the name of the Sixth Army Corps; of course, you''ll have to use your own money. But if you buy some tanks and cannons, do you have a place to put them? After all, they need maintenance..." "As long as it''s within the rules, it''s fine. As for where to park them¡ªI''m just rather curious, thought I''d buy a few to play with, they wouldn''t take up much space, so how about keeping them at our Legion''s base? For maintenance and such, I''ll pay, you just help me out..." Wang Tao said with a smile. "That''s actually no problem; our Legion''s territory is quite vast," Cheng Yiyi replied, nodding immediately. So, the matter was thus pleasantly decided. Cheng Yiyi then went with Wang Tao to the other Five Major Legions'' area. Duan Xuchang was also there waiting for him with three people. The first person was a middle-aged man wearing a military uniform, of slim build, wearing glasses, and looking gentle and refined. This man reached out his hand with a smile. "Consultant Wang, hello, I''m Chief Tian from the First Legion," he said. "Chief Tian, hello!" Wang Tao smiled and shook hands with him. This commander of the First Legion wasn''t quite what he had expected, but appearances can be deceiving¡ªTian Xuesong was a bonafide Awakener. After exchanging pleasantries briefly, Wang Tao turned his attention to the second military-clad middle-aged man. This one''s frame was much more robust, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face... fully fitting Wang Tao''s stereotype of a military man. "Hello, my name is Du Longfei, the commander of the Second Legion," he introduced himself. "Chief Du, hello!" Wang Tao exchanged a few polite words with him too. This Du Longfei seemed like a tough guy of few words, and he wasn''t an Awakener, naturally because he didn''t have Hidden Attributes. As for the third person, it was Hou Zhiyuan, a familiar face Wang Tao had met before, the commander of the Third Legion. It had been some time since they last met, and Hou Zhiyuan was still at the Third Order Peak... In such a long time, Hou Zhiyuan hadn''t made any progress! Wang Tao also shook hands with him, and Hou Zhiyuan said with a smile: "Consultant Wang, I hear you want to buy some big toys? Buy mine, I have plenty!" "Huh? How come you''re snatching business? We''ve got to have an order of precedence! It''s clear I was here first!" Tian Xuesong immediately expressed his displeasure, though he wasn''t truly upset but just bickering as usual. However, Wang Tao was still somewhat surprised by the fact that they were not only not opposed to selling him their Weapon Equipment but actually seemed eager for him to buy. "Hey! What''s all this about order? Isn''t it Consultant Wang''s own decision on what to buy? Let me explain things to Consultant Wang!" Hou Zhiyuan pushed Tian Xuesong aside and led Wang Tao further in. Tian Xuesong and Du Longfei followed with a bit of speechlessness. "Chief Hou, aren''t you being a bit too enthusiastic!" Wang Tao felt their eagerness was a bit off, and he instinctively glanced at Cheng Yiyi. Hou Zhiyuan noticed Wang Tao''s subtle movement and sighed helplessly: "I won''t hide it from you, we just want to sell some items; we''re a bit strapped for cash lately! But we can''t just sell our stuff to anyone... We thought we''d sell it to Little Cheng, but then she stopped buying... If you''re interested, that''s perfect, I''ll give you a discount!" The Weapon Equipment of the Six Major Legions was allowed to circulate only amongst themselves and couldn''t be sold to anyone else. Among them, it was generally the First, Second, and Third Legions that sold items due to their more substantial assets. Chapter 1006 400 Arms Trade_2 The First Legion sold rockets and missiles, the Second Legion sold planes, and the Third Legion sold tanks and cannons... The Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Legions were essentially all buyers. Due to the special circumstances of the apocalypse, it became inconvenient to use items like missiles and planes, so they were also difficult to sell. Moreover, they could only sell to their own people, who hadn''t even used up their stocks yet, making it even harder to sell. These three legions had also stored a lot of this equipment and even retained complete production lines for some items... These things were piling up more and more, and if not sold, that would be a bit of a loss. Initially, they thought that with the big accident that had occurred in the Sixth Army Corps, there was a need to replenish a lot of equipment, so they would sell on credit and sell these equipments to the Sixth Army Corps. However, Cheng Yiyi suddenly decided not to buy, which made it very frustrating for them. Now, hearing that Wang Tao was willing to purchase equipment under the name of the Sixth Army Corps, they must find a way to... oh no, promote it a bit to make Wang Tao buy more and help them recover some HP! Hou Zhiyuan didn''t hide anything and spoke directly about it. However, Wang Tao was very suspicious that he was intentionally saying this for Cheng Yiyi, who was next to him, to hear. Cheng Yiyi felt a bit embarrassed. Under different circumstances, she might not be able to lose face and would actually buy some. But now, she had already spent the money on buying Snake Eggs, and even if she really wanted to buy equipment, she had no money left. So Cheng Yiyi simply pretended she didn''t understand, letting Hou Zhiyuan talk as she liked, as she had no money left anyway, having spent it all on recruitment, buying daily equipment, and purchasing Snake Eggs. "If you want to see the actual items, that''s fine, but it would waste a lot of time. However, I can assure you, these items definitely won''t have any issues! You can check anytime after buying, and if there are any issues, we offer refunds or replacements!" Hou Zhiyuan handed over a tablet with various detailed pictures and information on it. The Third Legion mainly sold heavy artillery such as tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and big cannons. Looking at these photos, Wang Tao was very tempted. He then looked at the prices, which weren''t expensive either; a tank cost 20 million, the price of two Night Demon hearts, but its damage was much higher than that of the Night Demon Type 1! What man hasn''t dreamt of driving a tank or flying a plane since childhood? Even if maintenance and other costs followed, those wouldn''t cost much! Wang Tao could afford it! So, buy! "Then I''ll¡ª¡ª" Wang Tao wasn''t someone who hesitated, but just as he was about to say he would start by buying one, Du Longfei from the Second Legion, who had been quiet until then, immediately handed him another tablet. "Jian-300 stealth fighter, one of the strongest fighters in the world before the apocalypse, and probably one of the few that can still be used after the apocalypse. Flat price of 20 Million Crystal Coins, a tearful fire sale! You can''t go wrong buying this..." Du Longfei, a man of few words but harsh ones, turned out to be even more talkative than Hou Zhiyuan. "Ah?" And Wang Tao just exclaimed. Looking at the black fighter jet on the tablet, he was almost drooling. A most advanced fighter jet for just 20 million Crystal Coins? He still had 50 million Crystal Coins in hand, wasn''t this exactly fulfilling his childhood dream? Even though the planes couldn''t fly too high now, it wasn''t like they couldn''t fly at all. Even if it was just a large toy, playing with it for ten days or half a month wouldn''t be a loss! Wang Tao''s eyes sparkled, completely ignoring the fact that he didn''t know how to operate a fighter jet. However, to Du Longfei, Wang Tao''s astonishment seemed to be caused by the price, and he squeezed a smile onto his typically serious face. "If Consultant Wang can buy today, we can still talk about the price, everything is negotiable! If you don''t have enough cash, we also offer financing services..." "..." Upon hearing this, Wang Tao''s thoughts were pulled back from the plane. He wasn''t a fool, and he could tell that Du Longfei wanted to quickly sell off the planes. This clearly had to do with a hidden crisis¡ªafter a while, these planes would become useless junk. If he could sell them now, even at a discount or on credit, it would be better than them turning into a pile of useless scrap metal later. Wang Tao was still very interested in these fighter jets, even if they became scrap, he felt they had collectible value. Naturally, it would be even better if they could be cheaper... "We not only have fighter jets, we also have transport planes, helicopters, armed helicopters, drones..." Du Longfei then flipped out a bunch of photos, each one tempting Wang Tao greatly. These things really looked beautiful! As for the price... truly not expensive! How about buying two to play with? Although Wang Tao couldn''t operate a fighter jet, he could still fly helicopters. Plus, these drones were interesting; though they had lost a lot of their abilities without satellites, they still made great toys... "All those things are all flash and no bang! If you really want to see power, look at ours!" At this moment, Tian Xuesong from the First Legion also handed a tablet to Wang Tao. It displayed rockets, missiles, and even small nuclear bombs. The screen clearly marked prices, power, and so on. Once again, Wang Tao was tempted. The price was really reasonable! But the firepower was truly formidable! Although, using these things to kill zombies, if it didn''t completely kill the zombies, could cause the zombies to evolve and become stronger, it was undeniable that this could definitely kill a large number of zombies in short time! Chapter 1007 400 Arms Trade_3 If Wang Tao had these things in his hands, it would be a card up his sleeve that might be very useful at a crucial moment. As for the problem of potential stragglers, Wang Tao could just guard nearby ¡ª he did not believe that with his ability, zombies could escape! However, there were two minor issues. One was that now, without satellites, the guidance ability of missiles had become questionable. The other was that the operation of these devices seemed very complex, and some missiles were clearly underground; it wasn''t possible to sell Wang Tao the land and the silos too, right? So, Wang Tao asked curiously: "How do you sell these things?" Tian Xuesong adjusted his glasses and said: "We only sell the missiles, not the base, personnel, or technology ¡ª those can''t be sold. So, if you buy the missiles and want to use them somewhere, you can just contact us directly. You provide the coordinates, and we''ll provide the ''proxy attack service''!" "..." What a proxy attack service! It sounded thrilling, and Wang Tao was very interested. But Tian Xuesong continued: "Of course, there are two small issues that I need to clarify beforehand. One is the accuracy issue. Now that there are no satellites, the missiles can''t fly too high, so they definitely can''t compare to pre-apocalypse, but we also have other guidance technologies and low-altitude flight technologies, so I can guarantee they''ll work..." "The other issue is the problem of survivors slipping through. As everyone knows, zombies that have been bombed¡ªor more accurately, those that have experienced death but didn''t die¡ªthey mutate once they survive, becoming drastically stronger, even stronger than before when summed up! So although rocket launchers and missiles are powerful, they also pose a significant safety hazard. If you''re using these kinds of weapons of mass destruction, then you are responsible for all consequences." Tian Xuesong''s expression was serious. This responsibility was not just spoken lightly; one truly incurred responsibility unless the user died or no longer lived at Changhe Base... Having heard this, Wang Tao immediately nodded. They were really thorough in their considerations; it made sense. After the leaders of the three major corps had introduced their items, they all looked towards Wang Tao. These items were naturally useful to them, but they couldn''t possibly use them all. Apart from tanks, things like planes and missiles posed significant risks. But if not used within a certain time, they would just become scrap metal. So if Wang Tao could buy them, it would be good for them too. Wang Tao was an advisor to the Sixth Army Corps, and his strength, as well as the strength of the Starfire Society, were not weak. He was eligible to buy both by the rules and in terms of capability. "Ah, to be honest, these items are very good, and I like them, but they are too expensive! I have limited funds on hand; I can''t buy so many..." Wang Tao pretended to sigh. Listening to him, the eyes of the three legion leaders lit up. As long as Wang Tao was willing to buy, money was not an issue! Things like interest-free loans and asset mortgages were all possible! Even if Wang Tao didn''t pay, owing them a favor was still good; after all, it was better than letting the equipment rot here. "Cough, the price is negotiable. Just tell us what you''re interested in, and we can talk slowly..." Du Longfei said with a smiling face. "..." Wang Tao actually saw a hint of a sly merchant in Du Longfei''s thick-browed, broad-eyed face... But Wang Tao really did want to buy, so he nodded. "Okay, give me a good price. Additionally..." Wang Tao said as he took out some various potions from his pocket. "Have a look at these potions and tell me how much they''re worth. Are you interested? I also have some equipment in my hand..." Wang Tao disliked owing favors as they were the hardest debts to repay. But he did not have a lot of money ¡ª fifty million Crystal Coins couldn''t buy many significant items. So he was prepared to exchange some of his good items with them, believing they would be willing to trade. "Oh? What''s this? A Strength Potion? I''ll take it!" Chapter 1008 401: Barter Transaction Tian Xuesong and his group initially thought that the potions Wang Tao had were Rejuvenation Potions, which, although quite magical, obviously weren''t enough to trade for military arms, right? However, when Wang Tao introduced the potions he had, revealing they were Strength Potions and Defense Potions, they were all instantly amazed. Cheng Yiyi had tested these potions because Wang Tao had also sold some to her. So, she helped Wang Tao prove the potions were real. With Cheng Yiyi''s endorsement, the leaders of the three major legions immediately expressed their need for them. Since they wanted them, that made things easy. Wang Tao called Lan Yulian over to discuss the prices with them, while Wang Tao himself stepped out for a while. Merely relying on these potions wouldn''t be enough to exchange for a lot of weapon equipment, since these potions were merely consumables and didn''t permanently increase attributes. The price could be high, but definitely not exorbitant. Thus, other items were needed, such as the "Weapon Equipment" Wang Tao had. He pretended to fetch something from his car, but actually retrieved it from his storage space. After a slight detour, he came back holding a large stack of weapon equipment. The death of a lord-level creature above Wang Tao''s rank was guaranteed to drop equipment blueprints, and many of the equipments were of no use to Wang Tao. Even after giving some to Qu Shilin for research, he still had a lot left, and in the future, Wang Tao would continuously procure new equipment, so keeping these had no use... Thus, he could sell these equipments to the Six Major Legions to offset the Crystal Coins needed for purchasing those modern weapon equipments. When Wang Tao brought these equipments over and introduced their functions, everyone including Cheng Yiyi was markedly stunned. "These equipments, they must have come from¡ªoh, I know, from Crystal Energy Meteorites, right? You are just too lucky!" Hou Zhiyuan promptly found a reasonable excuse for Wang Tao. From their perspective, this was a normal assumption, as there had been similar equipments that came from meteorites before. Although those weren''t as good as Wang Tao''s, it indeed proved Wang Tao was lucky! Not only did he obtain a large quantity of equipment, but their quality was also so high! Cheng Yiyi had seen the equipments worn by Wang Tao and his team, but didn''t know the specific effects. Hearing Wang Tao volunteering the information, she instantly grew envious! She wanted those equipments too! Although her Awakening was rather unique, requiring powered armor to maximize its effects, it didn''t stop her from wanting to wear a few more layers to increase her defensive power. Moreover, she had two Awakeners under her command, which could directly enhance their combat strength! But then she remembered that she had already spent almost all her sponsorship money on buying potions and snake eggs, making Cheng Yiyi feel extremely distressed¡ªshe was broke again... "We''ll take all these equipments! Just name your price!" Tian Xuesong waved his hand grandly. The other three also nodded their heads, wanting all these fine goods! "Alright!" The price for the potions just now had already been settled with them by Lan Yulian, and it was admittedly high. After all, Wang Tao had said these items were found by chance, and each used potion was one less in supply, and it was uncertain if more could be found in the future, so obviously the price couldn''t be low. And the price for the weapon equipment Wang Tao had was even higher, with the worst pieces costing several hundreds of thousands each, and the better ones costing over a million Crystal Coins! The price for the modern weapon equipment sold by the legions was also not cheap, but these could be negotiated. After all, aside from Wang Tao, there was practically no one else who would buy them, so they had to reduce the price if they couldn''t make a sale. After some bargaining, Wang Tao exchanged the potions and equipment he had for these modern weapon equipments. He didn''t spend a dime, and in fact, the other party even added quite a few firearms and ammunitions. Wang Tao buying these items, missiles aside, was somewhat of a whim, as it was a childhood dream of his. Even if he couldn''t use them later, they could still serve as ornamental pieces. As for the missiles... they were genuinely useful, and Wang Tao even bought two small-yield nuclear warheads. Although they brought along side effects, as long as Wang Tao prepared adequately, he should be able to handle them. Besides, missiles definitely couldn''t be used lightly; if there ever came a time when they were needed, it would be a dire moment, and concerns about side effects would be secondary... "Haha, Consultant Wang, it was a pleasure doing business! Among the things you wanted, aside from helicopters and drones, I suggest keeping the fighter jets and transport planes parked here since we have an airport. Whenever you want to use them, just come and fly away..." Du Longfei burst out laughing. If one were to say who profited the most today, he felt it definitely had to be their Second Legion. After all, their Second Legion had a lot of planes parked that they dared not use. Especially the fighter jets, which could go out of control if they flew just a bit too high. After losing two planes and a precious pilot a long while ago, they stopped using fighter jets... So for them, now, these fighter jets were practically useless, and he thought selling them to Wang Tao was a killing! Wang Tao buying fighter jets was indeed a bit impetuous, but it didn''t matter; he was rich enough to be capricious. Once the snow stopped, he would see if there was a chance to take a few laps in the sky. Since the Second Legion had many pilots, he should be able to learn how to fly a fighter jet... probably. Chapter 1009 401: Barter Transaction_2 Apart from a fighter jet, Wang Tao also bought a jet transporter, several helicopters, and a number of drones. Anyway, these were all big toys, so he decided to buy them all at once. "Missiles can only be stationed here with us. I''ll give you a contact method. If you want to use them, you can contact us 24/7. As long as you can get in touch, we can help you strike your target. However, Changhe Base and the surrounding areas are definitely off-limits, and the accuracy might be affected without satellites... I have to make this clear to you," the man said, Tian Xuesong also spoke with a smile. Like airplanes, missiles were powerful but not easy to utilize in their hands. It was just a waste to keep them unused, so it was better to sell them to Wang Tao in exchange for potions and weapon equipment. "Alright!" Wang Tao added the contact provided on his informational wristwatch, which was for the missile base. Tian Xuesong had already notified them, so they promptly explained the procedures to Wang Tao and had him set up several passwords. Wang Tao could notify them to launch a missile at any time, and if he couldn''t get in touch but wanted to initiate missile support, he could allow someone else to use the password to launch. However, this ''someone else'' had to be registered first; it couldn''t be just anyone. Wang Tao registered Lan Yulian and a few others. Whether it would be used or not was another matter, but it was always good to be prepared. After the trade with the Legion concluded, the committee''s communication was nearly finished too. Yao Guodong came over and announced the details of tomorrow''s departure to everyone. In essence, he instructed the Six Major Legions to pave the way with a steel torrent, and to guard against potential blizzards, they planned to make it a quick victory within a few hours. Of course, it would definitely take more than a few hours to deal with the zombie horde, so the operation might last several days. How long it would specifically take was uncertain, but they could only venture out for a few hours at most each day, as staying out too long could be dangerous in case of a sudden blizzard. This time, a lot of tanks and tracked armored vehicles would be deployed, naturally ones that could travel in the snow, giving everyone a strong sense of security. Additionally, the Six Major Legions had also specially prepared troop carriers that could operate in the snow and were available for others to use free of charge. As for the Loot Packs from killing zombies, the Six Major Legions would take a ten percent share of the profits, as they were providing protection and transportation after all, and taking a cut of ten percent was reasonable. The last point was about enrollment. Anyone could sign up, but not everyone would necessarily be accepted; there was a screening process, because every participant had to contribute during this operation. Anyone hoping to capitalize on the chaos should dispel such thoughts... After listening to Yao Guodong''s detailed explanation, Wang Tao thought it was indeed worth participating. Even if he had to give up ten percent of the profits, it didn''t matter to him since his main goal was not the Crystal Cores but the Loot Packs. However, at this moment, Cheng Yiyi secretly told Wang Tao that forces outside of the Six Major Legions could choose which Legion to follow, and that the ten percent profit would be collected by that Legion. Therefore, Starfire Society could join them, the Sixth Army Corps, and as for the share of the profits, the Sixth Army Corps didn''t need it. "Then I thank you!" Although Wang Tao didn''t mind, saving some money was always good. "We''re all on the same side, no need for formalities!" Cheng Yiyi was still thinking about the equipment in Wang Tao''s possession; mutual aid was the key! About the issue of vehicles for the outing, although Wang Tao''s Crystal Energy Car wasn''t yet modified, he had just bought some vehicles from Hou Zhiyuan''s Third Legion. The First Legion had many missiles, the Second Legion had many airplanes, and the Third Legion had many tanks, cannons, armored vehicles, and other weapon equipment. Wang Tao had bought several tracked armored vehicles, which could now come in handy. "You go and sign up," After confirming there were no issues, Wang Tao instructed Lan Yulian to go register. "Okay!" The so-called screening process was actually quite simple. The City Hall would first look at how many people you planned to bring. If the number was large, there was naturally no issue. If the number was small, they would consider the strength of your people. If the strength was formidable, that was also acceptable. But if both the number and strength were lacking, it would clearly be an attempt to freeload, and such applications would obviously be rejected. When Lan Yulian went to apply with Gu Yun, the application was approved with just a glance. It wasn''t a case of favoritism, but rather because the Starfire Society only had a dozen or so members, and half of them were listed for this operation, clearly not a freeload attempt. Particularly since the names of Wang Tao, Lan Yulian, and Xiang Hongbin were on the list. "We''re on a tight schedule, and we depart tomorrow. Those whose applications have been approved, get ready swiftly. Rest up tonight... Of course, before that, please join us in the next room where the New Year''s Eve dinner is ready..." The efficiency of the City Hall was impressive; it didn''t take long for them to sort through all the applications from the groups that had signed up. Once the participants were confirmed, Yao Guodong invited everyone to the meal next door. "Finally, we can have a hot meal..." "I''m starving!" "..." Upon hearing that it was finally time to eat, everyone was instantly a bit happy. The dinner was supposed to follow the end of the party, but an additional event had caused a delay of more than two hours, leaving many people famished. "Wang Tao, let''s go, I heard the dinner is very generous!" "Okay." Cheng Yiyi and Wang Tao, along with their group, arrived at the restaurant. The delicious dishes had already been served on the tables, and the sight of the colorful food made many mouths water. Although those present were powerful Ability Users with no small status, and many were from major forces, appearing to be the elite of the base¡ªindeed, they were¡ªbut even for the elite, when it came to food, the difference from ordinary people wasn''t big, as they spent much of their time eating Cockroach Paste. Although proper meals were expensive, it was not that they could not afford them. Rather, they often went out before the zombie tide. Once they left the base, there was basically only one kind of food, which was Cockroach Paste. Because it not only provided energy and was easy to carry, but was also very cheap. Before a better alternative emerged, whether ordinary people or Ability Users, most people ate this. "Ladies and gentlemen, the origin of these foods has been carefully cultivated by us, and we finally have results now. They include greenhouse-grown vegetables and grains, as well as farm-raised pork and beef..." Before the meal, Yao Guodong didn''t forget to introduce some of City Hall''s recent achievements to everyone. According to him, these foods were not ordinary; they were mutated foods. After their nurturing and testing, they had confirmed these items were non-toxic and that eating them would enhance one''s physique. To exaggerate a bit, it might even prolong life. Wang Tao''s expression didn''t change upon hearing this; he had eaten mutant beast meat before, which truly could enhance physical fitness, but the effect... didn''t match the benefits gained from Wang Tao''s own training. Of course, it was indeed an enhancement, and Yao Guodong wasn''t pulling a fast one. As for prolonging life and such, pursuing that was utterly pointless at the moment, strength was the most important thing, without strength, one couldn''t live long! However, others were quite excited when they heard this and even asked Yao Guodong whether these ingredients were for sale. Yao Guodong said that the quantity of these ingredients was limited, but they could be sold, albeit at a higher price, even presenting a detailed price list. But who among those present would mind spending that money? They all indicated they would buy some later; money was not an issue. After seeing these steep prices, Wang Tao was instantly somewhat speechless; no wonder Yao Guodong had introduced so much, it turned out he was touting his wares. "Let''s buy some later too." Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin. Prolonging life was not important, what mattered was that it smelled very appetizing. "All right~" Ding Yuqin nodded her head. The banquet didn''t last very long, ending just after midnight. Everyone celebrated the New Year together, then went back to their own places to rest. "Why does it feel like the snow is getting heavier..." After coming out, looking at the snowflakes falling onto his hand, Wang Tao frowned instantly. "This couldn''t be like yesterday, dropping a heavy snowfall at night, could it?" Since it was confirmed they were leaving tomorrow, Wang Tao definitely didn''t want it to snow again, at least not as heavily as before. But clearly, the weather would not change based on Wang Tao''s personal wishes... The next day, early in the morning. Looking at the snow fluttering outside the window and listening to the howling wind, Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. "It''s worse than yesterday''s snowstorm; how are we going to go out..." Chapter 1010 402: The Base Blizzard "It snowed heavily again last night..." When Ding Yuqin and the others got up, they frowned at the thick snowflakes falling outside the window. The big operation that was supposed to take place today was jeopardized by another violent snowstorm. Not only was the snow heavy, but the wind was strong as well¡ªeverywhere was a vast expanse of white, looking just like the Ice Age... Even before the apocalypse, such heavy snowfall would have essentially made it impossible to go out, let alone now with all the danger outside. Even if one had a tank or a tracked vehicle, safety couldn''t be guaranteed. The scale of this operation was substantial, and if something went wrong, it would be a fatal blow to the entire Changhe Base. "The operation must be canceled..." Wang Tao picked up the informational wristwatch by his bed, which had several messages from Gu Yun, Yao Guodong, Cheng Yiyi, and Qu Shilin. And their contents were pretty much the same¡ªtoday''s operations were all canceled. "As expected." Wang Tao shook his head. Truth be told, he was quite interested in this operation. If they could take advantage of the zombies being frozen to eliminate the horde, it would save them a lot of trouble in future outings; at least they wouldn''t be hunted by the horde anymore. Unfortunately, they could do nothing but submit to nature''s will. At dinner yesterday, Yao Guodong pulled all the forces preparing for today''s operation into a group chat to facilitate communication during the mission. Now, the group chat was abuzz with discussion. Wang Tao skimmed through it, and it was mainly expressions of helplessness and complaints. "Can we really not go out? We have tanks and other military vehicles. Such a level of snow shouldn''t stop us, right?" asked someone, unwilling to let go. Yesterday, they had been so pumped up, looking forward to going out and making a big score, earning some Crystal Cores, and having a good celebration. But then this happened... "Nonsense, the snow now definitely can''t stop a tank. But the problem isn''t just the snow; there''s also the low temperature, the zombies, and even the terrain... All of these are dangers!" someone explained. "Exactly, besides these dangers, with the current visibility, you may not even be able to see where the zombies are! Where will you go to kill zombies?" "And now the wind is so strong that you feel like you could be blown away just stepping out the door. With such strong winds, even if you see the zombies, it probably won''t be easy to attack..." "If you knew, within the high walls we are already facing such a fierce snowstorm, can you imagine how intense it is outside?" "..." The others agreed. There were many willing to go out, but most were rational. Going out now was akin to seeking death. "Definitely can''t go out now, the reasons include..." Gu Yun showed up to explain a bit. Once the officials gave their explanation, the number of people discussing whether or not to go out decreased. However, the discussion didn''t cease; now the topic was when the snow would stop. Given the current situation, it seemed like the snow would never cease. But yesterday''s first snowfall initially looked as fierce as today''s and then suddenly stopped... So would today''s snow also take a break? If it could stop for even a few hours, they might have a chance to go out, as a few hours could make a significant difference. Thus, everyone began speculating when today''s snow would end. But the subsequent situation wasn''t quite like what they expected¡ªthe blizzard was getting worse! "Damn, it''s not even a matter of whether we can go out anymore..." Wang Tao placed his hand on the windowpane, feeling its icy touch, and deeply furrowed his brows. As expected, a notification was issued in the group after a moment¡ª The plan to hunt zombies outside was completely canceled, not just for now, but even if the snow stopped, they shouldn''t go! It was because the City Hall said there might be low-temperature freezing disasters and snow calamities in the base soon, advising everyone to prepare in advance and be on standby. Actually, yesterday''s snowfall was already a disaster since it had caused traffic disruptions and many vehicles couldn''t move... But yesterday''s snow stopped, and it wasn''t as heavy as today''s. Only some of the roads had been cleared of snow yesterday, the rest was still piled up. If they added today''s amount, it wasn''t just a matter of the roads being blocked, houses could collapse! Changhe Base was vast, with all sorts of houses. Wang Tao''s villa was made of reinforced concrete, so there were no worries there, but many homes were made of brick, even wood. They might not withstand such heavy snowfall... And along with the blizzard came the cold. Ability Users had robust constitutions and were more resistant to the cold, but ordinary people weren''t. Since there was no central heating here, if the houses collapsed or leaked air, ordinary people could freeze to death... So now, it wasn''t about hunting zombies; it was potentially about their very survival! During breakfast, Ding Yuqin and the others also frowned, looking distressed. "It feels like we''re in a bad situation..." "I have a bad premonition..." "It''s supposed to be a festive day, but now..." "..." After drinking some hot porridge, Wang Tao helplessly shook his head. In the face of such a natural crisis, the strength of an individual was too insignificant. Even he had no solution. All he could hope for was that the people of the base were lucky and that the snow would stop sooner rather than later. Chapter 1011 402 Base Snow Disaster_2 However, their luck was clearly not very good. While Wang Tao and his group were warming themselves around the fireplace, news came from City Hall¡ªhouses had collapsed! Although that family had already taken precautions to avoid danger, there were no immediate life-threatening concerns. However, this was not a good sign, as where there was one, there would be a second, a third... Subsequently, as Wang Tao had thought, more houses continued to collapse. The Six Major Legions, City Defense Army, police, and others had already begun to move out. "Do we need to go help?" Jade Lotus asked Wang Tao. "Not yet, let''s wait for further news." There was a unified command for the disaster relief, and Wang Tao did not understand it very well, so he didn''t want to add to the confusion; It was sufficient for them to stand by at home. As soon as he received any news, he would definitely take people out. "Okay!" Everyone nodded, silently waiting for news. In the afternoon, they finally got in touch with him. "Wang Tao, are you guys at home?" The person contacting him was Gu Yun. "I am here, what do you need?" Wang Tao immediately said. "I wouldn''t dare to command you, but could you go to this place? A cluster of houses has just collapsed there, the lines are also down, communication is impossible, and we don''t know yet if there are any casualties... We need someone to check it out..." As Gu Yun spoke, he also sent over a photo. Hearing that a cluster of houses had collapsed, Wang Tao was somewhat worried. However, seeing that it was a civilian residential area, Wang Tao felt temporarily relieved. These areas consisted of low houses, and even if they really had collapsed, it was easier to find survivors and clear the debris. If it had been large buildings that collapsed, they would have been essentially doomed. "Okay, I''ll be right over!" After ending the call, Wang Tao looked at the people around him. "I need to step out for a while, Jade Lotus, Old Xiang, the three of us together¡ªoh right, and Lightning too. The rest of you stay at home, there might be other places that need help later, you all can decide based on the situation!" The base''s wireless signal was also affected, so once Wang Tao went out, he wouldn''t be able to contact the others. It was better to leave some people at home. "Okay!" Everyone nodded. Then Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin. "Sister-in-law, you can contact me if there''s anything." He and Ding Yuqin both wore Perception Rings, devices that wouldn''t be affected by the signal and allowed the two to contact each other directly in their minds, although there was a certain range limit. Still, it was very convenient in such times. This was also the reason why Wang Tao asked them to stay at home; if there was any situation on the City Hall''s side, Ding Yuqin could directly notify Wang Tao. "Yes!" Ding Yuqin nodded firmly. After briefly preparing, Wang Tao and the others opened the door. Whoosh¡ª The cold air outside immediately filled the space, even the relatively cold-resistant Wang Tao shivered. "This damned weather!" Everyone cursed silently in their minds. The temperature was probably around negative ten to twenty degrees Celsius, and they all felt very cold. Ordinary people exposed in this scenario would likely freeze into ice pops quickly. "Should we drive?" After inhaling the cold air, Jade Lotus asked. Wang Tao''s family had two cars parked at home: an armored minibus and an off-road vehicle borrowed from Qu Shilin, which had been equipped with anti-skid chains. In this environment, the minibus clearly wasn''t suitable, so the off-road vehicle would have been the choice. However, Wang Tao shook his head. "No need, leave the cars for them, we won''t drive." As Wang Tao spoke, he suddenly grabbed Jade Lotus''s hand. Under her somewhat puzzled gaze, a tree root emerged from Wang Tao''s wrist and instantaneously entwined and enveloped Jade Lotus, turning her into a "Tree Monster." Although Jade Lotus had a petite frame, even transformed into a Tree Monster, she was still not as tall as Wang Tao. "Oh, it''s not cold anymore..." A slightly muffled voice came from inside. "As long as you''re not cold anymore." Wang Tao nodded. He hadn''t used the Entangling Roots in a long time, after all, it was only a Level 3 weapon. Wang Tao felt it should be able to block some of the wind and snow, and it seemed to be feasible indeed. As for himself, he had entered his Powered Armor, which wasn''t too cold inside. Of course, Wang Tao wasn''t afraid of the cold, but there were some instruments on the Powered Armor that might be useful, so it was better to bring it along. After all, this device was bound to Wang Tao, and no one else could use it. As for Xiang Hongbin and Lightning, neither of them was afraid of the cold, so Wang Tao didn''t need to worry about them. "Let''s go!" Once everything was ready, Wang Tao''s Powered Armor burst out a blue flame and charged into the snowy grounds. A faint blue flame also burst out from beneath Xiang Hongbin''s feet, and he slid along the ground behind Wang Tao. Lightning instantly grew larger, reverting to its true form, about the size of a cow. Lan Yulian directly sat on Lightning, and followed Wang Tao into the snow. The road was covered with a thick layer of snow, but the path was still recognizable. The address Gu Yun had given was not far from Wang Tao''s villa, and they quickly arrived there. "So many houses have collapsed..." This was a shanty area, no wonder it had collapsed so quickly under the heavy snow. Looking at the collapsed houses in the midst of the wind and snow, Wang Tao immediately walked over and began to search. The Powered Armor was equipped with a Life Detector, which could detect any life beneath. Naturally, the strength of the Powered Armor was unquestionable, and Wang Tao easily cleared away the rubble to find a survivor wrapped tightly in a blanket. "Tha-thank you..." The person was somewhat incredulous. He had already given up on treatment and was awaiting death, not expecting to be rescued. Seeing that the person still had an HP bar above their head, Wang Tao didn''t look closely but immediately called out to Lan Yulian. Whoosh¡ª A pale green light fell on the survivor''s head, and his HP instantly increased significantly. At the same time, several pieces of Cockroach Paste fell on the person. "You should find a place to hide." "Yes!" After being healed, this person quickly regained his spirits, hurriedly huddled with the blanket, and hid in a corner of the ruins, where he could block some of the cold wind. Whoosh¡ª Lightning directly charged into a pile of ruins and dug around. A few seconds later, he dug out two people hugging each other tightly, who seemed to be husband and wife. These two people were not dead but had fainted earlier. Now, after being dug out, they woke up groggily, only to see a giant mouth full of sharp teeth upon opening their eyes. Thump¡ª The two fainted again. Lightning hurriedly stepped back, signaling that this had nothing to do with him. Seeing this scene, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless and instructed: "Lightning, bring them up here, Jade Lotus, heal them." "Woof!" Lightning opened his mouth wide and gently carried the two people, placing them next to the first survivor. The first survivor didn''t dare to move. Lan Yulian then cast two successive green lights on the two unconscious survivors, and their HP instantly recovered significantly, although they still hadn''t awakened. "Take care of them for a while." Lan Yulian said to the person. "Yes, yes!" The person nodded hastily. On the other hand, Xiang Hongbin was doing much the same as Wang Tao. After detecting life in close proximity, relying on his strength, he opened up the ruins in a few seconds and found an unconscious survivor inside. When he carried the survivor out, Lan Yulian cast another healing spell, restoring the person''s HP. Wang Tao''s rescue was not professional and not too particular. As long as the people were alive, he would just pull them out. The injuries didn''t matter, as Lan Yulian could ensure their survival. Wang Tao, Xiang Hongbin, and Lightning frantically searched through the ruins, with Lan Yulian closely following and healing. Their rescue was a bit rough, but very efficient. In less than ten minutes, Wang Tao had dug out all the survivors from the pile of ruins. Thanks to Gu Yun''s quick notification, Wang Tao''s fast arrival, and equally quick rescues, no one died, which was a fortune in misfortune. After gathering these survivors together, Wang Tao was about to send them to the location designated by Gu Yun when Ding Yuqin suddenly contacted Wang Tao. "Wang Tao, are you done yet? Another place needs rescue..." Chapter 1012 403 Rough Rescue "I''m almost done, where''s the specific location?" Wang Tao immediately asked. He wasn''t far from Ding Yuqin now and could speak to her through the Perception Ring. "It''s at..." Ding Yuqin quickly named a location, which wasn''t far from where Wang Tao was. City Hall would try to arrange for them to be as close as possible to save time. "Okay." Wang Tao nodded and then looked at the survivors. "Follow me!" The snow was still falling, and the roads were covered in thick snow. However, the blue flames spewing from the back of Wang Tao''s Powered Armor could quickly melt the snow. He slid along the ground in front, leaving a clear path behind. Xiang Hongbin had the survivors follow in an orderly fashion while Lightning checked for stragglers at the rear. But it was too cold outside, and these survivors, being in poor physical condition, began to lose HP. So Lan Yulian used [Healing Light] directly, ensuring that under this continuous HP-restoring Ability coverage, the survivors wouldn''t die. After spending some time, Wang Tao delivered these survivors to a rescue station designated by City Hall. There were police officers, doctors, food, hot water... "Thank you so much, big brother, thank you..." The rescued survivors were extremely grateful, bowing and kowtowing to Wang Tao and the others. Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively and then coordinated with the staff present to ensure everything was in order. After confirming there were no issues, he waved his hand again. "Let''s go, to the next location!" ... Wang Tao was busy until dusk and didn''t know how many survivors he had saved before City Hall finally ran out of tasks for him. "It''s finally quiet..." Wang Tao let out a sigh of relief. It wasn''t because of fatigue¡ªof course, they were not at ease¡ªmostly because having a lot of work meant there were many disaster victims. No more tasks meant the situation was temporarily under control. "I wonder how many people will die this time..." Lan Yulian sighed. Despite the disaster relief efforts and having her, the healer, present, people still died because she could only restore HP, not bring the dead back to life. Some survivors didn''t make it until Wang Tao''s team arrived, and there was nothing Lan Yulian could do. "We have no way to deal with disasters of this magnitude..." Xiang Hongbin shook his head, then looked up at the sky. "Why does it feel like the snow is getting heavier..." "The snow has indeed gotten heavier." Wang Tao didn''t look very pleased. The snow had already stopped at this time yesterday, but today it was getting worse... it didn''t take much thought to realize that there would likely be more trouble tomorrow! But even if trouble arose again, Wang Tao couldn''t rescue anyone until he knew about it, so pondering further wasn''t useful... "Let''s go, we should head back." When Wang Tao and the others returned to the villa, the snow outside was so thick that Wang Tao almost couldn''t find where his villa was. "Wang Tao, are you guys okay?" Upon reaching the front door, Ding Yuqin and the others immediately ran out, concerned. "We''re all fine." Even though Wang Tao had told Ding Yuqin through the Perception Ring that everyone was fine, she wasn''t reassured until she saw them with her own eyes. After everyone entered the villa, Wang Tao had just left the Powered Armor and hadn''t had time to drink some hot soup when his Informational Wristwatch suddenly rang. "Wang Tao, are you at home? Can you help with something?" The call was from Cheng Yiyi. "Commander Cheng, what''s the issue?" "A building has collapsed, and it''s not easy to rescue right now. We need support..." "A building collapsed? Address!" Wang Tao was startled. A building had collapsed? This snowstorm was more threatening than he had imagined! After Cheng Yiyi gave the address, Wang Tao immediately said to Lan Yulian: "We need to go out again." "Okay!" Lan Yulian nodded. "Do we need to come along?" Ding Yuqin and the others quickly offered. "No need¡ªnevermind, let''s go together! A building has collapsed, it might be quite serious!" It took some time, but everyone then arrived at the location Cheng Yiyi had mentioned. Once there, Wang Tao finally understood what "a collapsed building" meant; it was obviously a poorer area, with various houses in the snow looking crooked and precarious, clearly makeshift "illegal constructions." The collapsed buildings were of this type, and Wang Tao saw members of the Sixth Army Corps gathered outside. Wang Tao and his group''s arrival immediately caught Cheng Yiyi''s attention. "Wang Tao, is that you?" The snowstorm was too intense, visibility was low, and it was also dark, so Cheng Yiyi couldn''t see clearly. "It''s me, what''s the situation now?" Hearing it was Wang Tao, Cheng Yiyi quickly explained: "It''s there, that''s a self-constructed building that doesn''t meet safety standards! Not only does it have three floors above ground, but there are also two underground! Now the heavy snow has caused it to collapse, trapping over eighty people inside. Those on the upper floors are somewhat okay, and some have been rescued. But it''s too difficult to rescue those below. I thought, since you have the Iron Beetle..." Cheng Yiyi wasn''t weak, and after her Awakening, she no longer feared the Iron Beetle. But that was in terms of combat. In rescue operations, the voluminous size of the Iron Beetle was something she couldn''t match. Wang Tao suddenly realized, she was counting on his access to the Iron Beetle. In other rescue operations, the Powered Armor or Wang Tao himself was entirely sufficient. But here, with the two underground floors, using the Iron Beetle, which was as large as a Giant, would be much more convenient. "Okay, just a moment!" Wang Tao immediately left the Powered Armor behind and then pulled out two Iron Beetles, tossing one to Han Rui. Chapter 1013 403: Rough Rescue_2 "We''ll do it together!" One of the Iron Beetles was supposed to be sold to the City Hall, but Gu Yun was a bit busy on his end and hadn''t found the time to discuss the specific price, so it still remained in Wang Tao''s possession. "Alright!" After Han Rui responded, she immediately activated the Iron Beetle. In the blink of an eye, a huge black "Insect Clan Monster" appeared in front of everyone. "So this is the Iron Beetle, huh!" "Damn, there''s another one!" "It''s strong!" "..." The people from the Sixth Army Corps all knew about the Iron Beetle, but not many had seen it. When they saw this massive creature appear, and there were two of them, many people exclaimed in astonishment. Wang Tao didn''t care about the others; he and Han Rui headed to the ruins, where they ferociously dug through the debris due to their large sizes. "Ah¡ª" Cheng Yiyi was about to say to let Wang Tao be careful not to accidentally kill any survivors inside¡ªthe rescue wasn''t a simple matter. If handled poorly, although the people may not initially be dead, they could be severely maimed then die due to being roughly extracted! But before she could speak, she saw Lan Yulian suddenly unleash a wide-range Healing Ability. Wang Tao dug out a person who looked barely alive, a mere touch could have killed him. However, under Lan Yulian''s Healing Ability, he revived as if "Returning to Light", instantly looking spirited. Ordinary people have an HP of 100. If they have killed zombies, it could go up to 1000, and higher than 1000 belongs to Ability Users, which no longer count as ordinary people. Lan Yulian''s Healing Light could restore 1000 HP per second, so for these ordinary people, Lan Yulian could instantly max out their HP! Of course, HP is not only related to Life Energy but also to injuries. Lan Yulian''s healing could only restore HP and could not heal severe injuries. For example, if someone were missing arms or legs, Lan Yulian couldn''t heal them, so these individuals couldn''t be restored to full HP. However, enough to keep them from dying was already sufficient. "..." Cheng Yiyi shook her head somewhat enviously. Having a powerful healing is indeed capricious! Under such rough rescue efforts, the entire area of ruins was quickly turned over, and everyone who still had a health bar was rescued by Wang Tao. As for those who no longer had a health bar, unfortunately, nothing could be done. "We rescued 64 people, 18 died..." After Wang Tao deactivated the Iron Beetle, he came to Cheng Yiyi''s side and sighed. "It was inevitable, you already did very well... Let''s transport the people to the temporary relief station together." Cheng Yiyi patted Wang Tao''s arm. "Okay." When the group transported these survivors to the relief station, it was already past midnight. "Thank you for today! If it weren''t for you, even if we could clear the ruins, probably not many could have been saved..." Cheng Yiyi expressed her gratitude to Wang Tao. "We all share the same goal; there''s no need for thanks," Wang Tao said with a smile, then frowned and added, "But this is not a long-term solution! The snow outside shows no signs of stopping and is getting heavier. According to this situation, people might need rescuing tomorrow, the day after, and beyond..." Changhe Base had over half a million people. If they were all affected by the snow disaster, they definitely wouldn''t be able to keep up... "That''s indeed a problem, and we are already trying to come up with a solution. We will likely move other people to the relief stations in advance to avoid disasters like collapsing buildings due to heavy snow. But the aftermath is also going to be challenging..." Changhe Base had many relief stations, which are durable buildings with plenty of food, so they should withstand the snow disaster. But the population within the base was simply too large, and moving so many people over was no simple task... "But these are headaches for the City Hall to worry about, we just need to wait for instructions." Cheng Yiyi gave a resigned smile. Wang Tao and the others didn''t head back, staying at the relief station until dawn. There were several incidents in between, and Wang Tao deployed a few more times, rescuing quite a number of people. His natural Night Vision, along with the Iron Beetle''s and Lan Yulian''s presence, meant they could operate efficiently even with fewer people, surpassing even the Sixth Army Corps. "You guys go back and rest for now; we''ll take it from here!" As dawn arrived, Cheng Yiyi looked at Wang Tao with immense gratitude. "Sure. Call me if you need anything!" Wang Tao led his group back to the villa. The snow outside continued to fall, nearly obscuring the houses in the Autumn Water Pavilion Villa Area. "Let''s clear the snow first!" Everyone busied themselves for a while, and finally, they cleared the snow around the few villas. Although it wouldn''t take long before the snow covered everything again, if not cleared, the accumulated snow would become increasingly difficult to remove... "Let''s all take a break! Rest and gather strength. These next few days we''ll probably need to act like a disaster relief team..." "Okay!" While everyone went to rest, Wang Tao received a message on his wristwatch from Yao Guodong. "Mr. Wang, do you think... If I fuse with the Crystal Core you gave me now, will it be successful? I didn''t have time to meditate yesterday; I was busy with the disaster relief and quite overwhelmed. But I want to take a chance with the Crystal Core because if I don''t become an Ability User, just stepping out of the door in this heavy snow is troublesome, severely affecting my work efficiency..." Before Wang Tao returned, he had found an Epic Crystal Core and had someone deliver it to Yao Guodong. Since then, Wang Tao hadn''t followed up on the matter. Now, considering the time, Yao Guodong''s curse would just end today. "Mayor Yao, go ahead and use it. I think there shouldn''t be any problem. You''ll definitely succeed today! But is your subsequent work arrangement okay?" Wang Tao immediately replied. The meditation he had mentioned earlier was actually just to make Yao Guodong wait another day for the curse to dissipate. Although Yao Guodong didn''t meditate now, he indeed waited for a day, so it didn''t matter. "Great! With your words, Mr. Wang, I feel reassured! As for the work, you don''t have to worry; I have arranged everything already!" "Since Mayor Yao has preparations, I won''t say more. I wish you success." "Haha, thank you! I''ll contact you again this time tomorrow. I''m getting ready to start the fusion with the Crystal Core!" Soon, Yao Guodong went silent. Wang Tao sent him messages, but there were no replies. "He must have fallen into deep sleep... He succeeded." After confirming there was nothing else to attend to, Wang Tao also went to sleep. When he woke up, it was already noon. Although the sleep wasn''t long, for these Ability Users, it was completely sufficient, and everyone was once again energized. "It''s still snowing outside, but it feels about the same as it did in the morning, it hasn''t gotten heavier..." Lan Yulian remarked while looking out the window. "It seems about the same..." Wang Tao nodded, the snow not getting heavier was good news. He checked his informational wristwatch. Cheng Yiyi had left a message saying that the committee had decided to start organizing people to retrieve other survivors. Even those who temporarily had no issues at home, as long as the houses were deemed unsafe, would be forcibly taken to a rescue station, involving about ten thousand people. The survivors would definitely prefer to come, since they couldn''t leave their houses and had no way to restock food. Being provided for at the rescue station would surely be better than staying home. "This is going to be a big project..." Wang Tao contacted Cheng Yiyi and Gu Yun, mentioning he was awake and asking if there was anything they needed his help with. There was no contact from Cheng Yiyi for the time being; she might have gone out where there was no signal. However, Gu Yun replied to Wang Tao. "Mr. Wang, we haven''t received any more news of house collapses over here, but some survivors have reported people dying of the cold at home... Could you please check the area around you? The approximate range is..." "Okay!" Wang Tao immediately agreed. Then he called everyone to get ready. As soon as they opened the door, everyone shivered. "Sss¡ª" "Why has it suddenly gotten so cold!" "I feel like it''s several degrees colder than when we came back this morning!" Wang Tao furrowed his brow. The low temperature was more terrifying than the heavy snow itself... Chapter 1014 404: The Mayor Freezes to Death The temperature outside was much colder than Wang Tao had imagined. He glanced at his informational wristwatch, which showed that it was over twenty degrees below zero. "This damn weather..." After cursing under his breath, Wang Tao quickly piloted his powered armor and stepped out with the others. He first checked on the Autumn Water Pavilion Villa area that he lived in. The villa area was vast, with only the nearby villas belonging to him, and the rest to others. It was convenient to check on these first since they were close. Ever since moving there, Wang Tao had barely interacted with these neighbors. After all, he was rarely at home, spending most of his time outside, without opportunities to socialize with the neighbors. Moreover, the villa area was quite large and the villas were spaced far apart, so Wang Tao couldn''t be bothered to visit the others. This was essentially the first time Wang Tao was formally meeting these neighbors. Although there was no overt segregation like wealthy districts or slums in Changhe Base, in reality, such divisions definitely existed. Among the survivors Wang Tao had rescued the day before, some were from the slums, typically living in shanty houses that weren''t as durable as brick or reinforced concrete houses. It wasn''t surprising that they collapsed under the heavy snow. Autumn Water Pavilion, however, was undoubtedly a wealthy district. The villas here were solid; they wouldn''t collapse under the weight of the snow. Of course, just because the houses were safe didn''t mean the people inside were. With the temperature so low, people could freeze to death if they ran out of firewood for heating. And with ordinary vehicles unable to travel in the snow, it was impossible to replenish food supplies. If a household happened to be out of food, they could be in mortal danger. Wang Tao took everyone for a round through the Autumn Water Pavilion Villa area. Then he couldn''t help but admire that the place truly lived up to being a wealthy district. They might not be living as comfortably as before the snowfall, but they had food, drink, and fire, and there was no immediate risk to their lives. They were much better off than the poor or the ordinary citizens. However, their spirits weren''t in great shape, with everyone looking wilted. After all, they were now confined to their homes, and with the exception of the ability users, ordinary people dared not venture outside. They could cope for a short while, but if the heavy snow persisted for a long time, their supplies would run out. The arrival of Wang Tao excited them. Although he made it clear that he wasn''t there to deliver supplies, but just to see if they were alive, it at least proved that they had not been forgotten, as they were unable to contact anyone else. It was only then that Wang Tao learned his villa had an underground dedicated line, distinct from Autumn Water Pavilion''s lines, which were above ground on telegraph poles... The heavy snowfall last night had caused a problem with the Pavilion''s lines, cutting them off from the outside world. Since they couldn''t leave their homes, they became very excited upon seeing Wang Tao. After understanding the situation, Wang Tao wanted to help fix their lines, but he couldn''t repair them promptly since he didn''t know where the fault was. So Wang Tao comforted these people, telling them they could come to his villa if they needed anything. Although they couldn''t travel far, the neighboring villas weren''t too distant from each other, so it was fine if they dressed warmly enough. After ensuring that these people were just in poor spirits and that there were no deaths or injuries, Wang Tao left the Autumn Water Pavilion. He then began to visit each household in the route planned by Gu Yun. By nightfall, when it was too dark to see one''s own fingers outside, Wang Tao had finally finished inspecting the situation within his purview. Overall, it was manageable¡ªno one had frozen to death, but some were cold and hungry. Wang Tao moved some people to other''s homes, so they could keep each other company and stay warm. As for food, there was no immediate worry. Wang Tao still had plenty of cockroach paste, something he and Ding Yuqin didn''t eat themselves. It was of little use just stored at home, so he gave it to these people instead. The survivors were obviously tearfully grateful to Wang Tao. As long as they had food, they could hold out for quite some time. "Thank you, Mr. Wang! You''ve been a great help to us!" Gu Yun also showered Wang Tao with thanks over the phone. If it hadn''t been for Wang Tao providing food for these survivors and grouping them where possible, new casualties would certainly have occurred after this night. "How are things on your end?" Wang Tao asked. Gu Yun sighed deeply. "Ah... there have been heavy casualties! As of now, the death toll from the snow disaster has exceeded 100! The exact number is still being counted. I estimate the figure might double..." Hearing Gu Yun''s words, Wang Tao also fell silent for a moment. If it were in the wilderness, Wang Tao wouldn''t be surprised at one or two hundred deaths, or even a thousand, since outside was incredibly dangerous. But this wasn''t the wilderness; this was within the base where everyone felt they were safe! And they hadn''t been killed by zombies or monsters, but rather by the snow disaster! It was worth noting that the heavy snow had only lasted three days to cause so many deaths... Experts at the research institute estimated that this snowfall would last at least half a month, probably a whole month. Considering the current situation, if it lasted half a month, there''s no telling how many people would die... However, such natural disasters were not something Wang Tao could change. He could only commit to saving as many people as possible... "Oh right, Mr. Wang, could you bring me the Iron Beetle that I preordered? With that, our rescue efforts might be much faster..." Chapter 1015 404: The Mayor Freezes to Death_2 Gu Yun hurriedly asked. "Can do. I''ll deliver it to you." Wang Tao hadn''t gone back yet; he''d let the others return first while he made a trip to City Hall alone. "Thank you, thank you so much!" Gu Yun was immediately overjoyed. By the time Wang Tao arrived at City Hall driving the Powered Armor, Gu Yun was already waiting outside. The heavy snow was still falling, but not much had accumulated at the entrance of City Hall because it was continuously being cleared. Seeing Gu Yun, dressed in thick clothing and waiting at the entrance, looking somewhat pitiable, it seemed he had been to the disaster relief frontline. But as an Ability User, it was natural for him to be untroubled by the frontline. Since it was dark, Gu Yun couldn''t see Wang Tao clearly until he was close. Only then did Gu Yun notice the faint blue light speeding through the night. "Mr. Wang! Please, come in!" Upon meeting, Gu Yun hurriedly invited Wang Tao inside. Once inside, one could see many injured lying in the hall, with injuries mostly from being crushed or from frostbite. Others were tending to them. "There''s no more space nearby; we had to bring the injured here." Gu Yun explained helplessly, then led Wang Tao to a reception room on the second floor. Wang Tao didn''t waste any words and pulled out the Iron Beetle with the Fire Resistance Ability. "This Iron Beetle is different from the others; it has a Fire Resistance Ability..." Wang Tao gave a brief introduction. Under normal circumstances, the Fire Resistance Ability wouldn''t be of much use. However, if one knew of this ability, they could develop tactics around it, so the ability was quite valuable. Gu Yun hadn''t known about these details before; upon hearing them his expression first lit up with joy, then turned slightly frustrated. Another ability meant that the cost of purchase would also increase! Before Wang Tao arrived, he''d already prepared the money, intending to make a straightforward transaction with Wang Tao. Now he had to pay extra at the last minute. Even though Gu Yun was using City Hall''s funds and not his own, he still felt pained by the expense. Eventually, Gu Yun bought the Iron Beetle for 2.6 million, a price much higher than the 1 million spent on the first one City Hall had purchased. This wasn''t Wang Tao taking advantage during a crisis; by Gu Yun''s estimates, it should have cost over 3 million, so Wang Tao was actually giving him a discount. Wang Tao had thought Gu Yun might delay payment, but instead, he transferred the money right in front of him. "It''s been a pleasure doing business!" Seeing the excitement on Gu Yun''s face, Wang Tao shook his hand. "A pleasure indeed. If there''s nothing else, we''ll be taking our leave now." "Okay! Rest well when you get back. We''ll handle things tonight. We may need your help again tomorrow!" "Alright, just call me if you need anything." "Will do¡ªoh, and I still have a large amount of protein blocks here; take them with you, we may need them later..." "Sure." After bringing home a large amount of Cockroach Paste, Wang Tao contacted Cheng Yiyi to see if she needed any help. Cheng Yiyi also indicated that help wasn''t necessary as the situation was under control for the moment. If anything came up, she would contact Wang Tao. Thus, Wang Tao and his group managed to get some good rest. The next day, it was still snowing heavily outside. Wang Tao went out to check, and the temperature seemed to have remained the same, still around minus twenty degrees Celsius. Just after breakfast, Gu Yun sent a message right on time, hoping Wang Tao could make another trip to check on the people in other districts to ensure their safety and possibly deliver some protein blocks. Communication with many areas had been disrupted, and City Hall was unclear about the situation there. Wang Tao naturally agreed there was no issue, but as he was preparing to leave, Yao Guodong suddenly contacted him. "Mr. Wang, I''ve become an Ability User!" Yao Guodong was extremely excited. "Congratulations!" A smile appeared on Wang Tao''s face. "If it weren''t for Mr. Wang''s help, I would never have been able to become an Ability User in my life! You are my benefactor! I won''t say more than necessary, I will definitely repay you!" Yao Guodong hadn''t forgotten who had helped him become an Ability User, and he was very straightforward about wanting to repay Wang Tao. "There''s no need to talk about repayment, Mayor Yao is being too polite..." After politely demurring a couple more sentences, Yao Guodong added: "I must say, after becoming an Ability User, the improvement in physical fitness is substantial. I hardly fear the low temperatures anymore and can go out now... Mr. Wang, I won''t talk any longer, I still have work to do..." Since Yao Guodong was awake now, disaster relief was something he had to personally take charge of. His role as mayor was earned through genuine ability, and now as an Ability User, even setting aside his combat strength, at the very least, his physical capabilities had greatly improved. This meant he should have no problem being on the frontlines of disaster relief. "Okay." After ending the call, Wang Tao led everyone out the door. Following the map given to him by Gu Yun, they began a house-to-house search. However, his luck wasn''t so good this time. In the first house they searched, they found a dead body. It was an old man in his sixties. Judging from the clues at the scene, Wang Tao thought that the man''s window must have been blown open by the wind. The old man tried to close it but accidentally fell, and, not knowing whether he was knocked unconscious or just couldn''t get up, he never managed to rise. The sub-zero air of twenty to thirty degrees below zero entered the house, and it didn''t take long for him to freeze to death... "Sigh..." Lan Yulian sighed. Her Healing Ability was strong, but she couldn''t bring the dead back to life. "Let''s go." Wang Tao shook his head and then led the others to the next house. From morning till dark, Wang Tao once again completed the task given by Gu Yun. Not only had he searched all of the assigned areas, but he had also gathered the Survivors who were in difficult situations in a building with Durability, providing them with food, hot water, and firewood, ensuring their survival for three days. In reality, they wouldn''t need three days¡ªas early as tomorrow, the Legion would come to take them to rescue stations. Wang Tao and his company had been busy the entire day without feeling tired¡ªof course, with their physical condition, they indeed would not feel tired. But their moods were not very good because they had already encountered over a dozen bodies today. Some were in beds, some on the ground, some outside... Without exception, all had frozen to death. Changhe Base was built in the summer when it was hot. Perhaps no one had anticipated this kind of twenty-plus degree sub-zero temperatures, and historically, this area had never experienced such low temperatures... so many of the houses here were simply constructed and not great at resisting severe cold. Especially for Ordinary people with weaker constitutions, catching a cold could mean never waking up again once they went to sleep... However, there was also some good news. Yao Guodong informed Wang Tao that after three busy days, disaster relief efforts at City Hall were finally on the right track, with tasks allotted to various departments. If any further issues arose, they could quickly allocate staff to address them, no longer in the disorganized panic they had been before. While this didn''t directly solve the problem, being able to promptly identify issues was still acceptable. After all, River Base was so large and home to so many residents; it wasn''t easy for City Hall to achieve this level of organization. Among these, the contribution made by Yao Guodong, who had just become an Ability User, was the most significant. His abilities in this area were indeed strong. Wang Tao and his group returned home, contacted Yao Guodong to make sure there were no issues on his end, and then all went to rest. ... The next morning, it was an Informational Wristwatch alarm that woke Wang Tao. Usually, people would leave messages if they contacted him in the morning, as direct calls were rare, especially now at six o''clock when it was still dark. This clearly indicated an urgent matter. The caller was Gu Yun. "Head Secretary Gu, what''s the matter?" "Mr. Wang! Mayor Yao froze to death overnight!" "?" Chapter 1016 405: Crime Scene ``` "Ah?" Wang Tao doubted whether he had misheard. "Mr. Wang, you heard correctly, Mayor Yao Guodong froze to death!" Gu Yun''s tone was somewhat serious, and also a bit sad. Yao Guodong... froze to death? Wang Tao still found it hard to believe; it was all too sudden. They had just spoken the night before. Yao Guodong was now an ability user, and the Crystal Core that Wang Tao had merged for him passively enhanced physical attributes, which meant Yao Guodong''s physical condition far exceeded that of ordinary people. Of course, that didn''t mean Yao Guodong was highly resistant to cold, but that he could move freely in low temperatures¡ªif he felt cold, he certainly had the ability to find a warm place to stay, rather than succumbing to hypothermia like ordinary people, exhausting his physical strength, and eventually freezing to death in the snow. Not to mention he was the mayor of the base, basically always under protected status... Under such circumstances, for him to have frozen to death? "What exactly happened?" Wang Tao asked, frowning. Gu Yun immediately explained: "Last night, Mayor Yao was busy until the early hours before going back. The mayor''s wife said that after he returned, he drank some alcohol and was a bit groggy when he went to sleep. Then, at night, he got up to go to the bathroom, went out, and never returned. It wasn''t until the next morning that the mayor''s wife discovered Mayor Yao had frozen to death in the yard..." After hearing this explanation, Wang Tao''s frown deepened. If it were an ordinary person, this explanation might be reasonable. But when applied to the mayor of Changhe City Base, there were far too many unreasonable aspects. For instance, during this critical time, how could he dare to drink after returning home? Was he too comfortable in his position as mayor? Another point, he had to go out of the main door to use the toilet? What kind of old house was he living in that didn''t even have a restroom? Although there were some residences in the base, particularly where some civilians lived that still used outside public toilets, he was the mayor; he surely couldn''t be living in such poor conditions, could he? And then, Yao Guodong had disappeared all night, and the mayor''s wife hadn''t noticed? Hadn''t they slept in the same bed? To Wang Tao, there were just too many inconsistencies. But then again, it was the apocalypse, and in the apocalypse, inconsistencies were in themselves consistent... Wang Tao asked further: "Where are you now?" "Right at the scene!" "Can I come over and have a look?" "Of course, the reason I was urgently looking for you was to ask if you could come over..." "Fine, just wait." After Wang Tao ended the call, the others also gradually woke up. He informed everyone about the situation. "The mayor froze to death?" Everyone was somewhat stunned. "Gu Yun just called... I''ll skip breakfast and go to the scene to see what''s really going on." Wang Tao briefly repeated what Gu Yun had said to them. He had only known Yao Guodong for a few days and didn''t have much of an acquaintance with him, in fact, it was Yao Guodong who was indebted to him. But after all, he was the mayor, the highest executive official of Changhe Base. His sudden death could have some unpredictable effects on the base. Wang Tao definitely needed to pay attention. "I''ll come with you!" Han Rui quickly spoke up. She had been a criminal police officer in the past and had some experience in this area. "I''ll go too," said He Jijun as he walked out. "Take me with you. I feel there might be something fishy about this case. A mayor freezing to death doesn''t seem right. Perhaps I could spot something unusual..." Blue lights flickered from Xiang Hongbin''s mechanical prosthetic eye. "All right." So, Wang Tao headed out with Lan Yulian, Han Rui, He Jijun, Xiang Hongbin, and Lightning. "Hiss¡ªso cold!" As soon as she stepped outside, Han Rui curled her neck in reaction to the chill. Among this group, only she was a Level 3 ability user, and her physical condition was relatively weak compared to the others, making her less resistant to the severe cold. Wang Tao checked his informational wristwatch, and it seemed the temperature had dropped another degree since yesterday. "Could it be that the temperature will keep dropping?" Shaking his head, Wang Tao got everyone into the car. After some time, they arrived at City Hall. The mayor''s residence was in a villa behind City Hall. Although heavy snow was flying, the perimeter of the villa was already filled with parked cars. Police lines had been set up, with thickly garbed police officers maintaining order¡ªmost people were prevented from entering. "Wang Tao!" Inside the police line, Gu Yun waved at Wang Tao. Despite the reduced visibility due to the heavy snow, Xiang Hongbin''s figure, build, and eyes glowing with blue light were still eye-catching, and Gu Yun spotted them at a glance. "We''re coming over," Wang Tao said as the police lifted the line for them. Upon entering, he faintly heard some crying. Before he approached, his mental detection had already scanned the area. At a glance, he saw the pale, stiff figure of Yao Guodong lying in the snow, surrounded by a circle of police taking photographs and gathering evidence. At the villa''s entrance, two warmly dressed women were kneeling on the ground, crying. Wang Tao surreptitiously observed Gu Yun''s expression. "Aren''t you going to move him?" "The evidence collection isn''t complete yet. This is a significant event after all; we can''t afford to overlook anything," Gu Yun sighed. "Do you mind if we take a look?" There were two police lines: one to prevent outsiders from entering, and the other encircled Yao Guodong. "Of course, but please don''t disturb the scene..." ``` Chapter 1017 - 1017 405 Crime Scene_2 ?Chapter 1017: Chapter 405: Crime Scene_2 Chapter 1017: Chapter 405: Crime Scene_2 ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui moved closer to each other. After seeing the scene clearly, Han Rui instantly shook her head. ¡°Just as we analyzed in the car, there are no traces here, all covered by the heavy snow...¡± Now the snow was heavy, and Yao Guodong had been lying in the snow for such a long time that any traces would have been covered already. However, suddenly, Han Rui and He Jijun spoke at the same time. ¡°There¡¯s a discovery!¡± ¡°Hm? What?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. Gu Yun next to him looked curiously at the two. ¡°There¡¯s a footprint, a very small one, unlike Yao Guodong¡¯s!¡± He Jijun pointed to one place and said. Han Rui nodded as well. ¡°That¡¯s right, it seems to be a woman¡¯s footprint. The footprint leads directly to the villa...¡± Wang Tao looked at the spot they were pointing to but saw nothing. He looked carefully again, and didn¡¯t know whether it was an illusion or psychological influence, but he seemed to really see a footprint... Meanwhile, Gu Yun looked at Han Rui and He Jijun with a shocked face. ¡°How did you see that? It¡¯s the mayor¡¯s wife¡¯s footprint; she found the mayor half an hour ago, checked on him, and then immediately went to call the police...¡± Hearing Gu Yun¡¯s words, Wang Tao and the others suddenly furrowed their brows. They caught onto a key point¡ªnot the ¡°mayor¡¯s wife,¡± but what Gu Yun said about the footprint being half an hour old. It was only half an hour ago, but the footprint was already nearly invisible. And since Yao Guodong had been lying here for at least five hours, anything that happened during those five hours would clearly be completely covered up by the heavy snow... If his death really involved any foul play, it would be hard to investigate! ¡°I¡¯ll study this closely...¡± Han Rui and the others resumed their analysis. ¡°See if you can find anything.¡± Wang Tao patted Lightning¡¯s head, and the dog immediately started sniffing around. ¡°I almost forgot, you also have this mutant military dog; maybe it really can discover something!¡± Gu Yun looked at Lightning, and his eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°I¡¯m not too knowledgeable about this area, let them look into it. I want to ask more about Mayor Yao¡¯s case...¡± Wang Tao turned to Gu Yun. ¡°Alright.¡± Gu Yun nodded. The two then started talking on the side. Wang Tao, having no experience in such matters, indeed couldn¡¯t make out much, but he possessed the ability of mental detection. So while chatting with Gu Yun, he kept using mental detection to observe Yao Guodong. Wang Tao first looked at the spot of the mayor¡¯s wife¡¯s footprints. Visually, it was hard to see any footprints there, but when his spiritual power swept over, he could clearly feel the snow here was different from other places! This discovery thrilled Wang Tao; his spiritual power was indeed useful! Moreover, he could not only discern footprints but also use the state of the snow to determine the order of the footprints. Thus, Wang Tao continued detecting around the surroundings of Yao Guodong. Then, Wang Tao found that below the masked snow, there indeed were some spots that were different¡ªthere were other footprints! However, after comparing for a while, Wang Tao found that these footprints all belonged to Yao Guodong. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t disappointed; he memorized all these footprints and after a while of analysis, he slowly pieced together a moving three-dimensional image. Wang Tao slowly furrowed his brows. Judging by these footprints, it seemed like Yao Guodong really was drunk¡ªhe had staggered all the way from the villa¡¯s entrance to here, then stood still, seemingly to take off his trousers. But he didn¡¯t stand steady, his steps were messy, and he staggered around the area before collapsing into the snow, never getting up again... For an ordinary person, this would be a logical scenario; before the apocalypse, the north occasionally had news of people freezing to death outside, usually due to drunkenness. But Yao Guodong was an ability user; even if he really was drunk, it shouldn¡¯t have been like that... Wang Tao looked carefully again; the scene indeed only had the footprints of Yao Guodong and his wife, and there was a long time interval between their footprints, indicating that Yao Guodong had come out alone. Near Yao Guodong¡¯s body, there were also some frozen... urine? So he really did come out to urinate? This urine had not yet been discovered by the police, but surely they would find it once they moved the body... Wang Tao continued searching around Yao Guodong¡¯s body, but other than those, he found nothing else. Then Wang Tao focused on Yao Guodong¡¯s body. Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power was a strong ability, not only could it connect with another person¡¯s spiritual power, but it could also, like X-ray vision, penetrate someone¡¯s clothes to observe their body. However, Tao used this Ability very rarely, as even slightly sensitive ordinary people or Ability Users could feel like they were being spied on. If it was a powerful Awakener, they might discover that it was Tao who was spying. Tao didn¡¯t want to be seen as a perverted voyeur, so he only used it occasionally when playing games with Yu Qin and the others to make it more fun. Normally, he hardly ever used it. Now that Yao Guodong was dead, Tao had no hesitation, openly applying his Mental Detection on him to study his condition thoroughly. On Yao Guodong¡¯s body, let alone a fatal wound, there wasn¡¯t even a normal cut. ¡°Could it really have been an accident?¡± Tao frowned. He personally was more inclined to believe it was murder, but he really couldn¡¯t tell anything, even with Mental Detection. ¡°I can only rely on them now...¡± Tao shook his head. Half an hour later, the on-site investigation temporarily came to a conclusion, preparing to take Yao Guodong¡¯s body back home. However, the crime scene would still continue to be sealed off, possibly for many more days. But given the current weather conditions, if nothing was discovered today, it might be even harder to uncover anything later. ¡°I found something...¡± Han Rui quietly reported to Tao, her finding was urine, Yao Guodong had indeed gone out to urinate. ¡°Hmm.¡± Tao nodded, certain that moving Yao Guodong¡¯s body would reveal it. After the police moved Yao Guodong¡¯s body inside the villa, Gu Yun called out to Tao and the others: ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go inside.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Tao and his group entered the villa. By then, the major Force Leaders of the base had mostly arrived, as Yao Guodong¡¯s death was indeed a big deal. After greeting a few acquaintances, Tao looked at the two women kneeling and crying in front of Yao Guodong¡¯s body. One was about twenty-five or twenty-six, and the other about eighteen or nineteen, both very beautiful, but they were ordinary people with only a few hundred HP. ¡°These are Mayor Yao¡¯s two wives, cough...¡± Gu Yun whispered into Tao¡¯s ear. Tao: ¡°...¡± To think Mayor Yao, at his age, still had such a youthful mindset! ¡°These aren¡¯t his original wife, are they?¡± Gu Yun whispered. ¡°Of course not, surviving the apocalypse alone is already good enough... These families are mostly reconstructed now... These two ladies are ones Mayor Yao continued his lineage with after joining City Hall.¡± ¡°So which one did you mention as the mayor¡¯s wife before?¡± Tao asked again. ¡°The older one; her name is Qiu Rong. Though our base doesn¡¯t recognize polygamy or polyandry, nor does it enforce monogamy¡ªafter all, we¡¯re short of people and need them to reproduce... But officially, we still maintain monogamy, so Qiu Rong, the first to join Mayor Yao, holds the standing as his wife...¡± Tao nodded, it made sense. Gu Yun approached the two women: ¡°Madam, let¡¯s go inside first. The autopsy is about to start...¡± ¡°Okay...¡± An autopsy could be a bit terrifying for ordinary people, so Gu Yun asked the two women to return to their rooms. Tao noticed that there were police guarding the door to the room. ¡°These two are very suspicious!¡± After Gu Yun left, Han Rui whispered to Tao. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°Because, despite their hard crying and the tears streaming down, it¡¯s very fake; there¡¯s hardly any genuine sadness!¡± ¡°...¡± Tao suddenly pinched Han Rui¡¯s small hand, then somewhat speechlessly whispered: ¡°Do you expect two young women to genuinely fancy an old man who isn¡¯t tall or handsome and probably isn¡¯t great in bed? Of course, that¡¯s not entirely impossible, such as if they had a story together. But they haven¡¯t gone through much together; these two are people Mayor Yao found after joining City Hall, so it¡¯s likely the Mayor was merely captivated by their looks...¡± ¡°...¡± Han Rui felt Tao made sense, too. She subconsciously looked at Tao; she and Tao were together because they had been through a lot... However, Tao suddenly said: ¡°But my gut feeling tells me, something might be uncovered through these two women...¡± Chapter 1018 - 1018 406 The Famous Detective Wang ?Chapter 1018: Chapter 406: The Famous Detective Wang Chapter 1018: Chapter 406: The Famous Detective Wang This was certainly not some sixth sense; rather, Wang Tao saw that both women had a negative status underneath their HP bar. [Poisoning: An ordinary toxin with certain addictive properties; long-term use can lead to death. Detoxification is possible if not consumed again within seven days.] Both women were poisoned, and it was the kind of poison that could cause addiction! Wang Tao¡¯s first reaction upon seeing this status was to think they had taken some kind of drug, but after careful consideration, he doubted it. Although Wang Tao had never seen drugs, according to his understanding, drugs could not be resisted by sheer willpower, and even after holding out for seven days, it was not possible to completely eradicate the addiction. However, the description of the poisoning status stated that one could detoxify if not using it again within seven days... Wang Tao guessed that this might not be the drugs as he understood them, but rather something that emerged after the apocalypse, or even, possibly an Ability or an Awakening! It was the post-apocalyptic era; the presence of all sorts of strange abilities would not be surprising. If these two women did not have this status, then Wang Tao might have really believed it was an accident. But with this status of poisonous addiction, there was a high probability that there was more to the story! Previously, Yao Guodong did not exhibit this kind of poisoning status, so clearly it wasn¡¯t Yao Guodong bringing drugs to these women; they were hiding it from him... However, Wang Tao did not say much, after all, they were the mayor¡¯s wives. If a scandal occurred, it might be better not to let it spread, as the disgrace would fall not only on Yao Guodong but the entire City Hall. Besides, it would be difficult for Wang Tao to explain how he knew they were poisoned... Anyway, Wang Tao felt that if City Hall conducted an investigation into these two women, they would definitely uncover something¡ªit just depended on whether they were willing to do so. ¡°Wang Tao, did you discover something...¡± Han Rui leaned in close to Wang Tao and quietly asked. She knew Wang Tao quite well; he was not one to speak without reason. If Wang Tao said there was a problem, then it was highly likely that he had discovered something. Wang Tao didn¡¯t answer, but Han Rui saw it in his eyes¡ªindeed, he had discovered something, but it was not convenient to speak of it at the moment. Han Rui instantly understood, she closed her mouth, planning to ask Wang Tao again after they returned. Next came the autopsy of Yao Guodong¡¯s body, which City Hall conducted in front of everyone, cutting open the corpse. The only ones still present at the scene were Ability Users. Although they couldn¡¯t match the expertise of forensic experts, they might still be able to notice something. Worth mentioning is that, before they started cutting into the body, Yao Guodong¡¯s second wife ran out from a room, crying and asking if they could refrain from dissecting Yao Guodong¡¯s body so he could be left intact. At this juncture, voicing such concerns made it difficult not to arouse suspicion. Nevertheless, she didn¡¯t do anything to hinder the autopsy, and when Gu Yun firmly indicated it was not possible, she returned to her room in tears, seemingly deeply distressed and upset. Naturally, people began to suspect Yao Guodong¡¯s second wife, but seeing that she did not interfere with their work and appeared genuinely heartbroken, they started to think she might indeed be mourning for Yao Guodong... Some even commended the deep affection between the couple. ¡°It¡¯s too fake,¡± Han Rui murmured to Wang Tao. ¡°Indeed, fake,¡± whispered Lan Yulian in agreement. ¡°That fake, huh...¡± Honestly, Wang Tao had not really seen through the act¡ªif Han Rui hadn¡¯t pointed it out and he had only considered their expressions and actions at the time, he would have thought the two women were truly saddened by Yao Guodong¡¯s death. ¡°As a woman, I can feel that she¡¯s very fake!¡± Lan Yulian whispered an explanation. ¡°The sixth sense of a woman!¡± Han Rui chimed in. ¡°Women, indeed, are skilled at performing!¡± Wang Tao sighed. However, feeling two pairs of eyes staring at him, Wang Tao quickly held Lan Yulian and Han Rui¡¯s hands. ¡°I meant them, not you.¡± ¡°Hmph~¡± While Wang Tao quietly conversed with the two women, he didn¡¯t neglect observing Yao Guodong¡¯s body with his spiritual power. Spiritual power detection was even more meticulous than the medical examination by the forensic experts, yet he still found nothing unusual. After a while, the forensic expert shook his head at Gu Yun. Gu Yun then looked at the Ability Users present, including Wang Tao, who all shook their heads. So Gu Yun said: ¡°Then let¡¯s send Mayor Yao¡¯s body to City Hall first.¡± The autopsy obviously wouldn¡¯t end just like that; a more thorough examination was necessary, especially since Yao Guodong¡¯s death was so peculiar. However, immediate results were not expected, and it was better to move Yao Guodong¡¯s body first; leaving it at Yao Guodong¡¯s house was definitely not an option. Concurrent with the autopsy was the questioning of the people in Yao Guodong¡¯s house. There were six people in Yao Guodong¡¯s villa: Yao Guodong himself, his two wives, two maids, and a driver who was also a bodyguard. After the autopsy was completed, the preliminary questioning of them was also finished. Each of these people had an alibi, and none had any motive for murder... ¡°We probably won¡¯t be able to find anything for now; I guess they¡¯ll first tell the public that Mayor Yao died from an ¡®accidental death¡¯...¡± Gu Yun lit a cigarette and came over to Wang Tao, sighing. The investigation would continue, but it was clear that Gu Yun did not hold much hope. It was not like before, with all sorts of miraculous abilities emerging by the day; even if Yao Guodong was indeed murdered, the investigation might yield nothing. Not to mention that all current evidence suggested that it was an accident. Chapter 1241 - 1241 511 Please Save Us ?Chapter 1241: Chapter 511 Please Save Us Chapter 1241: Chapter 511 Please Save Us ¡°You¡¯re saying there¡¯s a problem here?¡± Above the high skies, looking down at the snow slope beneath him, Wang Tao furrowed his brow. Perhaps because he was too high up, he really couldn¡¯t discern anything wrong with it. But Golden Eagle suggested there was something off about this place, although exactly what was amiss, it couldn¡¯t quite articulate... ¡°Chirp~¡± Golden Eagle implored Wang Tao to trust it, its year-round hunting honed its vision and sixth sense with precision. ¡°Alright, I trust you, let¡¯s go down then.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head and then prepared to have Golden Eagle descend. However, just as Golden Eagle was about to land, a sudden bang sounded from afar. Wang Tao immediately turned his head to look and saw an explosion occurring at a distant reservoir; some layers of ice were blown apart, exposing the zombies frozen inside! Wang Tao had noticed those zombies frozen in the reservoir during his search earlier, but he hadn¡¯t bothered with them. Seeing this, Golden Eagle¡¯s instincts urged it to fly over, but remembering it was under Wang Tao¡¯s command, it forcibly restrained itself. Wang Tao examined the marks that were clearly made by explosives, raised his eyebrow, and then directly ordered, ¡°Let¡¯s go over and take a look.¡± Golden Eagle, which had just landed, immediately took to the skies and flew over. After Golden Eagle had left, the snow-covered ground below suddenly began to wriggle, and a dark hole emerged, with two figures visible inside¡ªone white, one black. The white one was Zou Jian, and the black one was Yao Hai. ¡°That Mutant Eagle¡¯s been drawn away, go quickly!¡± Yao Hai spoke with urgent nervousness. ¡°Damn, how could my luck be so bad today...¡± Zou Jian was even more anxious than Yao Hai. After all, Yao Hai would stay hidden inside the base all the time, while he had to return to Mammoth Base. But as someone who had survived in the Apocalypse for so long, Zou Jian¡¯s mental fortitude was still dependable; he quickly calmed down. Once he was sure the eagle in the sky was gone, he prepared to leave. At that moment, Yao Hai suddenly seized his arm. ¡°I used one of the ¡®Bait¡¯ from our base, which we hardly have any of! Don¡¯t forget what you promised me!¡± Zou Jian struggled, but Yao Hai¡¯s grip was like a vice, impossible to break free from. He had no choice but to solemnly assure him, ¡°You¡¯ve saved my life! Rest assured, we¡¯ll definitely come to rescue you! Just wait for us!¡± Only then did Yao Hai let go. Zou Jian adjusted the white cloak on his body, found his direction and immediately took off. Only when the snow slope that led to the Ocean Base gate was no longer behind him, and there were no eagles in the sky, did he breathe a sigh of relief and then cursed viciously. ¡°Stupid! No one¡¯s going to rescue you, just wait to die!¡± After cursing, he still felt unsatisfied, so he cursed in his mind over and over as he ran. ¡°Damn! Agreeing now? You only regret when death is upon you? What were you doing earlier? Just the mere aura of that eagle from a distance was terrifying enough, expecting Mammoth Base to come rescue you? You want to die but we don¡¯t!¡± Who could have imagined, when just earlier Yao Hai had told him that Ocean Base was being targeted by a horrifying eagle and that Ocean Base couldn¡¯t last for many more days, how absolutely desperate he had felt! After all, he had come to strut around the Ocean Base and to subtly pressure Yao Hai. Who would have thought he¡¯d risk his life? It was all Yao Hai¡¯s fault! If he had agreed earlier to merge into Mammoth Base and moved all those over a thousand people into Mammoth Base, would all these problems have arisen? As for the fact that Yao Hai had saved his life... indeed, he owed him a life-saving favor. If it weren¡¯t for Yao Hai attracting the eagle away, he would have surely met his end alongside Ocean Base. But, this was the Apocalypse! Ideas such as repaying a life-saving favor with a spring of continuous gratitude were all but impossible to fulfill. Repay him? Not stabbing him in the back was already the greatest repayment! So, he was only making empty promises; what if Yao Hai decided to drag him down with him in death? ¡°I have to hurry back and inform the boss; we need to beware of this eagle recently! And we can¡¯t want Ocean Base anymore, they¡¯re doomed!¡± Zou Jian tightened his collar and ran crazily towards Mammoth Base. ... Elsewhere, at the entrance of Ocean Base. Yao Hai had already closed the gate again but did not leave; instead, he turned to Su Jie beside him and asked, ¡°Su Jie, do you think... Zou Jian will keep his promise?¡± ¡°No.¡± Su Jie did not even need to think, immediately shaking her head. ¡°Huh?¡± Yao Hai opened his mouth wide, momentarily at a loss for words. Seeing Yao Hai¡¯s expression, Su Jie shook her head somewhat helplessly, then said earnestly, ¡°Given his character, he won¡¯t save us. Even if he did want to, Mammoth Base wouldn¡¯t agree. He isn¡¯t a decision-maker there; he can¡¯t make the call.¡± ¡°Then why did you still...¡± Yao Hai had originally not wanted to let Zou Jian go; they were doomed anyway, so Zou Jian ought to meet his end with them! After all, Zou Jian wasn¡¯t a good person, and Yao Hai felt no guilt about it. But Su Jie had suggested letting Zou Jian go to Mammoth Base for help... Although Yao Hai felt Zou Jian was unreliable, he had followed Su Jie¡¯s advice, choosing to believe Zou Jian. But how come now Su Jie herself didn¡¯t believe it? Wouldn¡¯t that mean letting Zou Jian take advantage of them? The ¡®Bait¡¯ they had set up outside the base was not easy to come by... However, at this moment, Su Jie added, ¡°Zou Jian won¡¯t save us proactively, but... he might save us passively!¡± ¡°How so?¡± Yao Hai knitted his brows, sensing he was onto something, but in a flash, could not remember. Chapter 1 - 1 1 The Apocalypse Descends_1 1 Chapter 1 The Apocalypse Descends_1 Translator: 549690339 Cleared! Watching his game character hammer the final boss to death, Wang Tao felt a surge of satisfaction. He didnt have a huge addiction to gaming, after all, he was busy with work. But whenever he did play, he had to do it perfectly. Things like no-damage clears and unlocking all achievements. Of course, this only applied to single-player games, he couldnt afford to spend on pay-to-win online games with his familys financial condition. The game Wang Tao was playing this time was called Apocalypse Kill Kill Kill, a side-scrolling fighting game that wasnt rich in content but was a good way to kill time. He couldnt remember when he downloaded it, but after playing for a day, he had finally unlocked all the achievements. Time to go out for a big meal, reward my hard work! Only, looking at the pouring rain outside, Wang Tao frowned, Why is it still raining He was an ordinary stuntman for martial arts scenes, and the reason he was home playing games instead of working was the heavy rain, which had led to the cancellation of all the days shooting. Tired from playing all day, dont feel like cooking Theres a small eatery downstairs, not far from me In the end, Wang Tao decided to eat out. Just as he opened his door, his neighbors door also opened. A young woman in a black dress appeared, her left hand holding a phone, her elbow holding a bag, and her right hand carrying high heels. Wang Tao couldnt help but steal another glance at those slender and well-proportioned legs in black stockings. Sister-in-law, good evening! Wang Tao was surprised to see her but still greeted her politely. The young womans name was Ding Yuqin, the wife of a young director named Zhao Yuan. They had been married for a short time and were very affectionate. Wang Tao and Director Zhao were from the same hometown, and although they both worked in the movie industry and didnt cross paths often, they were acquainted, and he would greet him as Brother Zhao. Wang Tao remembered that the couple went back to their hometown last month, and he didnt know when they had returned. Upon hearing Wang Taos voice, the young woman looked up, revealing a delicate face with light makeup. Oh, its you, Xiao Wang, good evening! Ding Yuqin tucked her hair back and smiled slightly. Wang Tao held the elevator for her, but Ding Yuqin didnt get in, instead saying suddenly, I just remembered, I forgot to take something. You go down first Wang Taos face stiffened slightly, but he responded politely, Alright, then Ill go ahead. Rejected again, but he had grown used to it. Ding! Entering the elevator, looking at the reflection of the tall and burly man, 1.83 meters tall, with a vicious scar on his face in the mirror, Wang Tao sighed helplessly. He had been injured accidentally on the set, and with a physique that could rival a fitness instructors, his appearance scared many people. He once had the appearance of a tender young man and the opportunity to be a lead actor. But now, he had become a martial arts double, and always for villains With a self-deprecating smile, Wang Tao left the elevator, opened the unit door, and rushed into a small restaurant called Big Mouth Meat Eater. The restaurant was empty; an old TV was broadcasting the weather forecast, and the presenter said the intense rainfall would stop tomorrow, telling everyone not to panic. Boss Li, where are you? Wang Tao called out. Coming! The voice came from the side door. A moment later, the owner came in wearing a raincoat, carrying a military green oil drum. I was just refueling the car. What would you like, Xiao Wang? A large portion of fried rice noodles! Alright! Just a moment! Soon, Boss Li brought over a large portion of fried rice noodles and complained, Ah, this damn weather, including you, Xiao Wang, not even twenty customers today, cant even make the rent Wang Tao shook his head with a laugh and then asked curiously, Wheres Sister Liu? She didnt come today? The couple ran the shop together, and Sister Liu was Boss Lis wife. She has a fever, sleeping inside. But with so few customers today, I can manage alone. Boss Li shrugged. Seeing this, Wang Tao didnt say much more; todays downpour had disrupted many peoples work. Im off, Boss Li, the moneys transferred to you, check it! No problem, take care! Wang Tao lived in an old residential area called Happy Community, which exuded a sense of age with its single courtyard and four six-story buildings. The population was not large, and the elevator was installed later. Wang Tao lived in apartment 501 of building number 4. Unlike his neighbor Director Zhao, whose house was purchased, Wang Taos was rented. It was a two-bedroom apartment that cost three thousand a month. Although not located in the city center of Huangfeng City, it was close to the Huangfeng Film City, which made the rent not so cheap. Originally, Wang Tao had a roommate to share the rent, but the roommate abandoned his star dream to go back to his hometown to get married. Recently, Wang Tao had been considering moving out because he could barely afford the rent. In the living room, there were a few dumbbells and a punching bag. Wang Tao exercised every day, since having a good body shape required regular workouts. But not today he finally had a day off, so he decided to relax thoroughly. Play on the computer a bit longer, until twelve, then go to sleep early today, he thought. Just as he sat down, Wang Tao suddenly felt a piercing pain spread throughout his body. Sizzle Looking at the sparking wires at his feet, Wang Taos eyes widened, and then darkness enveloped him as he fainted. So hungry! In a daze, hunger woke Wang Tao up; he found himself lying on the floor. He quickly stood up, and seeing the charred wires and computer, Wang Tao was utterly bewildered. Electrocuted? It wasnt a dream? Im still alive? There were plenty of snacks on the table. Driven by overpowering hunger, Wang Tao grabbed them and started to eat. Ah Suddenly, a piercing scream came from outside. Instinctively, he went to the window to look, and his pupils shrank abruptly. What the hell! He saw in the courtyard below, a blood-covered person pinning a middle-aged man down, ripping and gnawing at his flesh! The mans gaze was vacant; he was clearly beyond saving. The blood-covered person raised its head, revealing a hideous and horrifying face. Z-zombies?! Wang Taos eyes widened in disbelief. Filming? Impossible! He was too familiar with filming, and this was clearly not it, not to mention there were no cameras or other crew members aroundjust as he thought there were no other people, several zombies appeared from out of sight and joined the gruesome feast. Wang Tao had only been dumbfounded for a moment, and the man on the ground was almost dismembered. Ugh~ Wang Tao felt nauseous and vomited out everything he had just eaten. Dont panic! Call the police! After calming himself, Wang Tao quickly took out his phone to dial emergency services, but all he got was a busy signal. He then opened his web browser to search for local emergency numbers. Instead, he was greeted by a flood of shocking news. The end of the world is here! Zombies! The whole world is full of zombies! The zombie virus is highly infectious! Please stay in a safe place and wait for rescue! The whole world is under attack by the zombie virus! It is advised to seek refuge in less populated areas! Known methods of virus transmission include bodily fluids, scratches, bites, and air (suspected). The incubation period of the zombie virus ranges from one minute to twenty-four hours, possibly related to the strength of an individuals immune system. Please be sure to take precautions! If you are unfortunately infected, isolate yourself immediately and amputate the infected area! Most water sources have not yet been affected, but it is recommended to filter and boil or distill before use. If the water turns yellow or green, do not drink it! Some zombies may retain certain habits from before, so be sure to distinguish carefully! Some regions have completely collapsed, with water and power outages occurring one after another An expert says: Our Qian Country has made great progress in the anti-zombie virus serum, but we still need a little more time! Reading the overwhelming news, Wang Tao was stunned. How could the end of the world come out of nowhere! He had just fainted for a few hoursno, not a few hours! Wang Tao checked the time; his last payment record at the small restaurant was on April 3, 4444, at 8 p.m., and now it was 9 a.m. on April 7. In other words, he had been unconscious for three days?! Chapter 2 - 2 2 Taking Good Care of Sister-in-Law_1 2 Chapter 2 Taking Good Care of Sister-in-Law_1 Translator: 549690339 Wang Taos parents had met with an accident and passed away when he was young, and he was raised by his grandparents. However, his grandparents also died one after the other a few years ago. As for other relatives, he barely had any contact with them so even with the apocalypse, Wang Tao didnt have many ties to worry about. But he still had a few friends, and Wang Tao certainly didnt want anything bad to happen to them. He opened his social media app, and a flood of 99+ messages popped up. But the content of the messages quickly sank his heart. The chat history in the drama crew group showed that almost everyone who had gone to the film studio to shoot two days ago had met with disaster. He had not gone and had unwittingly escaped that calamity. Now there was no one talking in the group. The last message was from yesterday morning, from an actress saying there was a monster lurking outside her room. She said she was very scared and then there was no more. What surprised Wang Tao was that the young director surnamed Zhao living across from him had made several phone calls to Wang Tao and sent numerous messages. April 4th, 11:34 Wang, I heard you didnt come for the shoot? Are you at home? If you are, reply to me! Its urgent! April 4th, 22:08 Bro, Im still at the film studio, hiding out for now. You havent turned into a zombie, have you? Its terrifying outside; you must be careful! By the way, your sister-in-law is also at home, but we dont have much food. If you can, please look after her. I, Zhao, will be greatly indebted to you when this is over! April 5th, 18:49 Bro, I feel like I might not make it. Before I die, theres something I have to ask of you. Could you take care of your sister-in-law Shes too scared by herself at home and theres not enough food. Im afraid she wont last until the rescue April 5th, 21:13 Bro, my good brother! Would you please respond! Are you dead or what! Ahhh! Im going crazy! This was the last message, and it was evident that Brother Zhao was close to breaking point then. Wang Tao tried replying: Brother Zhao, Im here. Dont worry, Ill do my best to take care of sister-in-law! He didnt overcommit, only saying he would do his best. Doing my best meant he would help if possible, but if not, then so be it, as his own life was of utmost importance. After sending the message, he waited for a while but got no reply. It seemed that Director Zhaos chances of survival were slim. Wang Tao sighed and quickly reviewed the official news posted online. After half an hour, he roughly understood the current situation The day after he was stunned, on the morning of April 4th, the zombie crisis had erupted without warning. The exact time was unclear. By the time a massive amount of information appeared online, the situation was already severe. There were also many observations about the zombies posted by the public online. These zombies had stiff joints, werent very fast, lacked agility, and their vision had greatly deteriorated; their heads were their weak points. However, they never tired, possessed immense strength, were sensitive to light, and had keen hearing Anyone bitten or scratched by a zombie would be infected, and once infected, would turn into a zombie! But often, those bitten would be devoured by zombies before they could transform. The Government quickly deployed soldiers to suppress the outbreak. Faced with an onslaught of steel, the zombies were easily crushed. But suddenly, without warning, the soldiers also turned into zombies! An external enemy is not as frightening as internal collapse. The Governments attempts to block the spread failed. At this point, things had pretty much fallen into chaos, and the more chaotic it became, the more people died. No one knew how many zombies were out there in the world now, but the number was undoubtedly terrifying. Wang Tao checked other chat groups to see that some were still active. In the groups, some people were venting their emotions, but even more were asking when the Governments rescue would arrive, as they had run out of food. Seeing these messages, Wang Tao hurried to the kitchen to check his supplies, then his face turned somewhat gloomy. He didnt have much food stored, enough to last maybe three or four days. After all, he didnt eat at home often, and if he kept too much food it would go bad. The 10kg of rice he bought last month was now half gone. As for gas, he had just bought a full cylinder, which could last three months. Out of the blue, the same message popped up simultaneously in all the chat groups [Government announcement: All survivors are requested to stay in a safe place and not to leave their homes at will. The Government has mobilized a large number of people for the rescue. Large survivor bases have also been preliminarily established, and we will gradually transport everyone to these bases. Additionally, considering that some residents lack essential living supplies, we will soon perform airdrops of supplies in areas with fewer zombies. If your home is in critical need of supplies, you may take the risk to retrieve the airdrops. The large Survivor Base of Huangfeng City is located at No. 32 Fuqiang Street, Red Stone County, while the locations of the various small Survivor Bases are] The message ended with a photo of a survivor base with tall city walls, which seemed quite safe. Many people became excited after seeing this message. The rescue is coming! Hang in there, brothers! Wuwuwu, rescue is finally on its way! I want to go to the Survivor Base Luckily, I still have some rice at home, I can hold on for a few more days. Brother, Ive run out of food at home! I have an elderly mother who is eighty and a child who is only three, I cant survive without food! Brother, could you please lend me some food, I will repay you a hundredfold in the future! Uh, you better wait for the airdrop; this food is just enough for me and my wife. Besides, were separated by several buildings! But Im afraid to go out! Please come and bring it to me, Ill wait for you at home! Get lost, damn it, youre afraid to go out for the airdrops but want me to bring food to you? Blacklisted, no thanks! Hey hey, dont be so heartless Wang Tao shook his head, truly, all sorts show up in a big forest. And this was his Happy Community group. The guy playing the sympathy card seemed to be from Building No. 2 opposite, who also worked at the film studio; Wang Tao had seen him. If he remembered correctly, the guy was a single bachelorwhere would he get an elderly mother and child? Wang Tao then looked at other groups, where in his crews and classmates groups, some proposed that once they reached the Survivor Base, they could meet up at a scheduled time. After all, no one knew exactly what the Survivor Base was like. Arriving in a strange place where they knew no one, it seemed better for these acquaintances to stick together for warmth. Wang Tao thought this was a good suggestion. Having fought and struggled in society for so many years, he knew well the dangers of human nature. He sent a received to acknowledge the message, wanting to agree with a response, but the message displayed a red exclamation mark. Huh? No internet? And the cellphone signal is gone, too?! Wang Taos expression changed. He could faintly hear some cursing from downstairs. I hope its just temporary With communication cut off, its likely that power and water outages would follow. Wang Tao hurriedly gathered all the containers he could find in his home to fill with water. Then he made himself a simple lunch. He didnt dare eat too much; after all, food was scarce, and he needed to conserve it. Chapter 3 - 3 3: I Can See HP Bars_1 3 Chapter 3: I Can See HP Bars_1 Translator: 549690339 After the meal, Wang Tao carefully observed the surroundings from a few windows in the house. Outside the south-facing window, in the courtyard of the residential complex, there were roughly over a dozen zombies. Those were only the ones he could see; there might be more in places he couldnt see. And definitely, there would be zombies inside these four buildings. However, the day the zombie virus appeared wasnt a weekend, and the rain had stopped. It was likely that a good number of the working population had gone out That might be the only good news. Outside the north-facing windows, over the main road, was a scene of devastation. Many cars had crashed, blood was everywhere, but no corpses were visible, only a few ferocious-looking zombies wandering around. Of course, Wang Tao didnt believe there were only these few zombies on the road. His windows angle limited his view, and he wouldnt be able to see many places. Perhaps, inside the cars, stores, shadows, or even at the base of the wall beneath his building, countless zombies might be lurking! With some resignation, Wang Tao shook his head and began to analyze the current situation. Rescue was something to wait for, but before help arrived, the food at his home might not be sufficient. Go borrow some food from other peoples homes? Clearly not an option. Wang Tao never placed his hopes on the mercy of others, and under the current circumstances, the likelihood of being able to borrow was almost zero. There was only one thing to dogo out and find food! Inside the small restaurants outside the community, there must be a lot of food, and they were very close to his home. But even if they were close, he would still have to cross through the yard. Wang Tao was strong, but he didnt feel he could win against these ten-plus zombies Suddenly. Thump, thump, thump! There came a series of dull knocks at the door. Is it the sister-in-law from next door? Or Wang Tao didnt speak. He tiptoed to the door and looked through the peephole, a tingling sensation running through his scalp. Outside the door was a zombie covered in blood, its neck and face adorned with twisted, dark veins, expression distorted, pupils white, mindlessly pounding on Wang Taos door! Thump, thump, thump! This person, Wang Tao had seen him before. Seems like he was the single guy in his thirties living upstairs. Could it be that the zombies have discovered me?! Wang Tao immediately grabbed a kitchen knife, waiting by the door, somewhat nervously. Although he didnt think the zombie could open his security door, he felt very insecure without a weapon in hand. However, when Wang Tao looked out the peephole again, he was momentarily taken aback. Huh? Whats this? He noticed a thin red bar floating above the zombies head with a line of text500/500. This red bar hovered over the zombies head, unlike a real object. After a while, the zombie gave up on Wang Taos room and went to knock on room 502 across the hall. The red bar remained in front of Wang Taos view, and its size did not change. Why does this feel like the health bar from the games I play? Wang Tao was somewhat astonished. Aaah Suddenly, a piercing scream of a woman came from the room across. Wang Tao wasnt frightened by the zombie, but the scream gave him quite the startle. Roar! Bang bang bang! Upon hearing the scream, the zombie, like a cat that had smelled fish, started hitting the door of room 502 furiously! It seems that when the zombie doesnt detect any movement, it acts very slowly. Once it senses movement, it goes into a frenzy. As for the sister-in-law, she can still scream so loudly, so it seems shes safe for now Wang Tao continued to observe the zombie through the peephole. The door of the opposite room was equally sturdy, and after pounding for two or three minutes, the zombie returned to its previous state and slowly descended the stairs. Ive been knocking on the door for two or three minutes; if there were any other zombies, they should have been attracted by now. Does that mean theres only this one zombie in the corridor of this unit? If theres only one zombie, maybe I can try Wang Taos gaze flickered. Sooner or later, he was going to have to go out to look for supplies, and there was a high chance he would encounter zombies. He absolutely needed to understand the strength of these zombies and whether he could handle them. Moreover, he suspected he could see the zombies HP bars! Right, if those really are HP bars, then I should have one, too? Wang Tao was about to look for a mirror when, just as he thought about his own HP bar, a golden HP bar suddenly appeared in his field of vision! There was also a line of text on the HP bar: 100/100, and the moment he thought about it, the numbers on the HP bar changed to 100%! An understanding flashed through his mind in an instantthis was his own HP bar! 100/100 indicated that his maximum HP was 100, and he currently had 100 HP. 100% naturally indicated the percentage of the HP bar. Indeed, I can see HP bars! Excitement surged in Wang Taos heart. He hadnt seen anyone with this ability when he was refreshing the news online before. Theres only one zombie in the corridor right now, and although it has 500 HP and I only have 100 HP, this is a chance for a one-on-one battle! It would be a disservice to all my muscles if I didnt give it a try! Lets do this! With such a rare opportunity at hand, Wang Tao decided he wanted to test the zombies strength. But not right now; he needed to gather his strength and prepare proper protective measures before attempting. After all, zombies were infectious, and getting infected meant the end. Lets warm up first! Wang Tao went to the living room to do push-ups. 1, 2 Huh? Why do I feel like my physical strength has increased? Is it an illusion? Keep going! 3, 4 498, 499, 500! Huff~ Sweat dripped from his bulging muscles onto the floor, accumulating a small puddle of moisture. After completing the last push-up, Wang Tao flipped over and got up nimbly. Gulp gulp~ After drinking half a bottle of water, Wang Tao felt a bit excited. Its not an illusion! My physical condition has genuinely become stronger! His physical strength was originally impressive; he could do over a hundred perfectly-formed push-ups in one go. That already surpassed a vast majority of people. But now, he had just done five hundred in one go! And after the five hundred, he still felt like he had energy to spare, as if he could do another five hundred. However, exercise shouldnt be too intense at once, especially under current circumstances where he was trapped. It was better to be moderate; there would be plenty of time in the future. Roar~ A roaring sound came from the corridor again. Looking through the peephole, he saw that the zombie had moved upstairs. Initially, Wang Tao had been scared of the zombies roaring, but after hearing it many times, he gradually got used to it. Ill rest up today and take care of you tomorrow! After muttering to himself, Wang Tao ate some food, then continued to train. He didnt stop until the evening, when he went to take a shower. In front of the bathroom mirror. Eh? Wheres the scar on my face? Wang Tao discovered that the fearsome scar on his face had disappeared! Not only that, some other minor injuries on his body were also gone. And Wang Tao could feel that his muscles seemed to have grown even larger! Looking at the handsome face and exploding muscles in the mirror, Wang Tao felt a surge of excitement. Looks were secondary; the main thing was the enhancement of his physical condition and the disappearance of scars and underlying injuries on his body. And now, he could also see the zombies HP bars This is my chance! Chapter 4 - 4 4: Initial Victory_1 4 Chapter 4: Initial Victory_1 Translator: 549690339 The next day. Wang Tao woke up early. First, he checked his fully charged phone, still no signal, and emergency calls couldnt get through either. Water and electricity at home hadnt been cut off yet. He looked up at the deep blue sky. Is it the base station thats broken, or the satellite? Could there be another disaster He shook his head and tried not to think about it anymore. Wang Tao took some of the food out of the refrigerator and made a rich breakfast. Then he took all the books off the bookshelf; they were discounted decorations, but the books were real. Wang Tao picked out books of appropriate sizes and taped them to his forearms, shins, front and back of his chest for protection. He didnt wrap anything around his thighs and upper arms because these were areas that needed to exert force, and having them wrapped would make it difficult to use strength properly. Next was weapons, and there were several pointed kitchen knives in the kitchen. But the knives were a bit short After some thought, he tied a knife to a rolling pin to create a makeshift homemade short spear. Wang Tao had actually wanted to make a spear out of a mop, but the corridor was quite narrow, and a weapon too long might not be effective; getting it stuck could spell disaster. The length of the rolling pin was just right, neither too short, which would increase the chance of infection, nor too long, which would make it unwieldy. Lastly, Wang Tao found a thick hand towel and a pair of yellow anti-blue light glasses. He covered his head, face, and even eyes. After all, the zombie virus was contagious, and preventative measures could never be too careful! Wang Tao checked himself in the full-length mirror. There stood a person in the mirror, over 1.8 meters tall, burly, wearing black gloves, a black mask, yellow glasses, brown hiking shoes, completely wrapped up tightly, with homemade arm guards on his hands, and holding a homemade short spear. He looked very secure. Once everything was ready, Wang Tao waited quietly behind the door. The zombie had been wandering up and down the staircase and soon came up. Wang Tao didnt rush and continued to wait. The zombie first went up to the sixth floor, then came back down to the fifth, before heading downstairs toward the fourth floor. After seeing through the peephole that the zombie was going downstairs with its back toward him, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then suddenly opened the door. Clack The sound of the security door opening startled the zombie, which turned its stiff body around showing a face both terrifying and grotesque. Whoosh! Wang Tao gripped the homemade short spear and stabbed toward the zombies head. The zombie, upon spotting a person, let out a fierce roar and spun around. But due to its stiffness, the movement was uncoordinated; it nearly tripped over itself, staggering. Wang Taos stab missed! However, Wang Tao didnt expect to kill it with one blow. The pointed kitchen knife could not only stab but also slash. He held the rolling pin with both hands and swung it down fiercely! Slice The slash cut from the zombies shoulder down to its waist. The clothes on the zombie made it difficult to see how deep the cut was, but Wang Tao could clearly see a sliver of HP disappearing from above the zombies head. [-14] [486/500] What the hell! That slash cut only this much HP? Wang Tao knew the zombies had a lot of HP, but he hadnt expected it to be that much. Or rather, the power of his slash was too weak! Although shocked, Wang Tao wasnt too panicked inside. Both he and the zombie were in the corridor, with the zombie below and him above. He had specifically chosen this position, standing above surely had its advantages. Wang Tao quickly retracted the knife, and the zombie took the opportunity to lunge at him, its hands smeared with blood reaching for Wang Tao. Wang Tao immediately stepped back two paces, avoiding the zombies attack, then stabbed out with another slash. Zombies wouldnt actively dodge an attack, the previous miss was just luck. This time, the stab hit hard on the zombies forehead, but it didnt go in! The skull is the hardest bone in the human body, and the quality of the kitchen knife Wang Tao held was average, and it even had a slightly rolled edge. It wasnt surprising that it didnt penetrate on the first attempt. But what surprised Wang Tao was that the strike didnt cause much damage. [-3] [483/500] Wasnt the head supposed to be a zombies weak spot? How come its only this little damage? Could it be because the skull is too hard, so it didnt pierce the defense? As these thoughts raced through his mind, Wang Tao gripped his homemade short spear tightly and thrust it fiercely from bottom right to top left. Swish! The blade cut across the zombies neck. Pfft Dark blood spurted from the zombies neck as it staggered a step back. Wang Taos cut was shallow; although it sliced through the zombies neck, it didnt sever the head. However, Wang Tao was somewhat excited. Because the damage from this strike was high. [-117] [366/500] This cut took away more than twenty percent of the zombies HP! The neck, its also a zombies weak spot! And compared to the head, cutting the neck is much easier! Enraged, the zombie charged at Wang Tao again, reaching out both hands to harshly swing at Wang Taos face. Wang Tao was a few steps from the wall behind him, making it difficult to dodge this time. He quickly took the spear in his right hand, then raised his left arm, using the vambrace to block the zombies attack. Bang! Wang Tao was forced two steps back, right up against the wall. This was the first time Wang Tao had been attacked by a zombie, and he finally understood why they said zombies had immense strength. With his physical fitness, enduring this strike made his arm somewhat numb. If it had been anyone else, they might have been knocked down instantly. But seeing that his HP hadnt dropped a single point, Wang Tao felt invigorated. This is reality, not a game! In games, if a monster attacks you, even if its just a touch, you lose HP, whether you lose a little or a lot. Thats the game mechanics. But reality is different; as long as you are not hit, you wont lose HP! Wang Taos physical fitness was high; since the strike with the vambrace didnt cause an exterior or interior injury, just a numbness, his HP remained full. Understanding this, Wang Taos eyes shone brightly. In games, you have to follow the rules of the game when fighting monsters. Without a one-hit-kill mechanism, no matter how strong you are, you cannot kill a monster in one hit. But reality doesnt follow these rules! With this in mind, Wang Tao didnt retreat but advanced, charging fiercely towards the zombie. And the zombie, too, roared angrily and attacked Wang Tao again. Clash! Just as he was about to collide with the zombie, Wang Tao exerted all his strength, suddenly kicked off the ground, and harshly kicked the zombies chest. The zombies strength was great, but its weight was the same as when alive, just over a hundred pounds. That weight couldnt withstand Wang Taos Energize One Hit. The zombie immediately rolled to the turn of the fourth-floor corridor. Without stopping, Wang Taos foot stepped on the stair, and he leaped powerfully. Like a flying man, he plunged toward the zombie. Both hands gripping the homemade spear high above his head, as he landed, he stabbed viciously at the zombie below! Pfft! With the help of gravity, the spear plunged deep into the zombies forehead. [-366] [0/500] One-hit kill! Chapter 5 - 5 5 Monster Killing and Loot Drops_1 5 Chapter 5 Monster Killing and Loot Drops_1 Translator: 549690339 ` Huff Looking at the zombie lying on the ground, still twitching, with its head blooming like a chrysanthemum. Wang Tao let out a long sigh of relief. He called this move Jump Slash, and as a Martial Arts Substitute, it wasnt surprising that he could execute it. However, it was the first time he used it in actual combat, and he wasnt completely certain of victory in his heart. Now it seemed that the effect was pretty good, after all, zombies didnt dodge. With the geographical advantage of jumping from a high place to a lower one, the jump covered a distance of five meters. With the force of inertia, the kitchen knife, which normally couldnt pierce through a zombies skull, successfully entered through the zombies brow, instantly killing it. But instant killing wasnt without a cost. Wang Tao looked at the kitchen knife, now bent out of shape, and felt somewhat helpless. An ordinary kitchen knife really wasnt up to par! Hmm? As Wang Tao was getting up from the zombie, his gaze sharpened. That was because he saw a semi-transparent package with bloodstains appear in front of the zombie. With a thought, the package instantly entered his body. [Obtained: purified water (small) x1] Whats this? Wang Tao noticed an icon of a backpack appeared below his HP bar. The backpack was empty except for a white plastic cube marked with 5L. [purified water (small): 5L, drinkable] Killing zombies can drop loot? Wang Tao felt that he could take out the water with just a thought. But now wasnt the time to study these things, so he quickly searched the zombies body. He found a set of keys, an electronic wristband, a box of cigarettes, and a wallet. He had intended to take the zombies belt as well, but seeing that it had a cut that made a crevice, he decided against ithe wasnt in need of a belt that badly. After collecting the spoils of war, Wang Tao went back to check the elevator. It was broken, and he had no idea if there were zombies inside. Bang! Back in his room, it wasnt until he had closed the door and leaned against it that Wang Tao finally felt some lingering fear. During the fight, adrenaline was pumping like crazy, leaving no time for any other thoughts. Now recalling the zombie whose head hed blown up, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable. After calming down a bit, Wang Tao took a big gulp of water and then stripped off all his clothes. Covered in sweat, he needed a shower. After showering, Wang Tao finally had time to study the backpack icon below his HP bar, but before looking at the backpack, he paused. Huh? When did my HP increase? Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised to find that his HP bar had gone from 100/100 to 110/110! Hed gained 10 HP! Could it be from killing the zombie? Wang Tao hadnt noticed it at the time. Ill have to pay attention next time. If its really from killing zombies that one can gain an increase in HP limit Wang Taos face broke into a brilliant smile. He looked again at the backpack icon below his HP bar. This item was similar to the inventory systems in many video games. However, only the purified water (small) could be put into the backpack and taken out at will. Other items couldnt be put inside. It seems that only items that drop from killing zombies can be put into the backpack Wang Tao was excited, as this backpack was like a storage space! ` And he could sense in the dark that the time inside his backpack was paused, which meant that the things inside would never go bad! Although there was a certain limit to what could be stored, Wang Tao was quite content. After all, he was sure to fight zombies in the future, so there was no worry about not having space for loot! As for the purified water (small) that the zombie dropped, it was a 5L square plastic bucket. Wang Tao tasted the water inside and it indeed was purified water. Although it felt somewhat discordant that a single zombie had dropped a whole 5L bucket of water, that wasnt the pointthe point was that killing zombies could net him loot! This, like his ability to see zombies HP bars, was in some ways an invincible power! Others might not benefit from killing zombies, but he certainly wouldhe could get loot, and there was a high chance that his HP limit would increase. Even his physical attributes might improvethough Wang Tao wasnt sure about this, it might just be an adrenaline-fueled illusion. After he had killed this zombie, he felt like he had gotten somewhat stronger He would know for sure after killing a few more zombies. In any case, as long as he made an effort, he would definitely reap rewards! This is the apocalypse, huh? Why do I suddenly kind of like it? After feeling a bit smug for a moment, Wang Tao didnt get too arrogant. The zombies were indeed very strong, and a moment of carelessness could lead to disaster. Of course, he had more or less figured out the strength of the zombies. As long as he was well-protected and not caught by them, with his physical attributes, he could definitely withstand an attack from one zombie. Moreover, with proper technique, he could potentially kill a zombie with one strike. But to achieve a one-hit kill, weapons were vital. His kitchen knife had been rendered useless after a single usehe needed to find a weapon that would last longer. In the actual combat with zombies, Wang Tao had come to some conclusionsagainst zombies, how sharp the weapon was wasnt the most important aspect; what was crucial was that it was sturdy enough! For example, when he used Jump Slash, even a not-so-sharp kitchen knife could still pierce through a zombies skull. If only I could get my hands on a firefighter axe or a crowbar Unfortunately, those items were not available here. No hurry, take it slow. After grabbing a simple meal and a short rest, Wang Tao put on his makeshift gear again and tied another kitchen knife of the same kind onto the rolling pin. He had a total of five such knives, bought on discount just because they were cheap. Based on his previous experience, he could use Jump Slash at least four more times. Fully armed, Wang Tao opened the door again. There was only one zombie in the hallway, and now that it was dealt with, he definitely wanted to go out and look around, especially checking the upstairs. The zombie he had just killed was a neighbor from the floor abovethere might be some resources in their home. Wang Tao first tiptoed downstairs. The doors of the apartments on these floors were all closed; it was unclear whether there were people inside them or not. The entrance door on the first floor was locked. He had suspected as much before, but hadnt been completely sure. Now seeing it locked reassured him. Wang Tao arrived at the sixth floor; the door of apartment 602 was open. Entering 602 cautiously with his weapon at the ready, Wang Tao thoroughly checked the room to make sure there were no zombies before closing the door behind him. Although there were no longer any zombies in the hallway, it was still safer to be cautious. With the door shut, he could scour the place with peace of mind. Not only was this his first time killing zombies, but it was also his first time rummaging through someones home without any reservations. The thought even gave him a sense of illicit thrill. The inside of 602 was not in disarray, showing no signs of a struggle. It seemed his neighbor had mutated suddenly and, hopefully, not suffered too much. Theres a big bag of rice, probably about seven or eight kilos. Not bad, not bad! Theres a stock of vegetables and meat in the refrigerator, thats great! Instant noodles, pickles, snacks, tobacco, alcohol Im taking all of it! Hmm? Whats this a walkie-talkie? Chapter 6 - 6 6 Search 602_1 6 Chapter 6 Search 602_1 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao wasnt very familiar with walkie-talkies, but he knew they were a good thing. Without a network, mobile phones were basically useless. However, the working principle of walkie-talkies was different, so maybe they could still make calls? The guy must have been a radio enthusiast; there were four walkie-talkies of different shapes, along with their boxes. Besides the walkie-talkies, there were also two radios, one large and one small. The small one used batteries, and the large one could be powered by hand-cranking. Wang Tao briefly fiddled with them, but all he heard was a buzzing and crackling noise from the walkie-talkies and radios, no useful information. He was slightly disappointed, but Wang Tao wasnt in a hurry. He could take these gadgets home and try them out slowly. After searching the room for a while, Wang Tao gathered all the things he thought were useful. There were two suitcases, packed full to the brim. Then, he grabbed a bedsheet and wrapped up the rest of the stuff. It didnt matter whether he could use them or not; he took everything he could. Once he was sure he hadnt missed anything for the time being, Wang Tao packed up and locked the door to Room 602 on his way out, taking the key with him. As he locked the door to Room 602, a sudden bang, bang, bang came from next doors Room 601, and a roar seeped through the security door. Wang Taos spirit instantly focused. There are really zombies in the room He set down his things, approached the door to Room 601, and saw that it was securely locked, which relieved him for the moment. Wang Tao remembered that a middle-aged couple lived in Room 601; they seemed to work close together and always commuted together. That means there should be two zombies inside Wang Taos gaze flickered. He could handle one zombie, but two was not certain However, it was too early to discuss this since he couldnt open the security door. I need to find a way to get some tools for prying or picking locks. If I try to break in violently, not to mention whether its feasible or not, the noise would definitely be loud With zombies outside, although the corridor was temporarily clear of them, Wang Tao still felt the noise should not be too loud. Otherwise, even if the zombies couldnt get in, if they all crowded at the entrance, he wouldnt be able to leave. Carrying a 24-inch suitcase in each hand and a large bundle on his back, with another hanging around his neck, Wang Tao headed towards the fifth floor. After returning home, Wang Tao found places to store these items. Setting other things aside, just the supply of food was enough for half a month. Along with his own stock, he could probably last about twenty days. If he hadnt discovered his ability before, Wang Tao would have chosen to wait for rescue with so much food. But after discovering his abilities, he definitely didnt want to sit around and wait for death. Thats enough for today; tomorrow, Ill see if I can open any other rooms. As for now time to treat myself! Having food gave Wang Tao more confidence. He took out the perishables and prepared to make a big meal. As for the cooking method, he wasnt picky. After washing all the ingredients, he added a block of hotpot base and stewed everything together. This is delicious! Wang Tao wasnt sure if it was psychological, but he felt this big pot of food was more delicious than anything he had ever cooked before. He filled a large bowl with rice, sat down, and was just about to start eating when he heard the door knock again. Thump, thump, thump The knocking was more urgent this time, and quite light. Wang Tao immediately picked up the homemade short spear next to him, and then went to the peephole to take a look. He saw a woman with her hair tied up high, staring nervously at Wang Taos door. Is it her? Outside the door was none other than Wang Taos neighbor across the hall, Zhao Yuans sister-in-law whom he had asked him to take care ofDing Yuqin. Wang Tao did not open the door directly but first hung the safety chain behind the security door. In the apocalypse, one could never be too careful with others. Outside, Ding Yuqin glanced at the corridor and then back at Wang Taos door, her face extremely tense. Her own door was left ajar, if there was any commotion downstairs, she would run back immediately. If possible, she really did not want to go out. Merely a few steps away, it was the result of her struggling for several hours. But there was no choice, her family had run out of food a long time ago. If she didnt think of a solution soon, she might starve to death, even if she wasnt killed by the zombies. Of course, what ultimately propelled her out the door was the fact that she had seen with her own eyes Wang Tao kill the zombie wandering in the stairwell! The specifics of the fight werent clearas large as the peepholes field of vision was, it had its limits, especially since Wang Tao and the zombie had fought all the way downstairs. But she knew, Wang Tao had won! The only zombie in the corridor, dead! Wang Taos strength was beyond her expectations; her husband, back when they were still in contact, had told her about the horrors of these zombies. It wasnt just about wielding cold weapons; even with a gun, one may not win. Many police officers had met their gruesome end in the jaws of zombies. Yet, Wang Tao was able to go solo, using a cold weapon to kill a zombie, which was, she had to admit, incredibly impressive. At that moment, Ding Yuqin felt the urge to run out. But she still dared not, not just from fear of other zombies but also fear of Wang Taobecause she did not know if Wang Tao had been infected. If he was infected, wouldnt she be a lamb walking into the mouth of a tiger? So, she waited a few more hours. When she saw Wang Tao heading back and then coming out with a lot of things, big and small, from upstairs, she guessed that Wang Tao was most likely not infected. The information online stated that although the incubation period after infection varied in length, most had a common characteristic: the body exhibited some negative conditions, such as weakness, fever, coughing, and the like. Wang Tao, hopping around and carrying so much stuff upstairs, clearly had no problems with his health. However, she was still somewhat afraid to come out, after all, stepping through this door also required tremendous courage. But now, as her stomach growled and she smelled the faint alluring aroma coming from next door she could no longer endure it. Only those who have experienced hunger know that hunger is a more terrifying existence than any addiction, after all, eating is an instinct for survival. When one is close to starving, as long as theres something to eat, a person can do anything. Click~ The door of apartment 501 opened. Wang Taos face appeared from behind the door. Sister-in-law, is there something you need? Seeing this face, Ding Yuqin was taken aback. Was this the Wang Tao who could frighten children with his looks? Where was the large scar on his face? Even though she was surprised, the voice and height were indeed Wang Taos. Ding Yuqin had no time to dwell on it, she tucked some stray hair behind her ear, then spoke softly: Ahem, Wang Tao look, were neighbors, could you lend your sister-in-law some food? Chapter 7 - 7 7 Sister-in-Law Borrows Grain_1 7 Chapter 7 Sister-in-Law Borrows Grain_1 Translator: 549690339 Ding Yuqin was wearing a set of light pink sportswear today, which tightly wrapped her graceful figure. Her hair was pulled up, albeit somewhat messily, and it was clear she hadnt taken much care in grooming it. Her face was very pale, extremely haggard. Beneath those captivating large eyes, there were two faint dark circles. Wang Tao couldnt help but feel that Ding Yuqin seemed to have lost a lot of weight, perhaps due to the loose clothing. Above her head, there was also an HP bar, but it was green. [63/100] Borrowing food? Wang Tao furrowed his brows; he suddenly remembered the message from Zhao Yuan asking him to look after Ding Yuqin. Had it been before, Wang Tao might have hesitated. But now that he had some extra food, he felt a bit more confident in his ability to help others. Seeing Wang Tao frown, Ding Yuqins heart instantly tightened. After days of hunger, she knew all too well the importance of food. If Wang Tao refused her, she would really starve to death, especially since she didnt dare to venture out looking for food. Wang Tao, I I dont eat much, just a little bit of food will do! When Brother Zhao comes back, we will definitely repay you! Please Ding Yuqins hands were clasped together, her face showing a mix of embarrassment and eagerness to please. Then, as if she remembered something, she quickly dug into her pockets. Right, I have money, I can give you money! Looking at the few hundred yuan Ding Yuqin took out, Wang Tao shook his head. No need for money, we are neighbors after all; its only right to help each other. Sister-in-law, wait here for a moment, Ill go get you some food. Watching Wang Tao go to fetch something, Ding Yuqin breathed a sigh of relief. She thought to herself that Wang Tao was quite decent, and she might have been a bit too quick to judge him by his appearance before. However, as soon as Wang Tao left, a rich fragrance wafted out, and Ding Yuqins gaze involuntarily followed his figure, from which she couldnt tear her eyes away. Gurgle~ Ding Yuqins throat moved as she swallowed hard. What did she see? Was it a large pot of stew? And a big bowl of rice! So much food, enough for four or five people to eat! Was Wang Taos meal really that good? Then he must be serving her a bowl, right? Ding Yuqins mind wandered with various thoughts. She subconsciously pushed at the door, but the chain behind the security door stopped her. Hearing the noise, Wang Tao looked back at her. Ding Yuqin immediately regained her composure and hastily withdrew her hand, somewhat embarrassed. Yet, she felt slightly indignant. To chain the door after opening it, Im not the type of person to be so thick-skinned as to insist on entering Ding Yuqins eyes couldnt leave the pot of stew until Wang Tao came over with a pack of bread. Sister-in-law, there isnt much food left in my house either. This bag of bread is for emergencies. Watching the 250g of toast bread being passed through the crack of the door, Ding Yuqin quickly took it. While excited to have food, she wasnt as thrilled as she had imagined she would be. Thank you, very much! Ill go back now. Wang Tao, you be careful too, those zombies are too dangerous! Ding Yuqin held the bread tightly, expressing her sincere thanks. Mhm. I will. Wang Tao nodded. After seeing Ding Yuqin off and closing the door, he then locked it. In this apocalypse, everyones food supply was precious. He had given Ding Yuqin a bag of bread in consideration of his neighbor, Brother Zhao. That should be enough to ensure she wouldnt starve to death. ` As for providing her with a better life, that was out of the question. Wang Taos appetite was huge; the food was only enough for him. After all, he wasnt just sitting around at home waiting for rescue. He needed to train and go out to kill zombies! A pot of stewed vegetables and a basin of riceWang Tao ate half of it by himself. Not bad, about seventy percent full, after all, I still need to train, cant eat too much. He quickly tidied up the tablethe remaining food would be eaten tomorrow. It was seven in the evening, and there was a long time until bedtime, so he planned to train for a while longer. Otherwise, with no phone or computer to play with, the long night would be tough to endure. He rested until eight oclock, and feeling that was enough, Wang Tao began doing push-ups. Yesterday, he did a thousand in two hours; today, hed see if he had improved. 1, 2, 3 Wang Tao didnt intentionally speed up, just followed the previous pace 999, 1000! Wang Tao got up and checked the time on his phone. Indeed, theres improvement, these thousand push-ups were completed a few minutes faster than before Wang Tao was very satisfied as he squeezed his fist. The progress was small, but as long as there was visible improvement, there was a source of motivation. After taking a quick bath, Wang Tao picked up the four walkie-talkies and the radio. The walkie-talkies came with boxes, one of which had a manual. After studying it briefly, Wang Tao powered on the walkie-talkie and tuned into some channels. Szzz It was still just crackling sounds, no useful information emerged. Wang Tao then turned on the radio and adjusted the dial to search for frequencies. Szzz The Government will Szzz Huh? Theres a voice! Wang Tao quickly turned the dial back, then turned off the lights in the house, and went below the balcony window, opening both the curtains and the window. After hearing that zombies were particularly sensitive to light, he had covered all the windows in the house with thick cloth and avoided turning on lights that were too bright at night. Even though he was on the fifth floor, at times like these, one couldnt be too careful. Szzz The Government will organize rescue as soon as possible Szzz Please wait patiently for the public Szzz Aid drops will commence on the morning of April 18th Szzz throughout the city Repeat The Government will Aid drop! Wang Taos eyes lit up at the keyword. The Government had mentioned future aid drops in the group chat but hadnt specified a time. Now he knew, today was April 8th, which meant the drops would start in ten days! Wang Tao was quite looking forward to this aid drop. If the Government had the capability to perform aid drops, that meant they still had armed forces, which meant the possibility of self-defense, or even a counter-attack. Of course, he was also interested in the aid drop itself. The emergency supplies prepared by the officials would certainly be ample! Ten days time, time to prepare well! Wang Tao decided that if there was a chance, such as the aid drop being very close, or even if it landed in the courtyard of his complex, he would try to get one. If it was too far, then forget it. Unless he grew stronger in these ten days, gaining some ability to defend himself The next day. Wang Tao got up just past six. Since the loss of the internet, his daily routine had become more and more regular. He warmed up briefly and ate yesterdays leftovers. Then, as before, Wang Tao armed himself from head to toe. Today, he planned to check out apartment 301 on the third floor, because the two tenants who shared it had, Wang Tao had noticed before, left the keys in the crack of the electricity meter box. Under normal circumstances, even if someone knew where the key was, they wouldnt enter. But now, the world was no longer normal. Chapter 8 - 8 8: Double Kill_1 8 Chapter 8: Double Kill_1 Translator: 549690339 ` Click. He secured his own door. Fully armed, Wang Tao walked out. His target today was Room 301, but before entering Room 301, he stopped in front of the doors to Rooms 402 and 302 respectively. It was quiet inside both Room 402 on the fourth floor and Room 302 on the third floorhe could hear nothing. Wang Tao knocked softly on the doors, but there was still no sound from within. Wang Tao suspected that these two rooms were likely empty, since the outbreak of the zombie virus happened on a workday, and many workers had gone to their jobs. There should be a survivor in the room below him, Room 401, because prior to the internet disconnection, Wang Tao heard someone inside cursing. This time, Wang Tao didnt bother them. As for Room 301, his targethe first obtained the key from the electricity meter box, and sure enough, there was a key. He then listened intently at the door but heard no sound from inside. Then he prepared to knock on Room 301s door. If nobody was inside the room, there would surely be no response to his knocking. If someone was in there, out of fear or something similar, they might also not respond. Those bolder might ask who was at the door. If there were zombies, there would likely be a response, such as growling, pounding on the door, and the like, as zombies are rather sensitive to sound. However, if a zombie was locked inside the room, even if it did respond, Wang Tao might not hear it. But then again, if it was locked inside, he wouldnt have to worry. So, to sum up He would knock, and if there was no response, then it was likely safe for him to enter, at least the living room would be. If there was noise, then there were zombies in the living room. There might also be the possibility of a survivor lying in wait behind the door to ambush him. This possibility was small, for now, putting aside the question of necessity. If these survivors had the courage to do so, they wouldnt be hiding inside unable to come out. Of course, it was still a possibility, so Wang Tao still needed to be cautious, since its always prudent to be wary of others. After preparing himself, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then gently tapped on Room 301s door. Roar! Listening to the growl and footsteps inside, Wang Tao felt a bit of a headache coming on. The worst-case scenario had happenedthere was a zombie inside! And this being a shared room, Wang Tao wasnt sure how many zombies were inside. After a few seconds of solemn contemplation, Wang Tao decided to listen through the door. Thud thud~ Roar! Thud, thud~ Roar Gripping the homemade short spear tightly in his hand, Wang Taos eyes flickered with thought. Judging by the sound, there should be only one zombie, I didnt hear a second one. But what if If there are two zombies, I might not be able to handle them. After all, I cant afford any mistakes; getting infected means death Wang Tao was in turmoil internally, but he was not one to hesitate. Ive come this far lets do this! The zombie was now locked inside, and he had the key to open the door. The initiative was with him! If after opening the door, he found two zombies inside, he would immediately close the door and retreat. It wasnt that he was being cowardlyif he had a better weapon, perhaps he could try to deal with two zombies. But this weapon was hardly up to the task; one stab to the head and it would be done for Wang Tao gently turned the key, and the moment the door was opened, he rapidly pulled the door open and then kicked out fiercely. Bang! A muffled sound, and a small but ferocious and scary blood-colored figure was kicked flying by Wang Tao. [-3] [482/500] Clink clatter The zombie he kicked flew into a heap of objects, knocking them over. Wang Tao didnt rush in to deal the killing blow but quickly scanned the surroundings instead. One of the bedroom doors was closed; he wasnt sure if there was danger inside. But there was only one zombie in the living room! The advantage was his! Wang Tao clutched the homemade short spear tightly in both hands, pushed off with his back foot, and rapidly accelerated. Roar~ The female zombie twisted her body to stand up, let out an angry roar from her mouth, and then flailed her arms as she staggered towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao had intended to stab her neck with the short spear, but the zombie suddenly lunged forward, dodging his strike. Unfazed in the face of danger, Wang Tao switched his grip on the spear and chopped towards the zombies left arm. ` ` Thwack! [-35] [447/500 HP] The cleaver might not have been very sharp, but Wang Taos astonishing strength inflicted a huge wound on the zombies left arm, from which black blood splattered. Meanwhile, the zombies other right hand smacked down fiercely onto Wang Taos right arm. Thud! [-5] [105/110 HP] Despite the thick protection of the books, Wang Tao still felt his arm go numb, and he also lost 5 HP. He was injured! Wang Taos mind became even calmer. At that moment, the zombie opened its mouth wide, trying to bite Wang Tao. Wang Tao shoved his left arm, guarded by the arm shield, into the zombies mouth, blocking its lower jaw. His right hand then thrust the homemade short spear fiercely into the zombies stomach. [-5] [442/500 HP] This minor damage was almost like a tickle to the zombie, but it successfully restricted the zombies movements. Then Wang Taos muscles bulged as he gathered strength in his right leg and delivered a sweeping kick to the zombies waist. Thud! The zombie slid along the ground for several meters before crashing into the wall. For a moment, it seemed dazed and unable to rise. [-15] [427/500 HP] Whether it was the impact against the wall or something else, the kick had more power than Wang Tao had expected. Without thinking too much, Wang Tao pressed the advantage, quickly rushing to the wall. He stomped on the zombies chest, pinning it down, then with both hands, he reversed the grip on the short spear and raised it high. Thwack~ [-427] [0/500 HP] Headshot kill! A partially transparent package stained with blood appeared instantly. After collecting the package, Wang Tao didnt look at it immediately but instead glanced at his own HP bar. [110/115 HP] Indeed, the upper limit of his HP had increased by 5 points, and his current HP had also recovered by 5 points! Killing zombies could increase the upper limit of the HP bar and restore the increased HP! After calming his excitement slightly, he then looked at the contents of the package. [Acquired: Iron Block x1] [Iron Block: Crafting Material] Iron Block? Looking at the small cubical iron block in his backpack, Wang Tao didnt have time to study it for the time being. He searched the female zombies body and found a string of pearl necklaces, a wallet, and a crushed box of womens cigarettes, with no lighter. After collecting the spoils of battle, Wang Tao didnt rush to scour the room but sat down to rest for a while; then he turned his gaze toward the closed-bedroom door. If he didnt remember incorrectly, the female zombie had an HP of [482/500] when he entered, and the kick he had delivered upon entering only caused 3 points of damage. In other words, this female zombie was not at full health! If she had turned into a zombie at home, she should have been at full health, unless Wang Tao gripped the short spear tightly in both hands, then kicked fiercely at the bedroom door. Thud! The bedroom door was of decent quality and withstood Wang Taos kick. However, the lock was clearly subpar, as it was immediately wrecked. And in the moment the door opened, Wang Tao saw a male zombie lying on the ground, missing half its body, unable to move. Roar~ Thwack! [-286] [0/500 HP] ` Chapter 9 - 9 9 Sister-in-Law Comes to Help You_1 9 Chapter 9 Sister-in-Law Comes to Help You_1 Translator: 549690339 The room contained a male zombie that had lost half of its body. Though it still seemed vigorous and had a sturdy build, it ultimately lacked arms and legs, couldnt stand up or dodge, and was easily head-shot by Wang Tao. Wang Tao felt that this female zombie wasnt as strong as the male one in the hallway. He killed her without using Jump Slash. The minor injury he sustained was due to the terrain. However, while Jump Slash was powerful, it also greatly damaged the weapons. Having dealt with the female zombie without using Jump Slash, his homemade short spear was barely useable. After killing this male zombie, though, his kitchen knife was completely ruined, and even the rolling pin developed a crack and was on the verge of being scrapped. After a brief rest, Wang Tao checked around the room. He looked in the bathroom and the kitchen, and after confirming there was no danger, he locked up apartment 301 and then began to inventory his gains. First was the male zombie. After killing him, Wang Tao gained an additional 5 HP, making his HP bar read [115/120]. Then there were the items he dropped. [Acquired: Gear x1] [Gear: Crafting Material] This was a gear about the diameter of a ping-pong ball. The female zombie dropped an iron block, and the male zombie dropped a gear. Moreover, both were described as crafting materials. The term crafting materials is quite broad, and things like iron blocks and gears should be common everyday items, abundantly available in hardware stores. Wang Tao didnt know the difference between the items dropped by zombies and those found in everyday life, but before figuring out their use, he was certainly going to save them for later rather than use them indiscriminately. After all, items dropped by zombies could be stored in the space backpack, which was very convenient for storage. After putting the gear into the space backpack, he began to loot the corpse. But this male zombie didnt have anything useful on him. Last was to scour the entirety of apartment 301. As Wang Tao scavenged, he inferred the previous situation from clues and his own speculation. It was likely that at the outbreak of the apocalypse, the woman turned into a zombie, whereas the man was initially normal. The man might have had some strength. In the attack by the woman, he fought back, taking away over a dozen HP from the female zombie. But he was wounded too, even having half of his body eaten by the female zombie. The time it took to mutate after infection with the zombie virus varied from one minute to twenty-four hours. The man held on for quite a while, having a strong will to survive, and with the zombie virus potentially providing some enhancement when it activated, he dragged his severely injured body back to his own room. But in the end, he couldnt withstand the virus and became a zombie. After he turned, the female zombie probably lost interest in him which is why when Wang Tao arrived, it felt so deathly quiet inside The end of the world, huh He sighed in his heart, but Wang Taos hands didnt stop searching. Perhaps because two people lived here, the apartment was cluttered with numerous belongings. Especially the womans things, which included clothing, cosmetics, adult toys, bags, various small ornaments, and so on, which took Wang Tao quite a while to sift through. As for the mans possessions, they were simpler. Besides a relatively large number of shoes and various electronic products, there were few other miscellaneous items. However, what Wang Tao cared about the most was the food, but these two didnt have muchonly enough for a day or two, and it was all vegetables and fruits that didnt keep well and were wilting. Curiously, the womans room contained quite a few unopened snacks. Although they werent filling, they werent cheap either. Huh? In the kitchen, Wang Tao found three neatly cut lengths of steel pipe, one of a meter and two of half a meter each. ` Good stuff! Wang Tao was wondering what could replace his cracked rolling pin when this steel pipe came at just the right time. Moreover, if he sharpened the steel pipe a bit, it could even replace a kitchen knife. He had a whetstone at home, so he could do the sharpening there slowly. Right, Ill take this too! Wang Tao carried out the gas cylinder from the kitchen. The gas cylinder in apartment 602 was nearly empty, so Wang Tao didnt bother with it. But the one in apartment 301 was almost full, so he could take it back home as well. An hour later, Wang Tao, with a bundle wrapped in a bedsheet on his back and with a steel pipe sticking out, ran toward apartment 501 with a suitcase in each hand. After placing the items at the doorstep, Wang Tao ran back to 301 to fetch the gas cylinder. But before he locked the door of 301, he thought for a moment, went into the room, and despite feeling nauseous, dragged the two zombies out. Then he opened a window and threw them down, one after the other. He also threw out the zombie in the corridor. Since the southern window overlooked the residential complexs yard, he was afraid of attracting zombies. So he threw them from the northern window, which meant they landed on the street. Thump, thump, thump Three sounds of heavy objects hitting the ground echoed. Hiss Roar Instantly, a series of strange and penetrating hisses and roars came from the street. Several gruesome and terrifying zombies appeared from the darkness, wandering towards the source of the noise. Indeed, the street is full of zombies! Wang Tao felt a chill in his heart. Looking at the number, there were probably thirty to fifty of them, and who knows how many more were inside the shops. If someone unknowingly rushed into that area, they would likely find no place to run. Across the street was a convenience store. Wang Tao had thought about scavenging there if he got the chance, confident that there would be plenty of supplies. But now he immediately dismissed the idea; he wanted to live a little longer. After he moved the gas cylinder up to apartment 501, Wang Tao started to unlock his door. Just then, apartment 502 next door opened a small crack. Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao with utter shock, seeing the big and small parcels beside him. In fact, she had been paying attention since Wang Tao had left the house. She had roughly heard some of the commotion downstairs. She didnt know exactly what had happened, but she knew when Wang Tao had left, he was holding a rolling pin tied with a kitchen knife, yet when Wang Tao returned, he brought back supplies in big and small packages. Especially the half bag of rice peeking out of the big bundle, it made her feel like if Wang Tao were to give the rice to her, she could eat it raw. As Wang Tao was about to enter his door, she clenched her teeth and opened her door. Click Wang Tao heard the noise and glanced at her. As Wang Tao was wearing glasses, Ding Yuqin couldnt see his eyes clearly. Cough that Wang Tao, youre amazing! Getting so many supplies today! I see youre having a bit of trouble carrying them Let sister-in-law help you After saying this, Ding Yuqin embarrassingly immediately looked down at her feetoh, she couldnt see her toes. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; indeed, the stuff wasnt easy to carry, but he had already reached his own doorstepwas it that hard to take these last two steps? Why didnt she offer help earlier? However, looking at Ding Yuqins pale face slowly turn a shade of blush, seeing the HP bar above her head displaying [15/100], Wang Tao thought for a moment and then said: Okay. Then Ill trouble sister-in-law. ` Chapter 10 - 10 10 Are You Hurt?_1 10 Chapter 10 Are You Hurt?_1 Translator: 549690339 Hoo Seeing that Wang Tao had agreed, Ding Yuqin finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had already prepared herself to be rejected by Wang Tao; after all, yesterday he didnt even want to let her into the housethinking of this, she still harbored some minor grudges in her heart. Wang Tao opened the door and handed a slightly smaller parcel to Ding Yuqin. Sister-in-law, could you help me take this inside? Sureow! After Ding Yuqin took it, she felt a heavy weight in her hands; she was too weak, scarcely having any strength at all. Wang Tao reached out to support the bundle, somewhat helplessly saying: Sister-in-law, if its too much, I can do it Ahem, its fine, I can manage! She finally found an excuse to enter Wang Taos house and didnt want to waste the opportunity. Alright then. Wang Tao let go and watched as Ding Yuqin shakily carried the small bundle inside. He quickly brought the rest of the items back to his house, then closed the door. Wow~ Ding Yuqin knew that Wang Tao had a lot of supplies, but she was still somewhat astounded when she actually laid eyes on these things. Sigh, they are just some useless stuff Wang Tao sighed. Most of these items were miscellaneous. The truly important things, such as food, were not plentiful. As for weapons, only those three steel rods passed muster; for the time being, they were indeed of little use. Ahem, Wang Tao, how about I help you tidy up? Your place is too messy! Ding Yuqin ignored Wang Taos ostentation, getting busy organizing as she spoke. Sure. Wang Tao didnt refuse. His house was indeed in disarray. He had spent the last few days either eating, sleeping, exercising, or fighting zombies, with no time to clean up. Today, Ding Yuqin wore a form-fitting white dress that accentuated her figure, her hair tied up high, revealing a slender and exquisite neck, with a platinum necklace deeply nestled in her cleavage. Perhaps knowing that there were no zombie threats in the hallway, she also wore a pair of impractical caramel high heels. Paired with flesh-colored stockings clinging to her skin, they added much sensuality and allure. Wang Tao watched as she crouched on the ground, deftly categorizing items, before finally pulling his gaze away from her legs. Watching Wang Taos retreating figure, Ding Yuqins tense body finally relaxed a little. She could feel Wang Taos unrestrained gaze sweeping over her body, and she had started to regret dressing up so much. If Wang Tao lost control of his animal instincts she wouldnt be able to resist. At the time, she was just thinking that since she was asking for help, she should at least appear clean and tidy, rather than sloppy and unkempt. Fortunately, Wang Tao only watched her for a while and then left, without making any inappropriate moves. How could I doubt Wang Tao? If it werent for him, Id have starved. Hes a good man! In the bathroom, Wang Tao took off his gear and carefully set aside the books inside; these were vital for survival and couldnt get wet. Then he removed the coat stained with some zombie blood and washed it separately with water. After rinsing the coat, he stripped off the rest of his clothes and washed them in the machine. While bathing, he looked at the bruise on his right arm and frowned. This was where he had been injured today, a zombie slapped away 5 drops of his HP. During the fight and scavenging before, he had not felt pain. But now, whenever he touched hot water or even lightly brushed the area, he felt a piercing pain, and he started to wonder if the bone had been injured. Wang Tao had been thinking before that he had only been slapped by a zombie, without any wound or serious pain, so why did he lose 5 HP? After all, his total HP was barely over a hundred. Wouldnt it mean that a few more slaps from a zombie could kill him outright? It seemed a bit unreasonable to him. But now it appeared that it wasnt unreasonable at all, but rather very reasonable. Thats because theres a limit to human pain endurance. Its not that you only die by being decapitated or stabbed in the heart. Even some superficial pains can be enough to kill a person from pain alone. The bruise on Wang Tao surely wasnt fatal, but if he accumulated more of these types of injuries, even to the bone, he might die of pain. So losing 5 HP was quite reasonable. This HP bar didnt just represent the HP amount like in some games, but also represented the condition of ones health. That also explained why Ding Yuqins HP bar was only at 15. Although Ding Yuqin wasnt attacked, her health kept dropping under conditions of hunger and fear. Without help, she might end up dying from starvation or fear After the bath, Wang Tao put on long pants and a tank top, exposing his arms. The bruise was painful to the touch, and although he could endure it, he saw no need to torture himself. Ding Yuqin was rather capable, it had to be said. In the time it took for Wang Tao to bathe, she had already sorted many items. Everything was neatly placed together, creating a comfortable visual. Yu Qin, no rush, take a break. Wang Tao spoke. Ah? No, no, its okay, just give me a moment! Ding Yuqin looked up, and upon seeing Wang Taos explosively muscular figure and his somewhat unfamiliar but handsome face, she quickly lowered her head again. Before long, they had sorted the items into simple categories. There werent too many things and no need to categorize them too meticulously. Wang Tao saved these items with the mentality that it was wasteful to throw them away. Whether they would be useful or not was another story. Ding Yuqins legs were feeling a bit sore from squatting; as she prepared to stand up, she suddenly felt a wave of darkness before her eyes, and her body started to uncontrollably fall backwards. Wang Tao, quick as lightning, caught Ding Yuqins waist with his arm. Yu Qin, are you alright? Ding Yuqins face was extremely pale, and the words losing HP even appeared above her head. [-5] [10/100] Good lord, just tidying things up and shes losing HP? Found a scam, did she? And now that shes down to such low HP, wouldnt it be game over with just a slapWang Tao thought with a bit of wicked amusement. Im fine maybe just a bit anemic After recuperating in Wang Taos arms for a while, Ding Yuqin quickly struggled free, a bit embarrassed as she tidied the hair beside her ear, her pale face flushing slightly with a tinge of red. Hmm? Are you injured? But when she saw the bruise on Wang Taos arm, she let out a gasp, instinctively stepping back. Yeah. Wang Tao nodded his head, not elaborating much, since being injured was nothing to brag about. Ding Yuqin initially thought Wang Tao might have been infected. However, seeing that it was just a bruise without any wound, and that Wang Tao was quite composed, she breathed a sigh of relief. Feeling that her step back might have been an inappropriate reaction, Ding Yuqin hurriedly stepped forward and grasped Wang Taos arm, gently stroking around the muscles near the bruise, saying softly: I have some experience with treating bruises and injuries Chapter 11 - 11 11 Starving for Five Days_1 11 Chapter 11 Starving for Five Days_1 Translator: 549690339 ` Ding Yuqin finished speaking and, without waiting for Wang Tao to refuse, hurriedly began to gently massage the muscles on Wang Taos arm. As Ding Yuqin drew closer, a faint scent of shampoo wafted into Wang Taos nostrils, making him feel unexpectedly hot and bothered. Wang Tao had intended to refuse. After all, he was a manly man, and what was a little wound to him? But his sister-in-law, after all, meant well. Seeing how earnest she was, Wang Tao really couldnt bring himself to refuseand it definitely wasnt because her gentle kneading felt very comfortable. Oh right! I have a first aid kit at home, just wait for me Ding Yuqin got up, ready to head out the door, but then quickly turned back and gave Wang Tao an appeasing smile. Wang Tao, dont forget to open the door for your sister-in-law later! She was afraid that once she left, Wang Tao would lock the door behind her. Okay. Wang Tao nodded, not closing the door. After all, they lived across from each other, just a few steps away. Plus, the zombies in the corridor were already dead, so it was still safe for the time being. Before long, Ding Yuqin came out carrying a medicine box from her place, and seeing Wang Taos door open, her face lit up with joy as she quickly trotted in wearing her high heels. Inside here are some medications for treating contusions and sprains Ding Yuqin opened the medicine box, revealing various medicines and items like bandages. Wang Tao watched the medicine box in silence. He had rummaged through two households and hadnt found a medicine box, at most some cold and anti-inflammatory medicines. Not even his own home had one, as his health had always been pretty good and he hadnt been to the hospital in years. He didnt have any regularly used medications either. After all, medicines have expiration dates, and theyre expensive too. Apart from some well-off individuals or those with a sense of crisis who might prepare a professional medicine box, most people wouldnt buy such an item. These were bought by your Brother Zhao, havent even been used yet Ding Yuqin spoke with a touch of pride. But after saying it, she felt a bit deflated. If she had spent the money for the medicine box on food instead, she could have eaten for quite a while When Ding Yuqin applied some ointments and medicated solutions on Wang Taos arm, his eyes lit up. Because he saw a change in his HP bar. [+1] [+1] [+1] [118/120] The medications had added 3 HP to Wang Tao! He could also clearly feel the pain in his arm diminishing significantly, accompanied by a tingling numbness. No pain meant an increase in HP, which made sense. And from this incident, Wang Tao could also infer that he probably hadnt injured his bones, otherwise he wouldnt have recovered so quickly. This medication is really effective! Wang Tao praised. As long as it helps! Ding Yuqin, seeing that Wang Tao didnt seem to be just being polite, was suddenly cheered by the fact she could help him. After all, she wanted to borrow some food, and it was best for her to offer something in return. No one was a fool. After applying the medicine, Ding Yuqin continued to knead the muscles on Wang Taos arm, which helped with the absorption of the medication. However, after a while, Ding Yuqin began to inwardly complain. It was just too hard, and her hands were getting sore! And with her hunger pangs, she was running out of strength Feeling Ding Yuqins hands losing their strength, Wang Tao directly spoke: Sister-in-law, you dont need to keep massaging, it doesnt hurt anymore. Its also mealtime. Why not have something to eat before you go back? Sure! Upon hearing about eating, Ding Yuqin agreed before her brain could even register, but perhaps realizing she seemed a bit too eager, she hurriedly added: Ahem, I dont have anything else to do at home anyway, so let me help you! You guys probably dont cook often, right? Im actually quite good at cooking Wang Tao suddenly noticed that Ding Yuqins HP bar had also increased. [+1] [+1] ` [] Indeed, Ding Yuqins HP bar above her head was not only depleting due to hunger but also because of fright, lack of security, and other reasons. Okay, then Ill trouble you, sister-in-law. With more people, there was more strength, and Wang Tao did not refuse. Besides, he wasnt really good at cooking. He followed the simple principle that as long as it was cooked, it would suffice. He had just gotten some vegetables with poor appearance from Apartment 301; they had been put aside for several days and would go bad if left any longer. It made sense to invite Ding Yuqin for a meal, especially considering Brother Zhao had asked him to take care of his sister-in-law. Men and women working together made for lighter work. It didnt take too long, and a rather sumptuous lunch was prepared. Looking at the full spread of four dishes and a soup, Ding Yuqin swallowed hard once again. Five days, it had already been five days! She hadnt eaten a proper meal for five whole days! She didnt even know how she had gotten through it. As she looked at the table full of food, tears suddenly blurred her vision. Only those who had experienced hunger could realize the preciousness of food. Sister-in-law, whats wrong? When Wang Tao saw Ding Yuqin suddenly covering her mouth and crying, he was quite surprised. Could she have misunderstood that all this food was specifically prepared for her? Was she moved to tears? If so, she might be reading too much into it. No, Im fine, sorry for making you laugh Ding Yuqin hastily wiped away her tears. Even while wiping her eyes, her other eye did not leave the sight of the food. She feared it was all a dream, and with a blink, everything would disappear. Seeing Wang Tao washing his hands, she quickly washed the bowls and chopsticks and set them neatly on the table, then stood aside waiting for Wang Tao to sit first. Have a seat, dont be polite. Only after Wang Tao sat down did she take a seat herself. Holding a small bowl brimming with rice, she could feel the warmth in her hands and almost burst into tears again. Oh right, I suggest you dont eat too much all at once, sister-in-law, Wang Tao suddenly said. Yes, yes, I understand! Ding Yuqin quickly nodded, understanding that if someone had been starving for too long, eating too much at once could be overwhelming for the body. She carefully picked up some greens, put them in her mouth, and bit down. A flood of happiness filled her senses! Even though the vegetables were wilted, she felt they were the most delicious food she had ever had in her life! Huh? It really does taste good! Wang Tao was a bit taken aback; he hadnt expected his sister-in-laws cooking skills to be this good. As he ate, he observed. He noticed that with each movement of Ding Yuqins chopsticks, her green HP bar started to slowly increase. [+1] [+1] [+1] [] Moreover, it must be said that Ding Yuqin was someone who could restrain her own desires. Wang Tao could feel that she wanted to devour all the food, but she was still trying to eat slowly, although her table manners were not very elegant. After eating for a while and feeling her strength gradually returning, Ding Yuqin finally had a moment to sneak a peek at Wang Tao. No wonder Wang Tao was such a big guy with developed muscles; it turns out he could really eat! He could consume half of the large spread of dishes all by himself However, she also realized at that moment that her own eating manners were quite unseemly. To avoid embarrassment, she wiped her mouth and then took the initiative to strike up a conversation. Sigh, Wang Tao, you dont know how unlucky your sister-in-law has been. Its a good thing were neighbors After Ding Yuqin explained, Wang Tao finally understood why she was so starving. Simply put, she and her husband went back to their hometown last month, planning to spend a month there. So, they cleaned out all the food in their home in advance. But her husband had sudden business and came back earlier. Upon returning home, they had no food at all, but they didnt think much of it, deciding to make do with a meal at a restaurant for the time being and to go shopping together at the supermarket once her husband was less busy. The next day, she slept in, and by the time she woke up, the virus had broken out. That meant that, while other families could last a few days even with little food, she had nothing at all at home. If it werent for some snacks she bought earlier and a bag of bread given by Wang Tao, she might have truly starved to death Chapter 12 - 12 12 Nighttime Explosion_1 12 Chapter 12 Nighttime Explosion_1 Translator: 549690339 Wuwuwu, why is my life so miserable! At the heartbreakingly sad part, Ding Yuqin covered her face and wept profusely. Then through the gaps in her fingers, she stealthily glanced at Wang Tao, hoping to gain his sympathy. Wang Tao did feel sympathy. He could tell she wasnt lying just by looking at Yu Qins HP bar; he guessed that if she went another day without food, she really would die. But sympathy couldnt be traded for food. So, Wang Tao showed no reaction and simply buried his head in his meal. Ding Yuqin, shrewd as she was, saw that Wang Tao remained unmoved and felt a bit down. She wiped her tears and stopped crying. After all, crying would also consume physical strength, and right now, every bit of strength was precious. After the meal, Ding Yuqin took the initiative to wash the dishes, and Wang Tao didnt stop her. He looked at Ding Yuqins graceful figure from behind, lost in thought for a moment. 40/100 now When she heard about my offer to eat with her, her spirit improved, gaining 10 HP. After having a meal, she gained 20 HP. However, her body is still in a state of weakness, and even if she keeps eating, it probably wont increase as much as it did today After quickly washing the dishes, Ding Yuqin dried her hands and then said to Wang Tao: Wang Tao, do you have any laundry that needs washing? I dont have much to do at home, so I can help you wash them Wang Tao shook his head. No need for that; I have a washing machine. Uh Ding Yuqin felt a bit awkward, but soon thought of another excuse, Then, can I give you a massage? Im pretty good with my hands Massage? Wang Tao was somewhat tempted, especially since the one offering was a great beauty. However, he had to train in the afternoon. He was always very disciplined, not to mention that now, in the post-apocalyptic world, his body was his greatest asset. I appreciate your kindness, sis, but theres no need. I have to start my training in a bit. Okay then, Ill be heading back. If you need anything, Wang Tao, just call me. Ding Yuqin left with some reluctance. Both Wang Taos muscular body and the well-organized food gave her a sense of security. But she could find no reason to stay any longer. Alright, no problem. Seeing that Wang Tao didnt offer to have her stay for dinner or anything of the sort, Ding Yuqin let out a sigh. She had actually come over this time hoping to borrow some food, even a pack of bread would have been fine. Having had the chance to enjoy a big meal was an unexpected delight; she didnt dare ask for anything more, for fear of upsetting Wang Tao, which would sever her last hope of survival After making sure Ding Yuqin got home safely, Wang Tao closed the door and began his training. Todays task was practicing with the punching bag. After two encounters with zombies, he realized that his combat skills were lacking. Zombies were not like humans; though their movements might be stiff, it didnt mean they were slowit just meant they lacked agility. Besides, zombies were incredibly strong! Fighting zombies was a whole different ballgame compared to fighting humans. Against human attacks, one could dodge, resist, or even resort to an all-out battle to the death. But none of that worked on zombies. The best option for now was just to dodge. Even with Wang Taos physical fitness, he was left bruised by just one slap from a zombie. The one in the hallway had directly forced Wang Tao back several steps with its blow. Resisting wasnt an option, at least not continuously. And the thought of fighting zombies to the point of mutual destruction was even more out of the question. Zombies could afford countless mistakes, but he couldnt afford a single one. If he were bitten or scratched by a zombie then he could only wait for death. Wang Tao had never fought zombies before, so he was very unused to this style of fighting. If he could optimize his technique to counter zombie traits, he wouldnt necessarily be able to kill instantly, but at least he wouldnt have to take the hit he did today. During his contemplation, Wang Tao began to ruthlessly pummel the sandbag, pretending it was a zombie. While exercising, Wang Tao suddenly had an epiphany; he felt that if he didnt use weapons and just used his fists, his agility would be much higher. Perhaps in certain specific situations, fists might be more appropriate! Ill look for some special gloves or brass knuckles later Zombies dont feel pain, so if he were to punch a zombie in the head and the zombie was fine but he ended up with a broken finger, that would be embarrassing. A few hours later, a sweaty Wang Tao stopped his exercise. However, he didnt rest, feeling he still had plenty of physical strength left to sharpen a steel pipe. He found three steel pipes in Room 301, two half a meter long, and one a meter long. The one-meter pipe was suitable for use in open spaces, while the half-meter ones were better for corridors and indoor environments. The steel pipes were much better than the homemade short spears he had before. Wang Tao decided to sharpen one of the half-meter pipes first, after all, they were difficult to sharpen. But he didnt need to make it extremely sharp, just a bit pointed would do. After all, with one Jump Slash, zombies couldnt block his head-exploding attack. He heated up the leftover rice from lunch briefly and quickly finished it. Then Wang Tao began the sharpening. Scrape~ Scrape~ He kept at it until eleven at night. If it werent for being on the fifth floor, Wang Tao worried that the noise from sharpening the steel pipe could attract zombies. But fortunately, it was just about usable. After a quick shower and routinely turning on the radio, it crackled for a while. After not hearing any useful information, Wang Tao turned off the light and got ready for bed. Suddenly. Bang! A loud noise came from outside, startling Wang Tao who had just lain down, causing him to spring up in alarm. Damn it! Could it be the Governments artillery or missile? He hurried to the north-facing window, only to see a flash of fire in the distance on another street lighting up the night and illuminating countless zombies. Roar~ In an instant, countless roaring sounds erupted from all directions, causing ones scalp to tingle. Ah Help At the same time, a few screams from survivors arose from outside, but they quickly disappeared. At that moment, there was nothing Wang Tao could do but to hide in the corner and silently wait. After about an hour, there was no second explosion. Wang Tao finally sighed in relief. It probably wasnt artillery or missiles, as the Government would have attacked more than once if they had the capability. Looking at the street outside still ablaze, Wang Tao suspected it might have been a gas explosion in a shop. Fortunately, they were in an old neighborhood that used gas cylinders, so there was no need to worry about a gas leak. Even if a gas cylinder were to explode, it would be contained within a room, not reaching him. But that wasnt the point; the main concern was that Wang Tao could distinctly feel the zombies outside becoming more frenzied, with constant howling sounds. No, it wasnt just the zombies outside! Wang Tao quickly ran to the south-facing window, and in the dim starlight, he saw zombies in the residential area howling and running, sending chills down his spine. What happened to the slow, stiff movements and low agility they were supposed to have? He had fought with zombies and seen them in a frenzy before, but not like this! Chapter 13 - 13 13 Locksmith_1 13 Chapter 13 Locksmith_1 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao didnt sleep well last night. He guessed that other survivors nearby felt the same. After all, last nights explosion was terrifying, and the frenzy of the zombies induced by the explosions noise, with their chilling roars, made it impossible to sleep. The first thing Wang Tao did upon waking up was to check his HP. His HP was full, and though there were still some bruises on his arm, they barely hurt anymore. His recovery ability had strengthened after the apocalypse. Then he went to check the doors and windows, worried about last nights frenzied zombies. With their agility, if they could climb walls Fortunately, everything at home was safe. Wang Tao then surveyed the zombies in the residential area. There really are more zombies! They must have come from outside, but they look so dull, completely different from last nights Whats going on? Wang Tao had thought that last nights zombies had mutated, given how frightening the ones running wildly in the courtyard were. But now the zombies had reverted to their usual selves, wandering slowly around the yard. No good, Ill have to observe again tonight! I need to figure out whats the deal with these zombies, hopefully, the weather will be good tonight After mumbling to himself, Wang Tao looked toward the street that exploded last night. The fire was still burning, and when he opened the window, he could smell a disgusting stench of decay. Wang Tao quickly closed the window. He made a simple breakfast. After eating, Wang Tao pondered for a moment and decided to try his luck on the second and first floors today. He remembered there were tenants on these floors, and what if someone, like the tenant in 301, left the keys in the meter box? Of course, he had to get fully armed before going out. Although there were no zombies in the corridor, safety came first. When he arrived on the second floor, Wang Tao searched both meter boxes but found no keys. Interestingly, he noticed that the door of 201 had many small locksmith ads stuck on it, just like his, but the door of 202 was spotlessly clean. Suddenly, Wang Tao thought of some internet jokes. Could those ads be stuck on the inside of the door? Shaking his head with a chuckle, Wang Tao proceeded to the first floor. There were no keys in the meter boxes on the first floor either, which left Wang Tao slightly disappointed. Since there were no keys, Wang Tao decided not to knock on the doors. After all, without keys, there was no way to enter the apartments, whether there were people or zombies inside. Wang Tao treaded lightly and observed the security gate of the building entrance. The glass on the gate was somewhat shattered, but behind it was a wire mesh, so the door remained quite sturdy. Through the window, he could see a group of zombies wandering outside, at least twenty of them at a rough count. With so many zombies, it will be hard to get out It was already the seventh day of the apocalypse, and he had not seen any sign of rescue operations. Wang Tao had lost hope in that regard. With his limited supplies, he definitely needed to go out. And to get out, there were only two ways, either to go through the courtyard of the complex or to climb out from the window on the north side. But there were more zombies on the street to the north. So he had no choice but to go through the courtyard. Those twenty-plus zombies were something he had to confront. If only he could lead them to a certain place and take them down one by one While he was pondering, Wang Tao glanced at the other residential buildings. He was in Building 4, and from his position, he could only see Building 2 opposite and Building 1 diagonally across. The situation in Buildings 2 and 1 was not great. Wang Tao could clearly see that the gates to their units were opened. Zombies were going in and coming out. He wondered if there were any survivors inside. Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved, guessing that the reason their gates remained closed was because this building housed many laborers. On the day of the zombie outbreak, which was in the morning, the laborers would have all gone to work early. Yet, inside buildings 1 and 2, there were many retired old men and women. They would gather downstairs to chat and play chess. To facilitate easy access, some had even propped their units security door open with bricks to prevent it from closing. If zombies appeared under such circumstances, it would be hard for them to survive. After roughly understanding the current situation, Wang Tao prepared to return. However, as he was about to ascend to the second floor, the door of room 202 suddenly opened a crack. Wang Tao immediately gripped the steel pipe tightly and cautiously peeked over. Big brother, Im not a zombie! A mans voice, deliberately lowered, came from inside. Through the crack, Wang Tao also saw a slim, balding middle-aged uncle inside, roughly over 1.6 meters tall. [25/100] Looking at his green HP bar above his head, his health condition did not seem very good. Big brother, did you kill the zombies in the corridor? Youre amazing, brother! Since Wang Tao was fully covered up, the bald uncle couldnt see his face clearly. But seeing Wang Taos steel pipe and sturdy figure, he instinctively called him big brother. Is there something you want? Wang Tao asked with some indifference. If he had the means, he wouldnt mind helping a survivor. But with rescue nowhere in sight yet, he couldnt afford to be overly charitable, especially to a stranger. Ahem well, Ive run out of food at home The bald uncle scratched his head awkwardly. Sorry, my food is also running low. If I had enough food, I wouldnt have come out. Wang Tao shook his head. No, no, no, youve got it all wrong, big brother! What I mean is, how about we work together? I know where theres food, but Im afraid to get it The anxious bald uncle hurriedly explained. Oh? Lets hear it. Wang Taos brows rose at this. He didnt seem like a fool, so what he meant probably wasnt the outsidethe outside had a lot of supplies, but one had to be alive to get them. Sure enough, the bald uncle quickly said: The 201, right across! Two days before doomsday, I saw him carrying a 50-pound bag of rice home, and he lives alone, there must be a lot left! A 50-pound bag of rice! If one were to eat normally thrice a day, a person could last about one or two months. If one were to ration it or eat by the bare minimum survival standards, it might even last for several months But the door of 201 is locked. Wang Tao looked towards the bald uncle. Living right across the hall, he couldnt be unaware that 201s door was locked. Since he brought up the idea, did he likely have the key to 201? I, I can pick locks! Im a Locksmith! The bald uncle immediately replied. No wonder there were no small ads for lock-picking services at his door, he was the Locksmith! Big brother, how about this? Ill unlock their door, and you deal with the zombies inside! Well split the found foodIll only take one third, the rest is all yours! After speaking, he looked at Wang Tao with a hopeful expression. After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao shook his head. Chapter 14 - 14 14 Learning Lockpicking Skills_1 14 Chapter 14 Learning Lockpicking Skills_1 Translator: 549690339 Seeing Wang Tao shake his head, the bald uncles face suddenly became urgent. Brother, I know fighting zombies means risking your life, but were not zombieswe need to eat! We have no choice but to take risks How about this, I only want a quarter, and the rest is all yours, brother! The bald uncle clenched his teeth and lowered his demands further. 12.5 pounds from 50 pounds of riceone quarterwould be enough for him to eat sparingly for half a month, or even a whole month. And surely there must be other food inside unit 201; rounding up, he thought, at least two months worth of food! If he still hadnt received any help after two months, he figured he might go mad But concerns for the future could wait; the immediate priority was to secure food for the short term. Watching Wang Tao remain silent, the bald uncle grew more and more anxious. If he had the ability to kill zombies, he would have gone alone long ago Just when he thought Wang Tao really didnt want to take the risk, Wang Tao suddenly spoke. A quarter, fine. But I have one condition. Brother, just say it! I promise Ill agree! The bald uncle immediately became excited and hastily made his promise. Whether or not he could do it, it was best to agree first. Wang Tao looked at him earnestly and said: Teach me how to pick locks. Ah? The bald uncle was stunned for a moment, then his face showed some difficulty. Lock picking isnt something that can be taught casually; were registered for that. If There are no ifs. Just say whether youll teach or not. A quarter of the food in room 201 is enough to keep you alive for a long time. He hadnt finished speaking when Wang Tao interrupted, Think it over carefully. Im in room 501; find me there once youve decided. As soon as Wang Tao finished talking, he walked away, as if without a single regret. But he had barely taken two steps when the bald uncle hastily called out from behind. Brother, dont go! Ill teach! Ill teach! The bald uncle still harbored hope that society could return to normal, and he didnt want to do something that would ruin his future prospects. But hope was hope, reality was reality He had no other choice. Good, then open the door, Im going in. Wang Tao turned around, a faint smile on his face. Please come in! The bald uncle quickly opened the door. His home had the same three-room layout as Ding Yuqins and was much bigger than Wang Taos. However, it seemed he had disassembled the furniture at home; the place was messy, with tools, boards, and whatnot everywhere. I was sealing up the windows with stuff I found, so its a bit messy at homedont mind, brother, please take a seat! Wang Tao didnt mind and casually sat down. He then stuck the steel pipe into the sheath on his back and took off his gloves, face scarf, and glasses, revealing a young face. Seeing how young Wang Tao was, the bald uncle suddenly felt a bit embarrassed; after all this time, he had been calling a youngster brother. Big Younger brother, wait a moment; Ill go get the tools! Wang Tao didnt care about these minor details in the naming. It wasnt long before the bald uncle came back with a bag containing various tools like torque wrenches and lock picks. Younger brother, shall we start with the simplest? Sure. There are many types of locks, and the simple ones are actually quite easy to crack. Its just that ordinary people dont come across such things, so they seem very impressive. The bald uncle started by explaining the basic principles to Wang Tao, then he demonstrated how to pick a lock, and finally let Wang Tao try it himself. It didnt take long before they heard a click, and Wang Tao successfully picked a lock with the tools. Younger brother, youre awesome! After praising Wang Tao a couple of times, the bald uncle went on to teach him other methods of lock picking. When Wang Tao saw the bald uncle open a lock with just a piece of wire, he immediately declared, Coach, I want to learn this one! Wang Tao had headed out in the morning and kept learning until noon. He felt that if he had had this level of dedication at school, he wouldnt have ended up in this sorry state. Gurgle~ The bald uncle, somewhat embarrassed, covered his belly; he hadnt eaten for a day. Wang Tao, seeing the situation, directly took out several squashed pieces of bread from his pocket and handed them over to him. Thank you! Thank you! I really cant thank you enough! The bald uncle was immediately very excited as he took the bread; he actually didnt like eating bread, preferring steamed buns instead. But he felt that the bread at this moment tasted better than any steamed bun he had ever eaten. [+10] [35/100] The bald uncles HP bar also recovered a small portion. Wang Tao also ate two slices of bread to fill his stomach. He had eaten breakfast that morning and, without any strenuous exercise, his appetite was about the same as a normal persons, so he wasnt hungry now. After a simple meal, Wang Tao followed the bald uncle and learned for a while, then stood up and said: Lets stop here for today. Im going to take care of the trouble in room 201. Ah? Alright, alright! Brother, go for it, and make sure to be safe! Hearing that Wang Tao was finally going to take action, the bald uncle quickly stood up in excitement. Are you sure theres only one person inside 201? Wang Tao asked while putting on his gloves. Sure! He lives alone in there; I havent seen many people go to his place Wang Tao paused in his movements. Havent seen many, so that means you have seen some? I have seen him bring young women home a few times before. The bald uncle scratched his head. Women? His girlfriend or wife? Cough, he brings different women each time. I see. So, youre not one hundred percent certain that theres only one person inside? Yes. But most likely its just him, because he doesnt bring women home very often, maybe once a month Wang Tao said no more. Assuming there were two zombies inside, that still wouldnt be unmanageable. After all, he had changed his weapons. If it really came down to it, he could just run. He believed that zombies definitely couldnt climb stairs faster than he could. After rearming himself completely, Wang Tao and the bald uncle arrived in front of room 201 together. You pick the lock, then go back home and wait. Wang Tao didnt let him get involved in dealing with the zombies. Given the bald uncles short and thin stature, he probably couldnt withstand a zombies attack. Letting him in would definitely slow things down; Wang Tao would be better off on his own. Wang Tao didnt want him to dieafter all, he hadnt fully mastered the lock-picking technique yet. Alright! The bald uncle fiddled gently with the exterior of the lock, then there was a click, and the door opened. Without a word, he turned and ran back home, closing his door behind him. Wang Tao gripped the steel pipe tightly, gently pushed the door open, and quickly scanned the area. There was no one in the living room, but there were many dark bloodstains. Theres more than one person in this place! Wang Tao instantly felt nervous, yet somewhat excited. A single person turning into a zombie wouldnt leave so many bloodstains! Clearly, someone had been attacked by a zombie! All the doors inside the house were open, and after Wang Tao took two steps, he caught sight of a long-haired woman, kneeling on the floor of the master bedroom with her back to Wang Tao. The woman was slightly bowing her head, as if she was eating something. Seemingly hearing a noise, the woman slowly turned her head, revealing a pale face with white, bloodshot eyes, dark veins all over, and in her hands half of a human head! Chapter 15 - 15 15 First Battle of the New Weapons_1 15 Chapter 15 First Battle of the New Weapons_1 Translator: 549690339 Seeing this scene, Wang Taos heart went cold. If he hadnt guessed wrong, the male owner of the house had been eaten by this female zombie! Grrr Upon seeing a living person, the female zombie immediately dropped the skull she held and, with a growl, staggered toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao gripped the steel pipe tightly with both hands, his gaze fixed on the female zombie. [510/510] This female zombie didnt have 500 HP, but 10 more! It was unclear whether she was naturally this strong or had gained it from eating that man Swish! After the female zombie approached Wang Tao, she swung a claw at him. Wang Tao dodged nimbly to the side and then swung the steel pipe with all his might at the zombies head. Thud! There was a crisp sound as a streak of black blood spurted from the zombies head. [-102] [408/510] Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao became somewhat excited. Indeed, it was different when you changed your weapon! When he had used the homemade short spear before, attacks on the zombies head had almost never penetrated its defense, and the weapon would become useless after just a few uses. But now, with one swing of the steel pipe, he took away one-fifth of the zombies HP! The steel pipe remained intact, and the zombie staggered from the blow, dizzy. Although this was also related to his slowly increasing strength, the weapon was the most critical factor. The success of this strike bolstered Wang Taos confidence. Taking advantage of the zombies apparent dizziness, he struck again at the zombies head with the steel pipe. Thud! Splash [-135] [273/510] That blow burst one of its eyeballs. Roar! As if enraged, the zombie let out a furious roar and then suddenly pounced forward, its stinking mouth aiming to bite at Wang Taos neck. Wang Taos quick reflexes allowed him to hoist the steel pipe up, thrusting it horizontally into the mouth of the female zombie. Grr~ Looking at the disgusting face so close by, Wang Tao forcefully pushed down with the steel pipe in his hands. Crack~ A sound of bone breaking was heard, and the zombies jaw was abruptly dislocated by the steel pipe, leaving behind a pool of black blood. [-59] The zombie looked up; the remaining white, lifeless fish eye fixed stubbornly on Wang Tao as its arms reached out in an embrace, an attempt to wrap around Wang Tao. Wang Tao ducked, avoiding the enthusiastic hug of the female zombie, and then smashed the steel pipe onto its legs. Bang! [-3] The female zombie had a petite frame and an unstable lower body. Putting all his strength into the strike, Wang Tao knocked her to the ground. Seizing the moment she fell, Wang Tao quickly stood up. The steel pipe rotated 180 degrees in his palm, instantly changing grips. Then, with the pipe held in both hands, he raised it high and stabbed fiercely downward at the forehead of the female zombie. Splash! [-211] [0/510] The female zombie twitched a couple of times and then lay still. Though a long story, the actual fight was brief, less than a minute. Phew~ Wang Tao took a deep breath. Although the fight had been short, he had given his all with every strike, so it was still somewhat draining. In fact, Wang Tao had wanted to test if a few good strikes with the pipe could kill it, especially since one strike had cost the zombie over one-fifth of its HP. But the battle was ever-changing, and Wang Tao was a bit too slow to seize the opportunity perfectly. Plus, his strength wasnt sufficient to cause dizziness in the zombie again. So, his plan was temporarily thwarted. However, the outcome was good, as he managed to kill it quite easily in the end. Wang Tao had already killed a few zombies, and he felt this one was the second easiest, with the easiest naturally being the zombie that was missing half of its body. But this did not mean that the female zombie was weak, Wang Tao felt that its strength was probably about the same as the one he encountered in the corridor earlier. Indeed, when Wang Tao looked at his HP bar, he discovered it had increased by 10 HPthe same amount as when he killed the zombie in the hallway! [130/130] It was 120 before, now its 130! Without pausing to feel excited, Wang Tao quickly absorbed the semi-transparent package that floated out of the zombies body. [Obtained: Steel Wire x1] [Steel Wire: Crafting Material] Another crafting material, it was still unclear what could be made with all these materials. After collecting it, Wang Tao began to search the body. After a thorough search, he found a gold necklace, a gold bracelet, and quite a few condoms. Wang Tao immediately threw away the condoms; after all, he dared not use anything that came from a zombie. Then Wang Tao looked at the male corpse in the room, who had been eaten by the female zombie until only half a head remained, with only some bones left on the ground, stained with traces of blood. Wang Tao felt a bit queasy looking at it, and even saw a [-1] figure appear over his own head. Mental attack, huh! Wang Tao quickly searched the bedroom and then left it. The man only had a wallet and a mobile phone. The female zombie had a womens shoulder bag that contained some change, a mobile phone, various strange drugs, and cosmetics or something. Wang Tao didnt care whether they were useful or not, he took them all. If he could survive, he was sure to meet other survivors or make it to a Survivor Base eventually. Wherever there are more people, there will inevitably be trade. These things he scavenged may not be useful to him, but they might be just what someone else needs. They could be used for trading. As for the paper money, it might still be of value, or it might not. But it was no bother to carry it. If it really became worthless, it could be used as fuel to keep warm. After a quick search, Wang Tao went out and knocked on the door of 202. Its safe now, come out. The bald man inside the room had been peering through the peephole the whole time. He was incredulous to see that Wang Tao had entered and, after a short time, emerged with no issue. He hadnt expected Wang Tao to resolve the situation so quickly! But he did not rush to open the door. Instead, he waited for Wang Tao to come knock and, upon hearing that Wang Taos voice was normal and he did not sound injured, he then opened the door. Young man, you are really impressive! Are you hurt? The bald man gave a bit of flattery. Wang Tao knew what he was thinking; he was just afraid Wang Tao might have been infected. Dont worry, it was just one zombie. I havent touched the food inside, do you want to go in together? Wang Tao was a man of his word, having promised to trade a quarter of the food for the bald mans lockpicking skill, he wouldnt go back on that he didnt even check to see exactly how much food there was. Yes, yes, yes! The bald man happily followed Wang Tao into 201. As for the womens shoulder bag that Wang Tao was carrying, the bald man naturally noticed it, but he didnt mind. Wang Tao had killed the zombie and thus had the right to pick spoils of war, and besides, those things were of no use to himhe only wanted food. But something seemed off. Why was there a womens shoulder bag in room 201? Ugh When he saw the blood all over the room, the female zombie, and half the head of his neighbor, the bald mans pupils shrunk suddenly, and he felt a surge of nausea. However, remembering that the bread he had just eaten might not have been digested yet, he forcibly held back and did not actually vomit. But a number appeared above his head. [-10] [25/100] Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; it seemed that this scene had a major impact on him. To prevent the bald man from having a mental breakdown, Wang Tao suggested that he look at the food to distract himself. However, upon seeing the rice in the kitchen, the bald man let out a wail No~ Chapter 16 - 16 16 Outdoor Power Supply_1 16 Chapter 16 Outdoor Power Supply_1 Translator: 549690339 When Wang Tao entered Room 201, the sight of chaos and bloodstains everywhere must have given him some expectations. But the sight of rice spilled into pools of blood in the kitchen still pained him greatly. What a waste! Most of the rice was inedible, and judging by the traces on the ground, Wang Tao suspected a female zombie had pursued the male homeowner, who likely tried to grab a kitchen knife, throwing everything at the zombie in his path. The bag of rice in the corner was probably knocked over by the man. Unfortunately, it seemed the fight hadnt delayed the zombie for long No, my rice! The bald man wailed, clutching his head. He was genuinely cryingafter all, it was 50 pounds of rice! Pick through it, see if any is still edible. Wang Tao patted his shoulder. Hmm Trying to suppress his grief, the bald man began to sort carefully. The kitchen was covered in bloodimpossible to tell if it was human or zombie. The woven bag that held the rice had toppled to the floor, the grains mixing with the blood. However, there seemed to be some rice at the bottom of the bag that might still be edible. Swallowing hard as he looked at the rice in the blood, he ultimately didnt dare to take it. If it were only human blood, he might consider it if he were nearly starving to death But the problem was the zombie blood. If he dared to eat it, hed likely turn into a zombie within minutes! Reluctantly, he had to give up. Wang Tao searched through the rest. Most of the food in the kitchen was contaminated, but the refrigerator door was unopened. Inside, there were some wilted vegetables, some eggs, and, to their surprise, several pounds of frozen beef in the freezer. Seeing this, the bald mans mood finally improved a lot, making the trip worthwhile. After considerable effort, they managed to sort out the edible rice. Wang Tao and the bald man collected these items and then returned to the bald mans apartment. Only 6 pounds of rice left 2 pounds of vegetables, 5 pounds of meat, 22 eggsthats about 2 pounds In total, 15 pounds of foodnot as much as expected but still decent. After crunching the numbers with pen and paper, the bald man looked at Wang Tao expectantly and said: According to our deal, I take one-quarter which is 1.5 pounds of rice, half a pound of vegetables, 1.25 pounds of meat, and 5no, 5 eggs Wang Tao was much stronger than he had anticipated; he expected a tough struggle between Wang Tao and the zombie, but Wang Tao resolved it in a minute If Wang Tao didnt keep his promise, he would have no way to resist. Fortunately, Wang Tao was a man of his word. Okay, take yours first. Give me the rest. Alright! Thank you, brother, thank you so much! The bald man quickly took his quarter share and then helped to pack up the rest of the food. Having taken the goods, Wang Tao stood up to leave. Ill be going back now; Ill come over again tomorrow. He hadnt mastered all the lock-picking skills yet, and that was a craft Wang Tao was determined to learn. Eh, sure! Ill give you these tools so you can practice on your own The bald man readily agreed and then proceeded to hand over some tools to Wang Tao. Thanks! Wang Tao looked at him appreciatively, nodded in preparation to leave, but suddenly turned back and asked: By the way, do you know the situation with the two apartments downstairs? Downstairs Im not too sure, when the virus broke out, I was too scared and didnt pay much attention to the neighbors The bald man was somewhat embarrassed, but quickly added, However, I do know that theres an elderly couple in 101 downstairs, and a family of three in 102, their naughty kid always causing trouble Wang Tao had some recollection when it came to the naughty kid. During the previous winter break, he was hit by a little stone thrown by that kid, and when he turned around, his scary scarred face immediately made the kid cry. Wang Tao even got scolded by the kids mom, and if the other people in the courtyard hadnt stepped in to defend him, the kids mom would have even tried to extort money from him! After that, when the kid went to school, Wang Taos routine didnt align with that of normal people, so they never ran into each other again So, it looks like there might be five zombies downstairs Alright, Ill head back first. Okay! After leaving 202, Wang Tao didnt rush back home. Instead, he went to the first floor and lightly knocked on the doors of 101 and 102. Soon, there came some scratching noises from inside. Great, there are zombies inside. Wang Tao went back to the bald man to tell him that there were zombies in both houses downstairs and warned him not to unlock the doors rashly. If the bald man, tasting success this time, tried to unlock those doors, that would spell trouble. Thanks, buddy. You can rest assured, I dare not go in there Remembering the scene he encountered in 201, he was still shaken. As long as you understand. After Wang Tao got home, he organized the supplies he had gathered that day and analyzed the situation in the building. Based on the current situation, there seemed to be only four surviving families: 501, which was his own; 502, where the sister-in-law lived; the stranger in 401, and the bald man in 202. There were also the rooms he had looted, which were 602, 301, and 201. Then there were rooms where he had knocked and heard noises, confirming the presence of zombies these were 601, 101, and 102. Last were the rooms he guessed were empty: 402 and 302 Of course, his guesses might not be accurate. Maybe the zombies hadnt heard him, or perhaps there were other threats, it was hard to say. But he felt there was a high probability they were empty. One visit will tell if someones there or not! Wang Tao clenched his fists, ready to venture out again. Killing that zombie today had been relatively easy, and he hadnt wasted too much physical strength. Even if there were zombies in those rooms, he felt confident he could handle them! After eating something light and drinking some water, Wang Tao grabbed his lock picking tools and the steel pipe and set out again. It was now past three in the afternoon, still early before dark, so time was on his side. First, he went to 402. Using the skills the bald man taught him that morning, he managed to open the door after a bit of effort with a click. He cautiously entered and looked around. After a thorough check, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. As expected, there was no one in this apartment! But soon, Wang Tao felt uneasy. Not only was the place void of people, but there were also no signs of life. Furniture was covered with plastic sheets, all of which were layered with thick dust. Judging from the looks, at the very least, no one had lived here for a month or two. Nevertheless, since he was already there, he certainly intended to look around. He couldnt leave empty-handed. And sure enough, just after stepping into the spare bedroom, Wang Tao found some valuable things. Is this a portable power supply! And a generator! Among some miscellaneous items in the spare bedroom, Wang Tao spotted a portable power supply and a diesel generator next to it. These people were likely off on a trip? Well then, I wont be polite! Chapter 17 - 17 17 Sister-in-law Works for You_1 17 Chapter 17 Sister-in-law Works for You_1 Translator: 549690339 This outdoor power supply probably weighs about thirty kilograms and is about the size of a small computer case, with a label indicating it can store 5-degree electricity. Despite the evident signs of wear on the power source, Wang Tao didnt mind, as long as it worked. He fumbled for a moment before flipping the power switch on, and the small screen displayed that it was more than half-charged. Not bad, not bad! Ill go back and charge it to full! Aside from the power supply, the most conspicuous item was the diesel generator. This thing was much larger and heavier than the outdoor power source. Wang Tao gave it a try and estimated it weighed seventy to eighty kilograms. This is also a good item, but not very convenient to use The diesel generator had a label stating it could hold 15L of diesel. Could 1L of diesel produce about 3 or 4-degree electricity? Wang Tao wasnt very knowledgeable in this area, but he had used generators while working with a film crew, so he knew how to operate one. But first, the diesel engine was very smelly when working; if placed indoors, the fumes would probably kill him. Second, it made a lot of noise when generating electricity! Wang Tao wasnt sure if starting it in the house would attract the zombies. Although in theory, the noise made upstairs should be much less than downstairs, and zombies wouldnt climb walls. It should be safe. But he feared trying it out could be the end of him. In a post-apocalyptic world, who knew what could happen Last, and most importantlyit needed diesel to operate, and there was no diesel in the room! Its good stuff, but theres no opportunity to use it for now After setting aside the outdoor power supply and the generator, Wang Tao continued his search. Horned hammer, wrench, small handsaw, and a map Seeing these items, Wang Tao suddenly had an ideawould stuffing the horned hammer into a steel pipe increase its power? He could try it later; he had three steel pipes, after all. After tidying these things up a bit, Wang Tao took some miscellaneous items and the outdoor power supply, leaving the generator there. He couldnt use it at the moment, and it was too heavy and cumbersome to move around. After bringing the items from apartment 402 back to his place, Wang Tao went to 302. After some tinkering, he managed to unlock the door. Just as Wang Tao had anticipated, there was no one and no zombies inside 302. The interior of the apartment was decorated very simply, with not much stuff aroundit looked like a rental. After searching for a while, Wang Tao found about ten-plus pounds of food. Very good indeed! However, there werent any other useful items; it was evident that the tenant lived a frugal life. After moving all the items to his place, Wang Tao drank a big gulp of water and rested for a moment. Now only apartments 601, 101, and 102 are left unscavenged. If I can clear out the zombies in these three apartments, then this building will be basically safe! Wang Tao was a bit excited. Ill stop here for today, and Ill clean out the remaining apartments tomorrow! The sky outside was already darkening, and even inside the building, Wang Tao wasnt keen on moving about at night. He had just returned to his apartment and hadnt started to take off his gear when a light knocking sound came from the door. Looking through the peephole, Wang Tao saw Ding Yuqin. He opened a crack in the door, his voice slightly muffled beneath his mask. Sister-in-law, is there something you need? Well, Wang Tao, sister-in-law needs to borrow a bit more food Ding Yuqins face was lightly made up, but it couldnt hide her haggard appearance, especially the large dark circles under her eyes. She probably hadnt slept well the previous night. Wang Tao found it strange as he looked at her HP bar above her head. Didnt she have a full meal yesterday? If he remembered correctly, her HP increased to 40 yesterday, so why did it look like only 20 HP remained today? It shouldnt be from hunger; one couldnt lose that much HP from half a days starvation Sister-in-law, come in and we can talk. Wang Tao opened the door and let Ding Yuqin in. Looking at the suddenly accumulating pile of items in the room, especially the abundance of food, Ding Yuqin subconsciously licked her lips. Take a seat first, sister-in-law. Im going to change my clothes. Okay. Ding Yuqin responded and began to actively organize the supplies on the floor. Wang Tao quickly took a shower and changed into his casual clothes before coming out. He looked at Ding Yuqin squatting on the floor and suddenly asked: Sister-in-law, you seem to be in bad shape. What happened? Hearing Wang Taos words, Ding Yuqin almost cried. The explosion last night was so terrifying. I, I didnt get any sleep at all. During the day, I was so tired that I finally took a nap, but I ended up sleeping until evening That explained why Ding Yuqin looked so out of sortsit was the gas explosion from last night that had frightened her. Wang Tao himself had been startled and hadnt slept well, but at least he hadnt lost any HP. Ding Yuqins psychological resilience was much weaker, which he could understand. Sister-in-law knows that getting food is not easy for you; its a matter of life and death. But I have no choice How about this, if there is any work you need sister-in-law to do, just think of it as me working for you, okay? Ding Yuqins face showed an awkward yet pleasing smile. It had been seven days since the apocalypse, and she no longer talked about having her husband repay Wang Tao. Although she didnt want to believe it, she knew there was a good chance her husband was gone, and with the governments rescue nowhere in sight, she had to fend for herself. Of course, she wasnt capable of going out to search for food on her own. Her only hope was to rely on Wang Tao. After all, her husband and Wang Tao were folks from the same hometown. They were also neighbors, which made him much better than a stranger. After having a full meal at Wang Taos place, she never wanted to experience that hunger again. Seeing that Wang Tao didnt respond, Ding Yuqin hurriedly added: I can clean, wash clothes, cook I do these chores at home, and Im quite skilled at them. I wont cause you any trouble. To be honest, Wang Tao was somewhat tempted. Not for any other reason but because the sister-in-law was attractive. Having such a good-looking woman, both in figure and facial features, working as a maid in his house would probably make his meals much more enjoyable. So, after thinking it over, Wang Tao said: Alright, then its settled. As long as you work in my home, Ill make sure you have at least one meal a day. Dont think its too little, sister-in-law. You know how much I eat, and I still need to go out and kill zombies. I barely have enough food for myself If someone helped him with laundry and cooking, it would indeed save him a lot of time. Just washing his jacket and cooking took one to two hours every day. Thank you, thank you so much, Wang Tao! Seeing Wang Tao agree, Ding Yuqin immediately burst into tears of joy. She would agree even if it were one meal every two days, let alone one meal a day. Then go ahead and start cooking, sister-in-law. Use the perishables first, and make a larger portion. Okay! Watching Ding Yuqin head to the kitchen, Wang Tao went to the second bedroom, which was his workspace. He planned to combine the horned hammer and steel pipe he had obtained that day and then try them out on a zombie at Unit 601 tomorrow! Chapter 18 - 18 18 Dont Go Out After Dark_1 18 Chapter 18 Dont Go Out After Dark_1 Translator: 549690339 ` Phew~ After some effort, Wang Tao slightly sawed the short wooden handle of the horned hammer, then tightly stuffed it into the steel pipe. To be on the safe side, he also applied some glue inside. After tested for a while, there was no looseness at all. Its quite heavier, but its just right for me, and the power is much greater! The difference between hammering with this hammer and with a steel pipe is significant, especially the horn of the horned hammer its power must be tremendous. Wang Tao, dinner is ready Outside the door, came the knocking of Ding Yuqin. Okay. When Wang Tao arrived at the dining table, Ding Yuqin had just served him a big bowl of rice and handed over the freshly washed bowl and chopsticks. Wang Tao took them and said with a smile: Lets eat together. Eh! Ding Yuqin had been waiting for those words. With Wang Taos permission, she immediately went into the kitchen to get a bowl and chopsticks for herself. Although she felt it was highly probable that Wang Tao would invite her to dine with him, since he hadnt said anything yet, she hadnt taken her own bowl and chopsticks to prevent him from feeling repulsed. The dinner was a simple fry-up of three dishes and a soup simple in style, but plentiful in portion. After all, whether Wang Tao was going out to kill zombies or training his body, he had to ensure he got sufficient nutrition. Ding Yuqin waited until Wang Tao started eating before she moved her chopsticks. Wang Tao tasted each of the dishes and had to admit that Ding Yuqins cooking skills were really good; it felt no less than a regular restaurant chef, far better than his own clumsy attempts. Ding Yuqin ate quietly while discreetly observing Wang Tao. Though confident in her culinary skills, she knew that everyone had different tastes. The dishes she cooked for Wang Tao yesterday were different from todays, and she couldnt guarantee he would definitely like them. Once she saw that Wang Tao seemed satisfied, she felt relieved. Since Ding Yuqin had indulged in a big meal yesterday, her hunger wasnt as intense as before, allowing her to eat more gracefully, exuding an air of refinement. When she noticed Wang Taos bowl was nearly empty, she immediately put down her chopsticks and got up. Wang Tao, let me get you some more rice! Wang Tao didnt refuse. That would be great, sis-in-law. Ding Yuqin was wearing a gray professional dress today. The clothing was form-fitting, highlighting her curves beautifully, especially her legs in thin black silk stockings not the digitally-edited kind often seen online, but full and round, smooth lines, remarkably healthy and slender legs. This made Wang Taos gaze somewhat disobedient. Pleasant things were meant to be appreciated, and Wang Tao did not try to hide it. When Ding Yuqin came back with the rice, she felt Wang Taos gaze. She paused slightly, then pretended as if she noticed nothing and handed over a large bowl of rice to Wang Tao. Wang Tao, here you go. Thank you, sis-in-law. After eating for a while, Wang Tao suddenly asked: By the way, sis-in-law, what did you do for a living before this? He knew that Brother Zhao was a director, but he wasnt quite clear about Brother Zhaos wifes occupation. Ah? Oh, your Brother Zhao invested, and I opened a restaurant back in my hometown. Upon hearing Wang Taos question, Ding Yuqin quickly swallowed the food in her mouth and then answered. No wonder sis-in-laws cooking is so good. Wang Tao realized. Yeah, I thought that since I was running my own restaurant, I definitely should know the quality of the food we serve. So, I decided to learn cooking and spend over a hundred thousand on it! And then, just when the restaurant hadnt been open long, the apocalypse came Ding Yuqin said with a bitter face. ` After dinner, Ding Yuqin cleaned up the dining room and the kitchen, and then mopped Wang Taos house. Huff~ She hadnt done so much work in a long time and was feeling somewhat sore in her waist and back. So she sat on the sofa, took off her high heels, and rubbed her sore ankles. She decided she would not wear high heels tomorrow; they were too tiring. Wang Tao, what time should I come over tomorrow morning? Wang Tao, who was studying the map, raised his head, and when he saw Ding Yuqin rubbing her ankles wrapped in black stockings, he suddenly felt the urge to help. After waiting for a while, Wang Tao finally spoke. Six oclock, he said. Oh, then Ill come over at six. Im going back now, Ding Yuqin, feeling somewhat uneasy under Wang Taos gaze, quickly put on her shoes and went home. Watching Ding Yuqin leave, Wang Tao began his daily exercises. Since waking up from a three-day coma, his physical condition had not only become much stronger than before, but he could also slightly feel the improvement with every exercise session. The reason most people lack perseverance in some matters is that they can neither see nor feel any hope of success. Now, after exercising, Wang Tao could clearly feel some slight changes in his body. Although not much, the improvement was indeed there. Furthermore, Wang Tao was quite self-disciplined, so as long as there were no accidents, exercising was something he did every day. Although killing zombies might lead to faster improvement, as killing zombies directly increases the HP bar, with the increase in the HP bar also bringing about a slight improvement in physical conditioning. However, killing zombies was too dangerous, with the possibility of an accident occurring. Besides, Wang Tao was not an engine that could keep killing zombies all the time; there had to be time for rest and meals. Thus, both killing zombies and exercising were non-negotiable. Both were essential, and both had to be strong. After working out, Wang Tao took a quick shower, then turned off all the lights in the house. He went to the window and parted the thick curtains. Light could attract zombies. Although Wang Tao lived on the fifth floor, when it came to safety, he never let his guard down. The weather tonight was nice; even though the moon was not visible, the sky was filled with stars. Under the starlight, Wang Tao could roughly see the situation in the yard, where he could see the zombies wandering. Huh~ Wang Tao was not sure if it was an illusion, but he always felt that the zombies seemed to have more energy at night than during the day? After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao took a small metal fragment, took a deep breath, and threw it with all his might down to the opposite building below, where there were three zombies. Clang~ Hehe Roar Instantly, the three zombies near the metal fragment went into a frenzy, emitting a series of chilling roars, and began to wildly run around near where the fragment landed. With their agility, who would have thought they were the same zombies from during the day? If someone had said they were athletes, Wang Tao would have believed it. Other zombies in the yard began to move towards those three frenzied ones. Although their speed was not as fast as the frenzied zombies, it was still much quicker than the sluggish pace during the day. The agile zombies I saw last night were not some mutant variant; it must have been them! Perhaps zombies are different during the day and at night! They are slow and stiff during the day, but at night, they become faster, more likely to frenzy, and more agile! No wonder its said they prefer dark places! Just not sure if there are other differences In any case, zombies are more terrifying at night! Dont go out after dark! Chapter 19 - 19 19 Power Outage_1 19 Chapter 19 Power Outage_1 Translator: 549690339 Thud, thud, thud The next morning, while Wang Tao was still sleeping, gentle knocking sounds came from outside. He woke up instantly, quickly grabbed a steel pipe, and went to the door to peep through the peephole, only to find Ding Yuqin there. Ding Yuqins face looked somewhat panicked, but she didnt seem to be injured. Wang Tao opened the door. Whats wrong, sister-in-law? Wang Tao, the powers gone out! It just went out! Ding Yuqins voice carried a hint of sobbing. The powers out? Dont panic, come in and well talk. After letting her in, Wang Tao casually pressed the living room light switch by the door, but there was no reaction. He went outside to check the electricity meter, which hadnt tripped. As expected, what was bound to come had come! When Wang Tao had found that all network signals had disappeared, he had already anticipated the blackout. However, when the day actually arrived, he still felt somewhat saddened. He wasnt saddened by the blackout itself but by what it signified behind the scenesthe Government had probably lost complete control, and rescue might never come! Truthfully, even though Wang Tao felt he had the ability to survive the apocalypse, he definitely still hoped to be rescued. After all, humans are sociable animals. Occasional solitude might be a form of enjoyment, but a lifetime of it would probably drive one mad sooner or later. Moreover, an orderly society is certainly better than a chaotic one. Aside from a few individuals, most people prefer to live in a peaceful society. Ding Yuqin obviously understood these things, which was why she was so frantic. But talking about this now was of no use. Making the most of the present was what mattered most. Wang Tao comforted Ding Yuqin by saying: Were actually in a relatively good situation here. When the virus first broke out, many places lost power immediately. Perhaps its because our area uses hydroelectric power that we were able to last seven days. Weve actually made a profit! This consolation seemed to be of little use to Ding Yuqin. For her, waiting for Government rescue was the belief that kept her going. Without it, how could a frail woman like her continue to survive in the apocalypse Ding Yuqins expression was one of fear and confusion. Suddenly, Wang Tao said: Sister-in-law, go to my room and check if my power banks have any charge. He had previously scoured other apartments, and the power banks he found had already been fully charged. Asking Ding Yuqin to check them was a way to divert her attention. Ah? Alright, sure! Ding Yuqin subconsciously agreed. However, as she entered the room, she suddenly turned to look at Wang Tao, with a glimmer of hope reappearing in her eyes. She wasnt alone now, and there was a chance she could surviveif Wang Tao was willing to help her Wang Tao went to the corner of the living room, where the outdoor power supply he had scavenged before was charging. He checked and saw that it was fully charged. Those small power banks were not very useful to Wang Tao for the time being. But this big power bank was quite usefulit could power the fridge and ensure the food inside wouldnt spoil. His small fridge didnt consume much power, maybe about half a kilowatt-hour a day. The outdoor power supply had five kilowatt-hours, which should last about a week and temporarily serve as an emergency solution. But what to do afterwards Although he had a diesel generator downstairs, he had no diesel fuel. Ill have to go out and look for supplies! Wang Tao frowned. The nearest gas station seemed to be two or three kilometers away. If he drove, he could probably get there in a few minutes. But a car made noise and would definitely attract zombies. And whether the roads were passable was another issue. He didnt know about other places, but just the streets outside were cluttered with stationary cars, zombies, and even collapsed buildings. It was impossible to drive a car in such conditions. If he walked, it would be quite far. With so many zombies along the way, it would be easy to go and never return As for electric motorcycles or bicycles, they might be an option. They were relatively quiet, demanded less of the road surface than cars, and still offered a decent speed. But this was akin to using flesh to shield against iron; if they were ever surrounded by zombies, death was the only outcome. Moreover, he didnt have an electric bicycle. When the apocalypse erupted on a workday, all the working people were commuting on their electric bicycles, and it was uncertain if there were any left downstairs Wait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly remembered, before the end of the world, he saw Boss Li from the small restaurant downstairs filling up his vehicle with diesel, and his vehicle was a diesel pickup truck! Maybe, I dont have to run that far! Wang Tao felt somewhat exhilarated. He decided that after clearing out all the zombies in this building, he would check out the small restaurant. If there was diesel, that would be best. If not, he could still stock up on supplies, so the trip wouldnt be wasted Wang Tao, all the power banks are fully charged! Ding Yuqin came out holding a pile of power banks. Mhm. Wang Tao nodded, then suddenly as if he thought of something, he quickly went to the bathroom and turned on the tap. Whooshthe water was still running, but who knew when it would stop. I estimate the water will stop soon. Come with me to fill up containers with water from the other rooms! He had already started storing water in his own home, but the other few rooms he had scavenged didnt have any. Water is the source of life, and while they could get by without electricity, without water, they wouldnt survive. Ah? Okay! Ding Yuqin nodded nervously. Since the apocalypse, the furthest she had walked was to Wang Taos room. Although the zombies in the corridor had been dealt with by Wang Tao, she was still somewhat scared. Wang Tao took out several packets of instant noodles and tossed one to Ding Yuqin. Theres no time for breakfast, just make do with this. It doesnt count as your pay for today. He needed to get his sister-in-law to work later, so it was best to replenish her energy first. Thank you, thank you! Ding Yuqin hurriedly expressed her gratitude. After hastily eating a few bites with the boiled water, Wang Tao started to put on his gear. Although the building was temporarily safe, there were still a few rooms with zombies not yet cleared out, so he couldnt be careless. Since the books on his body, arms, and calves all needed to be strapped on with tape, the process was slow. Seeing this, Ding Yuqin quickly came over to help. During the process, Ding Yuqin unavoidably touched Wang Taos muscles, causing her to gasp in surprise. So big, so hard Could such muscles really be developed by a human? Ding Yuqin had not liked muscular men before, especially since Wang Tao had a terrifying scar on his face, making him look like a villain from the TV shows, which was frightening. But now, seeing Wang Taos tall and imposing figure standing beside her, feeling the slight warmth emanating from his body, she suddenly had an indescribable sense of security! This sense of security, she had never felt it from any other man, including her husband Whats wrong? Wang Tao, noticing Ding Yuqin staring at him, asked curiously. Ah, its nothing! Ding Yuqins face warmed up, and she quickly looked away. Then lets go to room 602 upstairs first. Then to 301 and 201 Okay! Chapter 20 - 20 20 Impotent Rage_1 20 Chapter 20 Impotent Rage_1 Translator: 549690339 The two of them came to room 602 and searched everywhere, taking all the usable containers to gather water. There wasnt time to wait for the water to fill up, so Wang Tao took Ding Yuqin back downstairs to other rooms. He also took the opportunity to remind the bald uncle. The bald uncle was also a smart man, already collecting water, but he still expressed his gratitude for Wang Taos reminder. After being busy all morning, they finally managed to fill up all the containers in these empty apartments with water. Wang Tao was ready to take Ding Yuqin back to cook. Ah! Suddenly, I remember I havent stored water in my house Ding Yuqin suddenly slapped her forehead, looking somewhat embarrassed. Then lets go to your place first; we can cook later. Actually, Wang Tao had forgotten as well. Thank you! Coming out of 201, when they got to the fourth floor, Wang Tao suddenly heard some noise from room 401. Wang Tao didnt speak, while Ding Yuqin instinctively hid behind him, nervously clutching the corner of his clothes. She didnt know there were survivors inside; she thought they were zombies. Wang Tao made a hushing gesture and then went to the front of room 401 to listen closely. He faintly heard a mans voice inside cursing under his breath, complaining about the power outage that caused him to be unable to play his games, but as he cursed, he began to cry. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Is electricity really the focus right now? It should be how to survive from now on! Ding Yuqin obviously heard the voice inside too but, unlike Wang Taos bafflement, she could somewhat understand why the person would be addicted to gaming. It wasnt because the games were so much fun, but because he had already given up hope. He didnt want to face this world of despair; he was escaping reality. If I didnt have Wang Tao, maybe Id be the same Ding Yuqin felt a bit relieved in her heart. Lets go. Wang Tao shook his head. After all, it was someone elses affair, and he didnt want to meddle too much. Reaching the fifth floor, Ding Yuqin invited Wang Tao into her apartment. Its a bit messy inside Ding Yuqin was slightly embarrassed. This was Wang Taos first visit to her place. Ding Yuqins apartment had the same layout as the one upstairs, 602, with three bedrooms and two living rooms. However, her home was decorated more cozily and felt more lived-in. The mess she referred to was the pile of filmmaking props in the living room. These are all from Brother Zhaos work; he doesnt let me tidy them up Dont mind the mess in the house. Its not much different from my place. Wang Tao smiled and shook his head; if it werent for Ding Yuqins help, his place would be even messier. Lets get water first. Okay. After being busy for a while and preparing all the usable containers, with all the taps open, Ding Yuqin said to Wang Tao: Wang Tao, Ill watch over it. It will take a while to fill up the bathtub with water. You can sit for a bit Alright. Wang Tao nodded in agreement, but didnt sit down; instead, he walked around her apartment. Her living room was spacious with excellent natural lighting. A huge picture frame hung on the wall above the sofa. In the photo, a woman in a white bridal gown intimately held the arm of the man beside her, her face beaming with joy. The man in formal attire gazed at the woman with deep affection, his eyes tender as water Under the bright sunshine, they seemed to be glowing. The people on top were indeed Ding Yuqin and her husband Zhao Yuan. Next to the sofa, there was a floor-standing coat rack with a pure white strapless wedding dress hanging on it. This was the same style as the one Ding Yuqin wore in her wedding photos, or perhaps it was the very same dress. It was normal for wealthy people to purchase their favorite wedding dresses. Wang Tao glanced at the photo and then at the wedding dress. It was said that those with smaller busts couldnt pull off this type of wedding dress, and he always felt that some parts of Ding Yuqin in the picture had traces of photoshopping. Unfortunately, he had no way to prove it. Wang Tao, Ill get you a glass of water! Ding Yuqin came out of the bathroom; she felt it was inappropriate to invite Wang Tao into her home without offering even a glass of water. Although it was the apocalypse, it was still early days, and she retained the courtesy she had before. By the time Ding Yuqin came over with a glass of water, Wang Tao suddenly asked: Brother Zhao had contacted you earlier, hadnt he? How is he doing now? He Im afraid his chances are slim. Talking about her husband, Ding Yuqins face instantly showed a hint of sorrow. He went to the film city for work early that day. After the virus outbreak, he kept sending me messages, asking me to hold on for rescue. But the day before the network went down, he stopped messaging. No matter how I messaged him, he wouldnt reply sob sob As she spoke of her sorrow, Ding Yuqin covered her face and cried. Brother Zhao is blessed by the heavens, and perhaps he is safe now. Maybe hes not replying because his phones battery has died. Sister-in-law, dont worry too much Wang Tao consoled her. Sigh, its impossible. He told me at that time that he had borrowed a power bank, look, if you dont believe me Ding Yuqin, while dabbing her tears, picked up her phone from the table. Though the internet was down now, the chat software still revealed the local chat history. However, after flipping to the chat history, she suddenly blushed and put her phone away. Ahem, the records were deleted um, Ill go check if the water is filled. Ding Yuqin wiped her tears and quickly left with her pink and white sneakers. She was obviously lying, but Wang Tao thought it might be because she had some private messages with Zhao Yuan that she didnt want outsiders to see, so he didnt mind. But in reality, in the chat history between Ding Yuqin and Zhao Yuan, Zhao Yuan had said some things about Wang Tao that werent very nice, and Ding Yuqin dared not show them to Wang Tao. Otherwise, if Wang Tao got upset and stopped looking after her, she could only wait to die When the apocalypse arrived, Zhao Yuan couldnt make it back, so all he could do was comfort Ding Yuqin while trying to figure something out. Then Zhao Yuan heard from other survivors that Wang Tao was at home. In terms of physical fitness, men definitely had an advantage over women. In a chaotic environment, having a man around was certainly more convenient, especially someone like Wang Tao who was strong and imposing. The couple, Zhao Yuan and Ding Yuqin, were neighbors with Wang Tao. Although their relationship with Wang Tao wasnt particularly close, it was at least not bad. So, Zhao Yuan messaged Wang Tao, hoping that Wang Tao could take care of Ding Yuqin. After the chaos subsided, he would definitely thank Wang Tao. But Wang Tao didnt reply to any messages. At the time of the apocalypse, a saying was circulating in some small circles: the better ones physical condition, the less likely they were to become infected with the virus; the worse ones physical condition, the more susceptible they were to infection. Wang Tao also saw this baseless claim online later, and he didnt agree with it. Instead, he felt it was an excuse concocted by some people who wanted to abandon the weak and the vulnerable. But it didnt matter if he believed it or not, others did. For example, Zhao Yuan believed it. Therefore, Zhao Yuan suspected that Wang Tao was deliberately not replying to his messages and didnt want to help his wife. Of course, suspicion was just suspicion; Zhao Yuan continued to message Wang Tao courteously. But in his chats with Ding Yuqin, Zhao Yuan cursed Wang Tao, complaining about all the bad things Wang Tao had done and threatening to make Wang Tao pay in the future. This was actually a display of impotent rage. Zhao Yuan loved his wife dearly and didnt want her to get hurt. But sadly, he was powerless. Chapter 21 - 21 21 Clean-up_1 21 Chapter 21 Clean-up_1 Translator: 549690339 Zhao Yuan had come up with an idea at the timehe called Wang Tao and then had Ding Yuqin listen for any noise coming from Wang Taos apartment. Zombies are very sensitive to sounds, and if there were zombies in Wang Taos room, they would definitely make a lot of noise! Even if Wang Taos phone was on vibrate, at such a close distance, it wouldnt escape the hearing of the zombies. At that time, the zombie in apartment 602 had not left yet, and Ding Yuqin did not know there was a zombie just outside in the corridor. She didnt dare to go out, only stealthily cracking open the door to listen, and heard indeed that there was no noise coming from Wang Taos place. This indirectly proved Zhao Yuans guessWang Tao did not want to help her. Ding Yuqins previous impression of Wang Tao wasnt bad, but it wasnt good either. They didnt interact much, at most exchanging polite greetings when they saw each other. But under these real circumstances and Zhao Yuans exaggeration, her view of Wang Tao had turned quite negative Thus, she decided then and there to drop the idea of asking Wang Tao for help. However, it was uncertain whether it should be said that Ding Yuqin was lucky or that Zhao Yuan had saved her life. If she had actually gone to find Wang Tao at that time, and Wang Tao was unconscious and unable to open the door, Ding Yuqin would likely have attracted the zombies from upstairs. With her frail arms and legs, the outcome would likely have been very grim And then, a few days later, when she could no longer endure her hunger, and coincidentally witnessed Wang Tao leaving his apartment and killing zombies she decided to try and see if she could borrow some food from him. It turned out that Wang Tao wasnt as bad as her husband had described After waiting for a while and nearly filling up her water supply, Ding Yuqin came out of the bathroom. Wang Tao, Ive finished collecting water at my place. Oh, and take a look here to see if theres anything you can use. If its useful to you, just take it Help should be mutual; one cant always expect others to give. Ding Yuqin knew she couldnt be of much help to Wang Tao, so she just let him see if there was anything in her home that he could use. Wang Tao didnt stand on ceremony. Zhao Yuan had quite a few gadgets, and a careful look might reveal something useful. Huh? After rummaging a bit, he actually found something good. Binoculars! It was a pair of binoculars, marked with 10*50, indicating a 50 mm diameter lens and a magnification of 10 times. Ten times magnification binocularswhat a great find! They might not be needed immediately, but could be very useful later. I hadnt noticed his binoculars were here. You can take them if you need them, as I wont be using them anyway Ding Yuqins face showed a trace of happiness as she watched Wang Tao hold the binoculars with great affection. She wasnt afraid of Wang Tao taking her things, she was afraid that Wang Tao wouldnt find anything of interest! Alright, then I wont be polite. Wang Tao accepted them right away. They didnt find anything else useful after that, so they both returned to Wang Taos apartment. Ding Yuqin started cooking, while Wang Tao lifted the curtains, took out the newly acquired binoculars, and observed the scene outside the window. This was an old community with a maximum of six floors. Fortunately, there werent many tall buildings nearby, so the binoculars could still see quite far. After looking around, Wang Taos expression was very serious. He suddenly realized that his Happy Community seemed to be relatively lucky? In other communities, either a group of zombies surrounded the buildings, with zombies entering and exiting freely, or there were small-scale explosions, leaving behind a scene of ruins But Wang Tao also noticed some patternsplaces that seemed to be hit harder were areas with more people, especially a plaza in the distance. The dense crowd was enough to make ones scalp tingle The situation in their Happy Community was not as severe as in other communities, perhaps because there were fewer residents, and many people had gone out to work at the time. In the apocalypse, luck is also very important. The scenes outside also intensified the urgency in Wang Taos heart. Considering the zombies he had killed in room 201 earlier, zombies could become stronger too! The female zombie that had eaten people had its HP increase by 10! On top of that, if he could become stronger through training, it was not impossible that zombies might have other ways to strengthen themselves as well I need to hurry up and clear out the zombies in this building! Wang Tao planned to head to apartment 601 that afternoon to take care of those two zombies. If he could also clear the zombies in apartments 101 and 102 tomorrow, the whole building would be thoroughly secure, and he could then figure out how to look for diesel outside the community at the small restaurant! Todays lunch was not as lavish as yesterdays, but the portion was still substantial. After dinner, he rested for a while. When Ding Yuqin finished washing the dishes and had cleaned up the house, Wang Tao asked her to help him put on his gear. Wang Tao, what are you Im going up for a bit. Lock the door after you go back. Are you going to 601? A hint of worry showed on Ding Yuqins faceafter all, there were two zombies in 601! Yeah, Im going to clear out 601. Dont come out. Wang Tao felt that there was a high probability he could handle the two zombies upstairs, but he didnt dismiss the possibility of a zombie running out. After all, accidents happen. I understand! Be, be careful! Ding Yuqin was genuinely worried for Wang Tao; after all, he was the only one she could rely on now. I will. Wang Tao nodded. With Ding Yuqins help, he quickly got dressed in his equipment. He picked up his homemade steel pipe long-handled sheeps horn hammer and left the room with Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin returned to her room, and after seeing that she had locked the door, Wang Tao strode towards room 601. The room belonged to a middle-aged couple, who had surely turned. Wang Tao had even heard two roars coming from inside the room when he went upstairs before. Although there were two zombies inside, Wang Tao was not the same as he had been before. The increase in strength was secondary; it was mainly the experience that counted. Having killed several zombies face-to-face, he already had some experience. Wang Tao fiddled with his lock-picking tools for a while, and with a click, he opened the security door. He then took a deep breath, raised his horned hammer slightly with his right hand, and with a swift pull with his left hand Clatter The security door opened. At the doorway, there stood a contorted figure. Wang Tao didnt expect a zombie to be right at the door, and perhaps the zombie didnt anticipate someone suddenly coming in either. Both were momentarily stunned. But Wang Tao reacted faster. With one hand gripping the long-handled sheeps horn hammer, he put the strength of his arm, waist, and thighs into action, swinging fiercely at the zombies head! Bang! A crisp sound. The zombies head reeled back from Wang Taos blow, stumbling two steps back, with a number [-136] popping up. [364/500] Wang Tao pressed his attack, stepping forward and swinging the hammer once more. Bang! [-127] [237/500] This hammer strike twisted its face completely, causing it to stagger another step back. Then Wang Tao gripped the hammer with both hands, raised it high, and smashed the sheeps horn down on the zombies crown. Splurt! Black blood splashed. Wang Tao felt like he had just smashed a jar filled with soft mud. [-237] [0/500] Three hammer strikeszombie killed instantly! Chapter 22 - 22 22 Shouting Until Hoarse_1 22 Chapter 22 Shouting Until Hoarse_1 Translator: 549690339 ` Thats it? Killed in three hits? Truth be told, Wang Tao was also somewhat surprised. With the enhancement of his own strength, increasing experience, and the amplification of his weapons It wasnt that the enemy was too weak, but that his side was too strong! There was no time to check the spoils; he quickly surveyed his surroundings, but he didnt spot any other zombies. Wheres the other one? Wang Tao frowned slightly; he was sure he had heard there were two zombies in this room before! Zombies dont usually attack each other, at least Wang Tao hadnt seen it happen so far. So, unless that zombie jumped out the window, it had to be still in the house! Wang Tao didnt rush to search; though he had seemingly wielded his hammer effortlessly three times, each strike had been with full power, draining some of his energy. Since there was no immediate danger, he could catch his breath for a moment. A few seconds later, Wang Tao cautiously made his way to the bathroom. This house had the same layout as Wang Taos own, with two bedrooms, a living room, and one bathroom. The doors to both bedrooms were open, but the bathroom door was closed. Wang Tao felt there might be something in the bathroom. He tiptoed to the door and then kicked it open abruptly. Bang! Huh? Nothing? Seeing the bathroom empty, Wang Tao was taken aback. After confirming there was nothing in the bathroom, Wang Tao then checked the kitchen, which also turned out to be empty. Could it be in one of those bedrooms? Wang Tao glanced at the doorways of both bedrooms, but there were no zombies in sight. How strange He took another look at the doors and windows, which were all tightly closed, not looking like anything had gone out. There were no bloodstains or signs of struggle in the room Could I have misheard earlier? Wang Tao started to doubt himself, but quickly discarded the thought. He was someone who trusted his own senses; two zombies meant two zombies, and he most likely hadnt misheard! Lets see where youre hiding Wang Tao took a deep breath and then moved on to the second bedroom. The second bedroom, apart from a bed, had only a simple cloth wardrobe. The zipper of the wardrobe was open, obviously it couldnt hide a zombie. He then grabbed his weapon tightly and peered under the bed. Nothing was there either. After confirming that the second bedroom was clear, Wang Tao entered the master bedroom, which was also devoid of any zombie beneath the bed. Then Wang Tao stood up and turned his attention to the wardrobe in the master bedroom. The master bedroom was much larger than the second and had a row of built-in wardrobes against the wall, with a total of more than a dozen doors. The only place in the entire house he hadnt yet searched was this large wardrobe; unless the zombie had truly opened the window and jumped out, closing the window behind it, or it had been chopped up and washed down the drain, or it had been eaten by another zombie Otherwise, Wang Tao figured it was very likely in these wardrobes. But still, these wardrobes arent big; there are partitions in the middle. Would a zombie really run inside and even close the door behind it? That intelligent? Wang Tao was puzzled. His right hand gripped the weapon tightly while his left hand casually opened the first wardrobe door. Roar Fuck! The moment Wang Tao opened the first wardrobe door, a small-framed zombie, curled up inside the wardrobe, suddenly lunged out. Wang Tao was startled. He swung his hammer instinctively but missed. He was knocked down onto the floor by the zombies force, his weapon flying from his grasp. [-5] [130/135] The zombie pinned Wang Taos limbs down, rendering him immobile in the shape of a cross on the bed. Then it opened its mouth wide, emitting a stench of decay, and its saliva-dripping teeth moved towards Wang Taos neck. Get off! On the verge of an intimate encounter with the female zombie, Wang Taos forehead veins bulged, his biceps swelled rapidly, and with all his might holding back the zombies force, he swung his right fist fiercely. ` Your breath stinks! Bang! His punch landed viciously on the zombies face, snapping its head to the side. [-23 HP] [467/500 HP] The zombie seemed stunned by the blow, and its grip restraining Wang Tao weakened significantly. Wang Tao seized the moment to raise his right foot and press it against the zombies chest, then pushed with both arms and legs, flinging it towards the doorway. Bang! The zombie was smashed against the doorframe by Wang Tao. [-4 HP] [463/500 HP] The strike didnt do much damage to the zombie, but it allowed Wang Tao to finally break free from its grasp. Without even bothering to pick up his weapons, Wang Tao stepped over to the doorway, then coiled tension into his right leg and delivered a forceful kick to the zombie, which was still down on the ground and hadnt gotten up. Bang The kick sent the zombie skimming across the floor, flying from the room into the living room, shattering two wooden dining chairs in the process. Wang Tao followed up on his victory, leaping into the air near the zombie, his hair nearly grazing the ceiling before he came crashing down harshly on top of the zombie. Crack! His climbing boots landed on the zombies knees, a crisp sound of bone snapping filling the air. The zombies knees were completely crushed! The zombie that was attempting to rise fell to the ground once more. [-86 HP] [377/500 HP] Wang Tao had intended to stomp its head, but he wasnt sure if he could crush the zombies skull; if it was too hard and caused him to fall, that would be troublesome. So, Wang Tao changed his mind at the last moment, targeting its legs instead. As it turned out, this was effective. The zombies HP bar shrank by a noticeable amount! And that wasnt even the most important part; it appeared the zombie couldnt get up anymore! They have no sense of pain; a broken arm or leg would be a fatal injury for a normal person, but for a zombie, its not lethal. But Wang Tao wasnt counting on it to kill the zombie; he was just hoping the broken legs would hinder its mobility! And it looked like it was indeed effective! Perhaps the zombie still retained some human instincts, like bipedal walking, so when its kneecaps were shattered, it couldnt stand up at all! This outcome excited Wang Tao because it meant that, in the future, targeting the limbs could be a viable method for killing zombies. After all, a zombies limbs arent as tough as its head, and while their necks are a weak spot, its not easy to hit for most people. So, if survivors were smart, they could potentially chop off the legs to restrict the movements of a zombie and then finish it off completely! While his mind was racing with thoughts, Wang Taos actions didnt stop. With the zombie down and unable to rise, it was essentially a live target. Wang Tao showed no mercy, stomping down hard and deforming its arms. [-34 HP] [-32 HP] [311/500 HP] Looking at the zombie with all its limbs broken, yet still baring its teeth at him, a cruel smile appeared on Wang Taos face masked behind the visor. He had been quite frightened just moments before. This grudge, he had to avenge! Moreover, he wanted to take this rare opportunity to test his damage ability. Roar This female zombie seemed to sense its impending fate and let out an angry roar. Wang Tao clenched his fists and then said fiercely, Keep screaming, even if you scream your throat raw, its no use! Chapter 23 - 23 23 Stealth Potion_1 23 Chapter 23 Stealth Potion_1 Translator: 549690339 ` Bang! Swipe! Thud! Crack! Clang! Heh Looking at the sliver of HP bar above the zombies head, Wang Tao stomped down hard. Splat! Its head burst like a watermelon under his foot. [-35] [0/500] Phew~ Torturing zombies was also a matter of skillnot real torture, of course. It was just Wang Tao wanting to see how much damage his various attacks would inflict on a zombie. He had never had the chance to try this before, and now that he did, he certainly wasnt going to miss out. After trying for about an hour, he had finally understood many things that had previously eluded him. For instance, mutilating attacks, such as severing limbs, only caused damage once. If one kept attacking parts other than the head, it wouldnt inflict any additional damage For instance, a zombies fatal weak spot was its head. Attacking any other part wouldnt kill it! Even if you chopped its neck off and it was left with just a head, that head would still be alive For instance, a zombies HP bar was related to the hardness of its head. Wang Tao couldnt kill a full HP zombie with one stomp, but he could easily burst the head of one with a sliver of HP For instance, although zombies didnt fear pain, they were still susceptible to negative statuses like Dizziness. Of course, it might not be Dizziness, but something more akin to the rigidity found in games. Wang Tao wasnt too sure about the specifics; he just needed to know that landing a heavy blow on a zombies head would cause it to pause briefly. Moreover, Wang Tao was thrilled to discover that zombies were afraid of fire! When he attacked zombies with other tools, they were unfazed. But when he prodded a zombie with a burning stick, it actually struggled on the ground trying to back away! When he directly burned it with fire, its HP dropped quickly. This was an important piece of news! Of course, the smaller the sample, the greater the margin of error. Wang Tao couldnt guarantee that all zombies were afraid of fire, but the mere possibility that some were was definitely exhilarating news! Whether zombies killed by fire would drop items was something Wang Tao was unclear on, as he hadnt wanted to waste the chance to experiment and would have to wait for another opportunity. Besides that, Wang Tao also experimented with many things, such as the damage caused by attacks on different parts of a zombie, the approximate range of a zombies Perception, the extent to which a zombies vision had degenerated, and so on. Wang Tao now had a rough idea about these things; although not necessarily accurate, they were still somewhat useful. If need be, he could always find another chance like this one to experiment more. As for this particularly crafty zombie Wang Tao speculated that zombies were capable of evolutionthe zombie from room 201 had a higher HP bar than the others and must have evolved by consuming humans! However, Wang Tao also felt that zombie evolution wasnt limited to gaining HP by eating humans; it could include ordinary zombies evolving into stealthy kinds like this one. After all, when Wang Tao first arrived, he had indeed heard two zombies inside. It was highly probable that the female zombie had evolved later on After feeling around the bodies of the two zombies in the room, Wang Tao pushed them both out the window. Bang, bang The sound of them hitting the ground attracted some zombies to surround the area, but upon realizing they were their own kind, the zombies slowly dispersed. Ignoring the black blood all over the ground, he sat on the sofa and rested for a while before finally turning his attention to the loot from the zombies he had just killed. Both zombies had 500 drops of HP, seemingly similar in strength. But in reality, they were very different! The male zombie in this house was just an ordinary one with 500 HP. ` And this female zombie, Wang Tao suspected that she might have undergone a secondary mutation or something of the sort. Although her HP hadnt increased, she had learned to hide! Normally speaking, even if a zombie stayed in one place without moving, it certainly wouldnt close the door, right? Yet this female zombie had learned to close the door and lie in wait for her prey. If it hadnt been for Wang Taos strength, anyone else coming here might have fallen into the trap! So you see, even though the HP was the same, this female zombie was much more dangerous than that male one! After all, a normal survivor, having killed a zombie and seeing no other zombies at home, would certainly let their guard down. When they relaxed and opened the cabinet, they would most likely be ambushed. And indeed, the HP gained from killing these two zombies confirmed Wang Taos thoughts. The male zombie was an ordinary one, giving Wang Tao only 5 drops of HP, while the female zombie gave Wang Tao a whole 20 drops of HP! Wang Taos total HP had now reached [150/155]! Kill a few more and I can break through to 200 HP. Next goal, 200 HP! After setting a small goal for himself, Wang Tao looked at the loot from the two zombies. Ordinary loot wasnt worth mentioningjust a wallet, a lighter, a platinum necklace, two watches, and two mobile phones. The focus was the items dropped by the zombies upon death. The male zombie dropped a small box of screws. [Acquired: Screw x1] [Screw: Crafting Material] It was still a crafting material, this time screws he hadnt obtained before. With this screw, Wang Tao now had four types of crafting materials. There were Gear x1, Iron Block x1, Steel Wire x1, and now Screw x1. He wondered what he could craft with these items As for what the female zombie dropped, it first made Wang Taos eyes light up, and then he felt a wave of disappointment. [Acquired: Stealth Potion (Small)] [Stealth Potion (Small): After injection, it can conceal ones presence, making it difficult for humans to detect. Duration: 1 hour, cooldown: 12 hours. Friendly Tip: For best results, use at night.] This was a pen-sized, semi-transparent disposable needle-free syringe, allowing one to see the green liquid inside, with the words Stealth Small written on the exterior. When he saw the Stealth Potion, Wang Tao was excited. Following the patterns of some games, anything with stealth in its name was a good item for avoiding detection by monsters. But after reading the explanation, Wang Tao felt his vision darken. Not easily detected by other humans? He didnt need to hide from people right now! And how could he hide from human perception? Could he avoid their hearing or vision? Humans can think and differentiate! Unless he could cover up someones eyes, ears, and so on It felt somewhat useless. There might be some special application, but for now, Wang Tao definitely couldnt use it. If only there was a Stealth Potion for hiding from zombies, that would be great, but alas After a sigh, Wang Tao couldnt help but shake his head and chuckle at himself. It was good enough to have it, whats there to regret! This Stealth Potion was labeled Small,, and perhaps there were also Medium or Large versions. Maybe there was one that could hide him from zombies. And since there was a Stealth Potion, there might be other types of potions, too! Wang Tao began to look forward even more to his ability to loot! After securing the zombies dropped loot, Wang Tao started to scour apartment 601. The couple living here had likely mutated into zombies at the same time, there were no signs of struggle in the room, so the food was relatively well preserved, probably enough for Wang Tao to eat for half a month! But a lot of it was frozen food, and now the fridge was out of power Finding diesel fuel was urgent! Chapter 24 - 24 24 Survivor Base News_1 24 Chapter 24 Survivor Base News_1 Translator: 549690339 ` Thump, thump, thump Sister-in-law, its me. Wang Tao knocked on Ding Yuqins door, intending to ask her to help move some things upstairs. With manpower available, he didnt want to waste it. Hearing the noise, Ding Yuqin hurried to open the door and, seeing some black blood on Wang Tao, she immediately asked with concern: Wang Tao, are you hurt? Im fine, got lucky, almost took a bad spill. The voice from under Wang Taos mask sounded a bit muffled. It was when he had been tackled by a zombie that his wrist had felt a bit sore. But he hadnt lost much blood, which indicated that there was nothing serious. Do you want me to get the first aid kit Ding Yuqin sounded somewhat worried. Wang Tao shook his head. No need, just help me move some stuff first. Okay! Ding Yuqin followed Wang Tao to room 601 and, seeing the pool of black blood at the entrance and the marks of struggle in the living room, swallowed instinctively before asking softly, Were there two zombies here? Mhm. Wang Tao nodded. Observing Wang Taos silhouette, Ding Yuqin couldnt help but be amazedtwo zombies! He had taken care of both! These items are all packed up, lets move them. Wang Tao pointed to the stuff on the ground. Okay! Although Ding Yuqin wasnt very strong, the distance wasnt far, and together they moved everything to room 501 in one trip. As they neatly sorted and arranged these supplies, Wang Tao suddenly felt that his apartment was becoming too small. Mainly because he had brought back everything that felt useful now or might be in the future, like clothes, books, electronic products, and so on. He had even started thinking about other peoples furniture. Although furniture was difficult to move, it could be disassembled and taken away. After the gas supply ran out, the wood could also be used to cook While Ding Yuqin was organizing and categorizing the items, Wang Tao took a shower. A cold splash instantly sent shivers through him. After killing the zombies, his spirit was still somewhat tense, as being suddenly attacked by a crafty zombie had left him with a not insignificant psychological shadow. Now the cold water had sobered him considerably. It was just a pity that he hadnt wanted to use electricity to heat the water, which would have been more comfortable with a hot shower. During the bath, Wang Tao checked his wrist, which had a bruise, but it wasnt serious, and he expected it to heal in a couple of days. The previous bruise on his arm had already healed. After the shower, Ding Yuqin had just finished tidying up. The bruise on Wang Taos wrist was still fairly noticeable, and Ding Yuqin spotted it immediately. Holding back her surprise this time, Ding Yuqin still asked, Wang Tao, shall I apply some medicine to your wrist? Itll heal faster with ointment! Sure. Wang Tao nodded, and Ding Yuqin immediately went home to fetch the first aid kit. ` In fact, Ding Yuqin had intended to give the medical kit to Wang Tao, but after hesitating for a moment, she refrained. It wasnt that she couldnt part with it, but she knew she didnt have much of value to offer Wang Tao. If she were to give away the medical kit as well, shed be left with truly nothing Wang Tao lay on the sofa while Ding Yuqin sat beside him, applying medicine to his wounds. The ointment felt cool and soothing as it was smeared on. Ding Yuqin, observing the muscles on Wang Taos body, thought about offering to massage him to help him relax, as she had some knowledge in that area. But it felt somewhat inappropriate, so she didnt mention it. After applying the medicine for a while, Ding Yuqin suddenly asked, Ahem, Wang Tao, that Are you planning to go to the Survivor Base next? Before the internet went down, she had seen the Governments announcement and knew about a large Survivor Base organized by the Government in Huangfeng City. She certainly wanted to go, having heard that it still maintained the semblance of a normal society, with rules and order, and that each survivor even guaranteed a minimum standard of living! To those in this post-apocalyptic world, that was nothing short of paradise! But the problem was, the Survivor Base was too far from their residential area. She simply didnt have the means to make it there So she asked Wang Tao to see if he had any plans to go and if he did, whether he could take her along. Upon hearing the question, Wang Tao pondered for a moment before replying, Im considering it, but Im not sure when to go. Though at present, he was able to kill zombies and scavenge supplies, seemingly equipped to survive the apocalypse, who could predict future struggles? Moreover, Wang Tao was interested in seeing what the Survivor Base was like. If it was as good as they said, he was willing to settle there. But he certainly wouldnt go now. His current location was in Shuize County of Huangfeng City, while the Survivor Base was in Red Stone County. There was a full fifty kilometers between them. Unless he grew wings, venturing that far with his current capabilities was suicide. Ahem, if you decide to go, could you, maybe, take me with you? Ding Yuqin asked with a smile, looking tentatively at Wang Tao. Well see. Its too early to talk about this now. Wang Tao didnt directly answer. And this non-committal response turned Ding Yuqins face pale. In the world of adults, rejections are not usually so direct, often giving the other person some face. Taking into account the current situation, Wang Taos response was clearly a refusal. After all, she couldnt kill zombies and had little strength. To Wang Tao, she was nothing but a burden; perhaps without her, he could move faster Oh Ding Yuqin bit her lip, confused, not knowing what to say next. Wang Tao hadnt openly refused, so she couldnt very well pester him to agree; what if he was still on the fence and her insistence pushed him to decide against taking her Ding Yuqin didnt need to prepare dinner; some leftover food from lunch, just reheated, would suffice for Wang Tao. Taking into account Ding Yuqins help in the afternoon, Wang Tao gave her a pack of instant noodles as a bonus reward. This bonus was supposed to make Ding Yuqin happy, but she just couldnt seem to find the joy in it. Once Ding Yuqin had left, Wang Tao ate a simple meal, rested for a while, and then commenced his routine exercise. I feel like my physical condition has slightly improved after killing those two zombies today! It shouldnt be an illusion killing zombies indeed seems to incrementally enhance ones physique! While the change isnt noticeable at once or twice, I surmise that the improvement will be substantial after reaching a certain number After several hours of exercise, Wang Tao took a shower, and then suddenly realized that the water supply had stopped. Actually, he had noticed the water flow weakening during his shower, so the cutoff wasnt altogether unexpected. Still, he felt somewhat distressed about it, as it meant he had another task ahead finding water. Using his pre-stored water, he rinsed off the sweat, and didnt discard the used water, saving it for later toilet flushing. Then he lay in bed, turned on the radio as usual, to see if he could pick up any signals. Zzz Zzz This is Red Stone Survivor Base Zzz Chapter 25 - 25 25 Fast Track in Three Days_1 25 Chapter 25 Fast Track in Three Days_1 Translator: 549690339 Hmm? Wang Tao rolled over and sat up. He went to the window and slowly turned the tuning knob of the radio. Crackle Red Stone Survivor Base crackle providing water, food crackle safe crackle repeating Red Stone Survivor Base crackle Red Stone Survivor Base Wang Tao muttered to himself, rubbing the stubble on his chin. Judging by the name, it must be the Survivor Base in Red Stone County. According to the official announcement online prior to the incident, due to the suddenness of the event, there wasnt much time to prepare, and the plan was to build a Survivor Base in every city. Huangfeng Citys Survivor Base was located in Red Stone County. The reason for selecting that location was because it housed a military force and had some defensive measures in place, which could be utilized immediately. However, during the days of the virus outbreak, there was also an infection within the military, resulting in chaos. Especially after the breakdown of communications, Wang Tao had no idea whether the base in Red Stone County still existed. Now that he had heard news of the base in Red Stone County through the radio, Wang Tao was quite pleased. If they were still broadcasting, it indicated that they must have managed to control the situation to some extent. But without hearing any news about a counterattack or rescue, it seemed they were only able to defend themselves, and that was about it In any case, this was good news. It also provided Wang Tao with motivation and a goalat least so many survivors were still alive, so how could he die first! Crackle crackle The radio played for a while and then went silent; he couldnt tell if it was shut down intentionally or if there was some problem. Hopefully, it was the former. After a silent prayer, Wang Tao turned on the walkie-talkie. Similar to the radio, the walkie-talkie was also switched on once every night, but while the radio had transmitted a few times, the walkie-talkie had been silent up until now. It was understandable, after all, without a relay station, the range of this kind of civilian walkie-talkie was only about two or three kilometers, so it was normal not to hear anything. However, perhaps it was his luck tonight following the news he had received on the radio, his walkie-talkie finally picked up some activity! Crackle this is crackle Shuize University Survivor Base crackle if received, please respond if received, please crackle Listening to the intermittent voice inside, Wang Taos eyes lit up. Shuize University was a school nearby, about five kilometers away from his Happy Communityit seemed from the message that someone might have established a Survivor Base at Shuize University? Shuize University had only been built in recent years; it was situated in a rather remote location with sparse population, but it was close to Huangfeng Film City, and many students went there to work part-time. Wang Tao had visited Shuize University a few times. His impression of it was neither particularly good nor bad; it was just an ordinary school. Not far from Shuize University, there was a security force of about a dozen soldiers. If these soldiers hadnt suffered a large-scale infection or deaths, then it should have been possible for them to establish a small Survivor Base Wang Tao pressed the PTT button on the walkie-talkie. I received you, I received you. Wang Tao didnt reveal any detailed information about himself since he didnt know the exact situation on the other side; it was better to be careful. But there was no response to what he said. Crackle Shuize University Base if received, please reply repeat I received you, I received you, I received you. Wang Tao repeated a few times, but after waiting a while, there was still no answer from the other side. Could it be that my walkie-talkies power is too weak? Wang Tao suddenly felt a bit depressed. The principle of walkie-talkie communication can be simply understood as, centered around a person, the signal radiates outward. In the same terrain, the higher the power, the further the signal can be transmitted. The four walkie-talkies Wang Tao scavenged from Apartment 602 are all ordinary civilian models, with a communication distance of probably just two to three kilometers. The walkie-talkies from Shuize University, on the other hand, might be high-power ones, capable of communicating over five kilometers. That means their signal transmission distance is far, allowing Wang Taos walkie-talkie to receive it, so Wang Tao was able to hear them. But Wang Taos walkie-talkie signal was weak, unable to send that far, hence what he said couldnt be received by them. This was somewhat frustrating, as Wang Tao wanted to learn about the situations of other survivors. After a few more tries and confirming that communication was impossible, Wang Tao shook his head. Sleepy time! Although he couldnt communicate through these two signals, it was still good news, at least it meant humanity hadnt been wiped out Wang Tao had his best nights sleep in days that night. The next day. Wang Tao woke up just after six, and as soon as he finished washing up, he heard a knock on the door. Upon opening the door, it was Ding Yuqin. She came to cook breakfast for Wang Tao. After a brief workout, Ding Yuqin finished cooking. Making sure Wang Tao didnt need anything else, she went back to her place. Wang Tao had not asked her to stay for breakfast, after all, they had agreed that she would only cook one meal for him. After breakfast, Wang Tao began to don his gear. He suddenly realised how slowly one dresses alone, but he was too lazy to call Ding Yuqin back. Once dressed, he went to the second floor and knocked on Apartment 202s door. Little brother, youre here! Come in quickly! The bald uncle hurriedly opened the door for Wang Tao. Wang Tao had previously said he intended to learn all the locksmiths skills but hadnt had time the past two days, causing a delay. Now, having scavenged Apartment 601 and temporarily secured enough food, he planned to master all the locksmith skills before dealing with the zombies in Apartments 101 and 102. The principle of locksmith techniques was not difficult, especially with an old master teaching hands-on. It mainly depended on practice, the more one practiced, the more skilled one became. It seemed that Wang Tao indeed had a knack for it; he was a quick learner. Anyway, the bald uncle consistently praised Wang Tao for being talented, saying that it took him two weeks just to qualify. But at Wang Taos pace, he might be ready in another two days. And indeed, as the bald uncle had said, Wang Tao spent another two days, plus the previous learning time, for a total of three days, to learn all the locksmith techniques including key duplication he had obtained a small key duplication machine from the old master in exchange for some food. Your learning ability is too strong! I have nothing left to teach you now, its all about practice from here. Practice is more important than theory The bald uncle was somewhat emotional. Haha, thanks a lot for these two days, Uncle! Wang Tao laughed and expressed his thanks. Of course, he didnt just offer verbal thanks, he also gave the bald uncle quite a bit of food, which was a fair exchange. Mutual help, my man! The bald uncle first smiled and then suddenly looked a bit melancholic, I hope my wife and kids can also meet someone as good as you In response to being given a compliment, Wang Tao didnt express any specific stance. Curious, he asked: Where is your family now? The bald uncle took out a family portrait from his pocket, gently caressing it. They all went back to the countryside to visit relatives. The countryside is much safer than the city! Before the internet was cut off, my wife talked to me, she said that there were hardly any people left in their village, naturally, there were very few zombies too, so it was safe to hide at home Sigh, I dont know if Ill ever see them again The countryside is very safe, huhWang Tao encouraged: Of course, theres a chance! Chapter 26 - 26 26 The Difference Between Zombies and Sandbags_1 26 Chapter 26 The Difference Between Zombies and Sandbags_1 Translator: 549690339 Be careful! Ding Yuqin straightened Wang Taos clothes, then hugged the steel pipe hammer and another polished short steel pipe separately hanging on the left and right sides of Wang Taos waist. These two weapon sheaths had been handcrafted by Ding Yuqin for Wang Tao over the past two days. Mhm. Wang Tao nodded, stepping out the door together with Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin returned to her own room, watching Wang Tao descend the stairs and praying for his safe return. Wang Tao approached the door of apartment 101 at a steady pace, fiddled with the lock for a moment, and with a click, the lock opened. He had learned from the bald uncle that two elderly men and ladies lived in room 101, and a family of three resided in 102. Although not all of them might be at home, to be safe, it was more appropriate to start with the zombies in 101. After opening the door, Wang Tao cracked it slightly and took a quick look inside. On the living room sofa, he immediately noticed two squat but swollen figures sitting side by side, their heads bowed, faces unclear. Wang Tao took a deep breath, then strode into the room. Heh~ Heh~ Stirred by the noise, the two elders slowly lifted their heads, revealing a pair of pale eyes. Roar! Perhaps drawn by the smell of flesh and blood, the two elderly zombies, as if activated, staggered to their feet and lurched towards Wang Tao, one after the other. It seemed that the zombies strength after infection and mutation might be affected by their physical condition when alive? Wang Tao wasnt sure. But at least it affected their speed. These two elderly zombies were quite slow, their walk unsteady, as if they were about to collapse at any moment. Of course, Wang Tao did not underestimate them. Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion gives its all. Wang Tao kept his pace, approached in front of the elderly lady zombie, and swung the horned hammer with both hands. Bang! The hammer landed solidly on the right temple of the old lady zombie. [-158] [342/500] The hit made the old lady zombies neck tilt, her body swaying. Seizing the moment, Wang Tao swung the hammer again, aiming for the old lady zombies right eye socket. Bang! The eyeball burst apart! [-164] [178/500] Two strikes had taken away two-thirds of her HP! But by then, the old man zombie had also pounced over. If Wang Tao continued to hammer the old lady zombie, he would be attacked by the old man zombie. Without a second thought, Wang Tao swiftly turned and brought the hammer down on the old man. Bang! The hammer struck the old man zombies chin, shearing off half of it, a blackened tongue wriggling in the gap. The old man zombie stumbled further, struggling to maintain balance and falling to the floor. [-65] [435/500] Just as the old lady zombie recovered from dizziness, she shrieked and stretched her arms towards Wang Tao. Without even looking, he lashed out with a kick. Before she could grab him, his foot struck hard against the old lady zombies chest. Thump The old lady zombie was kicked back, slamming into the sofa. [-32] [146/500] Wang Tao quickly drew the sharpened steel pipe from the sheath on his left waist. His arm muscles bulged as he hurled the pipe from over two meters away. Thrust The steel pipe pierced directly through the forehead of the old lady zombie, pinning her against the sofa. [-146] [0/500] Seeing the opponents HP drop to zero, Wang Tao turned to face the old man zombie getting up from the floor. Now its your turn! Strictly speaking, this was the first time Wang Tao was facing two zombies at once. Combat like this, 1v2, was much tougher than 1v1. After all, this wasnt a game; although he had more than a hundred HP, he dared not let the zombies touch him. However, once he had dealt with one of the zombies, battling the other became much simpler. Wang Tao walked towards the old man zombie, wielding the horned hammer. Heh heh The old man zombie twisted as he struggled to get up from the ground, stretching out his right hand towards Wang Tao. Seeing the dark, sharp nails, Wang Tao quickly dodged to the left, avoiding the grasp while smashing his hammer towards the zombies head. Thump! [-146] The hammer struck hard on the old man zombies head, making him retreat two steps. Wang Tao closed in and swung the hammer once more. Thump! [-153] Wang Tao distinctly heard the sound of bones cracking. The old man zombie fell again! Before the old man zombie could rise, Wang Tao mustered strength in his right leg and fiercely kicked the zombies head. Thump! [-71] The old man zombies body spun on the floor and then crashed against the wall. [-33] A secondary injury appeared on the zombies head from the impact with the wall. Catching his breath for a moment, Wang Taos mouth curled up under the mask. 1v1 was indeed much easier! As the old man zombie struggled to rise once more, Wang Tao aimed at his temple and hammered down fiercely. Squish The horned hammer smashed through the skull, embedding into the head of the old man zombie. [-32] [0/500] The zombies HP dropped to zero. Chapter 27 - 27 27: Leeks and Molotov Cocktails_1 27 Chapter 27: Leeks and Molotov Cocktails_1 Translator: 549690339 After taking care of the two zombies, it was time for the pleasant corpse-looting phase. Both elderly zombies were quite ordinary, each contributing 5 drops of HP to Wang Tao. Wang Taos total HP reached 165. Next were the items they dropped. [Obtained: Alcohol x1] [Alcohol: Crafting material] [Obtained: Alcohol x1] [Alcohol: Crafting material] They both dropped the same thing? With a thought from Wang Tao, a glass bottle appeared in his hand. Aside from the 1L marking, there were two lines of small text reading Purity 99.9%, Edible. Upon seeing the word edible, Wang Tao was at first stunned, but then quickly realized what it meant. It means the alcohol was of an edible grade, not suggesting one should drink it directly. If someone were to drink this straight, it could probably be deadly As far as crafting materials go, based on what he had seen so far, this alcohol was likely to be more useful than some of the other materials. By diluting this alcohol with water in a 3:1 ratio, he could make 75% medical alcohol. Diluting it further, it could even be used for drinking, or as a fuel, so its uses were many! He stored both bottles of alcohol in the Space Backpack, then proceeded to search the bodies of the two zombies as usual. The elderly lady zombie had two gold bracelets, two silver bracelets, three gold rings, and a gold necklace. The old man zombie had a gold watch, a Large gold ring, and several Large gold teethnoticed by Wang Tao only because its jaw was broken. These two oldies were pretty wealthy! Wang Tao was somewhat astonished. As the saying goes, antiques flourish in prosperous times, and gold in times of chaos. In this apocalyptic world, Wang Tao wasnt sure what the Survivor Bases used for trade, but gold must have some value. Since these items were compact and not a nuisance, Wang Tao stored them all, including the Large gold teeth. After searching the zombie corpses, it was time to loot the house. Thanks to the two old people becoming infected and mutating at the same time, the house was neat everywhere else except for the signs of battle left by Wang Tao, leaving the food intact. But frustratingly, their kitchen was filled with lots of rotting vegetables and fruits. Wang Tao had a rough understanding of the situation; older generations were more frugal, especially regarding their own food and clothing, always looking to save when possible. This had nothing to do with their wealth, but was rather a long-standing habit. Before the apocalypse struck, the two elderly people had stocked up on some not-so-fresh vegetables and fruits at low prices. Under normal circumstances, as long as the food that was about to spoil was eaten in advance, one wouldnt end up with spoiled food. But unfortunately, the apocalypse arrived. Without anyone to eat it, the food quickly went bad Dont even mention the vegetables and fruits piled in the kitchen, even those in the refrigerator had spoiled. The only edible thing left was a pack of garlic. This is distressing Wang Tao felt it was a pity to discard the spoiled food, but there was no helping it. Otherwise, if he ended up with food poisoning or something, that would spell disaster. Almost all the vegetables and fruits were a complete loss, and it seemed like the two elderly didnt eat meat, as there was none in the house. However, luckily, there was an 8-pound bag of flour, 2 pounds of eggs, and 2 pounds of dried noodles in the cupboard, which was somewhat consoling. Eh? Whats this Leaving the kitchen, Wang Tao suddenly noticed a pile of green plants beneath the balcony in the living room. Chives? Wang Tao quickly hurried over. A distorted figure suddenly appeared outside the window and started banging against the security bars. Bang, bang, bang! Shit! Wang Tao was startled. Only then did he remember that this was the first floor, and there were zombies outside. Giving the zombie outside a fierce middle finger, Wang Tao quickly pulled the curtains shut. Although they couldnt get in, it was still better to be safe. Ignoring the zombie outside, Wang Tao crouched in front of these plants, a look of joy in his eyes. This is really chives, and theyve already grown! These chives were grown in individual square pots, a total of twelve pots, which at a glance looked like they were planted in the ground. These were good stuff! Wang Tao was inwardly overjoyed. He had heard that chives could live for ten years? If he could preserve these chives well, wouldnt he be able to eat chives often in the future? Although the taste might not be good after a long time, in the post-apocalyptic world, having vegetables was great already, who cared about taste! Furthermore, there was another point. All the rotten vegetables and fruits didnt need to be thrown away, they could be used directly as fertilizer to nourish the chives! Wang Tao hated waste the most, and although he had felt a bit of regret before, now that he could make use of the rotting food, he felt much better. Since there are chives, lets see if there are any seeds or something Wang Tao immediately began rummaging around. Indeed, after spending some time, Wang Tao found 10 packets of chive seeds, 5 packets of coriander seeds, and 5 packets of white radish seeds! Although Wang Tao wasnt fond of coriander, at this time, there was no privilege of being picky with food. It was good to have anything at all. Ill look into it later; if theres a chance, I might plant these seeds He put all the seeds in his pocket, and as for the chives, he didnt rush to move them. Because while searching for the seeds, he discovered another great thing! He went into the second bedroom and saw two boxes of liquor in glass bottles. Wang Tao finally understood why the two zombies had both dropped alcohol; they liked to drink! Wang Tao wasnt very fond of drinking, but this liquor was definitely a good thing, which could be used for trade in the future. And these liquor bottles were useful too. He had already experimented before, and these zombies were somewhat afraid of fire. Thus, these liquor bottles could be used to make Molotov cocktails! The manufacturing method of Molotov cocktails is actually very simple, but the main issue is that flammable materials are not easy to come by nowadays. The forty-degree liquor was definitely not suitable; he needed alcohol or gasoline or other flammable materials. Wang Tao had just acquired two bottles of alcohol, but they were the kind that could be stored in the Space Backpack. He would definitely not be willing to use them unless absolutely necessary. The most suitable might be gasoline, since there were cars outside, and the fuel tanks would definitely have gasoline. When he went out to find diesel, he could try to get some gasoline! There were six bottles in each of these two boxes of liquor, twelve in total. If he had enough gasoline, he could make twelve Molotov cocktails! And Wang Tao suddenly remembered the condiment bottles he had scoured before, which included glass bottles. At that time, he hadnt thought of using Molotov cocktails, so he forgot, but the stuff was still there. I need to collect them all, to see how many bottles there are in total This could be a massive weapon! Chapter 28 - 28 28 Plan Ahead_1 28 Chapter 28 Plan Ahead_1 Translator: 549690339 This time, scavenging in apartment 101 could be considered quite a haul. There was too much stuff, and Wang Tao couldnt carry it all by himself, so he called for Ding Yuqin to help. Chives! After Ding Yuqin arrived at 101, seeing those lush green chives, she immediately looked on with envy. Although there werent many chives, it was enough for an occasional treat. She had the urge to ask Wang Tao for two pots of chives. After all, there were twelve pots; missing two wouldnt be a big deal, even one would be fine Just as Ding Yuqin was thinking about how to ask, she suddenly spotted two corpses in the corner. ! She instinctively hid behind Wang Tao and clamped her hand firmly over her mouth. Ding Yuqin hadnt really seen zombies before; she had only come across them on the internet before it went down. As for real life, there were some downstairs, but she didnt dare look. Besides, Wang Tao had already cleared those inside the building. But now, suddenly facing corpses with brains splattered, and inhaling that nauseating stench, her legs were about to give out Wang Tao turned back and saw Ding Yuqins terrified face, then explained, Theyre dead, no need to worry. The apartments on the first floor had security windows, and with zombies outside, they couldnt dispose of the two bodies, so for the time being they just had to leave them there. Hmm She quickly turned her head away, not daring to look any longer. The idea of wanting two pots of chives was instantly abandoned. She didnt think Wang Tao would just give away his spoils, obtained through life-threatening danger, for free. If she asked for it, she feared it might annoy Wang Tao and that would be more loss than gain After packing up the loot, Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin moved stuff back and forth three times before finally getting everything back to 501. On the way, a bald man who had heard the commotion came out to look and watched with envy. Wang Tao gave him some food. After all, the information about the number of people in apartment 101 had come from him, and it wasnt a false tip, so giving him some benefits was fair. The door to 401 cracked open as well, but before Wang Tao could get a clear look, it was shut again. He only caught a glimpse of a young man with glasses and a health bar above his head [50/100]. Wang Tao had thought about reaching out for a talk, since they were among the only four survivors in the building. But the man showed no interest in communicating, so naturally, Wang Tao didnt bother. It was already noon, and Ding Yuqin had started cooking lunch for Wang Tao, who was somewhat worried about the twelve pots of chives. There was no space left in his apartment, and chives needed ample sunlight, but his balcony was too small. If all the pots were placed there, he wouldnt get any sunlight himself. No, I need to move. There are plenty of empty apartments in this building anyway After some thought, Wang Tao found apartment 602 above quite nice. The layout of 602 was three bedrooms and two living rooms, much larger than his two-bedroom place and clean, making it suitable for living. The apartment directly below, 402, would be fine too, but Wang Tao felt that living higher up felt safer. Plus, he might be able to move the chives to the rooftop to grow The rooftop was accessible, where residents would go to sun their bedding, usually locked, and you would get the key from the property management when needed now it was unclear who had it. But Wang Tao knew how to pick locks and make keys, so the absence of a key wasnt a big issue. Wang Tao, lunch is ready! By this time, Ding Yuqin had finished preparing lunch. Okay. Lunch wasnt extravagant, as most vegetables were depleted, but there was plenty of meat. Ding Yuqin served Wang Tao a small bowl of rice before sitting down and speaking: Wang Tao, when I opened the fridge just now, I noticed that the outdoor power supply is almost out of charge Almost out of charge? I understand. Wang Tao frowned. The meat at home needed to be preserved in the refrigerator; once there was a power outage, he would switch to the fully charged outdoor power supply to keep the fridge running. Although it was an energy-saving refrigerator that didnt use much electricity, only about one kilowatt-hour per day, the capacity of the outdoor power supply was limited. After using it for a few days, it was nearly depleted. Unless he could eat all the food that couldnt be stored at room temperature in the next few days, he would need to find diesel fuel to run the generator. Wang Tao had planned to clear out the zombies in room 102 tomorrow, since it was the last room in the building with zombies. The day after, he intended to see if he could move to another place, and then look for diesel fuel the day after that. But now he had to move up his plansclean out room 102 this afternoon! Move tonight, and go searching for diesel fuel tomorrow! In fact, Wang Tao didnt expend much physical strength killing zombies; he only went out once a day not because he was scared, but as a precaution. That way, if an unforeseen crisis arose in the future, hed be able to respond immediately. But given the current circumstances, running out of electricity was a crisisa threat to his food supply. So, hed have to take a bit of a risk After the meal, Ding Yuqin took the initiative to wash the dishes, and after finishing them, she went to wash Wang Taos clothes as well. Wang Tao had previously told Ding Yuqin she didnt need to wash his clothes, but now that the washing machine was unusable, he wouldnt say much since she was willing to help. As for the water issue, although water was now very precious, water that wasnt circulating would spoil if left standing for too long So, they would use it as needed and find a solution when it ran out. After finishing with the clothes, Wang Tao had also rested enough. Wang Tao, are you going out again? Ding Yuqin was somewhat surprised since she knew Wang Tao used to go out only once a day. Hmm, Ill go clean out the zombies in room 102. This was the last room in the building that still had zombies. Once room 102 was cleared, building number 4 could be considered completely safe. Then you must be careful! Worry was written all over Ding Yuqins face. The only time she witnessed Wang Tao fighting zombies was during his first battle, and due to the limitations of the peephole, she didnt get to see the full extent of it. So Ding Yuqin wasnt very clear about just how strong Wang Tao was. But judging by the fact that Wang Tao only went out once a day before, she thought the fight with the zombies must be tough Now that Wang Tao was going out twice, it made her even more worried. I will. Wang Tao nodded his head. With Ding Yuqins help, Wang Tao was quickly fully armed. He asked Ding Yuqin to go back home while he went to the outside of room 102. According to the bald Uncle, room 102 contained a family of threea couple in their thirties and a child attending elementary school. Wang Tao wasnt sure how many zombies were inside, but he prepared assuming there were three. Click~ After fiddling with it for a while, Wang Tao unlocked the door to room 102. But as soon as he opened the door a crack, he was hit with a strong smell of blood and decay. In an instant, Wang Taos mind assessed that a fight had taken place inside! Clutching the Long-handled Sheeps Horn Hammer in his hand, he then flung the door open with force! Chapter 29 - 29 29 Running Potion_1 29 Chapter 29 Running Potion_1 Translator: 549690339 The living room was empty, with no zombies in sight. But the blood splattered all over the walls told Wang Tao that this place was not safe. Wang Tao quickly surveyed the area, finding the doors to all three bedrooms open, with darkened bloodstains at each entrance. He approached the living room silently and looked towards the rooms, spotting his target in the last master bedroom. In the master bedroom, a thin figure in a dirty school uniform was curled up on a blood-stained bed, back facing Wang Tao. But what first drew Wang Taos attention wasnt the figure, but the two bloody skeletons lying beside it on the bed! Wang Tao felt a chill down his spine. The slender figure seemed to sense the movement and slowly turned its head, revealing a face with gray-white pupils, protruding veins, and a mouth full of black blood. Hehe [600/600] By the looks of this zombie before its death, it was that troublesome brat who had caused trouble for Wang Tao. But it had 100 more HP than the other zombies! Wang Tao gripped his horned hammer tighter. The situation had changed; there werent three zombies here, but there was one small zombie with 600 HP! Whew Without time to think, Wang Tao took a deep breath and strode towards the zombie. Heh The small zombie stood up and staggered towards Wang Tao. About ten meters separated them, but Wang Tao suddenly realized that the small zombies speed was not quite right! Despite its smaller size and shorter legs, it moved faster than the other zombies Wang Tao had seen! Wang Tao instantly stopped in his tracks, watching it cautiously. When the small zombie was about four large floor tiles away, approximately three meters, it spread its arms and suddenly lunged at Wang Tao! Whoosh Although Wang Tao was caught off guard by the small zombies sprint, he had been wary of it. In the moment it approached, he stepped to the side, dodging it. The small zombie failed to grab him, but didnt stop moving and took a few more steps forward before coming to a halt. Then, it slowly turned around and continued towards Wang Tao. Heh Just like before, once it was around four large floor tiles away from Wang Tao, it opened its arms and lunged at him again. This time Wang Tao didnt dodge but instead raised a foot and kicked straight into the small zombies chest. [-3] The small zombies arms, not even half the length of Wang Taos long legs, flailed after being kicked in the chest, but Wang Tao had thick books strapped to his lower legs and felt no fear. But Wang Tao wasnt being careless; he was trying to gauge the small zombies strength. Feeling the force on his foot, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. For its size, its strength is almost like that of an ordinary zombie Though surprised, Wang Tao suddenly exerted force in his foot. The small zombie, being light, was kicked into the air by Wang Tao and slammed against the wall. [-26] That hit seemed to have collided with its head. Roar! The small zombie seemed a bit angry and came at Wang Tao again. It still approached quickly until it was about three meters away, then threw its arms out and lunged at Wang Tao in a sprint. Wang Tao repeated the same move, kicking out again. But this time, he didnt hold back and kicked it right in the face. Bang! [-64] He kicked it flying, and its jaw shattered from the impact. Bang! [-37] Then the back of its head hit the wall again. It seems to only know this one move Wang Tao pondered as he watched the small zombie contort its body to get up. This time, he didnt use his foot; he switched to the long-handled sheeps horn hammer instead. Heh The small zombie continued its sprint towards Wang Tao, who grasped the hammer with one hand and, as it neared, brutally smashed it down. Bang! [-236] [234/600] The hammer strike was dead on, smashing right onto the little zombies forehead, directly depleting one third of its HP! Its defense seems lower, probably because of its weaker physical constitution before Wang Tao had seen online that the stronger the physical build of a person, the stronger the zombie they would become after infection and mutation. This little zombie was different from the ordinary ones, so Wang Tao tentatively called it a special zombie. But since it was only a child before infection, with a small body, light weight, and poor physical constitution, it made sense that its defensive power was lacking after the mutation. Of course, that was relative to Wang Tao. If it were an ordinary person, whether they could even break its defense would be a question. While pondering, the little zombie tenaciously stood up again. But this time it did not sprint. Instead, like ordinary zombies, it stalked towards Wang Tao with its arms flailing menacingly, although it was still faster than the regular ones. Wang Tao dodged twice and, having confirmed there were no other special attributes on the little zombie, he wound up and kicked it straight up to the ceiling! [-79] [-26] After the little zombie landed, Wang Tao kicked out again. Bang! [-4] This kick landed on the little zombies stomach, causing no real damage. However, like a rubber ball, it was kicked against the wall by Wang Tao once more. [-32] [93/600] Looking at the remaining one-sixth of HP, Wang Taos mouth curled under his mask. At least three more kicks to go! This was definitely not any form of retaliation against the naughty child; he simply wanted to test how strong this special zombie was. Roar~ The little zombie, undeterred by repeated failures, got up and approached Wang Tao again. Bang! Bang! Bang! Splat [-2] [0/600] Looking at the little zombie whose head he had kicked open, Wang Tao somewhat disdainfully wiped his shoe on its clothes. Whew Feeling refreshed! He began to tally up the spoils of battle. First was the HP gained from killing the sprinting little zombie, which, like the one capable of stealth he had encountered before, directly added 20 HP! Wang Taos HP reached [185/185]! Next was the half-transparent bundle that the little zombie dropped. With just a thought, Wang Tao had the package zip into his body. [Obtained: Running Potion (Small) x1] [Running Potion (Small): After injection, lower limb strength increases, running speed improves by 10%-100% (the stronger the constitution, the greater the enhancement), lasts for 10 minutes, cools down in 12 hours] Nice stuff! Wang Taos eyes lit up. This was an injector similar in appearance to the Stealth Potion (Small) but its effects were so much stronger than the stealth potion! The stealth potion could only be used for hiding, but this running potion could increase movement speed by 10%-100%! Moreover, the speed increase depended on ones constitution, the stronger it was, the greater the boost! Wang Taos physical constitution was definitely not weak; even a 10% increase could be a life-saving skill at critical moments! The chances of success in finding diesel outside also went up! If it could boost speed by 100% Hiss, dare not think, dare not think! After placing the running potion into his Space Backpack, Wang Tao started to scour the room for more spoils of battle, deciding not to touch the little zombies corpse since he had kicked it to bits Chapter 30 - 30 30 Moving_1 30 Chapter 30 Moving_1 Translator: 549690339 Upon entering the master bedroom and seeing those two skeletons that had been severely gnawed on, Wang Tao felt a surge of nausea. However, he couldnt help but wonder why the childs parents hadnt turned into zombies after being bitten and completely devoured. Unless their luck was just too bad, and the zombie virus had too long an incubation period! It was said online that the incubation period of the zombie virus ranged from 1 minute to 24 hours. In most cases, a longer incubation period was better. This was because if you amputated the infected area before the mutation occurred, as long as it wasnt a fatal part, there was still a chance of survival. But sometimes, a shorter incubation period meant less suffering. Take this family, for example. Perhaps, before they died, they had to watch their own child devour them Just thinking about that scene was chilling! All I can say is, you were just unlucky Shaking his head, Wang Tao hurriedly scavenged through the master bedroom, then dragged the small zombies body into the room, placing it between the two other corpses. Then he closed the room door with a loud bang. A family should be together, complete and orderly. The food in apartment 101 wasnt plentiful; given Wang Taos appetite, it might last about ten days. However, there were plenty of snacks to tide him over. All the items Wang Tao deemed useful or valuable were also packed up. After he finished scavenging, Wang Tao moved the items up to the fifth floor. Since there wasnt much, he didnt call for Ding Yuqin. But because he made quite a bit of noise going upstairs, Ding Yuqin, who had been keeping an eye on Wang Tao, naturally noticed. She quickly opened the door, first asking solicitously whether Wang Tao was injured, then inquiring if she could help with any work. Wang Tao did indeed have a task for her. He handed Ding Yuqin a bunch of keys. Sister-in-law, go collect all the usable glass bottles from those apartments, and see how many you can find. Here are the keys. Wang Tao had kept the keys to the rooms he had scavenged. Some were the originals left in the rooms; others he had made copies of. After all, it wasnt practical to pick the locks every time. Ah? By myself? Ding Yuqin felt the keys in her hand burning hot. Scared? Wang Tao frowned. Um Ding Yuqin nodded honestly. Theres nothing to be scared of. Ive cleared out all the zombies. As long as you dont open the entrance door to the building, its safe forget it, Ill ask the uncle downstairs for help. As he spoke, Wang Tao reached for the keys. No! Ill go! When Ding Yuqin heard that Wang Tao was going to ask someone else, she quickly clutched the keys tightly. She was a smart woman and knew that if she couldnt prove her worth, especially in this post-apocalyptic world, there was a possibility of being abandoned. She didnt dare gamble her life on Wang Taos benevolence! Wang Tao gave her a thoughtful look. Alright, go ahead. Although the zombies in Building 4 had been cleared out, the fear they had caused lingered. Not to mention Ding Yuqin, even the locksmith downstairs rarely left his home, staying inside almost constantly, especially with many apartments still having remnants of blood, smell Ding Yuqin was ready to face it head-on. Wang Tao took a pair of binoculars and weapons to the sixth floor, where he used a lock-picking tool to open the door leading to the rooftop. When the apocalypse broke out, no one had gone up to the rooftop, which aside from some permanently installed clothes racks, had nothing on it. Whew Being cooped up in the building all these days had been somewhat oppressive. Stepping out suddenly and seeing the sunset-drenched orange sky, he felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration. However, when Wang Tao reached the edge of the rooftop and looked down, that feeling of exhilaration turned instantly into urgency. Because the street below to the north was filled with zombies! From this vantage point, he could see many things that were not visible before. The zombies hidden around the corners and at the base of walls were far more numerous than Wang Tao had imagined. Still, even though the sight was somewhat horrifying, if he could kill all these zombies the rewards would be substantial! If I throw a Molotov cocktail to burn them to death, I wonder if the kills would count as mine Wang Tao then moved to the south side, where he could essentially get a clear view of all the zombies wandering in the courtyard of the complex. 1, 2, 319, 20! He could see a total of 20, and as for those inside the building that were out of sight, he was unsure. But even with just these 20, they were more than he could handle. The best course of action, he felt, was to lure the zombies to one place and kill them one by one or to set a massive fire and burn them all to death! But it was too early to be thinking about that now; he had come to the rooftop to figure out how to break out of the complex while surrounded by zombies. Now that Building 4 had been cleared, Wang Taos next target was to fetch diesel from the Big Bite of Meat restaurant, and also to scavenge some food. The main gate of the complex was to the west, and directly opposite it was the Big Bite of Meat restaurant. One of the glass doors of the small restaurant was open, while the other was shattered, and he saw no zombies inside. The street was rather narrow and not frequently traveled, so there werent many zombies around; Wang Tao only spotted a few. As for how he would get out of the complex Wang Tao felt that the main gate was definitely not an option, as that would attract the attention of the 20 zombies. While zombies generally didnt run fast, and he could probably get through the 20 of them in the complex if he was just focused on escapingprovided his luck wasnt exceptionally badthere could be no mistakes! That plan was very risky. And he was a bit worried; what if the zombies were attracted by him and followed him right into the small restaurant? So, Wang Tao felt that climbing over the wall was a more reliable option. The perimeter wall of the complex wasnt thick and was a simple brick wall. By his estimate, it was just over two meters high. With his ability, scaling this wall would naturally not be a problem. First, Ill rush out of the entrance of Building 4, make it to the wall, then climb over it, and dash into the small restaurant! If no zombies follow, thats best. If some do follow, then Ill just close the rolling door of the restaurant! I didnt see any zombies inside the restaurant, and even if there were, at most it would be Boss Li and his wife. I can deal with up to three zombies Wang Tao quickly formulated his action plan. However, before that, he needed to move. His home was still too small, and if everything went well on this trip out, he should be able to find quite a few supplies, which wouldnt fit in his home. Wang Tao was reluctant to throw away those supplies that were temporarily unnecessary so moving to a bigger house was the best choice. As for where to move, Wang Tao had already decided long agoit would be Room 602 upstairs. As he went downstairs, Ding Yuqin happened to be sweating profusely, carrying a box of narrow-necked glass bottles to the front door of Wang Taos house. Wait a moment, sister-in-law, dont put them inside. Im moving to an upstairs room, he said. Ah? Moving? Ding Yuqin was taken aback, then seemed to think of something, and her face turned pale. Chapter 31 - 31 31 Please Take Your Sister-in-Law with You_1 31 Chapter 31 Please Take Your Sister-in-Law with You_1 Translator: 549690339 Hes moving? Hes living just fine, why is he moving? Does he dislike me, doesnt want to live across from me anymore? Is it because I eat too much? Or because I cant be of help to him? But as a weak woman, what help can I offer Wang Tao in this post-apocalyptic world At that moment, Ding Yuqins heart was filled with panic. She was only surviving now thanks to the relief Wang Tao provided. Without him, she was certain to die! She was still young, she didnt want to die! Hmm, moving, moving right now. Wang Tao nodded his head. He hadnt gone out at night before because the zombies in Building 4 hadnt been cleared out, and he was afraid of accidents; it was too dangerous in the pitch dark. But now that the zombies had been cleared out, there was nothing to worry about if he worked at night. Wang Tao was planning not just to move all the supplies to 602, but he also wanted to move those chives to the rooftop. Growing them on the balcony was obviously not as good as the rooftop. He decided to dismantle some of the furniture and use the steel pipe clothes racks on the rooftop to build a simple shed to house the diesel generator. After all, the smell was too strong; it was impossible to live with it indoors Talking about moving, in fact, there werent too many things. Items that were not immediately needed could all be left in 501. Wang Tao only needed to move daily necessities, exercise equipment, the generator, and food. As for other furniture, beds and such, he could just use those in 602. Wang Tao wasnt very picky, second-hand goods were fine for him. Ding Yuqin watched Wang Tao move bag after bag of food upstairs, which instantly gave her a sense of being abandoned Two hours later. Sister-in-law, you go back to sleep, I can handle the rest, Wang Tao said, waving his hand with a hint of distaste. Ding Yuqin was too weak; her working efficiency was too low. Working together, sometimes she even got in the way. Oh After Ding Yuqin left, Wang Tao busied himself until midnight, finally settling into his new home. Then, without resting, he took a telescope to the rooftop. The weather was good that night, with stars scattered across the sky. Zombies are so active at night, but I wonder if their strength has increased Wang Tao felt an urge to have a go with the zombies at night, of course, this was just an impulse, he definitely wouldnt do it right now. Wang Tao took a dry towel, dampened it with alcohol, and then went to the edge of the rooftop, lighting the towel with a lighter. Watching the towel catch fire quickly, Wang Tao casually tossed it down. The flaming towel drifted down towards the street, landing amidst a few zombies. Attracted by the light, the zombies immediately ran over, but upon feeling the heat of the flames, the surrounding zombies quickly retreated a few steps. One of the zombies stared restlessly at the flames, while the others left outright. After the towel burned out, the zombie that had remained waved its arms and came over, waiting at the ashes for a while, and then left when it found nothing. From the rooftop, Wang Tao watched all of this unfold. Then he tried another experiment, this time not with a towel but with a thick stick. After lighting the stick on fire, Wang Tao threw it towards the distance. Crack The sound of the stick hitting the ground attracted a few zombies, but after feeling the light of the fire, they, too, retreated. In the end, only two zombies remained, staring at the burning stick from afar. The stick burned longer, and after a while, those two zombies also lost patience and contorted their bodies to leave. Seeing this, Wang Tao felt a bit exhilarated. If I could turn the area around the compound into a firewall, wouldnt the zombies be reluctant to come over? Then, wouldnt this at least be a relatively safe, small-scale Survivor Base? ` Of course, Wang Tao would never do that, because this communitys location isnt great, lacking tall perimeter walls, and there arent many good resources nearby. He himself had no plans to stay here for long, so there was no need to consider setting up a small Survivor Base. However, it could be turned into a temporary base The next day. Wang Tao awoke in the large bed of apartment 602. Before he could wash up, he heard a knock at the door. Upon opening it, there stood Ding Yuqin, right on time. Wang Tao, I, Ive come to make you breakfast. Today, Ding Yuqins attire was different from usual, making her look very homely. Her black hair fell behind her, adorned with a black butterfly-knot hairband. She wore a deep purple low-cut camisole dress, which perfectly highlighted her shapely gourd-like figure. But what was most attractive were her round, snowy, and slender legs and the rounded feet in flip-flops, stirring an urge in one to play with them. Wang Tao had just gotten out of bed, and seeing Ding Yuqins outfit, a nameless fire suddenly sparked in his heart. But his self-control was solid, after all, with so many beauties on set, lacking self-restraint would be embarrassing. Wang Tao surveyed Ding Yuqin with an appreciative eye several times before stepping aside to let her in. Hmm, sister-in-law, come in. Ding Yuqin, slightly stiff in her movements, finally breathed a sigh of relief upon Wang Taos invitation. She feared that once Wang Tao moved, he wouldnt need her to cook anymore. By the way, make breakfast a bit more substantial today. Wang Tao suddenly stopped walking, and Ding Yuqin, looking down, didnt notice and bumped into him. Ah! Feeling the softness behind him, Wang Tao very gentlemanly stepped aside, letting Ding Yuqin go first. Sister-in-law, you should watch where youre going! With a blush on her face, Ding Yuqin replied in a low voice, Hmm. She felt that Wang Tao had done it on purpose, but she had no evidence. After watching Ding Yuqin sway her way to the kitchen, Wang Tao first went to the bathroom, then headed to the exercise area to start his workout and cool off a bit. An hour later, Ding Yuqin, who had prepared a full table of dishes, called Wang Tao to eat. Since Wang Tao had asked for a more substantial breakfast, she naturally complied; knowing his appetite, the amount was not excessive. Sister-in-law, please sit too, lets eat together. Ding Yuqin had been looking for an excuse to stay. At Wang Taos words, her face lit up with joy, and she quickly thanked him. Thank you! Wang Tao usually had her cook lunch. Does this breakfast count as an extra treat? However, Wang Taos next words dispelled Ding Yuqins hopeful thoughts. Im going out for a bit later, out of the community, sister-in-law. You just stay in your room and dont wander around. Ah? Youre leaving the community? She subconsciously frowned, feeling scared just by the thought of stepping out of her own doorway, let alone the community where zombies roamed outside. Could it be was Wang Tao heading to find a Survivor Base? But he hadnt agreed to take her with him yet! No wonder he didnt ask her to have breakfast and made it so lavish; it turned out to be a farewell meal! Ding Yuqin became anxious at once. She instinctively grabbed Wang Taos hand with a pleading look. Wang Tao, please dont leave me behind, take me with you, Im begging you Wang Tao was startled at first, but after seeing the expression on Ding Yuqins face, he realized she might have misunderstood. So he said calmly: Its too dangerous outside, sister-in-law. Its better for you to stay at home, Ill leave some food for you. ` Chapter 32 - 32: Ill Work like an Ox or a Horse to Chapter 32: Ill Work like an Ox or a Horse to Repay You_1 Translator: 549690339 | No, I dont want it! I dont want your food! I dont want to be alone at home! I just want to go with you! Please Wang Tao! Ding Yuqin clutched Wang Taos hand tightly in her agitated state, her eyes brimming with tears. It was the first time Wang Tao had seen Ding Yuqin lose her composure like this, and he fell silent for a moment. Its not possible, its too dangerous outside. Im not afraid of danger! As long as you take me, Im not afraid of anything! Ding Yuqin quickly spoke. Wang Tao fell silent again, then said: Forgive my bluntness, but sister-in-law, youre too weak physically. Going out with me, youd only be a burden. Hearing this, Ding Yuqins face turned paler and paler. Then she bit her lower lip as if making up her mind, a mix of fear and feigned seduction in her voice: As long as you take sister-in-law with you, Ill do anything you ask of me please! Wang Tao continued to stay silent. But he furrowed his brow, as if in thought. Seeing that her words seemed to have an effect, Ding Yuqins hope was reignited. If one could live, nobody would choose death. But Wang Taos next words seemed to sentence her to death. Sorry, I still think its better for sister-in-law to stay at your home. Lets not talk about this anymore, lets eat. Wang Tao withdrew his hand from Ding Yuqins. Not talk about it? How could they not talk about it! Ding Yuqin was not even thirty years old, she had a whole beautiful life ahead of her, she didnt want to die! Ding Yuqins face was the picture of despair. Looking at the lavish spread of food before her, she simply couldnt eat Although Wang Tao had a big appetite, he ate quickly. Before Ding Yuqin could even come to her senses, he had finished eating. Then he stood up, ready to go and pack his gear. Suddenly there was a thump. Ding Yuqin knelt down in front of Wang Tao, desperately hugging his legs, her eyes welled with tears as she said: Wang Tao, I wont hold you back! Really, I swear! If theres a danger you cant handle, just leave me behind! I just hope that when you have spare strength, you can protect me for old times sake, for Brother Zhaos sake, Im begging you! Please Looking down at Ding Yuqin kneeling before him, there was indeed a perverse thrill. But Wang Tao didnt plan to continue scaring her, as her HP was nearly depleted. In just this short time, her HP had dropped by twenty or thirty scaring her further might actually kill her. So, Wang Tao crouched down, intending to pat Ding Yuqin on the shoulder. But she might have misunderstood his gesture, suddenly grabbing Wang Taos hand and pressing it against her face, her voice choked: Wang Tao, as long you dont abandon sister-in-law, I will repay you by working like an ox or horse in the future Feeling the softness in his hand, Wang Tao gently wiped her tears away. Looking at her frightened and even despairing gaze, Wang Tao showed a trace of confusion and said: Sister-in-law, when did I say I was going to abandon you? You, you said you were going out, you said I was a burden, you wouldnt take me with you, isnt that abandoning me sob sob I said Im leaving the neighborhood to look for diesel outside, to power the homes diesel generator. Such a dangerous task, if I took you, wouldnt you be a burden? I ?n Of course, if you really wish to come with me, I will respect your decision. Get ready, and lets leave right now. Having said that, Wang Tao stood up and began to put on his gear, leaving Ding Yuqin in a daze. It seemed like a moment yet also an eternity before Ding Yuqin hurriedly got up, trotted behind Wang Tao, and started with a mix of excitement and disbelief: Wang Tao, are you serious? Youre just going out for supplies, and youll come back, right? You wont leave me behind Wang Tao twisted his body, his face showing some displeasure. Sister-in-law, are you doubting my words, not believing me? NO, no, not at all, I didnt doubt you! I believe! I definitely believe you! Im just, just too excited Ding Yuqin quickly brought her hands together in prayer and bowed to Wang Tao. Alright, sister-in-law, hurry up and eat. Were leaving soon. Ah, leaving? Where to? Of course, to look for diesel. Didnt you say you wanted to come with me? Hurry up, we want to leave early and return early. II II To be honest, she still wasnt completely sure whether Wang Taos words were true or if it was possible for him to just leave and never come back. If she went with Wang Tao, then even if he really left, she wouldnt be alone here. But Wang Tao didnt seem to be deceiving her, especially since he had always been so good to her before, he probably wouldnt lie. If she really went out to look for supplies with Wang Tao, the danger would be too great, far less safe than waiting at home, and indeed she might become a burden to Wang Tao After contemplating for a few seconds, Ding Yuqin, clutching the hem of her dress and looking down somewhat embarrassed, said: I, I Ill just wait for you at home Sister-in-law, do you want to come out with me or wait at home? Ill wait for you to come back! Ding Yuqin didnt hesitate this time and immediately spoke up. Alright then. Make sure you stay at home and dont run around. Mmhmm! Ill help you with your gear! Ding Yuqin wiped her eyes, not minding the makeup that was slightly smeared, and hurriedly went to help Wang Tao. After they finished preparing, Wang Tao handed several packs of instant noodles to Ding Yuqin. I think I should be able to come back by tonight at the latest, but I cant be too sure. Take this food for now, in case I really get delayed, so you wont go hungry. Thank you! Ding Yuqin hurriedly took them. Alright, lets go. Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin left the house together. After watching Ding Yuqin return to her own home, Wang Tao continued downstairs. Wang Tao, you must come back safely! From behind, Ding Yuqin opened a crack in the door and called out softly with a hint of worry. She was not sure whether she was more worried about Wang Tao getting hurt or the possibility that he might not return at all. Mm. Wang Tao waved his hand. When he reached the bottom of the building, he didnt go out immediately but first went to unit 201. He cracked open a window slightly, there was no security grille here. If there was someone blocking the main entrance when he returned, he could climb in through this window. Although it was unlikely to be needed, it was better to be prepared for any eventuality. As he left, probably hearing the noise, the balding uncle also came out. He was surprised to see Wang Tao fully Armed . Young man, are you going out? Yeah. Were running low on supplies at home, need to go out and look for some. Although his home still had quite a bit of supplies, his consumption was also substantial, so saying they were running low was not far from the truth. There are two of you at home, thats a lot of consumption indeed! The balding uncle had seen Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin act together before and thought Ding Yuqin was Wang Taos girlfriend. Although they live in the same building, its not unusual for residents not to know each other well.. Chapter 33 - 33 Stealth Potion (Medium)_l Chapter 33: Stealth Potion (Medium)_l Translator: 549690339 Be careful, young man! Youve got a delicate wife waiting for you at home, you cant afford to have an accident! The bald uncle cheered Wang Tao on. It must be said, although the bald uncle was physically weak and easily frightened, he had a kind heart. Wang Tao didnt explain much. Dont worry, Uncle, Im naturally not going to have an accident. But you, please dont go out no matter what, just move around inside the building, its too dangerous outside! Haha, rest assured, Im too scared to step outside. I have to stay alive to reunite with my wife and children! The bald uncle took out a family photo from his pocket, his eyes brimming with longing. Then Im relieved! The bald uncle did not delay Wang Tao any further and left after exchanging a few words. Wang Tao proceeded downstairs and through the security doors window, he could see several zombies roaming around outside. He waited quietly for a while and, when he saw the zombies slowly moving away from the door, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then burst through the security door. Clack! The sound of the security door opening instantly attracted the attention of a few zombies. Wang Tao didnt even glance at them, he closed the door and sprinted towards the community wall in the distance! Heh heh Roar The zombies that noticed him immediately began to twist their bodies and stagger towards Wang Tao. Although Wang Tao was running, he didnt forget to observe the zombies around him, making sure there were none that could stealth, sprint, or had other special abilities. Fortunately, for the time being, the zombies speed didnt seem fast, and as long as he wasnt surrounded, there would be no threat to his life. After a dozen seconds, Wang Tao safely sprinted to the wall and then, with a foot on the bare wall, he leaped forcefully, grabbing onto the top of the wall. Heave! Wang Taos arm muscles bulged, he exclaimed lightly, and used the formidable strength of his upper body to lift his entire lower body up. By the time two nearby zombies sluggishly arrived, Wang Tao was already standing atop the wall, out of their reach as they waved their arms helplessly. Wang Tao suddenly felt that if he used the one-meter-long steel pipe from behind to strike the heads of the zombies below, couldnt he slowly wear them all down? After all, the zombies couldnt reach him Perhaps its a good method, but now is not the right time, Ill let them off the hook! Wang Tao hadnt forgotten his purpose, securing diesel fuel was crucial, killing zombies was secondary for now. He looked toward the other side of the wall, the situation on this street was the same as what he had seen from the rooftop; not many zombies. A few zombies were in the distance but they had not noticed him yet. Lucky break! Wang Tao lightly jumped off the wall. The cracked ground, black bloodstains everywhere, newspapers and government notices scattered around, cars burned down to their frames, and moss-covered mottled walls Viewing the post-apocalyptic desolation on the street instilled a sudden sense of loneliness. Wang Tao took a deep breath, cast aside these complex emotions, and stealthily made his way to the Big Mouth Meat Eating diner across the street. The glass door of the small diner was ajar, revealing a scene of disarray inside, with many chairs and tables damaged and dried blood smears on the ground and walls. Wang Tao was not surprised by this scene; gripping the one-meter-long steel wolf fang club tightly, he slowly entered. This time when he left the house, he brought all three steel pipesthe two 50cm and one 1-meter-long. He had modified each of these weapons. Of the two 50cm steel pipes, he turned one into a long-handled sheeps horn hammer, the weapon he found most comfortable to wield so far. The other one was modified by stuffing a small sharp-tipped steel bar inside to create a short spear. As for the one-meter steel pipe, he drilled several holes in it and inserted long nails, transforming it into a wolf fang club. In more open spaces, its better to use this one-meter-long steel pipe Wolf Fang Club. After entering the shop, he carefully avoided the glass shards on the floor and then quickly surveyed the hall. He mainly wanted to see if there were any zombies hiding behind the cash register. He had been ambushed by a crafty zombie before, and if he had time, he would make sure to check carefully. Fortunately, there was nothing under the cash register. Looking at the change in the drawer, Wang Tao casually grabbed a handful and stuffed it into his pocket. This trip hadnt been in vain. Wang Tao checked the street behind him and, seeing no zombies approaching, held the Wolf Fang Club and walked into the back kitchen. The kitchen was a mess, plundered bare, but thankfully there were no bloodstains. The small diner had two doors, one was the front door he had just come through, and the other was a side door next to a bedroom where staff could rest, leading out into an alley. The side door was open, and outside was a domestically made white pickup truck with its plastic wrap barely torn. It belonged to Boss Li. The truck surely had fuel inside; that day Wang Tao had seen Boss Li refueling it. But this raised another issue; if Boss Lis truck was here, it meant he hadnt left Wang Tao glanced at the tightly closed bedroom door. Since their store also served breakfast, Boss Li and his wife usually slept in the shop for convenience in the mornings. Wang Tao guessed that either they had been bitten by zombies that came from outside and turned into zombies, or they had become zombies inside this bedroom on the first day. Regardless, they had definitely been infected. Because their fuel-filled truck was here, and had they not been infected, they would likely have fled to the countryside in it! The bedroom door was locked, and Wang Tao prepared to pick the lock. He had come out well-prepared this time. Things like weapons, some lock-picking tools, food, binoculars, a flashlight, even a small radio, mobile phone, walkie-talkie, and so on were all with him. After all, the mission was to scavenge for supplies, and having incomplete tools wouldnt do. Besides, being tall and strong meant carrying these items was no hassle for him. Click- After fiddling with the door lock for a while, he successfully unlocked it. Thankfully, the door was not bolt-locked, otherwise, even the best lock-picking skills would have been useless. Wang Tao gently pushed the door open and immediately saw a fat figure lying on its side on the bed, covered with a blanket and facing away from him. Seeing that red HP bar above its head, Wang Tao didnt hesitate. He rushed in and struck its head brutally with the Wolf Fang Club. Bang! Dark blood splattered. [-156] [394/550] Heh heh The zombie let out an unpleasant hiss as it tried to turn over. Wang Tao kicked it in the waist through the blanket, flipping it back again. Then Wang Tao pulled out the Wolf Fang Club and delivered three consecutive blows. Splat! [-142] [-143] [-109] [0/550] [Acquired: Stealth Potion (Medium) x2] Huh? Another crafty zombie? Chapter 34 - 34: Great Harvest__l Chapter 34: Great Harvest__l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao was very surprised; he had thought that zombies capable of stealth were all hiding in dark places, waiting to launch surprise attacks. But now it seemed that wasnt necessarily the case. Like the one in front of him-when Wang Tao came over, it didnt attack first but continued lying on the bed. If Wang Tao hadnt seen the red HP bar above its head as soon as he entered, he wouldnt have been so decisive. If someone else had come in unsuspectingly to check, they might have been in big trouble. After killing it, Wang Taos HP increased by 20, and he was now at [205/205]. Wang Tao couldnt help but feel that his physical capabilities had slightly enhanced after his HP broke through 200 But there was no time to test it now; hed study it carefully when he got back. He flipped the zombies body over, and although half of its head had been smashed by him, he could still recognize from the other half that this was the proprietress of the shop. As for where Boss Li had gone Wang Tao suddenly flipped back the quilt, only to see a bunch of bloody human bones lying in the arms of the zombie proprietress. Shua Wang Tao hurriedly covered the quilt again; he would lose HP too if he saw such scenes too much. Having confirmed there was no immediate danger in the bedroom, Wang Tao turned his attention to the spoils he had obtained from killing the zombie proprietress. [Obtained: Stealth Potion (Medium) X2] [Stealth Potion (Medium): After injection, it can hide ones scent, making it harder for zombies to detect. Duration 1 hour, cooldown time 12 hours. Friendly Reminder: Best used during daytime for maximum effect.] Great stuff! And its a double dose of potions! Wang Tao had previously guessed that there might be Medium and Large Stealth Potions, some of which might help hide from zombies, and he was right! What he was lacking now was this kind of potion; potions for avoiding people werent of much use to him, at least not for the moment. But these for avoiding zombies were extremely useful! He even felt like injecting a Stealth Potion now and going to provoke some zombies But such dangerous thoughts were fleeting. Because it was clearly stated in the description that its harder to be detected by zombies, not wont be detected by zombies! Wang Tao guessed that the principle behind the Stealth Potion might be to lower his own human scent? Zombies could normally detect him from a distance, but after injecting the potion, they could only do so from close proximity? He figured that was more or less right. After storing the Stealth Potion carefully, Wang Tao started scavenging for other spoils. The bedroom wasnt big, a bed and some sundries occupied the entire space. Boss Li and his wife were usually simple folks, not wearing much jewelry, so Wang Tao didnt bother searching their bodies. It was mainly the other things in the bedroom; Wang Tao immediately noticed three army-green square tin oil drums in the corner, each labeled with a 20L mark. Wang Tao tried them out and found only one drum was full, another had only half diesel left, and the last was empty. However, this was enough for Wang Tao; apparently, one liter of diesel could generate 3 to 4 kilowatt-hours of electricity, so with roughly thirty liters, that was almost 100 kilowatt-hours! If he only used this electricity for freezing in his fridge, his fridges daily consumption was less than one kilowatt-hour, so this would last for quite some time. After setting aside the oil drums, Wang Tao continued his scavenging. But there wasnt much of value left in the bedroom, and he found only a wallet, a car key, and two mobile phones. Then Wang Tao went to the kitchen. Although the kitchen looked like it had been ransacked, some food was left behind. Wang Tao didnt dare take some of the dirtier food, not sure if it had been contaminated with zombie blood. After a simple selection process, he took an unopened 2kg bag of rice, a 25kg bag of flour, several bags of salt, sugar, some rice noodles, a large number 0 beverages, two bottles of beer, and a big bag of various types of takeout seasoning packets, roughly weighing 20kg. I didnt expect you, the bushy-browed Boss Li, to use seasoning packets Wang Tao slightly criticized in his mind, but it was a good thing for him, as at least these unopened seasoning packets were clean and offered a rich variety of flavors, which werent too bad. After sorting these things out, they weighed a hefty one hundred and fifty kilograms! theres a bit too much to carry in one go. Wang Tao suddenly found himself with the happy problem of abundance. Fortunately, he lived close to the residential area, so he could just make a few trips. just as Wang Tao confirmed there were no zombies around and prepared to take some of the items home first, he suddenly heard a faint buzzing noise. Hmm? Whats that sound? And its getting louder! Wang Tao was instantly on guard. He put down the supplies and gripped the Wolf Fang Club in his hands tightly. The zombies outside seemed to have hear the noise too, and were getting restless. in this post-apocalyptic world, any small change could prove deadly. Without knowing exactly what was going on, Wang Tao didnt dare take the risk and head home. He continued to wait in the restaurant, but he had already hung the iron hook of the roll-up door on the door itself, ready to bring it down in an instant should zombies approach. As for the back door of the small restaurant, Wang Tao had locked it from the inside long ago. Buzz- Whoosh- The sound grew from a distance, and Wang Tao, hiding by the door, suddenly looked up. In the distant azure sky, a small black dot appeared. Thats a plane! Wang Taos gaze sharpened, his heart suddenly filled with excitement. He quickly checked his phone in his pocket. Today is April 18th, the day the Government said they would make the airdrop! The Government is still there-at least its still operating well enough to keep its promises! Wang Taos spirits rose all at once, his eyes firmly fixed on the growing black dot. As the roar of the turboprop engine grew louder, Wang Tao recognized it as a Government military transport plane! Could it really be an airdrop? Wang Tao was hopeful. If only the airdrop would land nearby Whoosh Hehe Roar With the arrival of the plane, the zombies outside grew more frenzied and started running about wildly. Wang Tao was a bit anxious. Luckily, there werent many zombies around, so for the time being, there wasnt much risk of being exposed. Theyre dropping supplies! Suddenly, Wang Tao saw crates being released from the transport planes rear, like an animal laying eggs. Some of the airdrops had parachutes unfold, whtle others didnt. As the plane drew closer, Wang Tao grew more excited. However, he quickly cursed under his breath because, as it got closer, he realized the plane was starting to turn! Forget it, thats just my luckhmm? just as Wang Tao was about to lament his bad luck, he saw the plane make a turn and suddenly drop another airdrop! This one was very close to him; he could even see the large letters on the crate! And it was a parachute-equipped airdrop! Wang Tao was instantly torn. To take, or not to take. Chapter 35 - 35: Liars, all liars! 1 Chapter 35: Liars, all liars! 1 Translator: 549690339 | Ding Yuqin had wanted to sleep at home, hoping to see Wang Tao safe and sound when she woke up. But with Wang Tao not around, she felt so insecure that she couldnt fall asleep at all. So, she watched Wang Tao from the balcony. Due to the angle, she didnt see how Wang Tao left Building No. 4 or how he avoided the zombies, but she saw him effortlessly scale the courtyard wall and dodge the zombies. This made Ding Yuqin a bit excited. Wang Tao is so strong, nothing will go wrong with him! She couldnt see what happened to Wang Tao after he climbed over the wall; she could only see part of the street. Nevertheless, she stayed on the balcony, occasionally glancing toward the entrance of the community, with her hands busy sewing a black mask. This was a double-layered mask, with a white skulls big mouth on it. Wang Tao had seen a garment with a skull head on it before, and he thought that cutting out the skull head and sewing it onto the mask would definitely look cool. However, Wang Tao had only mentioned this idea casually because these fancy accessories that didnt increase fighting ability werent his priority. He would rather spend that time training. Moreover, his sewing skills were inadequate. But Ding Yuqin took his words to heart. Since she didnt have much to do at home, she decisively helped Wang Tao sew a handsome new mask. Just as she finished sewing the mask, she saw the zombies in the community downstairs becoming more frenzied, followed by a faint buzzing noise. She didnt know what was happening, but the sight of the frenzy outside sent her heart racing. Wang Tao, you must be okay The noise outside grew louder, the zombies downstairs became more frenzied, and Ding Yuqins anxiety and excitement intensified. It sounds like a plane She hadnt seen the cargo plane, but she had been on planes before, and the noise was similar. She guessed that it might be a plane passing by. Her nervousness was naturally for Wang Tao, while the excitement came from the thought of the governments rescue. However, after living through so many days of the apocalypse, she had completely lost hope in the idea of rescue. Even now, hearing the sound of a plane, she didnt dare to harbor too much hope. After all, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. She had now pinned all her hopes on Wang Tao. Wang Tao had promised her he wouldnt abandon her! And just as Ding Yuqin prayed for Wang Tao to return quickly, she suddenly heard another roar. But this sound wasnt from above; it was at the entrance of the community. She quickly focused her gaze and saw a white pickup truck suddenly backing out from a small alley, then sharply swerved ninety degrees, positioning the drivers side towards Happy Community. Thats Wang Tao! Ding Yuqin suddenly clenched the mask in her hands with some excitement. Although the distance was too far for her to see the drivers face clearly, she was too familiar with Wang Taos build and his head-to-toe black armed gear! Is he planning to drive the car back to the community? He must have gotten a lot of supplies! Thats great Ding Yuqins monologue suddenly stuttered. Because she realized that Wang Tao wasnt driving into the community but heading directly towards another street. In the blink of an eye, she could only see the two red tail lights on the white pickup truck. He left? Ding Yuqins expression became somewhat blank. Thud The newly sewn mask fell to the ground from her hands. He promised me, if he had the strength left, he wouldnt abandon me He obviously still had the strength Liar! All liars! Sob sob Ten minutes earlier. After agonizing for a few seconds, Wang Tao decided to go for the airdrop. As the saying goes, opportunities are reserved for the prepared. The airdrop wasnt far from him, and if he failed to seize this chance, who knew when the next one would comeif there would even be a next time. Moreover, Wang Tao desired the airdrop not just for the resources inside; he was more eager to learn the current state of the outside world and the Government; to know if there was a chance of restoring order; if the Government had any deeper understanding of the apocalypse He was certain the Government would leave information in the airdrop. So, this was an opportunity. Conveniently, there was a pickup truck outside, filled with gas. The airdrop had fallen in a less crowded area where there were relatively fewer vehicles on the road Most importantly, he had two Stealth Potionsa source of confidence! Wang Tao wasnt too fond of taking risks, but now with so many favorable conditions before him, he felt the risk was worth taking! Thus, Wang Tao picked up the car keys, opened the pickup truck door, and loaded all the supplies he had just gathered onto the vehicle. Then, with a skilled reverse and drift, he floored the accelerator before the distant zombies could react. Boom The white pickup truck roared away as several zombies at the roadside choked on its exhaust. Inside the vehicle. Wang Tao felt the wind passing by his ears and watched the houses swiftly fly by, feeling a swell of pride in his heart. Who says you have to hide at home during the apocalypse? Wasnt he having fun outside? Seeing some zombies on the road, Wang Tao extended his middle finger, offering them an international friendly gesture, and courteously inquired about the health of their family members. Soon, the vehicle approached a residential square. Several abandoned vehicles blocked the entrance, and Wang Tao remembered there were quite a few zombies inside the square. He immediately reduced speed, trying to be as quiet as possible, then sought a path through. At the entrance of the square, a skinny female zombie was hanging its head low. As the pickup approached, it slowly lifted its head, revealing a gaping mouth that stretched to its ears, then it opened its mouth even wider. Then Ahh A piercing Screaming sound, like fingernails on glass, erupted from its mouth. Wang Tao, inside the truck, jumped in shock. What the hell! He looked towards the source and saw the female zombie with the wide-open mouth. Huh? It only has [200/200] HP? But before Wang Tao could express his surprise, he saw a large group of zombies in the distant square awakened by the Screaming, turning their heads one after another towards the pickup, then walking and even Running towards Wang Taos location! Damn it! Seeing at least a hundred zombies charging toward him, Wang Tao could no longer worry about finding a way through. He whipped the steering wheel around and drove straight into the Screaming zombie. Bang [-34] [-166] [0/200] The Screaming zombie was first struck and sent flying, then its head was crushed under the wheels of the truck, killing it instantly! Wang Tao, with one hand out the window, willed the Screaming zombies drop bag into his body after it diedhe had tested earlier that as long as he was within about three meters from a zombie, he could absorb the transparent bag. Without even looking at what the zombie dropped, he floored the gas pedal again, and the unrelenting pickup continued on, crashing into the back of an abandoned sedan ahead. Bang! A loud crash sounded, the abandoned vehicle was shoved aside, while the pickup shuddered violently, its body twirling uncontrollably. Wang Tao jerked the steering wheel twice in quick succession, forcibly stabilizing the vehicle. Glancing in the rear-view mirror at the horde of at least a hundred ferocious zombies in pursuit, Wang Tao stepped on the gas once more. Damn it, I cant afford to show off like this anymore! Chapter 36 - 36 Tap Water Plant i Chapter 36: Tap Water Plant i Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao finally understood why during the ten or so days he had stayed at home, he had never seen vehicles on the streets outside nor heard any noise. On the one hand, there were few survivors left outside. More importantly, these things truly had an incredible ability to attract zombies! With a horde of zombies following the car, he couldn¡¯t stop; and the faster he went, the louder the noise became, resulting in even more zombies following behind... This was a vicious cycle! If the road had been clear, the zombies definitely wouldn¡¯t have been able to catch up with the car. But there were obstacles everywhere on the road, severely hindering the driving speed. Especially when sometimes he had to ram through roadblocks, not only affecting the speed but also creating a huge amount of noise... Seeing that the car was not getting any further from the zombie horde but instead more and more zombies were piling up behind, Wang Tao realized he might have been too rash. Driving a car now, even towards less populated areas, was still too dangerous. However, the more dangerous the situation got, the calmer Wang Tao¡¯s mind became. ¡°I can only try this!¡± After coming to a small alley, he suddenly slammed on the brakes. Then he grabbed his weapons, got out of the car, closed the door, all in one fluid motion. Looking back at the dense crowd of zombies, he immediately ducked into a small alley. These zombies had a clear target, which was Wang Tao. After Wang Tao ducked into the alley, they scrambled after him. Inside the alley, Wang Tao zigzagged left and right; after about half a minute, although he couldn¡¯t see the zombies due to the buildings blocking the view, he could hear movements all around him. In Wang Tao¡¯s right hand flashed a needle-free injector. [Stealth Potion (Medium): Upon injection, it conceals one¡¯s own scent, making it difficult for zombies to detect. Duration 1 hour, cooldown 12 hours. Friendly reminder: Best used during the day.] Without any hesitation, he rolled up his sleeve, aimed the injector at his arm, and pressed the trigger. ¡°Pfft~¡± A minor sting was felt, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t even frown. He saw an icon under his HP bar labeled ¡°Stealth (Medium)¡± followed by two lines of text¡ª [Duration: 59:59] [Cooldown: 11:59:59 (During cooldown, using the same type of potion is ineffective)] Soon, Wang Tao felt his body growing colder and colder, his breathing slowing down, and his limbs feeling heavier and heavier. ¡°...This thing shouldn¡¯t be toxic, should it?¡± Feeling the changes in his body, Wang Tao was still somewhat anxious. But fortunately, after about three to five seconds, his body temperature ceased to fall, his breathing became steady, and his limbs were only slightly numb. His movement was not greatly affected. And the biggest change was the smell of decay emanating from his body... it was exactly like the scent of a zombie! ¡°To hide my own scent, it turns it into that of a zombie¡¯s? Making the zombies mistake me for one of their own? Sounds about right...¡± After Wang Tao injected the Stealth Potion, the zombie horde seemed to have lost their target, and the noise around decreased bit by bit, soon becoming silent. Wang Tao gathered up his courage and went back to take a look. He saw a large crowd of zombies standing idly in the alley, looking somewhat confused. Wang Tao took a few steps closer, and the zombies showed no reaction. Wang Tao took a few more steps closer, and still, the zombies had no reaction. It was only when Wang Tao was about three meters away from the closest zombie that it finally turned its head, looking at Wang Tao with its cataract-clouded eyes. Wang Tao was ready to run at any moment, but the zombie just looked at him and made no move. When he was about two meters away, the zombie finally made a move. However, it wasn¡¯t an attack, but a slow approach towards Wang Tao. This didn¡¯t seem like a zombie discovering a human, but more like a zombie perceiving something and wanting to come over to check it out. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to try again, given that there were still over a hundred zombies in the alley. He ran off immediately, deliberately making some noise as he moved. Upon hearing the sounds of footsteps, the zombies successively turned to look at Wang Tao¡¯s retreating figure, but apart from a few that clumsily followed, the rest remained motionless. ¡°It seems that zombies do not rely on a single sense to hunt for prey, but rather a combination of senses to make a comprehensive judgement... Now that the ¡®human scent¡¯ on me has vanished, as long as I don¡¯t make too much noise, these zombies should lose interest in me...¡± He emerged from another alley and returned to the vicinity of his pickup truck. Not a single zombie was around the pickup truck¡ªthey had all been lured away. Wang Tao got into the vehicle and started it. Hum- The truck gave off a buzzing sound. This time he didn¡¯t dare to drive too fast; the pickup was new, and it wasn¡¯t very loud at low speeds. Moreover, since he no longer had any human smell, he figured he probably wouldn¡¯t attract too much attention from the zombies... Sure enough, after slowing down, he became a lot safer. Some zombies, even if they saw the truck pass by, would chase it for a couple of steps and then, losing interest, stop. Perhaps from their point of view, they saw a zombie driving a truck? Having wasted so much time, the air drop had already landed. Thankfully, after landing, the air drop would emit a red smoke, and there were no tall buildings in the vicinity to obstruct the view, making the smoke quite visible. ¡°It¡¯s in the northern direction, I can take the outer ring road!¡± Looking at the red smoke, Wang Tao immediately drove towards the outer ring. On the outer ring road, there were significantly fewer abandoned vehicles, and naturally, fewer zombies. Wang Tao slightly increased his speed and even purposefully ran over a couple of stray zombies. [Received: Blade xi] [Blade: Crafting material] [Received: Can xi] [Can: Crafting material] He acquired two new crafting materials and gained 10 HP. Once he confirmed it was temporarily safe, Wang Tao finally had time to check out the loot from the Screaming Zombie he had earlier run over. [Screaming Potion (small): After consumption, for the next 10 minutes, you can produce a piercing and prolonged scream. Cooldown: 12 hours. Friendly reminder: Screaming may cause some degree of damage to the vocal cords, it is advised not to speak for the rest of the day.] ¡°It¡¯s a great item! Zombies are sensitive to sound, and at a crucial moment, it might even lure them away! Despite some side effects, nothing too serious!¡± Wang Tao instantly thought of many scenarios where he could use the Screaming Potion, even set a trap, scream to attract the zombies and then kill them one by one... But now was not the time for daydreaming, he quickly checked the position of the smoke. ¡°Over there... that should be the water treatment plant location! I can turn there at the T-junction up ahead...¡± ¡°Hm?¡± However, after turning at the fork, Wang Tao suddenly heard some rustling noises coming from the forest across the road. He glanced sideways and his pupils suddenly contracted. All he could see was an enormous shadow, over three meters tall, flickering in and out of the trees. He couldn¡¯t make out its specific features, but he could see those red-glowing eyes and...[10000/10000] Ten thousand HP! Chapter 37 - 37 Terrifying Figure 1 Chapter 37: Terrifying Figure 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°II¡± After three seconds of stiffness in his body. Boom¡ª The pickup truck¡¯s engine roared as it quickly left the outer ring road. It wasn¡¯t until the trees in the rearview mirror were no longer visible that Wang Tao gradually slowed down and then parked behind a low building. ¡°Huff-huff-¡± Wang Tao gasped for breath, his back drenched in cold sweat. ¡°Good thing it didn¡¯t follow, what the hell was that thing!¡± The moment he had made eye contact with that thing, Wang Tao felt as if his blood had frozen. He wanted to move, but he was paralyzed! If it hadn¡¯t been for his strong will, forcefully pressing down on the accelerator, he might not have lived to see tomorrow¡¯s sun! ¡°Definitely not a zombie, zombies don¡¯t have that kind of intelligent look in their eyes! And my Stealth state was useless on it! Judging by its physique, it seemed more like a four-legged beast... Most importantly, it had ten thousand HP!¡± ¡°They say the city isn¡¯t safe, but it seems the wilderness isn¡¯t any better! Damn!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face was pale. He would rather face zombies than deal with this kind of unknown creature. At least he could kill zombies, but facing this monster... Just thinking about the feeling of being targeted, he didn¡¯t even have the courage to fight it! I¡¯d better hurry and get the airdrop. I¡¯m not coming back here for such deadly business again!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath, rested for a short while, and then headed for the water treatment plant. This road had been under repair before the virus outbreak and was quite empty for a long stretch, with no cars. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to drive too fast, fearing the noise would be too loud. He proceeded with extreme caution. After about ten minutes, he finally arrived outside the water treatment plant. The water treatment plant was in a remote location with few people coming and going, and access required a pass. Additionally, with a relatively good level of automation, it was said that there were only about twenty staff members, so the number of zombies inside should be low. ¡°I hope it hasn¡¯t been picked up by someone...¡± Muttering to himself, Wang Tao parked the truck in the empty space at the entrance of the water plant; it was deserted, with no cars or zombies in sight. After scouting around and seeing no issues, he finally took his weapons and got out of the truck, approaching the guardhouse. ¡°Heh heh...¡± A silhouette in a security uniform lay inside the guardhouse, and as Wang Tao approached, it slowly raiseditshead. Without a word, Wang Tao swung his Wolf Fang Club. Bang! Dark blood splattered everywhere. [-231] [179/500] The zombie that had just steadied itself was knocked back. Wang Tao stepped forward and swung two more times with his club. [-245] [-24] [0/500] The zombie¡¯s head burst open. In a one-on-one situation and well-prepared, Wang Tao found it basically effortless to kill an ordinary zombie. Moreover, when he had previously reached 200 HP, that feeling of becoming stronger wasn¡¯t an illusion! His physique had indeed improved-previously, his attacks on zombie heads would register a bit over a hundred HP, not counting child zombies with their lower defense. But now, each strike dealt over two hundred HP! The maximum HP increased by 5 again, reaching [240/240] [Received: Tape xi] [Tape: Crafting material] Another new material he hadn¡¯t seen before, Wang Tao casually took it. Wang Tao searched the body of the security zombie and the guardhouse, finding a walkie-talkie with no battery, a set of keys, and a rubber baton. Having the keys meant Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to bother picking the locks. Click- Clatter¡ª He slowly opened the metal gate, ensuring no zombies were approaching, and then drove the pickup truck inside. The water treatment plant was vast, filled with water storage tanks. The water inside looked clean and seemed to be uncontaminated. Wang Tao also surveyed the surrounding walls, thinking that maybe this place could be turned into a Survivor Base. But the place was too big; without enough people to guard it, it certainly wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°There it is!¡± After wandering around the factory for a while, Wang Tao finally spotted the airdrop, located in a yard surrounded by iron fencing. In the yard, there were some machines he didn¡¯t recognize and a room with a closed door marked with ¡°High Voltage Room, No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed.¡± It seemed to be a distribution room. The no-longer-smoking airdrop was right by the door of the power distribution room. Next to the airdrop were two zombies dressed in worker uniforms, wearing hard hats. ¡°Phew- finally found you!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat excited. This airdrop was clearly unopened, and he was eager to see what was inside. But before that, he had to deal with the two zombies in the courtyard. Wang Tao looked at his HP bar below and noticed that the stealth state had half a minute left. He decided to wait for the state to expire before going in. Because being in stealth mode made his body somewhat stiff, slightly affecting his movements, and it seemed to weaken his strength a bit. Even with the stealth effect, if he got too close to the zombies, he would still be discovered. So it was better to wait and face the enemy in the best condition. After all, these two zombies had 600 HP, more than any he had encountered before. A minute passed quickly, the feeling of obstruction in his body gradually dissipated, his body temperature slowly rose, his heartbeat began to return to normal, and that rotten smell finally vanished. Thump, thump- Feeling the heartbeat and the strength in his hands, Wang Tao then got out of the car holding the Wolf Fang Club. The lock outside the courtyard was open, saving him a lot of trouble. He pushed the door open and strode into the yard. ¡°Heh heh...¡± The two zombies in the courtyard immediately came toward Wang Tao when they heard the noise. Having lost the effect of the Stealth Potion, the zombies¡¯ perception range of him was greatly increased. Seeing one of the zombies enter his attack range, Wang Tao swung the Wolf Fang Club and smashed it right into its temple. Bang! [-36] [564/600] The safety helmet burst open, but the zombie only lost a bit over thirty HP. ¡°This safety helmet is really good quality!¡± Wang Tao complained in his heart, then swung his club down again. [-165] [399/600] ¡°Hiss! Its defense is much higher than ordinary zombies...¡± Just at the door, Wang Tao dealt over two hundred damage to an ordinary zombie, but now he was only doing a bit over one hundred. The zombie staggered backward from Wang Tao¡¯s blows but didn¡¯t give him a chance to finish it off as the other zombie stretched out its arms to grab him. Wang Tao hurriedly switched targets. [-33] First, he shattered the other zombie¡¯s safety helmet, then used the books on his arm to block a hit. Taking advantage of the zombie grabbing his armguard, Wang Tao kicked it in the stomach. [-3] Although the damage was low, it sent the zombie flying. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with it anymore since the first zombie had already lunged at him. [-171] [-153] Even though this worker zombie was tough, Wang Tao had fast attack speed and great strength. Two consecutive blows left it with just a sliver of HP. Looking at the zombie now dazed, Wang Tao pulled out the Homemade Short Spear from his waist and thrust it into its forehead. Squish- [-75] [0/600] Picking up its dropped loot casually, Wang Tao turned to the other zombie. He swiftly dispatched it too. Wang Tao felt these worker zombies had more HP, higher defense, and greater strength than ordinary zombies¡ªhe had taken two hits to the chest from a zombie, losing 10 HP. But each of those two zombies had added 10 HP to him, now he was at [250/260]. After collecting the loot, Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to inspect it closely and immediately went to the green airdrop box. With eyes sparkling, he looked at the massive box. ¡°Let me see, what good stuff is inside...¡± Thud¡ªThud¡ª ¡°Hm? What¡¯s that noise?¡± Just as Wang Tao was about to open the box, he suddenly felt some vibrations on the ground. Bang! The iron door of the power distribution room behind him suddenly flew out, heading straight for him! Wang Tao instinctively protected his body with his arms. Bang! Crash¡ª His body slammed harshly against the iron railing. A towering figure in work clothes, holding a Reinforced Concrete Hammer, emerged from the power distribution room.... Chapter 38 - 38 Big Hammer Zombie_l Chapter 38: Big Hammer Zombie_l Translator: 549690339 It hurt, a piercing pain! Wang Tao struggled to get up from the ground, his arms numb and everywhere else aching. [-80] [170/260] He glanced at his HP bar, a direct loss of 80 HP! Thud¨C thud Zzzt This was a gigantic zombie, at least two meters twenty-three tall, dressed in an orange work uniform with reflective stripes, dragging a reinforced concrete hammer and walking step by step toward Wang Tao, as sparks flew when the steel bar scraped against the ground. ¡°What the hell is this!¡± Looking at the opponent¡¯s HP bar of [1000/1000] above its head, Wang Tao swallowed hard. As the Big Hammer Zombie stepped out of the house into the sunlight, it suddenly covered its eyes with its hand. This gave Wang Tao the chance to escape; he hurried over to pick up his weapon. But looking at his own ¡®toothpick¡¯ in hand and then at the opponent¡¯s massive club, Wang Tao¡¯s face turned ugly. How was he supposed to fight this? Thud¨C thud Zzzt The Big Hammer Zombie approached Wang Tao once again. Wang Tao glanced at the side door, then back at the airdrop behind the Big Hammer Zombie, gritted his teeth, and instantly prepared to retreat. Airdrops are great, but one must be alive to take them. And just then, when the Big Hammer Zombie was more than three meters away from Wang Tao, it suddenly raised its hammer with both hands and then smashed it down fiercely! ¡°It¡¯s moving so slowly!¡± Wang Tao observed as he dodged. If the opponent¡¯s speed was slow, then he might stand a chance to fight! What Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect was that, although he had clearly dodged the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s attack, when the attack hit the ground, it created a visible small-range shockwave! Thud! Bang! Woosh Wang Tao was hit by the shockwave and slammed against the iron fence. He felt his vision blurring and as if all his organs had shifted, his mouth even tasted somewhat sweet. [-102] [-23] [45/260] Only less than 20% HP left! Thud¨C thud Zzzt The Big Hammer Zombie, dragging the steel bar, once again walked toward Wang Tao step by step. Now, with the Big Hammer Zombie standing at the gate, Wang Tao felt he couldn¡¯t even run if he wanted to. The iron fence wasn¡¯t high, but climbing over it also took time, and he didn¡¯t think the Big Hammer Zombie would give him that time! Plus, he felt so weak and achy all over, he doubted he could make it over. ¡°Is today the day I¡¯m going to fall here...¡± Wang Tao struggled to his feet, then slowly moved towards where the airdrop lay. The Big Hammer Zombie followed Wang Tao¡¯s movements to switch direction, but while looking at Wang Tao, it suddenly covered its eyes with its hand again, and its steps came to a halt. Despite being in grave danger, Wang Tao remained calm. ¡°The Big Hammer Zombie has blocked its eyes twice! What is it blocking?¡± Wang Tao hastily looked back, the afternoon sunlight making him squint instantly. ¡°It¡¯s blocking the sunlight! Is it afraid of light?!¡± Joy surged in Wang Tao¡¯s heart. He quickly started searching on himself. Thud¨C thud Zzzt The Big Hammer Zombie, dragging the steel bar, slowly approached. Because it was facing the sunlight, it moved very slowly this time, shielding its eyes with its hand every few steps. But it eventually got close to Wang Tao and then raised its reinforced steel hammer. Bang! This time, Wang Tao was prepared, he ducked at a greater distance and was not hit by the shockwave. However, there wasn¡¯t much space to begin with, so in order to dodge the attack, Wang Tao had no choice but to vacate the spot, which allowed the Big Hammer Zombie to see him without staring directly into the sunlight afterward. Thud¡ªThud¡ª Ssshhh¡ª As the Big Hammer Zombie approached Wang Tao again, ready to lift its hammer, Wang Tao suddenly pulled something out of his pocket and shone it at the zombie. Woosh¡ª A blinding white light emitted from the flashlight in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, striking the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s eyes. Bang- The Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s freshly raised hammer instantly fell to the ground as it covered its eyes with its hands. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Wang Tao, seeing that his flashlight wasn¡¯t damaged and that it was effective against the Big Hammer Zombie, breathed a sigh of relief. It was a powerful flashlight he had found while scavenging in a building. Even in broad daylight, its beam was clearly visible. Wang Tao carried many things with him for contingencies, like having to spend the night outside, and the flashlight was one of these things. But he had never imagined that the first time he would use the flashlight outside would be under such circumstances. Now that he had discovered the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s weakness, Wang Tao was in no hurry to run. With the flashlight in his left hand continuously shining on the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s eyes, he wielded the Wolf Fang Club in his right hand, quickly got up close, and struck its head! [-34] This damage number left Wang Tao in stunned silence. But there was no time to ponder; he struck twice more. [-25] [-31] Wang Tao: ¡°Roar-¡± The Big Hammer Zombie, enduring the discomfort from the light, swung its other hand violently. Bang! [-141 [30/260] Wang Tao blocked the blow with the armguard on his arm, but his entire arm went numb, and he lost 14 HP. Looking at his own remaining 30 HP, Wang Tao¡¯s mouth curled under his face mask. ¡°I think I know... how to kill you!¡± The Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s hammer-smashing attack was powerful and had a wide range, but its wind-up was slow. As long as he watched its movements and wasn¡¯t cornered, he could dodge with his speed. After being dazzled by the light, the Big Hammer Zombie would cover its eyes for several seconds, during which it wouldn¡¯t attack. After a few seconds, it might swing its hand, but that damage wouldn¡¯t be enough to kill Wang Tao instantly. Wang Tao focused on those precious seconds. In that time, he could deliver several blows! If one blow could deal 30 damage, he would only need to land just over thirty hits to kill it! Of course, this was an ideal scenario. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t make a single mistake. He was down to his last 30 HP, and his body was exhausted. If he was hit even once by the Big Hammer Zombie, he might be killed instantly! So... A potion suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Running Potion (Small): After injection, lower limb strength increases, running speed increases by io%-too% (the stronger the physique, the larger the increase), lasts for 10 minutes, cooldown 12 hours] ¡°I¡¯ll take a gamble, if the speed increase exceeds 30%, I can fight! If it¡¯s less than 30%, then I¡¯ll retreat!¡± Pfsst- As the potion was injected into his arm, Wang Tao felt a surge of power in his legs! Even the strength in his upper body saw a slight increase! Even his health bar displayed an [+30] sign! ¡°Is this... healing some of the damage to my lower body?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but what delighted him more was the effect of the Running Potion, his health bar clearly showed [Running speed increased by 50%]! Without a second thought, Wang Tao, holding the bright flashlight, charged at the Big Hammer Zombie. The Big Hammer Zombie instinctively covered its eyes, and Wang Tao took the opportunity to land two heavy blows. [-3U [-331 Before the Big Hammer Zombie could swing at him, Wang Tao quickly retreated. The zombie grasped at thin air. The plan.... was workable! Chapter 39 - 39 Design Blueprint, Crystal Core_l Chapter 39: Design Blueprint, Crystal Core_l Translator: 549690339 [-32] [-29] [404/1000] ¡°Huff???? ¡± Wang Tao let out a long sigh of relief after seeing the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s HP bar drop to less than half. In the enhanced speed from the Running Potion, beneath the glare of the flashlight and the sun, it took him four minutes to grind away nearly six hundred HP from the Big Hammer Zombie. If it weren¡¯t for his superhuman physique, which had been further strengthened by killing zombies, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have lasted this long. ¡°I hope when you die, you¡¯ll drop something good for me...¡± Wang Tao quickly closed in on the zombie again and bashed its head with his club. [-27] [377/1000] Based on his four minutes of combat experience, Wang Tao had the chance to hit it once more before retreating without it being too late. But suddenly, he noticed the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s movements were different. Previously, at this time, it would have been preparing to swing its left arm. But now, it suddenly gripped the Steel Bar Hammer with both hands. Danger! An alarm went off in Wang Tao¡¯s mind. He immediately gave up the chance to attack and chose to retreat quickly. And just as he retreated, the Big Hammer Zombie suddenly swung the hammer with both hands, turning in a 360-degree windmill around itself! Whoosh Bang! The Big Hammer landed heavily, and the concrete floor cracked once again. Four meters away, Wang Tao felt the brunt of the wind on his face and shuddered with fear. Lucky for him, he had retreated; otherwise, a hit from that would have killed him with his remaining HP! After the Big Hammer hit the ground, the Big Hammer Zombie seemed a bit tired, leaning over slightly with its head bowed, using the hammer as support. ¡°Good opportunity!¡± Wang Tao immediately sprinted to its side and swung his club fiercely. Bang! [-58] This strike inflicted the highest damage he had achieved so far, but the steel pipe Wolf Fang Club finally gave in under the strain, its steel studs, and even the pipe itself, bent out of shape. Bang! [-13] Without the steel studs, the damage was greatly reduced. Seeing the Big Hammer Zombie pick up the hammer again, Wang Tao hurriedly retreated and simultaneously threw away the damaged Wolf Fang Club, switching to the Long-handled Sheep¡¯s Horn Hammer at his waist. The horned hammer was half the length of the Wolf Fang Club, which put him at a slight disadvantage against such a large foe, but Wang Tao was already accustomed to the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s attack pattern. As long as he was well-prepared, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem. After the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s HP dropped below 40%, its attacks became much more frenzied, occasionally unleashing a 360-degree windmill. Wang Tao found himself in a difficult fight, as there were few chances to approach the zombie and get away unscathed. He was practically dancing on a steel wire, one misstep and he¡¯d be done for. However, the tenser the situation, the calmer Wang Tao became. As the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s HP neared depletion, it became even more manic, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t approach it at all. He didn¡¯t force it, instead, he kept dodging and waited for an opportunity. Finally, after a full minute of waiting, he successfully moved behind the Big Hammer Zombie and smashed its head with the pointed end of the Sheep¡¯s Horn Hammer. Squish [-37] [0/1000] The Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s body stiffened, then it crashed to the ground with a thud. ¡°Huff~huff~¡± Seeing it finally dead, Wang Tao sat down on the ground, heaving deep breaths. He had only 20 HP left, nearly drained of his energy. It wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say he had persevered solely on willpower during the last few minutes. Now if any random zombie¡ªno, even any random human¡ªcame at him, he might not win. But mere moments later, Wang Tao perked up. Because he found that he had recovered quite a bit of strength all at once! He quickly glanced at his HP bar. [60/300] After killing the Big Hammer Zombie, his HP cap rose by 40 points, and he recovered 40 HP! Wang Tao felt his body getting warm; it seemed like his physical condition had improved even more! He clenched his fist tightly, feeling the power in his hands, almost bursting out with laughter. ¡°Indeed, to become stronger, you have to kill zombies!¡± Wang Tao roughly estimated that for every 100 HP gained, his physical condition might improve by about 10%. However, the increment in HP from killing zombies seemed quite small, maybe one-thousandth? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure. But no matter what, the more zombies he killed, the stronger he became! Conversely, the greater the danger. Even with his strength, he almost perished today... After a brief rest, Wang Tao looked around and, seeing no zombies approaching, he began to check the spoils of battle with relief. First were the two worker zombies. [You have obtained: Purified Water (Medium) xi] [Purified Water (Medium): 25L, consumable] [You have obtained: Purified Water (Medium) xi] [Purified Water (Medium): 25L, consumable] Each of the worker zombies dropped two buckets of water, not the small 5L ones but medium-sized 25L buckets of purified water. It¡¯s no surprise they¡¯re from the water plant! All good stuff! As for the worker zombies themselves... Wang Tao checked the bodies and only found two packs of cigarettes. Then there were the items dropped by the Big Hammer Zombie. ¡°A Strength Potion and... a blueprint!¡± Seeing these items, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. Besides a needleless syringe labeled ¡°Strength (small),1¡® there was a blueprint. [Strength Potion (Small): After injection, overall strength increases by io¡ã/o-ioo% (the stronger the physique, the greater the increase), lasts for 1 minute, 12-hour cooldown] [Strength Potion (Small) Blueprint: Once learned, you can craft five doses of Strength Potion (Small) at a time. Required materials: Strength Mushroom xi, Zombie Crystal Core xi, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal food] Strength Potions are precious, but they only last for a short duration and should be used at crucial moments. As for the formula on the blueprint, aside from purified water and food, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen any of the other required materials; it seems impossible to craft it now. ¡°Wait a second¡ªZombie Crystal Core? What is that? Sounds like something that grows inside zombies?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. He went over to the two worker zombies and, enduring the disgust, meticulously searched their skulls and bodies but found no crystal cores. He then approached the Big Hammer Zombie, looking at this towering figure over two meters tall, Wang Tao first frisked it indiscriminately, finding only a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Then Wang Tao picked up the horned hammer and pried open the shattered skull of the Big Hammer Zombie. ¡°Eh?¡± As Wang Tao acted, a grape-sized white transparent diamond-shaped crystal fell out, which he caught reflexively. The crystal had a gray haze inside, but there seemed to be a wave pattern moving within it, reminiscent of... the Shockwave created by the Big Hammer Zombie¡¯s slam? Wang Tao instinctively swallowed, feeling an urge to consume it. Yet the bloodstains also made him feel nauseated. At that moment, a line of text popped up. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Light sensitivity)] Below was a detailed introduction. [Level 1: A crystal core with an energy level of 1] [Crystal Core: Humans can fuse with it to obtain the respective Ability] [Shockwave: Consumes energy when attacking, can carry a Shockwave] [Quality: The stability level of the energy within the crystal core, the higher the stability, the better the quality, and the higher the fusion success rate] [Ordinary (20%): 20% success rate for fusion; failure results in loss of the crystal core and leaves the individual weak for one day. Regardless of success or failure, Internal Impurities remain] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Light sensitivity): 50% of the energy in the crystal core is usable, the rest is impurity, with the side effect of ¡°light sensitivity¡±] [Friendly reminder 1: The more internal impurities a human has, the higher the chance of turning into a zombie] [Friendly reminder 2: Humans can only fuse with a limited number of crystal core types, and each time a new type is fused, the difficulty increases exponentially. Choose carefully] [Friendly reminder 3: Multiple crystal cores of the same type and level in your backpack can be synthesized together] Chapter 40 - 40 Crystal Core Synthetic? Open Chapter 40: Crystal Core Synthetic? Open Airdropl Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at the long list of introductions. ¡°Zombie Core... Shockwave... Ability!¡± ¡°If I fuse with this crystal core, can I acquire an ability?!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat excited, but he didn¡¯t let excitement cloud his judgment. The instructions were clear: fusing had a failure rate, and the fusion success rate of the core he held was only 20%... With such a success rate, he might as well assume it would fail; he never believed in such probabilities. More importantly, these cores contained impurities! The impurities not only caused the side effect of ¡°sensitivity to light¡±, but if too many accumulated in the human body, one could turn into a zombie! Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to become a zombie; he hadn¡¯t lived long enough yet. So, was this core useless to him? No, of course not! Wang Tao quickly placed the zombie core into the Space Backpack¡ªit could go in there! The Space Backpack was similar to the grid backpacks in games, except its slots were unlimited. The same types of crafting materials were all stored in the same slot. After putting the zombie core into the Space Backpack, it naturally occupied its own slot. However, a notification popped up¡ª [1/10 (Unable to synthesize at this time)] [Synthesis: Quality sums up, Purity sums up. At 100% purity, side effects are extracted.] ¡°Does this mean I need 10 level 1 shockwave crystal cores for fusion? And I can increase the success rate to ioo%? And there won¡¯t be any impurities or side effects?¡± A gleam of excitement burst from Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. This meant, then, that he definitely could not fuse with this core! He had to collect more of the same type of crystal cores and then synthesize one with a ioo% success rate, free of any impurities and side effects! Wang Tao now had another goal¡ª to kill zombies and gain abilities! But there was still one problem. ¡°It says to fuse, but how do I fuse this thing? Am I supposed to eat it?¡± Wang Tao took the core out again; originally covered in blood, the core was now spotless after being placed in the Space Backpack, perfectly clean. Looking at the clean core in his hand, his mouth began to salivate madly. He felt an almost irresistible urge to eat it, as if a voice inside him was saying: Eat it, and you will become stronger! But, of course, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t eat it; he could resist that much temptation. He placed the core back into the Space Backpack, and looking at the [l/io] on the core, he grinned. ¡°My future life in the apocalypse just got a bit brighter!¡± It¡¯s just that he didn¡¯t know which zombies would drop crystal cores... He had killed so many zombies before, apart from those hit by cars, the rest were all blown apart by his hand, and he always searched the bodies. So he knew there were no crystal cores in their heads. ¡°The crystal cores are probably only in especially strong zombies...¡± He shook his head, not wanting to think about it any further. All he had to remember was that if he encountered a Big Hammer Zombie again in the future, he¡¯d definitely have to find a way to hunt it down! He felt that, with enough preparation, killing this Big Hammer Zombie wouldn¡¯t be as difficult as it had been today. Wang Tao swept the area to ensure nothing was missed, then prepared to go collect the airdrop. But upon seeing the Reinforced Concrete Hammer the Big Hammer Zombie had dropped, he thought it seemed like a decent weapon, something he might be able to use himself. So, he headed towards the Big Hammer, and as he got closer, he suddenly saw a line of text appear on the hammer. [Reinforced Concrete Hammer] ¡°It has a name? Then doesn¡¯t that mean...¡± After Wang Tao grasped the Big Hammer, with a single thought, the hammer disappeared from his hand and appeared in his Space Backpack at the same time! [Acquired: Reinforced Concrete Hammer xi] ¡°I can put it into the Space Backpack!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat excited. Not to mention anything else, just the fact that it could be stored in the Space Backpack was enough to beat most weapons hands down! After all, weapons like his Wolf Fang Club and horned hammer could only be carried on him, and although they weren¡¯t heavy for him, they were still somewhat inconvenient. But putting them in the Space Backpack was different. It was not only convenient, but he could also launch a surprise attack. With another thought, Wang Tao felt his hand suddenly grow heavy as the Reinforced Concrete Hammer reappeared in his grasp. ¡°So heavy!¡± This thing must weigh at least 50 pounds, and it was a full two meters long, not to mention bulky. Wang Tao tried swinging it. He could wield it with both hands, but he could forget about agility; it was only good against less agile zombies. It was very exhausting, even for someone with his physical strength, and he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it many times. Moreover, it was very inconvenient to carry. He could either drag it on the ground like the Big Hammer Zombie or carry it on his shoulder. Actually, it wasn¡¯t very suitable as a weapon, but because it could be put into the Space Backpack, it could serve as an unexpected trump card. After making sure once again that he hadn¡¯t missed anything, Wang Tao approached the loot crate. So much had happened tonight, all for this loot crate. ¡°I hope it won¡¯t disappoint me...¡± Wang Tao muttered, but he didn¡¯t immediately open the loot crate. Instead, he went out to find his car and drove it over. The water treatment plant was spacious. Aside from the zombies he had killed, he hadn¡¯t seen any others for now. Wang Tao drove the car up to the small courtyard outside, then with great effort, he moved the loot crate onto the car. ¡°Phew... Find a place to rest for the night!¡± It was now evening, and he had time to rush back, but his HP was low, only 60, which made him feel very insecure. So Wang Tao decided to rest outside tonight, recover some HP, and it would be safer to go back tomorrow. As for the place to rest, Wang Tao had already chosen it: an old five-story building inside the water plant. The reason he chose this place was that the door of the building was locked, and moss was climbing up the outer wall. It was obvious that no one had lived there for a long time, and it was very likely there were no zombies inside, making it relatively safe. After slowly driving the car over, Wang Tao was surprised to find that the building even had an indoor garage connected to the rooms inside. That was just perfect. Wang Tao, who had obtained the true transmission of the Locksmith, managed to open the garage door in no time, and the interior was covered in dust. He first went inside with his weapons and made sure there were no problems before driving the car in. Then he locked all the doors and windows, ate the dry food he had with him, and then he approached the loot crate. This loot crate wasn¡¯t something you could simply open; it had a lock, and what¡¯s more, it was a keypad lock. If he didn¡¯t pick the lock, even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t open it. However, there were a few lines of text written on the box. ¡°l+8=? 7-2=? 2xi=? 74-1=?¡± These questions were too simple. Probably to prevent zombies from accidentally opening the loot crate, they were deliberately set up like this. Wang Tao pressed down on 9, 5, 2, 7 in turn, and with a click, the lock opened.. Chapter 41 - 41 Inhibitor and Gun_l Chapter 41: Inhibitor and Gun_l Translator: 549690339 The supply drop box was large, but upon opening it, the interior space wasn¡¯t as big as it looked because a lot of black shock-absorbing material had been used. Inside, there were three compartments of varying sizes, each with its own packaging. He first opened the largest compartment-just as expected, apart from a few small radios, the rest were foods. There were self-heating meals, compressed biscuits, energy bars, chocolate, sugar, powdered drinks, canned goods, and other easy-to-carry edibles. Wang Tao tried a few and couldn¡¯t tell if it was psychological, but he felt that the food here tasted better. He then opened the second compartment. ¡°Is this all... emergency supplies?¡± There were many small medical kits; he counted a total of twenty. But in addition to the medical kits, there was also a small box with a buckle lock. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± Upon opening the small box and looking at the neatly arrayed twenty bottles of blue potion inside, Wang Tao was puzzled. However, there was a manual embossed inside the box, which he hurriedly read. ¡°Zombie Virus Inhibitor... it can suppress the initial infection and mutation to a certain extent? But it has side effects... Good grief! After reading the explanation, Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. According to the documentation, this Zombie Virus Inhibitor was a product hastily developed by leading figures in the medical community after the virus outbreak. It couldn¡¯t completely solve the zombie virus, but it could suppress the outbreak of the virus! Theoretically, if a person infected with the zombie virus continued to take this inhibitor, they would never mutate. Of course, that was in theory. In practice, it was impossible. Not to mention that the supply of this inhibitor was limited, even if it could be provided in unlimited quantities, whether a person could withstand it was uncertain. Because the inhibitor had severe side effects-it affected one¡¯s health, and extensive use could even lead to death! Moreover, the use of the inhibitor was painful. To maximize the effectiveness of the inhibitor, at least one of two conditions had to be met. One was strong willpower, and the other was robust physique. If someone with weak willpower and a poor constitution took the inhibitor, they might die of pain from the inhibitor itself before they even had a chance to mutate... That¡¯s why it was emphasized that one should be cautious before using the inhibitor! If an ordinary person was infected with the zombie virus, the priority would be to amputate the infected area; if amputation was not possible or ineffective, only then should the inhibitor be used... After learning about the inhibitor, Wang Tao thought it was something useful yet not useful. It was useful because it could save someone¡¯s life at a critical moment. It was not useful because the conditions for its use were quite harsh, and its efficacy was not 100 percent guaranteed. Of course, for Wang Tao, it was definitely useful. Whether his own willpower was strong, was hard to say-it could sound self-flattering. However, there was no doubt about the quality of his physical strength. He could use this inhibitor! Of course, he hoped he would never need to use it. ¡°Wait a second¡ª¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao thought of something. After human beings fused with a Zombie Core, they acquired abilities but also accumulated impurities in their bodies. The more Crystal Cores that fused, the more impurities would accumulate, increasing the risk of turning into a zombie. Could this inhibitor be used for such ¡°Ability Users ? They could kill zombies to obtain Crystal Cores, ensuring their physical fitness was exceptional, and their willpower might also be very firm, so the effect of using the Inhibitor would definitely be excellent. As for the side effects of the Inhibitor that might affect their health... they were on the verge of turning into zombies, so what did health matter anymore? Wang Tao felt that perhaps this was the right way to use the Inhibitor. However, that was a matter for the future; currently, it was still unknown if anyone could become an Ability User. After resealing the box containing the Inhibitor and locking it up, Wang Tao turned his attention to the last section inside the airdrop crate. Rubbing his hands together, he opened it with a face full of anticipation. ¡°Hm? There are several small boxes inside? And there are buckles and shock-absorbing materials...¡± He pressed the buckles and opened one of the boxes. Upon seeing what was inside, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes instantly widened. ¡°Holy shit!¡± What did he see? Guns! He saw guns! The boxes were actually filled with guns! There were a total of 10 model 400 military handguns from the gun family! There were also 20 extra magazines, 10 silencers, and 10 boxes of 5.8mm handgun bullets, each box labeled with 100 bullets, totaling 1000 bullets! Wang Tao guessed that the reason his airdrop had a parachute, unlike some of the others, was probably because it contained weapons and ammunition. If it was just food, clearly a parachute wouldn¡¯t be necessary. Wang Tao took out a handgun to fiddle with; he had actually handled real guns before, from filming a movie to visiting a shooting range. The guns from filming were not worth mentioning; they were old and never actually fired, not even blanks¡ªit was all special effects. The guns at the shooting range could be fired, but each bullet cost him 20 yuan. Wang Tao had only tried a few times; his family¡¯s financial situation didn¡¯t allow for more. He did have some understanding of guns, though. Now, getting his hands on these real guns, he couldn¡¯t hide his excitement- after all, what man doesn¡¯t like guns? ¡°With these guns, dealing with zombies shouldn¡¯t be anything less than one shot, one kill!¡± Although Wang Tao¡¯s shooting skills might be average, zombies wouldn¡¯t necessarily dodge on purpose. Within close range, a headshot should still be no problem. Zombies might withstand a few blows from him, but definitely not a bullet. However, there was a problem-the noise from firing a gun was too loud! So-called silencers only suppress the sound; they cannot completely silence it. If the consequence of killing a few zombies was to be attacked by a large crowd of them, then Wang Tao thought that using cold weapons wasn¡¯t such a bad idea. Inside the box with the weapons was an envelope, which Wang Tao opened. Inside were three pieces of paper. The first piece of paper detailed the basic operation of handguns, complete with illustrations, and had a warning in red: Unless absolutely necessary, do not fire the gun! Gunshots will attract a large number of zombies! Silencers are not very effective! It is best to move in groups for mutual lookout and to have a quick evacuation route after firing. Otherwise, the danger of using a gun far outweighs its lethality. Wang Tao agreed with this advice. He liked the guns, but would not consider using them unless absolutely necessary. The second piece of paper outlined the Government¡¯s understanding of the apocalyptic situation. It mentioned that the apocalypse came too suddenly, without any warning signs. The Government was also unprepared, despite having many civil defense projects. The initial spread of the zombie virus was unimaginable and unstoppable. The local Governments and the Government of Qian Country had lost touch with one another. The unit behind this airdrop was not from Red Stone Base as Wang Tao had thought, but rather from Wuyang Military Base. The situation at Wuyang Military Base was also grim; they were barely able to protect themselves after the disaster and could not carry out any rescue operations. They also encouraged citizens to take up arms and defend themselves. As for whether there would be another airdrop, the letter said... not to get one¡¯s hopes up.. Chapter 42 - 42 Accidental Encounter with a Survivorl Chapter 42: Accidental Encounter with a Survivorl Translator: 549690339 ¡°Huff¡ª¡± After finishing the second piece of paper, Wang Tao let out a sigh. Although he knew the situation outside couldn¡¯t be good, the confirmation still left him somewhat disappointed. There was one last piece of paper in the envelope. It provided instructions on how to contact their base using radio, the specific location of their base, and a blueprint. This blueprint was not a map, but a zombie blueprint. It contained information about all the varieties of zombies encountered so far! Compared to the means of communication, Wang Tao was more interested in the zombie blueprint. After all, he was too far away from the military base to contact them, even if he knew how. But the information on the zombies in the blueprint would definitely be of great help to Wang Tao. There were more than twenty types of zombies detailed on the blueprint, among which Wang Tao saw a few familiar ones. The stealthy zombie he had encountered before was called ¡°The Taciturn.¡± The Taciturn would silently hide in dark places or disguise themselves as human corpses. They made no sound and their perception was weak. They would only discover their prey when it came close and then suddenly launch a deadly attack. The fighting capabilities of this type of zombie were actually similar to that of ordinary zombies, but because of their ambush tactics, many people were killed by The Taciturn. Inside houses, they were a very dangerous type of zombie... The child zombie that Wang Tao had seen, capable of short sprints, was officially called ¡°Sprinters.¡± They moved faster than ordinary zombies and had higher attack power. When prey was within a close distance, they would activate their sprinting ability. A single Sprinter was not much of a threat, but if a Sprinter mixed in with other zombies and launched a surprise attack, then survivors would be in great danger... There was also the Screaming zombie Wang Tao had encountered and run over with his car, which was called ¡°Screamers.¡± They were weaker than ordinary zombies, much weaker. An adult male with normal physical strength could easily take one on using a melee weapon. But these zombies were highly sensitive to noise, and before they spotted a human, they would prepare and, once ready, emit an ear-piercing scream that could attract nearby, especially special, zombies. If you killed a Screamer before it could scream, there was no problem. But if you let a Screamer get its scream out, the best option was to run! Otherwise, being surrounded by the horde meant only death... As for the Big Hammer Zombie Wang Tao had encountered today, there was also a description, but not much. Big Hammer Zombies were called ¡°Terrorizers¡± and appeared a few days after the apocalypse began, at a time when everyone was looking out for themselves, and no one would proactively hunt them. Terrorizers were slow but could use weapons, with high attack power and defensive power. Their attacks also came with shockwaves that science couldn¡¯t explain... As for the characteristic of being sensitive to light, it wasn¡¯t mentioned. It seems that no one had discovered that... Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered some of the other zombie types yet, but he committed the information of these zombies to memory, certain that it would be useful in the future. The material also mentioned that most zombies were afraid of fire. If one wanted to establish a Survivor Base, fire was an indispensable element. At the end of the material, the Zombie Core was also mentioned. It said that only strong zombies carried this Zombie Core thing, but its exact use was currently unknown because several volunteers who had tried to experiment with it all suffered failure and substantial side effects. They speculated that the Crystal Core, once consumed, would likely enhance human physical capabilities, but with significant side effects. If anyone wanted to use it, they had to be psychologically prepared. They didn¡¯t recommend its use in principle... After Wang Tao had read through all three pieces of paper, he carefully put them away and stored them in the box where the weapons were kept. As for the guns, after thinking it over, he decided to take out one and load it with to bullets. While guns might not be needed, it was best to prepare in advance, just in case they proved crucial at a critical moment. Then, Wang Tao packed up the airdrop, as all of it needed to be taken back. It was a pity that these items couldn¡¯t be put into the Space Backpack; that would have made things much easier. By this time, the sun was already setting. The sunset was beautiful, but Wang Tao was in no mood to appreciate it. He prepared for himself a simple dinner that was filling, and while he was halfway through eating, his gaze suddenly sharpened. Because he saw that a group of people had emerged in the distance! There were six of them in total, four men and two women, all covered in grime and carrying large and small packs. They were brandishing some homemade weapons, and was that a police officer among them? ¡°There are actually survivors coming out...¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat surprised. It wasn¡¯t strange to find other survivors, the world was so large, there were certainly people who had lived through the catastrophe. But for survivors to come out at this time... did they think they had nine lives? It was about to get dark! Even he didn¡¯t dare to venture out at night... However, Wang Tao quickly realized that he might have misunderstood. These survivors hadn¡¯t emerged in the evening, but had been out since before and had walked until dusk. Because they were hiding in a corner, pointing at the water plant and discussing it, it seemed they wanted to come over to seek shelter but were somewhat afraid to do so. Wang Tao had no intention of going out to greet them. Having dealt with all sorts of people throughout his life, he was well aware of the potential malice in human hearts. Especially now, with his abundance of supplies and being wounded, he had to be even more cautious. Though the small building where Wang Tao was staying was at a distance from the entrance, there was little to no obstruction in between, allowing him to observe the outside clearly. The group of survivors cautiously entered the water plant, and upon finding the gate unlocked, they all became excited. But a young man with dyed yellow hair got a scare when he noticed the zombie that Wang Tao had killed with a hammer in the security booth, and he ran back into the crowd in a panic. ¡°There¡¯s a zombie!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic, we outnumber it. One zombie won¡¯t be able to overpower us!¡± A woman dressed in black police uniform drew her service pistol, aimed it at the security booth, and called out in a low voice. When the policewoman spoke, the others seemed to find their pillar of strength and instantly tightened their grip on their makeshift weapons like kitchen knives, steel pipes, and table legs, encircling the security booth in a fan formation. The policewoman was about to suggest she should check it out when a skinny young man next to her suddenly spoke: ¡°Wife, why don¡¯t you take a look?¡± ¡°...Hmm.¡± The policewoman opened her mouth but then said nothing. She put away her pistol and then carefully took out her baton from her waist and approached the security booth cautiously. The others followed her, weapons in hand. The policewoman arrived at the security booth and took a careful look inside at the zombie. Seeing the bloody hole in its head, she instantly breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone! The zombie inside is dead!¡± Upon hearing that the zombie was dead, the crowd dared to exhale loudly. The policewoman¡¯s husband was still not entirely at ease. He went for another look, and seeing that the zombie was indeed dead, he straightened his back. ¡°However, how this zombie died, based on the wound, it looks like it hasn¡¯t been dead for long...¡± The policewoman furrowed her brow, looking towards the water plant. Could there be someone inside...? Inside the small building. Wang Tao, after watching the situation with the group of survivors outside, immediately relaxed. ¡°So, they¡¯re just a bunch of rookies....¡± Chapter 43 - 43 Night Walk of Hundred Corpses_l Chapter 43: Night Walk of Hundred Corpses_l Translator: 549690339 | ¡°Do you think there might be other survivors in here? After entering the water plant, another girl, petite and covered in dust, whispered. ¡°Probably not?¡± A slightly chubby crew-cut man responded uncertainly. ¡°I hope not, hope we don¡¯t run into other survivors...¡± The petite girl muttered. This made everyone fall silent suddenly. Before they set out, they had hoped to encounter other survivors, for there was strength in numbers. But due to certain events, they had lost trust in survivors outside of their team. ¡°TO be precise, we hope not to run into survivors with ill intentions!¡± The female officer corrected the petite girl, then encouraged the group. ¡°Even in peaceful times, there are scumbags in society, let alone now. We can¡¯t let a few scumbags lead us to deny humanity as a whole. We must always remember, unity makes us stronger! Of course, we should still be cautious...¡± The previous events had been distressing for the police officer, but she still needed to boost everyone¡¯s morale, to not give up. After all, their destination was a Survivor Base. If they lost complete trust in others, they would never reach the Survivor Base. ¡°Officer Han is right! We shouldn¡¯t be too pessimistic. There are still good people in the world, like at the Survivor Base we¡¯re heading to. But there are also bad people, and that¡¯s why we need to stay alert!¡± A student-looking young man quickly pitched in. The female officer named Han gave him an approving look. in times of crisis, the pressure from the outside wasn¡¯t the scariest thing, but internal strife and loss of hope were. As long as they held onto even a sliver of hope for the future, their chances of survival would greatly increase! ¡°Right, right! We have to believe that we can make it to the Survivor Base alive!¡± The others quickly agreed, slightly more upbeat. The male student, buoyed by Officer Han¡¯s approving gaze, puffed out his chest. Officer Han¡¯s husband watched the student with a an unpleased gaze, though he didn¡¯t say anything. Officer Han carefully surveyed the surroundings, keeping to herself the thought that, judging from the wounds on that security guard turned zombie¡¯s head, it had died not long ago. There might really be people in this water plant... She needed to be careful! The water plant was quite spacious and free of zombies, so the group quickly reached the small building where Wang Tao was. ¡°Officer Han, why don¡¯t we rest here for the night... The petite girl spoke timidly. She was afraid of encountering zombies if they ventured further. Before Officer Han could reply, her husband immediately said: ¡°No! Haven¡¯t you noticed that this building has been abandoned for a long time7 The moss has climbed so high! The door is also locked! And we need to do more than just rest, we need to find food! We can¡¯t make it to the Survivor Base without food! Now that there are no zombies in the water plant, it¡¯s the perfect opportunity for us to scavenge.¡± Seeing the group¡¯s hesitation, he asked: -Do you want to scavenge for food now when it¡¯s safer, or would you prefer to search in more dangerous places with zombies tomorrow? With that, everyone felt that taking some small risks now was better than facing greater danger later. Still, the group subconsciously looked towards Officer Han, as she had saved them and protected them all the way. Officer Han¡¯s husband¡¯s face darkened instantly. He felt this was the most sensible decision right now, and anyone with a brain should agree, rather than looking to others for confirmation. ¡°A bunch of spineless creatures!¡± He cursed inwardly. ¡°I think Wei Guang is right, let¡¯s go inside the building and check it out...¡± After pondering for a moment, Officer Han nodded. Although she felt that if there were any survivors, they¡¯d most likely be in that building. But not all survivors were necessarily bad people; they could communicate with one another. On the other hand, zombies were enemies, it was a fight to the death upon encounter! So, taking some risks now was worth it. If they could really find some food, then they wouldn¡¯t need to take too many risks later on. Only after getting Officer Han¡¯s approval did everyone slowly head towards the building. Officer Han, wielding a baton, led the way at the front, with the male college student carrying a table leg right behind her. In the middle were Officer Han¡¯s unarmed husband and the petite female student, while Blondy and the slightly chubby buzz-cut man followed behind, each holding a kitchen knife and a steel pipe, respectively. The water plant¡¯s building had three floors, and the door was open. The group entered cautiously. Inside the decrepit building. Behind the curtain, Wang Tao watched the group leave and immediately frowned. ¡°Survivor Base? Could it be the Red Stone Survivor Base? No, that can¡¯t be right. Red Stone Base is fifty kilometers from here! These people couldn¡¯t possibly make it that far...¡± Suddenly, as if recalling something, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°I heard on the walkie-talkie before that there¡¯s a survivor base at Shuize University, and it¡¯s not too far from here... They might be heading to Shuize University!¡± Wang Tao was quite interested in the Survivor Base. If these people came from the Survivor Base to look for supplies, Wang Tao might go and ask them for details. But it was clear that these people hadn¡¯t been to the Survivor Base yet; they were just planning to go there, so they probably didn¡¯t know much, which meant Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested anymore. Letting the curtain fall back into place, Wang Tao checked the entire building to ensure all doors and windows were locked securely, then returned to his room and took out his radio, walkie-talkie, and cell phone. He glanced at his phone. Still no signal. Carrying the phone was purely out of habit; in the past, even going to the bathroom, he always had to have his phone in hand. He then turned on his radio and walkie-talkie, still just static noises without any signal. However, Wang Tao seemed to be thoroughly entertained. The sun set. Darkness slowly engulfed the land. Wang Tao could distinctly feel that something outside was... different. During the day, it was actually very quiet outside, hardly any noises at all. But at night, he could vaguely hear various growling sounds coming from outside. Even without going out, just hearing these sounds was enough to send chills down anyone¡¯s spine. Wang Tao took a deep breath and, after ensuring again that the room was safe, prepared to go to bed. Before sleeping, he habitually lifted the curtain to check the scene outside the window. Then, his pupils contracted in an instant. ¡°What the hell!¡± He saw on the distant street a swathe of heads moving like a dark tide! They twisted their shapes and trudged slowly in this direction. Zombies, all of them were zombies! Chapter 44 - 44 Suzaku University Base_1 Chapter 44: Suzaku University Base_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°What¡¯s happening!¡± Wang Tao quickly took out his binoculars. Looking at the vast expanse of ferocious figures, his scalp tingled. At a glance, there were at least tens of thousands of zombies! With so many zombies, anyone who came would die! In his heart, he even felt a moment of panic, but he quickly forced himself to calm down. Because panicking now was useless, he could only adapt to the situation as it unfolded. Wang Tao immediately went downstairs, packed up his things, and if he really was to be besieged by that many zombies, his only option would be to flee by car. Although driving at night was almost like courting death, it was still better than being torn apart by zombies here. Of course, this was a worst-case scenario. He still had a bottle of Stealth Potion in his hand, which he had intended to keep for the return trip. But if there was no other choice, he would have to use it now. After getting everything ready, Wang Tao returned to the upstairs window, and after waiting for more than ten minutes, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°They¡¯re not heading for the water plant, thank goodness! But¡ª These zombies didn¡¯t seem organized, just wandering on the streets. They came from the east side of the road and then left from the west. ¡°But damn it, so many zombies have entered the water plant!¡± Looking at the zombies in the water plant, Wang Tao felt a headache coming on. He thought he should have locked the gate of the water plant-no, wrong, even if he locked it, those survivors would definitely come and pry it open... Anyway, no matter what, quite a few zombies had gotten in, but it wasn¡¯t to the extent that he felt he had to risk his life to run... he could only wait for now. Wang Tao let the curtains fall, then went to the top floor to take a light nap. The rooftop was quite far from the zombies below, and his ¡°human scent¡± would definitely be much fainter there, which naturally meant it would be a lot safer. As dawn was about to break. Wang Tao, who was in the middle of sleeping, suddenly heard a scream from afar. He reflexively got up, grabbed his weapon, and then went to the window, parted the curtains, and took a peek. ¡°It¡¯s coming from the water plant building... Those survivors are in trouble!¡± The moonlight was good that night, and Wang Tao saw that the glass doors under the distant building had shattered, and plenty of zombies were somewhat frantically squeezing inside. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see what was happening inside, but if those survivors were smart, there was still a chance they could survive, as the rooms inside the building weren¡¯t doorless. Or they could block the stairs with some stuff to prevent the zombies from getting up. ¡°It all depends on whether they¡¯re smart enough... Wang Tao shook his head. Now that it was morning, and he no longer felt sleepy, he habitually fiddled with the radio and the walkie-talkie. Then he suddenly heard a voice coming from the walkie-talkie! ¡°Zzz... This is Suzaku University Survivor Base, please respond if you receive this, please respond... Zzz...¡± After hearing the tired female voice repeat several times, Wang Tao then pressed the PTT button on the walkie-talkie. ¡°Received, this is the water plant, this is the water plant... Wang Tao also repeated several times. While pressing the PTT button on the walkie-talkie, it could only transmit one¡¯s voice, but not receive. Therefore, it had to be repeated several times to avoid missing the conversation. After a moment. ¡°Survivor, hello! Please repeat your location, I didn¡¯t hear you clearly! Please repeat... Zzz... It¡¯s so good to make contact...¡± Wang Tao repeated: ¡°I¡¯m at the water plant, I¡¯m at the water plant...¡± ¡°Heard you, I heard you! How is the water plant fairing, is it safe? Wang Tao glanced at the zombies downstairs. ¡°It¡¯s temporarily safe, but there are zombies everywhere downstairs.¡± The other party paused for a moment and then added. ¡°Sorry, we can¡¯t offer you help at the moment, but we have established a Survivor Base at Shuize University. If you can leave the water plant safely, you can come to the Suzaku University Base. We¡¯ll provide you with safety and food, and you¡¯d only need to do some work for the construction of the base...¡± It sounded quite promising. -By the way, how many survivors do you have at your water plant? How long can your food supply last?¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment and said: ¡°There are six of us in total, including one female officer.¡± ¡°Female officer... Ah, I see, are you the group saved by Officer Han Rui? Han Rui? Wang Tao confirmed: ¡°Yes, that¡¯s Officer Han. But they¡¯re all asleep now, haven¡¯t woken up yet.¡± To prevent the other party from asking directly about Officer Han Rui, Wang Tao preemptively closed the topic. II II The person on the other end did indeed want to inquire whether Han Rui was present, as a professional police officer would definitely have better communication skills in some matters than ordinary people. But since they were asleep, it wouldn¡¯t be good to wake them up. In such times, maintaining one¡¯s condition was very important. ¡°May I ask about the situation at your Shuize University Base?¡± Wang Tao asked further. ¡°Of course, there are currently over three hundred survivors at our Shuize Base...¡± Upon hearing this number, Wang Tao was immediately surprised. Having over three hundred survivors was quite significant! After listening a while longer, Wang Tao also roughly understood the situation at the Suzaku University Base. Before the apocalypse struck, Shuize University was undergoing renovations, and due to the strong paint fumes, had given a two-day break. When the apocalypse hit, the university was mostly empty aside from a few staff on duty, so there weren¡¯t many zombies there. Next to the university was a Security Army squad, which had experienced a large-scale infection internally. Those of the Security Army who survived grabbed weapons and ammo and ran out. As they fled, they rescued civilians, and taking a liking to Shuize University, they established a Survivor Base there. The Security Army had thermal weapons and were physically fit. With some police officers joining them in the middle, they managed to save many people. Even Huangfeng Film City, which was some distance away from Shuize University, had many actors and actresses rescued and brought over. The current state of the Suzaku University Base wasn¡¯t just strong, but it had settled down. Every survivor in the base could find something to do, with access to food and safety... It was arguably the best Survivor Base in Shuize County. Many people nearby wanted to go there, but even a few kilometers journey involved life-threatening risks. Officer Han Rui and her group had heard of the Suzaku University Base from another location, then managed to make contact with Shuize Base. After learning more, they decided to take the risk to go there... Having understood everything he needed to know, Wang Tao said: ¡°Thank you very much for the information! I must go now, the walkie-talkie is running out of battery. I hope we can meet in the future.¡± ¡°Mhm mhm, good luck to you all! Our radio frequency is... We will turn it on at scheduled times every day...¡± The other party relayed some more information before ending the conversation. Wang Tao, stroking his chin stubble, muttered: ¡°This Suzaku University Base could be a good place to head to. But this is only one side of the story, we can¡¯t completely trust it until we see it with our own eyes....¡± Chapter 45 - 45: Forced Suicide l Chapter 45: Forced Suicide l Translator: 549690339 After breakfast, the sun had also risen. Wang Tao lifted a corner of the curtain to take a look outside. ¡°Crap!¡± Good news: the horde of zombies from last night had all left. Bad news: some of the zombies had stayed behind in the water treatment plant! Moreover, the zombies that had remained seemed to have increased in number since he had gone to sleep the night before. He wasn¡¯t sure if they were attracted by the Screaming. ¡°Looks like I won¡¯t be able to return today...¡± Wang Tao looked at the zombies inside the water plant and then at his own HP bar[80/300], deciding that it was still too risky to venture out today. He had a car, but there was only one road out of the water plant, and it was infested with zombies. He could manage hitting a few zombies with his car, but with so many of them around... he didn¡¯t dare to bet on whether the car could withstand more damage than the zombies. If the car stalled... that would mean death! He couldn¡¯t be hasty today. After all, he had plenty of food here, as well as Purified Water; everything was good except for the lack of electricity, so he could afford to wait a bit longer. Wang Tao glanced again at the water treatment plant building, looking somewhat surprised. ¡°Are those survivors still alive?¡± He brought out his binoculars and took a closer look. He saw a group of people lying haphazardly on the rooftop of the building, covered with clothes. The female officer named Han Rui was on guard alone, wielding a baton and a pistol. Wang Tao counted carefully and saw only five people; they were six yesterday, so one was missing. Given the circumstances, the consequences of being one person short were self-evident. Wang Tao took a closer look at the situation on the rooftop and immediately understood. ¡°Pretty smart...¡± Inside the building, there were many staircases leading up, which they would not have been able to block off completely. But there was only one way up to the rooftop. So they had all made it to the rooftop and blocked that single path, preventing the zombies from getting up. Soon, the sleeping survivors began to wake up one after another, and only then did Han Rui go to rest. The male college student brought some food to Han Rui, and she thanked him. Han Rui¡¯s husband was lying on the edge of the rooftop, looking down and swearing under his breath. After watching for a while, Wang Tao began his recovery exercises¡ªhe still had injuries, and moderate exercise would help the healing process. After intermittent training all morning, Wang Tao started to prepare lunch. While eating, he observed the group of survivors again. He then noticed that there seemed to be some arguments among the survivors. Han Rui¡¯s husband was loudly saying something to the petite girl, who knelt on the ground covering her face and crying. Han Rui and the male college student hurried over to mediate, while Blondy argued angrily with Han Rui¡¯s husband before tightly hugging the petite girl¡¯s shoulders. She then buried herself in Blondy¡¯s embrace and cried her heart out. Han Rui¡¯s husband, somewhat restless, went off to be by himself. Wang Tao suddenly found that observing others could be quite interesting. Since he didn¡¯t have much else to do, he considered it a way to pass the time. Night fell. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go to bed early, but instead intentionally waited at the window. Indeed, the number of zombies on the streets started to increase again. These zombies preferred to be active at night, but there weren¡¯t as many as the previous night. ¡°Huh?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao let out a quiet exclamation. He noticed that some of the zombies inside the water treatment plant had followed the others and left! Wang Tao was surprised. Early the next day, the first thing Wang Tao did upon waking was to go to the window. ¡°As expected, there are fewer zombies! Maybe they left because they couldn¡¯t find any fresh blood?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t fully understand, but it was certainly good news. Nothing happened today, survivors didn¡¯t lose anyone, and Wang Tao was very safe on his side. The second day at the water plant passed safely. At night, it was still the policewoman keeping watch over the survivors. Wang Tao observed the number of zombies in the water plant and sure enough, there were fewer of them! ¡°Looking at this situation, I estimate we can leave in another day!¡± The third day trapped in the water plant. Wang Tao was in a fairly good state of HP, he had recovered another 20 HP, now sitting at [100/300]. As the saying goes, injuries to the muscles and bones take a hundred days to heal. Many of his wounds were internal and even medical packs were of no use, there were no professional doctors around, so he could only rely on time to slowly recover. Wang Tao continued to observe the survivors on the roof not far away. Their situation seemed to be not so good, trapped on the rooftop for so long, everyone¡¯s Spirit was very poor, and it seemed they were running short on food, which led to quite a few disputes. Wang Tao felt that their little team might not be able to hold on much longer; after all, the disintegration of a team usually starts from within. But this had nothing to do with Wang Tao, they were doing well to keep themselves safe and had no capacity to care for others. However, since Wang Tao was preparing to leave tomorrow, driving would definitely cause some noise, attracting some zombies. If those survivors could seize this opportunity, they would have a good chance of escaping. At night, there were still many zombies strolling on the streets. After Wang Tao noticed another group of zombies follow the others and leave, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Now there might only be around twenty zombies left in the water plant, scattered around. Only two or three were blocking the main gate; he could definitely drive out during the day! ¡°Just wait patiently one more night!¡± After routinely checking on the group of survivors, he prepared to go to sleep. Lying in bed, Wang Tao suddenly thought of Ding Yuqin. ¡°I left her food and Purified Water, as long as she stays at home obediently, she should be very safe, no need for me to worry...¡± Early morning. Wang Tao got up extra early. He went to the window to look out, the situation was similar to last night, most zombies had left. ¡°Have breakfast, then leave!¡± After making some simple food, Wang Tao habitually observed the group of survivors again, then his eyebrows lifted. On the rooftop today, it was the policewoman¡¯s husband and the petite woman keeping watch together, while the other few survivors were still asleep, Yet the two of them, who were apparently at odds the previous two days, somehow ended up together. Literally together. Wang Tao quickly grabbed his phone, turned on the telephoto camera, and started recording. He loved gossip. A minute later, the two, still grubby, hurriedly got dressed. The policewoman¡¯s husband said something to the petite woman, and she looked terrified, but eventually nodded her head. Then the two approached the edge of the rooftop. A male university student was sleeping on the ground leaning against the edge, The policewoman¡¯s husband and the petite woman exchanged a glance, and then suddenly flipped him over. The male university student, still in his dream, didn¡¯t even have time to scream before plummeting down towards the ground! Splat¡ª Right below was the main gate, blocked by a few zombies. Blondy, lying on the ground nearby, seemed to hear the noise and woke up groggily. He got up and saw the people in front of him but was still not quite comprehending what was happening. The policewoman¡¯s husband didn¡¯t expect Blondy to wake up and seemed a bit flustered, but the petite woman suddenly pushed Blondy. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Blondy¡¯s Screaming abruptly woke the policewoman in the distance; she immediately prepared to come over and check, but her husband and the petite woman blocked her. The two seized the policewoman¡¯s arms, frantically saying something to her. The policewoman¡¯s husband was facing Wang Tao, and from the look of his lip movements, he seemed to be saying¡ª ¡°He... he killed himself... we... take the chance to escape....¡± Chapter 46 - 46 Test Subject_l Chapter 46: Test Subject_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°How could they...¡± Han Rui¡¯s expression was somewhat blank. They had all cheered each other up last night, agreeing to hold on for two more days, wait for the zombies downstairs to leave, and then they could all go to Shuize University Base... But, but why... Why did they commit suicide? Just two more days would have been enough! ¡°What on earth is happening!¡± Han Rui forced herself to calm down as her gaze became a bit stern. Ou Yingying couldn¡¯t bear to look directly into Han Rui¡¯s eyes and just sobbed with her head down. Sun Weiguang said with a sad face: ¡°Wife, right after Li Cheng woke up, he seemed mentally unstable, saying he wanted to die. Wu Fei and I were preparing to talk him out of it, but he suddenly jumped off the building! Wu Fei was closer, caught Li Cheng¡¯s arm, but was dragged down with him...¡± ¡°Li Cheng didn¡¯t seem like someone who had lost hope...¡± Han Rui scratched her messy hair somewhat frantically. Sun Weiguang secretly pinched Ou Yingying. Ou Yingying¡¯s body shuddered, and then she grabbed Han Rui¡¯s arm, sobbing and pleading: ¡°Sister Han, let¡¯s, let¡¯s escape now...¡± Sun Weiguang immediately grabbed Han Rui¡¯s shoulder and shook it: ¡°Yes, wife, let¡¯s get out of here quickly! Li Cheng¡¯s suicide, apart from despair for the world, might also have been intended to create an opportunity for us. The zombies downstairs have all gone after him. We can¡¯t let his good intentions go to waste!¡± Han Rui hastily broke free from the two and went to the edge of the rooftop to look down. She saw Li Cheng with his head covered in blood, likely having landed on it, probably dead on the spot. Wu Fei was still crawling on the ground, but his body was covered in blood, his blond hair dyed red. Most importantly, the zombies at the door had surrounded them both, and had even started to feast... Clearly, both of them were beyond saving! ¡°I... we¡¯re leaving!¡± Han Rui was not the type to dawdle. Since the situation was irreversible, there was no use saying anything further. Escaping now was the most opportune decision. She quickly led the two to pack up and go downstairs. The stairwell was free of zombies now, and the few zombies downstairs were all attracted by the two who had fallen, making Han Rui¡¯s path with her two companions unobstructed. The zombies feasting on the two paid no attention to their meal and did not notice the people descending. Han Rui immediately signaled to Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying with hand gestures to go to the nearby wall, which wasn¡¯t high and had no zombies nearby, making it possible to climb over and escape. Several zombies were still at the main gate, and without using guns, they clearly couldn¡¯t break through. Using guns would be suicidal. Therefore, climbing the wall was the best choice. Han Rui took one last look at the two teammates surrounded by zombies in the middle, feeling very sorrowful. They had arrived as six, but now only three remained. However, this was not the time to grieve. She did her best not to make any noise and waved to the two behind her. Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying hurried to follow, but during their escape, Ou Yingying felt as though someone was watching her. She instinctively looked back and saw a pair of bloodshot eyes staring intently at her from amidst the zombies. She shivered instantly, then tightly grabbed the edge of Sun Weiguang¡¯s clothing and ran without looking back. Only when he saw the policewoman climb over the wall last, did Wang Tao stop filming the video. He was initially just interested in watching the drama unfold, which was why he had taken out his phone to record it, but it turned into a witness of human ugliness. In fact, if the group of survivors had waited a little longer, until Wang Tao drove the zombies away later, they would have had a high chance of safely leaving without any losses. Of course, they didn¡¯t know that. And Wang Tao had no way to contact them. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t think this was his fault; it was already good enough that he could save himself, let alone others. He just felt it a pity that there were two less survivors in this world... The incident also served as a reminder for him: in this apocalypse, it¡¯s fine to trust others, but it¡¯s better to trust oneself! Looking at the two survivors now surrounded and being devoured by zombies, Wang Tao picked up his weapon. ¡°Let¡¯s see...¡± After he was fully equipped, Wang Tao left the building and ran toward the bottom of the tall building. Today, most of the zombies in the water plant had already left, apart from a few zombies at the gate, there were only four zombies left at the entrance of the building. The four zombies were not a big problem for Wang Tao. Especially in such an open space, even if he couldn¡¯t beat them, he could always run back. Jogging up to the entrance of the tall building, the zombies, perhaps too busy feasting, did not notice Wang Tao approaching. Wang Tao, armed with a spear made from a steel pipe in one hand and a steel pipe hammer in the other, attacked the two zombies. Wu Fei was filled with hatred. He hated himself for being blind enough to fall for such a venomous-hearted woman! He worked twelve hours a day, and out of his monthly salary of six thousand, he handed over four thousand to her! He¡¯d take care of her with warmth every day, treat her to big meals on weekends, and send her various small gifts on holidays! When she was sick, he¡¯d work during the day and spend the night in her hospital room to keep her company; when the apocalypse came, she was the first person he thought of... He thought he had done well enough. In what way had he wronged her? Why did she push him off the building? ¡°Bitch! Even as a ghost, I won¡¯t let you go¡ªwait, someone¡¯s coming!¡± ¡°He, he¡¯s killing zombies! He¡¯s so powerful! The zombies stand no chance against him!¡± ¡°If only I had his strength...¡± ¡°Save me¡ª¡± A few minutes later. With a thought, Wang Tao instantly stowed away the spoils of battle. [Obtained: purified water (small) *4] [Purified water (small): 5L, suitable for drinking] All four zombies had dropped purified water (small), and Wang Tao could never have enough purified water. In keeping with the excellent tradition of frugality, Wang Tao searched the four zombies again, finding several wallets and a box of cigarettes. Then he finally turned to look at the two unlucky survivors. The college student¡¯s neck had been bitten off, his eyes wide open, dead without closing them. To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, Blondy was not yet dead. [10/105] But he only had ten drops of HP left and was in a dying state. Wang Tao squatted down in front of Blondy, looking at the unfortunate soul whose thigh, arm, one eye, and half of his face had been eaten away, and frowned as he said, ¡°Do you have any consciousness left? If you do, blink.¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Blondy excitedly blinked his eyes like mad. ¡°Gurgle...¡± He tried to speak, but blood sprayed from his mouth as he opened it. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to die, don¡¯t talk.¡± Wang Tao stripped off a few articles of clothing from a nearby zombie, quickly wrapped Blondy¡¯s head, then grabbed his legs and dragged him back to the exterior of the small building. ¡°Wait outside.¡± After giving him that instruction, Wang Tao went inside the building, approached the air-dropped box, and took out a bottle of Inhibitor. He had been worried about not knowing the effects of the Inhibitor, and now, a test subject had presented itself! Chapter 47 - 47 Licking Dog Has Nothing Left_l Chapter 47: Licking Dog Has Nothing Left_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao¡¯s understanding of the inhibitor was entirely from what was written on paper. He wanted to see its effect firsthand. If he could save Blondy, that would naturally be better. If he couldn¡¯t, he didn¡¯t stand to lose anything, as he had 20 bottles of the inhibitor¡ªmissing one wouldn¡¯t matter. Holding the last bottle of inhibitor, Wang Tao walked out. in just that short time, Blondy¡¯s green HP bar was down to five dots of blood. It was unclear whether he would die first after his HP ran out or... turn directly into a zombie? Wang Tao squatted next to Blondy, looking at the black lines slowly appearing on his neck. He speculated that after infection, running out of HP would likely mean direct transformation into a zombie. ¡°Still alive? If you are, blink your eyes.¡± Wang Tao asked Blondy. Blondy lifted his one eye to look at Wang Tao, his gaze somewhat vacant, but he still blinked with difficulty. Wang Tao took out a tube of the inhibitor and waved it in front of him. ¡°This is the inhibitor, something the Government developed to fight the zombie virus.¡± As soon as he said this, it was obvious that there was a glint of hope in Blondy¡¯s eyes. ¡°But it can¡¯t completely detoxify you, it can only suppress the outbreak of the zombie virus. If I use the inhibitor on you now, you won¡¯t mutate into a zombie, but it¡¯s unclear when the virus might flare up again. You would need to continue using the inhibitor.¡± Blondy showed no disappointment. In his current state, he wasn¡¯t asking for much-being able to live even one more day would be enough to make him secretly happy. ¡°However, this inhibitor comes with serious side effects. Plus, only those with strong physical constitutions or willpower can use it. Otherwise, even if used, it¡¯ll still be death. So, are you ready?¡± Blondy used the last of his strength to start blinking frantically. ¡°Very good.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The inhibitor could be injected or taken orally. But before pouring the inhibitor into his mouth, Wang Tao added: ¡ö¡öNow, think about the reasons you can¡¯t die. For example, your parents are still waiting for you to come to their rescue. Or, the woman who just got you tailed is still alive and well...¡± ¡°Mmm-¡± Blondy¡¯s one eye instantly widened, filled with a hue of resentment. So Wang Tao said no more and directly squeezed Blondy¡¯s mouth, forcing the entire bottle of the inhibitor down. Gulp- After drinking the inhibitor, Blondy¡¯s whole body started to convulse. It didn¡¯t seem like suppression, but rather like he was about to turn into a zombie. ¡°Could it be ineffective...¡± Wang Tao took a step back, his hand gripping the horned hammer. If he saw Blondy¡¯s HP turn red, he would not hesitate to deal a blow with the hammer. After waiting another two minutes, watching as Blondy was down to the last drop of blood, with Wang Tao already lifting the hammer, suddenly, Blondy s body stopped shaking, the black lines on his neck began to fade, and his green HP bar surged to 20, but his HP limit dropped by 20 drops. [20/85] ¡°Are you conscious?¡± ¡°...Yeah.¡± Blondy, with his eyes closed, responded with a nasal ¡°yeah.¡± ¡°How did it feel just now?¡± ¡°Pain... my whole body hurt... felt like my head was going to explode...¡± ¡°Good, welcome... back to life.¡± Wang Tao patted his shoulder, then went to get a medical kit. He administered some hemostatics and sedatives, and roughly, yet amateurishly, bandaged his wounds. Throughout this, Blondy gritted his teeth. After everything was taken care of, Blondy¡¯s HP bar increased by another 10 drops. The effects of the military medical kit were immediately apparent! ¡°Thank you...¡± Blondy looked at Wang Tao with a face full of gratitude. ¡°NO need to thank me, I just wanted to test the effect of the inhibitor, using you as a guinea pig,¡± Wang Tao replied. The truth really does hurt. But Blondy was still very grateful. No matter what the masked man¡¯s intentions were, the fact that he had saved him was undeniable. Especially since he had just been betrayed by someone he was close to, and then rescued by Wang Tao right after, his feelings of gratitude were beyond words... ¡°Smoke?¡± Seeing Blondy¡¯s eyes light up, Wang Tao took out a cigarette, roughly stuffed it into Blondy¡¯s mouth, and lit it for him. ¡°Tell me about what happened to you guys, what exactly went down between you?¡± Wang Tao was very curious about their situation, and didn¡¯t mind getting the full story before he left. After taking a deep drag, Blondy¡¯s spirit seemed much improved, and he began to explain: ¡°I, my name is Wu Fei...¡± Ten minutes later, Wang Tao had a rough understanding of the whole story. Before the apocalypse, Wu Fei worked at an electronics factory in the neighboring city, where he met Ou Yingying online, a fellow factory worker. To pursue Ou Yingying, he had expended a great deal of effort and resources, and only managed to win her over after half a year. During the pursuit, Wu Fei gave a lot. After getting together with her, he gave even more. He treated Ou Yingying as if she were his wife. However, the two had never progressed beyond hugging and holding each other until then. Ou Yingying said she wanted to save the best for their wedding night. Wu Fei was not only not angry when he heard this, but also very happy. Because Ou Yingying mentioned ¡°wedding night¡±! Didn¡¯t that mean she was willing to marry him? After the apocalypse hit, Wu Fei lost communication with his parents, and with his hometown being over a thousand kilometers away, he could do nothing. Ou Yingying, on the other hand, took the initiative to call him for help, and Wu Fei agreed without a second thought. Under the power of love, he even cleverly killed a zombie to see Ou Yingying! After that, they depended on each other for survival, with Wu Fei giving most of the food to Ou Yingying. When they ran out of food, Police Officer Han Rui and her husband Sun Weiguang showed up. Officer Han Rui said they were heading to the Suzaku University Survivor Base and asked if they wanted to join. Staying where they were was a death sentence, but following Han Rui provided not only food but protection... they had no choice. Then, on the road, they encountered a few more people and set off together. On their journey, they were extorted by a ruthless group of survivors. If it weren¡¯t for Han Rui, they might have all ended up as zombie fodder... After that came the situation Wang Tao saw; they had arrived at the water plant. Although there were some disputes among the team, they were still relatively harmonious. But on the first night, his girlfriend was scared by the zombies outside, screamed, and attracted a lot of zombies. During the escape, one of their companions got bitten. Because of this incident, Sun Weiguang held a significant grudge against Ou Yingying¡ªeven not just Sun Weiguang, the faces of Han Rui and the male college student Li Cheng were also quite grim, but they didn¡¯t say much more. Wu Fei even argued with Sun Weiguang to defend his girlfriend. Afterwards, the group spent their time on the rooftop, all very agitated. This morning, while he was sleeping, he heard a noise. Just as he opened his eyes and got up, without understanding the situation, he was pushed down by Ou Yingying. Even now, he couldn¡¯t understand why Ou Yingying wanted to kill him-he didn¡¯t see the male college student fall to his death, and after he fell, he was too scared by the approaching zombies to notice the body behind him... Wang Tao looked at him with a hint of pity in his eyes. Loyalty to the end, only to lose everything, Blondy. You really didn¡¯t fare well! Since Wu Fei had satisfied his curiosity, he naturally had to satisfy Wu Fei¡¯s doubts as well. Thus, Wang Tao showed Wu Fei the video he had taken. The unedited version, starting from the moment that despicable couple had hooked up. Chapter 48 - 48 Method for Purifying Water_l Chapter 48: Method for Purifying Water_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Bastards!¡± ¡°Slut!¡± nj f****** ¡± Upon seeing the video, Wu Fei¡¯s mouth suddenly turned into a Gatling gun. If words could kill, Wu Fei would have probably mowed down the whole world in these short minutes, without waiting for the apocalypse to arrive. ¡°You know why she wanted to kill you? Because you saw the evidence of them committing murder¡ªof course, you actually didn¡¯t see it, but they thought you did.¡± With the collapse of the world order, it was only a matter of time before people started harming others for their own benefit. Wang Tao had been prepared for that. The reason the two of them were afraid of their murderous acts being discovered was obviously because of Han Rui, the policewoman. Han Rui was obviously someone with a strong sense of justice, and if she discovered that they had killed a teammate, that would be problematic. Especially for Ou Yingying; she was even more afraid. After all, she and Han Rui had no familial ties... she couldn¡¯t be sure that Han Rui wouldn¡¯t kill her. So, to avoid trouble, she went ahead and killed even Wu Fei. One has to admit, this woman was very decisive. Regardless of her character, just on the basis of such ruthlessness, she would probably live a long time in this apocalyptic environment. ¡°No wonder, when I saw Han Rui and her husband before, this bitch kept sneaking glances at Sun Weiguang...¡± Wu Fei painfully grabbed his hair. Before, he thought Ou Yingying was just stealing extra looks at a handsome guy, just as he wanted to take more glances at officer Han Rui out of plain admiration, for he had no hidden intentions since they were a married couple. But who knew, Ou Yingying had already set her sights on him! And to think he had even argued with Sun Weiguang because of her... turns out he was the clown! ¡°As for their desire to kill that college student Li Cheng... I guess it¡¯s because Li Cheng kept showing kindness to officer Han Rui on the road, which annoyed Sun Weiguang. And Sun Weiguang wanted someone to attract the zombies, so he chose him...¡± After understanding all of this, the rage shooting from Wu Fei¡¯s sole eye was almost tangible. ¡°This pair of dogs, I¡¯ll make sure they don¡¯t die a good death!¡± ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t know if others will die, but if you keep getting this worked up, you might just die first.¡± Wang Tao pointed at the wound on Wu Fei¡¯s body that was bleeding a bit from his excessive agitation. Wang Tao glanced at his watch again. ¡°Got any questions? You have ten minutes.¡± ¡°You, that thing¡ª¡± Wu Fei pointed at the empty Inhibitor bottle on the ground. ¡°This is something that the Government¡¯s organization has had a large number of experts working on...¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced the Inhibitor. ¡°So how can I get the Inhibitor?¡± Wu Fei hadn¡¯t forgotten that Wang Tao told him he might need the Inhibitor in the future. ¡°Currently, I only know that there are Inhibitors in the supplies drop, so you need to pay attention to the supplies drop.¡± ¡°Supplies drop!¡± Wu Fei¡¯s eyes lit up; he had obviously seen the previous airplane supplies drop. ¡°Then, Big Brother, are you at the Survivor Base? Can you take me there? I¡¯ll repay you!¡± Wu Fei looked at Wang Tao with a longing gaze. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not at the Survivor Base, I¡¯m in my own home.¡± Upon hearing this, Wu Fei¡¯s face immediately fell into disappointment. He was at his own home, which obviously meant he wouldn¡¯t take a stranger like himself. ¡°I think you¡¯re capable of getting to the Survivor Base on your own,¡± Wang Tao said, looking at the wounds on Wu Fei¡¯s body. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if it was the side effects of using the Inhibitor or the aftereffects of Wu Fei¡¯s near infection and mutation, but he felt his body had become much stiffer, as if on the verge of turning into a zombie at any moment... although his physique seemed somewhat stronger. Wang Tao estimated that once he had recovered, even if his HP had dropped by 20, his strength should still be greater than that of an Ordinary person. As long as he could handle zombies one-on-one and be extra cautious on the road, there was a decent chance he could make it to the Survivor Base, especially since it wasn¡¯t too far away. Moreover, killing zombies could increase his HP cap, the more he killed, the stronger he became... Wang Tao left behind for Wu Fei the medical kit he had used, along with some food, then got into the vehicle under Wu Fei¡¯s watchful gaze. ¡°...This big brother actually drove out here?!¡± Wu Fei was dumbfounded. Only a real badass would dare to drive in an apocalyptic city! He suddenly regretted it, wishing he had shamelessly asked to follow this ¡°big brother¡±... He didn¡¯t even know this man¡¯s name or what he looked like... Wang Tao drove the pickup to the gate where four zombies were present. Since he had saved Wu Fei¡¯s life, he might as well extend his goodwill to the end and deal with these four zombies as well. In a few minutes, all the zombies were dead beneath his Horned Hammer. [Acquired: purified water (small) *4] Wang Tao discovered that zombies killed at the water plant seemed to always drop purified water! Maybe in the future, if he was short on water, he could come here to stock up? Lost in thought, Wang Tao locked the water plant gate. Now Wu Fei inside the water plant was essentially safe. Boom¡ª The pickup¡¯s engine let out a gentle roar as it left the water plant. From the balcony, Wu Fei watched the departing vehicle, murmuring to himself: ¡°Big brother, may we meet again if fate allows. If I¡¯m still alive, I, Wu Fei, will definitely repay you!¡± In the pickup, after driving out of the water plant¡¯s range, Wang Tao immediately injected himself in the arm with the ¡°Stealth Potion (Medium)1¡®. The familiar sensation returned. His body got colder, his breathing slowed, and his limbs felt heavier. ¡°Phew¡ªthis feeling is really unpleasant!¡± Using the Stealth Potion itself wasn¡¯t too uncomfortable; what was uncomfortable was the feeling of losing strength¡ªhis strength would diminish slightly after the injection. Even though the reduction wasn¡¯t much, for Wang Tao, who was accustomed to strength, it was still somewhat uncomfortable. In this post-apocalyptic world, no strength meant no sense of security. After the Stealth Potion took effect, Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle speed slowed down, and some zombies noticed the vehicle but didn¡¯t go berserk, only approaching curiously. By the time they got closer, the vehicle had already departed... This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t take the outer ring road; there was a monster with 10,000 HP in the forest beside the road, and he didn¡¯t dare to take that route. The Stealth Potion lasted an hour; even if he drove slowly, he could make it back. However, before going back, Wang Tao had one more thing to do: get some gasoline. As he passed a small parking lot and saw the intact vehicles, an idea struck Wang Tao. There were no zombies here; it was an excellent opportunity to scavenge for gasoline. He had previously taken three fuel barrels from a small restaurant, two of which contained fuel; the empty one would be just right for collecting gasoline. Additionally, he had drunk a barrel of purified water (small) in the past few days, and the leftover empty barrel could also be filled with gasoline. With tools in hand, he got out of the vehicle, and after some time, Wang Tao filled the 20L fuel barrel and the 5L water barrel with gasoline. ¡°Haha, now I can make Molotov cocktails! Suddenly, I¡¯m looking forward to encountering a Big Hammer Zombie again...¡± Happy Community. ¡°Thud, thud, thud¡ªYou damn whore, open the door, quick!¡± Hearing the knocking outside the bedroom, Ding Yuqin, pale and haggard, hugged her knees, curled up in a corner of the room, her eyes brimming with despair. ¡°Wang Tao, you really left me behind... Where are you... I hate you... sob sob....¡± Chapter 49 - 49 The Second Terrorizer_l Chapter 49: The Second Terrorizer_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Damn, could I have possibly jinxed it any worse...¡± Wang Tao was dumbfounded as he looked at a ¡°Terrorizer¡± zombie not far away. He had casually wished to encounter a Big Hammer Zombie, but he hadn¡¯t expected to run into one so soon! Detour? There was still time to take a detour. But to be honest, seeing the Terrorizer, he somewhat didn¡¯t want to leave. After all, this zombie could drop a Shockwave Zombie Core! ¡°What should I do?¡± Wang Tao glanced at the Terrorizer in the middle of the road in the distance and then checked the remaining time of the Stealth Potion below his HP bar. ¡°The effect of the Stealth Potion still has 40 minutes, and it will take about 20 minutes for me to go back, which means, I still have 20 minutes...¡± After hesitating for a moment, Wang Tao steeled his heart! ¡°Let¡¯s give it a try, and if it doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯ll retreat!¡± Wang Tao slowly parked his car in an alleyway on the side of the street which was a dead end, cluttered with a lot of rotting garbage, but no zombies. After getting out of the car, Wang Tao carefully surveyed his surroundings, then approached the door of a nearby house. The door was open, and inside was chaos, with a lot of black bloodstains on the floor and walls. Wielding a horned hammer, Wang Tao entered cautiously, searching around. All the food and such was gone, but he found what he wanted. ¡°Two glass seasoning bottles...¡± The bottles were empty, saving Wang Tao the trouble of cleaning them out. He went on to rummage through the next two neighboring houses¡ªalthough he only found one glass bottle, he did find a bag of laundry detergent. ¡°So many bottles are broken, what a pity... But three Molotov cocktails should be enough!¡± Wang Tao returned to his car, took out a can of gasoline, and filled each of the three glass bottles with a bit more than half but not more than two-thirds full of gasoline. The gasoline shouldn¡¯t be filled to the brim, otherwise, it might not ignite. After filling the bottles with gasoline, Wang Tao added different ingredients to each of the Molotov cocktails. The first bottle was mixed with sugar to extend the burning time. The second bottle was mixed with flour to increase the burning temperature. The third bottle was mixed with laundry detergent to boost its stickiness... Finally, he stuffed the mouths of the bottles as much as possible and inserted a piece of cloth as a wick. This made three simple Molotov cocktails¡ªoh, there was one more step, the bottles had to be wiped clean! Some gasoline had spilled on the bottles while pouring, and if not cleaned off, it could burn him as well. After making sure everything was ready, Wang Tao took a deep breath, grabbed all the equipment he could carry, including a handgun, and then got out of the car and headed towards the Terrorizer zombie. The effect of his Stealth Potion was still active; as long as he didn¡¯t get too close to the zombies, he would most likely not attract their attention. When he was about ten meters away from the Terrorizer, Wang Tao stopped. This Terrorizer resembled the ones he had encountered before, dressed in work clothes, towering over two meters tall, and wielding a reinforced concrete hammer as well. But this one seemed more ferocious, and it had more HP. [1200/1200] He guessed its strength might be even greater. However, strength didn¡¯t matter. After all, Wang Tao had no intention of a fair fight this time. After thoroughly scanning his surroundings, Wang Tao noticed an old two ¨C story building. The small building was directly under the sun, so if he stood on top of it and the Terrorizer tried to attack him, it would have to face the sunlight! The door to the building was locked. Looking through the broken glass of the security window revealed that the inside appeared to have been through a fierce battle, with bloodstains everywhere. Many pieces of furniture blocked the main door¡ªpicking the lock was pointless. He glanced at the building¡¯s exterior walls; the windows and other protrusions offered numerous handholds for climbing. Without a second thought, Wang Tao grabbed his stuff and started climbing the wall. A few minutes later, Wang Tao reached the rooftop of the second floor. Looking at the Terrorizer nearby, Wang Tao felt an itch to act, but he didn¡¯t attack immediately, instead, he took out a long rope. This rope, which was sturdy, had been in the pickup truck. He tied one end of the rope to the railing on the rooftop and threw the other end down. After ensuring that everything was in place, Wang Tao took a deep breath. He picked up several bricks and threw them at the Terrorizer in the distance. Thwack, thwack, thwack¡ª His accuracy with bricks wasn¡¯t great, only one managed to hit the Terrorizer. ¡°Roar???? ¡± After being hit, the Terrorizer immediately turned around, but he couldn¡¯t see who had thrown it. After all, Wang Tao was still under the effects of the Stealth Potion, which masked his scent. So, Wang Tao threw a few more bricks, deliberately using the noise to guide it. Sure enough, the Terrorizer followed the sound. When it reached the base of the building, it looked up at Wang Tao on the rooftop with some confusion, but the blinding sunlight made it instinctively shield its eyes with a hand. It was at this moment that Wang Tao lit the fuse of the Molotov cocktails with gasoline before sparking his lighter. Watching the Molotov cocktails ignite, Wang Tao hurled one down at the Terrorizer below. Crash The cocktail hit the Terrorizer square on the head without deviating. Boom Instantly, a fireball erupted, engulfing the Terrorizer; a string of numbers jumped out from its head. [-53] [-52] [-55] On the rooftop of the second floor, Wang Tao stepped back unconsciously from the blast of heat. ¡°Roar???? ¡± The burning Terrorizer zombie let out an angry roar. It had finally located Wang Tao on the rooftop. Although it didn¡¯t understand why the rooftop zombie would attack him, and even use fire... it just went with it. Amidst the flames, the Terrorizer raised its Big Hammer and slammed it into the building. Bang! A loud boom rolled out, along with a ring of Shockwave, and Wang Tao felt the building shake. ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing the Terrorizer smash a large hole in the building, revealing the red bricks inside, Wang Tao was a bit stunned. These old brick wall structures felt like they wouldn¡¯t hold up against such smashing! And such a loud noise would attract a lot of zombies! ¡°No, I must finish this quickly!¡± Wang Tao had initially planned to slowly kill it with the remaining Molotov cocktails, but now he was forced to change his mind. After gathering his belongings, Wang Tao grabbed the Rope and rappelled down from the rooftop. The Terrorizer in the sea of fire was unrecognizable, but it still had enough strength to hammer at the wall, and it seemed that it could still see Wang Tao as it brought the hammer down to the ground. The hammer missed, but the Shockwave hit Wang Tao. [-82] Wang Tao tasted something sweet in his throat. Enduring the pain in his body, he rolled to his feet and swiftly pulled out two pistols, firing at the Terrorizer. Bang bang bang After the sound of gunfire, various eerie roars echoed through the streets. Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged as he continued to pull the trigger. When several [-300] popped up above the Terrorizer¡¯s head, it fell down instantly. Braving the fire, Wang Tao hurried over to pry out a red transparent Crystal Core from the Terrorizer¡¯s skull, quickly collecting the loot, and then made a run for it. Rumble No sooner had Wang Tao left than a group of zombies arrived. The zombies saw Wang Tao from afar but didn¡¯t chase deeply. In their eyes, Wang Tao was one of their own. ¡°Phew???? ¡± Wang Tao, while running, patted the sparks off his body. Once he made it to his car and saw no zombies following, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. He quickly started the car and glanced at the loot in the Space Backpack. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: sensitivity to light)] Chapter 50 - 50 Ability - Shockwave_1 Chapter 50: Ability ¨C Shockwave_1 Translator: 549690339 Vroom- The car started and turned to leave via another road. Wang Tao suddenly felt that firing his gun just now seemed to have its benefits after all; it had at least attracted the surrounding zombies, so he could speed up a bit. Not until he had left the street did Wang Tao finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then he took out a painkiller from the military medical kit and plunged it into his arm. The Terrorizer¡¯s hammer strike, although not hitting him directly, had delivered a solid shockwave to him, taking off more than eighty HP. His wounds hadn¡¯t fully healed... and now his whole body was even more painfully sore. Fortunately, he was wearing thick clothes, with books on his body to block some of the damage. It was also lucky that he had dressed warmly, or he might have been burned while collecting the spoils of combat. Looking at the burnt holes in his clothes, even on the hood and the face mask, Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved. He had narrowly avoided disfigurement again... The painkiller worked well, and soon he felt much more spirited. Only then did he have the chance to check his spoils. Killing that Terrorizer had once again granted him an additional 40 HP limit. He reached [54/380], close to breaking through four hundred, but since his current HP had dropped quite a bit during the fight, he was still severely injured. Just like before, the Terrorizer¡¯s weapon was stored by Wang Tao in his Space Backpack, and the dropped parcel contained the same item, [Strength Potion (small) xl], but this time there was no blueprint. Finally, it was time for him to focus on his main objective- [ Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Sensitivity to light)] This time, the Crystal Core was not a white and transparent one but a transparent red crystal! Compared to the previous Crystal Core, the Quality had changed. The last one was ¡°Ordinary (20%)¡± and this one was ¡°Excellent (80%)!¡± Quality affects the success rate of fusion, indicating an 80% success rate for merging this Red Crystal Core! This success rate was impressive; as long as one wasn¡¯t extremely unlucky, the fusion would be stable. Of course, Wang Tao was aiming for a 100% success rate; he definitely wouldn¡¯t fuse this one now, as he intended to gather ten for synthesis¡ªwait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly paused. The first Shockwave Crystal Core had a fusion success rate of 20%, and this second one was at 80%. Didn¡¯t that mean the combined success rate was already 100%? He quickly looked at his Space Backpack, and noticed some changes in the cell where the Zombie Cores were stored. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave] [2/10 (Can be synthetized)] He could synthesize now! So this ¡°10¡± didn¡¯t mean that at least ten Cores were needed for one synthesis, but that up to ten Cores could be fused?! Just as Wang Tao was pondering synthesis, another prompt popped up. [The attributes after synthing ¡°Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave¡± will be:] [Quality: Ordinary (20%) + Excellent (80%) = Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% + 50% = 100%] [Impurities: None] [Side effects: None] ¡°After synthesis, the Quality will become 100%, and the Purity will be 100% as well! Stability maxed out, no impurities, side effects extracted too! What are we waiting for!¡± Without hesitation, Wang Tao chose to synthesize. Swish¡ª The cell in the Space Backpack where the Crystal Cores were placed burst into a burst of colorful light, and an Orange Zombie Core appeared. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (No side effects)] Seeing the Orange Zombie Core in the Space Backpack, Wang Tao felt his heartbeat quicken a bit. But Wang Tao still had his wits about him, he knew that merging this thing right now wasn¡¯t quite appropriate. It would be better to go back and do it. However, just as Wang Tao took the crystal core out from the space to admire it. He suddenly felt as if he hadn¡¯t eaten for days, and a delicious meal was placed in front of him. Instinctively, he bit into it. And then... he swallowed the beautiful orange crystal core. ¡°Fuck!¡± It was only after swallowing it that Wang Tao realized what he had done. He quickly stopped the car, touched his body, and tried to see if there were any changes. ¡°I feel a bit hot...¡± Wang Tao felt his body warming up, but that was all, no other changes occurred. The mild heat persisted for about three minutes. Then Wang Tao felt like he had grown a bit stronger, but not by much. He hurriedly checked his attributes. His HP limit didn¡¯t change, but his current HP increased by 10 points, turning into [64/380] Below his HP bar, a new blue bar had appeared¡ª[100/100] Seeing the blue bar, a realization suddenly dawned on Wang Tao. The blue bar represented his energy! He needed this energy to release the Shockwave! Then, next to the icon for the Space Backpack, an icon of a small fist appeared. Inside the fist icon, there was another icon with a wave pattern¡ª[Ability ¨C Shockwave] ¡°Do I really have an ability now?¡± Wang Tao felt it was somewhat surreal. Mainly because he didn¡¯t feel any major changes in his body... Thinking this, Wang Tao suddenly threw a punch at the air outside the car window. Thump¡ª Although it was a punch into the air, it made a ripple as if hitting water, visible to the naked eye! The diameter of the ripple was about one meter. At the same time, his blue bar dropped by 10 points. Then he punched the air again, but this time nothing happened. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Wang Tao had understood how to use the ability. As long as he thought about using the Shockwave Ability in his mind, he could manifest it. If he didn¡¯t want to use it, it would be just a normal attack. He could also roughly control how much energy to use; he just thought about using as little energy as possible and then used 10 points of energy. He could use even less or more energy in one go. But he had a feeling that using less energy required extremely precise control, which he was not capable of yet. If he used too much energy at once, he might end up drained or damage his body, and it seemed like the maximum energy he could use at once was around 20 points... Therefore, to wield this ability with ease, he had to learn and practice more! If two ability users with the same energy and skill were to fight head-on, the one more proficient in using their ability would undoubtedly win... But no matter what, Wang Tao was now a genuine ability user! He couldn¡¯t wait to roar out in excitement, after all, which man hadn¡¯t dreamt of having supernatural powers when they were a child? Although he wasn¡¯t quite at the level of soaring through the skies and burrowing into the earth, he believed that as long as he continued to grow stronger, he might get there one day! With this excited mindset, Wang Tao finally returned to Happy Community a minute before the effects of the Stealth Potion wore off. ¡°Hm? What happened?¡± Wang Tao suddenly frowned. Something seemed off; where were all the zombies in the courtyard? There were clearly more than twenty zombies in the yard, and when he left, the zombies didn¡¯t chase after him. Could it be that someone came out and lured the zombies away? No, the zombies went into the building! When Wang Tao saw that the door to Building 4 was open, his face suddenly turned grim.. Chapter 51 - 51 Crazy__l Chapter 51: Crazy__l Translator: 549690339 | The number of zombies in the courtyard of Happy Community had decreased, so Wang Tao simply parked his car inside the community. He also locked the main gate of the community. At that moment, the duration of the Stealth Potion had just ended, and Wang Tao felt his strength fully restored. He held a horned hammer in one hand and carried a can of oil from the car with the other. With his Ability, Wang Tao had grown bolder. However, he didn¡¯t head straight for Building No. 4; instead, he first went to Buildings No. 1, 2, and 3 to shut their lobby doors. There were obviously still zombies inside these buildings; he could hear them coming downstairs as he closed the doors. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to deal with them yet, but he had to prevent them from ambushing him while he was fighting. With the community gate locked and the doors of the three buildings shut, only the zombies in Building No. 4 remained. When Wang Tao arrived at the entrance of Building No. 4 and saw the zombies in the stairwell, he didn¡¯t go in but climbed onto the awning above the lobby door. Then he began to tap the metal oil can with the horned hammer. Dong dong¡ª As soon as the tapping sound echoed, it instantly attracted the attention of the zombies in the stairwell. ¡°Heh heh...¡± The zombies began to follow the sound and come out; after emerging, they seemed to catch Wang Tao¡¯s human scent and gradually became frenzied. But Wang Tao was now on the awning above the door, out of the zombies¡¯ reach, leaving them impotently raging below. In a short while, the number of zombies beneath him grew, forming a dense and terrifying crowd of about twenty or thirty heads. If Wang Tao fell, he would undoubtedly die. But Wang Tao was not panicked. When the timing felt right, he looked toward an open window on the second floor, about two meters away from him. It was precisely the window of apartment 201, left open when he had departed. First, Wang Tao threw the oil can inside, then he took off all his upper clothing, exposing a muscular torso covered in scars. Once stripped, the human scent of blood seemed more intense, making the zombies below even more frenzied. Wang Tao immediately threw down the bloody clothes. ¡°Heh heh¡ª¡± Following the scent, the zombies lunged at the clothes. Wang Tao then leaped toward the window and easily jumped through it. After entering, he grabbed his things and ran to the door, opening it from the inside. ¡°Heh heh...¡± The moment he opened the door, a one-armed zombie lunged at Wang Tao. Wang Tao was prepared for an attack upon opening the door; without looking, he kicked out. Bang! The zombie was sent flying into the door of apartment 202. Only then did Wang Tao take a moment to look, and cursed angrily. ¡°Shit!¡± The zombie he had just kicked away turned out to be the balding uncle! After the balding uncle climbed back up and lunged at him again, Wang Tao sidestepped to avoid the attack, pushed him into apartment 201, and quickly shut and locked the door. Then, with a flip, he jumped straight down to the first floor. The zombies outside the door might have been taken aback, not expecting someone to suddenly jump down from the corridor. Faced with a crowd of zombies, Wang Tao remained unflustered and slammed the lobby door shut with a bang. Ignoring the various roars behind him, he rushed upstairs. Inside room 401. By the door of the secondary bedroom. A young man with pale complexion, dressed in spectacles, and with a scholarly appearance sat on the floor. He was holding a kitchen knife, knocking on the door while eating his last piece of bread, then called out somewhat weakly : ¡°Beauty, open the door. I promise I won¡¯t kill you!¡± No one answered from inside. ¡°Beauty, you can trust me. I really didn¡¯t mean to kill that uncle. I was forced into a corner too!¡± Still no response. ¡°Beauty, I¡¯m giving you a chance to open the door voluntarily. Otherwise... don¡¯t blame me, okay!¡± ¡°What are you waiting for? Waiting for your husband who¡¯s already fled on his own? Forget it, no one¡¯s coming to rescue you! Just accept your fate, follow me, and I guarantee I won¡¯t let you die!¡± ¡°Damn it! Stupid bitch! I¡¯m going to make you wish you were dead! I¡¯m going to * you alive!¡± The man in glasses suddenly turned vicious, looking as ferocious as a madman. As soon as he spoke, a muffled sobbing could be heard from the bedroom. Upon hearing this, the man in glasses immediately changed his tune. ¡°If you open the door willingly, I promise, as long as you agree to be my wife, I won¡¯t kill you. I¡¯ll treat you well!¡± Seeing that there was still no response from inside, the man in glasses didn¡¯t want to wait any longer. He propped himself up against the wall, stood up, then took a kitchen knife and began to pry at the door lock. ¡°Damn you, you stinking whore! Wait for it! When I catch you, I¡¯m going to strip you naked, chop you into pieces, throw you into the zombie horde, I¡¯m going to * you to death...¡± As the man in glasses muttered to himself, he suddenly heard some noise coming from outside the front door. ¡°Heh, these dumb zombies, here they come again The man in glasses suddenly stopped short; he noticed that the door to his house was open! Gulp- Swallowing hard, the man in glasses clenched the kitchen knife tightly and hobbled along the wall towards the door. Suddenly, a tall dark shadow burst in. Before the man in glasses could see clearly, he found himself lifted off the ground. ¡°Uh-uh¡ª¡± Wang Tao looked at the man he held by the neck, a cold gaze in his eyes. As he watched the man struggle to breathe, Wang Tao loosed his grip, and the man in glasses fell to the ground. Wang Tao stomped hard on his stomach; after seeing that he had only a sliver of HP left, only then did Wang Tao let him be. Then Wang Tao approached the door of the secondary bedroom and knocked. ¡°Open up, it¡¯s me!¡± No answer from inside. Wang Tao didn¡¯t waste any words, he took half a step back, then suddenly kicked the door. Bang! The door was kicked open by his foot. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± A hoarse scream came from a corner of the room. Seeing the disheveled woman, Wang Tao strode over. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me... don¡¯t kill me... I don¡¯t want to die...¡± Ding Yuqin, sitting on the ground, frantically waved her limbs. Wang Tao squatted down, easily grabbed Ding Yuqin¡¯s limbs, then pinched her chin, forcibly lifting her head. ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s me.¡± Ding Yuqin looked over in terror. Looking at the tall figure in front of her, bare-chested and muscular, covered in scars, wearing a broken mask. She was suddenly stunned, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. ¡°Wang... Wang Tao?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Wang Tao! Wuuwuu! Is it really you? I thought you abandoned me! I thought I was dead! I¡¯m not dreaming...¡± Ding Yuqin cried tears of joy, somewhat incoherently. Wang Tao gently patted her shoulder. ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s me, I¡¯m back.¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s hand, Ding Yuqin suddenly threw herself into his arms. ¡°Wuuwuu... I thought you...¡± Wang Tao patted Ding Yuqin¡¯s back and helped her stand up, then asked. -What on earth happened here, how did you end up here? What¡¯s the deal with the person outside?¡± Ding Yuqin suddenly tensed up again when the matter was brought up. ¡°That man went mad! He lured the zombies here! He wanted to kill us! The bald uncle... to save me... wuuwuu....¡± Chapter 52 - 52 Murder i Chapter 52: Murder i Translator: 549690339 ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, just take your time.¡± Wang Tao, supporting Ding Yuqin, came out and saw the figure lying on the ground, Ding Yuqin instinctively clung tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s waist. ¡°He, he¡¯s gone mad! He wanted to commit suicide with us! And then...¡± Ding Yuqin trembled as she recounted what had happened. It turned out that the day after Wang Tao had left, the glasses-wearing man from 401 took the initiative to come out and invited the bald man downstairs and Ding Yuqin to his apartment as guests. Of course, saying it was to entertain guests was an overstatement since he didn¡¯t have much to offer; it was really just to discuss what to do in the future. Ding Yuqin originally didn¡¯t want to go out, but since she thought Wang Tao had abandoned her and left alone, she felt the only way to survive was to save herself, so she went out. The bald uncle also came out, after all, the glasses-wearing man seemed very normal, and both he and the bald uncle thought he truly wanted to unite everyone for self-rescue. Unexpectedly, after inviting everyone out, the glasses-wearing man suddenly went to open the unit door while no one was paying attention and let the zombies in! His home had long been out of supplies, and with the power, water, and internet cut off... he had been driven mad by the apocalypse! The mentally unstable glasses-wearing man wanted to take everyone down with him! The glasses-wearing man thought death was no big deal, but after seeing how ferocious the zombies were, he suddenly chickened out... The betrayed Ding Yuqin and the bald uncle didn¡¯t have time to get back to their homes, so they had no choice but to hide in the glasses-wearing man¡¯s house. In his house, the bald uncle naturally wanted to settle scores with the glasses-wearing man, but after the latter¡¯s tearful apologies, claiming he had been blinded by insanity, he managed to convince the kind-hearted bald uncle Although Ding Yuqin no longer trusted the glasses-wearing man, she was, after all, a frail woman; if the zombies came, she would still need their protection, so she didn¡¯t say anything and just kept a close watch on the glasses-wearing man. And so, the group stayed inside 401 for two days, but there was no food and very little water in his house. All three of them were struggling to hold on. At this time, most of the zombies in the corridor had left, with only one upstairs. Therefore, the bald uncle suggested going downstairs to his place to get some things, as he still had some food Wang Tao had given him. But he was afraid that the glasses-wearing man would harm Ding Yuqin, so he proposed that he go together with him and have Yuqin stay at home to keep watch. Hearing there was food, the glasses-wearing man instantly perked up and agreed there was no problem. Then he and the bald uncle sneakily slipped out. But after the two left, something happened downstairs that drew a zombie and they both ran back. When Ding Yuqin opened the door, the glasses-wearing man suddenly pulled her out and opened the door-he wanted to drag everyone down together again! By then, his mind had already become abnormal. As Yuqin was about to be bitten by a zombie, the bald uncle desperately charged at the glasses-wearing man, pulling Yuqin back inside, but he himself got bitten... In the final moments, the bald uncle forcefully shut the door to 401, and as the two men struggled, the glasses-wearing man¡¯s keys got lost too. The bald uncle resolutely dragged the zombie down the stairs with him. Yuqin frantically hid in the bedroom and locked it from the inside. Since the glasses-wearing man didn¡¯t have the keys, and since he hadn¡¯t eaten before, he didn¡¯t have the strength to break open the bedroom door, so the two were stuck in a standoff from yesterday until today. But when the glasses-wearing man had gone down previously with the bald uncle, he had managed to get some food from the bald uncle¡¯s place. So as long as he recovered some strength, he could probably break open the bedroom door by ramming it. By then, Yuqin would surely die. After all, she was originally not as physically Strong as the glasses-wearing man and hadn¡¯t eaten for days; she had no way to resist. And just when Yuqin was at her most desperate, Wang Tao arrived like God himself, appearing right in front of her! After listening to Ding Yuqin¡¯s rough explanation, Wang Tao looked at the glasses-wearing man as if he were looking at a dead man, then he said somewhat displeased: ¡°Sis-in-law, didn¡¯t I tell you to hide in the house and not come out! Why did you go out?¡± ¡°I... I won¡¯t do it again...¡± Ding Yuqin hung her head slightly, not daring to meet Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Right then, Wang Tao seemed to remember something and suddenly asked: ¡°Do you think I abandoned you and left on my own?¡± When he went after the airdrop, he drove there, so if Ding Yuqin had been by the window, she could have seen it. Most people would probably assume that Wang Tao was planning to leave on his own. II II Ding Yuqin really wanted to say yes, but she didn¡¯t dare. She was afraid that her distrust would annoy Wang Tao, and only when she lost Wang Tao did she realize how much she needed him. In the few days that Wang Tao was gone, she truly understood what the apocalypse was! Seeing that Ding Yuqin remained silent, Wang Tao knew what was probably going on. ¡±Stupid woman! Even if I really had left, couldn¡¯t you have asked the bald guy to unlock the door to my room? You know I have food in there. But you chose to trust a stranger instead? Really¡ª¡± Wang Tao reproached irritably. The death of the bald man made him feel somewhat uncomfortable. Although they had been strangers before, the man had taught him the entire set of lock-picking skills, and he had a good personality, not one of those greedy types. Wang Tao had a good impression of him. And yet such a man had died like that... ¡°I¡¯m sorry... I... sob sob...¡± It was the first time Wang Tao had been so harsh to Ding Yuqin, and it instantly frightened her. Clutching the corner of her clothes, she apologized with teary eyes. ¡°Ah, okay, okay... It¡¯s not your fault...¡± Seeing Ding Yuqin¡¯s haggard and fearful appearance, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t bear to say more. After all, she only had 10 drops of HP left. He was really afraid she might die if he continued. Wang Tao helped Ding Yuqin to sit in a chair, then took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, unwrapped it, and handed it to her. Ding Yuqin swallowed, but hesitated to take it. Wang Tao straightforwardly brushed aside Ding Yuqin¡¯s messy hair and somewhat roughly stuffed the dark chocolate into her mouth. ¡°Eat!¡± ¡°Mmm...¡± After seeing that Ding Yuqin could still eat, Wang Tao then turned his attention to the glasses-wearing man on the floor. The man with glasses only had [5/100] HP left. He didn¡¯t have much HP to begin with and had been severely beaten by Wang Tao, now nearing a state of death. Wang Tao strode over and, grabbing the man¡¯s collar, pulled him up from the ground. ¡°Spa-spare me...¡± The man with glasses started speaking with a tremble. Without a word, Wang Tao grabbed his throat and then forcefully squeezed. Crack! [-5] [0/100] ¡°Ugh¡ª¡± The man with glasses¡¯ eyes bulged, his pupils slowly losing focus. Ding Yuqin, who had been eating the chocolate with her head down, shuddered all over. Wang Tao looked back at her. ¡°Sister-in-law, stay here for now. I¡¯ll be right back. Don¡¯t go running off again.¡± ¡°O-okay....¡± Chapter 53 - 53 Weakness Potion_l Chapter 53: Weakness Potion_l Translator: 549690339 I In this world, where civilization had gradually been replaced by barbarism, the bespectacled man had killed the bald man, and he even wanted to kill Ding Yuqin. His fate was already sealed. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to find out any more details or understand his mental state any further; he just wanted the bespectacled man to die. Wang Tao had thought that killing someone with his own hands might be uncomfortable, might make him queasy. But perhaps it was because he had killed too many zombies, after he killed the bespectacled man, he found he felt nothing at all. Not even as much as when killing zombies, after all, zombies were much more disgusting than the bespectacled man. Wang Tao dragged the bespectacled man¡¯s body to room 202, which was the bald man¡¯s home, and then threw him out of the window. Bang¡ª As the bespectacled man¡¯s body hit the ground, the group of zombies outside immediately swarmed over. Wang Tao didn¡¯t look at the disgusting scene for long; he turned his attention to the items that had dropped when he killed the bespectacled man. First thing was for sure, killing people could also result in loot drops. But killing people didn¡¯t increase the HP limit, nor was there that feeling of a slight improvement in physical condition. [Acquired: Weakness Potion (small) x2] [Weakness Potion (small): A creature contaminated with Weakness Potion will have its Attributes reduced by l%-20% (depending on the dosage), lasting for to minutes, with a cooldown of 12 minutes for the same target] Killing an ordinary otaku and dropping two bottles of ¡°Weakness Potion,¡± does that make sense? This Weakness Potion wasn¡¯t like the others before; it resembled a glass bottle, not an injection. Thinking about it, who would inject themselves with a Weakness Potion? Wang Tao felt the correct way to use this thing was probably to throw it or to drug someone... It might not be needed for now, but who knows, it might come in handy one day. Moreover, according to the description, any creature contaminated with Weakness Potion will be weakened, so zombies should count as creatures, right? After stowing the items in the Space Backpack, Wang Tao went to the door of room 201, listening to the incessant zombie roars inside. He took a deep breath, and only then did he use the key to open the door. Bang! The moment he opened the door, Wang Tao kicked it. He sent the zombie that was once the bald man flying with a kick. Then he grabbed the horned hammer and quickly ran over, pounding away at the zombie that was once the bald man. Soon, the zombie that was once the bald man was down to a sliver of HP, and looking at that familiar yet ferocious face, Wang Tao sighed deeply. ¡°Ah...¡± The bald man had avoided the virus outbreak, avoided the zombies, avoided the food crisis, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t avoid his own kind. If only he could have come back yesterday, he might have been able to be saved. But now, it was too late... Bang! [-54] [0/500] [Obtained: Rope xl] [Rope: Crafting material] The HP limit went up another 5 points, reaching [69/385] Wang Tao searched the bald man¡¯s body and found a blood-stained photograph. It was the family portrait he had proudly shown Wang Tao before. Looking at the bright smiling faces of the family of three in the photograph, Wang Tao carefully tucked the photo away. ¡°If I ever get the chance to meet your wife and child, and I happen to be capable, I¡¯ll look after them for you.¡± Regardless, the man had taught him how to pick locks, and this infection had come while he was protecting Ding Yuqin. If Wang Tao was able, he wouldn¡¯t mind helping the man¡¯s family, but... Remembering the terrifying figure he had seen on the outskirts with ten thousand HP, Wang Tao thought the chances of the man¡¯s family¡¯s survival were slim. Wang Tao sat here for a while and, after smoking a cigarette, finally tossed out the balding uncle zombie¡¯s corpse. Then he picked up the oil drum kept in this room and went upstairs to the door of 401. ¡°Open up, it¡¯s me.¡± Click- Ding Yuqin was waiting right behind the door and, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, opened it without even a glance through the peephole. ¡°Sister-in-law, next time you could at least take a look at who it is before opening the door. You don¡¯t have to hurry to let someone in.¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. This Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t foolish before, so why did it feel like she had become dull all of a sudden after his short trip outside? ¡°...Oh.¡± Ding Yuqin bowed her head and didn¡¯t explain, mainly because it was Wang Tao outside. If it were someone else, she definitely wouldn¡¯t open the door so trustingly. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go home.¡± Wang Tao beckoned, and Ding Yuqin hurriedly followed. Seeing the cuts and bruises on Wang Tao¡¯s back, Ding Yuqin suddenly felt a twinge of heartache. She couldn¡¯t imagine what Wang Tao must have gone through these past few days outside. Wang Tao watched as Ding Yuqin continued to follow him all the way to the sixth floor, but he didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower, you can drink some water, grab something to eat on your own.¡± After saying that, Wang Tao went to the bathroom. Only then did Ding Yuqin realize she hadn¡¯t returned to her own home but had followed Wang Tao to his place instead. She drank some water, didn¡¯t take anything, and left straight away. After washing up, Wang Tao found that Ding Yuqin had left and was slightly surprised. But he didn¡¯t care too much. He planned to rest well today and also make some Molotov cocktails, so that he could take care of the zombies in the yard the next day and then bring back the stuff from the car. The gates of the community were now locked, and all the unit doors were shut as well. There were only about twenty zombies in the yard, and they definitely wouldn¡¯t withstand his Molotov cocktails. Not to mention, he now had an Ability! However, he decided to leave it for today, since he was still at low HP. An hour later, while Wang Tao was cooking, he suddenly heard a knock on the door. Upon opening the door, Wang Tao was slightly taken aback. It was one thing for Ding Yuqin to have gone home to shower and change clothes, but she¡¯d also applied light makeup. Her hair was tied up high, revealing delicate ears and a slender snowy neck. She wore a figure-hugging dark blue pajama set, tightly wrapped around the chest but still unable to hide the prominent curves. The hem of her pajamas was above the knee, encasing her shapely lower body, but not those slim legs sheathed in flesh-toned stockings. On her feet were a pair of brown high-heeled shoes, which unexpectedly matched well with the pajamas. ¡°Wang Tao, I, I¡¯ll help you cook and do laundry...¡± Ding Yuqin brushed a stray hair aside from her ear and said in a low voice, looking down. ¡°Okay.¡± Since Ding Yuqin was willing to cook, Wang Tao decided to take a break. After a simple lunch, Wang Tao went to make the Molotov cocktails. Gasoline was a flammable material, after all, and he didn¡¯t feel comfortable letting Ding Yuqin handle it. By the time the sun set, he had managed to make all thirty Molotov cocktails. Actually, as long as the materials were fine, making Molotov cocktails was quite quick. But whether deliberately or not, Ding Yuqin often lingered around Wang Tao, causing him to lose concentration and thus wasting a lot of time. With a faint smell of gasoline on him and a bit of irritation in his mind, Wang Tao decided to take another shower. Coming out bare-chested, Wang Tao saw Ding Yuqin casually stretching her legs on the couch, gently massaging her silky stocking-clad legs. She seemed a bit hot, her pajama top slightly open at the chest, revealing a deep cleavage. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Ding Yuqin lowered her head with an unnatural color on her face. Wang Tao walked over directly. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going home, sister-in-law?¡± Chapter 54 - 54: The Miraculous Blood Chapter 54: The Miraculous Blood Replenishing Ability¡ª1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Isn¡¯t sister-in-law going home?¡± Wang Tao looked down at Ding Yuqin from above. There was plenty of food left over from lunch, and he could just reheat it for dinner, so he no longer needed Ding Yuqin. ¡°I want to rest for a while, I¡¯m a bit tired...¡± Ding Yuqin lowered her head, not daring to look into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Where are you tired?¡± Wang Tao took a step forward. ¡°My legs are sore...¡± She had been doing household chores and cooking at Wang Tao¡¯s home all along; if she had known earlier, she would not have worn high heels-it was too tiring... ¡°Do you want my help, sister-in-law?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said with a smile. ¡°...Yeah.¡± Ding Yuqin murmured so quietly that she could barely hear her own voice. Wang Tao heard her. Then he casually sat down next to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Sister-in-law, let me give you a massage...¡± (614 characters omitted... Even a foot massage is censored, I give up.) Suddenly, a pair of slender and pale hands grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s large one. Wang Tao looked up and saw a pair of eyes that were shy yet filled with tears. ¡°Wang Tao... you, you won¡¯t ever abandon me, right? ¡°I have never left sister-in-law behind at any time!¡± Wang Tao said, puzzled. ¡°I... I just want to hear you say it...¡± Ding Yuqin did not want to experience that feeling of despair again; the only thing that might still be useful to Wang Tao now was probably herself. She was unwilling to trade herself, but she had no other choice. And it wasn¡¯t exactly a pure transaction, either; after these days of post-apocalyptic life, she had developed some fondness for Wang Tao. Especially today, when she was most desperate, the image of Wang Tao, covered in blood, bursting in front of her was something she might never forget in her lifetime... ¡°Okay! As long as you are obedient, I, Wang Tao, will definitely not abandon you.¡± Wang Tao promised. Although it was just an ordinary verbal promise, Ding Yuqin still felt a surge of overwhelming joy. She let go of Wang Tao¡¯s hand and hugged him tightly on her own initiative. ¡°Wang Tao... sob... thank you!¡± Feeling the warmth of a fragrant embrace, Wang Tao gently wiped away her tears, and then slowly kissed her. After a while, when Ding Yuqin started to have difficulty catching her breath, Wang Tao finally released her. Still feeling the desire for more, Wang Tao licked his lips and said with a smile: ¡°Sister-in-law, have you really made up your mind? After this, you¡¯ll be mine alone!¡± ¡°Can you... can you stop calling me sister-in-law...¡± Ding Yuqin, with complex emotions, buried her head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest. Wang Tao chuckled. ¡°No, I like calling you that.¡± An hour later. Wang Tao walked out of the bedroom, his face full of disbelief. ¡°I actually gained too points of HP! And my body doesn¡¯t hurt much anymore!¡± An hour before, his HP was [69/385], but now it was [169/385] This... was a bit miraculous! Was it because of him, or Ding Yuqin, or the combination of the two? Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite understand. -It seems the experts are right; appropriate exercise is beneficial to one¡¯s health!¡± Looking out the window, he saw that it had already gotten dark. Wang Tao reheated the leftover food from lunch and cooked another portion of porridge. After having a few bites himself, he took the porridge to the bedroom. Ding Yuqin was already asleep. Her body had been in a state of weakness these last few days, and her spirit was extremely languid. Wang Tao forcefully woke Ding Yuqin up. ¡°Hmm...¡± Ding Yuqin was still a little groggy, but as she slowly recognized Wang Tao, a flush spread across her pale little face. Wang Tao pinched her cheek and said with a smile. ¡°Sister-in-law, come and eat some dinner, you¡¯re too weak, you need to get more nutrition.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sleepy...¡± Smelling the fragrance of the food, Ding Yuqin wrinkled her little nose, but she was indeed very tired and sleepy. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll feed you today.¡± Wang Tao propped her up and then sat by the bed, spoon-feeding her the porridge. Ding Yuqin, enjoying Wang Tao¡¯s tenderness, suddenly felt her eyes moisten. After feeding Ding Yuqin, he watched her fall asleep again before Wang Tao quietly left the bedroom. Now that his HP had recovered somewhat, it was time to continue his daily exercises. Wang Tao was quite disciplined in this regard. He exercised until late into the night, and only after feeling his body had grown stronger did he contentedly take a shower and then went to rest. Early in the morning. Upon opening her eyes, Ding Yuqin saw the burly figure lying next to her and felt complex emotions. She was a woman of loyalty; she had only ever dated once, and her partner was her husband, Zhao Yuan. If she had a choice, she certainly would not want to betray her husband, even though it was very likely that Zhao Yuan was already dead... But she lacked any ability to survive in a post-apocalyptic world; if she didn¡¯t choose to rely on a man, she would either die or live a life worse than death! Hence, she had no choice. She felt gratitude, admiration, and trust towards Wang Tao... but no love-she believed she did not feel it yet. ¡°Awake?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice suddenly sounded. ¡°Yeah...¡± Ding Yuqin murmured somewhat unnaturally as she buried her head into Wang Tao¡¯s chest. ¡°Today I¡¯m going to clear out all the zombies in the yard, but before that, I want to try if I can replenish my blood again!¡± ¡®Hmm? Mm-¡° Chapter 55 - 55: Testing the Molotov Cocktail Chapter 55: Testing the Molotov Cocktail Again_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao felt a bit disappointed; this time it didn¡¯t replenish his HP. ¡°Not sure if this blood replenishing is a one-time thing or periodic...¡± After muttering to himself, Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin, who was lying on the bed like a dead fish, and patted her butt. ¡°Sister-in-law, time to get up and cook!¡± ¡°...Mhm.¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a blushing glance and then said softly, ¡°I, I think I¡¯ll take a shower first...¡± ¡°Perfect, I was thinking the same, let¡¯s go together. Wang Tao grinned. After a quick shower, Wang Tao started his morning training at home with a bare chest. Wang Tao really enjoyed working out because he could clearly feel that his daily training was improving his strength. Although the improvements were not substantial, the sensation of receiving rewards for his effort was quite exhilarating. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s time to eat!¡± After preparing breakfast, Ding Yuqin habitually set up Wang Tao¡¯s bowl and chopsticks first, while she herself didn¡¯t take anything, standing by waiting for Wang Tao to sit down. ¡°Aren¡¯t you eating, sister-in-law?¡± After Wang Tao sat down, he looked at Ding Yuqin and asked. ¡°Oh...¡± Ding Yuqin then happily went to grab her own bowl and chopsticks. From now on, her three meals a day should be secure. ¡°Eat more, sister-in-law, you¡¯ve lost weight.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you...¡± Ding Yuqin had been severely frightened these past few days and hadn¡¯t eaten much. Although she had managed to eat a bit yesterday, her HP was still only a little over thirty. Since Ding Yuqin had chosen to follow Wang Tao, he certainly wouldn¡¯t be stingy; he had to at least make sure her HP was fully replenished. The two of them didn¡¯t speak again, eating silently. However, Ding Yuqin would occasionally steal glances at Wang Tao, who was well aware of her looks, but he didn¡¯t mind. -I¡¯m done eating. I¡¯m going to go down for a bit later, you just stay home and don¡¯t wander off.¡± ¡°Ah? Wang Tao, you¡¯re going to...¡± Ding Yuqin instinctively felt a little scared whenever she heard Wang Tao was about to leave. ¡°I¡¯m going to clear out the zombies in the residential courtyard. Having so many zombies outside isn¡¯t right.¡± Wang Tao explained. With the main gate of the complex locked and all the other unit doors downstairs locked as well, the only zombies left were those in the courtyard. He definitely had to clean them out. Plus, with the zombies around, he wouldn¡¯t be able to bring the stuff from the car over. ¡°Ah? So many zombies... Be careful...¡± Ding Yuqin quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks and grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand, her voice tinged with nervousness. There were at least twenty zombies in the courtyard. She could hardly imagine how Wang Tao would clear them out, but she didn¡¯t doubt him; she was just very worried. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have a secret weapon!¡± Wang Tao patted Ding Yuqin¡¯s hand and then went to put on his gear. Ding Yuqin hurried to help him. His previous clothes had been discarded, and the books were damaged, but Wang Tao still had plenty of those. He found a new set of clothes, fresh books, and then taped them all up. Ding Yuqin found other equipment for Wang Tao, and as she helped him dress, she saw the battle scars on his body. She subconsciously caressed the scabbed wounds, expressing her concern, ¡°What happened with these wounds? Do they hurt? Wang Tao just smiled indifferently. ¡°Got them on the road yesterday, but they¡¯re just minor injuries, not painful.¡± In fact, they did hurt quite a bit yesterday. However, since he had replenished his blood while with Ding Yuqin at night, the wounds had healed a lot, and naturally, they didn¡¯t hurt as much anymore. ¡°Wait for me to come back, and I¡¯ll treat your wound again... Ding Yuqin said, biting her lower lip. Upon hearing that the injury was sustained yesterday on the way back, Ding Yuqin felt even more touched, after all, this was a wound Wang Tao had gotten for her... ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After all preparations were done, Wang Tao left the house, carrying a box full of Molotov cocktails. With so many zombies in the community, it was impossible for him to single-handedly take on a group. It wasn¡¯t a matter of whether he could win, but rather the risk was too great, and the potential gain was not worth the danger. Wang Tao already had an idea of the power of these Molotov cocktails. When attacking a ¡°Terrorizer¡± zombie, a single strike would cause around fifty to sixty HP of damage, while a Molotov cocktail could burn more than fifty HP in one second. Although he was unsure of the exact damage it would do to these Ordinary zombies, even if it was only around fifty, it would be enough. After all, this was a continuous area-of-effect attack! With this powerful weapon at his disposal, he didn¡¯t need to take risks. Carrying the Molotov cocktails, he arrived at apartment 201 and opened the window. The body of the bespectacled man he threw down yesterday was now only a skeleton. A few zombies were gnawing at the bones. However, it seemed the zombies¡¯ teeth hadn¡¯t evolved much, as they were still unable to gnaw on some of the larger bones. Wang Tao knocked on the window, immediately attracting the attention of some zombies. He stood by the window, occasionally knocking on it. Soon, four zombies had gathered beneath the window. ¡°Heh heh...¡± ¡°Roar...¡± Looking at those zombies that were agitated but couldn¡¯t climb walls, Wang Tao cracked a smile. He lit a Molotov cocktail, then hurled it down at the zombies. Splash- Boom¡ª After the Molotov cocktail shattered on the ground amidst the zombies, flames burst forth, and Wang Tao could distinctly feel a wave of heat. He looked closely and saw numbers beginning to float above the heads of the zombies engulfed in the sea of fire. [-64] [-63] [-61] [-] ¡°Molotov cocktail attacks against Ordinary zombies only do slightly more damage than against Terrorizers?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, as he had added extra ingredients to the cocktail. It was not much of an issue though, since the Molotov cocktails would burn for quite a while, and these zombies would definitely be burned to death. The roaring of these zombies attracted others, but seeing the flames, the other zombies were unwilling to approach, just roaring and watching from a distance. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry, as he still had plenty of Molotov cocktails in his hands, enough to take out these zombies. ¡°Hm? The damage is getting lower?¡± Wang Tao noticed that as the zombies¡¯ HP dropped, the damage inflicted by the fire was also decreasing. Soon, three zombies had fallen to the ground with a sliver of HP left, but they weren¡¯t dead. The flames continued to burn; although the gasoline in the Molotov cocktails had burned up, the zombies¡¯ bodies were flammable and could continue to burn. It just didn¡¯t smell too good. Wang Tao silently waited for a while, and three of the zombies were burned to death. The one that had not died because the flames had initially only caught its arm was now spreading to its body. But the three dead zombies didn¡¯t drop any loot, nor did they increase Wang Tao¡¯s HP limit. ¡°Damn! Doesn¡¯t it count as my kill? Those I shot dead with a gun counted, why doesn¡¯t burning them to death count?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled, realizing he would have to experiment more in the future to understand the situation. However, if burning the zombies to death didn¡¯t count as his kills, he would have to change his combat approach! ¡°I have to go down there! First, I need to burn them until they are crippled, then finish them off with a blade! Otherwise, these zombies¡¯ deaths would be too wasteful!¡± Chapter 56 - 56 Clean-up of the Residential Area_l Chapter 56: Clean-up of the Residential Area_l Translator: 549690339 The flames on the first floor hadn¡¯t been extinguished yet, and the zombies were unwilling to come over, so Wang Tao had no choice but to go to Room 202. He opened the window to attract the zombies. Once the zombies approached, he repeated his method and once again threw a Molotov cocktail, hitting four zombies. Waiting for their HP to drop to a sliver, Wang Tao grabbed his weapons and climbed out the window. There were still about a dozen zombies in the yard, so for safety, he didn¡¯t walk out the front door on the first floor but instead jumped down directly. Thud¡ª The second-floor window was about four meters from the ground of the complex, and Wang Tao landed with ease. But at the same time as he landed, Wang Tao silently used Shockwave. A visible ripple spread out from his feet, expanding in all directions like the ripples of a wave. [-22] [-21] [-8] [-12] The four zombies, already low on HP, were bounced up by the Shockwave and then hit the ground. By the time they bounced, they were already dead! Four semi-transparent packages appeared instantly. ¡°Haha, using Shockwave to deal the final blow seems pretty good!¡± It was Wang Tao¡¯s first time using Shockwave against enemies, and he was slightly excited. He quickly estimated that the Shockwave¡¯s range was about three meters in diameter, half of the Terrorizer¡¯s six-meter diameter Shockwave. But Wang Tao was content since he could repeatedly fuse the same type of Crystal Core, meaning the Ability was sure to grow stronger, and as he collected more Crystal Cores, his Ability would become increasingly powerful! After jumping down, Wang Tao immediately drew all the zombies¡¯ attention, and they twisted their bodies towards him. But Wang Tao had no intention of engaging them. He quickly stepped on the windowsill and climbed back up to the second floor. Then, he lit another Molotov cocktail and threw it out. Splat- Boom¡ª After throwing three Molotov cocktails in a row, the ground floor was engulfed in flames. Wang Tao then went back to Room 201 and, after waiting for a while, jumped down from there. With a thump, he landed effortlessly. Watching the zombies chaotically dancing in the inferno, Wang Tao chuckled. Enduring the heat waves, he strode forward, picked up the horned hammer, and brought it down on the head of a burning zombie. Splat! [-451 [0/500] The zombie had only a sliver of HP left, an easy target for the killing blow. Simultaneously, a visible Shockwave emanated from the horned hammer. [-42] [0/500] This time it affected only one zombie, but it was still instantly killed. Soon, all the weakened zombies in the inferno were taken out by Wang Tao. Wang Tao discovered a proper way to use the Shockwave; when finishing off zombies, he didn¡¯t need to enter the inferno. He could simply hit the ground or the zombies outside the flames, and the Shockwave would kill the zombies inside! This was very convenient. However, the Ability consumed quite a bit. The three-meter range Shockwave was his most powerful attack, and each usage consumed 20 Mana. He could use it at most five times. Wang Tao took care of all the zombies in the blaze with just three uses. Outside the inferno, there were still two unscathed zombies left. ¡°Perfect, you two can try out the Ability!¡± Wang Tao rushed forward and hammered hard on the head of one of the zombies. [-3431 [-2851 The zombie he hammered lost 343 HP while the zombie nearby affected by the Shockwave lost 285 HP. At the same time, both zombies were knocked to the ground by the impact. Wang Tao was satisfied with the result. He brought down the hammer again, targeting the zombie with the higher remaining HP. Splat! [-157] [0/500] Shockwave. [-1151 [0/500] Two hammers, instant kill. ¡°The power of the shockwave seems to be related to the strength of my attacks... but the mana cost is at most only 20 points, so there must be a limit to this power unless I can use more mana... As he pondered, Wang Tao casually collected the loot dropped by the two zombies. ¡°All cleared!¡± He looked around and saw a total of 22 zombies in the courtyard of the community, apart from the first three zombies that Wang Tao did not finish off, he had finished off the remaining 19. NOW he had obtained nineteen pieces of loot and a 95-point increase to his HP limit! Wang Tao glanced at his attributes. HP1264/48O] Mana[o/ioo] Breaking through four hundred HP, he felt his body slightly strengthen, filled with power. That was also the reason he managed to deal over 300 damage in killing those last two zombies. However, the depletion of his mana left Wang Tao feeling extremely exhausted. This feeling of being physically energized yet mentally exhausted made Wang Tao very uncomfortable. ¡°It looks like I should conserve some mana in the future, and not use it all at once unless necessary...¡± Wang Tao, bearing the disgusting smell, used his hammer to drag the still-burning zombies to the middle of the empty space in the community. He worried that if the corpses happened to set the buildings on fire, it would be really bad luck. Fire safety is everyone¡¯s responsibility! He then made a round in the community. This old community had only four buildings, and was quite small in area. After confirming that there were no more zombies in the courtyard, Wang Tao then drove the pickup truck in from the community entrance. Indistinctly, Wang Tao could feel the howling of zombies from the other buildings. ¡°There are still quite a few zombies left in the remaining three buildings, it seems there are no other survivors... Maybe I should find some time to clear them out...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s HP bar was only 20 away from breaking through 500, and he was full of motivation for killing zombies. After parking the car under Building No. 4, Wang Tao went down to call for Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao with a bit of surprise, as she had been watching from the building and saw the shockwave that Wang Tao unleashed. ¡°Wang Tao, you...¡± She opened her mouth, wanting to ask Wang Tao about it, but considering it might be Wang Tao¡¯s secret, she hesitated whether she should ask. ¡°Ability, Shockwave.¡± Wang Tao, knowing what was on her mind, replied directly. ¡°Ab-Ability!¡± Though she had already guessed, Ding Yuqin was still visibly shocked when Wang Tao confirmed it. After all, these were things from TV shows, and they had actually appeared in reality... Wang Tao observed Ding Yuqin¡¯s surprised expression and raised his eyebrows. ¡°Since you have decided to follow me, sister-in-law, I¡¯ll figure out a way to get an ability for you to play with in the future.¡± ¡°Ah? I can too? No no no, I can¡¯t manage it...¡± Ding Yuqin was initially subconsciously excited, but she quickly waved her hands in denial. Even if she had the Shockwave Ability, she wouldn¡¯t dare to kill zombies. With her petite size, she¡¯d hardly be enough for a zombie to floss its teeth with. Wang Tao didn¡¯t press the issue upon seeing her reaction. There certainly were more abilities than just the Shockwave, and perhaps there might be one suitable for Ding Yuqin. It took some time, but Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin finally managed to move everything upstairs. Seeing so much food, Ding Yuqin almost couldn¡¯t believe it was real. Especially with a government drop among them, which excited her. Could there... possibly be a chance for rescue? But when Wang Tao showed Ding Yuqin the letter from the supply drop, she knew that rescue... was not possible. However, she wasn¡¯t too disappointed. After all, she had placed all her hopes on Wang Tao now.... Chapter 57 - 57: You Wronged Me_l Chapter 57: You Wronged Me_l Translator: 549690339 19 zombies. In addition to granting Wang Tao 95 more HP, they also dropped 19 packages for him. While Ding Yuqin was sorting out the supplies, Wang Tao was checking his spoils of war. Some crafting materials he had seen before naturally dropped again, along with a few new ones. [Gauze xi], [Cable xi], [Battery xi], [Electronic Component xl]... He didn¡¯t yet know what these crafting materials were for, but they could be used on their own, like gauze for stopping bleeding or batteries for discharging electricity. However, he definitely wasn¡¯t going to use them just yet, after all, he could store them in the Space Backpack, saving time and effort. If he really needed to, then he¡¯d consider the items in the backpack. Beyond these crafting materials, there was something he had never seen before. [Security Uniform xl] [Security Uniform: Durability +1, Tear Resistance +1] Wang Tao was somewhat surprised by the security uniform. Even clothes could drop? And with attributes to boot! If he remembered correctly, this black security uniform had the same style as the one worn by the community security guards. But the community guard was an old man, wearing loose-fitting security apparel, not so much protecting others as looking like he needed protection himself. With just a thought, the security uniform appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. The full set included a cap, jacket, trousers, and a pair of black high-top combat boots. It was designed to mimic a combat police uniform. Wang Tao sized it up and it seemed about his size. He didn¡¯t care about whether it was a security uniform or not; he cared about the quality. You have to say, attributes really make a difference. Normal clothes, he could tear apart directly, but not this security uniform, he couldn¡¯t rip it at all at first try. This must be because of the uniform¡¯s attributes, the durability was alright, but the tear resistance was very impressive. Wang Tao put it on and tried it out right away. The uniform fit perfectly, was comfortable to move in... As long as one didn¡¯t look at the badge on the shoulder, it very much resembled a police combat suit. ¡°Nice! I¡¯ll wear you when going out from now on!¡± Afternoon. Wang Tao moved the diesel generator to the rooftop and started it after pouring the fuel. Roarrr¡ª The diesel generator was pretty loud, but since it was on the sixth-floor rooftop, and Wang Tao had set up some noise insulation around it, it didn¡¯t draw the zombies¡¯ attention from the street. The diesel generator couldn¡¯t be running all the time; he just needed to fully charge the outdoor power supply. So, a bit of noise wasn¡¯t an issue; he was going to turn it off at night anyway. ¡°Now I can take a hot shower tonight!¡± It was April and still a bit cold, so a hot shower would be very comforting. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯m going to head back now...¡± After dinner, Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke. ¡°Huh? Head back for what? It¡¯s almost time to rest; you want to go back and be alone in your room?¡± Wang Tao asked, sounding a bit perplexed. ¡°I¡¯m going home to get a change of clothes...¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao an embarrassed glare, her face red. ¡°Oh¡ª Wait, clothes? I¡¯ll come with you.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes gleamed, as if he had thought of something. The two of them once again arrived at Apartment 502, and for some reason, Ding Yuqin felt somewhat nervous this time as she brought Wang Tao back to her place. Wang Tao had clearly been here before... ¡°I¡¯ll get the clothes; just wait for a moment.¡± With that, Ding Yuqin went to the master bedroom alone. Wang Tao didn¡¯t follow her immediately; instead, he looked at the wedding photo on the wall. ¡°Previously, I thought sister-in-law¡¯s figure in the photo was photoshopped, but it turns out, it¡¯s completely real, no modification needed!¡± Wang Tao then glanced at Zhao Yuan in the photo beside Ding Yuqin, murmuring in his mind: ¡°Brother Zhao, don¡¯t worry. I promised I¡¯d take care of sister-in-law, and I will keep my word!¡± When Ding Yuqin hurried back with a few change of clothes, she saw Wang Tao looking at her wedding photo, and she suddenly felt a strange panic inside¡ª like she was doing something wrong behind her husband¡¯s back. ¡°Wang Tao, don¡¯t look!¡± Ding Yuqin hurriedly approached Wang Tao, extending her hand to block his line of sight. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, sister-in-law? Feeling shy? You seemed quite proactive yesterday!¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. However, after he had spoken, he saw Ding Yuqin¡¯s face turn a mixture of red and white, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes. ¡°Cough, sister-in-law, I was just joking with you.¡± Wang Tao then remembered that Ding Yuqin and Zhao Yuan were very close, and that making such a joke at this time and place was indeed inappropriate. Ding Yuqin bit her lip, looking at Wang Tao with complicated emotions, but in the end, she said nothing, only squatting on the ground with her hands covering her face, sobbing softly. Women are indeed troublesome. But soon after, Ding Yuqin stood up again; she wiped her tears, turned her head away, and said softly to Wang Tao: ¡®Tve got the clothes, let¡¯s go back.¡± Wang Tao immediately frowned. ¡°Sister-in-law, are you mad at me?¡± ¡°No.¡± Wang Tao suddenly reached out, grabbed Ding Yuqin, and hugged her in his arms. Ding Yuqin instinctively tried to resist, but she was clearly unable to do so. ¡°Still say you¡¯re not mad!¡± Wang Tao pinched Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek and, seeing she still did not react, moved his hand lower. ¡°...Wang Tao, please, let¡¯s go... Can we go to your house... please...¡± Ding Yuqin begged him with tear-filled eyes. ¡°Sister-in-law, do you feel like you¡¯ve wronged Brother Zhao?¡± Wang Tao stopped his actions and asked. Ding Yuqin did not answer, but the tears in her eyes grew more abundant. ¡°Sister-in-law, go get my phone for me; it¡¯s in my room.¡± Wang Tao suddenly released her and said. Ding Yuqin hurriedly broke free from Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, and before long, she came back with his phone. After handing the phone to Wang Tao, Ding Yuqin immediately retreated several steps, keeping her distance from him. ¡°Why are you standing so far away, sister-in-law? Come sit next to me.¡± Wang Tao patted the sofa next to him, but Ding Yuqin was unmoved. This made Wang Tao frown slightly. ¡°Sister-in-law, have you forgotten our agreement? You¡¯re supposed to obey,¡± he said. Reluctantly, Ding Yuqin walked over and sat down beside Wang Tao. He immediately wrapped his arm around her. Ding Yuqin did not struggle, but instead started to speak amidst sobs: ¡°Wang Tao, I beg you, please stop humiliating me, spare me please. At your house, whatever you want me to do, I¡¯ll do, but not here...¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t listen to her and instead started scrolling through the chat history on his phone before handing it to Ding Yuqin. ¡°See for yourself.¡± Ding Yuqin subconsciously looked. The chat was with her husband, Zhao Yuan. Zhao Yuan had written many messages asking Wang Tao to take care of Ding Yuqin. Wang Tao¡¯s last reply read: Brother Zhao, I¡¯m here. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll do my best to take care of sister-in-law! The timestamp on this reply was not from after the catastrophe, but from the days when doom had just begun! After reading these messages, Ding Yuqin appeared bewildered. Wang Tao took this opportunity to speak: ¡°Sister-in-law, do you think I¡¯m taking care of you for your body? Am I that shallow? I¡¯m doing it because of my promise!¡± ¡°Since I promised Brother Zhao, I will naturally follow through!¡± ¡°Plus, Brother Zhao has entrusted you to me, what does that tell you? Do I need to spell it out?¡± ¡°So, you haven¡¯t wronged Brother Zhao. You both agreed to it. On the contrary, you have wronged me¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ve provided you with food, protection, and I even gave up the chance to go to the Survivor Base because you were at home.... I¡¯ve done so much for you, sister-in-law, and you still give me attitude? Tell me, haven¡¯t you wronged me?¡± Chapter 58 - 58 Accidental Contact_l Chapter 58: Accidental Contact_l Translator: 549690339 | ¡°I... I¡¯m sorry, Wang Tao, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Ding Yuqin apologized in a bit of a panic. Although there seemed to be something off about what Wang Tao said, she had no mind to think about it. Because what Wang Tao said was true, he really had done a lot for her. Wang Tao clearly had the opportunity to leave, but he came back and saved her, that was an indisputable fact! ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s all my fault, I¡¯m a heartless, bad woman... I¡¯m sorry!¡± Tears poured out of Ding Yuqin like a dam had burst. Wang Tao sneered and said: ¡°So, sister-in-law, what do you think you should do?¡± ¡°I... I... I¡¯ll definitely do as you say, whatever you tell me to do, I¡¯ll do it,¡± Ding Yuqin said hastily. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really!¡± ¡°Alright, then go change into this dress.¡± Wang Tao pointed to a white wedding dress hanging under the wedding photo. ¡°What¡¯s with that look, sister-in-law? Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d listen to me?¡± Ding Yuqin bit her lower lip, but eventually, she sighed. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ll listen to you and put on the wedding dress, but please don¡¯t humiliate me...¡± ¡°Relax, sister-in-law, I¡¯ll just admire from afar, I won¡¯t even touch you.¡± ¡°You, you said you wouldn¡¯t touch me...¡± ¡°Rest assured, sister-in-law, I¡¯m just feeling the fabric of the wedding dress, I¡¯ve never touched it before in my life!¡± ¡°You, you said you¡¯d only touch the wedding dress...¡± ¡°Relax, sister-in-law, I¡¯m just going to give you a little massage, I won¡¯t do anything to you!¡± ¡°You, you...¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going to rub...¡± ¡°Mmm~¡± An hour later. ¡°It¡¯s all your fault, sob sob...¡± Ding Yuqin, her wedding dress in disarray, cried in Wang Tao¡¯s arms. Wang Tao glanced at the wedding photo on the wall, then gently brushed away the strands of hair sticking to Ding Yuqin¡¯s forehead with sweat. ¡°Sorry, I accidentally got your wedding dress dirty. I can wash it for you if it¡¯s really so bad!¡± ¡°You, you¡¯re shameless, a scoundrel, a bad man... Ah¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯m very angry, call me ¡®husband¡¯ and let me hear it, otherwise there will be no end to today.¡± ¡°Are you going to say it?¡± ¡°...Hu, husband...¡± ¡°You¡¯re so good, sister-in-law!¡± ¡°You must have stored a lot of water at home too, let¡¯s go clean up. We¡¯ll rest here tonight.¡± ¡°...You!¡± The next day. Wang Tao got up early. Seeing Ding Yuqin still asleep beside him, Wang Tao patted her. ¡°Sister-in-law, the sun¡¯s shining on our butts!¡± Ding Yuqin woke up groggily and glared at Wang Tao resentfully when she saw it was only six o¡¯clock by the clock on the wall. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s mainly because the bed here is too soft, I¡¯m not used to it.¡± Wang Tao spoke with an irritating tone. ¡°Serves you right!¡± ¡°So I think, I need to sleep on it a few more times. After all, it¡¯s the apocalypse, I need to fix my bad habit of being picky about beds!¡± ¡°...I don¡¯t want to deal with you anymore!¡± Since she was already awake, Ding Yuqin hurried to get out of bed to cook, afraid that Wang Tao might play tricks again. Wang Tao did not stop, but instead looked at his own HP bar, his expression showing some surprise. ¡°My HP is regenerating again!¡± His current HP was [360/480], which meant that the cooldown period for this regenerative ability was one day? Being able to replenish too HP each time was quite impressive. After all, if not for this Blood Replenishing, it would be very slow to recover just with time. It was just unclear whether this Blood Replenishing ability belonged to him, Wang Tao, or Ding Yuqin... It was really hard to say. After all, since the apocalypse began, he had the ability to see living creatures¡¯ HP bars and loot drops from killing monsters; perhaps Ding Yuqin had some abilities as well. However, there was no way to prove this unless he tried it out with another woman, cough. After getting up, Wang Tao unexpectedly found a skull mask in Ding Yuqin¡¯s house and took the item upstairs. ¡°Sister-in-law, did you make this especially for me?¡± When Ding Yuqin saw the item in his hand, her face immediately blushed. ¡°Then thank you, sister-in-law, I really like it!¡± ¡°Wang Tao, look how neatly I arranged these!¡± On the rooftop, Ding Yuqin called out to Wang Tao with a hint of seeking praise as she looked at the neatly arranged leeks. Wang Tao, who was observing zombies through a telescope, turned around and saw Ding Yuqin, dressed in a black silk OL outfit, bending over to tend to the leeks, and he nodded immediately. ¡°Looks good!¡± ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s so neat!¡± Ding Yuqin, looking at the lush green leeks in front of her, felt jubilant. Besides the leeks, many green plants were placed around, all collected by her inside this building. ¡°It¡¯s just a pity that it doesn¡¯t rain...¡± Ding Yuqin muttered while watering the leeks and green plants. Before the apocalypse, there was a heavy rainfall, but after that, it had been clear skies. If it weren¡¯t for some water stored in the building, they would have run out long ago. Moreover, the stored water was running low, as it had been more than ten days since the water stopped, and much of it had gone bad. They could only use it for washing clothes, taking baths, and watering the green plants. For drinking, they relied on the purified water provided by Wang Tao in large barrels. Hearing Ding Yuqin¡¯s muttering, Wang Tao also looked up at the sky. The sky was clear and cloudless. But he wasn¡¯t thinking about rain; instead, he was hoping for another airdrop to happen soon. As for the water issue, besides killing zombies to obtain purified water, he could also solve it by digging a well. It was just that he didn¡¯t have the tools for drilling a well right now; if he could find a long steel pipe, he might be able to try drilling a small-diameter artesian well. His family used to live in the countryside, where everyone used artesian wells. He knew how to make one, but it required some tools and effort. ¡°Let¡¯s go, sister-in-law.¡± Wang Tao came over and patted Ding Yuqin¡¯s buttocks. ¡°Ah!¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a glare and then followed behind him, asking: ¡°Wang Tao, what are we having for lunch?¡± Until a few days ago, she never imagined she could be picky about food in the post-apocalyptic world... And that was all because of Wang Tao. ¡°Just see what you can make¡ªnever mind, let¡¯s eat those ready-to-cook meal packs today to change it up.¡± After their outing, the supplies at home could be considered abundant, and they now had the luxury of choice. ¡°Okay!¡± At noon, Ding Yuqin was cooking in the kitchen, while Wang Tao was fiddling with the radio and walkie-talkie. Ever since he made contact with other survivors through the walkie-talkie at the water plant, Wang Tao liked to play with the device whenever he had some free time. ¡°Sss...sss... is there anyone who can receive... sss...sss...¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Hearing the voice from the walkie-talkie, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He quickly moved to the window, but the signal was still not very strong. ¡°Sister-in-law, I¡¯m going up to the rooftop. Call me when dinner¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°All right!¡± Wang Tao took the walkie-talkie and ran to the rooftop. ¡°Is there anyone who can receive... sss...sss...¡± The rooftop was open and at a high elevation, with nothing to obstruct it, making the signal much better as soon as he got there. Wang Tao pressed the transmit button on the walkie-talkie. ¡°Who are you? Where are you? Repeat, who are you? Where are you?¡± ¡°Aaaah! Someone finally received me! My name is Ou Yingying, we¡¯re trapped, please save us...¡± ¡°Ou Yingying?¡± That name sounded vaguely familiar.. Chapter 59 - 59 Survivor Status_l Chapter 59: Survivor Status_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao remembered, this Ou Yingying was one of the survivors trapped in the water plant! He still had her and that married man¡¯s ¡°masterpiece¡± saved on his phone. He had unexpectedly made contact with them... After thinking for a bit, Wang Tao spoke up. ¡°How many of you are there? What¡¯s your situation?¡± ¡°Three of us! There are three of us in total, and one of us is a police officer! But we are trapped inside a milk tea shop, and there are zombies all around us... wuu wuu...¡± The person on the other end wept softly as they spoke. -What¡¯s the name of the milk tea shop? Are you injured? Let that police officer speak.¡± Wang Tao was quite curious about their current state, so he asked a few more questions. ¡°Si Mei Milk Tea Shop! We¡¯re at the Si Mei Milk Tea Shop on Rui Cai Commercial Street! I¡¯m not injured. Wei Guang¡ªoh, that¡¯s my companion, he s injured, but not by a bite, he¡¯s asleep. As for Officer Han, she¡¯s trapped in a dollar store nearby, I don¡¯t know how she¡¯s doing... Big brother, please save us.¡± Wang Tao frowned, the policewoman wasn¡¯t with them? Then they re probably doomed! This pair of dog man and woman were indeed scheming, but in this apocalypse, strength and courage were more important. Since they had neither strength nor courage and were cowards without anyone to protect them, they were unlikely to survive. As for the Si Mei Milk Tea Shop, although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t heard of it, he did know of Rui Cai Commercial Street, which was not far from Shuize University. in other words, this group was close to the Suzaku University Survivor Base, but they got trapped before they could reach it. He didn¡¯t know whether to consider that good or bad luck. -How did you get trapped? What dangers are outside?¡± Wang Tao continued to ask. ¡°We encountered a very terrifying zombie earlier, and Officer Han fired her gun to save us! Although she seemed to have killed the zombie, the gunshot attracted a large horde of zombies, and we were forced to split up. Wei Guang got injured while running away...¡± A very terrifying zombie? It must have been a special zombie. Firing a gun in the streets, the consequences were obvious. The policewoman definitely knew the consequences, but she still fired her gun to save others. Wang Tao had to admit, although he wouldn¡¯t be that kind of person, he still had great respect for them. Wang Tao thought for a moment and then said: ¡°Don¡¯t you have any food in that milk tea shop? -We do... but there are too many zombies outside, and they are still knocking on the door... I¡¯m so scared, can you please send someone to rescue us...¡± Send someone? Wang Tao was stunned for a moment, then raised his eyebrows. Ou Yingying clearly had a misunderstanding. She couldn¡¯t possibly think he was from the Shuize Base, could she? Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain; he just continued to ask her many things. Ou Yingying, like grasping at a lifeline, told Wang Tao everything that had happened along the way. Of course, she didn¡¯t go into detail about what happened inside the water plant. Having heard all this, Wang Tao had a pretty good idea of their situation. After escaping from the water plant, the three of them were quite lucky not to encounter a large number of zombies. Adding to that, Han Rui was very familiar with the roads, so before entering Rui Cai Commercial Street, their journey was full of close calls but without real danger. Ou Yingying said that Han Rui initially didn¡¯t want to enter Rui Cai Commercial Street. Although it could serve as a shortcut, the commercial street was bound to have many zombies. But after observing for a while, they saw that there were hardly any zombies inside the commercial street. Instead, it appeared to be quite deserted. Sun Weiguang thought it was an opportunity not to be missed. They had seen wandering zombies at the water plant, so maybe the zombies in the street had moved on. Therefore, Ou Yingying agreed with Sun Weiguang. Majority rules, and the three of them entered the commercial street. Actually, they could have passed through the commercial street safely, but when Sun Weiguang saw the milk tea shop, he insisted on getting two cups of milk tea for the ladies. At that time, the door of the milk tea shop was open, and it looked safe inside. Han Rui allowed it since there was a zombie ahead, which she planned to sneak past and take care of. Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying went to the milk tea shop together. But then Sun Weiguang made a noise in the milk tea shop, which suddenly attracted a terrifying zombie. Seeing that the two were in trouble, Han Rui decisively fired her gun from a distance, hitting the zombie. The zombie immediately switched its target and ran towards Han Rui. Ou Yingying saw the zombie follow Han Rui into a craft store, followed by a few gunshots; the zombie fell to the ground. Han Rui was temporarily safe, but the gunshots attracted a large number of zombies. Ou Yingying and Sun Weiguang frantically sought shelter in the milk tea shop, quickly pulling down the rolling shutter door under Han Rui¡¯s command... That all happened yesterday. The current situation was that zombies swarmed outside, and Han Rui got separated from them; neither knew anything about the other¡¯s circumstances. As for the walkie-talkie, it was because Han Rui had earlier found a small hand-cranked generator, which she had Sun Weiguang use to charge the walkie-talkie. Therefore, the walkie-talkie was in the hands of Ou Yingying and the others... After understanding these details, Wang Tao directly said: ¡°You guys hold on and wait for rescue. Hang in there!¡± Then, without giving the others a chance to respond, he promptly turned off the walkie-talkie. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s time to eat!¡± Just then, Ding Yuqin came upstairs to call Wang Tao for dinner. ¡°Coming.¡± Wang Tao slapped his bottom and went downstairs. At the dining table, Ding Yuqin served Wang Tao his meal, and only after Wang Tao was seated did she take her own seat. Then she asked curiously: ¡°Wang Tao, who were you just in contact with?¡± ¡°A group of survivors, I had met them before... Wang Tao briefly explained and shared the story about how that despicable couple deliberately endangered others. ¡°To think they would trade their teammates¡¯ lives for a chance to escape... They¡¯re really harsh!¡± Ding Yuqin felt a chill in her heart; she thought she wouldn¡¯t last a day in that kind of environment. However, the more she thought about it, the more grateful she felt toward Wang Tao. If it weren¡¯t for him, she would have been long dead... ¡°It¡¯s the end of the world, what¡¯s so harsh about it? If I were pushed to the brink, I might do the same. Sister-in-law, you¡¯d better be careful.¡± Wang Tao said, shaking his head with a smile. Although he spoke in jest, he knew human nature could not withstand such tests, and he couldn¡¯t guarantee he wouldn¡¯t do the same. ¡°You definitely wouldn¡¯t!¡± Ding Yuqin glared at Wang Tao. Seeing that Wang Tao¡¯s bowl was almost empty, she hastily got up to serve him more rice. Wang Tao suddenly spoke up: ¡°This afternoon I¡¯m going to take a trip to Building 3; sister-in-law, don¡¯t wander around the house.¡± ¡°Ah? What for?¡± Ding Yuqin quickly asked. ¡°To see if I can kill the zombies in Building 3-¡± Upon hearing this, Ding Yuqin immediately grasped Wang Tao¡¯s hand with some worry. ¡°Could you... maybe not go? It¡¯s too dangerous! The zombies inside the building won¡¯t affect us anyway...¡± Wang Tao wrapped his hand around her pale, delicate one. ¡°We have to kill the zombies because killing them makes us stronger-111 find some disabled zombies for you to try later, you¡¯ll understand then.¡± ¡°Ah? I can¡¯t do it...¡± Ding Yuqin waved her hands in refusal. Wang Tao glanced at her. ¡°Sister-in-law, not listening again? If I say you can, then you can! His tone brooked no argument. Ding Yuqin looked down, troubled, and fiddled with the white rice in her bowl. ¡°...Okay..¡± Chapter 60 - 60: Cleanup Complete, 800 HP_1 Chapter 60: Cleanup Complete, 800 HP_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Wang Tao retracted his horned hammer, feeling the surging strength in his hands, he grinned. In the corridor of Building 3, there were only four Ordinary Zombies, and he had dispatched them without much effort. After killing these four zombies, his HP had officially broken through five hundred. With every hundred points of HP gained, he would receive a slight enhancement to his physical condition, and now with five hundred HP, he felt like his body was brimming with strength! ¡°Might as well clean out this building today... The boost in his strength made Wang Tao a little ambitious. However, the reason he dared to take such a risk wasn¡¯t just because his strength had increased, but also because of Ding Yuqin-who could replenish his blood. This greatly improved his margin for error. in addition, he had many military medical kits, Inhibitors... all of which were key to boosting his confidence. So, Wang Tao spent the entire afternoon cleaning out all 12 households in Building 3 of their zombies! In fact, there weren¡¯t as many zombies as Wang Tao had imagined; out of 12 households, only 8 had zombies, totaling io zombies. Together with the previous four, there were only 14 in the building. But among these 14 zombies, there were two Hiders, which dropped a bottle of ¡°Stealth Potion (Small)¡± and a bottle of ¡°Stealth Potion (Medium)¡± respectively¡ªthe latter was simply a godsend for going out! As for that small Stealth Potion capable of evading human perception, Wang Tao didn¡¯t yet know its use. Perhaps it would be useful later on. These 14 zombies brought Wang Tao an increase of 95 points to his HP limit; his total HP was just shy of breaking six hundred. But as night was about to fall, Wang Tao decided not to take any more risks. It was important to take all the essential supplies from these houses back home before darkness settled in. After spending some time, he finally managed to bring all the food back home before the night completely fell. ¡°So much...¡± Although Ding Yuqin already knew of the loot, seeing so much stuff with her own eyes, she was still very astonished. How had she never realized that Wang Tao was so capable! ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower. Sister-in-law, you sort things out.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± These past two days, Ding Yuqin¡¯s mood had been very relaxed. Moreover, with Wang Tao feeding her well every day and giving her some vitamins, her HP finally replenished today. She was no longer looking sickly and was able to do some heavy work. Now, Wang Tao found it more convenient to direct her. After tidying up, they had dinner together, and then Wang Tao patted Ding Yuqin on the bottom. ¡°Let¡¯s go, sister-in-law.¡± ¡°Ah? Where to?¡± ¡°To your place to rest.¡± The color rose in Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheeks, and she followed behind Wang Tao with her head down. To be fair, although she had always been against Wang Tao spending the night at her house, the guilty pleasure of each encounter was almost becoming too much for her to resist. ¡°I¡¯m such a bad woman...¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face was flushed with shame. The next day, Wang Tao continued clearing out zombies. Happy Community had a total of only four buildings. Building 4, where he lived, had already been cleaned up. Building 3 was cleared out yesterday, now only Buildings 1 and 2 remained. It took a day to take care of Building 2. There were more zombies in Building 2 than in Building 3, a total of 22. However, most of them were elderly zombies whose own strength was not as good as that of the younger zombies. After dealing with all the zombies in this building, Wang Tao¡¯s HP soared to [710/710]! From over five hundred to over seven hundred HP, his physical condition was enhanced slightly twice in a row! He was almost becoming addicted to this exhilarating sensation. ¡°We¡¯ve only got one more building left, no rush, rest well, we¡¯ll come back tomorrow!¡± Wang Tao still had plenty of physical strength, but he was somewhat drained mentally and a bit fatigued. After all, he had been killing zombies inside the houses, constantly on the alert for Stealth Zombie sneak attacks, so his mind had been extremely tense, making exhaustion inevitable. That night, Wang Tao went up to the rooftop terrace to turn on the walkie-talkie for a while, trying to see if he could make contact with others. As it turned out, he made contact with Ou Yingying again, but this time Sun Weiguang was awake. Compared to Ou Yingying, who only cried and begged for help, Sun Weiguang seemed much calmer. He painted a big picture for Wang Tao, claiming he had connections at the Survivor Base and if Wang Tao could save them, he would definitely get Wang Tao a good job once they arrived at the Survivor Base. It was only then that Wang Tao learned that within the Suzaku University Survivor Base, the division of labor was very clear, even somewhat strict. To put it euphemistically, it meant every individual could make the most of their abilities. To put it bluntly, it meant everyone had to work! Only by working could one earn food and safety! There were many kinds of jobs inside the base, and the base would assign jobs according to each person¡¯s abilities and characteristics. Jobs didn¡¯t pay a salary, but one could earn corresponding Contribution Points. These points could be exchanged for many things, including food, weapons, and even safety. in any case, as long as you worked hard, there would be bread, and there would be milk too. However, since there were many types of jobs, even tailor-made for individuals, there inevitably arose a hierarchy of prestige and remuneration within these jobs. Sun Weiguang meant that he had the ability to arrange a high-paying, low-risk job for Wang Tao. As long as Wang Tao came to rescue them, he would keep his word. Wang Tao naturally scoffed at this, thinking if Sun Weiguang really had that ability, someone would have already gone to pick him up; would he have ended up in this situation? Wang Tao gave a few noncommittal responses, urging them to hang on and wait for rescue, before shutting off the walkie-talkie. ¡°This Suzaku University Survivor Base sounds quite interesting, might be worth taking a look...¡± An interested expression appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. The next day. Wang Tao continued with his zombie-clearing work. Between clearing and scavenging loot, it took him another day. The zombies in Building 1 were almost completely wiped out by him. Wang Tao¡¯s HP had also reached exactly eight hundred. The reason he said ¡°almost¡± was that Wang Tao intentionally left two zombies with all limbs broken. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡ªI beg you, I can¡¯t do it...¡± Ding Yuqin hadn¡¯t expected that Wang Tao would actually leave her two zombies to kill. Wang Tao narrowed his eyes. ¡°Sister-in-law, not following orders again, are we?¡± ¡°I... I¡¯ll do anything but kill zombies! I really will!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly clung to Wang Tao¡¯s arm, resorting to coquettish charms and layering on an enticing allure. Having never even killed a chicken, she dared not kill zombies, the mere thought was terrifying... even quadriplegic zombies scared her... Looking at the pitiful Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao remained unmoved. He had not an ounce of pity for a beauty, and without hesitation, he grabbed Ding Yuqin by the waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. Ding Yuqin let out a startled cry. ¡°Ah-¡± ¡°No discussion.¡± Wang Tao wanted to observe what it was like for an ordinary person to kill zombies. Moreover, this was for Ding Yuqin¡¯s own good; she would not be allowed to refuse.. Chapter 61 - 61 Hidden Attributes 1 Chapter 61: Hidden Attributes 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡ª ¡°Whimper, whimper, whimper!¡± Ding Yuqin held the short spear, closed her eyes, and frantically stabbed at the zombie on the ground with its hands and feet severed. While stabbing, she also kept her mouth shut, humming softly. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. After a while, Ding Yuqin finally hit the zombie¡¯s head. Squish! [-5] [0/500] The zombie died without dropping anything, as it wasn¡¯t killed by Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin. Her HP bar increased by 5 drops, turning into [105/105] 5 But that wasn¡¯t the point, the point was that, below Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP bar, some text slowly appeared¡ª [Hidden Attribute: Blood Pack] [Blood Pack: In times of clouds and rain on Mount Wu, it can restore HP to the other person.] [Friendly Reminder 1: Some lucky individuals may carry hidden attributes, which automatically take effect and cannot be directly observed. Only during the process of HP increase or skill learning is there a certain probability that they will be revealed.] [Friendly Reminder 2: Before the hidden attributes are revealed, no enhancements can be obtained.] Wang Tao: No wonder Ding Yuqin could replenish his HP, so there was a hidden attribute? ¡°I...I actually killed a zombie...¡± Feeling like her spear really pierced through, Ding Yuqin opened her eyes, looked down, and seeing that she indeed killed the zombie, she still somewhat couldn¡¯t believe it. Although this zombie had no combat ability left, having been beaten by Wang Tao until it was down to a sliver of HP. But this was the terrifying zombie that had scared her; she had never thought she could personally kill a zombie... At this moment, Wang Tao spoke: ¡°So, zombies aren¡¯t that terrifying after all.¡± Ding Yuqin quickly turned her head to look at Wang Tao, then somewhat excitedly hugged his arm. ¡°I, I...¡± ¡°Enough, stop stammering. There¡¯s another one!¡± With the experience from the first one, the second time was much smoother. This time, Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t close her eyes; instead, under Wang Tao¡¯s direction, she swiftly stabbed another crippled zombie to death. [-8] [0/500] Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP increased by another 5 points, now [110/110], but no text appeared below the HP bar this time. Combining the friendly reminders he had seen earlier, Wang Tao had a rough guess¡ª Due to the advent of the apocalypse, some lucky individuals developed a hidden attribute. This attribute normally wouldn¡¯t show itself, not even visible to Wang Tao. It only had a chance of appearing during HP growth and while learning skills. Like Ding Yuqin¡¯s hidden attribute, it appeared during the process of her HP increase after killing the zombie. The people, including Blondy, that he had seen before at the water plant, some of them had indeed killed zombies, but they only had HP bars with no hidden attributes. They might not have any, or they might have them but not yet revealed... Wang Tao himself didn¡¯t have any hidden attributes. But Wang Tao felt that he probably did, it just hadn¡¯t revealed itself yet. After all, he had many miraculous abilities... Although his HP had increased quite a lot and he had learned a skill, it was a matter of luck; he might not be as lucky as Ding Yuqin, whose hidden attribute revealed itself after killing the first zombie. Hidden attributes are different than skills. Hidden attributes should be one¡¯s ¡°talent.¡± Some people have talents; some people don¡¯t; some people have talents but are unaware of them... All this is quite normal. Skills, on the other hand, are similar to abilities, which everyone can learn-as long as their bodies can withstand it. Moreover, according to the friendly reminders, until the hidden attributes are revealed, even though they can take effect, they cannot be enhanced. So, it¡¯s like they are not fully activated? Now that Ding Yuqin¡¯s blood pack attribute had been revealed, didn¡¯t that mean that the blood regeneration effect could be enhanced in the future? It was just unclear how to enhance it, by killing zombies or through more training? Having Ding Yuqin kill more zombies was definitely out of the question now, but more practice shouldn¡¯t be a big problem. Wang Tao always had a scientific spirit, so he decided to put in the extra effort and help Ding Yuqin practice more. ¡°Hey? What are you thinking about?¡± Ding Yuqin saw Wang Tao somewhat daydreaming and waved her hand in front of him. Wang Tao suddenly grabbed Ding Yuqin¡¯s fair and delicate hand. ¡°Thinking about sister-in-law.¡± ¡°...Tsk! Pervert!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly withdrew her hand. Wang Tao smiled faintly, then quickly groped a corpse and threw both bodies out of the window. With that, all the zombies in Happy Community had finally been cleaned up. ¡°Besides you and me, it turns out there¡¯s not a single survivor...¡± On the way back, Ding Yuqin sighed. ¡°After all, it¡¯s been almost a month since the apocalypse started. There were actually survivors before, but due to staying indoors for a long time, without food or water, they starved to death or committed suicide...¡± Wang Tao had seen at least three dead people who hadn¡¯t turned into zombies. They had either starved to death or committed suicide. Ding Yuqin looked back at Wang Tao and quietly moved a little closer to him. Without Wang Tao, she would have surely ended up with the same tragic fate. After returning home, Ding Yuqin went to cook, while Wang Tao took out tools like hammers, pliers, and a cutting machine. He was ready to craft a set of internal armor for himself. Previously, his defensive gear had always consisted of books. Although books could indeed block the zombies¡¯ bites, they were no match for steel. Wang Tao was determined to make himself some steel internal armor. Of course, with his crafting skills, it was definitely not possible to make full-body armor. He just wanted to insert some steel plates inside his clothing to protect vital areas. For example, the chest, back, forearms, and lower legs. To make these things, Wang Tao spent a full three days before finally deeming them passably adequate. I m really not cut out for design work...¡± It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao¡¯s skills were lacking; mainly, a lot of time was wasted on testing. After all, this was something he was designing for himself, so he had to test over and over again if it was suitable or not. He couldn¡¯t sacrifice his mobility for defense, or else it would be a loss. Fortunately, after three days of modifications, it was more or less complete. After integrating all these steel plates into his clothes, Wang Tao felt their weight, which was slightly significant, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal for him. His current carrying capacity was extremely exaggerated, so this weight was trivial. These steel plates were much thinner than books, but their defensive power had increased by countless levels. Once Wang Tao put them on, one could hardly tell that his clothes concealed steel plates. Before, he would only use the parts of his body wrapped with books to make contact with zombies when forced into a tight spot. But now, he guessed he could directly stick his arm into a zombie¡¯s mouth. With the zombies¡¯ dental Strength, if they dared to bite down, they might just break all their teeth... I m going out this afternoon,¡± Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Where to?¡± Although Ding Yuqin trusted Wang Tao¡¯s abilities, each time he mentioned going out, she was anxious. ¡öTm going to check out North Street; there¡¯s a convenience store there. 1 saw with the binoculars, there are still supplies inside.¡± North Street was just north of the Happy Community where Wang Tao lived It was a place with large pedestrian traffic, many zombies, abandoned vehicles, and had experienced a gas explosion. Wang Tao had never dared travel through there when he went to collect airdrops before. But now, he had significantly increased in strength and could afford to take a look. Even though they had many supplies at home, Wang Tao was always one to prepare for the worst. After all, this was the post-apocalypse; there could never be too many supplies. Plus, Wang Tao still needed to kill zombies to increase his HP! ¡°You be careful...¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± After a simple lunch, Wang Tao armed himself fully, put on the skull mask made by Ding Yuqin, and left Happy Community.. Chapter 62 - 62 Fatty Zombie 1 Chapter 62: Fatty Zombie 1 Translator: 549690339 North Street was a main artery, much wider than other streets, with a steady flow of cars and pedestrians. After the apocalypse struck, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what had transpired here but now the scene was utterly chaotic, with a multitude of abandoned vehicle¡¯s clogging the way. Other alleys were still passable for vehicles, but here, forget cars, even motorcycles couldn¡¯t get through. ¡°Hehe...¡± A zombie spotted Wang Tao and immediately started staggering toward him at a quick pace. Wang Tao picked up the horned hammer in his hand, and with a ruthless swing, he smashed the zombie¡¯s head in. With a squelch, the zombie¡¯s head burst like a watermelon. [-500] [0/500] It was an instant kill with a single blow! [You¡¯ve obtained: Iron Block xl] [Iron Block: Crafting material] With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, ordinary zombies stood no chance; targeting their heads meant almost certain death with just one hit, even without using his full force! Wang Tao initially hadn¡¯t planned on searching the bodies, considering the number of zombies on the main street. But noticing what seemed like a pack of cigarettes on this zombie, he still took it. Cigarettes were like hard currency among survivors; since he had come across them, it would be wasteful not to take them; they would definitely come in handy at the Survivor Base. After killing more than a dozen zombies, Wang Tao finally made it across the street. His target was clear as he headed straight for the convenience store. Three zombies loitered at the entrance of the store, all three fell to Wang Tao¡¯s hammer. Peering through the glass, Wang Tao saw the convenience store in disarray shelves knocked over, but there was still a decent amount of food left. He took out the woven bags he had prepared in advance and began filling them with the intact food. Soon, Wang Tao had filled an entire woven bag with food. Since the food was packaged, it wasn¡¯t very heavy. After filling two woven bags Wang Tao carried them back to Happy Community¡¯s entrance. He dumped the ¡¯ food inside and then ran back to the convenience store. In that short time, three more zombies approached the convenience store entrance. Wang Tao made short work of them and continued collecting food. After filling another two bags, Wang Tao murmured softly in surprise. Inside the store was a small door he had assumed was a back exit, but upon opening it, he discovered it was actually a basement storage. ¡°There must be plenty of food in the basement storage! I¡¯ll make another trip later!¡±?????????????????????? p All the well-packaged food and water in the convenience store were gathered by Wang Tao, leaving behind food with poor appearance, all stained with blood traces. For his own safety, Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t take them. However, if there were still some in the basement, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to collect them.¡¯ Having delivered the food back to the community, Wang Tao once again headed for the convenience store. The basement was pitch dark, Wang Tao switched on his powerful flashlight, and then he gasped in shock. ¡°What the hell?¡± In the center of the basement lay an incredibly obese zombie. Wang Tao shone the light on the zombie¡¯s face, which immediately elicited a furious roar from it. It seemed to want to approach, but due to its extreme obesity, it couldn¡¯t even stand, hardly able to inch forward! Gazing at the empty basement, then at the zombie with [2000/2000]HP over its head, Wang Tao had reason to suspect it had eaten all the food in the basement. Since the zombie couldn¡¯t move, Wang Tao grew bolder. He carefully illuminated the zombie¡¯s face with his flashlight, then realized something. ¡°I thought his face looked familiar; isn¡¯t this the cashier from the convenience store?¡± Wang Tao had no idea how the cashier turned from a tall and skinny guy into a zombie fatter than a pig, but clearly, this must be a special zombie. With 2000 HP, this was double the health of the Big Hammer Zombies he had encountered; surely, if killed, it must drop something good? Wang Tao felt a tingling urge, especially since this zombie was different from the rest-it could hardly move! Even with all that HP, it was nothing more than a target! still, to be cautious, Wang Tao didn¡¯t go straight in; he needed to confirm whether the obese zombie possessed any long-range attack ability. Wang Tao picked up some bricks from outside, then positioned himself at the basement door and hurled them at the obese zombie inside. Thud¡ª Despite being hit by a brick, the zombie didn¡¯t lose a single drop of blood. Wang Tao waited cautiously for a while, and upon realizing that the zombie was only roaring without any sign of a ranged attack, he suddenly smirked. Since it¡¯s just a target, then... my apologies!¡± Wang Tao held a flashlight in one hand and the horned hammer in the other as he approached the fatty zombie. Then¡ªWang Tao discovered that due to the zombie¡¯s obesity, his little hammer simply couldn¡¯t reach its head! Feeling a bit embarrassed, Wang Tao retreated from the basement and hurried back. Ding Yuqin was huffing and puffing as she carried the food that Wang Tao had left in the courtyard of the Happy Community. When she saw Wang Tao running back quickly, she thought something had happened and was momentarily startled. She wanted to follow Wang Tao back, but she couldn¡¯t bear to leave the food behind. Wang Tao saw the panic on her face and said: ¡°Sis-in-law, don¡¯t panic, there¡¯s no danger!¡± Upon hearing this, Ding Yuqin patted her trembling chest and sighed in relief. ¡°You scared me to death! But Wang Tao, what are you...¡± ¡°Im going to make a weapon. I¡¯ll need it shortly!¡± Wang Tao said as he went upstairs. ¡°Oh oh, let me help you!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Back home, Wang Tao found a mop handle, then strapped the steel pipe spear onto it. After securing it tightly, he swung the two-meter-long homemade spear a few times. Whoosh¡ªWhoosh¡ª ¡°Not bad at all, this will do!¡± Wang Tao took up the spear and left. His third visit to the convenience store. Two more zombies approached the entrance of the store. Armed with his new weapon, Wang Tao poked at each of the zombies from a distance without hesitation. Thrust! [-500] [0/500] Thrust! [-500] [0/500] After collecting two crafting materials, Wang Tao, with the spear in hand, entered the convenience store¡¯s basement warehouse. ¡°Heh heh... roar¡ª¡± Seeing the Fatty zombie furiously roaring but unable to stand up, Wang Tao came in front of it, lifted the spear with both hands, and thrust it straight at its skull! Bang! [-112] [1888/2000] ¡°...Such low damage!¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal. After all, his opponent couldn¡¯t fight back. So there he was, wielding the spear and plunging it forcefully into the zombie¡¯s skull over a dozen times. All the while, Wang Tao stayed on guard, wary of the zombie possibly going into a frenzy or having some special attack. Fortunately, the Fatty zombie had none. When the zombie was down to its last sliver of HP, Wang Tao moved away from it, positioned himself at the entrance of the basement, then clenched the spear and hurled it hard at its head. Thrust! [-45] [0/2000] Crash¡ª The moment the zombie died, a bunch of transparent wrappings burst out! Chapter 63 - 63: The Big Explosion_l Chapter 63: The Big Explosion_l Translator: 549690339 | [Acquired: purified water (small) xio] [Acquired: purified water (medium) xio] [Acquired: compressed biscuits xio] [Acquired: canned meat xio] [Acquired: canned fruit xio] [Acquired: canned vegetables xio] [Acquired: sugar xio] [Acquired: coffee xio] [...] Looking at the huge pile of items, Wang Tao clenched his fists with excitement. Because this was not just food, it was food that could be put into a Space Backpack! From now on, when he¡¯s alone outside, he no longer has to worry about food shortages or carrying inconveniences! By killing that fatty zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s HP increased by 40. Adding to what he had gained from killing zombies on the street before, his HP had reached [930/930], just 70 short of a thousand! But, these were actually not the most important things. The most crucial thing was the blueprint the zombie dropped. [Acquired: Food Compressor Blueprint xl] [Food Compressor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Food Compressor. Required materials: Zombie Crystal Core xl, Iron Block X3, Steel Wire x, Gear x3, Blade X3, Nails X3, Cable X3, Battery x, Electronic Components X3, Rubber x3, Plastic x31 [Food Compressor: Compresses food into a smaller volume, making it more convenient to carry and use as a nutrient liquid] ¡°A Food Compressor?¡± Having read the blueprint¡¯s description, Wang Tao felt even more excited than when he had gotten the food. He finally understood what use the ¡°crafting materials¡± dropped by zombies had. This Food Compressor was definitely a survival godsend in the apocalypse! However, he couldn¡¯t craft it yet. Although he had killed quite a few zombies and acquired many crafting materials, the ones that zombies dropped were random, and he didn¡¯t have enough yet. The blueprint showed he was still missing [Rubber xl, Electronic Components X2, Blade xl] and the most important ¡°Zombie Crystal Core¡±. Acquiring these crafting materials was fine; if all else fails, he could keep killing zombies, as he was planning to increase his HP by doing so anyway. For him right now, this wasn¡¯t difficult, it would just take some time. As for the Zombie Crystal Core- Wang Tao approached the already fallen Fatty zombie and fiddled inside its head with a tool. Ablue transparent diamond-shaped crystal fell out, with a phantom image inside the core that looked like a... slowly wriggling stomach? [Level 1 Crystal Core-Glutton] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: rampant increase in appetite, excessively obese body type)] [Glutton: The more food one consumes and the fatter one gets, the stronger their defensive power becomes.] Seeing the specific information of this Zombie Core, Wang Tao¡¯s expression became somewhat strange. At face value, this Ability was pretty powerful; as long as one kept eating without limit, the defensive power would become monstrously strong. But the side effects were quite apparent. The rampant increase in appetite was one thing; food was already scarce in this post-apocalyptic world, and with such a massively increased appetite, he¡¯d need a huge amount of food! The main issue was the excessively obese body type. Just reading about it might not make clear how obese one could get, but Wang Tao had just killed this obese zombie, which was so fat it could no longer walk! If he truly ate to that extent, what good would high defensive power be if he turned into a stationary target? Moreover, without an immunity to the zombie virus, a larger body size meant he would be more susceptible to injuries if he encountered zombies... Wang Tao felt this Zombie Core might not be very useful for the average person, unless someone could develop some clever strategies with it. For Wang Tao himself... it also didn¡¯t seem very useful. Though he had the chance to remove the side effects of this core, the condition for increased defensive power was ¡°the more one eats and the fatter one gets,¡± and Wang Tao was quite content with his muscular physique- he didn¡¯t want to become a Fatty. Thus, the ability of this core wasn¡¯t useful for Wang Tao personally, but the core itself had a significant use. There were two things he could currently use the core for: crafting Strength Potions and making the Food Compressor. There was no need to craft a Strength Potion for now because the required materials were too numerous. But the Food Compressor was different. He could obtain the materials needed to create it, and it would be very useful for his current situation! After scouring the basement one more time and making sure nothing was missed, Wang Tao finally returned to the convenience store. In the short while he was busy, a few more zombies had approached outside. Wang Tao directly picked up the spear. Kill! ¡°Damn! Just one last material, and it won¡¯t drop no matter what, is it really that realistic...¡± Seeing that there were no more zombies near the street for the time being, Wang Tao suddenly felt an ache in the testicles. He was still missing a ¡°Cable,¡± and his HP had reached [990/990]. There was no helping it, whether it was for materials or for health points, he had to keep killing zombies. Wang Tao crossed through an alley and proceeded to the next street over. There were several zombies on the next street, and three of them, upon seeing Wang Tao, began to twist and quickly advance towards him. Wang Tao, without saying a word, raised his spear and swiftly blew the heads off of these three zombies. Pfft! [-500] Pfft! [-500] Pfft! [-500] Three consecutive headshots, the three zombies were instantly killed. [Acquired: Iron Block xl] [Acquired: Gauze xl] [Acquired: Cable xl] ¡°Finally got it!¡± Seeing that he had obtained the cable, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he felt that his physical fitness had improved again, and this time the increase was even more significant than before! Upon checking his HP, it had indeed reached [1000/1000]! Wait a minute¡ª Suddenly, Wang Tao felt something was wrong. Killing three zombies should have yielded at least 15 HP! His HP was just 990, which means he only gained 10 points? Where did the other 5 points go? And as Wang Tao was pondering this, he suddenly felt his head get heavy, and he wanted to sleep. ¡°Not good¡ª¡± Realizing something was amiss, Wang Tao quickly ran back, and fortunately, he had cleared out all the zombies on this street. He ran back to Happy Community without any danger. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Ding Yuqin had been watching downstairs; seeing Wang Tao returning in a faltering gait, she rushed down anxiously to meet him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. Just very sleepy, I need to sleep...¡± Although Wang Tao was very drowsy and wanted to close his eyes, his consciousness was still relatively clear. With Ding Yuqin¡¯s strenuous support, he managed to get back to his room and fell asleep as soon as he lay on the bed. Even though Wang Tao had told her not to worry, how could Ding Yuqin not worry? She struggled to take off Wang Tao¡¯s clothes, and after checking carefully that there were no injuries, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. After noticing that there were many sweat stains on his body, she brought hot water over to clean Wang Tao¡¯s body, just like a caring wife. ¡°Thirsty...¡± ¡°Here¡¯s the water!¡± Gulp, gulp- He took a big gulp of water in a daze, and Wang Tao finally became alert. He felt as if his body was filled with strength! After breaking through to 1000 HP, it seemed like his fitness had vastly improved! He instinctively looked towards his HP bar. ¡°Huh?¡± Chapter 64 - 64 Food Compressor :! Chapter 64: Food Compressor :! Translator: 549690339 HP [1000/1000] Mana [100/100] There were no changes in his HP and Mana bars; they remained just as they used to be. The change was the appearance of a line of text beneath his HP bar. [Hidden Attribute: Improved Body Conditions] [Body Strengthening: Physique surpasses that of ordinary people, gains from exercise are greater, and the upper limits are higher] ¡°Sure enough, I have hidden attributes, too! No wonder I always feel like I get a lot out of each workout!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat pleased. But then again, Ding Yuqin could see her hidden attributes from killing just one zombie, while he had to wait until his HP reached 1000... That¡¯s pretty unlucky! ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Wang Tao turned his head and saw Ding Yuqin¡¯s worried face. ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. By the way, how long did I sleep?¡± ¡°You slept for three hours! You didn¡¯t move at all; you scared me to death!¡± Seeing that Wang Tao was indeed fine, Ding Yuqin finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Three hours, huh...¡± Wang Tao nodded. As long as it wasn¡¯t like last time when he passed out for three days, it was okay. ¡°Are you hungry? It¡¯s already dark; I¡¯ll go make dinner...¡± As she spoke, Ding Yuqin was about to get up and leave. But Wang Tao grabbed her hand in one move and smoothly pulled her onto the bed. Then, with his arms around Ding Yuqin¡¯s waist, he looked into her watery eyes and said with a smile: ¡°Hungry, but I¡¯d like to have some dumplings first.¡± Wang Tao felt unusually energetic at the moment and needed to use up some energy. The next morning. When Wang Tao woke up, he saw Ding Yuqin in his arms, looking at him with her sparkling eyes. ¡°Truly, only a dead cow...¡± Last night, Ding Yuqin had been thoroughly defeated, yet this morning she was the first to wake up, looking radiant. On the contrary, it was Wang Tao himself who felt a slight soreness in his waist. ¡°Hmph!¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a coquettish glance, then wriggled out of his arms. ¡°I¡¯m going to make breakfast!¡± ¡°Call me husband first.¡± ¡°... Husband-¡± After murmuring softly like the buzz of a mosquito, Ding Yuqin took off as if escaping. ¡°Tsk, tsk.¡± Once Ding Yuqin had left, Wang Tao continued to ponder the problem he hadn¡¯t figured out the day before. ¡°Where did those 5 drops of my blood go... Could it be that after my HP exceeds a thousand, killing zombies no longer increases the HP limit?¡± Wang Tao was a bit distressed. If that were true, then wouldn¡¯t that mean 1000 HP was the ceiling? But he had seen zombies with 2000 HP and unknown creatures with tens of thousands of HP... ¡°I¡¯ll try again later. If ordinary zombies don¡¯t increase HP, then I¡¯ll go kill special zombies! I refuse to believe...¡± After a simple wash, Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave his room. Instead, with a thought, a blueprint appeared in his hand. It was the [Food Compressor Blueprint], and then he took out the necessary crafting materials and Crystal Core. The words ¡°Ready to Use¡± instantly appeared on the Blueprint. Upon choosing to use it, the materials turned into streams of light and flew into the blueprint. Then, a line of text appeared on the blueprint. [Crafting in progress, remaining time 59:59] ¡°One hour? That¡¯s fine, I can wait a bit.¡± ¡°Wang Tao, time to eat!¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice came from outside the door. ¡°Here it comes.¡± After breakfast, Wang Tao began his morning exercise. Following some simple physical tests, Wang Tao felt that his overall physical condition with 1000 HP was at least two to three times stronger than when he had only 100 HP! He now had a feeling that ¡°without any weapons, he could smash a zombie¡¯s skull with one punch¡±... At a certain moment, Wang Tao¡¯s spirit perked up, and he looked at his backpack. [The Food Compressor has been manufactured] With a thought, Wang Tao prepared to take the machine out, but a prompt appeared that there was not enough space. ¡°...How big is this thing?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s workout area was in a corner of the living room, cluttered with many things. He moved to the center of the living room. Ding Yuqin was wearing a yoga outfit and doing her exercises. Wang Tao walked over and unceremoniously slapped her on the butt. Ding Yuqin immediately turned red-faced and looked at Wang Tao. ¡°It¡¯s not really appropriate during the day...¡± ¡°What is sister-in-law fantasizing about? I mean you¡¯re in my way, move aside.¡± Ding Yuqin instantly flushed with embarrassment. However, following a heavy thud of something landing, Ding Yuqin jumped in fright. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s this situation? Your Ability?¡± In the living room, there was now a massive machine with a wasteland punk style. ¡°It¡¯s sort of like that. Go grab a small bag of rice.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. He himself was also baffled; how could those few small materials create such a big machine? That wasn¡¯t scientific! ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t ask further, she always remembered not to do anything that might annoy Wang Tao. Soon, Ding Yuqin came over with a 2.5 kg bag of rice, and Wang Tao brought the same amount of water. After the Food Compressor was made, prompts with instructions popped up. To make the nutritional liquid, it required equal proportions of food and water, and there would be some loss during the process that would provide energy to the machine... meaning that if used sparingly, the machine could last a long time. There were three windows on the machine, two for input and one for output. After pouring the rice and water into the ¡°input¡± windows, the machine began to vibrate slightly. A moment later, the ¡°output¡± window in the middle opened, revealing four thumb-thick plastic tubes filled with a yellow, viscous liquid. There was a line of text on the plastic casing. ¡°2000 calories, rice flavor... Shelf life 1 year...¡± Ding Yuqin curiously read the words on it. ¡°For a normal person, 2000 calories of energy should last a day, right?¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too clear on that himself; he knew it certainly wouldn¡¯t be enough for him. ¡°This is a nutritional liquid...¡± Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. After hearing this, Ding Yuqin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Wow! This is amazing! It¡¯s really useful for us!¡± All the food from the entire complex, the small restaurant, and the convenience store had been taken back to Wang Tao¡¯s home. Though not as much as a dedicated food storage warehouse, when added up, it was quite a lot. Many of the food items had short shelf lives and would go bad over time, and they were also inconvenient to carry. If they could be turned into this kind of nutritional liquid, that would be very convenient! ¡°Okay, go sort out the food with short shelf lives or those that are inconvenient to carry. I¡¯ll see which ones need to be turned into nutritional liquid.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin immediately took a notebook and pen, eagerly going to sort the food. Wang Tao focused his mind, and the four tubes of nutritional liquid were stored in his Space Backpack. ¡°Indeed, they can be put into the Space Backpack! Great stuff!¡± Wang Tao suddenly thought, since any food could be turned into nutritional liquid, could contaminated food also be made into nutrient-rich liquid? ¡°Bring back some contaminated food to try, and also kill a few zombies to check the HP situation....¡± Chapter 65 - 6 5 Suicide Bombing Zombies 1 Chapter 65: Chapter 6 5 Suicide Bombing Zombies 1 Translator: 549690999??????? ¡ã??? ¡ª ¡°Indeed, it doesn¡¯t increase the HP limit anymore...¡± Gazing at the three corpses on the ground, Wang Tao shook his head as he looked back at his own HP of 1000. He collected all the damaged and bloodstained food from the convenience store, then carried the bag of food back home. ¡°Humming-¡± With a buzz from the Food Compressor, the window of the machine opened to reveal the nutrient solution inside. ¡°It¡¯s useful! But... the quantity is much less.¡± Wang Tao compared and found that the nutrient solution made from contaminated food was several to even more than ten times less than that made from normal food, with most of it lost during the process. ¡°It¡¯s a bit of a pity, but it¡¯s not inedible! It¡¯s a win as long as we can eat it!¡± Ding Yuqin consoled him at the side. ¡°True, being able to eat is already good.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Adhering to the excellent tradition of frugality, he planned to bring back all the damaged food from outside, as even the leg of a mosquito is still flesh. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll continue to scavenge for supplies. Sister-in-law, you¡¯re coming with ¡°Ah? I have to go out too...?¡± Upon hearing this, Ding Yuqin immediately felt afraid. ¡°To make you stronger.¡± Ding Yuqin really wanted to say that she didn¡¯t want to become stronger, and that she was satisfied with life as it was. But she was afraid that saying so would make Wang Tao resent her. Thus, Ding Yuqin started to use her ultimate tactic-acting coquettishly. ¡°Can I, can I not go...¡± Looking at his sister-in-law shaking his arm while holding onto it, feeling the softness transmitted from his arm, Wang Tao expressed with a smile, ¡°No.¡± Wang Tao was not swayed by persuasion or by her soft approach, leaving Ding Yuqin with no choice but to go out with him. Of course, before going out, Wang Tao equipped Ding Yuqin with protective gear, and then the two descended the stairs together. Looking at the chaos and deadly silence outside, Ding Yuqin stayed close behind Wang Tao. ¡°The end of the world...¡± Having stayed at home for a long while, it was Ding Yuqin¡¯s first time stepping out of the residential complex. Feeling the quietness and desolation, it made her very uncomfortable. Especially when she saw zombies on the streets, she was so frightened that she quickly hid behind Wang Tao. Wang Tao, holding a hammer, walked leisurely to the zombies and tapped one on the head, not using too much force. [-469] 131/500] The zombie was knocked down and heavily injured. ¡°Attack!¡± Wang Tao urged in a low voice. Ding Yuqin swallowed and, unwilling to disobey his command, gripped the spear and stabbed viciously towards the zombie¡¯s head. Thud! [-31] [0/500] Seeing that Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP increased by 5 points above her head, Wang Tao was instantly gratified. Since he was going to scavenge all the materials around, he naturally had to ace these zombies. But killing ordinary zombies wasn¡¯t adding to his HP anymore, making it feel somewhat wasteful. Therefore, it was better to add some HP to Ding Yuqin-mainly because Wang Tao wanted to know if the effectiveness of her blood replenishing packs would strengthen after her HP increased. Now that Wang Tao¡¯s HP had reached 1000, Ding Yuqin could only replenish 100 HP for him daily, which still felt insufficient. As for the items that Wang Tao obtained from killing zombies, he didn¡¯t have an immediate need for them, so it could wait. If needed later, he could kill zombies to collect them, as he could easily take out ordinary zombies at that point. After spending two days, Wang Tao finally scavenged clean all around the residential complex, and all the food that could be brought back was brought back. Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP also reached a solid 300. Whether the increase in HP affected the healing ability or not, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know for the time being, as he had been at full HP recently. But he knew that Ding Yuqin¡¯s physical condition had improved a lot-many positions that she couldn¡¯t withstand before, she could now let Wang Tao go a bit wilder. Last night, there was a heavy rain. It was a bit of a surprise for Ding Yuqin, given there had been no rain for a whole month, and the air was extremely dry. The leeks and green plants on the rooftop were well watered, seeming to have grown overnight¡ªwait a second! ¡°Sister-in-law, have you noticed that these green plants have gotten bigger?¡± On the rooftop patio, Wang Tao suddenly pointed to the green plants on the ground and asked. ¡°Not really... I think?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s tone was somewhat uncertain. She almost came to check on these green plants every day, so logically, if they had grown, the change should not have been so apparent to her. But now, she felt... as if they really had grown a bit larger? You¡¯re not sure? Then it seems they have gotten bigger!¡± Wang Tao normally didn¡¯t pay much attention to these green plants. Today, at a glance, he felt they had grown significantly larger! Especially the chives that were cut just two days ago, which had already grown back halfway. Could the growth rate of chives be this fast? Wang Tao looked at the drizzling rain in the sky, a bad feeling grew inside him. Could it be related to yesterday¡¯s heavy rainfall?¡± ¡°Heavy rainfall? You¡¯re saying that the rainfall promoted the growth of the plants?¡± Ding Yuqin was surprised. ¡°There might be that possibility. Sister-in-law, you surely haven¡¯t forgotten the three days of heavy rain before the apocalypse arrived.¡± How could Ding Yuqin forget such a deeply engraved event? She spoke with some concern: ¡°Could it lead to something bad...?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it shouldn¡¯t affect us for the time being.¡± Wang Tao looked at his HP bar and saw no changes, nor did anything strange appear. ¡°Sister-in-law, put those sorted foods into the Food Compressor to make nutrient liquid. I¡¯m going out again today.¡± Wang Tao planned to collect gasoline and diesel today. The food resources around the neighborhood had been scavenged clean, and Wang Tao felt that it might soon be time to leave, since no matter how much food he had, without replenishment it would be useless. If they were to leave, with all the supplies he had to carry, including Ding Yuqin, the blood replenishing pack, walking definitely wasn¡¯t an option; they would have to drive. If driving, then the energy source definitely needed to be prepared in advance. However, Wang Tao hoped that it would be best to drive an electric car, since it made much less noise. So today, while Wang Tao went out to look for gasoline and diesel, he also sought out electric cars. It would be ideal if he could find one. If not, he would have to make do with a pickup truck. ¡°Be careful!¡± After Ding Yuqin helped Wang Tao put on his full protective gear, he headed downstairs with some empty oil drums. Many abandoned vehicles on the street had caught fire, and naturally, their gasoline was gone. Wang Tao¡¯s destination was a small open-air parking lot on the next street, which he had scoped out with binoculars before. There were several intact cars there. But upon arriving outside the parking lot, his gaze suddenly sharpened. ¡°Is that...¡± Wang Tao saw a bloated, organ-exposed zombie. [1000/1000] An HP of one thousand wasn¡¯t too high. But it was the most disgusting zombie he had ever seen, bar none. ¡°Clearly, it¡¯s a special kind of zombie, but it¡¯s not recorded in the military¡¯s data...¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t go directly towards it. Maintaining a certain distance, he threw a brick at the zombie. Smack¡ª The sound made the zombie divert its attention, and upon spotting Wang Tao, it immediately started staggering over. Wang Tao readied himself for combat.¡¯ But before it got close to Wang Tao, the exposed organs on its body suddenly started to pulsate, then swell. Finally¡ª Bang! With a loud explosion, it blew up, turning into a cloud of blood mist! ¡°Shit! Good thing I didn¡¯t go closer!¡± Looking at the scattered limbs and body parts on the ground, Wang Tao was relieved. However, after spotting the pale blue Zombie Core among the bloodstains, Wang Tao quickly ran over to pick it up. I better leave quickly, or I¡¯ll be surrounded by zombies¡ª¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Suddenly, chilling howls came from all directions. Over a dozen seemingly Ordinary Zombies sprinted over from a distance. When they encountered some low obstacles, they actually leaped over them! They were even climbing cars and walls! Fuck! They can climb walls too? Have the zombies evolved?!¡± Chapter 66 - 66 Self-Destruct Crystal Core 1 Chapter 66: Self-Destruct Crystal Core 1 Translator: 549690990??????? J??? ¡ª ¡°Run!¡± Without any hesitation, Wang Tao turned his head and ran! The zombies¡¯ running speed was fast, and they moved fluidly, not at all stiff. If It were the old Wang Tao, he might not have been able to outrun them. But now Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness had improved a lot, and even with the heavy load on his body, he was not slower than them. These fast-moving zombies appeared from all directions, but there was only one on Wang Tao¡¯s way home, which was good news. He charged toward the lone zombie, and as he approached, Wang Tao picked up the horned hammer in his hand and smashed it down viciously onto the creature¡¯s head. Bang! [ -432 ] [ 568/1000 ] A head-shot with the hammer only caused over four hundred damage, and as the zombies had tooo HP, it would take at least two or three more hits to kill them. The zombie was knocked flying backwards. Seizing the momentum, Wang Tao swung two more hammer blows. [ -421] [ -147 ] [ o/iooo ] The zombie was killed. Wang Tao picked up the loot drop, his feet not stopping, and continued running toward the community. Although it took him just three hits to kill the zombie, which seemed manageable, these zombies were much faster and more troublesome to deal with than ordinary zombies. Moreover, there were too many of them. In just a short while, another dozen or so appeared around him. The sight of over thirty zombies, like athletes, sprinting furiously toward him was enough to make anyone¡¯s scalp tingle. And Wang Tao was not sure if the explosion earlier would attract other special zombies; it would be even more troublesome if other types showed up. Wang Tao ran frantically ahead, with zombies vigorously chasing after him. However, these zombies were not as fast as Wang Tao; by the time he returned to the entrance of Happy Community, most of the zombies had fallen behind, leaving only five young male zombies still in pursuit. Wang Tao didn¡¯t take the main gate but directly climbed over the fence into the community. But the five zombies also climbed over the wall following him! Wang Tao glanced at the five zombies and, instead of staying to fight, he opened the door to Building 4 and ran upstairs. ¡°Roar!¡± The five zombies roared and pounded on the door, but upon realizing it wouldn¡¯t budge, they scaled the wall with the agility of rock climbers! ¡°What happened to Wang Tao?¡± Seeing Wang Tao return, Ding Yuqin quickly opened the door and asked. She hadn¡¯t witnessed the zombies following Wang Tao, but she heard the explosion before. ¡°Zombies are chasing after me. Stay inside the house; I¡¯m going to the rooftop!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t enter the room but instead instructed her briefly and directly ran to the rooftop, then forcefully opened the door. ¡°Roar!¡± The five zombies had already climbed to the rooftop. Seeing Wang Tao, they immediately charged at him. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao took a deep breath and, when he saw all five zombies enter his attack range, he lifted his hammer and smashed it down on the closest zombie simultaneously utilizing his Shockwave ability. Bang! [ -451 ] The hammer struck the forehead of the first zombie and then a visible Shockwave spread from the zombie¡¯s head in all directions! [-324 ] [ -351] [ -332 ] [ -328 ] ( -356 ] All the zombies staggered wildly, a string of numbers jumping from their heads so fast they almost dazzled Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m so strong!¡± As he marveled inwardly, Wang Tao¡¯s hands continued to move. Bang! [ -461] [-342 ] One advantage of the Shockwave was that the zombies hit by it were not only injured, but also repelled, and some even became unsteady and fell to the ground. That is to say, they had no time to counterattack. Bang! [-207] [-211] [...] [0/1000] [...] Three strikes and five zombies were wiped out instantly! ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao vigorously shook the hammer, then with a thought, he collected all the loot that had burst forth. [Acquired: Can*2] [Acquired: Blade*3] [Acquired: Nails*2] [...] The items that ordinary zombies dropped were usually one or two, most commonly one, with two being very rare. Whereas the items these zombies dropped were around two to three each. But in terms of danger level, these were far more dangerous than ordinary zombies, after all, not only were they fast, but they also appeared in groups. ¡°These zombies might be a new type that emerged after the recent heavy rain...¡± Wang Tao glanced at his HP once again; it was still not replenished by a single point. b He was not too disappointed because judging from the items these zombies had dropped, they were probably just ordinary zombies ¨C in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes only those that yielded Crystal Cores were considered special zombies. It was a pity that he had no chance to test whether special zombies could still replenish his HP. He had just encountered one, but that thing self-destructed and it wasn¡¯t counted as his kill. Apart from the Zombie Core, nothing else dropped. Wang Tao threw the bodies of these five zombies down from the building and then looked at his Happy Community, shaking his head with a sense of helplessness. Looks like it¡¯s time to leave...¡± He had thought about preparing a bit more and not rushing to leave But the appearance of zombies that were as mad as crazies suddenly filled Wang Tao with a sense of urgency. The walls of his community couldn¡¯t hold back such zombies, let alone the crazy zombies that could even climb up the buildings... Wang Tao returned home, and Ding Yuqin hurried over with worry. ¡®Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sister-in-law, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Then... what¡¯s happening outside?¡± ¡°A new type of zombie has appeared...¡± Wang Tao explained briefly. When Ding Yuqin heard that these zombies could not only scale the walls of the community but also climb up to the rooftops from the exterior of the buildings her face turned pale.??????????????????????????????? ¡¯ When she was free, she liked to water the plants on the rooftop, which, in her eyes, was the safest place in the world. If she encountered a zombie while watering the plants one day... that would be certain death! What should we do? Should we take down the chives?¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat afraid. She had just managed to live comfortably for a few days under Wang Tao¡¯s protection; was fate still not willing to let her be... ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sister-in-law. These zombies were attracted by the loud noises. As long as you don¡¯t make too much noise, it should be fine. Of course, we can¡¯t stay here much longer, we¡¯ll have to see when we can leave. Tomorrow I¡¯ll go out again...¡± Wang Tao reassured her. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll listen to you!¡± Ding Yuqin clutched Wang Tao¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Oh right...¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered he had picked up a Zombie Core but hadn¡¯t had the chance to check it yet. With a thought, a light blue transparent Crystal Core appeared in his hand. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Self-Destruct] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: None)] A Crystal Core without side effects? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but upon reading the description that followed, he understood why there were no side effects. [Self-Detonation: Consumes all energy, the body explodes instantly.. The range and power of the explosion depend on the amount of energy] Chapter 67 - 67: The Quality of the Crystal Core 1 Chapter 67: The Quality of the Crystal Core 1 Translator: 549690239?????? J???? ¡ª Wang Tao had previously thought that all crystal cores had side effects, but it now seems that this isn¡¯t the case. Every crystal core contains impurities, but that doesn¡¯t mean they definitely have side effects-those side effects refer to the obvious ones like photophobia or excessive obesity. Impurities themselves are a kind of side effect-too much accumulation poses the risk of turning into a zombie! However, this is a result of long-term accumulation. They are different... Furthermore, when Wang Tao saw that this crystal core had no side effects he was quite surprised. But after seeing its ability introduction, he instantly understood. No wonder the ability¡¯s name is Self Detonation. This damn thing is literally an ability for self-detonation! One can use it only once in a lifetime! For Wang Tao himself, the uselessness of this Self-Destruct Crystal Core is on par with the Glutton Crystal Core he had previously consumed as a material. After all, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t choose to integrate either of these two types of crystal cores. Of course, these two crystal cores would definitely still be of some use to others. After all, once someone becomes an ability user, their physical condition would improve significantly, making it worth it even if they didn¡¯t use their abilities. Then, Wang Tao reminisced about the differences among these crystal cores. Up to now, he had obtained a total of four zombie cores. They were two Shockwave Crystal Cores, one Glutton Crystal Core, and today¡¯s Self-Destruct Crystal Core. These four crystal cores, apart from having different types, also have different qualities. Only their purity is the same, all at 50%... Therefore, Wang Tao had reason to speculate that the purity of Level 1 crystal cores was probably all 50%, but as for higher-level crystal cores, whether their purity would be higher or lower, Wang Tao felt that it would most likely decrease... As for the quality of the crystal cores, Wang Tao¡¯s four cores are of four different quality levels, each with a different color. These are a 20% fusion success rate White Rank, Ordinary items; 40% Blue Excellent; 60% Purple Excellent; and 80% Red Superior. Wang Tao had previously synthesized two Shockwave cores and obtained an Orange Epic with a 100% success rate. So looking at it this way, the situation becomes quite clear¡ª The quality of crystal cores should have five categories, ranked from low to high according to the success rate of fusion, namely: White Rank, Ordinary (20%), Blue Excellent (40%), Purple Excellent (60%) Red Superior (80%), Orange Epic (100%)! Although the Orange Epic was synthesized by him, since such a thing exists, he thinks that it should be possible to drop one. If someone were to drop an Epic Crystal Core, that would undoubtedly be incredibly lucky. Of course, even if they are not Orange Epic, Purple Excellent and Red Superior are also good, at least the fusion success rate exceeds 50%. For Wang Tao, the most cost-effective method at the moment is to synthesize two crystal cores whose combined quality can reach 100%. Because after synthesis, the purity of crystal cores also adds up. Currently, the purity of Level 1 crystal cores is 50%; two of them add up to just 100%, so ¡¯ using three crystal cores for synthesis would be a bit of a waste of purity. ¡°Gulp...¡¯1 Hearing the sound of someone swallowing saliva, Wang Tao turned his head and saw Ding Yuqin looking at the zombie core with a face full of longing. ¡°Sister-in-law wants to eat it?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°I do...¡± Ding Yuqin replied subconsciously and then came back to her senses. She quickly became somewhat embarrassed and said. ¡°No, no, no, I won¡¯t eat! You eat!¡± Wang Tao had talked to her about the Zombie Core, but she had no idea what it looked like, and the Crystal Core in Wang Tao¡¯s hand was too clean, so she didn¡¯t know it was a Zombie Core. ¡°Sister-in-law, do you know what this is? This is a Zombie Core. Eating it gives you a certain chance to obtain an Ability, you know? Aren¡¯t you tempted?¡± Wang Tao said somewhat seductively. ¡°Not tempted!¡± Although Ding Yuqin was still swallowing her saliva, she turned her head away directly. She truly wasn¡¯t tempted; she didn¡¯t care about whether she had an Ability or not. As long as Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave her behind, she was content. But her instinct kept telling her to eat that Crystal Core, so she simply turned her head away, refusing to look. Seeing that Ding Yuqin did not appear to be lying, Wang Tao was somewhat impressed. He had initially thought that Ding Yuqin was the strong, independent type But after deep communication, he realized she was a traditional type who tended to rely on men. That kind of woman might not be expected to start a business or make money, but as a wife, she would definitely fit the bill. Alright, let me give you a rundown on Crystal Cores...¡± Wang Tao explained everything he knew to Ding Yuqin, so that she wouldn¡¯t be completely in the dark if she ever encountered one in the future. Ding Yuqin was startled when she heard that this Zombie Core was a Self-Destruct Ability. ¡°Good thing I didn¡¯t eat it. I really wouldn¡¯t want to self-destruct!¡± The Crystal Core was temporarily stored in the Space Backpack, not needed for the moment. However, Wang Tao had no plans to use it for himself either. After all, this wasn¡¯t a game; he had only one life. If he were ever driven to self-destruct, it would be death either way... he had no intention of blowing himself up to benefit others. At night, after completing their daily exercise, Wang Tao noticed it was still early, so he took out the walkie-talkie. And again, he managed to get in touch with Ou Yingying. A week had passed since their last contact, and Wang Tao was somewhat surprised that Ou Yingying was still alive ¨C although it might be a bit rude to say so, the fact that the two of them were still alive for so long meant they definitely had something special. Wang Tao inquired briefly, and Ou Yingying said that there was plenty of food in the milk tea shop for the two of them, and the roll-down shutter door was sturdy, keeping ordinary zombies out. As long as they stayed quiet in the milk tea shop, they were relatively safe. But while they were safe, both were showing signs of near mental collapse. ¡°Big brother, please send someone to save us! We are really going crazy...¡± In the milk tea shop, a disheveled, filthy Ou Yingying whispered tearfully. She and Sun Weiguang had been in this milk tea shop for a week. The space inside the shop was very small, and they had to live their lives fully within it unable to even open the door ¨C not even a crack, because zombies would gather at the smell of anything human. So you can imagine the smell inside... The interior reeked, while zombies knocked on the door from time to time outside. Especially at night, they could hear a multitude of footsteps and various eerie howls... Being tortured in such conditions for a week, it was a testament to her strength that she hadn¡¯t collapsed already. It was fortunate that not only she but also Sun Weiguang were in the milk tea shop so they could talk and ease the loneliness somewhat. Otherwise, she didn¡¯t know if she could have held on... Wang Tao naturally had no sympathy for these two, but his thoughts went to the female police officer. He personally had a certain admiration for that kind of righteous female police officer. Although the police officer had taken refuge in a shop and seemed quite safe, the conditions Ou Yingying described were such that she too would not be able to hold out alone for long. What a pity... ¡°Hold on and wait for rescue!¡± After saying that in a perfunctory manner, Wang Tao turned off the walkie-talkie.. Chapter 68 - 68 Electric Off - road Vehicle_l Chapter 68: Electric Off ¨C road Vehicle_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous outside...¡± Ding Yuqin lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, drawing circles with her fingers, while sighing. She had heard everything Ou Yingying said just now, and it was difficult for her to imagine how long she would survive in that kind of situation... Thank goodness for Wang Tao! ¡°How could it be called the apocalypse if it weren¡¯t dangerous...¡± Wang Tao gently stroked Ding Yuqin¡¯s hair, then suddenly, with a mischievous smile, he whispered in her ear, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t sister-in-law thank me in some way?¡± ¡°How, how should sister-in-law thank you... Feeling the warmth by her ear, Ding Yuqin¡¯s ears turned slightly red as she raised her head, twisting her body uneasily. Wang Tao looked at her red lips. ¡°Mmm...¡± It rained again today. Wang Tao was preparing to brave the rain and visit that parking lot once more. The task of collecting fuel and finding a vehicle wasn¡¯t complete yet. As Ding Yuqin watched him, Wang Tao left Happy Community with a can of fuel. He had cleared all the zombies on this road yesterday, but overnight, more zombies had appeared on the streets. Without any hesitation, Wang Tao, amidst the rain with hammer in hand, dealt with them one by one. -These zombies seem a lot more sluggish. They didn¡¯t notice me even when I was so close... Could it be because of the rain?¡± Wang Tao pondered. The sound of raindrops hitting the ground and buildings was like the crackling of fireworks. Maybe these sounds interfered with the zombies¡¯ hearing, and the rainwater could also cover up scents... So, it seemed logical that the zombies¡¯ senses had been weakened. After killing more than a dozen zombies, Wang Tao carefully arrived at the open-air parking lot. However, he didn¡¯t dare to go straight in. Instead, he carefully observed the surroundings to make sure there were no suicide bombing zombies like yesterday before he cautiously entered. Wang Tao glanced around and saw that apart from two cars with open doors, the rest were locked. Among these locked cars, there were three that had been in accidents, smashed by something. The cars from which Wang Tao collected gasoline were these few with open doors and damaged cars. Because their alarms wouldn¡¯t sound. If he tried to break into the intact cars, their alarms would likely go off. He did not want to end up like yesterday, being chased by a swarm of crazy zombies. Soon, Wang Tao had filled a canister with gasoline, without raising any alarm. ¡°Continue!¡± The fourth car, with an open door, had a zombie lying on the steering wheel, unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s approach. Wang Tao suddenly pulled the zombie down and swung his hammer for a headshot. [-500 HP] The zombie didn¡¯t even have time to react before it was killed instantly. Only then did Wang Tao turn his attention to the car. ¡°Huh? This should be an electric car, right? Looks like it¡¯s a range extender... It was a domestic brand of rugged off-road vehicle, angular and tough-looking, very impressive and domineering. Before the apocalypse, the whole world was advocating for new energy vehicles, and Qian Country was no exception. They created some pretty nice new energy vehicles. There were all kinds of models available, including sedans, SUVs, and off-road vehicles. However, comparatively speaking, the sales of SUVs were the best, followed by sedans, and the off-road vehicles had the worst sales. The reason for this, apart from personal preference, was mainly the price, which was much higher for new energy off-road vehicles than for other types of vehicles. Take this vehicle in front of me, for instance, if Wang Tao remembered correctly, it was an extended-range new-energy vehicle-it could be refueled and recharged. The engine did not directly drive the wheels but used fuel to generate electricity, which, in turn, powered the electric motor that drove the wheels. The starting price seemed to be about 600,000. It belonged to the category that people praised but did not necessarily buy, since the price wasn¡¯t exactly affordable. Wang Tao climbed in and rummaged around, finding a car key. He gently pressed it, and seeing the key light up, Wang Tao felt delighted. ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s not broken?¡± He depressed the brake and held down the push-to-start button. Whirring- Wang Tao heard the faint sound of an electric motor starting up. ¡°There¡¯s power, and it still has seventy percent fuel! After making sure there were no issues with the car, Wang Tao drove it straight out of the parking lot. It had to be said, electric vehicles were quiet, especially in pure electric mode, and coupled with the rain, the sound of raindrops interfered with the zombies¡¯ judgment... Wang Tao didn¡¯t encounter any issues on his way back to Happy Community. It was only after he had parked the car under building number 4 that Wang Tao finally let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Now that I have a car, and enough fuel, the next step is to scout out Suzaku University Survivor Base, to see if it¡¯s safe and suitable for me. If it is, then I¡¯ll go there. If not, I¡¯ll have to look elsewhere...¡± Wang Tao was inclined to live where there were more survivors, as there was strength in numbers. Especially in an orderly Survivor Base, he wouldn¡¯t need to handle everything personally and could focus on improving his Strength. It was too dangerous to be alone in the apocalypse. Not to mention the endless hordes of zombies, the creature he encountered in the wild with 10,000 HP wasn¡¯t something one person could take on. Even with his current Strength, he didn¡¯t stand a chance. And to put it bluntly, if any danger did arise, being among many people would provide cannon fodder to shield him. If he were alone, he¡¯d have only himself to rely on. Of course, the premise was that he wouldn¡¯t become cannon fodder himself. Wang Tao had his own judgment. If the Survivor Base really wasn¡¯t suitable, he wouldn¡¯t insist on staying. As for the idea of establishing his own Survivor Base, Wang Tao was not currently considering it. If he had the capability to manage or lead, wouldn¡¯t he be out there starting a business and making a fortune rather than hunkered down here as a small-time Martial Arts Substitute Actor? Although it was the apocalypse and personal Strength was very important, that didn¡¯t mean one could afford not to think. Otherwise, one might not even realize when they¡¯d been outsmarted. Unless one¡¯s Strength was so extraordinary that they could defy all laws, but clearly, he wasn¡¯t at that level yet. For him now, the best option was to join a large official Survivor Base, followed by Ordinary large ones. He wasn¡¯t interested in medium-sized bases, and small ones... like Happy Community, weren¡¯t necessary. Of course, his definitions of large, medium, and small were according to his own understanding. ¡°However, before that, I still need to inspect and modify the car...¡± Wang Tao touched his chin and murmured to himself. He had already scoured the entire community, finding a lot of materials and tools, and planned to modify the car to deal with the harsh environment. After three days, Wang Tao reinforced many parts of the car and even fitted an additional steel plate on the exterior. While this somewhat affected speed, vehicles couldn¡¯t go too fast in these conditions anyway. Sacrificing a bit of speed for stronger Defense seemed quite appropriate. It was raining again that day. Looking at the pouring rain outside the window, Wang Tao felt it was a good day to head out.. Chapter 69 - 69 Fierce Firepower_l Chapter 69: Fierce Firepower_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Sis-in-law, I¡¯m heading out today, and I might be gone for a few days. Don¡¯t run around while I¡¯m not here on your own.¡± Wang Tao glanced at the rain outside the window and spoke to Ding Yuqin beside him. ¡°...Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin felt reluctant, but she knew that Wang Tao was searching for their new home. Soon, Ding Yuqin helped Wang Tao get fully geared up. ¡°Remember, you must stay at home. There¡¯s plenty of food, enough for you. I¡¯ve also left a walkie-talkie for you, and I¡¯ll check in on you from time to time. If I find out that you¡¯re running around again, sis-in-law, watch out for a spanking!¡± Wang Tao gave Ding Yuqin¡¯s bottom a firm smack. ¡°Stop it-¡± Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao an annoyed look, then said seriously, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll wait for you at home obediently! Be careful, okay?¡± Ding Yuqin bestowed a longing kiss on Wang Tao, and then watched reluctantly as he drove away from Happy Community. Having a different car really made a difference; not only was this one more comfortable, but it was also much quieter. Plus, with the heavy rain and detours, he hardly encountered any zombies along the way. Even if an occasional zombie did appear, he simply ran it over. However, the slight regret he had was that he didn¡¯t encounter any special zombies on the way. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested in killing ordinary zombies anymore, but if he came across special ones, he definitely would want to try and take them down. After all, special zombies had Crystal Cores. ¡°At this pace, I should arrive at Shuize University in another twenty minutes...¡± Wang Tao ate some compressed biscuits in the car, preparing to hit the road again, but upon spotting a building in the distance, he raised an eyebrow. ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that Rui Cai Commercial Street right ahead!¡± Wang Tao reviewed the map; if he cut through Rui Cai Commercial Street, Suzaku University was indeed very close. At least, it could save him ten minutes of travel. In a post-apocalyptic world, saving time was saving lives. However, considering what Ou Yingying had described over the walkie-talkie earlier, Wang Tao still felt it was better to take a detour. Time-saving on the premise of safety was one thing, but if there was danger, then it was a different story altogether. ¡°Da da da¡ª¡± All of a sudden, rhythmic gunfire came from the commercial street. Even though it was raining heavily, the sound was unmistakably clear. ¡°Gunfire! From the direction of the commercial street!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed, and he immediately turned off the car and got out, climbing up to the third floor of the building behind him. Rumble¡ª ¡°Roar!¡± The sound of gunfire incited countless zombies to roar; the ground seemed to tremble. ¡°Da da da¡ªda da da¡ª¡± The gunfire continued, giving the impression that it wasn¡¯t an individual, but more like a squad at work. After climbing to the rooftop of the three-story building, Wang Tao immediately took out his binoculars to observe. In the distance, Rui Cai Commercial Street was swarming with zombies, and at the entrance of the road at the forefront were three modified off-road military vehicles, reinforced with steel plates, wire netting, and spikes. Each of the three vehicles had a shooting port on the roof, with three camouflaged soldiers emerging halfway out, pulling the triggers of the mounted machine guns, firing bursts at the horde of zombies. Rifle fire was also coming through the shooting ports of the car windows. The ferocious, terrifying zombies were falling en masse as if they were chives being harvested. Even if they weren¡¯t shot in the head, being hit by a 12.7 caliber machine gun would pulverize half of their bodies, rendering them instantaneously incapacitated. ¡°This is the power of thermal weapons!¡± On the rooftop, Wang Tao watched this scene with a surging heart, feeling as though he was the one firing the guns. After all, which man could reject shooting a gun! ¡°With such firepower, how could zombies possibly stand a chance against humans! I wonder if there¡¯s still a large scale army surviving...¡± Three vehicles, more than a dozen guns, after killing a large swath of zombies, rolled straight over them and drove into the commercial street. They then stopped in a triangular formation in front of a shop. Zombies continually approached from all sides but were shot dead, and occasionally, a few slipped through the defensive fire but were powerless against the modified military vehicles. Inside the vehicle, someone opened the door and waved to the shop, then two figures were seen running out of the shop and diving into the van. ¡°Hmm? Those two silhouettes look familiar... Ou Yingying and that Sun Weiguang?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had casually told Ou Yingying and the others to wait for rescue over the walkie-talkie, not really expecting them to actually wait. Yet, they had? Such good luck? Even Wang Tao was envious of this stroke of fortune. He continued to watch, and as soon as Ou Yingying and the other were on board, the convoy immediately began to retreat. At that moment, more zombies converged from all directions, swarming towards the three vehicles like a black tide. Wang Tao also spotted at least dozens of those ¡°crazy zombies¡± that ran faster than humans and could climb over walls. The arrival of these ¡°crazy zombies¡± suddenly increased the pressure on the armed convoy! Though Wang Tao could not hear or see the communication within the vehicles, the suddenly chaotic gunfire suggested they were starting to panic. Fortunately, they had plenty of bullets and thick armor, so no matter how strong the crazy zombies were, they could not withstand the gunfire. The vehicles struggled to break free from the encirclement of zombies and reached the main road, then with a sudden acceleration, the three vehicles sped away. But it was not so easy to shake off the zombies, and due to the poor road conditions, the convoy couldn¡¯t pick up much speed. The horde of zombies relentlessly followed behind, as if they could be overwhelmed at any moment. These people must be from Shuize University Base, but perhaps fearing to lead zombies there, they didn¡¯t head in that direction. Instead, they led this large group of zombies away via another road. After watching the three vehicles and the horde of zombies leave, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°These people have good weapons and combat capabilities, but they seem a bit reckless! I wonder who¡¯s commanding them... However, they¡¯ve drawn all the zombies away, so couldn¡¯t I take a shortcut?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He took another careful look, and sure enough, there were no longer any living zombies in the commercial street¡ªjust a lot of zombie corpses lying around. ¡°Now¡¯s the chance, let¡¯s move quickly!¡± Wang Tao realized this was a good opportunity. He immediately went down and climbed into the vehicle. After starting the car, he drove towards Rui Cai Commercial Street. Reaching Rui Cai Commercial Street and seeing the pile of zombie corpses, Wang Tao felt a bit regretful. If only he had killed them, he thought, even if it didn¡¯t restore HP, at least he could have gained a lot of spoils of war. The corpses blocked the way, slowing down the car a bit. At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly heard some noise coming from a shop. ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Wang Tao immediately turned around, just as the shutter door of one of the shops deformed and then shattered, and a figure flew out of the broken doorway. Bang! The figure slammed hard onto the front of Wang Tao¡¯s car. Fortunately, he wasn¡¯t driving fast, or else there could have been a risk of flipping the car. Wang Tao first looked at the car¡¯s front with some distress; thankfully, the reinforced front end was undamaged. Only then did he turn his attention to the severely injured figure on the ground. Huh? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the person turned out to be Han Rui. She had taken off her police uniform and changed into ordinary clothes, which caused Wang Tao not to recognize her at first. ¡°Thump, thump¡ª¡± At that moment, a burly figure walked out of the same shop.. Chapter 70 - 70 Picking Up a Leak_l Chapter 70: Picking Up a Leak_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Get away¡ªoh no, save me!¡± Han Rui flew out, her whole body aching, her head heavy. Upon seeing a figure before her eyes, her long career as a policewoman made her instinctively tell the person to get away. After all, that zombie was too terrifying, not something an ordinary person could handle. But as soon as she came to her senses and saw that the person was sitting in a car¡ªand a car that had been reinforced with steel plates at that¡ªshe immediately changed her plea, asking the person to save her. Wang Tao didn¡¯t immediately go to save Han Rui, nor did he leave. Instead, he grabbed the horned hammer and directly opened the car door to get out. Whoosh¡ª The rain outside was heavy, instantly drenching Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. ¡°You¡ª¡± Han Rui glared at the sizeable man before her. If he didn¡¯t run now, it would be too late to try later! He couldn¡¯t possibly believe he could beat that zombie, could he? With all those muscles? Unfortunately, Han Rui¡¯s entire body was in pain, rendering her unable to move. Otherwise, she would have grabbed the car to forcibly take the big man with her to leave. Wang Tao, of course, was unaware of Han Rui¡¯s thoughts. He was actually looking for a special zombie, and lo and behold, one had come to him. Most importantly, the zombie was already severely injured! [321/1500] If he let such an opportunity pass, he would be cursed with thunderous retribution! Wang Tao gripped the hammer in his hand, eyeing the zombie not too far away. This was a zombie over two meters tall, but with a deformed physique; its upper body on the right side was enormous, especially the right arm, which was almost half the size of Wang Tao. However, the left side of its body was shriveled, especially the left arm, which was smaller than that of a normal person. It was as if the nutrition from the right side was being diverted to supply the left side. The zombie¡¯s body was riddled with bullet holes, and some black blood was oozing out from them. ¡°Attacker...¡± This kind of zombie was described in the military¡¯s zombie files and was named an Attacker! It was different from the Sprinters zombies. A difference of just one character in their names, but the strength of the two was absolutely more than ten times apart. When Wang Tao saw the zombie¡¯s gaze turn towards him, he decisively ran away from the car. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± From that somewhat deformed giant mouth of the Attacker, a roar emerged, and then lifting its right arm, it pushed off with its hind legs, charging straight towards Wang Tao. Boom- Watching the colossal zombie charge towards him like a raging bull at high speed, Wang Tao abruptly rolled to the right side. The Attacker almost grazed Wang Tao¡¯s body as it rushed past. Bang! The Attacker crashed head-on into the opposite building¡¯s wall. With a loud crash, it created a large hole in the wall filled with cracks, and a [-3] appeared over the head of the Attacker, who seemed somewhat dazed by the impact. The Attacker¡¯s mode of attack wasn¡¯t biting, but ramming. Anyone hit by it would either be left with only half their HP if they didn¡¯t die, and that was just for those with good physical fitness. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. Wang Tao felt that with his current strength, he might be able to withstand it, but it wasn¡¯t necessary. So he dodged at an extremely fast speed. An Attacker could run straight for twenty to thirty meters in one charge, not stopping unless it hit a person or obstacle. And if it did hit an obstacle, there would be two possible outcomes: either it would smash the obstacle, or it would be stopped by the obstacle and suffer dizziness for a few seconds. The buildings on this street were all reinforced concrete, quite durable; they not only stopped the Attacker but also caused it to become dazed. Han Rui, leaning against the car, widened her eyes, filled with disbelief. ¡°He actually dodged it!¡± Only someone who had personally fought this zombie could understand the terror of its charge. From an observer¡¯s perspective, the trajectory of the charge was visible. But if you were the one in its path, there was almost no chance to dodge! Yet the big guy had actually managed to dodge it! She had previously thought he was done for, but it turned out he was an expert! She had misjudged! Meanwhile, Wang Tao, taking advantage of the Sprinter¡¯s moment of dizziness, hurried over and swung the hammer three times at its head. Bang! Bang! Bang! [-121] [-124] [-76] [0/1500] Is it dead just like that? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, after all, this was a special zombie with 1500 HP. He had thought that there would be an exchange of blows between them. But then again, considering his greatly improved strength, it made sense that he could easily kill a special zombie that was already weakened. ¡°Eh?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s face lit up with joy, because he noticed that his HP had increased! He had gained 40 points, and it was now [1040/1040]! Did this mean that killing ordinary zombies wouldn¡¯t increase his HP, but killing special zombies still did? Indeed, 1000 HP wasn¡¯t the limit! With a thought, the semi-transparent package dropped by the zombie entered Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack. [Acquired: Rush Right Arm Blueprint xi] Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to look at the loot; he hurriedly used the hammer to pry out the Crystal Core from inside the Sprinter¡¯s head. It was a Purple Crystal Core named [Rush], and without time to look closer, Wang Tao stashed it away and immediately ran back to his car. Han Rui¡¯s mouth hung open the entire time, her face a picture of shock. After seeing that Wang Tao had dodged the zombie¡¯s attack, she realized she had misjudged him. But watching Wang Tao take down the zombie with just three swings of his hammer, Han Rui was completely dumbfounded. She was aware of how formidable this particular zombie was; even when she heard the gunfire, she dared not make a sound for help. In the end, she was discovered and got knocked out cold. She tried to fight back, but it was no use! And then this man killed it with just three hammer blows... What also surprised her was the efficiency with which Wang Tao extracted the Crystal Core; his actions were those of someone who had done this many times before! So, he was an Ability User! After Wang Tao returned to the car, noticing Han Rui¡¯s unusual gaze towards him, he decided not to waste words, grabbed her arm, and threw her into the back seat of the car. ¡°Uh... thank you...¡± Han Rui grimaced in pain but didn¡¯t show any dissatisfaction; instead, she sincerely voiced her thanks. Being rescued was a great favor in itself, she had no right to ask for more. Wang Tao glanced at her through the rearview mirror inside the car. ¡°Buckle up!¡± Upon hearing this, Han Rui hurriedly fumbled to buckle her seatbelt. Wang Tao forcefully stepped on the gas pedal. ¡°Whir-¡± The electric motor had strong torque, and coupled with the car being all-wheel drive, the vehicle instantly shot forward. Han Rui, inside the car, felt the powerful sensation of being pushed back against her seat, her eyes revealing a hint of surprise. ¡°No wonder he dares to drive around by himself, it¡¯s an electric car!¡± The sound of an electric car is relatively quiet, plus it was raining heavily, so their chances of safely returning to the Survivor Base were high¡ªHan Rui assumed Wang Tao was from the Shuize University Survivor Base, since it was close by. However, possibly due to the gunfire earlier, although there were no zombies on the commercial street, there were many of them after passing through the commercial area. For safety, Wang Tao deliberately took some detours. After spending several hours, they finally reached Shuize University in the evening. The present Shuize University was completely different from what he remembered. The walls around the campus had been raised significantly, topped with sandbags, shooting ports, and barbed wire, while the bottom was lined with anti-tank obstacles, trenches, and big iron barrels with burn marks... Just looking at all this gave one an immense sense of security. A sign hanging over the gate read ¡°Shuize Base¡± in large characters. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to enter, instead parking the car in a safe corner before turning his gaze to Han Rui. ¡°Officer Han, shall we talk?¡± Chapter 71 - 71 Han Rui’ s Attributes 1 Chapter 71: Han Rui¡¯ s Attributes 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡ª ¡°Do you know me?¡± Officer Han looked at Wang Tao, who was wrapped up tightly all over, with a mixture of caution and surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you before.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t elaborate. ¡°What do you... want to talk about?¡± Officer Han was somewhat uncertain of Wang Tao¡¯s intentions. ¡°Is this base reliable?¡± Wang Tao gazed at the base before him. Officer Han knew what Wang Tao meant by ¡®reliable¡¯. She had encountered a group of survivors with ill intentions before, and she certainly wasn¡¯t going to easily trust other survivors now, even Wang Tao who had just saved her life, she remained somewhat wary. But in her opinion, the Suize Survivor Base really was reliable. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s reliable. My former boss is inside, and besides, this is a base established by our Security Army...¡± Officer Han shared some information she knew. ¡°Okay, then I can rest assured.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then looked at Officer Han again and said, ¡°I¡¯m somewhat curious about the process of Officer Han coming to the Commercial Street, and what happened to Officer Han when she was trapped in the dollar store. Would Officer Han be able to satisfy my curiosity?¡± ¡°...No problem!¡± Officer Han nodded decisively, well aware of her current situation-although she had escaped the threat of the zombies, and had been saved by this man, her life was, in effect, in this man¡¯s hands. Officer Han didn¡¯t yet know what Wang Tao was thinking; as long as Wang Tao did nothing excessive to her, she would try her best to be accommodating, to avoid provoking him. ¡°I came to Rui Cai Commercial Street about last week-I can¡¯t remember the exact day...¡± Officer Han¡¯s story was similar to what Ou Yingying had described earlier, but there were some differences in the details¡ª They had arrived at Rui Cai Commercial Street without encountering any danger, and with the Suzaku University Survivor Base just in sight, the three of them were extremely excited. Officer Han suggested taking a detour around the Commercial Street even though there seemed to be no zombies inside it, she was still a bit worried. But her husband, Sun Weilong, wanted to go straight through. The Commercial Street wasn¡¯t just one street; it referred to the entire area. Detouring would mean a significantly longer route. In the post-apocalyptic world, every additional minute outside was a minute of danger. Going through would save a lot of time. They also observed that there were no zombies in the Commercial Street, which seemed visibly safe, whereas taking the detour meant facing invisible risks. Ou Yingying was indecisive, finding reason in Officer Han¡¯s words, yet agreeing with Wei Guang¡¯s argument as well. So when both turned to her for a decision she chose to support Wei Guang¡¯s idea-to pass through the Commercial Street. Officer Han was actually a very decisive person, but, in all honesty, even she wasn¡¯t sure if her judgement was right. So this time, she conformed to the majority. As they entered the Commercial Street, everything went smoothly. The three of them moved quietly, not drawing any attention from the zombies. However, as they passed in front of a milk tea shop, Ou Yingying mentioned she was thirsty and wanted some water. They hadn¡¯t had any for a whole day. Wei Guang was thirsty too, and upon hearing this, he looked at the milk tea shop nearby. The shop wasn¡¯t big, the door was open, and one could easily see there were no zombies inside. Then, Wei Guang volunteered to take Ou Yingying to the shop to look for water, figuring that a milk tea shop was likely to have clean water. Officer Han saw a zombie at the corner ahead, blocking their way, and decided to go ahead and clear it out herself. After some effort to deal with the zombie, a noise suddenly came from the milk tea shop. Before she could understand what was happening, she saw a female zombie, different from the others, charging directly into the shop. Officer Han hurried over, only to find Wei Guang and Ou Yingying hiding under a table. Just as the zombie was about to reach them, Officer Han pulled out her gun and pulled the trigger decisively. With a ¡°bang¡±, the bullet hit the zombie, successfully diverting its attention. But it also attracted countless other zombies in the vicinity. Han Rui quickly instructed the two of them to puli down the roll-up door to hide, and then she rushed into a nearby shop. This special zombie naturally followed her, but she was a good shot. As the zombie charged in after her, she rapidly emptied her magazine. For now, even the strongest zombie was still made of flesh and blood and definitely couldn¡¯t withstand bullets. As long as you have good aim and hit the zombie¡¯s weak spots, you could easily kill it-even if it was a special zombie. Therefore, this special zombie was directly killed by Han Rui. But by then, a large horde of zombies had already appeared outside. She couldn¡¯t meet up with Sun Weiguang, so she had no choice but to lock the doors and windows and hide there. Han Rui initially thought that the zombies outside would soon leave, but unexpectedly, they seemed to stay on the street without wandering off. Fortunately, there was some food in the shop, so she wouldn¡¯t starve to death. What she didn¡¯t expect was that a burly special zombie had made its way into the house next door at some point. With no bullets left, she couldn¡¯t possibly fight a special zombie with her bare hands. Her only option was to stay hidden and wait until today. When she heard the gunfire outside today, she was thrilled, thinking she might be rescued. But with a terrifying special zombie nearby, she didn¡¯t dare make a sound. She had hoped the special zombie would be lured away. Unexpectedly, it seemed that the special zombie was injured or something because it didn¡¯t leave. Instead, it hid inside the house. This left Han Rui in a bit of a predicament. Even as the gunfire gradually faded into the distance, she never found a suitable opportunity-she didn¡¯t dare to open the door or call out, as she might get bitten by the zombie before anyone came to her rescue. However, there was some good news. The group outside had drawn away the large wave of zombies. If she could avoid the special zombie next door, she would be able to come out. But she didn¡¯t manage to avoid it and was discovered by the zombie. Then came the situation Wang Tao saw. She had no time to dodge and was directly rammed by the ¡°Attacker¡± zombie, even smashing through the roll-up door and landing on Wang Tao¡¯s car. ¡°...That¡¯s what happened.¡± After explaining her previous experiences in one breath, Han Rui licked her dry lips. Han Rui¡¯s story provided a few more details than Ou Yingying¡¯s did, and there was one discrepancy¡ª Ou Yingying claimed that it was Sun Weiguang who took the initiative to get them milk tea, but according to Han Rui, it was Ou Yingying who wanted water, and that¡¯s why Sun Weiguang went to look for water in the milk tea shop. Based on his understanding of their character and his own speculations, Wang Tao felt that Han Rui¡¯s story was likely more credible. Ou Yingying clearly intended to shift the blame away from herself. Of course, none of that mattered now, as the events had already occurred. And... Han Rui hadn¡¯t told the whole truth either! Wang Tao looked at Han Rui and chuckled softly: ¡°Officer Han, it seems you¡¯ve left out some details!¡± The things you got from killing the special zombie and your Ability, you didn¡¯t mention them!¡± Han Rui¡¯s mouth opened slightly, and she fell silent. When she saw Wang Tao skillfully pry the Crystal Core from a zombie¡¯s head, she knew Wang Tao must be aware of certain things, but she hadn¡¯t expected him to be so knowledgeable, even guessing that she had an Ability! She didn¡¯t know how she had exposed herself. She wasn¡¯t very keen on telling others about her Ability. But, considering Wang Tao was her lifesaver, she felt conflicted. Wang Tao just silently watched Han Rui without speaking. The reason he knew about Han Rui¡¯s Ability was simple-her Attributes were different from ordinary people¡¯s¡ª HP [85/231] Mana [30/100] [Hidden attribute: Arrest] [Internal Impurity: o%] Chapter 72: Entering Survivor Base_1 Chapter 72: Entering Survivor Base_1 Translator: 549690339 Aside from Han Rui¡¯s Ability, Wang Tao was also very interested in her Hidden Attributes. He remembered clearly that when he saw Han Rui at the water plant before, she didn¡¯t have any Hidden Attributes. At that time, Han Rui¡¯s HP had already broken through a hundred, indicating that she had killed zombies. It seems her luck wasn¡¯t that good. Han Rui¡¯s Hidden Attribute was quite interesting. [Arrest: More likely to capture criminal suspects] This Hidden Attribute looks pretty awesome, but now, in the post-apocalyptic world, it seems pretty useless, no? And how exactly is a ¡®criminal suspect defined? Wang Tao himself has killed someone, although that person was a harmful lunatic, but according to the laws of peacetime, he would also be a suspect. But the problem is, there are no laws now... Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand, but if he had the chance in the future, he could observe it. After all, it was a Hidden Attribute. As for the one at the bottom, [Internal Impurity: O%], that should be taken literally. The Purity of a Level 1 Zombie Core is only 50%, the remaining 50% is impurities. Therefore, after fusing a Crystal Core, impurities will accumulate in the body, whether the fusion is successful or not. ¡ö¡öO%¡± doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t any, it¡¯s probably rounded off. After all, after Wang Tao learned his Ability, he didn¡¯t have the ¡°Internal Impurity¡± attribute on his stats. If Internal Impurity reaches 100%, one would probably completely turn into a zombie! ¡°...Okay, here¡¯s what happened...¡± After hesitating for a while, Han Rui still decided to speak up. She felt that Wang Tao was most likely an Ability User himself, and she was still quite confused about this Ability thing. If she could communicate with a fellow Ability User, that would be quite nice. ¡°The female zombie that my husband and Ou Yingying disturbed before was obviously different from the other zombies. It was a head taller than ordinary zombies, and its appearance was particularly ferocious, its face was like that of a devil...¡± ¡°Most importantly, it walked without making a sound, and its senses were extremely sharp! I didn¡¯t notice when it appeared at all. And when I took just one quiet step towards it, it discovered me! However, its target was very clear, aimed at the two people in the milk tea shop. If I hadn¡¯t fired a shot, it might not have chased after me...¡± ¡°When it chased me, its speed wasn¡¯t slow, but it didn¡¯t know to dodge. After it followed me into the shop, I shot it in the head a few times, and then I blew its head off... But when it fell to the ground, a diamond-shaped red crystal fell from its shattered head and rolled to my feet. I didn¡¯t know what was happening at the time, and when I saw the red crystal, I felt an urge to eat it, but it was covered in blood and looked disgusting... ¡°So, I washed it with water. After that, my body seemed to act on its own, and by the time I realized it, I had already swallowed the crystal... I didn¡¯t even know if the crystal was cleaned properly, especially after I ate the crystal, I felt a blur before my eyes, and drowsiness hit me. At that time, I thought I was infected... In the last moments of consciousness, I was still regretting why I couldn¡¯t control my own mouth...¡± ¡°Turns out, I wasn¡¯t infected, I just fell asleep. But I slept for quite a long time, probably for about two or three days, and I didn¡¯t feel any hunger either, then Han Rui took a deep breath, a look of excitement on her face. ¡°Then I discovered that I had obtained a miraculous ability¡ªI could vaguely sense the presence of several zombies outside the house!¡± -I don¡¯t know how to describe it to you, that feeling can¡¯t be put into words, but I could just sense that there were zombies outside and even discern their approximate numbers!¡± At this point, Han Rui¡¯s eyes sparkled brilliantly. She had been quite desperate about the apocalypse, always forcibly supporting herself with her conviction. But now that she had acquired this Ability, she felt like she truly saw hope! ¡°The hefty zombie you killed seems to have appeared while I was asleep. After waking up, I could vaguely feel that it was next door to me, with only a thin brick wall between us... So I didn¡¯t dare to make any rash moves, especially given its huge size. It¡¯s a pity that I was ultimately discovered, even though I was cautious and always keeping an eye on it. But when it smashed through the wall, I couldn¡¯t react in time and was sent flying...¡± At this, Han Rui still seemed somewhat scared. Her ability and combat capabilities were unrelated; it was a purely supportive power. Moreover, she was already injured, and her pistol was out of bullets, leaving her essentially powerless in combat. Had it not been for Wang Tao, another hit from a zombie would have sealed her fate. ¡°Thank you for saving me! I don¡¯t have anything to give you in return right now, but once we get to the Survivor Base, I will find a way to repay you!¡± Han Rui said to Wang Tao with utmost seriousness. Wang Tao graciously accepted Han Rui¡¯s thanks. As for repayment... was Wang Tao the kind of person who sought compensation? ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be waiting.¡± ¡°I definitely won¡¯t go back on my word!¡± After Han Rui made her promise, she asked curiously: ¡°What¡¯s your name? To repay you, I should at least know your name and what you look like, right?¡± Wang Tao took off his glasses and face mask, revealing his face. ¡°My name is Wang Tao.¡± Han Rui was slightly surprised. Given Wang Tao¡¯s sturdy build, she had thought he was a burly uncle with a rough face, but she didn¡¯t expect him to have such delicate features. ¡°Hello, my name is Han Rui, as you know. So, can we go in now?¡± The two had already been waiting outside of the Survivor Base for a while, which made Han Rui feel insecure. ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then restarted the car and slowly drove toward Shuize University. At the entrance of Shuize University, there was a simple wooden watchtower, which promptly drew attention to Wang Tao¡¯s car as it came into view. Soon, four soldiers dressed in camouflage combat suits and fully armed came out of a small door. The four soldiers held their guns downward but kept their eyes firmly on Wang Tao¡¯s car. One of them approached Wang Tao¡¯s car and said: ¡°Hello, survivor. This is the Suzaku University Survivor Base. If you¡¯d like to enter the base, please come here and cooperate with our inspection! Wang Tao extended his hand out of the window and made an ¡®OK gesture. The soldier spoke into a walkie-talkie, and soon after, the modified school gate opened. However, it was a double gate, inside which stood two people in grey protective suits holding flashlights, waiting for them. Wang Tao slowly drove into the gate and, when he reached the soldiers¡¯ side, took off his glasses and asked: ¡°May I know what the inspection involves?¡± The soldier looked into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes for a moment, then smiled and said: ¡°We¡¯ll check your car for hidden zombies and examine your pupils-those infected with the zombie virus have different pupils than normal people. I can see you¡¯re fine, don¡¯t worry.¡± Wang Tao was somewhat taken aback. Could one truly tell by looking at the pupils? He would have to learn more about that.. Chapter 73 - 73 Zombie Virus_l Chapter 73: Zombie Virus_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Nice car! It¡¯s rare to see an electric one!¡± As Wang Tao was driving slowly into the base, a soldier following outside the car struck up a conversation. ¡°It¡¯S passable, but I have to stick to less crowded areas, otherwise the electric car is useless.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s true! If you really run into a big wave of zombies, no car would suffice...¡± The soldier nodded in agreement, clearly sharing the sentiment. ¡°Smoke?¡± Wang Tao took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed one to the soldier. Upon seeing the cigarettes, the soldier seemed tempted, but he still shook his head and declined. ¡°Are your rules that strict?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. In the post-apocalyptic world, they still abided by rules so strictly? The soldier scratched his head. ¡°It¡¯s not that, you guys have to pass an inspection first, to make sure the people and things in your car are all right after...¡± ¡°Oh, I get it!¡± Wang Tao suddenly realized. It wasn¡¯t about strict rules, but cautiousness; they were wary of strangers. Wang Tao could understand, so he put the cigarettes away. Soon, the car entered the checkpoint within the base. ¡°Hello, survivor. Please get out of the car for inspection. Wang Tao and Han Rui both got out of the car, and two people in white protective suits approached them with flashlights. ¡°Take off the face mask and look at me.¡± Wang Tao removed his face mask and looked at the person in front of him. The person took out a flashlight, shined it in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, looked carefully for a moment, and then gave an okay sign to someone behind. Han Rui¡¯s inspection was done as well, and there were no issues. Then the inspectors asked Wang Tao and Han Rui to wait while they checked the car. Curiously, Wang Tao asked: ¡°Can you really tell if someone¡¯s infected with the zombie virus just by looking at their eyes?¡± One of the people in the white protective suits explained: -A person infected with the zombie virus will have white pupils and some black blood vessels in the whites of their eyes. The more severe the symptoms, the deeper the infection. If you come across such people in the future, you must stay vigilant.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± Wang Tao had never encountered an infected person during the incubation period, so he had no chance to notice these details. ¡°Huh?¡± At that moment, the person checking the trunk of the car suddenly let out a surprised gasp. The others and the surrounding soldiers all gathered around, curious- if there were danger, they wouldn¡¯t make such a sound, but would shout ¡°danger¡± or ¡°suspicious item.¡± Wang Tao was puzzled about what they had found; he remembered that other than some food, he hadn¡¯t placed anything else in his car. ¡°Damn, so much food, and there¡¯s even cigarettes! All of a sudden, a soldier blurted out impulsively. Wang Tao took a couple of steps and now he too saw the things that had surprised everyone. It was just some food with a short shelf life from a convenience store, perhaps a bit much, but his appetite was big and it wasn¡¯t so shocking to warrant such a fuss. As for the cigarettes, he didn¡¯t smoke, and many of these were spoils from looting corpses. He was thinking of trying to trade them for other goods after entering the Survivor Base. Han Rui also spotted the food and subconsciously swallowed. She hadn¡¯t eaten for two days. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°No problem! I¡¯m just a bit surprised you brought so much food, and all these cigarettes... Cigarettes are valuable stuff!¡± The soldier spoke somewhat sheepishly. ¡°That so, haha, I just got lucky, found them on the way.¡± Hearing this, a few soldiers rolled their eyes. Given Wang Tao¡¯s burly stature and the blood-stained weapons in his vehicle, saying he just happened upon these items? Who would believe that! Of course, luck played a part, but he had surely killed plenty of zombies. Particularly, some of the cigarette packs were stained with blood. ¡°Would anyone want these kinds of cigarettes? Wang Tao picked up a blood-stained pack of cigarettes. The cigarette pack was smeared with blood, but the inside was clean. Adhering to the principle of not wasting, Wang Tao naturally took the cigarettes with him. However, he didn¡¯t deliberately clean the exterior of the cigarette packs, instead keeping those with an unsightly appearance separate. ¡°Of course, these cigarettes are in high demand in the base! Are you worried they might be contaminated with the zombie virus? If so, you don¡¯t need to worry. The Government conducted experiments that showed the zombie virus loses its viability 72 hours after leaving its host, which means they become non-toxic. If you¡¯re concerned, just leave the cigarettes for more than three days...¡± ¡°Oh? Is that so?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. ¡°These are the findings of experts after conducting experiments. However, the internet had gone down by that time, and there was no way to spread the word to every survivor...¡± A soldier explained. ¡°That¡¯s better than I expected...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat pleased, knowing that in the future he could also collect items stained with blood. Of course, not for his own use since it was somewhat revolting, but useful for trading with others. Considering their behavior, there must be some kind of marketplace within the Survivor Base where he shouldn¡¯t have trouble selling his goods. The inspection of the vehicle was also swiftly completed. The check wasn¡¯t as thorough as Wang Tao had imagined; they mainly just verified that his eyes looked normal and that there were no zombies hidden in the car. There wasn¡¯t any scrutiny of bloodstains, weapons, or similar items. They didn¡¯t even notice the handgun in the car. ¡°Alright, you¡¯re both clear to enter. But you need to register, and right now you¡¯re on temporary status. If you want to get a permanent ID, head to the administrative building...¡± The soldier informed them and then let them pass. Next to him, Han Rui finally breathed a sigh of relief. She had been deceived by survivors before. Although she had great faith in the Shuize Survivor Base, she hadn¡¯t fully entered it yet. Now, reassured by the lack of any hassle, she completely relaxed. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hurry off but took out a few packs of blood-stained cigarettes and handed them to the soldiers and inspectors. ¡°This...¡± ¡°First meeting, I look forward to your care in the future.¡± The individuals quietly accepted the items without a sound. ¡°Haha, we¡¯re all survivors struggling in the apocalypse; looking after one another is natural!¡± At that moment, the soldier who first chatted with Wang Tao leaned in close and whispered: ¡°1 can see you¡¯re a capable guy, brother, so here¡¯s a tip: you should get a permanent residency. The base is recruiting now, and it¡¯s quite easy to get qualified, and this status comes with many benefits. Also, as you probably know, everyone at Shuize Base has to work. I¡¯d personally recommend you apply for a role as a base guard or a Hunter, especially the latter....¡± Chapter 74: Hunter_l Chapter 74: Hunter_l Translator: 549690339 The soldier suggested that Wang Tao get a permanent identity, saying it would make things much more convenient for him. Then he also suggested that after getting his identity, Wang Tao could apply for a job as a base guard or a hunter, remarking that both jobs were very good. ¡°...I get the idea of a base guard, but what is a hunter?¡¯1 Wang Tao was curious. ¡°A hunter is usually understood as someone who goes out hunting, right? Our base¡¯s hunters mean the same thing¡ªthey are the ones who go out to find resources. Hunters hold a high status in our base, and they are treated well,¡± the soldier explained, as Han Rui also pricked up her ears to listen. After listening to the explanation, Wang Tao roughly understood. Within Suzaku University Survivor Base, those who dared to go out and look for materials were treated very generously by the base, and the survivors respected them greatly. And the base wouldn¡¯t force anyone to hand over materials¡ªit was up to you. However, the base had created a contribution system, where handing over materials could earn you contribution points, which could be exchanged for many things, including food and weapons. Of course, there are various types of hunters, some of whom sign contracts with the base. For example, promising to bring back a certain amount of materials to the base every week, in return, the base would provide you with the best welfare and treatment. In any case, the system was very flexible, it all depended on your own choice. To be honest, it sounded quite good to Wang Tao. ¡°Thanks!¡± Wang Tao expressed his gratitude. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re all survivors, helping each other is the right thing to do.¡± After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the base¡¯s inner gate opened, Wang Tao called to Han Rui to get into the car, and then waved goodbye to everyone. The first thing that came into view upon entering Suzaku University were the hand-painted slogans on both sides of the road. On the left was written, ¡°The end of the world is not scary, zombies fear fire and headshots!¡± On the right was written, ¡°Many hands make light work, united we create the future!¡± The ground was also spray-painted with slogans like, ¡°Unity and love, mutual help,¡± and ¡°United we stand, to overcome all difficulties!¡± If he had seen these slogans before the apocalypse, Wang Tao would have found them tacky. But now, he felt an inexplicable sense of kinship. It wasn¡¯t just him, Han Rui next to him felt the same way. Looking at everything, Han Rui felt as if the air had become much fresher. Suzaku University had completely changed compared to what Wang Tao remembered. The university used to have a lot of ornamental plants, lawns, sculptures, and the like. They were impractical but did look nice. Now, those obstructive things had almost all been removed, and replaced with large sheds made of color steel plates. Inside the sheds, some people were refitting vehicles; others were setting up stalls; some were sharpening tools... Bloodstains, burn marks, and bullet holes were all over the campus grounds and walls... It seemed that establishing the base hadn¡¯t been easy. Buzz- Wang Tao¡¯s car instantly attracted the attention of the people inside the sheds. They were often here and recognized at a glance that Wang Tao was new, and looked at him curiously. Especially seeing Wang Tao¡¯s modified electric car, many of them showed looks of envy. ¡°I¡¯m going to the administrative building. How about you?¡± Wang Tao looked towards Han Rui, who was sitting in the passenger seat. ¡°I¡¯m going too. Trouble you to take me there.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao had been here before, and with the direction signs around, he quickly found the administrative building. It was a three-story structure, with a few survivors going in and out occasionally. Wang Tao parked the car and entered with Han Rui. In the lobby on the first floor, a slightly overweight middle-aged woman was surrounded by several emaciated people. The middle-aged woman was writing on a piece of paper and working on a laptop by her side. Wang Tao, being tall, easily squeezed in, and Han Rui quickly followed behind him. Although she disliked cutting in line in the past, at this time, niceties were of little concern. ¡°Hello, new survivor. Are you applying for a temporary or permanent residency?¡± The middle-aged woman had naturally noticed Wang Tao and his companion, her gaze lingering on him for a moment. Wang Tao asked, ¡°What¡¯s the difference between temporary and permanent residency, and what are the requirements?¡± ¡°Temporary residents do not enjoy the various benefits of our base, nor do they accumulate Contribution Points. Permanent residents, on the other hand, can enjoy all sorts of benefits and accumulate Contribution Points...¡± The middle-aged woman handed Wang Tao a piece of paper. On the paper were listed the various advantages of permanent residency at Suzaku University Base. Skipping over the trivial benefits, the important thing was that permanent residents could enjoy the protection of the base, accumulate Contribution Points, and be allocated work and housing for free. As for food, those who work could get Ration Tickets¡ªthis old-fashioned thing had made a comeback. As long as you work hard, you could receive one or two Ration Tickets a day. Though the food you could get with a single Ration Ticket might not be filling, it was enough to keep you from starving. ¡°As for the conditions, there are none for temporary residency; just register with me directly. For permanent residency, there are two options, and you can choose one of them. The first is to exchange too Contribution Points or submit items worth too Contribution Points; the second is to work unpaid for a week¡ª of course, we provide basic living security.¡± These two conditions were quite interesting. For most ordinary survivors who were new, they would not have any Contribution Points, and they likely wouldn¡¯t have anything valuable on them either. Therefore, if these people wanted to obtain permanent residency, they had no choice but to opt for the second condition. The second condition was much simpler compared to the first; although it meant working for free for a week, the base would provide the minimum sustenance every day during this time. Moreover, during this week, the base wouldn¡¯t have survivors do any particularly hazardous tasks. Mainly, it involved safe work such as construction, digging, and transporting. If you were lucky, you might even get to do something like standing guard or reception. Wang Tao felt that this wasn¡¯t so much the base trying to exploit a week¡¯s worth of labor for free because, from his own experience recently, most survivors were living in hardship. As long as you could provide them with food and safety, working was not an issue at all. Wang Tao leaned more towards the idea that the week was a period for the base to observe the survivors, for instance, if they found someone being sneaky or having impure intentions, the base could simply choose not to accept them. Although it was the post-apocalyptic era, and people were important, one couldn¡¯t let one wrong person spoil the whole batch, especially since this would affect the lives of hundreds, if not thousands. ¡°I¡¯ll submit items.¡± Wang Tao spoke up directly. The middle-aged woman¡¯s eyes lit up. A hundred Contribution Points was not a small number, and previously, almost no one chose to submit items directly. ¡°All right, sir, please wait a moment.¡± She then looked at Han Rui. After giving Wang Tao a glance, Han Rui said, ¡°I¡¯d also like a permanent residency, but I choose to work unpaid for a week.¡± ¡°All right, please follow me....¡± Chapter 75 - 75 Contribution Points, Ration Chapter 75: Contribution Points, Ration Tickets_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao had thought that Han Rui would ask to borrow some food to hand over, but he didn¡¯t expect Han Rui to choose work directly. This made Wang Tao look at her with new respect; he liked this kind of independent woman. An middle-aged woman called a young girl over to receive other people, and she took the two of them to the next room. She then took out a small booklet and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°This is our Contribution Points system, take a look...¡± Then she turned to Han Rui and said: ¡°May I ask Miss Han Rui, what did you do for a living before? I need to know your skill set so we can assign the appropriate job.¡± ¡°Police officer, detective.¡± ¡°Police officer? A detective! Why didn¡¯t you say so earlier! The middle-aged woman slapped her thigh, her expression filled with excitement as she motioned for Han Rui to sit down. ¡°Officer Han, our base always has preferential treatment for people with combat abilities like you! You don¡¯t have to work without compensation, you can join our base right away if you¡¯re willing! ¡°Okay!¡± Although Han Rui was somewhat surprised, she wasn¡¯t a stickler, and she agreed immediately. ¡°All right, wait a moment, please!¡± The middle-aged woman brought over a form for Han Rui to fill out. It was just basic information, quickly completed. The middle-aged woman then called over a young girl and instructed her. ¡°You take Officer Han to find Officer Feng...¡± Upon hearing this, a trace of happiness appeared on Han Rui¡¯s face. Officer Feng was a friend of her old boss. ¡°Officer Han, you follow her. All the survivors with a police occupation are managed by Officer Feng...¡± ¡°Okay, thank you.¡± After thanking her, Han Rui nodded to Wang Tao and then left with the young girl. It was only then that the middle-aged woman turned back to Wang Tao and asked: ¡°Mr. Wang, what do you plan to hand over?¡± ¡°Electronics, I guess,¡± Wang Tao considered. The items listed in this small booklet were diverse, including food, medicine, tools, vehicles, electronic products, and more, all of which could be handed over in exchange for Contribution Points. He had killed zombies and looted in the residential complex, obtaining a lot of mobile phones, computers, and other electronic products. These items were useless to him, but he had kept them on the off chance that they might become useful later. Now, they could indeed be put to use. Some electronics were in his vehicle, part brought when he left, and others acquired along the way from searching corpses. Although he did not know why the base needed these electronics, since they wanted them and he did not, it was a good opportunity to earn Contribution Points. ¡°Okay, when do you want to...¡± ¡°They¡¯re in the vehicle outside, come with me to get them,¡± ¡°You came here driving? Great!¡± Wang Tao led the middle-aged woman to his vehicle. The woman was taken aback upon seeing the modified vehicle. The base hadn¡¯t had any newcomers for two days, and now they were all strong individuals! There was no need to mention the female police officer; someone with her level of combat experience was exactly the kind of talent the base was currently lacking. And this Mr. Wang Tao seemed quite extraordinary as well. He was robust and arrived in a vehicle, clearly also possessing impressive combat ability and experience! Wang Tao took out several mobile phones, tablets, and laptops from the trunk, some of which could still be powered on. He handed them to the middle-aged woman and asked: ¡°Is this enough?¡± ¡°It should be enough! I will calculate your Contribution Points for you, the excess will be saved up...¡± The middle-aged woman hastily said. Shuize University was located in a relatively secluded area, and the houses nearby had been looted early on. Now, to loot items, one had to go farther away, which significantly increased the danger. Therefore, the Contribution Points received for handing over these items were not low. The middle-aged woman escorted Wang Tao inside to do some calculations. ¡°That¡¯S a total of 140 Contribution Points. After deducting too, you have 40 Contribution Points left... Mr. Wang, do you have a mobile phone yourself?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao took out his phone and unlocked it. The middle-aged woman brought out a data cable and connected Wang Tao¡¯s phone to the computer. In no time at all, an APP appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s phone. The middle-aged woman explained: ¡°Mr. Wang, you can register an account here, and your Contribution Points are all in it.¡± ¡°You have internet here?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat curious. Wang Tao had thought that the Contribution Points would be primitive handwritten records, or replaced by other items. He didn¡¯t expect them to exist on the internet and to even have a dedicated APP. This gave Wang Tao a feeling of high technology in an instant. ¡°This is a local area network, available only in certain fixed areas within the university. Our base has talented individuals in the field of networking, and that¡¯s why we have such a thing.¡± The middle-aged woman explained. ¡°I see.¡± After fiddling with his phone for a bit, Wang Tao quickly completed the registration. There were only four pieces of information on the APP: Name, Occupation, Contribution Points, and Assets. His Contribution Points were now 40/140, with both Occupation and Assets listed as ¡°None.¡± It seemed that the Contribution Points were also a total cumulative count. ¡°Alright, Mr. Wang is now a formal member of our base! Welcome! Here is a gift for you as a token of our meeting,¡± the middle-aged woman said, clapping her hands, and then handed Wang Tao a green Ration Ticket. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate to accept it, as it could be exchanged for a meal. The middle-aged woman then called over a round-faced girl. ¡°If Mr. Wang has any other questions, he can ask Dong Li. My suggestion is that you first apply for a position, and after securing employment, you can apply for accommodation...¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then left with the girl. ¡°Hello Mr. Wang Tao, my name is Dong Li. You can ask me anything you want to know!¡± The round-faced girl hastily said. ¡°First, take me to apply for a job.¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The job application site was right across from the administrative building, manned by a police officer in uniform. Looking at the list of job vacancies he provided, Wang Tao chose the one at the very top, Hunter. Seeing Wang Tao choose Hunter didn¡¯t surprise the police officer. After all, given Wang Tao¡¯s physique here, he didn¡¯t look like an ordinary person. Wang Tao then underwent a simple physical test, which he easily passed without any issues. ¡°Welcome, Mr. Wang Tao, to become a Hunter for the base...¡± The police officer smiled and told Wang Tao about the Hunter¡¯s scope of work. It was similar to what Wang Tao had previously heard from the soldiers. It was an encouragement to go outside and find various resources, then hand them over to the base to earn Contribution Points. Of course, this was not mandatory. It was entirely voluntary. The officer also mentioned that Hunters had a lot of freedom, and Wang Tao could arrange his time reasonably. Having become a Hunter, Wang Tao then let Dong Li take him to his accommodation. ¡°Wow! You actually have a car, and you drove here!¡± After getting into the car with Wang Tao, Dong Li was somewhat amazed. Wang Tao smiled. ¡°Lead the way.¡± ¡°Okay, turn left here...¡± A few minutes later, Wang Tao arrived at his accommodation. It was a teachers¡¯ apartment building. ¡°You can pick any of these unoccupied rooms,¡± said Dong Li. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush in and instead asked suddenly: ¡°No hurry, can you tell me how our base was established? Chapter 76: The Committee, Rush Crystal Chapter 76: The Committee, Rush Crystal Core_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Of course there¡¯s no problem!¡± When Wang Tao asked about this, the round-faced girl explained excitedly. ¡°Our base was established with the lead of our Security Army Shuize squadron, alongside the assistance of Shuize University, the Shuize County Police Department, and other government departments. At the beginning of its establishment, we encountered many difficulties, and many sacrifices were made. Being able to come this far is the result of the Security Army¡¯s efforts... Looking at the admiration in the round-faced girl¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao asked again: ¡°Then who is in charge of our base now?¡± The round-faced girl quickly replied: ¡°Our base operates under a committee system. For some of the major issues concerning the base, it requires the consent of more than half or even two-thirds of the members for a decision to pass...¡± ¡°Oh? A committee system?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had thought that the Security Army had full control over the area, but it turned out that this was not the case. ¡°So, who are the committee members? What did they do before? The round-faced girl counted on her fingers and said: ¡°Currently, there are a total of seven committee members in our base. Three are from the Security Army, two from the Police Department, one from the government, and the last one is a survivor who joined the base later...¡± ¡°Huh? A survivor who joined later can also become a committee member? Wang Tao was a bit puzzled. The first six individuals obviously contributed to the base¡¯s founding, so it was normal for them to become committee members. However, this survivor who joined later... ¡°Yes, our base is relatively fair. As long as one has the ability, everyone has the chance to become a committee member,¡± said the girl earnestly, clenching her small fist. ¡°So, what abilities does this last survivor have?¡± ¡°The intranet within our base and the Contribution Points system were all set up by Mr. Liu! I even heard...¡± she whispered, ¡°that he knows how to make timed explosives!¡± ¡°Hisss, no wonder...¡± It suddenly dawned on Wang Tao. He had wondered how an ordinary survivor could become a committee member of the base, and now he knew the reason. ¡°So, aside from the highest authority, the Base Committee, do we have any other departments here?¡± The girl recited from memory: ¡°Currently, there are five departments under the committee. They are the Finance Department, the Resources Department, the Personnel Department, the Medical Department, and the Defense Department.¡± ¡°The Finance Department is responsible for ration tickets and Contribution Points, with Mr. Liu serving concurrently as the department head... ¡°The Resource Department manages all the resources within the base and their allocation, such as food, land and housing, vehicles, electricity, water, and other materials...¡± ¡°The Personnel Department takes care of all residents¡¯ information and work arrangements within the base...¡± ¡°The Medical Department naturally deals with treating the sick and injured, but currently there are very few people in the Medical Department, only three doctors for the entire base...¡± ¡°The Defense Department is responsible for the security of the base, acting as the guardian spirit of the base! Everyone who joins the Defense Department is equipped with thermal weapons! However, this is also the most stringent department to join, currently only recruiting soldiers, militiamen, police, and others with combat experience...¡± After listening to the girl¡¯s introduction, Wang Tao was still very surprised. Before coming to the Shuize University Base, he thought that the situation here would be just a group of survivors gathering to live a primitive life. But now it appeared that this was not the case. Although the base was small, it was well-equipped, with clear divisions of labor amongst departments, and power wasn¡¯t concentrated in the hands of any single person. From what I¡¯ve seen and heard so far, this place seems decent. As to whether it¡¯s truly good, only time will tell after living here for a while. After getting a rough idea, Wang Tao headed to the faculty apartments. They had a very standard one-room apartment layout and they were fully furnished, much nicer than the student dormitories. Having arbitrarily chosen room 302, the round-faced girl left. Before she departed, she gave Wang Tao a copy of the ¡°Shuize Base Survivors¡¯ Convention,¡± and informed him that the base was holding a short welcome ceremony for new survivors who had arrived in the last week. The ceremony would be tomorrow evening. Though his attendance wasn¡¯t mandatory, there would be a free meal, and it was highly likely that some of the base¡¯s leaders would be present. If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t busy, he could attend the event. Even if he didn¡¯t care about the food, it was at least an opportunity to get to know people at the base and make himself known. Wang Tao said that would be fine. He wasn¡¯t too concerned about the meal, his primary interest was in getting to know the leaders of the Shuize Base. If he chose to reside at Shuize Base, it was crucial to thoroughly understand it. The furnishings were complete in room 302, though a layer of dust suggested it had been inhabited before the apocalypse. These rooms were free to live in-just requiring an application. After all, there weren¡¯t many people in the base, just over five hundred survivors, nowhere near enough to fill up the Survivor Base. Many buildings were still sealed, with plans to open them only when the population increased. However, while the accommodation was free, utilities like water and electricity were not; they had to be exchanged for Contribution Points. Inside Shuize University, there were diesel and gasoline generators that supplied electricity to the survivors. Since fuel consumption was involved, it was impossible to provide free power, so it cost Contribution Points¡ªand wasn¡¯t cheap. As for water, the base had drilled a well previously, allowing survivors to use groundwater. This too required Contribution Points and was rationed. Wang Tao quickly cleaned his new home, then grabbed some food for a simple meal, and finally took out the spoils of his last scavenging loot¡ªa blueprint and that purple Crystal Core. [Rush Right Arm Blueprint: Can be used to craft a right arm guard. Required materials: Iron Block*2, Steel Wire*2, Screw*2, Blade*2, Nails*2, Rubber*2, Plastic*2, Cable*2, Electronic Components*2, Battery*2] [Rush Right Arm; Sturdy in texture, can block blade and gunfire. Durability+10, defensive power+10] ¡°The materials needed are fewer than the Food Compressor, and it doesn¡¯t require a Zombie Core!¡± Wang Tao was curious about what the crafted arm guard would look like, but he lacked materials at the moment, needing one more plastic and one more nail. He would have to go out and kill a few zombies to gather what he needed. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the purple Crystal Core. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Rush] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Stiff limbs)] [Rush: Can consume a certain amount of energy to perform a rush.] The Core seemed pretty good. If he could master the same Rush Ability as the Charger Zombies, it would certainly be convenient not just for fighting but also for escaping. What he didn¡¯t know was how significant the ¡°stiff limbs¡± side effect would be. If it caused the same stiffness as the zombies, then it might not be worth the trade-off-that was, of course, for others. For Wang Tao himself, side effects were not an issue. If he could collect one or two more Rush Crystal Cores and synthesize a Core without side effects, then this skill would definitely be an asset, on par with Shockwave! ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll run into more special zombies in the future...¡± Wang Tao silently wished. He then tried to contact Ding Yuqin using the walkie-talkie, but couldn¡¯t get through. Clearly, the walkie-talkie¡¯s power was insufficient. Wang Tao switched to other civilian public channels, occasionally hearing someone speak, probably people from this base. There wasn¡¯t any useful information. The walkie-talkies he had were ordinary civilian ones, only operable on civilian frequencies. The soldiers and higher-ups at the base definitely had professional walkie-talkies, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t receive their messages. ¡°Contribution Points can be exchanged for many things. They should have high-power walkie-talkies, right? I¡¯ll check it out tomorrow....¡± Chapter 77 - 77 Exchange List_l Chapter 77 - 77 Exchange List_l Chapter 77: Exchange List_l Translator: 549690339 The next morning, Wang Tao went to the Resource Department. All five departments of the Shuize Base were located in the Comprehensive Building, including the committee meeting rooms. Although they were referred to by their individual department names, in reality, there weren¡¯t many people, so everything was housed together. The Resource Department controlled all the resources of the Survivor Base and was also responsible for issuing tasks to find emergency supplies. These tasks came with a high amount of Contribution Points. When Hunters found supplies outside, they generally kept what they could use and handed over what they couldn¡¯t to the Resource Department in exchange for Contribution Points. Contribution Points could not be directly traded, but the items obtained with Contribution Points could be traded. Regarding trade, the Base didn¡¯t have any strict requirements-not just for trade but also, other than prohibiting infighting, harming other survivors, and similar conventions, there weren¡¯t many stringent rules. It was relatively free. The Resource Department was on the first floor, and a young, chubby man was surrounded by a crowd. Wang Tao did not approach them; instead, he looked at the papers posted on the wall, which listed the Contribution Points awarded for recycling certain resources. The highest Contribution Points were given for medicines and some medical equipment. It was evident that the Base¡¯s medical resources were scarce. Wang Tao only had a few medical kits, which weren¡¯t even sufficient for his use, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t hand them over. As for other items, such as electronic products, various tools, and some food, Wang Tao had some to spare and could exchange them for Contribution Points. However, these items were at his home and couldn¡¯t be brought over right away. In addition to recycling materials, the Resource Department also allowed for the exchange of other items with Contribution Points. After Wang Tao carefully examined the exchange list, he was quite surprised. ¡°They even let you exchange for guns?¡± The list stated that a handgun could be exchanged for ten thousand Contribution Points, bullets not included. However, earning ten thousand Contribution Points was difficult; ordinary people certainly had no chance. This must have been intended especially for Hunters. Moreover, Wang Tao not only saw guns on the exchange list but also bulletproof vests, high-power walkie-talkies... even Inhibitors! Below the Inhibitor, there was a detailed description of its effect, with a special note emphasizing: With an Inhibitor, it¡¯s like having an extra half-life! Of course, the Contribution Points needed to exchange for an Inhibitor were the highest, at a whopping one hundred thousand Contribution Points for one bottle! Wang Tao was curious about the origin of these Inhibitors-whether they were from airdrops or obtained through other channels. With committee members comprising the Security Army, police, and Government officials, it made him wonder... But regardless of the source, as long as these Inhibitors were available, a lot of people would be willing to save up Contribution Points at the Base. After all, an Inhibitor could temporarily prevent the outbreak of the zombie virus, so saying it was like having an extra half-life was quite reasonable. Wang Tao made a mental note of some items he was interested in, planning to come back later and exchange his unnecessary items for Contribution Points. Even though he had Inhibitors and guns, no one would complain about having more. He would definitely take the opportunity to acquire them if he could. And items like bulletproof and stab-proof vests interested him as well-they must be more comfortable than wearing a steel plate. As for the high-power walkie-talkies, priced at one hundred Contribution Points each, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have enough Points for now, so he planned to exchange for them in a few days. By then, the young chubby man had finally finished his work. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, he came up to Wang Tao. ¡ö¡¯Good day, sir. My name is Guo Chao. Would you like to exchange items for Contribution Points, or would you like to use Contribution Points to exchange for items?¡± Guo Chao looked at Wang Tao, who was tall and strapping with a horned hammer stained with HP fastened to his waist, and treated him with great respect. One could tell at a glance that he was a Hunter; everyone in the Base held Hunters in high regard. After all, much of their living supplies were brought back by Hunters from the outside. The Base often promoted the merits of these Hunters. ¡ö¡öHello, I¡¯d like to exchange for a few Firefighter Axes.¡± The Firefighter Axes were ten Contribution Points each, and their quality should be decent-time for the horned hammer to retire. Then, Wei Zhenguo curiously inquired, ¡°By the way, how many Hunters do we have at our Base?¡± While reaching for the axes, Guo Chao replied to Wang Tao: ¡°Currently, there are about fifty people. This number is always changing, as it is a high-risk job. New people join from time to time, and some of the old ones leave...¡± Out of the five hundred people at the Base, only about fifty were Hunters who ventured out to search for supplies. This ratio was lower than what Wang Tao had imagined. But that¡¯s normal. Many survivors join the base seeking a stable environment to live in. As long as they don¡¯t have to face the zombies outside, they are willing to do any hard and exhausting work. ¡°Mr. Wang, you¡¯ve just arrived at our base, right? It looks like you¡¯re alone. Personally, I¡¯d suggest that if you go out to scavenge for supplies, it¡¯s better to form a team. After all, it¡¯s too dangerous to go alone...¡± Guo Chao said as he pulled out a document. ¡°Take a look. These are the Hunters who have recently been looking to form teams. Maybe there¡¯s someone compatible with you...¡± Wang Tao took it. The document listed about a dozen names and their brief introductions. However, these introductions were not detailed and were very subjective, simply stating who was strong, who was fast, and who had good eyesight, among other things. Wang Tao naturally wasn¡¯t interested in these. If they were all ordinary people, they were likely to hold him back. His only interest was in Han Rui, because her Ability to sense zombies was quite remarkable. Paired with his own strength... it was unrealistic to say he could dominate the post-apocalyptic world, but at least it would make scavenging for supplies in the city much more convenient. Buzz~Roar~ Suddenly, a roaring engine sound came from outside. ¡°Is it the same group of soldiers who came back earlier? Wang Tao instinctively looked out the window. ¡°Hmm? It doesn¡¯t seem to be the same people we saw earlier...¡± ¡°Quick, quick, move aside!¡± A large and a small vehicle came to a stop at the entrance. Though both vehicles were modified, they looked different from the ones seen before. Five soldiers dressed in camouflage and fully armed got out of the vehicles. Among them, two were carrying a stretcher with a burly man in his thirties, also clad in camouflage, on it. At that moment, the burly man¡¯s thigh was wrapped in a bandage that had turned red. But he grinned, chatting and laughing with the soldiers beside him. ¡°It¡¯s Squad Leader Wei! Squad Leader Wei is injured! Guo Chao exclaimed in shock and hurried over. ¡°Squad Leader Wei... Wei Zhenguo?¡± Wang Tao had read the ¡°Shuize Base Survivors¡¯ Covenant,¡± which contained information on key personnel within the base. There was only one Squad Leader Wei, the cofounder of Shuize Base, former captain of the Shuize Security Army, and now one of the seven committee members of the base: Wei Zhenguo. As one of the top leaders of the base, he personally went out to scour for supplies? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; this differed from what he had expected. ¡°Squad Leader Wei, how did you get hurt!¡± At this moment, a slim male doctor in a white lab coat hurried over from next door. ¡°Ha ha, just got knocked flying by a special zombie. Hiss- Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s nothing serious!¡± Wei Zhenguo, lying on the stretcher, said with a grin.. Chapter 78 - 78 Wei Zhenguo_1 Chapter 78 - 78 Wei Zhenguo_1 Chapter 78: Wei Zhenguo_1 Translator: 549690339 | ¡°Let me see¡ªthis isn¡¯t too serious?! It¡¯s quite severe!¡± After briefly examining the wound, the doctor exclaimed in shock. Wang Tao saw that not only did Wei Zhen Guo have an injury on his thigh, but he also had many other wounds on his body. His face was pale, and his HP was badly depleted, only at [132/635]. He didn¡¯t have any mana, but he did have a hidden attribute. [Hidden Attribute: Sacrificial Dedication] [Sacrificial Dedication: The more people who are sacrificed, the more one¡¯s potential is stimulated] Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s high HP limit of over six hundred took Wang Tao by surprise, since he himself only had just over a thousand. Moreover, his hidden attribute was quite interesting-a battle-related attribute, but it required the sacrifice of teammates... As for the other soldiers, they all had around 300 HP, with no mana and no hidden attributes. The doctor, following by Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s side, spoke with some concern: ¡°Squad Leader Wei, we¡¯ve run out of anesthesia, you...¡± ¡°Hey! Who needs anesthesia? Just give me a cigarette and that¡¯s fine!¡± Wei Zhen Guo said with an assertive tone. ¡°Alright! Who has a cigarette?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, do any of you have cigarettes?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t either...¡± Several soldiers shook their heads. ¡°Who has a cigarette? I¡¯ll borrow two and pay you back later!¡± The doctor called out to the others in the hall. Cigarettes were a prized commodity in the base, and nobody had any to spare. If they had them, they¡¯d be smoked already. ¡°Forget it, forget it. No cigarettes, it¡¯s fine¡ªhiss¡ª¡± Wei Zhen Guo quickly gestured with his hand but winced as he inadvertently aggravated his wound, causing his face to turn even whiter. just then, Wang Tao stepped forward through the crowd and pulled out a brand new, unopened pack of cigarettes from his pocket. ¡°I have some, want them?¡± Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the cigarettes. Then he looked at Wang Tao, and his gaze intensified. Since the apocalypse began, it was the first time he had seen someone even more robust than himself. Upon seeing that Wang Tao had cigarettes, the doctor quickly said: ¡°Yes, yes, yes! I¡¯ll pay you back later!¡± As Wang Tao was about to toss the cigarettes to him, the stretcher-bound Wei Zhen Guo suddenly said: ¡°Comrade, care to have a chat?¡± After a brief moment of thought, Wang Tao agreed. ¡°Okay.¡± He followed the crowd into the medical room, while two soldiers stayed at the door to stand guard. The medical room was large, with more than ten beds, but there wasn¡¯t much in the way of medical equipment. It didn¡¯t look very professional. ¡°Comrade, are you new here?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Wang Tao tossed the cigarettes to a soldier by Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s side. The soldier caught it and noticed that the pack was brand new and unopened-not a trace of blood, not even dust on it. The soldier quickly tore it open, took a cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and then placed it into Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s mouth. ¡°Hiss¡ªrefreshing!¡± Wei Zhen Guo took a deep drag, and his pale complexion seemed to regain a bit of color. He looked at Wang Tao, coughed, and laughed heartily. ¡°Cough cough, my name is Wei Zhen Guo, welcome to Suize Survivor Base!¡± ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao nodded calmly and confidently. Spurred by curiosity, Wei Zhen Guo asked. ¡°Comrade, where do you come from? You must not be from nearby, right?¡± Ever since the apocalypse began, Wei Zhen Guo had been active in this area and had seen many survivors. If he had seen someone with Wang Tao¡¯s build before, he would certainly remember. ¡°Happy Community.¡± Since they were about to leave Happy Community anyway, Wang Tao did not hide it. ¡°Happy Community is five or six kilometers from here! It must not have been easy coming all this way, right?¡± In the post-apocalyptic world, even a single kilometer could be an insurmountable distance for many people. Five or six kilometers was often enough to cost them their lives several times over. ¡°It was indeed no easy feat, and we even encountered a special zombie...¡± Wang Tao spoke as if casually bringing it up. Hearing this, Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes widened abruptly. ¡°A special zombie? What kind of special zombie?¡± The few soldiers immediately turned their gaze to Wang Tao, and even the doctor treating Wei Zhenguo unconsciously looked up at Wang Tao. Wang Tao instantly understood. It seemed that these people had likely encountered special zombies, and perhaps even seen a Zombie Core. ¡°It was a misshapen one, an Attacker that could rush... Wang Tao described the appearance of the Attacker simply. As a result, the soldiers exchanged glances, looking at each other in dismay. Wei Zhenguo¡¯s face immediately showed anger. ¡°I was sent flying by a zombie like that one, maybe it was even the same one we came across!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, yet it seemed to make sense to him. The Attacker he encountered had numerous bullet wounds, which could have been inflicted by Wei Zhenguo and his team. ¡°That thing was really tough...¡± Wei Zhenguo sighed and then recounted what had happened to them earlier. Wei Zhenguo and his team set out yesterday morning to scavenge for supplies, proceeding with extreme caution and without encountering any danger. But during a supermarket raid, they suddenly ran into that Attacker. If they had been prepared in advance, they weren¡¯t afraid of an Attacker, because after all, how could a zombie be stronger than a bullet? However, the Attacker burst through a wall, charging in from the adjoining room. Wei Zhenguo was unlucky and got hit head-on by the Attacker, being knocked away. Direct frontal assaults from the Attacker, something even Wang Tao with his HP wouldn¡¯t dare to withstand, let alone Wei Zhenguo who had even less HP than him. If it weren¡¯t for Wei Zhenguo having killed many zombies, substantially enhancing his physical abilities, plus the Attacker having shattered a wall, diminishing its charging force... If it had been someone else, they¡¯d likely have met their demise. Although Wei Zhenguo withstood the charge, the space was too confined; he got cornered by the zombies, and the other soldiers dared not fire indiscriminately. He got hammered by the zombies a few times, losing half his life in an instant... At the crucial moment, Wei Zhenguo, enduring the pain, drew his pistol at his waist and hit the Attacker¡¯s head. The Attacker subconsciously used its thick arm to block the bullets, releasing its grip on him. Wei Zhenguo seized the opportunity to hide to the side, and then the soldiers began to unleash a barrage of fire. The Attacker, possessing some wisdom or perhaps retaining human instincts, chose to flee in the face of such firepower. The soldiers couldn¡¯t see the HP bar; they didn¡¯t know how much HP the Attacker had left. And with Wei Zhenguo lying on the side, they gave up the chase, hurriedly carrying Wei Zhenguo, preparing to evacuate, especially with such loud gunshots! Who would have thought that outside, a group of zombies capable of running and climbing walls suddenly appeared! The threat posed by these zombies, which they named ¡°mad demons,¡± was even greater than the Attacker. The Attacker was just one, which could be ? eliminated with concentrated fire. But there were too many ¡°mad demons,¡± and with ordinary zombies closing in, they dared not engage. They had to retreat quickly. The way back was blocked by zombies, and they didn¡¯t dare lead so many zombies to the base, so they ran to a small, previously built backup camp to hide for a night. However, the zombies outside didn¡¯t really disperse, and it wasn¡¯t until this afternoon that they finally found a chance to leave... ¡°Ah, what a pity. It would have been great to kill that Attacker-the name for that type of zombie. There are some good things inside a zombie!¡± Wei Zhenguo smacked his lips, his face full of regret. ¡°What good things?¡± Wang Tao asked knowingly. Wei Zhenguo glanced at Wang Tao, took a deep breath of his cigarette, and then said: ¡°Zombie Cores, these special zombies carry a Zombie Core inside! If a human consumes this thing, they gain an Ability and become an Ability User!¡± ¡°An Ability User?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! The very kind of Ability User you¡¯re thinking of! Wei Zhenguo affirmed immediately, as if knowing what Wang Tao was thinking. ¡°DO we have any Ability Users at our base? What¡¯s the treatment for Ability Users?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°We currently don¡¯t have any Ability Users at our base, but I¡¯ve seen one! As for the treatment...¡± Wei Zhenguo paused for a moment, then said earnestly. ¡°If someone becomes an Ability User, they can be directly promoted to become the eighth member of the committee-that¡¯s something the seven of us on the committee discussed!¡± Wang Tao was taken aback and then decisively said. ¡°I am an Ability User..¡± Chapter 79: Shelf Speech l Chapter 79: Shelf Speech l Translator: 549690339 The book will go online at 12 PM tomorrow, thank you all for your support these days! On the first day of going online, there will be an update of 2 chapters, each chapter being a large chapter with 5,000 words, which is a io,ooo-word update. Note that these are large chapters, and 2 chapters are equivalent to 5 chapters before going online, so please don¡¯t say they are too short anymore.... After going online, there will be two updates every day, each being a large chapter with over 3,000 words, with update times at 12 PM and 6 PM. After going online, the chapter pricing will be determined by Qidian based on the word count. Chapters with a higher word count have a higher fee, while chapters with fewer words have a lesser fee. There¡¯s no situation where the author intentionally scams money, please be informed. Now about the plot, quite a few people have criticized the Crystal Core synthetic issue, thinking that a fusion success rate of 80% plus 20% equals 100% is unreasonable. This was my mistake, as I didn¡¯t make it clear, so I¡¯ll provide an additional explanation now: [Quality is the degree of energy stability within the Crystal Core, and the stability degree will affect the fusion success rate] The energy within the same level and type of Crystal Cores is basically the same. Whether it be Ordinary Cores or Epic Crystal Cores, their energy is the same. There is no difference in hierarchy. Only between Level 1 and Level Two can there be a distinction in hierarchy. The Quality of a Crystal Core indicates the degree of energy stability within the Core. That is to say, an Ordinary (20%) Core is very unstable, thus the fusion success rate is low. An Excellent (80%) Core is relatively stable, hence the fusion success rate is high. And the synthesis process is about adding stable energies together, while excluding unstable energies, that¡¯s why there can be a case of [80% success rate plus 20% success rate equals 100% success rate]. In the earlier 39th chapter, the explanation for the degree of stability was added, and now I¡¯m explaining it to everyone again. Also, some have criticized the protagonist¡¯s push-up issue, saying that doing several hundred push-ups in one go is not reasonable. emmm... If everyone carefully reads it, the situation where the protagonist does several hundred push-ups was after being electrocuted and unconscious for three days, and by then, the protagonist¡¯s cheat had arrived, greatly enhancing his physical fitness. Comparing what¡¯s reasonable to someone with a cheat doesn¡¯t make sense... If cheats were reasonable, they wouldn¡¯t be called cheats. Lastly, please subscribe when the book goes online! Thank you all for your support once again! Chapter 80 - 79 I am an Ability User_l Chapter 80 - 79 I am an Ability User_l Chapter 80: Chapter 79 I am an Ability User_l Translator: 549690339 | ¡°You¡¯re an Ability User?!¡± The crowd couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in shock, with Wei Zhenguo even attempting to rise from his bed, though luckily others held him down. ¡°I am.¡± Wang Tao nodded again. As he spoke, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers. ¡°Snap-¡± A ripple visible to the naked eye spread out from Wang Tao¡¯s fingertips, lifting and then shredding an old poster hanging on the nearby wall. ¡°Ability ¨C Shockwave.¡± Wang Tao spoke indifferently. Everyone around widened their eyes in shock and excitement, staring at Wang Tao after a while. ¡°He really is an Ability User!¡± ¡°Can we really become Ability Users?!¡± ¡°This Ability seems even better than a gun! It makes no noise, whereas gunshots are too loud...¡± Several soldiers also started to murmur excitedly among themselves, unable to maintain discipline. Doctor Chen looked at Wang Tao with an excited and expectant face. ¡°Mr. Wang, if you don¡¯t mind, may I study¡ª oh no, observe you for a while? Rest assured, I won¡¯t harm you!¡± ¡°I do mind.¡± ¡°Treat your patients!¡± Wei Zhenguo turned and scolded, as if the person needing medical attention wasn¡¯t him, then turned back with a smile toward Wang Tao: ¡°Comrade Wang, I wasn¡¯t lying to you. As long as an Ability User is willing to stay at our base, they can be directly promoted to a Committee Member!¡± Wei Zhenguo first confirmed his previous statement, then said solemnly: ¡°But since ancient times, rights and obligations have been equivalent. While enjoying rights, one must also fulfill corresponding obligations. Without this ideological awareness... it¡¯s impossible to become a Committee Member!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised by Wei Zhenguo¡¯s words since he was from the Security Army and his ideological awareness was bound to be much higher than that of Ordinary people. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind helping other survivors when he had the ability to, but this help was voluntary, not an obligation to act as a babysitter for others. Therefore, Wang Tao directly asked: ¡°What are the rights? And what are the obligations?¡± Wei Zhenguo took a deep drag on his cigarette, then replied: ¡°Committee Members can use all the resources within the base! For some important resources, just notify the other members before use, and as long as there isn¡¯t too much opposition, it¡¯s fine. These are the rights of a Committee Member. As for the obligations... they¡¯re actually quite simple. Our base won¡¯t force anyone to do anything. Everything we do is based on Contribution Points, including for Committee Members!¡± ¡°So, the obligation of a Committee Member is this: every month, you must provide the base with a minimum of ten thousand Contribution Points! Whether it¡¯s guarding the base, scavenging for supplies outside, or finding new survivors, as long as you can provide ten thousand Contribution Points to the base each month, it¡¯s sufficient. If one cannot meet this condition, it means stepping down from the Committee position automatically...¡± Ten thousand Contribution Points per month wasn¡¯t considered high, at least Wang Tao didn¡¯t think it was too demanding, as he could achieve it without much effort. However, these Contribution Points were calculated on a monthly basis, and since the apocalypse had arrived just about a month ago...how many times had they actually implemented this? As if knowing what Wang Tao was thinking, Wei Zhenguo said: ¡°The Committee system, Contribution Points, all these were only recently discussed and are currently in a trial operation. There may be some issues and shortcomings. But I believe while this may not be the perfect system, it is most definitely suitable for Shuize Base!¡± Seeing Wei Zhenguo¡¯s somewhat impassioned state, Wang Tao did not comment. The system seemed reasonable, but this was the post-apocalypse. There were too many uncertainties, including zombies, unknown monsters, and even people. Thus, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say whether it was good or bad; he could only take one step at a time. ¡°What do you think? If you can accept this, once they all return, we¡¯ll officially promote you to a Committee Member and clarify any details,¡± Wei Zhenguo said with a hint of eagerness in his voice, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s lack of reaction. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao agreed straightaway. Revealing his status as an Ability User was precisely to secure this position on the Committee. Hide his strength? Of course, he had to, as keeping a card up one¡¯s sleeve was always wise. But there comes a time when one must show their muscles. Just like now, Wang Tao was preparing to live in Shuize Base, where Ability Users were highly valued, even offered positions as Committee Members outright. If he didn¡¯t seize this opportunity while there were few Ability Users and secure his position, the conditions could become more stringent once more Ability Users emerged. Wang Tao was not particularly passionate about power¡ªat least not right now. He just wanted to increase his strength, scavenge more supplies, and thereby increase his capital to survive in the post-apocalyptic world. But if there was an opportunity to live better, there was no need for him to be overly modest or secretive. For instance, by securing a position on the Committee... he definitely couldn¡¯t stay in the base perpetually; he needed to go out and kill zombies, he needed Crystal Cores, he needed to become stronger. While doing so, casually gathering some supplies in exchange for Contribution Points wouldn¡¯t be an issue. Wang Tao had another brief conversation with Wei Zhenguo, but as the medication started to take effect, Wei Zhenguo grew increasingly sleepy. Wang Tao then took the initiative to end their conversation. ¡°I can¡¯t, I¡¯m too tired, I need to sleep for a bit...¡± Chapter 81 - 79:1 Am the Ability User_2 Chapter 81 - 79:1 Am the Ability User_2 Chapter 81: Chapter 79:1 Am the Ability User_2 Translator: 549690339 I Wei Zhen Guo had smoked half of his fourth cigarette when he lay down on the hospital bed and fell asleep. The soldier beside him considerately extinguished Zhen Guo¡¯s cigarette and placed it back into the pack. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Doctor Chen turned to the soldier and said, ¡°He¡¯s stable for now. Squad Leader Wei isn¡¯t in any life-threatening danger, but he will need to recuperate for a while and can¡¯t go out anymore.¡± ¡°Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Chen.¡± The soldier saluted. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s just what I¡¯m supposed to do!¡± After washing his hands briefly, the doctor approached Wang Tao and extended his hand. ¡°Hello, my name is Chen Zhuang. Chen as in the ear of grain, and Zhuang as in strong.¡± Wang Tao hesitated for a moment at the slender figure before him before shaking hands with him. ¡°Nice to meet you, Doctor Chen.¡± ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve never seen a living Ability User before! Are you sure you won¡¯t consider letting me observe you for a while? After all, Ability is a novel phenomenon. There are many things that you might not know yourself, but if we observe and discuss together, we might just figure it out!¡± Chen Zhuang still seemed somewhat reluctant to give up. ¡°No, thanks.¡± Wang Tao quickly shook his head, thinking if you were a beautiful woman, maybe it¡¯d be different. But a big guy wanting to observe him all day... what for? ¡°By the way, you mentioned you¡¯ve never seen an Ability User before? Then who was the Ability User that Squad Leader Wei met?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Indeed, I haven¡¯t met one. It was Squad Leader Wei who encountered them outside. He said he saw a very powerful individual wielding a steel rod, powerful enough to deal with many zombies all by himself...¡± ¡°I see... Didn¡¯t you invite him to the base?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Squad Leader Wei said he invited him, but Ability Users can roam freely in the post-apocalyptic world. Naturally, they wouldn¡¯t want to come here and be restricted...¡± Chen Zhuang¡¯s tone was somewhat sour. II II Not wanting to be constrained might be true. After all, suddenly gaining superpowers, who wouldn¡¯t get a bit inflated? If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered many special zombies and that terrifying monster with ten thousand HP, he might have gotten a bit full of himself too. But the idea of roaming freely in the apocalypse was just Chen Zhuang¡¯s fancy, especially with the recent emergence of the ¡°Mad Demon¡± zombies. Even Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t dare say he could handle them confidently. ¡°Ah, right, could you tell me how you obtained your Ability? Was it from eating a Zombie Core?¡± Chen Zhuang didn¡¯t dwell on the others, quickly asking the question that concerned him the most. The soldiers standing near the bed perked up their ears. Wang Tao did not answer directly but instead looked puzzled as he asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t Squad Leader Wei just say that humans become Ability Users by eating Zombie Cores? How come you...¡± ¡°Ahem, well, that conclusion is just our guess. We¡¯ve conducted some experiments, but... none of them have been successful...¡± Chen Zhuang looked embarrassed. II II So, Squad Leader Wei¡¯s assertive talk just now was just bluffing, huh? However, Wang Tao also picked up on an important piece of information from Chen Zhuang¡¯s statement. ¡°You¡¯ve conducted some experiments? Does that mean you have many Zombie Cores?¡± Wang Tao looked at Chen Zhuang. ¡°Not many, but our base has some firepower and personnel, and we¡¯ve managed to kill a few special zombies... Why? Are you interested in Zombie Cores?¡± Chen Zhuang was perceptive and noticed that Wang Tao was particularly interested in these Crystal Cores. ¡°Of course,¡± Wang Tao admitted openly and then added, ¡°My Ability came from eating these Zombie Cores. Ability Users who continue to consume Cores of the same type will grow even stronger...¡± ¡°So it is the Crystal Cores! And they actually make you stronger!¡± A look of longing appeared on Chen Zhuang¡¯s and the soldiers¡¯ faces. ¡°But there are side effects,¡± Wang Tao suddenly added. ¡°Ah? Side effects? What kind of side effects?¡± Chen Zhuang seemed confused, clearly unaware of this issue. ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure, but you can think of it like this: Eating Zombie Cores indeed grants Abilities, and the more you eat, the stronger your Ability becomes. However, at the same time, impurities accumulate in your body. Too many of these impurities can harm your body and even turn you into a zombie!¡± Eating Zombie Cores to gain Abilities was not something Wang Tao needed to hide. Once Zombie Cores appeared, people would be compelled to eat them, making them hard to conceal. However, while Wang Tao mentioned the benefits, he also shared the drawbacks of Zombie Cores. Whether to eat them or not was up to others; he had no right to intervene. At most, he could only remind them to be cautious during the fusion process. ¡°That serious, huh...¡± Chen Zhuang was taken aback. ¡°That¡¯s the price of becoming stronger,¡± Wang Tao said, looking out the window with a somewhat world-weary tone. Though he didn¡¯t have to pay that price, it didn¡¯t stop him from putting on an act. The soldiers nearby suddenly felt a sense of respect. ¡°So, whether or not to seek power through an Ability should really be given some thought,¡± Chen Zhuang muttered. ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily so. If there¡¯s a chance, becoming an Ability User is generally good. What I want to say is, you should always be aware that strength comes at a cost. Also, Abilities aren¡¯t something you can have just because you want them. Haven¡¯t you tried experimenting and all failed?¡± ¡°Uh, you have a point...¡± ¡°Oh right, I forgot to say. Even if you fail to integrate with a Zombie Core, impurities will still accumulate in your body..¡± Chapter 82 - 79:1 Am the Ability User 3 Chapter 82: Chapter 79:1 Am the Ability User 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡¯ ¡°Goodness, lucky I didn¡¯t use it! But might those who did be in danger? They consumed zombie cores but didn¡¯t acquire any abilities...¡± Chen Zhuang and the few soldiers looked at each other, their eyes filled with concern. Wang Tao explained: ¡°There¡¯s no immediate danger, but eating too many could cause problems.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± Chen Zhuang sighed, then added, ¡°But it seems the probability of acquiring abilities from zombie cores is quite low! We had three people conduct experiments, but not once did they succeed...¡± Wang Tao had reason to suspect that the cores these three unfortunate souls had merged with all had success rates below 50%. But the fact that they could produce three cores for experimentation suggested they had plenty more! After becoming a committee member, he should be able to use these cores right? Wang Tao thought to himself sneakily. Regarding Wang Tao¡¯s potential committee membership, Wei Zhenguo had woken up once in the middle and mentioned that several committee members were currently out and about; he couldn¡¯t make the decision alone. When everyone returned, they would discuss some of the details with Wang Tao, and if there were no issues, he would become a member of the base¡¯s committee right away. Only then did Wang Tao learn that, out of the base¡¯s seven committee members, aside from Commissioner Liu, who was knowledgeable in electronics, and Commissioner Zhou, who managed personnel, the other five members were out scavenging for resources. Of course, that didn¡¯t mean they were completely selfless in their actions. Wei Zhenguo told Wang Tao straight out that their choice to scavenge for resources, on one hand, was indeed for the betterment of the base. On the other hand, it was to accumulate contribution points, but there was another reason: killing zombies could enhance their strength! Even though they couldn¡¯t see HP bars, killing zombies also increased their own, particularly when their HP reached whole hundreds. The sensation of their physical condition improving was quite distinct. They might not actively seek out zombies to kill, but they would definitely take action against any that blocked their path. Becoming stronger and bringing benefits to the base could go hand in hand. Moreover, Wei Zhenguo was very clear in his mind that in this post-apocalyptic world, strength was the fundamental key to survival; without strength, one couldn¡¯t command respect. They had guns, but bullets would run out one day. If the time came when they were out of bullets and they lacked substantial personal strength, he was certain that there would be people wishing to overthrow him and take his place. So, improving their own strength was crucial. Whether he was a member of the committee or not, Wei Zhenguo would go out to scavenge for resources and, while at it, hunt down zombies. Wang Tao deeply agreed with this sentiment: in a post-apocalyptic world, strength was everything. Everything else was secondary. After Wei Zhenguo fell asleep again, Wang Tao chatted with Chen Zhuang for a while longer before leaving. In truth, he wanted to scoop up more information, but Doctor Chen was always thinking about studying him, which made Wang Tao rather uncomfortable, so he decided to leave sooner. Before Wang Tao left, Chen Zhuang reminded him to attend the welcome ceremony that evening, saying he would definitely be popular with the girls in the base and, if he was single, he might consider looking for a partner. Wang Tao shook his head in speechless amusement. Was he that kind of person? However, he still planned to go in the evening, not so much to meet girls but to get acquainted with other residents of the base. That afternoon, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush out to farm materials but wandered around the base instead. He took in the atmosphere of the Survivor Base and used ration tickets to exchange for a meal, which... was edible, to say the least. In the evening, the rain stopped. In the square outside the multipurpose building, over two hundred people gathered together, which was quite a sight. Especially for Wang Tao, who hadn¡¯t seen so many people in a month, the sight of such a crowd brought back a sense of ¡°humanity.¡± However, Wang Tao¡¯s gaze did not linger on these people for long; he looked at the fires on the perimeter of the base and immediately clicked his tongue in wonder. He had considered before that if he were to establish a Survivor Base, how would he prevent zombies from entering. The simplest method would probably be to build perimeter walls. At the very beginning of the apocalypse, walls indeed could stop the zombies. But a month into the apocalypse, walls were not very effective anymore, or rather, the low walls were ineffective because zombies that could climb appeared. Building taller and stronger walls should be able to hold them off, but constructing such walls needed a lot of people. Ordinary Survivor Bases, including this Shuize Base, didn¡¯t have enough labor for infrastructure construction. Then, Wang Tao thought, since zombies were afraid of fire, if the surroundings of the Survivor Base were set ablaze, wouldn¡¯t the zombies stay away? Wang Tao felt this idea should be feasible, but he never had the chance to test it. And now, he saw that Shuize Base was doing exactly that. When Wang Tao arrived, he saw many iron barrels with burn marks at the entrance of Shuize Base. Now that it was night, flames were lit inside these barrels, including on some walls-seeming to engulf the entire base in flames. Outside the base, some zombies, upon sensing the light, subconsciously wanted to approach, but the heat of the flames made them hesitate and not dare to come closer. They could only roar from a distance. ¡°Hey!¡± Chen Zhuang patted Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°These fires, pretty good, right? When we accidentally discovered that zombies were afraid of fire, we thought of the method to surround the base with it. Turns out, it was a very wise decision! You might think that the light from the flames would attract zombies-and indeed, it does attract some-but they dare not come close. They naturally leave by day. You probably know that zombies are particularly active at night, and if we didn¡¯t do this, our walls might not hold them off, not to mention the ¡®crazy demon¡¯ zombies that can climb have now appeared...¡± Watching Chen Zhuang¡¯s somewhat self-satisfied demeanor, Wang Tao did not want to burst his bubble by saying that he had already known zombies were afraid of fire and had thought of using fire to keep them at bay. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s impressive.¡± Wang Tao praised. His praise made Chen Zhuang quite pleased. At that moment, a woman dressed in a black police uniform appeared beside Wang Tao. ¡°Huh? Are you... new here today?¡± Chen Zhuang was somewhat surprised upon seeing Han Rui. He did not recall the base having such a policewoman. ¡°Hello, my name is Han Rui. I came to our base today with Mr. Wang Tao.¡± Han Rui shook hands with Chen Zhuang forthrightly. ¡°You came here together? Are you husband and wife?¡± Chen Zhuang looked at Wang Tao and Han Rui, thinking they made a good match. ¡®You¡¯ve misunderstood; we met on the way here. Han Rui¡¯s husband is also a member of our base, right?¡± Wang Tao took the initiative to explain. ¡°Oh, sorry about that!¡± Realizing his blunder, Chen Zhuang quickly apologized. Han Rui first gave Wang Tao an apologetic smile and then her face showed a worried expression. ¡°My husband... he hasn¡¯t come back yet....¡± Chapter 83 - 80 News from the Film and Television City_l Chapter 83: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television City_l Translator: 549690339 Two days ago, when she arrived at the base, Han Rui asked Wang Tao if he had seen her husband. Wang Tao said he had, that a squad of soldiers had rescued her husband, but they hadn¡¯t headed in the direction of the base. Han Rui could understand that, the squad certainly didn¡¯t want to draw zombies to the base. So, after she met her old leader¡¯s friend yesterday and settled down, she had been waiting for her husband to return. But after waiting a day and a night, her husband and the squad hadn¡¯t come back. Although she knew that the squad was likely hiding from zombies somewhere, and her husband should be safe with them, they weren¡¯t in the base after all, and she couldn¡¯t help but worry... Seeing Han Rui¡¯s worried face, Wang Tao shook his head. From his previous observations at the water plant and the recent interactions, he found Han Rui to be a decent person with a certain combat power. But her husband was just the opposite, not only useless but also of poor character. He wasn¡¯t worthy of her. Of course, it was someone else¡¯s business, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t care to get involved. But no matter what, Han Rui was an ability user and possessed quite a useful support ability, so Wang Tao was still willing to be on good terms with her. ¡°Should I tell her about her husband? Let her see his true colors?¡± Wang Tao hesitated slightly. Because he knew very well that some people¡¯s thought processes were different from others... If it were Wang Tao himself, he couldn¡¯t tolerate anyone who stabbed him in the back, no matter who it was. Having such a person by your side was like having a ticking time bomb. But others might not think the same way. For instance, from Han Rui¡¯s perspective, what her husband Sun Weiguang did was indeed despicable, but he did end up helping her, and furthermore, it was her own husband! If she decided to brainwash herself into forgiving her husband, even to speak on his behalf, then Wang Tao would end up looking bad from both sides. Although Wang Tao felt that Han Rui was probably not that kind of person, such things can¡¯t be judged on feelings alone... ¡°Hey, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Rui saw Wang Tao spacing out and poked his arm. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just thinking about some stuff,¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. He had made up his mind¡ªhe wouldn¡¯t tell her directly, but he could anonymously show Han Rui the video. As for what she would do after that, it was none of his concern. Wang Tao introduced Chen Zhuang to Han Rui, the two nodded politely, and then the three of them began to converse in hushed tones. They weren¡¯t too familiar with each other, so the conversation didn¡¯t go very deep. Chen Zhuang wanted to talk to Wang Tao about ability users, but he wasn¡¯t sure whether Wang Tao was willing to reveal his status as an ability user, so he didn¡¯t say much. Standing out in the crowd due to his physique, many new survivors instinctively kept their distance when they saw Wang Tao. However, there were also some women who wanted to get to know Wang Tao, his stature conveying a sense of security. Unfortunately, Han Rui was always by his side, which made it awkward for some to approach him. At this moment, Chen Zhuang poked Wang Tao¡¯s arm. ¡°The commissioner is here!¡± he said. Wang Tao and Han Rui both turned their heads and saw a group of people walking over, with three individuals walking side by side at the forefront. On the left was a young man in a plaid shirt, with thinning hair and thick glasses; the one in the center was a frail-looking old man with a faint smile on his face; on the right was a somewhat overweight middle-aged man in a police uniform. Their arrival instantly became the focus of the entire place. ¡°The one on the left is Commissioner Liu He, a computer whiz. He set up our base¡¯s local network, Contribution Points, the personal information APP, and all that...¡± Chen Zhuang began introducing them to Wang Tao, starting from the left. Wang Tao nodded; with that sparse hair, Liu He certainly looked like a powerful figure. ¡°The one in the middle is our former Shuize County Deputy County Head Ren Jie, also the honorary president of Shuize University. He¡¯s in charge of the base¡¯s personnel management...¡± Wang Tao glanced at the small elder, who seemed amiable, but Wang Tao got the impression he was a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing. Having knocked about in the world for so many years, Wang Tao had seen quite a few such characters, and his instincts were usually accurate. ¡°The one on the far right is Police Officer Feng Ming¡¯an, the former deputy chief of our Shuize County police station. Don¡¯t be fooled by his plump appearance; he is remarkable, easily handling zombies with just a steel pipe...¡± Single-handedly defeating zombies wasn¡¯t a big deal, but Wang Tao took a longer look. Because the HP of both Liu He and Ren Jie was 100, indicating they hadn¡¯t personally killed any zombies, whereas Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s HP was over three hundred, meaning he had killed at least thirty to forty zombies himself. None of the three had any hidden attributes or abilities. Judging from their individual strengths, Wang Tao rated them as average. ¡°Do you know each other?¡± Wang Tao noticed Feng Ming¡¯an nodding at Han Rui and asked out of curiosity. ¡°He¡¯s a friend of my old leader. My old leader is still outside. I managed to contact him by accident before and came to Shuize Base following his instructions...¡± Han Rui briefly explained. ¡°I see.¡± Meeting someone you have a good relationship with in the post-apocalypse must feel quite nice. The arrival of the three commissioners didn¡¯t feature any grand speeches; they simply made a brief self-introduction in front of all the newcomers. They also introduced some matters related to the base, assuring everyone that as long as they worked hard, the base wouldn¡¯t let them starve to death.. Chapter 84 - 80 News from the Film and Television City_2 Chapter 84: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television City_2 Translator: 549690339 They particularly introduced the hunters who ventured out to scavenge for supplies, encouraging everyone with the capability to consider applying for the hunter role. However, there were very few takers, as after all, these survivors had barely made it to a safe haven. They were content to work hard in exchange for a meal and had no desire to risk their lives scavenging for supplies. The trio wasn¡¯t surprised; if there were really that many willing to go out and scavenge, the base wouldn¡¯t be in such need of hunters. Ren Jie announced the start of the welcome banquet, and then people began wheeling in the food. Wang Tao glanced at it and noticed that the food wasn¡¯t much different from what he got from the cafeteria using his ration tickets: they were all some sort of mush of unidentifiable ingredients, only now there was more of it. The new survivors were overjoyed at the sight. Most of them could only earn one ration ticket for a day¡¯s work, and the meager food that bought was hardly enough to fill them, only enough to stave off starvation. Now, seeing the vast amount of food, they couldn¡¯t contain their excitement¡ªfinally, they could have a full meal! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too interested in the food, but since it was provided, he symbolically took a couple of bites from his small bowl. Chen Zhuang and Han Rui, on the other hand, weren¡¯t nearly as ¡°reserved¡± as Wang Tao. They each grabbed a large bowl and ate heartily, almost with abandon. While eating, Chen Zhuang explained that not everyone was entitled to partake in this welcoming ritual; ordinary people could only attend twice¡ªthe first being welcomed, and then they could freeload another meal. That¡¯s why, in a base of over five hundred people, only more than two hundred attended¡ªit wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to come, but rather they couldn¡¯t. As one of the few doctors in the base, Chen Zhuang enjoyed certain privileges, like attending these kinds of food-grabbing events as much as he pleased. The food was concocted by several of the base¡¯s chefs, who would throw various kinds of food into a pot to stew together before blending them into a paste. Normally, inedible things like bones became edible once processed this way, thus saving a lot of food. Essentially, they used whatever food was available in the base. Despite the mush being a daily staple, its taste could vary from day to day. As for whether the food actually tasted good, seeing how everyone, including Chen Zhuang and Han Rui, seemed to be enjoying it greatly, Wang Tao wisely chose not to inquire further. At that moment, the three committee members walked in Wang Tao¡¯s direction. ¡°Hello, you must be Wang Tao. Welcome to the base as a hunter!¡± The older gentleman, Ren Jie, offered a hand with a warm smile. At the mention of a hunter, the people around them couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in surprise. In the base, a hunter represented someone capable of dealing with zombies and finding supplies¡ªa real heavy hitter! ¡°Hello.¡± Wang Tao shook hands with the man diplomatically, neither humble nor arrogant. He had assumed the other party had come to discuss the matters of Ability Users and committee membership, but instead, after a few encouraging words and a metaphoric shot in the arm, the man left. Wang Tao looked at Chen Zhuang in confusion, and Chen Zhuang quietly said in his ear: ¡°Captain Wei of the squad spent most of his day sleeping and hasn¡¯t had the chance to tell them about you. We didn¡¯t want to overstep our bounds, so they¡¯re unaware of your strength. Of course, if you want to show it, I can speak for you.¡± ¡°Let it be for now, we¡¯ll wait,¡± replied Wang Tao, shaking his head nonchalantly. Not only did Ren Jie chat with Wang Tao for a while, but he also interacted with others, appearing very approachable and devoid of any sense of superiority. The tech guru, Liu He, followed Ren Jie around, not saying much, either disinterested in such affairs or somewhat slow on the uptake. As for Feng Ming¡¯an, he took Han Rui aside and spoke to her with a smile, though far enough away from the crowd. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mean to eavesdrop on other people¡¯s conversations, but his hearing was too good, and he accidentally overheard Feng Ming¡¯an mention something about appointing Han Rui as some sort of department head. Wang Tao was quite taken aback. It was not that he found it unexpected that Han Rui would use her connections, especially in these times when it was silly not to take advantage of them. What surprised him was that Han Rui seemed not to have told Feng Ming¡¯an about her Ability, or else she wouldn¡¯t just be a department head¡ªshe¡¯d be straight on the committee. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how Han Rui was weighing her options, but since she chose not to disclose, he saw no reason to speak up. After Han Rui left Wang Tao¡¯s side, several women approached, expressing a desire to get to know Wang Tao. Chen Zhuang gave Wang Tao a knowing look that all men understand, then quietly slipped away, leaving the space to Wang Tao. ¡°You, you¡¯re Wang Tao?¡± Suddenly, a voice rang out, filled with surprise. Wang Tao turned, facing the attractive woman before him, and furrowed his brow. She looked familiar, but for the moment, he couldn¡¯t place her. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s me, Huo Ziyi! The scar on your face is gone! I almost didn¡¯t recognize you...¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you,¡± Wang Tao recalled who she was upon hearing the name. Huo Ziyi was a minor celebrity who had worked with Wang Tao on several dramas. Of course, ¡°worked with¡± might be overstating it since their interactions were minimal. Wang Tao was a Martial Arts Substitute, the kind who never even showed his face on camera, whereas Huo Ziyi, however minor, was a celebrity who could. They were not in the same league.. Chapter 85 - 80 News from the Film and Television Chapter 85: Chapter 80 News from the Film and Television City_3 Translator: 549690339 | Whenever he happened to bump into Huo Ziyi, she was not exactly disdainful, but her expression was always indifferent and she hardly spoke, appearing very aloof. At most, she would take an extra glance at his physique, and that was all. Wang Tao naturally wouldn¡¯t be eager to cozy up to someone who was cold to him, so he didn¡¯t go out of his way to become friends... When HUO Ziyi saw that Wang Tao remembered her, she immediately grabbed his hand, somewhat moved, and said: ¡®¡öWang Tao, it¡¯s great to see you still alive! We¡¯re both still alive!¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows, Huo Ziyi was more enthusiastic than he ever remembered her being. ¡°Yeah, being alive is great.¡± Wang Tao casually agreed and withdrew his hand. Huo Ziyi¡¯s heart tightened at once; she could clearly sense that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem interested in conversing with her. If this were before the apocalypse, she would have definitely taken the opportunity to leave. But now, this was the apocalypse... She poked the muscles on Wang Tao¡¯s arm, somewhat admiringly, and exclaimed: ¡°Eh, Wang Tao, I feel like you¡¯ve gotten even stronger than before! I bet you could take on zombies by yourself now, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I guess.¡± Wang Tao replied half-heartedly. He wasn¡¯t one to boast, and even if he told Huo Ziyi that he was an Awakener, so what? Plus, he wasn¡¯t interested in her, so he couldn¡¯t be bothered to elaborate. HUO Ziyi Picked up on Wang Tao¡¯s perfunctory response but she still didn¡¯t give up She wanted to latch onto someone with influence because she had witnessed a female makeup artist being violently abused to death by a group of red-eyed security guards before arriving at the base, and she didn¡¯t want to be next. ¡°That¡¯s really amazing! You can kill zombies by yourself! Oh, right, you weren¡¯t in the Film City when it happened, were you? I don¡¯t remember seeing you among the survivors from the Film City...¡± ¡°Oh, I was at home resting.¡± ¡°NO wonder! It¡¯s a good thing you weren¡¯t at the Film City. You probably don¡¯t know how terrible it was there; it¡¯s hard to imagine we survived that...¡± HUO Ziyi Wiped her tears, looking pitiful. The other people around her seemed to be reminded of some tragic events as well, as tears welled up in their eyes. Wang Tao, hearing this, suddenly became interested. After all, the Film Ci y was a place where he had worked for a long time, and he had some attachmen to it. He was curious about what had happened there. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, you could tell me about it.¡± ¡°Ah? I don¡¯t mind at all!¡± Huo Ziyi had intended to play the sympathy card to get on Wang Tao¡¯s good side, but she didn¡¯t expect him to take an interest in what happened at the Film City. Her goal was to establish a good relationship with Wang Tao, so she quickly pulled him aside to sit down and explained the situation in detail. ¡°You have no idea, back then...¡± As Huo Ziyi vividly recounted the events, a look of surprise appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re saying a military force passed by and saved some of the survivors from the Film City... Are you sure they weren¡¯t soldiers from Shuize Base?¡± ¡°No, that military force had many more people! They even had tanks! They crushed the zombies... Although it seems they were just passing by. It¡¯s a shame I was trapped back then; I called out to those soldiers for help but they didn¡¯t hear me, otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have been in such a bad state. And I¡¯ve heard that...¡± At this point, Huo Ziyi whispered mysteriously into Wang Tao¡¯s ear: ¡°That military force seems to have been gathering soldiers on the road, and their destination was Red Stone County. The soldiers from Shuize Base wanted to join that military force, but they missed them and got left behind...¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. There was no reason for Huo Ziyi to lie to him about this. The military force must have been heading to Red Stone Survivor Base, and rescuing people was probably not their main mission; their main objective might have been to gather at Red Stone Base to establish a large survivor base or something of the sort. The survivors who were rescued were just lucky. Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t envy them. He was thinking that the Red Stone Base must be pretty good, especially since they had so many soldiers and weapons. He thought that he might visit and check it out if he had the chance. -The rest of those unlucky ones, like me, were trapped in the Film City, but luckily, we were stuck near a convenience store with water and food, so we didn¡¯t starve to death. Later, we heard gunshots, the noise attracted all the zombies away, and we took the chance to escape. Then we ran into people from Shuize Base... I can¡¯t forget the sight of our director being torn apart by the zombies... sob...¡± Wang Tao patted Huo Ziyi¡¯s shoulder, then briefly chatted with a few other people around her. They were all lucky survivors from Huangfeng Film City, including two celebrities not as famous as Huo Ziyi and others who worked in the film industry. Noticing it was getting late, Wang Tao stood up. ¡°You guys keep talking, I¡¯m a bit tired, I¡¯m going to head back.¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, take care!¡± Huo Ziyi and the others quickly stood up, politely saying goodbye to Wang Tao. Once Wang Tao¡¯s figure had disappeared from sight, Huo Ziyi clenched her fists tightly. ¡°Yes!¡± Although she had only had a simple chat with Wang Tao today, she felt it was a good start. Everyone was at the same base now, bound to see each other 0 ten, she didn¡¯t believe she couldn¡¯t become friends with Wang Tao, or perhaps even more... After all, Wang Tao was a Hunter, and if she could stick by him, at the very least she could ensure she wouldn¡¯t starve! The next day, in the early morning. Wang Tao saw it was raining outside again. ¡°Today, I¡¯ll go out and kill a few zombies, gather the materials needed for the blueprint, and then get in touch with Ding Yuqin... After planning out his tasks for the day, Wang Tao headed to the office building. He wanted to ask Chen Zhuang how Wei Zhenguo¡¯s injury was; he was waiting for his promotion. After arriving at the office building, Wang Tao suddenly saw an announcement. A new arbitration department had been established in the base, with Han Rui as the head of the department. Chapter 86 - 81 Rush Right Arm l Chapter 86 - 81 Rush Right Arm l Chapter 86: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm l Translator: 549690339 With an increase in population, conflicts inevitably arise. Back when there were fewer survivors at Shuize Base, small disputes were easily resolved with a little mediation. But now, with over five hundred survivors, it became necessary to designate specific individuals to manage these issues. As a police officer, although Han Rui¡¯s background was in criminal investigation, she still had considerable experience in mediating disputes, which made her well-suited for managing such matters. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if Han Rui was aware that Ability Users could automatically become committee members, he guessed she wasn¡¯t; otherwise, he felt there was no reason for her to keep it a secret¡ªafter all, no one was going to capture her and slice her up... Of course, since it was someone else¡¯s business, if she didn¡¯t mention it, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t going to say anything more. As one of the few doctors at the base, Chen Zhuang was often busy. Even in the mornings, there would be many people lining up for medical consultation. Though Chen Zhuang had the freedom to choose whether to see them or not, he was ultimately kind-hearted by nature and would typically examine anyone who came seeking his help and provide a diagnosis. ¡°Most people aren¡¯t actually sick, or they just have minor issues. But they are anxious and under mental stress. While my words can¡¯t cure their illnesses, they can help put their minds at ease.¡± Once he was temporarily free, Chen Zhuang wiped his hands and explained with a smile to Wang Tao. ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave Chen Zhuang a thumbs up and then asked, ¡°How is Squad Leader Wei doing? He¡¯s not in any life-threatening condition, is he?¡± ¡°The guy¡¯s tough, nothing serious. But he¡¯s broken two ribs and his thigh bone is injured as well, so he¡¯ll need some time to recover.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± After confirming that Wei Zhenguo was okay, Wang Tao waved his hand toward Chen Zhuang, ¡°Then I¡¯ll be heading off.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going out? Not taking a couple of days to rest?¡± Chen Zhuang, seeing Wang Tao fully armed, was taken aback. Though the Hunters of the base scavenged outside for supplies, they didn¡¯t make the trips daily. Usually, they ventured out only once a week, spending the rest of their time resting at the base, unless they¡¯d exhausted all supplies... after all, it was about risking one¡¯s life! Yet Wang Tao, who had arrived at the base just the afternoon before yesterday, had only rested for a day and was planning to go out again? ¡°Yeah.¡± Wang Tao nodded, not offering much of an explanation. His intent to go out was to gather materials needed for crafting the armguard and to get in touch with Ding Yuqin. ¡°Impressive!¡± Chen Zhuang too held up a thumbs-up for Wang Tao. Then he seemed to remember something and scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. ¡°Uh... if it¡¯s on your way, could you stop by the Borui Clinic...¡± ¡°Hmm? Borui Clinic...¡± Wang Tao frowned in thought; the place seemed vaguely familiar to him. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s at...¡± Chen Zhuang provided the specific location and continued, ¡°Mainly because there isn¡¯t much medication left at the base, and a lot of the medication in the clinic could be useful...¡± ¡°What kind of medication specifically? I¡¯m not familiar with these things.¡± Chen Zhuang quickly explained, ¡°Things like hormones, antibiotics, painkillers, etc. They work fast for minor ailments, especially if you increase the dosage... Right now, we don¡¯t have the conditions to consult specialized doctors for specific illnesses and get the precise medication, so we have to resort to these crude methods...¡± Wang Tao first nodded, then expressed his doubt, ¡°But why hasn¡¯t anyone from the base gone to scavenge our county¡¯s main hospital? The medical supplies there are even richer, and we have the people and guns. Scavenging the hospital shouldn¡¯t be hard, right?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s question, Chen Zhuang shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°Ah, the hospital is indeed stocked, but there are also many zombies there! And... there are many special infected in the hospital! Our base did consider raiding the hospital, but after losing a small team on the first attempt, no one has mentioned going there again...¡± ¡°Oh? Lots of special infected!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes brightened at this information. Right now, it was only by killing special infected that he could increase his HP limit. If the hospital had many special infected, it couldn¡¯t be better for him! Not to mention, special infected might drop Zombie Cores! Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s reaction, Chen Zhuang knew he was interested in the Crystal Cores of the special infected and quickly spoke up, ¡°Wang Tao, please don¡¯t head to the main hospital! Even fully armed squads were annihilated; no matter how strong you are, you can¡¯t stand against so many zombies! Even if those special infected carry Zombie Cores, you still need to be alive to get them!¡± Noticing the concern in Chen Zhuang¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao replied with a smile, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m definitely not going now; I won¡¯t act recklessly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief!¡± Chen Zhuang breathed a sigh of relief. If Wang Tao were to risk his life at the hospital because of his words, he would feel very guilty. ¡°As for the clinic, I¡¯ll assess the situation. If it¡¯s on my way and safe, I can take a look.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you! Just do what you can; don¡¯t take any risks! And I won¡¯t let you help for nothing: if you do get the medication, just hand it in for Contribution Points, and I¡¯ll make sure to exchange with you!¡± In Shuize Base, seeing a doctor doesn¡¯t cost money, as long as the doctors are willing to provide care. However, medication requires Contribution Points. Doctors also need Contribution Points to exchange for medication but receive a discount, and can earn Contribution Points through the price difference. Whether before or after the apocalypse, being a doctor has always been a coveted profession. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded; if it was something he could do without going out of his way, he didn¡¯t mind lending Chen Zhuang a hand, and if there indeed were many medications, he could also keep some on hand for himself.. Chapter 87 - 81 Rush Right Arm_2 Chapter 87 - 81 Rush Right Arm_2 Chapter 87: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Ah, right¡ª¡± Just as Wang Tao turned to leave, Chen Zhuang suddenly opened his mouth. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao turned his head. ¡°Never mind, never mind, it¡¯s nothing! You go ahead with your business...¡± Chen Zhuang hastily waved his hands, his expression somewhat dejected. Seeing that he was unwilling to elaborate, Wang Tao did not inquire further. As he left the building, he ran into Han Rui, wearing her black police uniform, just about to enter. ¡°Wang Tao? Are you heading out?¡± Han Rui seemed surprised. Wang Tao had only rested for one day before going out again? She was still in pain, wanting to lie in bed and not move a muscle... ¡°Yeah. Together? If we work together, we¡¯ll definitely be able to scavenge a lot of supplies!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Truth be told, Han Rui looked really good in her police uniform, especially this kind of pure black officer¡¯s standard dress, gallant and imposing. But this outfit seemed a size too small? The police badge on her left and the six-digit police number on her right were both bulging. ¡°No, no, no¡ª¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Han Rui quickly waved her hands. Perhaps realizing she had refused too hastily, she explained, ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m scared, it¡¯s just that my injury hasn¡¯t healed yet, and I would only be a burden to you if I went out... Next time, let¡¯s go together when there¡¯s a chance!¡± If it had been about scavenging supplies, she would have definitely liked to accompany Wang Tao. After all, she knew all too well how strong Wang Tao was. But her injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet, and going out would just mean being a burden. ¡°Hehe, alright then. I¡¯ll be off.¡± Wang Tao had mentioned it casually; he could clearly see that Han Rui was still low on HP. Waving his hand, Wang Tao got into his car and drove toward the gate. Watching Wang Tao¡¯s retreating figure as he drove away, Han Rui shook her head. If only her husband, Sun Weiguang, had half, or even a third, of Wang Tao¡¯s strength, she wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much. ¡°Wei Guang... you mustn¡¯t let anything happen to you!¡± ¡°Hey, buddy, you¡¯re going out today?¡± The soldiers on duty at the gate were still the same few from before. ¡°Yeah, heading out to scavenge some supplies.¡± Wang Tao rolled down the window and said with a smile. ¡°Let me register you first...¡± The other party brought over a form, and Wang Tao wrote down his name and date. Then he looked at the rifles on the soldiers and suddenly asked: ¡°Is there a way for ordinary folks to get their hands on rifles?¡± The list of exchange items you could get for Contribution Points at the base only included pistols and pistol bullets, not rifles. ¡°For now, that¡¯s not possible. Currently, only we in the Security Army are assigned rifles, and even the police only have pistols. Ordinary people? That¡¯s even less likely. Besides... having a gun isn¡¯t always a good thing!¡± The soldier¡¯s expression was somewhat melancholic. ¡°When I see zombies outside, my first instinct is to shoot, but I have to restrain myself. Because I know that firing a gun can kill a zombie, but it will attract even more of them! It¡¯s better to use long knives or spears... Being armed with a gun but not daring to use it is really frustrating!¡± Wang Tao understood this feeling because he himself had a pistol, even equipped with a silencer. But he had only used it once, which was when he had no choice but to kill a Big Hammer Zombie. Under normal circumstances, he definitely wouldn¡¯t use a gun, since he was alone without teammates. Attracting too many zombies was something he couldn¡¯t handle, particularly with the recent emergence of ¡°Mad Demon¡± zombies posing too much of a threat to him alone. Wang Tao wanted a rifle not necessarily to use it but also as a collector¡¯s item. After all, which man doesn¡¯t like guns? ¡°Actually, I¡¯m quite envious of you. With your build... I reckon you could chop down zombies in just a few hits, right?¡± The soldier looked at Wang Tao¡¯s muscles and said enviously. ¡°Haha, more or less.¡± Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°Then I¡¯m heading out.¡± ¡°Stay safe!¡± The soldier waved, and the base¡¯s gate slowly opened. Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up in response. Once the vehicle left the base, whether it was psychological or not, he immediately felt an inexplicable pressure. After discerning his direction, Wang Tao set off toward the clinic. He could go anywhere to kill zombies and gather materials, so taking a trip to the clinic was not a problem. Humming- After turning a corner, he encountered a zombie ahead. Wang Tao floored the accelerator and drove straight towards the zombie. Bang- The zombie was first knocked down and then had its head crushed by the car¡¯s wheel, killed instantly, and a bundle burst forth. With a thought, Wang Tao picked up the spoils. [Obtained: Rope xi] Without stopping the car, Wang Tao continued forward. Seeing the head-exploded corpse in the rearview mirror, Wang Tao suddenly thought of something. The zombies he crushed with his car or shot dead counted as his kills. But the ones he burned to death with Molotov cocktails did not count as his kills... ¡°I wonder what the difference is... I¡¯ll take this opportunity to gather materials and study it a bit...¡± Zombies seemed endless, and the road Wang Tao traveled was the same one he had taken the day before yesterday, by which time there had been no zombies. But now... Looking at the large mass of zombies staggering in the rain on the street, Wang Tao shook his head, planning to take a different route. ¡°Hmm?¡± However, before leaving, Wang Tao suddenly spotted a Suicide Bombing Zombie in the midst of the group, its chest organs exposed! ¡°Hiss¡ªShould I make a move...¡± Wang Tao was tempted.. Chapter 88 - 81 Rush Right Arm_3 Chapter 88: Chapter 81 Rush Right Arm_3 Translator: 549690339 Suicide Bombing Zombies are easy to deal with; you don¡¯t even need to get close to them. As long as you can attract their attention from a distance, they¡¯ll self-detonate within a few seconds. Though this won¡¯t increase my HP limit, having a Zombie Core is enough! However, after pondering for over ten seconds, Wang Tao still shook his head. ¡°Forget it, there are too many zombies around. Even if it self-detonates, I might not have a chance to pick up its Crystal Core. Forcing my way to get it would be too dangerous and not worth the risk, especially since there could be Crazy Zombies hiding somewhere...¡± Whirr- The moment Wang Tao stepped on the accelerator, he decisively left the area. After circling around two streets, Wang Tao found a more suitable place. It was a small plaza with dozens of zombies roaming about, all of them elderly zombies. Wang Tao parked the car outside the plaza and then got out with a Firefighter Axe in hand. Bang! [-500] Bang! [-500] It must be said that the axe is more energy-efficient than a hammer. When he used the hammer, it was all about smashing open the zombies¡¯ skulls with brute force, but with the axe, he didn¡¯t need as much power to still blow their heads off. These Ordinary Zombies were no match for Wang Tao, especially since the rain had greatly affected their senses, and some didn¡¯t even notice Wang Tao approaching. Soon, Wang Tao had dealt with all the dozens of zombies on the plaza. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath; swinging the axe so many times was somewhat exhausting. Looking at the corpses of zombies scattered all around, a smile appeared beneath Wang Tao¡¯s skull mask. This time his luck was neither good nor bad. After killing so many zombies, he finally had all the materials he needed. Wang Tao looked up and surveyed the surrounding buildings. ¡°Hm? This is a shopping mall...¡± He hadn¡¯t paid much attention before, but now he realized there was an old three-story shopping mall next to the plaza. ¡°Since I¡¯m here, I might as well take a look. Just the first floor, I won¡¯t go up...¡± Wang Tao remembered that this mall seemed to focus on selling clothes, and since he always bought his clothes online, he had never visited this place. However, a mall is still a mall, and besides clothes, there are bound to be some restaurants and supermarkets. There should be quite a bit of food inside. Scavenging resources wasn¡¯t the main objective today, but since he was here, he might as well take advantage of the opportunity. He could also make this Rush Arm Guard and then contact Ding Yuqin. On the top floor of the mall, inside a room, a young man peering out through the Venetian blinds immediately turned around and addressed three people playing cards: ¡°Boss, that big guy is heading our way!¡± The one he called Boss was a burly man with a bald head inked with a black dragon tattoo, his upper body bare. The tattooed bald man turned his head upon hearing the subordinate¡¯s words, his face covered with meaty folds. ¡°He¡¯s actually coming over...¡± He furrowed his sparse eyebrows, feeling inexplicably irritable. ¡°Boss, do you think he¡¯s discovered us?¡± Another lackey quickly asked. ¡°Impossible, we¡¯ve blocked all the windows tightly, he can¡¯t possibly see us!¡± The tattooed bald man shook his head. ¡°So, should we...?¡± Another lackey made a throat-slitting gesture. The bald man hadn¡¯t spoken when the third lackey quickly objected. ¡°Did you not see how powerful that guy is? He can kill zombies in seconds! All of us combined aren¡¯t a match for him!¡¯ ¡°But... but we have guns¡ª¡± Bang! The lackey hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when the bald man kicked him. Clatter¡ª The lackey was sent flying, scattering cards all over the table. The bald man emotionlessly tossed aside the ¡°3, 4, 6¡± in his hand and then glared fiercely at the lackey. ¡°You fucking stupid, you dare to use a gun here? Have you forgotten what happened here before? Are you itching to die that quickly?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry boss!¡± The sent flying lackey, as if remembering something terrifying, quickly knelt in front of the bald man, holding his stomach and apologizing. The other lackeys instantly fell silent as if they were struck by frost. The bald man stood up and snorted coldly, ¡°You guys go and hide our stuff; in case this guy comes up, don¡¯t let him find it...¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The lackeys hurried away. The bald man pulled out the pistol tucked behind his back; he had intended to store it in a cabinet but changed his mind and kept it at his waist, though he covered it with a jacket. ¡°I hope you¡¯re a sensible man; otherwise... don¡¯t blame me for not being polite!¡± A ruthless expression appeared on the bald man s face. Wang Tao entered the mall cautiously. Although it was an old mall and looked dilapidated, the lighting was surprisingly good. Even on a rainy day, it was possible to clearly see the condition inside the mall. But after seeing the situation inside, Wang Tao frowned. It was too messy! This kind of chaos didn¡¯t seem like the disorder caused by humans due to a disaster, but rather as if a monster had come, bringing massive destruction to the mall. The shops on the first floor were basically all damaged; either collapsed or blocked by debris, and Wang Tao even saw several damaged stone bollards in the center of the mall. If he remembered correctly, those were used in squares to separate pedestrians from traffic, weighing two to three hundred pounds each. Even in a panicked escape, those bollards wouldn¡¯t normally end up inside a mall, would they? ¡°Could there have been some special zombie here... Wang Tao felt somewhat nervous. He suddenly thought that it would be nice to have Han Rui here to help scout for hidden zombies in the vicinity. After a brief check, Wang Tao didn¡¯t find any danger, but he remained vigilant. ¡°The stairs to the upper floors are intact, but forget it, I¡¯ll just stay on the first floor.¡± Wang Tao decided not to go up. Although messy, the first floor lacked resources to scavenge, but at least he would be able to run in case of danger. If something hazardous occurred upstairs, it would be difficult to escape. In the end, Wang Tao found a relatively intact small room filled with various clothes. There were no blood stains or signs of struggle; it seemed relatively safe. After entering and checking the room again, confirming there was no danger, Wang Tao finally took out the Rush Right Arm Blueprint and the necessary materials. [Rush Right Arm Blueprint (Forgeable)] Confirm creation! With a thought, the materials turned into streams of light and melded into the blueprint. But this time there was no countdown. In the blink of an eye, a black arm guard appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Right Arm Rush Successfully Made] Chapter 89 - 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall i Chapter 89: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall i Translator: 549690339 ¡°So fast?¡± Wang Tao was quite surprised. He thought it would take some time to make, like how it was with the Food Compressor. He didn¡¯t expect it to be completed in an instant. [Rush Right Arm: Made of resilient material, able to block blades and bullets. Durability +10, defensive power +10] This was a black, asymmetrical, hard arm guard worn on the forearm. It had a metallic feel to it but was very light. The size of the guard was adjustable. After making some minor adjustments, Wang Tao removed the steel plate from his right arm and put on the arm guard. ¡°Huh?¡± The sensation after putting it on took Wang Tao by surprise. Whether he tied books or a steel plate to his arm, he could always clearly feel their presence. No matter how well they were tied or how ergonomically they were designed, they still somewhat hindered his movements. But this arm guard felt barely noticeable once on, yet he could still feel that he was wearing it. More importantly, the guard didn¡¯t restrict his movements at all! The ergonomic design was simply amazing! No wonder it¡¯s called the ¡°Rush Right Arm¡± ¡ª it seemed tailor-made for his right arm. If it were placed on his left arm, it wouldn¡¯t have the same effect. ¡°Just don¡¯t know about the defensive power...¡± Wang Tao took out a dagger and gently scraped it against the arm guard. There was no mark on the guard. He increased his force, but still no mark appeared. Even when he directly chopped the guard with the dagger, it remained completely unscathed. He hardly even felt the impact. ¡°Not bad...¡± After some thought, Wang Tao took off the guard and put it on the ground, then picked up the Firefighter Axe and chopped down hard on it. Bang! A layer of dust flew up from the ground, but the arm guard was still fine, without even a scratch on it. ¡°Nice piece of gear!¡± Wang Tao was delighted. The defensive power of the Rush Right Arm felt even stronger than the steel plate! And in terms of the experience of using it, it was much better than the plate! Wang Tao quickly put the arm guard back on, then put on his security guard jacket over it, disguising it so that it looked as if he wasn¡¯t wearing anything on his forearm. ¡°The defensive power is definitely not a problem, let¡¯s see how it performs in actual combat...¡± There were no zombies in the mall, but practical combat didn¡¯t necessarily mean killing zombies. Right outside his shop was a round stone pier, and he swung the axe at it, mimicking an attacking motion. Whoosh¡ªBang! A large chunk was chopped right off the stone pier. Feeling the slight numbness in his palm, Wang Tao was stunned. Hold on, he had just swung the axe without actually intending to chop anything. What was going on? Wang Tao quickly hid in the room and waited a while, to make sure the noise didn¡¯t attract any zombies. Then he touched the Rush Right Arm again and hastily swung the axe a few more times, this time not at the pier but at some clothes in the room. Whoosh¡ªBang! After a few minutes of experimentation, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I think I understand now... No wonder it¡¯s called Rush Right Arm!¡± Wang Tao realized that after putting on the Rush Right Arm, if he made any quick movements like swinging his fist or axe, the arm guard would enhance the speed and strength of that motion! He wasn¡¯t sure exactly how much of a bonus it provided, but it was definitely much more than his own abilities. For instance, if he used to chop a zombie for 500 HP, now he might chop for 600, 700, or even 800 HP! Wang Tao examined the Rush Right Arm more closely and discovered a small mechanism inside the guard that opened to reveal a battery ¨C the kind that looked very high-tech and was found on zombies he had killed. ¡°So it runs on electricity, no wonder the materials needed included cables, electronic components, and batteries... What kind of black technology is this!¡± He happily put the arm guard back on. It felt a bit like a Mechanical Exoskeleton to him. If he could get other parts besides this right arm, like a left arm, leg guards, a chest guard, wouldn¡¯t that be practically a full exoskeleton? ¡°What am I thinking...¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Even if those things existed, they were far out of reach for him at the moment, so there was no point in dwelling on them. After calming down his excitement a bit, Wang Tao took out a walkie-talkie to try and contact Ding Yuqin. The mall was about three kilometers from Happy Community. In theory, communication should be possible ¨C it all depended on the quality of the walkie-talkie he had. ¡°It¡¯s me, can you hear me? It¡¯s me...¡± ¡°Ssszzz... Ssszzz...¡± After a burst of static, a voice with electronic interference suddenly came through. ¡°Wang Tao... is that you, Wang Tao... ssszzz...¡± Although the voice was somewhat distorted, Wang Tao could tell it was Ding Yuqin. So he walked out of the room and adjusted his position until he could hear a reasonably clear conversation by a window. ¡°Wang Tao, how is it on your end, are you safe?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice was full of worry; after Wang Tao had left, she didn¡¯t turn off the walkie-talkie, always waiting for news from him. ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s very safe here. What about you? Is everything okay at home?¡± Just by Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice, Wang Tao could tell she must be quite safe. Indeed, Ding Yuqin said she was perfectly safe at home, no zombies and no food crisis ¨C she was just a bit scared to be alone. In truth, she was frightened that Wang Tao had abandoned her, but she didn¡¯t dare to say that outright.. Chapter 90 - 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall_2 Chapter 90: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry,¡± he said. ¡°Probably... in a day or two, I¡¯ll come back and take you to the Suize Survivor Base.¡± After observing for a couple of days, Wang Tao felt the Shuize Base was alright. At least he had no problem living there. Once his status as a committee member was secured and he became one of the top people of the base, he would go and bring Ding Yuqin over. Of course, even without that status, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be greatly affected, as he had always relied on his own strength. But certainly, the status would make things much more convenient, so he decided to wait another couple of days. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait for you at home!¡± After chatting a few more words with Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao took the initiative to end the call. ¡°The Rush Right Arm is ready, and I¡¯ve got an update on the situation with Yu Qin; I might as well take a trip to the Borui Clinic while I¡¯m at it¡ªit¡¯s not far from here. Hopefully, I¡¯ll encounter a lone special zombie on the way...¡± Mapping out his next steps, Wang Tao picked up his weapon and prepared to leave. Suddenly, his ears twitched. ¡°There¡¯s noise upstairs!¡± Wang Tao quickly hid in a corner, eyeing the mail¡¯s staircase intently. About a dozen seconds later, a sneaky-looking figure emerged from the top of the stairs. In his hand, he held a baseball bat with nails sticking out, cautiously making his way to the first floor. Above his head, a green HP bar read [115/115]. ¡°A survivor?¡± Wang Tao frowned. He had thought it was a zombie at first, but to his surprise, it was a human. Seeing the man clutching the spiked baseball bat and searching around, Wang Tao got the feeling the man was up to no good. ¡°His behavior makes it clear he¡¯s seen me. Since I haven¡¯t left the mall, he must either have cameras, or he saw me killing zombies in the square earlier...¡± Wang Tao glanced at the first floor ceiling of the mall¡ªthere were some cameras, but in some areas, the wires were cut, and there was no electricity in the mall, so it was highly unlikely that the surveillance was working. Wang Tao guessed the man must have seen him killing the zombies. If this person meant him no harm, Wang Tao thought, he should have called out to him after coming down, not stealthily seeking him with a weapon in hand. ¡°Who knows what he wants to do¡ªcapturing him will tell!¡± Wang Tao never minded assuming the worst about others, especially in this post-apocalyptic world. It¡¯s always better to be too cautious. As the man inched towards him, Wang Tao placed a small mirror on the ground. Then, he stood behind the wall, unmoving. Through the mirror, Wang Tao watched the man approach closer and closer, until he was just around the corner from him. Suddenly, Wang Tao burst out from his hiding spot behind the man, grasped his neck, and snatched his weapon away. ¡°Ugh...¡± The man¡¯s eyes bulged in shock and fear. He tried to reach for Wang Tao¡¯s arms, his body flailing wildly, feet kicking in panic. But he felt as if he were clamped in a vice¡ªno form of struggle helped; the more he thrashed, the tighter the hold. Just as his vision began to darken, the grip on his neck vanished. ¡°Cough cough... hah... cough cough...¡± With no support, the man instantly collapsed to his knees, retching while holding his throat. However, before he could catch his breath, a large hand suddenly appeared, grabbed his collar, and hoisted him up. Confronted by a man dressed in a Black Combat Suit, his face hidden behind a skull mask and yellow glasses, towering over one meter eighty and built like a tank, the terrified man almost wet himself. ¡°Cough cough... don¡¯t kill me... cough cough... I...¡± Wang Tao, with his other hand, waved the man¡¯s baseball bat in front of him and said in an indifferent tone, ¡°What were you trying to do? Ambush me?¡± ¡°No... not at all! I didn¡¯t even know there was someone here...¡± The man hastily explained. However, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned grim upon hearing this. The man had clearly spotted him yet tried to hide it? This person was definitely up to no good! Wang Tao prodded the man¡¯s chest with the bottom of the baseball bat. ¡°Uh¡ªah¡ª¡± The man¡¯s face turned ghastly pale instantly, tears streaming uncontrollably. Back when Wang Tao was a Martial Arts Substitute, he met masters skilled in cold weapons, which naturally included sticks and batons. One master said that in real combat, swinging a bat is not the best move for beginners. The bat is generally long and thus slow to swing, easy to dodge, and given limited human strength, a hit wouldn¡¯t cause much damage. But ¡°jabbing¡± was different. A hard jab to an enemy¡¯s chest, unless they¡¯re professionally trained or protected by gear, could leave few people standing. Wang Tao had never actually fought before, and his actions in films were all choreographed, so he had no real combat experience. Now, trying it out, he could only say that the master was indeed a master; even a slight jab proved unbearable for his opponent. ¡°I¡¯m asking you one more time, why did you try to ambush me?¡± Wang Tao parked his car outside the square¡ªthe mail¡¯s location shouldn¡¯t allow visibility of his car. When he came to kill zombies, he didn¡¯t carry much else. So, to any survivors inside the mall, he must have looked like an ordinary person with little supplies. There seemed to be no reason for anyone to ambush him... Wang Tao was puzzled, so he wanted answers. ¡°I, I really didn¡¯t... didn¡¯t intend to ambush you....¡± Chapter 91 - 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall 2 Chapter 91: Chapter 82: Survivor in the Shopping Mall 2 Translator: 549690339 0 ¡ªD The person still wouldn¡¯t admit it. So stubborn? Wang Tao had thought he was just being tough-mouthed and prepared to poke further, but after seeing the frightened expression on his face, which seemed to carry a hint of grievance, Wang Tao temporarily stopped and let him go. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°I, *cough cough*¡ªmy name is Seventh Brother Yang... I really wasn¡¯t sneak attacking...¡± Seventh Brother Yang knelt on the ground again, covering his chest and coughing. He felt so wronged! Previously, he had clearly seen from upstairs how Wang Tao had decapitated a zombie with an axe-Wang Tao dealt with the zombies in the square like playing Whack-A-Mole! Only those who had truly fought with zombies could comprehend how strong Wang Tao was! Wang Tao alone could probably easily take on their whole group! In the face of such a powerful figure, he wouldn¡¯t dare lay a finger on him even if he had ten times the courage! The reason he had sneaked down was that he had clearly seen Wang Tao enter the mall from upstairs but hadn¡¯t gone up. Their boss had no idea what Wang Tao was doing down there, or even if he had left from somewhere else, so he was sent to check things out. But before he could even see anyone, he was taken down, and he wasn¡¯t even given a chance to plead his case. During that brief minute, Seventh Brother Yang felt like he had died several times over. The devil, this man was simply the devil! ¡°Really not sneak attacking me?¡± Wang Tao said, somewhat speechless, but without the slightest hint of an apology. After all, this man was lying-that was a fact. Even if he wasn¡¯t sneak attacking, he definitely was up to no good. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance to explain. If I¡¯m not satisfied with the reason, well, sorry...¡± Wang Tao swung the steel spiked baseball bat in his hand, his tone indifferent. ¡°*Cough cough*¡ª¡± Seventh Brother Yang felt a sense of urgency. Although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t specified what he meant by ¡°sorry,¡± he didn¡¯t dare to gamble. Moreover, after a minute of interaction, he knew this person was definitely not someone to trifle with. But coming up with a reason was not so straightforward-he couldn¡¯t possibly say that his boss was purposely wary of the other party! The boss... That¡¯s right! Seventh Brother Yang suddenly had an idea. *Cough cough*, it¡¯s like this. Our boss saw you coming and wanted me to invite you to come up! Yes, it¡¯s an invitation; I¡¯m here to invite you!¡± Seventh Brother Yang was quite satisfied with his own excuse. He wasn¡¯t here to sneak attack, but to extend an invitation! This big guy had misunderstood! Under these circumstances, he also didn¡¯t expect the other party to apologize; he just hoped he wouldn¡¯t be tormented. ¡°Oh? The boss? To invite? How many people do you have?¡± Wang Tao asked directly. ¡°Our boss is Cao Xin. He used to run a clothing business here; I¡¯m his employee. There are four of us in total, on the top floor! Our boss would like to invite you upstairs for a chat...¡± Seventh Brother Yang dared not hide anything and quickly disclosed this information. The invitation was fake, though, and he felt that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t dare go... Wang Tao knew this man wasn¡¯t telling the truth. But now, with over one thousand HP, an Ability, steel plate armor, a Rush Right Arm, and a gun loaded with bullets at his waist... With his strength, if he couldn¡¯t beat certain zombie monsters, well that¡¯s one thing, but he couldn¡¯t beat a few people? Wang Tao also wanted to know what was really going on at the first floor of the mall, whether any special zombies had been there... Of course, if it was all a misunderstanding and the survivors really were decent folks, then he could recruit them to the base. Getting a survivor would indeed increase a lot of Contribution Points. ¡°Lead the way!¡± Wang Tao stated simply. ¡°Ah? Oh, okay...¡± Seventh Brother Yang felt somewhat miserable, as he hadn¡¯t expected the big man would actually want to go up! If he went back, he feared he might be skinned by his boss, but when it came to resisting Wang Tao, he lacked the courage, so he could only lead the way upstairs, feeling aggrieved. Wang Tao followed Seventh Brother Yang in a relaxed manner, yet his Spirit was highly tensed. Although he felt he could handle these survivors, he wouldn¡¯t be careless. The stairs of the old mall were wide, with good visibility. It didn¡¯t take many steps before Wang Tao saw the people upstairs. There were three people in total, matching the number Seventh Brother Yang mentioned. They were all holding sticks, steel pipes, and such Weapons. Seeing Wang Tao come up, these people appeared somewhat surprised. They all looked at the bald man in the middle. The bald man glared at Seventh Brother Yang sternly and then an extremely polite smile spread across his meaty face. ¡°Hello! My name is Cao Xin. I used to do some clothing business here...¡± It wasn¡¯t until Wang Tao got closer that he saw the tattoos on some of the exposed areas of Cao Xin¡¯s skin. Wang Tao didn¡¯t discriminate against tattoos, but for someone in business to have such flamboyant tattoos-it raised the question if he was really into legitimate business. ¡°Hello, my name is Chen Zhuang,¡± Wang Tao bluffed. ¡°Welcome, welcome!¡± The bald man extended his hands from a distance, and Wang Tao gave him the courtesy of shaking them. Once the bald man was close to Wang Tao, he immediately felt an oppressive aura come over him, especially from the blood-stained axe at his waist-he felt he might not withstand a single blow from it... The others felt it even more acutely. In their eyes, their boss was already a muscular, imposing man, who usually looked quite intimidating. But compared to Wang Tao, he was utterly outclassed. The boss¡¯s stature was at least two sizes smaller than Wang Tao¡¯s. Especially with Wang Tao¡¯s skull mask and the bloody axes at his waist... he looked just like a fearsome villain straight out of the TV! ¡°Come, right this way!¡± The bald man led Wang Tao energetically to the open doors of a room in the hall. Wang Tao carefully surveyed his surroundings, especially the few men present. Not a single one was an Ability User, nor did they have Hidden Attributes. However, they had all killed zombies to some extent, with their HP mostly just over a hundred. The boss had the most HP, boasting [205/205]. He must have killed around twenty zombies or so. The layout of the third floor of the mall was similar to the first floor, divided into sections. However, other areas were blocked by debris. Only the areas to the left and right were passable. The right side was where the bald man and his group were in the hall. The left side had a small iron gate locked with rusty chains, which appeared to be a storage room. Wang Tao glanced at the iron gate and then followed the bald man towards the hall.. Chapter 92 - 83 She is my fiancee_l Chapter 92 - 83 She is my fiancee_l Chapter 92: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee_l Translator: 549690339 The hall had an unpleasant disinfectant smell that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t avoid even with a mask on. ¡°Mr. Chen, would you like a drink of water?¡± Cao Xin held a chipped kettle and a cup that was hard to tell whether it was yellow or white, asking Wang Tao. ¡°No, thanks.¡± Wang Tao looked around the hall. The hall¡¯s decor was very old-fashioned, resembling a style from thirty years ago, with clothes piled up everywhere, seeming to make beds that the four of them slept on. The hall was rectangular, with everyone situated at the end where the light was better, while the other end was dark and hard to see. ¡°You guys are pretty amazing, managing to live so comfortably in the post-apocalypse.¡± Wang Tao said with a hint of indifference. These four, including Seventh Brother Yang who had been taught a lesson earlier, were all at full HP, which was rather good for the post-apocalyptic world. After all, even within Shuize Base, there were many who were not at full HP. ¡°Ahaha, just good luck, just good luck! But all our food is gone, and I have been worrying about where to find more food...¡± Cao Xin rubbed his bald head, looking very troubled. Wang Tao gave Cao Xin a deep look. Was he afraid Wang Tao would take his food? That meant they probably still had plenty of food, right? Suddenly, Cao Xin stiffened. Even though Wang Tao¡¯s eyes behind the yellow-tinted glasses were a bit blurry and not very clear, Cao Xin felt as if he were being eyed by a predator, his blood almost freezing in his veins! That feeling... it was like the zombie he had encountered earlier! Cao Xin had survived this long in the post-apocalyptic world thanks largely to his sixth sense. He could feel that the person in front of him was very dangerous¡ªperhaps even more so than any he had encountered before! Wang Tao withdrew his gaze. He walked over to the window and parted the blinds. From here, he could see part of the square where the zombies he killed earlier were still lying. ¡°Cough, I happened to see Mr. Chen in action earlier, and I must say, it was a sight to behold! At that moment, I thought it would be a great honor to have Mr. Chen visit us. And look at this coincidence!¡± Cao Xin hastily started to flatter. Upon hearing this, Seventh Brother Yang nearly claimed it was he who had brought Mr. Chen up. But when he saw their leader suddenly turn and glare fiercely at him, a chill ran down his spine. Oh no, the boss was lying! Seventh Brother Yang inwardly lamented, knowing he¡¯d have a rough time once Mr. Chen left. Wang Tao, fully aware that the man was buttering him up, couldn¡¯t deny that it felt good. He had never experienced this before. No wonder there were always one or two sycophants around those in high positions on television. Of course, no matter what he thought internally, Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged. After years of fighting his way through the world, he had mastered the art of composure. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take a look around here, if you don¡¯t mind?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°... Of course not! I¡¯ll show you around!¡± Cao Xin¡¯s face twisted into a smile more pained than crying, and then he personally led the way. Wang Tao followed behind Cao Xin at a leisurely pace, observing the surroundings while asking somewhat casually: ¡°What happened downstairs? Why is it so destroyed?¡± Mentioning this, a flash of terror crossed Cao Xin¡¯s face. ¡°Mr. Chen, you don¡¯t know, but half a month ago, a super terrifying zombie appeared in the mall! That thing, it seemed about three or four meters tall, all muscle! It smashed whatever it saw, nearly bringing down the entire mall! If it hadn¡¯t been lured away by something it saw, we would have been done for...¡± ¡°Three or four meters tall...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression suddenly became serious. A zombie of that size was frightening; the biggest he had encountered before was a Terrorizer, also known as Big Hammer Zombie. They were just over two meters tall and already quite imposing to Wang Tao. A zombie three or four meters tall... Wang Tao couldn¡¯t even imagine how big that was. Wang Tao glanced at Cao Xin again. His terrified look didn¡¯t seem feigned, and there was no need to lie about such things, especially with the obvious destruction on the first floor. ¡°Well, you guys are pretty lucky then,¡± Wang Tao remarked. ¡°That we are, our luck has been pretty good to have survived until now,¡± Cao Xin said with a hint of pride. But when he noticed where Wang Tao¡¯s gaze was focused, his expression became awkward once more. ¡°You four have quite the appetite, huh? Claiming your food is running out when you have so much left?¡± Looking at the dirty piles of rice, snacks, and other food items, Wang Tao spoke with a hint of mockery. ¡°Cough cough, it¡¯s just being prepared, just being prepared!¡± Cao Xin, seeing that Wang Tao kept eyeing his food, had a pained expression but tried to sound magnanimous: ¡°Mr. Chen, coming across each other is fate, and meeting in the post-apocalypse is a great kismet! I see you didn¡¯t bring much with you, so you must be out scavenging for supplies, right? Let¡¯s not talk about anything else, just pick a bag and take it! Consider it a token of my friendship, from Cao Xin to you!¡± Wang Tao looked at him with some surprise. This man, he knew how to act appropriately! Since he was being so sensible, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t refuse his kindness. ¡°You, pick a bag.¡± Wang Tao directed Seventh Brother Yang. Seventh Brother Yang immediately felt a murderous gaze turn towards him.. Chapter 93 - 83 She is my fiancee_2 Chapter 93 - 83 She is my fiancee_2 Chapter 93: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee_2 Translator: 549690339 | He dared not meet the boss¡¯s eyes and could only stiffen his scalp and walk up to the food to make his selection. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested in the food, his eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, and he began to look around. Wang Tao could clearly feel that there were many signs of battle here. There was also some black blood; he wondered if it belonged to zombies. Moreover, there was a strange smell that even the scent of disinfectant couldn¡¯t completely suppress. At this end of the hall, there were several hollow display cabinets, which should have contained decorative items, but now were cluttered with various things-like toilet paper, screwdrivers, and tattered clothes. The toilet paper was even stained with black blood, which Wang Tao found distasteful. Cao Xin, seeing that Wang Tao was somewhat interested in these small items, seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Then, taking advantage of Wang Tao¡¯s distraction, he kicked Seventh Brother Yang hard in the butt and gave him a fierce glare, as if to say, ¡°Just scrounge up anything, do you actually have to pick out the best bag for him?¡± Seventh Brother Yang looked aggrieved: The one who got beaten just now wasn¡¯t you... Wang Tao was just looking around casually. He came up here for two reasons: one was to see what this person really wanted to do and whether he intended to harm him. The other was to see if any of these people were worth recruiting to the Survivor Base to earn Contribution Points. But after this brief interaction, Wang Tao had already ruled out both options. None of these people seemed to be truthful, and they didn¡¯t look like good folks. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t possibly take them back to the base. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt a small metal plate on the shelf, with a series of six digits on it, somewhat familiar to him. ¡°Mr. Chen! I¡¯ve selected it for you!¡± The trembling voice of Seventh Brother Yang came from the corner. Wang Tao turned his head, and Cao Xin, who had been glaring at Seventh Brother Yang, immediately put on a smiling face. ¡°Mr. Chen, this is a little something from me, please accept it!¡± Wang Tao looked at the bag of neatly packaged 10kg rice, didn¡¯t hesitate to accept it, and then headed straight for the exit. ¡°Alright, then I won¡¯t disturb you any further.¡± Seeing that Wang Tao was about to leave, Cao Xin totally relaxed. ¡°We¡¯ll meet again if fate allows it, Mr. Chen!¡± Wang Tao glanced back at him, said nothing, and went straight downstairs. It wasn¡¯t until Wang Tao left the mall and stepped into the rain that Cao Xin and the others seemed to relax completely, breathing a sigh of relief. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± ¡°This guy puts too much pressure on me! I dare not even breathe when he¡¯s standing there!¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me, I didn¡¯t dare meet his gaze...¡± The three underlings whispered to each other. -What¡¯s there to be scared of just because he¡¯s a bit taller? A bunch of useless things!¡± Cao Xin cursed angrily. The underlings immediately stopped talking, but Seventh Brother Yang really wanted to say, your attitude wasn¡¯t like this just now, boss. ¡°Forget it, since the guy¡¯s been sent away, let¡¯s not bother with him anymore. Damn it, go get one of our merchandise up here! I need to let off some steam, I was almost scared to death¡ªhurry up! The three underlings quickly went towards the door next to the staircase secured with rusted iron chains and unlocked the door with a key. Clang clatter¡ª The iron door made a grating noise, with darkness lurking within. One of the underlings entered with a flashlight, followed by the other two. ¡°Mmmhmm¡ª¡± From inside the warehouse, a humming noise suddenly emerged, followed by the sight of a naked woman with numerous wounds all over her body, bound with iron chains, her mouth sealed with tape, and her face numb as she was dragged out. ¡°Boss, another one¡¯s dead...¡± One of the underlings said, somewhat frantically. ¡°Damn, really useless!¡± Cao Xin uttered darkly, then scolded the underlings, ¡°Hurry up!¡± The underlings quickly took the two women to where they stored the food. Seeing the food, a flicker of emotion appeared in the women¡¯s eyes. One of the underlings secured the iron chains on the woman¡¯s limbs to the ground, then placed a small bowl of white flour in front of her. Immediately seeing the food, the woman got down on the floor like a dog and began to lick it with her tongue. Cao Xin unbuckled his belt, walked behind the woman with a cruel look on his face, and then instructed the underlings: ¡°Bring me a few wooden sticks with barbs! In the heavy rain, Wang Tao turned to take a long, hard look at the third floor of the mall. Then he returned to his car. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with these people...¡± Wang Tao pondered over everything that had happened upstairs. Clearly, these people were hiding something from him. Initially, Wang Tao thought it was the food, but then he realized it might not be the case. Wang Tao took out a metal plate from his pocket with six digits on it. He had found it in Cao Xin¡¯s place and taken it without much thought. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao liked taking others¡¯ belongings, but he had seen this object before. Apart from the different numbers, it was identical to Han Rui¡¯s badge in terms of color and size. It was a badge! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if Cao Xin had found it or... Regardless of the possibility, Cao Xin might have a gun! Even though Wang Tao was powerful, he never thought he was bulletproof; bullets were still a significant threat to him. Of course, if he could take them by surprise, Wang Tao felt that he could subdue them instantly with a Shockwave. But there was another important reason: Cao Xin had mentioned a zombie that had been here before, three to four meters tall! Seeing the Destruction caused by this zombie, Wang Tao believed he was no match for it. If the gunfire attracted that zombie, he would be in trouble.. Chapter 94 - 83 She is my fiancee 3 Chapter 94 - 83 She is my fiancee 3 Chapter 94: Chapter 83 She is my fiancee 3 Translator: 549690339 | ¡ª So upon discovering the alarm, for safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao decisively retreated. Even Wang Tao felt that his recent action of following Seventh Brother Yang upstairs was perhaps a little rash. ¡°Still not cautious enough! Got a bit arrogant with a little power... I¡¯ll have to be more careful next time!¡± Humming- The car circled around the shopping mall, heading for Borui Clinic. Considering there might be a terrifying zombie here, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to go too fast; he even took a long detour. By dusk, he finally caught sight of Borui Clinic. The location of Borui Clinic was pretty good, next to a small intersection. And this area didn¡¯t have many cars, so the road was relatively open. The clinic¡¯s roller shutter door was closed, and it was unknown what the situation was like inside, but there were about a dozen zombies blocking the street outside. Wang Tao had intended to dispatch them to the afterlife right away, but after a moment of hesitation, he took several Molotov cocktails out from the storage box inside the car. He had always been perplexed as to why zombies burned to death didn¡¯t count as his kill, but those shot to death did, so Wang Tao prepared to experiment now. At a crossroads, with convenient traffic, if some irresistible danger arose he could always drive away at any moment, and since he had temporarily looted all he could, he could use these zombies for his experiment. Half an hour later, Wang Tao killed the last zombie with his axe, then collected the spoils of war. ¡°It should be like this...¡± After the experiment, Wang Tao had some revelations. Put simply, only the zombies that were instantly killed by him counted as his kills. The Molotov cocktails took too long to kill the zombies, so they didn¡¯t count as his kills. As for how long this ¡°instant¡± was, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t tested it yet, but it was definitely a very short period of time. In the future when using Molotov cocktails, he would try his best to kill the zombies before they were burned to death. Of course, if there really was no chance then it was fine, after all, fire does not differentiate between friend and foe. After dealing with the zombies on the street, Wang Tao took his weapons and came to Borui Clinic. The roller shutter door of the clinic was halfway open, which saved Wang Tao some effort. After all, the sound of opening the roller shutter door was loud, he shone his flashlight inside to make sure there were no zombies, and then he slipped in. The situation inside the clinic was worse than Wang Tao had expected; some shelves and empty boxes were scattered around, and there weren¡¯t many medicines. Obviously, this place had already been looted. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised; the clinic¡¯s location was so obvious, and now that more than a month had passed since the apocalypse began, it was normal for survivors to have scavenged it. Wang Tao picked up all the medicines on the floor, now any medicine was precious, and couldn¡¯t be wasted. The clinic wasn¡¯t large, with a lobby, a bathroom, and a small room with a few sickbeds on the first floor. The second floor seemed to be for storage and resting. After Wang Tao looted the first floor and made sure there was nothing overlooked, he then went up to the second floor. ¡°Hmm? The door is locked...¡± He pushed the door without being able to open it. Wang Tao took out the lock-picking tools he carried with him and after fiddling with the lock, there was a click, and the lock opened. The room upstairs was much brighter than the corridor. Wang Tao immediately saw on an office chair not far away, sitting a zombie wearing a white lab coat, a surgical mask, and with a voluptuous figure... a female zombie! [500/500] ¡°Hehe...¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, the female zombie immediately rose, twisting her body to stand up. Just an ordinary zombie, Wang Tao quickly approached, raised his axe, and chopped down. Thwack! [-500] [0/500] He swiftly killed her and casually gathered the loot. [Received: medical packxi] [Medical pack: Can restore too HP within to seconds (cannot regenerate lost limbs)] ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect that killing this female doctor zombie would actually yield a medical pack. What he found even more unexpected was that this medical pack was different from the ones he picked up from airdrops; this one could actually restore too HP in 10 seconds! HP represented health, so restoring 100 HP meant recovering one¡¯s own health! Although it was stated that lost limbs can¡¯t regenerate, this is already quite amazing. Normally, to recover HP, one could only rely on treatment, eating, resting, and sleeping with Ding Yuqin, the blood replenishing pack. These methods are very slow and inconvenient. But this medical kit not only takes ten seconds, it can also be placed in the Space Backpack! This thing is too convenient! In some ways, it¡¯s like the inhibitor, it¡¯s like having half a life! ¡°So, killing doctor zombies might drop medical kits? I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a guaranteed drop, but even if there¡¯s a chance, it¡¯s worth the risk...¡± Chen Zhuang once told Wang Tao that Shuize County First Hospital had many zombies. Although it was very dangerous with many special zombies, there surely were a lot of doctor zombies! These are all medical kits! ¡®Til have to make a trip to the First Hospital later, to see if there¡¯s a chance...¡± There was a small office on the second floor of the clinic, a bedroom, and a storeroom. Apart from a laptop and a mobile phone in the office, there wasn¡¯t anything of value. The bedroom only had some clothes and nothing else. The small warehouse was locked, but after easily unlocking the door, seeing the medicine boxes and some medical tools inside, Wang Tao chuckled and took everything. It took Wang Tao more than twenty minutes to load everything into the car. However, by then the sun had already set, and for safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao decided to rest there for the night and leave the next morning. The night passed without incident. Upon waking up, after simply consuming a few bottles of nutrient solution, Wang Tao left the clinic. The rain outside had not stopped, though it was light, it was still suitable for travel. It was already ten o¡¯clock when he saw Shuize University. Before entering the base, Wang Tao specifically checked the location of the suicide bombing zombie from yesterday, to see if it was still there. ¡°Huh? Gone?¡± Only some scattered zombies remained on the street, the suicide bombing zombie was no longer there. ¡°Forget it, if it¡¯s gone then it¡¯s gone.¡± After all, he found killing that suicide bombing zombie to be quite troublesome. After returning to the base, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hurry to hand over supplies but went to see Chen Zhuang first. He wanted to see what medicine Chen Zhuang needed, then hand over some, and planned to keep the rest for himself. ¡°Seeing you return safely puts my mind at ease!¡± Chen Zhuang greeted Wang Tao with a thump on his chest the moment he saw him. ¡°You check what medicine you need, and I¡¯ll give you a list.¡± Wang Tao handed the pre-prepared list to Chen Zhuang. ¡°Wow, you actually went to Borui Clinic? Impressive! I¡¯ve mentioned it to other hunters before, but they were too scared to go...¡± Chen Zhuang¡¯s face showed surprise. ¡°It was on the way and I got lucky. There weren¡¯t many zombies there.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. ¡°I need these, this medicine is...¡± Chen Zhuang began explaining the uses of some medicines to Wang Tao while asking, ¡°By the way, how was it inside Borui Clinic?¡± ¡°It was a mess, all pillaged. But... upstairs there was a female doctor with a hot figure.¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow, ready to tease him. ¡°Ah? A female doctor? Where is she?¡± Chen Zhuang quickly asked. ¡°I shot her in the head¡ª¡¯1 Wang Tao deliberately paused, then continued, ¡°She was a zombie.¡± Chen Zhuang opened his mouth and then fell silent. He looked at Wang Tao and said in a low voice: ¡°She... was my fiancee, we got engaged a week before the apocalypse...¡± Chapter 95 - 84 Xiang Hongbin_l Chapter 95 - 84 Xiang Hongbin_l Chapter 95: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Sorry.¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat embarrassed. He had just intended to tease Chen Zhuang, but who knew the female zombie he had killed would turn out to be Chen Zhuang¡¯s fiancee... Wang Tao took out a cigarette, offered one to Chen Zhuang, and lit it for him. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Ever since I lost contact with her, I had been preparing myself... Haha, actually, we didn¡¯t have much feeling for each other, we met through a blind date before the New Year.¡± Chen Zhuang took the cigarette, and drew a deep breath from it. ¡°We really didn¡¯t have much feeling, really. It was just that I was 33, she was 30, both of us were single, and neither of us disliked the other, so we just went ahead with it, that¡¯s all. We had planned to get married next month, in June. She said she wanted a daughter since it gets harder to have children as you get older, and I liked the idea of a daughter, but I preferred to have two children, ideally a boy and a girl. Of course, I would have respected her wish if she didn¡¯t want to... Before the apocalypse struck, I was at the hospital and she was at the clinic. After a morning call, the zombie virus broke out, and I couldn¡¯t contact her again...¡± At this point, Chen Zhuang suddenly turned and said to Wang Tao with his back facing him: ¡°I just remembered I have something to do, go ahead and exchange for Contribution Points.¡± ¡°...Okay.¡± Wang Tao stood up, patted Chen Zhuang on the shoulder from behind, and then left directly. Once Wang Tao had left, Chen Zhuang slowly sat down on the ground, his eyes red. ¡°Little Rong, it¡¯s my fault...¡± Wang Tao looked at the list of medicines, recalled what Chen Zhuang had explained about their uses, and then decided to keep the ones he thought useful for himself and opted to exchange the rest for Contribution Points. ¡°Mr. Wang, you¡¯re back!¡± The Resources Department¡¯s Guo Chao saw Wang Tao carrying a Snake Skin Bag and immediately rushed over with respectful eagerness. Apart from Wang Tao, there were a few other people there, dressed in a way that suggested they were also Hunters. They were somewhat surprised to see Wang Tao. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s stature was visually striking. He stood at the entrance, blocking the indoor light completely. Wang Tao placed the sack on the ground and said with a smile: ¡°Let¡¯s see how many Contribution Points it¡¯s worth.¡± ¡°Right away!¡± Guo Chao hurriedly opened the bag, expecting it to be a bag full of food. But when he saw what was inside, he exclaimed in surprise. ¡°Wow! So much medicine!¡± The others, hearing his voice, also turned to look and were incredulous at the sight of the sack full of medicine. ¡°Damn, bro, you¡¯re awesome! Getting your hands on so much medicine!¡± One of them blurted out involuntarily. ¡°Ah? Is this a lot?¡± Wang Tao was genuinely puzzled. A clinic was supposed to have a lot of medicine, and he had just picked up what was left over, which wasn¡¯t much. Not to mention, he had kept some for himself. The others were silenced by Wang Tao, uncertain if he was just showing off. Guo Chao, who was still counting the medicine, hurriedly said: ¡°Mr. Wang Tao is new to our base, having just arrived three days ago; he¡¯s not very familiar with many things yet.¡± ¡°No wonder, I thought I hadn¡¯t seen you around the base!¡± The few people then realized the situation, and one of them explained: ¡°That¡¯s a lot of medicine! When we go out scavenging for supplies, we do so in circles expanding outwards from the base. The closest clinics and pharmacies were scavenged long ago; it¡¯s impossible to still find so much medicine. You must have gone to stores and clinics farther away, right?¡± Only then did Wang Tao understand that other people scavenged in expanding circles. He had approached it differently; he had simply chosen a place and driven straight to it... ¡°Right, I got these from the Borui Clinic.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°Man, you went that far!¡± ¡°The Borui Clinic is like two or three kilometers away from our base, right?¡± ¡°Impressive!¡± The group was thoroughly astonished. They wouldn¡¯t dare venture so far out. The men quickly introduced themselves. ¡°Hey mate! Let¡¯s get acquainted, my name is Fan Yuangong...¡± People would always pursue those with capability, no matter the time. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± After brief introductions, the group left. They had just spent a day outside and needed to rest up. Wang Tao waited a bit more, and Guo Chao finally gestured to him with a calculator: ¡°Mr. Wang, the medicine you¡¯ve handed in can be exchanged for a total of 31,230 Contribution Points...¡± ¡°Huh? Over thirty thousand?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The number was more than he expected. ¡°The value of items in exchange for Contribution Points at our base changes all the time; the Contribution Points required are higher for items in demand. Some of the medicine you brought in is currently what we need the most... Would you like to exchange all these supplies for Contribution Points?¡± Guo Chao hurriedly elaborated. ¡°Sure, go ahead and exchange them.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Guo Chao immediately leaped into action and started the operation. ¡°Mr. Wang, please wait a moment, once the system confirms, the Contribution Points will be credited to your account.¡± About ten minutes later, Wang Tao¡¯s phone vibrated. He opened the app called ¡°Shuize Base,¡± which displayed the credit of Points. His total was now ¡°31,240/31,370¡± Contribution Points. With Contribution Points in hand, Wang Tao naturally began to use them; keeping them had no purpose. Other than guns and Inhibitors, which couldn¡¯t be exchanged, everything else could be. However, the exchangeable items listed weren¡¯t many, and Guo Chao told him that was all they had for now, though there might be more to come in the future.. Chapter 96 - 84 Xiang Hongbin_2 Chapter 96 - 84 Xiang Hongbin_2 Chapter 96: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin_2 Translator: 549690339 Thus, Wang Tao exchanged for three sets of bulletproof vests with ceramic plates, high-powered walkie-talkies, and several firefighter axes. The bulletproof vests were able to withstand some attacks, let alone sniper fire. Although no one was hostile towards Wang Tao at the moment, he could not guarantee that this would never happen, so it was always better to be safe. The high-powered walkie-talkies were naturally for his own use, as the ones he currently had were all low-powered. As for the firefighter axes, there was no need to mention how important they were. Wang Tao had not been able to scavenge any previously, and the ones he was using now had been exchanged for at the base. Seeing that there were so many axes available, he decided to swap for all of them. To Wang Tao, these were consumables, and it was good to have backups in case one broke. Moreover, Wang Tao wanted to practice the ¡°Flying Axe¡±; with his current strength, it would be a waste not to learn some throwing techniques. Actually, if there were ranged weapons like crossbows or bows available, that would have been even better. Even if Wang Tao wasn¡¯t familiar with them, he could learn. After all, these weapons were quieter, making them more suitable for small-scale battles than guns. Unfortunately, there was nothing like that on the exchange list. It made sense, though. If Hunters scavenged such items, they would surely use them themselves rather than turning them in. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out. This large Shuize County should have these items...¡± As Wang Tao was preparing to leave with the items, suddenly¡ª Boom! Boom! Sounds vaguely reached them from outside the base. Wang Tao turned to Guo Chao and asked, ¡°Did you hear that noise outside?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Guo Chao paused. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything. I only heard the rain...¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say anything more but took the items and ran out. The comprehensive building was some distance from the main gate, so Wang Tao drove there directly. When he arrived at the gate, he saw a group of soldiers with serious expressions lying prone at their shooting positions, guns at the ready. Braving the rain, Wang Tao got out of his car and hurriedly asked, ¡°What¡¯s happening outside?¡± Seeing that it was Wang Tao, one of the soldiers replied loudly, ¡°There was an explosion outside the base! We are not yet clear about the situation!¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao knew he hadn¡¯t misheard; there indeed had been a sound! ¡°Da da da¡ªda da da¡ªboom!¡± At that moment, a burst of gunshots and another explosion sounded from outside. One of the soldiers quickly said, ¡°It might be our own people!¡± Currently, among those here who had guns, only the soldiers of the Shuize Base had rifles and submachine guns. Wang Tao reached the wall of the courtyard and looked through the shooting port; outside, there were no zombies, only the pitter-patter of heavy rain. Soon, others rushed over as well, mostly Hunters and soldiers. Han Rui was there, too. She arrived next to Wang Tao under an umbrella. ¡°Do you know what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°There was an explosion outside just now, followed by gunshots...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. ¡°It couldn¡¯t be them, could it...¡± Anxiety crossed Han Rui¡¯s face. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Xiang Hongbin and the squad he¡¯s leading.¡± ¡°It¡¯s him...¡± Xiang Hongbin was one of the seven committee members of the base, and Wang Tao naturally knew the name. The last time at the commercial street when he used his gun to mow down zombies and save Han Rui¡¯s husband, it was Xiang Hongbin¡¯s squad¡ªWang Tao had learned of this recently. ¡°My husband might be with them...¡± Han Rui¡¯s fists were clenched tight. Suddenly, Wang Tao asked softly, ¡°Can you sense what¡¯s happening over there?¡± He was naturally referring to Han Rui¡¯s Ability. ¡°No, it¡¯s too far!¡± Han Rui shook her head; she had already tried. She hesitated, wondering whether she should go out to see for herself. Although it was definitely dangerous outside now, after all, her husband could very well be there... At that moment, a soldier ran over and said to everyone, ¡°We just made contact. It¡¯s Captain Xiang¡¯s squad outside. He told us not to go out there as it¡¯s too dangerous. They can break through the encirclement on their own!¡± Hearing this, Han Rui slightly relaxed. The other Hunters also appeared slightly relieved. Normally, if someone was trapped, they would call for help. Since Captain Xiang was advising against coming to their aid, it meant the situation probably wasn¡¯t too serious. Perhaps they were already preparing to escape, and anyone going out now might end up causing more harm than good. Wang Tao and the other Hunters did not leave but continued to wait at the main gate. Before long, the soldiers in the watchtower were the first to spot movement. ¡°Captain Xiang is coming back!¡± After a short wait, they saw three military vehicles speeding towards the base, with a dozen Mad Demon Zombies hot on their heels. There was an unwritten rule within Survivor Base: if you had a large number of zombies chasing you, don¡¯t lead them to the base. Instead, try to throw them off your trail first. Of course, if the number of zombies wasn¡¯t large, it didn¡¯t matter as much, given that the base¡¯s firepower was not to be underestimated. With only about a dozen Mad Demon Zombies behind the three vehicles, returning directly to the base posed no issue. Those dozen Mad Demon Zombies, even Wang Tao wasn¡¯t confident he could defeat them all. However, under the hail of bullets, these zombies simply couldn¡¯t withstand the onslaught. With a combined attack from Xiang Hongbin¡¯s squad and the soldiers inside the base, nearly all of the Mad Demon Zombies were wiped out, with only three managing to escape. While the others were vigorously pumping their fists, Wang Tao frowned. Previously, when Han Rui encountered the Charger Zombies, they deliberately hid, and now these three Mad Demon Zombies were even fleeing... Zombies were frightening, but thinking zombies were even more terrifying! Whoosh¡ª The main gate swiftly opened, and the three vehicles charged into the base without slowing down much, then executed a sharp brake, coming to a steady halt under the rain shed.. Chapter 97 - 84 Xiang Hongbin 3 Chapter 97 - 84 Xiang Hongbin 3 Chapter 97: Chapter 84 Xiang Hongbin 3 Translator: 549690339 The gates closed again, and soldiers and staff inside the base rushed to inspect the vehicles and personnel. Even if it was a committee member returning, the vehicles had to be checked for hidden zombies. It wasn¡¯t a matter of distrust, but a single unnoticed zombie hidden in a vehicle would be an absolute disaster for the base. Therefore, on this matter, everyone had to undergo inspection. The only difference was that ordinary people had to be checked outside the gate, while those with status could be inspected inside. At this moment, the door of the leading vehicle opened, and a man about thirty or forty years old, one meter seventy tall but with a burly figure fully armed got out. ¡¯ ¡°Damn!¡± He frantically scratched his buzz cut and then fiercely kicked a piece of gravel on the ground. ¡°That¡¯s Xiang Hongbin.¡± Han Rui introduced from the side. Wang Tao nodded, somewhat surprised by Xiang Hongbin¡¯s attributes. HP(721/815] [Hidden Attributes: Valiant] [Valiant: Fearless of danger, the more you fight, the stronger you become] [Internal Impurity: o%] Wang Tao felt that Xiang Hongbin might be the strongest person he had seen so far. With over eight hundred HP, he must have killed at least a hundred zombies, not too far from Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°104.0¡±. Although Wang Tao had more HP, he purposely sought out zombies to kill- he would look for zombies to kill even when there were none left. That was because Wang Tao knew that killing zombies could increase his HP limit, and he could also scavenge materials from their bodies. Xiang Hongbin, or other people in the base, although they also felt stronger after killing zombies, they probably wouldn¡¯t deliberately seek out zombies to kill. After all, they couldn¡¯t scavenge materials. Their main purpose for going out was to scavenge supplies and rescue survivors... So Wang Tao was very surprised to see this HP. Of course, he was not only surprised by the HP but also by his hidden attributes and internal impurity. Wang Tao felt that his ¡°Valiant¡± hidden attribute was quite good; it must directly increase combat power, which might explain why he had over eight hundred HP. As for the last point about internal impurity, it showed that he had fused with a Zombie Core but had failed as he didn¡¯t have a blue bar... He¡¯s quite a formidable character, indeed! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but sigh. People in white protective suits quickly went over with umbrellas to inspect Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes, but he didn¡¯t take his frustration out on the staff. The others also got out of the vehicles one after another, ignoring the heavy rain outside, bowing their heads slightly and silent. Wang Tao felt their morale was very low. ¡°My husband!¡± Han Rui, upon seeing a figure get out of the vehicle, immediately ran over excitedly. Wang Tao glanced over and saw that it was indeed Han Rui¡¯s husband, Sun Weiguang, accompanied by Ou Yingying. Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying helped each other out of the vehicle, both looking somewhat trepidatious as if they had been quite frightened. ¡°Wei Guang!¡± Han Rui suddenly shouted at that moment. Startled by the shout, Sun Weiguang quickly followed the sound and saw Han Rui in her police uniform. Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying were stunned. They rubbed their eyes, somewhat in disbelief. They had never expected to see Han Rui at Shuize Base. Han Rui... Wasn¡¯t she supposed to be dead? Subconsciously, Sun Weiguang let go of Ou Yingying, nearly causing her to stumble. Ou Yingying didn¡¯t dare get angry, after all, she still vividly remembered how Han Rui had led them through all kinds of difficulties, and she was somewhat afraid of Han Rui. ¡°You, you¡¯re actually not dead!¡± Sun Weiguang blurted out instinctively However, feeling that his words were inappropriate, he quickly corrected himself, ¡°I mean, it¡¯s great to see you¡¯re alive!¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t care about these details; in fact, she even felt a bit reproachful when she saw Sun Weiguang let go of Ou Yingying: ¡°Wei Guang, could you please be more careful? You almost knocked Ou Yingying over!¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Sun Weiguang stretched out his hand, momentarily uncertain whether he should help Ou Yingying, and she didn¡¯t know if she should accept his support either. Wang Tao, watching their awkward expressions from the side, found the scene rather amusing. Both Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying seemed to have something to hide, and the sudden appearance of Han Rui left them somewhat at a loss. Fortunately, after seeing Sun Weiguang wasn¡¯t badly hurt, Han Rui steadied Ou Yingying. ¡°We set out with six people, and now that we¡¯ve arrived at Shuize Base, only the three of us are left... It¡¯s good that both of you are alive, or I would have been left all alone...¡± Han Rui¡¯s tone was filled with lament. Both Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying lowered their heads, lapsing into silence. Han Rui thought they were just scared and didn¡¯t think too much of it. A staff member came over and checked Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying¡¯s eyes. ¡°Both of you are fine!¡± Upon hearing this, Han Rui finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then she led the two to Wang Tao and introduced them to each other. ¡°Wang Tao, this is my husband Sun Weiguang, and this is my friend Ou Yingying.¡± ¡°Wei Guang, Yingying, this is Wang Tao. She¡¯s the one who saved me and brought me to Shuize Base.¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s physique, which was so strong it seemed inhuman, Sun Weiguang instinctively wanted to stand behind Han Rui. Ymgying, on the other hand, stared at the bulging muscles on Wang Tao¡¯s body with widened eyes. Could someone be as muscular as they were in the movies? ¡°Hello.¡± Wang Tao spoke indifferently. The HP of these two was [50/100] and [47/100], respectively. It looked like they had managed quite well, without serious injuries. ¡°Hello, hello!¡± Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying quickly responded. At that moment, Xiang Hongbin and the others had also finished their check-ups, when a staff member asked subconsciously: ¡°Where¡¯s Little Wu?¡± The soldiers remained silent. Xiang Hongbin looked up at the sky, his tone harsh: ¡°Dead.¡± It was then that Wang Tao understood why their morale seemed so low. Han Rui tugged at Sun Weiguang¡¯s clothes and quietly asked: ¡°What exactly happened?¡± Sun Weiguang moved his lips but then glanced at Xiang Hongbin, whose mood was clearly not good, and dared not speak. It was Ou Yingying who leaned in and whispered in Han Rui¡¯s ear: ¡°On our way back, we encountered a special zombie and then... then Captain Xiang tried to hunt it down, but the zombie self-detonated... The soldier named Little Wu was killed in the explosion...¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrow. Suicide bombing zombies? Could it be the one he saw yesterday? But he had seen suicide bombing zombies before, and their explosive power wasn¡¯t that strong. He even faintly heard the explosion back at the base. At this time, Sun Weiguang complained quietly: ¡°Captain Xiang used a homemade bomb to avenge that soldier, almost getting us killed as well...¡± Wang Tao: Chapter 98 - 85 Commissioner Wang Tao (Asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month)_1 Chapter 98: Chapter 85 Commissioner Wang Tao (Asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month)_1 Translator: 549690339 Although there were more than five hundred survivors in Shuize Base, not many of them were combatants, barely a hundred at best. Among these one hundred, including 3 commissioners, the Security Army only numbered 18 people, who were also the 18 strongest in the base. The soldier who sacrificed his life today was a member of the Security Army. Whether on a personal level or in terms of the overall strength of the base, the loss of a member of the Security Army was intolerable, especially since this sacrifice could have been completely avoided... Main building lobby. Xiang Hongbin, Wang Tao, and others were all present, and several commissioners, including Wei Zhenguo, were also there. Guo Chao and the other staff members were silently cleaning up the spoils of war, while Xiang Hongbin stood by the window, fiercely smoking a blood-stained cigarette. ¡°Not talking won¡¯t solve the problem, will it?¡± Wei Zhenguo sat in a makeshift wheelchair, his face looking very grim. The soldiers hung their heads in silence. Wei Zhenguo looked up at Xiang Hongbin and said sternly, ¡°Xiang Hongbin, what exactly happened! Why is Little Wu gone!¡± Xiang Hongbin punched the wall furiously, then turned around and glared at Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Gone means gone, what¡¯s with all the whys!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s chest heaved violently with anger. ¡°Xiang Hongbin! What kind of attitude is that! As a commissioner of the base, and the leader of your squad, it¡¯s your responsibility when your team member is gone! You owe it to your team members, and you owe it to the base!¡± Undaunted by Wei Zhenguo¡¯s outburst, Xiang Hongbin met his gaze without flinching. ¡°It¡¯s me, I killed him, are you satisfied with that answer? Huh!¡± Bang! Xiang Hongbin kicked the wall fiercely. Wei Zhenguo took a deep breath, trying to control his anger. ¡°I need to know the specifics!¡± Xiang Hongbin glared at Wei Zhenguo again and then pointed to one of his team members, saying, ¡°You, tell him!¡± The soldier hesitated for a moment but still reported the specific situation loudly. This morning, Xiang Hongbin and his team finally found an opportunity to return¡ªthey had been trapped before. The way back was relatively safe, with no incidents. But as they neared Shuize Base, they suddenly spotted a special zombie with its internal organs exposed. This was the first time they¡¯d seen such a zombie; they didn¡¯t know its ability. But at first glance, it was clear that it was a special zombie, and special zombies drop Zombie Cores! Xiang Hongbin had merged with several Zombie Cores before, and he had also seen the Ability User that Wei Zhenguo had mentioned. Although there was no concrete evidence, Xiang Hongbin knew that merging Zombie Cores must be key to obtaining abilities! So, encountering a special zombie on the way, he saw no reason to let it go! Especially since some of them were armed, and they were not lacking in strength. However, this special zombie was in the middle of a large group, and after being out for so long, their ammunition was almost used up; a frontal assault was unlikely. Besides, the gunfire would attract more zombies, and their remaining bullets surely wouldn¡¯t suffice. So Xiang Hongbin decided to wait. The zombies were constantly moving, and he wanted to wait for an opportunity when the special zombie was isolated. If the special zombie were alone, they could swarm it, resolve the situation quickly, and then retreat. They might not even need to use guns. With six of them together, taking advantage of the heavy rain and the reduced sensory abilities of the zombies, a surprise attack would be possible. A few slashes each, would that not kill the zombie? After waiting for a while, Xiang Hongbin was thrilled to see that the special zombie did indeed leave the group, slowly moving into an alley. Xiang Hongbin knew his chance had come. He prepared his people and waited for the command to strike. Little Wu, the soldier, was closest to the Zombie. Upon Xiang Hongbin¡¯s order, Little Wu, with his bayonet-ready rifle, charged first. He stabbed viciously from behind the zombie, but the strike did not go deep, only halfway through. The bayonet nearly got stuck. Little Wu was astounded by the zombie¡¯s defensive power, but he didn¡¯t panic since they had encountered special zombies with strong defense before. Despite their observation, those special zombies still ended up dead. What he needed to do now was wait for his teammates to join in. Unexpectedly for him and the other teammates, after this special zombie was stabbed, it did not show any intention to attack. Instead, the exposed organs on its chest pulsated violently, as if enraged, and its chest swelled increasingly bigger. Then... boom! The zombie exploded! Everyone was shocked, not to mention the loudness of the explosion; Little Wu was right beside the zombie! Looking again, both the special zombie and Little Wu were gone, leaving nothing but a mess of flesh and a rifle with its bayonet stuck in the ground. There was no time for mourning as the explosion instantly attracted the nearby zombies, and the fast-moving Mad Demon Zombies appeared upon hearing it. Xiang Hongbin had people collect Little Wu¡¯s weapons and equipment and a shining Zombie Core amid a pile of decaying flesh. They could have run then, as they still had a good chance because they had cars. But looking at the zombies, Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t run away. Instead, he pulled out three homemade bombs. He wanted to kill all these zombies to give Little Wu a proper send-off! The homemade bombs were much more powerful than Hand Grenades. After setting a countdown of a dozen seconds, the soldiers hurled them into the zombie crowd.. Chapter 99 - 85 Commissioner Wang Tao (Asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month)_2 Chapter 99: Chapter 85 Commissioner Wang Tao (Asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month)_2 Translator: 549690339 | The result was that only two of the three bombs detonated, leaving one undetonated. This significantly reduced the intended lethality. There was no choice, everyone had to resort to firearms to deal with the remaining zombies. Fortunately, they still had some bullets left, and they quickly cleared all the zombies on the road. Xiang Hongbin urged the driver to rush through immediately. At that moment, the previously undetonated bomb exploded! Coincidentally, the bomb was right beside their vehicles. The three vehicles were almost flipped over. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that these were explosion-proof military vehicles and they were some distance away from the bomb, the squad might have been completely wiped out there... The sound of the bomb naturally attracted more zombies, but they had already cleared up the surrounding ones, and those from farther away would take some time to arrive. Xiang Hongbin and the others, enduring their dizziness, quickly retreated. Ultimately, they made it back near the base before more zombies could swarm in. Only a dozen or so faster Mad Demon Zombies were following them, but the soldiers inside the base provided fire support and quickly dispatched them. ¡°...That¡¯s the situation in detail.¡± The soldier spoke with a hint of sadness in his voice. After hearing the report, Wei Zhenguo pointed at Xiang Hongbin, his body trembling with anger. ¡°You, you¡ª¡± This was a tragedy that could have been avoided. They were already at their doorstep; why couldn¡¯t they just hold out a bit longer instead of courting trouble? Not only did they get Little Wu killed, but they nearly caused the death of the entire squad! If it hadn¡¯t been for the public setting, he would have already started scolding vociferously. Commissioner Liu He, standing next to Wei Zhenguo, felt a mix of sadness and embarrassment. He had manufactured the custom bombs, and although he had mentioned they weren¡¯t 100% reliable, one of the three had failed, and this probability was somewhat unacceptable. Ren lie and Feng Ming¡¯an, the two Commissioners, didn¡¯t say much. Although this was a base matter, it was also an internal issue of the Security Army, and they felt it was inappropriate to intervene. But both looked deeply saddened, acknowledging each warrior who survived from the beginning of the apocalypse as a precious asset... ¡°Captain Xiang, everything has been accounted for... Guo Chao cautiously handed a list to Xiang Hongbin for him to see. Xiang Hongbin gave it a quick glance, swiftly signed his name, and then walked away into the rain without looking back. ¡°You all, go and get some rest!¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at the other four soldiers and sighed. ¡°Yes Sir!¡± The soldiers promptly saluted Wei Zhenguo, with one of them taking out a Zombie Core wrapped in a cloth from his backpack and handing it to Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Squad Leader Wei, this is the Zombie Core...¡± Wei Zhenguo took it, feeling its heavy weight, heavier than any Zombie Core he had seen before. ¡°Disperse!¡± Wei Zhenguo waved his hand, and the onlookers hurriedly left. Wang Tao was also preparing to leave, but Wei Zhenguo stopped him. ¡°Wang Tao, wait a moment.¡± Wei Zhenguo gave him a look. Wang Tao paused. Han Rui nodded to Wang Tao and then left with Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying. As they left, Wang Tao faintly heard Sun Weiguang complaining: ¡®¡öDarling, did you come out looking for me? No? You... you don¡¯t care about me! And here I was so worried about you...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then turned to Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Let¡¯s go find Xiang Hongbin. We can¡¯t forget about the serious business.¡± The ¡°serious business¡± he was referring to was naturally the matter of Wang Tao becoming a Commissioner. Commissioners Liu He, Ren Jie, and Feng Ming¡¯an all looked curiously at Wang Tao; they had heard from Wei Zhenguo that Wang Tao was an Ability User. They had never seen an Ability User before... ¡°Would now be a good time to approach him? Wang Tao frowned slightly. just moments ago, the tension between Xiang Hongbin and Wei Zhenguo had been palpable. Xiang Hongbin was likely still angry or grieving, and it didn¡¯t seem like the right time to approach. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s even more keen to see an Ability User than I am! Since Wei Zhenguo assured it was fine, Wang Tao didn¡¯t object, but he still expressed concern. ¡°Are you sure your injuries are okay?¡± ¡°Just scratches. Let¡¯s go!¡± Liu He pushed Wei Zhenguo¡¯s wheelchair as they, along with Wang Tao, entered another building. Upon entering, they saw Xiang Hongbin smoking in a corner. ¡°What are you doing here? Do you want to continue to criticize me, or are you just here to laugh at my misery?¡± Xiang Hongbin looked irritated. Wei Zhenguo did not directly answer his question but instead pointed at Wang Tao and said: ¡°An Ability User, to become our base¡¯s eighth Commissioner. Do you have any objections?¡± ¡°An Ability User?¡± Xiang Hongbin was initially startled, then immediately ran over with excitement, staring intently at Wang Tao. ¡°Are you really an Ability User?¡± Without any fuss, Wang Tao demonstrated his Ability. Just like before, with a snap of his fingers, a visible Shockwave expanded from his fingertips. The range was not large, and it didn¡¯t seem very powerful, but it was indeed a genuine Ability. Wang Tao had many ways to invoke his Ability, but he thought this looked the coolest. However, to his and everyone else¡¯s surprise, Xiang Hongbin suddenly reached out, attempting to grab the Shockwave that Wang Tao had generated. ¡°Stop¡ª¡± Before Wang Tao¡¯s shout could be fully voiced, Xiang Hongbin seemed to have caught some explosive material, as he was suddenly blown backwards. Bang¡ª He sat on the ground with a thud, his face a picture of shock, and a trickle of blood escaped from his mouth.. Chapter 100 - 85 Commissioner Wang Tao (Asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month)_3 Chapter 100: Chapter 85 Commissioner Wang Tao (Asking for monthly tickets at the end of the month)_3 Translator: 549690339 | [-115] [606/815] Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. This guy was really reckless! Not even asking, he just caught the Ability with his hand? The Shockwave might look little, yet the power was genuine. After all, he wasn¡¯t too adept yet. This was the weakest state he could control. Even so, Xiang Hongbin still lost over a hundred HP, resulting in internal injuries. Fortunately, it was a Shockwave. If it had been a Cutting type of Ability, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s hand might have been gone... ¡°Are you okay!¡± Ren Jie hurriedly helped Xiang Hongbin up. ¡°I¡¯m fine... *cough cough*... tui¡± Xiang Hongbin spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm, then looked at Wang Tao with fiery eyes.???????????????????????????????? ¡ã ¡°A real Ability User! Did you eat a Zombie Core? What does it feel like to become an Ability User? How do you know if you have an Ability?¡± Xiang Hongbin fired off questions like a machine gun. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, but Wei Zhenguo intervened on his behalf. ¡°You can ask him any questions later. Now, we have a common issue-for Comrade Wang Tao becoming the eighth member of the Base, do you have any objections?¡± ¡°No objections, of course, no objections! We had agreed from the beginning, Ability Users within the base can directly be promoted to Committee members!¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded hurriedly. ¡°Good.¡± Wei Zhenguo nodded and then looked towards Liu He, Ren Jie, and Feng Ming¡¯an at his side. ¡°We have no objections either!11 The three of them spoke in succession. ¡°Excellent!¡± Wei Zhenguo said to Wang Tao: According to our Base Committee¡¯s rules, for major decisions, if over two- thirds agree, that¡¯s enough. There are seven of us committee members now, and the agreement of five is sufficient. The other two members are outside, and there are only five of us here, but that¡¯s enough. Now, all five of us here agree with you becoming a member of the Base Committee. Do you agree? Of course, don¡¯t hurry to respond. I need to explain the responsibilities of a committee member first...¡± After Wei Zhenguo spoke about some rights and obligations, everyone looked toward Wang Tao. ¡°I agree.¡± Clap clap clap! Several people clapped eagerly. Congratulations, Comrade Wang Tao¡ªoh no, from now on, we¡¯ll call you Commissioner Wang Tao!¡± Ren Jie warmly shook hands with Wang Tao. He used to be the Deputy County Head of Shuize County, but he was not quite used to the word ¡°deputy¡±; he preferred the title of Commissioner. He believed Wang Tao would like it too. Sure enough, Wang Tao immediately responded with a smile: I will have to trouble Commissioner Ren for more guidance in the future!¡± After exchanging polite words, they took Wang Tao to the top floor of the comprehensive building. This was the exclusive office area for the committee members, where they could overlook the entire Shuize Base. However, it was rare for everyone to be present under normal circumstances Because they were either out searching for supplies, resting at home, or too tired and lazy to climb the stairs... After all, it was the post-apocalypse; there were no idle jobs that merely involved sitting in an office. Everyone had to play their part, including the committee members. There was a round table in the great hall on the top floor, with seven chairs in front of it, representing the seven highest-ranking people of Shuize Base. Ren Jie brought another chair and invited Wang Tao to sit down. Truth be told, sitting here felt different. But Wang Tao did not forget that in this post-apocalyptic world, what allowed him to survive was the Strength in his hands. The feeling of superiority was to be experienced only briefly; it was not something to be indulged in. ¡°Have the other two members not returned yet?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. With him included, there were now eight members in the Shuize Base Committee: Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and Lu Gang from the original Security Army; Feng Ming¡¯an and Song Jinghong from the former Police Department; Ren Jie, the former Deputy County Head; the electronics guru, Liu He; and Wang Tao himself. He had met five out of the eight members, leaving only Lu Gang and Song Jinghong. He had heard that Lu Gang was a young man about Wang Tao¡¯s age. Both Xiang Hongbin and Wei Zhenguo were considered his superiors. He earned his committee membership because of his marksmanship, which was the best in the entire base. Song Jinghong was an older police officer and Han Rui¡¯s former superior. According to Han Rui, he was a good man who liked to nurture his juniors. He himself was known for his integrity; both within the industry and outside, he had an excellent reputation. Wang Tao wanted to get to know these two. ¡®Lu Gang left on the morning of the day you arrived. He went to hunt special zombies and hasn¡¯t returned for several days.¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Hunt special zombies? He had not dared to say he could hunt special zombies; he only dealt with them when encountered. But the other man directly went out to hunt? That¡¯s seriously impressive! Wei Zhenguo, as if knowing what Wang Tao was thinking, chuckled and shook his head. ¡°Hey, he said he¡¯s hunting special zombies, but really, it¡¯s also about luck. While scavenging for supplies, he¡¯d see if he could encounter any. His marksmanship is excellent, the only sniper in our base, so he can snipe special zombies from a distance. Most of our Zombie Cores come from him...¡± ¡°That¡¯s still pretty impressive!¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat envious. A sniper rifle, he wanted one too... As for Song Jinghong, he went on a rescue mission for survivors. The survivors from Sunshine Community made contact with us via walkie-talkie as they were trapped. The danger there wasn¡¯t very great, so Song Jinghong personally led people over there. But considering the time, he should be back already...¡± Wei Zhenguo looked slightly puzzled. ¡°Haven¡¯tyou contacted him?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Generally, the base doesn¡¯t proactively contact those who go out. After all, their walkie-talkies can¡¯t be on all the time...¡± Wei Zhenguo explained. ¡°Makes sense.¡± Just then, Ren Jie, with a smile, spoke up: ¡°Never mind others, Commissioner Wang, when do you plan to make an appearance before all base personnel? The committee members definitely need to be known by everyone.¡± ¡°Anytime is fine.¡± ¡°Great, let me check the schedule...¡± Ren Jie hadn¡¯ t finished speaking when they suddenly heard a knock on the door. ¡°Reporting!¡± ¡°Come in.¡± A soldier jogged up to Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Captain Wei, the survivors from Sunshine Community have arrived at our base, but Commissioner Song Jinghong hasn¡¯t returned...¡± Chapter 101 - 86: Three Special Zombies (Requesting Monthly Pass at the End of the Month)_l Chapter 101: Chapter 86: Three Special Zombies (Requesting Monthly Pass at the End of the Month)_l Translator: 549690339 ) ¡°We didn¡¯t see anyone coming, we watched the surrounding zombies leave before we mustered the courage to walk out... We lost three people on the way, and finally, we made it to our base, sob sob... In the lobby downstairs, a gaunt and sallow survivor began to speak amidst sobs and tears. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to get something to eat first.¡± A staff member gestured with a wave of her hand. ¡°Thankyou so much!¡± The four survivors immediately followed. After they left, Wei Zhenguo furrowed his brow. ¡°Old Song was supposed to lead the rescue team for them! But they say Old Song never showed up... These people don¡¯t seem to be lying either. Did they take a wrong turn? Or did something happen that trapped them?¡± Ren Jie¡¯s expression seemed grim. ¡°We... must prepare for the worst.¡± Everyone fell silent. Everyone had been in high spirits with the addition of Wang Tao, an Ability User, to their group. But now with Song Jinghong¡¯s problem, that joy immediately vanished from their hearts. ¡°Old Song, you can¡¯t be in trouble...¡± Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s face turned bitter; he had the best relationship with Song Jinghong. Wei Zhenguo thought for a moment and said: ¡°Ah, let¡¯s wait one more day. If there¡¯s still no news, we¡¯ll send someone to check... For now, let¡¯s get Wang Tao¡¯s matter settled first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The next day, everyone in the base received a notice. Shuize Base Committee had added a new member named Wang Tao. There would be a meeting in the afternoon for everyone to get acquainted with him. Most people didn¡¯t know much about Wang Tao and were somewhat puzzled. However, some were surprised; hadn¡¯t WangTao just arrived at the base. And now he was immediately a committee member? Of course, whether they were puzzled or not, such decisions were not theirs to make They just needed to familiarize themselves with the new committee member so as not to make a fool of themselves in future encounters. In the afternoon, outside the comprehensive building, in the plaza, all survivors of the base who weren¡¯t on guard duty or out on missions gathered. After Ren Jie gave everyone a motivational speech, Wang Tao took the stage and presented himself. There was no denying the fact that Wang Tao commanded a presence that none of the other committee members could match, just by standing there. Especially given his new status as a committee member, the glint in the female survivors¡¯ eyes was almost as bright as if they were lighting up like light bulbs. Below the stage, Huo Ziyi felt both joy and worry. She was happy because her judgment had been correct, Wang Tao indeed had great potential. But her concern stemmed from the fact that it hadn¡¯t been long since she had a conversation with Wang Tao, and now she felt as though she could no longer speak with him... She was anxious, eager to cling to Wang Tao, a strong support, but the gap in their status was growing ever wider... Han Rui looked at Wang Tao on the stage, somewhat surprised but not entirely. After all, she had seen how strong Wang Tao¡¯s abilities were, and as an Ability User, it was no surprise he became a committee member. She felt happy for Wang Tao. Sun Weiguang, standing beside her, looked at WangTao with a face full of envy. ¡°Wife, can¡¯t you find a way to get me a job? You are a minister, after all- Sun Weiguang asked, somewhat discontent. Hearing this, Han Rui replied with some helplessness: ¡°Wei Guang, it¡¯s not like the peaceful times anymore. How many people do we have in our base? My so-called ministerial position is just a title; I only have two people under me. Besides, the positions at our base are like carrots in holes, I neither have the power nor the possibility to arrange one for you. Just work honestly. Isn¡¯t it good that you¡¯re safe and have food as long as you work in the base?¡± ¡°Fine, fine, fine!¡± Sun Weiguang was tired of hearing that kind of talk. He felt Han Rui had changed. Ever since they arrived at Shuize Base and she became the head of the arbitration department, she wasn¡¯t the Han Rui he used to know. The old Han Rui, although very determined, would also yield to him in many matters, unlike now, where she outright refused him. Sun Weiguang remembered clearly that Han Rui¡¯s old boss was named Song Jinghong, and there was a committee member in the base with the same name. It was obviously the same person! If not for this Song Jinghong, Han Rui wouldn¡¯t be some minister! If she could pull strings for herself, couldn¡¯t she also find a way for him to benefit as well. Sun Weiguang glanced at Han Rui, then at Ou Yingying beside him, and suddenly he had an alarming thought. ¡°She couldn¡¯t have found out about my relationship with Ou Yingying, could she...¡± Sun Weiguang¡¯s face became troubled; he really didn¡¯t want to end his relationship with Ou Yingying! Even though both in looks and capability Han Rui was much better than Ou Yingying, theoretically, he should like Han Rui more. But Ou Yingying was so sweet with her words! When he was with Han Rui, he always felt overshadowed by her. She never complimented him like Ou Yingying did. Ou Yingying always found ways to praise him; sometimes he himself was unaware of so many virtues he possessed. With Ou Yingying, he regained a man¡¯s confidence! His relationship with Ou Yingying had gone beyond the physical; they were completely entwined in both body and soul! Just sitting together and listening to Ou Yingying talk was enough to make him feel content. This kind of feeling was something he could never get with Han Rui! Not to mention, when his life was in danger, it was Ou Yingying who stayed by his side, while Han Rui had come to the base to enjoy herself earlier... Chapter 102 - 86: Three Special Zombies (Requesting Monthly Pass at the End of the Month)_2 Chapter 102: Chapter 86: Three Special Zombies (Requesting Monthly Pass at the End of the Month)_2 Translator: 549690339 | So he could never break up with Ou Yingying! But he also knew his own situation, he didn¡¯t even have a minor official position within the base. He could barely survive on his own but was unable to take care of anyone else. Therefore, he wanted Han Rui to arrange a better job for him so that he would have the capacity to take care of Ou Yingying. Unfortunately, Han Rui refused no matter what... that meant she did not want him to be with Ou Yingying! The more Sun Weiguang thought about it, the angrier he became, looking at Han Rui with eyes full of resentment. Han Rui was watching Wang Tao on the stage and did not notice the change in Sun Weiguang1 s expression. But Ou Yingying, who had been paying close attention to Sun Weiguang, did notice. She quickly tugged at Sun Weiguang¡¯s sleeve, and the two quietly moved away from Han Rui, then Ou Yingying whispered to him: ¡°Brother Sun, don¡¯t be mad at Sister Han. It¡¯s not easy for her either. She doesn¡¯t refuse to help you because she is unwilling, but perhaps because she truly has no way to help... Otherwise, let¡¯s just work honestly. After all, you have Sister Han; you¡¯re definitely not going to worry about food and drink. As for me... eh, I won¡¯t starve to death, so it doesn¡¯t matter how I fare.¡± As she spoke, tears welled up in Ou Yingying¡¯s eyes as she looked at Sun Weiguang. ¡°Brother Sun, from now on... let¡¯s not stay in touch anymore, otherwise Sister Han will get angry if she finds out...¡± The one thing Sun Weiguang couldn¡¯t stand was Ou Yingying¡¯s pitiful look, which made his protective instincts surge. If he weren¡¯t still somewhat rational, he would have almost reached out to hold her in his arms. This feeling was something he could never experience with Han Rui. In fact, as far as he could remember, he had never seen Han Rui cry. ¡°Rest assured! I could never leave you! Even if Han Rui doesn¡¯t help me, I¡¯ll still find a way!¡± Sun Weiguang whispered in Ou Yingying¡¯s ear. ¡°Brother Sun, you... you¡¯re simply too manly!¡± Stars twinkled in Ou Yingying¡¯s eyes. Instantly, Sun Weiguang felt much taller. He gave Ou Yingying a wait-a- moment gesture, and then he approached Han Rui, pretending to ask casually: Wife, are you very familiar with our Commissioner Wang?¡± Han Rui turned around, a bit puzzled as she spoke: ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you before? He saved me on the road; he¡¯s my lifesaver. As for our relationship, we are just friends...¡± ¡°Oh, look at my memory, I forgot!¡± Sun Weiguang slapped his forehead, then added, ¡°How about this, after a while I¡¯ll take something to thank him? We¡¯re after all a family, and he saved your life; I should express my gratitude shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Hearing this, Han Rui hesitated a bit. She had actually told Wang Tao before that she would repay him. But she hadn¡¯t yet figured out how to do that, especially now that Wang Tao had become a commissioner and probably lacked nothing... However, since Sun Weiguang had this intention, it was still good. She thought letting Sun Weiguang express his thanks first was acceptable. So Han Rui said: ¡°Okay, you decide.¡± ¡°Alright! But... I don¡¯t really have anything with me...¡± Sun Weiguang¡¯s face turned somewhat embarrassed. Han Rui gave him a helpless glance and then took out some Ration Tickets from her pocket. ¡°I don¡¯t have anything else for the moment, just this...¡± ¡°That¡¯ll do!¡± Sun Weiguang¡¯s eyes brightened, and he quickly took them. Han Rui shook her head and said: Just don t talk nonsense, after all, he¡¯s a commissioner now...¡± Don¡¯t worry, I know what I¡¯m doing. I¡¯m just simply thanking him for saving my wife!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Wang Tao made an appearance on stage and then, following the short script provided by Ren Jie, he spoke some motivational words to the survivors in the base before stepping down. Although Wang Tao felt he wasn¡¯t someone keen on power, the feeling of standing on stage and seeing the respectful looks from the audience below was indeed very exhilarating. The meeting ended quickly, and Wang Tao began to move. Now that he was a commissioner, it was naturally impossible for him to continue living in the faculty apartments with everyone else. Wang Tao moved into a two-story house. This was the accommodation prepared by Shuize University for the school¡¯s leaders, consisting of ten two-story houses, each equipped with a garage and a garden. Now, each commissioner had their own house, and with Wang Tao accounted for, two were still vacant. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have much stuff in the faculty apartments, mostly food, which was moved in one car trip. Wang Tao moved into house number 8, where everyday items were all prepared, and he could move in immediately. He wasn¡¯t picky; a shelter from the weather would suffice. ¡°It¡¯s just missing someone to warm the bed...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, thinking now that he had established himself at Shuize Base, it was time to bring his sister-in-law over, he was looking forward to ¡°Blood Replenishing¡± after all. That night. Han Rui returned to her apartment feeling exhausted. Sun Weiguang was not there, and she didn¡¯t know whether he had gone to find Wang Tao or not. She sat on the sofa, rubbing her sore neck, feeling somewhat helpless. Her work at the arbitration department was proving to be far more troublesome than she had imagined. With over five hundred people in the base, conflicts arose almost daily, and wherever there was a conflict, there she was. Sometimes, she truly could not understand, why even in the apocalypse, people still quarreled over such trivial matters! Ultimately, she somewhat evilly concluded the reason-they were not working hard enough; they should be made to work more! Of course, grumbling was one thing, but work had to be done. However, she harbored the thought of changing her job. Sigh, I¡¯ll see how it goes for a while longer... Why isn¡¯t Weiguang back yet?¡± Shaking her head, Han Rui went to take a shower-this was one of her own perks: the water was free. Chapter 103 - 86: Three Special Zombies (Requesting Monthly Pass at the End of the Month)_3 Chapter 103: Chapter 86: Three Special Zombies (Requesting Monthly Pass at the End of the Month)_3 Translator: 549690339 After she finished her shower and lay in bed, Sun Weiguang finally came back. When Sun Weiguang also lay down in bed, Han Rui subconsciously tried to wrap her arms around him, but he pushed her away. ¡°I¡¯m tired, let¡¯s sleep.¡± In the darkness, Han Rui¡¯s face turned red. She didn¡¯t want to do anything; she just wanted to hold something while she slept, yet Sun Weiguang looked at her with such disdain, as if she were about to do something improper. Hmph! Han Rui hmphed and turned over, her back facing Sun Weiguang. Soon, Sun Weiguang¡¯s gentle snoring sounds could be heard. But Han Rui found herself wide awake. These past few days, she had been worrying about Sun Weiguang. Now that she saw him back, she felt relieved. She wanted to let out some steam and relax, but clearly, Sun Weiguang had no such intention, and she, Han Rui, wasn¡¯t the kind of woman to be clingy... After letting her mind run wild for a while, Han Rui¡¯s face burned with embarrassment as she slipped her hand inside her clothes... In the morning, after Wang Tao had his breakfast, he brewed himself a cup of tea. The tea was a fine one gifted by Ren Jie, who said he found it in the school. It was probably from some school leader, and now it was theirs to enjoy. At that moment, a guard suddenly reported from outside the door. Someone was always on duty 24 hours a day at the residence of the commissioners. Non-commissioners and their family members needed to apply for entry. The guard informed Wang Tao that a man named Sun Weiguang was requesting to see him. Wang Tao was immediately surprised. What did he want with him? Speaking of this Sun Weiguang, Wang Tao had been meaning to give Han Rui a heads-up about him, but with the recent flurry of events, he had forgotten. ¡°I should find a way to remind her today...¡± As he thought this to himself, Wang Tao said to the guard: ¡°Let him in.¡± It wasn¡¯t long before Sun Weiguang entered, looking very respectful. ¡°Good day, Commissioner Wang! I am Han Rui¡¯s husband, Sun Weiguang... Sun Weiguang hurriedly introduced himself. Although he had met Wang Tao before, important people are often forgetful. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to introduce himself again. ¡°Oh, what brings you here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like this. You saved my wife, and I don¡¯t have much with which to thank you...¡± As he spoke, Sun Weiguang took out a stack of ration tickets and handed them over. Wang Tao was somewhat stunned. Sun Weiguang had come to give a gift, and what a gift he offered! He couldn¡¯t have brought anything worse than ration tickets! The ration ticket system was created by the committee. Although it¡¯s stated that these tickets are limited in number and even commissioners should use them sparingly, that¡¯s just lip service. Anybody who truly believes that is a fool. As for ration tickets, Wang Tao had as many as he wanted right now! And commissioners didn¡¯t even need ration tickets to eat... ¡°It was nothing, no need for thanks,¡± Wang Tao pushed the ration tickets back. If the other commissioners found out that Wang Tao had received ration tickets as a gift, they might laugh at him for an entire day. Sun Weiguang was taken aback as well. Wasn¡¯t it said that any gift would do? He had nothing on him at the moment, and surely Wang Tao would understand that. The gift was meant more as a gesture; he wanted to establish good relations with Wang Tao... but Wang Tao flatly refused the gift, and now things became awkward! ¡°But, but we haven¡¯t thanked you yet...¡± Sun Weiguang was persistent. Wang Tao spoke up directly: ¡°Han Rui has already said she¡¯d repay me; you don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Ah? She...¡± Sun Weiguang was somewhat surprised. Had Han Rui already mentioned it? Then why did she agree to let him come over, and why didn¡¯t she have anything with her? How did she plan to repay him? Sun Weiguang¡¯s gaze flickered. ¡°All right, if there¡¯s nothing else, you should head back first.¡± Wang Tao took a sip of his tea. Sun Weiguang left. He had wanted to see if he could talk Wang Tao into giving him a position, but the other man wouldn¡¯t even accept a gift! However, Sun Weiguang hadn¡¯t given up. He felt the potential of the base was significant and that if he didn¡¯t secure a job now, it would be even harder once the base grew stronger! He had to think of another way to break through with Wang Tao, especially since he didn¡¯t know any of the other commissioners... For Wang Tao, Sun Weiguang was just a minor episode; he didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. Looking out the window, it was raining again today-a great day to go out. But speaking of which, it had been raining on and off for so many days... ¡°I should go and bring Ding Yuqin over today.¡± Since Wang Tao had promised not to abandon her, he would keep his word-he was always a man of his word, certainly not because he was lusting after Ding Yuqin¡¯sbody. But before going, Wang Tao planned to remind Han Rui. Wang Tao went to the resources department to get a usable cell phone and sent the video he had taken at the water plant of ¡°Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying conspiring against other survivors¡± via Bluetooth. Then he made another trip to where Han Rui worked. The place was usually staffed by only three people, and often empty; it was deserted now. Wang Tao slid the cell phone into a drawer at Han Rui¡¯s workstation. There was no lock on the phone, and to ensure Han Rui would see the video immediately, Wang Tao even set it as a live wallpaper, so it would play as soon as the phone was turned on. Having arranged everything, Wang Tao left, concealing his abilities and achievements. The rain outside wasn¡¯t heavy and didn¡¯t cause too much water accumulation on the road, but its sound was loud, pitter-pattering, just right for going out. After driving cautiously for a while, Wang Tao unexpectedly came across special zombies¡ªtwo of them. ¡°Terrorizer and Self-exploder... Together, they make a tricky pair...¡± This time the Terrorizer wasn¡¯t wielding a Reinforced Concrete Hammer but a thick streetlamp. Apart from the weapon, it looked similar to the other Terrorizers, likely the same type of zombie. This Terrorizer had 2000 HP, and though he had only 1040 HP left, he wasn¡¯t scared. However, next to the Terrorizer was a Self-exploder with its chest organs exposed, and it had 1000 HP. Self-exploders attracted other zombies too easily. Unless they separated, Wang Tao had no way of dealing with the Terrorizer alone. Wang Tao waited in the rain for a while, but no good opportunity arose. In the end, he decided to give up for now, but he made a mental note of the place. ¡°Let¡¯s head back first, then think about what to do...¡± Wang Tao took a slight detour and then headed towards Happy Community. On the way, Wang Tao turned on his walkie-talkie to get in touch with Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin¡¯s walkie-talkie was always on. When she heard Wang Tao was coming back for her, she was so overwhelmed with joy that she wept and said she would wait obediently at home for him. After wasting some time, Wang Tao finally saw Happy Community, but he frowned. ¡°What kind of day is it today, running into special zombies again...¡± Outside Happy Community was a zombie, not tall but very strong, moving slowly with bare torso and dark skin-someone might think it was Brother Ni in another scenario. And its HP was the highest Wang Tao had ever seen: [3000/3000]! Chapter 104 - 87: Stubborn Zombie (Seeking Chapter 104: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Votes)_i Translator: 549690339 1 Yet another special zombie, but upon seeing this one, Wang Tao was not nervous at all; on the contrary, he was eager to try his hand. Because this zombie was described in the military-provided Zombie Guide it was known as the Stalwart. It had high defense but moved slowly, and its attack was weak. It was as if... in a game, all its attribute points had been allocated to defense. If there were many zombies around, dealing with this type would be somewhat troublesome. But with not many zombies at the entrance of the residential area, even with its high defense, Wang Tao could grind it down to death! After parking the car, Wang Tao contacted Ding Yuqin. ¡°Wang Tao, have you... have you come back?¡± ¡°Sister-in-law, I¡¯m downstairs. There are a few zombies down here; I will deal with them first. Don¡¯t come out.¡± ¡°Okay, be careful... I¡¯ll be waiting for you!¡± After closing the walkie-talkie, Wang Tao took the firefighter axe and walked into the rain. ¡°Heh heh...¡± The zombies¡¯ senses were largely reduced in the heavy rain. It wasn¡¯t until Wang Tao approached an ordinary zombie that it raised its head. Pu-cha! [-500] [0/500] The firefighter axe cleaved its head open, instantly killing it. [Obtained: Rope xi] Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop moving, continuing towards other ordinary zombies. Before fighting this special zombie, he certainly had to clear out the surrounding ordinary ones. There were only six zombies in total, and they were quickly dealt with. Only then did the ¡°Stalwart¡± zombie belatedly notice Wang Tao. ¡°Heh heh...¡± The zombie groaned as it walked towards Wang Tao, but its movements were slow and rigid, like a puppet. Wang Tao strode over and brought his axe down on its head. Bang! [-23] [2977/3000] ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing this number, Wang Tao was a bit stunned. Could it be that the axe was broken? But even a simple smash wouldn¡¯t reduce its HP by so little, surely? Wang Tao, undeterred, chopped with the axe again. [-24] [2953/3000] [-22] [2931/3000] Wang Tao confirmed it; the Stalwart indeed had ridiculously high defense! With his current strength plus the firefighter axe and Rush Right Arm, one chop only reduced about twenty-plus HP, which was almost like not piercing its defense at all¡ªand indeed, it barely did, as the Stalwart¡¯s head only showed some white marks without any actual wounds. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Stalwart zombie swung its arms at Wang Tao, who easily dodged away. Although the Stalwart¡¯s attack power was low, Wang Tao had no intention of testing it. After all, a zombie¡¯s attack always carried the virus, and it was better to be safe unless absolutely necessary. However, since the Stalwart was slow both in terms of speed and attack, Wang Tao decided he was not going to fight fair. He took another axe from his waist with his left hand, and wielding one firefighter axe in each, he began frantically chopping at the Stalwart¡¯s head. [-25] [-12] [-23] [-11] [-24] [-13] Since the left hand was inherently weaker than the right, and since it didn¡¯t have the Rush Arm Guard, the damage it dealt was only half that of the right hand. Against the zombie¡¯s 2000 HP, it was nothing more than scratching the surface. But even scratching could lead to its demise! Since the Stalwart¡¯s attack was weak and slow, and Wang Tao could dodge easily, plus there were no other zombies around to interfere, Wang Tao could fully unleash his attack. Wang Tao considered using a Molotov cocktail, but with the heavy rain, its effectiveness would surely be compromised, and he would have to go back to the car to prepare it. He decided against it. He tried using his shockwave ability and was pleasantly surprised to find that it could inflict thirty to forty damage on the Stalwart! That was even higher than the damage from his two axes combined. However, his mana was limited, and there was no need to expend so much at the moment. Keeping more mana on hand also felt safer. Wang Tao also tried chopping at the Stalwart¡¯s neck, but it was just as tough as its head... or rather, its entire body was stiff; chopping anywhere else would be even less effective than aiming for the head. Finally, after a couple of minutes of scratching, with a sound of pu-cha, both axes simultaneously buried into the Stalwart¡¯s head. [-53] [0/3000] Phew¡ª Wang Tao let out a sigh of relief. This Stalwart was the zombie with the highest HP he had encountered so far and the toughest to kill, but it was also the least dangerous-at least for him, it was even less dangerous than ordinary zombies. Wang Tao glanced at his HP, adding 60 points, which brought his HP ceiling to [1100/1100]! He picked up the Stalwart¡¯s dropped loot without rushing to inspect it, and quickly scooped up the zombie¡¯s Faint Red Crystal Core, inside which was a silhouette of a tiny, pitch-black figure. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡ö Toughness] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Skin darkening, body stiffening)] [Toughness: During the duration, defensive power and hardness of the entire body are enhanced] ¡°Eh? A Continuous Ability?¡± This was the first time Wang Tao had come across a zombie crystal core like this, and he felt that the ability suited him-though the increased hardness part... was it practical or laughable? As he pondered, Wang Tao hurried to open the gate of the residential area and drove his car under the awning in front of building number four. He had just stepped out when the door to the building opened. Dressed in light makeup, wearing a black form-fitting skirt, flesh-colored Chapter 105 - 87: Stubborn Zombie (Please Support with Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 105: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Please Support with Monthly Tickets)_2 Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao¡¯s gaze lingered on Ding Yuqin for a moment. It had to be said that Ding Yuqin understood him, knowing what he liked to see. in Shuize Base, although there were quite a few women, they were all slovenly, as being well-fed was the priority at this time. Even the little celebrity Huo Ziyi had no time to dress up and looked like a village girl. Only Han Rui was still alright, her beauty intact, dressed in a police uniform and looking dashing, with a charm all her own. But Wang Tao preferred women with feminine charm like Ding Yuqin. ¡°I, I came down only after seeing you were safe... Ding Yuqin, afraid that Wang Tao would say she was disobedient, hurriedly explained. Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak, but rather took off his mask and gloves and walked over, gently caressing Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek as he said, ¡°Sis-in-law, have you been well these past days? ¡°I¡¯m fine, but I, I missed you...¡± Ding Yuqin rested her face on Wang Tao¡¯s hand and gently rubbed against it, her eyes somewhat infatuated. Wang Tao smiled gently, then kissed Ding Yuqin on the lips, and then took the opportunity to loop his arms around her waist and head upstairs. ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± in the five days Wang Tao had been away, there hadn¡¯t been much change at home, except that the water he had stored was almost all used up. The food, however, was still plentiful-after all, Ding Yuqin¡¯s appetite was small. After helping Wang Tao take off his equipment, Ding Yuqin immediately hugged his waist from behind. Although Wang Tao had said he would come back, and had even contacted her with the walkie-talkie, she was still worried when she couldn¡¯t see him. She wasn¡¯t sure if she had a place in Wang Tao¡¯s heart, or if he simply wanted to have some fun with her... Now that she saw Wang Tao, she could finally relax. Wang Tao turned around to look at Ding Yuqin and asked, ¡°Sis-in-law, did you miss me while at home? ¡°Missed you!¡± Ding Yuqin blurted out without thinking, but her cheeks flushed. Mainly because Wang Tao kept calling her ¡°sis-in-law¡± and never changed it, giving her an inexplicable sense of shame. ¡°How much did you miss me?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°I missed you a lot!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; he saw Ding Yuqin as quite conservative. Usually, at most, she would wear silk stockings. But now, she was without anything underneath. Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao with watery eyes, biting her lip and saying, ¡°This is to... make it convenient for you...¡± An hour later, Wang Tao smoked a cigarette. He actually didn¡¯t smoke, but he did it for the feeling. Ding Yuqin nestled against Wang Tao, clinging tightly as if she wanted to merge into his body. ¡°Sis-in-law, I never realized before how clingy you are! Wang Tao brushed aside the hair stuck to Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek, teasing her. Ding Yuqin was somewhat shy, but still looked directly at Wang Tao. ¡°I, I¡¯m scared...¡± Slap¡ª Wang Tao slapped her softly on the flesh and then asked, ¡°I¡¯m here now, what are you still afraid of, sis-in-law? ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll leave me...¡± Ding Yuqin was candid. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao offered no assurances but simply smiled and said, ¡°Call me ¡®husband¡¯ and let¡¯s hear how it sounds. ¡°Husband-¡± ¡°Sis-in-law, you¡¯re so good!¡± ¡°...Could you please stop calling me ¡®sis-in-law¡¯!¡± Ding Yuqin, blushing, complained. Every time WangTao called her ¡°sis-in-law,¡± especially during their activities, she was completely defenseless. ¡°We each have our own names, you call me husband, and I call you sis-in-law; it¡¯s quite reasonable.¡± ¡°...You¡¯re so bad!¡± Ding Yuqin lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest and bit his shoulder. Of course, she didn¡¯t really bite hard, it was more like a cat¡¯s lick. Wang Tao stroked Ding Yuqin¡¯s hair like petting a cat, but his mind was on the Space Backpack. The loot that had burst out from the stubborn zombie he had killed earlier had not yet been checked. He had said he would look at it when he got back, but after returning, he had a three-hundred-round battle with Ding Yuqin and had been delayed. But it wasn¡¯t too late to look now. Not counting the Zombie Core, the stubborn zombie had dropped a total of three items. They were [Defense Potion (small) X2], [Defense Potion (small) blueprint xi], and [Stubborn Armor Blueprint xl]. There was a detailed introduction below. [Defense Potion (small): After injection, defense is increased for 1 minute, with a cooldown of 12 hours.] This item seemed to correspond to the Strength Potion. If one were to inject both Strength Potion and Defense Potion at the same time, wouldn¡¯t one have both high attack and strong defense? However, it was a pity that, whether it was the Strength Potion or the Defense Potion, the duration was only 1 minute. It would have been better if it lasted longer. [Defense Potion (small) Blueprint: Once learned, one can make five [Defense Potion (small)) each time. Required materials: Defense Mushroom xl, Zombie Crystal Core xl, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kilocalories of food] This blueprint was similar to the blueprint for the Strength Potion, only replacing ¡°Strength Mushroom¡± with ¡°Defense Mushroom¡±. It¡¯s unclear where these mushrooms are to be found. Wang Tao guessed there was a good chance they were in the suburbs. But he couldn¡¯t possibly go to the suburbs yet; it was too dangerous. These two potion blueprints differed from the earlier Rush Right Arm Blueprint and Food Compressor Blueprint. Even without materials, one could learn the potion blueprints directly. Once learned, it¡¯s like acquiring a skill¡ªthis he discovered a few days ago, although he hadn¡¯t paid it much attention initially. So now he had learned the [Strength Potion (small)] recipe and, as long as he had the materials, he could make it directly. Then, with a thought, he instantly learned the [Defense Potion (small)] recipe. Now, he had mastered the method for making two kinds of potions. Too bad he lacked materials... Chapter 106 - 87: Stubborn Zombie (Seeking Chapter 106: Chapter 87: Stubborn Zombie (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Tickets)¡ª3 Translator: 549690339 1 But the Rush Right Arm and the Food Compressor blueprints are different, as using them consumes the blueprint. Each blueprint can only create one item. In other words, once the item is crafted, the blueprint is gone. The third thing that the stubborn armor zombie dropped also belongs to this kind¡ª [Stubborn Armor Blueprint: Forgeable: a double-sided chest armor, materials needed: Iron Block*2, Steel Wire*2, Screw*2, Rope*2, Nails*2, Rubber*2, Plastic*2, Cable*2, Electronic Components*2, Battery*2] [Stubborn Armor: Very resilient and can withstand blades and gunfire. Durability+20, defensive power+20] Wang Tao felt that the materials required for this piece of armor blueprint were roughly the same as those for the Rush Right Arm and even the description was similar. However, its attributes were twice that of the Rush Right Arm. Wang Tao checked the materials in his Space Backpack. The zombies he had previously killed had just provided enough. So with a thought from Wang Tao, the Stubborn Armor Blueprint along with various materials appeared in his hand. ¡°Forgeable¡± also appeared on the Stubborn Armor Blueprint. Confirm crafting! All materials instantly turned into streams of light and entered the blueprint. With a flash of light, a matte black double-sided chest armor appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s this?¡± Ding Yuqin, who was lying on top of Wang Tao, suddenly felt a flash of light. She turned her head and saw the pitch-black armor in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°Nice stuff.¡± Wang Tao patted Ding Yuqin, signaling her to get up. Then, he put on the armor. Like the Rush Right Arm, the armor was adjustable. Wang Tao made some minor adjustments, and it fit his body very well. The material of the armor was a bit different from that of the arm guards; it wasn¡¯t as hard but had some flexibility to it. It didn¡¯t hinder his movements much after he put it on. ¡°Not bad at all!¡± Wang Tao was very satisfied with this item. As for its defensive power, there was no need for testing¡ªhe was certain it would be better than a bulletproof vest. This Stubborn Armor would now be his go-to gear. As for the bulletproof vest he was wearing, Wang Tao directly handed it to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Put the bulletproof vest on later.¡± If Wang Tao wore both layers, it would hinder his movements too much, which made the vest perfect for Ding Yuqin. ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin happily accepted it. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower; sis, come scrub my back.¡± Wang Tao took off the armor and headed to the bathroom. ¡°Oh, oh!¡± Ding Yuqin hurriedly followed him. After showering, the two ate something simple and then started packing up. Wang Tao planned to leave early the next morning, so he had to get everything ready in advance. ¡°There¡¯s quite a lot of stuff...¡± Looking at the list of items sorted out, Wang Tao felt a bit of a headache. In this post-apocalyptic world, many things have become worthless, like real estate and finance. But there were also many items no longer producible, and even if he didn¡¯t need them now, they were still valuable. These were the things Wang Tao had collected with great effort, and he was reluctant to throw them away. But with so much, his car could not accommodate them all... After some thought, Wang Tao decided to take the pickup truck as well. Both vehicles could almost carry all these items. As for the noise issue with the pickup truck, it wasn¡¯t too bad. The rain outside was heavy, and if he was careful, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. After all, some people from Shuize Base went out in gasoline vehicles. Picking and choosing, he kept sorting things out until nightfall, finally managing to fill both vehicles. ¡°We are leaving now; suddenly feeling a bit reluctant... Wang Tao looked out at the rain and felt a pang of regret. Ding Yuqin snuggled up to Wang Tao without a word. She did not feel any reluctance; in fact, she wanted to leave as soon as possible to start a new life with Wang Tao. ¡°But home is safe for now. To just walk away from here seems wasteful... Maybe it should be transformed a little, into a temporary safe house!¡± After all, Happy Community had been the place where Wang Tao managed to survive for a month after the apocalypse began. Leaving it behind now seemed a waste. Shuize Base people would set up temporary safe houses outside the base. In case of danger or needing to spend the night somewhere, they would rather stay in these safe houses than in an unfamiliar place. No sooner had he thought this than Wang Tao began planning with Ding Yuqin how to transform the place into a temporary safe house. After all no one else would be living here from now on, so Wang Tao needed to ensure that zombies couldn¡¯t get in, and he had to prevent other survivors from taking over the place. After all, it was his own house, and he was not that generous to share with others. After some discussion, they decided to turn Building No. 4 into a temporary safe house. The whole community was too big for him to handle, and there was no need. Not to mention that the community¡¯s walls couldn¡¯t keep out the mad demon zombies that could climb. Wang Tao originally planned to leave the next morning, but because of the work on the temporary safe house, he was delayed another day. After a whole day¡¯s work, he finally completed the temporary safe house. Almost all the windows of Building No. 4 were sealed from the inside, except for two that looked almost sealed. These were left as an exit for Wang Tao- only accessible through there, as he had sealed the doors to the building¡¯s units from the inside as well. If he could pick locks, so could others; by sealing the door, no amount of skill could open it. Then there was the rooftop. He placed things like metal barrels and some wood up there. If mad demon zombies climbed up, he could light a fire and drive them back. As for the interior, naturally, he left behind some supplies that were a waste to eat but too good to discard... On the third day, at noon. ¡°Let¡¯s go, time to set off.¡± Chapter 107 - 88 The Murderer (Please support with a monthly ticket) _1 Chapter 107: Chapter 88 The Murderer (Please support with a monthly ticket) _1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°I, I¡¯m a little scared...¡± Ding Yuqin sat in the driver¡¯s seat of the pickup truck, looking somewhat afraid. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, just follow me. Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao smacked her on the buttocks firmly. With two vehicles to manage, Ding Yuqin had to drive one of them. Wang Tao had made some modifications to this pickup truck, adding steel plates to the outside and iron wire to the windows. As long as they didn¡¯t run into any particularly formidable special infected zombies, the safety was not an issue. ¡°Hmm...¡± Although Ding Yuqin was scared, she also knew that it was just the two of them, and someone had to drive. Leading the way was more dangerous, so her following in the other car was relatively safe. Wang Tao led the way in the off-road vehicle, with Ding Yuqin closely following behind, slowly leaving Happy Community. Wang Tao had originally planned to think of a way to deal with the two special infected zombies they encountered on their way back, but now with an extra vehicle, he thought better of it. He decided to deal with them later. Nevertheless, Wang Tao still passed by the area where they had seen the special infected zombies, taking a look to see how these two zombies were doing. ¡°Eh? They¡¯ve split up!¡± Through his binoculars, Wang Tao observed that the Self-exploder and the Terrorizer were no longer together; the two were tens of meters apart. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s sharp eyesight, he might have missed them. ¡°To do it or not to do it... Let¡¯s do it!¡± Seeing a rare opportunity, Wang Tao decided to give it a try. Otherwise, he didn¡¯t know when he would next encounter a Terrorizer. ¡°Sister-in-law, wait in the car for me. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Wang Tao instructed Ding Yuqin over the walkie-talkie. ¡°Ah? Oh... okay!¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t dare to ask more questions. Wang Tao, carrying a firefighter axe, braved the heavy rain and approached the tall Terrorizer on the street. Even though the Self-exploder zombies were easier to deal with, they were too noisy. It was better to deal with the Terrorizer first; as for the Self-exploder, he would ignore it for now. Just as when he hunted down stubborn zombies before, Wang Tao first dealt with the ordinary zombies surrounding the area before taking on the Terrorizer in a one-on-one fight. However, this Terrorizer¡¯s senses were sharper than those of the stubborn zombies, and it quickly detected Wang Tao. Handling the Terrorizer was something Wang Tao was getting quite good at. While dodging its attacks, he took the opportunity to kill all the ordinary zombies in the vicinity. Bang! The Terrorizer¡¯s hammer swing missed once more, and the shockwave didn¡¯t hit Wang Tao either. Wang Tao looked at the zombie, with the corner of his mouth slightly raised. Now that he had improved in all aspects of his strength, he wondered how much of an advantage he had over this Terrorizer! Taking advantage of the Terrorizer¡¯s momentary stiffness after its attack, Wang Tao surged forward, swinging the firefighter axe in his right hand viciously toward the Terrorizer¡¯s head. [-311] [1689/2000] The power behind that strike surprised Wang Tao. He was not clear at the moment how high his damage was. He had wanted to test it on the stubborn zombie, but its defensive power was too high. He could hardly make a dent, so there was no way to test it. As for the ordinary zombies, they were all killed with one axe swing, so there was no way to test on them either. Now, hitting this Terrorizer, Wang Tao finally had a rough idea of his own lethality ¡ª in the past, his pistol would cause 300 damage attacking the Terrorizer¡¯s head, and now, one swing of his axe also dealt roughly 300 damage! That meant, his full-power strike was now comparable to the power of a bullet from his pistol, possibly even higher. After all, this Terrorizer had more HP, and its defensive power might be stronger... While pondering this in his mind, Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop his movements. He dodged its attacks and struck its head vigorously with his axe. In less than thirty seconds, while dodging the attacks, Wang Tao successfully struck six axe blows to its head. Sputter! [-410] [0/2000] The Rioters zombie fell to its knees, and a purple zombie crystal core popped out from its skull. Wang Tao caught it casually and then picked up the spoils dropped by the Terrorizer, as well as the weapon that fell. Wang Tao glanced at his HP, adding 50, now showing [1150/1150]. [Received: 2 small Strength Potions] [Received: 1 Reinforced Concrete Street Light] The two strength potions were quite good. This street light, like the Reinforced Concrete Hammer, could also be stored in the Space Backpack. Then came the crystal core. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡ö Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: sensitivity to light)] The luck wasn¡¯t bad¡ªit was an excellent quality crystal core. Wang Tao felt around the zombie¡¯s body, and finding nothing but a crushed box of cigarettes, there was nothing else. At this moment, the Self-exploder zombie seemed to have heard something and started to move slowly towards Wang Tao¡¯s location. Wang Tao decisively retreated. Having dealt with the Terrorizer, there was no need to confront the Self-exploder. If it attracted a swarm of zombies, it would be impossible to leave. Quickly getting back to his vehicle, Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin over the walkie-talkie: ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The two vehicles hit the road again, this time without stopping, they smoothly arrived at Shuize Base. Seeing the fence surrounded by barbed wire, the soldiers fully armed on the watchtowers, and the sturdy gates, Ding Yuqin felt a surge of excitement. At last, they had arrived at the Survivor Base! As their vehicle approached the gate, the doors of the base slowly opened. A few fully armed soldiers saluted Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle. Having become a member of the base¡¯s committee, everyone was sure to remember things associated with him, like his vehicle. However, the necessary inspection still had to be done, which was indeed essential. After all, if there were zombies hiding under the car, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be able to see them. Although zombies didn¡¯t have such intelligence yet, it was better to be cautious. Chapter 108 - 88: The Murderer (Please Support with Monthly Votes)_2 Chapter 108: Chapter 88: The Murderer (Please Support with Monthly Votes)_2 Translator: 549690339 Two cars drove under the canopy, and Wang Tao called out to Ding Yuqin to get out of the car. Ding Yuqin hurried over and stood closely by Wang Tao¡¯s side, curiously taking in her surroundings. ¡°Commissioner Wang, good to see you!¡± A few soldiers saluted Wang Tao, which surprised Ding Yuqin. She was still unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s status at the base. Little did she know the soldiers were just as surprised; they thought Commissioner Wang was impressive, managing to bring back such a beautiful woman after just one trip! ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then took out a pack of cigarettes and offered them to the men. Although he was now a member of the base¡¯s committee, Wang Tao was still quite approachable. After all, these soldiers were the backbone of the base, and it was necessary to show them respect. ¡°Thanks, Commissioner Wang!¡± The soldiers accepted the cigarettes, but their expressions were not very joyful. ¡°Has something happened at the base?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. ¡°The committee just announced that Commissioner Song Jinghong has encountered an unforeseen event...¡± One of the soldiers began to explain. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback. Previously, everyone had suspected that something had happened to Song Jinghong, but there had been no proof. And it was also possible that he was just hiding somewhere, not necessarily in trouble. But now that it was announced, it meant that evidence of Song Jinghong¡¯s death had been found. The death of a committee member, especially one so well-regarded, saddened everyone for Song Jinghong¡¯s passing. ¡°Commissioner Wang, we¡¯ve finished checking everything. There are no zombies hidden in or around your vehicle! Neither you nor your companion have any issues with your eyes.¡± The inspecting soldier hastened to report. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then gestured for Ding Yuqin to get back in the car. Soon, the two vehicles arrived at the committee members¡¯ living area, stopping in front of Building 8. After getting out, Wang Tao called over a few guards to help him move things. Wang Tao was an approachable person, but he saw no reason to spurn the power at his disposal. The guards were shocked and envious when they saw the fresh green chives on the pickup truck; it was just like Commissioner Wang to manage to find such good stuff on an outing! They, the ordinary folk, eating gruel every day, had almost forgotten what vegetables tasted like... While the guards were busy moving things, Ding Yuqin approached Wang Tao and asked softly with curiosity: ¡°Wang Tao, what is your status at the base? Why do they all respect you so much? I see they all address you as Commissioner Wang. What is a commissioner?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing much, just one of the eight highest-ranking people in the entire base.¡± Wang Tao replied with a somewhat boastful smile. ¡°Wow!¡± exclaimed Ding Yuqin, both surprised and then finding it reasonable. After all, she knew how powerful Wang Tao was. Plus, Wang Tao was an Ability User, so it was not surprising for him to be one of the leaders of a Survivor Base. Once everything had been moved into the house, Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin: ¡°See how you can arrange these things later; I¡¯m heading to the main building.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin happily began planning their small home while Wang Tao drove to the main building. In a large conference room on the second floor, Wang Tao joined Wei Zhenguo and others, including Han Rui and some officials in key positions. Everyone¡¯s expression was rather somber, with a mix of sadness and anger. Especially Han Rui¡ªher eyes were swollen, as if she had cried a long time. ¡°WangTao, you¡¯ve returned!¡± Wei Zhenguo, sitting in a wheelchair, waved him over. Beside him was a seat reserved for Wang Tao. On his other side sat a young man in a military uniform, whom Wang Tao didn¡¯t recognize. He was certainly one of the committee members, Lu Gang. His HP bar read! 535/535], no Hidden Attributes, no mana bar, and no impurities. ¡°This is Lu Gang, who just returned this morning.¡± ¡°This is Wang Tao, the new member of our base¡¯s committee.¡± Wei Zhenguo introduced Wang Tao and Lu Gang to each other. ¡°Hello!¡± The two shook hands, and Wang Tao could clearly feel the calluses on Lu Gang¡¯s hands¡ªmarked by a life fed with bullets. Lu Gang, on the other hand, gave Wang Tao¡¯s physique an extra glance, with a hint of envy in his eyes. ¡°Is there confirmed news about Commissioner Song Jinghong¡¯s situation?¡± Wang Tao asked Wei Zhenguo. ¡°There is...¡± Wei Zhenguo looked toward Lu Gang, who spoke with a sad tone: ¡°I sawOld Song¡¯s body yesterday...¡± ¡°Hmm? A body?¡± Wang Tao frowned. In this post-apocalyptic world, the dead typically turned into zombies or became zombie fodder. Encountering a mere body... was rather rare. ¡°Yes, a body. Old Song was dismembered; I could only find his head and one arm...¡± Lu Gang clenched his teeth, his eyes filled with fury. ¡°What!¡± Wang Tao was shocked and his face also showed anger. Zombies wouldn¡¯t dismember victims; this was definitely the work of a survivor! ¡°His head was hanging from a telephone pole, surrounded by zombies, so I couldn¡¯t take it with me. I found his hand on a rooftop...¡± ¡°Wuuu...¡± Han Rui covered her mouth, weeping. Song Jinghong had been more than just her senior leader¡ªhe was her teacher, her family. With her parents already dead, her closest teacher had also died, and not just any death but a brutal one... Even the usually strong-willed her couldn¡¯t hold back her tears. Bang! Xiang Hongbin slammed his hand on the table, his gaze fierce. ¡°Damn it, if I find out who did this, I¡¯ll flay them alive!¡± The others also had faces full of anger. If it had been an attack by zombies, it would have been a matter of being outmatched and they could only take out their anger on zombies. But an attack by survivors? That was utterly unacceptable! Chapter 109 - 88 The Murderer (Please support with a monthly ticket) 3 Chapter 109: Chapter 88 The Murderer (Please support with a monthly ticket) 3 Translator: 549690339 Especially Song Jinghong, he was unlike the others, revered both before and after the apocalypse. It was impossible for him to have offended anyone. His recent outing was solely to save survivors! He could have stayed back, but he chose to go anyway. To think that such a man was murdered, even dismembered and hung on a utility pole... This is the work of a beast! ¡°Whether for Old Song himself or for us at the Suize Survivor Base, this is unforgivable!¡± Ren Jie rapped on the table, his tone chilling. Song Jinghong was a commissioner of the Shuize Base, representing not just himself but the entire base. Such an act was a provocation¡ªno, it was a declaration of war against the Shuize Base! We must avenge Song Jinghong; blood for blood! ¡°When do we act? I certainly won¡¯t be absent!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fists. Now that he was a commissioner of the Shuize Base, it was natural for him to take action. Although he had no personal connection with Song Jinghong, even never having met him, he couldn¡¯t tolerate such acts. If he didn¡¯t show some resolve now, people might think the Shuize Base was afraid! However, after Wang Tao said this, he discovered a hint of embarrassment on everyone¡¯s faces. Lu Gang shook his head. ¡°But we don¡¯t know who killed Old Song, and we haven¡¯t found any survivor camps nearby...¡± Indeed, it was the apocalypse now. Zombies were everywhere, and survivors were scarce, let alone murderers. Unless someone witnessed the act, it would be tough to find them. This is likely to become an unsolved case. Everyone was frustrated, knowing full well that Song Jinghong was murdered, yet they couldn¡¯t even find the culprit. ¡°Where did you find Commissioner Song¡¯s body?¡± Wang Tao asked, frowning. ¡°Right at the intersection of Evergreen Road and Xingguo Road...¡± Lu Gang pointed at a spot on the map placed on the table. ¡°Here?¡± Wang Tao suddenly paused, then as if remembering something, asked urgently, ¡°What was Commissioner Song¡¯s badge number?¡± Everyone seemed confused; no one had made a point to remember it. But Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an spoke up simultaneously: ¡°8...¡± Upon hearing the number, Wang Tao fished into his pocket, pulled out a metal number tag, and laid it on the table. Everyone¡¯s breath hitched. Because the number on the metal tag matched the number Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an had said! ¡°Is this Old Song¡¯s badge?!¡± Wei Zhenguo looked urgently at Wang Tao, ¡°How did it end up with you? Where did you find this...¡± Everyone¡¯s gaze shifted nervously toward Wang Tao. It wasn¡¯t that they suspected Wang Tao of being the murderer; after all, the timing and his motive didn¡¯t align. What they wanted to know was whether the badge had been found somewhere. If so, that could provide a lead to the murderer! ¡°So it seems... it must be them!¡± Wang Tao tapped on the table, then explained to everyone, ¡°In an old mall...¡± He roughly recounted his visit to the mall, omitting the gory details of his zombie-killing but covering everything else that happened there. That included his chance sighting of the badge number, his suspicion that the other party had a gun, and that the mall was ravaged by a special zombie. After hearing this, Xiang Hongbin slammed his hand on the table. ¡°It has to be them! Old Song¡¯sbadge was with them, and from what you said, they also seemed to be hiding something... They¡¯re clearly guilty!¡± The others were also filled with anger. This was a group Wang Tao had encountered a few days ago, and the old mall was near Evergreen Road, and that group surely wasn¡¯t up to any good. They now had the time, the location, and even a motive¡ªthey might have coveted Song Jinghong¡¯s gun or his supplies¡ª which was enough to make them prime suspects! ¡°Damn it, I¡¯m going to take them out right now!¡± Xiang Hongbin was impulsive. He rose to leave but was stopped by Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Wait! Didn¡¯t Wang Tao just mention that there was a huge zombie, three or four meters tall, that nearly destroyed the building? What if you startle the zombies there, do you think you can handle them?¡± Xiang Hongbin hesitated, having momentarily forgotten about that. If he indeed encountered this unknown zombie, he wasn¡¯t confident in his ability to defeat it. ¡°We must plan carefully. After all, they likely have guns, and there¡¯s a terrifying zombie lurking there... We have already lost two main fighters in just a few days; we can¡¯t afford any more injuries!¡± This made Xiang Hongbin¡¯s expression darken even more since one of those losses had a direct connection to him. He wanted to vent his anger! ¡°Alright, you all can leave now. We need to discuss this among ourselves.¡± Ren Jie waved his hand. ¡°Yes!¡± The others promptly stood up and left. They had summoned so many people in hopes of gleaning any clues. Now that they had one, it was time to formulate a plan of action, and the commissioners alone were enough for that. After rising, Han Rui did not leave immediately but approached Wang Tao, her expression a mix of anger and pleading: ¡°Wang Tao, Commissioner Wang, please let me join the mission. I want to avenge Old Song with my own hands! Please!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll consider it.¡± Wang Tao nodded, neither agreeing nor outright refusing. ¡°Thank you!¡± Han Rui brought her hands together in gratitude toward Wang Tao. Once everyone left, only the seven commissioners remained in the meeting room. Lu Gang spoke without hesitation: ¡± I can lead this mission. As long as we know their exact location, I can snipe them directly!¡± ¡°Noway!¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head firmly, ¡°It¡¯s too risky! You were just saying this morning how dangerous it is to fire a gun outside, as it could attract Mad Demon Zombies... Besides, they may not be near the windows, and you may not have a shot for a clean kill.¡± ¡°But...¡± Lu Gang¡¯s face contorted with discontent. Wei Zhenguo turned to Wang Tao to explain: ¡°Lu Gang reported this morning that sniping special zombies has become much more difficult. Wherever he shoots, Mad Demon Zombies appear, so the idea of sniping the murderer... it doesn¡¯t seem suitable...¡± ¡°Snipe them? That would be letting them off easy! If you ask me, I should lead the assault, storm in directly!¡± Wang Tao sneered coldly. ¡°What?¡± The others were somewhat shocked. The adversaries had the high ground and were armed. Wasn¡¯t Wang Tao being too reckless? Life isn¡¯t a game; you only have one! ¡°Although... my strength still lacks somewhat.¡± Wang Tao shook his head regretfully, ¡°If only I had some more Zombie Cores to enhance my strength... that would be more reassuring!¡± Chapter 110 - 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 1 Chapter 110: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 1 Translator: 549690339 , ¡°Zombie Cores enhance strength? We have Zombie Cores?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Lu Gang blurted out without thinking. ¡°Can I use them?¡± Wang Tao looked towards the other few people. The committee members exchanged glances with each other, and Wei Zhengu opened his mouth to say: ¡°You¡¯re also a committee member, so naturally, you can use them, as long as most people agree. However...¡± Ren Jie continued: ¡°However, these Zombie Cores were not obtained easily. We can¡¯t waste them and we can¡¯t let a single person use them all. So... ahem, please be a bit more ¡¯ conservative.¡± The other committee members also expressed their opinions. The use of the Zombie Cores could currently only be decided by the committee, but they shouldn¡¯t be used haphazardly. Wang Tao could certainly use them, after all he was a committee member. But he couldn¡¯t take them all for himself. Even if he was the only Ability User right now, the cores couldn¡¯t be given to him exclusively. ¡°Haha, rest assured on that matter!¡± Seeing that everyone had no objections, Wang Tao felt somewhat happy and he explained with a smile: ¡°Even as an Ability User, not all Zombie Cores can be used; it¡¯s best to use the same type. One person might be able to merge many cores of the same type, but definitely can¡¯t merge too many of different types. So even if I wanted to use many cores, I couldn¡¯t...¡± ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Everyone suddenly understood. Wang Tao took the opportunity to tell them about the situation with Zombie Cores and Ability Users. In the future, if they became Ability Users, they would definitely discover these things. Wang Tao was just offering them a favor. After all, they had agreed to let him use the Zombie Cores, so he should at least show some gratitude. The committee members all pricked up their ears to listen to WangTao¡¯s popular science lesson, as it was a rare opportunity. ¡°I want to become an Ability User too! Even if there are side effects, it¡¯s still better than being an ordinary person!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an clenched his fists. ¡°That¡¯s only natural.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°You guys discuss first, I¡¯ll go get the Zombie Cores.¡± Lu Gang stood up and left the meeting room. In Shuize Base, most of the Zombie Cores had been hunted by Lu Gang given that he had always specifically hunted special zombies. Thus, he managed the cores. It had to be said, the trust everyone placed in Lu Gang was substantial, which also proved that his integrity was commendable. Moreover, WangTao noticed that there were no impurities in his body! This meant that despite having hunted so many special zombies, he had never merged even a single Crystal Core! One had to say, such self-restraint was really impressive! Soon, Lu Gang came back carrying a backpack. ¡°Sigh, it¡¯s very difficult to collect Zombie Cores now... All the cores of our base are here...¡± Lu Gang sighed. Before the emergence of Mad Demon Zombies, he could snipe special zombies from a distance and retreat before zombies arrived. As long as the escape route was prepared in advance, there would be no problem. But now, that was no longer possible. Mad Demon Zombies were simply everywhere! If you prepared in advance, you could also retreat, but the risk was still too great. Yesterday, after he sniped a special zombie, he was surrounded by arriving Mad Demons, and if not for his two assistants, he might have already been done for... Wang Tao took the backpack and opened it in front of everyone. Gurgle- Upon seeing the Zombie Cores in the backpack, everyone instinctively swallowed. As an Ability User who had seen many Zombie Cores, Wang Tao appeared much calmer than them. However, upon seeing the Cores inside, Wang Tao became slightly agitated. Good lord, no wonder their fusion experiments failed several times-all seven Zombie Cores here were of White Ordinary Quality. The fusion success rate of White Ordinary Crystal Cores was 20%, so it made sense that not a single attempt had succeeded. ¡°Oh right, I got another Crystal Core yesterday, I forgot to take it out of the car but that one is blue...¡±??????? ¡¯ Lu Gang went out again, and before long, he walked in with a blue Crystal Core. Wang Tao really looked at Lu Gang with new respect. To hold a Crystal Core in his hands and have the discipline not to use it... Wang Tao himself hadn¡¯t been able to resist. ¡°You really are impressive, to be able to hold out like that...¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. Upon hearing this, Lu Gang smiled and shook his head. ¡°Back when I carried out missions, I could lie in one spot for 24 hours without moving much. The temptation of a Zombie Core really isn¡¯t that big a deal for me.¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± No wonder everyone agreed to let Lu Gang manage the Zombie Cores-his self-discipline was strong. When Wang Tao saw the Crystal Core in Lu Gang¡¯s hand, his face lit up with joy. It was a Shockwave Crystal Core! [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Sensitivity to light)] Today, Wang Tao had killed a Terrorizer Zombie on his way back, obtaining an [Excellent (60%)] Quality Core! Didn¡¯t this mean he could merge an Epic Crystal Core without any side effects! ¡°I need this Core!¡± Wang Tao spoke up directly. ¡°Sure.¡± Lu Gang handed over the Shockwave Crystal Core to Wang Tao, then he asked curiously: Why is this Crystal Core blue, while the others are white?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯ t hide anything, explaining: Because the blue one has a higher fusion success rate.¡± ¡°How much higher?¡± The others looked somewhat excited, if the success rate was high, didn¡¯t it mean they too had a chance of becoming Ability Users? However, WangTao¡¯s next words left them somewhat disappointed. Chapter 111 - 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 2 Chapter 111: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 2 Translator: 549690339 The success rate of fusing White Zombie Cores is roughly 20%, and these are the lowest quality cores. For blue ones, it¡¯s 40%... Don¡¯t ask howl know, once you become Ability Users, you¡¯ll just sense it.¡± Wang Tao certainly couldn¡¯t explain his special ability, so he attributed everything to being an Ability User. If others couldn¡¯ t discover it after becoming Ability Users themselves, then it could only be said that people are different... ¡°Only 40%!¡± Ren Jie shook his head. A probability of less than 50% didn¡¯t seem high. Of course, that was still much better than the 20% for White ones. It was only then that everyone understood why Wang Tao¡¯s expression had been a bit strange just now. It turned out that all the Zombie Cores they had were of the lowest quality... There are even higher-quality cores, with Purple ones at 60%, Red at 80% and Orange at 100%!¡± *Hiss¡ª* ¡°So you¡¯re saying, if I can get an Orange Zombie Core, my chances of becoming an Ability User are 100%?¡± Lu Gang was somewhat excited. Although he had strong self-control, this didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t want to become an Ability User. The main reason for his self-control was that he wasn¡¯t sure if there were any downsides to eating these Zombie Cores-fortunately, he hadn¡¯t eaten any, as he had learned from Wei Zhenguo that the cores all contained impurities which would accumulate whether the fusion was successful or not! ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Tao nodded, then added, ¡°So I suggest, if you all really want to try fusing with Zombie Cores to become Ability Users, it¡¯s best to choose Purple Red, or Orange ones.¡±? ¡¯ ¡°What kind of core did you fuse with when you gained your ability?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked curiously. ¡°Orange.¡± Wang Tao had indeed fused with an Orange core, albeit through the synthesis of two cores. ¡°No wonder!¡± The crowd suddenly realized why none of them had gained an ability from their experiments while Wang Tao had-turns out he used a core with a 100% fusion success rate! So, do you ail still agree to let me use this core?¡± Wang Tao displayed the Blue Crystal Core in his hand. Everyone nodded in agreement. Although the success rate of Blue Crystal Cores was higher than that of White ones, a probability of 40% was still low. An unsuccessful fusion with a Zombie Core could lead to accumulation of impurities in the body, which could eventually turn someone into a zombie! It was a bit risky, and even Xiang Hongbin, who had already fused with a Zombie Core, wanted to play it safe this time. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take it then.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then cast his gaze once more upon the other Zombie Cores which he had not yet had the chance to properly examine. There were a total of seven Zombie Cores, including three [Level 1 Crystal Cores ¨C Self Detonation], one [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Glutton], one [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Toughness], one [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Self-healing], and one [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Rush]. Apart from ¡°Self-healing,¡± Wang Tao had seen all of the others. And it seemed that, except for Self Detonation and Glutton, he could use the rest! ¡°Cough, to be honest with you guys, I¡¯ve found that these cores seem to be useful to me...¡± Everyone: Zem all? S¡ãme th6m? Wang Ta¡ã thinking ¡ãf taking Even though these were just White Rank, Ordinary Zombie Cores, it still wasn¡¯t right to take them all away. Besides, everyone would definitely not agree to it. However, Wang Tao quickly added: ¡°Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be right for me to take all of them, so how about I take two more? What do you think?¡± *Phew¡ª* Upon hearing that Wang Tao would take only two more, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Sure!¡± Wei Zhenguo was the first to nod, and the others also expressed their agreement. Counting the Blue Crystal Core from before, that made a total of eight cores Wang Tao would be taking three-he was taking many, but for them, it was still acceptable. It was better than Wang Tao taking them all. Wang Tao naturally chose [Iron Skin] and [Self-healing] as the two additional cores. He had obtained an ¡°Excellent (80%)¡± Toughness core the day before. Coupled wtth this ¡°Ordinary (20%)¡± one, he could now create an Epic Crystal Core. Getting two Epic Crystal Cores in one day felt great! As for the [Self-healing], while Wang Tao didn¡¯t need it immediately, it represented a significant Ability! [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Self-healing] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Reduced tactile sensation)] [Self-healing: Over a duration, allows slow recovery from certain injuries] If he gamed the Self-healing ability, combined with Iron Skin, wouldn¡¯t he become an indestructible cockroach? But the specifics would only be known after gaining the ability. For now, he¡¯d keep the core, which might come in handy later. As for the [Rush] Crystal Core, although Wang Tao could use it, his current Rush Crystal Core was of ¡°Excellent (60%)¡± Quality. Even adding this Core would only make it 80%, not the 100% Epic Quality. Naturally, he would not use it. He didn¡¯t want to accumulate impurities within his body. After taking the two Zombie Cores, Wang Tao asked about the specifics of this Self-healing zombie, in case he had the chance to encounter it in the future and needed to be cautious. Lu Gang told him it was an obese zombie. When he had sniped it before, he thought he had killed it each time, but it didn¡¯t die. It took several shots to finally kill it... Wang Tao mentally noted the appearance of this particular zombie to be wary in the future. Of course, Wang Tao also inquired about the origin of the Iron Skin Zombie Core. They had encountered a large horde of zombies half a month ago and killed them just by spraying them with gunfire. The Defense was high on the tough ones, but they couldn¡¯t withstand a barrage of bullets. Chapter 112 - 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Chapter 112: Chapter 89: Merging Two Epic Crystal Cores 3 Translator: 549690339 As for the Self-Destruct Crystal Core, these were obtained in recent days, and Lu Gang hasn¡¯t yet remembered to inform the base about the information on Suicide Bombing Zombies. Otherwise, Xiang Hongbin wouldn¡¯t have been so unlucky. Wang Tao, you have to tell us, what are the functions of these Zombie Cores?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an suddenly said. Everyone turned their gaze to Wang Tao, as they had some guesses about the abilities of these Zombie Cores, but after all, they were not very certain. Alright. First, I¡¯ll talk about the three Crystal Cores I took, which are Shockwave, Toughness, and Self-healing...¡± Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. Besides a more detailed explanation of Shockwave, he didn¡¯t say much about Toughness and Self-healing, since he hadn¡¯t learned them himself. Moreover, he said these were deductions made from the Zombie Cores¡¯ characteristics, which might not be accurate. Everyone was a bit bewildered because aside from the Shockwave Crystal Core, which clearly had a moving ripple inside, the Toughness Crystal Core had a small black figure inside, and the Self-healing Crystal Core had a green seed inside... How could one deduce their uses from that? However, Wang Tao was an Ability User, and they were not, so what Wang Tao said was taken as authoritative, and they couldn¡¯t refute it. ¡°As for the remaining few Crystal Cores, they are Self-Destruct, Rush and Glutton...¡± After listening to Wang Tao¡¯s explanation for these three Crystal Cores, several people looked at each other with uncertainty. Rush was understandable, as this Ability seemed similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Shockwave and was an offensive ability. But Glutton and Self-Destruct were just absurd. Especially Self-Destruct, even if one learned this ability, one could only use it once in a lifetime... ¡°Could we consider creating some suicide bombers?¡± Xiang Hongbin suddenly spoke up. Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and Wei Zhenguo glared at Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Impossible, we¡¯re losing soldiers as it is! They¡¯re precious!¡± ¡°Cough, I wasn¡¯t talking about our soldiers...¡± Everyone fell into silence. ¡°If we encounter insurmountable difficulties, having suicide bombers might change the outcome... I¡¯ve seen the power of Suicide Bombing Zombies, they¡¯re comparable to a small bomb...¡± Xiang Hongbin noticed nobody was speaking and shook his head. ¡®???Forget it, it¡¯s impractical. Nobody wants to be a suicide bomber it has to be voluntary. Survivors don¡¯t have that awareness, although we do... but we don¡¯t have enough people, sigh!¡± Wang Tao wiped the nonexistent sweat from his forehead. Good grief, they were actually considering suicide bombers? He¡¯d thought that the Self-Destruct Crystal Core was useless... Indeed, he had been thinking too small! ¡°As for Glutton, it could also be a good ability. If someone could gain this ability, couldn¡¯t they become like a human shield?¡± But it can¡¯t defend against the zombie virus, and to sustain a Glutton, our base¡¯s food might not be sufficient...¡± ¡°...Alright then, they all seem powerful, but also have big limitations!¡± Xiang Hongbin sighed. The information I have on Zombie Cores is just as I¡¯ve said. If you get any Zombie Cores in the future and want to fuse them, I suggest you show them to me first so I can give you some advice...¡± Wang Tao spread his hands. ¡°Of course!¡± Everyone nodded. Even if Wang Tao hadn¡¯t mentioned it, they would¡¯ve done the same. After all, having a living Ability User amongst them, it was natural to seek his counsel on issues. ¡°Alright then, if there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be on my way. I¡¯ll see if I can fuse with this Shockwave Crystal Core; if I can, my strength should increase substantially...¡± ¡°Great! We¡¯ll wait for your good news!¡± Everyone nodded. After Wang Tao left, they all looked at the Zombie Cores on the table, swallowing hard. Xiang Hongbin looked at Wei Zhenguo and said: ¡°Old Wei, do you think we should start focusing on hunting special zombies? I want to become an Ability User too!¡± Wei Zhenguo was conflicted. ¡°Killing special zombies is too risky... but we do need to enhance our strength! Who knows if there will be other freaky zombies showing up...¡± The zombies outside now, I feel, have already gotten stronger! In the past, when I hunted special zombies, one shot to the head would do it, but now it¡¯ takes two or three shots! Not to mention those Mad Demon Zombies, which make it so I can¡¯t even snipe properly...¡± ¡°I should discuss this with Wang Tao later...¡± On his way home, Wang Tao synthesized the [Iron Skin] and [Shockwave] zombie cores he had placed in his Space Backpack. A moment later, he obtained two orange Epic Crystal Cores! [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (no side effects)] [Level 1 Crystal Core-Iron Skin] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (no side effects)] Looking at these two orange crystal cores, Wang Tao felt elated. Joining Shuize Base was indeed the right decision; otherwise, it would have taken him much more time to collect the crystal cores on his own. He returned to Building 8, where Ding Yuqin was wearing an apron and cooking dinner. ¡°Wang Tao, dinner will be ready soon!¡± ¡°Okay. But I¡¯m going to merge with a zombie core, so don¡¯t disturb me.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Wang Tao went back to his room, then took out the Orange Shockwave Crystal Core and, without any hesitation, tossed it into his mouth. Instantly, a warm sensation emerged in his body and then disappeared, similar to the last time. Wang Tao checked his attributes. There were no changes elsewhere, just that his mana increased by 100, now totaling 200. Merger with a single zombie core increases mana by too?¡± As for whether the Shockwave ability had strengthened, he would have to test it. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go to test it right away but instead took out another Orange Toughness Crystal Core and threw it into his mouth. ¡°Whew¡ª so hot...¡± Wang Tao felt his body getting a tad warm, but it wasn¡¯t too uncomfortable. He stripped off all his clothes and lay down on the bed for a while. Inwardly, Wang Tao felt that with his current strength, he could probably merge with only one or two more different types of zombie cores at most, otherwise there might be trouble! However, continuing to merge with the same types of cores that he had already merged with seemed to pose no problem; it felt like he could merge with many more of the same type... Who knows how many minutes passed, but Wang Tao felt the heat on his body slowly dissipate, and he quickly checked his attributes again. His mana had increased by another 100, reaching 300. And a new skill ¡°Iron Skin¡± appeared in his abilities. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be any change so far...¡± With a thought, Wang Tao activated the Iron Skin ability. Then, he found that the skin on his body suddenly became very hard, feeling cool and stonelike to the touch, but he still had sensation; it wasn¡¯t as if he had actually turned to stone. Moreover, his agility wasn¡¯t affected at all! And of course, he didn¡¯t turn black. Wang Tao observed his mana; it was depleting by 1 point every second. In other words, his 300 mana could last for 5 minutes! Of course, that¡¯s assuming he didn¡¯t use any other abilities. ¡°This ability is interesting...¡± But soon, Wang Tao discovered something even more interesting. His Iron Skin could not only affect his entire body, but he could also localize it to specific body parts. After deactivating Iron Skin from his entire body, Wang Tao looked at a specific part of his body and thought. It became hard, his finger became hard. Chapter 113 - 90 Assault_l Chapter 113: Chapter 90 Assault_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± When Wang Tao came out of the bedroom, Ding Yuqin hurriedly ran over and grabbed his hand, asking with some concern. ¡°Of course I¡¯m fine,¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s this? Why is it so hard?¡± Ding Yuqin was taken aback, then she held Wang Tao¡¯s hand, a curious look on her face, ¡°Your hand... ¡°I¡¯ve learned a new Ability that can make some parts of the body hard. Let¡¯s try it out tonight.¡± Wang Tao poked Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek with his rigid fingers. ¡°Ah? How are we going to try it ¡ª Hey! You¡¯re so bad! Ding Yuqin¡¯s face suddenly reddened, perhaps thinking of something. She lightly punched Wang Tao¡¯s chest. ¡°I haven¡¯t even said anything yet! Sister-in-law, you sure know a lot, huh?¡± ¡°...You pervert! Time to eat!¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face was still red as she pulled Wang Tao to the dining table. After a simple meal, Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin. ¡°I have something else to do; you tidy up the house. If you need help, just call the guards outside.¡± ¡°Okay! I¡¯ve got to get all these leeks planted...¡± In the afternoon, Wang Tao went to the main building again. Only Wei Zhenguo and Ren Jie were there. ¡°You¡¯re done already? Did it go smoothly?¡± Wei Zhenguo was somewhat surprised. ¡°It¡¯s done, everything went smoothly.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Then let¡¯s discuss how we¡¯re going to deal with the survivors at the old mall!¡± Wei Zhenguo used the walkie-talkie to call over the other committee members. After discussing, they decided to have Wang Tao lead the team. Wang Tao would take the lead, with the others supporting him. With Shuize Base¡¯s strength, they could easily deal with those survivors. However, the problem was that there was a particularly powerful zombie there. Judging by the way the first floor of the mall was destroyed, this zombie was too strong, and they might not be able to defeat it. Zombies don¡¯t fight with honor; they come in large groups... For safety¡¯s sake, it¡¯s better not to use guns. After all, they were going for revenge, not a mutual destruction. Of course, if they didn¡¯t use guns, they had to try not to let the other side use guns as well. So, they could only have Wang Tao lead the team. Given the current situation, without the use of thermal weapons, Wang Tao was likely the strongest person in the base. He was an Ability User with combat Abilities. If he couldn¡¯t handle it, then no one else could. ¡°Wang Tao, how many people are you going to bring with you? Ren Jie asked. ¡°Just one person. The rest of you just need to back me up from the outside. Wang Tao shook his head. Going by himself or with one other person, the adversaries probably wouldn t be too vigilant. But if there were more people, it might threaten them, and that could cause them to open fire. ¡°Just two people... Okay!¡± Wei Zhenguo was a bit worried, but he remembered having seen an Ability User, whose combat strength was much stronger than that of an ordinary person. Without guns, ordinary people had no chance against Ability Users. Although he had not seen Wang Tao¡¯s true strength, Wang Tao obviously wouldn¡¯t be worse than the Ability User he had seen before. ¡°Who are you bringing? Old Xiang? Little Lu?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked again. Xiang Hongbin and Lu Gang both looked at Wang Tao eagerly, wanting to try their luck. They had not yet had a chance to watch an Ability User fight; they wanted to witness it firsthand. But Wang Tao shook his head and named someone else. ¡°Han Rui.¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was taken aback. ¡°You¡¯re taking Han Rui? Is she a strong fighter?¡± Ren Jie was puzzled. ¡°Not really. It¡¯s just that I promised her the opportunity to take revenge with her own hands. You know, I knew her before and we had some ties.¡± ¡°I see... No problem! As long as she doesn¡¯t object to it.¡± Wei Zhenguo nodded. Han Rui, being a detective, was capable of fighting and wouldn¡¯t slow Wang Tao down. After discussing a few more details, they decided to go the next day. The current rain made it easier to move out. If they waited for clear weather, it would be much more dangerous to go out. After confirming the plan, Wang Tao went downstairs to look for Han Rui. She was there just in time. ¡°Tomorrow, you come with me. The two of us are going to the old mall together.¡± ¡°Thankyou!¡± Han Rui wiped her swollen eyes and gratefully responded to Wang Tao before asking, ¡°Do I need to make any preparations? ¡°Just rest well and be in your best shape.¡± Wang Tao patted Han Rui¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Okay!¡± After confirming there were no issues with Han Rui, Wang Tao went back. He wasn¡¯t bringing Han Rui because she had asked for his help, but because of her Perception Ability. As the saying goes, even when a lion hunts a rabbit, it uses its full strength. Wang Tao knew that Cao Xin and his four men were no match for him, but he wasn¡¯t going to let his guard down. Therefore, it was necessary to bring Han Rui. At the very least, she could sense if the opponents were hiding people ready to ambush him. That night, Wang Tao didn¡¯t fulfill his promise to ¡®try it out¡¯ with Ding Yuqin. After all, there was a battle tomorrow, and it was better to conserve energy. This caused Ding Yuqin to cast somewhat resentful glances toward Wang Tao. She had been ready to receive Wang Tao¡¯s ¡¯whip¡¯, but he didn t come... Wang Tao¡¯s self-control was still quite good. After exercising at night, he washed up and went to bed, rising early the next day. After finishing the breakfast carefully prepared by Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao left the house fully armed. The rain still hadn¡¯t stopped. Looking at the rain outside, Wang Tao furrowed his brow. This on-and-off rain had lasted for over a week. Although it wasn¡¯t pouring, such persistent rain had caused puddles on the road. Chapter 114 - 90 Assault_2 Chapter 114: Chapter 90 Assault_2 Translator: 549690339 In some poorly drained areas of the base, it looked just like a river at first glance. Although the rain reduces the zombies¡¯ perception, too much of a good thing isn¡¯t always better¡ªconstant rain doesn¡¯t seem to be a good thing... Arriving at the comprehensive building, several commissioners had already gathered. Han Rui happened to walk in with Wang Tao. Today, she wasn¡¯t wearing her police uniform but a body-hugging, deep blue dress that ended just above the knees, paired with skin-colored stockings and a pair of white sneakers. Han Rui had also styled her hair into large waves, wore light makeup, and had her lips painted a bright red... Wang Tao¡¯s eyes shone bright. The old Han Rui was valiant; the current Han Rui was enchantingly attractive. Having grown used to seeing Han Rui in a police uniform, the sudden sight of her dressed up made her seem especially alluring. Han Rui confidently displayed herself in front of Wang Tao, then asked expectantly, ¡°Commissioner Wang, what do you think of my outfit today?¡± ¡°Very pretty, very feminine!¡± Wang Tao responded without hesitation. Han Rui blushed and quickly said, ¡°...Ahem, what I meant to ask was, if I wear this to the old shopping mall, they shouldn¡¯t suspect me, right? It wasn¡¯t easy finding these clothes... If I wore my police uniform, they might just open fire...¡± It turned out Han Rui was talking about official business. After looking her over again, Wang Tao nodded. ¡°It¡¯ll work, you can pretend to be a survivor who just stepped out of their home and then either I rescue you, or I take you hostage. That would be plausible.¡± Actually, Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t reasonable at all¡ªafter all, who would still dress up so meticulously at the end of the world? However, the heavy rain outside continued, and by the time he brought Han Rui into the mall, Ding Yuqin would surely be drenched, making any meticulous dress meaningless. So whatever the attire didn¡¯t matter. Of course, he did find the current look very pleasing to the eye and quite liked it. The two went upstairs, exchanged information with Wei Zhenguo and the rest to confirm there were no issues, and everyone immediately set into motion. This time, besides Wang Tao, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, and Feng Ming¡¯an also joined; they were to provide support for Wang Tao from outside in case of unexpected situations. Wei Zhenguo was still wheelchair-bound, naturally unable to join, and the others lacked combat strength, so they just waited at the base for news. In total, there were three military-modified off-road vehicles carrying twelve fully armed individuals, including Wang Tao. The rain outside grew heavier, but it didn¡¯ t pose much of an issue for the military vehicles. After avoiding zombies along the way, they finally saw the old shopping mall two hours later. Wang Tao and his people didn¡¯t plan to approach the old shopping mall but instead arrived near the electric pole that hung the severed head of Song Jinghong. Seeing the head hanging high, Han Rui¡¯s tears instantly welled up in her eyes. The others also wore expressions of rage, but everyone remained rational, as below the electric pole were more than a dozen zombies attracted by the head and unwilling to leave. ¡°You stay in the car; I¡¯ll take care of the zombies.¡± To save time, Wang Tao spoke up directly. ¡°By yourself?¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I alone am enough.¡± Besides saving time, Wang Tao also wanted to test his current strength. After all, he had fused with three Zombie Cores and didn¡¯t even know how strong he was now. ¡°Alright!¡± This mission was led by Wang Tao, and everyone had to cooperate with him, so there was no objection. They also took this opportunity to see just how powerful an Ability User could be. Apart from Han Rui, none of the others had seen an Ability User¡¯s power. Han Rui also looked at Wang Tao with some anticipation; she felt that the last time she saw Wang Tao in action, that wasn¡¯t his full strength¡ªWang Tao must be even stronger! Wang Tao, holding a firefighter axe, walked casually towards the group of zombies. The rest readied their guns in case of any unforeseen circumstances. It wasn¡¯t until he got about a meter close to one of the zombies that it belatedly became aware of Wang Tao. ¡°Grrrr...¡± The zombie turned around and lunged at Wang Tao. Without a word, Wang Tao lifted the firefighter axe, chopping at the zombie¡¯s head. At the same time, he quietly used his Shockwave Ability. Squelch! [-500] A swing of the axe killed the zombie easily, and from its head, the Shockwave rippled outward. Bang! [-500] [-500] 1-500] The dozen or so zombies were almost simultaneously headshot, falling slowly to the ground, leaving only Wang Tao standing. ¡°Huh? The power really increased a lot! The range of the Shockwave expanded too!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the improvement was even greater than he had imagined. With a thought, he collected all the drops from the zombies, then cut the rope on the electric pole. Swish¡ª The severed head dropped instantly, and Wang Tao caught it with a bag he had prepared in advance. Then he headed back to the convoy. Inside the vehicle, everyone was somewhat dumbfounded. They hadn¡¯t even had time to react; in their eyes, Wang Tao just exited the car, walked up, swung his axe at one zombie, and then all the zombies had their heads blown off... Some saw the shockwave, while others hadn¡¯t seen anything clearly at all. This is an Ability User? Isn¡¯t that a bit too strong? If it were them trying to kill these zombies, even a full clip of bullets might not suffice, but Wang Tao had headshot them all with just one swing! The few soldiers also then understood why Wang Tao had become a commissioner. With such strength, his position as a commissioner was well deserved! Chapter 115 - 90 Assault 3 Chapter 115: Chapter 90 Assault 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao got in the car and handed over the prepared head to one of the soldiers. The car started, but Xiang Hongbin and the others remained silent for a long time. Not until they arrived outside the old mall did Xiang Hongbin hammer the seat fiercely. ¡°Damn it! I want to become an Ability User too!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± The others immediately echoed. Han Rui really wanted to say, not all Ability Users are so powerful; she is a counterexample... ¡°Yeah, you guys keep it up!¡± Wang Tao smiled and then said seriously, ¡°Take action.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao got out of the car, and Han Rui hurriedly followed, with the others quickly finding cover. Wang Tao, fully armed, was not afraid of getting wet from the rain. As Wang Tao had predicted, Han Rui was instantly drenched like a drowned rat. But you have to admit, there¡¯s a special beauty to Han Rui like this. Especially when her dress clung to her body. Although it wasn¡¯t see-through, the barely- there allure was even more lethal. Of course, Wang Tao was a decent man. After stealing several glances, he then entered the mall with Han Rui. Looking at the first floor of the mall, which had been heavily damaged, Han Rui was shocked. How powerful must a zombie be to cause such massive destruction! No wonder even the strong Wang Tao was still so cautious! ¡°Can you sense any people?¡± Wang Tao asked in a low voice. ¡°There¡¯s one person at the stair entrance, not far from us. I can¡¯t sense anyone else for the time being...¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then headed straight for the stairs with Han Rui closely following behind him. The person hiding in the dark did not avoid them. When Wang Tao approached, he came out. Seeing Han Rui, a tinge of greed flashed in the depths of his eyes. ¡°Brother Chen, what is this...?¡± Wang Tao paused for a moment before he realized that he had previously introduced himself as Chen Zhuang, so the address of Brother Chen was for him. ¡°Haven¡¯t eaten for a day, just passing by your place, borrowing something to eat shouldn¡¯t be too much, right?¡± Wang Tao spoke indifferently. ¡°...I, I can¡¯t decide that, I have to ask our boss.¡± The underling looked troubled. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s go up and find your boss.¡± Wang Tao directly took Han Rui¡¯s hand and started to walk upstairs, with Han Rui keeping her head down as if she was afraid, but in reality, she was quietly using her Ability to sense her surroundings. The underling only made a symbolic attempt to stop them, thinking that Wang Tao, being out and about with a beautiful woman, probably just came to ask for something. If Wang Tao wanted to harm them, why would he bring a cumbersome woman along? The underling followed behind Wang Tao, looking at Han Rui, he licked his lips and said: ¡°Brother Chen, this beauty is...¡± ¡°Picked her up along the way, planning to take her home to be my wife,¡± Wang Tao said without looking back. ¡°Picked up?¡± The underling was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized, immediately showing an ¡®I understand¡¯ expression. Why pretend, clearly he must have captured a survivor and taken the person hostage! But that said or not, this woman is really something! Much better than those women upstairs! When they arrived on the second floor, Han Rui suddenly staggered a bit. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao looked at Han Rui with a hint of impatience in his voice. ¡°I, I¡¯m so hungry, I have no strength left...¡± Han Rui pretended to be extremely weak and directly leaned on Wang Tao¡¯s body as if she couldn¡¯t walk anymore. Seeing this, Wang Tao wrapped his arm around Han Rui¡¯s waist, allowing her to cling to him. Seizing the opportunity, Han Rui tiptoed and whispered nervously into Wang Tao¡¯s ear, ¡°There are so many people and zombies upstairs!¡± ¡°???¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. So many people? Had their team expanded in the few days he hadn¡¯t seen them? But what about the zombies? Could people really live together with zombies? Wang Tao also became somewhat nervous; after all, the unknown was the most terrifying thing. But having come this far, it was impossible not to go upstairs. Pretending to have discovered nothing, Wang Tao supported Han Rui¡¯s waist and strode upstairs. Upstairs, Cao Xin and a lackey were waiting for him. Wang Tao¡¯s original plan had been to quickly take down Cao Xin and his people upon sight. But with Han Rui mentioning that there were many people here, and even zombies, he had to change his plan on the fly. Moreover, Wang Tao noticed that Cao Xin had gained a considerable amount of weight since their last meeting, especially around the belly. But that wasn¡¯t the focus; the important thing was that Cao Xin now had a blue bar, meaning he had become an Ability User! However, his HP was still low, only ¡°220,¡± and he would likely not withstand a single axe blow from himself. Cao Xin, upon seeing Wang Tao, couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit scared, as the impression of Wang Tao slaughtering zombies like chopping vegetables was deeply etched in his mind. But upon remembering his own new-found Ability, he instantly straightened his back. No matter how strong brute force might be, it couldn¡¯t compare to even a hair of an Ability! Especially upon seeing the pitiful Han Rui in Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, a glint of greed flashed in Cao Xin¡¯s eyes. Even though he couldn¡¯t see Han Rui¡¯s face clearly, he knew she was definitely the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in reality! He wanted that woman! Cao Xin¡¯s face revealed a beaming smile. ¡°Brother Chen, what brings you here...¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t eaten for a day, I was hoping to borrow some food from you.¡± At these words, a look of difficulty crossed Cao Xin¡¯s face. ¡°But we don¡¯t have much food left either¡ªtruly, we¡¯re out... Ah, forget it, who makes me such a sociable person! I¡¯ll get it for you!¡± Cao Xin immediately headed towards the other end of the hall; to the unknowing observer, he may really seem like a friend to Wang Tao. Wang Tao, still holding Han Rui by the waist, nonchalantly sat on the sofa. He noticed that Seventh Brother Yang whom he had met before was nowhere to be seen. Now, there were only Cao Xin and his two lackeys in the hall. Han Rui, seemingly very scared, leaned against Wang Tao¡¯s chest and then whispered quietly, ¡°Cao Xin has a handgun at the back of his waist. The other people and zombies are all behind the iron door on the left. But I have this hunch that those people and zombies are weak. It seems like... they have been locked up? Yes, they must be locked up, the zombies are shuffling in place!¡± ¡°Hmm? Locked up...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s main concern was confirming whether these people were Cao Xin¡¯s accomplices. If they were locked up, that clearly indicated they were not on Cao Xin¡¯s side! In that case... things were getting simpler! ¡°Here you go! Brother Chen, I have a pack of bread here for you just in case...¡± Cao Xin came over with a pack of bread that had been opened and some condiments added to it. Wang Tao stood up to take the bread, with a coffee table separating the two men. Suddenly, Wang Tao grabbed Cao Xin¡¯s hand! In that instant, Cao Xin hadn¡¯t yet reacted when he saw Wang Tao yank forcefully. Crash¡ª Cao Xin stumbled and landed harshly on the coffee table, which split under his weight, making him grimace in pain. Han Rui quickly got up, snatching the handgun tucked at Cao Xin¡¯s back, and at the same time, she pulled out another handgun from Wang Tao¡¯s waist, pointing both guns at the two lackeys. ¡°Hands on your heads, squat down!¡± Chapter 116 - 91: Capture_1 Chapter 116: Chapter 91: Capture_1 Translator: 549690339 1 This all happened too quickly, and the two underlings were somewhat dumbfounded. Looking at the dark muzzles of the guns, neither dared to move. Cao Xin hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to make a move, but now he was an Ability User! Wang Tao, just an Ordinary with a bit more strength, how could he possibly be his match! ¡°Looking for death¡ªugh!¡± Bang! Cao Xin suddenly felt a huge force stepping on his back, the entire wooden coffee table shattered, and his chest and back immediately suffered excruciating pain. ¡°You-¡± Cao Xin tried to turn his head, but Wang Tao had firmly grabbed his head, rendering him immobile. Feeling the powerful force on his body, Cao Xin knew he temporarily couldn¡¯t resist, and he immediately started to beg for mercy, his voice raw. Cough cough¡ªBrother Chen, we have no grudges, why...¡± ¡°Why? You know why.¡± Wang Tao kept pressing down on him firmly, preventing him from turning over, and took out a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and handcuffed his hands behind his back. Wang Tao guessed that Cao Xin¡¯s Ability must be related to his body size, which had clearly gained a lot of weight compared to a few days ago, his belly also much larger. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what the other¡¯s Ability specifically was, he could only handcuff him first. If he showed any sign of wrongdoing, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t leave a survivor. After feeling the handcuffs on his back, Cao Xin immediately understood everything, his tone somewhat panicked. ¡°You, you are a police officer!¡± Many people have a natural sense of awe towards police officers, especially those with a shady background like him. Even if it were the apocalypse, even though he had personally killed a police officer, he was still instinctively afraid. ¡°It seems you have realized.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice was somewhat cold. No, it snot me! I didn¡¯t kill the cop, I picked up this gun!¡± Cao Xin hurriedly argued, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay attention to him; instead, he looked at the two underlings who dared not move. ¡°Cao Xin¡¯s Ability, what is it? Spill it, and I¡¯ll spare your lives.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The two underlings squatting on the ground were stunned, lifting their heads instinctively. ¡°How does he know his own boss has an Ability?¡± Cao Xm was also stunned for a moment, he quickly spoke up: ¡°What Ability? I don¡¯t have any¡ªmmph!¡± He hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Wang Tao pressed him fiercely to the ground, his mouth against the shattered coffee table, unable to speak. ¡°We, we don¡¯t know...¡± The two underlings shook their heads frantically. They felt that as long as they didn¡¯t reveal their boss¡¯s Ability, there was still a chance for him to turn the tables, so they dared not say a word. Wang Tao didn ¡®t speak again, instead, he directly took out a Firefighter Axe and flung it at one of the underlings. Whoosh- Bang! The Firefighter Axe landed directly between the legs of the underling, who only then belatedly looked down. ¡°I don¡¯t want to repeat myself, his Ability... what is it.¡± Wang Tao held another Firefighter Axe in his hand and then stared at the underling. ¡°It¡¯s...¡± The underling was scared and subconsciously about to speak. The other underling quickly spoke up. ¡°Brother Chen, you¡¯ve really got it wrong! Our boss really doesn¡¯t have anv Ability!¡± ¡°Truly courting death.¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected this underling to be so loyal; he hurled another Flying Axe. ¡°Ah-¡± The underling couldn¡¯t see Wang Tao¡¯s action clearly before he felt his entire body topple backward, slamming directly into the wall, and then he felt an excruciating pain in his right palm. ¡°My hand¡ª¡± He turned his head and saw, to his horror, an axe had pierced through the center of his right hand and was firmly embedded in the wall. His hand was ruined! ¡°Cryingout again?¡± Wang Tao held yet another Firefighter Axe in his hand. The underling quickly covered his mouth with his other hand, his eyes streaming with tears, his body trembling uncontrollably. Wang Tao then nodded in satisfaction. He actually had aimed at the floor in front of the underling, but threw it off course, hitting his palm instead. However, it was a minor issue, no harm done. Wang Tao looked again at the previous underling, who hurriedly spoke: ¡°Our boss¡¯s Ability is to spit out white sticky fluid that can stick people in place, making them unable to move...¡± ¡°Mmph mmph¡ª¡± Cao Xm, pressed under Wang Tao¡¯s foot, trembled wildly. ¡°So that¡¯s it.¡± Wang Tao realized, it made sense why Cao Xin had tried to turn his head to look at him all this time. Good thing he was prepared-Cao Xin wanted to do something, and he would not let him. Wang Tao had ¡°tape¡± among the crafting materials in his Space Backpack, which could be used both as a crafting material and for practical use. Wang Tao pretended to take out a roll of tape from his pocket and then wrapped Cao Xin¡¯s mouth with many layers. After making sure Cao Xin couldn¡¯t open his mouth, Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop there; he also wrapped his legs together. Soon, Cao Xin was almost entirely immobile. Wang Tao gestured to Han Rui, who immediately went over to handcuff the two underlings. When pulling out the axe, one of the underlings nearly fainted from the pain. However, neither Wang Tao nor Han Rui had any intention of showing mercy to their captives. Wang Tao didn¡¯t catch these three people to send them back for labor reform; he wanted them to face retribution in front of the base¡¯s inhabitants... an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. After Han Rui had subdued the two underlings, Wang Tao punched Cao Xin in the back of the head. ¡°Ugh...¡± Cao Xin instantly stopped struggling. Wang Tao checked his HP, it was just a knockout, not a death. Then Wang Tao asked Han Rui to watch these people while he himself went to the iron gate on the other side of the stairway. ¡°What¡¯s in here?¡± Wang Tao asked the two underlings. ¡°...It¡¯s, it¡¯s female slaves collected by the boss! Yes, all of this was the boss¡¯s doing, it has nothing to do with us!¡± On hearing this, fury immediately appeared in Han Rui¡¯s eyes. Chapter 117 - 91: Capture_2 Chapter 117: Chapter 91: Capture_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°What else?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°There¡¯s more... Zombies! Two female zombies! These were brought back by the boss after he stuck the zombies... Both zombies were chained up with iron chains...¡± Two zombies, female zombies at that... Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what Cao Xin was up to. Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui, who came over and said to Wang Tao: ¡°The people inside are walking on the left, the two zombies are on the right.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then took the keys from Cao Xin¡¯s body, unlocking the iron chain of the iron gate. Clang¡ª The iron gate opened, and a nauseating smell hit them. Even with a mask on, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t block it out. It was pitch-black inside, so Wang Tao used his flashlight to look inside. He saw a group of naked women crouched in the corner on the left, shivering with the light causing them to instinctively cover their eyes. But Wang Tao could still see the numb, empty look in their eyes. On the right, there were two zombies with their arms chopped off, chained to the wall. ¡°Hehe...¡± The two zombies desperately tried to move forward, wanting to gnaw on these women, but the iron chains prevented them from going too far. ¡°Do you have another guy? Seems his name is Seventh Brother Yang?¡± Wang Tao turned and asked. ¡°He... He¡¯s gone to see the big boss...¡± One of the underlings quickly answered. ¡°The big boss?¡± ¡°Yes, Boss Cao Xin¡¯s boss... The big boss is very powerful, an Ability User...¡± The underling didn¡¯t know much, only that such a person existed. Wang Tao frowned and thought it was time to interrogate Cao Xin properly. He took out his axe and walked into the warehouse, directly blowing the heads off the two zombies. The women looked at Wang Tao, their expressions numb, but fear could still be felt. Wang Tao squatted in front of the group of women. ¡°You¡¯re all safe now. Just don¡¯t scream, and I¡¯ll let you go in a bit.¡± Upon hearing this, a flicker of emotion passed through the hollow eyes of the women. After confirming all five women were alive, Wang Tao took out his walkie-talkie. ¡°This is Wang Tao, you can come up now!¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Soon after, Xiang Hongbin and the others came up, guns at the ready. Seeing these fully armed soldiers, the two underlings were shocked; they had no idea whom they had provoked... Wang Tao briefly recounted what had happened, and upon seeing the women, everyone became furious. Han Rui especially looked like she wanted to flay these men alive. The two underlings stood there, trembling and keeping their heads down, afraid to speak. The women, seeing so many people appear at the door, instinctively retreated and huddled together. Han Rui looked at them with pity and turned to Wang Tao: ¡°Can we take these poor women back to the base?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao nodded, and then looked towards Xiang Hongbin and the others, who also nodded in agreement. Shuize Base was short on people; as long as they weren¡¯t heinous villains, they were needed, let alone these poor women. They might not be able to do heavy work, but they could still wash clothes and the like. Wang Tao asked Han Rui to take two soldiers to release the women¡¯s chains, get them dressed, and then he and his men ransacked the place. In addition to food, they found a police badge and a set of police uniforms. ¡°Old Song, sigh...¡± Everyone sighed. They had to go back and properly interrogate this Cao Xin, at the very least, peel off a layer of his skin! Wang Tao asked Han Rui to check if there was anything they had missed, and after confirming there were no problems, Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡ª¡± Rumble¡ª Suddenly, a rumbling noise came from outside. ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Wang Tao quickly went to the window, and then cursed in disbelief. There was a zombie outside with [5000/5000] HP! The others were just as taken aback as Wang Tao. ¡°Shit!¡± In the heavy rain below, a giant zombie around three to four meters tall with muscular limbs on the ground like a gorilla, had just punched a discarded car, sending it flying into the mall. Boom¡ª ¡°Is this the zombie they referred to? Its destructive power is too terrifying!¡± The zombie seemed to go mad, anything in its path¡ªcars, streetlights, bollards¡ªwas fiercely thrown. It didn¡¯t spare anything. A bollard it threw hit a giant billboard on the wall. The billboard slowly fell, smashing onto it, but it didn¡¯t seem to be affected at all... ¡°This is really a destruction freak!¡± ¡°Thank goodness our vehicle was parked on the other side, or we would¡¯ve been in trouble...¡± ¡°It seems it hasn¡¯t noticed us...¡± The zombie appeared to be focused solely on destruction. It hadn¡¯t noticed Wang Tao and the others upstairs. The noise it caused attracted many zombies, even Mad Demon Zombies. But the behemoth didn¡¯t discriminate between friends and foes; it crushed several ordinary zombies underfoot... After about a minute of rampaging in the plaza, it finally left. Everyone let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back; it¡¯s too dangerous out here!¡± Wang Tao motioned with his hand, leading his group quickly downstairs. This creature had a full 5000 HP, and its high-attack high-defense style was apparent; Wang Tao didn¡¯t think they could defeat it. Bullets might kill it, but that would attract even more zombies, at a loss not worth the gain. ¡°Quick, quick, quick!¡± Everyone hurriedly got into the vehicle. In the afternoon, Wang Tao and the others returned to Shuize Base without incident. ¡°Phew¡ª Finally back!¡± Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The terrifying zombie, dubbed ¡°Gorilla¡± by the group on the road, exerted too much pressure on them! Chapter 118 - 91: Capture_3 Chapter 118: Chapter 91: Capture_3 Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao felt that if this thing made it to the base, the walls probably wouldn¡¯t hold... He shook his head; now was not the time to think about this. He was only responsible for combat and scavenging for supplies. Base defense was Ren Jie¡¯s responsibility. A few people dragged Cao Xin and his two lackeys out of the vehicle. On the way, Cao Xin regained consciousness once but was ruthlessly knocked out again by Xiang Hongbin. ¡°How are we going to deal with him?¡± Han Rui asked beside Wang Tao. ¡°First, we¡¯ll force out his account and motives for killing Commissioner Song, then execute him in front of all the survivors!¡± Wang Tao explained. This was a decision he had discussed with the other commissioners. In times of chaos, harsh measures were justified. Since Cao Xin had chosen to oppose Shuize Base and even killed a commissioner, there was no way he was leaving alive. Moreover, this would show the survivors in the base what happens to those who oppose it! It could strengthen unity, while also setting an example. However, Wang Tao would not participate in the interrogation; he was not good at it. He heard that Feng Ming¡¯an had some expertise in this area, so he would leave it to them. ¡°Fine1.¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes were red. This was her way of avenging Song Jinghong. ¡°And you shouldn¡¯t sit idle either, those women could use some guidance from you...¡± Wang Tao pointed to the group of pitiful women who had gotten off the truck and were now curled up in the corner. ¡°I understand!¡± Han Rui nodded and then took the women and left. Wang Tao intended to rest, but Feng Ming¡¯an called him back. They had never interrogated an Ability User before and were uncertain about gauging the strength of Ability Users, so they wanted Wang Tao¡¯s assistance. Helping was naturally fine; Wang Tao joined them in a basement. The group first interrogated Cao Xin¡¯s two lackeys, who had no backbone at all and confessed everything. Wang Tao cross-referenced the accounts, and they were nearly identical, likely the truth. Then Feng Ming¡¯an woke up Cao Xin and started the interrogation. In an unexpected turn, Cao Xin proved to be a coward; before Feng Ming¡¯an could even begin the torture, Cao Xin spilled everything. This irked Feng Ming¡¯an, so after confirming the truth of Cao Xin¡¯s story, he tormented him for a long time. Wang Tao did not enjoy torture; he preferred a swift end for people. However, considering that Cao Xin was an Ability User, Wang Tao forced Cao Xin to use his Ability many times until his energy was fully depleted. Cao Xin¡¯s Ability was to vomit a white, sticky substance from his stomach that possessed powerful adherent properties, binding many things for varying durations. After the allotted time, the substance would harden and then fall off automatically as it transitioned from liquid to solid. Finding this Ability somewhat interesting, Wang Tao decided to be the executioner himself; he wanted to see if Cao Xin would burst out with something... Before long, Wei Zhen Guo and the others arrived. Feng Ming¡¯an shared the results of his interrogation with everyone. A few days before, Song Jinghong had driven a car with two Hunters to pick up survivors from the Sunshine Community. However, they might have encountered zombies on the way and needed to take a detour, or some other issue occurred. Regardless, Song Jinghong did not follow the original path and ended up near the old shopping mall. There, they encountered a special zombie. Gunfire attracted a large horde of other zombies, and the three had to abandon their vehicle and run. Two of the Hunters were bitten to death by zombies, only Song Jinghong managed to escape, fleeing into the old shopping mall. All of this was clearly seen by Cao Xin, who was upstairs. He coveted the gun in Song Jinghong¡¯s hand! So he came down from the upper floor, pretending to be enthusiastic and offering to help Song Jinghong hide upstairs. With Song Jinghong injured and zombies outside, and with no door on the first floor of the mall, he had no choice but to follow him up. Then, Song Jinghong fell into Cao Xin¡¯s trap. Cao Xin¡¯s group totaled six, and as Song Jinghong died, he took two of them with him. However, he was overpowered and ultimately met his demise on the spot. Having lost two lackeys and nearly getting shot himself made Cao Xin furious. So, to vent his anger, he dismembered Song Jinghong and spitefully hung his head on a lamppost. Cao Xin was unaware that Song Jinghong came from Shuize Base, and he didn¡¯t even know the base existed, as he had barely spoken to Song Jinghong before attacking. If Cao Xin had known about the strength of Shuize Base, his cowardly nature would have stopped him from making a move, but alas for Song Jinghong... As for the women enslaved by him, they were originally employees of the old shopping mall. After the zombie virus outbreak, Cao Xin escaped the initial chaos and soon gathered a group-not as a clothing seller but as a cargo handler with many underlings-thus recruiting manpower and scavenging supplies. Cao Xin was also a lecher. He only offered protection to the women of the mall; the men could go wherever they wished. His reasoning was sound-the men might steal his food, but the women couldn¡¯t. Some women, desperate to survive, chose to accept Cao Xin¡¯s protection, initially, they might have thought he had some conscience, but Cao Xin soon showed his true colors. He locked up these women and subjected them to inhumane abuse... ¡°He really deserves to die!¡± Xiang Hongbin fiercely kicked the unconscious Cao Xin, and everyone else¡¯s face was filled with anger. Although everyone understood that the end of the world magnified the evil in people¡¯s hearts in the absence of law, seeing this person and his deeds firsthand still triggered uncontrollable fury. After all, most still had a sense of right and wrong. ¡°And Cao Xin revealed another important piece of information...¡± Feng Ming¡¯an glanced at Wang Tao, who continued where Feng Ming¡¯an left off: ¡°Cao Xin claimed he had acknowledged a boss, an Ability User! He originally had ten women, and he offered five of them as a gift to this boss. The reason why Cao Xin could become an Ability User was because the boss gave him a Zombie Core. Surprisingly, he succeeded on his first try... Chapter 119 - 92 Execution_l Chapter 119: Chapter 92 Execution_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°This damn luck!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed. He had fused with two Zombie Cores, but both attempts failed. Now, Cao Xin, that bastard, succeeded on his first try, which irritated him greatly. Wei Zhenguo, however, was concerned about another aspect. ¡°What kind of strength does Cao Xin¡¯s boss have?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an answered: ¡°Cao Xin couldn¡¯t give a clear explanation, only that the guy is very strong and specializes in throwing weapons. He often carries a bundle of polished steel bars, capable of killing zombies from a great distance without making much noise. It¡¯s ridiculously powerful...¡± ¡°Using steel bars to kill zombies?¡± Wei Zhenguo was taken aback for a moment, then asked again: ¡°What¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Cao Xin isn¡¯t sure, he only knows others call him Boss Shao, and he refers to him the same way.¡± ¡°Boss Shao... Shao Yong?¡± Wei Zhenguo frowned. ¡°Huh? Old Wei, you know him?¡± Ren Jie asked curiously. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you, I saw an Ability User before. He managed to take on a group of zombies with just two steel bars. I invited him to join the Survivor Base, but he flatly refused... And this person is named Shao Yong!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s frown deepened. If it really was Shao Yong, it meant the other man¡¯s strength had increased a great deal! Moreover, when he met Shao Yong at first, although the man was arrogant, he was decent, even asking Wei if he needed help. But now, according to Cao Xin¡¯s description, this Boss Shao was recruiting men like Cao Xin as his underlings and demanded Cao Xin to offer women to him... this Boss Shao didn¡¯t seem like a good person at all! Of course, it was the apocalypse now, there probably weren¡¯t many good people left. He wouldn¡¯t hold others to the standards of a good person¡¯s behavior. But the current issue was whether Shao Yong would seek vengeance for Cao Xin. No matter the relationship between Shao Yong and Cao Xin, Cao Xin had acknowledged Shao Yong as his Boss. If a subordinate was bullied, the Boss had to make a statement, right? Otherwise, how could he command respect? Just like when Song Jinghong was killed, everyone risked danger to avenge him. The purpose wasn¡¯t only vengeance but also to establish authority and solidify the cohesion among the Survivor Base¡¯s members. Wei Zhenguo wasn¡¯t scared, but in the early days of the apocalypse, self-preservation was a problem. If it could be helped, people definitely did not want to make enemies or be on someone¡¯s radar, especially since people from Shuize Base went out to scavenge for resources every day... Wei Zhenguo briefly shared with everyone the encounter with Shao Yong, and the looks on their faces were not good. They did not wish to become enemies with an Ability User, especially one who was clearly building his own force. Although Ability Users might still likely be at a disadvantage against bullets, everyone could see the greater potential of Ability Users. What the future held for them, no one could be sure... ¡°This Shao Yong, he probably doesn¡¯t know it was us who kidnapped Cao Xin, right?¡± Ren Jie asked with a furrowed brow. ¡°That¡¯s hard to say because one of Cao Xin¡¯s underlings has seen me, and he was with Shao Yong today. He might suspect me,¡± Wang Tao said straightforwardly. ¡°Then, this Cao Xin, how should we deal with him...¡± Technician Liu He hesitated. ¡°Kill!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke out directly. Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin usually didn¡¯t get along, always taking jabs at each other, but this time Wei agreed with Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Kill!¡± Not just them, including Feng Ming¡¯an and Ren Jie, all nodded fiercely. ¡°Kill!¡± ¡°Not only must we kill him, we must execute him in front of all the survivors!¡± Ren Jie added. Wang Tao looked at Ren Jie somewhat surprised; he didn¡¯t expect the former deputy magistrate to be so resolute. As if knowing what Wang Tao was thinking, Ren Jie smiled and said: ¡°In times of chaos, heavy punishments are needed! Our ancestors wouldn¡¯t deceive us.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He naturally also supported executing Cao Xin. He wasn¡¯t the type to be threatened; after all, who wasn¡¯t an Ability User? Wang Tao even thought of striking first... After all, it¡¯s not the theft that you fear, but the thief who keeps thinking about it! Seeing everyone felt the same, Liu He didn¡¯t have more to say. Being a tech guy, he knew he had little experience in these matters and decided to go along with the others. ¡°As for that Shao Yong... we don¡¯t need to be afraid. No matter how high the upper limit for Ability Users in the future, he definitely can¡¯t stop a bullet right now. As long as we find the right opportunity, a Lu Gang alone can easily kill him, not to mention we also have Wang Tao. At most, we just need to caution the Hunters who go out later...¡± After everyone agreed, they decided on Cao Xin¡¯s death sentence. Cao Xin had already woken up by this time. After hearing the judgment from everyone, he hummed frantically, but his mouth was sealed shut, unable to speak. Xiang Hongbin ripped off the tape abruptly, and despite the pain of tearing off sweat hairs and beards, Cao Xin quickly began to plead with tears: ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me! I really didn¡¯t know that was your person¡ªah!¡± He didn¡¯t finish his sentence before Xiang Hongbin viciously kicked him, causing him to arch his back in pain. ¡°I didn¡¯t let you talk to hear you beg for mercy, but to hear your screams!¡± Xiang Hongbin gave another fierce kick. ¡°Ah¡ªmy boss, he won¡¯t¡ªah!¡± Wang Tao, not liking such scenes, left first. The main reason was that he and Feng Ming¡¯an had already tortured the guy- no, more precisely, Feng Ming¡¯an did the torturing, he just assisted. So, he wasn¡¯t interested anymore. The execution of Cao Xin was scheduled for noon. At that time, all the survivors in the base would be called to watch. They had to let them know that Shuize Base never leaves its debts unpaid and that it was not to be trifled with, deterring anyone from nurturing crooked ideas.. Chapter 120 - 92 Execution_2 Chapter 120 - 92 Execution_2 Wang Tao left the building, it was already dark outside. Just as he got into his car to head home, he saw a figure holding an umbrella sprinting toward him. "Commissioner Wang, wait!" "Han Rui? What''s the matter?" Wang Tao rolled down the window. "Well... I have something I want to talk to you about, I''m not sure if it''s convenient for you..." "Sure, get in." Han Rui quickly closed her umbrella and took the passenger seat. The dress that Han Rui had worn when she went out with Wang Tao was drenched, and now she had changed back into her police uniform. She looked very smart and impressive. "Thank you for helping Officer Song take revenge today..." As soon as Song Jinghong was mentioned, Han Rui''s eyes were still a bit red. "It''s only right, after all, I am a commissioner!" Wang Tao smiled. "I said before that I wanted to repay you for saving my life, but now you''re a commissioner, and I don''t know how to repay you¡ªof course, I won''t forget, rest assured..." Han Rui started speaking somewhat embarrassedly. "Haha, don''t worry about it," Wang Tao shook his head, then added, "Just say what you want to say, we''ve been through life and death together, no need to beat around the bush." "Cough..." Han Rui felt a bit awkward being put on the spot, but she wasn''t the type to dawdle. "Well, I would like to ask you for a favor, to help me find out who came to my office the day before yesterday. I don''t have the authority to investigate..." "Oh? Why?" Wang Tao''s brows raised, as what Han Rui referred to must be the video of her husband betraying his teammate; after all, only Wang Tao had visited Han Rui''s office the day before yesterday. "I... I can''t tell you yet, it''s a personal matter..." Han Rui had trouble meeting Wang Tao''s gaze. The main reason was her guilty conscience, after all, that was her husband! When she saw that video, she felt as if she had been struck by a bolt from the blue. She never imagined her husband would betray their marriage, and even more so with Ou Yingying! She couldn''t understand what she lacked compared to Ou Yingying, why her husband would be attracted to that woman! If that was all there was to it, she wouldn''t have collapsed, for she was a strong woman. What truly devastated her was that, as the video showed, the two survivors she had personally saved were actually killed by her husband and Ou Yingying working together! And she herself benefited from it! She thought of herself as a just police officer! Even though this happened without her knowledge, she still couldn''t forgive herself, as others had indeed paid with their lives for her survival! Fortunately, she had work to do when she saw the video, which numbed her to the event, and she forced herself to forget it. It was only after the work was done that she found a place where she could be alone and cry loudly. However, she also knew that crying wouldn''t solve anything. She needed to find out what the person who gave her the video intended to do! As for turning in her own husband... she couldn''t do it. She thought she was a selfless person, but only now did she realize she was incredibly selfish... "A personal matter? That''s a bit difficult to handle..." A look of difficulty appeared on Wang Tao''s face. "Please, Wang Tao, Commissioner Wang!" Han Rui immediately put her hands together in a pleading gesture. "Fine, I''ll ask around. I''m doing this because of our relationship; I definitely wouldn''t bother for anyone else." "Thank you, thank you so much!" Han Rui quickly expressed her gratitude. At this moment, Wang Tao asked: "What exactly is this personal matter? If you spell it out for me, I can better help you investigate!" "...It really is a private matter I''d rather not discuss, it''s about me personally, truly, I''m not lying to you!" Han Rui lied, probably for the first time in her life. "Alright, I won''t pry any further. Is there anything else? If not, I''ll be on my way." Wang Tao feigned resignation as he shook his head. "No, that''s all, go ahead!" Han Rui hurriedly got out of the car. Wang Tao started the car, and as he watched Han Rui re-enter the building through the rearview mirror, he lifted the corner of his mouth. He had originally thought Han Rui was quite selfless, that she might distance herself or even report her own husband. But he had been incorrect. The reason Han Rui wanted his help in investigating was simply to find out who had recorded the video. She then sought to negotiate with them, to keep them from publicizing the video, in order to protect her husband. After all, all the survivors in Shuize Base were innocent people¡ªat least on the surface, none of them had records. As for what they did behind the scenes, that wasn''t clear, but as long as nothing came out, everyone was a good person. By the same logic, once it was exposed, they would undoubtedly be despised by everyone. Shuize Base couldn''t tolerate the existence of a bad person. If the video of Sun Weiguang betraying his teammates was leaked, he would become a target of universal scorn. Even if they spared him for Han Rui''s sake, the base couldn''t keep him, and considering his survival skills in a post-apocalyptic world... going out there meant certain death. Thus, expelling him was as good as killing him. To save her husband''s life, Han Rui had begun to betray the beliefs she had held for so many years! ... When Wang Tao''s car arrived back at Building No. 8, before he could get out, he saw Ding Yuqin wearing an apron coming out to meet him. "Wang Tao, are you hurt?" Ding Yuqin grabbed Wang Tao''s hand, asking with a worried look on her face. "Who do you think I am? How could I possibly get hurt!" Wang Tao said, smiling as he pinched Ding Yuqin''s hand. "That''s a relief! I''ve already made dinner, just give me a moment, I''ll go and reheat it..." Chapter 121 - 92 Execution_3 Chapter 121: Chapter 92 Execution_3 Translator: 549690339 As Ding Yuqin spoke, she took the jacket Wang Tao had removed. When she entered the door, she even knelt down to help Wang Tao change his shoes. Looking down, Wang Tao found the angle of Ding Yuqin particularly tempting. After changing shoes, Ding Yuqin quickly ran to the kitchen. Wang Tao sat on the sofa, the kitchen door was open, so he could see Ding Yuqin¡¯s busy figure. Today, Ding Yuqin was dressed comfortably for home, wearing a little camisole and slippers. Her hair was casually tied up, revealing her snow-white, delicate neck, and a necklace of some kind was deeply buried in her cleavage. The pale yellow camisole dress wasn¡¯t long, ending above the knees, her smooth, straight calves swayed in front of Wang Tao. Ding Yuqin usually liked to wear stockings, mostly flesh-colored or thin black ones; it was rare to see her bare-legged. Nonetheless, her legs were flawless and even bare, they were beautiful, stirring an urge to play with them. After quietly admiring for a while, Wang Tao suddenly walked over and hugged Ding Yuqin¡¯s waist from behind. ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s hot breath was on Ding Yuqin¡¯s neck, which tickled her and quickly turned her face red. ¡°You, you stop messing around, I¡¯m still busy...¡± Ding Yuqin said coquettishly. Although she was a bit shy, she also enjoyed Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. His arms were a place of comfort for her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. You do your thing, and I¡¯ll do mine.¡± As Wang Tao spoke, he rolled up Ding Yuqin¡¯s shirt. ¡°...Mmm~¡± Before dinner, Wang Tao indulged in a little appetizer. ¡°Are you full?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Mmm- I¡¯m full-¡± Ding Yuqin hummed. ¡°Sister-in-law, that¡¯s all it takes to fill you up? There¡¯s a bigger meal waiting for us tonight!¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. ¡°Ah? There¡¯s more... I can¡¯t eat anymore...¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face showed both anticipation and fear. ¡°No worries, no rush, just rest for a bit first.¡± Wang Tao spoke considerately. He had said before that he wanted to try out Toughness but never found the time. Now that he had the time, shouldn¡¯t he thoroughly explore it? ¡°Mmm- I¡¯ll listen to you...¡± The fact proved that Toughness was indeed a valuable skill. The next day, early morning. Wang Tao was refreshed, and Ding Yuqin too, was glowing. Wang Tao was amazed at Ding Yuqin¡¯s recovery ability. She had been pleading for mercy the day before, but after a night¡¯s sleep, she was like nothing had happened. Perhaps, this was due to the properties of the blood replenishing pack. ¡°What are you thinking about...¡± Ding Yuqin waved her hand in front of Wang Tao. ¡°I was just thinking, why does sister-in-law look so pretty!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Stop it-¡± Ding Yuqin immediately felt joy in her heart. Wang Tao rarely complimented her, but each time he did, it gave her the feeling of being in love. After breakfast, Wang Tao didn¡¯t go out but instead lay on the sofa, letting Ding Yuqin give him a full body massage. He was scheduled to attend Cao Xin¡¯s execution at noon, so having nothing else to do in the morning, he rested and exercised at home. Noon. Wang Tao donned his all-black security uniform, while Ding Yuqin wore a black cheongsam with makeup in a cool and glamorous style. Then, Wang Tao drove Ding Yuqin to the plaza outside the comprehensive building. By then, aside from the personnel on duty, all other members of the base had gathered. This was the first public execution since the establishment of the base, and even if the committee hadn¡¯t mandated attendance, curiosity and the like had drawn the crowd. Although it was still raining, a throng of people huddled on the plaza, either wearing raincoats or holding umbrellas, their attention fixed on the three figures at the center, bound and hooded. ¡°Commissioner Wang has arrived!¡± As soon as Wang Tao got out of the car, sharp-eyed survivors immediately cleared a path. With a solemn expression, he nodded slightly to the crowd and then headed toward the center of the plaza. Ding Yuqin, half a step behind Wang Tao holding an umbrella for him, also carried a plain, elongated wooden box in her arms. In the center of the throng, a makeshift platform had been erected. The other commissioners and some soldiers were already on it and nodded slightly upon seeing Wang Tao. Ren Jie stepped forward and spoke aloud to the survivors: ¡°My friends! Just a few days ago, Commissioner Song Jinghong was vilely assassinated, dismembered, and his head hung on a power pole! We were deeply grieved when we heard the news...¡± Ren Jie recounted the murder of Song Jinghong with more details this time. It was only now that the survivors learned that Commissioner Song Jinghong had been dismembered! In an instant, the crowd buzzed with discussion, and it was clear that everyone was angry. Ren Jie gave everyone time to talk, then continued: ¡°And just yesterday, our very own Commissioner Wang Tao, Commissioner Xiang Hongbin, Commissioner Feng Ming¡¯an, Minister Han Rui, and others risked their lives to go outside and captured the murderer who killed Commissioner Song Jinghong...¡± Below, there was a frenzy of applause, and when it finally abated, Ren Jie asked: ¡°What do you think we should do with them?¡± ¡°Kill them!¡± ¡°Execute them!¡± Survivors immediately responded, and others were gradually swept up in the emotion, shouting ¡°Execute them!¡± and ¡°Blood for blood!¡± Ren Jie was pleased with the survivors¡¯ reactions. He turned back and nodded to two soldiers in the rain. One soldier immediately removed the hoods from Cao Xin and his two henchmen. Cao Xin, having already been beaten to near death by Xiang Hongbin, was extremely weak and lacked the strength to resist. Seeing the oppressive crowd below, he looked terrified and desperate. His two henchmen felt the same. Another soldier drew a rifle and attached the bayonet, ready to pierce Cao Xin¡¯s heart at the commissioner¡¯s command! Ren Jie was about to give the order, but Wang Tao stopped him. ¡°Wait, let me do it.¡± ¡°Ah? Commissioner Wang, you want to do it yourself?¡± Ren Jie was puzzled; such dirty work was typically left to subordinates. However, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s affirming nod, he immediately conceded, ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao walked over to Cao Xin, with Ding Yuqin following with the umbrella and the wooden box. Cao Xin¡¯s eyes widened with terror upon seeing Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even look at him but turned to Ding Yuqin. Diplomatically, she opened the box to reveal a broad-bladed knife within. The tall Wang Tao gripped the knife handle with one hand. Standing next to Wang Tao in her black cheongsam, the glamorous Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t dare to watch the execution and instead focused her gaze on Wang Tao. The survivors below held their breath, keeping their eyes fixed on the scene above of the hero, beauty, and criminals. Then, Wang Tao raised the knife, and it fell. Schtick! Schtick! Schtick! Blood splattered as three heads rolled onto the ground one by one.. Chapter 122 - 93 Ability: Slime Spitter 1 Chapter 122: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter 1 Translator: 549690339 I??? ¡ª This Crafted Mountain-Opening Knife was specially prepared by Wang Tao yesterday. It was merely a sharpened ordinary craft item, far inferior in quality to a Firefighter Axe. It was not suitable as Wang Tao¡¯s weapon, but... it had no problem chopping off a neck. Wang Tao felt almost no resistance and easily severed the heads of Cao Xin and his two companions. The survivors below the stage were taken aback for a moment, as this was a scene they could only witness on television. However, it didn¡¯t take long for everyone to start applauding. Of course, there were those who couldn¡¯t stand the sight of blood and covered their mouths feeling nauseous. ¡°So cool!¡± Huo Ziyi, who was in the crowd below, dared not look at Cao Xin¡¯s body. Her attention was mainly on Wang Tao, who she thought looked incredibly cool, especially when he stood next to the beautiful woman. It gave off the vibe of a hero paired with a beauty. Yet, seeing Ding Yuqin, she felt an inexplicable sense of urgency ¨C she, too, wanted to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°coattails¡± just like that beautiful woman! Although she was a minor celebrity, she felt ashamed when comparing herself to Dmg Yuqm. After all, she had just managed to solve the problem of not starving to death and was worried every day about earning just one more Ration Ticket. Ding Yuqin, on the other hand, looked well-fed and even had time to dress up and apply makeup... Comparison is the thief of joy! ¡°When can I become a person like that...¡± Sun Weiguang also couldn¡¯t bear the bloody scene, but he was envious and wanted to become someone with power... He needed to seize the opportunity to break through with Wang Tao¡¯s help! Once the execution was over, Ren Jie organized the crowd to leave the scene. After everyone had left, Wang Tao suddenly struck Cao Xin¡¯s head with his knife. Squish! The head was instantly cleaved by Wang Tao, but the head was much harder than the neck, and the Crafted Mountain-Opening Knife¡¯s blade became instantly blunted. While some of the committee members were still in shock, a green Crystal Core suddenly burst forth, which Wang Tao caught in his hand. ¡°Ah? He had a Zombie Core?¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke in surprise, and the others quickly gathered around. ¡°It¡¯s somewhat unexpected, yet it seems logical...¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself while looking at the Core in his hand. The reason he suspected Cao Xin might have a Crystal Core was because after he killed Cao Xin, not only did he receive a package, but he also gained an increase in his maximum HP! And it was a substantial addition of 50 HP, bringing Wang Tao¡¯s HP to [1200/1200] now. He only gamed HP from killing special zombies that dropped Cores, so Wang Tao had reason to believe that Ability Users might also drop Crystal Cores upon death. And his guess was indeed correct. However, this Crystal Core was slightly different from the other Zombie Cores. [Level 1 Crystal CoreSlime Spitter] [Quality: Rare (50%)] [Purity: 50% (Side Effects: None)] [Slime Spitter: Consumes energy to vomit a large amount of white slime. The slime can stick to most objects, and the adhesion duration varies depending on the situation] This green Core was something Wang Tao had never seen before, with a 50% rare quality. Wang Tao thought this might be a unique quality exclusive to human Ability Users. Of course, he wasn¡¯t certain yet and would have the opportunity to experiment more in the future. However, the focus of this Crystal Core was not its quality but its lack of side effects ¨C it had no side effects at all! Wang Tao had come across many Crystal Cores by now, and he had only seen the lack of side effects in the Self-Destruct Crystal Cores. But since Self-Destruct Cores were one-time-use, it made sense for them to lack side effects. However, the Slime Spitter was not one-time-use. Theoretically, it should have side effects. Wang Tao had reason to suspect that this might be related to the drop from an Ability User. He immediately had a bold guess ¨C because the Ability User absorbed the side effects of this Core, the Crystal Core dropped without any side effects! If this was true, then that would be interesting ¨C conflicts between Ability Users were inevitable! Of course, the absence of side effects did not mean there were no impurities. This Core still contained 50% Internal Impurity, so Wang Tao certainly would not undergo synthesis. After all, too much Internal Impurity could turn one into a zombie. Wang Tao, what¡¯s the success rate of merging with this Crystal Core? When you briefed us before, you didn¡¯t mention green Cores, did you?¡± Xiang Hongbm asked curiously, and the others all turned to Wang Tao as well. After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao replied: ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the success rate of merging with this Crystal Core should be around 50%...¡± ¡°So it¡¯s a fifty-fifty chance of success or failure!¡± The rest of the group looked somewhat disappointed. Wang Tao had already educated them that Zombie Cores could have success rates of 60%, 80%, or even 100%. Although the best they had obtained was only 40%, this 50% didn¡¯t seem high. For those with bad luck, a 50% success rate wasn¡¯t fundamentally different from a 20% success rate. Especially for someone like Xiang Hongbin, who had undergone several unsuccessful Core mergers... Seeing the group¡¯s disappointment, Wang Tao smiled and said: ¡°But this Crystal Core¡ªoh no, I should drop the word ¡®zombie¡¯¡ªthis Crystal Core seems to have no side effects...¡± ¡°Ah? No side effects? No more worries about turning into a zombie?¡± Lu Gang¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°No, no, no, turning into a zombie is influenced by Internal Impurity, and this Core still has impurities. What I mean by ¡®side effects¡¯ are things like the Glutton Crystal Core causing excessive obesity.¡± ¡°Oh, I see... well, that¡¯s still pretty good!¡± Everyone¡¯s hopes were lifted once again. They had a Glutton Crystal Core in their possession, but they dared not use it. It wasn¡¯t the accumulation of impurities they feared, but rather the terrible side effect of the Glutton; it would make one¡¯s body increasingly obese, and the appetite would grow more and more... If there really were a Glutton Ability User, it was uncertain whether the base could even sustain them.. Chapter 123 - 93 Ability: Slime Spitter_2 Chapter 123: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter_2 Translator: 549690339 And without that side effect, isn¡¯t it safe to say that fusion could be carried out with ease? As for impurities and the like, they would only become a concern after a great number of crystal cores have been fused, so there¡¯s no need to worry for now. Wang Tao tossed the crystal core to Lu Gang. ¡°You guys decide how to handle this crystal core. I won¡¯t get involved, anyway, since there¡¯s a limited variety of crystal cores everyone can fuse with, even if I wanted to I couldn¡¯t fuse anymore.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Indeed, he felt that at most he could only fuse with one or two different types of crystal cores, and he needed to be cautious with this opportunity. For instance, a self-healing crystal core wouldn¡¯t be half bad, or some other powerful ones. As for this ¡°Slime Spitter¡± crystal core... well, Wang Tao found it somewhat beneath him. Previously, when interrogating Cao Xin, Wang Tao had forced him to use this ability. Wang Tao saw clearly that the ability was just like vomiting out the contents of one¡¯s stomach¡ªutterly disgusting and not even spraying very far. Moreover, Cao Xin also confessed that he felt as uncomfortable as when vomiting every time he used the ability. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t without options; he could pursue better ones. So he didn¡¯t need this ¡°Slime Spitter.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want it?¡± Hong Bin stared at Wang Tao, his interest in the zombie core evident. ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s all help Wang Tao keep an eye out for the specific types of zombies he needs. If we come across any crystal cores that Wang Tao needs, we give him priority. What do you think?¡± Zhen Guo looked around at everyone and said. ¡°No problem!¡± ¡°That¡¯s how it should be.¡± Everyone immediately agreed. Each person could only fuse with a limited variety of zombie crystal cores, and there¡¯s no need for anyone to hoard too many, so a reasonable allocation was the best solution at the moment. ¡°As for this crystal core... let¡¯s discuss it properly and decide who gets to use it. Of course, no matter who it goes to, the rest shouldn¡¯t be disheartened; there will be plenty more opportunities in the future!¡± Zhen Guo spoke with a serious expression. ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°After we decide who gets to use it, we¡¯ll need your help, Wang Tao, to take a look since we don¡¯t have the experience of successful fusion.¡± Zhen Guo said to Wang Tao. ¡°Of course, no problem.¡± Wang Tao agreed with a smile, curious to see what it looked like for others to fuse with crystal cores. His own experience had just been a sense of warmth throughout his body. However, Han Rui had told him that she slept for a long time when she fused with her crystal core. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if Han Rui¡¯s experience was an isolated case or if he was the one who was different. So, if there was a chance, they definitely wanted to observe other people fusing with zombie crystal cores. Zhen Guo and the others left, leaving the soldiers to take care of the bodies on the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao called for Yu Qin to follow. After getting into the car, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush back. Instead, he looked at the spoils of war from Cao Xin and his two subordinates. Killing ordinary people would also yield loot, and naturally, so would killing ability users. The two subordinates of Cao Xin dropped two ordinary crafting materials, but what Cao Xin dropped was something Wang Tao had never seen before. [Received: Slime Grenade x5] [Slime Grenade: Detonating it produces a large amount of white slime within a certain range.] A total of five slime grenades. Despite being called grenades, they didn¡¯t resemble traditional ones, but rather looked like blobs of greenish-yellow vomit, which somehow seemed rather disgusting. From the description, the effect of these slime grenades appeared to be similar to the ¡°Slime Spitter¡± ability. Did that not mean having the equivalent of five uses of the Slime Spitter Ability? Even if it was disgusting, as long as it was useful, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fussy about appearances¡ªhe did not mind. After returning home, Wang Tao brought out some targets and started practicing his throwing technique in the yard. As for his throwing technique... well, he had no technique. It was pure brute force. These slime grenades could come in handy later on but only if he could throw them accurately. Therefore, learning how to throw properly was essential. And it wasn¡¯t just grenades he wanted to practice with; he also intended to practice throwing firefighter axes. Before becoming a committee member, he had exchanged all his Contribution Points for firefighter axes at the resource department¡ªa total of ten. Now that he was a committee member with increased authority, he secured another ten firefighter axes using his power. Aside from the hunter¡¯s personal axes, he reckoned that he must have acquired nearly all of the firefighter axes in the entire base. The reason for amassing so many axes was naturally because they were effective. For someone like him with great strength, an axe was perfect for hacking at zombies, so having several spares was prudent. Another reason was his desire to master the Flying Axe technique. After all, the ability to attack from a distance was much safer than close-range combat. Firearms were too loud, so silent ranged attacks were the best. Especially when he heard that an ability user named Shao Yong could easily use a steel bar like a javelin to snipe zombies from a distance. Wang Tao felt that if others could do it, there was no reason he couldn¡¯t. So for his daily training regimen, learning to throw would be crucial. He had great strength, which should give him an advantage in this area. He wasn¡¯t too demanding; he wasn¡¯t aiming to throw very far or with great precision¡ªjust to ensure his Flying Axe could hit a target at a distance of about ten meters with one hundred percent accuracy. In the evening. After finishing his training and dinner, Zhen Guo contacted him, asking him to come over for matters related to zombie core fusion. Wang Tao drove to the top floor of the comprehensive building, where the other six committee members were already waiting. ¡°We¡¯ve come to a decision. This crystal core will go to Feng Ming¡¯an. What do you think?¡± Chapter 124 - 93 Ability: Slime Spitter_3 Chapter 124: Chapter 93 Ability: Slime Spitter_3 Translator: 549690339 Wei Zhenguo saw Wang Tao coming and immediately spoke up. ¡°I certainly don¡¯t have a problem with it.¡± Wang Tao nodded with a smile. ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s decided!¡± Although according to the rules, such matters only require the agreement of five people, and Wang Tao had expressed no interest in participating, Wang Tao was still there, so it was only proper to show him some respect. If Wang Tao had any opinions, they would take them into account. ¡°But I still have to tell you about the specifics we¡¯ve discussed.¡± ¡°First of all, as you mentioned before, we will try not to use White Crystal Cores when fusing in the future, since the success rate is too low. We have to start with at least Blue Crystal Cores, and save the white ones for later...¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s the issue of who gets to use the Crystal Cores. There¡¯s no question about it, we committee members definitely have the highest priority. After all, in these apocalyptic times, strength is everything; without it, you can¡¯t command respect...¡± ¡°As for the order in which we committee members use the Crystal Cores, the result of our discussion is that those who go out to scavenge for supplies will use them first, followed by those who stay inside the base. The outside world is very dangerous, so self-protection abilities are necessary.¡± ¡°This means that you, Wang Tao, me, Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, and Feng Ming¡¯an have the highest priority. Ren Jie and Liu He are a little lower on the list, as they basically don¡¯t leave the base and are exposed to less danger...¡± ¡°Now the situation is that you don¡¯t need this Crystal Core. And I¡¯m injured and still in a wheelchair; Xiang Hongbin finds vomiting too disgusting¡ªthough I suspect it¡¯s because he doesn¡¯t trust his own luck; Lu Gang wants a Zombie Core that can directly increase combat capability... As for Feng Ming¡¯an, he doesn¡¯t mind. So, in the end, we¡¯ve decided to let Feng Ming¡¯an use it.¡± After listening to Wei Zhenguo¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao nodded, finding it reasonable. Lu Gang took out the green Slime Spitter Crystal Core, which had been cleaned and had no traces of filth on it, with a mass of white slime slowly wriggling inside. Aside from Wang Tao, everybody else subconsciously swallowed their saliva. ¡°Can I just eat it directly?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an was a bit nervous and excited. Although they had all experimented with Zombie Cores before, this was after all a Crystal Core with a 50% chance of success without any side effects, so he was still nervous, afraid that he might mess something up. ¡°Just eat it directly.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After getting the affirmation from Wang Tao, the Ability User, Feng Ming¡¯an didn¡¯t dawdle, picked up the Crystal Core, and directly popped it into his mouth. Glug- You don¡¯t need to chew Crystal Cores; they melt as soon as they enter the mouth. ¡°So sleepy...¡± After eating the Crystal Core, Feng Ming¡¯an felt his eyelids start to fight each other. Everyone turned to look at Wang Tao, who clapped his hands with a smile and then explained. ¡°Looks like Commissioner Feng got lucky, with a 50% chance and he won the gamble. If you experience symptoms like body heat or sleepiness after fusion, then it means it was successful. If there¡¯s no reaction, then it¡¯s a failure.¡± Wang Tao had actually never seen what a failed fusion looked like, but there were people in the base like Xiang Hongbin who had used Zombie Cores, but he had no reaction at the time. So using him as a negative example would suffice. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Drifting in and out of consciousness, Feng Ming¡¯an heard Wang Tao¡¯s words and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and then promptly flopped down onto the table and began snoring. The other committee members also clapped enthusiastically. ¡°Haha! To actually succeed, this is a good start!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed loudly. Just as Wei Zhenguo had said, he didn¡¯t trust his own luck, so it was a great relief that Feng Ming¡¯an succeeded; next time, he wanted to get a Core with a higher success rate! ¡°Exactly, this is indeed a good start. I hope each of us can become an Ability User!¡± Ren Jie added with a smile. ¡°So how long does Commissioner Feng need to sleep?¡± Liu He looked at the sleeping Feng Ming¡¯an, slightly concerned. Wang Tao thought for a moment and said: ¡°It¡¯s hard to say exactly how long, but even if he sleeps for several days, there¡¯s no need to worry about him starving to death. There¡¯s plenty of energy in this Core.¡± Han Rui had slept for a long time when she fused with a Core, and she didn¡¯t face any physical issues. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Liu He was relieved. Next, Lu Gang and Ren Jie carried Feng Ming¡¯an back to his home, and then arranged for someone to watch over him. They were to report if there was any movement. Feng Ming¡¯an woke up sooner than Wang Tao had expected, the next morning, just as if he had had a normal night¡¯s sleep. Wang Tao and the others went to Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s house and Wang Tao noticed he now had a 100-point Mana bar. ¡°Do you feel anything special?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked with some concern. Feng Ming¡¯an touched his slightly potbellied stomach and said: ¡°I always feel like there¡¯s something in my stomach, like I could vomit it out at any time, just like this¡ªblargh!¡± A large puddle of white vomit came out of Feng Ming¡¯an, instantly covering the floor beneath his feet. A chair was directly covered in white slime. Wang Tao and the others sidestepped with some disgust, while Lu Gang quickly grabbed a broom from the corner and poked the chair, only to find it unmoved; instead, the broom also got a bit stuck. ¡°This is like super glue!¡± Lu Gang was astonished. Wang Tao, on the other hand, was looking at Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s Attributes; the act of vomiting had cost him 20 Mana, meaning he could vomit up to five times in a short period. ¡°Cough¡ªcough cough¡ªthat¡¯s a bit uncomfortable.¡± Feng Ming¡¯an covered his mouth, looking a bit distressed. The taste of vomit was unpleasant. Still, seeing the effect he had caused, he got excited again. ¡°I am finally an Ability User, too!¡± ¡°Congratulations!¡± Wang Tao congratulated him, then added: ¡°How about we go test your Ability¡¯s range and area of effect?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± The group went to the entrance, and Feng Ming¡¯an exerted himself to his utmost and vomited fiercely towards the outside. ¡°Blargh¡ª¡± Seeing the vomit reach a distance of about three to four meters and form a puddle about two meters in diameter on the ground, Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Looks good! With this ability, you could specifically hunt special zombies!¡± Chapter 125 - 941 Killed Someone_l Chapter 125: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_l Translator: 549690339 | Feng Ming¡¯an wasn¡¯t highly skilled at using his Slime Spitter ability, and he also had to figure out how to overcome the uncomfortable feeling that came with vomiting, so he decided to practice more within the base before going out to hunt special zombies. But others were a bit more impatient, such as Lu Gang and Xiang Hong Bin, who went straight out. Watching Feng Ming¡¯an become an Ability User, they were quite envious! Wang Tao was training at home and didn¡¯t join them. However, Wang Tao said if they encountered any special zombies that they couldn¡¯t handle, they could contact him directly. After all, those special zombies with Crystal Cores weren¡¯t so easy to come across. While Wang Tao was practicing with his Flying Axe at home, Sun Weiguang showed up again. Wang Tao was curious about his visit; hadn¡¯t Han Rui told him about the video issue? Outside the Commissioner¡¯s area. Sun Weiguang stood at the base of the wall sheltering from the rain, feeling uneasy in case Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t meet with him. Fortunately, after waiting for more than half an hour, a guard finally told him he could go in. ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Sun Weiguang quickly expressed his gratitude. Arriving outside Building No. 8, Sun Weiguang straightened his clothes before knocking on the door. Click- The door opened, and the face of a beautiful woman appeared. ¡°Sun Weiguang, right? Please come in.¡± Ding Yuqin stepped aside very politely to let him through. ¡°Thank you!¡± Sun Weiguang knew she was Commissioner Wang¡¯s woman; he didn¡¯t dare to look too much and quickly entered with his head down. After bringing Sun Weiguang inside, Ding Yuqin went upstairs, and Wang Tao was waiting for him in the living room. ¡°Good morning, Commissioner Wang!¡± Sun Weiguang hurriedly greeted him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Wang Tao asked indifferently. ¡°Ahem, you saved my wife, and I¡¯ve always been at a loss for how to thank you properly... However, yesterday, something occurred to me. I have a friend who¡¯s a bow and arrows enthusiast... He has a lot of bows and arrows at home, and there¡¯s even a bow worth thousands of dollars...¡± ¡°Hmm? Bow and arrows?¡± Upon hearing about bow and arrows, Wang Tao became interested. In certain situations, bow and arrows can be much more useful than guns. Of course, they also have a higher learning curve... Was Sun Weiguang offering him bow and arrows? ¡°Yes, bow and arrows! I think you would need them! And only someone like you would be worthy of using such weapons...¡± Sun Weiguang immediately flattered him. ¡°Where are the bow and arrows?¡± ¡°Er... the bow and arrows are at his place...¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s expression turn sour in an instant, Sun Weiguang hurriedly continued: ¡°Cough, Commissioner Wang, I know his address! I¡¯m not capable of going there myself, but with your strength, it would definitely be no problem!¡± ¡°If you have nothing else, you can leave now.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand with some impatience. Good grief, this Sun Weiguang actually dared to offer him pie in the sky? He had seen too many of these tricks in society and was already immune to them. Even if there really was such a bow and arrows, wouldn¡¯t the owner use them himself? Would he really just leave them at home waiting for Wang Tao to come and get them? Fearing that Wang Tao might kick him out, Sun Weiguang hurriedly explained anxiously: ¡°No, Commissioner Wang, there might be a misunderstanding! My friend got infected! We talked on the phone during the virus outbreak. By that time, he was already infected, and his bow and arrows are all at his place. He told me he was about to die and asked me to take his things to use! But I didn¡¯t dare to go...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s frown relaxed a little. If what Sun Weiguang said was true, then it might indeed be something to look forward to. ¡°Where¡¯s the address?¡± ¡°It¡¯s at...¡± Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t dare to hide anything and quickly gave a specific address. Wang Tao memorized the address silently and then spoke: ¡°Alright, I got it. Is there anything else?¡± Although it was the second time he asked Sun Weiguang if there was anything else, this time Wang Tao¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t as stern as before, though he still wasn¡¯t smiling. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s attitude softening a bit, Sun Weiguang eagerly took the opportunity. ¡°Ahem, there¡¯s one more small favor I¡¯d like to ask of you...¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°That is, I want to change my job. Personally, I don¡¯t think I¡¯m quite cut out for farming...¡± Sun Weiguang looked somewhat pained. In Shuize Base, everyone had to work, and his job was digging and farming. That job was secured for him by Han Rui. Although it was tiring, the work was safe, and importantly, it provided two to three Ration Tickets per day! Many jobs only yield one Ration Ticket a day, so work that gives more than two tickets definitely counted as well-paid. But Sun Weiguang was finding it hard to cope. He had never farmed in his life, let alone done heavy manual labor. Having him farm was asking too much of him! Had it been before he arrived at the base, he would have been willing to do anything, even shovel manure, if it meant getting security. But now that he had arrived at the base and attained safety, he felt that he wasn¡¯t suited for farming, or rather, he wasn¡¯t suited for any kind of physical labor; he was better suited for work that required using his brain! Unfortunately, Han Rui refused to change his job. She claimed she didn¡¯t have the authority, but Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t believe her, thinking it was just her excuse. He was convinced that Han Rui must have found out about his affair with Ou Yingying! Especially these past two days, Han Rui¡¯s mental state seemed off, sometimes staring into space.. Sun Weiguang asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn¡¯t say, and her complexion looked very grim, especially the way she looked at him; it was a sad and disappointed gaze! Chapter 126 - 941 Killed Someone_2 Chapter 126: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_2 Translator: 549690339 | Sun Weiguang was now certain that Han Rui had definitely discovered his affair with Ou Yingying. After all, ever since he arrived at the base, he had rushed to see Ou Yingying whenever he had the chance and had never once sought out Han Rui. It was no surprise that Han Rui had found out something. Although Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t know why Han Rui didn¡¯t just confront him directly, he knew he could no longer rely on her. And with Han Rui¡¯s old leader dead, her current power probably wasn¡¯t as great as before... Moreover, Han Rui still had a pretty good relationship with Wang Tao, so before Han Rui confronted him, he had to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails as soon as possible! Otherwise, if Han Rui confronted him, or even abandoned him, he would truly be without any support! Sun Weiguang also knew that Wang Tao was a commissioner with plenty of resources, so it was extremely difficult to forge a relationship with him. He racked his brains and finally remembered the matter of bow and arrows. The reason it only occurred to him now was that he had previously known he had no ability to obtain the bow and arrows and had subconsciously ignored this matter. Over the past few days, he heard that the soldiers venturing outside were afraid to fire their guns, mentioning some extremely fast zombies outside. He felt that Wang Tao would probably need these bows and arrows. So he came today to try his luck and see if Wang Tao was interested. When Wang Tao asked him to leave the address, it indicated at least that he was interested. At that moment, Wang Tao asked him if there was anything else, and he hurriedly brought up the matter of changing jobs. If he wasn¡¯t thick-skinned now, he wouldn¡¯t have any chance later! ¡°Changing jobs isn¡¯t something I¡¯m responsible for. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help you.¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. Sun Weiguang¡¯s face suddenly stiffened. He knew this wasn¡¯t Wang Tao¡¯s responsibility, it was Member Ren Jie¡¯s. But Wang Tao was also a commissioner, so a simple greeting should suffice! It seemed the information about the bows wasn¡¯t enough to get him a new job! Sun Weiguang was very disappointed in his heart. Wang Tao gave him the feeling similar to those he had encountered before the apocalypse, who took money without getting the job done. Of course, he also knew his news was unverified and therefore not highly valuable... Sun Weiguang dared not show any hint of disappointment on his face, for he still had a chance and couldn¡¯t afford to offend Wang Tao at this point. ¡°Do you have anything else?¡± This was the third time Wang Tao had asked him. Sun Weiguang quickly got up. ¡°I have nothing else, so I won¡¯t disturb Commissioner Wang any longer!¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded lightly. After leaving the commissioner¡¯s area, Sun Weiguang pondered all the way what to offer Wang Tao next time... Clinging to powerful legs wasn¡¯t so easy after all! ¡°Ouch!¡± Walking with his head down, Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t notice his umbrella colliding with another, drenching the other person with the water from his umbrella. ¡°Can¡¯t you watch where you¡¯re going¡ª oh, sorry, sorry!¡± Sun Weiguang instinctively wanted to curse, but when he looked up, he saw that there were five people, all women, and he was alone without Han Rui by his side... so he immediately chickened out. ¡°Really, some people just don¡¯t watch where they go!¡± The woman he bumped into was voluptuous and glared at Sun Weiguang with malice. She was holding onto another woman who looked even more attractive. Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t recognize the voluptuous woman, but he had some impression of the more attractive woman next to her¡ªshe seemed to be a minor celebrity, called Huo... Huo Ziyi? If it had been peacetime, Sun Weiguang would have argued back no matter what. But now, in the post-apocalyptic world, not to mention the possibility of being beaten, Han Rui was responsible for managing such disputes. If she came over, it would be very embarrassing for him. ¡°My mistake, my mistake!¡± A wise man does not fight when the odds are against him, so Sun Weiguang hastily apologized again. ¡°Let¡¯s just hurry on,¡± Huo Ziyi pulled her companion. ¡°Hmph!¡± After a snort, the companion didn¡¯t continue to make trouble and quickly walked away with Huo Ziyi. Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t care too much initially, but the words they said as they left suddenly made him pause. ¡°Ziyi sister, you just need to be bold! What man doesn¡¯t like a beauty, unless he¡¯s a eunuch? And Commissioner Wang is clearly not one, he¡¯s too macho! If you dress up and throw yourself at him, do you think Commissioner Wang would refuse? Definitely not! Then you¡¯ll have successfully clung to the commissioner¡¯s coattails! We¡¯re all waiting to live the good life with you!¡± ¡°If you¡¯re too shy... Sister will go with you! I guarantee we¡¯ll sweep Commissioner Wang off his feet...¡± Hearing their voices fade away, Sun Weiguang felt disdainful. ¡°Heh, a bunch of cheap women, so shameless!¡± But he quickly shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s the advantage of women, especially pretty women... pity, I¡¯m not a woman¡ªwait, pretty women?¡± Sun Weiguang¡¯s expression suddenly changed as he seemed to think of something. ¡°Commissioner Wang, Han Rui requests to see you.¡± Hearing the voice from the intercom, Wang Tao felt a bit speechless. Had Sun Weiguang and Han Rui coordinated this? She arrived right after his front foot stepped out. But Han Rui was definitely not the same as Sun Weiguang. To him, Sun Weiguang was useless, but Han Rui was a capable Ability User that Wang Tao was also willing to befriend. ¡°Let her in.¡± It wasn¡¯t long before Han Rui, holding an umbrella, entered. She looked worse compared to two days before, with red eyes and faint dark circles.. Chapter 127 - 941 Killed Someone_3 Chapter 127: Chapter 941 Killed Someone_3 Translator: 549690339 After exchanging pleasantries, Han Rui asked somewhat anxiously: ¡°Wang Tao, that... have you found out who went to my office that day...¡± ¡°Well... I did find out, I¡¯ve even approached the person...¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± Hope appeared on Han Rui¡¯s face. No matter what, Sun Weiguang was her husband, and she really did not want Sun Weiguang to be cast out! ¡°But the person has asked me not to tell you who it is. They said that unless you tell me what exactly is going on... It¡¯s difficult for me since both parties are acquaintances... Speaking of which, what exactly is going on with you? Is there something you can¡¯t tell?¡± A look of difficulty, mixed with curiosity, crossed Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°What?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Han Rui was a bit stunned. Then she shook her head repeatedly, ¡°I can¡¯t say, I cannot say!¡± If she said it, Sun Weiguang would be finished! ¡°Then I can¡¯t help you. We¡¯re all friends, I can¡¯t betray someone else for you, can I?¡± Wang Tao spoke with a hint of helplessness. He admitted, he was somewhat enjoying teasing her. But hey, teasing people was pretty interesting. The hesitation was apparent on Han Rui¡¯s face as she hung her head, her gaze flickering. After a moment, she lifted her head again as if she had made a significant decision. ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell you, I hope you¡ªoh, forget it.¡± Han Rui shook her head, then lowered it slightly, and said in a heavy tone: ¡°Before I came to the base, I once saved a few survivors. During one operation, we were cornered by zombies upstairs. To escape the zombies¡¯ attack, I... I pushed two survivors off the building! They successfully drew the zombies¡¯ attention, and then we managed to escape... I¡¯m sorry for them! Wuu wuu... And all this was recorded on video by a hidden survivor...¡± II II Wang Tao looked at Han Rui with some shock. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact that he was the one who had taken the video, he might have believed her! This Han Rui actually took the blame for abandoning her comrades upon herself! Was her relationship with her husband really that good? So good that she¡¯d be willing to die for him? Wang Tao felt that Sun Weiguang¡¯s attitude towards Han Rui wasn¡¯t very good... As for Han Rui¡¯s feelings towards Sun Weiguang, it was hard for him to tell. Could she be a pathetic admirer of her husband? ¡°I intended to keep it hidden, but... I suppose that person wants to negotiate with me. I reckon I can no longer stay in the base, I just want to meet that person and ask them to delete the video. As for me... considering the hard work I¡¯ve put in for the base, if not merits then at least efforts, I hope you can let me off, and I will leave the base on my own...¡± Han Rui¡¯s tone was very downcast. This was the best solution she could think of¡ªshe took the blame upon herself, then begged Wang Tao for mercy, asking the committee not to punish her. After that, she would leave the base and never come back... After all, no matter what, Sun Weiguang was her lawful husband. Even if their relationship had soured, she didn¡¯t want Sun Weiguang to die... As a wife, she would at least have done her duty to Sun Weiguang. If Sun Weiguang were to leave, he would face certain death. But if she went out, she still had a good chance of surviving... Of course, there was another problem, which was whether the person who recorded the video would make it public! Han Rui had no control over this, she could only take it one step at a time... After his initial shock, Wang Tao spoke playfully: ¡°Han Rui, are you sure you betrayed two comrades? If this is true and someone has evidence, even if I speak up for you, you won¡¯t be able to stay in the base.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure...¡± Han Rui dared not look into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes; she wasn¡¯t someone who was good at lying, and she feared Wang Tao would see through her. ¡°It¡¯s your business, and I don¡¯t want to meddle too much... How about this, I¡¯ll schedule a time for you, come to me tomorrow night. The two of you can meet and talk.¡± ¡°Yes! Thank you, thank you!¡± Han Rui instantly expressed her gratitude to Wang Tao with a relieved face. Watching Han Rui¡¯s despondent departure, Wang Tao felt somewhat troubled. It was a shame that someone so utterly devoted to Sun Weiguang couldn¡¯t become part of his team. But soon, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll confront her tomorrow night. As for what she does, that¡¯s her business.¡± The reason Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly talk to Han Rui about this matter was that he didn¡¯t want their relationship to turn sour. After all, Han Rui¡¯s Ability was very impressive and could be a significant help to Wang Tao when hunting zombies in the future. But since Han Rui was so frustrating, let it be. Could he, Wang Tao, really lack just one team member? It was just a Zombie Core with Perception Ability; he was sure to come across it eventually. That evening. Right after having dinner, Sun Weiguang came over again. This made Wang Tao frown slightly; were this couple teaming up to bother him? Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to deal with Sun Weiguang; he was planning to discuss life with his sister-in-law. However, Sun Weiguang sent a message through the Guard, saying he had something good to offer Wang Tao, even better than what he had mentioned in the morning! Better than the news about the Bow and Arrows? This piqued Wang Tao¡¯s interest. Well then, let¡¯s meet and see; it won¡¯t waste more than a few minutes. Upon meeting Sun Weiguang again, he had still nothing in his hands. He spoke to Wang Tao with a bit of secrecy: ¡°Commissioner Wang, I have prepared the item for you! Come with me!¡± ¡°...Alright, I¡¯m curious to see what you have. If it doesn¡¯t satisfy me...¡± ¡°You will definitely be satisfied!¡± Wang Tao followed Sun Weiguang out and then drove with him to an apartment complex. After getting out of the car, Sun Weiguang led Wang Tao back to his home. Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled, what good thing did Sun Weiguang have that he couldn¡¯t bring out and had to keep at home? Sun Weiguang opened the bedroom door. ¡°Commissioner Wang, this is the gift I have prepared for you!¡± Seeing the scene inside, Wang Tao was dumbfounded. On the large bed in the bedroom lay a woman in pajamas on her side. The woman¡¯s eyes were closed, her face flushed, her forehead slightly sweaty, and her body twisted unnaturally as if she was uncomfortable... This woman was none other than Sun Weiguang¡¯s wife, Han Rui.. Chapter 128 - 95 Superiority ! Chapter 128: Chapter 95 Superiority ! Translator: 549690339 ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. ¡°Ahem, Commissioner Wang, you saved my wife. I don¡¯t have much to thank you with... If you don¡¯t mind, feel free to rest here...¡± After Sun Weiguang said this, his old face also blushed. But then he thought, Han Rui must have already found out about him and Ou Yingying, and he couldn¡¯t rely on Han Rui for a living anymore. So why not take advantage of the fact that he and Han Rui were still living under the same roof and have Han Rui help him one last time? Han Rui loved her so much, she would surely fulfill his wish! Wang Tao had only seen the plot of offering one¡¯s wife in literary works; this was his first encounter with it in reality, and he was somewhat at a loss. After all, he was a decent man! ¡°Are you sure... you want your wife to sleep with me?¡± Wang Tao frowned and asked. ¡°Sure!¡± Sun Weiguang nodded vigorously. ¡°You won¡¯t even ask your wife¡¯s opinion?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°No need to ask, I¡¯m the head of the household!¡± Sun Weiguang said, lifting his head high. ¡°What if your wife resists?¡± ¡°Impossible, I drugged her! She won¡¯t be able to resist, and she won¡¯t remember anything when she wakes up! You just use her with peace of mind!¡± This was what he exchanged for with many of Han Rui¡¯s Ration Tickets from other survivors. Wang Tao was utterly speechless, meeting such a scumbag for the first time. Han Rui really should have seen better. Luckily the person who came today was him; if it were someone with impure intentions, Han Rui¡¯s innocence would have been ruined. ¡°Mmm~¡± Han Rui suddenly let out a pained moan from the bed. Seeing this, Sun Weiguang hurriedly said: ¡°Ahem, Commissioner Wang, the drug I used was a bit strong! You¡¯d better hurry up, otherwise she¡¯ll hurt her body! I¡¯ll wait outside!¡± Without giving Wang Tao the chance to refuse, Sun Weiguang quickly ran out the door, and thoughtfully closed it behind him. Wang Tao shook his head speechlessly, then walked to the bedside. He was not the kind of person to take advantage of others in difficulty; he just wanted to see how Han Rui really was. But seeing Han Rui¡¯s expression, Wang Tao paused. Because Han Rui¡¯s eyes were open, her face flushed, yet filled with tears. ¡°Han Rui? Can you hear me? If you can, blink once.¡± Wang Tao whispered. Han Rui stared intently at Wang Tao, eyes brimming with tears, then she blinked once. ¡°So it seems you heard everything?¡± Han Rui blinked again. Wang Tao shrugged. ¡°Good that you heard it, this has nothing to do with me, it¡¯s all your husband¡¯s doing.¡± Han Rui blinked once more. ¡°These so-called drugs, should be okay after a while, right? If not, shall we see a doctor?¡± Wang Tao tentatively asked. Han Rui did not blink this time, but after a long wait, she finally opened her mouth. Wang Tao leaned closer to hear what she was trying to say. Suddenly, Han Rui reached out and weakly embraced Wang Tao¡¯s neck. In despair, she closed her eyes, and tears fell from the corners. ¡°I... feel terrible...¡± ¡°Help me...¡± An hour later. Han Rui, with disheveled hair, lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, her eyes swollen and her gaze hollow and confused. The helpful Wang Tao clutched a cigarette for after the act, but didn¡¯t light it. He didn¡¯t smoke; he just wanted the feeling. Then Wang Tao gently brushed Han Rui¡¯s hair from her forehead, revealing her pale, pitiful little face. ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± After a long silence, Han Rui finally murmured, ¡°I want to die, but I survived with so much difficulty, I can¡¯t die... I don¡¯t hate you, I hate him... but I, I don¡¯t know what to do...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know? Then leave it to me to take care of it¡ª¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Han Rui interrupted him. ¡°No! I, I¡¯ll deal with it myself...¡± Seeing Han Rui¡¯s confused look, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure she could handle it well. However, he chose to respect her decision. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then stood up to get dressed. Han Rui just watched Wang Tao, without saying a word. After dressing, Wang Tao considerately covered Han Rui with the blanket, gently wiped away the tear stains from the corners of her eyes, and then pushed the door open and left the room. As soon as Wang Tao left, Han Rui buried her head in the blanket and cried bitterly, but her tears were all dried up, and she couldn¡¯t cry anymore... Outside, seeing Wang Tao finally come out, Sun Weiguang heaved a sigh of relief. More than an hour, is that a normal amount of time? Could his wife endure such a toll... ¡°Ahem, Commissioner Wang, are you satisfied with my wife?¡± Sun Weiguang asked softly. At this moment, he himself felt a bit shameless, but thinking that Han Rui would abandon him anyway, and that he used her to exchange for his ¡°position,¡± he felt it was worth it. Wang Tao glanced at him and said nothing. He was very satisfied; Han Rui and Ding Yuqin were completely different styles. But such matters were better kept to oneself, no need to share with others. It¡¯s not like he could tell Sun Weiguang that his wife was great ¡ª ahem, seems like it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that? Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s silence, Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t mind. If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t satisfied, he certainly wouldn¡¯t have stayed inside for more than an hour. ¡°I¡¯ll be going back now. As for the matter of changing jobs... I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Wang Tao left with big strides, showing no signs of longing. ¡°Take care, do visit whenever you¡¯re free!¡± Sun Weiguang beamed with joy as he saw Wang Tao downstairs, then hurried back home. Seeing that Han Rui was still sleeping soundly in the bedroom, he withdrew, then left the house directly.. Chapter 129 - 95 Superiority ! Chapter 129: Chapter 95 Superiority ! Translator: 549690339 ¡°Go to Yingying¡¯s place!¡± Only in Ou Yingying¡¯s company could he find the self-confidence of being a man. The next day. Wang Tao looked at his visibly improved Flying Axe Throwing Technique and was quite satisfied with himself. His Body Strengthening had a Hidden Ability that wasn¡¯t limited to ordinary exercises; practices like throwing objects also received certain enhancements. After training for this period, he wouldn¡¯t claim to hit the mark every time, but at least his mid and short-range throws were accurate. Gone were the embarrassing moments when he aimed for the leg but hit the hand instead. Now he could barely claim to know how to use the Flying Axe. ¡°However, as good as the Flying Axe is, I feel like it still falls short compared to Bow and Arrows...¡± He had a limited number of Firefighter Axes, and he couldn¡¯t possibly carry too many at once. But with Bow and Arrows, it was different ¨C at least he could carry a quiver of arrows, and it should be more energy-efficient. As for the lethality, modern Bow and Arrows should not be lacking. Especially the one Sun Weiguang mentioned that his friend had, which was quite expensive; it should be of good quality. ¡°I¡¯ll see when I have time to go there in the next couple of days...¡± Wang Tao mused, stroking his chin. The place Sun Weiguang had talked about was slightly far from the base, but it was only about five or six kilometers. The distance from Happy Community to Shuize Base was about the same, and he had arrived successfully. For him, this distance was certainly dangerous, but where wasn¡¯t dangerous in this post-apocalyptic world? As long as it wasn¡¯t some particularly lethal danger, it would be fine. Wang Tao continued to practice the Flying Axe at home; he planned to train for one more day. Tomorrow, he could go out and test his skill. Evening. Han Rui arrived at Wang Tao¡¯s place as promised. She actually didn¡¯t want to come because she didn¡¯t know how to face Wang Tao. Even though it was all Sun Weiguang¡¯s doing and Wang Tao didn¡¯t do it intentionally, the fact was that it had happened. She and Wang Tao had indeed become intimate, and her husband was listening right outside the door... Every time she thought about it, she felt so ashamed she wished she could crawl into a hole! But she wanted to know who had taken those videos. As for the thought of taking the blame for Sun Weiguang, Han Rui was suddenly wavering again. She had always known Sun Weiguang¡¯s flaws but had still been willing to accommodate him. After all, everyone has flaws; she had hers too. They were unavoidable. And they were husband and wife, meant to spend the rest of their lives together. If she couldn¡¯t tolerate each other¡¯s flaws, their future together wouldn¡¯t work out. But she never expected that after doing so much for Sun Weiguang, even being willing to leave the base to give him a better life, he would offer her up to another man for the sake of his own future! Han Rui was truly disappointed and angry, yet she didn¡¯t know how to deal with Sun Weiguang. She had always been doing good deeds and the right things for so many years, but she had never encountered such betrayal by someone so close, and she didn¡¯t know how to resolve it... ¡°You¡¯re here, take a seat.¡± Wang Tao invited Han Rui to sit opposite him. Han Rui had always been a very confident person, not dodging eye contact even in front of council members, but now, let alone meeting Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, she hardly dared to voluntarily look at him. Her feelings for Wang Tao were complicated. He had first been her savior, for which she felt profound gratitude; later, fighting alongside him, she saw him as a teammate she could rely on with her back turned; now, after their unexpected intimate encounter, she... really didn¡¯t know what to do, but strangely, she didn¡¯t dislike Wang Tao... ¡°How did you resolve it?¡± Wang Tao asked with some curiosity. His question about resolution naturally referred to the incident of Sun Weiguang drugging her. ¡°I, I haven¡¯t spoken to him at all...¡± Han Rui started, somewhat awkwardly. She had never run away from anything before, thinking evasion was shameful. But now, she had chosen to evade, and although evasion might be shameful, it really worked... ¡°Not speaking to him? That¡¯s it?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Was this her plan for handling it herself? ¡°...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s counter-question made Han Rui feel even more awkward. In an attempt to alleviate the awkwardness, she quickly changed the subject, ¡°That person... did they come?¡± Instead of answering directly, Wang Tao said, ¡°Is what you told me yesterday true? Did you really frame two teammates and then it was caught on camera?¡± ¡°...Yes.¡± Han Rui replied, her head lowered. ¡°Look up at me.¡± Wang Tao commanded abruptly. Han Rui instinctively lifted her head, and those slightly swollen eyes looked at Wang Tao. Then, unexpectedly, she noticed that Wang Tao seemed handsomer than she remembered. But after barely three seconds, Han Rui avoided his gaze again. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you again, is everything you told me yesterday true? Don¡¯t rush your answer, take your time to think about what has happened recently... then look into my eyes and answer me. We¡¯ve been through life and death together, and I don¡¯t want to be deceived.¡± Han Rui seemed torn, clenching and unclenching her small fists. Meanwhile, Wang Tao waited quietly, not urging her in any way. After what seemed like a long time, Han Rui suddenly took a deep breath, seeming to collapse inward, but feeling much more relaxed at the same time. She lifted her head, bravely met Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, and then began apologetically: Chapter 130 - 95 Superiority_3 Chapter 130: Chapter 95 Superiority_3 Translator: 549690339 | ¡°I¡¯m sorry... I deceived you; the truth is, I didn¡¯t murder our teammates-it was Sun Weiguang...¡± Han Rui narrated the events exactly as they had happened, even taking out her phone to show the video to Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t look at the phone; instead, he nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Very good; that¡¯s the Han Rui I know!¡± ¡°You... You believe me?¡± Han Rui was somewhat incredulous. Her explanation sounded like she was trying to pass the buck. Normally, the listener would ask detailed questions or want to see her phone. But Wang Tao did none of that; he just believed her. Han Rui suddenly felt touched, although her husband was reluctant to believe her, there were still people who did! But the feeling of being moved came and went quickly, because she then heard Wang Tao say: ¡°Of course I believe you, since I was the one who took the video. ti 11 Han Rui was stunned, and then quickly said: ¡°Wait, what you just said... it wasn¡¯t that you saw the video, but that you took it yourself?¡± Wang Tao nodded, confessing. ¡°Yes, I took it. I was there at the water plant, hiding in the highest crumbling building.¡± ¡öI 11 If it were Sun Weiguang hearing this, he probably would have complained why Wang Tao didn¡¯t help them. But Han Rui wasn¡¯t her useless husband; she was silent for a moment, then she spoke with a hint of surprise: ¡°We almost went to that building... maybe we could¡¯ve met earlier-¡± Han Rui cut off mid-sentence as if she had just thought of something and hurriedly added, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean, you knew me already? So, when we met for the second time at the commercial street, the reason you saved me... ¡°Exactly, it was because I had seen you before and knew of your character. I thought you were worth saving, so I saved you. If it had been your useless husband, I wouldn¡¯t have saved him.¡¯¡¯ Wang Tao lied without even a blush. When he saved Han Rui, her good character was indeed a reason, but another was that she was an Ability User, and he was curious about what other Ability Users were like. Moreover, it was convenient for him at the time... But these were all white lies, harmless. Hearing this, Han Rui flushed slightly, not with shyness, but embarrassment. Because before today, she had lied to Wang Tao... As for Wang Tao calling her husband a waste, Han Rui instinctively ignored it, for she had already come to terms with that fact. ¡°How did you leave then?¡± Han Rui asked, curious. ¡°I had a car. I just drove away; a small number of zombies couldn¡¯t catch me. If you had waited a bit longer, until I lured the zombies away with my car, you wouldn¡¯t have had to pay the price of two teammates¡¯ lives to survive,¡± Wang Tao answered, somewhat painfully. ¡öI 11 Returning to the subject made Han Rui feel miserable. What was more agonizing was that Wang Tao clearly knew everything but pretended not to, leaving her feeling like a clown. Han Rui¡¯s gaze at Wang Tao carried a trace of reproach. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just tell me directly... You even made up a person...¡± ¡°Because I wasn¡¯t sure whether you would cover for Sun Weiguang or not. Telling the truth might have worsened our relationship. It turns out, I was right. Indeed, you protected Sun Weiguang.¡± ¡öI 11 Han Rui felt so awkward she could almost dig out a three-bedroom apartment with her foot in embarrassment. ¡°So what do you... What do you want to do with Sun Weiguang?¡± Han Rui now directly referred to her husband by his name. ¡°This matter is only known to you, me, and the two Sun Weiguangs. It doesn¡¯t affect me, as long as you don¡¯t speak of it, as long as they don¡¯t cause trouble later, then I can pretend I don¡¯t know.¡± Wang Tao spoke indifferently. The Survivor Base needed stability. As long as there was stability, there wasn¡¯t much problem. There were surely more things like what Sun Weiguang did, they just hadn¡¯t been exposed. Wang Tao had seen the files managed by Ren Jie, which listed some of the bad things some people at the base had done. As long as it wasn¡¯t related to the base, as long as it didn¡¯t harm the interests of the base, and as long as it didn¡¯t get exposed, there was no great issue. After all, the base was in dire need of workers. If we only accept ¡°good people without a single blemish,¡± then there¡¯s no point in keeping this base open. We might as well shut it down because we can hardly gather a few people. In the apocalypse, where can you find absolutely good people? ¡°...Thank you!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s response, Han Rui expressed her gratitude. Although she no longer wanted to deal with Sun Weiguang¡¯s affairs and even wanted to draw a clear line with him, Wang Tao¡¯s reluctance to get involved was partly out of consideration for her, so it was only proper for her to thank him. ¡°Do you have any other business? If not, come and have dinner at my place.¡± Wang Tao got up and sat down next to Han Rui, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as he spoke. Han Rui, however, jumped up as if she had been electrocuted. ¡°Wang Tao, please... please behave yourself!¡± Watching Han Rui¡¯s face flush red as blood in an instant, Wang Tao was taken aback. ¡°Last night was out of necessity; can we just pretend that nothing happened...?¡± Seeing Wang Tao staring at her, Han Rui quickly added. ¡°Pretend nothing happened? I can¡¯t forget how you insisted on being on top.¡± Wang Tao teased somewhat. ¡°You, you stop it!¡± Seeing Han Rui¡¯s embarrassed face, even with tears sparkling in her eyes, Wang Tao shook his head with a smile. ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s pretend nothing happened.¡± ¡°...Thank you.¡± Then Wang Tao spoke again: ¡°By the way, I need to go out tomorrow, and you should come with me.¡± ¡°Ah? To scavenge for supplies?¡± ¡°You could say that.¡± Han Rui felt tempted; she truly didn¡¯t want to deal with the trivialities of the base anymore. The outside world was dangerous, but if she were with Wang Tao, the risk would definitely be much lower! Yet, her relationship with Wang Tao was currently rather ambiguous... Han Rui was torn. Since she didn¡¯t refuse right away, it meant she wanted to go. So Wang Tao spoke again: ¡°Let¡¯s settle on that, then. Wait for me at the comprehensive building tomorrow.¡± ¡°...Okay.¡± In the end, Han Rui nodded. ¡°Stay for dinner?¡± Wang Tao invited her again. ¡°No, no! I still have things to do, so I¡¯ll be leaving.¡± Han Rui waved her hands in refusal. It wasn¡¯t that she minded getting a free meal, but mainly because there was another woman in Wang Tao¡¯s house. Although she was unclear about this woman¡¯s status, it was apparent that she was very close to Wang Tao. Staying there would be awkward. Watching Han Rui¡¯s retreating figure, Wang Tao¡¯s face broke into a smile as he perhaps thought of something. ¡°Han Rui left? Weren¡¯t you going to ask her to stay for dinner...?¡± At that moment, Ding Yuqin walked over. She never disturbed Wang Tao when he was discussing matters. She had seen Han Rui leave from upstairs before coming down. ¡°Yes, she had some business and left first.¡± Wang Tao briefly explained, then suddenly looked at Ding Yuqin and said: ¡°I think Han Rui is quite a decent person. Sister-in-law, when you¡¯re free, you could try interacting with her. I think you two could become friends.¡± ¡°Ah? No problem!¡± Ding Yuqin was slightly startled but then nodded eagerly. Wang Tao seldom praised people. His praise for Han Rui meant she must have had some exceptional qualities. Chapter 131 - 96 Corrosive Acid Rain_l Chapter 131: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain_l Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao had planned to go out with Han Rui today, but because a torrential downpour had started last night, he decided to cancel the trip. Although the rain could interfere with the zombies¡¯ perception, heavy rain could also affect people¡¯s movements and senses. It could even pose a life-threatening risk, as excessive rain might lead to flooding disasters. So for the sake of safety, Wang Tao decided to postpone for a day. After Han Rui received the message from Wang Tao, she also quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She was really not comfortable being alone with Wang Tao, although she knew he would likely invite her again later. But for now, delaying it by a day was one less day to worry about... As a committee member, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have specific duties, and he wasn¡¯t inclined to worry about the development of the base, so he had quite a bit of free time when he was there. His plans for today consisted of eating, exercising, sleeping, and playing games with his sister-in-law. He wouldn¡¯t even need to leave the house, living the life of a post-apocalyptic homebody. However, as Wang Tao was exercising, Ding Yuqin¡¯s exclamation suddenly came from upstairs. ¡°Wang Tao, come quick and look!¡± Wang Tao went to the second floor. Ding Yuqin was behind the sliding door to the balcony, pointing at something on the balcony. Following her gaze, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes narrowed instantly. ¡°Is that... Green Vine?¡± On the balcony, several pots of Green Vine were placed, as the plant enjoyed the rain, so Ding Yuqin hadn¡¯t brought them inside. But now, the vines had grown significantly, their leaves as big as lotus leaves! ¡°It is Green Vine... but how did it get so big...¡± Ding Yuqin said incredulously. The plants had grown larger before but at a slower pace, nothing as noticeable as this. These Green Vines had grown so much overnight! And it wasn¡¯t just the vines, looking outside, Wang Tao noticed the chives in the yard had also grown larger, about two or three times their previous size! Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows knitted tightly together. In these apocalyptic times, such occurrences weren¡¯t necessarily good news... He slid open the glass door and stretched his hand into the rain. After a moment of keen sensation, Wang Tao quickly withdrew his hand, his expression somewhat grim. ¡°This rain is strange! It feels very uncomfortable!¡± It wasn¡¯t just a psychological discomfort, most importantly, Wang Tao noticed that he was losing HP! About one drop per minute! ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you, Wang Tao?¡± Ding Yuqin, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s troubled expression, immediately asked with concern. ¡°This rain, it¡¯s toxic!¡± Wang Tao could not explain in detail, mainly because he was unsure of the cause himself, so he offered a simple explanation. ¡°Toxic?¡± Ding Yuqin was startled, and quickly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s arm, pulling him back into the room, ¡°Then don¡¯t touch the rain!¡± Feeling Ding Yuqin¡¯s concern, Wang Tao shook his head: ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry too much, sister-in-law. The toxicity isn¡¯t severe, we just need to avoid prolonged contact.¡± Wang Tao looked at his hand again, but saw no signs of wounds or other problems. ¡°Don¡¯t go out until the rain stops, sister-in-law.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin closed all doors and windows in the house, and then he contacted the other committee members to inform them that the rain was toxic. Wang Tao had no idea what the situation with the rain causing HP loss was all about, whether it was a fixed rate of one drop per minute, whether the HP loss would start slowly and increase over time, or if the HP loss only occurred upon initial contact but then stopped. All these possibilities existed, so without further testing, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say how toxic the rain was. After communicating with the other committee members, he discovered that the rain wasn¡¯t just toxic! ¡°This rain seems to be corrosive; after my car was left out over night, the exterior has rusted!¡± ¡°The flowers and plants I planted in front of my door, some have grown larger, but others have withered as if they were sprayed with pesticide... ¡°A soldier reported to me that the zombies outside seem to be rotting even more...¡± After exchanging information for a while, everyone couldn¡¯t decide whether the rain was a blessing or a curse. They could only wait and see after it stopped. Then Ren Jie began broadcasting throughout the base¡ªsome fixed areas within the base were equipped with loudspeakers used to receive information from the committee. The volume of the loudspeakers wasn¡¯t loud, but with people nearby who could relay the messages to others, a base-wide broadcast could be achieved. Ren Jie notified all survivors to stay indoors and not to go out, to try not to get rained on, as the rain seemed problematic. As for the specifics, such as it being toxic or corrosive, Ren Jie didn¡¯t mention these guesses. Wang Tao thought Ren Jie had forgotten to mention the details, but soon realized he had underestimated the situation- the rain was getting heavier, and water was beginning to accumulate in the base. To drain this water, they needed to organize a workforce. Ren Jie then began instructing survivors to put on raincoats and start draining the water! ¡°We can¡¯t tell them the rain is toxic for the moment. If they refuse to drain the water out of fear, our base might be at risk of flooding... Ren Jie explained. Everyone, including Wang Tao, fell silent. Though it might sound unethical, as the saying goes, ¡°a kind man cannot be a good official,¡± Ren Jie made this decision considering the overall welfare of the base, so there was nothing wrong with it. When organizing hands for draining the water, someone needed to supervise, and Wang Tao himself, clad in a raincoat, took charge. Considering the rain¡¯s corrosive nature, Wang Tao didn¡¯t drive his own car. He owned two vehicles, an electric SUV and a diesel pickup, but both were parked in an indoor garage and had not been exposed to the rain.. Chapter 132 - 96 Corrosive Acid Rain 2 Chapter 132: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain 2 Translator: 549690339????? ¡ª There were actually quite a few vehicles inside the base, and Wang Tao directly requisitioned an off-road vehicle from a staff member on duty. The other committee members had gone ahead, and before Wang Tao set off he first went to the teachers¡¯ apartments. When Wang Tao entered the teachers¡¯ apartment building, he happened to see Sun Weiguang holding a walkie-talkie and talking to someone. Wang Tao called out to him. ¡°Sun Weiguang, where is your wife, Han Rui?¡± Startled by the shout, Sun Weiguang saw Wang Tao and subconsciously replied: ¡°She, she¡¯s at home...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Without another word, Wang Tao headed up. Sun Weiguang opened his mouth but didn¡¯t know whether he should go home or not. Although he was still living with Han Rui, they had been sleeping separately for some time. Han Rui hardly talked to him and was very indifferent, treating him like an ordinary roommate. At times, Sun Weiguang still felt a bit upset. After all, Han Rui was his wife and they had lived together for some time, but now they were like strangers... They had agreed on a medicine that would leave no memory of their affair but everything backfired when Han Rui found out everything! Fake drugs hurt¡¯ people! However, most of the time, Sun Weiguang enjoyed the peace and quiet If he hadn¡¯t been unable to apply for a house, he might have already moved out and lived with Ou Yingying. Han Rui, hearing the door open, thought it was Sun Weiguang, so she didn¡¯t pay much attention. Not until she felt a tall shadow block the light from the window. Han Rui looked up, and was startled. You... what are you doing here!¡± Wang Tao frowned immediately. ¡°What kind of attitude is that, Han Rui? As a member of the base committee, I personally arranged work for you, and you¡¯re not welcoming me?¡± ¡°No, I mean...¡± Han Rui wanted to explain, but couldn¡¯t seem to find the right words. She just sighed, head lowered. ¡°Commissioner Wang, just order me whatever task you have...¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t really angry, he was just teasing her. So, he said with a smile: ¡°You¡¯ll accompany me to supervise others in draining water, and I need you to use your Perception Ability for something.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± After Han Rui put on her raincoat, they both left. As Wang Tao opened the door, Sun Weiguang, who had been leaning against it, almost fell headlong. ¡°... What are you doing?¡± Wang Tao was exasperated. ¡°Cough cough, I just lost my footing...¡± Sun Weiguang hurriedly explained in embarrassment. Han Rui didn¡¯t even glance at Sun Weiguang and walked straight out. After Han Rui had gone downstairs, Wang Tao followed her, but not without giving Sun Weiguang a look and saying: ¡°You have some unique hobbies...¡± Once they both had left, Sun Weiguang quickly went inside and sniffed the air in the room. ¡°Really did nothing?¡± Sun Weiguang couldn¡¯t understand why he felt inexplicably disappointed... After Wang Tao and Han Rui got into the vehicle, he turned to her and said: ¡°I want you to Perception-sense those overgrown plants...¡± ¡°Overgrown plants?¡± Han Rui was a bit puzzled as she hadn¡¯t noticed any food plants growing unusually large, but when Wang Tao deliberately drove next to some overgrown plants, Han Rui¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°This... they¡¯re so big!¡± Looking at the bushes that had obviously grown much larger, Han Rui exclaimed in disbelief. ¡°Use your Ability and sense if there is anything special about these plants.¡± Han Rui closed her eyes and concentrated. After feeling around for a while she shook her head. ¡°Nothing, I don¡¯t sense anything...¡± Hearing Han Rui say she felt nothing, Wang Tao sighed in relief. He was afraid these plants had mutated into the kind of man-eating plants seen in movies. It seemed fine for now, as long as Han Rui couldn¡¯t sense anything, there probably wasn¡¯t any danger, at least not for the moment. When they arrived at a place where the water was particularly deep, Wang Tao sat in the car, watching survivors in raincoats, digging through the drains with shovels, in silent observation. He was here to prevent any potential danger to the survivors¡¯ lives, and to figure out what was going on with the acid rain¡¯s HP depletion. The raincoats couldn¡¯t cover all of the survivors¡¯ bodies, especially since they were working, and soon, the survivors started to show ?-i? above their heads. Wang Tao observed that it was the same as with himself, starting to lose HP about every minute. However, only those with full HP were dropping in HP, while those with lesser HP weren¡¯t. Han Rui, watching these survivors working in the rain, instinctively reached to open the door, but Wang Tao locked it. ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± he asked, somewhat puzzled. I m going to help...¡± Han Rui quickly responded. Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at Han Rui in disbelief and told her to stay put. Han Rui¡¯s expression stiffened, feeling Wang Tao was too indifferent. Suddenly, Wang Tao added: ¡°This rain is toxic.¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment. Was Wang Tao showing concern for her? But soon she was worried again, ¡°Then what about them...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m keeping an eye on them, it won¡¯t be a problem.¡± After hesitating for a bit, Han Rui still wished to go down. ¡°I can¡¯t just sit here and watch them work in the rain...¡± Her previous job had instilled in her a lead-by-example attitude. Wang Tao said the rain was toxic but not very dangerous, so she felt she should help out. This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop her and let Han Rui go down. He couldn¡¯t bring imself to do the same, but he admired people like that. Besides, he could also take the opportunity to observe how an Ability User fared in the rain. The survivors generally had an HP around one hundred, and those who came out to work all had full health. Initially, there was no danger.. Chapter 133 - 96 Corrosive Acid Rain 3 Chapter 133: Chapter 96 Corrosive Acid Rain 3 Translator: 549690339???????? ¡® By the time about ten minutes had elapsed, Wang Tao saw a negative status appear below the HP bars of these people. [Corrosive Acid Rain: The body is slightly corroded; resting for a certain period of time will return it to normal] whether they were at full HP or at reduced HP, almost all survivors began to show this condition at this point. Those who hadn¡¯t yet were usually those who were covered up more thoroughly. Twenty minutes in, there were survivors expressing discomfort and wishing to rest for a while. Wang Tao naturally permitted it. However, some people persisted. After all, this was an extra task; the more they worked, the more ration tickets they would receive. At thirty minutes, another group of people wanted to rest. By the forty-minute mark, most people indicated a desire to rest feeling somewhat ill. When fifty minutes arrived, everyone present, except for Han Rui, stated they needed to rest, explaining they felt short of breath and extremely uncomfortable. At this time, their HP had just dropped by half. The negative status above their heads also changed. [Corrosive Acid Rain: The body is moderately corroded; resting for an extended period of time will return it to normal] Wang Tao sent this group home to rest and then switched to the next batch of people. He felt for ordinary people, this was already their limit; if it reached severe corrosion... it might either be very difficult to recover, or they might just drop But Han Rui was different from them; she also had a corrosion status appear above her head, but she had an HP of 240. So, after deducting o HP, she still had 190 remaining, currently still in a ¡°slight corrosion¡± state. Wang Tao conjectured that perhaps when the HP decreased by 10% due to the corrosive acid rain, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems, just a mere deduction of some HP. Once the HP fell by more than 10% of the total amount, a state of slight corrosion would occur, and at that point, the body would start to feel uncomfortable. When the HP dropped to 50% of the total, it would turn into moderate corrosion, and at this stage, it would be too uncomfortable to work. As for how much HP severe corrosion would be, Wang Tao was not certain. After all, he couldn¡¯t actually use the lives of the base¡¯s survivors for experimentation. But now he had a rough understanding that a 50% decrease in HP was a warning line. At this point, one couldn¡¯t stay out in the rain any longer or it might pose a risk to life. Regarding the principle of this ¡°corrosive acid rain,¡± Wang Tao speculated that when the acid rain fell on a person, it would accumulate inside the body; once it accumulated to a certain level, it would cause HP to drop. The more accumulation, the more obvious the negative condition. If it exceeded the body¡¯s limits, it might lead to death. That¡¯s also why, when they first encountered corrosive acid rain, only those at full HP would lose HP, while those at reduced HP would not-the decrease was based on the upper limit of HP, not the current HP level. It felt somewhat similar to the impurities within the body after fusing with a Zombie Crystal Core... ¡°Han Rui, come over!¡± After changing the people outside, Wang Tao called Han Rui over. Han Rui obediently got into the vehicle. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Wang Tao asked: ¡°A bit uncomfortable, I feel some irregularities in my heartbeat, but I can bear Han Rui held her chest, her complexion somewhat pale. ¡°Let me feel.¡± Wang Tao reached out directly, but Han Rui dodged him quickly. ¡°There are so many people outside!¡± Han Rui instinctively covered her chest, her face turning red. ¡°Do you mean it¡¯s okay when there¡¯s no one around?¡± ¡°Not okay when there¡¯s no one either! Wang Tao, didn¡¯t we agree, just pretend nothing happened...¡± Han Rui was somewhat unable to look directly into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Wang Tao, however, replied with an innocent face: ¡°Hmm? What you¡¯re referring to... the incident that night when you took the initiative to hug me? I almost forgot about it, why are you bringing it up again?¡± b Han Rui had never met someone so shameless. She decided to ignore Wang Tao from then on. Wang Tao smiled and didn¡¯t mind; he was just teasing Han Rui a little, but serious business awaited. The drainage system of Shuize University was actually quite good; aside from a few places that would collect water, the rest could flow toward the river north of the university. Shuize County had several rivers, which is where the county¡¯s name came from. One of the longest rivers was located behind Shuize University, but that river didn¡¯t have much water and had shown signs of drying up before Now was a good opportunity to divert the torrential rain into this river. After a full day¡¯s work, the survivors finally managed to sort out the drainage system¡ªessentially, some drainage pipes and ditches had been blocked, and they just needed to clear them out. Under Wang Tao¡¯s supervision, there were no dangers to any survivors- at most, some experienced moderate corrosion and could recover after some rest. When Wang Tao distributed the ration tickets to these people, the survivors were all very happy. Though they were a bit tired and uncomfortable today the day¡¯s earnings were equivalent to a normal week¡¯s! It was worth the fatigue! Once Wang Tao saw that Han Rui really wasn¡¯t having any problems, he sent her home. Then Wang Tao headed to the top floor of the comprehensive building to discuss the issue of corrosive acid rain with several other committee members. Wang Tao shared everything he had observed, of course, after some modification; he definitely wouldn¡¯t disclose his ability to see HP bars. Everyone found this corrosive acid rain to be quite vexing. If future rains were to also be corrosive like this, wouldn¡¯t that mean they couldn¡¯t go out on rainy days? It was bad enough the sunny days were dangerous, but rainy days too, dammit! Although they could wrap themselves up more securely to avoid exposing their skin, it was ultimately still quite risky! Of course, that was for ordinary people. For someone with a lot of HP, they would still have a huge advantage For example, Wang Tao, with his HP of 1200, could stay out in the rain for ten hours without any issue... The group couldn¡¯t figure out any solutions for the time being and could only wait until the rain stopped. But this torrential rain lasted longer than anyone had anticipated, a full three days.. Chapter 134 - 97 The Second Airdrop After the Chapter 134: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Rain_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°The rain has stopped...¡± Wang Tao frowned a little as he got up in the morning and saw the clear sky outside. This was the longest rain he had experienced in his lifetime. It had been raining since he set out to find Shuize Base until it stopped yesterday, lasting a full half month. Fortunately, the previous rain wasn¡¯t heavy; if it had been as torrential as the last three days, Shuize County might have been completely flooded by now. Ding Yuqin had already gotten up and prepared breakfast for Wang Tao. ¡°Sister-in-law, how much food do we have left at home?¡± Wang Tao asked as he ate. ¡°Not counting the nutrients, there¡¯s still...¡± Ding Yuqin took out a list and explained it to Wang Tao in an orderly manner. After listening, Wang Tao tapped the table. ¡°We don¡¯t have much food left; it¡¯s a good time to go out and scavenge...¡± Although he had previously collected a lot of food, he ate a lot, his portion equating to several people¡¯s. Thus, the food was consumed rapidly. Of course, they could still make do with the food for a while, but since Wang Tao was capable, there was no need to be too frugal. After all, how could he have the strength to kill zombies if he wasn¡¯t well-fed? After breakfast, with Ding Yuqin¡¯s help, Wang Tao put on his full gear and then went to the garage to drive out his electric off-road vehicle. As soon as he stepped outside, he could clearly feel that things were different. The exterior wall¡¯s coating had almost entirely peeled off, covered with climbing ivy, and the base of the wall was riddled with green moss. In the yard, the chives and green plants had grown significantly longer. Several cars belonging to the guard personnel were parked outside the yard, all with visible rust; some road signs also rusted, with some becoming illegible... Wang Tao suddenly had the feeling that time had accelerated, as if at least three months or half a year had passed! ¡°Have you had any issues with your cars?¡± Wang Tao rolled down the car window and asked the guards. The guards¡¯ expressions were not very good. ¡°Commissioner Wang, the cars have developed many minor problems, and many parts have rusted inside... But mine is still okay, at least it can start. Some other cars can¡¯t be started at all...¡± Wang Tao frowned. To some survivors, there is no shortage of cars. There are plenty of cars on the streets, and if you have the skill to unlock one and aren¡¯t afraid to attract zombies with the noise, then you can have a car of your own in the post-apocalyptic world. But with the corrosive acid rain, even cars were starting to fail! So many unprotected cars on the streets were likely rendered unusable. In the future, these cars and the like would probably become high-value products... Leaving the commissioner district, Wang Tao drove leisurely to the main building. The campus buildings had also seemed to age rapidly with time, with plants growing wildly and creeping up the walls. ¡°Commissioner Wang, hello!¡± Other survivors greeted Wang Tao as soon as he arrived at the main building. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded slightly and then went upstairs to meet with Wei Zhenguo and the others. After so many days of recuperation, Wei Zhenguo was finally able to walk without a wheelchair. However, since it takes a hundred days to recover from serious injury, his condition hadn¡¯t healed easily, and he was still in an HP-deficient state. Wang Tao suddenly thought, could the medical kit that he obtained from killing the doctor zombie be used for Wei Zhenguo¡¯s injuries to regenerate HP? It should be possible, right? He decided to try it when he had the chance. Wei Zhenguo nodded at Wang Tao. ¡°Everyone is here, let¡¯s talk. As everyone has seen in the past few days, the corrosive torrential rain has brought significant changes to our area. Everything outside, including cars and buildings, has been corroded... And this is just the situation inside the base. We don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like outside the base yet. But I always feel that it might be more dangerous outside...¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s face showed concern. In the post-apocalypse, any unknown represented danger. Everyone had become somewhat accustomed to life at the end of the world, but after the heavy rain, they felt a sense of unfamiliarity with the apocalypse again... ¡°Forget about it! We deal with soldiers when they come, cover water with soil when it flows; we¡¯ve survived for over a month, and it shouldn¡¯t be a big problem to survive another month!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke up nonchalantly. ¡°I¡¯m just worried that if the plants outside have also grown large, zombies might be able to hide more easily...¡± Ren Jie frowned. Although he rarely left the base, he was still worried about the Hunters and people like Xiang Hongbin who often went out. ¡°If plants continue to grow this crazily, it might not only be a problem of zombies hiding more easily... Haven¡¯t you ever seen those man-eating plants in movies before?¡± Liu He murmured. Everyone fell silent. Zombies were scary enough; if man-eating plants were to appear, human survival would become even more difficult! ¡°Hey! Let¡¯s worry about the future later and focus on our current situation!¡± Wei Zhenguo waved his hand. What the future holds is uncertain; they were already fortunate to have survived this far with no time or energy to consider too many what-ifs. ¡°We haven¡¯t gone out to look for supplies these past few days, and we¡¯re running out of food in the base...¡± Most of the base¡¯s supplies were collected from the outside, especially food. Though they could grow their own food, the cycle was too long. The base was prepared for this aspect, but it would take time to see results, so they mainly relied on scavenging outside. With so many people in Shuize County turned into zombies, there was still a lot of leftover food.. Chapter 135 - 97 The Second Airdrop After the Chapter 135: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Rain_2 Translator: 549690339 | The rain has stopped, so we need to go out and collect supplies now because no one knows when it will rain again. If it¡¯s more of this corrosive acid rain, then we won¡¯t be able to step outside... After the meeting, Wang Tao and the others decided to take advantage of the sunny days to increase the Contribution Points for purchasing supplies at the base, encouraging the Hunters to scavenge more actively. Of course, those committee members with combat abilities would personally lead teams while collecting supplies and look out for any special infected. The fact that Feng Ming¡¯an had become an Ability User made everyone quite envious. ¡°...So that¡¯s how it is, prioritizing supply scavenging for the next few days! Xiang Hongbin will take the Security Army squad, Feng Ming¡¯an will lead the police Hunter Team, and Lu Gang, you¡¯ll take your sniper squad... As for Wang Tao, will you lead a team or operate solo?¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Wang Tao. When scavenging for supplies in the post-apocalyptic world, more people doesn¡¯t necessarily mean better. In fact, a larger group can increase the risk of exposure, especially for those with weaker command abilities. Whether Wang Tao had strong command abilities was up for debate, as they hadn¡¯t had many chances to see him in action, but Wang Tao had always been a loner, so Wei Zhenguo asked. After thinking for a while, Wang Tao spoke up: ¡®Til just bring Han Rui.¡± If they were specifically hunting special infected, it would make sense to bring more people, but for scavenging supplies, it wasn¡¯t necessary. The others looked at Wang Tao with a strange expression. Why was Wang Tao always with someone else¡¯s wife? Could he have that kind of fetish? But it wasn¡¯t a big deal. It was the end of the world, after all. Wang Tao had the ability, and it¡¯s not like he was doing anything wrong, so naturally, no one said anything. ¡°Okay! Then that¡¯s settled!¡± Wei Zhenguo confirmed the plan. He actually really wanted to go out as well, but his injury hadn¡¯t healed yet, and he would only be a burden if he went now. After the meeting, just as Wang Tao stood up, his ears twitched suddenly. ¡°What¡¯s that sound... A plane!¡± He hurried to the window while the others were somewhat puzzled. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Wang Tao?¡± Wang Tao closed his eyes to determine the direction of the sound more accurately, then suddenly looked up at a spot in the sky and said: ¡°Look up there!¡± The enhancement of his physical condition also meant Wang Tao¡¯s senses had become sharper. Among the people present, he had the strongest constitution and the keenest senses. The others followed where Wang Tao was pointing, and after a few seconds, Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and Lu Gang all perked up in spirit. ¡°It¡¯s a plane! Could it be an airdrop?¡± They were all too familiar with the humming sound of an airplane! Moments later, they saw a small black dot appear in the sky. Those with binoculars brought them out to take a look. ¡°It¡¯s a military transport plane! It is an airdrop! The group felt a surge of excitement ¨C airdrops could contain good stuff! Seeing their reaction, Wang Tao knew that they must have come across airdrops before. Wei Zhenguo, thinking Wang Tao wasn¡¯t aware of airdrops, explained it to him. ¡°The airdrop has a lot of good things inside, like food, bullets, medical kits, and some even have Inhibitors!¡± ¡°Are all the Inhibitors in our base from the airdrops?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. He had wanted to know where the base got its Inhibitors but had forgotten to ask. Now the question came up naturally. Wei Zhenguo nodded and said: ¡°That¡¯s right, the Inhibitors only come from the airdrops...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao felt a tinge of disappointment. He had hoped that Wei Zhenguo and the Government had some contact and that they acquired the Inhibitors through special channels, which would at least prove that the Government still had some power... but now it seemed that Wei Zhenguo and his group had completely lost contact with the Government... ¡°Back then, we got a total of six airdrop crates, two of which contained Inhibitors ¨C a total of forty bottles. We haven¡¯t used a single one to date...¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s tone was somewhat wistful. Because many people who were infected by zombies were consumed before they had the chance to use an Inhibitor. Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. He had risked his life just to get one airdrop crate and had only dared to take one, while Shuize Base had managed to get six! Indeed, there¡¯s strength in numbers! Xiang Hongbin chimed in: ¡°At that time, a lot of people from our base died to get those airdrops... The committee hadn¡¯t been established yet. Little Liu, Old Song, and Old Wei hadn¡¯t arrived... Ah, such a pain!¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Clearly, one should be prepared to pay a price for trying to secure airdrops. ¡°So now...¡± Liu He looked expectantly at everyone, as he hadn¡¯t seen a real airdrop before. ¡°We go for the airdrop first!¡± Wei Zhenguo decisively said. Although going for an airdrop was dangerous, the potential rewards and risks went hand in hand. The airdrop¡¯s medical packs, bullets, Inhibitors, and more were all valuable items. Plus, he was eager to find out the current state of the military base since they were still able to send airdrops ¨C did it mean that the situation at the base had improved? If that was the case, it would be great news. Not to mention active military support or anything like that, even if they just sent an airdrop sporadically, it would be enough for many people! ¡°Alright!¡± No one had any objections, as securing an airdrop would be equivalent to finding a lot of supplies. ¡°Remember, if you have the chance, prioritize the airdrops with parachutes ¨C those might contain ammunition and Inhibitors! Airdrops without parachutes usually contain food and clothing....¡± Chapter 136 - 97 The Second Airdrop After the Rain 3 Chapter 136: Chapter 97 The Second Airdrop After the Rain 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Understood.¡± The group nodded, then immediately set off to prepare. Ren Jie also broadcasted throughout the base, informing everyone about the appearance of the airdrop and ambiguously mentioned that there were valuable items inside. He encouraged anyone who was capable to retrieve it, whether for personal use or to exchange for Contribution Points at the base. Not disclosing to these people that the airdrop contained inhibitors was partially a secretive move; after all, the base¡¯s Contribution System relied on the allure of inhibitors to attract people. This was akin to a trump card for the base. On the other hand, it was because he feared the Hunters would be too greedy. After all, a single bottle of inhibitor was worth one hundred thousand Contribution Points and was practically worth half a life. If they were too eager to get the airdrop and decided to go for it despite knowing the dangers, they could very likely end up as zombie lunch. There were not many survivors left in the base, and even fewer Hunters The death of a Hunter was a loss for the base, and naturally, Ren Jie did not wish for anyone to perish. The news of the airdrop instantly sent the base into an uproar. When the first airdrop happened, many had heard the sound of the plane, but it was just the sound; many had not seen an airdrop. Now, hearing that an airdrop had appeared again, the survivors were all very curious and wanted to know what an airdrop looked like and what valuable items it contained. The Hunters, in contrast, were eager to try their luck. They stood in the open square outside, their eyes glued to the plane in the sky, watching to see where the airdrop would land. Wang Tao called over Han Rui, who had already changed into a combat-ready uniform in advance, with steel plates inserted in certain areas of her clothing. ¡°Followme to retrieve the airdrop.¡± ¡°...Yes!¡± Han Rui was slightly excited; this was her first time going for an airdrop. Although she felt it would be awkward to be with Wang Tao, she couldn¡¯t deny that when she was with him...she felt an overwhelming sense of security. The sound of the military transport plane overhead grew louder, and soon, one could see airdrops falling from the sky like eggs being laid. ¡°Let¡¯s go, go, go!¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s figure emerged from the shooting port on top of the military vehicle, holding a rifle and shouting loudly to the others, leading the way out of the base. The rest followed closely behind. Wang Tao looked at several parachuted airdrops and then started the vehicle, driving towards the gate with Han Rui. The situation outside the base was much like the inside: one could see greenery everywhere, roads and buildings looked worn, and vehicles had rusted... But these were not the most important; what mattered was that the zombies were different now! Those zombies in the distance...they look even more decayed!¡± Han Rui was surprised as she looked at a few zombies not far from the base gate. Before, although the zombies looked terrifying, one could still discern what they had looked like in life. But now, after the corrosive acid rain, it was impossible to make out the faces of these zombies. Their hair had fallen out, their facial skin decayed, their teeth exposed...they looked even more ghastly! It wasn¡¯t only their appearance that had changed-the zombies genuinely had become stronger since ordinary zombies now had HP bars showing [1000/1000]! If they hadn¡¯t fed before, their HP used to be 500, but now it had doubled! ¡°These zombies have grown stronger; I¡¯ll test their strength.¡± Wang Tao stopped the car, grabbed his firefighter axe, and walked toward four zombies nearby. Han Rui, wielding a short spear, also got out of the car and followed. There were four ordinary zombies in total, each more fearsome in appearance and all with 1000 HP. ¡°Heh...¡± Now that the heavy rain had ceased, the zombies¡¯ senses became much sharper. They spotted Wang Tao from a distance of about ten meters and twisted their bodies as they moved towards him. ¡°Hmm?¡± However, Wang Tao suddenly paused. These zombies¡¯ speed seemed to have slowed? Wang Tao was familiar with zombies, including their attack power, defensive power, and speed. He could tell that the bodies of these zombies had become stiffer compared to before and were significantly slower. Instead of immediately engaging, Wang Tao waited for the zombies to come close and reach out to grab him. He raised his steel-plated left arm and took the hit from a zombie directly. Bang! ¡°Their strength has increased!¡± Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t lose any HP, he could clearly feel that the zombies were much stronger. ¡°Heh...¡± The other few zombies also gradually approached Wang Tao, who, confident in his own strength, continued to experiment a few times, causing Han Rui, hidden to the side, to be extremely anxious. After ascertaining the zombies¡¯ attack power and speed, Wang Tao swung his axe towards one of the zombies¡¯ heads. Squish! [-1000] [0/1000] Even though the zombies¡¯ HP had doubled, to Wang Tao they were still one-axe kills. However, Wang Tao frowned as he looked at the wound he inflicted. Previously when he killed ordinary zombies, one axe blow would almost blast their heads apart. But now, one axe blow merely caused a crack in the zombie¡¯s skull... ¡°The zombies¡¯ defensive power has increased too!¡± Wang Tao then glanced at his own HP, which remained unchanged. As for the loot dropped by the zombies, it was still an ordinary crafting material. [Received: Nails xi] While he pondered this, Wang Tao¡¯s actions didn¡¯t stop. He swung his firefighter axe at the heads of the remaining zombies. Squish! [-1000] Squish! [-1000] Squish! [-1000] All four ordinary zombies were instantly killed. Han Rui was somewhat astonished to the side. Though she had seen Wang Tao kill zombies with one strike before, watching it now still felt shocking. After all, this was something she couldn¡¯t achieve herself. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao got back in the car and turned on the intercom. ¡°Attention everyone! The overall strength of the zombies has increased after the heavy rain! But their bodies are stiffer, and their speed has slowed down...¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Chapter 137 - 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing_l Chapter 137: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing_l Translator: 549690339 | Buzz- An electric off-road vehicle, armed to the teeth, weaved through the abandoned streets. A sprawled zombie on the ground heard the noise, instantly lifted its head, slowly got up, and then clawed its way towards the vehicle. The speed of the off-road vehicle did not decrease. Suddenly, the passenger window rolled down, and a short spear extended out. Thud! The spear pierced the zombie¡¯s eye socket with precision, exiting the back of its skull. Bang! The zombie was flung into the air, landing in a pile of garbage at the corner. The vehicle continued on. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Inside, Han Rui retracted the short spear, massaging her slightly sore arm. Leveraging the vehicle¡¯s formidable power, she enjoyed the thrill of an instant kill, but the power was too overwhelming for her physical condition. Wang Tao turned to glance at her, and Han Rui quickly said, ¡°Pm fine!¡± She did not want to leave an impression on Wang Tao that she was useless. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much; in fact, he was checking Han Rui¡¯s HP. Her HP bar had been 240, but now after killing the zombie, it had increased to 250¡ªthe ordinary zombie had added ten points to her HP. Before the heavy rain, an ordinary zombie typically added five points of HP, and if they encountered ones who had devoured many humans or were in special circumstances, they would give more, like 10,15, and so on. The one Han Rui had just killed was clearly as ordinary as they come, yet it gave her ten points of HP... After ordinary zombies had strengthened, the HP they contributed after being killed increased too! This could be considered good news, after all, those ordinary zombies had slowed down, and an average survivor, if prepared, should still be able to handle them. Now, killing an ordinary zombie was the equivalent to killing two ordinary zombies before... ¡°Which way at this intersection?¡± Wang Tao asked, looking at the fork in the road ahead. Han Rui quickly pointed to the road on the far left. ¡°Go this way!¡± Wang Tao turned the steering wheel sharply, making the turn. Since they were teaming up, it was natural to divide the work and cooperate. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t afford to carry a dead weight. For the time being, Han Rui¡¯s ability wasn¡¯t needed, so she helped keep an eye on the airdrop location and navigated for Wang Tao. This saved him a lot of trouble. In no time, Wang Tao spotted the first airdrop with a parachute. It had landed on the rooftop of a two-story building on the street. Below, a group of zombies milled about¡ªprobably attracted by the noise of the airdrop¡ªabout fifteen to twenty in number. ¡°The airdrop on this rooftop is a bit hard to retrieve...¡± Han Rui frowned. In his view, to get the airdrop, you¡¯d have to deal with all the zombies below first, then go up. Wang Tao parked the car not too far from the two-story building and, after a brief moment of contemplation, got out of the vehicle. ¡°I¡¯ll get the airdrop, you drive the car, and be ready to pick me up.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui quickly crawled from the passenger seat to the driver¡¯s seat, not daring to ask too many questions. Wang Tao cautiously approached the building, observing the group of zombies, then the building, silently calculating for a while before suddenly charging towards them. ¡°Hehe...¡± The dull zombies, spotting a living person, immediately groaned at Wang Tao and moved toward him. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge or retreat. He swung his firefighter axe with his right hand at one zombie, shattering its skull, while with his left hand he pushed another zombie, sending it crashing to the ground and knocking down several others in the process. A small vacuum appeared in front of Wang Tao, but three meters ahead was another standing zombie. At that moment, Wang Tao sheathed his firefighter axe, suddenly jumped, and stepped on the zombie¡¯s head, reaching out with both hands to grasp the second ¨C floor window ledge. Wang Tao¡¯s arm muscles bulged, and his hands powered up, climbing up the exterior wall to the rooftop like a gecko. Han Rui, watching all this from a distance, was astounded. She had imagined several ways to get in but never expected Wang Tao to be so straightforward and brutal, simply climbing up the exterior wall! ¡°His upper body strength is too strong...¡± But his lower body strength seems even stronger... Han Rui quickly shook her head. How could she be thinking of such nonsense at such a crucial moment! Once Wang Tao reached the rooftop, he hurried to the airdrop. This airdrop did not seem different from the previous one he had found¡ªit looked and was the same size. However, when Wang Tao inputted a password hinted by addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to open it, he found completely different contents inside. This airdrop contained no guns or bullets, no food or medkits, only an inhibitor and an updated Zombie Guide! Wang Tao took the guide and inhibitor, stuffing them into the backpack he¡¯ d prepared earlier. Then he glanced at the group of zombies below and opened his walkie-talkie. ¡°Bring the car here, now!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Although Han Rui did not know what plan Wang Tao had, she obeyed his orders unconditionally, which was agreed upon before going out. Han Rui knew she was less experienced and capable than Wang Tao, so she harbored no resistance. Buzz- As Wang Tao watched Han Rui drive the car towards the building, he immediately pulled out the firefighter axe from his waist and jumped straight down from the rooftop! Mid-jump, he raised the firefighter axe, and in his heart, he silently activated his Shockwave Ability. Boom! The moment Wang Tao landed among the zombies, a white shockwave radiated outward from him, spreading in all directions! Chapter 138 - 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing_2 Chapter 138: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing_2 Translator: 549690339 Thud! [-1000 HP] [-1000 HP] [-1000 HP] [-1000 HP] [...] A series of eye-catching damage floated up, and all the zombies fell to the ground in an instant. Three seconds later, Han Rui drove the car up to Wang Tao and opened the passenger door. Wang Tao rushed into the vehicle. ¡°Next supply drop location.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui, too, was an old hand at driving, her skills somewhat better than Wang Tao1 s. She swiftly drove away from the area with Wang Tao. Wang Tao opened the walkie-talkie again and informed the other members at the base that he had taken the supplies from this drop. Before heading out, everyone had agreed to report on the public channel each time they collected a drop, to avoid others making a needless trip. On the road, Han Rui glanced at Wang Tao from time to time; her expression was slightly excited. Wang Tao¡¯s descent from the sky and immediate massacre of those zombies was downright cool! But Wang Tao appeared very calm, and it didn¡¯t seem feigned. This left Han Rui feeling slightly discouraged; the gap between her and Wang Tao seemed to be growing ever larger... Wang Tao indeed felt calm, even though the zombies¡¯ HP had doubled. He could still kill them instantly, so there was nothing surprising. Han Rui continued to drive while Wang Tao took out the inhibitors. There were a total of five boxes of inhibitors, with twenty vials per box, meaning a hundred vials of inhibitor in all! What a bountiful harvest! ¡°This is...¡± Han Rui looked at the small vials with some curiosity. ¡°Inhibitors,¡± Wang Tao glanced at her. ¡°Ah? These are inhibitors?There¡¯s... so many!¡± Han Rui was shocked. Of course, she knew about inhibitors, but she had never seen them before, as the base wouldn¡¯t just put them on display. Only those who accumulated a hundred thousand Contribution Points could redeem an inhibitor, but so far, no one had reached such a high number. So it wasn¡¯t just her¡ªmany others in the base knew of inhibitors only by name and hadn¡¯t seen them. In her understanding, since an inhibitor required a hundred thousand Contribution Points to redeem, it must be incredibly valuable! There likely weren¡¯t many in the entire base. But there in Wang Tao¡¯ s hands were five boxes, with twenty vials in each. Wasn¡¯t that a hundred vials? Converted into Contribution Points... that would be ten million Contribution Points! However, if there were many inhibitors, the Contribution Points required should decrease, right? Moreover, for Wang Tao, who was already a committee member, having so many Contribution Points seemed somewhat unnecessary... Han Rui sneaked a glance at Wang Tao; she was unsure what he intended to do with these inhibitors. Wang Tao seemed to know what Han Rui was thinking and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll keep a portion for myself and put the rest in the base.¡± Since he was a part of the base and one of the highest-ranked individuals, it was only right to contribute to the base. He had no immediate use for so many inhibitors. Han Rui moved her lips; she actually wanted an inhibitor too, as it was something that could save lives in a critical moment. But since Wang Tao had taken the risks to obtain them, she felt embarrassed to ask. They encountered a few more zombies on the road, all of which were easily dealt with by Wang Tao. About half an hour later, the two spotted the second supply drop. This one had landed in the middle of a big road, but the box had been opened. There were several zombies with their heads blown off nearby, and boxes that once contained inhibitors were scattered on the ground¡ªall empty. Judging by their scattered arrangement, they led toward a red house with its door ajar. ¡°Someone got here first... There probably were inhibitors inside, all gone now.¡± Wang Tao lowered his binoculars. Throughout their journey, those from Shuize Base who claimed the drops had reported through the walkie-talkies. The drop in the street hadn¡¯t been reported. This meant that those who took it weren¡¯t from Shuize Base. There were other survivors! Han Rui immediately drew her pistol and grew vigilant. Sometimes, survivors could be even more dangerous than zombies. But it also pained her heart; if the quantity of inhibitors here was the same as in the drop Wang Tao had just picked up, then that would mean a hundred vials of inhibitors! To let others profit so easily, what a heartache! Wang Tao was about to go check it out when he suddenly turned to Han Rui, ¡°Use your Perception to check if there are zombies or survivors nearby. With Han Rui as a human radar, it was best to make use of her abilities. ¡°Hmm? There are people! Inside that red house!¡± Han Rui closed her eyes, then her face suddenly changed. ¡°Five humans! Among them, two give me a very strong feeling, like they are Ability Users... ¡°Well, well! Looks like they¡¯re fishing!¡± Wang Tao frowned at the trajectory of the empty boxes from a distance. He had originally wondered if the survivor who came across this drop had been sloppy, discarding the shock-proof boxes meant for the inhibitors and simply running off with the vials, caring not if they accidentally broke. But the fact they were in the house explained it¡ªthey had created this scene on purpose, fishing for others! If anyone followed the trail of the fallen boxes out of curiosity and entered the red house, they would meet two Ability Users and three survivors waiting for them! Of course, it could also be a coincidence, like the other party was just resting inside the house. But in this post-apocalyptic world, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind assuming the worst in others! Thinking of Cao Xin¡¯s boss, Shao Yong, rumored to be a strong Ability User who was also building his power, Wang Tao¡¯s mind raced. Shuize County wasn¡¯t that big, and apart from Shuize Base, it seemed that only Shao Yong and his followers held any significant influence. Chapter 139 - 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing 3 Chapter 139: Chapter 98: Picking Air Drops, Fishing 3 Translator: 549690339????????? G ¡® Among the five people, two were Ability Users. Unless it was a very lucky small group, it probably indicated a certain number of people from a certain force. Wang Tao had reason to suspect that these were Shao Yong¡¯s people... ¡°So what do we do...¡± Knowing that someone was intentionally hiding inside and seeing traces of deliberate preparation at the scene, Han Rui no longer wanted to go over. Who knew if there were dangers lurking inside? ¡°Just go.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s main mission today was to retrieve the airdrop; everything else was secondary. Moreover, if he already suspected something was off with the other party, going over now would be stupid. ¡°Mm!¡± Han Rut quickly nodded and then drove away from the area. Wang Tao reported the situation here over the walkie-talkie. Meanwhile, inside the red house. ¡°Damn it, they left!¡± ¡°Motherfucker, they¡¯re not coming this way? So cautious?¡± ¡°All that preparation for the trap for nothing.¡± ¡°Shit! I said we should have set up our traps further forward. Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to just place them right at the airdrop?¡± ¡°Stupid, do you think this is a game? They¡¯re not blind; how could they not see such a big trap?¡± ¡°Ah, forget it, let¡¯s go back...¡± ¡°These two people should be from Shuize Base, right? Our boss offered a hefty sum to catch them, what a pity...¡± The electric off-road vehicle arrived in front of another airdrop crate, but this time their luck didn¡¯t seem too good. This airdrop had landed in the middle of a group of zombies on the street, which included three special zombies. Two of them were Self-exploders with 1500 HP each, and the third was a 2000 HP zombie that Wang Tao had never seen before-it wore a police uniform, was tall and muscular, and most eye- catching of all, it was holding a handgun! ¡°That police zombie, could it actually use a gun?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. If zombies could use guns, then what was left for the survivors? Han Rut also got a fright, a gun-wielding zombie? How were the survivors supposed to live! ¡°Retreat!¡± Wang Tao decisively left the area. If there was only one police zombie, he might have thought of a way to deal with it. But with two Self-exploders by its side, there was no need to ask for trouble. Han Rui was a bit cowed as well, mainly because the gun-toting police zombie was too intimidating! Wang Tao opened the walkie-talkie and informed everyone that this airdrop was extremely dangerous and that no one should come here. ¡°On to the next location.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui drove the vehicle away. Wang Tao looked back, his desire to hunt down that police zombie growing because he wanted to know what it might drop. But unfortunately, now was not the right time... He silently took note of this place, intending to come back later. However, thinking of those two Suicide Bombing Zombies, Wang Tao frowned again. I need to find a way to deal with these Self-exploding zombies...¡± He didn¡¯t have a perfect method to solve the problem of Self-exploding zombies yet, and every time he encountered one, he chose to avoid it. The true terror of the suicide bombing zombies wasn¡¯t the explosion itself, but the fact that it would attract other zombies. If he hadn¡¯t been worried about making too much noise, he could have simply thrown something over to distract the self-exploder, who would likely detonate within three seconds upon discovering him. Unless Wang Tao could deal with it within those three seconds -no, Wang Tao even suspected that once it began its self-detonation, even if it was killed at that moment, it would still explode! According to what Lu Gang had said, his previous method of killing a suicide bombing zombie was to snipe its head from a distance, a one-shot kill! Then it wouldn¡¯t detonate. So, in other words, for Wang Tao to safely kill a suicide bombing zombie, it would be best to one-shot kill it before it even became aware of him! But this was extremely difficult because Wang Tao didn¡¯t have any abilities for ranged attacks... His only skill was the Flying Axe, which was for mid-to-close range combat, and he wasn¡¯t sure how much damage the Flying Axe could do to a suicide bombing zombie... The fourth supply drop landed in a residential area. Seeing the name of the neighborhood, Wang Tao let out a slight exclamation. Eh? Isn¡¯t this exactly the neighborhood where Sun Weiguang¡¯s friend with the bow and arrows used to live?¡± He asked Han Rui to park the car not far from the neighborhood. The entrance gate to the community was open, and there were quite a few zombies inside. The supply drop had fallen on the plaza between several tall buildings, but there were no special zombies this time. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a rush to head over. It was noon, and he hadn¡¯t eaten since the busy morning. ¡°Let¡¯s have something to eat before we go over.¡± Wang Tao took some dry noodles and bottled water out of the car. It wasn¡¯t convenient to do more outdoors, so he made do with a simple meal. ¡°Gurgle-¡± Upon seeing the food, Han Rui instinctively swallowed her saliva. Since she had arrived at Shuize Base, she hadn¡¯t eaten any proper food like this; the ration tickets at the base could only be exchanged for porridge. Although they claimed the ingredients were different every day, and so were the flavors, its unpleasant taste remained consistently the same... Of course, Han Rui wasn¡¯t picky. Having a warm meal in the apocalypse was already good fortune, so she wasn¡¯t in a position to be choosy. But still, she longed for some normal food... Inside the resource department, you could exchange contribution points for some food, but it was rather expensive, and Han Rui was too thrifty to buy it. Now that she saw Wang Tao take out this food, she could hardly control her saliva. Wang Tao threw three packets of instant noodles and a bottle of water to Han Rui. Those with strong physiques typically had larger appetites. ¡°Just eat it dry, make do with it.¡± You call this making do? Han Rui opened her mouth to speak, but she didn¡¯t have the time to complain. She carefully opened a packet, fearing that she might spill some. Then, taking a gentle bite of the noodle brick, savoring its aroma, she almost teared up. Wang Tao was much less delicate, wolfing down three packets of instant noodles and still feeling a bit hungry. But no matter whether eaten dry or soaked, instant noodles always seemed to taste best with the first bite and got worse the more he ate. So, Wang Tao simply chugged another bottle of nutritional liquid. Han Rut didn¡¯t indulge herself too much and only ate one packet while drinking some water. She planned to bring the remaining two packets back to eat later since they were given to her by Wang Tao, they should be hers now, right? Seeing this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much. Once he was sure Han Rui had finished eating, they both got out of the car and walked towards the upscale residential area. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan on going for the supply drop first; he wanted to check out the room with the bow and arrows. Sun Weiguang probably wouldn¡¯t lie to him about something like this. The two didn¡¯t take the main entrance but climbed over another part of the compound wall instead. Then they ignored the supply drop and the zombies in the courtyard and headed straight for Villa No. 3 in the villa area. At this moment, No. 3 Villa, overgrown with weeds and with peeling wall paint. Behind the curtains of the master bedroom on the third floor, a somewhat stiff figure held a bow. A gust of wind revealed the pair of pallid pupils. Chapter 140 - 99 Archer Zombie l Chapter 140: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Aren¡¯t we going for the airdrop first?¡± Han Rui asked curiously in a low voice beside Wang Tao. Although there were many zombies near the airdrop, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult for Wang Tao to kill these zombies, right? ¡°No rush, I¡¯m going to get something first.¡± Wang Tao looked at the villa No. 3 in front of him and a smile appeared on his face. If he really could get the bow and arrows, he could also practice with the zombies in the residential area. If not, at worst, it would only be a waste of some time. ¡°The villa¡¯s gate is open...¡± There were no zombies at the gate of the villa, but since the door was open, it was probably as Sun Weiguang had described. Just as Wang Tao was about to move forward, Han Rui suddenly said: ¡°There is a zombie, on the upper floor!¡± Without waiting for Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, she had already activated her Perception Ability and just detected a zombie. Wang Tao halted his steps and looked up. He could only see a half-open window on the second floor, but the curtains inside obscured his view of the details. ¡°It¡¯s likely the owner of the house???? huh?¡± Before Wang Tao could speak, he saw something stick-like parting the curtains. This immediately set off alarm bells in his head. Wang Tao gave Han Rui a fierce shove, sending her tumbling to the ground in a sprawl, while he himself leapt to the other side. Whiz An arrow suddenly appeared at the spot where the two had just been standing. ¡°Find cover!¡± Wang Tao yelled in a low voice, hiding behind the courtyard wall near the gate. Han Rui, with her excellent combat skills, didn¡¯t need Wang Tao to tell her what to do and had already taken cover behind the wall on the other side of the gate. Seeing the arrow on the ground, she felt a chill run down her spine. Her Perception hadn¡¯t been wrong! There was only one zombie upstairs! Could that arrow have been shot by a zombie? If zombies could conduct ranged attacks now, how were human survivors supposed to live? And if this zombie could shoot arrows, did that mean the police zombie they had seen before could really shoot... Han Rui felt a coldness settling in her heart. Wang Tao shouted to Han Rui: ¡°Are there any other zombies inside?¡± Han Rui closed her eyes and concentrated, then quickly replied: ¡°No, I can only sense this one zombie!¡± The range of her Ability just covered the entire villa, and she really didn¡¯t detect any other disturbances. ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao nodded, then picked up a firefighter axe and threw it at the gate. Whiz Another arrow flew in, and although it didn¡¯t hit the firefighter axe, it landed about ten centimeters from the axe. If a person had been shooting the arrow, the accuracy would have been deemed inadequate, but if it was a zombie, this was rather frightening. And regardless of the precision, Wang Tao had no intention of taking the hit; he wasn¡¯t about to gamble with his life. After Wang Tao took out another firefighter axe, he said to Han Rui: ¡°I¡¯ll go around the back. You distract it from here!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui quickly took off her hat, then hid behind the wall, extending only the hat out. Soon, a third arrow flew over. The arrow struck next to the hat, embedding itself deeply at an angle into the ground. Han Rui swallowed hard and continued to use the hat as a lure. Wang Tao, meanwhile, quietly made his way around to the other side and vaulted over the courtyard wall. After estimating the position of the room where the zombie was, he climbed in through a window. None of the doors and windows in the villa were locked; it seemed that the owner had been infected suddenly and had no chance to resist. Having found the staircase, Wang Tao slowly went upstairs to the master bedroom. The door was closed but not locked. He didn¡¯t rush in but instead quietly contacted Han Rui with the walkie-talkie. ¡°Tell me when it shoots an arrow!¡± After a moment, Han Rui¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°It shot!¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s body began to harden as he activated his ¡°Toughness¡± Ability, and then he suddenly pushed open the bedroom door. At the window of the bedroom was a zombie carrying a quiver and holding a recurve bow, stiffly pulling the string. This zombie hadn¡¯t been out in the rain and was not as decomposed as the ones outside, making it look relatively ¡°clean-cut¡± in comparison. It had [15OO/15OO]HP. The noise of Wang Tao entering immediately caught the zombie¡¯s attention, and it directed the bow and arrows toward him. But it had just grasped the arrow in its hand, and there were a few seconds before it could actually shoot. Wang Tao decisively threw the firefighter axe he was holding. Swoosh¡ªBang! [-25] The firefighter axe hit the zombie squarely in the chest with great force, causing it to wobble and the arrow in its hand to fall to the ground. It reached into the quiver on its back to grab another arrow, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t give it the chance. Wang Tao took out another firefighter axe from behind his back¡ªafter all, he always carried four when he was out. He had used two just now, leaving him with two more. This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t throw it but charged forward and brutally hacked the axe down on the zombie¡¯s head. Splurch! [-841] The blow made the zombie¡¯s body tilt, and it looked unsteady. Wang Tao grabbed its shoulder with his left hand and delivered another axe blow. Splurch! [-634] [0/1500] The zombie¡¯s head was cleaved open. A shimmering Red Crystal Core popped out. Wang Tao casually caught it, and then picked up the loot dropped by the zombie. The Defense of this Archer Zombie was weaker than Wang Tao had expected, or perhaps his Attack power was just too strong. However, this zombie¡¯s added HP limit was decent, giving Wang Tao an extra 50 HP, raising his total to ¡°1250¡±.. Chapter 141 - 99 Archer Zombie 2 Chapter 141: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie 2 Translator: 549690339 | ¡ª Wang Tao pressed the intercom. ¡°You can come up now, and close the gate behind you.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After closing the gate, Han Rui hurried inside, her mind somewhat amazed. Although she hadn¡¯t seen how Wang Tao had killed the zombies, through her perception, she could ¡°see¡± that Wang Tao had killed the zombies instantly after bursting into the room, without giving them any chance to fight back! She really wished she had that kind of strength! After Han Rui reached the upstairs, she saw Wang Tao scavenging through the room. Hmm? Where are the bow and arrows? Han Rui noticed the zombie¡¯s body was empty-handed, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the bow and arrows either... but there was a bow hanging on the wall, and Wang Tao had hung the zombie¡¯s bow back up? Han Rui found it a little strange but didn¡¯t ask further. The small villa was quite large, and it took Wang Tao and Han Rui a while to scavenge through it. ¡°There are three bows and one crossbow in total, 55 crossbow arrows, 150 bow and arrows, not much food, most have gone bad, only a few bags of rice are edible... and some electronic products that should be usable...¡± After taking an inventory, Han Rui spoke to Wang Tao. Her eyes occasionally drifted towards the hand crossbow with a scope, more accurately a sniper crossbow. ¡°What? You want it?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°Um...¡± Han Rui nodded honestly. She really wanted that crossbow; her shooting skills were actually not bad, but unfortunately, there were no opportunities for her to show them. However, with a crossbow, her combat ability would definitely get a big boost! It was a compound crossbow with a matte black body but a red crossbow String, equipped with an optical scope and a quiver that could hold four spare arrows... Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very familiar with crossbows and bows, but even he could tell that this crossbow was expensive. And it wasn¡¯t just about the expense, but such crossbows were rare, impossible to buy through regular channels in the country. It¡¯s legal to own bows. But owning a crossbow is illegal. The origins of this crossbow were definitely not legitimate. For most people, the lethality of a crossbow far exceeds that of a bow After all archery requires practice, both skill, and strength. But a crossbow is different; ¡¯ Its lethality depends on the crossbow, not the person. Even a child wielding it ¡¯ could cause substantial harm! So to some extent, the value of this crossbow was much higher than that of the three bows. After admiring the crossbow for a while, Wang Tao handed it directly to Han Rui. ¡°I¡¯m lending it to you.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Han Rui instinctively caught it but was somewhat incredulous. She believed Wang Tao must be aware of the value of the crossbow, yet he just lent it to her?????????????????????????????? 1 ¡°Don¡¯t you know how to use it?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly. ¡°I do!¡± Han Rui quickly hugged the compound crossbow close. She was very proficient with the sniper crossbow; after all, the police department had crossbows, and she used them when carrying out certain tasks. The crossbow was also one of her assessment items and, without considering the firing rate, she was just as good with a crossbow as with a gun. ¡°Good then,¡± Wang Tao said. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say more. The crossbow was indeed a good piece of equipment, but he had just acquired something even better! So lending the crossbow to Han Rui was quite appropriate. After all, they would be scavenging for supplies together in the future, and having a teammate who could provide long-range support would make things much easier for Wang Tao. After receiving the crossbow, Han Rui quickly operated it to get a feel for it. Whoosh¡ª There was a target in the living room, and Han Rui tested it; she was hitting the target almost every time within a medium distance. Wang Tao looked at the three bows, which were also modern compound bows and seemed quite good. But they definitely weren¡¯t as expensive as the crossbow, and they were more challenging to master; not as convenient as a crossbow. Wang Tao tried using them briefly; they were passable at close range, but anything further was a no-go. This was because he had learned archery-once dreaming of becoming a film and television protagonist, he had dabbled in things like archery and horse riding. Leaving aside his level of skill, at least he knew how to use them. During shooting, he could genuinely ride a horse and shoot arrows. After scavenging through the small villa, Wang Tao was ready to retrieve the airdrop, and then take the opportunity to scavenge through the other villas. The residential area was quite large, roughly divided into three parts: a villa district, an apartment block area, and an artificial lake. Wang Tao felt this place could be developed into a Survivor Base, but it would require a lot of manpower to transform. And they would need to clear out the zombies in these apartment blocks, which was not an easy task. There were more than a dozen buildings, each with two units, and each around ten to twenty stories tail... Wang Tao was unsure how many zombies were inside, but they couldn¡¯t be cleared out in a short time, and it was very dangerous. The location of the airdrop was in the square in front of several tall buildings. ¡°Do you think there are any survivors inside?¡± Han Rui suddenly asked, looking at the tall buildings. ¡°Perhaps,¡± Wang Tao glanced at the high-rise buildings. Even if there were survivors it was out of his hands to save them. Because nobody knew how many zombies were inside these buildings and even with Wang Tao¡¯s strength, he couldn¡¯t guarantee his own safety. ¡¯ Unless they could find their way out on their own, or inform Wang Tao of the specific situation inside, and then arrange tactics accordingly. ¡°Sigh...¡± Han Rui shook her head, not dwelling on it further. Of course, she hoped to rescue survivors, but she also knew that their primary mission was to ensure their own safety; only on the premise of their own safety could they rescue others... The two took all the items they found in Villa No. 3 back to the car, and only then did they enter the residential area through the main gate.. Chapter 142 - 99 Archer Zombie_3 Chapter 142: Chapter 99 Archer Zombie_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao hung the firefighter axe at his waist and held a compound bow, while Han Rui wielded a compound crossbow. Both were eager to try out their new weapons. As they approached the entrance, still dozens of meters away, Han Rui raised her crossbow. Whoosh¡ª A crossbow arrow flew out, piercing directly into the eye socket of a zombie at the door. [-1000] [o/iooo] It was an instant kill, and apart from the sound of the zombie hitting the ground, there were no other sounds; the surrounding zombies did not even notice Wang Tao and Han Rui. Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui, somewhat surprised. The power of the crossbow arrow was higher than he had anticipated, capable of one-shotting an Ordinary Zombie! If Han Rui had used a spear to attack a zombie, she would normally deal about two hundred HP worth of damage. Previously, it took two or three stabs to kill a zombie. As zombies gained more HP, it could take four or five stabs to do the job. But now, using the sniper crossbow, she could easily kill them instantly. However, on second thought, it made sense. After all, the power of a crossbow cannot be underestimated, especially a modern compound crossbow like this, which could be more powerful than some guns. Except for its slower firing rate, it could be considered a divine artifact in this apocalyptic world. Han Rui was thrilled; she finally had the ability to kill Ordinary Zombies in one shot! Although it was with the help of a powerful tool, the kills were indeed made by her own hands, and she could even feel a slight warmth in her body... that was the sensation of growing stronger! However, the crossbow¡¯s firing rate was slow, and it was a large sniper crossbow which she had to cock with her foot. It somewhat affected her performance. After seeing Han Rui¡¯s success, Wang Tao did not hurry to take action. Since his Arrow Technique was very average, he was unlikely to hit if the zombies were not at close range. ¡°It¡¯s up to you,¡± Wang Tao said to Han Rui. ¡°Yes!¡± Han Rui nodded a little excitedly. This modern compound crossbow had a very long shooting range, said to reach four or five hundred meters. Of course, hitting a target at that distance would depend on luck, since the crossbow arrows were heavy, flew slow, and had a significant drop in trajectory, making them more susceptible to environmental factors. Let alone a crossbow, even using a gun, hitting a target two hundred meters away could earn someone the title of sniper. Normally, snipers like Han Rui from the police force would have an accuracy of about one hundred meters. So for Han Rui, as long as she could ensure effective hits within a thirty to fifty meters range, she would be more than satisfied. Currently, they were only about twenty to thirty meters away from the zombies at the gate. Han Rui calmed her mind and could almost achieve a hundred percent accuracy. Soon, all seven zombies at the gate were taken out by Han Rui¡¯s sniping, without attracting any attention from other zombies. Han Rui¡¯s HP also broke three hundred, reaching [330/330]. ¡°Awesome!¡± Han Rui silently cheered inside her heart. Every time her HP increased by a hundred, there was a minor but noticeable enhancement to her physical attributes. Han Rui had only experienced this twice before, and both times under dangerous circumstances without time to savor the sensation. Now it was utterly different, dispatching zombies with such ease! Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with eyes full of gratitude. Without Wang Tao, she would never have had this opportunity. He had given up his own chance for improvement to her! ¡°Thank you!¡± Han Rui expressed her gratitude sincerely. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao watched Han Rui snipe at a distance, feeling a bit envious. But at this range, he simply couldn¡¯t hit the mark. He had tried firing two arrows: one hit a pillar and the other hit a zombie¡¯s leg... The two reached the gate and collected all the arrows stuck in the zombies, as they could be reused. Hehe... Upon arrival, they discovered a security guard zombie in the guardhouse. Wang Tao quickly drew his bow and arrow, took aim, and released. Whoosh¡ª [-1000] [0/1000] Finally killing a zombie with a bow and arrow, Wang Tao felt quite pleased. Though it was only at a distance of three meters, he might¡¯ve killed it faster with his axe... The two entered the housing complex through the main gate and could see about thirty zombies around the airdrop in the square. It was an airdrop with a parachute. They stopped about twenty meters from the zombies and then each picked targets to shoot. A few minutes later, all thirty-plus zombies lay on the ground. Han Rui accounted for twenty-seven of them, while Wang Tao only six. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao¡¯s aim was off, but he purposely gave Han Rui the opportunity since killing these Ordinary Zombies didn¡¯t increase his HP limit anymore. The two walked over, and after Han Rui collected her crossbow arrows, she helped Wang Tao collect his arrows as well. She looked at the bundle of arrows sticking out from the zombies¡¯ chests, thighs, and even buttocks, pretending not to notice anything. Wang Tao opened the airdrop box, which contained what he had expected ¨C Inhibitors. There were five boxes in total, each one with twenty tubes. After securing all the Inhibitors, they were about to leave. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt a light shining on his feet. He looked up to see a man in the 12th-floor window of building number 1 waving a mirror at him. ¡°There are survivors!¡± Han Rui¡¯s gaze sharpened. But looking at the man¡¯s position, she shook her head. She didn¡¯t have the capability, and while Wang Tao might, there was no need for him to take the risk. ¡°Our mission today is to discover airdrops. We¡¯ll report the survivors¡¯ presence to the base, and let them come up with a plan.¡± Wang Tao shook his head; he still had a few more airdrops to collect. Frankly, rescuing these survivors was not as valuable as collecting airdrops. At that moment, the man upstairs became frantic, waving the mirror wildly, thinking Wang Tao had not seen him. But neither Wang Tao nor Han Rui were moved and were about to leave. Just then, a sharp female cry came from upstairs. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t go, save us!¡± The voice pierced the sky. ¡°...Stupid!¡± Wang Tao cursed under his breath. ¡°Run!¡± Before the pair could leave the complex, they saw a large swarm of Mad Demon Zombies drawn by the noise. Observing the horde crowned with 2000 HP Mad Demons, Wang Tao decisively pulled Han Rui to run back. ¡°To the villa district! Chapter 143 - 100 Li Qiuyu, War Spoils l Chapter 143: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, War Spoils l Translator: 549690339 With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, even if the HP of the Mad Demon Zombies were to double, he could deal with them. But the problem was that there were too many of them! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t even had the time to count; with a rough glance, there were at least thirty or forty! If there had been a car, it would have been good to drive away. But for safety, Wang Tao had parked his car a bit farther from the entrance of the residential area, and now it was definitely too late to run there. So, he simply ran towards the villa area. When scavenging Villa No. 3 before, Wang Tao had felt that the villa was quite good¡ªfeaturing anti-theft doors and windows, it should hold against these zombies. Although he still had a Stealth Potion that could hide him from zombies, he wasn¡¯t sure whether it would work on Mad Demon Zombies, and besides, there were two of them but only one Stealth Potion. He disdained to betray his teammate, and it wasn¡¯t like he lacked the strength... At this moment, on the 12th floor of Building No. 1. A few gaunt people were all peering out of the window, looking down. ¡°Ah, those two people have left!¡± One of the skinny young men spoke with a tone of disappointment. ¡°It¡¯s all Gao Hua¡¯s fault, what were you waving that mirror for, they couldn¡¯t even see it! If I had shouted earlier, maybe they would have come...¡± A somewhat chubby woman complained. The one named Gao Hua, a man wearing a dirty suit and gold-rimmed glasses, put down the binoculars without attending to the woman but rather muttered with a troubled look: ¡°It¡¯s over, we are going to get them killed...¡± ¡°Eh? They¡¯re back?¡± At this point, a young woman spoke up, sounding somewhat surprised. Everyone hurriedly looked. ¡°Really, they¡¯re back!¡± Seeing this, the big woman was instantly smug. ¡°I told you to let me shout! See, they have come back, haven¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Wait, behind them... Fuck!¡± The skinny young man¡¯s eyes bulged. ¡°Dozens of zombies are chasing them! Those zombies are running too fast! It¡¯s over, those two are done for! You guys got them killed!¡± Some people looked troubled. The stout woman herself was startled to see so many zombies running crazily towards them, her legs growing a bit weak, but her mouth remained as indomitable as ever. ¡°That, that¡¯s not my fault! The zombies must have been outside already, and they just happened to bump into them when they went out! Could my shouting attract so many zombies? Impossible! It¡¯s just their bad luck, yes! It¡¯s their bad luck. If they¡¯d come to save us earlier, they wouldn¡¯t have run into these zombies!¡± At that moment, Gao Hua took a deep breath before speaking: ¡°These types of zombies should be very sensitive to noise. If you shout again, you will definitely attract more. You can try if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± Whether she believed it or not, the woman dared not try again. She glared at Gao Hua with an ugly expression. ¡°Hmph, it wasn¡¯t me anyway! And if they¡¯re dead, what does it have to do with us? They snatched our airdrop, which could have had a lot of food in it! Those were life-saving items from the state! They took them away and didn¡¯t come to save us! They deserve to die if they¡¯re dead!¡± The more the woman talked, the angrier she got, as if Wang Tao had owed her something. The others didn¡¯t say anything further, seemingly also harboring some grudges concerning the airdrop. Gao Hua sighed; he didn¡¯t want to deal with these fools. But no matter what was said now, their rare chance had already been wasted. He wondered how many more days they could last... ¡°Hmm? Look! Those zombies are climbing the walls! They¡¯re coming towards us!¡± Suddenly, someone exclaimed in alarm. The people craned their necks to look out and were startled to see those zombies climbing up the wall. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Fasten the anti-theft window! Lock the window!¡± The anti-theft window grills of high-rise buildings are installed from the inside and can be quickly dismantled. This isn¡¯t for theft prevention¡ªit¡¯s to prevent things from falling down. Just now, Gao Hua had removed an anti-theft grill to make using the mirror more convenient. Seeing this situation, he hurriedly reinstalled the grill and locked the window. However, still feeling uneasy, he drew the curtains as well. But whether it was because these zombies couldn¡¯t climb so high, they saw nothing coming in and saw no shadows outside the window. This allowed everyone a temporary sigh of relief. Then, instinctively, everyone¡¯s gaze turned towards the stout woman, with more than a little blame in their eyes. Now it could be confirmed that the zombies had been attracted by the stout woman; otherwise, from such a distance, how could the zombies possibly see them? ¡°Why are you all looking at me? You think I wanted this?¡± The stout woman sternly glared back at everyone, and, cowed by her domineering demeanor, they all averted their eyes. And the more they did that, the more emboldened she became. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for me gathering you all together, making¡ªletting us plan our food rationing, do you think you¡¯d still be alive? Not only are you not thankful, but you also want to blame me? How ungrateful!¡± ¡°Xie Xia, you woke your grandson up with your yelling!¡± Just then, someone suddenly cut in. ¡°Oh, my dear grandson!¡± Upon hearing this, the woman ceased her harangue and quickly headed back into a room, only to see a chubby middle schooler in uniform rubbing his eyes. ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m hungry...¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to get some treats for my darling grandson!¡± Gao Hua watched the woman¡¯s retreating figure, then glanced at the rest, who lacked strong opinions of their own. He closed his eyes.. Chapter 144 - 100 Li Qiuyu, Spoils of War_2 Chapter 144: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, Spoils of War_2 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao noticed Han Rui wasn¡¯t fast enough, so he grabbed Han Rui¡¯s wrist and practically dragged her as they ran. Han Rui couldn¡¯t understand how Wang Tao, with his large frame, could move so quickly... It was outrageous! As she marveled, Han Rui quickly activated her Ability to carefully scout their surroundings, to avoid running headlong into a nest of zombies. Before long, they reached the villa district. However, just as Wang Tao pulled Han Rui up to the outside of Villa No. 3, Han Rui suddenly cried out in alarm. ¡°There are five zombies inside, and one special zombie!¡± Wang Tao nearly barged in; he quickly stopped in his tracks and peered inside. ¡°Shit!¡± Inside the villa yard, a Suicide Bombing Zombie and several Ordinary Zombies were roaming around. And it was a Self-exploder with [2500/2500] HP! Luckily Han Rui had called out in time. If they had bumped into the arms of a Suicide Bombing Zombie, that would have been quite the disaster! Wolves in front and tigers behind. As Wang Tao hesitated between eliminating the lesser threat of the Suicide Bombing Zombie and seeking other villas, someone suddenly appeared on the rooftop of the neighboring Villa No. 2. ¡°Come here!¡± Wang Tao looked towards the voice. [80/100] A green HP bar, indeed a human, not a zombie. He decisively pulled Han Rui towards Building No. 2. Along the way, he calmly said to Han Rui: ¡°Check how many people are in Building No. 2!¡± When they reached the courtyard wall of Building No. 2, Han Rui immediately said: ¡°There¡¯s only one person!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but he didn¡¯t stop moving. ¡°You go first.¡± Wang Tao extended his hand and Han Rui immediately jumped, stepping on Wang Tao¡¯s hand. With an upward push, Wang Tao boosted Han Rui over into the courtyard of the Villa N0.2, then he took a standing leap, grabbed the edge of the courtyard wall, his arm muscles bulged, and he powerfully pulled himself over. The door of the Villa No. 2 was open, and a woman was waving at Wang Tao and Han Rui from inside. The two rushed in and locked the door behind them. Not long after they entered, they saw Mad Demon Zombies climbing over the courtyard wall, but all the doors and windows of the villa were locked¡ªthey couldn¡¯t get in, and they didn¡¯t notice the people inside. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Both Wang Tao and Han Rui breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Thank you!¡±. Han Rui expressed her gratitude promptly. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it, we are all survivors¡ªnone of this is easy....¡± Wang Tao looked at the woman who spoke. She was a woman in her thirties, with an elegant and gentle demeanor. She wasn¡¯t wearing makeup, but her natural beauty outshone any celebrity¡¯s. Especially her proud figure, which the ordinary white homewear couldn¡¯t conceal; even Ding Yuqin couldn¡¯t compare to her. Wang Tao always felt that this woman looked familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before. ¡°Thank you very much, my name is Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao expressed his gratitude. ¡°I¡¯m Han Rui.¡± The woman smiled and said: ¡°My name is Li Qiuyu.¡± At the mention of this name, Wang Tao suddenly realized. So it was her, no wonder she seemed so familiar. Li Qiuyu was somewhat of a senior to Wang Tao. She had been a celebrity, not incredibly famous, but with great potential and many held high hopes for her. Then, right at her career peak, she had suddenly retired from the circle. It was said she quit because she got married. Her fans were extremely regretful, but at that time she didn¡¯t have too many fans, so it didn¡¯t cause much of a stir. Wang Tao knew this because Li Qiuyu had started her career at Huangfeng Film City. So while fans elsewhere might forget her, people here still remembered her occasionally. Whenever she was mentioned, everyone would feel a sense of loss. But now it seemed she had been living a comfortable life, residing in a villa, and taking good care of herself like a young lady; it wasn¡¯t their place to worry about her. Of course, that was before the apocalypse. Now in this doomsday, everyone was equal. ¡°I saw you two before, but there were zombies outside, and I didn¡¯t dare to call out... I didn¡¯t expect you to come back,¡± Li Qiuyu said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear with a hint of embarrassment. ¡°We ran into Mad Demon Zombies, the kind that run very fast outside...¡± Han Rui briefly explained and also shared the incident with the old lady who had caused a ruckus that attracted the zombies. ¡°No wonder I heard a shout just now; I thought I was hearing things...¡± Li Qiuyu looked incredulous, not expecting an encounter with someone from her community who was so troublesome. ¡°Are you here alone?¡± Han Rui asked curiously. ¡°Yeah, alone. I was living here with my husband, my daughter, and the nanny. But my daughter isn¡¯t here and our nanny had taken leave to go home when the virus broke out... I don¡¯t eat much on my own, and although the food isn¡¯t plentiful, it¡¯s been barely enough to sustain me so far...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao was surprised. She had a daughter? She maintained herself very well. But he didn¡¯t know how old her daughter was, and it seemed likely she¡¯d encounter more peril outside than safety... ¡°Let¡¯s go upstairs to talk, watching these zombies is quite unsettling...¡± Li Qiuyu said, shivering subconsciously as she glanced at the shadows lingering outside the door. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui followed Li Qiuyu upstairs. Since the new acquaintance was a woman, Wang Tao kept quiet, allowing Han Rui to chat with her, as women might find more common topics between them. He, on the other hand, checked all the villa¡¯s doors and windows meticulously, ensuring there were no issues. Upon his return, Li Qiuyu kindly asked: ¡°Do you want some water? We have a well at home, it¡¯s clean fresh water..¡± Chapter 145 - 100 Li Qiuyu, Spoils of War 3 Chapter 145: Chapter 100 Li Qiuyu, Spoils of War 3 Translator: 549690339??????????????? ¨C ¡°No, thank you!¡± Han Rui quickly waved her hands. It wasn¡¯t that she was being polite, but rather cautious of strangers. Ever since she had been smitten by her husband, she had been extremely careful with these things. Are you hungry? I still have some food, but not much left...¡± Li Qiuyu felt a bit embarrassed. ¡°Thank you, we have our own food.¡± Wang Tao spoke up at this time. Han Rui was somewhat surprised. When had Wang Tao brought food? But having food was good; being hungry would compromise their fighting strength. Seeing that Wang Tao and she even refused food, Li Qiuyu suddenly had a realization, as if she understood that the two still harbored caution towards her, a stranger. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll eat something first. I¡¯ve just woken up not long ago and haven¡¯t had lunch yet...¡± Li Qiuyu said this and went to the kitchen to cook a small bowl of noodle soup, sprinkling a few green onion pieces in it, then started eating at the bar. Han Rui glanced over and subconsciously swallowed her saliva. She had thought she wasn¡¯t hungry, but now she felt hungry again. At this moment, Wang Tao suddenly handed her a transparent plastic tube. ¡°Eat this.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Han Rui asked curiously. ¡°Nutritional supplement.¡± As Wang Tao said this, he took another bottle from his chest, opened it, and poured it directly into his mouth. This bottle was apple-flavored, not bad at all. Han Rui, imitating Wang Tao, opened hers and then smelled a faint scent of white rice. ¡°So fragrant!¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes lit up, she had almost forgotten what white rice tasted like! Mimicking Wang Tao, she poured the entire bottle into her mouth. Moments later, she felt a warm sensation in her stomach, which quickly spread throughout her body. She not only felt that her hunger had vanished but also felt full of strength! This nutritional supplement is amazing!¡± Han Rui exclaimed in astonishment. Wang Tao did not reply; he took out another bottle of the supplement and, like drinking water, downed it into his stomach. This time it was noodle-flavored, not as tasty as the apple one before. Han Rui swallowed again. Her mouth wanted more, but her stomach told her she was full. After Li Qiuyu finished her simple meal, she came back to chat with Han Rui Probably because she hadn¡¯t seen people for a long time, she was very talkative. ¡°Are you from the Survivor Base?¡± Li Qiuyu was somewhat surprised to hear Han Rui reveal her identity. She hadn¡¯t expected there to be a Survivor Base in Shuize County; she only knew about the one in Red Stone County because the Government had broadcasted it citywide initially. ¡°Once the zombies outside leave, well be heading back. Do you want to come with us? Ill try my best to ensure your safety,¡± Han Rui asked. But Li Qiuyu shook her head. ¡°I... I can¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Han Rui asked, somewhat puzzled. Li Qiuyu¡¯s face showed a trace of concern. ¡°I have to wait for my Little Xue to come back; she¡¯s my daughter.¡± ¡°Your daughter? Where is she? If you come back to the base with us, we¡¯ll also keep a lookout for news about your daughter. That¡¯s surely better than you waiting here alone.¡± Han Rui continued to persuade her. As a lone woman, it was too dangerous for her to be left behind. ¡°Little Xue is a student at Shuize University. If I leave, she won¡¯t be able to find me... Before communication was cut off, she called me and asked me to wait for her at home...¡± ¡°Ah? A student at Shuize University?¡± Han Rui was somewhat surprised, and Wang Tao glanced at Li Qiuyu. ¡°Our base is at Shuize University, but there isn¡¯t a single student there. Where was she when she spoke to you?¡± ¡°Ah, your base is at Shuize University?¡± Li Qiuyu was a bit surprised, and then frowned as she said, ¡°She told me that some areas of the school were being renovated, and because the smell hadn¡¯t dispersed yet, they had given the students a few days off. She was participating in a sketching trip organized by the school and was on Shuizhe Mountain...¡± Behind Shuize University, there was a river, and not far from the river was a mountain known as Shuizhe Mountain. Shuizhe Mountain wasn¡¯t very tall, but the scenery was quite nice. Wang Tao had been there a few times, and he had also seen many students sketching and painting on the mountain. Every year, Shuizhe Mountain would host a large number of Shuize University¡¯s students, with many accommodation facilities available. Wang Tao felt there might be a shady deal between this tourist area of Shuizhe Mountain and the university. It was so close to the university, yet students needed to stay on the mountain? It seemed to cost several hundred yuan for one night. If Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter was on Shuizhe Mountain, the odds were probably not in her favor. It wasn¡¯t just because there were many people on the mountain, hence lots of zombies. More importantly, the wilderness had those nameless monsters with massive amounts of HP! ¡°I hope your daughter Little Xue is safe...¡± Han Rui sighed, but she didn¡¯t speak any words of despair. Perhaps the reason Li Qiuyu had managed to hold on was because of her daughter. If she told her that her daughter was likely dead, it would be extremely insensitive. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you a walkie-talkie so you can contact Shuize Base if you need to in the future.¡± Han Rui handed her a walkie-talkie. ¡°Thank you so much!¡± Li Qiuyu quickly took it, and then the two of them started chatting again The zombies outside hadn¡¯t left, so chatting was the only way to pass the time. Wang Tao could clearly feel that the relationship between the two women had grown closer, but it was mostly Li Qiuyu talking and Han Rui listening. Wang Tao didn¡¯t join in the women¡¯s conversation, resting with his eyes closed. Of course, he wasn¡¯t really resting, but rather checking his Space Backpack. After killing the Archer Zombie, there wasn¡¯t much time to inspect the spoils, so Wang Tao had only glanced at them briefly and hadn¡¯t looked at them in detail. Now, while he had some time, it was a good opportunity to take a closer look. First was the Zombie Core-a Red Crystal Core with a circular mini-target inside. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Precision Shooting] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Blindness in one eye)] [Precision Shooting: During the effect duration, the user¡¯s shooting accuracy is greatly enhanced.] This was a sustained ability Crystal Core, similar to Toughness, and its attributes nearly made Wang Tao drool. Wang Tao was currently lacking such long-ranged attack capabilities, and learning to use a bow wasn¡¯t something he could master overnight-it would take time. If he fused with this core, he would shortcut a lot of detours! But the side effect of this Crystal Core was a bit frightening, causing blindness in one eye... Fortunately, Wang Tao could create Synthetic Crystal Cores, so it was a matter of when he could get another core of the same type. For the time being, it was definitely not an option to fuse with it. Wang Tao then looked at the other spoils of war. [Precision Hand Crossbow Blueprint xi] [Crossbow Arrow Blueprint xi] [Alloy Recurve Bow xi] [Quiver xi] [Arrows X30] Chapter 146 - 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_1 Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_1 Translator: 549690339 [Precision Hand Crossbow Blueprint: This blueprint allows you to craft a Precise Crossbow. Required materials: any Bow xi or Crossbow xi, Blade x3, Steel Wire x3, Screws x3, Nails x3, Rubber x3] [Precise Crossbow: Durability +20, Attack Power +10, Accuracy +10] The first blueprint was for crafting a hand crossbow. To make this crossbow, he would need either a bow or a crossbow; fortunately, he had three bows at hand, which was more than enough. Although the description of the crossbow was brief and he didn¡¯t know how it would perform yet, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t picky because items crafted from blueprints and items dropped from monsters could all be stored in the Space Backpack! This portability was even more important than the properties of the hand crossbow itself. Next came the accompanying blueprint for crossbow arrows. [Crossbow Arrow Blueprint: This blueprint allows you to craft loo Crossbow Arrows. Required materials: Blade xio, Iron Block xio, Plastic xio] This blueprint would enable him to instantly create 100 crossbow arrows, and the required materials were simple, only three types. However, he would need a larger quantity of each, ten in total. Wang Tao checked the spoils in his backpack. He had enough materials to craft the hand crossbow, but not enough for the arrows; he was short by three Blades. Thus, he couldn¡¯t craft them yet and would have to kill a few more zombies first. The above two spoils of war were blueprints, while the last three items were actual objects dropped from zombies! Zombies that could wield weapons would drop them upon death, and these weapons could also be stored in the Space Backpack. Therefore, after killing an Archer Zombie, Wang Tao immediately stored the bow, arrows, and quiver in his Space Backpack. However, these weapons didn¡¯t display any attributes. They were just like the Reinforced Concrete Hammer, only showing a name¡ª [Alloy Recurve Bow xi][Quiver xi][Arrows X30] The Alloy Recurve Bow was completely decked in matte black, looking very cool. A certain famous person once said that in military equipment, aesthetics are a form of strength. Powerful weapons usually don¡¯t disappoint in terms of looks. This bow was surely no exception. Not just the bow, but the 30 arrows could also be put inside the Space Backpack. While 30 might seem a bit low, they were recoverable; with some care, they could last a long time. However, the fact that even the quiver could be put into the backpack was somewhat unexpected for Wang Tao. To him, the quiver didn¡¯t seem that useful... after all, he could store arrows in the backpack and retrieve them from the Space Backpack when needed. Wang Tao thought the only purpose of the quiver seemed to be to deceive others¡ªif in the future he could gain more arrows and carry this quiver on his back. In front of others, he could pretend to take arrows from the quiver, when in fact, he was getting them from the Space Backpack... then he could perform a trick called ¡°infinite arrows¡±! These were future considerations, though. As cool as the recurve bow was, Wang Tao¡¯s archery skills were rather poor. He would have to gradually improve his bow and arrow techniques. For now, the hand crossbow seemed more suitable for him, and he was very much looking forward to seeing the final product once crafted. ¡°The Mad Demon Zombies outside haven¡¯t left yet...¡± Han Rui said somewhat helplessly as she looked at the zombies outside the window. These zombies seemed to have not noticed them inside the house, but they still hadn¡¯t left. Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t look too good either. If these zombies didn¡¯t leave, it would be a significant danger for her as well... ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as we don¡¯t make too much noise, we can deal with these zombies slowly,¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. His reluctance to confront the Mad Demon Zombies was mainly due to the fear that fighting could attract more, and if he were attacked by a large group, even the strongest defenses would be worn down. But if there was no additional reinforcement for these zombies, just the ones that had climbed into the yard, then Wang Tao could take them on one group at a time. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Han Rui immediately breathed a sigh of relief. She didn¡¯t have the power to deal with so many zombies and had to rely on Wang Tao. Nonetheless, the two of them didn¡¯t leave in the end. Because Han Rui suddenly perceived three special infected zombies around the house, two of which were Self-exploders. The other zombie made Wang Tao frown. ¡°A Screamer... It has become a special infected zombie too?¡± Wang Tao had encountered Screamers before, but back then, a Screamer had only 200 HP, and he had simply run it over with his car. This Screamer below had 1,000 HP! And a Screamer¡¯s 1,000 HP wasn¡¯t even the main point; the key issue was that it had become a ¡°special infected zombie¡±. The term ¡°special infected zombies¡± is a conventional moniker agreed upon by survivors. They refer to any zombie that¡¯s different from Ordinary zombies as special infected zombies. For example, the Zombie Guide provided by the military forces lists special infected zombies that are confirmed. However, there¡¯s a difference between special infected zombies. Zombies like the Screamers, Hiders, and Sprinters that Wang Tao previously encountered were also special infected, but their HP wasn¡¯t high, and their abilities weren¡¯t too strong, so they were relatively easy to deal with. On the other hand, zombies like Terrorizers, Self-exploders, and Attackers were discernibly harder to cope with; they had higher HP, and their capabilities were stronger. Another important distinction lay in the drops¡ª The less formidable special infected zombies would not drop a Crystal Core when killed, and they had a high probability of dropping potions when defeated by Wang Tao. But these formidable special infected zombies would drop a Zombie Core upon death. When Wang Tao killed them, not only might they drop potions, but they could also drop Blueprints. Chapter 147 - 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_2 Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_2 Translator: 549690339 So now, everyone including Wang Tao has come to a consensus that only the zombies which can explode into Zombie Cores are called special zombies, while those that can¡¯t are all referred to as Ordinary zombies. And the Screamer outside is such a special zombie that can explode into a Zombie Core! Wang Tao naturally can¡¯t see whether the other party has a Crystal Core, but Han Rui can. Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability allows her to distinguish between ordinary people, Ability Users, Ordinary zombies, and special zombies. The reason she could perceive so clearly is that what she ¡°saw¡± in her perception was a ¡°gray human-shaped silhouette.¡± She distinguished people from zombies by ¡°seeing.¡± The form of humans and the form of zombies are different. The bodies of zombies are twisted, and they usually make some abnormal movements. Moreover, some zombies are deformed or have missing limbs. So, she just needs to look for whichever silhouette is awkward or abnormally deformed, then it¡¯s very likely a zombie. Of course, this method of distinguishing is not always 100% accurate ¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s method of looking at the HP bar color is 100% accurate ¡ª but it is enough since this ability is used like a radar. To differentiate Ability Users and special zombies, Han Rui relies on color. If the entity has energy, then the silhouette will have some blue in it. The stronger the energy, the more intense the blue. If there is no energy, then it¡¯s just ordinary gray. So her view is like this now ¡ª in a pitch-black world, some distorted gray silhouettes appear, among which three carry a bit of blue. These three zombies are the special zombies with Zombie Cores, and they are two Self-exploders and one Screamer. What surprised Wang Tao was that these zombies could not only improve themselves like humans but could even evolve from zombies without Crystal Cores into zombies with them! This is just like ordinary people turning into Ability Users! Wang Tao felt somewhat heavy-hearted. With so many zombies in the world, what if they evolved in large numbers in the future? Then what would become of them survivors... ¡°What¡¯s a Screamer?¡± Han Rui and the person beside her, Li Qiuyu, both asked curiously. Upon hearing the question, Wang Tao came back to his senses and searched himself, finding the Zombie Guide he had gotten from an airdrop box earlier in the day. He had glanced at it briefly before and just knew that there were more types of zombies in the guide, but he wasn¡¯t sure exactly how many more there were or what their characteristics were. So he opened the guide and invited Han Rui and Li Qiuyu to look at it with him. Han Rui had never seen this thing before, and as she looked at its content, her eyes widened from time to time. She couldn¡¯t believe there were so many kinds of zombies, and this was only what the military had discovered; there was no telling how many they hadn¡¯t. When she saw the Screamer, she opened her mouth, and her expression turned helpless in an instant. ¡°This Screamer can attract a large number of zombies just like the Self-exploders... That¡¯s so annoying! At least the Self-exploders will detonate themselves, attracting zombies only once, but this Screamer seems to be able to keep screaming...¡± Han Rui¡¯s complexion immediately turned bitter. With three such zombies outside, how were they supposed to go out? Li Qiuyu felt a wave of fear after seeing the Screamer and other special zombies in the Zombie Guide. ¡°Is it already so dangerous outside...¡± While Wang Tao momentarily skipped over the zombie introductions and looked directly at the text written below. The military didn¡¯t mention anything about their base this time; instead, they detailed further subdivisions of zombie types. They currently divided zombies into three levels: Ordinary Level, Elite Level, and Lord Rank. Ordinary zombies are the ones most commonly seen and represent the weakest presence within the zombie faction. Elite Zombies are clearly different from Ordinary zombies; they generally each have their own distinct characteristics. However, more importantly, they explode into Zombie Cores ¡ª these Elite Zombies are actually special zombies that can explode into Crystal Cores. Previously, those special zombies that didn¡¯t explode into Zombie Cores would, after growing to a certain stage, develop Zombie Cores. Wang Tao had killed several hundred HP special zombies before without any of them dropping a Zombie Core. But this Screamer had a thousand HP, so Wang Tao had reason to guess that this type of zombie could develop a Zombie Core once they reached 1000 HP. Of course, this was just his speculation, and he would have to observe more later on. As for the third type, the Zombie Lords, the military described them as zombies with a sense of territory, an enhanced version of Elite Zombies. The difference is that they treat certain areas as their own turf and patrol their domains; some Zombie Lords even lead minions! Zombie Lords are the most terrifying type of zombies discovered by the military so far. However, Zombie Lords are rare, and not many have been found. They advise that if you encounter a Zombie Lord and are lucky enough to escape, it¡¯s best not to stay there. The farther you run, the better, because the area might very well be the Zombie Lord¡¯s territory, and it might come back! The worst-case scenario is a Zombie Lord appearing near the Survivor Base. The Survivor Base can¡¯t run away, so that leaves only two options: to abandon the base or take care of the Zombie Lord. Otherwise, there will be endless trouble in the future. ¡°Patrolling territory...¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao remembered the Gorilla zombie he had encountered at the old mall last time; he felt its behavior was somewhat like patrolling its territory. It had come to the old mall once before and had returned again to wreak destruction ¡ª and even crushed many Ordinary zombies underfoot.... Chapter 148 - 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_3 Chapter 101 Hand Crossbow Blueprint, Classification of Zombies_3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°If the Gorilla Zombie really is a Zombie Lord, then wouldn¡¯t we be facing the worst possible situation...¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat vexed. If the Gorilla Zombie believed that Shuize Base was also within its territory, that would be troublesome. ¡°We need to quickly enhance our strength and take that Gorilla Zombie down!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fist. Having looked through the Zombie Guide, he felt an intense sense of urgency... Soon, Han Rui and Li Qiuyu also finished reading these contents. Han Rui was still okay. Although the zombies made her feel urgent, she knew that if she could grow stronger, her probability of survival would increase greatly. The expression on Li Qiuyu¡¯s face, however, was one of despair. She truly hadn¡¯t expected the outside world to be so dangerous. Since the virus outbreak, she had been staying at home without stepping out, and after the internet was cut off, she lost all contact with the outside world. She had thought that the outside was filled with only Ordinary Zombies, but she never imagined that the zombies had evolved... ¡°Qiu Yu, you should come back to the base with us. It¡¯s too dangerous here, you can¡¯t stay,¡± seized the opportunity to persuade her. ¡°I...¡± Li Qiuyu appeared to be moved but eventually shook her head, ¡°No, I have to wait for Little Xue to come back...¡± Seeing Li Qiuyu still stubbornly deluded, Han Rui became somewhat angry. But before she could speak, she heard Li Qiuyu suddenly say in a low voice: ¡°My husband is dead, my brother is dead, my parents are dead, my in-laws are dead, I only have Little Xue left as family...¡± Han Rui opened her mouth but didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°How do you know they¡¯re dead? Maybe they¡¯re still alive.¡± Wang Tao tried to comfort her with these words. But when Li Qiuyu heard what Wang Tao said, she looked up at him, her face calm but her eyes filled with pain. ¡°The day the virus broke out, my husband was outside, and my in-laws and my parents weren¡¯t here either, but they were all planning to come over, because it was Little Xue¡¯s birthday, they had even bought the gifts. We started a group video call, discussing how we were going to celebrate today. Then...¡± ¡°I saw with my own eyes, my husband was attacked by his subordinate who turned into a zombie, he met a horrific death; on the expressway, my father-in-law turned into a zombie and bit my mother-in-law to death; my brother was killed by his girlfriend, whom he was planning to get engaged to; my neighbor broke into my parents¡¯ house next door and killed them... I saw it all with my own eyes, I witnessed it!¡± Two silent streams of tears slid down Li Qiuyu¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Only Little Xue was able to avoid the first wave of the zombie attack with the help of the police. She told me not to run around, to wait for her at home...¡± ¡°Sister Qiu Yu...¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes reddened slightly, and she quickly wiped away Li Qiuyu¡¯s tears. Her own parents had died too, but at least she hadn¡¯t witnessed such a bloody scene. For a woman to witness all this, it was too cruel for Li Qiuyu. Han Rui felt a great deal of compassion for her. Although her own situation was also not good, that didn¡¯t prevent her from feeling sympathy for Li Qiuyu. Wang Tao sighed silently in his heart. Although it was cruel, there was nothing to be said; this was the apocalypse. ¡°So, stop persuading me. I will keep waiting at home for Little Xue to return because I promised her...¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s gaze was resolute. Rather than saying she was waiting for her daughter to return, it was more like she was waiting for death. Wang Tao and Han Rui didn¡¯t try to persuade her further. Some people might be alive, but inside, they were already dead, their hearts had died. Li Qiuyu, having lost the desire to talk, sat down alone at the bar, took out a half-bottle of red wine, and poured herself a glass. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the luxury to brood; he was looking at the zombies outside, contemplating how to deal with them. But now it was already dark, and they couldn¡¯t leave today. After Li Qiuyu took a sip of wine, she turned to Wang Tao and asked: ¡°You can¡¯t leave today, can you? Do you want to rest at my place?¡± ¡°That would be really kind of you!¡± Han Rui quickly said. ¡°No problem.¡± Li Qiuyu smiled and then added, ¡°How many rooms should I prepare for you? I will tidy up a bit. Except for my room, the other rooms haven¡¯t been cleaned in a while.¡± ¡°Two¡ª¡± Just as Han Rui was about to speak, she was interrupted by Wang Tao. ¡°One is enough, to save you the trouble.¡± Then, Wang Tao whispered in a somewhat confused Han Rui¡¯s ear: ¡°When you¡¯re out and about, you should never let your guard down. Having two people in one room allows us to take care of each other. What if this woman has ill intentions towards me, and I can¡¯t defeat her?¡± Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t immediately agree but instead tilted her head and looked at Han Rui. Han Rui lowered her head, her glistening earlobes blushing a shade of red. ¡°Then, then one room it is...¡± ¡°Hehe, okay!¡± Li Qiuyu went to tidy the room, and soon only Wang Tao and Han Rui were left. ¡°Let¡¯s get something straight. We sleep on our own sides tonight!¡± Han Rui spoke, her face flushed. Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at Han Rui with a puzzled expression. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a given? Why emphasize it? Do you have some inappropriate thoughts about me?¡± Wang Tao was shameless, so Han Rui decided not to deal with him anymore. She ran to the window to observe the zombies. After teasing Han Rui a little, Wang Tao found a cutting board and nailed it to the wall. Then he took out the bow and arrows and started practicing archery. He had acquired three bows and a crossbow from villa number 3. The crossbow was for Han Rui¡¯s use, and he left two bows in the car; he currently still had one bow in his hand. Of course, this didn¡¯t include the Alloy Recurve Bow dropped by the Archer Zombie, which was still in the Space Backpack. There was no need to take it out for the time being; using the current bow and arrows for practice was good enough. Before long, Li Qiuyu came back, saying she had tidied the room. There was water in the room, but no electricity. If you wanted to wash up, you should hurry while there was still some light outside. Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui, who instinctively stepped back. ¡°You go first!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After Wang Tao finished washing up, Han Rui reluctantly headed to the bathroom. By the time Han Rui came out fully dressed, she saw Wang Tao lying bare-chested on the bed, his eyes closed, and it was unclear whether he was asleep or not. The bedroom was quite large, with a leisure sofa on the balcony. Han Rui silently ran to the sofa, and then watched Wang Tao with a vigilant expression. Only after she was sure that Wang Tao was not moving did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. But for some reason, why did she feel a pang of disappointment? The next day, early morning. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re lying on my hair...¡± PS: The ¡®glasses guy¡¯ ¡®Ren Hua¡¯ from the previous chapter has been renamed to ¡®Gao Hua.¡¯ There¡¯s a committee member at the base named Ren Jie, and their names are a bit similar, which led me to keep mistyping.... Chapter 149 - 102 I’ve Tolerated You for a Long Time 1 Chapter 102 I¡¯ve Tolerated You for a Long Time 1 Translator: 549690339??? ¡ã?? ¡ª Watching the annoyed expression on the person in his arms, Wang Tao raised his arm and then said with an innocent face: It¡¯s not my fault, who told you to always crawl into my arms when you sleep, I can¡¯t even push you away¡ª¡± ¡°Stop talking!¡± Han Rut¡¯s face turned red with embarrassment as she covered Wang Tao¡¯s mouth. She just liked to hug something when she slept- in the past, she had a pillow at home, now she simply treated Wang Tao as her pillow, nothing more. Wang Tao chuckled and, after Han Rui had smoothed her hair, he suddenly embraced her. Han Rui struggled symbolically a couple of times, then gave up as if resigned to her fate and stopped moving. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t do anything either; he just wanted to hold her. Han Rui, with a red face, lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, not speaking. The two of them just quietly lazed in bed for a while. Wang Tao, just like Han Rui, liked to hold something when he slept, a habit that had developed recently. So it made sense for two people who both liked to hug something while sleeping to hold each other in the dark. ¡°We should get up... or Qiu Yu will laugh at us!¡± Han Rui was the first to get up, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop her. After admiring Han Rui¡¯s back as she dressed for a while, Wang Tao finally got up. After exiting the room, they saw Li Qiuyu was already up, and she asked if Wang Tao and Han Rui wanted breakfast. ¡°No need, we brought our own.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, then took out several bottles of nutrition drinks from his clothes. Han Rui was puzzled by these nutrition drinks; she didn¡¯t remember feeling them when she was helping Wang Tao get dressed... ¡°What are these?¡± Li Qiuyu asked curiously. She hadn¡¯t seen them drinking the nutrition drinks the day before. ¡°Nutrition drinks, want to try?¡± Wang Tao handed over a bottle. ¡°Sure!¡± Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t hesitate, nor was she as cautious as Wang Tao; she directly opened it and took a small sip. ¡°Mmm- Chocolate flavor! Tastes really good!¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s eyes widened, as she hadn¡¯t tasted chocolate in a long time. And it wasn¡¯t just that it tasted good-after drinking the nutrition drink, she felt warmly comfortable all over, as if she had endless strength! ¡°No wonder they don¡¯t need my food...¡± Li Qiuyu was somewhat impressed; it was much tastier than her flavorless noodles. Of course, she felt this way because she had grown tired of the stored food at home. Wang Tao, having drunk plenty of nutrition drinks, still thought regular food tasted better. However, it was no longer possible to get normal food now. Han Rui was full after one bottle of nutrition drink, Li Qiuyu only drank half a bottle because she had a small appetite and felt full after sipping slowly, and Wang Tao chugged two bottles, barely feeling three-quarters full. ¡°The Mad Demon Zombies outside aren¡¯t leaving, and the two Self-exploders are gone, but that Screamer Zombie is still there...¡± Han Rui observed for a while and after sensing with her ability, she turned and said to Wang Tao. ¡°There¡¯s only that one zombie left, huh...¡± If it was left alone, then it couldn¡¯t blame Wang Tao for not being polite. Seeing the position of the Screamer Zombie, Wang Tao decided to act! The Screamer Zombie was a very fragile kind of zombie; its defensive power was even lower than an Ordinary Zombie. Wang Tao could one-shot an Ordinary Zombie with 1000 HP, so killing this Screamer Zombie with 1000 HP was definitely not going to be a problem. But to be on the safe side, Wang Tao still made some preparations. Once he was fully armed, he said to Li Qiuyu: ¡°I¡¯m going out to hunt a zombie. If all goes well, we will leave after the hunt. If something unexpected happens, we might need to trouble you to shelter us again.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Li Qiuyu smiled. That Screamer Zombie was now sitting on the ground by the wall, looking somewhat like an Ordinary Zombie. To ensure a one-hit kill, Wang Tao chose the most reliable method. ¡°You keep watch for me, and let me know if any other zombies come this way.¡± On the rooftop of the villa, Wang Tao said to Han Rui. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui nodded. Wang Tao, holding a Firefighter Axe, climbed from the rooftop terrace to the roof. He could have used a bow, a crossbow, or even a Flying Axe to kill the Screamer, but because this Screamer Zombie was rather special and could easily attract other zombies, Wang Tao chose the most reliable method-skydiving! After arriving at the top of the building, he found where the Screamer was staying and peered down to see the zombie right below. Taking a deep breath, Wang Tao gripped the Firefighter Axe tightly and then resolutely jumped down towards the zombie. Whoosh- Splat! [-1000] [0/1000] The Screamer Zombie didn¡¯t even see the person coming, as it was directly cleaved in the head by Wang Tao, who descended from the sky. He even split its chest in half. All around the villa was grass, so there wasn¡¯t much noise when he landed. ¡°As expected, its defensive power is really low.¡± Wang Tao picked up a purple Zombie Crystal Core from the ground and then collected the loot that exploded out of it. [Received: Screaming Potion Recipe (small) xi] [Screaming Potion Recipe (small): After learning, you can make five Screaming Potion (small) each time. Required materials: Screaming Fish Gall xi, Zombie Crystal Core xi, 100ml Purified Water, 10 kcal of food] [Received: Screaming Potion (small) x2] [Screaming Potion (small): After consumption, you can emit a piercing and long scream for 10 minutes. Cooldown time is 12 hours. Friendly reminder: Screaming can cause damage to the vocal cords, it¡¯s recommended not to talk within a day after the scream] Wang Tao learned another potion recipe; he now knew how to make three different potions, namely ¡°Strength Potion (small)¡±, ¡°Defense Potion (small)¡± and this ¡°Screaming Potion (small)¡±, it was a shame, however, that he didn¡¯t ¡¯ have the key ingredients to make them. Chapter 150 - 102 I’ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_2 Chapter 102 I¡¯ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_2 Translator: 549690339 | The effects of this Screaming Potion are definitely not as good as the other two, but having it is better than nothing, perhaps it could come in handy in the future. After putting away the spoils of war, Wang Tao circled around to the other side of the villa¡¯s outer wall and climbed over it. Inside, Han Rui was waiting for him. As soon as she saw Wang Tao rush in, she quickly shut the door. Everything went smoothly without a hitch. Wang Tao checked his HP, having regained 40 HP. Now it stood at [1290/1290], not too shabby. Then he took out the Crystal Core that the Screamer zombie had dropped and laid it before the two women. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Screaming] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: inability to speak softly)] [Screaming: Can emit a piercing scream by consuming energy] Looking at the attributes of the Crystal Core, although Wang Tao had anticipated it somewhat, he was still somewhat speechless. It felt like another ability that was more trouble than it was worth. Setting aside the fact that the Screaming ability seemed to have little use in a world filled with zombies, where screaming was tantamount to suicide, just the ¡°inability to speak softly¡± side effect was a serious pitfall! If someone learned this Ability, wouldn¡¯t they be constrained to staying at the base all the time? Unless they stayed silent outside, speaking could potentially attract zombies... ¡°This... is a Zombie Core? Gulp-¡± Observing the beautiful Purple Crystal Core, Li Qiu Yu subconsciously swallowed. Saliva was frantically secreting in her mouth, and she felt a strong desire to eat it. The Zombie Core, which Wang Tao had taken out of the Space Backpack, was devoid of any bloodstains, very clean, and didn¡¯t provoke disgust or nausea. ¡°Yes, this is the Zombie Core that you eat to potentially become an Ability User,¡± Han Rui explained with a smile. She had already briefly explained to Li Qiu Yu about Zombie Cores; Li Qiu Yu was amazed at how fast the world was changing. She¡¯d been in the villa for too long and knew nothing... ¡°Do you want to eat it? We have many Zombie Cores at our base, and joining our base would give you a chance to become an Ability User!¡± Wang Tao said, purposefully tempting her. But although Li Qiu Yu was staring fixedly at the Crystal Core, she just gave a bitter smile. ¡°You don¡¯t have to persuade me.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. Han Rui then asked, -But you don¡¯t have enough food either, and you won¡¯t last much longer...¡± ¡°Cough, actually I lied to you,¡± Li Qiu Yu said somewhat sheepishly, tucking her hair behind her ear. ¡°There is still quite a bit of food stored in my house¡¯s basement. Our family has always had the habit of storing food. I did a big shopping trip for my daughter¡¯s birthday. I¡¯ve eaten all the food that could spoil easily, but I still have some grains and such that store well. I can last quite some time. I also have some medicine, vitamins... and there¡¯s a very small solar generator in my house...¡± After her interactions with Wang Tao, Li Qiu Yu felt that these two people were not so bad, and she probably wouldn¡¯t be targeted by them, so speaking out wasn¡¯t a big issue. If Wang Tao had intended to use force against her, he would have done so already. Whether she spoke or not really made no difference... Wang Tao, however, was very surprised. Well then, no wonder she was able to survive for so long after the virus outbreak. ¡°Since you can still hold on, I won¡¯t say more. I hope you¡¯ll contact me if you change your mind.¡± Han Rui had given Li Qiu Yu a walkie-talkie the day before; as long as it was operational, they could be contacted. ¡°Alright, thank you! Be careful on your way...¡± Before leaving, Wang Tao helped Li Qiu Yu check her house to make sure all doors and windows were secure, only then did he wave goodbye to her. ¡°Ah, what a pity...¡± Han Rui shook her head. She found Li Qiu Yu quite agreeable. Although older than herself, she got along well with her. If she could bring her back to the base, they might even become good friends. It was unfortunate that the other person had her own resolve. One couldn¡¯t force someone against their will. Wang Tao shook his head and said nothing more. The two of them cautiously left the villa area, killing a few ordinary zombies along the way and not encountering any other special zombies¡ªoh no, according to the military¡¯s terminology, these zombies that dropped Crystal Cores should be called Elite Zombies. However, as they exited the villa area, they found a Self-exploder zombie at the entrance of the community. [1200/1200] This must be one of the Self-exploders from outside the villa yesterday, with only 1200 HP... Wang Tao was a bit tempted. Until now, he still wasn¡¯t clear on how strong a Self-exploder¡¯s defensive power was, because he¡¯d never had the chance to engage one before it exploded... But Wang Tao felt that this Self-exploder¡¯s defense might not be very strong; after all, its organs were exposed on its exterior, and it exploded at the slightest touch, hardly indicative of a high-defense zombie. And Lu Gang had said earlier that he had killed a Self-exploder with a single shot. While he used a sniper rifle, Wang Tao now possessed bows and crossbows, which were also quite powerful! ¡°Are you confident you can hit its head? Wang Tao pointed to the Self-exploder zombie that was slowly shuffling around the entrance to the community. ¡°At its speed, I can guarantee a hit within a 20-meter range! Han Rui stated confidently. ¡°Then let¡¯s hunt it down in a bit!¡± Wang Tao was rubbing his hands together in anticipation; a 20-meter distance was enough to mitigate a lot of risks. Even if they couldn¡¯t kill it, they could still flee. After all, they were using crossbows, not guns. Crossbows made little noise when shooting, which wouldn¡¯t attract other zombies; only those near the Self-exploder would be drawn.. Chapter 151 - 102 I’ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_3 Chapter 102 I¡¯ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao was preparing to detour and climb over the residential compound wall. At that moment, Han Rui suddenly poked Wang Tao. ¡°Look!¡± Wang Tao looked up, following Han Rui¡¯s gaze. ¡°Hm?¡± They saw on the 12th floor of Building No. 1, a large cardboard sign with some words written on it. Wang Tao took out his binoculars for a closer look. It read¡ª ¡°We are a group of seven, not too many zombies in the hallway, but there¡¯s a zombie with a big hammer, we dare not go down! Save my life, and I¡¯ll be your ox and horse!¡± A zombie with a big hammer? A Terrorizer? Wang Tao suddenly became interested, as he was just lacking a shockwave crystal core. If it really was a Terrorizer, he might take the risk, but that was if the other side was telling the truth. Moreover, there was definitely at least one idiot among that group who had made Wang Tao fall into a dangerous situation yesterday. He would definitely not rescue that kind of person¡ªif the person even dared to show up in front of him, he would definitely cleave them with an axe like a zombie! As for the person who wrote the message, Wang Tao thought it must be the smart one who used the mirror to signal him yesterday. Stupid people would only shout nonsense and would never think of this method. ¡°Did they see us?¡± Han Rui was curious. She could see the big characters on the cardboard through the scope attached to her sniper crossbow, but the curtains of that room were drawn and she couldn¡¯t see the specifics inside. ¡°Probably not; maybe they¡¯re just trying their luck? It¡¯s even possible that it¡¯s not meant for us...¡± Wang Tao figured that, from the angle of the I2th-floor apartment, they must have been visible during yesterday¡¯s chase by the Mad Demon Zombie. Chased by so many zombies, those people probably thought he and Han Rui were dead... ¡°Shall we, go take a look?¡± Wang Tao said while stroking his chin. If it really was a Terrorizer, he should be able to deal with it quickly. If not, he could always take some potion¡ªhe still had some strength potions and the like that he had been reluctant to use. However, if the hallway was full of ordinary zombies, then there would be no need for him to kill them all. He would simply leave. It was not because he couldn¡¯t handle ordinary zombies, but rather he hated being deceived. ¡°Okay.¡± Han Rui nodded. With the sniper crossbow in hand, she felt much more confident now. However, just as they were about to head over, they saw the curtain of that window open. A head peeked out. Wang Tao frowned, worried that if it was the idiot from yesterday, he might end up dragging Han Rui back to the villa in Building No. 2 again. He swore, if they got shouted at again, once they were safe, he would definitely carry his axe upstairs and chop that person! Fortunately, it was not the woman who had screamed yesterday. The person didn¡¯t dare to speak but was frantically waving at Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked through his binoculars and saw it was a man who looked quite scholarly, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Gao Hua had just pulled back the curtain out of habit to take a look and ended up seeing Wang Tao and Han Rui downstairs. ¡°Are they the two people from yesterday?!¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t die! Chased by so many crazy zombies and still alive, they¡¯re too strong!¡± Gao Hua was excited. He had been trapped here for over a month and, aside from them, hadn¡¯t seen another survivor. He had already planned if he couldn¡¯t find a way out soon, he would either take a risk and go out or climb down from the twelfth floor! Although both methods were likely to lead to death, he really had no other options¡ªif he didn¡¯t leave soon, he would starve to death! If it weren¡¯t for that Big Hammer Zombie in the hallway, he would¡¯ve risked it. But that zombie was too terrifying! It completely blocked any escape! He had witnessed with his own eyes the scene where three survivors tried to take advantage of the situation to slip away, only to be smashed to pieces with one blow from the hammer. It was the nightmare of his lifetime... Gao Hua really hoped to see other survivors, so when he saw Wang Tao and Han Rui, he thought there might be a chance for rescue. After all, he had seen those zombies being easily shot dead by Wang Tao. These were clearly no ordinary people! Unfortunately, this opportunity had been wasted by that idiot, Xie Xia. She had even gotten them killed. Gao Hua felt both self-reproach and helplessness but still did not give up. The arrival of Wang Tao had given him hope¡ªthere were still survivors outside! So early this morning, while everyone else was still asleep, he put up a sign outside, hoping someone would notice. After all, he had nothing else to do in the room and would just occasionally stick his head out to look around. He didn¡¯t expect to actually see survivors! And it was the two people from yesterday! He frantically waved his hands but didn¡¯t dare to make any sound. However, Gao Hua¡¯s heart was very nervous. Xie Xia had screwed them over yesterday; they¡¯d be lucky not to seek revenge, much less rescue them... Sure enough, he saw the woman write four big characters in the dust on the ground¡ªNot Saving Idiots. Seeing these characters, Gao Hua was annoyed at the missed opportunity. But then, he saw the female survivor erase the words on the ground and rewrite a line. ¡°No noise, and we¡¯ll come.¡± Seeing this line, Gao Hua wept with joy. He hastily pressed his hands together in thanks, bowing to Wang Tao. But he didn¡¯t promise right away. Instead, he made a pause gesture and then withdrew his head. ¡°Hm? Why did he leave?¡± Han Rui was puzzled. Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly. ¡°He¡¯s probably going to find a way to shut some people up...¡± About ten minutes later, Gao Hua stuck his head out again and made an okay gesture. Chapter 152 - 102 I’ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_4 Chapter 102 I¡¯ve Tolerated You for a Long Time_4 Translator: 549690339 ¡°What do you say?¡± Han Rui looked toward Wang Tao. ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Wang Tao, carrying his bow and arrows, walked ahead, with Han Rui hurrying to catch up. The entryway of Building No. 1 was open; they took a glance but didn¡¯t spot any zombies. Wang Tao cautiously entered and approached the stairwell, still no sign of any zombies. As the two ascended the stairs and reached the fifth floor, they encountered a massive figure standing there. It was indeed a Terrorizer! Upon seeing the HP bar above its head, the corner of Wang Tao¡¯s mouth immediately curled into a smirk. [1000/1000] Just 1000 HP, even less than his own HP! The corridor was only so long; when Wang Tao saw the Terrorizer, it saw him too. ¡°Heh heh...¡± The Terrorizer dragged its Big Hammer, ready to come down. Whoosh- Han Rui fired an arrow, hitting the Terrorizer squarely in the head, though it didn¡¯t penetrate fully. [-319] Wang Tao bent his bow, firing three successive arrows, but only one hit its target, striking its face. [-73] Wang Tao decisively ditched the bow for an axe and charged forward. [-426] [-182] [0/1000] Boom- The Terrorizer crashed to the ground. ¡°The axe it is!¡± With a sigh, Wang Tao saw his HP increase by 40 to [1330/1330]. After collecting a Blue Shockwave Crystal Core and two small Strength Potions, he and Han Rui continued upstairs. Soon, they arrived at the 12th floor, where the stairway door was locked. Wang Tao gently knocked. Before long, through the door¡¯s small glass pane, they saw a man in a dirty suit and gold-rimmed glasses approach excitedly. He hurriedly opened the door and, before he could speak, Wang Tao asked: ¡°Are you sure that idiot won¡¯t scream anymore?¡± Gao Hua paused for a moment, then his expression hardened. ¡°Please follow me!¡± Wang Tao followed him into a room, where several people were watching them with excited and nervous faces. Especially Wang Tao, his stature was so intimidating, it felt hardly less threatening than the zombie in the corridor... In the middle of this group, a woman was bound up and tossed to the floor¡ª This was Xie Xia, who had been shouting the day before. ¡°Wuu wuu¡ª¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, her eyes widened as if she had seen a ghost. She wanted to say something, but her mouth was wrapped in tape and she couldn¡¯t speak. That¡¯s when Gao Hua walked over to her, suddenly pulling out a dagger. Before anyone, including Wang Tao and Han Rui, could react, he swung viciously! Splat! The dagger sliced through the trachea, blood spraying and splashing onto Gao Hua¡¯s face. Everyone was stunned. Gao Hua turned around, his face serious, and said to Wang Tao: ¡°She won¡¯t scream anymore.¡± ¡°???¡± Wang Tao was confused; that wasn¡¯t what he meant at all! The other survivors were so frightened they quickly covered their mouths, trembling and with tears swirling in their eyes. They had never imagined that, just as rescue seemed at hand, someone would die¡ªand killed by a companion, no less! Even though they also disliked the woman, death seemed too severe a punishment. Without their own immediate interests being affected, most people tend to be quite magnanimous. At that moment, a young voice suddenly rang out from the room. ¡°Grandma, I¡¯m hungry. Grandma...¡± ¡°Oh, almost forgot, there¡¯s another one...¡± Face smeared with blood, Gao Hua entered with the dagger in hand. ¡°Grandma, I¡ªugh¡ª¡± A moment later, Gao Hua walked out covered in blood. ¡°Big brother, no one will scream anymore!¡± Gao Hua spoke respectfully to Wang Tao, then he turned around, casting a fierce glance around the room. ¡°You all won¡¯t make any noise, right?¡± ¡°Wuu wuu¡ª¡± Everyone quickly shook their heads while covering their mouths, two of them already frightened to the core; now, with his threatening gesture, they were utterly terrified. Seeing their reactions, Gao Hua sneered with contempt. He took a deep breath and then muttered to himself: ¡°A bunch of useless garbage, I¡¯ve put up with you for too long!¡± Chapter 153 - 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person l Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao just wanted to ask Gao Hua whether he had managed to stop that shouting woman, to prevent her from yelling again. But Gao Hua went straight over and killed her! The other survivors all covered their mouths with horrified faces, not daring to speak. A few of them were even scared to the point of losing control of their bladder and bowels... They had been imagining what the Survivor Base would be like; who would have thought that before they even got there, two people would be gone, killed by the hands of Gao Hua himself! Han Rui gripped her crossbow tightly. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t given the command, she would have aimed it at Gao Hua. As for the bloodiness of the scene, Wang Tao frowned but didn¡¯t say much. If that woman was the one who had been shouting earlier, then she indeed deserved to die. But the fact that Gao Hua went on to kill another person puzzled Wang Tao. ¡°Who¡¯s inside?¡± ¡°Xie Xia¡¯s grandson,¡± Gao Hua pointed to the old woman whose throat had been slit. ¡°If her grandson lived, he would surely have sought revenge against me. I couldn¡¯t leave him alive!¡± ¡°...You¡¯re too ruthless. Our base doesn¡¯t like people like you!¡± Wang Tao shook his head. If Gao Hua had killed the woman before his arrival, Wang Tao would have turned a blind eye. The survivors who settle in Shuize Base usually don¡¯t talk about their pasts unless it¡¯s dug up by someone else. So Wang Tao could overlook it. But Gao Hua had killed these two survivors right in front of him. It was one thing to kill the old woman, but another to kill an innocent person... This put him in a difficult position, as he was a commissioner who always valued fairness and justice. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Gao Hua suddenly threw the bloody dagger onto the ground. Then he kneeled on one knee before Wang Tao, clenching his fists in a salute: ¡°Big Brother! I said before, if you could save me, I¡¯d be your ox and horse for life! Since I¡¯ve said so, I, Gao Hua, keep my word! It doesn¡¯t matter whether the Survivor Base accepts me or not, I just want to follow you!¡± Looking at the sincere face of Gao Hua, Wang Tao suddenly realized. This Gao Hua... he killed people in front of him on purpose! He was presenting a pledge of allegiance! Gao Hua knew that Xie Xia had set up Wang Tao, making her an enemy to Wang Tao. By killing Wang Tao¡¯s enemy and not dirtying Wang Tao¡¯s hands, while also offering a pledge of allegiance to him... it made sense. Moreover, he didn¡¯t kill from behind, but made his move in front of many people and Wang Tao, thus bearing the identity of a murderer forever. In times of peace, this would have become leverage against him, a handle that could lead him to his death. Now, even though it was the apocalypse and the law no longer existed, being known as someone who kills his companions was not a good reputation. Put yourself in their shoes; who would want to be with such a person? So he would definitely be ostracized. For Gao Hua, this was also fatal. Unless he wanted to be the Apocalypse Lone Ranger, but it seemed he didn¡¯t possess the ability for that currently. So after killing these two people, Gao Hua only had one path left¡ªto follow Wang Tao. This Gao Hua, quite ruthless! Not just ruthless to others, but also to himself. He¡¯d effectively burned his bridges. If Wang Tao took a disliking to him, then even if he was brought to the Survivor Base, he¡¯d likely be isolated anyway, as the murder was something that couldn¡¯t be hidden. Unless he killed the other several survivors there... But if Wang Tao took a liking to him, then he could cling tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails. It wouldn¡¯t matter whether others liked him then. So, Gao Hua had delivered this choice straight into Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Gao Hua, looking at the man before him, fully armed to the extent his eyes weren¡¯t even visible, felt extremely anxious. The purpose of his pledge was clear: he wanted to follow Wang Tao. Ever since he had seen Wang Tao and Han Rui together yesterday, he had wanted to become friends with Wang Tao. Unfortunately, all of it was ruined by that old woman, Xie Xia. Gao Hua was very angry, but he couldn¡¯t do anything, so he chose to keep silent. He thought perhaps it was heaven¡¯s will for him to die. But today, when he saw that Wang Tao and his companion had not died and were still alive and well, he realized that his time hadn¡¯t come yet! Especially when Wang Tao showed he was considering saving him, yet clearly disliked Granny Xie Xia, Gao Hua knew his opportunity had arrived! He wanted not just to be saved; he wanted to follow this strong man! Because he was really fed up with those idiots¡ªif only they hadn¡¯t been so cowardly back then, listening to his advice to leave earlier before the Big Hammer Zombie arrived. Even if they¡¯d just gone to the villa area, just steps away, they wouldn¡¯t have ended up trapped here! Even if Gao Hua really got saved, he didn¡¯t want to be neighbors with such idiots anymore. Because he didn¡¯t know when he might be killed by such people. Therefore, Gao Hua chose the most ruthless method¡ªa pledge of allegiance! That Xie Xia had put Wang Tao in a tough spot; thus, her death was certain. Whether or not Wang Tao would have killed her, Gao Hua would have chosen to act! After all, by doing so, he was indeed helping Wang Tao get even. Unless Wang Tao was a saint, there was no reason for him to dislike Gao Hua¡ªeven if he verbally expressed disdain, deep down, it would be satisfying. As for killing Xie Xia¡¯s grandson, the reason was the same as he had said, to rid himself of future trouble. He didn¡¯t want to risk revenge, even if he felt that with the capabilities of Xie Xia¡¯s worthless grandson, there was no way he could truly seek vengeance, he didn¡¯t want to take that chance. Of course, his intentions were good, but he couldn¡¯t be sure of Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts.. Chapter 154 - 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person_2 Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person_2 Translator: 549690339 If Wang Tao had any quirks, disliked such ruthless people, or if Wang Tao was an absolute justice seeker who couldn¡¯t tolerate even a speck of dust in his eyes, then his life might even be at risk. But Gao Hua gambled anyway. Because only those who have truly experienced despair can understand the importance of one¡¯s own strength¡ªhe didn¡¯t want to team up with these losers anymore! ¡°What did you do before? Have you ever killed anyone?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. The man looked neat and tidy, and didn¡¯t seem to be from the Black Society! ¡°I used to work in the finance industry, and of course I haven¡¯t killed anyone; I haven¡¯t even killed a chicken,¡± Gao Hua quickly responded. ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Someone from the financial sector? They should all be capable people, right? Understanding what Wang Tao was thinking, Gao Hua gave a wry smile and shook his head: ¡°In the financial industry, individual ability isn¡¯t actually important; what¡¯s important are power and connections. So, I didn¡¯t do too well...¡± He was barely making a million a year. But he didn¡¯t dare to say that, fearing Wang Tao might think he was showing off... Wang Tao shook his head and didn¡¯t say much more, instead turning to the others and said: ¡°We are from Suzaku University Survivor Base. Do you want to stay here or go to the base?¡± ¡°Suzaku University Base?¡± The others exchanged looks, then quickly nodded, ¡°We, we¡¯ll go to the Survivor Base with you!¡± They had run out of food, and staying here meant waiting for death. Everyone agreed to go to the Survivor Base. No one asked what the situation was like inside the base, nor did anyone speak up for Xie Xia and her grandson. Seeing that they all agreed, Wang Tao then looked at Gao Hua. ¡°And you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll follow you, big brother!¡± Gao Hua said without hesitation. ¡°Okay. Then you guys just wait here. Someone will come to pick you up later.¡± After saying that, Wang Tao prepared to leave. ¡°Ah? Aren¡¯t we leaving with you?¡± ¡°What about us if you leave...¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t leave us behind...¡± The other survivors were startled, then nearly all showed panic on their faces. Wang Tao said indifferently: ¡°My car can¡¯t fit so many people. Unless someone is willing to volunteer to stay behind and give their spot to someone else, then I can take a few people with me first.¡± Upon hearing this, everyone immediately fell silent, as none of them were willing to sacrifice themselves for the others. ¡°Since you¡¯re not willing, then just wait here patiently.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to personally take these people back, mainly because a few of them had been so scared they had soiled themselves. That would contaminate his car. Gao Hua saw that Wang Tao was getting a little unhappy, and inwardly cursed them as fools, then quickly said: ¡°Alright, big brother, we won¡¯t go anywhere, just wait here for rescue!¡± ¡°Very good.¡± Wang Tao looked at Gao Hua and then nodded in satisfaction. He then told the other survivors: ¡°Before rescue arrives, just listen to...¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that he didn¡¯t know the name of the man with glasses. ¡°My name is Gao Hua!¡± Seeing Wang Tao looking at him, Gao Hua quickly said. ¡°Right, listen to Gao Hua. Secure the doors and windows and wait for rescue.¡± ¡°...Yes!¡± The people hurriedly nodded. Wang Tao nodded to Han Rui, and then the two of them left. After watching Wang Tao and the other person leave, Gao Hua quickly locked the door. ¡°Whew¡ªrescued at last!¡± Gao Hua¡¯s heart surged with excitement; he knew he had made the right bet, clinging to a mighty thigh! Although he didn¡¯t know what status this ¡®big brother¡¯ held within the Survivor Base, it didn¡¯t matter as long as ¡®big brother¡¯ had strength! In a post-apocalyptic world, one¡¯s own strength was the fundamental! ¡°Are you really going to bring that Gao Hua into the base?¡± The two had just left the building when Han Rui asked softly, curious. She probably felt it was a bit rude to question like that and quickly added: ¡°I¡¯m not doubting your decision-making, I just think, with so many survivors having seen Gao Hua kill someone, bringing him into the base may cause some negative impact...¡± ¡°Later on, I¡¯ll have Gao Hua warn these people not to talk nonsense. Of course, it doesn¡¯t matter if they do talk. I¡¯m a committee member; what I say goes.¡± II II Han Rui rolled her eyes at Wang Tao. Wang Tao thought that Gao Hua was quite capable and a talent¡ªbeing ruthless was also a kind of ability. And, as he said, he was a committee member, one of the highest-ranking individuals in the base; his actions required no explanation to others. The two proceeded cautiously to the entrance of the community, where the Self-exploder zombie still lingered. First, Wang Tao and Han Rui climbed out over the courtyard wall, then they approached the car, ensuring everything was secure. Wang Tao said to Han Rui: ¡°Let¡¯s check that house over there first.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao drove to a house on the street with the doors closed. After Han Rui used her Ability to check and ensure there was no danger, Wang Tao used lock picking tools to open the door. ¡°This place is decent, can be used for temporary shelter.¡± Then Wang Tao drove the car slowly towards the entrance of the community, stopping at a spot where the shooting distance and angle were perfect for Han Rui. ¡°I¡¯ll drive the car, and you take out that Self-exploder from a distance in the car.¡± Wang Tao told Han Rui. He planned to let Han Rui deal with the Self-exploder, to test its defensive power. Given the special nature of the Self-exploder zombie, either kill it with one hit, or fail to kill it and the Self-exploder detonates... Since his Arrow Technique was pretty rubbish, he certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to hit the Self-exploder at this distance. Therefore, Han Rui only had one chance to attack, and he had no opportunity to intervene. Chapter 155 - 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person_3 Chapter 103: Ruthless Person, Familiar Person_3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui entered the cockpit, opened the window, set the sniper crossbow on the sill, and aimed at the Self-exploder. Meanwhile, Wang Tao started the car and drove slowly towards the entrance of the residential area. Upon reaching the ideal position, Wang Tao whispered, ¡°Go!¡± Han Rui had been keeping her sights on the Suicide Bombing Zombie, and upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s command, she decisively pulled the trigger! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao could barely make out the trajectory of the crossbow arrow, then he saw an arrow lodged in the Self-exploder¡¯s skull. At the same time, a damage number floated up. [-1200] [0/1200] The Self-exploder died instantly. ¡°Huh?¡± The damage was higher than Wang Tao had expected. ¡°The Self-exploder¡¯s defense really is mediocre! However, upon death, the exposed organs on the Self-exploder¡¯s body continued to swell, albeit not as quickly as when it was alive. Yet, judging by the increasingly bloated appearance of its corpse, it was still going to explode. ¡°Damn, the corpse really is going to explode! Wang Tao cursed softly upon seeing this from inside the car. He had anticipated that the Self-exploder¡¯s corpse might explode, which was why he didn¡¯t approach and only had Han Rui shoot from a distance. Previously, Lu Gang had told Wang Tao that when he shot a Self-exploder, even if he killed it, it would still explode. Lu Gang had no reason to lie to Wang Tao, but Wang Tao wanted to try for himself. After all, there was still a possibility that Lu Gang hadn¡¯t been able to kill the Self-exploder with a single shot, thus triggering its self-detonation. After all, Lu Gang couldn¡¯t see the Self-exploder¡¯s HP. But now it seemed that whether or not one could kill with a single shot, Suicide Bombing Zombies would still explode! However, the explosion timing when a Self-exploder was alive differed from after its death... When Wang Tao drove the car to a temporary hiding spot they had prepared in advance, the Self-exploder¡¯s corpse finally exploded with a blast. Boom! Wang Tao hurriedly closed the door. Moments later, terrifying roars echoed through the streets as the Mad Demon Zombies appeared again. Both of them were far enough from the location of the Suicide Bombing Zombie and hidden inside the house, so they weren¡¯t in any danger. This was the advantage of the crossbow; its quiet firing sound didn¡¯t attract zombies. While observing the Mad Demon Zombies outside, Wang Tao pondered the timing of the Self-exploder¡¯s explosion. If a Self-exploder was alive and disturbed, it would explode within three seconds. But now, Wang Tao checked and found that about ten seconds had passed before its corpse exploded. Three seconds was too short to do much, but ten seconds opened up more possibilities; if one was skilled enough, it was enough time to extract a Zombie Core and escape... The two waited in the room for about a few minutes until the Mad Demon Zombies left. It seemed they couldn¡¯t detect any ¡°human scent,¡± so they didn¡¯t linger and moved on. After all, Han Rui had killed from a distance, and no one had approached the scene. Once they were sure there was no danger, Wang Tao drove the car to the explosion site, where a Red Crystal Core was glittering on the ground. Han Rui opened the car door and instantly picked up the Crystal Core, while Wang Tao¡¯s car didn¡¯t stop and continued forward. ¡°Here.¡± In the car, Han Rui handed the Red Crystal Core to Wang Tao. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Self Detonation] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: None)] Lucky, it was an Excellent Quality Crystal Core, but unfortunately, it was a Self-Destruct Crystal Core, which didn¡¯t seem useful at the moment. He already had two Self-Destruct Crystal Cores in his possession, one Purple Excellent (60%), and now this Red Excellent. He wondered whether he should get an ordinary white Self-Destruct Crystal Core from the committee when he got back and then synthesize an Epic Quality (100%) Self-Destruct Crystal Core? Although it seemed of little use, an Orange Crystal Core would certainly look nice... Shaking his head, Wang Tao stored the Crystal Core and said to Han Rui beside him, ¡°Let¡¯s go search for the last airdrop; we¡¯ll look for an hour. Whether we find it or not, we¡¯ll have to head back.¡± Speaking of which, Han Rui¡¯s kill on the Suicide Bombing Zombies just now added 40 HP, and her HP had reached [640/640], which already made her one of the strong ones in the base. ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui pulled out the map. Before coming, they had marked the approximate location of the airdrop landing spots on the map. Although it wasn¡¯t certain they would find it, it was better than flailing around aimlessly. About half an hour later, Wang Tao received both good and bad news. The good news was they found the airdrop on the roof of a building. The bad news was that the airdrop box contained only one box of Inhibitor- clearly a battle had taken place here, and although there were no bodies, there was fresh blood... It felt like the battle hadn¡¯t happened long ago. Looking at the box brimming with 20 vials of Inhibitor, Wang Tao felt puzzled. Since the airdrop had been found, why wasn¡¯t it taken completely? Why leave one box behind? This could only mean one thing-those who had arrived before them must have been in an extremely dangerous situation, without even time to take the last box of Inhibitor. Wang Tao guessed they had probably encountered a formidable special zombie. After having Han Rui carefully sense the surroundings and confirm that there were no special zombies nearby, he took the box of Inhibitor and left. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Though they only obtained one box, it was still better than nothing; the trip hadn¡¯t been in vain. Wang Tao drove the car toward the direction of the third airdrop he had spotted earlier, which coincidentally was also on their way back. If luck was on their side, perhaps they could claim that airdrop too. However, when they reached another alley, Wang Tao suddenly stopped the car. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Rui was puzzled. ¡°I saw an acquaintance...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression was somewhat strange. Han Rui followed his gaze but saw nothing in the alley. ¡°1¡¯11 go check it out. You drive and be ready to back me up at any moment.¡± After telling Han Rui his plan, Wang Tao got out of the car and walked towards the alley. He had indeed seen an acquaintance in the alley just now, not someone else, but Blondy Wu Fei, whom he had encountered before at the water plant! Chapter 156 - 104 Obsession, This Works?_l Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works?_l Translator: 549690339 In the alley, Wang Tao was holding a firefighter axe, following the trail of blood on the ground. On the road, he encountered several zombies licking the bloodstains on the ground, all of which Wang Tao took care of with his axe, one by one. After a few minutes, Wang Tao saw something... a kindergarten? Looking at the sign corroded by acid rain, it indeed read ¡°Sunshine Kindergarten.¡± The outer wall of the kindergarten was already quite high, and now it had been heightened even more. It also had barbed wire with spikes, and in the middle of the wire were some torches that had been burned. The main gate of the kindergarten was locked as if it had been bolted shut. At the entrance to the kindergarten, there were some wooden stakes. Spikes adorned these stakes, all covered in black blood. There was a certain distance between these stakes, which definitely couldn¡¯t stop humans; they must be intended to block zombies. Zombies wouldn¡¯t dodge, and if they got caught on these spikes, they might be immobilized. Besides the spikes, there were also some at the base of the walls of the kindergarten... It felt as though the kindergarten was like a hedgehog. This was a very small survivor base, with the area of the kindergarten being even smaller than the Happy Community where he used to live. It might only cover the area of a single building. Calling it a base didn¡¯t seem appropriate; it should rather be called a camp. Wang Tao was somewhat interested, wondering who had established this base. ¡°Is it that Shao Yong? Probably not. That Shao Yong is clearly an ambitious person, and he would definitely not establish such a small base. I wonder if there are even ten people inside...¡± After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao found a three-story building nearby and climbed to the top. From here, he could see the inside of the kindergarten clearly. Inside the kindergarten, he saw some emaciated survivors rummaging through something resembling a pile of garbage. They would occasionally find something and then hand it to others for sorting and placement. This naturally wasn¡¯t a pile of garbage, but rather supplies that the survivors had found outside. They were likely bringing back whatever they could use or not. Apart from these working survivors, there were a few others with notably stronger builds. They were armed with steel pipes, axes, and other cold weapons, patrolling inside the kindergarten. Wang Tao¡¯s gaze swept over them and then landed on a man with a crew cut, who was throwing his backpack to others and then took out a bandage to stop the bleeding on his arm. As Wang Tao watched him, the man seemed to sense Wang Tao¡¯s gaze and suddenly turned around. He just caught sight of Wang Tao standing on the roof of the building. The man looked alert and quietly gestured to the others, but then he seemed to realize something and his eyes widened in an instant. After arguing with a few others, the man immediately ran towards the outskirts of the kindergarten and then flipped out directly from a part of the exterior wall. Only then did Wang Tao realize that the spot the man had climbed over had no barbed wire and was just large enough for a person to pass through¡ªthey had modified it to be an entrance and exit. Not bad, Wang Tao thought, that idea was quite similar to his own past strategy. Wang Tao had previously locked the entrance door of Happy Community Building 4. from the inside. Only by climbing through a second-floor window could one get inside. This setup could keep out most zombies as well as some survivors. The kindergarten had clearly followed the same concept. After the man climbed out, he immediately ran towards Wang Tao¡¯s location, while the other several survivors didn¡¯t come out, but all watched Wang Tao with vigilant faces. Wang Tao waited there for a while until he heard footsteps coming from behind him. Turning around, Wang Tao saw the person approaching¡ªit was Blondy, Wu Fei, whom he had met and treated before. ¡°Brother! It really is you!¡± Seeing Wang Tao, Blondy¡¯s face showed a flush of excitement. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to still be alive, that¡¯s great!¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded. Blondy had changed a lot since they¡¯d last met. He had lost a lot of weight, several scars now marked his face... and especially, his signature blond hair was gone. Now he sported a black buzz cut. Wu Fei¡¯s current look was fierce, somewhat resembling the way Wang Tao had looked when he was disfigured. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to the Suzaku University Base? Didn¡¯t make it?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Something dangerous happened on the way, and I couldn¡¯t get there. Then I accidentally ended up here and have been staying here ever since...¡± Wu Fei sighed helplessly, then added: ¡°And you, brother, you¡¯re with...¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the Suzaku University Base.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°I knew it, I knew with your capabilities, you would definitely make it there!¡± Wu Fei was delighted, happy for Wang Tao¡¯s successful arrival at the survivor base. The two weren¡¯t actually very acquainted; they had only met once at the water plant, but since Wang Tao had saved Wu Fei¡¯s life, he certainly hoped Wang Tao was doing well. ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t you come inside and have a seat? I¡¯m really happy to see you¡¯re still alive!¡± Wu Fei¡¯s expression was genuinely joyous, a happiness that came from the heart. ¡°No need, my companions are waiting for me. I just saw you and wasn¡¯t quite sure it was you, so I came over to check.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression became a bit strange; the companions waiting for him outside were once Wu Fei¡¯s companions too... ¡°Just now? I was just fighting over the airdrop! Dammit...¡± Upon mentioning this, Wu Fei¡¯s complexion suddenly turned sour.. He didn¡¯t hold back, and shared the incident that had just occurred¡ª Chapter 157 - 104 Obsession, This Works?_2 Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works?_2 Translator: 549690339 | Three small survivor forces had their eyes on that airdrop, none of them wanted to give up, so they decided to settle it by the law of the post-apocalyptic world, by force. In the midst of the fight, suddenly an elite jumping zombie appeared, it leapt upon the building and killed two survivors! Everyone had to scatter and didn¡¯t even have the time to grab the last box of inhibitors. After killing the survivors, the zombie didn¡¯t chase after the others but dragged the bodies away to enjoy its meal, otherwise Wu Fei might not have made it back. ¡°Zombies that can jump very high...¡± It was another new breed, Wang Tao silently noted. ¡°It¡¯s a pity about the last box of inhibitors... Alas!¡± Wu Fei looked pained. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mention that he had gotten the box of inhibitors. Looking at Wu Fei, or more precisely, at Wu Fei¡¯s HP, he asked with some curiosity, ¡°Since you left the water plant, have you had any... um, special changes?¡± The reason Wang Tao had gotten out of the car to find Wu Fei, besides being an old acquaintance, was also an important one ¨C Wu Fei¡¯s data was different from others. [220/260] [100/100] [Internal Impurity: 28%] An increase in Wu Fei¡¯s HP was normal; after all, he had survived this long in the post-apocalyptic world, it wasn¡¯t possible that he hadn¡¯t killed any zombies. But the increase in Mana was beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations; Wu Fei was an Ability User! Of course, Ability Users were not that unusual, if you were lucky enough to get a common Zombie Core, you could succeed. What Wang Tao was more curious about was the level of internal impurity in Wu Fei, which had reached 28%! He had seen others with internal impurity before, all at 0%, which must have been rounded from a fraction, indicating very little impurity. But the amount of impurity inside Wu Fei was frightening! How many Zombie Cores did he have to fuse? Was Wu Fei that wealthy? He didn¡¯t seem like it, given he only had 100 Mana. It couldn¡¯t be that he was so unlucky that he failed to fuse the cores every time, could it? Wang Tao needed to clarify how exactly Wu Fei got so much impurity inside him because too much impurity could turn one into a zombie! ¡°Special changes... I don¡¯t think I have any special changes!¡± Wu Fei frowned. ¡°But the zombie virus inside me has acted up a few times...¡± Speaking of the zombie virus, Wu Fei¡¯s eyes showed some fear. ¡°Hmm? Did you get inhibitors at that time?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. But Wu Fei shook his head. ¡°No, I toughed it out.¡± Good grief, he had toughed out the virus outbreak? Seeing the shock in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Wu Fei somewhat sheepishly scratched his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to explain, but ever since I took the inhibitor you gave me, I felt like I could withstand the zombie virus outbreaks... and you know what, every time I got through it, I felt that I got stronger!¡± Wu Fei somewhat intentionally flexed his biceps, but he was thin, and there weren¡¯t any noticeable muscles on his arms. ¡°You mean, every time you toughed it out, you got stronger?¡± ¡°Yeah, it feels just like getting stronger from killing zombies! I even thought about toughing it out a few more times to boost my strength...¡± As he said this, Wu Fei shook his head again, a look of deep fear crossing his face. ¡°But... that feeling is indeed very painful! Ten times more painful than taking inhibitors! Each time, I felt like I was going to die... If I didn¡¯t have reasons for not dying, I really think I might have turned into a zombie! After arriving at Sunshine Kindergarten, I found out that they had inhibitors, and the principal kindly gave me a few bottles, so I didn¡¯t have to tough it out anymore...¡± Wang Tao looked at Wu Fei, a hint of pity in his gaze. If Wang Tao guessed it right, the reason Wu Fei felt stronger was that he had moved one step closer to becoming a zombie! How could a zombie¡¯s strength not be strong? The virus was so terrifying, it definitely wasn¡¯t possible to just tough it out, and even if one did, there would be a corresponding price to pay. Wu Fei¡¯s price might be the gradual zombification of his body! Although it wasn¡¯t apparent just from looking at his appearance, inside, he might have already started changing. After all, the attribute of internal impurity couldn¡¯t be faked. ¡°Do you know why you feel stronger after toughing out the zombie virus?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. He thought Wu Fei hadn¡¯t considered this, but to his surprise, Wu Fei nodded, nonchalantly saying, ¡°I know, it¡¯s because I¡¯ve gotten a step closer to becoming a zombie...¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m afraid of the process of turning into a zombie¡ªbecause the outbreak is just too painful. But I¡¯m not afraid of becoming a zombie. It¡¯s just... sigh, I still have some unfulfilled wishes, and I don¡¯t want to turn into a zombie like this!¡± Wu Fei gazed down at Sunshine Kindergarten below, his expression showing signs of weariness. After a moment of silence, Wang Tao said, ¡°Your wish is... revenge?¡± Wu Fei nodded. ¡°Yes, revenge. It was Ou Yingying who made me like this, despite how well I treated her before... This vengeance, I must exact myself!¡± His eyes were filled with deep hatred. ¡°Perhaps, I can help you,¡± Wang Tao suggested again. To him, both Wu Fei and Ou Yingying were strangers. He had no personal connections to either of them. But he disliked Ou Yingying¡¯s actions and felt some sympathy for Wu Fei, so he was willing to lend a hand to Wu Fei. But Wu Fei refused. ¡°Your help? You mean to say that bitch is in Shuize Base, right? That¡¯s important information for me! But no need to help. She pushed me over with her own hands; I must take my revenge personally..¡± Chapter 158 - 104 Obsession, This Works? 3 Chapter 104 Obsession, This Works? 3 Translator: 549690339 | ¡® ¡ªJ ¡°Do you really not need my help? It¡¯s actually quite simple for me and won¡¯t cause any trouble.¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brows and said. ¡°Heh, I appreciate your kindness, big brother, but it¡¯s really not necessary. I know my own condition¡ªI won¡¯t live much longer. Even though I have inhibitors now, I can still feel my strength increasing after taking them. You should understand what that means¡ªI¡¯m still alive because I want vengeance. Wang Tao fell silent again. ¡°Big brother, why don¡¯t you try testing my strength? Back in kindergarten, none of them could beat me in arm-wrestling!¡± Wu Fei suddenly said with a smile. ¡°...Alright!¡± Wang Tao was genuinely curious about Wu Fei¡¯s strength. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± After a simple test, both of them were a bit shocked. ¡°Big brother, you¡¯re really strong!¡± Wu Fei said with a shocked expression; they had tried five times, and he hadn¡¯t won once. Although Wang Tao¡¯s body was muscular and looked strong, only he knew how powerful he was, and yet he still wasn¡¯t a match for Wang Tao. ¡°You¡¯re not weak yourself!¡± Wang Tao was also shocked by Wu Fei¡¯s strength. In activities like arm-wrestling, he had competed with others at the base too. But neither Xiang Hongbin nor Lu Gang had the strength that Wu Fei did! You should know, those two had much more HP than Wu Fei. Wu Fei must be the strongest person Wang Tao had encountered! Suddenly, Wang Tao felt that if Wu Fei really turned into a zombie, he would at least be an elite one... Wang Tao patted Wu Fei on the shoulder. ¡°Fine, if you don¡¯t need help, I won¡¯t say more. But I¡¯m usually at Shuize Base, so if you need anything, you can find me.¡± ¡°Haha, thanks, big brother! I will definitely go to Shuize Base. I¡¯m going for vengeance! But not now...¡± Wu Fei glanced at the Sunshine Kindergarten below. ¡°The headmaster saved my life and has been providing me with food, shelter, and inhibitors. I owe him a great deal. I must repay him first before heading to Shuize Base.¡± Having said that, Wu Fei looked at Wang Tao earnestly: ¡°Of course, I haven¡¯t forgotten the life-saving grace you¡¯ve shown me! I don¡¯t have much to offer right now, but rest assured, I will repay you. I, Wu Fei, am a man who keeps his promises!¡± ¡°Good, then I¡¯ll be waiting!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. He wasn¡¯t particularly concerned about being repaid; his decision to save others was entirely based on his needs and mood at the time. He didn¡¯t expect a reward, as long as there was no betrayal in return. Wang Tao then discussed with Wu Fei about what happens when the virus acts up and the use of inhibitors, as it was a rare case study. Wu Fei didn¡¯t hide anything, sharing everything that had happened to him. He also told Wang Tao that the Zombie Core he had fused with was a Self-Destruct Crystal Core. This wasn¡¯t something he did on purpose; he had accidentally found a white Self-Destruct Crystal Core and couldn¡¯t control himself from consuming it, and it actually succeeded... He felt quite helpless about it¡ªhe was now an Ability User, but a one-time-only one... He must be the weakest Ability User in the world, right? Seeing this, Wang Tao suddenly paused. A Self-Destruct Crystal Core could also increase Mana? The Self-Destruct Crystal Core had no side effects, and at present, it was the easiest Core to obtain. The number of Suicide Bombing Zombies was also the highest among all Elite Zombies! Doesn¡¯t that mean Ability Users could potentially use Self-Destruct Crystal Cores as a tool to increase their Mana? Take Wang Tao, for example. His Mana was only at 300. If he fused with 10 Self-Destruct Crystal Cores and they all succeeded, wouldn¡¯t his Mana increase If he had that much Mana, there would be no need to hold back when using his Ability! Starting with a Shockwave, no need to conserve! This might be a very good direction to explore! He could discuss this with Wei Zhenguo and the others when he gets back. After gathering the information he needed, Wang Tao said to Wu Fei: ¡°Then I¡¯ll be going. I can¡¯t keep my companions waiting. Hope to see you again.¡± ¡°Sure, big brother, take care on the road! We¡¯ll definitely meet again!¡¯ ¡°Wang Tao, where did you go? It¡¯s been so long...¡± Inside the car, Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with curiosity. ¡°Caught up with an acquaintance. It took a bit of time. Let¡¯s go.¡± Seeing Wang Tao reluctant to elaborate, Han Rui didn¡¯t press further. She drove towards the base. Of course, they also planned to check out the third airdrop on the way. ¡°Huh? Those two elite zombies are gone?¡± The third airdrop was still there, without signs of being tampered with. A group of ordinary zombies surrounded it, but the police zombie with the handgun and the self-exploder were nowhere to be seen. After carefully perceiving the area and confirming there were no elite zombies, Wang Tao took his ax and charged in. Thwack! [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [...] After the Shockwave effortlessly wiped out more than a dozen ordinary zombies, Wang Tao quickly opened the airdrop box and took the five boxes of inhibitors before leaving. ¡°Yes!¡± Han Rui was also very happy to see so many inhibitors. ¡°Let¡¯s go. This airdrop retrieval went pretty smoothly!¡± Wang Tao smiled. ¡°Okay!¡± They hadn¡¯t gone far when, upon taking a corner, Han Rui suddenly slammed on the brakes! ¡°A self-exploder!¡± Just around the corner, there was a self-exploder! And next to the self-exploder was a police zombie¡ªweren¡¯t these the two zombies they had seen near the airdrop earlier? Han Rui couldn¡¯t always use her Ability, for the consumption was too great and would leave her exhausted, so she saved it for critical moments. She hadn¡¯t expected to run into love around the corner. Retreat! Han Rui quickly reversed the car, but both the suicide bombing zombies and the police zombie had already noticed the vehicle. The police zombie slowly raised his right hand holding the pistol, while the body of the suicide bombing zombie began to swell. Then- Boom! The suicide bombing zombie exploded! At the moment of the explosion, both Wang Tao and Han Rui ducked their heads. Wang Tao also took the opportunity to embrace Han Rui, protecting her upper body. The front of the SUV was smeared with blood and flesh, and there were some dirty substances on the glass, but not much. Thankfully, Han Rui reversed in time, and the vehicle wasn¡¯t hit by the explosion. After the explosion, Wang Tao straightened up. He let go of Han Rui, who was in his arms and then looked somewhat stunned. What did he see? The police zombie had been blown to bits by the suicide bombing zombie, leaving behind only a head, half a shoulder, and a left hand still attached. The suicide bombing zombie had blown the police zombie to half-death! Could that even happen? Seeing a thread of blood on the half-head of the police zombie, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate, immediately got out of the car, and finished it off with an ax. Thwack! [-219] [0/2000] Then Wang Tao grabbed the spoils from the two zombies and ran. ¡°Drive, drive fast!¡± Chapter 159 - 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Crystal Core Again 1 Translator: 549690339 Buzz! Buzz! A blood-spattered electric off-road vehicle sped along, closely followed by a large group of swiftly moving Mad Demon Zombies. From time to time, new zombies joined the chasing horde, which grew larger and larger. Fortunately, after modifications, the off-road vehicle was now very sturdy; small obstacles encountered along the way could be directly rammed through. If they came across large obstacles, they could be avoided in advance, and Han Rut¡¯s driving skills were quite good. Plus, Han Rui was familiar with these roads, and with her Perception Ability, the vehicle managed to avoid being besieged by zombies. As long as they weren¡¯t surrounded, the danger was temporarily not significant. Wang Tao kept a tight watch on the surroundings, guarding against any Elite Zombies that might appear. It would be troublesome if they encountered another Self-exploder blocking the path. After more than ten minutes, Wang Tao finally let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, they had managed to shake off the large army of zombies behind them. They did encounter several Elite Zombies on their way, but none stood in the middle of the road, which could have been problematic. At this moment, the vehicle stopped behind a house on the street, and Wang Tao switched places with Han Rui. Up until now, Han Rui had been driving. Her spirit had been highly focused, and using her Ability had drained her considerably. She now urgently needed to rest. ¡°Are you okay?¡± After taking the driver¡¯s seat, Wang Tao asked with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a little tired...¡± Han Rui wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, her complexion somewhat pale. Wang Tao handed her a bottle of nutrient solution. Although it could only replenish Physical strength and not Spirit, her condition did also deplete Physical strength, so drinking some nutrient solution would definitely make her feel much more comfortable. Gulp- Han Rui poured the entire bottle of nutrient solution into her mouth and indeed felt much more comfortable. Wang Tao started the vehicle, heading towards Shuize Base. They had taken a big detour just now to avoid the zombies, and now they needed to rush back to the base before dark. After resting for a while with her eyes closed, Han Rui finally opened her eyes and sneakily glanced at Wang Tao. Her mind was in disarray, not because of the sudden encounter with two Elite Zombies or the tense and thrilling chase that had just taken place, but because of the previous moment when they came across a Suicide Bombing Zombie at a corner and Wang Tao instinctively protected her in his arms- At the moment of the explosion, both of them lay down, but Wang Tao had shielded her head in his embrace. Han Rui¡¯s mind was now filled with a ¡°thump, thump, thump¡± sound-Wang Tao¡¯s heartbeat. Wang Tao... why did he protect her just now? Although she and Wang Tao had a somewhat ambiguous relationship, she knew they hadn¡¯t reached a very intimate level. They were just Ordinary friends, or rather, slightly closer friends; bluntly speaking... they were just friends with benefits. Given their relationship, Han Rui couldn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao instinctively protected her... Especially when compared with her husband, Sun Weiguang, who instinctively hid behind her at any sign of danger when they were together. Only once he was sure there was no danger would Sun Weiguang venture out, pretending to be brave. So, far from being protected by Sun Weiguang, he never even contemplated facing danger together with her. But Wang Tao had actively protected her... Though, to be fair, thanks to her quick reaction, the vehicle didn¡¯t hit the Self-exploder, and they were barely affected by the blast. Regardless of being protected or not, she would not have been in any danger. But that was still an instinctive action by Wang Tao. What does instinctive mean? It means that Wang Tao had already considered protecting her in his heart... Han Rui was very proud. She had never wished to accept anyone¡¯s protection in the past-of course, apart from her parents, no one had offered to protect her, as everyone treated her like a tomboy. Especially after becoming a police officer, she almost never experienced the feeling of being protected. She used to think she didn¡¯t need it. But now, after being protected by Wang Tao, she felt very secure. It was a sensation she had only experienced in the embrace of her parents when she was a child... ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao suddenly turned his head, looking at Han Rui with a bit of surprise. He felt that in just this short period, Han Rui had glanced at him several times. ¡°Nothing...¡± Han Rui quickly turned her head away. Wang Tao thought she was just too tired and didn¡¯t pay much attention to it When Ability energy was exhausted, this kind of mental trance was common. Wang Tao focused on driving. After waiting a little longer, Han Rui suddenly spoke: ¡°Thank you for protecting me just now...¡± She was a person of clear debts and grudges; since Wang Tao had protected her, she had to say thank you. ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao was momentarily stunned, at first failing to comprehend what Han Rm was talking about. It took him a few seconds to realize she was referring to the incident with the Suicide Bombing Zombie when he had held her in his arms. Wang Tao¡¯s mouth twitched into a half-smile: ¡°In such a situation, shouldn¡¯t you be saying something like ¡®As a weak woman with nothing to offer in return, I can only pledge myself to you¡¯? Just saying ¡®thank you¡¯ seems insincere!¡± ¡°...I¡¯m not talking to you anymore!¡± Han Rui leaned back in her seat, her head slightly turned towards the window as she closed her eyes. Wang Tao shook his head, amused internally. During the explosion of the Suicide Bombing Zombie, he had instantaneously activated his Toughness Ability, greatly increasing his defensive power, and he was also wearing Stubborn Armor, which further enhanced his defense. In such circumstances, as a warrior, it was perfectly logical for him to protect a shooter, right? Of course, the fact that Han Rui was attractive was also a reason. Wang Tao admitted he was indeed infatuated with Han Rui¡¯s body.. Chapter 160 - 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Crystal Core Again_2 Translator: 549690339 If someone else had come over, like Wei Zhen Guo or Chen Zhuang, then it would be every man for himself. Before the sun set, they finally saw the gates of Shuize Base. Wang Tao looked at Han Rui and found that she had fallen asleep. ¡°Wake up, we¡¯re home.¡± Wang Tao patted Han Rui¡¯s face. ¡°Mm¡ª¡± Han Rui woke up groggily. She was still a bit confused about her surroundings and murmured subconsciously: ¡°...hubby?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao was startled for a moment, then promptly responded. Hearing this familiar voice, Han Rui became fully awake and her face immediately turned red with embarrassment. Wang Tao found this amusing, but since the vehicle was about to be inspected, he didn¡¯t tease her. After the two got out of the car and a brief inspection was completed, Wang Tao told someone to go clean his car. The front of the vehicle was covered with zombie gore, which looked pretty disgusting. ¡°You¡¯ve had a long day; go back and get some good rest. As for the spoils from these past two days, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not one to hog it all. I¡¯ll sort it out and share some with you,¡± Wang Tao turned around and said to Han Rui behind him. ¡°Oh...¡± Han Rui, with her head down, quickly left. Wang Tao found it strange, sensing that Han Rui was acting a bit odd, with her face still flushed. Once Han Rui entered her office in the comprehensive building, she immediately leaned against the wall, touching her hot cheeks, her eyes filled with shyness. When she had woken up just now, she had subconsciously called out ¡®hubby¡¯, but what made her feel shy was that although she had said ¡®hubby¡¯, the image that had appeared in her mind was of Wang Tao... ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Ding Yuqin, seeing Wang Tao return safely, hurriedly wanted to rush over and hug him, but was blocked by Wang Tao placing a hand on her forehead. After all, he was quite dirty and needed to wash up first. Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a look, but she was ultimately relieved. Wang Tao was supposed to return yesterday, but everyone else had come back except him. Even though Wang Tao had contacted the base through the walkie-talkie to say he was not in danger, spending the night outside was still too risky. Ding Yuqin had not slept well last night, feeling that she was now emotionally and physically unable to part with Wang Tao... After taking a shower and changing into fresh clothes, Wang Tao came out to see Ding Yuqin had made several dishes and was waiting for him at the dining table. Seeing Wang Tao come out, she immediately got up to serve him rice. Wang Tao was surprised and asked: ¡°Eh? Aren¡¯t these dishes absent from the house?¡± ¡°I exchanged them today at the Resource Department with Contribution Points,¡± Ding Yuqin briefly explained. In the past two days, those who had left the base had generally come back with great yields. Some people found some vegetables and meat. Not wanting to eat them for themselves, they exchanged for Contribution Points. Using these points, you could buy more Ration Tickets, and for the sake of feeling full, the food exchanged with Ration Tickets was more cost-effective. Before Wang Tao returned, he had communicated with Ding Yuqin, and she went to purchase these foods and prepared a sumptuous dinner. ¡°Sister-in-law, you¡¯ve gone to the trouble,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, then he asked, ¡°Sister-in-law, how many Contribution Points do you have left?¡± ¡°Uh, none left...¡± Ding Yuqin said somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°Then next time you want to exchange for something, just use my Contribution Points.¡± ¡°Ah? Is that okay? Aren¡¯t Contribution Points non-tradable?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the problem? I¡¯ll just say I¡¯m exchanging for myself; nobody dares say anything, and I could exchange them myself anyway, I¡¯m just too lazy to go.¡± Wang Tao laughed and shook his head. As a family member of a committee member, shouldn¡¯t he have some privileges? He had so many Contribution Points that he didn¡¯t know how to spend them all. ¡°Oh, okay...¡± A hint of joy appeared on Ding Yuqin¡¯s face. It wasn¡¯t that she wanted to use Wang Tao¡¯s Contribution Points; it was that Wang Tao¡¯s gesture gave her a strong sense of security. She worried that she was not attractive enough to Wang Tao, but now it seemed that Wang Tao did like her. After enjoying a hearty dinner, Ding Yuqin sat on Wang Tao¡¯s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, her cheeks blushing as she looked lovingly into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°Wang Tao~¡± Seeing that look in her eyes, Wang Tao knew what she wanted. Wang Tao wanted it too. He had been injured and lost some HP that day when facing a Self-exploder. Tonight, he¡¯d need to properly replenish his blood with Ding Yuqin. Before that, though, Wang Tao still had an important task, and that was to tally some of the spoils from his recent outing. Wang Tao had been away for two days and found five airdrops, all with parachutes. He had taken everything from the first, third, and fourth airdrops. The second airdrop was empty, and there were people fishing nearby, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t go there. From the fifth airdrop, the one Wu Fei and others had fought over, only a box of Inhibitors was left. So Wang Tao had managed to get 16 boxes of Inhibitors in total, each box containing 20 bottles, making 320 bottles in all. Adding to the 19 bottles he already had, he now had a total of 339 bottles of Inhibitors! But having so many Inhibitors on hand was currently of no use to him. As a member of the base¡¯s committee, he had to make some contributions to the base. Therefore, apart from the share for Han Rui, Wang Tao decided to set aside a portion for the base¡¯s warehouse, as a way to motivate Hunters to earn Contribution Points. Of course, Wang Tao estimated that others had also gathered quite a few Inhibitors, so the base¡¯s supply would definitely increase, and it would be inappropriate to continue exchanging them for 100,000 Contribution Points. The price might drop. But, that was for Ren Jie and the others to consider. Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to worry about it.. Chapter 161 - 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Chapter 105: Inventorying the Spoils of War, Fusing the Crystal Core Again_3 Translator: 549690339 I In addition to the inhibitor, Wang Tao also found some food, but not much since he only scoured Villa No. 3- Besides giving some to Han Rui, he kept the rest. The food at home was running low too, so it was a good time for replenishment. Then came the focus of this expedition¡¯s gains-the spoils from killing several elite zombies! An excellent-quality Screaming Crystal Core and a Screaming Potion Recipe, two bottles of Screaming Potion; an outstanding-quality Precision Shooting Crystal Core, an Alloy Recurve Bow with matching arrows, a Precise Crossbow and a Crossbow Arrow Blueprint; an excellent-quality Shockwave Crystal Core, two bottles of Strength Potion; and an excellent self-detonation crystal core... These were all acquired before he returned. On his way back, Wang Tao turned a corner and encountered a Suicide Bombing Zombie and a Police Zombie. Surprisingly, the Suicide Bombing Zombie blasted the Police Zombie nearly to death. Wang Tao had been wondering how he would deal with the Police Zombie, but he hadn¡¯t expected this turn of events. Wang Tao immediately got out of the car and finished off the Police Zombie with a knife. He also collected the spoils from both zombies. The Suicide Bombing Zombie, of course, only left behind a Crystal Core, and unfortunately, this time it was a blue one. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Self Detonation] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (no side effects)] Counting this core, Wang Tao now had three Self-Destruct Crystal Cores in his possession, with quality being excellent (40%), excellent (60%), and outstanding (80%). Originally, Wang Tao thought these Self-Detonation Crystal Cores were useless to him, but when he saw Wu Fei succeed in fusing with one and even gained 100 mana as a result... Wang Tao suddenly felt like he had discovered the correct usage of the Self-Detonation Crystal Cores. That was to use the Self-Detonation Crystal Core as a tool for increasing mana. Self-Detonation Zombies were the most commonly encountered among elite zombies, and relatively speaking, the easiest elite zombies to kill. Therefore, the yield of Self-Detonation Crystal Cores should not be low. Wang Tao felt that once everyone else discovered this clever strategy, quite a few people might be willing to fuse with Self-Detonation Crystal Cores. So, these cores were still valuable. Of course, Wang Tao definitely would not fuse with them. After all, each person could only fuse with a limited number of zombie cores, and Wang Tao felt that he could only afford to fuse with two more types at most. Good steel must be used on the blade¡¯s edge. And that blade¡¯s edge... was the spoils that Wang Tao had picked from the gun-wielding Police Zombie! What Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect was that the Crystal Core dropped by the gun-wielding Police Zombie was also ¡°Precision Shooting¡±! [Level 1 Crystal Core-Precision Shooting] [Quality: Outstanding (40%)] [Purity: 50% (side effects: blindness in one eye)] [Precision Shooting: During its duration, the shooter¡¯s accuracy is significantly enhanced] Although this core was only a blue excellent-quality one, with a 40% chance of successful fusion, Wang Tao had also retrieved a Precision Shooting Crystal Core from an Archer Zombie he had killed earlier. That one was red, of outstanding quality, with an 80% chance of successful fusion! Which means he could now fuse into a gold, epic, 100% success rate and 100% purity, and without any side effects, ¡°Precision Shooting¡± Crystal Core! Wang Tao had thought it would take some time to get the next Precision Shooting Crystal Core, especially since Archer Zombies would surely be rare, but unexpectedly, just on the second day, he had collected another one! Both Policemen and Archers could shoot, and importantly, they also both possessed ranged weapons, so it made sense for them to drop the same type of Crystal Core! While thrilled inside, Wang Tao fused the two Precision Shooting Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack! Although ¡°Excellent 40%¡± added to ¡°Outstanding 80%¡± added up to more than 100% which seemed somewhat wasteful, such cores were too rare, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to wait. Fusing them now to boost his fighting power was the best choice. A burst of colorful light flashed in the Space Backpack, and then a brand-new Orange Crystal Core appeared! [Level 1 Crystal Core-Precision Shooting] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (no side effects)] [Precision Shooting: During its duration, the shooter¡¯s accuracy is significantly enhanced] Seeing this Epic Crystal Core, Wang Tao was elated. The biggest drawback of Precision Shooting was blindness in one eye, which was a terrifying side effect. If people knew about this side effect, they probably wouldn¡¯t dare fuse with the core even if they obtained it. Luckily, Wang Tao was able to perform a synthesis, which eliminated the blind eye side effect. Wang Tao felt that the ability produced by this crystal core might become his strongest ability... ¡°Sister-in-law, I¡¯m going to fuse with a crystal core, please keep an eye on me,¡± he said. ¡°Okay-¡± The two went to the bathroom together and filled the bathtub with water. Then Wang Tao took a deep breath and swallowed the Epic Crystal Core in one gulp- ¡°Phew¡ªHot!¡± After swallowing the Crystal Core, Wang Tao felt his body heat up, uncomfortably so. Thankfully, Wang Tao was prepared; he quickly stripped off his clothes and jumped into the bathtub. ¡°Wang Tao, how are you feeling?¡± Ding Yuqin asked worriedly. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just a bit hot... Bring me the thermometer!¡± Ding Yuqin hurried to fetch a thermometer and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°You¡¯re so hot...¡± Wang Tao did not speak; he took the thermometer in his mouth and then submerged his body in the water. After a few minutes, Wang Tao asked Ding Yuqin to take the thermometer. ¡°My goodness! You¡¯re over 50 degrees... Ding Yuqin was startled; such a high temperature could be damaging! She quickly grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s large hand, looking very anxious. Wang Tao was also startled, but he felt quite lucid and assumed there was no danger. After about ten more minutes, Wang Tao felt the heat in his body diminishing, and the haziness that had settled over his brain began to clear. Wang Tao checked his attributes. His HP hadn¡¯t changed and was 1340, building on the 50 HP he had gained from killing the Police Zombie. His mana had increased by another 100, reaching 400, and he had acquired a new ability: ¡°Precision Shooting.¡± Success! Chapter 162 - 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening i Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening i Translator: 549690339 Although the fusion was successful this time, Wang Tao felt a bit frightened afterward. He had a premonition that with his current strength, he could only fuse one or two more different types of crystal cores before he couldn¡¯t continue. Otherwise, it would definitely lead to disaster. Now he finally understood what that feeling meant. The first time he fused with a Zombie Core, he hardly felt anything; it was done in the blink of an eye. When fusing the second type of crystal core, he just felt a bit of heat in his body, but it wasn¡¯t uncomfortable, and he felt fine after lying in bed for a while. But this time, when fusing the third type of crystal core, his body felt very hot, and he was somewhat dizzy, just like having a high fever¡ªin fact, his body temperature really was very high, having reached over 50 degrees Celsius. If he were to fuse a fourth crystal core, he estimated his body temperature would be even higher. He didn¡¯t dare to imagine just how high. As for fusing a fifth different type of crystal core... Wang Tao felt there was no need to court death. He was certain that even if he managed to successfully fuse a fourth core, the fifth would definitely fail. Maybe he would combust on the spot during the attempt... Wang Tao thought it was better to be cautious, improve his strength first, and then try fusing different types of crystal cores. As for the same type of cores, there were no issues. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he didn¡¯t have any suitable cores on hand, he would have fused one already. However, Wang Tao was curious about how many different types of cores other people could fuse. He wondered if anyone could fuse more than him. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright...¡± Looking at Ding Yuqin, who was clutching him tightly, Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine now.¡± ¡°Huuuh¡ªYour body was so hot just now, and you didn¡¯t respond when I talked to you... You scared me to death!¡± Ding Yuqin looked visibly relieved; had it not been for Wang Tao¡¯s prior cautioning, she probably would have called for a doctor immediately. Looking at the beads of sweat on Ding Yuqin¡¯s forehead, Wang Tao suddenly extended his hand and pulled her into the bathtub. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± ¡°Sister-in-law, you¡¯ve sweated so much, let¡¯s take a good wash together!¡± After fusing the crystal cores, Wang Tao felt his vitality was excessively robust and needed to be expended. ¡°...You¡¯re so naughty-¡± The next day. After Wang Tao got up, Ding Yuqin had just finished making breakfast. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s time to eat!¡± Wang Tao loved Ding Yuqin¡¯s diligent attitude. While having breakfast, Wang Tao glanced at his Space Backpack. After the fusion yesterday, having excessive energy, he and Ding Yuqin went to have an in-depth discussion about life. After their discussion, he slept until morning and hadn¡¯t had time to take a good look at it yet. The armed police zombie he had managed to kill had dropped not only a Zombie Crystal Core but also a package and the handgun it held. [Police Handgun xi][9mm Bullet xio] The handgun dropped by the police zombie contained 10 bullets. But this handgun was loaded with a 15-round magazine, which means the zombie had fired 5 shots¡ªit really could shoot! It¡¯s just unknown how accurate the zombie was. If it was on par with the Archer Zombie, that would be terrifying! After all, guns have not only long-range killing power, but they¡¯re also very loud... Although there are only 10 bullets, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind. Because these bullets can be placed inside the Space Backpack. In other words, like the bow and arrows, he can take them out anytime, anywhere! At critical moments, it might become a trump card. This thing is more concealed than a bow and arrows, and it can be used right after being drawn. Apart from these two items, the police zombie Wang Tao had killed also dropped schematics and a potion¡ª [9mm Bullet Blueprint xi] [Eyesight Potion (Small) Recipe xi] [Eyesight Potion (Small) x2] Wang Tao was surprised to have gotten a bullet blueprint; it was a good item because items made from blueprints can be stored in the Space Backpack. [9mm Bullet Blueprints: Allows the creation of 100 bullets, required materials: Blade xio, Iron Block xio, Chemicals xio] With 100 bullets, all of which could be stored in the Space Backpack, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about running out. Although under current circumstances, he probably wouldn¡¯t need to use a gun. But while he may not need to use it, he couldn¡¯t afford to be without it! The Eyesight Potion is a potion that enhances vision. [Eyesight Potion (Small) Recipe: Once learned, you can make 5 Eyesight Potions (Small) each time. Required materials: Eyesight Carrot, Zombie Crystal Core xi, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kilocalories of food] This Eyesight Potion recipe was similar to the previous ones; Wang Tao could only learn it, but he couldn¡¯t make it since he didn¡¯t have the key ingredients. [Eyesight Potion (Small): Upon injection, vision increases by 3-10 times (enhancement effect related to the health of the eyes), lasting for 1 minute with a cooldown of 12 hours] The introduction of the Eyesight Potion sounded pretty good, but it was unclear exactly what aspect of vision was improved¡ªwhether it was to see further limits or to see more details within a certain range, or an all-around enhancement? If he had the chance, Wang Tao could give it a try, but he currently only had two bottles of Eyesight Potion, so there was no need to waste them. However, Wang Tao felt it was quite unfriendly to people with myopia, because the enhancement effect was related to the health of the eyes... Fortunately, he had no issues with his own eyes. After breakfast, Ding Yuqin went to wash the dishes. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush out but instead took out materials and used all the blueprints he had. No need to mention the Eyesight Potion Recipe, that could be learned directly. He had already learnt it.. Chapter 163 - 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening ! Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening ! Translator: 549690339 It was mainly about the blueprints for making hand crossbows, crossbow bolts, and bullets. [Precise Crossbow Blueprint (Forgeable) xi] [Crossbow Bolt Blueprint (Forgeable) xi] [9mm Bullet Blueprint (Forgeable) xi] After taking out their respective materials, a burst of light flashed, and three items appeared in front of Wang Tao. The 100 bullets looked the same as ordinary bullets, but they could be put into the Space Backpack. Wang Tao filled up his handgun¡¯s magazine first, then placed the rest into the Space Backpack. The highlight was this precise hand crossbow. This was something crafted using a bow and arrows. [Precise Crossbow: Durability +20, Attack power +10, Precision +10] It was a matte black crossbow, very similar in color to the one Han Rui held. But this crossbow was smaller and didn¡¯t have a scope on it. Wang Tao felt that in terms of power and range, this precise hand crossbow might not be as good as Han Rui¡¯s sniper crossbow, but it was more convenient. At home, Wang Tao had targets he used for practicing his Flying Axe, and he placed one in the yard to test. Not to mention power and precision, just the firing speed alone, this hand crossbow in his hands was incredibly fast¡ªWang Tao¡¯s strength allowed him to quickly pull the crossbow string to reload after firing a bolt. The whole process took only about five or six seconds! It might even be shorter once he got practiced. Wang Tao was very satisfied with the firing rate. Although it was far from that of firearms, it was much quieter and therefore much safer. Just like yesterday, when Han Rui killed zombies from a distance, as long as no sound was made, even if they killed all ordinary zombies, the others still wouldn¡¯t notice who was attacking. One of the divine tools for survival in the post-apocalypse! Wang Tao took out his bow and arrows for a comparison, to feel the difference. Then he activated his new ability¡ªPrecision Shooting! Instantly, Wang Tao felt as if the whole world had changed! His eyes were like a combination of a telescope and a magnifying glass, clear vision no matter the distance! His ears could pick up all kinds of subtle sounds, but they were not noisy; rather, they were clear and distinct. His skin could feel any slight breeze and was extremely sensitive to changes in temperature. In his mind, there were incomprehensible yet somehow usable pieces of knowledge... Wang Tao picked up the hand crossbow, and despite having not used it much, it felt strangely familiar. Whoosh- Bullseye! Whoosh¡ª Another bullseye! Wang Tao put down the hand crossbow and picked up the compound bow he used for skill practice. Whoosh¡ª Bullseye! Bullseye! Bullseye! Wang Tao put the bow down and took out the Alloy Recurve Bow from his Space Backpack. Once he pulled the string, he could feel that this bow required more strength to draw. Nocking an arrow. Whoosh- Bullseye! ¡°Awesome!¡± Exhilarated by the feeling of hitting the bullseye every time, Wang Tao suddenly felt a bit inflated with pride. What Elite Zombies, what Zombie Lords? Just ask if they could withstand his natural lock-on ability¡ªno, this wasn¡¯t a cheat; it was part of his strength! After all, a small cheat doesn¡¯t count as cheating. However, suddenly, Wang Tao felt drowsy. He glanced at his mana¡ªso scared that he immediately exited the state of Precision Shooting. Good heavens, in just a short while, 400 mana was down to 30, consuming a total of 370! Then Wang Tao calculated the time. He came to a painful conclusion¡ªthis Precision Shooting consumed 10 energy per second! His 400 mana could only last for 40 seconds... 40 seconds was way too short! This consumed 10 times more than his other ability, Toughness! He had thought that he could rely on this ability to dominate in battles... Now it seemed that it could only be used in critical moments, or when trying to quickly kill a target in a short period of time. Practicing his archery skills was the true path to power. Of course, this ability had great potential, and increasing mana was synonymous with enhancing the ability. He would have to find ways to increase his mana in the future. As for the range of this Precision Shooting, it was still unclear at the moment. Mainly because Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had time to test the distance and range before his mana was used up... Wang Tao played with the bow and crossbow for a while longer, then stowed the bow and strapped the precise hand crossbow to his waist. There was no other intention than to show off a bit later on. As for the 100 crossbow bolts, of course, most of them went into the Space Backpack, and he only carried a few on him. He asked Ding Yuqin to make him a bag for crossbow bolts, which he would simply hang on his waist later. Ding Yuqin¡¯s craft was quite good. Wang Tao packed some inhibitors and a bow into a woven bag, then shouldered it and headed to the integrated building. At the top floor, in the committee meeting room. ¡°Haha, I said Wang Tao would be fine! Look at him, he seems to be in high spirits!¡± Seeing Wang Tao arrive, Wei Zhenguo laughed heartily at everyone. Looking at the smiling faces of the others, Wang Tao guessed they had also had a fruitful couple of days! ¡°Eh?¡± Lu Gang, a sniper with good eyesight, immediately spotted the hand crossbow hanging on Wang Tao¡¯s waist. ¡°A crossbow? That¡¯s a nice piece! May I have a look?¡± His words drew the attention of the others. Wang Tao generously handed the hand crossbow to Lu Gang. Lu Gang became somewhat attached to it immediately. As a sniper, he made his living with guns, but it was a pity that now there were too many Mad Demon Zombies outside, and he didn¡¯t dare to shoot recklessly. This essentially negated much of his strength. If he had a crossbow though... Still, crossbows were easy to master and useful to everyone. Even though he wanted one, he felt too embarrassed to ask. Chapter 164 - 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening_3 Chapter 106: A Little Opening is Not Really an Opening_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao of course saw the desire in Lu Gang¡¯s eyes and said with a smile, ¡°You really like this thing?¡± ¡°Of course! Who doesn¡¯t like crossbows? Not to mention a professional sniper like me; even ordinary people can go hunting zombies with this crossbow!¡± Lu Gang didn¡¯t hide his envy as he spoke. ¡°If you like it...¡± Wang Tao deliberately drew out his words. Lu Gang¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. Could it be that Wang Tao was going to gift it to him? That would be really embarrassing! But obviously, he thought too much. ¡°I can give you something similar. Though not as instantly ready as a crossbow, I guess you shouldn¡¯t have much problem with it.¡± As he spoke, Wang Tao pulled out a bow from the bag he was holding and handed it to Lu Gang. ¡°My goodness, a hunting compound bow!¡± Lu Gang exclaimed in surprise. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow, impressed that Lu Gang knew his stuff! Modern compound bows generally fall into two categories by functionality: hunting bows and competition bows. As the names suggest, one is for hunting, the other for competing. Competition bows mainly focus on precision; they can sacrifice everything else for the sake of accuracy. This type of bow isn¡¯t very suitable for actual combat. Hunting bows are different. They seek a balance in precision, arrow speed, portability, and various other aspects. They¡¯re more suited for real combat. In the apocalypse, if there¡¯s a choice to make, one would definitely go for the hunting bow. Wang Tao got four bows from villa number 3, including three hunting bows and the alloy recurve bow dropped by the zombies. There was only one competition bow. Obviously, the owner of the villa wasn¡¯t just into competitive archery, he preferred hunting, given that he also had a specially made hunting crossbow. When Wang Tao just made the precise hand crossbow, he had used the competition bow for parts. The alloy recurve bow was in his Space Backpack. He still had two hunting compound bows in his hand, one which he would keep for himself to practice, and the other he planned to give to Lu Gang. Lu Gang was an excellent sniper; he certainly should know how to use a bow and arrows. Even if not, he could learn. But Lu Gang apparently knew more than Wang Tao had anticipated. ¡°You know arrow technique? Then it¡¯s settled, this bow is for you. I¡¯m not really good at archery, so I¡¯ll keep the hand crossbow for myself,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lu Gang excitedly took the compound bow and shook his head, ¡°Hey! What arrow techniques or what not, I don¡¯t understand any of that. I just know that our unit used to have archery competitions, and I¡¯ve won first place several times, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. ¡°You¡¯re really giving it to me? This is quality gear! I bet it wasn¡¯t cheap before the apocalypse; it¡¯s the kind I wouldn¡¯t even dare look at...¡± Lu Gang looked at Wang Tao again. He really liked it, but he didn¡¯t want to take something that others cherished. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have another bow at home that¡¯s similar to this. I have both bows and crossbows, I won¡¯t miss this one.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s settled!¡± Hearing this, the smile on Lu Gang¡¯s face grew even brighter. ¡°With this, my strength won¡¯t be diminished, and I can go hunting zombies again! Shall we go out and give it a try later? I¡¯m not bragging, but my archery skills are just as accurate as when I use a sniper rifle!¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Wang Tao replied with a laugh, eager to see just how strong Lu Gang could be with a bow and arrows as a genuine sniper, whose shooting ability was much more formidable than Han Rui¡¯s. The other committee members also looked happy when they saw Lu Gang get the bow and arrows. After all, an enhancement in Lu Gang¡¯s strength was an increase in strength for the whole base. ¡°You¡¯ve really had a bountiful haul this time, Wang Tao! To get all these bows and crossbows...¡± Ren Jie said with a smile. ¡°It¡¯s passable,¡± replied Wang Tao, lifting the woven bag and placing it on the conference room table. Xiang Hongbin peeked inside and immediately inhaled sharply. ¡°Sss¡ªso many inhibitors!¡± Wang Tao had a total of 339 inhibitor bottles; he directly took out 100 of them. Keeping too many of these things wasn¡¯t useful; better to put them to work. After all, Wang Tao also wanted the Crystal Cores from other people¡¯s hands; it would not be right for him to keep taking without giving in return. Furthermore, this did not mean that Wang Tao was giving these inhibitors away for free to the survivors in the base. The items he had presented nominally belonged to the whole base, but others had to apply to use them, and whether or not they got approval was up to Wang Tao to say¡ªpreviously, the inhibitors brought back by Wei Zhenguo were managed this way, with Wei Zhenguo retaining usage rights. Of course, Wang Tao most likely wouldn¡¯t bother with such trivial matters. He would have Ren Jie handle it, and then all Ren Jie had to do was keep him informed. ¡°With so many inhibitors, we can certainly rally everyone¡¯s motivation again!¡± Ren Jie said with some joy. ¡°Didn¡¯t you all get some inhibitors in the airdrops before?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. ¡°We did, but we only got a total of 300 bottles, and here you are, a single person bringing in 100 bottles...¡± Feng Ming¡¯an shrugged. When this matter came up, Xiang Hongbin felt a bit uncomfortable. ¡°Damn it! Normally, you wouldn¡¯t think there were so many survivors in Shuize County, right? But when we went for the airdrops, it felt like there were people everywhere!¡± Lu Gang explained that they had split into several squads and ran around for two days, but only found three airdrop boxes containing inhibitors. The other boxes either had food and other supplies or had already been scavenged by others. Although 300 bottles wasn¡¯t small, they encountered quite a few airdrop boxes, so everyone felt a bit regretful. Xiang Hongbin and his group kept 200 bottles for themselves and took out the remaining 100 bottles, plus Wang Tao¡¯s too bottles and the 40 bottles the base had previously obtained; now, they had a total of 240 inhibitor bottles! Ren Jie was already thinking about how to use these inhibitors to enhance the base¡¯s strength¡ªmany people were afraid to go out looking for supplies, but with inhibitors as a backup, the number of survivors who became Hunters could increase significantly... Besides the inhibitors, the base members also scavenged a lot of supplies during their outing and brought back some survivors. Overall, it could be said that their gains were quite substantial. And speaking of survivors, Wang Tao took the opportunity to arrange for people to bring over Gao Hua and his group.. Chapter 165 - 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping—1 Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping¡ª1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Going to pick up a group of survivors? No problem. I¡¯ll arrange it, but I¡¯m not sure when we can go. After all, you know there are too many uncertainties in the post-apocalyptic world,¡± Feng Ming¡¯an immediately said when Wang Tao mentioned arranging for someone to pick up survivors. Each of the seven committee members had their own division of labor. Feng Ming¡¯an was responsible for going out to fetch survivors, and after bringing them back, it was Ren Jie¡¯s job to take over. ¡°Okay. They should be able to hold on for a few more days; if they really can¡¯t, then it¡¯s just their bad luck.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He felt that with Gao Hua¡¯s smarts, they would definitely last another two days. If they couldn¡¯t, it would be just a matter of bad luck. After settling the survivor matter, it was time for the main event of the meeting¡ªZombie Cores! Going out to pick up airdrops would definitely encounter Elite Zombies. Given the chance to hunt them, no one would miss out. Even people like Lu Gang and Xiang Hongbin went out of their way to hunt Elite Zombies. So, aside from Inhibitors, Zombie Cores were also a significant gain from this post-rain expedition! Zombie Cores were valuable, but they¡¯re not suitable for everyone. Only the ones that best suited one¡¯s own abilities were considered the best. Thus, after waiting for Wang Tao¡¯s return, everyone took out the Zombie Cores they had in hand. Those in need could exchange with each other. Wang Tao currently had seven Crystal Cores, but only three were useful to him: Shockwave, Rush, and Self-healing. No need to mention Shockwave, it was his main Skill. He would try his best to collect as many shockwave crystal cores as possible. So far, he felt that his body could handle a lot of them with no problems. Rush was also a good Ability, and Wang Tao was considering learning it, but he could only fuse with one other type of Crystal Core at this moment, so he needed to be cautious. He kept Rush as a backup option. As for the Self-healing Crystal Core, it was the one Wang Tao wanted the most. If he could master Self-healing, combined with Thoughness... he would be nearly indestructible during the duration of his Skills, provided he wasn¡¯t infected, of course. The Self-healing Crystal Core was what Wang Tao wanted most at the moment. If he couldn¡¯t find a Self-healing Crystal Core, then he would consider other Crystal Cores. So, he decided to keep these three Crystal Cores for himself, while the remaining four were put up for exchange. These were the Blue Self-explode Crystal Core, Purple Self-destruct Crystal Core, Red Self-destruct Crystal Core, and Purple Screaming Crystal Core. Three self-explosive cores, Wang Tao was somewhat helpless about that. However, he had discovered another use for the self-explosive cores, so it was not as vexing as before. ¡°Wow, Wang Tao, you are really lucky!¡± When everyone saw the Zombie Cores Wang Tao brought out, they were all surprised. Regardless of whether they were self-destructive or not, the quality of the Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s hands was high! There was even a Red one (80% quality)! The others were also Purple, Blue, with not a single White one. In contrast to their own cores... everyone shook their heads helplessly. Their own Crystal Cores were mostly White, with an occasional Blue, and together they had only one Purple Core. None had a Red Core... This was really a case of ¡®comparisons are odious¡¯! As for the types of Cores, Suicide Bombing Cores were the majority. Suicide Bombing Zombies were the most common Elite Zombies and also the easiest to deal with¡ªsimply startling them would trigger their self-detonation after three seconds. So it was understandable to end up with so many Self-Destruct Crystal Cores. Seeing everyone¡¯s resigned expressions, Wang Tao suddenly said with a smile: ¡°Actually, these Self-Destruct Crystal Cores have uses beyond just self-detonation. They have another significant use!¡± ¡°Hmm? What use?¡± The others immediately looked at Wang Tao upon hearing this. ¡°After successful fusion with a Self-Destruct Crystal Core, there are no side effects, but it still increases the energy inside the body...¡± With just a hint from Wang Tao, the others¡¯ eyes lit up. Especially Feng Ming¡¯an, who slapped his thigh and then stared at Wang Tao with eager eyes. ¡°You mean we can fuse with the Self-Destruct Crystal Core to increase the energy levels inside our bodies and then release more of our other Abilities?¡± Although he couldn¡¯t see the blue bar, he could feel the amount of energy inside his body, so once Wang Tao spoke, he understood what it meant. ¡°Right.¡± Feng Ming¡¯an appeared annoyed when Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Ah, if I had known, I¡¯d have fused with more Self-Destruct Crystal Cores! This time out was smooth, but it wasn¡¯t without danger. During one fight, I wasn¡¯t paying attention and overused my Ability. I suddenly felt exhausted, my mental state started to falter, and I nearly got bitten by a zombie...¡± Wang Tao responded with a smile, shaking his head, ¡°I only recently found out about this and got confirmation. I too thought Self-Destruct Crystal Cores had limited use...¡± ¡°So can I fuse with the Self-Destruct Zombie Cores now?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an looked at the Self-Destruct Crystal Cores, somewhat excited. ¡°In theory, yes, but people¡¯s constitutions vary. Some can fuse with several Crystal Cores, while others can only fuse with one type. So we need to see if you can handle the fusion...¡± Wang Tao added some more explanation. ¡°Ah? How can you tell?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an was a bit confused. ¡°You have to rely on your feelings. Set your mind at ease, then think about fusing with these cores; you¡¯ll get a sense inside...¡± The concept sounded somewhat far-fetched, but it was exactly how Wang Tao had come to understand it. Moreover, when he went out with Han Rui, he had her try it out. Han Rui did indeed get some sensations¡ªthough she couldn¡¯t sense exactly how many types of Crystal Cores she could fuse with like Wang Tao, she could feel that she was capable of further fusions.. Chapter 166 - 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping__2 Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping__2 Translator: 549690339 | So although this thing is quite speculative, it is indeed effective. Following Wang Tao¡¯s instructions, Feng Ming¡¯an closed his eyes and quietly focused for a moment, then suddenly startled. ¡°I feel... if I merge with another type of crystal core, something bad is going to happen...¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth, then shook his head with a hint of regret. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s regrettable that you can¡¯t merge with the Self-Detonation Crystal Core anymore. You can only continue to merge with the Slime Spitter Crystal Core...¡± ¡°Ah, this...¡± The others also felt somewhat helpless. It was so unfortunate for Feng Ming¡¯an; he turned out to be one of those people who could only merge with one type of crystal core... Seeing Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s disappointed look, Wang Tao suddenly added: ¡°But I have a feeling that the issue of how many types of crystal cores one can merge with seems related to one¡¯s own strength. If your strength increases, it seems you can increase the limit of merging... Of course, this is just a speculation of mine, yet to be validated.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak too confidently. Although he could indeed feel that after growing stronger, he was able to merge with more crystal cores, he wasn¡¯t sure if this was because he was somewhat special... Upon hearing this, Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s expression improved significantly. He shook his head with a wry smile. ¡°Hey! Having one ability is already good, many people want to become ability users but don¡¯t even have the chance!¡± Xiang Hongbin then joined in the conversation: ¡°However, Old Feng¡¯s luck is really not that great. This time we went out, we didn¡¯t encounter a single Slime Spitting Zombie...¡± ¡°No rush, there will always be opportunities in the future!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an said helplessly. ¡°Wang Tao, can you see if there are any uses for these other crystal cores?¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke up at this point. This time, they had gotten more than a dozen crystal cores altogether. After all, they had a large group consisting of over fifty people, so it was normal for them to obtain so many crystal cores. Aside from the Self-Detonation Crystal Core, there were also some that they had seen before and some they had not. The ones they had seen included: A blue (40%) Rush Crystal Core, a white (20%) Shockwave Crystal Core, a blue (40%) Glutton Crystal Core, and a white (20%) Toughness Crystal Core. Out of these four crystal cores, aside from the Glutton Crystal Core, Wang Tao wanted the other three. He had a purple Rush Crystal Core in his hand, and if combined with this blue one, he could perfectly obtain an Orange Rush Crystal Core! Although he really wanted to get an Orange Self-Healing Crystal Core, if he couldn¡¯t wait, merging with the Rush Ability wouldn¡¯t be bad either. As for the Shockwave and Toughness, there was no need to mention them; they were his two main abilities. Wang Tao took these three crystal cores. Although they were all white and blue, he could synthesize them, so he didn¡¯t mind the lower quality. The others didn¡¯t oppose it either, as they had already accepted Wang Tao s advice-zombie crystal cores below purple should not be used. White and blue cores had too low of a probability and could easily accumulate impurities in the body. Then came the zombie crystal cores they had never seen before, a total of three. Wang Tao looked at these three crystal cores. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Sprint] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: feet become larger)] [Sprint: Consumes energy, dashes forward a short distance] The first one was a Sprint Crystal Core, with a shadow of a pair of feet inside the core. This crystal core differed from the Rush Core by only one word, but the effects were entirely different. Because Xiang Hongbin told Wang Tao that this Sprint Core came from a Sprinting Zombie. And the ¡°Sprint¡± ability of the Sprinting Zombie was to dash forward a few meters momentarily, without any lethality in the sprint itself. Unlike Rush, which could directly knock a person dead. But then again, the side effect of Sprint was very minor. The side effect of Rush was limb stiffness. But the side effect of Sprint was only larger feet. Feet becoming larger can also be a side effect? Xiang Hongbin had told Wang Tao that the Sprint Zombie he saw, though it had larger feet than ordinary zombies, wasn¡¯t unacceptably large. At most, it meant that normal shoes wouldn¡¯t fit, and custom ones would be needed. Wang Tao thought that perhaps the stronger the ability in the core, the greater the side effect. So to judge whether an ability is strong or not, one might look at the severity of its side effects... The second crystal core was a bit bizarre. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Mud Swamp] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: body continuously produces mud)] [Mud Swamp: Consumes energy, creates a mud swamp around oneself] This core had a shadow of a mud swamp inside. Wang Tao found it hard to imagine what the scene would be like if someone merged with this core, when they used their ability. No, not just when using the ability, according to the side effect description, even when not using the ability, the body would still produce mud... This is practically a cleanliness helper! just by the literal meaning, it feels like this core might be like the Glutton Core, seeming alright but not being particularly useful. Finally, there was the last crystal core. Inside this core, there was a semi-transparent figure of a small person. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Stealth] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: actions consume double physical strength)] [Stealth: During its duration, conceals own scent, making it less likely to be discovered by other creatures] Seeing the attributes of this core, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. This ability seems pretty good! If he¡¯s not mistaken, this core should have come from a Stealth Zombie. The Stealth Zombie that Wang Tao had killed earlier didn¡¯t have much HP, nor did it have a crystal core. But it did produce Stealth Potions.. Chapter 167 - 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping s Chapter 107: New Crystal Core, Kidnapping s Translator: 549690339 The effect of the Stealth Potion (Medium) can hide one from zombies. As long as you don¡¯t get too close to the zombies, they won¡¯t be able to detect you! He had used the Stealth Potion to avoid several crises. The effect of the Stealth Zombie Crystal Core doesn¡¯t vary between large, medium, or small sizes; it¡¯s described as not easily perceivable by other creatures, which should mean it¡¯s capable of evading zombies. In the post-apocalyptic world, combat ability is certainly important. But so is the ability to survive! For the time being, this Stealth Ability is definitely one of the top abilities for survival! Wang Tao was somewhat tempted. If he learned it, wouldn¡¯t he be able to move freely through the streets just like when he used the Stealth Potion before? As long as he didn¡¯t bump into a horde, he would be basically safe from danger! However, this Stealth Ability, like his Precision Shooting and Toughness, was a sustained Ability, so he wasn¡¯t clear on how much it would deplete his energy... As for the side effects of Stealth, they were quite severe indeed. Moving consumed twice the physical strength, which meant this ability could not be used by combat personnel. After all, if throwing a punch felt as exerting as throwing two, that would be uncomfortable. It¡¯s as if the endurance was cut in half. Of course, for Wang Tao, if he could synthesize a Crystal Core without side effects, then the side effect would be irrelevant. Wang Tao described the general functions and side effects of these three Zombie Cores. After listening, the others had some strange expressions on their faces. The Sprint Crystal Core was standard. Its ability wasn¡¯t strong, but the side effects weren¡¯t significant either, and since it was purple, it might be worth trying to fuse. The Mud Swamp one was a bit hard to understand, whether it¡¯s strong or not could only be determined by seeing it in action. Judging from the single Mud Swamp Zombie encountered by Hong Bin, it didn¡¯t seem too strong¡ªhe got stuck in a small mud swamp, but he stabbed the zombie to death with a spear, coming out uninjured. As for this Stealth Crystal Core, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up a bit. The Stealth Ability¡¯s not bad! Although the side effect is a handicap for combatants, it¡¯s absolutely a super enhancement for scavengers. After all, there are still many who are timid; they don¡¯t want to risk killing zombies, they just want to secretly scavenge for resources... Of course, it¡¯s also a life-saving skill in critical moments. For people like Ren Jie and Liu He, who lack combat power, having a Stealth Ability would greatly improve their self-preservation. Wang Tao then explained the Screaming Crystal Core to everyone. Regarding this Ability, the others shook their heads, but Ren Jie was quite interested. The side effect was that you couldn¡¯t speak quietly; one would always speak loudly. This is indeed somewhat fatal in the post-apocalyptic world. But for him, who didn¡¯t go out and stayed in the base all the time, having a louder voice wouldn¡¯t be an issue and might even be more imposing! If he really had to go out in the future, then he simply wouldn¡¯t speak... As for the Screaming ability, he wouldn¡¯t use it anyway. ¡°You want to fuse with this Crystal Core?¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Ren Jie with some surprise. ¡°Cough, I have some ideas. I also want to experience what it feels like to be an Ability User.¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Wang Tao, who handed the Crystal Core directly to him. ¡°It¡¯s fine if you want to use it, but think it through; after using it, you won¡¯t be able to speak quietly.¡± ¡°No problem, I don¡¯t go out. Even if I did, I could just stay silent.¡± Ren Jie chuckled. What¡¯s valuable about him is his self-awareness. Back when he had the chance to compete for the position of county head and sensed danger, he decisively gave it up. In the end, none of those vying for the county head fared well¡ªapart from him, all the others were replaced. Now, in this post-apocalyptic world, someone his age, in their fifties or sixties, could still take down a ghost of a zombie. He was very accurate in his self-assessment: he was to manage the base. If not necessary, he could spend the rest of his life there! So he just genuinely wanted to experience what it was like to be an Ability User; everything else was secondary. After all, he could accept the side effects of the Screaming Crystal Core... As for the remaining Self-Destruct Crystal Core, everyone eyed it with envy, but no one dared to use it. After Wang Tao explained the function of the Self-Destruct Crystal Core, everyone wanted to fuse with one. But then they found out that Feng Ming¡¯an could only fuse with one Crystal Core for now... which made everyone afraid to fuse with the Self-Destruct Crystal Core. If the fusion was successful, but they were unlucky and could only fuse one type of Crystal Core, then they would only qualify as suicide bombers... ¡°Don¡¯t lose heart, everyone. We will focus on scavenging for resources and hunting Elite Zombies next. As long as we kill enough zombies, we¡¯re sure to become Ability Users!¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke up loudly. ¡°That¡¯s right! Damn it, I don¡¯t believe I can¡¯t become an Ability User!¡± Hong Bin hammered the table angrily. Seeing that no one wanted his Crystal Core, Wang Tao took it back. He planned to hunt some Elite Zombies later on. He nearly reached the limit for the types of Crystal Cores he could fuse with, but the others had yet to become Ability Users; the progress was a bit slow... Wang Tao didn¡¯t concern himself with Ren Jie¡¯s fusion with the Zombie Crystal Core since everyone had experience now; there was no need to worry. Wang Tao was about to find Han Rui. He had mentioned yesterday he would give her a share of the spoils of war, and he intended to keep his word. He prepared some food and Inhibitors for her. The Zombie Cores weren¡¯t suitable for Han Rui anyway. However, just as he was descending the stairs, he saw someone rushing up in a hurry. ¡°Commissioner Wang!¡± The person saw Wang Tao and immediately said with urgent concern: ¡°Commissioner Wang, there¡¯s been an incident! Two of our Hunter teams that stayed out overnight were supposed to return this morning, but just now, we received a message from a stranger on their walkie-talkies, saying they¡¯ve been kidnapped! They¡¯re demanding Zombie Cores as ransom for our people!¡± Chapter 168 - 108 Ability: Rush l Chapter 108 Ability: Rush l Translator: 549690339 After the acid rain, although the zombies became stronger, their speed had slowed down a lot. Once the committee broadcasted this news, there were quite a few people who became tempted¡ªzombies that had slowed down might still be unbeatable, but they could outrun them! For many, as long as they didn¡¯t go hunting zombies, didn¡¯t make much noise, and didn¡¯t encounter any special zombies, the current danger was actually lower than before. The Special Zombie Guidebook had been produced into pamphlets and distributed at the base. So, as long as they were a bit more observant and not too unlucky, they should be able to go out and scour for supplies. Shuize County was vast with a large population. After most people had turned into zombies, the resources left behind were naturally abundant. Having been secure in the base for over a month, some survivors wanted to continue living in safety, but others were prepared to take a risk. So these past few days, the number of registered Hunters at the base had increased significantly. The base required that these Hunters try not to stay out overnight and, should they be forced to, they should inform the base. Otherwise, help could not be provided in case of danger. Yesterday, two Hunter Teams composed mainly of newcomers informed the base that they were surrounded by zombies, not in immediate danger, and so decided to spend the night outside and return the next morning. However, this morning, when the staff at Shuize Base asked about their situation, it was a stranger¡¯s voice that answered. They said that those two teams, fourteen people in total, had been captured by them. If the base wanted to redeem these people, they would have to exchange them for fourteen Zombie Cores. If the base chose not to redeem them, they would kill one person every other day until all were dead. The staff wanted to hear the voices of the members of those two teams, but the other party turned off the walkie-talkie. Moreover, they mentioned redeeming the people but did not even specify where... The staff all began to doubt whether these people just found the belongings of the Hunter Team or if all the Hunters were already dead... ¡°What do you think?¡± Wang Tao looked at the other committee members. Everyone frowned. In this post-apocalyptic world, people were needed, but human lives were cheap. If they were asked to give something else for redemption, like some food, that might still be negotiable. But to take Zombie Cores was outrageous. How many Ability Users did the base have? They didn¡¯t have enough Zombie Cores for their use! A human life was certainly not necessarily more valuable than a Zombie Core. ¡°We cannot compromise! Damn it, they¡¯re threatening us? We fight back!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke out somewhat irritably. ¡°I also think we cannot compromise. If there¡¯s a first time, there will be a second time. We can¡¯t always be compromising, right? Punch back hard and stop the punching from coming!¡± Lu Gang also spoke, his eyes glaring. Not only these two military men, but Feng Ming¡¯an, Ren Jie, and even the techie Liu He agreed on taking action. Wei Zhenguo then spoke: ¡°I also agree not to compromise, but the problem is, do you know who they are, where they are?¡± II II Everyone was momentarily stuck. ¡°If I am not wrong, that group should be Shao Yong¡¯s people!¡± Wang Tao spoke up. ¡°If we¡¯re to speak of grudges, we¡¯ve only ever had them with that group. Normally, if our people were captured by other survivors, they would definitely announce themselves. Those small survivor powers, upon hearing our name, would either kill to silence them or release them. After all, so many guns we have are not for show¡ªbut they dare to take hostages directly! I have reason to suspect that it¡¯s Shao Yong¡¯s people.¡± Hearing this analysis, everyone nodded slightly. But if it was Shao Yong, then there was a bit of trouble. Because it was obvious that Shao Yong was standing up for his little brother Cao Xin... No one wanted to engage in infighting with other survivors at this time if not necessary. But if it really couldn¡¯t be avoided, they were resolute to not cower. ¡°But he didn¡¯t specify the exact trading location! Even if we genuinely took Zombie Cores to redeem our people, we still need a location...¡± Feng Ming¡¯an furrowed his brows. ¡°Maybe there are two possibilities...¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke with a frown ¡°one is, that many of our people have died... they want to delay a few days. The other is... they want to give us a warning! They intend to kill a few people first!¡± Hearing this, everyone¡¯s anger intensified. Regardless of the situation, it meant that the two Hunter Teams had suffered casualties! ¡°The urgent matter at hand is to look for where exactly they are while waiting for their message...¡± Ren Jie spoke, stroking his chin. We are in the light, the enemy in the shadow... quite passive. ¡°Yes, we need to investigate carefully. I¡¯ll notify them, the scavenging tasks from now on are on hold, focus on reconnaissance!¡± The group quickly came upon a unanimous decision¡ªnot to compromise, definitely not to trade Crystal Cores for people, but an attempt at rescue was possible. Wei Zhenguo announced the kidnapping of the Hunter Teams but did not mention the matter of the Zombie Cores. Other Hunters in the base were startled when they received the news and began to hesitate to leave. Witnessing this, Wei Zhenguo felt somewhat helpless. It was hard enough to have more Hunters, and just as things were picking up, they were afraid to go out again. These kidnappers really deserved to die! In the evening, Wang Tao arrived at Han Rui¡¯s house. Just out of the shower, Han Rui¡¯s complexion turned unnatural when she saw Wang Tao. ¡°Why, why are you here....¡± Chapter 169 - 108: Ability-Rush_2 Chapter 108: Ability-Rush_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°You.¡± Wang Tao was straightforward. Han Rui was at first startled, then her face instantly turned red with embarrassment. ¡°You¡ªwe agreed that once we¡¯re back at the base, we¡¯d each go our own way and not bother each other! How could you not keep your word?¡± ¡°Hmm? When did I say that?¡± Wang Tao sprawled on the sofa, feigning confusion. ¡°On the bed¡ª¡± Han Rui quickly clamped her mouth shut. She had just finished her shower, wearing her pajamas, her hair still somewhat damp; Wang Tao, seeing her like this, suddenly felt his appetite whetted. But he was here to discuss serious matters, and only teased Han Rui verbally for a bit. Han Rui glared at Wang Tao fiercely: ¡°Don¡¯t mess around! Sun Weiguang will be back any minute now!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes suddenly sparkled. ¡°That¡¯s even more exciting!¡± ¡°...You¡¯re a pervert!¡± Han Rui was somewhat anxious. After all, she was a rather traditional woman, and it was her home. Soon the man who was her husband in name, though they were no longer emotionally involved, would be back. Moreover, some new neighbors had moved in around her apartment; they all knew Han Rui and Sun Weiguang were husband and wife... So if something happened between her and Wang Tao at her home, how could she face anyone after that! Wang Tao felt he was indeed a bit perverted, but there were people more perverted than him¡ª Sun Weiguang had suddenly returned. He walked in to see Wang Tao sitting on the sofa, his wife Han Rui, just out of the shower, with a flushed face, talking to Wang Tao. This caused Sun Weiguang to react subconsciously: ¡°I... ahem, carry on! I just remembered I have something else to do and have to go out again...¡± Having said this, Sun Weiguang promptly left, even thoughtfully closing the door behind him. Wang Tao had not said a word when he saw Han Rui¡¯s face change from red to pale. ¡°He, he¡¯s at the door!¡± II II Darn it, Sun Weiguang really was a pervert! Wang Tao felt inferior by comparison. Han Rui was initially resistant to Wang Tao, but after seeing Sun Weiguang¡¯s behavior, she became so angry she couldn¡¯t even vent. She had been blind to have fallen for Sun Weiguang! Han Rui walked straight over to Wang Tao and sat down heavily beside him. Confused by her actions, Wang Tao pretended to be surprised: ¡°Eh? What are you doing?¡± ¡°You!¡± Good heavens, it¡¯s tit for tat! And Han Rui wasn¡¯t content with just verbal teasing; she straddled Wang Tao. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± An hour later. Wang Tao, having put his pants back on, spoke coldly: ¡°Women, just delay things.¡± II II A somewhat drained Han Rui wrapped her arms around Wang Tao¡¯s neck, leaning on him without wanting to pay him any mind. At that moment, the front door opened. Sun Weiguang walked in to see Han Rui, disheveled, sitting on Wang Tao¡¯s lap. His face turned red, and he lowered his head as he went into his own room. Wang Tao truly hadn¡¯t expected Sun Weiguang to wait at the door for so long. Han Rui didn¡¯t even look at Sun Weiguang. However... she seemed to be getting a taste of Sun Weiguang¡¯s feelings, indeed quite the thrill... ¡°Alright, now that the distractions are taken care of, let¡¯s talk about serious matters.¡± Wang Tao patted Han Rui¡¯s soft flesh, then took out an orange Crystal Core. ¡°This is...¡± Han Rui¡¯s tired spirit suddenly perked up. She had never seen such a beautiful Crystal Core! ¡°Rush Crystal Core, do you want it?¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He had waited the whole day, but the kidnappers had not sent any message. Everyone couldn¡¯t just wait at the base endlessly, so the committee members decided that for the next few days, they would go out to hunt Elite Zombies in preparation for a potential upcoming battle! Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability was very useful for Wang Tao, and he wanted to enhance her strength. Originally, he planned to synthesize the Rush Crystal Core into an Epic one and keep it for himself as a backup. If he couldn¡¯t find a Self-healing Crystal Core, then he could use the Rush Crystal Core instead. But after thinking about it, Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t necessary. Considering the current situation, Charger Zombies weren¡¯t that rare. At least Xiang Hongbin and his team had encountered them several times before. Wang Tao was certain he would come across them again in the future, and getting another Epic Crystal Core was very likely. Moreover, Wang Tao now didn¡¯t dare to merge a fourth type of Crystal Core, and having the Rush Crystal Core lying in his bag was a waste. Additionally, considering the potential for a battle with other Ability Users at any time... it was better to use the Rush Crystal Core to enhance someone¡¯s strength. Han Rui was both surprised and incredulous. Wang Tao had explained to her about the quality of Crystal Cores, and this orange Crystal Core was one that would 100% successfully merge! Did Wang Tao not need it for himself? Han Rui suddenly recalled the time they encountered a Suicide Bombing Zombie, and Wang Tao had held her in his embrace. ¡°Could it be that he really likes me, and not just lusts after my body...¡± Han Rui¡¯s mind was in a bit of turmoil. ¡°Don¡¯t you want it?¡± Seeing Han Rui daydreaming, Wang Tao began to frown. The reason he offered the Crystal Core to Han Rui, of course, was because she had always been his teammate; increasing Han Rui¡¯s combat strength was to increase his own. But if Han Rui didn¡¯t want it, then he would give it to someone else; he felt either Xiang Hongbin or Wei Zhenguo were also good candidates. ¡°I want it!¡± Han Rui quickly spoke up. ¡°Then open your mouth.¡± Han Rui subconsciously opened her mouth, but there was something weird about this position. Wang Tao, as if feeding her medicine, inserted the Crystal Core directly into Han Rui¡¯s throat, causing her to cough. Han Rui glared fiercely at Wang Tao, then quickly closed her eyes, carefully sensing the power of the Crystal Core. A moment later. ¡°So sleepy-¡± Han Rui felt she could hardly keep her eyes open, then she lay down on Wang Tao¡¯s chest and fell asleep.. Chapter 170 - 108: AbilityRush_3 Chapter 108: AbilityRush_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao carried her back to the bed. The next day, early morning. Han Rui¡¯s face was flushed as she extricated herself from Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, sheepishly scratching at her messy hair. ¡°Uh... I didn¡¯t do anything last night, did I?¡± She had been dead asleep the previous night, without any memory of it. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°You slept like a log, what could you have possibly done?¡± Wang Tao stayed to observe Han Rui, wanting to see if there would be any changes after she fused with a second type of Crystal Core and whether any problems would arise during the fusion process. So far, it seemed fine; she had been sleeping soundly, and her body didn¡¯t heat up much, unlike Wang Tao¡¯s experience. ¡°...You¡¯re the pig!¡± Han Rui muttered in her heart and then asked with some anticipation, ¡°Shall we go test the new superpower together?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then added, ¡°By the way, do you feel like you can merge with other types of Crystal Cores now?¡± Han Rui closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment before opening them with a look of surprise. ¡°I think... I can still continue to merge with different types of Crystal Cores?1 ¡°That¡¯s not bad.¡± Wang Tao was slightly surprised; it seemed that Han Rui could fuse with at least three different types of Crystal Cores. ¡°Get ready and meet me at the Comprehensive Building. Well go out and test the ability.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui nodded in eager anticipation. Wang Tao went home first to grab some equipment, then told Ding Yuqin that he might not return to the base in the next few days. Ding Yuqin stared at Wang Tao with a touch of melancholy. Although he had been at the base last night, he didn¡¯t rest at home, but she prudently didn¡¯t ask more. ¡°Wang Tao, be careful out there!¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry, sister-in-law.¡± Wang Tao kissed Ding Yuqin on the forehead and then drove to the Comprehensive Building. Han Rui was already waiting for him. First, Wang Tao went upstairs to ask if there had been any news about the kidnappers, but there wasn¡¯t. After a day and night with no news from them and no one from the two teams returning, it was clear there were casualties within the Hunter Team. If they died at the hands of zombies, that was one thing, but if they perished at the hands of other survivors, Shuize Base would certainly take revenge! ¡°Let¡¯s try to get more Zombie Cores, whether I can become an Ability User depends on you all!¡± Wei Zhenguo cheered everyone on. His injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet, so naturally, he stayed at the base. The committee members going out were divided into three teams. Xiang Hongbin and Lu Gang led one team of soldiers. Feng Ming¡¯an was leading a team of police officers. Then there was Wang Tao, taking Han Rui as one team. Wang Tao¡¯s reason for not joining them was that he wasn¡¯t comfortable with their combat styles. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s team practiced militarized operations, and Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s team had their own combat methods. Wang Tao would feel out of place if he joined them. To give a simple example, a single gesture from Hong Bin and his teammates would know what to do. But Wang Tao could only stand there confused. Not to mention their various tactics and skills. So it was also why they would lead soldiers or police officers; it wasn¡¯t that they were unwilling to take others, but rather, ordinary survivors simply couldn¡¯t keep up with their pace and were more likely to slow them down. Of course, with Wang Tao¡¯s strength, he definitely wouldn¡¯t fall behind, but he felt uncomfortable, so he decided against it. However, when Wang Tao was at the base, he would often ask Wei Zhenguo for advice on military knowledge. Once he got the hang of it, he could act together with them. ¡°If any of you encounter Elite Zombies that you¡¯re not sure about, or can¡¯t handle, you can contact me. As long as I¡¯m available, I¡¯ll definitely come over,¡± Wang Tao told the others. ¡°Of course! You¡¯re our base¡¯s top combat power, we¡¯ll definitely come to you if we¡¯re in trouble!¡± Hong Bin slapped Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder firmly, and the others nodded in agreement. Wang Tao exchanged high-fives with the others and then took five Homemade Bombs from Liu He. These were improved versions of the previous model, much more stable. Liu He assured that they wouldn¡¯t have issues like before. Wang Tao was interested in the bombs for their timing function, which he found more useful than Hand Grenades. With just a few seconds with grenades, there was no time to escape. But with the timed bombs, there was more room to get clear after setting them, so there was no need to worry about attracting zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Downstairs, Wang Tao called Han Rui over to the car. But when he saw Han Rui¡¯s outfit, he paused for a moment. Today, Han Rui was dressed in a Black Combat Suit, with a tactical vest across her chest, a tactical helmet, and sunglasses on her head, her face covered with a black scarf, a sniper crossbow on her back, and a pistol, Dagger, and Firefighter Axe at her waist, additionally carrying a small Shield. With her increased HP, her physical strength was greatly enhanced, and the gear she carried was no problem for her. ¡°You look pretty cool in that get-up!¡± Wang Tao complimented her. Han Rui was slightly proud; the gear was originally a special police outfit, which she had bought at a high price from other survivors the day before. ¡°Can¡¯t deny it, we do look quite the part standing together.¡± Wang Tao was also fully Armed, but he wore a skull scarf, making him look more like a villain. Han Rui gave him a glance, and then they got into the car and left the base. Ten minutes later. ¡°Huh? Lucky day today!¡± Wang Tao spotted a Terrorizer carrying a hammer on the road. [1500/1500] And it didn¡¯t have a lot of HP, which was perfect for Han Rui to try out her new Ability. Han Rui handed the crossbow to Wang Tao, then got out of the car, took the Shield from her back, and held it in one hand while gripping the Firefighter Axe in the other. After taking a deep breath, she used her Ability, ¡°Rush,¡± towards the distant Terrorizer. Whoosh¡ª She pushed off with her right foot and charged at the Terrorizer at high speed. At the same time, a faint white translucent shield appeared around Han Rui. Then. Bang! Han Rui slammed into the Rioters zombie. [-1200] The Terrorizer was sent flying, and Han Rui followed up with a swing of her axe. Spurt! [-300] [0/1500] ¡°Damn, a clean kill!¡± Chapter 171 - 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp_l Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp_l Translator: 549690339 ¡°I...¡± Han Rui looked at her own hand, her eyes filled with disbelief. She hadn¡¯t expected to kill the Terrorizer in one hit! Just a bump and a hack with an axe, that was all... Wang Tao had dealt with a few ordinary zombies, then he approached Han Rui and circled around her. Han Rui had no injuries, not a single drop of blood was lost. But her mana consumption was quite high. A single Rush had cost her 30 mana. With her current mana pool, she could only use it six times. However, mana and HP are different. HP recovery is very slow, and if injured or starving, it might not regenerate at all. On the other hand, mana would always slowly recover. It seems the recovery rate varies for each Ability User; like for Wang Tao, it would take roughly six hours to fully recover. Han Rui¡¯s rate was similar to his. ¡°You aren¡¯t hurt, are you?¡± Even though he hadn¡¯t seen Han Rui losing any health, Wang Tao still asked out of concern. ¡°No...¡± Han Rui quickly shook her head. ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. Han Rui was still a bit dazed. After confirming there was nothing wrong with Han Rui, Wang Tao went to pry out the Purple Crystal Core from the zombie¡¯s head. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: light-sensitive eyes)] Wang Tao had two shockwave crystal cores, one white (20%) and one blue (40%). With this crystal core, he could now synthesize another Epic Crystal Core. Wang Tao unceremoniously pocketed the crystal core. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Back in the car, Wang Tao drove. Han Rui took off her gloves and looked at her delicate little hand, suddenly started smiling joyfully. She too was now someone who could instantly kill Elite Zombies! ¡°How do you feel now?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°Amazing! I¡¯ve never felt so great before! And I didn¡¯t even get hurt, it¡¯s truly miraculous!¡± Han Rui clenched her fists, her little face full of excitement. Wang Tao guessed it must be a special effect of the Ability, just as his own Shockwave Ability wouldn¡¯t harm him. Han Rui¡¯s Rush Ability probably couldn¡¯t harm her either. After being thrilled for a while, Han Rui looked at Wang Tao and said: ¡°I think you would be even more formidable using this Rush Ability...¡± If with her strength she could instant kill an Elite Zombie with 1500 HP, Wang Tao, being stronger, would definitely cause even higher damage. ¡°No matter, if need be, we¡¯ll just get another two Rush Crystal Cores,¡± Wang Tao waved it off unconcernedly. Han Rui was touched, but she didn¡¯t speak further. After all, Wang Tao had given her an Orange Crystal Core! But she was also determined in her heart to help Wang Tao obtain more Zombie Cores! If they were after hunting Elite Zombies, naturally they should head towards places with more zombies. However, the more zombies there were, the greater the danger, so the two of them proceeded very cautiously. Along the way, Wang Tao let Han Rui clear the ordinary zombies as much as possible. After all, clearing ordinary zombies would regenerate her health. Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t regenerate health, so it seemed a bit wasteful. Soon, Han Rui¡¯s health reached [700/700] Feeling a significant improvement in her physical condition, Han Rui started looking at Wang Tao with eyes filled with tender feelings. After all, he had deliberately let her have those gains! ¡°Hmm? Another Elite Zombie ahead!¡± Seeing the situation in the alley ahead, Wang Tao cracked a smile. Since the corrosive acid rain, many things in the outside world had been corroded, the plants had grown much larger, and the zombies¡¯ HP had also generally increased. Similarly, the number of Elite Zombies had gone up. in the past, the chance of encountering an Elite Zombie was very low, but now, more running about would likely lead to encounters. There were two Elite Zombies in the alley, one Self-exploder and one with a bloated belly. [3000/3000H2500/2500] The HP of these two zombies was not small, and their bodies were even more decayed. Wang Tao suspected that zombies which had been drenched in the corrosive acid rain would see an increase in HP. Whereas those that hadn¡¯t been rained on might not see much of a change. These two zombies were clearly ones that had been in the rain. The Terrorizer that they had encountered in Gao Hua¡¯s apartment building only had 1000 HP, likely because it hadn¡¯t been touched by the rain. ¡°How do we kill this...¡± Han Rui was somewhat eager to try. After her strength had increased, she had also become a bit overconfident. Previously upon seeing a Suicide Bombing Zombie, she would flee as far as possible, but now she was thinking about how to deal with it. ¡°Try this...¡± Wang Tao suddenly took out a yellow-green, sticky lump. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s this?¡± Han Rui asked curiously. ¡°Slime Grenade.¡± This was loot he had obtained from killing Cao Xin. But Wang Tao had not had the chance to use it. After returning to the base, he and Feng Ming¡¯an had discussed it. Feng Ming¡¯an told him about a situation when dealing with a Self-exploding Zombie ¨C Feng Ming¡¯an had stealthily approached the Self-exploder and suddenly spit a mass of slime on it, forcefully immobilizing it! In that situation, the Self-exploder couldn¡¯t detonate at all! Of course, the adhesion wouldn¡¯t last long, Feng Ming¡¯an said it could only hold for about a minute or so. But that minute was enough for them to kill the Self-exploder and escape. Wang Tao thought that the effect of this Slime Grenade should be similar to Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s Ability, so he decided to give it a try. However, this time Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan on letting Han Rui take action, because he wasn¡¯t sure whether it would work. If the grenade didn¡¯t work and it led to the Suicide Bombing Zombie detonating, he was counting on Han Rui to drive him to safety.. Chapter 172 - 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp_2 Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°You stay in the car and be ready to pick me up at any moment,¡± Wang Tao got out of the car. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui immediately got into the driver¡¯s seat. After assessing the situation, Wang Tao took the hand crossbow and cleared a wave of ordinary zombies outside the alley. I have to say, using a hand crossbow is just satisfying; with one arrow for each, the zombies simply couldn¡¯t react in time. After cleaning up the zombies, Wang Tao quickly went to collect the crossbow arrows. He really was a thrifty and housekeeping good man. Then Wang Tao climbed onto the roof and, after locating the suicide bombing zombies, he did not dare to get too close. Thinking it was about right, he took out a slime grenade. After aiming at the approximate location, Wang Tao threw it down. pia The slime grenade landed between two elite zombies and exploded instantly. Plop A big glob of white slime burst from the grenade, instantly covering everything within a four to five-meter radius. The two elite zombies, along with the dozen or more ordinary ones around them, were all covered in white slime, completely immobilized. The self-exploders couldn¡¯t even expand their bodies for detonation! ¡°The explosion of the slime grenade didn¡¯t make much noise, and it glued them all in place! Effective!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao immediately felt overjoyed. He waited for about ten seconds, then with axe in hand, he leaped down from the rooftop. During the first five seconds upon contact, the slime was at its stickiest, but after five seconds, the exposed slime began to gradually solidify and turn solid. Although the things it stuck to remained immobile, the surface of the slime lost its stickiness, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to worry about getting stuck to it when he came down now. Thud! Wang Tao landed right on the shoulder of a chubby zombie and with a forceful swing, his axe struck squarely on its head. Squish! [-2143] [357/2500] That strike nearly cleaved the zombie to death! Even if it didn¡¯t die, it was left with just a sliver of HP. ¡°Such low defense?¡± Wang Tao swung another axe, instantly clearing the HP bar. [-357] [0/2500] After killing the elite zombie, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even have time to look closer; he immediately leapt beside the self-exploder. As he swung his axe, a shockwave emanated from its center, spreading out in all directions. [-2329] [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [???] True to their low defense, the self-exploders took a shocking 2300 damage from just one swing of Wang Tao¡¯s axe! Without hesitation, he swung another axe. Squish! [-674] [0/3000] With the self-exploding zombie dealt with, the shockwave eliminated the remaining ordinary zombies. Wang Tao gathered all the loot and immediately ran. Han Rui had driven the car a short distance away; the door was already open. Wang Tao quickly got in. ¡°Go, go, go!¡± Zheng zheng- Han Rui pressed the accelerator, and the car sped away. After about three minutes, a loud ¡°boom¡± could be heard in the distance. ¡°The suicide bombing zombie exploded.¡± Wang Tao nodded silently to himself, quite satisfied with the effect of the slime grenade ¨C it trapped the suicide bombing zombie for three minutes, which was more than enough time for him to get far away. ¡°Your slime grenade is so awesome!¡± Han Rui had been keeping an eye on the whole process and was naturally amazed by the effect of the slime grenade. As for the fact that Wang Tao nearly instantly killed those two elite zombies, Han Rui found it not surprising at all. After all, she herself had chances to kill elite zombies in seconds, so it was only natural for Wang Tao to do so. She couldn¡¯t see the HP bars, so naturally, she didn¡¯t know how much HP those zombies had when Wang Tao killed them. But then again, Wang Tao felt that the defenses of those two elite zombies were very low. The damage he used to inflict with one axe swing on a Terrorizer was around four to five hundred HP. With his strength improved, he should be doing more damage now, but not by a large amount. Yet those two zombies took over two thousand damage from each of his axe swings! Even considering the high-ground attack bonus, the damage shouldn¡¯t have been that high ¨C clearly, the defense of those zombies was a lot lower. Wang Tao asked Han Rui to keep driving and searching for zombies while he checked the loot from the battle. The two zombies together gave Wang Tao a total of 60 HP increase, meaning a total addition of 120 HP. Wang Tao¡¯s HP was now at [1460/1460]. Then there were the other spoils of war. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Self-Detonation] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: None)] The Crystal Core dropped by the suicide bombing zombie was of ordinary quality; not the best luck. However, the Crystal Core from the self-exploder wasn¡¯t the main point; the main thing was the loot bundle the self-exploder dropped. Although Wang Tao had acquired several Self-Destruct Crystal Cores, this was his first time killing a self-exploder, and he was curious about what they would drop. [Acquired: Self-Destruct Bomb Blueprint xi] [Acquired: Self-Destruct Heart xi] [Acquired: Self-Destruct Bomb X5] The self-exploding zombie dropped three items that all looked a bit wicked. Wang Tao looked at the specifics. [Self-Destruct Bomb Blueprint: Can be used to craft 10 Self-Destruct Bombs, Required materials: Self-Destruct Heart xi, Crystal Core xi, Flesh xiokg, Metal X5kg] [Self-Destruct Heart: Crafting material] [Self-Destruct Bomb: A biological bomb with extremely poor stability. Once activated, it will explode within an hour if noise, vibration, or physical contact occurs. If it does not explode, it will automatically detonate after one hour.] Seeing the attributes of this Self-Destruct Bomb, Wang Tao exclaimed in amazement. This thing seems to have a disregard for friend or foe! Anything could trigger an explosion, not unlike the suicide bombing zombies that would explode as soon as they were disturbed.. Chapter 173 - 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp 3 Chapter 109: Hunting Zombies, Discovering a Camp 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°If used properly, this thing could be a massive killer. But if not used wisely, it could hurt me first...¡± As for the self-destruct bomb blueprint, the core material required is the self-destruct heart, and a self-exploder had just spewed out one. This means, once Wang Tao gets the other materials ready, he could make it. However, looking at the 10kg requirement of flesh material, Wang Tao wondered if using the flesh of zombies would do? After all, the flesh of normal animals was food, and there was never enough for himself to eat, so it shouldn¡¯t be wasted so frivolously... After collecting these spoils of war, Wang Tao turned his attention to another elite zombie that had dropped something. First was a purple crystal core. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Slime Spitter] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: belly enlargement, reduced defense)] ¡°Eh?¡± Seeing the items dropped by this zombie, Wang Tao was surprised. He hadn¡¯t expected it to be a Slime Spitting zombie. He had never seen this kind of zombie before, and the military¡¯s manual didn¡¯t mention it, so it didn¡¯t cross Wang Tao¡¯s mind at first. But on second thought, since the side effect of slime spitting was reduced defense, it made sense that his axe would deal over two thousand HP damage to a Slime Spitting zombie. The Slime Spitting zombie¡¯s crystal core was of no use to him, but it could be useful for Feng Ming¡¯an. He could keep it for Feng. Next was the package that the slime spitter had exploded. [Received: Slime Grenade Blueprint xl] [Received: Slime Grenade x5] [Received: Slime Pack] Five slime grenades and a blueprint? Good stuff! Wang Tao was somewhat excited, as he had already tested them in real combat. These slime grenades were incredibly handy when hunting elite zombies! Moreover, the core material for making slime grenades, as per the blueprint, was a slime pack, which was something he could also forge like the self-destruct bombs! [Slime Grenade Blueprint: Forges 10 slime grenades, required materials: Slime Pack xi, Crystal Core xl, Flesh xiokg, Metal xskg] These required materials were almost identical to those from the suicide bombing zombies. With the core materials available and the rest easy to find, as long as zombie flesh could be used for crafting, Wang Tao could start making them right away! Noon. The SUV stopped in front of a shop. Wang Tao had originally chosen this place for a break, but he unexpectedly discovered that this shop had not been visited; there were some clean snacks stored inside, perfect for lunch. After eating a few packs of dry noodles and drinking a bottle of water, Wang Tao said to Han Rui, ¡°Stay here, I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao came to a street corner where there were a few zombie corpses, slain by him just moments ago. Wang Tao took out the blueprints for the self-destruct bombs and slime grenades, then saw the ¡°Forgeable¡± prompt on them¡ªthe metal he needed was already prepared, having been scavenged from abandoned vehicles. He immediately chose to craft, and with a flash of light, ten slime grenades appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. The ten self-destruct bombs were on the ground. The grenades forged from blueprints were sticky and gooey, looking a bit disgusting, just like those he had looted earlier. The self-destruct bombs, on the other hand, were basketball-sized, heart-shaped objects, pulsing as if they might explode at any moment. Wang Tao quickly stowed these bombs in his space backpack, as they were dangerous goods, and a slight mishap could lead to them exploding on himself. Back at the store, Wang Tao went into a room alone and then synthesized the two shockwave crystal cores in his backpack. He now had three shockwave crystal cores, two of which were just right to create an epic quality one. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (No side effects)] To fuse a crystal core with an existing ability, there was nothing special to take note of, swallowing it directly would do. After swallowing, Wang Tao felt a warmth throughout his body, filled with strength, and all fatigue had completely vanished. His mana increased by another 100, reaching 500, which was already more than many people¡¯s HP. When he came out, Han Rui glanced at Wang Tao. She always felt that Wang Tao seemed more energetic, unsure what he had done secretly in the room. After Han Rui finished lunch, Wang Tao called her to continue on their journey. The luck in the morning wasn¡¯t very good. After encountering those three elite zombies, they hadn¡¯t come across any other elite zombies, not even self-exploders. ¡°Hopefully, the afternoon will be better...¡± While others feared encountering elite zombies, Wang Tao wished for it... Unfortunately, the luck in the afternoon was even worse than the morning, at least in the morning they had encountered three elite zombies, but in the afternoon not a single one. However, Xiang Hongbin suddenly contacted Wang Tao. He told Wang Tao that they might have discovered Shao Yong¡¯s camp. Wang Tao immediately drove to meet with Xiang Hongbin. Before the sun set, Wang Tao arrived at the temporary safe zone where Xiang Hongbin was. It was a dilapidated five-story motel, broken on the outside and looking as though it had been abandoned for a long time on the inside. Xiang Hongbin and others were on the top floor, which looked inconspicuous from the outside, but from within, one could see it was fortified with steel plates, wire mesh, torches, and such, ensuring zombies couldn¡¯t break in. Upon seeing Xiang Hongbin, Wang Tao gave him a high-five. He noticed that Xiang Hongbin¡¯s HP had increased a lot and was nearly reaching one thousand. Before he left, Wang Tao had suggested to them that while hunting elite zombies, they shouldn¡¯t forget to kill ordinary zombies. Although it was a bit more difficult to kill ordinary zombies now, the rewards were greater. This was especially true for Xiang Hongbin, who had been busy hunting elite zombies lately and hadn¡¯t gained much increase in HP. But Xiang Hongbin had obviously taken Wang Tao¡¯s advice to heart, now with [940/940] HP. Wang Tao reminded Xiang Hongbin that he might see a significant improvement in physical fitness after killing six or seven more zombies. Hearing this, Xiang Hongbin was delighted. He had no doubt in Wang Tao¡¯s words and said he would go out tomorrow morning to kill a few more! Yet, Wang Tao also reminded him that the improvement in physical fitness might be different this time, such as feeling sleepy and other symptoms, and told him to be more cautious. ¡°Will do! Tomorrow, I¡¯ll just kill some zombies downstairs and if any danger arises, I can quickly come back up.¡± Seeing that he understood, Wang Tao nodded, then asked: ¡°Where did you find the base?¡± ¡°Over there!¡± Xiang Hongbin led Wang Tao to a window and pointed, saying: ¡°Right underneath there!¡± ¡°Hmm? That¡¯s... an underground mall?¡± Wang Tao took a telescope and looked over, seeing an old sign that read ¡°Hongfa Underground Mall.¡± ¡°Yes, there is a survivor base inside, and today I saw a team coming out from there, even driving a car.. It must be them!¡± Chapter 174 - 110: Reaching 2000 HP_1 Chapter 174: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_1 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao observed for a while and indeed saw survivors appear, carefully entering the interior of the mall. It was undoubtedly a Survivor Base inside, the question was whether these were Shao Yong¡¯s people or not. ¡°What do you think?¡± Wang Tao turned his head and asked. ¡°I plan to have someone observe here for two days, then I¡¯ll scout the surrounding area and see if I can infiltrate...¡± Although Shuize Base was strong, that ¡°strength¡± was mainly in firearms. If they didn¡¯t use guns, it would probably be very difficult to break into this camp. After all, they were defensive, and there might be traps and mechanisms inside¡ªheadlong rushing in was definitely not an option. ¡°Infiltrate? Could that be dangerous?¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry about that, we are professionals in this area! However, that¡¯s assuming we find a vulnerability we can exploit. After all, the opponent is underground; if they have blocked all entrances, getting in will still be difficult...¡± Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t make too strong of a claim. ¡°Then you need to be careful!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± After discussing for a while, there was no good plan for the moment, so Xiang Hongbin planned to send someone tomorrow during the day to investigate. However, when it came to infiltration, Wang Tao suddenly remembered something he had that he seemed to have never used. ¡°Take this!¡± Wang Tao handed over two injection bottles. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Xiang Hongbin curiously received them. ¡°This... you can call it Stealth Potion; it¡¯s supposed to hide your scent so humans won¡¯t detect you, and it lasts for one hour. It¡¯s best used at night... But I¡¯ve never used it, so I¡¯m not sure about the specific effects,¡± Wang Tao explained. He was offering the ¡°Stealth Potion (Small)¡±, naturally. This potion was of little use to him; he needed something to evade zombies, not humans. Therefore, the potion had been collecting dust in Wang Tao¡¯s backpack. When Xiang Hongbin mentioned infiltration just now, Wang Tao suddenly remembered this item. Since it was supposed to avoid human attention, it should be effective, and for infiltration, it might just be helpful. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. This was a great item for infiltration! Although the concept of scent was rather esoteric, and he didn¡¯t know where Wang Tao got this item from, none of that mattered. It was the post-apocalyptic world, and at first glance, this stuff looked like a product of some laboratory... Wang Tao had no reason to lie to him about this. ¡°Thanks! Oh, and today I got a few Zombie Cores, do you need any?¡± Xiang Hongbin took out a bag, filled with Zombie Cores. ¡°Eh? You¡¯ve had quite a haul!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; there were five Crystal Cores in total, two more than what Wang Tao had harvested today. ¡°Hehe, that¡¯s because we teamed up with Old Feng for a while today. Man, his Slime Spitter Ability is truly good. It can even stop Suicide Bombing Zombies. Any zombie he sticks to are basically easy kills!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed proudly. However, he quickly shook his head. ¡°But Old Feng doesn¡¯t last long! After spitting a few times, he has to rest for a good while, otherwise, we could¡¯ve killed even more special zombies...¡± Wang Tao laughed and shook his head, then suddenly, as if he thought of something, his brows lifted. ¡°Are you saying you encountered Elite Zombies on the road today but didn¡¯t manage to kill them?¡± ¡°Yes. I gave up on some targets that I felt were too dangerous,¡± Xiang Hongbin said with some regret. Wang Tao quickly followed: ¡°Tell me where those zombies were, and I¡¯ll take care of them tomorrow!¡± ¡°Ah? Sure! With your strength, it shouldn¡¯t be a problem!¡± Xiang Hongbin brought the map and pointed to several locations on it. Han Rui, who had been silent beside them, quickly took out pen and paper to note down these positions. After Wang Tao saw Han Rui making the notes, he then turned his attention to the Zombie Cores that Xiang Hongbin had brought out. There were three Self-Destruct Crystal Cores, and the remaining were one Mud Swamp Crystal Core and one Toughness Crystal Core. Mud Swamp Core was of no use to Wang Tao, but he would take the Toughness Core. Even though it was just a White Crystal Core, he didn¡¯t mind. Wang Tao took out the Purple Slime Spitting Crystal Core he had obtained today and asked Xiang Hongbin if he wanted it. A Purple Crystal Core, with a 60% success rate of merging, tempted Xiang Hongbin. But thinking about the agonizing way Feng Ming¡¯an used his Ability, he shook his head. ¡°Forget it, better give it to Old Feng!¡± ¡°Heh, okay. I¡¯ll give you this Core then, pass it on to Old Feng.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao handed the Slime Spitter Crystal Core to Xiang Hongbin, and then he and Han Rui rested there for the night. The next morning, the two set off again. The goal was naturally the locations of the Elite Zombies that Xiang Hongbin had told them about yesterday. It was an artificial lake in a park. ¡°Lucky!¡± Arriving at the first location, Wang Tao saw the Elite Zombies; they hadn¡¯t moved since last night. And there were three of them together, no wonder Xiang Hongbin and his team hadn¡¯t engaged. ¡°A Terrorizer, a Mud Swamp Zombie, and a Suicide Bombing Zombie...¡± [2000/2000][2200/2200][1600/1600] The Mud Swamp Zombie was in the water, and the area of the lake it occupied was all mud. The Terrorizer and Self-exploder were also in the mud. Although their movements were somewhat difficult, they were not trapped.. Chapter 175 - 110: Reaching 2000 HP_2 Chapter 175: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_2 Translator: 549690339 | However, if Wang Tao were to go over there, he felt he would probably get stuck in the mud swamp. ¡°This Mud Swamp Zombie seems to have something going for it...¡± Wang Tao had thought that this ability wasn¡¯t very useful, but now it seemed that by staying in the water, it had almost turned the entire lake into a mud swamp, which was a bit exaggerated in scope. After discussing with Han Rui, the two decided to kill them from a distance. But before that, they needed to lob a few Slime Grenades at them. After all, there was a Suicide Bombing Zombie among them, and if its explosion attracted other zombies, it would become quite troublesome. Whoosh- After finishing their discussion, Wang Tao immediately threw a Slime Grenade over. Pia¡ª The grenade hit the Suicide Bombing Zombie right on the head. Before it could inflate and explode, a blob of slime burst out instantly, sticking both the Suicide Bombing Zombie and the nearby Mud Swamp Zombie together. Wang Tao then threw a Slime Grenade at the Rioters zombie. In the blink of an eye, all three Elite Zombies were stuck and unable to move. ¡°Kill!¡± Wang Tao pulled out his hand crossbow, activated the ¡°Precision Shooting¡± ability, and pulled the trigger at the three zombies! Not far away, Han Rui also started shooting. Her sniper crossbow was slow, but it dealt high damage. Each arrow shot caused over a thousand damage to the high-defense Rioters and even a flat 2000 to the Mud Swamp Zombie¡ªseems like the defensive power of the Mud Swamp Zombie wasn¡¯t up to par. As for the Self-exploder zombie, before Han Rui could even take her shot, Wang Tao finished it off with a precise headshot. [0/1600] Seeing that both the Rioters and Mud Swamp Zombies were also critically injured, Wang Tao decisively delivered the finishing shots with his arrows. [0/2000] [0/2200] In an instant, all three Elite Zombies lay dead under Wang Tao¡¯s crossbow arrows. He definitely wasn¡¯t trying to steal the kills; it was just his good luck. Wang Tao watched his HP surge by 140 to reach [1600/1600], and he grinned. His HP had already surpassed that of some Elite Zombies! Off to the side, Han Rui was somewhat shocked. Didn¡¯t Wang Tao say he wasn¡¯t good at shooting? With such fast shooting speed and each arrow being a headshot, how was he not good? That¡¯s just being Versailles... Although the three Elite Zombies were dead, the body of the Suicide Bombing Zombie was still going to explode, so there was no time to delay. Wang Tao threw two more Slime Grenades over, and the slime from the grenade explosions quickly hardened, forming a solid path on the mud swamp. Looking at the effect of the Slime Grenades, Wang Tao was quite satisfied. It wasn¡¯t that he was a clean freak; he just feared getting stuck in the swamp and being unable to get out. He ran over the hardened slime path and collected all the loot from the three zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± Han Rui was already waiting in the car. Once Wang Tao got in, she immediately floored the accelerator. A few minutes later, a bang was heard from the park¡ªthe Suicide Bombing Zombie exploded. Moments later, a large group of Mad Demon Zombies arrived, but Wang Tao and Han Rui had long since passed several streets. In the car, Wang Tao told Han Rui to head towards the next Elite Zombie location while he checked the spoils of war¡ª A white Self-Destruct Crystal Core, a blue Mud Swamp Crystal Core, and a red Shockwave Crystal Core! Passing over the Self-Destruct and Mud Swamp Crystal Cores, the important item was the red Shockwave Crystal Core. He just happened to have a white shockwave core in his bag. Time to synthesize a gold Epic Shockwave Crystal Core! Wang Tao immediately synthesized it in his bag, and with a thought, the Epic Crystal Core appeared in his mouth. Gulp- Once again, a warm sensation spread through his body, invigorating his spirit, without any discomfort. Seeing his Mana increase by another 100 to reach 600, Wang Tao clenched his fist in satisfaction. So far, he had integrated six Zombie Cores. Aside from one ¡°Precision Shooting¡± and one ¡°Toughness¡±, the other four were all ¡°Shockwave¡±. Of course, the cores he integrated were synthetic, and he actually used up a total of 12 Crystal Cores. ¡°I wonder if anyone has synthesized more cores than me by now...¡± Wang Tao thought quietly to himself. Soon, Han Rui drove to the location of the second Elite Zombie. From afar, he could see the three Elite Zombies there. One Slime Spitter Zombie and two Suicide Bombing Zombies. Wang Tao actually quite liked the Slime Spitter Zombies because the Slime Spitter Grenades they dropped were key to dealing with the Suicide Bombing Zombies. With these, he could kill Elite Zombies virtually unharmed and not worry about Suicide Bombing Zombies exploding. After spending some time and three Slime Spitter Grenades, Wang Tao once again vanquished three Elite Zombies. All the kills were his; he didn¡¯t let Han Rui take any. After all, Han Rui could still increase her HP by killing Ordinary Zombies, whereas Wang Tao could only increase his HP by killing Elite Zombies, so it was more fitting for Wang Tao to take the kills. As the sun set, Wang Tao and Han Rui stopped their car in front of a small motel. Han Rui checked around, identified the positions of the zombies inside, and then went straight in wielding her Firefighter Axe. ¡°Just a few more to go!¡± Han Rui was a bit excited. Because by now, her HP had reached [970/970], and she only needed three more zombies to hit 1000 HP! Of course, she couldn¡¯t see her own HP bar. That was the information Wang Tao gave her, telling her that after three or four more zombie kills, she would gain an overall physical enhancement. She felt something similar herself, though it wasn¡¯t very obvious. After the hint from Wang Tao, she instantly felt that he was right. Chapter 176 - 110: Reaching 2000 HP_3 Chapter 176: Chapter 110: Reaching 2000 HP_3 Translator: 549690339 Han Rui walked up the stairs in front, with Wang Tao following behind her; he did not plan to take action. Though Han Rui¡¯s strength was not to be underestimated, while her overall power wasn¡¯t as strong as Wang Tao¡¯s, she was still a person with nearly a thousand HP ¨C dealing with these ordinary zombies wasn¡¯t difficult for her. Soon, after Han Rui killed three ordinary zombies, her HP officially reached 1000! At the same time, Han Rui suddenly felt sleepy. ¡°What¡¯s going on... I, I want to sleep...¡± Han Rui quickly turned her head to look at Wang Tao, her eyes revealing a hint of panic. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s normal!¡± Wang Tao quickly came over to support Han Rui. In his mind, he contemplated that it seemed not only he experienced drowsiness upon reaching 1000 HP, but others did as well. After hearing that it was normal from Wang Tao, Han Rui immediately relaxed and then directly fell asleep on Wang Tao¡¯s body. Wang Tao placed her on the bed, then he closed all the doors and windows tightly. Approximately three hours later, Han Rui woke up at night. ¡°Water...¡± Han Rui was a bit thirsty; Wang Tao handed her the water. Glug, glug, glug, glug- After taking a big gulp, Han Rui felt much more comfortable. She looked at Wang Tao beside her, and excitedly said: ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve become so much stronger! I even have the idea of casually taking on elite zombies...¡± Watching the excitement in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao somewhat speechlessly shook his head. ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky. I¡¯m not even sure if I can beat all of the elite zombies!¡± ¡°Cough, I know. But I really want to test my strength...¡± Han Rui squeezed her fist, feeling that she was full of energy and needed to vent. Seeing this, Wang Tao immediately understood. Such exuberance commonly occurred when merging with Crystal Cores and with an increase in HP. Now seeing Han Rui like this, Wang Tao suddenly grinned. ¡°Want to test your strength, huh? Alright, I¡¯ll accompany you to try!¡± ¡°Ah? Great! I still don¡¯t know how strong you really are. Now that my strength has improved, I should qualify as your opponent, right?¡± II II Wang Tao shook his head. Even after improving, her physical fitness still wasn¡¯t up to par! The next day, morning. Han Rui was still in bed; I had to forcefully wake her up. After a simple breakfast with some nutrient solution, the two left the small motel and got in the car to head to the location of other elite zombies. Wang Tao turned on the walkie-talkie and contacted the Survivor Base. Inside the base, there had been no news of the kidnappers. Then Wang Tao contacted Xiang Hongbin. Xiang Hongbin first shared some good news with him ¨C after killing a few zombies and sleeping, Xiang Hongbin woke up to find his physical fitness had improved. He said he had never felt so powerful before. However, he remained cautious and didn¡¯t make claims like Han Rui did, about casually taking on elite zombies on his own. Xiang Hongbin was now leading a team to hunt zombies, leaving some people behind to keep an eye on the Survivor Base. So far, they had not found an opportunity to infiltrate. But he was almost certain that it was Shao Yong¡¯s base. Because he heard survivors departing from the base addressing the boss of the base as Boss Shao. Xiang Hongbin no longer held much hope for the survival of the two Hunter Teams. Now it was just a matter of proving whether these 14 hunters were there or not. If not, and it was a misunderstanding, there was no need to make an enemy. If they were, then it¡¯s time to make the other side taste the flavor of justice¡¯s iron fist! Seeing that there was still no definite news, Wang Tao continued to take Han Rui with him to hunt zombies. They were lucky that day. Not only did they find elite zombies in the last two spots left by Xiang Hongbin but Wang Tao also encountered several elite zombies himself. However, the battles that day were much more dangerous. Especially in the last fight, two Attackers with 3000 HP appeared. Wang Tao thought there was only one Self-exploder and one Attacker. After finally killing this Attacker with Slime Grenades, another Attacker suddenly rushed over from a distance. Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability had a range, and the Attacker¡¯s rushing distance could reach over thirty meters. Han Rui couldn¡¯t perceive it within that range, and by the time the Attacker charged in, it was too late. After all, the Attacker was too fast. Fortunately, Wang Tao reacted quickly; though he couldn¡¯t dodge, he activated his Thoughness Ability in time. He endured the Attacker¡¯s full force hit head-on. The defensive power of Thoughness was strong; facing a full hit from a 3000 HP Attacker, he only lost a little over 100 HP. Despite the pain, he wasn¡¯t seriously injured. The Attacker came to a halt, as it couldn¡¯t initiate a second Rush in a short time, naturally becoming Wang Tao¡¯s target. After killing this Attacker, Wang Tao could now synthesize a Gold Rush Crystal Core! But there was no time for surprise, as Wang Tao suddenly noticed his HP had broken through to 2000! Today he had killed a total of 8 elite zombies, and with this Attacker included, his HP had increased by 400, reaching 2000! ¡°We need to find a safe place to rest, quick!¡± Felling a wave of drowsiness overcoming him, Wang Tao hurriedly got into the car. Han Rui did not dare to delay; after discerning the direction, she quickly drove towards a familiar location.. Chapter 177 - ill Please Do Me a Favor 1 Chapter 177: Chapter ill Please Do Me a Favor 1 Translator: 549690339 | ¡ª ¡°Where am I...?¡± Wang Tao woke up in a daze, looking at the ceiling above him, feeling somewhat familiar. ¡°You finally woke up!¡± Han Rui¡¯s voice sounded from beside him. Wang Tao turned his head and saw not only Han Rui but also another woman with a familiar face. ¡°Li Qiuyu?¡± ¡°Good afternoon, Mr. Wang...¡± Li Qiuyu said with a smile. Only then did Wang Tao realize that Han Rui had taken him to Li Qiuyu¡¯s house. He politely said: ¡°I¡¯ve troubled Ms. Li.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no trouble at all, Little Rui even helped me clear out the zombies around here!¡± Li Qiuyu tucked her hair. It had to be said, although Li Qiuyu was in her thirties or forties, she had not lost any of her charm from her younger days and was perhaps even more elegant now. Even a casual movement was filled with feminine allure. Especially now, she was wearing a white silk slip dress. The hazy temptation made one greatly desire to take a closer look. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but glance over several times until Han Rui stealthily pinched him, and then Wang Tao very naturally turned his head away. ¡°How long did I sleep?¡± ¡°About three hours... It¡¯s now eight o¡¯clock in the evening.¡± Han Rui said, glancing at her watch. Wang Tao nodded. To sleep for three hours for every thousand HP? That¡¯s a pretty pitiful mechanism. If you are outdoors without teammates, that would be too dangerous... Since Mr. Wang is awake now. I¡¯ll go to sleep first...¡± Li Qiuyu nodded to them, then left. After she was gone, Han Rui gave Wang Tao a glare, but said nothing. Wang Tao wrapped his arm around Han Rui¡¯s slim waist and said with slight helplessness: ¡°You know, every time my strength increases, my whole body¡¯s energy becomes extremely vigorous...¡± Afterward. Han Rui lay on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, quietly listening to his heartbeat. Wang Tao stroked her hair, but his thoughts were no longer on Han Rui¡¯s body. Instead, they were on his own body. After his HP had increased to two thousand, he felt that his physical fitness had greatly improved. Maybe by about 20%? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure, but the feeling of improvement was intoxicating, and he really liked it. As for whether he could now fuse with a fourth type of Crystal Core... Wang Tao felt like he might be able to! However, he still hadn¡¯t collected enough Self-healing Crystal Cores, so he had to wait a bit longer. Although Wang Tao had collected a few more Rush Crystal Cores and even fused with another Orange Epic Rush Crystal Core, he wasn¡¯t planning to use it yet. Because after his HP had increased to 2000, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception of his own body¡¯s condition had become much sharper. He could feel that he could only fuse with four types of Crystal Cores for now. He didn¡¯t know if it would increase in the future, but for now, he felt he could only fuse with four types. And since he had already fused with three types of Crystal Cores, he had to be more cautious with the fourth type. Wang Tao was quite satisfied with the first three Crystal Cores: a Shockwave that attacked a range, Toughness with super-strong Defense, and Precision Shooting that enhanced long-range Attack capabilities. Two attack Abilities, one life-saving Ability. If he added another Rush Ability, it would definitely enhance his Combat Power, but it would slightly lack in self-preservation. But if he acquired another Self-healing Crystal Core, it would be much safer. Surviving in the post-apocalyptic world isn¡¯t like playing a game; you only have one life, so it¡¯s better to be safe. Wang Tao pulled out an Orange Crystal Core and brought it to Han Rui¡¯s lips. ¡°Ah?¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment before she quickly looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Open your mouth.¡± ¡°Mm¡ª¡± Wang Tao stuffed the Crystal Core into Han Rui¡¯s mouth. Han Rui¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°An Orange Rush Crystal Core? You... you still have more? Why are you giving it to me again, don¡¯t you need it for yourself...¡± Han Rui had been with Wang Tao for the past few days, and she remembered that Wang Tao hadn¡¯t obtained any Orange Crystal Cores, right? And didn¡¯t Wang Tao say he would keep a Rush Crystal Core for his own use? Why give it to her then? Wang Tao looked at Han Rui¡¯s excited and complex gaze, and patted her buttocks. ¡°Just absorb it well.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Soon, Han Rui had completed the fusion, and her Mana reached ¡°300¡±. ¡°Thank you...¡± Han Rui opened her eyes and looked at Wang Tao, full of gratitude. Since childhood, besides her parents and family, this was the first time she had met someone who treated her so well... This was an Orange Crystal Core, and he just gave it to her like that, and not just one, but two! ¡°I don¡¯t even know how to repay you...¡± Han Rui sincerely thanked him. She had previously thought about how to repay Wang Tao, but before she could, Wang Tao had already given her so much more! As for sleeping with Wang Tao, Han Rui didn¡¯t consider that as repayment. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t that be like some sort of transaction? She thought of it as her own choice, with both of them getting what they wanted... Looking at the affection in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao suddenly smiled. ¡°Wanna try calling me ¡®hubby¡¯?¡± Han Rui¡¯s face flushed instantly. ¡°...I won¡¯t!¡± True, her husband was worthless, but he was still at the base. If she called someone else ¡®hubby,¡¯ what would that look like... Wang Tao didn¡¯t insist. He instead said: ¡°Then, calling me ¡®daddy¡¯ is also fine.¡± Han Rui bit Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder angrily, of course, not hard. Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to mind as he grinned. His feelings for Han Rui... To be honest, calling it love would be too fake; they had known each other for just a few days, and most of his attention was still focused on increasing his power... He was simply coveting Han Rui¡¯s body. Actually, he didn¡¯t have deep feelings for Ding Yuqin either, since they hadn¡¯t met many times before the apocalypse, and afterward, they were just helping each other with loneliness he wasn¡¯t sure about Ding Yuqin¡¯s thoughts, but that was how he saw it. Chapter 178 - ill Please do Chapter 178: Chapter ill Please do Translator: 549690339 me a favor 2 But regardless, since these two women were with Wang Tao, he would naturally prioritize them whenever he came across something good. Even if they were just like pets, there was still some affection involved. Take this Rush Crystal Core, for example; although it was precious, it was a waste for Wang Tao to hold onto it since he wouldn¡¯t use it himself. It was better to give it to Han Rui to enhance her strength a bit, and by extension help himself. Late at night, Han Rui, having regained some physical strength, was especially proactive, almost to the point that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t keep up. The next day, early morning. After Wang Tao and Han Rui got up, they simply had some nutrient fluid. Wang Tao also gave Li Qiuyu two bottles. ¡°Thank you. By the way, a group of people came to the residential area outside yesterday, and they took away the survivors from Building No. 2.¡± Li Qiuyu first thanked him and then quickly spoke as if she remembered something. ¡°Those were our people.¡± Wang Tao explained that when he had contacted the base the day before the people at the base said they had already sent someone to pick up Gao Hua and his group. ¡°Oh, I see.¡± Li Qiuyu nodded. At this moment, Han Rui said: -Sister Qiu Yu, why don¡¯t you come with us to the base? It¡¯s not good for you to be here alone!¡± Although Li Qiuyu had rejected the idea many times, seeing her alone each time made Han Rui worry. She wanted Li Qiuyu to return to the base with her. ¡°Thank you, but...¡± Li Qiuyu still shook her head and didn¡¯t say much. Deep down, Han Rui silently sighed, then she said: ¡°Then we might trouble you these next few days, please bear with us.¡± The night before, Han Rui and Wang Tao had discussed it and decided to temporarily stay at Li Qiuyu¡¯s house, because while driving Wang Tao over Han Rui noticed some Elite Zombies in the vicinity. They planned to hunt Elite Zombies, so living here was ideal. ¡°No problem!¡± Li Qiuyu immediately agreed, after all, having witnessed Wang Tao and Han Rui¡¯s character, she was quite assured. After breakfast, Wang Tao contacted the base to check if there was any news about the kidnappers. There was still no news. He also tried to contact Xiang Hongbin, but their current location was a bit far from Xiang Hongbin¡¯s temporary safety zone, so there was no connection. Wang Tao asked the base, and they said Xiang Hongbin had already started sending people in, but the specifics were still unclear. Shaking his head, Wang Tao continued to hunt zombies that day. Han Rui had remembered the locations where she saw the Elite Zombies the day before, and they headed to those places today. For the past two days, Wang Tao had felt unlucky. Either he didn¡¯t encounter any Elite Zombies, or if he did, they were mostly unsuitable for him. But today, Wang Tao found that his luck was extraordinarily good. The first encounter was with two Rioters at once! Since there were no Suicide Bombing Zombies, taking down the two of them was much easier. Wang Tao took out his hand crossbow and, combined with Han Rm¡¯s sniper crossbow, they shot the two Rioters dead in a few moments. The zombies didn¡¯t come anywhere close to Wang Tao until their demise. ¡°Continue!¡± After collecting the loot, Wang Tao drove with Ding Yuqin to the next location. The day passed quickly, and by the time Wang Tao and company returned to Li Qjuyu¡¯s villa, the corners of Wang Tao¡¯s mouth were practically splitting with ¡®What¡¯s got you so happy?¡± L1 Qiuyu asked curiously after seeing his mood. ¡°Got some Zombie Cores that I needed.¡± Wang Tao explained with a smile. ¡°Then congratulations!¡± Understanding that Zombie Cores could transform ordinary people into Ability Users and enhance the strength of Ability Users, Li Qiuyu congratulated him sincerely. However, having no particular interest in the cores, she did not inquire further. After freshening up, Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave the bathroom but took out a Blueprint. [Rush Left Arm Blueprint (Forgeable)] This was dropped by one of the two Attackers he killed earlier. Wang Tao already had a right arm guard, and now he just needed a left one. Now with all the materials gathered, Wang Tao immediately started crafting. With a flash of light, the Rush Left Arm was forged. WangTao tried it on, and it felt similar to the right arm guard. It not only protected his arms but also enhanced his attack power. It was a nice piece of gear. After examining it, Wang Tao stored the arm guard in the Space Backpack and then directly took out two Orange Crystal Cores. These were two Epic Shockwave Crystal Cores! Out in the field today, Wang Tao killed a total of six Rioters zombies. His luck had been just too good! However, the quality of the dropped Crystal Cores wasn¡¯t great, with two white, two blue, and two purple. The two blue and two purple cores were naturally synthesized into two Epic Cores.??????????????????????? r For safety, Wang Tao swallowed one first. Gululu- His body felt warm and comfortable. After waiting a moment and seeing that the blue bar had increased by too and there were no issues with his body, Wang Tao swallowed another Shockwave Core. Soon, Wang Tao¡¯s blue bar reached 800! Counting these two, Wang Tao had fused with six Shockwave Cores He didn¡¯t even know how strong his Shockwave ability was now since he avoided close combat when he could resolve fights with his hand crossbow. After all, sniping at a range felt pretty exhilarating. The next day, the base still had no useful news, so the zombie hunting continued. Today¡¯s luck wasn¡¯t as good as yesterday¡¯s, with only two Rioters zombies hunted, but they encountered four Self-exploders and one Slime Zombie. With Self-exploders involved, they generally had to use Slime Grenades Fortunately, they encountered a Slime Zombie, allowing them to replenish their supply of hand grenades. Chapter 179 - 111 Please do me a favor_3 Chapter 179: Chapter 111 Please do me a favor_3 Translator: 549690339 At night, when he returned to Li Qiuyu¡¯s villa, Wang Tao discovered two Elite Zombies surrounding the villa, they were Screamers and Stubborn! Seeing the Stubborn, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He had only encountered a Stubborn once, and it felt like they were quite rare. This Screamer only had 1000 HP, its health was consistently low. However, to be safe, Wang Tao did not make a move himself but let Han Rui take it down with long-distance sniping. Whoosh¡ª An arrow shot out. The Screamer was instantly killed. Wang Tao asked Han Rui to retrieve the Screamer¡¯s Zombie Core while he charged directly at the Stubborn. The Stubborn were surely one of the least threatening zombies, with weak attack power and slow attack speed. Anyone capable of breaking its defense could grind it to death, of course, assuming no other zombies were around. Around this particular Stubborn, there was a group of Ordinary Zombies. Without dealing with these Ordinary Zombies first, the Stubborn could not be taken down. After running over, Wang Tao directly chopped at one of the Ordinary Zombies with his axe. Squish! [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [...] A group of Ordinary Zombies was simultaneously killed by the Shockwave. Without even looking, Wang Tao immediately charged at the Stubborn. Bang! [-42] [3000/3000] With one strike of the axe, the Stubborn only lost a little over forty HP. ¡°...Progress!¡± Wang Tao could only comfort himself like this. After all, the last time he attacked a Stubborn, one strike of the axe resulted in only around twenty HP loss. Now, it was over forty, the damage had doubled¡ªthat was quite a significant improvement! With no other zombies to interfere, Wang Tao could unleash his full strength. After a frenzied bout of chopping, the Stubborn was finally taken down with a headshot by Wang Tao. [-63] [0/3000] While prying out the Zombie Core, Wang Tao also collected the spoils of war. [Obtained: Stubborn chest armor Blueprint xi] [Obtained: Defense potion X2] Surprised by the loot, Wang Tao had not expected another Stubborn chest armor to drop. He already had one, so maybe he could give it to Han Rui. After all, she was always hunting zombies outside, and it was quite dangerous. After storing the loot, Wang Tao then looked at the Crystal Core dropped by the Stubborn. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡ö Toughness] [Quality: Excellent (80¡ã/o)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: darkening of the skin, body stiffening)] This was a Red crystal core, and Wang Tao happened to have a White Rank copper skin and iron bones. He could now synthesize an Orange Epic copper skin and iron bones! Wang Tao was a bit excited. He had merged the shockwave crystal core several times already, but Toughness and Precision Shooting had only been merged once; this was finally another opportunity to merge. After collecting the items, Wang Tao and Han Rui made another round around the villa to make sure there were no other zombies, then they returned to the villa. Li Qiuyu had been watching from the balcony and hurriedly opened the door when she saw them coming. ¡°Thank you both!¡± By clearing the zombies around, Wang Tao was also helping her out. ¡°No need to thank us. We¡¯ll be troubling you for the next few days.¡± Han Rui said with a smile. ¡°Of course, no problem.¡± First nodding, Li Qiuyu then glanced at Wang Tao and looked somewhat hesitant to speak. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao asked, a bit curious. ¡°Ahem, seeing how powerful you guys are... I¡¯d like to ask you a favor...¡± The scene of Wang Tao killing a swath of zombies with a single axe strike was still vivid in her mind. She always knew Ability Users were formidable, but this was the first time she felt their might so directly. So she wanted to ask Wang Tao for a favor. ¡°What favor?¡± Although the person asking was a beauty, Wang Tao was not about to agree carelessly. He disliked making promises lightly, because he took promises very seriously. Li Qiuyu¡¯s face showed a touch of sorrow. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long I can hold out, I...¡± Saying this, Li Qiuyu took off the necklace hanging from her neck and handed it to Wang Tao. It was a very delicate heart-shaped necklace. ¡°This was given to me by my daughter, Little Xue, on my birthday... I¡¯d like to ask you, if you get the chance to see my daughter, please give her this necklace and tell her I love her a lot...¡± Although Li Qiuyu had been steadfast in waiting for her daughter at home, she also understood the dangers of the apocalypse and was not clear on how much longer she could hold out. Moreover, she felt that even if her daughter was still alive, it would be improbable for her to see her for one last time... ¡°Okay. If she¡¯s still alive, and I happen to encounter her...¡± Wang Tao took the necklace which still retained a bit of warmth. He felt that the chances of Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter still being alive were very slim. After all, the daughter was in the mountains, which might be even more dangerous than the cities... But Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much, as this was Li Qiuyu¡¯s pillar for survival; it wasn¡¯t for him to crush her spirits. ¡°I really can¡¯t thank you enough!¡± Li Qiuyu seemed immensely grateful as soon as Wang Tao agreed. ¡°You¡¯re being too polite.¡± After all, it wasn¡¯t like Wang Tao had to actively search for her daughter; such a simple task was no problem for him. ¡°Oh, my daughter¡¯s name is Jiang Shixue, and here is her picture...¡± It seemed something occurred to Li Qiuyu, and she quickly fetched a photo from her room. The photo showed a youthful and lively beautiful girl in a JK uniform, with a slight resemblance to Li Qiuyu. ¡°Alright.¡± After resting one more night at Li Qiuyu¡¯s house, the next morning, Wang Tao continued to go out hunting zombies. That day, while Wang Tao was hunting zombies outside, he suddenly received a message from the base. ¡°Commissioner Wang! Commissioner Wei is looking for you, please return to the base as soon as you receive this message! ¡°Hmm? Okay!¡± There was a message from the base! Wang Tao immediately drove his vehicle towards the base.. Chapter 180 - 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Chapter 180: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Single-Type Crystal Cores_l Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao notified Li Qiuyu through the walkie-talkie that he and Han Rui were heading back. After all, having stayed at Li Qiuyu¡¯s place for a few days, it was only right to say goodbye before leaving. ¡°Be careful on the road...¡± After ending the call, Han Rui helplessly shook her head. ¡°What a stubborn woman indeed...¡± If Li Qiuyu had come back to the base with her, it would have been good. But staying here, she would either end up eaten by zombies or starve to death... Thinking of such a beautiful woman perishing so tragically, Han Rui felt sorry for her. Wang Tao did not say anything. He did not like to meddle in other people¡¯s business, but if Li Qiuyu were to die, that would indeed be a shame, considering she was also many people¡¯s goddess. When they returned to Shuize Base, it was already five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Wang Tao looked at the date and suddenly realized that they had been outside for a week. ¡°You go rest first; I¡¯ll go to a meeting.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao did not even have time to change his clothes before he arrived, fully armed, at the top floor of the comprehensive building. He was the last to arrive; the other committee members were already present. After a week without seeing them, he could feel that something was different about them compared to before. Especially Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, and Feng Ming¡¯an¡ªeach of them had more than 1000 HP! Indeed, it takes external stimulation for everyone to feel more motivated to become stronger. And they had followed Wang Tao¡¯s advice to first kill ordinary zombies. Otherwise, if they relied solely on killing elite zombies, except for Xiang Hongbin, the others would not have reached 1000 HP so quickly. ¡°Wang Tao, how did your mission go?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked with a smile. ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao pulled out a bag filled with Zombie Cores. Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up, but they did not rush to open it. Instead, they looked at Wei Zhenguo. Wei Zhenguo¡¯s expression turned solemn instantly. ¡°According to the intel from our undercover agents, that underground mall is Shao Yong¡¯s Survivor Base. And the two Hunter Teams from our base have been captured by Shao Yong! However, the specifics are unknown, and we don¡¯t know if there have been any deaths yet. We only know that those people are locked up, and our people can¡¯t get close...¡± Wei Zhenguo briefly explained the situation. ¡°What do you suggest? Attack directly?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°No, we have to consider the hunters. If we attack directly, they will definitely be killed...¡± Ren Jie said loudly. The presence of hostages made them hesitant to act rashly. After all, he had to consider the sentiments of the others in the base; if people saw that their own were captured and the base did nothing to rescue them, it could lead to a loss of morale and support... ¡°Let¡¯s just get ready for battle for now. Since they haven¡¯t killed our people outright and have kept them, it means they are probably interested in negotiating. Let¡¯s see what they have to say, then figure out our strategy,¡± Wei Zhenguo was also somewhat helpless. These people were strange; one would have thought after capturing them, they would try to intimidate Shuize Base or negotiate. Yet a week had passed with no movement from them, leaving everyone in the dark about their intentions... Without knowing the adversary¡¯s thoughts, there was no way to formulate a targeted tactic, so all they could do was prepare to be ready for battle at any time. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s put the Hunter Team issue aside for now; it¡¯ll get handled eventually! Now let¡¯s talk about the Zombie Cores!¡± Xiang Hongbin also took out a bag, opened it, and revealed various colored Cores inside, although most were white. ¡°Hey? You¡¯ve also had a pretty good haul!¡± Wang Tao said, somewhat surprised. ¡°That I did!¡± Xiang Hongbin gave a proud laugh before adding, ¡°But this is not just mine; it¡¯s the result of Lu Gang and I working together.¡± ¡°That¡¯s still very good,¡± Feng Ming¡¯an said with a smile as he too took out a bag. This bag had fewer Cores, but they were more colorful. Seeing this, Xiang Hongbin, who had been rather pleased with himself, suddenly had his expression darken. The Cores Feng Ming¡¯an had obtained were clearly of higher quality than his! Then they all looked to Wang Tao. When Wang Tao opened his bag, revealing numerous Cores of various rich colors, everyone¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Damn! Did you raid an elite zombie¡¯s nest? Not only are the numbers impressive, but the quality is amazing too?¡± Xiang Hongbin was slightly unsettled. ¡°Haha, just lucky!¡± Wang Tao did not explain much. After all, he and Han Rui had been out for a week. With his combat power, acquiring these Cores was not at all difficult. Plus, there were some he had not taken out yet. ¡°Wang Tao, you choose first; you¡¯re our top combat power,¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao did not stand on ceremony. After looking at the Cores in the two bags, he immediately picked out all the shockwave crystal cores and toughness crystal cores. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want others, but he had no use for them. Self-healing and Precision Shooting, he had seen none. It probably wasn¡¯t because they were deliberately kept from him, as among these people, only Feng Ming¡¯an was an Ability User until now; the others were still ordinary. ¡°These are enough for me.¡± Wang Tao took a total of six crystal cores, four shockwave and two toughness. ¡°Fine by us,¡± Everyone agreed. They let Feng Ming¡¯an choose next, and he took away all the Slime Spitter Crystal Cores.. Chapter 181 - 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Chapter 181: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Single-Type Crystal Cores_2 Translator: 549690339 He could only use this one. Seeing so many crystal cores here, yet unable to use them, he felt somewhat distressed. However, seeing that Wang Tao had so many Slime Spitter Crystal Cores, his spirits lifted. If he could successfully fuse with all these crystal cores, his strength would certainly increase by a great margin! After Feng Ming¡¯an finished choosing, the remaining people did not pick but instead looked towards Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, help us see which crystal cores are suitable for us to use!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke, his face full of anticipation. In their eyes, Wang Tao was like a walking encyclopedia, especially when it came to fusing crystal cores; they definitely needed Wang Tao¡¯s approval for it to be reliable. ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao nodded and then, after observing Xiang Hongbin¡¯s and Wei Zhenguo¡¯s physiques, he said: ¡°I think you two should try using a Rush Crystal Core first.¡± The Rush Crystal Core was indeed powerful, capable of both escape and attack. This was fully demonstrated by Han Rui. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao wanting to wait for the Self-healing Crystal Core, he would have been ready to fuse with the Rush Crystal Core. If these two were to fuse with the Rush Crystal Core, they would probably be even stronger than Han Rui, given that their physical conditions were better. Physical strength should definitely give an advantage when it comes to the Rush Ability. ¡°Alright!¡± Both nodded. In fact, Wang Tao thought the Shockwave Crystal Core also suited them, but since he needed it too, he couldn¡¯t be polite at this moment. He certainly had to take the crystal cores he needed first. ¡°As for Lu Gang...¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment and then took out a blue crystal core from his body. ¡°This is a Precise Shooting Crystal Core...¡± ¡°Precise Shooting?¡± Upon hearing the name, Lu Gang¡¯s eyes lit up. Although he didn¡¯t know its specific effects, the name alone sounded very suitable for him! However, Wang Tao¡¯s next words made him hesitant. ¡°The Precise Shooting Ability is very strong; during its active duration, your senses will be enhanced, and your shooting abilities will greatly improve. But¡ª its side effect is terrifying, it¡¯ll blind one of your eyes! This crystal core has a 40% success rate, if you want it, I can give it to you.¡± Lu Gang was taken aback. Although he was a sniper, and while sniping he would open one eye and close the other, this didn¡¯t mean that he was willing to go blind in one eye... ¡°I personally think it¡¯s too extreme as well. So I don¡¯t recommend it, but if you really want to use it, it¡¯s not impossible.¡± Yesterday, while hunting zombies with Han Rui, Wang Tao encountered another police zombie holding a gun. After solving it, he obtained a Precise Shooting Crystal Core. For Lu Gang, gaining the Precise Shooting Ability would indeed be a significant advantage. Unfortunately, Wang Tao only had this one Precise Shooting core at the moment, and no one else had any either, so he couldn¡¯t create a side-effect-free Epic Crystal Core. Therefore, Wang Tao himself was also not very supportive of it, but he still brought up the option. After hesitating for a while, Lu Gang finally smiled bitterly and shook his head. ¡°No, I can¡¯t accept the loss of an eye as the price. Eyes are very important for a sniper; if I really went blind in one eye, my strength would definitely plummet! Even if abilities could greatly increase my skills, I cannot always rely on abilities. So I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Seeing that Lu Gang was still quite rational, Wang Tao smiled and took the crystal core back. ¡°If you¡¯re not using Precise Shooting, then I think you could try fusing with a Sprint Crystal Core.¡± ¡°Sprint?¡± Lu Gang frowned. ¡°Yes, Sprint. Although the Sprint Crystal Core is inferior in all aspects compared to Rush, it¡¯s actually a very good mobility skill. And as a sniper, if you have this kind of short-range mobility skill, your survivability would be greatly enhanced! As long as you¡¯re alive, you can continue to deal damage!¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Hey? When you put it that way, it does make a lot of sense! Then I¡¯ll fuse with Sprint!¡± Lu Gang¡¯s eyes shone. His strength lay in long-range combat; although his close-range skills weren¡¯t weak, why give up a strength for long-range fights? So he didn¡¯t desire close-combat abilities. But as Wang Tao said, if it¡¯s not used as a close-combat skill but as a life-saving skill, then it¡¯s quite suitable! ¡°As for Liu He, I think you could try fusing with a Stealth Crystal Core, this Stealth Crystal Core has an 8o% probability, it¡¯s pretty much guaranteed...¡± Wang Tao looked at Liu He and said. Liu He wasn¡¯t a combatant, nor did he want to become one, so there was no need for him to fuse with a combat-capable crystal core. The Stealth Ability was very good for survival. Although the side effect was to consume double the physical strength, he wouldn¡¯t be fighting, so the impact should be small. Of course, actually, he would be quite okay without fusion with any crystal core. Although he would not have any abilities, he would also not suffer from any side effects. Being an ordinary person was also quite fine. However, quite obviously, Liu He did not want to be an ordinary person. ¡°Good, I actually also wanted to fuse with Stealth!¡± Liu He was somewhat excited. As for Ren Jie, he had already fused with the Screaming Crystal Core, but he felt that he could still fuse with another type of crystal core. Wang Tao also recommended that he try fusing with a Stealth Crystal Core. However, Ren Jie was hesitant and said he would think about it; Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more. He had only made a suggestion, and the specific decision was up to the individual. After everyone had decided on their fusion prospects, they immediately prepared to start. Combat could break out at any moment, and it was necessary to be ready as soon as possible.. Chapter 182 - 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Chapter 182: Chapter 112: The Upper Limit of Fusing Single-Type Crystal Cores_3 Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao left first since they already had the experience of fusing with Feng Ming¡¯an and didn¡¯t need Wang Tao to look after them. When he got home, Ding Yuqin and Wang Tao embraced each other. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Seeing Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP over 300, Wang Tao suddenly thought that maybe it was time to boost her level as well... After all, the more HP Ding Yuqin had, the more she could add to Wang Tao¡¯s. Sister-in-law, I¡¯ll take you out for some fun tomorrow,¡± Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Huh?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s mouth dropped open slightly, and after being stunned for a moment, she said with a pitiful look, ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re not going to make me kill zombies again, are you...¡± ¡°Sister-in-law is so smart!¡± Wang Tao ruffled her hair. ¡°Oh...¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s resolute expression, Ding Yuqin wisely chose not to speak. She knew that Wang Tao would definitely protect her, but she was still afraid. Of course, she also knew that Wang Tao meant well since killing zombies would make her stronger... Ding Yuqin had already prepared dinner when Wang Tao tasted it and exclaimed, ¡°Home-cooked food really is the best!¡± In the past few days outside, he had been living on nutrient fluids every day and was almost sick of them. ¡°If it tastes good, eat more!¡± Ding Yuqin was very happy, as this proved that Wang Tao was satisfied with her cooking skills. After dinner, Wang Tao went to his room to fuse some Zombie Cores. During his time away, he had accumulated a large number of Crystal Cores, and he just got some more from Xiang Hongbin and the others, which was ¡¯ perfect for a round of fusions. Swipe¡ª A flash of light passed, and several Orange Crystal Cores appeared in his hand. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave x4] [Level 1 Crystal Core-Toughness xi] Looking at the five Orange Epic Crystal Cores, Wang Tao grinned. He was slightly short on Crystal Cores himself, but with what he got from Xiang Hongbin and the others, it was just enough to synthesize five useful cores for himself! Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to eat them all at once. Sticking to the routine, he ate them one by one, starting with a Toughness core. Wang Tao had fused a Toughness Crystal Core a couple of days ago, and another shockwave crystal core after that, and now his Mana had reached 1000. A moment later, a warm sensation spread through his body and his Mana increased by 100! ¡°Continue!¡± Wang Tao ate another shockwave crystal core. Mana +100, +100, +100... ¡°Huh?¡± Just as he put the last shockwave crystal core in his mouth, Wang Tao suddenly paused. Crystal Cores seemed like solids, but once eaten, they seemingly turned into gas immediately, quickly fusing into the whole body. However, this shockwave crystal core remained unchanged in his mouth... ¡°Can¡¯t fuse anymore?¡± Wang Tao found it odd. He spat it out and tried again but still couldn¡¯t. His body showed no reaction. Wang Tao looked at his attributes, and under his HP bar on the Ability icon, the Shockwave symbol had a ¡°+io¡± sign, Toughness had a ¡°+3¡±, and Precision Shooting had no number at all. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t paid attention to this before. ¡°Could it be that one can only fuse a maximum of ten cores of the same type?¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, murmuring. It must be this possibility, if he wanted to continue merging-perhaps he had reached the limit and couldn¡¯t merge anymore. Or maybe a Level Two Crystal Core was needed... But no matter which was the case, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t continue to merge Shockwave now. He glanced at his own attributes. HP [2650/2650] Mana [1400/1400] Wang Tao was quite satisfied with these attributes. This was the result of his frenzied hunting of Elite Zombies this week. The process wasn¡¯t smooth and he had encountered several crises. But no matter what, seeing his HP over two thousand and mana over one thousand, Wang Tao felt content. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the Orange Shockwave Crystal Core in his hand. I can¡¯t use it myself, might as well give it to someone else...¡± He felt that Han Rui, Xiang Hong Bin, and Wei Zhen Guo were all quite suitable. He¡¯d look at their fusion situation tomorrow and then decide who to give it to. It so happened that Wang Tao was planning to go out tomorrow, so it was quite reasonable for him to have obtained an Orange Shockwave Crystal Core. Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to reveal his ability to synthesize Crystal Cores, not even to those closest to him. This included his ability to loot treasures from killing monsters, which he would keep to himself. He understood the adage ¡°The innocent man is free from suspicion, but the man who carries a jade must guard against attack¡± all too well. He was sure that if he revealed these abilities, he would never live in peace in this life. He would have to guard against not just zombies, but other survivors as well! Therefore, before taking out an Orange Crystal Core, Wang Tao would make some preparations to cover his tracks, trying his best not to let people think too much... As for the other Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s space, unless necessary, he had no plans to synthesize them into orange ones. After all, he needed Crystal Cores to make Slime Grenades and such. Having merged four Crystal Cores at once, Wang Tao was a bit exhilarated and had plenty of physical strength. After briefly taking a bath, he found Ding Yuqin already lying on the bed. However, Ding Yuqin was dressed, wearing a white professional suit paired with black, red-bottomed high heels... it was practically an attack-speed setup! Sister-in-law, you really know me!¡± ¡°...Hmph~¡± Ding Yuqin snorted lightly, clearly unaware of what was to follow. The next day. Wang Tao woke up, but Ding Yuqin was still asleep. He was too lazy to cook, so he guzzled down a few bottles of nutritional fluid, then headed to the complex building. ¡°Big Brother!¡± Just as he got out of the car, he heard a shout. Wang Tao turned around and saw a man wearing a refined suit, with gold-nmmed glasses, hair combed back neatly, giving off a gentle and refined impression. ¡°You are...?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t recognize him at first. ¡°Big Brother, it¡¯s me, Gao Hua!¡± said the man hurriedly, running over excitedly. ¡°Huh? Gao Hua?¡± Wang Tao was surprised, mainly because the last time he saw him, Gao Hua was dirty, had just killed someone, and was splattered with blood... far from the well-dressed appearance before him. ¡°You¡¯re doing pretty good, kid!¡± ¡°It¡¯S all thanks to Big Brother¡¯s blessing! If there¡¯s anything Big Brother needs in the future, just give the order. I¡¯ll go through fire and water without hesitation!¡± Seeing the sincerity in Gao Hua¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was genuine but still gave Gao Hua¡¯s shoulder a friendly pat, smiling. ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao nodded and then said, ¡°I have to go up for something now, let¡¯s talk later.¡± ¡°Wait a moment, Big Brother! I heard that some of our base¡¯s people have been captured? The person who captured them is someone named Shao Yong?¡± ¡°Yes, what about it?¡± This news wasn¡¯t a secret; once Wei Zhen Guo had confirmed who it was, he revealed it to the Hunters on a small scale to keep them alert when going out. ¡°Big Brother! I might know this Shao Yong! I can try to help you save them!¡± Chapter 183 - 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account_l Chapter 183: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account_l Translator: 549690339 I ¡°Oh? You know him?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Is the world really that small? To run into an acquaintance here? ¡°Cough, I¡¯m not entirely sure, but I do know someone named Shao Yong. We had a business cooperation before, and he is from Shuize County. Unless there is someone with the same name, it should be the same person...¡± After thinking for a while, Wang Tao said: ¡°Alright, come with me.¡± ¡°Ah, okay!¡± Wang Tao took Gao Hua upstairs to the committee office door. ¡°Wait for me outside.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao entered alone. Inside the room, the other committee members were present. Seeing their jubilant expressions, one could tell that their fusion must have been successful. Upon closer inspection, Wang Tao was certain, for each person now had a blue stripe. ¡°Congratulations!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Haha! Congratulations to us all!¡± Now that they had become Ability Users, the world felt somewhat different to them. ¡°Can you continue to fuse with Crystal Cores?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°I can!¡± ¡°Me too!¡± The members quickly responded. Apart from Liu He, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, and Wei Zhen Guo were able to continue fusing. Adding to that, Ren Jie had already confirmed his ability to continue... So now only Liu He and Feng Ming¡¯an were restricted to fusing with one type of Crystal Core. Liu He didn¡¯t really care since he wasn¡¯t a combatant. But Feng Ming¡¯an was feeling a bit distressed, sensing that he had become the weakest among them... ¡°As for the second Crystal Core, decide for yourself about the fusion. I¡¯ve already told you about the side effects, so just think it over carefully.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t offer any further suggestions; after all, they were now experienced. Then, the conversation shifted back to the situation at Shao Yong¡¯s Base. With more than a week passed, if there was still no action from Shao Yong¡¯s side, they had to make their move. After all, they owed an explanation to the other survivors in the base. At this point, Wang Tao suddenly said: ¡°Among the survivors I sent to rescue, one named Gao Hua claims to know Shao Yong.¡± ¡°Hmm? Knows him?¡± Ren Jie furrowed his brows. ¡°Yes, and not only does he know him, he has also expressed he can lead our people back.¡± ¡°Oh? Then I must hear his thoughts!¡± The members were curious to know what made Gao Hua so confident. Soon, Gao Hua was brought in. ¡°Greetings, committee members!¡± Gao Hua quickly bowed deeply. ¡°Gao Hua, share your thoughts with us. Speak freely, without any reservations.¡± Wang Tao said to Gao Hua. ¡°This is the situation: I¡¯ve had business collaborations with Shao Yong before, and I¡¯ve helped him a lot. We have a good relationship! I believe I can go over and gauge his intentions first, to see what he¡¯s thinking. Then we can decide whether to persuade him or to take action to rescue our people...¡± After hearing Gao Hua¡¯s proposal, the members fell into a frown-filled contemplation. Wang Tao then asked Wei Zhen Guo to describe Shao Yong¡¯s appearance. Gao Hua nodded repeatedly after listening. ¡°It¡¯s him!¡± ¡°Okay, you can leave for now; we¡¯ll discuss this further.¡± Ren Jie said amiably. ¡°Yes.¡± After Gao Hua left the room, Wei Zhen Guo and the others exchanged thoughts. Rationally speaking, sending Gao Hua was a good idea; if he were successful, it would be cause for celebration. If he failed, or even perished in the endeavor, the base wouldn¡¯t suffer any significant loss. With so many survivors at the base, they could afford to lose one Gao Hua. However, Gao Hua was someone Wang Tao had asked to rescue, so they needed his opinion. ¡°I have no objections. If you think he¡¯s capable, let him go. He himself wants to demonstrate his abilities and gain the base¡¯s attention,¡± Wang Tao said indifferently. ¡°Great! Let¡¯s let him try. We should prepare for both outcomes...¡± Wei Zhen Guo nodded. Then Wang Tao called Gao Hua back in and said to him: ¡°What do you need to prepare, or what kind of support do you require? Just ask.¡± Gao Hua¡¯s face lit up upon hearing this. ¡°I need some food, and someone to take me to Shao Yong¡¯s place. After all, I lack the ability to get there on my own...¡± Ever since Gao Hua encountered Wang Tao, he had the thought of firmly latching onto Wang Tao¡¯s coattails. After arriving at Shuize Base, he discovered that Wang Tao was actually one of the seven leaders of the base! This made his desire to latch on even stronger. But he also knew that he had no particular skills to showcase or hadn¡¯t yet demonstrated any, which made him an expendable character to these leaders. They might not even want him to hold on to them. Therefore, he had to show his capabilities and get the leaders to take note of him! The kidnapping of the base¡¯s survivors seemed like an opportunity, especially since the kidnapper was Shao Yong ¨C this made the chance even greater! Because he was quite familiar with Shao Yong, knowing his personality and preferences, he could cater to them! Even though Shao Yong was now an Ability User, he was still human, and these things were still useful! Of course, Gao Hua had more in mind than just forging a good relationship with Shao Yong; when necessary, he was prepared to employ some special tactics... ¡°Fine, come with me, I¡¯ll take you to get ready,¡± Ren Jie said as he led Gao Hua away, with Wang Tao following along. ¡°Are we starting the operation today? Is that okay?¡± Ren Jie asked, turning his head. ¡°No problem!¡± Gao Hua nodded repeatedly. Ren Jie organized a Hunter Team for Gao Hua¡¯s escort and equipped him with a walkie-talkie and some food. Chapter 184 - 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account ! Chapter 184: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account ! Translator: 549690339 As for clothes and such, Gao Hua naturally changed into a new set, managing to look both dirty and disheveled. Otherwise, his clean appearance wouldn¡¯t match the look of a refugee. After Gao Hua had finished preparing, Wang Tao called him out alone. ¡°Big brother, do you have any instructions for me?¡± In front of others, Gao Hua would call Wang Tao Commissioner Wang like everyone else, but in private, he would call him big brother. This not only brought them closer but also prevented any resentment. No matter who was older, Gao Hua recognized Wang Tao as his big brother! When Gao Hua saw Wang Tao calling him over alone, he thought Wang Tao had a special mission for him. Being a loyal subordinate, helping his big brother was naturally no problem. But to his surprise, Wang Tao pulled out several items and handed them over to him. ¡°This is a Stealth Potion... this is a Slime Grenade... this is a Weakness Potion... this is a Running Potion...¡± Wang Tao gave Gao Hua several items in one go, also explaining how to use them. ¡°This mission is very risky, these items might save your life, use them as you see fit. Remember, self-preservation comes first.¡± Since Gao Hua had always considered himself Wang Tao¡¯s little brother, Wang Tao certainly had to look out for him. People clung to his coattails seeking protection, didn¡¯t they? These items might be expensive to others, but to Wang Tao, they were not particularly valuable, since he could continue to loot them from zombies. So, enhancing Gao Hua¡¯s ability to protect himself was acceptable. If he really could rescue the hostages, even if all these items got used up, it would still be worth it. As for the origins of these items, there was no need for explanation; they were clearly high-tech products of the modern era, easily attributed to apocalyptic technology. After all, with the emergence of Ability Users in this apocalyptic world, the appearance of some black tech was entirely reasonable. Just as Wang Tao had expected, upon receiving these items, Gao Hua didn¡¯t inquire about them, nor did he even consider asking. After all, the base had Inhibitors, so having some other technological products was quite reasonable too. ¡°Thank you, big brother!¡± Gao Hua was somewhat moved. He had thought Wang Tao was assigning him a mission, but didn¡¯t expect that Wang Tao was actually concerned about his safety! If before coming to the base, he followed Wang Tao because of Wang Tao¡¯s formidable strength, and after arriving at the base, he was impressed by Wang Tao¡¯s status, now he truly felt that Wang Tao¡¯s character was also worth following! After all, these items clearly seemed very precious, and Wang Tao had just given them to him... Gao Hua was touched, but he didn¡¯t say much. Real men didn¡¯t make empty talk; they proved themselves through actions! ¡°Give it your all, and if you manage to rescue those people, I¡¯ll promote you, making you a department head. Of course, just do your best, don¡¯t force it if it¡¯s not possible...¡± Whether successful or not, a showdown between Shuize Base and Shao Yong¡¯s Base was inevitable. One mountain couldn¡¯t contain two tigers, especially since the other side had now provoked Shuize Base. Gao Hua was a smart man, and it would be a great pity if he just died like that. ¡°I understand!¡± Gao Hua nodded firmly and then followed the Hunter Team away from the base. After he left, Wang Tao drove back home. ¡°Sister-in-law, get in the car.¡± Ding Yuqin had already prepared in advance, changing into clothes with some degree of protection. However, lacking physical strength, she naturally couldn¡¯t wear the same heavy armor as Wang Tao. Seeing that Ding Yuqin was all right, Wang Tao prepared to leave the base with her in the car. But suddenly, at the gate, he saw Chen Zhuang. During Wang Tao¡¯s last collection of medical supplies, he had to shoot Chen Zhuang¡¯s fiancee, who had turned into a zombie. Chen Zhuang had been smiling ever since, insisting that it was fine and claiming he never truly loved his fiancee¡ªappearing very nonchalant. But Wang Tao knew it was a forced smile, and afterwards, he hadn¡¯t seen Chen Zhuang very much. Wang Tao learned from others that Chen Zhuang had been staying inside his home, not venturing out, though he himself seemed all right. Wang Tao guessed that Chen Zhuang probably just needed some time alone and didn¡¯t press the matter. After all, Chen Zhuang was one of the few doctors at the base, and he had certain privileges. Even if he wasn¡¯t working, the base would still provide for him, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay too much attention afterwards. Unexpectedly, he saw him today and from his appearance, Chen Zhuang looked like he was about to leave. Could it be that he was planning to do something foolish? Chen Zhuang was not in his white coat today, dressed similarly to an average survivor, and was holding a sharpened steel pipe. Wang Tao pulled up beside Chen Zhuang and rolled down the window. Hearing the sound, Chen Zhuang turned around reflexively. ¡°Wang Tao?¡± There was no look of utter despair on Chen Zhuang¡¯s face, but sometimes those who seek death don¡¯t reveal it with their expressions. So Wang Tao asked directly, ¡°Where are you off to?¡± ¡°I... want to go kill zombies!¡± Chen Zhuang said a bit sheepishly, scratching his head. ¡°A doctor like you, killing zombies?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Chen Zhuang shook his head with a wry smile, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking a lot these past few days. I feel like being a doctor won¡¯t save the world, but power definitely can. So, I¡¯ve decided to strengthen myself!¡± II II That was a reasonable thought; strength was indeed the foundation of everything. Unless one¡¯s medical skills were unmatched, and one feared no threats, entirely indispensable to others... otherwise, even doctors had to serve the powerful. ¡°I¡¯m also going to kill zombies, want to come with me?¡± Wang Tao invited him. If Chen Zhuang refused, it was highly likely that he indeed had some problems.. Chapter 185 - 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling Chapter 185: Chapter 113: Self-Recommendation, Leveling up with an Alternate Account_3 Translator: 549690339 ) But Chen Zhuang¡¯s face lit up with delight. ¡°Great!¡± Chen Zhuang got in the back of the car and saw Ding Yuqin inside, he quickly nodded: ¡°Miss Ding, hello.¡± He didn¡¯t know what the relationship between Ding Yuqin and Wang Tao really was, although they were living together, he often saw Wang Tao call Ding Yuqin sister-in-law. So to avoid the embarrassment of calling her by the wrong title, he went with ¡°Miss Ding¡±. ¡°Hello to you too!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded with a smile. ¡°Wang Tao, are you guys going to...¡± Chen Zhuang was puzzled and didn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao was taking Ding Yuqin with him. ¡°Hunt zombies, just like I told you. She¡¯s the main one doing the killing; I¡¯m just in charge of her safety. But now that you¡¯re here, you can join us.¡± II II Chen Zhuang was surprised; it really was a zombie hunt! And it was Ding Yuqin who would be doing the hunting... Ding Yuqin seemed to sense Chen Zhuang¡¯s questions and immediately raised her eyebrows, a touch of pride in her voice: ¡°Don¡¯t look at me as just a woman, I¡¯ve killed dozens of zombies!¡± ¡°Sss¨C¡± Chen Zhuang sucked in a breath of cold air. That was quite fierce! Then Chen Zhuang felt a bit ashamed; he hadn¡¯t killed a single zombie yet, and here he was, outdone by a woman, how embarrassing! Wang Tao was speechless. Ding Yuqin had killed dozens, but that was after he had brought them down to a sliver of HP for her to finish off. After Ding Yuqin had her moment of pride, she found it very amusing. However, feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, she gave a flattering smile and then suddenly reached out towards Wang Tao s thigh. ¡°Sss¨C¡± Wang Tao immediately glared at Ding Yuqin, who instantly withdrew her hand, pretending as if nothing had happened. ¡°This woman, needs a lesson!¡± Wang Tao decided that tonight he was going to thoroughly teach her a lesson when they got back! The car approached a square not far from the base. There were more than ten zombies there. Wang Tao glanced over; they were all ordinary zombies with 1000 HP. ¡°Let¡¯s stop here; you two start with some practice. Gurgle- Looking at these zombies, Chen Zhuang swallowed. Why did he feel like these zombies looked even more ferocious... Was it a bit rash for him to come out here alone? Ding Yuqin was also somewhat scared; the zombies she had killed in Happy Community hadn¡¯t been much different from people, not like these rotting, fiercely menacing ones... ¡°I... I don¡¯t think I can do this...¡± Unlike Chen Zhuang, who was toughing it out, Ding Yuqin directly clung to Wang Tao¡¯s arm, coquettishly. A woman has to learn to use her advantages. Wang Tao looked at the two of them but didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°You two just wait, I¡¯ll go soften them up first.¡± Actually, this had been Wang Tao¡¯s intention all along, but he wanted to see how the two would fare in combat, to see if either could take on an ordinary zombie alone. Now it seemed Chen Zhuang was probably a long shot, and as for Ding Yuqin, it was downright impossible. Wang Tao walked over with his axe and swung it gently at the group of zombies. [-932] [-949] [-999] [-913] [...] With that light swing of his axe, all the zombies were knocked down by the shockwave and were left with just a sliver of HP. ¡°Phew, glad I didn¡¯t kill them all...¡± Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried about killing all the zombies outright, thankfully, he had managed to control his strength quite well. As for the use of shockwaves, he wouldn¡¯t say he had perfected it, but at least he could now control the intensity. Chen Zhuang looked at all the zombies lying on the ground oozing black blood, some with missing limbs, and he was somewhat taken aback. As for Ding Yuqin, she was much more acquainted with the task. She took out her spear, walked over and finished off the zombies one by one. ¡°...This works?¡± Chen Zhuang was surprised. Then he joined in happily. It was like Wang Tao, playing a high-level account, had found a group of ordinary zombies. With one swing of his axe, he incapacitated them all, then let Ding Yuqin and Chen Zhuang finish them off. They had been out since morning, and by the time they returned to the base in the afternoon, Wang Tao had incapacitated over a hundred ordinary zombies. It wasn¡¯t that he could only incapacitate that many, but that Chen Zhuang s and Ding Yuqin¡¯s speed weren¡¯t very fast. After all, finishing off the zombies was quite exhausting in itself. As for the result, Wang Tao was quite satisfied. Ding Yuqin had only had a little over 300 HP before, and now she was up to 1000 HP. Likewise, Chen Zhuang was at 1000 HP as well. Wang Tao had always regarded Chen Zhuang as a friend and was relieved to see him reach woo HP. It must be said, with the increase in zombie HP, the speed at which killing zombies increased one¡¯s own HP also got much faster. Otherwise, it would have probably taken another day to get the two of them to 1000 HP. Although the iooo HP of both were forcibly increased, and they had virtually no combat experience, gaining combat experience was something that could be learned gradually and wasn¡¯t urgent. The priority was to increase their HP first. Now they were both asleep in the car. After Wang Tao got back to the base, he had someone take Chen Zhuang home, and he took Ding Yuqin to her house. Then he took another trip to the comprehensive building and told Wei Zhenguo that he had obtained an Orange Shockwave Crystal Core and asked who wanted it. Wang Tao still decided to give the Orange Shockwave Crystal Core to Wei Zhenguo¡¯s team. Although Han Rui could also use it, she currently focused on long-range shooting, and she quite liked this combat style. As for rushing, that was her trump card, not to be used lightly. So, Wang Tao felt that Wei Zhenguo and his team were more suitable for the shockwave. As for Han Rui, he would find another Crystal Core for her later on. Wei Zhenguo was quite shocked when he saw the crystal core. ¡°Goodness, you¡¯re really lucky! We¡¯ve never come across an Orange Crystal Core, and you¡¯ve found several already. I¡¯m really envious! But why don¡¯t you use it yourself?¡± ¡°Haha, maybe I¡¯m just the chosen one!¡± Wang Tao laughed and then explained, ¡°I¡¯m not using it because I¡¯ve found that a person can only merge with 10 crystal cores of the same type. Any more than that, and you can¡¯t merge with them.¡± ¡°Ah? You¡¯ve already merged with 10? Impressive! But the limit of 10 is important news!¡± Wei Zhenguo was somewhat surprised, then nodded and said, ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll call them all over to discuss who should use this crystal core.¡± ¡°Alright. You guys discuss it. I¡¯ll be leaving now.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± That night, Ding Yuqin woke up in a daze. True to his word, Wang Tao gave Ding Yuqin a severe lesson. Afterward, he frowned and thought, maybe it was time to get his sister-in-law an ability, preferably one that could save her life. If he could get one that was also beneficial to himself, that would be even better.... Chapter 186 - 114 Gao Hua’s Method of Rescue_1 Chapter 186: Chapter 114 Gao Hua¡¯s Method of Rescue_1 Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao felt that the Stealth Ability was pretty good-a strong life-saving ability. It seemed quite suitable for Ding Yuqin as well. However, he didn¡¯t have enough Stealth Crystal Cores at hand to fuse an Epic Crystal Core, so he would have to wait until he had enough. And who knows, maybe later on he would come across an ability that could heal his companions... The next day, early morning. After finishing the lovingly prepared breakfast by Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao headed to the comprehensive building. ¡°Is there any news about Gao Hua?¡± ¡°No, Commissioner, not at the moment.¡± ¡°Hmm, I see.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. This was just a routine inquiry. After all, one day was too short, and it was normal for Gao Hua not to have completed the task. Then, Wang Tao went to ask Wei Zhen Guo who had received the Shockwave Ability. ¡°It went to Old Xiang. He should be the second strongest person in our base after you, so it¡¯s perfect for him,¡± Wei Zhen Guo said with a smile. The Shockwave Crystal Core was suitable for only two people- him and Xiang Hongbin. He actually wanted it for himself, but considering the combat power, Xiang Hongbin was the second strongest in the base. He would use the Shockwave Crystal Core more effectively. So, Wei Zhen Guo gave the Orange Crystal Core to Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s indeed very fitting for him.¡± Wang Tao started to look forward to Xiang Hongbin¡¯s Rush combined with the Shockwave Ability. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°As soon as he woke up this morning, he couldn¡¯t wait a second longer and is now outside testing his abilities!¡± Wei Zhen Guo said somewhat helplessly. ¡°Haha! I can understand.¡± Wang Tao laughed loudly. Then he added: ¡°By the way, how are your injuries?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even mention it, after fusing with the Crystal Core, I feel like my injuries have healed a lot. There are no major issues now. I plan to finish some things this morning and then go out to hunt zombies and test it out!¡± Wei Zhen Guo said somewhat excitedly. The first time Wang Tao met Wei Zhen Guo, he had over six hundred HP, and now he still had over six hundred HP, because he had not gone out recently. After all, he had been seriously injured by a Rushing zombie before. But after resting for such a long time and then fusing with a Crystal Core, his injuries had healed a lot, and there weren¡¯t any major problems anymore. ¡°Congratulations!¡± ¡°Sigh, I need to quickly increase my strength. I used to think I was just a little behind Xiang Hongbin, but now I am no match for him...¡± Wei Zhen Guo said rather helplessly. Wang Tao smiled and said nothing. Previously, Wei Zhen Guo had over six hundred HP and Xiang Hongbin had over eight hundred. The difference between the two wasn¡¯t much. Now Wei Zhen Guo still had over six hundred HP, but Xiang Hongbin had over a thousand. The gap had widened substantially. It was normal for Wei Zhen Guo not to be a match for Xiang Hongbin. After exchanging a few more words, Wang Tao prepared to leave. But before he could descend the stairs, he saw someone running up in a hurry. ¡°Commissioner Wang, Commissioner Wei! There¡¯s news from Gao Hua! He says he has brought out the people and is requesting backup!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao and Wei Zhen Guo looked at each other, disbelief in their eyes. It had only been one day, and he had brought people out already? Keep in mind that the individuals who infiltrated before had taken several days just to gather information! Even Wang Tao began to suspect whether Gao Hua had defected to the enemy, tempting them for a rescue that was actually a trap... ¡°Send someone! No¡ª I¡¯ll go myself!¡± Wei Zhen Guo was somewhat excited. Although he didn¡¯t understand how Gao Hua did it, the fact that he could bring people back was good. However, Wei Zhen Guo also suspected that Gao Hua might have defected, so he decided to go personally. With his extensive experience, he could retreat immediately if something was amiss. ¡°I¡¯m going too!¡± Wang Tao wanted to see how Gao Hua managed to get people out. He planned to bring Han Rui along, as her Perception Ability was a great asset against any ambushes or traps they might face. ¡°Okay!¡± Wei Zhen Guo immediately prepared the cars, and Wang Tao went downstairs to call Han Rui. Hearing the news that Gao Hua had gotten the people out, Han Rui was also quite shocked. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go too!¡± A moment later, four fully armed vehicles left the base. ¡°Are we safe here...¡± A young man covered in bruises gritted his teeth and spoke. ¡°Rest assured! This is one of our base¡¯s temporary strongholds, very safe!¡± Gao Hua wiped his gold-rimmed glasses with a rag, then turned back to them and continued. ¡°Everyone stay inside, don¡¯t make noise, just wait here for the rescue.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded, then quietly sat together without speaking. Watching these people, Gao Hua felt very satisfied in his heart. Those brave enough to become Hunters were different from ordinary people. Regardless of individual ability, at least they had strong mental fortitude and followed commands. Not like his previous stupid teammates who would panic at the slightest issue, lacking ability yet full of ideas, never following commands... ¡°Thank you very much, Mr. Gao. If it wasn¡¯t for you, we wouldn¡¯t know how much longer we could have survived...¡± a man said in a low voice. ¡°No need to thank me. The base values you all greatly. When they learned you were kidnapped, they immediately started to plan a rescue. When some information about you was found, Commissioner Wang Tao especially recommended me to come and save you... Gao Hua didn¡¯t take any credit for himself, pushing it all to the base and Wang Tao. ¡°It¡¯s good that we joined a good base, that we met good commissioners!¡± Several people said with a sigh, their eyes somewhat red. Chapter 187 - 114 Gao Hua’s Method of Rescue_2 Chapter 187: Chapter 114 Gao Hua¡¯s Method of Rescue_2 Translator: 549690339 | ¡°What a pity, Little Ting and the others can¡¯t see this...¡± Someone murmured to themselves. Upon hearing these words, everyone suddenly fell silent. Gao Hua shook his head. He could only save the living; there was nothing he could do for the dead. Gao Hua took out some food, shared it with these few people, and then began to wait in silence. At a certain moment, Gao Hua felt there was some movement on the street¡ªseveral cars appeared in his field of vision. The other survivors also hurried to lie down and watch from the windows. Gao Hua immediately recognized Wang Tao¡¯s car and quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie. ¡°This is Gao Hua, have you arrived?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve arrived, get ready to come out. There¡¯s no danger around.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. Hearing that voice, the rescued people could no longer contain themselves and all burst into tears of joy. Gao Hua was also somewhat excited; he didn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to come personally! Soon, all four cars stopped downstairs. Gao Hua and the others were already waiting at the door. As soon as the cars opened their doors, they hurried into the vehicles. The convoy immediately turned around and headed back the way they had come. In the electric off-road vehicle, Wei Zhenguo drove while Han Rui sat in the passenger seat. Wang Tao was in the back seat, with Gao Hua, who had just boarded, beside him. Wang Tao was seated in the back, naturally ready to get out and fight at any moment. Fortunately, the journey was smooth; they didn¡¯t encounter a large number of zombies and didn¡¯t run into any people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base. ¡°Commissioner Wang, Commissioner Wei! I¡¯m sorry, I only brought back 4 people...¡± Gao Hua hung his head, looking as if he was admitting a mistake. Wang Tao patted his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve already done very well! Are the rest already gone?¡± ¡°Yes... they died horribly!¡± Gao Hua took a deep breath, recalling the horrific ways those people had died; he, a sociopath, even thought it was twisted... ¡°What exactly happened? How did you rescue them? Tell us everything!¡± Wei Zhenguo took a deep breath, his face looking quite unpleasant. Though he had anticipated deaths, when faced with the reality, he was still struggling to accept it. Fourteen survivors, and now only four returned, ten dead! He had specifically prepared four cars for today... ¡°Alright...¡± Gao Hua nodded and then began to recount the events. ¡°The Hunter Team was previously trapped in a building but was accidentally discovered by people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base. The people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base were too many and armed. They couldn¡¯t escape and were captured.¡± ¡°At that time, the Hunter Team didn¡¯t know who the others were, so when asked to identify themselves, they naturally disclosed they were from Shuize Base. But they didn¡¯t expect that this would be the beginning of a nightmare...¡± ¡°The people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base bound them all and took them back to their base. Then, the inhuman torture began... I won¡¯t even detail the various forms of torture, but in Shao Yong¡¯s Base, a cage was specially constructed to force humans to fight against zombies!¡± ¡°The members of the Hunter Team were put into that cage! Just in those fights alone, four people died, and two died from the torture beforehand... As for the remaining four, all women, they suffered even worse fates...¡± At Shuize Base, female hunters are relatively rare, but they do exist. Each female hunter is cherished as a treasure in their respective teams¡ªthis has nothing to do with their looks; it¡¯s about respecting such courageous women. ¡°They were violated by many means, tortured by countless people, and even locked up with drugged dogs... In just these few days, they were no longer recognizable as human, but they weren¡¯t actually dead because they couldn¡¯t even manage that...¡± ¡°When I went to rescue them, their limbs had been chopped off, and they were turned into dolls... They begged me to kill them¡ªthough they had no tongues and couldn¡¯t speak, I could see the plea for death in their eyes, so... I killed them.¡± Gao Hua ruffled his hair. He was also a hardened killer, who didn¡¯t even blink when he killed the old lady and her grandson. But now, recalling the tragic state of those women, he felt a profound heaviness in his heart. ¡°The reason why there are four members of the Hunter Team still alive is that they were next in line to be put in the cage with the zombies, and their turn hadn¡¯t come yet...¡± ¡°What I¡¯ve told you is the situation on the third sub-level of that underground mall. Only core members can access the third sub-level; ordinary people can¡¯t get in...¡± Bang! Wei Zhenguo punched the car door with a face full of murderous intent. ¡°They¡¯re looking for death, to torture my people like that!¡± Just hearing Gao Hua¡¯s description, he could feel the cruelty and despair, let alone the actual sufferers... Han Rui¡¯s face turned pale. She had been a policewoman for many years and seen many heinous crimes, but this was the closest and most relatable to her. She didn¡¯t dare to imagine what it would be like if she were captured... Wang Tao¡¯s face was expressionless, but his pupils were filled with raging fury. Shao Yong¡¯s Base and everyone inside who had participated were condemned to death in his mind. ¡°No wonder they didn¡¯t contact us again after capturing the Hunter Team. They never had any intention to negotiate; they just wanted to torture our base members to death!¡± Wei Zhenguo closed his eyes. But at that moment, Gao Hua suddenly said: ¡°No, maybe that¡¯s not it. Shao Yong and his people actually wanted a ransom....¡± Chapter 188 - 114 Gao Hua’s Chapter 188: Chapter 114 Gao Hua¡¯s Translator: 549690339 Method of Rescue_3 ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± Wang Tao frowned and glanced at Gao Hua. ¡°Because several of Shao Yong¡¯s core members got trapped a few days ago! And the walkie-talkie that connects to our base was on one of his men. Our walkie-talkies are military grade, and other walkie-talkies can¡¯t reach our base, so that¡¯s why there¡¯s been no news... Oh right, Shao Yong also got trapped. He went out this morning, and an hour later, one of his men came back in a panic, saying that the boss was trapped and needed reinforcements. But I¡¯m not clear on the specifics...¡± Gao Hua quickly explained. ¡°Shao Yong got trapped? Where?¡± Wei Zhenguo opened his eyes wide, asking eagerly and excitedly. As long as he knew the enemy¡¯s location, he would definitely kick them while they were down! ¡°Trapped in our county¡¯s First Hospital...¡± Wei Zhenguo opened his mouth. Forget about his previous thought, as if he never said it. The First Hospital, what was that! It was probably the most dangerous place in Shuize County now! Elite Zombies had already appeared there even before they became a common sight elsewhere. He had already lost men in that place... And now that there were more Elite Zombies on the streets and the ordinary ones had also gotten stronger, one could only imagine how strong the zombies in the First Hospital must be! It was unthinkable! That place didn¡¯t need someone to kick it while it was down; Shao Yong would probably not be able to hold on for long. ¡°The First Hospital...¡± Wang Tao, however, furrowed his brows. Chen Zhuang had previously warned him that there were many Elite Zombies in the First Hospital and he must not go there. He had thought before that if he had the chance, he would definitely visit the hospital since there were so many Elite Zombies, which meant Crystal Cores and loot! Now that Shao Yong and others were inside, that was another reason he couldn¡¯t ignore. Because for his enemies, Wang Tao had to see their dead bodies or witness their deaths with his own eyes to feel at ease! Now it all depended on the committee¡¯s decision. If they decided to retaliate against Shao Yong¡¯s Base now, then he would postpone his plan for a while If they decided not to retaliate for the time being, then he had to visit the hospital no matter what. If the hospital really was that dangerous, then he would just scout around outside and not go in. ¡°By the way, what was your situation inside? How did you escape today¡¯ Your speed was too fast. If 1 didn¡¯t trust your character, I¡¯d suspect that you were turned!¡± Wang Tao shook his head with curiosity. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Gao Hua was filled with emotion. It turns out his efforts were rewarded! By openly expressing such suspicions, it meant that Wang Tao did not doubt him. If he really harbored suspicions, he would never have said it out loud. ¡°I know Shao Yong, and our relationship used to be quite good. So when I went to join him, he entertained me immediately after he found out.¡± ¡°However, he¡¯s not the same as before. He used to be somewhat arrogant but Still very sunny and decent in his dealings with people. But now... he¡¯s very irritable, scheming, and extremely proud, looking down on everyone. And he is particularly keen on matters of men and women; he has over twenty women in the base, as well as many female slaves...¡± ¡°Of course, none of that affects me for the moment. I talked about our past cooperation, gradually closed the distance with him, and initially gained his trust. Then he brought me to his core area, the third sub-level.¡± ¡°The situation on the third sub-level that I mentioned earlier was seen during that time. Then while he was torturing his female slaves, I took the chance to contact the Hunter Team members as his ¡®brother¡¯ in the third sub-level...¡± ¡°Because I spent the whole day with Shao Yong touring his base, a lot of people saw me, and they¡¯d never seen Shao Yong treat someone so importantly, so they didn¡¯t doubt my ¡®brother¡¯ identity. Of course, I didn¡¯t do anything. I just wanted to visit these ¡®slaves¡¯ and naturally, they didn¡¯t stop me...¡± ¡°I learned some information from the Hunter Team members, confirmed that there were a few people left, then I started planning the rescue -1 didn¡¯t expect to succeed today, but little did I know Shao Yong would be trapped, and his combat-capable men would go rescue him. The underground mall was short-staffed, and I saw it as a good opportunity!¡± ¡°So, I created a huge mess for them to deal with, and while they were too busy to care, I ran out with the few surviving members of the Hunter Team. The moment we got out, I contacted you. I didn¡¯t dare to make contact while I was inside the base, fearing it would expose me...¡± Listening to Gao Hua speak, Han Rui suddenly asked: ¡°What kind of chaos did you create? Not only did it allow you to escape in the confusion, but it also kept them too busy to chase after you?¡± Han Rui was very attentive; she noticed that along the way, she hadn¡¯t seen any other survivors. Logically speaking, if Gao Hua had managed to escape with his people, they should have been noticed, and the other side should have sent someone to pursue them, right? Could it be that they were short on manpower? Or was the chaos so great that they didn¡¯t even realize Gao Hua had fled? Gao Hua glanced at Wang Tao before speaking quietly with his head slightly lowered: ¡°I... I lured a large group of zombies into the underground mall.¡± Wang Tao and the other two were somewhat shocked as they looked at Gao Hua. This chaos... was indeed massive! No, it was no longer a question of how big it was; this was essentially setting the pace for the annihilation of the entire underground mall base! The zombie virus was infectious; if even one person in the base got infected, it could potentially lead to a large outbreak! He had drawn a large group of zombies into the base, infecting many, and then those people went on to infect others, and the cycle continued... The thought of it was unimaginable! ¡°This is an opportunity!¡± Wei Zhenguo suddenly declared. -Indeed, it is an opportunity! Should we call in the troops? Go and have a look at the underground mall?¡± Wang Tao looked at Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Exactly what I had in mind!¡± After the vehicle returned to the base, Wei Zhenguo immediately went to call in the troops, and Han Rui also prepared to go out. Only Wang Tao and Gao Hua were left in the car. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to rest for a while?¡± Wang Tao turned his head and asked. ¡°Thanks for the concern, but it¡¯s not necessary for me. I actually didn¡¯t expend much energy...¡± First, Gao Hua thanked Wang Tao, then he said in a low voice: Big brother, actually, I¡¯ve kept some things from you...¡± ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°The reason Shao Yong got trapped is probably because I poured an entire bottle of Weakness Potion into his water bottle...¡± II II Well done, that¡¯s quite an achievement! ¡°Actually, before I lured the zombies in, there was already a zombie crisis inside the base-I didn¡¯t directly kill those four poor Female Hunters. After explaining the situation to them, I smeared them with zombie blood that I had prepared in advance. That got those core members who went to toy with them in the morning infected with the zombie virus... and then chaos broke out internally! Only then was I able to take the opportunity to draw in the outside zombies for a pincer attack from the inside and outside...¡± Chapter 189 - 115 Underground Level Minus Three Parti Chapter 189: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Parti Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao looked at Gao Hua with a strange expression. Originally, when he heard that Gao Hua had lured zombies into the enemy¡¯s base, Wang Tao thought he was ruthless enough. But he had not expected that before leading the zombies in, Gao Hua had also incited chaos within, and the reason for the chaos was because he had smeared zombie blood on those poor women... To be honest, if Wang Tao had to do it himself, he felt he could at most lead the zombies in, and even that would put him under certain psychological pressure, after all, no one is born evil, and there definitely are innocent survivors inside the base... As for using those women¡¯s bodies to lay poison, Wang Tao might not even consider that step. Yet Gao Hua did it, and he succeeded. Emotionally speaking, it wasn¡¯t very nice to do so. Those women had already been tortured to that extent, and yet he still treated them that way... But rationally, this was indeed an appropriate method. Anyway, those women also wanted to die, so letting them play a role before passing away can be considered a worthy death... ¡°Big brother, I didn¡¯t mean to deceive you, it¡¯s just that there were too many people just now...¡± With more people, there are more considerations. Gao Hua wasn¡¯t sure if his actions would offend others, so he hadn¡¯t dared to speak up. However, he didn¡¯t want to deceive Wang Tao either, so he told Wang Tao privately. Wang Tao looked at him deeply, then said: ¡°Who else knows about these things?¡± ¡°Only I know...¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t bring it up again.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Gao Hua¡¯s face lit up with joy. He just wanted to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails. As long as Wang Tao didn¡¯t despise him, he didn¡¯t care about anything else. ¡°Are you also going with us later?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Yes, I want to go take a look...¡± ¡°Alright then.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more. Soon enough, quite a few people had assembled inside the base, and Xiang Hongbin and the others had also returned. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± The base¡¯s gate opened, and several vehicles rushed out. In the electric off-road vehicle, Gao Hua was driving. Wang Tao and Han Rui sat in the back. Gao Hua was somewhat excited. He naturally hated zombies to the core, and he didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity for mass zombie killing, even if it was just to watch¡ªit was because he felt that there probably weren¡¯t many living people left in the underground mall. Wang Tao said to Han Rui: ¡°I estimate that the underground mall is now all zombies. When you see people later, you don¡¯t need to hold back.¡± His thoughts were similar to Gao Hua¡¯s. If it was just luring zombies in from the outside, with proper defense, there would still be some survivors, but if the inside had already turned to chaos, then this base was basically finished. Especially since it was an underground base with several entrances sealed off, and there was no way to escape... ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui nodded. The convoy encountered some zombies on the road, but they were quickly taken care of. As for encountering elite zombies or the like, everyone was too busy to bother with them. Taking down the underground shopping mall was the most important task. Still, it took them quite a while to reach the underground mall since they had to dodge large swarms of zombies on the road and couldn¡¯t go too fast. The vehicles stopped not far from one of the entrances to the underground mall, and seeing the entrance wide open with zombies inside, everyone shook their heads. This underground mall base was essentially done for. Wang Tao and Han Rui got out of the car, and after a moment of hesitation, Gao Hua quickly followed. With so many people around, he felt his safety should still be ensured. ¡°Some of you stay outside to keep watch, the rest follow me in!¡± Wei Zhenguo, holding a military shield in one hand and a firefighter axe in the other, walked at the forefront. Xiang Hongbin, with similar equipment, was half a step behind him. Wang Tao and Han Rui followed behind Xiang Hongbin, with Gao Hua right behind Wang Tao. Wang Tao turned his head to look at him: ¡°Be careful on your own.¡± ¡°I understand!¡± Lu Gang hadn¡¯t come; he and a few others had climbed to the top of the mall earlier. They were responsible for observing the surroundings, monitoring the zombies, as well as watching to see if Shao Yong and his men would suddenly return, although they were trapped, it wasn¡¯t impossible for them to escape. Feng Ming¡¯an did not go inside either. His Slime Spitter Ability was suitable for sneak attacks, but not very fitting for frontal combat. After all, he couldn¡¯t spit far, and a single spit would leave his stomach upset for a while, greatly affecting the combat rhythm. It was better for him to keep watch outside. So the current Ability Users participating in the battle included Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, Wang Tao, and Han Rui. The four Ability Users led the others into the underground mall. The underground mall wasn¡¯t as dim as Wang Tao had imagined. There were skylights overhead, and with a large generator, the area was slightly dark but still visible. Seeing the fierce-looking zombies among them, mixed with a few ¡°prettier¡± looking zombies, Wei Zhenguo took a deep breath. ¡°Rush!¡± He mentally prepared himself. A faint light shield appeared around him and then he pushed off with his right foot, charging towards the group of ordinary zombies. Bang! The zombies he hit were either smashed to pieces or sent flying. He inflicted a large number of deaths and injuries in an instant! Gao Hua, watching this scene from not far away, widened his eyes in astonishment. He was aware of the existence of Ability Users; after all, there were rumors in the base that several committee members were Ability Users. Shao Yong and several of his subordinates were also Ability Users. Chapter 190 - 115 Underground Level Minus Three Part 2 Chapter 190: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Part 2 Translator: 549690339 But it was his first time witnessing an Ability User in action. Wei Zhenguo was like a raging bull, directly sending over ten zombies flying and even shattering them! And here these ordinary people had to use every trick in the book to kill a single zombie, and it could still go south... The gap was just too damn huge! He wanted to become an Ability User too! At that moment, Xiang Hongbin also rushed forth. Likewise, with a charge, he slammed into the zombies blocking his path, killing over ten. However, after rushing through, Xiang Hongbin swung his axe as well. In an instant, a faintly colored Shockwave spread out from him in all directions, immediately slaughtering several more zombies. ¡°Two abilities!¡± Not only Gao Hua, but the other soldiers were also amazed by this scene. They knew their officer was an Ability User, but they had no idea he had two abilities. Gao Hua glanced at the two men wreaking havoc, then at Wang Tao. He was eager to see how strong Wang Tao was¡ªalthough Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin were both strong, he still believed Wang Tao was the strongest; he felt his judgement couldn¡¯t be wrong. However, Wang Tao did not make much of a move; he simply used his hand crossbow to snipe with Han Rui from a distance. The main reason was that the area was somewhat dim, not very big, and their abilities were all ranged attacks, which could easily cause friendly fire... Plus, Wang Tao could use the opportunity to practice his Arrow Technique. In no time, the zombies on the negative first floor were wiped out. As for the survivors there... not one was left. And judging by the zombies that had clearly turned recently, this floor must have had at least fifty survivors. All fifty-odd people were infected... Wang Tao subconsciously glanced at Gao Hua. All of this was his handiwork. The group advanced toward the negative second floor. It was slightly darker there, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem; Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin continued their mighty onslaught, and after some time, the second floor was also cleared. ¡°The next level is up to you,¡± Wei Zhenguo said to Wang Tao, a mix of excitement and helplessness in his voice. Using the Rush Ability felt great, but it drained too much energy. He could only use it three times in quick succession, after which he would fall into a state of exhaustion. He had gotten a little overexcited and used up all three chances... Xiang Hongbin was slightly better off, but he only had 200 mana, and Rush consumed 30 mana while Shockwave took 20 mana. Combining both abilities, he couldn¡¯t use them too many times either, and now he was feeling somewhat lethargic. Wang Tao was a bit speechless; he had already told them to exercise restraint. They agreed with their mouths, saying ¡°ok, ok, ok,¡± but their bodies didn¡¯t lie, and they were now nearly drained. This was their first time in actual combat with their abilities, and they weren¡¯t quite accustomed to it! Fortunately, there were fewer zombies on the negative second floor, only about thirty in total. Otherwise, they probably would have had to call on Wang Tao for help earlier. ¡°Okay, you guys rest up first,¡± Wang Tao said, nodding, then led the way with Han Rui closely following behind. Upon entering the third basement floor, it was noticeably different. Aside from the smell of blood, there were all sorts of strange odors. It was quite unsettling. Moreover, the layout of the third floor was different from the two floors above: those had been mostly the original layout, while the third had been reorganized. Signs hung in each area. ¡°Storage Area, Rest Area, Cage Fight Area, Slave District, Dog Training Area...¡± Looking at these signs, Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. Shao Yong really knew how to play! There didn¡¯t seem to be many zombies on the third floor, at least the group didn¡¯t see many upon descending. But no one let their guard down, especially when Han Rui whispered to Wang Tao that there were a large number of zombies in the areas ahead. Wang Tao had everyone on alert, ready to fight at any moment. ¡°They¡¯re inside these areas! There are also some Elite Zombies and survivors...¡± Han Rui pointed in the direction of the Cage Fight Area, Slave District, and Dog Training Area. The doors to these areas were closed, so one couldn¡¯t see the specifics inside. Wang Tao walked up to the Cage Fight Area at the front and violently pushed open the door. Under the flickering yellow lights, there was a huge iron cage. Inside the cage, a naked man and woman covered in blood clung to each other¡ªboth were alive. Outside the cage, a group of zombies were clawing at it, gnashing their teeth. When Wang Tao opened the door, the zombies suddenly turned around, their eyes, that resembled those of someone with cataracts, stared intently at Wang Tao. ¡°Heh heh...¡± In an instant, the zombies changed their target and ran toward Wang Tao. Facing the oncoming horde of zombies, Wang Tao stood his ground. When they drew near, Wang Tao raised his axe and brought it down squarely on the head of the fastest one. Pfft! [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [...] A Shockwave, significantly larger than Xiang Hongbin¡¯s, appeared. In just a moment, the group of zombies fell to the ground like reaped wheat, their bodies shattered by the Shockwave, creating a bloody mess around. Even the nearby walls and pillars appeared unstable... Gao Hua, who was huddled behind, saw this and was instantly thrilled. ¡°I knew it, Wang Tao is definitely stronger!¡± Wang Tao looked at the ruined walls around him, feeling somewhat speechless. Originally, the Shockwave Ability had a maximum attack range of three meters in diameter, half the size of that of the Rioters zombies. But after merging with ten shockwave crystal cores, his Shockwave now had a six-meter diameter, matching the range of the Rioters zombies.. Chapter 191 - 115 Underground Level Minus Three Chapter 191: Chapter 115 Underground Level Minus Three Part 3 Translator: 549690339 The range of six meters in diameter might sound small, but in reality, it¡¯s quite substantial. Especially in an indoor setting with walls, the shockwave hit directly against them. Thankfully, they were reinforced concrete walls. If it had been ordinary brick, they probably would have collapsed... ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll have to be a bit more careful with the force of the attack...¡± Wang Tao glanced at the iron cage, where the two survivors inside had their eyes widened, seemingly still in disbelief at everything that had just transpired. Wang Tao paid them no mind and turned to the next area instead. Other people hurried over to unlock the cage and find out the conditions of the two survivors. The Slave District was located further inside and spanned a vast area, surrounded by iron fences. Approaching closer, it was clear that there were many zombies inside, as well as survivors. However, the survivors had been locked inside dog cages, which had inadvertently protected them from the zombie attacks. ¡°Heh heh...¡± Upon noticing the newcomers, the zombies immediately began to roar, wanting to come out. But the doors of these iron fences in the Slave District opened inwards, and the zombies didn¡¯t know how to pull, so after entering they got stuck at the entrance and couldn¡¯t get out. This was an excellent opportunity to kill zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t lift a finger himself, but gave the chance to the soldiers, letting them hack the zombies to death through the iron fences with knives and firefighter axes, as it could increase their HP limit. Wang Tao reached the last area with zombies, which also contained Elite Zombies¡ªthe Dog Training Area. The ¡®training¡¯ referred to here was obviously not in the literal sense, but rather this area was filled with female slaves that Shao Yong had collected. The four Female Hunters who had been previously captured were inside this place. The door was left half open, and Gao Hua informed Wang Tao that when he left, there should have been more than a dozen people inside, likely all turned into zombies by now. It was unclear how many remained. After confirming with Han Rui that there were no zombies behind the door, Wang Tao opened it. Suddenly, an even more foul stench wafted out. Even wearing a mask, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but frown at the smell. This area was particularly well-lit, as if all the electricity from the generator was being supplied here. Under the bright light, naked women were positioned and fixed in various poses. Some were cruciform, inverted, and locked to the wall; some sat on chairs full of spikes; some had wires inserted into their bodies; some were pregnant, tied to beds... Without exception, they were all dead. Either they were devoured, or they had turned into zombies. The floor, the walls, and even the ceiling were covered with a mixture of blood and all sorts of disordered fluids. At the entrance, there was a display case with human tissues inside, arranged like specimens. [-1] [-1] Even Wang Tao was losing HP at the sight of this scene. But he didn¡¯t have time to be disgusted because, in the farthest part of the room, there were four Elite Zombies. They were wearing relatively decent clothes on their upper bodies but were naked below. Upon seeing Wang Tao, their cataract-veiled eyes stared, and their faces twisted in distortion as they rushed toward him. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Wang Tao let out a deep breath, needing to vent. Then, he activated his Precise Shooting Ability. In an instant, the whole world seemed to become more vibrant. Wang Tao pulled out two firefighter axes from behind his back and hurled them straight at the first zombie that ran at him. Squelch! The first axe struck the zombie¡¯s head with precision, sinking deep into it. [-2300] [0/2300] Thud! The zombie fell to the ground. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even know what ability it had. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao threw his second axe at another zombie with a big belly. Splat! [-1500 HP] [0/1500 HP] It was still an instant kill. However, this zombie spat a mouthful of sticky fluid at Wang Tao just before dying, but its attack was too close and didn¡¯t even touch the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. Wang Tao took out the two firefighter axes hanging at his waist again. Whoosh¡ª He threw them at two other zombies. Without activating his precise shooting ability, he could at most aim and throw an axe at one zombie, and even then, he might not hit the target. But after activating his ability, within a certain range, he could aim at two objects in the same direction simultaneously, and with high precision. Splat! The third firefighter axe hit a zombie square in the eye, embedding itself in its head. [-1800 HP] [0/1800 HP] As for the fourth zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s last axe hit it in the forehead, but the damage was not significant. [-234 HP] [1766/2000 HP] Seeing the opponent¡¯s stiff body and black skin, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. ¡°Toughness...¡± This was clearly a side effect of the Toughness Crystal Core. ¡°Hehe...¡± The zombie charged at Wang Tao with bared teeth and flailing claws, but its speed was so slow it was almost comical. Wang Tao took out his last axe and walked directly toward this zombie. Bang! Bang! Bang! The axe chopping on its head really felt like a sledgehammer. However, its toughness was obviously not as good as the Toughness zombie Wang Tao had encountered before. After five consecutive axe blows, the zombie¡¯s skull could no longer endure, and it burst open. Whew¡ª Having killed four elite zombies in a row, Wang Tao exhaled deeply and quickly gathered the spoils before ending the ¡°precision shooting¡± state¡ªhe had just discovered that the precision shooting state also enhanced close combat! It allowed him to land all six axes on the same spot, making each blow inflict more damage than the last. If it had been before, he would¡¯ve had to swing seven or eight more times. From the moment Wang Tao entered the door to when he killed the four elite zombies, it might seem like a long time, but in reality, it was less than a minute. Han Rui and Wei Zhenguo had been ready to provide support this whole time but were afraid of getting in the way. When they saw Wang Tao swiftly handle the situation, they all breathed a sigh of relief. It was only because Wang Tao saw that these zombies¡¯ HP was not high that he wanted to try killing them alone. If any zombie had over three thousand HP, he would have called everyone to attack together. Zombies, like humans, gain a lot of combat strength with every thousand HP, and the difference between two thousand and three thousand HP is not small. The others entered, surveying the surroundings; when they saw several dead elite zombies, some of which had been whittled down to sticks or even fashioned into ¡°chairs,¡± they felt both disgusted and sad since these were people from their base.. Chapter 192 - 116: Rush Knee Guards l Chapter 192: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards l Translator: 549690339 ¡°Little Ting...¡± As they looked at these pitiful women, someone sobbed uncontrollably. Thwack! Xiang Hongbin pulled out a dagger and took care of the four female zombies one by one. Han Rui felt her scalp tingle. Just how vile a person must one be to commit such acts? Even a thousand cuts wouldn¡¯t be too many for such people! However, Han Rui was also confused. Hadn¡¯t Gao Hua said that he killed these women? So how did they turn into zombies? Gao Hua also felt a bit queasy, but he was observing everyone. Seeing the confusion in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, he hastily explained, ¡°Unless the head is violently destroyed, even the dead will turn into zombies once infected by the virus...¡± He was lying. But such things had happened; he had seen it himself¡ªa survivor jumped from a building and, by chance, crushed a zombie. Both died, but merely a minute later, the survivor climbed back up as a zombie. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t doubt his words. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao glanced at Gao Hua. Seeing Gao Hua¡¯s affirmative look, Wang Tao pondered. He hadn¡¯t witnessed such events himself, but Gao Hua had no reason to deceive him. He¡¯d need to be more careful in the future. Beyond the four female zombies, Wei Zhenguo ordered others to kill the rest of the pitiful women who had turned into zombies. ¡°Aside from those slaves and Shao Yong¡¯s group outside, there are no more living humans in this base...¡± Wei Zhenguo glanced at Gao Hua. A ruthless man indeed, to have single-handedly wiped out a Survivor Base! ¡°Gather up the supplies, then let¡¯s leave quickly!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately called out. Though the fight had been underground, he couldn¡¯t guarantee it wouldn¡¯t attract other zombies. It was best to leave swiftly. ¡°Yes!¡± The group immediately sprang into action. As detestable as the people in this base were, supplies were innocent and should not be wasted. Still, everyone was somewhat displeased. One reason was witnessing the gruesome acts, and another was the lost opportunity for personal vengeance. When everyone had arrived, these people had already turned into zombies. Though their bodies remained the same, they were no longer the same people. This kind of revenge was certainly dissatisfying. ¡°Lucky for them, had they held on a bit longer, I assure you they would have begged for death!¡± Xiang Hongbin punched a wall fiercely. He was infuriated. Based on what these people had done, dying a million times wouldn¡¯t be too much; letting them become zombies was letting them off easy. But there was nothing he could do about his frustration. He certainly couldn¡¯t run to the hospital to seek revenge on Shao Yong... ¡°Sigh, let¡¯s go.¡± Wei Zhenguo patted his shoulder, and the group began an orderly retreat. Wang Tao returned to the vehicle, looked at Han Rui, whose face was still a bit pale, and squeezed her hand, saying, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Han Rui instinctively gripped Wang Tao¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°I¡¯m fine, though those images are hard to shake off... I¡¯ll adjust soon, don¡¯t worry about me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui¡¯s HP bar, which was no longer losing blood, and said no more. The scene on the negative third floor had caused everyone who witnessed those things to lose blood to different extents. Even Gao Hua, who had seen it before, lost quite a bit of HP. Those things were practically a mental attack! Probably many would have nightmares tonight. However, Wang Tao noticed that, perhaps due to his strong spirit, he lost the least amount of HP, dropping only 1 point each time for a total loss of about a dozen points. Han Rui lost the most, a full 100 points. Indeed, women seemed to have a somewhat weaker psychological tolerance. Of course, it might also be related to the fact that the victims were women, provoking empathy in Han Rui. Wang Tao allowed Han Rui to keep holding his hand, not withdrawing it, and then he said to Gao Hua at the driver¡¯s seat, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Gao Hua quickly started the car and followed Wei Zhenguo and the others as they left. The trip back wasn¡¯t smooth. They encountered several large swarms of zombies and even Elite Zombies. But now Shuize Base had nearly mobilized its entire force, with six Ability Users alone, not to mention other soldiers, police, and combat personnel. Facing these Elite Zombies, Feng Ming¡¯an would stealthily approach first, vomiting to ensnare the Elite Zombies. Then Wang Tao and others would finish them off. The Elite Zombies they encountered were all types they had seen before, so they knew the tactics to use against them, which meant there was little danger. After killing several Elite Zombies and the sun had set entirely, the convoy finally made it back to the base safely. ¡°Phew¡ªWe¡¯ve finally returned safely!!¡± Once everyone got off the vehicles, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Their mission of revenge was fraught with life-threatening danger, not just in the underground mall but also during the journey there and back. Thankfully, their luck held, and the careful planning of their route by Wei Zhenguo, who explicitly avoided some of the more dangerous areas, meant that despite some twists and turns, they returned without major incident. ¡°Everyone, take a good rest for a few days and avoid going out...¡± Wei Zhenguo addressed the crowd. Though the operation was successful, everyone was tired, both physically and mentally, and needed ample rest. ¡°Yes!¡± People nodded and then dispersed. ¡°You two go ahead and get back first, I¡¯ll go upstairs. The post-battle rewards and such, we¡¯ll start with that tomorrow.¡± Wang Tao said to Han Rui and Gao Hua. ¡°Yes! Brother, if you need anything, just command. I¡¯ll head off first..¡± Chapter 193 - 116: Rush Knee Guards_2 Chapter 193: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards_2 Translator: 549690339 I ¡°Hmm.¡± After Wang Tao nodded, Gao Hua left. Han Rui seemed hesitant to speak. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing...¡± Han Rui lowered her head and left. Wang Tao watched Han Rui¡¯s retreating figure with some confusion but did not ask further questions. He went upstairs, where, apart from a few committee members, there were also slaves from the underground marketplace. In total, there were twelve people, eight men and four women. ¡°Talk about what your situation was like, don¡¯t worry, you are safe now.¡± A woman with light makeup and a soft voice began speaking to them. These slaves had been tortured, some to the point where their mental states were abnormal. And since Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo, and the others didn¡¯t exactly give off a friendly vibe, a woman was specifically brought in to talk to them. Several people were huddled in the corner, too scared to look directly at everyone. Some stared blankly, looking like idiots. Only two of them appeared somewhat alert, clinging tightly to each other. They were the man and woman previously discovered in a large iron cage. Wang Tao¡¯s gaze turned to these two. Perhaps because Wang Tao had rescued them, they looked excited subconsciously and then started to speak in a faltering manner: ¡°We...¡± They were a young couple that had, by luck, avoided the first wave of disaster when the virus broke out. They lived above a vegetable market, which allowed them to risk fetching some food and survive for quite a long time. But one day, when they went out, they encountered people from Shao Yong¡¯s Base. The couple had hardly come across any other survivors after the apocalypse, so they had no real concept of the depravity of human nature. Mistaking them for a rescue team, they greeted them openly, only to be brought to the underground marketplace. They thought they¡¯d be safe from then on, but that was where the nightmare began! Every woman who joined the base had to be inspected by Shao Yong, and the purpose was clear. Then, Shao Yong took a liking to the wife. The husband and wife, naturally, were unwilling, so Shao Yong directly threatened the wife with her husband¡¯s life. With no choice, to save her husband, she submitted to Shao Yong. Though heartbroken, the husband thought that if this meant his wife could live well, he would be glad for her¡ªwhat else could he do when he was powerless to resist? But little did they know, Shao Yong was a devil. After his novelty wore off, he threw the wife to his subordinates, and she immediately suffered unspeakable torment... At that time, Shao Yong had also welded together an iron cage to make people fight each other or the undead inside, for his amusement. The husband was chosen, and he thought he would die at the hands of the undead, as every fight between man and undead had ended that way before. But he was naive¡ªShao Yong made him fight his own wife! The rule was that only one of them could come out alive. If they refused to fight, they would both perish. The couple had already resolved to die; dying together, perhaps, was a decent option. But just then, Shao Yong suddenly left, and did not return. Zombies then began to appear within the base. Deciding it was part of Shao Yong¡¯s scheduled show, no one dared to act without his orders, so they left the couple locked in the cage and ignored them. Unexpectedly, a zombie outbreak occurred within the base, and people began to get infected. Being in the iron cage, the couple actually escaped the disaster... Then, there was Wang Tao opening the door, appearing before them, taking down more than a dozen with his axe. About Shao Yong, they knew not much, only that he was extremely brutal. Not to mention treating people as slaves and deliberately torturing them, he had even killed several of his own subordinates! As for Shao Yong¡¯s strength, they weren¡¯t quite sure; they only saw the terrifying scene of Shao Yong smashing the skull of a slave with the palm of his hand... The small testimony of the couple slowly encouraged the other slaves to speak as well. What surprised Wang Tao was that among the four women, two had been employees of the old marketplace, meaning they were two of the five female slaves that Cao Xin had given to Shao Yong. As for the remaining three female slaves, they were reportedly tormented to death by Shao Yong... After listening to everyone¡¯s descriptions of the underground marketplace and their accusations against Shao Yong, the expressions on Wei Zhenguo and the others weren¡¯t good. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s take you down. Shuize Base is different from other places. We don¡¯t have slaves here, nor oppression. We work to have enough food to eat...¡± The gentle-voiced woman led the pitiable group away along with several soldiers. ¡°Sigh...¡± After everyone had gone, Wei Zhenguo, who had kept a stern face, sighed deeply. He was deeply pained by such matters, but he was powerless to do anything. The expressions on the faces of the others were also grim. Although they hadn¡¯t seen such a scene, except for Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin, just hearing about it was cruel enough. ¡°Everyone should go get some rest now. We¡¯ll talk about anything else tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± With heavy hearts, everyone nodded and left. Just as Wang Tao was about to return downstairs, he didn¡¯t expect to find Han Rui by his car. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go back?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. Han Rui, lost in thought, didn¡¯t even notice Wang Tao approaching, and his voice startled her.. Chapter 194 - 116: Rush Knee Guards 3 Chapter 194: Chapter 116: Rush Knee Guards 3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Cough, I... I was hoping you could come over to my place. Han Rui said, somewhat embarrassed. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao drove to Han Rui¡¯s house. Sun Weiguang was not there. ¡°Let me get you some food...¡± Han Rui quickly tried to get up. Forget it, let¡¯s just have something simple.¡± Wang Tao took out several bottles of nutrient supplements and handed two to Han Rui. There probably wasn¡¯t much good food at Han Rui¡¯s place, maybe just some gruel exchanged with ration tickets, Wang Tao thought it was easier to have the nutrient supplements. ¡°Oh...¡± Han Rui found the nutrient supplements quite palatable. After drinking one bottle, she felt like she could have more. Then she looked at Wang Tao with some anticipation and said, ¡°Could you, urn, not leave tonight...?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you think, it¡¯s just that I... I¡¯m a little scared...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Seeing Han Rui with hands clasped together and a pleading look on her face Wang Tao nodded. After all, it didn¡¯t matter where he slept. ter washing up, they lay on the bed, with Han Rui snuggling into Wang Tao¡¯s arms, her head resting on his chin. Wang Tao held Han Rui, smelling the fragrance of her shampoo. Neither of them spoke or showed much interest in doing so. After all, the things they had seen during the day were still vivid in their minds. Once he felt that Han Rui was alright, Wang Tao turned his attention to his earnings for the day. Although the things he experienced today were not pleasant, the gains were substantial. Before going out, his HP was [2650], then he killed those four Elite Zombies on the third basement floor of the underground mall, with each zombie adding o HP, increasing his total HP by 200. On the way back, he encountered a few more Elite Zombies, one adding o HP and two adding 40 HP each, so now he¡¯s at [2968/2980] HP. He was just 20 HP short of 3000, which was deliberately controlled by Wang Tao. He encountered several Elite Zombies on the road, but he only killed three, leaving the rest for Wei Zhenguo, Han Rui, and the others. The main reason was that there was still some distance to the base, and Wang Tao was afraid that something might go wrong if he fell into deep sleep. For safety, he dared not increase his HP to 3000 at that time. NOW that he¡¯s only 20 HP away, he just has to go out again tomorrow and kill any special zombie at random. Besides the increase in HP, his gains included the Crystal Cores and spoils from Killing the zombies. The Crystal Cores dropped by those four Elite Zombies in the third basement were Toughness, Shockwave, Slime Spitter, and Rush. But they looked different from the Elite Zombies he had seen before not having any pronounced features. For example, a Terrorizer would always hold a heavy weapon, and an Attacker¡¯s body would be deformed, with one side much larger, etc. Wang Tao speculated that this was probably related to their original identities. They were Ability Users who had fused with Zombie Cores and were then infected and turned into zombies, not those naturally evolved zombies. Not only did they look different, but their Crystal Cores were also different from those of native zombies, being all green but dark green. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Toughness] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effects: Darkening of the skin, body stiffening)] The Toughness Crystal Core was 55% rare quality, which was the first time Wang Tao had seen such a number. The green Crystal Core that he had gotten from Cao Xin, the hitman, was 50% rare quality, but that core was light green and had no side effects. This core, however, was dark green and came with side effects. Compared to an ordinary Crystal Core, other than the fact that its quality is a bit strange, there aren¡¯t any significant differences. The other three Crystal Cores are also deep green in color. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Shockwave] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: light sensitivity in eyes)] [Level 1 Crystal CoreSlime Spitter] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: enlarged stomach, reduced defense)] [Level 1 Crystal Core-Rush] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: limb stiffness)] Looking at these four Crystal Cores, all with a rarity of ¡ã/, Wang Tao felt that eir Crystal Cores were slowly transforming from human towards zombie... While they were still human, their Crystal Cores should be like Cao Xin¡¯s, with a 50% quality and no side effects. But after turning into zombies, their Crystal Cores were also slowly morphing towards the zombie state, hence the natural emergence of side effects. Perhaps, after some time, they would become those Elite Zombies with more distinct physical characteristics, and the quality of their Crystal Cores might become 60% Excellent... Of course, these were all Wang Tao¡¯s speculations, to know the specifics, further observation was needed. Besides the Crystal Cores, these four zombies naturally dropped loot as well. [Slime Grenade Blueprint xi], [slime Grenade x], [Defense Potion x] [Strength Potion x], [Rush Right Knee Blueprint xi][Rush Left Knee Blueprint XI J. Slime Grenades and Potions are common items. What made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up was the ¡°Rush Knee Guards.¡± [Rush Right Knee Blueprint: Can be used to craft a knee guard. Required materials: Iron Block X2, Steel Wire x2, Screws x2, Blade X2, Nails X2, Rubber X2, Plastic X2, Cable X2, Electronic Components X2, Battery X2] [Rush Right Knee: Tough in texture, can block blades and firearms. Durability +10, defensive power +10] The attributes of these Rush Knee Guards seemed to be similar to the Rush Arm Guard, so the effect was probably about the same. Maybe they would provide additional speed and strength for knee strikes? However, Wang Tao rarely used hand-to-hand combat techniques when fighting zombies; he would just swing his axe at vital spots, since zombies didn t know how to dodge anyway. Actually, whether it had attributes or not didn¡¯t really matter; the main point was that this equipment provided strong defense! Even just as a protective gear, it was very comfortable. Moreover, what was more important was that he got both designs at once both left and right knee guards! He had all the materials, so now he could craft them. Wang Tao looked down to see Han Rui. She had already fallen asleep in his arms. So, Wang Tao took the items out and placed them on the bed. Craft! With a thought, a flash of light passed. Two matte black knee guards appeared in front of Wang Tao.. Chapter 195 - 117: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation^ Chapter 195: Chapter 117: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation^ Translator: 549690339 I The Rush Knee Guards and arm guards had the same symmetric design and were adjustable in size. [Rush Right Knee: Tough in texture, able to block blades and bullets. Durability +10, defensive power +10] The left knee had the same attributes. Wang Tao wanted to test their effect, but just as he was about to get up, he saw Han Rui, still in her sleep, subconsciously hug him. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll try it tomorrow.¡± With a thought, Wang Tao stowed the knee guards into his Space Backpack, then gently stroked Han Rui¡¯s hair, slowly drifting off to sleep. The next day, early morning. When Wang Tao woke up, he found a pair of beautiful big eyes staring intently at him. As their gazes met, Han Rui quickly looked away, her head lowered, her ears reddening. ¡°Cough, you¡¯re awake... You¡¯re holding me too tightly, I can¡¯t get up...¡± Wang Tao gave her a silent glance. Holding too tightly? When he slept holding Ding Yuqin, she always managed to get up before him every morning. Could Han Rui, who was so much stronger than Ding Yuqin, not be able to get up? Although he knew it was just an excuse, Wang Tao did not expose her. He patted Han Rui¡¯s bottom. ¡°Get up.¡± ¡öMm-¡¯ Han Rui sat up, dressing herself with her back to Wang Tao. Looking at her flawless back, Wang Tao suddenly felt like the two of them were like a married couple, of course, he sometimes felt the same with Ding Yuqin. Last night, Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t come back. He no longer stayed here but had moved in with Ou Yingying. Breakfast was hastily dealt with using some nutritional fluid before Wang Tao headed to the office in the comprehensive building. Everyone was feeling heavy-hearted after returning yesterday, so they rested early. But they had yet to diwy up the spoils of war, which naturally meant they would be distributed today. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in need of food and such for the time being. However, not needing didn¡¯t mean he shouldn¡¯t take his share. If he didn¡¯t, what would those who wanted some think? He couldn¡¯t be antisocial. Then came the highlight-the Crystal Cores. Wang Tao had also killed quite a number of Elite Zombies yesterday. He kept the Crystal Cores he could use and brought out the rest. ¡°Eh? Green Crystal Cores, but this one¡¯s color is a bit darker...¡± Seeing the three green Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, everyone was somewhat surprised. When Wang Tao killed the Elite Zombies on the negattve third floor yesterday, he did it quickly-killing zombies, extracting Crystal Cores, and collecting spoils all in one fluid motion. Therefore, they hadn¡¯t seen the appearance of the Crystal Cores. Wang Tao explained the attributes of these Crystal Cores and asked if anyone needed them. Xiang Hongbin took the shockwave crystal core, Wei Zhenguo took the Rush Crystal Core, and Feng Ming¡¯an took the Slime Spitter Crystal Core. Besides these three green Crystal Cores, Wang Tao had also killed other Elite Zombies on the way back and obtained some more Crystal Cores. They were distributed to the others, as he couldn¡¯t use them anyway. Of course, several of the Elite Zombies weren¡¯t killed by Wang Tao, but he could use their Crystal Cores, so the others saved them for him. They were one blue and one white Toughness Crystal Core. With these two Crystal Cores in hand, Wang Tao could synthesize another Epic Crystal Core! Wang Tao took back the Crystal Cores no one wanted, then discussed matters concerning Shao Yong¡¯s Base with the others. Although that underground mall was done for, Shao Yong might not be dead. They needed to make it clear to the Hunters to be wary when venturing out an to report back promptly if they spotted Shao Yong. Zhen Guo hesitated about whether to send someone to check the hospital. But the hospital was simply too dangerous; If they were to lose men there just to check on Shao Yong, it would be a loss not worth the cost. Hearing this, Wang Tao spoke up directly: ¡°I¡¯ll go. I¡¯ve been wanting to check out the hospital anyway.¡± ¡°Ah? You¡¯re going...¡± Everyone frowned, not because they didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to go, but because it was too dangerous, and if something happened to Wang Tao, the loss would be enormous. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t venture too deep. I¡¯ll just observe the outskirts,¡± said Wang Tao with a smile. He was definitely going to the hospital, but only after reaching 3000 HP. ¡°Alright, just be careful.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± After further discussions on base development, Wang Tao left first; he wasn¡¯t skilled in this area and thus didn¡¯t want to worry too much about it. Wang Tao was only 20 HP away from reaching 3000 now, so he planned to increase his HP today. After going downstairs, Han Rui was already waiting for him. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao took Han Rui to the car and left the base. He had been prepared to waste a whole day, as based on his past experience, the more you need something, the harder it seems to get. But luck was on his side today; just an hour later, Wang Tao saw a lone Suicide Bombing Zombie. He easily killed the Suicide Bombing Zombie with a Slime Grenade and then felt a wave of drowsiness come over him. Wang Tao glanced at his HP bar. [3020/3020] ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to base!¡± Wang Tao rushed to the car and Han Rui immediately headed back to the base. By the time they returned to the base, Wang Tao had already fallen asleep. Han Rui initially wanted to take Wang Tao back to his villa, but after some thoug t, she decided to bring Wang Tao back to her place instead. A couple of hours later, Wang Tao woke up. Feeling the surging strength in his body, he grinned. This boost in power was quite addictive! ¡°Congratulations!¡± Han Rui at the bedside genuinely congratulated him. -Haha! You need to enhance yourself too. I¡¯ll take you to kill some zombies tomorrow.¡± Wang Tao planned to make a trip to the hospital the next day.. Chapter 196 - 117: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation_2 Chapter 196: Chapter 117: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui nodded some happily. She liked hunting zombies with Wang Tao; it made her feel exceedingly safe. ¡°You just get some good rest today, conserve your energy.¡± ¡°Mm!¡± Wang Tao returned to his own home, and Ding Yuqin, seeing the night-owl Wang Tao finally home, merely cast him a plaintive glance without daring to say much. She obediently went ahead to prepare lunch. During the meal, Wang Tao mentioned he would go hunting zombies the next day, and Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke up: ¡°Wang Tao, what if... you take me with you tomorrow?¡± ¡°Older sister-in-law wants to go hunt zombies with me?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°Mm!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded and then said somewhat uncertainly, ¡°I can... help you now, right?¡± She now had an HP of one thousand, and although she still lacked fighting capabilities, her physical condition had greatly improved, and she could help Wang Tao carry his bag. In case of danger, she also had the ability to escape on her own. Wang Tao, seeing the resolute look in Ding Yuqin¡¯s eyes, smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s good that you have this intention, big sis-in-law, but I might be hunting some very dangerous zombies, and you following me would not be of any use.¡± Wang Tao spoke bluntly. Ding Yuqin¡¯s face fell at once. It had taken a great deal of courage for her to decide to go out with Wang Tao, and in the end, Wang Tao still viewed her as a burden. She didn¡¯t blame Wang Tao; she blamed her own uselessness. Seeing the look on Ding Yuqin¡¯s face, Wang Tao immediately reached out to touch her cheek, and she instinctively tilted her head and rubbed her little face against Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do, 1¡¯11 arrange for someone to go out with you later. You start by hunting Ordinary zombies. With your current physical condition, hunting Ordinary zombies wouldn¡¯t be difficult at all, but you just lack experience... You need to gain some more experience...¡± ¡°Alright!¡± After a moment of hesitation, Ding Yuqin still nodded firmly. Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t personally taking her, the person he would arrange was definitely reliable and wouldn¡¯t let her down. Ding Yuqin now had a strong sense of crisis. She did not know whether Wang Tao loved her, but she knew that what probably attracted Wang Tao to her was, most likely, her body. No matter how much you like something, eventually you¡¯ll get tired of it. Besides, she was no longer a young girl; as she got older, her attractiveness would fade. If Wang Tao eventually stopped liking her, what would she do? She didn¡¯t want to lose Wang Tao, and it wasn¡¯t just about seeking his protection; she felt that now, both physically and emotionally, she was somewhat unable to be without Wang Tao... Though beautiful, the world was full of beautiful people. If Wang Tao liked her just for her looks, he could just as easily like someone else for their looks... Therefore, she had to make herself useful and not be despised by Wang Tao! Although Wang Tao did not know Ding Yuqin¡¯s exact thoughts, based on her demeanor, he could guess some of it. After the meal, Wang Tao beckoned, and Ding Yuqin immediately came to Wang Tao¡¯s side very sensibly and then sat on his thigh. Wang Tao liked Ding Yuqin¡¯s obedience and sensibility; sometimes a glance or a gesture from him was all it took for Ding Yuqin to know what he wanted to do. Of course, what Wang Tao liked even more was Ding Yuqin¡¯s HP-restoring ability. With that ability, no one could replace Ding Yuqin. Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t use the HP-restoring ability often¡ªhe generally didn¡¯t allow himself to be in dire situations with low HP¡ªthere¡¯s always the unexpected. He might not use it, but he couldn¡¯t be without it... In the afternoon. Wang Tao found Gao Hua. ¡°Big Brother, what can I do for you?¡± This morning, Gao Hua was appointed by the committee as the head of the Resource Department. It was a position with real power, previously held by other committee members. Gao Hua had suddenly become a core member of the base. But he reminded himself, no matter his position, even if he became a committee member, he must always treat Wang Tao with respect. He always had a keen eye for people, and since meeting Wang Tao, his judgment of Wang Tao had never been wrong. Thus, he would steadfastly hold on to his belief¡ªcling tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails! ¡°Come out with me for a bit later.¡± Wang Tao looked at Gao Hua, dapper but full of vitality, and said. ¡°Alright!¡± Gao Hua did not ask any questions and immediately handed off his work, appearing in front of Wang Tao again in less than a minute. ¡°Big Brother, I¡¯m ready!¡± ¡°Mm, get in the car.¡± Wang Tao took Gao Hua, and they left the base. Then they stopped the car not far from a group of zombies. ¡°Big Brother, are we...¡± Although Gao Hua didn¡¯t want to ask, the sight of so many zombies had him somewhat panicked. ¡°Do you want to become stronger?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°I do!¡± Gao Hua replied without hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Wang Tao handed him a sharpened steel pipe, ¡°You go kill a zombie for me to see.¡± ¡°...Yes!¡± Cold sweat beaded on Gao Hua¡¯s forehead. Not to mention that he wasn¡¯t sure whether he could handle a zombie, even if he could, there were over a dozen zombies here! How could he possibly defeat them? But this was an order from his Big Brother, and he dared not disobey. Since he had already decided to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails, he needed to see it through¡ªhalf measures were unacceptable! Gao Hua gripped the steel pipe tightly and bravely headed towards the zombies. His target was a petite female zombie. Females naturally had less strength, and though it increased after turning into a zombie, surely it wasn¡¯t as strong as a male zombie. Choosing her was a more suitable choice.. Chapter 197 - 11?: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation^ Chapter 197: Chapter 11?: Sense of Crisis, Cultivation^ Translator: 549690339 , However, before Gao Hua could get close, the zombie seemed to smell his scent and slowly turned its head. As soon as it saw Gao Hua, it quickly moved toward him. Although these zombies had been drenched in corrosive acid rain and their bodies had become more rigid and slow-moving, they appeared even more ferocious and terrifying. As he watched this hideous zombie approach step by step, Gao Hua took a deep breath and then lifted his steel pipe. Just as he steeled his heart, he saw that the other zombies had also noticed him one after another! Then, a group of zombies, men and women, old and young, all walked toward him with arms outstretched. 11 11 Gao Hua gritted his teeth hard. Damn it, all in! Gao Hua didn¡¯t care anymore, he just ran straight toward the female zombie, carrying the steel pipe. He knew Wang Tao didn¡¯t mean to harm him; there had to be a reason for his order, and Gao Hua just had to follow it. Bang! Gao Hua jabbed the steel pipe at the female zombie¡¯s head, but it didn¡¯t penetrate. He had aimed for the eye socket, but he missed, and the zombie¡¯s head was too hard. Then the zombie swiped its hand and hit his steel pipe, almost knocking it out of his hands. Feeling the sourness in his arm, Gao Hua swung again, aiming for the zombie. But at this moment, another zombie closed in on him! Just as he was about to be tackled by another zombie, suddenly, there was a swoosh, and that zombie fell to the ground. Another zombie approached, but it too fell down. Gao Hua had no time to pay attention to the others; he could only focus on this one zombie. He didn¡¯t know how long it took, but when he finally managed to drive the steel pipe into the zombie¡¯s eye socket, bursting its head, he realized that there were dead zombies all around him. Gao Hua hurriedly turned around and saw Wang Tao holding a hand crossbow, looking at him indifferently. Gao Hua was about to run over, but as if he had remembered something, he hurriedly went to the fallen zombies, pulled the crossbow arrows from their heads, wiped the blood off the arrows on their bodies, then returned to Wang Tao¡¯s side and handed over the arrows, saying gratefully: ¡°Thank you, big brother! I have killed that zombie! ¡°Good. Get in the car.¡± Wang Tao took the crossbow arrows and then brought Gao Hua to another location overrun with zombies. There were nearly twenty zombies here, but they were spread out. Wang Tao got out of the car with a firefighter axe, and Gao Hua hurried to follow. The arrival of the two immediately attracted the attention of many zombies. Seeing these zombies twisting their bodies and walking toward him, Gao Hua wasn¡¯t panicked this time. After all, big brother was by his side! Wang Tao waited until the zombies were close enough, then chopped with the axe and a shockwave appeared. [-981] [-992] [...] In an instant, all the zombies in front of Wang Tao fell to the ground. Wang Tao said to Gao Hua: ¡°These zombies aren¡¯t completely dead yet, you go finish them off. ¡°Yes!¡± Gao Hua, somewhat excited, took his steel pipe and one by one stabbed the fallen zombies to death. And at this moment, his heart was incredibly excited. Indeed, grabbing onto the right coattails has its perks! The benefits were rolling in! Now, everyone in the base knew that killing zombies could make them stronger, but still, only a few dared to go out and kill zombies; after all, it was a matter of risking their lives! But now, Wang Tao had incapacitated the zombies, and all he had to do was finish them off. There was no danger! How many people in the base enjoyed such treatment? He was enjoying it! This was the advantage of having a good ¡®big brother¡¯! At a certain moment, Gao Hua suddenly felt his body grow warm, his fatigue swept away, and his face lit up with joy. His physical strength had improved! After killing the remaining zombies, he immediately knelt on one knee before Wang Tao. ¡°Thank you, big brother!¡± ¡°Stand up, there¡¯s a lot more to go.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± It took all afternoon, but Gao Hua¡¯s HP reached woo. Before he fell asleep, Wang Tao said: ¡°With your current physical condition, you won¡¯t have any problems fighting ordinary zombies alone, and you could even handle several by yourself. But your skills are lacking, so starting tomorrow, spend time every day outside practicing killing zombies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao felt Gao Hua was worth cultivating; however, his strength was too weak. In the apocalypse, strength was most important. So, Wang Tao took him out to boost his HP, then he could focus on training him. Tomorrow he would arrange for someone to take Ding Yuqin out to kill zombies, and he would also bring Gao Hua along. They would practice their zombie-fighting skills and make use of their physical strength. Then he would think about what Abilities would suit these two... Back at the base, Wang Tao had someone take Gao Hua home. As for himself, he went to test the Rush Knee Guards; he hadn¡¯t had the chance to do so outside. He set up an iron post in the courtyard-wooden ones wouldn¡¯t withstand the beating. After testing a knee strike, it indeed matched his expectations; when attacking with his knee, both speed and strength were somewhat enhanced. And because the knee guards were so hard, they didn¡¯t feel leg pain when attacking. This could be used as a powerful move. However, such martial arts techniques were basically useless against zombies; an axe was more suitable for that purpose. This kind of technique was for fighting other Ability Users... The next day, in the morning. Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin helped each other put on their protective gear. ¡°I will definitely kill a zombie by myself!¡± Armed Ding Yuqin clenched her fist and said. ¡°Sister-in-law, you can do it.¡± Wang Tao touched her head and then drove to the front of the complex. A large group of people was already waiting there. Wang Tao had arranged for a Hunter Team to go kill zombies, and Ding Yuqin and Gao Hua went with them to practice their zombie-killing skills. They operated around the base, where they wouldn¡¯t encounter any special zombies, and could run back in case of danger, which was relatively safe. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much, but nodded to Ding Yuqin and Gao Hua and watched them leave, then he said to Han Rui: ¡°Let¡¯s go too.¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Han Rui felt a bit nervous. After all, their target for today was the First Hospital! Chapter 198 - 118: The First Hospital_l Chapter 198: Chapter 118: The First Hospital_l Translator: 549690339 Shuize County First Hospital is the largest hospital in Shuize County, with more than ninety years of history. The hospital covers an area of over three hundred acres and employs more than two thousand workers. Additionally, if you count the patients and their families inside, the total number of people associated with the hospital is difficult to say. After the virus outbreak, one can imagine the situation in such a crowded hospital... Previously, Wei Zhenguo had sent people here to look for some medicines. But unexpectedly, the entire squad perished inside. The last message sent by the squad members was: Danger, don¡¯t come! At that time, there still had been no appearance of Mad Demon Zombies, and the squad members were fully armed with sufficient firepower. Yet they were still annihilated, which speaks volumes about the dangers of the hospital. However, high risk often means high reward. Although the hospital is dangerous, there are many Elite Zombies. Getting more HP limits and more Zombie Cores is possible. Therefore, some bold survivors were eyeing up the hospital, like Shao Yong and Wang Tao. Inside the electric off-road vehicle. Wang Tao asked: ¡°How much longer until we arrive?¡± Co-pilot Han Rui glanced at the map and silently calculated in her mind. ¡°At our current speed, roughly... still an hour.¡± ¡°Finally getting close... Take a rest for a while.¡± Wang Tao parked the vehicle behind a small building and then took out a few bottles of nutritional fluid, handing two of them to Han Rui. They had set out at 7 a.m., and now it was already 11 a.m., yet they hadn¡¯t reached the First Hospital. It wasn¡¯t that the distance was long, but the roads were too difficult to navigate. The closer they got to the hospital, the more congested the roads, countless abandoned vehicles, and more and more zombies. Wang Tao did not want to waste time killing Ordinary Zombies, so he could only try to navigate around them as much as possible. Plus, they encountered several special zombies along the way. Wang Tao took the opportunity to collect a few Crystal Cores, which also cost them some time, hence the delay until now. Thankfully, they were only an hour away now. As Han Rui vigilantly watched her surroundings, she curiously contemplated the nutritional fluid in her hands. She wondered where Wang Tao had gotten this stuff; not only was it convenient to carry, but it also tasted good. She couldn¡¯t find anything like it at the base. Unfortunately, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t tell, and she didn¡¯t feel it was her place to ask too much. After quickly consuming a bottle of the nutritional fluid, the two continued on their journey. Just as Han Rui had predicted, an hour later, the two finally arrived at the entrance of the First Hospital. However, they had come on foot as the off-road vehicle was parked far away. The numerous discarded vehicles made it impossible for the vehicle to approach. ¡°Are we really going in...¡± Gazing upon the decrepit and desolate First Hospital, Han Rui swallowed unconsciously. She didn¡¯t know if it was psychological, but after nearing the hospital, she started to feel uneasy. Especially when looking at the hospital, even in the daytime, it seemed sinister. ¡°Let¡¯s not go in just yet; we¡¯ll walk around outside first.¡± They encountered many zombies on the way to the hospital, but strangely enough, when they got close, there seemed to be no zombies in the vicinity. Wang Tao suspected that perhaps the zombies had all congregated inside the hospital... ¡°Hey? That car over there looks different!¡± With sharp eyes, Han Rui immediately pointed and whispered. Following the direction she pointed, Wang Tao¡¯s brow lifted. The majority of vehicles surrounding the hospital were basically scrapped, after all, they had been exposed to the corrosive acid rain for so long. But there was one car in the distance that seemed corroded yet the vital parts were intact. This car was clearly parked there later. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look!¡± Approaching the vehicle, Han Rui used her Ability to ensure no one was inside before they moved closer. This was a pickup truck, fitted with steel plates and wire mesh ¨C clearly the work of a survivor. The truck was unlocked, and the keys were still in the ignition ¨C saving Wang Tao the trouble of having to unlock it. Inside the truck, they discovered some well-preserved food, a bundle of sharpened steel rebar, and two barrels of gasoline. ¡°Looks like this must be Shao Yong¡¯s truck.¡± Wei Zhenguo had mentioned that Shao Yong liked to kill zombies by throwing steel rebar. Besides him, normal people wouldn¡¯t prepare so much rebar. ¡°Take all this stuff.¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui took everything and hid it inside an abandoned vehicle. They also removed the keys from the truck. If Shao Yong wasn¡¯t dead... these potentially useful items wouldn¡¯t be left behind by Wang Tao. Then Wang Tao looked around and found three more cars that were nearly the same. Like with the first truck, Wang Tao scavenged everything inside these vehicles and hid the loot and keys elsewhere, plugging the lock if there were no keys. After completing these tasks, Wang Tao glanced at the hospital again and then said to Han Rui: ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll take a look inside.¡± They had already spent quite some time lurking around the hospital without seeing any dangers or even a single zombie, so Wang Tao felt a bit braver. ¡°Okay!¡± The main entrance of the hospital was open, and they didn¡¯t climb any walls ¨C they simply entered through the east gate. The hospital had two major gates, the south gate being the main entrance and the east gate a side entrance. ¡°It feels a bit ominous...¡± Han Rui muttered. Wang Tao felt the same way. ¡°Make sure to keep using your Ability to be aware of our surroundings, in case zombies sneak up on us.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The interior of the hospital was also crammed with abandoned vehicles, making it difficult for Wang Tao and Han Rui to navigate. ¡°There are zombies!¡± Chapter 199 - 118: The First Hospital 2 Chapter 199: Chapter 118: The First Hospital 2 Translator: 549690339????? ¡ª Suddenly, Han Rui gave a reminder. The zombie was in the car, still buckled in by the seatbelt, clawing and gnashing its teeth, trying to get out, but the seatbelt firmly restrained it to the chair. Wang Tao glanced over and saw it was just an ordinary zombie. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± The two of them slowly approached the outpatient building. There was a pharmacy inside the outpatient building that should contain many medicines, all of which were in critical shortage at the base. If possible, they would definitely take them. However, looking at the dark entrance of the outpatient pharmacy, Wang Tao did not rush in. He asked Han Rui to feel around with her ability. ¡°There are zombies inside! Three elite zombies!¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. He had heard that the hospital was swarming with zombies, including many elite zombies, making it extremely dangerous. But now, as he stood at the entrance of a large building, he had only encountered a few ordinary zombies, including that unlucky one tied up by the seatbelt. This was nothing like what he had heard. This made Wang Tao frown slightly, because anything out of the ordinary was a sign of trouble. Now that he had finally come across elite zombies, and three at once no less, he actually felt relieved. ¡°Let me see what kind of zombies they are...¡± Wang Tao whispered as he approached the entrance, then peeked inside. After briefly adjusting to the dim light inside, Wang Tao saw the three zombies. The first was a zombie wearing a white lab coat. Its emaciated and twisted figure suggested it might have been a male doctor. Apart from that, it had no other distinguishing features. Yet, its HP was [3000/3000]! The second and third zombies were sitting together on a chair, one dressed in a patient gown and the other in a nurse¡¯s uniform. The zombie in the patient gown looked like an old man. Its HP was [3200/3200]. The one in the nurse¡¯s uniform was a particularly obese woman, seemingly even fatter than a self-exploder. Its HP was [3500/3500]. Wang Tao frowned, thinking that with this physique, she couldn¡¯t have been a nurse, right? After all, a nurse is supposed to take care of others, not be taken care of. This must be a mutation that occurred after turning into a zombie... As Wang Tao looked at them, all three zombies noticed him. The doctor zombie showed a human-like expression of anger on its face and, twisting its body, quickly headed towards Wang Tao. The other two zombies also awkwardly stood up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to be careless and quickly ran outside. He wasn¡¯t sure of these zombies¡¯ abilities yet and thought it best to draw them out. ¡°Prepare for battle!¡± Wang Tao hurriedly warned Han Rui, who was outside. Han Rui was lying on the roof of an abandoned vehicle, her sniper crossbow poised and aimed at the entrance to the outpatient building. The doctor zombie was the first to come out. It pounded its chest from time to time, seemingly very angry. Especially when the sunlight outside fell upon it, it opened its mouth wide and let out a soundless roar. ¡°A zombie can get angry? Has it gained intelligence?¡± Wang Tao frowned upon seeing this. He was curious about its ability. But whether curious or not, what mattered was taking it down! Whoosh¡ª Han Rui pulled the trigger first. A crossbow arrow struck the doctor zombie¡¯s head with precision, embedding itself firmly inside. [-542] [2458/3000] ¡°Such high defense!¡± Seeing this damage number, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Han Rui¡¯s sniper crossbow did significant damage, normally causing well over a thousand points of damage to an elite zombie with a single arrow. But this arrow had done just over five hundred to the doctor zombie... The zombie reeled slightly from the crossbow arrow hit to its hand, then continued advancing toward Wang Tao. While Han Rui was reloading her crossbow, Wang Tao quickly shot an arrow. To ensure accuracy, he activated Precision Shooting. Whoosh¡ª [-324] [2134/3000] The arrow still hit the zombie¡¯s head, but the damage was only a little over three hundred. Wang Tao knew his hand crossbow wasn¡¯t as powerful as Han Rui¡¯s sniper crossbow, so he wasn¡¯t surprised. He was quick with his hands, firing three shots in succession. [-314] [-322] [1498/3000] In one encounter, the 3000-HP doctor zombie was reduced to half blood, with four crossbow arrows sticking grotesquely out of its head. But it was then that the zombie finally took action. It suddenly pulled out a shiny object from its pocket and threw it at Wang Tao. As soon as Wang Tao saw the zombie¡¯s motion, he sensed danger and immediately rolled to the side, taking cover behind the back of an abandoned vehicle. Whoosh¡ª A sparkling surgical knife landed where Wang Tao had just been, embedding itself deeply into the concrete! ¡°Damn, it¡¯s got a ranged attack?¡± No, more accurately, it should be considered a mid-range attack, since it had thrown the surgical knife after closing some distance to Wang Tao. This throwing knife was somewhat similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Flying Axe, in that it couldn¡¯t be thrown very far. With the first throw missing, the zombie pulled out a handful of surgical knives from its pocket. Wang Tao watched anxiously. Fortunately, by that time, Han Rui had finally reloaded her crossbow. Whoosh¡ª [-553] [945/3000] This arrow pierced the zombie¡¯s head with precision again, causing its head to recoil, preventing it from throwing more knives. Wang Tao quickly got up, drew his hand crossbow, activated his precise shooting ability, and fired three rapid shots within ten seconds. [-336] [-351] [-258] [0/3000] The last arrow emptied its HP bar. Thump! The doctor zombie fell to the ground. Wang Tao had no time to check the loot because the other two elite zombies had also emerged. ¡°Cough cough...¡± The old man zombie opened its mouth, coughed a few times, revealing black teeth, and exhaled some yellow-brown breath.. Chapter 200 - 118: The First Hospital 3 Chapter 200: Chapter 118: The First Hospital 3 Translator: 549690339????????? ¡ª And that plump female nurse zombie suddenly grabbed the body of the little old man zombie, hugged its waist, and did a 360-degree spin before she let go, throwing the little old man zombie towards Wang Tao. ¡°What the fuck! Is this how you take care of patients?¡± Wang Tao cursed audibly, zombies that cooperate? And they could do that? He didn¡¯t know what ability the little old man zombie had, but since the plump nurse zombie was tossing him over, it indicated that its ability probably needed to be effective at close range. Therefore, Wang Tao once again activated his Precision Shooting Ability, then gathered strength in his right leg. As the little old man zombie was about to land in front of him, Wang Tao kicked fiercely into the air. Bang! The little old man zombie hadn¡¯t even touched the ground when it was kicked away like a ball by Wang Tao, flying straight towards the plump nurse zombie. The nurse zombie probably didn¡¯t even react before getting hit by the little old man zombie. Bang! Both of them fell to the ground. Then, the little old man zombie suddenly started coughing violently, and a yellow-brown smoke spewed out of his mouth, instantly enveloping both him and the plump female zombie. Not knowing what the smoke was, it blocked Wang Tao¡¯s and Han Rui¡¯s view, preventing them from seeing clearly inside. But Wang Tao could see the HP bars; he noticed both zombies¡¯ HP bars dropped by more than 100, which was a minor injury for them. Besides that, there wasn¡¯t any continuous HP loss. However, this couldn¡¯t prove the smoke wasn¡¯t poisonous, after all, the physiques of zombies and humans differ. So Wang Tao simply took up his hand crossbow and started shooting wildly into the smoke. Swoosh- Swoosh¡ª Swoosh¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s shooting speed was swift, and in a short while he had shot over ten arrows. He just aimed at the position of the HP bars and fired right below them, not knowing if he hit his targets or not; anyway, just fire and be done with it. From afar, Han Rui was somewhat dumbfounded, watching the haze of yellow smoke through the scope, and hesitated to pull the trigger. She knew that she definitely couldn¡¯t shoot accurately in this situation and might as well provide cover for Wang Tao to prevent other dangers. Watching the HP bar inside the smoke, Wang Tao saw one of them dwindling to a sliver and then shot another arrow. [-342] [0/3200] The little old man zombie died. Splat¡ª Suddenly, the range of the yellow smoke widened! Before, the range of the yellow smoke was about a ten-meter diameter circle, but now it was at least fifteen meters in diameter! Having killed another Elite Zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s actions with the hand crossbow continued. After all, there was still one zombie within the cloud of yellow smoke. Swoosh¡ª [-32] [-360] [-23] [-30] Double-digit damage indicated that he didn¡¯t hit the head, but it didn¡¯t matter; Wang Tao had plenty of crossbow arrows to spend. Thud, thud¡ª At that moment, footsteps came from within the cloud of yellow smoke, it seemed like the plump female nurse zombie was about to come out of the smoke. But her pace was slow, stepping only once every few seconds. Wang Tao kept shooting. Finally, with the last arrow piercing through the skull of the female nurse zombie, the third Elite Zombie finally died. ¡°They¡¯re all dead!¡± Wang Tao waved at Han Rui, who quickly packed up her sniping crossbow and ran over. ¡°They¡¯re all dead?¡± Han Rui could hardly believe it. From her perspective, Wang Tao had just shot wildly into the yellow smoke and then claimed that the two zombies inside were killed? If it wasn¡¯t for her trust in Wang Tao, she would not have come over but would have continued to aim at the yellow smoke. Yeah. Let¡¯s wait a bit to see if the yellow smoke dissipates...¡± Wang Tao first collected all the loot from the doctor zombie, then he and Han Rui hid in an abandoned car. About a minute later, the cloud of yellow smoke finally disappeared. Han Rui quickly looked over and, upon seeing the situation inside the yellow smoke, her eyes went wide. The small elderly zombie and the obese zombie were like porcupines, with their bodies full of crossbow arrows! But what killed them were the arrows in their skulls. ¡°That worked...¡± Han Rui murmured to herself. The yellow smoke was so widespread; how had Wang Tao managed to shoot so accurately? Although some arrows were shot onto the zombie bodies or the ground, they were mostly in the area of the zombies. It was obvious that Wang Tao had intentionally aimed there... Han Rui didn¡¯t understand the principle behind it, but she was greatly shaken. Wang Tao seemed to know what she was thinking and explained with a smile: ¡°When they were in the yellow smoke, they didn¡¯t really move, so I just shot at their original positions.¡± It¡¯s true that they hadn¡¯t moved much, which was a barely acceptable reason. Wang Tao and Han Rui approached the two zombies, and Wang Tao pried out their crystal cores while Han Rui helped collect the crossbow arrows. It took a good while for the two to collect so many arrows. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Han Rui wiped the fine sweat from her forehead. She had been constantly using her perception ability to ensure there was no danger around, which was a bit tiring. ¡°There are still zombies in this building, elite zombies...¡± Han Rui looked towards Wang Tao. ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a bit before we go in.¡± Wang Tao was also a bit tired. Although the fight hadn¡¯t lasted long, he had been rapidly repeating the action of pulling the crossbow string; his hand was nearly smoking from the friction. He needed a little rest and to check the loot. He had to know what abilities these zombies possessed so he could be prepared for future encounters. ¡°Okay!¡± The entrance to the outpatient building had a room that was locked, with no zombies inside. Wang Tao simply unlocked it, and they both entered. Wang Tao looked at his HP bar. All three zombies were killed by him, and each zombie had added 60 HP to him. Wang Tao¡¯s HP was now at[3i8o/3i8o]! Then he turned towards his backpack. First were the three zombie cores. Wang Tao looked first at the elderly zombie¡¯s crystal core, curious about just what the yellow smoke was. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Coughing Smoke] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Coughing)] [Coughing Smoke: Consumes energy to release a cloud of smoke. Zombies within the smoke become stiffer in body, effectively slowing them down. Non-zombies within the smoke will continue to cough.] ¡°No wonder those two zombies hardly moved in the yellow smoke. It was body stiffness, akin to being slowed down...¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood. This ability could serve as a decent area control skill. Just how potent the side effect of coughing was remained to be seen... Chapter 201 - 119 Zombies in the Hospital_l Chapter 201: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_l Translator: 549690339 I [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] [Quality: Excellent (4-0%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Strength and physique are directly proportional, with insufficient physique, strength will experience negative growth)] [Power: Passive Ability, significantly increases strength] The Crystal Core from the obese female zombie nurse was a blue ¡°Strength¡± core; it was quite interesting since it is a passive ability, somewhat similar to the Glutton Ability. But the side effect seems better than that of the Glutton, just how big must the physique be to gain an increase in strength, and is his physique up to par? Moreover, Wang Tao suddenly thought, the Glutton¡¯s Ability meant the more one eats, the fatter one gets, and the stronger one¡¯s defensive power becomes. If the Power Ability meant the bigger the physique, the greater the power, then...what if one were to fuse both of these Crystal Cores, what effect would that have? The last Crystal Core belonged to the first zombie doctor he had killed. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Throwing Master] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Quick to anger)] [Throwing Master: Passive Ability, skilful at throwing most items] Throwing Master surely could increase the accuracy of thrown objects. It didn¡¯t consume extra mana, making this Crystal Core pretty good! Though Precision Shooting was powerful, its mana consumption was terrifying: it drained 10 points of mana every second. Considering Wang Tao¡¯s current mana level, he could at most use it for two or three minutes before running out. It might seem like two or three minutes wasn¡¯t short, but since there was no way to regenerate mana at the moment and it could only recover over time, which was very slow, mana was indeed precious. However, Precision Shooting could not only increase the accuracy of medium- and long-range attacks but also enhance close-range combat, enabling him to strike more precisely and potentially hit the same wound repeatedly, thus indirectly increasing damage. While Throwing Master didn¡¯t cost mana, it seemed to offer no enhancement for close combat, and it was unclear exactly what was meant by ¡°skilful¡±... Also, the side effect of this Crystal Core was quite quirky as it would directly affect personality! No wonder he always felt this zombie seemed quite angry... Wang Tao became a bit conflicted: he wanted the Self-healing Ability, he wanted the Power Ability, and he also wanted this Throwing Master Ability... But unfortunately, he could only fuse one more Crystal Core at the moment, so he had to make a careful choice. Aside from these three Crystal Cores, there were naturally other spoils of war. The obese female zombie had dropped two small Strength Potions, which were the same as the potions he had found previously. What the elderly male zombie had exploded into were five Hand Grenades and Blueprints. [Coughing Smoke Bomb Blueprints: Able to create 5 Coughing Smoke Bombs, required materials: Zombie stomach xi, A Crystal Core xi, Zombie Flesh xiokg, Metal x5kg] [Coughing Smoke Bomb: Releases a thick smoke, zombies within the smoke move slower; non-zombies in the smoke will continually cough and lose HP] The function of this Smoke Bomb was similar to Ability, akin to Slime Spitter Grenade. Moreover, its crafting seemed straightforward without the need for any special materials. However, Wang Tao dared not use this carelessly, as, with some caution, Slime Grenades typically wouldn¡¯t hurt oneself. But this Smoke Bomb would cause continuous HP loss... The loot that the zombie doctor dropped was rather interesting, consisting of medical packs and surgical knives. [Acquired: Medical Packs X5] [Medical Pack: Capable of restoring 100 HP in 10 seconds (lost limbs cannot be regenerated)] This Medical Pack was like the one he¡¯d found before in the clinic, capable of adding 100 HP in 10 seconds. However, the previous doctor zombie had only dropped one Medical Pack, while this one dropped five. Medical Packs were one of the reasons Wang Tao had come to the hospital. They could be more effective than some medicines. Though considering Wang Tao¡¯s current 3,000 HP, the 100 HP recovery might not seem much. But since there¡¯s no cooldown mentioned, it implies they can be used continuously. And it¡¯s not just about the 100 HP; it could be about pulling someone back from the brink of death! He should definitely try it out when he gets the chance... [Acquired: Surgical Knives xio] [Surgical Knife: Throwing weapon] The description of the Surgical Knife as a throwing weapon left Wang Tao somewhat speechless. Yet, seeing zombies use it as a weapon made it seem somewhat reasonable? The doctor zombie, upon death, had dropped 10 Surgical Knives, plus the ones Wang Tao had picked up from its hands¡ªthere were four in total. Originally there had been five, but the one thrown at Wang Tao was ruined. Something like a Surgical Knife was incredibly sharp, yet very fragile. A Surgical Knife thrown by a zombie was essentially one-use only. Wang Tao now had a total of 14 Surgical Knives in his Space Backpack, which could be utilized as 14 hidden weapons! If he could learn the Throwing Master Ability, those 14 Surgical Knives would enhance his capabilities significantly. Of course, even if he didn¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t matter. Wang Tao still had Precision Shooting, and since the ability worked well with the Flying Axe, throwing these Surgical Knives surely wouldn¡¯t be a problem. After checking the spoils, Wang Tao explained the effects of these three Crystal Cores to Han Rui. It was better to clarify, lest they get into trouble unawares. Han Rui was quite interested in the Throwing Ability, but since Wang Tao didn¡¯t offer it to her, she wouldn¡¯t bring it up herself. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s see what¡¯s inside.¡± Wang Tao had no plans to go upstairs. The pharmacy was on the ground floor, and since they were here, they definitely had to take some medicine. As for the upper floors, if there was any danger, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to escape, so staying on the safe side was best. If there were Elite Zombies upstairs, they might consider luring them down... ¡°There are two Elite Zombies inside and some Ordinary Zombies...¡± Chapter 202 - 119 Zombies in the Hospital_2 Chapter 202: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_2 Translator: 549690339 I Han Rui whispered to Wang Tao. The direction she pointed to was still the first floor, but it was the position of the main entrance¡ªthe place where Wang Tao had just come in was a side door on the west, and the main entrance was to the south. It led to a lobby where the recharge-payment and medication pick-up windows were located. Wang Tao wanted to go to the pharmacy, so he would definitely have to pass through there. With Han Rui¡¯s reminder, the two cautiously made their way to the back of a large column and peered out to see two zombies in patient attire, hiding in the shadows behind the door. They both had [2000] HP. If someone were to enter from the main entrance at that moment, they would likely not notice them. Apart from these two elite zombies, there were quite a few ordinary zombies inside the recharge-payment and medication pick-up windows. Judging by their clothes, they were all hospital staff. ¡°Let¡¯s take care of these two elite zombies first...¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t determine what type of elite zombies these were, so he chose to attack from a distance. Taking advantage of the fact that the zombies hadn¡¯t noticed them yet, both Wang Tao and Han Rui picked up their crossbows and aimed at one of the zombies. Whiz¡ª [-2000] With one shot, Han Rui instantly killed a zombie. Wang Tao was a bit slower, and by the time his crossbow arrow hit the zombie¡¯s head, Han Rui had already killed it! Seeing the zombie killed by Han Rui¡¯s single shot, Wang Tao and Han Rui exchanged glances, both a bit surprised. ¡°Its defense is that low?¡± After killing this zombie, the other one still didn¡¯t move and continued to lurk behind the door. ¡°Could this be a stealth zombie?¡± Wang Tao frowned but shot an arrow at the zombie by the door. Whiz¡ª [-2000] This zombie was also killed by one shot, and Wang Tao¡¯s HP increased by 50. After confirming that there were no more elite zombies around, Wang Tao and Han Rui ran over together. ¡°It really is a stealth zombie!¡± Each dropped an excellent quality and an ordinary quality Stealth Crystal Core. The one killed by Wang Tao also dropped two bottles of Stealth Potion (Medium), which were good for evading zombies. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t realized because they were wearing patient attire, different from the stealth zombies he had seen before. Plus, the elite zombies they had just encountered were also wearing patient attire, so Wang Tao hadn¡¯t immediately thought of stealth zombies. ¡°I need to be more cautious in the future; I cannot judge zombies by their appearances...¡± In terms of attack and defense power, stealth zombies weren¡¯t any different from ordinary zombies. In fact, their perception ability was even inferior, but their sudden attacks were terrifying. If one didn¡¯t detect stealth zombies in advance, it was easy to be caught off guard. But if they were discovered in time, they posed no threat. ¡°Hehe...¡± As soon as they emerged, they drew the attention of the other ordinary zombies, though these zombies were trapped inside the counters and couldn¡¯t get out for the time being. Wang Tao didn¡¯t concern himself with them. He went to the pharmacy entrance and spent some time unlocking it. But seeing the empty interior, Wang Tao was somewhat stunned. ¡°Where are the medicines? Where are all the medicines?¡± Inside was nothing but neatly arranged empty shelves, not a single box of drugs. This didn¡¯t look like the work of survivors taking them, because survivors wouldn¡¯t have left it so clean. It looked more like the hospital staff had moved them... ¡°This...¡± Han Rui was somewhat speechless; they had gone through a lot of trouble to get to the hospital, only to find not a single box of medicine. Not only was the pharmacy empty, but also the medication pick-up windows connected to it were devoid of any drugs. Wang Tao only knew that the hospital pharmacy had medicine; whether there were other warehouses for storing medicines, he had no idea. Han Rui was also clueless. Fortunately, he came to kill zombies, not specifically to get medicines, otherwise, it would have been a wasted trip. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said. Wang Tao gestured with his hand and left with Han Rui. ¡°I sense there are elite zombies upstairs; there¡¯s one at the stairwell here, but I¡¯m not sure what type it is...¡± Han Rui whispered to Wang Tao. ¡°I¡¯ll try to lure it down; find a spot to wait...¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Knowing she wasn¡¯t as fast as Wang Tao, Han Rui didn¡¯t offer to draw the zombie¡¯s attention. She went to the entrance they had used to come in earlier, set up her sniper crossbow, and aimed at the stairwell. Wang Tao crept silently to the stairwell; he hadn¡¯t yet ascended when he saw the figure of someone in a white coat walking down. [3000/3000] ¡°Hehe...¡± The zombie suddenly looked up, revealing a ghastly and terrifying face. A hint of human-like anger appeared on its face, and then it reached into its pocket, as if to pull something out. ¡°Another throwing zombie!¡± Wang Tao immediately turned and ran towards where Han Rui was without looking back. Being downstairs and not far from the zombie upstairs was too advantageous for a throwing zombie. He didn¡¯t need to risk a fight to the death with a zombie. The zombie pulled out a surgical knife from its pocket and, seeing Wang Tao run, staggered down the stairs after him. As soon as the zombie reached the first floor, Han Rui pulled the trigger without hesitation. ¡°Whiz¡ª¡± [-572] A crossbow arrow hit its head precisely, causing the zombie¡¯s body to jerk back; it was unable to throw the surgical knife it held. Wang Tao activated his precise shooting ability. [-321] [-310] [-309] After shooting three arrows in quick succession, Han Rui finally fired her second arrow. [-628] Wang Tao shot three more arrows. [-353] [-342] [-165] The last arrow brought the zombie¡¯s HP bar to zero. Throughout the encounter, the zombie swung left and right, not getting the chance to wield its knife.. Chapter 203 - 119 Zombies in the Hospital_3 Chapter 203: Chapter 119 Zombies in the Hospital_3 Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao asked Han Rui to observe the surroundings while he hurriedly collected the zombie¡¯s Crystal Cores and spoils of war. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Throwing Master] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side Effect: Irritability)] This was a Crystal Core of excellent quality, which could be combined with the previously acquired one of excellent quality! [Acquired: Medical Kit x51 [Acquired: Surgical Knife xio] [Acquired: Surgical Knife x5] The pack of the doctor zombie contained 10 surgical knives, and he had another 5 in his pocket, making a total of 15 knives. Along with the previous 14 knives, that makes a total of 29 surgical knives. Even if they could only be used as disposable weapons, that quantity wasn¡¯t small. Not to mention the crucial point was that these surgical knives could be stored in the Space Backpack... After securing the spoils of war, Wang Tao signaled for Han Rui to come to the stairway entrance. He was about to ask Han Rui to use her Perception, but when he saw the situation upstairs, Wang Tao frowned. ¡°The second floor is blocked...¡± When he had come to attract the doctor zombie just now, Wang Tao had immediately retreated without going upstairs. Only now did he notice that the staircase from the first floor to the second was completely blocked off, impassable. Moreover, Wang Tao saw that there were many bullet holes... ¡°Could it be that there are many zombies inside?¡± Wang Tao murmured softly, stroking his chin. ¡°Probably not? I only sense one zombie behind this. But my Perception range is limited; there could be others elsewhere...¡± Han Rui also didn¡¯t dare to be conclusive in her statement. ¡°Let¡¯s check out the other staircases.¡± The outpatient building had a total of five staircases and four elevators. The elevators were located near the south gate and were now inoperable. After making a round, Wang Tao and Han Rui found that the paths to the second floor were all blocked off in the other four staircases as well. If one staircase was blocked, it could be for any number of reasons. But if all five staircases were blocked and there were many bullet holes... it wasn¡¯t wise to hold out hope; it was dangerous upstairs! The blockade must have been done by the military! They probably took the medicines away as well... Even though Han Rui used her Perception at the entrance of all five staircases and confirmed that there were only a few zombies near the stairway entrances, Wang Tao still didn¡¯t want to take any risks. If he really wanted to go up, he could climb up the exterior wall or pry open the elevator doors and go up the elevator shaft. But it wasn¡¯t necessary; being reckless wasn¡¯t an option. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go look somewhere else; we won¡¯t go up...¡± Wang Tao shook his head; the hospital was so large, there were certainly more than just a few zombies. ¡°Okay!¡± They left the outpatient building and strolled around the hospital courtyard. Besides a few Ordinary Zombies, they didn¡¯t encounter any Elite Zombies. ¡°Something¡¯s not right...¡± Wang Tao frowned. Both Wei Zhenguo and Chen Zhuang had told him before that there were many zombies in this hospital, and it was a terrifying place. But now, Wang Tao had only seen a few zombies and didn¡¯t feel any horror... Could it be that these zombies had all left? Or were they all blocked in the upstairs of the outpatient building? Leaving was unlikely since they hadn¡¯t seen any zombies wearing white lab coats on the way. And being blocked upstairs was even less likely since it was clearly a blockade put in place by the military during the outbreak of the virus. When the Mizusawa Base Peacekeeping Unit arrived at the hospital, the virus had already fully infected it, and the timing didn¡¯t match... Wang Tao subconsciously glanced at another building. Behind the outpatient building was another connected building encompassing the emergency center, the ward building, the imaging center, and more. If those zombies hadn¡¯t left and weren¡¯t in the outpatient building, could they be in that building? Just as Wang Tao thought of this, he saw Han Rui hurriedly tugging at his sleeve. ¡°Wang Tao, look at the inpatient department!¡± Wang Tao quickly raised his binoculars and looked in the direction Han Rui pointed. On the tenth floor of the inpatient department¡¯s windows, several Ropes dangled down, with the other ends tied inside the windows of the ninth floor. ¡°I just saw two people climb from the tenth floor to the ninth floor using that Rope!¡± Han Rui urged in a low voice. ¡°People? Could it be Shao Yong?¡± Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows. If someone was there, it was likely him! His survival wasn¡¯t beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. He was, after all, a capable man who wouldn¡¯t die that easily. However... Wang Tao glanced at the hospital¡¯s windows again. He had just been wondering if the zombies that had disappeared from the hospital had all run into that building. Now, seeing Shao Yong in that building, he was likely going to come out. If the zombies really were all in that building, wouldn¡¯t he end up startling so many of them... Thump¡ªThump¡ª Suddenly, Wang Tao thought he heard some noise, like the sound of something walking. ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡± Han Rui became somewhat nervous. Wang Tao looked towards the connected buildings and then swiftly grabbed Han Rui¡¯s arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t understand, but she quickly shouldered her sniper crossbow and followed Wang Tao as they ran outside. Bang! As the two reached the western gate of the hospital, a gunshot suddenly rang out from the inpatient building above. A moment later. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Countless eerie sounds emanated from within the hospital. Wang Tao quickly surveyed the surroundings, his face changing instantly. He saw at the window of the second floor of the outpatient building they had just left, a large group of agile figures appearing. They climbed down the wall and rushed toward the inpatient department like a black tide. ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao was shocked by the scene. The upper floors of the inpatient department were filled with so many Mad Demon Zombies! Was this like a lair for Mad Demon Zombies? From the other connected buildings, some Mad Demon Zombies began to run out as well, not just Mad Demon Zombies, but also a lot of Elite Zombies! Wang Tao looked again, and in the distance, some Mad Demon Zombies were running towards the hospital, and they were blocking Wang Tao¡¯s path. However, there weren¡¯t as many as the ones inside the hospital. ¡°Run fast!¡± Without any hesitation, Wang Tao charged straight towards the outside Mad Demon Zombies. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± These Mad Demon Zombies saw Wang Tao and immediately lunged at them with gaping jaws and flailing claws. Wang Tao pulled out his axe, sending out a Shockwave. [-1831] [-1802] [-1734] [...] Now with 2000 HP and high defense, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t kill the Mad Demon Zombies in a single blow. Although he swung his axe again, killing those zombies, more Mad Demon Zombies noticed him and surrounded them. Wang Tao could deal with these Mad Demon Zombies, but he didn¡¯t want to prolong the fight. After all, there were too many zombies in the hospital, and it would be troublesome if he drew too much attention. ¡°Han Rui, carry me and use Rush!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui grabbed Wang Tao and immediately activated the Rush Ability. Boom- In an instant, a streak of white light flashed by. Some Ordinary Zombies were directly smashed apart, and several Mad Demon Zombies were sent flying into the air. Wang Tao and Han Rui had already appeared thirty meters away, breaking out of the zombie encirclement! Chapter 204 - 120 Shao Yong l Chapter 204: Chapter 120 Shao Yong l Translator: 549690339 I ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Han Rui gasped for breath, using Rush while carrying someone was a completely different concept from using it alone. Especially since Wang Tao was bulky and had a lot of equipment on him. This was a significant energy drain for Han Rui. The energy she consumed was much more than usual. Thankfully, the effect of Rush was almost fully realized, and the two of them successfully broke out of the zombie encirclement. But their current position was not good, as it was the opposite direction from where their car was parked. The car was definitely something they couldn¡¯t afford to lose. After all, the cars outside had been corroded by the corrosive acid rain and rusted, rendering them unusable. Cars were now of great value, especially since theirs was an electric car. After scanning the surrounding buildings, Wang Tao immediately pointed to the tallest six-story building and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go up there and lay low for a while!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The first and second floors of the building housed a large restaurant, while the third floor and above were apartment homes. There were no Elite Zombies in the restaurant, only Ordinary Zombies which Wang Tao and Han Rui quickly dealt with. The two of them ran up to the sixth floor and arbitrarily chose an apartment room with no zombies to enter. Bang! After closing the door, Han Rui finally relaxed. ¡°That was terrifying! The hospital is too dangerous!¡± Recalling what she had just seen, Han Rui still felt her heart pound with residual fear. She had not expected so many zombies to be inside the hospital. What she had even less anticipated was that the outpatient building upstairs would be hiding countless Mad Demon Zombies! Fortunately, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t gone up, or otherwise, he might have been doomed... Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. He had hoped there would be zombies in the hospital, but not so many. And to top it off, so damn many Mad Demon Zombies... Killing Mad Demon Zombies only resulted in some Ordinary materials dropping and had no other benefits. So whether he could defeat the Mad Demon Zombies or not, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to provoke them. Since the hospital was temporarily out of the question, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to just leave either, especially since his car was still outside. He decided to wait a bit longer. Gunshots occasionally rang out from the hospital, continuously attracting the Mad Demon Zombies outside. The number of Mad Demon Zombies outside was not that large, at least within what Wang Tao could handle, but he still waited patiently. Finally, the gunshots from the hospital ceased. Without this significant noise, the Mad Demon Zombies gradually left. But from his position, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see the situation inside the hospital and wasn¡¯t sure if Shao Yong was dead or alive. However, he could see the car Shao Yong had parked outside before. If Shao Yong were still alive, he would probably come over... About an hour later, just when Wang Tao thought Shao Yong might be dead, he saw a tall figure covered in blood, sneaking near Shao Yong¡¯s pickup truck. Wang Tao quickly elbowed Han Rui, and under their watchful eyes, the bulky man swiftly got into the pickup truck, then came out cursing and swearing. He checked several other cars, but none of them started... ¡°That¡¯s definitely Shao Yong!¡± Even though the man was covered in blood, Wang Tao recognized him by other physical features, as Wei Zhenguo and Gao Hua had described Shao Yong¡¯s appearance to Wang Tao before. But when Wang Tao saw Shao Yong¡¯s Attributes, he was shocked. Shao Yong had no Hidden Attributes, but his HP was [754/4.030]! Over four thousand HP, even more than Wang Tao! This was the first time Wang Tao had ever seen a survivor with more HP than himself. Just this HP alone naturally wouldn¡¯t shock Wang Tao. If someone was lucky, diligent, and strong, it was normal for them to have more HP than he did. What shocked Wang Tao were two other Attributes. One was Mana, with Shao Yong having [120/4000]! A full 4000 Mana! Wang Tao only had 1400! Going by the calculation that merging A Crystal Core could yield 100 Mana, Shao Yong had merged 40 Crystal Cores! While Wang Tao had only merged 14 cores... Although the Crystal Cores Wang Tao had merged were all Synthetic, if he didn¡¯t synthesize them, that would have been 28 cores. But if he used those 28 cores for merging, the result wouldn¡¯t be 2800 HP, since not all merges could succeed, given that every Crystal Core had a different success rate. This meant that the number of Crystal Cores Shao Yong had merged was far more than 40! It¡¯s just that 40 of them were successfully merged, and the rest failed. Unless Shao Yong had merged exclusively Orange Crystal Cores, which obviously was impossible... The other Attribute that shocked Wang Tao was Shao Yong¡¯s Internal Impurity. [Internal Impurity: 70%] This was definitely the person with the highest Internal Impurity Wang Tao had ever seen! The previous maximum Wang Tao had come across was with Blondy Wu Fei, who had been infected with the zombie virus but couldn¡¯t find an Inhibitor, with an Internal Impurity of 28%. Shao Yong¡¯s was more than double that! Wang Tao wondered if Shao Yong was also infected with the zombie virus. But with his abilities, he should definitely be able to get Inhibitors... That left one other possibility¡ªhe had merged too many Crystal Cores! Merging Crystal Cores, whether successful or not, always increased Internal Impurity. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear on exactly how much Impurity each Crystal Core would add. But judging from Shao Yong¡¯s 4000 Mana, he had merged at least dozens, possibly even more, Zombie Cores. Of course, both possibilities might be true¡ªhe could be both infected with the zombie virus and have merged too many Crystal Cores! Wang Tao had initially envied Shao Yong for his abundant HP and Mana, but now he only felt sadness for him. Based on the rate his Impurity was accumulating, it probably wouldn¡¯t be long before he turned into a zombie.... Chapter 205 - 120 Shao Yong_2 Chapter 205: Chapter 120 Shao Yong_2 Translator: 549690339 As Wang Tao observed Shao Yong, it seemed as if Shao Yong sensed something. He lifted his head and looked toward Wang Tao¡¯s window. However, the window was somewhat reflective, and Wang Tao was behind the curtain, so Shao Yong didn¡¯t actually see anyone. But he clearly felt as though he was being watched. Shao Yong stuck out his somewhat long tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, his face showing a trace of anger. He hated being peeped at. But Shao Yong felt behind himself for something and found no steel bars. He then glanced at the zombies chasing him inside the hospital and decisively slipped away. Once Shao Yong had left, Han Rui spoke up softly. ¡°That person, he gives me a really terrifying feeling...¡± ¡°Indeed, he is terrifying. He¡¯s strong, and I¡¯m not necessarily his match.¡± Wang Tao nodded seriously. He felt somewhat regretful; Shao Yong was critically low on HP now, but he was some distance from Shao Yong and couldn¡¯t hit him. There were also many zombies in pursuit of Shao Yong, and he didn¡¯t have much of an opportunity to strike. ¡°Ah? You can¡¯t beat him? That¡¯s impossible!¡± Han Rui couldn¡¯t believe it. In her mind, Wang Tao had always been the most powerful. It was no problem to say that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t beat zombies, as many zombies were quite formidable. But to say that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t win against survivors... that seemed unbelievable, right? Wang Tao couldn¡¯t explain the problem with HP and Mana, so he vaguely said, ¡°My instincts are usually very accurate, and right now, I might indeed not be as strong as him...¡± Shao Yong had 4000 HP, while Wang Tao only had 3290... When over 1000 HP, every increase of 1000 HP is quite significant. So theoretically, Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition should be inferior to his. However, Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness was originally good, and with the increase in HP, the benefits he received were also larger. Therefore, it was really hard to say who had the better physical condition between the two of them. But in terms of Mana, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t come close; he only had 1400, while the other had 4000, which meant he had merged with 26 more Crystal Cores than him! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how many Abilities Shao Yong had learned, but Wang Tao could only merge with four types of Crystal Cores at most, meaning he could have at most four Abilities. If Shao Yong also had four Abilities, then his 40 Crystal Cores would be equivalent to having all four Abilities ¡°maxed out¡± at +10! They¡¯d all be merged to the highest level! On the other hand, Wang Tao only had one Shockwave at +10, Toughness at +3, and Precision Shooting only merged once. Plus, he only had three Abilities... So in terms of Abilities, he was theoretically inferior to Shao Yong. Unless Shao Yong had merged with useless junk Crystal Cores, but this possibility was small, since Wang Tao didn¡¯t notice any obvious side effects on him, like Glutton or Mud Swamp. Anyway, no matter what, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have absolute confidence in winning against him. Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t going to challenge him to a duel. With so many people at Shuize Base, why would he give him the chance for a duel? Why not just gang up on him instead? ¡°So what should we do now...¡± Han Rui looked toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao hesitated for a moment and then said: ¡°Let¡¯s wait a while longer before leaving. It looks like all the zombies from the hospital have come out. Let¡¯s see if we have a chance to hunt down a few more.¡± ¡°Mm.¡± Han Rui nodded. Wang Tao and she waited until the sun set, and the roaring of the zombies outside finally lessened significantly. However, it was going to be dark soon, and it was definitely not the time to go out. ¡°Rest for the night, and things here should be back to normal tomorrow.¡± The next day, early in the morning. The two people in the apartment both woke up early. Neither of them had slept well the previous night, not because they were up to something shameful, but because it was too noisy outside. After the apocalypse, things were different compared to before. During the daytime, it was usually extremely quiet, but as soon as night fell, the zombies became extraordinarily active, with their howling non-stop. Especially since they were near the hospital, which was filled with so many zombies... the noise was simply too much! If a timid person came here, they would probably be scared out of their wits. Of course, Wang Tao could block his ears to stop the noise. But even if this weren¡¯t a base, even at a base, he wouldn¡¯t block off his senses like that... After simply drinking a couple of nutrient drinks, Wang Tao said to Han Rui: ¡°Let¡¯s go check out the hospital.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The two of them cautiously approached the hospital, and after assessing the situation inside, they both gasped in shock. The hospital was filled with zombies, most of them dressed in white lab coats and patient gowns, and a small portion in regular clothes. At a casual glance, there seemed to be at least a thousand zombies here, and that didn¡¯t even take into account the many Elite Zombies! Including the unique Elite Zombies found inside the hospital, such as Attackers, Terrorizers, and even Self-exploders, among others. This place was practically a haven for zombies! Not to mention, within the outpatient building, there were countless Mad Demon Zombies... This was the true face of the hospital! The reason there were no zombies outside yesterday, Wang Tao guessed, might be because Shao Yong and his group caused some disturbance, which drew the zombies over... ¡°What should we do now?¡± Seeing so many zombies, Han Rui felt her scalp tingle. If they were spotted by these zombies, they would only have one choice: to run for their lives. ¡°First, let¡¯s go check the car.¡± The two slowly made their way to where their car was parked the day before. The car was intact, undamaged in any way. Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief; with the car, they had the means to make an escape. ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can lure some zombies over...¡± Seeing so many Elite Zombies, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to leave just yet. ¡°Okay!¡± They ambled around the hospital for a while, quickly finding an opportunity.. Chapter 206 - 120 Shao Yong_3 Chapter 206: Chapter 120 Shao Yong_3 Translator: 549690339 Just then, a bald middle-aged elite zombie, short, and chubby, decked in a white lab coat, was passing by the entrance. Han Rui had already taken aim at it and sent an arrow flying straight at him. Whiz¡ª [-1023] [1977/3000] The arrow took away one-third of the zombie s HP. Considering its defense power, it probably wasn¡¯t the zombie that threw surgical knives. After taking an arrow, the zombie immediately looked around, then started heading in Han Rui¡¯s direction. It probably didn¡¯t see who attacked it, since there was no acceleration and none of the frenzied behavior that zombies display when they discover humans. Could zombies have a sixth sense? Regardless of whether it was a sixth sense or not, this was just what Wang Tao wanted. When the zombie got closer, Han Rui stealthily shot another arrow. [-1123] [845/3000] ¡°Hehe...¡± Now, the zombie had spotted the one who started it all. It immediately turned towards Han Rui¡¯s location and started to jog over. But just at that moment, Wang Tao engaged his precise shooting ability and pulled the trigger. Whiz¡ª [-672] [-182] [0/3000] Its HP dropped to zero, two arrows sending it to its demise. After confirming that no zombies were coming, Wang Tao hurried over to collect the spoils. From the zombie, he gained 60 HP, a white crystal core, and a package. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Rejuvenation] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Prone to indulging in desires)] [Rejuvenation: Can expend a certain amount of energy to instantly recover full physical strength and spirit] Wang Tao thought the attributes of this crystal core weren¡¯t bad. Though it wasn¡¯t about increasing HP or energy, reality is not a game. Besides HP and energy, factors like physical strength and spirit can also impact a person¡¯s state. For instance, when you run out of energy, you feel very tired, and at that point, even if you have a lot of HP, your combat effectiveness will be significantly reduced. Instant recovery of physical strength and spirit could be like an adrenaline shot, likewise boosting combat power. But the side effect of this crystal core, ¡°prone to indulging in desires¡±... isn¡¯t that just being lascivious? Is that really a side effect? Isn¡¯t that quite normal? Wang Tao had his suspicions; perhaps this Shao Yong might have this ability, right? Otherwise, with so many zombies in the hospital, how did he manage to escape? Putting aside whether he could defeat them or not, even if the zombies just stood there and let him hack at them, it¡¯s doubtful he could have managed to get through them all. Especially during times of heightened concentration, the depletion of physical strength and spirit would be even greater... This lecherous zombie, aside from the crystal core, also had a medic pack, two potions, and a blueprint. [Acquired: Medic Pack x5] [Acquired: Rejuvenation Potion Blueprint xi] [Acquired: Rejuvenation Potion x2] It came with a detailed description. [Rejuvenation Potion Blueprint: After learning, you can craft 5 Rejuvenation Potions at a time. Required materials: Zombie Crystal Core xi, 300ml of Purified Water, 30 kilocalories of food] [Rejuvenation Potion: Upon consumption, instantly recovers full physical strength and spirit, but leads to a state of weakness for 1 day afterward] The materials needed to craft this Rejuvenation Potion are simple, nothing special ¨C just a zombie crystal core, water, and food. However, the side effect of the potion is quite strong. It¡¯s only suitable for a burst of effort. If the battle isn¡¯t over after using it, you¡¯re pretty much done for... With a thought, Wang Tao learned the method to craft the potion. He had learned several potion crafting methods by now, but this was the only potion he could actually make; the others all lacked crucial materials. ¡°I¡¯ll make some later on to keep as a reserve...¡± he thought to himself. While he was pondering, Wang Tao gestured to Han Rui. ¡°Continue luring zombies.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± It wasn¡¯t long before another opportunity presented itself. A figure wearing a pink nurse uniform with a voluptuous shape appeared at the hospital entrance. ¡°Hiss¡ªIs that really the figure a proper nurse should have?¡± Wang Tao could hardly believe it. This one was much more pleasing to the eye than the previous fat nurse zombie. Of course, that¡¯s provided you don¡¯t look at the face. Its face had long since rotted away, obscuring what it looked like in life. Especially that gaping, mucus-covered mouth-it was downright nauseating to look at. Whoosh- Han Rui released an arrow. [-1459] [1541/3000] That single arrow had taken away half of its HP. The zombie¡¯s defensive power wasn¡¯t high either! Wang Tao had Han Rui hold fire, otherwise the second arrow might steal the kill from him. This zombie¡¯s perception seemed to be sharper. Right after Han Rui shot that arrow, it quickly headed toward Han Rui¡¯s position. At the same time, it opened its mouth wide and a long tongue stretched out. When about 10 meters away from Han Rui, its loose tongue suddenly shot out like a frog¡¯s. Whoosh- Bang! Han Rui lay down on the ground, dodging the tongue¡¯s attack. The tongue struck a discarded vehicle, punching a hole right through the car door. Seeing the attack power, both Wang Tao and Han Rui were stunned. Who could withstand such a lick! However, the female nurse zombie¡¯s tongue was stuck in the car, and the car was too heavy to be pulled out quickly, causing it to stagger. Seizing the opportunity, Wang Tao immediately activated Precise Shooting and pulled the trigger. [-1036] [-505] [0/3000] The voluptuous nurse zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. It also gave Wang Tao a 60 HP boost, bringing his HP to [3410/3410]! Wang Tao thought to himself that he was lucky; if the zombie¡¯s tongue hadn¡¯t gotten stuck, it probably would have taken more effort to defeat, since it could attack from a distance. Wang Tao quickly went to collect the spoils from the zombie. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Loose Tongue] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side Effect: Prone to mood swings)] [Loose Tongue: Consumes energy, tongue becomes hard, lengthens] This ability... The description seems a bit indecent, but it should be effective in actual combat. It could serve as control and deal damage. Besides the Crystal Core, the female nurse zombie dropped some loot, which included a medical pack and a set of clothes. [Received: Medical Pack x5] [Received: Pink Nurse Uniform xi] [Pink Nurse Uniform: Durability+1, Tear-resistant+1] Wang Tao had previously obtained a set of security uniforms, which he was wearing now. Indeed, the clothes were good; they rarely got damaged in frequent combat, sparing him the embarrassment of his clothes getting torn. The attributes of this nurse uniform were the same as the security uniform. But this nurse uniform is tear-resistant? Thumbs down! After killing that zombie, Wang Tao and Han Rui waited for a long time, but no more elite zombies passed by the entrance. ¡°Should we take another risk and lure out a few elite zombies again? While Wang Tao was hesitating, he suddenly felt the ground trembling. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui looked toward the south at the same time. They saw a gigantic zombie taking steps toward the hospital. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s a gorilla zombie!¡± Seeing the figure that was as tall as a two-story building, Wang Tao¡¯s complexion changed. It wasn¡¯t just its size that had grown; more importantly, its HP had increased as well! [10000/10000] ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao inwardly cursed.. It had only been a few days, and its HP had reached 10,000! Chapter 207 - 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores_l Chapter 207: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores_l Translator: 549690339 | Seeing that the Gorilla Zombie seemed to be passing by the hospital, Wang Tao hurriedly left the area with Han Rui. The size of that Gorilla Zombie was terrifying! If he stayed here any longer, even if he wasn¡¯t spotted by the Gorilla Zombie, he might still get trampled to death! Not to mention that this Gorilla Zombie was extremely irritable with incredible destructive power... Wang Tao and Han Rui ran back to the apartment building they had stayed in the previous night, but this time they went to the rooftop. The rooftop offered a much broader view, perfectly overlooking the hospital. They lay prone next to each other, watching the hospital and the Gorilla Zombie wreaking havoc along its path. Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed deeply. ¡°How did it end up here... This place is far from the old mall!¡± This Gorilla Zombie should be a Zombie Lord, and Lords typically have their own territory where they roam. Everyone agreed that the territory of the Gorilla Zombie was near the old mall. That¡¯s why, after returning from the old mall, the base dubbed that area a forbidden zone, forbidding anyone from going there. But now this is the hospital, which is far from the location of the old mall. How did the Gorilla Zombie get here? Does it no longer care about its territory? Or did it expand its territory to this area? Wang Tao felt that the latter was more likely! After all, according to the military¡¯s data, the range of a Lord¡¯s territory expands with their strength increase. The power of this Gorilla Zombie has clearly increased a lot, so it seemed reasonable for it to want to expand its territory... Thud¡ªThud¡ª The Gorilla Zombie walked on all fours, slapping anything it came across, sending numerous abandoned vehicles flying. Many Mad Demon Zombies were drawn by the noise and came out of hiding, but they retreated upon seeing the Gorilla Zombie. However, the Gorilla Zombie didn¡¯t care whether they were zombies or not; anything that stood in its way was sent flying with a slap of its hand. Not just vehicles, but many zombies were flung aside, and Wang Tao even saw an Elite Self-exploder Zombie get blown apart by its slap. Bang¡ª The Self-exploder made a loud boom, then blew off over a hundred of the Gorilla Zombie¡¯s HP. ¡°Such incredible defensive power!¡± Upon seeing this, Wang Tao was shocked. The blast from a Self-exploder was powerful enough to kill an Elite Zombie outright, but it only dealt just over a hundred damage to the Gorilla Zombie... That defensive power was outrageous. ¡°This zombie is so much more terrifying than before! Han Rui muttered in shock. When they had seen this zombie before, it hadn¡¯t been this strong... and they couldn¡¯t defeat it then, so how could they possibly do so now! Before long, the Gorilla Zombie reached the entrance of the hospital, and both Wang Tao and Han Rui could clearly see what it looked like now. ¡°It¡¯s more decayed than before, some parts even show the bone...¡± Han Rui whispered softly. ¡°It must have been exposed to corrosive acid rain... From their previous observations, they found that after plants were exposed to corrosive acid rain, they could either die outright or grow even more luxuriantly. Zombies that had been exposed to corrosive acid rain experienced an increase in HP! However, for humans, too much exposure to corrosive acid rain could be life-threatening... The fact that the Gorilla Zombie¡¯s HP had risen was very likely due to it having been drenched in a lot of corrosive acid rain since it wasn¡¯t this decayed before. Of course, whether it was decayed or not didn¡¯t affect a zombie¡¯s strength. Ordinary Zombies would slow down once decayed, but the speed of this Gorilla Zombie was about the same as before. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Gorilla Zombie roared at the hospital and then pounded its massive fists against its chest, just like a real gorilla. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Wang Tao wondered curiously. The hospital¡¯s zombies were attracted by the sound of the Gorilla Zombie and some looked towards it but didn¡¯t approach; others went straight to it. Many Mad Demon Zombies also ran out of the outpatient building. Facing these kin, the Gorilla Zombie did not hesitate to lash out. Bang! Bang! One punch each, it sent the zombies flying. Several Elite Zombies were blown apart on impact! Wang Tao and Han Rui watched in horror from the sidelines. If they hadn¡¯t left earlier, they probably would have met the same fate as these zombies. These zombies had no intelligence and didn¡¯t realize that approaching the Gorilla Zombie meant certain death. They were blindly drawn to the source of the noise. However, it seemed the Elite Zombies possessed some intelligence, unhke Ordinary Zombies. They did not just let the Gorilla Zombie hit them freely, they fought back. A doctor zombie in a white coat pulled out a Surgical Knife from its pocket and threw it at the Gorilla Zombie. But when those Surgical Knives hit the Gorilla Zombie, they didn¡¯t even break its skin... Seeing what had been tickling it, the Gorilla Zombie promptly picked up an abandoned car and smashed it against that doctor zombie in the white coat. Bang! The doctor zombie was flattened instantly, their HP of 3000 dropping to zero in a flash. Wang Tao, watching from a distance, felt a twinge of regret; 60 HP limit wiped out ¡ª if only he had been the one to kill it... Besides this white-coated zombie, other Elite Zombies also approached, but none was a match for the Gorilla Zombie. Watching these Elite Zombies get slaughtered, Wang Tao silently noted their bodies¡¯ locations. Although he couldn¡¯t increase his HP limit or expect loot drops, the Crystal Cores were still available. Once the Gorilla Zombie left, he could go and pick up the spoils! However, this Gorilla Zombie was also strange, not entering the hospital but constantly roaring at the entrance... Chapter 208 - 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores_2 Chapter 208: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores_2 Translator: 549690339 After killing who knows how many zombies, the gorilla zombie suddenly rushed towards the hospital interior. Then it smashed headfirst into the inpatient department building. Crash The wall of the building was rammed through, leaving a huge hole, and the gorilla zombie disappeared from sight. The other zombies followed the noise towards the gaping hole. Soon, there were hardly any zombies left at the hospital entrance and in the yard; they had all been drawn away by the commotion caused by the gorilla zombie. Wang Tao eyed the bodies scattered everywhere and was somewhat tempted, but he restrained himself. After all, the gorilla zombie was still inside the building. About three minutes later, there was a loud bang as the gorilla zombie broke through the wall on the other side and rushed out. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s gone?¡± Wang Tao noticed that the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP bar hadn¡¯t decreased, and he had no idea what it had been doing inside. Nevertheless, its departure was a good thing, and it had left by another route, so they wouldn¡¯t cross paths. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Collect the Crystal Cores!¡± With the gorilla zombie gone and the hospital¡¯s zombies lured away, it was the perfect opportunity to collect Zombie Cores! Wang Tao and Han Rui hurried to the hospital entrance. Wang Tao¡¯s mouth nearly split into a grin as he saw the huge pile of zombie corpses. Three minutes later, as the zombies started to come out of the inpatient department, Wang Tao quickly signaled Han Rui to retreat. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± There might still be some Elite Zombies here, but it was rather troublesome to identify their bodies among the scattered corpses, especially since Wang Tao couldn¡¯t tell them apart once their HP bars were gone. Also, the hospital¡¯s Elite Zombies didn¡¯t quite resemble those from outside; they all looked similar and couldn¡¯t be easily distinguished by their appearance. The two returned to the apartment once again. Looking at the pile of Crystal Cores in the bag, Han Rui subconsciously swallowed. Wang Tao counted them: together, they had picked up 37 Crystal Cores! If it weren¡¯t for the gorilla zombie, he would have had to kill zombies for quite a while to acquire so many Crystal Cores. Moreover, among these cores, there were three Orange Crystal Cores! Seeing these three Orange Epic Crystal Cores, Wang Tao felt somewhat dreamy. If he remembered correctly, this should be the first time he had extracted Orange Crystal Cores directly from a zombie¡¯s head! Although he himself used Orange Cores, those were synthetic, created from combining two or even three Crystal Cores. Obtaining such natural Orange Crystal Cores from a zombie was genuinely a first for him. Wang Tao had started to doubt whether natural Orange Crystal Cores even existed since, although he had seen plenty of Red Crystal Cores, he had never come across a single Orange one. But now Wang Tao knew it was not that Orange Crystal Cores didn¡¯t exist; he simply hadn¡¯t been lucky enough... The three Orange Crystal Cores were Throwing Mastery, Strength, and Loose Tongue. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Throwing Mastery] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Prone to anger)] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Strength proportional to body size)] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Loose Tongue] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Mood swings)] All three of these Crystal Cores were quite useful, and Wang Tao wanted to learn both ¡°Throwing Mastery¡± and ¡°Strength.¡± However, natural Orange Crystal Cores were different from synthetic ones. Although the fusion success rate for both was 100%, natural cores still contained impurities and side effects. Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t use these cores himself, and it would be a waste to utilize them for fusion, so he planned to take them back to the base to see if anyone else needed them. In addition to these three cores, there were plenty others like Coughing Smoke, Rejuvenation, and familiar ones like Self Detonation, Shockwave, Precision Shooting, and so on. ¡°Do you want to use any of them?¡± Wang Tao asked Han Rui. Since they had acquired them together, she naturally had a choice as well. ¡°I...¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes shone at the sight of so many Crystal Cores, but she was unsure which one to choose. What she wanted most was a Perception Crystal Core, but unfortunately, after encountering that one Perception zombie, she had never seen another. ¡°Why don¡¯t you help me decide which Crystal Core suits me best...¡± Han Rui looked towards Wang Tao, trusting his judgment implicitly, feeling he would choose better than she could. ¡°I think another Throwing Mastery, or Rejuvenation, or even Shockwave would suit you...¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment. Precision Shooting would also suit Han Rui, but he needed that Crystal Core for himself, so he would surely prioritize his own needs. ¡°Then... I¡¯ll take a Throwing Mastery Crystal Core!¡± Han Rui, despite having obtained the Rush ability, still preferred long-range attacks. ¡°Alright, but... don¡¯t rush to assimilate it just yet. I¡¯ll keep the Crystal Core safe for you for now.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui agreed without asking why. Wang Tao smiled at Han Rui¡¯s unconditional trust. He had just realized an issue¡ªhe had never really paid much attention to the impurities in Crystal Cores, focusing more on the side effects. After all, impurities would only cause problems when accumulated to a certain extent; normally, a bit of impurity wasn¡¯t a big deal. But the side effects were more obvious; at best, they might alter one¡¯s physique, while at worst, they could affect one¡¯s personality. These seemed much scarier by comparison. However, after meeting Shao Yong, Wang Tao suddenly understood that he couldn¡¯t ignore the impurities in Crystal Cores any longer. Because the impurities in Shao Yong¡¯s body had already reached 70%! Chapter 209 - 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores 2 Chapter 209: Chapter 121 Synthetic 6 Epic Crystal Cores 2 Translator: 549690339 When the internal impurities reach 100%, one will definitely become a zombie. But this doesn¡¯t mean that if it¡¯s not 100%, there won¡¯t be a problem. The first time he saw the Zombie Core, the prompt was very clear¡ªthe more impurities inside, the greater the chance of becoming a zombie! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how high the probability of Shao Yong becoming a zombie with 70% impurities in his body was, but even if there was a 1% chance of turning into a zombie, that would be like a ticking time bomb! You never know when it might go off... So now, it¡¯s time to take the issue of internal impurities seriously. Wang Tao speculated that the reason why Shao Yong had accumulated so many impurities might be due to his fusing with too many Zombie Cores! He had a whopping 4000 Mana, which at the very least meant fusing with 40 Zombie Cores, but in reality, it was definitely more than that, perhaps even double or more! Wang Tao currently didn¡¯t know how many internal impurities would accumulate from fusing with a Crystal Core... If he didn¡¯t figure this out, future core fusions would be terrifying. Of course, Wang Tao himself didn¡¯t care about impurities. He fused with Crystal Cores that had 100% Purity. But this was the apocalypse, and it wasn¡¯t just Wang Tao alone, he had friends, teammates, and the entire Shuize Base. So this matter had to be clarified... Wang Tao looked at Han Rui, whose impurity level displayed as ¡°1%¡± beneath her HP bar. Although it seemed small and not much of a danger, she had fused with far fewer Zombie Cores, only three in total thus far. Just looking at Han Rui¡¯s internal impurities, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t make a judgment yet, he needed to compare it with other people¡¯s attributes. Recently, all the committee members in the base had become Ability Users, he could study this matter properly after returning... Wang Tao then looked at the other Crystal Cores, many of which he could use. For instance, Throwing Master, Power, Rush, and so on. But what made Wang Tao happiest was that he finally saw a Self-healing Crystal Core! [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡ö Self-healing] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Reduced touch sensation)] [Self-healing: Within its duration, it can slowly heal certain injuries] This was an Excellent quality Self-healing Crystal Core, and although there was only one, it was enough for him to fuse. Because he happened to have an Ordinary quality Self-healing Crystal Core. Adding them together made an Epic Crystal Core with no side effects and no impurities! Now Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to hesitate about which Crystal Core to fuse-it had to be Self-healing! ¡°Go to the rooftop and observe, see if there are any zombies around, we still have to rest here tonight.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After sending Han Rui out, Wang Tao immediately put all these Crystal Cores into his Space Backpack. He already had quite a few Crystal Cores in there, and now with these additions, the count surged. He then synthesized all the Crystal Cores that he needed at the moment. A rambow light flashed, and 6 Orange Crystal Cores appeared in the Space Backpack. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Precision Shooting x2] [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Toughness X3] [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Self-healing xi] Without a second word, Wang Tao placed the two Precision Shooting Crystal Cores into his mouth one after the other, feeling warm as he fused with them. Then he consecutively put the Toughness Crystal Cores into his mouth. A warm sensation came again. A moment later, all three ¡°Toughness¡± were fused by Wang Tao. Then Wang Tao looked at the last Self-healing Crystal Core. In earlier days, Wang Tao felt that his limit was fusing four types of Crystal Cores, but his strength was insufficient to force a fusion. Now, his strength was more than enough, and he felt that fusing a fourth type of Crystal Core was no problem at all. However, to be on the safe side, he waited for Han Rui to come back before he swallowed the Zombie Core in one gulp. Instantly, Wang Tao felt very warm, no, it was very hot. So, Wang Tao stripped off all his clothes, and Han Rui next to him was somewhat stunned. She thought Wang Tao wanted to do something to her at that moment¡ªnot that he was that kind of person. When they were out in the wild before, he never wasted his strength on such things. Thankfully, Wang Tao told Han Rui that he was just fusing with a new Crystal Core and feeling a bit hot. Han Rui quickly came over to fan Wang Tao. However, Wang Tao felt that the heat this time was not as intense as the last, and he wasn¡¯t too uncomfortable. Maybe it was because his strength had increased? A few minutes later, Wang Tao felt his body gradually cooling down, returning to normal quite soon. Han Rui had been touching Wang Tao¡¯s arm, and once she felt his skin wasn¡¯t as hot, she breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Tao, in turn, looked at his own attributes. HP [3410/3410] Mana [2000/2000] His Mana had risen from 1400 to 2000! With this amount of Mana, as long as it wasn¡¯t a prolonged battle, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about running out. Then, his Abilities. [Shockwave +10] [Toughness +6] [Precision Shooting +3] [Self-healing +1] Among the four Abilities, Shockwave was already fused to the limit, but the other three Abilities still had plenty of room for growth. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear just how strong his combat power was because he was too cautious¡ª If he could go out with someone else, he definitely wouldn¡¯t go alone; if he could attack with Crossbow Arrows from a distance, he would never engage in close combat; he would rather slowly lure zombies than actively go solo against a horde, unless he was sure he could win... No one could fault Wang Tao for this, his margin for error was low; any scratch or bite from a zombie would inevitably lead to infection. Although inhibitors could delay the effects of the zombie virus temporarily, they had to be used continuously. Wang Tao had inhibitors, but he didn¡¯t want to become dependent on them. Moreover, excessive use of inhibitors wasn¡¯t good for the body. So, up until now, Wang Tao had never really fought all out. Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t so arrogant as to think he was invincible with full strength. Just the Gorilla zombie he had seen not long ago¡ªthe one he couldn¡¯t defeat even when pulling out all the stops! Wang Tao even felt that he might not be able to beat it even when the Gorilla zombie had 5000 HP.... Chapter 210 - 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Chapter 210: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Abilityl Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao tried out his new ability ¡°Self-healing.¡± ¡°Consuming... 1 Mana per second! Not bad, not bad!¡± He hadn¡¯t expected Self-healing to be like Thoughness, consuming 1 Mana per second during use, which wasn¡¯t nearly as exaggerated as the 10 Mana per second consumed by Precision Shooting. With his current 2000 Mana, he could use it for half an hour. The only thing was he didn¡¯t know how effective this Self-healing was... The description on the Self-healing Crystal Core said ¡°slowly recovers a certain amount of HP,¡± but just how slow was this ¡°slow¡±? He would have to study this further later on. Unfortunately, he was at full HP now and couldn¡¯t test it. Wang Tao glanced outside the window, it was already evening. At this time, there was no need to take risks by going out. After all, he wasn¡¯t clear about the actual situation inside the hospital and had no idea what the Gorilla zombie was doing running in there... The unknown represented risk, so it was better to be cautious. The two of them rested in the apartment for the night. The next morning, they arrived at the entrance to the hospital again. But seeing the situation inside the hospital, Wang Tao felt a headache coming on¡ªthe zombies had once again disappeared! Obviously, they had gone back inside the building. Most likely, Shao Yong and the rest had attracted the zombies into the building before. Now that Shao Yong had left, and his men were probably all dead, the zombies had gone back in again... Could it have something to do with yesterday¡¯s Gorilla zombie? Wang Tao shook his head in resignation. With the zombies inside the building, he couldn¡¯t attract them out; otherwise, instead of one or two, it would be hundreds, if not thousands of them! Not to mention, there were countless Mad Demon Zombies here... ¡°We¡¯re pulling out!¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui picked up some Zombie Cores they hadn¡¯t managed to collect from the day before. After staying a while longer and confirming there was no opportunity, Wang Tao decisively left. Although it was a pity, with the zombies not coming out, there was no use in him staying there. However, Wang Tao was definitely planning to come back. Moreover, he intended to bring a loudspeaker next time. The zombies in the hospital weren¡¯t coming out, right? He would just use noise to attract them! Of course, this plan had certain risks. A slight mistake could cost him his life, so he needed to study how exactly to implement it. Upon reaching his SUV, Wang Tao made sure there were no issues with the vehicle and then started it up, driving back with Han Rui. Seeing the destruction caused by the Gorilla zombie along the way, Wang Tao was amazed. How much damage had that thing caused on its way here! Wang Tao quietly noted down the route taken by the Gorilla zombie, so that in the future, Hunters from the base could avoid these areas when they went out. ¡°Wang Tao, there are Elite Zombies!¡± Around midday, as they were close to returning to Shuize Base, Han Rui suddenly pointed out a location. Wang Tao looked in the direction she was pointing. There were two tall zombies standing out from a group of Ordinary zombies on a square. One was a Self-exploder with 3000 HP. The other was an extremely obese male zombie with 2400 HP. The Self-exploder¡¯s chest was swollen, with its internal organs exposed. The obese zombie, besides being fat all over and having a large belly, was excessively overweight to the point of abnormality; it seemed like the belly would burst at any moment... It was different from the Slime Spitter, which only had a slightly larger belly, and was not as fat. From the looks of it, this was a new type of zombie that Wang Tao had never seen before. ¡°Should we engage?¡± Han Rui seemed eager to try. She was timid in the hospital, but once on the road, she was ready to strike hard! After all, there were only two Elite Zombies, which basically posed no threat to her and Wang Tao. As for the Ordinary zombies, dealing with them would just be a matter of a few Shockwaves for Wang Tao. ¡°Engage!¡± They got out of the car. Considering there was a Suicide Bombing Zombie, Wang Tao naturally chose to use Slime Grenades to stick both of them in place and then kill them slowly. Wang Tao stealthily moved closer, and once he was in the right position, he threw a Slime Grenade directly at the Self-exploder. Pia¡ª The Slime Grenade instantly spurted out a large amount of white substance, wrapping the Self-exploder completely, rendering it immobile. Several unfortunate Ordinary zombies nearby also got stuck. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush forward but took out another Slime Grenade and threw it at the obese zombie. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the Slime Grenade exploded on the obese zombie, but it didn¡¯t stick to him. A yellow-green fluid secreted from the zombie¡¯s body seemed to be very slippery, instantly neutralizing the effects of the Slime Grenade! ¡°Huh, it didn¡¯t stick?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but he didn¡¯t dwell on it and moved straight towards the Self-exploder instead. There was some distance between the Self-exploder and the obese zombie, so he didn¡¯t have to worry about the obese one for now. Wang Tao raised his axe, and with an empty chop, a transparent ripple appeared, instantly killing several Ordinary zombies. Without stopping, Wang Tao wielded Shockwaves from his hands as if they cost nothing, and the Ordinary zombies fell to the ground like harvested wheat. At last, Wang Tao stood in front of the Suicide Bombing Zombies and swung his axe! [-3000] [0/3000] The blow from the axe instantly killed the Suicide Bombing Zombie with 3000 HP! Although the Self-exploder had a low Defense, Wang Tao had previously needed two chops; now, he could kill it with one. Wang Tao was quite satisfied with his damage output. After collecting all the spoils from the Self-exploder, Wang Tao then turned his attention to the obese zombie. The obese zombie had secreted a lot of yellow-green fluid, which made it completely immune to the effects of the white sticky substance produced by the Slime Grenade.. Chapter 211 - 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Chapter 211: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Ability_2 Translator: 549690339 And the liquid had a very foul smell that made Wang Tao feel nauseous. ¡°What kind of zombie is this...¡± While feeling speechless, Wang Tao had no intention of engaging in close combat with it. A surgical knife appeared immediately in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. He had obtained these surgical knives but hadn¡¯t really used them properly, so this was a good opportunity to try one out. Precise Shooting Ability Activation! Wang Tao aimed at the zombie¡¯s eyes and then fiercely threw the throwing knife. Schlick! With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, he drove the surgical knife deeply into the fat zombie¡¯s eye socket, instantly bringing its HP to zero! [-2400] [0/2400] ¡°Its defense is that low too?¡± Before Wang Tao could ponder further, he heard a ¡°bang,¡± and the zombie exploded. ¡°Ah? This is also a Suicide Bombing Zombie?¡± Wang Tao was confused. But the explosion sound made by this fat zombie was much smaller than that of a Self-exploder; if a Self-exploder¡¯s explosion was like a bomb... then this was at most like a balloon popping and couldn¡¯t even attract Mad Demon Zombies. Moreover, the explosion¡¯s power wasn¡¯t as great as a Self-exploder¡¯s, since several Ordinary Zombies nearby were still alive and well. The explosion from a Self-exploder could even kill Elite Zombies. However, unlike a Self-exploder, when this fat zombie exploded, the yellow-green liquid inside its body spurted out like water from an exploded balloon, splashing in all directions. The Ordinary Zombies around it were immediately drenched in the liquid. ¡°Damn it!¡± The smell was horrendous, almost like ammonia, an intense and noxious stench! Wang Tao hurriedly threw another Slime Grenade, forming a hardened surface on the road; with a look of disgust on his face, he ran over to collect the spoils of war. It might stink, but the spoils were not to be wasted. Just then, the other zombies in the square, as if entering a frenzy, started running towards Wang Tao¡¯s location. They were all Ordinary Zombies, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered with them; he simply took off. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the Ordinary Zombies didn¡¯t chase after him but surrounded those that were soaked in the yellow-green liquid and began punching, kicking, tearing, and biting them. II II Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. What was happening! But now was not the time to think, and Wang Tao quickly ran towards the car. Han Rui had taken the driver¡¯s seat and then opened the car door. Just at that moment, Han Rui¡¯s expression suddenly changed, and she yelled at Wang Tao. ¡°Watch out!¡± But as she spoke, it was already too late. Bang! A zombie with an enormous arm suddenly burst out of a dark corner and slammed into Wang Tao! Crash Wang Tao was sent flying and crashed through the bricks of the square¡¯s wall, falling on the other side, with his life or death unknown. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Han Rui turned pale, hurriedly got out of the car, and then charged at the Charger Zombie. Whoosh Bang! Han Rui hit the Charger with full force, but it blocked her charge with its huge arms, merely stepping back two paces. Han Rui felt a bit dizzy as if she had run headlong into an iron wall. Hu- The Charger Zombie swung its arm, striking Han Rui and sending her flying. ¡°Puh ¡± Han Rui slammed hard against a tree, feeling a sweet sensation in her throat as a red trace of blood soaked through the cloth on her face. ¡°So strong...¡± Han Rui struggled to get up, taking out the pistol from behind her waist. She had not expected the Charger to be so strong! Its defense was outrageous, able to withstand even her charge! Was she going to fall here today? Han Rui aimed the gun at the Charger, knowing that it was highly unlikely the pistol would kill it, but she had no other options. As for attracting Mad Demon Zombies, she no longer needed to consider that. The sound of the Charger hitting Wang Tao against the wall, and the subsequent collapse of the wall, were loud enough that a few Mad Demon Zombies had already begun racing in their direction. But as Han Rui was about to shoot, suddenly a Flying Axe flew out of the rubble and struck the Charger Zombie right in the back of its head. Bang The Charger staggered from the blow and turned to roar at the ruins. A towering figure, clutching a Concrete Hammer, slowly emerged from the debris. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Han Rui, seeing this scene from a distance, burst into tears of joy. Then, she looked at the approaching Mad Demon Zombies and decisively ran towards them. She couldn¡¯t deal with the Charger and had to leave it to Wang Tao. But she could spare him from other nuisances. Wang Tao rotated his neck, causing a series of cracking sounds. Facing this Charger Zombie with 4200 HP, he grinned. He felt the axe was too short to deal with this towering Charger, so he pulled out the Reinforced Concrete Hammer dropped by the Terrorizer from his Space Backpack. The Big Hammer was tremendously draining on physical strength, but it was perfect for dealing with these tough-skinned zombies. Not to mention, Wang Tao had also drunk a Strength Potion! Taking a deep breath, Wang Tao held the Big Hammer tightly with both hands and ran towards the Charger. Roar The Charger Zombie, seeing this man had not died and apparently angered, let out a roar, then raised its arm, preparing to charge at Wang Tao again. Wang Tao instantly gripped the hammer with one hand while the other held a Surgical Knife, which he threw directly at the Charger¡¯s head. [-74] Though it didn¡¯t cause much damage, it knocked back the Charger¡¯s head and successfully stopped its second charge.. Chapter 212 - 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Chapter 212: Chapter 122: Sneak Attack, Self-healing Ability 3 Translator: 549690339 And in that brief moment, Wang Tao had already run up to the Attacker. He raised the Concrete Hammer with both hands and slammed it down on the Attacker. Bang! [-65] The Attacker raised its thick right arm to block, but its entire body was still forced to step back, and cracks appeared on the ground. ¡°Pretty tough, huh? Let¡¯s see just how tough you really are!¡± Wang Tao again lifted the hammer and smashed down fiercely. Bang! [-71] The Attacker took another step back. Not giving it a chance to react, Wang Tao¡¯s third hammer strike came crashing down. Bang! [-329] This third strike made the Attacker stagger, retreating several steps before toppling to the ground; its thick arm could no longer protect its head. Wang Tao took his chance to rush forward, then leaped up. He held the Big Hammer high above his head and smashed down hard on the Attacker¡¯s head beneath him. Bang! [-2041] This hammer strike took out half of the Attacker¡¯s HP, and it seemed to have been dazed by the blow, its head swaying, unable to lift its enormous arms. Wang Tao pressed his advantage, almost swinging the hammer in a full circle before bringing it down with force. Squish! [-1470] [0/4200] The Attacker¡¯s HP bar emptied. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils of battle, then took a deep, heavy breath. The Terrorizer¡¯s Concrete Hammer weapon was indeed not meant for humans; it was too heavy and consumed too much physical strength. He had swung it only a few times and was already exhausted. After resting for a few seconds, Wang Tao dragged the hammer and rushed towards Han Rui. By then, almost twenty Mad Demon Zombies were entangling Han Rui, and there were even more corpses of Mad Demon Zombies on the ground. As Wang Tao charged over, he slammed the hammer fiercely onto the ground. With his size and the Reinforced Concrete Hammer, he was practically the spitting image of a Terrorizer! Bang! One blow sent the surrounding Mad Demon Zombies flying apart like they¡¯d been hit by a car, clearing a large area instantly. ¡°Let¡¯s go, you drive!¡± Seeing more Mad Demon Zombies running towards them, Wang Tao didn¡¯t linger and dragged Han Rui away with him. Killing these Mad Demon Zombies brought no benefits, and Wang Tao did not want to waste time on them. Han Rui quickly dove into the driver¡¯s seat, and as soon as Wang Tao got in, she floored the accelerator. Vroom vroom- Before more Mad Demon Zombies arrived, the car left the square. Over ten Mad Demon Zombies were still chasing the car, but Wang Tao had specifically chosen a manageable route, and once the car sped up, it quickly shook off the chasing Mad Demon Zombies. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Seeing no more Mad Demon Zombies in the rearview mirror, only some Ordinary Zombies, Han Rui let out a sigh of relief. Then she quickly turned back to look at Wang Tao sitting in the back, and asked with concern, ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then smiled and said, ¡°Thanks to your warning earlier, otherwise, things might have really gotten tricky.¡± The Attacker¡¯s Rush capability could cover a distance of over thirty meters, and its speed was incredibly fast! Without being prepared, it was very difficult to avoid. Especially if the Attacker was hiding in the shadows, it was virtually impossible to guard against. By the time you heard the sound, it would already be too late. Although Han Rui had Perception Ability, her range of perception was only about a dozen meters in diameter, so she could not perceive the Charger Zombies. By the time she detected a Charger Zombie, it had already rushed toward her. For example, during the recent battle, when Wang Tao went out to hunt zombies, she took up the sniper crossbow and silently activated her Perception Ability to keep watch for Wang Tao. When she sensed the Charger Zombie, it was only a little more than ten meters away from Wang Tao. For the Rush Ability, that distance was almost as quick as a blink of an eye! Under such circumstances, Han Rui could do nothing but cry out in a panic. Even her cry was too late... But at that time, Wang Tao was running towards the vehicle and looking at Han Rui. Just as Han Rui trusted Wang Tao 100%, Wang Tao also had great trust in Han Rui; otherwise, he would not have always taken her out with him. When Wang Tao saw the panic in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, he reacted without thinking and instantly activated Toughness! The Toughness Ability continuously drains Mana, so Wang Tao used it during combat and stopped it afterward. He had just ended combat, so naturally, it had been deactivated. But his reaction was quick. After activating Toughness, he felt a huge force hit him from the side, and then he was sent flying, even smashing through a wall. He didn¡¯t feel pain at the moment, just a bit dazed. When he climbed out of the rubble, Wang Tao glanced at his HP bar. He had lost more than two hundred HP! If he hadn¡¯t activated Toughness, he might have lost two thousand HP... or even faced instant death! After all, the Charger Zombie had 4200 HP; its strength was simply too formidable. So he had to thank Han Rui. If it weren¡¯t for her, he might have been in big trouble today. Seeing that Wang Tao was truly unhurt, Han Rui finally let out a sigh of relief, then felt somewhat annoyed. ¡°I still discovered it too late. If I had noticed earlier, it wouldn¡¯t have been so dangerous...¡± Shaking her head, she then said with concern, ¡°Once we¡¯re back, have Chen Zhuang check you, just in case you have any internal injuries... that would be troublesome...¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Wang Tao nodded with a smile. Han Rui was also injured, yet she was still worried about him. Wang Tao took out a medical kit to treat Han Rui¡¯s injuries. The kit contained some medicines and hemostatic tools; the medicine provided Blood Regeneration. ¡°Take this.¡± Wang Tao handed her a large, black pill. ¡°Oh.¡± Not quite understanding but trusting Wang Tao, Han Rui did not ask any questions. ¡°Huh?¡± A moment later, Han Rui was surprised to find that she felt much better, and the injuries inside her body... had improved somewhat? Wang Tao had her take several more pills. By the time they saw the base¡¯s gate, Han Rui¡¯s HP had almost fully recovered, leaving only some superficial wounds. ¡°This medicine is amazing!¡± Han Rui exclaimed, having never seen such effective medicine before. ¡°Pretty good, right? I¡¯ll give you some for backup later.¡± ¡°Great! Thank you!¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t hesitate to accept; after all, it was something that could save her life. Once the car had safely entered the base, Wang Tao finally relaxed. Then he finally had the time to look at the loot from the recent fight. He had killed three Elite Zombies in total, the Suicide Bombing Zombies had restored 60 HP, the fat zombies had restored 50 HP, and the Charger Zombie had added 70 HP. His current HP was [3590/3590]! The reason he was at full HP was not because he used the medical kit, but because he used his Self-healing Ability immediately after getting injured. He had finally understood the specifics of his Self-healing Ability ¡ª it consumed 1 Mana per second to replenish 1 HP. Though it only restored 1 HP per second and couldn¡¯t instantly recover full HP, it was still pretty good. After all, with a Mana pool of 2000, that was like having a backup health pack of 2000 HP! Chapter 213 - 123 Rush Suit l Chapter 213: Chapter 123 Rush Suit l Translator: 549690339 Then there were the other spoils of battle. The Self-exploders had dropped a Level 1 Crystal Core of ordinary quality, five Self-Destruct Bombs, and a Self-Detonation Bomb Blueprint. The Fat Zombie had dropped a Bile Crystal Core, five Bile Bottles, and a Bile Bottle Blueprint. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Bile] [Quality: Excellent (8o%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: excessive obesity)] [Bile: Consumes energy to spit out bile that can attract zombies] Seeing the attributes of this crystal core, Wang Tao suddenly realized. No wonder when that fat zombie exploded, the yellow-green liquid that landed on some zombies caused other zombies to attack those smeared with the liquid! If he sprayed this bile on some formidable zombies, wouldn¡¯t it cause ordinary zombies to attack the formidable one? [Bile Bottle: When detonated, it will create an area covered in bile] [Bile Bottle Blueprint: Can produce five Bile Bottles, required materials: A Crystal Core xi, Zombie Flesh xskg, Glass x2kg] The blueprint for the Bile Bottles was not complicated either; all the materials needed were commonly found. As for the last of the spoils dropped by the Attacker, it had made Wang Tao¡¯s mouth twist into a grin. [Level 1 Crystal Core-Rush] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: limb stiffness)] This was actually an Epic Quality crystal core! He had finally managed to obtain an Epic Crystal Core! Although the Charger Zombies were difficult to fight, the core was a just reward for his efforts. But there was more to the Attacker¡¯s spoils than just that-there was also a blueprint for a pair of boots! [Rush Combat Boots Blueprint: Can produce a pair of Rush Combat Boots, required materials: Iron Block x2, Steel Wire x2, Screws x2, Blades x2, Nails x2, Rubber x2, Plastic x2, Cables x2, Electronic Components x2, Batteries x2] [Rush Combat Boots: Tough and resilient, capable of blocking blades and bullets. Durability +10, Defensive Power +10] This was a blueprint for boots with attributes, and the materials required for crafting were all simple. With these boots, Wang Tao now had two Rush Arm Guards, two Rush Knee Guards, and a pair of boots¡ª all from the Attacker series! When Wang Tao first obtained the Rush Right Arm, he never expected to accumulate so many items from the Rush series. One could only say his luck was good! Han Rui parked her car under her apartment building and then got out. ¡°Rest well today.¡± ¡°You too!¡± Watching Han Rui enter the building, Wang Tao directly drove back. Ding Yuqin was not at home; there was a note left in the house saying she was killing zombies around the base. Wang Tao made himself something simple to eat, then took out the materials and blueprints to make the Rush Combat Boots. With a thought, a flash of light appeared. A pair of ordinary-looking black boots materialized before him. The appearance of the Rush series equipment was plain, but Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fussy about aesthetics¡ªwhat mattered was practicality. Wang Tao prepared to try on the boots to see how comfortable they were. However, once he had put them on his feet, the boots suddenly emitted a flash of light! ¡°Hmm?¡± It wasn¡¯t just the boots; his knee guards and arm guards were also flashing. About three seconds later, the light slowly faded. There didn¡¯t seem to be any change to the equipment itself, so Wang Tao quickly checked the data of the gear. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao then discovered that the suit had gained an attribute! [Rush Combat Boots: Durability +10, Defensive Power +10 (Suit Attributes activated)] [Rush Suit: Can actively release the Rush Ability once, cooldown time 1 hour, number of uses available: 0/0] The description for the suit attributes was detailed below. [Suit Attributes: Collect a certain number of equipment with the same name to unlock suit attributes. Inlay a Crystal Core into the equipment to use suit attributes.] [Note 1: Once inlaid, the Crystal Core cannot be removed.] [Note 2: The Crystal Core can be inlaid again after its energy is depleted, but if the equipment is damaged, it cannot be inlaid.] ¡°A suit! An extra Ability?¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. According to the description, this meant he could use an additional Ability! That was quite exciting! However, the display showed the number of uses as zero... ¡°Inlay a Crystal Core into the equipment to use the suit attributes...¡± Wang Tao quickly examined the equipment, and he noticed that although their appearance hadn¡¯t changed, where batteries could be inserted, there was now a cavity the size of a grape¡ªthese pieces of equipment all could use batteries sourced from zombie drops for some enhancement. ¡°It must be where the Crystal Core is meant to be placed...¡± It wasn¡¯t specifically stated which Crystal Core to use, so it should mean any Crystal Core would suffice. So, Wang Tao casually took an ordinary Self-Destruct Crystal Core and embedded it into the Rush Right Arm¡¯s cavity. Click- Wang Tao felt the arm guard snatch the crystal core instantly, and he couldn¡¯t pry it loose. At the same time, the numbers for the suit¡¯s attributes changed. [Number of uses available: 2/2] One crystal core could be used twice? Wang Tao then took a Blue Crystal Core and placed it into the knee guard. Click¡ª [Number of uses available: 6/6] ¡°Hmm? Four more uses! Is it because of the knee guard or because it¡¯s a Blue Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao then placed another Blue Crystal Core into the Rush Left Arm. [Number of uses available: 10/10] The White Crystal Core provided two uses when inlaid in the right arm.. The Blue Crystal Cores inlaid in the knee guard and the left arm each brought four more uses! Chapter 214 - 123 Rush Suit_2 Chapter 214: Chapter 123 Rush Suit_2 Translator: 549690339 I Then the result is obvious ¡ª the White Crystal Core adds two chances, the Blue adds four! So, does the Purple add six? And Red eight? Orange ten? To confirm his guess, Wang Tao took another Purple Crystal Core and inlaid it into the other kneepad. [Usable Times: 16/16] Indeed, just as he had suspected, the Purple Crystal Core added six chances! With that being the case, there was no need to test the Red and Orange ones; after all, these Crystal Cores were rather precious, even the Self-Destruct Crystal Cores, which he had saved up. Looking at the two shoes and one kneepad that could still be inlaid, Wang Tao thought it over and decided that inlaying Blue Crystal Cores was probably the most cost-effective choice. Because if one excludes the somewhat special Green Crystal Cores, the ones above Blue were Purple, Red, and Orange. The lowest, Purple, had a 60% fusion success rate, which obviously made it appropriate for fusion purposes. He had previously advised Wei Zhenguo and the others to aim for fusing Purple Crystal Cores or higher. So there was no need to use these rarer cores for inlaying. As for the White Crystal Cores with the lowest fusion success rate, he would make things like hand grenades and potions, which could use any Crystal Core, so he always used White Crystal Cores. And since White Crystal Cores only provided two chances, it wasn¡¯t worth using the White ones for inlaying; it was better to use them as materials. Therefore, Blue Crystal Cores, which were neither too high nor too low, were just about right for inlaying. Thus, Wang Tao took out two more Blue Crystal Cores and inlaid them into the two shoes. [Usable Times: 24/24] 24 uses of the Rush Ability! Wang Tao now felt as if he could activate the Rush with just a thought! Although there were cooldown time limits, it didn¡¯t consume any of his Mana. This was no different from having an additional Ability. Wang Tao clenched his fists tightly. Being hit by a Rush Zombie today was worth it! Wang Tao then thought about the stubborn armor he wore, wondering whether it had any Suit Attributes. Unfortunately, he only had one piece of armor, so he couldn¡¯t confirm. In the afternoon, Ding Yuqin came back. Seeing Wang Tao at home, she was a bit surprised. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re finally back!¡± She hurried over and hugged Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin, and after not seeing her for three days, he could clearly feel that she was different from before. If before Ding Yuqin was a clingy little woman, now... she was still clingy, but her spirit seemed much improved. She reminded him a bit of the feeling Han Rui gave him back at the water plant. ¡°How have you been these past two days? You seem to have lost quite a bit of weight.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he stroked Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek. ¡°Ah? Really?¡± Hearing Wang Tao say she had lost weight, Ding Yuqin was immediately delighted. She felt that the hardships of recent days had not been in vain. Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t overweight but wasn¡¯t stick-thin either ¡ª she had a healthy female figure. But like many women, she too wished to be slimmer, and she was no exception. Clasping Wang Tao¡¯s arm tightly, Ding Yuqin began to recount what she had been through these past few days. ¡°Wang Tao, I can single-handedly take on zombies now!¡± Wang Tao had previously arranged for someone to take Ding Yuqin and Gao Hua to practice killing zombies, and after several days of training, Ding Yuqin could almost effortlessly deal with single zombies, and manage multiple ones without much trouble. This wasn¡¯t because Ding Yuqin had superior combat skills; it was purely because her physical condition was that good! Wang Tao had powered-leveled her, so to speak, straight to 1000 HP, and HP was a direct measure of physical condition. The hunters in the base, generally speaking, all had a few hundred HP, and many of them were already able to take on zombies one-on-one. With Ding Yuqin¡¯s physical condition being stronger than that of ordinary zombies, taking them on one-on-one was definitely no issue. It was just that she had no combat experience against zombies, and was rather timid. The past few days had been about practicing combat and building courage, and she had achieved some success. ¡°Sister-in-law, you¡¯re awesome!¡± After listening to her story, Wang Tao could not help but praise her. Ding Yuqin had no resistance to Wang Tao¡¯s compliments. She tightened her grip on his arm and then asked eagerly: ¡°Then can I go out with you?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see. If there¡¯s a chance, I may take you with me.¡± As long as Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t hold him back, taking her along was naturally fine. But right now, it definitely wasn¡¯t possible; after all, Wang Tao hunted Elite Zombies, which was entirely different from ordinary zombies. If Ding Yuqin were to go now, she would still be a burden. ¡°Great! Oh, right, I haven¡¯t taken a shower, I¡¯m all sweaty, I should go take a bath...¡± Ding Yuqin quickly let go of Wang Tao, but he pulled her back. ¡°Let¡¯s go together.¡± Ding Yuqin blushed, her face turning a shade of red as she looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Okay-¡± The next day, early morning. Wang Tao arrived at the complex. The committee members were all present. Seeing Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo spoke with a serious expression: ¡°Wang Tao, you say you encountered Shao Yong? What exactly happened?¡± On his way back the previous day, Wang Tao had already informed the base about Shao Yong¡¯s situation in advance. However, he hadn¡¯t gone into details but just told everyone to be more vigilant. ¡°The specifics...¡± Wang Tao briefly recounted what had happened at the hospital. After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s account, everyone looked at each other. ¡°The hospital is that terrifying!¡± ¡°So many Mad Demon Zombies, and Elite Zombies...¡± ¡°That¡¯s definitely the most dangerous place now!¡± ¡°From now on, we need to steer clear of the hospital, we can¡¯t afford to go there...¡± Chapter 215 - 123 Rush Suit_3 Chapter 215: Chapter 123 Rush Suit_3 Translator: 549690339 The group first lamented the condition of the hospital before the conversation turned to Shao Yong. ¡°It¡¯s not good news that Shao Yong isn¡¯t dead, given his personality, he will definitely seek revenge. Let¡¯s have the Hunters stay in for the time being and first find Shao Yong¡¯s whereabouts...¡± The fact that Shao Yong was still alive was bad news, but ¡°Wang Tao discovering Shao Yong wasn¡¯t dead¡± was good news. Otherwise, if everyone still thought Shao Yong was dead and lowered their guard, that would be a real problem. ¡°I think we can send someone to investigate the underground mall. Didn¡¯t Wang Tao say he had no car when he left and was chased by a large group of zombies? There is a good chance he hasn¡¯t made it back to the underground square...¡± Feng Ming¡¯an suddenly said. Those of them who often ventured out knew the terror of the post-apocalyptic world all too well. Without a vehicle for transportation, one generally couldn¡¯t get very far. Most of the time, one had to hide from zombies. After all, even the strongest survivors feared being surrounded by zombies. And with Shao Yong being seriously injured, he might be hiding somewhere right now. If someone was sent to stake out the underground mall, they might be able to discover his whereabouts. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll have to send someone to keep watch.¡± Wei Zhenguo nodded, then asked, ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯ve already seen Shao Yong. What do you think of his strength?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say specifically, since a person¡¯s strength is composed of many different factors. But I feel that if both of us were in our best condition, I probably wouldn¡¯t be his match.¡± Wang Tao said with a serious expression. ¡°What? You¡¯re not his match?¡± When the others heard this, they all had the same expression as Han Rui did initially, one of disbelief. They all had an idea of how strong Wang Tao was. To put it bluntly, without using firearms, all of them commissioners combined might not even be a match for Wang Tao! Wang Tao was indisputably the top combat power of the base! And yet, such a formidable Wang Tao might not be a match for Shao Yong? ¡°He¡¯s... really that strong?¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat unwilling to believe it. At first, when the apocalypse came, he got stronger by killing zombies and felt like he was the strongest survivor. It was indeed proven later that he was very strong. He was the number one combat power of Shuize Base! But then Wang Tao arrived, an Ability User. That meant the end of his position at the top. However, Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t really care about such empty titles; whether first or second didn¡¯t matter since they were all on the same side. But now, if Shao Yong was even stronger than Wang Tao, didn¡¯t that mean he would have to settle for third place? That was upsetting! Of course, it wasn¡¯t just the thought of being third that was upsetting. More distressing was the fact that Shao Yong¡¯s formidable strength meant he would become a huge enemy to the base! ¡°I can¡¯t be sure, but my feelings should be correct,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense... As I recall, you became an Ability User in the first few days of the apocalypse, and it seems like you never really stopped killing zombies, and you¡¯ve fused with quite a few Zombie Cores. Could Shao Yong have become an Ability User earlier than you or killed more zombies?¡± Ren Jie was somewhat puzzled. Was Shao Yong¡¯s talent truly exceptional? Facing their questions, Wang Tao became even more serious. ¡°This brings me to the second issue I wanted to discuss with you¡ªthe problem of fusing with Zombie Cores. Shao Yong is strong, but he may have fused with too many Zombie Cores. I can feel that there are a lot of impurities in his body, about 70% Internal Impurities! That is to say, his probability of turning into a zombie is much higher than any of us!¡± ¡°What? He¡¯s going to turn into a zombie?¡± Liu He was somewhat pleased; if Shao Yong turned into a zombie, that would indeed be good news. However, seeing the solemn expressions on everyone else¡¯s faces, he quickly realized the gravity of the situation and hastily asked, ¡°Wang Tao, are you saying that Shao Yong has fused with too many Crystal Cores, leading to a high chance of him turning into a zombie...¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then, exactly how many Crystal Cores has he fused with?¡± Ren Jie asked urgently. ¡°I don¡¯t know that, I can only make a rough estimate, but I will need your help.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Everyone immediately nodded. This was a matter that concerned their own safety! Previously, Wang Tao had mentioned that fusing with these Cores would produce Internal Impurities in the body, and too many impurities could turn someone into a zombie. At the time, everyone was anxious for a while, but after realizing that Wang Tao seemed fine and so were they, they didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. But hearing about Shao Yong¡¯s situation, they suddenly became a little panicked. After all, no one wanted to turn into a zombie! ¡°Everyone, state how many Crystal Cores you have fused with, whether you succeeded or failed, as long as you attempted the fusion, it counts...¡± Wang Tao said while looking at their Attributes. In this group of commissioners, only Liu He¡¯s Internal Impurity level showed 0%, the rest all had some impurities. Of course, it wasn¡¯t much, probably because Wang Tao had previously warned them of the dangers of fusing Zombie Cores. They were fairly cautious with their fusions. ¡°I¡¯ve merged with... 12 Cores? Right, 12 Crystal Cores, but only 5 were successful...¡± Xiang Hongbin was the first to speak. Wang Tao glanced at Xiang Hongbin; his blue bar read 500, which matched what he had said. His Internal Impurity level was 6%. ¡°I¡¯ve merged with 7 Crystal Cores and succeeded with 4 of them,¡± Wei Zhenguo followed. His Internal Impurity level was 3%. Feng Ming¡¯an thought for a moment and said, ¡°If I remember correctly, I should have merged with 5 Cores and succeeded with 3 of them...¡± Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s Internal Impurity level was 1%. ¡°I¡¯ve only merged with two Cores, and both were successful,¡± Lu Gang said with a smile. His Internal Impurity level was 1%. ¡°I also merged with three Cores, two of which were successful,¡± Ren Jie had an Internal Impurity level of 1%; he had merged with two Cores, both successfully. Finally, there was Liu He, who had successfully merged with one Core, and his Internal Impurity level was o%... Wang Tao wrote down their data and pondered. He had previously thought about the fact that 0% didn¡¯t mean none, it could have been rounded. So going by everyone¡¯s situation... After a moment, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°I think I know. Theoretically, whether successful or not, the maximum number of Crystal Cores one person should merge with shouldn¡¯t exceed 200...¡± Chapter 216 - 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm^ Chapter 216: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm^ Translator: 549690339 Wang Tao discovered that if he calculated the impurity accumulation at 0.5% per Fusion Crystal Core, and if he kept only whole numbers, then these data probably added up. Wang Tao had seen them fuse a Crystal Core before, at which time the display showed 0% internal Impurity... In reality, it might have been 0.5%, but the figure was rounded down, and without rounding up, it displayed 0%. So it made sense that after Xiang Hongbin had fused 12 Crystal Cores, his Internal Impurity was 6%. Wei Zhenguo had fused seven, and his Internal Impurity was 3%, actually 3.5%! Maybe if he fused another, it would turn into 4%. Other people followed suit, and it all matched up. Therefore, Wang Tao came to a conclusion-in theory, the upper limit of Crystal Cores a person could fuse was no more than 200. Because if a Crystal Core produced 0.5% impurity in the body, then 200 would amount to 100% impurity, which would definitely lead to zombie transformation. was % impurity, and, though the odds of turning into a zombie were infinitesimally close, theoretically there was still a chance of not turning. Based on 200 Crystal Cores, this number seemed both big and small. It was said to be large because by Wang Tao¡¯s current ability to fuse four different types of Crystal Cores, he could at most fuse 40, which was far from 200. It was considered small because, aside from the Orange Crystal Cores Wang Tao fused with a 100% success rate, the Crystal Cores other people fused had a failure rate. And failure also led to impurity accumulation! If someone was to fuse with White Crystal Cores that had only a 20% success rate it would take on average five attempts to succeed just once, meaning t ey wouldneed to use 200 Crystal Cores to successfully fuse 40! If luckwas worse, 200 might not even suffice... So, the viable number of Crystal Cores for fusion wasn¡¯t that high. However, Wang Tao suddenly thought of a problem-since there were Level 1 Crystal Cores, there should also be Level Two, Level 3, and so on. If even Level Crystal Cores accumulated so much Internal Impurity, how would one fuse with higher-level ones? Could it be necessary to fuse fewer Level 1 Cores and more from Level Two? But obviously, that wouldn¡¯t work-if you didn¡¯t increase your strength at Leve 1, you wouldn¡¯t survive to reach Level Two... Wang Tao was puzzled. But his strength wasn¡¯t sufficient yet, so thinking too much was of no use. He decided to focus on the present. ¡°I suspect that fusing a Crystal Core probably accumulates about 0.5% Internal Impurity... so we can¡¯t fuse with more than 200 Crystal Cores...¡± Wang Tao shared his speculation with them. ¡°0.5%... 200 Cores...¡± Their expressions didn¡¯t look too good. Although they felt they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to fuse with that many Crystal Cores, having such a limit made them uncomfortable. ¡°I personally think that we need to set a caution limit. For example, how many Crystal Cores we fuse, or when our Internal Impurity reaches a certain leve ... Otherwise, if we keep fusing without limit, we may truly end up in trouble. Ren Jie spoke out with some concern. Fusing Crystal Cores did increase strength, but the cost was significant, and it seemed irreversible... They discussed it for a while with furrowed brows, and consensus was reached that 50% internal Impurity, which equaled fusing 100 Crystal Cores, was a cautionary point. They agreed to try to keep the Internal Impurity under 50 /?.- However, easier said than done. In an apocalyptic world, without strength, survival was impossible, and increasing strength required fusing more Crystal Cores... This was an unavoidable reality. Watching the others¡¯ worried expressions, Wang Tao clapped his hands, drawing their attention. ¡°Everyone, don¡¯t be disheartened. I have another piece of news to tell you all!¡± ¡°Hmm? Is it good news?¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°No, perhaps it¡¯s even worse news.¡± Everyone:¡±...¡± Could there be news worse than Internal Impurity? ¡°Yesterday, I found a Gorilla Zombie in the hospital-the same one we saw at the old mall. It¡¯s become stronger! But that¡¯s not the main point, the mam thing is, it has actually gone to the hospital!¡± ¡°What? It went to the hospital?¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s complexion changed. He immediately grasped the implication in Wang Tao¡¯s words-the distance between the old mall and the hospital was much farther than from the base. In other words, if the Gorilla Zombie could make it to the hospital, it could possibly reach the base! After pondering for a moment, everyone quickly grasped the crux of the situation. Feng Ming¡¯an looked confused. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this Gorilla-like zombie a Zombie Lord? It should only be active within its own territory, so how could it go to the hospital? -is it possible that it expanded its territory and now considers the hospital part of it...¡± Lu Gang spoke up quietly. The group was momentarily stunned, then Xiang Hongbin exploded with a curse. ¡°Damn! If it¡¯s included the hospital in its territory, could it be thinking of including our base too?¡± Liu He then said: -If it considers our base part of its territory, would we be able to stop it?¡± He wasn¡¯t a combatant and didn¡¯t have a direct sense of the base members¡¯ Combat Power. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say...¡± They all shook their heads. To be fair, Shuize Base¡¯s strength was substantial, mainly because they had quite a few guns. If they were to rely on firepower, it was really hard to predict who would win or lose. But the problem was, if so many guns were used, it would attract an unimaginable number of zombies¡¯. Chapter 217 - 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm_2 Chapter 217: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm_2 Translator: 549690339 | Even if everyone could kill it, if the continuous gunfire attracted all the zombies in the county, would the people in the base still be alive... Moreover, Wang Tao had just said that the gorilla zombie had gotten a lot stronger! If the elite zombies already had so many amazing abilities, then no one would be surprised if it, a Zombie Lord, evolved an ability to block bullets... Boom, boom, boom¡ª Wang Tao tapped on the table, bringing everyone back to their senses. ¡°I think we have two things to do now. One is to find Shao Yong¡¯s whereabouts as quickly as possible. The other is to upgrade our strength as fast as we can¡ª we can¡¯t move the base, so we can only prepare for how to deal with the gorilla zombie when it comes. To combat such zombies, our own strength is crucial...¡± Several people nodded. ¡°As for the matter of the zombie cores, if you trust me, you can give me all the crystal cores in the base to manage. I will work hard to hunt more zombies and arrange appropriate crystal cores for you, striving to fuse all your cores to the limit in a short time!¡± Wang Tao said to the people. The people were somewhat surprised by Wang Tao¡¯s words, but they all nodded. ¡°We naturally trust you, Wang Tao. We¡¯ll leave them in your care! You guys don¡¯t have any objections, right?¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at the people, and they all nodded. Wang Tao was the strongest in combat power and had killed the most elite zombies. He had the most crystal cores and also gave advice and analysis to the people. He was definitely worthy of trust. ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao nodded with satisfaction. The reappearance of the gorilla zombie also gave Wang Tao a strong sense of urgency. He had intended to gradually enhance his teammates¡¯ strength, but now there was no time. He had to speed up the pace. First of all, he needed to get all the zombie crystal cores. Then Wang Tao could take these cores for synthetic fusion. He didn¡¯t have to synthesize epic crystal cores with a 100% success rate¡ªthat would be too fake, and he wasn¡¯t ready to reveal his synthetic ability just yet. But he could synthesize some with 60% or 80% success rate. As long as it was over 50%, the probability of success was higher, and an 80% success rate was virtually no different from 100%¡ªnone of them had ever failed when fusing red crystal cores. This success rate was a very real one, not like some unscrupulous game developers, where a 90% success rate was about the same as 50%, and a 50% success rate was essentially 20%... Some games were even more shameless; as long as it wasn¡¯t 100% success, even at 99%, failure was still possible and not uncommon... Wang Tao had been tricked by this before. Moreover, when Wang Tao synthesized these crystal cores, his goal wasn¡¯t just to raise the success rate, but more importantly, to remove the side effects and impurities! In fact, the base already had quite a few crystal cores, with white and blue ones being the majority. After Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, everyone dared not use them recklessly. Side effects and impurities were like a mountain weighing down on everyone, after all, no one wanted to become monsters or zombies... As for how to explain later... Wang Tao could choose to explain or not. It was the apocalypse now, with all sorts of magical things appearing; there were things that couldn¡¯t be explained. In any case, Wang Tao¡¯s bottom line was to not expose his specific abilities, not to show all his cards. If it really came down to it, he could just attribute it all to good luck and let them guess... Having determined the next route for development, Lu Gang brought all the crystal cores he had been keeping. Looking at this bag of crystal cores and combining them with the ones he already had, Wang Tao felt that he should be able to raise everyone¡¯s abilities to +10! Then, Wang Tao asked about the crystal cores they had each successfully fused so far, what abilities they now possessed, and what was the maximum number of types they could fuse. Wei Zhenguo had only fused two types of crystal cores so far: Rush and Shockwave. He felt he could continue to fuse more, but he wasn¡¯t strong enough yet and might encounter problems. This meant that Wei Zhenguo could fuse at least three types of crystal cores. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s situation was almost identical. He also had fused Rush and Shockwave and could fuse a third type, but not now. However, Xiang Hongbin had fused more crystal cores than Wei Zhenguo and was stronger in combat power. Lu Gang had only fused two crystal cores so far, both being Sprint. He felt that he could also fuse another type without problems. As for Feng Ming¡¯an, there was no need to mention him. He could only fuse one type of core, but his Slime Spitter Ability was already at +3, and he was just seven cores away from +10. Having only one ability made it relatively simple to improve. Ren Jie had fused two cores: Screaming and Self Detonation. He felt that he couldn¡¯t merge any more; two types of cores were his limit. Liu He had only fused one, a Stealth Crystal Core. Ren Jie and Liu He could be temporarily skipped as they were not combat personnel and didn¡¯t need to fuse too many cores. It was better to leave the cores for those in need. The main focus was on Xiang Hongbin, Wei Zhenguo, and Lu Gang; their crystal cores needed to be prepared properly. Including Han Rui, she was also one of the base¡¯s main combat forces and needed to be significantly improved. Wang Tao even thought that the Security Army should all become ability users, and the base¡¯s Hunters should also select some people to become ability users. Theoretically, giving an ordinary person a crystal core to turn them into an ability user would bring more benefits to the base than giving the core to another ability user to enhance their special ability level.. Chapter 218 - 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm_3 Chapter 218: Chapter 124 Internal Impurity Algorithm_3 Translator: 549690339 After all, the combat power difference between Ability Users and ordinary people is huge; it¡¯s a process from 0 to 1. The combat power boost brought by a group of Ability Users is generally greater than that brought by just a few individuals. Of course, high-end combat power is also a must; sometimes, high-end combat power is even more useful than the swarm tactic. So, we must work on both, strengthen both hands! After discussing with everyone again, Wang Tao said: ¡°Next, we all need to kill more Elite Zombies and enhance our strengths, but don¡¯t fuse Crystal Cores. Leave the Crystal Cores to me to handle.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded. The urgency imposed by both Shao Yong¡¯s situation and the gorilla zombie made it so right after the meeting, the combat personnel immediately went out to hunt Elite Zombies. Ren Jie arranged for people to search for Shao Yong¡¯s whereabouts, locate Elite Zombie positions, and more. He also informed everyone about Shao Yong¡¯s situation, advising everyone to be more cautious when venturing out recently. However, Ren Jie also shared a piece of news¡ªthe committee was currently considering the selection of Ability Users, promising a chance of selection for those with good character and strong abilities! The announcement that Shao Yong might still be alive provoked many people to curse. If Shao Yong wasn¡¯t dead and still possessed great strength, then they worried they would have to hide in the base and not venture out like before. Yet, when the news of the committee¡¯s plan to select Ability Users spread, it practically excited everyone. To become an Ability User! That was definitely everyone¡¯s most desired wish at the moment! Currently, only the committee members in the base were Ability Users. Many people had witnessed the combat of Ability Users, such as the powerful abilities like Rush and Shockwave, which were coveted by most. Unfortunately, with their abilities, killing Elite Zombies was too dangerous! Especially when many Elite Zombies were accompanied by a Self-exploder, making it even more difficult. Up until now, except for Han Rui, ordinary people had no way of becoming Ability Users. Thus, the announcement of Ren Jie¡¯s message directly excited many people, especially the Hunters. They felt that their opportunity had arrived. They wanted to go out and kill zombies, to continue increasing their strength and strive for selection! Shao Yong? Shao Yong couldn¡¯t stop them from getting stronger! At worst, they just had to be a little more cautious, stay near the base during operations, and run back if any situation arose... in any case, increasing their strength was a must! They were determined to become Ability Users! As for the Security Army, although excited, they were not overly enthusiastic. After all, they had undergone professional training, and Ren Jie had told them they would be the second batch to become Ability Users after the committee members, essentially confirming their positions. There was no helping it, given their strong abilities and good character. Wang Tao trusted the character of these soldiers. While everyone else got busy, Wang Tao took the Crystal Cores back home. Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t at home; she had gone out with Gao Hua and others to kill zombies in the morning. They were operating around the base, which was relatively safe. Zombies weren¡¯t static forever; once the ones nearby had been killed, new ones would take their place, so there was no end to them. Looking at these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao wanted to first find if there were any he could use. ¡°Toughness, Precision Shooting... not bad!¡± Although there was no Self-healing, having these two types of Crystal Cores was also quite good. He happened to have one of each, so after adding these several Crystal Cores, Wang Tao proceeded with the fusion. A rainbow of lights flashed through the Space Backpack, and 5 Orange Crystal Cores and 1 Red Crystal Core appeared in his hand. The Red Crystal Core was for Precision Shooting, synthesized from two Blue Crystal Cores. Wang Tao planned to give it to Lu Gang for his use. Lu Gang had the best marksmanship in the base and his performance with the bow was not bad either, so the Precision Shooting would suit him well. The rules for Wang Tao¡¯s fusion of Crystal Cores were: addition of Qualities, addition of Purity. The current Level 1 Crystal Cores had 50% Purity, which meant he just needed to fuse two of the same Crystal Cores, and their Purity would become 100%, devoid of any Internal Impurities and thus eliminating any side effects. The side effect of Precision Shooting was terrifying, blinding an eye. Therefore, it was imperative to eliminate this side effect, otherwise not many people would dare to use it. Regarding the chances of success, Wang Tao believed that an 80% success rate would not lead to any mishaps. Orange was too eye-catching, so this Red one was much better. If it did fail, then it could only be said that Lu Gang was incredibly unlucky... The other 5 Orange Crystal Cores consisted of 4 Toughness and 1 Precision Shooting. Wang Tao sequentially put all these Crystal Cores into his mouth. Soon, all 5 Crystal Cores completely fused. Wang Tao¡¯s Toughness Ability had already been fused 6 times before, and with these 4, it reached a total of 10 times, finally maxing out the limit of his Toughness Ability. As for Precision Shooting, he had previously fused it 3 times, making it now just 4 times in total. Wang Tao¡¯s Mana was already at 2500. He only needed 6 more Precision Shooting Crystal Cores and 9 Self-healing Crystal Cores to reach the same 4000 Mana as Shao Yong. However, the Self-healing Crystal Core was even harder to come by than Precision Shooting. Wang Tao planned to make another trip to the hospital, where Elite Zombies, including the Self-healing ones, were abundant. Otherwise, gathering these 9 Crystal Cores from other places would probably be very difficult. Wang Tao then categorized the other Crystal Cores and proceeded with the synthesis. Not all needed to be fused into Orange, fusing two Blue or one White with one Purple to make a Red, one White with Blue to make a Purple, and occasionally fusing a few Orange... Soon, Wang Tao had a bunch of Crystal Cores without any side effects or impurities. Looking at these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao revealed a satisfied expression on his face. Not only could this significantly boost the strength of Wei Zhenguo and others, but it also could create many Ability Users within the base! Even if the gorilla zombie really did come, the base would not be without the power to fight! In the afternoon, Gao Hua suddenly returned. ¡°Big brother, I¡¯ve discovered Shao Yong¡¯s whereabouts!¡± Chapter 219 - 125 Hes Here, Isolation_l Chapter 219: Chapter 125 He¡¯s Here, Isolation_l Translator: 549690339 I ¡°Hmm? Sit down and tell me what happened!¡± Wang Tao personally poured a cup of water for Gao Hua. Glug, glug¡ª Gao Hua drained the large cup of water in one breath, then wiped the sweat off his forehead and hurriedly said: ¡°I heard that Shao Yong wasn¡¯t dead, so I thought he might return. Thus, I went to the old mall early this morning to wait for him, and sure enough, I saw him!¡± ¡°He entered the underground mall furiously, and not long after, he came out even more enraged, killing lots of zombies as if to vent. Then he entered a residential area!¡± ¡°I heard him mention before that he had set up some temporary safe zones outside, and a few houses in this residential area were just that! I didn¡¯t dare to follow any longer, so I immediately came to report to you, big brother!¡± After listening to Gao Hua¡¯s account, Wang Tao¡¯s brow suddenly furrowed: ¡°You mean, you followed him until he entered the residential area? How long did you track him for?¡± ¡°All morning! I have to thank you, big brother, for significantly enhancing my strength. Otherwise, I couldn¡¯t even get near the underground mall, let alone follow him...¡± Gao Hua expressed his sincere gratitude. But there was no smile on Wang Tao¡¯s face; he was entirely serious. ¡°He... has come.¡± ¡°What?¡± Gao Hua was startled, then quickly said, ¡°Big brother, are you talking about Shao Yong? He¡¯s still in the residential area! I saw him enter with my own eyes!¡± ¡°No, he has come, and he followed you here.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°...How can that be? That¡¯s impossible!¡± Gao Hua was still somewhat stunned. ¡°Shao Yong¡¯s perception is very sharp. The chance of not being detected after tracking him for so long is almost impossible.¡± When Wang Tao was near the hospital, he glanced at Shao Yong through a telescope from a distance, and he was noticed. Gao Hua following for so long without being caught? Clearly impossible. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Gao Hua immediately started to panic. Wang Tao then asked: ¡°Did you use the Stealth Potion?¡± Previously, when he volunteered to rescue hostages, Wang Tao had given him some life-saving items, including two bottles of Stealth Potion, one for hiding from people and one for hiding from zombies. However, Gao Hua did not use the potions at the time, and after returning to the base, he offered to give them back to Wang Tao, who refused to take them. After all, as a big brother, how could he reclaim gifts given to his younger brother? It was considered a reward for his sibling. If Gao Hua had used the Stealth Potion that could hide from people, then it might be possible that he wasn¡¯t detected. But Gao Hua shook his head. ¡°No...¡± ¡°Then, how far away were you from him?¡± Gao Hua did not dare to hide anything, thought for a moment, and quickly said: ¡°Probably... about twenty meters?¡± At that distance, without using a Stealth Potion, Wang Tao could be one hundred percent certain that Shao Yong had noticed him. Given Shao Yong¡¯s character, if he had noticed someone tailing him, the fact he did not kill or even capture Gao Hua indicated a particular problem¡ªShao Yong intended to counter-track Gao Hua. Thus, Wang Tao had concluded that Shao Yong had arrived. And he might have already entered the base! Shuize Base was originally established to stop zombies, and only the main gate was guarded by fully armed soldiers, while other areas were protected with high walls and barbed wire to stop the zombies. The high walls could stop zombies, but they would not stop an Ability User! ¡°What should we do now? I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t do it on purpose...¡± Gao Hua was somewhat panicked. After all, the speed with which the underground mall fell, leaving almost no survivors, was to his credit. If Shao Yong had come for revenge, Gao Hua would certainly be the first one! Moreover, if he had truly led Shao Yong into the base, then it would be as dangerous for the entire base as if he had released the zombie virus in the underground mall! Moreover, Shao Yong could be even more dangerous than the virus, as he was now a vengeful man seething with anger! Seeing the anxious Gao Hua, Wang Tao stood up and patted his shoulder. ¡°You needn¡¯t worry too much or blame yourself. Shao Yong had already learned the location of the Shuize Base from those Hunters, so he would¡¯ve found his way here with or without you. What I need to do now is act as if nothing happened, and you should tell no one about this issue; leave the rest to me. Go get some rest, but I suggest you avoid less crowded areas, and it¡¯s best to rest in the office. If there¡¯s any danger, call for help on the walkie-talkie immediately.¡± ¡°...Okay!¡± Gao Hua bowed deeply to Wang Tao with great gratitude, then left with a face full of shame. ¡°Big brother, I¡¯m sorry for causing so much trouble for the base...¡± If he had known that he was detected and followed by Shao Yong, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have returned so quickly. Having finally found a decent Survivor Base, he really didn¡¯t want anything to happen to it. Especially since this incident would surely lower Wang Tao¡¯s opinion of him... He had only just clung onto his big brother¡¯s coattails and he didn¡¯t want to be cast aside! After Gao Hua left, Wang Tao looked out at the greenery outside the window and furrowed his brows in thought. If he were Shao Yong, bent on revenge, upon following Gao Hua to the base, which location would he prioritize visiting? The comprehensive building? The teachers¡¯ apartments? The villa area? The cafeteria? The warehouse... All these places seemed like plausible targets! ¡°Shao Yong... where are you?¡± As Gao Hua walked away from the villa area, his heart was heavy with concern, but he did not show it on his face. After all, Wang Tao had told him not to be too tense, so as not to let Shao Yong know that he was discovered. Otherwise, Shao Yong might act immediately, and both he and the base¡¯s survivors would be in big trouble.. Chapter 220 - 125 He’s Here, Isolation_2 Chapter 220: Chapter 125 He¡¯s Here, Isolation_2 Translator: 549690339 Gao Hua made his way toward his private office inside the comprehensive building. There were nearly six hundred people in Shuize Base now. Though the campus was large, humans are social creatures who don¡¯t like to stray too far, and some areas were closed off, so the survivors¡¯ activities were mostly centered around the comprehensive building area. Gao Hua had always adhered to Wang Tao¡¯s words, making sure to walk where there were more people. Upon seeing the comprehensive building, a sigh of relief escaped Gao Hua. He should be safe now. There was even a moment when he felt Wang Tao might be overreacting. What if Shao Yong hadn¡¯t noticed him? But just then, Gao Hua¡¯s hair stood on end! He felt as if he were being targeted by a venomous snake! This sensation was indescribable, his body trembling, stiffness overtaking him... However, the sensation came and went quickly, as if it lasted less than a second before it completely disappeared! It was as if it had all been an illusion. Gao Hua¡¯s steps were measured as he entered the comprehensive building. Then suddenly, his legs gave out, and he leaned against the wall, his entire back soaked with sweat. ¡°It¡¯s not an illusion, this is no illusion! It¡¯s him, Shao Yong!¡± Gao Hua shouted in his mind. ¡°Minister Gao? What¡¯s wrong?¡± A subordinate from the resource department saw Gao Hua¡¯s pale face and quickly trotted over, asking with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine, maybe because I didn¡¯t eat lunch, my stomach is a bit hungry. Go on with your work.¡± Gao Hua waved his hand. ¡°Alright, Minister Gao.¡± After the other person left, Gao Hua took a deep breath, and then he ascended the stairs to his office at an unhurried pace. Once he reached his private office, he made sure there was no one inside and that all the windows were closed, then he quickly grabbed the walkie-talkie. ¡°I¡¯m Gao Hua, requesting to connect with Commissioner Wang!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie was generally accessible only to a few commissioners, Han Rui, and some staff members; others didn¡¯t have the privilege. After all, as a commissioner, one of the seven highest-ranking officials in the base, if everyone could contact him, he would never get any peace. However, some could request to speak with Wang Tao by contacting the guards of the villa area. This was to prevent any important messages from being overlooked. A moment later, Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through. ¡°I¡¯m Wang Tao, what¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°Big brother, I think I just got targeted! That instant, I almost thought I was dead...¡± Gao Hua wasn¡¯t so much asking for help as he was informing Wang Tao of the situation. Of course, he also harbored a hope for his big brother¡¯s protection. ¡°Where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the office in the comprehensive building!¡± ¡°Hmm, wait there for a while.¡± In the small villa, Wang Tao ended the call. ¡°He¡¯s really come.¡± Wang Tao immediately put on all his gear and then drove to the comprehensive building. On the way there, Wang Tao¡¯s spirit was on high alert, ready to act at any moment. But he didn¡¯t feel watched, nor did he notice anything unusual. After arriving at the comprehensive building, Wang Tao met Gao Hua in the office. ¡°It was like this... I was just about to cross an intersection, there were other people on the road, but not many... it seems like only the road to the north was empty...¡± Gao Hua quickly laid out everything about his encounter, including his mental state at the time and his speculation about where someone might be. After listening to Gao Hua, Wang Tao thought for a moment. The road to the north... the school cafeteria? The teachers¡¯ apartments? ¡°Okay, I understand. Don¡¯t go out from here for now.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Wang Tao then visited the conference room on the top floor, where only Ren Jie was present. ¡°Shao Yong is here.¡± Wang Tao got straight to the point. ¡°What? Where is he!¡± Ren Jie was startled. Besides Wang Tao¡¯s top combat power in the base, everyone else had gone out. If Shao Yong had come at this time, it might not be easy to handle! Wang Tao pointed down to the ground. ¡°Inside the base.¡± ¡°What?¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to be joking, Ren Jie¡¯s face turned somewhat ugly. ¡°He¡¯s inside the base already? That was fast! We were still looking for him, yet he¡¯s come here by himself...¡± If Shao Yong was inside the base, it wouldn¡¯t be a question of whether they could kill him, but whether he would cause destruction or kill survivors inside the base! Shao Yong, an ability user stronger than Wang Tao¡ªif he enacted destruction and indiscriminate killing within the base, they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance! Such combat power was scarier than zombies! Although somewhat panicked, Ren Jie stayed composed. He asked about the specific situation from Wang Tao, and then with a stern face, he said: ¡°He definitely couldn¡¯t have entered through the main gate; after all, we have four guns guarding it. He must have climbed over the wall from somewhere. I¡¯ll send people to patrol the surroundings and see if any clues can be found...¡± ¡°You said you saw him on the northbound road; there¡¯s only the cafeteria and the teachers¡¯ apartments there... Why don¡¯t you check out the cafeteria? I¡¯ll send people to the teachers¡¯ apartments...¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking. But you don¡¯t need to send people over there; to avoid alarming the target, I¡¯ll have Han Rui check it out.¡± ¡°Alright! Then I¡¯ll inform the Security Army to be ready for combat at any time. And then I¡¯ll try to contact Wei Zhenguo and the others to see if we can get through...¡± Ren Jie immediately went to contact others, while Wang Tao got in touch with Han Rui to explain the situation, then drove on another road to the cafeteria. It was now two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, and the cafeteria was already preparing dinner for the day.. Chapter 221 - 125 He’s Here, Isolation 3 Chapter 221: Chapter 125 He¡¯s Here, Isolation 3 Translator: 549690339 In the days without much entertainment, the survivors went to bed early, and naturally, dinner time came early too. ¡°Commissioner Wang!¡± Seeing Wang Tao arrive, the staff members cooking the meal immediately greeted him with respect. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then he said to the person in charge of the canteen: ¡°Is everyone from the canteen staff present today?¡± ¡°All... I¡¯ll go check!¡± The person in charge had wanted to say that everyone was present, but he was unsure of Wang Tao¡¯s intent. What if someone was absent and Wang Tao discovered it? So he quickly gathered everyone and carefully counted them. Only after confirming nobody was missing did he return to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Commissioner Wang, there are a total of 12 people working in the canteen, not one more, not one less, everyone is here! If you have any orders, just command us!¡± ¡°Then, finish up for today.¡± Wang Tao nodded and said. ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Everyone is off work, take a half-day paid leave, all of you go back.¡± ¡°But... today¡¯s dinner isn¡¯t ready yet...¡± The face of the person in charge twisted awkwardly. ¡°Notify everyone that there¡¯s no dinner tonight because the canteen¡¯s machines are broken and can¡¯t be used, and they¡¯ll probably be fixed by tomorrow.¡± ¡°...Yes!¡± The person in charge didn¡¯t know what Wang Tao was up to, but he couldn¡¯t defy the commissioner¡¯s orders. Soon, everyone in the canteen had left. Wang Tao looked at the half-finished, smashed paste, and shook his head. With Gao Hua¡¯s prior poisoning, Wang Tao still took the issue of the zombie virus very seriously. To prevent Shao Yong, who had been to the canteen, from poisoning today¡¯s food, he simply decided it was better for everyone to skip the meal. However, this was still food, and it shouldn¡¯t go to waste. Wang Tao found an empty warehouse, took out the food compressor from his space backpack, and placed all the food into the compressor. Bottles of nutrient fluid came out of the machine, which Wang Tao packed away in his backpack. Just then, his walkie-talkie rang. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve found an ability user!¡± Han Rui¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. There were currently only eight ability users in the entire base, the seven commissioners and Han Rui. If any other survivors became ability users, they would certainly be detected by Han Rui¡¯s perception ability, so there was no way for an ability user to hide their power inside the base. If there was another ability user... there was no need to think about it; it had to be Shao Yong! ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Right outside the teacher¡¯s apartments, in a flower bed! I didn¡¯t dare to approach...¡± ¡°Good, wait forme.¡± Wang Tao immediately drove toward the teacher¡¯s apartments. However, on the way there, Han Rui informed Wang Tao that the ability user had already left. They¡¯d headed toward the restricted area ¡ª the restricted area was a collective term for some sealed-off buildings within the base. There weren¡¯t that many survivors in the base, but the school was large, and not so many places could be inhabited, so some buildings had been sealed off, to be opened up again when more people arrived. Learning that Shao Yong had gone to the restricted area, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he didn¡¯t cause destruction, that was good. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± When Wang Tao arrived at the teacher¡¯s apartments, Han Rui immediately took him to the flower bed. ¡°He was right here before!¡± After the apocalypse, no one tended to the flowerbeds anymore. Enriched by the corrosive acid rain, the flowerbeds had become extremely lush. It was more appropriate to call it a small forest rather than flowerbeds. In the place Han Rui pointed out, amidst a patch of dust, were several large footprints. On the footprints, there were also traces of blood. Wang Tao squatted down and looked at the bright red bloodstains, his eyebrows instantly raising. ¡°His wound hasn¡¯t healed...¡± Shao Yong was critically low on HP, gravely injured. But after three days, Shao Yong¡¯s injury still hadn¡¯t healed, and he was even still bleeding... This could only prove one thing¡ªShao Yong didn¡¯t have a self-healing ¡°Blood Regeneration¡± ability, nor did he have a medical kit or potion to increase his HP! This might also explain why he didn¡¯t directly attack Shuize Base but chose to infiltrate it. However... if it¡¯s about being critically low on HP, then that¡¯s a different story! Wang Tao had previously felt that he might not be a match for Shao Yong in his prime. After merging with some Crystal Cores, Wang Tao felt he was not completely without a fighting chance. Now, seeing that Shao Yong was still critically low on HP, Wang Tao believed¡ªthe advantage is mine! Of course, this was not to say that Wang Tao was underestimating Shao Yong. After all, Shao Yong was an Ability User with 4000 HP and had learned multiple abilities. Moreover, he wasn¡¯t as simple-minded as zombies... so dealing with Shao Yong was much more difficult than with zombies of the same level! ¡°Are you sure he went to the containment area?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°I¡¯m certain, I¡¯ve been watching with my Perception Ability!¡± Han Rui replied. Wang Tao had reminded her before that Shao Yong had very keen senses, so instead of looking directly at him, Han Rui used her Ability to sense him. ¡°Hmm, let me think...¡± Wang Tao pondered for a moment, then came up with a plan. Since Shao Yong had gone to the containment area, Wang Tao would isolate that area! Then, he would have people guard this place! Unless Shao Yong could silently kill all the guards, as long as he dared to move, he would certainly be discovered, and Wang Tao would come out to deal with him. Wang Tao was not afraid of Shao Yong himself, as he was currently low on HP. Wang Tao feared the destruction he could cause while lurking inside the base. After all, no one can be on guard against a thief every day. Of course, while Wang Tao was not afraid, there was no need to enter the containment area to look for him, as it would be easy to fall into a trap. It was better to let him come out on his own. But this was under one condition: They could not let Shao Yong suspect that he had been discovered. Otherwise, if he were to throw caution to the wind... even if he were eventually killed, he could take many people down with him! So, there needed to be a coincidence... That¡¯s it! Wang Tao told Han Rui to keep monitoring Shao Yong while he went to find Ren Jie. ¡°Just as I thought, our patrol found that the wire fence at the northeast corner of the base has been damaged!¡± Ren Jie immediately spoke upon seeing Wang Tao. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s perfect!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do...¡± Wang Tao briefly shared the plan with Ren Jie, then left the base. By the afternoon, suddenly a few Mad Demon Zombies crawled in through this gap in the wire fence! The survivors inside the base instantly panicked, but at that moment, Wei Zhenguo and his team happened to return! Luckily, they arrived in time, preventing casualties. However, two Mad Demon Zombies ran into the containment area and couldn¡¯t be found for a time... Therefore, Wei Zhenguo announced on the spot that the committee had decided to immediately shrink the base area, abandoning those containment zones! They would build a new wall right here! The Shuize Base was a bit too large, making it prone to oversights, like this broken wire fence that no one knew when it had been damaged, nearly causing a disaster. So, for the sake of safety, shrinking the base was quite sensible. That very night, a wall made of wire mesh, wood, and bricks was built by hundreds of people, isolating the containment area completely.. Chapter 222 - 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_l Chapter 222: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_l Translator: 549690339 Evening. At the top floor of the comprehensive building, inside the committee meeting room, several members who had gone out had returned, and they were also aware of the news that Shao Yong had infiltrated the base. ¡°Are we really okay with doing this...?¡± Feng Ming¡¯an voiced his uncertainty. He was actually still a bit confused because he was the last to return, and as soon as he arrived, he was asked to cooperate with Wang Tao, and after unwittingly playing his part in Wang Tao¡¯s plan, Ren Jie told him the reason. ¡°Wang Tao and I have analyzed it, and there shouldn¡¯t be any big problems!¡± Ren Jie said with a smile. No sooner had he finished speaking than they heard the door open. Everyone turned to look, and it was Wang Tao. ¡°Has there been any trouble inside the base?¡± Wang Tao walked in with long strides, his face mask not yet removed. ¡öWe have dealt with those Mad Demon Zombies, there have been no casualties, and the containment zone has been isolated. Even though that wall definitely can¡¯t stop Shao Yong, as long as he emerges, we will undoubtedly spot him!¡± Wei Zhenguo spoke up. ¡°Great! I estimate that he won¡¯t show up tonight.¡± Wang Tao removed his mask, grinning. In dealing with the issue of Shao Yong, he had previously thought of a method¡ªto isolate Shao Yong in the containment zone. As long as Shao Yong couldn¡¯t hide among the survivors, everyone would have plenty of time to deal with him. Otherwise, they would be hamstrung. But they couldn¡¯t let Shao Yong know that he had been discovered because with his abilities, if he wanted to make a desperate move, it would be easy for him to randomly take a few lucky audience members with him. So they had to isolate Shao Yong unknowingly, and this required an accident. And that accident would be the zombies! It just so happened that when Shao Yong infiltrated, he damaged the barbed wire on top of a high wall. Wang Tao then planned to use this gap to throw a few zombies into the base-zombies appeared inside the base, and then the survivors reduced their range, cutting off those useless areas, and erected a new wall. Isn¡¯t that logical? However, there was a small accident-the two Mad Demon Zombies had run into the containment zone! But this accident turned out to be perfect for the base. Zombies were lurking in the containment zone, and their whereabouts were unknown. For the base to abandon the containment zone was reasonable, wasn¡¯t it? After all, there were no survivors in the containment zone. Thus, the construction of the wall began, and many people also guarded alongside the wall to prevent zombies from entering. Not only that, but other areas of the base also had personnel on duty. Tonight, nearly all of the hundreds of people in the entire base went without rest. With so many eyes watching, if Shao Yong appeared, he would definitely be exposed. Now that the committee members had all returned, it was the time when the base¡¯s strength was at its peak. At this moment, everyone was not afraid of Shao Yong showing up; on the contrary, they feared he wouldn¡¯t appear. As long as he did, with all the Ability Users teaming up, they were absolutely sure to defeat Shao Yong! Shao Yong was strong, but from the fact that he chose not to kill or set fires after infiltrating the base and instead continued to lie low, two things could be inferred¡ª First, Shao Yong had a big ambition and did not want to reveal himself before achieving his goal. Second, Shao Yong was seriously injured, and he was not sure he could handle all the people in the base. He wanted revenge, but he did not want to perish with his enemies; he wanted to come out in one piece. Thus, Wang Tao thought that before achieving his goal, Shao Yong likely wouldn¡¯t reveal himself willingly. As long as he did dare to reveal himself, the united front of the base¡¯s people could definitely defeat him without any problem. Indeed, Wang Tao¡¯s guess was correct. After isolating the containment zone, there was no disturbance from that area. Shao Yong¡¯s goal had not yet been achieved, and he did not know he had been exposed, so he chose to continue hiding! And as long as he didn¡¯t go for a do-or-die approach, by tomorrow, when everyone was prepared, it would be the end for Shao Yong! ¡°Wang Tao, did you encounter any problems while capturing zombies outside?¡± Lu Gang asked with some concern. Wang Tao had returned later than expected. ¡°A few minor issues, all resolved.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand nonchalantly. He had originally planned to catch a few Ordinary Zombies. With his current strength, going out with an iron chain to catch zombies was a piece of cake. But then Wang Tao gave it some more thought and realized that Ordinary Zombies wouldn¡¯t be appropriate since it¡¯s commonly known that Ordinary Zombies can¡¯t climb walls. If Shao Yong saw the zombies, he might suspect how these zombies got there. For the sake of caution, Wang Tao decided to catch a few Mad Demon Zombies. He then made some noise-not too big, not too small-just enough to attract over a dozen Mad Demon Zombies. Wang Tao was afraid of a large-scale attack by Mad Demon Zombies, but these dozen or so were not a problem. He easily killed some and then tied up a few with the iron chain. After Wei Zhenguo indicated they were ready, he threw these Mad Demon Zombies into the base through the gap left by Shao Yong¡¯s destruction. At that moment, when Wang Tao was preparing to return, the noise he made earlier not only attracted the Mad Demon Zombies but also drew three Elite Zombies. An Self-exploder, a Stubborn, and a Police Zombie. Adhering to the principle of not wasting, Wang Tao decided to deal with the three Elite Zombies, which caused some delay. After killing the three Elite Zombies, Wang Tao¡¯s HP had reached [3740/3740]. Just over two hundred more to reach 4000 HP. The power of 4000 HP would certainly be much stronger than he was now, but Wang Tao had no time to search for Elite Zombies anymore. He had to deal with Shao Yong quickly, or it would be troublesome if Shao Yong managed to escape. Honestly, Shao Yong coming along with Gao Hua was not a problem, but an opportunity... Chapter 223 - 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_2 Chapter 223: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Everyone head back and get a good night¡¯s sleep. Tomorrow morning, we¡¯ll take him down together!¡± Wang Tao said to the crowd. ¡°Understood!¡± The group nodded. ¡°Oh right, I forgot something.¡± Wang Tao took out some shimmering Crystal Cores. ¡°These are the Crystal Cores I¡¯ve prepared for you all. Take the opportunity to fuse with them today.¡± After Wang Tao collected all the Crystal Cores at the base, he synthesized them with his own. However, he didn¡¯t create any Orange Crystal Cores; the synthesis was all Purple and Red ones. Although they weren¡¯t Orange, the success rate for the Purple and Red ones was quite high, and what¡¯s more, these had no side effects or impurities, making them better than the Ordinary Orange Crystal Cores! Once everyone had fused with these Crystal Cores, their strength would be greatly enhanced, and dealing with Shao Yong tomorrow would be much safer. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t reveal all the Crystal Cores at once. He only brought out a portion, which were the ones the group had fused with before. Upon seeing Wang Tao suddenly bring out so many Crystal Cores, all of them Purple and Red, the committee members were immediately taken aback. If they remembered correctly, weren¡¯t all the Crystal Cores that Wang Tao took from the base White and Blue? Did the quality just upgrade to Purple and Red after passing through his hands? But no one thought that Wang Tao could synthesize Crystal Cores¡ªit wasn¡¯t a normal thing to consider. They figured Wang Tao must have killed a lot of Elite Zombies outside and that these were the Crystal Cores he had accumulated, now being distributed to everyone for their use! This deeply moved everyone. Wang Tao had given so much for them, for this base! After all, the value of these Purple and Red Crystal Cores was much higher than those of the Blue and White ones! ¡°Thank you!¡± There was nothing much to say. They could only express their sincere gratitude. ¡°Haha, let¡¯s all do our best to resolve Shao Yong easily and smoothly tomorrow!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± The group nodded, each taking the Crystal Cores they needed and went to rest. Wang Tao returned home and contacted Han Rui to ask about the situation. Han Rui had indeed discovered something. ¡°I sensed that Shao Yong sneakily came out to check, and then he went back to the restricted area...¡± ¡°He¡¯s quite shrewd. As long as we¡¯re sure he hasn¡¯t escaped, that¡¯s fine. You¡¯ve had a tough day, so you don¡¯t have to engage in tomorrow¡¯s fight. You should rest for the day,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s not tough at all. Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m also part of the base!¡± After ending the conversation with Han Rui, Wang Tao briefly explained the situation to Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin was still in the dark; she actually believed that zombies had appeared inside the base¡ªnot just her, aside from the few committee members, Han Rui, and Gao Hua, no one else knew about Shao Yong. So Ding Yuqin was somewhat panicked. She was very satisfied with the base and really didn¡¯t want to move again... Now, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, she finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°As long as the base is safe, that¡¯s good...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, let¡¯s go to sleep,¡± he said. ¡°Okay!¡± Atop an academic building within the restricted zone, a burly man dressed in ragged clothes and bandages stained with blood was keenly observing the survivors inside the base. He stuck out his somewhat elongated tongue and licked his cracked lips, his eyes brimming with malicious intent. ¡°All of you people will become my slaves!¡± He was Shao Yong. Shao Yong felt that he had been very unlucky lately. He was first trapped in the hospital while killing zombies because he ventured too deep¡ªactually, he still didn¡¯t understand what exactly had happened back then! Facing the Elite Zombies, which he could usually deal with quite swiftly, he suddenly felt very fatigued that day and, most importantly, his strength had diminished significantly! Because his strength had decreased too much, not only did he fail to eliminate the threat, but he almost got caught as well! Under such urgent circumstances, he had no choice but to use a handgun that he had obtained as a trophy after killing a police officer. The gunshot attracted all the zombies in the hospital. Although he found a safe place to hide, he was trapped and couldn¡¯t get out. With no other options, Shao Yong had to call for help. However, the rescuers he called for were also trapped, and besides, several of them died... Although the few remaining people regrouped with Shao Yong, they were still trapped, so what was the point? Luckily, there¡¯s strength in numbers, especially as Shao Yong¡¯s power slowly returned. Eventually, they found another opportunity and managed to break free from the hospital. Of course, it didn¡¯t come without a cost. The cost was that all of the Ability Users who came to his aid died, leaving only him to escape. But to him, that didn¡¯t matter. Subordinates were just subordinates. If they died, they died. Even though they were Ability User subordinates and their deaths were a bit of a waste, they were just Ability Users after all! You could find several loyal minions, give them a Crystal Core to eat, and that¡¯s it. As for whether it¡¯s suitable or whether the side effects are too severe, that¡¯s not something he would consider¡ªwhy would he think about how his minions feel when he doesn¡¯t care himself? That¡¯s impossible. After all, he only needed to know that when he offers a Crystal Core, there will be a bunch of people ready to bow down at his feet... Shao Yong had finally escaped the hospital, but once he came out, he was infuriated to find that his car had been plundered by the survivors! Not only were all the various weapons and supplies gone, they even took the freaking car key! Chapter 224 - 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_3 Chapter 224: Chapter 126 Unlucky Shao Yong_3 Translator: 549690339 What pissed him off even more was that not only had his car keys gone missing, but the car keys of his underlings had vanished as well! As for other cars on the road, once drenched by the corrosive acid rain, they were essentially piles of scrap metal, completely undrivable. Without cars, getting back to the base was no easy feat, especially since he was being chased by many zombies. He really wanted to vent, and at that time, he felt someone watching him, he almost charged over there. But reason prevailed, just in case the other party was also an Ability User, in his current severely injured state, he might not be a match. And with many fierce zombies in the hospital, if he got surrounded by these zombies, he would only have one way out¡ªdeath... What followed was a long and arduous flight, but after a considerable struggle, he finally made it home. To his shock¡ªthe home was no more! All the doors of the underground mall were wide open, and zombies moved in and out as if it was their own place. Though Shao Yong was injured, dealing with these Ordinary zombies was not a problem, but when he charged into the base and saw the devastation, his last sliver of hope was dashed. He naturally had no affection for the people in the base. But with no one left, who was going to serve him! Especially those female slaves, those toys, he liked them so much, he felt he couldn¡¯t live without these things! He had to take revenge! Because he could tell that there were signs of survivors fighting here. After all, if it was a zombie attack, zombies couldn¡¯t possibly unlock the doors and rescue the slaves from his cages, right? And as to who was behind this, the first he thought of was Shuize Base. Although he had offended many people, they either became his slaves or were tormented to death by him; he never left any enemies alive. There was only one exception, and that was Shuize Base. He knew that Shuize Base was too strong; he couldn¡¯t defeat it. However, he also silently noted Shuize Base, and given the chance, he would definitely not let it go. After all, someone from Shuize Base had killed his little brother Cao Xin, and the woman Cao Xin had given him, he was very pleased with her. For this reason alone, he had to avenge his little brother. Before he was trapped, he had just caught a group of Shuize Base survivors. Overjoyed, Shao Yong tortured these people ruthlessly, then prepared to use them to trade with Shuize Base for some Crystal Cores. The result was, before the trade could take place, he got trapped... Looking at the current situation, he had reason to suspect that Shuize Base had taken advantage of his absence and made a strong attackto rescue the people. But he was still not certain, he planned to find a place to recover from his injuries first, and once his wounds healed, he would pay a visit to Shuize Base. And just as he was preparing to leave, he suddenly felt someone spying on him! Then he discovered Gao Hua. Truth be told, he never thought Gao Hua would betray him, because Gao Hua was just to his taste! They shared a lot in common, and he was even thinking of making Gao Hua his deputy later on! But then he encountered Gao Hua-everyone else was dead, but Gao Hua wasn¡¯t. Not only had he not died, but he was also secretly tracking him! Any fool could see what this meant. Shao Yong was furious, but he still had his wits about him. He knew that killing Gao Hua right then would be useless; he needed to find out where Gao Hua lived, then slowly torture Gao Hua and his friends and family! And so, Shao Yong followed Gao Hua to Shuize Base. Upon seeing Shuize Base, Shao Yong muttered to himself that it really was this place, and he had to settle both old and new scores together! Thus, Shao Yong found a spot where the defenses were lax and broke into the base by climbing over the iron wire fence at the top of the high wall. Looking at how large the base was, with so many women, Shao Yong was envious; he had his sights on this place, he wanted to make it his kingdom! But Shuize Base was powerful, with many members of the Security Army wielding automatic rifles. In his current low HP state, he definitely couldn¡¯t dodge bullets. Not to mention there were Ability Users here too. He had to be cautious, not show himself right away, and first let chaos erupt within the base! As long as there was chaos, he would have his chance! Then Shao Yong thought of a plan-he added some zombie blood into the food in the base¡¯s cafeteria. However, he didn¡¯t add too much, after all, he only wanted the base to descend into chaos, not for all these survivors to die-these were all his intended slaves. But he waited until the afternoon without witnessing any disorder at the base. This puzzled him, could it be that tonight, no one in the entire base had dinner? That couldn¡¯t be right! There wasn¡¯t a lack of food, and it was impossible for the cafeteria to have only prepared tomorrow¡¯s food, right? Shao Yong started to wonder if he had added too little zombie blood... But it wasn¡¯t a big issue, he had already infiltrated the place, he had plenty of opportunities! And then, in the evening, suddenly some zombies ran into the base. From his vantage point, Shao Yong could clearly see that they were Mad Demon Zombies capable of climbing walls, and it seemed they had entered from the spot in the fence he had previously damaged. This excited Shao Yong, could his unintended act have unexpectedly lent a great hand? But just as luck would have it, the Ability Users from the base had just returned. This left Shao Yong feeling a bit disappointed, it seemed there would be no ¡°zombie crisis¡± after all. However, he quickly felt a surge of anger and helplessness-two of the Mad Demon Zombies had actually run towards his location! Although he easily killed the two Mad Demon Zombies, it seemed like they had caused panic within the base, with the survivors talking about downsizing the base and rebuilding the walls! Then, a significant number of people were dispatched to defend the area, effectively isolating the zone he was in! Shao Yong:¡±...¡± Two Mad Demon Zombies hiding in the base would cause anyone to panic, but Shao Yong couldn¡¯t go out and say that he had already killed these two, could he... He watched helplessly as a makeshift high wall was erected, isolating him on the outside. The wall wasn¡¯t the issue; he could climb over it at any time. The problem was the people standing guard behind the wall... He didn¡¯t want to expose himself at this time! Just as Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel confident in dealing with him, he felt the same way about confronting Wang Tao and his people! No choice, he had to wait. He planned to wait a little longer and look for another opportunity to infiltrate again. As for whether this quarantine was specifically targeting him, he didn¡¯t even have to think about it to know it was impossible-everything had happened right before his eyes; he had seen it for himself, how could it be fake? Moreover, his actions were flawless, he couldn¡¯t have possibly left any handle for them to grab onto! The next day. Shao Yong, who had finally managed to get some peaceful sleep, suddenly felt there was some noise outside the door. Groggily, Shao Yong sat up. He wasn¡¯t fully awake yet, his instinct made him think he was still outdoors, and the noise outside might be caused by zombies... Then. Bang! The door was kicked open. Two firefighter axes flew straight at his face! Chapter 225 - 127 Killed Twice_l Chapter 225: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_l Translator: 549690339 At dawn, Shuize Base. A fully armed group quietly entered the restricted zone. ¡°rm still a bit nervous...¡± Feng Ming¡¯ an took a deep breath. It was mainly because Wang Tao had described Shao Yong to be extremely formidable, and he had never fought against someone this powerful, so he felt somewhat uncertain. ¡°No need to worry, when I say he¡¯s formidable, I meant in his full peak state. Now that he¡¯s heavily injured, he¡¯s no match for us!¡± Wang Tao whispered reassurances. Gauging Shao Yong¡¯s HP levels, Wang Tao felt that he alone could defeat him. But since they had the advantage in numbers, there was no need to fight one- on-one¡ªa group attack was more appropriate. ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s upstairs?¡± Xiang Hongbin took out a firefighter axe and then asked. ¡°Positive!¡± Han Rui and her team had monitored the restricted zone all night yesterday, and they hadn¡¯t seen anyone leave. Shao Yong was surely still inside. Even more, Han Rui had located the exact building where Shao Yong was! ¡°It¡¯s this place...¡± Han Rui pointed at a teaching building and spoke. Wang Tao had originally wanted Han Rui to rest during the day since she had been busy all night, but Han Rui said she felt quite energized and wanted to join in, as this was a rare battle opportunity. Seeing she was indeed in good spirits, Wang Tao agreed. When everyone cautiously approached the building, they suddenly froze. There were two Mad Demon Zombie bodies at the base of the building! ¡°Could it be that Shao Yong... did this on purpose to lure us in? Looking at the bodies, the group grew suspicious. They could all guess that the two escaped Mad Demon Zombies had likely gone to find Shao Yong, and those two Mad Demon Zombies were certainly no match for him. But the question was, why wouldn¡¯t Shao Yong hide the corpse after killing the zombie? How could he possibly leave it lying at the foot of his own building. The clue seemed way too obvious. Shao Yong was a smart man; he couldn¡¯t be that careless. This seemed more like a trap... Even Wang Tao was beginning to have doubts. Could it be that Shao Yong knew he had been discovered and was setting a trap? ¡°Let¡¯s do this, we¡¯ll go in first, and let Han Rui use her Perception Ability...¡± Before the mission started, Wang Tao had already informed everyone about Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability. They were surprised but also found it reasonable -without such an impressive ability, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t have kept her with him all this time. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded and carefully approached the building entrance. The group had intended to enter through a window, but they found the main door open too, the lock violently destroyed. These doors had been locked when the area was sealed off. Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability was a three-dimensional skill, but the range of perception was greater horizontally than vertically, and became shorter with vertical distance. Moreover, factors like wall thickness could also affect her ability. Therefore, she needed to get a bit closer to perceive anything. The teaching building had six floors, and from the fourth floor, Han Rui could ¡± see¡± clearly what was on the sixth floor. ¡°He¡¯s still inside! Alive!¡± After reaching the fourth floor, Han Rui immediately spoke up. Phew¡ª Han Rui¡¯s certainty gave everyone a sigh of relief. As long as he was still there, they would take on whatever he had in store! The group silently reached the sixth floor without any incidents. Wang Tao frowned slightly. ¡°Could it be that this is not a trap at all, and Shao Yong really was just careless?¡± According to what Gao Hua had said before, Shao Yong was also a clever man... Despite the confusion, they had come all this way, and they couldn¡¯t possibly let Shao Yong go. After letting Han Rui confirm which room Shao Yong was in, the group made a brief arrangement. A classroom had two doors, front and back. Shao Yong¡¯s position was at the corner by the front door where he could see both doors. Wang Tao and a few others were near the front door closer to Shao Yong, while Wei Zhenguo was alone at the back door. Once arranged, everyone took a deep breath, then Xiang Hongbin kicked the door open with one foot! Bang! The moment the door opened, Wang Tao threw two firefighter axes at Shao Yong¡¯s position! Han Rui and Lu Gang also shot an arrow each at Shao Yong¡¯s position. Purrcht! One axe accurately chopped into Shao Yong¡¯s chest, but he was protected by a steel plate there, and the axe was bounced off. The other was deflected by Shao Yong¡¯s arm, which also had a steel plate strapped to it. The arrows, on the other hand, hit Shao Yong in the left upper arm and right thigh-areas that were unprotected, and they embedded firmly into the flesh. Shao Yong, who was somewhat dazed initially, snapped to alertness in an instant! ¡°Ah-¡± He roared and lifted two metal desks from beneath him, hurling them towards the door. Crash¡ª The group quickly dodged aside. As the desks hit the ground, Wang Tao was preparing to throw another Flying Axe when he saw Shao Yong suddenly pick up the axe he¡¯d just thrown and hurl it back towards the door. ¡°Dammit!¡± Wang Tao had forgotten that Shao Yong also had a strong throwing ability. Bang! Xiang Hongbin took the brunt of it, getting knocked down by the two axes. He was hit because he, too, had a steel plate strapped to his chest-though the plate stopped the axe, the massive impact knocked Xiang Hongbin to the ground. ¡°Pfft-¡± Xiang Hongbin spat out a mouthful of blood, his face in shock. ¡°Damn, that¡¯s some serious strength!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an hurriedly pulled Xiang Hongbin back up. At the back door, Wei Zhenguo suddenly launched a Rush! Roar Boom Boom! Bang! He smashed straight through the wooden door and rammed fiercely into Shao Yong. Chapter 226 - 127 Killed Twice_2 Chapter 226: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_2 Translator: 549690339 Whoosh¡ª Shao Yong was sent flying and got pinned against the corner by Wei Zhenguo, unable to move! Seizing the opportunity, everyone rushed in. Wang Tao and his group were about to go over to help subdue Shao Yong, but with a roar of rage, Shao Yong suddenly pushed Wei Zhenguo away. He seemed to have undergone a Rejuvenation, as the weariness from his injuries vanished in an instant. Wang Tao quickly checked his HP. HP [704/4110] Mana [1690/4000] He was still critically wounded, and his HP hadn¡¯t recovered at all! Wang Tao immediately thought of a ¡°Rejuvenation¡± Crystal Core he had seen before. [Rejuvenation: Consumes a certain amount of Energy to instantly restore full Physical Strength and Spirit] Only Shao Yong¡¯s Physical Strength and Spirit had recovered, his HP was still critical. Seeing this, Wang Tao sent a Shockwave directly at him. Bang¡ª The Shockwave hit Shao Yong in an instant. However, Shao Yong unexpectedly pulled out a homemade steel Shield from behind him. [-129] The Shockwave hit the steel Shield and, although most of the Energy was absorbed by the steel plate, some still managed to hit Shao Yong, causing him to lose over a hundred HP. Shao Yong suddenly looked up at Wang Tao and, with his mouth wide open, a slender tongue shot out at Wang Tao like an arrow. Having seen the unusual look of Shao Yong¡¯s tongue and considering the Loose Tongue Ability, Wang Tao had been on guard for this trick. Wang Tao instantly activated Precision Shooting and then chopped at the air with his axe. This chop was seemingly at nothing, but Shao Yong¡¯s tongue struck the blade as if magnetically attracted, colliding with Wang Tao¡¯s axe. Clang¡ª A sound akin to metal striking metal rang out, and Wang Tao felt as if he had hit a steel bar. ¡°It¡¯s so hard!¡± But being hard doesn¡¯t mean it can¡¯t feel pain. Shao Yong instantly retracted his tongue, with a trickle of fresh blood leaking from his mouth. He glared fiercely at Wang Tao, unable to understand how Wang Tao could have anticipated his Attack in advance! But now wasn¡¯t the time to think too much about it; he immediately grabbed his Shield and rushed toward Wang Tao. He could sense that Wang Tao was the strongest among these people. If he could just kill Wang Tao, the others wouldn¡¯t pose a threat! Watching Shao Yong charge toward him, Wang Tao quietly activated the Ability that came with his equipment set. Rush! Bang- In an instant, the two collided. Just as fast as Shao Yong had charged, he was sent flying back at the same speed. He even crashed through a wall and landed in another classroom. Wang Tao grabbed the dazed Shao Yong, then with a fierce tug- The beefier Shao Yong was thrown over Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder and slammed hard onto the ground. Bang¡ª ¡°Ugh-¡± Then Feng Ming¡¯an, who had been ready for a while, released a mouthful of Slime Spitter. A large amount of white slime erupted from his mouth, covering Shao Yong¡¯s body in an instant. Shao Yong struggled for a moment, then quickly became still. Not dead, but completely immobilized by the slime. Looking at Shao Yong¡¯s eyes, which were glaring hatefully at him, Wang Tao felt like laughing. Shao Yong¡¯s Strength was great, but Wang Tao¡¯s Strength was not small either. How could Shao Yong¡¯s ordinary Rush with a Shield compare to WangTao¡¯s Ability? And fortunately for Shao Yong, with his strong physical constitution and carrying a steel Shield, otherwise, Wang Tao¡¯s Rush might have killed him on the spot! The battle had some complications, but everyone was satisfied with the outcome. The plan was to try and capture him alive if possible; if not, a direct kill was the option. Now, it seemed their luck wasn¡¯t bad, and they had truly captured Shao Yong alive! After all, Shao Yong had mercilessly killed members of their base. Capturing him alive was best, so they could bring him before all the survivors for execution! ¡°You beast, we finally caught you! You¡¯re dead meat, I¡¯m telling you!¡± Xiang Hongbin, clutching his chest, cursed as he walked over. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to fall into your hands; I don¡¯t accept this... Shao Yong opened his mouth with some difficulty. He felt his head was heavy; his vision was double, and even his thoughts were, half a beat slower. His limbs weren¡¯t quite responding to his brain... If it wasn¡¯t for these negative states he was in, he believed he might not have lost! He didn¡¯t accept defeat! Xiang Hongbin kicked him viciously a couple of times, then revealed a cruel smile. ¡°You¡¯ll accept it soon enough!¡± Wang Tao searched Shao Yong¡¯s backpack while keeping an eye on his HP. HP [104/4110] He was on the verge of death; just about anyone could kill him now. However, upon seeing the percentage of Internal Impurity in Shao Yong¡¯s body, Wang Tao frowned. [Internal Impurity: 85%] It was 70% before, wasn¡¯t it? It¡¯s reached 85% in just a few days? What had he been doing lately? Feeling somewhat puzzled, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dwell on it. The man was as good as dead anyway. And Wang Tao planned to thoroughly interrogate Shao Yong to learn about the situation inside the hospital. Feng Ming¡¯an was quite skilled at interrogation; he should be able to get some information out of him. Everyone was ready to carry Shao Yong away along with the solidified slime. But Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows. He noticed that Shao Yong¡¯s HP bar was flickering! Human survivors¡¯ HP bars are green, while zombies¡¯ HP bars are red. Wang Tao could distinguish whether one was a human or a zombie by the color of the HP bar. But at this moment, Shao Yong¡¯s HP bar was alternating between green and red! When Wang Tao saw black veins slowly appearing in Shao Yong¡¯s eyes filled with hatred, he was shocked. ¡°Oh no!¡± Without a second thought, a Surgical Knife manifested in his hand. And before anyone else could react, he threw it. Thwack! The Surgical Knife plunged directly into Shao Yong¡¯s eye socket. Chapter 227 - 127 Killed Twice_3 Chapter 227: Chapter 127 Killed Twice_3 Translator: 549690339 (-204] [0/4110] Shao Yong¡¯s HP hit zero, instantly killed. Wang Tao conveniently picked up the package Shao Yong dropped¡ªwithin three meters, Wang Tao could collect the spoils of war. But the others were somewhat flabbergasted. ¡°Wang Tao, you...¡± Weren¡¯t we supposed to take Shao Yong back for interrogation and then execute him in front of the survivors? Why did you suddenly kill him? ¡°He was turning into a zombie¡ªfuck!¡± Wang Tao was about to explain when, before he could finish his sentence, he saw the dead Shao Yong suddenly lift his head. ¡°Roar ¡± With a furious roar, its muscles swelled, and black veins covered its face and neck. Then, with a bang, the hardened white slime on its body shattered instantly. Whoosh The impact threw everyone into the air, slamming them against the wall. ¡°Hehe...¡± Shao Yong stood up, licked its elongated tongue, and emitted a chilling growl from its mouth. ¡°What the hell!¡± The crowd was horrified. Shao Yong had turned into a zombie! And this zombie was clearly stronger than Shao Yong had been in life! ¡°Didn¡¯t I shoot him in the head? How could this be ¡± Wang Tao could barely believe it, but when he saw the HP bar of zombie Shao Yong, he was taken aback. [404/5000] After turning into a zombie, Shao Yong¡¯s maximum HP rose to 5000! But he was critically wounded! Shao Yong, with its one remaining eye, glared fiercely at Wang Tao, as if it retained some memories from its life. It was when Wang Tao saw Shao Yong¡¯s face, especially the surgical knife sticking out of Shao Yong¡¯s left eye socked that an idea flashed through Wang Tao¡¯s mind. ¡°Could it be... the surgical knife was thrust into Shao Yong¡¯s brain but not all the way through? ¡± Dead people can become zombies, but as long as the brain is destroyed, they won¡¯t turn into zombies. Although the principle is unknown, that is the reality. Previously, when Wang Tao saw Shao Yong¡¯s HP bar flashing continuously, he speculated that Shao Yong might turn into a zombie. In a panic, Wang Tao instantly activated his Precision Shooting skill, then took out a surgical knife from his Space Backpack and threw it, successfully piercing Shao Yong¡¯s eye socket and killing Shao Yong. Only, this injury could kill Shao Yong the human, but not Shao Yong the zombie! Hence Shao Yong became a zombie again. But since the surgical knife penetrated the brain, it might have damaged Shao Yong¡¯s brain, which led to Shao Yong becoming a critically wounded zombie! It¡¯s well-known, the brain is the zombie¡¯s core. A zombie can live with just a head. So it makes sense for Shao Yong, a zombie with a damaged brain, to be critically wounded! Wang Tao had many thoughts flash through his mind, but in reality, it was all in an instant. Zombie Shao Yong, now over two meters tall, lowered its head to look at Wang Tao, and then it suddenly opened its mouth, its elongated tongue shooting toward Wang Tao like a sword. Bang! Wang Tao chopped at zombie Shao Yong¡¯s tongue with his axe once again. [-46] [358/5000] The tongue quickly retracted. ¡°Never learns!¡± Wang Tao, looking at zombie Shao Yong, suddenly cracked a smile. Just a zombie with 5000 HP, what¡¯s the big deal! Zombie Shao Yong, as if it knew Wang Tao was not to be trifled with, or perhaps recalling some residual memory, suddenly turned and ran outside. ¡°Don¡¯t let it get away! It¡¯s badly injured!¡± Wang Tao roared and immediately gave chase. The crowd had just been frightened by zombie Shao Yong; after all, they had never seen a zombie break free from Slime Spit! Especially with zombie Shao Yong¡¯s size having expanded, and its considerable increase in height, it looked terrifying. The unknown is always scary. Shao Yong was strong to begin with, but only because it was injured were they able to take it down easily. But as a zombie, injured or not, it made no difference. Which is why everyone was a bit worried. However, after seeing Zombie Shao Yong exchange blows with Wang Tao before fleeing, and hearing that Wang Tao said Zombie Shao Yong was seriously injured, the group immediately got fired up! An Elite Zombie with low HP? They definitely had to chase it down! Zombie Shao Yong ran downstairs, with Wang Tao closely pursuing him, and the others chasing Wang Tao. When Zombie Shao Yong reached the third floor, he suddenly charged towards a window. Crash He shattered the glass and security bars, falling straight to the ground below. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even think; he just jumped out after him. With Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition, jumping down from the third floor was basically no problem. Zombie Shao Yong smashed into the ground, creating a crater. He rolled, dissipating some of the impact, then, as if sensing something, suddenly turned its head, only to see a dark shadow landing squarely on its own. Squish! [-358] [0/5000] Thud The massive body of Zombie Shao Yong crashed to the ground. ¡°Huff¨C Huff ¡± Wang Tao got off Zombie Shao Yong¡¯s body and took a deep breath. That thing could really run; he almost didn¡¯t catch it. Luckily, he managed a one-hit kill with a Precise Airdrop in the end. However, after killing Zombie Shao Yong, Wang Tao suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him. Only then did he realize, after the fact, that his HP had exceeded four thousand? Since Shao Yong was dealt with, Wang Tao could sleep peacefully, but he suddenly thought of the Rejuvenation Potion. ¡°Why not give it a try, see if it works for the drowsiness after the HP increase?¡± So, Wang Tao used a Rejuvenation Potion. Instantly, he felt full of energy and no longer sleepy! ¡°Huh, the potion actually worked!¡± Wang Tao seemed to have discovered a new use for the Rejuvenation Potion... By the time Wei Zhen Guo and the others caught up, Wang Tao had already collected the spoils of war. ¡°Is it dead?¡± Looking at Wang Tao sitting next to the burly zombie¡¯s corpse, Feng Ming¡¯an asked instinctively. ¡°It¡¯s dead.¡± Wang Tao stood up. The potion was really effective; he wasn¡¯t sleepy at all. ¡°Awesome!¡± Xiang Hong Bin gave a thumbs up. He didn¡¯t know how much HP Zombie Shao Yong had, he only knew that the zombie was tough, but still, Wang Tao had slain it! ¡°So impressive!¡± The others too looked at Wang Tao with faces full of admiration, especially Han Rui, who practically worshiped him. But there wasn¡¯t much joy on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wei Zhen Guo noticed Wang Tao¡¯s expression was off and asked with some curiosity. Wang Tao¡¯s face was very serious. ¡°This time we were lucky, otherwise... we might have lost people!¡± ¡°Ah? Was it really that strong?¡± Xiang Hong Bin was somewhat incredulous. After all, nobody had been seriously injured, except for a minor injury to himself. It looked like a great victory! Wang Tao shook his head and then took out a dark green crystal core. ¡°It was a Level 2 Zombie!¡± [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Super Strength] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Strength and body size are proportional, insufficient body size results in negative strength growth)] Chapter 228 - 128: Level 2 Zombie 1 Chapter 228: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie 1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Level 2 Zombie!¡± The crowd exclaimed in shock. Then they all subconsciously looked towards the dark green crystal core. Although they couldn¡¯t see the data, they could clearly feel that this crystal core was larger than any they had seen before! Previous cores, despite their various types and colors, were all the same size without the slightest difference. Therefore, this conspicuously larger crystal core... must be a Level 2 Crystal Core! Everyone was captivated by the beautiful Level 2 Crystal Core. Before they met Wang Tao, they only knew about Zombie Cores. It was after meeting him that they learned its full name was ¡°Level 1 Crystal Core¡±. If there was a Level 1, then presumably there would be Level 2, Level 3, and so on. A Level 2 Zombie would definitely be stronger than a Level 1, and a Level 3 Zombie would be stronger than a Level 2, and so forth. However, the zombies they encountered and killed had all been Level 1 Zombies. Gradually, everyone had started to overlook the concept of zombie levels. Now, suddenly seeing this Level 2 Crystal Core, everyone was immediately reminded of the explanation Wang Tao had given before¡ªthat zombies had levels too, with Level 1 being the lowest! Everyone had been feeling a sense of urgency lately, but now with the appearance of this Level 2 Zombie, they felt the pressure increase exponentially! Wang Tao looked at the Level 2 Crystal Core. Compared with the Level 1 Crystal Core, this Level 2 Core was not only larger in appearance, but it also had one different attribute: purity. The purity of a Level 1 Crystal Core was 50%, the rest being impurities. These impurities were harmful to the human body. A small amount might be okay to absorb, but too many impurities carried the risk of turning someone into a zombie. The more impurities, the higher the risk of zombification! Wang Tao had previously hoped that higher-level Crystal Cores, such as Level 2 and Level 3, would contain fewer impurities. But now it seemed, he had thought too much. The purity of a Level 2 Crystal Core was 5% lower than that of a Level 1 Crystal Core, meaning it contained even more impurities! Merging Level 2 Crystal Cores would have to be done with even greater caution! And Wang Tao suddenly remembered another important issue. The purity of a Level 1 Crystal Core was 50%. Merging two cores would make it 100%. But with a Level 2 Crystal Core having a purity of 45%, merging two cores would only reach 90%... Could it be that he would need three cores for a synthesis? Unless Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind accumulating some impurities in his body, he would need three cores for a synthesis, but the combined purity of three cores would be 135%! He had tried before; purity cannot exceed 100%... which means, to synthesize a pure Level 2 Crystal Core, at least half a core would be wasted... Wang Tao felt a pang of heartache. ¡°What level was Shao Yong before his death?¡± At that moment, Xiang Hongbin suddenly spoke up, snapping Wang Tao out of his inner turmoil. The others, curious, also turned their gaze to Wang Tao. Wang Tao thought for a moment and said, ¡°He must have been a Level 1 ability user before death, becoming a Level 2 Zombie after... The specific reason is unclear since we still know too little about zombies...¡± Wang Tao felt that reaching an HP limit of 5000 would likely lead to a Level 2 Ascension. After all, Shao Yong had just over 4000 HP previously, which certainly wasn¡¯t Level 2. After turning into a Level 2 Zombie, his HP limit rose to 5000... This HP was definitely related to the level. But speaking of 5000 HP, the image of the Gorilla zombie surfaced in Wang Tao¡¯s mind. ¡°I just thought of the Gorilla zombie, when we first saw it, it felt just like this Shao Yong! So, at that time, it must have been a Level 2 Zombie already!¡± When Wang Tao first encountered the Gorilla zombie, it already had 5000 HP. He had felt completely outmatched by it. However, at the time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know exactly how much he was outclassed by the zombie. Now he knew¡ªthe gap between him and the Gorilla zombie wasn¡¯t just the HP difference, but also the level difference! Then Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts wandered. He remembered the first time he went out to scavenge airdrops, and encountered that almost paralyzing shadow on the outer ring road! That shadow had a whopping 10000 HP and was above Level 2 as well! No wonder he felt like his legs were turning to jelly at that time! Back then, he only had a little over 200 HP, not even qualifying as an ability user... So Wang Tao said that if it hadn¡¯t been for Shao Yong¡¯s zombie being on the brink of death, even if they had eventually won with their numerical advantage, they might have paid a terrible price. ¡°Gorilla zombie...¡± While everyone had been thrilled about killing Shao Yong, the realization that Level 2 Zombies like that Gorilla existed made their joy vanish in an instant. Given the kind of attack they just mounted, aside from Shao Yong, no one might withstand it. But that was just barely a Level 1, critically injured Shao Yong! If a Level 2 Zombie Shao Yong had appeared, they wouldn¡¯t have had a chance to fight, reliant entirely on Wang Tao. They dared not imagine just how terrifying an uninjured Zombie Shao Yong would be! ¡°Damn it, kill zombies! Improve strength!¡± Xiang Hongbin violently kicked the corpse on the ground. ¡°You should rest if you need to, get busy if you have to; I¡¯ll handle things here.¡± Ren Jie pointed to the zombie¡¯s body and the containment area. Now that Shao Yong had been killed, the newly-built walls from last night could be dismantled. They also had to find a suitable reason not to panic the survivors. ¡°We¡¯ll rest for a while and then go out to hunt zombies in the afternoon! What about you, Wang Tao?¡± Zhen Guo asked. Chapter 229 - 128: Level 2 Zombie 2 Chapter 229: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie 2 Translator: 549690339 ¡°I need to go back and rest a bit.¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°Okay.¡± The group searched the sealed off area again to ensure no zombies remained before they left. Ren Jie broadcasted in the base that Shao Yong had been killed by several committee members working together, and everyone no longer needed to worry about his sneak attacks. Once this news was announced, the hunters all breathed a sigh of relief. They had been on edge these past few days while outside, but now they could finally feel at ease. However, Ren Jie also announced another piece of news, stating that Level 2 Zombies had appeared outside, advising everyone to be cautious. Ren Jie took the opportunity to explain the meaning of Level 1 and Level 2. Ordinary people have no rank, and only after becoming ability users do they become Level 1 ability users. Level 2 represents an even stronger existence than Level 1! The news of Level 2 zombies immediately tightened the atmosphere. Many of them didn¡¯t actually know how powerful zombies were, only that ordinary zombies were very strong, and Elite Zombies were much stronger than ordinary ones. But now, they knew that the Elite Zombies they had seen were actually just Level 1 Zombies. So just how strong were Level 2 Zombies? Zombies were getting stronger, and they needed to become stronger too! Otherwise, not to mention killing zombies, the risk of going out to scavenge for supplies had also increased! Quite a few hunters silently resolved to quickly improve their strength, hoping to be selected by the committee to become ability users! Only by becoming ability users would they qualify to survive in this post- apocalyptic world! Once Wang Tao returned home, he finally felt somewhat sleepy; the spirit boosted by the Rejuvenation Potion was about to run out. ¡°No good, too sleepy! Sister-in-law, I¡¯ll take a nap...¡± Not bothering to say much more, Wang Tao collapsed on the sofa and fell asleep. ¡°Alright!¡± Ding Yuqin knew this was a process of power upgrading, and she was genuinely happy for Wang Tao from the bottom of her heart. Now with 1000 HP, she had a lot more strength, and she laboriously lifted Wang Tao onto the bed. After all, sleeping on the sofa wasn¡¯t comfortable. Time passed without her noticing, and finally, Wang Tao woke up. He felt a bit thirsty, then saw a glass of water being handed to him. ¡°Sister-in-law, how long did I sleep?¡± Wang Tao glanced at Ding Yuqin, who was sitting by the bed keeping him company. ¡°Still the same as before, three hours,¡± Ding Yuqin looked at the wall clock, then added, ¡°I¡¯m going to make dinner now!¡± ¡°Mm, go ahead.¡± After Ding Yuqin left, Wang Tao stretched and then clenched his fists. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten stronger!¡± Wang Tao was a bit excited but not inflated. The outcome of Shao Yong was the result of arrogance, and he needed to always remember this lesson. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the Loot Pack he obtained after killing Shao Yong today. The situation this time was a bit different because Wang Tao had killed Shao Yong twice! Once as a human and once as a zombie! This situation left Wang Tao quite baffled. If it weren¡¯t for seeing his HP increase and the Loot Packs, he might not have even noticed this fact¡ªhe had an HP increase twice and obtained two packs! If he remembered correctly, his maximum HP was 3740 up until yesterday. After killing Shao Yong, it suddenly increased to 3940! In other words, killing Shao Yong earned him an additional 200 HP limit, which was more than any zombie he had previously killed! Wang Tao guessed that the amount of increased HP limit was likely related to the strength of his opponent. Considering Shao Yong¡¯s strength, although adding 200 HP limit was a lot, it seemed reasonable. However, Wang Tao soon realized that these 200 HP really weren¡¯t that much! Because when he killed Shao Yong the second time, or more accurately, when he killed Zombie Shao Yong, the added HP limit was even more terrifying- directly an additional 960! Wang Tao was taken aback and then saw his health bar suddenly surge a small segment, from 3940 to 4900! He was just 100 HP limit short of reaching 5000! 5000 HP was most likely the threshold between Level 1 and Level 2. If he could reach 5000 HP, he might be a Level 2 ability user! He dtdn¡¯ t know why Zombie Shao Yong added so much HP, but there were only two possible explanations: Either killing a Level 2 zombie naturally yielded more HP, or killing a zombie above your level granted extra HP. As for which was correct, he could only observe more in the future. But regardless, seeing his own [4900/4900] HP, Wang Tao was still somewhat excited. The missing 100 HP could potentially be made up in just one morning with good luck or possibly in one day with less fortune. His 5000 HP was all but assured! Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the other loot. He hadn¡¯t had the chance to examine the pack dropped by Shao Yong the first time he was killed. When he looked now, it was a bit beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. There were four Crystal Cores! [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Loose Tongue] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Throwing Master] [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Rejuvenation] These were light green Crystal Cores with no side effects and a 50% fusion success rate. Wang Tao had never before found Crystal Cores in the packs he exploded, but he hadn¡¯t killed many people either-only two ability users, Cao Xin and Shao Yong. What Cao Xin exploded into was Slime Grenades, but at that time Cao Xin had just over two hundred HP, merely a weakling compared with the now four thousand plus HP Shao Yong. Hence, no comparison was possible. Wang Tao speculated that these four Crystal Cores must be the four abilities Shao Yong had learned. This was consistent with his previous speculation- Shao Yong had four abilities, and each one was fused with ten Crystal Cores, which accounted for his 4000 Mana. Chapter 230 - 128: Level 2 Zombie_3 Chapter 230: Chapter 128: Level 2 Zombie_3 Translator: 549690339 And looking at the names of these four Crystal Cores, Wang Tao probably understood why Wei Zhenguo and Gao Hua, the two people who had seen Shao Yong, both said that Shao Yong was completely different from before. Shao Yong had gained the strength of an Ability User and became somewhat inflated with pride, which was definitely also a reason. But there was another important reason, which was the side effects of these Crystal Cores! The side effect of the Power Crystal Core is that physique and strength are directly proportional, which didn¡¯t temporarily affect Shao Yong¡¯s personality. But the other three Crystal Cores were different¡ª The side effect of the Loose Tongue Crystal Core was ¡°emotional instability,¡± the side effect of Precision Shooting was ¡°irritability,¡± and the side effect of Rejuvenation was ¡°prone to falling into lust¡±... All these side effects could influence a person¡¯s personality! If there was only one side effect, it would have been okay, but Shao Yong had fused all three types of Crystal Cores, and on top of that, he had fused them to the limit! Combine that with Shao Yong¡¯s possible arrogance and his lack of strong will... and he gradually became psychologically twisted. He might not even be aware of it himself, and he might even think that what he¡¯s doing is right... These kinds of side effects that subtly change a person¡¯s personality are somewhat terrifying! From now on, if I see someone fusing such Crystal Cores, I¡¯ll need to be wary, for it might just be another Shao Yong... When Wang Tao killed Shao Yong for the second time, which was killing zombie Shao Yong, his spoils of war included a Level 2 Crystal Core and a bundle. After digging through zombie Shao Yong¡¯s brain, there was only one green Level 2 Power Crystal Core¡ªthe expectation of finding four Crystal Cores in his head left Wang Tao slightly disappointed. As for the contents of the bundle, it surprised Wang Tao once again-it was still Crystal Cores! However, this time there were only two, and these two Crystal Cores were completely different from the ones he had seen before! [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Impurities: 50% (No side effects)] [Omnipotent: After fusion, randomly adds +1 to one of the already fused abilities, up to a +10 limit] The first one was an Omnipotent Crystal Core! Wang Tao had never seen such a Crystal Core before. Reading the description on the Crystal Core, didn¡¯t this mean that if he fused this Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Core and succeeded, he could directly add 1 to his Precision Shooting or Self-healing power? That was rather impressive! But clearly, obtaining this Crystal Core was far more difficult; Wang Tao had killed so many zombies but had never come across such an Omnipotent Crystal Core. Wang Tao felt that this might be related to Shao Yong¡¯s strength. Zombie Shao Yong was not only powerful in his own right, but he also possessed four abihties-this was what made him completely different from other zombies, as all other zombies Wang Tao had encountered so far only had one ability. Therefore, Wang Tao had reason to guess that perhaps only zombies with multiple abilities had the possibility of dropping this Omnipotent Crystal Core? If that were true, then the conditions would be too harsh, seeing that apart from zombies transformed from Ability Users, Wang Tao had never seen any zombie with more than two abilities... Then there was the second Crystal Core, which excited Wang Tao even more than the first Omnipotent Crystal Core. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Impurities: 45% (No side effects)] [Ascension: After fusion, can randomly promote one of the already fused abilities to level 2] Wang Tao had previously thought that after successfully fusing 10 Crystal Cores, there would be no way to fuse anymore, so how could he continue to advance? Wang Tao knew there were Level 2 Crystal Cores; if he had one, would he just fuse it directly? Would it need any conditions? His powers were Level 1; could he directly fuse a Level 2 Crystal Core? These were all questions. And now, Wang Tao seemed to know the answer. His Level 1 abilities could continue to fuse with Level 2 Crystal Cores! But first, he had to promote his abilities to level 2. The way to advance to Level 2 was by fusing this Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core! This Ascension Crystal Core was an even more precious existence than the Omnipotent Crystal Core! The Ascension Crystal Core was fundamental; if you don¡¯t use the Ascension Crystal Core to promote your ability to level 2, then having more Omnipotent Crystal Cores would be useless. However, Wang Tao suddenly thought of another problem. This Crystal Core stated that it would randomly promote one pre-fused ability to level 2, but he had four abilities. This meant he needed four Ascension Crystal Cores-no, perhaps even more than four. If he wanted a higher success rate and no impurities, he might need eight or even twelve... Wang Tao suddenly felt annoyed; surely, only a Level 2 Zombie could drop a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core, but how many Level 2 Zombies would he have to kill to collect so many Crystal Cores! Moreover, there¡¯s no guarantee that every Level 2 Zombie would drop one; what if it¡¯s all a matter of luck... Wang Tao felt his scalp tingling. This was about fighting Level 2 Zombies! When he killed zombie Shao Yong, it was because the opponent was at low HP; if it were a full HP Level 2 zombie Shao Yong, he didn¡¯t know whether he could win... Wang Tao suddenly remembered the first time he fought the Big Hammer Zombie, that thrilling, exciting feeling; he might have to experience that often in the future... ¡°Damn it!¡± Cursing under his breath, Wang Tao shook his head. But no matter what, he had to increase his strength. Knowing the danger, he still had to face it. Otherwise, as the zombies evolved and upgraded, and he remained stagnant, he would eventually be eliminated! The next day, in the early morning. When Wang Tao woke up, he prepared to go hunt zombies; he was just 100 HP away from 5000, and he wanted to see if reaching 5000 HP would make him a Level 2 Ability User. But just after getting up, Wang Tao felt his body was somewhat weak. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I didn¡¯t do anything last night!¡± Wang Tao hurriedly checked his attributes and a Weakness icon appeared below his HP bar. [Weakness remaining time: 1732:47] ¡°Fuck!¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that the Rejuvenation Potion had a side effect ¡ªafter using it, one would fall into a day of weakness! Wang Tao went to bed early yesterday and forgot about it. And this potion was kind of interesting; it mentioned weakness for a day, and it really meant a full day, starting the countdown precisely from midnight of the next day... Chapter 231 - 129 Another Airdrop_l Chapter 231: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop_l Translator: 549690339 | Wang Tao had fallen into a state of weakness for the entire day and had originally planned to go hunting zombies, hoping to raise his HP to five thousand. Now that was out of the question. Although even in his weakened state, he could still kill most of the Level 1 Elite Zombies, there was no need to risk it, after all, you only live once. Wang Tao took out some materials and crafted several Rejuvenation Potions, then he sent some over to Wei Zhenguo, explaining the situation to him. ¡°Rejuvenation Potion? That¡¯s some good stuff!¡± Everyone was surprised to see the potion. Nobody asked Wang Tao where it came from, they just used it. Although there was the side effect of a ¡°one-day weakness period,¡± the potion could save lives at critical moments; the side effects were bearable. ¡°Wang Tao, if you¡¯re not going out today, can you help me finalize the list of the first group of Ability Users?¡± Ren Jie suddenly said to Wang Tao. They had already mentioned the need to improve the overall strength of the base, and the simplest way to do that was naturally to increase the number of Ability Users. After several days of selection, some preliminary lists had been drawn up. Next would be to confirm the specific individuals and then provide them with Crystal Cores. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse; he was curious to see the current levels of these survivors. As for the confirmation process, Ren Jie was prepared to have those on the list display their abilities in front of them, after which he and Wang Tao would decide. If committee members had their own recommendations, they could of course make a direct appointment. Wang Tao thought this method was not problematic, so they settled on it. Ren Jie used the broadcast system to call the individuals on the list to the plaza outside the comprehensive building. Suddenly, nearly all the survivors in the base showed up. Although many were not on the list, they wanted to see how strong those who were listed actually were. Some also felt somewhat indignant... Of course, more importantly, everyone wanted to know who exactly would become Ability Users, for they would be key figures to cling to in the future! But just as all the survivors had gathered on the plaza, a buzzing sound suddenly came from the sky! ¡°A plane? Another airdrop is coming!¡± A moment later, Wang Tao saw the silhouette of a transport plane in the sky and was rather surprised. The first time the airdrop came, the note left in the drop by that military base said they didn¡¯t know if there would be another airdrop. But a month later, the second airdrop arrived. Now it hadn¡¯t even been a few days, and the third airdrop was here! If the airdrops could maintain a frequency of once or twice a month, that would be quite nice! It was just unknown what the situation inside the military base was like now, whether it was safe. Considering they were still able to make airdrops, it should be safe, right? Wang Tao felt that Shuize Base still lacked a bit of appeal. If he could go to the military base, that would be even better... ¡°Another airdrop is coming!¡± Ren Jie looked at the airdrop somewhat happily, as every airdrop meant a harvest. Wang Tao felt a bit regretful as he was in a weakened state today and couldn¡¯t go out; otherwise, he could have happily collected the airdrop. However, Wei Zhenguo and the others were outside; they would definitely not let these airdrops slip away. ¡°Look here!¡± Ren Jie shouted to the survivors below, instantly attracting their attention. After merging with the Screaming Crystal Core, his voice was now very loud and could be used as a human megaphone. ¡°With your current abilities, going after the airdrop is still very dangerous. But once you become Ability Users, you can go and collect the airdrops yourself in the future!¡± Ren Jie spoke with a smile. The crowd below became excited upon hearing this. Who wouldn¡¯ t want to become an Ability User who could dominate the post-apocalyptic world! ¡°I will now start reading the list. Those who are called, please come up to the stage and showcase your abilities.¡± Ren Jie began calling names one by one. Every person called was thrilled to go up on stage; some displayed their strength, others their speed, and still others their resilience and more. When selecting Ability Users, of course, priority was given to those with good physical condition. And this list was made up of survivors Ren Jie had picked out as having relatively good character. Thus, the specific individuals chosen for this first group of Ability Users were fundamentally those with good character and physical fitness. Wang Tao sat on the stage, silently observing the survivors below. He could generally tell who had good physical fitness just by looking at their HP bars, but some qualities cannot be shown through the HP bars. Just like himself, he had inherently good physical fitness that couldn¡¯t be wholly reflected by the HP bar. Soon, everyone on the list had shown what they could do. There were only 30 people on the list in total, but only 6 would be chosen. The reason there were so few was that the remaining spots had been taken by the Security Army. Apart from Ability Users, the Security Army had the strongest combat power in the base, so they naturally had to be prioritized to become Ability Users. Not counting Wei Zhenguo and his group, the Security Army currently had 14. members; adding these 6 slots meant that the first batch of Ability Users would consist of a total of 20 people! If all 20 of them succeeded, it would be a substantial increase in strength for the base! After some consideration, Wang Tao and Ren Jie chose the 6 individuals. Those not selected looked disappointed, while the chosen ones were ecstatic. Wang Tao was very fair, he didn¡¯t know these 6 individuals. He simply saw that they had high HP, had killed many zombies, and had good physical fitness, and then he chose them. As for Ding Yuqin and Gao Hua, these two naturally weren¡¯t chosen. They were actually on the list, clearly Ren Jie was giving them face. Chapter 232 - 129 Another Airdrop_2 Chapter 232: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop_2 Translator: 549690339 But Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to choose them; he held the Crystal Cores in his hands and could give them to whomever he wanted, and these two were already predetermined Ability Users by Wang Tao... ¡°Thank you, Commissioner Wang, Commissioner Ren, thank you for the base¡¯s cultivation...¡± The six lucky ones were also very sensible and immediately bowed to Wang Tao and Ren Jie in thanks. ¡°Congratulations to you all! I hope that after you become Ability Users, you can contribute more to the base, after all, this is our home...¡± After Ren Jie offered his encouragement, Wang Tao distributed the six Crystal Cores to them. All these Crystal Cores were combat abilities selected by Wang Tao, and they were all red. But he required them to merge with the Cores on the spot. After receiving them, they swallowed the Cores immediately, and then one by one, the six people lay down on the ground to sleep. ¡°Not bad!¡± Seeing that none had failed, Wang Tao felt very relieved. These were Crystal Cores with an 80% fusion success rate. After they sent the soon-to-be Ability Users home, Ren Jie once again encouraged everyone. ¡°The committee¡¯s goal is to make all combat personnel in the base into Ability Users! Although this can¡¯t be achieved in a short time, the base has always been working towards this direction! Those who weren¡¯t selected shouldn¡¯t lose heart; continue to improve yourselves. This is just the first batch of Ability Users, there will be a second batch, a third batch...¡± With these words from Ren Jie, everyone¡¯s fighting spirit was indeed reignited ¡ªthey too wanted to become Ability Users! ¡°Alright, let¡¯s dismiss. Everyone get back to training, kill more zombies, and strive to become the next batch of Ability Users!¡± Ren Jie waved his hand and dismissed the crowd. As Wang Tao was preparing to leave, Huo Ziyi suddenly approached him. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Today, Huo Ziyi had made a special effort with her appearance and looked somewhat like a pre-apocalyptic minor celebrity. ¡°Cough, it¡¯s like this, we have some things we would like to consult Commissioner Wang about, if Commissioner Wang has the time, please come with us...¡± Huo Ziyi spoke somewhat coyly. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have anything to do at the moment, so he followed her. Huo Ziyi led Wang Tao to a large classroom, where aside from her, there were several other young women dressed to the nines. On the way there, Huo Ziyi also explained to Wang Tao that she wanted him to see the program they had prepared¡ªthe apocalypse had been upon them for almost three months, and Ren Jie and others had been thinking of holding a celebration at the base when the three months were up. This was not about indulgence or formality but to boost the survivors¡¯ happiness index¡ªsince the establishment of the base, it had always been quite oppressive, with many people seemingly walking around like zombies. This state was definitely unhealthy. As a once very capable deputy county head, Ren Jie knew that he needed to adjust everyone¡¯s mental state. Otherwise, if the oppression continued, it could push people to extremes, and it would be bad if another Shao Yong emerged. So he planned to have a simple evening party to celebrate everyone surviving three months of the apocalypse. Surviving three months in such a harsh apocalypse was certainly something worth commemorating. Huo Ziyi, this former minor celebrity who had no ability to hunt zombies or dare scavenge supplies, could only do hard labor in the base without a proper role. Now, this party offered her a great opportunity! Of course, there might be other motives involved, such as gaining the favor of Commissioner Wang Tao... To be fair, watching these youthful and pretty girls dancing in their little skirts on stage, Wang Tao almost thought the apocalypse was a dream. But he quickly came back to reality, as these minor celebrities would not be dancing for him personally if this wasn¡¯t the apocalypse, would they? ¡°Commissioner Wang? How was our performance?¡± Huo Ziyi wiped the fine sweat off her forehead. She seemed to lose herself looking at Wang Tao, then, full of expectation, she inquired. It seems Commissioner Wang was quite captivated! ¡°Very good! I am sure this program will be liked by many people!¡± Wang Tao praised with a smile. Huo Ziyi and her sisters all had good foundations. Even an eighteenth-tier minor celebrity couldn¡¯t be compared to some so-called internet famous personalities. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Huo Ziyi blushed, speaking softly: ¡°Then... does Commissioner Wang like it?¡± Wang Tao was about to say he really liked it when his walkie-talkie went off. It was Ren Jie looking for him, saying there was something important. ¡°Sorry, I have to go for some business first.¡± Wang Tao nodded to the young women and then left. Once Wang Tao left, the other women quickly surrounded Huo Ziyi. ¡°Sister, you think it¡¯s still peacetime! Be more resolute! Go straight for it! Trust me, next time you see Commissioner Wang, just sit right on his lap... What a wasted opportunity!¡± Seeing her sisters¡¯ frustrated expressions, Huo Ziyi¡¯s face turned a bit red. She indeed was quite interested in Wang Tao now, but she still cared about her image and really couldn¡¯t bring herself to make such a direct move. ¡°Oh well, forget it! Next time, I¡¯ll definitely go for it directly! Let¡¯s continue the rehearsal...¡± Wang Tao arrived at the comprehensive building. Besides Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo and the others had also returned. ¡°Eh? You¡¯re back?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised; he thought Wei Zhenguo and the others would take a while longer to return. ¡°Guess what great thing we found today!¡± Wei Zhenguo looked at Wang Tao with a proud face.. Chapter 233 - 129 Another Airdrop 3 Chapter 233: Chapter 129 Another Airdrop 3 Translator: 549690339????? ¡ª Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. Today, when Wei Zhenguo and the others went out, there was an airdrop They must have collected the airdrop. Could it be that there are a lot of goodies in it? ¡°Food? Weapons? Inhibitor?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. As of now, the most precious thing in the airdrops was the inhibitor. Could it be that they found a large quantity of inhibitors? ¡°Haha, not just that, far from it!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed heartily. ¡°Oh? What other good stuff is there? Let me take a look. It couldn¡¯t possibly be a Crystal Core airdropped, could it?¡± Wang Tao was intrigued. ¡°Hey! Although it¡¯s not a Crystal Core, it¡¯s indeed related to Crystal Cores!¡± As Xiang Hongbin spoke, he stepped aside, and Wang Tao saw several large boxes behind him. ¡°What are these?¡± Wang Tao walked over, curious. Hehe, let¡¯s wait for Liu He to arrive before we disclose!¡± Xiang Hongbin wore a sly smile on his face. ¡°Old Xiang here, he wouldn¡¯t tell me when I asked him just now, insisting on waiting until everyone was here!¡± Ren Jie was somewhat helpless. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. Before long, Liu He arrived. AU seven committee members were now present. ¡°Come, let me introduce this to everyone!¡± Xiang Hongbin opened the first box and pointed at a machine about the size of a 24-inch suitcase inside, saying: ¡°This device is called an Energy Detector! It can check for energy and impurities inside the body!¡± ¡°Check body energy and impurities?¡± Wang Tao and the others were somewhat astonished. This sounded like a great device! Had the surviving scientists already developed such technology? ¡°The specifics are like this...¡± Xiang Hongbin briefly explained. This detector needed a blood sample from the tester. Just putting blood into it in about a minute, it could detect the energy and internal impurities contained within the person. Wang Tao found it quite magical and inquired: ¡°Have you tried it yet?¡± ¡°Not yet, we didn¡¯t even take a look after we got these, just hurried back...¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head. ¡°Come on, let me give it a try first! This machine has a downside, it needs a lot of electricity; it¡¯s even more power-hungry than an air conditioner...¡± Xiang Hongbin stepped forward without hesitation, plugged in the device, turned it on, and directly bit his finger, dripping a drop of blood into the detector¡¯s intake. There was a small LED screen on the machine, and after approximately a minute, two lines of text appeared on the screen. [Energy: Level 1] [Internal Impurity: Level 1] Wang Tao: ? Is that it? He thought it would show detailed information, like how much HP he had, what percentage of impurities, and so on. But it just showed Level 1 and Level 1... ¡°Cough, let me check the manual...¡± Xiang Hongbin was also a bit embarrassed ¨C mainly because the numbers were too concise, especially with regard to the impurities, which he didn¡¯t understand. There was a manual inside the machine, and Xiang Hongbin quickly figured it out. I understand now! The meaning of energy is similar to that of Crystal Cores, Level 1 is the same as our understanding of Level 1. However, this detector is¡¯a semi-finished product, currently only able to check three levels-o, 1, and 2. Level 2 refers to anything above Level i, no matter how many levels, it will all show as Level 2 here...¡± What a thing, it¡¯s a semi-finished product? ¡°Cough, to be precise, one shouldn¡¯t call it a semi-finished product; it¡¯s just that they don¡¯t have data on higher levels, so they can only do this for now.¡± After explaining, Xiang Hongbin continued: ¡°As for these impurities, there are 5 levels, with each level being 20%!¡± ¡°When the internal impurity is below Level 2, which is under 40%, it¡¯s generally very safe. When it¡¯s at Level 3, 40% to 60%, there is some danger. At Level 4, 60% to 80%, it¡¯s very dangerous. And at Level 5, 80% to 100%, that¡¯s extremely dangerous!¡± ¡°The manual recommends that no base should take in people with Level 5 impurities, otherwise there¡¯s a risk of a sudden outbreak at any time!¡± Wang Tao had just been critical of the machine¡¯s lack of precision, but after hearing Xiang Hongbin¡¯s explanation, he realized that the significance of the machine wasn¡¯t necessarily about knowing exactly how many impurities survivors had within them, but rather its purpose was to filter out those dangerous survivors! If a base set up one of these machines at its entrance and required a blood check for entry, that could prevent a lot of danger! The others obviously thought of this use as well, and Ren Jie, his eyes alight said:???? ¡¯ ¡°I was just thinking these past few days, if the base has more Ability Users, they¡¯d have the capacity to hunt Elite Zombies themselves. Then, when they have merged with more Crystal Cores, how to determine the amount of impurities in their bodies... Now with this machine, it becomes much more convenient!¡± Although Ren Jie had emphasized that one shouldn¡¯t merge with too many Crystal Cores, such cautions in the face of strength enhancement... it¡¯s estimated that quite a few people would choose to continue increasing their power. After all, the feeling of gaining strength is really exhilarating; definitely, some people can¡¯t resist. But if they had this machine, running periodic medical checks could identify who the dangerous elements were. ¡°Besides this detector, there are other goodies!¡± Xiang Hongbin brought over another machine, which was three or four times larger than the detector. He pointed to it and said: ¡°This is a Crystal Core Energy Synthesizer! To be precise, it should be called an Extraction and Synthesis Machine!¡± ¡°Ah? Extraction, Synthetic Crystal Core Energy?¡± Ren Jie was somewhat surprised. Crystal Core Energy could also be extracted and synthesized? This seemed much more impressive than the Energy Detector! However, it extracts negative energy, which is the side effects...¡± ¡°Extract side effects!¡± Everyone instinctively looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao had previously told them that the Crystal Cores he provided were without side effects. He hadn¡¯t elaborated on the specifics, and they hadn¡¯t asked. Now that side effects were mentioned, they instinctively thought of Wang Tao Could it be that the Crystal Cores Wang Tao gave them were created with a machine similar to this one? ¡°I did take a look at the manual in advance for this one, and it says that the energy and impurities in Crystal Cores are fused together and can¡¯t be separated. But these side effects are a special kind of impurity that can be separated! However, to extract the side effects.... a significant cost has to be paid!¡± Chapter 234 - 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_1 Chapter 234: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°What¡¯s the cost?¡± Wang Tao asked with some curiosity. Although he was able to obtain a Crystal Core without side effects, there was still a price to pay. His cost was the wastage of a Crystal Core during the synthesis of a Level 1 Crystal Core, and possibly the wastage of two for a Level 2 Crystal Core... He didn¡¯t know what the cost of this device was; if it was small, he might consider using it as well. ¡°The cost is¡ªto get a side-effect-free Crystal Core, you have to waste even more Crystal Cores!¡± ¡°According to the instructions, this machine can currently only synthesize Level 1 Crystal Cores. To obtain one such core without side effects, you need to use up three Level 1 Crystal Cores, which can be of different types but must be of the same color. However, that¡¯s not the main point¡ªthe main point is that there¡¯s a probability of failure during synthesis! If it fails, all Crystal Cores disappear! As for the probability, it¡¯s hard to say, it all depends on luck...¡± After listening to Xiang Hongbin¡¯s explanation, everyone frowned in thought. The need to expend three Crystal Cores of the same quality is one thing, but there¡¯s also the damned risk of failure... Everyone naturally desires a Crystal Core without side effects. However, the cost seems a bit too steep. If it only required three cores, it might be manageable, but if it failed... Probability is like gambling, unreliable! Now, whether it¡¯s worth it becomes the question. Upon reflection, some side effects might not be unacceptable... Wang Tao, meanwhile, was deep in thought. His Crystal Core synthetic ability only required two Crystal Cores, but he could only use cores of the same type and was unable to cross types. Whereas this machine requires three Crystal Cores with a certain probability of failure, it allows the usage of different types, albeit demanding that the cores be of the same quality... Of course, there¡¯s one major difference between Wang Tao¡¯s synthesis and the machine¡¯s¡ªthe Crystal Cores Wang Tao synthesizes not only are without side effects, they also have no internal impurities, and even the quality is additive. Meanwhile, the Crystal Cores obtained from this machine do not have additive quality, nor can their impurities be extracted; they¡¯re simply free of side effects... One can only say that Wang Tao¡¯s ability is the more powerful one, but this machine is also impressive for its capacity to strip away side effects. If someday there could be research that enables the extraction of internal impurities, that would be even better... ¡°The capabilities of this machine seem decent... Although it wastes some Crystal Cores, you can use other types, such as those from useless abilities like Glutton or Self Detonation, which could be put to good use! Of course, this assumes you¡¯re lucky... In the future, whoever feels lucky can give it a try, as I won¡¯t be using this synthesizer anyway,¡± Feng Ming¡¯an stated, stroking his chin. He didn¡¯t have much hope for his own luck... ¡°Apart from these two devices, there are also many inhibitors, and there¡¯s also a letter,¡± said Xiang Hongbin as he opened the other boxes filled with inhibitors. ¡°Take a look at this letter; it mentions matters about abilities and inhibitors...¡± Wang Tao took the letter and read it carefully. ¡°We have discovered...¡± The letter explained that according to their current research, a person could at minimum fuse with one type of Crystal Core and at maximum with four different types. In other words, a person could only learn up to four Abilities, and whether there was a chance to fuse with more Crystal Cores in the future was unknown. At present, a Level 1 Crystal Core could only be fused with up to four kinds. Those who could fuse with four types were considered the most potential-laden Ability Users. Naturally, those who could only fuse with one type had the least potential. But potential aside, final combat effectiveness still depends on the individual. They had examples of individuals who fused with only one type of Crystal Core but had mastered their Ability to perfection, achieving remarkable combat strength! Many who fused with four types of Crystal Cores couldn¡¯t beat them. Of course, this was more of an exception; usually, the more Abilities fused, the greater the advantage. However, having more Abilities also meant a greater difficulty, namely needing more Crystal Cores to enhance Special Ability Level. Especially if you want Crystal Cores without side effects, you¡¯ll need a large number of them. They also speculated that ascending from Level 1 to Level 2 as an Ability User might require certain conditions. It¡¯s unlikely there are no conditions to ascend. They weren¡¯t clear on the specifics, as they didn¡¯t have any Level 2 Ability Users there. As for inhibitors, they hadn¡¯t yet figured out how to solve the problem of internal impurity, but inhibitors could provide some relief¡ªwhen fusing with a Crystal Core, concurrently taking an inhibitor could reduce the amount of internal impurity. How much it could reduce was not specified, but based on their experiments, it indeed went down a slight amount. However, there was also an issue with this; the process of using inhibitors was too painful. Though most Ability Users could probably endure it, no one wanted to experience that sensation... Whether to use it or not is up to the individual. If you¡¯re very fearful of internal impurity or if you wish to fuse with more Crystal Cores, then it¡¯s better to use inhibitors. If you¡¯re not bothered by internal impurities, or if you have strong self-control and can hold off fusing with too many Crystal Cores, then it doesn¡¯t matter whether or not you use inhibitors. As long as you can control the level of internal impurities below 50%, there shouldn¡¯t be any safety issues. The letter mentioned another use for inhibitors, which is to use them when internal impurity levels become too high. When they first began researching this inhibitor, they actually aimed to create a Zombie Antidote. Though they didn¡¯t succeed in developing the antidote, the inhibitor was a by-product of this research.. Chapter 235 - 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 Chapter 235: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_2 Translator: 549690339 Moreover, at that time, they hadn¡¯t discovered the attribute of internal impurity. They thought that by using inhibitors to slow down the activity of the zombie virus, although it wasn¡¯t possible to eliminate the virus, as long as it never became active, they could avoid the danger of turning into zombies. Then they discovered through testing that inhibitors could not only be used on infected individuals but were also extremely beneficial to ability users. When an ability user merged with too many crystal cores and accumulated too much internal impurity, they too risked turning into zombies. The inhibitor could suppress this risk as well. Theoretically, even a person whose internal impurity was at 90% could avoid turning into a zombie forever as long as they continuously used inhibitors! Of course, that was just in theory. In reality, there were too many uncontrollable factors, and it would be very dangerous to actually have such a person. Therefore, they still advised that survivor bases better not accept people with level 5 impurities. In fact, Wang Tao had thought of using the inhibitor for ability users the first time he saw it. But it was because he knew about the impurities within a crystal core and then combined that with the characteristics of the inhibitor that he came up with the idea. They had only recently discovered internal impurities and then accidentally found that inhibitors and internal impurities were well suited for each other... But no matter what, the effect of the inhibitor had already been officially established. From now on, it would be an indispensable item for survivors. As for who this ¡°they¡± referred to, the end of the letter also introduced them¡ª Wang Tao had originally thought this was something researched by a military base, that the scientists might have been protected by the military base, but that wasn¡¯t actually the case. This ¡°they¡± referred to a power known as the ¡°Hope Research Institute.¡± This was an organization established by the government, its core personnel being technicians and scientists who had survived after the apocalypse struck. Products like inhibitors, detectors, and synthetic devices were all researched and developed by them. The headquarters of the research institute was in Capital City, and they welcomed capable individuals to go to Capital City to meet with them. Their ultimate goal was to develop a potion to eliminate the zombie virus and rid the world of zombies. Although Wang Tao thought this possibility was very slim, he wouldn¡¯t mock them. After all, in a sense, they were humanity¡¯s hope¡ªat least they were the hope for Qian Country. Wang Tao was very curious about the research institute, but it was too far away from him. If he remembered correctly, it was 1,500 kilometers from Huangfeng City to Capital City! Such a long distance was practically a death wish to attempt... However, Wang Tao was very curious about how they managed to send their message out. Could it be through super-powerful radio waves? Or some other kind of black technology? If Wang Tao had such a means, he would definitely want to find out what was going on with the military base. ¡°Besides these, does the airdrop say anything about the situation at the military base?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°No.¡± Xiang Hongbin and Wei Zhenguo both shook their heads. They were also eager to know the current state of the military base, but unfortunately, there was no news about it in these airdrops. Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. During the first airdrop, the military base¡¯s people left a letter for the survivors. But there were no letters in the second and this third airdrop, all of them were done in a strict business-like manner... He found it impossible to inquire about the actual state of the military base. Could it be that the military base didn¡¯t want any survivors to come? That should not be the case, right? After all, the more people, the greater the strength. There wouldn¡¯t be a base that despised having too many survivors... Wang Tao was very perplexed, but since they were far from the military base, they had no way to check. Although a radio frequency for contact had been provided in the previous airdrop, with such a distance, the radios they had on hand definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to reach... Wei Zhenguo distributed the inhibitor to everyone. Now that they knew the inhibitor was also useful for ability users, they had to stock up more, because they might need to use it continuously from now on... The next day, early morning. Wang Tao met Han Rui outside the complex building. Having been weak the whole day yesterday, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t gone out. Today, with his weakness passed, he was ready to go out and increase his HP. His HP was at 4,900, just 100 short of 5,000. If he didn¡¯t make up that 100 HP today, he probably wouldn¡¯t sleep well tonight. Han Rui also rested for a day yesterday. She is now Wang Tao¡¯s exclusive teammate; if Wang Tao goes out, she goes out, if Wang Tao doesn¡¯t, she stays home and rests. This was of course voluntary, as it was very safe to be with Wang Tao. ¡°Have you recovered from your weakness?¡± Han Rui asked with concern. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao drove the SUV, taking Han Rui towards the hospital. The hospital was abundant with zombies, so there was no worry about not being able to find elite zombies. If they wandered around other places and ended up wasting a whole day without even finding three elite zombies, that would be frustrating. By noon, the two arrived near the hospital. ¡°Well, we really haven¡¯t bumped into a single elite zombie!¡± They hadn¡¯t encountered a single elite zombie the whole way there. Just as Wang Tao had thought, the harder you need something, the harder it seemed to obtain it. However, seeing the hospital swarming with zombies, Wang Tao knew that reaching the 100 HP mark today wouldn¡¯t be a problem. But the elite zombies were all wandering inside the hospital and not coming out through the main entrance. This left Han Rui somewhat helpless, as they couldn¡¯t lure the zombies over that way.. Chapter 236 - 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_3 Chapter 236: Chapter 130 Hope Research Institute, 4999 HP_3 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve been prepared for this,¡± Wang Tao took out a megaphone. He and Han Rui went to the rooftop of a six-story building and then set the megaphone there. It was a remote-controlled megaphone that Liu He had helped him to make. He could control the volume of the megaphone from a great distance, and it was preloaded with a DJ dance track. This thing would surely attract many of the hospital¡¯s elite zombies, and Wang Tao was even concerned that it might attract some zombies he couldn¡¯t handle, like the gorilla zombie. But to gain something, one must take risks. Moreover, Wang Tao had deliberately placed the megaphone a good distance away from himself, so even if it did attract an unbeatable zombie, he wouldn¡¯t be surrounded. Soon, Wang Tao and Han Rui arrived at the apartment where they had rested before. ¡°I hope this works, don¡¯t let me down!¡± Wang Tao took out the remote control and pressed it lightly. After a delay of about two or three seconds, a ¡°boom-chaka¡± sound came from the rooftop of the building across from them. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± In that instant, the quiet world seemed to come alive, with chilling roars sounding everywhere. Sounds of trampling came from inside the hospital, then a large swarm of mad demon zombies charged towards that building like a tide. ¡°This is terrifying...¡± Seeing the hundreds of zombies, Han Rui¡¯s scalp tingled. Wang Tao watched the situation below carefully. While the mad demon zombies were sprinting towards that building, some elite zombies were following behind them, and there were quite a few of them! ¡°They¡¯re out!¡± A smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. As long as these elite zombies were out, he would know how to handle them. ¡°Eh? Wang Tao, what¡¯s that? A zombie or an ability user?¡± Suddenly, Han Rui pointed at an opening. Wang Tao followed the direction of her finger and his eyes immediately narrowed. He saw a black figure in a hoodie running on the rooftop! The figure moved with agile grace, like a parkour athlete, dazzlingly navigating across the rooftops. However, Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed because the figure¡¯s HP bar was red! [6000/6000] It was a zombie, and it looked to be a level 2 zombie at that! Wang Tao silently cursed his luck. He had just been thinking that he hoped not to run into any level 2 zombies, and now here one was. Although Wang Tao had already killed a level 2 zombie, Shao Yong, it was low on HP. This level 2 zombie had a full 6ooo HP, and its strength might be even greater than zombie Shao Yong¡¯s. Wang Tao did not want to fight it now. At least, not until he himself became a second-order superpower owner? ¡°It¡¯s a level 2 zombie!¡± Wang Tao whispered. ¡°Ah? A level 2 zombie!¡± Han Rui was startled. Whether the two of them could defeat this level 2 zombie now was a question. Fortunately, that Level 2 Zombie wasn¡¯t coming for them, but... it seemed to be heading straight for the loudspeaker! Whoosh¡ª With a few jumps, the zombie had climbed to the rooftop where the loudspeaker was placed, and then stomped down hard. Crack¡ª The sound of the loudspeaker instantly ceased. No way, was this zombie specifically here to eradicate noise? Wang Tao was somewhat baffled. After crushing the loudspeaker, the zombie disappeared from Wang Tao¡¯s sight with a few leaps. Without the music from the loudspeaker, those agitated zombies outside quickly calmed down. However, those Mad Demon Zombies did not leave but continued to search for something in the vicinity. Watching this scene, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t afford to think about the Level 2 Zombie any longer. He intently watched the Mad Demon Zombies, and as soon as he saw a significant number of them arrive at the base of the apartment building, Wang Tao decisively took out two Stealth Potions and, rolling up his and Han Rui¡¯s sleeves, injected them directly. Han Rui didn¡¯t resist but asked with a hint of curiosity, ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Stealth Potion. The Mad Demon Zombies have found us, let¡¯s try not to engage them.¡± Wang Tao succinctly explained. ¡°Oh!¡± Soon, Han Rui felt her body temperature dropping, her body becoming slightly stiff, and her breathing and heartbeat slowing down. Her limbs also grew heavy, and an offensive smell emanated from her... just like a zombie! This sensation made Han Rui panic a bit, as she instinctively clutched the corner of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. ¡°It¡¯s okay, this is the effect of the Stealth Potion. Once injected, zombies will have a harder time detecting you for an hour.¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t used a Stealth Potion in a long time, as he was able to deal with zombies quickly before, and didn¡¯t need to waste them. But now, with many Mad Demon Zombies outside and the appearance of a Level 2 Zombie, it was better to be safe and use a Stealth Potion. ¡°Huh? There¡¯s such a miraculous potion?!¡± Han Rui was somewhat shocked, but she didn¡¯t doubt Wang Tao¡¯s words and didn¡¯t ask where the potion came from. After both of them had used the Stealth Potion, those Mad Demons ran up to the upper floors, made a round, and left. Seeing that the Stealth Potion was effective against the Mad Demons, Wang Tao let out a temporary sigh of relief. About ten minutes later, all the Mad Demon Zombies downstairs had vanished, leaving only some Ordinary Zombies and Elite Zombies from the hospital wandering around. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui headed downstairs together. Although the Stealth Potion did cause a slight decrease in their own strength, the decrease wasn¡¯t significant. And since both Wang Tao and Han Rui mainly used crossbows, it didn¡¯t affect their performance. Moreover, using the Stealth Potion to hunt Elite Zombies was indeed effective. The Elite Zombies only noticed them when they were nearby, and the first Elite Zombie they killed had no idea who was attacking it until its death. After taking down the first zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s HP reached 4940, and after the second, his HP reached 4990. Wang Tao had thought that his HP would hit 5000 after killing the third zombie. But after killing the third zombie, his HP was [4999/4999]! It only increased by 9 HP. ¡°Damn! I knew it, reaching Level Two isn¡¯t that easy!¡± Chapter 237 - 131: Ascension of the Highest Chapter 237: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Difficulty (Seeking Monthly Tickets)_1 Translator: 549690339 ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with some curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m fine. You finish off the zombies from now on.¡± Since he no longer gained HP from killing elite zombies, it would be a waste not to let Han Rui take them down. ¡°Ah? Really? You¡¯re not going to increase your strength anymore?¡± Han Rui was somewhat excited, she obviously wanted to become stronger, but it had been agreed that Wang Tao would be the focus. -I¡¯ve reached the limit already, I can¡¯t enhance my strength for the time being.¡± Wang Tao shook his head with a sense of helplessness. ¡°Limit?¡± Han Rui was taken aback. -Yes, I¡¯ve reached the limit of Level 1, and I need to figure out how to ascend to Level 2. Otherwise, killing these elite zombies will be pointless...¡± Previously, when he had 1000 HP, killing ordinary zombies wouldn¡¯t increase his HP, and only killing elite zombies would work. But this time the situation was different from before; at least he could increase his HP to 1000 previously, but now he was stuck at 4999 and couldn t ascend any further. He had previously guessed that you need 5000 HP for a Level 2 Ascension, but that HP couldn¡¯t be achieved just by killing zombies. Wang Tao felt the key must lie in the Crystal Core. The day before yesterday when he killed Shao Yong, he obtained a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core. This crystal core could enhance an Ability to Level 2. And only after an Ability User ascended to Level 2 could they merge with a Level 2 Crystal Core. Could there be a possibility that in order to ascend to Level 2, Ability Users first need to enhance their own abilities to Level 2? Perhaps Wang Tao needed to elevate his own Ability to Level 2 first in order to continue gaining HP from killing zombies! If that¡¯s the case, then Wang Tao would be quite helpless. After all, he had learned four abilities. He surely wouldn¡¯t need to enhance all four abilities to Level 2, would he? Or would having just one Level 2 Ability suffice? If only one Ability needed to be upgraded for him to achieve a Level 2 Ascension, then it wouldn¡¯t be too bad. But if all four abilities needed to be ascended... never mind whether he could kill enough Level 2 Zombies, just finding that many Level 2 Zombies wouldn¡¯t be easy! As far as he knew, the only Level 2 Zombies were the deceased Shao Yong, the hooded zombie with 6000 HP he had just seen, and the gorilla zombie with 10,000 HP. Other than those, he had not seen any other Level 2 Zombies. He definitely couldn¡¯t defeat the gorilla zombie, though he might think of a way to deal with the hooded zombie. But even if he could kill it, the number of crystal cores would still be insufficient... what a headache! Shaking his head, Wang Tao decided not to dwell on it further and focused on working with Han Rui to kill the zombies. The loudspeaker that Wang Tao had prepared might have been smashed by the hooded zombie, but it still drew many elite zombies outside the hospital. Taking advantage of the effects of the Stealth Potion, Wang Tao and Han Rui went on a rampage against the zombies. With the potion and crossbow arrows, the zombies couldn¡¯t detect them at all. It took two days, but the thirty-odd elite zombies that had emerged were all killed by the two of them. Wang Tao also conducted an experiment and found that after reaching 4999 HP, indeed he could no longer increase his HP limit. Other than the one he tested, all the other zombies were killed by Han Rui. Han Rui thoroughly enjoyed the slaughter! She directly added almost two thousand HP! Her total HP had reached ¡°3030¡±! In fact, they had felt that these zombies could have been dealt with in one afternoon, but because Han Rui¡¯s HP increase required sleeping, some time was wasted. Of course, Han Rui¡¯s pace was still very fast, much faster than Wei Zhenguo and the others. There was no helping it; after all, with Wang Tao covering for her and the abundance of elite zombies here, her enhancement was bound to be rapid. After these zombies were killed, however, there were no more elite zombies outside the hospital. To continue killing, they either had to draw them out or go in. Wang Tao¡¯s loudspeaker was gone, making it hard to lure the zombies, so the two decided to hunt inside the hospital. But Wang Tao hadn¡¯t forgotten that Shao Yong, with his strong abilities, had been trapped inside the hospital. So they decided to just linger at the entrance of the hospital and not venture too deep. However, they discovered after entering the hospital that there didn¡¯t seem to be many elite zombies left. ¡°Could they have been killed off? That can¡¯t be right! There were so many before...¡± Wang Tao looked at the big hole created by the gorilla zombie in the inpatient building and felt that zombies might be inside. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not think about the zombies inside the building. Let¡¯s just clear out the ones in the courtyard.¡± Wang Tao thought it was best to play it safe. ¡°Hmm!¡± Han Rui naturally had no objections. There weren¡¯t many elite zombies in the courtyard, only 8 in total, which brought Han Rui¡¯s HP up to ¡°3470¡±. The two decided to call it quits and returned directly to the apartment. ¡°We¡¯ll wait one more day, and if those zombies inside the building don¡¯t come out, then we¡¯ll head home.¡± Wang Tao pondered. Actually, he wanted to increase Han Rui¡¯s HP to four thousand, as the opportunity was rare. But unfortunately, the zombies inside the hospital wouldn¡¯t come out! If these zombies came out, Wang Tao not only wanted to increase Han Rui¡¯s HP to four thousand but also thought about bringing Wei Zhenguo over to enhance everyone¡¯s HP. As long as everyone¡¯s strength increased, Wang Tao could get them to help him hunt down Level 2 Zombies! But while the imagination is beautiful, reality is cruel. By the next day, not only were there no elite zombies left in the hospital, but even the ordinary zombies had vanished... ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s retreat!¡± With no other choice, Wang Tao decided to head home for some rest.. Chapter 238 - 131: Ascension of the Highest Chapter 238: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Difficulty (Seeking Monthly Votes)_2 Translator: 549690339 I However, on the way home, Wang Tao suddenly heard a rumbling noise. ¡°It¡¯s a gorilla zombie!¡± The two of them hurriedly left the car and hid in a building. Before long, they saw the gorilla zombie pass by their location, still as fond of causing destruction as ever. Wang Tao was worried it would throw his car away. Thankfully, the gorilla zombie walked down the next street over, sparing his vehicle from harm. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go! Hurry back.¡± After the gorilla zombie left, Wang Tao drove away. It seemed that the appearance of the gorilla zombie had some benefits, as it had not only scattered various obstacles but cleared out the zombies as well. Their car journey was smooth and fast. However, Han Rui in the car was frowning somewhat, looking uncertainly at Wang Tao and saying, ¡°Looking at the path that gorilla zombie took, it seems like it might pass by Li Qiuyu¡¯s house...¡± Wang Tao pondered for a moment, then shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do about that, we can only hope she¡¯s lucky.¡± If it were a trivial effort, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t mind going for a rescue. But this was a Level 2 Zombie with tens of thousands of HP; with his current strength, going there was no different from seeking death. He couldn¡¯t risk his and Han Rui¡¯s lives on a gamble. ¡°Hmm...¡± Han Rui felt somewhat regretful. She tried contacting Li Qiuyu with the walkie-talkie but couldn¡¯t get through. She could only hope that Li Qiuyu was fortunate. Two hours later, the pair returned to Shuize Base. They had been outside for three days, and during those three days, something significant had happened at the base¡ªthe first batch of 20 selected survivors had all become ability users! Since they had been chosen as ability users, it was natural that they wouldn¡¯t just be given a Crystal Core and be done with it. If it was a success, all well and good, but if not, they would continue getting Crystal Cores until they succeeded. Hence, all twenty people became ability users. The overall strength of the base had gained a relatively big enhancement. Ren Jie and the others were originally quite excited, but when Wang Tao expressed that he temporarily had no way to achieve Level 2 Ascension, everyone¡¯s excitement diminished considerably. They hadn¡¯t expected that achieving Second Level Ascension would be so troublesome. Especially with the gorilla zombie showing up again today, it would be difficult to deal with it if Wang Tao couldn¡¯t ascend to Level Two... ¡°Next, you all need to seize the time to kill zombies, elevate your strength a bit more, and collect more Crystal Cores. If you encounter zombies that seem to be Level Two, contact me immediately. As for me... I¡¯ll think of another way.¡± Wang Tao told the others. ¡°Okay!¡± After all, enhancing one¡¯s strength was the most basic requirement. If the five or six hundred people in the base were all Level 1 ability users, couldn¡¯t they defeat a Level 2 Zombie? After returning home, Wang Tao furrowed his brows in thought. He did have a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core in his possession, and it was red. But this Crystal Core was impure... He hesitated over whether to use it or not. If he continued as before to synthesize a core with no impurities, he would need three Crystal Cores to do so! In the unluckiest scenario¡ªif he needed to upgrade all four of his abilities to Level Two for the ascension¡ªthen he would need 12 Ascension Crystal Cores! That would mean killing twelve Level 2 Zombies... Where could he find so many Level 2 Zombies! ¡°Maybe I should try using one first...¡± Wang Tao struggled for a moment, then with determination, decided to use the Ascension Crystal Core! So what if some impurities accumulated inside his body? As long as he kept it within a manageable limit, it was still safe. The primary concern was the gorilla zombie that posed a great threat¡ªit might arrive at the base anytime, not giving him the chance to slowly collect Crystal Cores... Wang Tao took out the Ascension Crystal Core. Inside the Ascension Crystal Core, there was a faint¡±+¡± shadow, which probably signified the meaning of ascension. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Impurities: 45% (no side effects)] [Ascension: After merging, it can randomly upgrade an already fully merged Level 1 Special Ability to Level Two] Wang Tao currently had two abilities at +10, Shockwave and Toughness. One for offense and one for defense, he would accept whichever one was upgraded to Level Two! Wang Tao directly placed the Ascension Crystal Core of outstanding quality in his mouth. Upon entering his mouth, Wang Tao felt the Crystal Core turn into a gas, filling his limbs in a very short time. Wang Tao felt warmly comfortable all over, and the 80% success rate meant no mishaps occurred. ¡°Comfortable-¡± After a short while, the warm sensation disappeared. All sense of fatigue that Wang Tao had before vanished instantly. He quickly checked his Attributes. There were no changes to his HP bar, still at 4999, but his Mana was different; it had increased from 2500 to 2700! So, one Level 2 Crystal Core added 200 Mana? Then, as expected, Wang Tao noticed an additional attribute. [Internal Impurity: O%] Seeing this impurity, Wang Tao was somewhat resigned, hoping that there would be fewer impurities in the future. And whether it was psychological or not, Wang Tao always felt somewhat uncomfortable having impurities inside his body... As for the highlight of this Ascension¡ª the upgraded ability, Wang Tao had a sensation of Shockwave even before checking the attributes. Looking at his attributes, the +10 on the icon of Shockwave was gone, but the bottom left now showed a ¡°Two,¡± presumably denoting Level Two. There weren¡¯t any other changes. Wang Tao prepared to go out and test this Level Two ability, while also looking for an Elite Zombie, to see if he could achieve Level 2 Ascension.. Chapter 239 - 131: Ascension of the Highest Chapter 239: Chapter 131: Ascension of the Highest Difficulty (Seeking Monthly Votes)_3 Translator: 549690339 Just like before, Wang Tao called Han Rui, and the two of them made a round outside. They weren¡¯t sure if the Elite Zombies nearby had all been killed by Wei Zhenguo¡¯s team, as they could barely spot any. The only one they eventually found was a Self-exploder. But as long as it was an Elite Zombie, that was good enough for Wang Tao to practice on. He carefully sneaked up to the Suicide Bombing Zombie and controlled it with a Slime Grenade, then he swung his axe at the creature, as if cutting through the void. A visible Shockwave appeared on the blade, striking heavily onto the body of the Self-exploder. Then. Bang The Self-exploder exploded! The sound, however, wasn¡¯t loud because it wasn¡¯t a Self Detonation; it was shattered by the Shockwave! The white slime that had solidified on its body was also broken into pieces. ¡°Amazing! Is this the power of a Second-order Superpower Owner?¡± Witnessing the shattered remains, Han Rui exclaimed softly. And she suddenly thought of something, if Wang Tao could kill a Self-exploder in one blow, and prevent it from exploding, they could save on using Slime Grenades and save a lot of time¡ªjust approach the Self-exploder, hack it with the axe, and that¡¯s it! This is what it means when a Level 2 suppresses a Level 1! ¡°No, to be precise, this is just the power of a Level 2 Ability; I¡¯m not a Second-order Superpower Owner yet.¡± Wang Tao was not pleased at all, as his HP hadn¡¯t increased. His worst fears had come true¡ªmaybe he had to ascend all four of his abilities to Level 2 before he could achieve Level 2 Ascension... ¡°Ah?¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment, then after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, she felt a bit disappointed before she started thinking about herself. She currently only had two abilities, Perception and Rush. But she could feel that she was still capable of fusing two more abilities. That meant she, like Wang Tao, could learn up to four abilities. But for Wang Tao to upgrade to Level 2, he might need at least four Ascension Crystal Cores! If you only had one ability, perhaps you¡¯d only need One Ascension Crystal Core... She currently had two abilities and needed just two cores, which was half as difficult compared to needing four... ¡°Being powerful comes at a price, huh!¡± Wang Tao sighed. Although Ability Users who fused four Crystal Cores were quite impressive, the difficulty of ascending increased exponentially! When he first discovered he could fuse four different types of Crystal Cores, he still thought it was too few and wished he could fuse dozens or hundreds¡ªhow powerful would that be! Now, Wang Tao felt relieved that he couldn¡¯t fuse so many types of Crystal Cores! Otherwise, if he truly could fuse that many, whether he could ever achieve Level 2 Ascension in his lifetime would be another question... ¡°So... do we keep hunting zombies?¡± Han Rui asked, looking at Wang Tao. ¡°Kill!¡± Wang Tao nodded. He needed to find Crystal Cores! At the very least, he had to get three more Ascension Crystal Cores to check for any Level 2 Zombies. Wang Tao currently knew of two Level 2 Zombies, the Gorilla zombie and the Hooded zombie. Even if he managed to kill these two and they both dropped Ascension Crystal Cores, he¡¯d still be short one Crystal Core... Plus, he needed to level up his Precision Shooting and Self-healing abilities; one of his abilities was at +4, and the other still at +1... He needed to kill more zombies to collect Level 1 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao and Han Rui stayed outside until dark before returning, having bad luck with only five Elite Zombies encountered all afternoon. This was far too few compared to the hospital. Too bad the zombies there wouldn¡¯t come out anymore. ¡°Go home and rest up.¡± Wang Tao said to Han Rui as she got out of the car. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui gained quite a bit of HP this afternoon, reaching 3700! Not far from 4000 HP now. But Han Rui was conflicted about fusing Crystal Cores, Wang Tao said he still had plenty of Crystal Cores, and if Han Rui was willing to fuse, she could ask him for them. The more types of Crystal Cores she fused, the harder it would be to ascend, and now Han Rui wasn¡¯t so sure if she wanted to continue fusing. After all, reality isn¡¯t like playing a game; in games, you can slowly grind over time, but reality doesn¡¯t give you that luxury... The next day. Wang Tao once again asked Han Rui to join him for a zombie hunt, but this time not just Han Rui, Ding Yuqin, Gao Hua, and Chen Zhuang joined as well. All three were above 1000 HP, and since killing Ordinary Zombies wouldn¡¯t increase their HP, they needed to kill Elite Zombies instead. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t taken them before because they lacked experience in killing zombies, and bringing them would only be a hindrance. But now, after some training, they were basically qualified Hunters. Even Ding Yuqin, the least skilled among them, could handle several Ordinary Zombies on her own. So Wang Tao took them out to get more familiar with the characteristics of Elite Zombies, to be more composed when they encountered them in the future. They had better luck today than yesterday, encountering 16 Elite Zombies in the span of one day! Han Rui reached 4000 HP and fell into deep slumber. Ding Yuqin, Gao Hua, and Chen Zhuang also got their cuts in, relishing the thrill of killing an Elite Zombie. Before nightfall, when they returned to the Survivor Base, Wang Tao noticed many unfamiliar faces. He let Ding Yuqin and the others go first, then drove the still-unconscious Han Rui to her home. At Han Rui¡¯s house, Wang Tao unexpectedly saw Sun Weiguang. It had been many days since Wang Tao last saw Sun Weiguang, and to be honest, he felt that when Sun Weiguang was around, things seemed more thrilling? Ahem¡ª ¡°Commissioner Wang!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao carrying Han Rui upstairs, Sun Weiguang was surprised but considerately helped Wang Tao open the door. ¡°Where have you been these days?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Ahem, I¡¯ve been with Ou Yingying lately. I came over today to formally talk to Han Rui, hoping that we can part on good terms, and go our separate ways...¡± ¡°Oh, then I won¡¯t disturb you guys.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After placing Han Rui on the bed, he left. Then he went to the administrative building, asking Ren Jie with some surprise: ¡°Why are there so many unfamiliar faces today?¡± Ren Jie replied: ¡°It¡¯s all because of that Gorilla zombie... Many family-style small-scale Survivor Bases were destroyed! Those who survived all want to join our base..¡± Chapter 240 - 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Chapter 240: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Votes)_l The destruction caused by the gorilla zombie was far greater than Wang Tao had imagined. Wherever it went, destruction followed; it didn¡¯t care if there were people or not, it simply wanted to wreak havoc. Some of the smaller Survivor Bases had had terrible luck. They were either inadvertently affected by the gorilla zombie, or almost completely wiped out upon discovery... Those who managed to survive fled the base immediately. It had been over two months since the end of the world, and most survivors in Shuize County had already heard of the Suzaku University Survivor Base. After all, there were quite a few Hunters in the Shuize Base, who occasionally encountered other survivors, and word about the base slowly spread. The base also broadcasted from time to time through walkie-talkies, and those who had civilian walkie-talkies could receive the signal. Of course, knowing about the Shuize Base was one thing; whether they wanted to come or not was another matter. After all, coming would mean abiding by rules, lacking the freedom they once had. Moreover, with so many zombies outside, reaching the Shuize Base involved great risk. Many people felt that as long as they could barely get by, there was no need to take that risk-this was their previous thinking. Now, of course, it was different. Their small bases could barely count a dozen people as many, and they had no ability to resist risks. in the past, they could hide from some of the elite zombies, but now, faced with a gorilla zombie, they had no capacity to fight back. Quite a few small bases were completely wiped out, and the survivors who were still alive had no choice but to flee. Along the way, many more died, and it was no small feat to make it to the Suzaku University... ¡°Today our base received 32 people, according to their accounts, at least over 50 people died...¡± Ren Jie¡¯s tone was somewhat sorrowful. While it was good to have an increase in population at the base, the death of so many survivors was still regrettable. With the gorilla zombie wreaking havoc like this, it would probably not be long before the entire Shuize County had only their Shuize Base with any living people left. ¡°There¡¯s nothing that can be done about it.¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then prepared to leave. But as if he remembered something, he asked: ¡°By the way, among these people, is there a Li Qiu Yu?¡± Ren Jie shook his head. ¡°Li Qiu Yu? No, I don¡¯t recall seeing that name.¡± The surname Li is quite rare; if he had seen it, he wouldn¡¯t have forgotten. ¡°That¡¯s a pity, she once helped me. I saw the gorilla zombie heading towards her house, but I was unable to help her. Wang Tao shook his head and spoke of the situation at that time. Although it was regrettable, he had lost hope for Li Qiu Yu. ¡°Ah... it¡¯s not your fault.¡± Ren Jie shook his head. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t yet at Level Two, so he certainly couldn¡¯t contend with the gorilla zombie; going there would have been suicide. ¡°However, I¡¯ll keep an eye out for you, just in case she didn¡¯t die...¡± ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll get going then.¡± After Wang Tao left, Ren Jie frowned and thought for a moment. ¡°There should be no one by the name of Li Qiu Yu... He took out the previously compiled list of names and checked it carefully, then shook his head. ¡°Yan Tai, Meng Xiaojun, Wu Fei... indeed, there isn¡¯t. The teachers¡¯ apartments. Han Rui woke up and felt slightly disappointed to see Wang Tao was not there. However, she noticed that Sun Weiguang was actually in the living room. ¡°How come you¡¯re here?¡± Han Rui¡¯s face turned cold immediately. To be honest, she felt quite comfortable when Sun Weiguang was not around. She now detested Sun Weiguang, believing that even killing him for drugging her would not be too harsh. Holding back only for the sake of their past relationship, she no longer wanted to see Sun Weiguang. ¡°Ahem, you¡¯re awake? It¡¯s like this... I¡¯m very thankful for your care over the years. I know I¡¯ve been a lot of trouble, that¡¯s my fault, I was wrong before...¡± Watching Sun Weiguang ramble on, Han Rui furrowed her brows. Was Sun Weiguang trying to make amends, or did he want something? in the peaceful times before, when he would come to her asking for money, it resembled the situation now. Seeing Han Rui¡¯s impatient expression, Sun Weiguang sighed and said: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get to the point. I think we should part amicably and live our separate lives, without disturbing each other again, that is... get a divorce. What do you think?¡± Is that all? Han Rui thought about mocking him, but seeing Sun Weiguang¡¯s serious face, she felt he might have truly matured quite a bit. So, she nodded. ¡°Okay. I agree to the divorce.¡± Even though it was the end of the world and these formalities didn¡¯t matter much, the two had once been married-it was best to part on good terms. Seeing that Han Rui agreed without a second¡¯s hesitation, Sun Weiguang suddenly felt a bit sad; he nodded with a bitter smile. ¡°...Alright. Then... I¡¯ll leave now.¡± After speaking, Sun Weiguang stood up and left his key to the apartment behind. There were two keys to the apartment; one for him and one for Han Rui. ¡°By the way, are you still with Ou Yingying? Han Rui suddenly asked. ¡°Yes. Ou Yingying said she was very sorry to you, too ashamed to face you, so she didn¡¯t come over...¡± Sun Weiguang paused for a moment, then left. Watching Sun Weiguang¡¯s retreating figure, Han Rui felt complicated. It wasn¡¯t about reluctance. But still, having once been husband and wife and now ending up like this, it was somewhat sigh-inducing. Shaking her head, Han Rui stopped thinking about it. She didn¡¯t have time for sentiments; her top priority was to increase her ability to protect herself I Chapter 241 - 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Chapter 241: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Votes )_2 After leaving the teachers¡¯ apartment, Sun Weiguang arrived at a student dormitory building¡ªOu Yingying¡¯s residence. Standing outside room 404, Sun Weiguang knocked on the door. ¡°Yingying, open the door, it¡¯s me,¡± he said. But there was no response. Sun Weiguang knocked again. ¡°It¡¯s me, Yingying, open up!¡± he insisted. Still, no response came. Sun Weiguang frowned. It was late; Ou Yingying shouldn¡¯t have gone out. Just then, someone from the neighboring room came out; Sun Weiguang hurriedly called out to him. ¡°Old Li, have you seen Yingying?¡± he asked. The man, called Old Li, gave Sun Weiguang a glance, puzzled. ¡°Huh? Earlier, a man was shouting for Ou Yingying downstairs; she went down to him. I thought that man was you? Turns out it wasn¡¯t...¡± Sun Weiguang was stunned. A man looking for Ou Yingying at night? This gave him an immediate bad feeling¡ªhad he been cuckolded again? ¡°Where did they go?¡± Sun Weiguang quickly asked. ¡°Probably that little grove over there? Hey, don¡¯t run off so fast! Seriously, don¡¯t start a fight! Consequences for fighting in the base are severe...¡± Before Old Li could finish, Sun Weiguang had already sprinted away. Downstairs. Sun Weiguang walked toward the small grove that Old Li pointed out. ¡°It can¡¯t be; Yingying and I truly love each other. She couldn¡¯t be involved with another man...¡± As he walked, Sun Weiguang muttered to himself. It was dark already. Naturally, the small grove was deserted. In these end times, with limited entertainment activities, everyone was preparing to sleep at this hour. After a brief search in the grove, Sun Weiguang quickly spotted a figure seated on a stone bench. By the look of the long flowing hair, it was indeed Ou Yingying. Sun Weiguang first secretly observed, making sure there were no men or anything around before he felt relieved. He just knew it¡ªOu Yingying and he shared true love; how could she betray him? Sun Weiguang stepped out and called out loudly: ¡°Yingying! What are you doing here?¡± Hearing the sound, Ou Yingying lifted her head. However, with only the faint starlight, Sun Weiguang couldn¡¯t see Ou Yingying¡¯s expression clearly. ¡°Are you troubled by something? Talk to me! I¡¯m a man who can earn four Ration Tickets a day now. Whatever the issue, I can handle it!¡± he said, laughing. Considering his past, he found it somewhat unbelievable. When he was with Han Rui, earning one Ration Ticket a day was already difficult, relying mostly on Han Rui¡¯s help. But now, with Ou Yingying, he could earn four Ration Tickets by doing manual labor! ¡°Yingying?¡± Seeing Ou Yingying not speaking, Sun Weiguang found it odd. He quickly walked over and laid his hands on Ou Yingying¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Yingying, what¡¯s wro¡ªahh!¡± Ou Yingying lifted her head to reveal a ferocious face, with white eyes and dark veins spreading across her face. Startled, Sun Weiguang fell on his butt. ¡°A zombie? You, what¡¯s happened to you!¡± Swipe¡ª ¡°Hehe...¡± Ou Yingying reached out, about to grasp Sun Weiguang¡¯s arm, but he hastily retreated, using hands and feet. Rustle- Just as Ou Yingying was about to catch Sun Weiguang, she suddenly stopped and flailed wildly. Her nails were only ten centimeters from Sun Weiguang¡¯s leg, yet she could not reach any further. Sun Weiguang then noticed Ou Yingying was bound with an iron chain, tied to a tree! After the initial shock, Sun Weiguang started to come to his senses. Ou Yingying was a victim! Who, who could have done this? Sun Weiguang frantically looked around, there were no people among the trees, yet it felt as though each tree concealed a person¡¯s shadow! ¡°Right, Inhibitor! Yingying, wait for me, I will get you an Inhibitor!¡± Sun Weiguang scrambled to his feet and ran. Wang Tao was in the middle of his routine exercise; he insisted on working out every evening. Just then, the communicator placed beside him erupted with urgent voices. ¡°Commissioner Wang! A zombie has been spotted in the base! Come quickly to the base of Dormitory Building No. 1!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao, without a second thought, immediately suited up in his Rush Suit. ¡°Sister-in-law, stay at home and don¡¯t go out. There¡¯s a zombie in the base!¡± he warned. ¡°Ah? Okay! Be careful!¡± Ding Yuqin promptly picked up a Firefighter Axe, becoming somewhat nervous. She didn¡¯t offer to accompany Wang Tao, knowing she would be a burden to him. In such times, it was best not to cause trouble. Wang Tao swiftly got into his vehicle and soon arrived at the base of Dormitory Building No. 1. Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and a few other committee members had also arrived. They were all in various states of dress, clearly having been asleep. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Wei Zhenguo demanded sternly. ¡°Sun Weiguang came to request an Inhibitor. Earlier, the staff thought he was infected, but he said someone in the small grove was infected. When the staff went to check, the person had turned into a zombie, and an Inhibitor was useless!¡± Ren Jie quickly explained. ¡°Where¡¯s the zombie? Any casualties?¡± ¡°Inside the small grove, tied up with an iron chain. No casualties so far!¡± Relieved that the zombie was contained and there were no casualties, everyone¡¯s tension eased somewhat. At that moment, Wang Tao expressed his curiosity: ¡°The zombie discovered by Sun Weiguang? Where is he?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been detained. He¡¯s not quite right in the head. He keeps saying his girlfriend can still be saved, that she¡¯s just infected...¡± Ren Jie shrugged. ¡°Girlfriend? Could it be her?¡± Wang Tao instinctively thought of Ou Yingying.. Chapter 242 - 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Chapter 242: Chapter 132 Revenge (Requesting Monthly Votes )_3 As they spoke, the group arrived inside the forest. In the combined illumination of several flashlights, they saw a female zombie in pajamas, with her hair in disarray, frantically turning her head. However, a chain tightly bound her waist, restricting her movement within a certain range. ¡°Who tied this chain?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked. ¡°Sun Weiguang has no idea, he said it wasn¡¯t him!¡± Ren Jie answered gravely. ¡°Hmm? Are there others at the scene? Was Ou Yingying killed by someone?¡± Everyone was startled for a moment before they all thought of the key issue. ¡°Not sure, but that¡¯s also why we called you guys here.¡± Ren Jie shook his head. Inside the base, infighting was strictly controlled; at most, survivors might engage in verbal spats and rarely got into physical fights. Let alone such clear cases of framing and murder. Ou Yingying had never left the base; she hadn¡¯t had the chance to be infected with the zombie virus nor had she fused with a Crystal Core... So, it was highly probable that she was infected by someone with zombie blood! ¡°Investigate! I want to see who has such gall!¡± Xiang Hongbin was furious. This was a direct challenge to the authority of their committee! Wang Tao walked over to examine her and directly grabbed the zombie¡¯s face. ¡°Hehe...¡± The zombie immediately flailed her arms, trying to grab Wang Tao. But Wang Tao¡¯s other hand firmly restrained both of her arms, immobilizing her. For an Ordinary zombie with 500 HP, Wang Tao could handle her with ease. Seeing her face, it was indeed Ou Yingying. ¡°Hmm?¡± However, upon seeing Ou Yingying¡¯s face, Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brow. On her neck, there was a deep bite mark surrounded by black blood vessels. And, this bite mark was the same as human teeth! ¡°Not good! There¡¯s a zombie inside the base!¡± Wang Tao suddenly yelled out, ¡°She wasn¡¯t infected by zombie blood; she was bitten!¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was shocked. Wang Tao carefully examined the ground. It had been a long time since anyone had been in this small grove, and it was covered in dust. Among a mess of footprints, there was a set leading to the north wall of the compound! ¡°You guys search the other areas carefully. I¡¯m going out to have a look!¡± Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Wang Tao took a flashlight and ran following the footprints. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Call all the survivors, check them! And get some people to guard the small grove!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately commanded. By the time he left the small grove, Han Rui had just jogged over. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Han Rui was still a bit confused, knowing only that someone in the base had been infected, but unclear about the specifics. Ren Jie briefed her on the situation. ¡°What? Sun Weiguang? Ou Yingying?¡± Han Rui was taken aback. She hadn¡¯t expected it to be the two of them involved! Han Rui ran into the small grove, and after seeing the zombie Ou Yingying, she shook her head, then ran back out and asked: ¡°Where is Sun Weiguang?¡± ¡°He has been taken to the comprehensive building for custody...¡± Ren Jie pointed to a place. Han Rui hurried to find Sun Weiguang, wanting to understand the situation. ¡°I want to see Sun Weiguang!¡± ¡°Okay, Minister Han, please¡ªhuh? Where¡¯s Sun Weiguang? The window¡¯s open? Damn! Did he run out the window? This is the fourth floor!¡± ¡°Yingying, I¡¯ve got the inhibitor, I¡¯m coming to save you!¡± Sun Weiguang, clutching a bottle of inhibitor and limping, stepped out of the darkness and into the grove of trees. There was no moon tonight, and the stars were dim¡ªbesides, the base was somewhat chaotic, so no one noticed him entering the grove. Soon, Sun Weiguang saw the person chained up. ¡°Yingying, Tmhere!¡± Sun Weiguang, holding the inhibitor, ran excitedly towards the bowed head of Ou Yingying, then hugged her tightly. ¡°Yingying, open your mouth quickly!¡± Ou Yingying lifted her head, and those pale white eyes looked at Sun Weiguang in front of her. She tilted her head, seeming somewhat confused. Then, she bit into Sun Weiguang¡¯s neck. ¡°Gurgle-¡± Sun Weiguang, one hand on his neck, the other gripping the inhibitor, had a face full of disbelief. ¡°Yingying... you...¡± ¡°Heh... roar...¡± ¡°There¡¯s movement!¡± While following the footprints, Wang Tao suddenly saw a shadow flash by, so he hurried to the wall and then saw the barbed wire on top was cut! ¡°Zombies can cut barbed wire?¡± Wang Tao had thought it was zombie footprints, perhaps those of a special elite zombie. But would elite zombies cut barbed wire? This wire was the same spiral barbed wire used in prisons, and even mad demon zombies couldn¡¯t climb through it¡ªthey¡¯d get stuck unless the wire was cut! Are elite zombies now this formidable? Wang Tao was surprised, but he didn¡¯t stop; he climbed right over the wall. His strength had grown, and so had his confidence. Bang! Wang Tao landed, and there were no zombies outside the base. He quickly scanned the area and saw a shadow fleeting in the distance. ¡°Finally caught you!¡± Wang Tao immediately activated his precision shooting ability, and then his gear set¡¯s rush ability, using the rush as a teleport. Boom¡ª Wang Tao sprinted twenty to thirty meters in an instant! Not far ahead of him, a gaunt figure was sprinting wildly. Whoosh¡ª Without a word, Wang Tao hurled his axe. Bang! Clang¡ª The axe struck the figure¡¯s back but made a metallic clank. The shadow slowly got up. Then it turned its head, looking at Wang Tao. Wang Tao had been slightly taken aback the moment he threw his flying axe. Because the figure¡¯s HP bar kept flickering red and green! Wang Tao had only seen this happen when Shao Yong turned into a zombie! And when the figure turned around, Wang Tao, with the help of the faint starlight, got a clear view, and he was utterly shocked. ¡°WuFei!¡± The person before him was none other than Blondy Wu Fei, whom he had met twice before! But this time, Wu Fei lacked the warmth and openness of the previous encounter. His expression was cold, like a stranger¡¯s. Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t make another move, Wu Fei suddenly shifted and disappeared into the night. Chapter 243 - 133: 95% Internal Impurity l Chapter 243: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity l Seeing Wu Fei had run away, Wang Tao picked up his axe but chose not to pursue any further. It was night, and it was too dangerous outside. It wasn¡¯t worth risking his life. He returned to the base by the way he¡¯d come and then had someone repair the wire fence. As he approached the grove, he felt the atmosphere here was somewhat strange Zhen Guo and several others seemed at a loss for words, while Han Rui stood gazing absentmindedly into the trees. ¡°What¡¯s happened to everyone?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. ¡°Sun Weiguang...has died...¡± Han Rui lifted her head, her expression complex. ¡°Eh? Sun Weiguang is dead? Was he infected?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. Wasn¡¯t Sun Weiguang under control? How could he be dead unless he was infected by Ou Yingying... ¡°He was indeed infected, but... sigh, you better take a look yourself...¡± Han Rui led Wang Tao deeper into the grove. Upon seeing the scene before him, Wang Tao frowned instantly. Originally, there was only one person¡ªoh no, one corpse¡ªhere, which was Ou Yingying¡¯s, but now there was an additional body, Sun Weiguang. Ou Yingying was holding Sun Weiguang tightly, her mouth still on his neck, which was gnawed down to the spine. Both their foreheads were pierced by a crossbow arrow. And in Sun Weiguang¡¯s hand, he still clenched a bottle of inhibitor... ¡°What...what happened?¡± Wang Tao was dumbstruck. He had only been away for a short while... ¡°Here¡¯s what happened...¡± Ren Jie recounted the full situation. At first, upon discovering Ou Yingying had turned into a zombie, Sun Weiguang immediately ran to the main building to request an inhibitor. The main building had some inhibitors on standby, which could be used upon request if someone got infected. There was someone on duty there 24 hours a day. While the inhibitors were precious and had previously required 100,000 Contribution Points for a bottle, they weren¡¯t as scarce as before, and the price had dropped significantly. Additionally, not everyone could overpower a zombie. If someone in the base truly got infected, using an inhibitor to deal with the trouble was definitely preferable to having a new zombie emerge. Therefore, Sun Weiguang ran to get the inhibitor. Requesting the inhibitor was straightforward: explain the situation and then have the staff bring the inhibitor over. When Sun Weiguang mentioned Ou Yingying¡¯s infection, the staff immediately took people to the site, but after realizing that Ou Yingying had fully turned into a zombie and was beyond saving, they naturally refused to administer the inhibitor. Sun Weiguang was not willing to accept this. He believed Ou Yingying could still be saved, and was somewhat obstinate. With no choice, after confirming Sun Weiguang wasn¡¯t infected, the staff controlled him and locked him up in the main building. It was at this time that Wang Tao and the others reached the grove. As everyone was busy checking whether there were any more zombies in the base, Sun Weiguang stole the inhibitor that the staff had previously locked in a glass cabinet, then jumped straight down from the fourth floor! Up to this point, the base didn¡¯t have a dedicated place for detaining people. On one hand, although there were quarrels among base members, overall it was relatively peaceful. On the other hand, the base was in a development phase: there weren¡¯t enough people for working, let alone for keeping others imprisoned unproductively. Hence, Sun Weiguang was confined in the fourth floor of the main building, which was the staff¡¯s office. No one outside expected Sun Weiguang to be so extreme to jump from the fourth floor! So, he went unnoticed at that moment. After learning that Ou Yingying was infected and Sun Weiguang was detained, Han Rui prepared to find Sun Weiguang and get an understanding of the situation. Then they realized, Sun Weiguang was missing. The staff member noticed the stolen inhibitor from the cabinet, and immediately, recalling Sun Weiguang¡¯s prior behavior, felt it was highly likely he had gone to find Ou Yingying. Consequently, Han Rui hastened back to the grove, and upon arrival, she saw Ou Yingying gnawing on Sun Weiguang... Sun Weiguang had been dead for some time, and there was no possibility of revival. Han Rui decisively fired a crossbow arrow into Sun Weiguang¡¯s forehead to prevent him from turning into a zombie, and then shot another into Ou Yingying¡¯s head... Less than half a minute later, Wang Tao returned. After listening to Ren Jie¡¯s account, Wang Tao opened his mouth slightly, still somewhat shocked. He was stunned by Sun Weiguang¡¯s actions. Could it be true love between these two¡ªat least, Sun Weiguang¡¯s love for Ou Yingying was undoubtedly real! Sun Weiguang risked the possibility of death by falling, just to sneak the inhibitor to Ou Yingying! Even though Ou Yingying had completely turned into a zombie... Has Sun Weiguang lost his mind? No, you can¡¯t really call Sun Weiguang foolish. After all, love can easily blind people... and many people only know that inhibitors can prevent virus infection, without realizing that this has a prerequisite¡ªthat the infected person is not dead, and has not fully turned into a zombie. If the person is dead, or has completely turned into a zombie, then no amount of inhibitors can save them. Most likely, Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t know this... Of course, whether he knew or not, his actions admittedly earned some respect from Wang Tao... Wang Tao then looked towards Han Rui, understanding why her mood had declined. Regardless, Sun Weiguang was her husband, or rather, ex-husband. Even if Han Rui regarded him with contempt, the sudden disappearance of a living person, if not sad, was at least disconcerting. Chapter 244 - 133: 95% Internal Impurity_2 Chapter 244: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity_2 And most importantly, Sun Weiguang died in Ou Yingying¡¯s arms. He held tightly onto that bottle of Inhibitor, thinking of saving Ou Yingying until his last breath... ¡°I suddenly feel a bit sad, sad for myself...¡± Han Rui suddenly spoke up. She had done so much for Sun Weiguang. After the apocalypse, she had risked her life to save him. Yet, even such affections could not outweigh those for a woman he¡¯d only known for a few days... This probably proved one thing-perhaps, Sun Weiguanghad never loved her. So Han Rui felt very sad. Wang Tao looked at the distant look in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, gently caressing her cheek. Han Rui subconsciously rubbed her face against Wang Tao1 s hand, then her gaze gradually became clearer. ¡°Let¡¯s go, there¡¯s something I need to tell you.¡± Wang Tao took Han Rui with him, joining Wei Zhenguo and the others in the conference hall. Upon entering the meeting room, Wang Tao abruptly said: ¡°I just saw the murderer.¡± ¡°Who is it!¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others stared in dazed shock. No matter what happened between Ou Yingying and Sun Weiguang, anyone who dared to commit murder in their base was unforgivable! ¡°WuFei.¡± Wang Tao named someone unfamiliar to everyone else. ¡°WuFei?¡± Yet, Han Rui and Ren Jie reflexively repeated the name. ¡°Wu Fei... isn¡¯t he the survivor who arrived at our base today? Let me check... Ren Jie hurriedly brought up the list, and everyone checked together-among today¡¯s registered survivors at the base, there indeed was a Wu Fei! ¡°Could it be... Blondy?¡± Han Rui, somewhat in disbelief, spoke. He remembered a Blondy named Wu Fei and a male university student named Li Cheng. It was Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying who had killed these two, which allowed them to escape the crisis! ¡°That¡¯s him.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°But...butwasn¡¯the dead?¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes were a little lost. To put it bluntly, if those two were dead, Han Rui would feel very guilty. If they were still alive, Han Rui would feel even guiltier... Of course, that1 s not to say Han Rui wanted them dead; she still hoped they were alive, preferably with a chance to make amends. But since Wu Fei had killed Ou Yingying, it was clear he didn¡¯t need any compensation¡ªhe wanted revenge! ¡°He didn¡¯t die, I saved him.¡± Wang Tao suddenly stated. Han Rui looked at Wang Tao, somewhat shocked. ¡°No, what kind of riddle are you playing at? Xiang Hongbin scratched his head, staring at the two of them. ¡°Do you know that Wu Fei?¡± Ren Jie asked curiously. ¡°Sort of know him...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained to everyone. He didn¡¯t go into too much detail, simply mentioning that Wu Fei was Ou Yingying¡¯s boyfriend, and during their escape, Ou Yingying had used Wu Fei as a decoy, leading to his being bitten by zombies. By a stroke of luck, Wang Tao , used an Inhibitor to save Wu Fei, and upon surviving, Wu Fei then left. Wu Fei¡¯s return was for the purpose of seeking revenge from Ou Yingying... In these explanations, Wang Tao deliberately obscured the part concerning Han Rui. As for Sun Weiguang, he didn¡¯t mention him at all-the man was already dead. ¡°So that¡¯s what happened!¡± The group understood. That made sense. They had wondered which survivor would dare to cause trouble for Shuize Base at a time like this, so it turned out the person was seeking revenge... But it must be said, although Wu Fei¡¯s actions were frowned upon by everyone, he also knew how to play it safe. He preemptively tied Ou Yingying to a tree; even if she turned into a zombie, she wouldn¡¯t cause any harm-Sun Weiguang was an exception. ¡°No wait!¡± Wei Zhenguo suddenly frowned and said, ¡°But there is a bite mark on Ou Yingying¡¯s neck! The area around the wound is saturated with zombie virus, clearly bitten by a zombie! Did Wu Fei bring in a zombie? Upon hearing this, everyone shivered with dread. If there was still a zombie within the base, that would be trouble indeed! However, Wang Tao shookhis head. ¡°That wound, it was bitten by Wu Fei himself... ¡°What?¡± The group looked at Wang Tao, baffled. ¡°This is also why I called you over. I just caught up to Wu Fei, and his current state is very strange. He is on the brink of turning into a zombie but hasn¡¯t yet turned. He has zombie traits but still possesses human consciousness! It¡¯s somewhat similar to the stage Shao Yong was in before he turned into a zombie...¡± When Shao Yong was turning into a zombie, his HP was also flickering, but he mutated very quickly. Unlike Wu Fei who kept flickering but hadn¡¯t fully turned into a zombie. However, Wang Tao felt that Wu Fei would probably fully become a zombie soon, because the Internal Impurity in his body was too high! Wang Tao was startled when he saw Wu Fei¡¯s Attributes. Wu Fei had over two thousand HP, more than a thousand MP, which were quite Ordinary. But his Internal Impurity was at 95%! When Shao Yong mutated, his Internal Impurity was at 85%-that was 10% higher than Shao Yong¡¯s! When Wang Tao last met Wu Fei, his Internal Impurity was only at 28%! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what Wu Fei had gone through recently, but logically, he should have had an Inhibitor... Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone was stunned. On the verge of turning into a zombie but never completing the transformation? The viral infection was high, but he hadn¡¯t died? What was going on? ¡°I¡¯m guessing he won¡¯t live much longer. Perhaps the next time we go out, we might see the zombie he¡¯s turned into...¡± Chapter 245 - 133: 95% Internal Impurity 3 Chapter 245: Chapter 133: 95% Internal Impurity 3 Wang Tao sighed. Everyone shook their heads, feeling inexplicably sentimental. The feeling of slowly turning into a zombie must be painful... At this moment, Ren Jie suddenly felt regretful. ¡°Ah, this is my fault! We had agreed to put the detector at the entrance of the base to check every new survivor. But because the device consumes a lot of power, we needed to lay special electrical cables, so the wiring wasn¡¯t ready yet... I was planning to have them come to the main building for inspection tomorrow at noon, but then tonight this happened...¡± Wu Fei¡¯s eyes were not a problem, and eye checks wouldn¡¯t reveal anything; only a detector could do that, but unfortunately, Wu Fei was one step ahead... With this incident, no one could sleep, and everyone at the base was awoken. Ren Jie simply called over the three survivors who had registered with Wu Fei to ask about their situation. Ren Jie didn¡¯t tell them what had happened to Wu Fei because these survivors might lie to avoid trouble if they knew. Instead, Ren Jie showed a desire to understand and care for them. The survivors, not knowing what had transpired, opened up upon seeing how amiable Commissioner Ren was. All three were survivors from Sunshine Kindergarten. They were truly unlucky ¡ªgorilla zombies had passed by their location and casually smashed their kindergarten. Luckily, they weren¡¯t discovered by the gorilla zombies; otherwise, they would have been wiped out for sure. But even without being detected, under the gorilla zombies¡¯ ¡°casual¡± attacks, most of them were killed or wounded. The organizer of the Sunshine Kindergarten survivor base, the old dean, was also tragically killed. The old dean was elderly with poor physical health and couldn¡¯t escape. Wu Fei was outside at the time and escaped by a hair¡¯s breadth. After seeing the gorilla zombie, he immediately ran towards the kindergarten, but it was still too late. After the gorilla zombie left, everyone was very sad. But grief was not a solution; the kindergarten was completely destroyed, and most of their people were dead or injured. It was no longer possible to live there. After discussing, they decided to head to Shuize Base... As for Wu Fei, the three of them spoke highly of him, saying he was the hardest-working person in the base. He had brought back a lot of supplies and inhibitors, and many had received his help... However, recently Wu Fei¡¯s personality had become colder, and he spoke less and less. But no one really paid much attention, after all, people were dying around them now and then. Not breaking down already showed strength, so personality changes were only too normal... After gathering the information, Ren Jie let the survivors leave. He sighed: ¡°Avery good young man, but it¡¯s a pity...¡± The others fell silent for a moment, then Wei Zhenguo said: ¡°Tomorrow, we need to fix the detector, and also, with more people in the base now, we can assign more personnel to night shifts...¡± Whether it was Wu Fei or Shao Yong a few days ago, their ability to easily enter and leave the base was indeed too careless. Even if they couldn¡¯t be stopped due to their strength, at least someone should have seen them. The base¡¯s security force is still inadequate! But there was no helping it. Aside from those dozen or so members of the Security Army and a few policemen, everyone else was not professional. It was already good enough if they didn¡¯t doze off while on night shift¡ªthere wasn¡¯t much to hope for... ¡°Hmm! We do need to strengthen security. I am planning to have the base¡¯s police and Security Army train them a bit later. Without some professional skills, it¡¯s really not enough!¡± When Wang Tao got home, Ding Yuqin was still awake, waiting for him. ¡± How did it go, Wang Tao? No big problems, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all resolved.¡± Wang Tao briefly explained what happened. Ding Yuqin knew about the previous incident at the water plant, so after listening to Wang Tao, she was full of sighs. It was hard to say who was right or wrong, after all, they were all fighting for their lives. However, the fact that Sun Weiguang and Ou Yingying were truly in love surprised Ding Yuqin. She couldn¡¯t understand why Sun Weiguang didn¡¯t like his beautiful and capable wife at home and instead liked Ou Yingying, who seemed unremarkable... But if it was true love, dying together in the apocalypse might not be a bad thing... She just felt Han Rui was a bit pitiful, realizing her husband had never truly loved her must be quite painful. Being a woman herself, Ding Yuqin could empathize with Han Rui¡¯s feelings at the moment. At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly spoke: ¡°Let¡¯s have Han Rui come and stay at our house tomorrow, what do you think, Sister-in-law?¡± ¡°Ah? Sure! I can keep her company!¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t react at first. ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s happily decided.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He didn¡¯t need to consider Ding Yuqin¡¯s opinion, but out of respect, he still mentioned it. ¡°Hold on¡ªyou, what do you mean?¡± Seeing the smile on Wang Tao¡¯s face, Ding Yuqin suddenly understood the implication. Staying over could mean different things. Would she stay with her, or with Wang Tao? Wang Tao didn¡¯t answer. His silence confirmed Ding Yuqin¡¯s suspicion... Ding Yuqin bit her lip, her small face falling. ¡°Wuwuwu¡ª¡± Han Rui was not the pitiful one; she was! ¡°Okay, okay, let¡¯s sleep.¡± Wang Tao reached out and wrapped his arm around Ding Yuqin¡¯s slender waist and went upstairs. Ding Yuqin struggled symbolically a few times, then obediently leaned into Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. She definitely wanted to monopolize Wang Tao, but she also knew that was unrealistic. In this apocalypse where strength reigned supreme, powerful men would naturally attract many women. When Wang Tao sometimes didn¡¯t rest at home, Ding Yuqin had already guessed something. After all, Wang Tao never brought anyone back, and he was mostly hers. But now Wang Tao had laid his cards on the table... However, she thought carefully, Wang Tao was actually quite restrained in this aspect, as he always prioritized improving his strength. Ding Yuqin had heard from Gao Hua before that other survivor bases were much more chaotic! Being with Wang Tao was already very lucky for her, she dared not ask for too much... ¡°Hmph, I¡¯ll drain you dry tonight!¡± Chapter 246 - 134 The Only Belief l Chapter 246: Chapter 134 The Only Belief l In the morning, Wang Tao went to the teachers¡¯ apartments. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Han Rui thought Wang Tao was looking for her to go out hunting zombies, and she was somewhat pleased. ¡°Have you had breakfast?¡± Wang Tao glanced at the porridge on the table. ¡°Not yet...¡± Han Rui felt a little embarrassed. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao turned and left without another word. Han Rui was confused, she looked at the breakfast on the table, her throat moved a bit, but in the end, she didn¡¯t eat it. After getting into the car, she thought they were going out, but to her surprise, Wang Tao took her to the committee¡¯s villa area. ¡°Get out.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± Han Rui followed Wang Tao into the villa and saw Ding Yuqin, wearing an apron, preparing breakfast. ¡°You¡¯re here, sit down!¡± Ding Yuqin asked Han Rui to sit politely in the dining chair. Han Rui felt uneasy; she always felt the atmosphere was a bit strange. However, when Ding Yuqin brought the delicious food over, her eyes lit up. In fact, she wasn¡¯t too picky about food, as long as she could eat her fill. Porridge was enough, so she didn¡¯t bother to collect food specially. But now, facing these dishes, she suddenly found her mouth watering. ¡°Thank you!¡± As Ding Yuqin handed her the chopsticks, she quickly thanked her. ¡°We¡¯re all family here, no need to be polite!¡± Ding Yuqin said with a smile. Why does that sound a bit off? But everyone is from the same base, so calling each other family doesn¡¯t seem too strange... After the meal, Wang Tao said to the two women: ¡°Sister-in-law, you go out with Gao Hua and the others today. I¡¯ll take Han Rui to see if there are any Level 2 Zombies.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Both of them nodded. With Ding Yuqin¡¯s help, Wang Tao was fully armed, and then he went to Han Rui¡¯s home to help her suit up in her gear. Once they were both ready, Wang Tao suddenly said: ¡°Don¡¯t stay in this place anymore. Come back tonight to pack up your things; I¡¯ve given it to someone else.¡± Han Rui was dumbfounded. She had only left to get a free breakfast, and now she had lost her house. It was the house allocated to her, and Wang Tao gave it away without a word... ¡°So where do you want me to go...¡± Han Rui said with her head down, sounding a bit aggrieved. ¡°Go to my place.¡± ¡°...Ah?¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment, then suddenly looked up at Wang Tao, who didn¡¯t seem to be joking. Her face turned red instantly. ¡°1,1...¡± ¡°Stop stuttering, let¡¯s go! We¡¯ll pack your things next time we come back.¡± Seeing the unwavering Wang Tao, Han Rui dared not say more and obediently followed him downstairs. After they left the base, they still headed towards the hospital. After all, the hospital had many Elite Zombies, and Wang Tao guessed that there might very well be Level 2 Zombies inside! With so many Elite Zombies there, it wouldn¡¯t make sense if there were no Level 2 Zombies. Even if there weren¡¯t any, it would still give Han Rui a chance to increase her HP. Of course, that would only happen if the zombies inside would come out. They were in luck today; shortly after reaching the hospital, they found that some Elite Zombies had indeed come out. Wang Tao and Han Rui stealthily approached. Under the barrage of their crossbow arrows, these Level 1 Elite Zombies couldn¡¯t survive more than thirty seconds. After dealing with all the Elite Zombies at the hospital entrance, Han Rui¡¯s HP had reached 4300, but unfortunately, they didn¡¯t encounter any Level 2 Zombies. But as a pleasant surprise, Wang Tao finally encountered a Self-Healing Zombie! This was also a kind of obese zombie, but unlike other fat zombies, this one didn¡¯t look as ferocious and didn¡¯t have much attack power; it was simply very hard to kill, somewhat like a stubborn individual. It had a total of 4000 HP, but it recovered 2 HP every second. Though 2 HP didn¡¯t seem like much, this zombie was just too tricky. If you shoot it with an arrow, it would retreat into the hospital lobby to hide. And by the time it came out again, it would be at full health. Han Rui had no way to deal with this situation; if it didn¡¯t come out, they couldn¡¯t shoot it... Wang Tao had no choice but to take a risk. He ran to the entrance of the inpatient department and used two Shockwaves to kill it. [Level 1 Crystal Core ? Self-Healing] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Reduced tactile sensation)] [Self-Healing: During its duration, it can slowly recover from certain injuries] Now that it was confirmed that there were Self-Healing Zombies in the hospital, Wang Tao planned to stake out the area to see if he could gather more Self-Healing Crystal Cores. He was lacking not just Ascension Crystal Cores but also Precision Shooting and Self-Healing Crystal Cores. Especially the Self-Healing Crystal Cores, which he had never encountered before. Now that he finally had the chance, he needed to seize the opportunity. Therefore, Wang Tao stayed there for three days. In those three days, Han Rui¡¯s HP had risen to 4999, and they had killed so many zombies that they lost count. If the zombies in the hospital didn¡¯t come out, Wang Tao would deliberately make noise to attract them and even fired a shot. And just like last time, not only did he attract the Mad Demon Zombies and Elite Zombies, but he also drew out that Level 2 Hooded Zombie! Could this Level 2 Zombie have always been around here? The first time Wang Tao saw it, he was somewhat worried. But now, he was pondering how to take it down. After all, he couldn¡¯t encounter any other Level 2 Zombies... He had thought that if he could encounter a Level 2 Zombie with 5000 HP, that would have been the weakest one. But aside from the Hooded Zombie, he saw no other Level 2 Zombies, let alone one with only 5000 HP. So Wang Tao had already set his sights on this Level 2 Zombie, even though it had 6000 HP, he thought that with more people, they would still have a good chance. However, he needed everyone to power up a bit first; it wouldn¡¯t be good if there were casualties... Chapter 247 - 134 The Only Belief_2 Chapter 247: Chapter 134 The Only Belief_2 As for now, I don¡¯t know if those zombies in the hospital have become immune to Wang Tao¡¯s attraction, but no matter how much we try to lure them out they just won¡¯t come... ¡¯ Wang Tao could see some vague shapes inside with his binoculars, but they just wouldn¡¯t come out to save their lives. Even when he fired shots, the elite zombies wouldn¡¯t come out. This puzzled Wang Tao: What on earth was so enticing inside the hospital that kept them there? There are really none left, not a single one,¡± Wang Tao said with some helplessness, looking at the empty hospital. ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the base for now, see how Old Wei and the others have fared. We can come back later.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui nodded, she drove, and together with Wang Tao, they made their way back to the base. In these three days, the gains had been good. Just with self-healing crystal cores, they had synthesized 5 orange epic crystal cores, and 3 more for precise shooting. All 8 crystal cores were used by Wang Tao. Now his precision shooting was ¡°¡± and self-healing was ¡°+6.¡± His mana had even reached 3500! Wang Tao¡¯s overall strength had greatly increased. He felt that with his current ability, he would easily handle Shao Yong even at full HP. Even facing a full HP level 2 zombie Shao Yong, it wasn¡¯t something he couldn¡¯t try... Stop the car, there¡¯s an elite zombie on the road!¡± On the way back, Wang Tao, with his sharp eyes, spotted a police zombie holding a gun inside a rundown restaurant. Han Rui immediately stopped the car in a corner. Wang Tao got out of the car, sneaked up close to the police zombie, and released a shockwave. Pfft! [-2800) [0/2800] This police zombie had less than 3000 HP and was instantly killed by Wang Tao without any suspense. For zombies like this police zombie or suicide bombing zombies that posed a certain threat, Wang Tao always preferred to use shockwaves. His shockwaves were now level two and could easily one-shot these zombies to prevent any accidents. Surprisingly, this police zombie had an orange precise shooting crystal core which delighted Wang Tao. Lucky day today! He happened to have an ordinary precise shooting crystal core in his hand which could now be synthesized into a pure epic crystal core without impurities or side effects! Actually, Wang Tao had considered going to the police station. He felt that the police station should have quite a few police zombies. However, both Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an told him that there was no one at the Shuize County police station because the police had gone out to handle the crisis when the disaster struck. Afterward, a military troop passed through and took many of the police and eqmpment away. People like Wei Zhenguo and Feng Ming¡¯an were those who didn¡¯t catch up and were left behind... So now the police station stood empty, with no people and no equipment. There was no point in going there. Feng Ming¡¯an had even gone to the police station once before, only to find some ordinary zombies and nothing else... ¡°That¡¯s it, let¡¯s go,¡± Wang Tao said after scouting the area and confirming there were no other elites. He then prepared to leave. But at that moment, he suddenly remembered that Li Qiuyu¡¯s neighborhood wasn¡¯t far from here, was it? So he said to Han Rui: How about we take a look at Li Qiuyu¡¯s neighborhood?¡± When he saw the gorilla zombie heading toward her neighborhood, Wang Tao felt it was unlikely that Li Qiuyu had survived. But what if she had been lucky? Since there were no gorilla zombies now, it wouldn¡¯ t hurt to make a trip. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui had no objections; Li Qiuyu had helped them after all. The fact that they hadn¡¯t been able to rescue her before still made Han Rui feel regretful. The two got back into the car, with Han Rui driving. They turned at the intersection and headed toward Li Qiuyu¡¯s neighborhood. Wang Tao then synthesized the precise shooting crystal core he had. Though it was an epic crystal core, since it had side effects and impurities, it was still better to synthesize it into one that was pure. A moment later, Wang Tao merged the precise shooting crystal core, and his precise shooting ability also reached ¡°+8.¡± ¡°Still missing 6 level 1 crystal cores. I wonder how Zhen Guo and the others did, hoping we can gather enough...¡± Soon, the off-road vehicle arrived at Li Qiuyu¡¯s neighborhood. The neighborhood had completely changed ¨C a section of the courtyard wall had collapsed, all the landscaping was destroyed, the villas were a scene of ruins, and only the residential high-rises were still standing. ¡°This... should be gone, right?¡± Seeing the state of the place, even the usually optimistic Han Rui felt that Li Qiuyu¡¯s chances of survival were next to none. ¡°Let¡¯s go and see,¡± Wang Tao said, also feeling hopeless, but since they were there, they definitely needed to search. The two headed toward the villa area. Some villas were damaged but at least their main structures were intact. However, villas number 1, 2, and 3 had been completely leveled. There was not a person in sight, not even a single zombie. It seemed like the gorilla zombie had made a point of staying here for quite some time; otherwise, the damage wouldn¡¯t be this severe. Han Rui sighed but still used her ability to scan the area. There was no sign of life in the ruins of villa number 1. In the ruins of villa number 2, there was no sign of life ¡ª wait? ¡°There seems to be someone underground!¡± Han Rui suddenly said, surprised. Hmm? The exact location!¡± Wang Tao was immediately energized. ¡°Right... here!¡± Han Rui pointed to a place after searching for a moment, ¡°But it¡¯s too chaotic here, and it¡¯s underground, so it¡¯s somewhat affecting my perception. I¡¯m not quite sure...¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s dig and see!¡± With Wang Tao¡¯s current physical fitness, doing some emergency rescue work was a breeze. With Han Rui also at 4999 HP, her physical condition was very strong too. Together, they quickly cleared part of the debris from villa numbe Chapter 248 - 134 The Only Belief_3 Chapter 248: Chapter 134 The Only Belief_3 ¡°It¡¯s right here! Still alive, but very weak!¡± Han Rui pointed at an opening. Wang Tao discovered it was the entrance to a basement. ¡°Did she hide in the basement?¡± Wang Tao took some effort, but finally cleared the entrance to the basement. She found that the basement was specially designed, with a large iron door lying flat and an electronic lock on top. He couldn¡¯t break the lock... Fortunately, he didn¡¯t know whether Li Qiuyu did it on purpose or forgot, but the door wasn¡¯t locked. Boom¡ª Wang Tao strained to open the door, and the sunlight instantly shone into the dark cavity. He immediately saw a woman lying on the floor of the basement, wearing pajamas. Her HP was [10/100] Just 10 drops of blood, at the brink of death. After Han Rui confirmed there were no zombies inside, Wang Tao had Han Rui keep watch while he went down. ¡°Hey, wake up!¡± Wang Tao propped up Li Qjuyu, who looked pale and had lost weight, then patted her face gently. When she didn¡¯t respond, Wang Tao took out some purified water from the Space Backpack and sprinkled it on her face and lips. A moment later, Li Qiuyu opened her eyes. ¡°You... Wang Tao... ¡± Her expression was still somewhat vague. Seeing her awake, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much else, just carried her away. ¡°Let¡¯sgo!¡± Han Rui hurried to drive, and Wang Tao carried Li Qjuyu into the back seat. The car started immediately, heading for Shuize Base. On the car, Wang Tao, with no regard for traditional feelings about men and women¡¯s contact, quickly checked Li Qjuyu¡¯s body. She had many wounds, but they were mostly scrapes and bruises, with no signs of virus infection. Wang Tao also pulled back her eyelids to look, and found no whiteness. Her body also did not have any impurities... Seeing this, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought Li Qjuyu¡¯s critically low HP was probably due to some external injuries and hunger. Wang Tao took out a bottle of Potion and poured a little bit into Li Qjuyu¡¯s mouth. That bottle was enough for an ordinary adult¡¯s energy consumption for one day, and if she had too much, she might not be able to handle it. Then Wang Tao took out a medical kit, injected her with a Potion, and bandaged her up simply. Before long, Li Qjuyu¡¯s HP began to rise. When it reached 30 HP, Li Qjuyu opened her eyes. ¡°Am... am I dead...¡± Li Qiuyu, still not quite used to the light, covered her eyes with one hand while blindly grabbing with the other. But suddenly, a warm, rough hand took hold of hers. Li Qjuyu instinctively tried to pull away but failed. She slowly came back to her senses and looked at Wang Tao with eyes that had slightly adjusted to the light. ¡°Wang Tao? Are you... did you die too?¡± What kind of thing is that to say! Wang Tao slapped her face lightly, then said with resignation: ¡°I¡¯m not dead, and neither are you.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Li Qiuyu was startled for a moment before she realized she was actually in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, and they were in a car, with Han Rui driving in front. Li Qiuyu quickly sat up and then looked at Wang Tao somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°What... what exactly happened... I thought I was dead?¡± ¡°We found you in the basement, saw you were still alive, so we brought you out.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. ¡°Basement... I remember now!¡± Li Qiuyu suddenly widened her eyes as though she remembered something terrifying. She spoke weakly: ¡°I was still asleep, and suddenly I heard some noises. When I opened my eyes, I saw a huge zombie in my yard... I was startled, screamed instinctively, which drew its attention, then it started to tear down my house... I managed to crawl to the basement from the second floor, just got into hiding when I heard a loud bang, and the house seemed to collapse...¡± Thinking back to the earlier situation, Li Qiuyu was still somewhat frightened. ¡± Thank goodness my basement was reinforced by my husband before to keep some important things, and it even had a thick electric iron door, but there was no food left in my basement... After that zombie visited, the door seemed to have broken, and I couldn¡¯t get out. I thought I was going to starve to death in there...¡± At that point, Li Qiuyu looked at Wang Tao and Han Rui with a face full of gratitude. ¡°How did you guys... ¡± ¡°A week ago, we saw a huge gorilla-like zombie heading in your direction. We were no match for it, so we didn¡¯t go over. We thought you were dead... This time passing by your place, I thought to take a look, just in case you weren¡¯t dead, and turns out you indeed weren¡¯t...¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything or exaggerate, simply recounting the events as they happened. Although he made it sound simple, as if it was something he did casually, Li Qiuyu was still immensely grateful. After all, she remembered her house was in ruins, and even if it was casual for Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t easy to casually rescue her from the basement... ¡°Thank you, Wang Tao, and Han Rui, thank you both!¡± Li Qiuyu clasped her hands together, full of gratitude. ¡°Oh? Didn¡¯t you want to die before? Now you don¡¯t want to die anymore?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. He could feel that Li Qiuyu still had a strong desire to live, otherwise she might have died already. Li Qiuyu tidied her hair, her face a mix of embarrassment and self-deprecation. ¡°Sigh! I thought I had become accustomed to death, I thought I was no longer afraid to die... But when my life was truly threatened, I found out I was still afraid of dying...¡± There was something else she didn¡¯t mention, which was her desire to see her daughter again. Although she had witnessed most of her close family die, her daughter was still alive before and had told her she would come to find her... Her daughter was her only reason to keep living! Chapter 249 - 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisisl Chapter 249: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisisl ¡°Is this Shuize Base? It feels so safe!¡± Li Qiu Yu exclaimed as she looked at the tall walls and the heavy gate from inside the car. Han Rui had told her a lot about Shuize Base before, but hearing about it and seeing it in person gave her a completely different feeling. ¡°Once you¡¯re in Shuize Base, we¡¯re all family. If there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand, feel free to come to me.¡± Han Rui turned her head with a smile and said. ¡°Thank you!¡± Li Qiu Yu thanked her again. They had returned to the base by nightfall, and Wang Tao asked Han Rui to arrange accommodations for Li Qiu Yu and keep her company. Meanwhile, Wang Tao headed to the comprehensive building. Seeing that several members were present, Wang Tao asked with a smile: ¡°How has everyone¡¯s harvest been these past few days?¡± Each person presented their findings, showcasing an array of gleaming crystal cores on the table. Their hauls varied in size, but overall, it seemed quite good. ¡°It feels like the number of Elite Zombies is also slowly increasing. Otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome to collect so many crystal cores in such a short time...¡± Wei Zhenguo said, frowning. While collecting so many crystal cores was a good thing, an increasing number of Elite Zombies wasn¡¯t necessarily good news... Wang Tao glanced over the crystal cores and luckily found some he could use! He asked further: ¡°What about Level 2 Zombies? Did you encounter any?¡± ¡°No...¡± Everyone shook their heads. Wang Tao was somewhat disappointed. Without finding any Level 2 Zombies, he wouldn¡¯t be able to advance to Level Two! It seemed he had to prepare to hunt down that hooded zombie... ¡°These are the crystal cores I¡¯ve selected for you. Take a look and take those that are suitable...¡± Wang Tao took out some synthesized crystal cores, all of Excellent and outstanding quality, with a few being of Orange Epic Quality. The sight of these crystal cores made everyone¡¯s eyes gleam. Previously, Wang Tao had instructed them not to fuse crystal cores for the time being because impurities and side effects in the body were an issue. Wang Tao would figure out the crystal cores problem; they just had to give all their crystal cores to him. They naturally trusted Wang Tao, so they only fused with the crystal cores Wang Tao gave them. Currently, their Special Ability Levels weren¡¯t high. The batch of crystal cores Wang Tao now distributed wasn¡¯t small, and after their fusion, they could probably max out at least one or two skills! ¡°Let¡¯s hunt Level 1 Zombies for a few more days, and then we can prepare to hunt Level 2 Zombies!¡± Now that they couldn¡¯t find other Level 2 Zombies, their only option was to go after that hooded zombie. Although it had 6000 HP, it was still easier to deal with than the gorilla zombie with 10000 HP. Moreover, if they didn¡¯t act now, the zombie¡¯s strength might increase, but Wang Tao¡¯s strength had already reached its limit. If the gap widened further, it would only become more challenging, so they had to act fast! ¡°We¡¯re finally going to face a Level 2 Zombie, huh...¡± Everyone was a bit nervous but also somewhat expectant. Wang Tao had already informed them about the hooded zombie, and they knew it might be stronger than the zombie Shao Yong! Of course, it might also be weaker. But regardless, it was a bona fide full blood Level 2 zombie, much stronger than their Level 1 Ability Users! However, everyone still believed in the power of numbers. They felt they had a chance of winning against this Level 2 Zombie! ¡°Come on, everyone!¡± ¡°Come on!¡± Wang Tao, carrying the crystal cores that Wei Zhenguo and the others had collected these days, returned home. On the way, he had already examined them closely. Although their total number of crystal cores wasn¡¯t as high as Wang Tao¡¯s own recent haul, there were quite a few useful ones among them for himself. In particular, the Precision Shooting crystal cores ¨C there were exactly four, which would allow Wang Tao to synthesize both a Red and an Orange Crystal Core! As for the Self-healing Crystal Cores, there was one from them and one more in Wang Tao¡¯s possession, just enough to synthesize a Red crystal core. The 80% fusion success rate for Red was quite high, and so far, there had not been a single failure. If Wang Tao had the chance, he would, of course, synthesize the 100% successful Orange, but crystal cores were scarce at the moment, so Red would do for now unless his luck was exceptionally bad. Upon arriving home, Wang Tao turned those three crystal cores into ones without any side effects or impurities. After greeting Ding Yuqin, he immediately placed the crystal cores in his mouth. Moments later, the three crystal cores successfully fused without any mishaps; the two Red crystal cores worked out perfectly. Wang Tao¡¯s Self-healing power reached ¡°+7,¡± and his Precise shooting ability finally hit ¡°+10¡±! His mana also increased by 300, now standing at 3900. ¡°I just need the last three Self-healing crystal cores... I hope I can get them sorted in the next few days!¡± After Ding Yuqin put the last soup on the stove, she looked at Wang Tao with slight resentment and asked: ¡°Why hasn¡¯t Han Rui come yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hurry her up.¡± Wang Tao took out the walkie-talkie and contacted Han Rui. ¡°Dinnertime. Oh, and bring Li Qiu Yu with you.¡± ¡°...Oh.¡± The voice of Han Rui coming out of the walkie-talkie sounded muffled; she knew she couldn¡¯t escape this time. Upon hearing the name of a stranger, Ding Yuqin suddenly felt anxious inside and asked tentatively in a low voice: ¡°That... Who is Li Qiu Yu?¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t I mentioned her to you?¡± Wang Tao frowned, not recalling if he had mentioned her or not. ¡°Uh? Have you mentioned it?¡± Ding Yuqin looked puzzled. ¡°She¡¯s a friend I met before who has helped me out. I happened to see her while I was out, so I brought her back to the base.¡± Chapter 250 - 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisis_2 Chapter 250: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisis_2 Wang Tao briefly explained. ¡°0h~¡± Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t ask any more questions, as she knew many men disliked women who pried too deeply. Sometimes, silence could be more appreciated by men. However, Ding Yuqin had already decided to observe carefully later on to see if she had gained another sister... Looking at Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao suddenly asked: ¡°Sis-in-law, did you kill any Elite Zombies these past few days?¡± When he left, DingYuqin¡¯s HP was in the low thousands, but nowit was 1220. ¡°Hehe, of course! But I did it with everyone else!¡± Wang Tao originally wanted to tell her not to take risks since hunting Elite Zombies with just over a thousand HP and no Abilities was still quite dangerous. But seeing Ding Yuqin looking so happy, Wang Tao decided not to say it. After all, wanting to become stronger was a good thing; it wouldn¡¯t do to avoid getting stronger merely because it was dangerous. So Wang Tao encouraged her, saying: ¡°Impressive! Here I thought you were still practicing on Ordinary Zombies, but you¡¯ve already started taking on Elite ones!¡± ¡°Ehehe-¡± Ding Yuqin had almost no resistance to Wang Tao¡¯s encouragement. She wore a goofy smile on her face. ¡°In the next few days, I¡¯ll take you to hunt zombies.¡± Wang Tao added. He only needed three more Crystal Cores to upgrade his Self-healing power, so he had to rush to acquire these cores. Once he fused Self-healing to +10, he¡¯d start preparing to deal with Second-order Hooded Zombies. During this time collecting Crystal Cores, he could lead Ding Yuqin and the others to level up their HP. ¡°Sure!¡± Finally having the chance to go out with Wang Tao, Ding Yuqin was overjoyed. Her wish to be with Wang Tao wasn¡¯t just because he was strong, but also because she felt happy when she was with him. Ding Yuqin sat on Wang Tao¡¯s lap, gazing at him affectionately and occasionally squirming in his embrace. Seeing this, Wang Tao slapped her bottom hard. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited, Han Rui and the others will be here soon.¡± ¡°Hmph~¡± Ding Yuqin snorted softly. She almost forgot that others were coming today. She hurried into the kitchen to check on the soup she had been stewing. Soon after, Han Rui came over with Li Qiuyu. Li Qiuyu was curious about everything here. She was happy and grateful to be invited over by Wang Tao for a meal. But when she saw Ding Yuqin, she was somewhat bewildered. Her eyes discreetly roamed over Ding Yuqin and Han Rui. She wasn¡¯t sure who Wang Tao¡¯s wife was or if both were. However, when she heard Wang Tao calling Ding Yuqin ¡®sister-in-law,¡¯ she felt relieved. So it wasn¡¯t as she had thought! She remembered that Wang Tao seemed to be a gentleman, very well-behaved in her home, it couldn¡¯t possibly be¡ª Before Li Qjuyu could finish her thought, she saw Ding Yuqin place the last stewed dish on the table and then sneak a kiss on Wang Tao. Li Qiuyu was momentarily stunned, then quickly lowered her head. She felt as if she had stumbled upon something extraordinary. Was there something between Wang Tao and his sister-in-law? She wondered if Han Rui was aware. If Han Rui didn¡¯t know, wouldn¡¯t that be too pitiable? Li Qjuyu subconsciously looked towards Han Rui and noticed her expression seemed a bit awkward. She saw it too! Then... what was their relationship? Li Qiuyu couldn¡¯t help but let her thoughts wander, and Han Rui was doing the same. She had been reluctant to move in with Wang Tao because she felt like an outsider. Especially since the relationships among the three of them were somewhat complicated... Was that a stealthy kiss from Ding Yuqin just now? No, Han Rui felt it was a deliberate act for her to see! Was Ding Yuqin feeling threatened about her position and trying to assert dominance, to let her know who the real mistress was? Han Rui, who used to enjoy watching court dramas, suddenly had lots of scenarios running through her mind. But Han Rui obviously misunderstood Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t that scheming. It was just a sudden peck on Wang Tao, something they commonly did at home, a form of affection. During dinner, Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin sat together, while Li Qiuyu and Han Rui sat on the other side. Li Qiuyu and Han Rui seemed to be eating, but their minds were elsewhere. Li Qiuyu was pondering what the post-apocalyptic world was like, whether any order still existed, and if her daughter was still alive... But as she mused, the delicious food in front of her caught her attention, and she decided to stop thinking. Han Rui was contemplating how she would get along with Ding Yuqin if she lived here. She wasn¡¯t someone who knew how to ingratiate herself with men. If Ding Yuqin harbored ill will towards her, it wouldn¡¯t be impossible, since there was only one Wang Tao... She inexplicably felt a sense of crisis! After the meal, Han Rui escorted Li Qiuyu home. Once outside, Li Qiuyu asked with some curiosity: ¡°What¡¯s going on between you, Wang Tao, and Ding Yuqin?¡± ¡°...It¡¯s exactly what you¡¯re thinking.¡± Han Rui was slightly embarrassed. ¡°Ah... okay.¡± Li Qiuyu gathered her hair together. This situation didn¡¯t shock her, as she had seen many things before, even during peace times. She just felt it was poignant that Han Rui, such a strong woman, was sharing a husband with another... Han Rui thought Li Qiuyu was somewhat unable to accept this kind of situation and shook her head. ¡°In the post-apocalyptic world, the strong make the rules. This kind of thing is normal. Besides...¡± Han Rui suddenly looked at Li Qiuyu, ¡°I suggest you find a strong person to rely on, too. It¡¯d be better for you..¡± Chapter 251 - 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Chapter 251: Chapter 135: An Inexplicable Sense of Crisis 3 ¡°Ah? Me? I don¡¯t need that...¡± Li Qiu Yu quickly waved her hands. Han Rui looked at her deeply, without much explanation. ¡°These past two days, when I come back to the base in the afternoon, I¡¯ll take you around the base.¡± Despite being a peaceful base, the dominance of the strong still prevailed within. Not only among ability users like themselves, but even ordinary survivors followed this rule¡ªthe ones with the strength to earn more ration tickets could find multiple partners. For Li Qiu Yu, a weak woman with no survival skills in the post-apocalyptic world, it was too difficult to survive in such an environment. She couldn¡¯t bear to see Li Qiu Yu end up like some of the other women. Of course, she also had a little selfish reason... Ding Yu Qin had put a lot of pressure on her! Evening. When she saw Han Rui approaching her home with big and small packages, Ding Yu Qin greeted her with a smile, although she felt a bit sour inside. Alas, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t just hers anymore, blue thin mushroom... Wang Tao saw Han Rui come over obediently and was immediately very satisfied. ¡°You¡¯ve been busy all day, go take a bath. What are you two standing around for, come join!¡± Wang Tao said to the two women. The two women¡¯s cheeks turned bright red. The bathroom in the villa was very spacious, with a large bathtub, so it wasn¡¯t crowded for three people at all. The next day. Wang Tao went out with Han Rui, Ding Yu Qin, Gao Hua, Chen Zhuang, and others. The main task this time was to hunt down level 1 elite zombies and incidentally help Ding Yu Qin and the others replenish some HP. After a busy day outside, their luck was only so-so. Although they encountered quite a few elite zombies and obtained numerous crystal cores, the crystal cores were of no use to Wang Tao. But Ding Yu Qin and the others had their HP increased quite a bit. On the way back, Wang Tao pondered which crystal cores would be better for them to merge... Ding Yu Qin and the others hadn¡¯t merged with a crystal core before, and although their HP was much higher than ordinary people¡¯s, they were actually not ability users. Wang Tao asked for their opinions. Lately, with more ability users in the base, everyone was more familiar with crystal cores and knew about the different abilities available. Gao Hua immediately expressed his desire for the stealth ability. Stealth ability was, as far as Wang Tao had seen, the strongest survival ability. Once the stealth ability was activated, the effect was like a stealth potion; unless one was very close to a zombie or encountered some special zombies, ordinary zombies couldn¡¯t detect it at all. ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Tao directly gave Gao Hua an orange stealth crystal core that, naturally, had no side effects. ¡°First merge with this one, and after the merge is complete, feel if you can continue to merge. If you can, come find me.¡± ¡°Thankyou, big brother!¡± Gao Hua was excited; he was finally going to become an ability user! ¡°I also want to merge with a stealth crystal core...¡± Chen Zhuang scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. He was a doctor, usually staying at the base, with no need for combat ability, and he himself did not like fighting. The life-saving ability of stealth suited him well. ¡°Okay! Then, same as Gao Hua, merge with this crystal core and see if you can continue merging afterward, then come find me.¡± ¡°Alright! Thank¡ªthank you!¡± Chen Zhuang had wanted to say that Wang Tao could ask for his help whenever needed, but then he thought, considering he was a doctor, it usually wasn¡¯t a good thing when someone needed him. So, he swallowed his words again. As for Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao gave her a Stealth Crystal Core, but he didn¡¯t let her merge with it right away. Wang Tao¡¯ s intention was to see if there was a Crystal Core that would pair well with the blood replenishing pack, but he had yet to find one. He hadn¡¯t given up yet, but if he really couldn¡¯t find one, he would let Ding Yuqin merge with the Stealth Crystal Core. Before merging with a Crystal Core, it¡¯s impossible to sense how many kinds of Crystal Cores one can merge with, so Wang Tao asked Ding Yuqin to wait a bit. Finally, there was Han Rui. Han Rui¡¯s Shockwave Ability had already merged with ten cores, reaching the full level of Level 1. But her Perception Ability was still merged with only one, after all, she hadn¡¯t encountered that sort of zombie since then. Han Rui could still merge with two more Crystal Cores, and Wang Tao instructed her to merge with one Precision Shooting and one Stealth. Although Han Rui was capable of Rushing, most of the time she used it as her only skill. Her close combat abilities actually weren¡¯t too strong; she preferred mid to long-range attacks. So, letting her merge with Precision Shooting was no problem. As for Stealth, it was naturally to give her a self-protection ability. For a ranged attack Ability User, self-protection abilities like Toughness and Self-healing weren¡¯t as suitable as Stealth. She just needed to activate her Stealth Ability, and then snipe zombies with a crossbow; the zombies would basically have no chance of finding her. This ability matched her well. After returning to the Survivor Base, Han Rui didn¡¯t rush to synthesize Crystal Cores, but instead, as agreed, she took Li Qiuyu for a tour around the base to see other survivors. Li Qiuyu was initially quite happy, but after seeing the survivors at the bottom of the base, she couldn¡¯t be happy anymore. ¡°In the post-apocalyptic world, those without strength end up like this¡ªand this is one of the better situations. I¡¯ve told you before about the other Survivor Bases, especially Shao Yong¡¯s base. If you were in there... well, I won¡¯t elaborate on the consequences. You understand!¡± The next day, the zombie hunt continued. Today, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very lucky; he still hadn¡¯t seen any Self-healing zombies. But good news came from Zhen Guo¡¯s side. Passing by the hospital, he discovered some Elite Zombies emerging! So Wang Tao quickly led people to meet up with Zhen Guo. Seeing the Elite Zombies reappear in the hospital, especially several Self- healing Zombies, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Self-healing Crystal Cores were secured! The group stayed until night, and after killing all the zombies outside the hospital, Wang Tao finally obtained six Self-healing Crystal Cores! After some synthesis, the final result was two Red Crystal Cores, and one Orange Crystal Core. Without any surprise, Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°+7¡± Self-healing power finally became ¡°+10.¡± His Mana increased by another 300, reaching 4200! Wang Tao still had an Omnipotent Crystal Core in hand. Originally, he thought about using this impurity-containing Omnipotent Crystal Core as a substitute if he couldn¡¯t gather enough Self-healing Crystal Cores. But thankfully, he had managed to gather enough of them! Wang Tao looked at his attributes. HP: 14999/4999] Mana: [4200/4200] [Hidden Attribute: Improved Body Conditions] [Internal Impurity: o%] Ability: Level Two Shockwave, Level 1 Toughness +10, Level 1 Precision Shooting +10, Level 1 Self-heal +10! Not daring to claim anything else, but Wang Tao felt he must be the strongest Level 1 ability user in Shuize County by now. Whether it was HP, Mana, or Crystal Core level, all had reached the maximum value available so far. Wang Tao grinned. ¡°It¡¯s time to hunt that Level 2 Zombie!¡± Chapter 252 - 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_l Chapter 252: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_l Hunting a full blood Level 2 zombie was an extremely dangerous thing. Wang Tao felt that, compared to the Level 2 zombie, his only advantage was that he could use his brain, while the zombie could not. Therefore, Wang Tao prepared a grand welcoming gift for this Level 2 zombie! Since the Hooded zombie was near the hospital, and the hospital was full of Mad Demon Zombies, the first task was to change the battlefield. The Hooded zombie was particularly sensitive to sound, able to hear noises that the Mad Demon Zombies couldn¡¯t. So Wang Tao had Liu He help to make many remote-controlled speakers and placed them on some rooftops. When the fight began, one speaker would sound at a time. After the Hooded zombie destroyed the speaker, a second one would sound. It would destroy the second one, and a third would go off... Of course, the sound of the speakers wouldn¡¯t only draw out the Hooded zombie, it would also attract the Mad Demon Zombies. That¡¯s why the speakers weren¡¯t very loud. The Mad Demon Zombies were also sensitive to sound, but Wang Tao and his , team had gradually figured out their characteristics: as long as the sound didn¡¯t exceed a certain decibel level, it wouldn¡¯t draw them in. The speakers would lure it to the location Wang Tao had specially prepared for it¡ªthe basketball court in the residential area. In this basketball court, Wang Tao had placed 5 Self-Destruct Bombs! These were extracted from Suicide Bombing Zombies and were very unstable, detonating at even the slightest disturbance, yet they were very powerful ¨C Wang Tao had specially tested one before, and a single Self-Destruct Bomb could easily kill a Level 1 Elite Zombie. It had only two flaws. One was its instability, which meant there was a risk of it accidentally exploding on oneself. And the other was the loud noise it made on detonation. So even though Wang Tao thought, ¡°As long as there are enough Self-Destruct Bombs, even Level 2 zombies can be killed,¡± he still didn¡¯t dare to use too many. Otherwise, if the Gorilla zombies were attracted by the noise, they would be impossible to fight. Besides the Self-Destruct Bombs, Wang Tao also installed some Homemade Bombs made by Liu He around the area for emergencies. These weren¡¯t as powerful as the Self-Destruct Bombs, but were much more stable-at least much more so than the Self-Destruct Bombs. Then there were the Slime Grenades. They hardly needed any explanation. They were the simplest way for Wang Tao to kill Suicide Bombing Zombies before his Shockwave ability was upgraded to Level Two. Wang Tao made a large number of Slime Grenades and planned to distribute a few to each person involved in the fight. Moreover, Strength Potions, Defense Potions, and Running Potions were also given to Wei Zhenguo and the others. After all, life is precious, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t want anything to happen to them. Xiang Hongbin also designed some traps, like falling rocks and such. Wang Tao was skeptical about their usefulness, considering the limited space and manpower, which didn¡¯t allow for the construction of particularly effective traps. Before the battle, Ren Jie had already made an announcement within the base, not detailing the specifics but mentioning that the base was preparing to undertake a major task and it would be dangerous outside, forbidding anyone from leaving the base over the next two days. The combatants, including Wang Tao, had all rested well for a day, conserving their energy. Next morning. Wang Tao and the others met at the comprehensive building. ¡°Are you all ready?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°Ready! I¡¯ve never felt so powerful! Let¡¯s do this!¡¯ Xiang Hongbin clenched his fists fiercely. Although they were supposed to rest the previous day, they didn¡¯t just sit idle. Wang Tao had given them some Crystal Cores, further enhancing their strength. All of their main abilities had been upgraded to full level. Their HP had reached 4999! One could say that this was the strongest they had been since the apocalypse began! ¡°Shall we depart then?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Everyone got into the vehicles, and four military off-road vehicles left the base. This operation involved a total of 12 people, including Wang Tao, Han Rut, Wet Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, Feng Ming¡¯an, and six members of the Security Army. Undoubtedly, this was the strongest force Shuize Base currently had. If the base didn¡¯t need to be defended, Xiang Hongbin would have wanted to bring all the Security Army and the Ability User¡¯s Hunters. Wang Tao felt that with this lineup, plus the traps they had set up in advance, even zombies of Shao Yong¡¯s caliber would be killed one after another! However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t quite clear on how strong the Hooded zombie really was, so he could only say he was confident about the fight, but wasn¡¯t certain of victory... Soon, the group arrived at the basketball court. After Wang Tao gave some instructions, he nodded to Wei Zhenguo, who immediately picked up the walkie-talkie and said: ¡°Begin!¡± Outside the hospital. Someone had already been hiding there in advance. Upon hearing Wei Zhenguo¡¯s order, he immediately pressed the button on his remote control. Moments later, a barely audible noise came from a rooftop in the distance, imperceptible to survivors. But it didn¡¯t take long before a Hooded zombie appeared in the distance, running and jumping across the rooftops like a parkour athlete. ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± The person quickly reported through the walkie-talkie. Half a minute later, the Hooded zombie successfully destroyed the speaker. ¡°It¡¯s destroyed the speaker!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± The person on the other end of the walkie-talkie immediately pressed the remote control, and another speaker began to sound on a distant rooftop. The first person couldn¡¯t hear this second speaker¡¯s sound, but the Hooded zombie heard it loud and clear! It immediately changed direction and started running towards the sound. Chapter 253 - 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_2 Chapter 253: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_2 ¡°It¡¯s passed! It¡¯s passed!¡± ¡°Copy that!¡± Wang Tao and his companions were hiding outside the basketball court, and after waiting for about twenty minutes, they saw a dark figure jumping over the rooftops towards them. ¡°Here it comes! Here it comes!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately pressed the remote control. A loudspeaker on the basketball hoop also started to blare. ¡°Roar???? ¡± The hooded zombie seemed very angry as it leaped down from the six-story rooftop, plummeting toward the basketball court. It had to be said, this zombie, dressed in sweatpants, a blackhoodie, and wearing a hood, looked pretty cool making that jump. Then. Boom¡ª The moment it landed under the basketball hoop, all five of the self- destructing bombs arranged around it detonated! These self-destruct bombs were extremely unstable; any significant disturbance could set them off. Wang Tao had been very cautious when planting the bombs, but the noise the hooded zombie made falling from the sixth floor was far from small, instantly triggering the explosives. The five bombs arranged in a circle exploded simultaneously, almost deafening Wang Tao and the others who were not far away. ¡°Damn! Five self-destruct bombs make such aloud noise together!¡± Wang Tao suddenly felt he might have miscalculated, primarily because he had never before used so many self-destruct bombs at once, and he hadn¡¯t expected the noise to be so deafening! And it wasn¡¯t just the noise that was terrifying, the power was frightening too, the basketball court was completely leveled, and all sorts of sports equipment and greenery around it were gone. Even the various traps Xiang Hongbin had previously set up were destroyed... Xiang Hongbin was stunned; he had never seen the power of a self-destruct bomb, thinking it would be similar to a homemade bomb. The homemade bombs Liu He made were designed to be portable, so they weren¡¯t very large, and their power was even less than a hand grenade. But the power of these self- destruct bombs was much more significant than that of hand grenades. ¡°Quick, quick, quick, move it!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and immediately signaled everyone to start moving up. Although he had hoped the zombie would be blasted to death instantly, that clearly wasn¡¯t possible, because Wang Tao saw the zombie¡¯s HP. [2139/7000] In just a few days, this hooded zombie had 7000 HP! But fortunately, the bombs had hit it squarely, blowing away nearly five thousand HP! While it hadn¡¯t been enough to kill it, this was a severe injury! Strike while it¡¯s down, go for the kill! Wang Tao immediately charged towards the ruins of the basketball court. Reaching an appropriate distance, Wang Tao activated the Rush Ability from his gear set! Whoosh¡ª In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao reached the vicinity of the hooded zombie, whose body had been blown into a bloody mess. Then he swung his axe. Bang! [-42] 1-234] Wang Tao felt as if his axe had struck stone with that blow. But the attack caused two sets of damage, the first from the axe itself, and the second from the shockwave. Seeing the first amount of damage, Wang Tao was shocked, feeling like he had hit a zombie with stubborn armor. However, seeing the second damage figure, his spirit was lifted! A Level Two shockwave, so different! The hooded zombie had just over two thousand HP left; a single axe blow doing nearly three hundred damage meant that six or seven more blows would finish it off, right? But things, of course, weren¡¯t that simple. Before Wang Tao could land his second axe blow, the hooded zombie quickly slapped at his chest. Bang! Wang Tao felt a sharp pain in his chest. [-441] [4558/4999] ¡°Damn it!¡± The damage startled Wang Tao; after all, he was wearing stubborn armor and had activated his Toughness! As the zombie swatted at Wang Tao, it also leaped backward, jumping more than ten meters away. Not only did it avoid Wang Tao¡¯s second axe blow, but it also dodged the charging attack from Xiang Hongbin! ¡°Shit!¡± Xiang Hongbin crashed headfirst into the ruins and climbed out cursing. On the other side, Wei Zhenguo had deliberately slowed down a bit; his main intention was to avoid colliding with Xiang Hongbin¡ªa situation they had encountered before. So, seeing the hooded zombie¡¯s backward leap, Wei Zhenguo immediately charged toward the spot where the zombie had landed. The hooded zombie had jumped back over ten meters and seemed slightly stiff upon landing, which was perfect timing for Wei Zhenguo to catch it. Bang! Wei Zhenguo¡¯s charge hit the hooded zombie squarely, but it only dealt ¡± -34¡ä¡ä damage! Wei Zhenguo couldn¡¯t see the damage, but Wang Tao saw it clearly. ¡°This thing¡¯s really tough!¡± Just as Wang Tao was about to charge in, he saw the hooded zombie wave a hand at Wei Zhenguo. Bang! Wei Zhenguo was sent flying dozens of meters away, landing in the ruins just like Xiang Hongbin. Whoosh¡ª At that moment, an arrow suddenly flew toward the hooded zombie from an intricate angle! Lu Gang had made his move! [-1022] The arrow lodged directly into its left eye socket! ¡°Awesome!¡± Seeing that four-digit damage figure, Wang Tao got a bit excited. Lu Gang had shot the arrow straight at the hooded zombie¡¯s weak spot! Most zombies had weak spots at their eye sockets since the sockets lead directly to the brain. But hitting that spot wasn¡¯t easy; usually, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t aim specifically for the eyes when he shot. This arrow had perfect timing and distance, leaving the hooded zombie with only 807 HP! That was the terror of a sniper: if they didn¡¯t make a move, it was fine, but once they did, it was a deadly strike! A Level Two zombie, seemed not that great after all? Just as Wang Tao thought they could quickly finish off the zombie, he saw it suddenly running backward into a nearby residential building in the blink of an eye. ¡°Huh? It ran away?¡± Chapter 254 - 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_3 Chapter 254: Chapter 136: Hunting Level 2 Zombies_3 Wang Tao suddenly realized that he didn¡¯t actually have a plan to prevent zombies from escaping¡ªmainly because the hooded zombie was too fast and too agile; they simply couldn¡¯t chase after it. At this time, mad demon zombies had already started to appear in the vicinity, understandably because the recent explosion had been massive. Han Rui and others on the outskirts began to deal with the mad demon zombies, trying to block their advance and prevent them from affecting Wang Tao and his group. ¡°It¡¯s running away, should we chase after it?¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately looked at Wang Tao. He thought they could pursue, but since this operation was following Wang Tao¡¯s lead, he naturally wouldn¡¯t act without orders. Before Wang Tao could respond, his gaze suddenly sharpened. ¡°It didn¡¯t run!¡± Wang Tao saw the hooded zombie suddenly appear on the rooftop, and then it leaped, diving directly towards a certain area! ¡°Not good!¡± Wang Tao had no time to explain, he quickly ran towards Lu Gang¡¯s hiding spot, and at the same time, he activated his precise shooting ability, then threw two firefighter axes directly at Lu Gang. From Lu Gang¡¯s position, he couldn¡¯t see the rooftop. He only saw Wang Tao suddenly running towards him, then throwing two flying axes his way! This startled Lu Gang; if he was hit by Wang Tao¡¯s flying axes, he¡¯d probably be killed instantly! However, before he could even dodge, he felt a shadow looming overhead. Instinctively, he looked up, only to see the hooded zombie descending from above, its sharp claws aiming straight for his head! But at that moment, the two flying axes also arrived, striking the hooded zombie in the back. Although they only dealt a total of 53 damage, they successfully caused the hooded zombie to stagger, causing its claws to miss and viciously rake across Lu Gang¡¯s chest instead. Bang! [-3548] [1451/4999] Lu Gang¡¯s brown mask was instantly stained red. But worthy of a battle-hardened warrior, in this critical moment, he raised his bow and arrow, and pressed against the hooded zombie¡¯s face, he shot an arrow right into its gaping mouth. Pfft! [-154] [600/7000] The hooded zombie was left with only 600 HP! ¡°Hehe...¡± The zombie¡¯s upper and lower teeth snapped together, instantly breaking the arrow in its mouth, and it swung its hand again, aiming to grab Lu Gang¡¯s head. If caught, Lu Gang would certainly be doomed! But just then, Wang Tao finally arrived. He grabbed the hooded zombie by the neck and yelled out loud, forcefully yanking it up. The hooded zombie was lifted single-handedly by him, swung in a half-circle in the air, and then was harshly smashed onto the ground! Bang! [-4) [596/7000] Xiang Hongbin charged again, this time he accurately targeted the hooded zombie that hadn¡¯t had the chance to get up, and slammed into it. [-43] At the same time, he raised his firefighter axe high, cleaving it onto the hooded zombie¡¯s face, accompanied by a shockwave. [-44] [-67] [442/7000] The hooded zombie was again harshly smashed onto the ground. Wei Zhenguo seized the opportunity to charge at the hooded zombie, bringing down an axe on its head, the blow imbued with a shockwave. [-36] [-40] [-73] [293/7000] The zombie that was trying to stand up was knocked down again, Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin pressed on the zombie¡¯s body from both sides, tightly grabbing one of its arms. Their muscles bulged, veins on their foreheads throbbed, faces turned red with effort, and then both shouted in unison, ¡°Wang Tao!¡± With an arrow that he¡¯d just pulled from Lu Gang¡¯s quiver in his hand, Wang Tao rushed in front of the hooded zombie, aimed for its other eye socket, and thrust the arrow down fiercely. Pfft! [-293] [O/7OOO HP] The second-order hooded zombie¡¯s HP bar emptied! Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin thumped down onto the ground, gasping for air. ¡°That was damn strong! If you¡¯d been one second later, I probably couldn¡¯t have held it off!¡± Xiang Hongbin was still shaken. Wang Tao quickly gathered up the package dropped by the zombie, and then immediately said: ¡°You guys extract the Crystal Core, I¡¯m going to check on Lu Gang.¡± Wang Tao ran back to Lu Gang, whose face mask was now even more bloodied. He hastily lifted Lu Gang¡¯s shirt, and involuntarily gasped. The good news was that Lu Gang¡¯s chest had a thin steel plate on it, and the zombie hadn¡¯t managed to rip open his stomach. The bad news was that the steel plate was deformed! There was a dent in Lu Gang¡¯s chest! In just this short time, Lu Gang had lost over three hundred HP, leaving him with only 1100 HP. Wang Tao urgently removed the deformed steel plate and then took out a potion from the medical kit and injected it into Lu Gang. He then quickly treated his wound. ¡°Is Lu Gang alright?¡± Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin, after extracting the Crystal Core, rushed over. Seeing Lu Gang¡¯s HP beginning to recover due to the medical kit, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°His life should be saved. Let¡¯s retreat now!¡± While the conversation was lengthy, the battle with the hooded zombie had been quite brief. However, the area around the basketball court was already swarming with mad demon zombies, about to break through the defenses of Han Rui and the others. Wang Tao immediately yelled: ¡°Retreat!¡± Then, gripping his firefighter axe in both hands and using all his strength to channel the energy within his body, he viciously swung at the empty air right in front of him. Thwack! [-2000 HP] [-2000 HP] [-2000 HP] [...] Mad demon zombies within a certain radius ahead instantly exploded. Several vehicles were revealed not far away. The group quickly rushed into the cars. ¡°Drive, drive, hurry!¡± Vroom- The car immediately started and sped along the pre-planned escape route. Behind them was a tide of mad demon zombies as dense as a black flood, extending beyond sight! ¡°Damn it, why are there so many mad demon zombies!¡± Xiang Hongbin, driving the car, felt his scalp prickle as he looked in the rearview mirror. ¡°Phew¡ª ¡± After catching his breath in the back seat, Wang Tao spoke with vexation, ¡°I misjudged one thing... Who the hell would¡¯ve thought that the Self-Destruct Bomb would be so loud!¡± Wang Tao had previously tested the Self-Destruct Bomb; the sound of one bomb was only slightly less than that of a self-exploder exploding. But he hadn¡¯t anticipated that the sound of five Self-Destruct Bombs exploding together would be so immense! He felt it was at least the equivalent of 20 Suicide Bombing Zombies exploding at the same time! The likelihood was high that the explosive sound had already attracted the mad demon zombies inside the hospital, and it might even have caught the attention of that gorilla zombie! If he had known it would be this loud, there would¡¯ve been no need to fight the zombies in hand-to-hand combat; they could¡¯ve just taken an automatic rifle each and fired at the zombies since there was going to be so much noise anyway... Just as Wang Tao was thinking about the gorilla zombie, a series of ¡°thud, thud, thud¡± sounds suddenly came from the street to their left. ¡°It¡¯s the gorilla zombie! It¡¯s coming!¡± Han Rui, who was continuously using her Perception Ability, cried out. ¡°Crap!¡± Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy! Wang Tao immediately grabbed the walkie-talkie and decisively ordered: ¡°Everyone make a right turn! Turn right! Hurry!¡± Chapter 255 - 137 Level Two Toughness_i Chapter 255: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness_i Boom! A discarded car fell from the sky, smashing into the front of the convoy¡¯s lead vehicle. Screech¡ª The piercing sound of brakes erupted, nearly colliding with the wrecked car. Inside the vehicle, Xiang Hongbin quickly reversed, then sharply turned the steering wheel, avoiding the obstacle. But more discarded cars, concrete blocks, and even zombies began flying toward the convoy! ¡°Shit!¡± Seeing a gorilla zombie hurling a group of mad demon zombies into the air through the rearview mirror, making them land near the convoy, Wang Tao cursed under his breath. Was the gorilla zombie doing it on purpose or was it an accident? As more and more obstacles began to surround them, making it impossible to drive through, Wang Tao shouted loudly, ¡°You drive, Old Wei, Han Rui, and I will get out and clear the obstacles!¡± Wang Tao first injected himself with a defense potion¡ªhe hadn¡¯t used a defense potion when dealing with the hooded zombies earlier, so he was not in the cooldown period. Then he immediately opened the car door and jumped out, followed by Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui. Wielding his axe, Wang Tao swung at the air, releasing a wave of shockwaves toward the front. [-1543] [-1304] [-1467] [...] All the half-dead mad demon zombies that had been smashed over by the gorilla zombie exploded, limbs and appendages scattering everywhere, instantly clearing the area. Wei Zhenguo also used shockwaves to kill some zombies, while Han Rui moved the broken stones to clear the path. Soon, a portion of the obstacles had been cleared. ¡°The vehicles go first, we will cover the rear!¡± The four vehicles had just squeezed through the cleared gap when another discarded vehicle fell from the sky, blocking the road again. The gorilla zombie and a large number of mad demon zombies were also catching up! ¡°Roar!¡± The gorilla zombie roared, its colossal fist aimed at Wang Tao, who was closest and struck! Although the gorilla zombie seemed cumbersome, its speed was anything but slow; its decaying fist was instantly in front of Wang Tao! In such a situation, Wang Tao could have dodged using his Rush Ability, but with obstacles behind him, he couldn¡¯t use Rush. The only option was for Wang Tao to cross his arms in an X-shape and take the punch head-on. Boom¡ª [-2156] [2402/4999] Wang Tao felt as if he¡¯d been hit by a dump truck! Pain coursed through him as if his body had fallen apart! Boom¡ª He crashed heavily against the discarded vehicle behind him, shifting the car a great distance, with Wang Tao himself ending up embedded in the car! [-325] [2077/4999] Wang Tao no longer felt the pain in his body, only a dizzying sensation in his head. He struggled out of the car, and then noticed that the vehicle he had hit had moved to create an opening in the road. Seeing the gorilla zombie turning its attention to Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui, Wang Tao yelled. ¡°Reverse Rush!¡± Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui immediately turned back and, seeing the path had been cleared behind them, initiated their Rush ability. Instantly, three faint trails of white light moved away from the gorilla zombie by over thirty meters, temporarily escaping its attack radius. The four vehicles that had just left opened their doors to wait for them. ¡°Get in the car!¡± The three of them got into the cars. Boom¡ª The engine roared, and the vehicle instantly accelerated. Four off ¨C road vehicles sped away in front, chased by a giant zombie as tall as a two-story building. Behind the massive zombie was a dense swarm of mad demon zombies... it was as if the entire county was shaking. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Inside the lead off-road vehicle, Xiang Hongbin and Han Rui both looked at Wang Tao with concern; they had seen him take a punch from the gorilla zombie! ¡°I¡¯m fine...¡± Wang Tao used a medkit on himself. Although he was in pain, his life was not in danger. Seeing that Wang Tao seemed to be in no serious trouble, the two of them also eased their worries. Xiang Hongbin quickly glanced at the rearview mirror, then cursed vehemently. ¡°Damn it, we still can¡¯t shake them off!¡± According to the original plan, they should have gotten rid of the pursuit by now. After all, the retreat route had been carefully chosen, with a thorough clean-up along the way to ensure an open road and high vehicle speed. Even if mad demon zombies could run fast, they couldn¡¯t possibly outrun vehicles at full speed. But who expected the gorilla zombie to still be drawn to them. Although it was large, its speed was not slow! Especially since it would occasionally lift discarded vehicles, roadside stones, and zombies underfoot to hurl at Wang Tao and the others. This greatly affected the convoy¡¯s speed, causing them to be unable to shake off their pursuers, and the number of zombies following them kept growing! Wang Tao even suspected that all the mad demon zombies in the entire county had caught up with them! ¡°What do we do, the zombies are getting closer to us!¡± Han Rui said worriedly. Wang Tao looked at the zombies behind them, then at the map in his hand, and made a tough decision. ¡°Take the outer ring road!¡± Wang Tao had already told Wei Zhenguo and the others about the monster outside the Shuize County urban area, and they had all firmly avoided going outside when scavenging for supplies. After all, Wang Tao had mentioned that the creature outside might be even more terrifying than the gorilla zombie! But now there was no other option, as being caught by the zombies would likely lead to their annihilation-not to mention the gorilla zombie, so many mad demon zombies were not something they could deal with. So it was time to take a gamble! ¡°Everyone to the outer ring road!¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately turned the steering wheel, heading for the outer ring road. The other three cars followed suit. As the zombies got closer and closer, nearly catching up with the last car, the convoy finally reached the outer ring road. There were virtually no vehicles on the outer ring road, allowing for unobstructed travel, and the four cars began to speed up. Chapter 256 - 137 Level Two Toughness_2 Chapter 256: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness_2 Hum- Soon, the convoy had increased the distance from the pursuing zombies. It was not only because their speed had increased, but also because the zombies had stopped chasing! Seeing the gorilla zombie stop in its tracks, followed by the cessation of the mad demon zombies, Wang Tao did not relax but instead became even more vigilant. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Speed up! Pass through the outer ring road and turn back into the county from the intersection ahead!¡± The speed of the four vehicles soon exceeded 120KM. Wang Tao was extremely nervous, fearing that the shadow with ten thousand HP was still there. Fortunately, luck wouldn¡¯t always be that bad, and the convoy did not encounter any issues on the outer ring road. Upon seeing the intersection ahead, the four vehicles slowed down in succession, skillfully drifted, and successfully entered the road back to the urban area. The gorilla zombie and most of the mad demon zombies were probably still at the previous intersection, and the roaring sound of the engines only attracted a dozen or so mad demon zombies. After confirming that the surroundings were temporarily safe, Wang Tao immediately got out of the car and took care of these dozen mad demon zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Back to the base!¡± By the time the four vehicles finally arrived at the base¡¯s gate, it was already evening. The group finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Is Lu Gang okay?¡± Wang Tao picked up the walkie-talkie and asked. ¡°He¡¯s fine, just asleep.¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s voice came from the walkie-talkie; they were in another vehicle. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The convoy entered the base and immediately drew the attention of everyone inside. These survivors had been anxiously waiting outside, Ding Yuqin and Li Qiuyu included. Wang Tao got out of the car and nodded at the two of them to indicate that everything was fine. Then a soldier came over and asked in a low voice: ¡°Commissioner Wang, we didn¡¯t have any issues, did we? The noise outside earlier was too loud, and everyone was very worried...¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright now, let everyone rest assured.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the soldier finally relaxed. He immediately told the other survivors: ¡°It¡¯s okay now, everyone is safe, you can go back.¡± Sigh¡ª Upon hearing that everything was fine and seeing the commissioners had all returned safely, the survivors finally put down their worries. Xiang Hongbin and some soldiers got a briefing on the situation, mentioning how the noise from their earlier battle was so loud that the explosions could be heard clearly inside the base. In particular, when they saw the zombies outside starting to riot, the survivors got restless... Wei Zhenguo was assisting Wang Tao in carrying a stretcher, bringing Lu Gang over to Chen Zhuang. ¡°He¡¯s seriously injured!¡± Chen Zhuang and two other doctors hadn¡¯ t done any work that day Just waiting for Wang Tao and the others. Although they hoped nothing would go wrong with the team, they certainly had to be prepared in advance. ¡°Let me take a look... it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s just a fractured rib, no life-threatening danger!¡± Upon hearing the doctor¡¯s confirmation, everyone fully let down their guard. After all, they couldn¡¯t see the HP bar and didn¡¯t know Lu Gang¡¯s current state. After handing over Lu Gang to Chen Zhuang and his team, the injured among Wang Tao¡¯s group also briefly treated their wounds and then headed to the conference room in the comprehensive building. ¡°Everyone¡¯s okay, right?¡± Wang Tao looked at the group. He himself was actually the second most injured person, but he had self- healing power and a medical kit. He had recovered a small part along the way, so his injuries had stabilized. But to return to full HP was impossible, he would need Ding Yuqin¡¯s help for that. The others were all more or less injured as well. ¡°We¡¯re all fine, just minor injuries!¡± Xiang Hongbin shook his head. Unless someone was missing limbs or infected, everything else was considered minor. And the most seriously injured person was naturally Lu Gang. No one expected that Lu Gang, who should have been the safest, was the one who was the most seriously hurt. The hooded zombie¡¯s perception was too keen! After being hit by one of Lu Gang¡¯s arrows, it instantly detected Lu Gang¡¯s position, and then leaped directly from the rooftop towards Lu Gang. If not for the fact that Lu Gang was wearing a steel plate, Wang Tao had given them a defense potion in advance... and I also saved him, Lu Gang might have been finished! ¡°That Level Two Zombie is damn powerful!¡± Xiang Hongbin let out a sigh. He felt that he had already overestimated the Level Two Zombie, but found that he still underestimated it after the battle. Lucky for them, Wang Tao was well prepared, using a bomb to blast it a bit in advance, otherwise, they would have definitely suffered casualties! As for things like sticky substances, they were useless; the hooded zombie was too fast! ¡°This is a Level Two Zombie in its Full Peak State! And there was also that gorilla zombie, too horrifying!¡± Wei Zhenguo also sighed. The hooded zombie was strong, but the gorilla zombie was stronger! Only Wang Tao could withstand a hit from a gorilla zombie. If they were to face the gorilla zombie themselves, they would probably be instantly killed! ¡°Don¡¯t be disheartened, everyone! After all, this was our first time facing a Level Two Zombie head-on. It¡¯s already remarkable we achieved this much! Let¡¯s summarize the combat experience, and we won¡¯t be so flustered next time!¡± Wang Tao said with an encouraging smile. Though everyone was injured to different extents, the fact that no one had died was a considerable victory. The group began to debrief on the battle. They analyzed where they fell short and how they could do better. Wang Tao thought that if there would be a next time, they should either use more Self-Destruct Bombs, ideally to blow up the Level Two Zombie in one shot, or use fewer to avoid attracting the gorilla zombie and a large number of mad demon zombies. This time his bomb was not well placed; he neither killed the hooded zombie nor attracted a large number of mad demon zombies and the gorilla zombie. Chapter 257 - 137 Level Two Toughness^3 Chapter 257: Chapter 137 Level Two Toughness^3 If we had known it would turn out like this, we might as well have used thermal weapons from the start, since we were going to attract so many zombies anyway... Wang Tao felt that the Level 2 Zombie probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand too many bullets. After everyone had finished summarizing their lessons, Wei Zhenguo took out the crystal core from the hooded zombie. ¡°This is the crystal core of that zombie, see if you can use it! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had a chance to look at the crystal core in the brain of the hooded zombie before, but now that he saw the crystal core Wei Zhenguo pulled out, he was quite surprised. It was actually an Epic Crystal Core, what luck! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (No Side Effects)] This is an Ascension Crystal Core! Wang Tao was overjoyed in his heart. ¡°This is useful to me!¡± Everyone¡¯s faces also showed joy. ¡°Good that it¡¯s useful! Otherwise, all our efforts would have been in vain!¡± Wang Tao had thought that his luck couldn¡¯t be that bad today, that no Ascension crystal cores would drop-Wang Tao checked the package he had looted, and indeed, there was no Ascension crystal core inside. But who would have thought the Ascension crystal core was inside the zombie¡¯s brain! ¡°I¡¯ll take the crystal core then, after today, my strength should increase considerably!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he got up. ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to it!¡± The people genuinely congratulated him, after all, the stronger Wang Tao became, the greater the security of their base. Wang Tao and Han Rui went back home together. Ding Yuqin asked if either of them was hurt, and WangTao, feeling somewhat exhausted, went to take a bath. Lying comfortably in the bathtub, his fatigue faded away a lot, and after a long sigh of relief, Wang Tao looked at the package from the Level 2 hooded zombie he had killed. The zombie had dropped a total of two packages. The first package contained three crystal cores. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (No Side Effects)] [Omnipotent: After fusion, randomly adds 1 to an already merged ability, up to a maximum of+10] The first one was an Omnipotent Crystal Core, but unfortunately, it was only Level 1. ¡°Could it be that only Level 2 zombies drop Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores?¡± If that were the case, then the conditions would be too harsh... However, this was after all an Omnipotent Crystal Core, and if someone had fused with some particularly rare abilities, then the utility of this Omnipotent Crystal Core could still be significant. The second one is a Level 2 Crystal Core. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side Effect: Doubled physical energy consumption for actions)] [Athlete: Passive Ability, enhanced athletic abilities] This crystal core was a passive ability, and the description was quite simple. But judging by the hooded zombie¡¯s performance, Wang Tao felt this ability was powerful! The hooded zombie was not only faster than humans but also more agile. It effortlessly performed feats akin to acrobatics... especially when it was running on the rooftops, the obstacles could not stop it at all! If a human fused with this ability, leaving everything else aside, at the very least the ability to run away would be maxed out. Wang Tao was somewhat tempted, but unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t fuse with any other crystal cores anymore. The side effect of this crystal core was that actions consumed double the physical strength, which was surprisingly the same as the stealth crystal core. It seemed that the side effects of crystal cores were not unique to each one... The last crystal core was also level 2. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Jump) [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Noise sensitivity)] [Jump: Consuming energy, it can enhance the height and distance of the jump] This ability wasn¡¯t bad either. If he could jump a distance of ten-plus meters like the hooded zombie, it would be a very strong ability, whether for offense or defense. Moreover, if combined with the athlete ability, it would be a replica of the hooded zombie! As for this side effect... no wonder that zombie was so sensitive to sound; it turned out to be noise sensitivity! Wang Tao suddenly thought, he used five self-destruct bombs to blast nearly five thousand HP off the hooded zombie. But was it the bombs¡¯ power that blasted that HP, or the enormous noise that did it? It was really hard to say... Wang Tao couldn¡¯t use any of the three crystal cores in this package right now, and he thought of an issue¡ª Abilities like athlete and jump were all level 2 from the start, without any level 1 crystal cores seen. So, could level 2 people directly fuse with such crystal cores? Or would level 2 people also need to find level 1 crystal cores first? Wang Tao was somewhat confused; these were things he¡¯d have to wait to figure out after his own advancement to level 2, since his current understanding of level 2 matters were all conjectures... The second package contained a set of clothes. [Blackhoodie: Durability +5, Tear resistance +5] [Black sport trousers: Durability +5, Tear resistance +5] Were these the clothes that burst out from the hooded zombie? He had also obtained two pieces of clothing from the zombie, including the security uniform he was wearing and the nurse¡¯s outfit in his space backpack, as well as this set of hoodie and trousers. All these clothes came with durability and tear resistance attributes, but the attributes for the security uniform and the nurse¡¯s outfit were both +1, while this set was +5. Wang Tao felt these two attributes were quite practical. For example, his security uniform, even though its attributes were all +1, hadn¡¯t worn out since he started wearing it. And with this set being +5, it would surely be even more durable. It was a pity that the zombie didn¡¯t drop any potions, blueprints, or the like, which was slightly regrettable. But Wang Tao was content nonetheless, since he got an ascension crystal core after all. The ascension crystal core was orange in quality, and he immediately put it into his mouth. After a moment, Wang Tao felt a warm sensation all over his body as his limbs filled with strength. He checked his attributes. His HP hadn¡¯t changed; it was still 4999- His mana increased by 200, and now it was at 4400. Internal impurities also rose. Previously it showed 0%, but now it was 1%-to be exact, 1.1%, according to Wang Tao¡¯s calculation... Then there was his ability¡ªhis toughness had become a level 2 ability! This pleasantly surprised Wang Tao. After seeing the attack power of the full blood level 2 zombie today, he had hoped for his toughness to ascend to level 2. Now just right, one attack ability, shockwave, and one defense ability, toughness, were both level 2-a balanced combination of offense and defense! If he were to confront the hooded zombie again, he should be able to withstand its direct attacks, right? Wang Tao tried out his level 2 toughness, and the sensation of using it wasn t much different from when it was level 1, but the mana cost had increased. When level 1 toughness was activated, it consumed 1 mana per second, but now it consumed 5 mana per second. The consumption of mana increased fivefold. He just didn¡¯t know exactly how much the defense had improved... he would have to test it out properly! At night, Wang Tao replenished his HP thoroughly on Ding Yuqin. Through his relentless efforts, he finally refilled her HP to full! Having a blood replenishing pack was indeed convenient! Lu Gang, who was equally severely injured, was still lying on a hospital bed, while Wang Tao could go out and hunt zombies! Chapter 258 - 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP_i Chapter 258: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP_i Two days later, after Wei Zhenguo and the others had mostly recovered, Wang Tao led them to the First Hospital. Since the Hooded Zombie had been dealt with, they could attract the zombies in the hospital with a bit more ease. Of course, they couldn¡¯t be too reckless, as there were still many Mad Demon Zombies in the hospital, and there might be Level 2 Zombies... When everyone arrived at the hospital, they saw not a single zombie in the hospital yard. ¡°Are you sure there are zombies in here?¡± From the rooftop of the dilapidated apartment building, Xiang Hongbin looked at the hospital with some confusion. ¡°There should be, just wait a moment...¡± Wang Tao went to set up the remote-controlled speaker, which was really useful. The previous speakers had been destroyed by the Hooded Zombie, and this one had been made for him by Liu He. After setting everything up, Wang Tao returned to the top of the apartment building and then pressed the remote control. Moments later, the hospital erupted into chaos, as countless Mad Demon Zombies climbed out of the outpatient building¡¯s second-floor windows and rushed towards the location of the speakers. Some Elite Zombies also emerged from the inpatient building, following the Mad Demon Zombies out. ¡°They¡¯re really here!¡± Seeing those Elite Zombies, Xiang Hongbin was somewhat excited. These were walking Crystal Cores! Once Wang Tao saw some Elite Zombies approaching, he decided to cut his gains and immediately turned off the speaker. Without the noise, the Mad Demon Zombies instantly lost their target; some ran around erratically, some went back, and some arrived at the base of the apartment building. The duration of the speaker¡¯s sound was short, and it didn¡¯t attract too many zombies, so Wang Tao and his companions went directly downstairs to take care of those Mad Demon Zombies that had stumbled over. Then, they started hunting the Elite Zombies. Wang Tao and Han Rui did not take action, but instead lay on the rooftop, looking in the direction of the hospital. Wang Tao whispered: ¡°Do you think there might be Level 2 Zombies in this hospital?¡± ¡°There probably are...¡± Han Rui was somewhat uncertain. It was mainly because Level 2 Zombies were so rare that, for such a long time they had only encountered three, including Shao Yong, who had mutated suddenly. So even though there were many Elite Zombies in the hospital, Han Rui was not certain if there were any Level 2 Zombies. ¡°Shall we go in and check it out?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. After using two Ascension Crystal Cores, Wang Tao¡¯s strength had greatly increased. He felt that he might have the ability to explore inside the inpatient building. This wasn ¡®t arrogance on his part; he truly needed the Crystal Cores from the Level 2 Zombies. If he couldn¡¯t reach Level 2, then he would still have no way to fight the Gorilla Zombie. So some risks had to be taken! ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui didn¡¯ t refuse. She was very curious about what exactly was inside the inpatient building. Now that Wang Tao¡¯s strength had increased so much, he should have the ability to explore it. ¡°Let¡¯s go! As long as we don¡¯t stir up too many Mad Demon Zombies, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem...¡± Wang Tao informed Zhen Guo of the situation through the walkie-talkie and then climbed over the hospital yard wall with Han Rui to enter the hospital¡¯s interior. After killing two Elite Zombies that didn¡¯t know any better on the way, the two arrived at the foot of the inpatient building. The large hole made by the Gorilla Zombie was still there, dark and foreboding within, and it was unclear what lay inside. Wang Tao certainly wasn¡¯t going to enter through there; he took the main entrance. Inside the main entrance it was empty, without a single zombie in sight. After Han Rui confirmed there were no zombies inside, Wang Tao and Han Rui both ventured further. Upon entering the main entrance, Wang Tao immediately smelled a mix of rot and disinfectant, which was extremely pungent. Wang Tao stopped in his tracks immediately. After waiting a while and confirming that he wasn¡¯t losing HP, he continued inside. The corridor of the inpatient building was quite long, with dark bloodstains all over the walls. The pitch-dark end of the corridor was incredibly eerie. Wang Tao planned to check the first floor first; if it was safe, then he would go to the second, third floors... However, even after they had toured the entire first floor, they didn¡¯t find a single Level 2 Zombie, not even a Level 1 Zombie. ¡°Not a single zombie?¡± Wang Tao was confused. Had all the zombies been attracted outside? But he felt that there weren¡¯t many zombies outside either! At least not as many as he had seen before. Although he had hunted quite a few Elite Zombies in the hospital, there should still have been quite a few left... ¡°There are none on the second floor either...¡± Han Rui then said. The hospital had tall floors, and her Ability could only penetrate through one Then they went to the third floor. The third floor was much like the first floor looking terrifying, but likewise had no zombies, including on the fourth floor.¡¯ ¡°This is really strange!¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. Were there really no zombies left? Refusing to believe it, he continued to climb higher, all the way to the top 12th floor, which was similarly devoid of zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s go down.¡± Wang Tao was somewhat helpless. Could it be that all the Elite Zombies inside had indeed been killed by him and Han Rui? Or that many of them had been killed when the Gorilla Zombie had entered last time¡ªwait a second, the Gorilla Zombie! Wang Tao suddenly paused, then he said to Han Rui: It seems the Gorilla Zombie never came up, did it?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Han Rui didn¡¯t immediately grasp Wang Tao¡¯s meaning. She replied instinctively, ¡°It indeed never came up, or else with its size, the upper structure would certainly have been destroyed...¡± Wang Tao spoke again: ¡°But the Gorilla Zombie did come in! It came in, but didn¡¯t come up. The first floor also doesn¡¯t seem to have any signs of its activity...¡± Han Rui¡¯s eyes brightened. ¡°Then there¡¯s only one possibility, the Gorilla Zombie went underground! There is a basement here!¡± Chapter 259 - 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP_2 Chapter 259: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP_2 ¡°That¡¯s right! Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡± just as Wang Tao had recalled the gorilla zombie, he suddenly realized a detail -the gorilla zombie had knocked a big hole into the inpatient building, but the floor above was very smooth, with no traces of the gorilla zombie having lingered. It couldn¡¯t possibly have smashed a big hole and then just sat on the first floor for a while before leaving, could it? It must have taken some action! Since it didn¡¯t go upstairs, then it was very likely to have gone downstairs! When the two of them had entered the inpatient department, they had deliberately avoided the big hole made by the gorilla zombie, fearing danger. After entering, since the area near the hole was in ruins, they hadn¡¯t checked it out. Now, Wang Tao thought that the gorilla zombie might have gone to the basement! Most hospitals have basements. Wang Tao and Han Rui quickly ran to the first floor and came to the big hole made by the gorilla zombie. After climbing over the rubble at the entrance, they found it was a hole leading downward! ¡°As I suspected, a basement!¡± After confirming his guess, Wang Tao didn¡¯t enter from here. Instead, he and Han Rui went to the stairwell of the inpatient department. The stairwell they had used to go upstairs earlier didn¡¯t have a route to the basement, but there must be another stairwell that did. After searching for a while, the two finally found a stairwell that led to the basement. This hospital had three basement levels. Level negative two and level negative three were locked with a password lock, which Wang Tao couldn¡¯t open unless he broke it by force. But level negative one wasn¡¯t locked, and the door was open. Level negative one resembled a large warehouse; although it was very dark inside, some yellow emergency sensor lights were flashing, which made it possible to see clearly. After his eyes adjusted to the darkness for a moment, Wang Tao and Han Rui walked in together. ¡°Hiss¡ªso cold!¡± The moment she entered level negative one, Han Rui shuddered. The temperature inside was so low! Wang Tao furrowed his brows. Basements are usually cool, but it was June, and the gear he was wearing was thick, yet he could still feel the cold... Something wasn¡¯t right, very wrong! When things are abnormal, there¡¯s sure to be demons! Wang Tao immediately cautioned: ¡°Keep your Perception Ability activated the whole time and be careful! ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao let Han Rui walk in front, trailing her by a step1 s distance so that he could respond promptly if anything happened. Suddenly, Han Rui stopped. Her face showed a shocked expression as she pointed ahead. ¡°Zombies! So many zombies!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic. Let¡¯s move slowly...¡± Wang Tao gently placed his hand on Han Rui¡¯s shoulder. They slowly moved forward. ¡°Right there!¡± Han Rui pointed to a place, and Wang Tao looked in the direction she was pointing. He saw a group of zombies dressed in white lab coats and patient gowns standing there with their backs to Wang Tao, their bodies swaying slightly but not moving. It was as if... they were standing asleep? Wang Tao was somewhat unsure. Ordinary zombies did have this kind of sleep-like state, lying on the ground as if dead, and if someone approached, they would slowly rise. But that was typical of ordinary zombies, and Wang Tao had never seen this behavior in elite zombies before. After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao took out his hand crossbow and, under the dim light, shot a crossbow arrow at the last zombie in the row. Whizz¡ª [-8731 [2127/3000] The zombie stumbled instantly. ¡°Hehe...¡± It turned its head to look as if it hadn¡¯t found anything, then turned back around and continued to stand there. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Under normal circumstances, if a zombie were attacked, even if it didn¡¯t discover the attacker, it would become angry or seek out the attacker, not just stand there foolishly to be attacked. Yet this elite zombie only turned its head to look and then ignored it... Wang Tao, holding the hand crossbow, shot two more arrows at it. [-921] [-8141 [392/3000] Even with three crossbow arrows stuck in its head, barely hanging on to life, the zombie still didn¡¯t come over. It just turned its head back angrily to roar a couple of times, then continued to dumbly look ahead. ¡°It¡¯s not coming over?¡± Since that was the case, Wang Tao showed no mercy, and with one final arrow, he cleared its HP bar. [-392] [0/3000] Thump- The zombie with four crossbow arrows in its head fell to the ground. Without considering accuracy, the damage of the hand crossbow was unrelated to Wang Tao¡¯s own strength and depended solely on the power of the crossbow and arrows. Thus, after Wang Tao had grown stronger, the damage from the hand crossbow seemed somewhat unimpressive. It took four arrows to kill an elite zombie with low defense; if he had used his axe, it undoubtedly would have taken fewer than four strikes... After this zombie fell, the other zombies around acted as if they hadn¡¯t noticed anything and continued to stand there dumbly. ¡°They¡¯re not moving? If that¡¯s the case... I won¡¯t hold back on these Crystal Coresthen!¡± Before acting, Wang Tao had Ding Yuqin carefully inspect the area to make sure there were only these elite zombies around and nothing else. Once confirmed, Wang Tao went over with his axe in hand. He walked right behind the group of zombies, three to four meters away, and it was only then that the zombies seemed to sense something and began to turn around one after another. As they turned, Wang Tao unleashed a Shockwave. Spurt! [-3000] [-2800] [-3245] [-3244] [-1388] [...] The zombies hit by the Shockwave were instantly shattered, their HP bars wiped out. The remaining ones were left critically wounded. ¡°Awesome!¡± A Level Two Shockwave was different, capable of almost instantly killing elite zombies with less than 3,000 HP. The ones that weren¡¯t instantly killed either had exceptionally high defense power or a lot of HP. Chapter 260 - 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP 3 Chapter 260: Chapter 138: The Zombie with 15,000 HP 3 Wang Tao seized the opportunity to swing his axe again, sending another shockwave through. All the remaining zombies were shattered by the shockwave! Gazing at the severed limbs and the gleaming crystal cores, Wang Tao grinned. Using a Level Two ability against Level 1 zombies was simply overkill! Wang Tao quickly called over Han Rui to collect the crystal cores. The great thing about the shockwave ability was that most zombies killed by it had their heads or even entire bodies exploded. So the crystal cores fell out directly. There was no need to forcibly suppress the nausea to extract the crystal cores anymore. Soon, all the crystal cores on the ground were collected by the two of them, and Wang Tao naturally put all the zombies¡¯ dropped loot into his space backpack. During the looting process, Wang Tao discovered that what these zombies had been staring at was actually a stairway entrance! Was it leading to the second sub-level? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Why were these zombies stupidly staring at the second sub-level? Could there be something down there? Peering into the pitch-dark opening and feeling the cooler temperature at the entrance of the stairway, Wang Tao hesitated whether to go down or not. Just from the look of this stairway entrance, there seemed to be no lights below the second sub-level, and he didn¡¯t have any night vision equipment. If he rashly went down, what if there was danger... ¡°Search the first level first!¡± Wang Tao thought it best to finish scouring the first level before anything else. The basement was huge, and the area where Wang Tao was located was just one section of it. There were several stairways leading to the second sub-level. Soon, Han Rui spotted another group of zombies. This group of zombies, like the one before, stood aimlessly at a stairway entrance, as if they were hypnotized. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother probing this time and went straight up with his axe in hand. However, this time it was slightly more troublesome as there were many zombies with high HP and strong defense, so Wang Tao used four shockwaves. Without needing to call her over, Han Rui immediately ran to collect the crystal cores the moment the zombies were shattered. After the two gathered all the spoils of war, they were both somewhat excited. Killing zombies like this was just too thrilling! Just from these two fights, the crystal cores obtained were probably worth half a month¡¯s effort for Wei Zhenguo and his group! ¡°Keep it going!¡± Han Rui maximised her Perception Ability and continued searching for zombies. Very quickly, she found a third group of zombies. Same as before, they were lingering at a stairway entrance, a large group, all standing motionlessly. Wang Tao immediately grabbed his axe and went behind them, then with a single shockwave, all the zombies were instantly shattered. This time there were no zombies with high HP and strong defense, so it was relatively clean and tidy. However, just as Wang Tao was gathering up the fallen loot, Han Rui suddenly turned pale. ¡°Not good! Abig one¡¯s coming! It¡¯s right below us!¡± Wang Tao instinctively glanced at the stairway. Then¡ª Without caring for the crystal cores, he wrapped his arms around Han Rui¡¯s waist and performed a rush, sprinting over twenty meters! Then, with Han Rui in tow, he zigzagged left and right until they reached an open stretch of road where Wang Tao said to Han Rui anxiously, ¡°Sprint!¡± Han Rui immediately clung tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s waist and activated her Rush Ability. Whoosh¡ª The two of them sprinted another twenty meters. Then, after turning a corner, they saw the brightly lit hole ahead that had been punched through by the gorilla zombie. However, the first sub-level was quite high, probably about four meters. ¡°You go up first!¡± Wang Tao crossed his hands with palms facing up. Han Rui immediately stepped onto Wang Tao¡¯s palm, and with a heave of his hands, Wang Tao sent her up. After landing on the ground, Han Rui rolled to dissipate the force and then lay down, stretching out her hand to Wang Tao. Wang Tao took a short run-up, then directly sprinted a short distance up the wall, simultaneously reaching out to grab Han Rui¡¯s hand. ¡°Heave? ¡± Han Rui grasped Wang Tao¡¯s right hand with both of hers, and then forcefully pulled. Whoosh Wang Tao was yanked out of the pit by her. Without even giving her a chance to catch her breath, Wang Tao immediately took her hand and ran. At the same time, he was calling out on the walkie- talkie for Wei Zhenguo and the others to retreat quickly! The two of them ran breathlessly to the apartment building, arriving just as Wei Zhenguo and his team were also getting back. ¡°What¡¯s the situation? I was about to finish off the zombies in front of me when I heard you say to retreat quick, so I ran without even bothering to kill them... If I¡¯d known, I wouldn¡¯t have dawdled!¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat annoyed; he had just wanted to try out his new move, which cost him some time. The other few also looked at Wang Tao, who was gasping for air, unsure of what had happened. ¡°Huff?? ¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to speak, hurriedly running to the rooftop. Only after seeing there was no commotion at the hospital did he finally relax. There¡¯s a terrifying zombie in the basement of the hospital!¡± Wang Tao said to the people behind him. A Level Two Zombie? How terrifying is it?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked cautiously. I m not certain of its exact strength, but based on my experience, it might be even stronger than a gorilla zombie!¡± Just as Han Rui had reminded him, Wang Tao had glanced towards the stairwell. It was pitch-black down there, and he couldn¡¯t see the specifics, but he caught sight of a pair of green eyes! At the same time, he also saw its HP bar¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª- [15000/15000] Fifteen thousand HP! This was the creature with the highest HP Wang Tao had encountered since the apocalypse began! As understood so far, HP could essentially be equated with combat prowess. That¡¯s why, the moment Wang Tao saw that amount of HP, he didn¡¯t even bother to pick up the Zombie Cores and simply ran! ¡°Stronger than gorilla zombies!¡± Everyone was shocked. They had all seen the combat capability of a gorilla zombie; if something was even stronger than that, what kind of monster could it be! But this was the hospital, with a large number of Elite Zombies, so the emergence of such a creature seemed reasonable... ¡°So... do we continue?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head back first! We two just got a lot of Crystal Cores down there!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± For these soldiers, executing orders was second nature. When Wang Tao said to leave, they left immediately without any hesitation, even if there were injured zombies left unfinished. On the way back, Wang Tao briefed everyone about the situation on the minus first floor. However, when he mentioned the zombie with 15000 HP, Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows. He recalled encountering a creature with 10000 HP on the outer ring, which had sent a shiver through his legs with sheer terror. But this 15000 HP creature didn t exude the same frightening presence. Could it be that his strength had increased? But that wasn¡¯t right. Even now, thinking back to the 10000 HP creature, Wang Tao still felt a shiver down his spine! On the other hand, those green eyes from just now-while Wang Tao feared its HP, given it was a whopping fifteen thousand¡ªhe didn¡¯t sense as much danger from its aura, at least not as much as from the shadow or gorilla zombies. Wang Tao suddenly had an outlandish thought¡ª ...Could it be, it¡¯s not as strong as I had imagined? Did I scare myself?¡± Chapter 261 - 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement-! Chapter 261: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement-! ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Han Rui asked, somewhat puzzled. ¡°It¡¯s nothing...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, not voicing the outrageous thought that had crossed his mind. Although it was a possibility, there was no need to mention it now. Later on, he would have to find an opportunity to come back and probe the reality of that green-eyed zombie... On their way back, they came across another destroyed street. ¡°The gorilla zombie has been here!¡± Everyone¡¯s mood turned a bit heavy. Based on the frequency of the gorilla zombie¡¯s destruction, it felt like it would find Shuize Base very soon! With several hundred people at Shuize Base, hiding was not an option. Once discovered by the gorilla zombie, it definitely wouldn¡¯t let things slide... They had to get stronger, much stronger! There were no complications on their return trip, and they smoothly made it back to the base. In the meeting room, Wang Tao shared with everyone the encounter he had in the hospital¡¯s basement level. When they heard that Wang Tao could kill a dozen or even dozens of elite zombies with a casual strike, and that the zombies didn¡¯t even resist, everyone felt a bit envious. That sounded exhilarating! However, when Wang Tao mentioned the pair of green eyes he saw on the second basement floor, everyone instinctively shuddered. They all felt that the reason why those elite zombies had become so stupefied might be related to the owner of those eyes! If Wang Tao and Han Rui hadn¡¯t left in time, would they have become as dull as those zombies? The thought was terrifying! ¡°So, does that mean we shouldn¡¯t go to the hospital anymore?¡± Xiang Hongbin felt somewhat regretful. Apart from the hospital having so many elite zombies, finding elite zombies in other places would be a time-consuming effort. Wang Tao pondered for a moment and said: ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case... The zombie in the basement of the hospital must have been there for a while, at least by the time the gorilla zombie arrived, it had probably already existed. We¡¯ve hunted many elite zombies there since then, and it never showed up. So, it¡¯s possible that it doesn¡¯t want to, or cannot come out? Of course, this is just my speculation. How it actually is, we¡¯ll need to observe further. For the time being, let¡¯s avoid going to the hospital. I¡¯ll investigate thoroughly when I go back.¡± Throughout the journey, Wang Tao was preoccupied with the thought of the green-eyed zombie with 15,000 HP in the hospital basement. Based on the current situation, there were only four Level 2 zombies in Shuize County. Zombie Shao Yong had been killed by him, and he had also killed the hooded zombie. Now, only the gorilla zombie and the green-eyed zombie beneath the hospital remained. If he could kill these two Level 2 zombies, then it was highly likely that Wang Tao could achieve Level 2 Ascension! But the problem was, if Wang Tao couldn¡¯t reach Level 2 Ascension, then he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill these two Level 2 zombies! It seemed to have become a deadlock. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t lose heart. After all, they had managed to kill the hooded zombie, a group of Level 1 individuals. So, defeating the green-eyed zombie in the hospital and the gorilla zombie outside was not entirely impossible... The topic of the green-eyed zombie was temporarily put aside, and next came the issue of crystal cores. On the way back, Wang Tao had fused all the crystal cores that could be merged. Now, he took out all of these crystal cores. ¡°Wow! So many crystal cores!¡± Upon seeing the crystal cores that Wang Tao brought out, everyone exclaimed in surprise. ¡°Take whatever you need, and then leave some for cultivating the ability users of the base,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Initially, Wang Tao thought about telling them not to rush into fusing other crystal cores, as advancing to Level 2 might require many ascension crystal cores, which could be troublesome. But after killing the hooded zombie, clashing with the gorilla zombie, and seeing the green-eyed zombie in the hospital basement, Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t a matter of whether they could reach Level 2 Ascension, but whether they could withstand an attack from the gorilla zombie if it arrived at the base right now. Therefore, they had to enhance their strength as much as possible! It would be best to bring everyone to their pinnacle state! That way, their chances against the gorilla zombie would be greater in the future! Naturally, everyone understood Wang Tao¡¯s reasoning and nodded in agreement. There was really no time to think about anything else at this time. After distributing the crystal cores to everyone, Wang Tao went to visit Lu Gang. ¡°You¡¯re here, how was today¡¯s haul?¡± When Lu Gang, lying in the hospital bed, saw Wang Tao coming, he immediately tried to sit up, and Chen Zhuang quickly went over to support him. ¡°Not bad, got quite a few crystal cores. How¡¯s your injury?¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lu Gang was still injured, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t mention the Level 2 zombie in the hospital to him. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m fine! I feel like I could recover in just three to five days!¡± Lu Gang laughed heartily. Wang Tao shook his head. Recovering in three to five days was definitely not possible, as one of his ribs was broken. Although Chen Zhuang had set it, it still wouldn¡¯t heal that quickly. But Lu Gang was recovering quite well. After all, Wang Tao had used a lot of medical kits on him, not only saving his life but also substantially increasing his HP. He had now recovered to over 3000 HP. Although he was lying in the hospital bed, if he got up to fight, his combat power wouldn¡¯t be weak. ¡°I¡¯ve got some more crystal cores here...¡± Wang Tao gave Lu Gang some crystal cores. Lu Gang¡¯s Precision Shooting and Sprint were already at max level, but he could fuse two types of crystal cores. He had previously told Wang Tao that he was particularly interested in Throwing Master and Stealth Ability. Wang Tao now gave him the crystal cores for Throwing Master and Stealth. ¡°Wow! So many purple, red, and even orange crystal cores!¡± Lu Gang¡¯s face lit up with excitement; with these crystal cores, his strength would jump up significantly! Chapter 262 - 139 Overall Base Strength Chapter 262: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement_2 ¡°Take your time with the fusion; while integrating with the Crystal Core, it seems that the energy it contains can also restore the body a bit. You might actually be able to get out of bed in just three to five days!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Lu Gang said gratefully. ¡°What are you thanking me for? You deserve this!¡± Wang Tao patted Lu Gang on the shoulder. ¡°No, I meant earlier, during the fight with the hooded zombie. If you hadn¡¯t thrown those two axes at me, hitting the zombie, I would have been dead a long time ago...¡± Lu Gang said with a sigh. ¡°That incident? Actually, I had no other choice at the time. Fortunately, you¡¯re tough enough!¡± Thinking back to the hunt for the hooded zombie, Wang Tao also felt a sense of relief. If his throws had been off, Lu Gang would have been a goner. ¡°Alas, it¡¯s my fault... I thought I was far enough away that the zombie couldn¡¯t possibly find me. If only I had been more cautious...¡± Lu Gang was somewhat annoyed with himself. Fighting zombies for a long time can lead to letting one¡¯s guard down in certain situations. For instance, thinking zombies are brainless or believing they won¡¯t notice him... ¡°You can¡¯t blame yourself for that; that zombie was simply too formidable. Anyway, we¡¯U remember this lesson and just be more cautious in the future!¡± ¡°Yeah! You¡¯re right!¡± After visiting Lu Gang, Wang Tao went back home and called Gao Hua over. Ding Yuqin was also there. Wang Tao asked them what kind of Crystal Core they wanted. After integrating with the Stealth Crystal Core, both of them could still continue to integrate. ¡°I want Toughness...¡± Gao Hua said somewhat sheepishly, scratching his head. Wang Tao glanced at him, somewhat surprised. It seemed like he was planning to max out his defense, with both Stealth and Toughness. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao handed him a Toughness Crystal Core. ¡°Thanks a lot, big brother!¡± Gao Hua¡¯s face lit up with gratitude. ¡°With your current HP, you should be able to sense whether or not you can continue to integrate with other types of Crystal Cores, right?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Gao Hua closed his eyes and felt for a while before speaking: ¡°I feel like I can integrate two more types...¡± Gao Hua had only integrated with Stealth so far, which meant he could integrate with three types of Crystal Cores in total. ¡°Three types, huh? That¡¯s pretty good. Do you have any other types in mind? I have some more Crystal Cores on hand; I¡¯ll give them all to you.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Let me think...¡± Gao Hua¡¯s eyes shone immediately. He never actively asked Wang Tao for anything, but he never refused anything Wang Tao gave him, not even bothering with a pretense of politeness. He was well aware of his own status, considering himself Wang Tao¡¯s underling. It was a reward for an underling to receive something from their boss, and an underling had no right to refuse. ¡°Could I have a Throwing Mastery Crystal Core?¡± After thinking it over, Gao Hua already had two defensive Abilities, so acquiring an offensive Ability wouldn¡¯t be bad either. However, he wasn¡¯t keen on engaging in melee combat, which was his weakness. Thus, he thought it best to choose an Ability that would allow ranged attacks. As far as he knew, there were currently only two types of range attack Abilities: Throwing Mastery and Precision Shooting. He felt that Throwing Mastery suited him better. It was a passive Ability that didn¡¯t consume Mana and didn¡¯t require any basic skills. As long as he integrated with this Ability, he would naturally feel affinity and familiarity with throwing objects. In terms of potential, Precision Shooting was certainly superior. However, Precision Shooting served to enhance the abilities of those who already had shooting skills. For someone like him who had no clue about shooting, Precision Shooting wouldn¡¯t offer a significant improvement. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao gave him a red Throwing Mastery Crystal Core. ¡°Thanks a lot, big brother!¡± Gao Hua thanked him again, then with a keen sense of timing added, ¡°If big brother doesn¡¯t have anything else, I¡¯ll go and start integrating with the Crystal Core.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± After Gao Hua left, Wang Tao turned to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Sister-in-law, what about you? What Crystal Core would you like to integrate with?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll listen to you!¡± Ding Yuqin, with her arm around Wang Tao¡¯s, said. Wang Tao looked at Ding Yuqin. He thought that integrating her with a Loose Tongue might give a different feeling. But after some thought, he decided against it. It was better for the sister-in-law to remain as she was. ¡°Then you should also integrate with a Throwing Mastery first; it¡¯s always good to have more methods of attack.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± As for Han Rui, besides her Perception Ability, all her other Abilities were already maxed out. She hadn¡¯t had the chance to encounter zombie perception, so she wasn¡¯t able to improve in that area. Like Wang Tao, her strength had temporarily reached its upper limit. The next day. The Committee announced at the base that they wanted to train another batch of Ability Users. The first batch, not counting the Security Army, consisted only of six people. The number was still quite small, given that the base now housed 700 people. Therefore, many were eagerly awaiting this second chance. They had thought it would take a long time. But to their surprise, just a few days after the first batch of Crystal Cores was distributed, the Committee was ready to train a second batch of Ability Users! This news excited the survivors. There were now over 700 people in the base, with 300 of them being Hunters. Originally, there weren¡¯t that many Hunters, but as many people who had recently joined the base registered as Hunters, and coupled with the allure of becoming Ability Users, the number of Hunters spiked. After all, everyone knew that Ability Users were chosen from among Hunters. Of course, this increase in Hunters was something the Committee wanted to see, for the more Hunters there were, the richer the base¡¯s resources became. Chapter 263 - 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement 3 Chapter 263: Chapter 139 Overall Base Strength Enhancement 3 Therefore, the number of Ability Users the committee prepared to train for the second batch was no longer six, but fifty! Now, Wang Tao had plenty of Crystal Cores, more than enough to train fifty Ability Users. Of course, Wang Tao only made them become Ability Users; as for the subsequent Special Ability Level enhancement, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be involved -that would be up to them to hunt Elite Zombies for themselves. Soon, the registration to compete for the Ability User spots began. This time, it wasn¡¯t Ren Jie calling the shots from the get-go; instead, everyone was allowed to sign up. After registering, they just had to show their prowess and then wait for the committee¡¯s notice. As long as they signed up, there was a chance. However, the final say still rested with the committee. Many signed up; the base had just over three hundred Hunters, yet over four hundred people had registered, clearly showing that some Ordinary survivors had also signed up. These Ordinary survivors definitely wouldn¡¯t be selected, but it was still a good thing that they could sign up-maybe they would become Hunters someday. After one day¡¯s time, the candidates for the second batch of Ability Users were finally settled. Wang Tao personally handed over the fifty Crystal Cores to them, and he exhorted them to do well, placing the heavy responsibility of contributing to the base¡¯s construction in their hands. Since there were many Crystal Cores handed out this time, the variety was quite diverse as well. It included Mud Swamp, Coughing Smoke, Rejuvenation... even Glutton cores were distributed. Wang Tao had always been curious if some seemingly less useful Crystal Cores, like Mud Swamp and Glutton, really had no use at all? So this was also a kind of experiment-letting these people fuse and see whether these Crystal Cores were useful. Of course, all these Crystal Cores were synthesized by Wang Tao, so the side effects were removed. If there were still side effects, it would be a pure scam. Overnight, these people had all completed their fusion. Wang Tao specifically gathered them to observe their Abilities. Surprisingly, Wang Tao discovered some notable differences. Take the Mud Swamp Crystal Core, for instance, which seemed useless according to its description. But its actual effect turned out to be quite impressive! The effect of Mud Swamp was ¡°consume energy to create a Mud Swamp surrounding the body.¡± An Ability User who had fused with just a Mud Swamp Crystal Core could create a ten-meter wide Mud Swamp around themselves. Whether human or zombie, anyone in the Mud Swamp would have their speed greatly reduced. Especially the zombies-they could easily get stuck and become immobile! Naturally, if it were just that, it wouldn¡¯ t be enough to please Wang Tao. What truly delighted him was that the effect of the Mud Swamp was stackable! He asked five Ability Users with the Mud Swamp to stand together and release their ability; the resulting Mud Swamp was five times larger than before! Furthermore, this Mud Swamp was permanent! As long as the water in it didn¡¯t evaporate and as long as the mud wasn¡¯t removed, the swamp could exist indefinitely! Wang Tao immediately felt that this was a strong control Skill! If he could have a group of Ability Users with the Mud Swamp, have them release their abilities all at once, and create a large swamp. Then, lure zombies into the swamp-once they¡¯re in, they won¡¯t be able to move and would be like sitting ducks! Wouldn¡¯t that be like a sustained version of the Slime Spitter? Wang Tao thought it was worth a try! However, there were downsides, of course. That was, the Mud Swamp was slow to release, not like the Slime Spitter, which could be spat out in one go. The Mud Swamp had to be slowly released, definitely not suitable for immediate combat; one would need to prepare in advance. And there was another point¡ªthe release of the Mud Swamp Ability was somewhat nauseating- the mud would ooze out of body pores and orifices... According to the Mud Superpower Users, they themselves weren¡¯t uncomfortable, and when the mud came out, they even felt a sense of relief. But it was quite unpleasant for Wang Tao to watch... Apart from the Mud Swamp, the Glutton Ability was also promising. The effect of this Ability was ¡°The more one eats and the fatter one becomes, the higher the defensive power.¡± Wang Tao specifically found two corpulent individuals to fuse with this Crystal Core. In the apocalyptic world, corpulent individuals were rare, and these two were the fattest in the Shuize Base. They couldn¡¯t meet the condition of ¡°eating more¡± for now, but ¡°becoming fatter¡± was somewhat achievable. After fusing with the Ability, their defensive power immediately surged. Wang Tao had tested them before and after their fusion. Wang Tao felt that this Glutton Crystal Core was like a weakened version of Toughness. Although its defensive power wasn¡¯t as strong as Toughness, it was a passive Ability that didn¡¯t require energy consumption! More importantly, the upper limit of Toughness was fixed, relying only on fusing with more Crystal Cores to improve. However, the upper limit of Glutton was much higher; increasing body size, eating more food, and fusing with Crystal Cores could all enhance the defensive power! Outfit these two corpulent individuals with full armor, shields, and such, and they could be placed at the front as meat shields. If they could also fuse with Power Crystal Cores and Rejuvenation Crystal Cores, the effect would probably be even better! That was Wang Tao¡¯s thinking, and that was what he acted on. He immediately promoted these two corpulent individuals as key figures for the base¡¯s training focus. Wang Tao personally took them out to hunt Elite Zombies, helping them increase their HP. Not many could enjoy such treatment. But it wasn¡¯t just Wang Tao taking people out to hunt. Wei Zhenguo and the others were also leading some Ability Users to hunt Elite Zombies. After all, their own powers had reached their limits for now, and there was no way to improve further. It was better to help other Ability Users in the base, boosting the overall strength of the base. Thanks to the efforts of Wang Tao and the other committee members, a few days later, the overall strength of Shuize Base increased significantly- All Hunters had over 1000 HP; some Ability Users had over 2000 HP, and others reached over 3000 HP! As for Wang Tao and the other committee members, they naturally had over 4000 HP each. With the current overall strength of Shuize Base, it was uncertain whether they could withstand a Gorilla zombie, but they definitely wouldn¡¯t be as hard- pressed as before when facing Hooded zombies. Wang Tao felt that now was a good time to probe the reality of that Green-eyed Zombie in the hospital... Chapter 264 - 140 Green-eyed Zombie_l Chapter 264: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_l Wang Tao returned to the First Hospital once again. This time it was just him and Han Rui. After all, Wang Tao only wanted to test the reality of the zombie in the hospital basement; he had not planned on engaging it in a tough fight. If they needed to run, it was more convenient with fewer people. ¡°Do we really need to go in...¡± Outside the hospital, Han Rui was somewhat nervous. Mainly because Wang Tao had said that there was a zombie inside stronger than the gorilla zombie! She had seen how strong the gorilla zombie was. She couldn¡¯t imagine what a being stronger than that would be like. So she was still a bit panicked. On the other hand, it was Wang Tao who had run the fastest before, and it was still Wang Tao who was eager to try now. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here!¡± Wang Tao squeezed Han Rui¡¯s small hand, then looked at the hospital with not a single corpse in sight and waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Upon entering the hospital, there were still no zombies in the hospital courtyard. The two fumbled their way to the basement level, and that cold feeling came over them again. Han Rui was still leading the way in front. ¡°No zombies...¡± The two stairwells where Wang Tao had dealt with a large number of zombies before were now devoid of zombies. However, at the third stairwell, the glittering Crystal Cores on the ground were still there. Wang Tao hurried over to pick up these Crystal Cores; it would be a waste to leave them. Zombies seemed to have no need for Crystal Cores; for now, it seemed only humans could fuse with them. ¡°Are we going down?¡± Looking at the dark stairwell leading to the second basement level, Han Rui asked. ¡°No, let¡¯s drawit out!¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Their goal this time was to probe the strength of that zombie. No one knew the situation below, and it would be troublesome if it was dangerous to go down rashly. It was better to remain above. ¡°Let¡¯s see if there are any zombies on this floor. If there are any, we keep killing them, trying to drawit over...¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui searched the area together and soon found a group of zombies. It was the same as before, a group of zombies all swaying at the stairwell as if they were asleep. Wang Tao went straight over and unleashed two Shockwaves. Whoosh- All the zombies turned into minced meat, and Crystal Cores scattered all over. With a thought, Wang Tao collected the surrounding loot. Instead of rushing to pick up the Crystal Cores, he let Han Rui sense on her own. After confirming the zombie hadn¡¯t come, he and Han Rui began to collect the Crystal Cores together. ¡°No immediate danger, go to the next stairwell...¡± Under Han Rui¡¯s Perception, the two of them quickly found another group of zombies. Wang Tao cautiously approached the group of zombies from behind and then instantly used a Shockwave. Splat¡ª A large number of zombies fell to the ground. And at that moment, Han Rui suddenly exclaimed, ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± Without a second word, Wang Tao immediately started running back. He took the opportunity to glance back and saw a pair of green eyes glittering in the darkness. There was also that 15000 HP red bar above its head! It had arrived! As Wang Tao ran, he was already prepared for a possible attack from the zombie, but unexpectedly, even though those green eyes kept staring at Wang Tao, they showed no sign of approaching. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to be chasing me?¡± Wang Tao thought it was strange. He and Han Rui kept running until they reached the hole created by the gorilla zombie, where they waited cautiously for a while. Then he noticed that the zombie indeed had not followed! ¡°I really didn¡¯t sense it... What do we do now?¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao stroked his chin, pondering. This zombie was very strange; the zombies he had seen before would always chase after humans as soon as they saw them. Whether they could catch up or not was another matter, but they would definitely chase. Could this zombie possess intelligence? Wang Tao carefully recalled the feeling this zombie gave him. Although he hadn¡¯t seen its full form, he also didn¡¯t feel too much pressure. It was nothing compared to the gorilla zombie or the shadowy figure in the wilderness before! ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s check it out again!¡± Wang Tao decided to take the risk one more time. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui naturally had nothing to say. The two cautiously returned to the stairwell where the green-eyed zombie had appeared, but it was no longer there. Wang Tao first collected the Crystal Cores that they hadn¡¯t managed to pick up just now and then took out a Surgical Knife, throwing it straight down the stairwell. Whoosh- Clang¡ª The Surgical Knife fell to the ground with a crisp sound. After a moment, Han Rui nervously said, ¡°It¡¯s here again!¡± This time Wang Tao didn¡¯t run, but he was ready to make a counter-charge if necessary. Soon, a pair of green eyes appeared from the darkness below the stairwell. Those were clearly human eyes, not clouded like that of an Ordinary zombie. If it weren¡¯ t for the black blood vessels and a sense of aggression that hit you in the face, just looking at the eyes themselves, they were actually somewhat pleasing? Wang Tao stared intently at the zombie, and the zombie also kept its gaze on Wang Tao, neither making any movements. This emboldened Wang Tao a bit more, and he took out a flashlight, shining it down the stairwell. The piercing white light made the zombie instinctively squint, and it even retreated slightly. What Wang Tao and Han Rui saw in the stairwell below made them gasp in shock! ¡°What the hell is that!¡± The zombie¡¯s short hair was sparse and falling out, wearing a white lab coat on its emaciated upper body. However, its lower body was grotesquely fat, without legs, comprised of many repulsive flesh tumors! It seemed to be stuck at the stairwell with these flesh tumors and couldn¡¯t come up! Chapter 265 - 140 Green-eyed Zombie_2 Chapter 265: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_2 ¡°This...¡± Having roughly understood the situation of this zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes gleamed. Again, a surgical knife appeared in his hand, and he activated his precise shooting ability, throwing it towards the green-eyed zombie. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao aimed for the zombie¡¯s eyes, but it deftly shook its head, dodging the attack. ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; this was the first time he had seen a zombie dodge his attack! Undeterred, he conjured several more surgical knives in his hand and rapidly and accurately threw them at the zombie. But only one of the thrown knives hit, with the rest easily dodged by the zombie, landing in the lumps of flesh beneath it. The knives stuck in the flesh lumps caused no damage at all. And that single successful hit, even though it struck its head, only resulted in ¡°9¡± damage! Such damage was almost negligible against its 15000 HP¡ªWang Tao was just thinking the damage could be ignored when suddenly, a ¡°+9¡± appeared above the zombie¡¯s head. Its HP had fully recovered! Wang Tao inwardly cursed. High defense was one thing, but with blood regeneration too? Could it possibly have a self-healing ability? However, the only good news was that this single zombie seemed to lack any long-range attack ability. Despite Wang Tao¡¯s many attacks, aside from roaring, it had no other response. Seeing this, Wang Tao grew bolder. He took a firefighter axe and moved forward a few steps, then he swung it at the air directly. A visibly solid shockwave instantly hit the zombie. [-324] [14676/15000] This time it caused over three hundred damage, not particularly high, but still much better than the single-digit damage. If the zombie stood still and let him attack, then couldn¡¯t he kill it after a few dozen shockwaves? Even if it could regenerate health, could it recover hundreds at a time? Then Wang Tao saw a ¡°+324¡± appear above the zombie¡¯s head. Its HP was instantly full again! Wang Tao felt like cursing again. What kind of blood regeneration ability was this, recovering over three hundred instantly? How was he supposed to fight it! The shockwave was the most damage he could currently deal! ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Han Rui asked anxiously from the side. She couldn¡¯t see the HP bar, but she could tell that Wang Tao¡¯s complexion wasn¡¯t good. ¡°This zombie has healing ability, even my strongest shockwave is useless against it!¡± Wang Tao briefly explained before immediately unleashing several more shockwaves at it. [-341] [+341] [-318] [+318] [-337] [+318] This was unplayable! No matter how much HP Wang Tao took off, it instantly recovered to full! Seeing this situation, unless he could instantly kill it, which was clearly impossible... ¡°Hehe...¡± The zombie seemed to glare at Wang Tao with some anger. It wanted to move toward him, but its body was stuck firmly in place and incapable of advancing. Wang Tao also glared back at it, once again bombarding it with shockwaves out of frustration, but once again its health instantly replenished to full. Both were eager to kill each other but neither could do anything to the other. ¡°Dammit, I don¡¯t believe this!¡± Wang Tao pulled out a military rifle from his backpack! This was specifically requested from Wei Zhenguo when he left today. ¡°Do you really want to use that?¡± Han Rui sounded concerned. Though this was on the -1 level, no one could guarantee it wouldn¡¯t attract Mad Demon Zombies. ¡°Screw it, let¡¯s fire a burst and see!¡± Wang Tao turned off the safety, loaded the rifle, and aimed at the zombie¡¯s head. Then, activating his Precision Shooting ability, he took a deep breath and pulled the trigger! Dada Dada¡ª In an instant, a stream of bullets sprayed towards the zombie. [-431] [+431] [-422] [+422] [-458] [+458] [-471] [+471] [...] The damage caused by the rifle was even higher than Wang Tao¡¯s Level Two shockwave, and the firing rate was far faster than that of the shockwave. In less than a second, the thirty bullets in the magazine were completely emptied onto the zombie¡¯s head. Apart from a few misses, the rest of the twenty-plus bullets hit their mark! Yet despite such a terrifying rate of fire, the zombie¡¯s regenerative capacity still kept up! Every bullet that caused damage was instantly healed, filling its HP. After thirty bullets were spent, the zombie was still at full health! ¡°Let¡¯s retreat!¡± Without wasting time on words, Wang Tao quickly led Han Rui to leave. The gunfire just now was too loud; it might attract a large number of Mad Demon Zombies. The two hurriedly fled through the stairwell exit of the hospital, and Wang Tao noticed that about a dozen Mad Demon Zombies had moved into the basement through the hole created by the Gorilla zombie. ¡°Not bad, only a dozen or so Mad Demon Zombies were attracted; the soundproofing in the basement is pretty good...¡± This was somewhat good news. But WangTao couldn¡¯t smile, the zombie¡¯s regenerative power was just too monstrous! He had previously thought that although the zombie¡¯s regenerative ability was strong, it would be similar to natural self-healing, regenerating a certain amount every second. If his attack speed were fast enough, he could outpace the health regeneration Wouldn¡¯t he then be able to kill it? If the speed of a rifle wasn¡¯t fast enough, he could call Wei Zhenguo and the others, having a dozen rifles attack at once-surely that speed would be sufficient, right? But unexpectedly, things were not as Wang Tao had thought-The green-eyed zombie¡¯s healing capacity wasn¡¯t a per-second regeneration. No matter how fast his rifle fired, the opponent could instantly recover full HP! Chapter 266 - 140 Green-eyed Zombie_3 Chapter 266: Chapter 140 Green-eyed Zombie_3 Is this even possible? What kind of Ability is so powerful? To Wang Tao, it felt as if the zombie had a huge blood replenishing pack on it! As soon as it lost HP, the pack would instantly refill its HP to full! If that really was the case, then things would be difficult... Wang Tao then remembered the tumors under the Green-eyed Zombie, which could very well be its blood replenishing packs. But when his bullets hit those tumors, not a single drop of HP was lost... ¡°No, I still have to give it a try!¡± Wang Tao went back to his off-road vehicle and took out some Molotov cocktails. Since his power had increased, he hadn¡¯t used Molotov cocktails much. Mainly because these things don¡¯t discriminate between friend and foe¡ªonce thrown, he wouldn¡¯t be able to go there himself. It was quite troublesome, so Wang Tao used them less. After taking out the Molotov cocktails, Wang Tao and Han Rui returned to the first basement level. The few Mad Demon Zombies inside immediately spotted Wang Tao, but were quickly chopped down by Han Rui. The duo reached the previous staircase entrance, but the Green-eyed Zombie was nowhere to be seen. Wang Tao threw a stone at the staircase entrance and, before long, the Green- eyed Zombie reappeared. Without saying a word, Wang Tao lit a Molotov cocktail and hurled it at the zombie. Crash¡ª The Molotov cocktail shattered on the adversary, and the intense flames instantly engulfed the zombie¡¯s upper body. ¡°Grrr...¡± The zombie let out an angry roar. [-54] [+54] [-56] [+56] [...] Seeing this exchange of HP, Wang Tao was speechless¡ªthis was even weaker than his Shockwave! However, after being scorched by the flames, the zombie seemed to be in pain and began to slowly retreat! Seeing the zombie cloaked in flames retreating into the darkness, Wang Tao decisively said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, follow it and see!¡± Anyway, both of them had the Rush Ability, so if there really were any danger, they could run away in time. ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui responded and then followed Wang Tao down the stairs cautiously. ¡°Grrr...¡± The zombie emitted an unpleasant roar, but the flames on its body grew less and less, quickly vanishing. Its upper body¡¯s clothing and scant hair were burned away, exposing the rotten and shriveled flesh beneath, which was somewhat nauseating to look at. But what was most disgusting was not its upper body, but the lower half! ¡°My God!¡± The two finally got to see the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s complete lower half, and Han Rui exclaimed in shock. The lower half of the Green-eyed Zombie was comprised of many tumors, and when added up, they were probably as big as half a basketball court! No wonder it was stuck and couldn¡¯t move beyond the staircase entrance. Furthermore, these tumors were actually made up of zombies, with at least several hundred to a thousand hideous arms, legs, and heads writhing! Even those zombies fused together had their own independent HP bars! Wang Tao felt sick to his stomach. The sight directly caused him to lose a few drops of HP, and Han Rui lost several dozen. ¡°Grrr...¡± After the flames on the Green-eyed Zombie were extinguished, it began to move towards Wang Tao. But Wang Tao decisively threw another Molotov cocktail at it. Whoosh- Flames once again engulfed the upper body of the zombie, causing it to retreat once more. ¡°Although it can¡¯t cause substantial damage to it, it¡¯s afraid of fire... that¡¯s some good news at least!¡± Wang Tao suddenly thought, if he set the entire hospital on fire, couldn¡¯t he burn her to death? But this idea only flashed through Wang Tao¡¯s mind before he quickly dismissed it. Putting aside whether he could set the hospital on fire, even if he could, how would he extinguish it? If he really started an uncontrollable mega-fire, the base would be in danger too! However, looking at it from another angle, even if he couldn¡¯t burn it to death, perhaps he could come up with another plan by utilizing its fear of fire... ¡°Roar-¡± At that moment, the Green-eyed Zombie suddenly let out an angry roar, then its mouth opened wide, and a pale green ring of light emerged from its body, rapidly spreading outwards! ¡°Run!¡± Seeing the ability that resembled a shockwave, Wang Tao and Han Rui quickly ran away. But the ring¡¯s speed was too fast, much faster than the Shockwave. Wang Tao and Han Rui couldn¡¯t avoid it. Whoosh¡ª The ring of light hit Wang Tao and Han Rui directly! Then the two realized... it seemed like nothing happened? Wang Tao quickly checked his and Han Rui¡¯s HP. No HP loss? No negative status either? Wang Tao was baffled. Still, out of caution, he continued to run with Han Rui for a while, and although they remained within the ring of light, they still didn¡¯t lose any HP or acquire any negative statuses. ¡°I don¡¯t feel uncomfortable at all...¡± Han Rui was also somewhat perplexed. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem like an attack ability!¡± Wang Tao confirmed it a few times, and indeed the ring of light did no harm to them. Realizing that its ability was ineffective, the Green-eyed Zombie retracted it. Seeing this, Wang Tao used a Shockwave towards the Green-eyed Zombie. Bang! This time, the Shockwave didn¡¯t hit the upper half of the zombie but struck its lower half instead. In an instant, several zombies that were partially merged with its lower body but not completely fused were shattered by the impact. And when those zombies died, even though the Green-eyed Zombie didn¡¯t lose a single drop of blood, it seemed to grow even more furious! ¡°Roar-¡± It ignored the flames on its body and, with innumerable legs and arms wriggling, started moving directly towards Wang Tao. ¡°Shit, run!¡± Wang Tao certainly had no intention of engaging in close combat with it and immediately pulled Han Rui to run. Even though this zombie had many limbs, its bulky size made it slow. Compared to the previously encountered Hooded Zombie, it was much slower. Wang Tao and Han Rui easily reached the first basement level. The Green-eyed Zombie once again got stuck at the stair entryway, roared angrily a couple of times, then retreated. The flames on its body also extinguished, and it soon disappeared from Wang Tao¡¯s sight. Wang Tao, looking at the dark stair entryway, frowned in contemplation. When he used the Shockwave on the upper half of the zombie earlier, even if it lost several hundred HP, there wasn¡¯t much of a reaction. When he scorched its upper body with a Molotov cocktail, although it lost fewer HP, it seemed to get somewhat angry. And when Wang Tao attacked the zombies fused with its lower body, it didn¡¯t lose a single drop of HP, but it became surprisingly furious... Could it be that those zombies below are important to her? Wang Tao then thought of the blood replenishing pack. ¡°Perhaps, those zombies at the bottom are its blood replenishing pack?¡± Chapter 267 - 141 Thank You_1 Chapter 267: Chapter 141 Thank You_1 Wang Tao felt this possibility was very likely! Otherwise, why wouldn¡¯t it get angry when it was hit but get extremely angry when the zombies on its lower body were attacked? It didn¡¯t make sense! ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a bit, and then we¡¯U try again...¡± Wang Tao took out some nutrient solution, handing two bottles to Han Rui. ¡°Hmm!¡± After the recent battle, Han Rui was no longer so afraid of this particular zombie. At least as it appeared, the combat power it demonstrated wasn¡¯t as strong as that of the hooded zombies or the gorilla zombies. ¡°When we go down later, don¡¯t let it get close. Attack its lower body and see if we can kill all the zombies fused with it...¡± Wang Tao believed that HP couldn¡¯t appear out of nowhere. It had to be either through consuming energy or something like a blood replenishing pack. But whatever it was, there must be a limit to it. So, Wang Tao wanted to try and see if he could exhaust the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s energy or deplete its blood replenishing packs! ¡°Alright!¡± After resting for a while, the two returned to the stairwell entrance. Just like before, Wang Tao picked up a rock and threw it down. A moment later, the Green-eyed Zombie was attracted and came over. Seeing the zombie appear, Wang Tao finally felt relieved. If it didn¡¯t show up, Wang Tao truly wouldn¡¯t dare to go down, fearing it might be lying in wait somewhere to ambush them, which would be troublesome. ¡°Roar-¡± The Green-eyed Zombie seemed to have some memory; upon seeing Wang Tao, it immediately let out an enraged howl. Wang Tao found this somewhat surprising; he felt this zombie seemed to be quite intelligent. Then Wang Tao picked up a lit Molotov cocktail and hurled it at the creature. Whoosh¡ª Flames instantly engulfed the upper body of the Green-eyed Zombie. [-53] [+53] [-50] [+50] [...] The Green-eyed Zombie began to retreat slowly. Wang Tao threw the Molotov cocktail to make it back off, which was necessary for him to go down. He also needed it for illumination since the second sublevel was too dark. After the Green-eyed Zombie had retreated, Wang Tao and Han Rui immediately followed it down. To verify his theory, without another word, Wang Tao unleashed a Shockwave straight at the lower half of the Green-eyed Zombie. Splurch¡ª Instantly, several of the zombies fused with its lower body burst open and died, their Zombie Cores spilling out. ¡°Roar-¡± The Green-eyed Zombie howled angrily, but it really seemed to lack long-range attack ability, unable to reach Wang Tao at all. In addition, it was not agile; when Wang Tao started circling around it, it appeared even more sluggish. However, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t quickly kill the zombies beneath it because, perhaps due to being fused within the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s body, their defensive power was quite strong. Against ordinary Level 1 Elite Zombies, one Shockwave from Wang Tao could kill a large group. But with these zombies, one Shockwave could only kill one or two at best, and sometimes not even that. But this wasn¡¯t a big problem, now with over four thousand Mana, Wang Tao had enough to use many Shockwaves. Meanwhile, Han Rui was shooting at those zombies with her sniper crossbow while using her Perception to probe their surroundings, preemptively guarding against any potential dangers. As the flames on the zombie began to die down, Han Rui quickly threw another Molotov cocktail, ensuring enough light in the second sublevel for Wang Tao to perform effectively. Come to think of it, this Green-eyed Zombie seemed to have some fire resistance. While a Molotov cocktail could burn for a long time on other zombies, it quickly extinguished on this one, and the damage it inflicted was minimal. Who knows how much time passed when Wang Tao had used up half of his Mana. Finally, the last few zombies fused to the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s lower half were shattered by the Shockwave. Bang¡ª Without its ¡°legs,¡± the Green-eyed Zombie lost all ability to move. The flesh lumps beneath it weren¡¯t mobile; its movement depended on the limbs inside them. Seeing the zombie completely immobile, Wang Tao grinned and then tossed a Throwing Knife at its head. Whizz! [-14] [+14) [15000/15000] ¡°Huh? It can regenerate HP?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback for a moment, then turned his attention to the flesh lumps below it. Could it be that simply killing the fused zombies wasn¡¯t enough? Did he need to shatter these flesh lumps, too? During previous attacks, Wang Tao¡¯s Shockwaves had definitely hit the flesh lumps, but without any noticeable effect... Now with no other option left, he launched another Shockwave, hitting one of the flesh lumps on the lower half of the Green-eyed Zombie. Splurch¡ª The flesh lump, which had not budged earlier, now burst open like a balloon, with some foul-smelling yellow-green viscous fluid leaking out. ¡°Huh? That was easy?¡± Wang Tao was startled for a moment. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Green-eyed Zombie didn¡¯t lose any HP, but it suddenly started shaking all over as if going mad. Wang Tao felt this must be the zombie¡¯s weakness! Keep going! Wang Tao counted a moment ago; the Green-eyed Zombie had a total of ten flesh lumps on its lower half. Probably all needed to be destroyed. Splurch¡ª Wang Tao delivered another Shockwave, and just like before, he easily shattered its second flesh lump. The Green-eyed Zombie continued its frenzy but couldn¡¯t move, and Wang Tao was far enough away that it was powerless against him. But just then, Han Rui, who had been keeping watch, suddenly said: ¡°Wang Tao, the zombies from the first sublevel are coming!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao launched another Shockwave, breaking the third flesh lump. ¡°They¡¯re acting like they¡¯ve gone mad!¡± Chapter 268 - 141 Thank You_2 Chapter 268: Chapter 141 Thank You_2 Han Rui quickly added another warning. Wang Tao looked back and then saw a group of Elite Zombies sprinting from the stairwell of the first underground level towards this second underground level! ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing this scene, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised because these Elite Zombies ran as fast as Mad Demon Zombies! What¡¯s happening, are they in a frenzy? Wang Tao couldn¡¯t afford to continue dealing with the Green-eyed Zombie, so he quickly turned to confront these Elite Zombies. These Elite Zombies were no longer the dazed creatures they had been before; after rushing down, some of them charged directly at Wang Tao and Han Rui while the rest sprinted towards the Green-eyed Zombie. ¡°Could it be that the Green-eyed Zombie can still fuse with these zombies?¡± Wang Tao swiftly killed the zombies rushing at him, then hurried over to the Green-eyed Zombie. When they got there, Wang Tao and Han Rui were both somewhat baffled. These Elite Zombies weren¡¯t fusing with the Green-eyed Zombie, but instead, they were diving straight into the yellow-green slime! ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback, and then he looked closely at the yellow- green slime and was shocked. He hadn¡¯t paid much attention before, but now he noticed he could actually see the name of this liquid! [Zombie Culture Fluid*300] This name didn¡¯t sound like anything good, but the fact that he could see its name meant he could collect it in his Space Backpack! And as long as it could be collected in the Space Backpack, no matter if it was useful or not, he would take it ¨C after all, his Space Backpack was infinite in size! So, Wang Tao threw out another Shockwave, killing all the zombies lying in the slime. This was his loot, zombies be damned! At that moment, Han Rui urgently said. ¡°There are more Elite Zombies coming down from upstairs!¡± This Zombie Culture Fluid sure seems to attract zombies! Wang Tao immediately said to Han Rui. ¡°You block them; I¡¯ll see if 1 can take care of the Green-eyed Zombie quickly! ¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Han Rui immediately grabbed the axe and ran to the stairwell entrance. Against a large number of zombies, an axe was obviously more suitable than crossbow arrows. Approaching the slime, Wang Tao concentrated his thoughts and quickly collected the slime into his Space Backpack, also picking up all the Zombie Cores on the ground. He didn¡¯t dawdle and started swinging his axe violently at the Green-eyed Zombie. One Shockwave after another struck its body. Pu-chi¡ª in moments, the remaining seven tumors were all shattered, and yellow-green, foul-smelling slime spilled everywhere. The smell was so unbearable that not only Wang Tao, but also Han Rui at the stairwell entrance, almost threw up. Suppressing his disgust, Wang Tao quickly collected all the slime intohis backpack. [Obtained: Zombie Culture Fluid*7OO] ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Green-eyed Zombie, with all ten tumors in its lower half ruptured, twisted its body before slowly emerging from the flesh masses. Its upper body separated from its lower body, it crawled with its arms on the ground, dragging intestines-like things beneath it. Then suddenly, the Green-eyed Zombie used its arms to leap into the air and pounced at Wang Tao. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao had been on his guard against the Green-eyed Zombie; after all, it still had a full 15000 HP. So even when the Green-eyed Zombie ¡°flew¡± towards him, he didn¡¯t panic. He activated Iron and Copper Bones and his Precision Shooting Ability, and when he saw the Green-eyed Zombie flying at him, Wang Tao suddenly raised his Firefighter Axe high and then fiercely swung it downwards. Bang! The axe struck the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s forehead with such force that it was sent flying back. [-132] [14868/15000] Even though the damage number wasn¡¯t high, it was real damage-the Green- eyed Zombie couldn¡¯t regenerate blood anymore! It must be due to that liquid! After being knocked back, the Green-eyed Zombie continued to crawl with its arms on the ground and then seized the opportunity to lunge at Wang Tao again. Bang! Wang Tao swung his axe again, this time not only striking the Green-eyed Zombie in the head but also hitting precisely where he had hit the first time. [-163] [147O5/15OOO] The Green-eyed Zombie was knocked back once again. But it stubbornly lunged at Wang Tao for the third time. After using this move to attack himself three times, Wang Tao felt that the Green-eyed Zombie probably didn¡¯t have many tactics left. So this time he got a little braver, sidestepping as it lunged, avoiding its attack, and sud en y grabbing its neck! Then Wang Tao summoned all his strength and slammed it down to the ground. Bang! He pressed the Green-eyed Zombie down from behind. The Green-eyed Zombie was strong, but not as strong as the Hooded Zombie. Plus, with Wang Tao¡¯s extraordinary strength, he knelt on the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s back with his knees, rendering it unable to escape. He held the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s neck with one hand, and with an axe in the other, he started chopping at its head. [-173) [-176] [-182] [...] Wang Tao¡¯s arms moved so quickly they blurred into afterimages! Finally, with a wet crack, the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s skull was cleaved by Wang Tao. [-230] [0/15000] The Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero! ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Wang Tao rubbed his aching arm. The battle with the Green-eyed Zombie had been short and not very dangerous but was quite exhausting. Every blow from Wang Tao was full of force; even with his physical condition, he needed to take some deep breaths. Looking at the Green-eyed Zombie, his mouth under the visor stretched into a grin. The Green-eyed Zombie exploded with loot! Wang Tao quickly collected the Loot Pack into his Space Backpack, then, still enduring the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s foul smell, extracted its Crystal Core. Chapter 269 - 141 Thank You 3 Chapter 269: Chapter 141 Thank You 3 ¡°Huh?¡± While Wang Tao was extracting the Crystal Core, he noticed its pair of green eyes had also fallen out. [Night Vision Eyes*2] These eyes even have a name! Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to look closer and immediately put them into his Space Backpack. Then he searched the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s body and found nothing else named, but he did find a small metallic card inside it. ¡°Is this... a negative third-floor access card?¡± Wang Tao decisively pocketed it. After making sure there was nothing else useful, Wang Tao immediately ran towards Han Rui. Without a Shockwave like Han Rui, it was quite troublesome for one person to fend off so many Elite Zombies. After Wang Tao arrived, a few Shockwaves cleared out an area before him. ¡°You took care of that Level 2 Zombie?¡± Han Rui was somewhat surprised; she hadn¡¯t had time to watch Wang Tao¡¯s fight, merely perceiving that the life signals of the Green-eyed Zombie had disappeared. ¡°Took care of it! This zombie was much weaker than the Hooded Zombie!¡± Wang Tao briefly explained and then ran with Han Rui to the negative first floor. But just as they reached the negative first floor, Han Rui¡¯s face turned pale in an instant. ¡°Not good! It¡¯s all Mad Demon Zombies outside, it looks like all the Mad Demon Zombies in the hospital have come!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡ª¡± Wang Tao was about to say they should charge out when he saw through the dim emergency lighting that the floor, walls and even ceiling were covered with Mad Demon Zombies! Good grief, these things can crawl on the ceiling? Putting aside his astonishment, Wang Tao pulled Han Rui and ran back! Although Wang Tao could kill a Mad Demon Zombie in an instant, he had already used up a lot of his mana. With so many Mad Demon Zombies, even if he exhausted his mana, he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill them all! This wasn¡¯t the time to put up a fight! ¡°Where are we going?¡± Han Rui was getting nervous; the Mad Demon Zombies had taken over the negative first floor, and there might be even more of them in the ward areas or outside the building! They were trapped! ¡°To the negative third floor!¡± Wang Tao said calmly. The layout of the negative second floor was similar to the negative first floor, and Wang Tao quickly found the location of the stairwell, but the door was locked and required an access card. Wang Tao immediately took out the metal access card he had gotten from the Green-eyed Zombie and swiped it in the card slot next to the keypad. ¡°Beep-¡± The metal door slowly opened. ¡°Huh?¡± Han Rui was shocked; when did Wang Tao get an access card for this place? But she didn¡¯t have time to inquire, and quickly said: ¡°The Mad Demon Zombies are coming!¡± At the entrance of this stairwell, a pack of Mad Demon Zombies were ferociously lunging at Wang Tao and her. Standing at the doorway, Wang Tao unleashed three consecutive Shockwaves, shattering all the Mad Demon Zombies. Before the next wave of Mad Demon Zombies could attack, the metal door slammed shut with a ¡°bang,¡± sealing the Mad Demon Zombies outside. ¡°Phew¡ªThat was close!¡± Han Rui was somewhat relieved; if they had been entangled by that large group of Mad Demon Zombies, it would have been certain death! ¡°Let¡¯s go see what¡¯s on this third level and if there¡¯s a way to escape...¡± The negative third floor was very dark, with no light inside at all, but fortunately, they both had flashlights. But the moment they turned on the flashlights, both of them jumped in fright. ¡°...This floor is the mortuary!¡± Looking at the bodies on the shelves inside the glass rooms, Wang Tao immediately felt a chill. However, there weren¡¯t many corpses here, and there were no signs of them turning into zombies. Negative third floor had an independent electric switch and its own generator, which still had some power left. Wang Tao turned on the lights and carefully checked the area with Han Rui. There were the morgue, autopsy room, and sample room, among other places. Although some of the human tissues here looked rather creepy, they were just frightening to look at and actually posed no danger. ¡°Hm? This door is locked.¡± Outside the rest room door, Han Rui looked at the big black lock and iron chain on the door and spoke with some curiosity. All the other doors on the negative third floor were open, only this place was locked. What was inside? ¡°There¡¯s a zombie!¡± After using her Perception, Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. ¡°It¡¯s a very weak ordinary zombie, sitting on the ground and not moving...¡± Wang Tao immediately took out his lock-picking tools and unlocked the lock. Clang clang¡ª The sound of the chain moving seemed to have disturbed the zombie inside; Han Rui told Wang Tao that the zombie had stood up. Wang Tao immediately opened the door and shone the flashlight inside. ¡°Hehehe...¡± A petite zombie, wearing a red and white JK uniform, with long hair over her shoulders but with severe body decay making it impossible to see her face clearly, bared its teeth and lunged at Wang Tao. But there was an iron chain on its body, which restrained it, preventing it from moving too far. Wang Tao glanced at the small zombie, with only 500 HP, and tempirarily ignored it, instead carefully surveying the rest room. The room was clean and tidy with no signs of struggle. In the corner were some uneaten clean food. On the adjacent table were glass bottles, test tubes, a microscope, and other tools and instruments, as well as some paper documents, notebooks, and a mobile phone. The mobile phone was out of power, so Wang Tao found a charger, charged the phone, and then opened the notebook. April 4th. I was invited by Shuize County First Hospital on April 1st to research a rare case. As my high school daughter was a bit weary of studying, I brought her with me. But I did not expect that on April 4th, a new virus similar to rabies suddenly had a massive outbreak, turning infected humans into the biting zombies seen in movies... April 5th. Sadly, my daughter was bitten by an infected person. Although she has not mutated for the time being, various examples indicate that she will definitely mutate, with no luck for the better. As an expert with some research on viruses, I didn¡¯t want my daughter to die like this. I wanted to try and see if I could develop a cure. April 6th. Regrettably, one day was too short a time, and I was powerless to help, as my daughter turned into a zombie. But I didn¡¯t want to give up, I was still human and I still had time. April 8th. I had no leads on the cure, but it seemed I had made a little discovery about the zombie virus, which might also be a direction? April 13th. I am a failure. April 18th. With limited tools, the research progressed very slowly. But I had some results. I risked going outside to get some zombie virus and found out that these zombie viruses are actually different. April 20th. I synthesized the latest type of zombie virus. I have a premonition that if I inject this zombie virus into myself, there¡¯s a possibility I might become the cure. Of course, there¡¯s a greater chance that I turn into a terrifying zombie. April 21st. I decided to inject myself with the virus. If you are reading this diary... then it means I failed. Please do me a favor¡ªkill my daughter. I couldn¡¯t bring myself to doit, thank you. Chapter 270 - 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion 1 Chapter 270: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion 1 Ding-dong¡ª Once the mobile phone had charged, it automatically powered on. The screensaver displayed a young father, taking a selfie with his adorable daughter in his arms. Wang Tao looked at this picture and fell into a brief silence. Han Rui also finished the diary and let out a sigh. Clearly, the Level 2 Zombie that Wang Tao had just killed was likely the protagonist of this diary. And the little zombie in the room was his daughter. Wang Tao glanced at the stack of neatly organized paper documents beside him. These were the expert¡¯s research findings on the zombie virus. There was a sentence added above¡ª ¡°These are mostly useless things; if you find any use for them, then just take them. Consider it... as my thanks to you.¡± Wang Tao collected all the documents, knowing that he himself couldn¡¯t understand or use them, but maybe someone else could. As for the little girl zombie... it was already beyond saving. Wang Tao picked up the hand crossbow and fired an arrow straight into its glabella. Whiz¡ª [-500] [0/500] This was probably the most dignified way to die for a zombie. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Huh?¡± The small package dropped by the little zombie turned out to be a set of clothing. (Received: Red and White JK Uniform Set xl] What¡¯s there to say, the clothes were indeed quite pretty. But for now, they were useless. Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay much attention to it and said to Han Rui: ¡°It seems there¡¯s no direct passage to the outside from here. Let¡¯s wait a while and rest up. I guess those Mad Demon Zombies won¡¯t stay here for long...¡± They had already searched the third sublevel, which was very safe. ¡°Okay.¡± Han Rui nodded wearily. She had just defended against so many zombies by herself and had used all her strength to activate Perception, which was very draining on her energy and mana. Wang Tao sat down carelessly and handed a few bottles of nutrient fluid to Han Rui. After she took them, she sat down next to Wang Tao, leaned her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes for a brief rest. Wang Tao was tired too, but not sleepy; he hadn¡¯t had time to inspect his spoils of war closely yet. He took out a Red Crystal Core, which he had extracted from the skull of a Green-eyed Zombie. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡ö Healing Light] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side Effects: First fusion reduces HP by 5,000, subsequent fusions reduce HP by 1,000)] [Healing Light: Consumes energy to create a healing energy field which restores HP every second within its range.] Previously, when Wang Tao saw that Green-eyed Zombie release the green light circle, he thought it was some kind of attacking ability and got quite a shock. He never expected it to be a healing ability, and moreover, an area-of-effect healing ability! Such a divine skill! No wonder he and Han Rui hadn¡¯t been harmed at all; no wonder he felt the zombie wasn¡¯t that strong. It turned out to be a healer dad zombie... The side effects of this ability were considerable though¡ªthe first fusion would directly reduce his HP by 5,000! Their HP maxed out at 4,999, so if they were to fuse with it, they would likely die on the spot, even owing an extra point of blood. Of course, they couldn¡¯t fuse with it now since it was a Level 2 Crystal Core. But even after becoming Level Two and having increased HP, the side effect of losing 5,000 HP at once was too severe. HP was linked to one¡¯s life force, and in a sense, the loss equated to losing life! Generally speaking, the stronger the side effects, the stronger the ability. With such significant side effects, one could imagine how powerful the healing effect must be! Unfortunately, Wang Tao only had this one Crystal Core and couldn¡¯t eliminate the side effects through synthesis... Wang Tao put away the Crystal Core and took out a pair of green eyes. After storing them in his Space Backpack, all traces of blood on them disappeared. These green eyes didn¡¯t have the horror associated with real human eyeballs. Instead, they were as clear and gleaming as jade, quite beautiful to look at. [Night Vision Eyes: These eyes possess a certain level of Night Vision Ability and can be merged with humans. After fusion: Night Vision Ability +1, Vision +1 (Note: Fusing a single eye produces no effect.)] Merge? Could it be like fusing a Zombie Core, putting it directly in the mouth? Wang Tao frowned slightly but was also somewhat eager to try. The eye was clean, free of any blood or debris... After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao placed it in his mouth. He would try it out and if it didn¡¯t work, no harm done. As soon as he put the two eyes in his mouth, they seemed to turn into gas, the same sensation as when fusing a Crystal Core. However, unlike the Crystal Core Energy which spread throughout his limbs, these headed straight for his eyes. ¡°Hiss-¡± Wang Tao suddenly shuddered; his eyes felt incredibly cool and the fatigue vanished, leaving a very comfortable sensation. His vision also improved, now able to see fine details of scratches on the wooden table leg! Regarding the Night Vision ability, since the room had lights on and was quite bright, he couldn¡¯t discern that effect for now. ¡°Hmm-¡± Just as Han Rui had fallen asleep leaning on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder, his sudden movement jolted her awake. ¡°What¡¯s¡ªah!¡± In her drowsy state, Han Rui turned her head towards Wang Tao; upon seeing clearly, she bolted upright and then backed herself against the door, a look of terror on her face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao touched his face, puzzled. Han Rui, relieved to hear Wang Tao speaking and temporarily easing up, pointed shakily at his eyes and said: ¡°Your, your eyes... they¡¯re green!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao was bemused; he grabbed the phone from the table and looked at the dark screen. Chapter 271 - 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion_2 Chapter 271: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion_2 ¡°Fuck!¡± Seeing those eyes in the screen reflection that looked like green led lights, Wang Tao felt as if ten thousand alpacas were stampeding through his heart. Where were his big black eyes? How did they turn into something like the Green-eyed Zombie¡¯s? How was he going to face people now?Wouldn¡¯t survivors attack him mistaking him for a zombie? ¡°Are, are you okay?¡± Han Rui approached Wang Tao with some caution, poking his arm. ¡°I... should be fine...¡± Wang Tao scratched his head. However, when he thought about his eyes, he saw the green color slowly fading away, returning to their normal black. ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao felt amazed. He tried several times and saw that his eyes were like flickering bulbs, switching between black and green. After Han Rui confirmed that Wang Tao really was okay, she let down her guard and then came to sit opposite Wang Tao, staring curiously at his eyes. ¡°Your eyes, how did they turn like this? And... they actually look quite nice...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He briefly described the zombie eyeball incident. ¡°Eh? That can merge too...¡± Han Rui was very surprised. ¡°Right, turn off the lights, I want to try if I have night vision.¡± Han Rui hurriedly shut off all the lights in the resting room. Wang Tao then felt darkness envelop him, but he could still clearly see the surroundings and Han Rui. ¡°Your eyes, they¡¯re still a bit scary in the dark...¡± Han Rui said weakly. ¡°Haha, I really do have night vision!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily, he didn¡¯t care whether it was scary or not, after all, it was others getting frightened, not himself. Then he studied it carefully and found that he could only see clearer and have night vision abilities when his eyes were green. Once they turned black again, they were his normal eyes. And when his eyes were green, he could adjust them. The brighter the eyes, the clearer the view and the stronger the night vision. If the eyes were only faintly green, like wearing green-colored contacts, it would only slightly improve his vision compared to normal eyes, and his night vision ability would also decrease a lot, but he still retained some night vision. This was pretty good; he didn¡¯t have to worry about being mistaken for a zombie and chased after. Moreover, activating the green eyes didn¡¯t consume Mana. Wang Tao guessed it might consume spirit or physical strength. However, after merging with these eyes, his spirit and physical strength were in excellent condition, so he couldn¡¯t test this. Han Rui looked at Wang Tao¡¯s eyes with a bit of envy. If Wang Tao just slightly activated this ability, his eyes looked quite nice... Of course, what mattered wasn¡¯t how nice they looked but rather the improved vision and night vision ability, which was a strong ability in a post-apocalyptic world! ¡°Stop staring at me, and get some rest.¡± Wang Tao glanced at Han Rui. ¡°Oh...¡± Han Rui¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment, and then she continued leaning on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. Once Wang Tao got the hang of operating his green eyes, he looked at his attributes. HP and Mana hadn¡¯t changed at all; there were no extra internal impurities or skills. However, he had one additional Hidden Attribute! [Hidden Attribute: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision] ¡°Hidden Attribute? I can actually get another one...¡± If compared to playing games, Abilities would be like learned skills, and Hidden Attributes would be like innate talents. He thought Hidden Attributes couldn¡¯t be acquired later on, but it turned out they could... Although somewhat puzzled, this was good news. Since the night vision ability didn¡¯t use Mana, it was practically his natural talent. Quite nice! Moreover, these green eyes were just one of the rewards Wang Tao got from killing the Green-eyed Zombie! The Green-eyed Zombie itself dropped the loot of a Healing Light Crystal Core and green eye orbs¡ªoh right, and a Zombie Culture Fluid that could be stored in a Space Backpack! [Zombie Culture Fluid: Can enhance the strength of zombies] Seeing this item, Wang Tao furrowed his brows deeply. He had a total of 1000 units of Zombie Culture Fluid, but... what should he do with it? Enhancing the power of zombies was just asking for trouble for humans! And what was the extent of the enhancement? Would an Ordinary Zombie turn into an Elite Zombie, or could a Level 1 Zombie transform into a Level 2 Zombie? Wang Tao figured it was probably the former since there were indeed many Elite Zombies around the hospital, but only one Level 2 Zombie... If it really had this effect, could zombies be raised like pigs and slaughtered at an opportune time? But the risk was too high! As everyone knows, in various works of fiction, those who ¡°raise monsters¡± always end up getting bitten back! So Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to use this thing. Maybe after growing stronger, he could experiment, but definitely not now. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry! Wang Tao also figured out why all those zombies just stood dumbly in front of the stairwell door, why there were so many zombies beneath the Green-eyed Zombie, and why there were so many Elite Zombies in the hospital! It was all because of the Zombie Culture Fluid inside the Green-eyed Zombie! Wang Tao felt somewhat fortunate that he had collected all the Zombie Culture Fluid. Otherwise, if the Mad Demon Zombies outside got it, there was no telling what kind of monster would be bred! Wang Tao continued to check the loot in his Space Backpack. The Green-eyed Zombie had dropped two packages in total. The first was a Crystal Core package, containing a total of 3 Level 2 Crystal Cores. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (No side effects)] Chapter 272 - 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion_3 Chapter 272: Chapter 142 Purification, Cleansing Potion_3 [Ascension: After fusion, you can randomly upgrade one of the already merged abilities to Level Two] First was the Ascension Crystal Core, which was exactly what Wang Tao needed the most! It was just that this Crystal Core was of excellent quality. Although the fusion probability exceeded so0/0, itwas stilla bit l¡ãw at 60%... However, Wang Tao felt that his luck should be pretty good today, there shouldn¡¯t be a failure, right? Without much hesitation, Wang Tao directly placed the Ascension Crystal Core into his mouth. In an instant, a warm sensation flooded his entire body. Success! Wang Tao was overjoyed, he knew his luck was not bad today! A moment later, Wang Tao hurriedly checked his attributes. His mana limit increased by 200, reaching 4600, and internal impurity temporarily still showed 1%. Meanwhile, his Self-healing Ability had ascended to Level Two! Wang Tao quickly tried it out, similar to Toughness, the mana consumption for Self-healing rose from 1 point per second to 5 points. The consumption had increased fivefold, but the effect had certainly improved a lot. Since Wang Tao had full HP at the moment, he couldn¡¯t test this temporarily. Wang Tao then turned his eyes towards the other Crystal Core burst out by the Green-eyed Zombie. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (No side effects)] [Omnipotent: After fusion, you can randomly add +1 to an already merged ability, with a cap increase of +10] This was a Level Two Omnipotent Crystal Core. Despite being of ordinary quality, Wang Tao was still excited. Because didn¡¯t this mean that a zombie of the same level could also burst out an Omnipotent Crystal Core of the same level? Wang Tao previously thought that Level Two Zombies could only burst out Level One Omnipotent Crystal Cores. But then again, even if they could burst out such cores, the conditions were probably quite harsh. After all, a Level Two Zombie had 5000 HP, and this Green-eyed Zombie had 15000 HP, much more than an ordinary Level Two Zombie- Then came the last Crystal Core. [Level Two Crystal Core ¨C Self-Cleansing] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Impurity: 45% (No side effects)] [Self-Cleansing: Has the opportunity to purify the ordinary zombie virus within oneself once a week] ¡°Holy shit!¡± Seeing this Crystal Core, Wang Tao almost exclaimed out loud. Purifying his zombie virus? Although it could only be used once a week, this was definitely a divine skill! After all, the zombie virus was currently an unsolved existence! Even using an inhibitor could only temporarily suppress it, and sooner or later one would become a zombie again... The only regret Wang Tao felt was that this ability could only be used on himself; if it could be used on others, it would be a truly godlike skill! However, Wang Tao looked closely again; the description stated ¡°ordinary zombie virus,¡± so just how extensive was this ¡°ordinary¡±? It surely couldn t be just regular zombies, right? After all, it was also a Level Two Crystal Core. If it could only purify the virus of ordinary zombies, that would be somewhat underwhelming... Next came the second package. The contents of this package were potions, with a total of six bottles, five of which were the same. Upon seeing the first potion bottle, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. [Purification Agent (Experimental) xi] [Purification Agent (Experimental): When used on zombies that have been infected and mutated for no more than three days, there is a certain probability to purify the virus within them, as well as a certain probability to cause spontaneous combustion. Ineffective on zombies infected and mutated for over three days (Note: This potion is an experimental version and has certain unknown side effects.)] Purification Potion?! This was an evolution of the zombie virus¡ªno, this was no longer just a simple purification of the zombie virus. This was about turning zombies back into humans! However, the conditions were very strict; it had to be used on zombies that had been infected and mutated for no more than three days, and the probability... a certain probability? What was that amount? The chances were probably not high, otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be put that way. It seemed that the Purification Potion could only be used as an emergency option, with a large probability of completely purifying the subject. As for the unknown side effects, it didn¡¯t matter. After all, if it could turn a zombie back into a person, who cared about side effects. Wang Tao unconsciously glanced at the small zombie next to him. If Wang Tao had arrived earlier, he might have had a chance to try saving her. But it had been almost three months now, and even with the Purification Potion, there was no chance of turning back into a human. Wang Tao suddenly thought of another question: if he directly fed this Purification Potion to zombies, would it kill them? But the problem remained the same, whether it was rescuing or killing zombies, it was all down to a certain probability, and that ¡°certain probability¡± was very ambiguous... Moreover, it was ineffective on zombies that had been mutated for more than three days. Otherwise, Wang Tao would have really liked to use it on the Gorilla Zombie. If there was a way to feed it to its mouth, whether it turned back into a human or spontaneously combusted, both outcomes would be acceptable. Unfortunately, the conditions did not allow it... Then came the second potion bottle. [Cleansing Potion x5] [Cleansing Potion: Can clear 1% of internal impurity] ¡°Clear impurities?!¡± Seeing this potion, Wang Tao was even more excited than when he saw the Purification Potion. The Purification Potion was powerful but of little use to him for the time being. But this Cleansing Potion was different¡ªit could clear internal impurities! Wang Tao had over 1% of impurity in his body now, and after fusing with an Ascension Crystal Core today, it was precisely 1.65%! Theoretically speaking, these impurities didn¡¯t seem to pose any significant issue to him, but Wang Tao was a perfectionist and didn¡¯t want the option of impurity to appear in his attributes. Also, he wasn¡¯t sure if it was psychological, but he always felt somewhat uncomfortable after acquiring internal impurities, as if something was pressing down on him. So if there was a chance, he would definitely want to clear these internal impurities. Now, that opportunity had arrived! Five bottles of Cleansing Potion, each capable of clearing 1% of impurity, meant a total of 5% could be cleared! Wang Tao felt an urge to use them immediately. Nevertheless, he planned to wait a bit longer, as these impurities weren¡¯t currently affecting his strength, and he was still short one Ascension Crystal Core. After the fusion was complete and he ascended to Level Two, he would see if there were any changes in himself, and then it wouldn¡¯t be too late to use the Cleansing Potion. Chapter 273 - 143 The Inevitable Arrival_l Chapter 273: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival_l ¡°The Mad Demon Zombies outside haven¡¯t left yet...¡± At the entrance of the negative third floor, Han Rui pressed her ear to the door to use her Perception, then spoke somewhat helplessly. She had just slept for two hours, yet the Mad Demon Zombies outside still hadn¡¯t left. ¡°It¡¯s probably because of the body of that Green-eyed Zombie...¡± Wang Tao said, frowning. The Zombie Culture Fluid inside the Green-eyed Zombies exerted a huge attraction on zombies. Although Wang Tao had taken all the culture fluid, the zombie¡¯s body was still there. Since the Green-eyed Zombie could produce the culture fluid, its body might also be somewhat different... ¡°If these Mad Demon Zombies don¡¯t leave, we won¡¯t be able to get out...¡± Han Rui felt uncomfortable. Although there was no danger on the negative third floor, staying here indefinitely wasn¡¯t a solution. The nutrient solution that Wang Tao had would run out eventually, then what would they do? ¡°Now...¡± Wang Tao looked at his watch, ¡°it¡¯s already dark. Let¡¯s wait until tomorrow morning. If they¡¯re still not gone by then, we can try to see if we can go through the elevator shaft.¡± To enter the negative third floor, there were only three entrances, two stairwells, and one elevator. One stairwell had already been blocked, and that one was definitely impassable. The other stairwell was completely surrounded by Mad Demon Zombies, so that wasn¡¯t an option either. So, they had to think of a way to use the elevator shaft. The elevator was broken and unusable, and it also had a special lock. But they should be able to pry it open and climb up through the shaft. However, now that it was dark, even if they could get out, there was no need to do so at this time. Better to wait until daylight. The two returned to the break room, where the little zombie had already been dealt with by Han Rui and moved to the morgue. There was only one bed, and after Wang Tao lay down on it, Han Rui naturally snuggled into his arms. Wang Tao held her close and fell asleep. Boom¡ª Wang Tao thought he heard an explosion in the distance. He sat up instantly, with a hint of green shimmering in his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Han Rui, sensing Wang Tao¡¯s movement, thought a zombie had come and quickly grabbed the sniper crossbow by the bed while releasing her Perception, but she didn¡¯t perceive any zombies. ¡°I thought I heard an explosion...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat unsure if it was an illusion, but he chose to believe it was real. He looked at his watch, which showed it was six in the morning, and daylight had come. So he quickly went with Han Rui to the doors leading to the second floor. ¡°There are a lot fewer Mad Demon Zombies outside! Within the range of my Perception, at least two-thirds are gone!¡± Han Rui was somewhat surprised. But she frowned and said: ¡°Still, even with only one-third left, that¡¯s a lot... We might not be able to break through.¡± A single Mad Demon Zombie wasn¡¯t frightening, but if they were ensnared by so many, they definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to make it. Just a scratch or any small wound was big trouble. ¡°Seems we can only go through the elevator shaft.¡± The two came to the elevator shaft and, after some effort, managed to pry open the elevator door. Naturally, they didn¡¯t dare make too much noise, to avoid alerting the Mad Demon Zombies on the negative second floor. Then Wang Tao¡¯s pupils turned green, and he peered inside. The elevator seemed to be stuck between the third and fourth floors, and it was unclear how it got stuck. Wang Tao observed for a while and, once sure it wouldn¡¯t suddenly fall, closed the elevator door on the negative third floor, then started climbing up with Han Rui. Since this was still a suitable refuge, closing the door to prevent zombies from entering also served to leave behind a temporary camp. Both of their physical strengths were extraordinary, so climbing the elevator shaft was naturally no problem. Han Rui kept her Perception active throughout the climb. There were lots of zombies at the elevator entrance on the negative second floor, and quite a few on the negative first floor as well, but there were no zombies at the elevator entrance on the ground floor. After they carefully pried open the elevator door on the first floor, the sunlight streamed in, causing both of them to squint their eyes reflexively. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Once they were sure it was safe, Wang Tao and Han Rui ran out of the hospital. ¡°So many traces of zombie activity...¡± There were many abandoned vehicles inside the hospital, and a prominent trail was left when a large number of zombies passed through, moving these vehicles. Wang Tao had thought these trails were made by the Mad Demon Zombies from the clinic building running towards the inpatient department, but after a closer look, he realized: these were the trails of a large number of zombies running outside... Earlier, when Wang Tao heard from Han Rui that two-thirds of the Mad Demon Zombies from the negative second floor were gone, he thought they had returned to the clinic building. But now it seemed that these Mad Demon Zombies had gone out! Could it be that something major happened outside that attracted those Mad Demons away? Recalling the faint explosion he heard in the morning, a sinking feeling suddenly hit Wang Tao. Those Mad Demon Zombies, couldn¡¯t have gone to the base, could they? After all, it seemed that only the base was capable of creating explosions... Of course, it couldn¡¯t be ruled out that it was the Gorilla zombies causing Destruction! ¡°Move fast!¡± The electric off-road vehicle was parked a little distance from the hospital to prevent the hospital¡¯s zombies from accidentally damaging the car. When they got back to the vehicle, it was clearly covered in more mud than before, as if many feet had trampled over it. But the car was covered with steel plates on the outside, so it wasn¡¯t much of an issue. Wang Tao drove, and Han Rui sat in the passenger seat helping him sense the zombies around them. Humming- The electric motor of the off-road vehicle made a light sound as it sped towards the base. The closer they got to the base, the grimmer Wang Tao¡¯s expression became. The obvious signs of a large number of zombies passing through the road were too apparent; they were most likely heading to the base! Chapter 274 - 143 The Inevitable Arrival_2 Chapter 274: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival_2 Han Rui¡¯s expression grew anxious when she realized what was happening. ¡°I hope the base is okay!¡± Soon, they both heard faint explosions and the rat-tat-tat of gunfire! ¡°It must be the base!¡± This time there was no doubt-after all, only the base had rifles! Perhaps the zombies on the road were lured away by the noise; with fewer of them as obstacles, Wang Tao was able to pick up a little more speed in the car. Han Rui tried to contact the base with the walkie-talkie, but to no avail. ¡°Roar???? ¡± However, as they approached the base, both Wang Tao and Han Rui¡¯s faces changed! ¡°That sound... a gorilla zombie? Are we that unlucky? A moment later, as they laid eyes on the base courtyard wall, they also spotted a huge figure inside the base! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao cursed softly and accelerated once more, heading straight for the main gate. The solid main gate of the base had vanished. Countless ordinary zombies and mad demon zombies flooded in. Among them, the largest figure swung its fists, throwing everything, buildings and zombies alike, through the air! However, it did not continue to advance because bullets occasionally hit its body, stopping it in its tracks. Wang Tao and Han Rui had grim expressions, but neither dared to rush in recklessly. Parking the car not far off, they tried the walkie-talkies again. This time Wang Tao¡¯s received a response. ¡°This is Wang Tao, this is Wang Tao, what¡¯s your situation! ¡°Wang Tao? You¡¯re finally back!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s relieved voice rang from the walkie-talkie. ¡°Good to know you¡¯re still alive! What¡¯s the situation inside the base?¡± Wei Zhenguo was still alive, so there must be some organized resistance. ¡°Everyone¡¯s in the main building! The Security Army is holding back the gorilla zombie with guns for now, but we¡¯re probably running out of bullets...¡± Hearing the rat-tat-tat of gunfire not far away, Wang Tao felt somewhat reassured. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m coming!¡± Wang Tao put down the walkie-talkie and then looked at Han Rui in the passenger seat. ¡°I¡¯m going to charge in. Are you coming with me or are you leaving? I won¡¯t stop you if you want to go.¡± At these words, Han Rui¡¯s brows shot up. ¡°What do you take me for? I would never run away alone!¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao laughed and patted Han Rui¡¯s shoulder, pleased he had not misjudged her. Then he asked Wei Zhenguo which area of the base was weakest under the zombies¡¯ attack, planning to charge in through that area. Wang Tao was confident; after all, having merged with one ascension crystal core his strength had greatly improved. Against the gorilla zombie, he wasn¡¯t entirely without a fighting chance. If worse came to worst, he could always use his rush ability to escape. Wei Zhenguo mentioned that he had already prepared an escape route. They were all in the main building now, with zombies crowding beneath it. The survivors couldn¡¯t go out, and the zombies couldn¡¯t come in. However, there was a steel cable on the roof of the main building, extending to the roof of the administrative building, which had far fewer zombies underneath. Wang Tao could head to the administrative building and then cross from its rooftop to the main building using the steel cable! The administrative building was located in the northeast part of the base. Wang Tao immediately drove the car there and then got out with Han Rui. They were both powerful and in this situation, it was more convenient to proceed on foot than by car. ¡°If there are too many zombies inside later, use your rush ability to carry me,¡± Wang Tao said. Wang Tao¡¯s rush was part of his suit ability, limited by a cooling time of one hour, so it would be best to save it for a crucial moment. Having Han Rui with him, she could carry him using her rush ability when needed. ¡°Alright!¡± Han Rui nodded. The two climbed over the wall and into the base. just like Wei Zhenguo had said, there weren¡¯t many zombies here, but below the main building was a veritable mountain of corpses! Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to waste time with these zombies, as it would only draw more of them, which would not be good. He had Han Rui rush him forward, sprinting more than thirty meters in an instant. All the zombies in their path were shattered! The appearance of the two gradually attracted the attention of some zombies nearby. These zombies began to move towards them, with several mad demon zombies running over crazily. Wang Tao took out his firefighter axe and swung it through the air. A shockwave swept out, instantly killing all the zombies in the area and clearing a large open space. The two charged straight into the administrative building and quickly climbed to the rooftop. There was a thick steel cable on the rooftop, and they both started climbing towards the main building along it. Some zombies noticed Wang Tao and Han Rui in the air above, making ¡°ge ge¡± growls, but they were out of reach and could only watch in frustration. The two soon reached the roof of the main building. They could see it was encircled by zombies, but with steel plates, spikes, and barbed wire around the outside, these barriers blocked the zombies¡¯ path. Moreover, some ability users were attacking the zombies... For the moment, not even the mad demon zombies could break through. The gorilla zombie might have been able to destroy these defenses, but it was temporarily obstructed by the firepower of the Security Army. Quickly, the two landed on the rooftop of the main building. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± The moment Wang Tao landed, he saw Ding Yuqin throwing herself into his arms. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you¡¯re alright, sister-in-law.¡± Wang Tao hugged Ding Yuqin, patted herback, and then released her to nod at Li Qiu Yu standing beside her. Wei Zhenguo and several others also came over, their faces smeared with blood, their HP bars not full. Chapter 275 - 143 The Inevitable Arrival—3 Chapter 275: Chapter 143 The Inevitable Arrival¡ª3 ¡°Wang Tao, Han Rui, you¡¯re finally back!¡± Seeing Wei Zhenguo and the others arrived, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the base¡¯s strongest combatants were here, there was still a chance of a counterattack. ¡°What¡¯s the specific situation?¡± ¡°Last night, the gorilla zombie suddenly passed by the base, and then it found us... Thankfully, we¡¯ve been on guard against it lately, and we¡¯ve prepared a lot of measures, so we weren¡¯t wiped out in one fell swoop. Still, we lost some people...¡± Wei Zhenguo sighed. ¡°Moreover, we can¡¯t stop the gorilla zombie; we can only use guns, but that attracts a lot of mad demon zombies. And our bullet supply is running low, I estimate we won¡¯t last much longer... The group conversed as they descended the stairs. On the fourth floor, several Security Army members intermittently fired their rifles at the gorilla zombie. As soon as the gorilla zombie approached, bullets would greet its face. But the gorilla zombie¡¯s size was too large, and its defense was very tough; the bullets hitting its body did no good ¨C only headshots would cause HP loss. Yet its thick arms acted like shields, protecting its head, making it impossible for the bullets to hit! Now, the gorilla zombie was still at [9772/10000] HP ¨C these attacks had hardly caused any damage! The only thing to be grateful for now was that the gorilla zombie was dumb or, rather, unintelligent. It only knew how to destroy and smash things violently. Otherwise, if it had endured the bullets to tear down the defensive structures of the complex building, that would have been a real problem. However, with the current ammo supply, they wouldn¡¯t last much longer. Once the gunfire stopped, no one could stop the gorilla zombie! ¡°How much combat power do we still have?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Aside from us committee members, there are only twelve Security Army personnel and over thirty Ability Users left. Ordinary Hunters are of little help in this kind of fight...¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head in pain. ¡°Ah? That many casualties?¡± Wang Tao was surprised; he knew there had been quite a few dead and injured, but he didn¡¯t expect even Ability Users and the Security Army to have suffered losses! ¡°Sigh, there was no helping it, the gorilla zombie¡¯s arrival was too sudden... and it came in the middle of the night...¡± Ren Jie¡¯s face was filled with sorrow. ¡°Damn it! What do you say we do, Wang Tao? Are we going straight for the gorilla zombie or what? No matter what it is, you can count on me, Old Xiang, to not even frown!¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke, his face red and neck bulging. Wang Tao saw that most of the others were also looking sad, anxious, and even somewhat desperate. He consoled them: ¡°Everyone don¡¯t panic. First, let me share some good news. Han Rui and I have dealt with the Level 2 Zombie at the hospital! That is to say, the gorilla zombie is now the most powerful one we have here. As long as we take care of it, our base will be completely safe!¡± Indeed, this news immediately lifted everyone¡¯s spirits. ¡°That¡¯s great! If we only have the gorilla zombie left as a Level 2 Zombie, then we have nothing to worry about, we can give it all we¡¯ve got! Xing Hongbin clenched his fists tightly. He wasn¡¯t afraid to die, but he was afraid that if he died, the base would be destroyed! Although the others didn¡¯t speak, their expressions were similar to Xiang Hongbin¡¯s. If only the gorilla zombie remained as a Level 2 Zombie, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry so much and could go all out! Everyone looked at Wang Tao. With him being the most powerful, if he wasn¡¯t confident, it was truly going to be tough for everyone... Wang Tao gazed at the gorilla zombie outside, wildly bellowing, feeling quite challenged. Although he had successfully evolved three abilities to Level 2, he was still only Level 1 himself. Looking at the gorilla zombie that could withstand bullets, he really wasn¡¯t sure. If he could prepare as he did before hunting the Hooded Zombie, then he felt killing the gorilla zombie could be possible, especially with the significant power of the Self-Destruct Bomb. But with the current level of commotion, he felt if he dared to bring out a Self- Destruct Bomb, he would likely be the first to be blasted! Without the Self-Destruct Bomb, he¡¯d have to fight it out! ¡°Let¡¯s try, at least we¡¯ve got to see if we can cause it any damage... Now, with his Shockwave, Toughness, and Self-healing all at Level 2 Ability, even if he couldn¡¯t beat the gorilla zombie, he should still have the capital for a fight. So long as his defenses were solid and he avoided infection, he¡¯d be fine. After a brief discussion, they decided to strike first! With Wang Tao previously absent, everyone had lacked confidence. But now that Wang Tao was back, like having a backbone, they all felt more assured! ¡°Han Rui Old Wei, Old Xiang, the four of us will lead the charge! Lu Gang, you stay here to snipe! Then get those two high-defense fatty brothers and the Mud Swamp Ability User here...¡± Since the base now had Ability Users, it was only natural to utilize them. Soon, the Ability Users chosen by Wang Tao were brought over by Ren Jie. ¡°Gentlemen, we have no way back. We must kill this gorilla zombie! Now, I need your help...¡± Wang Tao looked at the group of Ability Users with a solemn tone. Those who had become Ability Users were all selected by Ren Jie for their good character. They would certainly be scared, but when it came down to it, they¡¯d most likely stand up. As expected. After exchanging glances, fear visible in their eyes, they simultaneously proclaimed loudly: ¡°For the base, for our brothers and sisters, we will not back down!¡± ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. Anyone but ingrates would do, and Ren Jie¡¯s judgement was impeccable. ¡°Next, you¡¯ll need to cooperate with us. We don¡¯t need you to fight head-on, just to provide support...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained the plan to them, then let them say their farewells to friends and family. After all, going out this time... they might not return. But without giving time for sentimentality, once everyone was ready, Wang Tao took the lead, climbing from the roof of the complex building across a steel cable to the administrative building, and the others immediately followed. Once everyone arrived at the administrative building, Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°Go!¡± Chapter 276 - 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack l Chapter 276: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack l The Gorilla zombie seemed to lack intelligence, especially compared to the Green-eyed Zombie, relying solely on brutal force for destruction without any adaptability. Of course, the Gorilla zombie was strong enough to break through any defense; no one could handle it. However, Wang Tao thought it was worth a try. ¡°Who among you is the fastest? Toss this Weakness Potion onto the Gorilla zombie later!¡± [Weakness Potion (small): Creatures contaminated by the Weakness Potion will have their attributes reduced by l%-20% (depending on the dosage) for 10 minutes, with a cooldown time of 12 minutes for the target] There weren¡¯t many of these Weakness Potions left for Wang Tao, but since he hadn¡¯t really used them, there were still a few bottles remaining. Previously, against the Hooded zombie, there was no opportunity to use it due to its high speed. Against the Green-eyed Zombie, it wasn¡¯t as strong as expected, so he was reluctant to use one... ¡°Me! I¡¯m fast!¡± Hong Bin stepped forward without hesitation. This wasn¡¯t just about speed, but also about danger. To throw the Weakness Potion on the Gorilla zombie was extremely risky, requiring bravery. ¡°Good.¡± Wang Tao passed the Weakness Potion to Hong Bin. Wang Tao trusted Hong Bin, as he possessed the Rush Ability, which was useful for both offense and defense. Then Wang Tao took out Strength Potions, Defense Potions, Running Potions, Rejuvenation Potions, etc., and handed a bottle of each to everyone. After all, they were about to risk their lives, so they needed to be fully prepared. Finally, after ensuring everyone was equipped and armed, Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°Charge!¡± Wang Tao led the way down from the top of the administrative building, with the others following him. The Gorilla zombie¡¯s attention was still on the comprehensive building. It seemed annoyed by the bullets that kept hitting it and wanted to eat the humans with guns, but every time it attempted to move, the bullets would greet its face. When it stopped, the bullets stopped too. This left it completely angry, so it had no time to look elsewhere. However, the Mad Demon Zombies were different; many of them saw Wang Tao and his group cross over on the steel cables and were waiting for them at the base of the administrative building. Seeing the dense crowd of Mad Demon Zombies below, the two high-defense fatties and several Mud Swamp Ability Users felt their legs go weak. If they fell into the zombie horde, they would surely die! Luckily, Wang Tao made a direct jump from the third floor, landing amidst the swarm of Mad Demon Zombies. A circular Shockwave radiated from Wang Tao, spreading out in all directions. Splurch¡ª [-2000] [-2000] [-2000] [...] The zombies around Wang Tao were instantly cleared away! The others quickly followed suit. Wang Tao, Zhen Guo, and Hong Bin stood at the forefront. All three of them could use the Shockwave attack, which was quite effective against both the Mad Demon Zombies and Ordinary Zombies. After some effort, the group finally broke through. Before the other Mad Demon Zombies could catch up, Wang Tao quickly ordered: ¡°You guys go and prepare the Mud Swamp, and you two protect them!¡± He instructed the Mud Swamp Ability Users to prepare the Mud Swamp, intending to lure the Gorilla zombie there once they were ready. He then tasked the two sturdy, defensive fatties to protect the Mud Swamp Ability Users. If the Mud Swamp reached the size Wang Tao anticipated, there was a high chance it would take down the Gorilla zombie, success now hinged on its completion! ¡°Yes!¡± The group rushed to the previously agreed-upon location. Meanwhile, Wang Tao and Zhen Guo¡¯s group held back the Mad Demon Zombies that had just given chase. After killing off that wave of Mad Demon Zombies and catching a breath, Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°Let¡¯s go and see just how big the gap between us and the Gorilla zombie is... Charge!¡± The group activated their Rush Abilities and charged straight toward the Gorilla zombie, with Han Rui leading the charge alongside Wang Tao since his Rush Ability had a cooldown period. Boom- Three Rushes were activated simultaneously, smashing through the zombies directly ahead. They were now only a little more than twenty meters from the Gorilla zombie. ¡°Roar-¡± Sensing someone approaching, the Gorilla zombie turned its head and let out an angry roar. It then lifted a huge chunk of concrete from the ground and hurled it at Hong Bin. ¡°Shit!¡± Hong Bin turned pale when he realized he was the first target. He had intentionally stayed a step behind the others, aiming to find an opportunity to throw the Weakness Potion, only to become the first attack target! Watching the rock fly toward him, Hong Bin executed a roll on the spot, allowing the rock to graze past him. Crash! The rock struck the zombies behind him, causing instant death and injury in its wake. His delay caused Hong Bin to separate from the group briefly. Gritting his teeth, he once again activated Rush, finally catching up with the rest. By then, Wang Tao and the others had reached the feet of the Gorilla zombie. At such close range, the Gorilla zombie no longer threw rocks but swung its enormous fists directly at them. Wang Tao agilely dodged the Gorilla zombie¡¯s fists and then delivered an ax chop into thin air towards it. A visible Shockwave hit the Gorilla zombie¡¯s head instantly. [-213] A number in the low two-hundreds floated up from the Gorilla zombie¡¯s head. At the sight of this number, Wang Tao¡¯s spirit was uplifted. ¡°This damage can hurt it!¡± His greatest fear was not being able to break through the Gorilla zombie¡¯s defenses. But as long as they could penetrate its armor, even wearing it down would prove fatal for it! Chapter 277 - 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack_2 Chapter 277: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack_2 The gorilla zombie had a total of 10,000 HP, and Wang Tao could hit over 200 in one hit; that was no small feat! Do it fifty times, and this gorilla zombie would surely drop dead! However, it was clear that it wouldn¡¯t be so easy for Wang Tao to successfully land fifty shockwaves on the gorilla zombie. It was only after being hit for so long here that the gorilla zombie had lost over two hundred HP. But when Wang Tao struck and dealt over two hundred damage, the gorilla zombie became thoroughly enraged. So the gorilla zombie abandoned all other targets and went on a frenzied rampage with its fists against Wang Tao! ¡°Crap!¡± Wang Tao had just lifted his axe halfway when he saw the gorilla zombie¡¯s movements and immediately abandoned his attack to turn tail and run. If he didn¡¯t run, he could probably knock off another couple hundred of the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP, but the gorilla zombie would definitely hammer him into a pancake. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The gorilla zombie charged towards Wang Tao with big strides, crushing any zombies in its path underfoot, unconcerned with whether they were of the same kind or not. It only wanted to kill Wang Tao. Even attacks from Wei Zhenguo and the others were ignored. Of course, the shockwave of Wei Zhenguo hitting the gorilla zombie only caused twenty to thirty points of damage, which was indeed too low. Although Wang Tao was also fast, he definitely couldn¡¯t outrun the gorilla zombie, whose one step was equivalent to many of his own. Therefore he could only turn left and right, evading the gorilla zombie with agile movements. He even managed to lookbackand send another shockwave at the zombie¡¯s head. [-224] [9160/10000] ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The gorilla zombie became even more enraged, stopping its pace and then letting out a loud roar with its head thrown back. ¡°Ugh-¡± Everyone around the gorilla zombie, including Wang Tao, suddenly felt a massive noise by their ears, dazing them with dizzy spells. Even the zombies swayed from side to side. [-149] ¡°Damn, a sonic attack?¡± Wang Tao had the strongest constitution and recovered his senses first. He lost over a hundred HP, but the HP loss was not the main point. The key was that during the momentary dizziness, he could barely control his own body, and it was lucky that the gorilla zombie was still some distance away; otherwise, he feared he would have been hammered to death directly. Moreover, his toughness ability seemed unable to block such attacks. After clearing the surrounding zombies with one swing of his axe, Wang Tao quickly looked towards the others, only to see Wei Zhenguo and others swaying, looking dazed and out of commission. Wang Tao was shocked. Bearing the stabbing pain in his head, he immediately used his shockwave ability, chopping several times around his companions. More than a dozen mad demon zombies that were about to attack them were instantly shattered by Wang Tao. A few seconds later, the others came to their senses, their faces pale and feeling nauseous as if they were about to vomit. ¡°It actually has an area-of-effect control ability... Wei Zhenguo forced himself to keep his spirits up, looking very unwell. The gorilla zombie¡¯s roar had left everyone dizzy for several seconds. Had it not been for Wang Tao attacking the zombies attacking them just now, they might already have been pinned to the ground by a mass of zombies! ¡°When you see the gorilla zombie throw back its head and roar, cover your ears quickly!¡± Wang Tao immediately told everyone, not sure if it would work, but it was worth a try. He also reminded the people in the building, including Ren Jie, to plug their ears. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. When the gorilla zombie roared, it didn¡¯t make any attacking moves, and its entire head was exposed. It seemed to be one of its abilities. Unfortunately, Wang Tao also got dazed at the time and couldn¡¯t attack. Otherwise, that would have been a great opportunity. Never mind Wang Tao, even the people in the nearby comprehensive building seemed to have been stunned; the gunfire paused for a moment. After its roar, seeing that Wang Tao had been immobilized, the gorilla zombie immediately strode over to him. Luckily Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness was strong, allowing him to recover ahead of time. Seeing the gorilla zombie approach, Wang Tao immediately ran in the opposite direction, sliding under the gorilla zombie¡¯s legs. At the same time, Wang Tao unleashed another shockwave. But this time, he hit askew, striking the gorilla zombie¡¯s chest, only causing a few drops of HP to be lost. The gorilla zombie stretched out its huge and rotten hands, trying to grasp Wang Tao. But it didn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to actually run towards it; it reflexively continued to reach out, resulting in its hands swiping under its crotch. Then, with a thud, the gorilla zombie lost its balance and fell to the ground. ¡°Opportunity!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up as he raised his axe, ready to strike the back of the gorilla¡¯s head. But someone was quicker than him! A beam of white light flashed by, and Xiang Hongbin rushed towards the fallen gorilla zombie, smashing a weakness potion right onto its face. Smash¡ª The potion bottle shattered, and a colorless liquid instantly covered the face of the gorilla zombie. Wang Tao clearly saw a negative status appear beneath the HP bar of the gorilla zombie. [Weakness: All attributes reduced by 20%, remaining duration: 9 minutes 59 seconds] A hit. And it¡¯s the maximum effect of weakness, 20%! ¡°Well done!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed. His next axe blow finally came thundering down. [-301] The damage had indeed increased! Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui also called in their attacks. [-431 [-32] However, even weakened, their attacks still didn¡¯t deal much damage against the gorilla zombie. The gap between Level 1 and Level Two was still too big! ¡°Roar!¡± The gorilla zombie let out an angry roar, quickly got up, and then went on a wild rampage with its fists around it. Chapter 278 - 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack_3 Chapter 278: Chapter 144: The Terrifying Sonic Attack_3 Wang Tao and his group had already retreated, and a dozen mad demon zombies were directly smashed into a pulp by the gorilla zombie. ¡°Such a tough one!¡± Wang Tao looked at the HP bar above the gorilla zombie¡¯s head, which had hardly decreased, took a deep breath, and then six surgical knives appeared in his hand. At that moment, a green light flashed in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Whoosh¡ª The six surgical knives flew toward the gorilla zombie1 s face at the same time. Although the gorilla zombie didn¡¯t seem to see Wang Tao¡¯s attack, it still instinctively raised its hand. [-12] [-141 [-11] [-15] [-171 [-1229] Five of the surgical knives were blocked, but one of them plunged into the gorilla zombie¡¯s wide open mouth. Wang Tao was under the gorilla zombie, and from his angle, the thrown knives flew upwards at a slant. So, this knife had probably penetrated deeply, directly chopping off one-tenth of the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP in one go! Before Wang Tao could feel elated, he saw the gorilla zombie let out another loud roar. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± However, this time it wasn¡¯t dizziness, but its HP bar suddenly started to rise. [+30] [+30] [+30] [...] ¡°Damn, is this the self-healing power?¡± Seeing the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP increase by 30 every second, Wang Tao felt like cursing aloud. The gorilla zombie could regenerate blood! How was he supposed to fight that? It was hard enough to take down more than twenty percent of the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP; he estimated that it could fully recover in less than two minutes. However, if it really was the self-healing power, it could be interrupted! Wang Tao had tried before; sudden attacks could easily disrupt the healing. Of course, the healing could be initiated again, but zombies weren¡¯t likely to be very smart... With that thought, Wang Tao hardened his resolve, and suddenly, an object shaped like a heart appeared in his hand and he threw it at the feet of the gorilla zombie! As he threw it, he immediately grabbed two mad demon zombies and used them as shields in front of himself. Boom¡ª A deafening explosion followed, and several mad demon zombies were blown to bits. Wang Tao was also knocked over by the blast wave of the explosion. The scene was too noisy! His original plan was to throw the self-destruct bomb at the feet of the gorilla zombie. But the moment he took the bomb out of the space, it began to swell, and it exploded before reaching the gorilla zombie¡¯s feet! Fortunately, Wang Tao had the foresight to grab a couple of zombies as shields; otherwise, he might have been injured. What pleased Wang Tao, though, was that even though the self-destruct bomb didn¡¯t cause much harm to the gorilla zombie, the impact had made the creature stagger slightly, and its healing effect disappeared! ¡°It really is the self-healing power!¡± in just that short time, the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP had recovered to nine thousand. It was a good thing that the others couldn¡¯t see the HP bar; otherwise, they might have lost all hope. After the explosion, the gorilla zombie immediately spotted the culprit, Wang Tao. It ran towards him again, almost as if one could see the anger on its face. Moreover, this time it was clear that the gorilla zombie seemed to have become faster, which greatly increased the pressure on Wang Tao. However, suddenly, just as the gorilla zombie was about to raise its fist again to smash Wang Tao, a loud gunshot rang out. Bang¡ª [HP -3394] [HP 57II/IOOOO] The Gorilla zombie took a step back directly. ¡°Fuck!¡± When Wang Tao saw that damage number pop up from the Gorilla zombie¡¯s head, he couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in surprise. He quickly turned around and saw the dark barrel of a gun protruding from the rooftop of the comprehensive building. ¡°It¡¯s Lu Gang! He¡¯s using a 12.7 caliber anti-material sniper rifle!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Damn... you guys still have this good stuff? Why didn¡¯t you use it earlier!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°We didn¡¯t have a chance before! This thing makes too much noise, easily attracting Mad Demon Zombies, but now... the Mad Demon Zombies and the Gorilla zombies have all been drawn here, so it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. Wei Zhenguo¡¯s voice was tinged with some helplessness, as he would have preferred never having to use that gun. The Gorilla zombie was hit hard by that shot, and Wang Tao could clearly see that half of its face was gone! ¡°We¡¯ll draw the zombies¡¯ attention, to create opportunities for Lu Gang!¡± Wang Tao immediately said. He had originally thought he was the main offensive force, but it turned out to be Lu Gang. However, this was good news. After all, he could at most hit the Gorilla zombie for around three hundred HP, while Lu Gang¡¯s shot could inflict more than three thousand HP! If Lu Gang could get a few more accurate shots, wouldn¡¯t the Gorilla zombie be handled! But imagination is beautiful, reality is cruel. Just as Wang Tao was thinking whether Lu Gang could take down the Gorilla zombie with a few more shots, the Gorilla zombie suddenly raised its arms to cover its head and then charged towards the comprehensive building! Neither Wang Tao and his companions¡¯ attacks nor the other Security Army¡¯s shootings could stop the Gorilla zombie in the slightest. ¡°This is bad!¡± Wang Tao cursed inwardly. Watching the Gorilla zombie charge at the building as if it intended to knock it down, Wang Tao and the others outside shouted simultaneously: ¡°Quick, stop the Gorilla zombie!¡± Shua- Xiang Hongbin, Wei Zhenguo, and Han Rui, all three of them, rushed from the side at the same time, aiming straight for the Gorilla zombie! Bang- Because the Gorilla zombie didn¡¯t bother with the trio this time, their rush hit the Gorilla zombie from the left simultaneously. Facing the trio¡¯s assault, the Gorilla zombie, without actively resisting, was directly knocked away! However, before hitting the ground, it suddenly tilted its head skyward and opened its mouth wide. ¡°Roar ¡± This was a roar even louder than before, so much so that ripples visible to the naked eye spread all around! Even though Wang Tao had instinctively covered his ears as soon as he saw the Gorilla zombie lift its head, he was still slammed with dizziness and his HP dropped by nearly a thousand! Blood seeped from the ears of Wei Zhenguo and the others, and they fell to the ground. But the most serious were the people inside the building; that single roar instantly silenced the gunfire and Ability attacks within. As for Lu Gang... Wang Tao struggled to lift his head, and he heard Lu Gang¡¯s pained voice over the walkie-talkie. ¡°Cough, I feel... I¡¯m gonna die...¡± Then there was silence. Looking at the now silent comprehensive building, Wang Tao cursed under his breath and quickly ran over to Wei Zhenguo and the others. They were all critically wounded, and if not treated in time, they might die! Chapter 279 - 145:1 Will Repay You (Seeking Chapter 279: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month¡¯s End) 1 The roars of the gorilla zombie were not only powerful, but their range was also wide! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if anyone inside the building would be directly killed by this roar... However, this was an indiscriminate attack, all other zombies around the gorilla zombie fell to the ground, and many were even shaken to death! No one in the complex was attacking the zombies outside anymore, but there were also no zombies attacking the complex, creating a sudden eerie silence at the scene. After the gorilla zombie let out that roar, it seemed to calm down; it turned around and began walking step by step toward Wang Tao, the only one still standing in the entire area. By that time, Wang Tao had already run over to where Wei Zhenguo and his two companions were. ¡°Cough, cough...¡± The three of them were conscious, but they had been shaken by the sonic attack to the point where their ears and noses were bleeding, their minds were dazed, and they couldn¡¯t move. After recognizing it was Wang Tao, they tried to say something, but they could only cough without being able to speak. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to talk; he first took out a medical kit and treated each of them. Then he picked up Han Rui, held Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin in his arms, and ran straight into the distance! Since the gorilla zombie had knocked down a large group of zombies with its roar, Wang Tao was able to run away smoothly. The gorilla zombie watched Wang Tao run and immediately went on all fours, stepping on the bodies of nearby zombies as it chased after him. Carrying three people, naturally, Wang Tao¡¯s speed was greatly affected. Just as the gorilla zombie was about to catch up, he saw an open area ahead and immediately activated the Rush Ability built into his suit. His Rush Ability had a cooldown of one hour, so it could only be used at a critical moment. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao and the three people moved over thirty meters in an instant, putting them at a distance from the gorilla zombie once again. ¡°Wakeup!¡± As he ran, Wang Tao shouted at the three people on him. They didn¡¯t seem to have any serious external injuries, but they had all just lost over two thousand HP from the gorilla zombie¡¯s roar and probably had severe internal injuries. After running a bit more, just when the gorilla zombie was about to catch them, Xiang Hongbin finally started to recover. ¡°Let, let me down...¡± Without a second word, Wang Tao put down Xiang Hongbin. ¡°Can you use Rush?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xiang Hongbin took a deep breath and then grabbed Wang Tao. Whoosh¡ª The group rushed another thirty meters in an instant. ¡°Puh¡ª¡± Xiang Hongbin spit out a mouthful of blood. ¡°It feels awful, just like having a bomb explode right next to my ear...¡± By that time, Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui were both awake as well. Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said: ¡°Quick, run towards the place we planned before!¡± The plan that Wang Tao had in mind was to lure the gorilla zombie into the mud swamp. Although many unexpected things had happened along the way, the result would be the same. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone gritted their teeth and drank a Rejuvenation Potion. Then they took turns using Rush to carry each other. The Rejuvenation Potion could instantly restore a person¡¯s spirit and physical strength to full, but the side effect was weakness for one day. But at this point, if they didn¡¯t deal with the gorilla zombie, they probably wouldn¡¯t live to see the sun tomorrow, so who cared about feeling weak? Finally, after using three Rushes, the two of them finally reached the agreed place. This was a park with a large artificial lake inside. But now, the water in the artificial lake had disappeared, replaced by muddy sludge! A few nearly exhausted Mud Swamp Ability Users stood in the mud, continuously oozing sludge from their bodies. Nearby, two hefty men in thick armor were fending off zombie attacks for them. In the presence of water, the Mud Swamp Ability would be greatly strengthened. For safety, Wang Tao had specifically requested them to come here. Now, it seemed that the effect was indeed good. But it was uncertain if they could trap the gorilla zombie... Thump, thump, thump¡ª The gorilla zombie was closing in fast, and the ground trembled slightly! Wang Tao immediately said to Wei Zhenguo and the others: ¡°You guys hide first; it¡¯s after me!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Without hesitation, the three hid behind some flower beds in the park. ¡°You hide too!¡± Wang Tao shouted to the two heavyset brothers, then sent several shockwaves their way, eliminating all surrounding zombies. ¡°Yes!¡± Soon, only Wang Tao and a few Mud Swamp Ability Users were left on the scene. ¡°Take me to the middle of the mud swamp!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Under normal circumstances, Mud Swamp Ability Users would not be trapped by the mud swamp as long as they were exuding mud from their bodies. They might not be able to move freely in the swamp, but at least they could move. Soon, these Mud Swamp Ability Users dragged Wang Tao to the center of the mud swamp. At that moment, the gorilla zombie finally arrived! ¡°Roar-¡± Seeing Wang Tao in the mud swamp, it let out a roar, not caring about its footing, and headed straight for Wang Tao. Splorch¡ª The gorilla zombie¡¯s foot landed in the mud swamp, causing its body to stagger, but it quickly stabilized by placing its other foot down more firmly. ¡°Good...¡± Wang Tao watched all this unfold. He didn¡¯t make any move but continued to wait for the gorilla zombie¡¯s approach. To prevent the gorilla zombie from launching another sonic attack, he had the Mud Swamp Ability Users block their ears. Blocking their ears wasn¡¯t much of a problem for Mud Swamp Ability Users, as they constantly had sludge flowing from their ears anyway. ¡°Heh, heh...¡± The gorilla zombie, in the mud swamp, took steps toward Wang Tao, but it was obvious that its speed was getting slower, and the resistance from the mud swamp was growing! Chapter 280 - 145:1 Will Repay You (End of the Chapter 280: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_2 When it was only a little more than ten meters away from Wang Tao, it finally couldn¡¯t move any further. ¡°Huff-¡± Seeing this situation, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. The gorilla zombie was trapped! ¡°Everyone, come out and kill!¡± Wang Tao roared, then threw a shockwave at the gorilla zombie. Bang¡ª The gorilla zombie directly blocked Wang Tao¡¯s attack with its arms, and Wang Tao¡¯s strike did no damage. At that moment, the attacks from Wei Zhenguo and the other two arrived. Two shockwaves and a crossbow arrow flew directly from the side towards the head of the gorilla zombie. [-56] [-68] [-324] [5013/10000] The damage from the shockwaves was moderate, but the crossbow arrow was aimed trickily and shot directly into the ears of the gorilla zombie. ¡°It¡¯s down to half its HP!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s heart surged with excitement. Judging by the current situation, they could wear it down to death! Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let his guard down since the gorilla zombie had a self-healing ability. He had to keep a close eye on the opponent and interrupt in time when he saw it using its self-healing ability! His self-destruct bomb was already prepared, ready to be thrown at any moment. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the gorilla zombie didn¡¯t use its self-healing ability. Instead, it launched several sonic attacks, though these attacks were much weaker. Aside from the mud superpower user and the two chubby brothers, Wang Tao and the others no longer suffered from dizziness. ¡°Out of energy?¡± Wang Tao suddenly raised an eyebrow. Generally speaking, the more powerful the ability, the greater the energy consumption. The kind of super-large scale, indiscriminate sonic attack the gorilla zombie launched before must have consumed a lot of energy. Coupled with its other attacks, it might be running low on energy by now. Even if the gorilla zombie was out of energy, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t be careless. He had to be wary of the gorilla zombie¡¯s counterattack. After a few minutes of attritional fighting, the gorilla zombie¡¯s HP had dropped to just over three thousand! It was on its last legs! It wasn¡¯t just the zombie that was struggling; Wang Tao and his teammates were also having a hard time¡ªtheir energy was nearly depleted! After killing so many zombies before and battling with the gorilla zombie, they had used up too much energy, and now they all felt dizzy. Taking advantage of the moment the gorilla zombie raised its arms to block the shockwaves from Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin, Wang Tao decisively sent another shockwave. Bang¡ª [-4561 [2759/10000] The gorilla zombie¡¯s HP directly dropped below three thousand! But Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to be pleased when he suddenly felt a huge sense of crisis. ¡°Not good, retreat!¡± Wang Tao immediately roared, activating Iron and Copper Bones at the same time. He trusted his intuition for danger! The Mud Swamp Ability Users he was dragging immediately started to retreat with him. Wei Zhenguo and the others didn¡¯t understand why but still followed Wang Tao¡¯s command and retreated at once. Then, they saw the gorilla zombie¡¯s muscles start to swell, its body slowly grew larger, its rotting skin burst open, and the mud beneath it began to boil! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± A moment later, a larger and more ferocious, muscle-exposed gorilla zombie appeared before everyone! ¡°Fuck! What the hell is this?!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed upon seeing this scene. The gorilla zombie used to be around six meters tall, roughly two stories high, and with its bulky build, it gave off an overpowering presence. Now, the gorilla zombie had ballooned to nearly ten meters tall¡ªa three-story building height! Its body had also grown larger. Though the rotting skin was gone, leaving only blackish-red muscle tissue, it seemed even more terrifying. ¡°Damn, could it be that this thing has a level two stage? How are we supposed to fight this?!¡± Watching the gorilla zombie return to full health with [10000/10000] HP, Wang Tao was dumbfounded. The enlarged gorilla zombie, ignoring the mud swamp, took large strides towards Wang Tao. ¡°You guys retreat!¡± Wang Tao shouted at the Mud Swamp Ability Users below him and then leaped onto the shore. The depth of the mud swamp was limited, and it was no longer effective against the gorilla zombie which had grown so much in size. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want the Mud Swamp Ability Users to get caught up in this. While running, he said through the walkie-talkie: ¡°The gorilla zombie has returned to full health, we can¡¯t beat it, retreat first! We¡¯U think of another plan later!¡± Everyone was a bit dumbfounded, just as they were wearing the gorilla zombie down, it suddenly went back to full health! They were reluctant to give up, but knew that at this moment, they had no choice but to abandon the fight. However... it might be a bit too late to run now! They saw the gorilla zombie open its mouth wide and let out another furious roar. ¡°Roar-¡± An enormous and terrifying noise erupted right by everyone¡¯s ears! Even blocking their ears was useless! For that moment, it seemed as though the entire world had lost sound. Wang Tao half-knelt on the ground, clenching his teeth, clutching his hair, feeling like his head was about to explode! Through the haze, Wang Tao saw the gorilla zombie taking steps toward him, its massive fist already over his head! But at that moment, Wang Tao could do nothing... Suddenly, Wang Tao felt something hit his abdomen, sending him flying into a flowerbed. Bang¡ª The gorilla zombie¡¯s fist came down, but it hit nothing. ¡°Ugh-¡± Wang Tao struggled to his feet, steadying his body and immediately activating his self-healing ability. His eyes flickered with a green light as he scanned his surroundings. ¡°What happened... Was I saved by someone...¡± Wang Tao rubbed his dazed head, but found nothing around him. However, as he looked around, he saw the heads of the Mud Swamp Ability Users had all exploded, their bodies standing stiffly in the mud. Not far away, the two defensively second only to him¡ªthe chubby brothers¡ªalso had their heads blown open, their obese bodies toppled over in a flower bed beside the road. Chapter 281 - 145:1 Will Repay You (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_3 Chapter 281: Chapter 145:1 Will Repay You (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_3 ¡°Damnit!¡± Wang Tao cursed under his breath; he couldn¡¯t afford to think about how he had avoided the gorilla zombie¡¯s attack. He quickly tried to see where Wei Zhenguo and the other two were, but from his position, he couldn¡¯t see them at all. Wang Tao shouted into the walkie-talkie: ¡°Is everybody still alive? Speak up!¡± No reply. Thump, thump¡ª Just then, Wang Tao felt the ground begin to tremble. He swiftly turned around, only to see a huge figure covered in mud approaching him. ¡°Shit!¡± Wang Tao quickly took a Rejuvenation Potion and used several medical packs. He suddenly felt a surge of vitality, like a Return to Light, as his energy was restored. But his HP wasn¡¯t full yet. Then he produced a Weakness Potion and threw it directly at the face of the gorilla zombie. Smash¡ª The Weakness Potion bottle shattered, and the gorilla zombie did not dodge or evade. Wang Tao saw another -20% Weakness attribute appear below its HP bar, and the steps of the gorilla zombie faltered slightly. But this was a more powerful, full-HP gorilla zombie! Even with a 20% weakness, he couldn¡¯t defeat it! Wang Tao wanted to retreat, but he had to try to get around the gorilla zombie and see if Wei Zhenguo and the others were dead. If not, he might be able to save them. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao unleashed a Shockwave at the head of the gorilla zombie. Boom! [-532] [9568/10000] ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was surprised to find that his attack seemed to be much higher than before¡ªnot that his attack power had increased, but the zombie¡¯s defense seemed to have been reduced a bit! But... it was useless! Even with lowered defense, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t win! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± After being attacked, the gorilla zombie let out a roar, grabbed everything it could around it¡ªtrees, rocks, etc., and threw them at Wang Tao¡¯s head, even predicting and throwing them ahead of his path. Wang Tao¡¯sRush Ability was still cooling down, so he couldn¡¯t use it and had to dodge back and forth. After a moment, although he dodged most of the attacks and wasn¡¯t injured, the gorilla zombie had already gotten very close. ¡°No way out now...¡± Wang Tao sighed. He really didn¡¯t want to go all out against the gorilla zombie because it was highly probable that he would die. But he had no choice! Wang Tao immediately jabbed his arm with a Defense Potion, Running Potion, Strength Potion, and Eyesight Potion all at once. The effects of these potions were short-lived, but they had long cooldowns. Wang Tao had been holding back on using them, but now it was necessary. Instantly, Wang Tao felt power fill his entire body, an unprecedented sensation of strength! Of course, he knew it was an illusion since the duration of these potions was generally only one minute. ¡°Whew-¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath; he knew he couldn¡¯t beat the gorilla zombie, but he had to try, and then find a chance to run away! With a powerful push off his rear foot, Wang Tao charged straight toward the gorilla zombie, with six Surgical Throwing Knives appearing in his hands. Swoosh¡ª The Throwing Knives flew straight at the face of the gorilla zombie. Thud- Four were blocked, but two of the Throwing Knives successfully plunged into the gorilla zombie¡¯s cheeks. [-231] [-245] [9092/10000] Two Throwing Knives caused over five hundred damage, significantly more than before. The gorilla zombie was left with 90% of its HP! Then, Wang Tao picked up his axe and launched another Shockwave at the gorilla zombie. Boom! [-622] [8470/10000] This time, the gorilla zombie didn¡¯t dodge, but instead took the hit head-on and threw a punch directly at Wang Tao. The gorilla zombie was much faster than before, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t dodge in time. He could only cross his arms and take the brunt of the blow. With his Level Two Toughness and the effect of the Defense Potion, there should be no problem¡ª Boom! [-2125] [1074/4999] Wang Tao was sent flying more than ten meters away. ¡°Pff-¡± He spat out a mouthful of fresh blood in midair, then landed heavily on the ground. ¡°What the hell is this!¡± Wang Tao could hardly believe it; the attack power of the gorilla zombie in its current state was just too strong! ¡°I¡¯m really going to die...¡± A look of despair crossed Wang Tao¡¯s face. Thud¡ªThud¡ª The gorilla zombie stepped toward Wang Tao, one step at a time. After transforming, the gorilla zombie seemed much calmer, its pace neither hurried nor slow, but this made the sense of oppression even stronger! Just then, a lean figure suddenly appeared and collided directly with the gorilla zombie. Though slender, the figure sent the gorilla zombie flying! Bang! Both fell to the ground. The lean figure turned around and gave Wang Tao a cold glance. Wang Tao was shocked when he saw who it was. ¡°WuFei!¡± The one who knocked down the gorilla zombie was none other than Wu Fei, whom he had met outside the base some time ago! But now, Wu Fei¡¯s condition was different from the last time they met! His HP was still flickering, but it had reached [4756/4999]! And what¡¯s more important, the impurities in his body were as high as [100%]! Impurities at 100%, and he¡¯s still not a zombie? As Wang Tao was shocked and puzzled, he saw large amounts of black blood vessels starting to appear on Wu Fei¡¯s neck, face, and even in his eyeballs. His pupils also began to turn white slowly! ¡°He¡¯s turning into a zombie!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat stunned; he thought he would gain an ally, but instead, another opponent emerged? However, what happened next was completely beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. The stiff-faced Wu Fei suddenly curled his lips and spoke with difficulty: ¡°I... said... I would... pay you back!¡± After speaking, Wu Fei turned around, kicked off the ground, and lunged at the gorilla zombie, which had just gotten up. As he turned around, his HP changed from 4999 to 5000! Level Two... zombie! And it wasn¡¯t just Wu Fei¡¯s HP that changed. His abdomen suddenly collapsed inwards, and his bloody ribs pierced through the skin, jutting out like a large mouth full of sharp, giant teeth! In an instant, Wu Fei had pounced onto the gorilla zombie¡¯s head, tightly grasping it, and his sharp ribs plunged into the face of the gorilla zombie! Splat! [-5000] [3410/10000] He instantly wiped out a full 5000 HP from the gorilla zombie! Then the gorilla zombie fell to the ground again, and its body stiffly convulsed ¡ªit couldn¡¯t move! ¡°This is my chance!¡± Clenching his teeth, Wang Tao suppressed the pain in his body, ran to the gorilla zombie, and then frantically swung his axe at the head of the gorilla zombie! [-674] [-742] [-823] [-1171] [0/10000] Splat! Finally, the gorilla zombie¡¯s head burst! ¡°Heh heh¡ª¡± After the gorilla zombie died, Wang Tao had no time to catch his breath when he saw Wu Fei let go of the gorilla zombie¡¯s head and pounce directly at him! His abdomen, with its sharp ribs, was still wriggling, as if wanting to swallow Wang Tao whole! Wang Tao was startled and swung his axe at Wu Fei instinctively. Splat¡ª [-1] [0/5000] Wu Fei¡¯s HP bar emptied. Atop Shuizhe Mountain. A group of zombies dressed in colorful garments, exuding a green gas, appeared rather frenzied. In the midst of these zombies, a weak figure in a hood raised its head and revealed a pair of blood ¨C red eyes. Chapter 282 - 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month’s end) 1 Chapter 282: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month¡¯s end) 1 ¡°Huff-¡± Wang Tao flipped over and lay on the ground. His body ached all over, his lungs felt like they were burning, and his head seemed like it was about to split open... He really wanted to sleep, but he knew he couldn¡¯t afford to at this moment, otherwise any zombie could come along and kill him.?????????????? 6 A moment later, Wang Tao finally caught his breath and struggled to his feet. First, he collected all the loot from the gorilla zombie, and then he glanced at the corpse of the zombie, Wu Fei. ¡°Ah...¡± Wang Tao had a purification potion in his hand, which had a certain chance of turning a recently transformed zombie back into a human, but only if the person hadn¡¯t died. And the zombie, Wu Fei, was already dead beyond dead-his entire head had been split open by Wang Tao¡¯s axe, his crystal core burst out, leaving only the lower half of his face. The corners of its mouth were slightly raised, as though it were smiling. In his state of extreme weakness, when Wu Fei, who had lost his senses, lunged at him, Wang Tao had no choice but to fight back. Wang Tao didn¡¯t notice that Wu Fei had only a drop of HP left and would die from a single touch. ¡°Buddy, thanks a lot!¡± Wang Tao patted the shoulder of the zombie, Wu Fei, his tone somewhat melancholic. Initially, when he saved Wu Fei, it was because he saw that Wu Fei was quite pitiable and still alive, and he also wanted to test the effects of the inhibitor. Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect anything in return from him. After all, it was the end of the world, and it might have been the first and last time they saw each other. Plus, at that time, Wang Tao was much stronger than Wu Fei... When Wu Fei said he would repay Wang Tao, Wang Tao just took it as a joke. Later, Wang Tao unexpectedly saw Wu Fei again, who had accumulated 30% internal impurity in his body. Wu Fei knew he was beyond saving, but he took it in stride, except for the woman, Ou Yingying, who had betrayed him. Wu Fei once again said he would repay Wang Tao, and again, Wang Tao didn¡¯t take it to heart. Afterward, Ou Yingying died. Wang Tao saw Wu Fei once more. By then, Wu Fei had changed drastically, with over 90% internal impurity in his body, on the verge of turning into a zombie at any moment. He was very indifferent, looking at Wang Tao as if looking at a stranger. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t bothered by it, he just felt sorry for Wu Fei, knowing his life was counting down its final seconds. Maybe next time he went out, he would encounter the zombie Wu Fei had become... Now, Wang Tao saw Wu Fei for the last time. Wu Fei¡¯s internal impurity had reached 100%, and he spoke to Wang Tao with a stiff tone for one last time: I told you, I would repay you. After saying this, he turned into a zombie and then lunged at the gorilla zombie. His move must have been an ability, which deducted a substantial amount of HP from the gorilla zombie and locked it in place, making it impossible for the gorilla zombie to move. The cost of this ability must have been high, as Wu Fei eliminated 5000 HP from the gorilla zombie, but he himself lost 4999 HP. Then, Wang Tao took the chance to kill both the gorilla zombie and Wu Fei, who had turned into a zombie. Wang Tao always felt that his relationship with Wu Fei was that of a stranger at most a somewhat familiar one. Whether the other party repaid him or not ¡¯ Wang Tao didn¡¯t care. But in Wu Fei¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao was his savior, the person who gave him the chance for revenge. Wu Fei was a man of his word, and since he said he would repay his debt, he would surely do so, no matter in what way. Perhaps Wu Fei had been following Wang Tao all along, or perhaps he had been following the gorilla zombie, or maybe it was just by chance that he encountered the great battle between Wang Tao and the gorilla zombie... But no matter what, Wu Fei fulfilled his promise-Wang Tao had saved his life, allowing him to live three more months. So he repaid Wang Tao¡¯s kindness with his own life. Wang Tao respected him as a true man! ¡°Hehe...¡± After gathering the spoils, several ordinary zombies approached. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even look, he just chopped off the heads of the zombies with two swings of his axe.??? ¡ã Then, staggering, Wang Tao made his way toward Wei Zhenguo and the others. The ground was all muddy, and Wang Tao searched for a while before finally seeing the three of them. Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and Han Rui were all unconscious, and they were critically low on HP. Wang Tao dragged them to a cleaner place, wiped the mud off their faces, and then used a med kit on them. Before long, the three of them woke up one after another. ¡°Am I... dead... Wang Tao? Even you...¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao beside her, her gaze somewhat hollow. Wang Tao slapped her lightly on the face without any courtesy. You re still alive, but if we don¡¯t leave right now, you really could die.¡± ¡°Ah? I¡¯m not dead...¡± Han Rui was stunned for a moment before she finally understood. Cough, Wang Tao, what¡¯s the situation?¡± Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin were much calmer by comparison, they didn¡¯t believe in ghosts or gods-conscious meant alive, unconscious meant dead it was that simple. ¡°The gorilla zombie is dead.¡± Wang Tao revealed a smile on his face. ¡°The gorilla zombie is dead!¡± All three of them were surprised and delighted, with Xiang Hongbin even pinching his own thigh hard. He knew he was still alive, but he feared it was all a dream. ¡°Ouch¡ªpainful!¡± ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re too amazing!¡± Han Rui praised him excitedly. Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin also looked at him with utmost respect. The gorilla zombie was supposed to be the most powerful zombie in Shuize County, and as long as they dealt with the gorilla zombie, they wouldn¡¯t have to live in fear every day as they were doing now! But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°This isn¡¯t just my achievement, it¡¯s all of ours. And at the moment of life and death, Wu Fei appeared, he saved my life, and assisted me in killing the gorilla zombie.¡± Chapter 283 - 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month’s end)_2 Chapter 283: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month¡¯s end)_2 ¡°Ah?WuFei!¡± All three cried out in alarm. Wang Tao had previously informed them about Wu Fei¡¯s situation. Wasn¡¯t Wu Fei about to turn into a zombie? Could there have been some miracle that restored him to normal? ¡°Where is he?¡± Han Rui asked anxiously. She still felt very guilty about Wu Fei and Li Cheng. ¡°He¡¯s dead. He became a zombie, and I killed him.¡± Everyone opened their mouths, but didn¡¯t know what to say. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the specifics later. Let¡¯s rest for a while and then head back to the base.¡± The situation at the base was unknown. It was possible that everyone was still alive; on the other hand, maybe the mad demon zombies had overrun the base, and they were all dead... ¡°Okay!¡± All four were severely injured, especially Wang Tao, who was down to just a few hundred HP. Forget fighting, he could hardly walk. Fortunately, Wang Tao had a medical kit, and he also possessed the self- healing ability, which allowed blood regeneration. Otherwise, all four of them would have completely lost their combat effectiveness. After resting for a while, they all felt much better. Although they still had low HP, at least they could walk. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao and the others supported each other as they headed towards the base. On their way, no zombies appeared. It was likely that all the zombies had been drawn to the base. Han Rui¡¯s walkie-talkie was the only one that still worked, and she tried to use it to contact others, but there was no response. Everyone looked grim. ¡°I hope everyone is still alive...¡± Han Rui prayed silently in her heart. After some time, they arrived at the rooftop of a three-story building not far from the base. ¡°There are still many zombies in the base, but the defenses of the comprehensive building seem to be holding. Without the gorilla zombies, it¡¯s hard forthose mad demon zombies to break through those steel defenses...¡± Zhen Guo put down the binoculars. Although they heard no noise coming from inside the building, the fact that it hadn¡¯t been overrun was good news. ¡°What now? Do we just rush in?¡± Hong Bin looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°No, in our current state, if we¡¯re surrounded by mad demon zombies, we probably wouldn¡¯t be able to escape... Since the comprehensive building hasn¡¯t been breached, we should recover our condition first before we go over.¡± They might be the base¡¯s last fighting force. As long as they were alive, there was still hope for the base. If they died or were trapped, the base might truly be hopeless. ¡°Makes sense!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement and then settled temporarily in the building. While regaining their strength, they took turns monitoring the base with binoculars. Mad demon zombies were a type of zombie that were highly sensitive to sound. If there was noise, they might stick around. If it was quiet, they might leave after a while. Now that the gorilla zombie was dead and the mad demon zombies couldn¡¯t break into the comprehensive building, which was quiet, the probability was high that the mad demon zombies would gradually leave. Of course, even if they didn¡¯t leave, once Wang Tao and the others had recovered, they could rush in. They rested from noon until the afternoon. Although their HP bars hadn¡¯t completely regenerated, as some injuries couldn¡¯t be healed with the medical kits, their mana had mostly recovered. An ability user with mana and one without were basically two different species. ¡°If we¡¯re all ready, then let¡¯s go!¡± Some of the mad demon zombies under the comprehensive building had left, so they could now approach it. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± When several people appeared at the entrance of Shuize Base, they immediately caught the attention of some mad demon zombies. Seeing these ferocious monsters rushing towards them, Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t engage in combat. They used several rush abilities in succession and successfully made it to the administration building. Then, they climbed from the rooftop of the administration building to the rooftop of the comprehensive building using the steel ropes, as they had done before. Before reaching the rooftop, they saw Lu Gang lying there. Next to him was also FengMing¡¯an. After coming down, Wang Tao and the others hurried over to the two. ¡°Lu Gang! FengMing¡¯an! Wake up!¡± Zhen Guo and Hong Bin slapped their faces and then pinched their philtrums. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t so hasty; he saw that both Lu Gang¡¯s and FengMing¡¯an¡¯s HP bars were critically low but not depleted. He took out the medical kit and used it on them. Moments later, Lu Gang was the first to finally come around. Seeing the figures before him, Lu Gang was a bit dazed. ¡°It¡¯s good thatyou¡¯re awake! It¡¯s good thatyou¡¯re awake!¡± Everyone was pleased. Feng Ming¡¯an also woke up at this time. ¡°You guys...¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay now, we¡¯re safe!¡± Zhen Guo consoled them briefly, and without talking much, quickly led them down the building with the help of others. Inside the building, basically everyone was lying on the ground. The smarter ones had stuffed their ears, and the even smarter ones had covered their heads with clothes and blankets in addition to their ears. As for the less smart ones... their HP bars had dropped to zero¡ªWang Tao saw at a glance that many people no longer had HP bars. ¡°Ah...¡± Wang Tao sighed silently. He had anticipated this scenario before coming in. And to be fair, it was better than he had expected; at least they weren¡¯t wiped out, and there were still quite a few survivors alive. Wang Tao found Ren Jie and Liu He. Although they were not strong fighters, they were still ability users, physically much better than ordinary people, and Wang Tao had also reminded Ren Jie to be aware of the gorilla zombie¡¯s sonic attack. So they were just unconscious with low HP, with no life-threatening dangers. Chapter 284 - 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month’s end)_3 Chapter 284: Chapter 146: Heavy Casualties (Seeking monthly passes at month¡¯s end)_3 After waking up Ren Jie and Liu He, Wang Tao found Ding Yuqin. That Ding Yuqin was still alive didn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao; after all, he had taken Ding Yuqin to kill quite a few zombies, and now she also had over four thousand HP. What surprised Wang Tao was that Li Qiuyu was also still alive. The two of them were hugging each other, nestled within a few thick blankets. However, Li Qiuyu1 s HP bar of too had just 10 drops of blood left, giving the feeling that if he had come a little later, she might have cooled forever. Wang Tao woke the two of them and used a medical pack on each. ¡°Wang Tao...¡± When Ding Yuqin woke up and saw herself in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, she thought she was dreaming. After realizing it was real, she immediately buried her head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest, her eyes brimming with tears. ¡°I thought I¡¯d never see you again...¡± ¡°It¡¯s safe now, we¡¯re all right.¡± Wang Tao gently patted Ding Yuqin¡¯s back. Li Qiuyu¡¯s complexion was pale, and her whole body trembling ¨C she clearly hadn¡¯t recovered from the terror yet. Han Rui took the initiative to go over and hold Li Qiuyu. ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re safe now...¡± ¡°Wuuwuu...¡± Li Qiuyu suddenly burst into tears. Wang Tao went on to wake the others. ¡±Commissioner Wang...1¡® Huo Ziyi and her few girlfriends were lucky, they hadn¡¯t died. Seeing Wang Tao, she instinctively rushed over to embrace him. Wang Tao patted her back. ¡°It¡¯s all right, everyone is safe now...¡± ¡°Wuuwuu...¡± Huo Ziyi once again felt the sadness of being weak. Even though she hadn¡¯t gone to fight, just staying at home she¡¯d almost died! If it weren¡¯t for a quick-thinking girlfriend who had promptly found something to block their ears after the first roar of the gorilla zombie, they probably would have all died... ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, just rest up a bit.¡± Wang Tao let go of Huo Ziyi and went to check on the other survivors. Gao Hua and Chen Zhuang hadn¡¯t died either, which was also good news for Wang Tao... After spending some time, everyone in the complex building that could be woken up was. As for those who couldn¡¯t be awakened... they would never wake up again. Looking at the numbers on the compiled list, all of the commissioners, including Wang Tao, sighed. Nobody had anticipated the roar of the gorilla zombie having such a wide range and killing power! The survivors were still in the building, yet some unfortunate ones were directly killed by the sound, and others who didn¡¯t die were knocked unconscious. just yesterday, Shuize Base had a total of 712 people. After the gorilla zombie arrived last night, more than too people died directly, leaving less than 600 people-that was still because everyone had been on guard against the gorilla zombie and had made some preparations in advance, otherwise, more would have died. Wei Zhenguo and the others had barely managed to gather the remaining survivors in this complex building, and with Wang Tao coming back, they thought the lives of the remaining survivors were secure. But who could have thought that the gorilla zombie had such a terrifying area attack ability. The first roar knocked many people unconscious, and the second roar killed more than 200 people instantly! Now, the list in Wang Tao¡¯s hand only had 303 people left... which means that in just one day, 409 survivors died! Just a few days ago, Ren Jie was still saying that Shuize Base was getting stronger and stronger. And now, in just a few days, it was back to the number of people from when the base was first established... ¡°Damn zombies!¡± Wei Zhenguo wiped the corner of his eye. When the virus outbreak and the apocalypse came, he never shed a tear, since men do not lightly weep. But now, seeing the survivors they had worked so hard to save had lost their lives, he could no longer hold back. ¡°You should think this way ¨C thank goodness Wang Tao killed the Gorilla zombie, otherwise our remaining three hundred people would¡¯ve been dead...¡± Ren Jie sighed. Speaking of the Gorilla zombie, everyone looked towards Wang Tao, they all wanted to know how Wang Tao killed the Gorilla zombie. Seeing this, Wang Tao simply narrated the process from when the Gorilla zombie chased them to the Mud Swamp to its death. Upon hearing that the seemingly doomed to be killed Gorilla zombie actually had another form, and restored itself to full HP, everyone was somewhat shocked. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you lured it away! If the fight had taken place downstairs... we would¡¯ve all been goners!¡± Liu He¡¯s face turned a bit pale. After all, Wang Tao had just mentioned that a roar from the second form of the Gorilla zombie practically knocked half-dead all the Ability Users, including Wei Zhenguo! Those two fat brothers with super high Defense and several Mud Superpower Users had their heads shattered directly by the impact! If that thing had roared once below the complex building, they might¡¯ve been wiped out in one fell swoop! ¡°Cough, so how did you kill the Gorilla zombie? Feng Ming¡¯an asked while coughing. ¡°When I was about to be killed by the Gorilla zombie, I encountered Wu Fei...¡± Wang Tao went into more detail about Wu Fei¡¯s actions, this time explaining more thoroughly. Although Wu Fei¡¯s original intention was just to repay Wang Tao, and he didn t care about the others, he also indirectly saved the entire Shuize Base-Wu Fei was a hero of Shuize Base, and his name deserves to be remembered by everyone. ¡°A real man! It¡¯s a pity I never got the chance to meet him...¡± Xiang Hongbin clenched his fists, a hint of regret in his eyes. ¡°Right, did the Gorilla zombie drop an Ascension crystal core when you killed it?¡± Wei Zhenguo hurriedly asked. At that mention, a forced smile finally appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°Ascension crystal core... Of course! Once my HP is restored, I feel I will be able to ascend to a Level 2 Ability User!¡± ¡°Great, great, great! The Gorilla zombie is dead, and you can ascend to Level 2 now, which means our Shuize Base is essentially safe!¡± Upon hearing this, a relieved expression finally appeared on everyone¡¯s faces. Wang Tao, however, was not as excited, after all, the cost of ascending to Level 2 was... too great! ¡°The pressing matter at hand is to quickly rebuild the base! The walls must be fortified...¡± Wang Tao said with a serious expression. To speak bluntly, most of those who died were the weak, and those who survived were strong. So in terms of rebuilding the base, although the number of people was reduced, the speed shouldn¡¯t be too much slower... ¡°Right! You just focus on your Level 2 Ascension preparation without worries! Leave the rebuilding task to us!¡± Ren Jie immediately spoke up. ¡°Exactly, just focus on your ascension...¡± The others also echoed. ¡°Alright! Then I¡¯ll leave it in your hands!¡± Wang Tao nodded earnestly. At night, the Mad Demon Zombies outside had not left yet. In an office, bedsheets and cool mats were spread out on the floor. Han Rui had already fallen asleep, consumed by fatigue, she fell to the floor and slept. Ding Yuqin and Li Qiuyu lay together, chatting with each other. Wang Tao was sitting on the side, silently checking the spoils of having killed two Level 2 Zombies. Chapter 285 - 147: Harvest (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month’s End)_l Chapter 285: Chapter 147: Harvest (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month¡¯s End)_l Wang Tao first looked at the items that the zombie Wu Fei had dropped. The Crystal Core inside Wu Fei¡¯s head was an Ascension Crystal Core! However, because Wu Fei had only recently turned into a zombie, the core was a deep green color. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Rare (55%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] Wang Tao had now spotted a pattern: for Level 2 Zombies with several abilities, the Crystal Core in their heads was likely to be one of their abilities plus either the Ascension or the Omnipotent Crystal Core. That meant, if a Level 2 Zombie possessed four abilities, then the Crystal Core it dropped could be one of those abilities or it could be either an Ascension or Omnipotent Crystal Core. Each kill would drop only one Crystal Core, and the probability for each type of core was probably one in six. Of course, this was just Wang Tao¡¯s speculation; after all, he didn¡¯t know if there were other special types of cores besides the Ascension and Omnipotent Crystal Cores. Furthermore, Wang Tao was different from others; when he killed a Level 2 Zombie, in addition to the Crystal Core dropped by the zombie itself, he would also get a Loot Pack, which might contain Crystal Cores. So, the chances of him getting Ascension or Omnipotent Crystal Cores were likely much higher than for ordinary people... Zombie Wu Fei dropped three packs. The first pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag with a total of four Crystal Cores. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Super Strength] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: Strength is proportionate to body size, inadequate body size leads to negative growth in strength)] It was no surprise that Wu Fei, with his great strength, had the Power attribute. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Self Detonation] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] Wang Tao already knew Wu Fei had fused with Self Detonation ability, so it was not unexpected. Ability Users and zombies who had learned Self Detonation ability after the fact were different from innate Self-exploders. If a Self-exploder wasn¡¯t shattered on death, it would still detonate, just delayed by ten seconds. However, Ability Users or zombies that learned Self Detonation wouldn¡¯t explode upon death ¨C after all, the Self Detonation Crystal Core had no side effects, and they did not possess the Self-exploder¡¯s volatile body. The third core was an Omnipotent Crystal Core! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] This was a great find, and Wang Tao already had an ordinary Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Core; synthesizing it with this one would yield an Epic Crystal Core. The only regret was that after the fusion, the purity would only reach 90%, not the perfect 100%... The fourth Crystal Core made Wang Tao raise his eyebrows. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Rib Spur] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: Reduced defensive power when using abilities)] (Rib Spur: Ribs grow out of the body to become a weapon. If the attack is successful, it can deal a fixed amount of damage to the enemy¡¯s HP (at least too, and no more than one¡¯s own HP), and paralyze them for a certain period, but the user also loses (damage dealt -1) HP. If the attack fails, neither party loses HP] Seeing the properties of this core, Wang Tao was reminded of when Wu Fei had turned into a zombie. He had a full HP of 5,000, which meant he could deal a maximum attack of 5,000 HP. After a successful attack, he would lose 4,999 HP, which left him with just a sliver of life, making it easy for Wang Tao to kill him afterwards... This ability had many limitations; if one only had a sliver of remaining HP, it would be extremely dangerous. Moreover, this limitation was inherent to the ability itself, not a side effect. Therefore, even if Wang Tao had several similar Crystal Cores, he couldn¡¯t eliminate the self-damage mechanism through synthesis. Nonetheless, this ability was formidable. If Wu Fei had more than 10,000 HP, wouldn¡¯t he be able to instantly kill the Gorilla zombie? However, the ability¡¯s description did say that success wasn¡¯t guaranteed; failure could depend on luck, the enemy¡¯s defensive power, and other factors. Thus, the ability wasn¡¯t invincible. But regardless, this ability was indeed powerful! Especially when teamed up with others, as it was with Wu Fei and Wang Tao ¨C even if Wu Fei couldn¡¯t directly kill the Gorilla zombie, he could still paralyze it for a while, giving Wang Tao a chance to finish it off! The second pack Wu Fei dropped contained Strength Potions. [Strength Potion (Small) x5] A set of five Strength Potions, not bad at all. The third pack surprised Wang Tao. [Deactivating Potion (Experimental) x5] [Deactivating Potion (Experimental): Can reduce the activity of the zombie virus in the infected for 3-10 days. When the virus¡¯s activity is reduced, mutation into a zombie will not occur.] Could it be because Wu Fei used too many Inhibitors that he had dropped this ¡°Deactivating Potion (Experimental)¡±? This item was somewhat similar to an Inhibitor, serving to suppress the zombie virus, but there were significant differences. The Inhibitors produced by Hope Research Institute did not specify how long their effects lasted ¨C it could be one day, or it could be one month... Before complete mutation into a zombie, an Inhibitor could be used. And during the fusion with a Zombie Core, it was also possible to use an Inhibitor, which could slightly reduce the impurities in the body. However, this Inhibitor had serious side effects; aside from being extremely painful to use, using it excessively could even lead to death. Chapter 286 - 147: Harvest (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_2 Chapter 286: Chapter 147: Harvest (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_2 The Deactivating Potion seemed quite straightforward. According to the description, it could reduce the activity of the zombie virus for 3 to 10 days. When the activity of the virus was reduced, there would be no mutation into zombies. It was unclear what factors related to the reduced duration; perhaps it was connected to the length and severity of the infection. Regardless, even if we consider only three days, one would be absolutely free from worry about turning into a zombie for those days. Moreover, this deactivating potion had no side effects and did not lead to death. Wang Tao figured that under normal circumstances, an ordinary inhibitor might be more useful, but for those severely infected, this ¡°Deactivating Potion (Experimental)¡± might be better. However, the duration of 3 to 10 days was still too short. Relying on this potion to extend life after being infected was impossible; it could only be used as an emergency product... Wang Tao then turned his attention to the loot from killing the gorilla zombie. There was also a Crystal Core and three packages. Neither the gorilla zombie nor Zombie Wu Fei had items like the green-eyed zombie¡¯s eyes. The Crystal Core from the gorilla zombie¡¯s head was of Purple Quality. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Roar] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Irritability)] [Roar: Consumes energy to emit a daunting roar that can cause enemies to suffer dizziness and lose HP] This was the ability the gorilla zombie had used earlier, a crowd-controlling Ability with an even larger range than Shockwave, which had caused Wang Tao and his group a lot of trouble. The introduction alone might not convey its power, but Wang Tao had seen just how formidable the gorilla zombie was! Anyone who heard the roar would likely be affected to some degree. And this Roar not only caused dizziness but could also make one lose HP! No wonder it had instantly killed so many survivors and zombies... Another ability related to sound was Screaming. However, Screaming was nearly useless, serving at most to attract zombies. But Roar was powerful, capable of killing zombies outright! Then, Wang Tao looked at the first package dropped by the gorilla zombie. Inside were a full five Crystal Cores! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: None)] Another Ascension Crystal Core! And it was of Excellent Quality! Wang Tao had hesitated before about whether to merge the Ascension Crystal Core dropped by Zombie Wu Fei, especially since that core¡¯s success rate was only 55%... But now, seeing this core, Wang Tao decisively decided to merge this Excellent Quality Crystal Core! Without a second thought, Wang Tao popped the core into his mouth. Instantly, a warm surge of energy flowed through his limbs and body. It was a success! Wang Tao quickly checked his attributes. His HP remained unchanged, but his Mana cap had risen to 4800! The internal impurity had also changed, now sitting at 2%. By his calculations, the exact figure was 2.2%... Then there was the icon for Precision Shooting. The ¡°10¡ä¡ä number that used to be in its upper right corner was gone, and now there was a ¡°2¡± in the lower left corner, indicating that his Precision Shooting had also leveled up to a Level 2 Ability! Now, Wang Tao¡¯s abilities ¨C Shockwave, Toughness, Precision Shooting, and Self-healing ¡ª had all become Level 2 Abilities! Wang Tao felt stronger than he had ever been before! Of course, if he were to fight the gorilla zombie now, he would still lose, for he himself was not yet Level Two. Calming his excited heart, Wang Tao continued to inspect the Crystal Cores. The second Crystal Core in the package was a Red Self-healing Crystal Core. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Self-Heal] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Diminished sense of touch)] [Self-Heal: During its duration, it can slowly heal certain injuries] Seeing this Self-healing Crystal Core, Wang Tao felt a sudden impulse to merge it. But he quickly regained his composure; although he had five [Detoxification Potions] that could clear 5% impurities, this core had side effects! Wang Tao didn¡¯t want his body to suffer from them! Of course, there was another point ¨C he was still Level 1, and apart from the Ascension Crystal Core, he couldn¡¯t merge any Level 2 Crystal Cores... [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Super Strength] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Strength is proportionate to body size; insufficient body size leads to negative strength growth)] [Power: Passive Ability; significantly increases Strength] The third Crystal Core was for Strength, which was within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. Since the gorilla zombie was so strong, typically hurling cars and rocks, having the Power ability made sense. Wang Tao liked the Strength ability as well, but unfortunately, he no longer had the chance to merge with other cores. He would wait to level up to Two and see if there was any way to continue merging different types of cores... The fourth Crystal Core in the package was another Omnipotent Crystal Core, also Level 2! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: None)] Although it was of Excellent Quality, the Omnipotent Crystal Core dropped by Zombie Wu Fei was of even better quality, perfect for creating an Epic Omnipotent Crystal Core! Still, as before, merging two Level 2 Crystal Cores would result in an Epic Crystal Core with 10% impurity and a side effect. Since the Omnipotent Crystal Cores had no side effects, Wang Tao could use them. Other cores, however, would still carry side effects. Wang Tao looked at the last Crystal Core, and it caused his eyes to widen in surprise. Chapter 287 - 147: Harvest (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_3 Chapter 287: Chapter 147: Harvest (End of the Month for Monthly Pass)_3 [Level 2 Crystal Core-Frenzy] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: HP reduction by 10,000 after fusion)] [Frenzy: When HP is below 30%, Frenzy is automatically triggered, which can only occur once per day. Upon triggering, HP, Mana, Physical strength, and Spirit are completely restored; the body size increases, all negative statuses are removed, Attack power considerably increases, speed increases to a certain extent, and defensive power decreases to a certain extent. Frenzy lasts for 1 hour, after which it returns to normal.] This was the ability that the Gorilla zombie had used before! Wang Tao thought it might be an exclusive ability of a Zombie Lord, but it turned out to be an Ability! This Ability is incredibly powerful! Even though defense decreases, every other aspect is comprehensively enhanced, and it even restores you to full HP and Mana! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t forgotten the feeling of despair when he saw the Gorilla zombie¡¯s HP suddenly recover to full.... If he learned this Ability... Wouldn¡¯t he essentially have two lives like the Gorilla zombie? However, as strong as this Ability is, its side effect is outrageous! Reducing defense isn¡¯t a big deal, since having an extra life justifies losing some defensive power. But to fuse with this Crystal Core, one would need to deduct 10,000 HP... He thought the side effect of Healing Light was already twisted, with the first fusion reducing by 5,000 HP and each subsequent one by 1,000. If you fused with 10 Cores, wouldn¡¯t that deduct 14,000 HP? But compared to Frenzy, Healing Light was just a minor issue. This side effect cuts 10,000 HP after each fusion. Since it¡¯s not specifically marked, it implies that each fusion would reduce the HP by 10,000! That¡¯s a hundred thousand blood for 10 Crystal Cores! Who has that much HP to spare? And if Wang Tao wanted to fuse with it, he wouldn¡¯t be able to, even if he advanced to Level Two, because his own HP was only in the thousands, not enough to deduct... This Crystal Core is truly enviable! If Wang Tao now had around 12,000 HP and the opportunity to fuse, he might fuse without hesitation! After all, it¡¯s a second life, and one that enhances most Attributes! ¡°Ah, what a pity, I don¡¯t meet the conditions...¡± Wang Tao sighed. Reluctantly, he shifted his gaze away from the tempting Crystal Core to the other spoils of combat. The second package dropped by the Gorilla zombie contained Strength Potions, just like the ones from the zombie Wu Fei. [Strength Potion (Small) x5] The third package, the last of the spoils, caught Wang Tao¡¯s eye. [Strength Growth Potion x5] [Strength Growth Potion: After injection, Strength will receive a certain degree of permanent Enhancement.] ¡°Strength Growth Potion¡± and ¡°Strength Potion (Small)¡± seem only a few words apart, but the effects are vastly different. The effect of the Strength Potion (Small) is: After injection, overall Strength is increased by 10%-100% (the stronger the constitution, the greater the increase), lasting for 1 minute with a cooldown of 12 hours. The Strength Potion actually provides a substantial increase, and with Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition, the Enhancement is around forty to fifty percent. However, it¡¯s a temporary ability, lasting only one minute, yet with a cooldown of 12 hours. But this Strength Growth Potion permanently increases one¡¯s own Strength! While it doesn¡¯t specify how much, it¡¯s likely not as much as the Strength Potion (Small), but it¡¯s permanent! Without a second thought, Wang Tao injected one into himself. Pfft- After the Potion was injected, it didn¡¯t immediately enhance his Strength like the Strength Potion did. Instead, it felt similar to the physical enhancement after killing a zombie, gradually increasing Wang Tao¡¯s Strength! Although the increase wasn¡¯t dramatic, it was definitely noticeable! Wang Tao clenched his fist, feeling the newfound Strength coursing through him. He immediately used the remaining four Strength Growth Potions. Pfft- Moments later, Wang Tao secretly exclaimed in delight! Using five Potions at once made the Strength gain even more apparent, akin to the sensation of enhancement when his HP was at 1,000! It was deep into the night by now. Han Rui had already fallen asleep, Ding Yuqin and Li Qiuyu were also drifting off, the lights were out, and only the faint moonlight bathed their figures. The reason Li Qiuyu was here was she had been greatly frightened, as, at one point, she was down to just 10 HP and near death. Ding Yuqin, who was innately kind-hearted, coupled with a few words from Han Rui, invited Li Qiuyu to sleep over with her. After all, everyone was sleeping in their clothes, even keeping their Weapons in hand, so there was no embarrassment. Wang Tao, seeing that the women had all fallen asleep, also intended to just lie down and sleep. However, seeing that his HP bar hadn¡¯t fully recovered, he felt somewhat compulsive. Medical packs and Self-healing Abilities weren¡¯t omnipotent, and more severe wounds couldn¡¯t heal quickly ¡ª Wang Tao was a living person, not data, after all. After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao went over, picked up Ding Yuqin, and brought her close to him, while also covering her mouth. ¡°Mmm¡ª¡± Ding Yuqin, who had just fallen asleep, was startled. Once she saw by moonlight that it was Wang Tao, she breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°You, what are you trying to do...¡± She whispered. ¡°You.¡± Wang Tao wanted to replenish his HP to full. And after experiencing several life-or-death situations that day, he desperately needed to vent and relax. Ding Yuqin blushed, gave Wang Tao a glance, and in truth, she had the same thought too, since she had also been scared out of her wits that day but was too embarrassed to bring it up. ¡°Sister Qiu Yu is still here...¡± Ding Yuqin said hesitantly. ¡°Then it¡¯s up to you whether you make noise or not.¡± Wang Tao gave a mischievous smile, then leaned in to kiss her. ¡°Mmm¡ª¡± The next day. The survivors woke up to find, to their delight, that the Mad Demon Zombies had left! ¡°Qiu Yu, aren¡¯t you happy?¡± Han Rui, noting Li Qiuyu¡¯s odd demeanor, asked curiously. ¡°Cough cough, of course I¡¯m happy...¡± Li Qiuyu stole a glance at Wang Tao and then quickly lowered her head. Chapter 288 - 148: Ascension (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month’s End)_i Chapter 288: Chapter 148: Ascension (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month¡¯s End)_i Wang Tao looked at the Weakness status below his HP bar with some helplessness. He just remembered that he had used a Rejuvenation Potion yesterday and was going to be in a weakened state for the whole day today. ¡°Are you still going to hunt Elite Zombies today?¡± Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded. His strength had increased now, and even in a weakened state, hunting Level Elite Zombies was still no problem. Of course, this also had to do with the Gorilla zombie¡¯s death. There were no more Level Two zombies in the county now, otherwise Wang Tao would definitely be more cautious. Then you need to be careful, are you sure your injuries are really okay?...¡± Ding Yuqin grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s arm and asked with some concern. ¡°Haha, I replenished all my HP on you last night, and I¡¯m in great shape now!¡¯ Wang Tao said with a laugh. ¡°You¡¯re so annoying-never serious!¡± Ding Yuqin gently punched Wang Tao in the chest. Wang Tao shrugged. These days, telling the truth meant no one believed you. ¡°Do you need me to accompany you?¡± Han Rui came over at this time. Although she was also in a weakened state today, she slept well last night and felt quite spirited. ¡°Sure, let¡¯s go together. Just in case I trigger a Sleeping State again, it¡¯s good to have a companion.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He was now just one HP drop away and could easily hunt any Level 1 Elite Zombie; theoretically, he could handle it alone. But if it was like before, and every increase of 1000 HP put him into a Sleeping State, then he would still need someone to assist him. ¡°Great! I¡¯ll get ready...¡± Han Rui immediately began to put on her gear. However, as she was gearing up, she suddenly asked out of curiosity: What¡¯s with Li Qjuyu today? There¡¯s something off about her ever since she got up this morning...¡± Ah?¡± Upon hearing this, Ding Yuqin seemed to think of something, her face turned red, and she muttered softly, ¡°She couldn¡¯t have stayed awake all night could she...¡± Wang Tao:¡±...¡± If that was the case, then things might be a bit awkward. But no matter, it¡¯s not like he was losing out. Alright, you rest up at home, sis, we¡¯re heading out.¡± ¡°Okay-¡± Ding Yuqin nodded. As Wang Tao went downstairs, he happened to bump into Li Qjuyu at the stair corner. ¡°Ouch~¡± Li Qjuyu almost fell, but fortunately, Wang Tao caught her. What¡¯s wrong with you, looking so out of it...?¡± ¡°Cough, it¡¯s nothing, thanks...¡± Lt Qjuyu quickly extricated herself from Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, looked at Wang Tao, then looked at Han Rui, her expression somewhat unnatural. ¡°As long as you¡¯re okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then went downstairs. Han Rui trailed half a step behind, then turned around and playfully winked at Li Qjuyu. She thought Li Qjuyu was trying to create opportunities on purpose. Li Qiuyu, thinking that Han Rui had also been awake the night before and knew about her insomnia, blushed deeply. Once Wang Tao and Han Rui¡¯s figures disappeared, Li Qjuyu sighed weakly. ¡°Doi really need to find a man to rely on... Yesterday was just too frightening...¡± Downstairs, Wei Zhenguo and the others were also there, and they were all in a weakened state today. ¡°Wang Tao, leave the rebuilding of the base to us, you go ahead and ascend to Level Two with peace of mind!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo patted his shoulder with a serious expression. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll leave it to you guys to work hard.¡± Besides the comprehensive building, which was still intact, other areas of the Shuize Base had suffered varying degrees of destruction. Especially the walls and the gate surrounding the base, which had been smashed by the Gorilla zombie. The main task now was to repair these areas, otherwise, they couldn¡¯t fend off the zombies. Of course, the first thing to do was to clean up all the zombie corpses inside the base. The Gorilla zombie¡¯s roar from the previous day had directly killed many Ordinary zombies and Mad Demon Zombies, and there were far more of them dead than there were survivors, with rotting bodies scattered everywhere downstairs. Wang Tao and Han Rui went outside the base and found their off-road vehicle. The car was dirty and had many impact marks, but overall, there were no problems, and it still started. Hum- The electric motor of the car hummed as Wang Tao drove away from Shuize Base. They drove for quite a while without encountering many zombies. ¡°It feels like it¡¯s also a bit different out here...¡± Han Rui spoke up, finding it strange. ¡°It should be because the zombies nearby all came to our base before, and a lot of them were indiscriminately killed by the Gorilla zombie... Let¡¯s go a bit further and take a look.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The rarer something is, the harder it is to come by. Elite Zombies, which used to be a common sight, are nowhere to be found now, with only some Ordinary zombies and Mad Demon Zombies wandering the streets... Wang Tao set out in the morning and finally found a Rioters zombie wielding a Big Hammer near a hospital by evening. ¡°Not easy at all!¡± Wang Tao sighed, then immediately got out of the car and, from about ten meters away from the zombie, threw his axe. Splat¡ª [-3200] [0/3300] The Terrorizer was instantly killed. Wang Tao hurriedly looked at his HP bar. [5000/5000] He gained only 1 HP from killing this zombie, but his HP had reached 5000! Wang Tao felt that something had come into his mind... He closed his eyes to contemplate. ¡°Wang Tao, how are you feeling?¡± Han Rui asked with concern. Wang Tao opened his eyes, his expression a bit odd. ¡°I¡¯m fine, let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao first rushed over to collect the loot from the Terrorizer, then hurriedly drove Han Rui back in the car. Chapter 289 - 148: Ascension (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month’s End)_2 Chapter 289: Chapter 148: Ascension (Seeking Monthly Pass at Month¡¯s End)_2 ¡°Wang Tao, aren¡¯t you tired?¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. Previously, every time he killed some zombies, that is, every time he gained a whole thousand HP, he would feel drowsy, as if his body was ¡°auto upgrading.¡± After sleeping, his strength would increase. But now, after Wang Tao had killed an Elite Zombie, he was supposed to move up to Level 2, so why did he still appear to be so spirited? Seeing the confusion in Han Rui¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve discovered something interesting¡ªthis timing of ascending to Level 2 can be chosen at will! It¡¯s no longer like before where I would fall asleep immediately!¡± ¡°Ah? That¡¯s great then!¡± Han Rui was immediately overjoyed upon hearing this. In the past when she went out to kill zombies, she would uncontrollably feel the need to sleep at critical moments, which was extremely uncomfortable. After all, she was outside, where dangers lurked everywhere! Falling asleep meant a high chance of never waking up! But there was no way to control this... Therefore, it was best to form a team, at least with more than two people, in order to go out hunting zombies. This way, if one person needed to sleep, another could quickly bring them back to the base. Wang Tao had always gone out with Han Rui, and the two of them took care of each other. But this still had significant limitations and was prone to accidents. If they could control the timing themselves, waiting to sleep until they were back at the base or in a safer place would be much better! ¡°What does it feel like then?¡± Han Rui asked further. She too had reached the upper limit of Level 1 and yearned for Level 2. ¡°How should I put it, it¡¯s kind of a sensation that¡¯s like knowing you can combine several Crystal Cores. I feel that within the next three days, I can choose any time to sleep, and then I¡¯ll become a Second-order Superpower Owner! If I don¡¯t make a choice, then in three days from now, I¡¯ll automatically fall asleep, waking up as a Second-order Superpower Owner... As for how long I¡¯ll need to sleep, I feel like it should be around 24 hours...¡± Wang Tao described what he had felt. ¡°Then that¡¯s really not bad at all!¡± Han Rui also showed a smile on her face. Although there are restrictions, having to choose a time within three days and needing to sleep for 24 hours, three days is not a short time. If one can¡¯t find a safe place within three days, that¡¯s just bad luck... ¡°Congratulations!¡± Han Rui was very happy for Wang Tao. ¡°Haha, but there¡¯s a bit of a situation with this ascension; I need to go back and study it a bit...¡± Soon, the two of them returned to the base, just as the sun had completely set. Although the crisis had resulted in the death of many people in the base, three hundred people survived, and they were all strong. Therefore, in terms of building the base, work progressed rather swiftly. In just one day¡¯s time, the corpses of the zombies inside the base had been thrown out, and some of the damaged walls and barbed wire had also been repaired. Except for the main gate, the defenses everywhere else in the base had returned to the pre-disaster levels. The main gate, which had been the focus of the Gorilla zombie¡¯s attack, was smashed to pieces. After discussing, Wei Zhenguo and the others decided to make two pure metal gates! The previous gate was called a big iron gate, but it was actually just iron sheeting on the outside with wood inside. Such a gate could stop Ordinary Zombies with no problem, but it was insufficient to stop monsters like the Gorilla zombie. If the gate was made entirely of metal, it¡¯s likely even the Gorilla zombie couldn¡¯ t break through. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just about the gate; the surrounding walls also needed to be reinforced, preferably all metal. After all, there was no shortage of abandoned vehicles outside, so metal materials were plentiful. However, this wasn¡¯t something that could be done overnight; for now, they could only focus on getting the big iron gate set up. As for the current gate, it was a patchwork of the previously shattered old one, just to make do. It was still capable of stopping some Ordinary Zombies. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re back. How was the harvest?¡± Seeing Wang Tao return, Wei Zhenguo and the others hurried over. ¡°It¡¯s basically stable. I can ascend to a Second-order Superpower Owner in at most three days or as soon as tomorrow!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± The few people were very excited to hear this. The Level 2 Zombies inside Shuize County should all be dead by now, at least they shouldn¡¯t reappear in the short term, and Wang Tao was about to become a Second-order Superpower Owner. This meant that while they might not dominate Shuize County, at least they wouldn¡¯t have to live in fear as before! Even if more Level 2 Zombies appeared later, Wang Tao¡¯s strength would surely grow even stronger, and killing Level 2 Zombies should be no problem. Then they could also obtain an Ascension Crystal Core and undergo Level 2 Ascension! As the saying goes, without destruction, there can be no construction; the ancients did not deceive me, the good days for the base might be coming! Wang Tao discussed the situation of Level 2 Ascension with them, and like Han Rui, they were all very happy. Having the freedom to choose the timing of ascension would be amazing! ¡°Then when do you plan to ascend?¡± Zhen Guo asked. Wang Tao thought for a moment and replied: ¡°Tonight. I¡¯ll go home to prepare and can ascend, which might take around 24 hours. By this time tomorrow, I¡¯ll be a Second-order Superpower Owner!¡± ¡°Good!¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°Oh, and here are some Crystal Cores for you guys.¡± Wang Tao took out some Level 1 Synthetic Crystal Cores he had on hand, as well as an Ascension Crystal Core that the zombie Wu Fei had dropped. ¡°An Ascension Crystal Core?¡± Everyone was somewhat surprised to see the green Crystal Core. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t need this Ascension Crystal Core anymore, so you guys see who could use it. This Core only has a 55% success rate, so I suggest picking someone who¡¯s lucky, haha!¡± Chapter 290: 148: Ascension (End of the Month for Monthly Pass) 3 ¡°Great! Thank you! Let¡¯s discuss this shortly!¡± Zhen Guo and his companions¡¯ eyes all lit up a bit, after all, this was an Ascension Crystal Core. If they could succeed, one of their abilities could be upgraded to Level Two! Level One facing Level Two, there was basically no chance of winning. But with a Level Two Ability, their odds of victory increased significantly. And a Level Two Ability against a Level One Zombie was practically a one-hit kill... At this moment, Ren Jie suddenly asked: ¡°So, are we still going to have our celebration tonight?¡± It was only then that Wang Tao remembered they had previously planned to hold a celebration to commemorate the three-month anniversary of Shuize Base. The purpose of the party was to let the survivors relax a bit, they were all too tense every day, staying in this state for too long might lead to problems. After the announcement of the party, it received the approval of all survivors. The specific date was set for these few days, but no one could have expected the gorilla zombie to appear suddenly... After discussing for a while, Zhen Guo and the others said: ¡°Let¡¯s continue with the event, since the survivors don¡¯t have work at night, it won¡¯t be a waste of one or two hours. However, we¡¯ll make some slight changes to the content, and turn it into a memorial for those who sacrificed themselves and an awards ceremony for those who made significant contributions...¡± ¡°People like Wu Fei, who indirectly saved our base, and Wang Tao, who directly saved everyone in the base, their deeds must be known by the survivors! Those who made contributions must be rewarded, even if only verbally...¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll bring out more food and let everyone eat their fill. We lost a lot of hands this time, but the food hasn¡¯t suffered much, so we actually have an abundance of food now...¡± Zhen Guo had a lot to say. ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll go and make some basic preparations. How about the day after tomorrow for the time? Wang Tao will ascend to Level Two tomorrow; the day after, he can show himself in front of everyone and stabilize morale! What do you think, Wang Tao?¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Wang Tao naturally had no objections. ¡°Alright, then it¡¯s decided!¡± Soon, the news of the party being held as scheduled spread. A rare smile appeared on the faces of the survivors, not because they were eager to watch a performance at the party, but because the committee announced that many people would be rewarded at this party¡ªfor those who performed well and helped their peers during the crisis. Not only would their names be engraved on the large iron gate to be made later, but they would also receive better welfare benefits in the future! Huo Ziyi was pleased to hear this news and decided to take the initiative. She didn¡¯t want to live in fear anymore, well aware that the women who were close to Wang Tao had all become Ability Users. Even if she became subordinate to Wang Tao, it would be better than having no background at all... At this time, Wang Tao had returned to his villa with Han Rui. Since Ding Yuqin had run to the main building the moment the zombies came, there was nobody at home and naturally no zombies were attracted. Thus, the house was unaffected, and even the large Green Vine on the balcony hadn¡¯t lost a single leaf. Wang Tao drank some nutrient solution briefly and then lay down on the bed. Han Rui and Ding Yuqin did not disturb him. Today, after reaching 5000 HP, Wang Tao discovered three rather peculiar conditions and had been studying them, finally understanding what they meant. The first was that he could now control the timing of his sleep, or more accurately, his Ascension. He could ascend whenever he wanted within the next three days. The second was that Wang Tao had an inkling that if he ascended to Level Two, he could choose to delete one of his Level Two Abilities. Deleting an ability would free up a slot for him to fuse a new Ability! In other words, although he currently couldn¡¯t fuse new types of Crystal Cores, he could replace an ability, or even all four! And this deletion was not just literal; it involved the transfer and inheritance¡ª the Ability he deleted could be transferred to others, but would be downgraded by one level. For instance, if Wang Tao no longer wanted Shockwave, he could transfer his ¡°Level Two +1¡± Shockwave to Ding Yuqin, and once transferred to her, it would become ¡°Level One +10¡±. At first glance, this might seem like a loss of one Ascension Crystal Core, not particularly profitable, right? But not exactly! Firstly, besides Wang Tao, other people¡¯s Crystal Core fusions were not guaranteed to succeed. Counting the failures, that would be many more Cores used! And more importantly, the inherited ability would carry over half of the original host¡¯s impurities in that Ability, but without any side effects! To put it simply, if Wang Tao transferred Shockwave to Ding Yuqin, for her, it would not only be a +10 Level One Ability but also one with fewer impurities and side effects. Of course, Wang Tao¡¯s Abilities had no side effects to begin with. If it were someone else, for example, if an Ability User needed to fuse 20 Crystal Cores to reach Level Two, then the impurities in that Ability would be around 10%. Upon transferring it, the original user would retain 5% impurities, and the recipient would get a +10 Ability with just 5% impurities, but no side effects! To inherit an Ability, it had to be done within three days after his Ascension; if he didn¡¯t find a recipient by then, it would just be a simple deletion. This mechanism was quite powerful, and Wang Tao could already foresee that if humans held on, an increasing number of people would accept inheritances! However... Wang Tao himself seemed to have no use for this inheritance power. This brings us to the third discovery¡ª Wang Tao noticed some changes in his HP bar¡ªhis 5000 HP limit had not changed, but between his own HP and mana bars, a new grey bar appeared showing 5160. This grey bar was a new feature that allowed him to extract and fuse Abilities! Chapter 291: 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes)_l Wang Tao¡¯s gaze focused on the grey HP bar, and several lines of explanation popped up. [Current Special Energy: 5160] [Special energy is obtained from killing zombies above your level] [Special energy can be used for extraction and fusion of abilities] [Extraction abilities: Turn a learned ability into a crystal core of the current level. Extracting a Level 1 Special Ability consumes 1000 special energy; Extracting a Level 2 Ability consumes 5000 special energy; Extracting a Level 3 Ability consumes 30000 special energy.] [Ability Fusion: Fuse two learned abilities of the same level. If fusion is successful, the ability has two traits, and its level is the average of both. If fusion fails, the primary ability remains, and the secondary ability disappears. Fusing a Level 1 Ability consumes 1000 special energy; Fusing a Level 2 Ability consumes 5000 special energy; Fusing a Level 3 Ability consumes 30000 special energy.] This grey bar represents special energy, which appears from killing zombies above his level! It probably didn¡¯t show up before because he had no use for it, but now that he is about to reach Level 2 Ascension and can use it, it has become visible. And this grey bar also displays the specific numbers of special energy obtained. The numbers, in the order they were received, are: 960,600,1080,1560, 960... Five sets of numbers in total, and Wang Tao had just killed five Level 2 Zombies. And he distinctly remembered the first number, 960 ¨C wasn¡¯t it the HP he gained from killing the Level 2 Zombie Shao Yong? So does that mean these numbers respectively represent the special energy converted from the HP he gained from killing zombies Shao Yong, the Hooded Zombie, the Green-eyed Zombie, the Gorilla Zombie, and Zombie Wu Fei? With over 5000 special energy, he could extract one of his four learned abilities and then learn other abilities! Even, he could extract an ability to give to someone else, effectively passing it on. However, he can¡¯t extract right now because the notification above says he can only extract Level 2 abilities after he has achieved Level 2 Ascension. And Wang Tao hasn¡¯t decided which one to extract since all four abilities he currently uses are very important to him. Wang Tao was more concerned with ability fusion. Having learned four abilities, if he could fuse these four into one, wouldn¡¯t that free up three ability slots? Of course, this was only theoretical at this moment since the fusion also has a rate of failure, which would be quite unfortunate. Just like with extraction, he also can¡¯t perform fusion yet and must wait until he officially becomes a Second-order Superpower Owner before he can utilize these two abilities. Wang Tao checked everything carefully again and, finding no issues, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Begin Ascension! Wang Tao felt a warm and comfortable sensation throughout his body. Then he gradually lost consciousness... The next day, 6 AM. It had started to drizzle outside. Within Shuize Base, survivors had no time to grieve; they were all busily engaged in post-disaster reconstruction. Although the outer defense was fixed the day before, the large number of zombies entering the base still caused a lot of destruction. And the defense needed to be reinforced, so everyone was busy with their tasks. Of course, the committee wasn¡¯t stingy; they provided plenty of food. Although it wasn¡¯t unlimited, it was definitely enough to ensure everyone was well-fed and also came with many Contribution Points. Inside the comprehensive building. ¡°You actually succeeded?¡± Xiang Hongbin stared incredulously at Wei Zhenguo. The green Ascension crystal core that Wang Tao presented them yesterday, after some discussion, everyone decided to let Wei Zhenguo use it. Ideally, it should have been for Xiang Hongbin, being the second-strongest person in the base, but Xiang Hongbin really didn¡¯t trust his own luck, so he offered the opportunity to someone else. Just like when Feng Ming¡¯an fused the vomiting crystal core, it was because Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t trust his luck and let Feng Ming¡¯an have it. Unexpectedly, Wei Zhen Guo actually succeeded! A 55% chance... it could only be said that Wei Zhenguo was lucky! ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve always been lucky!¡± Wei Zhenguo laughed heartily, then said, ¡°I¡¯m going to hunt some Elite Zombies to try out the effect of my Level 2 Ability soon!¡± After a successful fusion, the Ascension crystal core Wei Zhenguo obtained was Rush. He wanted to test the power of a Level 2 Rush. ¡°Okay, shall I join you?¡± Xiang Hongbin was also looking forward to it. ¡°No problem!¡± The two of them delegated their tasks and then left the base in a car. ¡°Damn, where are the Elite Zombies on this street? When you don¡¯t need them, they¡¯re everywhere, but when you do, you can¡¯t find a single one!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed as he looked at the zombies outside the car. Wei Zhenguo also felt somewhat helpless. He certainly didn¡¯t hope for too many zombies to appear, but he was eager to find an Elite Zombie to test his strength. ¡°Let¡¯s go further outside.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± After driving a while longer, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°There¡¯s a Self-exploder!¡± Not far ahead, a zombie with its internal organs protruding from its chest was moving sluggishly. ¡°That¡¯s the one!¡± Wei Zhenguo immediately got out of the car. From his position, more than thirty meters separated him from the Self-exploder, with a few Ordinary Zombies in between, so the Self-exploder naturally didn¡¯t notice him. ¡°You get ready. If I can¡¯t kill the Self-exploder in one second, causing it to Self Detonate, you need to drive over quickly to pick me up.¡± Wei Zhenguo was still a bit unsure of himself. ¡°You can count on me!¡± Xiang Hongbin patted his chest, confident that Wei Zhenguo could kill the Self- exploder in a second, but prepared for the worst just in case. Chapter 292: 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes )_2 Wei Zhen Guo found the right angle and instantly initiated a Rush. Whoosh A streak of white light flashed by, and all the zombies on the path, including the self-exploders, were smashed into a bloody mist! The self-exploders didn¡¯t have any chance to self-detonate. ¡°Holy shit! Badass!¡± Seeing this, Xiang Hong Bin was utterly amazed, then hurriedly drove over. On the other side, Wei Zhen Guo, seeing his own achievements, suddenly got a little excited. The Level 2 Rush Ability was truly extraordinary! But suddenly, he paused. Why did he feel like he could ascend to Level 2 now? ¡°Old Wei, awesome!¡± Xiang Hong Bin drove over and gave Wei Zhen Guo a thumbs up. But Wei Zhen Guo frowned and said to Xiang Hongbin: ¡°I feel like I can ascend to Level 2...¡± ¡°What? You¡¯ve already integrated four types of Crystal Cores, don¡¯t you need four Ascension Crystal Cores to reach Level 2? Wang Tao did it that way!¡± Xiang Hong Bin was somewhat puzzled. ¡°But I just have this feeling that I could ascend to Level 2 at any moment... Let me concentrate and feel it again.¡± Wei Zhen Guo picked up the Crystal Core from the self-exploder and got into the car. After concentrating in the car for a while, he finally said with certainty: ¡°It¡¯s true! I can ascend to Level 2 now, and I don¡¯t need to sleep for 24 hours, just 6 will do! I also feel that after advancing, I can choose to delete this Rush Ability or pass it on to someone else...¡± Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s feeling was somewhat similar to Wang Tao¡¯s earlier; he could pick any time to advance, and both deleting an Ability and passing it on seemed possible to him. However, unlike Wang Tao, who had to choose his advancement time within three days, Wei Zhen Guo had no specified time; he could advance whenever he liked. Then there was the fact that Wang Tao felt he could delete or pass on any Ability at will, while Wei Zhen Guo could only choose his Level 2 Rush Ability for deletion or inheritance, since it was the only one that was a Level 2 Ability. Level 1 Abilities couldn¡¯t be deleted or passed on. ¡°Ah? You really can advance, and in a different way than Wang Tao? Wang Tao probably didn¡¯t lie to us, otherwise he would¡¯ve advanced already, no need to almost get himself killed... That also means, you two are indeed different...¡± Xiang Hong Bin scratched his head, unsure of the reason, but he already knew the outcome¡ª Wang Tao needed four Ascension Crystal Cores, and after assembling them, he had to advance within three days, or he would automatically advance after three days. Wei Zhen Guo only needed one Crystal Core to advance, and he had no time restrictions... With Wang Tao¡¯s acknowledged strength, could this be the price of being powerful? Both of them looked at each other with surprised expressions, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem; they could just discuss it with Wang Tao after he completed his advancement and learn more then. ¡°Since you can advance now, when do you plan to start?¡± asked Xiang Hong Bin. ¡°Haha, I can¡¯t wait any longer. I¡¯m going back right now to try advancing. I might even reach Level 2 before Wang Tao!¡± Wei Zhen Guo laughed heartily. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s head back now!¡± Xiang Hong Bin immediately drove back to the base. Meanwhile, at the base of Shuizhe Mountain. A zombie emitting green vapors appeared from the woods. ¡°Hehheh...¡± The zombie tilted its head, then started moving toward the south. The second one, the third one... Countless zombies emitting green vapors emerged from the woods, all heading south. When Wei Zhen Guo and the others returned to the base, it was just 12 noon. After a quick meal, Wei Zhen Guo decided it was time to start his Level 2 Ascension. ¡°I¡¯ll start ascending now; I should be able to wake upby sixin the evening!¡± Since he could ascend with just one Ascension Crystal Core, there was no need to search for more. Although he guessed that using four Ascension Crystal Cores might allow him to delete or pass on all four of his Abilities to others, that was totally unnecessary! He had no complaints about his Abilities, and he would have to be insane to delete or pass on even this Rush Ability. So now that he could ascend, he would simply go for it. After he shared the news with the other committee members, they were all intrigued. Wang Tao being so strong was evidently for a reason; even the conditions for his Ascension were different from others... As for Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s decision to ascend now, everyone agreed. After all, having an additional Second-order Superpower Owner in the base meant more strength. Having returned home, Wei Zhen Guo quickly fell into the sleep necessary for Ascension. 4 PM. A member of the Security Army on rooftop duty suddenly furrowed his brows. ¡°What is that...¡± He quickly picked up the binoculars and looked toward the north of the base. Upon seeing clearly, he broke out into a cold sweat. ¡°No good! A large number of zombies are coming from the north! Loads of them!¡± The Security Army member hastily reported over the radio. Shortly after, the entire base was plunged into a frantic atmosphere. After all, the base had only been attacked by zombies the day before yesterday, resulting in heavy losses, casting a shadow over everyone¡¯s hearts. ¡°What¡¯s happening? How many zombies are there?¡± Xiang Hong Bin, who had been practicing Throwing Knife, quickly put down his knives and went to the top of the main building. ¡°Commissioner Xiang, look to the north!¡± The Security Army handed him the binoculars. ¡°Hiss ¡± After one glance, Xiang Hong Bin took a sharp intake of breath. In the binoculars, countless zombies could be seen, all of them a new type with green vapors emanating from their bodies! They had already crossed the bridge over the river and were rapidly approaching the base¡¯s north gate! Chapter 293: 149: Special Energy (Please Support with Monthly Votes )_3 Shuize Base was originally Shuize University, which had several gates; however, the other gates had all been sealed off, leaving only the main gate on the south side open. ¡°Where did all these zombies come from?!¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat baffled. He had gone around Shuize County many times and had never seen zombies of this kind, especially not in such numbers! Ren Jie and the others quickly caught up. ¡°I¡¯ve already sent the word down, instructing most of the survivors to take refuge in the compound building. Wang Tao and Old Wei have also been moved over... What exactly is the situation?¡± As soon as Ren Jie heard about the large number of zombies heading toward the base, he immediately sent out the notice without hesitation, directing those survivors with little combat ability to take shelter in the compound building. After all, they had already learned their lesson from last time. If they could have reacted faster when they encountered the gorilla zombies, maybe more than a hundred lives would not have been lost. Once he had made sure everyone was arranged, he then ran up to join the others. Another member of the Security Army quickly handed over the binoculars to Ren Jie. ¡°...¡± After looking through the binoculars, Ren Jie fell silent for a moment before swearing, ¡°Damn it!¡± The number of zombies at the north gate of the base looked to be in the thousands! How could so many zombies suddenly appear? Moreover, he had never seen this type of zombie before and didn¡¯t know their strength... With so many zombies, it was unlikely they were all Level Two, but they clearly differed from ordinary zombies... If these were all Level 1 Elite Zombies, that could be even more terrifying than the Mad Demon Zombies! The only silver lining now was that they had managed to repair the base¡¯ s defenses, and among the group of approaching zombies, there were no individuals with massive physiques like the gorilla zombies, so theoretically, the base should be able to hold them off... ¡°That place... they¡¯re coming from Shuizhe Mountain! I remember Wang Tao mentioning that students from Shuize University were on Shuizhe Mountain. Could these all be students from Shuize University?¡± Lu Gang suddenly spoke up. When they arrived at the base, there were no people or zombies at Shuize University. It was said that the university was renovating several buildings, but it¡¯s unknown whether there was shoddy construction involved, as the strange smell lingered, prompting the university to give students a few days off. However, later on, Wang Tao mentioned that while the university said it was a holiday, it also organized a sketching and photography trip. Many students went into the Shuizhe Mountain for this outing, and the fees were not cheap. At the time of the virus outbreak, many students were still on the mountain. With over twenty thousand students at Shuize University... how many zombies could there be on that mountain! Hearing Lu Gang mention this, everyone else started to make the connection. They took another careful look through the binoculars, and while they couldn¡¯t make out the features of the zombies to the north, their clothes were relatively trendy and vibrant, likely belonging to the students of Shuize University... ¡°Crap, these zombies... they wouldn¡¯t be coming to reclaim their school, would they?¡± Xiang Hongbin made a joke that fell flat. ¡°What should we do now?¡± Lu Gang asked with a frown. The timing of these zombies¡¯ arrival was truly distressing, exactly when Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo were both in the midst of their Ascension, leaving the base without its two strongest combatants... Ren Jie turned to Xiang Hongbin, who was a combatant. He would know whether they could fight or not. ¡°We can only stay put in the base for now. Since there are no large specimens among these zombies, they shouldn¡¯t be able to breach our defenses. We¡¯ll wait for Old Wei and Wang Tao to awaken before deciding our next move... However, for safety, let¡¯s keep the non-combatants in the compound building at all times,¡± Xiang Hongbin had been scared by the previous gorilla zombie incident. ¡°Alright!¡± These zombies looked stiff in the body, but they moved at a not-so-slow pace. It took them less than twenty minutes to reach the base¡¯s north gate. The north gate of the base was completely sealed off, not just to zombies, but even the people inside the base could not open it. Plus, the walls here were very high, so these zombies had no way to get in. Xiang Hongbin and the others had initially thought that these zombies would be like the ordinary ones, all crowding in one place, incapable of improvisation. Unexpectedly, once they realized they couldn¡¯t get in, they didn¡¯t just linger at the north gate but gradually began to encircle the entire base! Seeing this unfold, everyone had a bad feeling. The base was so large that there were bound to be places with weaker defenses. If the zombies found them... Fortunately, after surrounding the base, these zombies only roared chaotically and did not try to climb the walls like the Mad Demon Zombies. It appeared these zombies didn¡¯t know how to climb. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But then, half an hour later, at five o¡¯clock, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s face suddenly went pale. A light green fog became visible to the naked eye within the base! ¡°These zombies are poisonous! Cough, cough...¡± He felt suddenly much weaker and was seized by a violent cough. Everyone who inhaled the fog seemed as if they had been hit with a Weakness Potion, instantly becoming listless and coughing! ¡°Quick, cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel... Cough, cough...¡± Ren Jie ordered. Not knowing if it would help, they had no other choice. There was some protective gear like hazmat suits in the base, which Xiang Hongbin hurriedly found and had everyone put on. After putting on a gas mask, Xiang Hongbin felt much better. He stopped coughing, and although he was not immediately relieved from the state of weakness, he was slowly recovering. ¡°Thankgoodness these zombies can¡¯t get in¡ª¡± Before he could finish his sentence, he saw a few particularly agile-looking zombies, shrouded in faint green smoke, pushing against the large main gate! They attracted more zombies to the area. Soon, the south main gate was overrun with zombies! This gate had been damaged by the gorilla zombies before and was only patched up; its defensive power was definitely not as good as before. Then, to the horror of all watching, the zombies caused the gate to buckle and deform. And with a ¡°bang,¡± the gate fell apart and collapsed to the ground. ¡°Hehheh...¡± Countless zombies, surrounded by green fumes, entered the base. The green fog inside the base thickened. The zombies reached the base of the compound building, and the green smoke billowed to the sky! ¡°It¡¯s over... If we can¡¯t break out, we might all be poisoned to death...¡± Chapter 294: 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Votes)_i Seeing more and more zombies gathering downstairs and the green poisonous fog growing denser, Xiang Hongbin and his group were left with no choice but to decide to make a break for it! While several committee members had gas masks, the others did not. If everyone else was poisoned to death, then what would be the point of them being the only survivors? Besides, it wasn¡¯t certain that they would survive either. If they didn¡¯t make a move now while they still had the numbers and before everyone had completely lost their combat power, then they would have no choice but to wait for death when most people had become incapacitated! ¡°Are Wang Tao and Old Xiang okay?¡± Xiang Hongbin asked as he strapped several firefighter axes to his body. ¡°They seem to have some immunity to this poison in their sleeping state... But just to be safe, I¡¯ve put gas masks on them too...¡± Ren Jie replied. ¡°Alright, that puts my mind at ease!¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded, then went downstairs. Looking at the group of people who covered their mouths and noses with cloth, he sighed internally before speaking with a resolute tone: Everyone, I will not say much more. I just want to tell you, this is the end of the world! If you want to be safe, then you have to fight for your life! If we don¡¯t take out those poisonous zombies outside, we will surely die. But if we go out and deal with them now, we still have a chance to live! So, follow me and rush out!¡± ¡°Rush!¡± Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo were still asleep, so Xiang Hongbin, being the strongest combat force of the base, had to set an example. Squeak¡ª The iron gate downstairs opened, emitting sharp, scraping sounds. ¡°Hehe...¡± The zombies, sensitive to noise, detected the movement and immediately rushed frantically towards the door. Then. Boom¡ª A faint white glow flashed by as Xiang Hongbin made a rush from inside the building straight outside. He knocked over a dozen zombies, but they didn¡¯t die! ¡°They didn¡¯t die!¡± Xiang Hongbin was taken aback. With that one rush, he could instantly kill mad demon zombies and some HP-weak elite zombies! But these poisonous fog zombies, they didn¡¯t die? Boom¡ª Promptly, several other rushes occurred-there was no shortage of ability users who had learned the Rush Ability. However, like Xiang Hongbin, most of them couldn¡¯t instantly kill these poisonous fog zombies. There were still instances of kills, but those were when several people rushed onto the same zombie at the same time... Seeing this situation, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s expression turned grim. Even without the poisonous fog, these zombies were stronger than the mad demon zombies! Probably not inferior to the elite zombies, it¡¯s just not clear if these zombies were elite zombies... But now that they had already charged out, it was pointless to talk about anything else; they had no choice but to fight! Bang- Xiang Hongbin unleashed a shockwave at the group of poisonous fog zombies that he had knocked to the ground. The zombies were hit by the shockwave and flung about in disarray, but still, none died. It was only after the second shockwave that some of the poisonous fog zombies finally died at his hands. ¡°At least two or three hits are needed to kill these zombies!¡± With his current strength, if he were to ambush elite zombies, it would also take two or three hits. This meant that in terms of defensive power, these zombies were essentially on par with elite zombies! Although Xiang Hongbin could kill these zombies in a few hits, there were too many of them-possibly tens of thousands! If they were all before him, then even if his axe became blunt from chopping, he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill them all! What troubled Xiang Hongbin even more was that, even after killing these zombies, their bodies would still release green poisonous fog! ¡°Damn it, not even a Crystal Core! They¡¯re not elite zombies after all...¡± Xiang Hongbin took the opportunity to pry open the head of a poisonous fog zombie and found that there was no Crystal Core inside. However, there was still some good news; Xiang Hongbin discovered that these zombies had no other attacking abilities apart from being high in HP and defensive power and able to release poison. Compared to many elite zombies, these poisonous fog zombies were relatively easier to deal with in head-on combat. Of course, this relative ease was only in comparison to Xiang Hongbin. For others, these poisonous fog zombies were not so easy to handle. Especially after many had inhaled the poisonous fog, their strength diminished significantly. Already difficult to fight, and now with their combat power reduced, they became even harder to tackle. ¡°Ah-¡± An ability user suddenly screamed in agony as a zombie bit into his neck from behind. He writhed wildly, trying to break free, but more zombies crowded in, and he quickly fell silent without a chance to use his inhibitor... ¡°Shit!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed quietly, then smashed the head of the zombie that had just tangled with him. He witnessed the scene from a distance, but was surrounded by zombies and couldn¡¯t offer support. He could only redirect his anger towards these zombies. But this casualty was just the beginning. Soon, casualties started to occur one after another. Those with luck on their side were saved by their companions and quickly drank an inhibitor. The unlucky ones were bitten to death on the spot without a chance to use their inhibitor. Xiang Hongbin watched as survivors kept dying one after another, heedless of the danger, he charged into the throng of zombies and killed over a dozen in just a few moments, his combat power seeming to grow even stronger. But he alone was not enough; there were simply too many zombies! In one moment, as Xiang Hongbin swung his axe at a poisonous fog zombie, the creature dodged by tilting its head, avoiding the strike, and then it slapped him hard across the chest. Chapter 295: 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Monthly Votes )_2 Bang- Hong Bin was sent flying and landed amidst a horde of zombies! Whoosh¡ª A streak of light from a Rush skill flashed by, and Han Rui arrived just in time to snatch Hong Bin out of the jaws of death. ¡°Holy shit! How is it so strong, cough cough¡ª¡± Blood spilled from the corners of Hong Bin¡¯s mouth as Han Rui dragged him away. Turning her head, Han Rui gazed at the zombie that was obviously larger than the other Poisonous Fog Zombies, and sensing the significantly greater strength within its body, she said solemnly, ¡°This is a Level 2 Zombie!¡± ¡°What? A Level 2 Zombie!¡± Hong Bin¡¯s face immediately turned pale. If it were just an Elite Zombie, then it might only be a bit stronger or have some other characteristic traits. It would still be manageable. But if it were a Level 2 Zombie, that would mean an enhancement in all aspects! Even the weakest Level 2 Zombies would be hard to handle by their Level 1 selves, especially since Wang Tao and Wei Zhen Guo were not among them... ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be...¡± Before Hong Bin could finish speaking, he saw the zombie that had attacked him sprint at a comparatively high speed directly into the crowd. Then, it swung its palm that was emitting green smoke. Bang- In an instant, several survivors were sent flying, coughing up blood in midair. But they were the fortunate ones; the unlucky ones had their heads struck directly, smashing open like watermelons! ¡°Damn, it really is a Level 2 Zombie!¡± Witnessing this scene, Hong Bin no longer harbored any illusions. Such combat power that instantly killed Level 1 ability users had to belong to a Level 2 or higher zombie! But why, why would there still be Level 2 Zombies!? They couldn¡¯t even deal with ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies, and now there was a Level 2 Zombie; how were they supposed to live through this! Hong Bin himself wasn¡¯t afraid; at worst, he would die, feeling that surviving this long in the apocalypse was already a profit. It was just that he found it painful to watch these survivors die¡ªafter all, they were the people he was protecting! ¡°Shall we two go and try to handle this Level 2 Zombie?¡± After catching his breath, Hong Bin looked to Han Rui and said. ¡°Yes!¡± Han Rui¡¯s expression was resolute. If they allowed this Level 2 Zombie to rampage among the crowd, then more survivors would die. They had to step in! ¡°And me!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an, holding a homemade spear, rushed over. His only skill was the Slime Spitter Ability, but it was a very good control ability. If someone could coordinate with him, it should be rather effective. ¡°I¡¯m in too!¡± The voice of Lu Gang came through the walkie-talkie. Everyone looked up to see an arrow protruding from a window of the comprehensive building. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s... rush!¡± Hong Bin briefly outlined his plan, and then Han Rui was the first to charge forward. Boom¡ª With a Rush, Han Rui knocked over a few ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies and got close to the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. The appearance of Han Rui immediately caught the attention of the zombie, which roared and ran quickly towards her. But just as it charged to Han Rui¡¯s front, a flash of white light appeared, and Hong Bin, accompanied by Feng Ming¡¯an, materialized behind the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Then Feng Ming¡¯an vomited a stream of slime at the zombie. Blargh¡ª A large lump of white slime spewed out, covering the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie completely! The zombie¡¯s speed began to slow, and its body turned stiff. ¡°It¡¯s effective!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an immediately rejoiced. He had rarely used his Slime Spitter Ability on Level 2 Zombies before. It was ineffective against the Gorilla Zombie, and the Hooded Zombie was too fast for him to hit, which almost made Feng Ming¡¯an despair. Fortunately, it now worked on this Level 2 Zombie, and it was effective. Whoosh¡ª At that moment, a stainless steel arrow suddenly flew out from the comprehensive building and rapidly approached the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Pu-ch¡ª The arrow penetrated the zombie¡¯s ear and lodged inside its head. The Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s body stiffened. ¡°Eh? Did it die?¡± Before they could rejoice, the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie suddenly let out a roar and the solidified white slime on its body burst open. Whirr¡ª The Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie instantly broke free! With the arrow still sticking out of its head, it frantically attacked the people around. Bang! The unlucky Hong Bin became the primary target and was once again slapped away by the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an took the opportunity to strike the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie a few times but felt it was ineffective. ¡°Hehe...¡± After being attacked, the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a green substance, flying straight at FengMing¡¯an. Feng Ming¡¯an, seeing he couldn¡¯t dodge, simply opened his mouth and vomited at the green substance. Blargh¡ª The white slime instantly merged with the green substance and enveloped it. However, this green poisonous fog seemed corrosive, and within the blink of an eye, Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s white slime was completely corroded! But by then, Han Rui had already grabbed Feng Ming¡¯an and used her Rush Ability to flee. ¡°Damn! No wonder it¡¯s a Level 2 Zombie, so tough to beat!¡± Hong Bin said with a grim expression. If they didn¡¯t take down this Level 2 Zombie, the other survivors would eventually be killed by the zombies! ¡°Should we use the anti-materiel sniper rifle?¡± The voice of Lu Gang came from the walkie-talkie. The anti-materiel sniper rifle was powerful, and if they found the right opportunity, there was a good chance that they could kill this Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. But the problem was that the sniper rifle was loud, and if they fired it, they would likely draw the nearby Mad Demon Zombies as well! Chapter 296: 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Chapter 296: Chapter 150: Poisonous Fog Zombie (Seeking Guaranteed Monthly Votes)_3 There were already so many Poisonous Fog Zombies here; if we attracted a Mad Demon Zombie as well, that would be adding fuel to the fire! Hongbin hesitated for a moment before nodding firmly. ¡°Use it! We have no choice, if we can take down this Level 2 Zombie, then it¡¯s worth it even if we attract a Mad Demon Zombie!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Lu Gang responded, then took out his black and thick sniper rifle, ¡°But you guys need to create an opportunity for me...¡± ¡°No problem, just wait!¡± After discussing with the others, Hongbin and his group launched another attack on the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. They planned to execute the same strategy as before, with Han Rui drawing the zombie¡¯s attention while Hongbin and Feng Ming¡¯an launched a surprise attack from behind to control the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie, even if just for a second, which would be enough time for Lu Gang to shoot. However, this time an accident occurred. When Han Rui rushed forward to attract the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s attention, it seemed to activate a sprint ability, instantly covering several meters and appearing before Han Rui. Bang- Han Rui was slapped away by a palm. ¡°Pfft-¡± Fortunately, Han Rui landed among the survivors without being attacked by other zombies, but she spat out a large mouthful of blood. Hongbin didn¡¯t have time to worry about Han Rui; he immediately sprinted with Feng Ming¡¯an to the back of the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie, where Feng Ming¡¯an vomited at the zombie. Vomit¡ª A large amount of white slime once again immobilized the Level 2 Zombie. The zombie¡¯s body stiffened, and at the same time, a loud gunshot rang out. Bang! Half of the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s face was gone! However, it didn¡¯t die; the solidified slime on its body exploded instantly, and with a furious roar, it charged straight at Feng Ming¡¯an. This zombie clearly wasn¡¯t as perceptive as the Hooded Zombie and the Gorilla Zombie; it didn¡¯t realize who had attacked it and instinctively assumed that Feng Ming¡¯ an was the attacker. But Feng Ming¡¯an was well-prepared. Knowing that his attack power wasn¡¯t strong and difficult to improve, he had worked harder on his defense. He took out the homemade steel shield from his back and held it directly in front of him. Clang¡ª The zombie¡¯s attack struck the shield, nearly knocking Feng Ming¡¯an off his feet, but fortunately, Hongbin was behind him to brace him. ¡°What a huge strength!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an shook his numb arm. ¡°Give me the shield; you find a chance to spit at it one more time!¡± After taking the shield from Hongbin, he charged straight at the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Bang! The two collided. The Rush Ability was indeed powerful; Hongbin briefly held his own against the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie, and while he did, Feng Ming¡¯an ran to the zombie¡¯s back. Vomit¡ª A large cluster of white slime once again immobilized the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie! Seeing that Feng Ming¡¯an was in position, Hongbin immediately withdrew to avoid being hit by the vomiting slime. Bang¡ª Another loud gunshot rang out. Splat¡ª This time, the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s head burst like a watermelon, and at the same time, a blue crystal core popped out. ¡°It¡¯s dead!¡± Hongbin quickly picked up the Crystal Core and then hustled back to the base of the comprehensive building with Feng Ming¡¯an. ¡°The Level 2 Zombie is dead; nobody needs to be afraid. As long as we kill these Ordinary Zombies, we will be safe!¡± Hongbin loudly encouraged the survivors. Hearing that the inside Level 2 Zombie had been killed, everyone indeed seemed to be on a adrenaline rush, attacking much more fiercely. Hongbin, carrying Feng Ming¡¯an, joined Han Rui. The three of them had suffered varying degrees of injury, with Han Rui suffering the most. The blow from the zombie was too fierce; she felt as if her internal organs had shifted. Next was Hongbin, who still had blood in his mouth, presumably suffering internal injuries as well, but since his defense was higher than Han Rui¡¯s, his injuries were relatively lighter. Feng Ming¡¯an was better off; he wasn¡¯t hurt much, but the continuous use of the Slime Spitter Ability, especially at full volume, caused his face to turn pale, and his stomach was in great discomfort. ¡°The Mad Demon Zombie has already been attracted...¡± Han Rui looked at the mad demon zombies attracted by the gunfire, running towards the base, her expression extremely ugly. There was no choice in the matter, between mad demon zombies and Level 2 zombies, a sacrifice had to be made. In everyone¡¯s minds, the Level 2 zombies were still the most terrifying. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we continue to fight!¡± Han Rui struggled to stand up. Both she and Xiang Hongbin were seriously injured, but survivors were periodically bitten to death by zombies. If they didn¡¯t act, even more people would die! ¡°Fight!¡± Xiang Hongbin also took a deep breath and then charged back into the horde of zombies. Ten minutes later, Xiang Hongbin rescued a survivor and, gasping for breath, said: ¡°These zombies, it¡¯s like they can never be fully eradicated...¡± He felt he had already killed many Poisonous Fog Zombies, but now there were still so many, and the fog was even denser! There was simply no way to fight this! Feng Ming¡¯an next to him hadn¡¯t had the chance to speak when he suddenly felt a pain in his back. Thud- Feng Ming¡¯an was instantly sent flying, tasting blood in his mouth as it stained his face mask red. By the time Xiang Hongbin and Han Rui reacted, Feng Ming¡¯an had already fallen into the zombie horde. ¡°Old Feng!¡± Xiang Hongbin instinctively called out, but Han Rui immediately pulled him away. It was then he noticed that where they had just been standing, a Poisonous Fog Zombie appeared, one that was even bigger than the Level 2 zombie they had killed before! ¡°This zombie, it suddenly jumped in from outside. By the time I noticed, it was already too late!¡± Han Rui quickly explained. ¡°A Level 2 Zombie! How can there still be Level 2 zombies!¡± Xiang Hongbin exclaimed in shock. ¡°Da da da¡ª¡± At that moment, intense gunfire erupted from the building, all directed at Feng Ming¡¯an¡¯s position. Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t know whether they could save Feng Ming¡¯an, because he had no time to think¡ª the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie immediately spat a mouthful of green liquid at Xiang Hongbin. Sizzle¡ª Xiang Hongbin dodged most of the liquid, but some still landed on him. He felt his gas mask sizzling and quickly removed it, only to see that the mask had been corroded! ¡°Cough cough¡ª¡± Without the mask and inhaling the outside poisonous fog, Xiang Hongbin felt extremely uncomfortable. The corroded mask was emitting dense green vapors that drilled into Xiang Hongbin¡¯s nose, instantly making him feel a heavy weight in his body. As the zombies came at him, Xiang Hongbin tried to dodge, but found he was unable to move his feet... ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± Despair filled Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes. Whoosh¡ª Suddenly, a figure appeared beside Xiang Hongbin and sent the Level 2 zombie flying. Bang! The zombie flew more than ten meters and crashed heavily into the horde. ¡°Old Wei!¡± Seeing the familiar figure, Xiang Hongbin was momentarily stunned, then his face lit up with excitement. ¡°You¡¯ve successfully reached Level 2!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Wei Zhenguo, who wasn¡¯t even wearing a gas mask, glanced at everyone and confidently shouted ¡°Everyone fall back, leave the rest to me!¡± Only after ascending to Level 2 could one understand how powerful it was! He could sense that the zombie in front of him was a Level 2 zombie, but not an exceptionally strong one, probably just like him, newly ascended to Level 2 not long ago. He was confident he could handle a Level 2 zombie like this! So, Wei Zhenguo quickly charged at the Level 2 zombie! As long as he dealt with this Level 2 zombie, the Level 1 zombies posed no problem to him! But suddenly, he came to a screeching halt! He saw one, two, three... more than ten of the same kind of bulky Poisonous Fog Zombies slowly emerging from the horde! Their pale white eyes were fixed dead on Wei Zhenguo. Wei Zhenguo:¡±...¡± Chapter 297: 151 Fusion of the New Superpower_l Chapter 297: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower_l Wei Zhen Guo subconsciously rubbed his eyes. ¡°One, two, three... Eleven Level 2 Zombies! Is this for real? Weren¡¯t all the Level 2 Zombies in Shuize County gone? Where did these come from?¡± He had woken up to find the base surrounded by zombies, and after quickly grasping the situation, he immediately rushed out. He still didn¡¯t know where these zombies had come from. Of course, now was not the time to fret over the origins of the zombies but how to handle so many Level 2 Zombies! Fight? This was eleven Level 2 Zombies we¡¯re talking about! The chances of him being able to defeat them were next to none! Run? Wei Zhen Guo turned to look at those hopeful eyes behind him; he couldn¡¯t run! He wasn¡¯t the sort to abandon the base and flee for his life! And to be honest, it wasn¡¯t certain whether he could even manage to escape... ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s first try and test their strength!¡± Wei Zhen Guo set his sights on the Level 2 Zombie he had knocked away earlier and then activated Rush. Whoosh- Bang! He once again slammed into the zombie with pinpoint accuracy. ¡°Hehheh...¡± The Poisonous Fog Zombie was left somewhat dazed by the impact but didn¡¯t fall down this time. Seizing the opportunity, Wei Zhen Guo picked up an axe and chopped down on the Poisonous Fog Zombie¡¯s head. Crack¡ª Wei Zhen Guo thought he heard the sound of bone cracking, but the Poisonous Fog Zombie was not to be taken lightly. It stretched out its arms, grabbed hold of Wei Zhen Guo and then opened its gaping mouth, aiming to bite down on his neck. Wei Zhen Guo felt the zombie¡¯s arms were like iron hoops, binding him tightly. ¡°Ah! Get off me!¡± With all his strength, Wei Zhen Guo finally broke free from the zombie¡¯s embrace just before getting bitten, and then forcefully kicked the zombie. Bang¡ª The zombie was sent flying by the kick. Taking advantage of the momentum, Wei Zhen Guo chased after it, and the moment it hit the ground, he was beside the zombie, lifting his axe and chopping down towards its head. Crack¡ª Another sound of bone cracking followed. Wei Zhen Guo knew that one more axe blow and the zombie would be dead! But by then, the other Level 2 Zombies had already approached. If he swung his axe one more time, he would undoubtedly be met with a group beating! In the blink of an eye, Wei Zhen Guo steeled his heart and delivered the third axe blow. Squelch! The zombie¡¯s head exploded, and it stopped struggling instantly. By now, however, the other Level 2 Zombies had surrounded Wei Zhen Guo. They flailed their arms, aiming their dark, ink-like claws at him. With no time to extract the Crystal Core, Wei Zhen Guo evaded the attacks from several zombies using his exquisite footwork. However, he was still struck by an attack to his chest. Bang! Wei Zhen Guo was knocked back several meters. Glancing at his deformed chest plate, his expression turned grim. Although he seemed unharmed, only he knew the full weight of the zombie¡¯s slap! Wei Zhen Guo felt that these Level 2 Zombies were not as strong as he had thought, certainly weaker than the Hooded Zombies. But these were still Level 2 Zombies, not to be confused with Level 1 Zombies! And the number was simply terrifying! He basically had no chance of winning! ¡°Hehheh...¡± Looking outside, the number of Mad Demon Zombies was increasing, and some of them were even fighting with the Poisonous Fog Zombies... Wei Zhen Guo knew that the only way to win against these zombies was to wait for Wang Tao to wake up! ¡°There are too many Level 2 Zombies; I can¡¯t beat them. Hold them off, wait for Wang Tao to wake up!¡± Wei Zhen Guo turned back and said to Xiang Hongbin and the others. Xiang Hongbin and the others were numb with shock. They had thought that once Wei Zhen Guo woke up, he¡¯d be able to turn the tide of battle. But they hadn¡¯t expected there to be so many Level 2 Zombies! Even though Wei Zhen Guo had managed to kill one Level 2 Zombie at the cost of personal injury, there were still ten more to go! ¡°It¡¯s not easy to drag this out, the poison fog emitted from these zombies makes us weak, causes coughing. Some people are even coughing up blood!¡± Feng Ming¡¯an spoke somewhat helplessly. Wei Zhen Guo hadn¡¯t really paid attention to this issue, because the poison fog from Level 1 Zombies didn¡¯t affect him much as a Level Two. He could feel a slight reduction in his strength, but it was minor and didn¡¯t impact his combat ability. It was only the poison fog from the Level 2 Zombies that made him somewhat uncomfortable... But for others it was different, Abilities Users like Xiang Hongbin were weakened and the rest might even face a risk to their lives! While Wei Zhen Guo was contemplating, two more Level 2 Zombies attacked, the rest of the Level 2 Zombies charged at others. He quickly defended against a few strikes, then turned his head and asked: ¡°When did Wang Tao start his Level 2 Ascension yesterday?¡± ¡°Around eight o¡¯clock in the evening...¡± Han Rui gave it some thought before replying. It was just past six now, still two hours to go! After momentarily pushing back the two Level 2 Zombies in front of him, Wei Zhen Guo turned and shouted to everyone: ¡°Folks, we just need to hold on for two more hours! If we can just endure for another two hours, we¡¯ll be saved! We must keep fighting, even if it costs us our lives, until we reach that two-hour mark!¡± The worst thing about ¡°holding on¡± is not having a precise time. Saying to hold on is futile if there is no hope in sight, as there¡¯s no motivation to do so. But give them a specific time, for example, that holding on for two more hours could lead to rescue, and the willpower naturally surges. Even though some people were at their limit, they forced themselves to gather their spirits and engaged in a desperate fight with the zombies. After all, they had no other option! ¡°Use all available weapons, call out everyone who can fight, all we need is to last two hours! If we can¡¯t make it for two hours, then we¡¯re left with only one path: death!¡± Chapter 298: 151 Fusion of the New Superpower ! Chapter 298: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower ! Wei Zhenguo immediately spoke into the intercom. ¡°Cough cough, okay!¡± Ren Jie¡¯s voice came from inside. This was a moment of life or death for Shuize Base, no one could escape, they couldn¡¯t hold anything back, they could only make a last stand! Soon, a group of people emerged from the comprehensive building. Men and women, old and young, they carried homemade weapons, their frightened expressions mingled with determination. Ren Jie, with a pistol in hand, walked at the forefront, followed closely by Liu He with a backpack on his back. Gao Hua held two axes, trailing behind Ding Yuqin by a step. A fierce look on his face, he said, ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t worry, my life was given by elder brother, even if I die, I will protect you!¡± ¡°Thank you...¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat nervous, but she did not shrink back. Li Qiuyu, Huo Ziyi, and a host of other women followed behind Ding Yuqin with fearful faces. Ren Jie had ordered these women to follow Ding Yuqin¡¯s command. They were not the main force in combat, but were there to help prepare ammunition, medical supplies, inhibitors, etc. If they had the ability to kill zombies, they could join the fight. If not, they were to be honest and handle logistics. Wei Zhenguo had already brought out all of the base¡¯s trump cards; if they could not hold out for another two hours, then there was nothing more he could do. As for whether they could be rescued after holding out for two hours, Wei Zhenguo didn¡¯t want to think too much about it, because he needed to give himself some hope. After the survivors came out, they immediately attracted the attention of the zombies downstairs. These poisonous fog zombies and mad demon zombies all ran toward the crowd. ¡°Da da da¡ª¡± However, a group from the Security Army rushed out of the building, instantly stopping the zombies¡¯ advance with their bullets. The green poisonous fog was getting thicker and darker, and since it was drifting upwards slowly, it severely affected the vision of the Security Army. They could no longer see the zombies clearly from above, and if they didn¡¯t come down, their bullets were certain to hit their comrades. There were many sandbags underneath the comprehensive building. More than a dozen members of the Security Army immediately used the sandbags as cover, hiding behind them to attack the zombies. The survivors took up arms and also crouched behind the sandbags, ready to kill any zombies that broke through. In the last crisis with the gorilla zombies, more than half of the people inside Shuize Base had died. Now, those who were left, with a few exceptions, all had HP over a thousand. Their physical fitness was much stronger than that of ordinary people. Although they couldn¡¯t kill these zombies in one second, at least they weren¡¯t unable to breach their defenses. As long as they had enough people and accurate hits, they could kill the poisonous fog zombies and mad demon zombies by working together in groups. With the addition of these remaining people, the ability users who had come out to fight suddenly felt the pressure ease. But they had no time to rest, because the Level Two zombies had found them! These Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies, although not strong among their kind, were still very tough even for Xiang Hongbin and the others, combined with Lu Gang¡¯s sniping. So, when these Level 1 ability users faced the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies, they had virtually no power to fight back! In just a few minutes, several ability users were bitten to death by the Level 2 zombies. ¡°Ah!¡± Seeing this, Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes turned red with anger. He immediately charged forward, drawing the attention of the Level 2 zombies to himself. Originally, Wei Zhenguo¡¯s plan was to let others bear the brunt of the Level 2 zombies¡¯ attacks while he and Xiang Hongbin focused their strength on a single Level 2 zombie. After all, killing one Level 2 zombie would greatly reduce the pressure on everyone. But the Level 2 zombies easily overpowered the ordinary Level 1 ability users. These people had almost no ability to resist and were slain after just a few blows! Wei Zhenguo had to change tactics, becoming a firefighter, rushing to wherever there was danger. Although this indeed saved many people, there was now little chance of killing a Level 2 zombie. Nevertheless, the casualties continued to rise. Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes turned even redder, and he unleashed unprecedented combat power, managing to hold off five Level 2 zombies by himself! As for the remaining five, he was powerless to do anything about them, and had to leave them to others. Xiang Hongbin injected himself with a Rejuvenation Potion and, like a return to light, temporarily stood in the way of a Level 2 zombie¡¯s advance. Han Rui and Feng Ming¡¯an joined forces to hold off a Level 2 zombie, but they were being pushed back. Ren Jie and Liu He, along with a few ability users, held back a Level 2 zombie. Their strength was not great, and the reason they could keep the zombie at bay was purely because Liu He¡¯s backpack was full of homemade bombs! He distributed several bombs to each person, which held off the Level 2 zombie. This Level 2 zombie looked the most miserable of them all, its body torn and bones exposed, yet its combat power was undiminished. The group¡¯s homemade bombs couldn¡¯t be thrown at will, and they were afraid of hitting their own, which made them hesitant... The last Level 2 zombie was tackled by a group of more than twenty ability users. But compared to the Level 2 zombie, these people were falling far short. Even with their numbers, they had no advantage¡ªthey struggled to breach the zombie¡¯s defenses, while a single blow from it could leave them dead or crippled! ¡°Inhibitor! Inhibitor!¡± Someone who had been scratched by a zombie ran back, yelling desperately. The time for the zombie virus to cause mutation and infection could be from one minute to 24 hours, and if luck was bad, there might be no hope after a minute! Chapter 299: 151 Fusion of the New Superpower 3 Chapter 299: Chapter 151 Fusion of the New Superpower 3 Li Qiuyu quickly took out a bottle of inhibitor and jogged over to hand it to the other person. ¡°Thank you!¡± The other person quickly chugged it down. ¡°Ugh... Ah...¡± Then he clenched his fists tightly, veins throbbing angrily all over his body, and let out a painful roar from his mouth. Li Qiuyu, seeing the person in pain, was very afraid, worried that he would turn into a zombie. Seeing this, Ding Yuqin explained to Li Qiuyu: Qiu Yu, don¡¯t worry, this is normal. Once he gets through this, he¡¯ll be fine! They are all real men; they can get through this!¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t dare to look any longer, and quickly took out several more bottles of inhibitor to deliver to others in need. Suddenly, Li Qiuyu¡¯s body stiffened-a feeling of being watched lingered in her heart. She looked around nervously, but all she saw were survivors, zombies, and green smoke in the distance; she didn¡¯t discover anything. Li Qiuyu shivered subconsciously and hurriedly continued to distribute the inhibitor. Outside Shuize Base, atop a certain building, a figure with red-glowing eyes was watching Li Qiuyu intently. Ascending felt amazing. After falling asleep, Wang Tao was in a strange state where ¡°he was conscious and could feel himself, but not the outside world.¡± It was somewhat like a lucid dream¡ªhe knew he was dreaming, but he couldn¡¯t wake up or change the dream. Wang Tao could clearly sense his body getting stronger bit by bit, a sensation that was very distinct and exhilarating! It even made Wang Tao think he never wanted to wake up. Of course, Wang Tao knew this was impossible. He only had 24 hours, and he was bound to wake up when time was up-Wang Tao had discovered that the longer he slept during ascension, the greater the increase in his strength! And the length of sleep was related to how many ascension crystal cores he merged, or rather, how many Level 2 Abilities he had! During Level 2 Ascension, having one Level 2 Ability meant six hours of sleep, which equated to six hours of strengthening time. Since all four of Wang Tao¡¯s abilities were Level 2, he would sleep for 24 hours! Only then did he understand that it wasn¡¯t absolutely necessary to raise all abilities to Level 2 before formally ascending. As for why he had to merge four ascension crystal cores... he didn¡¯t know, he could only say that he indeed was different from others. However, this was good because ascending to Level 2 after merging four ascension crystal cores was the way to maximize strength improvement! If he hurried to advance after merging only one ascension crystal core, it would be somewhat of a waste... Bored, Wang Tao started studying his attribute panel. Then he discovered he could now control the special energy in the grey bar. He had 5160 special energy, and all his abilities were Level 2 Abilities. Thus, whether he extracted or fused, each time would consume 5000 energy. There was no need to think about it; it must be fusion. Extraction meant he could switch to a new ability, and his old ability could be used by others. But fusion meant he could merge two abilities into one! It was as if he could learn an additional ability! However, fusion had a success rate, and Wang Tao needed to see if there was a chance for fusion. If there really was no chance, then he wouldn¡¯t go through with it. As Wang Tao thought about fusion, a table appeared in front of him in an instant. The table listed the several fusion methods for his four abilities, and each method¡¯s probability of success. [Shockwave + Precision Shooting (10%)] [Shockwave + Toughness (10%)] [Shockwave + Self-healing (15%)] [Precision Shooting + Toughness (40%)] [Precision Shooting + Self-healing (55%)] [Toughness + Self-healing (95%)] Seeing this information, Wang Tao immediately excluded the first five options; after all, the maximum chance was only 55%, not worth the risk. The success rate for fusing ¡°Toughness¡± with ¡°Self-healing¡± was as high as 95%! Wang Tao felt his luck was usually good, so this probability shouldn¡¯t lead to failure, right? After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao decided to fuse these two abilities! As for which was the primary and which was the secondary, Wang Tao placed ¡°Self-healing¡± in the primary position and ¡°Toughness¡± in the secondary. If the fusion failed, the primary ability would remain unchanged, but the secondary ability would disappear. Self-healing was a rarer ability, and he had collected it with difficulty, so it was safer to put it in the primary position. At the moment of deciding to fuse, Wang Tao saw his special energy in the grey bar decrease by a full 5000, leaving just 160. The icon for his Toughness ability entered the Self-healing ability icon, and after a flash of colorful light, a new prompt appeared. [Fusion successful, acquired new superpower: Level 2 Tier 1-Barrier] [Barrier: During duration, it can enhance defense and slowly recover certain injuries (side effect: none)] Seeing this new superpower ¡°Barrier,¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. He had indeed managed to combine the two abilities into one! He now had only three abilities left, which meant he could fuse an additional new ability! Just as Wang Tao was thinking about which new ability to fuse, he seemed to slowly begin to sense some movement from the outside world. ¡°I¡¯m waking up!¡± At a certain moment. Wang Tao suddenly opened his eyes. Then he realized something was pressing on his face, partially obstructing his vision. Wang Tao touched his face. ¡°A shattered gas mask?¡± He hurriedly sat up, finding that he was not in his villa room but in the comprehensive building. The room was in ruins, all glass items including the windows had shattered, as if there had been a severe explosion. ¡°Something¡¯s happened!¡± Wang Tao first checked his attributes, which showed no negative states, and then he opened the door to the room. Just as he was about to listen outside, he heard a sudden ¡°thud,¡± as if something heavy had hit the ground. His second-order superpower owner¡¯s intuition sensed that a very powerful Level 2 zombie had appeared outside! Wang Tao quickly went downstairs and kicked open the front door with one foot. Bang- Chapter 300: 152 Tragic_l Chapter 300: Chapter 152 Tragic_l ¡°What time is it...¡± Han Rui leaned against the corner, her face covered in blood, with a broken gas mask nearby. She felt that her mouth was the only part of her that could still move. ¡°It¡¯s...¡± Xiang Hongbin struggled to lift his wrist, but he found his watch was shattered at some point, ¡°I don¡¯t know either... But it¡¯s definitely late, the sky¡¯s already dark...¡± ¡°We must be about to die...¡± A survivor murmured to himself. No one answered him. Bang- Wei Zhenguo, who was fighting the last four Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies in the distance, was sent flying by one of the zombies, then he landed in the middle of the group. ¡°Heh... Old Wei, aren¡¯t you ignoring the facts, saying you could easily handle these zombies?¡± Xiang Hongbin forced a smile and said. ¡°Damn!¡± Wei Zhenguo cursed as he struggled to get up, but his left leg gave out and he ended up kneeling on one knee. The strength of these Level 2 Zombies was far less compared to the Hooded Zombies and Gorilla Zombies they had encountered before. But even the weakest among them was still a Level 2 Zombie! Wei Zhenguo fought as if his life depended on it, and with the assistance of the others, especially the lethal shots fired by Lu Gang with his anti-material sniper rifle, they had barely managed to kill eight Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies. But there were still three left! All the surviving combatants were at the end of their strength. Many were on their last breath, and facing these three Level 2 Zombies, they had no energy left to resist... ¡°Is today really the day we die... I can¡¯t accept this!¡± Wei Zhenguo felt extremely bitter. He had just reached Level 2 today, thinking he would be able to dominate Shuize County, but as soon as he left the base, he encountered so many Level 2 Zombies... He was not willing to accept this! ¡°Hehe...¡± In the darkness, three Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies, along with a large group of Poisonous Fog Zombies, closed in on the group, and outside, a pack of Mad Demon Zombies was eagerly waiting for their turn. Click-click¡ª The Security Army soldiers pulled their triggers, but no bullets remained. ¡°It feels like these zombies have become smarter... They didn¡¯t just swarm and overrun us; are they actually enjoying watching us slowly perish?¡± Ding Yuqin felt somewhat desperate. Everyone was silent, with no idea how to answer. There was indeed something off about these zombies. The base was already in dire straits¡ªfacing ten Level 2 Zombies along with countless Poisonous Fog Zombies and Mad Demon Zombies, after all. But unexpectedly, most of the zombies suddenly stopped their attack. Some Poisonous Fog Zombies even deliberately tried to block the Mad Demon Zombies! Only those Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies and the ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies surrounding them were still attacking the people. It was as if... the zombies were providing the survivors with a fair fighting chance? Even so, everyone was on the verge of collapse... It was already dark, with only the feeble light from the emergency lamps beneath the multi-purpose building providing any illumination. Where the light didn¡¯t reach, among the green poisonous fog, the zombies appeared sporadically, creating a chilling scene. Watching the approaching zombies, Wei Zhenguo was ready to fight against them when Ren Jie suddenly stood up. ¡°Now, it¡¯s my turn...¡± ¡°Huh? Old Ren? What can your old bones do?¡± Xiang Hongbin said with a weakness in his voice, showing his disdain. ¡°What can I do? Haha, maybe I can take one with me, cough cough...¡± Ren Jie wasn¡¯t a combatant and had been working in logistics at the back. Now that the ammo was almost gone, there wasn¡¯t much logistics work left for him to do. ¡°You... what are you planning to do?¡± Wei Zhenguo turned his head and glared at Ren Jie. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m going to kill zombies! Haha!¡± Ren Jie laughed out loud, and as he stood up, five more people stood up after him, all of them women. Seeing this scene, Xiang Hongbin, as if remembering something, stared at Ren Jie in amazement. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, follow me to kill zombies!¡± Ren Jie took a big step forward, with the five women closely following behind him. ¡°Ren Jie!¡± Xiang Hongbin yelled out. Ren Jie turned to glance at him, then resolutely ran towards the swarm of Poisonous Fog Zombies, accompanied by the women, charging at the zombies. The zombies noticed the targets and immediately ran towards Ren Jie¡¯s group. ¡°Ren Jie¡ª¡± Wei Zhenguo roared. They saw Ren Jie and the women collide with the zombie horde, and without even resisting, they were easily seized by the zombies. Then. Boom¡ª A loud explosion ensued, and Ren Jie along with the women became a cloud of blood mist. Dozens of zombies were blown to pieces, including one Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie! ¡°Ren Jie...¡± Wei Zhenguo gazed at the vast cloud of blood, his expression somber. He knew Ren Jie had fused with a Self-Destruct Crystal Core. The five women who followed Ren Jie were those unfortunate souls Wang Tao had previously saved from Cao Xin. Ren Jie had persuaded them to also fuse with Self-Destruct Crystal Cores. Ren Jie probably didn¡¯t expect that he would actually have to use his self-destruct ability, but he had been preparing for it all along. The self-destruction of the six people not only killed more than a dozen ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies, but it also killed one Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie, leaving only two Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies remaining. It seemed as if there was some hope once more? But there were still two Level 2 Zombies and countless Level 1 Zombies! Was there really any hope? ¡°I... I think I might be able to kill a zombie too...¡± Liu He, limping, walked over with a backpack, the zipper undone to reveal some red LEDs and various colored wires inside. ¡°So you want to be an idiot and throw your life away too?¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately glared at him.. Chapter 301: 152 Tragic_2 Chapter 301: Chapter 152 Tragic_2 ¡°If blowing up a Level 2 Zombie means I don¡¯t die in vain, then it¡¯s worth it! The last bomb I just made is very stable!¡± Liu He swallowed hard and walked straight toward the zombie with his backpack in his arms. The bomb was indeed stable¡ªbecause it was a semi-finished product. He didn¡¯t have time to make a remote control, so he had to detonate it by hand. ¡°Liu He, don¡¯t be foolish!¡± Wei Zhenguo quickly shouted. Liu He was a rare technical talent, and if he survived, he would be highly valued in any settlement, even in the post-apocalyptic world! Liu He turned to glance at Wei Zhenguo, then looked at the bite mark on his arm before shaking his head with a smile. He was already infected and could only rely on inhibitors to stay alive. Plus, he was someone who hated pain and was cowardly. He didn¡¯t want to experience the excruciating pain of using an inhibitor again. So, he chose to escape and, by the way... perhaps this could count as being a hero for once? ¡°Liu He!¡± Boom¡ª A dazzling fireball lit up the entire night sky. Accompanied by a huge explosion, the glass in all the nearby buildings shattered. The air was sucked into the center of the explosion and then led to a secondary blast. Boom¡ª The terrifying heat wave and shockwave spread in all directions, blowing the survivors away. Xiang Hongbin even got a mouthful of mud. ¡°Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, you little brat! Wait till I get down there, I¡¯ll beat you up!¡± Xiang Hongbin cursed as he looked at the fireball. This explosion was much more powerful than the self-detonation earlier, not only killing another Level 2 Zombie but also wiping out a large number of Ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies nearby! Moreover, when the bomb detonated, it burned all the oxygen nearby, creating a localized vacuum. As the surrounding gases were drawn in, they brought along much of the green poisonous fog and caused a secondary explosion. This second explosion completely burned off the green poison fog in the area! The air around the comprehensive building instantly became fresh, significantly alleviating the survivors¡¯ feelings of weakness! ¡°Hehe...¡± ¡°Roar-¡± The Poisonous Fog Zombies that were in ¡°spectator¡± mode became agitated, wanting to rush into the flames, but the intense heat made them halt. Some circled around the fire, appearing restless; others looked toward the survivors but just stared at them without approaching. ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn...¡± Xiang Hongbin stood up enduring the pain. He held the last two homemade bombs in his hand, not sure if they would be enough to kill a Level 2 Zombie, but he had to try. Just as he got up, a large hand stopped him. ¡°There¡¯s one last Level 2 Zombie left, and it... is mine!¡± Wei Zhenguo displayed an ugly smile on his face. The deaths of two important companions had filled Wei Zhenguo with extreme anger. Under this rage, he suddenly felt as though the pain in his body had vanished, replaced with a surge of strength! He didn¡¯t know if this was a ¡°return to light¡± moment, but he knew it was his time to act. ¡°Are you up for it? Cough, cough...¡± Xiang Hongbin looked at Wei Zhenguo and mocked. ¡°Heh, certainly more than you are!¡± Wei Zhenguo took a deep breath and then charged straight to the last Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. This zombie had also been hit by the explosion, with its left side skin completely torn, bones even visible. But a zombie is still a zombie; as long as its head was intact, no matter how severe its injuries, it wouldn¡¯t die. Bang! Wei Zhenguo, wielding his now-blunted axe, smashed it on the head of the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. The zombie didn¡¯t dodge. After taking the hit, it immediately reached out to grab Wei Zhenguo¡¯s chest. Relying on his steel armor, Wei Zhenguo didn¡¯t dodge either, bearing the zombie¡¯s attack and fiercely chopped twice more on the head of the Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombie. Squish¡ª The final axe blow finally shattered the zombie¡¯s skull. After killing the Level 2 Zombie, Wei Zhenguo¡¯s held breath finally gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. ¡°Level 2 Zombies, not¡ªand are nothing more...¡± Wei Zhenguo smirked. Now he had no strength left at all, unable even to wield his axe, let alone walk. As he saw Level 1 Toxic Mist Zombies closing in from all around, Wei Zhenguo closed his eyes. He had done his best. Bang¡ª Suddenly, a faint white light flashed by. Wei Zhenguo opened his eyes to see Xiang Hongbin, having somehow charged to his side. ¡°Old Wei, I admit you¡¯re better than me. So, you¡¯ve got to survive, hear me!¡± Xiang Hongbin, his face covered in blood, grinned and then grabbed Wei Zhenguo¡¯s arm, using all his might to throw him. ¡°Xiang Hongbin¡ª¡± Wei Zhenguo felt the world spinning and instinctively closed his eyes. Thud¡ª When he opened his eyes again, he saw Xiang Hongbin being overwhelmed by a group of zombies, disappearing into the darkness while he had landed beside Lu Gang. ¡°Old Xiang!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes reddened. Lu Gang clenched his fists tightly. The survivors grieved in silence, unable to hold back their tears. ¡°Wang Tao, when will you wake up...¡± Watching one familiar face after another depart, Han Rui silently chanted Wang Tao¡¯s name in her heart. Alas, she no longer had the strength to go inside the building; she didn¡¯t even know if Wang Tao would be killed by the green smoke. ¡°Everyone, cough, cough... the Level 2 Zombies are all dead, and the poison smoke has been dispersed. Let¡¯s go back inside the building, rest for a moment, and then deal with these Level 1 Zombies!¡± Chapter 302: 152 Tragic 3 Chapter 302: Chapter 152 Tragic 3 Wei Zhenguo, stifling his grief, turned to address the survivors. ¡°The Level 2 Zombies are all dead, but there are still many Level 1 Zombies alive. We don¡¯t know why these Level 1 Zombies aren¡¯t attacking us, but we can¡¯t bet that they won¡¯t come over.¡± Previously, they didn¡¯t stay inside the building because it was filled with poisonous fog unfit for people. Now that the fog had been burned off, Wei Zhenguo thought of having everyone return to the building. However, just at that moment, with a ¡°thud,¡± a large zombie that resembled a warty toad, with limbs splayed upon the ground, fell from the sky and landed in front of the group, blocking their way back to the comprehensive building. ¡°What... what the hell is that?¡± With the arrival of this toad zombie, the zombies previously in a ¡°spectator¡± state immediately began writhing and started surrounding the survivors. ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± All hope had drained from everyone. ¡°Another Level 2 Zombie...¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes almost burst with fury. After sacrificing so many people, they still couldn¡¯t escape... His hatred was profound; he hated that he wasn¡¯t strong enough! Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, and Li Qjuyu huddled together. ¡°Are we going to die...¡± Ding Yuqin held Han Rui¡¯s and LiQiuyu¡¯s hands tightly, her whole body trembling slightly. No one is unafraid of death: she was no exception. But she didn¡¯t want to die; she still wanted to live through this apocalypse with Wang Tao... Of course, having Han Rui along was fine too; she simply didn¡¯t want to die. But now, everyone, including herself, was at the breaking point. They were no match for even an ordinary zombie, let alone this one that looked incredibly strong. So, it seemed she was indeed about to die. ¡°Wang Tao, haven¡¯t you woken up yet... please wake up soon!¡± Ding Yuqin thought of Wang Tao¡¯s face, silently chanting his name in her heart. Han Rui let out a sigh. ¡°So, we are going to die after all...¡± She wasn¡¯t afraid of death, but being unafraid and not wanting to die were two different things. She now felt regret; if only she had met Wang Tao sooner... ¡°WangTao, I¡¯ll see you in the next life...¡± Han Rui murmured to herself. Li Qjuyu¡¯s gaze was somewhat vacant. She felt so strange¡ª At the beginning of the virus outbreak, she was terrified of dying. But after witnessing the tragedy of her loved ones, she wanted to die; if it weren¡¯t for her daughter keeping her going, she may have committed suicide. Then, when the gorilla zombie passed by, she was really about to die, and she became afraid again, not wanting to die... But now, it was no longer about whether she wanted to die or not¡ªshe was truly about to die. Yet... she really didn¡¯t want to die! She didn¡¯t just not want to die; she wanted to become stronger! After seeing so many Ability Users, she understood the importance of power. If she had that kind of power, could she not go to find her daughter? And perhaps her daughter was being protected by an Ability User, or maybe her daughter was an Ability User herself! If that was the case, then she had even more reason not to die¡ªshe wanted to live; she wanted to see her daughter! Li Qjuyu suddenly thought of Wang Tao; when would he wake up? Could Wang Tao save her once more? She swore that if Wang Tao could indeed save her life again, allowing her to keep the hope of seeing her daughter alive, then she would be indebted to him for life! Bang¡ª Suddenly, just when everyone was lost in despair, the main door of the comprehensive building swung open with a loud bang. The crowd instinctively looked over and saw a tall, muscular man about 1.9 meters in height kick open the gate and appear behind the toad zombie. ¡°Wang Tao?¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others could hardly believe their eyes. Wang Tao ignored everyone and looked at the monster in front of him. [HP: 9263/12000] [Mana: 3150/5000] [Grade:Level 2 ¨C Lord] After Wang Tao¡¯s Level 2 Ascension, he could see more things. Not only could he see the health bar but also the mana bar and the grade. This was a Level 2 zombie that was even stronger than a gorilla zombie! But, Wang Tao was no longer the same person he had been before! Whoosh¡ª With a few strides, Wang Tao instantly moved behind the toad zombie and then, gathering strength in his right foot, he brutally kicked the still unaware toad zombie¡¯s butt. Bang! The toad zombie was sent flying by Wang Tao¡¯s kick, crashing into the zombies that were madly rushing over. Clatter¡ª This toad zombie didn¡¯t lose much HP, but many of the ordinary zombies were squashed under it. With the toad zombie out of the way, Wei Zhenguo and the others immediately unleashed an unprecedented energy and limped over to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°WangTao! It¡¯s so good that you¡¯ve woken up!¡± Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes were red as he patted Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Sorry, I hope I¡¯m not too late.¡± Seeing everyone¡¯s sorry state, especially the absence of some familiar faces, Wang Tao sighed. ¡°No, you arrived just in time!¡± Everyone naturally didn¡¯t blame Wang Tao, as they all knew that the time of his awakening after his Level 2 Ascension was fixed. It was good enough that he woke up on time; he couldn¡¯t possibly wake up any earlier. ¡°Wang Tao...¡± Ding Yuqin and Han Rui quickly came over and hugged Wang Tao; they felt that not only had he grown taller, but he was also more muscular! Li Qjuyu instinctively wanted to hug him too, but seeing the actions of the two women, she stopped herself. Wang Tao saw that the toad zombie had created some chaos among the zombie group and wouldn¡¯t be able to come over for a while; he immediately said to everyone: ¡°Everybody, get inside first.¡± The group hurriedly ran into the comprehensive building. Wang Tao took out a medical kit for everyone¡¯s use, and while vigilantly watching the zombies outside, he asked: ¡°What exactly happened?¡± ¡°Some poisonous fog zombies suddenly appeared this evening, and it seems they were all students from Shuize University...¡± Wei Zhenguo quickly ran through the chain of events. Li Qjuyu¡¯s pupils shrank when she heard that these zombies were Shuize University¡¯s students, but she did not interrupt Wei Zhenguo. After listening to Wei Zhenguo¡¯s account, Wang Tao¡¯s face showed anger. He hadn¡¯t expected that there would be so many zombies inside Shuizhe Mountain, and that they would come to Shuize Base at this time! Lucky for him, he had started his Ascension early; otherwise, not to mention the others, even he could have been in mortal danger! ¡°These zombies, they deserve to die!¡± Chapter 303: 153: Slaying_i Chapter 303: Chapter 153: Slaying_i ¡°You guys stay here, I¡¯ll go out and take a look!¡± ¡°Be careful!¡± Wang Tao stepped out of the building again. After listening to Wei Zhenguo and the others, and combining his own observations, Wang Tao felt something wasn¡¯t quite right. First of all, the zombies weren¡¯t swarming over, which was illogical. After all, zombies wouldn¡¯t offer you a fair fight by following any sort of martial ethics¡¯ right? Next, the toad zombie outside, although it had an HP cap of 12,000, wasn¡¯t at full health but at just over 9,000 instead, which was also odd! Usually, zombies wouldn¡¯t fight each other, and aside from Shuize Base, there were no other survivors in Shuize County. So how did the toad zombie¡¯s HP reduce? Could there be other survivors around, or other violent zombies like the gorilla zombie? Therefore, Wang Tao needed to find out what was really going on... If there was indeed another formidable zombie or a survivor hiding in the shadows, then he would need to be careful! Outside the building, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a faint green glow. He could clearly see that the group of zombies in the darkness did not attack the building, and while the toad zombie roared at them, they milled about in confusion, as if...the foot soldiers couldn¡¯t understand the general¡¯s commands! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know the reason for this, but he knew it was an opportunity! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao charged straight towards the toad zombie. After ascending to Level 2, Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness had been enhanced in all aspects, including his speed. In the blink of an eye, he was near the toad zombie. The toad zombie immediately turned its head, then with a push of its hind legs, it leaped up towards Wang Tao. ¡°Get lost!¡± Wang Tao kicked it in the stomach to halt its charge, and then he viciously swung his axe at its head. [-543] [8670/12000] ¡°Damn, the damage is so low?¡± This was Wang Tao¡¯s first serious attack since becoming a Level 2, and the damage didn¡¯t even break a thousand? ¡°Roar-¡± The toad zombie roared angrily, opened its mouth, and a long tongue lashed out towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao lifted his right arm, and the tongue hit the Rush Arm Guard. [-6] [4994/5000] [+6] [5000/5000] Seeing that he only lost 6 HP and it was immediately restored to full, Wang Tao felt balanced again. Although his damage output felt low, his defense was high! His Second-order Superpower Owner¡¯s inherent defense, plus the protective capabilities of the Rush Arm Guard, coupled with the barrier Ability¡¯s defense and blood regeneration...stacking these together was no joke! Now sure he could withstand the toad zombie¡¯s attacks, Wang Tao became much bolder in his fighting style. Considering he was fully equipped, as long as he protected his head, he could withstand the enemy¡¯s attacks everywhere else! Wang Tao ignored the attacks from the many ordinary Poisonous Fog Zombies around him and struck the toad zombie¡¯s head with another axe blow. [-612] The toad zombie couldn¡¯t dodge it and received over six hundred damage, but then a tumor on its body burst. Pff- A disgusting yellow-green liquid sprayed out, and Wang Tao, not knowing what it was, immediately backed away from the attack. When the liquid hit the ground, it made a sizzling noise, and a cloud of green mist emerged from it. The green mist spread quickly. Wang Tao accidentally inhaled some and then saw a negative status appear below his HP bar¡ª [Weakness 10%, Immunity lowered by 10%, Cough, Intermittent bleeding. Duration: 3 seconds] ¡°Is this the poison fog?¡± When Wang Tao woke up, most of the poisonous fog had been cleared by Liu He, so he wasn¡¯t aware of its exact effects. Now seeing the explicit effects of the poison fog, Wang Tao was a bit surprised; it had quite a variety of functions! He immediately got away from the poison fog, and after three seconds, the negative status disappeared completely. Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the negative effect wasn¡¯t permanent or long-lasting, it was manageable. However, considering the toad zombie might continue to produce this poison fog, and if poison fog was everywhere with no place to hide, it would still affect him. Therefore, Wang Tao decided to make it a quick battle. He immediately used a Running Potion and a Strength Potion. Feeling the more abundant energy inside his body, Wang Tao produced a Slime Grenade in his hand. He didn¡¯t expect the Slime Grenade to hold the zombie for long; he just wanted to see whether he could freeze the fluids when the tumorous growths on the toad zombie burst. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao held his breath and charged into the green poisonous smoke. The toad zombie immediately swung its arm, reaching for Wang Tao¡¯s chest. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge or evade; in his hand suddenly appeared a thick Reinforced Concrete Hammer. Blunt weapons were more effective against zombies with high defensive power than sharp weapons. Bang! [-54] [4946/5000] The slap of the toad zombie landed solidly on Wang Tao¡¯s chest. It dealt over fifty damage to his HP. [+10] But with his Barrier ability restoring 10 HP every second, he immediately regained 10 HP. At the same time, Wang Tao¡¯s hammer also struck the toad zombie¡¯s head. Bang! [-826] [7232/12000] That blow dealt over eight hundred damage to the toad zombie, far more than what the axe had done. ¡°Roar-¡± The toad zombie roared in anger as some of the tumors on its body swelled up Before the tumors could burst, Wang Tao threw the Slime Grenade. Chapter 304: 153: Slaying_2 Chapter 304: Chapter 153: Slaying_2 Phut¡ª A large glob of mucus instantly enveloped the toad, and although it struggled free within two or three seconds, the liquid from its tumorous explosions had fused with the white mucus. Sizzle¡ª The white mucus was instantly corroded, but the yellow-green liquid no longer emitted poisonous mist. Seeing it was effective, Wang Tao immediately grinned. Then he swung his hammer again. Bang! [-8951 [6337/12000] Nearly nine hundred damage showed up, the toad zombie was down to half its HP! The toad zombie seemed to be completely enraged and let out a roar that was somewhat different from before. Instantly, the surrounding zombies that were milling around all let out a roar and turned their gazes towards Wang Tao, before charging at him. If it were before his Level 2 Ascension, Wang Tao would definitely have retreated, because no matter how strong he was, he couldn¡¯t withstand the attack of so many zombies. But now he was at Level Two! Wang Tao raised the Reinforced Concrete Hammer high and slammed it into the ground just like the Rioters zombies, sending out a visible shockwave from himself at the center, spreading outward in all directions! Thud¡ª Amidst a dull boom, the shockwave visibly spread out from Wang Tao as the epicenter to the surroundings! [-4.OOO] [-4200] [-41271 [-4100] [...] In an instant, all the surrounding Poisonous Fog Zombies were shattered! ¡°As expected, it¡¯s the toad zombie¡¯s defense that¡¯s too high!¡± Wang Tao had almost begun to doubt whether his attack power had decreased. With the distraction of these zombies gone, Wang Tao once again focused on the toad zombie. The toad zombie let out another roar, louder than before, and all the Poisonous Fog Zombies around the base began to madly rush towards Wang Tao! ¡°An ability to control other Poisonous Fog Zombies?¡± This time Wang Tao was sure, these Poisonous Fog Zombies were definitely being controlled! But why hadn¡¯t the toad zombie ordered the attack before? Could it be harboring some plot? Looking at the horde of zombies charging at him, Wang Tao didn¡¯t play tough this time and backed off a bit. After all, with his Night Vision Ability, he could see very clearly that there were no fewer than eight thousand, if not ten thousand, Poisonous Fog Zombies around him, and he didn¡¯t need to waste time with so many of them. Wang Tao planned to lure them out and then throw a few Self-Destruct Bombs to see if he could kill them! However, as Wang Tao was running out, he suddenly saw a body missing both legs and a right arm on the ground¡ªno, not a body, he was still alive! ¡°Old Xiang!¡± Seeing half of Xiang Hongbin still alive, Wang Tao was shocked and felt a bitter taste in his heart. Wei Zhenguo had told him before that Xiang Hongbin and the others had bravely sacrificed themselves. But unexpectedly, Xiang Hongbin was still alive, although now in a tragic state at death¡¯s door, but still not turned into a zombie! Probably because just now these zombies were all in a state of chaos and didn t attack him. Without a second thought, Wang Tao picked up Xiang Hongbin and ran, then took out a Deactivating Potion (Experimental) from his Space Backpack and stabbed it into Xiang Hongbin. [Deactivating Potion (Experimental): Can reduce the virulence of the zombie virus in an infected person for 3-10 days. After the virulence of the zombie virus is reduced, mutation into a zombie will not occur] Plunk¡ª As the potion entered his body, Xiang Hongbin convulsed slightly, but still didn¡¯t wake up. With the Deactivating Potion, Xiang Hongbin would at least not turn into a zombie for a minimum of three days. Afterwards, an inhibitor would be needed. Of course, an inhibitor could be used right now to save a bottle of Deactivating Potion. But using an inhibitor was too painful. Either one needed a strong body or a strong will to endure it, otherwise, it was unbearable. With Xiang Hongbin¡¯s body in this state and in a coma... Wang Tao felt it was safer to use the Deactivating Potion. Wang Tao carried Xiang Hongbin on his back and continued running towards the outside of the base. The Poisonous Fog Zombies also abandoned the base and chased Wang Tao led by the toad zombie. As for the Mad Demon Zombies that were blocked by the Poisonous Fog Zombies before, they also followed suit towards Wang Tao. Looking at the tide of zombies behind him and listening to their creepy roars, Wang Tao felt a tingling in his scalp. All of the zombies together, there were surely over ten thousand! If he was surrounded and attacked by them, he didn¡¯t know if he could come out alive. But fortunately, Wang Tao had Night Vision Ability; in the dark, he moved effortlessly, not giving these zombies the chance to surround him. Wang Tao ran for a long time until he felt some distance from the base. Then, seizing the opportunity, he climbed to the rooftop of a five-story building. He took several Self-Destruct Bombs from his Space Backpack and threw them down. The Self-Destruct Bombs, resembling hearts, started to beat the moment they appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Wang Tao threw them and before they could even hit the ground, they exploded in mid-air! Boom- Several powerful explosions shook the building until it swayed. Below was a sea of blood mist. Seeing there were still many zombies downstairs, Wang Tao had no qualms about taking out more Self-Destruct Bombs. Boom- Boom¡ª Rumble¡ª Wang Tao had no idea how many Self-Destruct Bombs he had thrown. When he felt the building beneath him about to collapse, he stopped immediately. ¡°Run!¡± Boom¡ª The five-story building completely collapsed, and Wang Tao emerged from the debris, face covered in dirt and dust. After getting out, Wang Tao saw the toad zombie not far away, along with a few of its decimated comrades. The toad zombie itself hadn¡¯t lost much HP from the blast and was now at 5500. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s primary target was other zombies, so it easily evaded them. Chapter 305: 153: Slaving 3 Chapter 305: Chapter 153: Slaving 3 But the other Poisonous Fog Zombies and Mad Demon Zombies were either blown to pieces or crushed under the collapsed buildings. Now, standing in front of Wang Tao, there were less than ten remaining. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, among these ten zombies, there were actually two Level 2 Zombies! [HP: 1239/5000] [Mana: 768/1000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] The first Level 2 Zombie had only 1200 HP left. [HP: 1004/5000] [Mana: 806/1000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] The second Level 2 Zombie had only 1000 HP left. ¡°These two zombies must be the weaker Level 2 Zombies that Zhen Guo was talking about...¡± 5000 HP is the threshold for Level 2, so these must have ascended to Level 2 not long ago, and both zombies had very little mana. In Wang Tao¡¯s opinion, zombies with more mana are stronger. Of course, the biggest difference is in the level. The Toad zombie¡¯s level is [Level 2 ¨C Lord], while these two Level 2 Zombies¡¯ level is [Level 2 Elite], which is clearly one level lower. Wang Tao then looked at one of the ordinary zombies. [HP: 2983/4.000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 1 ¨C Ordinary] This zombie was even weaker. It had no mana, which meant it had no Crystal Core. As for the green poisonous fog it carried, it was probably not an Ability, but some kind of talent or hidden ability... ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Toad zombie glared at Wang Tao furiously. Then it let out a roar and charged at Wang Tao. Wang Tao did not plan to fight it yet, but instead ran towards the two Level 2 Zombies. Thud¡ª Wang Tao swung his hammer down and instantly burst the head of one of the Level 2 Zombies. [-1004] [0/5000] They were truly much weaker! ¡°Hehe...¡± The other Level 2 Zombie lunged at Wang Tao. He raised his Big Hammer and unleashed a Shockwave. Splat¡ª [-1239] [0/5000] [-2983] [0/4000] [...] This Level 2 Zombie¡¯s head also burst, and at the same time, he killed the surrounding zombies as well. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils of war, then swiftly glanced at his own HP bar. Killing ordinary zombies still didn¡¯t increase his HP, killing these two Level 2 Zombies added 80 each, a total of 160¡ªwait, only 80 HP? Wasn¡¯t that too little? Wang Tao clearly remembered that when he killed the zombie Shao Yong before, he gained 960 HP... In addition to gaining HP, Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy bar showed no changes, killing these two zombies didn¡¯t add any Special Energy. This was within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations, since it was said that only killing higher-level zombies would grant Special Abilities, and these two weak Level 2 Zombies clearly didn¡¯t meet Wang Tao¡¯s conditions for a higher-level kill. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Once again, the Toad zombie leaped high, pouncing towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao swung his Big Hammer, and as the Toad zombie landed on him, Wang Tao smashed its head with a fierce blow, as if he were playing baseball. Bang! The toad zombie was sent flying back with even greater speed than when it had initially pounced. [-1024] [4476/12000] But as it flew back, it suddenly opened its mouth wide, and a thick, large tongue shot towards Wang Tao¡¯s chest at high speed. Because of the tongue¡¯s swift movement, and the fact that Wang Tao had just sent the toad zombie flying, he didn¡¯t react in time. Thump¡ª The tongue smashed directly into Wang Tao¡¯s chest. [-431] Wang Tao felt a stuffiness in his chest followed by an intense, piercing pain, and he almost couldn¡¯t catch his breath. ¡°Damn!¡± This tongue attack from the toad zombie was clearly much stronger than the last, with its tongue noticeably larger. Even though Wang Tao had activated his Barrier and was wearing stubborn armor, he still lost over four hundred HP! If Wang Tao had no defence abilities or equipment, wouldn¡¯t that hit have almost killed him? Having initially felt a bit overconfident after exchanging blows with the toad zombie, Wang Tao quickly became more cautious. While he was strong, a Level 2 Zombie Lord was not weak at all! There was a chance he could be turned over! For safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao used a defence potion. After all, he wasn¡¯t a zombie; even if the zombies couldn¡¯t hit his head, being hit anywhere else would cause him to lose HP, and humans had far more weaknesses than zombies! If he were to endure a few more hits of the magnitude he had just experienced, it was uncertain if he could withstand them. The defence potion took immediate effect, and feeling as if he had gained a very substantial power inside, Wang Tao immediately lunged towards the toad zombie with his Big Hammer in tow! A moment later, the toad zombie¡¯s HP dropped to ¡°3566,¡± and Wang Tao watched it nervously yet expectantly. The toad zombie had a total of 12000 HP, and 30% of that was 3600. Wang Tao wanted to know if it had a Frenzy ability similar to the Gorilla zombie. The condition for triggering the Frenzy ability was when its HP fell below 30%. Although Wang Tao thought it was highly unlikely, since he had roughly figured out what abilities the toad zombie had, he couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of it having the Frenzy ability, and if it did, he could synthesize it! Unfortunately, when the toad zombie¡¯s HP decreased below 30%, other than getting angrier, nothing happened. ¡°Damn it, what good are you!¡± Wang Tao suddenly felt irritated, then swung his Big Hammer and began attacking furiously. Several minutes later, Wang Tao, having withstood several attacks from the toad zombie, finally delivered a crushing blow to its head. Pff- [-621] [0/12000] The toad zombie¡¯s HP bar emptied, and it dropped a pile of loot. Wang Tao quickly collected the loot and, while picking up the Crystal Core, glanced at his own HP bar. ¡°Only 600 HP added...¡± Wang Tao frowned. Although he felt the toad zombie wasn¡¯t as tough as the Gorilla zombie, it was definitely much tougher than the zombie Shao Yong, especially since it also had 12000 HP. Yet the HP he gained was even less than what he had got from killing Shao Yong. Could it be because, when he killed Shao Yong, he was Level 1, and now that he was Level 2, there was no bonus? Wang Tao, who loved gaming when he had free time, could only come up with this explanation. Then Wang Tao looked at his Special Energy. ¡°Huh? It actually increased!¡± The Special Energy increased by 320! With the previous 160, he now had 480! Wang Tao had thought that earning Special Energy by killing higher level zombies meant ¡°Level 1 killing Level 2,¡± but it seemed that even as a Level 2, killing a Level 2 Zombie Lord also granted Special Energy! This was good news; otherwise, with his current abilities, thinking of killing a Level 3 zombie would be a dream. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t even certain if there were any Level 3 zombies yet... ¡°Time to head back...¡± Wang Tao got hold of the well-hidden Xiang Hongbin, slung him over his shoulder, and ran back to base. However, when he arrived outside the base, Wang Tao suddenly knitted his brows. ¡°Something¡¯s not right...¡± Chapter 306: 154 Jiang Shixue_1 Chapter 306: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_1 The nights during the apocalypse were noisy, as zombies preferred the dark. Every night, the zombies would start their nocturnal activities. But now, Shuize Base was very quiet, eerily quiet. When Wang Tao had lured a large number of zombies away before, some Ordinary zombies hadn¡¯t left. They were all outside of Shuize Base. But now, Wang Tao didn¡¯t see any zombies, nor did he hear any roaring. It was as quiet as during the day. This was clearly not right! Could it be that something had happened to the base again? That would be incredibly unlucky. With a grim expression, Wang Tao made his way to the base of the main building and knocked on the door. ¡°Open up, it¡¯s me.¡± After a moment, Lu Gang opened the door, with Wei Zhen Guo and the others behind him. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Lu Gang quickly asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao was relieved to see Lu Gang and the others unscathed. It was good that the base was safe¡ªthey had so few people left that they couldn¡¯t afford any more setbacks... ¡°Hey, what¡¯s this?¡± After Wang Tao entered, the crowd saw the bloodied figure he was carrying and was immediately surprised. ¡°Old Xiang, Xiang Hongbin, he¡¯s not dead yet.¡± Wang Tao gently laid Xiang Hongbin down, and everyone saw his pale face. ¡°Old Xiang!¡± After a moment of stunned silence, everyone crowded around excitedly. ¡°Is he...is he really not dead...¡± Wei Zhen Guo¡¯s eyes reddened, his hand reaching out to grab Xiang Hongbin, but afraid it was all a dream, he dared not touch him. ¡°He¡¯s still alive, but whether he can pull through depends on himself now...¡± Wang Tao felt that Xiang Hongbin had a high chance of survival since his HP had increased quite a bit after his treatment. But the greater the hope, the greater the potential for disappointment. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to be too certain. ¡°Is there a doctor here? Someone come and treat Old Xiang¡¯s wounds!¡± Wang Tao called out. ¡°Me!¡± Chen Zhuang quickly raised his hand. His face and body were all covered in grime, which Wang Tao had not noticed upon his arrival. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll leave it to you!¡± Wang Tao patted Chen Zhuang¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Chen Zhuang is the last doctor left in the base...¡± Lu Gang explained with a somber tone. ¡°Sigh...¡± Wang Tao sighed, then said, ¡°Everyone, take a good rest. I¡¯ve killed those Poisonous Fog Zombies. We¡¯re all safe now.¡± Although the crowd was stirred by this news, they were also very distressed. Wei Zhen Guo and the others went to take care of Xiang Hong Bin, while Ding Yuqin and Han Rui held Wang Tao¡¯s hands from each side, Wang Tao feeling their trembling bodies. ¡°Member Ren Jie, Commissioner Liu He, Commissioner Feng Ming¡¯an...they¡¯ve all made the ultimate sacrifice...Huo Ziyi is also gone. Before she died, she said she wanted you to see her newly choreographed dance...¡± Han Rui said softly, her head lowered. Wang Tao¡¯s mind flashed with images of Ren Jie and the others, recalling Huo Ziyi and her younger sisters dancing in front of him, their faces begging for praise... Wang Tao gripped Han Rui¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°They were heroes!¡± ¡°Yes! They were all heroes!¡± Wang Tao had everyone go inside to rest and prepared to stand watch until dawn. Han Rui and Ding Yuqin decided to keep him company for a while, as they had just rested and were not very tired. Looking at the two women, Wang Tao always felt that something was not quite right, but he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it. At that moment, Han Rui suddenly asked Ding Yuqin, ¡°By the way, where¡¯s Li Qiuyu?¡± With that, Wang Tao suddenly realized what was amiss¡ªhe hadn¡¯t seen Li Qiuyu since returning! When he had gone to attract the zombies, he clearly saw Li Qiuyu with Han Rui and the others! ¡°She...¡± Ding Yuqin hesitated for a moment, she had just been resting, and Li Qiuyu had been right by her side all along. But when Wang Tao came back, everyone had gone to see him, and it seemed she hadn¡¯t seen Li Qiuyu then... ¡°Let¡¯s go look for her!¡± The two women exchanged glances, each sensing a bad premonition. After all, for safety reasons, everyone had been together before. A few minutes later, Wei Zhen Guo and the others also arrived, all of them looking very grave. Li Qiuyu...was missing! One of the room¡¯s windows showed signs of being tampered with, and from the outside no less! Someone, or something, had come in and taken Li Qiuyu without a chance for her to resist or make noise. And they, so many people, had not noticed anything! This was terrifying! If the intruder¡¯s target was them, were they all doomed? As for the possibility of Li Qiuyu leaving voluntarily, everyone thought it was improbable. After all, it was the middle of the night¡ªany fool knew this was not the time to go outside! ¡°You all get some rest. We¡¯ll talk about Li Qiuyu tomorrow. I¡¯ll keep watch, rest assured.¡± Looking at the scratch marks by the window, Wang Tao turned to the others and said. ¡°Okay...¡± It was still night, and even if they went out to search for her, they wouldn¡¯t be able to do much. Wang Tao let Han Rui and Ding Yuqin go to rest while he sat alone in the hall. Wei Zhen Guo came by and discussed the matters regarding his Level 2 Ascension, but soon Wei Zhen Guo couldn¡¯t stay awake and went off to sleep. Wang Tao remained watchful until daybreak without incident. Upon seeing the next day¡¯s sun, all the survivors wept with joy. ¡°Let¡¯s collect whatever resources we can use...¡± Wei Zhen Guo immediately began giving orders. Sadly, with only twenty or thirty people left, the efficiency of reconstructing the base had dropped significantly. Wang Tao went up to the rooftop. It was still raining lightly, but it did not hinder his view. He carefully observed the surroundings. Chapter 307: 154 Jiang Shixue_2 Chapter 307: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_2 Yesterday¡¯s disappearance of Li Qiuyu made him quite uneasy. After his Ascension to Level Two, not only had his five senses improved significantly, but even his sixth sense seemed to have been enhanced. For something to make him feel so uneasy, last night¡¯s Toad zombie was not enough, it had to be at least a Gorilla zombie level! But this time, there shouldn¡¯t be any other Level 2 Zombies in Shuize county, this unease... what exactly is it? Suddenly, Wang Tao saw a furtive figure climbing over the broken base wall, and when she lifted her head, Wang Tao was taken aback. ¡°Li Qiuyu?¡± ... At the east wall of the base. Li Qiuyu had exerted some effort, but finally managed to climb inside. ¡°Hu~¡± She took a heavy breath, then looked at her rain-soaked clothing, somewhat headache induced about how to explain later... After making sure there was no one around, she immediately headed towards the comprehensive building. ¡°Where did you go?¡± Out of the blue, a voice sounded behind her. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± Li Qiuyu jumped in fright, she quickly turned around, only to see that Wang Tao had appeared not far behind her at some point. ¡°I... I went to the Administration Building! Yes, I was so scared last night, I accidentally ran into the Administration Building...¡± Li Qiuyu, looking at the nearby Administration Building, hurriedly explained. Wang Tao said nothing, walking step by step towards her with an expressionless face. After his Ascension to Level 2, Wang Tao had grown considerably larger. Previously, he was one meter eighty, but now he stood one meter ninety tall and with his muscular build, he exuded an overwhelming presence. Seeing Wang Tao approaching her, Li Qiuyu instinctively took a step back. ¡°I¡¯m asking you again, where did you go last night?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone was somewhat cold. Li Qiuyu had never seen Wang Tao like this before, she felt afraid and dared not meet his eyes. ¡°I, I was really in the Administration Building...¡± ¡°Ah, you¡¯re disappointing me.¡± Wang Tao suddenly let out a sigh, then abruptly stretched out his hand, grabbing Li Qiuyu by the neck. ¡°Uh¡ª¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s eyes widened immediately, her face a mix of disbelief and shock as she looked at Wang Tao. Seeing the cold indifference on his face, she frantically clawed at Wang Tao¡¯s arms, trying to break free. But with her strength, she was no match for Wang Tao. She looked at him pleadingly with a desperate expression, though Wang Tao showed no mercy. Just then, Wang Tao suddenly felt as if a pair of eyes filled with rage, killing intent, and resentment was staring at his back! Wang Tao was on high alert, yet his face remained undisturbed, he slightly loosened his grip on Li Qiuyu, then spoke softly, ¡°Can you talk now?¡± ¡°Cough, cough...¡± Li Qiuyu quickly covered her neck, coughing violently, then she looked at Wang Tao with a face full of suffering, ¡°I¡¯ll say... cough, cough...¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t actually exerted much force just now, it just looked very scary. With his current strength, a little extra force would have been enough to kill Li Qiuyu. However, with Li Qiuyu¡¯s delicate skin, the slightest rough handling was more than she could bear, and her neck showed some red marks as if she had been mistreated by Wang Tao. Wang Tao took Li Qiuyu to an office in the Administration Building, and only after entering the room did that watchful sensation finally disappear. Wang Tao felt a slight disappointment. Wang Tao sat on the sofa, while Li Qiuyu stood at the door, still afraid of him and hesitant to approach. ¡°Sit.¡± Wang Tao gestured next to him. Remembering the intimidating feeling from before, Li Qiuyu didn¡¯t dare to resist and obediently sat on the sofa, though she kept her distance from Wang Tao. Wang Tao shifted his position, sitting close to Li Qiuyu, and looked at the very tense Li Qiuyu. As he reached out his hand, Li Qiuyu¡¯s neck instinctively flinched. Wang Tao placed his hand on the red mark on Li Qiuyu¡¯s neck and said softly, ¡°Sorry, did I hurt you?¡± Li Qiuyu looked up, not sure what Wang Tao meant by that. However, since Wang Tao had always given her a good impression and seemed less frightening when not looking so stern, she felt somewhat relieved. ¡°It hurts...¡± Li Qiuyu spoke up, a hint of grief in her voice. ¡°How¡¯s your daughter doing?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°She...¡± In a flash, Li Qiuyu stood up abruptly, her eyes wide with shock as she stared at Wang Tao. ¡°You¡ª¡± Seeing Li Qiuyu¡¯s reaction, Wang Tao instantly understood. He had guessed right! The Poisonous Fog Zombies from the previous day had come from Shuizhe Mountain, and most of them were students from Shuize University, including Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter. Li Qiuyu had disappeared suddenly last night and had sneaked back today. Li Qiuyu lied to Wang Tao, whom she trusted deeply and owed her life to. Combined with that ominous glare... All these signs gave Wang Tao reason to suspect that Li Qiuyu had seen her daughter! And her daughter¡¯s condition might be far from good... ¡°What are you talking about, I... I don¡¯t understand...¡± Li Qiuyu hurriedly denied it. But her denial only confirmed Wang Tao¡¯s suspicions even more. ¡°Couldn¡¯t your daughter have turned into a zombie? That¡¯s not right, if she had turned into a zombie, she wouldn¡¯t have any consciousness. Or... is she like Wu Fei and Shao Yong, with too much Internal Impurity, on the verge of turning into a zombie?¡± ¡°You... stop it... wuwu...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s words shattered Li Qiuyu¡¯s composure. She crouched on the ground, covering her face as she cried. Wang Tao forcefully pulled her back up, making her sit beside him, and then he helped her wipe away her tears. ¡°Stop crying; now can you talk? What exactly happened? You know, maybe I¡¯m the only one who can help you.¡± Chapter 308: 154 Jiang Shixue_3 Chapter 308: Chapter 154 Jiang Shixue_3 ¡°Wuu wuu...¡± Lying on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder, Li Qiuyu cried for a while, then spoke with her head lowered, ¡°Last night... while I had my eyes closed resting, I suddenly felt like someone was watching me. When I opened my eyes, I saw a pair of blood-red pupils, and then I realized... it was Little Xue!¡± ¡°Little Xue covered my mouth and took me outside. She then said that this place would be very dangerous and told me to run out of the county town as soon as possible...¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to escape on my own, and of course, I couldn¡¯t have gotten very far by myself. I wanted to come back and tell you all this... wuu wuu, I kindly brought you the news, and you treated me like this...¡± Wang Tao automatically ignored Li Qiuyu¡¯s complaints and stroked his chin in thought. What kind of danger does ¡°very dangerous¡± imply? ¡°What exactly is happening to Jiang Shixue?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Li Qiuyu fell silent for a moment, then she looked up at Wang Tao with a pleading expression and said, ¡°Could you not kill her, no matter what she becomes, she is still my daughter...¡± Seeing Li Qiuyu like this, Wang Tao frowned slightly. ¡°Could it be that Jiang Shixue has turned into a zombie?¡± ¡°No! She isn¡¯t a zombie! She¡¯s not!¡± Li Qiuyu immediately denied. ¡°Then what is she like? If you don¡¯t explain it clearly, don¡¯t blame me. Powerful zombies are not allowed near the base!¡± Li Qiuyu struggled momentarily, but ultimately she revealed, ¡°...Little Xue, she gives me the feeling very much like a zombie, but she has her own thoughts! She recognizes me, and she can even speak! She¡¯s not a zombie!¡± Watching Li Qiuyu repeatedly emphasize that her daughter was not a zombie, Wang Tao felt that Little Xue was probably similar to Wu Fei, in that state of almost turning into a zombie but clinging to a single breath. Wu Fei¡¯s breath was his desire to repay Wang Tao. Little Xue¡¯s breath, perhaps, was seeing her mother, Li Qiuyu, safe. If that¡¯s the case, Little Xue could very likely turn into a zombie soon... After all, Li Qiuyu just mentioned that Little Xue told her to run away alone and did not say she would protect her and run together. An ordinary person obviously wouldn¡¯t say such a thing... ¡°Bring her to me, I have some questions to ask her.¡± Wang Tao said to Li Qiuyu. He wanted to know what this ¡°very dangerous¡± actually was. Without knowing the specific danger, it wouldn¡¯t be good to run! What if he ran right into the danger? ¡°She¡¯s already gone... When I woke up this morning, she was nowhere to be found...¡± Li Qiuyu spoke with a painful expression on her face. ¡°Gone? No, she hasn¡¯t left, she¡¯s been watching you from the shadows!¡± Wang Tao was sure that the gaze fixing on him just now was undoubtedly Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter. ¡°Ah?¡± Li Qiuyu was somewhat in disbelief, yet partially thrilled. If possible, she certainly didn¡¯t want her daughter to leave her. Even if others saw her daughter as a monster, it was enough for her not to view her that way, not to mention her daughter was still conscious and recognized her mother! ¡°Let¡¯s go, no time to delay, I¡¯ll come with you!¡± Wang Tao directly escorted Li Qiuyu to the spot where she had climbed in earlier. Upon arrival, Wang Tao felt he was being spied on. Not just him, even Li Qiuyu felt it too. ¡°Little Xue! Is that you, Little Xue? Come out, I need your help!¡± Li Qiuyu called out excitedly. After shouting for a while, her daughter did not appear, but a few ordinary zombies were attracted by the noise. Wang Tao stepped forward, shielding Li Qiuyu, and casually dispatched these zombies with a couple of shockwaves. Just then, Wang Tao felt something and abruptly turned around. He saw a figure wearing a dirty hoodie, with the hood concealing the face, petite in stature, standing behind Li Qiuyu! She lifted her head, revealing a pair of eyes that radiated a red glow. Li Qiuyu, upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s movement, instinctively turned her head, and then she saw the petite figure. ¡°Little Xue!¡± She was so excited that she hurriedly tried to hug the other person, but she was easily avoided. ¡°...¡± There was no embarrassment on Li Qiuyu¡¯s face, only pain. Wang Tao watched the petite figure before him, his wariness mixed with surprise. His guess was not wrong; this Jiang Shixue was indeed in a state similar to Wu Fei¡¯s back then, but she was much stronger than Wu Fei! [HP: 9000/9000] [Mana: 8000/8000] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 100%] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract] [Eyes of Contract: Night Vision, control other people¡¯s thoughts to a certain extent] Nine thousand HP, eight thousand Mana! Just by these attributes alone, she was the strongest human survivor Wang Tao had seen so far¡ªif she could still be considered human. After all, her HP bar was in a state of red and green flickering; as soon as it turned completely red, she would become a full-fledged zombie! Then, upon seeing Jiang Shixue¡¯s hidden attributes, some of Wang Tao¡¯s questions were immediately answered¡ª The zombies attacking the base, why they suddenly stopped their assault, were most likely influenced or even controlled by Jiang Shixue! The wounds on the toad zombie could also probably have been inflicted by Jiang Shixue! Her current state would likely affect her personality. She probably hadn¡¯t taken action before, being very indifferent. It was after discovering Li Qiuyu in the base that she decided to act... ¡°Hello Jiang Shixue! Nice to meet you, my name is Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao politely extended his hand, but Jiang Shixue showed no intention of shaking hands. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t embarrassed, in fact, he even breathed a sigh of relief. He had actually been completely on guard! Wang Tao continued to ask: ¡°I heard from your mother that you said it¡¯s going to be very dangerous here soon. Can you tell us what kind of danger is coming?¡± Jiang Shixue still did not answer. Her entire face was hidden inside a hood, and she wore a mask, so Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see her expression, only her red eyes. Wang Tao looked at her, and suddenly his eyes lit up¡ªemitting a green light! He could distinctly feel that Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes seemed to widen a bit, and the red glow in them brightened! However, Jiang Shixue still remained silent. Wang Tao had no choice but to bring Li Qiuyu into the conversation. ¡°If we don¡¯t know the specific danger, I won¡¯t be able to help your mother escape! If we run into danger, we¡¯ll all die...¡± Upon hearing this, the red glow in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes fluctuated, and then she finally spoke. Her voice was hoarse, shrill, as if scratching glass. ¡°Monsters... are coming... you... will all die...¡± As she said the word ¡°monsters,¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s body seemed to tremble slightly, whether from fear of the monster or because she felt she had become one. ¡°Monsters? What kind of monsters?¡± Wang Tao asked urgently. Jiang Shixue was silent for a moment, as if organizing her words. ¡°Black... massive... red eyes...¡± Her words were abstract, and most people might not understand, but an image suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s mind! That black shadow, which at the dawn of the apocalypse had ten thousand HP and nearly scared him to immobility! ¡°It¡¯s that one!¡± Chapter 309 - 155: Level 3!_1 Chapter 309: Chapter 155: Level 3!_1 Li Qiuyu looked at the dazed expression that flashed across Wang Tao¡¯s face, and she was a bit confused. She didn¡¯t understand her daughter¡¯s abstract words, so how could Wang Tao? ¡°Can you be more specific?¡± he asked. ¡°How powerful is it, where does it come from, what does it want to do...¡± Wang Tao spoke as he walked towards Jiang Shixue. At the same time, his eyes occasionally flickered with green light¡ªnot because Wang Tao had some special ability in his eyes, but because he felt that if he could show some commonalities with Jiang Shixue, perhaps she would lower her guard a bit. After all... everyone was a monster. Sure enough, Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t dodge this time. She let Wang Tao approach and touch her head. At his touch, she disappeared in a whoosh, like a startled rabbit, and reappeared ten meters away. The red glow in her eyes grew even brighter, and Wang Tao felt the air around him grow colder as if he was enveloped by negative emotions like irritability, resentment, hatred, and the urge to kill. Hiss¡ª Wang Tao shivered. Her eyes are so strong! Much stronger than his own, which only had night vision and slightly enhanced sight! Wang Tao was envious. He didn¡¯t dare to approach her again, given Jiang Shixue¡¯s unstable condition. After all, if she turned into a zombie because of some stimulus, it would be rather embarrassing. Li Qiuyu was even more bewildered by the side. Since Jiang Shixue had taken her away, Jiang wouldn¡¯t even let her touch her. Li couldn¡¯t hug her daughter, let alone pat her! But Wang Tao had just rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s head... Not only could Wang Tao understand her daughter¡¯s words, but he was also capable of having intimate interactions with her, something she couldn¡¯t do... ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯m the outsider?¡± Li Qiuyu felt a bit dispirited. Wang Tao, of course, was unaware of Li Qiuyu¡¯s thoughts. He softly soothed Jiang Shixue for a while. After a moment, the red glow in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes grew weaker. ¡°It... is very powerful. You... can¡¯t beat it. It hates... water, noise... I¡¯ve been... up close, touched it... It¡¯s very powerful! I don¡¯t know... what it wants... but if you don¡¯t leave, everyone... will die...¡± It hates water and noise? This was important information! Wang Tao silently took note. Besides, if Jiang Shixue had been able to get close to it, she was no simple character either! As for the monster being so powerful that the base couldn¡¯t defeat it, Wang Tao didn¡¯t doubt it. After all, three months ago it already had 10,000 HP¡ªwho knew how strong it had become after another three months... Wang Tao planned to start moving the base as soon as he got back. Then he asked Jiang Shixue about those Poisonous Fog Zombies. Through her broken and abstract words, Wang Tao also got the gist of the matter. As he suspected, those zombies were influenced by Jiang Shixue! But Jiang Shixue¡¯s abilities were limited; she couldn¡¯t completely control the zombies, just try to keep them from attacking the base. When the Toad zombie came later, and it led the zombies in pursuit of Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue could no longer control them. The HP of the Toad zombie wasn¡¯t full indeed because Jiang Shixue had attacked it. But it wasn¡¯t because Jiang saw Li Qiuyu and then attacked the Toad zombie; it was because the Toad zombie was Jiang¡¯s senior in school, and they had some conflicts before. Jiang Shixue was now in a half-human half-zombie state, and the zombies wouldn¡¯t attack her, provided she didn¡¯t attack them. When she took Li Qiuyu away, she also killed all the zombies around the base, which was why it was so quiet when Wang Tao returned to the base. Regarding why those Poisonous Fog Zombies came to the base, Jiang Shixue explained it was because the Toad zombie sensed the Gorilla zombie was dead and it wanted to take over its territory... ¡°Thank you so much! We¡¯re going to move the base now. Do you need any of this?¡± Wang Tao pulled out potions like Inhibitors and Deactivating Agents from his pocket. But when he looked up, Jiang Shixue had vanished. ¡°She seems to have this stuff...¡± Li Qiuyu said, pulling several bottles of inhibitors from her pocket with a sigh, ¡°She gave them to me...¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s go; we should head back first.¡± ¡°But Little Xue...¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s face was filled with sadness. ¡°If there¡¯s a chance, we¡¯ll see her again.¡± Wang Tao offered reassuring words. But those words were just consolation¡ªafter all, the zombies wouldn¡¯t attack Jiang Shixue voluntarily; she could simply hide among them and become untraceable. Not to mention, she might turn into a zombie soon... Wang Tao took Li Qiuyu back to the base. But as soon as he entered the base, Wang Tao suddenly felt his hair stand on end and shivers ran down his spine! He recognized that feeling¡ªthe monster had seen him! ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Li Qiuyu looked at Wang Tao, who suddenly froze, and asked in confusion. ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Without explaining, Wang Tao blurted out and immediately grabbed Li Qiuyu by the waist and ran toward the main building at full speed. Wang Tao¡¯s perception was very strong; he was certain that the monster had arrived! He even suspected that Jiang Shixue¡¯s sudden departure was related to the monster¡¯s arrival! ¡°Everyone, grab food, weapons, evacuate the base!¡± Wang Tao reached the bottom of the main building and bellowed. The survivors were somewhat stunned and some didn¡¯t even understand what was happening, since they had just received orders to rebuild the base. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Don¡¯t dawdle; if you¡¯re slow, you¡¯re dead!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s emphasis, everyone understood this time. Trusting Wang Tao, they realized trouble might be at hand and immediately picked up whatever they could and ran outside. Chapter 310 - 155: Level 3!_2 Chapter 310: Chapter 155: Level 3!_2 Wei Zhen Guo, carrying the still unconscious Xiang Hong Bin, ran out and upon seeing Wang Tao, he immediately asked: ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± ¡°A big guy¡¯s coming! I can¡¯t beat it!¡± As Wang Tao explained, he surveyed the surroundings. He didn¡¯t see anything, but that momentary feeling of being watched was definitely not an illusion! Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Wei Zhen Guo did not dare to delay and immediately signaled for the survivors to evacuate. Although it was regrettable to lose the base and supplies, their lives were more important! Due to the high number of casualties from the various disasters, there weren¡¯t many people left in the base, so the assembly was quick. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Head east!¡± Once everyone had gathered, Wang Tao immediately got into the vehicle. He hadn¡¯t seen the creature, but he had a hunch that the west might be even more dangerous, so he planned to head east. Hum~ Wang Tao¡¯s electric off-road vehicle took the lead, followed by five other vehicles. After leaving the base, they moved toward the east. Not long after the convoy left the base, a black fog appeared inside. It paused for a moment, then, like a dark cloud, it trailed along the ground towards the east. ... Six vehicles sped crazily down the road, with a swarm of Mad Demon Zombies behind them. Inside the car, Wang Tao briefly explained the current situation over the walkie-talkie. When they heard from Wang Tao that the Black Mist Monster he had previously encountered was coming, everyone gasped in shock. Wang Tao had described the creature as incredibly powerful, and they had no chance of winning¡ªlet alone a chance of victory, escaping was a problem in itself! The vehicles maintained high speed, crashing through abandoned vehicles and zombies and other obstacles, Wei Zhen Guo and Wang Tao used Shockwave to clear the path. Just as the road ahead seemed clear and everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, they suddenly felt an oppressive and terrifying presence, and then they looked up. Hiss¡ª All the cars braked immediately! Out of nowhere, on the rooftop of a six-story residential building ahead, there was a black figure. Its eyes, glowing red, were staring at the convoy! ¡°Is this, this the shadow you mentioned? What a terrifying feeling...¡± Han Rui felt her mouth trembling. She had never experienced such a fearsome presence, not even the Gorilla zombie could compare! Wang Tao stared fixedly at the Black Mist Monster on the rooftop¡ªit was indeed a shadow! When he first saw the creature, Wang Tao thought he hadn¡¯t seen it clearly and only caught a glimpse of a black shadow. But now, he realized that this seemed to be a creature composed entirely of a black fog! Apart from the two red glints within the fog, he could see nothing else! Of course, appearances were not the most important thing; the creature¡¯s strength was! [HP: 35000/35000] [Mana: 32000/32000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] 35000 HP! 32000 Mana! Either attribute was despair inducing! Not to mention it was at a Level 3 standard! Wang Tao had earlier said that he didn¡¯t know if there were any Level 3 beings around, and now one had appeared, a Level 3, Lord Rank at that! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how strong a Lord Rank was, but he did know that none of them could match it! This left no room for survival! However, Wang Tao noticed something strange; this creature did not seem to be a zombie? It had the attribute ¡°Internal Impurity.¡± Zombies would not have this attribute, as they are entirely composed of impurities. Of course, these details were not important; the important thing was how to get away! If this creature was just passing by and had no interest in them, there was still a chance to escape. If it came for them... ¡°Retreat! Retreat quickly!¡± Wang Tao immediately shouted into the walkie-talkie. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, many people snapped out of their shock. They had been paralyzed with fear by the creature¡¯s presence, just like Wang Tao once was. Hum~ The cars immediately shifted into reverse, backing away. They were currently in an alleyway, and turning the cars around was slow, so it was better to reverse straight back. But with a roar, a building behind them suddenly collapsed, blocking their retreat! ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± Seeing this, everyone¡¯s faces fell into despair. When facing the Gorilla zombie and the Poisonous Fog Zombie, everyone had fought back desperately because they knew there was a possibility of victory, albeit slim. But now, faced with the Black Fog Monster, they felt no urge to resist at all, as they believed resistance was futile. Whether they resisted or not, they would die. Even Wang Tao was somewhat pessimistic. ¡°Maybe we should give up...¡± But in the instant that thought appeared, Wang Tao shuddered mightily and became alert. ¡°How could I so easily give up! Could this creature possibly influence the spirit?¡± If that were the case, there would be no chance to fight at all! Sweat broke out on Wang Tao¡¯s forehead, and he urgently shouted into the walkie-talkie, ¡°We can¡¯t give up! Everyone, don¡¯t give up! Stay alert!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice was loud, and upon hearing it, everyone regained their lucidity, sweating profusely. They had awakened, but how to get away? ¡°Drive forward, pass beneath it!¡± Wang Tao decisively ordered. He was uncertain whether the collapsed building was the work of the Black Fog Monster, but now they had no choice. The Black Fog Monster was on the rooftop of the six-story building, and there was some distance between it and them. Perhaps they could drive straight through the street beneath it. Chapter 311: 155: Level 3!_3 Chapter 311: Chapter 155: Level 3!_3 ¡°` Of course, things were definitely not going to be that simple, everyone was prepared for battle. Then. Bang¡ª Several cars crashed into the walls on either side of the street. ¡°What happened!¡± Wang Tao looked toward Han Rui beside him. The car he was in was driven by Han Rui, who also hit the wall. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know what happened. I felt like I was driving straight ahead, how did I turn...¡± Han Rui was somewhat panicked. She had been driving for many years, and she could definitely tell the difference between going straight and turning. But she was sure she was going straight, yet she ended up crashing into the wall! She didn¡¯t feel any problems with the car, nor did she think she made any mistakes, but she crashed into the wall anyway... ¡°Continue, charge!¡± After hearing Han Rui¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao had a bad feeling, but he still shouted again. Several drivers immediately straightened their vehicles and rushed towards the intersection. Wang Tao kept his eyes on the Black Fog Monster that remained motionless on the rooftop, carefully observing Han Rui at the same time. Then he saw, just after the car started, Han Rui suddenly turned the steering wheel to the right. Bang¡ª The car hit the wall again! It wasn¡¯t just this car, the following cars also crashed into it. Han Rui had a bewildered look on her face. ¡°I, I really was driving properly... How could this happen...¡± Wang Tao sighed; there was no more room for luck this time, it was that Black Fog Monster¡¯s doing! It must have some ability to affect the mind, and it was even an area-of-effect ability! However, this ability didn¡¯t seem to be too strong? Otherwise, there was no need to make cars crash into walls, making people commit suicide would be much simpler... ¡°Get out of the car! Everyone, get out!¡± Wang Tao immediately said. It was clear that they couldn¡¯t continue driving; they had to get out and walk. Without the cars, the likelihood of escaping was even lower... After everyone got out of the car, aside from Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo, the others all had weak legs, collapsing onto the ground. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Wang Tao quickly asked. Ding Yuqin clutched Wang Tao¡¯s hand with a terrified expression. ¡°Such a terrifying presence, I¡¯m scared, I can¡¯t move...¡± The others were in the same state; they couldn¡¯t walk! ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected that these vehicles, reinforced with thick steel plates, also had the function of blocking out presences? While they were inside the car, they were scared, but not to the extent that they couldn¡¯t walk because of weak legs. Only Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo were able to stand, possibly because both were Level 2 Ability users. Having no other option, Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo had to stuff everyone back into the vehicles. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± As soon as they got back into the car and closed the door, everyone took a deep breath. ¡°Just now... it was terrifying!¡± Han Rui looked at Wang Tao with some fear lingering from before. The moment she got out of the car, she felt like she was about to die... ¡°` Wang Tao felt a chill in his heart. This monster is trapping people to death! The car can¡¯t move forward, and people can¡¯t walk away, with our escape blocked as well... aren¡¯t we sitting ducks! At that moment, Wang Tao saw the mass of black fog on the rooftop stir. It drifted down the building¡¯s facade like a dark cloud, floating leisurely toward the ground. And as it approached, the terror within the people in the car grew stronger! Not just them, even Wang Tao found his body becoming somewhat stiff. Wang Tao felt that as soon as it fully landed and confronted everyone, no one would be able to move; they could only wait for death! We can¡¯t let it come near! We¡¯ve got to lure it away! Wang Tao looked at his companions, who were low on HP, at Ding Yuqin¡¯s terrified little face, and at Han Rui, Wei Zhenguo, and the others¡¯ readiness to fight to the death. He took a deep breath and said solemnly: ¡°When the time comes, find a chance to run away!¡± Everyone immediately turned to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, what... what are you going to do?¡± Ding Yuqin clutched Wang Tao¡¯s hand nervously. A resolute expression appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯ll draw it away!¡± ¡°No! You... you¡¯ll die!¡± Before Ding Yuqin could speak, Han Rui immediately grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s other hand. She knew all too well the terror of this shadow. Although she had great faith in Wang Tao, she knew he was no match for it! ¡°Wang Tao...¡± Ding Yuqin gazed at Wang Tao, her face wet with tears, shaking her head. She didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to go to his death. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you! I¡¯m a Level 2 as well!¡± Wei Zhenguo said with a resolute complexion. He knew that trying to lure the monster away meant certain death whether they succeeded or not. He couldn¡¯t let Wang Tao face death alone. After all, it¡¯s just death; he wasn¡¯t afraid! But Wang Tao shook his head in refusal. ¡°No, Old Wei, you take them and run! Without your Level 2 strength, even if they managed to escape, survival in the post-apocalyptic world would still be uncertain. Not all Survivor Bases are as harmonious as ours... You must protect them; that¡¯s your responsibility!¡± ¡°But you¡ª¡± Wang Tao had hit Wei Zhenguo¡¯s soft spot with his words. He was not afraid of death, but he was terrified of being unable to protect these people who trusted him! ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m lucky! I definitely won¡¯t die, plus it¡¯s more convenient for me alone!¡± Wang Tao forced a casual smile on his face; he had a plan in mind, but it was uncertain if it would succeed... Then Wang Tao immediately took a big bag from the trunk of the car. The bag was actually empty, but while taking it, Wang Tao had filled it with many objects from the Space Backpack. Swipe¡ª Wang Tao opened the bag, revealing various potions, Crystal Cores, medical kits, nutrient fluids, and other supplies. ¡°All these items are for you. You all know how to use them, so I needn¡¯t say more...¡± As Wang Tao spoke as if he was arranging his final affairs, tears welled up in everyone¡¯s eyes; Ding Yuqin and Han Rui turned especially pale. A tragic atmosphere lingered among them. ¡°Sob sob...¡± Li Qiuyu, who had been silent at the side, couldn¡¯t hold back anymore and began to cry with her mouth covered. However, Wang Tao suddenly reached out, seized Li Qiuyu, and pulled her out of the car. As everyone and Li Qiuyu looked on in utter confusion, Wang Tao placed his hand on Li Qiuyu¡¯s neck and shouted loudly: ¡°Jiang Shixue! Come out! Help me with something! Otherwise, I¡¯ll kill her!¡± Chapter 312: 156 Best of Luck_1 Chapter 312: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_1 Li Qiuyu, after being dragged out by Wang Tao, couldn¡¯t stand firm, her body having gone limp. She had been frightened badly and could only let Wang Tao hold her, curling up in his embrace. Wang Tao whispered in her ear: ¡°Sorry about this, I need to borrow your daughter for a bit!¡± Before Li Qiuyu could react, she saw Wang Tao suddenly shout: ¡°Jiang Shixue! Come out! Help me or I¡¯ll kill her!¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded, not understanding what Wang Tao was up to. Why was he treating Li Qiuyu like this? And who was Jiang Shixue? ¡°You¡ªwhat are you trying to do!¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s eyes widened instantly, her face full of confusion as she looked at Wang Tao. ¡°I can¡¯t lure this monster away by myself, I need a helper.¡± Wang Tao told the truth. This Black Mist Monster could affect people¡¯s spirits, and Wang Tao felt he might not be able to withstand its Mental Attack. But Jiang Shixue should be able to, since she also had abilities related to the spirit, and she had said that she had been close to this Black Mist Monster before. So Wang Tao planned to find Jiang Shixue for help. His coming out to lure the monster didn¡¯t mean he was going to throw his life away. However, Jiang Shixue definitely wouldn¡¯t appear easily, so he needed to use some special methods. As to whether Jiang Shixue was around, Wang Tao was certain. Because ever since he had escaped from the base, he felt a gaze occasionally fixating on him, a very familiar sensation¡ªit was Jiang Shixue! Therefore, Wang Tao decided to take a gamble. If he won the bet, he would still have a chance of surviving. If he lost the bet, then he could only leave it to fate... ¡°You, you can¡¯t drag Little Xue into this, she¡¯s already...¡± Li Qiuyu looked at Wang Tao in disbelief. Of course, she didn¡¯t want to die, but as a mother, she was even less willing to let her daughter die. If given a choice, she would rather take her daughter¡¯s place! This was her selfishness as a mother... Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this is the only thing I can do.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t wish to do this, but he had no other choice. If the attraction failed, everyone would die! ¡°No, you can¡¯t...¡± Li Qiuyu¡¯s eyes started to look a bit glassy as she shook her head. The others were all puzzled, not knowing what Wang Tao was up to, only Han Rui and Ding Yuqin exchanged glances with each other, some disbelief in their eyes. The cluster of black mist was still slowly descending upstairs. It seemed in no hurry to attack everyone, as if it were playing cat and mouse. Suddenly, everyone felt a flash before their eyes. A petite figure, dressed in dirty clothes and a hooded head down, appeared not far from Wang Tao and Li Qiuyu. She lifted her head, and all everyone could see was a pair of red eyes. ¡°Let go... or... you die!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice was very hoarse and stiff, sounding somewhat uncomfortable to hear. Li Qiuyu opened her mouth; she hadn¡¯t expected her daughter to actually be there! For a moment, her feelings were extremely mixed and intense. Wang Tao gave a wry smile and glanced at the Black Mist Monster, which was about to reach the ground, feeling an ever-increasing pressure. He said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Do me a favor, help me lure this monster away!¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t seem to understand Wang Tao¡¯s words, her tone extremely stiff as she said: ¡°You... let her go!¡± Wang Tao had just put his hand on Li Qiuyu¡¯s neck without actually squeezing, but seeing Jiang Shixue like this, he applied a bit of pressure. ¡°Ergh¡ª¡± Li Qiuyu immediately felt like she couldn¡¯t breathe, her face turning red. She glared at Wang Tao fiercely; this was the second time! ¡°Help me with this, and she has a chance of surviving. Don¡¯t help me, and we all die.¡± Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue with an indifferent expression. ¡°... Let her go! I... agree!¡± Seeing that Jiang Shixue finally gave in, Wang Tao turned around and stuffed Li Qiuyu into the car, then closed the door firmly. Li Qiuyu began frantically pounding on the car door from inside. ¡°Wang Tao! I hate you! If you get Little Xue killed, I will kill you! You must return safely with Little Xue, or else I swear I¡¯ll kill you with my own hands!¡± Looking at Li Qiuyu¡¯s state, Wang Tao smiled, then turned to the others. ¡°Take care everyone! I will come for you soon!¡± ¡°Wang Tao...¡± ¡°Big brother...¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say any more, but ran towards Jiang Shixue and grabbed her arm, then ran towards the Black Mist Monster! As they ran, a Longbow suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. This was a trophy he had obtained from killing an archer zombie before. The bow was excellent, with great power, but it was difficult to operate, so Wang Tao usually used a crossbow. But after his strength had increased, the crossbow seemed somewhat insufficient, so Wang Tao had given it to Ding Yuqin. Jiang Shixue¡¯s red glow flickered slightly; she hadn¡¯t seen clearly where Wang Tao had pulled the bow from. While running, Wang Tao drew the bow and set an arrow. Under the ability of Precision Shooting, his arrow shot straight into the mass of black mist. But once the arrow entered the mist, nothing happened, and no damage notifications popped up above the mist. It was still at full HP. ¡°Didn¡¯t hit?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly. He quickly shot several more arrows, all of which went into the dark mass, but still, no damage notifications appeared. ¡°...¡± Looking at the black mist drawing closer, Wang Tao grew nervous. Was the Black Mist Monster this strong? Could it completely ignore his attacks?! If he couldn¡¯t damage the Black Mist Monster, how was he going to lure it... Chapter 313: 156 Best of Luck_2 Chapter 313: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_2 ¡°` Suddenly, Wang Tao felt that everything before his eyes had changed. There were no streets, no shadows, nor zombies and survivors, and Jiang Shixue was also gone. He was in a familiar air-conditioned room playing computer games, with a girl bringing him chunks of chilled watermelon. After feeding him a few pieces, she silently massaged his shoulders and legs... What a beautiful scene, but it was too fake¡ªthe girl beside him was a two-dimensional paper figure... Wang Tao sighed and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you something, help me smash it directly at that monster!¡± After speaking, a basketball-sized heart appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. It was a Self-Destruct Bomb. Jiang Shixue had said before that the Black Mist Monster hated water and noise, and this thing was loud enough! After the Self-Destruct Bomb appeared, it began to expand, looking like it was about to explode. Then Wang Tao realized the Self-Destruct Bomb in his hand was gone. And then there was a bang. Wang Tao saw the scene before him shatter like a mirror¡ªJiang Shixue was sprinting with him, and they had crossed beyond that shadow! The HP of the Black Mist Monster had changed! [34995/35000] It had lost 5 HP! In an instant, Wang Tao felt his hair standing on end, with the red-glowing eyes in the black mist staring intently at him. Wang Tao felt like it had gotten angry! Getting angry was good! ¡°Hurry up!¡± Wang Tao turned his hand and grabbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s arm, then activated the Rush Ability equipped on his gear. Whoosh¡ª In an instant, they moved forward over thirty meters. As soon as they had sprinted away, the mass of black mist soundlessly appeared where they had just been. ¡°Teleport?¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen how the other moved. To him, it seemed like teleportation! However, this Black Mist Monster only used that ability comparable to teleportation once. Afterwards, it chased Wang Tao like a huge black cloud gliding across the ground. Although the mass of black mist looked light and fluttery, its speed was extremely fast. Wang Tao exerted all his strength, but not only could he not widen the gap, it was actually closing in. Wang Tao looked back and saw Wei Zhenguo¡¯s car slowly driving away, which made Wang Tao grin. His goal was to attract the Black Mist Monster to allow Wei Zhenguo and the others to leave safely. The longer he attracted it, the greater their chances of getting away. Wang Tao¡¯s goal was a third of the way met. Now, he had two tasks left¡ªattract it for a sufficient length of time and figure out a way to shake off the Black Mist Monster! ... Wang Tao discovered that Jiang Shixue could run even better than him. Initially, it had been Wang Tao dragging Jiang Shixue along, but when he began to gasp for air, it was Jiang Shixue who led the run. And Jiang Shixue was faster than him, without panting for breath! If it weren¡¯t for Jiang Shixue, they might have been caught up to! Feeling the cold temperature of Jiang Shixue¡¯s palm, Wang Tao knew that she might soon turn into a zombie... After the distance between the Black Mist Monster and Wang Tao had closed once again, Wang Tao¡¯s vision blurred and he found himself on a filming set, with the director telling him to get ready for his next scene. Unfortunately, this director was headless. Without a word, Wang Tao took out another Self-Destruct Bomb. ¡°Blow it up!¡± The bomb disappeared in an instant. Boom¡ª With a loud bang, the scene shattered, and Wang Tao returned to reality. At the same time, Wang Tao felt an intense killing intent so palpable it was almost tangible! He quickly turned around and saw that the Black Mist Monster had lost another 5 HP. ¡°This defensive power is really damn strong!¡± Wang Tao internally exclaimed. A Self-Destruct Bomb that could blow a Level Two Zombie to pieces or even kill it could only inflict 5 HP of damage to it... But after being hit by the bomb, the Black Mist Monster¡¯s speed had slowed down a lot, and it temporarily couldn¡¯t catch up to the two of them. After persisting for a while, Wang Tao felt that Wei Zhenguo and the others must have gotten far away. So a Self-Destruct Bomb appeared in his hand, which he tossed casually. Boom¡ª As the bomb exploded, another appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Boom¡ª Boom¡ª Countless Self-Destruct Bombs were thrown by Wang Tao, rousing nearly every zombie in the county with the explosions. Jiang Shixue turned her head, her eyes glowing red and staring fiercely at Wang Tao. Wang Tao felt he could read from her eyes emotions named anger and frustration. Zombies were sensitive to sound, and given Jiang Shixue¡¯s current state, she was probably not much different from a zombie. Wang Tao could sense that she seemed to be holding back her anger. ¡°There¡¯s no way around it. Who would¡¯ve thought this monster also hates noise? Without creating chaos, we can¡¯t escape,¡± explained Wang Tao as he continued throwing bombs. Boom¡ª Boom¡ª Having run for who knew how long, the two of them returned to Shuize Base. Seeing the big river behind Shuize Base, Wang Tao¡¯s face lit up with joy. He was about to speak when suddenly, everything went dark in front of him, and a mass of black mist appeared! Wang Tao¡¯s scalp tingled. He could see clearly that this time it wasn¡¯t an illusion; they had run into the Black Mist Monster! Normally, as soon as the monster approached, Wang Tao would enter into hallucinations. Since Jiang Shixue wasn¡¯t affected by the hallucinations, he had her throw the bomb. As soon as the Black Mist Monster was affected, Wang Tao would be snapped back to reality. So, whenever Wang Tao felt himself entering into an illusion, he knew the Black Mist Monster was upon them. But now, the monster wasn¡¯t using illusions anymore; instead, it directly used that ability similar to teleportation and instantly appeared right in front of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. They hadn¡¯t even reacted before they ran headlong into it. ¡°` Chapter 314: 156 Best of Luck_3 Chapter 314: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_3 Wang Tao¡¯s vision was pitch black; even as his eyes emitted a green glow, he still couldn¡¯t see a thing! Not only was his sight compromised, but Wang Tao also felt difficulty breathing, his body stiffened, and even his consciousness started to blur! ¡°I¡¯m dying...¡± Wang Tao felt a sense of fear; he thought he was starting to see his life flash before his eyes. Bang¡ª Suddenly, Wang Tao felt as if he had been fiercely kicked, a piercing pain shot through his belly. Then, his vision brightened¡ªhe had emerged from the black mist! The black mist churned tumultuously, as if Jiang Shixue was engaged in a fierce battle with the monster within! ¡°Jiang Shixue...¡± Wang Tao had mixed feelings, but he knew that if it weren¡¯t for Li Qiuyu¡¯s sake, Jiang Shixue wouldn¡¯t have saved him. Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately ran toward the west, following the river¡¯s direction, and took a Stealth Potion on the go. After all, the zombies in the county town were all riled up, and he would definitely be surrounded if he didn¡¯t use the Stealth Potion. As for the direction of Wang Tao¡¯s escape, naturally, it was the opposite of the direction Wei Zhenguo and the others had taken. He didn¡¯t know how long Jiang Shixue could hold off the pursuit, but he guessed it wouldn¡¯t be long, considering the vast gap between Level 2 and Level 3. If the monster were to catch up again, Wang Tao definitely didn¡¯t want it to chase after Wei Zhenguo and the others; that would¡¯ve been a wasted effort. At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly heard a buzzing noise from the sky. ¡°Hm?¡± Wang Tao looked up. Small raindrops fell on his face, and he saw a dark shadow in the sky, causing him to freeze momentarily. ¡°An airdrop? Now of all times...¡± Wang Tao was tempted by the contents of the airdrop, but he dared not pick it up¡ªit was certainly a time to prioritize staying alive. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the Black Mist Monster behind him seemed to be attracted by the sound of the plane and immediately chased after the aircraft¡¯s flight path! Wei Zhenguo and his group had run eastward while Wang Tao had headed west; the plane seemed to fly from south to north, and the Black Mist Monster gave chase in the northern direction! Seeing this, Wang Tao first felt a surge of relief, then found himself in a dilemma. But in the end, he gritted his teeth and ran back. Arriving at the site where Jiang Shixue had fought with the shadow, the area was a complete mess, with no sign of Jiang Shixue or a corpse. Had she turned into a zombie? Or was she torn to pieces by the monster, or perhaps devoured? Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, but he once again felt a dangerous sensation¡ªthe Black Mist Monster seemed to be returning! Not daring to delay, Wang Tao immediately continued running westward along the river. But after only a few minutes, that faint sense of being watched returned! ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao took a fierce decision, plunging into the river! His plan to lure the monster out was to escape through the water. After all, Jiang Shixue had mentioned previously that the monster hated water. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if there were other monsters or zombies in the water¡ªsuch a presence would spell his doom! Right now, he had no other choice. With a splash, Wang Tao dove into the water and completely disappeared. About ten seconds later, a black mist emerged at the spot where Wang Tao had jumped into the river, and a pair of glowing red eyes within it stared intently at the water, seemingly enraged. Eventually, it drifted away. ¡°Meow~¡± ... Drip, drip, drip... The rain fell upon the river, creating ripples upon ripples. Gurgle, gurgle~ Suddenly, bubbles started to appear on the water¡¯s surface, and then a burly figure burst out from the water. ¡°Ugh¡ªcough, cough¡ªhuff¡ª¡± Wang Tao gazed at the gloomy sky, then looked at the shore, relieved to see no monsters. He grinned wryly and then laboriously crawled onto the bank. He didn¡¯t know how long he had stayed in the water, nor did he know his location; he only knew that if he didn¡¯t come up soon, he would truly suffocate. Wang Tao glanced at his remaining HP, which was less than a thousand. He quickly applied every usable ability and potion available. Shortly after, lying in the muddy ground by the riverbank, Wang Tao saw his HP finally start to regenerate, and he let out a sigh of relief. Enduring the pain, Wang Tao struggled to get up and found himself in a deserted and uninhabited village. He had no idea whether it housed any zombies. Watching the rain grow heavier, Wang Tao knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to travel further that day and decided to rest in the village overnight. However, just as Wang Tao was about to check the village for dangers, a corpse floating on the river caught his eye¡ªnot a corpse, a zombie, a dying zombie! Of course, none of that was the main point; what mattered was that it was Jiang Shixue! [HP: 66/18000] [Mana: 4235/16000] [Grade: Level 2 ¨C Lord] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract] Without a word, Wang Tao dived back into the river, and after nearly half an hour, he managed to drag a slender body ashore. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Wang Tao had previously thought that if Jiang Shixue turned into a zombie completely, she would definitely become a very powerful one. And sure enough! After she became a zombie, her HP and Mana both doubled, and her grade shot up straight to Lord Rank. Of course, she was critically wounded now, and with that HP, she¡¯d die upon contact. Even though she was critically wounded, being a zombie, the reason Wang Tao had taken so long was because he had to restrain her. ¡°Heh heh...¡± The zombie Jiang Shixue, now bound hand and foot by Wang Tao, glared at him with glowing red eyes, and she let out a series of growls from her throat. Wang Tao ignored the noises and continued dragging her by the legs into the dilapidated village. Chapter 315: 156 Best of Luck_4 Chapter 315: Chapter 156 Best of Luck_4 After a brief search around, Wang Tao found that there was no one and no zombies in the vicinity. So, he pried open the door of one of the houses and dragged Jiang Shixue inside. He blocked the door well to ensure zombies couldn¡¯t enter, and then Wang Tao took out several bottles of nutrient solution. ¡°Glug, glug~¡± After downing several bottles in one go, Wang Tao finally felt a lot better. ¡°They say, ¡®What doesn¡¯t kill you makes you stronger,¡¯ I hope life in the post-apocalypse will be smoother from now on...¡± After muttering to himself, Wang Tao turned his attention to Jiang Shixue. ¡°Heh heh...¡± Jiang Shixue was still staring intensely at Wang Tao, as if she wanted to devour him. Wang Tao directly removed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hat and mask, revealing a terrifying face. ¡°No wonder she always wore a hat and mask...¡± As a girl, having transformed into something neither human nor ghost, it must be hard to bear, and her reluctance to show her true face was understandable. But Wang Tao, having seen all sorts of ugly zombies, was naturally immune to Jiang Shixue¡¯s face. Moreover, Jiang Shixue had beautiful eyes. The eyes of ordinary zombies are pale and cataract-like, with the whites filled with blackened blood... they look quite ghastly. But Jiang Shixue was different, her pupils were a fiery red and shimmering, as beautiful as rubies. Just like Wang Tao¡¯s green eyes. If he killed her, would these eyes drop out? A small wicked thought suddenly popped into Wang Tao¡¯s mind, but he quickly shook his head. If he had wanted to kill Jiang Shixue, he would have done it already, not wait until now. He felt that Jiang Shixue still had a chance of being saved, a 50% chance to revert to human! Wang Tao took out a potion from his Space Backpack. [Purification Agent (Experimental): When used on zombies infected and mutated for less than 3 days, has a certain chance to purify the virus in the body and a certain chance to cause self-detonation. Ineffective on zombies infected and mutated for over 3 days (Note: This potion is a trial version and may have some unknown side effects.)] This was an item that had dropped from a green-eyed zombie he had killed in the hospital. Jiang Shixue¡¯s infection and mutation were definitely under three days, meeting the usage criteria. But the chance was only 50%, and the other 50% chance was self-detonation! Either revert to human or die. Considering Jiang Shixue¡¯s current situation, she had no choice but to take the gamble. However, before preparing to administer the potion, Wang Tao saw the Zombie Culture Fluid in his Space Backpack. He had never found a use for this thing, but throwing it away seemed like a waste, so he had kept it. He had seen it just now when he took out the purification potion. So now, was there a possibility to culture Jiang Shixue first, then use the purification potion? Wang Tao thought it was worth a try! Therefore, Wang Tao went back to the village and gathered all sorts of steel pipes, iron chains, and the like, wrapping Jiang Shixue up completely, locking her tight. Then with his left hand, Wang Tao took out a bottle of Zombie Culture Fluid, and in his right hand, he held the purification potion. The Zombie Culture Fluid was similar to the nutrient solution he drank, but with a very distinct yellow and black biochemical symbol on it. Wang Tao had a total of 1000 doses of Zombie Culture Fluid, and this bottle accounted for one dose. He first used an iron hoop to pry open Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth, then poured the Zombie Culture Fluid in. Glug~ Jiang Shixue drank it uncontrollably. Then she froze, staring blankly at Wang Tao, the fierce light in her eyes seeming to fade away. Wang Tao looked at the HP bar below Jiang Shixue, displaying two states. [Cultivation: Total 1% (99% can be added). Time remaining 59 minutes 59 seconds] [Weakness: All attributes reduced by 99%, time remaining 59 minutes 59 seconds] Jiang Shixue, in a state of cultivation, had a negative status of 99% weakness! Seeing this, Wang Tao¡¯s worries were eased. He had been worried that if Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP spontaneously recovered, he would be in danger. Then, Wang Tao directly took another 99 doses of culture fluid and poured them all into Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth. The culture total became 100%, with the time remaining the same, exactly one hour. After confirming again that Jiang Shixue posed no immediate threat, Wang Tao leaned against the side and closed his eyes to rest. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t fall asleep, instead, he checked his attributes and backpack. Before, when Wang Tao discussed with Wei Zhenguo, he found out that after ascending to a second-order superpower owner, besides an all-around enhancement of physical fitness and a substantial increase in strength, there was an additional benefit¡ªthe internal impurities in the body decreased! Originally, his body¡¯s internal impurity level was at 2%, but after reaching level 2 ascension, it became 1%! After comparing and analyzing the number of crystal cores they had fused and the amount of internal impurities, they reached a conclusion¡ªafter ascending to level two, the internal impurities were directly eliminated by half! Wang Tao¡¯s internal impurity level, to be exact, was 2.2%, and now after level two ascension, it was 1.1%! Wang Tao had five bottles of cleansing potion at hand, each capable of eliminating 1% of the internal impurities. But now, with his internal impurities at 1.1%... He was in a situation where one bottle was not enough, and two would be a waste. Therefore, Wang Tao planned to see if he could fuse a few more level two crystal cores to accumulate his impurity level to close to 2%, and then use two bottles of cleansing potion. Having been poor since childhood, Wang Tao had developed the good habit of being frugal. From his last defeat of the toad zombie and two level two poisonous fog zombies, he had obtained a total of three crystal cores and four packages! The crystal core inside the toad zombie was a level two weak poisonous mist crystal core. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Weakness Poison Fog] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Body oozes pus)] [Weakness Poison Fog: Able to continuously release a green poisonous mist that causes weakness, coughing, lowered immunity, and intermittent HP reduction, lasting for 3 seconds] The other two level two zombies also contained weakness poison fog crystal cores. One was excellent (40%), and one was ordinary (20%). They could be synthesized into a golden epic crystal core. However, Wang Tao was not particularly interested in this weakness poison fog. He could only fuse one more type of crystal core, and he not only had to choose one that suited him, but also one that would easily fuse with other abilities in the future¡ªWang Tao felt that similar types of abilities had a higher rate of successful fusion with each other! For instance, the combination of his self-healing and toughness abilities had a much higher rate of fusion success than other combinations... Then there were the four packages, one of which was a crystal core gift bag. The other three contained 15 vulnerable mist grenades and three blueprints that could each create ten grenades. The effects of the vulnerable mist grenades were the same as the ability, but with the ability, ¡°as long as there¡¯s mana, one can keep releasing poison.¡± However, the effect of the grenades lasted for three minutes. [Vulnerable Mist Grenade: Continuously releases a green poisonous mist that causes weakness, coughing, lowered immunity, and intermittent HP reduction, lasting for 3 minutes] As for the materials required for the blueprints, they weren¡¯t rare, and Wang Tao would soon be able to produce them. Last was the crystal core gift bag. Inside were five crystal cores, all level two. One ascension, one jump, one loose tongue, one weakness poison fog, and one mental disturbance. Wang Tao had given the ascension crystal core to Wei Zhenguo and the others, keeping the rest for himself. Wang Tao had already seen the jump, loose tongue, and weak poison fog crystal cores; mental disturbance was the first time he¡¯d encountered one. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Mental Disturbance] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Head becomes increasingly larger)] [Mental Disturbance: Can slightly affect a creature¡¯s spirit] This ability seemed not bad, as it appeared the toad zombie used this ability to lead the other ordinary poisonous fog zombies. However, he only had one crystal core at the moment, with no way to eliminate the side effect. Naturally, it was not Wang Tao¡¯s first choice. Right now, the level two crystal cores Wang Tao could fuse seemed to be limited to power, self-detonation, and omnipotent. The side effect of the power was related to strength and body size, which was not a big deal for him, whereas self-detonation and omnipotent had no side effects. As for other crystal cores, they were either unsuitable or had side effects that were too horrifying... ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll endure it a bit longer, see if I can get more level two crystal cores later, or even decent level one crystal cores would do... If all else fails, then I¡¯d have to fuse the omnipotent crystal core...¡± While Wang Tao was contemplating, an hour passed quickly. The cultivation of zombie Jiang Shixue had ended, and her HP limit increased by 1000, reaching 19000. At the same time, not only had her weakness state ended, but she was also fully revitalized! Swoosh¡ª Zombie Jiang Shixue opened her eyes, and the bloodthirsty, mad, and violent expressions in those red eyes made Wang Tao¡¯s hairs stand on end. His sixth sense told him that he was definitely no match for zombie Jiang Shixue! Without a second word, Wang Tao immediately injected the pre-prepared purification potion into Jiang Shixue¡¯s body. Pfft¡ª In an instant, Jiang Shixue¡¯s body softened, and she closed her eyes again. ¡°You saved my life, so I¡¯ll try my best to save yours. Whether you can survive depends on your luck... Good luck.¡± Chapter 316: 157: Brother, I want_1 Chapter 316: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_1 Rustle¡ª¡ª The sky was gloomy, and the heavy rain poured down incessantly. In a dilapidated small town overrun with greenery, three well-covered survivors were taking shelter from the rain inside a broken house. One of them, a thin young man, looked up at the sky with a hint of fear and said, ¡°The rain is getting heavier, and I feel really uncomfortable. Let¡¯s head back...¡± Another man, wearing a security guard¡¯s uniform, rubbed his neck and said, ¡°This heavy rain has been going on for several days non-stop... I¡¯m also starting to feel very uncomfortable...¡± The last one, a tall man about 1.7 meters but very sturdy, dressed in camouflage, sighed helplessly, ¡°Ah! Then let¡¯s go back, today¡¯s haul isn¡¯t great...¡± The middle-aged man shook his head, ¡°No way around it, the heavy rain is too much of an obstacle for us! Without the rain, we could stay outside for a day. But now, just a few hours in and we can¡¯t stand it...¡± ¡°Sigh, do you think the heavens really want to wipe us out... When it used to rain, the zombies¡¯ perception would weaken, which made it a good opportunity to scavenge for supplies. But who knew the rain would become toxic now...¡± The young man complained in a low voice. ¡°Heh, Little Li, be content. It¡¯s already great that we can go out to scavenge. When it rains, many people can¡¯t even step outside their doors!¡± The middle-aged man spoke with a smug tone. ¡°Haha, Brother Tian is right, always look on the bright side of life, and you¡¯ll find much more happiness!¡± The man in camouflage laughed heartily, playing the role of a life coach. ¡°Er... that makes sense... Brother Tian, Brother Yu, you¡¯re right!¡± Li Yi scratched his head. Thinking of how many people in the camp hid at home, not daring to come into contact with the rainwater, a smug look appeared on Li Yi¡¯s face. Although scavenging was dangerous, the benefits were plenty¡ªhe might not be the wealthiest in the camp, but he was definitely part of the upper echelon. Many people had to be careful about how they acted around him! The feeling of being on top, he could never have experienced that when he was just a Screw in the factory! Sometimes he even thought, perhaps the apocalypse wasn¡¯t such a bad thing! But then, as if something hit him, he blurted out, ¡°I wonder how Fatty¡¯s doing with his haul?¡± Mentioning the name Fatty, both the man in camouflage, Yu Wei, and the middle-aged security guard, Tian Peng, exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat enigmatic. ¡°Shall we... go check on him?¡± Tian Peng raised his eyebrows. ¡°He said he¡¯s heading to the Xinghe Community today, right? That means we¡¯ll have to take a detour...¡± Yu Wei hesitated a bit. ¡°Hey! With the zombies practically blind now, taking a small detour won¡¯t matter! We¡¯re all friends here, we should look out for each other! And besides...¡± Tian Peng gave him a knowing look. ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go check on him!¡± Yu Wei finally nodded his head. Li Yi naturally had no objections; after all, compared to the other two, he was just a newbie and didn¡¯t really have a say in the matter. The three of them ate something quickly, then shouldered their backpacks and carefully made their way for over half an hour before finally reaching the outskirts of Xinghe Community. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Upon seeing Xinghe Community, all three took deep breaths. Not out of exhaustion, but because they were drenched and uncomfortable from the ¡°toxic rain.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t do it anymore, shall we rest a bit after finding Fatty before we head back?¡± Tian Peng spoke somewhat helplessly. ¡°Yeah, I was thinking the same thing!¡± Yu Wei nodded in agreement. The gate of Xinghe Community was open, with several zombies dead at the entrance. Seeing those with their heads smashed, the three were somewhat taken aback. Li Yi exclaimed, ¡°Fatty is still so badass! These zombies probably didn¡¯t stand a chance against his hammer!¡± Tian Peng shook his head with a hint of envy. ¡°If I had his strength, I could probably walk sideways in our town!¡± Yu Wei carefully surveyed the surroundings, then his eyes lit up and he pointed at a window of a house, ¡°Fatty¡¯s in there!¡± Three long green cloth strips hung outside that window. According to the rules of their camp, green cloth strips meant the room was safe, red meant danger. Three green strips indicated that all nearby zombies had been killed and it was very safe. If it was someone else who hung three green strips, they would have to check cautiously, but if it was Fatty who did, there was no need. After all, Fatty was an honest man; if he said it was safe, it definitely meant he had personally wiped out all nearby zombies! The group confidently ascended the stairs and knocked on the door, Yu Wei spoke softly, ¡°Fatty, are you there? It¡¯s me, Old Yu, Yu Wei!¡± Moments later, the door opened. A young man about two meters tall, extremely burly, with a simple and honest face, opened the door. He had to stoop slightly at the doorway, and his massive frame almost blocked the whole entrance. When Fatty saw the trio outside, a smile appeared on his face, and he scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, ¡°You guys came. I was about to head back in a bit...¡± ¡°No!¡± Upon hearing this, Tian Peng hastily waved his hands, ¡°Wait before you go! We were just soaked in rain for a long time; we need to rest a bit!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Fatty invited the three inside. The house had been tidied up simply by Fatty and was relatively clean. Several Snake Skin Bags were placed in the center of the living room, clashing obviously with the decor of the room. And upon seeing these bags, both Tian Peng and Yu Wei¡¯s eyes brightened. Chapter 317: 157: Brother, I want_2 Chapter 317: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_2 It took the three of them all morning to each find a small backpack¡¯s worth of supplies, yet Fatty alone was able to find two Giant Serpent bags! Indeed, people really shouldn¡¯t be compared! ¡°Cough... Fatty, you¡¯re amazing! To find so much on your own!¡± Tian Peng rubbed his hands together. ¡°I really admire you, Fatty. Look at us, we searched all morning and only found this little bit...¡± Yu Wei patted his somewhat shrunken backpack, his expression helpless. Li Yi didn¡¯t feel his looting was lacking, as he had enough for his own use. And who was Fatty? He was their camp¡¯s guardian deity! Whether it was combat ability or scavenging ability, who could compare with Fatty? It was only normal for them to fall short! Li Yi was about to say, ¡°Actually, we¡¯re not that bad,¡± but before he could speak, Tian Peng suddenly said, ¡°How about it, Fatty, can you lend me some of your supplies? You know, I¡¯m thin-skinned, and if I take this little back, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll be talked about...¡± Upon hearing this, Li Yi¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. Thin-skinned? Tian Peng harassed married women every night and never showed a thin skin! And borrowing supplies? Was that even something you could borrow? Just when Li Yi thought Fatty would refuse, Fatty just smiled and scratched his head. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t thank you enough, Fatty! You¡¯re really like a brother to me!¡± Tian Peng immediately praised him, then skillfully went through Fatty¡¯s bags and quickly found where the food was stored. He grabbed the food and stuffed it into his pockets without any reservation. Li Yi watched, dumbfounded. Was this really happening? Had Fatty actually agreed? But what stunned him even more was when Yu Wei spoke up, his face filled with sorrow, ¡°Sigh, my wife has had a high fever lately, bedridden. I¡¯ve looked all morning and haven¡¯t found any fever medicine... I don¡¯t know if she can make it...¡± Li Yi¡¯s eyes widened again. Yu Wei¡¯s wife had a high fever and was bedridden? Then who was the woman who had sent him off that morning? ¡°Medicine? I, I think I have some...¡± Fatty pointed to one of the Snake Skin Bags, somewhat bashfully. Before he had even finished speaking, Yu Wei had rushed over and rummaged through Fatty¡¯s organized supplies. ¡°Thanks so much! I was just worrying about not having medicine! Really grateful! If you ever need anything, Fatty, just say the word. I, Yu Wei, am at your beck and call!¡± However, despite having said he was missing fever medicine, he took away both family medical kits, leaving only the last one for Fatty. ¡°Um...¡± Fatty didn¡¯t object, merely scratching his head and smiling goofily. ¡°...¡± Li Yi was somewhat dumbstruck. Was the protector of their camp so easy to persuade? He had not been at the camp for long and was not very familiar with its ways, but this guardian deity was very different from what he had imagined... For the shameless behavior of his two companions, the young man felt a strong sense of disdain. This was nothing less than taking advantage of an honest person! He was ashamed to associate with them! At that moment, Tian Peng suddenly turned back to the young man and said, ¡°Little Li, didn¡¯t you say you haven¡¯t eaten even one meal today? You also mentioned you were extremely hungry. Fatty here has some ready-to-eat food. Would you like some?¡± ¡°What?¡± Li Yi was taken aback. They had just eaten before seeking out Fatty! Moreover, he still had a white flatbread from last night¡¯s meal in his backpack... ¡°Little Li, you, you eat.¡± Fatty pointed to the food, speaking with a slight stutter. ¡°I...¡± Li Yi opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words. ¡°What are you waiting for! Come here! You can¡¯t let down Fatty¡¯s kindness!¡± Tian Peng waved frantically at Little Li. Little Li wanted to refuse; after all, this was Fatty¡¯s supply. There was no difference between using such excuses to trick Fatty out of his supplies and stealing. However, unable to articulate a refusal, especially after seeing Fatty¡¯s earnest gaze, Little Li subconsciously lowered his head and took a couple of steps forward, his face slightly red. By the time he regained his senses, he was already by Tian Peng¡¯s side. ¡°Take it, all this is Fatty¡¯s kindness. Don¡¯t be shy!¡± Tian Peng immediately stuffed some bagged food into Li Yi¡¯s hands. ¡°... Okay.¡± Li Yi lowered his head and responded with a murmur. Indeed, it was Fatty¡¯s kind gesture, and refusing it would embarrass Fatty... ¡°Hehe...¡± Watching the three pick through his belongings, Fatty showed no displeasure, only a silly grin. A moment later, all three backpacks were bulging, and although Fatty¡¯s supplies still seemed abundant, the valuable items had been picked clean, reducing the worth by at least half. Li Yi¡¯s cheeks were still red, and he found it hard to look directly at Fatty, but the middle-aged man and the camo-clad man were more at ease, standing beside Fatty and happily chatting. But it was mostly them talking, with Fatty listening. Around two in the afternoon, having rested sufficiently, the three prepared to return to the camp. In this rainy weather, it was already getting dark outside, and any later might mean not being able to return at all. Fatty led the way, with Yu Wei and the others following behind. Before long, a few zombies stumbled through the rain towards them. But due to the noise of the rain, the zombies didn¡¯t notice them. Wielding a horned hammer, Fatty walked straight up to the zombies and struck them in the head. Chapter 318: 157: Brother, I want_3 Chapter 318: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_3 Pu-chi! The first zombie didn¡¯t have time to react before its head burst open. Fatty replicated the process, smashing down a few more times, easily blowing the heads off the other few zombies. The three people behind him all felt a bit envious watching this scene. Since they could come out to search for supplies, they naturally could also kill zombies, but they couldn¡¯t do it as effortlessly as Fatty. ¡°Having Fatty around really makes a difference! So much peace of mind!¡± Yu Wei praised loudly. ¡°Yeah!¡± Tian Peng nodded in agreement. Li Yi suddenly asked in a low whisper, ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just come out to scavenge with Fatty? It would be so much safer...¡± Upon hearing this, Yu Wei and Tian Peng were stunned for a moment, then looked at Li Yi with somewhat peculiar expressions. ¡°Go out with him? Of course not... You¡¯ll understand later...¡± The two didn¡¯t say much more. Li Yi was somewhat baffled, but now wasn¡¯t the time to ask more questions. The three of them carefully followed Fatty towards the direction of the camp when suddenly, they heard the sound of windows and doors breaking, and then saw a huge shadow emerge from the heavy rain, rushing towards them! Before the three could react, they saw Fatty¡¯s figure suddenly blocking in front of them. Bang! Fatty was sent flying directly into an old house, his fate unknown. The shadow that had sent Fatty flying entered after him. The group then made out that the one who had sent Fatty flying was a Charger Zombie with a half-muscular body! Instantly, the three were a bit nervous but also a bit thrilled! This was an Elite Zombie that could drop a Crystal Core! And a Fusion Crystal Core could turn someone into an Ability User! If they could become Ability Users, they would definitely be among the upper echelons in the camp! After all, there weren¡¯t many Ability Users in their camp. If Fatty weren¡¯t there, the three of them would naturally run as far as they could, but now with Fatty present, they were tempted. Because Fatty himself was an Ability User! But Fatty had just taken a hit for them; he couldn¡¯t be dead, right? The three didn¡¯t dare to go over, so they all found places to hide. After a dozen or so seconds, they saw a figure suddenly fly out and fall to the ground. The three had thought it was Fatty and were already prepared to run, but to their surprise, it was the Charger Zombie that was thrown down! Following that, Fatty wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth and walked out of the abandoned house, carefully eyeing the Charger Zombie before shouting loudly, ¡°Are, are you guys alright?¡± The rain was too loud, the three could barely make out Fatty¡¯s voice, but they didn¡¯t dare to respond. Because the Charger Zombie was getting up again! If they drew its attention and were hit by it, they would undoubtedly be dead! Not hearing a response, Fatty didn¡¯t speak again. Taking that hit for them had left him not lightly injured; after all, it was a frontal collision from a Charger Zombie. Fortunately, his thick skin and flesh held up, and he could still endure for now. However, Fatty didn¡¯t think he could kill this zombie, as this Charger Zombie was much stronger than the ones he had encountered before. Additionally, he was injured now... so he was thinking about how to escape. Speed wasn¡¯t his forte; if he wanted to run, he could only use his wits. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Charger Zombie let out an angry roar and charged at Fatty once more. Fatty had been on guard for the Charger Zombie¡¯s moves and dodged in advance¡ªhis speed wasn¡¯t fast, so he could only rely on prediction. He guessed correctly, and the Charger Zombie brushed past him and then crashed into a thick poplar tree. Thud¡ª The Charger Zombie immediately felt dizzy. In this post-apocalyptic world, some trees had not only grown bigger but also as hard as metal. Unfortunately, the Charger Zombie had smashed into one of these trees. Seeing that the Charger Zombie looked a bit dizzy, Fatty didn¡¯t seize the opportunity to attack; instead, he turned and ran in the opposite direction. ¡°Run, run!¡± He didn¡¯t know where Li Yi and the other two were hiding, so he could only shout like this. But to his surprise, instead of running away with him, the three rushed towards the Charger Zombie! ¡°This is an opportunity!¡± ¡°Kill the zombie! Not only can we enhance our strength, but we can also get a Crystal Core!¡± ¡°Charge!¡± The three, wielding homemade spears and long knives, launched an attack on the Charger Zombie. As a result, their attack on the Charger did not kill it, but seemed rather to have awoken the Charger from its dizzy state! The Charger roared angrily, and its thick right hand swung out. Bang! The three were sent flying. Puh¡ª After landing, the three spat out a big mouthful of blood, feeling severe pain all over and unable to get up. ¡°Fuck! How can it be so tough!¡± Yu Wei was a bit stunned; he had taken part in hunts to kill these Elite Zombies, but those Elites weren¡¯t this tough! His knife hadn¡¯t even broken the skin... The Charger turned around to face them, looking ready to charge again, while Fatty was a bit too far from them... The three instantly wore faces of terror. ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± In that instant, they were full of regret. They wished they had just run away with Fatty! They even harbored some resentment¡ªwhy hadn¡¯t Fatty warned them before he ran? In the distance, Fatty desperately hurried towards the three, but it was clear he wouldn¡¯t make it in time with his speed. Swoosh¡ª The Charger Zombie launched into a charge. The three closed their eyes in fear, muttering prayers for divine protection. Then they heard a bang, and the sound of the Charger Zombie¡¯s running abruptly stopped. Chapter 319: 157: Brother, I want_4 Chapter 319: Chapter 157: Brother, I want_4 Fatty was somewhat dazed; he discovered that between the charger zombies and Yu Wei¡¯s group, there was a piece of reinforced concrete neither too large nor too small. The charger zombie happened to collide with it and was knocked out cold! Did the charger zombie make a mistake? Was that piece of reinforced concrete there on the road just now? Before Fatty could make sense of what had happened, he saw a black stick-like object suddenly fly through the air and accurately embed itself in the charger zombie¡¯s eye socket. Thwack¡ª The charger zombie¡¯s body stiffened for a moment before crashing to the ground. Yu Wei¡¯s group heard the commotion and opened their eyes in a daze. Once they saw the defeated charger zombie lying before them, they were immediately overcome with excitement. ¡°We¡¯re not dead! We¡¯re not dead!¡± ¡°This zombie is dead! Was it killed by a stone falling from the building next door? Ha ha! We are so lucky!¡± ¡°Quick! Dig out its Crystal Core!¡± ¡°Ah! I hurt all over, I can¡¯t move for now...¡± ¡°Me too...¡± After a moment of bewilderment, they quickly called out for Fatty. ¡°Fatty, come and take the Crystal Core!¡± Fatty didn¡¯t immediately dig for the Crystal Core; instead, he ran over to the three men, helped them to their feet, and leaned them against the wall under the eaves. After ensuring that their lives were not in danger, he then ran over to the charger zombie. Seeing the thirty-centimeter-long piece of rebar in the charger zombie¡¯s eye socket, Fatty knew his eyes hadn¡¯t deceived him; the charger zombie wasn¡¯t killed by a stone, it was skewered by the steel rod! He hurriedly extracted the zombie¡¯s Crystal Core and also pulled out the rebar. ¡°Fatty, let me see what the Crystal Core looks like!¡± Although Li Yi was sore all over, the joy of unearthing a Crystal Core made him temporarily forget the pain. However, Fatty didn¡¯t hand over the Crystal Core to him; instead, he looked around and suddenly focused on a specific spot. In the torrential and hazy rain, a large black umbrella slowly came into view. Beneath the umbrella, a towering figure was faintly discernible. As the figure approached, it became clearer and clearer. Fatty unconsciously swallowed, suddenly feeling the same kind of pressure he felt when facing zombies! The man exerted a great pressure on him! Yu Wei¡¯s group noticed something was off with Fatty and hurriedly looked in the direction of his gaze. They then saw a tall figure with an umbrella approaching them! No, not just one figure, but two! The two figures stopped a few meters away from the group, and only then could the group get a clear look at them¡ª One was a tall figure wearing a black hoodie and a hood, hiding his face, and holding a large black umbrella in his right hand. In his left, he was leading a slender young girl. The girl was dressed in a clean red and white JK uniform, with a melon-seeded face, large eyes, and exquisitely beautiful features; she looked like a high school student. She was tilting her head, looking at the group with curiosity. The nearly two-meter-tall burly man and the one-and-a-half-meter-tall beautiful girl standing together was visually striking, and Yu Wei¡¯s group rubbed their eyes subconsciously. Is this the apocalypse? How are these two so clean and tidy? The girl looked as if she had just walked out of a school! Particularly her lively, curious, and somewhat naive big black eyes; is this what the apocalypse is supposed to look like? As for the tall, burly man, he gave them an immense sense of oppression, clearly a power to be reckoned with! Yu Wei was the first to speak: ¡°Ahem, hello, survivors. What are you guys...¡± He still hadn¡¯t figured out who had saved them. ¡°Passing by.¡± The towering figure adjusted the angle of the umbrella, revealing the young, handsome face of Wang Tao from beneath the hat. Fatty then quickly took out a red Crystal Core and a thirty-centimeter-long piece of rebar, and stuttered: ¡°Tha-thank you, my name is Xu Xiaojun... this is yours, your spoils of war...¡± Wang Tao glanced at the chubby man in surprise; he hadn¡¯t expected him to voluntarily hand over the Crystal Core. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested in the red Level 1 Rush Crystal Core, but the girl he was holding by the hand lit up at the sight of it, pointing to the Crystal Core in Xu Xiaojun¡¯s hand and crisply saying: ¡°Brother, I want it!¡± Chapter 320: 158 Jiang Shixues Condition_1 Chapter 320: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixue¡¯s Condition_1 Hearing the girl¡¯s crisp voice, Yu Wei and the two others felt their hearts melting! Give it to her! Give it to her! However, they quickly saw that the thing the girl was referring to was the Crystal Core that would enable them to become Ability Users! Ah, this... can¡¯t give it away! ¡°Fatty!¡± Yu Wei immediately called out to Xu Xiaojun. Xu Xiaojun turned around, looking somewhat puzzled. ¡°Ahem, that... Fatty, come here for a sec, I have something to talk to you about!¡± Yu Wei eyed the Crystal Core in Fatty¡¯s hand, almost drooling! How could they hand over something that would make them Ability Users! ¡°Oh...¡± Xu Xiaojun made a sound but didn¡¯t come over right away. He wiped the stains off the Crystal Core, then slightly bent over, placing the Crystal Core in front of the girl with a simple and honest smile on his face. ¡°Here you go...¡± The girl didn¡¯t take it but instead looked towards Wang Tao, showing excellent manners. Only after Wang Tao nodded did she happily take the Crystal Core and thank him very politely and ladylike. ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°No, no need to thank me, this, it¡¯s really yours...¡± Xu Xiaojun hastily waved his hand. Of course, it was obvious that the Crystal Core belonged to this strong man who killed the Rush Zombie, so giving it to them was the right thing to do. ¡°...¡± Yu Wei and the other two were somewhat dumbfounded. Aren¡¯t you a fool? Giving the Crystal Core away just because she asked for it? Wang Tao also casually took the rebar, which he had picked up on the road just moments ago. After returning both items that rightfully belonged to them, Xu Xiaojun smiled sheepishly and then quickly returned to Yu Wei¡¯s side. ¡°You, what did you call me for...¡± ¡°...¡± Yu Wei wanted to curse him out, but he still depended on Xu Xiaojun to take him back, so he could only force out a smile uglier than crying, and said in a slightly reproachful whisper: ¡°Ahem, Fatty, how could you give the Crystal Core to someone else? It¡¯s your trophy; you can¡¯t just give it away because a pretty girl asked you for it...¡± Tian Peng and Li Yi also wore expressions of silent bitterness. Was that just a Crystal Core they handed over? It was an opportunity to become an Ability User! Especially since it was a red crystal core! It was said that these had a high success rate and belonged to the type where fusion was pretty much guaranteed. Giving away such an opportunity to become an Ability User, isn¡¯t that just nuts! ¡°Ah?¡± Xu Xiaojun was stunned for a moment, then frowned and said, ¡°But, it, it was originally theirs...¡± Hearing this, the expressions of Yu Wei and the others darkened even more. Originally theirs? Was Fatty out of his mind? Li Yi remembered some rumors from the camp that Fatty was a bit off in the head. He had been skeptical because, after all, this was an Ability User; could someone with a problem in the head become one? But looking at the situation now... the rumors didn¡¯t lie! All three of them wanted to give Xu Xiaojun a good talking to, but they also knew that now wasn¡¯t the time for that. If another Elite Zombie showed up, they might not be so lucky. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back!¡± Yu Wei said with a dark face. ¡°Mhm!¡± Xu Xiaojun first nodded and then asked with concern, ¡°Can you all, still, walk?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Yu Wei grated out through clenched teeth. He was the strongest of the trio and had the lightest injuries. Li Yi was next; although he was the youngest and looked frail, he was actually quite strong. The worst injured was Tian Peng; he felt as if he had no strength left in his body and couldn¡¯t walk any more. Therefore, Xu Xiaojun took the initiative to carry him on his back. Tian Peng was sullen throughout, not even uttering a word of thanks. He was still dwelling on the Crystal Core matter. If only it had been given to him, how great would that have been! Then, Xu Xiaojun went over to Wang Tao and invited him saying: ¡°Um, do you, do you have a place to stay? If not, come to our camp?¡± Yu Wei and the others didn¡¯t say anything about Xu Xiaojun¡¯s invitation because their camp was short on people, and naturally, they would want to invite any survivors they encountered. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then, then big brother, you, you follow me...¡± Xu Xiaojun realized he didn¡¯t know Wang Tao¡¯s name, so he simply called him big brother. ¡°I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao introduced himself. As for the girl next to him, he didn¡¯t seem to have any intention of introducing her. Yu Wei and Tian Peng¡¯s gaze lingered on Wang Tao for a moment before involuntarily shifting to the girl. After all, such a pretty and clean girl was almost extinct in this post-apocalyptic world. If she went to their camp, it would likely cause quite the commotion... Of course, with Wang Tao¡¯s build there, and seeing he was not an easy one to mess with, there could be some drama to watch after they got back... The two harbored some schadenfreude. But they quickly stopped thinking about these things that were none of their business. They were all fixated on how to get that Crystal Core back from the beautiful girl¡¯s hands! Especially since the girl hadn¡¯t fused with the Crystal Core after getting it but simply played with it in her hand... it infuriated them even more; it was a sheer waste! Steal it? Rob it? Deceive her? It seemed like it wasn¡¯t necessarily impossible... And the youthful Li Yi, upon seeing the girl, felt as if he had fallen in love! If she were his girlfriend, letting her play with a Crystal Core wouldn¡¯t bother him at all. Unfortunately, there was a big guy next to her who looked like bad news... As for Xu Xiaojun, his mind wasn¡¯t filled with many thoughts. He vigilantly scanned the road while thinking that in the future, he too wanted to become a strong person like Wang Tao! Chapter 321: 158 Jiang Shixues Condition_2 Chapter 321: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixue¡¯s Condition_2 After all, Wang Tao had just thrown a piece of rebar and killed a Rush Zombie; his strength was much stronger than theirs! Wang Tao held an umbrella in one hand and the girl¡¯s hand in the other, following leisurely behind the group. Feeling the icy temperature in the palm of his hand, Wang Tao turned his head to look at the pretty JK girl, his eyes filled with helplessness. This girl was none other than Jiang Shixue. Half a month ago, the very unstable Jiang Shixue had saved Wang Tao from the clutches of a Black Mist Monster. Fortunately, at that time, an airdrop plane happened to pass by, drawing the attention of the Black Mist Monster, allowing Jiang Shixue to escape via water. By the time Wang Tao saw her again, Jiang Shixue was already a dying zombie. In Wang Tao¡¯s possession was a Purification Potion, which had a chance of reviving Jiang Shixue or causing her to self-immolate. He had no choice but to let Jiang Shixue take the gamble. And before using the Purification Potion, Wang Tao had also administered some Zombie Culture Fluid to Jiang Shixue, bringing her to the pinnacle of her condition. Then... Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if the Purification Potion was really a success¡ª Jiang Shixue came back to life, but her state and Attributes... were vastly different from humans! Wang Tao checked Jiang Shixue¡¯s Attributes again. [HP: 19200/19200] [Mana: 16000/16000] [Grade: Level 2 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 100%] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract] These attributes were definitely non-human! It wasn¡¯t that her attribute values were exaggerated¡ªof course, those numbers were indeed exaggerated, being three times Wang Tao¡¯s, enough to pin Wang Tao to the ground and rub him into the dirt! Setting aside the numbers, some of her attributes were simply not human¡ª First, human levels would only show the grade, not Elite or Lord, which were non-human attributes! Yet, Jiang Shixue displayed ¡°Level 2 ¨C Lord¡±... Secondly, an Internal Impurity of 100% practically meant one was a zombie, bound to turn within a couple of days at most! But Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t transform into a zombie. Even with 100% Internal Impurity, her condition remained normal, with her HP bar never flashing, always a healthy green. She didn¡¯t exhibit any characteristics of a zombie and looked just like an Ordinary human girl. However, Jiang Shixue¡¯s body temperature was different from humans. It was the end of July, and it was hot. Even with heavy rain, it would feel sultry. But Jiang Shixue was like a small air conditioner, able to cool Wang Tao off directly by his side. That¡¯s why Wang Tao especially liked holding her hand¡ªnot for any other reason, just to feel cooler. Lastly, there was the issue with Jiang Shixue¡¯s memory¡ªshe... seemed to have amnesia! Wang Tao vividly remembered the scene when Jiang Shixue woke up and first called him ¡°Daddy¡± when she saw him... Many of Jiang Shixue¡¯s memories were gone, including her family and relatives, as well as some common life knowledge. Her current life experience was like that of a child, not understanding many things. It was unclear if her intelligence had declined, but she was frequently dazed and cute. The destructive power brought by someone with superhuman strength but lacking life experience was truly terrifying! In those early days, she had given Wang Tao quite a hard time¡ª Giving her water, she could instantly crush a steel water flask; asking her to eat, she could chew up and swallow a stainless steel bowl; holding her hand to hurry along, she could immediately outpace Wang Tao, dragging him on the ground for kilometers; telling her to check the village for zombies, she¡¯d tie up all the zombies in the entire village and bring them to Wang Tao... Every time he thought of these events, Wang Tao would be on the verge of tears! But the good thing was, Jiang Shixue was very obedient. As long as Wang Tao told her what she did was wrong and taught her what was right, she would change. Wang Tao made her call him brother, otherwise, it would attract the Harmonious Beast... After half a month of teaching, Wang Tao had finally cultivated Jiang Shixue into a little lady¡ªat least on the surface. In reality, this little girl¡¯s temper was not that great! Previously, they encountered a Level 2 Zombie that could Stealth and was very fast. After Wang Tao was attacked, he and Jiang Shixue counterattacked. The zombie appeared somewhat intelligent, fleeing upon realizing it couldn¡¯t win. Wang Tao had no intention to chase, as the other was too fast and he was unfamiliar with the area, making it unnecessary to take risks. But Jiang Shixue, with her eyes red, refused to let it go and chased it for a day and a night. Once she caught up, not only did she kill that zombie, but she also wiped out all the zombies in that ruined town! When Wang Tao found her, he realized they were lost... This was also why Wang Tao appeared in front of the group and decided to follow Xu Xiaojun to their camp. He wanted to learn about the nearby situation, see if there were any Level 2 Zombies, inquire about his current location, and check if there were any maps... Wang Tao still didn¡¯t understand what exactly was going on with Jiang Shixue now, something like half-human, half-zombie? The current Jiang Shixue could be attacked by zombies, but she was immune to the zombie virus! However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t a scientist, and he decided to give up on things he couldn¡¯t understand. After all, as long as they were alive and safe, that was all that mattered. Wang Tao planned to teach Jiang Shixue more about life knowledge and the principles of getting along with others, turning her into a true lady. He would try to keep her away from fighting as much as possible. If she went berserk, Wang Tao¡¯s strength was utterly inadequate to stop her... Chapter 322: 158 Jiang Shixues Condition_3 Chapter 322: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixue¡¯s Condition_3 ¡°Wang, Brother Wang, we will arrive in two or three minutes...¡± Xu Xiaojun suddenly turned around and said to Wang Tao. ¡°Good.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. The route Xu Xiaojun chose was still very safe, with only a few ordinary zombies appearing along the way, which Xu Xiaojun had headshot. Yu Wei and the other two also visibly relaxed; they had all sustained serious injuries, and even with Xu Xiaojun by their side, they still felt insecure. It wasn¡¯t until they entered the camp that they could completely let down their guards. Wang Tao found these people quite interesting. Yu Wei, Tian Peng, and Li Yi were not Ability Users and had no Internal Impurities, indicating they hadn¡¯t fused with any Crystal Cores, but they all had an HP of 1000, had killed quite a few ordinary zombies, and were at the ceiling of what ordinary people could achieve. But even at their ceiling, they were still within the category of ordinary people. Facing Elite Zombies with high HP was still very difficult for them. However, these three obviously lacked self-awareness, daring to fight against Charger Zombies with 3000 HP... All one could say is that their courage was commendable. If it hadn¡¯t been for Wang Tao asking Jiang Shixue to throw a stone over, these three would have died long ago... Then there was Xu Xiaojun. Xu Xiaojun was broad-shouldered and robust, standing two meters tall and a bit overweight¡ªalthough you could also say he was husky. He was different from Wang Tao, although Wang Tao was also tall, most of his body was muscle, and his physique was very harmonious, with a special kind of beauty. Xu Xiaojun, on the other hand, was mostly fat and had a big belly. He looked like a fatty. But Wang Tao knew that generally, the bulkier someone like that was, the stronger and more defensively robust they were. If Wang Tao had a similar level of strength, and the two had to fight, it wasn¡¯t clear who would win... Xu Xiaojun had an HP of 1995, just shy of reaching 2000. He must have killed at least a dozen Elite Zombies, so his strength was still quite impressive. Plus, he had a Hidden Attribute. [Stick to One¡¯s Heart: Not easily confused or led astray by external affairs.] This Hidden Attribute seemed quite impressive, though its specific effect was unknown. Xu Xiaojun had a bit of a stutter when he spoke, akin to social anxiety. To Wang Tao, he seemed a bit simple and clueless. Yet, he was a very nice person, not only did he cover his teammates from fatal damage, but after Wang Tao killed the Elite Zombie, he personally delivered the Crystal Core. It was important to note that this was a Crystal Core that could turn an ordinary person into an Awakener! And it wasn¡¯t just any ordinary person¡ªXu Xiaojun himself might have made use of it, since he probably hadn¡¯t learned many Abilities. Despite this, he didn¡¯t hesitate to pass the Crystal Core to Wang Tao. Therefore, Wang Tao had a very good first impression of him. ¡°We¡¯re here, this, this is our camp!¡± At that moment, Xu Xiaojun turned his head and revealed a rather simple and honest smile to Wang Tao. The location of this survivor camp wasn¡¯t in the town center but a place called ¡°Fish Bay Agritainment.¡± The agritainment was by a large lake, surrounded by water on three sides with only one road in and out. As long as this road was well defended, there was no need to worry about zombies. One had to say, this place was quite nice, with beautiful scenery, plentiful water sources, and great security. It was just unclear whether there were fish in the water and if fishing was possible? When Wang Tao previously traveled along Shuize River, he occasionally caught some fish that seemed to have mutated, growing very large. With his appetite, he couldn¡¯t finish one in a single meal... Of course, before eating, Wang Tao would carefully investigate to ensure they were not poisonous. While Wang Tao was pondering this, the group arrived outside Fish Bay Agritainment. Since there was only one road to enter or exit the base, they had put a lot of effort into it, setting up various obstacles. Even if zombies broke in, it would take them a long time to get past these barriers. At the entrance, two people wearing homemade Armor and holding spears were on guard in a pavilion. Seeing Xu Xiaojun and his group, they immediately opened the door and checked their eyes for any signs of infection. This was the same eye check that everyone at Shuize Base had gone through. Those who were infected with the zombie virus had different eyes, and it was relatively easy to tell them apart. However, this referred to people that were bitten by zombies or infected with the virus through blood contact. If it was someone with too many Internal Impurities, it wouldn¡¯t be immediately noticeable without a detector. The two guards were quite surprised when they saw Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, a hefty man holding an umbrella leading a beautiful girl who looked like a student... It was a sight they had never seen, but it seemed harmonious to them. Especially when the girl blinked her large eyes, looking at them with curiosity, they instantly felt as though they were about to die. ¡°May I ask if you are...¡± One of them hurriedly approached Wang Tao to ask. He felt Wang Tao¡¯s large frame meant he was not to be underestimated. Whether he was as strong as Fatty or not, he likely wasn¡¯t weak, so he was very polite. ¡°Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao nodded slightly. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, welcome to our Fish Bay Camp! I believe that once you learn a bit more about our base, you will definitely want to stay!¡± The man was very enthusiastic. In a post-apocalyptic world, survivors themselves were a resource. Whether it be a small camp or a large base, development couldn¡¯t be separated from the inclusion of survivors. Therefore, when encountering survivors, it was natural to want to retain them if possible. After all, a small portion of strong survivors preferred not to be constrained and liked roaming outside the camps. Chapter 323: 158 Jiang Shixues Condition_4 Chapter 323: Chapter 158 Jiang Shixue¡¯s Condition_4 After most of humanity had been infected and mutated, there were plenty of supplies left behind. As long as one was strong enough, it was possible to survive out in the wild. Just like at the Fish Bay Survivors¡¯ Camp, they had been scavenging the small town for three to four months and were still able to find various supplies... After bypassing these obstacles, the full view of the Fish Bay Agritainment became visible. In simple terms, it was a collection of buildings that were neither Western-style nor traditional, but the area was large enough to house many people. Because it was still raining, the survivors were all inside, with few people outside. The arrival of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t attract much attention. Wang Tao noticed that the lakeside around the Agritainment was fenced off with wire mesh, which made him curious. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± The lake was full of water, and the zombies couldn¡¯t get across, so what was the wire mesh for? ¡°Hey, it¡¯s because the fish in this lake are huge, and they¡¯re very aggressive! Someone was fishing by the lake before, and ended up being dragged in and eaten by the fish. Since then, we put up the wire mesh...¡± Yu Wei explained. Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Fish that could eat a person¡ªhow big could they be! He felt an urge to try his hand at fishing. However, since this was someone else¡¯s territory, Wang Tao simply entertained the thought. When Xu Xiaojun and his group entered, they needed to hand over a certain proportion of supplies¡ªthe rule of their camp. Therefore, people who went out to scavenge had to contribute their findings. After all, only they had the ability to go out. If they didn¡¯t contribute to the camp, the others inside wouldn¡¯t be able to survive. Of course, contributions came with rewards. Those capable of venturing out had a superior status in the camp, with ordinary people serving them. As for the specific proportion of contributions, it depended on the team, because each expedition was typically undertaken by teams made up of several people. The base rule was that each team contributed a minimum of 10% and there was no maximum limit. If you were charitable, you could contribute it all. Yu Wei¡¯s small team would contribute 10%¡ªthis was within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. But to his surprise, Xu Xiaojun almost handed over all of his supplies! ¡°Why is Fatty contributing so much?¡± Li Yi next to him was also somewhat surprised. Yu Wei and Tian Peng glanced at Li Yi, with Tian Peng whispering: ¡°Now you see why we don¡¯t go out with him¡ªanyone who goes out with Fatty becomes part of Fatty¡¯s team, and Fatty¡¯s team is required to contribute 90% of the supplies!¡± ¡°Hiss¡ªwhy is it like this?¡± Li Yi was somewhat shocked. Although he thought Fatty seemed a bit simple-minded, he wasn¡¯t a fool! It was one thing for them to swindle some supplies, but how could the camp demand so much from him! Weren¡¯t they afraid that Fatty would be unwilling? As if answering his thoughts, Yu Wei explained: ¡°The contribution proportion is entirely voluntary. We didn¡¯t force him, and no one would dare force him. This was Fatty¡¯s own choice...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao found Xu Xiaojun to be rather interesting. In these apocalyptic times, was there really someone who only wanted to give without expecting anything in return? Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue naturally didn¡¯t need to contribute supplies, unless they decided to become permanent residents of Fish Bay Camp. Once the supplies were sorted, Yu Wei and the others went off to find a doctor for treatment. There was a doctor within Fish Bay Camp, but you had to provide a certain amount of supplies for each treatment, and there was no guarantee of being cured. As the trio left, Wang Tao overheard them quietly talking about something to do with a Red Crystal Core. Wang Tao¡¯s brow raised, hoping these guys weren¡¯t looking for trouble. Although he didn¡¯t need that Crystal Core, that didn¡¯t mean he was willing to hand it over for nothing. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡ªI¡¯ll take you inside! They¡¯re¡ªall inside...¡± Xu Xiaojun pointed towards a large gate within the complex. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded, following Xu Xiaojun through the gate. Whoosh¡ª As the door opened, a wave of noisy chatter accompanied by an unpleasant smell of sweat wafted over. Chapter 324: 159 Granary_1 Chapter 324: Chapter 159 Granary_1 ¡°Big, big, big! Damn! Why is it still small!¡± ¡°Ahahaha, I won again!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Old Chen, I heard you recently got yourself a pretty little wife? Cough, you know what I mean...¡± ¡°Get lost! This wife is not for sale! Ours is true love!¡± ¡°Heh, that¡¯s what you said last time.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Food¡¯s been kind of scarce lately, can you lend me some of yours?¡± ¡°I barely have enough for myself! If you¡¯re short on food, why don¡¯t you go find some?¡± ¡°Sigh, who would¡¯ve known this heavy rain would last so long and not stop! I can¡¯t stand this toxic rain; I can only wait for the weather to clear before going out...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Take a look! Fresh from town, cold medicine for sale, cheap prices, no deception!¡± ¡°Damn it, this medicine¡¯s all melted, and you¡¯re still charging so much!¡± ¡°Just say if you want it or not!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it! But make it cheaper...¡± ... This was a somewhat dimly lit hall, populated with quite a few survivors. Some were playing dice or cards, some were chatting, and others had set up stalls... It seemed very chaotic. Both Xu Xiaojun and Wang Tao were burly men, and as soon as they stood at the entrance, they pretty much blocked the light completely. The hall instantly darkened. Most of the people instinctively turned to look. Upon seeing Xu Xiaojun, many were somewhat dumbfounded. Fatty doesn¡¯t like coming to places like this, why did he come today? Did he change his mind? But when they saw Wang Tao, everyone¡¯s eyes lit up. In their minds, four words instantly appeared: New guy, easy to con! And finally, when they saw the beautiful, curious girl who emerged from behind Wang Tao, nearly everyone¡¯s mouth dropped open! ¡°Holy shit! Such a pretty and clean girl!¡± ¡°Is she brought here for trade? With such good looks, she must be expensive! Probably can¡¯t afford her...¡± ¡°None of you try to compete with me; I want to take her as my goddaughter!¡± ¡°Dream on, if she were my wife, I could ensure she doesn¡¯t starve to death. But if she were your daughter, she¡¯d be lucky to live half a month!¡± ¡°...¡± Many were appraising Jiang Shixue, as if she was a piece of merchandise. Hearing these comments, Wang Tao frowned a bit. He didn¡¯t really care about other people¡¯s comments; he was just worried Jiang Shixue would be unhappy. The last creature that made Jiang Shixue unhappy now has grass growing over its grave that¡¯s several meters tall. Fortunately, Jiang Shixue¡¯s face showed no signs of annoyance or unhappiness. She was merely curious, intrigued by everything she hadn¡¯t seen before. But as Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, she suddenly looked up and met his gaze, her red lips parting slightly. ¡°Brother doesn¡¯t like them? Should I make them shut up?¡± ¡°There¡¯s absolutely no need!¡± Wang Tao quickly tugged on Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand. When she talks about shutting up, she means it literally. ¡°Oh.¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t say much else and continued to observe the situation inside. ¡°Welcome to Fish Bay Camp, sir! I am Lu Qi, the owner of Fish Bay Agritainment. These days, everyone just calls me Eldest Lu.¡± A middle-aged man with a big belly and a bald head walked up to Wang Tao. He spoke with a hint of arrogance, as after all, he had built the camp from scratch, and he had many people under his command¡ªsome arrogance was natural. Yet his strength wasn¡¯t very impressive. Although an Ability User, his HP wasn¡¯t even 2,000, and his overall strength might not even match Xu Xiaojun¡¯s. But Eldest Lu had a Hidden Attribute. [Hidden Attributes: Danger Perception] [Danger Perception: A certain prewarning of incoming dangers] This Hidden Attribute is nice, a real lifesaver in the post-apocalypse! When Eldest Lu came to Wang Tao¡¯s side, his expression suddenly became solemn. From a distance, he hadn¡¯t felt anything towards Wang Tao, but upon approaching him, he felt an immense pressure! This pressure far exceeded what he felt from Xu Xiaojun! This man... is so strong! He felt that if he provoked this person, he would surely die! Eldest Lu had survived thus far thanks to his sixth sense, so he immediately dropped his arrogance and stood up much straighter. ¡°My name is Wang Tao. I¡¯d like to inquire about our exact location, what¡¯s around here, and a map would be ideal, if available.¡± Wang Tao got straight to the point. In the course of fleeing for his life, everything he carried had been destroyed. Forget about a map, even his security uniform was gone. Fortunately, he had a set of Attribute-enhanced clothes; otherwise, he would be dressed just like the other survivors. Jiang Shixue was wearing a set of Attribute-enhanced clothes as well. Besides being durable, these clothes had no other features. ¡°No problem at all! Come this way, please! Little Jun, you come as well!¡± Eldest Lu warmly led Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun inside. As for Jiang Shixue by Wang Tao¡¯s side, he didn¡¯t ask; he didn¡¯t even spare her a second glance. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao followed. This Eldest Lu seemed to be a smart man, which meant Wang Tao could save himself a lot of words. The others, seeing Eldest Lu suddenly so polite, were immediately taken aback. There was only one kind of person who could make Eldest Lu so courteous¡ªa true powerhouse! In an instant, the volume of conversations among some people dropped significantly. They weren¡¯t foolish; if he really was a powerhouse, it would be better not to offend him, even in mere words. Eldest Lu led Wang Tao to an office, which was decorated ostentatiously, appearing quite gaudy. After inviting Wang Tao to sit, he also served him tea, which made Wang Tao raise his eyebrows slightly. Chapter 325: 159 Granary_2 Chapter 325: Chapter 159 Granary_2 Did Eldest Lu sense some danger to himself? Otherwise, why would he be so polite? Regardless of his politeness, Wang Tao does not drink water provided by strangers, nor does he eat their food. So Wang Tao politely declined. Seeing this, Eldest Lu did not show any displeasure; instead, his expression became even more serious. Being so cautious, he really must be an experienced survivor of the post-apocalyptic world! Eldest Lu poured some hot tea for himself and Xu Xiaojun before starting to explain: ¡°The reason we call it Fish Bay Agritainment is because this place is called Fish Bay. Fish Bay is located at the bottom of Jinbi County...¡± Hearing about Jinbi County, Wang Tao understood immediately. He knew of Jinbi County¡ªit was the westernmost county of Huangfeng City, and westward from there was Zijing City. From Zijing City further west, one would reach the capital of Wuyang Province, Wuyang City. At that time, Wei Zhenguo and his group had headed east while the Black Mist Monster was chasing after Wang Tao. Worried about leading the monster to Wei Zhenguo¡¯s group, Wang Tao deliberately ran in the opposite direction. ¡°As for the map...¡± A troubled look appeared on Eldest Lu¡¯s face. ¡°Mr. Wang, as you know, there is no way to print anymore; paper maps are scarce, especially the more detailed ones. We don¡¯t have many maps on hand...¡± Eldest Lu indicated that it was difficult. Difficult, but that meant it was possible¡ªit just depended on whether the benefits were sufficient. ¡°You name the price.¡± Wang Tao said directly. ¡°This...¡± Eldest Lu feigned hesitation before tentatively asking, ¡°Mr. Wang, you seem quite strong, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Not bad.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then, I would like to ask Mr. Wang for a favor, to help us kill a zombie. Would you be willing to do that?¡± Upon hearing Eldest Lu¡¯s request, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Kill a zombie? Let¡¯s hear it.¡± He had thought Eldest Lu would ask for food or Crystal Cores or something of the sort¡ªWang Tao certainly had those, and as long as the requests weren¡¯t too excessive, he would comply. But unexpectedly, he actually wanted Wang Tao to help him kill zombies? This became interesting... ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, our place is close to the county town, and there¡¯s a formidable zombie there blocking our way. We¡¯ve tried to kill it before but have always failed. We are organizing another hunting expedition soon, and I think Mr. Wang is very capable, so I wanted to ask if you could lend us a hand...¡± Eldest Lu explained. It wasn¡¯t easy to come across a strong survivor; he couldn¡¯t waste this opportunity! ¡°Hmm? The county is so big, why don¡¯t you take a detour from another place instead of going through there?¡± Wang Tao felt that Eldest Lu wasn¡¯t telling the whole truth. Unless there was one of those Lord Zombies like the Gorilla Zombies, known to roam around. ¡°Cough...¡± Seeing that Wang Tao was observant, Eldest Lu coughed twice, hesitating about whether to tell him. ¡°I have no problem helping you kill the zombie, but I need all the information. After all, I¡¯m risking my life here. If you hide anything, I definitely won¡¯t agree,¡± Wang Tao added. Having heard Wang Tao¡¯s conditions, Eldest Lu gritted his teeth. ¡°Alright, there¡¯s nothing that can¡¯t be said. The place where the zombie stays is our county¡¯s grain storage! Our target is that grain storage...¡± ¡°A grain storage!¡± Wang Tao realized, so that¡¯s why Eldest Lu insisted on killing that road-blocking zombie¡ªit was because there was a grain storage! Stockpiling grain for famine has always been a tradition in Qian Country. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know exactly how many grain storages there were nationwide, but he knew that every county had at least one storage! Shuize County, where Wang Tao was, also had one, but the army had taken away all the grain. ¡°I had thought before that, once the overall strength of our camp improved, we would go and hunt that zombie. But before this heavy rain, I saw that zombie appeared to have some ideas about the grain storage, always trying to get in... So I worry that if it gets in there first and ruins the food, that would be a huge loss!¡± Eldest Lu¡¯s face looked a bit grim. Given the storage conditions of these grain storages, they should last for a long time, provided there is no external disturbance. However, if zombies start causing destruction, it¡¯s hard to say how long the grains could last. That¡¯s why Eldest Lu felt a sense of urgency. If they could get their hands on the grain, they wouldn¡¯t have to worry about food for a long time! Furthermore, the grain could be planted; even though they wouldn¡¯t be as good as specialized seeds, even a lower yield would mean victory as long as it could grow. ¡°Of course, let¡¯s keep matters separate. If Mr. Wang does our camp a favor, the map will be a personal gift from me. In addition, you will also have a share of the grain we obtain!¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond, Eldest Lu quickly asked. He didn¡¯t know the extent of Wang Tao¡¯s strength, but he felt Wang Tao might be stronger than Xu Xiaojun, who was the strongest in their camp! So, after sensing a dangerous aura from Wang Tao, his first reaction wasn¡¯t to hide but to recruit Wang Tao! ¡°It¡¯s not out of the question, but I need to know the strength of this zombie. If it¡¯s too strong, then I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t go and get myself killed. If it¡¯s average strength, then we can talk,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Although the strength of Fish Bay Camp wasn¡¯t great, they did have several Ability Users and many people. If they all took action, handling ordinary Level 1 Elite Zombies shouldn¡¯t be an issue. Chapter 326: 159 Granary_3 Chapter 326: Chapter 159 Granary_3 So, Wang Tao suspected that this might be a Level 2 Zombie. If it really was a Level 2 Zombie, then even if Eldest Lu didn¡¯t allow him to go, he would have to take a look. After all, there were many benefits to killing a Level 2 Zombie, and Wang Tao had been searching for one on his journey... ¡°You can rest assured about that, we¡¯ve tested it already. This zombie is strong, but not ridiculously so. With so many of us in the camp, plus Mr. Wang, you¡¯re definitely able to deal with it! After all, we wouldn¡¯t joke about our own lives.¡± Eldest Lu immediately assured him. ¡°Good, then I¡¯m in,¡± Wang Tao nodded. Seeing Wang Tao agree, Eldest Lu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Haha, great! But let¡¯s agree on the distribution of the food we¡¯ll get afterwards! I¡¯m thinking that we distribute it based on the contribution to killing this zombie. Those who contribute more, get more, and those who contribute less, naturally get less...¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak, Eldest Lu continued: ¡°Of course, quantifying contribution is quite subjective. After all, we can¡¯t really tally up who caused how much damage... So, to prevent any disputes, I propose that as long as you participate, the minimum share of food for Mr. Wang will be no less than 5%!¡± It¡¯s hard to say exactly how much food there is in a county-level grain reserve, but it¡¯s definitely a lot. If the food is still edible, 5% is certainly a substantial amount. Eldest Lu was quite generous; he had decided that Wang Tao was very strong. Having such a powerful person join them would greatly increase their chances of success. Even if Wang Tao wasn¡¯t helpful, giving 5% of the food in exchange for a good impression was a profitable deal! Of course, he didn¡¯t know exactly how strong Wang Tao was. If he did, he certainly wouldn¡¯t have promised a guaranteed 5%. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much either, he just nodded his head. ¡°Okay. Just let me know when we¡¯re leaving. But let me be clear upfront, I will definitely check out this zombie myself. If I feel that we can¡¯t handle it, I reserve the right to back out at any time.¡± ¡°Haha, no problem at all!¡± With a smile, Eldest Lu then took out something that looked like a book from a nearby cabinet. Wang Tao raised his eyebrows when he saw it¡ªit was a map. ¡°This is a map I bought before, with plans to go on a road trip... but then the apocalypse happened. Anyway, I won¡¯t be using it, so I¡¯ll give it to Mr. Wang!¡± Eldest Lu¡¯s gaze held a hint of vicissitude. His original plan was to hire a professional to manage his resort while he and his family went on a nationwide road trip. Now he had money and time. Unfortunately, the road trip would never happen, and he was left all alone. ¡°Then I thank you!¡± Looking at the latest edition of the map, Wang Tao¡¯s face showed a smile. This wasn¡¯t just a single sheet; it was an entire book of maps, detailing each city¡¯s situation. With this map, as long as he didn¡¯t venture into deep forests or remote hills, he would basically never get lost again. ¡°Haha, it¡¯s all about helping each other out!¡± Eldest Lu laughed heartily, then said, ¡°We have plenty of rooms here. Shall I have someone prepare one for Mr. Wang? When it¡¯s time to hunt the zombie, I¡¯ll come get you. It will likely be within the next few days...¡± Eldest Lu had originally planned to wait for clear weather before hunting the zombie, but the rain kept pouring down, and he didn¡¯t know when it would stop. Now that Wang Tao had joined, he felt they could go hunting in the toxic rain. Given their strength, they could endure half a day in such rain. If they couldn¡¯t deal with the zombie in half a day, that would mean the zombie was too strong, and they¡¯d have to flee... ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Then Eldest Lu called over a flamboyantly dressed middle-aged woman to arrange Wang Tao¡¯s accommodation. Xu Xiaojun, who had been silent all this time, wanted to follow Wang Tao, but was stopped by Eldest Lu. After Wang Tao left, Eldest Lu eagerly asked Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Fatty, is this Wang Tao really that strong?¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded. ¡°I knew it!¡± Eldest Lu was overjoyed. Xu Xiaojun was an honest person, never one to lie. If someone else claimed that a person was strong, it might just be a compliment. But coming from Xu Xiaojun, it was a fact! It was even possible that Xu Xiaojun had sparred with him! Eldest Lu continued to inquire about Wang Tao. Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t hold back and told him everything he knew. Upon hearing that Wang Tao killed an Elite Zombie with just a steel rebar, Eldest Lu¡¯s mouth dropped open. ¡°Could he be an Ability User with a Ranged Attack? That¡¯s fantastic! We¡¯re lacking a proper ranged attack, and he¡¯ll just fill in our gap!¡± And when Xu Xiaojun mentioned he gave the red crystal core to Wang Tao, Eldest Lu looked at Xu Xiaojun as if he were looking at an idiot. He knew, strictly speaking, that the crystal core was Wang Tao¡¯s trophy. But Xu Xiaojun had also suffered a few attacks from the Rush Zombie; didn¡¯t he deserve some credit for his hard work? Couldn¡¯t he have been a bit more shameless? Moreover, since Wang Tao had given the red crystal core to his girlfriend to play with, it showed he didn¡¯t need it! ¡°He doesn¡¯t need it, but you do! Our camp does! You could¡¯ve traded it for something else!¡± Watching Eldest Lu¡¯s look of exasperation, Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. He actually wanted that crystal core too; he felt he could assimilate it. But he refrained. After all, it wasn¡¯t his to take. ¡°Sigh, never mind. You take him later to familiarize with our camp. If we could get him to stay, that would be perfect... I need to figure out what to use to trade for that crystal core in his hands! If I had known earlier that he had a spare crystal core, I would¡¯ve definitely asked for it! Oh, and I need to warn everyone in the camp not to mess with this ¡®newbie¡¯...¡± Chapter 327: 160: The Zombies Are Stronger Again_1 Chapter 327: Chapter 160: The Zombies Are Stronger Again_1 ¡°Mr. Wang, do you have any further instructions? Whatever instructions you have, I can fulfill them for you~¡± Looking at the somewhat attractive middle-aged woman flirting in front of him, Wang Tao smiled slightly. ¡°Thank you, but no need. Please go back.¡± The woman¡¯s expression stiffened. She asked again, unwilling to give up. After confirming that Wang Tao really didn¡¯t have any other instructions, she left with a look of disappointment. The sight of Wang Tao¡¯s muscular body had made her envious! It was a shame that he wasn¡¯t interested in her. Although the girl with Wang Tao was indeed much prettier than she was, she could guarantee that she had more experience... Once the woman had left, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. It was his first time encountering such a zealous and hospitable woman and he felt somewhat out of his element. ¡°Brother, I felt like you wanted to keep her, but why did you let her go?¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly looked at Wang Tao and asked with curiosity on her face. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair a bit irritably. ¡°Adult matters, kids shouldn¡¯t interrupt.¡± Hearing this, Jiang Shixue was somewhat puzzled. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say yesterday that I¡¯m not a child anymore?¡± ¡°...Okay, because she¡¯s not as pretty as Little Xue, I didn¡¯t want her to stay around me for long,¡± Wang Tao shrugged. ¡°I see... Thank you for the compliment, Brother,¡± Jiang Shixue said, her face breaking into a sweet smile. Although she couldn¡¯t remember many things that were common knowledge, as long as Wang Tao complimented her, she felt very happy. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too picky about where he stayed, as long as it was clean. Jiang Shixue was even less fussy; she still retained some zombie habits and could sleep anywhere with just a pad to lie down on... After a while, Xu Xiaojun arrived. He said he would take Wang Tao on a tour around the camp. Fish Bay Camp was actually quite large, with over one hundred and fifty people. It was like a small society, with all kinds of occupations represented. Food was the hard currency here. If you had food, you could have almost anyone in the camp serve you. Of course, to do so, you would need a large amount of food, which very few people had. Survivors were the foundation of the camp but at the same time, they were the cheapest commodity. Following Xu Xiaojun, Wang Tao went again to that spacious hall and saw many survivors offering themselves for hire. There were men and women, old and young. As long as someone offered food, they would do anything asked of them. Of course, this didn¡¯t include going out to scavenge for supplies. If they had the ability to find supplies, they wouldn¡¯t be hiring themselves out in the first place. To say ¡°hiring¡± was really to sell oneself to someone powerful. It wasn¡¯t quite slavery, as there were rules in the camp, but it was pretty close. They were guaranteed their lives, but nothing else. Fish Bay Camp only provided accommodation, not food. If you wanted food, you either did the jobs assigned by Eldest Lu, or you found a way on your own. There were only so many jobs available in the camp, certainly not enough to sustain everyone. So the rest had to figure it out for themselves. The moment Wang Tao arrived, many such people set their eyes on him. After all, with his formidable size, even a fool could tell that he was a big sturdy leg to cling to! ¡°Big brother, buy me! I can wash clothes, cook, and warm your bed...¡± ¡°Just one meal a day, Brother, I¡¯ll do anything you ask...¡± ¡°...¡± Looking at these men and women with desperate faces, Wang Tao sighed inwardly, but did not soften; after all, he was no savior. Without lingering long in that place, Wang Tao headed toward the stalls. Xu Xiaojun told Wang Tao that he heard the stalls sometimes sold good stuff. However, he hadn¡¯t been there much and wasn¡¯t very clear on it. ¡°Big brother, need a knife? This is a good knife made overseas! Sharp enough to slice hair, strong enough to cut through iron! It¡¯s a great assistant in killing zombies!¡± No sooner had he arrived than someone started pitching their product to Wang Tao. Looking at the ¡°good knife¡± that even had some notches on its blade, Wang Tao peered deeply at the seller. The man felt as though he was being targeted by a ferocious beast, struggling to breathe properly. One second later, the man hastily retreated, drenched in cold sweat. After Wang Tao walked away, the seller finally took a deep breath, feeling as though he had narrowly escaped death. ¡°Whew¡ªso strong! He feels even more terrifying than those zombies!¡± He had just seen a new face come by and thought to test the waters. Though Eldest Lu was quite courteous to this man, there were always those ready to try their luck no matter where they were. Their rule here was ¡°buy and leave,¡± and once a transaction was completed, it couldn¡¯t be reversed, a rule even Eldest Lu had to abide by, But he hadn¡¯t expected this man to be so much more terrifying than Eldest Lu! In that instant, he truly thought he was going to die... Many people had noticed this interaction, and when they saw the knife seller hastily retreating from Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, they immediately felt a chill. This newcomer was clearly not someone to be trifled with! Those who had wanted to swindle a deal or had designs on the girl with Wang Tao immediately curbed their plans. They had survived so long in Fish Bay Camp by being sharp-eyed¡ªnever missing a chance to take advantage of someone, but never messing with those they couldn¡¯t afford to offend. This new, bulky newcomer was obviously in the latter category. With no unwise souls approaching, Wang Tao felt much more comfortable. He had heard from Xu Xiaojun that there were many stalls around, so he was looking to see if there were any weapons suitable for Jiang Shixue¡¯s use. Perhaps due to habits acquired as a zombie, Jiang Shixue preferred to fight with her claws. Although she wasn¡¯t afraid of the zombie virus, those little white and tender hands getting hurt would be such a pity. Chapter 328: 160 Zombies Have Become Stronger Again_2 Chapter 328: Chapter 160 Zombies Have Become Stronger Again_2 Unfortunately, even after browsing through all the stalls, Wang Tao didn¡¯t find any suitable weapons. As for those so-called exquisite knives and precious swords, Wang Tao felt they were probably not as tough as Jiang Shixue herself. They might be considered weapons to others, but for Jiang Shixue, they would likely be a hindrance. However, it wasn¡¯t a complete loss¡ªWang Tao did find something quite unexpected at the last stall. ¡°They¡¯re actually selling Crystal Cores?¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the stall owner immediately beamed and said: ¡°Buddy, take a look. Do you like any? The prices are cheap, fair to both young and old! Each Crystal Core represents an Ability User, guaranteed that you won¡¯t be cheated or take a loss!¡± Seeing the vendor¡¯s enthusiastic demeanor, Wang Tao might¡¯ve thought these were fake Crystal Cores, but the Attributes clearly stated they were Level 1 Crystal Cores! At that moment, someone nearby, perhaps wanting to do Wang Tao a favor, spoke up: ¡°Brother, think it over carefully. These are all White Crystal Cores, and military sources say that these have the lowest success rate of fusion! But that¡¯s not the main point¡ªthe main point is that no one knows what Abilities these few Crystal Cores possess! As everyone knows, these Abilities all have side effects, who knows what sort of side effects these have... Even if you manage to successfully fuse, what if it¡¯s an Ability that¡¯s weak, but has strong side effects? You¡¯ll regret it to death...¡± ¡°Scram, scram, scram!¡± The Crystal Core vendor immediately waved his hands in disdain, but he didn¡¯t get too upset. After all, this was common knowledge, and Wang Tao surely knew it as well. It was just inappropriate to say it out loud... Upon hearing this, Wang Tao paused and had a sudden realization. He had subconsciously overlooked one thing¡ªonly he could see the Attributes of a Crystal Core, while others could not. Back at Shuize Base, when the base folks obtained Crystal Cores, they would let him have a look to check their Attributes. The Crystal Cores the base folks used were also handpicked by Wang Tao, so there were no cases of excessively strong side effects or utterly useless Abilities. But without Wang Tao, the result would be drastically different. They would have to go through a slow process of experimentation to learn about the Abilities and side effects of these Crystal Cores. Moreover, there were varying success rates even for the same Crystal Core, which made it quite a hassle to learn the specifics of a certain type of Crystal Core. The vendor Wang Tao was speaking to was likely in such a situation. Here, six Crystal Cores were on display, all White Crystal Cores, which meant they had a 20% success rate. If one of these six Crystal Cores succeeded, it would be a win, but if none did? A huge loss! This was the reason why no one wanted the few Crystal Cores he displayed¡ªthe fusion success rate was too low, and nobody knew the specific Abilities and side effects of the Crystal Cores. Of course, there was another crucial point¡ªhis asking price was high, requiring a lot of food to exchange for a Crystal Core. If the price were lower, naturally, there would be takers willing to take a risk. But with his high price, it wasn¡¯t worth the risk anymore. ¡°What do you think? Bro, want to try buying a couple? I can tell you must be an Ability User, right? Since you have experience with successful fusion before, your success rate is bound to be much higher!¡± Obviously spouting nonsense, the stall owner just chattered away. Wang Tao didn¡¯t care and asked curiously: ¡°How do you have so many Crystal Cores in your possession?¡± The man wasn¡¯t an Ability User and didn¡¯t seem capable of collecting so many Crystal Cores. ¡°Hey! Eldest Lu is my cousin!¡± The vendor scratched his head somewhat embarrassingly. Wang Tao immediately understood; that made sense. ¡°I¡¯ll take all six of these Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the vendor froze for a moment, then frowned slightly, ¡°Buddy, forgive me for being blunt, but do you have that much food? It looks like you haven¡¯t brought that much.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have the food, but I have this. Is this enough?¡± Wang Tao took out the Red Crystal Core he had obtained from killing the Rush zombie today. Not only the vendor, who was Eldest Lu¡¯s cousin, but all the people around were stunned as well. ¡°...You¡¯re not kidding, right? Are you sure you want to use this Red Rush Crystal Core to exchange for these six White Crystal Cores?¡± The vendor was full of disbelief. It was a Red Crystal Core, and one whose function he knew, since their base had a person with the Rush Ability! The value of this Crystal Core was far beyond the others! ¡°Just tell me, will you exchange it or not?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± As soon as he was sure Wang Tao wasn¡¯t joking, the stall owner immediately nodded in agreement. So, Wang Tao traded away the Red Rush Crystal Core for six trash White Crystal Cores. This exchange immediately drew the attention of many, and many people, envious and jealous, were already congratulating the vendor for becoming an Ability User. Wang Tao didn¡¯t linger any longer; after confirming there wasn¡¯t anything else worth his attention here, he left. He traded for these six Crystal Cores because they were two ¡°Omnipotent¡± Crystal Cores, two ¡°Self-healing¡± Crystal Cores, and two ¡°Precision Shooting¡± Crystal Cores! Omnipotent, Self-healing, and Precision Shooting were all relatively rare, and thus it was a huge win for him since he could perform Synthetic fusion. This incident also served as a reminder for Wang Tao that if he had the chance to go to more populated Survivor Bases in the future, he may have the opportunity to pick up unrecognized Crystal Cores for a bargain. Of course, thinking about such things was still premature. On his journey so far, Fish Bay Camp was the largest Survivor Base he had encountered, and it would be rather difficult to come across a larger Survivor Base... Chapter 329: 160: The Zombies Are Stronger Again_3 Chapter 329: Chapter 160: The Zombies Are Stronger Again_3 After temporarily settling down at Fish Bay Base, Wang Tao had planned to check out the Level 2 Zombie in the granary the next day. If the opponent wasn¡¯t very strong, he could have dealt with it right away, as Wang Tao was indeed in dire need of a Level 2 Crystal Core. But when he woke up, the sky had cleared. Eldest Lu had been ready to head to the granary for a while, but the continuous rain had caused delays. He had thought, with the addition of Wang Tao, they could brave the rain to get there. But to his surprise, the weather turned fine! Well then, there¡¯s no day like today, let¡¯s go now! Since it had been raining heavily for the past few days, many survivors had stayed indoors, and the camp¡¯s combat power was at its peak. So, Eldest Lu immediately invited Wang Tao, saying they would head straight to the granary today. Wang Tao, of course, had no objections. Soon, a large group of people gathered in the camp. Xu Xiaojun and Yu Wei were also there. However, Yu Wei and his group seemed unable to look Wang Tao in the eye, not knowing what had happened. Standing in the middle of the hall, Eldest Lu gave an inspiring speech, then briefly introduced Wang Tao. He said that Wang Tao was their external support, that Wang Tao and Little Jun were the main forces of this combat, and that everyone should try to cooperate with them both. The others weren¡¯t surprised by this. After all, Eldest Lu had already cautioned everyone the previous night, saying that Wang Tao was a strong fighter and must not be offended. So even if some people felt unconvinced inside, they wouldn¡¯t show it, but instead applauded vigorously. After the mobilization meeting was over, Eldest Lu came to Wang Tao with an apologetic expression and said: ¡°Mr. Wang, I realized yesterday that someone may not have treated you well, so I disciplined them a bit. I hope you don¡¯t mind...¡± ¡°...It¡¯s fine.¡± Honestly, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even know who Eldest Lu was talking about. After all, not everyone was significant enough to be remembered by Wang Tao. Seeing that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t really angry, Eldest Lu immediately felt relieved. The mentality of the strong was indeed different! Last night, he found out that Yu Wei was spreading rumors in the camp that Wang Tao had a Red Crystal Core. Moreover, Wang Tao had traded that Red Crystal Core to his cousin, who became an Ability User overnight! This was as good as Wang Tao giving the Crystal Core to him! Eldest Lu immediately called Yu Wei for questioning, afraid there might be some conflict between them and Wang Tao. Fortunately, Wang Tao probably didn¡¯t care about a minor character like Yu Wei. This put Eldest Lu at ease, as long as there were no major conflicts. Soon, everyone was ready. Excluding Wang Tao, there were a total of 30 people going out on this mission, essentially the strongest 30 of the base. If they couldn¡¯t take down that zombie, they were out of options... ¡°Mr. Wang, are you taking your sister with you?¡± Seeing Wang Tao leading Jiang Shixue, Eldest Lu didn¡¯t quite understand. Was it really appropriate to bring a girl who was helpless against a crisis? ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. He couldn¡¯t really say that all these people combined weren¡¯t a match for Jiang Shixue alone, could he? ¡°Fine!¡± Since Wang Tao saw no issue, Eldest Lu didn¡¯t say any more; maybe Wang Tao¡¯s sister was also an Ability User... although she didn¡¯t look like one at all. Eldest Lu personally led everyone away from the camp. They did not have a car, so they walked. Even if they had one, they wouldn¡¯t dare to drive, since the zombies¡¯ diminished perception was returning now that the rain had stopped. Wang Tao, holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s little hand, walked in the middle of the group. The two had a completely different vibe from the others; it was like they were out for a stroll, causing the others to frequently glance their way. Not long after they left the camp, they spotted a few ordinary zombies appearing. Such minor opponents naturally did not require Ability Users to act; the ordinary people with 1000 HP immediately stepped up. However, unexpectedly, what should have been an easy fight against these ordinary zombies took quite a while to resolve. Eldest Lu¡¯s face immediately turned sour, feeling slightly embarrassed in front of Wang Tao. And Wang Tao frowned. Because the zombies¡¯ HP had increased again! Previously, these ordinary zombies had 1000 HP, but now they had 2000 HP! When Eldest Lu said ¡°again,¡± it was because these zombies¡¯ HP had already increased once before. When the virus outbreak occurred, the minimum HP for an ordinary zombie was 500. Then there was heavy rain, and the minimum HP for ordinary zombies rose to 1000. And now, after another heavy rain, ordinary zombies¡¯ HP had reached 2000! Is it possible that with each heavy rainfall, the zombies¡¯ HP doubles? If that¡¯s really the case, can other humans keep up with this rate of evolution... After killing the zombies, the group continued to advance. Later, they didn¡¯t encounter any more zombies; after all, this place was remote, with few people around. When they were almost at the location of the granary, they finally encountered another group of ordinary zombies, about a dozen or so. But this time it wasn¡¯t just 2000 HP zombies, there were also zombies with 2500 and even 3000 HP! The team¡¯s pace slowed down considerably. Eldest Lu finally sensed something was wrong, as he personally fought with these ordinary zombies and discovered that they had suddenly become difficult to kill! An Ability User himself, he found it quite time-consuming to kill just one ordinary zombie... This made him look quite troubled. On the way to hunt the granary zombie, he suddenly felt uncertain. But since they had already come this far, it wouldn¡¯t be worth it to turn back now... ¡°We¡¯ve come all this way, let¡¯s go and see!¡± After making up his mind, Eldest Lu continued to lead the team forward. Soon, everyone arrived near the granary. Wang Tao didn¡¯t see the granary right away, as it was surrounded by buildings, but he immediately spotted three Level 2 Zombies, not just one as Eldest Lu had mentioned. They were all dressed in workwear, as if they were originally employees of the granary. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 4000/4000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] All three zombies had 10000 HP! Wang Tao grinned; his luck today was pretty good! Chapter 330: 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_1 Chapter 330: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_1 ¡°` Even among zombies of the same level, their strength can vary. Under ordinary circumstances, the more HP and mana they have, the stronger they are. At the same time, Ordinary Zombies are weaker than Elite Zombies, and Elite Zombies are weaker than Zombie Lords. With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, dealing with a Level 2, Zombie Lord with a lot of HP could be somewhat strenuous, but handling a Level 2, Elite Zombie would be much simpler. Although the combined HP of these three Level 2, Elite Zombies was 30,000, Wang Tao felt the problem was not significant. ¡°Why do I feel like those three zombies seem really formidable...¡± Eldest Lu¡¯s Hidden Ability ¡°Danger Perception¡± kicked in, as he murmured doubtfully to himself. Seeing this, Wang Tao spoke up directly: ¡°All three are Level 2 Zombies.¡± ¡°All of them are Level 2 Zombies?!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone instantly gasped in shock. They had previously guessed that the Zombie in the granary was probably a Level 2 Zombie, which is why so many of them had come. But what they had mentally prepared for was one Level 2 Zombie! Let alone three¡ªthey felt that even two Level 2 Zombies would be more than they could handle! Even facing a single Level 2 Zombie, they would likely suffer casualties. However, because there were many of them, everyone thought the losses wouldn¡¯t be theirs to bear, which gave them the courage to come out together... ¡°What now? Scared?¡± Wang Tao asked while looking at Eldest Lu with a smile. Eldest Lu¡¯s eyes brightened when he saw Wang Tao¡¯s seemingly relaxed demeanor. He approached Wang Tao and whispered: ¡°Mr. Wang, have you ever killed a Level 2 Zombie before?¡± Eldest Lu had previously addressed Wang Tao as ¡°you,¡± but now he had switched to ¡°you¡± with respect. ¡°I have.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then do you think we can handle these three Level 2 Zombies?¡± Eldest Lu asked again. ¡°You can¡¯t, but I can.¡± Wang Tao was blunt. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Eldest Lu had already tried to overestimate Wang Tao, but he found he had still underestimated him! Wang Tao was even stronger than he imagined! He had actually killed a Level 2 Zombie before! And he was so confident in saying he could take down these three zombies! ¡°Mr. Wang, are you sure? It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t believe you, but as you yourself said, these are three Level 2 Zombies...¡± Eldest Lu quickly asked again. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem.¡± Wang Tao nodded once more. ¡°Great! Then we¡¯ll leave everything to Mr. Wang! What do you need us to do? We¡¯ll follow your orders!¡± Eldest Lu sensed a strong feeling of danger emanating from these three zombies, but that feeling weakened whenever he moved closer to Wang Tao! Eldest Lu had great faith in his sixth sense and believed that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t bluffing. He truly could handle these three Level 2 Zombies! Considering Wang Tao¡¯s request for a map, it seemed likely that he wouldn¡¯t stay at their camp, so Eldest Lu needed to seize this opportunity. If Wang Tao were to leave, then they would have no one to deal with these three Level 2 Zombies! After all, their county¡¯s granary was right behind these three zombies! ¡°Alright, you guys help me to distract two of the Level 2 Zombies. I¡¯ll go deal with the other one first.¡± ¡°...Okay!¡± Eldest Lu clenched his teeth and agreed. Even though facing two Level 2 Zombies was very dangerous, there might be no other opportunity like this! Of the three zombies, two were together, while the other one was a little further away. Eldest Lu immediately gave the order for everyone to get into position, ready to attack the two Level 2 Zombies that were together. Wang Tao, along with Jiang Shixue, approached the other Level 2 Zombie. The bodies of these three Level 2 Zombies were slightly larger than those of Ordinary Zombies, and they all seemed to be a bit overweight, although it was unclear whether they were fat to begin with or if it was a mutation after becoming zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t let Jiang Shixue make a move; he walked out himself, holding a Firefighter Axe. ¡°Heh heh...¡± No sooner had Wang Tao appeared, and without even stepping out, he immediately caught the attention of the zombie, which twisted its body and hurriedly walked towards him. ¡°Perception is quite sharp... but the speed seems slow...¡± Just as Wang Tao internally commented on its slow speed, he saw the zombie suddenly open its mouth. Pfft¡ª A mass of black substance was spat out from its mouth. Wang Tao was still some distance away and dodged it instantly. He looked back to see that the substance the zombie had spat out was a mass of black granules that immediately began sizzling upon hitting the grass on the ground. ¡°A corrosive ranged attack?¡± Wang Tao frowned and looked at Eldest Lu, who hadn¡¯t mentioned the zombie having a ranged attack. Eldest Lu had already taken people to draw the attention of the other two Level 2 Zombies. They had also been spat upon by the zombies just now. Unfortunately, their luck was not very good, as one of them got hit. His entire left leg was stained with the black granules and began to corrode rapidly; his teammates quickly tore a piece of cloth from their clothing and stuffed it in his mouth, preventing him from crying out in pain. If they accidentally attracted the Mad Demon Zombies, it would spell even more trouble. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Eldest Lu shook his head repeatedly. ¡°These zombies didn¡¯t have the ability for ranged attacks before, they were just incredibly strong!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much. There was probably no need for Eldest Lu to deceive him, as it would bring Eldest Lu no advantage. So this either meant that Eldest Lu was lucky before and the zombies didn¡¯t use this ability, or that the zombies evolved a new capability after the heavy rain. Wang Tao felt it was most likely the latter. ¡°` Chapter 331: 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_2 Chapter 331: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_2 However, now was not the time to ponder these things. After confirming the zombie possessed long-range attack ability, Wang Tao grew even more cautious. After several dodges with great agility, Wang Tao finally got close to the zombie. Bang! Without a word, Wang Tao directly chopped down on the zombie¡¯s head with his axe. [-2149] [7851/10000] Seeing the damage numbers, Wang Tao was very satisfied. With his current combat power, five axe chops would ensure death. After being attacked, the zombie once again opened its mouth. Wang Tao deliberately stood to the side of the zombie, and when he saw it turn its head to bite, he easily dodged the attack and followed with another chop of his axe. [-2239] [5612/10000] It seemed like the zombie was thoroughly enraged as it violently swung its arms towards Wang Tao. Bang! The zombie¡¯s slap landed on Wang Tao, but the damage was blocked by his stubborn armor and high defense. Nonetheless, the force of the blow pushed Wang Tao back several steps. ¡°Such strength! This zombie must possess the ¡®Power¡¯ ability...¡± As Wang Tao took steps back, he instantly threw his axe. The axe hit the zombie squarely on the head. [-2612] [3000/10000] This axe hit landed on the wound Wang Tao had caused earlier, causing much more damage. The zombie was left with only three thousand HP! Not giving the zombie any chance to attack further, Wang Tao once again produced an axe in his hand, charged forward, knocked down the zombie, and then he swung two more chops at the zombie¡¯s head. [-2532] [-568] [0/10000] The zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. Without even using Shockwave, Wang Tao effortlessly dealt with the Level 2 Zombie. This zombie may have had high HP, but its overall strength was not strong, making it one of the weakest Level 2 Zombies Wang Tao had encountered thus far. After killing this zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s maximum HP increased by 260, reaching 6310! Since escaping from Shuize County, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered any Level 2 Zombies. His HP, which previously was just over five thousand, was mostly acquired by killing Level 1 Elite Zombies. However, after upgrading to Level Two, when he killed Level 1 Elite Zombies, the HP gained was halved. For instance, if he used to gain 50 HP, he would now only gain 25... Wang Tao checked his Special Energy, which hadn¡¯t increased. This zombie was too easy for him, not counting as an over-leveled kill. After collecting the Loot Pack and having Jiang Shixue dig out the Crystal Core, Wang Tao immediately ran towards Eldest Lu. Half of their thirty people already had injuries. A Ten Thousand Blood Level 2 Elite Zombie was still too difficult for them! While still at a distance from the other side, Wang Tao swung his axe into the void. Whoosh! A visible Shockwave instantly flew towards the two zombies. Bang! Bang! Though the two Shockwaves didn¡¯t hit the zombies¡¯ heads, they made the zombies flip over. Eldest Lu and the others instantly felt the pressure decrease. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, these two zombies are formidable; be careful!¡± Seeing Wang Tao charging over, Eldest Lu even kindly reminded him. But he quickly realized something. ¡°Wait, wasn¡¯t Mr. Wang dealing with another zombie? Is it done?¡± He hurriedly turned his head, only to find that the place where Wang Tao had been was now devoid of the Level 2 Zombie. ¡°Truly, is it resolved? He¡¯s that strong?!¡± Eldest Lu was aware Wang Tao could handle Level 2 Zombies, but he didn¡¯t realize it would be settled so quickly! The others were also shocked; this newcomer was just too strong! Now aware of these zombies¡¯ combat patterns, Wang Tao decided it was time for a quick resolution. In less than two minutes, he single-handedly killed both zombies. Everyone, including Eldest Lu and Xu Xiaojun, were left dumbfounded. Jiang Shixue hurried over and began digging out the Crystal Cores from the zombies¡¯ brains. She really liked these shiny things. ¡°Alright, the zombies are dealt with, go check on the food supply,¡± Wang Tao turned and said to Eldest Lu. ¡°Yes!¡± Eldest Lu instinctively responded, as if Wang Tao were the real boss. No one else thought there was anything amiss with that. The granary was locked, but with no Level 2 Zombies around anymore, they would be able to break the lock open soon. The lock was quite complicated, but since they were going to pick it, Wang Tao felt lazy to open it himself. However, just then, after collecting the Crystal Cores, Jiang Shixue suddenly looked up towards a certain direction. A few seconds later, Wang Tao also looked over there. After seeing that fleeting Red HP bar, Wang Tao was stunned for a moment and then looked at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Brother, there¡¯s a big zombie,¡± Jiang Shixue said, tilting her head. ¡°Then it seems I wasn¡¯t seeing things. Let¡¯s chase after it and take a look later!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes gleamed faintly with a red glow. Wang Tao approached Eldest Lu and said: ¡°I won¡¯t be going back with you guys.¡± ¡°Ah? Mr. Wang, we haven¡¯t thanked you yet!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Eldest Lu replied hastily. He had wanted to keep Wang Tao at the campsite, although he knew the chances were slim, but it was worth a try. He was even willing to offer leadership to Wang Tao if needed, because Wang Tao was just too powerful, and a good person as well! ¡°No need to thank me. Just leave me a portion of my share of the food. I need to leave for something else first.¡± ¡°...Alright! Rest assured, Mr. Wang, we will definitely reserve your share of the food!¡± Eldest Lu immediately assured him. As for the problem of too much food for Wang Tao to carry away, Eldest Lu didn¡¯t consider it. Since he promised to allocate food to Wang Tao, he certainly wouldn¡¯t break his word. Chapter 332: 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_3 Chapter 332: Chapter 161: Four Level 2 Zombies_3 ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then led Jiang Shixue away directly. The others were somewhat baffled, not knowing why the big shot suddenly left. ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, hurry and pry the lock open! Whether our camp can settle down peacefully depends on how much food we have here!¡± ¡°Oh, right!¡± ... ¡°Did you see where it went?¡± Wang Tao had chased for a while, but then he lost track of the zombie. ¡°I think... it¡¯s over there!¡± Jiang Shixue pointed at a factory building. ¡°Let¡¯s go, keep chasing!¡± Wang Tao continued the chase with Jiang Shixue to the top floor of the factory, but the top floor was completely empty, with no zombies in sight. ¡°It¡¯s below!¡± Jiang Shixue pointed to a pile of trash on the ground floor. This was a waste disposal factory, and there was a pile of unprocessed trash inside. Among these trash piles, there was a green zombie with a body covered in pustules, hunched over, and roughly the same size as a human! ¡°Found you!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face showed a hint of excitement upon spotting the zombie. Because this was a Zombie Lord with 20,000 HP! [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 20000/20000] [Grade: Level 2 ¨C Lord] Not only did it have 20,000 HP, but it also had 20,000 Mana! With these attributes, Wang Tao felt it was at least three times stronger than a gorilla zombie! Even Jiang Shixue¡¯s attributes weren¡¯t as high as its! If it were before, when Wang Tao had just over 6,000 HP, he probably wouldn¡¯t chase after such a high-level zombie. After all, its attributes were too strong. But now things were different, he had Jiang Shixue by his side! Jiang Shixue had 19,000 HP and 16,000 Mana. She was also a Level 2, Lord, not much inferior to this zombie! That was the capital Wang Tao relied on to chase it down. Although he had no idea why this zombie would run away upon seeing humans, now that he had set his sights on it, there was no reason for it to survive. This zombie, Wang Tao was determined to kill! ¡°Attack!¡± Wang Tao directly ordered Jiang Shixue to take the lead. After all, he only had a little over 6,000 HP, so he needed to be more cautious. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t hesitate at all and jumped down directly. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the green pustule-covered zombie immediately ran off, and its speed was incredibly fast! But this was a dead end, and Jiang Shixue blocked the only path, so the zombie ran in a circle and returned to its original spot. ¡°Heh heh...¡± The zombie growled at Jiang Shixue, but Wang Tao felt it seemed somewhat blustering but inwardly cowardly... Swoosh¡ª Jiang Shixue¡¯s calves tightened, and she charged toward the pustule-covered zombie. Her speed was not slow, reaching the zombie¡¯s side in the blink of an eye. Bang! Jiang Shixue threw a punch directly at the pustule-covered zombie, and it was sent flying into the wall, creating spiderweb cracks all around it. Jiang Shixue¡¯s body was almost as tough as a zombie¡¯s, some ordinary weapons weren¡¯t as hard as her own body. So until Wang Tao found her a suitable weapon, she fought with her bare fists. However, what surprised Wang Tao was that Jiang Shixue¡¯s punch only took away 50 of the zombie¡¯s HP! Wang Tao rubbed his eyes; he hadn¡¯t seen wrong, it was indeed 50! Could this zombie have used some sort of defensive Ability? ¡°` Otherwise, how could she have only 50 HP left? This was Jiang Shixue with nearly 20,000 HP! Although Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t see the specific damage numbers, she frowned nonetheless. The zombie¡¯s skull in front of her felt incredibly hard! Whoosh¡ª¡ª Jiang Shixue, not convinced, charged again. But this time, the pus-filled zombie reacted, dodging Jiang Shixue¡¯s attack and continuing to run away. Just as it was about to charge out of the junkyard, Wang Tao suddenly dropped from the sky, landing an axe strike on the pus-filled zombie¡¯s head. Bang! [-15] ¡°...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s hands were numb from the shock of the blow, and he stared dumbfounded at the damage number. He had jumped from the fourth floor, attacking from above, and scored a direct hit on the zombie¡¯s head. And that caused only 15 points of damage? The blow seemed to daze the pus-filled zombie a bit, and its body wobbled slightly. Seeing this, Wang Tao swung his axe again. This time, the axe was imbued with a shockwave. Bang! [-9] [-4] [19922/20000] ¡°...¡± Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao was at a loss for words. Whoosh¡ª¡ª The pus-filled zombie did not attack Wang Tao, but immediately ran backward. Bang! However, Jiang Shixue was blocking its path, her delicate fists striking simultaneously on the pus-filled zombie¡¯s head. [-57] [19865/20000] Whoosh¡ª¡ª The pus-filled zombie was hit so hard it was sent flying, landing in the pile of garbage again. Wang Tao walked over to Jiang Shixue, keeping an eye on the zombie while quietly asking, ¡°Little Xue, how do you feel?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t get through, it¡¯s too hard...¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes were red, not from anger, but because she felt like she had discovered a fun new item. She charged in once more. This time, Wang Tao did not follow but stood guard at the entrance of the yard instead, to prevent the zombie from escaping¡ªyes, the zombie was actually trying to escape! Wang Tao had been somewhat disbelieving before; after all, since when did zombies run away upon seeing humans? But now he was certain, this zombie was not fighting back or striking back, it only ran! This surprised Wang Tao greatly¡ªthis was a Level 2, Zombie Lord with 20,000 HP! It had no attacking ability? Its first reaction to seeing a survivor was to run away? However unlikely it seemed, this was the reality right in front of him. And the zombie¡¯s defensive power was too absurd; even the strong Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t make an impact... Wang Tao was dying to know what the Crystal Core of this zombie looked like! Could he learn this kind of defensive ability? The battle between Jiang Shixue and the pus-filled zombie wasn¡¯t fierce because the zombie was constantly dodging. It would occasionally throw a punch back at Jiang Shixue, but hitting her was like tickling¡ªit didn¡¯t make her lose a single drop of HP... Jiang Shixue fought with it for several minutes, and the pus-filled zombie had only lost a little over 200 HP, still leaving it with 19,500 HP! It was already highly defensive and fast, making Jiang Shixue¡¯s hits not a sure thing... Wang Tao was completely numb to it by this point, realizing that if things went on like this, even fighting until dark wouldn¡¯t kill it! ¡°` Chapter 333: 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_1 Chapter 333: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_1 Bang! When Jiang Shixue slammed the pus-filled zombie against the wall again, there was a loud crash. The wall was smashed open, revealing the street outside. ¡°Not good!¡± Wang Tao immediately tried to intervene, but it was a step too late; the green pus-filled zombie had already escaped through the opening. ¡°After it!¡± Wang Tao did not want to let it go. After all, although the zombie had high defense, it wasn¡¯t very good at attacking. Moreover, it seemed to lack blood regeneration abilities, so with some more time, they could definitely kill it. Wang Tao was very curious about what kind of crystal core was inside the zombie¡¯s body. The two gave chase, and Jiang Shixue had a keen nose. As long as she was within a certain range of the pus-filled zombie, she could roughly pinpoint its location. Plus with Jiang Shixue¡¯s speed, they never lost sight of it. However, neither of them managed to inflict any damage on the pus-filled zombie, and by sunset, the zombie still had 17,000 HP! ¡°Can¡¯t go on, need to rest a while!¡± Although Wang Tao did not want to let the zombie go, he had no other choice. He wasn¡¯t Jiang Shixue; his body was still human. After such a long period of running, he was completely out of strength. He could have used a generator potion to recover, but it came with a weakness lasting a whole day. Moreover, even if he used the potion, it wasn¡¯t certain they could kill the pus-filled zombie... so they had to give up for the time being. As for Jiang Shixue, she wasn¡¯t even out of breath, which Wang Tao admired greatly. ¡°Brother, I can go after it by myself!¡± Jiang Shixue volunteered. ¡°No need, it¡¯s going to be dark soon. It¡¯s too dangerous outside, and I¡¯m not comfortable with you going alone.¡± Wang Tao grabbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand. Jiang Shixue might be strong, but she was a bit clueless at times. Wang Tao had worked hard to save her and did not wish for her to get into trouble again. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue was very obedient. If Wang Tao told her not to go, she would not. She let Wang Tao hold her hand obediently. The two found an abandoned little house where they prepared to rest for the night. As for the food Eldest Lu had left for him, Wang Tao planned to go there tomorrow. He believed that after witnessing his strength, Eldest Lu wouldn¡¯t play tricks. Night time. Wang Tao lay casually on the bed, with Jiang Shixue lying beside him, tightly holding onto his arm. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was the past events that had affected Jiang Shixue or if she always saw him as a fatherly figure... Although she was powerful now, she seemed to lack a sense of security. Every time it came to sleeping or resting, she liked to stay close to Wang Tao. Of course, there was nothing untoward between them, as they were both fully clothed. Wang Tao checked the loot from the three Level 2 Elites zombies they had killed that day. All three zombies were of the same kind, and the items they dropped were similar. First was the crystal core. There was a power crystal core, which he had seen before. The other two were ¡°spittle nails,¡± one excellent and one of excellent quality. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡¤ Spittle Nail] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Food consumption increases several times)] [Spittle Nail: Can store one-tenth of the food eaten in the stomach and then spit it out as a weapon] This ability was quite interesting. To spit out eaten food and use it as a ranged attack! Wang Tao recalled the attacks of those three zombies; those black particles¡ªwait, could those be rice grains? Wang Tao suddenly frowned. They mainly consumed rice here, and the granaries were likely storing rice grains. If it really was rice grains, it indicated a problem¡ªthat these zombies had entered the granaries! If that was the case, it was a problem! Eldest Lu believed that the granaries hadn¡¯t been tampered with, but what if the zombies had interfered with them? And there might still be zombies inside... However, Eldest Lu had a danger perception hidden ability. If there were true danger, he should be able to detect it... With no more concerns, Wang Tao turned his attention back to the loot. The three zombies had each dropped the same loot bags, which contained similar items. Wang Tao had figured out that he only received an increased reward if he achieved an over-leveled kill against Level 2 Lords or Level 3 zombies. The reward for such a kill was tripled! That included a threefold increase in both the HP limit and the number of loot bags. So when he killed the toad zombie, it dropped three loot bags, but killing a Level 2 Elite zombie only resulted in one bag. Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t picky; one was better than none. Moreover, the item that dropped was quite interesting. [Magical Stomach Pouch *3] [Magical Stomach Pouch: Contains a compressed low-temperature space that can store a certain amount of food, but filling it will consume one-tenth of the food] Wang Tao took the magical stomach pouch in his hand. Although it was called a stomach pouch, it didn¡¯t look frightening and resembled a genuine leather water bag. It had a movable opening at the top. When opened, it was pitch-black inside, and nothing could be seen. Wang Tao tried it, and only food could be put inside. Other items wouldn¡¯t fit, and even if forced in, they would be ejected. He wondered what governs this, but found it incredibly fascinating nonetheless. This was somewhat similar to his storage backpack. However, his backpack could only hold items with visible names, and anything without a visible name couldn¡¯t be stored in it. But once items were inside, it was as if time stood still. As long as he didn¡¯t interact, nothing inside would change. Additionally, the space in his storage backpack was infinite. Chapter 334: 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_2 Chapter 334: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_2 But this Magical Stomach Pouch could only hold food, and it didn¡¯t stop time inside. Rather, it preserved the contents like a refrigerator, and the space was limited. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t able to test how much space it had, but it seemed to be related to the size of this stomach. The three ¡°Magical Stomach Pouches¡± he held varied slightly in size. Of course, even if it didn¡¯t measure up to the Space Backpack, it was definitely a great find! Wang Tao filled the largest of the stomach pouches with some food and nutrient fluids, then strapped it around Jiang Shixue¡¯s waist, making it her snack bag. He could hang one on himself, which would come in handy for deceiving others in the future. Jiang Shixue suddenly opened her eyes. ¡°Did I wake you?¡± Jiang Shixue looked curiously at the Magical Stomach Pouch on her waist, but she shook her head. ¡°That green zombie appeared today. I smelled it!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao immediately sat up. He was still bothered that he hadn¡¯t killed that zombie during the day, and now the creature had shown up again at night, near him of all places! Should he continue to go after it? Wang Tao was torn, as it was a good opportunity. If he missed it again, there was no telling where the zombie would go. But... this was the night! The nights in the post-apocalyptic world were almost a completely different world from the daytime. During the day, many zombies were in a dormant state and would not appear within sight. If survivors stayed away from those areas or didn¡¯t make any loud noises, the zombies wouldn¡¯t wake up. But at night, all zombies became active. The dangers of the night were easily more than ten times greater than those of the day! Of course, if it was just before a heavy rain, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t have been afraid. Back when he was at Shuize Base, he had gone out at night to kill the Toad zombie, along with many other zombies. But now, after another heavy rain, the zombies¡¯ HP had doubled, and the nights were definitely far more dangerous... ¡°Brother, I can go kill it,¡± Jiang Shixue said, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s too dangerous...¡± Wang Tao instinctively refused at first, but then he thought that, although the zombies had grown stronger, he still had Jiang Shixue! It was just the night. He had operated at night before, and if things got dangerous, he could simply run... With his and Jiang Shixue¡¯s speed, he doubted many zombies could catch up to them! So Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°Let¡¯s go together!¡± He had never seen a zombie like this one, which didn¡¯t attack humans. He was eager to know what was the deal with this zombie. ¡°Okay!¡± After preparing, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left the room. As soon as they stepped out, all sorts of eerie howls reached them, many sounding as if they were right by their ears, making their skin crawl. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes began to glow green, turning the pitch-black night into daylight. He looked back and locked gazes with Jiang Shixue¡¯s blood-red eyes. He could see that Jiang Shixue¡¯s face was happy. She always seemed thrilled whenever Wang Tao¡¯s eyes glowed like hers. ¡°Lead the way, Little Xue.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue sniffed and pointed in one direction. ¡°It¡¯s that way!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s move!¡± Wang Tao followed behind Jiang Shixue as she led the way. There were many zombies at night, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t let Jiang Shixue move too quickly. If they alarmed too many zombies, they could not only fall into danger but also alert their target inadvertently. It was too bad that the Stealth Potion was ineffective at night, or Wang Tao would certainly have given himself an injection. As for Jiang Shixue, possibly due to having been transformed from a zombie, she had a natural Stealth effect. As long as she didn¡¯t get too close to the zombies, they couldn¡¯t perceive her. After about twenty minutes of walking, Jiang Shixue stopped. ¡°It¡¯s right there!¡± Following Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze, Wang Tao spotted the green pus-filled zombie from the daytime. Its HP had completely recovered. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s it doing?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. He saw the pus-filled zombie crouched on the ground, gnawing at a corpse. Wang Tao could clearly see that the body was not human but a zombie! This pus-filled zombie was eating other zombies? A few Ordinary zombies passed by as if they didn¡¯t see the pus-filled one, and it didn¡¯t pay them any attention either, continuing to focus on its meal. At this sight, Wang Tao frowned. If this pus-filled zombie fed on other zombies, then why didn¡¯t the other zombies attack it? And why didn¡¯t the pus-filled zombie ambush the Ordinary zombies? Looking at the rotting body being gnawed at, Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows. ¡°This guy, could it be a Carrion Eater?¡± The zombie corpse on the ground had clearly been dead for a while, probably not killed by the pus-filled one... Regardless of what it was eating, its HP bar was Red, meaning it was hostile to humans. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t let it go! ¡°Prepare for a sneak attack!¡± After failing to kill the zombie during the day, Wang Tao had reflected on it. He felt he should have trapped the zombie first, then dealt with it. Although it had high Defense, it didn¡¯t have much Attack strength, so as long as he could confine it, he could wear it down to death! Wang Tao currently didn¡¯t have chains or nets, but there were other ways to trap it¡ªhe discovered during the fight that day that he could cause it Dizziness! So Wang Tao thought, as long as he could keep the pus-filled zombie in a state of Dizziness, that would be equivalent to trapping it. Chapter 335: 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_3 Chapter 335: Chapter 162 Magical Stomach Pouch_3 And the way to make it dizzy, naturally, was to keep hitting its head! This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t take the firefighter axe, but grabbed a horned hammer instead; he felt that using a hammer would be more suitable against creatures with high defense. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue slowly approached the pustule zombie, getting as close as possible before hiding behind some ruins. Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°Rush!¡± Whoosh¡ª¡ª Without initiating the rush, Jiang Shixue¡¯s speed was faster than Wang Tao¡¯s; she instantly charged to the side of the pustule zombie. Bang! Then, she fiercely punched the pustule zombie on its head. The pustule zombie hadn¡¯t even reacted before it was sent crashing face-first to the ground. Upon seeing the damage Jiang Shixue had caused, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened¡ªnot because it was too low, but because it was too high! [-3284] [16717/20000] Jiang Shixue¡¯s punch actually inflicted over three thousand damage on it! During the day, Jiang Shixue¡¯s punches could only deal around fifty damage; this was several tens of times more! Could it be a different zombie? Or did this zombie¡¯s defense involve some ability that wasn¡¯t activated at the moment? Or perhaps, this kind of zombie undergoes different changes between day and night? Wang Tao was puzzled, but he didn¡¯t stop moving. As Jiang Shixue sent the pustule zombie flying, Wang Tao had already preemptively rushed to where the pustule zombie would land. Wang Tao hoisted the hammer up. Bang! [-1723] [14994/20000] With this blow, Wang Tao directly knocked off eighteen hundred of its HP, a hundredfold increase compared to his daytime damage! At the same time, the pustule zombie was plunged into dizziness. Jiang Shixue charged over again. Bang! [-3522] [11472/20000] Another three thousand damage! The pustule zombie was now left with half its HP, falling into dizziness once more. Excitement surged in Wang Tao¡¯s heart; a few more hits and it would be dead! Thud! Wang Tao hammered at the pustule zombie again. [-1782] [9590/20000] Another large chunk of damage, and the pustule zombie¡¯s health bar dropped below fifty percent in an instant. But just then, as if sensing something, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue both whirled around suddenly. They saw some shaking in the grass not far away. Then, whoosh¡ª¡ª A red figure suddenly leaped from the grass; Wang Tao didn¡¯t even get a clear view of its HP bar before the creature was already on his face! Bang! However, just as the blood-red figure was about to tackle Wang Tao to the ground, Jiang Shixue acted faster than it had launched, directly ramming her head into the side of the blood-red figure and sending it flying. ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± The figure did a somersault, roared angrily, and stood up. Wang Tao finally saw it in full. ¡°What the hell!¡± Its skin was deathly pale, devoid of any hair, with copious amounts of red blood dripping from its body, its ribs protruded outward from its abdomen, its nails were elongated, and its mouth split into three parts... In those pale eyes with a tiny black pupil, it was staring intently at Wang Tao. Cruel, brutal. Of course, the appearance wasn¡¯t the most terrifying part, the most terrifying were its attributes¡ª [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 20000/20000] [Level: Level 3¡¤Elite] ¡°Damn it! Level 3?!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected to encounter a Level 3 Elite Zombie! The gap between levels was huge! When Wang Tao was at Level 1, he nearly lost his life fighting a Level 2 Zombie. But at Level 2, fighting a Level 2 Zombie was much easier; even if he couldn¡¯t win, he could still run. One-on-one, a Level 2 Zombie couldn¡¯t do anything to him. But now, this was a Level 3 Zombie! The gap between Level 3 and Level 2 was naturally vast, and Wang Tao had only recently advanced to Level 2 with just over six thousand HP¡ªnothing compared to thirty thousand! He couldn¡¯t win! Wang Tao instantly judged that he stood no chance, and even with Jiang Shixue, who had nearly twenty thousand HP, they couldn¡¯t beat this zombie! ¡°This is a Level 3 Zombie, let¡¯s go!¡± It was a shame about the pus-filled zombie; it was so close to dying. But right now, their lives were more important. It would be disastrous to lose their lives over trying to kill a zombie. However, at this moment, without Wang Tao¡¯s consent, Jiang Shixue suddenly rushed towards the Blood-red Zombie! ¡°Little Xue!¡± Wang Tao subconsciously cried out, fearing Jiang Shixue might encounter some mishap. ¡°Brother, you go kill that green zombie, I¡¯ll hold it off!¡± The pus-filled zombie had taken the chance to run, but it was still within Wang Tao¡¯s line of sight. Seeing Jiang Shixue already engaged with the Blood-red Zombie, Wang Tao hesitated for a moment, then immediately rushed towards the pus-filled zombie. If he kept hesitating, it would be irresponsible towards Jiang Shixue¡¯s life! Using all his strength, Wang Tao barely caught up to the pus-filled zombie. Then, several Surgical Knives appeared in his hand. Whoosh whoosh whoosh¡ª The Surgical Knives all flew towards the pus-filled zombie¡¯s head, hitting it in an instant! Thud! The Throwing Knife that struck the zombie¡¯s occiput didn¡¯t inflict much damage, but it made it stumble and fall head over heels. Wang Tao took the opportunity to leap up and land squarely on the zombie. Like slaughtering a pig, Wang Tao pressed down on the zombie with his weight and legs, pinning it firmly. Then he lifted the hammer and started smashing it into the zombie¡¯s head like crazy. [-1823] [-1896] [-1965] [-2037] [-1369] [0/20000] At last, with a squelch, the pus-filled zombie¡¯s head was crushed by Wang Tao! The pus-filled zombie¡¯s HP bar hit zero! But as the pus-filled zombie died, the pus sacs on its body suddenly burst, spilling out a yellow-green fluid, and a smell emerged that was disgusting yet familiar to Wang Tao! ¡°Zombie Culture Fluid?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time for surprise; he quickly collected the Zombie Core, the spoils of battle, and the culture fluid, then rushed back to where Jiang Shixue and the Blood-red Zombie were fighting. Seeing Jiang Shixue, all covered in blood yet still standing strong, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say a word. He just grabbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s waist and immediately initiated a Rush! Retreat! Chapter 336: 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_1 Chapter 336: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_1 Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao, holding Jiang Shixue, activated the built-in Ability Rush of his equipment. In an instant, he sprinted more than thirty meters, distancing himself from the blood-red zombie. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The blood-red zombie let out an angry roar and charged towards Wang Tao at high speed. ¡°Such speed!¡± After the Rush had ended, Wang Tao looked back at the zombie. It was fast, but not fast enough to catch up with him, for Wang Tao¡¯s maximum sprint speed was not slow. ¡°Brother, I can walk by myself,¡± the Jiang Shixue in his arms called out. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao immediately set her down. After all, Jiang Shixue was even faster than Wang Tao. Although she was covered in blood, her injuries were not too severe, and escaping was certainly not a problem for her. The Level 3 zombie behind them likely did not have a Speed Ability, especially since Wang Tao had taken a Running Potion, it was gradually left behind. Just as they were about to escape, a blood-colored figure suddenly appeared ahead! It seized the opportunity and lunged at Wang Tao! Wang Tao was unable to dodge in time and was tackled to the ground. ¡°Such strength!¡± Wang Tao felt as if he was pinned down by a mountain, completely unable to move! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The blood-red zombie clutched Wang Tao tightly, then its triple-parted mouth split open, revealing rows of ferocious teeth, and it aimed for Wang Tao¡¯s face, about to bite. Bang! Jiang Shixue suddenly appeared from the side, kicking the blood-red zombie and sending it flying. Then she grabbed Wang Tao and ran. This delay allowed the other blood-red zombie from behind to catch up. ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao cursed inwardly. He had almost escaped from one blood-red zombie, and now another one had appeared! Being pursued by two Level 3 zombies, Wang Tao was feeling the pressure. Even though he was not seriously injured, continuing like this wasn¡¯t a solution. ¡°We need to find a place to hide!¡± Wang Tao looked around but saw no place to take cover¡ªordinary houses would certainly not hold back zombies of this caliber. After being dragged by Jiang Shixue for a while, Wang Tao saw a warehouse-like place ahead. ¡°Hmm? A food storehouse?¡± Unbeknownst to them, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had fled to the vicinity of the food storehouse. The large doors of the storehouse were open, not a soul was around, and some scattered grains were on the ground. Eldest Lu and the others must have already successfully transferred the food, but there were still plenty of bloodstains and signs of battle. Clearly, they must have had some accident while transferring the food¡ªit might even be possible that there were zombies inside the storehouse! But since they were able to transfer the food, they must have escaped the danger. Even if there were zombies inside, they would likely be similar to the Level 2 zombies, which Wang Tao could handle. Looking at the thick iron door and the reinforced concrete walls, Wang Tao immediately said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Let¡¯s go inside the storehouse!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± They entered the storehouse, then each pushed one of the heavy iron doors to close it and secured the chain and bolt behind the door. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The two blood-red zombies had already caught up. Seeing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue enter the storehouse and lock the door, they seemed even angrier. They howled outside and violently pounded on the door. But the door was very sturdy, they couldn¡¯t get in. The commotion of the two blood-red zombies at the door eventually faded away, and it was unclear whether they had left or hidden themselves. After confirming the door was secure, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to assess the storehouse¡¯s interior. The storehouse had two levels, one above ground and one below. The ground level was now empty, and it was unclear if everything had been moved by Eldest Lu¡¯s team. Wang Tao felt the storehouse was quite large; it was unlikely that Eldest Lu could have moved everything so quickly, suggesting that the food did not fill the entire space. There was also a heavy iron door on the way to the underground storage. The door was chained shut, and it was unknown what was inside. Wang Tao was not in a hurry to go there; he used some medical packs on himself and Jiang Shixue and then took out some nutrient solution to replenish their energy. ¡°Does it hurt?¡± Looking at some wounds on Jiang Shixue¡¯s fair skin, Wang Tao asked with concern. Luckily, Jiang Shixue was not afraid of the zombie virus, or she would have been infected. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt,¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. After fighting with the Level 3 zombie for a while, Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP had already dropped by one-third! For ordinary humans, this would likely be difficult to endure. But it was not much for Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao wiped the blood off her and treated the wounds. Jiang Shixue obediently let Wang Tao attend to her, her eyes glowing red as they kept fixed on him. ¡°All done.¡± After a simple dressing, Wang Tao was ready to check the underground storage. He wanted to know if Eldest Lu had left the share of food they had agreed upon for him. Even though he couldn¡¯t carry the food away, he could use the Food Compressor to turn it all into nutrient solution to carry with him. Wang Tao removed the chain and opened the iron door leading underground, which was not as spacious as above ground but divided into six areas. In the first area, there was a pile of sacks, Wang Tao checked, and these sacks were all filled with rice grain. ¡°Not bad!¡± A satisfied smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face¡ªthis Eldest Lu was sensible. But Wang Tao smelled a scent of blood... it wasn¡¯t coming from the first area, but further back! Just then, Jiang Shixue tugged at the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothing, her eyes suddenly blazing with red light. ¡°I... I can smell that blood-red zombie¡¯s scent!¡± Chapter 337: 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_2 Chapter 337: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_2 ¡°What!¡± Wang Tao instantly became alert. There are Level 3 undead in this underground grain storage? Were those two Level 3 undead that we encountered earlier from somewhere else? Or is there a third Blood-red Zombie here?! ¡°But... the aura feels slightly different, much weaker...¡± Jiang Shixue frowned again. ¡°Much weaker?¡± Wang Tao had been ready to grab Jiang Shixue and run, but hearing that it was much weaker, he suddenly had another thought. They had both descended, and if it were the previous two zombies, they would definitely attack them, but no zombies had appeared so far. Moreover, Jiang Shixue said she felt the other party was weaker... ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out!¡± Wang Tao decisively spoke. He had already surveyed the ground floor, where the visibility was wide, and the walls and ceiling were solid, with no openings for anything to come through. There was a big iron door between the ground level and the basement¡ªif they did encounter any danger, they could escape to the ground level and then shut the big iron door. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue naturally listened to Wang Tao. The two cautiously walked inside. The second section was empty, with no grain left. The third section contained bones with blood traces on them, which appeared to be human bones! Wang Tao became even more cautious. Then, the two proceeded to the fourth section. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Seeing the situation in the fourth section, Wang Tao involuntarily took a sharp breath of cold air. This section was filled with dark red flesh! Black tendons connected the flesh like a spiderweb, and the flesh seemed to be faintly pulsating... as if it were alive! No, not as if, it was indeed alive! Because Wang Tao could see the HP bar! [100000/100000] A hundred thousand HP! This was the creature with the most HP that Wang Tao had ever seen! It had much more than the two thirty-thousand HP zombies he had just encountered! However, besides displaying a hundred thousand HP, it did not show any other attributes, such as Mana or Level. This made Wang Tao puzzled¡ªperhaps this creature had no level? And it seemed not to have noticed him. It did not react to Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s arrival. Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue, and she too couldn¡¯t perceive what the creature was, but like Wang Tao, she felt that this thing seemed to be alive. So, Wang Tao took out a Surgical Knife. Shoo¡ª [-2384] [97616/100000] Throwing Knife inflicted over two thousand damage, which wasn¡¯t low, but it hardly affected the hundred thousand HP bar. After Wang Tao threw the Throwing Knife, he immediately prepared for the creature¡¯s counterattack. Strangely however, it didn¡¯t even respond, forget about retaliating. ¡°Could it be because the damage was too low? Or is it that... this thing lacks intelligence?¡± Wang Tao temporarily stopped attacking and instead, holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, moved to the fifth section. This mass of flesh wasn¡¯t confined to the fourth area; it also connected to the fifth. Seeing what was in the fifth section, Wang Tao¡¯s scalp tingled! ¡°This is the aura!¡± Jiang Shixue pointed at several figures in the fifth section. The fifth section was also covered with that flesh, but among the mass, there were three kneeling figures! The lower halves of these three figures were covered by the flesh, while their upper halves still retained some human features, but they were slowly transforming into the form of Blood-red Zombies! ¡°They are... cultivating those Level 3 undead!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face looked grim. Zombies were already rampant in the world, but if these zombies could breed new ones, humanity¡¯s plight would be even more difficult! ¡°Kill them!¡± These three figures all had HP bars, but like the flesh beneath them, they showed no other attributes. [10000/10000] [12000/12000] [15000/15000] The three figures had different HP bars. Wang Tao suspected that they might turn into Blood-red Zombies once they reached thirty thousand HP. Were they like zombie embryos now? Without hesitation, Wang Tao took a hammer and sent several Shockwaves towards them. [-3346] [-3857] [-3167] [...] Moments later, all three figures shattered. Their defensive power was very low before they turned into Blood-red Zombies. Inside their skulls, there were no Crystal Cores and they gave no HP to Wang Tao, but they did drop three packages. Wang Tao collected the packages from the air without checking them and instantly sent out Shockwaves at the mass of flesh. When he attacked the three figures just now, the Shockwaves also hit the flesh below them, causing a loss of twenty thousand HP, leaving eighty thousand. Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue join him in the attack, and in no time, the HP bar was cleared. The flesh twitched momentarily and then stopped moving; its color also began to slowly darken. This mass of flesh didn¡¯t bring any HP benefits to Wang Tao, but did drop a package. While collecting the spoils, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had a chance to relax when suddenly a ¡°bang, bang, bang¡± sound came! It was coming from the sixth section! Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue immediately ran over to take a look. But the sixth section was filled with clutter, with the area almost completely obscured. It was unclear what was inside. However, after observing for a while, Wang Tao suddenly stopped short. There was someone inside! Through some cracks, he could see a green HP bar inside, but couldn¡¯t make out who or what it was. After a moment of hesitation, Wang Tao said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Little Xue, let¡¯s clear this stuff away!¡± Chapter 338: 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_3 Chapter 338: Chapter 163: Two Level 3 Zombies_3 ¡°Okay~¡± After some effort, Wang Tao finally cleared the debris in Zone 6 and saw the person inside. ¡°Xu Xiaojun?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the person inside was Xu Xiaojun! However, Xu Xiaojun was covered in wounds, barely alive and had fallen into unconsciousness. He had just over a hundred HP, on the brink of death. ¡°Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao heard noises, and he and Jiang Shixue quickly looked toward the source. The sound was coming from the pile of debris behind Xu Xiaojun! ¡°It¡¯s the zombies from before!¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly said. ¡°The zombies from before?¡± Wang Tao checked again and then realized, ¡°This is an entrance, leading to the outside... I see!¡± Wang Tao seemed to understand the reason¡ª He had just encountered those two blood-red zombies outside, which must have come from this granary; this was their lair! A door blocked the way between the ground and the underground, so the zombies couldn¡¯t get up, and they had been using the hole behind Xu Xiaojun to come and go. But for some reason, Xu Xiaojun had blocked this hole, causing the two zombies to be unable to get back in after going out, so they kept slamming against it... ¡°Let¡¯s wake him up first to see what¡¯s going on!¡± Wang Tao immediately took out a medical kit to restore HP to Xu Xiaojun. Then he helped him treat the wounds superficially. Xu Xiaojun had steel armor on, which was tightly wrapped around him, so he was not infected. About ten minutes later, Xu Xiaojun slowly woke up. Then, his body shook as he tried to attack Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue! ¡°Are you infected?¡± Wang Tao easily held down Xu Xiaojun¡¯s hand, puzzled. Xu Xiaojun had a green HP bar and showed no symptoms of infection, so why was he suddenly attacking him? Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Xu Xiaojun froze. ¡°Brother Wang?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me. Why are you attacking me?¡± Wang Tao asked, frowning. ¡°I¡ªI didn¡¯t know it was you... but your eyes...¡± Xu Xiaojun was confused, but still responded immediately. It was pitch black in the granary, and, having just woken up groggy, he saw a pair of green eyes and a pair of red eyes staring at him! Who wouldn¡¯t panic? For a moment, Xu Xiaojun thought he was going to die... ¡°Oh, I almost forgot...¡± Wang Tao then remembered the granary had no light, and both he and Jiang Shixue could see in the dark, so they had overlooked this fact. Moreover, both of their eyes glowed, which frightened Xu Xiaojun. Wang Tao took out a flashlight and illuminated the surroundings. Xu Xiaojun instinctively squinted, and after adjusting to the light, he clearly saw that it was indeed Wang Tao in front of him, only Wang Tao¡¯s eyes were emitting a faint green light, and beside him was his sister, Jiang Shixue, whose eyes emitted a red light! These siblings were so scary! ¡°What happened to you? Where are the others?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain any further and instead asked directly. ¡°I...¡± Xu Xiaojun looked around and then suddenly his shoulders slumped, an air of defeat about him, and his face showed a hint of bewilderment. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say anything, just quietly watched him. Although Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t say anything, Wang Tao felt it might have something to do with the people from Fish Bay Camp. ¡°I... they left, and I was left behind...¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face showed a trace of pain, his speech becoming much smoother. ¡°It¡¯s okay, take your time.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind the filth and sat down beside him; Jiang Shixue sat down next to Wang Tao. Both of them looked at Xu Xiaojun. Feeling the gaze of a pair of green eyes and a pair of red eyes, Xu Xiaojun was still somewhat overwhelmed. He organized his thoughts and then began to explain slowly: ¡°Today, after Brother Wang left...¡± In the morning, after Wang Tao had dealt with the three Level 2 zombies, he also spotted the green pus-filled zombie and so he and Jiang Shixue chased after it. Only some ordinary zombies remained around the granary, which the group quickly dispatched. Then they naturally started to move the grain from the granary. However, there was less grain inside the granary than they had expected, and after moving some of it, they discovered there was an underground warehouse. The door to the underground warehouse was locked, but it was quickly pried open by the group. It was very dark below, divided into different areas, and they couldn¡¯t see everything with flashlights. But they could see there was grain inside. Everyone waited at the entrance for a while, even deliberately making some noise, but the underground granary was quiet, with no sounds or anything coming out. This made everyone let down their guard. So, Eldest Lu sent people down to bring up the grain. Eldest Lu, Xu Xiaojun, and the other Ability Users didn¡¯t go down because they had to keep watch outside, to prevent zombies from approaching. Unexpectedly, all those who went inside went silent... Eldest Lu rushed to check carefully, but his precognitive abilities didn¡¯t sense anything. Eldest Lu trusted his Perception deeply, and since he sensed nothing, it meant there was no danger, or the danger was minimal. So, Eldest Lu had everyone go down to move the grain. He thought that even if there was danger, they could handle it! After all, there was so much grain; it couldn¡¯t go to waste! Xu Xiaojun naturally went down too. However, only then did they discover three incredibly terrifying zombies below! Several of them died upon first contact. They were stronger than the Level 2 zombies Wang Tao had killed before! Upon seeing the situation, Eldest Lu didn¡¯t think twice and immediately ordered a retreat. But it¡¯s easy to go down, harder to get up! At this point, they needed someone to hold the rear, and Xu Xiaojun readily took on the responsibility as the strongest in the camp. Xu Xiaojun tried to block the zombies and attract their attention. Once the others got out, they were supposed to pull him out. But to Xu Xiaojun¡¯s surprise, the survivors didn¡¯t come back for him after they left; instead, they locked the door, leaving him alone inside... Chapter 339: 164 Abandonment_1 Chapter 339: Chapter 164 Abandonment_1 ¡°You¡¯ve been abandoned.¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke with a piercing sharpness. ¡°Yes...¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded, his eyes empty. Jiang Shixue looked up at Wang Tao, her head filled with fragmented memories of him. She couldn¡¯t recall the specifics, but she knew it was Wang Tao who had saved her. If not for Wang Tao, she would have been dead by now. She hadn¡¯t been abandoned. Wang Tao felt Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze and rubbed her hair, then turned to Xu Xiaojun and asked, ¡°Then how did you survive here?¡± Xu Xiaojun closed his eyes, his face contorted in pain. ¡°At that time, many people died. Those three zombies seemed somewhat afraid of light; they didn¡¯t chase after us but ate the bodies of my companions instead. I ran in the chaos. I could have had the chance to escape... When I saw that the door was locked shut, I suppressed my discomfort and hid amongst the flesh and blood... Perhaps it was because I was covered in the scent of meat and blood, the zombies didn¡¯t notice me...¡± ¡°But I knew that wouldn¡¯t work forever; sooner or later, I¡¯d be discovered. Just when I was trying to figure out what to do, I noticed the zombies seemed to disappear... I mustered the courage to go out and found a hole leading outside...¡± ¡°I thought I could escape to freedom and was ready to climb out, but one of the zombies was outside. It found me! I had no choice but to block the hole with everything I could find in the granary.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know if the zombies buried in the flesh would wake up, and I knew I was no match for them, so I barricaded myself in here too. I wanted to die with some dignity... When I woke up again, I saw Brother Wang...¡± Having heard Xu Xiaojun¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao now understood the whole story. In short, Eldest Lu and his group came to the underground warehouse and encountered those blood-covered zombies, nearly getting wiped out. Had it not been for Xu Xiaojun covering their retreat and the zombies preoccupied with feeding... all of them would likely have died. But they abandoned Xu Xiaojun, who had to hide and save himself. When he saw the zombies leave, he prepared to escape, only to find a zombie at the exit. With no other options, he blocked the hole. Xu Xiaojun couldn¡¯t see the zombies¡¯ HP bars, nor did he know that the zombies yet to fully develop inside the flesh had no attacking ability. So, fearing they would wake up, he dared not attack. Thus, he barricaded everything around him, preparing for a somewhat respectable death. But then, Wang Tao arrived... ¡°It¡¯s true that appearances can be deceiving!¡± Wang Tao remarked with a sigh. He thought Eldest Lu was smart enough not to abandon a teammate ¡ª not because he was kind-hearted, but as a leader, abandoning a teammate in front of others would not sit well. How would that make the others feel? Even if it was just for show, he should have at least tried to help Xu Xiaojun. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s reflection, Xu Xiaojun suddenly spoke up: ¡°Eldest Lu... he¡¯s dead...¡± ¡°...¡± Okay, that would explain it... So he died! Wang Tao felt a twinge of regret. He had previously thought that Eldest Lu¡¯s Hidden Attributes, which allowed him to anticipate danger early, were quite impressive. Now, it seemed that even such abilities were not infallible. Wang Tao then asked Xu Xiaojun for more details about those zombies. ¡°There¡¯s one more, three in total... afraid of light... they stay in their lair during the day and go out at night...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, not expecting there to be another one. It was fortunate they hadn¡¯t encountered it, or things could have been troublesome. Moreover, Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect such a clear weakness in a Level 3 zombie... This aversion to light seemed worse than the Terrorizer¡¯s. Terrorizers are sensitive to light, but it¡¯s only their eyes that are affected, and they can move freely outside during the day. As for this Blood-red Zombie, it doesn¡¯t come out during the day at all. Even earlier, when Eldest Lu and his group made noise outside, the zombie remained in its lair... obviously, it was more light-sensitive than the Terrorizers! Could he possibly exploit this weakness? After all, this was a Level 3 zombie! Wang Tao felt a bit greedy. Yet it was night, and besides a flashlight, he had no other sources of light. He didn¡¯t know if the flashlight¡¯s light would be effective... If only they could find where the zombies hid during the day. ¡°Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡± Occasional thumping sounds still came from outside the hole. Xu Xiaojun grew tense, while Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue remained relatively calm. Xu Xiaojun had securely blocked the entrance, so the zombies couldn¡¯t get in. Wang Tao pulled out a few bottles of nutrient solution, handing them to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Eat something, then rest. We¡¯ll discuss things tomorrow in daylight.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you!¡± Xu Xiaojun accepted them gratefully. He didn¡¯t know what it was, but he trusted Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t harm him, so he downed it immediately. Sour and sweet, it was quite tasty. Shortly after, Xu Xiaojun felt his strength returning. He was surprised, but didn¡¯t ask further. After confirming that Wang Tao didn¡¯t need him to take over the night watch, he lay down on the ground and soon, soft snoring filled the air. Wang Tao found Xu Xiaojun quite interesting. After going through this ordeal, it seemed his stutter was gone? Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Little Xue, you should rest too,¡± he said. Jiang Shixue had also been injured in the fight with the Blood-red Zombie. Although Wang Tao had treated her with a first aid kit, some wounds needed more time to heal. Chapter 340: 164 Abandonment_2 Chapter 340: Chapter 164 Abandonment_2 ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue then leaned directly on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. After a moment, she seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable and lifted Wang Tao¡¯s hand, resting it on her own shoulder, and then she closed her eyes contentedly. Wang Tao smiled and gently wrapped his arm around Jiang Shixue¡¯s shoulder, but his mind was already focused on his Space Backpack. The night had been dangerous, but the rewards were substantial. First was the loot from killing that green pustule zombie. It was a Level 2, Zombie Lord, so for Wang Tao, it counted as killing beyond his level. Wang Tao¡¯s HP cap increased directly by 2760! Now, it has reached 9590, just over four hundred shy of ten thousand. After the Level 2 Ascension, there was also a slight increase in physical fitness each time a full thousand HP was gained. However, while at Level 1, he needed to sleep to gain the increase, but after reaching Level 2, he no longer needed to. The upgrade came moments after gaining HP, which was much more convenient than before. The only question was whether he would be forced to sleep again once he reached ten thousand HP... Regarding the pustule zombie, since it was a kill beyond his level, it naturally had Special Energy, adding the same amount of HP, which was 2760! Wang Tao¡¯s current Special Energy was 3240! If he could kill another pustule zombie, he could gather five thousand Special Energy, and then he could synthesize a Level 2 Ability once more! Continuing to review the other spoils from the pustule zombie¡ª 100 servings of Zombie Culture Fluid, a Crystal Core, and three packages. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected the pustule zombie to have Zombie Culture Fluid on it! Then Wang Tao remembered that when he was about to kill the pustule zombie, a Blood-red Zombie emerged and stopped him. Could it be suspected then, that this pustule zombie was also a target of the Blood-red Zombies? Or were they in cahoots? After all, the Zombie Culture Fluid is for cultivating zombies, and those Blood-red Zombies were breeding new zombies in their lair... Wang Tao felt this possibility was very likely! The pustule zombie had burst out a total of 100 servings of Zombie Culture Fluid, much less than the 1000 servings from the previous Green-eyed Zombie. Obviously, Wang Tao had no use for these Culture Fluids, but Jiang Shixue still could use them. After resurrecting Jiang Shixue last time, Wang Tao tried again to see how she felt about the Zombie Culture Fluid. Wang Tao thought it smelled terrible, but Jiang Shixue found it very fragrant... and she said it seemed to strengthen her! However, she couldn¡¯t use it indefinitely; she had to rest for a while after each use. Jiang Shixue could continue to use it now, but since Wang Tao and she had been on the move, there wasn¡¯t time to use it after arriving at Fish Bay Camp and resting for only a day. Wang Tao planned to find some time later to let Jiang Shixue cultivate a bit. After all, the previous use of Zombie Culture Fluid instantly added 1000 HP for Jiang Shixue, and she gained a comprehensive boost in physical fitness... Wang Tao looked at the Crystal Core that burst out of the pustule zombie. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Carrion Eater] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Body undergoes some sort of deformity)] [Carrion Eater: Digestive system enhancement, saliva can digest the virus in decayed zombie corpses with reduced activity, the esophagus won¡¯t be infected by the zombie virus, the stomach sack can absorb energy from decayed corpses] Wang Tao thought that Carrion Eater was an incredible ability! After all, in the post-apocalyptic world, resources were scarce, and one had to scavenge in cities or grow their own food. If he had this Carrion Eater ability, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about starving. Because with this ability, he wouldn¡¯t fear the zombie virus in decayed bodies! After all, zombies were everywhere, and by killing just any ordinary zombie, he¡¯d probably have food to last a long time. But the problem was whether humans could accept eating decayed bodies. If it were decayed animals, it would be just disgusting¡ªeat it with pinched nose if truly starved. But zombies were transformed from humans... It was not just an assault on the senses but also a psychological one. How many people could accept eating zombies? Wang Tao¡¯s evaluation of the Crystal Core was: it¡¯s an incredible ability, but he didn¡¯t want it. In the future, when he goes to large Survivor Bases, he¡¯ll see if he can trade it. Wang Tao believed that someone would definitely like this ability. He himself couldn¡¯t accept eating zombies, even if it wouldn¡¯t infect him with the zombie virus. Then there were three packages that burst out from the pustule zombie. The first package contained the long-missed Crystal Core Gift Bag with a total of five Crystal Cores! [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: None)] The first one was a Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Core, and it was of outstanding quality! Wang Tao already had three Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores: Ordinary (20%), Excellent (40%), and Excellent (60%). With this one, he¡¯d be able to synthesize two Epic Crystal Cores! Of course, since this was a Level 2 Crystal Core with only 45% purity, if he used just two Crystal Cores for synthesis, 10% impurity would remain. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t worried about it now, as he still had five Cleansing Potions to reduce the Internal Impurities that he hadn¡¯t used. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Running] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Doubled physical strength consumption)] [Running: Passive Ability, enhances the speed of running] The second Crystal Core was the Running Crystal Core which Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen before, much like the Power Crystal Core, it was a Passive Ability. Wang Tao thought this Crystal Core was not bad¡ªif he fused this Ability, it would greatly enhance his survivability. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Timed Defense] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] Chapter 341: 164 Abandonment_3 Chapter 341: Chapter 164 Abandonment_3 [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Greatly reduced defense at night)] [Timed Defense: Passive Ability, increased defensive power during the day, unchanged at night] The third crystal core was also a passive ability. This Timed Defense ability made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up. After all, he had witnessed the formidable defense of the pus-filled zombie. If he could use this Timed Defense along with the Barrier Ability, he wondered whether his defense could reach the level of the pus-filled zombie. However, the side effect of greatly reduced defense at night was quite significant. Since Timed Defense itself doesn¡¯t increase defense at night, coupled with this side effect, the night would become a weakness. No wonder that after nightfall, the damage inflicted by Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue when attacking the pus-filled zombie increased so much. If Wang Tao wanted to merge this ability, he would have to gather three crystal cores and eliminate this side effect. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Perception] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Perception ability weakened by 50% if not merged by a female)] [Perception: Consumes energy to sense surrounding life forms] The fourth crystal core turned out to be a Perception Crystal Core! In the few months since the apocalypse began, Wang Tao had only seen Han Rui with the perception ability, and even hers was only at +1. There might be no choice but to rely on Omnipotent Crystal Cores for leveling up later, because Perception Zombies were so rare that Wang Tao had never encountered one. It was unexpected that the pus-filled zombie possessed perception ability! But Wang Tao felt that the pus-filled zombie¡¯s perception wasn¡¯t very strong either? When he and Jiang Shixue suddenly launched an attack, it didn¡¯t even react... Wang Tao then looked at the side effect, which stated that only a female could fully utilize the power of this crystal core; if a male merged it, the ability would be weakened by 50%! So, was the pus-filled zombie possibly male? Wang Tao felt discriminated against. Why should his ability be weakened by 50% if he merged it? Wang Tao really wanted to merge this crystal core; after all, it was like installing a radar for himself. But this side effect was too severe, reducing the ability by 50%! There was nothing he could do for now; he would have to save up and see if he could gather three crystal cores to remove this side effect before merging. The last one was an Ascension crystal core. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Impurities: 45% (No side effects)] His luck was not too bad, he obtained an Excellent quality Ascension crystal core. Wang Tao probably wouldn¡¯t need it, but it was precious and could be exchanged with others in the future. The crystal cores from the Crystal Core Gift Bag were all good, making the risk that Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue took worth it. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the other two packages. The second package contained potions. [Running Potion (Small) x5] [Defense Potion (small) x5] ¡°5 Running Potions and 5 Defense Potions, not bad.¡± Although Wang Tao had the recipes for these potions, he lacked the key materials to make them and could only obtain them through loot dropped by zombies. These 10 potions should last him for a while. The last package contained something that slightly surprised Wang Tao; it was actually a blueprint for a pair of shoes! [Running Battle Boots Blueprint x1] [Running Battle Boots Blueprint: Allows for the crafting of a pair of Running Battle Boots. Required materials: Iron Block x5, Steel Wire x5, Screw x5, Rope x5, Nail x5, Rubber x5, Plastic x5, Cable x5, Electronic Component x5, Battery x5] [Running Battle Boots: Durability +10, defensive power +10, running speed +10] The shoes actually increased running speed! This made Wang Tao very happy, as running speed was quite important to him since he didn¡¯t have any abilities specifically aimed at increasing speed. The materials required for making the shoes weren¡¯t much, and with a thought, Wang Tao took them all out. In the darkness, a flash of rainbow light shone and a pair of black boots resembling military shoes appeared in front of Wang Tao. Jiang Shixue had already opened her eyes and curiously observed the shoes. She is a light sleeper, and the rainbow light just now had obviously caught her attention. Wang Tao immediately put on the new shoes and instantly felt that they were much more comfortable than his previous shoes! He couldn¡¯t test the speed just yet, but Wang Tao felt it should significantly increase. Even without a speed boost, the durability and comfort level alone made them worthwhile. Wang Tao, noticing Jiang Shixue¡¯s curious expression, briefly explained that these were his new equipment. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t ask further and continued to sleep leaning on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. Embracing Jiang Shixue¡¯s shoulders, Wang Tao turned his gaze back to the Space Backpack. He had finished examining the loot from the pus-filled zombies but had yet to check the packages from the three undeveloped zombies and the mass of flesh in the zombies¡¯ lair. There were four packages in total. The packages from the three undeveloped zombies all contained the same thing, three Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores! One Excellent, one Excellent (60%), and one Excellent (80%)! This came as a pleasant surprise to Wang Tao; with these three, he could synthesize another Epic Omnipotent Crystal Core! Omnipotent Crystal Cores themselves have no side effects, only impurities. By synthesizing two Omnipotent Crystal Cores into an Epic Omnipotent Crystal Core, one core would have only 0.1% impurity. He calculated that he currently had 1.1% impurity in his body. If he could merge nine 0.1% impurity Omnipotent Crystal Cores, that would be exactly 2% impurity, which meant he could use two Cleansing Potions without any waste to remove all impurities! Now he only had three Epic Omnipotent Crystal Cores, so he would continue to collect more! As for the loot from the huge mass of flesh, it made Wang Tao raise his eyebrows. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Extraction] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] [Extraction: After merging, one can freely choose to extract a Level 2 Ability from oneself. The extracted ability will form a new crystal core without side effects.] This Extraction... is almost like his ability to extract powers! It seems that aside from the inheritance during level ascension, Extraction Crystal Cores could also be used to change abilities! Although he didn¡¯t need it himself, others might. Wang Tao could already imagine the value of this crystal core! It was just unknown what kind of zombies others would have to kill to get this Extraction Crystal Core... Chapter 342: 165 Slanderous Accusation_1 Chapter 342: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_1 The night passed without incident. Wang Tao woke up and glanced at his watch, it was already six in the morning. As soon as he made a move, Jiang Shixue also woke up, while Xu Xiaojun was still sleeping. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s injuries were quite serious, and even though Wang Tao had used a medical kit on him, he would need a long time to recover. Wang Tao directly woke him up. ¡°I¡¯m going out, you rest here for now. I didn¡¯t lock the door, so you can leave on your own or wait for me to come back.¡± The underground grain cellar was still dark, and Wang Tao left some nutrient solution and a flashlight for Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Okay, thank you...¡± The groggy Xu Xiaojun quickly expressed his gratitude. Wang Tao patted Xu Xiaojun¡¯s shoulder, then he and Jiang Shixue went upstairs. A few Ordinary Zombies were around the granary, which Wang Tao easily took care of. He and Jiang Shixue carefully searched the area but didn¡¯t find the two Blood-red Zombies from last night. Although there were some scratch marks, they couldn¡¯t determine where the opponent had gone. If the other party was photophobic, they were most likely resting in some dark corner... Wang Tao had originally planned to leave after obtaining the map, but now he changed his mind; he decided to wait and see if there was an opportunity to find those three Blood-red Zombies during the day. If he really couldn¡¯t find them, then so be it; he wouldn¡¯t lose anything. But if he could find them during the day, he might hit the jackpot. As for the evening, there was a high probability of finding them, but the problem was, if he found them, he might not be able to fight them off... after all, there were three Level 3 Zombies! Upon returning to the underground grain cellar, Xu Xiaojun had fully awakened and was doing stretching exercises. ¡°You¡¯re recovering nicely!¡± Wang Tao complimented. Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaojun quickly jogged over, his face earnestly filled with gratitude: ¡°Thanks for your help, Brother Wang. If it weren¡¯t for you, I would have died a long time ago...¡± ¡°It was nothing, don¡¯t mention it!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, then asked, ¡°What are your plans now?¡± ¡°I... I plan to go back...¡± Xu Xiaojun replied with his head lowered. If it weren¡¯t for wanting to thank Wang Tao in person again, he might have left as soon as he woke up. ¡°Go back? Go back where?¡± Wang Tao was momentarily stunned. ¡°Back to Fish Bay Camp...¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s tone was somewhat downcast. ... Wang Tao frowned slightly; after the way people at Fish Bay Camp had treated him, why would he go back there? Wang Tao took a close look; he didn¡¯t see any anger or desire for vengeance in Xu Xiaojun¡ª he genuinely wanted to go back. ¡°Alright, be careful on the road then.¡± Wang Tao shook his head somewhat speechlessly. This was someone else¡¯s choice, and he wasn¡¯t going to interfere. ¡°Um... then, Brother Wang, I¡¯m leaving. You are my lifesaver, but I don¡¯t have anything to thank you with right now... When I get the chance, I will definitely repay you¡ª¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Wang Tao quickly interrupted Xu Xiaojun, then patted his shoulder and said: ¡°The last person who said that to me is no longer with us. I just hope you can keep on living well.¡± ... Xu Xiaojun left. Watching his forlorn figure walking away, Jiang Shixue felt puzzled. ¡°Is he going for revenge? But I didn¡¯t feel any killing intent.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not revenge, he¡¯s just going home.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°But why doesn¡¯t he seek revenge after they wronged him? Shouldn¡¯t he kill them all?¡± Jiang Shixue was somewhat confused. ...¡±Killing them all isn¡¯t necessary, there were many people involved in this operation, just find the main culprit. But everyone makes their own choices, we don¡¯t need to get involved, just respect their fate.¡± ¡°Oh~¡± It was unclear whether Jiang Shixue understood, but she nodded her little head regardless. ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll continue to look for traces of those Level 3 Zombies, and also keep an eye out for Elite Level 1 Zombies or Level 2 Zombies. If you see them, don¡¯t kill them; leave them for me to finish off.¡± Wang Tao was still 410 HP short of reaching 10,000 HP, and he wanted to see if there would be any change when he hit 10,000 HP. ¡°Okay, brother~¡± ... Xu Xiaojun returned to the outskirts of Fish Bay Base feeling somewhat dejected. The people on guard duty at the entrance were shocked to see Xu Xiaojun, as if they had seen a ghost. ¡°You, you¡¯re not dead!¡± One of the guards blurted out unintentionally. These words made Xu Xiaojun frown; it sounded almost like a curse for him to die? However, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t dwell on it; he spoke very politely: ¡°I didn¡¯t die, I¡¯ve come back. Could you please open the gate, thank you.¡± Xu Xiaojun was two meters tall with a burly frame, towering over the average person. Most people seemed like dwarfs in comparison. However, Xu Xiaojun used to stammer and had a simple and honest smile, which made others not feel afraid of him. Many people would even tease him to his face, as Fatty¡¯s good temper was recognized by the entire camp. But now, Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t stammering anymore, the naive smile had disappeared from his face, there were wounds on his arm, and he had an axe stained with black blood hanging from his waist... This left the two guards feeling an immense pressure! Xu Xiaojun¡¯s current oppressive presence was too strong, and it frightened anyone who saw him! ¡°Just, just wait a moment, I, I need to notify someone first!¡± The guard started to stammer, whereas Xu Xiaojun did not. ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t ask why, as he wasn¡¯t someone who often questioned the reasons. After agreeing, he simply stood quietly and waited. The guard ran toward the camp, even tripping over once along the way, seeming quite frantic. The other guard, meanwhile, watched Xu Xiaojun with a face full of vigilance and caution, his hand even resting on the homemade spear beside him. Chapter 343: 165 Slanderous Accusation_2 Chapter 343: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_2 It was as if the figure standing before him was no longer their camp¡¯s guardian deity but a terrifying zombie. Xu Xiaojun was somewhat puzzled, not understanding why this person was so wary of him; he hadn¡¯t been infected with the zombie virus, had he? Nevertheless, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t say much. He was never much of a talker to begin with, and after what had happened, he talked even less. The more silent he remained, the more pressure the guard felt, to the point where cold sweat started to appear on his forehead. Who knows if it was a minute, or ten, or even longer... Finally, people from the camp came out, and not just a few but a whole crowd, as if the entire camp had come. Seeing so many people, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face, for once, displayed a rare smile. These people were here to welcome him... right? ¡°You actually didn¡¯t die? You still have the face to come back!¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you just die! You¡¯ve killed so many of us, isn¡¯t that enough, or do you want to kill the rest of us too by coming back?¡± ¡°My husband is dead, yet you¡¯re still alive? Why didn¡¯t you die!¡± ¡°Eldest Lu died because of you! Even if you¡¯re alive, you should be living in disgrace! How dare you come back so brazenly!¡± ¡°You want to get us all killed at this base, don¡¯t you!¡± ¡°...¡± Listening to the cacophony of voices, Xu Xiaojun was dumbfounded. His mind couldn¡¯t catch up with what was happening. At this moment, Yu Wei, walking at the forefront, spoke up with a face filled with hatred: ¡°Xu Xiaojun, I can¡¯t believe you¡¯re still alive. But it¡¯s not just about you being alive; how do you have the shame to come back here? If it weren¡¯t for you, so many of us wouldn¡¯t have died, and Eldest Lu wouldn¡¯t have either! Tell me, how do you have the face to return!¡± ¡°Because I caused so many deaths?¡± Xu Xiaojun understood this time, but he was still completely at a loss. Their deaths had nothing to do with him, did they? If anything, it was all related to Eldest Lu. After all, it was Eldest Lu who gave the order. The first two who went down had already fallen silent, yet Eldest Lu thought there was no problem, and everyone trusted his sixth sense. That trust led to massive casualties... What did that have to do with Xu Xiaojun? If he hadn¡¯t risked his life to cover their retreat, probably none of them would have made it back alive... ¡°I...¡± As Xu Xiaojun looked like he was about to say something, Tian Peng immediately spoke loudly, interrupting him. ¡°Xu Xiaojun, are you trying to argue that you have nothing to do with this? That it¡¯s all Eldest Lu¡¯s fault? Haha, you¡¯re so naive. Do you think we¡¯ll believe you? You think Eldest Lu¡¯s death means there¡¯s no one left to testify against you, is that it? But you didn¡¯t expect us to still be alive! You wanted to feed us to the zombies so you could escape? Too bad, we were lucky enough to survive!¡± ¡°...¡± What? He wanted to feed them to the zombies to save himself? Xu Xiaojun felt like his CPU was overheating¡ªwasn¡¯t it him who embraced certain death so his teammates could survive? Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t articulate; he struggled to organize his thoughts, considering how to explain himself. But his silence made everyone think he had admitted guilt. In fact, there were still some who didn¡¯t believe Xu Xiaojun could have done such a thing. After all, he was their protector, a genuinely nice guy. Whenever anyone had a problem, they¡¯d ask Xu Xiaojun. When there was no food, they¡¯d borrow from Xu Xiaojun, and he¡¯d never refuse. Could such a good man have possibly done those things? But when they saw Xu Xiaojun ¡°agree¡± by his silence, they suddenly felt they had misjudged him! ¡°You can never judge a book by its cover!¡± ¡°Xu Xiaojun was only pretending before! In fact, he¡¯s really dark-hearted! He gives you little favors, playing the nice guy, but when it comes to the crunch, he betrays his teammates!¡± ¡°We were almost duped by Xu Xiaojun!¡± ¡°...¡± Abuse and scorn filled the air at once. Xu Xiaojun lifted his head, watching these familiar faces grow increasingly alien. He had finally sorted out his words. ¡°Please believe me, I didn¡¯t cause anyone¡¯s death; I was covering the rear for everyone. If it wasn¡¯t for me, none of you would have survived...¡± These words caught Yu Wei and Tian Peng off guard for a moment. How come Fatty was suddenly speaking so clearly? They quickly pondered how to counter Xu Xiaojun¡¯s statement. However, at that moment, an ordinary survivor suddenly spoke up: ¡°Haha, and you still say it wasn¡¯t you! Look, now you¡¯re not even stuttering! That proves your stuttering was just a disguise too! If even something like stuttering was faked, then there¡¯s no doubt about the rest! You scheming person, get out of our camp!¡± Others, hearing this, found it made sense. So, everyone began to shout in unison: ¡°Get out of our camp!¡± ¡°Get out of our camp!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t, please listen to my explanation...¡± ¡°No need for explanations! Get out of our camp!¡± ¡°...¡± Xu Xiaojun still wanted to continue explaining, but seeing these people, whom he had once helped, now looking at him with such hate and telling him to get lost... he instantly lost all desire to speak. ¡°Heh heh...¡± Suddenly, several zombies¡¯ shrieks echoed. The noisy crowd instantly fell silent. ¡°There are zombies!¡± A few ordinary zombies, as if attracted by the noise, staggered toward the entrance of Fish Bay Camp. There were many obstacles between these people and Xu Xiaojun; if the gate wasn¡¯t opened, the zombies wouldn¡¯t get in. Yet many were frightened enough to start backing away. Xu Xiaojun watched these people unwilling to give him a chance to explain, yet silenced by the screams of a few ordinary zombies... He suddenly found the irony overwhelming. Chapter 344: 165 Slanderous Accusation_3 Chapter 344: Chapter 165 Slanderous Accusation_3 Xu Xiaojun turned his head, grabbed the firefighter axe, and with one blow for each, he took down the few zombies. Then he looked back at the crowd without saying a word, leaving with a trace of dejection. Watching Xu Xiaojun¡¯s retreating figure, many people heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Phew¡ªfinally he¡¯s gone. I was afraid he was going to make a last stand against us!¡± ¡°Hmph, just because he¡¯s big and looks a bit scary. But he¡¯s also afraid of so many of us; if he dared to make a move, we could have taken him down in minutes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s best that scum like him left; just looking at him was bad luck!¡± The crowd muttered and cursed. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. From now on we¡¯ll have to rely a lot on Eldest Yu Wei!¡± Upon hearing this, Yu Wei immediately spoke with a smile: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everyone. Now that I have become the new leader of our camp, I will fulfill the responsibilities of a leader. I will definitely lead everyone to survive in this apocalypse! Let¡¯s all head back; don¡¯t let one bad apple spoil the mood...¡± In the crowd, Li Yi, who hadn¡¯t been at the camp long, had a complex expression but eventually let out a helpless sigh and followed everyone back. ... From dawn to dusk, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue searched near the granary but didn¡¯t see any shadow of a blood-red zombie. However, Wang Tao was not disappointed because the more this was the case, the more it proved one thing¡ªthe zombies were extremely afraid of sunlight! If they could exploit this weakness, Wang Tao felt that he and Jiang Shixue definitely had a chance to hunt down a Level 3 zombie! ¡°They should come out at night...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, deep in thought. He wondered if he could track them tonight if the zombies really came out and see where their new nest was... then go eliminate them during the day! ¡°Brother, look!¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. Wang Tao looked in the direction Jiang Shixue was pointing and saw a burly figure squatting amidst the ruins. He was very tall, but curled up tightly. The setting sun shone on him, casting an inexplicable sense of loneliness. ¡°Hmm? Xu Xiaojun? What¡¯s he doing here?¡± Wang Tao was surprised, then led Jiang Shixue over. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Wang Tao suddenly spoke up, startling Xu Xiaojun. He quickly turned his head and saw that it was Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, then he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a bewildered look, ¡°I... I don¡¯t know, I was just spacing out...¡± Just by looking, Wang Tao knew that something must have happened to him after he returned to Fish Bay Camp. Wang Tao sat next to him, curiously asking, ¡°Can you talk about it?¡± Xu Xiaojun hesitated for a moment, but there was nothing he couldn¡¯t say. Eventually he spoke, ¡°They said... I caused the death of the others...¡± Listening to Xu Xiaojun¡¯s account of what happened, Wang Tao didn¡¯t show much surprise on his face. Because Wang Tao was well aware that when those people locked the door and left Xu Xiaojun in the underground granary to attract the zombies, they had already severed all ties with him. To them, the best outcome would be Xu Xiaojun¡¯s death. What Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect, though, was that upon their return to the base, they would slander Xu Xiaojun as the one who killed the others. Normally, shouldn¡¯t they have praised Xu Xiaojun for sacrificing himself for everyone¡¯s sake, being the camp¡¯s hero, and having his spirit perpetuated within the camp? Did those people know that Xu Xiaojun hadn¡¯t died? So they prepared in advance? But that didn¡¯t seem right; after all, they couldn¡¯t have predicted Wang Tao¡¯s actions. After much thought, Wang Tao figured it might be because they needed a scapegoat to be held accountable for the incident. Such an almost-total annihilation was a huge burden, not something everyone could shoulder. If Eldest Lu were alive, the blame would certainly fall on Eldest Lu, and his reputation would greatly suffer. But Eldest Lu was dead. Of course, even if Eldest Lu were dead, he could still be blamed, but in doing so, Eldest Lu¡¯s reputation would be completely ruined. If some people wanted to do certain things and that required Eldest Lu¡¯s reputation for endorsement, then the blame couldn¡¯t fall on Eldest Lu. For instance... something like Eldest Lu naming someone as the new leader with his dying breath! If Eldest Lu couldn¡¯t be blamed, then Xu Xiaojun was the perfect candidate. After all, he was strong, he was the camp¡¯s guardian deity, and he was qualified to take the blame. Of course, personal vendettas might also play a part. Maybe some were jealous of Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength or simply didn¡¯t like his face. Xu Xiaojun was always a good person in the base, but good guys aren¡¯t necessarily liked by everyone; who knows what they really said about him behind his back. To some extent, making everyone like Xu Xiaojun was much harder than making everyone fear him! If he had the power to intimidate, to make everyone fear him, such an incident wouldn¡¯t have occurred. As for Xu Xiaojun¡¯s return alive, it must have been beyond many people¡¯s expectations. They must have been terrified upon seeing Xu Xiaojun, always on guard in case he would attack them. But looking at Xu Xiaojun now, he probably hadn¡¯t made a move. Wang Tao shared his thoughts with Xu Xiaojun. After listening, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s expression instantly became blank, followed by a look of pain. ¡°They... they really didn¡¯t like me...¡± Wang Tao refrained from saying more, simply patting Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m planning to find a place to rest for the night. What about you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Xu Xiaojun shook his head blankly. ¡°Then come with me. I¡¯ll be staying in the county town for a few days. You might be able to help me out.¡± Wang Tao invited him. ¡°...Okay.¡± Xu Xiaojun had nowhere else to go. He followed Wang Tao to a three-story building. Wang Tao had chosen this place specifically because it had a view of the granary. Wang Tao moved away the debris that had been blocking the entrance to the underground granary, exposing the entrance. He wanted to see if the blood-red zombies would return. After all, this was their old lair. Chapter 345: 166: A Baked Pancake_1 Chapter 345: Chapter 166: A Baked Pancake_1 Night fell. Xu Xiaojun looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Brother Wang, let me go with you, my wounds have healed already!¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re too weak.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°...¡± Xu Xiaojun felt a bit embarrassed. Actually, it wasn¡¯t that Xu Xiaojun was too weak; the main issue was that he couldn¡¯t see in the dark, so he couldn¡¯t keep up with Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Otherwise, he could at least carry a backpack. Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to rest here while he and Jiang Shixue climbed to the rooftop. From evening to nightfall, there was still no change around the grain warehouse today. Wang Tao felt that those blood-colored zombies would only appear when the darkness of night truly settled in. The cool breeze of the night was refreshing, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue quietly waited on the rooftop. At one moment, the clouds obscured the few stars, making the night even darker. Jiang Shixue tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. ¡°They¡¯ve appeared!¡± Following the sound, Wang Tao saw a red figure slowly emerging from the night. That familiar figure was the Level 3 Zombie they had seen before! The Blood-red Zombie didn¡¯t notice Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue on the rooftop; it circled the grain warehouse, as if searching for something. Soon, the Blood-red Zombie found the hole. Feeling excited at the sight of the hole, it still didn¡¯t go in but walked elsewhere instead. It really was ¡°walking,¡± just like an ordinary zombie wandering outside. If not careful, one might really mistake it for an ordinary zombie. ¡°Why does it feel like it¡¯s baiting...¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but comment. If someone carelessly startled it, it would definitely burst out with astonishing speed and pounce on the target! Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue waited a while longer and saw that the Blood-red Zombie was still wandering nearby. Aside from it, other Blood-red Zombies did not appear. ¡°Let¡¯s go check other places first.¡± Wang Tao said to Jiang Shixue by his side. ¡°Okay~¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t come out tonight just to see if the Level 3 Zombie was there, but also to look for those green pustule zombies. After all, pustule zombies have very low defensive power at night, and they don¡¯t have much attacking ability either. If they could encounter one, it would be a sure experience pack for Wang Tao. Although attacking a pustule zombie could attract a Level 3 Blood-colored Zombie, as long as they weren¡¯t swarmed, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue could definitely run away. During the day, Wang Tao had already tested his Combat Boots, and he could only say they were very strong! Originally, his speed was not as fast as Jiang Shixue¡¯s, but now that he wore these boots, Wang Tao¡¯s pace was on par with hers. He didn¡¯t even have ten thousand HP, while Jiang Shixue had nearly twenty thousand. This showed just how powerful the boots were. With this life-saving gear, although Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t contend with a Level 3 Zombie, escaping should not be a problem. The two of them carefully scouted around but didn¡¯t see any green pustule zombies. However, they did see a Level 2 Zombie. ¡°Level 2 ¨C Berserker!¡± Seeing the hulking figure with a Giant Axe, Wang Tao was immediately excited. He had seen many Level 1 Berserkers, but he had never come across a Level 2 Berserker before. Strictly speaking, other than the Gorilla zombie, it seemed like Wang Tao had not seen any other zombies that had ascended from Level 1 to Level 2. Zombies like Berserkers, Attackers, and Self-exploders¡ªWang Tao had not encountered any at Level 2. The Level 2 Zombies that Wang Tao had seen seemed like they were inherently Level 2, such as the Toad zombie, Pustule zombie, etc. Wang Tao even worried that those zombies couldn¡¯t ascend to Level 2, then how would he obtain their Crystal Cores? After all, his Shockwave and Precision Shooting abilities originally came from Level 1 zombies. Fortunately, now that he saw a Level 2 Berserker, Wang Tao could relax. It might simply be that there were presently few Level 2 Zombies, and he hadn¡¯t encountered them. Wang Tao prepared to hunt down this Level 2 Berserker, but for safety, he and Jiang Shixue took care of the other normal zombies nearby first. After all, with a Level 3 Zombie outside, if the other zombies made a racket and attracted the Level 3, it would be quite troublesome. Wang Tao looked at the Level 2 ¨C Berserker. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 2000/2000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] The Level 2 ¨C Berserker¡¯s stature was much larger than a Level 1¡¯s, with an estimated height of two and a half to two and six meters, baring its upper body, muscles intertwined all over. However, in its hands was not a Reinforced Concrete Hammer or a streetlight but a somewhat simple, worn metal Two-Handed Giant Axe that exuded a heavy presence! But its attributes were rather ordinary, only ten thousand HP and two thousand Mana. Of course, ¡°rather ordinary¡± was relative to Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. To someone like Xu Xiaojun, who had about two thousand HP, this zombie was still terrifying. Wang Tao rushed toward the Berserker. His speed was swift, and he was only discovered when he drew near the Berserker¡¯s back. The Berserker roared and lifted the Giant Axe with both hands, ready to attack Wang Tao. ¡°Too late!¡± Wang Tao chopped the zombie right in the head with his axe. Bang! [-2251] [7749/10000] The Berserker¡¯s defense was still rather high; even with Wang Tao¡¯s full-strength chop, only two thousand HP was taken off. After chopping, Wang Tao retreated, and just as the Berserker¡¯s Giant Axe was about to come crashing down, suddenly a clump of white slime appeared, instantly sticking the Berserker in place. The Giant Axe in its hand failed to hit the ground. The Berserker¡¯s attack was too noisy, and Wang Tao was afraid it would attract the Level 3 Zombie, so he used a Slime Grenade. Chapter 346: 166: A Pancake_2 Chapter 346: Chapter 166: A Pancake_2 The Slime Grenades could only immobilize the Terrorizer for a few seconds, but it was enough time. Jiang Shixue made her move and Wang Tao followed up. After the effects of the slime wore off, the Terrorizer fell to the ground with a thud. Wang Tao quickly gathered the loot and then glanced at his HP. [9950/9950] While searching for traces of Level 3 Zombies today, Wang Tao encountered a few Level 1 Elite Zombies. After killing them, his HP had increased slightly. The Terrorizer had provided him with an additional 260 in HP limit, just a bit shy of reaching 10,000 HP! Wang Tao then turned his attention to the spoils of battle. A Crystal Core and a package. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Shockwave] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Light sensitivity)] At last, he had obtained a Level 2 Shockwave Crystal Core, but unfortunately, its purity was 5% lower than that of a Level 1 Core. After fusing two Crystal Cores, there would still be 10% impurities remaining. Impurities weren¡¯t a big deal, but that side effect was something Wang Tao definitely did not want. He would have to keep collecting until he had three Shockwave Crystal Cores to fuse together. Wang Tao looked at the Terrorizer¡¯s package, which contained an unexpected surprise. [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe Blueprint x1] [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe Blueprint: Can forge a two-handed giant axe. Required materials: Two-Handed Axe x1 (the quality of the core material will affect the resulting product¡¯s quality), Level 2 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Gear x10, Blade x10, Nails x10, Screws x10] [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe: Attributes unknown] It turned out to be a weapon crafting blueprint! For so long, Wang Tao had only ever seen one weapon crafting blueprint, which was the blueprint for the Precise Crossbow. Now this was the second blueprint he had encountered. However, the list of materials required to forge this giant axe was extensive, needing a Level 2 Zombie Crystal Core! The other items he had crafted using blueprints, apart from potions and Hand Grenades, only the Food Compressor required a Crystal Core. The blueprint also kindly reminded that the quality of the core material would affect the final product¡¯s quality. And that core material was the Two-Handed Axe. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a Two-Handed Axe at hand¡ªwait, perhaps he did! He looked over at the corpse of the Terrorizer and saw a huge axe lying nearby; he had nearly forgotten about it! [Broken Giant Axe x1] This axe, like other weapons dropped by zombies, only displayed a name, not specific attributes. Wang Tao had plenty of materials on him, including Crystal Cores, and now he had the core material, the axe, too. He looked back at the blueprint, and a ¡°Forgeable¡± prompt appeared. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue searched the vicinity but did not find any other Level 2 Zombies, nor did they see any Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao found a relatively enclosed room, and the two of them walked in. There were only a few Ordinary Zombies inside the room, which Wang Tao easily dispatched. He then took out the giant axe and other materials, ready to start the crafting process. As for the Zombie Crystal Cores, Wang Tao chose an Ordinary Quality Weak Poisonous Mist Crystal Core. He had no shortage of Level 2 Crystal Cores, and the most abundant among them were Weakness Poison Fog Cores, totaling 14. These were obtained during the attack on the Shuize Base by a Toad zombie accompanied by more than ten Level 2 Poisonous Fog Zombies. When Wang Tao and Han Rui parted ways, they left many Level 1 Crystal Cores with them, but Wang Tao took the Level 2 Cores for himself. These Weakness Poison Fog Cores were also in his possession. Once all the materials were ready, Wang Tao focused his thoughts, and a burst of rainbow light flashed by. All the materials disappeared, and a two-handed giant axe, very similar to the one dropped by the Terrorizer, materialized. The axe was two meters long, rather simple-looking and even had several notches, befitting its ¡®worn-out¡¯ name. [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe] [Level 2 (Excellent)] [Attack power +30, Durability +30, Attack speed -(5%~50%)] The attributes of the axe were somewhat beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations¡ªit actually had a level! The weapons Wang Tao had crafted with blueprints before did not have levels. Could it be because a Level 2 Crystal Core was incorporated during the weapon¡¯s crafting process? Wang Tao believed that to be the reason. However, he had used an Ordinary Quality Level 2 Crystal Core, but the weapon turned out to be of excellent quality. Considering that the blueprint did not indicate any relationship between the Core¡¯s quality and the final product... Wang Tao surmised that the quality of the Crystal Core probably had no bearing on the resulting weapon and that it was likely a matter of luck. This giant axe provided an additional 30 points to attack power. Wang Tao did not have an attack power stat on his attribute panel, so he wasn¡¯t sure what the 30 points signified. However, the Precise Crossbow he had previously crafted had an attack power bonus of +10, and it could no longer keep up with his strength, so he had given it to Ding Yuqin. This giant axe, with +30 attack power, should be stronger than the Precise Crossbow, right? The second attribute, +30 durability, was impressive to Wang Tao. Thus far, he had only one piece of equipment that had worn out¡ªthe security uniform he wore during his encounter and escape from the Black Mist Monster, which had a durability of +1... It was evident that the durability of +30 on this axe was incredibly sturdy. As for the final attribute, the reduced attack speed, Wang Tao guessed the variable range was due to individual differences. Someone with greater strength would experience a smaller reduction in attack speed, while someone with less strength would suffer a greater reduction, and those even weaker might not even be able to lift the axe. Chapter 347 - 166: A Pancake_3 Chapter 347: Chapter 166: A Pancake_3 Wang Tao tried it out, and the axe was very heavy. The previous Reinforced Concrete Hammer and street lamps couldn¡¯t compare. He was indeed able to swing it, but it would become a bit cumbersome after prolonged use. ¡°What a huge axe!¡± Jiang Shixue spoke from the side. ¡°Little Xue, do you want to give it a try?¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that he had someone with great strength right by his side. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue took it over and, imitating Wang Tao¡¯s movements, swung it a few times. It seemed she could handle it with even more ease than Wang Tao. But Jiang Shixue frowned. ¡°This axe affects my speed; I don¡¯t like it.¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t have a specific Speed Ability, but her speed was not slow, and she often relied on her speed to launch attacks. If she were to use this axe, it might actually be a handicap. ¡°Hmm, I¡¯ll find you a better weapon in the future.¡± Wang Tao ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. The axe was also quite cumbersome for him, but he had the Space Backpack, which allowed him to stow it away when not needed and take it out when necessary. So there were no problems in terms of portability. Of course, during real combat, this weapon was indeed too heavy and could prevent him from performing at his best. It was best used as a special attack move. Wang Tao put away the weapon and continued to stroll around with Jiang Shixue, hoping to find a zombie to test the new weapon on. Unfortunately, luck was not on their side; the two wandered until late into the night and couldn¡¯t even find a Level 1 Elite Zombie, let alone a Level 2 Zombie. Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. ¡°Let¡¯s go back and see if that Level 3 Zombie has returned to its nest yet.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± They hadn¡¯t reached near the grain storage yet when they suddenly saw firelight appear in the distance. In the pitch-black night, that firelight was very conspicuous. ¡°That¡¯s... Fish Bay Camp? Did something happen to them?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose; it was in the direction of Fish Bay Camp. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t like to meddle in others¡¯ affairs, especially since the only two people he had a decent impression of from the entire Fish Bay Camp were Eldest Lu, who had died, and Xu Xiaojun, who was with him now... Arriving back at the grain storage, they could see that the Blood-red Zombie was still wandering around nearby. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to move forward, after all, combined he and Jiang Shixue were no match for the Level 3 Zombie. The two returned to the small building they had been staying in. ¡°Hmm? Where¡¯s Xu Xiaojun?¡± Wang Tao noticed that Xu Xiaojun was gone. There were crooked lines scratched into the wall. ¡°Brother Wang, something happened at the camp, I¡¯ve gone back.¡± Wang Tao was speechless. Normally, one should sever ties with a camp that abandoned them. Yet Xu Xiaojun had gone back. If he had gone back, so be it; enduring a bit wasn¡¯t impossible. But after Xu Xiaojun returned, he was met with humiliation and slanderous accusations. The fact that he didn¡¯t react violently on the spot was saintly. If it were Wang Tao, he would have made sure those people understood why the flower was so red. And now, in the middle of the night, seeing that something had happened at the camp, Xu Xiaojun ran back... Could it be that he was a ¡®lickspittle,¡¯ feeling his previous wounds were not deep enough? Wang Tao really couldn¡¯t understand. But it was the same old story: drop the hero complex and respect others¡¯ fates. If Xu Xiaojun really wanted to go to his death, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t stop him. The two continued to monitor the grain storage until daylight. Wang Tao clearly saw that before dawn, that Level 3 Blood-red Zombie crawled back through that hole! ¡°Very good!¡± A smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. Now that he knew the old lair of this Level 3 Zombie, there was no rush. He would slowly try to force the zombie out¡ªhe wanted to see just how much its abilities would be weakened if it came out during the day! If it was weakened significantly, then he and Jiang Shixue would not hesitate! In the morning, Wang Tao caught up on some sleep. Although his need for sleep had decreased since his abilities had improved, staying up all night from time to time didn¡¯t really affect him. But Wang Tao was targeting a Level 3 Zombie next, so he had to be more cautious. At noon, Jiang Shixue woke him up. ¡°Fatty has come back.¡± Looking at Xu Xiaojun, who was once again dirty and injured, Wang Tao smirked. ¡°You weren¡¯t chased out again, were you?¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s expression was a mix of embarrassment and sadness. ¡°Everyone... they¡¯re all dead...¡± ¡°What? Everyone¡¯s dead? What happened?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face became serious. ¡°Last night, to celebrate the new boss taking charge, they held an inauguration ceremony... but it attracted the two terrifying zombies from the underground grain storage! The camp¡¯s barriers couldn¡¯t stop these two zombies at all, and no one in the camp could resist, so it was a massacre...¡± ¡°When I got there, nearly everyone was dead. Only Li Yi managed to jump into the water and temporarily escape disaster, but half his body was eaten by fish in the lake... it was just the upper half left... these were Li Yi¡¯s last words to me...¡± After hearing Xu Xiaojun¡¯s story, Wang Tao felt quite shaken. Indeed, it seemed it¡¯s not easy to evade fate forever! Those people who previously encountered the Level 3 Blood-red Zombie and abandoned Xu Xiaojun had just managed to save their lives. But now, they had paid back everything, with interest. After reflecting on the event, Wang Tao suddenly looked at Xu Xiaojun and asked: ¡°I¡¯m curious, seeing as they abandoned you, why did you still go back to save them?¡± Could it be that Xu Xiaojun was really a fool who couldn¡¯t differentiate good from bad? Xu Xiaojun looked at Wang Tao, then said with his head lowered: ¡°... When the virus outbreak started, my family sacrificed themselves to protect me, and I somehow escaped, but I had no food and was about to starve to death. Uncle Lu, Eldest Lu¡¯s father, came by; he gave me a pancake...¡± ¡°Afterwards, when I unexpectedly encountered Uncle Lu again and learned that his son had a survivors¡¯ camp, I followed Uncle Lu to Fish Bay Camp. Later, Uncle Lu got infected; before he died, he asked me to help Eldest Lu manage Fish Bay Camp, and I agreed...¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know how to manage a camp; all I could do was to follow what I knew¡ªI wanted to gain their favor, I desperately protected them, and I gave them most of the supplies I scavenged... I had to earn that pancake Uncle Lu gave me. But... I truly, did my best.¡± Chapter 348 - 167: Fatal Acupoint_1 Chapter 348: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_1 Wang Tao once thought Xu Xiaojun was a fool. But after listening to Xu Xiaojun recount his experiences, he realized that Xu Xiaojun was not a fool but someone with a heart of gold! When Eldest Lu¡¯s father gave Xu Xiaojun a pancake that saved his life, Xu Xiaojun dedicated his life to repaying the entire camp! Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t know how to manage the camp, but he helped in his own way, doing everything he could for the camp. Even when abandoned and slandered, Xu Xiaojun never forgot his promise to Uncle Lu. To the uninformed, Xu Xiaojun seemed like a fool, but only he knew that he was merely fulfilling his vow. ... Wang Tao patted Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. ¡°Well done!¡± Wang Tao admitted to himself that he could not do this; while he also believed in repaying kindness, if someone failed to appreciate his efforts, he would not indulge them. So Wang Tao admired Xu Xiaojun, who was able to maintain such a pure heart in the apocalypse... It was truly rare. ¡°Have you thought about where you¡¯ll go from here?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know...¡± Xu Xiaojun said, his head lowered. His home was gone when the virus broke out, the camp had become his second home, but now that too was gone. ¡°Then you¡¯ll follow me from now on.¡± Wang Tao suddenly said with a smile. Xu Xiaojun looked up suddenly, then said uneasily, ¡°...I, I can¡¯t do anything. I¡¯m too weak and will only hold you back...¡± In truth, he wanted to follow Wang Tao. Because Wang Tao was kind, and also strong. But he knew his own limitations; his strength was nothing compared to Wang Tao¡¯s, and he would just be a drag. ¡°Weakness can be improved. When I make friends, I never look at their strength. After all, no one is as strong as me. What I care about is their character.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s smile was radiant. It seemed like he was showing off, but he also indirectly complimented Xu Xiaojun. ¡°I...¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face showed excitement, but he remained nervous. ¡°Let¡¯s settle on that then,¡± Wang Tao said, patting Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. ¡°I have a big task coming up in the next couple of days. Rest well.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun snapped to attention unconsciously. ... The big task Wang Tao had in mind was to hunt down a Level 3 Blood-colored Zombie! After all, this Level 3 zombie had a weakness to light, and currently, there was only one zombie in the nest, with the other two temporarily absent. So Wang Tao needed to act quickly. He had planned to research for a few more days, but decided to take action that afternoon! If he delayed any further, the other two Level 3 Blood-colored Zombies might return to the nest, making them much harder to deal with. For dealing with this zombie, Wang Tao came up with three plans. The first plan was the simplest: lure it out by the entrance of its lair, see how much the sunlight would weaken its strength. Of course, it might not come out since Eldest Lu had already tried luring it before. So the second plan was to attack it. Wang Tao felt this kind of zombie must possess some intelligence, since they could cooperate in hunting. And a creature with some intelligence should be able to be guided by emotion, that is to say, can be angered. As long as he could anger it, he should be able to lure it out... Wang Tao thought this plan had the highest chance of success. And the third plan was more brutal: simply blow up the grain storage! Wang Tao had plenty of Self-Destruct Bombs on hand, blowing up a grain storage was no big deal. However, it would create too much noise, and nobody knew what dangers it might attract. So this was a backup plan, one that Wang Tao hoped he wouldn¡¯t need to use. ¡°Let¡¯s make a trip to Fish Bay Camp!¡± Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, once again heading to Fish Bay Camp. Since they were looking to lure the Level 3 zombie, relying on noise and human scent alone might not be enough. Wang Tao thought some blood smell would be best. When the virus erupted, not only humans suffered; animals were also unlucky. Especially those that were captive; most were eaten by zombies. As for the condition of wild animals, Wang Tao did not know as he hadn¡¯t seen any so far. So finding fresh meat was now very difficult. But no worries, if there was no meat, fish would do. Fish Bay Camp was located by a lake, which was full of fish. And these fish might have mutated, not only growing to an exaggerated size but also becoming man-eaters. According to Xu Xiaojun, despite growing bigger, these fish still looked like regular fish and had not turned into Zombie Fish. So Wang Tao figured this fresh flesh would likely attract the zombies. The current Fish Bay Camp was a charred ruin, with the surrounding wire fences also destroyed. Wang Tao found a relatively thick steel pipe, then tied it to the head of the pipe with a hemp rope, using a mineral water bottle in the middle of the rope as a float. On the other end of the rope, he used a large iron hook, which had a burnt bone hanging on it, picked up from the ruins, whether it was human or zombie he didn¡¯t know; he just thought of it as recycling. Once ready, Wang Tao lifted the makeshift fishing rod with both hands and threw it mightily into the lake. Whoosh¡ª The iron hook with the large bone plunged into the lake. Wang Tao didn¡¯t really know how to fish, but he liked fishing. Before the apocalypse, he often watched live streams or short videos about fishing. As for why he didn¡¯t fish himself, of course, it was because he didn¡¯t have the time... Now, it seemed his wish was fulfilled; he could fish here as long as he wanted, without anyone calling him to go to work... Chapter 349: 167: Fatal Acupoint_2 Chapter 349: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_2 But after waiting a long while, no fish bit the bait, and his hand was getting a bit sore. After all, holding this thick steel pipe was tiring. ¡°Maybe I need to chum the water first...¡± After thinking it over, Wang Tao took out a bottle of nutrient solution and, after opening the lid, threw it near the float. A moment later, Wang Tao felt something tugging at his rod. He waited a little, then suddenly heaved upwards. Whoosh¡ª Water splashed everywhere as Wang Tao yanked a huge grass carp out of the water. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Wang Tao let out an involuntary curse. He had heard that this lake¡¯s fish were big, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to be this big¡ªthis grass carp had to be the size of an ordinary human! Bang! Wang Tao flung the grass carp onto the shore, and Xu Xiaojun hurriedly went over to hold it down. Subduing these fish in the water would have been troublesome, even for Xu Xiaojun, who might not have been able to hold them. But now on the shore, Xu Xiaojun easily handled the big fish. Wang Tao originally thought one fish would be enough to use as bait, but looking at this big fish, he suddenly felt a craving. ¡°Let¡¯s fish another one! To satisfy the craving!¡± Recently, he had been eating nutrient solution every day and his mouth was yearning for some taste, craving fish. As for whether the fish had ever eaten human flesh or the like, Wang Tao didn¡¯t care. Even if the fish had eaten people, it would have digested them, which didn¡¯t mean Wang Tao was eating humans. Plus, he just wouldn¡¯t eat the innards. This big grass carp had a strong life energy; even on shore, it was still thrashing about vigorously. Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to watch it, and continued fishing. A short while later, he pulled up another one. It was also a big grass carp, even larger than the one before. Wang Tao handed this fish over to Jiang Shixue. ¡°This will be our dinner!¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue was petite, and the fish were much larger than her. The big fish flopped about next to her as if it wanted to eat her. Jiang Shixue directly threw a punch, knocking the fish out cold in an instant. Then she hoisted the fish and walked off. Xu Xiaojun, who was pressing down hard on the other big fish, cursed himself for being stupid when he saw this, and then with a couple of punches, he also knocked out the big fish under him. Wang Tao returned to the vicinity of the granary, telling Jiang Shixue to take the fish to where they stayed the previous night. He then made a lot of cuts on the big fish Xu Xiaojun was holding. Suddenly, the big fish came to, struggling frantically, with much of its blood flowing out. Wang Tao tied the big fish tight and then flung it right into the underground granary¡¯s hole. Slap, slap¡ª The blood-covered big fish thrashed wildly at the hole, but it couldn¡¯t escape because it was tied up with rope. Wang Tao and the other two lay in wait nearby, keeping a close eye on the hole. At a certain moment, a light flashed in both Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes! ¡°It¡¯s here!¡± Both of them sensed a terrifying presence. But to Wang Tao¡¯s disappointment, it seemed to just glance into the hole and then leave. ¡°Can it really hold back?¡± Watching the ordinary zombies being drawn in from around them, Wang Tao was somewhat confused. These ordinary zombies were coming, but the Blood-red Zombie wouldn¡¯t come out? Xu Xiaojun went to deal with the ordinary zombies, and Wang Tao continued to wait for a moment. But still to no avail, the Blood-red Zombie did not appear. ¡°Since that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t blame me!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue came to the entrance of the underground granary together. Xu Xiaojun was too weak, so he was not asked to come over. They opened the door, and it was pitch dark inside, emitting a gloomy atmosphere. However, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had night vision, so they didn¡¯t fear any surprise attacks. Without hesitation, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went straight down. It was safe at the entrance, as they weren¡¯t attacked at all, but as they went deeper, a terrifying and fierce figure suddenly appeared behind Wang Tao! Swish¡ª The Blood-red Zombie pounced directly at Wang Tao, but Jiang Shixue punched it and sent it flying. Although the punch didn¡¯t cause much damage, the Blood-red Zombie was clearly angered. It roared and charged straight at Jiang Shixue. In this relatively narrow space, neither Wang Tao nor Jiang Shixue could utilize their full power. After exchanging a few moves with the Blood-red Zombie, they immediately retreated. The Blood-red Zombie was relentless, unwilling to let Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue go. Fortunately, they were strong enough to withstand an attack from the Blood-red Zombie, and Wang Tao made it back to the surface. ¡°Phew¡ªsuch a high attack!¡± Wang Tao rubbed his somewhat numb back. He had just taken a hit from the Blood-red Zombie on the back, and even with stubborn armor and Barrier Ability, he still lost over three hundred HP. Probably if it had been Xu Xiaojun who came, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand a single hit. The two of them kept alert, watching the entrance. They saw the Blood-red Zombie roar at Wang Tao from below and then dive into the darkness. Even when Wang Tao shone a flashlight on it, it wouldn¡¯t come out. ¡°Seriously... Can it really hold back?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Could it be that this zombie had no intelligence at all? Didn¡¯t get mad? Nevertheless, Wang Tao, not quite ready to give up, took another risk with Jiang Shixue. But he could clearly feel that the zombie was indeed a bit angry, and it seemed to remember him... But even so, the zombie still did not chase them out. Wang Tao had thought this to be the most likely successful strategy, but it failed just like the first plan. ¡°Should we proceed with the third plan?¡± Jiang Shixue tilted her head and looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao glanced at the sky; the sun was already setting. After a brief hesitation, Wang Tao firmly nodded his head. ¡°Let¡¯s do it! If we wait until tomorrow and the other two zombies return, it could get even more troublesome! There¡¯s still some time before it gets completely dark; that should be enough!¡± Chapter 350: 167: Fatal Acupoint_3 Chapter 350: Chapter 167: Fatal Acupoint_3 The third plan was to destroy the granary and blast the Blood-red Zombies out! Although this plan was very risky, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to wait anymore. ¡°Little Jun, you go to Fish Bay Camp. Clean up all the zombies around, and then set up some simple defensive facilities...¡± Wang Tao instructed Xu Xiaojun. The noise from blowing up the granary would be huge, and it would definitely attract many zombies. Wang Tao had to leave himself an escape route. The defensive capabilities of Fish Bay Camp were ordinary, but its location was relatively remote with fewer zombies around, and there was only one way into the camp. If anything dangerous arose, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue could fend it off for a while. ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately returned to Fish Bay Camp. Meanwhile, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue cleaned up any ordinary zombies around the granary. Only after confirming there were no zombies around did Wang Tao take out the Self-Destruct Bomb. The slightest noise could set off these bombs, so he had to make sure everything was quiet around him. The days of the apocalypse were very quiet. As long as there were no zombies, these Self-Destruct Bombs were relatively stable. Wang Tao cautiously placed the bombs inside the granary. After setting all the dozen or so bombs, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. While placing these bombs, he had to be fully alert. If his hand trembled even slightly, it wouldn¡¯t just be one or two bombs going off, but all twenty-something bombs exploding at once! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how powerful that would be, but he knew he definitely couldn¡¯t withstand it. Of course, Wang Tao had a contingency plan, which was to store the bombs in his Space Backpack right before they exploded but hadn¡¯t detonated yet. This way, he could avoid an explosion. But this required quick hands and also some luck. It wasn¡¯t something to attempt unless absolutely necessary... ¡°Let¡¯s move back a bit...¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left the granary, looking towards the underground granary entrance, he took a deep breath. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t learned professional demolition. He was unclear about how many explosives were needed to bring down the granary or where the bombs should be placed... But he knew that with enough force, bricks would fly. As long as there were enough bombs and the force was powerful enough, it didn¡¯t matter what it was, everything would be blasted away! ¡°Are we not placing any bombs at this entrance?¡± Jiang Shixue asked softly with curiosity. Because there were Self-Destruct Bombs throughout the rest of the granary, only the entrance from the underground granary to the outside was left untouched. ¡°If we also put bombs here, then after the explosion, we¡¯d really bury the zombies inside. What we want is not to bury them, but to flush them out. So we have to leave an exit for them to escape through...¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Oh~¡± Jiang Shixue nodded her head, seemingly having learned something new. After ensuring everything was set, Wang Tao took out the Alloy Recurve Bow from his Space Backpack. He rarely used Bow and Arrows. Usually, in close combat, he used axes, hammers, and other melee weapons; at mid-range, he used Throwing Knives or Flying Axes; as for long-range... Wang Tao hadn¡¯t engaged in long-range combat for a long time. It wasn¡¯t he didn¡¯t want to, but often, either his view was blocked by buildings or the combat was too sudden, leaving no chance for long-distance sniping. Of course, just because Wang Tao used it rarely didn¡¯t mean his skills were lacking. He had practiced Arrow Technique for quite a while now, and even without Precision Shooting, his accuracy was not a problem. Wang Tao drew the bow and nocked an arrow, aiming it at one of the Self-Destruct Bombs. Whoosh¡ª The arrow flew in a parabola, then landed precisely on a Self-Destruct Bomb. Thump, thump... The Self-Destruct Bomb immediately started to swell. Boom! A loud blast, the Self-Destruct Bomb exploded! Then, the noise caused by this bomb set off the other bombs. Boom¡ªBoom¡ªBoom¡ª In an instant, a series of explosions rang through the granary. Wang Tao had already stuffed his ears with cotton ahead of time. Seeing that Jiang Shixue was still foolishly watching, he quickly covered her ears. Boom¡ªBoom¡ªBoom¡ª The sound of so many bombs exploding at once was enormous, as if the entire town was boiling over. Dust filled the air around the granary, and Wang Tao watched clearly as the granary collapsed, then slowly sank into the ground! And at this moment, from the hole that remained unexploded, suddenly a blood-red figure shot out. Rush! Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had been ready. The moment they saw the zombie¡¯s figure, they sprinted towards it. ¡°Wait! What¡¯s happening?¡± But suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. For he saw that, the instant the zombie emerged, its body started to crack and smoke as if it was being burnt by fierce flames. It let out a painful scream! The HP bar plummeted crazily! In just a few seconds, only a sliver of HP remained! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao knew sunlight was its weakness, but he hadn¡¯t expected it to be this terrifying¡ªit wasn¡¯t just a weakness, it was like an Achilles¡¯ heel! Instant death upon contact! Without time to think, Wang Tao immediately swung his axe. A Shockwave was emitted, smashing into its head. Spurt¡ª [-287] [0/30000] The Blood-red Zombie fell to the ground, then its entire body turned into ashes. ¡°Is it... over just like that?¡± Stunned, Wang Tao walked over with Jiang Shixue. At this time, the sounds of explosions attracted the attention of other zombies nearby, including a large group of Mad Demon Zombies! ¡°Heh heh...¡± Wang Tao had no time to think, hastily going to collect the loot. ¡°Ah? No Crystal Core?¡± Only then did Wang Tao realize, after the Blood-red Zombie died, it had not left a Crystal Core! Although it was evaporated by the sun, Crystal Cores weren¡¯t afraid of the sun. It might be that it truly didn¡¯t have a Crystal Core... However, even though there were no Crystal Cores, the three Loot Packs it dropped were still satisfying for Wang Tao. Wang Tao threw out a few more Self-Destruct Bombs, the sound of the explosions diverted many zombies¡¯ attention. Holding Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao instantly Rushed more than thirty meters, getting away from the battlefield. ¡°Run!¡± The two of them sprinted towards Fish Bay Base. Chapter 351: 168 Ultraviolet Light_1 Chapter 351: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_1 Pft! Wang Tao swung his axe, dealing with the last zombie that was chasing them. ¡°Good, not too many zombies followed us...¡± The explosion just now had been loud, and Wang had intentionally thrown a few Self-Destruct Bombs to divert the zombies¡¯ attention. Plus, since the two of them had run fast, not many zombies had followed. The small group of zombies that did come was easily taken care of. However, Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained serious. The zombies that had followed included Mad Demon Zombies. In the past, Mad Demon Zombies had an HP of 2000, but now, the HP of Mad Demon Zombies had reached 4000! For him, Mad Demon Zombies with 4000 HP were naturally no threat. But what if the HP of the Mad Demon Zombies exceeded 5000, reaching Level Two? With the number of Mad Demon Zombies, that would be troublesome! ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dwell on it any longer and headed to Fish Bay Camp with Jiang Shixue. Xu Xiaojun had already built a simple cabin and put up some fences around it. Although it didn¡¯t seem to have much defensive power, at least it kept the zombies out of sight. Zombies also had vision, especially some powerful zombies that could see from afar. Some coverings were necessary. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Xu Xiaojun saw that Wang Tao and his companion were unharmed, and he finally relaxed. The explosion earlier had frightened him greatly. He didn¡¯t know where Wang Tao had gotten so many bombs, and he was terrified that Wang Tao and his companion might have been blown up. Fortunately, they returned safely. ¡°It will be night soon. Tonight we¡¯ll just make do here and take turns keeping watch.¡± Wang Tao looked at the sky and said. ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Huh? You brought that fish over too?¡± Wang Tao saw a big fish inside the cabin, which seemed to be the one he had caught earlier. Wang Tao had thought about using the Blood-red Zombie as bait, so he had taken the fish as dinner. But, unexpectedly, the Blood-red Zombie wouldn¡¯t show up, leaving no choice but to use bombs. After the explosion, they had to run, so the fish would have been wasted. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect that Xu Xiaojun, who looked rough and tough, was actually quite considerate... ¡°Heh, I didn¡¯t want it to go to waste, so I brought it over.¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. ¡°Alright, before it gets dark, let¡¯s cook the fish!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Although Fish Bay Camp was in ruins, they could still find some pots and pans. Wang Tao found a large pot, placed the fish Xu Xiaojun had prepared into it, and then added some Purified Water from his Space Backpack. Seeing Wang Tao suddenly produce a jug of water, Xu Xiaojun was stupefied. But he didn¡¯t ask too many questions. It was the apocalypse now, and abilities like a storage space appearing were quite reasonable. Without a lighter on him, Wang Tao shaved some wood shavings, took a stick, and began to make fire by friction. With his extremely fast hand movements, flames sparked to life in a moment. The fish was large, and even after a lot had been discarded, there was still plenty of meat left. Wang Tao made some of the fish into fish soup, and the rest into grilled fish. If it was safe for the next couple of days, Wang Tao planned to catch a few more large fish and turn them into nutrient solution. The food left over in the underground food store had already been turned into nutrient solution by Wang Tao. There were lots of nutrient solutions in his Space Backpack, but they were all rice-flavored, quite bland, so he needed other flavors to mix things up a bit... Xu Xiaojun quickly set up a simple grill, and Wang Tao had him take care of grilling the fish. Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao with longing eyes. ¡°You can help grill the fish, too.¡± Wang Tao immediately shrugged. ¡°Okay~¡± Joy spread across Jiang Shixue¡¯s little face. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many seasonings with him, just salt and chili. But that was enough; it was the apocalypse after all, no need to be too picky, it was good enough to be able to eat. After the sun had set, both the boiled fish and the grilled fish were ready. Wang Tao quickly extinguished the flame to avoid attracting zombies¡ªlarge fires would repel zombies, but small flames might attract their attention. So it was better to be cautious, especially since there were two Level 3 zombies outside. ¡°It¡¯s so fragrant!¡± Jiang Shixue took a big sip of the fish soup and immediately praised it. ¡°Hmm, not bad.¡± Wang Tao also thought it tasted quite nice. He saw Xu Xiaojun holding his bowl in a daze, so he asked, ¡°Little Jun, aren¡¯t you eating?¡± ¡°Oh oh, yes...¡± Xu Xiaojun snapped out of it, hurriedly took a sip of the soup, and ate a piece of fish meat. ¡°Delicious!¡± ¡°Haha, if you like it, eat more.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. This was an affirmation of his cooking skills. ¡°Yeah!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded vigorously. He devoured the meal voraciously, and before he knew it, a tear dropped into his bowl. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time since the apocalypse began that someone, besides Uncle Lu, had invited him to eat... After dinner, Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue to rest while he took the first watch. With all the defenses of Fish Bay Camp gone and the big explosion at the food store, Wang Tao had to be cautious to prevent zombies from coming over. While keeping watch, Wang Tao also took the time to check the loot from killing the Level 3 zombie today. The fact that the Level 3 Blood-colored Zombie had no Crystal Core took Wang Tao by surprise. It had Mana; in theory, having Mana meant having an Ability, and having an Ability should mean having a Crystal Core. But it could also be an exception. After all, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen it use any Special Ability; it relied entirely on physical Strength... No Crystal Core then, no Crystal Core it is; there were still plenty of other gains. Wang Tao looked at his HP. His HP had increased by 4500! Now it was at [14450/14450]! Chapter 352: 168 Ultraviolet Light_2 Chapter 352: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_2 The HP cap increase was quite substantial; however, this was due to an over-level kill which tripled the amount. Normally, it should have been 1500... But regardless, this HP boost feels great! 30,000 HP is Level 3, and Wang Tao is not far from reaching Level 3 now. When he had reached 10,000 HP, it did not trigger any sleep mechanism; he could feel a direct and considerable strength increase. This was great; it wasn¡¯t as troublesome as before. And since it was an over-level kill, there was naturally Special Energy involved. Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy also increased by 4500, and now it was at 7740! He needed 5000 Special Energy to fuse a Level 2 Ability, so he was ready for another fusion! But he¡¯d have to think carefully about which abilities to fuse... Last was the loot, the blood-red zombie had dropped three bags. And inside the first bag was a Crystal Core Gift Bag. Wang Tao found this somewhat speechless, as the zombie itself didn¡¯t drop a Crystal Core, but the bag contained one... that was kind of interesting. There were four Crystal Cores in total inside the bag. Upon seeing the attributes of the first Crystal Core, Wang Tao¡¯s face lit up with joy. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] This was a Crystal Core that was even bigger than the Level 2 ones. ¡°It¡¯s actually a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core...¡± Although he couldn¡¯t use it right now, it would be essential when he ascended to Level 3 in the future. Having this Crystal Core would save him a lot of time. And as Wang Tao had guessed, the purity had decreased by another 5% with Level 3, only at 40%... [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] [Energy Boost: Increases the Mana cap by 1000] The second Crystal Core was an Energy Enhancement one, and on seeing this Core¡¯s description, Wang Tao furrowed his brows. This was a Core that directly increased the Mana cap. 1000 Mana was a lot, equivalent to the Mana added by ten Level 1 Crystal Cores or five Level 2 ones. But just increasing Mana wasn¡¯t very useful; it had to be used in conjunction with other abilities. This Crystal Core could be said to be good, but also somewhat of a redundant feature¡ªwait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly thought of something! He could fuse his own abilities. If he were to fuse this ability with another, wouldn¡¯t that negate the redundancy? And he also had the Extraction ability. If he fused this Core to gain a 1000 Mana cap increase and then extracted the core, would he keep the increased Mana cap? If the enhanced Mana cap remained, wasn¡¯t that akin to exploiting a bug? Unfortunately, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t reached Level 3 yet, so he couldn¡¯t do the fusion. Otherwise, he would have certainly given it a try! ¡°I¡¯ll keep the Crystal Core for now and try it later to see if it works!¡± [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] [HP Boost: Increases HP cap by 1000] The third Crystal Core was an HP Enhancement Core that could increase the HP cap by 1000. It might seem similar to the Energy Boost Crystal Core, but HP and Mana were different, as HP had a cap. If other abilities hadn¡¯t ascended, then the HP would be capped, and this HP boost would become irrelevant... Plus, killing zombies also awarded increased HP cap, which definitely seemed more cost-effective than fusing Crystal Cores. After all, Wang Tao got an increase of 4500 HP from killing a Level 3 zombie, whereas this Core only added 1000 HP. This HP Enhancement Crystal Core was somewhat underwhelming... Unless it could break through the cap. For example, if you were stuck at 4999 HP and it could boost you to 5999 HP, then this Core would be useful. ¡°I¡¯ll test it out later when I have the chance, to see what exactly this HP boost is all about.¡± [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Body Constitution Boost] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] [Physical Enhancement: Provides an all-around enhancement of physical constitution] The last Crystal Core was a Body Constitution Enhancement one, and this too came as a surprise to Wang Tao. Personally, he felt this Core was better than the HP Enhancement, being on par with the Energy Boost Core. However, similar to the Energy Boost Core, if used alone, the effects might not be great. But if combined with other abilities, it should be quite remarkable. Of course, Wang Tao could fuse and extract abilities. So he also put this type of Crystal Core into his experimental category, hoping to synthesize or extract it later to see. If he could fuse the HP Boost, Energy Boost, and Physical Enhancement into a single ability, that would be awesome! Wang Tao stored the Crystal Cores, then turned his attention to the second bag that the blood-red zombie had dropped. This bag contained potions. [Strength Growth Potion x5] [Agility Increase Potion x5] [Mental Boosting Potion x5] A total of 15 potions! And they weren¡¯t for temporary state enhancement; they were for permanent attribute boosts! [Strength Increase Potion: After injection, strength will receive a certain degree of permanent enhancement] [Agility Increase Potion: After injection, agility will receive a certain degree of permanent enhancement] [Mental Boosting Potion: After injection, spirit will receive a certain degree of permanent enhancement] Wang Tao had previously killed a gorilla zombie that dropped five Strength Growth Potions. After injecting them, he had felt the effects were quite profound. Without hesitation, Wang Tao promptly injected the 15 potions into his body one by one. ¡°Hiss...¡± After the injection was complete, Wang Tao felt wonderfully refreshed. The enhancement was obvious! Chapter 353: 168 Ultraviolet Light_3 Chapter 353: Chapter 168 Ultraviolet Light_3 He felt that his strength had greatly increased, his reaction speed had quickened, and he was no longer sleepy all of a sudden! However, it was difficult to say exactly how much his strength had improved, this would only be known after testing, which clearly wasn¡¯t appropriate at the moment. Then, Wang Tao looked toward the last package, which contained two items. They were a ¡°High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1¡± and ¡°Small ultraviolet illumination flares x20.¡± ¡°High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight: Capable of emitting ultraviolet light, but due to its high power, the energy consumption is high, resulting in a relatively short duration. Energy can be replenished with batteries.¡± This was a very ordinary-looking square flashlight, only the size of a palm. It didn¡¯t seem to be associated with high power in any way. This flashlight used batteries, but not ordinary ones; instead, it ran on material batteries obtained from killing zombies. Wang Tao aimed the flashlight into the darkness and switched it on. Whoosh¡ª A large cluster of intense purple light instantly appeared on the ground before him. ¡°Wow! No wonder it¡¯s called high-power. It¡¯s so bright!¡± Wang Tao quickly turned off the flashlight; he didn¡¯t want to attract zombies with it. But Wang Tao was puzzled, why a ultraviolet flashlight? Such purple light was uncomfortable to look at and seemed unsuitable for nighttime use... However, after seeing the second item, Wang Tao understood why it was ultraviolet. ¡°Small ultraviolet illumination flare: After igniting, it can emit a strong ultraviolet light within a certain range for 25 seconds. The ultraviolet light can block or burn certain mutated zombies that fear ultraviolet light.¡± ¡°So the Blood-red Zombies are not scared of ordinary light, but ultraviolet light? No wonder when I shone the flashlight on it before, it didn¡¯t react much, but when sunlight hit it, it turned to ash straight away...¡± Only now did Wang Tao realize that the weakness of these Blood-red Zombies was actually ultraviolet light, and it had to be a large amount to be effective. Ordinary lights also emit ultraviolet light but far too little to affect them... The Small ultraviolet illumination flares had a tubular shape, similar to signal flares. Overall, they were quite compact and could be carried around. As for the exact effect of the flare, it couldn¡¯t be tested just yet, since he only had 20 of them, and they needed to be saved for critical moments. And this loot was quite interesting ¡ª after killing Blood-red Zombies, the corresponding weapon equipment dropped! If he were to encounter Blood-red Zombies again, it might not be so troublesome! After putting away the spoils, Wang Tao took another look at the Level 2 Crystal Core in his hand. He had quite a few Level 2 Crystal Cores, but excluding those related to Ascension and Omnipotent, most of the cores were unique. The only ones he had in abundance were the Weakness Poison Fog cores, with about ten. Next were the Power Crystal Cores, with three. The Ability of Weakness Poison Fog didn¡¯t seem suitable for Wang Tao, so he didn¡¯t consider it. He could, however, synthesize one without side effects and impurities ¡ª an Epic Strength Crystal Core; and he did want the Power Ability. But the problem was, if he fused Crystal Cores now, he had to consider whether it would be easy to integrate abilities in the future. Power was a Passive Ability, while his other three abilities were all active Abilities. Wang Tao felt that the chances of integrating Power with the other three cores were very low... So integrating it now seemed inappropriate. So after much thought, he found that he still couldn¡¯t fuse any Level 2 Crystal Cores for the time being. He still needed to save up. What a pity that these more than nine thousand units of Special Energy probably wouldn¡¯t be used for a while. ... The next day, early morning. As Wang Tao opened his eyes, he saw Jiang Shixue staring at him. Fortunately, Wang Tao had already become accustomed to Jiang Shixue¡¯s occasional strange behaviors, or he might have been startled. ¡°Good morning, Little Xue.¡± ¡°Morning~¡± Wang Tao came out and saw Xu Xiaojun patrolling nearby. It was Wang Tao¡¯s turn to stand guard the previous night, and Xu Xiaojun took the later shift. Jiang Shixue had been sleeping the whole time, but her sleep was light, and she would wake up immediately if there was any disturbance. ¡°Little Jun, are you tired? If you are, go get some more sleep.¡± Wang Tao asked with concern. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯m not tired.¡± Xu Xiaojun promptly patted his chest and assured him. ¡°All right.¡± Seeing Xu Xiaojun looking spirited, Wang Tao nodded with a smile. There were still some fish left from yesterday, and the three of them had it for breakfast in a simple manner. During the meal, Wang Tao suddenly realized that the three of them seemed to have quite an appetite¡ª He didn¡¯t mention himself since he had always had a big appetite, which only increased after becoming an Ability User. Xu Xiaojun was even bulkier than him, and his food intake wasn¡¯t small either. As for Jiang Shixue, she looked thin and small, but she had the largest appetite among the three, like a bottomless pit. After all, she was currently in a Half-human half-zombie state, so the big appetite made sense. ¡°We¡¯ll need to prepare more food in the future!¡± Wang Tao felt a bit of regret, although he had many nutrient solutions, just consuming nutrient solutions wasn¡¯t ideal. Fortunately, Wang Tao had three Magical Stomach Pouches, which could hold a lot of food. ¡°Here, take this.¡± Wang Tao handed a stomach pouch to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Is this... a water bag?¡± Xu Xiaojun was somewhat puzzled. ¡°It¡¯s a container for storing food.¡± Wang Tao briefly demonstrated, and Xu Xiaojun looked amazed. ¡°Today, we will catch more fish and prepare food to store inside the stomach pouches...¡± With one Magical Stomach Pouch each, they could store quite a bit of food now. ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun was full of vim. The entire day, the trio dedicated themselves to fishing. They caught more than a dozen fish, larger than average humans! They were busy until sunset, finally managing to process the fish completely. Wang Tao planned to continue fishing the next day, not wanting to waste a good fishing spot. As for tonight, Wang Tao intended to go out with Jiang Shixue. He remembered that there were still two Level 3 Blood-red Zombies nearby. The benefits of killing Level 3 zombies were too great, and with ultraviolet flashlights and flares in hand, he wanted to try if he could take down another one! Even if it wasn¡¯t possible, at least he needed to find out the lairs of these two Blood-red Zombies. Maybe he could replicate yesterday¡¯s success! Chapter 354: 169: Level 3 Lord_1 Chapter 354: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_1 ¡°` Night. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue once again arrived at the county. Upon seeing the situation inside the county, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Hiss... so many!¡± He thought there were only three Level 3 Blood-red Zombies in the county, and he had killed one, so there should be two left... But now he had just entered the county and already saw three Blood-red Zombies! ¡°Let¡¯s take a detour.¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue stealthily went around. Although he now knew the zombies¡¯ fatal weaknesses, seeing three of them as soon as he arrived gave Wang Tao a bad feeling¡ªif there were this many elsewhere, it might not be wise to provoke them... After bypassing these three zombies, Wang Tao saw another isolated Blood-red Zombie. ¡°Should we make a move?¡± Jiang Shixue seemed eager to try; she did not know the meaning of fear. Wang Tao was somewhat tempted, but after thinking it over, he refrained. ¡°Let¡¯s check for other zombies in the vicinity first...¡± If it was just this one, Wang Tao felt confident he could handle it with an Ultraviolet flashlight and Ultraviolet illumination flares, even though it was night. But if there were other Blood-red Zombies nearby, that was a different story. ¡°Hmm.¡± The two of them searched around the lone Blood-red Zombie and Wang Tao felt a tingling on his scalp. ¡°One, two, three... eight! Damn, good thing we didn¡¯t act rashly!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected there to be so many Blood-red Zombies nearby. Could it be... there was a lair of Blood-red Zombies in the county, and it was close by? However, if there really was a large lair, then if they could blow it up like they had the grain storage, the spoils would be tremendous! ¡°Let¡¯s find a place to rest first and then see if there¡¯s a chance to follow them...¡± ¡°Alright~¡± Taking them on now was out of the question; after all, with so many Level 3 zombies, Wang Tao certainly couldn¡¯t beat them. He had the Ultraviolet Light and flares, but their range was limited, unlike the sun which left zombies with no place to hide. These zombies could flee. The two found a six-story residential building with no other tall buildings around, which was perfect for observation. Every so often, they could see Level 3 Blood-red Zombies appearing, and they appeared most frequently near the grain storage. Wang Tao guessed that perhaps because of the commotion during the day, these zombies hadn¡¯t dared to show up, but they still wanted to check it out at night... This also indirectly proved that these zombies indeed possessed some intelligence! Until the sky began to lighten, Wang Tao found no opportunity to attack. ¡°They¡¯re running away!¡± Jiang Shixue alerted Wang Tao. ¡°Let¡¯s go, follow them!¡± The sky in the distance was beginning to show the first light of dawn, and the fierce Blood-red Zombies immediately ran towards the darkness. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue suddenly appeared near the Blood-red Zombies, but the zombies seemed not to see them or, as if eager to get back home, ran towards the darkness without care. The zombies were fast, and in the blink of an eye, most of them were out of sight. Wang Tao targeted a zombie and closely followed behind it. But perhaps feeling the threat of the sun¡¯s emergence, these zombies were running wickedly fast, even faster than when they had chased Wang Tao before! Even with his speed greatly increased, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t catch up. So, without a second thought, he took out his Ultraviolet flashlight. Whoosh! A beam of purple light struck the Blood-red Zombie. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The zombie immediately let out an angry roar and ran even faster! Its skin sizzled as if it were being burned. However, compared to the sun, the damage from the Ultraviolet flashlight was insignificant¡ªin the sunlight, they would turn to ash in seconds, but Wang Tao¡¯s Ultraviolet flashlight only made it drop a few hundred HP. Watching the Blood-red Zombie disappear from his sight, Wang Tao shook his head helplessly. ¡°It seems that the main use of this Ultraviolet flashlight is for defense; it¡¯s impossible to use it as a weapon. They can completely dodge it, and the damage isn¡¯t high...¡± Still, Wang Tao was content; having some form of defense was better than none. As day fully broke, the bustling Jinbi County began to settle down, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue searched again but still couldn¡¯t find the lair of the Blood-red Zombies. However, they did find several Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hold back and easily took down these few zombies, so leaving empty-handed was avoided. Back at Fish Bay Camp, Xu Xiaojun was busy cooking fish. Seeing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue return, Xu Xiaojun felt somewhat ashamed. He felt like he was of no help at all, a big guy only capable of small tasks... Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t one to hide his feelings, and seeing the shame and dejection on his face, Wang Tao immediately said with a smile: ¡°Little Jun, do you have any Abilities you like?¡± ¡°Ah? I don¡¯t know much about Abilities...¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. ¡°I see. Then listen to me.¡± ¡°Okay...¡± Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t understand the meaning behind Wang Tao¡¯s words but still nodded immediately. Xu Xiaojun was too weak, not even at 2000 HP. With that level of strength, staying with Wang Tao indeed dragged the latter down. So Wang Tao decided to enhance Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength. Xu Xiaojun had only merged with a Crystal Core, the Power Crystal Core. This Crystal Core suited him well, because its side effect was related to body size, with smaller physiques experiencing negative growth. But Xu Xiaojun had a robust build, so the side effect was basically null for him. ¡°` Chapter 355: 169: Level 3 Lord_2 Chapter 355: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_2 Before, Wang Tao had given most of the Level 1 Crystal Cores to Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui, but Wang Tao still kept some, and added to that, he had killed quite a few Elite Zombies along the way, so he had enough Level 1 Crystal Cores. Wang Tao directly took out nine fused Level 1 Power Crystal Cores and handed them to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°...¡± Looking at so many red and orange Crystal Cores, Xu Xiaojun was somewhat stunned. Since he had fused with such a Crystal Core before, he knew these were all usable by him! ¡°You go ahead and fuse these Crystal Cores,¡± Wang Tao said casually, as if these weren¡¯t nine Crystal Cores but nine ordinary rocks. ¡°I...¡± Xu Xiaojun hesitated to take them, opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but Wang Tao interrupted him. ¡°Quit the chatter and hurry up.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun subconsciously took them. Feeling the cold touch of the Crystal Cores, Xu Xiaojun glanced at Wang Tao with gratitude and excitement, then put a Crystal Core in his mouth. Watching Xu Xiaojun begin to fuse the Crystal Cores, Wang Tao looked back at his backpack. Xu Xiaojun had told Wang Tao before he felt he could fuse two or three more types of Crystal Cores. That meant Xu Xiaojun was an Ability User who could fuse with four different types of Crystal Cores. The first type of Crystal Core was Power; for the next three, Wang Tao thought to consider close combat capabilities. After all, given Xu Xiaojun¡¯s frame and having Power Ability to increase his strength, it would be a waste not to fuse with close combat abilities. Moreover, Xu Xiaojun had told Wang Tao before that he preferred straightforward combat, so Ranged Attack wasn¡¯t quite suitable for him. After some consideration, Wang Tao took out several Crystal Cores. A Toughness, a Shockwave, and a Rush. Wang Tao felt these three Crystal Cores were quite suitable for Xu Xiaojun. There was Attack, Defense, and Mobility. Spending some time, Xu Xiaojun fused all the Power Crystal Cores given by Wang Tao. He had never felt so strong! ¡°In the next two days, I¡¯ll take you to kill some Zombies, and then you can fuse the other Crystal Cores,¡± Wang Tao told Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Okay!¡± This time, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t play coy but nodded firmly. He liked the feeling of increasing strength. Although he would owe Wang Tao a lot, he had made up his mind to follow Wang Tao, and he would repay him gradually! Wang Tao then looked at Jiang Shixue. He had promised her the use of Zombie Culture Fluid but hadn¡¯t had the time. Now that they had time, it was possible to cultivate Jiang Shixue... In the morning, Wang Tao and the others went fishing for a while and caught plenty of big fish. In the afternoon, Wang Tao took Xu Xiaojun to hunt Level 1 Elite Zombies. But their luck wasn¡¯t good today, as they roamed around the county for an afternoon without much to show for it. However, fortunately, they managed to raise Xu Xiaojun¡¯s HP to 2,000. Xu Xiaojun immediately slipped into a Sleeping State, and Wang Tao dragged him back. Taking advantage of Xu Xiaojun¡¯s sleep, Wang Tao said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Little Xue, how about we use the culture fluid this time?¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes lit up, then she sat down beside Wang Tao, opened her mouth wide like a little kitten. Wang Tao took out a bottle of culture fluid and poured it into Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth. After a while, Jiang Shixue started to feel drowsy and fell into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. [Cultivation: Total volume 1% (99% can still be added). Remaining time 59 minutes 59 seconds] Wang Tao pried open Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth and continued to pour culture fluid. After a total of 100 bottles, ¡°Total Volume 100%¡± appeared above Jiang Shixue¡¯s head. An hour later, Jiang Shixue woke up. [HP: 20,200/20,200] Her maximum HP had increased by 1,000, reaching 20,000! ¡°Brother, I feel like I¡¯ve become a lot stronger...¡± Jiang Shixue clenched her fist, slightly excited. ¡°That¡¯s good, can you tell when you¡¯ll be able to use the culture fluid again?¡± ¡°I feel... it¡¯s probably once every three days...¡± Jiang Shixue frowned slightly. ¡°Once every three days... Okay, we¡¯ll cultivate again in three days.¡± If Jiang Shixue could gain 1,000 HP every three days with the culture fluid, she could reach 30,000 HP in a month! It was just that they weren¡¯t sure what Jiang Shixue needed for her Level 3 Ascension, because her situation was a bit special¡ªshe couldn¡¯t fuse Crystal Cores. Even Wang Tao still did not know what Abilities Jiang Shixue specifically had. Wang Tao even doubted if Jiang Shixue, like the Blood-red Zombies, was purely physically strong without any Ability... Jiang Shixue herself couldn¡¯t clarify, as the memory she lost seemed to have taken her Ability with it. But fortunately, she could use her Hidden Ability, and with her strong physique, she was now Wang Tao¡¯s capable assistant. Two hours later, Xu Xiaojun woke up. ¡°Do you feel like you can now fuse a few types of Crystal Cores?¡± After thinking for a while, Xu Xiaojun said: ¡°I should be able to... fuse with two more, but fusing with the third might be a problem...¡± ¡°All right, then go ahead and fuse Crystal Cores. Choose any two you like to fuse with.¡± Wang Tao gave the remaining three Crystal Cores to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°...Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun still felt like he was dreaming, never having imagined that gaining strength could be this simple! Of course, he knew it was simple because of Wang Tao. Without Wang Tao, talk of increasing strength would be pointless; he¡¯d probably be dead by now... As a man of few words, actions spoke for him. The next day. Wang Tao continued to take Xu Xiaojun to hunt Zombies. ¡°I¡¯m quite nostalgic for the First Hospital!¡± Chapter 356: 169: Level 3 Lord_3 Chapter 356: Chapter 169: Level 3 Lord_3 Wang Tao felt somewhat emotional. Perhaps because the first hospital had Green-eyed Zombies, it practically mass-produced Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t kill them all. And now, although Jinbi County had a hospital, it lacked Green-eyed Zombies, so there weren¡¯t many Elite Zombies within. However, this hospital shared one similarity with the hospital in Shuize County, and that was the presence of numerous Mad Demon Zombies! To avoid trouble, Wang Tao didn¡¯t go to the hospital. The group spent their days fishing, killing zombies. At night, they stealthily tracked the Level 3 Blood-colored Zombies, but unfortunately, they were never able to keep up; the Blood-colored Zombies ran too fast when fleeing... Three days later, Xu Xiaojun finally reached 3000 HP and once again fell into a deep sleep. Wang Tao then helped Jiang Shixue cultivate further, increasing her HP limit by an additional 1000, reaching 21200! At night, Wang Tao continued with Jiang Shixue to look for Level 3 Blood-colored Zombies. Wang Tao no longer planned to fight the Blood-colored Zombies. After all, there were too many of them, and if they were surrounded, even his Ultraviolet Light wouldn¡¯t be effective. So now, Wang Tao intended to track these Blood-colored Zombies when they were returning to their lair at dawn and see where it was located. If they could find the lair and there was an opportunity, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t mind carrying out another ¡°blow up the granary¡± operation. Luck seemed on their side today; as dawn was about to break, Wang Tao clearly saw several Blood-colored Zombies entering a large building! ¡°This is... the Government Building? What a place to choose...¡± The building was imposing, but the surroundings were entangled with many unidentified plants, obscuring the light and making the inside very dark, difficult to see clearly. By now it was daylight, and the surroundings were very quiet. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue carefully entered through the main door. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Wang Tao, whose eyes shone with a green light, involuntarily gasped upon seeing the situation inside. The interior was filled with sections of black and red flesh, still faintly twitching, among which knelt figure after figure of Blood-red Zombies! ¡°This lair... is so big!¡± Wang Tao was both nervous and elated. After all, risks and opportunities coexisted! The building was too large, and after checking his supply of Self-Destruct Bombs, Wang Tao knew it was definitely not possible to level it. However, even if the zombies couldn¡¯t be wiped out completely, it would still be good to gain something! For instance, killing the Incubation Flesh, the undeveloped zombies, and the Level 3 Zombies! The Level 3 Zombies might have gone deeper inside; Wang Tao didn¡¯t see them for the moment. Therefore, Wang Tao set his sights on these pieces of flesh and the undeveloped zombies. ¡°We need to quickly destroy these, and when I tell you to stop, you stop!¡± Wang Tao whispered to Jiang Shixue, gesturing towards those things. Only when Wang Tao killed these entities would packages drop, so he was the one to deal the final blow. ¡°Alright!¡± After consulting for a while, they immediately began their attack. To ensure safety, both of their movements were cautiously kept quiet. Jiang Shixue wielded Wang Tao¡¯s Firefighter Axe and started chopping at the flesh and the half-finished zombies. Wang Tao took out the Giant Axe from his Space Backpack, and after Jiang Shixue had brought those entities to a critical state, Wang Tao swung down his axe, reaping them all at once! Bang! In an instant, Wang Tao saw a large swath of HP bars emptied! ¡°Awesome!¡± Although these entities didn¡¯t increase Wang Tao¡¯s HP limit, they did drop packages. With a single thought, Wang Tao collected all the packages. ¡°Continue!¡± They prepared to go deeper as many sections of flesh and half-finished zombies still lay ahead. However, at that moment, Wang Tao suddenly felt a chilling sensation. He and Jiang Shixue both turned their heads, only to see a towering figure! It stood a head taller than the Blood-colored Zombies, with a body of metallic blue hue. Its body had bones protruding, forming a kind of Bone Armor. Its bloodthirsty, frenzied eyes stared fixedly at Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue! [HP: 50000/50000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] The moment Wang Tao saw this zombie, he didn¡¯t hesitate; he grabbed Jiang Shixue and charged out of the building. One second after Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left the doorway, the blue Zombie appeared at the entrance. If Wang Tao had hesitated for even a moment, he might have been trapped. This blue Zombie didn¡¯t dare come out into the sunlight and roared at Wang Tao from the shadows, its stare fixating on him as if memorizing Wang Tao¡¯s appearance, then it retreated into the darkness and vanished from sight. Outside, Wang Tao let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Level 3, Lord Zombie, that¡¯s too fierce!¡± Although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t fought with this zombie, he could sense its horror. If they really fought, he and Jiang Shixue would probably be effortlessly annihilated. After all, this was a Level 3 Lord Zombie with 50,000 HP! ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t stay here!¡± Wang Tao felt that this zombie seemed much more intelligent, and it might even remember him! Wang Tao had destroyed many pieces of Incubation Flesh and unborn zombies, which was akin to killing the zombies¡¯ ¡°children¡± and their ¡°wombs,¡± definitely bound to infuriate this zombie! If this zombie decided to seek out Wang Tao in the middle of the night, even with his Ultraviolet Light lamp, Wang Tao probably wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it. And since this was a Lord Zombie, if it brought a group of Level 3 minions... then Wang Tao and his companions would certainly be doomed! So Wang Tao decided to immediately evacuate from the county. As Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue ran towards Fish Bay Camp, Wang Tao suddenly heard a humming sound, growing louder and louder. They both looked up. ¡°An airdrop!¡± Wang Tao had been ready to evacuate, but the arrival of the airdrop made him hesitate. From past experiences, collecting all the airdrops would take at least one full day. That meant he would have to stay for another night... increasing the risk tremendously! But then Wang Tao furrowed his brows again. Because the military transport plane didn¡¯t airdrop over the county; instead, it flew straight toward the southwest... Now it seemed like there was no need to hesitate. Chapter 357: 170 Night Demon_1 Chapter 357: Chapter 170 Night Demon_1 Wang Tao returned to Fish Bay Camp and said to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Pack up, we¡¯re leaving this place!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t ask any questions and immediately started packing his belongings. There wasn¡¯t much to pack, mainly food. They had caught too many fish over the past few days, and the space in the Magical Stomach Pouch was limited, so it couldn¡¯t fit everything. Wang Tao turned some of the fish into a nutrient solution, and the rest into dried fish, which could be carried with them. There are conveniences to having fewer people, but also advantages to having more. Previously, when it was only Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, neither of them carried much. But now with Xu Xiaojun joining them, things were different. He was loaded with items¡ªfood, clothes, tools... he even carried pots and pans. In comparison, Xu Xiaojun seemed more like a post-apocalyptic survivor than Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. ¡°Are you sure you want to carry that much?¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth. ¡°I¡¯m fine! I can handle it!¡± Xu Xiaojun quickly patted his chest and said. He didn¡¯t want to waste anything. Some items were not that precious and could definitely be found in the county city, but if they were needed urgently, there definitely wouldn¡¯t be time to look for them... ¡°Alright.¡± Seeing that Xu Xiaojun truly had no issues, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more. After all, Xu Xiaojun had the Power ability, and although he seemed to be carrying a lot, it was not heavy for him. Once they had packed everything, Wang Tao looked toward the west and said: ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re heading to Zijing City!¡± Wang Tao was still in Huangfeng City, but it was quite far from the urban area of Huangfeng City. Instead, he was closer to the urban area of neighboring Zijing City. Moreover, there was no need to go to the urban area of Huangfeng City, because the large Survivor Base of Huangfeng City was in Red Stone County, and Red Stone County was at the easternmost part of Huangfeng City. Wei Zhenguo, Han Rui, and the others had headed for the Red Stone Survivor Base. If Wang Tao wanted to go to the Red Stone Base, he would either have to take a lengthy detour or go through Shuize County. However, there was a terrifying Black Mist Monster near Shuize County, and Wang Tao was not confident he could defeat it, so he decided to forget about it. Wang Tao was now closer to Zijing City, and he planned to check out where the large Survivor Base of Zijing City was located. When the virus broke out, the Government announced that there would be a large Survivor Base in every city nationwide. Wang Tao knew only that Huangfeng City¡¯s large Survivor Base was in Red Stone County, but he was unaware of the ones in other cities. The survivors from Zijing City itself would definitely know, and now that he was relatively near the urban area of Zijing City, it likely had survivors he could ask. Before leaving Jinbi County, Wang Tao planned to find a vehicle. However, all the vehicles outside had been corroded by acid rain, and not a single one was usable. He had checked some underground garages, and the vehicles inside were no longer functional either. Xu Xiaojun told Wang Tao that there had been a heavy rain earlier, which had caused flooding disasters. Many areas were submerged, and naturally, the cars in those garages were not spared. Wang Tao felt somewhat disappointed; having a vehicle, even just a gas-powered one, would have made travel much more convenient. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao had made his way here with Jiang Shixue on foot before, so they could manage without a car. It would just be considered exercise. The three of them left Jinbi County and followed the national highway toward Zijing City. The highway was littered with abandoned vehicles and many zombies, all exuding an aura of desolation and deathly silence. At first, Xu Xiaojun was very tense. After all, since the apocalypse began, he had never traveled far. He knew the outside world was dangerous but was unaware of the specific conditions. However, after walking with Wang Tao for a while, he gradually relaxed a bit. It couldn¡¯t be helped, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were just too strong! Xu Xiaojun dealt with ordinary zombies, and if they encountered some tricky ones, Wang Tao would easily beat them half to death and then let him finish them off. Unnoticed by Xu Xiaojun, his HP had increased by another 1000. ¡°Brother Wang, I can¡¯t control it anymore, I need to sleep...¡± Xu Xiaojun, struggling to stay awake, spoke to Wang Tao. ¡°Oh? 4000 HP now? Fine, go to sleep.¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t paid attention just now, but after letting Xu Xiaojun have a few kills, he had reached 4000 HP. The sun was also about to set, so it was a good time to rest for the night. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue could travel at night, but Xu Xiaojun obviously couldn¡¯t, so it was best to rest well in the evening. There were many uninhabited houses by the road, and Wang Tao helped Xu Xiaojun into one. After letting Xu Xiaojun lie down, Wang Tao took out some food, ate something simple with Jiang Shixue, then had Jiang Shixue keep watch while he took inventory of the Loot Packs obtained in the Zombie Nest. Although he hadn¡¯t killed any zombies, he had killed many half-finished zombies and the incubating flesh that spawned them, so he ended up with 23 Loot Packs! Nineteen of them had burst from half-finished zombies, and four from the incubating flesh. The items burst by the half-finished zombies were all the same; all were Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores! Level Two Zombies were currently rare, and Level 2 Crystal Cores were even rarer, making Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores scarce. Having suddenly acquired 19 Omnipotent Crystal Cores, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t stop smiling. He already had 3 Epic Omnipotent Crystal Cores and 1 Excellent Omnipotent Crystal Core on hand. With this Excellent Crystal Core, there were exactly 20 uncombined ones. Wang Tao immediately began synthesizing. Soon, the synthesis of 10 Omnipotent Crystal Cores was complete. Most of them were Epic, and two were Excellent. Including the previous three, he now had a total of 13 Omnipotent Crystal Cores! Chapter 358: 170 Night Demon_2 Chapter 358: Chapter 170 Night Demon_2 The purity of Level 2 Crystal Cores is 55%. By synthesizing two crystal cores, the purity remains at 10%. So the purity of these 13 crystal cores is 10%, and when converted to his body¡¯s impurity rate, it¡¯s 0.1%! Now Wang Tao has 1.1% of internal impurity... So, he thought he could first fuse 9 Omnipotent Crystal Cores to raise the internal impurities to 2%, and then use two Cleansing Potions to remove all the impurities inside! He had been enduring this small amount of internal impurity in his body for quite a while now. When the internal impurities first appeared, he felt somewhat uncomfortable. Although it didn¡¯t affect his combat performance, it was still annoying. But there was no choice at the time, he had to fuse Ascension crystal cores, and then the internal impurities accumulated to 2.2%... Luckily, when he ascended to Level Two, the internal impurities were reduced by half, and now only 1.1% were left. Back then, he considered that he had only five Cleansing Potions, and each potion could remove 1% of internal impurities. For 1.1% impurity, using one bottle wouldn¡¯t be enough, and two would be a waste... So he had been putting it off until now. Finally, he had the chance to remove them all. ¡°But... I don¡¯t know which Special Ability the Omnipotent Crystal Cores will level up...¡± Wang Tao looked at his current three abilities. [Level 2 Shockwave], [Level 2 Precision Shooting], [Level 2 Barrier]. If possible, Wang Tao naturally hoped that the Omnipotent Crystal Cores would upgrade Barrier. Because Barrier was a new Superpower synthesized from both the ¡°Toughness¡± and ¡°Self-healing¡± abilities. Zombies seemed unable to drop Barrier Abilities... If Wang Tao wanted to upgrade, he could only rely on Omnipotent Crystal Cores. But when fusing Omnipotent Crystal Cores, the level-up was random among the several abilities he had. He couldn¡¯t control which one would be upgraded. Unless he first leveled up Shockwave and Precision Shooting to +10, the max level for Level Two. In that case, the Omnipotent Crystal Cores could only be used to upgrade Barrier. Unfortunately, Wang Tao currently had only one Level 2 shockwave crystal nucleus at hand, and even worse, he didn¡¯t have a single Level 2 Precision Shooting crystal nucleus... so he couldn¡¯t upgrade these two Special Abilities first. Wang Tao instinctively glanced at his special energy again. This special energy could only extract and fuse abilities but couldn¡¯t determine the priority of upgrades for the Omnipotent Crystal Cores¡ª Wait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly paused, then quickly looked at the description of special energy again. [Current Special Energy: 7740] [Extraction abilities: Turn a mastered ability into a crystal core of the current level. Extracting a Level 1 Special Ability consumes 1000 special energy; extracting Level 2 Ability consumes 5000 special energy; extracting Level 3 Ability consumes 30000 special energy] [Ability Fusion: Fuse two learned abilities of the same level. If the fusion is successful, the ability will have the characteristics of both, and the Special Ability Level will be the average of both. If the fusion fails, the main ability remains, and the Secondary Ability disappears. Fusion of Level 1 Special Ability consumes 1000 special energy; Fusion of Level 2 Ability consumes 5000 special energy; Fusion of Level 3 Ability consumes 30000 special energy] Wang Tao had used the ability fusion before, but this time he focused on the extraction ability. ¡°Turn a mastered ability into a crystal core of the current level... doesn¡¯t that mean I can temporarily turn my Shockwave and Precision Shooting abilities into crystal cores, leaving only my Barrier Ability, and then use the Omnipotent Crystal Cores to directly target Barrier Ability for an upgrade?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He seemed to have stumbled upon something terrific! However, he did not have enough special energy to extract both Shockwave and Precision Shooting at the moment, he could only extract one. But by extracting only one ability, he would only increase the probability of upgrading the Barrier Ability from one out of three to one out of two, a rate that Wang Tao still found unsatisfactory... And as for extraction, Wang Tao thought of a crucial point¡ª ¡°Since I can turn a learned ability into a crystal core of the ¡®current level,¡¯ could I not learn a Level 1 Ability, then use an Ascension crystal core to upgrade it to Level 2, and extract this Level 2 crystal core... wouldn¡¯t I have a 100% pure Level 2 Epic Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao was surprised by his own brainstorm, but after thinking it through, it seemed feasible? Under normal circumstances, if he wanted a 100% pure Level 2 Epic Crystal Core, he would need to synthesize three Level 2 Crystal Cores. But that would be too wasteful. Using this method, the cost for him to obtain a 100% pure Level 2 crystal core would be ¡°10 Level 1 Crystal Cores¡± plus ¡°1 Ascension crystal core¡± plus ¡°5000 special energy¡±¡ªbecause to extract this Level 2 crystal core, he needed special energy. Looking at it this way, even if it costs 5000 special energy, it would be worth it overall, as aside from the Ascension crystal core, no other Level 2 crystal cores were needed! Wang Tao had initially planned to fuse 9 Omnipotent Crystal Cores and then use two Cleansing Potions to remove the body¡¯s impurities. But now he had changed his mind. If he fused Omnipotent Crystal Cores now, the ability level might be added to Shockwave and Precision Shooting. It would be better to save up 10000 special energy first, extract both Shockwave and Precision Shooting, and then use the Omnipotent Crystal Cores to upgrade Barrier. After Barrier reached +10, he would start fusing Level 1 Shockwave, Precision Shooting crystal cores to ascend them to Level 2, and then extract those Level 2 Special Abilities. Finally, once he had collected 10 Level 2 Shockwave and Precision Shooting crystal cores, he would be able to level up all three of his abilities to +10! Chapter 359: 170 Night Demon_3 Chapter 359: Chapter 170 Night Demon_3 ¡°` This also has one greatest benefit: Level 1 Crystal Cores are much more common compared to Level 2 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao now only has one Level 2 Shockwave Crystal Core, and gathering 30 Level 2 Shockwave and 30 Level 2 Precision Shooting Crystal Cores would be extremely difficult¡ªnot due to lack of strength, but because he doesn¡¯t encounter Level 2 Terrorizers and Level 2 Police Zombies. But if it¡¯s 100 Level 1 Shockwave Crystal Cores, 100 Level 1 Precision Shooting Crystal Cores, and 20 Level 2 Ascension, then it becomes relatively easier. There are still plenty of Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao also has quite a few Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores, which can all be put to use. Plus, these two methods can be carried out simultaneously! If he has enough Level 2 Crystal Cores, then he can synthesize into a Level 2 Epic Crystal Core. If he has enough Level 1 Crystal Cores, then he can use Ascension Crystal Cores to upgrade them to Level 2! Add these efficiencies together, it¡¯s a case of 1+1 being greater than 2! Wang Tao has a premonition that his speed of ascending from Level 2 to Level 3 might even be faster than his ascent from Level 1 to Level 2! ¡°Just hang in there a bit longer!¡± Wang Tao put away the Omnipotent Crystal Cores, then looked at the items burst out from the incubation flesh. There were four packages in total, each containing an Extraction Crystal Core. With these four Crystal Cores, Wang Tao now had five Extraction Crystal Cores in total. Actually, Wang Tao could use the Extraction Crystal Cores himself, which would save up to 5000 Special Energy. But these Extraction Crystal Cores inevitably contained impurities. If he chose to save the 5000 Special Energy, then the price would be using more Cleansing Potions to remove Internal Impurities. Wang Tao currently only had five Cleansing Potions and needed to use them sparingly. After all, Special Energy could be obtained by defeating Zombies above his level, no matter the type. But he did not yet know what zombies would drop Cleansing Potions... ... The next day, early morning. Wang Tao and his two companions continued on their journey, heading towards Zijing City. They were in luck today, encountering quite a few Level 1 Elite Zombies on the road, and even a Level 2 Elite Zombie, all of which they managed to deal with easily. Wang Tao felt that if they kept up this efficiency, by the time they reached Zijing City, he would definitely have no problems amassing a few hundred Crystal Cores. At night, they still rested in houses by the roadside. Along this journey, aside from his own party of three, they hadn¡¯t seen any other survivors. Naturally, they had their pick of the houses. However, Wang Tao noticed that most of these houses had been scavenged, which meant there must be survivors around; he wondered if there was a survivor camp nearby. ¡°I can do it again~¡± Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao eagerly. She felt she could continue her cultivation. ¡°Then let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao took out the Zombie Culture Fluid and skillfully fed it to Jiang Shixue. An hour later, Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP increased by 1000, reaching [22200/22200]. Wang Tao was somewhat envious of Jiang Shixue¡¯s constitution, as it was so easy for her to increase her HP. Of course, Jiang Shixue could also increase her HP by killing zombies, but Wang Tao needed HP as well, so for now, he prioritized getting the last hit himself. Moreover, Wang Tao had 800 doses of Zombie Culture Fluid on hand, perfect for adding 8000 HP, which could bring Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP up to thirty thousand. There was no need for her to kill zombies for HP. The next day, they continued their journey. Perhaps it was because Wang Tao complained about the scarcity of Level 1 Elite Zombies before, but today, they encountered many more of them. This allowed Xu Xiaojun¡¯s HP to finally reach 4999! Wang Tao had prepared Crystal Cores for Xu Xiaojun that have been fully integrated by now. He currently possessed ¡°Level 1 Shockwave+10¡±, ¡°Level 1 Rush+10¡±, ¡°Level 1 Toughness+10¡±, and ¡°Level 1 Power+10¡±. Wang Tao directly gave him four Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores. These Ascension Crystal Cores hadn¡¯t been synthesized and contained impurities, as Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many of them. But each core was of either red or orange quality, and Xu Xiaojun successfully integrated all of them. After the successful integration, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s situation was almost the same as Wang Tao¡¯s before¡ªhe could feel he needed to sleep within three days, and this sleep would last for 24 hours. Wang Tao told him to go ahead and sleep. Since Xu Xiaojun was about to ascend to Level 2, there was no rush to keep moving. After all, only after reaching Level 2 would Xu Xiaojun truly become a supportive teammate for Wang Tao. Currently, Level 1 Xu Xiaojun was merely acting as a porter. And on the morning of the second day after Xu Xiaojun went to sleep, another plane flew overhead! ¡°Is that another military transporter? This time... there should be an airdrop, right?¡± Wang Tao watched the military transporter in the sky, his voice tinged with uncertainty. Mainly because his location was quite remote and the plane might not choose to drop the airdrop there. But a moment later, Wang Tao saw several small black dots fall from the rear of the plane. He immediately broke into a grin. ¡°I knew it, my luck has been pretty good lately!¡± Especially when Wang Tao saw that an airdrop wasn¡¯t too far from him, he promptly instructed Jiang Shixue: ¡°Little Xue, watch over Little Jun here. I¡¯m going to grab an airdrop, I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. Wang Tao located the direction of the airdrop and, in about ten minutes¡¯ time, reached precisely under where the airdrop would land. Thud¡ª The supply crate landed right in front of Wang Tao. Having already observed that there were no dangers nearby, Wang Tao confidently opened the airdrop. This was the safest time he had ever claimed an airdrop. Inside the supply crate were inhibitors, a total of 100 bottles! Wang Tao had given all of his inhibitors to Han Rui and Ding Yuqin, carrying a few on himself, but he¡¯d lost them while escaping. So now, Wang Tao had not a single inhibitor. These inhibitors came at just the right time. ¡°And a Monster Manual... I¡¯ll look at this when I get back.¡± Wang Tao took the items and returned to Jiang Shixue without incident. Then, he opened the Monster Manual, and the first thing he saw was a familiar type of zombie. ¡°Night Demon... A zombie that appears only at night, minimum level 3 and above, extremely strong, and possesses a certain degree of intelligence, capable of cooperation, and even quite vengeful. If you encounter a Night Demon, run if you can. Besides, killing them yields no Crystal Cores, so even if you¡¯re powerful, don¡¯t provoke them. However, Night Demons have a fatal weakness: they fear Ultraviolet Light...¡± Reading this introduction, Wang Tao nodded. ¡°The authorities named those Blood-red Zombies ¡®Night Demons,¡¯ which fits well with Mad Demon Zombies¡ªlike the latter, they have no Crystal Cores, so there¡¯s not much benefit in killing them...¡± ¡°` Chapter 360: 171 Monster Manual_1 Chapter 360: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_1 This guidebook is divided into four sections. They are zombies, monsters, plants, and ability users. It is much more detailed than the previous Zombie Guide, which probably means many people have been updating it. Wang Tao also wanted to contribute, considering he had seen many things. Unfortunately, he could not get in touch with them. In the Zombie Guide section, apart from the Night Demon, there was also an update with a lot of other zombies. Whether Wang Tao had seen them or not, they were all there. Wang Tao silently memorized this information about the zombies, to make it easier to deal with them if he encountered them in the future. Then Wang Tao turned to the Monster Manual section. ¡°Monster¡± refers to creatures other than humans, zombies, and plants. Monsters were subdivided into three categories. The first category was ordinary mutant beasts, such as animals that had become larger or bloodthirsty and frenzied. The big fish that Wang Tao had previously caught belonged to this type. The second category was mutant beasts with abilities. Some animals not only became bloodthirsty and frenzied, but they also possessed special abilities! These monsters were even more dangerous than zombies. However, they were rare; Wang Tao had not seen any so far. The third category was mysterious monsters. These were things that resembled neither any animal nor any plant, and didn¡¯t even seem like living creatures... such as a cloud or a rock. These unidentified monsters were all called mysterious monsters. Despite their odd appearances, these monsters were incredibly strong. You either didn¡¯t encounter them, but if you did, it usually meant death, a rare chance of survival. However, their numbers were very sparse, and so far, there were no records of them being killed. Therefore, the detailed information about these mysterious monsters was unclear... They all seemed like they weren¡¯t from Earth. Wang Tao thought of the Black Mist Monster in Shuize County, which could induce hallucinations and was terribly powerful¡ªclearly, it was one of the mysterious monsters mentioned here. Wang Tao felt that the pressure from the Black Mist Monster, with its 30,000 HP, was even greater than that of the Blue Night Demon with 50,000 HP! About the monsters, the guide also stated valuable information¡ªthat these monsters were different from zombies, as they were also afraid of the zombie virus! Thus, these monsters usually moved in the wild and did not enter cities, because there were too many zombies in the cities. Wang Tao had previously wondered why the Black Mist Monster in Shuize County stayed in the wilderness rather than going into the county city. It turned out it was also afraid of the zombie virus! No wonder internal impurity was listed amongst the attributes of the Black Mist Monster. However, this posed a significant problem for human survivors. Zombies were inside the cities, monsters were outside... choosing a location for the Survivor Base was a dilemma. The plant section introduced many mutant plants, which studies showed had evolved due to a particular type of acid rain. This special acid rain could cause these plants to wither, but those that survived would mutate! Currently, it seems that these plants were unconscious, but even without consciousness, they were very dangerous! For example, some man-eating flowers had grown very large, and now they ate not only insects but also humans and zombies! Unlike humans and monsters, plants were not afraid of the zombie virus, so the plants in the cities grew wildly. Conversely, the plants in the wild seemed more like normal plants... Researchers also did not understand why this was. Lastly was the section on ability users. This section mainly provided information about ability users and crystal cores, much of which Wang Tao already knew. For instance, ability users reached a bottleneck after killing a certain number of zombies and needed Ascension crystal cores; after ascension, ability users could delete one of their abilities or pass it on to someone else... As for information related to crystal cores, Wang Tao knew far more details than the guidebook provided. That¡¯s because the specific functions and side effects of the Fusion Crystal Core could only be known after its fusion. The fusion required human and time resources, and then it needed experimentation over and over... it was a troublesome process. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to, he only had to glance to know the detailed information about a crystal core... Although this information was not very useful to Wang Tao, it was still very precious to others. At times, it could even save lives! After reading all this information, Wang Tao considered it quite a fruitful effort. The only pity was the guidebook gave off an official, matter-of-fact tone throughout. It did not reveal any other type of information. For example, it said nothing about the current situation in the country, how the large Survivor Bases were doing, or what was happening inside the military bases... nothing at all. Normally, people would report good news and not bad. But this didn¡¯t even contain good news... this made Wang Tao quite pessimistic about the outside world. ¡°Perhaps... it¡¯s time to visit a military base.¡± Wang Tao had initially planned to go to the large Survivor Base in Zijing City, if it had survived until now. But now he reconsidered. If he continued southwest from Zijing City, he would reach Wuyang City, the capital of Wuyang Province, where the military base was located. Since he was almost at Zijing City, it might be better to travel a bit further to the military base. After all, if the military base could still airdrop supplies, it meant that the place was very safe. Plus, with the many weapons and strong forces inside the military base, it was clearly a good destination. They probably wouldn¡¯t refuse civilians looking for refuge... ¡°That¡¯s settled, then. I¡¯ll head to Wuyang Military Base!¡± Wang Tao had decided on his next course of action. Then he looked at the map again. To get to Wuyang Military Base, it was closer from Zijing City, so he didn¡¯t need to change direction; he could continue along the previously planned route. Chapter 361: 171 Monster Manual_2 Chapter 361: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_2 ¡°Should we go get the other airdrops?¡± Jiang Shixue said with eagerness in her voice. The plane had dropped quite a few airdrops just now, but only one was close to Wang Tao. Wang Tao had retrieved that and come back; the locations of the other airdrops were still unknown. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for Little Jun to wake up first. Anyway, we¡¯ll be heading in the direction of the airdrops, so it¡¯s not too late to grab them later,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. To him, the most important thing in the airdrops was the Monster Manual; he didn¡¯t really care about the rest. So, even if other survivors took the airdrops, it wouldn¡¯t matter. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue really wanted to go pick up the airdrops because she felt that these items falling from the sky were fun. However, she still listened to Wang Tao; if he said not to go, she wouldn¡¯t go. After checking the Monster Manual, Wang Tao became even more cautious. Even though he was on the national highway, it was rural and secluded here, and no one knew if there were mysterious creatures like the Black Mist Monster around. After all, those were even scarier than zombies... Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened until Xu Xiaojun woke up. ¡°Brother Wang, let¡¯s hurry and get the airdrops!¡± Xu Xiaojun became even more excited than Wang Tao when he heard about the airdrops, completely forgetting about his Level 2 Ascension. He had seen an airdrop once before, but it hadn¡¯t landed inside their town. At that time, many people from their camp had died trying to retrieve it. But it was worth it because the airdrop contained a lot of Inhibitors and the Zombie Guide... Now that Xu Xiaojun heard there were more airdrops, he got so excited. After all, there were always good things inside the airdrops! Wang Tao had helped him a lot, and he didn¡¯t have much to repay him with. If he could pick up a few more airdrops for Wang Tao, it would make him feel better. Seeing the excited Xu Xiaojun, Wang Tao said with a smile, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± The three set off again, heading west. On the way, Xu Xiaojun tested his strength after his Level 2 Ascension. It was a world of difference from before. Xu Xiaojun could hardly believe he was so strong¡ªmore than a dozen Mad Demon Zombies, and he had chopped them down with just a few swings of his axe! This was something he wouldn¡¯t even dare to dream of before! ¡°You¡¯ll get stronger and stronger in the future. You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± Wang Tao patted his shoulder. ¡°Yeah!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded resolutely. Suddenly, Wang Tao thought that giving that Broken Giant Axe to Xu Xiaojun might be suitable. The axe was quite powerful, but it was too big and heavy. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t comfortable using it. He preferred the One-Handed Axe for its flexibility. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll let Little Jun try it. If it suits him, then he can use it...¡± Wang Tao thought, stroking his chin. ... After a while, the three arrived at a small town. Originally, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t planned to enter the town, but he found there was an airdrop there. That was definitely something they couldn¡¯t pass up, so they ran over to it. There was a group of zombies near the airdrop, but Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t lift a finger; Xu Xiaojun took care of them with ease. Wang Tao went over to open the airdrop box. Before getting a good look, he suddenly heard an exclamation. ¡°Hey! Drop our airdrop!¡± Wang Tao looked up to see a buzz-cut young man dressed like a survivor pointing at him from the roof of a three-story building. The moment the man appeared, Jiang Shixue spotted him. But she didn¡¯t feel he was threatening, so she didn¡¯t react too strongly. Xu Xiaojun quickly stood in front of Wang Tao. Wang Tao was burly, but Xu Xiaojun was even bigger, especially after his Ascension to Level Two, which had increased his size even further. His presence was so imposing that when he stood there, he exuded a tremendous sense of pressure. Despite being in an elevated position, the buzz-cut man involuntarily took a step back when confronted by Xu Xiaojun¡¯s glare. Perhaps feeling that his step back was somewhat embarrassing, he immediately shouted in a lower tone, ¡°I¡¯m talking to you! That¡¯s our airdrop. Put the stuff down now, and I¡¯ll turn a blind eye. Otherwise, you¡¯ll be in trouble when our boss gets here!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. This guy¡¯s got some nerve! Not to mention that an airdrop is unclaimed property and belongs to whoever picks it up. Considering that the airdrop hadn¡¯t even been opened, it would belong to him by any sense of order or timing, not them! ¡°I don¡¯t like people talking down to me from above.¡± Wang Tao looked at the man, his voice level. As soon as his words fell, Jiang Shixue suddenly sprinted, climbing up the wall and dashing to the third floor. The buzz-cut man didn¡¯t see anything before feeling a pain in his butt, and then he was flying through the air. ¡°Ahh¡ª¡± Thud! Jiang Shixue had kicked the buzz-cut man down, and he landed near the airdrop. He had an HP of a thousand, so this height definitely wouldn¡¯t kill him, but it left him dizzy and disoriented. Xu Xiaojun was momentarily stunned by Jiang Shixue¡¯s actions, then quickly recovered. He grabbed the man¡¯s collar, hoisted him to his feet, then kicked his shins. Thump¡ª The buzz-cut man found himself kneeling in front of Wang Tao. Wang Tao: ¡°...¡± What he actually meant was for the man to come down and talk. But he didn¡¯t expect Jiang Shixue to kick him down directly, and he certainly didn¡¯t expect Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue to work together so well... Well, these little details didn¡¯t matter; the result was essentially the same. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me! Don¡¯t kill me!¡± The buzz-cut man finally came to his senses, staring up at Wang Tao towering before him like a mountain, Wang Tao¡¯s indifferent expression, and the bloodied Firefighter Axe hanging at his waist... It scared the daylights out of him. He promptly bowed his head and raised both hands in surrender. Chapter 362: 171 Monster Manual_3 Chapter 362: Chapter 171 Monster Manual_3 Wang Tao looked down at the buzz-cut man, speaking slowly: ¡°Whose airdrop is this?¡± ¡°Yours, it¡¯s yours! I have nothing to do with this airdrop!¡± The buzz-cut man hurriedly responded. Seeing that the other party finally knew their place, Wang Tao patted his shoulder, scaring him so much that his legs gave way, and he flopped straight to the ground. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered to speak anymore; he turned his attention straight to the airdrop. Inside the airdrop was a device, which looked somewhat familiar. ¡°Crystal Core Synthesizer?¡± There was a manual next to it; Wang Tao glanced over it and confirmed it indeed was a Crystal Core Synthesizer. However, it was an improved version of the previous one. The overall method of operation hadn¡¯t changed; it still required synthesizing three Level 1 Crystal Cores of the same Quality, but it wasn¡¯t guaranteed to succeed, as there was a possibility of failure. The manual stated that the success rate was now higher than before. Yet, however high the rate might be, there was still a chance of failure, while Wang Tao¡¯s own synthesis of Crystal Cores never failed. Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s synthetic cores were impurity-free and had no side effects. The cores synthesized by this device, on the other hand, had no side effects but contained impurities... So, even if it was an improved version, this device was useless to Wang Tao, especially since it couldn¡¯t synthesize Level 2 Crystal Cores, making it even more useless to him. Besides the Crystal Core Synthesizer, there was also a hand-crank generator and five military walkie-talkies with headsets. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of the walkie-talkies. His previous walkie-talkie had been damaged in the midst of fleeing, so he had been without one for a while. It was perfect to give one to Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun each. Communication would be much easier in the future. Wang Tao gestured, and Jiang Shixue leapt down directly from the third floor, startling the buzz-cut man, who had no idea what was going on but dared not raise his head, instead burying it even deeper. Wang Tao handed the walkie-talkies to Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun. Before he could teach them how to use them, a rumbling sound caught his attention. Several modified off-road vehicles slowly appeared from a distance. Wang Tao¡¯s enhanced vision allowed him to see farther than the average person; he observed that this group of people looked quite happy at first, probably having made a significant haul. However, their expressions quickly changed. Schh¡ª Several vehicles braked one after another, stopping about twenty meters away from Wang Tao. Then a group of people swiftly dismounted, holding pistols, steel pipes, homemade spears, and other weapons, and watched Wang Tao with great vigilance. ¡°Who are you? Why did you kidnap our man?¡± Someone shouted fiercely. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow at this group. Was there actually a Level 2 Ability User among them? Not bad for strength! Of course, it was just ¡®not bad.¡¯ That was because Wang Tao noticed the Level 2 Ability User hadn¡¯t merged with four Ascension Crystal Cores and her Mana was quite low. Such an Ability User didn¡¯t pose much of a threat to him. Seeing his boss finally arrive, the buzz-cut man cried tears of joy; he really thought he was going to die just a moment ago! However, without Wang Tao¡¯s permission, he didn¡¯t dare get up, after all his life was still in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. He still couldn¡¯t understand how he got down from the rooftop; he hadn¡¯t seen Jiang Shixue go up at all. Wang Tao kicked the buzz-cut man. ¡°Answer him.¡± The buzz-cut man really wanted to add his own spin to the story but didn¡¯t dare to do so; instead, he earnestly relayed what had happened after Wang Tao arrived. After hearing this, the group exchanged glances. Although the buzz-cut man hadn¡¯t told the full story, they had a rough idea of what had happened. It seemed the buzz-cut man had discovered the airdrop, but with many zombies nearby, he dared not collect it. Maybe while he was waiting for reinforcements, another group came and took the airdrop. Unwilling to give up, he tried to use his boss to intimidate the others, only to end up getting beaten down... The group eyed Wang Tao and the other two with less than friendly intent. Although Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun looked intimidating, there were only three of them, while their own side had thirteen people! Were they supposed to be afraid of that? Now, in this post-apocalyptic world, the rule of reason didn¡¯t apply; only the strongest fist prevailed! ¡°Your teammates don¡¯t seem to care whether you live or die!¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao pulled out an axe and placed it against the buzz-cut man¡¯s neck. The buzz-cut man¡¯s face turned pale with fear, and, unable to care for anything else, he blurted out: ¡°Boss, no! Didn¡¯t you always say, ¡®the more friends, the longer the road¡¯? We survivors are all friends!¡± Wang Tao found this remark somewhat amusing; he had never said anything of the sort. At this moment, the survivors made way, and a figure wearing a coffee-colored trench coat and a shapely figure walked forward from behind. She removed the scarf covering her face, revealing a slightly rough complexion, but a very pretty face with a smile that felt like a warm spring breeze. ¡°Sir, we¡¯re all survivors struggling to live in this post-apocalyptic world, all compatriots. Why create such a tense situation? If you release Little Jia, we¡¯ll also put away our weapons. Let¡¯s not fight but get acquainted instead, how about that? As for this airdrop... naturally, it belongs to whoever found it first. Since you found it first, it naturally belongs to you.¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao felt a bit disappointed because he had his eye on their vehicles. If these people didn¡¯t make a move, he would feel awkward about taking their cars... ¡°Get lost.¡± Wang Tao kicked the buzz-cut man, who immediately stumbled and scrambled into the crowd. Seeing Wang Tao release the man so readily, both the woman and the survivors were surprised. The survivors looked to their boss, expecting that she would order an attack on Wang Tao at this point. However, to their surprise, the boss didn¡¯t order an attack, instead, she sauntered over to Wang Tao. She removed her gloves, looked up at him with a smile, and extended her hand. ¡°Hello, my name is Yang Changhong.¡± Chapter 363: 172 Yang Changhong_1 Chapter 363: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_1 Zhang Hong¡¯s small hands were soft, but one could clearly feel the many calluses on them. [HP: 6230/6400] [Mana: 2090/3200] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 21%] With six thousand HP and three thousand mana, she was the boss of this group and the strongest Ability User among them. ¡°Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao released her hand and introduced himself. ¡°Mr. Wang, I apologize for the misunderstanding just now. It was due to my lack of discipline. I will punish him later. I hope you don¡¯t take it to heart,¡± she said. Zhang Hong was extremely polite. This left the others somewhat puzzled. When had their boss ever been so courteous? Could it be that the boss had taken a fancy to this big guy? And truth be told, this big guy had a good-looking face and an explosive physique, which provided a great sense of security in the post-apocalyptic world... Thinking this, quite a few of them glared at Wang Tao. After all, their boss, being both beautiful and powerful, had become the dream lover of many. They didn¡¯t want her to fall for an outsider. Wang Tao could clearly sense that these people didn¡¯t have such strong hostility towards him before, but after Zhang Hong came over, that hostility had increased significantly. Women truly were troublesome creatures. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Wang Tao asked, looking at her. Zhang Hong clearly had something to say; otherwise, she would either fight or leave. In this post-apocalyptic world, there was hardly time for small talk. Zhang Hong gave Wang Tao a flirtatious glance and then glimpsed at the empty airdrop box beside him: ¡°If Mr. Wang doesn¡¯t mind, could you tell me what was in that airdrop box? If it happens to be something we need, I can trade other items for it. What do you think?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change; after all, from the outside, the only thing that seemed to be of value to others was the airdrop. So he directly asked: ¡°What do you have for trade?¡± ¡°Food, weapons, vehicles... anything is fine, but only if the contents of the airdrop box are worth it.¡± Zhang Hong appeared very confident. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. So she was a rich lady? He glanced back at Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Show it to Miss Yang.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun took out the newly packed Crystal Core Synthesizer. ¡°Hmm?¡± Zhang Hong frowned. She didn¡¯t recognize this device. ¡°Sorry, we don¡¯t need this thing. I¡¯ve disturbed you enough.¡± Zhang Hong shook her head. What she needed the most was the Inhibitor. Everything else was optional, but the Inhibitor was essential. After speaking, Zhang Hong turned to leave without any hesitation, losing all the warmth and eagerness she had just shown. This response left Wang Tao somewhat puzzled. Was this woman really so pragmatic? And she didn¡¯t even ask what the machine was specifically? However, Wang Tao did appreciate one thing about Zhang Hong: she didn¡¯t attack him and his two companions. After all, from the looks of it, it should have been easy for their group of more than ten to deal with the three of them. Whether she was being cautious or she had her principles, in the end, she indeed did not make a move, nor did she intend to. Seeing Zhang Hong about to leave with her group, with no intention of further communication with Wang Tao, he said to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Little Jun, pack up the Crystal Core Synthesizer. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Xu Xiaojun promptly wrapped up the device again. But just as Zhang Hong was pulling open the car door, ready to get in, her step hesitated. A second later, she turned around, her smile warm and radiant. ¡°Mr. Wang, I suddenly remembered that I didn¡¯t ask for the name of this device. May I know what it¡¯s called?¡± ¡°The Crystal Core Synthesizer. It¡¯s a small device that removes the side effects from Crystal Cores through synthesis. However, it only works on Level 1 Crystal Cores,¡± Wang Tao said nonchalantly. ¡°Remove side effects!¡± Before Zhang Hong could speak, the other survivors who heard this all widened their eyes. ¡°Side effects can be removed? For real?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the end of the world, and technology is still so advanced?¡± ¡°Could it be a scam?¡± ¡°...¡± The survivors whispered amongst themselves. Zhang Hong took a deep breath and spoke seriously: ¡°If this device really does what Mr. Wang says, then I want it. Name your price, Mr. Wang, whatever you need.¡± Observing Zhang Hong acting like ¡®money is no object,¡¯ Wang Tao expressed a hint of confusion. ¡°Miss Yang, I didn¡¯t say anything about trading with you, did I?¡± ¡°...¡± Zhang Hong carefully recalled the conversation, and indeed¡ªit seemed that was the case. She wanted to know what it was, and Wang Tao showed her. Wang Tao had asked what she had, and she had mentioned a few. From start to finish, Wang Tao had never said he wanted to trade the device with her. After all, according to Wang Tao, this was a device that could extract the side effects from Crystal Cores. In many cases, such a device could be much more valuable than the Inhibitor! It made perfect sense for Wang Tao not to trade with her, but this was something Zhang Hong couldn¡¯t accept. If she didn¡¯t know about such a brilliant device, it would be one thing, but now that she did, it was a must-have. With it, she wouldn¡¯t necessarily need to mass-produce Ability Users, but it would undoubtedly boost the strength of her subordinates dramatically! ¡°Mr. Wang, there¡¯s no trade that can¡¯t be made, it¡¯s just a matter of price...,¡± Zhang Hong eyed Wang Tao and his two companions. A big guy, a Fatty, and a girl hiding behind the big guy whose face couldn¡¯t be seen, plus not much luggage... Chapter 364: 172 Yang Changhong_2 Chapter 364: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_2 Zhang Hong instantly had a grasp of the situation, and she pointed to one of the vehicles in her convoy: ¡°A pickup truck full of food, in exchange for this Crystal Core Synthesizer, do we have a deal?¡± It was an off-road pickup truck, its bed filled with sacks seemingly containing rice. The food in this truck, even for those with large appetites, would last for a very long time. For those in need of food, the price was not low. She thought that Wang Tao and the other two were in need of food, as Wang Tao had no vehicle and could only carry so much luggage, which certainly couldn¡¯t hold much food. But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not short of food right now.¡± Wang Tao was telling the truth. Previously, he had converted all the food from the granary into nutrient solutions, and he had plenty of it. The three of them couldn¡¯t finish it in the short term, so he wasn¡¯t short of food at the moment. However, Zhang Hong saw this as nothing more than a bargaining tactic. Zhang Hong wasn¡¯t angry; after all, it¡¯s normal for business people to negotiate prices, and she was used to it. ¡°Two trucks of food.¡± Zhang Hong said with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, I don¡¯t need food.¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. ¡°Three trucks of food, that¡¯s my final offer. After all, I have so many people to feed.¡± Zhang Hong¡¯s expression became much more serious. It seemed as if the deal wouldn¡¯t happen if Wang Tao refused again. But Wang Tao still declined. ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, we¡¯ll be on our way.¡± Zhang Hong frowned. Did Wang Tao really not need food? Seeing that Wang Tao was about to leave, she quickly called out to him. ¡°Wait. How about Crystal Cores?¡± At the mention of Crystal Cores, Wang Tao stopped, then said with a smile: ¡°Crystal Cores are fine, but I only want Level 2 Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°...¡± Zhang Hong fell silent. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Her subordinates, on the other hand, were shocked. ¡°Level 2 Crystal Cores? Do they have a Level 2 Ability User? Is it him, or that big Fatty beside him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably the Fatty. As a Level 1 Ability User, I can vaguely feel a faint pressure emanating from the Fatty...¡± ¡°Can¡¯t believe there¡¯s actually a Level 2 Ability User. No wonder our boss is being so polite...¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone was astonished. It was not that they underestimated Wang Tao and his companions, but those who followed Zhang Hong knew just how difficult it was for Zhang Hong to ascend to Level 2! Before Zhang Hong¡¯s Ascension, they had many more people than this¡ªthe majority of their manpower had died in the process of hunting down Level 2 Zombies! They had paid with many lives for Zhang Hong to have a chance at Level 2 Ascension... The survivors, after their shock, felt a wave of relief. Fortunately, their boss was sensible and had not clashed with Wang Tao. Otherwise, if a battle with a Level 2 Ability User broke out, these Level 1 or even non-ranked individuals would definitely suffer! ... The reason Zhang Hong was so polite to Wang Tao was not because of Wang Tao himself, but because of Xu Xiaojun beside him. She didn¡¯t know Wang Tao¡¯s exact strength; she felt he shouldn¡¯t be weak but also not too strong¡ªprobably at most at the pinnacle of Level 1. As for the girl behind Wang Tao, though she was dressed cleanly and didn¡¯t look like a post-apocalyptic survivor, Zhang Hong felt the girl was just an ordinary person and not worth concern. What truly made her wary was Xu Xiaojun because like attracts like; she could sense that Xu Xiaojun was a second-order Ability User! She was absolutely sure of it! As a Level 2 Ability User herself, she knew how formidable Level 2 Ability Users were. If she had gotten into a conflict with Wang Tao and the others, she might have been fine, but her subordinates would¡¯ve faced disaster. Thus, she was so polite to Wang Tao. Now it seemed her instincts were right; Xu Xiaojun was indeed a second-order Ability User! After a moment of silence, Zhang Hong reluctantly took out three Crystal Cores from her hand, two blue and one white. ¡°I only have these three Level 2 Crystal Cores on hand at the moment, and I don¡¯t know what they do. Pick one.¡± Seeing the three Crystal Cores in Zhang Hong¡¯s hand, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Athlete] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Double energy consumption for actions)] [Athlete: Passive Ability, Enhance athletic performance] The first Crystal Core was an Athlete, a passive ability that, in a sense, was a comprehensive enhancement of physical fitness. This Crystal Core was excellent, a great aid for survival in the post-apocalyptic world, despite the somewhat uncomfortable side effect. But that wasn¡¯t the point; the point was that Wang Tao already had an Athlete Crystal Core, which he had acquired from hunting a hooded zombie. Now he had two; if he could gather one more, he could synthesize one without any side effects... [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Jump] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Sensitive to noise)] [Jump: Consumes energy to improve jumping height and distance] The second Crystal Core was Jump, like the Athlete, another life-saving ability. Of course, it could also be used to assist in attacks, depending on how it¡¯s paired. Wang Tao also had a Jumping Crystal Core, also from a hooded zombie. However, these two cores were actually just appetizers. The third Crystal Core was what truly moved Wang Tao. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Frenzy] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: HP reduces by 10000 after integration)] [Frenzy: Automatically triggers when HP is below 30%, can only trigger once a day. Upon triggering Berserk, HP, Mana, Physical strength, and Spirit fully recover, size increases, all negative statuses are removed, Attack power significantly increases, speed moderately increases, defensive power moderately decreases. Frenzy lasts for 1 hour, after which it returns to normal.] Chapter 365: 172 Yang Changhong_3 Chapter 365: Chapter 172 Yang Changhong_3 The third Crystal Core was a Berserk! Wang Tao had an Epic Quality Berserk Crystal Core in his hands, which had burst out of a gorilla zombie before! If it hadn¡¯t been for Wu Fei saving his life at that time, he might have died. And he considered this type of Berserk Crystal Core one of the best. Because it was like having an extra life! Unfortunately, the side effects of this Crystal Core were too perverse, directly deducting 10,000 HP, Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t dare to merge with it. He thought about whether he could save up two more Berserk Crystal Cores, and then synthesize a Crystal Core without side effects to merge with. Now, he had indeed waited for another Berserk Crystal Core! Although this Crystal Core was only of ordinary quality, it didn¡¯t matter to Wang Tao; after all, he had an Epic Quality Berserk Crystal Core in his possession... ¡°I¡¯ll take these three Crystal Cores, and another vehicle. You can take the Crystal Core Synthesizer.¡± Wang Tao spoke up at this time. ¡°...¡± Even Yang Changhong, who was accustomed to bargaining, couldn¡¯t help but frown. She had only these three Level 2 Crystal Cores in total, acquired at the cost of many lives. Wang Tao wanted all of them and even a vehicle? Although the Crystal Core Synthesizer was indeed a good piece of equipment, if one didn¡¯t consider external factors and only looked at its value, it was definitely worth the price. But the problem was that whether it was Level 2 Crystal Cores or vehicles, both were very valuable at the moment. If she were to trade these for a Crystal Core Synthesizer, it would be a fair exchange for her team, but not for her personally! Seeing that Yang Changhong¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t too good, Wang Tao immediately added: ¡°Of course, I can also throw in 10 bottles of Inhibitor.¡± ¡°You have Inhibitors?¡± After Yang Changhong was stunned for a moment, she immediately nodded, ¡°Deal!¡± Seeing how straightforward Yang Changhong was all of a sudden, Wang Tao felt that 10 bottles of Inhibitors might have been too many. But since he had already spoken, he naturally wouldn¡¯t go back on his word. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao took out 10 bottles of Inhibitor from the backpack that Xu Xiaojun carried, and he also generously took out the instruction manual for the Crystal Core Synthesizer. ¡°I¡¯m not going to swindle you, take a look at the manual first, and if there¡¯s no issue, we can trade.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a manual too?¡± Yang Changhong was somewhat surprised; she had picked up airdrops a few times, but hadn¡¯t seen equipment types, so she wasn¡¯t very clear about it. After receiving the manual, Yang Changhong quickly glanced through it and was immediately both amazed and regretful. The functionalities of the Crystal Core Synthesizer were impressive, but it had many downsides too. Overall though, it was a good item worth exchanging for. ¡°No problem.¡± Once she confirmed there was no problem, Wang Tao handed over both the Crystal Core Synthesizer and the 10 bottles of Inhibitors to her. She, in turn, gave all three Level 2 Crystal Cores to Wang Tao. As she handed over the Crystal Cores, she felt somewhat reluctant since they were hard-won. However, she didn¡¯t know what Abilities these Crystal Cores had nor had a way to test them, so she could only comfort herself that the Abilities of these Cores weren¡¯t suitable for her... After receiving the three Crystal Cores, Wang Tao looked much more favorably upon the group. The Crystal Core Synthesizer was of no use to him. He initially thought that exchanging it for a vehicle would be enough, but he didn¡¯t expect to obtain three more Crystal Cores¡ªan unexpected windfall. Yang Changhong let her people take away the Crystal Core Synthesizer, while she personally kept the 10 bottles of Inhibitors. With these Inhibitors in her possession, she finally felt some sense of security. Not everyone was as strong as Wang Tao or as well-protected. In most survivors¡¯ battles with zombies, getting scratched or bitten was inevitable. Even accidental infection with the zombie virus could occur, like consuming food contaminated with fresh zombie blood. At such times, Inhibitors became crucial. If one confirmed a virus infection and wasn¡¯t in a dying state, using an Inhibitor within one minute would mostly result in survival. After one minute, it was a matter of luck, as the minimum incubation period for the zombie virus is one minute. Even so, having Inhibitors greatly increases chances of survival. With Inhibitors on hand, both Yang Changhong and her subordinates could remain unpanicked. She had run out of Inhibitors recently and without a new supply, she would lose her nerve and the others would become much more timid in combat, significantly diminishing their fighting capability... ¡°As for the vehicles, aside from my own, you can choose any of the rest,¡± Yang Changhong pointed out the vehicles. There were over a dozen of them, but they had eight vehicles, which was rather plentiful. Plus, the vehicles were either modified pickups or off-road vehicles, quite suited for an apocalyptic environment. ¡°I¡¯ll take that one.¡± Wang Tao selected a particularly large off-road vehicle. The vehicle was a bit ugly, resembling a coffin box, but it was large, and the interior only had five seats, offering ample space. Wang Tao was one-meter-ninety, and Xu Xiaojun topped two meters, so they needed a vehicle with a spacious interior to fit comfortably. Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t surprised by Wang Tao¡¯s choice; she handed over the car keys to him directly. ¡°Pleasure doing business!¡± ¡°Pleasure doing business.¡± After Wang Tao thoroughly checked the vehicle, finding that steel plates were added to the exterior and there were no issues inside, and that the gas tank was almost full, he let Xu Xiaojun place their belongings inside. As he got into the vehicle, Jiang Shixue, who had stayed behind Wang Tao the whole time, finally appeared. Everyone was astonished when they saw such a clean and tidy young girl, but since there were Second-order Superpower Owners present, they refrained from staring too long. Yang Changhong was unexpectedly taken by Jiang Shixue¡¯s cleanliness and beauty. Seeing Jiang Shixue, she seemed to see her sister. Shaking her head, Yang Changhong tried not to dwell on sad thoughts, and habitually asked Wang Tao. ¡°May I ask where Mr. Wang plans to head to next?¡± ¡°Zijing City.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide it. ¡°Huh? Zijing City?¡± After Yang Changhong hesitated for a moment, a bright smile appeared on her face. ¡°What a coincidence, Mr. Wang. We¡¯re heading to Zijing City too. How about we go together?¡± Chapter 366: 173: Betting_1 Chapter 366: Chapter 173: Betting_1 ¡°How about we go together?¡± Upon hearing Yang Changhong¡¯s words, her subordinates, who had been somewhat displeased, were stunned for a moment before their expressions changed to ones of anticipation! If Wang Tao and his two companions were outsiders, they would definitely be unhappy. After all, Wang Tao had beaten up their people and taken their boss¡¯s belongings. But if Wang Tao and his team were allies, that would be a different story¡ªthis was a Level 2 Ability User! ¡°Oh, along the way?¡± Wang Tao glanced at Yang Changhong and the group of survivors, feeling that they didn¡¯t seem to be deceiving him; it really appeared they were heading the same way. ¡°Yes, we are also going to Zijing City. We are all survivors struggling to live in the apocalypse, stronger together since we¡¯re on the same path. Why not travel together?¡± Yang Changhong spoke with great enthusiasm. ¡°I¡¯m ready to leave right now...¡± Now that he had a car, Wang Tao wanted to get to Zijing City as soon as possible for the wilderness held many mysterious creatures, and every additional minute there increased the danger. Yang Changhong immediately replied: ¡°It¡¯s a coincidence, so are we!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to pack up your things?¡± Yang Changhong pointed at her convoy: ¡°We don¡¯t have a camp, the vehicles are our camp. You could say we are ¡®apocalypse nomads¡¯...¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao came to a realization. No wonder their vehicles were loaded with so many supplies; Wang Tao had thought these were scavenged by them that very day. He even thought Yang Changhong was particularly lucky to have found so much food in one morning¡ªturns out they had no fixed residence but were constantly on the move in the apocalypse, like a nomadic tribe. There were indeed many advantages to this lifestyle, such as not having to worry about their base being besieged by a large number of zombies, not having to consider the development of a base, and not being restricted by geographic location, and so on. Of course, the ¡°nomadic¡± lifestyle had a significant disadvantage: the group could not grow too large. After all, with a larger number of people, there would definitely be many who¡¯d want to settle down, and a larger group also meant less mobility. ¡°What do you think, Mr. Wang?¡± Yang Changhong looked at Wang Tao with eager eyes. Having a Second-order Superpower Owner join them, even temporarily, would at least double their security factor! As for the character of Wang Tao and his companions, that was hard to gauge, but Yang Changhong firmly believed that relationships maintained by mutual interest were the most stable. She felt that both she and Wang Tao were in a position where they needed each other, and under such circumstances, nobody would do anything foolish. Thus, for her own sake, as well as for her subordinates, she tried her best to extend the invitation. ¡°Okay.¡± After a brief contemplation, Wang Tao nodded. As Yang Changhong had said, there was indeed strength in numbers. These people might not be powerful, but they were sharp-eyed. If any danger arose, at least they could serve as human alarm sirens. Moreover, Wang Tao was curious about other areas. Seeing as how Yang Changhong and her group had obviously traveled to many places, perhaps he could get some information from her. ¡°Welcome Mr. Wang to our team! I believe you won¡¯t be disappointed!¡± Yang Changhong laughed heartily, shook hands again with Wang Tao, and then looked at Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue, asking: ¡°How should I address these two?¡± ¡°Xu Xiaojun.¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and said. These two groups, initially at an impasse, had suddenly become allies, and Xu Xiaojun was still a bit unaccustomed to it. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Xu.¡± Yang Changhong was still very polite. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak but looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Her name is Jiang Shixue, my sister. She¡¯s a bit socially awkward and doesn¡¯t like to talk much.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Jiang Shixue... what a lovely name, as beautiful as the person herself!¡± Yang Changhong thought of her own sister, her gaze becoming somewhat nostalgic. But she quickly snapped out of it and announced to the others: ¡°Get in the cars, we¡¯re heading to Zijing City! Oh, right¡ª¡± Yang Changhong looked back at Wang Tao. ¡°Your car has a radio; we can communicate directly if there¡¯s any trouble. You have a radio of your own, right? Let¡¯s synchronize...¡± Soon, the eight vehicles left the small town one after another and continued westward along the national highway. In the biggest off-road vehicle, Xu Xiaojun was driving, while Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue sat in the back. The three of them didn¡¯t have much luggage, and the space inside the car was generous, so Wang Tao reclined the back seat to lie down for a while. Jiang Shixue, rather attached to Wang Tao, laid down with him. Xu Xiaojun naturally became the driver, but he was content, as this was the most luxurious car he had ever driven¡ªit was said to be worth over a million! Just then, the radio inside the car suddenly crackled to life. ¡°Mr. Wang, are you there? This is Yang Changhong.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao asked, still lying down. ¡°Mr. Wang, do you know what kind of energy source is needed to use this Crystal Core Synthesizer?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s tone revealed no clear emotion. ¡°I know, it needs a hefty amount of electricity to power the Crystal Core Synthesizer,¡± Wang Tao replied directly. ¡°...¡± Then he seemed to hear a deep breath being taken. In another, even more luxurious off-road vehicle, Yang Changhong¡¯s chest heaved with heavy breaths. For a constantly moving group like theirs, energy was what they lacked most, especially electrical power. All she had was a gasoline generator and a few solar panels, and the electricity they generated was stored in several batteries. But that little amount of electricity was nowhere near enough to power the Crystal Core Synthesizer! She had paid a high price for that synthesizer, but it turned out to be useless... Yang Changhong was close to raging with frustration. Chapter 367: 173: Betting_2 Chapter 367: Chapter 173: Betting_2 She took a deep breath, calmed her emotions, and then spoke, ¡°Mr. Wang, since you knew, why didn¡¯t you remind me!¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s tone carried a hint of resentment. ¡°Didn¡¯t I give you the manual? That¡¯s all in there, on page nine. Didn¡¯t you see it?¡± Wang Tao asked in return. He truly hadn¡¯t done it on purpose. He thought Yang Changhong had seen it, and at the time, he was wondering how she would solve the energy issue. Had she really not seen it? ¡°...Fine! I¡¯ll study it more carefully.¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t truly regret it, after all, it was indeed a valuable item, and she had also obtained 10 bottles of Inhibitor. But the limitation on energy was too great, she would have to think of a way to solve it. As Yang Changhong was about to end the communication, Wang Tao happened to have some things to ask her, so he spoke up, ¡°I haven¡¯t ventured far since the apocalypse began. Could you tell me about what you have seen?¡± ¡°I can...¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t hide anything and roughly shared what she had observed on her journey. After listening to her, Wang Tao felt a bit wistful. It was as he expected, the situations elsewhere were also pretty dire. Despite it being over four months since the apocalypse, survivors were still in early stages of struggling to survive. Being able to set up a small survivor¡¯s camp was already impressive. She had actually seen a few large Survivor Bases, including one that had been organized by the Government before. But these bases had all fallen one after the other. From her words, it was apparent that leading so many people as apocalypse nomads wasn¡¯t her choice, but rather she had no alternative. This time, her goal was the large Survivor Base in Zijing City. If Zijing City had this base, and it was decent, then she might just end her wandering life. As for zombies, of course, she had encountered many, some of which Wang Tao had never seen. However, she had not come across any mysterious monsters, nor had she seen the monster manual in the airdrops, so she was unaware of the dangerous wild creatures. ¡°Monster Manual? What¡¯s that?¡± Upon hearing this, Yang Changhong suddenly asked. ¡°It¡¯s the information from the airdrop. Haven¡¯t you come across any airdrops?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. ¡°No... Stop the car, I¡¯m coming to you!¡± Yang Changhong decisively halted the convoy and got out of her vehicle to climb into Wang Tao¡¯s. Many survivors watching this scene felt a pang in their hearts. ¡°It¡¯s over, the boss might really like that guy... My heart hurts!¡± Unaware of her subordinates¡¯ murky thoughts, Yang Changhong hurriedly asked after getting into the car, ¡°What is the Monster Manual? Can you show me?¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao immediately took out the manual and handed it to Yang Changhong. They say that a man looks most attractive when he¡¯s serious, and the same can be said for women. Despite her skin having roughened from the harsh life of post-apocalyptic wandering, Yang Changhong had attractive features: an oval face, high nose bridge, big eyes, small mouth... Her overall proportions were harmonious, making her a standard beauty. Especially when she was carefully reading the manual, with her eyebrows slightly knitted, she looked incredibly charming... Wang Tao promptly averted his gaze. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s been a while since I ¡®replenished HP¡¯ with my sister-in-law, I¡¯m starting to miss it...¡± He shook his head, feeling a bit helpless. There¡¯s an old saying that three years in the military makes a sow seem as fair as Diaochan. And Yang Changhong was no sow but a standard beauty. It was normal for him to have thoughts any regular man would have. Of course, it¡¯s not like there were no women around Wang Tao. Jiang Shixue was enough to outshine countless other women, and she was also very compliant toward him. To say Wang Tao had no thoughts about Jiang Shixue would be impossible. The world had been post-apocalyptic for months, no one would hold themselves to the moral standards of peaceful times. Besides, Jiang Shixue was 19, he was 26; even before the apocalypse, that would have been perfectly normal. But Jiang Shixue was different from others, being in a half-human half-zombie state, her body was almost like a zombie¡¯s. Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t dare to make an excessive move, or else if he got infected, he¡¯d have nowhere to cry... As he was lost in his wild thoughts, Wang Tao suddenly felt someone staring at him. He turned his head and saw Jiang Shixue¡¯s bright, wide eyes. ¡°Ahem...¡± Wang Tao felt a bit uneasy and somewhat evasively ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. Today, her hairstyle was twin ponytails, obviously done by him. Mainly because he didn¡¯t know how to do other hairstyles. Ponytails were easy; Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair was either twin or single ponytails every day... Feeling the large hand on her head, Jiang Shixue gently narrowed her eyes and rubbed her head against Wang Tao¡¯s palm like a kitten. At that moment, Yang Changhong suddenly exclaimed, drawing Wang Tao¡¯s attention. ¡°Ah? So these Night Demons are afraid of Ultraviolet Light! Damn!¡± Perhaps feeling she had overreacted, Yang Changhong explained further, ¡°The night before last, we encountered a Night Demon. I was asleep at the time, and the others didn¡¯t recognize what Level the zombie was, thinking it was a Level 2 Zombie... As a result, we lost three people. If it weren¡¯t for the vehicles, we might have all died...¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders ¨C with the capabilities of this group, meeting a Night Demon was essentially the same as being sitting ducks. After sighing, Yang Changhong continued to read on. ¡°The monsters in the wild... Hiss!¡± At this point, she suddenly felt perhaps her luck had been quite good? She had never encountered these types of monsters. Before today, she had thought the nights were safe, even considering, if she couldn¡¯t find a suitable base, collecting more resources in the future and building a self-sufficient camp in the uninhabited wilderness. Chapter 368: 173: Betting_3 Chapter 368: Chapter 173: Betting_3 But now, it seems that doing this is no different from seeking death... After reviewing the Monster Manual, Yang Changhong thanked Wang Tao very solemnly: ¡°Thank you! If I hadn¡¯t seen this manual, I would have had no idea how dangerous it is out there!¡± ¡°No need to be polite.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand and then asked curiously, ¡°Didn¡¯t you guys pick up any airdrop supplies?¡± ¡°No, we saw the plane, but this time the airdrop was different from before. It used to be a fixed drop over a certain city, but now it feels pretty random; we don¡¯t know where it¡¯s going to drop next, some have even landed deep in the wilderness, impossible to find...¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s face showed a trace of helplessness. They had seen an airdrop this time, but they had come from another route and hadn¡¯t seen the exact location of the drop right away. Later, one of her subordinates found it and was waiting for her to get there, but Wang Tao got there first... It was as if they had worked for nothing. ¡°The airdrop locations are pretty random...¡± Wang Tao frowned a bit. Back in Shuize County, every time there was an airdrop, it always landed in the city; he had not encountered the situation described by Yang Changhong. Why would the pilots intentionally make it harder to retrieve the airdrops? And weren¡¯t they aware of the monster situation in the wild? Wang Tao was puzzled, but since he didn¡¯t understand these matters, he could only shake his head. He would observe more carefully if there were any future airdrops. ... At noon. The convoy stopped. Because someone had seen several Elite Zombies gathering together. Elite Zombies have Crystal Cores, and no one wants to miss the chance to get them upon encounter. But now that Level 2, Elite Zombies had appeared, not everyone could distinguish between Level 1 Zombies and Level 2 Zombies. So now, seeing an Elite Zombie, everyone is very cautious. Of course, it¡¯s different if there¡¯s a Second-order Superpower Owner in the team. After Yang Changhong¡¯s subordinate saw a few Elite Zombies, they immediately informed her, and she notified Wang Tao. ¡°There are Elite Zombies... let me check.¡± After receiving Yang Changhong¡¯s message, Wang Tao climbed onto the roof of the vehicle. His enhanced vision easily located the group of zombies Yang Changhong mentioned. ¡°One Spitter, one Attacker, one Terrorizer, plus some Ordinary Zombies... all Level 1.¡± Wang Tao was a bit disappointed; there were no Level 2 Zombies. Of course, a mosquito¡¯s leg is still meat; it can¡¯t go to waste. ¡°They¡¯re all Level 1 Zombies, what does Boss Yang say?¡± Wang Tao called out to Yang Changhong, who was not far away. Yang Changhong put down her binoculars and looked at Wang Tao somewhat surprisingly. She could also tell the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 Zombies, but she had to be closer and come to a conclusion based on her perception of danger and experience with zombies. And Wang Tao could judge from so far away that they were Level 1 Zombies? ¡°Are you sure these are all Level 1 Zombies?¡± Yang Changhong asked, then explained, ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t trust you, but if we make a mistake in our judgment, someone might die because of it, and I have to be responsible for their lives.¡± ¡°I¡¯m certain. Of course, I¡¯m referring to this group of zombies. If other zombies come over, that¡¯s a different story,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Okay!¡± Yang Changhong chose to trust Wang Tao; after all, they were teammates now. There was no need to sabotage anyone. Plus, they¡¯d definitely need to go closer for observation later. After thinking for a moment, she said to Wang Tao: ¡°Since they¡¯re all Level 1 Zombies, there¡¯s no real challenge for us. How about we see who can kill them faster? Whoever wins gets the Crystal Cores, naturally, and the winner can make a request that isn¡¯t too excessive, and the other cannot refuse. How about that?¡± After saying that, she deliberately licked her lips. ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao looked at Yang Changhong¡¯s seductive expression, instantly becoming somewhat interested. ¡°Sure, no problem!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t care about winning or losing; he cared about the Crystal Cores. These few Level 1 Elite Zombies were found by Yang Changhong¡¯s people, and even if he wanted the Crystal Cores, it wouldn¡¯t be right to argue over them. But since Yang Changhong proposed a competition on who could kill faster, he was determined to secure the Crystal Cores! ¡°Don¡¯t worry about making noise attracting Mad Demon Zombies; just go all out. Mad Demon Zombies are not as fast as our cars. Once we kill them, we can leave, and they won¡¯t be able to catch us,¡± Yang Changhong also thoughtfully reminded Wang Tao. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow; what did this woman mean, was she looking down on him? Of course, Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t looking down on him. She wanted to compete with Wang Tao mainly to assess the strength of Wang Tao and his companions. Using a Level 1 Crystal Core and a promise as a stake wasn¡¯t a small deal. That should get them to take it seriously, right? Especially Xu Xiaojun, Yang Changhong really wanted to know if this Second-order Superpower Owner was stronger than herself! As for the possibility of losing... she definitely wouldn¡¯t, because she had a Speed Ability! The convoy slowly approached the group of zombies. They stopped about forty or fifty meters away from them. Yang Changhong clearly had experience too; this distance would not allow the Zombie Attackers to reach them immediately even if discovered, because the Attackers¡¯ rush distance was only about thirty meters. This would give them enough reaction time. Other survivors got excited when they heard that their boss was going to compete with Wang Tao and his group. They had only seen their boss, a Level 2 Ability User, in action, and they also wanted to know how other Level 2 Ability Users compared. However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, it wasn¡¯t Xu Xiaojun who made a move on Wang Tao¡¯s side, but Wang Tao himself. Not using a Second-order Superpower Owner? People were confused, even Yang Changhong frowned, but she didn¡¯t say much more. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Wait a moment.¡± Wang Tao took a Recurve Bow out of the vehicle. Everyone: ¡°?¡± ¡°Alright, we can start now.¡± While everyone was still somewhat stunned, Wang Tao drew his bow and nocked an arrow. Whoosh¡ª Whoosh¡ª Whoosh¡ª In an instant, all three Elite Zombies were shot in the head, with their HP bars emptied. ¡°I win.¡± Wang Tao turned his head and said to Yang Changhong, who was holding a large machete and ready to rush over. ¡°...¡± If you could do ranged attacks, why didn¡¯t you say so earlier! Chapter 369 - 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_1 Chapter 369: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_1 Wang Tao ran over to collect the Crystal Core and the Loot Pack. As for the ordinary zombies, they were easily dealt with by Wang Tao with a single axe blow each. Yang Changhong watched with a dark expression as Wang Tao pocketed the Crystal Core. Losing a bet was a minor issue, she wasn¡¯t someone who couldn¡¯t accept defeat. Mainly, she wanted to assess the strength of Wang Tao and his group. But to her surprise, Wang Tao used a bow and arrows... At most, she could tell that Wang Tao was very accurate at archery, perhaps he had a related Ability. Then there was Wang Tao¡¯s Recurve Bow, powerful enough to kill a Level 1 Elite Zombie with a single arrow... Beyond that, she couldn¡¯t glean any other useful information. Her hope of assessing Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Level 2 Ability User strength completely fell through. However, Yang Changhong was also puzzled. Where did Wang Tao¡¯s bow and arrows come from? Were they previously in Xu Xiaojun¡¯s pack? Keeping weapons hidden in a pack... That¡¯s really underhanded! After Wang Tao returned, he looked at Yang Changhong¡¯s somewhat wooden expression and said with a smile, ¡°Boss Yang?¡± ¡°You won. Make any demand you like, it can be enacted at any time.¡± Yang Changhong shrugged her shoulders, her smile returning to her face. ¡°Haha, then I really have to think about it!¡± Wang Tao sized up Yang Changhong up and down, and in response, she asserted herself without showing weakness. Wang Tao could tell, Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t truly angry, it was just a matter of face, especially with so many subordinates watching... The survivors under Yang Changhong were indeed dissatisfied, but since they hadn¡¯t agreed in advance not to use Ranged Attacks, there was nothing they could do. They had to concede defeat. Of course, it was just a small competition, there were no hard feelings, but they were all holding back a breath, thinking about earning back their boss¡¯s face from elsewhere later on! After everyone got into the vehicles, the convoy just started to leave. ¡°There are zombies.¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly looked behind from inside the vehicle. Wang Tao immediately turned his head to look. ¡°Huh? A Level 2 Suicide Bombing Zombie?¡± [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 2000/2000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He was about to warn Yang Changhong, but then he saw a Level 2 Zombie in sportswear not far behind the Suicide Bombing Zombie! The sports-clothed zombie suddenly leaped high and then landed squarely on the Suicide Bombing Zombie¡¯s head, then bounced off the head and landed at the back of the convoy. ¡°Damn it!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao felt a headache coming on and quickly spoke into the walkie-talkie. ¡°Attention everyone, there¡¯s a Level 2 Suicide Bombing Zombie at the rear of the convoy, and it¡¯s about to explode!¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was stunned for a moment. A Suicide Bombing Zombie, and a Level 2 at that? They all instinctively looked back. Yang Changhong¡¯s face changed color, but before he could speak, a loud bang erupted from behind the convoy, and the ground trembled slightly. ¡°Drive, drive!¡± Yang Changhong immediately shouted into the walkie-talkie. The explosion caused by the Level 2 Suicide Bombing Zombie was too loud, surely attracting a large number of Mad Demon Zombies, they had to hurry away! However, at this moment, Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle suddenly turned around, heading back instead. ¡°Wang Tao, what are you doing?¡± Seeing this, Yang Changhong immediately yelled at the walkie-talkie. ¡°I¡¯m going to pick up a Crystal Core, you guys go first.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s calm voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°You!¡± Anger flashed across Yang Changhong¡¯s face. Going to pick up a Crystal Core from a Level 2 Suicide Bombing Zombie now? It was an opportunity, but had Wang Tao considered the Mad Demon Zombies? Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem like someone who would disregard the bigger picture. In just those few seconds, Mad Demon Zombies began to appear around them! No one knew where these Mad Demon Zombies were hiding; it seemed that as long as there was a big commotion in any area that had once been populated, these zombies would invariably show up! Moreover, their luck didn¡¯t seem too good today, there were so many Mad Demon Zombies! ¡°Boss, what do we do?¡± Someone quickly asked. To leave? Or to fight alongside Wang Tao? After only a second of thought, Yang Changhong had made a decision. ¡°Reverse the cars! All Ability Users prepare, we¡¯ll get down and fight immediately!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± No one questioned whether Yang Changhong¡¯s decision was correct, because they were well aware that they had survived up to this point under Yang Changhong¡¯s leadership. Following the boss might lead to death. Not following the boss would definitely lead to death. ¡°Huh? They didn¡¯t leave?¡± Wang Tao saw the movements of Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy in the rearview mirror and was somewhat surprised, but he didn¡¯t say much to them. Instead, he turned to Xu Xiaojun and said, ¡°You go pick up the Crystal Core, and along the way intercept the Mad Demon Zombies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t the least bit scared. He was about to get out of the vehicle, but Wang Tao pulled him back. ¡°Hold on, take this.¡± Wang Tao handed over a two-meter-long Two-Handed Giant Axe! If the vehicle wasn¡¯t spacious enough, there would have been no room for this Giant Axe. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s eyes widened. He was aware of Wang Tao¡¯s Storage ability, so it wasn¡¯t surprising where Wang Tao got it from, but he was shocked at how big the axe was! Although it looked ordinary, he somehow felt it was incredibly badass! ¡°Alright!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately took it, feeling the heft in his hands. But far from being shocked, he was pleased; the weight felt just right for him! Xu Xiaojun carried the Giant Axe out of the vehicle, rushing straight to where the Suicide Bombing Zombie had died. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue also exited the vehicle. But their target wasn¡¯t the Suicide Bombing Zombie¡¯s Crystal Core, but the sportswear-clad zombie! [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 10000/10000] Chapter 370 - 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_2 Chapter 370: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_2 [Level: Level 2 Elite] Wang Tao had turned back because of the tracksuit zombie. Level 2 zombies were hard to come by, and since he had encountered one, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to miss the opportunity. The tracksuit zombie also noticed Wang Tao¡¯s car. Its original target had been the last vehicle, but since Wang Tao¡¯s car had already charged towards it, it naturally changed its target. Thus, it leaped high and fell near Wang Tao¡¯s car. Whoosh¡ª At that moment, Jiang Shixue suddenly opened the car door and instantly appeared at the landing spot of the tracksuit zombie. When it landed, Jiang Shixue punched it at the back of its head. The tracksuit zombie saw Jiang Shixue too, but it didn¡¯t know to dodge, only reflexively attacking her. But it wasn¡¯t as fast as Jiang Shixue, so with a thud, it flopped on the ground in front of Wang Tao in a face-first dive. [-4323] ¡°Hmm? Its defense seems pretty low!¡± Wang Tao wielded a hand axe in one hand and a slime grenade in the other. He first chopped at the tracksuit zombie¡¯s head with his axe. [-3455] The zombie took a hit and was trying to get up when Wang Tao threw the slime grenade at it. Splash! The tracksuit zombie was instantly glued in place. The slime grenade¡¯s effect on a Level 2 zombie would only last a few seconds, but it was enough. Jiang Shixue appeared behind the tracksuit zombie, clenched her small fists, and hammered two punches into the back of its head. [-4531] [-4642] Wang Tao¡¯s second axe strike came down with full force. Splat! [-3049] [0/20000] The tracksuit zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. Wang Tao skillfully extracted the crystal core, picked up the loot pack, and quickly got back into the car. While it took some time to describe, from the moment he saw the tracksuit zombie to killing it, it all happened in a very short span. Xu Xiaojun had just picked up a self-destruct crystal core. Yang Changhong¡¯s group had also just driven over. They only saw Wang Tao getting out of the car and seemingly killing a zombie, but they weren¡¯t clear on the specifics. ¡°Hurry up, we¡¯ll cover you for a while!¡± Yielding a giant axe about a meter long, Yang Changhong exited her vehicle and shouted loudly. Wang Tao¡¯s gaze lingered on her giant axe for a moment. Such a beautiful woman wielding a giant axe presented an intriguing contrast. By then, a large number of Mad Demon Zombies had already reached Xu Xiaojun. Holding the axe with both hands, Xu Xiaojun chopped at the incoming Mad Demon Zombies. Bang! A semi-transparent shockwave spread out in a fan shape from Xu Xiaojun¡¯s axe. [-4000] [-4000] [-4000] [...] Numerous Mad Demon Zombies were reduced to mere chunks of flesh, clearing the space in front of Xu Xiaojun instantly. Yang Changhong: ¡°...¡± Others: ¡°...¡± However, with many Mad Demon Zombies to deal with, Xu Xiaojun changed direction and swung his axe again. [-4000] [-4000] [-4000] [...] Again, the ground was littered with chopped remains. He switched directions once more, and the third axe swing was launched. [-4000] [-4000] [-4000] [...] This time, all Mad Demon Zombies behind the convoy were wiped out! Xu Xiaojun caught his breath. Not to mention the others, even he was astounded by his own strength. But he remembered Wang Tao¡¯s words and immediately started running back after clearing the zombies, carrying the giant axe. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao shouted to Yang Changhong outside. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, Yang Changhong snapped back to her senses and immediately roared. ¡°Retreat!¡± All vehicles immediately engaged gears and accelerated. Wang Tao opened the car door, waited for a moment, and Xu Xiaojun quickly rushed in. His axe was cumbersome to place, but with a touch from Wang Tao, it disappeared instantly. Xu Xiaojun wasn¡¯t surprised; he was still immersed in the thrill of having instantly slaughtered a mass of zombies. Wang Tao glanced at the rearview mirror. The distant Mad Demon Zombies were already catching up. Zombies are never-ending, especially the Mad Demon Zombies with their terrifying numbers; there was no need to engage in a fight to the death with them. Wang Tao floored the accelerator. Vroom~ The SUV let out a heavy roar and then shot forward explosively. Although electric cars were more suitable in the apocalypse, it had to be said that the thrill of driving a fuel vehicle was incomparable. And this million-dollar SUV gave Wang Tao, who had hardly driven high-end vehicles before, an adrenaline rush. After a few presses of the accelerator, Wang Tao had caught up with the convoy. The speed of the Mad Demon Zombies was fast, but not faster than a car. Especially now that everyone was on the highway with few obstacles, they were free to step on it. In a matter of minutes, the Mad Demon Zombies were left far behind. Once sure that no zombies were chasing them, the convoy slowed down, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn¡¯t their first time being chased by Mad Demon Zombies, but it was the first time they had run straight into their midst. Even though they weren¡¯t in mortal danger, the intense chase had been nerve-wracking. ¡°You guys... are amazing!¡± Yang Changhong wanted to say more over the walkie-talkie, but in the end, only managed to express admiration. Wang Tao had a feeling that Yang Changhong might have been a bit shaken by the experience. But no matter, this was just the beginning; he hadn¡¯t even taken action yet. ¡°Brother Wang, this giant axe is really powerful! With it in hand, I feel like I became more than twice as strong as before!¡± Xu Xiaojun was not one for many words, but he had been talking non-stop for those few minutes. He couldn¡¯t help it; he was too excited. Before meeting Wang Tao, he was barely able to handle a Level 1 Elite zombie, but now, he could fell over a hundred Mad Demon Zombies with three axe swings! Chapter 371: 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_3 Chapter 371: Chapter 174: You Just Need to Tell Me the Location_3 ¡°` The kind of enhancement, especially since it happened in such a short time, was something he wouldn¡¯t even dare to dream of! He was already restraining himself; if it had been someone else, they might have jumped for joy. ¡°How does that axe feel in use? Is it handy?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°Handy! It¡¯s incredibly handy!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately nodded. ¡°As long as it¡¯s handy, that¡¯s good. Practice with it more, and if I think you¡¯re qualified, I¡¯ll give you the Giant Axe.¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao offer to give him the Giant Axe, Xu Xiaojun was instinctively excited, but then he quickly waved his hands in refusal. ¡°Brother Wang, I really shouldn¡¯t! That¡¯s your weapon, I can¡¯t take it! Besides, you use it much better than I could. Giving it to me would be a waste!¡± Seeing Xu Xiaojun¡¯s sincere, even anxious face, and knowing he wasn¡¯t faking, Wang Tao burst into laughter. ¡°The weapon is indeed decent, but I¡¯m not used to it. And I¡¯m not giving it to you unconditionally; you¡¯ll need to prove yourself first.¡± Seeing Xu Xiaojun about to say more, Wang Tao spoke up to interrupt him. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s settle it at that. Let¡¯s discuss your overall feelings now...¡± ¡°...Okay!¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s determined tone, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t keep talking about the Giant Axe. He always believed that actions speak louder than words. He wouldn¡¯t say much; instead, he would repay Wang Tao with his actions! He began to share his feelings about using the Giant Axe in detail with Wang Tao. Shockwave, or rather some special abilities¡¯ attack power, were not only related to the special ability level but also involved many other aspects. Such as physical fitness, the amount of energy consumed, skill, and even the strength of the weapon¡ªall these could impact the power of an ability. This was why, even though Wang Tao could produce a Shockwave with his bare hands, he insisted on using an axe or a hammer¡ªthe weapons provided a certain boost to his abilities. ¡°Oh right, the Crystal Core!¡± Xu Xiaojun almost forgot; he hurriedly took out an Orange Crystal Core from his pocket. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Self Detonation] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: none)] ¡°Eh? You¡¯ve got some good luck here!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected the Crystal Core Xu Xiaojun obtained to be of Epic Quality. Even though it wasn¡¯t much use to Wang Tao, at least it looked pretty. Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes lit up when she saw the Crystal Core; she liked the color orange. ¡°Here, take this.¡± Wang Tao handed the Self-Destruct Crystal Core directly to Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue instinctively reached out to take it but immediately pulled back. ¡°No, thank you.¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised but quickly realized why. Jiang Shixue understood the value of the Crystal Core and therefore declined because she would get no use from it other than as a plaything. Looking at Jiang Shixue, so understanding, Wang Tao immediately felt a fatherly kind of pride. His time teaching her had not been in vain. Wang Tao took back the Crystal Core, then with a thought, found two Level 1 Self-Destruct Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack and synthesized an Epic Level 1 Self-Destruct Crystal Core. ¡°Then this is for you, it¡¯s of no use to me.¡± Looking at this Level 1 Orange Crystal Core, Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t refuse this time. She happily accepted it with a bright face. ¡°Thank you, Big Brother~¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m glad you like it.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily, then told Xu Xiaojun to rest up a bit. Although he had only swung the axe three times, he had used a huge amount of energy to maximize the damage, and now he needed to recover that energy. Wang Tao, on the other hand, drove the car following the team and glanced at his Space Backpack. He had just killed a Level 2 Athlete Zombie and had gotten a Crystal Core and a package. Since it was not an over-levelled kill, the package contained much less. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Athlete] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: double the physical strength consumption in action)] [Athlete: Passive Ability, enhances athletic capabilities] This was an Athlete Crystal Core. Although it was a Crystal Core of ordinary quality, Wang Tao had two more Athlete Crystal Cores! One was of outstanding quality that he had obtained before, and the other was the Blue Quality one he had just taken from Yang Changhong. Now, with this ordinary quality Crystal Core, he could synthesize a Level 2 Epic Crystal Core without impurities or side effects! Wang Tao felt this Crystal Core was quite nice, the type he liked. But he didn¡¯t hurry to synthesize it. After all, even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t be able to fuse it for now. However, he had some ideas about this Crystal Core. He had two Passive Ability Crystal Cores that he liked very much¡ª[Frenzy]. Since [Athlete] was also a Passive Ability, could it be possible to fuse it with Frenzy? Wang Tao liked both abilities very much. If these two could be fused, then he might have found the fourth ability he had been hesitant to decide on! Of course, he still needed another Frenzy Crystal Core and a lot of special energy... He would have to look for more opportunities to hunt Level 2 Zombies! Zijing City was also a big city; Wang Tao thought there should be quite a few Level 2 Zombies inside. Once they arrived in Zijing City, they would need to make a good plan... At dusk, the convoy stopped outside an abandoned motel. ¡°Let¡¯s rest here for tonight, what do you think?¡± Yang Changhong knocked on Wang Tao¡¯s window. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao got out of the car. Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue also got out one after another. Previously, when Wang Tao and the others showed up together, everyone¡¯s gaze would subconsciously turn toward Jiang Shixue, since people naturally focus on beautiful things. But now, all eyes were on Xu Xiaojun. There was no helping it; he was just too strong! Xu Xiaojun was somewhat unaccustomed to so many people staring at him, and he scratched his head with a sheepish smile. Yang Changhong glanced at Xu Xiaojun, then at Wang Tao, and seemed to hesitate to speak. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao looked at her curiously. Yang Changhong took a deep breath, then said to Wang Tao: ¡°I know of a place, where there are a lot of Level 2 Zombies. I didn¡¯t dare to go there before. With Mr. Xu¡¯s strength, he might give it a try, but it¡¯s still incredibly dangerous...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me about the dangers. Just tell me where the place is!¡± ¡°` Chapter 372: 175: Arson_1 Chapter 372: Chapter 175: Arson_1 ¡°Boss, the defense facilities are all set up!¡± ¡°Good, we¡¯ll stick to the usual rules and take turns keeping watch at night.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao watched Yang Changhong¡¯s group bustling around and found it quite interesting. If it were Wang Tao spending the night outside, he would simply find an appropriate house and then secure the doors and windows. But Yang Changhong and his group were different; after arriving at this motor inn, they didn¡¯t stay inside but set up a few makeshift tents and lived in them instead. Outside the tents were vehicles, and beyond the vehicles were various defensive structures like spikes and barbed wire. Yang Changhong explained that when they stopped in flat and open areas, they preferred to stay outside because if danger arose, their first reaction was to drive away immediately. Whereas Wang Tao, no matter where he was, preferred to stay indoors. If there were any irresistible dangers, he would first hide. If he couldn¡¯t hide, he would take shelter inside the house and, if he couldn¡¯t avoid it at all, he would run away as a last resort... Of course, most of the time, Wang Tao would take the initiative to strike and deal with the danger. Neither approach could be said to be better, but Yang Changhong and his group were experienced and had excellent driving skills, so the first method was obviously more suitable for them. Wang Tao¡¯s car had a tent, but it wasn¡¯t big, at most fitting two people. Xu Xiaojun volunteered to sleep in the tent, letting Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue sleep in the car. The space inside the car was ample, and there wasn¡¯t much stuff, so sleeping two people was naturally no problem. While Xu Xiaojun was setting up the tent, Wang Tao gave him a set of sportswear. [Black Sportswear Suit: Durability +5, Tear Resistance +5] This was from the sportswear zombie they had encountered today, which was just right for Xu Xiaojun to wear. ... After looking through the Monster Manual, Yang Changhong was slightly worried about the safety of the night. She wasn¡¯t sure if the Night Demon would appear near their temporary camp. The Manual stated that Night Demons were more likely to appear in places with more zombies and were rarely seen in areas with fewer zombies and the wilderness. But there was still a chance of encountering one, so Yang Changhong arranged for an additional group to keep watch today, to ensure any danger could be spotted at the first moment. Once everything was in order, it was time for dinner. Yang Changhong¡¯s dinner consisted of rice with pickled wild vegetables. They had previously visited a rice mill, where they had acquired a considerable amount of rice. Rice had been their staple food for some time now. About the pickled wild vegetables, there were actually many wild plants in the wilderness, though few people recognized them. Some of their group knew wild plants, so they pickled some. Yang Changhong invited Wang Tao to dine together, and he was not a bit shy, bringing Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun with him. A group of people sat around a small table, in the middle of which was a large bowl of pickled wild vegetables and several bottles of chili powder. As the sun set, the atmosphere of a group of survivors gathered outside a semi-abandoned building enjoying their dinner was quite special. ¡°These are wild vegetables?¡± Upon hearing Yang Changhong¡¯s introduction, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He hadn¡¯t had vegetables in a long time. Wang Tao tasted the wild vegetables... and could only say they were average. But that was understandable, if these wild plants tasted really good, they probably wouldn¡¯t be considered wild vegetables. Especially since this was just simple pickling without any other seasoning. Xu Xiaojun was not picky and ate anything heartily. He and Wang Tao were both eating from their bowls with big bites. Jiang Shixue, who preferred meat and nutrient solutions, showed little interest in the rice and wild vegetables, eating with small bites and looking very ladylike. Seeing Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun eating heartily, smiles appeared on everyone¡¯s faces. Although you guys are badass, we¡¯re not useless either. Take this food, for instance. You probably haven¡¯t had any for a long time, they all thought to themselves. Yang Changhong¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but inside, she was somewhat proud. She admitted she wasn¡¯t a match for Xu Xiaojun, but she had won in terms of food. However, at that moment, Wang Tao suddenly seemed to remember something. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right, I have some fish here too, don¡¯t be shy.¡± Wang Tao pulled out something that looked like a water bag from his embrace. ¡°Fish?¡± Yang Changhong was taken aback. How many fish could fit in that bag? Dried small fish, likely. But she wasn¡¯t disdainful, rather somewhat excited. After all, it had been a long time since she had tasted meat, and even a taste would be welcome. The rest were also expectantly looking at Wang Tao. Then, something that dumbfounded everyone happened. Wang Tao opened the mouth of this ¡°water bag¡± and poured it over the small table. Thump, thump, thump¡ª One big piece of dried fish after another kept coming out of this ¡°water bag,¡± filling up the entire small table in the blink of an eye. Everyone: ¡°?¡± After the initial shock, everyone started to get excited. ¡°Holy shit, what is this thing?¡± ¡°How can such a small bag contain so much stuff?¡± ¡°Is this like the space equipment from novels?¡± ¡°...¡± Yang Changhong was also shocked, but her eyes quickly became fervent as she looked towards Wang Tao. ¡°Is this...?¡± She didn¡¯t care about the principle; all she knew was that this thing was a godsend for survival in the apocalypse! If their convoy had this... ¡°Oh this, this is called the Magical Stomach Pouch. It¡¯s something inside certain special zombies. It can store a lot of food, and inside it¡¯s cold, like a fridge¡¯s chilling compartment. But it can only store food; nothing else fits inside.¡± Chapter 373: 175: Arson_2 Chapter 373: Chapter 175: Arson_2 Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything; he knew he would often need to take things, and it couldn¡¯t be kept a secret. ¡°Holy smokes!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, everyone was amazed. Despite some limitations, the value of this item could not be concealed! ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, everyone, help yourselves. We¡¯ve been eating fish for a while now, and we¡¯re all pretty tired of it...¡± Wang Tao called out to the people around him. ¡°Thank you!¡± The crowd quickly expressed their gratitude. Initially, some people harbored small grievances towards Wang Tao, but now seeing how strong Wang Tao and his group were, and how approachable he was... those small grievances instantly vanished. In fact, many even thought that Wang Tao and their boss would make a good couple! Even Little Jia, who had been kicked down by Jiang Shixue before, held no grudges, especially since the dried fish was really delicious! Yang Changhong seemed to have something to say but hesitated. She really wanted Wang Tao¡¯s Magical Stomach Pouch, but even if he was willing to give it to her, she couldn¡¯t afford it because she had nothing of value left for a trade. As for receiving it for free... she was a pragmatist and didn¡¯t indulge in daydreaming. So Yang Changhong resigned herself to the idea that in the future, if she could acquire some valuable item, she might try to trade with Wang Tao¡ªif he was willing. However, it had to be said, the dried fish was indeed delicious! Hearing that Wang Tao caught the fish in a lake, Yang Changhong quietly took note of this information. They had been constantly on the move and hadn¡¯t encountered many sources of fresh water¡ªand even when they did, they had no opportunity to fish... After the meal, Wang Tao gave the remaining dried fish to them. When Wang Tao found out that there was a cook among the group, he was overjoyed. Not that he couldn¡¯t cook, but he lacked seasonings. And this cook happened to have a variety of them. Wang Tao had some unprocessed fish meat, which he could now have prepared. The cook happily agreed as well, especially since Wang Tao had said that the finished product would be shared with everyone. As it was still early before bedtime, Wang Tao didn¡¯t return to his vehicle but chatted with Yang Changhong for a while. ¡°Why does everyone call you the boss?¡± Yang Changhong smiled at the question. ¡°I was the majority shareholder and chairman of a small company. When the apocalypse struck, I organized some employees to resist and led them out of the building. Later, the old employees either died or scattered, and the number of people dwindled, but some new people joined us. Seeing the old ones calling me boss, the newcomers started calling me that as well...¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s tone carried a hint of nostalgia. Being a boss was an affair from just a few months ago, yet it felt like a lifetime had passed, and many memories were already starting to blur. ¡°So you were a wealthy lady all along!¡± Wang Tao understood clearly. No wonder all these cars were luxury ones and well-maintained, unaffected by the acid rain; they were probably hers or her company¡¯s. Hearing the term ¡°wealthy lady,¡± Yang Changhong shook her head helplessly. In the apocalyptic world, it didn¡¯t matter if you were a tycoon or a rich lady; without strength, you were nothing but labor. She was lucky to have survived until now. ¡°What¡¯s your view on those Level 2 Zombies I told you about?¡± Yang Changhong asked Wang Tao. ¡°Well, obviously... kill them! If you want to join, we¡¯ll go together; if not, I¡¯ll go alone,¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. Yang Changhong had already given Wang Tao the location of the cluster of Level 2 Zombies, and he definitely intended to check it out. As long as he confirmed that there were no Level 3 Zombies there, he would take action. ¡°...Okay, I won¡¯t go over, but I will wait for you. You all need to be careful!¡± Yang Changhong had actually wanted to take a look, but with so many people under her command and the Level 2 combat strength being much more formidable than Level 1¡¯s, any collateral impact would result in death or serious injury. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll head over tomorrow and make it a quick battle,¡± Wang Tao nodded. Hearing this, Yang Changhong seemed to remember something and suddenly furrowed her brow, asking: ¡°You... you¡¯re not a Second-order Superpower Owner, are you?¡± She hadn¡¯t sensed the aura of a Level 2 Ability User from Wang Tao, but his confidence was unmistakable, he must have such confidence only if he was a Second-order Superpower Owner himself. So, instead of guessing, she decided to ask directly. ¡°I am.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°...¡± Yang Changhong suddenly fell silent. She suddenly realized another thing. If Xu Xiaojun, a strong Level 2 Ability User, was so obedient to Wang Tao... just how powerful was Wang Tao? She had thought that it was Wang Tao¡¯s unique personal charisma that had won Xu Xiaojun over. But now, hearing that Wang Tao was admitting to being a Second-order Superpower Owner, she believed that, along with charisma, strength was definitely a key factor! For example, herself¡ªif she hadn¡¯t had this power, these people certainly wouldn¡¯t listen to her unconditionally. And if Wang Tao was even stronger than Xu Xiaojun, then it meant her own previous challenge with Wang Tao was quite out of her depths... Yang Changhong felt dejected. She had only just become a Second-order Superpower Owner and when she had achieved her Level 2 Ascension, she had the illusion that she was the ¡°first Second-order Superpower Owner in the world.¡± But now, she had casually encountered two people on the road who were Second-order Superpower Owners, and they were both stronger than her! Yang Changhong, having a strong competitive nature¡ªotherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have personally run a company and assumed the position of the boss¡ªwas feeling uncomfortable after being hit with setbacks one after another... Yang Changhong asked wearily: ¡°About that bet we had earlier, what is your request?¡± Chapter 374: 175: Arson_3 Chapter 374: Chapter 175: Arson_3 ¡°You really agree to any condition?¡± Wang Tao sized up Yang Changhong, his gaze somewhat unrestrained. Yang Changhong instantly felt a wave of goosebumps. When she thought Wang Tao was a Level 1 ability user, her attitude toward Wang Tao was somewhat arrogant; she naturally felt superior. That¡¯s why she didn¡¯t mind Wang Tao¡¯s scrutinizing gaze before. But now, having realized that Wang Tao might be stronger than her, that sense of psychological advantage was gone. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s scanning gaze again, she suddenly felt as if she had been stripped bare... ¡°Cough, as long as it¡¯s within my power... you can¡¯t be too unreasonable!¡± Yang Changhong shifted her gaze away somewhat awkwardly. ¡°I definitely won¡¯t make it difficult for you. But I haven¡¯t decided yet. I¡¯ll tell you when I have.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°...¡± After Yang Changhong left, Wang Tao also returned to the vehicle to sleep. The space inside the vehicle was large, and he and Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t feel crowded at all when lying together. However, Jiang Shixue liked to snuggle up to Wang Tao, and soon she had burrowed into his arms. Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless; he could only look but not touch. In hindsight, he might as well have gone to sleep in the tent with Xu Xiaojun¡ªit was torture. ... The night passed uneventfully. In the morning, Wang Tao parted ways with the convoy. Upon hearing that Wang Tao was going to hunt down those Level 2 Zombies, the other survivors were somewhat worried, but they didn¡¯t say much, after all, Wang Tao was strong. Yang Changhong said she would wait for Wang Tao for three days. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t return within three days, they would have to depart, as it wasn¡¯t feasible to wait indefinitely. Wang Tao said it wasn¡¯t a problem, a day if quick, two to three if slow, but he would definitely be back. The place Yang Changhong mentioned was inside a small reservoir. She had discovered it a few days earlier while passing by. Wang Tao checked the map and found the location of this reservoir. If he drove straight there, it might only be an hour¡¯s journey. But the road was likely not going to be smooth, so Wang Tao gave himself the morning to reach it. However, today it seemed he was quite lucky, for although he encountered many zombies on the way, including a small group of Mad Demon Zombies, he resolved them all quite easily. He even picked up several Crystal Cores along the way. The athleticwear zombie from yesterday had increased Wang Tao¡¯s HP by 690, and the zombies today had added another 60 HP. So, Wang Tao¡¯s HP had now reached [15200/15200]. He was halfway to Level 3¡¯s threshold of 30,000 HP! ¡°I hope this reservoir will bring me a pleasant surprise...¡± ... This was an abandoned reservoir, empty of water, and overrun with weeds. Yang Changhong had said that the Level 2 Zombies she saw were on the periphery of the reservoir. Wang Tao drove around the reservoir, and besides a few Ordinary Zombies, he found no sign of any Level 2 Zombies. Yang Changhong clearly had no reason to lie to him. Either the zombies had moved on, or they were inside the reservoir¡ª the weeds there were too tall, taller than a person, and if there were zombies hidden inside, Wang Tao would not be able to see them. ¡°Should we go down there?¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head, looking at the weeds below. He felt that going down like this was too dangerous, not knowing where the zombies might be, but if Wang Tao asked him to go, he wouldn¡¯t refuse. Wang Tao, looking at the vast expanse of weeds, suddenly had an idea. ¡°Let¡¯s not go down yet. First, let¡¯s clear the area around the reservoir.¡± The surroundings of the reservoir were enclosed with concrete, so no grass could grow there. The weeds were in the reservoir itself and around the perimeter. The three of them quickly cleared the area to ensure the inside and outside of the reservoir were completely separated. Then Wang Tao took out a can of gasoline from the car. The gasoline was included with the car, and Yang Changhong had been generous. After giving the car to Wang Tao, she left the gasoline for him as well. ¡°I hope you are inside, or it would be a waste of my gasoline...¡± Wang Tao grinned. Xu Xiaojun also knew Wang Tao¡¯s intentions at that moment and his eyes widened. Man, setting such a big fire! Quite thrilling! The reservoir was not large, being a micro reservoir. But even small, it still covered a certain area. If he were to light the inside weeds on fire, it would be a massive blaze! Wang Tao was actually afraid that the fire would be too intense and spread to himself, so he checked and cleared the surroundings meticulously, making sure there were no other inflammable materials around and that the fire would be contained within the reservoir area. There was a light breeze today, and after testing the wind direction with a strip of cloth, Wang Tao moved the car to the upwind side. He then carried the gasoline can, splashing the gasoline over the weeds in the reservoir. Gurgle gurgle¡ª Finally, Wang Tao lit the cloth in his hand and tossed the burning strip into the reservoir. Whoosh¡ª Instantly, a great fire soared into the sky. Wang Tao and the other two instinctively stepped back. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s watch closely. If any zombies appear, call me immediately.¡± Wang Tao took out his bow and arrows and said. ¡°Sure~¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The weeds were not dried, and they contained a good amount of moisture, so huge plumes of smoke billowed up once the fire caught. ¡°If this were before the apocalypse, I¡¯d probably be sitting in jail for this...¡± Wang Tao felt his breathing becoming rapid; the oxygen around him was decreasing, and the heat wave was hitting him. He couldn¡¯t take it anymore, and quickly led the two back several more steps. In the past, he only saw big fires on the news, with many casualties, but he never experienced how terrifying a big fire could be. But today, he felt the power of a blaze that was suffocating even on the outskirts; the center could only be imagined. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± A few minutes later, Wang Tao heard a roar from inside the reservoir. ¡°There really are zombies! That doesn¡¯t sound like the voice of an ordinary Level 1 Zombie!¡± Moments later, the roars increased in number. ¡°Quick, look where they are!¡± Wang Tao, fighting the discomfort, forced himself to move a few steps forward. ¡°There!¡± Suddenly, Jiang Shixue pointed to a spot. Wang Tao quickly looked and spotted a zombie in the flames. [1398/7000] Whoosh¡ª An arrow flew out, accurately piercing its eye socket. [-1398] [0/7000] Level 2 Zombie, HP depleted. Chapter 375: 176 HP Soars_1 Chapter 375: Chapter 176 HP Soars_1 ¡°` After nailing a Level 2 Zombie in the head with an arrow and seeing his HP max increase, Wang Tao burst into laughter. ¡°Keep them coming, let¡¯s see just how many zombies are in here!¡± The one he had just killed was a Level 2, Elite Zombie, the first, but definitely not the last. Wang Tao could sense that his HP was about to get a serious boost today! Any zombie instantly killed by Wang Tao would drop a Loot Pack. Naturally, this zombie did too, but lying in the sea of flames, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t retrieve it just yet. This was a wake-up call for Wang Tao¡ªhe needed to claim the zombies¡¯ heads before the fire consumed them. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t gain any HP or Loot Packs if the zombies burned to death since the fire lasted too long to count as his kill. Soon, Little Jun also spotted a Level 2 Zombie in the fiery chaos. [7849/12000] This zombie still had a lot of HP, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t hurry. He waited until it was down to its last thousand HP before shooting an arrow. Whoosh¡ª [-1287] [0/12000] Another head collected. Before Wang Tao had time to check the increase in his HP, Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice rang out again. ¡°Brother, there are two over there!¡± Wang Tao quickly ran over. At the location Jiang Shixue pointed to, there were five zombies, but three were ordinary, Level 1 Zombies, which Jiang Shixue naturally ignored. After killing the two Level 2 Zombies, Wang Tao refrained from attacking further. Ordinary zombies weren¡¯t worth it unless they were Elite¡ªjust some common materials, hardly worth wasting his arrows on, which were nearly rendered useless once shot through the flames. It was better to be economical. After about fifteen minutes, the fire grew fiercer, and smoke billowed into the sky. ¡°Who knows how much pollution this thing is causing, or how many degrees it¡¯s warming the planet.¡± Wang Tao laughed self-deprecatingly. Before the apocalypse, there were always news reports about humans being responsible for environmental pollution and global warming. But as an ordinary person, he wasn¡¯t the cause of this, or at least, it wasn¡¯t directly related to him. He didn¡¯t mind being asked to protect the environment, but being blamed for it was ridiculous... Now, it indeed had something to do with him, direct consequences of his own actions, yet nobody was nagging in his ear anymore. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Just then, Wang Tao heard a fierce roar. He looked towards the sound and saw an imposing zombie. ¡°Hm? A Terrorizer?¡± The reservoir was deeper than Wang Tao had expected, and the underbrush taller. If it hadn¡¯t been for the fire burning the vegetation, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to see this over two-meter-tall Terrorizer at all. Lucky he hadn¡¯t gone down there; if he had been ambushed by zombies unknowingly, that would have spelled disaster. [HP: 19339/22000] [Mana: 10000/10000] [Level: Level 2, Elite] This Terrorizer was quite strong, with over twenty-two thousand HP. Despite being scorched by fire for so long, it still had nineteen thousand HP left. If he had to fight it face-to-face, Wang Tao would have to exert some effort, but now, he just needed to watch it burn to death. The Terrorizer spotted Wang Tao. With its simple mind, it probably couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening with the fire, but it would attack any human it saw. So upon seeing Wang Tao, it instantly lifted a thick steel pipe in its hand and slammed it violently onto the ground. A Shockwave headed towards Wang Tao but disappeared a good distance away from him. Wang Tao calmly notched and drew his bow, taking his time with the shot. He chose to use a Bow and Arrows instead of a Shockwave because the distance was too great, and the Shockwave wouldn¡¯t reach. He dared not get too close¡ª the flames were too fierce, and he could get hurt himself. Step by step, the Terrorizer moved towards Wang Tao. Flames raged over its body, its head ablaze as if it were a war god emerging from hell¡ªimpressively terrifying¡ªwhile its HP dropped rapidly. When it reached near Wang Tao, struggling through the flames, Wang Tao released the bowstring. Whoosh¡ª [-1028] [0/22000] The Terrorizer¡¯s HP hit zero, and it collapsed with a thunderous fall. ¡°How considerate, coming right towards me.¡± With this Shockwave Crystal Core he hadn¡¯t picked up yet, Wang Tao now had two, just one more and he could synthesize a Crystal Core he could use! ¡°I hope to see another Terrorizer...¡± Wang Tao silently wished to himself. More zombies appeared, and although no more Terrorizers showed up, they were all Level 2. Wang Tao was having a blast killing them, but after a while, he started to feel that something was off. ¡°Why are there so many Level 2 Zombies?¡± Zhang Hong had told him that there were a few Level 2 Zombies here. But now, with the fire having only scorched a small area of the reservoir, more than a dozen Level 2 Zombies had emerged! While most of them had lower HP, such as seven thousand, six thousand, or even five thousand, the quantity was still way too high. This wasn¡¯t normal! If there were truly so many Level 2 Zombies, Wang Tao would have encountered them on the road, not having to trek all this way just to fight them. Then Wang Tao suddenly remembered the situation at Shuize First Hospital. Back then, there were also many Level 1 Elite Zombies, an endless amount for him to kill. But that was because there was a Green-eyed Zombie in the hospital capable of elevating ordinary zombies¡¯ levels. ¡°` Chapter 376: 176 HP Soars_2 Chapter 376: Chapter 176 HP Soars_2 Could there be a similar behemoth inside the reservoir? With this thought, Wang Tao suddenly felt a mix of excitement and caution. If such a zombie really existed, it would likely be Level 3! Wang Tao had killed a Level 3 Zombie before, but that was done by exploiting the sunlight to eliminate a Night Demon, not through a typical kill. Of course, the situation now was different¡ªnow all zombies would gradually find themselves engulfed in a sea of flames, and if there really were Level 3 Zombies, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t without a chance to fight! Wang Tao shared his speculation about the possibility of Level 3 Zombies in the area with Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, warning them to be cautious. Both nodded quickly. Jiang Shixue was rather unfazed, as she didn¡¯t experience much fluctuation in emotions when it came to combat¡ªto put it simply, she didn¡¯t know fear. Xu Xiaojun, on the other hand, was somewhat scared, which is only human. However, he firmly believed that even if it were a Level 3 Zombie, Wang Tao could take care of it. He held a blind trust in Wang Tao. The fire continued to burn, and from time to time, Level 2 Zombies would leap out of the flames, only to be swiftly dispatched by Wang Tao¡¯s arrows. Wang Tao no longer cared whether or not there were Level 3 Zombies, deciding to kill all the zombies he could before considering anything else. Wang Tao estimated that quite a few zombies would be burned to death before they had a chance to escape the inferno, wondering just how much HP would be wasted... It was a shame that Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun couldn¡¯t perform ranged attacks; otherwise, they could have collected some kills too. The reservoir was deep, and there were protective railings all around. Even if some zombies did manage to break free from the inferno, they couldn¡¯t cause any harm to the trio. But there were always exceptions. Some zombies had the ability to jump directly out, while others had ranged attack abilities, launching assaults on the trio from across the sea of flames. Luckily, Wang Tao was always cautious. He was on the lookout for such zombies. They wouldn¡¯t get the chance to ambush him; he reserved the privilege of surprise attacks for himself. Thus, the three of them dealt with these zombies easily, without much danger. Moreover, Wang Tao had discovered something valuable¡ªa zombie with the ¡°Spittle Nail Ability¡± had just leaped up. The Spittle Nail Ability allowed for storing one-tenth of consumed food in the stomach to be later used as a weapon and spat out. Never mind the abilities of that zombie, what mattered was that killing it would yield a ¡°Magical Stomach Pouch¡±! In the past, Wang Tao had killed three Spittle Nail zombies, each dropping a Magical Stomach Pouch, and this Spittle Nail zombie was no exception¡ªit dropped one too! ¡°Tsk tsk, I can sell this to Yang Changhong, if she can offer something of high value...¡± ... Wang Tao originally planned to arrive at the reservoir in the morning, wipe out all Level 2 Zombies by noon, and meet with Yang Changhong in the afternoon. But plans can¡¯t keep up with changes, and there were too many zombies hidden in the reservoir. The fire that started in the morning continued burning into the afternoon without stopping. All three of them used handkerchiefs to cover their noses and mouths. The smell of burning corpses was unbearable. He was also somewhat concerned that the large-scale flames and thick smoke might attract other Level 3 Zombies or those mysterious creatures from the wilderness. However, it seemed they were fortunate; the area was perhaps too remote, and only a few scattered Ordinary Zombies nearby were easily taken care of by Xu Xiaojun. As for the mysterious creatures... Their numbers were small, and unless one was extremely unlucky, encounters with them weren¡¯t so easily come by. ¡°Feels like this fire won¡¯t be extinguished by tomorrow...¡± Looking at the great fire, Wang Tao felt a bit helpless. When the fire initially started burning, he could easily finish off the zombies. But as the fire grew larger, finisher moves became difficult. And now that it had grown to this extent, they were out of the question¡ªas he could occasionally hear the zombies¡¯ roars, but couldn¡¯t see where exactly they were amidst the large fire; they couldn¡¯t escape from within it... It was somewhat wasteful, to be honest, but Wang Tao was still satisfied. He glanced at his own HP¡ª[24850/24850] Before coming here, his HP limit was 15,200, but now it was 24,850! It had risen by 9,650! Although most of the zombies in the flames were Level 2, Elites with generally low HP, and the one with the highest HP was the Terrorizer, there were so many zombies that Wang Tao lost track of how many he had killed. ¡°Just 5,000 away from 30,000 HP...¡± Wang Tao felt a slight thrill in his heart. This trip was really worthwhile, and the idea of setting the fire had come at just the right time; otherwise, amassing nearly ten thousand in HP limit would have taken quite some time. The reservoir was replete with wild growth. Seeing that the sun was setting and it was still not burnt out, Wang Tao decided not to leave but to rest here for the night. After all, he hadn¡¯t yet claimed his Crystal Core and Loot Pack, which were down below. In the afternoon, the wind direction changed a bit, so Wang Tao switched to a different position. Looking at the shining Crystal Cores and transparent packs in the sea of fire, he felt a strong urge, but he resisted. After all, the fire below was too intense, and who knew if zombies were still hiding there. It was better not to go down until he was sure it was safe. Wang Tao also sensed something odd¡ªthe resilience of these weeds to fire exceeded his expectations. He wondered if perhaps the weeds had mutated as well. But this had a silver lining¡ª When Wang Tao previously threw Molotov cocktails at zombies, the flames on their bodies would quickly extinguish. He didn¡¯t understand why at first, but after some observations, he found that the zombies¡¯ blood might have a ¡°Raining Fire¡± effect... hence, although a Molotov cocktail could burn zombies, it usually couldn¡¯t kill them. Chapter 377: 176 HP Soars_3 Chapter 377: Chapter 176 HP Soars_3 But now, things had changed. If the flames were alone on the zombies, they might not burn for long before going out. However, the current flames were on the weeds, and these weeds were highly flammable. The zombies couldn¡¯t avoid the flames amongst the weeds at all. As long as the weeds didn¡¯t stop burning, they could burn the zombies to death. ¡°Let¡¯s wait it out,¡± Wang Tao said, ¡°hopefully by tomorrow the fire will have died down...¡± None of the three, including Wang Tao, were planning on sleeping. After all, with the current situation, sleep was out of the question, and since their level 2 ascension, the necessity for sleep had greatly diminished. An occasional all-nighter wouldn¡¯t impact their mental state much. They spent the whole night in the car, watching the fire burn. It wasn¡¯t until the light of dawn began to appear that Wang Tao finally let out a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about were the Night Demons coming at night. Wang Tao was uncertain whether the three of them could take on a level 3 Night Demon alone. But he knew if there were more than two, they would have to run. Night Demons weren¡¯t solitary zombies¡ªthey tended to come in groups... Luckily, nothing happened that night. The flames in the reservoir were still burning, but had significantly weakened and were now mostly concentrated in the middle of the reservoir. Everywhere else was a bare and charred stretch. Among the ashes, many crystal cores sparkled under the reflection of the flames. ¡°Let¡¯s go, pick up the crystal cores!¡± The surroundings were empty, any dangers could be seen at a glance, so Wang Tao led Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun down without hesitation. ¡°Level 2 Rush, Level 2 Self Detonation, Level 1 Self-heal...¡± Looking at these crystal cores, Wang Tao¡¯s grin was almost ear to ear. And it wasn¡¯t just the crystal cores¡ªthey also found loot packs from the zombies they had killed before. Only after gathering these packs did Wang Tao realize that yesterday, he had killed 32 level 2 elite zombies! Then, comparing the number of packs to the amount of crystal cores, Wang Tao realized he had only killed a small fraction of them! Together, the three of them had picked up more than eighty crystal cores! Which meant that at least fifty or more zombies were burned to death, Thinking about it, he felt somewhat pained¡ªafter all, that was potential HP and loot packs! If he had killed those zombies too, Wang Tao¡¯s HP would definitely be close to 30,000! At the same time, Wang Tao was a bit worried in his heart. Given the current state of affairs, it was clear there must be at least one level 3 zombie here! And it might be similar to the Green-eyed Zombie, one that could cultivate other zombies! Such a zombie could perhaps be called... a ¡°Mother¡± zombie? Wang Tao felt this moniker was very fitting. As for where this Mother zombie might be... Wang Tao looked towards the center of the reservoir, where the flames were still burning. If nothing unexpected happened, the Mother zombie might be right there! What puzzled Wang Tao was that the other party didn¡¯t roar or make any moves, as if it had been burned to death. But that seemed unlikely, considering that the level 1 and level 2 zombies had all put up some resistance, yet this level 3 zombie showed no sign of struggle whatsoever? After clearing up the area, Wang Tao and his two companions returned to the shore. ¡°Let¡¯s wait a bit longer. Once that central fire dies down, we can see what¡¯s going on inside,¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°Okay.¡± Both Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun naturally had no objections. But their wait lasted until noon. Wang Tao had just drunk a few bottles of nutrient fluid when Jiang Shixue pointed towards the reservoir and said, ¡°It¡¯s out.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Wang Tao said without hesitation, grasping his axe as he walked. In the very center of the reservoir was a pile of ashes, looking as if a lot of weeds had been there before. After scattering the ashes, they found no crystal cores. ¡°Could there really be no level 3 zombies? Impossible...¡± Wang Tao was puzzled; he felt that his guess should have been correct... Xu Xiaojun, wielding his Giant Axe, was clearing the ashes when he accidentally hit the ground. Thud¡ª Something about that sound was off! Xu Xiaojun suddenly exclaimed, ¡°There¡¯s a hollow underneath!¡± ¡°Hollow? Could the level 3 zombie be hiding underground? Keep digging!¡± Soon, they revealed a large slab underneath the ashes. The slab had holes in it, and looking through the holes showed pitch darkness within, unclear what was inside. Wang Tao glanced at it but didn¡¯t see any HP information. ¡°There is more to this than meets the eye...,¡± Wang Tao hesitated for a moment before telling Xu Xiaojun, ¡°Smash it open!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue stepped back a bit as Xu Xiaojun lifted his Giant Axe high and brought it down hard on the underground slab. Bang! Crumble¡ª After a loud sound, dust rose, and the surface slab shattered instantly. Prepared for what would come, Xu Xiaojun immediately ran to Wang Tao¡¯s side. The three prepared for combat. But after a moment of waiting, nothing seemed to happen. Once the dust settled beside the broken slab, Wang Tao cautiously approached. ¡°Hmm? An entrance?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had thought there might have been a pit of some kind with zombies hiding inside. But to his surprise, there was a slanted hole leading downward, large enough for him to fit through. ¡°Is the level 3 zombie hiding in there?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes glinted green as he noticed the hole wasn¡¯t straight but curved, making it impossible to see to the end. Wang Tao hesitated about whether to go in. Rationally speaking, he shouldn¡¯t. The risk didn¡¯t seem to match the potential reward ¨C he knew neither the possible benefits nor the dangers inside. If there was an undamaged level 3 zombie inside, they might not even be able to defeat it. However, just then, Wang Tao spotted some plants deep within the hole at a glance. Upon closer inspection, they were mushrooms and they had a name! [Strength Mushroom x1] [Strength Mushroom: Crafting material, edible. Eating it provides a temporary boost in strength, but causes hallucinations for a certain period.] ¡°Strength Mushrooms? That sounds familiar... Aren¡¯t they the core ingredient for crafting a small Strength Potion!¡± Chapter 378: 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_1 Chapter 378: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_1 ¡°Be careful...¡± Wang Tao entered the cave with Jiang Shixue. After careful consideration, Wang Tao had decided to take a look inside. After all, opportunity favored the prepared! His hesitation was due to the fact that he was unclear about what was in the cave. But now, having seen the Strength Mushroom, he knew the risk was worth taking. After all, Strength Mushrooms were core ingredients for the Strength Potion (small), and with them, he would be able to craft Strength Potions himself! The Strength Potions Wang Tao had were all looted from zombies, and he didn¡¯t have many; he was reluctant to use them... Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t come with them as he lacked Night Vision, which placed him at a disadvantage in such places. Wang Tao asked him to stay outside and keep watch over the off-road vehicle, so if there were any irresistible dangers, he could drive away with them in time. Red and green lights glowed in the eyes of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue as they cautiously approached the Strength Mushrooms. The Strength Mushrooms looked similar in shape and size to Ordinary mushrooms, but upon closer inspection, one could see tiny red spots on the white mushrooms. ¡°Can we eat this thing...¡± Wang Tao usually liked mushrooms, but he only ate the ones bought from proper sources and had never had wild ones. The small red dots on the Strength Mushrooms looked unusual, and the introduction had mentioned that eating one would grant a temporary boost in Strength but would also induce hallucinations for a time. Not that he was sure what it tasted like, but if it were really tasty, maybe a bit of hallucination wouldn¡¯t matter? It wasn¡¯t fatal anyway... Shaking his head, Wang Tao quickly dismissed his foodie thoughts. Even if he wanted to eat it, he would have someone else try it first. Moreover, these mushrooms were scarce at the moment, not even enough for crafting Potions, much less for eating as food... Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue picked all the mushrooms. A total of 14 mushrooms, and since each could be used to make 5 Strength Potions, that meant they had 70 Strength Potions! Perhaps they could trade these Potions with others or even sell them directly in the future! Also, these mushrooms could be stored in the Space Backpack, which was very convenient. After collecting all the Strength Mushrooms, they had reached a bend in the cave. Wang Tao peeked around the corner and saw no danger; there were still many mushrooms growing, including some with blue spots on them. [Defense Mushroom x1] [Defense Mushroom: Crafting ingredient, edible. Eating it temporarily boosts Defense but induces hallucinations for a time.] The introduction of the Defense Mushroom was similar to the Strength Mushroom, except one boosted Strength and the other Defense. Defense Mushrooms could be used to craft Defense Potions (small), corresponding to the Strength Potions (small)! ¡°Let¡¯s continue...¡± They collected mushrooms as they went along, passing three bends in total and gathering 55 mushrooms and 58 Defense Mushrooms. At this point, the path ahead finally changed. Deep within the cave was a vast space without Strength Mushrooms but with numerous tree roots intertwined. Wang Tao became vigilant at the sight of those roots. Because the roots had HP! [73426/100000] ¡°A hundred thousand blood, but not full... could it have been burned by fire?¡± Wang Tao was curious. Aside from HP, these roots showed no other Attributes, which reminded Wang Tao of those hundred thousand blood flesh pieces in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, leading him to believe there was a similarity. Seeing the HP bars, Wang Tao really wanted to hack at them with his axe, but as he was unsure about what was below, he restrained himself. The space here was vast, filled with roots, and among them, there were human bones, likely those of zombies. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t quite understand the relationship between the roots and the zombies. ¡°Brother, over here.¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s clothes and pointed somewhere. Wang Tao turned to look, and his eyes widened in shock. About a dozen zombies were tightly entwined by the tree roots, which were inserted into the zombies¡¯ mouths and seemed to be pulsating... It looked quite lewd. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t understand but was profoundly shocked. Most of these zombies were Level 1 Zombies, but there were also two Level 2 Zombies among them. They were all critically low on HP but not dead, still desperately struggling. Wang Tao initially thought the roots were trying to kill or eat the zombies, but after secretly observing for a while, he noticed that the roots seemed to be injecting something into the zombies¡¯ mouths, and the zombies¡¯ HP was slowly increasing! ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Whereas Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Brother, I smell a very fragrant scent...¡± ¡°Hmm? Could it be Zombie Culture Fluid?¡± Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue. ¡°No, it¡¯s different...¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. Wang Tao looked back at the roots and zombies again. So far, they had searched the entire underground space and found no other passages except for this space and a winding entrance leading upward. Clearly, the focal point of this underground space lay with these roots. ¡°Shall we attack it to test it out?¡± After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao threw a Throwing Knife. [-5] [73421/100000] ¡°...¡± What the heck? Wang Tao was dumbstruck; though Surgical Throwing Knives were flimsy and pretty much disposable after one use, a mere 5 points of damage seemed too low, right? Wang Tao then unleashed a Shockwave. [-15] [73406/100000] Chapter 379: 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_2 Chapter 379: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_2 Wang Tao could now confirm that it was not his throwing knives that were dealing low damage, but rather the tree roots had too high defense! It was completely different from the flesh inside the Night Demon¡¯s Nest; although that flesh also had a hundred thousand HP, its defense was very low, and Wang Tao could eliminate it in just a few strikes. But the defense of this tree root was too high; his most powerful attacks could only deal a dozen or so damage. This means that even if the root didn¡¯t fight back, it would take him hours to destroy it... Wang Tao shot another arrow with his recurve bow, which also resulted in mere tens of points of damage. After enduring various attacks from Wang Tao, the tree root showed no response, as if it were ignoring him. Then Wang Tao shifted his target and fired his arrows at the zombies that were bound by the tree roots. Whoosh¡ª [-4000] [0/4000] The HP bar of the Level 1 Zombie dropped to zero; its head lolled to one side, it ceased struggling, and a milky white liquid flowed out from its mouth. Swoosh¡ª The root that was thrust into its mouth immediately withdrew, covered in the white liquid. This time, without needing Jiang Shixue to tell him, Wang Tao also smelled a faint fragrance. The source of the fragrance was the white liquid on the tree root! The tree root swung through the air as if in anger and dissatisfaction. Then the roots that bound the zombies gradually loosened, releasing them. Thud¡ª The zombie corpse hit the ground. The root oozing white liquid retracted into the midst of the countless tree roots. ¡°This is interesting... These roots should be part of a plant, so why would they enhance the zombies¡¯ strength?¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t figure it out, but since the roots didn¡¯t seem to have much of a reaction, he felt relieved. Wang Tao once again drew his recurve bow and began shooting at the zombies. Shortly after, he effortlessly disposed of the dozen or so zombies. They were all bound to death by the roots, unable to move and were mere sitting ducks. Wang Tao also gained 1300 HP, bringing his maximum HP up to 26,150! After all those zombies had perished, the tree roots seemed to become frenzied, whipping wildly in the air before calming down after a while ¡°It seems angry...¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly whispered. Wang Tao nodded and then said with a headache, ¡°It seems that the final boss is this tree root, but its defense is too strong... We can¡¯t make a dent in it. And till now, I still don¡¯t know exactly what this thing is...¡± If these roots couldn¡¯t attack, Wang Tao could just wear them down, but it was clear they were capable of attacking, so slowly whittling them down was no longer viable... ¡°Let¡¯s try again!¡± Wang Tao stealthily approached the roots and struck them several times. They lost a few drops of HP but had no reaction. Wang Tao intensified his attack, causing the root to lose a dozen drops of HP. At this point, the tree roots finally moved! Several roots whipped around in the air, engaging in indiscriminate attacks. Wang Tao wanted to gauge the damage of the roots, so after dodging a few, he deliberately took a hit from the last one. Boom¡ª [-372] [25778/26150] Wang Tao was sent flying instantly! Swoosh¡ª Jiang Shixue quickly ran over to catch Wang Tao, preventing him from crashing into the wall. ¡°Damn! Such high damage!¡± Even with his Barrier activated, Wang Tao still lost nearly four hundred HP! Although this amount of HP might not seem like much for his twenty-odd thousand HP, it was damage inflicted by just one root. If hundreds or thousands of roots attacked together, they could probably mash Wang Tao into a pulp instantly... But there was also good news. From Wang Tao¡¯s test, it appeared the roots might not be very intelligent and possibly lacked senses, unable to perceive their surroundings, even if Wang Tao was moving right in front of them, they wouldn¡¯t detect him. Only if Wang Tao actively attacked them would they respond, but that was a reactive attack, not because they saw where Wang Tao was... If these roots were blind, then perhaps he really could grind them down! Just as Wang Tao was considering whether to call Xu Xiaojun down to help wear down the roots, Jiang Shixue suddenly said, ¡°Brother, why don¡¯t we just burn it with fire?¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was stunned for a moment before slapping his forehead. ¡°Little Xue is right! I almost forgot about the Fire Attack!¡± Logically speaking, plants should be more vulnerable to fire, so a Fire Attack was definitely not a problem. Moreover, the cave had a unique layout with only one entry and exit path; if it really caught fire, even if the roots had legs, they wouldn¡¯t be able to run. Of course, there was another crucial point, that was, these roots weren¡¯t at full HP; they now only had a little over seventy thousand HP. Where had that twenty thousand HP gone? If all went as expected, it might have been burned off by the fire outside! So, a Fire Attack was definitely feasible! ¡°Let¡¯s go. Upstairs!¡± Wang Tao quickly took Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand and ran out. ¡°Brother Wang, are you guys alright?¡± Xu Xiaojun, seeing Wang Tao and her come out, hurried over. ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong, there¡¯s a bunch of attacking tree roots below; they have too high defense, we can¡¯t do anything to them, so I¡¯m planning to burn them!¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. They still had some gasoline left from before, but Wang Tao was worried it wouldn¡¯t be enough, so he siphoned off some more oil from the car. After preparing a full canister of gasoline, Wang Tao re-entered the cave. ¡°Although we don¡¯t seem to have any grudges, who made you a red HP bar...¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself, then poured all the gasoline over the tree roots. Chapter 380: 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_3 Chapter 380: Chapter 177: The Cave, Fire Attack_3 These roots twisted together like snakes, slowly writhing; they obviously hadn¡¯t realized the seriousness of the situation yet. After Wang Tao emptied the whole jug of gasoline, he took out an arrow, the tip of which was wrapped with a cloth soaked in gasoline. Snap. The flame from the lighter instantly ignited the arrow. Whoosh¡ª¡ª At that moment, before Wang Tao even shot the arrow, he saw the roots begin to writhe crazily. ¡°Huh? Feeling the heat of the flame? Too late!¡± Wang Tao drew his bow and notched the arrow. Swoosh¡ª¡ª The flaming arrow struck the roots. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Instantly, a large fire blazed up from the roots. The roots thrashed wildly as though trying to extinguish the flames, but the gasoline was sticking to them. It was not going to be extinguished that easily. [-100] [-100] [-100] [...] Watching the HP of the roots decrease by hundreds, Wang Tao grinned, but he did not dare to keep watching; he quickly pulled Jiang Shixue and ran out of the cave. The three of them were waiting outside the cave. A moment later, Wang Tao felt the ground beneath his feet growing warm, as though he was standing on a heated kang. Flames and thick smoke continuously billowed out of the cave, and Wang Tao hurriedly covered his mouth and nose. ¡°Seems like it worked quite well! Thanks to Little Xue!¡± Wang Tao praised Jiang Shixue by his side. He might have thought of the fire attack as well, but he did not react at the moment. After all, they had just set a big fire, and he was, so to speak, blind to his own candlelight; he subconsciously overlooked it. Jiang Shixue, who was praised, was very happy, gripping Wang Tao¡¯s hand tightly, but her eyes kept darting toward the entrance of the cave. That faint scent persisted, even the fire could not cover it, and it even became more fragrant... The fire in the cave ended quicker than Wang Tao had expected; he thought it would burn for a day and night like the big fire yesterday. But in reality, it only burned for the morning, and by the afternoon, the flames had died down. However, although the flames had been extinguished, the high temperature inside remained. For safety reasons, Wang Tao didn¡¯t go in but waited until nightfall. The temperature was relatively cool that night when Wang Tao and the others came to the entrance of the cave. Inside, there was still some warmth, but it was not too high and within an acceptable range. Then Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to continue guarding outside while he and Jiang Shixue entered. The cave was filled with ashes, and remnants of blackened roots could be seen occasionally, crumbling to the touch. ¡°It¡¯s all turned to charcoal!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat amazed. This fire attack was really useful, especially against these plant monsters. The two advanced through the warm ashes, and before long, they arrived at the center of the underground space. Before, this area had been obstructed by roots, and Wang Tao could not see the specific situation clearly. Now that they were here, Wang Tao let out a small exclamation. ¡°Huh? This isn¡¯t dead?¡± In the midst of the ashes, some roots were still tightly entwined, charred on the surface, but they weren¡¯t dead since they had an HP bar. [3283/100000] ¡°Still has three thousand HP! Such tenacity...¡± Wang Tao muttered with some emotion, but he didn¡¯t hold back with his attack. He unleashed a shockwave with his axe. [-385] ¡°Hm? Damage increased? Is it because it was burned?¡± While pondering in his mind, Wang Tao called Jiang Shixue to attack together. To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, these roots did not counterattack, they simply kept tightly wrapped around each other, slowly writhing. Bang! [-501] [0/100000] Wang Tao¡¯s final ax strike zeroed out its HP bar. The roots slowly stopped moving and then burst out a Loot Pack. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this even count as an over-leveled kill...¡± Looking at the lonely Loot Pack, Wang Tao felt quite frustrated. If it weren¡¯t for the fire attack, these hundred-thousand-HP roots might as well have been standing still letting him kill them, and even then, it might have taken him hours. Moreover, the attack power of the roots was very strong; if Wang Tao got entangled, he guessed the concurrent attacks from so many roots could instantly turn him into mincemeat! But such strong roots didn¡¯t count as an over-leveled kill. Wang Tao glanced at his own HP bar again. ¡°Damn it, it doesn¡¯t even increase the HP cap...¡± Wang Tao remembered the attributes of the roots; other than the HP bar, they had no other attributes. They were just like the flesh in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, which also didn¡¯t add HP, and only burst out a Loot Pack... Wang Tao didn¡¯t closely examine the Loot Pack but turned his attention to the roots instead. The roots were tightly entwined, forming an upside-down bowl shape as if there was something inside. The ¡°bowl¡± was about the size of a small room; could there be a Level 3 zombie inside? Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue to prepare for combat at any time, then carefully began to move the roots aside. ¡°It smells so good!¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly exclaimed, and Wang Tao also widened his eyes in shock. Inside was a small pond filled with a milk-like white liquid. This white liquid was so fragrant that Wang Tao almost couldn¡¯t stop himself from drooling uncontrollably. [Tree Essence Liquid x9364] This thing had a name! Without a word, Wang Tao immediately collected all the white liquid into his Space Backpack. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± The tempting aroma disappeared instantly as the essence liquid was stored away. Before he had time to check the details, two other items caught his eye. The first item was a white object shaped like a chicken egg. [Magic Seeds x1] Without a word, Wang Tao collected it as well. The second item was a monster with an ugly human face but with the rest of its body made of branches! [HP: 1000/30000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 60%] [Status: Weakness 99%] The monster had its eyes closed as if it hadn¡¯t noticed Wang Tao¡¯s arrival. ¡°Only 1000 HP and 99% weakness?¡± Without a word, Wang Tao brought the ax down. Splat! [-1000] [0/30000] The Human-face Tree Body Monster¡¯s HP bar was instantly zeroed out. Clatter¡ª A pile of things burst out! Wang Tao immediately collected the Loot Pack, then dug open the head of the Human-face Tree Body Monster, finding a Red Crystal Core inside. After securing the Crystal Core and confirming there were no named items left on the monster¡¯s body, he finally waved at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to the surface!¡± Chapter 381: 178 Level 3 Weapon_1 Chapter 381: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_1 ¡°Brother Wang, are you guys okay?¡± Seeing Wang Tao come up, Xu Xiaojun immediately ran over again. ¡°Haha, we¡¯re fine, the monsters below are taken care of!¡± Wang Tao laughed. This time, luck was on their side; they happened to have gasoline and stumbled upon a plant-based monster that was very afraid of fire. A big fire saved Wang Tao a lot of effort and avoided many dangers, almost as if he had cheated. ¡°Glad you¡¯re okay! It¡¯s a shame I couldn¡¯t help...¡± There was a hint of shame on Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face. Wang Tao patted Xu Xiaojun¡¯s shoulder and said: ¡°Don¡¯t overthink it, by standing guard over the car, you provided us with an escape route. Without it, I wouldn¡¯t have dared to use fire so boldly!¡± Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength was not weak, but his lack of night vision greatly limited his ability to act at night, hence he was not asked to join; it was an unfortunate necessity. Although these words from Wang Tao were meant to comfort, Xu Xiaojun still felt greatly encouraged upon hearing them. ¡°So what do we do now...¡± Wang Tao looked up at the stars and said: ¡°Let¡¯s find a place to rest for now. You drive. We¡¯ll go meet up with Yang Changhong tomorrow morning.¡± Traveling at night was still too dangerous. Unless it was an emergency, Wang Tao preferred to travel during the day for safety. The meeting with Yang Changhong was set for three days. Tomorrow would be the third day, just in time to catch up. ¡°Okay!¡± Boom¡ª¡ª The off-road vehicle¡¯s engine roared to life, moving away from the scorched wasteland of the reservoir. Inside the car, Wang Tao took a sip of water, then began checking the loot. First, the increase in maximum HP. Although the roots he killed didn¡¯t add any HP, the human-face tree body monster did. It added 3849! So, now Wang Tao¡¯s HP was [29999/29999]! Before Wang Tao came here, he was only thinking since he got the news about the Level 2 Zombies, and it wasn¡¯t too far, he naturally couldn¡¯t waste the opportunity. Even if there were no loot, adding some HP was good. But he hadn¡¯t expected that he would almost triple his HP from fifteen thousand to nearly thirty thousand! Now, he was just one point shy of thirty thousand HP! Of course, this one point was not so easy to obtain as he had reached the upper limit of Level 2. Probably like before at Level 1, he would have to ascend all his abilities to Level 3 before he could achieve Level 3 ascension and exceed thirty thousand HP. But all of Wang Tao¡¯s current abilities were +1, and it would take a lot of effort to max them all out... Nevertheless, Wang Tao was content, as the HP gains were much faster than he had anticipated. His speed of ascension to Level 3 might indeed surpass the speed of his Level 2 ascension! The human-face tree body monster was a Level 3 Lord Monster, meaning it was an over-leveled kill for Wang Tao. Aside from the HP increase, he also gained a special energy¡ªhis special ability directly increased by 6000! Special energy and HP were consistent, which meant that Wang Tao actually gained 6000 in HP limit. Unfortunately, having reached the upper limit of Level 2, he could only add less than four thousand HP. Speaking of special energy, with these added 6000, Wang Tao¡¯s special energy reached 13740! This amount of special energy could now extract two Level 2 abilities. Wang Tao could directly extract the Shockwave and Precise shooting ability and then use the Omnipotent Crystal Core to upgrade the Barrier! But there was no rush; Wang Tao continued to look at the other loot. Killing those Level 2 Zombies in the sea of fire earlier yielded quite a few crystal cores, most of which were familiar to Wang Tao. Among them, the useful ones were Shockwave, Omnipotent, and Precision Shooting. As for the loot they dropped, it was mostly potions, crafting materials, etc., fairly standard. However, these Level 2 Zombies didn¡¯t have much HP, mostly just having ascended to Level 2, so it was normal for them not to have anything particularly good. Then Wang Tao turned to the main haul from the cave. The hundred thousand blood tree root only exploded into a Loot Pack. Wang Tao had thought that the root would explode into an Extraction Crystal Core like the flesh in the Night Demon¡¯s nest, but it wasn¡¯t the case. Instead, it was a section of the root¡ª [Level 3 Weapon¡¤Entangling Roots] [HP: 10000/10000 (Upper limit 100000)] [Status: Dormant] [Enhancement: HP, Attack, Defense (Weakness: fear of fire)] [Compatibility: 0%] ¡°Level 3... Weapon?¡± This was the first time Wang Tao had seen something like this; he quickly read the detailed explanation. [Weapon: A type of weapon that can only be used by humans] [Entangling Roots: Can be entwined around the body, providing additional HP, attack, and defense, but comes with the restriction ¡®Weakness: fear of fire¡¯] [HP: The weapon¡¯s own HP. If the HP drops to zero, the weapon dies] [Status: The current state of the weapon. Only weapons in an ¡®Awakened¡¯ state can be used] [Enhancement: The attributes the weapon enhances for the human] [Compatibility: Must be at least 1% before the weapon can be used. If the weapon is used for a certain period, the compatibility will decrease. The higher the compatibility between the human and the weapon, the more potential of the weapon can be unleashed. To increase compatibility, a crystal core or one¡¯s own HP must be used to nourish the weapon, which also restores the weapon¡¯s current HP, and after 100% nourishment, it will increase the weapon¡¯s upper HP limit. If one¡¯s own HP is used to nourish the weapon, it will leave the person in a state of extreme weakness] After reading the explanation, Wang Tao was astonished. This was a weapon with life! If he entwined these Entangling Roots around his body, it would be like having an additional 10000 HP, and a certain amount of attack and defense! Chapter 382: 178 Level 3 Weapon_2 Chapter 382: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_2 If attacked, the HP of the Entangling Roots should be deducted first; only after its HP is depleted would the wearer¡¯s own HP be deducted. However, to use these Entangling Roots, one must increase the Compatibility, at least to 1% to be able to use it. The methods to enhance Compatibility involve either using a Crystal Core or one¡¯s own HP to nourish the weapon. Using a Crystal Core would certainly consume it, while using one¡¯s own HP could leave one in an extremely weakened state... Wang Tao suddenly thought of the Level 3 Monster he had just killed. That monster was in a 99% weakened state and also severely low on HP. Could it have been nourishing these Entangling Roots? If so, then everything seemed to make sense¡ª Wang Tao had previously doused the Entangling Roots with a lot of gasoline and then set them ablaze. The Entangling Roots were vulnerable to fire, so the flames caused them significant damage. Their HP dropped rapidly. The monster using the Entangling Roots, seeing its HP continuously dropping, decided to use its own blood to nourish it. The monster might not have been very intelligent, but it was aware enough to protect its possessions. In fact, the Human-face Tree Body Monster almost succeeded; it saved the Entangling Roots with its HP. Otherwise, the fire might have burned the Entangling Roots to ashes. But after the flames died out, Wang Tao entered. He had started the fire and was bound to come in to check the situation. As a result, he found the weakened Entangling Roots and killed them. Then he encountered the monster in an extremely weakened state and killed it too... If he hadn¡¯t set this fire, not only would he have had to fight the Entangling Roots, but even if he managed to wear them down to near-death over time, he might then have faced a Level 3, Lord Monster in full strength! Or worse, if the monster had emerged from the protection of the Entangling Roots, the two could have attacked Wang Tao together... and he would have been doomed for sure! So it could only be said that Wang Tao was really lucky this time. He had avoided a potentially fatal crisis. Wang Tao, feeling somewhat relieved, took a deep breath and then took the Entangling Roots out of the Space Backpack. It was a black, withered, twisted root about the size of a palm, utterly ordinary, the sort that one wouldn¡¯t even bother picking up off the ground. After taking it out of the Space Backpack, its status changed. It had been ¡°Dormant,¡± but now was ¡°Awakended.¡± As Wang Tao held it, he could faintly sense a very weak... consciousness? He wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but he felt like if he just called out to it, it would awaken. So, Wang Tao mentally whispered, ¡°Awake.¡± But there was no response. ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot, the Compatibility is still at 0%...¡± Wang Tao quickly took out a Level 1 Crystal Core. Then he mentally whispered again: ¡°Awake.¡± As soon as the thought arose, he saw the piece of root slowly wriggle and gradually envelop the Crystal Core. Then, the root began to grow rapidly, as if it was under the effect of a time acceleration spell. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue by his side both widened their eyes in amazement. Seconds later, the roots had entirely wrapped around Wang Tao. With only his head exposed, they formed a full body armor composed of roots! Wang Tao moved his arms slightly, and the roots moved with him, barely impacting his agility. Wang Tao felt like he was connected to a very weak and simple consciousness. He thought to himself: cover the face. And the roots around him rippled, covering his face! ¡°It¡¯s kind of magical!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s muffled voice came from within the root armor. Xu Xiaojun hadn¡¯t been paying attention, but he jumped when he heard Wang Tao¡¯s voice and glanced in the rearview mirror. How had Wang Tao turned into a monster! ¡°Brother, Brother Wang?¡± Xu Xiaojun called out nervously. Then he saw the ¡°monster¡¯s¡± face roots wriggle, revealing Wang Tao¡¯s handsome face. ¡°Haha, Little Jun, what do you think of my new equipment?¡± Wang Tao laughed. ¡°Phew... Brother Wang, it¡¯s good to see you¡¯re okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun let out a sigh of relief before staring in awe at Wang Tao in the rearview mirror. ¡°Brother Wang, this equipment of yours is too badass! I almost mistook you for a monster, the presence was too overpowering!¡± ¡°Haha, then stop the car, I¡¯ll get out and take a look.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Xu Xiaojun quickly stopped the car. As Wang Tao opened the door and stepped out, the root armor started to move again. Soon enough, in the faint starlight, a towering figure, two and a half meters tall, appeared in front of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Xu Xiaojun, who was originally taller and burlier than Wang Tao, now had to look up slightly. As for Jiang Shixue, standing at one meter sixty, she had to crane her neck. ¡°This feeling... it¡¯s pretty awesome!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fists, feeling the clear power enhancement the Entangling Roots provided. Wang Tao glanced at his attributes. [HP: 29999/29999 (10000/10000)] Now, he was effectively at forty thousand HP! Wang Tao looked at the Entangling Roots again. [Level 3 Weapon ¡¤ Entangling Roots] [HP: 10000/10000] [Status: Awake] [Enhancement: HP, Attack, Defense (Weakness: Vulnerable to Fire)] [Compatibility: 1%] The HP remained unchanged, and the Compatibility had increased by only 1%... But after all, this was a Level 3 Weapon, and he had used a Level 1 Crystal Core, so a 1% increase in Compatibility felt pretty good. Chapter 383: 178 Level 3 Weapon_3 Chapter 383: Chapter 178 Level 3 Weapon_3 Wang Tao took out another Level 2 Crystal Core. He had obtained a good number of Level 2 Crystal Cores in the past two days and decided to experiment with one. When he silently wished to nurture the entangling roots in his mind, the roots on his body immediately wriggled and then swallowed the Level 2 Crystal Core in his hand. A moment later, Wang Tao checked the attributes of the entangling roots again, and the compatibility had increased to ¡°11%!¡± An increase of 1% compatibility for a Level 1 Crystal Core, 10% for a Level 2 Crystal Core, so by that logic, a Level 3 Crystal Core should add 100% compatibility! As for how much compatibility could be gained by nurturing the entangling roots with his own HP, Wang Tao had no plans to test it. After all, that extremely weakened state was too dangerous. A wise man does not stand under a shaky wall, and it wasn¡¯t as if Wang Tao lacked Crystal Cores, so there was no need to take risks. The attributes of the entangling roots did not specify how much of a strength and defense boost they provided, but Wang Tao could feel that there definitely was an increase. There were a few Ordinary Zombies by the roadside, and Wang Tao directly approached them and swung his enormous fist. Bang! Bang! Bang! The heads of these zombies burst like ripe watermelons! ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao felt that he had hardly exerted any effort; he had merely swung his fist casually, and the heads of these zombies had all exploded! And this was just with 11% compatibility¡ªhow powerful would it be at 100%? Would it grant him Level 3 combat power? However, increasing compatibility was not easy. It would take either 100 Level 1 Crystal Cores, or 10 Level 2 Crystal Cores, or one Level 3 Crystal Core... Although Wang Tao had many Crystal Cores, he would be pained to use so many at once. Moreover, this compatibility was not something you could set and forget. Using the weapon consumed compatibility. If you compared a weapon to a car, then compatibility would be like the fuel. More fuel meant the car was more powerful and could run faster. But driving the car consumed the fuel, and once it was depleted, you couldn¡¯t drive anymore; you would need to refuel... Wang Tao returned to his car and then focused his thoughts. The roots on his body began to move quickly and shrink. In the blink of an eye, the entangling root armor on Wang Tao¡¯s body disappeared, leaving only a small twisted root in his hand. Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes lit up; she found this thing very interesting. Xu Xiaojun looked at Wang Tao with admiration. He didn¡¯t know where Wang Tao had obtained it, perhaps from that cave, but that wasn¡¯t important¡ªBrother Wang was awesome, and that was all that mattered! After thinking it over, Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand and placed the piece of root in it. ¡°Little Xue, you try it.¡± Wang Tao explained the usage method briefly¡ªit was actually very simple to use. As long as one could feel that faint consciousness while holding the root, it could be utilized. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue sensed it for a moment, and then the root in her hand began to grow wildly. In just a moment, a suit of root armor formed and tightly wrapped around Jiang Shixue. With the root armor augmenting her, Jiang Shixue stood about 1.8 meters tall. Even though she was slender, the root armor was also slim, creating a unique aesthetic. After letting Jiang Shixue experience it for a while, Wang Tao also let Xu Xiaojun give it a try. Xu Xiaojun was able to use it as well. However, Xu Xiaojun was larger in build, and once covered by the root armor, his height shot up to three meters, far more imposing than Wang Tao. If he were to carry that two-meter-long Giant Axe, the imposing effect would be extraordinary! After basking in the fun for a while, Xu Xiaojun quickly deactivated the entangling state and returned the root to Wang Tao. After all, Wang Tao had said that using this item consumed Crystal Cores, and he didn¡¯t want to waste them. Wang Tao looked at the piece of root and thought silently, and the root began to wriggle and transformed into a bracelet that he wore directly on his right wrist. ¡°This is much more convenient!¡± When placed in the Space Backpack, the entangling roots would enter a ¡°dormant¡± state, and it would need to be awakened before use. But if kept on his person, it would be in an ¡°awakened¡± state, ready for immediate use, which was much more convenient. ¡°` After a brief test of the entangled roots, Wang Tao saw a small building and had Xu Xiaojun drive over. Once they had cleared the small building a bit, everyone ate something, and Xu Xiaojun began his night shift while Wang Tao continued to inspect the spoils of battle. The Level 3 monster he had killed had a red crystal core in its brain. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Tree Essence] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body lignification)] [Tree Essence: Only females can successfully integrate, it can produce Tree Essence Liquid which enhances the strength of organisms] Seeing the attributes of the Level 3 Crystal Core, Wang Tao frowned. Only females can successfully integrate? He suddenly felt discriminated against! He had been discriminated against once with the Perception Crystal Cores, and now this again? Moreover, this wasn¡¯t a side effect that could be removed. However, after taking a closer look at the information on the Tree Essence, Wang Tao was stunned. How exactly was this Tree Essence Liquid produced? And from where? Hisss¡ª Wang Tao seemed to think of something shocking. No wonder only females can integrate with it! ¡°This is a nice Ability. It¡¯s just that the side effect of body lignification seems a bit severe, don¡¯t end up turning into a real plant person... Right, I have this Tree Essence too!¡± He suddenly remembered that when he was in the cave, he found a lot of white liquid underneath the hundred thousand HP entangling roots. He looked at the white liquid inside his Space Backpack. [Tree Essence Liquid*9364] [Tree Essence Liquid: Can enhance the strength of organisms] This Tree Essence Liquid seemed similar to Zombie Culture Fluid. Both enhance strength. However, Zombie Culture Fluid could only be used by zombies, while Tree Essence Liquid seemed to be usable by both humans and zombies! But as for this enhancement, he wasn¡¯t sure if it would increase HP. If it did increase HP, then using it now would be a waste for Wang Tao, since his HP was already full. ¡°I¡¯ll try it on Little Xue and Little Jun later to see what the effects are...¡± Wang Tao planned to use them as guinea pigs. But then Wang Tao thought of another question, why did the Level 3 monster want to cultivate zombies? This Tree Essence Liquid, it could use for itself, right? Or cultivate plants, since it was a Plant Monster. It didn¡¯t need to cultivate zombies; initially, Wang Tao even thought there was a Green-eyed Zombie of Level 3 below... After careful contemplation, Wang Tao felt there were two possibilities. One was that the Human-face Tree Body Monster had gone stupid, unable to tell the difference between itself and zombies. But this possibility seemed unlikely. So it was probably the second possibility, the Human-face Tree Body Monster wanted to cultivate some bodyguards for itself! It kept itself underground, which might not be safe. But if it had Level 2 zombies guarding outside, that would be much safer! After all, with so many zombies here, who would dare to come close carelessly. Unfortunately, it never anticipated that Wang Tao would not only burn all the zombies to death with fire, but also expose its lair... However, this raises another question ¨C why would it, a Level 3 Lord, need to hide underground and had even mass-produced a bunch of bodyguards... Was it hiding from something? Or protecting something? ¡°` Chapter 384 - 179: Magic Seeds_1 Chapter 384: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_1 ¡°` Wang Tao looked at the next piece of loot. It was the item placed together with the Essence of Tree Liquid in that cave, resembling an egg. [Obtained: Magic Seed x1] [Magic Seed: When planted in the ground, it will grow an intermediate monster. When planted in the body, it will grant a hidden ability.] ¡°...Wow!¡± Surprised by the properties of the Magic Seed, Wang Tao was somewhat taken aback. Plant it in the ground and it grows a monster? Plant it in the body and it grants a hidden ability? Wang Tao¡¯s first reaction was to plant it in his body. However, he thought it through carefully; not all hidden abilities are necessarily useful. For example, Han Rui¡¯s arrest-related hidden ability doesn¡¯t seem very useful in an apocalyptic world. If it¡¯s a monster, on the other hand, planting it and then killing it would mean a sure Crystal Core and loot! But Wang Tao had one little issue, which was, what does ¡°intermediate¡± mean? He only knew about Level 1, Level 2, Level 3¡ªnever heard of intermediate level. Just as Wang Tao was pondering over the word ¡°intermediate¡±, an explanation popped up. [Low level: Level 1, Level 2, Level 3] [Intermediate level: Level 4, Level 5, Level 6] [High level: Level 7, Level 8, Ninth Level] ¡°...¡± Intermediate refers to Level 4, 5, and 6? Wang Tao instantly dismissed the idea of planting it in the ground! Because planting it in the ground would grow a monster of Level 4, 5, or 6! He had only managed to kill a Level 3 monster by means of a trick. If he were to plant a Level 4 monster, how would he deal with it? If he was unlucky and a Level 5 or even Level 6 monster grew, it wouldn¡¯t just be his own bad luck; it would probably be disastrous for all human survivors! Although it was very likely that a monster grown from this seed would be of the plant type and possibly vulnerable to fire. With proper preparation, there might be a chance to kill it. But what if the plant isn¡¯t afraid of fire? If zombie blood can extinguish flames, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising for a plant to evolve some fire resistance. Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to bet on this probability. He doesn¡¯t mind taking a gamble when the odds are high, but the current situation has such low odds of success that losing the bet could cost him his life! ¡°However, how exactly does one plant it in their body... Is it like the Crystal Core, by putting it in your mouth?¡± Wang Tao tried placing the seed in his mouth. Unlike Crystal Cores, hidden abilities don¡¯t have side effects, so Wang Tao had nothing to worry about even after planting it in his body. Moments later, Wang Tao felt the Magic Seed slowly turn into a gas and vanish inside his body... This was similar to merging with a Fusion Crystal Core. Wang Tao quickly checked his attributes. There was a new status below his HP bar. [Magic Seed Germination Countdown: 9 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds] ¡°It takes ten days to germinate...¡± This was much longer than Wang Tao had anticipated. But it wasn¡¯t a big issue, it didn¡¯t interfere with anything, he just had to wait. ¡°I hope it grants a decent hidden ability...¡± Wang Tao currently had two hidden abilities, one for Body Strengthening and the other for Night Vision. Both were quite decent abilities. He guessed that the ability from this seed would be plant-related. As long as it isn¡¯t totally useless, it would be fine. ¡°Right¡ª¡± Wang Tao suddenly realized, the reason that Level 3 Lord Monster was hiding here might have been to protect this seed, right? If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t discovered the cave and the Level 3 monster had planted the seed, producing an Intermediate monster, it could have been a serious problem for the human survivors... Wang Tao thought his own level advancement was relatively fast, but he was still at Level 2. He didn¡¯t know if there were any Level 3 humans in the world. After the seed grew, at the very least, it would become a Level 4 monster! It could even be Level 5 or Level 6! If humans encountered it or it made its way to human territory on its own, it would truly be a massacre! In a sense, Wang Tao might have nipped a disaster in the bud... Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t someone who was particularly altruistic, the thought that his actions could inadvertently save many of his fellow humans made him quite happy. Smiling, he shook his head and looked toward the last piece of loot. The last piece was the Loot Pack dropped from killing the Level 3 Lord Monster. There were four packs in total! The first pack was a Crystal Core Gift Bag, containing 5 Crystal Cores! [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (No side effects)] The first Crystal Core was Omnipotent, which was also something Wang Tao was familiar with and one of his favorites. However, this one was unique as it was a Level 3. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Outstanding (80%)] [Purity: 40% (No side effects)] The second Crystal Core was for Ascension, and Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised to see it. He had already obtained a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core after killing that Level 3 Night Demon, and it was also of outstanding quality! He figured that upgrading to Level 3 was probably the same as upgrading to Level Two, needing four Ascension Crystal Cores. Now he had already gathered two! This was somewhat exciting for Wang Tao, as it was much faster and simpler compared to when he collected Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores. After all, both the Level 3 zombies and monsters had been taken down by his stratagems... [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Self-Healing] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Diminished tactile sensitivity)] The third Crystal Core gave Self-healing power, which was a very decent ability, but since Wang Tao had merged his Self-healing Ability with his Toughness Ability, he no longer had use for this Self-healing Ability. ¡°` Chapter 385: 179: Magic Seeds_2 Chapter 385: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_2 [Level 3 Crystal Core ¡¤ Nutrient Absorption] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Nutrient Absorption: Passive Ability, when standing on soil, it can absorb the nutrients from the soil to slowly regenerate HP] The fourth crystal core was quite interesting¡ªjust standing on the ground could heal him. However, the description mentioned slowly regenerating HP... Wang Tao wondered exactly how slow it would be... [Level 3 Crystal Core ¡¤ Photosynthesis] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Photosynthesis: Passive Ability, when standing in sunlight, it can absorb solar energy to slowly regenerate Mana] ¡°Hss¡ª¡± Upon seeing this last crystal core, Wang Tao felt his heart stir instantly. This ¡°Photosynthesis¡± was similar to ¡°Nutrient Absorption,¡± one allowing slow HP regeneration while standing on the ground and the other slow Mana regeneration in sunlight. But compared to HP regeneration, Wang Tao was more eager to get an Ability for Mana regeneration! Because he did have some methods to restore HP, such as medical kits, the self-healing power, or even now with the Barrier Ability, which could restore HP. But he had no means of Mana regeneration at all! If he wanted to recover Mana, he could only rely on time. From his previous tests, if his Mana were completely depleted, it would take about six hours to fully recover. If not in combat, six hours wasn¡¯t that long. But in combat, six hours was way too long¡ªheck, even six minutes felt eternity¡ªof course, if he could fully recover in six minutes, Wang Tao would probably laugh out loud. But obviously, that wasn¡¯t possible., Wang Tao could only rely on six hours to recover his Mana... This was the first time Wang Tao had seen an Ability for Mana regeneration, and to be honest, he really wanted to integrate this crystal core. Unfortunately, it was a level 3 core, and he also didn¡¯t have enough Ability slots. However, Wang Tao suddenly thought whether it was possible to synthesize ¡°Nutrient Absorption¡± and ¡°Photosynthesis¡±? Both were passive abilities, both were related to plants, and both types were quite similar... It felt like there was a chance! He could try this when there was an opportunity in the future! After reviewing these crystal cores, Wang Tao got to know that this level 3 creature was leaning towards support roles. His previous guess that it was similar to the Green-eyed Zombie was, in a way, half correct... Then, Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack, which contained 10 potions and a Blueprint. [Acquired: Hemostatic Drug x10] [Acquired: Hemostatic Drug Recipe x1] [Hemostatic Drug: Recovers 1000 HP within ten seconds] [Hemostatic Drug Recipe: Once learned, it allows for crafting 10 Hemostatic Drugs at a time. Required materials: Hemostatic Herb x1, Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal of food] The effect of the Hemostatic Drug was not bad, being able to restore 1000 HP, which was better than the medical kit¡¯s effect of restoring 100 HP over ten seconds. Although for someone like Wang Tao with nearly 30,000 HP, whether it was regenerating 100 or 1000 HP, neither seemed like much. But the key was that this item had no cooldown. One could use a bunch at once and just wait for the HP to slowly replenish. And in critical moments, this could be lifesaving... As for the Hemostatic Drug Recipe, Wang Tao learned it right away, but he currently lacked Hemostatic Herb, so he couldn¡¯t craft any. ¡°I¡¯ll have to pay more attention to these core potion ingredients in the future...¡± This time he got some Strength Mushrooms and Defense Mushrooms, he guessed that these materials might be found in the wild. He tried not to venture into the wilderness unless necessary, but if he had legitimate business outside like now, he¡¯d have to observe carefully to look for such core materials. After all, he had learned quite a few potion blueprints by now, but the only ones he could actually craft were Strength Potion (small), Defense Potion (small), and Rejuvenation Potion. The third Loot Pack contained another Blueprint but not of a potion¡ªit was for equipment. [Acquired: Tree Branch Full Body Armor Blueprint x1] [Tree Branch Full Body Armor Blueprint: Allows for crafting a full body set of armor made of tree branches. Required materials: Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Wood Block x100, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Screw x10, Rope x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10, Plastic x10, Cable x10, Electronic Components x10, Battery x10] [Branch Full Body Armor: Tough in nature, can protect against knives and swords, but slightly weak against fire. Durability +50, Defensive Power +50] The attributes of this Branch Armor seemed good. Although it was also vulnerable to fire, overall, the attributes were quite strong. It was far superior to the stubborn armor he was wearing. But to craft it required a Level 3 Crystal Core, and Wang Tao only had a few of those¡ªhe was reluctant to use them. Plus, Wang Tao already had the Entangling Roots, which were much more useful than the armor. And, Wang Tao was somewhat concerned about this weakness to fire. If he wore this armor with another layer of Entangling Roots outside, and if he had the misfortune to encounter fire...the Entangling Roots could be quickly retracted, but he¡¯d have to take off the armor before escaping, and there wouldn¡¯t be time for that... Wang Tao planned to check later. If he had a level 3 Crystal Core with not so great attributes, he¡¯d craft this armor. He might not want it for himself, but Xu Xiaojun could use it. If Little Jun wore this armor and wielded the Broken Giant Axe, his strength would surely increase by a lot. The last Loot Pack contained Tree Essence Liquid. [Acquired: Tree Essence Liquid x10000] [Tree Essence Liquid: Can enhance the strength of living organisms] Chapter 386: 179: Magic Seeds_3 Chapter 386: Chapter 179: Magic Seeds_3 He had already obtained over nine thousand portions of Tree Essence Liquid before, but unexpectedly, it burst out with ten thousand more portions! With nearly twenty thousand portions of Tree Essence Liquid at hand, Wang Tao felt that it was time to test its effects. ¡°Little Xue, try this.¡± In the darkness, Wang Tao gently patted the person leaning against him. A pair of eyes gleaming red opened. Wang Tao took out a portion of Tree Essence Liquid, and a very pleasant fragrance emerged. A portion of Tree Essence Liquid was 10ml, appearing quite small. As Wang Tao held it in his palm and was about to look for a container, Jiang Shixue suddenly leaned her head over and, like a kitten, licked his palm. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao felt a ticklish sensation in his palm. After consuming the Tree Essence Liquid, the red glow in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes intensified. ¡°It¡¯s delicious! I want more~¡± Wang Tao had plenty of Tree Essence Liquid and naturally wouldn¡¯t be stingy. However, before handing over another portion of the Tree Essence Liquid, Wang Tao checked Jiang Shixue¡¯s attributes. Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP had been 22,200 before, but after drinking a portion of Tree Essence Liquid, it was now 22,300 HP, an increase of 100! And it wasn¡¯t just her HP; her Mana also increased by 100! ¡°Hiss¡ªOne portion of Tree Essence Liquid adds 100 HP and 100 Mana? Is it really that awesome?¡± Wang Tao was taken aback. With nearly twenty thousand portions of Tree Essence Liquid in his hands, wasn¡¯t that equivalent to two million in HP and Mana? But soon, Wang Tao realized that things weren¡¯t so simple. After drinking ten portions in a row, Jiang Shixue felt that her strength wouldn¡¯t increase anymore for the time being. In other words, after she gained an additional 1,000 HP and 1,000 Mana, she had temporarily reached her limit. As for when it would be effective again, Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t say. Wang Tao thought about it and then drank ten portions himself. Though his HP had reached its limit, his Mana was still far behind. He was nearly at 30,000 HP, but his Mana was only 4,800, which he definitely needed to boost! Down went ten portions of Tree Essence Liquid, and while Wang Tao¡¯s HP remained unchanged, his Mana increased by 1,000, reaching 5,800! The effect was very satisfying, and Wang Tao was quite pleased. And it should be said, the flavor of this Tree Essence Liquid was indeed delightful. Jiang Shixue was a bit greedy and wanted more. Wang Tao gave her a few more portions and then called Xu Xiaojun over, providing him with ten portions as well. Wang Tao was generous with his own people; after all, they were teammates who fought side by side. Their strength was his guarantee of survival. The next day. Wang Tao woke up early; Xu Xiaojun had been on watch all night but was still bursting with energy, not showing any signs of tiredness. However, for safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao decided to drive the car himself this time. ¡°Let¡¯s go and meet up with them.¡± ... ¡°Boss, could something have happened to Wang Tao and the others?¡± Outside the abandoned car motel, several survivors gathered around Yang Changhong, with one of them raising the concern. Although their first meeting with Wang Tao and his group wasn¡¯t exactly pleasant, everyone had let bygones be bygones. After all, Wang Tao was generous and strong, and their presence greatly improved the safety of the convoy. Therefore, they were hopeful that nothing bad had happened to Wang Tao¡¯s group. Yang Changhong had been full of confidence in Wang Tao, but at this point, she began to waver because it was already the third day. She had told Wang Tao that she would wait for three days, and Wang Tao had said he would be back soon. But he hadn¡¯t returned yet. If he didn¡¯t come back today, then no matter whether Wang Tao would return or not, they would have to set off first thing in the morning. After all, she had given her word in front of her subordinates and needed to maintain her authority without breaking her promise. ¡°Static noise...¡± Yang Changhong took out the walkie-talkie and tried contacting Wang Tao. But there was just static noise, indicating they were out of range. ¡°They are very strong; they should be fine.¡± That was all Yang Changhong could say to her subordinates. She was puzzled too. The reservoir she had told them about had only a few Level 2 Zombies, and she felt those zombies weren¡¯t the strongest of their kind. Considering that both Xu Xiaojun and Wang Tao were Second-order Superpower Owners, there shouldn¡¯t have been a big problem. If they couldn¡¯t beat them, they should at least be able to run... Could it be that the zombies got stronger, or were there some unexpected incidents? Yang Changhong was somewhat worried. After all, it was rare to come across two Second-order Superpower Owners... ¡°Static noise... Yang Changhong, this is Wang Tao... Static noise...¡± At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie. Yang Changhong was taken aback for a moment, then quickly pressed the talk button. ¡°I am Yang Changhong! I am Yang Changhong! We are still at the previous location, where are you guys? Is everyone okay?¡± After a while, Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through again. ¡°We¡¯re fine, but we have a small favor to ask of you...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone was somewhat embarrassed. ¡°What favor? I¡¯ll help if I can!¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t promise right away. If Wang Tao and the others were cornered by strong zombies, bringing her group might just be delivering themselves to the enemy... ¡°Ahem, we ran out of fuel for the car. Could you send us a can of fuel? You can name your price.¡± ¡°...¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s mouth opened slightly. She had anticipated various difficulties Wang Tao might face, but running out of fuel wasn¡¯t one of them. If she remembered correctly, not only had the car been recently fueled up, but there was also a spare can of fuel on it. But Yang Changhong didn¡¯t ask any further. She promptly responded: ¡°Okay, tell me the exact location, and I¡¯ll have someone deliver the fuel. We¡¯ll talk about the rest when you get back.¡± ¡°Great. We are at... thanks!¡± ¡°No need to be polite.¡± An hour later, two cars arrived consecutively at the abandoned car motel. Yang Changhong, who was sitting on the hood of one of the cars, immediately got down when she saw the incoming cars. Sometime later, Wang Tao and two others got out of the car. Seeing the three unharmed people, Yang Changhong¡¯s face broke into a smile as she gave Wang Tao a high-five. ¡°Seeing you all safe, I can breathe easy.¡± ¡°Haha, I told you, there wouldn¡¯t be any accident.¡± ¡°So, shall we have lunch now and then set off?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± It didn¡¯t take long for the eight cars to leave the abandoned car motel, moving towards the direction of Zijing City. Chapter 387: 180 Colonel Luo_1 Chapter 387: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_1 On the road, Zhang Hong initially didn¡¯t want to ask, but couldn¡¯t contain her curiosity. ¡°Could it be that my information was wrong? Or did you encounter some special circumstances, why did it take so long...¡± ¡°Your information was indeed incorrect, there weren¡¯t just a few Level 2 Zombies but dozens of them.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Ah? Dozens of Level 2 Zombies! How did you survive that?!¡± Zhang Hong was startled. With her current ability, although she couldn¡¯t beat a few Level 2 Zombies, she could escape as long as they weren¡¯t particularly powerful Level 2 Zombies. But with dozens of Level 2 Zombies, she¡¯d have nowhere to run! ¡°There wasn¡¯t much danger because the zombies were all in the grass. I used gasoline to set fire to them and burned them all to death... ¡± Wang Tao briefly described the situation, naturally hiding the specific details of his gains. ¡°...¡± After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Zhang Hong was dumbfounded. Burned to death... Dozens of Level 2 Zombies?! How many Level 2 Crystal Cores could that be?! Zhang Hong was always a decisive person, someone who doesn¡¯t regret her actions, but now, she suddenly felt some regret¡ªnot for telling Wang Tao about the Level 2 Zombies but for not going with Wang Tao herself! Back then, Wang Tao even asked her if she wanted to go with him. Considering her subordinates¡¯ safety, she naturally didn¡¯t go, since the Level 2 combat might have involved them. But who could have expected Wang Tao would just start a fire and effortlessly burn all those Level 2 Zombies to death! If she had gone with him at that time, she could have gotten at least a few Level 2 Crystal Cores... Inside the off-road vehicle, Wang Tao listened to the silence on the other side and could not help but smile, saying: ¡°Boss Yang, are you feeling regretful?¡± He wasn¡¯t mocking her, just jesting a little. Zhang Hong was straightforward, saying with a wry smile: ¡°...I do feel a bit of regret for not going with you. Next time, if there is another chance like this, please make sure to bring me along!¡± ¡°Haha, sure thing.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. ¡°Ahem, about that... do you have any Level 2 Crystal Cores that you don¡¯t need? I would like to buy one...¡± Zhang Hong asked somewhat embarrassingly. ¡°I do have quite a lot of unneeded Level 2 Crystal Cores, and I feel quite a few of them would be suitable for you, but... what price are you offering?¡± For his own people, the crystal cores Wang Tao had would certainly be free. However, for outsiders, he couldn¡¯t give them out for free, even though he had many crystal cores now. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Zhang Hong sighed with relief temporarily. She had been worried that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t sell the crystal cores after all, they were Level 2 Crystal Cores, which were exceedingly precious since there were hardly any second-order superpower owners to find nowadays. As long as Wang Tao was willing to sell, she stood a chance. But when she thought about the fact that these were Level 2 Crystal Cores, she realized she didn¡¯t have anything of high value to trade, which made Zhang Hong fall silent... She had never felt so poor before! ¡°...I¡¯ll think about it properly.¡± Zhang Hong spoke in a low voice. Wang Tao heard the helplessness in her tone and then said with a laugh: ¡°Okay, we can trade at any time. But to thank you for recommending this place to me, I can give you one for free... Let¡¯s talk about it tonight.¡± Even though Zhang Hong was still an outsider at the moment, she did inform Wang Tao about the place, so it was natural for him to express his gratitude. ¡°Ah? Thank you so much!¡± Zhang Hong quickly expressed her thanks. She was actually very interested in a shockwave crystal core, as she had never encountered a shockwave zombie before, nor seen this ability. Last time, when she saw Xu Xiaojun instantly kill a group of zombies with a single move, she was very envious. However, since this was a crystal core Wang Tao was giving her, she had no reason to make demands, so she said no more. On the other side, Wang Tao glanced at the crystal cores inside his Space Backpack. He indeed had a lot of Level 2 Crystal Cores, but he couldn¡¯t possibly give Zhang Hong a shockwave crystal core since he needed them himself. As for what exactly to give, he would communicate with Zhang Hong tonight to decide, after all, he still didn¡¯t know what abilities Zhang Hong possessed. The convoy did not travel quickly. After all, the faster they went, the more noise they would make, which could attract some unnecessary trouble. The journey was smooth, encountering only a few Level 1 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao and the other two didn¡¯t take action; Zhang Hong¡¯s people handled it instead. Level 1 Elite Zombies could increase the HP limit and also provide crystal cores, which was a decent gain for them. Naturally, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to compete with them for these small gains. At dusk, the convoy stopped outside a parking lot. Zhang Hong was planning to set up camp here while the sun had not yet set. ¡°Based on our current speed, it should take us about four to five days to reach Zijing City,¡± Zhang Hong said while coming to Wang Tao with a pancake, speaking while she chewed. ¡°Four to five days... That¡¯s quite fast.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Having a vehicle made a difference; when he and Jiang Shixue had no car, it took them a long while just to walk from one town to another. ¡°What are your plans after reaching Zijing City?¡± Zhang Hong asked again. ¡°Me? I might go look at the Survivor Base in Zijing City, if there is one. Then I plan to head to Wuyang City.¡± Wang Tao answered. ¡°Hmm? Wuyang City?¡± Zhang Hong was somewhat surprised, as although Wuyang City was next to Zijing City, there was still the distance between two cities, which was not close. Chapter 388: 180 Colonel Luo_2 Chapter 388: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_2 Moreover, Zijing City and Wuyang City are both cities with large populations, especially Wuyang City, which is the capital of Wuyang Province, with a population of over ten million! The urban population alone is nearly ten million! You can imagine how many zombies there would be in such a place! Yang Changhong felt that Wang Tao could really outdo her in stirring up trouble... Although she joked about being an apocalypse nomad, deep down, she still hoped to find a place to settle down. If there was a large Survivor Base in Zijing City, she might just stay there... ¡°I¡¯m going to check out the military base first.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything and spoke directly. ¡°The military base! You mean the one that does the airdrops? No wonder...¡± Yang Changhong suddenly realized. If he was heading to the military base, it made sense, after all, even fools knew that military bases had strong military force and were definitely safe. Although it meant a longer journey, if one could reach the military base, it would be worth it. Therefore, Yang Changhong didn¡¯t continue on that topic. At this moment, a buzzing sound came from the sky. ¡°Airdrop!¡± Already very familiar with the sound of airdrops, Wang Tao immediately looked up. Indeed, a small black dot appeared at the edge of the sky, a military transport plane. Compared to Wang Tao¡¯s calmness, the others were initially stunned, but once they realized what was happening, their faces lit up with excitement. ¡°It¡¯s an airdrop!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve finally seen another airdrop!¡± ¡°We have to keep a closer eye this time so we don¡¯t lose track of the airdrop again!¡± ¡°But the last airdrop was randomly dropped; it left no trace. Unless it drops now, or we can keep up with it, then...¡± After observing the plane¡¯s flight direction, Yang Changhong shouted to Wang Tao outside the car: ¡°Wang Tao, what do you say? Shall we chase after the airdrop together? Whoever gets it, keeps it, deal?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do it together then.¡± Wang Tao nodded. After getting a response from Wang Tao, Yang Changhong immediately called out to everyone. ¡°Get ready, we¡¯re going to follow the plane! Keep your eyes peeled!¡± ¡°Yes! Boss!¡± Everyone was also very excited, leaving some to keep watch while the others focused intently on the sky. A moment later, Yang Changhong cheered: ¡°We¡¯re in luck this time! The plane is flying along the road! We should be able to follow for a while!¡± Last time they saw an airdrop plane, it hadn¡¯t flown along the road, so Yang Changhong and her group only managed to follow it for a short distance before losing track, ending up with no airdrops¡ªalthough they had seen one, which Wang Tao got to first. This time, they couldn¡¯t afford another mistake! Roar¡ª The engines of several vehicles roared as they accelerated forward. Although the plane hadn¡¯t flown over yet, it was on this route; all they had to do was follow the road. After all, the plane was too fast, and it was impossible for their vehicles to catch up with it; they could only hope to spot any airdrops during the pursuit. If there were no airdrops at all, it would just mean bad luck... Watching everyone¡¯s enthusiastic chase after the airdrop, Wang Tao found it quite amusing. Xu Xiaojun was driving; he didn¡¯t have much experience with chasing airdrops, so Wang Tao told him to just stick close to the convoy. Wang Tao then took out a military walkie-talkie. This walkie-talkie was from an airdrop they had found a few days ago and could connect to military equipment. Of course, just having the equipment wasn¡¯t enough; to contact the military, you needed to know the correct channels, passwords, and so on. And Wang Tao just happened to know all of this! The first airdrop he found in Shuize County had three pieces of paper in it, one of which contained the method for contacting Wuyang Military Base! Although he lost that piece of paper while fleeing for his life, the content was etched firmly in Wang Tao¡¯s memory. Wang Tao had a sudden idea¡ªcould he use the walkie-talkie to contact the plane? In theory, it should be possible. After all, this was a high-powered military walkie-talkie produced by Wuyang Military Base... Wang Tao began to adjust it according to his memory. Soon, the walkie-talkie was set up. ¡°Can anyone hear me, this is survivor Wang Tao!¡± ¡°Can anyone hear me, this is survivor Wang Tao!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Sizzle...Sizzle...¡± Wang Tao called out a few times into the walkie-talkie, but only a static sound buzzed in response. He didn¡¯t feel disappointed and kept trying. ¡°The plane is coming!¡± Over the car¡¯s walkie-talkie, Yang Changhong¡¯s voice sounded. Wang Tao looked up and through the sunroof, he could see a plane about to pass overhead. ¡°Isn¡¯t it dropping the airdrop yet...¡± Everyone silently prayed, hoping for the airdrop to be dropped quickly. However, their prayers seemed to have no effect on the plane. Watching as the plane was about to fly past them, everyone felt a sense of helplessness. Yang Changhong also seemed somewhat dejected. If the airdrop could be dropped at this time, it would be ideal, as they would be able to retrieve it quickly. But if the plane flew past and then dropped the airdrop, they would truly need to pursue it. Then, they could face the scenario where the airdrop was snatched up by Wang Tao again. Of course, there was still some hope. The worst-case scenario would be if the plane didn¡¯t drop any airdrops at all, or if the airdrops had already been completely dropped... then it would all have been excitement for nothing. Inside Wang Tao¡¯s car. Wang Tao kept an eye on the plane overhead while frequently using the walkie-talkie. At his current location, he should be the closest to the plane in terms of the walkie-talkie¡¯s range. If he waited until the plane flew past, there would be no chance at all. ¡°Can anyone hear me, this is survivor Wang Tao! I¡¯m right below you!¡± Chapter 389: 180 Colonel Luo_3 Chapter 389: Chapter 180 Colonel Luo_3 ¡°Can anyone hear me, I am survivor Wang Tao! I¡¯m right below you!¡± ¡°...¡± After sending several messages in a row, Wang Tao paused for a while to see if there was any response. The walkie-talkie can¡¯t talk and listen at the same time, so after speaking, there has to be a pause to see what the other party has to say. ¡°Zzz... Zzz...¡± It was still the sound of static. Just as the plane was about to fly over his head, and Wang Tao thought all hope was lost, suddenly¡ª ¡°Zzz... Survivor... Hello... Zzz...¡± Wang Tao, who had been leaning back in his chair, suddenly sat up. There was a response! He looked at Jiang Shixue beside him, who nodded seriously. ¡°Brother, someone spoke.¡± Indeed, it wasn¡¯t an illusion! Wang Tao immediately pressed the talk button again. ¡°My name is Wang Tao, may I ask who I am speaking to!¡± ¡°Zzz... My name is... Zzz... Luo Guozhong... Military rank... Colonel...¡± The signal might not have been great, as it felt like the other party spoke very slowly, and some content was missing; the voice also came with static, but at least he heard the key words clearly. Now that they could communicate, Wang Tao unashamedly started to make requests. ¡°Colonel Luo Guozhong, can you drop us some airdrops! We¡¯re a group of survivors right below your plane! Thank you!¡± ¡°Zzz... Below... Survivors... Zzz... Wait a moment...¡± ¡°Huh? Does that mean yes?¡± Wang Tao had only mentioned it casually, not expecting the other party to actually agree! He immediately used the vehicle-mounted walkie-talkie to address everyone in the convoy: ¡°Attention everyone! Airdrops are about to fall!¡± ¡°Attention everyone! Airdrops are about to fall!¡± ¡°Attention everyone! Airdrops are about to fall!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The crowd was a bit stunned; the plane hadn¡¯t dropped anything on its way and seemed like it was about to leave, so they had already given up hope. An airdrop now? And that wasn¡¯t even the main point; the main point was, how did Wang Tao know? Could he even predict it? But before people could ponder further, they saw a small black dot suddenly drop from the rear of the plane. Then the second, the third... five black dots appeared in a row! ¡°Airdrops! They are really airdrops!¡± The crowd was completely dumbfounded; had Wang Tao really predicted this? Were Level 2 Ability users that terrifying? ¡°Quick! Everyone else in groups of two vehicles, and I will pair up with Wang Tao separately to collect the airdrops!¡± Although Zhang Hong was also shocked, he quickly assigned tasks to everyone. With five airdrops and eight vehicles, they split into five groups. Although the plane had dropped five airdrops one after the other, because of its high speed, there was a significant gap between where each of the airdrops would land. To be efficient, it was naturally better to split up and collect them. After the assignments, seven vehicles instantly dispersed, each heading towards the direction of the airdrops. As for Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle, it continued to move forward since the airdrop he was collecting was the last one, the farthest from the rest. Of course, Wang Tao also wanted to talk more with the people on the plane. ¡°Colonel Luo, does the Government still have a military? What is the situation across the nation now? What is the status of your military base? I want to seek refuge in your military base; that shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?¡± Wang Tao hurriedly asked all the questions he had in mind. Had the environment been suitable and there had been an airstrip nearby, Wang Tao might have even asked Colonel Luo to stop the plane for a moment and give him a ride¡ªalthough it was a bit of wishful thinking, there was still a slight possibility. Fearing that the other party couldn¡¯t hear clearly, Wang Tao repeated his words several times. After a moment, a voice came through again. ¡°Zzz... Our base... Safe... Not safe... We provide shelter... Don¡¯t come... Zzz...¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao frowned. How could it be safe one moment, not safe the next, offering shelter then telling people not to come? Wasn¡¯t this contradictory? The poor signal might have resulted in key information not coming through, which was rather frustrating. As the plane began to move away from him, Wang Tao quickly said: ¡°Colonel Luo Guozhong, my name is Wang Tao! I will be going to your base! I hope I can see you next time!¡± He had to make sure the other party remembered his name, at least to become somewhat familiar. ¡°Zzz... Wang Tao... Zzz... Zzz...¡± The hoarse voice of the other party muttered Wang Tao¡¯s name and then the signal was lost. The plane slowly turned into a small black dot in Wang Tao¡¯s view before gradually disappearing. Looking up at the clear sky, Wang Tao felt a small regret. Even though he had made contact with the colonel pilot, unfortunately, he didn¡¯t get much information. But at least he had made himself known, which might be useful in the future. For now, the military base seemed to be very safe, and he wouldn¡¯t change his plan to go there. ¡°Little Jun, let¡¯s go collect the airdrop.¡± Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun as they had already passed the airdrop location while he was busy making contact with the pilot. ¡°Sure!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately turned the vehicle around, excitedly heading towards the recent airdrop that had landed. Soon, the SUV arrived near the airdrop. Luckily, this airdrop had landed right on the roof of a two-story building beside the road, emitting red smoke and was highly visible. There was no further need to look for it. Wang Tao got out of the car and with a sprint, quickly climbed up. He didn¡¯t open the airdrop there; instead, he pushed the crate off the roof. Thud¡ª The airdrop crate fell onto the grass beside it. Xu Xiaojun immediately rolled up his sleeves, lifted the entire crate, and then placed it on the roof of the SUV. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s regroup.¡± The vehicle drove back for a while, and soon they saw the first vehicle, the second vehicle... Before long, all eight vehicles regrouped. An excited Zhang Hong spoke into the vehicle¡¯s walkie-talkie: ¡°We collected all five airdrops! Let¡¯s go, the sun¡¯s setting, we need to find a place to rest!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± The rest of the group was equally excited; they had never before experienced such a bountiful haul. Chapter 390: 181: Mechanical Right Arm_1 Chapter 390: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_1 This was a dilapidated little village. A few emaciated zombies sat at the entrance of the village, basked in the afterglow of the setting sun, motionless, as if dead. Suddenly, the buzzing sound of an engine approached, and a number of vehicles appeared slowly. The zombies lifted their heads, issuing hoarse roars, standing up, and advanced toward the source of the noise. A tall figure suddenly jumped out of a vehicle, swinging a Giant Axe and unleashing a Shockwave. Pfft! All the zombies were shattered to pieces. The vehicles scattered instantly. ¡°Everyone check around! See if there are any remaining zombies!¡± The voice of Zhang Hong came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Yes!¡± The people responded, disembarking from their vehicles, examining each house with weapons in hand. Wang Tao and two others also got out of the car to swiftly inspect the surroundings. ¡°No problems here!¡± ¡°No issues on my end either!¡± ¡°All clear...¡± The inspection concluded quickly, and everyone reconvened in the square at the center of the village. Zhang Hong directed everyone to start setting up camp and establishing Defense measures. By the time everything was ready, night had fallen. Gathered together, everyone hastily ate something before eagerly fixing their gaze on the five airdrop crates in the middle. Before opening the airdrop, Zhang Hong asked Wang Tao in a hushed voice: ¡°How did you know there was an airdrop today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a fortune-teller.¡± Wang Tao responded with a smile. He had no intention of revealing his contact with Colonel Luo, after all, it¡¯s good to keep some secrets, right? Seeing that Wang Tao was unwilling to elaborate, Zhang Hong gave him a flirtatious glare, not pressing further. Then, with a cough and a face full of anticipation and excitement, she waved towards everyone. ¡°Open the airdrop crates.¡± Like the previous airdrop crates, a password was required to open them, but the password was a simple arithmetic problem that anyone literate could solve. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t overly excited since he was still recalling the events of the afternoon when he¡¯d made contact with the pilot of the airdrop plane. He felt he should pay more attention to airplanes in the future, striving to make contact more often... Click~ Under everyone¡¯s watchful eyes, the first airdrop crate was opened. Upon seeing the five large boxes of Inhibitors inside, everyone was so thrilled they nearly jumped for joy. One box of Inhibitors held 20 bottles, so five boxes amounted to 100 bottles! 100 bottles of Inhibitors! That could save so many lives! With these, everyone need not live in the fear they had before! Zhang Hong took out all the Inhibitors and distributed them among the people. There were 13 of them, plus the three including Wang Tao, which made 16 in total. Each person, including Wang Tao¡¯s group, got five bottles, and the remaining 20 bottles were kept by Zhang Hong, meaning she had 25 bottles for herself. Wang Tao was slightly surprised; he hadn¡¯t expected to receive a share. After all, the previous arrangement had been that whoever got to the airdrop first would keep it. As for Zhang Hong having the most, that was only normal. The leader should definitely get more. In the post-apocalyptic world, to share resources equally and ensure everyone was treated the same was not to say without any meaning, just that it was hard to achieve. It was better to concentrate resources at the top, creating a strong leader in possession of them. This airdrop also included a Monster Manual, which Zhang Hong took a look at. Finding it to be the same as the one Wang Tao had shown her, she didn¡¯t look further and passed the manual to the others. Then she opened the second airdrop. The second airdrop contained a device. ¡°What¡¯s this? A Crystal Core Synthesizer?¡± Everyone was curious, having only ever seen a Crystal Core Synthesizer before, though the device also looked somewhat different. ¡°This is an Energy Detector. After inserting blood, it can check whether a human is infected with the virus, how many impurities are in the body, what the Energy Level is...¡± Wang Tao explained. Shuize Base had already acquired an Energy Detector, but its design was a bit different from this one, which must be an improved version. ¡°An Energy Detector!¡± Zhang Hong¡¯s eyes lit up. She quickly searched through the contents and found a manual. Indeed, as Wang Tao had said, it was an Energy Detector. Only, this one didn¡¯t require blood. Any body tissue would do, such as hair, nails, skin flakes, and so on, which was much safer and more convenient than drawing blood. However, according to the instructions, the human tissue must have been shed within a few hours¡ªor the results would not be accurate. This made things much easier compared to the past, but the issue of energy had not been solved; it still required a large amount of electricity. Of course, compared to the Crystal Core Synthesizer, this Energy Detector consumed a lot less power. Zhang Hong decided to try it out. She couldn¡¯t afford the power consumption of the Crystal Core Synthesizer, but the Energy Detector¡¯s power consumption was manageable. So, Zhang Hong immediately fetched some cables and started the Energy Detector. Humming~ The detector vibrated slightly, the green indicator light came on, signaling it was ready for use. Zhang Hong plucked out one of her hairs and placed it in the machine¡¯s detection slot. A moment later, the small LED screen on the device displayed the information. [Energy: Level 2] [Impurities: Level 2] ¡°...Is that it?¡± Zhang Hong was somewhat disappointed; she had expected it to reveal much more data, but it only indicated a Level Two Energy and Level Two Impurities. About these impurity levels, she had already read the manual, and Level Two was still within the safe range. Level Three was slightly dangerous, Level Four was somewhat risky, and Level Five was extremely dangerous! ¡°Wang Tao, won¡¯t you give it a try? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t charge you for the electricity!¡± Chapter 391 - 181: Mechanical Right Arm_2 Chapter 391: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_2 Zhang Hong suddenly looked at Wang Tao and said. Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders and didn¡¯t refuse; he plucked a strand of his hair to give it a try. [Energy: Level 2] [Impurities: Level 1] His energy was also at Level 2, but the internal impurity in his body was less than Zhang Hong¡¯s. Zhang Hong had already informed her teammates of Wang Tao¡¯s Level Two strength, so nobody was too shocked. However, the fact that Wang Tao¡¯s internal impurity was only at Level 1 aroused everyone¡¯s curiosity. They were both Second-order Ability Users, so why did Wang Tao have fewer internal impurities than Zhang Hong? Then, Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to give it a try, and just like Wang Tao, he too was at Level 2 energy with Level 1 impurity. Zhang Hong was speechless for a moment as she watched this unfold. It was one thing for Wang Tao to have fewer impurities within him, but for Xu Xiaojun to also have so little? That wasn¡¯t scientific! She had been extremely cautious when fusing with Crystal Cores, and still, she had accumulated so many impurities... There was only one possibility: Wang Tao was very lucky, or rather, they had obtained a lot of Crystal Cores! They must have synthesized them using purple or higher-level Crystal Cores, which had a low failure rate! Zhang Hong felt a bit envious. Internal impurities were like a ticking time bomb; if you had too many, who knows when you might turn into a zombie... Wang Tao was unaware of her thoughts. He noticed Jiang Shixue, who seemed eager to try, and quickly held her back. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t worried about Jiang Shixue revealing her strength; he was concerned that her high level of internal impurity might frighten the others. After all, she had a hundred percent internal impurity. If a Level 5 popped up on the display, probably nobody would be able to sleep well tonight. Zhang Hong had everyone else test as well, and they were basically Level 1 Ability Users, so their impurity levels were not high, all at Level 1, within an acceptable range. Zhang Hong instructed to keep the device safe, then she opened the third supply drop box. This supply drop box contained various medical supplies. As before, everyone received a share. She herself kept a slightly larger portion. The fourth supply drop box contained all sorts of food, like compressed biscuits, energy bars, and the like. Seeing these foods, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Although eating these things regularly would definitely get tedious, having them occasionally was quite nice, akin to a treat. The fifth supply drop box was the one Wang Tao received. According to the previous agreement, whoever received it owned it. The first four were Zhang Hong¡¯s, and this one was Wang Tao¡¯s. However, Wang Tao was not stingy. If it contained food or medicines, he wouldn¡¯t mind sharing some. He asked Little Jun to open the box, but everyone was stunned by the contents. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s this?¡± Inside the box was a... black Mechanical Arm? To be accurate, it should be an Exoskeleton Arm! But this Mechanical Arm was bigger than Wang Tao expected, as it needed to be strapped not just to the arm, but also to the shoulder and waist. An arm alone wouldn¡¯t have the leverage to exert force effectively. Wang Tao checked the instruction manual. As expected, it was a product from the Hope Research Institute, which they described as an electrically-powered Mechanical Exoskeleton for the left arm. This Mechanical Arm could greatly enhance the user¡¯s strength, being excellent for both close combat and carrying heavy items. But it had a flaw: high energy consumption. With the current battery situation, it could only last for at most an hour... and, the manual stated, it was a prototype. The Hope Research Institute, after conducting research, found that the energy within Crystal Cores was abundant. They aimed to create a sort of Mechanical Exoskeleton powered by Crystal Core Energy. Unfortunately, they had not made much progress in Crystal Core Energy yet. Their planned final version was a full-body exoskeleton powered by Crystal Core Energy. Thus, this current model powered by conventional electricity and consisting of only one arm is a prototype. The reason for having only one arm was not because they couldn¡¯t create more, but because the energy consumption was high. When powered, it was economical on effort, but without power, it would become a burden. If it was a full-body exoskeleton, one wouldn¡¯t even be able to walk once the power was out. Wang Tao tried it on and was left somewhat speechless. This device could be useful for others, but for him... it was quite superfluous. Firstly, it affected his flexibility, which was far inferior to Entangling Roots. Secondly, although it did offer a strength boost, this bonus wasn¡¯t a simple addition of a certain amount of strength. To maximize its power, the user¡¯s muscles needed to coordinate properly. The stronger and more physically fit the user, the more convenient it was to use. If someone with weaker strength and poorer physique used it, they might deliver a powerful punch, only to trip over themselves. Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition was quite good, but using this Exoskeleton Arm in a fight would significantly impair his speed. While his strength might increase, his speed would decrease, which actually represented a net loss for him. Last of all, there was the issue of battery life. After powering up the Mechanical Arm, he didn¡¯t find it uncomfortable. But the moment he turned off the power supply, Wang Tao instantly felt like he was carrying a lump on his shoulder. Although this weight was trivial for him, it was definitely uncomfortable. Moreover, when he tried to move his arm, it felt awkward and robot-like, which was a bit distressing... Chapter 392 - 181: Mechanical Right Arm_3 Chapter 392: Chapter 181: Mechanical Right Arm_3 Of course, that doesn¡¯t mean the mechanical left arm was completely useless. Firstly, the material¡ªthough its exact metal was unknown, and slightly heavy¡ªit was not only highly durable but also exhibited a significant degree of toughness! Things that are too rigid can easily break, but this material had both hardness and toughness, seemingly designed for battle. Then there was the battery, which used some sort of advanced technology; the battery itself wasn¡¯t large. Its portability was quite good. Last of all, the charging method for the mechanical right arm¡ªit would charge with any motion. Normal activities like walking or running could fully recharge it. Of course, it could also be charged in the usual way by plugging it in. So, in terms of recharging the energy, it was quite convenient. ¡°Little Jun, you try it.¡± Wang Tao took off the mechanical left arm and let Xu Xiaojun give it a try. Unexpectedly, what Wang Tao found awkward to use, Xu Xiaojun found exceedingly handy. As the saying goes, raw strength can overcome any skill. This was exactly Xu Xiaojun¡¯s situation. He was naturally large in stature and possessed a Power ability. Therefore, his strength surpassed Wang Tao¡¯s. As long as one¡¯s own strength is sufficient and body weight is considerable, wearing the mechanical arm would have minimal side effects, if any at all. Moreover, Xu Xiaojun was not a speed-type Ability User, so it did not affect his agility and speed¡ªbecause he was naturally not fast. ¡°Since it¡¯s not a problem for you to use it, then it¡¯s yours,¡± Wang Tao shook his head and said. He couldn¡¯t get used to it and Jiang Shixue was even less suitable. With her small frame, it was difficult to even keep the exoskeleton stable. Thus, Xu Xiaojun was the best fit. ¡°Great!¡± Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t stand on ceremony this time because he could see that Wang Tao truly felt uncomfortable using the device, while he himself found it quite comfortable. Wang Tao shared his experience and the pros and cons of the mechanical right arm with Yang Changhong and the others. Although the gadget wasn¡¯t going to be given to them, it was still fine to share some information about it. Everyone was initially envious, as it was a device that could enhance combat power, but after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s experience, their envy disappeared¡ªthey didn¡¯t have the physique of Xu Xiaojun, and on them, the device would most likely become a burden. Wang Tao specifically let Yang Changhong try it as well, and they all watched as her expression shifted from curiosity and excitement to utter despair. ¡°No, I really can¡¯t handle this...¡± Yang Changhong quickly returned the device to Xu Xiaojun. She wasn¡¯t strong; speed was her specialty. The mechanical arm significantly weakened her when worn, considering her abilities. ¡°If only there were a complete mechanical exoskeleton... but then energy would be a big problem... However, achieving this level already is pretty good, and hopefully, we can truly figure out how to use the energy from the Crystal Core later!¡± Wang Tao said to himself as he stroked his chin, watching Xu Xiaojun refit the mechanical right arm to his body. After all the airdropped supplies were dealt with, Wang Tao had a private conversation with Yang Changhong about Abilities. After all, he had promised to give her a Crystal Core, but he needed to understand her abilities first. ¡°I have three Abilities. Actually, I had fused with four, but I transferred one to someone else...¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s words piqued Wang Tao¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Transferred to someone else? Can you explain in detail how you did that?¡± Wang Tao knew that Abilities could be transferred during Ascension, but he had never witnessed a transfer. Yang Changhong was the first person he encountered who had done so, and he wanted to understand the details. ¡°I can¡¯t explain it very well, but at the time, I just had this feeling that I could transfer it, and then when I held the other person¡¯s hand, I transferred the Ability... After the transfer, I suddenly felt much more comfortable...¡± Yang Changhong explained with a furrowed brow. After listening, Wang Tao pondered in silence for a while. According to Zhang Hong, she had fused four abilities, and each ability had been fused to +10, but only one ability used the Ascension crystal core. Just like Wei Zhen Guo before. There was danger at that time, and she had no time to wait for the second Ascension crystal core, so she directly used a Crystal Core to ascend. After the Ascension, she felt that she could pass on this second-order ability to someone else, so she immediately did so. After the inheritance, she felt that some energy had been drained from her body, though not sure how much, but it was definitely less. And her combat power had significantly dropped, after all, losing a Level Two ability. However, she felt very comfortable... Wang Tao observed and deduced that after the inheritance, she must have lost 1000 mana because now she has 3200 mana. If all her abilities were at +10, then this amount of mana would make sense. As for her feeling comfortable, that was naturally because some internal impurities had been removed. However, after the inheritance, there was one thing that distressed her¡ªshe found that she couldn¡¯t fuse Level 1 abilities anymore! This was also why, even though she had many Level 1 Crystal Cores, she did not continue to fuse new abilities. ¡°Second-order superpower owners cannot fuse Level 1 crystal cores anymore?¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brow. Because he felt that he himself seemed to be able to continue fusing Level 1 Crystal Cores. Was he different from others in terms of fusing crystal cores as well? But he hadn¡¯t tried it yet, so he wasn¡¯t one hundred percent sure. ¡°I¡¯ll have to try it out later...¡± After all, whether he could fuse Level 1 Crystal Cores was crucial to his ability upgrading plan. ¡°By the way, who did you pass your ability on to?¡± Wang Tao was curious; she had actually passed on her only Level Two ability... That was true love! ¡°...My sister.¡± Zhang Hong spoke with a tinge of melancholy. ¡°You have a sister? Then she...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°Went missing... During the danger we encountered earlier, I led the zombies away to let her run first. But when I escaped the danger and went back to look for her, she was nowhere to be found. I searched for a long time but never found her. Later, I ran into a group of survivors, and they suggested I go to Zijing City to check. Because the survivors in this area are all trying to make their way to Zijing City, I heard that there is a Survivor Base there...¡± Zhang Hong¡¯s expression was very sad. In the post-apocalyptic world, going missing is almost equivalent to death. However, her sister was after all an ability user who had inherited a Level 2 ability, so it was difficult to say whether she was dead or not. ¡°She definitely will be very lucky.¡± Wang Tao comforted her. ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it...¡± Zhang Hong gave a wry smile. ¡°Let¡¯s talk more about your abilities.¡± Wang Tao continued. ¡°My current three abilities are, first, to increase speed for a certain duration; second, to conceal my presence, making it difficult for zombies to detect me; and third, to make the weapon in my hand vibrate at a high frequency...¡± Chapter 393: 182: Tide of Corpses_1 Chapter 393: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_1 Yang Changhong mentioned three Abilities, two of which Wang Tao was quite interested in. The first Ability was one that could continuously increase speed. Wang Tao had always valued speed, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have any speed-related Abilities of his own. The Rush Ability could only be considered a displacement Ability, and because it was an innate part of the suit, it had many limitations and couldn¡¯t be used continuously. Wang Tao felt that Yang Changhong¡¯s Speed Ability was pretty good, especially since it was a continuous one. Since Wang Tao¡¯s Barrier was also a continuous power, he thought maybe he could try to see if they could be combined... The second Ability Wang Tao was interested in was Yang Changhong¡¯s that made weapons vibrate at a high frequency. ¡°How do you make it vibrate? Is it faster than my single for twenty years hand speed? Why don¡¯t you show me so I can have a look?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Yang Changhong¡¯s face suddenly reddened, and she glared at him. ¡°...Don¡¯t get the wrong idea; it¡¯s not what you think!¡± ¡°Eh? Didn¡¯t you say that it¡¯s about making the weapon vibrate at a high frequency? What¡¯s there to misunderstand¡ªoh~¡± Wang Tao paused for a moment before he had an epiphany and made an enlightened ¡°oh¡± sound. ¡°...Get lost!¡± Yang Changhong hit Wang Tao. She felt he was doing it on purpose and quickly changed the subject. ¡°Watch closely, then.¡± She took out the machete from her waist and held it in her hand. Buzz, buzz~ Suddenly, Wang Tao heard a faint buzzing sound and looked at the knife in Yang Changhong¡¯s hand, not visually noticing any vibration. Then he saw Yang Changhong holding the knife and lightly swinging it at a withered stump nearby. Sputter¡ª The stump was instantly split into two! Wang Tao saw it clearly, Yang Changhong really didn¡¯t use much strength; just a casual flick of the wrist had split the stump! Although Wang Tao could also split stumps, he relied purely on brute force, which was completely different from Yang Changhong¡¯s method. ¡°Impressive!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed in admiration. To tell the truth, he really liked this Ability! If he had this Ability and paired it with his strength, then how powerful would a single chop be? ¡°Alas, what¡¯s so great about it. It might look impressive, but in reality, there are a lot of limitations... This Ability consumes a lot of energy, and it¡¯s not like Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Shockwave, which has an area of effect attack...¡± Yang Changhong sighed. Her Ability did high damage, but it also had many shortcomings. In fact, she preferred to have a Ranged Attack Ability because the closer she was to the zombies, the greater the danger... Wang Tao asked: ¡°What kind of Ability do you want next? I think Rush, Jump, Toughness, Self-healing, and so on would all suit you well.¡± Wang Tao rattled off several Abilities in one breath and briefly explained the functions of these Abilities. Yang Changhong listened with a look of anticipation. These Abilities all sounded really good! However, after Wang Tao finished speaking, she suddenly interjected: ¡°Cough, are there any Abilities for Ranged Attacks?¡± ¡°Ranged Attack?¡± Wang Tao had been recommending based on close combat capabilities, not expecting Yang Changhong to want a ranged one. If talking about Ranged Attack Abilities, Precision Shooting was the only one, but that was a Crystal Core Wang Tao couldn¡¯t possibly give away as he needed it for himself. Apart from Precision Shooting, only Throwing Master and Spittle Nail could be considered ranged, though they were actually more mid-range. As for Shockwave, its attack distance wasn¡¯t long, certainly much shorter compared to these Abilities. ¡°There are ranged ones too, namely Spittle Nail and Throwing Master.¡± Wang Tao introduced the two Abilities separately. After listening, Yang Changhong¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. ¡°Can I have the Spittle Nail Crystal Core?¡± This surprised Wang Tao, as he thought she would prefer Throwing Master. Yang Changhong¡¯s reasoning was actually quite simple. Throwing Master seemed convenient as it allowed throwing a variety of objects, but the prerequisite was having throwable weapons; you can¡¯t just pluck a hair to throw, that¡¯s not realistic. But Spittle Nail was different; it stored one-tenth of the food swallowed and then could spit it out like a hidden weapon! As for eating, she did it with every meal, so there would never be a shortage of ¡®weapons,¡¯ plus it was stored in her stomach, no need to carry extra weapons, making for a surprise attack! ¡°Spittle Nail? No problem.¡± Wang Tao moved his awareness into his Space Backpack, then synthesized an Epic Spittle Nail Crystal Core and took it out. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Spittle Nail] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (side effects: none)] [Spittle Nail: Can store one-tenth of swallowed food in the stomach and spit it out as a weapon] ¡°An Orange Crystal Core!¡± Seeing the Crystal Core in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, Yang Changhong was shocked. Having survived in the post-apocalyptic world for so long, she had only seen an Orange Crystal Core once, and it was a Level 1 Self-Destruct Crystal Core... and now Wang Tao casually pulled out a Level Two Epic Crystal Core? And it was exactly what she needed! Since Wang Tao had promised a gift, of course, he would try to give away an Excellent or Epic Crystal Core, anything of lower quality would be embarrassing to offer. Moreover, he happened to have several Spittle Nail Crystal Cores, so he used two Ordinary and one Excellent to synthesize an Epic Crystal Core. ¡°Is this... really for me?¡± Yang Changhong was still somewhat incredulous; after all, the Crystal Core was too precious. ¡°Of course, my word is my bond,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Chapter 394: 182: Tide of Corpses_2 Chapter 394: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_2 Yang Changhong had provided him with the information about that reservoir, which not only included the yield of Level 3 monsters but also the Level 2 zombies that allowed Wang Tao to earn nearly a hundred Level 2 Crystal Cores! It was only natural for him to give Yang Changhong a small Epic Crystal Core as a finder¡¯s fee. Once Yang Changhong was certain that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t joking, she immediately took the Crystal Core into her hand. After quietly admiring it for a while, she looked up at Wang Tao with a very grateful expression. Level 2 Crystal Cores were already very precious, and ones that were suited for her were even more valuable. She had previously possessed three Crystal Cores, but unfortunately, she didn¡¯t know their effects and had been afraid to use them herself. Later, she exchanged them with Wang Tao. Now this Spittle Nail Epic Crystal Core was far more valuable to her than those three Crystal Cores! ¡°Thank you!¡± Yang Changhong expressed her gratitude sincerely. ¡°No need to be so polite. If you run into trouble with zombies or monsters in the future, just come to me. If I make any gains, I will definitely give you a referral fee,¡± Wang Tao said, thumping his chest. Yang Changhong shook her head helplessly. She had only come across a situation with so many Level 2 zombies bunched together once. ¡°By the way, do you want this thing? We can negotiate a price.¡± Wang Tao pulled out a Magical Stomach Pouch. This Magical Stomach Pouch and the Spittle Nail Crystal Core were both drops from the same zombie. ¡°A Magical Stomach Pouch that can store food! Yes¡ª¡± Yang Changhong instinctively said she wanted it, but quickly came to her senses and her face turned bitter. ¡°But I don¡¯t have anything to trade with you now... These are the only things of value I have left...¡± She took out some Crystal Cores, all of which were Level 1. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very interested in those Level 1 Crystal Cores, but his eyes lit up when he saw several of them. [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡¤ Full Speed] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: During the duration, physical strength consumption is doubled)] [Full Speed: Speed is increased for the duration.] This was an Ability called ¡°Full Speed,¡± which was Yang Changhong¡¯s very first Ability, and also one that Wang Tao liked. However, the side effect seemed a bit uncomfortable. It was supposed to be an Ability for long-duration endurance, but this side effect would significantly shorten that endurance... [Level 1 Crystal Core ¡¤ High-frequency Vibration] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 50% (Side effect: Energy consumption for using this Ability is increased fivefold)] [High-frequency Vibration: Wrists and fingers can vibrate at high frequency.] The second Crystal Core that caught Wang Tao¡¯s attention was Yang Changhong¡¯s Ability for high-frequency vibration. Looking at the description of this Ability, it didn¡¯t seem to reveal much, but seeing Yang Changhong¡¯s actual performance, one would know that this Ability was powerful! And this side effect was also a pain¡ªthe mana consumption increased by five times! No wonder Yang Changhong said this Ability was very energy-consuming; it was because of the side effect. In that case, Yang Changhong was quite unlucky. Her Full Speed Ability consumed double the physical strength when used, and her high-frequency vibration consumed five times the mana when used¡ªoh right, she also had a Stealth Ability. The side effect of Stealth was that it doubled the physical strength consumption while moving... Well done, one doesn¡¯t know unless one investigates, and it¡¯s quite a shock when one does. Yang Changhong¡¯s combat power might be good, but her endurance was completely inadequate! No wonder she rarely took action on the road. Maintaining the image of the boss was one aspect, but the lack of endurance probably played a part, too. ¡°What, what¡¯s up?¡± Seeing the strange look in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Yang Changhong subconsciously touched her face. She felt a bit uncomfortable as if she had been thoroughly seen through. ¡°Is your endurance not quite up to par? Feeling weak?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°...You¡¯re the one with kidney deficiency!¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s face darkened. ¡°I¡¯m serious. The Crystal Cores you¡¯ve fused with are all particularly draining in terms of energy and physical strength.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Seeing that Wang Tao was not kidding, Yang Changhong was a bit stunned. After thinking about it, she said, ¡°Now that you mention it, it does seem true¡ªI feel that although my combat power has increased since becoming an Ability User, the duration of my battles remains the same as before, not very long. I thought this was a natural weakness in women...¡± Watching the confused look on Yang Changhong¡¯s face, Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s the side effects of the Crystal Cores you¡¯ve fused with. But it¡¯s not a big deal. Just be cautious in the future and avoid enduring battles. Also, I¡¯ll take these Crystal Cores.¡± Wang Tao took away the Full Speed Crystal Cores and the High-frequency Vibration Crystal Cores. He then handed over the Magical Stomach Pouch to Yang Changhong. ¡°You want to trade with me? You¡¯d be losing out...¡± Yang Changhong couldn¡¯t quite believe it. ¡°There¡¯s no loss. It¡¯s simply a matter of fulfilling each other¡¯s needs,¡± Wang Tao replied. ¡°Alright!¡± Since Wang Tao was okay with it, Yang Changhong didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately stowed the Magical Stomach Pouch away. After learning how to operate it from Wang Tao, she began to repeatedly put food in it, take it out, and put it back in again. ¡°Truly magical...¡± Yang Changhong was having a great time playing with it. ¡°Okay, you can keep playing with it. I¡¯m going to go back to sleep,¡± Wang Tao said, waving his hand, ready to leave. Yang Changhong suddenly said, ¡°You won the bet we made earlier. What¡¯s your demand? Have you thought about it?¡± When Wang Tao heard Yang Changhong mention the bet, his eyebrows rose, and he looked her up and down. ¡°Will you really agree to anything?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Chapter 395: 182: Tide of Corpses_3 Chapter 395: Chapter 182: Tide of Corpses_3 Zhang Hong had previously said it was within her means, but now she was outright affirming her ability. ¡°Okay, then my request...¡± Wang Tao suddenly smiled while looking at Zhang Hong¡¯s somewhat anxious face, ¡°my request isn¡¯t quite right now, we¡¯ll talk about it when we¡¯re safely settled.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zhang Hong nodded vigorously. Wang Tao left the grove. Watching Wang Tao¡¯s departing figure, Zhang Hong¡¯s gaze was filled with gratitude. No matter how precious these items were to Wang Tao, they were certainly valuable to her. She was someone who remembered kindness and sought to repay it, but unfortunately, she didn¡¯t possess anything of value at the moment and could only look for an opportunity to do so later. At night, Wang Tao was sleeping soundly in the vehicle when he suddenly felt someone tapping him. He instantly opened his eyes, a green glint flickering within them. Jiang Shixue, who had snuggled up to him, had awoken at some point and was looking towards the east. ¡°Brother, zombies are coming.¡± Although Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t have Perception Ability, her senses were very sharp. She could always sense it beforehand if powerful zombies or monsters were approaching. Wang Tao first thought it was Night Demons, and if they were Night Demons, they¡¯d have to move. After all, Night Demons are Level 3 Zombies who live in groups, and whether or not Wang Tao could handle them, others would definitely suffer. However, when he looked towards the direction Jiang Shixue was pointing to, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s not Night Demons; just three Level 2 Zombies... No! There¡¯s a large group of zombies following them!¡± Wang Tao immediately turned on the vehicle¡¯s intercom. ¡°Everyone, pay attention, a large number of zombies are attacking from the east! Everyone, pay attention, a large number of zombies are attacking from the east!¡± Whoosh¡ª In the apocalypse, few people could sleep deeply, especially out in the wild. Instantly, everyone woke up. Those who were on the night shift jumped with fright, for they hadn¡¯t seen any zombies. But now it was very dark, their flashlights couldn¡¯t reach far, and besides, these were words from Wang Tao, a Level 2 Ability User, so they definitely chose to believe him. In a moment, an orderly bustle came from the temporary camp. It had to be said that these ¡°apocalypse nomads¡± were quite adept at handling such situations and quickly packed up, ready to evacuate at any time. And at that moment, the zombies finally came into their field of vision. ¡°Damn! So many!¡± Seeing the densely packed mass of zombies, everyone shivered. Had it not been for Wang Tao¡¯s warning, some of them would probably have perished here today! ¡°Retreat!¡± Zhang Hong initially thought that with Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun, two Level 2 Ability Users there, encountering more zombies wouldn¡¯t necessarily mean an immediate retreat. But now, seeing so many zombies, she didn¡¯t hesitate to call for everyone to withdraw! It was nighttime, when the zombies were at their strongest and they at their weakest. Besides, killing ordinary zombies brought no benefit to these people. It was certainly best to leave. Boom~ The roaring sound of the vehicles instantly attracted the zombies¡¯ attention, and many zombies started to accelerate toward the convoy. Wang Tao watched this scene with a sense of helplessness. He had thought that the zombies had discovered the convoy and were attacking it. But it now seemed that the zombies had merely wandered into the area by chance during their nighttime roaming. This luck was just too poor! He had witnessed several major zombie wanderings at night before, with the most memorable being the first time he saw them at the water plant. The oppressive feeling of the zombies at that time was still fresh in his memory. The oppression from this group of zombies wasn¡¯t particularly strong to Wang Tao, but he had no intention of showing off, especially since the Night Demons might be prowling around. If they were surrounded by Night Demons, it would be a huge problem. However, not engaging with these ordinary zombies didn¡¯t mean he would let go of the two Level 2 Zombies at the front. ¡°Little Jun, those two Level 2 Zombies are yours to handle.¡± Wang Tao drove, speaking to Xu Xiaojun seated in the passenger seat. Both zombies were Level 2, Elite Zombies with 10,000 HP, and with Xu Xiaojun¡¯s current strength, taking on zombies of this level was naturally no problem. ¡°Sure, Brother Wang, you can count on me!¡± Xu Xiaojun was somewhat eager to try; he hadn¡¯t yet had the chance to test the power of his newly equipped mechanical right arm. As these zombies had blocked the road at the village entrance, the convoy couldn¡¯t merge onto the main road in time, so they had to drive into the wilderness for a while before finding a way to enter the highway. Originally, the zombies were wandering on the main road. The noise of the vehicles starting had attracted them, so a part of the zombie horde broke off and chased after the convoy, including those two Level 2 Zombies. ¡°Quick, quick, quick!¡± Yang Changhong, while watching the zombies behind, directed the convoy forward. Although she didn¡¯t have the Night Vision Ability, she had scouted the area and was very familiar with the surroundings of the village. Under her command, it didn¡¯t take long for the convoy to successfully merge onto the highway. But at this moment, everyone was not the slightest bit relaxed but rather felt their scalps tingle. Even Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. ¡°Holy crap, why are there so many zombies!¡± The highway was teeming with zombies, far more than he had estimated! ¡°This is a zombie tide!¡± Xu Xiaojun, who was originally raring to go, subconsciously shrank his neck a bit. He couldn¡¯t see as wide a range as Wang Tao, but the range illuminated by other people¡¯s flashlights was all zombies! Luckily, Wang Tao discovered this early on. At the moment, there were no zombies ahead on the road. Had the discovery been made even a little later, the convoy might have been surrounded by zombies! Seeing the road ahead was still relatively clear, Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°Little Jun, make it quick and decisive!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao, bringing up the rear of the convoy, suddenly slowed down. Xu Xiaojun quickly jumped out of the car, his left arm outfitted with a Mechanical Exoskeleton Arm, his right hand holding a worn Giant Axe. Then he charged straight into the group of zombies behind him, smashing quite a few to pieces! Xu Xiaojun swung the giant axe, releasing a Shockwave, killing a large swath of zombies. At that moment, the two Level 2 Zombies both attacked him, but Xu Xiaojun immediately blocked their strike with his axe, then slammed his mechanical right arm down on one of the zombie¡¯s heads. The Level 2 Zombie was knocked out cold! Xu Xiaojun followed up with two more hits and swung his axe once more. Pough! The first Level 2 Zombie died. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up from a distance. ¡°This mechanical arm is something else! It can knock out zombies so easily...¡± Xu Xiaojun used the mechanical arm to fend off attacks while he dug out the Zombie Core. Using the same method, he knocked out the second zombie and quickly killed it. After obtaining this Crystal Core, Xu Xiaojun released another Shockwave, shattering all the surrounding zombies, then charged toward Wang Tao¡¯s off-road vehicle. In an instant, he was at the side of the off-road vehicle. He opened the door and got in, all in one go. The car abruptly accelerated, chasing after the convoy ahead. Chapter 396: 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_1 Chapter 396: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_1 ¡°` ¡°Are you all okay?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s voice, filled with concern, came through the vehicle¡¯s intercom. She had been informed by Wang Tao ahead of time about the plan to deal with the two Level 2 Zombies. Although she believed that Wang Tao and his group should not be in too much danger, she still couldn¡¯t help but worry a little, given that there were so many zombies. ¡°We¡¯re fine, just speed up,¡± Wang Tao said, glancing at the zombies that were following behind them. ¡°Okay!¡± Yang Changhong nodded and then ordered the convoy to start accelerating. She had not stopped the convoy just now, but she did slow down a bit to wait for Wang Tao. Now that Wang Tao had caught up, it was natural to start speeding up to get away from the zombie horde as quickly as possible. But it was hard to see clearly when driving at night, especially since there were often obstacles on the road. Wang Tao, taking up the rear, saw that the convoy couldn¡¯t pick up speed, so he took the initiative to lead the way at the front. With his Night Vision, those obstacles were naturally nowhere to hide. Gradually, the overall speed of the convoy began to increase. Just when it seemed they were finally about to shake off the zombie pack, the nerves of everyone, still taut, had yet to relax when Wang Tao¡¯s voice suddenly rang out through the intercom: ¡°Everyone, be alert! A Level 3 Night Demon Zombie has appeared!¡± ¡°A Level 3 Night Demon Zombie?!¡± The group was shocked. They had already struggled to deal with Level 2 Zombies, how on earth were they supposed to handle a Level 3 Zombie? But luckily, Wang Tao reassured them: ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much, the Night Demons are not as fast as we are running. Keep up the speed, and they won¡¯t catch us.¡± Wang Tao knew that the disturbance would definitely attract Night Demons, so he wasn¡¯t surprised to see them. The Night Demons were among the zombie horde in the rear. If it weren¡¯t for him being able to see HP, to see a few zombies with significantly more HP, he probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed them. But as he said, no matter how fast the Night Demons were, they were not as fast as the vehicles once they got up to speed. As long as they maintained a good pace, there wouldn¡¯t be any problems. ¡°It¡¯s a pity there are too many zombies, otherwise we might have a chance to try...¡± Wang Tao looked at those ferocious zombie faces and felt a bit of regret. His own strength had increased significantly, and he felt he was now capable of taking on a Night Demon Zombie. But there were too many zombies right now, and there wasn¡¯t just one Night Demon, but at least ten! In such a case, there was no choice but to flee. The Ordinary Zombies were not as fast as the Night Demons, and it didn¡¯t take long before the convoy could no longer see the trace of Ordinary Zombies. However, about a dozen Night Demons were still doggedly pursuing them. Yang Changhong and the others had never seen Night Demons before, only pictures in a guidebook. Now confronted with these terrifying and ferocious zombies, they felt an immense pressure¡ªgreater even than the pressure the zombie horde had given them! Suddenly, one of the vehicles shook and slowed down. ¡°Car 4, what¡¯s happening!¡± Yang Changhong, who had been keeping an eye on the convoy, called out as soon as she noticed Car 4 seemed to be falling behind. ¡°Boss, I didn¡¯t notice a zombie under the car. It just climbed onto the window and startled me, but I¡¯m okay!¡± The driver of Car 4 quickly responded. ¡°Then hurry up and catch up!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Car 4 began accelerating again. However, it had slowed down considerably and was now at the very back, making it difficult to speed up again. That¡¯s when the driver of Car 4 heard a thud, as if something had landed on their roof. ¡°Boss, boss, please check what¡¯s on my roof!¡± The driver of Car 4 urgently called out through the intercom. Yang Changhong quickly glanced over and her heart sank. ¡°Night Demon! There¡¯s a Night Demon on your roof!¡± Gulp~ In an instant, everyone heard the sound of Car 4¡¯s driver swallowing his saliva. A Level 3 Night Demon was on his roof! This was it! Thud! Thud! Thud! After landing on the roof, the Night Demon started banging furiously. The car was getting rocked by the impact. The driver of Car 4 looked up and saw that the roof was starting to dent! ¡°Boss, I don¡¯t want to die!¡± He suddenly cried out, sobbing. Although he had long anticipated this day might come, nobody could stay calm when faced with impending death. Yang Changhong¡¯s expression turned grim. She rolled down her window and opened her mouth towards the Night Demon on the roof of Car 4. Whoosh¡ª An object shaped like a nail shot out from her mouth and instantly hit the Night Demon Zombie. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± After being hit, the Night Demon roared, but it did not attack Yang Changhong; it continued to furiously pummel the roof of Car 4. Yang Changhong spat out several more nails in succession. Although most of them hit their mark, they seemed to have no effect. ¡°So this can¡¯t even draw its attention...¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s expression darkened. This was her first attack after she had recently learned the Spittle Nail Ability. She had synthesized a new Level 2 Ability, which took about a few minutes. Now that she had finished synthesizing, her first attack caused no significant effect, which was distressing for her. She didn¡¯t expect to directly repel the Night Demon Zombie; she just wanted to draw its attention. Considering the high speed of the convoy, if the Night Demon Zombie got distracted and tried to leap onto her vehicle, it would most likely fall straight to the ground. Unfortunately, whether it was proof of the Night Demon Zombie¡¯s intelligence or its stubbornness, it was fixated on whoever was in Car 4. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, wait for me!¡± At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s voice came across the intercom. As the lead vehicle, he slowed down slightly and soon moved to the second to last position, getting very close to the Night Demon on top of Car 4. ¡°` Chapter 397: 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_2 Chapter 397: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_2 Aside from the person focusing on driving, everyone else was watching to see what Wang Tao would do. Then they saw the sunroof of Wang Tao¡¯s car open, and his sister Jiang Shixue suddenly exposed her upper body. ¡°Could she also be a formidable Ability User?¡± Everyone felt a bit incredulous. However, Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t make many movements but suddenly took out a flashlight and shone it at the Night Demon on top of car number 4. Swoosh¡ª A thick purple light appeared, enveloping the Night Demon¡¯s entire body. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The skin of the Night Demon was instantly burned, and it instinctively covered its face with its arms. The moment its arms left the car, it fell straight down. Bang! The Night Demon tumbled a few times on the ground and disappeared from view. Jiang Shixue, still holding the ultraviolet flashlight, shone it at the other following Night Demons. The bodies of these Night Demons emitted sizzling and crackling burning noises. Although they didn¡¯t lose much HP, their steps were halted. As the convoy was moving at full speed, after a moment, the Night Demons were no longer seen. ¡°All right, we¡¯ve shaken them off.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Yang Changhong and others all sighed with relief. It was their first encounter with Night Demons, and although they hadn¡¯t engaged directly, the oppressive feeling just now was the most powerful they had seen among zombies! At the time, they all thought the people in car number 4 were doomed, but thankfully, Wang Tao took action! They had seen the news about Night Demon Zombies in the guidebook and knew that they feared sunlight. But they didn¡¯t expect the ultraviolet flashlight to have such a great effect, completely holding back the Night Demon Zombies! ¡°Thank you, Brother Wang! Thank you, Brother Wang!¡± The people in car number 4 were still a bit unsettled as they kept expressing their thanks. ¡°Everyone, pay attention. If more Night Demon Zombies come, don¡¯t panic, wait for me.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± With Wang Tao present, everyone felt a full sense of security. Yang Changhong also thanked Wang Tao separately and inquired about where he got the ultraviolet light, which was so effective against the Night Demons. Wang Tao had obtained it from killing a Night Demon Zombie, but of course, he didn¡¯t tell the truth; instead, he said it was from a supply drop. This left Yang Changhong somewhat helpless, feeling unlucky for not encountering such a supply drop. There was no immediate danger nearby, but the convoy didn¡¯t stop. After all, no one knew if the zombie horde would come from behind; it was safer to move further away. From night until dawn, driving until the sky turned pale with the first light of morning, the various noises of the night slowly ceased. People finally relaxed. After being on edge all night, everyone felt a bit weary. Yang Changhong suggested: ¡°Wang Tao, let¡¯s take a break, shall we? Their mental state isn¡¯t very good.¡± Knowing Wang Tao¡¯s strength, Yang Changhong would seek Wang Tao¡¯s opinion before doing anything. ¡°Sure,¡± Wang Tao nodded. The three of them didn¡¯t really care, especially for him and Jiang Shixue, this level of chase was nothing at all. But it definitely wasn¡¯t the same for others; driving while fatigued was unwise. They all surveyed the surroundings; this was a county town, and their location was on the outer ring. The group entered the county town and found an abandoned old residential area. The community wasn¡¯t large, much like the Happy Community Wang Tao used to live in, with only a few buildings. Several buildings were sealed off, which might have zombies inside, but they couldn¡¯t get out. Yang Changhong had people scout it out to ensure there was no immediate danger, and then they started to set up camp in the courtyard of the community. Their belongings were not complicated; they cared only for sufficiency. Of course, defense facilities were the exception, as they could not be neglected. Noticing a small supermarket nearby, Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun to have a look inside. Although the supermarket had been looted once, some items were left behind. Wang Tao brought these items back, which amounted to providing a supplemented meal. ¡°We really owe you this time; otherwise, who knows how many of us could have made it here...¡± Yang Changhong said to Wang Tao with a grateful face. To tell the truth, this was her first major crisis without losing anyone... Her previous team actually had many people, but they dwindled during successive crises, leaving only these dozen or so. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao, this time they would have lost at least two or three people at the least, and at most... they might all have been unable to escape! After all, there were over a dozen Level 3 Night Demons in the zombie horde. ¡°No need to be polite,¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then asked, ¡°Have you synthetized the Spittle Nail Crystal Core?¡± ¡°I have.¡± Yang Changhong voluntarily demonstrated for Wang Tao. She could store a portion of whatever food she ate inside her body. She wasn¡¯t clear about where exactly it was stored, but it was within her. Moreover, she could control which foods to store and which not to. However, the hardness of these foods affected the power of the projectiles she spat out. For instance, if she ate something like bread, the projectiles she spat out had fairly low power. Therefore, she came up with a method¡ªshe directly swallowed a nail! As it turned out... it worked! Wang Tao watched Yang Changhong spit out a nail, directly nailing it into the wall; he was somewhat astonished. This Yang Changhong was really fierce! Daring to eat nails, if something went wrong, it would be troublesome... but now, it was a ¡°true¡¤Spittle Nail.¡± A nail with every spit! ¡°Fierce!¡± Chapter 398: 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_3 Chapter 398: Chapter 183: Synthesizing Abilities Again_3 Wang Tao gave her a thumbs up. Yang Changhong shook her head with a wry smile. She had no choice; if she were powerful enough to disregard the zombies, she definitely wouldn¡¯t take such risks... The convoy members caught some sleep, resting from morning until noon. As for this county town, no one ventured too deep. After all, their goal was Zijing City; even if there were survivors or a Survivor Base in this small county, they didn¡¯t pay it much attention. Wang Tao specifically went to check out the hospital in the county town but unfortunately did not find any Green-eyed Zombies. Feeling that everyone¡¯s spirits had been lifted, Yang Changhong called everyone to hit the road again. This time, Wang Tao let Xu Xiaojun drive while he experimented with the Fusion Crystal Core. Yang Changhong said she couldn¡¯t fuse with Level 1 Crystal Cores anymore, but Wang Tao felt like he could still merge with Level 1 Crystal Cores, although he hadn¡¯t tried it yet. After all, he didn¡¯t have much Special Energy, and if he could Synthetize Ability, he would have to use Special Energy for Extraction, which seemed like a waste. Now that there was no immediate danger on the road and his Special Energy had surpassed ten thousand, he decided to give it a try. Wang Tao first took out a Level 1 Epic Shockwave Crystal Core. He put it in his mouth to try, and indeed, he couldn¡¯t merge with it. Self-healing and Toughness also didn¡¯t work. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised by this result since he had Level Two Shockwave and Barrier abilities already. He then took out another Level 1 Epic Crystal Core¡ªthis one was a Full Speed Crystal Core obtained from Yang Changhong. Yang Changhong had given Wang Tao all eight of the Level 1 Full Speed and high-frequency vibration cores, four of each. These three types of crystal cores, including the Stealth Crystal Core, were originally reserved for her sister¡ªa good item definitely had to be kept for one¡¯s own family. Because she had merged with these two types of cores before and felt there weren¡¯t any significant side effects¡ªat that time, she wasn¡¯t aware that these side effects involved Physical strength depletion and Mana drain. But now that her sister was nowhere to be found and most likely dead, and she had nothing of high value to offer, she saw Wang Tao¡¯s interest in the crystal cores and decided to give them all to him. After Wang Tao received them, he naturally proceeded with the Synthesis. He had two Epic Full Speed and two Epic high-frequency vibration cores in his possession. When Wang Tao placed a Full Speed Crystal Core in his mouth, he instantly felt the crystal core vaporize. ¡°Just as I thought, I can Synthetize Ability myself!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Merging with a Level 1 Crystal Core was much quicker than with a Level 2 Crystal Core, and it was completed in a moment. Wang Tao quickly looked at his Attributes, and his Mana had increased by 100, reaching 5900, with a new [Full Speed] Ability. ¡°I knew it!¡± Wang Tao was delighted. Since he could merge with Level 1 Crystal Cores, it meant he could continue with his plan of upgrading from Level 1 to Level Two cores. And he could start immediately¡ª Wang Tao took out another Level 1 Epic Full Speed Crystal Core and merged with it, Full Speed +2! Although Wang Tao no longer had Full Speed Crystal Cores, he still had many Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores. Having four Abilities at the moment, three of which were Level Two, meant that these Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores could only be used to enhance his Level 1 Full Speed Ability. Wang Tao used a Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Core. Moments later, the Level of his Full Speed Ability indeed increased by 1! Consequently, Wang Tao used up several more Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores, and soon, his Full Speed Ability reached +10! Then, Wang Tao took out a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core. As expected, the Ascension Crystal Core worked, and his Full Speed successfully advanced to Level Two! His Mana also increased to 7000! ¡°Haha!¡± Looking at his Level Two Full Speed Ability, Wang Tao laughed heartily. This matched his prior expectations¡ªhe could use Level 1 Crystal Cores to upgrade those for Level Two! But that wasn¡¯t all, as much as Wang Tao liked the Full Speed Ability, he couldn¡¯t tolerate it occupying one of his Ability slots, considering he had only four precious slots. So, Wang Tao looked at his Synthesize Ability! [Shockwave + Precision Shooting (10%)] [Shockwave + Barrier (10%)] [Shockwave + Full Speed (15%)] [Precision Shooting + Barrier (50%)] [Precision Shooting + Full Speed (55%)] [Barrier + Full Speed (90%)] Seeing the list of Synthetization probabilities, Wang Tao muttered to himself as expected. He had guessed before that Abilities with similar mechanisms had a higher chance of successful Synthetization. Barrier was a continuous Defense boost and Blood Regeneration, and Full Speed was a continuous increase in speed; the mechanisms of these Abilities were quite similar, so the probability of success should be fairly high. Indeed, it was a high 90%! Although not as high as the previous 95% success rate for Toughness combined with Self-healing, this 90% chance was clearly worth a gamble for Wang Tao. Wang Tao set Barrier as the main Ability and Full Speed as the Secondary Ability. Then he initiated the Synthesis! In an instant, Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy decreased by 5000, leaving him with 8740. The icons for Barrier and Full Speed on his attribute panel flickered with colorful lights for a moment. Afterwards, a brand-new Barrier icon appeared? Wang Tao got startled¡ªhad the Synthetization failed? But after seeing the detailed Attributes, he sighed with relief. The name Barrier remained unchanged, but its Attributes were altered. [Synthesis successful, gained New Superpower: Level Two Level 1¡¤Barrier] [Barrier: For the duration, it can enhance Defense, Speed, and slowly heal certain injuries (Side effects: None)] Seeing these Attributes, Wang Tao was thrilled. Although it seemed like one Ability, it actually possessed the Attributes of three Abilities! It effectively saved him two Ability slots! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t wait to test out this New Superpower. Since he was in the car and couldn¡¯t actually try out the increase in Speed or Defense, and because he was at full HP, he couldn¡¯t observe the effects of Self-healing either. However, he could see the Energy consumption. When he saw the specific Mana consumed, Wang Tao exclaimed in surprise¡ª15 Mana per second! That meant he would use 900 Mana per minute, and with his 7000 Mana, he could sustain it for just over seven or eight minutes. ¡°My Mana is too low, I need to find a way to increase it...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin in contemplation. ¡°Continue merging with Level 1 Crystal Cores? That¡¯s one way to increase Mana, but the condition is that the merged Ability can be synthesized with other Abilities; otherwise, it would occupy a slot¡ªhey? If it does occupy a slot, I can just extract it... doesn¡¯t that mean I can switch Abilities anytime, anywhere? Hiss¡ªI think I¡¯ve overlooked this ability!¡± Chapter 399: 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_1 Chapter 399: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_1 ¡°` Wang Tao felt like he had overlooked something. His special energy had two functions, ¡°Extraction abilities¡± and ¡°Synthetize Ability.¡± But he had always used synthesis and never extraction. Moreover, his special energy was not abundant, so he felt extraction was not as good as synthesis, after all, both extraction and synthesis of a Level 2 Ability required 5,000 energy. But if he had a lot of special energy, he could freely extract abilities and then fuse them with other abilities, wouldn¡¯t that be like being able to change abilities continuously? The cost of changing abilities was just 5,000 special energy. Of course, he didn¡¯t have much special energy now, so he couldn¡¯t change Level 2 Abilities at will, but a Level 1 Special Ability only required 1,000 special energy! He still had over eight thousand special energy left, he could change Level 1 Special Abilities at least eight times! Wang Tao had been hesitant before. Until he found the most suitable combination of abilities, he had left an ability slot empty¡ªsuch a waste! Now, Wang Tao felt that he could first learn a Level 1 Special Ability, and later when there were better options, just extract it. After all, extracting a Level 1 Special Ability would only cost 1,000 special energy. Having realized this, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say another word and immediately fused the High-frequency Vibration Crystal Core. In Wang Tao¡¯s view, this should be the highest single target attack ability he had encountered so far! Even if it was a Level 1 Ability, if it came from his hands as a Level Two person, its power should be substantial. Of course, Wang Tao still had quite a few Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores, which could be used to upgrade the high-frequency vibration to Level Two. But to extract the ability after upgrading it to Level Two would require 5,000 special energy, and Wang Tao wanted to save some special energy to synthesize abilities, so there was no need to upgrade to Level Two for the time being. He would wait until he had more special energy. Thus, the High-frequency Vibration Ability was upgraded by Wang Tao to Level 1 +10 and then he stopped there. A Level 1 +10 Ability, used by someone like Wang Tao with 29,999 HP, was bound to be powerful. Wang Tao stretched out his right hand and activated the high-frequency vibration. Buzz buzz~ Wang Tao heard a faint buzzing sound, but visually, he felt like his hand hadn¡¯t changed much. The range of the vibration was extremely small, and the speed was minuscule, so it wasn¡¯t immediately noticeable. Standing beside him, Jiang Shixue stared curiously at Wang Tao¡¯s right hand. ¡°Brother, how can your hand move so fast?¡± ¡°Hmm? You can see it clearly?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, as he himself couldn¡¯t even see his own movements, only feeling the regular vibration in his hand. ¡°Yeah.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded, then took Wang Tao¡¯s hand, feeling the vibrations in her own hand. A smile spread across Jiang Shixue¡¯s face. ¡°Fun~¡± ¡°...This is a killing technique, how can you describe it as fun!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. His high-frequency vibration ability needed to be used in conjunction with weapons, the more angular the weapon, the greater the power. Without a weapon, if it was just his hand vibrating, there would basically be no lethality, unless his fingernails were long and hard enough; otherwise, it could only serve for a massage. So Wang Tao stretched out his hand and tickled Jiang Shixue. ¡°Giggle~ That¡¯s so ticklish~¡± After fooling around for a while, Wang Tao then said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°By the way, it¡¯s time for your medicine.¡± The medicine Wang Tao referred to was naturally the Zombie Culture Fluid. After all, calling it Zombie Culture Fluid directly could easily be misunderstood, so he just used ¡°medicine¡± instead. ¡°Okay~¡± An hour later, Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP increased by another 1,000, reaching 25,200! A few more times, and she would be able to reach 30,000 HP. It was just unclear whether Jiang Shixue needed an Ascension crystal core or not? After all, her constitution was different from normal humans... At night, the convoy stopped. If it wasn¡¯t for being chased by zombies, Yang Changhong and the others would definitely not want to take a night drive. The convoy stopped near a gas station. They had assumed there was no gasoline left in this gas station, but unexpectedly, they found a few barrels. It was just right to replenish the vehicles¡¯ energy, which was a pleasant surprise. The moon came out tonight, significantly increasing visibility. This was good news for the people on watch tonight. But just then, some people heard several distant screams. ¡°There are screams in the distance!¡± Instantly, everyone became alert. Wang Tao heard it too. He and Jiang Shixue got out of the car and looked toward the town with a frown. In the course of an afternoon, they had traveled from a county town to a smaller town. The gas station was on the outskirts of the town, and they hadn¡¯t ventured deep into it. The screams had come from inside the town. ¡°Boss, there are survivors inside, something seems to have happened! Should we...¡± Some people looked to Yang Changhong. Yang Changhong shook her head and said: ¡°If it were daylight, we could consider helping out, but it¡¯s nighttime, and we can¡¯t manage that much.¡± If it was a matter of conveniently saving survivors, Yang Changhong wouldn¡¯t mind, but risking the lives of her subordinates for it wasn¡¯t worth it. Everyone nodded; under such circumstances, nobody wanted to take the risk. Naturally, Wang Tao said nothing; his thoughts were the same as Yang Changhong¡¯s. They could only hope that the survivors could escape danger. However, though they wanted to avoid trouble, trouble seemed to be actively seeking them out. Before long, everyone heard a series of footsteps. Four figures dressed like survivors appeared from the other side of the street. They were all wounded, looking very pitiful. And at first glance, they had spotted Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy parked near the gas station. ¡°` Chapter 400: 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_2 Chapter 400: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_2 Suddenly, these people were a wave of excitement. Then they ran directly toward the convoy, shouting as they went: ¡°Help!¡± Seeing this scene, the faces of Yang Changhong and her group turned ugly. Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. ¡°Are these people stupid? Shouting like this at a time like this...¡± Although he was a bit single-minded, he was not stupid. He knew that in the apocalypse, when faced with danger, one definitely should not shout loudly, or else one would die even faster. Hearing Xu Xiaojun¡¯s words, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. ¡°No, they¡¯re not stupid, they¡¯re being clever, they want to drag us down with them!¡± ¡°What?¡± Xu Xiaojun was stunned. Apart from Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue, the others could see the sinister intentions of this group of survivors who were running for their lives. In the apocalypse, zombies don¡¯t care which faction humans belong to or what conflicts they have. They¡¯ll bite at the sight of people. So when faced with zombies, humans could only stand together in defense. If these people didn¡¯t shout and make noise, Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy might ignore them for their own safety. But with a few shouts, the zombies would be attracted faster. For their own safety, Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy would certainly take action. Although doing this would put them in greater danger, if they didn¡¯t act, they might be doomed. By acting this way, there was still a slim chance of survival. And even if they died in the end, there would be others to cushion their fall... ¡°Brother, do you want me to go and kill them?¡± Jiang Shixue could feel that Wang Tao was somewhat displeased with these few survivors and immediately took the initiative to speak. ¡°No need.¡± Wang Tao had no patience for survivors who intentionally set traps for others. He was about to take out his bow and arrows to snipe these people from a distance. Suddenly, he and Jiang Shixue both looked up. They saw a fierce figure appear on the rooftop of a nearby five-story building. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 20000/20000] [Level: Level 3 Elite] ¡°Night Demon!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. The fleeing survivors had not noticed where the Night Demon was. They quickly looked back, and aside from a few ordinary zombies, there were no other figures. Seeing the group of survivors standing ready not far away, the four of them were overjoyed. ¡°We¡¯re safe¡ª¡± Before one of them could finish, he suddenly felt as if a dump truck had hit him at the waist, losing all sensation in his lower body instantaneously. He looked up, somewhat baffled, only to see a gaping maw. Then his vision darkened, and he lost consciousness. Yang Changhong and the others saw clearly that a black figure suddenly leapt from the building, landing right on the fastest-running person, severing him at the waist and crushing his neck with a bite! After easily dispatching this survivor, the figure lifted its head to reveal a fierce face. ¡°Night Demon!¡± Yang Changhong was shocked. She lacked Wang Tao¡¯s ability to see health bars and Jiang Shixue¡¯s perception ability to sense danger, so she hadn¡¯t noticed the Night Demon immediately. She had thought these survivors were being chased by a Level 2 Zombie since they seemed like Level 1 ability users. But unexpectedly, it wasn¡¯t a Level 2 Zombie at all; it was a Level 3 Night Demon! Just yesterday, some of their own had nearly died at the hands of a Night Demon! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Night Demon let out a scream, like a wolf among sheep, and instantly disposed of the other three survivors. Four Level 1 ability users stood no chance against a Level 3 Night Demon. After crushing the throats of these four, the Night Demon didn¡¯t consume them but instead piled up their bodies and then turned its gaze toward the convoy, charging rapidly! ¡°What do we do...¡± Yang Changhong, usually very decisive, felt a bit of panic after seeing the brutal and fierce eyes of the Night Demon. Now the Night Demon was too close, and they could not outrun it with the slow speed of the vehicles. If they ran, someone would surely die! But if they didn¡¯t run, they couldn¡¯t defeat it... When the Night Demon appeared, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had looked carefully to confirm that there was no second Night Demon nearby. Wang Tao suddenly grinned. If he were up against a group of Night Demons, he indeed would not be a match. But against only one... how could he know if he didn¡¯t try! ¡°Don¡¯t panic, I¡¯m here!¡± Seeing the flustered crowd, Wang Tao stepped forward, positioning himself in front of everyone. His words and actions instantly gave the flustered group a pillar to lean on. Although they didn¡¯t know how strong Wang Tao truly was, their survival now depended on the few Second-level ability users they had! Xu Xiaojun stood to the left of Wang Tao, with Jiang Shixue on his right, shielding everyone behind them. Yang Changhong, looking at Wang Tao¡¯s back and seeing Jiang Shixue, his seemingly oblivious sister, stepping forward, suddenly lost her fear and felt her blood start to boil! What of a Level 3 zombie? They had three Level 2s plus a dozen or so Level 1 ability users; they weren¡¯t without the power to fight! ¡°Let¡¯s fight it! I¡ª¡± Yang Changhong was ready to move forward to fight alongside Wang Tao, but he put out his hand and blocked her. ¡°Don¡¯t get in the way. Be ready to withdraw at any moment.¡± Wang Tao spoke somewhat coldly. ¡°...¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words and seeing the hand blocking her way, Yang Changhong was bewildered. She, a Second-order Superpower Owner, would be in the way? But she didn¡¯t have time to think, as the Night Demon had already charged to Wang Tao¡¯s front. Bang! Chapter 401 - 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_3 Chapter 401: Chapter 184: Solo Kill Level 3 Night Demon_3 ¡°` Xu Xiaojun gripped the Firefighter Axe with both hands and swung fiercely, but the Night Demon did not dodge or evade, instead taking Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strike with its claws. Unexpectedly, Xu Xiaojun only took three steps back, but the Night Demon was sent flying over ten meters! Although it didn¡¯t cause any damage to the Night Demon, Xu Xiaojun still smirked. ¡°Hehe~¡± The man he was now, was no longer the man he used to be! He had used both hands just now, and the strength boost from his Mechanical Left Arm was no joke! Coupled with his own strength, it was no exaggeration to send the Night Demon flying. Of course, that was about it, the Night Demon was not just strong in strength; it was powerful in every aspect! Should they truly engage in battle, Xu Xiaojun would definitely stand no chance. ¡°You protect them.¡± Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun, and then, barehanded, he started walking step by step towards the Night Demon. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Night Demon kicked off the ground, leaped high, and then, like a cannonball, fell towards Wang Tao. Seeing the grotesque face of the Night Demon, a faint green light emanated from Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, then he clenched his right fist. Yang Changhong and the others were somewhat astonished. Fighting the Night Demon with fists instead of weapons? Were they seeing things? Then, they witnessed what might be an unforgettable scene for the rest of their lives. Just as Wang Tao swung his fist, something resembling tree roots began to grow on it, and these roots rapidly wrapped around Wang Tao¡¯s fist, forearm, shoulder... and his entire body! Swish¡ª In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao had transformed into a towering Tree Root Monster, over two and a half meters tall! At that moment, the Night Demon¡¯s attack also landed. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to defend; he let the Night Demon¡¯s attack hit him square on the chest, while his punch solidly hit the Night Demon in the face. Bang! [-3507] [26493/30000] With that one punch, Wang Tao had inflicted 3500 damage, depleting more than a tenth of the Night Demon¡¯s HP! The Night Demon was sent flying and crashed heavily into the ground. Wang Tao looked down at his chest where there was a faint nail mark on the tree roots. [-118] [29999/29999 (9882/10000)] Wang Tao¡¯s HP hadn¡¯t dropped a single point, it was the Entangling Roots¡¯ HP that had decreased. He hardly felt anything, standing firm and steady without taking a single step back. ¡°This is the power of a Level 3 Weapon, huh!¡± Feeling the abundant strength inside him, Wang Tao felt a sense of awe. After the unexpected encounter with the Night Demon yesterday, Wang Tao had specially fed the Entangling Roots some Level 2 and Level 1 Crystal Cores, raising its Compatibility to 100%, bringing the Entangling Roots to optimal condition! He did this in anticipation of a direct confrontation with the Night Demon! Now, it was paying off! Meanwhile, Yang Changhong and the others were stunned. If they hadn¡¯t just witnessed Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°transformation¡± with their own eyes, they would have surely thought it was a battle of monsters against zombies! Was this Wang Tao¡¯s Ability? It felt so terrifying... Everyone even started shivering a bit. On the other side, Wang Tao activated his Barrier Ability. In an instant, he felt as if his body had become a lot lighter. Then, with a push off his feet, he quickly charged towards the Night Demon that was just getting up. In the blink of an eye, he reached the side of the Night Demon. ¡°Roar!¡± The Night Demon roared angrily, spreading the index fingers on both hands, its sharp nails gleaming with a cold light. Whoosh¡ª It swiped at Wang Tao¡¯s face. If it had been before, Wang Tao would definitely not have been able to dodge this strike, given its speed. But now, with the Barrier Ability accelerating him, Wang Tao tilted his head just in time to dodge the attack! Then, Wang Tao, powering up his right hand, delivered an uppercut straight to the Night Demon¡¯s face! Bang! [-3583] [22810/30000] ¡°` The Night Demon was hurled into the air again, this time crashing directly into the wall of an apartment building along the street, creating a huge crater. As the Night Demon was sent flying, Wang Tao immediately charged towards where it landed, giving it no chance to counterattack! However, this time, Wang Tao had a firefighter axe in his hand. While he hoisted the axe with one hand, he activated his High-frequency Vibration Ability. Thud! The axe viciously cleaved into the Night Demon¡¯s head, carving out a pit. [-4671] [18139/30000] The damage of this hit had increased by twenty to thirty percent compared to before! Unexpectedly, with a ¡°crack,¡± the handle of the firefighter axe broke. ¡°...¡± The axe handle couldn¡¯t withstand that force! ¡°Hehe...¡± Finally, the Night Demon found an opportunity, and swiped a claw at Wang Tao¡¯s chest. [-121] [29999/29999(9761/10000)] Unfazed, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even feel the damage. He grabbed the Night Demon¡¯s neck with his left hand and tossed aside the axe handle with his right, while Entangling Roots writhed around his hand, forming a fist bigger than a clay pot! Then he hammered the Night Demon¡¯s skull with three consecutive punches! Bang, bang, bang! [-3624] [-3662] [-3698] ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± The Night Demon, its head nearly pulverized, let out a scream, shaking off Wang Tao¡¯s grip and fleeing towards a dark alley without looking back! It actually ran away? But at that moment, a red glow flashed in the darkness. With a loud thud, the Night Demon was sent flying back at an even faster speed! [-1558] Jiang Shixue retracted her fist. Wang Tao eyed the spot where the Night Demon flew back, lifted his left foot, and stomped down fiercely, pinning it beneath his foot. Then he squatted down and gave the Night Demon¡¯s bald head a couple of solid punches. [-3587] [-2010] [0/30000] The Night Demon¡¯s skull was completely smashed by Wang Tao, its HP depleted to zero. Seeing that there was indeed no Crystal Core inside the Night Demon¡¯s brain, Wang Tao gathered the Night Demon¡¯s spoils of war, then stood up and walked towards where Yang Changhong and the others were. At this moment, Yang Changhong and her companions were petrified. This monster¡ªno, this Wang Tao, had actually beaten a Level 3 Night Demon to death with his bare fists? Were they dreaming? Yang Changhong finally understood why Wang Tao had stopped her. This level of battle... she truly wasn¡¯t a match! As Wang Tao approached the group, the Entangling Roots on his body quickly writhed and then disappeared. By the time he reached them, he had shifted from the terrifying figure of two and a half meters back to a normal human being of less than two meters. Watching the dazed crowd, Wang Tao glared at them. ¡°What, you¡¯re all stunned? Hurry up and retreat!¡± ¡°Oh, right!¡± The crowd snapped out of their daze and quickly got into the vehicles. Boom~ Soon, eight cars left the gas station one after another. Moments later, dozens of Night Demons emerged from the darkness, among them a blue-skinned Night Demon with Bone Armor. They roared and searched around, but found nothing, and had no choice but to leave with the bodies of the four survivors. Chapter 402 - 185 Zombie Fish_1 Chapter 402: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_1 Yang Changhong originally didn¡¯t want to travel at night, but there was no choice¡ªthe Night Demon had appeared. Even though Wang Tao had shown great power, eliminating one Night Demon, everyone knew that Night Demons are social, zombie-like creatures. The appearance of one Night Demon meant that others were likely to follow. Although Wang Tao had seemed to deal with the Night Demon easily, since he had said to move on, naturally, she couldn¡¯t suggest that he should take on the others. She guessed that Wang Tao¡¯s Transformation Ability must have its limits, and it probably wasn¡¯t as effortless as it looked... ¡°Wang Tao, are you all okay?¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s voice carried concern over the vehicle¡¯s intercom. ¡°We¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°Good to hear...¡± Since it was a flight for life, Yang Changhong didn¡¯t talk much, even though she had questions. The convoy quickly left town and headed towards the next destination. Inside the vehicle, Wang Tao looked at the Entangling Roots on his wrist and smirked. This was his first time using Entangling Roots in combat, and all he could say was that this Level 3 Weapon was truly awesome! Because both Wang Tao¡¯s Mana and Ability had not improved much, his current power hadn¡¯t reached his personal peak, but his overall strength among Level Two should be considered top-notch. Thus, he felt that, with his own power, he should be capable of confronting a Level 3 Night Demon. But definitely not as easily as with the use of Entangling Roots! Without the Entangling Roots, he would be at most a peak Level Two strength, perhaps capable of single-handedly taking on a Level 3 Elite Night Demon. But with Entangling Roots wielded, he was straight up at Level 3 strength! He could completely dominate a Night Demon in battle! No wonder Entangling Roots is classified as a Level 3 Weapon¡ªit can really unleash Level 3 power! However, it¡¯s not just Entangling Roots; the person who wears it needs to be powerful too. If the wearer isn¡¯t up to snuff, then they definitely won¡¯t be able to display Level 3 power. After all, the Entangling Roots has a limited HP, and if it keeps being depleted, it will be destroyed. Speaking of defense, Entangling Roots indeed performed impressively. When hit by a Night Demon¡¯s Attack, it only lost a little over a hundred HP. To its ten thousand HP, this was trivial. And the Attack bonus doesn¡¯t even need saying. Against a Level 3 Elite Night Demon, it could deal over three thousand damage with one punch! Less than ten punches were enough to kill a Night Demon! This was definitely the moment of Wang Tao¡¯s highest damage output! Moreover, Wang Tao knew very well that this wasn¡¯t the upper limit of Entangling Roots; it could grow to a hundred thousand HP! Back then, when Wang Tao attacked the hundred-thousand HP Entangling Roots, he couldn¡¯t even make a dent... Now, Entangling Roots had regained its full HP. But this wasn¡¯t self Blood Regeneration; rather, Wang Tao transferred his own HP to it. It seemed Entangling Roots didn¡¯t have much self Blood Regeneration ability, or at least it was very slow. When Wang Tao saw that its HP bar hardly increased, he nourished it a bit with his own HP. It had only lost over two hundred HP in total; with a slight nourishment, Wang Tao filled it up again. As for the cost, it meant Wang Tao expended an equal amount of his own HP. But this wasn¡¯t a problem; he used his Barrier Ability to fully regain his HP. So, it amounted to this: after a battle, he expended only some of his Physical strength and Mana¡ªoh, no, he had forgotten to count something. Wang Tao glanced at Entangling Roots¡¯ Compatibility; the Compatibility had decreased from 100% to 90% after a not-so-intense fight! This meant, the price for killing that Night Demon was a Level 2 Crystal Core? After all, a Level 2 Crystal Core can increase Compatibility by 10%... That cost was acceptable to Wang Tao; although Night Demons didn¡¯t have Crystal Cores in their brains, they did have Loot Packs, so Wang Tao would not be at a loss. Wang Tao studied Entangling Roots further, trying to restore Compatibility with his own blood. He found that using his blood took a while and was not low on blood consumption¡ªa 10% increase consumed a thousand of his HP. That was more than what he had spent killing the Night Demon... But this also gave Wang Tao a rough idea about the details of Entangling Roots¡ª Currently, Entangling Roots had 10,000 HP, and if Wang Tao used his own HP for replenishment, the ratio was 1:1. Whatever HP the Entangling Roots lost, Wang Tao could replace with an equal amount of his own blood. This Blood Replenishing could be replaced by a Crystal Core; Wang Tao had tried it out. A Level 1 Crystal Core could replenish 100 HP, a Level 2 should replenish 1,000 HP, and a Level 3 Core 10,000 HP. Then there was Compatibility; 100% Compatibility, if raised by Crystal Cores, required one Level 3 Crystal Core or ten Level 2 Crystal Cores or a hundred Level 1 Crystal Cores. Of course, this could also be replaced by his own HP. Wang Tao had tried, and each percent of Compatibility increased required him to expend 100 of his HP. So, raising it back to 100% Compatibility would cost 10,000 HP... All of a sudden, Wang Tao felt like using Crystal Cores to increase Compatibility might be a loss, considering he could regenerate blood... But after careful thought, it wasn¡¯t so bad. Because using his own HP for Compatibility restoration was slow and needed a safe environment. Crystal Cores, on the other hand, could provide a quick recovery. Plus, HP was his lifeline; Wang Tao had nearly thirty thousand HP, but if he lost ten thousand, even without a wound, he would definitely feel terrible... So, the conclusion he reached was¡ª if Entangling Roots lost a lot of HP and Compatibility dropped significantly, then it¡¯s appropriate to use Crystal Cores for replenishing. If Entangling Roots lost only a little HP and Compatibility dropped slightly, it could be replaced with his own Blood, granted he had the Blood Regeneration ability. If someone didn¡¯t have this ability, they¡¯d better stick to using Crystal Cores... Chapter 403: 185 Zombie Fish_2 Chapter 403: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_2 Wang Tao increased the compatibility of his Entangling Roots to 100% and restored his HP to 10,000. Finally, he had time to look at the loot he had acquired. The Night Demon Zombie he killed had 30,000 HP, so the loot was nearly the same as what he got from the previous Night Demon Zombie. His HP didn¡¯t increase because it was already at the limit. But his special energy went up by 6,000! He had just used up 5,000, which he now completely replenished. Next were the Loot Packs¡ªthree in total. The first pack was a Crystal Core Gift Bag containing four Crystal Cores. These cores were almost identical to those from the previous Level 3 Elite Night Demon he had killed, with only slight differences in quality. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] The first core was an Ascension crystal core. Counting this one, he now had three Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. However, the probability with this core was a bit lower. If he wanted to ensure a safer promotion, he¡¯d need to improve the quality. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] [Energy Boost: Increases Mana cap by 1,000] The second was an Energy Boost Crystal Core¡ªit was of excellent quality last time, but only of good quality this time. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] [HP Boost: Increases HP cap by 1,000] The third, an HP Enhancement Crystal Core, had better quality than the last one. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Body Constitution Boost] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] [Physical Enhancement: All aspects of physical constitution will be enhanced] The fourth one was a Body Constitution Boost Crystal Core¡ªthe last one was Epic; this time it was Excellent. Other than the Ascension crystal core, the other three were Passive Abilities. Wang Tao had thought that since they were similar passive abilities, the chance of synthesizing them should be quite high. If he could synthesize these three abilities into one Ability, it would definitely be a powerful one! But for now, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have much special energy to work with. After all, synthesizing a Level 3 Ability required 20,000 special energy... The second Loot Pack contained Potions. [Strength Growth Potion x5] [Agility Increase Potion x5] [Mental Boosting Potion x5] Just like last time, there were a total of 15 potions that permanently increased various attributes. [Strength Increase Potion: After injection, strength will receive a permanent enhancement.] [Agility Increase Potion: After injection, agility will receive a permanent enhancement.] [Mental Boosting Potion: After injection, spirit will receive a permanent enhancement.] Without a second thought, Wang Tao took the potions and injected them into himself. Moments later, he felt even more powerful! Then Wang Tao looked at the third pack. [High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Small ultraviolet illumination flares x20] As before, one flashlight and 20 flares. After examining these items, an idea suddenly sprang to Wang Tao¡¯s mind. With his current strength, he had no problem handling a single Night Demon. If he teamed up with Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, they might even stand a chance against two Night Demons. Since Night Demons were Level 3 zombies, the rewards for killing them were tripled! Whether it was special energy, Crystal Cores, or potions, these were all things Wang Tao desperately wanted. So what if he deliberately kept himself at Level Two without advancing to Level 3 for now and went on a spree of hunting Level 3 Night Demons to snag triple the rewards? Wouldn¡¯t he be able to collect a substantial number of Crystal Cores and potions?! Wang Tao thought this plan... seemed feasible! Of course, right now he didn¡¯t need to hold back since he wasn¡¯t able to advance to Level 3 anyway. As for hunting Night Demons... the difficulty for him wasn¡¯t in how to kill a Night Demon, but in how to find a lone one¡ªor rather, how to lure one out... This was something he needed to thoroughly research in the future. ... The next day, early morning. The convoy stopped by a lake. ¡°We¡¯ve been driving all night. Everyone is exhausted... it¡¯s time to rest,¡± Yang Changhong said over the walkie-talkie to Wang Tao. This lake was beside a national highway, which they could take if anything happened. ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Tao agreed. After quickly setting up the defensive perimeters, they all hurried to catch up on sleep. As second-order Ability Users, Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, Xu Xiaojun, and Yang Changhong still felt relatively alert, so they took turns keeping watch. Yang Changhong looked at Wang Tao with a hesitant expression. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Nothing much, just... you¡¯re really amazing!¡± she said. Yang Changhong had wanted to ask Wang Tao about the Ability that turned him into a monster the previous night and how he, as a Level 2 Ability User, managed to defeat a Level 2 Night Demon with ease. But after contemplating, she decided not to ask. What difference would it make even if she knew? If she couldn¡¯t surpass him, that was that. Yang Changhong had always been a proud person, and she certainly had the credentials to be proud. Whether it was seizing the opportunity in the business world before the apocalypse or leading her employees to safety after the apocalypse... she vastly outperformed countless others. But ever since meeting Wang Tao, she felt her pride was on the verge of being crushed. Having such a powerful ally like him was reassuring, indeed. And it was true that Wang Tao had saved them many times. But still, she felt a bit lost. She began to believe that only someone as formidable as Wang Tao could survive in this post-apocalyptic world, while an ordinary person like her would eventually perish at the hands of the zombies. Chapter 404: 185 Zombie Fish_3 Chapter 404: Chapter 185 Zombie Fish_3 ¡°` If death is inevitable, what¡¯s the point in struggling to live? Wang Tao frowned slightly as he looked at Yang Changhong, whose eyes were gradually becoming vacant. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Nothing, I just feel... so powerless.¡± Yang Changhong let out a bitter laugh. ¡°Powerless?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if he had demoralized her; after all, normal people don¡¯t have the luxury to think about these things when just staying alive is an accomplishment! Wang Tao guessed that Yang Changhong must be feeling a sense of powerlessness after seeing the strength of the Night Demons. He patted Yang Changhong¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t lose heart. Zombies may be strong, but we humans are not weak either¡ªwe have intelligence. Haven¡¯t you seen things like inhibitors, mechanical arms, and the like? Even at the end of the world, we humans have not given up. I believe that in the end, victory will certainly belong to us!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t just talking nonsense; he truly believed that humanity had a chance to win. From what was being air-dropped, it was clear that everyone had been persisting and even making progress. Take Xu Xiaojun¡¯s mechanical arm, for example; with that thing, he could basically defeat most level two zombies. If more things like this were developed in the future, or if a cure for the zombie virus were found, then what if the zombies evolved quickly? Humans would still have a fighting chance! ¡°Hmm, you¡¯re right.¡± Though Wang Tao¡¯s consolation didn¡¯t hit the nail on the head, Yang Changhong still felt it was heartwarming. Her despairing mood had somewhat improved. Then she suddenly said with a smile, ¡°So, when do you think I can be as strong as you?¡± ¡°As strong as me?¡± Wang Tao thought about it seriously, then said, ¡°You¡¯d probably have to wait until I¡¯m at least ten or twenty times stronger than I am now.¡± ¡°...I¡¯m sleepy; I want to take a nap. Could you keep an eye on everyone for me, thanks!¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t want to talk with Wang Tao anymore. She didn¡¯t wait for a reply and immediately lay down on the grass, sprawling out like a salted fish. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; she wasn¡¯t tired just a moment ago, and now suddenly she was sleepy. This woman was not truthful. Shaking his head, Wang Tao went over to Jiang Shixue¡¯s side. ¡°Little Xue, let¡¯s go fishing.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Wang Tao still had the fishing gear he¡¯d used before. Although he was missing a fishing rod, it wasn¡¯t a big problem. There were some steel pipes in Yang Changhong¡¯s convoy that were used for making defensive structures, which could be used instead. Quickly, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue got the fishing rod ready. Then they sat by the lake and began fishing officially. Soon, Wang Tao felt something bite the hook. Seizing the opportunity, he pulled swiftly. A huge shadow was dragged out of the water. ¡°Haha, got a big one¡ªholy shit!¡± Wang Tao was originally pleased, but his expression darkened as soon as he saw what the fish actually looked like. This was a damn zombie fish! [HP: 6000/6000] [Mana: 2000/2000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] [Status: 90% Weaker Without Water] And it was a damn Level 2 Elite! Seeing this human-sized fish with rotting flesh and eerie light flickering in its eyes, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate to grab the firefighter axe at his waist and swung twice. The zombie fish¡¯s HP bar emptied instantly, and it died on the spot, dropping a loot pack. Xu Xiaojun, who was on alert nearby, noticed the commotion and ran over. He thought Wang Tao had hooked a big fish, but was baffled when he saw what it actually was. ¡°Ah, this...¡± It was his first time seeing a zombie fish. ¡°It¡¯s a zombie fish, and a level two at that...¡± It was also Wang Tao¡¯s first encounter. He quickly smashed open the fish¡¯s head to find a white crystal core inside. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡¤ Aquatic Breath] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Partial growth of fish scales)] [Aquatic Breath: Passive Ability, evolve gills, can breathe freely in water] At first glance, Wang Tao found the ability of this crystal core impressive. Being able to breathe underwater meant evolving from a land animal to an amphibian! But after seeing the side effect and the actual ability, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. The side effect was the growth of fish scales on the body, which was hard to accept. However, by synthesizing the crystal core, perhaps he could remove the side effect, But the ability of Aquatic Breath came with gills¡ªthis wasn¡¯t a side effect, and he couldn¡¯t remove it. He had no desire to turn into a gilled monster, so this crystal core was definitely not meant for Wang Tao. Regarding the loot pack that the zombie fish dropped, it contained a potion he had never seen before. [Obtained: Breath-holding Potion*5] [Breath-holding Potion: Can hold breath underwater for ten minutes, cooldown time 1 hour] The potion was quite good, it might come in handy to hide from zombies in the water, provided there were no zombies in the water. ¡°Little Jun, you fish. If you catch any, kill them yourself. These fish lose a lot of their strength after getting on land, and it¡¯s simple to kill them.¡± Xu Xiaojun could restore his HP by killing the zombie fish, and since Wang Tao¡¯s HP was already full, he let Xu Xiaojun have this opportunity. ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun was excited; this was a rare opportunity! Wang Tao went back to Yang Changhong¡¯s side, finding that she had indeed fallen asleep. So he patted her face. ¡°Hmm...¡± Yang Changhong woke up groggily. She was an undeniable beauty, and although her skin was now a bit rough, her facial proportions were very attractive. Her dazed appearance was quite different from her previous image as a tough leader but was charming in its own right. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to be as strong as me? Here¡¯s your chance.¡± There were too many fish here for Xu Xiaojun to handle alone. They had to call others to help, and not waste this opportunity. ¡°Huh?¡± After seeing the situation for herself, Yang Changhong finally understood the meaning of an old saying¡ª¡¯A setback may turn out to be a blessing in disguise!¡¯ ¡°` Chapter 405: 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_1 Chapter 405: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_1 ¡°` Pfft! Yang Changhong wielded her knife and killed the Level 2 Zombie Fish beneath her feet, then wiped the sweat from her forehead and took a deep breath. She had never imagined that one day, she would become a butcher slaughtering fish, nor had she expected that killing fish could leave her so exhausted... At this moment, the scene around her was bustling with activity, everyone was fishing, killing fish! The strong fished solo and killed on their own. Those less powerful teamed up to fish and took turns at killing. Even though the strength of these Zombie Fish dropped significantly after coming ashore, it didn¡¯t mean they were powerless. If an ordinary person caught a Zombie Fish, they might not even be able to pull it out of the water, and could even be dragged in by the Zombie Fish! These Level 1 ability users were able to pull the fish onto land, but that didn¡¯t guarantee a quick kill. After all, the Zombie Fish were about the size of humans, and when they struggled, it was chaotic. If one were to get bitten, the best outcome would be wasting a bottle of inhibitor. So everyone measured their own strength, careful not to put themselves in too much danger in the quest to increase their power. It was Yang Changhong who had called these people together. But she had asked Wang Tao in advance, since this was his discovery. Although Wang Tao shared it with her, it didn¡¯t mean he wanted to share it with everyone else. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that petty; the lake was vast and filled with many Zombie Fish. So many people fishing together might not even be able to catch all of them. Wang Tao observed that all the fish in this lake were Zombie Fish, with not a single normal one in sight, likely because, much like human society, they were infected by the zombie virus. Moreover, most of them were Level 1 and Level 2 Zombie Fish. For these ability users, it was a holy land for enhancing their strength! The crowd worked with well-distributed roles, Level 1 ability users killed Level 1 Zombie Fish, and Second-order Superpower Owners slayed the Level 2 ones. If a Level 1 ability user caught a Level 2 Zombie Fish, they¡¯d call over Little Jun or Yang Changhong to deal with it. If Yang Changhong and Little Jun caught a Level 1 Zombie Fish, they¡¯d pass it on to others to kill. Differentiating between Level 1 and Level Two was straightforward: anything others could pull out of the water was below Level 1, and anything too heavy to move was Level 2. This method was proposed by Wang Tao, considering that Level 2 ability users would only gain half the HP from killing Level 1 Zombies. And for a Level 1 ability user, even with the significantly reduced strength on shore, killing a Level 2 Zombie Fish would be troublesome and potentially life-threatening. So, they should only tackle fish within their power range. Wang Tao made another fishing rod for himself, wanting to see if he could catch Level 2, Lord, or even Level 3 Zombie Fish! If Wang Tao killed Lagrangian points¡¯s Superpower Owners, he would gain Special Energy for such an overpowered victory. However, from morning until the evening, he had not caught a fish above Level 2, Lord; the highest level was the Level 2, Elites. Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless, the number of elite zombie fish in this lake was unexpectedly high, a situation he had encountered at both the Water Ze Hospital and the Weeds Reservoir. Therefore, Wang Tao speculated there might be an even more formidable Zombie Fish here, but unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know if his conjecture was inaccurate or if there truly were none... Of course, it wasn¡¯t without any gains, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s HP was rapidly increasing. Wang Tao gave all the fish he caught to him. Jiang Shixue had no interest in fishing, but she enjoyed watching others fish, so she sat obediently next to Wang Tao, watching him fish. ¡°We had agreed to travel during the day today... but ended up fishing all day...¡± Yang Changhong spoke to Wang Tao with a mix of happiness and helplessness. She was naturally happy because her HP had greatly increased. The sensation of watching one¡¯s strength gradually increase was enchanting. Her helplessness stemmed from the fact that the plan to go to Zijing City had been postponed again. Wang Tao glanced at Yang Changhong. Her HP was now at 10200, up from just 7000 before, marking a significant improvement in strength. ¡°No problem, enhancing strength is the most important thing. You can fish for a couple more days.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Seeing that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry, Yang Changhong immediately felt relieved. Having discovered this good spot, she intended to stay a couple more days, since such opportunities were rare. However, Wang Tao had previously mentioned wanting to go to a military base, and she was afraid he might become impatient, so she wanted to gauge his attitude. If it had been before, she would have thought it no big deal to part ways. But now, having seen Wang Tao¡¯s strength, only a fool would choose to go separate paths. The next morning, the fishing operation continued. And this one lasted for three days. Perhaps the Zombie Fish in the lake had almost been caught out; catching Level 1, Elites and Level 2, Elites became less and less likely. Wang Tao felt that they could probably leave tomorrow if the gains weren¡¯t substantial, it wouldn¡¯t be worth continuing to waste time here. But on this evening, just as Yang Changhong hadn¡¯t caught a fish for half an hour, she suddenly felt something bite her line. When she yanked hard, not only did she fail to pull it up, but she nearly fell on her face. Watching her steel fishing rod nearly pulled from her grasp, Yang Changhong immediately shouted loudly: ¡°Wang Tao! There¡¯s a big one!¡± Wang Tao heard the commotion and rushed over immediately. Seeing Yang Changhong clutching the fishing rod, being slowly dragged toward the water, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes brightened. If it was able to drag Yang Changhong, a Second-order Superpower Owner, towards the water, then this had to be at least a Level 2, Lord Zombie Fish, or above! He grabbed the steel rod and gave a fierce tug¡ªbut it didn¡¯t come up! ¡°` Chapter 406: 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_2 Chapter 406: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_2 ¡°` ¡°...It must be a Level 3 Zombie Fish!¡± Wang Tao called over Xu Xiaojun, who activated his mechanical arm, and together with three Second-order Superpower Owners, they finally pulled up a huge creature! ¡°...¡± The onlookers nearby were suddenly rendered speechless at the sight. They felt an intimidating force rushing towards them! This force was even more terrifying than the one they had felt from the Night Demon Zombie! The thing Wang Tao pulled up was a zombie fish as big as a room, its rotting belly exposed, filled with fish eggs the size of chicken eggs! [HP: 40000/40000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Status: 90% Weaker Without Water] ¡°Holy shit! Level 3... Lord?¡± Wang Tao was a bit shocked. He had initially thought that a Level 3 Elite would have been impressive, but now he was facing a Level 3 Lord! Wang Tao had encountered a Level 3, Lord, only once before, which was the Blue-skinned Night Demon he saw in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. That Blue-skinned Night Demon had 50,000 HP, and Wang Tao felt that a single touch could kill him, so he fled the moment he saw it. And now, another Level 3, Lord, has appeared! Although it had less HP than a Blue-skinned Night Demon, 40,000 HP was still enough to kill everyone instantly. The terrifying aura it emitted made everyone afraid to even speak! However... It was a zombie fish! It also had a negative status of being 90% weaker without water! If he hadn¡¯t seen the attributes, Wang Tao might have considered retreating temporarily, as he wasn¡¯t confident against a Level 3, Lord. But since he saw it was weakened by 90%, not taking advantage of this opportunity would be like inviting lightning to strike him! ¡°Everyone, scatter!¡± Wang Tao immediately screamed. Only then did everyone snap back to reality, scrambling to distance themselves from the spot. A Level 3 Zombie, even weakened, was not something they could handle! Yang Changhong felt his legs trembling. If not for Wang Tao being there, she would have thought about running away. ¡°Sss¡ª¡± After the giant fish was dragged ashore, it immediately let out an unpleasant hiss. Almost everyone felt their heads grow heavy! The reason it¡¯s almost everyone is that Jiang Shixue was unaffected; she ran over to Wang Tao and pinched his leg. Wang Tao winced in pain and slowly regained his senses. He saw a pair of eyes glowing red, and then saw the others standing unsteadily, as if they were dizzy. ¡°Area dizziness ability?¡± Fortunately, Jiang Shixue was not affected; otherwise, it might have been troublesome! After the giant fish stunned everyone, it immediately started thrashing about, attempting to get back into the water. Although it felt the humans around it were weak and delicious, its instincts told it it was weak now and needed to get back into the water! Wang Tao obviously couldn¡¯t let it escape. If it got back into the water, no one could defeat it. So, Wang Tao immediately activated Entangling Roots. Black roots burst forth from Wang Tao¡¯s wrist. Within moments, they entwined around his body, transforming him into a 2.5-meter-tall monster! Wang Tao gripped his steel rod fishing pole and pulled hard! Whoosh¡ª The rope from the fishing rod could no longer hold on and snapped. But the giant fish was successfully flung by Wang Tao and landed heavily behind him. Thud¡ª There was only grass behind Wang Tao, no water source. The impact of the fish landing made the ground shake, causing everyone to fall. This fall actually helped them clear their heads. But as soon as they regained consciousness and before they could figure out what was happening, the zombie fish roared again. ¡°Sss¡ª¡± In an instant, everyone was dizzy again. With the protection of Entangling Roots, Wang Tao also felt dizzy for a moment but quickly recovered. He and Jiang Shixue charged towards the zombie fish and raised their fists, smashing them down hard on the massive fish head. Bang! [-3004] [-1308] [35688/40000] There was a muffled sound. He dealt 3,000 damage, and Jiang Shixue dealt 1,300 damage. The defense of the zombie fish was much higher than that of Night Demon, considering it was in a state of 90% weakness! Without the weakness, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if his damage would break a thousand. But that was no big issue, as the zombie fish was already on sticky ground, and it was just a matter of time before they killed it. The zombie fish thrashed its tail, but since it was on land, it couldn¡¯t move; it could at best thrash around and flip over, which Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue could easily dodge. While dodging, they instantly landed several punches. [-3187] [-1298] [-3219] [-1029] [-3381] [-1323] [22251/40000] ¡°Sss¡ª¡± With another roar from the zombie fish, Wang Tao was slightly affected, but Jiang Shixue was not at all affected and took the opportunity to land two more punches. [-1320] [-1248] [19683/40000] As for everyone else, they were continuously dazed, even Xu Xiaojun and Yang Changhong, both Second-order Superpower Owners, couldn¡¯t wake up! Wang Tao didn¡¯t care about them because the zombie fish¡¯s dazing ability was different from the earlier Gorilla Zombie¡¯s War Roar¡ªit was purely dizzying and didn¡¯t cause HP loss. Once recovered, Wang Tao once again punched at the zombie fish twice. [-3309] [-3458] [12916/40000] Suddenly, the zombie fish opened its mouth wide and spewed a huge mouthful of water! However, due to its large size and being on land, it wasn¡¯t flexible, so the attack naturally missed. The water sprayed onto the grass. Despite looking clear and transparent, the water made a sizzling burning sound when it touched the grass, quickly melting it. ¡°Does it have a corrosive effect?¡± ¡°` Chapter 407: 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_3 Chapter 407: Chapter 186: Killing a Level 3 Lord_3 Wang Tao felt some relief, grateful that he had dragged him over here. The others were far away, otherwise, if they had been sprayed, they probably would have been done for! Watching the big fish open its gaping mouth once more, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was roaring or spraying water, but a Slime Grenade appeared in his hand, which he threw directly into that bloody maw. Splat! A clump of white slime appeared and instantly stuck the zombie fish¡¯s mouth shut. Although it only held for a few short seconds, it successfully interrupted the zombie fish¡¯s casting, rendering its attack ineffective. Wang Tao charged to its side again, with Jiang Shixue attacking from the left and right in a pincer move. [-3592] [-1349] [-3521] [-1298] Just then, the zombie fish swung its tail violently with incredible speed. Relying on the Entangling Roots on his body, Wang Tao withstood the hit, but Jiang Shixue was sent flying. [-128] [29999/29999(9872/10000)] The purpose of Wang Tao enduring that blow was to land the final strike! Splat! [-3156] [0/40000] This punch sank directly into the zombie fish¡¯s head. Even through the Entangling Roots he wore, Wang Tao could smell a fishy stench. But he immediately felt the zombie fish¡¯s Crystal Core, swiftly pocketing it along with the Loot Pack, then he hurried over to Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue had just lost over four hundred HP. ¡°I¡¯m okay, Brother Wang.¡± Wang Tao used a medical kit on Jiang Shixue and carefully checked her over. Once assured she was fine, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Turning back to look at the huge corpse of the zombie fish, his mouth hidden beneath the mask of roots almost stretched to his ears. The Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord was very strong, but sadly, it was weakened by 90%, and out of water, it lost its maneuverability¡ªno, it had no maneuverability at all, making it nothing but a target for him and Jiang Shixue! So although it was a Level 3 Lord, Wang Tao found it extremely easy to kill, even more so than the Night Demon he had faced the night before! After all, the Night Demon had managed to hit him several times, while the zombie fish only landed a single blow on him. And if he hadn¡¯t wanted to finish it off quickly, he might have had a chance to dodge even that attack. After the zombie fish died, there were still numerous roe inside it. Wang Tao launched some Shockwaves, randomly shattering these egg-sized roe. As a result, they even released loot packs¡ª [Obtained: Roe x103483] [Roe: Edible, non-toxic, delicious] ¡°Good heavens, a hundred thousand roe? And it¡¯s food?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Each piece of roe was the size of a chicken egg¡ªdidn¡¯t a hundred thousand pieces of roe equate to a hundred thousand chicken eggs? Just the roe alone was a massive haul! However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to check his loot but went instead to wake the others up, as they were still in a state of dizziness up until now. It took some effort, but the two of them finally managed to rouse everyone. ¡°What happened...¡± Many were still somewhat out of it after being continuously dazed several times. Yang Changhong and Xu Xiaojun recovered the quickest. Seeing the zombie fish with a crushed skull, Yang Changhong was shocked. Her memory stopped just before the dizziness set in. It felt like one moment she closed her eyes and the next the battle was over? Had Wang Tao triumphed? Even though the zombie fish¡¯s strength would certainly be limited on land, it was still a Level 3 zombie! Xu Xiaojun, on the other hand, took it as a matter of course¡ªBrother Wang was in action, so of course there would be no issues! ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t have time to ponder; she asked concernedly after Wang Tao and the others, and after seeing that they were all right, she quickly went to check on everyone else. Assured that the rest were just a bit dizzy and not seriously injured, she finally relaxed. ¡°You all rest well tonight, we¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning,¡± Wang Tao said to Zhang Hong. ¡°Hmm!¡± Zhang Hong nodded. The fish here had almost all been caught, and the Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord was slain by Wang Tao, so it was time to leave. The others were somewhat reluctant to leave, but the Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord had dazed them for such a long time that they all had psychological shadows and wanted to leave as soon as possible. Watching everyone start to clean up the battlefield, Wang Tao began to take stock of his loot as well. The Zombie Fish had brought him 9,600 Special Energy! This brought Wang Tao¡¯s total Special Energy to 24,340! It can only be said that a Level 3 Lord indeed was terrifyingly powerful! Then came the Loot Packs, three in total. The first was naturally the Crystal Core Gift Bag, which contained four Crystal Cores. Along with the one from the Zombie Fish¡¯s head, that was a total of five Crystal Cores. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Aquatic Breath] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Some parts of the body will grow fish scales)] A Level 3 Aquatic Breath Crystal Core from inside the Zombie Fish¡¯s head, nothing much to say about it; it wasn¡¯t the type Wang Tao liked. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: None)] Another Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core! Counting this one, Wang Tao now had four Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores! One Excellent, three Excellent! He hadn¡¯t completed his collection of other Crystal Cores yet and had already finished the Ascension ones... which felt somewhat magical. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Shockwave Dizziness] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Mouth gets bigger)] [Shockwave Dizziness: Can daze creatures for a long time (the duration of dizziness is related to the opponent¡¯s spiritual power), but they will awaken if disturbed by external things] This Crystal Core was the dizziness ability used by the Zombie Fish earlier. Its dizziness lasts for quite a while, but any major disturbance would wake the victims. Moreover, the length of dizziness is related to the opponent¡¯s spiritual power. If Jiang Shixue was unaffected, doesn¡¯t that mean she had high spiritual power? Even though it was the same type of dizziness, Wang Tao still preferred the earlier War Cry Ability. As for the side effect, if one wasn¡¯t too concerned about their appearance, it seemed ignorable, right? [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Corrosive Saliva] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Belly gets bigger)] [Corrosive Saliva: Stores one-tenth of the water ingested in the stomach and fuses it with stomach acid. The fused water can be spat out with strong corrosive properties] This was the spouting water ability used by the Zombie Fish earlier, similar to the Spittle Nail; one spits food, and the other saliva. Wang Tao felt that the success rate for fusing these two Abilities must be quite high. If he fused these two abilities, wouldn¡¯t he be able to spit both projectiles and corrosive water? It seemed interesting to consider. As for the last Crystal Core, it was a passive Ability. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Swimming Champion] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Some parts of the body will grow fish scales)] [Swimming Champion: Passive Ability, greatly increases swimming skills] Chapter 408: 187 The Proud Woman_1 Chapter 408: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_1 ¡°` The ¡°Swimming Champion¡± ability seems pretty good. Passive abilities don¡¯t need mana to use, which is essentially a permanent enhancement to physical attributes. If there¡¯s a chance, it might be worth trying to synthesize it with other passive abilities... Then there¡¯s the second Loot Pack. All potions inside, two types in total. [Obtained: Breath-holding Potion x10] The first one is the Breath-holding Potion, which is quite effective, allowing one to hold their breath for ten minutes. Wang Tao already has dozens of bottles, but unfortunately, no blueprints. [Obtained: Infertility Treatment Potion x10] [Infertility Treatment Potion: Capable of treating most infertility issues] ¡°?¡± This second type of potion has Wang Tao a bit stunned. Killed a Zombie Fish and got medicine for treating infertility? How absurd is this! But then thinking about the multitude of fish eggs, it seems reasonable, doesn¡¯t it? Without a doubt, this is good stuff. If it were before the apocalypse, it probably would fetch a good price since many people have such issues. Even now, in the apocalypse, there might still be people troubled by this problem... Wang Tao definitely doesn¡¯t need it, but he could sell it to those in need later. Lastly, the final Loot Pack. [Obtained: Diving Suit x1] [Diving Suit: Durability +30, Tear Resistance +30, can stay at about twenty meters underwater for an hour. Oxygen tank automatically replenishes air¡ª fully recharges in 10 hours of exposure to the open air.] Inside is a set of black clothes that look like a frogman¡¯s gear, but this suit is exceptional. It¡¯s a diving suit complete with an oxygen tank, a propeller, and it looks quite impressive. And this one automatically replenishes oxygen! Like charging for 10 hours, to last for 1 hour of use. It¡¯s not something Wang Tao can wear regularly, but it might come in handy in critical moments. But Wang Tao doesn¡¯t dare to casually enter the water anymore since he¡¯s confirmed there might be Zombie Fish in it. Like the Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord he encountered today¡ªif Wang Tao had encountered it in the water, he would have most likely been dead... Even the Level 2 Zombie Fish he killed effortlessly, if it was in water, it¡¯s uncertain whether he would have been able to defeat it. Besides the loot from this Level 3 Zombie Fish, Wang Tao has also killed some Level 1 and Level 2 Elite Zombies, but only got some more Breath-holding Potions and Aquatic Breath crystals. He feels that apart from the Level 3 Zombie Fish, the others are rather weak, even the Elites, as they don¡¯t seem to have any abilities. He hasn¡¯t seen other crystals appear. Maybe because these fish were cultivated by the Level 3 Fish Lord? It does have so many eggs... No matter what, the haul was great this time. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Yang Changhong and the others had just finished cleaning up the battlefield, and she approached with a cloth bag. ¡°These Crystal Cores are for you, after all, you discovered them, and you dealt with the Level 3 Zombie Fish, saving us from a crisis...¡± All the Crystal Cores in the bag were ¡°Aquatic Breath,¡± ranging from Level 1 to Level Two. Wang Tao had already explained the ability of this crystal to them, and they all expressed no desire to merge with it. While the Aquatic Breath ability is strong, it would cause gills and scales to grow on the body. Moreover, with Zombie Fish present in the water, they would only enter the water if absolutely necessary, making these crystals practically useless to them. ¡°Okay, thanks.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and simply accepted them. Even though these crystals aren¡¯t of much use to him personally, they can be used to nurture the Entangling Roots. Why refuse something that¡¯s free? ¡°We should be thanking you!¡± Yang Changhong said with a smile. Her own improvement was not small, and her entire team¡¯s strength had risen! If not for Wang Tao, they couldn¡¯t have possibly had such gains. After exchanging pleasantries, Yang Changhong suggested: ¡°As for what¡¯s next, I propose we rest well here tonight and set off early tomorrow morning, aiming to reach Zijing City quickly...¡± ¡°Yes, let everyone have a good rest.¡± These people have been fishing with such excitement in the past few days that they haven¡¯t slept well. Continuing the journey after a good rest wouldn¡¯t be too late. In the evening, Wang Tao used the Zombie Culture Fluid on Jiang Shixue again. Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP reached 29200; one more treatment and she could hit the upper limit for Level Two HP! Then Wang Tao found that the Tree Essence Liquid was available for use again. However, only he and Jiang Shixue could use it; Xu Xiaojun had tried it without any effect. Could it be that the cooldown time for using Tree Essence Liquid is related to strength? Though somewhat puzzled, Wang Tao didn¡¯t overthink it and just drank it. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue each drank 10 shares because the cooldown had reached a point where they could only consume 10, with any more being ineffective. Afterward, there was no change in Wang Tao¡¯s HP, but his mana increased to 8000! As for Jiang Shixue, her HP finally hit 29999! No need to wait for another nurturing session! ¡°Can you feel what you need to do to ascend to Level 3?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°I... don¡¯t know.¡± Jiang Shixue looked somewhat lost. When Wang Tao reached this HP level, he could clearly feel he needed to upgrade all his Abilities to Level 3 before he could ascend. So he wanted to know if Jiang Shixue had any feeling about it. But it seemed she still couldn¡¯t sense anything. Wang Tao thought for a moment and took out an outstanding quality Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core. Jiang Shixue¡¯s impurity level was already at 100%, so there was no need to worry about impurities or to have Wang Tao do the synthesis. ¡°` Chapter 409: 187 The Proud Woman_2 Chapter 409: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_2 But unfortunately, when Jiang Shixue placed the Ascension Crystal Core in her mouth, she couldn¡¯t fuse with it. She truly had no need for the Ascension Crystal Core. This left Wang Tao feeling somewhat helpless; Jiang Shixue¡¯s situation was very special, and he couldn¡¯t understand it. Regardless, Jiang Shixue had still increased her HP to 29999, and now she was Wang Tao¡¯s strongest helper, which once again boosted the strength of his small team. Wang Tao even felt that she could probably take on a Level 3 Night Demon by herself! But there was no need to test that theory¡ªwhy go for a one-on-one fight when you can gang up? Early the next day, the convoy was all geared up and ready to go. At Yang Changhong¡¯s command, the group set off toward Zijing City once again. The previous two escapes had led the convoy slightly off course, but the overall direction was correct, continuously heading west. After consulting the map, Yang Changhong and Wang Tao quickly plotted a new route. This time they didn¡¯t encounter any major dangers. The occasional zombies they did encounter were dealt with by Yang Changhong and her team. If the situation was more tricky, they would let Xu Xiaojun handle it. However, in the past few days, the convoy came across several supply planes! This was something Wang Tao hadn¡¯t anticipated. The supply drops used to come about once a month, but why did he feel like they were becoming more frequent lately? These transport planes were not directly overhead, but Wang Tao tried to make contact several times, all unsuccessfully. As for the supply drops, they did manage to pick up two of them, which contained medicine and food. Although there were no inhibitors or mechanical exoskeletons, it was still good enough. ¡°Eh? Another supply drop!¡± That day, Wang Tao suddenly looked up. He heard the sound of an airplane! Moments later, a plane indeed appeared in the sky., and from the looks of it, it seemed it would pass right overhead! ¡°The supply plane is coming!¡± Yang Changhong noticed as well and immediately notified everyone through the vehicle intercom. Watching the plane draw closer to the convoy, everyone¡¯s faces were filled with anticipation. The last time a transport plane flew over their heads, it dropped five supply crates. Now they were not expecting five¡ªjust one would be enough! Wang Tao took out his military radio and began trying to contact the pilot above. ¡°Hello, this is Survivor Wang Tao, I am right below you!¡± ¡°Hello, this is Survivor Wang Tao, I am right below you!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Szzz... Szzz...¡± The radio crackled with static, which didn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao. The last successful contact had been when the plane was directly overhead, and it was still far away at the moment. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop and kept trying. As the plane slowly reached the position right above the crowd, at last, there was a response through the radio! ¡°Szzz... Wang Tao... I know you... I am Luo...¡± Hearing the hoarse voice over the radio, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Colonel Luo? What a coincidence, it¡¯s you again!¡± He hadn¡¯t expected it to be Luo Guozhong again¡ªunless there was another pilot with the last name Luo. ¡°Szzz... Yes... supply drop... is gone... sorry... Szzz...¡± The other party actually apologized to Wang Tao, though the voice sounded somewhat cold. ¡°All the supply drops are gone? No problem, we¡¯re not in urgent need of supplies for the moment...¡± Wang Tao quickly explained. The supply drops didn¡¯t really matter, but as long as he could establish a good connection with Colonel Luo, there would definitely be more supply drops in the future. ¡°Then that¡¯s... good... Szzz...¡± Watching the plane fly past overhead and start to move away, Wang Tao hurriedly said: ¡°I will be visiting the military base soon. Since we have met, it¡¯s fate. I will treat you to a drink when the time comes!¡± ¡°Szzz... Szzz...¡± The other party didn¡¯t reply; the plane had already flown off into the distance. ¡°Ah, what a shame, no supply drop this time... Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go!¡± In the vehicle intercom, Yang Changhong¡¯s voice carried a hint of regret. The group continued on their journey. That evening, as Wang Tao was pondering over how to use his more than 20,000 units of Special Energy, Yang Changhong¡¯s voice came through the vehicle intercom once again. ¡°Wang Tao, we¡¯ve arrived at Zijing City Downtown!¡± ¡°Hm? We¡¯re here already?¡± Wang Tao lifted his head. He could see more houses along the road, and the roads were getting wider, although there were also more abandoned vehicles. Looking further afield, he could see some tall buildings. ¡°Zijing City, we¡¯ve finally arrived!¡± Wang Tao sighed. This trip to Zijing City had taken many more days than expected, with many incidents along the way. But it was a relief that they arrived safely. The convoy stopped by the side of the road. Yang Changhong got out of her vehicle and knocked on Wang Tao¡¯s door. ¡°Wang Tao, what are your plans now...¡± ¡°Come in and talk.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Yang Changhong entered, looking at Wang Tao¡¯s handsome face; her expression was a complex mix of emotions and reluctance. After all, with Wang Tao being so powerful, she really wished he would stay with her convoy, but Wang Tao had already made it clear before that he intended to go to the military base. Now that they had arrived in Zijing City, it was only a matter of when Wang Tao would leave... ¡°What about you? What are your plans?¡± Wang Tao asked in return. ¡°We¡¯re planning to rest here tonight and then head into the city tomorrow to look for survivors from Zijing City and get some information about the situation here. If there¡¯s a large Survivor Base, we¡¯ll ask about its exact location. If the base is suitable, we¡¯ll consider staying here. If it¡¯s not suitable or there¡¯s no large Survivor Base, then we¡¯ll decide what to do next...¡± Yang Changhong shared their upcoming plans. However, her tone was slightly wistful, as she still didn¡¯t know what exactly the situation was within Zijing City. There was also a good chance it could all be for nothing... Chapter 410: 187 The Proud Woman_3 Chapter 410: Chapter 187 The Proud Woman_3 Wang Tao nodded and then said with a smile: ¡°Let¡¯s rest for the night, and then we¡¯ll part ways tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°...Okay.¡± Yang Changhong didn¡¯t say anything more and got out of the car to leave. She found a suitable spot, and the convoy began to ¡°set up camp.¡± Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun for a look around the area to ensure that there was nothing that could threaten their safety nearby. By nightfall, everything on the convoy¡¯s end was ready. Yang Changhong invited Wang Tao over for dinner. In the past, for convenience, everyone usually ate separately. But since they were all parting ways in the morning, this might be their last supper together; thus, it had a bit of a ceremonial feel. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯m very grateful for your care along the way...¡± Yang Changhong raised her water glass, using water in place of wine. She actually liked drinking, but after the apocalypse had begun, she had given it up¡ªafter all, drinking led to mistakes. ¡°We¡¯ve been looking after each other.¡± Wang Tao raised his water glass and clinked it with hers. The mood among the people was somewhat melancholic; they might not call Wang Tao a ¡®good brother,¡¯ but at the very least, they were now friends. If this were before the apocalypse, they might have had the chance to meet up again in the future, but now that the world had ended, once they separated, they might never get the chance to see each other again for the rest of their lives... After dinner, it had already turned dark. Yang Changhong arranged for people to take turns on guard duty, while Wang Tao went back to his car. He wasn¡¯t tired, but he planned to rest well since he was heading to Zijing City tomorrow. Given the scale and population of Zijing City, he could already imagine how dangerous it would be inside... However, at this moment, Yang Changhong suddenly came over again. ¡°Wang Tao, there¡¯s something I want to talk to you about. Could you come over?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao got out of the car, and Yang Changhong immediately turned around, leading Wang Tao outside of her car with her head lowered, not allowing Wang Tao to see her face clearly. ¡°Shall we talk inside?¡± Turning around, Yang Changhong replied, and only then did Wang Tao realize that she seemed... to have put on light makeup? ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao got into the car with her. Yang Changhong¡¯s car was luxurious, worth over five million before the apocalypse. Owning such a car was definitely a symbol of someone of high status. Although the exterior of the car now looked worn and had various modifications giving it a tattered feeling, once inside, it was evident that the interior was still well-maintained, much more luxurious than Wang Tao¡¯s interior. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Wang Tao asked, slightly puzzled after looking around. ¡°I...¡± Yang Changhong started to speak and suddenly reached out, wrapped her arms around Wang Tao¡¯s neck, pressing her entire body against him, allowing Wang Tao to clearly feel a softness. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Looking at Yang Changhong, who hadn¡¯t drunk any alcohol but had a flushed face and a misty look in her eyes, Wang Tao seemed puzzled but didn¡¯t push her away. ¡°When we part ways this time, we might never see each other again in this lifetime...¡± Yang Changhong said softly, staring at Wang Tao. ¡°You want me to stay?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. But Yang Changhong shook her head. ¡°No, I know you¡¯re a very determined person. I¡¯m self-aware and know I can¡¯t keep you...¡± ¡°Then what is this...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat confused. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how long I have left to live; bad luck might kill me tomorrow. And you¡¯re the strongest man I¡¯ve ever met... so, I want to experience something wonderful in this world before death. Even if I die later, I will have no regrets...¡± After finishing, Yang Changhong¡¯s face turned even redder, but she didn¡¯t avoid Wang Tao¡¯s gaze. If she was to die later, she did not want to die still a virgin... Wang Tao was somewhat speechless upon hearing this. He had thought this woman had fallen for him, but it turned out he was flattering himself. As though she knew what Wang Tao was thinking, Yang Changhong smiled playfully: ¡°I admit you¡¯re strong, but a proud person like me couldn¡¯t possibly fall for a man in just a few days. I just think that other women are not worthy of me. You, well, barely pass!¡± Although she said this, her grip around Wang Tao tightened. Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite understand what this woman was thinking, but what the heck, meat delivered to his mouth, could he reject it? He hadn¡¯t had meat for a long time. ¡°Proud? I want to see how long you can stay proud!¡± Wang Tao chuckled wickedly and reached out to strip off Yang Changhong¡¯s clothes. ¡°Hiss... you¡¯re not wearing anything inside...¡± ¡°I prepared it especially for you...¡± Yang Changhong blushed, letting Wang Tao slowly strip her bare. Wang Tao embraced Yang Changhong¡¯s head and gently kissed her. In a corner of the temporary camp, a luxurious SUV was rhythmically rocking. Late into the night. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was wrong, please spare me...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao walked out of Yang Changhong¡¯s car, neat and tidy. The guards who saw him just smiled ambiguously and said nothing more. Wang Tao returned to his car. Jiang Shixue was inside sleeping. Hearing the noise, she opened her eyes to glance at Wang Tao; she was curious but didn¡¯t ask any questions. After Wang Tao lay down, she naturally snuggled into his embrace. If this were before, Wang Tao would have felt somewhat uncomfortable. After all, he was a young man in his prime. But now, feeling the person beside him, Wang Tao was calm, even going so far as to hug Jiang Shixue, which made her eyes light up. Wang Tao¡¯s heart was unruffled. Heh, just a woman. How could she disturb my inner peace? 1 The next day, early morning. Wang Tao¡¯s car quietly left the convoy. He didn¡¯t even go to say goodbye to Yang Changhong. Inside the luxurious SUV. Yang Changhong watched the departing car and suddenly wore a frustrated, resentful expression as she bitterly said: ¡°What a nemesis! I can¡¯t travel today; I¡¯ll rest another day... If I ever have the chance to meet you in this lifetime... you¡¯ll see!¡± ... Morning. As soon as Wang Tao entered the area of Zijing City Downtown, the car radio that had been left on suddenly came to life. ¡°Sss...help! Is anyone there? Please save us... sss...¡± Chapter 411: 188: Distress Message_1 Chapter 411: Chapter 188: Distress Message_1 ¡°...Is anybody there? Please save us!¡± Upon hearing the woman¡¯s voice on the car¡¯s intercom, Wang Tao¡¯s brow lifted. His car¡¯s intercom had always been on, just in case he could pick up other survivors¡¯ communications... He had just been saying to Xu Xiaojun that he didn¡¯t know when they would find other survivors, and now had an opportunity been delivered to his doorstep? However, the other party was asking for help, which obviously meant they were in great danger. In such an unfamiliar place, Wang Tao had to be cautious. The vast Zijing City was definitely more dangerous than any place he had been before. Xu Xiaojun slowly pulled the car over to the side of the road, and he and Jiang Shixue both looked towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao pressed the talk button on the intercom, his tone steady as he spoke: ¡°Who are you? Where are you? What danger have you encountered?¡± ¡°Who are you...¡± Wang Tao repeated several times, and after a moment. ¡°Szzz... Ah? Someone! There really is someone!¡± Although she tried to keep her voice down on the other end, it was noticeable that she was very surprised. ¡°My name is Nie Siyan, and we¡¯re surrounded by a bunch of bad guys! They want to kill us! Help!¡± The voice over the intercom was panicked. ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re saying... people? Survivors? You¡¯re surrounded by survivors?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed. He had thought that these people were surrounded by zombies... If it was a fight between survivors, that would be more complicated. ¡°Yes! Outside are a bunch of heartless murderers! Big Brother, can you come save us? If they break through, we¡¯re all dead!¡± Listening to the other party¡¯s anxious words, Wang Tao calmly said: ¡°Tell me the specifics of the situation.¡± ¡°Alright... After a brief explanation from the other end, Wang Tao roughly understood what had happened. According to this Nie Siyan, they were currently at a place called the ¡°Haochen Hotel,¡± where there were still 11 people. They had been gathering supplies outside yesterday and took shelter in the hotel last night. But unexpectedly, a group of survivors had broken into the hotel. These people were extremely vicious and powerful, and they had taken over their place by force, wanting to capture them as slaves. Outmatched, they could only run upstairs. They were now hiding on the tenth floor, and all stairways leading up had been blocked, preventing the gang of villains from reaching them for the time being. But in their haste to escape earlier, they had left the food downstairs, and now all the food was commandeered by the villains. The hotel had been scavenged long ago, and there was no food upstairs, leaving them dizzy from hunger. Meanwhile, the villains downstairs continued to threaten and entice them. They said there were two choices for them: either come down obediently, admit their wrongdoings, and let bygones be bygones, or stay upstairs until they starved to death... Of course, no one believed them, because Nie Siyan had witnessed with her own eyes the merciless killing of their companions by the gang downstairs! If they dared to go down, they would surely die! And before death, they would endure all kinds of inhumane torture! Having no other options, they could only seek help through the intercom. They had tried for a long time, and Wang Tao was the first person they could contact. ¡°Big Brother, please, save us! We don¡¯t want to die! We¡¯ll repay you with gratitude! We will definitely repay your kindness!¡± No sooner had the woman finished speaking than other people¡¯s voices began to chime in. ¡°Please, Big Brother, save us! We¡¯ll do anything for you!¡± ¡°I have a lot of food at home, and I¡¯ll give it all to you, Big Brother!¡± ¡°I know many influential people in the base, I¡¯ll introduce all of them to you, Big Brother!¡± ¡°I have a beautiful wife at home...¡± ¡°...¡± Listening to the cacophony of pleas from the other side, Wang Tao selectively filtered them out. He only picked up on one key point ¡ª there indeed was a Survivor Base here, and it seemed not a small one... Wang Tao thought for a moment and then asked: ¡°What are your capabilities? And what about the capabilities of those gangsters?¡± ¡°We¡¯re all Level 1 ability users, but there¡¯s a Second-order Superpower Owner among those gangsters!¡± Nie Siyan quickly replied. ¡°Level Two Ability User? Then I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t beat them.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone carried a hint of difficulty. Even though he didn¡¯t mind helping other survivors, everything currently was based on Nie Siyan¡¯s side of the story. Having seen more than his share of deceit, especially in this post-apocalyptic era, Wang Tao, despite his considerable strength, still had to be cautious. At the very least, he couldn¡¯t show all his cards. So he decided to pretend to be a Level 1 ability user for now and see what their reaction would be. There was a moment of silence on the other end, and then Nie Siyan¡¯s voice came through again. ¡°Big Brother, you don¡¯t have to beat them! You just need to draw them away! We¡¯ve placed some supplies in a convenience store nearby, which have food and Crystal Cores, and among these supplies is a Homemade Bomb! I will tell you how to detonate it, and you just need to set off the bomb to get their attention! Just give us a minute ¡ª no, just thirty seconds, and we¡¯ll be able to escape on our own!¡± Hmm? A Homemade Bomb? Wang Tao was surprised; he hadn¡¯t seen such things in a long time. And... detonate a Homemade Bomb? Was she serious? If that thing went off, it wouldn¡¯t be just the villains it¡¯d draw out but hordes of zombies as well! His current ¡°identity¡± was that of an ¡°ordinary Level 1 ability user¡± ¡ª was this something a person concerned about their own life should consider doing? And Nie Siyan seemed to know Wang Tao¡¯s concerns as she hurriedly spoke up again: Chapter 412: 188: Distress Message_2 Chapter 412: Chapter 188: Distress Message_2 ¡°Brother, rest assured, this is a homemade bomb we frequently use. The amount of explosives has been reduced, so the noise isn¡¯t very loud; it won¡¯t attract too many zombies! Plus, you don¡¯t need to go there; it can be detonated from outside a certain range! As for the remote controller, it is in the milk tea shop across from the convenience store...¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao immediately frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t carry these things with you? Instead, you deliberately put it outside? It¡¯s bad enough to leave it outside; why would you keep the remote controller and homemade bomb separate?¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that it was like they were waiting for him... This was reality, not a game; were there really NPCs assigned to give out missions? Nie Siyan seemed a bit amused and exasperated upon hearing this. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s because we are very cautious! It¡¯s just giving ourselves a bit more room to maneuver. That¡¯s how all the survivors here operate! You... you aren¡¯t from around here, are you?¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t answer her. He paused before saying, ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll consider it...¡± After speaking, Wang Tao turned off the walkie-talkie, giving no chance for the other party to continue talking. Then Wang Tao looked to Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun. ¡°What do you guys think?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ll follow brother¡¯s lead.¡± Jiang Shixue quickly shook her head. ¡°I think... we can go rescue people. But I¡¯ll listen to you, Brother Wang.¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao covered his face, speechless. He hadn¡¯t been asking whether they should go or not, but rather about how much of Nie Siyan¡¯s words were credible... But Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, one a dimwit and the other single-minded, asking them was pointless. As for whether to go or not, that was definitely happening. He had to find out the current situation in Zijing City from this woman. Wang Tao took out a map and carefully checked the location of Haochen Hotel. It was about three kilometers away from Wang Tao¡¯s current location. Wang Tao also remembered the surrounding buildings of the Haochen Hotel. The map did not show the location of the convenience store. After all, it was a paper map, which couldn¡¯t possibly be updated in real-time. However, Wang Tao had determined the approximate position of the convenience store... ¡°Let¡¯s go here.¡± Wang Tao pointed to a location and said. This was a small shopping mall, which had a perfect view of the Haochen Hotel. Entering the city, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to drive too quickly, since there were many more zombies in the city. Fortunately, his car was quite good. Although it was a gasoline car, as long as he didn¡¯t slam on the gas pedal, the noise was relatively quiet. ¡°Big cities are really different!¡± On the way to the shopping mall, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but sigh. In Shuize County or other small cities he had been to before, there weren¡¯t always zombies on the road. With good luck, it was even possible to encounter none at all. But Zijing City was different. From the moment he entered Zijing City, he had already encountered many zombies. Now, as he drove deeper into the city, the number of zombies on the road increased. Stealthily reaching the mall was impossible, so Wang Tao had Xu Xiaojun slow down. Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun then released Shockwaves through the windows. Most were Ordinary zombies, easily killed instantly. Occasionally, they would come across Level 1 Elite Zombies, and Xu Xiaojun would get out of the car to deal with them, considering they possessed Crystal Cores, which couldn¡¯t be wasted. After spending some time, Wang Tao and his group finally reached the small shopping mall. The exterior wall of the mall was covered with green plants, and the exposed wall paint was also very old and corroded. There were some large holes in places, as if they had been blown up by shells. Wang Tao drove up to the entrance of the mall, where the door was also covered with plants, and many plants obscured the windows, leaving the mall dark inside. However, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had night vision, making it no problem for them. Wang Tao had Xu Xiaojun drive while he and Jiang Shixue went ahead to scout. ¡°It¡¯s safe...¡± ¡°This area is also safe...¡± The two quickly surveyed the first floor of the mall, finding nothing dangerous beyond some Ordinary zombies. Parking the car in a shaded area, the three of them went upstairs together. The mall wasn¡¯t large, but it wasn¡¯t short either, with a total of six floors. After some time, Wang Tao and his companions had searched the entire place. ¡°Such a large mall, and not even a single Level 2 Zombie...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat disappointed. In such dark environments, zombies should have been more attracted. Yet, although there were quite a few zombies inside, they were all Ordinary. The few Level 1 Elite Zombies they encountered were easily handled by Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s take a look at the Haochen Hotel first...¡± Wang Tao went upstairs, from where he could see the Haochen Hotel not far away. The Haochen Hotel, like the small mall, was old and overgrown with plants. Wang Tao observed for a while and didn¡¯t spot any survivors or villains. However, if they were always hiding inside, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be able to see them. Wang Tao decided to wait a day first, to see if there was any movement there. He had also located the positions of the convenience store and the milk tea shop. But he wasn¡¯t interested in either the food or the homemade bombs, so he just paid them a little attention. ... Inside the president suite on the top floor of Haochen Hotel. ¡°Why hasn¡¯t she contacted me yet!¡± A woman with heavy makeup, dressed in a seductive tight leather outfit, with an explosive figure and shoulder-length hair, stood in front of a window holding a walkie-talkie, her eyebrows deeply furrowed. ¡°It¡¯s been several hours since the last communique; even if she¡¯s considering, she should have made a decision by now... Could it be that they¡¯ve been discovered?¡± Chapter 413: 188: Distress Message_3 Chapter 413: Chapter 188: Distress Message_3 But soon, she shook her head again. ¡°Impossible! This is obviously an out-of-towner who has no clue about Zijing City¡¯s situation. He couldn¡¯t possibly have noticed that there¡¯s a problem! Just wait a bit longer...¡± Thump, thump, thump¡ª At that moment, there was a knock on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± A bald man with tattoos on his face walked in, bowing and scraping as he said: ¡°Sister Nie, they sent me to ask how long we¡¯re going to lie in ambush today... Is that fat pig still going to show up?¡± Hearing this, Nie Siyan, who was already in a bad mood, became even angrier. She cursed without any attempt to hide her displeasure: ¡°Idiots, can¡¯t you even wait patiently for a little while? What good are you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right, Sister Nie!¡± The bald man bent even lower, offering no rebuttal. After Nie Siyan had sworn a couple of times, she took a deep breath and glanced at her watch, saying: ¡°Wait a little longer, until... five o¡¯clock. If no one shows up by five, you pull out.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The bald man slowly backed out and closed the door behind him. Nie Siyan took out a wrinkled cigarette from her clothes and lit it with an old lighter. ¡°Sss¡ªhuff¡ª¡± She sat on the sofa with her legs crossed, puffing clouds of smoke. The nicotine somewhat soothed her irate mood. ¡°It¡¯s definitely impossible that someone would come to rescue, but I refuse to believe that no one would be interested in those food supplies and Crystal Cores... After all, so many have been tricked before!¡± As Nie Siyan thought of those who had been deceived previously, a cruel smile appeared on her face. This was a trap. Her claims of being surrounded by bad guys and being chased were obviously false. The purpose was to attract people and then capture them, to plunder and sell for money! Of course, she was aware that no one would truly come to her rescue because she had witnessed too much darkness in the post-apocalyptic world. Those who had survived until now, if nothing else, were certainly not overly benevolent. Random acts of rescue might occur, but under the circumstances where she was trapped by a gang that included Second-order Superpower Owners, most people would definitely choose to simply watch. So she didn¡¯t really expect a rescue. What she was counting on was the ¡°supplies¡± she had let slip were hidden in the convenience store! In the post-apocalyptic world, if you talk about rescuing someone, many might hesitate. But mention going somewhere for supplies, and you can bet everyone runs faster than anyone in spite of the risks involved. She was exploiting people¡¯s mentality of wanting to take advantage of a good deal. When newcomers hear that she has supplies stashed inside a convenience store, whether they want to rescue someone or not, there¡¯s a good chance they will check out the store. If there¡¯s nothing, then so be it. But if there is something, isn¡¯t that a windfall? The more cunning ones might first check the tea shop opposite the convenience store for triggers. But whether they go to the convenience store or to the tea shop across the street, they would fall into her trap¡ªshe had arranged for professionals at both locations. As soon as someone entered, they would pass out in moments, even Second-order Superpower Owners wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it! Many greedy folks thought they could just take a look and if there was any danger, they could run away immediately. After all, how large could a convenience store be to block their escape? Sorry, but it can indeed! Anyone who went there, even just for a look, would become her prey! However, she had her principles: she was only after their wealth, not their lives. She would loot those who took the bait, taking anything of value from them, and then sell the people themselves to other organizations in the city. What happened to them after being sold was no concern of hers. Of course, this scam could only be pulled off once or twice. If done too often, it was bound to be discovered. After all, there were quite a few unlucky souls who survived, and they would surely spread the news. So, she only targeted newcomers! The location she picked was a path most survivors coming from the east had to pass through. Zijing City was a major metropolis, and nearby survivors would think of heading there. Humanity was weak before, and they might have hidden in various places. But now many people have Abilities and the strength to check out bigger places; Zijing City was naturally a good choice. After all, there¡¯s a large Survivor Base here. All she had to do was wait silently for newcomers to come to her. Those who made it this far must be capable, likely to have plenty of resources, and they never acted alone, but in groups, which meant even more resources. Even if they didn¡¯t carry any resources with them, the Ability Users themselves were already very valuable! If she, Nie Siyan, played her cards right, this was a busines with no cost, no risk! And to make it believable, she had her subordinates act as thugs, occasionally loitering downstairs to prove her story was true. She couldn¡¯t claim that her scheme was utterly brilliant, but once people got greedy, they¡¯d be hooked a hundred percent! All she needed to do was to wait patiently... ... ¡°Huh? Real thugs? Could what Nie Siyan said actually be true?¡± Inside the mall, Wang Tao saw several people appearing on the ground floor of Haochen Hotel. They wore black clothing, masks over their faces, and carried large machetes¡ªclearly they were not to be trifled with. These people pointed upstairs, muttering under their breath. ¡°But they are all Level 1 ability users, I haven¡¯t seen that Level 2 Ability User...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin. These Level 1 ability users were no threat. But he needed to determine the strength of the opponent¡¯s Level 2 Ability User. ¡°I¡¯ll keep observing, and once I¡¯m certain of the Level 2 Ability User¡¯s strength, I¡¯ll make my move...¡± Although Wang Tao felt that, even without knowing the specifics about the opposition, he could likely crush them just by showing up, it was after all unfamiliar territory, so better to be cautious. Wang Tao somewhat missed Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability. If Han Rui were here, a walk around with her would basically reveal the enemy¡¯s capabilities... Wang Tao and his companions stayed in the shopping mall until the evening without going out. He kept fiddling with the walkie-talkie, trying to pick up other signals. At one moment, Wang Tao suddenly looked startled, then somewhat pleasantly surprised. ¡°Eh? The Magic Seeds inside my body... they¡¯ve sprouted!¡± Chapter 414: 189: Plant Affinity_1 Chapter 414: Chapter 189: Plant Affinity_1 After swallowing the Magic Seed, it would take ten days to germinate. And now, ten days had passed! Wang Tao found that the countdown below his HP bar had disappeared, but in the section for Hidden Attributes, there was one new attribute. [Hidden Attributes: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] There was an addition of ¡°Plant Affinity¡±! [Plant Affinity: Ability to partially sense the feelings of plants] ¡°Hmm? What does this mean?¡± There were no plants in the room where Wang Tao was, so he went outside. It had already gotten dark; without using his Night Vision Ability, he could barely see the outside surroundings. Then, Wang Tao closed his eyes, thinking about using his Hidden Ability of Plant Affinity. A moment later, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°This is kind of magical!¡± Although he had closed his eyes, he could still vaguely ¡°see¡± the environment around him! Wang Tao, as if having found a fascinating new toy, conducted numerous experiments, even pulling Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun to join him. After researching for an hour, Wang Tao had roughly figured out the use of his Hidden Ability. His Plant Affinity seemed somewhat like a Perception Ability. However, its actual effects were inferior to those of the Perception Ability. Wang Tao had discussed before with Han Rui and knew what it was like to use the Perception Ability. To put it simply, Han Rui could sense most living creatures within the range of her Perception Ability! The reason it was ¡°most¡± was that she couldn¡¯t detect creatures that were too small, like insects. Her Perception Ability was powerful: zombies and humans alike had nowhere to hide in front of this sense! Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity was a bit different, though. It was as if he could... communicate with plants? ¡°Communicate¡± wasn¡¯t exactly the right word because these plants had no intelligence... Rather, it was that he could sense the faint movements of some plants and then deduce the situation from these movements. In simpler terms, if someone was surrounded by no plants or was floating above them, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t sense them. If someone were to walk on plants or move them with their hand, then Wang Tao would be aware that there might be a person or a zombie in that spot... So in terms of sensing alone, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity couldn¡¯t compare to Han Rui¡¯s Perception. But his Plant Affinity had some capabilities that the Perception Ability did not possess. The Perception Ability could only see events that were happening at the moment, whereas Plant Affinity could deduce past events by examining the condition of plants. For example, if someone had stood on a lawn ten minutes ago, Wang Tao could sense the state of the plants to deduce that something bipedal had passed through here ten minutes ago and from the way it walked, it was most likely human... So, to a certain extent, Wang Tao could see the ¡°past¡±. Of course, it must be said that the Perception Ability is very intuitive; you see what¡¯s happening as it happens. However, his Plant Affinity was not as direct as Perception; it required his analysis and judgment, demanding the use of his intellect... Nevertheless, this was already quite good for Wang Tao. After all, it could be considered as nearly half a Perception Ability! He had previously complained that things would be much easier if Han Rui were around. Now that he had this ability, he could take over some of the tasks that Han Rui used to handle. Wang Tao experimented for a while longer; he now had a profound understanding of his sensing range and what kinds of plants were most suitable for sensing. His sensing range was actually quite substantial. Standing in the middle of the mall, he could sense all the plants inside! This was much larger than the range of Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability and it didn¡¯t even consume any of Wang Tao¡¯s Mana. However, his sensing wasn¡¯t very precise. He had Jiang Shixue try to move around in the building at random, and as long as she didn¡¯t touch any plants, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t detect her presence. Moreover, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t gauge the exact strength of a potential adversary, only able to analyze through his own experience... As for which plants were most suitable, naturally, those were the likes of grass or moss. These plants were abundant and had large areas. A slight touch would leave a trace, allowing Wang Tao to ¡°see¡± that trace and deduce the general situation there. In the past, the use of this ability might have seemed limited or only appropriate in the wild. But now, with plants everywhere in the city, this ability seemed to have significant potential! This Hidden Ability was, after all, a supplement to Wang Tao¡¯s perception capabilities. Having gained a new ability, Wang Tao decided to test its effectiveness right away. ¡°Little Xue, let¡¯s go out and take a look.¡± ¡°Sure~¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went downstairs to the Haochen Hotel together. It was night, and there were quite a few zombies on the streets, but the night vision posed little issue for the two of them. The Haochen Hotel had also grown many plants inside, such as weeds, mosses, and ivy, which Wang Tao could make use of. Feeling around the base of the hotel¡¯s outer wall, Wang Tao quickly sensed that there were several people moving methodically upstairs, as if they were... patrolling? But just from this, it was obviously impossible to reach any conclusion. So, after contemplating for a moment, Wang Tao threw a few stones into the building. The noise was minor, but it instantly attracted the attention of many people. The figures that Wang Tao could feel suddenly increased; he waited silently. About ten minutes later, the people inside seemed to realize there was no danger and went back to sleep. Chapter 415: 189: Plant Affinity_2 Chapter 415: Chapter 189: Plant Affinity_2 Wang Tao¡¯s face immediately broke into a smile. He had gotten the answer he wanted. The two sneaked back to the mall, and then Wang Tao shared his findings with Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue. ¡°The woman named Nie Siyan said there were a total of 11 people, all on the 10th floor of Haochen Hotel, which is the top floor. The floors below are full of thugs, and the passage leading upstairs has been blocked by them, so the thugs can¡¯t get up. But I just used Perception, and there was only movement from one person on the top floor, and moreover, this person went downstairs and then back up again...¡± Wang Tao explained clearly, even a fool or someone who was single-minded could understand. ¡°She¡¯s tricking us!¡± Xu Xiaojun was somewhat angry. His first instinct upon hearing the cry for help was to rescue them. He thought that as survivors of the apocalypse, they should help each other out. But now, he realized that helping each other out might just be his own wishful thinking... He might be single-minded, but he wasn¡¯t stupid. Deliberately deceiving them in this situation could definitely not lead to anything good! Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak and didn¡¯t even show any sign of anger. She didn¡¯t care about the others; she was just looking at Wang Tao, waiting for his instructions. ¡°These people obviously have bad intentions, so we don¡¯t need to be polite. We also need to find out about the situation here... Wait a bit, I¡¯ll see if there¡¯s a chance to catch her and bring her here!¡± Wang Tao picked up the walkie-talkie. ... Haochen Hotel. Nie Siyan stared angrily at the bald man. ¡°Is the check complete?¡± The bald man hurriedly said: ¡°Sister Nie, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve checked already, the hotel is very safe! It might just be some zombies outside making noise... Those damn zombies disturbing your sleep, Sister Nie, that¡¯s unforgivable!¡± ¡°Get out.¡± Nie Siyan waved her hand impatiently. ¡°Yes!¡± The bald man immediately bowed and backed out, gently closing the door behind him. Nie Siyan got up and looked at the starlight outside the window, feeling irritable. She hadn¡¯t had any business for several days, and today she finally encountered someone. But they had stopped responding after just a few words. And they didn¡¯t go to the convenience store... She had already been having trouble sleeping these past few days. Just now, there had been some noise in the hotel, so now she couldn¡¯t sleep at all. ¡°If you¡¯re not fooled, it¡¯s fine. But if you are, see how I¡¯ll torment you...¡± A fierce look flashed across Nie Siyan¡¯s face. ¡°Crackle... hey, are you still there... crackle...¡± Suddenly, the walkie-talkie beside her made a noise. This startled Nie Siyan, but after hearing the familiar voice inside, her face brightened immediately. Then she cleared her throat. ¡°Big brother, when are you coming! The thugs keep threatening us, we can¡¯t hold on much longer! Whimper...¡± ¡°Just wait for me, I¡¯m coming to save you right away!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice sounded heroic and resolute. ¡°Thank you so much. You are such a good person¡ª¡± Nie Siyan was about to say some words of gratitude, but she suddenly paused, her tone somewhat strange, ¡°Are you saying, you¡¯re coming over in the middle of the night?¡± ¡°Yes! Just wait, I¡¯ll be there in about half an hour, very quickly!¡± ¡°Great! Thank you! I need to tell them the good news!¡± Nie Siyan quickly grabbed another walkie-talkie. ¡°Listen up, everyone! The prey is coming! All of you go hide in the convenience store and milk tea shop! Hurry, hurry, hurry!¡± Many of her underlings were still sleeping. Hearing the news, they were all drowsy. ¡°Ah? Go now... but it isn¡¯t even light out yet?¡± ¡°Sister Nie, are you sure? I¡¯m not doubting you, but...¡± ¡°It¡¯s so dangerous at night...¡± Hearing her subordinates¡¯ complaints, Nie Siyan¡¯s face darkened. ¡°Cut the crap and hurry up! If I find out anyone¡¯s slacking off, you know the consequences!¡± Chilled by Nie Siyan¡¯s sinister threat, no one dared to resist, and they immediately got to work. ¡°Sigh, be careful guys, let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t run into a Night Demon...¡± After dispatching her subordinates, only Nie Siyan and three others who were on the night shift remained in the hotel. ¡°Idiots, coming over in the dead of night! But it¡¯s just perfect; such stupid people don¡¯t deserve to live...¡± Nie Siyan gritted her teeth. Since she couldn¡¯t sleep well anyway, she decided not to sleep that night and wait for the good news from her subordinates. So, half an hour later. Nie Siyan looked at her two walkie-talkies, somewhat frowning. The survivor had not contacted her again since half an hour ago, and she couldn¡¯t reach him when she tried. Her other walkie-talkie was also silent, meaning her underlings hadn¡¯t found anyone... Nie Siyan, somewhat annoyed, picked up the second walkie-talkie. ¡°What¡¯s happening over there?¡± ¡°Report to Sister Nie, nothing¡¯s happened at the convenience store!¡± ¡°Same with the milk tea shop... What are your orders, Sister Nie?¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Nie Siyan tossed the walkie-talkie onto the sofa. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it agreed to be half an hour? Why hasn¡¯t he come? Did he chicken out? Or did something happen on the way?¡± Nie Siyan cursed Wang Tao in her mind, but she patiently waited. After all, punctual people were rare in the apocalypse. Then, another half an hour passed. Just when Nie Siyan thought there would be no show tonight. The first walkie-talkie suddenly rang again. ¡°Ms. Nie, are you there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Nie Siyan immediately responded. ¡°Sorry, we just realized we went the wrong way... I¡¯ve found a map, and we¡¯re heading towards you now! But there are a lot of zombies on the road, just wait two more hours for me!¡± Chapter 416: 189 Plant Affinity_3 Chapter 416: Chapter 189 Plant Affinity_3 Wang Tao¡¯s voice was full of apologies. ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s face looked awful. Could they really have gotten the location wrong? But then again, there were many buildings nearby, and it was night without a map, so making a mistake was normal... ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll wait for you. Big brother, you must be careful, and prioritize your own safety! We can hold on for another half a day, no problem!¡± Nie Siyan sounded sincere, but she was actually grinding her teeth. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, just wait for us! We¡¯ll be there in two hours!¡± After speaking, Wang Tao immediately cut the communication. ¡°This stupid idiot, I¡¯m going to wait another two hours for you!¡± Nie Siyan took out a crumpled cigarette from her person. ¡°Sss... puff...¡± Two hours later. Looking at the still silent walkie-talkies, Nie Siyan¡¯s complexion was terrible. She contacted her subordinates again. There was no sign of activity on their end; they were sure no one had gone to the convenience store or the milk tea shop. ¡°I¡¯ll give you one last hour! If you don¡¯t show up in one hour, I¡¯m turning off the walkie-talkie and going to sleep!¡± Nie Siyan muttered resentfully to herself. She was very sleepy, but she couldn¡¯t rest for the sake of this prey. So, she forcefully waited another hour. Still nothing happened. It was the middle of the night now, and it would soon be dawn if she didn¡¯t sleep! Nie Siyan rubbed her tired eyes, about to turn off the walkie-talkie and go to sleep. She guessed her subordinates were also extremely tired, but she was too lazy to ask. ¡°Static...¡± But just at that moment, the walkie-talkie suddenly made a noise! ¡°Static... Miss Nie, are you there? I¡¯ve arrived... static...¡± Huh? Arrived? Nie Siyan was immediately overjoyed. She immediately used the second walkie-talkie to tell her subordinates to get ready, saying the person was coming. Then she pretended to be very excited as she spoke: ¡°Really? Where are you now?¡± ¡°Behind... you!¡± This voice didn¡¯t come from the walkie-talkie, but from behind her! ¡°!!¡± Nie Siyan was shocked, but before she could even turn around, she felt a pain in the back of her head and then everything went black, consciousness slipping away. In the dimness, she seemed to see a flash of green light. Behind her, Wang Tao withdrew his hand. ¡°You¡¯re a bit weak! And to think I was being so cautious...¡± Wang Tao spoke with a hint of speechlessness, but he efficiently stuffed Nie Siyan into a sack. Then he hoisted Nie Siyan onto his shoulder, took her walkie-talkie and backpack, making sure nothing was omitted, before he swaggered down the stairs. Downstairs, Jiang Shixue stood next to a guard she had knocked out. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao casually hoisted the man as well. Only two guards remained at Haochen Hotel; they were positioned such that they couldn¡¯t see Wang Tao¡¯s location. Thus, when the two of them left Haochen Hotel, no one noticed. They made their way back to the mall without incident. Wang Tao tied up the two captives. Particularly for the woman, he used a chain from the car to tightly secure her. And to think, the woman¡¯s figure was somewhat explosive; the chain only highlighted her curves more. The man was a Level 1 ability user with just four thousand HP, a negligible force. The woman, with over ten thousand HP, was a Second-order Superpower Owner, barely passable. Then Wang Tao tied the woman and the man in two separate rooms. ¡°You go interrogate that man; I¡¯ll interrogate this woman.¡± Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun nodded firmly. Though he was an honest man, it didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t get angry. Xu Xiaojun approached the man and began to hammer him mercilessly. ¡°Uh... it hurts...¡± Shortly, the man groggily opened his eyes, to darkness. His eyes were blindfolded. He seemed to understand the situation in a flash and immediately started speaking in a panic: ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll tell you everything!¡± ... Meanwhile, Wang Tao slapped the unconscious woman¡¯s face several times. Slap slap slap¡ª Her face was almost swollen from the slaps by the time she slowly came to. Her vision was enveloped in darkness as well. ¡°Just answer what I ask. I¡¯ve already questioned your accomplice. If I find your answers don¡¯t match, both of you can go to hell.¡± Wang Tao said coldly. However, this woman was much more composed than the man. She struggled a bit and, finding escape impossible, she immediately asked: ¡°Who are you? What do you want? I can give you anything, please let me go...¡± Slap¡ª Before she could finish speaking, she was slapped again. ¡°Just answer what I ask. I haven¡¯t started questioning, and I hope there won¡¯t be a second time.¡± ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan was enraged but, knowing her life was in someone else¡¯s hands, she smartly refrained from saying more. ¡°Name.¡± ¡°...Nie Siyan.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao paused, then slapped her again, ¡°I said your real name.¡± ¡°...My real name is Nie Siyan...¡± Nie Siyan suppressed her anger, her tone slightly aggrieved. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat at a loss for words; this woman used her real name while out to scam people? ¡°Age.¡± ¡°28...¡± ¡°Gender.¡± ¡°...¡± Slap¡ª ¡°Gender.¡± ¡°Female!¡± Nie Siyan gritted her teeth and replied. Suddenly, Wang Tao asked: ¡°Why did you deceive me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± Slap¡ª Nie Siyan instinctively tried to defend herself, but received a fierce slap from Wang Tao again. Blood spilled from the corners of her mouth, with no trace of pity from Wang Tao. ¡°I wanted the goods on your bodies...¡± Nie Siyan had no choice; her subordinates certainly weren¡¯t tough talkers... Seeing the way Wang Tao was, she had no doubt that he would kill her, so she could only speak the truth. ¡°And?¡± ¡°And... you guys yourselves. Foreign ability users like you fetch a high price...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly. So Zijing City is engaging in ability user trafficking now? Quite advanced indeed! Chapter 417: 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_1 Chapter 417: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_1 An hour later. Wang Tao got the information he wanted from Nie Siyan, who had been beaten to a near death state. It included how she ambushed him and the power distribution within Zijing City... There are significantly more survivors in Zijing City compared to other places, after all, it is a major city with a population of millions. Even though there are also a lot of zombies here, the most dangerous times during the apocalypse are probably during two phases. Survivors who make it past these two stages have a much higher chance of living on. The first stage is when the zombie virus outbreak occurs, during which chaos utterly reigned, and the majority of people died right then and there. The second stage is when the supplies at home are exhausted, and people have to go out to search for resources. A considerable number of survivors die during this period. Or they starve to death... If one survives the initial outbreak and then finds food, as long as they are not incredibly unlucky, there is a good chance of survival. Particularly when Ability Users appear, this marks the time when the human survivors¡¯ chances of surviving are the greatest. Even if one is not an Ability User, as long as they can seek protection from one, their chances of survival greatly increase. So while Zijing City has many zombies, the number of survivors who have persevered is also significant. It¡¯s far beyond what small counties or cities can compare to. Where there are people, there is struggle, an eternal truth. Even now, in the apocalypse, when people need to unite against the catastrophe, struggle is still inevitable. With a large population and many survivors in Zijing City, naturally, there are many conflicts. Thus, the city has many factions. Wang Tao initially thought that Zijing City would only have one major survivor force, which would be the large-scale Survivor Base established by the Government. But this wasn¡¯t the case. To be precise, at the beginning, the largest survivor force in Zijing City was indeed the large-scale Survivor Base built by the Government¡ª¡±Zijin Base.¡± But in less than a month, the base was overrun by zombies! The survivors inside either died or fled... Afterward, as Ability Users appeared and months went by, more and more Ability Users emerged, and consequently, more powers within Zijing City arose. As for exactly how many, Nie Siyan wasn¡¯t sure. After all, there was no need to register; pulling a few people together was enough to proclaim oneself as an organization or a force, and this was not something that could be counted. However, the major forces could still be counted, and Zijing City had a total of four major forces. Survivors in Zijing City had an acknowledged ranking of power. Ranked first was ¡°Zijin Base.¡± By its name, one could tell that this Zijin Base was located at the very spot of the original large-scale Survivor Base built by the Government, also retaining the original name. However, although the name and location remained the same, the current Zijin Base was entirely different from the previous one. The current Zijin Base is ruled by an army. But this army is not the kind with faith from before the apocalypse, rather it was established after the apocalypse by a retired military officer, and these so-called soldiers¡¯ quality... well, let¡¯s just say they barely qualify as individuals. With the arrival of the apocalypse, it was as though the world had rebooted. Nearly everyone was back to the same starting point, and with the disappearance of law and even morality, human desires were amplified without restraint. Take this retired military officer, for instance; his original intention in forming the army might have been good. But now... he has become a dictator. Within the entire Zijin Base, his status is the highest. Everyone in the base must obey his orders; he does whatever he wants. He is the undisputed Local Tyrant. Of course, his strength is also the strongest in the base, and he doesn¡¯t perpetrate havoc in the base every day¡ªalthough occasionally, he does. He and his army provide the survivors in the base with military protection. Survivors in the base need to follow the rules he sets and pay taxes to him in order to receive protection. However, this tax is not cheap... Some survivors, who were like slaves before the apocalypse, continue to be slaves even after. ... The second-ranked force is ¡°Zijin Prison,¡± often simply referred to as the Prison. If Zijin Base is viewed as a ¡°dictatorship,¡± then Zijin Prison is unmistakably a den of ¡°villains¡±! Because the rulers inside the Prison were authentic criminals before the apocalypse! Back then, when the zombie virus broke out and cannibalism spread wildly, some places descended into hell on earth, while others seemed like unexpected havens. The Prison was one of the latter. At that time, these criminals were all locked in cells, typically ten per cell. If one got infected, at worst, only that cell would be affected, while the people in other cells remained safe. Moreover, this was a high-security prison, which contained numerous severe offenders who were held in solitary confinement! It could be said that death row inmates were among the safest people when the zombie virus broke out. The wardens, on the other hand, were less fortunate. They lived in communal dormitories and moved in groups. If one of them got infected, it spelled disaster for the rest. Therefore, after the zombie outbreak, the people alive in the Prison were all criminals, especially the severe offenders who survived in considerable numbers. Later, a criminal who escaped their cell freed the other criminals. Gradually, all the surviving criminals in the Prison were let loose. These individuals were all ruthless characters, particularly those severe offenders with blood on their hands. Such people were like fish in water in the post-apocalyptic world. Chapter 418: 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_2 Chapter 418: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_2 They quickly formed a power called Zijin Prison. Using the original prison as their base, considering its defenses were quite good, zombies couldn¡¯t get in at all. And those felons, they became the rulers of the prison. After gaining strength and authority, one could imagine what it was like for those under their rule; nearly all of them met a terrible end. Being killed was the least of it ¨C most were tortured to death! Even the ordinary criminals who had initially released them didn¡¯t end up faring well. However, with the diminishing number of people, those felons realized they couldn¡¯t act recklessly anymore. After all, if they killed everyone, who would do their work? But their reputation had already spread, and no survivors dared to approach the prison, they couldn¡¯t recruit anyone. So, they started to use some special methods. Such as capturing survivors from outside to toil for them, or buying survivors from other factions... Nie Siyan had said before that Wang Tao and the other outside survivors could be sold for a high price, referring to being sold to the prison. ... The third-ranked force was a relatively latecomer with a more loosely managed structure, named ¡°Ability User¡¯s Alliance.¡± The name was quite grand. And the reason for this name was because this faction only accepted Ability Users. Their base was within a small stadium, not many people, but collectively they were very strong ¨C after all, they were all Ability Users. However, their reputation... wasn¡¯t too good either. Because they were very arrogant, they looked down on ordinary people, unwilling to stay with them, and even considered themselves as ¡°the new humankind.¡± Maybe this group didn¡¯t enslave or torture ordinary people, but if they saw ordinary people in crisis, they definitely wouldn¡¯t lend a hand, no matter how easy it would be to help. In some ways, their mental state was somewhat problematic... ... The fourth-ranked force was called ¡°Vast,¡± and sure enough, it was the name of a club. Their base was also in this club, so survivors generally referred to them as ¡°the Club.¡± This faction was slightly special because it was comprised entirely of women ¨C they didn¡¯t recruit any men. The initial form of this force was said to be a group of women from Vast Club. They came from humble beginnings, and their identities were not entirely dignified, but their hearts were in the right place, wanting to unite survivors to resist the disaster collectively. But who would have thought that their leader was deceived by a scumbag. The scumbag ran off with the Crystal Core, causing their leader¡¯s death, and he even tried to deceive them further to take the leader¡¯s position for himself. Eventually, the others discovered his ploy in time and stopped him, but from then on, they never trusted men again. When they formally established the faction, they only recruited women. But women were generally physically weaker than men, a disadvantage in a post-apocalyptic world. Their confidence in not needing men stemmed from their new leader being a very strong Ability User! Without this new leader, their faction might have been just ordinary, and because they were all women, they might have been quickly swallowed up by other factions to the point of obliteration. However, there were rumors of unrest within the Club recently... ... These were the current four major forces of Zijing City ¨C the Base, the Prison, the Alliance, and the Club. Aside from these four major forces and some smaller factions too insignificant to mention, there were also some medium-sized factions with a degree of renown. Their might wasn¡¯t equivalent to the larger factions, but they weren¡¯t weak either, considered the second tier. There were about a dozen such factions. Nie Siyan was from one such medium-sized faction known as the Skull Club. More precisely, she was the wife of the Skull Club leader. The Skull Club could be considered one of the most notorious forces in Zijing City. This wasn¡¯t Wang Tao¡¯s opinion, but rather, the words directly from Nie Siyan herself. Because this faction specialized in all manner of deceit! They used to deceive the survivors of Zijing City, and when word spread, they couldn¡¯t trick them anymore, they began deceiving outside survivors. Although they claimed ¡°they only wanted money, not lives,¡± no one knew how many had indirectly died because of them. Especially those who were sold to the Prison, where once you enter, there was basically no hope of coming out alive... Actually, Wang Tao only needed a rough idea about these factions; he wasn¡¯t particularly interested. What truly interested him was the military base. But Nie Siyan didn¡¯t know much about the military base. She knew that some people went there, but since no one ever sent back any news, it was unclear whether they were dead or alive. As for the neighboring Wuyang City, Nie Siyan had some information. Survivors who had fled from Wuyang City said that there were extremely terrifying gigantic zombie monsters. Even a Level 2 Ability User, if they encountered these zombie creatures, would be crushed to death. Survivors had no chance of living; many strong survivors had fled... This news made Wang Tao frown. The military base was located in Wuyang City. If Wuyang City was so dangerous, how would he get there? And yet, the military base seemed fine, regularly air-dropping supplies, not appearing to be in great danger. Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped contemplating. It was useless to think ¨C he could only know for sure by going there himself. Originally, Wang Tao planned to gather information in Zijing City before making minor preparations to head to the military base in Wuyang City. Chapter 419: 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_3 Chapter 419: Chapter 190 Zijing City Power Distribution_3 But looking at the situation now, he might need to enhance his strength a bit more. Although his current strength was considered okay, there was still a lot of room for improvement... ¡°Brother, I, I¡¯ve told you everything, please let me go... We are both struggling to survive in this post-apocalyptic world, adversaries should resolve their conflicts, not prolong them...¡± Nie Siyan spoke somewhat unclearly, as her face had been swollen from Wang Tao¡¯s beating. ¡°Oh? Now you remember we are compatriots?¡± Slap¡ª Wang Tao landed another slap across her face. ¡°...¡± Another red mark appeared on Nie Siyan¡¯s face, and she cried. No matter whether she answered or not, whether she made excuses or not, Wang Tao would slap her. She didn¡¯t even want to speak, but not speaking meant being punched and kicked... She felt that Wang Tao deliberately wanted to hit her! Indeed, that was the case. Wang Tao did not consider himself a good person, but he definitely wished there were more good people in the world. After all, who would want to live in a world full of deceit and treachery? But with people like Nie Siyan around, there wouldn¡¯t be any good people left in the future. After all, good people are not fools. If there were no survivors to help each other in the future, if people only schemed upon meeting... humanity would be doomed sooner or later. ¡°I¡¯m asking you a question.¡± Wang Tao gently patted her face. Nie Siyan shuddered in fear and hastily lowered her head to apologize. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry...¡± After speaking, she braced herself for the slap. After all, she had been slapped nearly every time she said a word just a moment ago. But this time, the slap didn¡¯t come. This allowed Nie Siyan to breathe a sigh of relief; she felt her teeth were almost knocked out. However, soon she felt something was wrong¡ª Although her eyes were covered, she could distinctly feel a gaze sizing her up. It definitely wasn¡¯t a lecherous look, but rather a very cold, indifferent gaze. Was this man considering... killing her? Nie Siyan¡¯s body instantly broke out in goosebumps, and a chill ran from the soles of her feet to the top of her head! She quickly knelt on the ground, kowtowing to Wang Tao. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t kill me! I, I am still useful to you, I still have some resources outside, all of them are yours! I also know where the Skull Club¡¯s resources are, I can even steal from the Skull Club¡¯s resources for you! Whatever you ask, I¡¯ll do!¡± Wang Tao immediately raised an eyebrow. He had indeed been wondering whether to kill her or not. He felt this woman seemed to be of no use to him. But to his surprise, this woman had strong Perception; could she have sensed his killing intent? Wang Tao looked at her again. [HP: 3380/11000] [Mana: 1000/2200] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 23%] In Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Nie Siyan¡¯s Attributes were very average. Given her Mana, she probably had two Abilities, and she had successfully fused 21 Crystal Cores. Moreover, now that Wang Tao knew what he wanted to know, and since she harbored ill intentions towards him... Such a person was naturally best eliminated. However, considering this woman seemed quite sensible, maybe she could be of further use? After all, the Skull Club was a medium-sized organization with respectable strength; they should have some resources. Even though their resources were obtained through swindling and deceit, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fussy; as long as he could take them, he would without hesitation. Slap¡ª Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan another slap, knocking her to the ground. Nie Siyan¡¯s HP bar decreased by another segment. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t hitting her because he enjoyed abuse, it was purely to cripple her HP so she couldn¡¯t fight back. After being slapped, Nie Siyan actually breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Wang Tao was hitting her, she wouldn¡¯t die... at least for the moment. Wang Tao went to another room. Previously, he had instructed Xu Xiaojun to torture and interrogate the man they had brought in bound. Wang Tao had roughly informed Xu Xiaojun of what to inquire about. ¡°Brother Wang, he said...¡± Their testimonies were compared, and they were essentially consistent. ¡°It seems like he didn¡¯t lie.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then said to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°Go and take care of that person.¡± ¡°Ah? I, I can¡¯t...¡± Xu Xiaojun was startled and became somewhat flustered. Although he had survived this long in the post-apocalyptic world and was quite strong, he had never killed anyone before! ¡°You can do it, believe in yourself.¡± Wang Tao encouraged him, patting Xu Xiaojun on the shoulder. Xu Xiaojun was a good person in all aspects, except he was too kind. Of course, kindness was a good trait, but there were times when one had to be ruthless! Wang Tao was naturally cultivating him intentionally. ¡°I... okay!¡± Xu Xiaojun clenched his teeth and nodded, forcing himself to do it. He knew that his character could potentially hold Wang Tao back... Anyway, these people must have caused the deaths of many and truly deserved to die! Xu Xiaojun approached the man. ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything, please let me go, I¡¯ll work for you like an ox...¡± As the man was speaking, Xu Xiaojun grabbed his head and then violently twisted it. Crack¡ª The man¡¯s HP bar instantly drained to zero. Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t know any techniques, relying purely on brute force. He almost twisted the man¡¯s head off. Wang Tao was very pleased with Xu Xiaojun¡¯s performance. He was about to offer some consolation, but he realized that Xu Xiaojun appeared to be more composed than he had expected. ¡°As long as I remember the evil things this person has done, I get very angry... After killing him, I feel just like I¡¯m killing a zombie fish, I don¡¯t feel disgusted or uneasy...¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head, speaking with some confusion. ¡°Oh? That¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but it was a good thing. He was worried that Xu Xiaojun would feel psychological pressure, but it was something that had to be accepted... Now it looked like he had been overthinking it. Perhaps these straightforward people have their own way of adjusting. Wang Tao returned to where Nie Siyan was held captive and said to the woman still kneeling on the ground: ¡°Tomorrow, you¡¯ll take me to the Skull Club¡¯s base.¡± ¡°...Ah? You, you want to go to our base?¡± Hearing Wang Tao speak, Nie Siyan initially felt a bit of joy, because as long as Wang Tao had a task for her, she could stay alive. But after listening carefully to what Wang Tao said, she froze. Going to their base would be like walking into a trap, wouldn¡¯t it? Slap¡ª ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll take you there!¡± Nie Siyan, having been slapped again, quickly knelt on the ground and nodded. Chapter 420: 191 Skull Club_1 Chapter 420: Chapter 191 Skull Club_1 The next day. The bald man was groggily slapped awake by his underling. ¡°Ah? Is the prey here?¡± ¡°Bro, it¡¯s morning...¡± ¡°...¡± The bald man quickly got up. ¡°No one came last night?¡± ¡°No, nothing at all. There wasn¡¯t anyone in the milk tea shop across the street either...¡± ¡°Did Sister Nie give any more instructions?¡± The bald man asked again. ¡°No, Sister Nie seemed to have fallen asleep...¡± ¡°Phew, that¡¯s good then!¡± Hearing this, the bald man breathed a sigh of relief. If Sister Nie had given him some instructions last night and he hadn¡¯t heard them, that would have been a big problem! ¡°Speaking of which, has Sister Nie¡¯s temper gotten better? She hasn¡¯t given us any instructions for such a long time...¡± The underling was somewhat curious. ¡°...I have no idea, maybe she hasn¡¯t slept well these past few days and is now too tired? Who cares! Now that it¡¯s already daylight, it¡¯s not so dangerous. We¡¯ll just wait here for Sister Nie¡¯s instructions!¡± The bald man said with a smile. Although Nie Siyan is the boss¡¯s woman, she also has performance requirements. Her performance has been below standard recently, so her temper has been quite bad. If not necessary, he didn¡¯t want to interact with Nie Siyan. ¡°Yes!¡± The underling and his thoughts were similar. Lying in ambush here was boring, but it was better than going over to get scolded. However, they had just finished discussing Nie Siyan when the walkie-talkie suddenly sounded; it was Nie Siyan. ¡°Everyone gather at the shopping mall downstairs opposite the Haochen Hotel!¡± ¡°Ah? Okay! Sister Nie, please wait! We¡¯ll be there immediately!¡± The group was taken aback, not understanding why they needed to gather there, but all followed the order unconditionally. Meanwhile. Nie Siyan, with her face still slightly swollen, handed the walkie-talkie to the man in front of her with a flattering expression. The chains on her body had been loosened, and the eyepatch blocking her sight had also been removed. But at this moment, she had no thought of running away. Because her leg had been broken while she tried to escape. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao, holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, took the lead downstairs. Xu Xiaojun glanced at Nie Siyan, and she immediately limped to follow. Once downstairs, Wang Tao told Xu Xiaojun to drive while he, Jiang Shixue, and Nie Siyan all sat in the back seat. Feeling the presence of Wang Tao beside her, Nie Siyan felt an immense pressure. This man was too powerful; she had no power to resist at all! Her life was now in his hands, and she could die at any moment... It wasn¡¯t long before all of Nie Siyan¡¯s underlings arrived. Seeing a car there, everyone instantly became alert. Because of the privacy glass, they couldn¡¯t see the specific situation inside the vehicle. Suddenly, the rear car window rolled down halfway, revealing the side of Nie Siyan¡¯s face. The underlings were somewhat stunned when they saw her, not understanding the situation. ¡°I ran into a friend, and now I¡¯m taking my friend to meet Brother Huang. You all follow.¡± Nie Siyan didn¡¯t even look at the group of underlings, speaking with a cold indifference. Mainly because she didn¡¯t dare to look; after all, the other side of her face was still swollen. ¡°Ah? Yes!¡± The group immediately nodded their heads, no one daring to ask any more questions. The bald man looked at the car with some surprise. Because of the acid rain, the vast majority of vehicles couldn¡¯t be used anymore. The Skull Club only had two cars, both of which were in bad shape and usually driven by the boss. The others rarely had a chance to ride in a car. This car looked expensive at first glance, and he really wanted to experience it for himself. ¡°Sister Nie, I have some matters I want to report to you...¡± The bald man said, walking forward. If Nie Siyan wanted to listen, wouldn¡¯t he be able to get in the car under the pretext? ¡°We¡¯ll talk when we get back!¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s tone was even more indifferent, she was almost to the point of cursing. ¡°Yes...¡± The bald man immediately stopped in his tracks, feeling a bit regretful but not daring to say more. As for whether there was something wrong with Nie Siyan, he couldn¡¯t tell at all, because Nie Siyan was just like that; he was used to being scolded by her. So the car, flanked by the group, driven by Xu Xiaojun, headed toward the Skull Club¡¯s headquarters. The Skull Club¡¯s headquarters were in an arcade, a fair distance from the Haochen Hotel. However, Nie Siyan and her group often traveled this route and knew which parts were safer; they even specifically made some sections of the road themselves. Plus, they were lucky not to encounter any fierce zombies on the way, so the group¡¯s journey wasn¡¯t slow. After about two hours, they reached the arcade. This arcade had three floors; the first floor was a restaurant, the second floor was a commercial area, and the third floor was the arcade, with a parking lot in the back. All of this was Skull Club¡¯s territory. The arrival of the vehicle instantly attracted the attention of people inside the arcade. But after seeing that their own people were following the car, they relaxed. ¡°Caught a big fish today?¡± ¡°That car, it wasn¡¯t cheap before the apocalypse, right? Getting your hands on this car now, you¡¯re lucky!¡± ¡°These are Sister Nie¡¯s people? I heard Sister Nie hasn¡¯t been in business for a long time, but I didn¡¯t expect such a big catch when she did!¡± ¡°...¡± Inside the car, Wang Tao observed for a moment. The arcade¡¯s first and second-floor windows were all covered with wire mesh, and the exterior was fitted with spiked poles and other barriers. The front iron gate was also decorated with spikes and blades... Then Wang Tao turned his gaze to the people sticking their heads out to look. Some were ordinary people with a thousand HP, some were level 1 ability users with two to three thousand HP, and there wasn¡¯t even a single level 2 ability user among them, just weaklings. Wang Tao had already obtained information about the Skull Club¡¯s strength from Nie Siyan. There were 300 people in the Skull Club in total. The majority were ordinary people, with over thirty ability users, most of whom were level 1 ability users. There were only four level 2 ability users. Chapter 421: 191 Skull Club_2 Chapter 421: Chapter 191 Skull Club_2 ¡°` These four individuals were none other than the boss of the Skull Club, Huang Heng, his younger brother Huang Wu, his wife Nie Siyan, and Liao Xia, the second wife he found after the apocalypse. Among them, Huang Heng had the strongest power, followed by Liao Xia, then Huang Wu, and lastly Nie Siyan. The reason Nie Siyan was at the bottom was not due to a lack of effort, but rather because her two abilities were not particularly strong attack abilities, which made her weaker. In the Skull Club, everyone had to work except for the boss Huang Heng, including his wife and younger brother. Moreover, these three Level 2 Ability Users also had performance requirements! Huang Heng had decreed that each of the three had to hand over a certain amount of supplies each week, and there were punishments for failing to do so. There were rewards for outstanding performance. Of course, Huang Heng wasn¡¯t completely idle; his task was to improve his own power. That¡¯s why he was always searching for Level 2 Zombies in the city. Zijing City was vast, and there were actually quite a few Level 2 Zombies there. However, whether they could be defeated was another question. Huang Heng was looking for those Level 2 Elite Zombies who weren¡¯t too powerful. For Level 2 Zombie Lords, only major forces could defeat them. As for Level 3 Zombies, as far as Nie Siyan knew, to date, no one had heard of someone defeating them. If someone really could kill a Level 3 Zombie, there would be no need to keep it secret, since that would be the best recruitment advertisement; hence, it was very likely that no one had managed to do it... The gate slowly opened. If it were anyone else, they would definitely be subject to inspection, but Nie Siyan didn¡¯t need to. She showed her face and easily entered. ¡°Is Brother Wang at home?¡± Nie Siyan asked one of the guards. ¡°Sister Nie, the boss just went out this morning...¡± The guard hurriedly responded. ¡°What about Little Liao and Little Huang?¡± Nie Siyan asked again. ¡°Sister Liao and the Second-in-Command are upstairs...¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Nie Siyan nodded coldly and then raised the car window. The car continued forward and stopped at the far end of the parking area of the arcade. The parking lot was overgrown with weeds that no one had cleared, concealing the vehicles. Not far away was a dilapidated pickup, Huang Heng¡¯s vehicle. ¡°You all get out.¡± Nie Siyan waved her hand, and the bald man and others promptly left, bowing and nodding. Once there was no one nearby, Nie Siyan turned to Wang Tao, her face full of ingratiating smiles: ¡°Brother, take a look...¡± ¡°Get out of the car.¡± Wang Tao got out of the car calmly, with Xu Xiaojun following. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t get out; Wang Tao had her stay in the car first, as a backup. Nie Siyan put on a mask before getting out of the car. Her face was somewhat swollen, and she didn¡¯t want others to see it. On the first floor, there were many ordinary survivors who looked at Wang Tao and his companion curiously, for the two men were too sturdy to go unnoticed. However, since they came with Nie Siyan, they didn¡¯t dare to look too long and quickly lowered their heads. ¡°Go find that Liao Xia and Huang Wu.¡± Wang Tao told Nie Siyan. ¡°Ah? Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was startled for a moment, then quickly acknowledged. At this time, her heart suddenly felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. Her combat capabilities weren¡¯t strong, but both Liao Xia and Huang Wu were! Together, they could probably even contend with Huang Heng! If she could get them to deal with this man... Nie Siyan¡¯s mind started to race with schemes, but she dared not let a hint show on her face. She led Wang Tao and the other two upstairs with a limp. She ignored the curious gazes of others; after all, it was normal to get injured when going out. She was wondering how to signal to Huang Wu and Liao Xia once they saw them... It was a pity that the two were probably not together; otherwise, a shout would settle everything. The three of them smoothly reached the third floor. Those they encountered on the way to the third floor were highly respectful after seeing Nie Siyan. They were puzzled by the two hulking men following her, but they dared not ask any questions. There were many rules at the Skull Club base, one of which was: ordinary people lived on the first floor, Level 1 ability users lived on the second floor, and Level 2 Ability Users lived on the third floor. So upon reaching the third floor, there was no one around. Nie Siyan felt her heartbeat speeding up; she had already thought of some subtle hints to use. It just depended on whether she would run into Liao Xia or Huang Wu first. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed. He heard some noises coming from a room not far away. When the three of them got to the doorway of this room, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan heard it too. However, they couldn¡¯t hear it clearly because the soundproofing was quite good. Wang Tao, however, raised an eyebrow and looked amused. He turned to Nie Siyan and said: ¡°Go inside.¡± Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dare resist, and she hurried to open the door. Click¡ª The door wasn¡¯t locked, and in the instant she opened it, Nie Siyan, who was about to speak, suddenly froze. Because she saw, by the room¡¯s window, a man and a woman were propped against it. The two were so engrossed that they didn¡¯t notice someone had come in. ¡°Shh...¡± Wang Tao turned his head and gestured for silence. Nie Siyan really wanted to shout to alert the illicit couple, for no matter what kind of messy relationship they had, they were still her people. But seeing Wang Tao¡¯s warning gaze, she swallowed her saliva and dared not make a sound. Xu Xiaojun, seeing the situation, instantly blushed; he was somewhat innocent and couldn¡¯t stand this kind of scene. Wang Tao gave Xu Xiaojun a look that meant ¡°keep an eye on Nie Siyan.¡± As for himself, he approached the unwitting couple soundlessly. ¡°` Chapter 422: 191 Skull Club_3 Chapter 422: Chapter 191 Skull Club_3 ¡°Sister-in-law...¡± ¡°Little uncle...¡± The two were still absentmindedly cooing sweet nothings at each other, completely unaware of someone approaching from behind. Wang Tao instantly grabbed their necks, then with a forceful pull, he separated them and smashed them hard onto the ground. Bang! With the sheer force of Wang Tao¡¯s strength, before the two could even realize what was happening, they were knocked out cold. Wang Tao casually poured some Weakness Potion on them, then clenched his fists and delivered several punches to their limbs and heads. Wang Tao¡¯s fists, not even level 3 zombies might withstand them. Even without the Entangling Roots, this was not something the two could resist. After a few punches, their limbs were paralyzed, their HP plummeting, and they quickly became severely injured. Wang Tao grabbed their hair, forcibly pulling them up and making them kneel on the ground. Thud¡ª Even now, they were still somewhat clueless about what had just happened. They just felt... suddenly losing control and being separated; then, everything went dark before their eyes, and they didn¡¯t even get to feel the pain in their bodies. By the time they opened their eyes again, they were already kneeling on the ground. In front of them, two figures appeared. One was a two-meter tall fat man, and the other was... Nie Siyan? It was then that the realization struck them, rather belatedly, that they seemed to have been caught in the act! They instinctively wanted to explain, but suddenly, they felt an intense pain in their bodies, as if their limbs were broken and wouldn¡¯t move... ¡°Quite romantic, huh.¡± At that moment, they saw a figure emerge from behind them, slowly walking in front of them. Nie Siyan, who was very perceptive at this moment, brought over a chair and placed it beneath Wang Tao¡¯s buttocks. Wang Tao glanced at Nie Siyan, feeling her shivering all over. Scared? Indeed, Nie Siyan was terrified. Although because of their deep involvement, the adulterous pair hadn¡¯t noticed Wang Tao at first, they would certainly have had a chance to resist when caught by Wang Tao ¨C after all, both of them were Second-order Superpower Owners! But in reality, they didn¡¯t. The two were beaten black and blue, almost to death! This clearly wasn¡¯t because they didn¡¯t want to resist; they simply couldn¡¯t! Wang Tao turned out to be much stronger than she¡¯d imagined! She had previously thought that Wang Tao might be close to Huang Heng¡¯s strength, at most on par with him. But now, it was clear that he was far beyond Huang Heng! Could he actually be a Level 3 ability user? Nie Siyan was sweating profusely, facing such a powerful Ability User, she actually had the audacity to entertain some ulterior thoughts, which was simply suicidal! Although she felt Wang Tao probably hadn¡¯t noticed her intentions, she didn¡¯t dare to take chances anymore, so she found the right opportunity to show goodwill as soon as possible. Wang Tao didn¡¯t pay attention to Nie Siyan for the time being. He sat down casually, then looked at the kneeling couple before him. The man appeared to be in his twenties, with 15,000 HP, average-looking, but with some muscles on his body. The woman seemed a few years older than the man, with 13,000 HP, very curvaceous, second only to Nie Siyan in figure, but her face was that of a plastic surgery internet celebrity. After being brutally beaten by Wang Tao, her face had deformed severely, a real deformation that probably couldn¡¯t be reversed anymore, since there likely weren¡¯t any plastic surgeons around now. The two were both naked, with expressions of terror on their faces. Now they probably had a clear understanding of the situation¡ªthey¡¯d been defeated by a stranger without the ability to resist! But the problem was, they were both Second-order Superpower Owners! Subdued without the slightest power to fight back? Huang Wu and Liao Xia were still somewhat in disbelief to this point. Of course, not only did they find it hard to believe they had been subdued, but they also couldn¡¯t believe this person was brought by Nie Siyan. ¡°You whore! You actually betrayed my brother!¡± Huang Wu yelled at Nie Siyan. ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan remained silent. In her heart, she looked down on the pair immensely. Did you really have the nerve to talk about betrayal? But she didn¡¯t dare to speak now. One reason was that her face hurt, and the other was that she feared saying the wrong thing and getting beaten again. Seeing Nie Siyan remain silent, Huang Wu seemed even more enraged. ¡°You bitch, I should have taken advantage of you last time when you were injured! So your adulterer wouldn¡¯t have gotten you for free!¡± He seemed to have misunderstood Nie Siyan¡¯s relationship with Wang Tao. At these words, Nie Siyan¡¯s face turned dark. She remembered, the last time she was injured, this little uncle kept sneaking around her room¡¯s door. It was a blessing she hadn¡¯t been asleep then! Seeing Nie Siyan still not responding, Huang Wu then turned his angry gaze to Wang Tao. ¡°You, let us go now! Or my brother will come back and kill you!¡± Although Huang Wu was a prisoner, he wasn¡¯t bowing down, even threatening. Because he knew how strong his brother was, a top-notch Ability User! His brother was his confidence. Compared to him, Liao Xia was much wiser. With a face full of tears, she said: ¡°Brother, whatever you want, just ask, I still have a lot of Crystal Cores, I¡¯ll give them all to you! Please let me go, we have no grievances nor grudges, there¡¯s no need for this...¡± Wang Tao ignored Huang Wu but looked at Liao Xia with interest. ¡°Do you know where your little uncle keeps his supplies?¡± ¡°I do, I do! Not only do I know his, but I also know my husband¡¯s!¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then turned his head to look at Nie Siyan. ¡°Kill him.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Or I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan looked at Xu Xiaojun passing her an axe, took it with a strained expression, then limped towards Huang Wu. ¡°You whore, what are you doing!¡± It was then that Huang Wu finally felt fear. His brother was powerful, but his brother wasn¡¯t by his side now! As if awakening, he quickly begged Wang Tao for mercy. ¡°Big brother, I was wrong...¡± But what responded to him was a heavy axe strike from Nie Siyan. Thud! Chapter 423: 192 Crystal Core Currency_1 Chapter 423: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_1 Nie Siyan clenched the ax in both hands and viciously chopped it down on the back of Huang Wu¡¯s neck. A squelching sound followed as blood splattered everywhere. Human¡¯s defensive power is generally much worse than that of zombies, and even as a Second-order Superpower Owner, he still couldn¡¯t withstand this lethal ax blow. In the moments before his death, Huang Wu still retained a look of horror and disbelief in his eyes, he hadn¡¯t expected that Nie Siyan would really dare to kill him¡ªdidn¡¯t she fear Huang Heng¡¯s retaliation... After personally killing Huang Wu, Nie Siyan felt somewhat dazed. After all, he was her younger uncle by marriage, and they had known each other for over a decade. To some extent, it could be said that she had watched him grow up. But now she had just killed him with her own hands... As for Liao Xia standing by the side, she was almost scared out of her wits. She, too, hadn¡¯t anticipated that Nie Siyan would so decisively kill Huang Wu without even a word of kindness... ¡°Go, collect all the supplies from this place,¡± Wang Tao said to Nie Siyan and Liao Xia. Nie Siyan hastily threw aside the ax and helped Liao Xia to her feet. Though the two had their differences and Nie Siyan sometimes wished Liao Xia dead, now was not the time to dwell on these things. Nie Siyan had one of her legs broken by Wang Tao, while Liao Xia had all her limbs broken. She was obviously incapable of grabbing anything, so Nie Siyan had to support her as a guide. Wang Tao had asked Liao Xia if she knew where the supplies were because Nie Siyan said she didn¡¯t know where the three, including Huang Heng, kept their supplies. Huang Heng now favored Liao Xia, the hothead, and had a better relationship with her. And since Liao Xia was now related to Huang Wu in that way, she would likely know. Soon, with Liao Xia leading the way, Nie Siyan found many supplies on this floor, all of which were brought to Wang Tao by Xu Xiaojun, who was following behind. It had to be said, Huang Heng and his friends were quite good at hiding their belongings. They tucked them in all sorts of nooks and crannies. If it weren¡¯t for someone leading the way, even Wang Tao would have found it difficult to locate them. As for the value of these things, Wang Tao grinned, His journey to the Skull Club was indeed well worth it. He would not mention food; he was not lacking in that. Let¡¯s talk about Crystal Cores¡ªthere were a total of 623 Level 1 Crystal Cores and 28 Level 2 Crystal Cores! It seemed that Nie Siyan and the others had some hoarder-like tendencies, liking to stock up on things. However, it might also be related to the fact that they had no immediate use for these Crystal Cores. Huang Heng, Huang Wu, Nie Siyan, and Liao Xia were all Second-order Ability Users. They were different from Wang Tao; they were currently unable to merge with Level 1 Crystal Cores. They also had their own abilities in their bodies, and at the time of their Level 2 Ascension, they probably didn¡¯t pass on their abilities. So they were also unable to merge with new Level 2 Crystal Cores. This resulted in them hoarding a bunch of Crystal Cores with nowhere to use them. They could have given them to their subordinates, but these individuals were clearly quite stingy and weren¡¯t willing to let their underlings use them. Or maybe they had their own reward and punishment system and didn¡¯t want to upgrade all their underlings to Ability Users at once. Thus, these Crystal Cores remained in their hands... Of course, another important reason they had so many Crystal Cores was that they frequently engaged in deceit and plunder¡ªmost of these were their spoils of war... Crystal Cores essentially served as the currency of Zijing City now, whether for transactions between individuals or between factions, it was mostly settled with Crystal Cores. However, given the diverse types of Crystal Cores and only a few that suited them, or even many Crystal Cores they didn¡¯t recognize... the value of these cores also differed. Specific prices are hard to state as they are determined by supply and demand, and may fluctuate daily... Hence, the current Crystal Core market is somewhat chaotic. But no matter how chaotic it is, there are a few common understandings. One is that among the same type of Crystal Cores, orange holds the highest value, followed by red, and so on down to white as the lowest.p> Another is that Level 2 Crystal Cores are more valuable than Level 1, and Level 3 Crystal Cores are more valuable than Level 2, and so forth. Last is that everyone is generally aware that specific Ability Crystal Cores have more stable value. No matter whether there is a pressing demand or not, their prices remain steady. Those with unclear uses have large price fluctuations¡ªif someone wants them, they¡¯re expensive; if not, they¡¯re cheap. Of course, ¡°cheap¡± is relative to other Crystal Cores; in reality, the intrinsic value of Crystal Cores is still quite high. This is because Crystal Core Synthesizers had been air-dropped into the area before! Crystal Core Synthesizers can remove the side effects from Crystal Cores! The cost, however, is the consumption of a lot of Crystal Cores. The consumption is much greater than what Wang Tao requires for synthesis, like a bottomless pit, and it cannot remove impurities either. Even so, these side effect-free Crystal Cores were still coveted by countless people. Regardless of the time, there¡¯s never a shortage of wealthy individuals, even in a post-apocalyptic world. Nie Siyan said that many people within the large factions were now using synthesized Crystal Cores. Those from medium and small factions like hers wouldn¡¯t dare to indulge to such an extent. However, there are two types of Crystal Cores that are expensive regardless of quality or level. These are the Omnipotent Crystal Core and the Ascension crystal core, as these two types of Crystal Cores can be used by all Ability Users... Most of the several hundred Crystal Cores in front of Wang Tao were White Rank, Ordinary quality. But for Wang Tao, this wasn¡¯t a big problem; after all, he could synthesize whatever quality he wanted. Wang Tao collected all these Crystal Cores, then turned his attention to the other items. There were also some jewelry, snacks, cigarettes, and alcohol. Chapter 424: 192 Crystal Core Currency_2 Chapter 424: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_2 Ability Users traded directly, either bartering goods or settling with Crystal Cores. But ordinary people couldn¡¯t get their hands on Crystal Cores¡ªif they had them, they wouldn¡¯t be ordinary anymore. Thus, transactions among ordinary people were generally conducted using gold and silver as currency. Gold and silver were naturally of little use to Wang Tao, but since they gleamed attractively, he collected them anyway. Then there were snacks, tobacco, and alcohol; these luxuries could satisfy cravings and were quite valuable in the post-apocalypse. Cigarettes, in particular, were almost as solid a currency as Crystal Cores. It was the same old story, no matter what the times, there were always the rich. Ordinary folks might be worrying about what to have for tomorrow¡¯s lunch, but some were already indulging in smoking and drinking. Wang Tao collected all these items and had Xu Xiaojun carry them. Then he turned to Liao Xia. ¡°Anything else to confess?¡± ¡°No more...¡± Liao Xia said with a mournful expression. All the most valuable things in the video arcade had been taken by Wang Tao. Aside from food, which wasn¡¯t easy to seize, she was left with nothing. ¡°Are you sure? Think carefully...¡± Wang Tao gave her a deep look. ¡°I...¡± Liao Xia racked her brains desperately but really couldn¡¯t think of anything valuable left. Apart from her own body, she had nothing¡ªwait, her body? Suddenly, a light bulb went off in Liao Xia¡¯s head. ¡°Big Brother! I still have myself, I belong to you now too!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow immediately furrowed. He thought Liao Xia had actually come up with something, but she was referring to her body? How ominous! Wang Tao turned to Nie Siyan. ¡°Kill her.¡± ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s body involuntarily shuddered. With Huang Wu dead and Liao Xia about to die, would she be the next one? Looking into Wang Tao¡¯s unemotional eyes, Nie Siyan dared not delay. She immediately picked up the axe she had discarded earlier and approached Liao Xia. ¡°No, you can¡¯t...¡± Splat! Liao Xia¡¯s face was etched with terror, but the horrified expression quickly became fixed. Nie Siyan had rested for a while and regained some strength. The force of her axe was exceptionally strong, severing Liao Xia¡¯s entire head. As Nie Siyan watched Liao Xia staring at her with deformed eyes, she felt a chill run down her spine. ¡°Well done.¡± Wang Tao secretly nodded in approval of Nie Siyan¡¯s obedience. Suddenly, there was some noise behind them. All three turned to see Huang Wu, who had been killed by Nie Siyan earlier, standing up. His body twisted, his eyes white, his mouth oozing disgusting mucus and blood. Then, staggering forward with his nearly severed head, he moved quickly towards them. ¡°Damn, forgot to double-tap!¡± Nie Siyan suddenly realized, even without a virus infection, there was a certain chance that a dead person would turn into a zombie if the brain wasn¡¯t destroyed! She had been too distracted earlier and forgot to double-tap. However, Wang Tao appeared quite calm, signaling Xu Xiaojun with a glance. Xu Xiaojun immediately went over. After a few exchanges with zombie Huang Wu, he effortlessly killed him. Killing humans did not yield increased HP, but killing zombies did. That¡¯s why Wang Tao purposely hadn¡¯t double-tapped, for this reason. Wang Tao had speculated that the probability of a person turning into a zombie after death was likely related to the amount of Internal Impurity in the body. With more than fifty percent Internal Impurity, Wang Tao figured Huang Wu had a decent chance of turning into a zombie. Sure enough, Huang Wu had complied and indeed became a zombie. After Xu Xiaojun killed zombie Huang Wu, he gained over five hundred in increased HP. Not bad. As for Liao Xia, her level of Internal Impurity wasn¡¯t that high, just over thirty percent, so Wang Tao reckoned it was unlikely for her. Nie Siyan watched Xu Xiaojun skillfully extract the Crystal Core from the head of zombie Huang Wu, feeling her legs go weak. Thump¡ª Nie Siyan immediately knelt in front of Wang Tao, grabbing his legs: ¡°Brother, don¡¯t kill me, I don¡¯t want to die, please...¡± Looking down at Nie Siyan with her snotty and tearful face, Wang Tao bent down slightly, lifting her chin and forcing her to look him in the eye. Nie Siyan was actually quite attractive, even though she wore heavy makeup, it gave her a unique flavor. Especially with her fiery figure, she was someone who could easily arouse desire. But clearly, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that desperate, especially after having just vented his frustrations. Moreover, Nie Siyan¡¯s makeup was smudged from crying, greatly diminishing her allure. ¡°Brother...¡± Nie Siyan, facing Wang Tao¡¯s cold eyes, felt she might die at any moment. Especially when Wang Tao¡¯s hand slowly moved from her chin to her neck, Nie Siyan trembled all over, feeling a warm flow beneath her. ¡°...¡± Slap¡ª Wang Tao sent Nie Siyan flying with a slap, knocking her against the wall and leaving her seeing stars. At her previous spot, a puddle was forming on the ground. She had literally peed herself from fright. Wang Tao covered his nose as he stood up, addressing the still dazed Nie Siyan: ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance, you do one thing for me. If you succeed, I won¡¯t kill you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it, I¡¯ll do it!¡± Nie Siyan, ignoring her headache, nodded eagerly like a pecking chicken. ¡°First, clean up this place and yourself.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao left Nie Siyan alone, confident she wouldn¡¯t dare run away. Chapter 425: 192 Crystal Core Currency_3 Chapter 425: Chapter 192 Crystal Core Currency_3 Reaching the window, Wang Tao could already imagine the number of Crystal Cores here. ¡°Since Crystal Cores are already taken as currency here, perhaps I can try trading with others...¡± Wang Tao was still quite short of Level 2 Crystal Cores, as his own Ability hadn¡¯t yet reached its maximum enhancement. And now there was also Xu Xiaojun... However, he had many fine items, which he imagined many would covet. He planned to look back later to see if there were opportunities to sell some things in exchange for some Crystal Cores. Of course, he couldn¡¯t neglect the search for Level 2 zombies and even Level 3 zombies. His HP might have reached the upper limit of Level Two, but one can never have too much Special Energy... After some time, Nie Siyan, holding back the severe pain in her body, finally managed to clean up the place. Then she took a cold shower, washing herself until she was squeaky clean. Nie Siyan was now wearing a silk nightgown, her curvaceous body faintly visible. Her face was slightly swollen, but without any makeup, her complexion pale, she looked somewhat pitiful... Seeing her like this, Wang Tao felt the urge to slap her again. ¡°Who are you dressing up for like this? Continue with your previous outfit.¡± Wang Tao said coldly. ¡°Oh right, immediately!¡± Nie Siyan got a fright. Her choice of dress was indeed an attempt to gain Wang Tao¡¯s sympathy, and to see if she could possibly seduce him¡ªshe was close to death, and for the sake of survival, she was willing to do anything. But to her surprise, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t taking the bait. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dare make Wang Tao wait too long, promptly emerging in a tight leather outfit with heavy makeup, limping out. ¡°That¡¯s more like it.¡± Wang Tao nodded in approval. It wasn¡¯t that he had any special fetishes, but he was planning to use Nie Siyan to trap Huang Heng, the leader of the Skull Club. If Nie Siyan looked different from usual, it might raise suspicions. ¡°Come here.¡± Wang Tao beckoned, and Nie Siyan immediately quickened her pace to Wang Tao¡¯s side, even consciously kneeling at his feet, a look of entreaty on her face. Wang Tao looked down at her and said, ¡°I¡¯m giving you a potion. When Huang Heng comes back, find a way to make him drink it. Complete this task, and I won¡¯t kill you.¡± ¡°Ah... I, I¡¯ll get caught...¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s face turned bitter upon hearing the task. If she were discovered trying to poison him, she would be killed by Wang Tao if not by Huang Heng. ¡°That depends on how you pull it off. The potion is colorless and odorless; it won¡¯t draw his attention.¡± Wang Tao handed Nie Siyan a bottle of Weakness Potion. The three Level 2 Ability Users from the Skull Club all had HP over ten thousand, and since Huang Heng was much stronger than them, his HP could potentially exceed twenty thousand. Wang Tao himself had barely thirty thousand HP, so being cautious with such Ability Users was no problem. Moreover, if second-order Ability Users were to fight openly, it might cause a big commotion and attract unnecessary trouble. Wang Tao sought a swift and decisive victory to take down Huang Heng quickly. If Nie Siyan could administer a bottle of Weakness Potion to him, that would simplify things immensely. Nie Siyan accepted the potion with a troubled look, her mind racing, pondering excuses to drug Huang Heng. As for whether or not to poison him, she didn¡¯t even need to think about it¡ªshe certainly had to. Although they were husband and wife, in times of great crisis, every bird flies its separate way. At this juncture, her own life mattered most! Nie Siyan roughly knew what Huang Heng would have been up to, estimating that he would return around evening. But Huang Heng¡¯s return was much later than she had expected. As night approached, a small off-road vehicle cautiously arrived at the foot of the video game arcade building. Seeing Huang Heng¡¯s car finally return, Nie Siyan, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately went downstairs to greet him. Huang Heng was a man who looked very similar to Huang Wu but was noticeably more mature. He was alone in the car, as he preferred to act solo. It wasn¡¯t that he disliked others holding him back, but rather he was worried others would steal his kills. After getting out of the car, he saw Nie Siyan waiting nearby and was somewhat surprised. ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re back? How was the harvest? If you don¡¯t complete the task this week, even you will have to accept the punishment. By the way, is Liao Xia asleep?¡± Huang Heng said with a stern face. ¡°I...¡± Nie Siyan still harbored a sliver of thought to inform Huang Heng, but seeing his demeanor, that last thread of thought vanished. Huang Heng started by scolding her and asking about Liao Xia; he didn¡¯t even notice that his own face was swollen. The excuse she had painstakingly thought of couldn¡¯t be used... Taking a deep breath, Nie Siyan smiled sweetly. ¡°Little Liao is upstairs waiting for you, she¡¯s taking a shower...¡± At these words, Huang Heng¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Just right, I want to take a shower too. Let¡¯s go up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Nie Siyan, enduring the pain in her leg, leaned on a stick and limped behind Huang Heng. ¡°What happened to your leg?¡± Huang Heng suddenly turned around. ¡°I ran into a tough Level 2 Zombie earlier, I couldn¡¯t beat it, and I broke my leg while escaping...¡± Nie Siyan spoke as if she was a bit embarrassed. ¡°Hmm? A Level 2 Zombie! Where exactly, I¡¯ll go kill it tomorrow!¡± ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan made up an address on the spot. Soon, the two of them arrived on the third floor. As soon as Huang Heng entered the room, he started to undress, getting ready to shower. After throwing down his shriveled water bag, Nie Siyan immediately picked up a cup of water and naturally offered it to him. ¡°Thirsty, huh? Have some water.¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but her heart was very tense. Huang Heng didn¡¯t give it much thought; he was indeed feeling quite thirsty. Seeing that the water looked clear and had no strange taste, he drank it all in one gulp. Gulp~ ¡°Hu¡ªrefreshing!¡± However, after drinking the water, his legs suddenly went weak, and he nearly stumbled and fell. Before Huang Heng could figure out what was happening, he saw a figure with a large axe appear behind him. In an instant, he felt a chilling terror. Without thinking, he instinctively tried to run away, but his speed was much slower than usual, causing him to stumble. Bang! The back of the massive axe head struck directly on the back of Huang Heng¡¯s neck. All Huang Heng felt was darkness before his eyes as he passed out. Chapter 426: 193: Sent to Prison_1 Chapter 426: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_1 Wang Tao hadn¡¯t fought Ability Users very often, but now he realized that in certain specific situations¡ªlike when someone was being deceptive, Ability Users of the same rank were easier to deal with than zombies. Because Ability Users had too many weaknesses. After all, Ability Users were still humans; their entire bodies had weak points. But zombies only had one weakness: their heads. Take Huang Heng, for example. [HP: 120/21300] [Mana: 1930/3400] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 63%] Huang Heng¡¯s attributes weren¡¯t weak by any measure, with twenty thousand HP. If a zombie had these attributes, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t have possibly killed it with a single strike. But under the effects of a Weakness Potion and a sneak attack, Huang Heng was immediately knocked out by a blow from Wang Tao¡¯s ax, without any ability to fight back. After knocking him out, Wang Tao immediately tied Huang Heng up with a chain and then along with Xu Xiaojun, they beat him up ruthlessly. Huang Heng kept falling in and out of consciousness from the beating. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao enjoyed torturing people; it was just that he needed to leave Huang Heng critically injured. Soon, Huang Heng was beaten until only a sliver of HP remained, and his limbs were directly broken. He was completely incapacitated from posing any threat to Wang Tao. Wang Tao had no psychological burden in dealing with someone like that. The people from this arcade weren¡¯t good people, including the Ordinary folks; they were all engaged in trickery and deceit. Even if he had to kill all of these people, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t feel the slightest guilt. He kept Huang Heng alive only because Wang Tao wanted to extract more information, as after all, he was the boss of the Skull Club and knew more than others. ¡°You, what do you... want... I¡¯ll give you everything...¡± Huang Heng was far more sensible than his brother, continuously begging for mercy once he realized resistance was futile. Looking at Huang Heng, who had been beaten beyond recognition, Wang Tao said indifferently, ¡°I ask, you answer.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer, I¡¯ll answer...¡± So, Wang Tao asked a lot of questions. When he felt that he couldn¡¯t squeeze anything more out of Huang Heng, he turned his attention to Nie Siyan, who was trembling with fear at the side, and gave her a ¡°you know what to do¡± look. ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan swallowed hard and picked up the ax somewhat shakily. Huang Heng seemed to have a premonition and, kneeling on the ground, he turned his head with difficulty, looking at Nie Siyan with confusion and anger. He didn¡¯t understand; though he had been somewhat neglectful of Nie Siyan, he hadn¡¯t treated her badly, so why was Nie Siyan colluding with others to kill him? Until now, he failed to realize that it wasn¡¯t Nie Siyan who was colluding with others but that he had kicked an iron plate when he sent Nie Siyan out to deceive and trick people! Nie Siyan could hardly bear to meet Huang Heng¡¯s gaze. Closing her eyes, she swung the ax down onto Huang Heng¡¯s neck. Pu-chi! ¡°Bitch...¡± After spitting out his final words, Huang Heng collapsed to the ground with a thud. Clang¡ª Nie Siyan dropped the ax, her expression dazed. No matter what, she and Huang Heng had been husband and wife for many years, and had fought side by side since the apocalypse began. But now, she had executed her own husband with her own hands... Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with Nie Siyan; he looked at Huang Heng¡¯s body with some anticipation, figuring that with such a high level of Internal Impurity, there was a high chance he would turn into a zombie. Wang Tao took out his walkie-talkie and called Jiang Shixue over. He had left Jiang Shixue in the car to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. Now that the situation was resolved, there was no longer a need for that precaution. It was time for Jiang Shixue to come over and hold the fort. After all, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t certain whether Huang Heng would turn into a Level 2 Zombie or a Level 3 Zombie. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t take the usual path; she climbed in through the window like a ghostly figure, silently appearing beside Wang Tao without anyone else noticing. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t been able to detect her through Plant Affinity, he might not have been aware of her. After reaching the upper limit of Level 2 HP, Jiang Shixue had become even stronger. After waiting for a while, Huang Heng¡¯s body suddenly started to convulse. Upon seeing a red HP bar slowly appearing above his head, Wang Tao waved his hand, and the three of them struck simultaneously. Moments later, Huang Heng¡¯s 29999 HP dropped to zero. Following this mutation of Huang Heng and combining it with previous observations, Wang Tao had roughly deduced a pattern of Ability Users turning into zombies¡ª When humans turned into zombies, their HP and Mana would double. If it hadn¡¯t reached the current level¡¯s upper limit, it would reach that limit. If it was already at the upper limit, then it might turn into a higher-level zombie! Simply put, a 10,000 HP Ability User would grow to 20,000 HP upon turning into a zombie; a 20,000 HP Ability User after mutation would reach 29,999 HP, and a 29,999 HP Ability User would become a 30,000 HP Level 3 Zombie! Too bad Huang Heng didn¡¯t have 29,999 HP; otherwise, the rewards from killing a Level 3 Zombie would have definitely been greater... After the zombie was dealt with, Wang Tao told Xu Xiaojun to dig out the Crystal Core. Huang Heng himself had plenty of Crystal Cores on him, both Level 1 and Level Two. He hadn¡¯t kept all his Crystal Cores at home. Wang Tao collected all the Crystal Cores and then turned to Nie Siyan, contemplating how to deal with the Skull Club. Initially, Wang Tao had planned to head directly to the military base in Wuyang City, but after receiving the news that Wuyang City was very dangerous, he decided to stay a few more days in Zijing City to strengthen his abilities before going to Wuyang City. Since he would be staying in Zijing City, he naturally needed a place to settle in. The arcade was decent enough, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fussy; as long as there were some defensive measures and a bed to sleep in, it would do. But there were others in the Skull Club... Chapter 427 - 193: Sent to Prison_2 Chapter 427: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_2 Wang Tao had no intention of becoming the new leader of this group of people. They were all engaged in deception and swindling, their hands stained with the blood of the innocent, with no guarantee of their character. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to keep them around. But to kill all of these people... After all, there were three hundred of them, and Wang Tao just couldn¡¯t bring himself to do it. Although he didn¡¯t see himself as a good person, he wasn¡¯t a homicidal maniac. If he killed so many people by his own hand, he wouldn¡¯t feel guilty, but he would definitely feel uncomfortable. What should he do... As Wang Tao pondered, Nie Siyan felt his gaze and immediately shivered all over. It was as if she could sense that her life hung on a single thought from Wang Tao! Thump, thump, thump¡ª ¡°Big brother, master, daddy, grandpa... don¡¯t kill me! Please...¡± Nie Siyan quickly scrambled and rolled over to Wang Tao¡¯s feet, switching through several titles in one breath. She had endured so many beatings, personally killed her brother-in-law and her husband, all to save her own life. She really didn¡¯t want to die! ¡°Hmm? Do you think my word means nothing?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. He had previously said that as long as Nie Siyan successfully drugged Huang Heng, Wang Tao would not kill her. But now, Nie Siyan clearly didn¡¯t trust his character! ¡°...Brother, you, you only said you wouldn¡¯t kill me, but you didn¡¯t say others wouldn¡¯t kill me...¡± Nie Siyan warily glanced at Xu Xiaojun. ¡°...¡± Indeed, Wang Tao had been thinking just that. He didn¡¯t want to do it himself, but Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue might. Seeing Wang Tao silent, Nie Siyan became even more frightened. This time, she did not dare to cling to Wang Tao¡¯s legs, instead prostrating herself in front of him, her head touching the floor. Wang Tao suddenly spoke: ¡°I¡¯m thinking of staying here temporarily, but I don¡¯t want to see so many people, especially those who harm their own kind. I really dislike that. So, if you can come up with a suitable solution, I can assure you, your life will be spared.¡± Hearing this, Nie Siyan suddenly looked up. In her opinion, the easiest way to not have to see these people was to kill them. But Wang Tao was no fool; of course, he was aware of this method. But since he hadn¡¯t chosen it, he must have his own ideas. So killing these people was out of the question. If she didn¡¯t kill them yet wanted them to disappear, there was only one method left¡ªher old trade! ¡°I have a method. I can sell them all to the prison...¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows shot up. He had not thought of this method, since he was a respectable person. But upon reflection, it seemed plausible. These people had trafficked quite a few individuals before, so selling them now made sense. ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave this to you.¡± Wang Tao patted Nie Siyan on the head. ¡°Brother, rest assured! I will handle it well!¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s face immediately brightened. Wang Tao nodded and then added: ¡°By the way, although you people are filled with evil deeds, there may still be some who are innocent or forced by circumstances... So, you...¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s eyes went wide upon hearing the rest of Wang Tao¡¯s words. She thought Wang Tao was incredibly cunning, not at all inferior to her. Nie Siyan immediately lowered her head. ¡°Yes...¡± The next day, early morning. Inside the arcade, the members of the Skull Club had no clue that their leader was already dead. After all, the third floor was the territory of four second-order ability users, and the others were all below. The fight last night was quick and stealthy, causing no ruckus, and the soundproofing of the arcade was good, so it was normal that the others were unaware. Nie Siyan¡¯s swelling had subsided, as Wang Tao had used some medical kits on her, allowing her to recover quite a bit, even her limp was less noticeable. Using Huang Heng¡¯s name, she summoned everyone. After all of them had gathered in the parking lot behind the building, Nie Siyan spoke: ¡°Last night, Boss Huang discussed an issue with us, and that was to raise everyone¡¯s treatment...¡± Whoosh¡ª Before she could finish, the crowd below erupted into an uproar. Many were even shouting excitedly. Wang Tao, watching the scene from upstairs, frowned. Although a raise in treatment was indeed a happy matter, this lack of discipline was too much. Sending these people away was definitely the right move. Nie Siyan, on the other hand, was accustomed to this reaction. She tapped a steel reinforcing bar against a nearby steel pipe to draw the crowd¡¯s attention, and then continued: ¡°As for how much the treatment will be increased specifically, that relates to everyone¡¯s contribution to the base. So, now, everyone write down the precise details of what you¡¯ve achieved on paper, truthfully, so we can distribute it logically. Note, do not falsify information; we have control over everything about you. If anyone falsifies information... you will bear the consequences!¡± When she mentioned bearing the consequences, Nie Siyan gave the crowd a meaningful look. She wasn¡¯t joking; the consequences were indeed severe. Upon hearing this, the crowd resumed whispering among themselves. Many didn¡¯t remember how many people they had deceived, and needed to ask their companions to help recall. However, some ordinary individuals looked dejected because they had no achievements. Nie Siyan had paper and pens handed out. Soon, everyone had written down their various ¡°contributions.¡± Nie Siyan collected everything expressionlessly, and then told the crowd: ¡°Today, no one goes out. Stay at the base and wait for news.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The crowd responded excitedly. Chapter 428 - 193: Sent to Prison_3 Chapter 428: Chapter 193: Sent to Prison_3 The Skull Club still had quite a few ordinary people who were all thinking that this might be their chance to become Ability Users. And those who were Level 1 Ability Users were wondering if they might advance to become Second-order Superpower Owners! Some were confused as to why Boss Huang had not made an appearance, but they didn¡¯t think too much of it¡ªafter all, everyone knew Boss Huang was more fond of his new wife, Liao Xia, and for all they knew, he might be locked in a fierce battle with her between the sheets right now. Nie Siyan ascended the stairs with the collected information in hand. Upstairs, Wang Tao was eating breakfast. Breakfast consisted of smoked fish and a big flatbread soaked in a nutrient solution. The dried fish were leftovers; Wang Tao and the other two had Magical Stomach Pouches, which stored a large amount of fish meat. The big flatbread was given by Yang Changhong when they parted ways with his fleet. They had plenty of rice and flour on hand, and for convenience, had turned it all into this kind of easy-to-carry dry food. Seeing these foods, Nie Siyan immediately swallowed hard. She hadn¡¯t eaten for two or three days since being captured by Wang Tao. But she dared not show any dissatisfaction, and promptly presented the information with respect. Wang Tao took the information. ¡°Tsk tsk, you people, really deserve to die.¡± Shaking his head as he looked at the information, Wang Tao sighed. Previously he had thought, since the Skull Club still had so many ordinary members, these ordinary people would not be largely involved in kidnapping. After all, ordinary people have lower survival abilities outside. But unexpectedly, although most ordinary people weren¡¯t directly involved in tricking or kidnapping, many had indirectly participated. Some provided information, some made traps, some volunteered to be bait, and so on. Well then... some people would have to be sent to prison. Perhaps some people deliberately inflated their achievements, but Wang Tao wasn¡¯t going to bother investigating. He had already told Nie Siyan before that falsifying achievements would have consequences. After spending some time, Wang Tao divided the information into two piles. One was thick, the other thin. Wang Tao handed the thick pile to Nie Siyan, who quickly caught it with both hands. ¡°Just these people. As for how it¡¯s done, I leave it to you.¡± ¡°Ah? Leave it to me?¡± Nie Siyan couldn¡¯t believe it. The list Wang Tao picked out had at least two hundred people on it. That could fetch a lot of Crystal Cores! And more importantly, if she was in charge of this, she could escape! After all, they had always been a delivery service... Seeing Nie Siyan¡¯s shock and the flicker in her eyes after the initial surprise, Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged. ¡°I just want my Crystal Cores. I don¡¯t care about the process, you figure it out yourself. Go.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan quickly bowed and exited excitedly. Once downstairs, Nie Siyan immediately notified everyone, saying that Boss Huang had reviewed the list and wanted those with good performance to gather in the first-floor hall. Those with poor performance should stay in the parking lot and not wander around. Suddenly, those with poor performance felt like they had been abandoned, overcome with a sense of loss. Whereas those with good performance were smug, especially those who had inflated their achievements, who were almost strutting with pride. ¡®I knew it! The Skull Club has never tracked these things. How much we achieve is known only to ourselves; others at best have a rough idea. A little exaggeration in our reporting won¡¯t cause any trouble!¡¯ ¡°We¡¯re actually just trying to serve the boss better!¡± ¡°Exactly, exactly!¡± ¡°...¡± Soon, Nie Siyan arrived, followed by a few Ability Users. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen...¡± Nie Siyan started to feed them motivational talk, while the Ability Users behind her stealthily used their powers. Soon, everyone began to feel dizzy. ¡°What¡¯s happening...¡± Thud, thud, thud¡ª One by one, the group began to hit the floor. After everyone had fainted, the bald man approached Sister Nie Siyan and asked respectfully, ¡°Sister Nie, the boss is...?¡± They had no idea what was going on and were simply following Sister Nie Siyan¡¯s orders. ¡°The boss is running low on Crystal Cores and wants to exchange for some,¡± Nie Siyan glanced at the bald man. ¡°Exchange for Crystal Cores? Hiss¡ª¡± The bald man took a sharp intake of breath. Nie Siyan ordered the bald man and the others to search everyone, then had them drive the pickup truck from the parking lot. In the past, when they sold goods, they always used a pickup truck for deliveries, but this time there were too many people, and it would require several trips. After loading the first batch of ¡®goods¡¯ onto the truck, Nie Siyan went up to the third floor. ¡°Brother, everything is ready, look...¡± ¡°Go on then,¡± I waved my hand. ¡°Yes!¡± Just as Nie Siyan was excitedly preparing to leave, Wang Tao suddenly added, ¡°Remember, not a single one of my Crystal Cores can be missing.¡± Nie Siyan immediately felt a chill in her heart. ¡°Yes!¡± Shortly after, Nie Siyan left the arcade with the first batch of ¡®goods¡¯. Several of Nie Siyan¡¯s subordinates had a Level 1 Special Ability that generated fainting smoke, which was colorless and odorless, and very difficult to notice if one wasn¡¯t paying close attention. Inhaling the smoke would put one to sleep. The more one inhaled, the stronger the effect, and even a Second-order Superpower Owner couldn¡¯t withstand it after inhaling too much. Nie Siyan had been using these abilities to trick people. ¡°Brother Wang, what if she sneaks off?¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and asked. ¡°That depends on whether she has the guts...¡± Wang Tao had already stated that none of his Crystal Cores could be missing. It didn¡¯t really matter whether Nie Siyan ran away or not, but the trade had to be completed, and the Crystal Cores delivered to him. If she didn¡¯t recognize the situation... then she was truly seeking death. Even if she could hide temporarily, Wang Tao still had ways to find her. The quantity of this trade with Nie Siyan was over two hundred, a major transaction that the small pickups couldn¡¯t handle. She carefully arrived at the jail, where the jail¡¯s authorities, after hearing about the large number of people, didn¡¯t hesitate to send their own transportation for them. ¡°Your Boss Huang is awesome, huh! So generous!¡± The person in charge of the handover at the jail was a skinny young man, who seemed puzzled. ¡°I don¡¯t know what he¡¯s thinking...¡± Nie Siyan pretended to be somewhat helpless. The other party didn¡¯t ask further, as they weren¡¯t interested in the process, just the result. The jail authorities were very straightforward. Upon seeing the ¡®goods¡¯, they immediately paid with Crystal Cores, and after Nie Siyan verified that the number was correct, she went upstairs to hand them over to Wang Tao. The jail could settle with Crystal Cores or with Inhibitors, but Wang Tao wanted Crystal Cores. After that, Nie Siyan helped with two more deliveries, and only then was she able to transport everyone into the jail. The transaction was indeed huge. At the jail entrance, evening. Having delivered the ¡®goods¡¯, Nie Siyan¡¯s face was torn with struggle. She hadn¡¯t coveted a single Crystal Core and had completed the task given by Wang Tao very well. The bald man and the others had been sent away, and now she was alone¡ªshe could run away! But then, she hesitated... Chapter 429: 194 Firefly Club_1 Chapter 429: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_1 Game Arcade, night. Wang Tao looked at the crystal core in his hand, grinning. In this post-apocalyptic world, the value of human life could be seen as negligible. Catching any random disease, getting infected by the zombie virus, or being caught in the crossfire of battle, could lead to death. But human life could also be considered valuable because an ordinary person could be traded for a Level 1 White Crystal Core! And a level 1 ability user could fetch at least 20 Level 1 White Crystal Cores! That was the going rate in Zijing City, and it had remained steady lately. So after Wang Tao had sent those people to prison, he obtained 700 Level 1 White Crystal Cores! Adding the crystal cores found on those people and in their homes, along with those taken from Nie Siyan, Huang Heng, and the other four second-order superpower owners, Wang Tao had managed to acquire a total of 2000 Level 1 Crystal Cores and 50 Level 2 Crystal Cores this time! Although most of these crystal cores were pretty useless, including attributes like Self Detonation and Glutton, which had no real use or had extremely severe side effects. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, since he could synthesize. As long as he could turn these White Crystal Cores into Orange ones, even the Self-Destruct Crystal Cores would become very valuable! After all, many forces possessed crystal core synthesizers, which could eliminate the side effects of crystal cores through synthesis. However, the crystal core synthesizer could only combine crystal cores of the same level and quality. For instance, to remove the side effects from an Orange Level 1 Crystal Core, you would need many Orange Level 1 Crystal Cores for the synthesis. Therefore, even the less useful crystal cores like Self Detonation and Glutton, as long as they weren¡¯t white, their price would significantly increase. And if they were orange, their value would double. Wang Tao planned to synthesize some of these Level 1 Crystal Cores and then trade them for Level 2 Crystal Cores. Zijing City was substantial, with numerous survivors. Even though crystal cores were rare, the overall quantity was definitely not small, much more than Wang Tao could collect by himself. The prison had many crystal cores, which he could perhaps trade with in the future. And it must be said, this prison was quite reputable. There were no issues with the trade, which was completed smoothly, and the exchange for crystal cores was very straightforward. But that was understandable, as currently, the prison was the worst-reputed force in Zijing City, with no equal. Even the Skull Club was lesser in comparison. Their reputation had plummeted to such an extent that it couldn¡¯t be salvaged. No one would go to the prison now, even newcomers to Zijing City would learn of the prison¡¯s notorious reputation after spending a few days there. And since the prison needed new blood... they had no choice but to purchase people from elsewhere. But with their reputation so tarnished, let alone other survivors, even mid-level forces were wary of trading with them. The prison had no choice but to try improving its image in other ways, such as ensuring prompt trades, reliability, not owing any crystal cores, and following the rules. And it turned out that this approach did make a difference in their cooperation with other forces, albeit not enough to change their reputation. As long as the prison adhered to the trading rules, there were still plenty of people willing to trade with them. After all, nobody wanted to turn their back on crystal cores or inhibitors. So after some time, although the prison¡¯s reputation remained damaged, their business reputation improved significantly. The prison no longer cared about their public image; as long as they were powerful and had partners to do business with, that was all that mattered... As Wang Tao was picking out crystal cores, he suddenly raised an eyebrow. He was now sitting in front of a window, with a clear view of a stealthy figure down below. It was none other than Nie Siyan. ¡°This woman is back?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. The deal of sending more than two hundred people to the prison had lasted a day, and after Wang Tao had received the crystal cores, he couldn¡¯t be bothered with what happened to Nie Siyan ¨C she was free to leave whenever she wanted. Since Wang Tao had promised to spare her life, he certainly wouldn¡¯t go back on his word. After all, she was of no use to him anymore. Late in the evening after the transaction ended, the woman hadn¡¯t returned. Wang Tao thought she had already left. But now, she was back? The guards saw Nie Siyan and naturally opened the door for her quickly. Soon after, there was a knock at the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Wang Tao lit an oil lamp; he hadn¡¯t turned on any lights until now since he had night vision. Nie Siyan looked at the tall figure in the dim light, feeling a bit frightened, but she still mustered the courage to approach. ¡°Brother Wang...¡± In reality, she was older than Wang Tao, so calling him Brother Wang was a relatively affectionate form of respect, and until now she didn¡¯t know Wang Tao¡¯s name, only that Xu Xiaojun called him Brother Wang. ¡°What are you doing back here?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. Was this woman a masochist? After the way she was treated, she still dared to come back? But when Nie Siyan heard his question, she thought Wang Tao was accusatory. Immediately, she fell to her knees before Wang Tao. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯m sorry! I shouldn¡¯t have tried to run away, please punish me!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at her thoughtfully. ¡°You want to follow me?¡± ¡°Yes! I want to follow Brother Wang!¡± Nie Siyan quickly replied. She had indeed fled today, without taking a single crystal core, and she believed that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to hunt her down. But during her escape, she suddenly lost her desire to run away. It wasn¡¯t that she enjoyed abuse, but rather she realized she had nowhere to go... And with Wang Tao being so strong, she wanted to follow him! Admiring the strong was an innate trait for many people, and she was no exception. Chapter 430: 194 Firefly Club_2 Chapter 430: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_2 Wang Tao is the most formidable Ability User she has ever met! Following someone like him is definitely more promising than following Huang Heng! What¡¯s more important is that although Wang Tao had beaten her many times, and she subconsciously felt a little terrified whenever she thought of Wang Tao, he was a person with bottom lines. You could tell from the fact that he ¡°hates survivors who cheat and deceive¡± and ¡°sends survivors who could make him Crystal Cores to prison.¡± If she were to join another power, she didn¡¯t know what those bosses would be like. Places like prisons were fine for business, but she would never dare to join one! As for establishing her own faction, she knew she wasn¡¯t cut out for it. After all, her combat ability wasn¡¯t strong... So after giving it some serious thought, Nie Siyan decided to go back to the arcade. Though she knew Wang Tao disliked her, she had done quite a few things for him, and he probably wouldn¡¯t kill her. Then, if she were just a bit more sincere, there was a certain likelihood that Wang Tao would take her in. So, she came back. When Wang Tao saw Nie Siyan nod, he said with a half-smile, ¡°Do you think you are worthy?¡± It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao was mocking her, but she needed to realize who was by Wang Tao¡¯s side¡ªthere was Xu Xiaojun, there was Jiang Shixue. How could she compare to either of them? ¡°I¡¯m not worthy! I know I¡¯m not, but I hope Brother Wang will give me a chance! I will definitely perform well...¡± Nie Siyan prostrated herself at Wang Tao¡¯s feet. Wang Tao frowned and pondered for a moment. He felt that Nie Siyan probably really did want to follow him, given that his strength was plain for all to see. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to take on a drag, and to be honest, he didn¡¯t quite trust her character. After all, she could even kill her husband and brother-in-law, and she was adept at cheating and deceiving; how could he trust such a person? However, looking at Nie Siyan¡¯s ¡°I¡¯m very sensible¡± expression, Wang Tao felt that although it was unlikely to bring her to the military base, since he was going to stay in Zijing City for a while, maybe he could keep her around to run errands and handle odd jobs. ¡°Lift your head.¡± Wang Tao ordered. Nie Siyan immediately lifted her head and looked at Wang Tao with both fear and anticipation. Wang Tao stretched out his hand, gently stroking Nie Siyan¡¯s hair, as if he were petting a small dog. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a chance, perform well, and I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me. Otherwise...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s hand slowly slid down to rest on Nie Siyan¡¯s neck. Nie Siyan felt a shiver down her spine, but her pupils showed a glint of joy, and she quickly promised, ¡°Yes! I definitely won¡¯t disappoint Brother Wang!¡± ¡°Then go ahead.¡± Wang Tao patted her cheek, and Nie Siyan slowly got up and respectfully left the room. Once outside, she immediately leaned against the wall, feeling her back drenched with sweat. But her mood at the moment was somewhat excited. Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly take her in, he had given her a chance. She had to seize this opportunity! As long as she served Wang Tao well, she was sure to benefit¡ªeven if Wang Tao rewarded her with nothing, just providing her shelter alone was worth it! Inside the room, Wang Tao tidied up the Crystal Cores and then went to bed. Keeping Nie Siyan or not didn¡¯t really matter to him. Since she came back on her own initiative, he gave her a chance. Jiang Shixue, who had been in the shadows, immediately ran to the bed, cuddling up to Wang Tao like a clingy kitten. ¡°Time to sleep.¡± ... The next day. Nie Siyan gathered everyone once again. Her expression was somewhat sad. The crowd was puzzled and very uneasy. Because they had realized that those with high Contribution Points who were called out yesterday had all disappeared¡ªthey had been directed to wait in the arcade¡¯s back parking lot and weren¡¯t aware of what had happened in the hall. They thought Boss Huang had taken those people somewhere else to enjoy some privileges. Or maybe Boss Huang had abandoned them, taking those people to a new base... The more they thought about it, the more anxious they became. After all, under the current circumstances, if they weren¡¯t protected by powerful Ability Users, they truly might not survive! Once everyone had arrived, Nie Siyan spoke with a downcast tone, ¡°Those who were called out yesterday... were sold to the prison.¡± ¡°???¡± The crowd was stunned, and then an uproar ensued. Sold to prison? Being well aware of what that meant in their line of work¡ªthose people were practically pronounced dead, and not just any death, but a terrible one! ¡°Wh-why...¡± An ordinary person asked in a trembling voice. He didn¡¯t want to be sold into prison; he wanted to live! ¡°Because Boss Huang was short on Crystal Cores, he sold those people in exchange for Crystal Cores...¡± Nie Siyan explained. ¡°...¡± The crowd was somewhat dumbfounded. The boss could be short on Crystal Cores? Even if he was, shouldn¡¯t he just squeeze them a bit, making them work harder? Who would kill the goose that lays the golden eggs by selling the people... Fear spread rapidly among the crowd. If the boss could sell those high-performing individuals, he could definitely sell them too! They even suspected that Nie Siyan might tie them up later... But then they heard Nie Siyan continue, ¡°Regarding Boss Huang¡¯s actions, we were as puzzled as you, so we went to confront him. And then... Huang Wu and Liao Xia got into a fight with Boss Huang...¡± ¡°???¡± Again the crowd was filled with question marks. The leadership fought among themselves? Could that really happen? Chapter 431: 194 Firefly Club_3 Chapter 431: Chapter 194 Firefly Club_3 ¡°` But what shocked them came next. Nie Siyan continued, ¡°As a result, Huang Wu and Liao Xia died...¡± ¡°???¡± ¡°Boss Huang is dead too.¡± ¡°!!!¡± All the survivors, including Brother Wang¡¯s confidants, were dumbfounded. They all felt like they had been struck by lightning. The boss is dead? The boss¡¯s own brother and the boss¡¯s second wife too? Three out of the four Level 2 Ability Users in our Skull Club are dead? Although some people harbored a thought of hating Boss Huang and wished he would die sooner when scolded by him, that was merely a thought. Rationally, no one wanted anything to happen to Boss Huang; after all, they had survived up until now under his protection. Without Boss Huang, the strong Level 2 Ability User, how were they, the ordinary folks and Level 1 ability users, supposed to live... The Skull Club would probably fall out of the ranks of the medium-sized powers! According to the established norms in Zijing City, only the forces comprised of ability users were widely recognized, and only those established by Level 2 Ability Users were considered medium-sized. Skull Club used to have four Level 2 Ability Users, especially Boss Huang, who had significant combat power. So, the overall strength of the Skull Club was quite acceptable among the medium-sized powers. But now, not only had their population decreased by eight or nine tenths, but three Level 2 Ability Users had also died! Only one Level 2 Ability User was left, and it was Nie Siyan, who wasn¡¯t very strong in combat... Everyone felt darkness looming before their eyes. It¡¯s over, the Skull Club is thoroughly finished... The reputation of being a medium-sized power was trivial; what they cared about wasn¡¯t the reputation. It meant that if an organization¡¯s strength plummeted, other groups would definitely kick them while they were down! The Skull Club had offended many in the past, and they might take this chance to land a few kicks. And there were those eyeing the resources of the Skull Club; they must be very interested in the current state of the Skull Club. After all, the news of Boss Huang selling more than two hundred people would definitely spread, and those were for crystal cores and inhibitors... As for whether Nie Siyan was telling the truth or what role she played... no one considered that anymore. Since Boss Huang and the two others hadn¡¯t shown up, they were definitely in trouble. Now, they needed to think not about the specifics but about what to do in the future... Seeing the worried expressions on everyone¡¯s faces, Nie Siyan spoke, ¡°Anyone who wishes to leave can go ahead and leave.¡± Not a single person moved. Everyone was no fool; even if the Skull Club was now greatly weakened, they still had a Level 2 Ability User at the helm. If they left now, they would genuinely have no protection whatsoever... ¡°Sister Nie, from now on, you are our new boss!¡± The bald man by Nie Siyan suddenly exclaimed loudly. The others also hurried to agree. If Nie Siyan left, it would truly mean the end of the Skull Club. Seeing the expectant looks of the people, Nie Siyan glanced subtly at the upper floor again and then sighed, ¡°Since everyone trusts me so much, naturally, I cannot let you be disappointed. However, I plan to stop dealing in human trafficking in the future and change our name to distance ourselves from the old Skull Club...¡± The name Skull Club was something Huang Heng came up with on a whim; it bore no specific meaning, only that he thought it sounded imposing. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that Nie Siyan had agreed. Although Nie Siyan¡¯s desire to switch trades was unexpected, except for the bald man and a few others being puzzled, the rest didn¡¯t mind, and some were even relieved. Those were the people with the lowest performance, and their shortcomings stemmed from either being incapable or psychologically opposed to the activities. Therefore, switching trades was actually a blessing for them. Nie Siyan added, ¡°From now on, we¡¯ll be known as the Firefly Club!¡± Firefly was the name of this arcade. ¡°All hail the Club President!¡± The bald man was quick-witted and shouted immediately. The others were a half-step slower but promptly followed suit. Honestly, seeing these people respectfully call her the club president, Nie Siyan felt quite thrilled inside. Power is something both men and women can find intoxicating. But she was only distracted momentarily before snapping back to reality. ¡°If everyone is calling me the club president, then I definitely can¡¯t neglect you all. I will look into our future development plans, hoping to ensure that everyone can have a better life. However, let me be clear: if anyone hinders our progress, then don¡¯t blame me for being ruthless!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone braced themselves and promptly answered in affirmation. ¡°Alright, go downstairs. There shouldn¡¯t be any tasks for the next couple of days, so everyone should rest well.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After sending everyone away, Nie Siyan glanced at the bald man and his companions before heading upstairs. ¡°Dismissed.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The bald man watched Nie Siyan¡¯s retreating figure as she ascended the stairs, his face thoughtful. He knew that the death of Boss Huang couldn¡¯t be as simple as Nie Siyan made it out to be, and it likely had something to do with those few friends of hers! He hadn¡¯t forgotten that those strangers were still upstairs. But that wasn¡¯t his concern; he just needed to steadfastly follow Nie Siyan. What he didn¡¯t know was that he was lucky they were loyal enough. If it hadn¡¯t been for Nie Siyan speaking up for them, they would probably be in prison by now... Third floor. After heading upstairs, the previously spirited Nie Siyan immediately knelt on one knee respectfully beside Wang Tao. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ve relayed your orders down below...¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The renaming of Skull Club and making Nie Siyan the president were naturally Wang Tao¡¯s ideas. He wasn¡¯t interested in the title of president himself, but since Nie Siyan was determined to follow him, he decided to support her and see where it leads. Having a power to run errands and take care of matters could sometimes be quite convenient. As for the blame for selling more than two hundred people into jail, it was naturally shifted to the deceased Huang Heng. In times of chaos, reputation becomes ever more important. Since Huang Heng was dead, it was only right for him to contribute a little more. If there were any more blunders in the future, they¡¯d all be blamed on him. ¡°Your next task is to buy Level 2 Crystal Cores on behalf of the Firefly Club from other powers...¡± ¡°` Chapter 432: 195: Bizarre_1 Chapter 432: Chapter 195: Bizarre_1 ¡°Purchasing a Level 2 Crystal Core? What price should we offer...¡± Nie Siyan asked. ¡°Let¡¯s allow them to set their own prices.¡± Considering the substantial differences in price between various types and qualities of Crystal Cores, it was impossible for Wang Tao to list all the prices. ¡°Yes! So, should I start preparing now?¡± Nie Siyan appeared eager to begin. She wasn¡¯t afraid of Wang Tao assigning her tasks since having tasks meant she was still of use. If Wang Tao completely ignored her, that would be the real trouble... ¡°Right, while you¡¯re at it, inquire if there are any news about Level 2 and Level 3 zombies, we are willing to pay for them.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Go.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. After Nie Siyan left, Wang Tao pulled out the map of Zijing City. He had marked many places, some tagged with ¡°suspected Level 3 zombie.¡± For the current major forces in Zijing City, Level 2 Crystal Cores were exactly what they needed, as there were quite a number of Level 2 ability users by now. If there were Level 2 zombies, they would certainly attempt to kill them. In general, they would not easily reveal the location of Level 2 zombies. Level 3 zombies, however, were different. It was said that not even people from the four major forces had taken the initiative to engage with Level 3 zombies. Therefore, some places suspected of having Level 3 zombies slowly became known to people. They would try to avoid these areas when they went out. The information about suspected Level 3 zombies had been obtained by Wang Tao from Huang Heng. He planned to select a few, then test out the strength of Zijing City¡¯s Level 3 zombies. That was, of course, if they were indeed Level 3 zombies. If they were above Level 3, Wang Tao would definitely run as far as possible. After making a selection, Wang Tao chose a location closest to the video arcade. It was a hotel, rumored to have a Level 3 zombie inside. It was unclear how strong it was, but previously, a Level 2 ability user had been killed by it. Wang Tao surmised it was likely a Level 3 Zombie Lord! Because ordinary and Elite Zombies generally wandered aimlessly and would not appear in a fixed place. But Zombie Lords had their territories. This one seemed to fit the bill. With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, dealing with Level 3 Elite Zombies shouldn¡¯t be difficult. As for Lord Rank zombies, he could try taking them on. Of course, Wang Tao would first have to check how much HP the zombie had; if it was too high, then he definitely wouldn¡¯t consider it. Once he had decided on a target, Wang Tao called Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun, ready to do some reconnaissance. ¡°Mr. Wang, good day!¡± When coming downstairs, the members of Firefly Club immediately greeted Wang Tao upon seeing him. Wang Tao nodded slightly in acknowledgment. His current status was Nie Siyan¡¯s honored guest, and she had already informed her subordinates to show him the same respect they would show her. ¡°Brother Wang, are you going out?¡± At this point, Nie Siyan came down from upstairs. She had just been contacting other forces using a walkie-talkie on the rooftop. Changing the name of Skull Club and the purchase of Crystal Cores was definitely something she needed to discuss with others. Seeing Wang Tao heading downstairs, she hurriedly ran over. ¡°I¡¯m heading to Danfeng Hotel.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Danfeng Hotel... *cough* Well, Brother Wang, how about taking me with you? There¡¯s a force nearby, and I plan to go there...¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s courage had grown significantly, if it had been the day before, she definitely would not have dared to join Wang Tao proactively. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao looked at her. Once in the car, Nie Siyan sat up straight and told Wang Tao that she wanted to visit a small force. Their strength wasn¡¯t much to speak of, but their leader was very capable. Although only a Level 1 ability user, he was often seen running around outside. Nie Siyan, a Level 2 Ability User herself, wouldn¡¯t dare to wander around recklessly, sticking only to familiar routes. This made it evident how capable the leader of the small force was. Nie Siyan wanted to recruit this person into the Firefly Club, after all, Wang Tao had said he would investigate the locations of Level 2 and Level 3 zombies and purchase Level 2 Crystal Cores. These tasks required someone to go out and about. Nie Siyan knew she was not up to the task, so she needed to recruit some people. If it was the former Skull Club, it was very unlikely they could recruit this person due to the club¡¯s bad reputation. But the Skull Club was no more, now it was the Firefly Club, so she was going to give it a try. ¡°Just you?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. Shouldn¡¯t this kind of task be delegated to subordinates? Even if the club president personally went, shouldn¡¯t they bring some staff along? A president going alone seemed somewhat shabby. ¡°It¡¯s more convenient alone, and if there¡¯s danger, I can escape quickly...¡± Nie Siyan immediately said. Being alone was indeed convenient, but that applied to the powerful. It wasn¡¯t suitable for her. The main reason she went out alone was that she had no subordinates left. Skull Club originally had three hundred people, but Wang Tao¡ªor rather Huang Heng¡ªsold off more than two hundred sixty of them. Now, the Firefly Club was down to just over thirty people. Now, after switching operations, most people went out to scavenge supplies, and her ability user subordinates had to guard the base since their arcade was quite large, and they couldn¡¯t relax security... so naturally, not many people were left. Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak, but gave Nie Siyan a look. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Nie Siyan quickly spoke up. ¡°*cough* You can¡¯t hide anything from Brother Wang, truth is, we¡¯re a little short on staff...¡± Only then did Wang Tao look away. ¡°If I find out you¡¯ve been deceiving me again, don¡¯t bother coming back.¡± Chapter 433: 195: Bizarre_2 Chapter 433: Chapter 195: Bizarre_2 No matter the circumstance, Wang Tao disliked it when people intentionally hid things from him. ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan immediately lowered her head, with some cold sweat on her back. She wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of the beating from Wang Tao previously, but she felt especially afraid of Wang Tao. Just a glance from him could induce cold sweat... However, she subconsciously wanted to be with Wang Tao because his strength was overwhelming! Nie Siyan even thought to herself whether she was being too submissive... Wang Tao looked at Nie Siyan, who was silent with her head lowered, contemplating on how to reward her if she handled the matter well. After all, Wang Tao always believed in clear rewards and punishments. So far, Nie Siyan only had two abilities, both at Level 1. One was ¡°Throwing Master¡± and the other, ¡°Dream Interpretation¡±. When she encountered Wang Tao before, she didn¡¯t even have the chance to resist, so Throwing Master was useless. And her Dream Interpretation ability was one that could wake people up from their sleep. This ability matched perfectly with the ¡°Drowsiness Fog¡± ability of several subordinates under her command. According to Nie Siyan, they had encountered several zombies capable of releasing drowsiness fog. After killing the zombies, apart from a few Drowsiness Fog Crystal Cores, there was also a Dream Interpretation Crystal Core. It was like having both poison and its antidote. Nie Siyan merged with the Dream Interpretation Crystal Core, and she let her four subordinates merge with the Drowsiness Fog Crystal Cores. This way, it was very convenient for them to act together. As for why her two abilities were still at Level 1... Truth be told, she was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky because the Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core she had merged with was of Ordinary quality, White Rank, and with a 20% probability, she had succeeded in merging, which was absolutely explosive luck. Unlucky because she originally could have merged with four abilities. Being cautious while preparing to merge with the fourth ability, she had never found a suitable one. Just then, Huang Heng needed her combat power and gave her a White Ascension Crystal Core, and she indeed successfully rose to Level Two. However, during the ascension to Level Two, she transferred the Level 2 Ability to her uncle by marriage, Huang Wu. Of course, this wasn¡¯t of her own volition but at Huang Heng¡¯s request, because the transferred ability had no side effects... About this matter, Nie Siyan actually had some complaints, but she couldn¡¯t resist Huang Heng and simply complied. Yet, what Nie Siyan didn¡¯t expect was that once she advanced to Level 2, she was no longer able to merge with Level 1 Crystal Cores, and she didn¡¯t have any suitable Level 2 Crystal Cores in hand, resulting in her still having two Level 1 abilities, one of which had no combat power at all... This was also why she was considered the weakest in terms of strength among the four individuals. Wang Tao felt that if Nie Siyan performed well, he would boost her strength, otherwise, she would drag the team down too much. Wang Tao had many Crystal Cores, even Extraction Crystal Cores, which could directly change her Special Abilities... However, the specifics depended on Nie Siyan¡¯s later performance. ... Around noon, Wang Tao¡¯s car reached the vicinity of Danfeng Hotel. Nie Siyan still had a little distance to go, but she didn¡¯t dare to hope that Wang Tao would drop her off, so she had to walk the rest of the way. But just then, the car¡¯s intercom crackled to life. ¡°Szzt... Szzt...¡± Everyone instinctively looked toward the car intercom. ¡°Szzt... Help! Is anyone there? Please save us... Szzt...¡± This familiar voice, why does it sound so familiar? Wang Tao subconsciously looked at Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan first froze, then felt a chill rush from the soles of her feet to the top of her head! She began to speak, sounding somewhat shaky: ¡°This, is this me?! No, this is my voice!¡± Wang Tao looked at the intercom, deeply frowning. Frankly, if it weren¡¯t for Nie Siyan being right there inside the car, he might have really thought the call was from Nie Siyan herself. The voice from the intercom was identical to hers! ¡°Could it be that you have a twin sister?¡± Wang Tao raised his eyes to look at Nie Siyan. ¡°No!¡± Nie Siyan hastily waved her hands. Her mind was a bit chaotic at the moment, as hearing her own voice from the intercom while sitting right there was genuinely bizarre. After a moment of thought, Wang Tao pressed the intercom and asked: ¡°Who are you? Where are you? What danger have you encountered?¡± ¡°Who are you...¡± A moment later. ¡°Szzt... Ah? Someone! There really is someone! My name is Nie Siyan, and we are surrounded by a bunch of bad guys! They want to kill us! Help!¡± Boom¡ª Nie Siyan felt her head was about to explode! Not only she, but even Xu Xiaojun, who was slow to catch on, began to sweat coldly. Wang Tao also felt his scalp tingle. He had just considered the possibility that someone might be deliberately imitating Nie Siyan to deceive others and then shift the blame onto her. But after hearing the voice on the other side, Wang Tao doubted that theory. Because the speech, not only in tone but also in words, was exactly the same as Nie Siyan, word for word, just like when she herself had deceived others! It was like a copy-paste! Only Nie Siyan and Wang Tao¡¯s group knew about these matters; how could the person on the intercom have known? Therefore... it was not someone deliberately imitating her! Wang Tao immediately turned his head to look at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Little Xue, can you hear the words from the intercom?¡± ¡°I can.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. ¡°...We have a problem!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed deeply. Chapter 434: 195: Bizarre_3 Chapter 434: Chapter 195: Bizarre_3 ¡°` If this wasn¡¯t an imitation by someone, Wang Tao felt there was a high probability it was a hallucination. He had previously encountered a Black Mist Monster in Shuize County that could use illusions to influence people¡¯s thoughts. Jiang Shixue might be immune to the illusions due to her unique constitution. So, if all three of them heard the sound but Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t, then they were definitely affected by an illusion! But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, Jiang Shixue could hear it too! Now there could only be two possibilities: one was that the illusion was so strong that even Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t avoid it, or this wasn¡¯t an illusion at all but something Wang Tao had never seen before... ¡°Retreat!¡± Wang Tao had always held a sense of reverence for the unknown. Having realized that he couldn¡¯t determine the situation at hand, he immediately instructed Xu Xiaojun to evacuate the area. But what nobody expected was that the environment outside had changed without them noticing! They were supposed to be near the Danfeng Hotel, but now... they were under the Haochen Hotel! These two hotels were located at the south and the north, nowhere near each other! ¡°Brother, what in the world is going on...¡± Nie Siyan was so scared that she was trembling all over. Xu Xiaojun was also afraid, his eyes bulging like brass bells, ready to fight at any moment. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a green light, and red light gleamed in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes, but the scene outside remained unchanged. Wang Tao touched the Entangling Roots on his wrist and then said to everyone: ¡°Get out of the car!¡± They all got out immediately. Xu Xiaojun took out his Giant Axe from the trunk and stood next to Wang Tao like a guardian deity. Nie Siyan was extremely frightened; she didn¡¯t care about anything else and hid directly behind Wang Tao. Jiang Shixue, on the other hand, looked curious; she never knew what fear was. The group waited outside the car for a while, and aside from the intercom inside the car continuing to make noise, there were no other sounds. It was too quiet here, and there wasn¡¯t even a single zombie! ¡°I feel like the problem might be inside this hotel...¡± Wang Tao said, looking at the Haochen Hotel with a frown. ¡°But I¡¯ve always come to this hotel, and I¡¯ve checked it every time; there¡¯s nothing wrong with it inside...¡± Nie Siyan spoke weakly at this time. ¡°Are you sure, this hotel is the one you¡¯ve been in?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked Nie Siyan. ¡°...¡± Given the eerie state of things, she was no longer sure. Just then, Nie Siyan¡¯s voice from the car¡¯s intercom stopped, and after a moment, a chilling roar erupted: ¡°Save me! Why won¡¯t you come save me! Damn it, you really deserve to die!¡± Although the voice was shrill, it could still be identified as Nie Siyan¡¯s voice! At this moment, Nie Siyan had completely hidden behind Wang Tao like an ostrich, and Wang Tao even saw her HP slowly draining. But this wasn¡¯t her fault, anyone else brought into this bizarre environment would probably be no different. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s take a look inside the hotel!¡± Wang Tao said to the others. If this was an illusion, then they were trapped inside. They had to find a way out. Wang Tao guessed that simply driving away wouldn¡¯t work; they could end up in an endless loop, possibly encountering a phenomenon like a ¡°ghost hitting the wall¡±, eternally circling the same area. So he still believed the key to the problem was inside the hotel. However, just as they were about to enter the hotel, they suddenly heard footsteps from inside. Then a bald man with tattoos on his face burst out. ¡°Help! Help me!¡± He appeared to be in good physical condition, but his face was full of terror, as if he had seen something dreadful. Seeing this man, Nie Siyan was shocked. ¡°Zhu Han, why are you here too!¡± ¡°` This person was none other than one of her most capable subordinates! ¡°Sister Nie! Save me!¡± Seeing Nie Siyan, Zhu Han seemed to have spotted his savior. His face lit up with joy, and he made a beeline toward Wang Tao. Nie Siyan was about to speak with Wang Tao when, without any warning, he whipped out a firefighter axe and swung it directly at Zhu Han. Bang! A shockwave slammed into Zhu Han¡¯s body. Zhu Han was sent flying, having just run out of the hotel lobby; he was now smashed back inside. ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s eyes widened at the scene, but she was of little influence and dared not say more. Moments later, a bloodied Zhu Han hobbled out again. ¡°You, why did you hit me!¡± He glared furiously at Wang Tao. ¡°Why did I hit you? I even want to kill you!¡± Wang Tao cracked a grin. You¡¯ve got a red HP bar over your head and you¡¯re telling me you¡¯re Zhu Han? The health bars of survivors are green; only zombies and monsters have red ones! Plus, he¡¯s a Level 2 Elite! A Level 2 with a suffix and without any mixed attributes¡ªdefinitely a zombie! [HP: 11238/15000] [Mana: 10000/10000] [Level: Level 2 Elite] Without exchanging words, Wang Tao charged straight in. In just a few exchanges, he dealt with him. ¡°You...¡± Zhu Han¡¯s eyes were fixed in a stare as he died, looking as if he had been wronged. Even after his death, his body showed no changes, still resembling Zhu Han. Nie Siyan covered her mouth, not daring to say anything. Whether this was Zhu Han or not, she had no right to influence Wang Tao¡¯s decision. Wang Tao found the scene quite curious. Too similar! This person, or rather this thing, was too much like Zhu Han! Unfortunately, the eyes can be deceived, but the HP bar cannot. Wang Tao had just stowed away his spoils of war when another cry for help sounded from inside the hotel. ¡°Help! Somebody help!¡± A figure Nie Siyan knew all too well burst out. ¡°Liao Xia...¡± Wang Tao, seeing the other¡¯s 20,000 HP and Level 2 Elite attributes, did not hesitate to charge forward once again. Moments later, Liao Xia was dead. As she died, she too stared hard at Wang Tao, as if she¡¯d been unjustly accused. Then, Huang Wu appeared. Still with 20,000 HP and the attributes of a Level 2 Elite. He was also easily killed by Wang Tao. When she saw Huang Wu die and Huang Heng walk out from the hotel, Nie Siyan was completely stunned. ¡°Could it be... ¡®I¡¯ will also come walking out of the hotel?!¡± Chapter 435: 196: Level 4_1 Chapter 435: Chapter 196: Level 4_1 ¡°` [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 30000/20000] [Level: Level 3¡¤Elite] This ¡°Huang Heng¡± was actually a Level 3 Elite Zombie. This came as a bit of a surprise to Wang Tao. After all, with his current strength, killing a Level 3 Elite wouldn¡¯t be too difficult. ¡°Honey, why are you with someone else? Come to me!¡± This ¡°Huang Heng¡± was different from the previous few people. The others had run towards Wang Tao and his group as soon as they came out, screaming for help. But this Huang Heng stopped in his tracks the moment he saw Nie Siyan, immediately initiating interaction with her after he¡¯d been shouting for help. It felt like... he was somewhat... smarter? Nie Siyan was startled when she heard Huang Heng¡¯s words. No matter what, she and Huang Heng had been married for many years, but she had killed him with her own hands. So as far as Huang Heng was concerned, any normal person would probably feel a bit guilty. Now, seeing Huang Heng frowning and looking unhappy, Nie Siyan subconsciously wanted to approach him. But instantly, she felt a cold gaze on her. Nie Siyan¡¯s steps faltered, and then she immediately took a step back, hiding behind Xu Xiaojun. She might feel a bit guilty toward Huang Heng, but she was scared of Wang Tao! From a distance, Wang Tao watched as Nie Siyan took a couple of steps and then went back. Only then did he withdraw his gaze. Nie Siyan must have been affected. Wang Tao took steps towards Huang Heng. ¡°You want to fight me? How presumptuous!¡± Huang Heng looked at Wang Tao with a hint of disdain in his eyes. Then, he inexplicably produced a large cleaver and pointed it at Wang Tao arrogantly. This Huang Heng who had just seemed desperate to escape was now looking arrogant, as if the danger behind him had disappeared? Wang Tao, unable to comment further, activated his Barrier Ability and sprinted towards Huang Heng. However, during the sprint, one after another, black roots appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s body, quickly entangling around him. By the time Wang Tao reached Huang Heng, he had transformed from an ordinary man of one meter ninety to a two-meter-five-tall monster! Seeing this, Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue remained calm, but Nie Siyan covered her mouth in horror. She suddenly felt that Huang Heng might be fine, but Wang Tao had serious problems! Who is the real monster here! Nie Siyan felt like she was going to go crazy. On the other side. Huang Heng swung his cleaver at Wang Tao, who was charging at him. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge, taking the hit with his Entangling Roots. [-528] [29999/29999(9472/10000)] Then Wang Tao landed a punch on Huang Heng¡¯s head. [-4829] [25171/30000] Huang Heng was smashed into the hotel lobby. Wang Tao didn¡¯t chase after him but looked at the cut on his own shoulder, frowning. ¡°Such high attack!¡± The defense of the Entangling Roots was very strong; the Night Demon could only hit him for a bit over a hundred HP, and the weakened Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord similarly could only deal around a hundred HP in damage. But this thirty-thousand-HP Huang Heng had dealt over five hundred HP in damage! Although this Huang Heng had the same HP as the Night Demon, his attack was four to five times that of the Night Demon! However, Huang Heng¡¯s defense was much weaker. When Wang Tao, wearing Entangling Roots, hit the Night Demon, he could only inflict around three thousand HP, but he could deal nearly five thousand HP damage on Huang Heng! This was a zombie with high attack and low defense! Wang Tao laughed from within his Root Armor. He liked such opponents! ¡°You, are seeking death...¡± Huang Heng walked out of the hotel lobby and charged at Wang Tao with the cleaver raised. Bang! The two clashed again. Wang Tao had two fighting styles; without activating Entangling Roots, he would focus on dodging and defense, sometimes preferring to miss opportunities rather than expose himself to injury. After all, if he got scratched by a zombie, he might never get off the Inhibitor for the rest of his life. But with Entangling Roots activated, Wang Tao fought wildly! Banking on the high defense of the Entangling Roots and the fact he wouldn¡¯t lose any blood from the mechanism, he would recklessly trade blow for blow, life for life! This way of fighting was violent but also very fast. In his battle with Huang Heng, just a few moves and merely thirty seconds had passed before Huang Heng was left with a sliver of HP. Wang Tao glanced at his own HP bar. [29999/29999(6107/10000)] This was the heaviest damage the Entangling Roots took on his body. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t the slightest bit upset, because Huang Heng was about to die. Wang Tao raised his vast Root Foot and stamped down hard on Huang Heng, who was lying at his feet. Splat! [-1023] [0/30000] Huang Heng¡¯s head burst open, and his HP bar emptied. A pile of Loot Packs burst forth instantaneously from Huang Heng¡¯s body. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to examine them and quickly collected both the loot and the Crystal Core from Huang Heng¡¯s brain. ¡°Hmm? Is his cleaver real? Or is it a Bone Knife?¡± Looking at the named cleaver that Huang Heng had dropped, Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but without a closer look, he hurriedly stowed it into his Space Backpack. Then he quickly used a Crystal Core to replenish the HP of the Entangling Roots while looking towards the Haochen Hotel lobby. Following this rhythm, the next one to come out should be Nie Siyan, right? Wang Tao was even looking forward to it. If two identical Nie Siyans stood side by side, wouldn¡¯t that be interesting? Just then, Nie Siyan¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie in Wang Tao¡¯s car again. ¡°` Chapter 436: 196: Level 4_2 Chapter 436: Chapter 196: Level 4_2 ¡°You¡¯re all going to die! You¡¯re all going to die! You¡¯re all going to die!¡± Her voice was filled with resentment. Everyone¡¯s gaze was drawn to the sound coming from the walkie-talkie, and they subconsciously looked towards it. Suddenly, Nie Siyan, who had been hiding behind Xu Xiaojun, moved. In her hand was a dagger that appeared from nowhere, and she stabbed it towards Jiang Shixue, who was next to Xu Xiaojun! Just as the dagger was about to touch Jiang Shixue, she suddenly turned around and threw a punch. Her delicate little fist and the dagger collided fiercely. But no sound of ripping flesh or breaking bones was heard; instead, the dagger twisted and deformed! Bang! Nie Siyan was sent flying with a single blow. Her entire right arm was irregularly twisted, with bone fragments protruding from the elbow area. Wang Tao watched this scene unfold, his facial expression quite spectacular. ¡°What were you thinking? You chose to attack the person with the fastest reflexes...¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s reflexes and speed were the fastest among the three. Even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t compare with her. Not to mention, Jiang Shixue¡¯s body was extremely tough; she was truly a Level 2, Zombie Lord. To think an ordinary dagger could penetrate her defense? Clearly impossible. Nie Siyan would have had a much better chance attacking Xu Xiaojun instead of Jiang Shixue. Of course, she probably couldn¡¯t be called Nie Siyan any longer at this point. Because, somehow, Nie Siyan had been switched out without anyone noticing! [HP: 38470/40000] [Mana: 15000/20000] [Level: Level 3, Elite] Not only did Wang Tao fail to notice, but even Jiang Shixue, whose perception was usually sharp, didn¡¯t catch on. ¡°There¡¯s something about her...¡± Wang Tao could feel his adrenaline already secreting. ¡°Let me do the killing later!¡± Wang Tao said to Jiang Shixue. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue nodded her little head and then voiced her confusion, ¡°Her defense seems very weak.¡± ¡°I saw it too,¡± Wang Tao nodded in agreement. No matter how you looked at it, this ¡°Nie Siyan¡± was at a Level 3, Elite ranking, clearly one level higher than Jiang Shixue with much more HP. Yet, Jiang Shixue had managed to break her arm with a single punch. This defensive power was a bit too low. ¡°Little Jun, keep an eye on the car to prevent anything else from damaging it,¡± Wang Tao told Xu Xiaojun. The current situation was somewhat eerie; if something really damaged the car, that would be a significant loss. After all, the car was quite valuable. ¡°Sure!¡± Xu Xiaojun stood by the car, holding a Giant Axe. ¡°Go!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue immediately rushed towards Nie Siyan. As the two of them sprinted towards Nie Siyan, Wang Tao suddenly realized that Nie Siyan seemed to vanish from his sight even though she was right in front of him! Not just seemed¡ªshe actually disappeared, because the HP bar above her head was gone! Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a rich green light as his vision reached its peak strength, but he still couldn¡¯t detect any flaws visually; the Nie Siyan in front of him looked exactly like the real deal! Wang Tao threw a punch directly at this Nie Siyan. This punch unleashed a Shockwave, hitting the target in an instant. Nie Siyan shattered like a mosaic. Then, Wang Tao felt as if something had appeared behind him. Wang Tao turned his head, only to see Nie Siyan reappear behind him, her face emotionless as she delivered a punch to his waist. Bang! [-34] ¡°...¡± Wait, was that damage for real? Only 34 HP was lost, and those 34 HP were absorbed by the Entangling Roots. It felt like, aside from Nie Siyan¡¯s abilities being somewhat peculiar, both her attack and defense seemed to be extremely weak? If that was the case, then Wang Tao could be completely at ease. Between him and Jiang Shixue, let¡¯s not even say it, their defensive power was rock-solid. ¡°Get her!¡± Wang Tao swung his fist again, using the Shockwave once more in a large fan-shaped burst. He wasn¡¯t sure what Nie Siyan¡¯s strange abilities were all about, but indiscriminate attacks would do just fine. And as it turns out, this strategy was indeed effective. Wang Tao swung a few chaotic punches emitting Shockwaves, directly forcing Nie Siyan out of thin air! Bang! [-5589] [32881/40000] Nie Siyan, sent flying, landed right in front of Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue delivered a punch straight to Nie Siyan¡¯s face. Bang! [-3187] [29694/40000] Nie Siyan, still airborne, was smashed harshly into the ground by Jiang Shixue¡¯s punch, and cracks formed in a circle on the concrete pavement. Wang Tao took the opportunity to rush over and stomp hard on Nie Siyan. This stomp didn¡¯t cause any damage, but it pinned Nie Siyan down, preventing her from moving. And so, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue took turns pummeling Nie Siyan with their fists and feet. Soon, Nie Siyan¡¯s HP was close to depleted. Seeing that she had just a sliver of HP left, Wang Tao signaled Jiang Shixue to stop; he was about to bring down his fist, the size of a casserole, onto Nie Siyan¡¯s face. But at that moment, Wang Tao noticed that the red HP bar above Nie Siyan¡¯s head had disappeared and turned into a green HP bar! Wang Tao¡¯s fist stopped just 10 cm away from Nie Siyan¡¯s face. The Nie Siyan beneath his foot was no longer sporting the indifferent expression from before but a face filled with terror. ¡°Bro, please spare me! It¡¯s me; don¡¯t kill me, ah!¡± Wang Tao released his foot, looking at Nie Siyan, who had no visible injuries on her, with some curiosity. What was her situation? Could it be that the zombie had switched places with her and then switched back again? Wang Tao grabbed Nie Siyan with one hand and pulled her up from the ground with his left hand. Whoosh¡ª Suddenly, a gust of wind passed by his right ear. Chapter 437: 196: Level 4_3 Chapter 437: Chapter 196: Level 4_3 Wang Tao noticed Nie Siyan suddenly widen her eyes, as if she had seen something terrifying. Without turning his head, Wang Tao threw a punch to his right. Thwack! [-2098] [0/40000] The other Nie Siyan¡¯s head was blown off by Wang Tao¡¯s punch. Meanwhile, the Nie Siyan in Wang Tao¡¯s arms was scared stiff; she had just witnessed ¡°herself¡± get her head blown off! Wang Tao adeptly collected the spoils of battle, then turned his attention to the surrounding environment. Crash¡ª¡ª The space around them shattered like a mirror. Only now did Wang Tao realize that they were not at the entrance of the Haochen Hotel, but at the entrance of the Danfeng Hotel instead! It was indeed an illusion! Wang Tao was somewhat familiar with this sensation of the illusion shattering; he had previously experienced it with the Black Mist Monster in Shuize County. Wang Tao looked around once more. Lying at the entrance of the hotel were the bodies of several zombie corpses! Based on the positioning of these corpses, Wang Tao made some deductions. ¡°Zhu Han,¡± ¡°Liao Xia,¡± and ¡°Huang Wu¡± were all slim zombies, seemingly of the same type. ¡°Huang Heng¡± was a tall, slender zombie with long limbs. One hand was almost like that of a normal human, but the other was missing from the forearm down. ¡°No wonder it dropped a Bone Knife!¡± Wang Tao remembered the knife he had just picked up; it must have been its other arm! ¡°Nie Siyan¡± was a somewhat plump zombie, looking quite ordinary with no striking physical features. ¡°Was this illusion created by this zombie? It doesn¡¯t seem special, and it feels weak...¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly, feeling that something was amiss. After all, when he had battled the Black Mist Monster, despite its strength, the illusion it created hadn¡¯t been as realistic as this one. Although the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie had somewhat eerie abilities, its overall power seemed weak. Even the previous Black Mist Monster was much stronger than it... Suddenly, both Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue sensed something and looked up at the top floor of the Danfeng Hotel at the same time. Through an open glass window, they saw a black shadow. Wang Tao¡¯s hairs stood on end instantly. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 60%] [Awakening: ???] ¡°Shit! Retreat, now!¡± He knew something was off! So the illusion wasn¡¯t created by the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie, but by that big guy on the hotel rooftop! A Level 4, Monster Lord! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t even sure if he could defeat a Level 3, Lord, yet here appeared a Level 4, Lord! He had the feeling that ¡°one more glance and he¡¯d be dead¡±! ¡°` No wonder Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t see through the illusion either, she was two levels below! Boom! Wang Tao immediately ran to the driver¡¯s seat, slammed on the gas pedal, and drove everyone away himself. In the car, Wang Tao stared intensely at the surrounding environment, fearing that some sort of ghost wall phenomenon might occur. Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened on the way back to the arcade, and the monster didn¡¯t follow them. However, both Wang Tao and Nie Siyan were suffering from after-effects of the illusion¡ªwhen Wang Tao saw the people in the arcade, he even had the delusion that they were zombies! If he couldn¡¯t see the green HP bars above their heads, he really couldn¡¯t guarantee that he wouldn¡¯t go on a killing spree against these people! ¡°What a terrifying illusion!¡± Wang Tao quickly led the group upstairs. He was able to discern the reality, but he was worried Nie Siyan might not be able to, and if she acted, that would be troublesome. As for Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue... they seemed to be completely unaffected! Looking at ¡°Mr. Single-minded¡± and ¡°Little Ditz,¡± Wang Tao actually felt a bit envious. Xu Xiaojun not having any after-effects was probably due to his ¡°Stick to One¡¯s Heart¡± hidden ability. [Stick to One¡¯s Heart: Not easily confused or misled by external things] And Jiang Shixue... it must be because she¡¯s genuinely simple-minded. The more someone thinks, the more likely they are to be affected by these after-effects... Once back upstairs, Wang Tao said to Nie Siyan seriously, ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t go out for the next few days. Even if you see zombies or monsters or something, you mustn¡¯t attack. Otherwise, before you attack, I will take you out first! As for recruiting people and buying Crystal Cores, let¡¯s put that on hold as well. First, get yourself back in the right state of mind.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Nie Siyan nodded urgently. ¡°I understand!¡± When she first returned to the arcade, she felt like everyone around her was Liao Xia, Huang Wu, and Huang Heng! If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao holding her back, she might have actually attacked... This Level 4, Lord¡¯s illusion was truly terrifying! Wang Tao recalled the attributes of this fourth-order monster he had seen before, it had an additional attribute compared to other zombies or monsters¡ª [Awakening: ???] ¡°What does awakening mean? Is it the ability to ascend to Level 4? And why can¡¯t I see the specific attributes... Could it be because my level is too low?¡± Wang Tao was currently Level 2, and that indeed was low compared to Level 4... Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped pondering over it. Wang Tao first asked Nie Siyan why she had disappeared; Nie Siyan mentioned she didn¡¯t understand it herself, she was still feeling a bit dizzy and wasn¡¯t able to explain it to Wang Tao. So Wang Tao let her go rest and decided to talk about it later. Then, Wang Tao took out the map of Zijing City, and at the location of the Danfeng Hotel, he re-marked it¡ªLevel 4, Lord, extremely dangerous! Although he didn¡¯t quite understand why the monster had not continued to attack them with the illusion, not knowing if there was any restriction, he did not plan to return. At least not until he reached Level 3. Otherwise, it would be like walking into the jaws of death... By now it was evening, and Wang Tao gulped down several bottles of nutrient solution to replenish his energy before taking a bath. Only when the fatigue and tension on his body slowly faded away did Wang Tao look towards the Space Backpack in the mirror. This operation was actually more of a close call, mainly because the Level 4, Monster Lord did not personally fight. It probably wasn¡¯t aware that Wang Tao had Level 3 combat power, or maybe it was restricted by something. Otherwise, it¡¯s hard to say how things might have turned out... As for the gains from this operation, they were naturally quite substantial! ¡°` Chapter 438: 197 Super Berserker_1 Chapter 438: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_1 This trip to the Danfeng Hotel, if ordinary zombies encountered on the road weren¡¯t considered, Wang Tao had killed a total of three Level 2 Elite Zombies and two Level 3 Elite Zombies. All three Level 2 Elite Zombies were of the same type, and the Crystal Cores inside their heads were also identical, totaling 3 [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete]. Wang Tao already had many of these cores, and since they were a passive ability, he liked them quite a bit. He planned to try fusing them when he got back. Next were the loot packs dropped by these zombies, which were essentially the same. The first zombie that was killed dropped two packs, while the other two each dropped one pack. [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x15] [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) Blueprint x1] From the three zombies, a total of 15 bottles of Running Potion (Medium) and one blueprint were looted. [Running Potion (Medium): After injection, lower body strength increases, and running speed accelerates by 50% to 150% (the stronger the constitution, the greater the increase), lasting for 10 minutes with a cooldown of 6 hours.] The Medium Running Potion, compared to the Small one, not only gained increased speed¡ªwhere the small one only offers 10%-100%¡ªbut also had a reduced cooldown. The Small potion has a cooldown of 12 hours, while the Medium potion¡¯s was cut in half. [Running Potion (Medium) Blueprint: Once learned, it allows the crafting of 5 Medium Running Potions at a time. Required materials: Rapid Mushroom x1, Level 2 Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water* 100ml, 10 kcal of food.] Running Potions are good stuff, but to make such potions, a Level 2 Crystal Core is necessary, which is quite luxurious. Plus, without the core materials, Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t be able to craft them now. Then came the main highlight of this haul¡ªthe booty from the two Level 3 Elite Zombies. ¡°Huang Heng¡± and ¡°Nie Siyan,¡± both Level 3 Elite Zombies, posed an overlevel challenge for Wang Tao, so they yielded a large amount of Special Energy! Defeating the ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie yielded 6000 Special Energy, while defeating the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie gave 9600 Special Energy! Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy had now reached 41140! With so much Special Energy, he could start on some of his previous plans. But there was no rush. First, he would check out the loot. The ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie dropped three packs. The first pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag, and including the core inside its head, there were a total of six Crystal Cores. They were a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete], a Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C High-Frequency Vibration], a Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Sprint], and the last one, an Orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Right Arm Bone Blade]. ¡°No wonder this zombie¡¯s attack damage was so high; it turns out it had the high-frequency vibration ability...¡± Wang Tao was familiar with the other cores, but the Right Arm Bone Blade was the first he¡¯d seen. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Right Arm Bone Blade] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Reduced Defense)] [Right Arm Bone Blade: Passive ability, the right arm rapidly decays, then a sharp bone blade grows out.] This core was said to have a side effect of lower defense, but actually, there were two side effects. For Wang Tao, having his right arm turn into a bone blade was definitely a negative effect. Moreover, this side effect wasn¡¯t removable... However, for someone who had lost their right arm, this ability would be quite good. After all, having a bone blade was better than lacking an arm... Speaking of bone blades, Wang Tao looked at the blade dropped by the ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie. [Obtained: Sharp Bone Blade x1] Although items used by zombies retained their names after dropping and could be stored in a Space Backpack, they came without specific attributes. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure about the strength of this bone blade. However, the second loot pack from the ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie contained something that could make good use of this bone blade. [Obtained: Improved Bone Blade Blueprint x1] [Improved Bone Blade Blueprint: Allows the crafting of a Sharp Bone Blade. Required materials: Bone Knife x1 (the quality of the core material will affect the quality of the final product), Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Gear x20, Blade x20, Nails x20, Screw x20.] [Improved Sharp Bone Blade: Attributes unknown] This Improved Bone Blade Blueprint was somewhat similar to the previous Improved Worn-Out Great Axe, except that the former used a Level 2 Crystal Core, while this one used a Level 3. Wang Tao had enough materials at hand, so he immediately gathered them to start crafting. As for the Level 3 Crystal Core, Wang Tao chose the [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Aquatic Breath]. He felt that the other Level 3 cores had their uses, but the Aquatic Breath core seemed rather average to him, especially since he already had several Level 1 and Level 2 cores with the ability. So he decided to use it. After a flash of multicolored light, a brand-new bone blade appeared. This blade looked like a door panel, becoming bigger, wider, heavier, and more ferocious than the original. [Improved Sharp Bone Blade] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Attack Power +50, Durability +50, Attack Speed +5%] ¡°This attribute... it¡¯s powerful!¡± Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised after seeing the specific attributes. The giant axe he had given Little Jun had an attack power and durability of +30, and it also reduced attack speed. But this bone blade not only added 50 to two attributes, but it also increased attack speed! Wang Tao gave it a couple of swings. This bone blade wasn¡¯t light, but it was certainly lighter than the giant axe. Although it was long and wide, it wasn¡¯t difficult for Wang Tao to wield given his strength. Chapter 439 - 197 Super Berserker_2 Chapter 439: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_2 ¡°` Wang Tao wielded the Bone Knife and chopped at a steel bar. Bang! Although the steel bar didn¡¯t break, a notch appeared directly on it! And the Bone Knife was unscathed, with no loss in durability. Wang Tao chopped again, this time using the High-frequency Vibration Ability. Crack~ The thumb-thick steel bar was directly chopped into two sections! ¡°Top quality!¡± Wang Tao was very satisfied. He had always been saying he hadn¡¯t found a suitable weapon, especially when he was using Entangling Roots; the Firefighter Axe couldn¡¯t be used at all. But this Bone Knife was substantial, and it seemed to match his root armor perfectly! More importantly, with this Bone Knife in hand, Wang Tao could now use his High-frequency Vibration Ability at any time, which would significantly boost his attack power! After swinging it a few times in the room, Wang Tao put away the Bone Knife contentedly. The third Loot Pack that the ¡°Huang Heng¡± zombie dropped was also a Running Potion. [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x10] 10 bottles of medium-sized Potion, not bad either. Next were the Loot Packs dropped by the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie, also three packs. The first, a Crystal Core Gift Bag along with one Crystal Core it naturally carried, totaled five. They were a Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete], a Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Throwing Mastery], a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Stealth], a White [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Rejuvenation], and the last one, a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Position Switch]. There were no Ascension crystal cores this time, and Wang Tao had seen most of the other crystal cores before, but the last Crystal Core was new to him. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Position Switch] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: reduced attack and defense)] [Position Switch: Within a certain range, select a large creature and bind it for ten minutes. Within these ten minutes, you can consume a large amount of energy to swap positions with it, but the swap must not exceed this range. The ability can be used up to five times within ten minutes, and there is a chance of failure. The probability of failure is related to the spiritual power of the target. After ten minutes, Position Switch cools down for 1 hour.] This crystal core was clearly the same ability that the ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie used to suddenly replace Nie Siyan, then suddenly swap her back again. Looking at the description, this Position Switch Ability was quite impressive. A direct swap with the target¡¯s position! It would definitely be effective in critical moments. For instance, if there is a zombie in a place that is inaccessible to attacks, can¡¯t you just switch places to allow everyone to attack it? Or what if an enemy Ability User is hiding in a crowd and can¡¯t be attacked, and then you use this Ability to swap them out? Or can you set a trap in advance, switch positions with a zombie or an Ability User, and get them into the trap? All of this seems doable! Of course, this Ability is not invincible. First, when you swap with someone, you are basically swapping someone else into their position. For example, if you swap with a zombie, you¡¯ve taken it out of the horde, but the person being swapped has gone into it. If that person cannot avoid the danger, then it becomes a one-time-use Ability. Then there¡¯s the side effect; both attack and defense are reduced significantly... a true tool person. Of course, Wang Tao could find a way to remove this side effect, but not the other restrictions of the Ability. For example, it only works within a certain range, you can only bind for ten minutes, it can only be used five times, and it requires a significant amount of energy each time. And most importantly, it can fail, with the failure rate depending on the spiritual power of the target, etc. The existence of these limitations means that Position Switch is destined to be a trick up one¡¯s sleeve, but not a divine technique. Wang Tao suspected that the zombie chose Nie Siyan probably because Nie Siyan had weak spiritual power... Of course, even with all the restrictions, the Ability itself is still decent. If he has a chance to obtain two more Position Switch Crystal Cores later and can remove the side effects, Wang Tao thinks it would be worth training someone with high defense to merge with this crystal core, creating a tool person capable of swapping positions with the enemy... Wang Tao continued to inspect the loot. The second Loot Pack dropped by ¡°Nie Siyan¡± zombie contained potions. [Obtained: Mental Boosting Potion x10] [Mental Boosting Potion: After injection, the spirit will receive a certain degree of permanent enhancement.] Without a second thought, Wang Tao began injecting himself in the arm. You can never have too much of this stuff; if he could use it, he would. After spending some time injecting, Wang Tao felt as if his head had been washed with clean water, all fatigue gone. Most importantly, the aftereffects of the hallucinations caused by that Level 4 Monster Lord were gone! ¡°Much better!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath and then looked at the last Loot Pack. It contained throwing weapons. [Obtained: Excellent Steel Throwing Knife x30] [Excellent Steel Throwing Knife: Throwing weapon, Attack +20] This throwing weapon was much stronger than the previous Surgical Knives! Surgical Knives added no attributes, while this Throwing Knife directly added 20 attack points. The power of a throw with this knife probably wouldn¡¯t fall short of Wang Tao¡¯s own attack. Moreover, unlike the Surgical Knife, this Throwing Knife wasn¡¯t fragile and could be used repeatedly! If that zombie had been throwing these knives then, things could have gotten complicated. But who knew it had no brains, instead attacking Jiang Shixue directly. ¡°` Chapter 440 - 197 Super Berserker_3 Chapter 440: Chapter 197 Super Berserker_3 ¡°` However, speaking of brains, these zombies were supposed to be brainless, but during the fight, Wang Tao felt that these few zombies were almost the same as humans... Clearly, this shouldn¡¯t have been their own ability, but rather an ability of the Level 4 Monster Lord. It must be related to its [Awakening: ???], it was just uncertain whether it was directly altering the environment or changing Wang Tao and his group¡¯s cognition... As for information about Level 4, Wang Tao knew too little at this point. But it wasn¡¯t like he understood nothing; at least he knew that a hundred thousand HP definitely indicated Level 4, probably the lower limit of Level 4. He also learned that Level 4 would have an awakening attribute. Although the meaning of this awakening was unclear, the awakening must be powerful... The gap between Level 4 and Level 3 was absolutely greater than the gap between Level 3 and Level 2! After all, Levels 1, 2, and 3 were all low levels, while Level 4 was considered intermediate level... After contemplating about Level 4 for a moment, Wang Tao quickly shook his head. He hadn¡¯t even reached the limit of Level 3, so thinking about Level 4 was still too far off. He looked at the Crystal Cores he currently possessed. Previously, he thought about using special energy to synthesize Crystal Cores and then use them himself. But special energy had always been insufficient. Now he had over forty thousand special energy, so it was time to give it a try. Wang Tao looked at his abilities, which were currently Level 2 Shockwave +1, Level 2 Precision Shooting +1, Level 2 Barrier +1, and Level 1 High Frequency Vibration +10. With a thought, he acted. [Special Energy -5000] [Special Energy -1000] [Remaining Special Energy: 35140] Expending six thousand special energy, he extracted both Precision Shooting and High Frequency Vibration. Wang Tao¡¯s attribute panel now only displayed two abilities, and his Mana was reduced by 2200, but he had two new Crystal Cores in his inventory. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤ Precision Shooting (+1)] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (Side Effects: None)] The first one was Precision Shooting, the second was High Frequency Vibration. [Level 1 Crystal Core¡¤ High Frequency Vibration (+10)] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (Side Effects: None)] However, these two Crystal Cores were different from any he had seen before. The Precision Shooting had a +1 after it, and High Frequency Vibration had a +10... This probably indicated how many Crystal Cores had been fused to form this one. Just then, a prompt suddenly popped up. [Note: Abilities that have been synthesized cannot be fused by others] ¡°Hm? Abilities like Barrier can¡¯t be fused by other people?¡± This left Wang Tao slightly disappointed; he had been thinking about synthesizing some abilities, extracting them into Crystal Cores, and selling them for money if the opportunity arose. Seems like that wouldn¡¯t be possible. However, this was not a major issue. After all, as long as he could use them, that was what mattered¡ªhaving his own power was the most important. Wang Tao first set these two Crystal Cores aside and then began to fuse Level 1 Crystal Cores. He planned to have the Level 1 Passive Ability Crystal Cores fuse with each other to see if he could synthesize an exceptional superpower. Wang Tao speculated before that the more similar the abilities were, the higher the probability of successful synthesis. Attack abilities or abilities with special powers were diverse, and it was not easy for Wang Tao to find similarities. But passive abilities were different, as they generally passively increased some attribute. In some ways, they should be quite similar... Anyway, Wang Tao still had over thirty thousand special energy, and synthesizing and extracting a Level 1 Special Ability only required 1000 special energy, which was not expensive. So Wang Tao decided to give it a try to see if his guess was correct. ... After some time testing, Wang Tao looked at the brand-new ability on his attribute panel and burst into laughter. ¡°I just knew it, this would definitely work! Although there are some limitations...¡± Wang Tao now had three abilities: Level 2 Shockwave +1, Level 2 Barrier +1, and Level 1 State Enhancement +1! [State Enhancement: Passive Ability, can increase strength, running speed, athletic ability, throwing technique (Side Effects: None)] After some experimenting, Wang Tao found that a maximum of 4 original superpowers could be combined into one, exceeding 4 was not possible, and a prompt would appear¡ª [Current max fusion reached for this Ability¡¯s current stage, please try again at the next stage] This presumably meant that a Level 1 Special Ability could only be fused four times, but if it was elevated to Level 2, it should be possible to continue fusing? Wang Tao had exactly five types of Level 1 Passive Abilities in his hands. They were Power, Running, Athlete, Throwing Master, and Timed Defense. Timed Defense was an ability that increased defensive power at night. Compared to the other abilities, this one was less useful to Wang Tao, so he chose the first four. Although there were some minor restrictions, this new ability was still insanely strong. After all, one was as good as four! Wang Tao used ten Level 1 Omnipotent Crystal Cores and instantly upgraded the State Enhancement to +10, then used a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core to raise the ability to Level 2. Then Wang Tao pulled out a Crystal Core he had just synthesized. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡¤ Frenzy] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 100% (Side Effects: None)] This ability kicked in when HP dropped below 30%, fully restoring HP, increasing body size, and enhancing all attributes except defense! Once a day, it could Chapter 441: 198 Upgrade Operation_1 Chapter 441: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_1 [Super Berserker: Passive Ability, which can increase: strength, running speed, agility, and throwing skills. HP below 30%, trigger berserk (side effect: none)] Seeing the attributes of this ability, Wang Tao¡¯s mouth almost split to his ears. What¡¯s called amazing? This is amazing! This one ability could match someone else¡¯s full set of powers! Wang Tao then continued to check the crystal cores in his Space Backpack and decided to upgrade the high-frequency vibration ability to level two. This ability¡¯s attack is really powerful, and now Wang Tao has a very decent Bone Knife, which fits perfectly with this ability. But Wang Tao could only fuse four crystal cores, and now he had Shockwave, Barrier, Super Berserker, Precision Shooting, and high-frequency vibration, these five abilities. So Wang Tao planned to temporarily put Precision Shooting on ice. After all, his Super Berserker included Throwing Master, which is kind of like half a Precision Shooting, admittedly not as good for long-range, but still decent for mid-range combat. Anyway, as long as he had enough special energy, he could switch abilities later! After using a level 2 ability to promote high-frequency vibration to level two, Wang Tao unexpectedly discovered that Shockwave and high-frequency vibration could be synthesized! [Shockwave + high-frequency vibration (91%)] The probability isn¡¯t lower; without much hesitation, Wang Tao immediately went for the synthesis, placing high-frequency vibration in the main position. Since he had more Shockwave crystal cores, if he ran out of Shockwaves, he could fuse more. But if he lost the high-frequency vibration, it would be gone for good. A moment later. [Synthesis successful, obtained a new ability: Level 2 Level 1 Vibration Shock] ¡°Success!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face did not show surprise; his luck had always been good. With such high chances, it was unlikely to fail. [Vibration Shock: Consumes energy, can use high-frequency vibration, shockwave] Wang Tao thought it would synthesize into an ability that combines both, but to his surprise, it allowed for individual usage. But this was even better, more convenient to use. Having successfully fused these two abilities, Wang Tao now had a slot open! After checking his crystal cores, Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. He didn¡¯t have enough crystal cores. Precision Shooting could be set aside for now, he¡¯ll fuse it when needed. What he wanted to fuse the most was Perception, but unfortunately, he had only one Perception crystal core. And the side effect of this Perception crystal core was, if not fused by a female, Perception ability would decrease by 50%. If he were to fuse, he¡¯d definitely choose a crystal core without side effects, especially when the side effect was so troublesome. Perception would have to wait for now. As for the other crystal cores... Wang Tao felt that none of them suited him, so he ended up fusing a level 1 Sprint crystal core and promoted it to 10. [Sprint: Consumes energy, sprints forward a short distance] This ability was quite good for close combat, relatively suitable for the current Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at his attributes once again. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 9500/9500] [Special Energy: 26140] [Internal Impurity: 1%] [Abilities: Level 2 Vibration Shock +1, Level 2 Barrier +1, Level 2 Super Berserker +1, Level 1 Sprint +10] Besides Sprint, the other three abilities were synthesized abilities, all at +1. At this point, using a level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Core wouldn¡¯t be a loss for Wang Tao, but considering he still wanted to continue synthesizing in the future, using the Omnipotent Crystal Core now would still result in a downgrade later. So it was better to wait a bit longer until all the abilities were synthesized to their limits before using the Omnipotent Crystal Core. As for that 1% Internal Impurity, it would also have to wait. ... The next day. Wang Tao woke up feeling refreshed. All the negative states from yesterday were gone. Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun were basically fine, only Nie Siyan still had some aftereffects. She stayed in her room, not daring to go out. Wang Tao went in to check on Nie Siyan, and when she saw him, it was as if she saw something that angered her, and she subconsciously wanted to attack Wang Tao. But she stopped quickly, threw down the steel pipe in her hand, and knelt before Wang Tao. ¡°Brother Wang, I didn¡¯t mean it, I thought you were Huang Wu...¡± ¡°Get up.¡± Wang Tao knew it wasn¡¯t her fault; her spiritual power was just too weak, and the aftereffects were too severe for her. But compared to yesterday, it was much better. At least she could recognize Wang Tao quickly now. After ensuring Nie Siyan was not in any danger to her life, Wang Tao left. He planned to continue scouring the locations he had marked on the map today, looking for level 3 zombies. Encountering a level 4 monster yesterday was purely accidental. Currently in Zijing City, level 2 zombies were not very common, level 3 zombies even less so, and the chance of encountering fourth-level zombies was probably about the same as winning the lottery. He didn¡¯t believe he¡¯d encounter one today. The trio drove away from the arcade. However, after wandering around for a day, Wang Tao became a bit frustrated. Indeed, there were no fourth-level creatures today, but he also didn¡¯t encounter any level 3s. He only found some level 2 zombies and quite a few level 1 zombies. Wang Tao hardly moved a muscle the whole day; it was all dealt with by Xu Xiaojun. Today was definitely a fruitful day for Xu Xiaojun. His HP had already reached over 20,000, striving toward 29999. When they returned to the arcade in the evening, Wang Tao went to check on Nie Siyan¡¯s condition again. She was much better than she was in the morning, able to go out and handle some affairs within the base. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ll be fine by tomorrow, really!¡± Nie Siyan appeared somewhat flattered by Wang Tao¡¯s concern. Chapter 442: 198 Upgrade Operation_2 Chapter 442: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_2 ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Wang Tao nodded, then added, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to contact the others to purchase Crystal Cores once you are better tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Evening. Wang Tao was in the midst of his daily workout when Nie Siyan suddenly came over. ¡°Brother Wang, I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you...¡± Watching Wang Tao¡¯s half-naked upper body glistening with sweat over his well-defined muscles, Nie Siyan found herself unintentionally swallowing her saliva. She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look any longer. They say men are lecherous, but women can be just as lecherous, if not more so. She was no exception. However, the shadow that Wang Tao cast was too deep, and she didn¡¯t dare to overstep. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, speak,¡± Wang Tao said without turning his head. ¡°Well, I just received a message from Zijin Base...¡± ¡°Hmm? Zijin Base? The top power ranked number one? Their messages can reach this far?¡± Wang Tao turned around, somewhat surprised. Zijing City is vast, and the location of Zijin Base is quite far from the arcade city; normally, it would be impossible for the two to communicate directly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s them! At the beginning of its establishment, Zijin Base had built a signal tower, capable of transmitting over a very large area. Later, several bouts of acid rain damaged the signal tower, rendering it unusable. But they have managed to repair the signal tower recently...¡± Nie Siyan quickly explained. ¡°No wonder...¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood; that made sense. ¡°What did they say?¡± ¡°Zijin Base says that the zombies are evolving too quickly, while humans are struggling to keep up with the zombies¡¯ pace. If this continues, humanity will eventually be doomed. Therefore, they are planning to unite with the major forces in Zijing City for an upgrading campaign...¡± ¡°An upgrading campaign?¡± ¡°The basic idea is to select a few representatives within Zijing City, then temporarily allocate the city¡¯s resources to these representatives, helping them ascend to Level 3. With Level 3 ability users, human strength will increase a lot. Then these Level 3 ability users can lead the rest of humanity in upgrading...¡± After hearing Nie Siyan¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help exclaiming in admiration. ¡°Wealth first, then wealth for all?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea...¡± Theoretically speaking, this strategy had no faults. Ever since the number of ability users began to increase, everyone started to realize the importance of high-leveled combat power. It was like when Wang Tao was back in Shuize County; at that time, they were all Level 1 ability users. A Level Two Chimpanzee Zombie Lord nearly annihilated their entire base. But once Wang Tao ascended to Level 2, facing off against a Level Two Toad zombie was a piece of cake. If the zombies possess high-leveled combat power, survivors will live in constant fear and anxiety. On the other hand, if the survivors have their own high-leveled combat power, they might not be able to dominate the enemy, but at least they could fend off their attacks... The current situation in Zijin City is that humans are only up to Level 2, but zombies have reached Level 3, completely overpowering the humans! And it¡¯s not just one or two Level 3 zombies, but many of them! Merely looking at the numerous suspected Level 3 zombie activity marks Wang Tao had on his map doesn¡¯t reveal the full picture of what others might have witnessed. There are even Level 4 monsters! If humans had Level 3 ability users, the situation would definitely be different; fear wouldn¡¯t be as pressing... So, Zijin Base¡¯s plan to unite the city¡¯s survivors and let some ascend to Level 3 ability users first has no faults. But there are two problems¡ª The first problem is, to become Level 3, one must hunt down Level 3 zombies to obtain Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. But Level 3 zombies are extremely dangerous, and hunting them... would likely result in many deaths. With Zijing City¡¯s many survivor forces, big and small, even pooling all their resources, it would be impossible for every force to gain a Level 3 ability user. So how should risk and reward be distributed? Surely, people can¡¯t be expected to simply throw their lives away. The second problem is that while the rich leading the poor isn¡¯t an issue, what if those who become rich first not only fail to help the rest but instead oppress and exploit them? What should everyone do then? Fight them? How would a Level 1 or Level 2 ability user contend against a Level 3 ability user? Moreover, several months into this apocalypse, everyone is well aware of what the survivors are capable of. Before the apocalypse, being a good person might mean doing some good deeds; after the apocalypse, being a good person probably means not doing bad things; but now, as long as you aren¡¯t too bad, you could be called a good person... So, without clarifying these two problems, it¡¯s likely that few will be willing to respond to the call for this ¡°Upgrading Campaign.¡± ¡°Zijin Base wants us forces to send representatives to their base for a discussion, promising to ensure everyone¡¯s satisfaction...¡± Nie Siyan continued. ¡°Send someone over?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. His first thought was a trap. But after thinking it over, he felt it was unlikely. These people might be bad, but they¡¯re certainly not foolish. If there¡¯s no Level 3 ability users, the situation will continue to deteriorate. Starting a civil war at this stage would be mutually destructive. Besides, although Zijin Base is ranked first, it¡¯s just one of the four major forces. With three more major forces behind it, along with other medium and small forces, it¡¯s impossible for Zijin Base to eliminate all of them in one fell swoop... Chapter 443 - 198 Upgrade Operation_3 Chapter 443: Chapter 198 Upgrade Operation_3 Wang Tao felt that Zijin Base definitely wanted to leverage the strength of the survivors in Zijing City to promote certain individuals to Level 3, and those certain individuals must be their own people. Perhaps the leader of Zijin Base harbored the aspiration to become the ¡°Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch¡±... ¡°So, do we... go?¡± Nie Siyan asked timidly. Actually, she wanted to go. If everyone else went and you didn¡¯t, you would definitely be isolated in the future. If it were just some small forces, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal, since some small forces couldn¡¯t even travel far. But the Firefly Club was a medium-sized force with the capacity to venture far. If they didn¡¯t go, it might not look good. And if they did go, they might even get a share of the spoils... She didn¡¯t dare to expect the good fortune of a Level 3 ability user to fall into her lap, but just getting a few more Level 2 ability users would be beneficial. However, even though Nie Siyan was currently the president, she had to listen to Wang Tao and certainly wouldn¡¯t dare make a decision on her own. ¡°What do you think?¡± Instead of answering, Wang Tao countered with a question. ¡°I think we can go...¡± Nie Siyan sneakily gauged Wang Tao¡¯s expression, ready to change her tone immediately if he showed any displeasure. However, Wang Tao nonchalantly nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± In fact, Wang Tao was quite interested in this leveling-up operation. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to rely on everyone else¡¯s strength to level up to 3; he didn¡¯t need that. He was thinking that with so many people going there, he could trade Crystal Cores and information... Seeing that Wang Tao had agreed, Nie Siyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Great! Then... I¡¯ll wait for them to send someone over!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The message just sent through the wireless radio was one-way. The arcade could receive it, but had no way to reply. Thus, Zijin Base would soon send someone over for registration. They also said they wouldn¡¯t let everyone have a wasted trip. They would offer gifts, including Level 2 Crystal Cores, to all attendees. It was evident that Zijin Base was rather generous in this matter. This also indirectly proved their strength. After all, just sending people to notify the different areas of Zijing City was no simple task, let alone the subsequent hospitality... But the more extravagant they were, the more it highlighted that the leadership of Zijin Base had grand schemes. Probably, just as Wang Tao guessed, the boss of Zijin Base aimed to be a ¡°Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch¡± of Zijing City... ¡°But your strength is too weak. Participating in such events, one must show muscle. If you¡¯re not strong enough, you¡¯re just cannon fodder.¡± Wang Tao suddenly added. Hearing this, Nie Siyan inwardly grumbled that their weakness was all caused by Wang Tao himself. But she dared only to think it and would never dare to show it on her face. She maintained an expression of ¡°The boss is right in his lesson.¡± Wang Tao felt that if he wanted this Firefly Club to work for him, being too weak wouldn¡¯t do. Fortunately, he still had a good number of Crystal Cores he didn¡¯t need himself and could use them to enhance their strength. However, this wouldn¡¯t be free. It was fine to want to improve one¡¯s strength, but one had to show their value. ¡°Starting from tomorrow, you lead a team to collect supplies and hunt zombies,¡± Wang Tao directed Nie Siyan. ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat baffled but immediately agreed. ... The next day. Nie Siyan¡¯s aftereffects from the Illusion had mostly vanished, and she quickly gathered everyone at the base. Excluding Wang Tao and his two companions, there were a total of 33 people, an embarrassingly small number for a medium-sized force. Nie Siyan announced that everyone should go out to gather supplies and hunt zombies. No one was to remain at the base. Upon hearing this, the crowd was first surprised, then some felt alarmed. This President Nie wouldn¡¯t sell them out, would she? After all, there was precedence. But even if that were the case, they would have no capability to resist... Quickly, Nie Siyan led the survivors, who all held varied thoughts, out of the base. Inside the base, Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue and Xu Xiaojun on guard. After all, this was Wang Tao¡¯s foothold, and he didn¡¯t want zombies to get in. Then Wang Tao stealthily followed Nie Siyan¡¯s group as they left. The route Nie Siyan took to lead the team today was provided by Wang Tao. The journey would certainly not be peaceful and would encounter various dangers. Wang Tao just wanted to see how well these people fought and whether their moral character was up to standard. His requirements were not high, just the ability to independently kill zombies of the same level and not deliberately harm their companions was enough. Following Nie Siyan¡¯s group out for a day, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. These people were actually not bad. Perhaps because Wang Tao had sold all the more troublesome members to prison, leaving those who, although not strong, had barely acceptable combat skills and character. Given the current situation, one couldn¡¯t ask for much more. When Nie Siyan returned with everyone in the evening, and everyone collapsed on the ground, if Nie Siyan didn¡¯t have to maintain her president¡¯s image, she would have liked to lie down and not get up. Today¡¯s operation was just too difficult! They hadn¡¯t had a moment¡¯s peace. From the ordinary zombies they encountered upon leaving, to the Mad Demon Zombies, to Level 1 Zombies, and then to Level 2 Zombies... they were just short of encountering Level 3 Zombies. They almost didn¡¯t make it back... But thankfully, they returned safely in the end. Especially when Nie Siyan unexpectedly received a lukewarm compliment from Wang Tao, she suddenly felt as though the difficulties of today were worth it. After all, it was praise from Wang Tao! What she didn¡¯t know was that their day was so hard precisely because Wang Tao had intentionally lured the zombies to them... At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly said to Nie Siyan: ¡°Come to my room tonight.¡± ¡°...Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was stunned for a moment, then simultaneously anxious and excited. ¡°Is my chance coming?¡± She rushed back to her room. During her earlier scavenging, she had made sure to save many beautiful dresses... Chapter 444 - 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_1 Chapter 444: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_1 ¡°` Dong Dong Dong¡ª ¡°Come in.¡± Wang Tao responded without looking up. He was studying the map of Zijing City, preparing to pick the next area to explore. If he didn¡¯t encounter a Level 3 zombie soon, he was even considering luring a Night Demon at night... Wang Tao felt someone come in but didn¡¯t hear them speak. He looked up with some confusion and saw Nie Siyan, who was clearly dressed up, standing hesitantly in front of him. Today, Nie Siyan wore a tight, ultra-short blue-and-white porcelain cheongsam. Her figure was already very alluring, and in this outfit, she resembled a character from some peninsula comic. ¡°Brother Wang... I¡¯m here...¡± Nie Siyan bit her red lips, cheeks slightly flushed as she looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He had asked for her to discuss important matters, but what was she implying now? Nie Siyan, seeing that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t speaking, thought he wanted to see her perform. So she walked around the desk and crawled underneath. Suddenly, there came another knock on the door from outside. ¡°Come in.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged. ¡°Brother Wang.¡± Xu Xiaojun had arrived. Seeing that Wang Tao had grown so strong yet still trained so diligently, he too took every opportunity to exercise. He had just been practicing his Shockwave and didn¡¯t quite understand some parts, so he wanted to ask for Wang Tao¡¯s advice. Wang Tao never held back from his own people. He sat there and shared his experiences with using abilities, and after more than half an hour, Xu Xiaojun left, satisfied. Not long after Xu Xiaojun left, Nie Siyan finally came out. ¡°By the way, what did you come for?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°Brother Wang, wasn¡¯t it you who asked me to come over at night?¡± Nie Siyan immediately gave Wang Tao a white look. Damn man, still putting on a serious face. Wang Tao slapped his forehead, almost forgetting the main issue. ¡°I asked you here for serious business, not for this sort of underhanded trickery. Don¡¯t let it happen again.¡± Wang Tao said solemnly. ¡°You¡¯re right to correct me, Brother Wang! Shall I massage your legs for you?¡± Nie Siyan didn¡¯t argue. She went to wash her hands first, then moved a bit to sit beside Wang Tao and began to massage his legs. Wang Tao stretched out his hand and could just rest it on Nie Siyan¡¯s head. He stroked her hair while Nie Siyan, like a little puppy, rubbed her head against the palm of his hand. ¡°You¡¯re too weak.¡± The first thing Wang Tao said made Nie Siyan¡¯s heart skip a beat. She thought Wang Tao was going to abandon her. But to her relief and surprise, his next words filled her with joy. ¡°So we need to enhance that.¡± Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dare to speak and just kept massaging Wang Tao¡¯s legs, her heart practically leaping with excitement. ¡°What Crystal Core do you want?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Nie Siyan felt her heartbeat speeding up. Wang Tao was actually letting her choose! But Nie Siyan was sensible, and although Wang Tao allowed her to pick, she didn¡¯t dare to be too picky. Besides, she really didn¡¯t know much about Crystal Cores. ¡°I don¡¯t understand these things, you decide for me...¡± Nie Siyan said pleasingly. ¡°Alright then.¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment and took out two orange and two red Level Two Crystal Cores. The two orange ones were Rush and Athlete, and both red ones were Ascension. Nie Siyan currently only had two Level 1 Special Abilities, Throwing Master and Dream Interpretation. Obviously, that was too weak; she needed to ascend both abilities to Level Two at the very least. Moreover, Nie Siyan was clearly capable of merging four abilities, but she only had two, which was quite a waste. It was necessary to fill up her other two abilities. Wang Tao thought that Rush and Athlete were not bad. Rush could be considered an offensive and defensive ability, good for both fighting and fleeing. Athlete was a passive ability that provided enhanced physical capabilities, very suitable for surviving the apocalypse. Plus, with Nie Siyan¡¯s already existing Throwing Master, Wang Tao felt it was good enough. ¡°All these... for me?¡± When Nie Siyan saw the four Crystal Cores in front of her, she was somewhat stunned. She had originally thought that it would be great if Wang Tao gave her a blue or higher Level Two Crystal Core. A Purple Crystal Core would be even better. As for red and orange, to be honest, she had only heard of them and had never seen such Crystal Cores! She never expected Wang Tao to give her red and orange ones, and four of them all at once! Four of them! This made her feel like she was dreaming. After all, her relationship with Wang Tao had not been good before, and even though they had become slightly closer now, it shouldn¡¯t warrant such a generous gift! In fact, she still had no idea how strong Wang Tao really was. If she knew that Wang Tao had killed two Level 3 zombies a few days ago when they encountered the Level 4, Monster Lord, she wouldn¡¯t have been so shocked now. ¡°What? Don¡¯t want them?¡± Wang Tao pinched Nie Siyan¡¯s face. ¡°I do!¡± Nie Siyan quickly took the Crystal Cores into her hands, then looked at Wang Tao with a mix of complications and gratitude. ¡°Brother Wang, rest assured, I will never betray you in my life! If I go back on my word, may I be struck dead by lightning!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t take Nie Siyan¡¯s oath to heart. He smiled and patted her cheek. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll keep your word.¡± ¡°I certainly will!¡± Nie Siyan knew that Wang Tao might not fully trust her. After all, she had personally killed her husband before, although she was forced, but it was a fact. However, Nie Siyan also knew that talking too much was useless and that the proof was in the pudding. From now on, she just needed to show Wang Tao her actions! ¡°Also, your subordinates are too weak. We¡¯re going to Zijin Base in a few days; with such weak abilities, what benefits could you possibly compete for? So we need to also enhance their strengths... I¡¯ll give you some more Crystal Cores, let them merge with them.¡± ¡°` Chapter 445 - 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_2 Chapter 445: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_2 ¡°` Wang Tao took out many more Level 1 Crystal Cores. ¡°Yes, thank you, Brother Wang!¡± Having been struck by those four Level 2 Crystal Cores earlier, Nie Siyan was able to look at these Crystal Cores with much more calmness. Wang Tao then inquired about the situation of other people in the base, determining which ones were trusted by Nie Siyan; he was planning to promote a few Second-order Superpower Owners. After all, the Firefly Club only had Nie Siyan as a Second-order Superpower Owner, which was a bit too few. ¡°I feel that Zhu Han is quite loyal, and also those four fainting smoke ability users who have always followed me¡ªum~¡± As Nie Siyan was speaking, she suddenly felt Wang Tao¡¯s hand, which was on her head, slide down a bit. Wang Tao seemed not to notice anything. Nie Siyan continued to report on her work, pretending nothing had happened. After Wang Tao finished speaking, he let go of his hand, signaling that she could leave. ¡°Ah?¡± Nie Siyan, her face flushed and body trembling, was stunned. The mood was all set... Wasn¡¯t he going to engage in ¡°Deep Communication¡±? But seeing Wang Tao¡¯s indifferent expression, Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dare to say more. ¡°Goodnight, Brother Wang...¡± Nie Siyan left the room and gently closed the door behind her. Looking at her disheveled clothes, she bit her lip with a look of deep resentment. Inside the room. Wang Tao smiled. This woman had launched a surprise attack on him without him being prepared, so naturally, he wouldn¡¯t let her have her way; it was necessary to punish her a bit. At that moment, a shadow suddenly approached Wang Tao. ¡°Brother likes this? I can do it too.¡± Jiang Shixue spoke earnestly. ¡°Cough...¡± Wang Tao forgot that Jiang Shixue was also in the room! ¡°Cough, kids don¡¯t understand these things, go to sleep.¡± Wang Tao patted Jiang Shixue on the head. It wasn¡¯t because he was such a gentleman, but mainly because Jiang Shixue had a special constitution, and if she was infected with the zombie virus, it would be a great loss. Moreover, Jiang Shixue was really still like a child. ¡°Oh~¡± Jiang Shixue sounded a little aggrieved and didn¡¯t say anything more. ... The next day. Wang Tao had just gotten up when he saw Nie Siyan, dressed in tight leather, waiting outside his door. ¡°Up so early?¡± Wang Tao asked, surprised. It was just past six o¡¯clock. ¡°I just got up too.¡± Nie Siyan hastily said. In fact, because of the events of the previous night, which were rather tumultuous, she had been too excited to sleep all night. She had been waiting outside Wang Tao¡¯s door since early morning; after all, Wang Tao had given her so many precious Crystal Cores, she had to come and tell him that she had successfully assimilated them all. Wang Tao glanced at Nie Siyan¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 13180/13180] [Mana: 4800/4800] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 25%] Her HP was still a bit low, but it was passable. ¡°Not bad.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Nie Siyan was just about to show off to Wang Tao, but it seemed that Wang Tao had already seen through her, which made Nie Siyan¡¯s heart flutter with nervousness. ¡°Have you had breakfast?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°Eaten¡ªno!¡± Nie Siyan was about to say she had, but then she thought, given that her relationship with Wang Tao had grown much closer, she quickly changed her answer. ¡°Let¡¯s have it together then.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was immediately excited inside. It wasn¡¯t the breakfast itself that excited her, but the invitation from Wang Tao signaled that he was treating her as one of his own! Their relationship had advanced another step! After breakfast, Nie Siyan went downstairs to gather everyone. She took out a bunch of high-quality Level 1 Crystal Cores and made everyone¡¯s eyes gleam. ¡°Since you¡¯ve all followed me, I definitely won¡¯t let you down. After observing these past few days, I think some of you are fit for higher positions... It¡¯s time to become Ability Users!¡± Whoa¡ª The crowd was very excited and started talking among themselves. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t attend to them for the moment but instead took out a few Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores. Zhu Han and the Level 1 Special Ability users suddenly widened their eyes. ¡°As for you, you¡¯re also qualified to ascend to Level 2.¡± Nie Siyan told them. ¡°Long live the president!¡± Someone initiated the cheer and the rest immediately joined in, chanting long live the president. This feeling made Nie Siyan very thrilled, even more so than her self-comfort the night before. But she didn¡¯t forget the matter at hand. Before handing out the Crystal Cores, Nie Siyan first laid down the rules of the Firefly Club, saying that they were now core members, and if anyone betrayed or defected, they would be hunted down by the Firefly Club to the end. This caused a shiver in everyone¡¯s heart, but they could all understand. After all, Nie Siyan wouldn¡¯t allow them to just run away after giving them so many Crystal Cores. However, in the end, Nie Siyan announced something that surprised everyone. ¡°Our Firefly Club... has added a new shareholder.¡± ¡°Shareholder?¡± People were momentarily stunned, not understanding what she meant. Zhu Han looked thoughtfully up towards the upper floor. ¡°May I ask, President, who is our new shareholder?¡± Someone inquired. ¡°Wang Tao, Mr. Wang!¡± Nie Siyan answered. Everyone knew the name Wang Tao; Nie Siyan had previously told everyone to treat Wang Tao and his people as VIPs. They had not expected Wang Tao to become a major shareholder of the base... Previously, the Skull Club didn¡¯t have the concept of shareholders; it was solely owned by Huang Heng. After Nie Siyan took over and renamed it the Firefly Club, it became her personal property. Now suddenly a shareholder had appeared, which really surprised everyone. However, since this was Nie Siyan¡¯s decision, everyone naturally couldn¡¯t object. Nie Siyan hinted that these Crystal Cores were actually related to the shareholder Wang Tao. But she didn¡¯t elaborate on the specifics, leaving plenty of room for everyone¡¯s imagination. ¡°` Chapter 446 - 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_3 Chapter 446: Chapter 199 Firefly Club Strength Enhancement_3 Some speculated that the Crystal Cores were sponsored by Wang Tao; others guessed that Wang Tao had helped Nie Siyan kill many zombies to obtain them; still others believed Wang Tao was a businessman, who had bought these Crystal Cores cheaply from other channels... Regardless of the speculations, everyone¡¯s respect and awe towards this Wang Tao only increased. Nie Siyan distributed the Crystal Cores, instructing them to merge here and not take any away. Then she mentioned that in the next couple of days, she might take a few people to visit Zijin Base. Upon hearing this, many people became nervous yet excited. The nervousness obviously stemmed from the potential dangers on the way, while the excitement was due to the fact that none of them had visited Zijin Base before. They all had some yearning for this former official power, wondering who would get to accompany Nie Siyan on the visit... Nie Siyan personally supervised everyone as they completed merging with the Crystal Cores, then she hurried upstairs. ¡°Brother Wang, I took the liberty of listing you as a shareholder of Firefly Club. You take seventy percent, and I take thirty... Please forgive me!¡± Nie Siyan said, bowing her head in a contrite manner. She knew who was responsible for all she had at the moment. Therefore, she had to give up the benefits she should give up. Whether Wang Tao accepted them or not was one thing, but offering them was a must. In fact, she even thought about taking only ten percent for herself and giving Wang Tao ninety percent! But since she had to manage Firefly Club, which needed resources, she ended up taking thirty percent. Wang Tao raised his eyebrows upon hearing Nie Siyan¡¯s words. Although Nie Siyan had made the decision without consulting him, it wasn¡¯t something he would dislike since it was to his advantage. ¡°Appreciate the gesture.¡± Wang Tao felt he didn¡¯t need these as he might leave Zijing City before long. But there was no need to refuse. ¡°I¡¯ll go downstairs then and keep an eye on them...¡± Having received Wang Tao¡¯s praise, Nie Siyan was very pleased. Yet, she didn¡¯t say much more and immediately went downstairs. One day later. Firefly Club had grown significantly stronger! Among the thirty-three members of Firefly Club, there were now six Second-order Superpower Owners, twelve Level 1 Ability Users, and fifteen Ordinary people! Wang Tao naturally could upgrade the remaining fifteen to Ability Users, but there was no need. After all, if everyone were upgraded, wouldn¡¯t that be the same as no upgrade at all? It was important to differentiate, to give those who became Ability Users a sense of superiority, and to give the Ordinary people a sense of urgency. To provide them with motivation and pressure... Moreover, in the current situation, Firefly Club was definitely not weak, especially now with their six Second-order Superpower Owners, which was more than Skull Club¡¯s four. Among these six, Nie Siyan¡¯s strength was the most formidable, even surpassing the previous Huang Heng! Although Firefly Club¡¯s population had decreased by eighty to ninety percent, their overall strength had more than doubled! It just so happened that on the day when Firefly Club¡¯s strength surged, people from Zijin Base arrived. Three people in total, all were Second-order Ability Users. ... ¡°So this is the rebranded Firefly Club? It¡¯s so run-down and tiny. I wonder if they still have any Second-order Ability Users...¡± ¡°Do they even have a hundred people here? Can this even count as a mid-sized force? I bet they aren¡¯t as strong as our little squad!¡± ¡°Hey, guys. How about we collect some protection money?¡± ¡°That was the plan!¡± ¡°Haha, me too!¡± Outside the arcade. Three people leaned against a rusted off-road vehicle, casually surveying the arcade. They were envoys sent by Zijin Base. Clearly, they looked down on Firefly Club and even planned to extort a sum¡ªdo you want an invitation to Zijin Base? If you don¡¯t offer something in exchange, you can forget about getting an invitation! They were experienced at this kind of thing, having done it plenty of times before. Moments later, the arcade¡¯s main gate opened. Zhu Han came out with four people. ¡°What took you so long? We¡¯ve been waiting¡ª¡± The man hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when his expression suddenly froze. The other two also widened their eyes in shock. What the heck! Five Level 2 Ability Users? Ability Users have a certain special Perception, such that sensitive individuals or those with a particularly strong aura, can detect each other¡¯s Levels. These five had just advanced to Level 2, and their Level 2 aura was still very apparent, making them instantly perceptible to the envoys. One of them took out a piece of paper, saying formally: ¡°Ahem, greetings, we are envoys from Zijin Base. Our base cordially invites representatives from Firefly Club to visit Zijin Base as guests, to participate in the ¡®Upgrade Operation¡¯. This will be a major event determining the future layout of Zijing City! Please don¡¯t miss out; here is your invitation...¡± ¡°Thank you for the invitation, we¡¯ll make sure to attend...¡± After accepting it, Zhu Han invited them inside for a seat. The three declined, saying they still had more invitations to deliver. Once they left, Zhu Han frowned slightly. ¡°Just for delivering an invitation, they sent three Level 2 Ability Users... We haven¡¯t even set foot in Zijin Base, and they¡¯re already showing an intimidating presence!¡± Elsewhere, in the car of the Zijin Base envoys. ¡°Damn! Just for receiving an invitation, there was no need for five Level 2 Ability Users. What¡¯s the meaning of this? Are they trying to intimidate us? So audacious! Firefly Club, huh? We¡¯ll remember you!¡± Chapter 447: 200 Zijin Base_1 Chapter 447: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_1 ¡°An invitation? It does have that feel...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised when he saw the invitation in his hand. The content of the invitation was the same as what had been broadcast on the radio, just with the language polished a bit. Zijing Base was clearly demonstrating its strength. To be able to send out invitations in the post-apocalyptic world, and to dispatch three second-order ability users for the task, demonstrated considerable power. ¡°Brother Wang, when do we head over?¡± Nie Siyan asked quietly. ¡°Let¡¯s leave tomorrow.¡± The arcade was quite a distance from Zijing Base, so they needed to set off early. ¡°Okay!¡± Nie Siyan was very excited. It wasn¡¯t so much about going to Zijing Base but rather that Wang Tao would be going with them. Having such a powerful figure by her side gave her a full sense of security! Nie Siyan went down to make arrangements. She planned to bring five people with her. Those were Zhu Han and his group of five level 2 elites. Since they would be embarking on a long trip this time, those too weak would be a burden; only ability users and above were a must. But the arcade also needed to be manned, so Nie Siyan left all level 1 ability users and ordinary people behind. All the second-order ability users would go with her. Nie Siyan told everyone not to go out over the next few days and to wait for her return before making any moves. The next day. Three vehicles left the arcade one after another. In the middle, a relatively new off-road vehicle. Xu Xiaojun was driving, Nie Siyan sat in the passenger seat, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were in the back. Nie Siyan told Wang Tao some of the things she had recently learned about Zijing Base. ¡°I heard that Zijing Base has seen a surge in second-order ability users recently, and their strength is unprecedentedly strong. So, they organized a hunting expedition against level 3 zombies but suffered heavy casualties. Many second-order ability users died... That¡¯s why they started inviting other survivors from Zijing City...¡± The forces in Zijing City were complex, each with its own channels of information. Naturally, Nie Siyan had her sources, which she had acquired over the last couple of days while using the walkie-talkie to communicate with other forces. ¡°Many second-order ability users died?¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. Theoretically, a large number of second-order ability users should be able to kill a level 3 elite zombie. Not only did they fail to kill them but also lost so many people... Unless they encountered a level 3, Lord Zombie, or even a level 4 zombie! It was just bad luck. ¡°Do you know where they were hunting the level 3 zombies?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, let me ask around...¡± Nie Siyan took out her walkie-talkie and started to communicate with others. A few forces near the arcade also set off for Zijing Base today, but they did not join Firefly Club. Mainly because the reputation of the Skull Club, the former incarnation of the Firefly Club, was so bad that no one wanted such companions. However, communication was still possible. They would provide Nie Siyan with information while also seeking out some news from her, which was a mutually beneficial arrangement. ... Wang Tao had been looking forward to encountering some level 3 zombies on the road, but to his disappointment, he didn¡¯t. However, they did come across some roaming level 2 zombies, which were taken care of by Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength needs no mention. Although he was still not capable of facing level 3 zombies now, he could overwhelm most level 2 zombies with his power. Nie Siyan¡¯s strength had improved a lot. Before, she practically hid when facing level 2 zombies. But now, she handled every level 2, elite zombie with ease. Plus, she had great potential. After all, her HP was just over ten thousand, and there was still much room for improvement. Nie Siyan was thrilled. She couldn¡¯t believe that she could be so strong! Unfortunately, there was Jiang Shixue in the back seat. Otherwise, no matter what, she would run to Wang Tao¡¯s side to relax him a bit, and properly express her gratitude towards him. On the way, Wang Tao came across several groups of people who had originally set out together. But once they found out that Firefly Club¡¯s predecessor was Skull Club, they immediately took off. This made Nie Siyan quite embarrassed. Wang Tao, however, didn¡¯t mind. Fewer people meant more peace and quiet for him. Two days later, the convoy finally arrived near Zijing Base. The reason it took two days was mainly because the roads in the post-apocalyptic world were difficult, and the occasional need to avoid zombie hordes caused many delays. ¡°Is that Zijing Base...¡± Looking at the tall walls in the distance, Nie Siyan was somewhat amazed. It was her first time here too. ¡°It looks pretty good.¡± Wang Tao was also a bit impressed. The walls of Zijing Base were estimated to be about ten meters high, with smooth surfaces, shooting holes, barbed wire wrapped around the top, and soldiers with guns standing guard... It looked very secure! After her strength had increased, Nie Siyan had grown slightly arrogant, thinking that Firefly Club might also have a chance at challenging a large force. But seeing the scale of what was in front of her, she felt a bit helpless. Although she hadn¡¯t gone in yet, she knew from the outside that Firefly Club had no way of comparing with such a large force. Not just because of the high-leveled ability users, but more so because the arcade was too insignificant compared to such a grand base. Looking at the scale of the base, it seemed it could easily house tens of thousands of people... ¡°All the zombies around here have been cleaned up.¡± Wang Tao said, looking at the outside situation. They were now a street away from Zijing Base, but there wasn¡¯t a single zombie here. The corners of the streets were filled with piles of zombie corpses, apparently killed in the last few days... This was clearly the work of Zijing Base. Chapter 448: 200 Zijin Base_2 Chapter 448: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_2 The road was clear of zombies, so they made good time. Soon the three vehicles arrived outside the gate of Zijing Base. Up close, one could better appreciate the grandeur and vastness of the towering wall. However, it was also clear that the wall had many imperfections¡ªthere were numerous patches and repairs, and overall, Wang Tao felt that the wall should be higher. It seemed as if there wasn¡¯t enough time to finish it before the base fell. Many additions had likely been made afterwards... ¡°Halt, please prepare for inspection!¡± By now, there were already quite a few vehicles lined up for inspection at the gates. Nie Siyan directed their convoy to join the queue. Wang Tao frowned upon seeing the energy detector at the entrance. This device, Jiang Shixue might not be able to pass through... After all, Jiang Shixue had 100% impurity in her body. If she were to be scanned, it would immediately show level five impurity, and that would surely trigger an alarm at the base. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, brother?¡± Jiang Shixue, sensing Wang Tao¡¯s troubled gaze, asked curiously. After thinking for a bit, Wang Tao whispered in Jiang Shixue¡¯s ear: ¡°Do you have any way to avoid detection when it¡¯s our turn to be inspected?¡± Jiang Shixue looked at the detector and furrowed her brow slightly. Then her eyes suddenly brightened. ¡°I think I have an idea...¡± Jiang Shixue quickly leaned over to explain to Wang Tao in a whisper. After listening, Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue with some surprise. ¡°Did you remember something from before?¡± ¡°No.¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. Wang Tao had previously told her that she had lost some of her memories. However, she was indifferent about these matters. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t press further. Jiang Shixue had just recalled the use of her eyes¡ªa use that had been forgotten. Previously, it was said that after Jiang Shixue transformed from a zombie into a human, she not only lost her memory but also didn¡¯t know how to use her ability and hidden attributes. Now, in her efforts to come up with a solution, she finally remembered the use of her hidden attributes! Soon, it was Wang Tao and his group¡¯s turn. The moment they got off the vehicle, they drew a lot of attention. It couldn¡¯t be helped; Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun¡¯s builds were just too large. Especially Xu Xiaojun, who stood like a dark cloud, blocking out the light for several people around him, making it hard to ignore their presence. However, their attention quickly shifted from Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun to Jiang Shixue and Nie Siyan. After all, both men and women enjoy looking at beautiful women. ¡°Wow! Two beauties!¡± ¡°That pretty girl in the JK outfit, but I feel she¡¯s just an ordinary person... and seems to be the weakest among them. Is such a person also here to participate in the ¡®Advancement Operation¡¯?¡± ¡°That shows what you know! You only see the girl¡¯s weakness, not the strength of those beside her! Maybe she¡¯s deliberately nurtured to be someone¡¯s plaything!¡± ¡°Sss¡ªmakes sense!¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you, kid, you¡¯re young. I advise you not to mess with girls like her. Don¡¯t get fooled by their seemingly weak and pure appearance. If you actually managed to trick her, you¡¯d probably be in big trouble...¡± ¡°I get it, I get it! I¡¯m really scared of dying, I wouldn¡¯t dare to mess with such trouble!¡± ¡°Smart of you. Personally, I find the older woman more attractive. Look at those legs, that waist, that bust, that face¡ªholy shit! It¡¯s her?¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Skull Club¡¯s Nie Siyan, the notorious swindler of our Zijing City! I suggest you keep your distance from them, otherwise you won¡¯t know when you¡¯ll find yourself sold off to a prison...¡± ¡°That infamous Skull Club? Sss...¡± ... On the other side, listening to the whispers of the crowd, veins popped on Nie Siyan¡¯s forehead, and she was on the verge of beating them up. If it were before, she wouldn¡¯t have cared, because talking is just talking and she only swindled outsiders, so fame didn¡¯t bother her. But now, she had reformed, and especially with Wang Tao beside her, she knew just how much he despised her former identity... As for Jiang Shixue, she ignored the murmured discussions, not out of indifference, but because she couldn¡¯t understand the roundabout things they were saying. ¡°Please come this way.¡± The gates of Zijing Base were wide, with several inspection points set up. As Wang Tao and the others disembarked, a worker in protective gear led them to one of the available checkpoints. The energy detectors they used were second-generation, not requiring blood but just some hair, nails, or skin flakes would do. However, what they specifically needed varied randomly for each person to prevent cheating. Camouflaged soldiers armed with rifles surrounded them. If anything was amiss, someone might get shot. After all, with so many people in Zijing Base, if a ticking bomb who could turn into a zombie at any moment got in, it could mean big trouble. ¡°Hello, I need to pluck a hair from you.¡± In Wang Tao¡¯s group, Zhu Han was leading the way, followed by the four ability users who could release sleep-inducing mist, then Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, Jiang Shixue, and Wang Tao. ¡°Energy Level Two, Level Two impurity, pass...¡± Upon seeing the numbers on the device, the inspector called out to the soldiers behind him. The soldiers stepped aside to let Zhu Han through. Likewise, the other ability users were also waved through without question, as they were all led by a Level 2 Ability User. Chapter 449 - 200 Zijin Base_3 Chapter 449: Chapter 200 Zijin Base_3 But soon after, the others were somewhat shocked. ¡°Energy Level Two, Impurity Grade 2, passed...¡± ¡°Energy Level Two, Impurity Grade 2, passed...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Energy Level Two, Impurity Grade 1, passed...¡± The inspectors called out several times, and Zhu Han, the four Ability Users, Nie Siyan, and Xu Xiaojun all passed smoothly. ¡°Holy shit! Seven Level 2 Ability Users?¡± Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded. Those who did not recognize Nie Siyan began asking which power she belonged to, while those who did recognize her were even more baffled. Hadn¡¯t the Skull Club lost several Second-order Superpower Owners before, and now they even changed their name to the Firefly Club, how could they still have so many Level 2 Ability Users? Even the inspectors and soldiers curiously sized up Nie Siyan and her group. Although there were quite a few Level 2 Ability Users in their base, this didn¡¯t mean that Level 2 Ability Users were a dime a dozen. Level 2 Ability Users were the top-tier combat power of the Zijin Base and were highly respected. Nie Siyan enjoyed the various curious and astonished gazes around her. She loved this feeling of showing off! As for Wang Tao, he ignored the crowd and looked at Jiang Shixue in front of him. ¡°Hello, I need one of your fingernails¡ªno, I need to pluck one of your hairs.¡± The inspector initially wanted to ask Jiang Shixue for a small clipping of her fingernail, but he suddenly paused and then changed his request. ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Shixue was expressionless. The inspector eyed Jiang Shixue¡¯s beautiful black hair, and his gaze landed immediately on a strand that was sticking up. Without a word, he plucked that strand of hair. Though he said ¡°pluck,¡± he didn¡¯t use any force at all. Based on his frequent hair plucking experience, this strand clearly wasn¡¯t growing from the scalp! But at that moment, he was unaware, and he naturally placed the strand into the machine. Then he looked at the information on the machine and began: ¡°Energy Level Zero, Impurity Grade 0, passed...¡± Jiang Shixue walked through without any issue. The observing crowd nearby nodded to themselves. This beautiful girl was indeed an Ordinary person, a vase kept by those big shots. Wang Tao, who watched the entire scene, was somewhat amazed. The strand of hair on Jiang Shixue¡¯s head clearly wasn¡¯t hers; it had been surreptitiously plucked by Wang Tao from an Ordinary person while they were lining up and placed on Jiang Shixue¡¯s head. Jiang Shixue had previously told Wang Tao that she remembered how to use her Hidden Attributes, the ¡°Eyes of Contract¡±! And her Eyes of Contract could influence, even control the inspector! [Eyes of Contract: Night Vision, partial control over someone else¡¯s thoughts] So, under Jiang Shixue¡¯s influence, the inspector, who initially wanted her fingernail, changed his mind to taking her hair instead, and he directly took that strand away! After Jiang Shixue entered, the inspector showed no reaction; he took out nail clippers. ¡°Sir, I need a piece of your nail.¡± ¡°Here.¡± Wang Tao extended his hand. Soon, the inspector spoke again. ¡°Energy Level Two, Impurity Grade 1, passed...¡± Wang Tao also walked through successfully. Once Wang Tao and his group entered, the nearby people immediately started whispering to each other. ¡°Damn! Their convoy has only nine people, and eight of them are Second-order Superpower Owners, that¡¯s terrifying!¡± ¡°Is this the Firefly Club that used to be the Skull Club? This is much stronger than the Skull Club before!¡± ¡°They must have Level 2 Ability Users guarding their homes too, right? I guess they have at least ten Second-order Superpower Owners!¡± ¡°We should keep a low profile when we see them in the future. After all, our entire force has only two Second-order Superpower Owners...¡± ... Elsewhere. Nie Siyan found it odd, she remembered Wang Tao saying that Jiang Shixue was an Ability User, so how did she become an ordinary person? However, this was Wang Tao¡¯s business, and she wisely refrained from asking too many questions. After a few people got on the vehicle, someone came over specifically to show them the way, and Zijin Base had arranged a place for them to stay. ¡°It¡¯s really big...¡± As she looked around the base, Nie Siyan felt a bit emotional. Wang Tao nodded. The base was indeed large; it was said to have been constructed to accommodate a hundred thousand people. Unfortunately, it was only a half-finished product; the base cooled down before completion. Now although it had been taken over by successors, there was no way to continue the infrastructure construction; they could only make do with what was available. Of course, even as a half-finished product, it was still a very nice place. There were buildings, green plants, roads, and even artificial rivers everywhere. But most importantly, there were many people! In other places, one could only occasionally see human survivors, but in this place, the streets were full of them! Although many had said before that the survivors of the Zijin Base were being exploited and oppressed by their leader, it didn¡¯t seem as severe as the rumors suggested. Because it was clear to see that the nutritional status of the survivors on the streets was better, much better than that of other survivors. Wang Tao reckoned that these survivors could eat at least two meals a day. In a post-apocalyptic situation like this, ensuring an ordinary person one meal a day was considered pretty good; guaranteeing two a day was definitely a high welfare benefit! Especially since this Zijin Base claimed to have a population of ten thousand, being able to manage the food and drink for so many people was quite impressive... After some time, the group was led to a place that looked like a farmstay ¨C the lodging specially arranged by Zijin Base for them. The place was large enough to accommodate other survivors. In fact, it was originally a farmstay. When Zijin Base was established, it simply enclosed certain building areas and then constructed city walls. It wasn¡¯t about encircling a piece of empty land and then constructing various new buildings from scratch; that project would have been too huge... The farmstay was naturally one of the constructions that got enclosed. Wang Tao¡¯s convoy immediately drew a lot of attention as they arrived. It had taken them two days to get there, making them among the later arrivals. After parking their vehicle, Wang Tao and a few others were led by staff to a front desk reception. ¡°Chairwoman Nie, please choose the house you would like,¡± said the staff member, handing a blueprint to Nie Siyan. After all, Nie Siyan was the leader in public. ¡°Do these houses have any differences?¡± asked Nie Siyan with some curiosity. ¡°Here we have various options like siheyuan, detached houses, suites, single rooms, and dormitories.¡± ¡°The ones with a Red mark are already occupied, and if you like a place that¡¯s taken, you can challenge the occupants to a sparring match. According to the rules of Zijin Base, the winner gets the priority...¡± Nie Siyan looked at the blueprint, which was dotted with red, and it seemed like only the dormitories had space left, and not much at that... This made Nie Siyan¡¯s expression turn somewhat unpleasant. Wang Tao, who had been silent beside her, raised an eyebrow. This Zijin Base is interesting... Are they trying to divide us right from the start? Chapter 450 - 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Chapter 450: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 ¡°Excuse me for a moment, you can take your time choosing.¡± Another group of survivors had arrived, and the staff member left the blueprint behind to attend to them. Wang Tao found the blueprint very interesting. The best living environment here is the quadrangle, of which there are only two. But there are four major powers in Zijing City, and excluding the Zijin Base, that leaves three. What does it mean to leave only two quadrangles? Next are the standalone villas, of which there are eight in total. If you say the quadrangles are for the four major powers, then these standalone villas are for the mid-sized powers. But there are at least a dozen or possibly more mid-sized powers in Zijing City, at least that was the count before. And now there are only eight villas¡ªdo they really expect so many mid-sized powers to compete for these few homes? As for the number of suites and single rooms that follow, there are not many of those either. Even the quantity of the collective dormitories is sparse, which is absurd. Do they expect people to camp out in tents? Unless people squeeze a bit into the quadrangles, standalone villas, and suites, there should be enough room to accommodate everyone. But certainly, not many would be willing to share. This isn¡¯t about being stingy, but rather a matter of face. Moreover, Zijin Base¡¯s next move is even more extreme; their residency rules are not based on a first-come, first-served basis, nor does Zijin Base decide the order. Instead, they let these external forces compete among themselves, and only those who win in combat can move in! Each power has three chances to challenge and be challenged, which can only be used during the day. Zijin Base claims that the reason for setting individual duels is to prevent damage to good relationships, as a high-stakes contest where one fight decides everything. Win and you secure a residence, lose and you can either step down or challenge another power. To live in a house, you have to fight for it¡ªquite bizarre indeed. However, most people probably know that Zijin Base is intentionally creating division among them. Because this upgrade operation, in its early stages, is essentially a negotiation, and Zijin Base doesn¡¯t want others to unite too much, which would be disadvantageous for it to exert its influence. But what can you do when you know? It¡¯s an overt scheme that can¡¯t be broken. After all, the other forces are inherently disunited and unlikely to join together to resist Zijin Base. And surely, many would relish the chance to challenge others. After all, there are no firsts in literature and seconds in martial arts. With the previous rankings, there are definitely those who are not satisfied. Now that everyone is gathered together, Zijin Base has provided this opportunity, which is perfect for a show of strength. This isn¡¯t just about face and vanity, but also reputation. If these forces want to develop in the post-apocalyptic world, they need a lot of people. And the simplest way to attract people is to have a good reputation. Good welfare is one aspect, and strength is another¡ªand the latter is more important! After all, this is a perilous post-apocalyptic world; one can make do even with poor welfare benefits, but without strength, one would die... ¡°Brother Wang, how should we choose?¡± Nie Siyan sidled up to Wang Tao and asked quietly. She was no fool and could naturally see Zijin Base¡¯s sinister intentions, but she was conflicted. ¡°Whatever.¡± Wang Tao responded nonchalantly. He often just found any place to sleep when he was in the wilderness and wasn¡¯t very concerned about the sleeping environment. ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s mouth fell open in surprise; she used to hate the word ¡°whatever¡± the most. But now that it came from Wang Tao, she was bitterly amused. Moreover, Nie Siyan felt that even though Wang Tao said ¡°whatever,¡± it could be a test for her. She couldn¡¯t just choose anything... ¡°No one would choose the bad places¡ªchoosing those would embarrass me, and Brother Wang would be unhappy. But the good places are already taken. To choose one, I would need to fight for it...¡± Nie Siyan looked at the standalone villas with a twinge of eagerness. Her abilities were much improved from the past; she was not the same person she used to be! Nevertheless, after pondering for a moment, she decided to play it safe and go for a compromise by choosing a mid-tier suite. The main reason was Wang Tao¡¯s presence. If he was not there, she would certainly go for broke¡ªlosing would just mean losing; she wasn¡¯t afraid of embarrassment with her thick skin. But with Wang Tao there, if she lost, wouldn¡¯t that be a disgrace for him? Hence, choosing a suite was the safer bet. However, just then a group of people passed by, engaged in a hushed conversation. Nie Siyan, with her sharp hearing, caught every word. ¡°... Observing for so long, which power should we challenge?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rush! Each power only has three chances to challenge; we must seize them wisely! It doesn¡¯t matter about face, but I¡¯ve heard Zijin Base has spent a hefty sum this time, preparing a welcome gift for the higher-ranking powers, including a Level 2 Crystal Core! And how is this ranking determined? It can¡¯t possibly be by voting, right? It has to be fought out...¡± Nie Siyan caught the conversation, and naturally, Wang Tao heard it too. Wang Tao felt these people were like plants. What were the odds that people would just happen to pass by discussing this while choosing residences? And they spoke with such detail that a Second-order Superpower Owner could hear everything clearly. But this too was an overt scheme. After all, a Level 2 Crystal Core is something everyone lacks and desires. However, Wang Tao kept silent; how to choose was Nie Siyan¡¯s decision, and he would not interfere too much. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ve decided to fight for a villa!¡± A moment later, Nie Siyan declared resolutely. Chapter 451: 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Chapter 451: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 She also knew that this might be a routine of the Zijin Base, but for the sake of a Level 2 Crystal Core, she was willing to take the gamble. After all, Wang Tao had given her so many Level 2 Crystal Cores, and she had been thinking of finding an opportunity to pay him back... ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much either. Nie Siyan looked over the 8 villas and chose the number 8 building, which she deemed to be particularly auspicious. She stretched out her hand to call over a staff member. Upon seeing Nie Siyan¡¯s choice, the staff member¡¯s face immediately broke into a brilliant smile. ¡°Chairman Nie, are you sure you want to choose Villa number 8 as your challenge? Villa number 8 is currently occupied by people from the Thunder Guild...¡± ¡°...¡± Hearing the words ¡°Thunder Guild,¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s expression changed. Wang Tao¡¯s brow rose. Before coming here, he had naturally understood the situation of the major forces in Zijing City from Nie Siyan. The Thunder Guild was one of the top among these dozen or so mid-level forces. Many people felt that the Thunder Guild was one of the forces most likely to be promoted to a large-scale force. The only things they lacked were population and a base¡ªthat meant their high-end combat power was very strong! Nie Siyan also didn¡¯t expect that her casual choice would turn out to be a tough nut to crack. Looking at the staff member¡¯s smile, Nie Siyan couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that she was being mocked. She subconsciously looked at Wang Tao and seeing no change in his expression, she steeled her heart. ¡°Confirmed, this one!¡± Canceling now would mean losing face for Wang Tao. You can¡¯t lose face even if you lose the game; after all, there are three chances, and she can keep going later if needed. Besides, she was feeling very confident about her strength, believing that she was no less capable than anyone else! ¡°Alright Chairman Nie, the Thunder Guild has not been challenged before, so you may choose them...¡± The staff member had Nie Siyan sign her own name and her force¡¯s name, then had Wang Tao and his group follow him. The challenge wasn¡¯t convoluted with many rules; it was simply a 1v1, with the loser stepping down. As long as one is ready to challenge and the other is ready to be challenged, they can proceed straightaway. The news of Nie Siyan choosing the Thunder Guild as her challenge wasn¡¯t known to many, but by the time several individuals arrived at Villa number 8, a large crowd had already gathered. Clearly, the people at the Zijin Base were secretly passing the message around, as if they couldn¡¯t wait for chaos to ensue. Nie Siyan was a bit nervous at first, but seeing so many spectators, she felt less so. It¡¯s just the Thunder Guild, let¡¯s take them down! At that moment, the villa¡¯s main gate opened, and a group of people emerged. They were from the Thunder Guild. The Firefly Club and the Thunder Guild were both considered mid-sized forces, but the spirit of the two groups was entirely different. The Thunder Guild¡¯s members all wore matching uniforms, carried the same machetes, and had the same lightning tattoos on their faces... they looked extraordinary. On the other hand, the Firefly Club looked more like a collection of traditional survivors, each dressed differently, with no particular aura, creating a bit of a chaotic scene. However, the biggest attraction was on the side of the Firefly Club; a pair of beautiful women and two strong men naturally drew a lot of attention. ¡°What is the Firefly Club? How come I¡¯ve never heard of them before?¡± Among the Thunder Guild group, someone spoke up loudly. The sarcasm in their voice was very apparent. ¡°They are just a predecessor of the Skull Club! Just a second-rate force that struggles to survive in Zijing City through deceiving and swindling.¡± Another member of the Thunder Guild chimed in. ¡°Ah? So they¡¯re the former Skull Club! How could such a lousy force dare to participate in the ¡®Promotion Operation¡¯? They are really overestimating themselves!¡± Another person feigned sudden enlightenment. ¡°...¡± Ten people from the Thunder Guild had come out, and all ten were loudly mocking the Firefly Club. They were angry because they had thought nobody would be foolish enough to challenge them. But to their surprise, someone had indeed come to challenge them without even letting them settle in, and it was the weak Firefly Club to boot. By choosing them, wasn¡¯t the Firefly Club implying that they saw the Thunder Guild as the weaker one? In some way, this was a form of mockery, and everyone from the Thunder Guild was furious. So, they planned to teach the Firefly Club a harsh lesson. But before doing so, they wanted to vent their frustration with some harsh words. Wang Tao and his companions were indifferent to these comments; they weren¡¯t members of the Firefly Club, after all. But Nie Siyan¡¯s expression was grim. She was resolved to teach these people a lesson later! Then, from among the Thunder Guild, a short and stout figure stepped forward. He pointed arrogantly at Wang Tao and the others. ¡°I am Ma Wen, an Ordinary Hall Master of the Thunder Guild, who¡¯s up? Make it quick, I¡¯m in a hurry.¡± His attitude almost screamed, ¡°I am invincible, choose at your leisure.¡± More and more onlookers gathered around, curious about the situation and wondering who would win. Most of them thought the Thunder Guild had higher chances. Those familiar with the Thunder Guild looked on with contempt. ¡°The Thunder Guild is shameless, sending Ma Wen to fight the first battle. He¡¯s not just an Ordinary Hall Master but one with super strong combat power!¡± ¡°So vicious, if the Firefly Club actually falls for it, they might just meet their downfall...¡± ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan prepared to take to the field herself. She didn¡¯t know this Ma Wen, but she thought she should be fine. They were both Second-order Ability Users, so what was there to be afraid of! Chapter 452: 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Chapter 452: Chapter 201 Challenge (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 ¡°` However, at this moment, Wang Tao suddenly whispered: ¡°You can¡¯t beat him, let Xu Xiaojun go.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat puzzled; she didn¡¯t feel that this Ma Wen was that strong, right? But these were Wang Tao¡¯s words, so naturally she believed them. ¡°Little Jun, then it¡¯s your turn.¡± Nie Siyan courteously said to Xu Xiaojun. She certainly wouldn¡¯t let one of Wang Tao¡¯s people take action herself, as she didn¡¯t have the authority, but if Wang Tao had offered it himself, then naturally there was no problem. ¡°Heh heh, just call me Little Jun.¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and then stood up. His figure, when he stood up, still created a very strong sense of pressure. Especially in comparison with Thunder Guild¡¯s Ma Wen, it was simply like the difference between a dwarf and a giant. Of course, a large physique could only mean he might be stronger, but the strength of overall capabilities is multifaceted, especially since everyone is an Ability User, where Abilities are more important than physical qualities! So even though Xu Xiaojun¡¯s figure looked quite intimidating, the majority of people still thought Ma Wen had a greater chance of winning. However, Ma Wen furrowed his brows, because he discovered that he couldn¡¯t see through Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength. Ability Users who had just leveled up not long ago were not yet accustomed to their strength, couldn¡¯t hide it well, and so it was quite easy for other Ability Users to sense it. As for those like Xu Xiaojun, whose specific strength couldn¡¯t be clearly perceived by others, they must have been in Level Two for a long time. Of course, he was not afraid. After all, he too had entered Level Two quite early! ¡°Come on!¡± Ma Wen took out a Firefighter Axe, pointed at Xu Xiaojun, struck a pose, exuding the air of a boss. The Firefighter Axe indeed was a handy weapon; many survivors liked to use it. Xu Xiaojun also took out a Firefighter Axe; Wang Tao said he didn¡¯t need to use the Giant Axe, a Firefighter Axe would be enough to deal with this kind of person. ¡°I am an Ordinary member of the Firefly Club, Xu Xiaojun.¡± Seeing that Ma Wen was letting him attack first, Xu Xiaojun didn¡¯t bother with niceties and introduced himself. Then he instantly activated his Rush Ability. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Ma Wen didn¡¯t even have time to react before everything went dark, and then he felt like he had been hit by a dump truck, flying off the ground. ¡°Ma Wen!¡± He vaguely sensed his comrades calling out to him, but the wind was too loud; he couldn¡¯t hear them clearly. Bang! Ma Wen slammed hard into a nearby tree, causing many green leaves to fall down. Spurt¡ª¡ª Ma Wen spat out a mouthful of blood; he struggled to get up from the ground, looking at Xu Xiaojun with a face full of terror. He had seen the Rush Ability before, but never one this fast! But before he could speak, he saw Xu Xiaojun launching another Rush attack at him. ¡°Dammit!¡± Ma Wen cursed under his breath, but this time he was slightly prepared. He immediately activated his Ability, and his skin suddenly turned black. ¡°Toughness!¡± Those who were familiar with this Ability immediately voiced out. Bang! Xu Xiaojun rushed over again. But this time Ma Wen had activated Toughness, and although he was pushed back several meters, he still withstood the blow. Seeing that he had stopped Xu Xiaojun¡¯s large frame, Ma Wen grinned, blood flowing from his full mouth. ¡°` ¡°You¡¯re dead!¡± A steel nail suddenly appeared in his mouth! It shot directly towards Xu Xiaojun¡¯s throat. Clang! Xu Xiaojun¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t slow. Having been with Wang Tao for so long and having seen so many abilities, he was naturally clear about the Spittle Nail ability. As he saw Ma Wen open his mouth wide, he was ready. When Ma Wen spat out the nail, Xu Xiaojun immediately blocked the strike with the steel plate bracer on his forearm. Then, Xu Xiaojun let out a roar and punched towards Ma Wen¡¯s stomach. Ma Wen had never expected Xu Xiaojun to dodge his sure-kill attack. While his face still registered shock, he was struck in the abdomen by Xu Xiaojun¡¯s fist. Bang! Ma Wen was sent flying again, but this time in the opposite direction, flying straight towards Wang Tao and Nie Siyan¡¯s location. The other onlookers quickly scattered to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Xu Xiaojun prepared to launch another Rush. The rule of the duel was to fight until one party surrendered or died. In other words, as long as there was no surrender, the battle wasn¡¯t over. The people from Thunder Guild had gone from the initial shock and disbelief to now fear and worry... The change in their emotions was quite spectacular. Seeing Xu Xiaojun relentless in his advantage and preparing to collide with Ma Wen once more, someone from their group was already opening their mouth to concede. The battle between survivors was different from that with zombies. Zombies had few weaknesses, didn¡¯t feel pain, while survivors had many weaknesses and a limit to what they could endure. If one got the upper hand in a battle between survivors, and the other was an individual with rich combat experience, the defeated could be continually oppressed until death! So, although they were reluctant, they knew there was no chance left. If they didn¡¯t concede now, Ma Wen might not be beaten to death, but he¡¯d certainly be beaten half to death. At this moment, as Wang Tao watched Ma Wen flying towards him, and then turned to see the people from Thunder Guild ready to concede, he suddenly swiftly instructed Nie Siyan: ¡°Get the rebar, aim at him.¡± One of Nie Siyan¡¯s weapons included a sharpened piece of rebar that could be used for close combat or thrown. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s command, Nie Siyan froze for a moment. However, before her mind could catch up, her hand had already grabbed a sharp piece of rebar. Then she saw Ma Wen fly directly towards her. Thud! A sharp piece of rebar pierced through Ma Wen¡¯s throat. ¡°You...¡± Ma Wen¡¯s eyes widened in unwillingness, then his HP dropped to zero. ¡°Ma Wen!¡± The people from Thunder Guild were stunned for a second and then erupted in anger. They couldn¡¯t believe that Ma Wen was dead! He had run into someone else¡¯s weapon¡ªIn most people¡¯s eyes, it seemed as if Ma Wen had run into the rebar by accident. Only a few saw that Nie Siyan didn¡¯t originally have a weapon in her hand. If she hadn¡¯t suddenly grabbed a weapon, Ma Wen might not have died. ¡°You killed my brother; you¡¯re asking for death!¡± The members of Thunder Guild immediately drew their weapons, ready to fight. They hadn¡¯t seen Nie Siyan¡¯s action clearly; they also thought it was an accident. But at that moment, whether it was an accident or not was irrelevant. They needed to vent their anger, demand compensation! Wang Tao looked at these people, his gaze growing even colder. If Ma Wen hadn¡¯t suddenly made a sneak attack on Xu Xiaojun just now, he wouldn¡¯t have let Nie Siyan kill him. Now, seeing this group¡¯s reaction, still not convinced? Well, then they couldn¡¯t blame him for being impolite, considering they were all walking around with Level 2 Crystal Cores. ¡°Stop!¡± But at this moment, a commanding female voice suddenly rang out. A team of striking women stepped out from the crowd, with the leader speaking coolly: ¡°This is a fair duel, abide by the bet. Do not escalate the conflict!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised to see these women. Those who recognized them exclaimed in astonishment. ¡°People from the club!¡± Chapter 453: 202 Club (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Chapter 453: Chapter 202 Club (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Vast, commonly known as the Club, one of the four major powers in Zijing City! The Club does not recruit men; it is entirely female and is a beautiful sight in Zijing City. Of course, what¡¯s even more impressive is their strength. This is one of the four major forces, an existence on par with Zijin Base, not to be trifled with by anyone. When they stood up to prevent the conflict from escalating, no one dared to disobey. ¡°But they killed our people!¡± The Thunder Guild members didn¡¯t dare to move forward, but one of them shouted in anger. ¡°In the fight of blades and swords, one must be prepared for injury or even death. Have you survived the apocalypse for so long without understanding even this much?¡± The leading member of the Club spoke. Her face was calm, her tone authoritative. ¡°This was one of our Thunder Guild¡¯s most promising Ability Users for a Level 3 Ascension. Are you saying our man died in vain?¡± Several people from the Thunder Guild were obviously dissatisfied. Now that the Club had intervened, a fight was no longer possible, so they could only try to negotiate some compensation. To their remark, the woman¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, but what she said made the Thunder Guild members quite embarrassed. ¡°It was your people who made the lethal move first. If he died, it was his own fault.¡± ¡°...¡± After a moment of silence, the leader of the Thunder Guild members glared fiercely at Nie Siyan and said with a sinister tone, ¡°Firefly Club, huh? We¡¯ll see about this!¡± They were ready to take Ma Wen¡¯s body away, but Wang Tao, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward, blocking the Thunder Guild members. ¡°Wait a moment.¡± ¡°What else do you want to do!¡± Several members were furious. They didn¡¯t recognize Wang Tao, but since he was with Nie Siyan, he was obviously from the Firefly Club. If the Club members weren¡¯t there, just for this obstruction by Wang Tao, they would have faced serious consequences! ¡°Shh¡ª¡± Wang Tao suddenly made a gesture for silence. All the others looked over curiously, even the women from the Club were very curious about what this hulking man was up to. Then, everyone seemed to hear a ¡°crackling¡± noise. Some people in the crowd suddenly turned to look at Ma Wen¡¯s body on the ground. Crack¡ªcrack¡ª Ma Wen, who was already dead, suddenly began to twist his body and rise up. He slowly lifted his head, his murky eyes looking at Wang Tao and his group! Following Wang Tao¡¯s signal, Xu Xiaojun immediately raised his axe and hacked wildly at Ma Wen¡¯s head, with Wang Tao stepping on the body to prevent it from running amok. Splurt! Zombie Ma Wen¡¯s HP dropped to zero again. Xu Xiaojun skillfully pried the Crystal Core out from the zombie¡¯s head and then retreated behind Nie Siyan. Wang Tao immediately gestured to the Thunder Guild members, inviting them to proceed. ¡°Alright, you can take him now.¡± Then Wang Tao too retreated behind Nie Siyan, the two standing one on each side of her, looking like bodyguards. All these events may sound lengthy, but in actuality, they happened in just over ten seconds. ¡°You! Aaaargh! You¡¯ve gone too far!¡± The Thunder Guild members were nearly driven mad. They had never before felt such humiliation! They glared fiercely at Nie Siyan and the others, as if they wanted to devour the members of the Firefly Club alive! If it weren¡¯t for their leader, who was just about calm enough to know a conflict should not erupt at this moment, they might have really come to blows. This time, the Thunder Guild members said nothing and simply dragged away the legs of Zombie Ma Wen, ready to leave. But just then, a squad of fully Armed soldiers in protective suits arrived. They surrounded the Thunder Guild group. ¡°Decontaminating the zombie virus, clear the area!¡± ¡°Warning! Drop the zombie corpse, or we will open fire!¡± ¡°...¡± Looking at Zijin Base¡¯s Decontamination Squad, the Thunder Guild members felt as if their heads were steaming, but they dared not speak. They could only bitterly drop their companion¡¯s body and slink away. The main party gone, the rest began to disperse, leaving the Decontamination Squad to clean up the zombie virus. Many looked at the departing Thunder Guild members with a touch of sympathy. What a tragic group of people! They lost a life, a villa, their dignity, and were trampled upon at the end... such misery! As everyone¡¯s gaze shifted back to Nie Siyan, it was filled with a hint of reverence. At any time, the strong are respected. Nie Siyan did not display her own strength, but that large man under her command had. With such strong strength in a subordinate, how powerful must Nie Siyan herself be? How strong must the whole Firefly Club be? Indeed, the rumors and information were unreliable! The power of the Firefly Club was not at the bottom among the medium forces, but on top, just like the Thunder Guild! Nie Siyan, relishing in everyone¡¯s gaze, felt ecstatic, her legs involuntarily clenching together. She loved the feeling of showing off in front of people! At this moment, the women from the Club came forward, standing in front of Nie Siyan. ¡°Hello, I am Nie Siyan, president of the Firefly Club. Thank you for upholding justice!¡± Nie Siyan hastily spoke. The leading woman nodded, but then with a serious face, she said, ¡°This was, after all, a duel, not a battle to the death. There was no need for fatal blows. Let this not happen again.¡± As she spoke, she glanced at Wang Tao, her eyes containing a hint of displeasure. Wang Tao¡¯s brows rose. This woman, she was warning him? The woman, having spoken, turned to leave. But Wang Tao suddenly spoke up, ¡°Are all the people from your Club this rude? Our president has introduced herself by name, and you leave without even a greeting? Do you look down on us smaller forces?¡± Chapter 454: 202 Clubhouse (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Chapter 454: Chapter 202 Clubhouse (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 As soon as these words came out, the group of women all looked displeasedly at Wang Tao. Although they admitted that they liked Wang Tao¡¯s face and figure, that was no reason for him to accuse them of rudeness! The woman leading the club was about to say something, but Wang Tao beat her to it. ¡°That¡¯s true, we small forces certainly can¡¯t compare with you, and not being respected is to be expected. After all, you¡¯re one of the big four forces. It¡¯s not just respect, we¡¯re not even worthy of knowing your names...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s words immediately resonated with some of those around him who felt similarly aggrieved. They didn¡¯t dare to say anything, but there was unmistakable annoyance in their eyes. In fact, they hadn¡¯t thought there was anything amiss until Wang Tao put it that way. They instantly felt that these people from the big forces indeed didn¡¯t take them seriously. Their leader had greeted them very courteously only to receive rebuke in return. After all, this was a leader of a faction, and they didn¡¯t even give him that much respect... Sympathizing with the underdog is in many people¡¯s nature, especially when they themselves are the underdogs compared to the big four forces. The club¡¯s leader furrowed her brows upon seeing this. Especially when she saw Wang Tao smiling at her, she, who rarely got angry, felt a sudden urge to beat him up. Of course, she definitely wouldn¡¯t do that. The woman gave Wang Tao a deep look, then turned to Nie Siyan and extended her hand. ¡°Hello, my name is Lu Yingfeng, Leader of the First Vast Club.¡± Lu Yingfeng was a beauty. Not the kind with fair skin, stunning looks, and long legs, but rather a woman with well-defined features, standing at 1.7 meters tall with somewhat rough, wheat-colored skin. She was fully covered, with only her face exposed ¨C the standard attire of a survivor. In stark contrast to her unassuming appearance, Nie Siyan¡¯s leather outfit seemed quite extravagant. ¡°Hello!¡± Nie Siyan hurriedly shook hands with Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng nodded then, without saying much more, led the still-somewhat-frustrated women away. However, before they left, Lu Yingfeng spotted Jiang Shixue behind Wang Tao. This caught her attention. ¡°Such clear eyes... This is someone who has not been tainted by the apocalypse!¡± Lu Yingfeng immediately entertained the idea of recruiting Jiang Shixue into her organization. But given the current awkward situation between them, she said nothing more and simply made a mental note of the girl before departing. And the direction they headed in... Building No. 7? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the Firefly Club and the clubhouse were neighbors? There were only two quadrangle dwellings, but with three remaining big forces, surely one would end up in a detached villa. When the clubhouse people showed up here, Wang Tao had his suspicions. After all, the quadrangle was a bit too far to just happen along this way. But he hadn¡¯t expected them to be neighbors... When the clubhouse people left, the onlookers started whispering among themselves. ¡°My god, that¡¯s Lu Yingfeng!¡± ¡°The second-ranked expert in the clubhouse! I heard she¡¯s only a hair weaker than their leader!¡± ¡°No, I think Lu Yingfeng is even stronger than their leader! I had the fortune of seeing her in battle once. She faced six Level 2 Zombies, and it was like slaughtering chickens ¨C an absolute crush! But she was wearing a mask during the fight, so I didn¡¯t recognize her just now...¡± ¡°...¡± As Wang Tao listened to these people, his expression didn¡¯t change. He knew this woman was strong, after all, 29,999 HP. [HP: 29,999/29,999] [Mana: 6,800/6,800] [Grade: Level 2] [Hidden attribute: Hate the wicked as if they were enemies] [Hate the wicked as if they were enemies: Slightly increases damage when attacking someone she perceives as a bad person] [Internal Impurity: 24%] Lu Yingfeng¡¯s HP had reached the upper limit for Level Two, and she had a mana pool of 6,800. If she hadn¡¯t used any items to increase her mana, perhaps she had leveled up an ability to Level Two +10. Her strength was indeed formidable. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a Level Two +10 Special Ability. Of course, this was by Wang Tao¡¯s deliberate control. His main task at the moment wasn¡¯t leveling up his Special Ability Level but to synthetize abilities first. He wanted to fuse all his abilities to their limit before upgrading. As for Lu Yingfeng, she also had a Hidden Ability, and quite an interesting one at that. As long as she thought you were a bad person, then the damage she dealt to you would increase! Even if the increase wasn¡¯t high, it was still an increase, which was quite awesome. Unfortunately, Lu Yingfeng couldn¡¯t see her own Hidden Attributes, so she probably couldn¡¯t fully utilize this Hidden Ability. Especially after a brief interaction with her, Wang Tao had some understanding of her character. She was someone who valued fairness and at times, even during battle, might not truly regard her opponent as a bad person, rather just someone with a different standpoint. In that case, the effect of this Hidden Ability wouldn¡¯t come into play. It was a bit of a pity... ¡°Brother Wang, we haven¡¯t offended the clubhouse, have we?¡± Nie Siyan suddenly whispered beside Wang Tao. ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Wang Tao smiled. ¡°Not afraid!¡± Nie Siyan was indeed a bit afraid, but she certainly wouldn¡¯t admit it. ¡°Then that settles it, let¡¯s go and check out the villa,¡± Wang Tao said unconcernedly. ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan immediately gestured, leading the others toward the villa. As she moved, the surrounding onlookers immediately made way, watching them with a mixture of awe and respect. Chapter 455 - 202 Clubhouse (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Chapter 455: Chapter 202 Clubhouse (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Nie Siyan¡¯s face remained impassive, as if she were utterly calm, but inside, she was almost giddy with delight. This is what it feels like to be powerful! A group of people arrived at Villa No. 8. The villa had four floors in total, with three above ground and one below. There was a large courtyard in front of the villa and a garage that could accommodate three cars at the back. There were also man-made lakes, fish ponds... It had to be said, the environment here was really nice, almost like before the apocalypse, without that end-of-the-world feeling, as if it were a haven from the world. ¡°How beautiful!¡± Nie Siyan exclaimed in admiration before becoming somewhat wistful, ¡°I can¡¯t even imagine how nice the quadrangle dwellings must be...¡± When she said ¡°nice,¡± she wasn¡¯t just talking about the environment but also about status. Originally, she hadn¡¯t given much thought to these things because she knew her own strength. But now, having received Wang Tao¡¯s help, she felt that there might just be a possibility for her status to continue climbing? The staff led them inside the villa, left the keys, went over some precautions, and then departed. From now on, until they left, this villa belonged to Wang Tao and his group. Of course, that was as long as they weren¡¯t defeated by someone else. Judging by the strength displayed today, there shouldn¡¯t be anyone foolish enough to challenge them. ¡°Brother Wang, you must be tired. Let me give you a leg massage!¡± After a brief tour of the villa, Nie Siyan approached Wang Tao, her face blushing as she offered. Just by the look of Nie Siyan¡¯s offer, you could tell this leg massage wouldn¡¯t be entirely appropriate. ¡°Let¡¯s cook first.¡± By this time, it was already evening, so Wang Tao asked Xu Xiaojun to cook. Despite Xu Xiaojun¡¯s burly appearance, his culinary skills were quite decent. Moreover, the villa came with a supply of fresh vegetables and meats! It had to be said, Zijin Base was really generous. Thunder Guild had probably just arrived not long ago and hadn¡¯t used any of these items yet. After instructing Xu Xiaojun, Wang Tao went up to the villa¡¯s rooftop to exchange some tips on leg massages with Nie Siyan. After spending some time there, Nie Siyan internalized all of Wang Tao¡¯s tips, feeling as if she was so full of knowledge that she didn¡¯t even need dinner. At that point, someone came to the door. It was an invitation for Nie Siyan to attend a banquet. Wang Tao initially thought the banquet was hosted by Zijin Base, but later found out it wasn¡¯t. It was organized by those dozen or so mid-sized forces... Their purpose in coming to Zijin Base was naturally for that so-called upgrade operation. This upgrade operation was essentially about concentrating resources to produce a Level 3 ability user! Everyone wanted to be a Level 3 ability user, but they all knew that spots were limited. The four major forces certainly had their spots, but it was a different story for the other forces. Thus, before the official start of the upgrade operation, these mid-level forces wanted to touch base with each other and form teams or alliances. Nie Siyan felt that forming alliances was unrealistic. If alliances could be formed, they would have been formed already ¡ª who would wait until now? Even if they did form an alliance, it would likely be nothing more than a verbal agreement, which could collapse under even the slightest external pressure. However, Nie Siyan still planned to go. They had invited her earnestly; it would be rude not to go. And now, she was the club president, after all ¡ª she had to at least fulfil her ceremonial duties. Plus, she wanted to see what these people were thinking and whether there was any insider information. Of course, there was another important reason: she wanted to see if these people had any Crystal Cores ¡ª she always remembered Wang Tao¡¯s mission to trade for Crystal Cores! Wang Tao currently needed Level 2 and Level 3 Crystal Cores. But there was no point in thinking about Level 3 Crystal Cores; it was unlikely anyone had them. And even if they did, they wouldn¡¯t want to trade them. As for Level 2 Crystal Cores, they could include those for ascension, omnipotent ones, and his own usage, in addition to the unknown-purpose Cores, all of which were tradable. If there were any special Level 1 Crystal Cores, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t disdain them either. What Wang Tao could offer in trade were primarily Level 1 Crystal Cores and various potions. The Crystal Cores were all above Blue Quality, primarily Purple, with the occasional Red one. He wasn¡¯t bringing out any Orange ones for now. When it came to potions, aside from some medium-sized bottles and some potions he couldn¡¯t currently produce, other manufacturable potions were all tradable! Especially something like the Rejuvenation Potion, which didn¡¯t require core materials, had low costs, and was very simple to produce ¡ª it might just be Wang Tao¡¯s main product this time. After all, as long as he had Crystal Cores, he could produce as much of this potion as needed. Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan some samples, telling her to pitch them if the opportunity arose. ¡°Brother Wang, just wait for my good news!¡± Nie Siyan spoke confidently. There was no need to mention the Crystal Cores; even these potions were a first for her to hear about, and she was tempted herself, let alone other people. There was no doubt that these Crystal Cores and potions would sell well. The main question was what price they would fetch. Nie Siyan had been in business before the apocalypse and was confident of fetching high prices. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wang Tao patted Nie Siyan¡¯s backside, and she left with Zhu Han and another ability user. After all, as the president of the Firefly Club, she needed to bring some people along for appearances. Wang Tao was preparing to go down for dinner when someone else arrived at the villa. Again, it was an invitation to a banquet. But this time, the invitation wasn¡¯t for Nie Siyan; it was a specific invitation for Wang Tao. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t initially interested in going. He thought it might be an invitation from some small force. After all, the mid-sized forces had already invited Nie Siyan, and they were now gathering together. However, when the visitors revealed their affiliation, Wang Tao suddenly became intrigued. ¡°The club inviting me? And Lu Yingfeng specifically requested it? Interesting...¡± The visitors mentioned that since their place was full of women, it was a bit inconvenient, which was why only Wang Tao, a man, was invited. Wang Tao looked around, and apart from Jiang Shixue, the rest were men. ¡°Little Jun, you guys have dinner. Little Xue and I are going to see what¡¯s up.¡± Wang Tao planned to take Jiang Shixue along for a meal. ¡°Okay!¡± So, holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, Wang Tao headed to Villa No. 7. Chapter 456 - 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Chapter 456: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Villa No. 7. On the first floor, in the open kitchen. ¡°Pass me the vegetables.¡± ¡°Which vegetables?¡± ¡°The green ones.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Is there any steak?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How about lamb chops?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Pork chops must be there, right?¡± ¡°Also no.¡± ¡°...¡± A slender woman wearing a light pink house dress was cooking. Next to her, a tall woman in shorts and a tank top was assisting. They hadn¡¯t done much cooking, but both were sweating profusely. Lu Yingfeng looked at Lan Yulian, who was busy in front of her, and really wanted to say: Sister, if we can¡¯t do it, let¡¯s just stop, okay? But seeing the other¡¯s heartily smiling face, though in a flurry, she held back. Forget it, it was rare to see Lan Yulian so happy, she didn¡¯t want to dampen her spirits... After some more bustling about, someone came in to report. ¡°Boss, Chief, Wang Tao is here, but he has brought someone with him.¡± Lan Yulian was concentrating on cooking and didn¡¯t respond. Lu Yingfeng, on hearing this, frowned, somewhat displeased. ¡°Didn¡¯t we invite only him? Why did he bring someone else?¡± The person at the door quickly said: ¡°He brought a woman.¡± ¡°Nie Siyan?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s a pretty high school girl.¡± It¡¯s her! Lu Yingfeng¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. ¡°Quick, invite them in!¡± Only then did Lan Yulian lift her head, looking at Lu Yingfeng with a puzzled face. ¡°You... don¡¯t tell me you have some special fetish?¡± As she spoke, she purposely shrank her body as if she were very scared. ¡°Hmph! Even if I had a special fetish, I¡¯d feast on you first!¡± Lu Yingfeng glared at Lan Yulian and then explained. ¡°Firefly Club has just nine members, among whom there are only two women. If it¡¯s not Nie Siyan, then it must be the girl I told you about before!¡± ¡°Oh? The one you said has very pure eyes, that just by making eye contact, one could instantly calm down? That pretty girl?¡± Lan Yulian also showed some interest. ¡°It should be her!¡± ¡°Then I really have to see if she¡¯s as mystical as you say...¡± Lan Yulian was skeptical. ¡°You¡¯ll see in a bit.¡± Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t elaborate further, describing that pure gaze was really hard. A moment later, two figures, one tall and one short, appeared at the doorway. ¡°Mr. Wang, please come in.¡± Wang Tao walked in holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand. He immediately noticed the two women busy in the kitchen. The women naturally saw him too. However, the women¡¯s gaze lingered on Wang Tao for a moment, then quickly shifted to Jiang Shixue. Upon making eye contact with Jiang Shixue, Lan Yulian immediately thought¡ªYing Feng hadn¡¯t lied to her! ¡°Welcome!¡± Lu Yingfeng walked over quickly. She stood in front of Wang Tao and reached out her hand in a bold gesture: ¡°I was in the wrong for what happened this afternoon. I apologize to you.¡± ¡°Oh? What happened this afternoon? I¡¯ve already forgotten.¡± Wang Tao smiled and shook her hand. Lu Yingfeng¡¯s hand was rough and tough. Clearly, she was someone used to fighting often. While shaking hands, Wang Tao brazenly looked Lu Yingfeng up and down. Now Ying Feng was not dressed in the survivor¡¯s outfit from the afternoon, but in sports shorts, a tank top, and slippers, her long, heaven-defying legs fully on display, and you could even catch glimpses of her abs. On her exposed arms and thighs, one could also clearly see the streamlined muscles. In her countenance, there was a hint of determination, inspiring involuntary awe. This was a pretty, healthy, resolute woman with considerable combat power¡ªWang Tao made such an assessment in his mind. Her appearance might scare off some men, but Wang Tao looked a few times more. He found this kind of slightly muscular, healthy body to have a special kind of beauty, which he liked very much, especially since his own muscles were much more exaggerated. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Ying Feng was surprisingly not offended. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, did they seem different from others? She subconsciously straightened her chest, which drew Wang Tao¡¯s attention. Then... forgot about it, it was flat as a plain, nothing notable. Wang Tao immediately shifted his gaze. After looking around, he smelled the faint aroma of food and said with some surprise: ¡°Miss Lu, did you only invite me today?¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s expression suddenly stiffened. What do you mean by that? Without replying, Lan Yulian, who was not far away, wiped her hands and walked over with a smile. ¡°Yes, we only invited Mr. Wang, of course, and this beautiful lady. Let¡¯s get acquainted, my name is Lan Yulian, I¡¯m the leader of Vast.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, my name is Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao shook hands with her. Her hand was completely different from Ying Feng¡¯s, delicate and soft like that of a young lady who had never done any hard work, making one feel the urge to play with it carefully. Lan Yulian and Ying Feng were like two completely different paintings. At a glance, Ying Feng was a strong survivor of the apocalypse, and even though she had a great figure and was pretty, she would still make most men keep their distance. Lan Yulian was different. With her fair skin and delicate features and standing only at 1.6 meters, even dressed in loose-fitting home clothes, her curvy, shapely figure was evident. And especially when her captivating peach-blossom eyes looked at you with a teasing smile, probably not many men could withstand it. Chapter 457: 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Chapter 457: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Of course, Wang Tao was not such a shallow person. When he observed Lan Yulian, he naturally saw her attributes as well. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 4800/4800] [Grade: Level 2] [Hidden Property: Saving Lives] [Saving Lives: Quite adept at treating and saving people] [Internal Impurity: 22%] Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both had 29999 HP, which wasn¡¯t a surprise, since she was also a leader of a major power. But this hidden property raised Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows. Saving the dying and healing the injured? Skilled at saving people? Could it be that she was a healer? Speaking of healers, Wang Tao thought of Ding Yuqin, whose blood replenishing pack¡¯s hidden ability was incredibly useful. It could relax and replenish blood. It was just unclear what Lan Yulian¡¯s situation was, and how she went about saving people? ¡°Mr. Wang, are you holding on well?¡± Lan Yulian asked with a smile. ¡°Ahem.¡± Wang Tao then released Lan Yulian¡¯s soft and delicate hand. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao was taking advantage of her; it was just too soft and made it somewhat irresistible. Lan Yulian gave Wang Tao a charming look before making a gesture of invitation. ¡°Mr. Wang, please have a seat, and this lady... please sit down as well.¡± ¡°Her name is Jiang Shixue, she¡¯s a little socially anxious.¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced her; the social anxiety was of course an excuse, but it was true that Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t like to talk much to others. ¡°Jiang Shixue, what a nice name!¡± Lu Yingfeng muttered from the side. After Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue took their seats, Lan Yulian continued cooking, while Lu Yingfeng sat beside Wang Tao to keep him company. ¡°Why have you invited me alone? What¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± Wang Tao asked straightforwardly. In Wang Tao¡¯s memory, he shouldn¡¯t have had any contact with this club. He didn¡¯t understand why they would invite him specifically. He was presenting himself as an ordinary Level 2 Ability User, what made him worthy of a personal invitation by one of the four great powers¡¯ leaders? Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t speak, and Lan Yulian, who was cutting vegetables, explained without turning her head: ¡°Because I want to invite Mr. Wang to join Vast.¡± ¡°What?¡± Wang Tao was stunned. Setting aside why they would invite him, an ¡°ordinary¡± Ability User, Vast was known for not accepting men, so what did they mean by inviting him? Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, Lu Yingfeng started to explain: ¡°It¡¯s not a long-term plan for Vast to recruit only females; the leader is prepared to reform.¡± Whether in terms of physical fitness or mental resilience, women are generally weaker than men. This creates a significant disadvantage in post-apocalyptic survival. It might be manageable in the short term, but would definitely lead to various limitations over time. Moreover, there¡¯s another important point, it¡¯s impossible to have children with only females! Children might be a burden in the post-apocalyptic world, but for a base to grow and prosper, it absolutely needs a population of newborns. For instance, Zijin Base had already begun providing subsidies for childbirth... So, the reform of Vast was inevitable sooner or later. ¡°Then why have you invited me to join?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Because... you are strong.¡± Lan Yulian turned to look at Wang Tao and said. Sss¡ª Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. He hadn¡¯t made a move and they could already tell he was strong? Did they possess an Ability or hidden powers that allowed them to discern someone¡¯s strength? Lan Yulian beckoned Lu Yingfeng to come over and help her with the dishes. There were just four home-style dishes, all served in stainless steel basins, and the portions were huge. As for the presentation... well, they should be edible, right? Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s disdainful look, Lan Yulian became slightly embarrassed. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s been a long time since I cooked, a bit rusty.¡± Lu Yingfeng silently criticized in her heart: It¡¯s not that it¡¯s been a long time since she cooked; she basically hasn¡¯t ever cooked. However, food wasn¡¯t the focus for everyone present. ¡°I admit I¡¯m strong, but how did you figure that out?¡± Wang Tao asked, somewhat puzzled. ¡°...¡± Lu Yingfeng was a bit speechless, not expecting Wang Tao to be so direct. Lan Yulian, however, covered her mouth and chuckled. After laughing for a while, she straightened up and said: ¡°A friend introduced me. She told me that if I met a man named Wang Tao in Zijing City, I could establish a good relationship with him because this man is very strong.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Wang Tao frowned, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said with some confusion, ¡°Yang Changhong?¡± Considering his recent experiences, the only person he knew who had come to Zijing City was Yang Changhong. ¡°That¡¯s right, it was her.¡± Lan Yulian nodded. ¡°Before the apocalypse, Yang Changhong and I were very good friends, but we lost touch after the apocalypse began. However, a few days ago, she suddenly came to Zijing City...¡± ¡°Where is she now?¡± Wang Tao was curious. He and Yang Changhong had arrived in Zijing City together, coming from the same direction, but he hadn¡¯t heard any news about Yang Changhong... ¡°I originally invited Zhang Hong to join Vast, but she said she thought she saw her sister, so she didn¡¯t stay in Zijing City and went straight to look for her sister instead.¡± Lan Yulian said with some regret. It¡¯s certainly a good thing to encounter a good friend in the apocalypse, but unfortunately, this friend didn¡¯t stay. ¡°Her sister? No wonder...¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood. Yang Changhong had mentioned before that her sister was missing, and the only reason she came to Zijing City was in the hope of possibly running into her. But the chance seemed so slim, even she herself didn¡¯t think it was likely anymore. However, now hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, it seemed there might really be a chance? All he could hope was that she would find her sister. Chapter 458: 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Chapter 458: Chapter 203 Lan Yulian (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 ¡°It seems you¡¯re quite familiar with Zhang Hong?¡± Jade Lotus was somewhat curious. When she met Yang Changhong, he was just about to leave, and they didn¡¯t have much time to communicate. Yang Changhong only mentioned that a man named Wang Tao had come to Zijing City, that Wang Tao was very strong, and also a person of good character. If she could meet him, she should try to establish a good relationship. As for whether he was strong, it was hard to say since Yang Changhong might not have encountered many powerful Ability Users. However, his good character should be unquestionable. Jade Lotus trusted the judgement of this good sister of hers. So she took Yang Changhong¡¯s words to heart. But what she thought about wasn¡¯t just establishing a good relationship¡ªshe wanted to recruit Wang Tao directly into the organization! ¡°We can be considered friends,¡± Wang Tao shrugged. Although he hadn¡¯t known Yang Changhong for long, they had a good understanding of each other; they should be considered friends. ¡°Just friends?¡± Jade Lotus was a bit gossipy at heart because when Yang Changhong introduced Wang Tao, the praises were not like those for an Ordinary friend! However, she didn¡¯t ask any further. After all, today¡¯s protagonist wasn¡¯t Yang Changhong. ¡°So... what do you think, Mr. Wang?¡± Jade Lotus¡¯s eyes, captivating as they were, looked at Wang Tao with a smile. ¡°Are you talking about joining your club?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t even think about it; he flatly refused. ¡°...¡± Jade Lotus and Ying Feng both opened their mouths in surprise. They hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to refuse, and to do it so decisively at that. Seeing their surprised expressions, Wang Tao guessed that Yang Changhong hadn¡¯t told them about his plans to go to the military base; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have been so shocked. ¡°Why?¡± Before Jade Lotus could speak, Ying Feng immediately frowned and asked. She felt Wang Tao wasn¡¯t a petty person, so the small conflict from the afternoon should be considered water under the bridge. Was Wang Tao¡¯s refusal because of the Firefly Club? Could their Vast not even compare to a small Firefly Club? One should know that this was an invitation personally extended by Jade Lotus! Wang Tao must be unaware of Jade Lotus¡¯s strength; otherwise, he certainly wouldn¡¯t have rejected it so decisively! ¡°It¡¯s a matter of personal preference.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t elaborate. ¡°Alright then, I suppose I was being presumptuous.¡± Disappointment flickered across Jade Lotus¡¯s face, but she quickly smiled again. ¡°I¡¯m very curious, out of so many powerful people in Zijing City, why do you particularly hope for me to join?¡± Jade Lotus didn¡¯t conceal the answer to this question. ¡°Because your background is relatively clear; you¡¯re not from Zijing City and naturally couldn¡¯t belong to any other faction. Coupled with what Zhang Hong has said about your good character, I think you¡¯re quite suitable. If it were someone else... I wouldn¡¯t trust them.¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao suddenly understood that Zijing City was full of undercurrents. Recruiting someone was not just a simple matter for Jade Lotus; she didn¡¯t trust other people. Wang Tao then asked further: ¡°Since you want to reform and are considering recruiting men, you certainly won¡¯t be recruiting just one, right? If you don¡¯t trust other people, how will you recruit them?¡± After Wang Tao asked this question, Jade Lotus and Ying Feng both fell silent for a moment. The truth was, they wanted to recruit Wang Tao into their ranks for another reason they hadn¡¯t mentioned. They had a very special Crystal Core that only a man could merge with. If Wang Tao joined and passed some covert assessments, Jade Lotus would give him this Crystal Core. As long as Wang Tao successfully merged with it, he could bring a boost in strength to their Vast. But if Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to join, then there was no way to discuss this with him since they didn¡¯t want the matter of the Crystal Core to be exposed just yet. ¡°There are some reasons, but it¡¯s inconvenient to discuss unless you agree to join.¡± Jade Lotus playfully winked. It couldn¡¯t be denied that Jade Lotus was beautiful, with each frown and smile carrying charm, especially those electrifying peach blossom eyes¡ªextremely captivating. Wang Tao¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t flinch at all; he boldly met Jade Lotus¡¯s eyes, then shrugged. ¡°Then that¡¯s a pity.¡± The three of them had been talking nonstop and had not yet begun to eat. Jiang Shixue tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s sleeve when she saw him stop, her big eyes turning towards the food. It was as if she was saying, ¡°I want to eat.¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wang Tao patted Jiang Shixue on the head. With permission, Jiang Shixue immediately started eating. She had always been well-mannered from a young age, and even though she had lost her memory, some things are ingrained and not easily forgotten. Thus, in non-combat situations, she was very ladylike in her everyday behavior, including her refined way of eating, which was a pleasant sight to behold. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng saw Jiang Shixue¡¯s well-behaved look and those innocent big eyes, and they both felt a surge of maternal love. ¡°Here, eat more!¡± they urged and began serving food onto Jiang Shixue¡¯s plate. Lu Yingfeng even gave Lan Yulian several meaningful glances on the sly. ¡°Ahem, Mr. Wang. Perhaps with your strength, it doesn¡¯t matter where you are. But Shixue is just an ordinary person, and putting her in the Firefly Club... It¡¯s not that I look down on the Firefly Club, but it definitely isn¡¯t as safe as Vast. If Shixue joins us at Vast, I guarantee that no one will be able to hurt her!¡± Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao expectantly. If they couldn¡¯t pull Wang Tao over, securing Jiang Shixue was also good enough. As for Wang Tao, her thoughts, to be frank, were also a kind of mutual use. But when it came to Jiang Shixue, she genuinely liked her. Such a sensible, well-behaved, and pure girl should be with them! When Wang Tao heard this, he felt somewhat speechless. Ordinary person? Not safe? If only they knew about Jiang Shixue¡¯s actual strength and the impurities within her, would they still think the same? ¡°I won¡¯t make decisions for Jiang Shixue; I respect her opinion,¡± he said. Wang Tao turned to Jiang Shixue beside him. ¡°What do you think, Little Xue?¡± Jiang Shixue put down her chopsticks and after swallowing the food in her mouth, she finally spoke: ¡°I want to be with Brother.¡± Wang Tao spread his hands toward the two women. ¡°...¡± Both women felt rather helpless. Neither of the two they wanted had been won over! However, they thought again, if they could recruit Wang Tao to their base, wouldn¡¯t that be like getting a buy-one-get-one-free deal? Exchanging glances, they instantly reached a consensus¡ªthey had to keep trying to persuade Wang Tao! The truth was they didn¡¯t care much about strength; even if he was strong, he probably wasn¡¯t stronger than the two of them, right? What they needed was someone with good character and a clean background. But they didn¡¯t dwell on this matter for the time being, knowing that talking too much could become annoying. Soon, the food on the table had all been eaten, most of which was consumed by Jiang Shixue. She especially loved meat and none of the three had competed with her for it; they let her have all the meat. Jiang Shixue was completely satisfied after the meal, she wiped her mouth and said to Wang Tao in her good-natured way: ¡°Brother, I¡¯m full.¡± Lan Yulian suddenly felt a pang of heartache at the sight. Jiang Shixue had eaten so much in one sitting, which clearly indicated that she hadn¡¯t had a full meal in a long time! Lu Yingfeng gave Wang Tao a sharp look, sensing that Jiang Shixue¡¯s life with him mustn¡¯t be good. ¡°How about this, for the next few days, you both come here for lunch, and I¡¯ll go ask for more food from Zijin Base...¡± Lan Yulian suddenly suggested. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao was startled for a moment before nodding decisively, ¡°No problem!¡± It had been a long time since he had eaten such proper food, and since there was an opportunity to freeload, why not take advantage of it? Chapter 459 - 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 Chapter 459: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_1 After the meal, Wang Tao didn¡¯t beat around the bush and directly asked about the upgrading operation. Lan Yulian was, after all, the leader of one of the four major powers, so she was definitely well-informed. ¡°Sorry, I do know some things, but I can¡¯t tell you. Unless... you join us. Of course, aside from sharing information, we also have excellent benefits and treatment!¡± Lan Yulian said with a smile. She was still not giving up, and the more Wang Tao refused, the more she believed he was of good character. ¡°Then forget it.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively. In truth, whether he joined or not was all the same to him. After all, even if he did join, could Lan Yulian stop him from leaving when he wished to? But the more Lan Yulian insisted on his joining, the more Wang Tao felt that things were not so simple¡ªLan Yulian definitely had another agenda she hadn¡¯t disclosed. Unless she made it clear, Wang Tao would definitely not join; he had to avoid being trapped. Lan Yulian was somewhat disappointed, but she was not disheartened. After chatting about some inconsequential topics, Wang Tao prepared to leave. However, before leaving, he took out some Crystal Cores and potions. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing a bit of business lately...¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Upon seeing the items in Wang Tao¡¯s hands, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng¡¯s attention was immediately drawn. In Wang Tao¡¯s hands were a Red Crystal Core, an Orange Crystal Core, and a potion that seemed very high-end. ¡°These are Red Crystal Cores and Orange Crystal Cores without side effects, and a Rejuvenation Potion that can instantly restore physical strength and spirit to their peak...¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced the items in his hand and passed them to the two women. The Red Crystal Core was a Glutton Core, and so was the Orange Crystal Core. But that wasn¡¯t the important part; what was important was their quality and the absence of side effects! That is to say, these two Crystal Cores were synthesized using a Crystal Core Synthesizer! Lu Yingfeng suddenly felt a pang of loss. Which wastrel had done this? Synthesizing with a Crystal Core Synthesizer consumed a vast amount of the same quality Crystal Core, and it wasn¡¯t even guaranteed to succeed. God knows how many Crystal Cores this wasted for just these two Cores! But to go to such expense just to synthesize Glutton Cores? That was incredibly wasteful! After all, the Glutton Core was widely regarded as one of the most useless Crystal Cores; even with side effects removed, it was still trash. If these really were synthesized using a Crystal Core Synthesizer, then if this wasn¡¯t waste, what was? As for the Rejuvenation Upgrade Potion, Wang Tao¡¯s description sounded magical, but the two women were skeptical, having never tried and seen it before. ¡°You mean to say...¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat puzzled. ¡°If you have Level 2 Crystal Cores or some Level 1 Crystal Cores whose purpose you don¡¯t know, I can trade them for these kinds of Cores and potions.¡± ¡°You¡¯re referring to... Red and Orange Crystal Cores?¡± Lu Yingfeng immediately asked. ¡°Yes. I recently found a channel where I can get these quality Cores...¡± Wang Tao would definitely not say he synthesized them himself, nor would he say he found them; he just said he had a channel and could provide a steady supply. After all, it was the end of the world; nothing was surprising. The two women exchanged glances, both visibly tempted. ¡°If you¡¯re interested, feel free to contact me anytime.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly propose a trade, as he wanted to give them time to consider. He left the Crystal Cores and potion there and then took Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand and left. ¡°Get them tested.¡± After Wang Tao left, Lan Yulian promptly instructed Lu Yingfeng. ¡°Okay!¡± They had their own methods of testing and could determine whether what Wang Tao said was true or false. If it was true, and Wang Tao indeed had so many Crystal Cores, she would certainly consider doing business with him. After all, she did have a lot of Level 2 Crystal Cores she couldn¡¯t use... ¡°This Wang Tao, he¡¯s very capable, but he¡¯s so hard to persuade...¡± Lan Yulian shook her head helplessly. She wanted to recruit male survivors for Vast, but many women inside were opposed, saying it went against the founders¡¯ original intentions. There was some displeasure between them. Therefore, she planned to take action first and report later. As long as those women saw the benefits and advantages of male survivors, they would surely stop opposing. But unfortunately, Wang Tao was not willing... Speaking of which, this was the first time in her life she had so earnestly invited a man, and she was rejected... She wasn¡¯t angry, just a bit helpless. After all, if Wang Tao didn¡¯t join, some of her subsequent plans couldn¡¯t be carried out... ... When Wang Tao returned to villa number 8, Nie Siyan had not yet come back. He greeted Xu Xiaojun, then went up to the rooftop to exercise for a while until Nie Siyan returned. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Nie Siyan ran over, slightly excited. ¡°I¡¯ve got some useful information...¡± She quickly shared the news she had heard with Wang Tao. There were three important pieces of news in total. The first piece of news was that Zijin Base recently acquired a special Crystal Core whose Ability could be stacked; the more people, the stronger the power, similar to the Mud Swamp Ability Wang Tao had seen before. But not just anyone could integrate with this Crystal Core; even high-quality ones often failed. Even an Orange Crystal Core had failed! Orange had a one hundred percent integration success rate! Clearly, the quality of the Crystal Core was not the reason for the failures; there must be some unknown factors involved. The integration success rate seemed random, and no pattern could be discerned. Thus, despite knowing the power of this Crystal Core, few people have succeeded in merging with it. Chapter 460 - 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Chapter 460: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_2 Zijin Base is now prepared to bring out these Crystal Cores for everyone to try. But it¡¯s definitely not possible for everyone to get one, and the specifics on how they¡¯ll be distributed aren¡¯t clear. It¡¯s very likely that they¡¯ll be allocated based on rankings of strength. The stronger forces will get more, while the weaker ones might not even get a single core. The Firefly Club challenging the Thunder Guild feels like a stroke of luck. They might end up getting more of these Crystal Cores because of it. As for what these Crystal Cores actually are, they still don¡¯t know, only that they¡¯re one of the trump cards Zijin Base has prepared for hunting Level 3 zombies. During their interactions, Nie Siyan, some even suggested that perhaps they should put on a few staged fights tomorrow to give off the illusion that they¡¯re all very strong, to boost their impression in front of Zijin Base. However, not many people approved of this proposal. Because they all don¡¯t trust each other¡ªone might pretend to go easy, but if the other takes it seriously, they¡¯ll be at a great loss! But, if there are one or two forces that are on good terms, slipping in a staged fight or two doesn¡¯t seem out of the question... Of course, Zijin Base isn¡¯t foolish. It¡¯ll come down to whether their acting skills are better, or if Zijin Base is more perceptive. ... The second piece of news is that Zijin Base is planning to create 12 Level 3 ability users in this Ascension operation! This number seems exaggerated to the point of being unrealistic, considering that there isn¡¯t even one Level 3 ability user yet... The details are not clear for the time being. Anyway, Zijin Base seems to think it¡¯s feasible. They speculate it might be because Zijin Base has found a location with a large number of Level 3 zombies, or it¡¯s because Zijin Base possesses quick methods to kill Level 3 zombies... Regardless, the idea of 12 Level 3 ability user slots has everyone quite excited. If there were only a few slots, then there certainly wouldn¡¯t be one for them. But with 12 slots, there should be enough for the four major forces, right? Maybe a few will even be left over, then wouldn¡¯t they also have a chance? ... The third piece of news relates to the rankings of forces. It¡¯s said that Zijin Base may introduce a combat competition model to rank the high-end combat power of these forces. Although the specifics of this ranking have not been disclosed, combining it with the second piece of news, could it be that this rank might be a reserve list for Level 3 ability users? If there are any slots left over after the four major forces have taken their share, will the selections then start with the highest rank and go down in order? If that¡¯s the case, then these rankings become extremely important, probably prompting everyone to demonstrate their full capabilities... ... Nie Siyan received more than just these three pieces of information. There were a bunch of other messy details, but she thought most of them were useless, so she didn¡¯t bother Wang Tao with them. Then there was the issue of forming teams and alliances. This was as Wang Tao had predicted; no consensus was reached on forming alliances. Since there wasn¡¯t much trust among these mid-sized forces, they naturally couldn¡¯t form alliances. However, quite a few small groups did form. Nie Siyan herself formed a group, bringing in two forces that ranked lower. Based on the reputation of the Firefly Club¡¯s predecessor, the Skull Club, it would have been impossible to form a team. But now they were no longer the Skull Club. Plus, during the day, Xu Xiaojun defeated the Thunder Guild and made the Firefly Club quite prominent, so Nie Siyan was still able to find two teammates. The Ascension operation would definitely involve hunting Level 3 zombies, and having teammates would provide at least some support. Of course, that depended on whether the teammates were trustworthy. ¡°Do you think they can be trusted?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°These two forces are on the decline now, and no one wants to team up with them, so they have no other choice. However... I don¡¯t really trust them either. When I teamed up with them, I thought that if there¡¯s danger in the future, I could use them as a shield!¡± Nie Siyan glanced at Wang Tao as she said this. She felt that Wang Tao probably wasn¡¯t the saintly type. Sure enough, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless after hearing this but didn¡¯t say much. ¡°You¡¯re quite clever,¡± ¡°Heh heh~¡± Nie Siyan took it as a compliment. ¡°Oh, right, I forgot to mention the most important thing!¡± Nie Siyan hurriedly told Wang Tao about the Crystal Cores. ¡°After taking out those Crystal Cores and Potions, I received a lot of attention. Especially the Potions, everyone said that after they test them, if they are really as effective as I claimed, they¡¯re willing to purchase them with Crystal Cores! As for the Crystal Cores, of course, they liked them too, but they weren¡¯t as popular as the Potions...¡± Listening to Nie Siyan¡¯s words, Wang Tao nodded inwardly. It seemed that for the time being, larger forces like the clubs preferred the Crystal Cores, whereas the mid-sized forces preferred Potions. Of course, this was only temporary. Wang Tao¡¯s products, whether Crystal Cores or Potions, were not exaggerated in their effectiveness. He believed that once they tested them, they would like both... ... The next day. Zijin Base called together the leaders of these forces for a meeting. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were fishing by the artificial lake, which was one of the benefits provided to the villa area by Zijin Base. It¡¯s just that the fish here were too small; after having had larger fish, Wang Tao felt they were somewhat lacking. Nie Siyan returned from the meeting invigorated and rushed to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Brother Wang! It¡¯s confirmed! After consultation among the four major forces, Zijin Base decided that this Ascension operation will indeed offer slots for Level 3 Ascension! But not 12 slots, 15! The specifics of the allocation were not detailed, but they indicated that there will be slots reserved for forces other than the four major ones!¡± Chapter 461: 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 Chapter 461: Chapter 204 Feeding the Zombies (Double Monthly Tickets at Month End)_3 ¡°Oh? 15 spots?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. To achieve Level 3 Ascension, besides meeting basic criteria, the most important thing was the Ascension Crystal Core. But acquiring a Level 3 Crystal Core was very difficult; only Level 3 zombies or monsters could drop them, and even if one killed a Level 3 zombie or monster, it was still uncertain whether an Ascension Crystal Core would drop. After all, they didn¡¯t drop a Loot Pack. Even if the drop rate for Ascension Crystal Cores was high, say, killing 2 Level 3 zombies to obtain one Ascension Crystal Core, then for 15 spots, at least 30 Level 3 zombies would need to be killed! However, each Crystal Core had different Quality. White and blue had a lower probability, so at the very least, one would need a Purple Quality or higher to be relatively safe, with red and orange being the best. Assuming they were extremely lucky and the probability of dropping a Purple Quality or higher Crystal Core was one in two, to collect enough Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores of Purple Quality or higher, they would need to kill 60 Level 3 zombies! 60 Level 3 zombies! Where the heck did Zijin Base find so many zombies? And even if it was possible to find 60 Level 3 zombies, could they even defeat them? Wang Tao hadn¡¯t thought about it carefully yesterday, but upon reflecting today, it seemed quite unreliable! After Wang Tao shared his analysis, Nie Siyan was also stunned. She had been too excited before and hadn¡¯t considered this problem. Now that she thought about it, something was indeed off. Her face suddenly turned somewhat sullen. Could it be that she was happy for nothing? Wang Tao pondered for a moment and said: ¡°I think, if they aren¡¯t purposefully setting a trap, there might be two possibilities¡ª¡± ¡°One is, they¡¯ve found a place with a lot of Level 3 zombies that might be trapped in there, making them less dangerous to kill, and with more help they could deal with it... The other is, these 15 slots for people are paid out in installments...¡± There might be other possibilities, but Wang Tao felt these were not very likely. Nie Siyan thought that what Wang Tao said made sense. She hoped it was the first option. If it was the second, that would be troublesome... Besides the news about the Ascension slots, another piece of information was confirmed¡ªthe ranking battle. Zijin Base was indeed organizing a ranking list. The four major powers wouldn¡¯t participate, but other powers could register, with a maximum of three people per power. It would start directly tomorrow. As long as one could get a good ranking, they would receive rewards from Zijin Base, and naturally, these rewards varied in size. Just in terms of Level 2 Crystal Cores, Zijin Base had taken out a lot, claiming it was to motivate everyone... This was indeed a significant investment. ¡°So, do we participate?¡± Nie Siyan asked. She had some confidence in herself, but not much¡ªher confidence was quite solid before, but after Wang Tao had Xu Xiaojun take action yesterday, not only were others struck down, but her confidence took a hit as well. So now she felt that she could probably rank, but getting a good ranking was uncertain... ¡°Participate, you and Xu Xiaojun should be enough.¡± Wang Tao said. After all, Crystal Cores that were free for the taking shouldn¡¯t be turned down. However, to be on the safe side, Wang Tao thought he might enhance Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength a little more¡ªhe hadn¡¯t yet had a chance to use the Armor Blueprint he obtained before... ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan was immediately overjoyed upon hearing that Xu Xiaojun would take part. With the ability Xu Xiaojun had demonstrated yesterday, competing for the top spots shouldn¡¯t be a problem! ¡°By the way, someone has already contacted me wanting to buy your Crystal Cores and Potions. Shall I talk to them about the price now?¡± Nie Siyan suddenly asked. ¡°Go ahead.¡± ¡°Alrighty!¡± Nie Siyan had just left when a woman came over. She said their leader had invited Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue to join them for lunch at Building 7. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hold back, considering the clubhouse had plenty of food, and it was free. When they arrived at the villa of Building 7, Wang Tao noticed that Lan Yulian had changed into a different outfit for the day. She wore a white lab coat and had her hair neatly tied up, looking very much like a doctor¡ªwhich she actually was. Seeing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue arrive, Lan Yulian immediately came out to welcome them¡ªof course, she was there to greet Jiang Shixue. She took Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand and, seeing Wang Tao nod in approval, Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t resist and followed her in obediently. Lan Yulian was very happy about this, so she had Lu Yingfeng bring out some washed grapes for Jiang Shixue, which were bigger than any Wang Tao had seen before the apocalypse, resembling plums and looking delicious. ¡°Such luxury, to have grapes!¡± Without any reservation, Wang Tao took two bunches of grapes from Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands, which earned him eye rolls from both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. ¡°They taste really good!¡± It had been half a year since Wang Tao had grapes, and he had almost forgotten what they tasted like. Of course, Wang Tao was not snatching Jiang Shixue¡¯s food; it¡¯s just that she liked meat more, and wasn¡¯t very fond of fruits and vegetables. Wang Tao reluctantly volunteered to help. At that moment, Lan Yulian suddenly said to Wang Tao: ¡°You must also know about those 15 Level 3 slots, right?¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious why Zijin Base dares to claim there are 15 spots available?¡± Lan Yulian asked again. ¡°Why?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. Wasn¡¯t this woman unwilling to tell him these things? Had she changed her tune? ¡°Because... before that, may I ask first, you know about the prison constantly buying survivors, right?¡± Lan Yulian did not say directly, instead teased a bit more. ¡°I know.¡± Wang Tao was very clear, after all, he had sold over two hundred scumbags from the Skull Club into the prison. ¡°Then, where do you think those people bought by the prison went?¡± Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao with a serious expression, but this time she didn¡¯t wait for him to answer, and continued: ¡°They fed them to the zombies!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°You mean...¡± He thought of some horrifying possibilities he had once considered. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve guessed it. Exactly, they fed those survivors to create many Level 3 zombies! And now... these zombies are about to get out of control! This so-called upgrade operation is remediation for this situation!¡± Chapter 462: 205: Gymnasium (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_1 Chapter 462: Chapter 205: Gymnasium (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_1 Hearing this somewhat sensational news, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too surprised; he looked towards Lan Yulian. ¡°Did you also participate?¡± ¡°No,¡± Lan Yulian shook her head, ¡°We only found out about it recently. This was something the base and the prison concocted together. Neither we nor the Ability User¡¯s Alliance were informed... otherwise, I would have definitely gone to stop them!¡± She had been startled when she first heard about it; had it not been too late, she would have definitely tried to stop it. After all, this was too risky¡ªit was, to some extent, playing with the lives of all the survivors in Zijing City! ¡°So now...¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Those zombies are all in the city stadium. Before they started to raise the zombies, they had already hacked off their limbs and tied them up to prevent them from resisting or escaping.¡± ¡°And now, those zombies have successfully ascended to Level 3. After the Ascension, their strength is quite weaker than that of normal Level 3 zombies. They thought they were successful, but these zombies are slowly growing stronger, and moreover, they can evolve! Some have grown new limbs, some have evolved other appendages, and some have even merged together...¡± At this point, Lan Yulian¡¯s face turned somewhat pale. She had seen the situation there with her own eyes, and every time she thought about it, she felt physically ill. ¡°...The situation there is a bit out of control now. The reason so many people were summoned this time is to try to quickly kill those zombies. Otherwise, if those zombies break out, there will be big trouble!¡± After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao asked with some curiosity: ¡°Can¡¯t they solve it themselves?¡± From what Lan Yulian implied, those zombies being raised should be relatively weak and significantly restricted; they can¡¯t even leave the stadium. Given Zijin Base¡¯s strength, they should be able to resolve the issue. Not to mention anything else, Zijin Base has many guns. Since the zombies are trapped, couldn¡¯t they just shoot them like target practice? ¡°In theory, they could solve it, but the danger is too great. Their cages have malfunctioned, and many zombies have gotten out of control. But those zombies can¡¯t leave the stadium for now... so they can only send people in to kill them. If they forcefully go in to solve it, they will surely lose a lot of people. Though Zijin Base has many people, they can¡¯t afford to lose too many... However, there¡¯s an even more important point...¡± Lan Yulian paused for a moment. ¡°The most important point is that among the zombies inside, not only are there Level 3 Elite Zombies, but there are also some very strong zombies without Crystal Cores, somewhat similar to Mad Demon Zombies. They can¡¯t directly distinguish which zombies have Crystal Cores...¡± ¡°No wonder!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao suddenly understood. The reasons Lan Yulian mentioned earlier were certainly problems, but they could always be solved if they were determined enough. The last reason was the key ¡ª there were strong zombies without Crystal Cores inside the stadium! Killing these kinds of zombies was nothing but thankless hard work. Thus, Zijin Base simply lured all the survivors in Zijing City over to do the work. Of course, if they could fulfill their own promises and give other survivors benefits, then it wouldn¡¯t be seen as deception but rather as mutual aid and cooperation. ¡°So, will Zijin Base honor their promise?¡± Wang Tao looked at Lan Yulian. ¡°Of course, they will. Even if they are strong, they wouldn¡¯t dare to oppose the survivors of the entire Zijing City. Besides, friendly cooperation is the foundation for long-term survival; they aren¡¯t foolish.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Wang Tao nodded as long as they weren¡¯t intentionally duping people. ¡°Dinner¡¯s ready!¡± Lu Yingfeng called out from the kitchen; she had prepared today¡¯s meal. Lan Yulian hurried over to serve the dishes, while Wang Tao didn¡¯t move an inch, looking like the lord and master as he continued eating grapes with Jiang Shixue. When the food was served, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Regardless of how the food tasted today, at the very least, it looked much better than yesterday¡¯s. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide his emotions, and both women noticed. Lu Yingfeng wore a composed expression, while Lan Yulian appeared somewhat helpless; she admitted there was indeed a gap. ¡°Please enjoy!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony and picked up a piece of lean meat. After chewing a few times, he commended with admiration in his eyes: ¡°The flavor is terrific!¡± This wasn¡¯t flattery; today¡¯s meal was indeed great, especially compared to yesterday¡¯s¡ªit was in a class of its own. ¡°Little Feng trained specially for this back then!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s praise, Lu Yingfeng spoke up while Lan Yulian took on a very complacent demeanor, as if the compliments were about her. It was evident that their relationship was very close. ¡°Little Xue, eat more!¡± Then, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng started serving Jiang Shixue more food. ¡°Thank you.¡± The group chatted as they ate. Naturally, the topic of zombies was momentarily skipped, as that was sure to spoil the appetite. When the conversation turned to food, Lan Yulian spoke with some envy: ¡°Zijin Base is such a great place! Not only is it large, with strong defense power and beautiful scenery, but they can also grow their own vegetables and raise pigs...¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised; he could guess as much from the food. Otherwise, Zijin Base couldn¡¯t possibly supply so many people with fresh food. ¡°And their vegetables and pigs have mutated, grown huge! But they can all be eaten. The pigs are also very docile and not aggressive at all.¡± Lu Yingfeng was also very envious. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao seemed very interested. He had only seen some inedible plant mutations and some fish mutations. He hadn¡¯t yet come across mutated vegetables or pigs and planned to go see what they looked like sometime. Certainly not for the purpose of stealing them. Chapter 463: 205: Gymnasium (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_2 Chapter 463: Chapter 205: Gymnasium (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_2 Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian about the location of Zijin Base¡¯s plantation and then changed the subject. He took the initiative to ask about the ranking issue of Zijin Base and other forces. Lan Yulian told Wang Tao that it was as he had imagined. The ranking was indeed in preparation for the Level 3 ability user slots. However, while a higher rank makes it easier to obtain a slot, the higher the rank, the greater the cost. To secure a good position, one must be prepared to make sacrifices. Just like the four major forces this time, although they had internally secured some slots, they had also deployed a large number of operatives... There is no absolute fairness in the world, but relative fairness does exist. Zijin Base tries to maintain a state of relative fairness, which can prevent many problems. The more Wang Tao understood, the more he felt that the leader of Zijin Base was formidable, somewhat different from the rumors outside. However, this was normal; everyone views a matter with some bias. What others say is never reliable; it¡¯s only what one sees with one¡¯s own eyes that is accurate. ¡°By the way, I heard that Zijin Base has a very special Crystal Core, which, if successfully fused, allows multiple ability users to combine their powers. Do you know which Crystal Core it is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an Ability that can spray a type of mucus. This mucus isn¡¯t very sticky, but it can cause zombies to weaken...¡± Lan Yulian explained briefly. Wang Tao suddenly realized. If it were possible to weaken zombies on a large scale, then indeed the chance of killing these zombies would be much higher. Wang Tao asked a lot of questions, and Lan Yulian shared everything she could. At this moment, Lan Yulian suddenly looked at Wang Tao and said: ¡°I¡¯ve given you so much information, why don¡¯t you come to our club?¡± ¡°No.¡± Wang Tao immediately refused. Lan Yulian was somewhat choked by this response. It was bad enough that he refused, but his refusal was so perfunctory, after she had been so responsive to his queries. Lu Yingfeng, who was beside them, found it hard to watch. She said to Wang Tao: ¡°Wang Tao, you probably don¡¯t know how strong our leader is. Many people who want to join our club don¡¯t even qualify.¡± ¡°How strong? Do you have a ranking among you powerful ability users, and what rank is Madam Lan?¡± Wang Tao asked directly. ¡°...¡± They did indeed have a private ranking of combat strength, but Lan Yulian was not on the list. However, this was not because Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t good enough; her Ability just wasn¡¯t geared towards frontal combat. ¡°Our leader isn¡¯t a combat ability user, but a healing ability user! Such a healing ability, only our leader has it in the whole Zijing City! Not to mention that our leader is also a physician... If you join our club, as long as it¡¯s not a fatal injury, we can save you!¡± ¡°Oh? Healing ability users?¡± Healing ability users were indeed rare; apart from this Lan Yulian, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen another. Ding Yuqin didn¡¯t count; hers was a Hidden Ability. But Wang Tao had indeed seen a zombie with a healing ability, and he still kept a Crystal Core that possessed a healing ability... ¡°How about it, are you interested now?¡± Lu Yingfeng suddenly spoke up with a slight sense of smug satisfaction. Normally, she was rather cold and wouldn¡¯t act like this, but for some reason, she felt very relaxed while talking to Wang Tao. ¡°Indeed, I am a bit interested.¡± ¡°Then... as long as you join us, you can enjoy the treatment from our leader!¡± ¡°Not joining,¡± Wang Tao still shook his head, but he continued, ¡°unless you tell me why you are so insistent on me joining. Don¡¯t fob me off with the reasons you¡¯ve given before; I know there must be a reason.¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s insistence and knowing that they dared not reveal the reason if he didn¡¯t join, both women felt a headache. They held a special Crystal Core that seemed very powerful and could only be fused by males. Currently, there were internal conflicts about this, and if outsiders attacked them over this issue, it would be troublesome... Seeing that neither woman wanted to reveal more, Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. At this point, he was actually becoming curious. But he definitely wouldn¡¯t make the move himself. After the meal, and having accompanied Jiang Shixue with some food and fruit, Wang Tao prepared to leave. At that moment, Lan Yulian called out to him. Wang Tao thought she had changed her mind, but that wasn¡¯t the case; instead, she wanted to purchase some Crystal Cores and potions from him. It seems that they must have tested them yesterday, and the results were good. ¡°How much do you want? I happen to have a batch of goods here. If you ask later, I might have already sold them off.¡± Wang Tao had plenty of items on hand, but he needed to pretend that they were in short supply. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng weren¡¯t suspicious, considering these goods were indeed good and limited in quantity made sense. Wang Tao had already set the prices for these items. One Rejuvenation Potion sold for three Level 1 Crystal Cores of any type and Quality. His cost of producing one potion was one Level 1 Crystal Core and a small amount of water and food, and he could produce five potions at a time! So at this price, he was making a huge profit. As for the prices of Crystal Cores, they fluctuated somewhat due to the variety of types. Overall though, they were cheaper than the market price. And these high-quality Crystal Cores were not easy to find on the market; they were virtually priceless, mainly in the hands of the major forces... And these were discounted prices for Wang Tao; he charged others more. After all, different people required different treatment, and as big clients, Lan Yulian and her group definitely needed to feel like they were getting a good deal. Chapter 464: 205: Gymnasium (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_3 Chapter 464: Chapter 205: Gymnasium (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_3 Indeed, when Wang Tao quoted his price, both of them were somewhat surprised. It was much cheaper than they expected. After confirming the price was correct, Lan Yulian went to her room and brought out many white Level 2 Crystal Cores. Then she called her subordinates to bring over the Level 1 Crystal Cores. It was only then that Wang Tao learned that the clubhouse occupied two villas, number 6 and number 7. Lan Yulian and her group lived in number 7, while the others resided in number 6. Out of curiosity, Wang Tao asked why they hadn¡¯t chosen a siheyuan. At this question, the expressions on Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng¡¯s faces turned somewhat unpleasant. ¡°What other reason could there be, we lost a contest.¡± Lan Yulian sighed. ¡°Ah? Didn¡¯t you let Lu Yingfeng fight? With her strength, how could she lose in a contest?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. Lu Yingfeng clearly possessed pure combat power, and Wang Tao could sense she was very strong. There shouldn¡¯t be many who could beat her. The moment he said this, both women looked at Wang Tao in surprise. Lan Yulian was surprised that Wang Tao actually knew about Lu Yingfeng¡¯s strength, while Lu Yingfeng was surprised that Wang Tao actually complimented her¡ªshe saw this as high praise. Lan Yulian explained somewhat annoyed: ¡°Of course it wasn¡¯t Little Feng who fought, otherwise we definitely wouldn¡¯t have lost. In short, we were outplayed by members of the Ability User¡¯s Alliance.¡± In reality, where they lived didn¡¯t quite matter, as they were all survivors of the apocalypse and didn¡¯t care too much about their environment. But the issue was that the other two major forces were residing in siheyuans, only they were in a villa. It felt like they were being kicked out of the top forces, which was somewhat annoying. ¡°Alright then.¡± This was clearly a sore subject for them, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t press further. He took out a large handful of brightly colored Crystal Cores from his chest. ¡°Take a look and pick whichever you want, feel free.¡± At the sight of these shiny objects, both women¡¯s eyes glittered. After spending a bit of time, the two parties completed the transaction. Wang Tao looked at the Level 2 Crystal Cores in his hand and smirked. Indeed, going out to kill zombies and whatnot was indeed too slow. Direct trading with people was simpler. Even though most of these were white Crystal Cores, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, as he could synthesize them. Before leaving, Wang Tao said to Lan Yulian: ¡°Today¡¯s grapes were a bit sour, bring more sweet ones tomorrow, eh!¡± ¡°...¡± This man really had no scruples! Even Lan Yulian, upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s smug look, had the urge to beat him up. But after seeing Jiang Shixue¡¯s innocent big eyes, she took a deep breath. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll get someone from the base to bring them over.¡± ¡°Thank you, sister!¡± At Wang Tao¡¯s cue, Jiang Shixue voiced her thanks. Listening to that sweet voice, Lan Yulian felt it was all worth it. ¡°No, we must pull Wang Tao into our clubhouse! Not to mention Wang Tao¡¯s own value, just this Jiang Shixue, such a delicate and pure girl, we must protect her well!¡± Lan Yulian clenched her fist and declared. ¡°The leader is right!¡± Lu Yingfeng strongly agreed. ... After Wang Tao returned to building number 8, Nie Siyan had gone out for business and had not returned yet. Wang Tao took out a blueprint in the room. [Tree Branch Full Body Armor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a set of full body battle armor made from tree branches. Required materials: Level 3 Crystal Core x1...] This was an item that had dropped from a Level 3 Entangling Roots zombie he had killed before. Wang Tao himself had Entangling Roots, so naturally, he didn¡¯t need this set of equipment. It was originally intended for Xu Xiaojun, but the opportunity to make it had not come yet. Now that he had more Level 3 Crystal Cores, he could finally craft the equipment. With a thought, Wang Tao took out the materials. Instantly, the materials and the blueprint radiated a burst of rainbow light. After the light faded, a set of full body armor appeared before Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. It included a helmet, chest armor, shoulder pads, and other pieces of full body armor, along with a huge shield. This shield could normally be carried on the back and used in critical moments. [Branch Full Body Armor] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Durability +50, Defensive Power +50 (slightly weak resistance to flames)] The construction technique of this battle armor was somewhat similar to rattan armor, as both were woven. However, this set of armor was purely black, and its branches did not resemble wood but instead appeared metallic. Touching it felt cool and heavy. This set of armor bore some resemblance to the arm guards, knee pads, chest armor, and other items Wang Tao wore; it could be adjusted in size. Wang Tao tried it on himself. ¡°The weight is just right, and it¡¯s very flexible... feels pretty good.¡± It definitely wasn¡¯t as good as the Entangling Roots, but it was far better than other equipment. After playing around with it for a while, Wang Tao called Xu Xiaojun over. ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a set of armor for you.¡± Seeing the set of armor, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s eyes lit up, especially when he saw the large shield, and he immediately held it to try it out. The shield was large, but it was just right for him. Xu Xiaojun knew about Wang Tao¡¯s Entangling Roots, so he did not refuse. ¡°Brother Wang, I feel this is very suitable for me!¡± ¡°I think so too. From now on, this will be your exclusive armor. Paired with that axe of yours, it¡¯s just perfect!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Thank you, Brother Wang!¡± Xu Xiaojun was very grateful. Without any exaggeration, owning this set of armor had at least increased his survivability tenfold! And that¡¯s not even mentioning the enhancement in combat power. ¡°You¡¯ll help the Firefly Club fight a few contests tomorrow; try to get a decent rank.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Xu Xiaojun immediately nodded. The rankings affected the ability to fight Level 3 zombies, so naturally, Wang Tao needed a ranking. The zombies in the gymnasium might be a big problem for some, but for Wang Tao, they were all special Energy and spoils of war! After all, Wang Tao could distinguish which zombies had Crystal Cores and which did not! Chapter 465: 206: Selling Items (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_1 Chapter 465: Chapter 206: Selling Items (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_1 Nie Siyan returned before dark. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± She came trotting over excitedly, holding a list and a carry bag. ¡°These are the people who want to buy Crystal Cores and Potions, and they have all paid a deposit!¡± Wang Tao looked at the carry bag, which contained a pile of Crystal Cores. ¡°Well done!¡± According to the list, Wang Tao took out the required Crystal Cores and Potions and handed them to Nie Siyan. He had been planning to tell Nie Siyan to complete the trade with them tomorrow. But Nie Siyan quickly said: ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ll go and finalize the transactions with them right now!¡± Seeing Nie Siyan¡¯s diligent and earnest demeanor, Wang Tao was very pleased. He decided to reward her handsomely tonight. Busy until midnight, Nie Siyan returned to Villa No. 8 once again. ¡°Brother Wang, all the transactions have been completed, and I¡¯ve also received a batch of new orders!¡± Nie Siyan, presenting it as though she were bestowing a treasure, showed Wang Tao all the Crystal Cores and yet another order list. Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan a surprised glance. The items Nie Siyan had sold today even surpassed what he had sold to Lan Yulian and the others! Looking at Nie Siyan¡¯s expectant ¡°please praise me¡± expression, Wang Tao asked with a smile: ¡°Tell me, what reward do you want?¡± ¡°Ah? A reward?¡± Nie Siyan hadn¡¯t expected there to be a reward. All she wanted now was to cling tightly to Wang Tao¡¯s powerful coattails. However, since there was a reward on offer, she certainly wasn¡¯t going to turn it down. ¡°Any reward is fine?¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s eyes darted around playfully. ¡°Let¡¯s hear it first.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t answer directly. ¡°I... I want...¡± ... The next day. Nie Siyan woke up early. Not only did she not feel any discomfort, but she was also positively radiant. Somehow, she had acquired an ultra-short black and white maid outfit and knelt beside Wang Tao, waking him up with her mouth. ¡°Master~ time to get up~¡± Once Wang Tao was awake, she then helped him get dressed. Wang Tao stroked Nie Siyan¡¯s hair, feeling somewhat moved. This Nie Siyan really knew how to play the game! After attending to Wang Tao, Nie Siyan changed into more formal attire and, after having breakfast with Wang Tao and the others, left the villa. Today, a competition between forces was to be held, taking place in a sunken square surrounded by steps, capable of accommodating many spectators. The official upgrade operation was set for tomorrow, which was to clear zombies out of the gymnasium. Time was tight, and the situation at the gymnasium was probably not good... When they arrived at the square, there was already a large crowd gathered. There were not only people from external forces, but also many survivors from Zijin Base. After all, it was a rare opportunity to witness a battle between Ability Users, not to be missed. Seeing so many spectators, the people from external forces were excited; they loved the sensation of being in the spotlight! There were not many rules for this competition. Participants would draw lots and duel in pairs according to similar numbers. Winners would advance, losers would be eliminated, and before being eliminated, there would be another round to determine the rankings. The competition would continue this way until the quarterfinals, at which point the rules would change. Before the quarterfinals, each force would send one person to compete in a single match, with the winner advancing and the loser being eliminated. After the quarterfinals, each force would send three people to fight in three matches. The best two out of three would advance, leading up to the final round. Many forces had arrived, but Wang Tao estimated that the combat would proceed quickly. After all, this was not a sport with fixed time and rule constraints. An Ability User¡¯s 1v1 combat could end instantaneously. So, even though there were many contenders and subsequent rounds required two out of three matches, the overall pace would still be swift. Shortly after, people from the four main forces also arrived. They might not be participating, but they would certainly come to watch. The first to arrive were people from Zijin Base. Wang Tao glanced over. Although their leader wasn¡¯t present, the rest were strong, several boasting 29999 HP... befitting the top-ranked force. Then came the prison members. These individuals perfectly matched Wang Tao¡¯s stereotype of criminals: sinister faces, tattoos, smug expressions, and a slouching gait... As they approached, the crowd immediately made way, clearly preferring to avoid too much contact with them. Despite their disagreeable appearance, these inmates were strong, with several Ability Users among them also having 29999 HP. The third group was the Ability User¡¯s Alliance. They had the fewest members, only four, but all four had 29999 HP. These four individuals were indifferent, stern, and out of place among most people. They might as well have written ¡°Don¡¯t bother me¡± across their foreheads. The last to arrive was naturally the Vast Club. This was the force that received a storm of cheers upon entering. No choice there; after all, they were a group of women! Not to speak of their faces, as beauty is subjective and can¡¯t be generalized, but their figures received unanimous approval. After all, the heavier ones had been eliminated, leaving behind women with at least proportionate figures, especially with so many of them standing together¡ªtheir line of long legs was a striking sight. The leader of the Club, Lan Yulian, also had not come; the group was led by Lu Yingfeng instead. Lu Yingfeng casually scanned the crowd, and with just one glance, spotted Wang Tao. She nodded slightly as a greeting. Once everyone from the four major forces had taken their seats, a representative from Zijin Base began to announce the rules of the match. ¡°No intentional injury or life-threatening attacks, no stalling...¡± ¡°Now, let the match begin!¡± Dong! The host struck the gong once. Chapter 466: 206: Selling Items (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_2 Chapter 466: Chapter 206: Selling Items (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_2 The surrounding audience immediately stood up and cheered. They were now in the middle of Zijin Base, where cheers couldn¡¯t escape from the base, so there was no need to worry about attracting zombies, and everyone cheered without concern. Before the competition began, Nie Siyan drew number 8 on behalf of Firefly Club, exactly matching their villa number 8. Soon it was Firefly Club¡¯s turn. The three competitors from Firefly Club were Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and Wang Tao. Wang Tao was just there to make up the numbers, Nie Siyan was almost the same, the main combat power was still Xu Xiaojun. Dressed in full battle armor and holding a Giant Axe, Xu Xiaojun made his appearance. His figure caused an immediate uproar of cheers as he appeared. His opponent instantly felt immense pressure. This physique, these equipments, you could tell he was a strong contender at a glance! After introducing themselves to each other, the opponent was still wondering what move to use when he saw Xu Xiaojun suddenly swing an axe through the air at him. ¡°Ah?¡± The opponent didn¡¯t understand what was happening at first, thinking Xu Xiaojun was just striking a pose. By the time he saw a transparent Shockwave flying towards him, it was already too late. Bang! The man was sent flying, landing outside the combat area. ¡°Victory for number 8 Firefly Club!¡± The referee immediately announced. The fight ended so quickly that the audience only reacted after hearing the referee¡¯s voice, and the place erupted into a loud commotion. In Zijing City, the Ability like Shockwave was not common, and many had never seen it before. After Xu Xiaojun saw that his opponent only got a mouthful of dust and was otherwise unharmed, he stepped down from the stage. He had held back with that strike, otherwise, he probably could have shattered his opponent with that hit. ¡°Strong!¡± Nie Siyan immediately gave a thumbs up. ¡°He¡¯s just too weak,¡± Xu Xiaojun replied somewhat naively. The battle continued, with many matches ending as swiftly as Xu Xiaojun¡¯s had, the pace of the competition moving so quickly that the audience¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t keep up. It wasn¡¯t long before Firefly Club made it into the top 8. The next rounds were best two out of three, and it was Nie Siyan¡¯s turn to compete, she felt a bit nervous. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re still a top-tier Horse at the end of the day, you just go and take on their mid-tier, lower-tier Horses,¡± Wang Tao told Nie Siyan, his face relaxed. ¡°Top-tier Horse? What kind of Horse is Xu Xiaojun?¡± Nie Siyan asked curiously. ¡°He, of course, is a steed!¡± Wang Tao replied without hesitation, Xu Xiaojun was much stronger than Nie Siyan. ¡°Then Brother Wang, what kind of Horse are you?¡± Nie Siyan inquired further. ¡°Me? I am of course the Rider, the one who rides the Horses,¡± Wang Tao emphasized the words ¡°rides the horses.¡± Wang Tao gave her buttocks a slap. ¡°Oh~ the Master!¡± Nie Siyan blushed. She was too deprived, beginning to acquire a taste for it. However, she was not afraid of losing face, she knew she still didn¡¯t hold much status in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, so she wanted to try to please Wang Tao as much as possible... if psychology wouldn¡¯t work, then she would start with physiology! Soon, Firefly Club¡¯s opponent appeared. Wang Tao checked the Attributes of the opponents and felt they were all rather mediocre. So he didn¡¯t arrange much strategy. A random fight would be an easy win. Sure enough, after Xu Xiaojun easily crushed his opponent, Nie Siyan also dominated hers. With this victory, Nie Siyan¡¯s confidence soared. They continued to blaze through the competition, quickly arriving at the final round. Xu Xiaojun became the most popular contestant at the venue, receiving countless cheers. Because he basically killed with one strike¡ªeither a Shockwave or a Rush, no one could withstand these two attacks. His strength was off the charts. After a while, the other finalist force emerged, and to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, it was the Thunder Guild. It was somewhat an encounter with a familiar foe! The Thunder Guild glared viciously at Wang Tao¡¯s side, their gaze so intense as if they wished to flay and bone them. ¡°Brother Wang, should I go first or should Xu Xiaojun?¡± Nie Siyan was eager to try. Wang Tao checked and saw that all three of the other side¡¯s race participants had over 20,000 HP, one even had 29,999 HP, likely their Gang Leader. In comparison, Nie Siyan had just 13,000 HP, a significant disadvantage. If she faced the one with 29,999 HP, she would likely lose. Wang Tao was also a competitor, but obviously, he didn¡¯t need to enter such a minor fray himself. Thus, Wang Tao handed three Potions to Nie Siyan. ¡°You go second, if you can win, then so be it, if you feel you can¡¯t win, then use all these Potions in front of everyone...¡± Wang Tao produced a small Strength Potion, a small Running Potion, and a small Defense Potion. The rules of this duel were simple: there were hardly any, except for the prohibition of firearms. Everything else was fair game. So, Wang Tao directly told Nie Siyan to pop the Potions. These Potions could significantly boost Nie Siyan¡¯s power, and it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult to win against them. Another reason Wang Tao took out the Potions was that he was too lazy to compete himself, and importantly, he could also use the opportunity to advertise his own Potions... ¡°Alright!¡± Nie Siyan knew the effects of these Potions, but she had never used them. Seeing Wang Tao give her three Potions at once moved her deeply and excited her. She wanted to see how powerful the Enhancement from these Potions really was. The first match of the finals started quickly. Firefly Club¡¯s competitor was Xu Xiaojun, while the Thunder Guild didn¡¯t send their 29,999 HP Gang Leader but the weakest among them. ¡°Tsk, it seems like they think you¡¯re an easy target!¡± Wang Tao chuckled to Nie Siyan by his side. Chapter 467: 206: Selling Items (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_3 Chapter 467: Chapter 206: Selling Items (Seeking Basic Monthly Votes at the Beginning of the Month)_3 Thunder Guild obviously did their homework on the Firefly Club; they didn¡¯t want to go head-to-head with Xu Xiaojun, so they threw this fight right from the start. They were pinning all their hopes on the last two matches. Anyone with a bit of strength could tell that Nie Siyan was not as capable as Xu Xiaojun. And the last contestant, Wang Tao, had never made a move before. So, they had reason to suspect that Wang Tao was even weaker. On the other side, Thunder Guild. It was indeed similar to what Wang Tao had imagined; this was the tactic they had devised. ¡°When it¡¯s your turn to fight, don¡¯t go up against that hulking guy in armor; you can¡¯t beat him. Just concede right away, and you¡¯ll avoid a beating,¡± the Gang Leader instructed the others. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Then it¡¯ll be me against that bitch Nie Siyan! As the Gang Leader of Thunder Guild, battling with her, the president, won¡¯t diminish my status. But I¡¯m going to beat the shit out of her! Not giving her a chance to surrender!¡± ¡°As for you, wait for the third match, to fight the other big guy, who¡¯s never made a move. He must be pretty weak, probably just there to make up the numbers. Your strength is second only to mine; you¡¯ll surely win with ease...¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Give it your all! We¡¯re going to avenge our past disgrace this time!¡± ¡°Kill!¡± After hashing out their plan, Thunder Guild¡¯s first fight began. Out of respect for the finals, Xu Xiaojun prepared to start with a Rush and a Shockwave, but his opponent was even quicker ¡ª just as he got on stage, he raised his hand to surrender! Boos erupted from the spectator stands immediately. But those who had survived the apocalypse until now were not thin-skinned, so the guy didn¡¯t care at all; he even flipped the bird at the audience in the stands. Xu Xiaojun stepped off the stage, a bit stunned. In the second match, it was Nie Siyan¡¯s turn. And the Thunder Guild Gang Leader stepped up as well. The Thunder Guild Gang Leader was a middle-aged man about 1.7 meters tall, with quite a few muscles on his body. The appearance of the two factions¡¯ leaders in the finals, especially a man and a woman, with the woman being both very beautiful and curvaceously attractive... This fight instantly drew a lot of attention. Many spectators were shouting the names of the Firefly Club and Thunder Guild, driving the atmosphere to new heights. A cruel smile spread across the Gang Leader¡¯s face; he had planned exactly how to torment Nie Siyan later on. He wanted to beat Nie Siyan so badly she couldn¡¯t surrender, then strip her naked and humiliate her in front of countless people! Nie Siyan felt a bit nervous, but she was no longer her former self. Plus, with potions at her disposal... There was no way she could lose! Soon, the fight began. The Gang Leader launched a barrage of his best moves right out of the gate, aiming to overwhelm Nie Siyan completely. But to his surprise, Nie Siyan was far stronger than he had anticipated! His fierce onslaught had failed to suppress Nie Siyan. This left the Gang Leader looking troubled; his plan had hit a snag at the very first step. However, he quickly adjusted his mindset. Nie Siyan was now at a disadvantage. In another two or three minutes at most, she would be defeated! He might not be able to humiliate Nie Siyan, but a crushing defeat was still acceptable. But at that moment, Nie Siyan suddenly pulled out three potions and injected them into her arm. With a soft ¡®pfft¡¯, Nie Siyan seemed to transform into a different person and rushed at the Gang Leader again. ¡°So fast!¡± It wasn¡¯t as obvious to others, but the Gang Leader, locked in combat with Nie Siyan, could clearly perceive that Nie Siyan¡¯s speed had greatly increased! He used to be able to suppress Nie Siyan with his speed, but not anymore! ¡°What the hell did she inject?¡± If it were just an increase in speed, that would have been manageable. But if other attributes had increased too... Thunder Guild¡¯s Gang Leader suddenly had a bad feeling. And then, his premonition proved accurate! Nie Siyan¡¯s speed had indeed increased, and so had her strength! After being hit with a steel rod in Nie Siyan¡¯s hands, he nearly fell flat! And when he hit Nie Siyan with a stick, she acted as if nothing had happened! ¡°Fuck! Her defense increased too?! This is bad!¡± At that point, the Gang Leader¡¯s ominous feeling intensified! If this were a fight in the wilderness, he¡¯d have run away as soon as he sensed something was off. But this was a match, and running meant losing! With a hardened resolve, the Gang Leader immediately adopted a do-or-die stance, ready for an all-out brawl. But Nie Siyan¡¯s own strength was not lacking; it was just that her HP was a bit lower, making her physically weaker. However, with the enhancement from the potion, her physical condition surpassed that of the Gang Leader. No matter how fierce he was, it didn¡¯t work against absolute strength! So, a minute later. Bang! Nie Siyan struck the Gang Leader down with a steel rod and then, with her stiletto boots, decisively stomped on his head. ¡°Firefly Club wins!¡± As soon as the Gang Leader was clearly unable to get up, the referee immediately declared Nie Siyan the winner. The crowd went wild with cheers, even dubbing Nie Siyan ¡°Steel Rod Queen.¡± Meanwhile, the other Ability Users¡¯ attention was not on Nie Siyan¡¯s win or loss but rather on the empty potion bottles on the ground. The substance Nie Siyan had just injected... what was it? Especially those from the four major forces were eyeing Nie Siyan with interest. They wanted that potion too! Suddenly, those major forces, including the clubhouses, extended invitations ¡ª oh no, they actually came over in person to have a chat with Nie Siyan. Watching the crowd approach, a pleasantly surprised Nie Siyan whispered to Wang Tao by her side: ¡°Master, it seems I¡¯ve helped you sell things again, oh. How is master going to reward me~¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao felt like this woman was becoming more and more audacious; he¡¯d have to teach her a lesson properly later. Chapter 468: 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_1 Chapter 468: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_1 After the competition ended, it was supposed to be the time for Zijin Base to announce some matters. However, because the potion used by Nie Siyan was so incredibly effective, it drew all the attention to itself, with folks from the four major factions even crowding around Nie Siyan... So, a significant amount of time passed before those from the major factions finally left, seemingly reluctant to part. ¡°Brother Wang! We sold quite a bit this time!¡± Nie Siyan said with a little excitement. The people from the four major factions had just placed their orders after learning about the uses of these potions. These potions weren¡¯t cheap, but those people didn¡¯t even blink. Nie Siyan gave them a few bottles, and they didn¡¯t even wait for the experimental results¡ªwho needed results when actual combat was far more convincing! ... ¡°Next up is the announcement of the rankings...¡± The staff from Zijin Base began to declare the rankings. Firefly Club unquestionably took first place, while Thunder Guild had to settle for second. Winning first place in the competition meant, to some extent, that Firefly Club¡¯s strength was ranked first among all mid-sized factions. Below the four major factions, it was ranked fifth! Of course, these honorary titles were irrelevant; what mattered were the benefits allocated by Zijin Base! ¡°According to the agreement among us four major factions, out of 15 Level 3 ability user slots, we will give out three, going to Firefly Club for placing first, Thunder Guild for second, and third goes to...¡± The four factions equally shared twelve slots, three each. Then, they gave out another three slots, one for each of the top three... This outcome was as expected by everyone. After all, these were the four major factions, and it was impressive enough that they were willing to distribute any slots at all. Other factions without slots were both envious and regretful. However, at that moment, the announcer added: ¡°However, these 15 slots are not set in stone, since nobody knows what kind of Crystal Cores zombies might drop. Our intention is to put all efforts into killing zombies and gather enough cores for the 15 slots. If we end up with extras, those will naturally be distributed among everyone!¡± Upon hearing this, many people got excited. There was still a chance! Seeing the mood had been stirred up, the man continued: ¡°Next, let¡¯s talk about how to kill Level 3 zombies. Level 3 zombies are very strong, especially since we need to kill a large number of them, so we¡¯ll need some special methods. For instance, the ¡®Weak Slime¡¯ Crystal Cores¡ªthis ability can weaken a zombie¡¯s strength! Coming up, I will distribute these cores according to rank, free of charge...¡± Wow¡ª Hearing that Zijin Base was giving away Crystal Cores for free, everyone became very excited. ¡°Oh right, the power of these Crystal Cores can be stacked. The more people use it, the stronger it is! So after everyone integrates their Crystal Cores, come over for an emergency intensive training session to get acquainted with how to stack them...¡± Upon hearing that the abilities could be stacked, people became even more excited. It was the first time they had encountered powers that could be used in combination! Those who had already received some intel murmured to themselves as expected. Zijin Base indeed had these sorts of Crystal Cores! But it seemed that fusing these Cores wasn¡¯t exactly easy... At that moment, the man brought over a case that looked like it had a combination lock, filled with Level 1 Crystal Cores that were blue and purple, with none of the lowest quality white ones. ¡°But to integrate this Crystal Core, there are conditions. As for what the conditions are specifically, we have not fully understood them, so the failure rate is high...¡± Zijin Base didn¡¯t hide anything and openly shared the downsides of the Crystal Core. The crowd didn¡¯t seem to care about that¡ªwhat did it matter when they were getting Crystal Cores for free? He distributed Crystal Cores to the factions present according to their rankings. Since Firefly Club ranked first, they received a total of 20 cores, 10 blue and 10 purple. The lower the ranking, the fewer the Crystal Cores received. Some factions towards the end only got two each. When Wang Tao saw these Crystal Cores, he finally understood why their fusions often failed. [Level 1 Crystal Core¡¤Weak Slime] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 50% (Side Effect: Cannot be successfully integrated if internal impurity is less than 10%)] [Weak Slime: Consumes energy to spray a slime that puts zombies in a weak state; the weakening effect is related to the number of people using this ability.] The side effect of this Weak Slime was that anyone with less than 10% internal impurity couldn¡¯t successfully fuse it. Without a 10% internal impurity, even an Epic Crystal Core would be useless. This condition was quite troublesome. With no external factors affecting it, 10% internal impurity was equivalent to fusing 20 Level 1 Crystal Cores. And people who could fuse 20 Level 1 Crystal Cores were very likely to have no space left to integrate other Cores. Moreover, Zijin Base would certainly prefer to let those who were not ability users integrate these Weak Slime Crystal Cores... So, that was why their chances of successful integration were not high. Plus, there was another drawback to this Crystal Core¡ªthe slime could only weaken zombies, which meant it was useless against humans, right? The value of that ability had just taken a serious hit. In a post-apocalyptic world, they faced dangers not just from zombies, but from people as well! If it were a struggle between various factions, then this ability would be useless. But on the flip side, since this ability was effective only on zombies, it would make killing zombies a lot more comfortable, without fear of affecting one¡¯s own side... ¡°Brother Wang, we can¡¯t integrate these Crystal Cores!¡± Nie Siyan said after receiving the cores, feeling a bit troubled by this stroke of good luck. No doubt the Weak Slime Crystal Core was valuable, but all of them who came to Zijin Base were Level 2 ability users. Not to mention whether they had any slots for abilities left¡ªif they did, Level 2 ability users were unable to integrate Level 1 Crystal Cores anyway. Chapter 469 - 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 469: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_2 ¡°` ¡°Let¡¯s hold on to them for now.¡± Wang Tao promptly pocketed these crystal cores. The 20 crystal cores could be combined into an Epic Crystal Core without side effects, naturally eliminating the restriction of having 10% internal impurities. However, he didn¡¯t have anyone who could fuse with them at the moment, so it wasn¡¯t possible. Nie Siyan mentioned this to the people over at Zijin Base. There were only nine members in the Firefly Club, and they were all second-order ability users. Even counting other people inside the arcade, that made just over thirty. These twenty crystal cores... were a bit too many. Of course, Nie Siyan didn¡¯t mean to return the crystal cores, but to tell them that no one in the Firefly Club could fuse with them, preventing collaboration. As said before, the higher-ranked forces received many benefits, but they also had to contribute a lot of manpower... The people at Zijin Base hadn¡¯t expected the Firefly Club to be so short on personnel. If it had been before today, they would likely be unhappy. But now, considering they had purchased some crystal cores and potions from Nie Siyan, they naturally smiled and said no problem, special circumstances called for special treatment. Moreover, Nie Siyan had also said that during the operation to kill level 3 zombies, all of the Firefly Club¡¯s second-order ability users would participate. The contribution of these second-order combat powers would undoubtedly be greater than that of the Weakness Slime ability. So there was no question of the Firefly Club not pulling their weight... ¡°Next, everyone go back and fuse with the crystal cores, then we¡¯ll have a special training tonight, and tomorrow we¡¯ll go hunting level 3 zombies! Dismissed!¡± People dispersed, all eager to fuse with such crystal cores. After all, rumors suggested that this ability was very powerful, and even level 3 zombies would be affected by it, though it was a level 1 ability... The Thunder Guild glared viciously at the Firefly Club, but Nie Siyan glared back undaunted and flipped them the bird. The Thunder Guild, not wanting further embarrassment, could only leave in a huff. After returning to the villa area with Nie Siyan and the others, Wang Tao thought for a moment, didn¡¯t head straight back, but took Jiang Shixue by the hand and turned towards Villa No. 7. It was time to freeload a meal. When they arrived at Villa No. 7, they encountered Lu Yingfeng just coming back. ¡°Is dinner ready yet? I¡¯m starving.¡± Wang Tao greeted. ¡°...¡± Lu Yingfeng felt Wang Tao was really treating himself like family! But seeing Jiang Shixue peeking out from behind Wang Tao and looking at her with those pure, large eyes, Lu Yingfeng immediately thought, it¡¯s just a meal, no big deal! ¡°Wang Tao, come in quickly! The food is ready!¡± Lan Yulian, inside the house, saw Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue and immediately waved them over. Lan Yulian was the cook today, and compared to the last time, her skills had improved quite a bit. Although it still didn¡¯t look great, the taste was pretty good. Lan Yulian had also prepared a lot of fruit for Jiang Shixue, including the large grapes they ate yesterday. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hold back, acting as if he were at his own home. During the meal, Wang Tao suddenly asked: ¡°That Weak Slime Crystal Core, I seem to have seen it before. I heard that the probability of successfully fusing with it is related to the amount of internal impurities. People who have fused with over twenty level 1 crystal cores have a much higher success rate when fusing with this kind of crystal core.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The two women were momentarily stunned, then both looked at Wang Tao with serious faces. ¡°Is the information reliable?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°This information is very important! You don¡¯t mind if I share it with others, do you?¡± Lan Yulian asked Wang Tao. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao had shared this information with the intention of telling other people. After all, they were working together to kill zombies. The more ability users with the Weakness Slime ability, the less danger there was in killing zombies, and the more zombies they could kill. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to spread the word himself, partly because he didn¡¯t have much fame, which might lead to skepticism, and partly because he didn¡¯t want the hassle, which could lead to further troubles. By directly telling Lan Yulian and the others, whether or not they believed it, Wang Tao had done his part. Now it seemed, they trusted Wang Tao¡¯s words quite a bit. Moreover, such information could be verified with a trial. Even if Wang Tao was incorrect, there would be no loss, as they would have to fuse with crystal cores eventually anyway. If Wang Tao was right, it would be a huge gain! The club also received a good number of Weak Slime Crystal Cores, and Lan Yulian ordered her subordinates to test them while sending people to notify other forces of this news. Then Wang Tao produced some Strength Potions, Defense Potions, and Running Potions. ¡°These are what you specifically asked for.¡± Lu Yingfeng had already told Lan Yulian about the events at the competition venue during the meal. Hearing that Wang Tao had other miraculous potions, Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes lit up, but she had restrained herself from rushing him. Now that Wang Tao presented them, Lan Yulian was pleasantly surprised, and Lu Yingfeng shot Wang Tao a glare. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you didn¡¯t have these potions on you before?¡± Previously at the contest site, she had secretly asked Wang Tao if he had any potions because she felt the supply wouldn¡¯t be too plentiful, and she wanted to buy some in advance. Everyone thought that the potions belonged to Nie Siyan, but she knew for sure they were Wang Tao¡¯s. The potions Nie Siyan showed off looked very similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Rejuvenation Potions from before. But Wang Tao had flat out said he didn¡¯t have any, suggesting that they place orders with Nie Siyan if needed. ¡°` Chapter 470 - 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Chapter 470: Chapter 207 Making a Fortune (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t give it much thought at the time. But now, seeing Wang Tao suddenly take out so many potions again, she felt deceived. Wang Tao was somewhat helpless. ¡°When I said I didn¡¯t have any, it was because we have a good relationship, right!¡± ¡°Huh? Because we have a good relationship?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy for me to get these potions, so naturally the price can¡¯t be low. But given our relationship, it wouldn¡¯t be right to charge you too much, so of course I¡¯d give you a discount. If other people knew that I offered you a better price, wouldn¡¯t that look bad?¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Huh? You¡¯re going to give us a discount?¡± Lu Yingfeng was immediately surprised, since these potions were much more expensive than the Rejuvenation Potions from before. ¡°Of course!¡± Wang Tao nodded, then added, ¡°But since I¡¯m giving you a discount, you guys should buy more, or else I¡¯ll lose out!¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian always felt like she was dealing with a swindler. But to tell the truth, no one could ever have too many potions; she was willing to buy more. So, the two sides conducted another pleasant transaction. Wang Tao also took the opportunity to introduce some other potions, like the Stealth Potion, Weakness Potion, Screaming Potion, Eyesight Potion, and Breath-holding Potion. These potions were even more expensive, after all, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t produce them himself, and they were limited in number; he wouldn¡¯t sell too many of them. Of the Stealth, Weakness, and Eyesight potions, Lan Yulian wanted them all, even though they were pricey. But Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t sell them separately; he bundled them with the Screaming and Breath-holding Potions, making the deal even costlier... Seeing Lan Yulian hesitate, Wang Tao spoke up immediately: ¡°You won¡¯t find such an opportunity again! I¡¯m only selling to you because we¡¯re on good terms. Others wouldn¡¯t be able to buy these even if they offered a higher price!¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Lan Yulian gritted her teeth and made the purchase. The prices of Wang Tao¡¯s potions were really steep, but their effects were genuinely excellent; she didn¡¯t want to miss out. After completing another transaction, Wang Tao¡¯s smile was simply uncontrollable, though he made no attempt to hide it. ¡°You swindler, could you not hide it a little?¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat speechless. She knew that no matter how poor Wang Tao pretended to be, he definitely still made a profit, and probably a substantial one at that. But business is all about mutual consent. Having decided to buy, there was no need to bother about someone making money off her. But right after the deal was done, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t contain his glee, it made her feel like a complete sucker. Was this really okay? ¡°Making money is naturally joyful; pretending otherwise would just seem fake.¡± Wang Tao said indifferently. ¡°Nonsense.¡± Lan Yulian gave Wang Tao a disdainful look. A beautiful woman, even when rolling her eyes, carries a charm all of her own. Wang Tao took a few extra glances. Suddenly, Lu Yingfeng asked: ¡°You wouldn¡¯t happen to have other treasures on you, would you?¡± ¡°I do.¡± Wang Tao nodded straightforwardly. Upon hearing this, Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao expectantly. ¡°Let¡¯s see them!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t show them. If you see them and can¡¯t afford them, it will only add to your troubles. Better not to look.¡± Wang Tao was blunt. From the recent transactions, he felt that Lan Yulian was almost squeezed dry by him. ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat speechless; it was as if she had been belittled. But indeed... she really didn¡¯t have any more Crystal Cores on hand. Their club was not very wealthy to begin with, and compared to the other three major powers, their economic strength was much weaker. Now, after several transactions with Wang Tao, they had exhausted most of their reserves, leaving her truly impoverished. ¡°Let¡¯s forget it then.¡± Lan Yulian waved it off resignedly. If Wang Tao truly had something good, but she couldn¡¯t afford it... seeing it would only amount to torture! Wang Tao smiled and didn¡¯t linger on the topic. He had plenty of good things on hand, and even something very suitable for Lan Yulian! Like that Crystal Core with healing abilities. But Lan Yulian really didn¡¯t have anything of value left, so there was no point in looking. After chatting for a bit more, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue got up to leave. ¡°We¡¯ll be heading back then.¡± At this moment, Lan Yulian spoke up: ¡°Wang Tao, are you sure you won¡¯t consider joining our club?¡± ¡°No thanks, bye-bye.¡± Wang Tao waved casually without turning back and left with a bunch of big grapes. ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian sighed helplessly. Luring Wang Tao over to their club was a long and arduous task! After Wang Tao returned, he took out a large number of potions and gave them to Nie Siyan. After all, all four major powers had placed large orders. By evening, Nie Siyan was back. ¡°Brother Wang! I¡¯ve sold everything!¡± she said, holding a big pile of Crystal Cores, ¡°I was so anxious on the way back, worried I might lose the Crystal Cores...¡± Nie Siyan patted her exaggerated pectoral muscles. After all, there were so many Crystal Cores, including many Level 2 ones, and she had never seen so many Level 2 Crystal Cores in her life! ¡°Good job! You deserve a great reward tonight!¡± Upon hearing about a reward, Nie Siyan¡¯s face lit up. She licked her lips seductively and said to Wang Tao: ¡°Thanks for the reward, Master~¡± ¡°Silly girl!¡± ¡°Thank you for the compliment, Master~¡± ... In the evening. After thoroughly rewarding Nie Siyan, she fell into a deep sleep. Wang Tao then took out the Crystal Cores he had on hand. During his two days at the Zijin Base, he had earned a huge amount of Crystal Cores! Let alone Level 1 Crystal Cores, there were plenty of Level 2 Crystal Cores that were useful to him! ¡°Begin synthesis!¡± Moments later, a bunch of synthesized Level 2 Crystal Cores appeared before Wang Tao. Seeing these Epic Crystal Cores with no impurities or side effects, Wang Tao grinned from ear to ear. He had three Level 2 Abilities, but all three were ¡°fused with other abilities, yet not to their limit.¡± Now, Wang Tao felt he could fuse them to their limits! Once he had all his abilities fused to their limits, he could begin preparing to advance to Level 3! Chapter 471: 208 I Have Connections Above (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_1 Chapter 471: Chapter 208 I Have Connections Above (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_1 Wang Tao still had a lot of special energy, and after a series of experiments, consuming a massive amount of special energy, Wang Tao successfully synthesized four abilities! The first is the ¡°Barrier¡± ability. This time, among the Level 2 Crystal Cores Wang Tao obtained, there was a persistent ability. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Enhancement] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: body stiffness)] [Mental Enhancement: During the duration, it can increase mental power, making one more focused and less likely to be disturbed by external factors] To most people, this Mental Enhancement Crystal Core would be considered somewhat underwhelming. But for Wang Tao, it was a treasure! Because the weaker the spirit, the more susceptible to being influenced by illusions. Conversely, the stronger the spirit, the easier it is to break free from illusions! Other people might have never encountered zombies or monsters that use illusions, and if they did, they would probably die on the spot without passing on any information. Hence, there was no news about attacks involving illusions. But Wang Tao was different, he had already encountered monsters that attacked with illusions twice! He had been thinking all this time that it would be great if he could find a Crystal Core with mental defense capabilities. And now this core that directly increases mental power essentially acts as an increase in mental defense! Belonging to persistent abilities, Wang Tao felt that this ability should be able to synthesize with Barrier. And sure enough, they had a high probability of synthesis! Thus, Wang Tao immediately went ahead with the synthesis, and moments later, a brand new ability emerged. [Level 2 Ability ¨C Iron Wall] [Iron Wall: For the duration, it can enhance defense, speed, spirit, and slowly recover certain HP (Side effect: none)] Iron Wall! The description of this ability was very fitting with its name. Defense, speed, spirit were all enhanced, and it also had blood regeneration! One can only say one word, strong! However, the Iron Wall Ability had reached its fusion limit and couldn¡¯t be further synthesized for now; any further upgrades would have to wait until Level 3... Next is the ¡°Super Berserker¡± passive ability. Among the Level 2 Crystal Cores Wang Tao had, there were two passive abilities suitable for him. They were [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Defense] and [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Excitement]. [Defense: Passive Ability, enhances personal defense] [Excitement: Passive Ability, enhances personal spirit] To most people, these Crystal Cores would seem just decent. Everyone prefers abilities that can be actively deployed. These kinds of passive abilities, especially the defensive ones, are less popular and relatively less valuable. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t care because he could synthesize abilities. So Wang Tao checked, and indeed, these abilities could be synthesized with Super Berserker, with a not so low probability! Wang Tao spent 10,000 special energy and successfully synthesized both abilities into the Super Berserker. As a result, Wang Tao obtained a brand new ability. [Level 2 Ability ¨C Extraordinary Rage] [Extraordinary Rage: Passive Ability, can increase strength, defense, spirit, running speed, motor skills, throwing technique. When HP falls below 30%, triggers berserk (Side effect: none)] This ability also reached its fusion limit, and the next fusion would be at Level 3. This ability was equally incredible. One ability increased seven attributes! Although they were all passive and might not seem very intuitive, their strength was unquestionable! As for Wang Tao¡¯s remaining ¡°Vibrational Attack¡± skill, he hadn¡¯t found a suitable ability to synthesize it with yet. So Wang Tao extracted that ¡°Vibrational Attack.¡± Because he was about to start upgrading his own abilities. Wang Tao had already stockpiled a batch of Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores, but because his abilities weren¡¯t ready, he hadn¡¯t used them. Now that two abilities had reached their synthesis limit and any further fusion would have to wait until Level 3, Wang Tao prepared to max out these two abilities to Level 2. He prepared 20 Omnipotent Crystal Cores that had been synthesized! Among them, 9 Omnipotent Crystal Cores were synthesized from two cores and contained 0.1% impurity. The remaining 11 Omnipotent Crystal Cores synthesized from three cores were free of impurities. Wang Tao had previously extracted the [Level 1 Special Ability ¨C Sprint (+10)] and [Level 2 Ability ¨C Vibrational Attack (+1)]. Now he had only ¡°Iron Wall¡± and ¡°Extraordinary Rage¡± left on him. Wang Tao spent some time to fuse all these 20 Omnipotent Crystal Cores. [Level 2 Ability ¨C Iron Wall (+10)] [Level 2 Ability ¨C Extraordinary Rage (+10)] Both Level 2 abilities had been upgraded by +10! Then, Wang Tao began to use a Cleansing Potion that could remove internal impurities from his body. Previously, he had 1.1% impurity in his body, but after fusing 9 cores with 0.1% impurity, his internal impurity level reached 2%, while a bottle of Cleansing Potion could remove 1% of internal impurity. He only needed two bottles¡ªthis was something Wang Tao had calculated in advance. Pfft~ After injecting the Cleansing Potion into his body, a cool sensation spread instantly throughout Wang Tao¡¯s body. Then, that subtle feeling of discomfort, that oppressive sensation in his heart... vanished! Ever since he had impurities in his body, he felt slightly uncomfortable. Although it wasn¡¯t very obvious and didn¡¯t affect his daily life and combat, the feeling was indeed there. But now, he felt completely relaxed! This was the feeling of having a body with not a single impurity! Wang Tao looked at his attributes. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 16300/16300] Chapter 472: 208 I Have Connections Above (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 472: Chapter 208 I Have Connections Above (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_2 [Special Energy: 140] [Grade: Level 2] [Hidden Attributes: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] [Ability: Level 2 Iron Wall (+10), Level 2 Extraordinary Rage (+10), Level 2 Vibration Shock, Level 1 Sprint (+10)] Looking at his attributes, Wang Tao clenched his fist. ¡°I suddenly feel so strong!¡± Wang Tao was a bit smug for a moment, then quickly regained his composure. Getting cocky was out of the question, for Wang Tao knew all too well how terrifying the apocalypse could be. Take Zijing City for instance, it was home to a Level 4 Monster Lord! ¡°Sleep now, tomorrow will be a good day to test my strength!¡± ... The next day, early morning. Wang Tao and his party got up early. There was some commotion in the villa area as everyone came out. That¡¯s because today they were going hunting for Level 3 zombies! Honestly, for many people, the progress was a bit too fast. After all, they still didn¡¯t know anything about Level 3 zombies, not even where to find them, so they were understandably nervous. But fortunately, it wasn¡¯t just them taking action this time, a lot of people from the four major powers were also participating. This provided everyone some comfort, as the strength of the four major powers was beyond doubt. People from the villa area and other districts all gathered in the plaza, a massive crowd that was quite a sight to behold. The people from the four major powers arrived as well. ¡°Everyone, divide into four teams, each led by one of the four major powers. You are free to choose your team! Those with the Weak Slime Ability, come forward and form a separate team...¡± someone shouted from a platform to the crowd. This time, given the large number of participants, they divided everyone into five teams for easier management. The first four teams were each led by one of the four major powers. The fifth team was made up of Ability Users with the Weak Slime Ability. Thanks to Wang Tao, who had Lan Yulian announce the fusion conditions for the Weak Slime Crystal Core, they managed to increase the Core¡¯s fusion success rate by several times in an instant! Originally, Zijin Base had planned to create a small team specifically for these Weak Slime Ability Users, but now they had enough for a large team. Some of the senior members of Zijin Base were both happy and regretful. They were glad because once they knew the correct method to fuse the Crystal Cores, they could create more Weak Slime Ability Users. They regretted sending out a large number of Weak Slime Crystal Cores yesterday... If they had known earlier about the limitation of internal impurities, they definitely wouldn¡¯t have distributed so many and would have prioritized their own people. But there were no ifs. They could only sigh and try to make up for this ¡°loss¡± elsewhere. And many from Zijin Base even bore some grudges. In their view, people at the club probably knew about the limitation of the Crystal Core, but they purposely kept silent. Only after the Cores were distributed did they act like benefactors and announce this critical news... how cunning! It was no surprise that people from Zijin Base would think this way, given the ongoing overt and covert battles between the four major powers. In any case, as soon as Lan Yulian, with Wang Tao¡¯s agreement, publicized the information, they no longer cared about these matters... As for the teams, the fifth team was led by a veteran Level 2 Weak Slime Ability User from Zijin Base. They had a deep understanding of the Ability and it made sense for them to lead this team. The other four teams were personally led by the leaders of the four major powers. The first team was led by Zijin Base, with the leader of Zijin Base acting as the team captain. This was a man in a crisply ironed green military uniform, wearing a military hat and white gloves, and holding a ceremonial military saber. He was 1.8 meters tall with an average appearance, but he had a determined expression and a strong military demeanor. No one knew his name; he only had one code name¡ªGeneral. Wang Tao looked at this ¡°General¡±¡®s attributes. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 7000/7000] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 25%] [Hidden Attribute: Inspire] [Inspire: As long as he is alive, he can boost the morale of those around him] Powerful attributes, plus a hidden attribute. Morale may not be reflected in specific numbers, but it¡¯s definitely something that can affect combat strength. General¡¯s ability seems tailor-made for large-scale combat! Even though others couldn¡¯t see General¡¯s attribute panel, his team attracted the most participants. It couldn¡¯t be helped, the strength of Zijin Base was evident for all to see. Following such a team might yield fewer gains, but it was surely the safer option. ... The second team was led by the Prison faction, with the leader of Prison acting as the team captain. The leader of Prison was a lean man, not very tall, about 1.7 meters, and not very muscular. It was said his surname was Ji, but nobody knew his full name, and he was generally referred to as ¡°Prison Head.¡± Prison Head gave off a dangerous vibe, especially when people met his narrow, slanting eyes; it felt like being targeted by a venomous snake. And for some reason, he even liked to wear an orange prison uniform. Influenced by him, many members of Prison also wore prison uniforms. They seemed not to be ashamed of their status as former prisoners, taking pride in it, instead? Similarly, this Prison Head¡¯s attributes were also strong. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 7000/7000] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 39%] [Hidden Attribute: Destruction] Chapter 473: 208 I Have Connections Above (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Chapter 473: Chapter 208 I Have Connections Above (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)_3 [Destruction: Destroying things will increase a certain amount of combat power.] Prison Head also had a hidden attribute, and Wang Tao felt this hidden attribute wasn¡¯t bad either, as it could directly increase combat power. Moreover, this condition was relatively simple to trigger, since with the combat power of second-order superpower owners like themselves, destroying something was very easy... The prison was the most notorious force in Zijing City, without a peer. Logically speaking, there should be fewer people choosing to team up with them. But in reality, quite the opposite was true; the number of people choosing to follow them was second only to Zijin Base. Because the prison had previously guaranteed that they would absolutely not betray their teammates during this operation and also welcomed everyone to supervise. Although the name of the prison was poor, its reputation was very good. To some extent, this guarantee was also a form of reputation. So, everyone was somewhat relieved. Of course, the most important thing was that the prison was very strong! Following the strong was naturally safer... ... The third squad was led by the Ability User¡¯s Alliance. The leader of the Ability User¡¯s Alliance was a man named Kong Xiu, who seemed to be an ordinary university student, even wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, looking harmless to humans and animals. But his strength might be the strongest of them all! [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 12000/12000] [Grade: Level 2] [Internal Impurity: 42%] [Hidden Ability: Endurance Battle] [Endurance Battle: Combat power will slightly increase as the battle time is prolonged.] He had the same 29999 HP, but he had 12000 Mana! What does this Mana mean? It means he has four Level 2 Abilities, and all of them are fused to Level 2+10! Not to mention, he also has a hidden ability related to combat. If you only looked at attributes, no one else was as powerful as Kong Xiu. But combat is not just about the attribute panel; it is a comprehensive consideration of various factors. Therefore, the actual combat power has to be seen in real battles. Most people went to the first and second squads, so the third squad led by the Ability User¡¯s Alliance seemed to have fewer people. However, it wasn¡¯t that everyone didn¡¯t trust them, but because the Ability User¡¯s Alliance originally had fewer members. There were only a little over twenty people. Although these twenty-plus people were all very strong, they definitely couldn¡¯t take care of too many people, so everyone consciously went to the first and second squads. After all, Zijin Base had sent over two hundred people this time, and the prison sent over one hundred! ... The fourth squad, naturally, was the team led by the club, with Lan Yulian as the squad leader. If it were a peaceful time, those willing to join the fourth squad would definitely be the most! There¡¯s no doubt about that, as a group of charming women is also pleasing to the eye. But the reality was that the number of people joining the fourth squad was the least. It was completely different from the welcome they had received at the combat scene previously. The reason was simple ¡ª other people did not trust the strength of the club¡¯s women, including other females. This wasn¡¯t entirely sex discrimination; mainly, the strength of the club was the lowest among these four major forces. There were also rumors that the reason why the club could rank among the four major forces was that their leader was very powerful. That is to say, apart from their leader, everybody else in the club was rubbish. Of course, saying they were rubbish was definitely an exaggeration, but it was certain they were not very strong. Moreover, the club originally didn¡¯t have many members, only a little over thirty... so there were very few people willing to be with the club. ... The fourth squad. Seeing the members of other forces head towards the other three squads without looking back, many of the club¡¯s women had unpleasant expressions on their faces. They felt their strength hadn¡¯t been recognized, and they were even discriminated against. Moreover, if not a single force chose them, wouldn¡¯t that be very embarrassing? Although those who had survived until now weren¡¯t very thin-skinned, it would still feel terrible to be humiliated! However, fortunately, just when these club members were feeling a bit down, a group of people started heading towards them. The leaders were the Firefly Club, the group Wang Tao was part of. The club had a bad impression of the Firefly Club, after all, there had been some verbal spats before. But now, seeing the Firefly Club members walk towards them resolutely, that slight annoyance they had felt before vanished completely at this moment. After all, regardless of anything, the Firefly Club coming over meant they wouldn¡¯t be too embarrassed. Moreover, it wasn¡¯t just the nine people from the Firefly Club; they also brought along more than twenty people! These twenty-plus people were from the small group that Nie Siyan had previously formed, including members from the two weakest forces they had recruited. However, at that moment, the people from those forces felt as if they had boarded a robber¡¯s ship... After Wang Tao and others arrived and stood together with the members of the club, there were altogether more than sixty people, which was quite a considerable group. Lan Yulian gave Nie Siyan a slight nod and then turned to look at Wang Tao, saying with a smile, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you would actually come...¡± She didn¡¯t care about the number of people, but she was quite happy that someone had come, especially Wang Tao. She now also knew that the ostensible leader of the Firefly Club was Nie Siyan, but the real boss behind the scenes was Wang Tao. ¡°Nonsense, of course I¡¯d choose a healer when forming a team!¡± Wang Tao stated matter-of-factly. Setting aside other factors, Wang Tao would still choose to team up with the club. Just like he said, he was not lacking in combat power right now, and it didn¡¯t matter who he teamed up with. But having a healer was always a good thing. ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian gave Wang Tao a glance, not quite accustomed to the term ¡°healer¡± since she didn¡¯t play video games before the apocalypse. After discussing with the other leaders over the radio, Lan Yulian looked towards Lu Yingfeng at her side. Lu Yingfeng immediately waved her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s set off. Our target, the sports center¡¯s stadium.¡± Only then did everyone find out that their destination was the stadium. Since there were so many people involved in the operation, they split into different groups to take separate routes in order to avoid attracting large hordes of Mad Demon Zombies. These routes had been scouted in advance and were very safe. They would all meet up at the stadium around noon. The fourth squad, due to fewer people, fit comfortably into their vehicle, which turned out to be quite convenient. But everyone dared not drive too fast, maintaining a steady speed as they moved forward. They didn¡¯t encounter any major danger along the way, and the minor ones were easily dealt with by others, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t even have to get out of the car. However, at a certain moment, a buzzing sound suddenly came from above. Everyone looked up to see a small black dot appearing in the sky. Everyone was a bit stunned, an airdrop was coming? ¡°Why is an airdrop coming now...¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s perplexed voice came through the radio. The timing of the airdrop posed a dilemma: to collect it or not. Going for the airdrop would surely waste a lot of time, and they wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the destination on time. But not going for it... this was a military airdrop! If it was just food, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal since they weren¡¯t lacking food for now. But what if there were other things? There were good things in airdrops! All eyes turned towards Lan Yulian¡¯s vehicle, waiting for her to make a decision. Lan Yulian was ready to contact the other three major powers to see what they thought. She felt that if they were to collect the airdrop, they should do it together, or if they were to move on, they should all move on together. But she tried to contact them for a long time without success. The plane was slowly flying over, drawing nearer to them. Just as Lan Yulian had made up her mind to abandon the airdrop and continue on their way, Wang Tao¡¯s voice suddenly came from the radio. ¡°Just wait a moment, I¡¯m calling in an airdrop.¡± ¡°?¡± Lan Yulian was confused. What did he mean? Call in an airdrop? Did he think he was hailing a cab? Although she didn¡¯t understand what Wang Tao meant, she still had the team stop; she wanted to see what he was going to do. So, when the military transport plane flew right over their heads, drop after drop, airdrops started to fall from the sky! The dropping location was precisely where their convoy was positioned! Everyone, including Lan Yulian, was stunned. ¡°How... How did you manage that?¡± Lan Yulian quickly asked through the radio. Wang Tao had just said he was calling in an airdrop, and then suddenly a bunch of airdrops fell... This couldn¡¯t be a coincidence, right? All they heard was Wang Tao speaking indifferently, ¡°I¡¯ve got someone on the inside.¡± Chapter 474: 209: The Third Hand_1 Chapter 474: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_1 One minute earlier. As soon as Wang Tao heard the sound of the plane, he immediately took out his military radio and started trying to contact the pilot. ¡°Zzz... Zzz... Zzz...¡± ¡°This is Wang Tao, this is Wang Tao...¡± A moment later. ¡°Zzz... Wang Tao... is that you... Zzz...¡± Wang Tao was just giving it a try out of habit but didn¡¯t really expect to get through, and most importantly, it was Colonel Luo Guozhong on the plane! What a coincidence! Since it was someone he knew, that made things easier. ¡°Colonel Luo, what a fate! I¡¯m right below you in the gourd-shaped plaza. We have nearly a hundred survivors here! So, cough cough... how about an air-drop.¡± Wang Tao had a thick face; despite having asked for air-drops many times before, he still had the nerve to ask again. ¡°Zzz... One moment... Zzz...¡± The signal on the radio was poor, and it was hard to tell if Colonel Luo had any emotion in his voice. Probably none, otherwise he would have definitely refused. Wang Tao was worried that Lan Yulian would order the team to move on, so he quickly used the vehicle-mounted radio to say to her: ¡°Wait a bit, I¡¯m calling for an air-drop.¡± ¡°?¡± Lan Yulian was confused, but subconsciously she ordered the team to stop moving forward. Wang Tao continued talking to Colonel Luo with the military radio. ¡°Colonel Luo! I really appreciate it! I¡¯ll be going to the military base soon, and I¡¯ll definitely buy you a drink when I get there!¡± Wang Tao thought he needed to find a way to get some liquor since he said he¡¯d treat him to a drink, he would definitely keep his word. ¡°Zzz... Haha... Zzz... Hope... to see you again... Zzz...¡± Colonel Luo seemed to laugh over the radio, but Wang Tao couldn¡¯t hear him clearly. Just then, the plane flew directly overhead. ¡°Zzz... Air-drop... I¡¯m leaving... Zzz...¡± One after another, the air-drops appeared from the back end of the plane, crashing down towards the convoy! ¡°My goodness!¡± Lan Yulian was flabbergasted! So was Lu Yingfeng, who was in the same vehicle! Were these air-drops really called in? Or was it just a coincidence? But what were the chances they would stumble upon this just by luck? ¡°How... how did you do it?¡± Lan Yulian quickly asked over the radio. After saying a few more words into the military radio, and watching the plane fly away with no more signal, Wang Tao then picked up the vehicle-mounted radio. He nonchalantly bragged: ¡°I have connections up top.¡± ¡°...¡± Both women were somewhat stunned and at the moment didn¡¯t know what to say. It wasn¡¯t just the two of them; Nie Siyan in another vehicle was also bewildered. She was on the same channel as Lan Yulian and Wang Tao, so she heard their conversation as well. ¡°Brother Wang! You... are impressive!¡± Nie Siyan wanted to say more, but in the end, she only gathered two words. ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? Now go grab those air-drops!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan ordered people to go collect the air-drops. Lu Yingfeng at the clubhouse was relatively calm and had already issued orders. The location where the convoy was situated was a not-so-small plaza, and with the pilot¡¯s great skill, the air-drops had landed precisely on the plaza. But the noise from the transport plane was too loud, attracting a large number of zombies. Mad Demon Zombies appeared in the distance. ¡°Quick, quick, quick! Gather the air-drops, then retreat!¡± Lu Yingfeng got out of the vehicle, dividing the people into two groups, one to collect the air-drops, the other to kill the attracted zombies. Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and others also rushed out, with only Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Lan Yulian still in the car. Wang Tao roughly counted, and there were about a dozen air-drops. That was no small amount; many people had never even seen a single air-drop before, and seeing so many at once, they were incredibly excited. At that moment, someone knocked on the car door. Lan Yulian was standing outside. Today, Lan Yulian was dressed almost identically to Lu Yingfeng, covered up from head to toe, with only her exquisite little face exposed. After Wang Tao opened the door, Lan Yulian climbed aboard and just stared intently at Wang Tao. Wang Tao waved his hand in front of her face. ¡°Lost your mind?¡± Lan Yulian brushed his hand away without saying a word, still looking at him intensely. ¡°...¡± Despite Lan Yulian being a beauty, being stared at like this was rather unsettling. Wang Tao placed his hand on Lan Yulian¡¯s head, then forcibly turned her gaze outside the car. Lan Yulian stubbornly turned her head back and said seriously: ¡°Wang Tao, I must get you to join our club!¡± ¡°Good luck with that.¡± Wang Tao encouraged her. ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian left. She had wanted to ask how Wang Tao did it, but in the end, she refrained from asking. After all, it was Wang Tao¡¯s personal secret, and it wasn¡¯t right for her to keep prying. But she had already decided that she would spare no expense to get Wang Tao into their club! Whether it was his good character highly spoken of by her good friend Zhang Hong, or the high-quality Crystal Cores and Potions that Wang Tao had managed to get through some channels, or his ability to call in air-drops... Each of these alone was worth the effort to recruit him, not to mention they were all found in one person! She had to bring Wang Tao over! Such a talent must not be let slip through to benefit the Firefly Club! Moreover, she had observed that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to feel any sense of belonging to the Firefly Club... This was an opportunity to poach! Returning to her own vehicle, Lan Yulian suddenly had several plans in mind... Wang Tao wasn¡¯t concerned with Lan Yulian¡¯s words; he turned to look at Jiang Shixue. Chapter 475: 209: The Third Hand_2 Chapter 475: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_2 ¡°` ¡°I didn¡¯t sense any powerful zombies. What about you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t either.¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± The commotion caused by the aircraft was significant, attracting a large number of zombies. If a Level 3 Zombie appeared without earlier detection, it might result in some casualties. Although Wang Tao had not gone out, he was still ¡°observing¡± his surroundings through his ¡°Plant Affinity¡± hidden ability. There were many plants around the square, all of which could serve as Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°eyes.¡± After a while, all the airdropped supplies had been picked up. ¡°Retreat!¡± Lu Yingfeng immediately called for everyone to withdraw. At this point, many Mad Demon Zombies had been attracted. These Mad Demon Zombies were much stronger than ordinary zombies, but killing them had almost no benefits, so there was no need to delay. Under Lu Yingfeng¡¯s command, the convoy began to retreat in an orderly fashion. ¡°There are a few Level 2 Zombies. Siyan and Little Jun, go take care of them.¡± Wang Tao had spotted some Level 2, Elite Zombies just then. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan¡¯s HP was still far from reaching the pinnacle of Level 2. They definitely couldn¡¯t miss this opportunity. ¡°Yes!¡± The two immediately grabbed their weapons and ran over. Apart from a few distinctively featured zombies, it was not easy to tell Level 2 Zombies from Level 1 Zombies by appearance alone. Typically, it was the Second-order Superpower Owner who could differentiate. Because Ability Users had a faint Perception of energy, they could sense the approximate level of zombies or other Ability Users at a close range. Of course, this method was not very accurate. For those with Hidden Abilities, or people like Wang Tao who had a restrained aura, it might not work. And, you had to be relatively close for it to be effective. So, as for the surrounding zombies, everyone could only vaguely sense that there probably were no Level 3 Zombies. But it wasn¡¯t so easy to tell which were Level 2 Zombies and which were Level 1 Zombies. Thus, under Wang Tao¡¯s command, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan occasionally took down a few Level 2 Zombies. Those at the clubhouse were somewhat envious, as ordinary Level 2 Elite Zombies were like experience packs for powerful individuals. They also wanted to kill, but such zombies were not easy to discover. They all felt like Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan had radar, always finding the Level 2 Elite Zombies right away. During their journey to avoid the large zombie horde, the convoy encountered a Level 2 Zombie Lord. This zombie was much stronger than the typical Level 2 Elite Zombie. However, under the joint efforts of Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, they were able to successfully kill it. After killing this zombie, Xu Xiaojun¡¯s HP finally reached 29,999! ¡°Little Jun has basically reached the upper limit of Level 2 now, well done! If you want to continue to improve your strength, killing zombies won¡¯t suffice¡ªit has to be through Crystal Cores...¡± Wang Tao first praised Xu Xiaojun before turning to look at Nie Siyan. ¡°Now only you are the weakling left.¡± Nie Siyan felt slightly embarrassed. She was the one lagging behind everyone else in Wang Tao¡¯s group. Her HP was only at 15,000, half of the 29,999 HP limit. ¡°... Brother Wang, I will try my best!¡± Nie Siyan quickly assured him. ¡°Next time we encounter a Level 2 Zombie, it¡¯s your job to land the finishing blow. I hope you won¡¯t disappoint me.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao then took out some Crystal Cores and gave them to Xu Xiaojun. He had a lot of Level 2 Crystal Cores recently, and the types Xu Xiaojun needed weren¡¯t too rare, so he had collected some. Moreover, they had all undergone Synthetic processing and were ready to be fused by Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Thank you, Brother Wang!¡± Xu Xiaojun quickly expressed his gratitude. By the time the convoy had completely evaded the pursuing zombies, Xu Xiaojun had finished fusing all the Crystal Cores provided by Wang Tao, and his Mana had reached 8,400, only 18 Crystal Cores shy of the 12,000 HP ceiling for Level 2. ¡°Wang Tao, I plan to take a break and then open the airdrops. What do you think?¡± At that moment, Lan Yulian¡¯s voice came through the intercom. Strictly speaking, there was no need to inform Wang Tao about this matter since she was the chief commander. But by that time, Lan Yulian already held Wang Tao in high regard and harbored the idea of luring him to her side, so she would definitely show him great respect. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. So, the convoy took a temporary rest in a park. Lan Yulian gathered all the airdrops collected by everyone. As the chief commander, it was naturally her role to distribute these items. Lan Yulian invited Wang Tao and his people over, then began to open the airdrops in front of them. ¡°Compressed food... medical supplies.. an Inhibitor! Very good... Crystal Core Synthesizer... Energy Detector... Hmm? What¡¯s this?¡± Lan Yulian had seen many of the items in the airdrops before, but there was something in one of the boxes she had never seen. However, upon seeing that item, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised. ¡°A Mechanical Arm?¡± It was something that looked a bit like the Mechanical Right Arm that Xu Xiaojun had carried previously. However, it didn¡¯t seem to be either a left or a right arm... to be precise, although it was a mechanical arm, it didn¡¯t look wearable. Wang Tao took the item out, and there was a manual inside. After skimming through it, he suddenly realized. ¡°This is a third arm!¡± No wonder the Mechanical Arm seemed odd¡ªit was a third mechanical arm that could be mounted on the back or shoulder! And this third arm could be combined with the previous Mechanical Right Arm. ¡°` Chapter 476: 209: The Third Hand_3 Chapter 476: Chapter 209: The Third Hand_3 ¡°I¡¯m taking this.¡± Wang Tao spoke up directly. ¡°No problem!¡± Lan Yulian immediately nodded. It was Wang Tao who had obtained this item, so he naturally had the right to first pick. Wang Tao handed the manual to Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. Upon seeing it, they were both amazed. ¡°There¡¯s such a thing? That¡¯s really enlightening... too bad we can¡¯t use it...¡± To use the mechanical arm, one needed considerable strength and size. Xu Xiaojun was just right for it, but they were not only relatively weaker in strength but also petite in build, obviously unable to use it. Wang Tao gave the metal arm to Xu Xiaojun. Xu Xiaojun was currently wearing the Branch Armor, and the Mechanical Right Arm was in the car; he had not put it on. During the previous competition, Xu Xiaojun hadn¡¯t worn the Mechanical Right Arm. Because once activated, he couldn¡¯t measure his force well and his Perception wasn¡¯t clear¡ªit was a mechanical arm, not his own hand. If he ended up killing someone in the ring, it would be quite awkward. So Wang Tao only let him wear the Battle Armor and didn¡¯t let him wear the mechanical arm. But now they were going to fight Level 3 zombies, and Wang Tao naturally wanted Xu Xiaojun to take the mechanical arm with him. However, due to limited space in the vehicle and Xu Xiaojun already wearing the Battle Armor and the mechanical arm, it interfered too much with his driving, so the item was kept in the car. Xu Xiaojun took out the Mechanical Right Arm and combined it with this third arm for assembly. The mechanical arm could be adjusted in size, so even with the Branch Armor on, it wasn¡¯t a problem for Xu Xiaojun. Soon, a man over two meters tall appeared, clad in black Battle Armor, with his entire right arm encased in machinery, and now a third mechanical arm protruding from his back. ¡°Not bad, not bad, it has an ugly-cool kind of vibe...¡± Wang Tao commented. Of course, appearance wasn¡¯t important; capability was. The operation mode for the third arm was very simple, with the control switch on Xu Xiaojun¡¯s left hand. However, since the operation mode was simple and manually controlled, the mechanical arm¡¯s flexibility and functionality were far less compared to a human arm. Especially when not yet proficient in its use, it seemed very stiff. It felt almost like a hindrance rather than an enhancement. But surprisingly, once Xu Xiaojun equipped the mechanical arm, it suited him unusually well! Because Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Battle Armor had a huge Shield on the back, he normally did not use the Shield; after all, he also had a Broken Giant Axe given to him by Wang Tao, which was very heavy and required both hands to wield effectively. In battle with zombies, offense was definitely better than defense. Only when necessary would he use the Shield, but that would certainly cause a delay. Now, it seemed he didn¡¯t have to worry about wasting time. Because he could let the mechanical arm grab the Shield from behind! This didn¡¯t require much operation, just needed the mechanical arm to take out the Shield and block in front of him! Xu Xiaojun tried it out and found that when the mechanical arm was activated, he could instantly control it to place the Shield in front of himself. ¡°Not bad at all!¡± Seeing Xu Xiaojun able to handle both offense and defense, Nie Siyan and Lu Yingfeng were quite envious. Lu Yingfeng, who was always determined to be strong, felt she might not be able to defeat Xu Xiaojun... The remaining airdrops did not contain anything Wang Tao wanted. So Wang Tao took some food, medical supplies, and Inhibitors. Of course, he also took an updated copy of the Zombie Guide. He quietly noted down the additional zombies and monsters in the Monster Manual. The only pity was that there were no records of Four-level zombies. It was only briefly mentioned that there was a huge gap between Fourth-Level Organisms and those of Level 3; upon encounter, one could only run, with no chance of resistance... ¡°There are Four-level zombies now...¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s expression became somewhat grave upon seeing this information. They were all still struggling to achieve Level 3 Ascension, and fighting Level 3 zombies was already difficult; now, Four-level zombies had emerged... This gave her a deep sense of powerlessness. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lu Yingfeng nudged Lan Yulian with her arm. ¡°Right, let¡¯s move on, we should be able to reach the city sports center in another hour!¡± After checking the airdrop, the convoy continued towards the city sports center. The airdrop had provided everyone with more or less a lot of items, after all, there were indeed many airdrops this time. Everyone was joyful; they hadn¡¯t even reached the sports center yet and had already gained so much. This upgrade operation was truly worthwhile! An hour later. The fourth squad finally arrived at the city sports center. Lan Yulian thought she would be the last to arrive, but after a round of inspection, she found out that she was actually the first one. ¡°Where are they? Don¡¯t tell me something happened?¡± Lan Yulian was a bit worried and continued trying to contact the others with the walkie-talkie. Perhaps being closer now, she finally got through. ¡°I¡¯m Lan Yulian. We¡¯ve arrived at the city sports center, where are you guys?¡± ¡°Sss... Wait, we¡¯re picking up more airdrops... Sss...¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face darkened. When the airdrops first appeared, she thought of giving them up to ensure timely arrival. It turned out that everyone went to collect airdrops instead. Zijing City was a large city, and it was unthinkable that planes would only drop airdrops to Wang Tao¡¯s area; many airdrops were released in other places as well. Collecting all the airdrops would definitely take a lot of time... Lan Yulian joined Lu Yingfeng by Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°They all went for the airdrops, what should we do?¡± As soon as Wang Tao arrived at the sports center, he used his Plant Affinity Ability; he could sense many zombies inside! Moreover, Jiang Shixue also told him that there seemed to be a lot of Level 3 zombies! So, Wang Tao curled his lips and said: ¡°Since we¡¯re here, we¡¯re definitely going in to kill zombies!¡± ¡°Alright! Let¡¯s go take a look first!¡± Lan Yulian, decisive as always, immediately began organizing the team to enter the sports center. Chapter 477: 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_1 Chapter 477: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_1 Lan Yulian divided everyone into several small teams, each led by a powerful Second-order Superpower Owner. She and Lu Yingfeng acted as emergency responders, especially Lan Yulian, who needed to pay close attention to everyone¡¯s physical condition. If someone was injured, she needed to go over and heal them in time. Wang Tao let Nie Siyan be the team leader, assisted by Xu Xiaojun, leading the others. Wang Tao himself only took Jiang Shixue with him. After the teams were divided, Lu Yingfeng took the lead and guided everyone into the sports center. The sports center was large and had several landmark buildings that had attracted considerable investment back in the day. But now it was a desolate and dilapidated scene, with many buildings collapsed and vegetation growing wildly in the crevices. Knowing this was a sports center, one might otherwise mistake it for a botanical garden. The gymnasium was in the middle of the sports center. Since cars couldn¡¯t be driven inside, Lan Yulian parked the vehicles outside the sports center and everyone proceeded on foot. ¡°There are zombies!¡± No sooner had they entered the sports center than they saw zombies appear, and there were quite a few of them. Wang Tao glanced at them. They were all Level 2 Common Zombies¡ªwait, Level 2 Common Zombies? Wang Tao thought he had misread and took another look. [HP: 23000/23000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 2, Ordinary] He hadn¡¯t misread; they were indeed Level 2 Common Zombies! This was the first time Wang Tao had seen Level 2 Common Zombies. They seemed weak, but Wang Tao¡¯s expression was serious. The most abundant type of zombie in the world should be the ordinary ones. If the ordinary zombies have all evolved to Level 2... then how are the survivors supposed to live? There were still many ordinary people and Level 1 ability users. These Level 2 Common Zombies would definitely cause them a lot of trouble. ¡°Hopefully, this is just an exception...¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself and then informed Nie Siyan and the others that these were Level 2 Common Zombies and to be careful. Soon, the survivors engaged the zombies and the battle began. Wang Tao observed for a moment; these Level 2 Common Zombies were much like the Level 1 Ordinary Zombies, possessing no special abilities and relying solely on their physical prowess to attack. However, compared to Level 1 Zombies, they were stronger, faster, had higher defense, and more HP. Many people could instantly kill a Level 1 Ordinary Zombie, but killing these Level 2 Common Zombies was quite an effort. Especially those with over 20,000 HP, even if they weren¡¯t as strong as a Level 2, Elite Zombie, they were equally hard to kill... What¡¯s most frustrating was that after finally killing these zombies, there was not a single Crystal Core inside... that was truly annoying. Of course, since they were Level 2 zombies, those whose HP wasn¡¯t full could recover some by killing these zombies. But the amount added wasn¡¯t much, and it wasn¡¯t noticeable. Many people couldn¡¯t even feel their HP increasing... The joy of just finding the airdrop was slowly disappearing¡ªif the gymnasium was also filled with such zombies, then even Level 3 zombies would be useless! What good are zombies without Crystal Cores? However, having come this far, it was impossible to retreat without even seeing the main target. They could only continue forward. Wang Tao observed Lu Yingfeng. This woman was indeed as strong as he expected. Her weapon was a Tang Dao, and it looked like she also had some training with it. She looked cool wielding the Tang Dao! If Xu Xiaojun represented the epitome of brute force, killing zombies with sheer power, then Lu Yingfeng was the embodiment of exquisite technique, killing zombies without seemingly expending any more effort than necessary. She would use only 8 units of strength when 10 weren¡¯t needed, and retreat just enough to dodge a zombie¡¯s attack, never more than what was essential. Her fighting style seemed perilous, but everything was under Lu Yingfeng¡¯s control. And because she did not waste energy, even if her physical fitness and strength might not match Xu Xiaojun¡¯s, she seemed to have much greater endurance! Lu Yingfeng moved with ease among the zombie horde, and even though she wielded a not-so-long knife, none of the zombies could get close to her. Even in sudden situations, she quickly reacted, almost as if she had anticipated them beforehand. ¡°So cool!¡± Wang Tao looked on with longing. Lu Yingfeng clearly wasn¡¯t using any active Abilities and relied on a systematic set of sword techniques amidst the zombie horde, unhindered. If he could learn this set of sword techniques, combined with his own powerful strength and that Bone Knife, couldn¡¯t he slaughter through the zombies? ¡°I¡¯ll have to see if I can steal some moves later... or maybe even ask her to take me as her disciple!¡± Wang Tao already had a plan in mind. Then he looked at Lan Yulian. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear about the specific name of Lan Yulian¡¯s ability, but he saw that whenever someone was injured, Lan Yulian would run over and wave her hand in the air towards that person. A green light would fly from her hand to the person¡¯s head, and then their HP would start to rise. In a moment, that person¡¯s HP increased significantly. However, it was not fully restored because the wounds on their body had not yet healed. Wang Tao felt that this ability was somewhat like his medical kit. The medical kit could also restore HP, but it didn¡¯t necessarily fill it up because some injuries needed time to recover. Of course, the amount of HP Lan Yulian restored was much more potent than the medical kit. The medical kit could only restore 100 HP at a time, which wasn¡¯t very useful for Wang Tao who now almost had 30,000 HP. Chapter 478: 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_2 Chapter 478: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_2 ¡°` But Lan Yulian¡¯s ability can add 1000 HP in one go! That¡¯s equivalent to the Hemostatic Drug in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. It seems her ability doesn¡¯t have much of a cooldown either; as long as she sees someone with low HP, she can use it. It¡¯s much better than a medical kit. And Wang Tao also found that Lan Yulian had not only the ability to add HP but also to heal injuries. There was an unlucky guy who, though not hit by a zombie, fell into a manhole in the street. By the time his teammates pulled him out, one of his feet was somewhat deformed. In such cases, just adding HP would be useless. So, Lan Yulian waved her hand at the man, and a beam of white light flew into his leg. A moment later, his foot slowly returned to normal! ¡°Eh? I¡¯m fine now!¡± The man was still somewhat in disbelief, then hurriedly thanked Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian waved her hand, indicating it wasn¡¯t necessary. Wang Tao noticed that when she was adding HP to someone, the Mana consumption wasn¡¯t much, but when healing injuries, it took up a small chunk of Mana. Clearly, this ability to heal injuries consumes a lot of Mana. ¡°Not bad, a legitimate healer...¡± Wang Tao nodded to himself. Setting other things aside, just these two abilities alone were very strong. If Lan Yulian no longer wished to stay in the club in the future, no matter where she went, she would definitely be a VIP. Moreover, Wang Tao felt that she and Lu Yingfeng made a perfect match. Lu Yingfeng was very strong in combat, slaying zombies as if she were chopping vegetables. Under her deliberate protection, no zombies could get close to Lan Yulian. She would occasionally suffer minor injuries since there were too many zombies, and then Lan Yulian would wave a green light at Lu Yingfeng, and Lu Yingfeng would instantly be back to full HP! Lu Yingfeng protected Lan Yulian while Lan Yulian protected Lu Yingfeng. As long as the two of them didn¡¯t do anything suicidal or encounter irresistible dangers, with their way of fighting, they were basically immortal. Wang Tao was quite envious... He then observed the others, but no one else caught his eye like they did. After spending some time, all the Level 2 Common Zombies were killed. Many people had gloomy expressions on their faces; after all that effort, not a single Crystal Core was seen. But Nie Siyan was very happy because Wang Tao had secretly told her to kill more zombies, to get in the last hit, and even to snatch kills. Because killing these ordinary zombies could also make one stronger, even if it was a slower process. Nie Siyan naturally listened to Wang Tao and quietly snatched quite a few kills from others. Now she could clearly feel that her own strength had increased a bit! Wang Tao glanced at her, her HP was 20,000 now, and by snatching kills she had actually gained 5,000 HP... she really had talent. ¡°Keep moving forward!¡± After confirming that there were no dangers around, Lu Yingfeng immediately led the team to continue towards the gymnasium. At the south gate of the gymnasium, there¡¯s an artificial lake with a bridge over it. To enter the gymnasium from the south gate, one must cross this bridge. And now, this bridge was crowded with zombies. Seeing these zombies, Wang Tao frowned. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Ordinary Level 3] Level 3 Ordinary Zombie! Could this be the kind of zombie without a Crystal Core that Lan Yulian spoke of earlier, powerful but without a core? Glancing around, they were all Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, without a single Elite in sight. Wang Tao really wanted to say something like, ¡°What the hell kind of zombies are you raising? Can¡¯t you even raise a single Elite Zombie? What good is a pile of Level 3 Ordinary Zombies?¡± But while his inner rant was one thing, Wang Tao was prepared to take action himself this time. Because he was only Level Two, and the Level 3, Ordinary Zombies were still Level 3, it would count as defeating above his level, which could give him Special Energy. Wang Tao had just used up all his Special Energy yesterday, so today was a good opportunity to replenish it. ¡°These are all Level 3 zombies.¡± Wang Tao approached Lan Yulian and spoke to her in a low voice. ¡°We¡¯ve encountered Level 3 zombies already? And so many of them!¡± Lan Yulian was immediately startled. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, these are all Ordinary Level 3 zombies with no abilities, just a bit stronger than the Level 2 Common Zombies we just killed. We shouldn¡¯t have too much difficulty dealing with them...¡± ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Upon hearing this, Lan Yulian breathed a sigh of relief. Based on past experience, a Level 1 Elite Zombie and a Level 1 Ordinary Zombie were entirely different creatures, the same was true for Level 2, and it was likely the Level 3 Ordinary Zombies would be similar. Lan Yulian immediately gave orders, informing everyone that they had encountered Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and instructed everyone not to fight individually but to move as squads¡ªpreviously, since the Level 2 Common Zombies didn¡¯t pose much of a threat, many people got careless, so the formation was somewhat disorganized. Now, after hearing these were Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, everyone¡¯s demeanor turned serious and they obediently formed teams, ready to join forces in slaying the zombies. Meanwhile, Wang Tao took Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Giant Axe. The Giant Axe had a large attack range, and its Shockwaves were also grand, convenient for Wang Tao to attack groups. Watching the zombies twisting their bodies and rushing towards them, Lan Yulian raised her hand. ¡°Charge!¡± The teams formed up and slowly started to push forward. But at that moment, a figure suddenly sped past everyone and charged directly into the zombie horde. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Lan Yulian, who had been monitoring the overall situation, instantly changed her expression. ¡°What is he doing!¡± Wang Tao had just personally told her that these were a group of Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, so why did he dare to charge in alone? Lu Yingfeng, standing nearby, also furrowed her brow. ¡°` Chapter 479: 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_3 Chapter 479: Chapter 210 Level 3 Ordinary Zombie_3 She didn¡¯t understand what Wang Tao was going to do, but she was ready to rescue him. In case Wang Tao got stuck and couldn¡¯t get out, she had to quickly pull him out. However, what happened next made both women¡¯s eyes widen. Wang Tao charged into the horde of zombies, raising the giant axe high with both hands before chopping it down toward the ground with force! A transparent shockwave emanated from Wang Tao as its center, spreading outwards in a ring shape. [-17923] [-15484] [-14750] [...] The group of zombies were instantly hit by the shockwave and knocked to the ground! Damages of 10000+ floated above the heads of these zombies, densely packed and somewhat dazzling to the eyes! Wang Tao, seeing the damage numbers, was quite satisfied. ¡°As expected of Level 3 zombies, I have improved my strength so much recently, yet I can only deal a little over ten thousand damage...¡± Wang Tao once again lifted the giant axe, unleashing another ring-shaped shockwave while these ordinary zombies were still down. Pfft~ [-13845] [-14464] [-16494] [...] In that instant, countless zombies were shattered by the shockwave, leaving not a single intact corpse behind! Seeing that there were still a few zombies standing, Wang Tao swung his axe again. Pfft~ [-2878] [-4755] [-1570] [...] After three axe blows, only Wang Tao was left standing on the bridge, surrounded by the stench of blood and disgusting chunks of flesh. ¡°...¡± The others were utterly dumbfounded. Weren¡¯t they just saying that the bridge was filled with Level 3 Ordinary Zombies? Were they mistaken? Or did they see wrong? These must be Level 2 Ordinary Zombies, right? But even if they were Level 2 zombies, the fact that Wang Tao killed so many with just three axe blows was outrageous! And if these were truly Level 3 zombies¡ª Hiss! Just how powerful is this Wang Tao! The sight left the onlookers somewhat incredulous. After all, they had just fought with Level 2 Common Zombies themselves and knew how strong they were. Most of them had to exert a great deal of effort to kill just one Level 2 Common Zombie... ¡°This, this is really Level 3 Ordinary Zombies?¡± Lan Yulian looked at Lu Yingfeng with a bewildered expression. Lu Yingfeng took a deep breath and said, ¡°They should be Level 3 zombies, their aura is completely different from those Level 2 ones...¡± ¡°But, but how can he be so strong?¡± Lan Yulian still couldn¡¯t quite believe it. ¡°...¡± Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t respond, as she herself also found it hard to believe. She felt that she could kill these Level 3 Ordinary Zombies herself, but it would certainly be a tough fight, and since she didn¡¯t have an ability that could attack groups, she would have to kill them one by one. How could she be like Wang Tao who simply unleashed three shockwaves, shattering all the Level 3 zombies on the bridge in an instant... So it turned out, Wang Tao was this strong! ¡°Could he be a Level 3 ability user?¡± Lan Yulian asked again. ¡°` ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be...¡± Lu Yingfeng shook her head. Wang Tao didn¡¯t realize how much of an impact his actions had on the others. He was collecting loot. Although these were all ordinary zombies without crystal cores, since they were defeated beyond his level, multiple loot packs were dropped. While there wasn¡¯t anything particularly desirable in these packs, just some materials, having something was better than nothing. After making a round on the bridge and having collected all the loot, Wang Tao finally turned to Lan Yulian and the others. ¡°What are you all standing around for? Aren¡¯t we going into the gym?¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian quickly waved her hand, signaling everyone to follow her. ¡°You...¡± She walked up to Wang Tao and looked at him as if he were a monster. ¡°So strong!¡± Lu Yingfeng took over the conversation. ¡°Haha, those level 3 ordinary zombies are actually pretty weak. The two of you could take them down easily.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t boasting, because those level 3 ordinary zombies really were weak. Ordinary zombies and elite zombies were two entirely different breeds, with a huge gap in strength. As second-order superpower owners, they could definitely kill level 3 ordinary zombies. It would just take a bit longer, that¡¯s all. ¡°Really?¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat skeptical. She hadn¡¯t fought against this kind of level 3 ordinary zombie before and wasn¡¯t sure how strong they were. ¡°Of course it¡¯s true. Would I lie to you? There should be quite a few more of these level 3 ordinary zombies in the gym. You¡¯ll know once you try.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Lan Yulian nodded and then added with a smile, ¡°If we run into danger in there, given our relationship, you wouldn¡¯t just stand by and watch us die, would you?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not necessarily the case.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°?¡± Seeing the puzzled look on Lan Yulian¡¯s face, Wang Tao leaned in and whispered in her ear: ¡°I¡¯m going to act alone later and not stick with you guys, so I definitely won¡¯t be able to take care of you. But if you are really in danger, just shout for me, and I will come if I hear you.¡± ¡°...You¡¯re not going with us? That¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Lan Yulian was surprised and worried. ¡°Yeah.¡± When Wang Tao had first arrived at the entrance, he sensed through his plant affinity that there seemed to be something in the second and third sub-levels of the gym, and he planned to go take a look. But that place was very dangerous, and the others would surely die if they went. There was no need for Wang Tao to send them to their deaths. ¡°Alright, then be careful,¡± Lan Yulian said with some concern, then playfully added, ¡°If you¡¯re in any danger, you can shout for me, and I¡¯ll definitely come to save you if I hear it!¡± ¡°...¡± Slap~ Lan Yulian reached out her hand, and Wang Tao gave her a high five. Then Wang Tao added: ¡°The gym is huge; there are many areas inside. I personally think you guys should head to District E... It¡¯s relatively safe there.¡± People should act according to their capabilities; as the fourth team, they were the weakest and didn¡¯t need to act tough. ¡°Ah? District E?¡± Lan Yulian had a map of the gym. District E was quite far from the south gate, requiring a detour. ¡°Trust me.¡± ¡°Fine! Then we¡¯ll head to District E!¡± Seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to be joking, Lan Yulian decided to trust him. The windows of the gym were blocked by tendrils, making the inside very dim, and everyone was a bit nervous. Following the map, Lan Yulian led her teammates slowly towards District E. Wang Tao, on the other hand, split from the team with Jiang Shixue and disappeared into the darkness. ¡°` Chapter 480: 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_1 Chapter 480: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_1 ¡°` Pfft! Wang Tao swung his knife, cleaving a Level 3 Ordinary Zombie vertically in half. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Surveying the zombie corpses scattered all around him, Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°There sure are a lot of zombies here!¡± After splitting from the team, he had encountered many zombies along the way, most of which were Level 2 and Level 3 Ordinary Zombies. Although he could easily deal with them, these zombies didn¡¯t have much in the way of spoils, which was somewhat unsatisfying. However, when Wang Tao looked at his Special Energy, he couldn¡¯t help but grin. [Special Energy: 54140] From the bridge over the artificial lake to now, Wang Tao had amassed a total of fifty-four thousand Special Energy! His previous maximum had only been twenty-six thousand; this was well over his former limit. To synthesize or extract a Level 2 Ability only required 5000 Special Energy. With so much Special Energy, he could operate many times over! But now wasn¡¯t the time to study Abilities; Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue continued moving forward. This was a multifunctional sports complex with three levels above ground, divided into six areas: Districts A, B, C, D, E, and F. Among these, Districts A and B were the largest, C and D were medium-sized, and E and F were the smallest. Previously, there had been blockades in each area that were not interconnected. Zijin Base and the prison where zombies were bred were located in District A, but it had now completely fallen. Some zombies had broken through various blockades, spreading to the other districts. No one knew which district was currently the most dangerous, but Districts A and B were definitely perilous since they were adjacent and many zombies were likely to have moved into District B. However, Wang Tao¡¯s target wasn¡¯t any particular district but rather the underground. Through the plants inside the sports complex, he could vaguely sense that the zombies in Districts E and F were not numerous and were relatively safe. Districts C and D had more zombies and were certainly more dangerous. As for Districts A and B... Wang Tao couldn¡¯t feel anything because there were no plants to utilize there. Lack of sensation didn¡¯t equate to lack of danger; in fact, it could mean the risk was even greater. So, Wang Tao sent Jade Lotus to District E. As for why he didn¡¯t go himself, it was because he sensed that within the underground parking of the sports complex, there seemed to be... a very powerful Plant Monster! His Hidden Ability, Plant Affinity, was also possessed by the Plant Monster. Thus, as soon as he sensed the Plant Monster, it sensed him as well! In that moment, Wang Tao knew he had been targeted by the Plant Monster! With many tendrils and mosses inside the sports complex, he couldn¡¯t avoid them all. So instead of letting a monster keep its eyes on him, it was better to take the initiative and go seek out the creature! Moreover, the information given to Jade Lotus by Zijin Base hadn¡¯t mentioned this Plant Monster, not even the underground parking. They said it was too dark and difficult to clear the area, so they simply sealed off the underground parking. Now, it seemed either they had concealed some information about the underground parking, or something had happened there without their knowledge. But regardless of which scenario it was, Wang Tao was determined to check out the underground parking. After all, both he and Jiang Shixue had Night Vision Abilities and were not afraid of the dark. After walking for a while and killing a few Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, Wang Tao found one of the elevator entrances to the underground parking. ¡°It¡¯s completely sealed off...¡± If it were just blocking the elevator doors, Wang Tao might have found a way to open them, but they used construction materials to block the elevator shafts entirely. Wang Tao was stumped and had to look for another way. ¡°Hm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue both looked up, their eyes¡ªone green, one red¡ªfixating on the darkness. In their line of sight, a pus-oozing, somewhat deformed zombie emerged from around the corner and approached them with a twisted gait. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 3000/3000] [Level: Level 3 Elite] ¡°Could this be one of the Level 3 Zombies they cultivated? But it seems a bit weak...¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly upon seeing the zombie. This Level 3 Elite Zombie had only 3000 Mana, which was even less than some Level 1 Ability Users... ¡°Don¡¯t intervene, I want to gauge its strength,¡± Wang Tao told Jiang Shixue, then holding his Bone Knife, he walked towards the zombie. ¡°Hehehe...¡± The zombie roared furiously at Wang Tao and reached out its hands to grab him. Wang Tao dodged the attack with ease. ¡°Its attack speed is so-so...¡± Then Wang Tao quickly retreated a few steps, prompting the zombie to chase after him swiftly. ¡°Its movement speed is also so-so...¡± When the zombie caught up, Wang Tao directly struck its head with the knife. [-15027] The strike cut off half of its face. ¡°Its defense is average as well...¡± ¡°Hehehe...¡± The attacked zombie seemed to grow angrier, roaring as it lunged at Wang Tao once again. Wang Tao had no intention of testing its attack any further, so he simply swung his knife again. Pfft~ [-14973] The pus-oozing zombie¡¯s HP dropped to zero. ¡°It really is weak...¡± Wang Tao glanced at his Special Energy. Although the zombie was weak, it still provided 1500 Special Energy. Of course, this wasn¡¯t a lot; Wang Tao could get more than six thousand Special Energy from other Level 3 Elite Zombies. Wang Tao then looked at its Crystal Core. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Defense] ¡°` Chapter 481: 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_2 Chapter 481: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_2 [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: bodily suppurate)] [Defense: Passive Ability, enhances personal defense] An extremely ordinary Level 3 Defense Crystal Core. As for the loot, it actually dropped three Loot Packs, but the contents of these packs were also quite run-of-the-mill. The first pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag with only one Crystal Core inside, and it was a Defense one. Luckily, it was of Blue Quality, which was somewhat better than the one he currently had. The second pack held a bunch of materials that ordinary zombies could drop. The third pack was [Defense Potion (small) x10], and the items inside this pack were relatively decent. ¡°This type of zombie should be what they¡¯ve cultivated. Indeed weak, feels like a beefed-up Level 2 Common Zombie. However, for others, it might still prove a bit difficult to handle...¡± Wang Tao felt that if all the Level 3 Zombies were of this caliber, then Zijin Base, having called for so many hands, should be able to handle them. But how many Ascension Crystal Cores these zombies could drop was another story... Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue continued searching for the entrance to the underground parking lot. Along the way, they encountered several more of these Level 3 Zombies, all of which Wang Tao easily dispatched. ¡°Brother, it seems we can go down here.¡± While passing through a corridor, Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. Following Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze, Wang Tao saw a large hole at the end of the corridor, surrounded by many spiky tendrils. Wang Tao hurried over. Looking into the hole, he could see the roofs of several small cars. Beneath was the parking lot! Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush down but instead studied the hole first. From the damage around the hole, Wang Tao had a feeling... as if something had burst out of the ground, creating a large hollow in the floor! Could it have been that Plant Monster¡¯s doing? Wang Tao pondered. He took out his walkie-talkie to get in touch with Lan Yulian. ¡°This is Wang Tao, how are things on your end?¡± ¡°Ssshh... ssshh...¡± After some static, Lan Yulian¡¯s voice came through. ¡°This is Lan Yulian. We¡¯re safe for now, no casualties. How about you? Are you safe?¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe over here,¡± Wang Tao replied, nodding his head. ¡°By the way, why did you take Little Xue away? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is here? You brought Little Xue here, but then you even left with her alone! If I hadn¡¯t been afraid of disturbing you by contacting you rashly, I would have yelled at you a long time ago. You...¡± As Lan Yulian spoke, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s voice could be heard in the background. She seemed a bit angry as well. Hearing their conversation, Wang Tao didn¡¯t get angry; instead, he smiled. Because he could feel that Lan Yulian genuinely cared about Jiang Shixue. In Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes, Jiang Shixue was a somewhat ditsy, lovable little girl. She hadn¡¯t expected that when Wang Tao left, Jiang Shixue would be in the car too. She was even more surprised that Wang Tao had taken Jiang Shixue with him when he departed on his own! If it weren¡¯t for the bad timing, she would definitely have come over to give Wang Tao a good scolding. ¡°Is she worried about me?¡± Jiang Shixue asked beside Wang Tao with some confusion. ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Tao replied, patting Jiang Shixue¡¯s little head, then said into the walkie-talkie: ¡°I took Little Xue with me because she has some Special Abilities that are useful to me. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll protect Little Xue. Don¡¯t you trust my strength?¡± Wang Tao intended to explain Jiang Shixue¡¯s capabilities, but then he thought better of it. He was planning to let Little Xue scare Lan Yulian later on, to satisfy his own mischievous urges. ¡°...Forget it, you¡¯ve already taken her. There¡¯s nothing I can do about that now. I just hope you can keep your word!¡± Lan Yulian sighed with some resignation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. So, where have you gotten to now?¡± Wang Tao changed the subject. ¡°We¡¯re on our way... There are too many zombies around, a lot of Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and we¡¯ve even encountered a few Level 3 Elite Zombies. We haven¡¯t made it to District E yet...¡± At the mention of business, Lan Yulian immediately composed herself and quickly briefed Wang Tao. ¡°That¡¯s decent progress,¡± Wang Tao estimated that based on their speed, it would take another thirty minutes to reach District E. ¡°But I¡¯ve got an Ascension Crystal Core!¡± Lan Yulian suddenly announced. ¡°...An Ascension Crystal Core? Congratulations!¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised; he hadn¡¯t expected Lan Yulian to be so lucky. ¡°What about you? Have you got anything good, did you manage to get an Ascension Crystal Core?¡± Lan Yulian asked. ¡°...I¡¯m busy now, let¡¯s leave it at that,¡± Wang Tao ended the conversation decisively. He had killed 5 Level 3 Elite Zombies and obtained 10 Crystal Cores, but not a single one was an Ascension Crystal Core... Wang Tao had thought these zombies wouldn¡¯t drop Ascension Crystal Cores, but it turned out Lan Yulian got one. ¡°Damn. So, it¡¯s just my bad luck...¡± Shaking his head resignedly, Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue beside him and said: ¡°Let¡¯s head out.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After taking a careful look and ensuring that it was safe below, Wang Tao jumped down. Thump¡ª He landed lightly on the roof of a car. Jiang Shixue followed suit and dropped down after him. ¡°There are so many plants...¡± After descending, Wang Tao noticed that the underground parking lot was filled with plants. Tendrils, moss, tree roots, and some unidentifiable plants... ¡°Feels like we¡¯ve entered the lair of that Plant Monster...¡± Wang Tao quipped. But an abundance of plants also had its advantages for him. For instance, right now, he immediately located the Plant Monster! Chapter 482: 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_3 Chapter 482: Chapter 211 Encounter with the Plant Monster Again_3 ¡°Run!¡± Wang Tao immediately led Jiang Shixue toward the direction of the plant monster. At that moment, a tendril suddenly whipped towards Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue like a whip! If it weren¡¯t for his Night Vision ability, Wang Tao might have been hit. But with Night Vision, he spotted the tendril instantly. ¡°This thing can attack too?¡± Wang Tao was surprised, as he hadn¡¯t seen a health bar on the tendril and had subconsciously overlooked it. Wang Tao lifted his Bone Knife and sliced at the tendril. Puchi~ The tendril was cut into two, dropping at Wang Tao¡¯s feet. Wang Tao picked it up and took a closer look; it was indeed an ordinary tendril. He waited a bit and, seeing no further attacks, continued forward with Jiang Shixue. However, they had only taken a few steps when more tendrils whipped towards them. This time there were three tendrils, and Wang Tao easily sliced them all with his knife. ¡°Is this the attack from the plant monster hiding in the dark? It seems pretty weak...¡± Wang Tao muttered, and proceeded. Approximately a minute later, more tendrils whipped at him. But this time, it wasn¡¯t just one or three tendrils, it was a dense mass of them. Seeing another tendril attack, Wang Tao instinctively went to slash again. After all, these were just ordinary tendrils with no defensive power. But after getting a clear look, Wang Tao immediately grabbed Jiang Shixue and dodged backwards. Whoosh~ The tendrils hit where Wang Tao had just been standing, and then¡ª Boom! Countless pieces of rubble flew, several cars were smashed to pieces, and a huge crack appeared on the concrete ground. ¡°Damn, even using formation tactics!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. He originally intended to cut through these ordinary tendrils with one slash, but unexpectedly, among them, there was a tendril with a health bar. [100000/100000] Hundred Thousand Blood Volume! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what it was, so he didn¡¯t dare to face it; instead, he grabbed Jiang Shixue and ran. It seems he did right by dodging. If it had hit him, if not death, it would have skinned him. Whoosh¡ª¡ª When the hundred-thousand-blood tendril¡¯s attack failed, it immediately started to whip around again, flying towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue moved left and right, dodging its attacks several times. Wang Tao also clashed with the tendril wielding his knife, but he only managed to hit it for a little over a hundred blood, practically like a drizzle against its hundred thousand blood. Wang Tao suddenly thought of Entangling Roots; they too had a hundred thousand blood, were also indestructible, and also only had the health bar as an attribute... Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if this tendril was the same type of creature as the Entangling Roots, but it definitely wasn¡¯t the plant monster¡¯s main body. ¡°Let¡¯s find its main body!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to waste time with this tendril. He and Jiang Shixue bypassed the tendril, going left and right and ran straight ahead. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Even more tendrils attacked. Wang Tao watched these tendrils closely, and sure enough, several with a hundred thousand blood appeared. Moreover, these tendrils did not share the same health bar; each one had its own hundred thousand blood! Luckily, both Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were fast. With prior anticipation of the attack, they easily dodged. Boom! Boom! The hundred-thousand-blood tendrils left cracks on the ground, broke pillars in the parking lot, and smashed cars to pieces. This destructive power is simply incredible! At one moment, Wang Tao pointed to a spot and shouted, ¡°Right there!¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately rushed towards the location Wang Tao had pointed to. The tendrils suddenly tried to defend, but Wang Tao, who had been evading without attacking, took the initiative this time. He swung his Bone Knife and launched an assault on a few of these tendrils with a hundred thousand HP. Boom! Boom! Boom! The Bone Knife collided with the tendrils, creating a series of thunderous noises. The concrete surface around Wang Tao was almost reduced to rubble. Just then, the tendrils suddenly retracted, instantly breaking away from the fight with Wang Tao. At the same time, a slender figure flew towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao immediately reached out and caught Jiang Shixue. ¡°Are you all right?¡± Wang Tao saw that Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP had decreased by more than two thousand. ¡°I¡¯m fine, it¡¯s coming,¡± she said. Wang Tao quickly looked up and saw a giant figure slowly emerging from the darkness. It was a figure resembling a large tree, its entire body exhibiting a metallic blackness. Some tendrils moved on its body like tentacles. Perhaps because of the limited height of the underground car park, its body was somewhat horizontally elongated, appearing short and stout. [HP: 50000/50000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 70%] This was a Level 3, Lord Monster! Seeing this somewhat exaggerated attribute, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. Although it had fifty thousand HP, it was fortunate that it wasn¡¯t a fourth-order monster with more than a hundred thousand HP. Otherwise, Wang Tao would have had to run away. Wang Tao didn¡¯t see where the monster¡¯s face was, or maybe it didn¡¯t have one, just this form. It stepped out of the darkness, wielding those hundred thousand HP tendrils in an attack towards Wang Tao. Perhaps because the distance was closer, the speed of the tendrils increased significantly, and Wang Tao dodged somewhat awkwardly. Wang Tao seized the opportunity and, after dodging the tendril attacks, suddenly initiated a rush to get close to the big tree monster. He struck two blows, and damage numbers of ¡°-1034¡± and ¡°-1287¡± popped up on the big tree monster. ¡°Such high defense!¡± Wang Tao was taken aback, but he didn¡¯t panic. He quickly took out a small flask from his waist and instantly splashed the liquid inside over the big tree monster. ¡°So you¡¯re a big tree monster, huh? Let¡¯s see if you can withstand a blazing fire!¡± Wang Tao always had gasoline in his car, and when he sensed the presence of plant monsters, he specifically brought the gasoline with him! Click~ Wang Tao pulled out a lighter, ignited it, and threw it onto the plant monster. Whoosh¡ª The big tree monster was instantly engulfed in flames. Wang Tao immediately backed off, ready to escape the sea of fire. But the flames on the big tree monster grew smaller and smaller, and after a moment... the flames were extinguished! ¡°Damn, not afraid of fire?¡± Chapter 483: 212: Iron Tree_1 Chapter 483: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_1 Wang Tao had originally planned to burn this Level 3, Lord Monster to death with flames, just like last time at that mini reservoir. But to his surprise, the flames actually went out! This Big Tree Monster, it wasn¡¯t afraid of fire?! Whoosh! The Big Tree Monster again swung its tendrils, attacking Wang Tao. Wang Tao dodged several attacks and retreated to Jiang Shixue¡¯s side. ¡°If it¡¯s not afraid of fire, we can only... go all out then!¡± Wang Tao sighed. He wasn¡¯t very keen on going all out against this Tree Monster, but he had no other choice now. Of course, he could run away, but he wasn¡¯t one to lose a fight; running away was definitely unnecessary. He came here specifically to kill this monster! Wang Tao took a deep breath, and some black roots appeared on his wrists, quickly spreading over his entire body. In the blink of an eye, a ¡°Tree Root Monster¡± standing two and a half meters tall appeared. Wang Tao had previously refrained from using the Entangling Roots because he was afraid of setting himself on fire, after all, Entangling Roots fear fire. But since fire attacks were ineffective, Wang Tao had no reservations, showing his strongest form! While clad in this suit of Entangling Roots armor, Wang Tao used his Bone Knife even more smoothly. He twirled the knife in his hand, then charged straight at the Big Tree Monster. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao instantly rushed to the Big Tree Monster¡¯s side and slashed fiercely at its body. [-3456] ¡°Such high defense!¡± This slash from Wang Tao was delivered with the Iron Wall Ability active and a high-frequency vibration, on top of being clad in the Entangling Roots. That could almost be considered Wang Tao¡¯s peak condition, yet it only dealt over three thousand damage! If this were an ordinary Level 3 zombie, Wang Tao felt he could have killed it instantly. One could imagine just how high the Big Tree Monster¡¯s defensive power was. But no big deal, one slash for over three thousand, a dozen more would kill it! Of course, the Big Tree Monster wouldn¡¯t allow Wang Tao to do so. Its tendrils flailed wildly, striking at Wang Tao. Wang Tao had intended to withstand the attacks using the Entangling Roots, but he realized that they seemed somewhat fragile, and he promptly retreated. ¡°Such high damage!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat astonished. He had managed to slash the Tree Monster two more times, depleting over seven thousand HP. But the tendrils had hit the Entangling Roots four times, shredding over four thousand HP! Considering that the Entangling Roots initially had ten thousand HP, this meant half of it was gone in an instant! ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll have to use the Shockwave.¡± High-frequency vibration dealt the highest damage, and Wang Tao had hoped for a quick battle. But since the Entangling Roots couldn¡¯t withstand the attacks, he had no choice but to use Shockwaves to attack from a distance. Swoosh¡ª Wang Tao raised his knife and sent a Shockwave towards the Big Tree Monster. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, those tendrils suddenly appeared in front of the Big Tree Monster, blocking the strike. The Shockwave ripped through the tendrils, dealing over five hundred damage, a mere scratch to the hundred thousand blood volume of the tendrils. Seeing so many tendrils with a hundred thousand HP in front of him, Wang Tao felt a headache coming on. This Big Tree Monster was hard to kill¡ªclose-range attacks resulted in getting hit, which he couldn¡¯t withstand. Distant attacks were shielded by the multitude of hundred-thousand-HP tendrils, not leaving a scratch on the Big Tree Monster! The only silver lining was that, apart from using these tendrils, the Big Tree Monster didn¡¯t seem to have any other means of attack, at least not that he could see for now, and it was incredibly slow, reducing the pressure on Wang Tao to some degree. At this moment, Wang Tao suddenly felt a twinge of regret that he should have focused more on cultivating the Entangling Roots. The Entangling Roots currently had only ten thousand HP, but their limit was a hundred thousand. However, cultivation was needed, either by using Crystal Cores or his own HP. Wang Tao had only ensured that the HP and Compatibility of the Entangling Roots remained at 100%, without the intent to cultivate it specially, since their inherent defense was already high... But now it seemed, that defense wasn¡¯t high enough. If his Entangling Roots had a hundred thousand HP, he might have been able to withstand the tendrils¡¯ attacks and kill the Big Tree Monster... ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll draw its attention, and you attack.¡± That¡¯s when Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. ¡°No, it¡¯s too dangerous!¡± Wang Tao immediately shook his head. Jiang Shixue had already been attacked by a tendril just now, losing over two thousand HP. Even with her 29999 HP, she wouldn¡¯t last long. ¡°Brother, I can do it, and I trust you as well.¡± Jiang Shixue said earnestly. In daily life, Jiang Shixue was always somewhat spacey, but she became much clearer-headed during combat. Wang Tao hesitated, but seeing Jiang Shixue¡¯s calm gaze, he eventually nodded. ¡°Fine! But if it gets dangerous, and I tell you to retreat, you must retreat!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After a brief discussion, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue separated, one to the left and one to the right, and rushed towards the Big Tree Monster. The Big Tree Monster immediately swung its tendrils, attacking both of them at the same time. But at that moment, a red glint flashed in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes. The tendrils that were targeting Wang Tao suddenly paused, then redirected their attack towards Jiang Shixue! This was Jiang Shixue¡¯s Hidden Attribute, Eyes of Contract! [Eyes of Contract: Night Vision, some degree of mind control] This ability to control minds sounds very powerful, but its effect on strong creatures is very limited. For a Level 3, Lord Monster like this, Jiang Shixue, who was of Level 2, Lord Rank, could only slightly influence it for a moment, such as drawing its attack. Chapter 484: 212: Iron Tree_2 Chapter 484: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_2 But in that instant, much could be done! Wang Tao dashed to the side of the Big Tree Monster, lifted his Bone Knife, and began to hack away madly. There was almost no technique involved, just brute force! [-3434] [-3496] [-3358] [-3502] [-3551] [-3395] [25808/50000] In three seconds, Wang Tao had struck six blows, chopping off half of the Big Tree Monster¡¯s HP. Then, without the slightest hint of hesitation, Wang Tao decisively retreated. Bang! The moment his front foot left, countless tendrils followed suit, smashing down where Wang Tao had just stood, creating a large pit on the spot. Wang Tao was retreating towards Jiang Shixue¡¯s location and soon saw her lying amidst the ruins. [14506/29999] Jiang Shixue also had half her HP depleted. ¡°Cough...¡± Jiang Shixue climbed out of the rubble, and though she was covered in wounds, there was no expression of pain on her face. Wang Tao quickly picked her up and swiftly moved away from the battlefield. The Big Tree Monster seemed to be in a frenzy, indiscriminately attacking everything around it. ¡°It seems like it can¡¯t find us anymore...¡± Wang Tao said, holding Jiang Shixue atop a pile of rubble. This pile of rubble had just been smashed out by the Big Tree Monster, and everything around them had been destroyed, including the surrounding plants. The Big Tree Monster had no eyes; it seemed to locate Wang Tao through its Perception. But because there were no plants among the rubble, its Perception was useless now. Moreover, it seemed to lack intelligence. If it were a human, it would surely have guessed Wang Tao¡¯s approximate location from the route he took when he fled. But it lacked such judgment and was just blindly causing Destruction. This let Wang Tao breathe a sigh of relief. If the monster had been intelligent, it would have been much tougher to handle... Wang Tao looked down at Jiang Shixue in his arms. Though Jiang Shixue still had half her HP and was relatively safe, the sight of her body covered with lash marks, as she merely frowned slightly, still tugged at his heart. After all, he and Jiang Shixue had lived together for two months in the post-apocalyptic world, and he had grown fond of her. Wang Tao took out a medical kit to stop her bleeding, then asked, ¡°Does it hurt?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. Watching Wang Tao tenderly treat her wounds, Jiang Shixue suddenly reached out and caressed his face. ¡°What is it?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. ¡°I seem to... remember something...¡± Jiang Shixue looked somewhat distracted. ¡°Hmm? What did you remember?¡± Wang Tao was curious. ¡°It¡¯s like there was a woman who treated me this way, but I can¡¯t recall her face...¡± By ¡°this way,¡± she naturally referred to treating her wounds. After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao then said with a smile, ¡°That¡¯s highly likely your mother.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if Jiang Shixue had any close female friends or relatives, but if someone had diligently treated her wounds like this, it was highly likely her mother. After all, in most cases, parents tend to be very kind to their children. ¡°Mother...¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes clouded over for a moment, but she did not linger on the thought. Wang Tao had told her before not to be under any psychological pressure, that she would eventually remember. And besides, ¡°mother¡± to her was just a noun. She still felt more comfortable with Wang Tao... After he had tended to her wounds for a while, Wang Tao looked back at the Big Tree Monster. This time, the Big Tree Monster was no longer in a frenzy, but the tendrils on its body were slowly dancing around as if searching for Wang Tao. ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll distract it once more,¡± Jiang Shixue proposed. She had lost a lot of blood, but she wasn¡¯t missing limbs, so her strength remained relatively intact. ¡°Okay. But this time stay further away and try not to let it hit you!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. The Big Tree Monster was now down to just 25,000 HP and didn¡¯t possess any ability for Blood Regeneration. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t take it down, Jiang Shixue would have been beaten for nothing. ¡°Alright!¡± After discussing their plan, the two dashed out of the rubble and split up to act. When they stepped on some underground moss, the Big Tree Monster detected them. But this time, instead of moving its tendrils, the ground suddenly shook as if an earthquake had occurred, and then several thick roots burst from the ground! These roots formed barriers almost instantly, trapping Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue separately, then began to constrict quickly! ¡°It has such an ability, too?¡± Wang Tao quickly used all the Potions at his disposal and then unleashed his most powerful strike on the roots in front of him. Puchi! The root blocking his path was cut with a gap! The Attack power of the High-frequency Vibration Ability was no joke. Wang Tao squeezed through the gap and then saw the Big Tree Monster slowly making its way towards him. He could see clearly that these enormous roots emerged from the body of the Big Tree Monster. The roots kept growing wildly, some even reaching the ceiling. Wang Tao finally understood how the large hole in the underground parking lot he had entered was made. It was opened up by the roots of the Big Tree Monster! And Wang Tao thought of something else. Lan Yulian had told him before that Zijin Base and the prison were raising zombies here, which was considered very safe, but somehow they had been damaged, allowing those zombies to escape from District A and letting other external zombies in. After that, the situation gradually spiraled out of control. Wang Tao suspected it was the Destruction caused by the Big Tree Monster. After all, its roots were ferociously destructive; breaking through the structures that contained the zombies shouldn¡¯t be an issue! Chapter 485: 212: Iron Tree_3 Chapter 485: Chapter 212: Iron Tree_3 However, there was no time to think further because Wang Tao noticed that the intelligence of this Big Tree Monster was indeed simple, and it might even operate on ¡°single-threading¡±¡ªits vines stopped moving when it was using those roots! ¡°Opportunity!¡± Wang Tao immediately rushed toward the Big Tree Monster and swiftly swung his bone knife. [-3521] [-3369] [-3721] [-3463] Four slashes in two seconds. Finally, as if coming back to its senses, the Big Tree Monster¡¯s roots stopped moving, and those vines began to whip toward Wang Tao once again. But this time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge. While enduring several attacks from the vines, he struck two final cuts against the Big Tree Monster. [-3875] [-359] [0/50000] The vines lashing toward Wang Tao suddenly wilted, dropping at his feet. The roots that had grown from its body slowly ceased their movements, becoming no different from ordinary roots. As for the Big Tree Monster itself, it collapsed thunderously. Crash¡ª Four Loot Packs burst out, and Wang Tao quickly stowed them into his Space Backpack. Then Wang Tao noticed the HP bars on the vines of the Big Tree Monster were rapidly decreasing, shedding tens of thousands of HP in the blink of an eye. Wang Tao¡¯s mind hadn¡¯t caught up yet, but his hands were already moving. He raised his bone knife and chopped at the vines. Swish, swish, swish¡ª The vines that previously had massive HP and high defenses had now become no different from ordinary plants, easily and decisively cut down by Wang Tao, one by one. After dying, these vines also dropped a Loot Pack! Wang Tao quickly collected these Loot Packs, then instead of examining the corpse of the Big Tree Monster, he ran towards Jiang Shixue¡¯s location. Bang! Suddenly, a hole was punched through the roots at Jiang Shixue¡¯s side, and she emerged from within. ¡°The defense of these roots has weakened.¡± Jiang Shixue explained, then she saw the huge creature that had fallen. ¡°Brother killed it? Impressive!¡± Jiang Shixue immediately praised him. Seeing that Jiang Shixue was unharmed, Wang Tao instantly felt relieved. Then, he and Jiang Shixue approached the fallen Big Tree Monster. While using Plant Affinity Perception to detect any movements around him, Wang Tao examined the Big Tree Monster. This creature should be considered the second-largest one Wang Tao had encountered, as well as one of the toughest... The Big Tree Monster had a large body, and for a moment Wang Tao didn¡¯t know where to begin. But to his surprise, he found that upon its death, its bark was named and could be collected into the Space Backpack! [Iron Tree Skin: Crafting Material] This monster was called ¡°Iron Tree¡±? Wang Tao immediately collected the Iron Tree Skin into his Space Backpack. [Obtained: Iron Tree Skin x100] The Iron Tree Monster instantly turned into a tree with no bark left. ¡°Over here!¡± At this moment, Jiang Shixue sensed something and pointed to a spot. Wang Tao made a cut with his bone knife, then reached in and pulled out a Red Crystal Core. [Level 3 Crystal Core¡¤Root] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Root: Transforms legs into large, high-defense roots that can move through soil] This Ability must be the same one used by the Iron Tree Monster just now. Reading the description, it doesn¡¯t seem very strong, but in actual combat, it¡¯s powerful. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s high attack, it would have been uncertain whether he could breach the root¡¯s defense. However, this Ability would transform one¡¯s legs into roots. Although one could move through soil, judging by the Big Tree Monster¡¯s condition, it was evidently not very fast. Moreover, this wasn¡¯t even the side effect; it was irreversible. The cost was a bit too high, which Wang Tao did not prefer. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue searched the Iron Tree Monster¡¯s body again to see if there was anything similar to the Entangling Roots or Magic Seeds found earlier. First, they found a lot of Tree Essence Liquid. [Obtained: Tree Essence Liquid x13445] One unit of Tree Essence Liquid could increase 100 HP and 100 mana. Though one needed to wait a while after consuming every ten units, it was still a valuable item. Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Xu Xiaojun had been using it. They indeed found another seed as well. However, this seed was different from the previous Magic Seeds. [Iron Tree Vine Seed: When planted in the ground, it grows into a temperamental Iron Tree Vine. When planted in the body, it grows into an obedient Iron Tree Vine.] Seeing the description of this seed, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. Planting an Iron Tree Vine Seed in the body and growing a vine instead of a Hidden Ability? Should he give it a try... Besides the Crystal Core, Tree Essence Liquid, and Iron Tree Vine Seed, there was nothing else from the Iron Tree Monster. But just then, the Entangling Roots on Wang Tao¡¯s wrist suddenly moved. They wriggled lightly on his wrist as if trying to convey a message to him. Wang Tao was surprised, and then he focused his senses, immediately taken aback. ¡°Huh? I feel like these Entangling Roots want to ¡®eat¡¯ the corpse of the Iron Tree Monster...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat uncertain. The Entangling Roots were a creature with little autonomy and couldn¡¯t directly transmit thoughts to Wang Tao. He only had a vague feeling. However, as it was his combat companion, Wang Tao would certainly respond to its needs. Thus, he gave the command to let the Entangling Roots move freely. Then he saw the Entangling Roots detach from his wrist and, like a snake, quickly burrowed into the Iron Tree Monster¡¯s corpse, leaving only a small section of root exposed. As Wang Tao watched this section of root, he noticed a change in the Entangling Roots¡¯ status. [Level 3 Weapon¡¤Entangling Roots] [HP: 7563/10000 (Upper limit 100000)] [Status: Evolving (Time remaining: 59 minutes 59 seconds)] [Enhancement: HP, Attack, Defense (Weakness: Afraid of Fire)] [Compatibility: 74%] ¡°Evolving status?¡± A look of anticipation immediately appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. Could this thing actually evolve? And into what kind? It was only a matter of an hour, and he could wait. Chapter 486: 213 Standard Armor_1 Chapter 486: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_1 As he waited for the entangling roots to evolve, Wang Tao turned his attention to the other loot. First was the special energy, which the Iron Tree Monster had brought him a whopping 12,000 units of special energy! This was the most special energy Wang Tao had ever received from killing a single zombie or monster. His special energy had now reached seventy-five thousand, allowing for a multitude of operations! Next was the Crystal Core Gift Bag, which contained a total of five crystal cores. The first was a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], the second was a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], and the third was a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Strength]. The fourth core was the Essence of Tree he had seen before. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Tree Essence] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Essence of Tree: Unfusable by non-females, can produce Tree Essence Liquid that enhances the strength of living beings] With this core, he now had two. If he could get another Tree Essence Crystal Core and synthesize a crystal core without side effects for fusion... Wang Tao suddenly felt a sense of anticipation. Why was that? The fifth crystal core was one Wang Tao had never seen before. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Iron Tree] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body Lignification)] [Iron Tree: Passive Ability, skin becomes hard iron tree skin, greatly increases defensive power. Also has a certain fire resistance ability] ¡°No wonder it¡¯s not afraid of fire! It¡¯s because of this ability!¡± This Iron Tree Monster lacked the abilities such as ¡°Nutrient Absorption¡± and ¡°Photosynthesis,¡± leading to significantly reduced endurance, but it was fire resistant! Speaking of tree bark, Wang Tao wondered if the Iron Tree Skin material could be used to craft armor? After all, it had a high defense and fire resistance... Wang Tao continued to check the Loot Pack. The second Loot Pack contained Tree Essence Liquid. [Obtained: Tree Essence Liquid x10,000] The Plant Monster he had killed earlier had also yielded ten thousand doses of Tree Essence Liquid. This was all good stuff! The third Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (small) x10] [Obtained: Defense Potion (small) x10] [Obtained: Strength Growth Potion x5] [Obtained: Defense Growth Potion x5] To think there were 5 bottles of Strength Growth Potion and 5 bottles of Defense Growth Potion. Without a second thought, Wang Tao injected them. Pfft~ Wang Tao felt he had grown a bit stronger. As for the last Loot Pack, the contents made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up. [Obtained: Iron Tree Standard Armor Blueprint x1] [Iron Tree Standard Armor Blueprint: After learning, one set of Iron Tree Standard Armor can be crafted each time. Required materials: Iron Tree Skin x1, any Crystal Core x1 (can use Level 1, Level Two, or Level 3 Crystal Cores), Iron Block x10, Screws x10, Rubber x10, Gauze x10, Steel Wire x10] [Iron Tree Standard Armor: Attributes unknown] This was a set of armor blueprints! Moreover, the key point was not that it was a one-time blueprint, but like Potion Recipes, once learned, they could be crafted indefinitely! His previous equipment blueprints were one-time use; once used, they were gone, completely different from this blueprint. ¡°Could it be because this blueprint is called ¡®standard armor¡¯? None of the previous equipment blueprints I had were stated as standard...¡± Without hesitation, Wang Tao used the blueprint. He had all the materials ready, so Wang Tao experimented by using one Level 1 Self-Destruct Crystal Core, one Level 2 Glutton Crystal Core, and one Level 3 Defense Crystal Core to personally test it out. A few moments later, three sets of brown armor appeared in front of Wang Tao. All three were Full Body Armor, capable of completely encasing a person. However, there were slight differences in the appearance of the three sets. [Iron Tree Standard Armor] [Level 1 (Ordinary)] [Durability +10, defensive power +10, with a certain fire resistance ability] The first set of Iron Tree Armor looked the simplest, without any complex designs. It was a set of Level 1 armor. [Iron Tree Standard Armor] [Level Two (Ordinary)] [Durability +20, defensive power +20, with a certain fire resistance ability] The second set of Iron Tree Armor was slightly more complex than the first. This was a set of Level Two armor. [Iron Tree Standard Armor] [Level 3 (Ordinary)] [Durability +30, defensive power +30, with a certain fire resistance ability] The third set of armor was even more complex, with some beautiful natural patterns. Naturally, this was the Level 3 armor. The armors crafted using the three types of crystal cores differed in appearance and attributes. Even the Level 1 armor, though, was quite a respectable piece of equipment. After all, many people nowadays wore equipment made from steel plates or iron sheets, which might have passable defense, but definitely not as convenient or comfortable as this set of armors. Wang Tao tried using a few different quality crystal cores for further testing, and discovered that the produced armors were all of Ordinary quality. It seemed that other qualities were unlikely to appear, but after all, being standard armors, having the same attributes was to be expected. These armors, of course, could all be kept inside a Space Backpack. Wang Tao left out a set of Level 3 armor and had Jiang Shixue try it on. The fit was quite right, but since it was a set of Full Body Armor and did not move like Entangling Roots, it significantly hindered Jiang Shixue¡¯s speed. ¡°I don¡¯t want to wear it; it¡¯s inconvenient to move around.¡± Jiang Shixue stared at Wang Tao with her large eyes. ¡°Alright then, let¡¯s not wear it for now.¡± Chapter 487: 213 Standard Armor_2 Chapter 487: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_2 ¡°` Anyway, the armor was in Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack and could be taken out at any time when needed. ¡°However, there¡¯s no use for me to have so many sets of armor, I can trade with others...¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself again. As of now, this stuff seemed to be worth more than Crystal Cores and such. But as everyone¡¯s levels increase to Level 3 and above, it might not be as valuable. So Wang Tao thought he could sell some of them, since he had permanently learned the method of making them and could make more in the future... He finished checking out the loot from the Iron Tree Monster, but there was one more loot to check out, the Iron Tree Vines. Previously, when killing the Iron Tree Monster, the HP bars of these vines also started to decrease rapidly. Just as they were about to be emptied, Wang Tao dealt with them before they died. There were a total of eight Iron Tree Vines, and they had dropped eight Loot Packs for Wang Tao. And the items within these eight Loot Packs were very similar, each containing a Level 2 Extraction Crystal Core, and all of them were Epic! It seemed that all the Extraction Crystal Cores dropped this way were of Epic quality? [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Extraction] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: None)] [Extraction: After fusion, it allows you to freely select and extract a Level 3 Ability. The extracted Ability will form a new Crystal Core without side effects.] With these eight cores, Wang Tao now had a total of 13 Extraction Crystal Cores. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t use these himself, but they could be useful for others, making them another great item for trade. ¡°Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s anything else here.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao perceived that there were no other creatures in the underground parking lot, but for safety reasons, the two cautiously searched the area anyway. ¡°Nothing at all...¡± After scouring the place, they shook their heads at each other. This underground parking lot was likely the domain of only the Iron Tree Monster; aside from it, there were no other creatures. Wang Tao recalled the information previously given by Zijin Base, grateful that they had sealed off this place. If they had come down to clear it and encountered the Iron Tree Monster, they probably would have been wiped out completely. After all, the combination of the Iron Tree Monster and its vines was too powerful. Wang Tao looked at the still-evolving Entangling Roots and tried to contact Lan Yulian using the walkie-talkie. He discovered no one was reachable, including Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. ¡°No signal, huh...¡± Wang Tao climbed out of the entrance they had used earlier. ¡°Zzzt... Zzzt...¡± ¡°This is Wang Tao, this is Wang Tao...¡± After a moment, Wang Tao received a reply. ¡°Wang Tao! Where are you? The place you recommended is great, come join us! These Level 3 Zombies are quite weak, still relatively easy to kill! And there are many obstacles here; we set up a defensive line and can kill them slowly. I¡¯ve already got several Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores!¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s excited voice came through the walkie-talkie. On hearing this, Wang Tao broke into a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll join you in half an hour, as long as you¡¯re safe.¡± He had to wait for the Entangling Roots to finish evolving first. ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll wait for you! By the way, the main force from Zijin Base has also arrived. They should be ready to assault the gymnasium in half an hour at most.¡± ¡°Oh? Alright, I got it.¡± Previously, Zijin Base¡¯s people were delayed picking up an airdrop, which is why they¡¯re only making their way here now. After chatting with Lan Yulian a bit more, Wang Tao ended the call. However, he didn¡¯t head back down but asked Jiang Shixue to stay here and wait for the Entangling Roots to finish evolving while he went to check out other places. The gymnasium was huge, filled with zombies everywhere, with quite a few of the weaker Level 3 ones around. Wang Tao decided to take this time to gather some Special Energy. In half an hour, Wang Tao killed more than ten Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and accumulated another 30,000 Special Energy. He finally burst forth a few Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. Having cleared out the zombies nearby, and feeling it was about time, Wang Tao prepared to return. Boom~ Suddenly, he heard some noise from outside, which seemed to be coming from Districts A and B. ¡°Have they arrived?¡± Wang Tao pondered as he returned to the underground parking lot. He checked the Entangling Roots and saw they needed ten more minutes. At this point, the corpse of the Iron Tree Monster had withered as if drained by the Entangling Roots. Wang Tao waited another ten minutes. Finally, the countdown for the evolution of the Entangling Roots ended. Whoosh¡ª The Entangling Roots immediately detached from the Iron Tree Monster¡¯s body and flew toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao extended his hand, and the roots coiled steadily around his wrist like a delicately crafted iron bracelet. Wang Tao looked at its attributes. [Level 3 Weapon ¨C Entangled Iron Tree Roots] [HP: 20,000/20,000 (Upper limit: 100,000)] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancements: HP, Attack, Defense, Fire Resistance] [Compatibility: 100%] First off, the name had changed, becoming Entangled Iron Tree Roots with an added ¡°Iron¡± in the name. Then its HP had directly increased by ten thousand, which saved Wang Tao a lot of Crystal Cores. But the most important were its enhancements; the weakness to fire was gone, instead gaining the Fire Resistance attribute! This was significant for Wang Tao because what used to be a deadly weakness had now become an enhancement. This greatly improved his survival abilities! ¡°Let¡¯s go and see what¡¯s happening outside.¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue returned to the first floor from the entrance. ¡°` Chapter 488: 213 Standard Armor_3 Chapter 488: Chapter 213 Standard Armor_3 ¡°` Just as the two of them returned to the first floor, the walkie-talkie crackled to life. ¡°Wang Tao! Are you there? Help me!¡± It was Lan Yulian¡¯s voice. Wang Tao immediately pressed the talk button. ¡°I¡¯m here, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°God, I finally got through to you, I thought you were... We¡¯re currently trying to break out of District C, the zombies are too strong, we¡¯ve suffered heavy losses. Nie Siyan and the others are with me... see if you can come, if not, just get out, don¡¯t worry about us...¡± ¡°Huh? Why did you go to District C?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°We wiped out the zombies in District E, there were no zombies in District F, and just then the main force arrived, calling us to join the attack on Districts A and B. But the zombies in Districts A and B were too strong, we couldn¡¯t defeat them, we had no choice but to retreat. Our escape route was cut off by other zombies, so we had to retreat to District C. There are many zombies here as well, and we can¡¯t get out for the time being...¡± Listening to Lan Yulian¡¯s clear and rational explanation, Wang Tao calmly said: ¡°Okay, hold on, I¡¯m on my way.¡± ¡°Okay, thank you...¡± After ending the conversation, Wang Tao also tried to get in touch with Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s walkie-talkie seemed to be broken and he couldn¡¯t be reached, but he managed to connect with Nie Siyan. ¡°Brother Wang! Save us!¡± Nie Siyan, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, immediately cried out excitedly. Wang Tao asked about their situation, which was similar to what Lan Yulian had described. Half of their people had been lost. However, all the key personnel were still in good shape. ¡°Hold on.¡± After encouraging her to persevere, he turned to Jiang Shixue. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re all right?¡± Jiang Shixue previously had numerous injuries. Although none were serious, the many red marks were distressing to look at. But now, the injuries on Jiang Shixue¡¯s body had disappeared, and her HP was quickly toping up! Wang Tao wondered if Jiang Shixue had some sort of self-healing ability... ¡°Brother, I¡¯m fine now!¡± Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s concern, Jiang Shixue gave a sweet smile. ¡°Alright, if you¡¯re fine, then let¡¯s go to District C!¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Assured there were no issues, Wang Tao proceeded towards District C with her. ... District C. Countless zombies surrounded a makeshift defense installation, roaring as they launched their assault on it. Inside the defensive works, more than thirty people were struggling to fend off the zombies¡¯ attacks. Lan Yulian¡¯s clothing was somewhat ragged, and she bore some bloodstains, but the blood was not hers. She was in the middle of everyone, occasionally restoring HP to others. But her HP restoration ability had a cooldown period, and she could only heal one person at a time. Thus, in a short time, several others had sustained injuries. Sweat coated Lan Yulian¡¯s forehead, yet she didn¡¯t panic and continued to observe the situation calmly. At that moment, Lu Yingfeng, her face smeared with plenty of blood, approached Lan Yulian with concern. ¡°Jade Lotus, how are you holding up? Can you continue?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s ability was to restore HP, which might seem risk-free, but using such an Ability was extremely taxing on her energy. Lan Yulian was now quite pale, clearly having overused her energy. ¡°I¡¯m still okay!¡± Lan Yulian nodded. She felt she could still keep going. ¡°If it gets too much, use the Rejuvenation Potion...¡± Lu Yingfeng sighed. ¡°No way, we absolutely can¡¯t break out right now, even with the Potion. But if I use the Potion, I¡¯ll be weak for the whole day tomorrow, and if we still can¡¯t get out by then, we¡¯re really done for...¡± Rejuvenation Potions were amazing, able to fully restore one¡¯s physical strength and spirit in critical moments, but they left the user weakened the following day. Unless it was a last resort, Lan Yulian tried not to use it. After all, they weren¡¯t at home but surrounded by numerous Level 3 zombies! ¡°Alright... then hold on!¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s endurance was much stronger than Lan Yulian¡¯s, and she could still keep up. Of course, not for much longer. She then asked: ¡°When can we expect reinforcements from the second and third squads?¡± The second squad was the prison, and the third squad was the Alliance. ¡°Probably not happening, we can¡¯t get in touch for now...¡± Lan Yulian shook her head. ¡°This is bad...¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face turned grim. They had previously received a message from the first squad about a joint strike on Districts A and B. These districts were swarming with zombies, indicating an abundance of Zombie Cores. At that time, they had just cleared District E of zombies, so they went to rendezvous with the first squad. Their fourth squad, the fifth squad, and the first squad had attacked District A, while the second and third squads took on District B. However, both sides failed! The zombies in Districts A and B were too strong and too numerous. They were simply not something they could handle. The first squad wisely chose to retreat first. Lan Yulian¡¯s group was caught up in battle and delayed. By the time they tried to retreat, many zombies had arrived and cut off their escape route! The first and fifth squads were being chased by zombies. The second and third squads reported severe losses and then went silent. It was unclear if anyone survived. Lan Yulian¡¯s group was now reduced to just over thirty people, barely holding off the assault. Escaping was a pipe dream. Without reinforcements, they might indeed end up trapped here to die... Even Lu Yingfeng, typically confident, was becoming pessimistic. But just then, Lan Yulian said: ¡°But I got in touch with Wang Tao, he¡¯s on his way here!¡± ¡°What? He¡¯s coming!¡± Lu Yingfeng was first surprised and delighted, then quickly became concerned. The current situation didn¡¯t seem like Wang Tao coming would make much of a difference. After all, there were too many zombies outside! Unless Wang Tao could draw all the zombies away from the area... ... After some effort, Wang Tao finally spotted the sign for District C. He also saw the zombies of District C. ¡°So many!¡± Looking at the densely packed crowd, Wang Tao felt his scalp tingle. Because he realized that the zombies besieging District C were not Ordinary zombies, but Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies! ¡°` Chapter 489: 214: To Save or Not to Save_1 Chapter 489: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_1 [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Ordinary Level 3] Although Mad Demon Zombies were also of an Ordinary level, their strength was far greater than that of ordinary zombies! They were equivalent to Elite Zombies without Abilities, even physically stronger than some Elite Zombies. Those Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and weakened Level 3 Elite Zombies were no match for these Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies! And most importantly, Mad Demon Zombies almost never acted alone ¨C they came in huge swarms! For instance, right now, there were at least nearly a hundred Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies here! ¡°Is there, or nearby, a lair of Mad Demon Zombies?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to think more; he contacted Lan Yulian using the walkie-talkie. ¡°In a moment, I¡¯ll cause some commotion outside. You take the chance to run for it!¡± ¡°Ah? You¡¯re already here? Good! Be careful!¡± Lan Yulian was both surprised and excited; she hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao truly arrived! Wang Tao quietly distanced himself from District C, then threw several Self-Destruct Bombs towards some locations. Boom! The huge explosion sound resonated instantly. ¡°Hehe...¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Mad Demon Zombies were extremely sensitive to sounds, and the majority of them immediately shifted their target, flocking towards the explosions. However, those that had locked their sights on Lan Yulian and the others were still attacking. But with so many Mad Demon Zombies gone, the pressure on Lan Yulian¡¯s side diminished significantly. ¡°Little Xue, you hold them off here, I¡¯ll go ahead.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao took the opportunity to rush over, leaving Jiang Shixue behind to fend off the other zombies. A Mad Demon Zombie spotted Wang Tao and pounced at him. Wang Tao slashed it to death in a few blows, and it burst into three parcels, but Wang Tao cursed silently after seeing the contents. ¡°Damn, what trash!¡± All three parcels dropped by the Mad Demon Zombie contained nothing but Ordinary crafting materials. Wang Tao immediately lost his interest in killing them. Although Wang Tao gained 1500 Special Energy, there were too many Mad Demon Zombies, and it was uncertain if more were outside. The lair of the Mad Demon Zombies was likely nearby, so he couldn¡¯t afford to linger in battle. Wang Tao¡¯s appearance immediately caught the attention of those at the defense fortifications. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Lu Yingfeng, who was rushing out with a Tang Dao, was the first to spot Wang Tao and exclaimed softly in surprise. Wang Tao chopped through a few more zombies, successfully meeting up with Lu Yingfeng. The others were thrilled to step out from the defense fortifications. Lan Yulian had already told them that it was Wang Tao who had come to rescue them. Wang Tao glanced at Lan Yulian, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan; they were all injured to varying degrees but not in mortal danger. ¡°Follow me!¡± Now was not the time for talking. Wang Tao immediately called out to everyone and started retreating along the route he had come. The crowd hurried to keep up. ¡°What about Little Xue?¡± At that moment, Lan Yulian suddenly spoke up. She noticed Jiang Shixue was not by Wang Tao¡¯s side, and her heart skipped a beat. But luckily, she heard Wang Tao reply: ¡°She¡¯s fine, outside.¡± ¡°...That¡¯s a relief!¡± The group fought their way out and saw a figure in a red JK uniform standing neatly there. Behind her, in the shadows, lay a pile of zombies. ¡°Little Xue, let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao called out. Seeing Jiang Shixue, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng felt the scene was incongruous with her, but as they were fleeing for their lives, they didn¡¯t ask any questions. No sooner had they burst out of District C than they discovered a massive horde of Mad Demon Zombies on the outside! Although only a small portion were Level 3, they swarmed like a tide, numbering in the tens of thousands! Wang Tao glanced at the direction, then immediately said to Lan Yulian and the others: ¡°You go ahead and retreat; I¡¯m going to draw these Mad Demon Zombies away.¡± ¡°Brother Wang!¡± ¡°You...¡± The group looked at Wang Tao with disbelief. To draw away so many zombies was not just risking life but almost certainly facing death! Apart from at the beginning of the apocalypse when they had seen such selfless heroes, they hadn¡¯t seen any since! ¡°Stop wasting time, get moving!¡± Wang Tao glared at them irritably. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to play the hero, but if he didn¡¯t step up, no one would be able to escape¡ªthey were almost completely surrounded by the tens of thousands of Mad Demon Zombies. Someone had to draw the zombies away for escape to be possible, or even driving away would be impossible. And the only person capable of drawing away so many zombies was Wang Tao, or more precisely, the Self-Destruct Bombs, as their explosions were loud and attracted zombies. But the others couldn¡¯t handle the bombs, with the current chaos, they would likely set them off just holding them. So it had to be Wang Tao. For safety, Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue with him; both were very fast and should be fine. ¡°Okay!¡± At the critical moment, Lan Yulian was decisive. She immediately signaled for everyone to leave in another direction. ¡°Wang Tao, we¡¯ll wait for you at the parking spot! Be careful!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then he and Jiang Shixue started running in the opposite direction to Lan Yulian and the others. As he ran, he kept throwing Self-Destruct Bombs. Boom! Boom! Boom! After running at full speed for more than twenty minutes, Wang Tao finally shook off the Mad Demon Zombies behind him. ¡°Damn it! They sure can run!¡± Wang Tao cursed silently, feeling his lungs burning as if they were on fire. Jiang Shixue, however, appeared calm, befitting her zombie physique. Wang Tao¡¯s biggest worry was encountering other zombies on the road. If a formidable Level 3 zombie blocked the way, it would be quite troublesome... Fortunately, the mission to attract the zombies went smoothly, and they didn¡¯t encounter any obstacles. Chapter 490: 214: To Save or Not to Save_2 Chapter 490: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_2 After catching his breath, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue took a wide detour heading towards the entrance of the sports center. The vehicles of the fourth squadron were all parked there. It was already evening by the time Wang Tao arrived at the entrance of the sports center, and he immediately furrowed his brow. The vehicles were still there, but not a single person was in sight. Upon closer inspection, well, well, the tires had all been slashed? The gas tanks were leaking too! ¡°Sabotage?¡± Seeing the neat incisions on the tires, Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed instantly. At that moment, the walkie-talkie on Wang Tao¡¯s body rang. ¡°Crackle... Brother Wang, look behind you!¡± Wang Tao turned his head and saw on a building not far away, over a dozen stories tall, someone was waving a red flag. That person was Nie Siyan. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with the vehicles and ran immediately towards the building. The entrance to the building had long been shattered, but the door to the stairway inside was tightly shut. As Wang Tao approached, Nie Siyan immediately opened the door from inside. ¡°Brother Wang, are you alright?¡± Nie Siyan said, her face full of concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao clasped Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand and while walking upstairs, he asked Nie Siyan: ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°When we got here, we found all the vehicle tires slashed, and we couldn¡¯t leave. There were also quite a few zombies around; we killed our way through them to get here. Lan Yulian then suggested we go up...¡± Nie Siyan hastily explained. ¡°Who did it?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°Lan Yulian said it was the people from the prison and the Alliance!¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. The three of them went upstairs, where Lan Yulian was treating someone¡¯s injuries. Lu Yingfeng and Xu Xiaojun were on guard duty. When they saw Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue arrive, everyone hurried over. ¡°Wang Tao, Little Xue, you¡¯re not hurt, are you?¡± Lu Yingfeng immediately hugged Jiang Shixue, checking to see if she was missing an arm or leg. Lan Yulian then cast several green glows onto Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s heads. The feeling of being healed was warm and comfy. Seeing that Lan Yulian was about to continue, Wang Tao quickly waved his hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t waste your effort!¡± Although the warm feeling was very comfortable, that green light made Wang Tao somewhat uncomfortable. Lan Yulian immediately stopped. She looked at Wang Tao with a face full of gratitude. ¡°Wang Tao, thank you! If it weren¡¯t for you, we might all have died...¡± ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang Tao, for saving us!¡± The others also bowed to Wang Tao in a soft voice. ¡°It¡¯s good that everyone is safe.¡± Wang Tao gestured with his hand and then gathered separately with Lan Yulian and a few others to inquire about the current situation. Their fourth squadron had initially more than sixty people, but now only over thirty were left. The team had directly lost half of its number, which was a heavy loss. However, they had gained quite a bit. If this group could all make it back alive, it¡¯s possible that some Level 3 ability users would emerge. Regarding the tires, Lan Yulian explained with an angry face: ¡°It must have been the doing of the prison and the Alliance! I had contacted the Zijin Base Team before, and they too had suffered heavy losses. We had agreed on a rendezvous point. But they told me their vehicles had been tampered with... and then I discovered ours had been tampered with too! I tried to contact the prison and the Alliance again, but still couldn¡¯t get in touch...¡± As to who would have a motive for such an act, apart from their own people, everyone else had a motive, given the undercurrents between these four major forces. But at that time, Lan Yulian and the Zijin Base Team had jointly attacked District A and had witnessed the heavy losses of Zijin Base firsthand. If they really wanted to set someone up, there was no need for such a self-sacrificial scheme. On the other hand, the prison and the Alliance had claimed they were going to attack District B and also suffered heavy losses, but all of this was communicated over the radio, with no one seeing it with their own eyes. Now their own vehicles had been tampered with, and it was only those two groups they couldn¡¯t contact. It wasn¡¯t possible they were all annihilated, so obviously there was a problem! ¡°Crackle...¡± Just then, Lan Yulian¡¯s walkie-talkie rang. She answered it, and on the other side was the leader of Zijin Base, ¡°General¡±. ¡°One piece of good news, one bad. The bad news is, the prison and the Alliance didn¡¯t attack the zombies at all. Their goal was to take over my base, so they went straight back.¡± This statement made everyone¡¯s faces fall. ¡°And the good news?¡± Lan Yulian asked, her face grim. She had some subordinates in Zijin Base; if the base fell, they would be in trouble. ¡°The good news is, they didn¡¯t make it, I stopped them.¡± General spoke in a very calm tone. ¡°Ah? Where are you?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face showed a hint of surprise. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s another piece of bad news. All the remnants of our four teams are trapped in the Diving Training Hall. Outside are a large number of Mad Demon Zombies and Level 3 Zombies.¡± ¡°...¡± The diving hall was located at the very edge of the sports center, a short distance from where they were, and because of the angle, it was not possible to see it. Lan Yulian immediately switched to another room and took out binoculars. In her view, she saw several people with binoculars on the roof of the diving hall and the dense mass of figures outside the diving hall! ¡°I think I see you...¡± Lan Yulian said. ¡°...¡± There was a pause from the other side, then the question came: ¡°Can you rescue us?¡± Lan Yulian shook her head instinctively. ¡°No, there are too many zombies outside of you! There must be at least ten thousand, and they¡¯re Level 2 and 3 zombies, and we only have thirty people total now...¡± ¡°...Okay then, can you guys go back to Zijin Base for reinforcements? I still have a fully armed military force.¡± Chapter 491: 214: To Save or Not to Save_3 Chapter 491: Chapter 214: To Save or Not to Save_3 The General¡¯s tone was still very calm, showing no hint of fear. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll head back tomorrow morning. It¡¯s getting dark now; traveling back by night would be too dangerous... I hope you can hold out for the night!¡± The distance to Zijin Base was a bit far; it had to be covered during daylight. Otherwise, encountering a large number of Night Demons at night would spell disaster. ¡°Okay.¡± The other party didn¡¯t urge them, and their tone remained calm. Lan Yulian knew it was just his style. ¡°By the way, what¡¯s the situation with the prison and the Alliance now?¡± Lan Yulian asked again. ¡°Temporary cooperation.¡± ¡°Right. Then...¡± Lan Yulian asked for more specifics, and the General shared everything he could. Wang Tao listened on the side and more or less understood the whole story. Simply put, the prison and the Alliance had long been in cahoots, claiming they came to kill zombies, but they were only going through the motions and didn¡¯t actually fight. Without these two powerful teams, the other teams would definitely face greater difficulties. They wanted to take the opportunity to return to Zijin Base and take it over. After all, Zijin Base was the best in the city, and many were envious of it. They were no exception. As for the ascension to Level 3, they had already secretly obtained some white Ascension Crystal Cores. However, they had never succeeded in merging with them. So, they figured that even if Zijin Base got hold of Crystal Cores, it wouldn¡¯t be easy to succeed. If they could take over Zijin Base, with its high walls and terrifying defense, even Level 3 ability users wouldn¡¯t be able to breach it. They planned to take their time with the Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores they had. Then, as if by surprise, an accident occurred. Their original plan was to have the people from Zijin Base and the clubhouse fight their way in and get bogged down by the multitude of zombies inside while they head back to base. But to their astonishment, the zombies inside were too strong, and Zijin Base suffered heavy casualties right at the start. Hence, the General immediately ordered a decisive temporary retreat to plan for the long-term. This retreat caught the prison and the Alliance off guard¡ªthey had just finished their sabotage and hadn¡¯t gone far... It also incidentally caused trouble for Lan Yulian and her teammates. At the time, Lan Yulian¡¯s group was jointly fighting a formidable Level 3 zombie and couldn¡¯t leave. After a great struggle to kill that zombie, they were left alone; the General¡¯s men had all retreated! So, this was how Lan Yulian and her people ended up trapped. As for the General¡¯s side, once outside, they discovered their vehicles had just been sabotaged, then they saw traces of the prison and the Alliance. So they hurriedly gave chase. At this time, the zombies from the sports hall also gave chase. Some, being speed-type zombies, ran fast, and with their large numbers, the general¡¯s men couldn¡¯t avoid combat. As a result of this battle, zombies from other areas were attracted! Especially when a large number of Mad Demon Zombies arrived, it wasn¡¯t just them who couldn¡¯t escape; even the people from the prison and the Alliance had no way out. Fighting amongst themselves was pointless at such a time, so both sides had no choice but to cooperate. They fought while retreating, retreating to the diving hall. The current situation was that they were surrounded by countless zombies. Although they were not at immediate risk of death, the future was uncertain. It was unclear whether there were any zombies with strong destructive powers among them, and their supplies were limited... After ending the communication, Lan Yulian turned her gaze to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, do you think we should go and bring back reinforcements?¡± To be honest, neither Zijin Base nor the prison and the Alliance were exactly honorable. There¡¯s no need to mention the prison and the Alliance. As for Zijin Base, they retreated too decisively without waiting for Lan Yulian. If they had waited a moment or helped out a bit, Lan Yulian and her team wouldn¡¯t have ended up trapped, nearly wiped out. At the time, Lan Yulian had considered borrowing manpower from the Fifth Squad, a team of Ability Users who could use Weak Slime. But the General vetoed it, saying they needed to preserve the strength of the Fifth Squad, which was their trump card for killing Level 3 zombies. Lan Yulian was certain that at the time, the General had some thoughts of letting the zombies eliminate her group¡ªif not before, then he would have seized the opportunity when it came. Of course, Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t entirely innocent either. By asking Wang Tao this, her implication was clear¡ªif they just left without looking for reinforcements, the General and his men would most likely be doomed. And Zijin Base¡ªmight just become hers! Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t planned on sabotaging them at such a time, but now that the opportunity had arisen... she was having second thoughts! As the saying goes, ¡°Two tigers cannot share one mountain.¡± Now, Zijing City had four ¡®tigers,¡¯ which was unsustainable! So you couldn¡¯t blame Lan Yulian for being ruthless; if she didn¡¯t make a move someone else would. It was just a matter of who acted first. But Lan Yulian still hesitated... If all these people died, the strength of the survivors in Zijing City would plummet by more than half, a loss for the entire Human Faction of the city. And Lan Yulian still had some conscience; the idea of so many people dying here weighed on her. She was torn between wanting to abandon them and wanting to save them. Wang Tao could clearly see her thoughts and smiled as he said, ¡°Isn¡¯t that simple? If they offer benefits, like giving up Zijin Base... then you save them. If they don¡¯t offer anything, just let them wait for death. I believe they know how to choose.¡± Lan Yulian responded with some resignation, ¡°You¡¯re right, they¡¯re very likely to offer benefits. But that¡¯s just a verbal agreement. If they don¡¯t honor it after being saved, I have no means of punishing them...¡± ¡°That¡¯s even simpler. Just be stronger than them. For instance... ascend to Level 3.¡± Wang Tao said, revealing a Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Core in his hand, within which lay a ¡°+¡± sign shadow. Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Core! Chapter 492: 215 Misunderstanding_1 Chapter 492: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_1 ¡°Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Core?!¡± Upon seeing the item in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, Lan Yulian covered her small mouth and exclaimed in surprise. This operation awarded her several Ascension Crystal Cores as well, but they were all White Rank, Ordinary Quality, with only a 20% fusion success rate. Theoretically, it should take five fusions for a White Crystal Core to succeed, but in reality, it¡¯s all down to luck. Bad luck might mean never succeeding at all. Furthermore, the fusion of Crystal Cores introduces impurities into the body, and that¡¯s why people of their power level usually wouldn¡¯t fuse Crystal Cores lightly. Especially not White Crystal Cores... To them, Purple Crystal Cores were mainstream. Red and Orange Cores were treasures that one could only hope for but not seek out. And now, Wang Tao had casually produced an Orange one! ¡°How about it, do you want it?¡± Wang Tao waved the Orange Crystal Core in his hand. ¡°Yes!¡± Lan Yulian answered honestly. Not just her, but also Lu Yingfeng and Nie Siyan beside her nodded subconsciously. An Orange Ascension Crystal Core signified a guaranteed Level 3 Ascension! ¡°Trade it for another Crystal Core.¡± Wang Tao spoke with a smile. This Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Core synthesized from two blue and one white Crystal Cores contained no impurities and so was much higher quality than ordinary Orange Crystal Cores. As long as the trading price exceeded the cost, Wang Tao was willing to make the trade. ¡°What kind of Crystal Core do you want? I¡¯ll trade!¡± Lan Yulian immediately reached out to Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng took out a pile of Crystal Cores from her backpack, all of them either Level 1 or Level 2, including a good number of White Ascension Crystal Cores. Seeing these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Even though the quality of these Crystal Cores was ordinary, they didn¡¯t matter to Wang Tao. ¡°How many do you plan to trade?¡± Wang Tao looked at her. ¡°Huh? How many? Do you have more? Orange ones too?¡± Lan Yulian was a bit stunned. Without a word, Wang Tao took out two red and one more orange Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core. ¡°...¡± Everyone, except for Jiang Shixue, was dumbstruck. ¡°Interested?¡± Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian. ¡°I want them all!¡± Lan Yulian immediately spoke up. These three Ascension Crystal Cores essentially meant the creation of three Level 3 Ability Users! ¡°But can you afford them?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile on his face. ¡°I can afford them!¡± Lan Yulian insisted, even if she couldn¡¯t afford them, she had to! She quickly pulled Lu Yingfeng aside and began to discuss in a low voice. Nie Siyan watched the three Ascension Crystal Cores, feeling her heartbeat accelerate. Although they weren¡¯t meant for her, if she served Wang Tao well, maybe she¡¯d have a chance... With that thought, she immediately went behind Wang Tao and began to massage his shoulders. Wang Tao glanced at her but didn¡¯t say anything. Shortly after, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng came over. Lan Yulian spoke: ¡°I¡¯ll give you all the Crystal Cores I have in exchange for these three cores!¡± ¡°Not enough,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. It wasn¡¯t that it wasn¡¯t enough, but rather because right now was the perfect time for Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores to exert their value, and Wang Tao definitely had to sell at a high price. Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t surprised to see Wang Tao shaking his head. If it were her, she probably wouldn¡¯t agree either. After all, they represented Level 3 Ability Users. If one became a Level 3 Ability User, would they worry about not having Crystal Cores? ¡°Then you name the price; these are all I have right now...¡± Lan Yulian said helplessly. She wasn¡¯t wealthy to begin with, having traded quite a few Crystal Cores with Wang Tao before. The cores she had now were just obtained today... she really didn¡¯t have anything else to offer. Wang Tao didn¡¯t name a price, instead, he looked at the Crystal Cores Lan Yulian had taken out, then gave her two Orange Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°These can only be traded for two, and this is a friendship price.¡± ¡°...Okay!¡± Lan Yulian quickly took the two cores. ¡°They¡¯re so pretty!¡± It wasn¡¯t that she had never seen Orange Crystal Cores, but somehow these two seemed extra beautiful. With these Orange Crystal Cores, they could have a Level 3 Ability User! And with a Level 3 Ability User, they could dominate other forces! ¡°Who are you planning on using them for?¡± After collecting the pile of Crystal Cores, Wang Tao curiously asked. ¡°We¡¯ll give them to Little Feng; I¡¯m not yet qualified for a Level 3 Ascension...¡± Lan Yulian glanced at Lu Yingfeng as she spoke. A Level 3 Ascension not only required HP to reach the maximum limit but also at least one Level 2 Ability +10. Lan Yulian didn¡¯t have an Ability that had successfully fused ten times, so she couldn¡¯t use the Ascension Crystal Core. On the other hand, Lu Yingfeng had an Ability that had successfully fused ten times and could ascend to Level 3. Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t speak, but her eyes were filled with gratitude. If it were someone else, they would surely use the Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core for themselves, even if they couldn¡¯t use it right away. It was rare indeed for someone like Lan Yulian to offer it up right away... However, Lu Yingfeng also felt a bit troubled. ¡°If I succeed in ascending to Level 3, my other Level 2 Abilities that haven¡¯t reached max level won¡¯t be able to fuse anymore...¡± Level 2 Ability Users couldn¡¯t merge Level 1 Crystal Cores, and it was likely that Level 3 Ability Users couldn¡¯t merge Level 2 Crystal Cores. Lu Yingfeng had only one Level 3 Ability +10, the others were all +1. If she ascended to Level 3 now, she wouldn¡¯t be able to continue fusing Level 2 Crystal Cores with these three +1 Abilities... meaning, they might never advance further! Under normal circumstances, she would certainly wait for the right opportunity to ascend to Level 3¡ªat least she¡¯d make sure her other Level 2 Abilities reached +10! But the situation was extraordinary... Chapter 493: 215 Misunderstanding_2 Chapter 493: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_2 ¡°` So, this means that if she ascends to Level 3 now, her power would definitely increase significantly, but her growth limit would decrease¡ªbecause the other Abilities would always be at Level Two. Not to mention, the fewer Ascension Crystal Cores she uses, the lesser the power increase during ascension will be... Hearing this, Lan Yulian felt a bit annoyed and instinctively held onto her hand. ¡°Oh right! I didn¡¯t consider this factor! How about... we switch to someone else? There are also some people in our club who are eligible for Level 3 ascension...¡± ¡°No, let me do it!¡± Lu Yingfeng gripped Lan Yulian¡¯s hand tightly and then shook her head firmly. It wasn¡¯t that she was unwilling to let go of this opportunity, but she didn¡¯t trust the others much. She could guarantee that even if she ascended to Level 3, she would still follow Lu Yingfeng¡¯s orders. But that might not be the case with others... The internal dynamics of their club were not very stable, and if something unexpected happened, it could all be for nothing. After Wang Tao learned a bit more about Lu Yingfeng¡¯s situation, he suddenly flipped his palm, and an Orange Crystal Core appeared, with a shadow of a Surgical Knife inside it. ¡°Perhaps, you need this.¡± ¡°What is this?¡± Seeing the Orange Crystal Core again, both women were surprised and curious. ¡°Exraction Crystal Core. After integrating it, it allows you to freely choose to extract one of your Level 2 Abilities. The extracted Ability will form a new Crystal Core without any side effects...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. The two women¡¯s eyes widened in astonishment. ¡°Extraction of an Ability?¡± ¡°There is such an amazing Crystal Core?¡± Can a Crystal Core be extracted even after merging into the body? Both women found it hard to believe, but it was Wang Tao who told them this, and he had no reason to deceive them. After the shock had worn off, both women were visibly excited. If they could use this Crystal Core to extract the other Level 2 Crystal Cores from Lu Yingfeng¡¯s body, then when Lu Yingfeng ascended to Level 3, she would have a slot available to integrate a Level 3 Ability! Alternatively, if Lu Yingfeng extracted her Abilities and integrated a more common Level 2 Crystal Core, then ascended that Core to +10, even if she ascended to Level 3, she would still be able to merge a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core, thereby upgrading that Ability to Level 3¡ªconsidering that Level 1 and Second-order Superpower Owners could merge Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores, it stands to reason that Level 2 and Level 3 ability users should be able to merge Level 3 Crystal Cores as well! Anyway, no matter how you look at it, if Lu Yingfeng could use this Crystal Core, it would be a great enhancement to both her power and potential! Especially since Lu Yingfeng had integrated two useless Abilities with no side effects but also no real function in the early stages, she could now swap them for more suitable Abilities! Lan Yulian asked with a mix of excitement and nervousness: ¡°What¡¯s the price for this Extraction Crystal Core?¡± That price... wasn¡¯t easy to set. To Wang Tao, this kind of Extraction Crystal Core was more precious than an Ascension Crystal Core because it was rare. But to others, definitely, the Ascension Crystal Cores would be more valuable... ¡°You don¡¯t have anything left to trade now, do you!¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows and said. ¡°If you trust me, I can write an IOU! Just like the price we discussed for the Ascension Crystal Core just now!¡± Lan Yulian said seriously. ¡°Running a tab? Okay, I trust you.¡± Wang Tao looked into her eyes and suddenly nodded with a smile. ¡°Ah?¡± Hearing Wang Tao agree so readily, Lan Yulian was somewhat surprised. ¡°What? Were you lying to me?¡± ¡°No!¡± Lan Yulian quickly waved her hands, ¡°Then it¡¯s settled!¡± No matter why Wang Tao trusted her, it was certainly a good thing for her. At this moment, Wang Tao produced another Extraction Crystal Core. ¡°Lu Yingfeng has two useless Abilities, right? Perfect, extract them both.¡± ¡°You have more? Good, I¡¯ll take it!¡± Lan Yulian continued running a tab. ¡°Do you have any useless Abilities?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked Lan Yulian. ¡°I do...¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Also two...¡± Just as Lan Yulian finished speaking, she saw Wang Tao produce two Epic Exraction Crystal Cores. ¡°Here, want them?¡± ¡°...Yes!¡± The more debts one has, the less they worry¡ªLan Yulian had already run up quite a tab, so she wasn¡¯t about to balk at two more. ¡°Do you want to ascend to Level 3? You do, right! Then these Ascension Crystal Cores...¡± Wang Tao pulled out several Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°...¡± Both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were extremely shocked, and while they were shocked, they also seemed somewhat bewildered. Are we even living in the same world? High-quality Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores just casually being doled out? And he¡¯s willing to extend credit to me? After being bewildered for a while, Lan Yulian suddenly seemed to realize something. Her expression became surprised yet complex, then she gave Wang Tao a signal with her eyes, meaning to have a private chat with him. Wang Tao stood up and went with her to another room, where just the two of them were present. ¡°You... just say what you want to do!¡± Upon entering, Lan Yulian looked at him and said. There¡¯s no such thing as love for no reason. Wang Tao suddenly being so nice to her was certainly with an ulterior motive. After all, this was the apocalypse, and running a tab in such a world was almost the same as throwing your effort into the water! Wang Tao agreeing to her running a tab definitely had a purpose! But what could he want? They had no Crystal Cores left, and it didn¡¯t seem like Wang Tao was interested in her club¡¯s power, so it could only be... her person! This wasn¡¯t her being narcissistic; it was just that she truly had nothing valuable left, and she knew she was better looking than average... Before Wang Tao could respond, Lan Yulian suddenly lowered her head, her cheeks slightly red as she spoke in a soft voice: ¡°` Chapter 494: 215 Misunderstanding_3 Chapter 494: Chapter 215 Misunderstanding_3 ¡°Cough, I¡¯m not being pretentious, I just feel that everything has a process, even if it¡¯s a special situation, or a brief one... So, please, can we have a process where we get to know each other? We could try to understand each other first. I know you¡¯re excellent, but I¡¯m not someone who can be taken lightly. After all, I¡¯ve never been in a relationship... Of course, no matter what the outcome, I will repay what I owe you. I won¡¯t take your things for nothing, that¡¯s my promise!¡± Hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, Wang Tao was initially stupefied, then he realized that Lan Yulian seemed to have misunderstood something. Misunderstood that he was pursuing her? And... she didn¡¯t dislike it? But it made sense, given Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, if he wanted women, they¡¯d probably be lining up for him, like Nie Siyan was very proactive. Lan Yulian¡¯s restraint was quite modest in comparison. And Wang Tao had helped her a lot, even saved her life, and he himself was not bad-looking... To say she had no feelings for Wang Tao was impossible... But to say she had fallen for him, probably not yet. Now, with Wang Tao being so generous to her, in her eyes, this was a signal from him. So she decided to clarify things, if Wang Tao really had such intentions, they could start by getting to know each other a bit... Wang Tao suddenly laughed. ¡°Actually, I prefer the type like Lu Yingfeng.¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian was startled for a second, her face instantly colored with embarrassment. But there was also a sense of relief, and a trace of disappointment. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear to ease the awkwardness and then apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I misunderstood!¡± After her apology, she quickly sang Lu Yingfeng¡¯s praises. ¡°If you like Little Feng, that¡¯s easy to say! I can help set you two up! She¡¯s never been in a relationship and is very innocent...¡± As soon as she finished, Wang Tao burst out laughing. ¡°Alright, actually I was joking. I agreed to extend credit to you because I want more Crystal Cores. Although you don¡¯t have them now, as long as you can take down the General and even the entire Zijin Base, there will be plenty of Crystal Cores, and then you can repay me.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Looking at Wang Tao, who didn¡¯t seem to be joking, Lan Yulian grew even more embarrassed. She suddenly felt like she might be a little love-struck, interpreting Wang Tao¡¯s intentions all wrong... However, she quickly recovered, and with a serious expression, she assured: ¡°Rest assured, I will repay all debts without any intentional delay!¡± ¡°I trust your character,¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s go outside.¡± Lan Yulian wanted to leave quickly. The more she stayed with Wang Tao, the more endless the embarrassment felt. Although in this apocalyptic era, survivors tended to have thick skins, by misfortune, she was one of the few with a relatively thin skin. Especially in matters of men and women, having had no experience, she found it difficult to be open. Nie Siyan, who had already been someone¡¯s wife, was very open, not giving a thought to face when in front of Wang Tao... ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao followed behind her, but as he was about to leave, he suddenly said: ¡°The thing just now was a joke.¡± ¡°...I know.¡± Lan Yulian did not expect Wang Tao to repeat it; she felt completely uncomfortable. However, Wang Tao suddenly leaned in and whispered in her ear: ¡°What I mean is, I don¡¯t just like Lu Yingfeng¡¯s type but... I quite like both of you!¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian turned her head, looking somewhat surprised and at a loss. In this post-apocalyptic world, it was common for strong men to have multiple women, and women to have multiple men. But such things happening to herself felt somewhat unacceptable, as she wasn¡¯t weak and didn¡¯t need to cling to others to survive. If someone else had said this, she would have been disgusted. But if that person was Wang Tao... she suddenly felt her heart in disarray. Watching Lan Yulian, who seemed at a loss, Wang Tao patted her shoulder with a smile and then took the lead to walk out. He indeed had a good impression of both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng, but it was purely admiration without any romantic feelings. But since Lan Yulian didn¡¯t take offense at the misunderstanding, there was no need for Wang Tao to pretend to be reserved. Everyone appreciates beauty, and who would refuse a beauty that comes knocking? Especially since he thought both women had good strength and character. Especially Lan Yulian, she was a rare healer... After Wang Tao and Lan Yulian came out, the few people outside were curious about what they had discussed. At this time, Lan Yulian¡¯s complexion was normal, showing nothing. It had to be said, women are natural actors. Wang Tao said to both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng: ¡°Whatever Crystal Cores you need, just say it, you can put it on credit.¡± Lu Yingfeng looked towards Lan Yulian, and Lan Yulian nodded. So, the two women got a lot of Red and Orange Crystal Cores from Wang Tao. Lan Yulian felt a bit of a pinch, regardless of what relationship she would end up with Wang Tao, since she said she would clear her debts, she meant to do just that. And now she had taken on so much credit, she estimated that even if she could take down the General and his group, Wang Tao would probably reap the most benefits... ¡°By the way, I have another nice item, do you want it?¡± Wang Tao took out another Red Crystal Core. ¡°This Crystal Core, called ¡®Healing Light¡¯...¡± [Level 2 Crystal Core ¡¤ Healing Light] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effects: First fusion decreases HP by 5000, subsequent fusions decrease HP by 1000)] [Healing Light: Consumes energy to form a healing energy field, restoring HP every second within its range] After Wang Tao introduced the Crystal Core, Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes immediately lit up. She felt this Crystal Core was perfect for her! ¡°I want it!¡± Her Ability was single-target healing, but this Ability was for group healing, perfectly compensating for her deficiency. Moreover, her combat strength was not high, and she didn¡¯t like fighting. She enjoyed healing, and this Ability seemed tailor-made for her! Chapter 495: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_1 Chapter 495: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_1 Seeing the sparkle in Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao directly gave her the [Healing Light] Crystal Core. This Crystal Core was quite good, and even though it was just one, unable to remove the side effects, it was still impressive¡ªit was just a loss of 5000 HP. Before 29999 HP, that was enough. If need be, just kill a few more zombies to replenish the HP. However, for Wang Tao himself, it wasn¡¯t of much use. Since Wang Tao¡¯s own [Iron Wall] Ability could restore HP, and he preferred Abilities that could aid in attack, this [Healing Light] obviously wasn¡¯t suitable for him. Wang Tao had originally planned to keep this Ability for Ding Yuqin, but now Ding Yuqin wasn¡¯t around, and he was certain that he would have many more Crystal Cores later, so there was no need to keep holding onto it. Giving it to Lan Yulian now would let it serve its proper function. Watching Lan Yulian holding the Crystal Core, with a look of uncontrollable joy, Wang Tao suddenly said: ¡°You owe me a lot now.¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face froze. If it were before, she might have thought Wang Tao meant that she owed him a lot of Crystal Cores. But now, she had a feeling that Wang Tao¡¯s words carried a deeper meaning. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will be able to pay you back soon!¡± Lan Yulian quickly spoke up. Lu Yingfeng, standing beside her, tugged at Lan Yulian¡¯s clothes and asked in a low voice: ¡°We owe so much! How are we going to pay it all back...¡± Lan Yulian gave her a glance, whispering back. ¡°I sold you to him.¡± ¡°...¡± Lu Yingfeng obviously didn¡¯t believe her but didn¡¯t ask any further. With a serious face, she said: ¡°Then I¡¯m going to start the Fusion of the Crystal Core!¡± Lan Yulian nodded. ¡°Go ahead, I¡¯ll guard you.¡± They had just received a lot of Crystal Cores from Wang Tao, and for Lu Yingfeng, that should be enough. Lu Yingfeng entered a room; she had quite a few Crystal Cores to fuse, so it would take some time. Lan Yulian then arranged for others to patrol this floor, to prevent zombies from coming up at night, given that she would be guarding Lu Yingfeng. Xu Xiaojun volunteered to stand guard himself. With his strength, even if some formidable zombies appeared, he would be able to handle them. Inside the room. Lu Yingfeng lay on the bed, with Lan Yulian sitting beside her. Wang Tao sat on a chair not far away, with Jiang Shixue snuggled next to him. Nie Siyan continued to massage Wang Tao¡¯s shoulders. Before Lu Yingfeng started the Fusion of the Extraction Crystal Core, Wang Tao roughly knew about the Abilities she possessed. Apart from two trash Abilities, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s other two Abilities were [Athlete] and [Precision Shooting]. Lu Yingfeng possessed Precision Shooting, and Wang Tao found it a bit surprising, but not too surprising. After all, Precision Shooting isn¡¯t just for shooting; in close combat, it can be very useful in controlling one¡¯s strength and direction. And Lu Yingfeng herself was from a martial arts family, knowledgeable in many sword techniques. Paired with Athlete and Precision Shooting, her close combat would be very strong, and very cool... After Lu Yingfeng swallowed the Extraction Crystal Core, it didn¡¯t take long before she suddenly opened her mouth and spat out a Crystal Core. It was one of those trash Abilities she had fused before. Then she swallowed another Extraction Crystal Core, and shortly after, the other Ability was expelled as well. Lu Yingfeng looked happy; those Abilities were of limited help to her and were from earlier fusions. Now she could finally replace them! She chose a [Sprint] Crystal Core from Wang Tao¡¯s collection. To others, this Ability might only seem to move them a small distance, seemingly not very useful. But for her, coupled with her sword techniques, it would definitely make her more formidable! As for the other Ability, she hadn¡¯t decided yet what to fuse; she would have to leave it empty for now and wait until she reached Level 3. Soon, Lu Yingfeng successfully fused the Sprint Crystal Core, then fused the other nine Sprints as well. All these Crystal Cores were on credit from Lan Yulian. Lu Yingfeng¡¯s Athlete was at +10, and now the Sprint was also +10. This meant she could fuse two Ascension Crystal Cores! However, Wang Tao suddenly said: ¡°By the way, I just remembered, there¡¯s a Crystal Core that should be very suitable for you.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Everyone looked curiously at Wang Tao. ¡°This one.¡± Wang Tao took out a red [High-Frequency Vibration] Crystal Core and explained its function. After hearing this, Lu Yingfeng immediately became excited. This Ability was practically tailor-made for sword users like them! She immediately looked at Wang Tao with hopeful eyes, then at Lan Yulian. ¡°We¡¯ll take it!¡± Lan Yulian spoke up at once. What¡¯s a little more debt? She could afford it! But Wang Tao just smiled and shook his head. ¡°You can have it on credit, but I have a small condition...¡± ¡°What condition? If it¡¯s within my power, I will not shy away!¡± Lu Yingfeng asked eagerly. ¡°I¡¯m quite interested in your sword techniques...¡± Lu Yingfeng was surprised but quickly said: ¡°Once we¡¯re in a safe place, I can teach you! But let¡¯s make it clear, if you can¡¯t learn, you can¡¯t blame me. Not that I look down on you, but I¡¯ve been practicing for many years since I was a child...¡± ¡°Deal. I¡¯m not demanding, just want to give it a try. If it doesn¡¯t work out, so be it.¡± Wang Tao handed the Crystal Core to Lu Yingfeng. He thought Lu Yingfeng looked very cool when fighting, and each move was controlled just right; he wanted to learn. But if he really couldn¡¯t pick it up, then it was not meant to be¡ªit would simply prove it wasn¡¯t his forte?. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lu Yingfeng excitedly fused the [High-Frequency Vibration], and after a moment, she took out her sword to test it. She easily cut through a steel pipe. Chapter 496: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_2 Chapter 496: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_2 ¡°Strong!¡± Jade Lotus exclaimed in admiration. Taking a deep breath, Lu Yingfeng then said to the others: ¡°Now, I will merge with an Ascension Crystal Core and upgrade to Level 3...¡± She placed an Orange Ascension Crystal Core into her mouth. Moments later, she opened her eyes, her expression somewhat excited. ¡°Athlete has ascended to Level 3!¡± ¡°Congratulations!¡± Jade Lotus and the others quickly offered their congratulations. But after waiting for a while, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s frown returned. ¡°However, I don¡¯t feel that I can ascend to Level 3...¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was taken aback. Wang Tao¡¯s brows furrowed as well. When he wanted to ascend, merging just one Crystal Core had no effect; he had to successfully merge four Ascension Crystal Cores. Could it be... Lu Yingfeng faced the same situation? After asking Lu Yingfeng and Jade Lotus some questions, Wang Tao had an epiphany. ¡°I think I understand what¡¯s happening...¡± When Lu Yingfeng was ascending from Level 1 to Level 2, she used four Ascension Crystal Cores! At that time, after successfully merging one Ascension Crystal Core, she felt she could advance. However, Jade Lotus told her that the more Crystal Cores she merged, the stronger the enhancement she¡¯d get at Level 2. Therefore, she held back from advancing and specially ascended all four abilities before progressing to Level 2. Indeed, even though she had two useless abilities, she was substantially stronger than most Second-order Superpower Owners. So, Wang Tao thought, perhaps because she merged four Crystal Cores at Level 1, she would also need to merge four at Level 2? Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s analysis, Lu Yingfeng and Jade Lotus were somewhat stunned. If this was the case, wouldn¡¯t that mean this Ascension Crystal Core was used in vain? After all, Lu Yingfeng still had two abilities at +1... Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the right Crystal Core for her to upgrade at the moment. The Omnipotent Crystal Core could work, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many, and he had already used them himself. Although ascending an ability to Level 3 would also significantly increase combat power, if one didn¡¯t ascend themselves, it would still be inferior to a normal Level 3 ability user. Defeating so many zombies, or subduing the General and others, would still be difficult... The usually calm Lu Yingfeng suddenly felt anxious ¡ª she felt like she had wasted a valuable Ascension Crystal Core, especially since Jade Lotus had obtained it at a great cost! Wang Tao looked at Jade Lotus. ¡°How about you? How many Ascension Crystal Cores did you use when you ascended to Level 2?¡± ¡°Four...¡± Jade Lotus said with some resignation. This meant she also couldn¡¯t ascend to Level 3 anytime soon. Suddenly, Jade Lotus looked at Wang Tao with anticipation and asked: ¡°Wang Tao, you should be able to ascend to Level 3, right? Why don¡¯t you ascend to Level 3 and then help us suppress the General and his people?¡± She didn¡¯t trust the other people in the club; she trusted Wang Tao. However, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°I also need four Ascension Crystal Cores to ascend to Level 3, but my abilities haven¡¯t fully upgraded, and I don¡¯t have the Crystal Cores I need right now.¡± Even without ascending to Level 3, he could suppress the General and his men. But Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be staying here for long as he was planning to go to the military base. It wasn¡¯t possible for him to help Jade Lotus with this request. And what he said was true. He only had two Level 2 abilities at +10, and he couldn¡¯t ascend. He hadn¡¯t even used Ascension Crystal Cores for these two abilities because ascending them to Level 3 would require 30,000 Special Energy for Extraction or merging, while Level 2 would only need 5,000... Since he wasn¡¯t sure whether he would extract in the future, he didn¡¯t advance to save some energy. ¡°So what do we do now...¡± Jade Lotus was somewhat at a loss. She now had the Ascension Crystal Cores but no suitable candidate to use them. At that moment, Nie Siyan, who was standing behind Wang Tao, suddenly raised her hand. She looked at the others somewhat timidly and said: ¡°Ahem, that... When I ascended to Level 2, I only merged one Ascension Crystal Core...¡± After saying this, she swallowed nervously. She was both excited and apprehensive. It seemed that among all present, she was the only one who met the condition... Could this enormous fortune fall into her lap? Jade Lotus and Lu Yingfeng turned their gazes to Wang Tao. They weren¡¯t familiar with Nie Siyan and were unclear about her character. Although Nie Siyan had a bad reputation, she was now following Wang Tao... Wang Tao turned to Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t care about the gazes of the two women and walked over to Wang Tao in an understanding manner, kneeling in front of him to express her respect and submission. Jade Lotus and Lu Yingfeng looked at the two with surprise. They previously thought that Nie Siyan and Wang Tao had a cooperative relationship. But now it seemed that the relationship between them might be deeper... Wang Tao gently stroked her hair, as if he were petting a small dog. ¡°Do you want to ascend to Level 3?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Nie Siyan nodded frantically. Then she quickly rubbed her face against Wang Tao¡¯s hand and said: ¡°Master~ I will be obedient!¡± Jade Lotus and Lu Yingfeng looked at Nie Siyan with odd expressions but said nothing. Wang Tao looked into Nie Siyan¡¯s anxious, expectant eyes, gently pinched her cheek, and simply said, ¡°Just be obedient.¡± He believed Nie Siyan knew the consequences of betraying him. Nie Siyan had killed quite a few zombies today, and her HP had already reached the cap of 29,999, but her abilities hadn¡¯t yet reached +10. Nie Siyan¡¯s four abilities were [Rush], [Athlete], [Throwing Master], and [Dream Interpretation]. Wang Tao thought for a moment, it was either not to ascend to Level 3 at all or to do so in the most perfect way possible. Chapter 497 - 497: 216: Buy on Credit_3 Chapter 497: Chapter 216: Buy on Credit_3 ¡°` Nie Siyan had four abilities, except for [Dream Interpretation], which Wang Tao didn¡¯t possess, he had the other three, and not just a few of them. So Wang Tao gave her a pile of Crystal Cores to fuse. ¡°Are they, all for me...?¡± Nie Siyan felt so blessed she was about to faint. The way she looked at Wang Tao was as if her eyes could drip water. Nie Siyan¡¯s feelings for Wang Tao were complicated, she was afraid, but she also genuinely started to like him. Especially now, if it weren¡¯t for the inappropriate circumstances, she would definitely let Wang Tao experience the moves she just learned... ¡°Fuse them.¡± ¡°Yes, Master!¡± Witnessed by several people, Nie Siyan quickly succeeded in fusing 27 Crystal Cores. Rush, Athlete, and Throwing Master all added 10 points. Then Wang Tao had her fuse an Extraction Crystal Core, stripping away the ability of Dream Interpretation. [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Dream Interpretation] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 45% (Side Effects: None)] [Dream Interpretation: Can dispel some of the human dream states, awakening the person] Now that she had changed her profession, this ability was of no use anymore. Wang Tao kept the Crystal Core for himself, which might come in handy for him later. Then Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan a [Jump]. This ability could attack, and save lives. Furthermore, Wang Tao had plenty of them. After Nie Siyan had fused [Jump] to +10, Wang Tao took out four Ascension Crystal Cores. Nie Siyan, trembling, received these Crystal Cores, her eyes slowly welling up with tears. No matter what Wang Tao¡¯s intentions were or how poorly he had treated her in the past, amidst this post-apocalyptic world, he was now indeed treating her the best! She was deeply grateful to Wang Tao, sincerely wanting to follow him and acknowledge him as her master. As for rebellion... Let alone whether she could defeat him, she was currently able to enjoy the finest things by following Wang Tao; only a fool would rebel! Under the envious gazes of Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng, Nie Siyan fused all four Ascension Crystal Cores. Then her four abilities all advanced to Level 3. ¡°Brother Wang, I feel that I can ascend to Level 3 at any time within the next three days, and the ascension will probably require 24 hours of sleep...¡± Nie Siyan quickly shared the information she knew with Wang Tao. ¡°Alright, then start your ascension right away.¡± Wang Tao nodded, this was almost what he had anticipated. ¡°Yes!¡± After an excited nod, Nie Siyan lay down on the bed and fell asleep. After some thought, Wang Tao called Xu Xiaojun in. Since Nie Siyan had started her ascension, he might as well promote Xu Xiaojun to Level 3 too. Xu Xiaojun had already maxed out his HP at 29,999, as for his abilities, they were [Strength], [Rush], [Shockwave], and [Iron Skin]. In the past two days, Wang Tao had obtained a lot of Crystal Cores, including these, which could allow Xu Xiaojun to level up to the max. Xu Xiaojun also looked at Wang Tao with immense gratitude and excitement. However, he didn¡¯t say much. He was never good with words, always expressing himself through actions. Soon, Xu Xiaojun also fell into a deep sleep. By this time tomorrow, there will be two powerful Level 3 ability users! ¡°Envious...¡± ¡°` ¡°` Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both envied him, as they wouldn¡¯t be able to ascend to Level 3 anytime soon. Lu Yingfeng had just fused with a [High-Frequency Vibration], but there were not many of those crystal cores left, and Wang Tao had none. She didn¡¯t want to perform extraction, so all she could do was wait. And she still had to consider what her fourth crystal core would be. As for Lan Yulian, it was even harder. She had extracted the two useless abilities from her body, leaving only one for HP restoration and another for healing wounds. The crystal cores with these two abilities were extremely rare. She would probably, like Wang Tao, use an Omnipotent Crystal Core instead... At this moment, Lan Yulian seemed to recall something and suddenly asked: ¡°By the way, having them start their Ascension now means you¡¯re not planning on returning to Zijin Base at the moment, right?¡± Now that the vehicles were unusable, they could only walk back. If they were to drag two sleeping people, especially someone as burly as Xu Xiaojun, it would be quite troublesome. Wang Tao replied with a smile: ¡°Why go back? I¡¯ve used up so many crystal cores, and you guys don¡¯t have any left. I need to replenish some as there are so many zombies around...¡± The zombies at the sports center were lured away by the General and his people. This was good news for Wang Tao, as it meant there were zombies to kill! There were a few very strong zombies in the horde that Wang Tao had never encountered before. Now was the perfect opportunity to lure them over... Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, both women got a little excited. If it were just the two of them, they probably would have gone back, but with Wang Tao around, they would definitely follow him. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s strength spoke for itself. That night, there was no disturbance on their side of the building. However, the diving hall was bustling. As the zombies never left, it caused some noise, thereby attracting many Night Demons! The strength of the Night Demons was formidable, and they moved in groups. Combined with other zombies... Wang Tao really wanted to know the psychological shadow that the survivors inside the diving hall were living under. The next day, in the morning. Lan Yulian left some people to watch over Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun, while Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue to stay behind as well, just in case any accidents occurred. Funny enough, neither Lan Yulian nor Lu Yingfeng knew of Jiang Shixue¡¯s true strength until now, still thinking she was just an ordinary person with good physical fitness... Wang Tao prepared to head to the sports center with Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. But before leaving, Wang Tao brought out two sets of Iron Tree Armors. ¡°What¡¯s this? Armor?¡± Both women were curious. They hadn¡¯t seen where Wang Tao had gotten them from¡ªcould they have been cosplaying outfits found within the building? ¡°Iron Tree Armor, with strong defense. Try them on.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The women were a bit puzzled, but they didn¡¯t ask further questions. After all, Wang Tao was now a major creditor of theirs; they definitely had to listen to him. ¡°Huh? This armor can even adjust its size... Although it¡¯s a bit heavy, it¡¯s not too bad, and it fits very well after putting it on...¡± The two women, outfitted in the Iron Tree Armors, were quite amazed. They weren¡¯t sure about the armor¡¯s defensive power yet, but it was indeed comfortable to wear, much better than they had expected. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go like this.¡± Wang Tao intended for them to experience the armor, to find out its pros and cons and, afterwards, to discuss how much they thought it was worth. He was not yet sure about pricing the armor, so he would wait for their usage feedback before deciding. ¡°Okay!¡± The three left the building and stealthily made their way toward the sports center. It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to spot a zombie entirely covered with hands! It wasn¡¯t among those surrounding the diving hall but was wandering outside. Seeing this, Lan Yulian quickly whispered to Wang Tao: ¡°This zombie has killed many of our people before!¡± ¡°` Chapter 498 - 498: 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_1 Chapter 498: Chapter 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_1 This was a zombie that looked like a hedgehog, but instead of quills, it had decaying, menacing arms! There were at least a hundred of these arms, flailing and writhing, making one¡¯s scalp tingle. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see its eyes, but when he looked at it, it seemed to sense something. The arms began to move rapidly like centipede legs and charged towards him! ¡°It¡¯s coming! It has an Ability that lets it shoot those arms out; anyone hit by the arms will most likely die!¡± Lan Yulian explained anxiously. This zombie had killed many of her people yesterday, and she still had a psychological shadow from it. ¡°Shooting out arms? That¡¯s something... And its Perception seems really strong; it noticed me from so far away...¡± Wang Tao looked at the zombie¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 40000/40000] [Mana: 20000/20000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] A Level 3, Lord with forty thousand HP! Looking at this Attribute alone, Wang Tao thought Lan Yulian and her team were lucky yesterday. If their luck had been any worse, it wouldn¡¯t have been just heavy casualties; they could have been completely wiped out! ¡°It¡¯s a Level 3, Lord Zombie. It¡¯s normal for you not to have been able to beat it,¡± Wang Tao said softly. The Level 3 Zombies Lan Yulian and her team had managed to kill yesterday were either Level 3 Ordinary Zombies, Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies, or weakened Level 3 Elite Zombies... In any case, they hadn¡¯t really encountered any proper Level 3 Elite Zombies, let alone a Level 3, Lord Zombie. ¡°A Level 3 Lord! No wonder...¡± The two women suddenly realized. A Zombie Lord was much stronger than Elite Zombies! If they had known it was a Zombie Lord, they would have run away early and wouldn¡¯t have tangled with it. But it wasn¡¯t easy to determine whether it was a Lord or not. Lords had territories. If there was only one zombie in an area, or if there was one very powerful zombie, or if it commanded other zombies ¡ª then it was definitely a Lord Zombie. But at the time, zombies were all over the place, and everything was in chaos. Seeing zombies approach, Lan Yulian and her team¡¯s first reaction was to attack. They could only vaguely sense it was a Level 3 Zombie but couldn¡¯t discern whether it was an Elite or a Lord. Not to mention, having killed many Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and weakened Elite Zombies, they were growing confident, which made accurate judgment no less difficult. ¡°Wang Tao, what do we need to do?¡± Lan Yulian looked towards Wang Tao. She didn¡¯t ask if Wang Tao could win but instead directly asked what they should do. Since Wang Tao knew it was a Lord Zombie but didn¡¯t run, that meant he was confident, and all they needed to do was support him. ¡°You two hide first, I¡¯ll take the main attack, and Lu Yingfeng look for opportunities to assist. As for you, protect yourself and keep an eye on Lu Yingfeng, and don¡¯t attract its attention at all costs,¡± Wang Tao instructed. ¡°Okay!¡± Both women responded and then hid themselves. Wang Tao walked out boldly, facing the Hundred-armed Zombie head-on. The two women were very anxious, with Lan Yulian ready to heal and restore HP to Wang Tao at any moment. Then, they were stunned. They saw black roots resembling those of a tree suddenly appear on Wang Tao as he approached the zombie. In the blink of an eye, these roots wrapped around him and formed a massive set of armor. Wang Tao transformed into a two-and-a-half-meter-tall ¡°monster¡±! And in his hands, a giant White Bone Knife had appeared from nowhere! ¡°What is this!¡± It was the first time the two women had seen Wang Tao like this and couldn¡¯t quite believe it. ¡°Could it be a transformation Ability? And where did that Bone Knife come from?¡± Before they could ponder further, Wang Tao was already in contact with the Hundred-armed Zombie. Thump! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t find the zombie¡¯s head, so he could only attack the decaying arms. With one slice, several arms were cut off by Wang Tao. The Hundred-armed Zombie didn¡¯t seem to lose much HP, but it became enraged, suddenly leaping high into the air, then bouncing towards Wang Tao like a ball. ¡°It can jump that high?¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected the zombie to be so agile. However, with his Iron Wall Ability already activated and the speed boost, he easily dodged the Hundred-armed Zombie¡¯s attack. Boom¡ª The stone pavement was smashed into a spider-web of cracks. And just like a ball, the Hundred-armed Zombie hit the ground and used its arms to bounce back up, lunging at Wang Tao again. This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge but instead timed his move carefully, powering up for a decisive strike. He used high-frequency vibration for this slash. Bang! The Hundred-armed Zombie was sent flying, and Wang Tao felt his knife had cut deep. Above the zombie¡¯s head, a damage number of [-3645] popped up. ¡°Its Defense isn¡¯t that high after all!¡± Seeing this number, Wang Tao grinned. As long as it wasn¡¯t a monster with high Defense like the Big Tree Monster, he wouldn¡¯t waste too much time. When the Hundred-armed Zombie got knocked back, Lu Yingfeng, who had been ready to strike, appeared suddenly. Clad in armor, she tightly gripped her Tang Dao and stabbed at the Hundred-armed Zombie as it was about to land near her. Thrust! [-1894] After the stab, Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t linger for combat but quickly retreated. Wang Tao glanced at her in surprise; the damage from that strike was quite high. After all, Lu Yingfeng hadn¡¯t reached Level 3 yet, while Wang Tao was genuinely at Level 3 Combat Power. For her to inflict almost two thousand damage with a single strike was impressive indeed. Chapter 499 - 499: 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 499: Chapter 217: Hundred-armed Zombie (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_2 ¡°Quick battle, quick decision!¡± Wang Tao said to Lu Yingfeng. Since both of their damages were not low, there was no need to dawdle. Otherwise, if other zombies were attracted, complications could easily arise. ¡°Okay!¡± Lu Yingfeng responded. ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± After the Hundred-armed Zombie landed, the arms on its body suddenly trembled violently, like some sort of shamanic dance. Lan Yulian, hiding in the shadows, suddenly felt dizzy. Lu Yingfeng, who was closer to the Hundred-armed Zombie, was even more unstable on her feet, and she was about to fall to the ground. Wang Tao instantly appeared beside her, scooping her up and getting her out of there. Boom~ As soon as they left, they saw the zombie fall from the sky, landing right where Lu Yingfeng had just been standing. ¡°Mental Attack!¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face inside the helmet was a bit unsightly; when they had previously attacked this zombie, it hadn¡¯t used this method. This only meant one thing¡ªthey hadn¡¯t been seen as a threat! However, this was also a good thing, after all, mental attacks were unpredictable, and she didn¡¯t have any means to resist them. Wang Tao had fused with quite a few Crystal Cores before and had some that could defend against Mental Attacks, so he did have some resistance to this kind of attack. Moreover, Wang Tao had just discovered that his Entangling Roots had just lost HP! Could this mental attack reach his armor? But he didn¡¯t have time to think further. Wang Tao asked Lu Yingfeng, who was in his arms. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Lu Yingfeng shook her head; feeling a bit clearer after a moment, she quickly wriggled out of Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. Though both were armored and there had been no physical contact while she was in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable. After releasing her, Wang Tao used the walkie-talkie to check on Lan Yulian¡¯s situation. ¡°I¡¯m okay...¡± Once he made sure everyone was alright, Wang Tao attacked again. Other zombies were already heading their way, so they needed to finish this one off quickly. At that moment, the Hundred-armed Zombie suddenly spun around, throwing its arms like javelins toward Wang Tao, Lu Yingfeng, and Lan Yulian hiding in the shadows! Wang Tao raised his Bone Knife and swung several blows, knocking away many arms. However, there were too many arms flying toward him, and three still struck him. [-349] [-340] [-318] One arm hitting his Entangling Roots caused over three hundred HP of damage. Though it seemed not much, the three arms together had depleted a thousand HP. And this was after Wang Tao had already blocked many arms. If it were someone else without the defense of Entangling Roots and hit by several arms, they might have been killed instantly! Wang Tao looked toward Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. Fortunately, although they were a bit disheveled, they both managed to block the attack. The greatest credit went to their Iron Tree Armors. ¡°Such strong defense!¡± Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were both a bit shocked and happy. They had braced themselves for injury, but unexpectedly, the zombie¡¯s arm attacks were unable to penetrate the Armor¡¯s defense. Although they had lost HP, there were no direct wounds, which prevented infection. Lan Yulian first healed Wang Tao, then Lu Yingfeng, and finally herself. Wang Tao felt warm all over, and his HP instantly returned to full! He looked again at the zombie; after shooting out part of its arms, its true form was revealed¡ªa giant meat tumor! Wang Tao felt a bit disgusted as he rushed forward with his knife. The zombie continued its arm shooting, but this time, it didn¡¯t attack Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng; instead, it targeted Wang Tao. Bracing himself with his strength, Wang Tao endured the attacks and broke through to the front of the Hundred-armed Zombie. Then he began slashing wildly. [-4584] [-4873] [-4393] [...] Lu Yingfeng seized the opportunity to appear behind the zombie, and she too started swinging her knife. [-1849] [-1823] [-1902] [...] The defense of the Level 3, Lord Zombie Lord was indeed low, especially after losing those arms, it essentially became a target for Wang Tao and Lu Yingfeng. It launched several mental attacks; Wang Tao felt a slight stabbing pain in his head, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Soon after, Wang Tao delivered the final blow. Spurt~ [-5134] [0/40000] The zombie¡¯s HP bar emptied. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils of war and cut open the tumor to find a Crystal Core inside. [Level 3 Crystal Core¡¤Spike Shoot] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Defense decreased)] [Spike Shoot: Spikes will grow on the body, which can be shot out and can be recovered] Seeing the attributes of the Crystal Core, Wang Tao suddenly understood. He thought that the defense of the Level 3, Lord Zombie Lord was much weaker than he expected, and it turned out that this ability had a side effect that reduced defensive power. But the Crystal Core mentioned spikes, whereas the zombie had grown arms; it seemed there had been a mutation during the growth process... Lan Yulian ran over and showered several green lights on Wang Tao and Lu Yingfeng. Seeing that quite a few zombies had already surrounded them, Wang Tao immediately ran off with the two women. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ... Some time later, the three of them appeared on the rooftop of a building. From there, they had a perfect view of the swimming pool. Seeing the dense hordes of zombies outside the pool area, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both felt a tingling sensation on their scalps. They couldn¡¯t understand why there were so many zombies here, and so many of them were Level 3! According to the information the General had given them before, there shouldn¡¯t have been so many zombies here, let alone so many Level 3 zombies! Chapter 501: 218: White Bone Standard Crossbow (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_1 Chapter 501: Chapter 218: White Bone Standard Crossbow (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_1 ¡°Huh? Standard Hand Crossbow?¡± Seeing the two blueprints, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, and he quickly looked at the detailed information on the blueprints. [White Bone Standard Crossbow Blueprint: After learning, you can craft 1 White Bone Standard Crossbow each time. Required materials: Any white bones of Level 3 Elite or above x2kg, any Crystal Core x1 (Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Crystal Cores may be used), Iron Block x10, Screw x10, Rubber x10, Steel Wire x10, Rope x10] [White Bone Standard Crossbow: Attributes unknown] [White Bone Standard Crossbow Arrow Blueprint: After learning, you can craft 100 White Bone Standard Crossbow Arrows each time. Required materials: Any white bones of Level 3 Elite or above x2kg, Blade x10, Iron Block x10, Plastic x10] [White Bone Standard Crossbow Arrow: Durability +5, Attack power +5, and has a certain piercing ability] ¡°Just as I thought, it¡¯s a standard crossbow like the Iron Tree Standard Armor that can be reused!¡± Wang Tao was a bit excited. Moreover, crafting this thing is even simpler than making Iron Tree Armors! Iron Tree Armors require the core material of Iron Tree Skin, but this White Bone Standard Hand Crossbow only needs any white bones of Level 3 Elite or above! Level 3 Elite white bones aren¡¯t that easy to come by, not all of the limbs from the Zombie Lord we just killed were bones! After learning the blueprint, Wang Tao turned towards Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng and said: ¡°I¡¯ll make a trip back, you two wait for me here.¡± ¡°Ah? What are you going to do?¡± Both women were startled, Lan Yulian somewhat curious. ¡°I¡¯m going to pick up some bones, the bones of the zombie we just killed.¡± ¡°...¡± The two women looked at each other, nearly thinking that Wang Tao had some sort of special fetish. Picking up bones at such a time, and of a zombie no less, this... ¡°Alright! Be careful...¡± But the two did not ask further. Under the concerned gazes of the two women, Wang Tao ran back. Only a few Level 1 and Level 2 zombies remained where the Hundred-armed Zombie was killed, the rest that had been attracted had left after finding nothing. Wang Tao quickly dealt with these zombies, then found the corpse of the Hundred-armed Zombie. Its main body was a lump of flesh with some bones inside, but it was filled with a yellow-brown fluid, reeked horribly, and was quite nauseating. Wang Tao only picked up its arms, gathering all the visible limbs, and returned to the rooftop where Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were. Seeing Wang Tao carrying a multitude of arms, both women felt a chill. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind them, though; he took out the materials from inside his jacket, then took out a Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Crystal Core respectively. Then a burst of multicolored light shone from Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng exchanged glances, both astonished. Although they did not understand, it seemed very powerful. Could it be Wang Tao¡¯s Ability? As the two women¡¯s thoughts flew, the multicolored light slowly dissipated to reveal three white hand crossbows and a pile of crossbow arrows! Looking closely, the three hand crossbows and crossbow arrows turned out to be made out of bones! ¡°Huh?¡± Both ran over in shock. They looked at Wang Tao and then the hand crossbows, full of question marks, yet not sure how to begin asking. Wang Tao, growing stronger, didn¡¯t mind revealing a small secret. And with so many wondrous Crystal Cores, they would probably guess that Wang Tao had some special Ability. Wang Tao inspected the three hand crossbows. They were Level 1, Level Two, and Level 3, respectively. [White Bone Standard Crossbow] [Level 1 (Ordinary)] [Durability +10, Attack power +10, Precision +5] ... [White Bone Standard Crossbow] [Level Two (Ordinary)] [Durability +20, Attack power +20, Precision +5] ... [White Bone Standard Crossbow] [Level 3 (Ordinary)] [Durability +30, Attack power +30, Precision +5] The hand crossbows and the Iron Tree Armors were similar, with the Level 1 looking the most simple and the Level 3 comparatively more intricate. [White Bone Standard Crossbow Arrow: Durability +5, Attack power +5, and has a certain piercing ability] However, what surprised Wang Tao the most was this White Bone Standard Crossbow Arrow. It had attributes, with both durability and attack power increasing by five points each! And it also has a certain piercing ability! Even without the hand crossbow, just these crossbow arrows were already great items. If combined with these hand crossbows, especially the Level 3 hand crossbow, it would result in 35 points of attack power, even higher than Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Giant Axe which only had 30 attack power. Although the Giant Axe is Level Two, and it¡¯s somewhat unfair to compare it with Level 3, this hand crossbow can be mass-produced! In the past, Wang Tao had obtained a blueprint for a Precise Crossbow, but that blueprint could only craft one hand crossbow. And its attributes were not as good as those of the Level 2 or above. [Precise Crossbow: Durability +20, Attack power +10, Precision +10] Although the precision was double, its attack power was only equivalent to a Level 1 Bone Hand Crossbow. It couldn¡¯t compare with Level Two and Level 3. ¡°This is...¡± Lan Yulian pointed curiously at the hand crossbow. ¡°Bone Hand Crossbow, give it a try.¡± Wang Tao handed her a Level 3 hand crossbow. Lan Yulian held it in her hand, looking at the object that resembled a work of art, her face full of surprise. As a Second-order Superpower Owner, even if her strength was weak, it was stronger than an ordinary person¡¯s. So she effortlessly pulled the crossbow string and loaded a crossbow arrow. Then she aimed at the wall and pulled the trigger. Whoosh¡ª The arrow flew out and embedded itself in the reinforced concrete wall. ¡°Awesome!¡± Lan Yulian gasped in amazement. If not for the crossbow, based on her own strength alone, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to inflict such damage! Chapter 502: 218: White Bone Standard Crossbow (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_2 Chapter 502: Chapter 218: White Bone Standard Crossbow (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_2 This means that the attack power of this hand crossbow is even stronger than that of a Second-order Superpower Owner like her! Although in terms of combat ability, she¡¯s a relatively weaker Second-order Superpower Owner, but this was enough to prove the impressiveness of this hand crossbow. If an ordinary person got their hands on this crossbow, wouldn¡¯t they be able to directly threaten a Second-order Ability User? They could even go kill a Level 3 Zombie Lord! If they had this crossbow before, then they wouldn¡¯t have lost so many people... Wang Tao had Lu Yingfeng try it out as well. As a pure combatant, Lu Yingfeng also gave the Level 3 Bone Hand Crossbow high praise. ¡°Very strong!¡± The most important thing about this crossbow isn¡¯t its attack power, but rather its simple operation, low learning curve, and the low amount of effort it takes to use, coupled with its ranged attack capabilities! If they had these Bone Hand Crossbows, they could quickly form a powerful team, and if they were combined with Iron Tree Armors... hiss, I dare not even think about it! Seeing both women in admiration, Wang Tao decided to give it a try himself. The Level 1 Bone Hand Crossbow was about the same as the Precise Crossbow he¡¯d tried earlier, but the Level 2 and Level 3 felt much stronger... The overall experience was very satisfying! ¡°Wang Tao, are you selling this crossbow?¡± Lan Yulian suddenly asked. Although she was unclear on how Wang Tao had produced these hand crossbows, it seemed he could mass-produce them! Given that, he should be willing to sell them, right? ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao nodded first and then added, ¡°However, it won¡¯t be cheap, don¡¯t be fooled by how easily I can craft them. The cost of one of these hand crossbows is quite high. For instance, this Level 3 hand crossbow not only requires the bones of a Level 3 Elite Zombie or higher but also three Level 3 Crystal Cores!¡± ¡°Three Level 3 Crystal Cores!¡± Lu Yingfeng and Lan Yulian looked at each other, both of them quite shocked. The cost was indeed high! But even with the high price, they still needed it! After all, this was something that could enhance their combat capabilities. Besides, there were also Level 2 and Level 1 crossbows... After negotiating with Wang Tao for a while, Lan Yulian put two Level 3 Bone Hand Crossbows and 200 crossbow arrows on credit. They would see how things go afterward, but she was definitely going to buy a batch. Wang Tao crafted quite a few more crossbows and crossbow arrows until all the zombie bones were used up. Just as Lan Yulian was wondering how Wang Tao was going to take all the items with him, he suddenly waved his hand, and everything disappeared. ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian finally understood how the armor she was wearing had appeared! Wang Tao could make these things disappear and then reappear? Was this the legendary storage space, or something else? Her curiosity was through the roof, but she still refrained from asking further. Partly out of respect for Wang Tao¡¯s privacy and also because if Wang Tao had more good stuff that she wanted to buy, she really wouldn¡¯t be able to afford it! She was already in deep debt to Wang Tao, and if she owed more, she would truly be unable to pay it back... ¡°Hungry?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°A little.¡± Lan Yulian nodded honestly, while Lu Yingfeng also grunted in agreement. Their previous provisions were all in their vehicle, but the vehicle had been destroyed, and its supplies taken. They had eaten once last night, and then again this morning, almost depleting the rations they had on them. Wang Tao handed them a few bottles of nutritional supplements. ¡°Nutritional supplements, I guess one bottle could probably replace three big bowls of rice.¡± The women instinctively took them, with Lan Yulian screaming in her mind: I knew it, he has more good stuff! Lan Yulian really wanted to ask how much these sold for, but she held herself back. It¡¯s not like they couldn¡¯t eat other dry food; she couldn¡¯t accumulate more debt. Just endure! After all, Wang Tao didn¡¯t ask them for money for these nutritional supplements, so consider it a freebie. Then, Wang Tao took out some items the size of chicken eggs, golden and pretty, resembling egg yolks. ¡°Some kind of fish roe, very delicious, want to try some?¡± This was what had burst out when they killed the Level 3 Fish Zombie Lord earlier. It was cooked and could be eaten directly after bursting out, and also could be stored in his space. A delicious taste, one that Wang Tao enjoyed. ¡°I¡¯ll eat! Thank you!¡± Lan Yulian didn¡¯t hold back, taking some immediately. She even purposely took an extra portion for Lu Yingfeng who seemed a bit embarrassed. ¡°Oh right, I¡¯ve got this too.¡± Wang Tao pulled out something that looked like a water bladder and poured out a pile of fish jerky he had prepared in advance. ¡°...¡± Compared to the fish jerky, Lan Yulian was clearly more curious about the water bladder itself. Could this be the space equipment Wang Tao used to store objects? ¡°Interested?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. ¡°Yes, yes, yes!¡± Lan Yulian nodded. Wang Tao then handed her the Magical Stomach Pouch to take a closer look. ¡°Here, take a look.¡± Lan Yulian quickly took the item, and both she and Lu Yingfeng, with the explanation from Wang Tao, soon understood how to use it. ¡°It can only store food, so it seems the way Wang Tao stores crossbows is with something else... Of course, this is also great! I want one too...¡± At that moment, Wang Tao took out another Magical Stomach Pouch of the same kind from his chest. ¡°Want one?¡± When Wang Tao killed zombies the day before, he encountered a few that could spit Spittle Nails, and after defeating them, he acquired several Magical Stomach Pouches. ¡°...¡± A minute later, Lan Yulian had racked up another debt. ¡°Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ve rested enough, now it¡¯s time to kill zombies!¡± Looking at Wang Tao¡¯s departing figure, Lan Yulian, walking behind him, grabbed Lu Yingfeng¡¯s hand, feeling somewhat troubled. Chapter 503: 218: White Bone Standard Crossbow (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_3 Chapter 503: Chapter 218: White Bone Standard Crossbow (Last Day of Double Monthly Tickets)_3 ¡°Little Feng, we¡¯re done for! We owe too much, I don¡¯t even know if we can ever pay it back...¡± ¡°Then why did you still buy on credit! We¡¯ve come this far without those things before. We might not necessarily need them...¡± Lu Yingfeng was relatively calm compared to others. ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian gave Lu Yingfeng a somber glance, ¡°If we really can¡¯t pay it back, then I... I¡¯ll just sell you to him! I believe you can fetch a good price!¡± ¡°?¡± ... Wang Tao and his group had killed quite a few zombies again, but they hadn¡¯t encountered any Level 3 Zombie Lords since. However, it wasn¡¯t easy because those Level 3 Elite Zombies were also very strong and were not the weakened version of the Level 3 Elite Zombies they had faced before. Wang Tao guessed that if there was a progenitor, these formidable Level 3 Elite Zombies should have been cultivated by it, while the weakened version of the Level 3 Elite Zombies were probably cultivated by Zijin Base and the prison. As for where the Level 3 Ordinary Zombies came from, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very clear... While they were killing zombies, they received a call from the General. He asked Lan Yulian how long she thought it would take to get back to Zijin Base. From their current location, even though they could receive signals from Zijin Base, they couldn¡¯t send messages back. Therefore, they couldn¡¯t send out a distress signal and could only hope for Lan Yulian. After all, out of the five squads, only Lan Yulian¡¯s Fourth Squad was outside while the other three were trapped in the diving gym... Lan Yulian explained that a lot of zombies had run out of the sports center and it was very dangerous outside. Her team members were also injured... So, it was estimated that returning to Zijin Base would take quite some time. Hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, the General was silent for a moment before he directly said: ¡°Although we have suffered heavy losses in this operation, we have also killed quite a few zombies. I still have some Crystal Cores that I can¡¯t use for the time being. If you need them, feel free to take them.¡± It must be said, speaking to smart people really saves effort. Lan Yulian, even though she was a bit shy, didn¡¯t hesitate to ask for a good number of Crystal Cores. This wasn¡¯t for her, but to repay Wang Tao¡¯s debt! ¡°General, please rest assured, I will be back at Zijin Base soon!¡± Lan Yulian gave a guarantee that wasn¡¯t exactly a guarantee, and the General didn¡¯t say much else, only that when they met, he would present the Crystal Cores in person. ¡°Wang Tao, do you think he will willingly hand over the Crystal Cores?¡± Lan Yulian turned to Wang Tao beside her. ¡°I don¡¯t believe a word of it.¡± Wang Tao snorted. The premise for honoring a deal is that there must be rules to bind it, or the other party is stronger than you, or your strengths are comparable, or you are really trustworthy... In the post-apocalyptic world, all other conditions can be ignored, only strength is of utmost importance. And Zijin Base¡¯s strength is much greater than that of Lan Yulian¡¯s clubhouse. Besides, Zijin Base has already suffered heavy losses; if they gave Lan Yulian a lot of Crystal Cores, then they would be at a severe loss. Of course, maybe the General really is trustworthy, but there¡¯s no need to bet on it. If the bet is lost, it might not be a question of whether the Crystal Cores can be obtained, but whether the other party will make a move against you. ¡°I feel the same way.¡± Lan Yulian also nodded; she didn¡¯t believe it either. ¡°Let¡¯s head back for now and discuss it after Nie Siyan and the others wake up.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± The three of them hurried back in the evening. Everything in the building was as usual; nothing unexpected had happened. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun were both quietly sleeping. They started their Ascension last night and wouldn¡¯t wake up until this evening. ¡°Brother~¡± Jiang Shixue came over and gently hugged Wang Tao. She had spent most of her time with Wang Tao previously, and not seeing him for just a whole day made her a bit missful. Wang Tao ruffled her hair, then called Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng to join them for dinner. After the meal, Lan Yulian and her companion didn¡¯t leave, but instead consulted Wang Tao about Ability matters. Wang Tao had given Lan Yulian a [Healing Light] Crystal Core yesterday, which she hadn¡¯t yet fused with, and she was ready to do so right then. She also wanted to ask Wang Tao if he had any other Crystal Cores to recommend to her. Wang Tao recommended a [Running] Crystal Core to her. Running is a Passive Ability that increases running speed. Since she is a healer and all three of her Abilities are related to healing, it would be better for her fourth Ability to be one that could save her life. There are many life-saving Abilities, but Wang Tao thought that she didn¡¯t need the hardness to resist damage that [Iron Skin] provides; instead, she needed an Ability that could help her dodge damage. As long as the zombies can¡¯t catch up to her, then she is always safe. If they catch up... with her lack of attack power, even the strongest defense would eventually fail. Lan Yulian also felt this was feasible, so she fused with the Crystal Core Wang Tao had given her and successfully increased her Running by +10. Wang Tao then gave her a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core, upgrading her Running Ability to Level 3. Her running speed was now very fast, and zombies below Level 3 weren¡¯t able to get close to her. Only those Level 3 Zombies that are good at speed, or the ones that can launch those unpredictable spirit or illusion attacks, can touch her. Not long after Lan Yulian successfully fused with these Crystal Cores, Nie Siyan was the first to wake up. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Seeing Wang Tao, Nie Siyan immediately ran over and respectfully knelt on one knee in front of Wang Tao. She wanted to let Wang Tao know that even though she had reached Level 3, she remained very loyal to him. Wang Tao glanced at Nie Siyan¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] [Internal Impurity: 5%] Her HP increased by 1 point, reaching 30,000. Her Mana increased by 1,200, successfully integrating a Level 3 Crystal Core, which can increase Mana by 400. Four Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores total 1,200, now reaching 13,600. Last is the Internal Impurity; she previously had 10% Internal Impurity, but after the Level 3 Ascension, the impurity was halved again, dropping to 5%. ¡°Not bad.¡± Wang Tao patted Nie Siyan¡¯s head and told her to stand up. ¡°Brother Wang, I can¡¯t believe it, I¡¯ve really reached Level 3! I¡¯ve never felt so strong before ¡ª of course, I am still not as strong as Brother Wang!¡± Nie Siyan was so excited that she was almost at a loss for words. The other two ladies also looked very envious. Lu Yingfeng had the chance to ascend to Level 3 quickly, but it would be harder for Lan Yulian, who guessed she might have to wait a long time... Wang Tao asked Nie Siyan about her feelings after her Level 3 Ascension, and at that moment, Xu Xiaojun also woke up. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Xu Xiaojun also ran over with an excited expression, kneeling on one knee before Wang Tao. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 16600/16600] [Grade: Level 3] [Internal Impurity: 5%] [Hidden Attribute: Stick to One¡¯s Heart] Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Mana was significantly higher because he had consumed [Tree Essence] three times, which added an additional 3,000 Mana. His Internal Impurity was also halved. ¡°All very good!¡± Wang Tao patted Xu Xiaojun¡¯s shoulder approvingly, then said to the group with a smile: ¡°Tomorrow¡ª no, tonight we go out and see the strength of you Level 3 ability users. And by the way, let¡¯s collect some protection fees at the water park.¡± Chapter 504: 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_1 Chapter 504: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_1 ¡°` ¡°Protection fee?¡± ¡°` Several people were stunned and didn¡¯t know how to respond. Are the general¡¯s people being protected right now? Are they actually being protected by a group of zombies? Of course, everyone can go rescue them now, and if they manage to save them, that could be considered a form of protection, so... charging a protection fee does seem reasonable. ¡°What, you think the term ¡®protection fee¡¯ doesn¡¯t sound good? Then let¡¯s call it something else, how about ¡®rescue operation fund¡¯? That sounds fair, right? We¡¯re risking our lives to save them, so it¡¯s reasonable to charge a fee.¡± Everyone nodded subconsciously. ¡°Alright, then that¡¯s settled. Everyone, get ready...¡± Wang Tao took out a set of Level 3 Iron Tree Armors and helped Nie Siyan put it on. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng still had their armors on, Xu Xiaojun had his own battle armor, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t need any... So they just needed to make sure Nie Siyan was armed. Moreover, for this protection fee mission, Nie Siyan was the main force. Wang Tao had fused a Jumping Crystal Core with her, and now was the perfect time to put it to use. By the time darkness fell, there was a smattering of starlight outside, enough to see where they were going. Lan Yulian assigned tasks to the others, instructing them to hold their positions inside the building no matter what happened, and not to go outside under any circumstances. Then she looked at Jiang Shixue, standing behind Wang Tao, and frowned slightly. ¡°Wang Tao, is Little Xue going too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°...¡± In the eyes of Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng, Jiang Shixue was just an ordinary little girl. Of course, having come this far with everyone, Jiang Shixue was clearly not so ordinary anymore; she must have some other abilities. But they were still worried. However, neither woman said much more, only thinking that if any danger arose, they needed to protect Jiang Shixue... ... Wang Tao led the group downstairs. In the post-apocalyptic world, there¡¯s a saying¡ªnighttime is the real end of the world; daytime is just an appetizer. And indeed, it was true. During the day, there were actually not many zombies around the building, and it seemed relatively safe. But now, after nightfall, zombies could be seen passing by the building from time to time. When the group was upstairs, they saw just a few zombies in the plaza below. But once they got down, they realized there were already seven or eight gathered. Not to mention the terrifying roars coming from all directions. Lan Yulian was somewhat nervous; she seldom ventured out at night. Lu Yingfeng held her hand, which helped to ease her nerves. Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan a signal with his eyes. Immediately, Nie Siyan walked over with two sharply honed steel bars in hand. The zombies that discovered Nie Siyan immediately began to stagger towards her. Nie Siyan, holding the steel bars, didn¡¯t throw them or stab with them. Instead, she used the bars like a club and swung them at the heads of the two zombies. Pfft~ The zombies¡¯ heads were instantly crushed, and their entire heads, along with their necks and chests, were split open! Thud¡ª Both zombies fell to the ground one after the other. ¡°Strong!¡± Lu Yingfeng exclaimed quietly. Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction as well. Nie Siyan wasn¡¯t a strength-based Ability User, but she was able to brutally and directly kill those ordinary zombies with sheer brute force! It had to be said, her physical attributes had improved a lot after ascending to Level 3! Nie Siyan charged into the horde of zombies like a sheep entering the mouth of a tiger. With just a few swings, she killed them all. Even among them was a Level 2 Elite Zombie, which still couldn¡¯t withstand three blows from Nie Siyan. After resolving the fight, Nie Siyan quickly ran back to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± She was thrilled¡ªas she had never imagined herself to be so powerful! She felt that now, facing any Level 2 zombies, she could resolve them quickly! Even against Level 3 zombies, she felt she could handle them with ease! ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao patted Nie Siyan on the shoulder, signaling her to stay calm. Soon, they encountered another wave of zombies. This time, it was Xu Xiaojun¡¯s turn to take action. Currently, speaking solely of combat strength, it was up for debate whether Xu Xiaojun or Nie Siyan was stronger. However, just in terms of strength, three Nie Siyans wouldn¡¯t be a match for Xu Xiaojun. Especially when armed with his Mechanical Right Arm, any zombie he touched had only one outcome¡ªto be blasted apart, literally. With just his brute force, he could blast apart these zombies. If he added Shockwave to his attack, his power would no doubt be no weaker than Wang Tao¡¯s. ¡°His strength... is freakish!¡± Lu Yingfeng was amazed. She felt that if she were to take Xu Xiaojun¡¯s axe head-on, she would probably be crippled, if not dead... ¡°You¡¯ll be that strong someday too!¡± Lan Yulian encouraged her. ¡°I hope so...¡± Lu Yingfeng was somewhat troubled. She had received a [High-Frequency Vibration] Ability crystal from Wang Tao that she really liked, and she needed to max out this ability to achieve Level 3 Ascension. However, this ability was too rare, and upgrading it to max level seemed like it would take forever... The road to the diving center was teeming with zombies. However, it was Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun who dealt with them. Wang Tao wanted to assess the strength of Level 3 Ability Users. After his observation, he could roughly conclude that in terms of combat against zombies, Xu Xiaojun had about eighty to ninety percent of his combat power, and Nie Siyan had about seventy to eighty percent. As for who would be stronger or by how much if they fought each other, that was hard to say. Since they had not engaged in combat with each other and their attributes weren¡¯t dramatically different, there was no clear way to determine who was superior without a real fight. However, if they truly did fight, Wang Tao felt he would have a much higher chance of winning. After all, he was well-rounded in all aspects, with virtually no weaknesses... Chapter 505: 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_2 Chapter 505: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_2 ¡°Night Demons! Brother Wang, are you going to make a move?¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat excited upon spotting a few Night Demons ahead. Before Wang Tao had arrived, she had encountered a Night Demon once and had almost been killed. She certainly remembered the grudge! Wang Tao took a look; there were about three Night Demons nearby, but there were more than a dozen further away. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go around. After we finish the important business, we can talk about it.¡± Night Demons are social creatures; if they couldn¡¯t be killed swiftly, it would definitely attract a large number of Night Demons. Regardless of whether the group could handle it, it would surely delay the main task. There was no need to complicate things unnecessarily. If they really wanted to kill Night Demons, they could discuss it after completing their business. However, speaking of Night Demons, Wang Tao suddenly remembered something. ¡°Night Demon¡¯s Nests are known for their good loot, capable of dropping Exraction Crystal Cores. Now that it¡¯s night and there are many Night Demons outside, I wonder if there are any left inside the nest?¡± Wang Tao planned to observe carefully; if he really could discover a Night Demon¡¯s Nest, he might consider checking it out... After spending some time, the group arrived near the diving hall. Then Wang Tao led a few people to the rooftop he had stayed on during the day. From here, they could get a good view of the diving hall. ¡°Eh? The number of zombies around the diving hall seems to have decreased a bit?¡± Lan Yulian said with some uncertainty. With only the faint glimmer of stars that night, it was hard to see clearly from a distance, but she felt like there were fewer zombies. ¡°Indeed, there are less!¡± Wang Tao nodded. He had observed the number of zombies here during the day, and now it was clear that there were significantly fewer. After observing for a while longer, Wang Tao identified the problem. ¡°I think I understand now. Zombies are more active at night and may wander around the area; they don¡¯t necessarily stay here all the time. During the day, however, they are attracted by the living humans inside the diving hall and gather around it again...¡± ¡°Does that mean, if they make a break for it during the night, they might be able to get out?¡± Nie Siyan asked, somewhat curious. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Not exactly. Although some zombies surrounding the diving hall have decreased, it doesn¡¯t mean those zombies are dead. If those inside tried to break out now, it would definitely cause a commotion and attract those zombies back. Moreover, there are so many Night Demons at night... Without external help, it would still be very difficult for them to escape danger.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone fell into a brief silence. After all, no matter how you put it, those inside were human survivors. If they all died, it would be a tremendous loss for Zijing City. ¡°Later, I will try to draw away some of the zombies on the north side, and then it¡¯s your time to shine.¡± Wang Tao said, looking at Nie Siyan. ¡°Okay!¡± Nie Siyan was a bit nervous and excited. She had learned a Jump Ability that allowed her to jump very high, especially now that it had reached Level 3, enabling her to leap between buildings! Her task was to jump into the diving hall, display the aura of a Level 3 ability user to deter rash actions, and finally, to convey that they would find a way to rescue them. Of course, she was also to take the ¡°funds¡± from the hands of General and his men. As for General telling Lan Yulian to go back to Zijin Base for reinforcements, Wang Tao had vetoed it. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to save them, but the reinforcements he had were fully armed soldiers. If they fought, it would cause a huge commotion. The sports center was teeming with zombies right then, and there might even be a Fourth-order Mother Zombie. If all were alarmed... not only would those trapped not survive, but neither would the reinforcements. After waiting on the rooftop for a while, Wang Tao felt that the timing was about right and said to Nie Siyan: ¡°I¡¯ll go north to create a distraction. When you see a portion of the zombies moving away, that¡¯s your cue to go. As for the others, be ready for combat in case of emergencies.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone nodded. After Wang Tao descended the building, he ran straight toward the north. The noise he planned to make still relied on Self-Destruct Bombs. But there were too many zombies around, so Wang Tao had to run further away. He couldn¡¯t handle being surrounded. As for whether it was possible to lure away all the zombies around the diving hall... Wang Tao didn¡¯t think it was likely, as many were attracted by the scent of humans and wouldn¡¯t be easily diverted. Wang Tao ran for over ten minutes, dodging and weaving. Without others slowing him down, he quickly left the area of the sports center. This was a small park with few zombies and was relatively quiet. ¡°This place is good!¡± Using his Plant Affinity Perception, Wang Tao checked to make sure there were no issues, then took out several Self-Destruct Bombs. Thump, thump¡ª The heart-shaped Self-Destruct Bombs started to pulsate rhythmically as soon as he took them out. Wang Tao carefully positioned the bombs, then hurriedly ran out of the park and onto the rooftop of a four-story building. He took out the Bone Hand Crossbow and shot an arrow at one of the Self-Destruct Bombs he had left at the entrance of the park, then fled without looking back. Whoosh¡ª Boom! The Self-Destruct Bomb exploded instantly upon being hit. That explosion triggered a chain reaction with the other bombs. Boom¡ªBoom¡ª All of the bombs exploded, and the ground seemed to shake. After the explosion, various roars were heard as the surrounding zombies were all attracted! By then, Wang Tao had already made his escape. But as he was hurrying back, his eyes suddenly lit up. He saw three Night Demons running out of a building, one of which was a Blue-skinned Night Demon. Chapter 506: 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_3 Chapter 506: Chapter 219 Killing the Blue-skinned Night Demon_3 ¡°Huh? Could there be a Night Demon¡¯s Nest here?¡± Wang Tao quickly picked up the walkie-talkie. ¡°I¡¯ll head back later, you guys adapt on the fly.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Lan Yulian on the other end sounded somewhat surprised, but didn¡¯t ask further questions. Wang Tao stealthily approached the exterior of the building. It was an antique-looking small building ¨C judging by the rusted sign, it seemed to be a little hotel. After sensing his surroundings for a bit to ensure there were no dangers, Wang Tao walked inside. ¡°Downstairs...¡± Wang Tao discovered there was an underground parking lot, but he couldn¡¯t sense anything in it because there were no plants. This was obviously abnormal. The parking lot wasn¡¯t sealed off, so it shouldn¡¯t be devoid of plant life. Wang Tao immediately activated Entangling Roots and pulled out his Bone Knife. After walking inside for a while, he saw something that looked like flesh and blood. ¡°Haha! It really is a Night Demon¡¯s Nest! And it seems there are no Night Demons! They¡¯ve all gone out!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed at this discovery. Looking at those flesh and blood pieces with a hundred thousand HP and some Night Demons that had not yet hatched, Wang Tao spared no courtesy, taking his knife and slashing away. With the power he currently wielded, killing these creatures was as easy as cutting wheat ¨C no difficulty at all. The unhatched Night Demons exploded into an [Omnipotent] Crystal Core, while the Incubation Flesh yielded an [Extraction] Crystal Core. Both items were treasures, and Wang Tao was not one to complain about their quantity. Thus, Wang Tao went on a killing spree in the underground parking lot. After what felt like an eternity, once Wang Tao saw there were no living Incubation Flesh or unhatched Night Demons left, he took a deep breath. This Night Demon¡¯s Nest was much larger than any he had encountered before, and it was brimming with creatures; his arm was even beginning to feel sore from all the slashing. ¡°Time to go back!¡± After making sure nothing had been missed, Wang Tao was ready to leave. Suddenly, a blue shadow entered from the entrance of the underground parking lot, coming face to face with him. Both seemed stunned for a moment. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected to run into a Blue-skinned Night Demon on his way out. The Blue-skinned Night Demon likely hadn¡¯t expected to find a human in its lair, either! [HP: 50000/50000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] Humans and zombies were mortal enemies. There was nothing to be said, seeing each other meant fight on sight! Especially when the Blue-skinned Night Demon saw all the Incubation Flesh inside its den had been slaughtered, it let out a furious roar, seemingly enraged. Whoosh¡ª Before Wang Tao could even blink, the Blue-skinned Night Demon appeared right in front of him. Bang! Wang Tao was tackled to the ground. ¡°Damn! Such fast speed!¡± The Blue-skinned Night Demon opened its terrifying mouth, ready to devour Wang Tao. This move could instantly kill many survivors! But alas, Wang Tao was clad in an armor made of Entangling Roots; the Blue-skinned Night Demon got a mouthful of sawdust instead. Thud! Wang Tao kicked the Blue-skinned Night Demon with one foot, sending it flying. He then quickly scrambled up, watching the demon warily. He had been tackled before he could even see clearly! He lost ¡°528¡± HP in the tackle! Lost ¡°1024¡± HP from a single bite! Its Attack was not low! However, all the damage was blocked by the Entangling Roots, and Wang Tao himself wasn¡¯t hurt. Whoosh¡ª After being kicked away and landing, the Blue-skinned Night Demon steadied itself and once again lunged at Wang Tao. Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t see its movements clearly; to him, the Blue-skinned Night Demon was just a blur of afterimages. But Wang Tao still slashed at the air in front of him. Bang! There was apparently nothing in front of Wang Tao, but as soon as he made the cut, the Blue-skinned Night Demon seemed to ram into it voluntarily, absorbing the brunt of Wang Tao¡¯s slice. [-2085] The slash only dealt two thousand damage; the Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s Defense was very high! Moreover, the Blue-skinned Night Demon was very strong, and the slash only made it step back a tiny bit. But for Wang Tao, this was an opportunity. He launched a close-range Rush, instantly slamming the Blue-skinned Night Demon against a concrete wall. With a height of 2.2 meters, the Blue-skinned Night Demon was overshadowed by Wang Tao¡¯s 2.5 meters, following the activation of Entangling Roots. After ramming the Night Demon into the wall, it resembled a scene of ¡°wall-pin.¡± Wang Tao grabbed the Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s neck with one hand and with the other, holding a Bone Knife, he hacked at it four times. [-2034] [-2158] [-2019] [-2245] The Night Demon let out a roar, attempting to break free from Wang Tao¡¯s grasp. But Wang Tao held on tightly, even as it pushed him back against another wall, causing the Entangling Roots to lose a significant amount of HP, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let go! Once Wang Tao realized he wasn¡¯t as fast as the Blue-skinned Night Demon, he had made up his mind¡ªif he could only seize the chance, he would grapple with it to the end! After all, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t as fast. If he didn¡¯t find a way to stick to it, things could get troublesome. Roar¡ª The Blue-skinned Night Demon roared, wildly clawing at Wang Tao¡¯s chest, as though it wanted to rip him open. But Wang Tao was protected by the Entangling Roots. As long as the 20,000 HP of the Entangling Roots weren¡¯t depleted, he could basically ignore the Night Demon¡¯s attacks. [-2313] [-2151] [-2214] [-2040] [...] The Blue-skinned Night Demon, still clasping Wang Tao, began to smash wildly around the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t release his grip, firmly enduring its attacks and grappling in close quarters with it. This Blue-skinned Night Demon probably had never fought such an exasperating battle since it was born. Finally. Splat! Wang Tao¡¯s blade split open the Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s head. ¡°Huh?¡± Night Demons didn¡¯t have Crystal Cores, but this Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s claws carried a name! [Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2] Wang Tao immediately took the Night Demon¡¯s Claws and Loot Pack and ran. The noise from the battle with the Blue-skinned Night Demon was massive, and he feared it would attract other Night Demons. Only after running far enough to be sure there was no danger behind him did Wang Tao finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then he looked at the battered Entangling Roots and its ¡°2384¡± HP bar. ¡°Damn, these Entangling Roots haven¡¯t taken such heavy damage since they¡¯ve been with me...¡± Wang Tao hastily released the Entangling Roots and then took out a bunch of Crystal Cores to feed them. ¡°You¡¯ve had a tough day, eat more...¡± Chapter 507: 220 Lunatic_1 Chapter 507: Chapter 220 Lunatic_1 To enhance the entangling roots¡¯ HP and compatibility, there were two methods. One was to nourish it with a crystal core, and the other was to nourish it with one¡¯s own HP. Using a crystal core was, of course, very luxurious, but using one¡¯s own HP would leave oneself in an extremely weakened state. If it were a safe time, Wang Tao could use his own HP, but under the current circumstances, he definitely had to use a crystal core. Watching the entangling roots on his wrist greedily swallow the crystal core and begin to recover their compatibility and HP, Wang Tao gently stroked it. The recent battle was actually a bit unfair for the entangling roots¡ªbecause Wang Tao never attempted to dodge the blue-skinned night demon¡¯s attacks. But this was unavoidable. This blue-skinned night demon didn¡¯t have any abilities, relying solely on its robust physical condition. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t directly confront it, he couldn¡¯t even catch up to it... Wang Tao felt it was much stronger than the big tree monster. Although the tree monster had a higher attack, it moved slowly and was just a target for Wang Tao. The blue-skinned night demon, however, was too fast. Even though its attack wasn¡¯t as high as the tree monster¡¯s, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t withstand a surprise attack at that speed. Of course, Wang Tao had another method, which was to use shockwave for an indiscriminate attack. That should be able to hit the night demon, even possibly kill it. But this method was rejected by Wang Tao at that moment. Because that was inside the night demon¡¯s lair; Wang Tao needed a quick battle. Using the shockwave to slowly wear it down might kill it, but if it attracted other night demons, that would be a big problem... However, no matter what, he did kill the level 3 lord night demon. Wang Tao also gained some battle experience, so next time he encountered a blue-skinned night demon, he wouldn¡¯t be in such a sorry state. Wang Tao walked toward Lan Yulian, and took the opportunity to check his loot. Before encountering the blue-skinned night demon, Wang Tao had killed quite a few incubation flesh and unformed night demons. In total, he obtained 65 [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent] and 18 [Level 2 Crystal Core ¨C Extraction]. The level 2 omnipotent crystal cores that Wang Tao needed were suddenly in abundance. As for the extraction crystal cores, although Wang Tao had no need for them, they were something many people dreamt of possessing. Absolutely high-value items. Moreover, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure which zombies could drop extraction crystal cores... At the moment, only he could get them by killing incubation flesh, essentially making it an exclusive product. Just these crystal cores alone amounted to a huge harvest. And he still had the blue-skinned night demon¡¯s loot! The blue-skinned night demon granted him 12,000 special energy, the same as when he killed the big tree monster. The only pity was that there were no crystal cores inside the night demon. However, it wasn¡¯t a big issue, as Wang Tao still received loot packs for overkilling. This time there were four in total. The first pack, the Crystal Core Gift Bag, contained a total of four crystal cores. They were a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost], a red [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost], and an orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Body Constitution Boost]. These crystal cores had all been seen before. Besides Ascension, the other three crystal cores, added to the ones he had previously, totaled exactly three of each kind. Without a second word, Wang Tao synthesized all three crystal cores into Epic ones. These were passive abilities that he could combine with his [Extraordinary Rage] after he reached level 3! The second loot pack contained potions. [Strength Increase Potion x10] [Agility Increase Potion x10] [Mental Boosting Potion x10] Three kinds of potions that permanently increased attributes, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and used them all immediately. The third loot pack contained an ultraviolet flashlight and flares. [High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x40] These were the same items he got from killing ordinary night demons, just in larger quantities. Actually, Wang Tao had the chance to use the ultraviolet flashlight or flare during his battle with the blue-skinned night demon, but he was afraid it might flee. He felt this blue-skinned night demon was likely much smarter than the ordinary ones. Wang Tao¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to drive it away but to kill it! So he held back. If he really couldn¡¯t handle it, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to use the ultraviolet flashlight. As it turned out, his strength was decent; he could even go head-to-head with the blue-skinned night demon! As for the last pack, the contents made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up. [Obtained: Blueprint for Night Demon¡¯s Blade x1] [Blueprint for Night Demon¡¯s Blade: Allows for the creation of a pair of night demon blade daggers. Required materials: Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2, Level 3 Crystal Core x2, Iron Block x20, Blade x20, Nails x20, Rubber x20] [Night Demon Blade: Attributes Unknown] This was a one-time use blueprint. Although one-time use blueprints can only be used once, as opposed to standard blueprints that can be used indefinitely, the equipment made from one-time use blueprints usually has better attributes. Seeing that he had all the necessary materials, Wang Tao chose to craft it immediately. Moments later, two pitch-black, slightly curved, identical-looking daggers appeared in front of Wang Tao. [Night Demon Blade] [Level 3 (Epic)] [Durability +55, Attack power +55, Attack speed +20%] Seeing these attributes, an image of a person popped up instantly in Wang Tao¡¯s mind, Jiang Shixue. Up until now, Jiang Shixue hadn¡¯t had a suitable weapon. She always liked to use her own hands, and with her fingers and nails, she could claw out someone¡¯s brains... And now, these two daggers perfectly matched Jiang Shixue¡¯s combat style. Chapter 508: 220 Lunatic_2 Chapter 508: Chapter 220 Lunatic_2 As for Wang Tao himself, he definitely wouldn¡¯t use a dagger. Even if these two daggers had better attributes than his Bone Knife, he still preferred the mighty and dominating Bone Knife. After all, the daggers were too short to match Wang Tao¡¯s combat style. Delighted, Wang Tao packed away the daggers, feeling Jiang Shixue would probably like them. ... Elsewhere. After Wang Tao used a Self-Destruct Bomb to lure some zombies away to the north, Nie Siyan, who had been ready for a while, immediately rushed towards the diving gym from the north. ¡°Hehe...¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Upon seeing Nie Siyan, the armored person, the zombies immediately pounced on her. However, Nie Siyan had no plans to fight head-on and instead leapt up, jumping the height of several floors, clearing countless zombies, and then landed heavily. Thump! One unlucky zombie was squashed dead beneath her. Nie Siyan kept moving without pause, jumping again. Thump! Thump! After dozens of jumps, Nie Siyan successfully reached the lower area of the diving gym. If it hadn¡¯t been for Wang Tao drawing some zombies away from here, Nie Siyan might not have had room to land. Although with her current Level 3 strength, she wouldn¡¯t be in much danger even if surrounded by these zombies, that was only for a short time. Prolonged exposure was a different story, especially since there were too many Level 3 zombies here. The diving gym was sealed tight, with all doors and windows blocked off, preventing zombies from getting in and people from getting out. Nie Siyan looked up at the building¡¯s architecture, then with a powerful jump, she leaped onto the eaves. From there, she hopped like a flea all the way to the top of the gym. This was her entry point into the diving gym. Inside the diving gym, the pool had long dried up. Over two hundred people were gathered in the dry pool, with rings of defensive fortifications built around it. It was already dark outside, but few could sleep. Seeing the tall, sturdy exterior walls of the diving gym, everyone prayed that no zombies with immense strength and destructive power would appear. Otherwise, those reinforced concrete walls might not hold. If the zombies broke through the outer wall, no matter how strong their internal defenses were, they would not hold for long... It would only be a matter of dying sooner or later. This group of survivors was clearly divided into three areas. The first area had the most people, about a hundred or more. Leading them was a man in military attire, the leader of Zijin Base known as ¡°General.¡± The second area had the second most people, roughly fifty plus. The leader was a skinny man in prison garb. He was the Prison Head of Zijin Prison. The last area, with only thirty or so people, was led by a young man who looked like a college student with slightly cracked black-framed glasses. He was Kong Xiu, the leader of the Ability User¡¯s Alliance. Each group had lost quite a few people. Originally, they numbered over five hundred together, now only half remained. However, their leaders were not in much trouble. Of course, their relative safety was only temporary. ¡°Is Lan Yulian reliable? I haven¡¯t had much contact with this woman and don¡¯t know her well,¡± Kong Xiu suddenly remarked, turning to the General. After a moment¡¯s silence, the General replied, ¡°I promised to give her a Crystal Core.¡± Hearing this, Kong Xiu seemed surprised, while the Prison Head laughed heartily, ¡°I told you to offer her something good from the start, but you insisted on dragging your feet!¡± ¡°Not ¡®I¡¯, but ¡®we¡¯.¡± The General corrected him. The Prison Head¡¯s expression instantly stiffened, and then appeared somewhat unsettled. If the General was willing to offer his own Crystal Cores to get them all out, that would be fine, but if it required the Prison Head to contribute his own Crystal Cores, it would be somewhat painful. ¡°It¡¯s just some Crystal Cores. As long as we¡¯re alive, we can always earn them back!¡± Kong Xiu consoled at this moment. Suddenly, the Prison Head spoke, ¡°...Give me the walkie-talkie; I¡¯ll offer more Crystal Cores, and I¡¯ll talk to her!¡± ¡°No.¡± The General flatly refused. Zijin Base had the strongest force. After discovering the plans of the prison and the alliance, the General intercepted and defeated them, then seized their materials, including the walkie-talkies. Thus, only the General could communicate with the outside world. Of course, the General would never give them the walkie-talkie. What if they plotted with Lan Yulian to destroy Zijin Base? Seeing the General outright refuse, the Prison Head harbored some resentment but did not say anything more. They had fought with the General previously, and although he and Kong Xiu together could suppress the General, the General surprisingly had several strong fighters hidden among his ranks, and they ended up losing. Unable to beat him, they had no choice but to comply; otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t even get food. ¡°Sigh...¡± The Prison Head sighed, looking rather sorrowful, as if it was due to not being trusted. Believe it or not, he had indeed been contemplating joining forces with Lan Yulian to take down Zijin Base! To him, friends? As long as their interests aligned, they were friends; if not, they were enemies, though his interests could change three times in a day... Hearing the Prison Head¡¯s sigh, the General¡¯s expression remained calm, as if the misfortune wasn¡¯t his own. Kong Xiu, on the other hand, glared at the Prison Head without being too obvious. What he regretted most right now was believing the Prison Head¡¯s words and joining forces against Zijin Base. Thinking about it now, he felt so foolish! Given the Ability User¡¯s Alliance¡¯s principle of preferring quality over quantity, they had very few members, just several dozen in total. With such a small number, he thought if he had thick-skinnedly approached the General for a place to stay, the General might have agreed directly¡ªit would certainly have had a higher chance of success than their attempt to take down Zijin Base with the prison¡¯s assistance! After all, how much space could his few people take up? Chapter 509: 220 Lunatic_3 Chapter 509: Chapter 220 Lunatic_3 Instead, it was the prison, with its large population, that needed such a base. Even though the prison was quite big and its defenses were quite strong, they were far inferior to Zijin Base. After all, within Zijin Base, they could grow their own vegetables and raise fish. It was like a secluded utopia... But now it¡¯s too late to say anything; he¡¯d already had a falling-out with Zijin Base, and there was no chance he could stay there. Even if he could survive, there might be a great battle to come... Then he thought of Lan Yulian, and suddenly felt a little envious. There are benefits to being weak! Look, now they are all safe and sound... ¡°So what will you do if Lan Yulian isn¡¯t willing to rescue us, but actually wants to take over the base directly?¡± At this moment, the Prison Head spoke up again. ¡°Impossible, she can¡¯t take it over,¡± the General said, his tone calm but resolute. ¡°Why?¡± The Prison Head frowned slightly. Was the General implying that he couldn¡¯t take it over either? Impossible! Although the clubhouse was the weakest of the four major forces, now that the elite forces of the four bases were deployed, Zijin Base lay vulnerable. How could Lan Yulian, Lu Yingfeng, and the other ability users not be able to take it? Kong Xiu also looked at the General with some confusion. When the Prison Head discussed taking over Zijin Base with him, he thought that as long as they could set up the General and his men, they would certainly be able to take over Zijin Base! That was a consensus between them. Now, by the sound of the General, it seemed not possible? Hearing the Prison Head¡¯s query, the General spoke indifferently: ¡°There¡¯s no harm in telling you. When Zijin Base was being built, it was anticipated that if the base were breached by zombies and fell, it would mean not only the loss of a base but would also add countless more zombies, as the zombie virus is contagious. So... the base had a contingency: they planted a substantial amount of explosives beneath it, and if the base were completely overrun, it would activate the self-destruct mode, wiping out every living thing within it.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Both men were taken aback, hearing this secret for the first time. Undisturbed by their shock, the General continued: ¡°However, before the base was fully completed, the self-destruct system also wasn¡¯t finished when it was overrun. Afterwards, after I took control of the base, I came across this self-destruct system, which was only one step away from completion. So, I spent some time to finish the self-destruct system and made some minor changes to the program¡ªthus now, I have a remote controller, and all it takes is one press...¡± The General looked at them, expressionless. ¡°...and with a ¡®boom¡¯, the entire base will turn to rubble.¡± ¡°...A remote controller?! On you?¡± Kong Xiu gaped. ¡°No, it¡¯s not on me. At such a distance, the remote controller wouldn¡¯t be effective; it¡¯s inside the base. As for who has it, of course, I can¡¯t tell you. The only thing I can tell you is that if someone takes over the base without my authorization... that person will detonate the base.¡± ¡°???¡± Even with a guess, Kong Xiu was still dumbfounded. ¡°You¡ªyou want to let the base¡¯s farms, fishponds, breeding grounds, and nearly ten thousand people go to their deaths with it?¡± The Prison Head glared at the General, his voice distorted. The General said nothing. ¡°Madman! You¡¯re a madman! They all say I¡¯m a madman, haha, but you¡ªdamn it¡ªyou are the real madman!¡± The Prison Head laughed. His face showed a mocking smile, but there was also a hint of horror in it. If they had managed to capture the General and he then took over Zijin Base, wouldn¡¯t he have been blown up by now?! Nearly ten thousand people would have all died with him! Indeed, a madman! ¡°Why, why would you do this? You¡¯re willing to let so many people die with you just to maintain control of the power you have in your hands?¡± Kong Xiu stared at the General. The General glanced at him with a steady gaze. ¡°It¡¯s not for the power in my hands; it¡¯s because I know that only I can lead the people of the base to survive. Without me, no one else is capable of leading nearly ten thousand people. And you... you would only make the base worse. If you lead the base, it will inevitably be destroyed. So, if it is destined to be destroyed, it¡¯s better to destroy it early, at least that way we can reduce the number of zombies.¡± ¡°Madman, you really are a madman!¡± Kong Xiu¡¯s lips trembled as he spoke. He was greatly frightened on the inside. He realized that in just two days, he had narrowly escaped death twice! If their plan had succeeded, he would have died. If the plan had failed completely, he would have died as well. It was only now, with this unplanned event that forced them into an involuntary collaboration, that he was still alive... Damn it, Prison Head, you almost got me killed¡ªafter the initial panic, Kong Xiu was inwardly cursing up a storm. ¡°Clap, clap, clap¡ª¡± Suddenly, a round of applause rang out. The General and the others instinctively looked around; there were only the three of them, and no one else was clapping. Then, as if sensing something, all three looked up at the same time. There, perched on the frame of the beam at the top of the diving hall, stood a person clad in dark brown armor! From her slender, fair fingers, it was clear that she must be a woman! The woman put her armored gloves back on her waist, then leapt lightly from the fifty-meter-high roof. Thud! The woman landed steadily among the three, smashing the ground into a spider-web of cracks. The General and the others immediately retreated, and the rest of the people around slowly took a combat stance, finally reacting to the situation. As the Prison Head and Kong Xiu felt the powerful aura emanating from the woman, they became uncertain. Even the usually calm, perpetually poker-faced General rarely showed a change in expression. ¡°A Level 3 ability user!¡± The same thought occurred to all three. The woman, unfazed by the number of people facing her, took off her helmet and revealed a beautiful face that everyone recognized. She smiled slightly. ¡°Hello, let¡¯s get reacquainted. Level 3 ability user, Nie Siyan.¡± Nie Siyan looked around at the faces filled with fear and awe, her smile growing even more brilliant. She enjoyed this feeling. But she hadn¡¯t forgotten her purpose. She looked directly at the General and stretched out her hand. ¡°For the rescue operation¡¯s expenses, please settle it now.¡± Chapter 510: 221 Rescuing People_1 Chapter 510: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_1 The General hadn¡¯t expected that when he mentioned giving a Cyan Jade Lotus Crystal Core to Lan Yulian, Lan Yulian would actually believe him. She not only believed it, but she also sent someone to collect it! It was already shocking that someone came, but what was even more shocking was that the person sent was a Level 3 ability user! No way, it¡¯s only been a few days since he left, and there¡¯s already a Level 3 ability user? Good luck? Or did she hit a jackpot with a high-quality Ascension Crystal Core? He naturally recognized Nie Siyan. Or rather, he recognized all the leaders of the major factions in Zijing City. That was, after all, a basic skill required for a leader. But in his memory, Nie Siyan was very weak! In the past, only the president of the Skull Club, Huang Heng, was worthy of his attention; the others were insignificant. Now that it had been renamed Firefly Club, he had heard from his subordinates that Nie Siyan¡¯s strength had improved quite a bit, but an improvement was far from a leap to Level 3 ability user! A Level 3 ability user, that is what they had been pursuing all this time! After expending so much manpower and resources, he hadn¡¯t expected that someone else would beat them to the punch... Both the Prison Head and Kong Xiu were just as confused as the General, unwilling to believe, but the reality was right before their eyes. The aura emanating from Nie Siyan couldn¡¯t be faked¡ªthat was the aura of a Level 3! ¡°What, are you thinking of reneging on the deal?¡± Seeing that the General was silent, Nie Siyan raised an eyebrow. She hadn¡¯t fought with another ability user since her Level 3 Ascension, and she was very curious to find out how strong she was now, and whether she could easily crush this General! The Prison Head and Kong Xiu both looked towards the General, thinking that if he dared to make a move¡ªthey would definitely stand by and watch! They, too, wanted to know just how much difference lay between the General and Nie Siyan after her Level 3 Ascension. However, it was quite clear that the General wasn¡¯t a fool. Whether he could defeat Nie Siyan or not, he now had no reason to attack Nie Siyan, after all, she had come to rescue him. Besides, he had no confidence at all that he could win, more likely to be ruthlessly crushed... ¡°Miss Nie, just a moment, I¡¯ll go get the Crystal Core,¡± the General said after taking a deep breath. ¡°Please do,¡± Nie Siyan made a welcoming gesture. The General immediately gave a look to the Prison Head and Kong Xiu, and the three of them stepped back together, then huddled close. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t care what they were plotting, now she was bold and confident, relying on her Level 3 strength, she could basically do as she pleased here. After all, her ascension to Level 3 wasn¡¯t simply by integrating One Ascension Crystal Core, but merging four, maximizing the enhancement of her strength to become a formidable Level 3! Nie Siyan ignored them and strolled around by herself. The other survivors, upon seeing her, were not as nervous as the General and his companions, but rather very excited. After all, they knew this was a reinforcement, and a Level 3 ability user at that! It seemed, they might be saved after all! Nie Siyan also greeted everyone with a smile on her face. Her reputation hadn¡¯t been good before, and many kept their distance, afraid they might be betrayed by her one day. But now, she suddenly became an object of flattery. Praise and adulation surrounded her without end. Even some shrewd people began secretly stuffing Crystal Cores into Nie Siyan¡¯s hands¡ªjust to get familiar with her, to catch her attention, hoping they might be the first to be rescued! If Nie Siyan could come here, she could surely take people out. Being among the first to be taken out meant facing far fewer dangers. What about Nie Siyan¡¯s previous reputation? That was completely irrelevant! What they needed to know was that standing before them was a formidable and beautiful Level 3 ability user! Facing all these compliments, Nie Siyan felt exhilarated! Having power was truly exhilarating! As for the Crystal Cores they secretly gave her, Nie Siyan accepted them all. Whether she would do the job was another matter, but it was definitely proper to accept the gifts. After all, these weren¡¯t her Crystal Cores; they were Wang Tao¡¯s Crystal Cores. After enjoying the feeling of superiority among the crowd for a while, the General and his companions came over. ¡°Here are the Crystal Cores, Miss Nie, please inspect them,¡± the General said, holding a bag full of Crystal Cores. He hadn¡¯t specified how many Crystal Cores when he had previously agreed to give them to Lan Yulian, and Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t asked. He now regretted not clarifying exactly how many Crystal Cores were to be given. Because now he was faced with a Level 3 ability user! Giving too few was clearly not an option, and giving too many made him feel heartache. But they were the ones seeking help, without much leeway to bargain, so heartache it was¡ªas long as they could get out alive. Crystal Cores could always be earned again, and after all, two of his companions shared the heartache... Nie Siyan glanced briefly at the Crystal Cores inside and then promptly put them away. ¡°Okay. The funds have been received, now you guys just wait here, we will figure out a way to rescue you. As for getting help from Zijin Base, that¡¯s not a viable option...¡± Nie Siyan once more conveyed to everyone the message Wang Tao had taught her. After listening, the General also somewhat helplessly nodded. He now also realized that there were too many zombies here, abnormally many. If he were to have his troops come here, they would most likely not only lose their wife but also lose their soldiers. Nie Siyan didn¡¯t dawdle. After assuring herself that they indeed had no intention of attacking her, she put on her helmet and leaped into the air. In a few quick flashes, she was gone from the rooftop. Everyone watched her departing figure with great envy. Among them were those who had learned the Jump Ability. But their jump ability was nothing compared to that of a Level 3, and with so many zombies outside, they didn¡¯t dare to leap out. Chapter 511: 221 Rescuing People_2 Chapter 511: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_2 ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll keep their promise?¡± Kong Xiu asked the General. Those Crystal Cores they had just handed over included his share, and it pained him. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The General truly didn¡¯t know, as many things were now beyond his control. ¡°Heh, hopefully they¡¯ll stick to their word. But what I fear is...¡± The Prison Head hesitated, seemingly with more to say. ¡°Afraid of what? Afraid they¡¯ll take the Crystal Cores and run?¡± Kong Xiu turned to look at him. But the Prison Head just shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that after getting these Crystal Cores, they won¡¯t be satisfied and will keep demanding more Crystal Cores from us for other reasons, and eventually bleed us dry... Damn it, if that¡¯s the case, it¡¯d be better off dead!¡± Towards the end, the Prison Head¡¯s face was filled with irritation. Of course, when he said it would be better off dead, it was just an expression of frustration. After all, if one can live, who would choose death... ... Nie Siyan had just come back when Wang Tao also arrived. His fight with the Blue-skinned Night Demon had been brief and did not delay him much. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s return, Nie Siyan hurriedly handed him two bags of Crystal Cores. ¡°The larger bag contains the Crystal Cores given by the General and his men, over three thousand in total. The smaller one has the Crystal Cores given by other survivors, more than two hundred.¡± She had just handed the Crystal Cores over to Lan Yulian, who hadn¡¯t even bothered to look at them before telling Nie Siyan to pass them directly to Wang Tao. Since she now owed Wang Tao a sizable debt, these Crystal Cores were his; rather than suffering from the sight, she chose not to look... Wang Tao opened the two bags to take a look. ¡°Wow, not a small number, huh!¡± They were all Level 2 Crystal Cores; there were no Level 1s, but also no Level 3s. They were mostly white, but to Wang Tao, the quality didn¡¯t matter. Indeed, easy come, easy go wealth. ¡°So, when do we act to save them?¡± Lan Yulian asked. ¡°Definitely not now, it¡¯s too soon! We can¡¯t save them until we¡¯ve squeezed them dry. After all, you wouldn¡¯t bring back a few troublesome foes for yourself, would you? They¡¯re not going to die anytime soon, let¡¯s skin them properly, preferably making it impossible for them to ever compete with you again...¡± Wang Tao began speaking with a sly grin. ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian was at a loss for words, finding Wang Tao much more calculating than she was. At that moment, Nie Siyan suddenly spoke up again: ¡°Oh right, I overheard something else!¡± Nie Siyan quickly relayed what she had overheard about the General¡¯s discussion on base Self Detonation. After hearing this, Lan Yulian and the others were astonished. ¡°That¡¯s ruthless!¡± Wang Tao was also taken aback. He had seen ruthless people, but not to this extent. But on reflection, the General¡¯s words... did seem to make some damn sense¡ªif the base really fell, many survivors would be infected and become zombies, and the stronger the survivor, the more formidable the zombie they¡¯d become! Blowing up the base would, in a way, indeed be a method to reduce the zombie population... However, there were probably very few who could truly make such a decision. This General was a ruthless man, a rational madman! As for whether there actually were bombs in the base or if the General was bluffing... Wang Tao preferred to believe it was true. It¡¯s always better to be cautious. ¡°This base is too dangerous! We can¡¯t stay in such a perilous place!¡± Wang Tao immediately said. The others nodded in agreement. ¡°Exactly, we have to leave the base¡ª¡± But before Lan Yulian could finish her statement, Wang Tao cut in: ¡°We have to take control of this base, such a dangerous thing must be in our own hands!¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian was speechless again. ¡°But what if the base does explode...¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head as he spoke. ¡°Didn¡¯t the General say, anyone not appointed by him was stealing the base illegally? Which means someone appointed by him would be legal. So the focus is on him. As long as we deal with him, it¡¯ll be fine, and right now he¡¯s trapped in the diving gym, we have plenty of time... What do you think, Lan Yulian?¡± After finishing his point, Wang Tao looked towards Lan Yulian. ¡°...Whatever you say!¡± Lan Yulian nodded. She didn¡¯t have much say in front of Wang Tao, and besides, she felt that what Wang Tao said also seemed reasonable? ¡°Good, now we focus on improving our strength, and at the same time, think about how to rescue them... Let¡¯s head back first, after all, it¡¯s still too dangerous at night,¡± Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun might be strong, but without Night Vision, nighttime was still risky. ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone agreed. On their way back, Wang Tao handed the Night Demon Blades to Jiang Shixue. ¡°These are for you, see if you like them.¡± Upon taking the two daggers, a look of surprise flashed in Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes. She could feel that the blades were powerful. She tried them out and found they even increased her attack speed! ¡°Thank you, Brother Wang, I love them~¡± Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao with a happy expression. ¡°Glad you like them.¡± Wang Tao smiled and tousled her hair. ... Upon returning to the building, it was the latter half of the night. Lan Yulian and the other woman went to rest¡ªafter all, the area was still dangerous, and they needed to maintain their condition. Wang Tao told Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun to rest as well, while he and Jiang Shixue examined the Crystal Cores they had acquired that day, picking and choosing. The General had been generous this time, not all the Crystal Cores given were trash. Although most were white, under Wang Tao¡¯s Synthetic skills, they could immediately turn red or orange. ¡°These Crystal Cores should allow us to create quite a number of Level 2 pinnacle Ability Users... but this General clearly has many more secrets. They must have killed quite a few Level 3 zombies, but not even one Level 3 Crystal Core is here... we have to squeeze it out of them!¡± Chapter 512: 221 Rescuing People_3 Chapter 512: Chapter 221 Rescuing People_3 Wang Tao stroked his chin in thought. Soon, he had an idea. The next morning. After everyone woke up, Lan Yulian said to Wang Tao: ¡°Today we plan to fix the vehicle; with some time spent, we should be able to patch it up. There are still many injured here, and I want to send them back to base first...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Lan Yulian took a group of people down to repair the vehicle. The zombies were relatively fewer during the day, and those here had all been drawn away by the aquatics center, so it was relatively safer. After Lan Yulian and the others went downstairs, Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan: ¡°You two get familiar with Level 3 combat power this morning; in the afternoon, we can go rescue people at the aquatics center.¡± ¡°Ah? We¡¯re going to rescue people? But am I capable enough...¡± Nie Siyan seemed somewhat unconfident. Although she was now a Level 3 ability user, rescuing people was not the same as killing ¨C the former was more difficult, not to mention doing so amidst so many people surrounded by zombies... Wang Tao said with a smile: ¡°You don¡¯t need to save too many people, just pick someone you find agreeable and bring them back, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Just save one person? That¡¯s no problem!¡± Nie Siyan immediately said, patting her chest. Although having to take care of one person would definitely affect her performance, she wasn¡¯t asked to engage in a bloodbath with zombies, so it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Plus, she had Xu Xiaojun to coordinate with on the side. For the entire morning, Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun were familiarizing themselves with their strength and had some friendly sparring. Wang Tao felt that Xu Xiaojun was a bit stronger. If it came down to a life or death struggle, Nie Siyan probably wouldn¡¯t be his match. Of course, if it really were a life or death struggle, Nie Siyan could escape, and Xu Xiaojun wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up. This made sense. After all, when Xu Xiaojun advanced from Level 1 to Level Two, Wang Tao gave him four Level 2 Ascension Crystal Cores. But when Nie Siyan advanced to Level Two, she only used one Ascension Crystal Core. The gap was there. Wang Tao also sparred with Jiang Shixue, mainly to test the power of her pair of daggers. As the saying goes, longer weapons have their strength, shorter ones have their risks. During the fight with Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao felt it was precarious. If he didn¡¯t let Jiang Shixue get close, he could win easily. But once Jiang Shixue got close, Wang Tao felt he could be killed at any moment! Then Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue spar with Xu Xiaojun, and Xu Xiaojun couldn¡¯t handle Jiang Shixue at all; she completely countered him! Even after reaching Level 3, he still was no match for Jiang Shixue. As for Nie Siyan, she was relatively better off. She was a speed and agility type of ability user, not restrained like Xu Xiaojun. But still not as good as Jiang Shixue. Second Level Jiang Shixue was stronger than both Levels 3! The two daggers provided Jiang Shixue with a bonus that was 1+1>2; for Jiang Shixue, it was like adding wings to a tiger. The only regret was that Wang Tao did not know how to help Jiang Shixue ascend to Level 3. He very much looked forward to Jiang Shixue¡¯s strength after her Level 3 Ascension... In the afternoon, Lan Yulian¡¯s side still hadn¡¯t fixed the vehicle. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun had already set out. The zombies during the day were not as frenzied as at night, and there were fewer of them. Nie Siyan found a good opportunity, had Xu Xiaojun distract the zombies for a moment, and then used her jump ability again to reach the outside of the aquatics center. Since it was daytime, there were people on guard at the rooftop of the aquatics center. They had spotted Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun a long time ago and reported to the General. However, when they saw Xu Xiaojun, the hulking figure wielding a Giant Axe, killing his way in and out of the zombie horde, they were utterly shocked. ¡°Another, another Level 3 ability user?¡± Moments later, Nie Siyan jumped onto the rooftop again. ¡°Sister Nie!¡± Several ability users greeted Nie Siyan with great respect upon seeing her. ¡°Mhm.¡± Nie Siyan nodded, then jumped back down without hesitation. Thud¡ª The three Generals were already waiting for her. ¡°Has Ms. Nie found a method?¡± The three men looked at Nie Siyan somewhat surprised. Last night, when Nie Siyan left, she said she would think of a way to rescue them. It was only half a day, and she had already thought of a method? ¡°I have an idea that¡¯s not so great, but let¡¯s try it first.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± The people around were looking at Nie Siyan with some excitement. Nie Siyan looked around, then pointed to a thin woman and said: ¡°You, come here.¡± The woman looked at the General subconsciously, and after seeing him nod, she came over to Nie Siyan¡¯s side. Nie Siyan said to the Generals: ¡°I myself have some strength now, and there¡¯s a companion outside covering for me. So I think I can start by saving a few people.¡± Without waiting for the Generals to respond, she hugged the still bewildered woman with her arm, then jumped up to the rooftop, and from there, leaped down again. ¡°Ah¡ª¡± The woman screamed, closing her eyes and clinging tightly to Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan holding her, jumped next to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°I¡¯m heading out first!¡± After saying this, Nie Siyan didn¡¯t stop, immediately took off. Xu Xiaojun killed a few more zombies, then with a Rush, instantly escaped the battle and ran without looking back. The zombies, having lost their target, twisted their bodies and ran to attack the aquatics center again. Inside the aquatics center, the Generals opened their mouths but remained silent. This method of rescuing people... not to discuss the efficiency, but shouldn¡¯t you save the leaders first when rescuing? You went to such great lengths to save an ordinary Level 1 ability user; what¡¯s the meaning of that? Watching the survivors, after the initial shock, become somewhat excited, the countertenance of the three Generals was not very good. At that moment, one of the people on duty at the rooftop came down. ¡°General! Ms. Nie also has another teammate, seems like a Level 3 too!¡± ¡°... Damn! Another Level 3?¡± Prison Head became unsettled at once. ¡°Quick! Contact Lan Yulian again, give her Crystal Cores! Let her save us first!¡± Chapter 513: 222 What Do You Know I Want_1 Chapter 513: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_1 ¡°Stay here and don¡¯t go anywhere.¡± After Nie Siyan returned to the building, she spoke to a female survivor. This survivor had been either scared witless or utterly baffled along the way, until now she finally realized¡ªshe had been saved! She could never have imagined that she would be the first person to be rescued! ¡°Yes! I¡¯ll follow all of Sister Nie¡¯s instructions!¡± After Nie Siyan had settled her down, she went to look for Wang Tao. Lan Yulian had also just returned. ¡°The vehicle has been patched up a bit. Although it¡¯s not fully repaired, it should hold up till we get back to base.¡± Lan Yulian explained to Wang Tao. ¡°Good. Then you take care of arranging it.¡± Wang Tao nodded. There were quite a few injured people here who needed to get back and rest. And his group also needed to switch out a few vehicles, the temporarily repaired ones obviously wouldn¡¯t last long. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ve already rescued a woman...¡± Nie Siyan came over and recounted the rescue from the afternoon. ¡°Well done!¡± Wang Tao patted her shoulder, then said with a smile, ¡°I guess it won¡¯t be long before the General contacts us again...¡± No sooner had Wang Tao finished speaking than the walkie-talkie on Lan Yulian rang out. ¡°Lan Yulian, do you copy? This is the General.¡± Everyone immediately looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao shrugged and then asked Lan Yulian to answer the call. ¡°This is Lan Yulian...¡± Everyone was silent, listening to the conversation between the General and Lan Yulian. The call ended a moment later. A brilliant smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. The General had just indicated he would offer a Level 3 Crystal Core to have Nie Siyan rescue him. Of course, the Prison Head and Kong Xiu felt the same¡ªthey were willing to offer Level 3 Crystal Cores as payment for the journey. ¡°Shall we rescue them?¡± Nie Siyan looked at Wang Tao. Now that she had a clear understanding of her relationship with Wang Tao, she naturally didn¡¯t want or dare to have too close contact with other men. Like carrying other survivors out. Even though she was wearing a full set of armor, it still felt inappropriate. Of course, if Wang Tao asked, she would certainly comply. ¡°No rush. Go over there tomorrow, fabricate a reason to refuse them, and then casually rescue a couple more people.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes twinkled as he spoke. If Nie Siyan went to rescue those people like the General, the odds were good that she could succeed. But once that happened, Wang Tao¡¯s plan couldn¡¯t be executed. The reason he had Nie Siyan rescue others was to show the General that she was capable of bringing people out. She could bring them out too, but it depended on whether what they offered was worth her intervention... He wouldn¡¯t consider rescuing them until he drained them of all their resources. ¡°Alright!¡± Nie Siyan nodded. That night, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan voluntarily hunted zombies nearby. Wang Tao had given them so many Crystal Cores, they also wanted to give something back to him. Wang Tao called Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng over. ¡°The batch of Crystal Cores the General provided is quite good, containing some Omnipotent Crystal Cores. So, what do you think?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take it!¡± Lan Yulian immediately agreed. Then she looked at Lu Yingfeng and said, ¡°Give them to Little Feng. If Little Feng can become a Level 3 ability user, her role would be much greater than mine!¡± ¡°Jade Lotus...¡± Lu Yingfeng was moved and held Lan Yulian¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Lu Yingfeng had four abilities, which were [High-Frequency Vibration], [Athlete], [Precision Shooting], and [Sprint]. Both [Athlete] and [Sprint] had already reached +10, while [Precision Shooting] and [High-Frequency Vibration] were still at +1. [Precision Shooting] was okay, but the main issue was [High-Frequency Vibration]. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the corresponding Crystal Core anymore. The Omnipotent Crystal Cores he had were prepared for himself. However, last night, Nie Siyan brought some white [Omnipotent] Crystal Cores, which, after synthesis by Wang Tao, could now be assembled into something useful. Looking at Wang Tao taking out high-quality [Precision Shooting] Crystal Cores, the two women were somewhat skeptical. The General would offer such high-quality cores? But despite their confusion, both naturally didn¡¯t ask further questions. Once Lu Yingfeng finished integrating the [Precision Shooting] Crystal Cores, Wang Tao then produced nine red [Omnipotent] Crystal Cores. The two women internally exclaimed¡ª ¡°Impossible! These definitely aren¡¯t the General¡¯s Crystal Cores!¡± If the high-quality [Precision Shooting] cores were given out because the General couldn¡¯t merge them, that would be one thing, but these high-quality [Omnipotent] cores would absolutely be another story! After all, [Omnipotent] cores could be synthesized by everyone! These [Omnipotent] cores must surely be Wang Tao¡¯s own! It was just unclear where he had obtained them from¡ªwere they leftovers from before, or did he secure them during the time he disappeared last night? ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Any questions?¡± Wang Tao looked at them, puzzled. ¡°No!¡± Lan Yulian immediately took the Crystal Cores and then passed them to Lu Yingfeng. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lu Yingfeng thanked Wang Tao excitedly, then began to integrate them in sequence. After a moment, [High-Frequency Vibration] on Lu Yingfeng also reached +10! Now, all her abilities had achieved +10, and she could continue to integrate Ascension Crystal Cores. A short while later, Lu Yingfeng suddenly became excited. ¡°I feel like I can start the Ascension within three days!¡± ¡°Congratulations, keep it up!¡± ¡°Get some good sleep.¡± Lan Yulian encouraged her, and Lu Yingfeng nodded gratefully at Wang Tao and Lan Yulian before going to sleep. By this time tomorrow, Lu Yingfeng would be a Level 3 ability user! Seeing Lu Yingfeng enter Ascension state, Lan Yulian came over to Wang Tao and gave a solemn bow. Chapter 514: 222 What Do You Know I Want_2 Chapter 514: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_2 ¡°Wang Tao, thank you! Without you, who knows when Little Feng would have reached Level 3...¡± Although the Crystal Cores that Wang Tao provided her were bought or obtained on credit, it seemed like a fair trade. But at this point in time, the Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s hands were priceless. If Wang Tao was willing to sell them to her, that alone would be a huge favor! Not to mention that Wang Tao was even willing to let her buy on credit... Wang Tao was so good to her that she felt it was almost surreal. She had thought it was natural for Wang Tao to have an interest in her. However, the moment she recalled Wang Tao saying that he liked both her and Lu Yingfeng, Lan Yulian felt her face inexplicably flush. She wanted to know if Wang Tao was just kidding... ¡°We¡¯re friends, no need for thanks,¡± Wang Tao said generously with a wave of his hand. Since he could synthesize Crystal Cores, these high-quality ones were no trouble for him at all. Moreover, the price he sold to Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t cheap; essentially, for every Crystal Core he sold her, Wang Tao could earn more than two of the same Quality and Level. Even if Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t pay off the debt, Wang Tao was still making a killing. Of course, it wasn¡¯t possible that she couldn¡¯t pay him back, she thought, once she had control over the entire base, she would make sure to settle Wang Tao¡¯s account first! Lan Yulian was unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts, and seeing his magnanimity made her heart surge with even more appreciation. Apart from her relatives, she had never felt such kindness from a stranger ¡ª no, they weren¡¯t strangers now, they were close friends! ¡°Ahem, don¡¯t you wonder why I kept trying to get you to join us?¡± Lan Yulian suddenly said. She was no longer willing to keep secrets from Wang Tao since they were now good friends; there was no need to hide things. ¡°Oh? Do tell,¡± Wang Tao was genuinely curious. If Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t brought it up, he would have almost forgotten about it. ¡°We previously obtained a type of Crystal Core, which is quite powerful, it seems to be able to rapidly recover one¡¯s own energy!¡± ¡°Rapidly recover one¡¯s own energy?¡± Wang Tao was astonished! If it was as Lan Yulian stated, then this Crystal Core was indeed impressive! Nowadays, replenishing HP was nothing special; whether it was Abilities or medicine, Wang Tao had them. But he had never seen anything that could restore Mana. If Ability Users were likened to a gun, then Mana could roughly be equated to ammunition! If you had enough ammo and it never ran out, you¡¯d almost be unbeatable! Although Wang Tao had nearly twenty thousand Mana, his Abilities also consumed a lot of it. Therefore, if he got involved in a prolonged battle, he could not be sure of the outcome. If he could obtain an Ability that could rapidly ¡ª no, even slowly ¡ª restore Mana, as long as it was faster than the natural recovery rate, that would be a huge enhancement for Wang Tao! Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s greatly interested expression, Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t help but feel a small sense of pride. Aside from this Crystal Core, she had never seen any Ability that could restore energy, so she knew the value of this Core. If it were before, she definitely wouldn¡¯t dare to tell Wang Tao. After all, it was her secret weapon. If other powers were to learn of it, it might cause some trouble. But now that Wang Tao had given her so many good things, even helping Lu Yingfeng to reach Level 3, the value of those things certainly surpassed the worth of that Crystal Core. Therefore, being open and honest with him was no problem. Moreover, they were about to have a Level 3 ability user in their ranks, so what was there to be afraid of in terms of trouble? Yet Lan Yulian shook her head somewhat helplessly and said: ¡°But, this Crystal Core can only be fused by males. I¡¯ve done experiments, and all attempts to fuse by us females failed...¡± ¡°Only males can fuse it?¡± This reminded Wang Tao of the Perception Crystal Cores, which, while not limited to females, reduced the effectiveness by half for males, effectively making no difference... ¡°Yes, only males can fuse it. And this Crystal Core seems to devour an Ability upon successful fusion, so even if you have four Abilities, you could still fuse this Core. This was also a main reason why I invited you to join our facility department. Because Zhang Hong said you¡¯re a good person, I trust her judgment, and I think you¡¯re capable of fusing with this Core...¡± ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao finally understood. He thought it strange ¡ª why was Lan Yulian so adamant about him joining their facility? It turned out to be for this reason. But this Crystal Core seemed quite intriguing, being able to consume other Cores... ¡°Now, I don¡¯t have much with which to thank you. So, I¡¯ve decided to give you this Crystal Core. However, it¡¯s hidden within the Vast Base right now, so I can¡¯t give it to you just yet. Once we¡¯re back, I¡¯ll personally deliver the Core to you!¡± Lan Yulian declared earnestly. ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony. He was also curious about what kind of Core it was. If it was really good, he planned to fuse it himself. If he could both replenish Mana and HP, wouldn¡¯t that be amazing? Moreover, he had obtained quite a few Rejuvenation Crystal Cores from the hospital in Shuize County, which used Mana to recover physical strength and spirit! If he could learn all three abilities... wouldn¡¯t he become like a perpetual motion machine? Wang Tao fantasized a bit YY. But as for the specifics, he would have to wait until he saw the Crystal Core. If the requirements for Mana recovery were too stringent, or there were some unavoidable side effects, then he¡¯d have to think about it in the long term... Chapter 515: 222 What Do You Know I Want_3 Chapter 515: Chapter 222 What Do You Know I Want_3 ... The next day. Everyone woke up early. Lan Yulian began to arrange for people to head back. She herself definitely wasn¡¯t returning, as she needed to stay here to help Wang Tao and take care of Lu Yingfeng, who hadn¡¯t woken up yet. Some of the people in her team were strong enough to lead the group. As for the news that the generals and others were trapped, she didn¡¯t issue any orders to keep it a secret. After all, her subordinates weren¡¯t professionals, and expecting them all to keep secrets was highly unlikely. It was better to announce the situation openly, since the generals weren¡¯t dead, just temporarily trapped. She was looking for a way to rescue them... The situation wasn¡¯t too bad, and it shouldn¡¯t lead to chaos within the base. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun naturally had to make another trip to the diving hall. Last night, they had been killing zombies until midnight and only slept in the latter half of the night. But now they were very spirited and not tired at all. As for Wang Tao, he was planning to take Jiang Shixue out for a walk, to see if they could find another Level 3 Zombie Lord, and also to look for traces of the zombie queen. After everyone had divided up their tasks, they left the building one after another. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun did the same as yesterday: Xu Xiaojun would attract the zombies¡¯ attention, and Nie Siyan would quickly jump into the diving hall. Thud! Nie Siyan, clad in brown armor, arrived at the diving hall for the third time. The generals and others had become used to her way of entering. ¡°I heard the general is planning to fund another rescue operation?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The general didn¡¯t waste words and directly took out a bag of Crystal Cores. This time, there were far fewer Crystal Cores than last time, but upon inspection, Nie Siyan¡¯s face was very satisfied. Because these Crystal Cores were all Level 3! ¡°Excellent. With this funding, I believe we can rescue everyone soon!¡± The three generals looked at Nie Siyan with anticipation, wondering which of them would be rescued first, or if they would be taken out at the same time. Nie Siyan was a Level 3 ability user, and even if she wasn¡¯t specialized in strength, she was quite strong and should be able to carry all three grown men at once... However, Nie Siyan flashed and directly grabbed a woman¡ªno, two women, tucking one under each arm. Now that the general had contributed more, it was natural to rescue one more person. The two female survivors couldn¡¯t believe they had been chosen. The three generals were even more incredulous; she hadn¡¯t chosen them? As Nie Siyan was about to leave, the Prison Head hastily stopped her. ¡°Ahem, Miss Nie, I think, shouldn¡¯t you take us three out first?¡± Hearing this, Nie Siyan actually nodded. ¡°I was supposed to take you guys out first, but...¡± Her face became somewhat respectful ¡°but I am the master¡¯s private property and cannot make contact with other men!¡± ¡°Hiss! Master?!¡± The three men were shocked. Is that true? Who has such great authority to make a Level 3 ability user submit to them? ¡°So, I am really sorry!¡± Nie Siyan apologized with a smile, then with a few jumps, she leaped out with the two women. The Prison Head and Kong Xiu were still in a daze. If Nie Siyan truly had such a master, then perhaps this reason might be plausible¡ªplausible my ass! They had handed over Level 3 Crystal Cores, for crying out loud! And she just rescued two nobodies, leaving the three big leaders stuck here? The Prison Head was livid, suddenly feeling an urge to kill every female in sight. Luckily, Kong Xiu, noticing something was off with him, quickly grabbed him... ¡°Damn it! All those Crystal Cores better not have been for nothing!¡± The Prison Head scratched his head anxiously. Kong Xiu was also angry and helpless; was it easy for him to save up Level 3 Crystal Cores? It was bad enough they took away his Level 2 Crystal Cores, but he could console himself by claiming he didn¡¯t need Level 2 anymore. But if these Level 3 Crystal Cores went to waste, that would be unacceptable! The general, on the other hand, suddenly remembered what the Prison Head had said before. If Lan Yulian really intended to bleed them dry... he realized he truly had no power to resist. As for the ¡°master¡± mentioned by Nie Siyan, whether it was true or false no longer mattered. A single Nie Siyan was enough to firmly control them... If this master was real, then he must be even more powerful than Nie Siyan! Plus the big guy outside... that meant they had at least three Level 3 ability users! And they weren¡¯t sure what Lan Yulian¡¯s relationship with them was, but it seemed that Nie Siyan listened to Lan Yulian. Could it be that Lan Yulian also had a Level 3 ability user on her side... The more the general thought about it, the colder he felt. The whole of Zijing City had been effectively under his control, hadn¡¯t it? Where exactly had things started to go awry? At this time, some survivors came over. ¡°General, what the hell is going on? Why is Miss Nie only rescuing ordinary people? Do we still have a chance to survive? If it really comes to it, we have some Crystal Cores as well...¡± The speaker was a leader of a minor faction. Among the survivors in the diving hall, there weren¡¯t just the leaders of the three major factions, but also many leaders of medium and small factions within Zijing City. At least half of Zijing City¡¯s leaders were here. If they all died, it would be a huge blow to the survivors of Zijing City. After all, in most factions, the strongest individual was the leader... ¡°Right, what¡¯s going on? We don¡¯t want to die; we want to live and get out...¡± As the people looked at each other with urgent and anxious expressions, the general raised his hand. ¡°Everyone, please be calm. I will talk to her again.¡± Seeing the general speaking, the others held their peace. After all, the general¡¯s prestige and capabilities were trusted by everyone. The general took a walkie-talkie and moved to a corner. ¡°Lan Yulian, just tell me, what do you want for you to rescue us?¡± On the other side, upon receiving the message, Lan Yulian did not reply immediately. Instead, she went to a window to look in the direction of Zijin Base and then said: ¡°You know what I want.¡± The general fell silent. Chapter 516: 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_1 Chapter 516: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_1 ¡°He agreed.¡± When Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue came back, Lan Yulian blurted out these four words to him. ¡°What?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. Taking a deep breath, Lan Yulian¡¯s face bore a mix of excitement and seriousness. ¡°The General agreed to give up the Zijin Base as a reward for saving them!¡± ¡°Uh, that was quick?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. He thought it would take a few more days, but who would have expected the General to cave so quickly? ¡°From his words, I feel that he is not only afraid of dying but is even more afraid of falling behind in the Ascension process...¡± Lan Yulian explained a bit. The General had been subtly inquiring about news of Level 3 ability users during his interactions with her. In the end, he directly asked Lan Yulian how many Level 3 ability users were there with her. Thinking about Lu Yingfeng, who hadn¡¯t woken up yet, Lan Yulian said there were more than three. The General then asked when these Level 3 ability users had ascended, and Lan Yulian replied it happened these past few days. So, the General, who was initially hesitant, immediately agreed to give up the base in exchange for their rescue. Lan Yulian could somewhat understand the General¡¯s thoughts as a leader herself. Simply put, the General panicked when he saw so many people reaching Level 3 in a short period while he himself was stuck. From the beginning of the apocalypse till now, the General had always been in the leading group, never left behind. But now, if he were to fall behind¡ªnot if, but since he had already fallen behind! Others had reached Level 3, not just one or two, but more than three! Yet he was still at Level Two. This was like a math class during one¡¯s school days¡ªwhen you bend down to pick up a pen you dropped, and by the time you look up, you can no longer understand what the teacher is saying. If you don¡¯t understand that lesson, you might never catch up with the teacher¡¯s pace again! There¡¯s a saying: one step behind, always behind! This was something the General couldn¡¯t accept. And it wasn¡¯t just the General; the Prison Head and Kong Xiu couldn¡¯t accept this either. Especially Kong Xiu, his strength may not have been the strongest among the three, but his Level was at the pinnacle of Level Two, with all four abilities at +10. He was just one Ascension crystal core away from reaching Level 3! But he had tried fusing with three Level 3 White Ascension Crystal Cores, and all attempts failed! Although he knew that the success rate with White Crystal Cores was low, the triple failure still hit him hard. He failed, while others succeeded! That made him somewhat anxious. If they dragged this on, even if they were successfully rescued, their strength would still be a notch below others, which was obviously unacceptable! No one wants to live in someone else¡¯s shadow forever. It was the same for the Prison Head; he too had secretly tried fusing with a White Ascension Crystal Core and failed. Now, learning from the General that there were at least three Level 3 ability users with Lan Yulian, he became unsettled. He had to get out; he had to ascend to Level 3! Thus came the General¡¯s decision to give up the base. You can rebuild a lost base, even take it back. But if you can¡¯t keep up with the group, you might be stepped on by others for a lifetime! ¡°I see...¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. Lan Yulian¡¯s analysis made sense. ¡°So... should we rescue them now?¡± Lan Yulian asked. This was a bit different from the original plan. ¡°Of course, we must rescue them. We are honest and trustworthy people, and since he is willing to offer the reward, we must keep our promise. However, we should take control of the base first, and as for how to rescue them, we need to study that...¡± Wang Tao gathered everyone to prepare for a meeting to discuss the rescue. It was now nighttime, and Lu Yingfeng had woken up. ¡°Leader! Wang Tao!¡± After waking up, Lu Yingfeng immediately greeted Lan Yulian and Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at her attributes. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] Hidden attribute: Hate the wicked as if they were enemies] [Internal Impurity: 12%] ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao nodded. Her attributes were fine, not much different from Nie Siyan¡¯s. However, her strength was certainly much stronger than Nie Siyan¡¯s. ¡°Now we have three Level 3 ability users!¡± Lan Yulian clenched her fists excitedly. After congratulating Lu Yingfeng, they all began to discuss the rescue operation together. In the end, Wang Tao made a decision: first, they would look for a Zombie Lord near the dive hall, which was the Mother Zombie. If one exists, they would find a way to kill it. If not¡ªimpossible, there had to be one! Wang Tao was firm in his judgment. Without killing this zombie, they can¡¯t carry out the rescue, as no one knows the abilities of this zombie. If an accident occurs during the rescue, that would mean big trouble. Moreover, they still need to improve everyone¡¯s strength to ensure the group can cope well with any unexpected situations. So, for the next few days, they would search for the Mother and Zombie Lords and increase their strength by killing other zombies. The next day. Everyone gathered on the rooftop of the building. After the vehicles were repaired yesterday, the injured had returned to the base. But some people stayed behind. That included Lan Yulian¡¯s 8 subordinates, Nie Siyan¡¯s 5 subordinates, and 6 others from two smaller forces. The people from the two smaller forces had merely sent their injured back; their leaders each brought two others to stay, which was somewhat unexpected to Wang Tao. It only showed that the leaders of these two small forces had great foresight. Choosing to stay at this time was indeed dangerous, but that also made them half their own... and Wang Tao never mistreated his own people. The crowd stood in rows, with only one person at the very front of the crowd¡ªWang Tao himself. Chapter 517 - 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_2 Chapter 517: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_2 Everyone looked at Wang Tao with excitement in their eyes. After all that had happened, everyone had long known that although Jade Lotus ostensibly led the team, the actual leader was Wang Tao. No one objected, including the eight trusted followers led by Jade Lotus. Not to mention Wang Tao¡¯s strength, just the fact that three Level 3 ability users had suddenly appeared in the team and were all related to Wang Tao was enough to command everyone¡¯s respect! Looking at the group, who even with wounds sported an energetic appearance, Wang Tao nodded with satisfaction. If they wanted to rescue everyone from the diving gym, relying only on the few of them was certainly not enough. But with these people¡¯s participation, the chance of success had greatly increased. And not to say it outright, but Jade Lotus and her people were the most pleasing to the eye. Jade Lotus, Ying Feng, and their eight followers were all tall and curvy. Their presence was captivating. Wang Tao came before these people and then looked at Jade Lotus. Seeming to understand what Wang Tao meant, Jade Lotus came over and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, these are my sisters, absolutely reliable. They are among the few here in the club that I trust, and they have saved me many times before...¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. Then, pointing to the neatly arranged Level 2 Iron Tree Armors and Bone Hand Crossbows, along with crossbow arrows, he said, ¡°Each person takes a set of armor, a hand crossbow, and 100 crossbow arrows.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The women responded excitedly, with a few bold ones even throwing Wang Tao a flirtatious glance. Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged; after all, having seen many beauties, he had developed a degree of immunity. He then approached Nie Siyan and her group. Nie Siyan was accompanied by five followers, including Zhu Han and the four ability users who could emit soporific mists. ¡°You go too, each person takes a set of armor, a hand crossbow, and 100 crossbow arrows.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Zhu Han immediately led the four over.¡± Then Wang Tao looked to the six people from the two other smaller forces. ¡°Your equipment is over there, similarly each person takes a set of armor, a hand crossbow, and 100 crossbow arrows.¡± Wang Tao pointed to another pile of armor and arrows, which were all Level 1. ¡°Yes!¡± They could clearly see that their equipment was different from that of the others; likely to be of lesser quality. But they were still grinning without any complaints. After all, their relationship with Wang Tao was still fresh, and disparate treatment was normal. Besides, this gear was far superior to their own! As for Jade Lotus, Ying Feng, and Nie Siyan, they naturally wore Level 3 Iron Tree Armor and wielded Level 3 Bone Hand Crossbows. After some time, everyone had donned their armor. Seeing the group clad in full body armor, wielding various close-quarter weapons, and with Bone Hand Crossbows and arrows at their waists, Wang Tao was very pleased. Although he had the power to equip them all with Level 3 gear, the distance and status between people varied, so naturally, they couldn¡¯t wear the same armor. A hierarchical system was essential, as it gave them the incentive to strive higher. And even Level 1 armor was much better than their original gear. Of course, this equipment wasn¡¯t given to them for free; from now on, all the Crystal Cores from the zombies they killed would belong to Wang Tao! ¡°Now we split into three teams...¡± Jade Lotus and Ying Feng led their followers as one team; Nie Siyan with her followers and those from the two small forces formed another team; Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were the third team. The task of the first two teams was to kill zombies in an organized manner to boost their strength, as many people had yet to reach the HP limit of 29,999. They were also tasked to collect Crystal Cores for Wang Tao. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, on the other hand, would see if they could locate the mother zombie. ¡°Begin the operation!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± With a wave of his hand, Wang Tao led the group downstairs in an orderly fashion, heading in the direction of the diving gym. In the building, the three rescued women huddled together. They watched the group clad in full body armor with eyes full of envy, wishing they could be part of them... Wang Tao warned them not to wander around; otherwise, if danger arose, no one would save them. The three promptly nodded, indicating they understood. Then Wang Tao asked Nie Siyan to make a trip to the diving gym. They needed to clarify the situation of the base, including how to take over the base, and who was holding the Self Detonation remote control. She would also explain the rescue plan here so that they would be ready to cooperate in the days to come. ¡°Okay!¡± Nie Siyan nodded her head. Everyone began to act on their separate ways. Wang Tao had searched for an entire day yesterday, without finding any trace of the mother zombie. But he hadn¡¯t given up; he felt certain that a mother zombie was out there. Unfortunately, today had wasted another whole day without any finds. ¡°Could it be that the mother is hiding right in the middle of the zombies... but that doesn¡¯t seem quite right. These zombies are constantly moving; none of them stay fixed together... Perhaps, the mother is hiding in a building and never comes out?¡± Wang Tao felt like he might be going in the wrong direction. He originally thought that with the survivors in the diving gym as bait, the mother zombie would also be attracted there. But then he remembered the Green-eyed Zombie that stayed in the basement and did not go out, not from its own wishing, but because it was stuck and couldn¡¯t leave... Maybe the mother zombie was in the same situation. Chapter 518 - 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_3 Chapter 518: Chapter 223 Honesty and Trustworthiness_3 Wang Tao planned not to focus on the zombies tomorrow but to search the buildings more thoroughly instead. However, today was not without gains; he killed some Level 3 Elite Zombies and obtained quite a few Crystal Cores. Not only him, but others also gained many Crystal Cores. After changing into new gear, the efficiency of hunting zombies increased significantly. Moreover, Nie Siyan retrieved quite a few Crystal Cores from the diving gym! ¡°Brother Wang, these are from the General.¡± Wang Tao raised his eyebrows slightly; it seemed the General really wanted to get out soon. ¡°He said he doesn¡¯t have any Crystal Cores left and asked us to rescue them as soon as possible... As for the matter of transferring the base, he also mentioned...¡± After Nie Siyan¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao finally understood. It was true that there were many bombs installed in the base, and the remote control was in the hands of a comrade-in-arms who had once shared life-and-death experiences with the General. From the moment the General appeared before the public, he had always been a loner. Even after establishing his power, there was no one he seemed particularly close to; he always looked lonely. Unexpectedly, he had a comrade-in-arms who shared life-and-death camaraderie with him... Indeed, he was very cunning! There was a code between the General and this comrade. Regardless of whether they met or not, as long as they matched the code, they could retrieve the remote control. To take over Zijin Base, they first had to deal with this comrade-in-arms. But... who to send to handle this comrade-in-arms was a problem. After all, this was just the General¡¯s word. What if the code he gave was wrong, leading to an attack or an ambush during the exchange? Or even more seriously, what if this comrade-in-arms simply pressed the remote control after the code exchange and detonated the bombs? It was all hard to say. Therefore, exchanging codes with this comrade-in-arms was a very dangerous action. Wang Tao called over Lan Yulian and several others. Before discussing this matter, he first mentioned the issue of the base¡¯s ownership. ¡°I think Jade Lotus is very suitable; what do you guys think?¡± Wang Tao asked the group with a smile. ¡°What?¡± Everyone was momentarily startled. They all thought Wang Tao wanted to be the leader of Zijin Base, but he recommended it to Lan Yulian instead! ¡°You... you yourself don¡¯t want to be the leader?¡± Lan Yulian asked in surprise. Wang Tao had worked hard for so long; wasn¡¯t he going to take the position of leader himself? She had always thought that Wang Tao wanted to be the leader. She respected Wang Tao, but his words disrupted all her plans... ¡°I don¡¯t want it.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. The base was indeed not bad, but it was actually an unfinished base still under construction. Although the General and others had found ways to improve it, without the professional talent and equipment, the improvements were not well made. Moreover, Wang Tao wanted to go to the military base, and might leave in a few days. Having the position of leader would be of no use to him. Of course, not taking the leadership position didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t take benefits. At least one share of the Crystal Cores in the base belonged to Wang Tao. As for the candidate for leader, there were currently two options: Nie Siyan and Lan Yulian. Wang Tao felt that Nie Siyan¡¯s abilities were far inferior to Lan Yulian¡¯s, so he wanted her to take the position. ¡°Then, Siyan...¡± Lan Yulian glanced at Nie Siyan again. She was unclear about the specific relationship between Nie Siyan and Wang Tao, but Nie Siyan was obviously closer to Wang Tao than her. ¡°She¡¯s not cut out for it.¡± Wang Tao directly vetoed on Nie Siyan¡¯s behalf. Hearing this, Nie Siyan felt a little disheartened inside. She also knew that she was not comparable to Lan Yulian in managing a base. After all, when Lan Yulian took over the clubhouse, it was just a small force established by a few women. But under her leadership, it gradually became one of the four major powers, and her strength was recognized by all. But Wang Tao stating it so bluntly... it hurt! Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao, who didn¡¯t seem to be joking, and then at the encouraging gaze from Ying Feng by her side. She gritted her teeth. ¡°Fine! Since you don¡¯t want the base, I¡¯ll take it!¡± Being the leader of the base certainly had many benefits, but it also came with a lot of pressure. However, she wasn¡¯t afraid and felt she could do it! ¡°Good!¡± Wang Tao nodded in approval, smiling. ¡°Then let¡¯s discuss the debt issue. After you become the leader of the base, don¡¯t forget to pay it off, okay?¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face immediately turned bitter. Seizing the benefits of this base, at least half of them would probably have to be split with Wang Tao! She wasn¡¯t unwilling to part with them, as it was what they had agreed to before. She just felt that life was tough... She would have to manage the base well in the future and earn those Crystal Cores back! After deciding on a candidate, Wang Tao mentioned the matter of the General¡¯s comrade-in-arms. ¡°Who will retrieve the remote control?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Lan Yulian immediately spoke up. Since she was to become the new leader of Zijin Base, it was her inescapable responsibility. ¡°Let me go instead.¡± At this moment, Lu Yingfeng spoke up. Lan Yulian, after all, didn¡¯t have strong combat capabilities. She was worried Lan Yulian might encounter trouble she couldn¡¯t handle. Lan Yulian retorted: ¡°No. This is my base; I must go! As the new leader, I need to set an example. If even I¡¯m afraid to go, what would others think of me?¡± That was just one reason she gave; another reason was that, although she seemed to be Ying Feng¡¯s superior, they were actually very close, like sisters. Just as Ying Feng was afraid of her getting hurt, she was also afraid for Ying Feng. Seeing both of them eager to go, Wang Tao said: ¡°How about this? You both go, one overt, one covert. Having a partner would be good for backup.¡± Lu Yingfeng was a Level 3 ability user, and with her strength in the current Zijin Base, she could probably wreak havoc. ¡°... That works.¡± The two women exchanged glances and nodded in agreement. The matter was settled. They were prepared to set out early the next morning to settle the issue and avoid any unnecessary complications. ... That evening. Wang Tao piled up all the Crystal Cores he had obtained today and, after making a selection, suddenly grinned. He had finally found the Crystal Core suitable for his Synthetic ability! Chapter 519 - 224 Zombie Mother_1 Chapter 519: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_1 ¡°` Wang Tao had not ascended to Level 3 because he still had two superpowers that had not been synthesized to their limit¡ªhe could merge his own superpower with others to obtain new superpowers, and could combine up to four native superpowers into one. Therefore, Wang Tao had been collecting other Crystal Cores. In the past few days, many Crystal Cores had come into his possession, and he had finally found two that were quite suitable. The first Crystal Core was ¡°Indirect Attack,¡± and the second was ¡°Energize One Hit.¡± [Level 2 Crystal Core: Indirect Attack] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Strength reduced by half)] [Indirect Attack: Consumes energy during an attack, allowing to attack over a short distance, but the attack is somewhat weakened] The Ability ¡°Indirect Attack¡± was still decent; some of the people from the smaller forces possessed this power. It was different from Shockwave, which affected everything in front of it and would first hit an obstacle if present. Indirect Attack, however, attacked over a distance. If there was an obstacle, the attack would skip over it. For instance, if the opponent was wearing a suit of Armor, using Shockwave would hit the Armor first. But with Indirect Attack, the attack could bypass the Armor and hit the opponent¡¯s body directly. However, this attack was somewhat weakened and the gap distance was very small; it might just bypass a layer of Armor or a wall, but may not be effective beyond that range. Coupled with the side effect of halving the user¡¯s strength... in actual combat, this power was not strong. But that didn¡¯t matter to Wang Tao, as he was capable of synthesis. He had also saved up two of these, and with this one, he now had three. Moments later, an Epic Indirect Attack Crystal Core appeared. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to merge it, but instead turned his attention to the other Crystal Core. [Level 2 Crystal Core: Energize One Hit] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: One arm becomes powerless)] [Energize One Hit: Consumes energy to build up power. The longer the buildup, the higher the damage of the strike. Maximum buildup time is 10 seconds] This superpower wasn¡¯t bad either. It allowed for a build-up strike, which could be a finisher in critical moments. However, its side effect was significant, effectively disabling one arm. Wang Tao had also accumulated a few Energize One Hit Crystal Cores, and after merging them, an Epic Energized One Hit emerged. Wang Tao felt that these two Crystal Cores should be mergeable with Vibration Shock, but he would have to test to be sure. He extracted the Level 1 +10 Sprint Ability from his body and first merged it with an Indirect Attack Crystal Core. ¡°Sure enough!¡± Seeing a 92% success rate, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and went ahead with the synthesis. After the process was complete, Wang Tao didn¡¯t examine it closely but continued and merged the Energize One Hit. The success rate for this was 90%, and Wang Tao confirmed the merge once again. [Fusion successful, new superpower obtained: Level 2, Rank 1: Mastery Fusion] [Mastery Fusion: Consumes energy to utilize high-frequency vibration, Shockwave, Indirect Attack, and Energize One Hit] Without a second thought, Wang Tao used the nine Omnipotent Crystal Cores he had prepared in advance. Moments later, all Crystal Cores were completely merged. And Wang Tao¡¯s Mana had just reached 20,000! ¡°The last superpower is all that¡¯s left now... I need to study it carefully.¡± He didn¡¯t have any more Crystal Cores suitable for himself in hand. He wanted to merge a Perception one, but the Perception Crystal Cores were currently scarce, and he was one short. He would have to wait longer. The next day. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng left early in the morning. While the others continued to team up and hunt zombies, Wang Tao also continued to search for the Mother Zombie with Jiang Shixue. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan on going near the swimming venue any longer; he had searched there for a long time with no findings. So today, he prepared to inspect other buildings for any clues. And indeed, there were many zombies. Not all zombies were attracted to the area near the swimming venue; many lingered inside buildings. Although it was pitch black inside, this did not affect Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao encountered several strong Level 3 Elite Zombies. He obtained quite a few Crystal Cores and potions. It could be considered a fruitful trip, not a wasted journey. And at one moment, Jiang Shixue suddenly looked up. ¡°Brother, I feel like something is watching me...¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao immediately became vigilant. With increased strength, his perception had also become more sensitive. Often, these sensations were not just illusions. Wang Tao followed Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze, which was in the direction of the gymnasium. He saw nothing. So he employed his Plant Affinity Ability to carefully probe the gymnasium. Apart from some ordinary zombies, he didn¡¯t sense anything else. Although Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability was not very precise, its range was extensive, and he immediately expanded it. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt something was off in a particular area¡ªand that place was a park next to the gymnasium. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao immediately grabbed Jiang Shixue and ran towards the park. The park¡¯s vegetation was lush, giving the impression of entering a primeval forest upon arrival. Because Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability could use plants for perception, he had already sensed the area and hadn¡¯t detected anything unusual. Moreover, every day as he passed by, he would sense it once to make sure he didn¡¯t miss anything. ¡°` Chapter 520 - 224 Zombie Mother_2 Chapter 520: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_2 But upon reflection, he realized that although he had sensed this place several times through his Plant Affinity Ability, he had never actively entered it. Could he have overlooked something? After he and Jiang Shixue entered the park, they explored cautiously and slowly. About an hour later, Wang Tao looked puzzled. ¡°Why is there nothing at all?¡± He and Jiang Shixue both felt that something was not quite right here, as there wasn¡¯t a single zombie to be found! Even though many zombies had been lured away by the General and his forces, the park was still massive in size, so how could there not be even a single Level 1 Ordinary zombie? This was clearly not normal! After searching for over an hour, however, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue found nothing... Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability couldn¡¯t possibly be fake, could it? He had sensed the area multiple times with this ability, and it seemed like there really was nothing unusual here. ¡°Little Xue, is there anywhere we haven¡¯t searched yet?¡± Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue, who was standing beside him. Jiang Shixue tilted her head to think, then pointed toward the artificial lake next to the park: ¡°The only place near the park we haven¡¯t searched is the lake.¡± ¡°The lake?¡± Wang Tao frowned. The sports center had a large artificial lake, located by the south gate of the stadium, next to the park, and several other buildings. Wang Tao had walked over a bridge on the artificial lake when he had entered the stadium before. And Wang Tao had previously... subconsciously ignored this place! ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went to the lakefront. The lake water was very murky, and nothing could be seen clearly. ¡°There might be a problem here...¡± Wang Tao frowned, suspecting that the problem might lie within the lake. But he dared not enter the turbid waters, as who knew what was beneath. After thinking it through, Wang Tao caught several Ordinary zombies and threw them into the lake. Plop~ The zombies struggled on the surface briefly before slowly sinking into the lake. Wang Tao waited for a while, but there was no movement in the lake. Then he took out some large dried fish from his Magical Stomach Pouch and threw several big pieces into the lake. A moment later. Gurgle~ Suddenly, bubbles began to rise from the turbid waters! ¡°There¡¯s definitely something down there!¡± Afterward, Wang Tao threw in some chunks of meat and other such things, but the water just gurgled and bubbled without anything coming out. And since the water was too murky, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to go down... The situation was at a stalemate. ¡°I don¡¯t believe this, I must get you out today!¡± At noon, Wang Tao returned to the building. He found the three women that Nie Siyan had saved. ¡°I need fresh blood...¡± ¡°...¡± All three women were somewhat afraid, as Wang Tao¡¯s words gave them a feeling that they might be murdered. The first woman saved by Nie Siyan timidly spoke up: ¡°Mr. Wang, I am willing to donate blood! But if it¡¯s too much, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to handle it...¡± She was very grateful for Nie Siyan¡¯s lifesaving grace and was willing to do something within her capability. ¡°I don¡¯t need much, it won¡¯t cost you your life.¡± Wang Tao brought over two plastic bottles, and suddenly a Surgeon¡¯s Knife appeared in his hand. ¡°...¡± The woman suddenly regretted her decision; she thought Wang Tao would use a needle, but instead, he directly used a knife... That meant a lot of blood would be taken! But it was too late for regrets, so she simply rolled up her sleeve, extended her wrist, closed her eyes, and presented herself like a lamb to the slaughter. The other two women sneaked glances at her, looking somewhat happy about her misfortune. After disinfecting the woman¡¯s arm with medicines from the medical kit, Wang Tao made a cut over her vein. The woman¡¯s body shook, but she still didn¡¯t dare to open her eyes. The Surgical Knife was very sharp, so the pain wasn¡¯t much¡ªat least not at that moment. It was just that the thought of it was terrifying, and she kept feeling like she might bleed to death... Wang Tao, of course, wouldn¡¯t let her bleed to death. He watched carefully and, feeling it was enough, suddenly squeezed the woman¡¯s arm. ¡°Mm~¡± The woman moaned, not from pain but from fright. Wang Tao quickly took out the medical kit and stopped her from bleeding. It wasn¡¯t until he had bandaged her wound with bandages and told her it was okay that the woman opened her eyes with a pale face. ¡°Thanks, when Lan Yulian comes later, have her treat your wounds,¡± Wang Tao said, while taking out a Red Crystal Core and putting it in her hand, ¡°This is for you.¡± Seeing the Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core of red quality in her hand, the woman was stunned. ¡°A Red Level Two Ascension Crystal Core?¡± She was only Level 1, and a Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core was exactly what she needed most right now, not to mention a red one! ¡°Thank you!¡± Belatedly, she hastily expressed her thanks, but only Wang Tao¡¯s retreating figure was in sight. The other two women looked on in astonishment, followed by envy and regret. If only they had known that donating a little blood would get them a Red Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core, they would surely have rushed to offer their help! ... Wang Tao, holding the fresh blood, returned to the artificial lake. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan had also been called by him, but Wang Tao told the two to wait at a distance and wait for Wang Tao¡¯s instruction. ¡°I refuse to believe you won¡¯t come out!¡± Wang Tao directly spilled the fresh blood into the lake. Gurgle~ As expected, the murky lake water began to boil. A moment later. Whoosh¡ª A rotten, gaping mouth suddenly rose to the surface, swallowing all the fresh blood in one gulp! The mouth was less than a meter away from Wang Tao, who could smell the rotten stench. Well-prepared, Wang Tao immediately covered his body with Entangling Roots, turning into a ¡°tree root monster,¡± and then he grabbed the upper and lower jaws of the gaping mouth and pulled it towards the shore! Chapter 521: 224 Zombie Mother_3 Chapter 521: Chapter 224 Zombie Mother_3 ¡°Rise¡ª¡ª¡± Then, Wang Tao discovered that he couldn¡¯t move it at all! Instead, this big-mouthed monster tried to sink into the lake, dragging Wang Tao towards the water, cracks appearing one after another under his feet! Jiang Shixue hurried over to help, but even with her assistance, it was no good! ¡°Quick, come over!¡± Wang Tao yelled. Rumble¡ª¡ª Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan both rushed forward and arrived in front of Wang Tao, grabbing hold of the big-mouthed monster! After Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan joined in, the big-mouthed creature immediately lost its ability to sink. ¡°Alright, on three. One, two, three, lift!¡± Wang Tao shouted, and everyone put forth their full strength. Then, they saw a gigantic monster slowly being hauled out of the water! Finally. Whoosh¡ª¡ª The big-mouthed monster was yanked out by several people! ¡°So huge!¡± When Nie Siyan saw the full extent of the monster, she couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in shock. Thud! The crowd pulled the monster overhead, and it fell behind them into the park, shattering the trees and the ground. Wang Tao looked at the monster with a hint of shock on his face. It was over twenty meters long and five or six meters tall, shaped like a caterpillar, but instead of fur, it was covered in human arms, legs, and heads, looking incredibly eerie¡ªa stitched together colossal zombie monster! Previously, the largest creature Wang Tao had encountered was the gorilla zombie. But lying there, it was about the same height as a standing gorilla zombie! However, once this stitched-together zombie left the water, it seemed to lose its ability to move; it wriggled on the spot for a while and could only walk a few steps. ¡°Could this be a four-level zombie?¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat frightened, her Perception of this zombie was not very clear. ¡°No, just a Level 3, Lord,¡± said Wang Tao with a smile. Even though the stitched zombie was huge and looked terrifying, it wasn¡¯t a Level 4. Otherwise, Wang Tao would have retreated the moment he saw its mouth. He had experienced the power of a Level 4 monster, and he knew it wasn¡¯t something he could handle at the moment. [HP: 60000/60000] [Mana: 60000/60000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] Wang Tao believed it was the maternal zombie lurking in the shadows! ¡°Just a Level 3, Lord hmm?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Nie Siyan breathed a sigh of relief. She still had a residual fear from the Level 4 monster she had encountered with Wang Tao. If it was only Level 3, that was manageable. After all, with two Level 3s, plus Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, couldn¡¯t they deal with a Level 3, Lord? ¡°Attack!¡± Wang Tao was not certain of the stitched zombie¡¯s capabilities just yet, but decided to take action. Wang Tao pulled out his Bone Knife and charged straight at it. Jiang Shixue followed closely with her daggers clenched tightly. Next was Nie Siyan, jumping high into the air, and finally came Xu Xiaojun with the Broken Giant Axe. However, Xu Xiaojun used Rush and consequently was the first to attack, landing a hit on the stitched zombie¡¯s head. [-3423] One axe chop took off more than three thousand HP. Wang Tao saw the damage numbers and immediately rejoiced. Its Defense is low! Wang Tao was the second to rush in. He leaped high, his Bone Knife enhanced with high-frequency vibration cutting into the stitched zombie¡¯s head. Squish! [-5265] The blade plunged in, chopping off over five thousand HP! ¡°Hit its head! This zombie¡¯s Defense is very weak!¡± Wang Tao immediately shouted to the others. Jiang Shixue was the third to rush in. She also leaped up like Wang Tao, thrusting her Daggers at the zombie. But... the zombie didn¡¯t lose any HP! Seeing this, Wang Tao seemed to realize something and immediately said to Jiang Shixue, ¡°This zombie¡¯s skin is too thick, Little Xue, your Daggers are too short, they didn¡¯t pierce through!¡± Jiang Shixue: ¡°...¡± Nie Siyan¡¯s weapon was a sharpened steel rebar. As soon as she heard Wang Tao¡¯s words, she who was mid-jump immediately adjusted her angle, directing the rebar towards the suturing zombie¡¯s head. Thwack! [-2743] The rebar plunged into the zombie¡¯s head, killing nearly three thousand of its HP. Wang Tao seized the opportunity to hack at it twice more, while Xu Xiaojun also swung his axe once. Just the first round of attacks reduced the suturing zombie¡¯s HP by twenty-two thousand! According to this situation, at most thirty seconds later, it would be dead! ¡°This zombie looks quite scary, but is it actually weak?¡± Just as this thought crossed Wang Tao¡¯s mind, he saw the zombie suddenly tilt its head back and open its mouth wide. There was no sound, but Wang Tao suddenly felt a throbbing pain in his head. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun¡¯s bodies wobbled, almost falling over. It seemed that only Jiang Shixue was not greatly affected. ¡°Mental Shock!¡± This feeling was almost the same as when they had been attacked by that Hundred-armed Zombie before! ¡°This is a zombie focusing on mental attacks!¡± Although Mental Shock was colorless and formless, impossible to guard against, it could be blocked by obstacles. Except for Jiang Shixue, the three of them, including Wang Tao, were all wearing full body armor, firmly protecting their heads. And since Jiang Shixue was the person least afraid of mental attacks... the impact of this Mental Shock on them wasn¡¯t big. ¡°Rush!¡± Wang Tao once again raised his Bone Knife. Thwack! [-5354] Thwack! [-5234] Two strikes took off another ten thousand HP. The suturing zombie opened its mouth wide again, launching another Mental Shock. ¡°Ugh¡ª¡ª¡± This time Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun immediately dropped to one knee. The Mental Shock was stronger than before! Even with their helmets on, they could scarcely block it, and they were no longer able to attack. As for Wang Tao, it felt as if his head had been pricked by a needle! However, he had previously fused with a Crystal Core that increased his spiritual power, and he had drunk many Potions that enhanced his spiritual power, so he was able to withstand it. Thwack! Thwack! [-5843] [-5631] Another two slashes left the suturing zombie with only twenty-six thousand HP remaining! The suturing zombie continued to open its mouth wide. ¡°Sss¡ª¡ª¡± Wang Tao suddenly felt a splitting headache! ¡°Brother, the zombies are coming!¡± At that moment, Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke next to Wang Tao¡¯s ear, and he immediately turned his head. He saw from the direction of the diving hall, quite a few zombies coming their way! ¡°Quick battle, quick decision!¡± Wang Tao endured the headache and once again hacked at the suturing zombie¡¯s head. Several more blows followed. Thwack! [-5485] [0/60000] The zombie¡¯s HP bar emptied! Clatter¡ª¡ª A bunch of items burst out of its body, among them many bottles of Zombie Culture Fluid! Wang Tao immediately gathered everything that could be taken, while Jiang Shixue reached into the zombie¡¯s head and pulled out an Orange Crystal Core. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Clamping down on his teeth, Wang Tao carried the somewhat groggy Xu Xiaojun. Jiang Shixue picked up Nie Siyan, and the two of them ran straight towards the building. Meanwhile, the distant zombies stopped in their tracks as if they had lost their target the moment the suturing zombie died. Only a part of the zombies headed to the lakeside, while the rest wandered back to the diving hall in a daze. Chapter 522: 225: Taking Zijin Base_1 Chapter 522: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_1 Everyone ran back to the building. ¡°No zombies are chasing us, they¡¯ve gone back... Little Xue, go take care of them!¡± Seeing only a few scattered zombies following them, Wang Tao ordered Jiang Shixue. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s spirit had not been greatly affected; she set down Nie Siyan and retraced her steps, quickly dispatching all the pursuing zombies. ¡°Ahem, Brother Wang, I¡¯m sorry...¡± Nie Siyan spoke somewhat embarrassed. She hadn¡¯t expected the mental shock from the zombie to be so strong that even she, being Level 3, could barely withstand it... she almost ended up being a hindrance. ¡°Brother Wang, I¡¯ve been a drag...¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head, feeling embarrassed as well. ¡°It¡¯s okay, as long as the outcome is good. And that zombie¡¯s mental attack really was strong. I almost couldn¡¯t withstand it either. You guys just rest up.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. After a mental attack, one¡¯s head would feel very uncomfortable, and there might even be some aftereffects. Get a good night¡¯s sleep, let your mind empty, and you¡¯ll feel much better. ¡°Got it!¡± The two didn¡¯t try to act tough and immediately went to rest. Their heads really were still bothering them. Wang Tao then started to tally the loot. Killing this stitched zombie brought Wang Tao a total of 14400 special energy. It was the most he had ever gained from killing a single zombie. His total special energy had also reached 135,000. ¡°Big brother, here~¡± At this moment, Jiang Shixue handed Wang Tao the Crystal Core she took out from the zombie¡¯s head. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: reduced defense)] [Mental Defense: Passive Ability, increases mental defensive power] ¡°Eh?¡± Surprised at the attribute of this Ability, Wang Tao was somewhat taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected the zombie to have a mental defense ability, no wonder its defense was low! And this mental defense was an ability that Wang Tao needed! If he had this ability, he would be much more at ease when dealing with zombies capable of mental attacks in the future! However, speaking of which, this stitched zombie was quite unlucky. Its mental defense ability was completely useless against Wang Tao and his group¡ªbecause none of them could perform mental attacks. In addition to the Crystal Core, the insides of the stitched zombie also contained plenty of Zombie Culture Fluid, which Wang Tao had all collected at the time. [Gained: Zombie Culture Fluid x44745] ¡°So much Zombie Culture Fluid... Little Xue won¡¯t be short on it later...¡± Apart from using it on Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what else this substance could be used for. Though speaking of Zombie Culture Fluid, Wang Tao had originally thought that the progenitor would be a Four-level zombie. According to his previous experience, Level 3 zombies shouldn¡¯t be able to cultivate other Level 3 zombies¡ªyet it indeed was a Level 3 progenitor zombie! Wang Tao suspected that the progenitor zombie must have undergone some mutation, or some accidental event had occurred... Wang Tao looked towards the Loot Packs, totaling four. Inside the first Crystal Core Gift Bag, there were a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Perception], a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Attack], and an orange [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Bloodline Inheritance]. Apart from the last one, all were Crystal Cores Wang Tao had seen before. Especially Perception and Mental Attack, these two Abilities were among Wang Tao¡¯s favorites. He now had three Perception Crystal Cores, although one was Level Two and not yet able to be synthesized. He also had two Mental Attacks; if he could get one more, that would be even more perfect. The attributes of the last Core, however, raised Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows. He knew there had to be a reason the zombie could cultivate Level 3 zombies, and here it was! [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Bloodline Inheritance] [Quality: 100% (Epic)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: none)] [Bloodline Inheritance: Can transfer part of one¡¯s own strength to others, up to the limit of one¡¯s own strength (one¡¯s own strength will not be permanently reduced, but it takes time to recover)] This Ability was interesting, as it could transfer one¡¯s strength to others. But what did ¡°strength¡± specifically refer to? HP? Mana? Physical condition? Ability? Or something else? Just by looking at the Core, it¡¯s not apparent. To find out exactly what it is, one would need to experience it personally. But what was certain was that the zombie¡¯s ability to cultivate other Level 3 zombies was definitely related to this Ability! The second pack contained Potions and Blueprints. [Gained: Mental Boosting Potion x20] [Gained: Mental Potion (Small) x10] [Gained: Mental Potion (Small) Recipe x1] Wang Tao had seen the Mental Boosting Potion before, but it was his first time seeing the Mental Potion (Small). [Mental Potion (Small): After injection, increase mental strength by 10%-100% (the stronger the spirit, the greater the increase), lasts for 1 minute, with a 12-hour cooldown] [Mental Potion (Small) Blueprint: Once learned, one can make 5 Mental Potion (Small) each time. Required materials: Psychic Mushroom x1, Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water 100ml, Food 10 Kcal] The effects of the Mental Potion seemed good, similar to the Strength Potion and Defense Potion. Plus, with the blueprint, once learned, it could be made continuously! Wang Tao used all of the Mental Boosting Potions, and then learned the blueprint for the Mental Potion. He didn¡¯t have Psychic Mushrooms now, but he would eventually. The third Loot Pack contained more Zombie Culture Fluid. [Gained: Zombie Culture Fluid x10000] Chapter 523: 225: Taking Zijin Base_2 Chapter 523: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_2 ¡°` With the addition of those produced by the zombies, there are now over 50,000 units of Zombie Culture Fluid. Wang Tao even started to entertain the idea of cultivating zombies himself for hunting... The last package contained Hand Grenades and Blueprints. [Obtained: Mental Shock Grenade x10] [Obtained: Mental Attack Grenade Blueprint x1] [Mental Shock Grenade: Causes mental shock within a specific range upon detonation] [Mental Attack Grenade Blueprint: Allows for crafting of 10 Mental Shock Grenades, required materials: Level 3 Flesh x10kg, Crystal Core x1, Metal x1kg] This grenade should have an effect similar to the Mental Shock special ability, but it doesn¡¯t consume mana and can be used by anyone. As for the blueprint, like the previous Slime Spitter Grenade Blueprint, it is single-use, each only able to produce 10 grenades. However, the threshold for crafting it is very low. Just Level 3 Flesh and any Crystal Core are needed, which Wang Tao could obtain by taking down a Level 3 zombie. Since he couldn¡¯t merge with a Mind Attack Crystal Core for now, these grenades would serve as a good substitute. After tallying up the spoils of war, Wang Tao looked up at the sky; it was already evening. The personnel who went out to hunt zombies were beginning to return one after another. Wang Tao pondered that now the mother zombie had been dealt with, it was time to start rescuing people. All he needed was to wait for news from Lan Yulian. Just as he thought of Lan Yulian, his walkie-talkie crackled to life. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s Lan Yulian. The work is done. I¡¯m handling some affairs; I¡¯ll come to you in about three or four days.¡± ¡°Wang Tao, I am...¡± The voice coming from the walkie-talkie wasn¡¯t Lan Yulian¡¯s¡ªit must be one of her subordinates. Zijin Base could send signals to him, but he couldn¡¯t respond. Lan Yulian had to keep sending messages to prevent Wang Tao from missing them. ¡°That was sorted out so fast?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. It seemed the General hadn¡¯t set any traps. But that made sense. He was a smart man and knew that if he played any tricks, he would be the first to suffer the consequences. ¡°If she will arrive in three or four days, then we will wait until she comes before performing the rescue.¡± If it were simply killing zombies, having Lan Yulian there or not didn¡¯t matter, but when it came to rescuing people, certainly, her presence as a healer was best. After all, Wang Tao was someone with a professional ethic; since he promised to save people, he intended to save them alive. The next day. After a good sleep, Wang Tao and the other two felt almost no issues at all. ¡°We¡¯ll continue to hunt zombies today. Everyone, gear up; if we hunt down an Ascension Crystal Core... I will prioritize distributing them to you all!¡± Wang Tao said to everyone with a smile. Upon hearing this, everyone was extremely excited. The mainstream level of survivors in Zijing City was still Level 1, Level Two was very rare, and Level 3 consisted of only a few people like Nie Siyan. Many among this group were Level 1 ability users. They dared not think about reaching Level 3, but if they could ascend to Level Two, it would be like being offered a pie from the sky! Seeing everyone¡¯s enthusiasm roused, Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s move out!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Taking advantage of the few days before Lan Yulian¡¯s return, Wang Tao planned to lead everyone on high-intensity zombie hunts, hoping to boost their strength a bit. This way, the rescue mission would have a better chance of success. ... Three days later. Inside a building. ¡°We won¡¯t go out today; take a day off.¡± Upon hearing that they wouldn¡¯t be hunting zombies today, everyone instantly breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°We can finally rest!¡± In these three days, they had experienced what high-intensity zombie hunting really meant! They had no idea how many zombies they had killed, nor were they aware of how many spoils they had collected. The only thing on their minds was¡ªkill. If they didn¡¯t rest today, they felt they would be done for. Not just them, even Xu Xiaojun, with his capacity to endure hardship, was feeling overwhelmed. Wang Tao himself also felt utterly exhausted. Perhaps only Jiang Shixue appeared as if nothing was wrong; her physical strength remained a mystery. Wang Tao told everyone to rest well, but he had no time to rest; he needed to sort through the spoils of war properly. In these three days, everyone fought intensively for over a dozen hours every day! This was far more exhausting than any job because one small mistake could mean death! With such intensity, the spoils of war were naturally bountiful! Wang Tao alone had gained over 100,000 units of Special Energy! His total Special Energy had now reached 310,000! Merging and extracting from a Level 3 Crystal Core required 30,000 units of Special Energy each time, so his stockpile was enough for a dozen such procedures. Then there were the Crystal Cores; all Crystal Cores obtained from killing zombies were with Wang Tao. There were 5,000 Level 1 Crystal Cores, 1,000 Level 2 Crystal Cores, and 200 Level 3 Crystal Cores! Under normal circumstances, obtaining so many Crystal Cores would be impossible¡ªnot due to lack of strength, but simply because there were not enough Elite Zombies since only Elite Zombies could drop Crystal Cores. But the circumstances here were special; cultivated by humans and the mother zombie alike, many of the zombies here had Crystal Cores. This presented Wang Tao with an opportunity. Though most were White Crystal Cores, after his operations, he had quickly merged them into Red and Orange Crystal Cores. Wang Tao set aside some Omnipotent Crystal Cores and Ascension Crystal Cores in particular. ¡°With so many Crystal Cores, they¡¯ll have the chance to undergo a complete transformation!¡± Wang Tao said to Nie Siyan, who was massaging his shoulders: ¡°Call Zhu Han and the other four in here.¡± ¡°Yes, Brother Wang!¡± A moment later, Zhu Han and the four others were brought before Wang Tao. These five were among Nie Siyan¡¯s trusted subordinates; of the over three hundred members of the Skull Club, she only trusted these five. ¡°` Chapter 524: 225: Taking Zijin Base_3 Chapter 524: Chapter 225: Taking Zijin Base_3 Although Zhu Han and his group often bad-mouthed Nie Siyan behind her back, they were truly loyal to her. In the apocalypse, there was no shortage of clever people, but each clever individual had different ideas. The simple thought shared by Zhu Han¡¯s group of five was to find a powerful patron and cling to them. As long as their patron survived, they wouldn¡¯t leave! As it turned out, their choice was the right one. They had latched onto Nie Siyan, who in turn had latched onto Wang Tao. Thus, they were indirectly clinging to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails. Though they were tired from the past few days, what did that matter as long as they were safe? In the apocalypse, it wasn¡¯t about being tired; it was about being unsafe. As long as they could follow Wang Tao, they had no worries about future benefits! For instance, at this moment, when Zhu Han learned that the five of them were summoned by Wang Tao, excitement surged within him. It seemed... there were benefits coming! When he met Zhu Han and the others, Wang Tao first inquired about their Ability statuses and then said, ¡°In light of your recent commendable performance, I¡¯m giving you two choices¡ª¡± ¡°One, I give each of you a Purple Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core for your own future use.¡± ¡°Two, I give each of you one Level 3 Red Ascension Crystal Core for immediate fusion.¡± ¡°Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core?!¡± Zhu Han and his companions were flabbergasted when they heard what Wang Tao said. Wait, the reward is a Level 3 Ascension Crystal Core? Did they hear wrong, or were they dreaming? Did they also have a chance to become a Level 3 Ability User? Just on their way here, Zhu Han and the others had been wondering if Wang Tao would reward them with some Level 2 Crystal Cores that they could use. If he did, that would be a huge gain! As for a Level 3 Crystal Core, they didn¡¯t even dare to dream of that, let alone an Ascension Crystal Core! But now, Wang Tao was actually offering them Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores! And high-chance fusion Red Quality ones at that? This couldn¡¯t be a dream, could it? The men all pinched their thighs subconsciously. ¡°Hiss¡ªpainful!¡± Nie Siyan on the side covered her face a bit. How disgraceful, embarrassing! But if she thought about it, when she Level 3 Ascended, it wasn¡¯t all that different... Wang Tao gave them time to think. Finally, Zhu Han was the first to come to his senses, and he spoke with a face full of excitement, ¡°Two! I choose two!¡± The remaining four, upon hearing Zhu Han¡¯s words, finally realized the situation. ¡°We also choose two!¡± The two options Wang Tao had given were easy to understand. Option one meant that if they wanted to pursue the limit and wait to combine four Level 3 Crystal Cores before ascending, then one core was definitely not enough, so they should save the core for later. Option two meant that if they didn¡¯t insist on gathering four crystal cores before advancing, then one would be enough, and they could ascend right now! Anyone could figure out with their toes that option two was the must-choose! Gathering four Level 3 Crystal Cores was incredibly difficult! Moreover, the fusion might not even be successful unless they had high-quality Red or Orange cores. But they couldn¡¯t even get their hands on White ones, how could they get high-quality cores? Suppressing one¡¯s level and gathering cores was something only high-level figures could play with. They were self-aware that they had to ascend whenever there was an opportunity! When they ascended to Level Two, they had also used just one Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core, so now it seemed normal to use one for Level 3 Ascension. And more importantly¡ªthere was a rescue mission coming up. If they could ascend to Level 3, they would definitely be a great help to the mission! Wang Tao was the one organizing this rescue mission, and since he had rewarded them so generously, they certainly needed to repay him! Therefore, the group didn¡¯t hesitate and directly chose option two. ¡°Very good.¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction upon seeing their choices. These people were very sensible. Thus, Wang Tao directly took out ten Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores for them. Moreover, he had thoughtfully prepared the Level 2 Crystal Cores they needed to reach their full potential. In the past days, their high-intensity zombie slaying had brought their HP to 29999, fulfilling one of the conditions for Level 3 Ascension. However, some of them hadn¡¯t reached +10 in Ability yet, so they still needed a boost. To Wang Tao, these Level 2 Crystal Cores were a mere trifle. Zhu Han and his companions gazed at the glistening Crystal Cores with trembling hands as they accepted them. Then, as if moved by a shared impulse, they knelt before Wang Tao with a thud and kowtowed to him. Considering the rewards Wang Tao had bestowed upon them, not to mention a grand gesture, selling their lives to Wang Tao would still mean they came out ahead! Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge; he could accept this grand gesture. After Zhu Han and his group got up, Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Go and fuse with the Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± After the others had left, Wang Tao asked Nie Siyan to call over the eight women from the club. ¡°Mr. Wang, you wanted to see us?¡± The women¡¯s faces were all visibly fatigued, but since it was Wang Tao who had summoned them, they didn¡¯t dare not to come. They were also curious about what Wang Tao wanted from them. Wang Tao first chatted with them and inquired about their Ability situation. The women held nothing back and revealed everything readily. It had to be said, Lan Yulian had picked some good people. All eight women were Ability Users who had fused with four types of Crystal Cores. Zhu Han and his men could only fuse with two or three types of Abilities. However, when these eight women had their Level 2 Ascension, they had only used one Ascension Crystal Core each. After all, they were not Wang Tao; they couldn¡¯t synthesize Crystal Cores, and the high-quality ones were all supplied to Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng. ¡°Considering your recent good performance, I¡¯m giving you two choices¡ª¡± Wang Tao repeated what he had just said to Zhu Han and his men to the women. ¡°You¡¯re, you¡¯re giving us Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores?!¡± The women were somewhat stupefied. They were even more bewildered than Zhu Han. After all, Zhu Han had been in contact with Wang Tao earlier than they had and knew about Wang Tao¡¯s character from their time at the arcade. But these women had only recently come into contact with Wang Tao and knew he was powerful and had a good relationship with their leader... and that was about it. Yet, they hadn¡¯t expected that Wang Tao would actually reward them with high-quality Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores! These were things that even the generals hadn¡¯t obtained, despite having sacrificed countless lives! ¡°Could it be that Mr. Wang has some designs on us?¡± This thought unconsciously sprang to the women¡¯s minds. You couldn¡¯t blame them for overthinking; the situation was indeed frightening! Their leader, Little Yan, spoke up: ¡°Ahem, Mr. Wang, we, we have already sworn to follow our leader for life and will never betray him...¡± The others nodded in agreement. Looking at the women¡¯s excitement, coupled with their restraint, Wang Tao found the situation quite amusing. But before he could speak, Little Yan continued gritting her teeth: ¡°Aside from betraying the leader, you can ask for anything! Otherwise, we won¡¯t be at ease accepting these Crystal Cores!¡± Chapter 525 - 226 Let Him Stay_1 Chapter 525: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_1 ¡°` ¡°Oh? Any other conditions I can freely propose?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. The women didn¡¯t speak; they all watched Wang Tao with faces full of tension and excitement. They really wanted the Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores, but since they were unsure of Wang Tao¡¯s specific intentions, they dared not accept easily. They wanted Wang Tao to clarify his terms¡ªthey would agree to anything except betraying their leader! Wang Tao appraised the eight women carelessly. Some were quite shy, not daring to look Wang Tao in the eye, while others were bold enough to thrust out their chests and hold their heads high, presenting their most magnificent features to him. Wang Tao suddenly thought it would be quite interesting to have a personal guard of powerful and beautiful women like these. But after all, they were Lan Yulian¡¯s people, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t about to commit the offense of seizing them for himself. ¡°You¡¯re overthinking it. What do you think you could possibly offer me? Or rather, what do you think I want from you?¡± ¡°...¡± This remark from Wang Tao was rather blunt, but it seemed not without reason. He was far stronger than they were, had many Crystal Cores, and was already accompanied by two beauties, a young one and an older one. There wasn¡¯t much they had that could interest Wang Tao... ¡°Just choose one of the options. Either way, it will be on your leader Lan Yulian¡¯s tab.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. These Crystal Cores weren¡¯t given for free; at the very least, he would have to reel in profits several times over. Though for him, synthesizing high-quality Ascension Crystal Cores was a trivial matter, costing only a few ordinary Ascension Crystal Cores. After leading his team to kill so many Level 3 zombies, bursting forth with numerous Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores, he wasn¡¯t running short. However, the value of this Crystal Core was obvious to others. Definitely not something to be given away for free. ¡°...We choose option two!¡± The women spoke up simultaneously. ¡°Very well.¡± Wang Tao handed over the Crystal Cores to them. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang!¡± After the emotional women left with gratitude, Wang Tao had Nie Siyan call in six others from two minor powers. Among these six, besides their own two leaders who were Level Two, the other four subordinates were still Level 1. Wang Tao took out Crystal Cores again, offering them the chance to ascend from Level 1 to Level 2, and from Level 2 to Level 3. But this time, it wasn¡¯t without demands; Wang Tao wanted them to lead their own subordinates into the Firefly Club. Yet for them, this wasn¡¯t a demand; it was an opportunity! The two leaders mused internally that this was the advantage of siding with the right team! Before their arrival, they couldn¡¯t have imagined they would have the chance to ascend to Level 3 and join the Firefly Club! This further solidified their belief that they had to clutch onto the big leg! Once these grateful people left, the building quieted down immediately. They all went to fuse with the Ascension Crystal Cores. In half a day, there would be 15 Level 3 ability users emerging here! Adding the original few, there would be almost 20 Level 3 ability users! The rescue mission could not be said to be foolproof, but the success rate had undoubtedly increased by countless times compared to before! In the afternoon, those fusing with the Crystal Cores began to wake up one after another. Having fused with only a Crystal Core, their ascension didn¡¯t take long; 6 hours were sufficient. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± These people came to Wang Tao as soon as they completed their ascensions. ¡°Well done, well done!¡± With 15 new Level 3 ability users, plus Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, that was 17, and with Lu Yingfeng¡¯s return, it would be 18! If one included Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, who hadn¡¯t ascended to Level 3 but possessed the combat power of Level 3, that made 20. Finally, adding a healer... with such power, it wasn¡¯t just about rescuing anymore; Wang Tao even harbored the thought of hunting down all the zombies here! However, it was just a fleeting thought for Wang Tao, as these newly ascended Level 3 ability users weren¡¯t as strong as Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and the like. It would still be very dangerous to take on so many zombies head-on. Of course, if they eliminated the zombies slowly, perhaps they could indeed clear out this place. But if they really did that, the group at the diving pool would probably starve to death before the zombies got to them. At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie suddenly rang. ¡°Wang Tao, this is Lan Yulian, can you hear me? I¡¯ll reach the building in another hour!¡± It was Lan Yulian¡¯s voice on the walkie-talkie this time. ¡°This is Wang Tao, received, we are waiting for you.¡± ¡°Great!¡± It wasn¡¯t even an hour before Lan Yulian returned. When she left, it was with Lu Yingfeng, but now she came back leading a group of over thirty Level Two ability users! Mostly comprised of generals, prison heads, and Kong Xiu¡¯s people. These were the elite forces and the trump cards of their factions. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve brought reinforcements!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, Lan Yulian quickly approached, with Lu Yingfeng following close by. ¡°Yes, not bad at all.¡± Wang Tao nodded after sizing up the group. The group also secretly assessed Wang Tao. They weren¡¯t clear about Wang Tao¡¯s strength, but Lan Yulian¡¯s attitude indicated that Wang Tao must be formidable. Yet after observing for a while, they didn¡¯t think Wang Tao seemed all that formidable¡ªjust possibly a Level Two ability user. But why was Lu Yingfeng so courteous to him? After all, Lu Yingfeng was now one of the few Level 3 ability users! Unaware of their thoughts, Wang Tao said to Lan Yulian: ¡°Are these people reliable? I don¡¯t want any accidents during the rescue.¡± ¡°I picked them based on the list given by their leaders. They are all valued by their leaders, so they should be relatively dependable...¡± ¡°` Chapter 526 - 226 Let Him Stay_2 Chapter 526: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_2 Jade Lotus whispered an explanation. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then added, ¡°Let¡¯s go rescue them tomorrow, what do you say?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I was thinking!¡± Jade Lotus was eager to try. She gestured to everyone to enter the building. Jade Lotus briefly explained to Wang Tao about her taking over Zijin Base. In short, there were some minor troubles, but no major issues, and the transition was overall smooth. Since the General had long been prepared for his own demise, he had made arrangements at the base¡ªif the base were to be forcefully seized, it would probably self-detonate. But if it were to be handed over to someone he designated, it would transition peacefully. The current situation with Jade Lotus was considered a designated succession, so the transition was peaceful. Of course, things couldn¡¯t possibly go completely smoothly. Even if the General had excellent foresight, he couldn¡¯t accurately predict human nature. It was smooth for Jade Lotus to get the remote control, but after some people learned that the leader of Zijin Base had changed, they started having other ideas and planned to seize the base. But with Ying Feng, the Level 3 Ability User there, nobody could cause trouble. So they were just minor irritations, easily dealt with by Ying Feng. What Jade Lotus feared was the base¡¯s self-detonation, but with the remote control in her hands, Ying Feng would have no rivals within the base! So, Jade Lotus boldly made some personnel adjustments in the base. Those who were disobedient were either detained or eliminated. She even carried out a purge within her own club. She had mentioned to Wang Tao before that some people in the club were causing discord, which led to unrest within it. Seizing the opportunity, she let Ying Feng deal with them. Those who resisted were eliminated, leaving only her staunch supporters. This was why she had stayed at the base for three or four days. ¡°Impressive,¡± Wang Tao complimented. He had said before that Jade Lotus was quite good at managing the base. If it had been Nie Siyan who went, it¡¯s very likely she wouldn¡¯t have been able to accomplish as much, and even if she could, who knows how long it would take¡ªit certainly wouldn¡¯t be settled in just three or four days. Jade Lotus felt a bit proud upon receiving Wang Tao¡¯s praise. She had always felt overshadowed by Wang Tao, and though she didn¡¯t have much competitive spirit, being outdone by him certainly caused some discomfort. Now, having demonstrated her capabilities, she could consider it evening the score, right? While she was thinking this, suddenly, a group of people appeared before her. Among them were several of her loyal subordinates, who slightly bowed and said to Jade Lotus: ¡°Leader!¡± Jade Lotus was about to speak when she clearly saw them and suddenly froze. It wasn¡¯t just her; Ying Feng also rubbed her eyes in disbelief. As for the more than thirty elite reinforcements behind her, they were dumbstruck upon seeing this group. ¡°Level 3?¡± They were acutely aware of the aura¡ªit was unmistakably Level 3! But the issue was, this aura emanated from every single person in the group! Nearly twenty Level 3 Ability Users? My God, what was happening! The reinforcements couldn¡¯t believe it, or perhaps didn¡¯t want to. If there were only one or two Level 3 individuals, they might chalk it up to good luck. But the appearance of nearly twenty Level 3s... that could only mean one thing¡ªthey were truly powerful! And it meant they were really falling behind! ¡°You all...¡± Jade Lotus approached these groups of subordinates, squeezed her team leader¡¯s cheek a bit, and asked, ¡°This is not an illusion... have you all really reached Level 3?¡± The subordinate nodded, then whispered in Jade Lotus¡¯s ear: ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to Mr. Wang¡¯s care that we were able to reach Level 3. However, Mr. Wang said... cough cough... it should all be credited to you, leader...¡± ¡°...¡± She wasn¡¯t even there, and she was accruing debts? But if it was this kind of debt, she didn¡¯t mind owing at all! ¡°Everyone...¡± It was then that Wang Tao spoke up. All eyes turned towards him. ¡°We¡¯ll start the rescue operation tomorrow, let¡¯s discuss the tactical arrangements first...¡± Jade Lotus no longer dwelled on it and immediately started discussing with Wang Tao. After several hours of discussion, they came up with a final plan. They would split into three teams tomorrow: one team to hunt zombies, another to draw the zombies¡¯ attention, and a third to go into the dive hall to rescue people. Of these, luring and hunting zombies were the most dangerous¡ªso teams one and two. While anyone could lure zombies, hunting them could only be done by the strong. Thus, it was decided that the Level 3 Ability Users would form the team hunting zombies, and the reinforcements would either draw the zombies¡¯ attention or go into the dive hall for the rescue. If this was before their arrival, the reinforcements would definitely have objected to such an arrangement. They would have wanted to kill zombies since doing so yielded Crystal Cores! Luring zombies was both risky and offered little reward¡ªwho would want that? But now... these Level Two elites were actually the weakest among this group! They had no say in the matter! What else could they do but obey the orders? ¡°Everyone rest well tonight, we move out first thing in the morning!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, signaling everyone to disperse. ¡°Yes!¡± As the reinforcements left, they instinctively stole glances at Wang Tao. They were curious to know why so many Level 3 Ability Users showed him such respect... In the evening. Jade Lotus brought Ying Feng to Wang Tao¡¯s room. Chapter 527 - 226 Let Him Stay_3 Chapter 527: Chapter 226 Let Him Stay_3 ¡°I¡¯ve already heard from Little Yan and the others, I¡¯m very grateful for the Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores you gave them!¡± Seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s sincere face, Wang Tao immediately said with a smile: ¡°Gratitude shouldn¡¯t just be in words, right? Isn¡¯t there anything tangible?¡± ¡°Of course, there is!¡± Lan Yulian took a backpack from Lu Yingfeng¡¯s hand and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao had just been teasing her, and hadn¡¯t expected there to be something tangible. He took the backpack, which was heavy. Opening it to take a look, wow! It was full of Crystal Cores! ¡°These are all from the General¡¯s stockpile in Zijin Base, of course, now they¡¯re mine. I owed you so much before, these should be enough to pay back half, right?¡± ¡°Haha, half is certainly enough!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. Although most of the Crystal Cores were Level One, with only a few Level Two ones, for Wang Tao, who could extract Crystal Cores, even Level Ones were fine. ¡°As for the rest, I¡¯ll think of a way later on. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely be able to pay it back!¡± Lan Yulian said again. ¡°Ok, I still trust you.¡± ¡°Oh right, the kind of Crystal Core I promised you before is still in the safe at the clubhouse. I¡¯ve been too busy to go personally in the past few days, so when we head back, let¡¯s make a trip to the clubhouse, and I¡¯ll get it for you.¡± Lan Yulian spoke as if she had just remembered. ¡°No problem,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then asked, ¡°You guys aren¡¯t moving away from the clubhouse?¡± Now that she had taken over Zijin Base, wouldn¡¯t she have to move all her people into Zijin Base? ¡°We¡¯ve already started moving. By the time we get back, they¡¯ll have finished moving. But I don¡¯t plan to give up the clubhouse; after all, we¡¯ve reinforced it, and its defense is not bad. It can be used as an outpost in the future.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Previously, when they were at Shuize Base, they had quite a few temporary outposts within the county city, which could sometimes play a significant role. At that moment, Lan Yulian glanced at Wang Tao and said: ¡°And I plan to turn the prison and the small gymnasium into our outposts as well!¡± Wang Tao looked at her in surprise. The prison naturally referred to the prison forces, and the small gymnasium was the territory of the Ability User¡¯s Alliance. Lan Yulian¡¯s words clearly meant she intended to swallow up the prison and the Alliance! But this was normal. After all, whether in terms of base size or strength, she was stronger than both the prison and the Alliance. Especially now that she had so many Level 3 subordinates, this was a good time to make a move! Probably every leader of a force in Zijing City had the ambition to unify the city. Not necessarily for the feeling of superiority, some people genuinely wanted to unite humanity to fight against the disaster together. If Zijing City could be unified, with everyone living inside Zijin Base and following Lan Yulian¡¯s orders, whether the days ahead would be better was uncertain, but at least it could avoid pointless infighting. ¡°Very ambitious, but I strongly agree,¡± Wang Tao said. Lan Yulian, pleased with Wang Tao¡¯s approval, looked at him with a seductive smile and said: ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want the position of base leader? This is about becoming the leader who unifies the entire Zijing City. At least ten thousand survivors will obey your every command, whatever you want them to do...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao laughed and shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t want it, not interested.¡± ¡°Are you about to leave?¡± Lan Yulian suddenly said. She had discussed with Lu Yingfeng yesterday, and since Wang Tao didn¡¯t want this or that, only wanting easily transportable Crystal Cores... it seemed like he was planning to leave. Although she couldn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao would want to leave... ¡°Yes. I¡¯m heading to the military base in Wuyang City.¡± Now that they were all friends, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide his intentions. ¡°The military base!¡± Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng looked at each other in surprise. They hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to go there. ¡°The journey to the military base is very dangerous...¡± Lan Yulian quickly said. ¡°I know, but I have to make the trip.¡± Wang Tao feared danger, but was not one to shrink away from it. ¡°Alright then... I wish you a safe journey in advance. We¡¯ll be heading back first...¡± Lan Yulian, seeing Wang Tao had made up his mind, said no more. Returning to another room, Lan Yulian suddenly said to Lu Yingfeng: ¡°I don¡¯t want him to leave.¡± ¡°...¡± Lu Yingfeng was silent; she didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to leave either. After all, his strength was evident to all. ¡°There were some sparse messages before, saying that Wuyang City has become a living hell! There might be survivor forces in other cities, but Wuyang City doesn¡¯t have a single survivor force! It may not even have any survivors at all! After all, it¡¯s a city with a population of millions, perhaps tens of millions of zombies! Even if his strength is great, it would be very difficult for him to survive there...¡± Worry was written all over Lan Yulian¡¯s face. ¡°Indeed, it is difficult,¡± Lu Yingfeng nodded. ¡°So, we need to think of a way to make him stay! How about... cough, you make a sacrifice...¡± Lan Yulian glanced at Lu Yingfeng. ¡°?¡± Lu Yingfeng was initially taken aback, then realized what ¡®sacrifice¡¯ meant and gave Lan Yulian a speechless look. ¡°What¡¯s with that look? You are my subordinate, aren¡¯t you supposed to do this kind of thing, or do you expect me to do it?¡± Lan Yulian immediately glared at Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng seriously considered it for a moment, then nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not impossible. There aren¡¯t many in Zijing City who can match you, and you can¡¯t possibly stay single forever. You and him are well suited¡ªno, I feel, you¡¯re actually punching above your weight...¡± ¡°Ah? Are you revolting!¡± Lan Yulian suddenly grabbed Lu Yingfeng and pinned her on the bed, then playfully tickled her. Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t resist, as she was used to this. ¡°Stop tickling my armpits, it¡¯s itchy...¡± ... The next day. Everyone got up early. Wang Tao looked at the energetic crowd and waved his hand. ¡°Let¡¯s move out, aiming to finish the battle within an hour!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Chapter 528 - 227 Rescue Success_1 Chapter 528: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_1 Diving Pool. General, Prison Head, and Kong Xiu sat on the ground with pale faces. Their mental state wasn¡¯t great. ¡°General, do you really have no food left at all?¡± Kong Xiu asked weakly. This was the third time he had asked in the past hour. ¡°None, we¡¯ve eaten it all.¡± The General shook his head. ¡°Damn it! If they don¡¯t come soon, I¡¯ll starve to death!¡± Prison Head was visibly irritable. He cast some unfriendly glances at the other survivors, his eyes reddening slightly. Feeling the chill in the General¡¯s gaze, Prison Head sheepishly averted his eyes and then asked through clenched teeth: ¡°That bitch... she couldn¡¯t have abandoned us, could she?¡± ¡°No. She will save us.¡± The General spoke up. ¡°How can you have so much faith in her?¡± Prison Head glared at him. ¡°Because she is a smart person.¡± They were all elite survivors from Zijing City. If they all died, who would combat the zombies in the future? The zombies evolved much faster than humans! Every powerful survivor was a precious asset in the fight against the zombies. Lan Yulian was a smart person, and it was highly unlikely that she would abandon them. Even if Lan Yulian wanted these leaders to die, she certainly wouldn¡¯t want other survivors to be buried along with them. So the General felt that as long as Lan Yulian was capable, and since he had given her many benefits, she would definitely try to save people. If it were Prison Head instead of Lan Yulian, then the General would have no hope at all, knowing that if Prison Head had the chance, he would definitely kill everyone else without considering the consequences... However, explaining all of this would be a waste of physical strength, and the General didn¡¯t want to say too much. After all, the more strength he preserved, the greater his chances of survival. ¡°Forget it...¡± Prison Head was just asking casually. He didn¡¯t really want to know the reason, he just wanted to go back, to eat meat, drink wine, sleep with women! He was so hungry... ¡°Crackle...¡± Suddenly, the General¡¯s walkie-talkie crackled to life. ¡°I¡¯m Lan Yulian, I¡¯m coming to save you.¡± Just those two sentences instantly revitalized the three men. ¡°This is General, what do you want us to do?¡± The General quickly responded. ¡°How much combat power do you still have?¡± Lan Yulian asked. The General turned back to look at the wilted crowd and said somewhat helplessly: ¡°None at all.¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian was silent for a moment before responding, ¡°Alright, then you all just wait. We¡¯ll be there in a bit. But if you don¡¯t have any combat power, we might not be able to save everyone in one go. We¡¯ll have to do it in several batches. Prepare on your side and wait for my message.¡± Extracting so many people from a crowd of zombies was fraught with danger. If they had no combat power, they couldn¡¯t save too many people at once, or it would definitely lead to disaster. ¡°Okay!¡± The General nodded. After exchanging a few more words, Lan Yulian ended the conversation. The General looked toward Prison Head and Kong Xiu. ¡°You all heard, let¡¯s get ready. They¡¯ll be here soon.¡± ¡°Finally, they¡¯re coming!¡± Kong Xiu was close to tears. After the apocalypse began, he was one of the luckier ones, hardly ever short on food. These last few days at the Diving Pool had been the most deprived of food he¡¯d ever been; it was the first time he realized how painful hunger could be. He was almost going crazy... ¡°Damn that bitch! I suspect she deliberately delayed until now. Once I¡¯m free, she¡¯ll get what¡¯s coming to her!¡± Prison Head said hatefully. Hearing this, the General gave him a look as if gazing at a dead man. But he said nothing more, immediately stood up and began to arrange for the survivors to form teams. Elsewhere. Outside the Diving Pool, Lan Yulian said to Wang Tao: ¡°I¡¯ve notified the General. He will coordinate with us.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then looked into the distance, ¡°Let¡¯s wait for the second team¡¯s news.¡± The second team was assigned to attract the zombies. They had to cause a disturbance first, drawing some zombies away. About half an hour later. A moderate electronic horn sounded from the east. Zombies had very sensitive hearing, and those outside the Diving Pool quickly caught on. Some zombies remained inert, while others began moving eastward. ¡°Good.¡± Wang Tao, watching from a distance, nodded approvingly. The second team was truly among Zijing City¡¯s elite. Although their strength wasn¡¯t the strongest, their experience was very rich. The noise they generated was just right, attracting zombies from around the Diving Pool, but not enough to draw a large number of Mad Demon Zombies. As long as they weren¡¯t swamped by a horde of zombies, or ran into some particularly formidable ones, they were relatively safe to drive away in their familiar vehicles, and if necessary, they could make a quick escape. Ten minutes later. Seeing that some zombies near the Diving Pool had been lured away, and the ones that remained were still indifferent, Wang Tao waved to the people behind him. ¡°Begin the operation!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Teams one and three, led by Lu Yingfeng, charged toward the Diving Pool. Their arrival immediately caught the attention of the zombies. ¡°Hehe...¡± ¡°Roar...¡± Team one consisted of Level 3 ability users. Against these not-so-strong zombies, they were basically overpowering. They quickly cleared a path. The members of team three, seeing the Level 3 combat power of team one, were deeply amazed and envious. ¡°So this is Level 3! Truly formidable!¡± Chapter 529: 227 Rescue Success_2 Chapter 529: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_2 The person leading the team, besides Lu Yingfeng, included Lan Yulian, Nie Siyan, and Xu Xiaojun. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue did not join the battle; he was preventing sudden situations from afar. Although Wang Tao felt there shouldn¡¯t be any Level 3 Zombie Lords here anymore, it was still necessary to be cautious. Within less than three minutes, the first and third teams had charged to the outside of the diving gym. The General and others, who had been prepared, immediately removed the barricades blocking the entrance of the diving gym. ¡°General, we meet again.¡± Lan Yulian walked out from the crowd. The General originally wanted to say something, but his expression suddenly stiffened. In front of him, besides Lan Yulian, stood Lu Yingfeng, Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and nearly 20 Level 3 ability users! So many Level 3 ability users? The General suspected he was seeing things! And all these people were wearing a similar set of armor! Standard armor? Did they actually have the capability to produce standard armor? So many Level 3 ability users, plus so many sets of standard armor... What on earth had they been through these past few days?! The General¡¯s face looked somewhat bewildered. He had thought that after being rescued, he would see if he could take back the base; he certainly wasn¡¯t willing to give up the base. But seeing the current situation, he suddenly lost all such thoughts¡ªhe had fallen behind, completely. ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± Kong Xiu couldn¡¯t believe his eyes and stared wide-eyed. Wasn¡¯t it agreed that there were only three Level 3s?! This is almost twenty, and still three? Misinformation! They¡¯re still deceiving him at this time! As for Prison Head, upon seeing the reinforcements, he first felt elated, then shocked, followed by disbelief, and then his face turned pale...it was like a face-changing performance. After Lan Yulian saw that the three of them were mostly unharmed, she checked the mental state of the survivors inside the diving gym, then said: ¡°You three each lead a team. We will perform the rescue in three phases!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go first!¡± Lan Yulian had barely finished speaking when Prison Head excitedly raised his hand. The General did not speak. He did not want to waste time arguing over the order of things. Judging by the strength displayed by Lan Yulian, it didn¡¯t matter who went first or last. Seeing that the General did not object, Kong Xiu also did not speak. ¡°Good, follow me.¡± Lan Yulian nodded, then instructed Prison Head to start evacuating with a group of survivors. In the first group to evacuate, besides Prison Head, the rest were women and the injured. The reinforcements from Zijin Base, the third team, immediately brought out large stretchers that could hold several people each and placed the injured on them. The injured appeared pleasantly surprised, as being personally carried by a group of Level Two ability users was not something the average person could experience, especially since many of them were only Level 1. However, they then looked at the group of Level 3 ability users... It seemed reasonable to have these Level Two ability users doing the heavy lifting. The zombies around the diving gym might have detected the strong human scent and became somewhat frenzied, all madly pouncing towards the people. But with Level 3 ability users present, obviously, the zombies couldn¡¯t get close. Moreover, Lan Yulian waved her hand, and a green halo flew out from her, instantly covering the entire team. ¡°Damn! A group healing ability!¡± Feeling the warm sensation in his body, Prison Head¡¯s face showed shock and envy. He knew Lan Yulian was still Level Two, and he had some dark thoughts about whether she had failed in fusing a Fusion Crystal Core and that¡¯s why she hadn¡¯t advanced. But seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s group healing ability, it was clearly not as he had thought. Lan Yulian had likely not advanced to Level 3 because the group healing crystal core was extremely rare, and her Omnipotent Crystal Core was insufficient for it! ¡°What on earth has she been through these days! Both her own strength and her subordinates¡¯ strength have increased so much! I can¡¯t accept this!¡± Prison Head roared in his mind. However, seeing so many Level 3 ability users around, he dared not show any dissatisfaction and just hung his head low without speaking. And seeing the zombies outside, he was also very fearful. Inside the diving gym, although he could see that there were many strong zombies outside, he wasn¡¯t very clear about how many there were or how strong the zombies were. Now, being protected among these reinforcements and seeing those incessant zombies surging up, feeling the aura of those Level Two and Level 3 zombies... He truly felt what a zombie wave was! He even wondered if all the zombies in the city had come here! Fortunately, there were many Level 3 ability users among the people who came to rescue them; if not for these Level 3 ability users, they absolutely wouldn¡¯t have been able to break out! But Prison Head suddenly regretted it; he shouldn¡¯t have come out first. Because the first to come out were all injured, their speed was severely hampered! ¡°Damn it, a bunch of wastes! If I had known, I would have killed all of you and saved some food...¡± Prison Head cursed in his heart. ... About twenty minutes later, Lu Yingfeng led a group of injured people and forcibly made a bloody path through the zombie horde, successfully delivering these trapped individuals outside the zombie encirclement. Although there were a few unlucky ones who died, overall, it went smoothly. Several vehicles were waiting for them here. ¡°Everyone, get in the cars, let¡¯s head back to the building first!¡± Lu Yingfeng and the others then continued to fight their way back to the diving gym. ¡°Not bad, saved a third of the people in 19 minutes, even with the speed hampered by the injured... we should be able to handle it within an hour.¡± Chapter 530: 227 Rescue Success_3 Chapter 530: Chapter 227 Rescue Success_3 ¡°` Wang Tao glanced at his watch and was quite satisfied with the efficiency. Level 3 ability users are indeed powerful, especially when they move as one under the command of Lu Yingfeng, as disciplined as soldiers. Their combined effect was definitely greater than the sum of their parts. Of course, a large part of their success was due to Lan Yulian. Her ability to heal and boost HP, both individually and in a range, greatly increased the team¡¯s margin for error. As for her area-of-effect [Healing Light] Ability, Wang Tao had some criticism because it restored too little HP¡ªjust over ten drops per second, or roughly 1000 HP per minute. That was even less than Wang Tao¡¯s own [Iron Wall] Ability. However, this was an area healing ability. As long as one was within a ten-meter radius of Lan Yulian, they could benefit from the healing. The more people there were, the more effective the Ability. Particularly in situations where there were many wounded, Lan Yulian didn¡¯t need to heal them one by one. All she had to do was activate the [Healing Light] and let them regenerate their HP, keeping the critically injured alive. So overall, it was still a strong ability. It just wasn¡¯t as effective for someone like Wang Tao who could heal himself. ... Outside the building. ¡°You must be Mr. Wang, hello!¡± Prison Head approached Wang Tao and greeted him politely. During the evacuation, he had learned from Lan Yulian that the rescue operation was entirely organized by someone named Wang Tao. They owed their thanks to Wang Tao. Prison Head was unfamiliar with this name and wondered just who this Wang Tao was. Upon first seeing Wang Tao and noticing his stature and muscles, Prison Head felt envious, but he couldn¡¯t sense the strength of a Level 3 ability user from him. Was he not a Level 3 ability user? Prison Head was puzzled. To be honest, after seeing so many Level 3 ability users, he found it a bit unusual to encounter someone who wasn¡¯t one. After all, Lan Yulian seemed to treat this Wang Tao with a lot of respect... ¡°Do you need something?¡± Wang Tao gave him a cold look. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a high opinion of the leaders of the four major forces in Zijing City¡ªexcept for Lan Yulian. Especially the General and Prison Head, who secretly reared zombies. Therefore, Wang Tao was not inclined to show him any pleasantness. ... The color drained from Prison Head¡¯s face. He hadn¡¯t expected that his polite approach would be met with such an attitude! If this had happened before, he wouldn¡¯t have thought twice before starting a fight. But now, weakened as he was and the other person being Lan Yulian¡¯s man, he restrained himself. ¡°Cough, there¡¯s nothing in particular, just wanted to make your acquaintance¡ª¡± ¡°If there¡¯s nothing, then stay inside the building and don¡¯t wander around,¡± Wang Tao said curtly. ¡°...Alright!¡± Prison Head wanted to say something, but in the end, he just nodded his head in frustration and went back. Wang Tao continued to watch the rescue operation through binoculars. The first group of survivors was saved in 19 minutes. The second took 16 minutes, and the last group 15 minutes. In other words, it took everyone about 50 minutes to rescue all the survivors from the diving hall. They had saved 10 minutes on Wang Tao¡¯s estimate. After the last group of trapped individuals was saved, Lu Yingfeng took the Level 3 ability users to cover the rear and lure the zombies away. There were too many zombies; even with all Level 3 ability users, they couldn¡¯t kill them all. After some time, everyone returned to the building. The rescue operation was a complete success. As long as they didn¡¯t encounter any Zombie Lords above Level 3, the situation was relatively safe, given the number of Level 3 ability users present. And the only two Level 3 Zombie Lords in the vicinity had been killed by Wang Tao... Of course, the mission was not without its difficulties. There were injuries and deaths. Many of the reinforcements from Zijin Base were injured, and the more serious cases had already used Inhibitors. They didn¡¯t have Iron Tree Armors to protect their entire bodies. A single mistake could lead to infection... Many of them envied the armor on Lan Yulian¡¯s side and planned to inquire about its source afterwards to see if they could buy a set. As for the deceased, they were naturally the trapped ability users in the diving hall. They were very weak and many were injured. Breaking out from the midst of so many zombies was not guaranteed even for Level 3 ability users. In the end, some unlucky ones died in the jaws of the zombies... It was an unavoidable outcome. Successfully saving the majority was already considered a complete success. ¡°Hard work everyone!¡± Wang Tao said to the returning crowd. ¡°Not at all, it¡¯s our duty!¡± Nie Siyan quickly spoke up, and the others nodded in agreement. They held Wang Tao in high regard. ¡°` Lan Yulian wiped the sweat off her forehead and said: ¡°Shall we head back now?¡± It was eleven in the morning, and if nothing unexpected happened on the road, they could make it back to Zijin Base by evening. The zombies near the diving center had scattered, and were bound to slowly infest the entire sports center. Staying here was no longer very safe. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The group went into the building to gather everyone else. ¡°Hmm?¡± As they entered the first-floor lobby, Jiang Shixue suddenly turned to look at Wang Tao. ¡°There¡¯s a fresh scent of blood upstairs.¡± The smell here was chaotic, with the scent of blood everywhere. But what Jiang Shixue referred to was certainly not from these people. ¡°Let¡¯s go up and take a look.¡± Wang Tao went upstairs, and the others followed. Watching the figures of Wang Tao and the others go upstairs, the General¡¯s face remained unchanged as he said to Kong Xiu beside him: ¡°He¡¯s a dead man.¡± Kong Xiu¡¯s face was pale. As soon as they reached the upper floor, Wang Tao smelled a fragrance, but this scent... was nauseating. As if he had realized something, Wang Tao¡¯s expression changed abruptly. He immediately headed towards the source of the fragrance, and as he turned a corner, he saw the Prison Head. Seeing Lan Yulian and the others arrive, the Prison Head used his foot to stamp out a small fire that hadn¡¯t completely died down, then smiled and said: ¡°Madam Lan, you¡¯ve finally returned safely! So, shall we head back now?¡± ¡°What have you eaten?¡± Wang Tao asked with a cold face. ¡°Hey, I just roasted some food I brought with me!¡± The Prison Head spoke nonchalantly. ¡°Beef jerky?¡± Wang Tao turned to look at Jiang Shixue beside him. Jiang Shixue immediately said: Whoosh¡ª The expressions on Lan Yulian and the others changed instantly. The Prison Head panicked at once and pointed at Jiang Shixue: ¡°You little bitch, don¡¯t talk nonse¡ª¡± Whoosh! Before everyone¡¯s eyes flashed, Lu Yingfeng appeared in front of the Prison Head. She instantly grabbed his neck and lifted him up with one hand. ¡°You... ugh... let me go...¡± The Prison Head flailed at Lu Yingfeng with punches and kicks, but he was still weak and had little strength. This was almost like tickling Lu Yingfeng, who was clad in a full set of armor. Coldness filled Lan Yulian¡¯s beautiful features. ¡°Prison Head, I didn¡¯t want to kill you, but you crossed our line...¡± Lan Yulian waved her hand. ¡°Drag him out and kill him.¡± ¡°You¡ªI didn¡¯t... you don¡¯t have any evidence...¡± The Prison Head argued in fear and desperation. But Lan Yulian was unmoved. She had just become the leader of Zijin Base, even the leader of the entire Zijing City, and was looking for an opportunity to establish her authority, when someone just happened to present themselves on a platter. Chapter 531 - 228 Yin and Yang Balance_1 Chapter 531: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_1 ¡°Let go of our boss!¡± Although the Prison Head was cruel, he still had a few fiercely loyal henchmen. Seeing their boss about to be dragged away, they instinctively stood up. Lan Yulian¡¯s gaze turned cold. ¡°Take them all.¡± ¡°Ah! You¡¯re going to¡ªugh!¡± The eight Level 3 ability users under Lan Yulian stepped forward, and in an instant, they subdued these people. As the Prison Head and his gang were dragged downstairs, other survivors became curious about what had happened. ¡°Cannibalism requires execution.¡± Lan Yulian explained with a cold face. Whoosh¡ª The crowd¡¯s expressions instantly changed. No one wanted such people around, as nobody wished to become someone else¡¯s food. But to really kill the Prison Head? This was one of the leaders of the four major powers, after all! And the prison always had rumors of cannibalism... The group was dragged to the entrance like dead dogs; in front of everyone, Lan Yulian pronounced the death sentence for the Prison Head and the others. ¡°Kill them.¡± Spurtch! Lu Yingfeng and a few others, holding rebar, pierced it through the heads of the Prison Head and his cronies. The rescue operation had resulted in over a dozen deaths, and even before being besieged by zombies at the diving gym, more than two hundred had perished... but everyone felt the deaths of the Prison Head and his group were the most terrifying! Everyone fell silent as if chilled to the bone, afraid to speak. They felt that Zijing City might be welcoming a cold-hearted queen! Lan Yulian ordered another search of the building, where they found a woman stripped bare, with severe signs of violation on her body, missing an arm. Some survivors explained that half an hour earlier, the Prison Head had called for this woman, who was under his command. She didn¡¯t dare disobey. After she went up, she never came back down... ¡°If any of you make the same mistake, they will be your example.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The crowd hastily agreed. Lan Yulian had brought a dozen vehicles on this outing. Some of them were large and could seat many people. While the survivors lined up to board the vehicles, a few of the Prison Head¡¯s subordinates came over and spoke to Lan Yulian about the Prison Head¡¯s deeds. Naturally, they spoke of his brutality and inhumanity, how he often killed innocents in the prison and led others to eat human flesh. Those who died with him were his trusted aides because they had participated in cannibalism... It could only be said that they had it coming. ... The trip back was calm, without any mishaps. When they were close to returning to Zijin Base, Lan Yulian said to Wang Tao: ¡°Have Little Feng take them to the base later. You come with me to the Vast Club. I¡¯ll get that Crystal Core for you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± So, the convoy split into two groups. Lan Yulian drove, taking Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue toward the Vast Club. In the car, Lan Yulian suddenly said: ¡°By the way, is Little Xue¡¯s nose quite sensitive?¡± Earlier in the building, in that environment, Jiang Shixue had been able to distinguish the different scents of blood, which had surprised her. Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, who was sitting in the back seat, and said: ¡°I guess so, Little Xue is very impressive. You might not even be a match for her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a match for her?¡± Lan Yulian looked skeptical. Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao, both appeared as ordinary people, hard to read. With Wang Tao¡¯s physique, standing at one meter ninety with a body of muscle, he did not seem like someone easy to provoke. Jiang Shixue, on the other hand, looked tender and fragile, especially in her school uniform, with a pair of clear, large eyes that made her seem like a high school girl naive to the world. Although she knew Jiang Shixue must have some ability, the idea that she was stronger than herself was hard to believe. ¡°Ah? No way, absolutely impossible!¡± Lan Yulian immediately shook her head. The fact that Jiang Shixue had some Special Ability, she could believe. But the idea of Jiang Shixue being stronger than her, she definitely did not buy that. She was one of the top Level Two ability users, so how could Jiang Shixue possibly be stronger than her? At this, Wang Tao revealed a smile. ¡°How about we make a bet? Bet that you¡¯re not as strong as Little Xue.¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s smile, Lan Yulian suddenly felt there might be a trap. But then she thought, she was now the leader of Zijin Base, how could she show fear? She felt that her Healing ability had caused Wang Tao to underestimate her. Before gaining that ability, she had killed plenty of zombies! ¡°...A bet! Let¡¯s see just how strong Little Xue is!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the stake?¡± Wang Tao asked again. He wasn¡¯t really fond of gambling, except when a sure win was in sight. ¡°The stake... if I win, you have to stay!¡± Lan Yulian suddenly said seriously to Wang Tao. ¡°Hm? Stay? You want me to stay at Zijin Base?¡± Wang Tao looked at her, surprised. Lan Yulian immediately turned away and looked at the road ahead: ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao became curious. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because¡ªthere¡¯s no reason. It¡¯s just a bet, that¡¯s all. So, are you in or are you scared?¡± Lan Yulian didn¡¯t give a straight answer. ¡°And if you lose?¡± Wang Tao continued. ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll lose! But if, and I say if, I do lose... then you can set any condition, and as long as it¡¯s within my power, I promise to agree!¡± ¡°Okay, you said it. You decide how we compete; I¡¯ll follow your lead.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face wore a hint of mischief. No matter how the competition went, Lan Yulian was bound to lose. ¡°Let¡¯s do this. After we get to the club, we see who can make it upstairs first¡ªsince the lower floors of the club building have been sealed off, we¡¯ve all had to climb up and down from the fourth floor...¡± Chapter 532 - 228 Yin and Yang Balance_2 Chapter 532: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_2 Jade Lotus immediately said. Clearly, she had ideas already. Wang Tao turned to look at Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue¡¯s face showed a hint of interest; she had no desire for victory or defeat, feeling interested only because Wang Tao was interested. ¡°Let¡¯s get this straight first: once we start, the loser must accept their loss, no backing out!¡± Wang Tao said, his eyes crinkling with mirth. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not one to welch on a bet.¡± Jade Lotus said with full confidence. ¡°Good.¡± It wasn¡¯t long before the trio arrived at Vast. This was a six-story building that, despite its dilapidated state and nearly being overtaken by the surrounding greenery, still held a glimpse of its former glory. Jade Lotus parked the car below, and the three got out. The first, second, and third floors of the building were all barricaded. Only the fourth floor had an open window, clearly their usual point of entry and exit. ¡°They¡¯ve all moved to Zijin Base, so it¡¯s empty here.¡± Jade Lotus briefly explained, then turned to Wang Tao with a somewhat smug expression. ¡°So, how about it? I¡¯ll give you one more chance to back out. Don¡¯t say I¡¯m bullying you¡ªoh no, it should be bullying Little Xue, since I¡¯m too familiar with this place!¡± ¡°Cut the chatter, let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°Okay, but don¡¯t blame me when you lose!¡± Jade Lotus said with a sly smile. Then she said to Jiang Shixue: ¡°We¡¯ll each pick a spot, and then we¡¯ll have Wang Tao signal the start. Little Xue, you go first.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue picked a spot nonchalantly. After triple-checking that Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao weren¡¯t going to change their minds, Jade Lotus moved to a corner that was somewhat out of the way. Then both women looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao counted down from three. ¡°3, 2, 1, begin!¡± Then, to his surprise, he saw Jade Lotus pull a rope from a crack in the wall. With a tug at the rope, it seemed to activate some mechanism, and the rope started to pull up rapidly. Holding tightly onto the rope, Jade Lotus was whisked toward the fourth floor like she was in an elevator! ¡°...Good lord, using a cheat!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected Jade Lotus to have such a trick up her sleeve. But on second thought, the rules they had set hadn¡¯t specified that they had to climb up; it was just about who got there first. So maybe what Jade Lotus did wasn¡¯t really cheating? Lifting up quickly, Jade Lotus looked down at Wang Tao with great pride. She never fought unprepared! Even if the opponent was a young girl, she had to exert 120% effort to ensure her victory! Finding the hidden mechanism in the club and taking this route was also a form of strength! Although it might seem like bullying a child, she was determined to keep Wang Tao around. She believed that once Little Xue knew about her earnest effort, she would surely support her¡ªwait a second, where¡¯s Little Xue? Jade Lotus looked towards where Jiang Shixue had been standing on the ground floor, but it was empty, no one to be seen. ¡°Sister, I¡¯ve won.¡± Suddenly, a crisp voice came from above. Jade Lotus, somewhat confused, looked up, only to see Jiang Shixue, who had somehow already positioned herself inside the window, tilting her head and looking at her. Moreover, Jiang Shixue even thoughtfully reached out her hand to pull her up. ¡°...¡± Whoosh¡ª Seeing that the winner was determined, Wang Tao sprinted up and swiftly climbed into the window of the fourth floor. Looking at Jade Lotus, who still seemed somewhat disbelieving, Wang Tao went over and patted her shoulder: ¡°You agreed to the bet, you can¡¯t go back on your word.¡± ¡°No, but... how could she be so fast? Could she be a speed-type Ability User? Sigh...¡± Jade Lotus was reluctant to accept this reality, but ultimately she let out a resigned sigh. So, Jade Lotus took out her frustration on Little Xue¡ªpinching and squeezing Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair and cheeks. ¡°Little Xue, you¡¯ve put me in a tough spot! Are you also a Level 2 Ability User? Why don¡¯t I sense it...¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just weak.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t miss the chance to tease her. ¡°...¡± Jade Lotus was exasperated and shot Wang Tao an annoyed glance. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to get the Crystal Core!¡± She felt that the Crystal Core was very important to their club, which is why she stored it in the club¡¯s safe, and she was the only one who knew the combination. The interior of the club still faintly bore the remnants of its dazzling past, though now empty and many items gone. In some ways, Wang Tao felt like he had indeed visited a club. Jade Lotus led Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue through a series of turns, and after some time, they reached Jade Lotus¡¯s former room where there was a concealed safe. She didn¡¯t mind Wang Tao watching as she turned the dial a few times, and with a click, the safe opened. Inside the safe were a good number of shiny, beautiful gold and silver jewelry pieces. ¡°I collected them before, but now they¡¯re worthless.¡± Jade Lotus said with a shrug. She then retrieved a small box from the deepest part of the safe. The box had a small lock on it. Upon unlocking the box, four Crystal Cores were revealed inside: two white, one purple, one red. ¡°I had quite a number of them, but the experiments before failed, leaving these last four...¡± Jade Lotus said with a hint of regret. At the time, she nearly brought these four cores for experimentation as well, but Lu Yingfeng stopped her, or else these might not have been preserved. ¡°Take these Crystal Cores. You... what¡¯s the matter?¡± Jade Lotus turned her head and then noticed Wang Tao¡¯s face looked bizarre. ¡°Could you tell me how you discovered these Crystal Cores? Or better yet, from which zombie did you find them?¡± Chapter 533: 228 Yin and Yang Balance_3 Chapter 533: Chapter 228 Yin and Yang Balance_3 ¡°` ¡°It was discovered on some male zombies in the luxurious private room of the club¡¯s basement. However, there were also many female companions around these zombies, and of course, those female companions were also zombies...¡± Lan Yulian frowned in thought. She didn¡¯t find anything strange about it. After all, it was a club. A man playing games with several women suddenly gets infected, and then they all turn into zombies... it sounded quite reasonable! ¡°How did you know that this Crystal Core would replenish energy?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Lan Yulian thought for a moment before explaining: ¡°Because our strength wasn¡¯t very strong at that time, fighting with these Level 2 Elite Zombies was still very tough. So our strategy was to first deplete these Elite Zombies¡¯ energy before engaging in combat with them...¡± ¡°These Elite Zombies were all in the underground private rooms of the club, encased in reinforced concrete structures, so they couldn¡¯t get out. So we would open the door to entice them, wait until we had depleted some of their energy, then close the door. We repeated this process.¡± ¡°But unexpectedly, this method worked with other zombies but not these ones¡ªtheir Mana seemed inexhaustible!¡± ¡°In the end, it was only after our strength increased that we went in and forcefully killed these zombies. So, I suspect these zombies had a Special Ability that allowed them to recover energy. The Crystal Cores they dropped should be able to recover energy as well...¡± After listening to Lan Yulian¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao suddenly understood. ¡°No wonder...¡± He looked at the four Crystal Cores with a bit of admiration. [Level 2 Crystal Core¡¤Yin Yang Harmony] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 45% (Side effect: Cannot be successfully fused by non-males)] [Yin Yang Harmony: During sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, both parties¡¯ Mana will rapidly replenish, and the user will permanently increase a certain amount of Mana. There is a cooldown for the permanent Mana increase, which is random (This Special Ability Fusion will replace the lowest-level Special Ability upon successful fusion, and if all Abilities are at the same level, it will be replaced randomly.)] For this Crystal Core¡¯s Attributes, all Wang Tao could say was impressive! Before coming here, he had thought of countless ways that this Crystal Core could increase Mana, but he had never thought of this one. However, considering the nature of the club and the situation of those zombies described by Lan Yulian, Wang Tao found it very reasonable. ¡°Is there something wrong?¡± Lan Yulian asked with a bit of confusion. She felt that Wang Tao¡¯s expression was strange, as if he had found something amusing. ¡°This Crystal Core is quite good.¡± Wang Tao affirmed. ¡°You can tell the effects of this Crystal Core?¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat surprised. ¡°I have a special ability that lets me get a rough idea.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°No wonder! No wonder you recognize all the Crystal Cores!¡± Lan Yulian suddenly realized. She recalled the previous times she had fought zombies with Wang Tao, and he always seemed to know the function of each Crystal Core. She thought it was because he had a wealth of knowledge and experience, but now it appeared that Wang Tao had some special ability! But now in the post-apocalyptic world, who didn¡¯t have some special abilities? It was normal. And since this was Wang Tao¡¯s secret, Lan Yulian tactfully did not ask further. She was just very interested in this Crystal Core. After all, she had tried so many times with other people without success, which made her very eager. So she quickly asked: ¡°So this Crystal Core can only be fused by males?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°And this Special Ability can recover energy?¡± ¡°Yes, and it¡¯s not just one person who recovers, but it can make two people recover energy at the same time.¡± Wang Tao nodded again. ¡°To recover two people at the same time! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat shocked, and then she continued, ¡°Are you going to fuse it?¡± ¡°Of course, this Crystal Core is very good, I¡¯m definitely going to fuse it.¡± Wang Tao continued to nod. Up until now, he had only seen this type of Crystal Core that could replenish Mana and even increase the Mana limit, so he had to fuse it! When Lan Yulian heard Wang Tao was willing to fuse it, she immediately said: ¡°There¡¯s a red one, which should guarantee your fusion. How about you fuse it now? I¡¯ve used a lot of healing today and exhausted much energy. I¡¯d like you to help me recover! After all, this is a rare Ability that can restore energy, and I want to experience it!¡± Hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, an even more peculiar expression appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°Are you sure you want to try it?¡± ¡°Of course! After all, I¡¯ve been keeping this Crystal Core for a few months now, so I should really experience it!¡± ¡°Haha...¡± Seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s eager appearance, Wang Tao suddenly laughed, and then the laughter grew louder and louder. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Lan Yulian was puzzled. ¡°I¡¯m curious if you would still want to try it if you knew the correct way to use this ability...¡± ¡°Usage? It should be similar to the healing ability, right? Couldn¡¯t be that this ability is bizarre, like... you have to beat me up to heal? Haha, there can¡¯t be a Crystal Core that weird, right?¡± Lan Yulian was amused by her own suggestion. But Wang Tao suddenly smiled mischievously and said: ¡°It is indeed a fight, but it¡¯s in bed, of course, it could also happen in other places...¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lan Yulian froze for a good ten seconds or so, then, as if remembering something, her face instantly turned red. ¡°You... I... not... oh my!¡± She was somewhat incoherent, unsure of how to explain. Finally, she simply turned away, burying her head in the sand like an ostrich. Wang Tao did not continue to tease her, but silently extracted his Sprint Ability and then synthesized the ¡°two white¡± and ¡°one purple¡± Crystal Cores into a single Epic Crystal Core. He still had one red one left. While Lan Yulian was not paying attention, Wang Tao fused the Epic Crystal Core. After a moment, Wang Tao gained the [Yin Yang Harmony] Special Ability. He was about to tell Lan Yulian about his successful fusion when he heard her, still turned away, suddenly whisper: ¡°Cough, I¡¯ve been thinking... it¡¯s not out of the question...¡± ¡°` Chapter 534: 229: I Like You a Little Bit_1 Chapter 534: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_1 ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao doubted he had heard correctly. He looked toward Lan Yulian. Even though Lan Yulian was facing away from him, Wang Tao could see her ears were red. Was this woman serious? Before Wang Tao could further question it, he saw Lan Yulian suddenly turn around and embrace him tightly. Her face was flushed, but she still raised her head, bravely meeting Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. ¡°I am serious!¡± No man doesn¡¯t love a beautiful woman, especially when one willingly throws herself into his arms. Few men could remain calm under such circumstances. Feeling the softness in his arms, Wang Tao didn¡¯t feign restraint. He gently held Lan Yulian¡¯s slender waist and looked into her dewy eyes, asking with a trace of curiosity: ¡°Why?¡± Although Wang Tao admitted he might have some personal charm, Lan Yulian certainly wasn¡¯t the type of woman to throw herself at a man. That made her initiative all the more surprising to him. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to leave! The military base is too dangerous, going there is akin to a certain death! You might as well stay in Zijin Base, where you can make a greater impact! I could even give you the leader¡¯s position; we could face the disaster together...¡± Seeing the sincerity in Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao felt touched. Then, feigning disappointment, he said: ¡°Is that the only reason? You just want to keep me here to work for you!¡± ¡°...Alright, I admit it, I really have come to like you, but just a little bit.¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat shy, but she didn¡¯t hide it. Now, in this post-apocalyptic world, sometimes you might not see many other survivors, let alone a suitable member of the opposite sex. Lan Yulian thought meeting someone as excellent as Wang Tao was already lucky for her. If Wang Tao chose to stay in Zijin Base, then she would get to spend more time with him, getting to know him better, and if they seemed compatible, then maybe they could start dating. But now, Wang Tao had made it clear he was leaving, heading to such a dangerous place¡ªit was no different than courting death. So she had no time to dilly-dally. It wasn¡¯t that she was head over heels in love with Wang Tao. After all, their interactions hadn¡¯t been extensive, and proclaiming a life-and-death affection would be too far-fetched. But there was definitely a romantic interest between a man and a woman. After all, Wang Tao was handsome and strong. Such an excellent man would be popular among women. Emotionally speaking, she liked Wang Tao a bit and was willing to live with him. Rationally speaking, keeping Wang Tao in Zijin Base would undoubtedly bring endless benefits. Before, Lan Yulian was somewhat hesitant, or perhaps she hadn¡¯t even realized her own feelings. But over the past few days, she had given it a lot of thought and talked a lot with Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng even occasionally encouraged her to pursue her happiness¡ªsuch a good man shouldn¡¯t be let go! Moreover, the conversation she just had with Wang Tao had been slightly laden with ambiguous undertones... Therefore, Lan Yulian made her feelings clear to Wang Tao. Of course, her stating she was willing to sleep with him was somewhat impulsive. She wasn¡¯t a promiscuous woman; before this, she would never have spoken such words. But the same phrase applies: it¡¯s the end of the world, there¡¯s no time for romance. Hesitation could mean more than just missed fate; it could mean lifelong separation! Besides, who doesn¡¯t have a moment of impulsiveness in their life? Maybe she¡¯d regret her decision later, but regardless, she didn¡¯t regret it now! Wang Tao could feel Lan Yulian¡¯s sincerity. Her wanting him to stay was true, as was her affection for him. But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s impossible for me to stay.¡± Lan Yulian felt a chill in her heart. Did Wang Tao really have no feelings for her at all? Lan Yulian quickly said: ¡°I still owe you so much debt, and I can¡¯t pay it back. But I can¡¯t go back on my word. Since I can¡¯t repay you now, I can only offer myself in place of the debt! You can¡¯t leave!¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes reddened, and mist started to form in them. Wang Tao¡¯s blunt refusal made her feel somewhat wronged. Wang Tao gently caressed her cheek and said: ¡°How about this. I must go to the military base; all my efforts thus far can¡¯t go to waste. But I promise you, if the military base really is too dangerous, then I will come back for you. If the military base is safe, then I will still come back and take you there. What do you think?¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian didn¡¯t speak and simply stood on tiptoe to kiss him. ... The ability ¡°Yin and Yang Balance¡± was very powerful. The Mana of both Wang Tao and Lan Yulian quickly replenished to full. Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s Mana limit even increased by 1000! After the storm passed. Lan Yulian lay in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, tightly clutching his waist. She looked up at him, her eyes full of reluctance. ¡°Can you really not stay, even for me...?¡± If before recovering Mana with Wang Tao, Lan Yulian was still somewhat uncertain about her feelings for him, maybe she really only liked him a little bit, then now... she felt she might truly have fallen in love with Wang Tao. Wang Tao bent down and gently pecked Lan Yulian on the forehead. He didn¡¯t answer, but his stance was clear. ¡°Heartless man...¡± Lan Yulian playfully punched Wang Tao¡¯s chest a few times, then not feeling content, she bit him a few times. Of course, she didn¡¯t use much force. Watching Lan Yulian rub against his chest like a kitten, Wang Tao gently stroked her smooth hair and back. Chapter 535 - 229: I Like You a Little Bit_2 Chapter 535: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_2 For a moment, neither of them made a sound. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s getting dark soon.¡± Suddenly, a voice rang out beside the two. The pair turned their heads at the same time and saw Jiang Shixue, who was tilting her head at the side of the bed. ¡°...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Ah¡ª¡ª¡± Lan Yulian swiftly grabbed the quilt and covered herself up completely, huddling into Wang Tao¡¯s chest like an ostrich. ¡°Little Xue, you... haven¡¯t been here the whole time, have you?¡± Wang Tao massaged his temples, feeling a bit of a headache. The two of them had been too engrossed just now and forgot there was another person right beside them! ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve been here the whole time.¡± Jiang Shixue stated as if it were only natural. ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian curled up even tighter in his arms. ¡°Let¡¯s forget it, let¡¯s go back.¡± Wang Tao said, somewhat helplessly. Anyway, Jiang Shixue was different from others; just treat her as if she were a zombie. Wang Tao patted Lan Yulian¡¯s buttocks. ¡°Let¡¯s go, it¡¯s about to be dark. Maybe Lu Yingfeng is already looking for you...¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian squirmed a bit in Wang Tao¡¯s arms but didn¡¯t get up. Wang Tao could feel that her body temperature was quite high, probably due to shyness. So, with a surprised cry from Lan Yulian, Wang Tao flipped the quilt open. Seeing that Lan Yulian still buried her head, acting as if she couldn¡¯t bear to see anyone, Wang Tao had no choice but to take the trouble to help her get dressed himself. Lan Yulian did not resist any further; she was enjoying Wang Tao¡¯s gentleness. Wang Tao looked at the faint bloodstain on the sheets and sighed to himself. He did not want to get involved with so many women, but alas, his charm was too irresistible! Once the two were dressed, Wang Tao ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± After they left the club, Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao with a pitiful expression. ¡°You drive.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao drove, Lan Yulian sat in the passenger seat, and Jiang Shixue sat in the back seat. Wang Tao found that Lan Yulian, though she seemed very independent, was actually quite clingy. On the way from the club to Zijin Base, she kept her gaze on Wang Tao, occasionally poking and prodding him. If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t driving, it felt like she would pounce on him at any moment. The intense affection in her eyes was palpable to anyone but a fool. Of course, it could also be because they had just confirmed their relationship, and they were still in the honeymoon phase... However, upon reaching Zijin Base, Lan Yulian¡¯s demeanor immediately turned serious, transforming into the cold and composed leader of Zijin Base, as if nothing had happened between her and Wang Tao. ¡°Women are indeed fickle creatures.¡± Wang Tao exclaimed softly and then drove the car directly to the central area of the base. This used to be the residence of the General, but now, naturally, it belonged to Lan Yulian. Before coming back just now, Lan Yulian had contacted Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng was waiting at the entrance at this time. As Wang Tao and the two women got out of the car and walked toward the house, Lu Yingfeng¡¯s eyes occasionally drifted toward Lan Yulian. ¡°Why are you always looking at me? Is there something on my face?¡± Lan Yulian felt somewhat uncomfortable under the scrutiny. ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s just that the leader seems to be in a good mood, glowing with health, as if she¡¯s leveled up to Level 3, even though the leader hasn¡¯t reached Level 3 yet...¡± Lu Yingfeng was a bit puzzled. She, like Lan Yulian, lacked any experience with matters of men and women. ¡°Cough, stop looking, let¡¯s go inside!¡± ¡°Oh.¡± The central area of Zijin Base consisted of several buildings arranged together. It was designed as a place for handling official matters and for the rest of the high-level personnel of the base. The place where Lan Yulian lived was a large courtyard. Her Level 3 subordinates were arranged to live around it. ¡°Should I arrange a separate place for Mr. Wang?¡± Lu Yingfeng whispered to Lan Yulian by her side. ¡°No need.¡± Lan Yulian shook her head. ¡°Yes.¡± Once inside the courtyard, there were no outsiders. Lan Yulian instantly hugged Wang Tao, clinging to him under the shocked gaze of Lu Yingfeng. ¡°You two... you two...¡± ¡°Little Feng, let me introduce him again, this is my boyfriend, Wang Tao!¡± Lan Yulian introduced openly. ¡°...Congratulations!¡± Lu Yingfeng opened her mouth, then smiled slightly. Although she didn¡¯t know what had happened between Lan Yulian and Wang Tao that afternoon, it was obviously something she was pleased to see. But why did she suddenly feel a slight heartache... Lu Yingfeng shook her head and decided not to ponder it further. She planned to interrogate Lan Yulian thoroughly that night to find out exactly what was going on. Then, with a somewhat reddened face, Lan Yulian said: ¡°Little Feng, Wang Tao will stay in my room tonight, you find another room for yourself.¡± She usually roomed with Lu Yingfeng because they were close, and also because Lu Yingfeng could protect her. ¡°...Yes.¡± Lu Yingfeng suddenly felt a sense of abandonment. She looked at Wang Tao with a slightly resentful expression, then sighed and went to prepare food. ¡°Heartless woman, you¡¯re abandoning me now, after all the confusing signals?¡± Wang Tao teased, poking Lan Yulian¡¯s nose. ¡°Hmph~¡± Lan Yulian snorted coyly, and then her tone turned somewhat melancholic: ¡°I could be with her for a long time, but I don¡¯t know how many more days I can be with you...¡± Wang Tao tenderly stroked Lan Yulian¡¯s hair but did not respond. ¡°Right, where are Xu Xiaojun and the others?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve arranged for them next door. Do you want to go there?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go tomorrow.¡± Wang Tao thought Lan Yulian was right¡ªhe didn¡¯t know how many days he would have with her, so it was better to spend more time with her and do some meaningful things in the meantime. Chapter 536 - 229: I Like You a Little Bit_3 Chapter 536: Chapter 229: I Like You a Little Bit_3 After a simple dinner, Lan Yulian led Wang Tao into the room, and then closed the door behind them. A moment later, Lu Yingfeng, who was eavesdropping outside the room, blushed. ¡°Tsk!¡± ... The next day, early morning. Lan Yulian was extremely gentle as she helped Wang Tao get dressed and freshened up, just like a very sensible newly-wed wife. Wang Tao knew she was trying to use her tenderness to keep him here! The two of them didn¡¯t go anywhere today and just sweetly lingered together in the large courtyard all day. Lu Yingfeng couldn¡¯t stand it and slipped away directly. Only Jiang Shixue stayed with them. And so another day passed. Lan Yulian really wanted to stay glued to Wang Tao¡¯s side; the feeling of being away from worldly concerns was truly exhilarating. But she also knew she couldn¡¯t be capricious. She had just become the leader of the base and there were many tasks to attend to; even taking one day off to waste was already a luxury. Wang Tao, however, didn¡¯t mind. He went next door to see Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan had already brought the members of the Firefly Club to Zijin Base the day before, and Lan Yulian had given them a very good place. All the members of the Firefly Club were grateful to Nie Siyan. Lan Yulian and the General had different ideas; the General was more exclusionary. Only their own forces were inside Zijin Base. Nie Siyan, on the other hand, was more inclusive. She wanted to bring all the forces in Zijing City into the base¡ªactually, the original base was created with this idea in mind, but unfortunately, it was destroyed due to an accident... In doing this, she was essentially continuing the legacy of her predecessors. Wang Tao was more supportive of Lan Yulian¡¯s idea. After all, there is strength in numbers. Besides, by having all these people in the base and possibly taxing them later on, the base could earn more money. The reason the General hadn¡¯t done this was that he felt other people were like ticking time bombs, with the cost of managing them not balancing the gains. But what he didn¡¯t realize was that in the eyes of Wang Tao and others, the General himself was a ticking time bomb... Lan Yulian was confident she could manage the base well. She even kept the General, Kong Xiu, and others around. Her action confused the usually calm General, while the others were overjoyed. Actually, many forces wanted to live in Zijin Base, but the General had never opened it up before. Now that the opportunity had arisen, they were naturally very happy. However, Lan Yulian also laid out the harsh truth upfront: living in the base was okay, but they had to follow the rules. If they didn¡¯t obey the rules, Prison Head and his ilk would serve as a warning to them. Whenever Prison Head was mentioned, many felt a chill in their hearts. Thinking about how Lan Yulian had ordered the execution of Prison Head without batting an eye, they felt even more respect towards this new female leader... ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun greeted Wang Tao the moment they saw him. ¡°During this time, take the opportunity to enhance your strength,¡± Wang Tao said to them. The two were already Level 3, and the upper limit of HP for Level 3 should be around one hundred thousand HP, but now they only had a little over forty thousand HP, so there was much room for improvement. ¡°Yes!¡± The two nodded. At that moment, Nie Siyan suddenly pulled out a small notebook and said: ¡°Brother Wang, Lan Yulian gave me a few positions to choose from, which one do you think I should take?¡± Since Lan Yulian wanted to attract other people from within Zijing City to the base, she would no doubt have to offer them some benefits. Someone with a good relationship like Nie Siyan would naturally get a lot out of it, such as an official position. But without even looking, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re not the right fit.¡± Nie Siyan was taken aback and then her head drooped like a frost-stricken eggplant. ¡°Oh... then I¡¯ll go and refuse her. Actually, being the Big Boss of Firefly Club is quite good for me...¡± At this statement, Wang Tao immediately glanced at her. ¡°You still want to be the Big Boss of the Firefly Club? Fine, then you can stay here. We¡¯ll be leaving soon.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Nie Siyan looked up, her expression somewhat baffled. It was then that Xu Xiaojun explained: ¡°Brother Wang won¡¯t stay long at Zijin Base. We are heading to a military base.¡± Unless Wang Tao brought it up himself, Xu Xiaojun wouldn¡¯t speak out of turn. Thus, Nie Siyan was unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s true destination until now. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, she was stunned. Then, as if something dawned on her, her face suddenly showed a mix of surprise and excitement: ¡°Brother Wang! Do you mean, I can come with you?¡± ¡°If you want to stay in Zijin Base, I won¡¯t insist,¡± Wang Tao said indifferently. Thump! Nie Siyan knelt in front of Wang Tao and wrapped her arms around his thigh. ¡°Brother Wang, I want to follow you! I¡¯ll do anything for you! Please don¡¯t abandon me!¡± Nie Siyan suddenly realized why Wang Tao immediately rejected her as a candidate for the leadership of Zijin Base. Although her abilities indeed weren¡¯t sufficient, she suspected that Wang Tao also had reasons to take her with him! This time it was the same. Wang Tao didn¡¯t give it a second thought and said she was unfit; she was heartbroken, thinking that even though she was already Level 3, she didn¡¯t carry much weight in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. But in reality, it was not so! Wang Tao was planning to take her with him! In Wang Tao¡¯s heart, she at least had a bit of significance! As for choosing between staying at Zijin Base or following Wang Tao, there was no need to think about which choice had greater future potential. She would definitely choose to follow Wang Tao! The more Nie Siyan interacted with Wang Tao, the more she understood his capabilities. She had never feared anyone as much as him before, and likewise, never admired someone so deeply! Following Wang Tao might be dangerous, given the terrible situation in Wuyang City, but the benefits of being with Wang Tao were worth taking the risk! Not to mention, she felt that she had truly fallen for Wang Tao... Wang Tao hadn¡¯t intended to take Nie Siyan with him since she was weak. But since Nie Siyan had risen to Level 3, she wouldn¡¯t be a drag, and she had shown staunch loyalty, so he agreed to bring her along. ¡°Then focus on hunting zombies in the meantime and boost your strength; you¡¯re still too weak,¡± Wang Tao said as he patted her head. ¡°Yes!¡± Chapter 538: 230 Iron Tree Vines_2 Chapter 538: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_2 Actually, the first two Abilities weren¡¯t too great, but Ability-related Crystal Cores focused on the spirit were too rare. Wang Tao wanted to level up to Level 3 quickly, so naturally, he could no longer wait. So, after a series of operations by Wang Tao, he acquired a new Superpower. [Level 2 Ability: Yin and Yang Balance] The name hadn¡¯t changed; it was still called Yin and Yang Balance, but the detailed information had increased significantly. [Yin and Yang Balance: Can slightly influence the spirit of living beings, can destabilize the spirit of living beings, can create a barrier that blocks mental attacks, and during sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, both parties¡¯ Mana will quickly be restored, and the user will gain a permanent increase in Mana. The permanent Mana increase has a cooldown, which is random. (Side effect: None)] Seeing this Ability, Wang Tao laughed loudly, and then he fused the Omnipotent Crystal Core he had prepared in advance. After some time, Wang Tao¡¯s new Ability had leveled up by +10! [Level 2 Yin and Yang Balance (+10)] Now all four of his Abilities were at +10, and he could ascend to Level 3! He had already prepared the Ascension crystal cores needed for Level 3 Ascension. However, Wang Tao was not in a hurry to ascend. After his ascension, killing Level 3 Ordinary Zombies and Level 3 Elite Zombies would no longer count as defeating higher-level enemies. Loot Packs were a minor issue; the main concern was Special Energy. For Level 3 Abilities, whether for fusion or extraction, each time it would consume 30,000 Special Energy. Wang Tao had spent over a hundred thousand Energy on synthesizing Crystal Cores, and now he only had a little over one hundred thousand left, which wouldn¡¯t last many uses. Therefore, Wang Tao planned to kill some more Level 3 Zombies to save up some Special Energy before proceeding with his Level 3 Ascension. After all, he currently had Level 3 Combat Power, and killing most Level 3 Zombies was no trouble for him. Wang Tao checked his belongings and the items in his Space Backpack again to see if anything had been missed. ¡°Right, I almost forgot about this thing!¡± A seed appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Iron Tree Vine Seed: When planted in the ground, it will grow into a violent Iron Tree Vine. When planted inside the body, it will grow into an obedient Iron Tree Vine.] ¡°Should I plant it inside my body...¡± Wang Tao was slightly hesitant. Planting it in the ground was obviously pointless. Even if he killed the vine, at most he would get an Extraction Crystal Core, and that wasn¡¯t even guaranteed. But if it were planted inside his body, Wang Tao was afraid he would become a monster. After all, this was different from the previous Magic Seeds, which clearly stated they would develop Hidden Abilities... ¡°Screw it, let¡¯s plant it!¡± In the end, Wang Tao steeled his heart and placed the seed inside his mouth. The seed instantly melted within Wang Tao¡¯s body, just like a Crystal Core. Then, an icon appeared below Wang Tao¡¯s HP bar: [Iron Tree Vine Seed Germination Countdown: 2 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds] The previous Magic Seed needed ten days, whereas this Iron Tree Vine Seed only needed three days, which was significantly faster. ¡°It¡¯s just three days; let¡¯s wait.¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao temporarily put the thought aside. He and Jiang Shixue went out together to hunt zombies. The zombies near the sports center had begun to run off to other places, which made Zijing City much more dangerous all of a sudden. After all, there were quite a few Level 3 Zombies. Fortunately, many factions had moved their families to Zijin Base. As long as they didn¡¯t go out, they were basically safe. This also made things easier for Wang Tao; he didn¡¯t have to go out of his way to head to the sports center. Three days later. Wang Tao¡¯s Special Energy was back to over three hundred thousand, which meant he could use it for fusion or extraction of Level 3 Crystal Cores about ten times. And the Iron Tree Vine Seed inside Wang Tao finally sprouted. The situation he was worried about did not happen; he didn¡¯t turn into a monster. When the countdown ended, Wang Tao felt as if something was in his mouth. He then spat out something resembling a small black snake¡ªalthough it was called a vine, it didn¡¯t have many leaves and felt similar to Entangling Roots. In fact, they were indeed quite similar. Not only could it transform into a bracelet that wrapped around Wang Tao¡¯s wrist like the Entangling Roots, but it was also a Level 3 Weapon! [Level 3 Weapon: Iron Tree Vine] [HP: 10,000/10,000 (Maximum 100,000)] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancement: Split (1), Independent Attack] [Compatibility: 100%] However, unlike Entangling Roots, which provided various enhancements when worn, the Iron Tree Vine¡¯s features were splitting and independent attacking. [Split (1): Currently 1 tendril, up to 10 tendrils] [Independent Attack: Can follow the owner¡¯s commands and attack on its own] ¡°This vine can split, up to 10 tendrils? Interesting...¡± Wang Tao could vaguely feel a very faint and simple consciousness, which was the consciousness of the Iron Tree Vine. Since it grew out of his body, it had a 100% Compatibility, and Wang Tao could control it directly. With just a thought, he saw the vine suddenly grow ten meters, wrapping around a nearby brick, and then retracting quickly, bringing the brick to Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°This is pretty interesting!¡± Wang Tao experimented several more times and discovered that the vine¡¯s greatest use seemed to be in helping him capture prey! He tested it with zombies, finding that when a Level 2 Zombie was entangled by the Iron Tree Vine, it couldn¡¯t escape at all and was pulled directly in front of Wang Tao, where he could easily kill it with a single strike. As for using the vine to attack, it was rather unsuitable. Its Attack power was far less than Wang Tao¡¯s, so it was better as a controlling ability. Chapter 537: 230 Iron Tree Vines_1 Chapter 537: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_1 That day, Lan Yulian brought a lot of Crystal Cores to Wang Tao again. ¡°Wang Tao, see if there are any you can use.¡± Wang Tao glanced at her and said: ¡°All for me? You still owe me so much, these Crystal Cores aren¡¯t enough to pay off your debt!¡± ¡°I¡¯m just letting you pick, I¡¯m not giving them all to you...¡± Lan Yulian hurriedly said. ¡°Stingy.¡± ¡°...Anyway, I¡¯ve mortgaged myself to you, take it or leave it!¡± Lan Yulian first gave Wang Tao a glare, then spoke in a pitiful tone, ¡°This is all I¡¯ve got left in Crystal Cores, I can¡¯t give them all to you, otherwise the base won¡¯t be able to develop...¡± Wang Tao was just joking; he knew Lan Yulian had now become the base leader and had to consider the needs of over ten thousand people at the base. ¡°Then leave the Crystal Cores, I¡¯ll pick a few, and you keep the rest.¡± ¡°Love you!¡± Lan Yulian immediately hugged Wang Tao joyfully and gave him a firm kiss on the cheek. Then she moved her face closer, and Wang Tao could only helplessly give her a peck. Lu Yingfeng gave the two a disdainful look from the side. She was choking on their public display of affection, even feeling a bit envious. Having a suitable and strong partner in the post-apocalyptic world was indeed enviable. Lan Yulian had a lot more to do, so after delivering the Crystal Cores, she left. Wang Tao collected all these Crystal Cores into his space, and when he took them out again, more than half were gone, but they had all turned into purple and above high-quality Crystal Cores! Since Lan Yulian was now his woman, Wang Tao certainly didn¡¯t mind helping out a bit. Among these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao indeed found a few he could use. Wang Tao looked at his own Abilities. His current four Abilities were: [Level 2¡¤Iron Wall (+10)] [Level 2¡¤Extraordinary Rage (+10)] [Level 2¡¤Mastery Fusion (+10)] [Level 2¡¤Yin and Yang Balance (+1)] The first three Abilities had already reached +10, only this newly combined Yin and Yang Balance was at +1... That clearly wasn¡¯t enough. So Wang Tao was planning to combine this Yin and Yang Balance with other Abilities to see if they could merge. He now had over three hundred thousand in Special Energy, and extracting and synthesizing Second-order Superpower Owners required only five thousand, which was enough for his experiments. After a series of experiments, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. This Yin and Yang Balance was a Passive Ability. He had thought it could combine with other passive abilities, but the experiments showed that the merging probability with other Passive Abilities was not high. Instead, it had a much higher chance of merging with Psychic System Abilities! This indicated that the Yin and Yang Balance was a Psychic System Ability. Surprise notwithstanding, this was actually good news, because Wang Tao did indeed have many Psychic System Abilities he wished to merge. Wang Tao looked around and found a few suitable Crystal Cores. They were [Mental Disturbance], [Mental Fluctuation], and [Mental Barrier]. [Mental Disturbance: Can slightly influence the minds of living beings] [Mental Fluctuation: Can make living beings mentally unstable] [Mental Barrier: Opens a barrier that blocks mental attacks] Wang Tao previously had a Mental Disturbance Crystal Core, which had dropped from that Toad zombie back at Shuize Base. Now, he had obtained another two from this batch, just enough to synthesize an Epic Crystal Core. This Ability basically caused living beings to make incorrect judgments. The simpler the brain, the more significant the impact. The smarter the being, the less the effect, and it might even be ineffective. Wang Tao specifically tried it out, and currently, this ability couldn¡¯t affect humans at all; it could only affect zombies. For example, it could make zombies mistake him for their Lord, then follow him, protect him, fight for him, and such. But the problem was, this Ability only worked at close range, and as soon as zombies got close to him, they would smell the human scent on him. This aroused their appetite, rendering the disturbance completely ineffective... However, combined with a Stealth Potion, things were different. Stealth Potion could change one¡¯s scent, making it undetectable to zombies. That way, zombies wouldn¡¯t want to eat him anymore. Of course, even with Stealth Potion, he couldn¡¯t be too close to zombies, or it would still fail, but at least he could control it now, unlike before. With Stealth Potion, Wang Tao could have around a dozen Level 2 Zombies circling him. It looked quite impressive, but it wasn¡¯t very practical. The second Mental Fluctuation Crystal Core was also quite interesting. Similarly, it had a greater impact on beings with simpler minds. However, this one influenced emotions. It had little effect on humans, but with zombies, it could suddenly make them go into a frenzy or become passive... This Ability might be used as a trick up the sleeve. The third Mental Barrier Crystal Core was powerful. This Ability could create an invisible barrier that enveloped a person like a second skin and could move with them. This barrier could last for about ten minutes, and during that time, it could block some mental attacks. For instance, if Wang Tao put a Mental Barrier on a zombie and then tried using Mental Disturbance on it, the Mental Disturbance would be ineffective. However, this Mental Barrier had its own HP, ten thousand, and receiving mental attacks would reduce the HP. Once the HP hit zero, the Mental Barrier would disappear. Physical attacks naturally couldn¡¯t be blocked, but they also didn¡¯t reduce HP. In any case, overall, the Ability Wang Tao liked most out of these was the Mental Barrier. A life-saving Ability for critical moments! Chapter 539: 230 Iron Tree Vines_3 Chapter 539: Chapter 230 Iron Tree Vines_3 ¡°` But there are two problems. One is that it¡¯s only ten meters long, a bit too short. The second is that it currently has only ten thousand HP, and its defense isn¡¯t too high... Overall, it¡¯s still too fragile. The HP needs to be increased. With more HP, it should grow longer. After all, the Iron Tree Vines I¡¯ve seen before were very long. Wang Tao thought it was like the Entangling Roots; to increase the HP, either feed it his HP or feed it Crystal Cores. Turns out Wang Tao tried it, and that didn¡¯t work. A prompt also appeared, suggesting that the Iron Tree Vines need to split before they can be cultivated. For example, if it splits into two vines, then Wang Tao could increase its HP to twenty thousand, three vines to thirty thousand HP, and so on. This is a bit of a headache, but there¡¯s a silver lining. That¡¯s two vines each with twenty thousand HP! In other words, if Wang Tao could nurture this Iron Tree Vine to ten vines, and continuously nourish their HP, then Wang Tao would have ten vines, each with one hundred thousand HP! That¡¯s a total of one million HP! Wang Tao is somewhat looking forward to the final product. As for how it¡¯s going to split, it has to do with time. Anyway, Wang Tao just has to care for it, don¡¯t let it die, and it will eventually split... This is considered late-game equipment, so for now this is all he could do. However, for Wang Tao, even occasionally using this vine as a Control Ability is enough. But speaking of weapons, Wang Tao thought of his Entangling Roots, which he had always said he would cultivate but never had the time. Now is the perfect time to cultivate it and see if he can raise it to one hundred thousand HP. When he tried this, Wang Tao cursed his luck¡ªraising it to one hundred thousand HP would require too many Crystal Cores! If the Entangling Roots are low on HP, and he wants to increase the current HP, then one Level 1 Crystal Core can add one hundred HP, Level 2 Crystal Core can add a thousand HP, and Level 3 Crystal Core can add ten thousand HP. But to increase the HP limit of the Entangling Roots, one Level 1 Crystal Core can only add ten HP to the limit, a Level 2 Crystal Core can add a hundred HP to the limit, and a Level 3 Crystal Core can add a thousand HP to the limit! The Entangling Roots currently have twenty thousand HP, and still need eighty thousand HP to reach one hundred thousand. To add this eighty thousand HP, that would require eighty Level 3 Crystal Cores, or eight hundred Level 2 Crystal Cores, or eight thousand Level 1 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao does have some savings now, but he cannot afford such an expense! With no other choice, Wang Tao could only decide to use his HP for the enhancement. Using HP to nourish the Entangling Roots would leave him in a state of Weakness, which normally wouldn¡¯t be viable. But now it¡¯s temporarily safe, with Lan Yulian and others protecting him, so it¡¯s not a problem. So, Wang Tao approached Lan Yulian and asked her to cooperate with him. Wang Tao nourished the Entangling Roots with his HP, and Lan Yulian replenished Wang Tao¡¯s HP. Adding HP does consume Spirit, but Wang Tao and Lan Yulian could recover Spirit at the same time... Well, it¡¯s like a perpetual motion machine! Lan Yulian didn¡¯t know the specific details of the Entangling Roots, but once Wang Tao explained the plan to her, she immediately agreed. So, the two began their operation. Then, there were two things that slightly caught Wang Tao off guard. The first was that the amount of his HP consumed to increase the HP limit of the Entangling Roots was truly a lot¡ªWang Tao had to spend ten thousand HP to add only a hundred HP to the Roots¡¯ limit! The second was that Weakness really felt weak¡ªso weak that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t actively help Lan Yulian recover Spirit. He could only let Lan Yulian take the initiative. Lan Yulian was adding HP to Wang Tao and simultaneously replenishing her own Spirit... Wang Tao felt a bit guilty watching her. Fortunately, Lan Yulian was enjoying herself and didn¡¯t feel tired. Thus, Wang Tao and Lan Yulian stayed in the room all day, not going out. Lu Yingfeng almost thought something had happened to Lan Yulian. After coming to check and seeing them, she blushed and ran away immediately. ¡°Broad daylight, shameless!¡± Finally, when Lan Yulian was close to collapsing from exhaustion, the Entangling Roots reached one hundred thousand HP! After the Blood Sucking of the Entangling Roots had finished, Wang Tao was still in a state of Weakness, which would continue for another day, but it wasn¡¯t as extreme as the 99% Weakness he¡¯d experienced before, and he was now able to move. Wang Tao hugged Lan Yulian. ¡°It¡¯s enough now.¡± ¡°Phew¡ªYou¡¯ve tired out your sister!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Lan Yulian instantly relaxed and flopped onto Wang Tao¡¯s chest like a dead fish. She was both physically and mentally exhausted, something most people probably wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand. However, it wasn¡¯t without benefits; at least after using so much healing, she became more adept with her Ability. ¡°Thank you for the hard work.¡± Wang Tao gently kissed her forehead. ¡°Hmph, stinky man... I¡¯m going to rest a bit...¡± Lan Yulian snorted, and then fell asleep on top of Wang Tao. The next day. Lan Yulian woke up in Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. Seeing that Wang Tao was still holding her, letting her lie comfortably in his arms, Lan Yulian felt somewhat sweet inside. ¡°Wang Tao, I think I¡¯m starting to like you more and more...¡± She murmured. Wang Tao opened his eyes and kissed her forehead: ¡°Awake? Want to sleep more?¡± ¡°No, time to get up!¡± Lan Yulian is a disciplined person. After going crazy for one day, it was time to work today. She had just taken over the base and begun reforms, so she would be busy for some time. ¡°Alright.¡± Although both had strong physiques and weren¡¯t significantly harmed, they still felt somewhat weakened. Wang Tao because the state of Weakness hadn¡¯t worn off, and Lan Yulian due to the tremendous physical and mental effort. ¡°You¡¯ve finally decided to get out of bed...¡± At breakfast, Lu Yingfeng couldn¡¯t hold back a comment. She was worried that Lan Yulian, so young, wouldn¡¯t know her limits and might run into trouble with her health. ¡°Cough.¡± Lan Yulian blushed. Although she was doing important work with Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t something she could easily explain. ¡°I¡¯ve eaten. I¡¯m off to work!¡± Lan Yulian quickly grabbed Lu Yingfeng and fled as if escaping. ¡°` Chapter 540: 231 Level 3 Ascension_1 Chapter 540: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_1 ¡°` After dinner, only Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were left in the house. Wang Tao stroked Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair while looking at the Entangled Iron Tree Roots on his wrist. [Level 3 Weapon¡¤Entangled Iron Tree Roots] [HP: 100000/100000] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancement: HP, Attack, Defense, Fire Resistance] [Compatibility: 100%] All his effort had not been in vain; he finally reached 100,000 HP! Adding Wang Tao¡¯s own 30,000 HP, that meant he had a total of 130,000 HP! ¡°Now I can pretty much undergo Level 3 Ascension... After Level 3, it¡¯s time to visit that... old friend!¡± Wang Tao muttered softly. He had not forgotten the Fourth-order Monster he had encountered before, the one with 100,000 HP. At Level Two, he had almost no power to resist. If he ascended to Level 3, and added the 100,000 HP of the Entangled Iron Tree Roots, and brought other Level 3 Ability Users with him, would they possibly stand a chance in battle? Now that Lan Yulian had become his woman, he planned to see if he could help her eliminate this hidden threat before he left. ¡°Hum¡ª¡ª¡± Suddenly, a familiar buzzing sound came from outside. ¡°Huh? An airdrop is coming!¡± Wang Tao immediately ran out with Jiang Shixue, spotting a small black dot in the sky. ¡°The frequency of airdrops has been pretty high lately. It hasn¡¯t been many days since the last one... Come on, let¡¯s go check it out!¡± By looking at the direction in which the plane was flying, it was apparent that it did not pass over the base. Lan Yulian, upon hearing the sound, had already started organizing people to retrieve the airdrop. After she invited the other survivors of Zijing City to the base, they benefited from a great advantage¡ªno one was competing with them for airdrops anymore. ¡°Wang Tao, are you going out too?¡± Lan Yulian asked, approaching Wang Tao. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to call for another airdrop.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lan Yulian immediately thought of the last time when Wang Tao had the airdrop directly above their heads and her eyes lit up. Then, like a little girl, she wrapped her arms around Wang Tao¡¯s and twisted. ¡°Wang Tao~ I want to know how you do it!¡± Lu Yingfeng turned her head away; she had grown tired of Lan Yulian¡¯s coquettish act. However, she also pricked up her ears to listen. ¡°Haha, because I know a pilot¡ªsuppose it counts as knowing him. After I contacted him through the walkie-talkie, he carried out the airdrop.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Both women were somewhat stunned. They were surprised that he knew a pilot, and even more so that he could contact one. Excitement then burgeoned within them; after all, if they could keep in touch with a pilot and have airdrops sent directly to them, wouldn¡¯t that be fantastic? ¡°Forget about it.¡± Wang Tao probably knew what the two women were thinking and shook his head. ¡°These pilots seem to have their mission. They won¡¯t stay long, so I can only contact them briefly. And I¡¯m not that close with him. The airdrop happened because he did me a favor. If he hadn¡¯t obliged, there would¡¯ve been nothing I could do. Besides, I¡¯m not even sure if the pilot on this flight is the one I know...¡± ¡°Is that so... Well, that¡¯s still pretty amazing! Go on and contact him then; I hope you¡¯ll be able to get through. I¡¯ll have everyone else cooperate with you...¡± Lan Yulian was slightly disappointed, but quickly shook her head. What¡¯s meant to be yours will come to you; what¡¯s not, won¡¯t, regardless of how much you try. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going out now.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Have Little Feng go with you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Lu Yingfeng drove a vehicle, taking Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue and leaving the base. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun had gone out to hunt zombies in the morning and were still outside. The plane¡¯s flight path was slightly off, but Lu Yingfeng was very familiar with Zijing City. Before the plane arrived, she was already waiting on its anticipated flight path. Wang Tao took out his walkie-talkie and started trying to contact the pilot. ¡°Colonel Luo, this is Wang Tao, I¡¯m at...¡± ¡°Colonel Luo...¡± ¡°Sizzle... sizzle...¡± Unable to make contact for the moment, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan also arrived, and everyone gathered together. ¡°Looks like my luck isn¡¯t very good today. Either I can¡¯t make contact, or it¡¯s not Colonel Luo Guozhong that I know...¡± Watching the plane draw closer, Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders in resignation. Normally, at this distance, he should have been able to make contact, but there had been no response, and it was unclear what the issue was. ¡°It¡¯s fine, if there¡¯s an airdrop, we can just pick it up ourselves,¡± Lu Yingfeng consoled him. Wang Tao nodded but persisted in trying. ¡°Colonel Luo, this is Wang Tao, I¡¯m at...¡± ¡°Sizzle... sizzle...¡± But as the plane flew over their heads, there was still no reply from the other side. Wang Tao and the others felt a bit disappointed, both for not making contact with the pilot and for the fact that the plane had flown all this way without dropping any airdrops. Could it be that there wouldn¡¯t be any airdrops this time? Just then, Jiang Shixue, who had been intently watching the plane, suddenly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Brother, look.¡± Hm? Everyone quickly looked up. They saw that the plane which had just flown over their heads began dropping airdrops, and it wasn¡¯t just one but many airdrops falling at the same time! ¡°He got my message!¡± Wang Tao was suddenly surprised. The fact that so many airdrops were dropped at once clearly wasn¡¯t a matter of sheer luck; he had indeed made contact with the pilot. As for the lack of replies, maybe there was a malfunction with the walkie-talkie on the plane, which only allowed it to receive and not transmit. Or perhaps, there was some other reason. Either way, Wang Tao was sure he had made contact, and it was most likely Colonel Luo! ¡°` Chapter 541: 231 Level 3 Ascension_2 Chapter 541: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_2 Wang Tao hastily spoke into the walkie-talkie: ¡°Thanks! I¡¯ve already gotten the alcohol, I¡¯ll treat you to a drink later!¡± There was alcohol inside Zijin Base and even though it was a high-value item, someone like Wang Tao could naturally take some whenever he liked. He had Jade Lotus prepare some fine liquor for her. ¡°Crackling...Crackling...¡± There was still no response, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if the other party had received the message. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s pick up the supply drop!¡± Like the last time, the supply drops mostly landed in one area, and everyone quickly gathered them all up. Wang Tao took a quick look and found nothing but the equipment, inhibitors, medical kits, food, and other items he had seen before. ¡°You take away the stuff, I¡¯m going to hunt zombies,¡± Wang Tao said to Lu Yingfeng. Since they had come out, he planned to first check out the Danfeng Hotel to see if there were any changes. As for the supply drops, they were all from his own team, so whatever he needed, he could just get directly from Jade Lotus later on. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao called Xia Jun and Nie Siyan to accompany him, along with Jiang Shixue, and the group of four drove towards Danfeng Hotel. On the way, Wang Tao encountered several weakened Level 3 zombies. ¡°It seems like the zombies from the sports center have already spread throughout the entire Zijing City...¡± These zombies were not much of a problem for Wang Tao¡¯s group, but they were still dangerous to others. However, it was also an opportunity; it was a matter of whether they could grasp it, as these Level 3 zombies were weakened versions and easier to kill. The car stopped a distance away from Danfeng Hotel. Wang Tao and the others got out and cautiously made their way toward the hotel. ¡°Hopefully, we won¡¯t encounter what happened last time?¡± Nie Siyan whispered worriedly. Last time, they all fell into the illusion created by that Level 4 monster, and she was the most unfortunate one, nearly killed by Wang Tao. Even though she was now at Level 3, she still had some psychological shadows. ¡°Be confident, it¡¯s only Level 4, nothing to be afraid of!¡± Wang Tao patted her shoulder with a smile. Of course, while Wang Tao said that, he was actually more cautious than anyone else. They arrived at the Danfeng Hotel and none of them felt they had fallen prey to anything. But the more they didn¡¯t feel trapped, the more worried Wang Tao became. ¡°Could it be we¡¯re already trapped without realizing it...¡± ¡°...Brother Wang, don¡¯t scare me!¡± Nie Siyan was genuinely frightened. Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, who had the strongest resistance to spirit-based attacks. ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything either,¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s walk a little further...¡± Wang Tao led the group on and they quickly arrived beneath the Danfeng Hotel. ¡°Hmm?¡± Seeing the wandering zombies below Danfeng Hotel, Wang Tao frowned. This was the territory of the Level 4 Monster Lord, where monsters and zombies weren¡¯t allies; in fact, their relationship was hostile. Logically, there shouldn¡¯t be any zombies here. Even if there were zombies, they should be under the control of the monster, not these low-level zombies wandering around randomly, right? But then again, the abilities of this Level 4 Lord were too bizarre, and no one knew whether this was all an illusion. So Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to sneak in rashly either. He and the others tried to lure the ordinary zombies below the hotel to come out and kill them. They were killed easily, identical to reality. Wang Tao conducted various tests with the group, and at last, he felt that there really was no illusion! ¡°Could the monster have left?¡± Wang Tao felt that was the only possibility. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and take a look!¡± After dealing with the zombies below, they ventured inside the hotel. There were quite a few zombies inside as well, but they were ordinary ones and were easily killed by the group. Wang Tao went from the first floor to the top floor, and besides finding some feces that might belong to the monster on the top floor, he didn¡¯t find any trace of the monster. ¡°It really left...¡± Wang Tao was now certain. The monster had indeed left, and he had just been scaring himself. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Nie Siyan finally relaxed. But Wang Tao did not feel too relieved. If the monster had been here, at least Wang Tao would have known its location and could warn others to stay away. Now that the monster had gone without a trace, it had become a hidden threat... ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s head back for now.¡± Having found no other clues, Wang Tao could only have everyone return first. It was already evening when they got back to the base, and Wang Tao recounted to Jade Lotus about the Level 4 monster leaving. Jade Lotus first frowned, and then a happy smile suddenly appeared on her face. ¡°Wang Tao, are you worried about me?¡± Jade Lotus was pleased inside, at least proving that Wang Tao truly cared about her. ¡°Of course.¡± Wang Tao pinched her cheek. Jade Lotus took the opportunity to rub her face into Wang Tao¡¯s palm then said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will be more careful. Besides, our base has so many Level 3 ability users, we might not necessarily fear this Level 4 monster!¡± ¡°Right.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then continued. ¡°In the next few days, organize more people to hunt zombies, aiming to get you to Level 3 before I leave. That way, I¡¯ll be more at ease.¡± Jade Lotus was still at Level Two, mainly because there were not enough Omnipotent Crystal Cores. Wang Tao had used some of the Omnipotent Crystal Cores he had saved. Chapter 542: 231 Level 3 Ascension_3 Chapter 542: Chapter 231 Level 3 Ascension_3 ¡°Alright!¡± In the following days, Lan Yulian continued to deal with the affairs at the base. After all, she had recruited people from other forces in Zijing City. With so many new people suddenly added, how to arrange them was a big problem. The rules and regulations of the base all had to be reestablished. It¡¯s worth mentioning that Wang Tao initially thought that General and Kong Xiu would start their own thing, but unexpectedly, both of them stayed with their people, willingly subordinate to others. Wang Tao was still worried they had other motives, but Lan Yulian was very confident, feeling she could subdue the two of them. But she also had the capital for confidence, after all, with so many Level 3 ability users under her command, Wang Tao said no more. Wang Tao went hunting zombies with Lu Yingfeng and Nie Siyan. He wanted to look for traces of that fourth-order monster and, by the way, gather some more special energy. Four days later. Wang Tao almost vomited from killing so many zombies, he accumulated a total of 500,000 special energy. He also obtained many crystal cores. As for that fourth-order monster, Wang Tao had nearly searched the entire urban area, but still didn¡¯t find it. Wang Tao suspected that the monster might have left Zijing City. However, regardless of whether it had left or not, Wang Tao was prepared to level up to Level3. Before the Level 3 ascension, Wang Tao got a batch of crystal cores from Lan Yulian¡¯s hands. After some synthesis, he made many Level 2 Omnipotent Crystal Cores. ¡°You ascend first. After you reach Level 3, then I¡¯ll follow.¡± Wang Tao handed a pile of Omnipotent Crystal Cores to Lan Yulian. Seeing the big handful of red and orange Omnipotent Crystal Cores, Lan Yulian opened her mouth wide, looking at Wang Tao as if he were a monster. Lu Yingfeng beside her had a similar expression. Lan Yulian could now confirm with 100% certainty that Wang Tao definitely had a means to improve the quality of crystal cores! Combining the fact that every time she gave Wang Tao a bunch of crystal cores, he returned fewer in number to her, but greatly improved in quality, it was highly likely that Wang Tao¡¯s method was similar to the Crystal Core Synthesizer! A Crystal Core Synthesizer required consuming a large amount of crystal cores of the same quality to eliminate the side effects of the current crystal core. Wang Tao¡¯s method most likely required the consumption of a large number of crystal cores to elevate the quality of the current crystal core! As for what this method specifically was, Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t quite guess, she thought it might be an instrument similar to a Crystal Core Synthesizer. But since Wang Tao didn¡¯t tell her, she also tactfully didn¡¯t ask any more questions. ¡°Alright!¡± After receiving the crystal cores, Lan Yulian immediately began to fuse them. Out of her four abilities, three were still only at +1, so Wang Tao prepared 27 synthesized Omnipotent Crystal Cores for her. After some time, Lan Yulian successfully fused all these crystal cores, and now all four of her abilities were at +10. Wang Tao then took out four orange Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°...¡± Suddenly, Lan Yulian felt an overwhelming sense of security. She really wanted Wang Tao to stay! A moment later, Lan Yulian finished fusing the four ascension crystal cores. ¡°I can ascend now!¡± Lan Yulian hugged Wang Tao and kissed him, somewhat excitedly. Although she knew she was bound to reach Level 3, the speed of her ascension was still beyond her expectation. ¡°Then go ahead with the ascension. After all, it takes 24 hours,¡± Wang Tao said, ruffling her hair. ¡°What about you?¡± Lan Yulian looked at Wang Tao. In fact, she wanted to ascend with Wang Tao. If the two of them lay on the same bed and ascended to Level 3 at the same time... it seemed rather romantic! ¡°I¡¯ll ascend after you wake up. After all, this base has just started reforming. If something happens and neither of us is here, it would be troublesome,¡± Wang Tao said directly. ¡°Uh... seems so, you really do think of everything!¡± Lan Yulian gave Wang Tao another kiss, then lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. Shortly after, Lan Yulian fell into a deep sleep. Wang Tao turned to Lu Yingfeng next to him and said: ¡°Bring all the Crystal Cores you can find.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Yingfeng didn¡¯t ask why. Although Wang Tao was not the leader of the base, she treated him as if he were the leader. A few hours later, Lu Yingfeng came over with a bunch of Crystal Cores. ¡°All the Crystal Cores we could find are here. Some people might have kept a few Crystal Cores for themselves, but there shouldn¡¯t be many.¡± ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao collected all these Crystal Cores into his Space Backpack. Although Lu Yingfeng had seen this happen before, she still found it amazing. When Lu Yingfeng was out busying herself, Wang Tao organized the Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack, then synthesized some important ones into high-quality cores. These high-quality cores were reserved for Lan Yulian to nurture talents. As for the ordinary cores, there was no need to bother with them, as they could be used for everyday transactions. Once Lan Yulian completed her Level 3 Ascension and woke up, she saw a small mountain of high-quality Crystal Cores on the table beside the bed. ¡°Wow!¡± Many women have little resistance to such shiny objects, and Lan Yulian was no exception. Hearing the commotion, Wang Tao pushed the door and entered. He glanced at Lan Yulian¡¯s attributes. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] [Hidden Property: Saving Lives] [Internal Impurity: 11%] ¡°Congratulations.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Wang Tao~¡± After getting up, Lan Yulian threw herself directly into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. Lu Yingfeng had just walked in and, seeing this scene, thought she might have come at an inconvenient time. Wang Tao said to the two women: ¡°In the future, if you get the Crystal Cores you need, don¡¯t rush to merge them unless it¡¯s an urgent situation. You can wait for me to come back.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t talk about his ability to synthesize Crystal Cores, but Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng probably understood what he meant. ¡°Okay!¡± Both nodded. Lan Yulian felt particularly happy in her heart because Wang Tao had said he would come back. ¡°Alright, now it¡¯s my turn to ascend. I¡¯m counting on you two to protect me.¡± Wang Tao spoke again with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Wang Tao had already merged four Ascension Crystal Cores before, now he simply lay on the bed Lan Yulian had just been sleeping in and immediately fell asleep. Chapter 543: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_1 Chapter 543: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_1 Wang Tao felt the sensation of ascending to Level 3 was pretty much the same as when he ascended to Level 2. He could also pass on one Ability to someone else and then learn a new Superpower. However, there was no need, as Lan Yulian and the others had not inherited anything after their ascension. After all, the Abilities they fused with in the past were carefully selected by Wang Tao, so there was no need to trade for other Abilities. When Wang Tao woke up, he felt refreshed and invigorated. The fatigue brought by zombie hunting had completely dissipated. Moreover, he could distinctly feel his physical condition and senses had significantly improved, incomparably better than when he was at Level 2! ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re awake!¡± Lan Yulian was already sitting by the bed, and Jiang Shixue and Lu Yingfeng were also there. ¡°I must have slept for 24 hours, right?¡± ¡°Precisely 24 hours.¡± Wang Tao got out of bed and looked in the mirror, discovering that his physique had grown bigger! He measured himself with a ruler and found that his height had grown from 1.9 meters to a full 2 meters! Through his observations over time, Wang Tao knew that the stronger one¡¯s physique when ascending, the greater the possible increase in stature. When women like Lan Yulian ascended, even though they reached Level 3, their stature didn¡¯t grow much, and they might have even become slimmer? Only after Xu Xiaojun ascended did his physique grow taller and bigger, reaching 2.2 meters. Especially when he wore his armor, the imposing pressure was immense! Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t far behind. With his 2 meters in height and muscles all over his body, even Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t help but shine with admiration. Wang Tao clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body, and said to the three women: ¡°I¡¯m going out to test my strength.¡± ¡°We¡¯re coming with you!¡± It was afternoon when Wang Tao ascended the previous day, so it was naturally afternoon now as well. When they went outside, Wang Tao looked at the gloomy sky and frowned. ¡°It¡¯s going to rain...¡± ¡°It likely will tonight.¡± Lu Yingfeng looked at the sky and said. ¡°If it¡¯s going to rain tonight then I¡¯ll leave tomorrow morning,¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°What?¡± Both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng looked at Wang Tao in some surprise, with Lan Yulian¡¯s complexion turning somewhat flustered. ¡°Leaving tomorrow? That¡¯s so soon! Won¡¯t you stay a couple more days...¡± Wang Tao stroked Lan Yulian¡¯s delicate face, explaining: ¡°Since the virus outbreak, there hasn¡¯t been any normal rain. It either doesn¡¯t rain at all, or it pours for many days. Although it¡¯s always corrosive acid rain, which humans cannot stay in for long, it significantly weakens the zombies¡¯ senses. So as long as we¡¯re well protected, it¡¯s a good time to leave.¡± According to the limited information about Wuyang City, it was extremely dangerous. Despite ascending to Level 3, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t arrogantly think he was invincible. Heading to a dangerous place like Wuyang City, one had to be extra cautious. Rainy conditions could provide a good opportunity! Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both fell silent, realizing he was right. His departure at this time would be to their advantage. But... they couldn¡¯t bear to see him leave! Initially, the two women were excited to witness Wang Tao¡¯s strength, but even after Wang Tao completed his tests, they were still somewhat out of sorts. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Mhmm...¡± After returning to the courtyard, night had already fallen. Wang Tao first went for a quick shower, then brought out a plethora of items. Including various Potions, medical kits, all kinds of Hand Grenades, armor, Hand crossbows, Crystal Cores he didn¡¯t need, and more. Seeing Wang Tao suddenly bring out a hoard of items, and with Lan Yulian still feeling a bit forlorn, her attention gradually shifted. ¡°These things are for you, use them sparingly...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained the purpose of these items. Particularly the [Tree Essence], both were somewhat surprised, as it was their first time seeing something that could increase one¡¯s Energy limit! ¡°After you use it, you can feel if your Energy limit has increased. If not, then don¡¯t take it, to avoid wasting it. It has a cooldown time, but how long exactly isn¡¯t clear. It depends on each of your physiques...¡± This was one of the truly good items Wang Tao had, and he wasn¡¯t stingy, leaving a portion for the two women. The better Wang Tao treated Lan Yulian, the more reluctant she felt... but she wasn¡¯t the kind of woman who could not prioritize, and since Wang Tao really didn¡¯t want to stay, she couldn¡¯t make him. ¡°Wang Tao, thank you...¡± ¡°What are you thanking me for? This isn¡¯t a gift. You owe me, and you will repay it later! Take good care of yourself and wait for me to collect interest!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lan Yulian didn¡¯t say more but instead embraced Wang Tao in a long kiss. Beside them, Lu Yingfeng looked utterly forlorn. There¡¯s someone right here, can¡¯t you be a bit more considerate? After they parted lips, Lan Yulian whispered enticingly into Wang Tao¡¯s ear: ¡°It¡¯s time to rest; I¡¯m going to take a shower. Wait for me!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Lan Yulian took Lu Yingfeng with her and left. Watching the two women walk away, Wang Tao lay casually on the bed, directing his gaze toward his attribute panel. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 25600/25600] [Special Energy: 524200] [Level: Level 3] [Hidden Attributes: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] [Ability: Level 3 Iron Wall (+1), Level 3 Extraordinary Rage (+1), Level 3 Mastery Fusion (+1), Level 3 Yin and Yang Balance (+1)] Chapter 544 - 232: How Did You Shrink?_2 Chapter 544: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_2 Wang Tao¡¯s HP of 30,000 was undisputed, but nearly 25,000 mana was quite impressive. He had been consuming Tree Essence Liquid continuously, and because he merged more Crystal Cores than others, he also had more mana. More mana meant greater endurance, which was an indirect way to increase combat ability. Moreover, Wang Tao had just reached Level 3 and still had a significant room for improvement. He now planned to first synthesize a few Crystal Cores to try it out. His four Abilities, up till now, had not been synthesized, but after reaching Level 3, they could continue to be. First was the status class Ability [Iron Wall], status class Abilities actually weren¡¯t too rare, but many were of no use to Wang Tao, so he couldn¡¯t synthesize this Ability now. Then came the active attack class Ability [Integration], this type of Crystal Core was relatively scarce, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t found any suitable ones, so he couldn¡¯t synthesize one for the time being either. As for the psychic class Ability [Yin Yang Harmony], Wang Tao had some ideas¡ªhe planned to synthesize [Mental Shock], [Mental Defense], and [Perception]. All three Abilities were of the Psychic System, so the chance of a successful synthesis should be quite high, but unfortunately, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have enough Crystal Cores. These Crystal Cores all had side effects, and Wang Tao needed three of the same Crystal Core to remove the side effects and impurities. So, he could only wait and see if he could save up a few more later. Last was the Passive Ability [Berserk]. Of the Crystal Cores Wang Tao currently held, those of passive Abilities were the most numerous, so this Ability could be synthesized with other Abilities. Wang Tao took out two Crystal Cores. [Photosynthesis: Passive Ability, standing under the sunlight, can absorb the sun¡¯s energy, slowly regenerating mana] [Nutrient Absorbtion: Passive Ability, standing on the ground, can absorb the nutrients from the land, slowly regenerating HP] Both of these Crystal Cores were loot dropped from killing Level 3 Plant Monsters. Originally, Wang Tao only had one of each, but in the past few days, as he hunted zombies outside, he encountered several Level 3 Plant Monsters. Although they were only of Elite Level and didn¡¯t drop anything good, they did drop a few Crystal Cores, which were exactly what he needed to synthesize these two Crystal Cores to Epic. These two Abilities provided passive mana and HP regeneration, and although it was described as slow, it didn¡¯t consume energy. When there was nothing else to do, just standing on the ground and soaking up the sun could regenerate mana and HP¡ªhow wonderful is that! Wang Tao had always wanted to synthesize these two Crystal Cores, and now he finally had the chance. He first extracted his [Iron Wall] Ability and then merged it with a [Photosynthesis] Core. Wang Tao checked the synthesis probability of his Passive Abilities [Extraordinary Rage] and [Energy Boost]. ¡°92%... that¡¯s a pretty high chance!¡± Without a second thought, Wang Tao began the synthesis. And, as expected, it was successful instantly. Wang Tao then merged [Nutrient Absorbtion] into himself. The chance of this synthesis was 94%; he went ahead and did it. After this Crystal Core was also synthesized, Wang Tao took out another Crystal Core. [Physical Enhancement: The physical constitution receives an all-around enhancement] This was looted from a Night Demon Zombie. The Night Demon possessed no Superpower and relied solely on its formidable physical strength. If Wang Tao did not use Entangling Roots, his physical fitness was no match for the Night Demon¡¯s. And the reason why the Night Demon¡¯s physical constitution was so strong was probably because of this Physical Enhancement Crystal Core. So Wang Tao treated it as the last Passive Ability to be synthesized for himself. However, in the Night Demon¡¯s Loot Pack, there were three types of Crystal Cores, [HP Enhancement], [Energy Enhancement], and [Physical Enhancement]. [HP Enhancement: Increases the HP limit by 1000] [Energy Enhancement: Increases the mana limit by 1000] Wang Tao actually liked these ¡°HP Enhancement¡± and ¡°Energy Enhancement¡± Abilities as well. No need to mention mana¡ªobviously, that¡¯s good stuff, merging 10 of those is 10,000 mana. In the absence of ways to regenerate mana, this Ability clearly was very impressive. About HP, the increase is to the extra HP limit! That means, for example, if Wang Tao is now Level 3, then his HP limit should be 99,999 HP, but if he merged a [HP Enhancement] Crystal Core, then his HP limit would break the original limit, reaching 100,999 HP! If he maxed out [HP Enhancement] to +10, then he would have 109,999 HP, while still remaining at Level 3! This is the extra HP limit! Wang Tao knew about this because, during this period, he had seen many Crystal Cores and discovered many peculiar and interesting ones, including those that increase HP and mana. Among them were Crystal Cores that increased HP limits. Wang Tao specifically conducted an experiment to find out that these HP-increasing Crystal Cores provided an extra HP limit. But these HP-increasing Crystal Cores were not common, and the increase they provided was very small. A Level 1 Core added 10 HP, a Level Two Core added 100 HP, and even collecting 10 Level Two Cores only amounted to an additional 1000 HP. [HP Enhancement], which added 1000 HP, was a big jump if you accumulated 10 for a total of 10,000 HP. Wang Tao had previously thought that merging such HP limit-increasing Crystal Cores would be wasteful since killing zombies also increased the HP limit, but now he realized there was no need to worry. However, it was a shame that Wang Tao had [Photosynthesis] and [Nutrient Absorbtion]. Although undecided to some extent, Wang Tao eventually did not choose [HP Enhancement] or [Energy Enhancement]. But regarding these two Cores, Wang Tao had an idea, which he planned to try out in a bit... After Wang Tao synthesized the [Physical Enhancement] Core, his New Superpower emerged. Chapter 545: 232: How Did You Shrink?_3 Chapter 545: Chapter 232: How Did You Shrink?_3 ¡°` [Level 3 Superpower¡¤Berserk Enhancement] [Berserk Enhancement: Passive Ability, can increase strength, defense, spirit, running speed, athletic ability, throwing technique, and constitution; standing in sunlight allows absorption of solar energy, slowly regenerating Mana; standing on the ground allows the drawing of nutrients from the soil, slowly regenerating HP; when HP falls below 30%, Trigger Berserk (side effects: none)] Staring at this long list of terms, Wang Tao grinned. This looks truly exhilarating! Then Wang Tao extracted the [Integration] and [Yin Yang Harmony] superpowers. He was only left with [Berserk Enhancement] now. The reason for doing this, naturally, was because he intended to fuse with the Omnipotent Crystal Core. After all, the other three superpowers hadn¡¯t been synthesized yet, and since the Berserk Enhancement was maxed out, in order to avoid upgrading those three superpowers with the Omnipotent Crystal Core, they naturally had to be extracted. Wang Tao happened to have quite a few Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Cores at hand, as killing zombies above his level made it especially easy to drop [Omnipotent] and [Ascension] Crystal Cores. A moment later. [Level 3 Superpower¡¤Berserk Enhancement (+10)] The level of this superpower was instantly maxed! Since Wang Tao¡¯s passive superpower contained attributes such as strength and constitution, the level increase to +10 produced a relatively tangible feeling. Wang Tao could clearly feel that his attributes had become much stronger! He felt that if he were to fight a Level 3 Night Demon again, even if he didn¡¯t use Entangling Roots or any other superpower, just with his own physical conditions he should be able to suppress and beat a Night Demon! This wasn¡¯t arrogance, but confidence in his own progress this time! Wang Tao was preparing to find a few Night Demons later to test his abilities... After briefly enjoying the sense of his own enhancements, Wang Tao turned his attention to [HP Enhancement] and [Energy Boost]. Since these two superpowers would increase HP and Mana after fusion, Wang Tao had an idea: to synthesize these two Crystal Cores as an emergency ability! +10 HP Enhancement could add 10,000 to current HP and maximum HP. Suppose Wang Tao was critically injured, suddenly extracted his other superpowers, and then fused this +10 HP Enhancement into his body¡ªwouldn¡¯t that be like instantly gaining an extra 10,000 HP? If it really worked that way, it would be a life-saving ability at critical moments! If it turned out to be infeasible, it didn¡¯t matter, because Wang Tao had a lot of Special Energy at the moment. Having used only 180,000 just now, he still had over 340,000 left, enough to give it a try. Wang Tao fused the two Crystal Cores and obtained a New Superpower, [HP Enhancement]. He then used an Omnipotent Crystal Core to max this new superpower to +10. [Level 3 Superpower¡¤HP Enhancement (+10)] [HP Enhancement: Passive Superpower, adds 10,000 HP, adds 10,000 Mana] At this point, Wang Tao¡¯s HP had increased by 10,000, and his Mana increased by 14,400! The reason for such a significant increase in Mana was that Fusion Crystal Cores themselves add Mana, and he fused these cores one by one, naturally adding a lot of Mana. HP Enhancement is a very plain and unadorned superpower, but it should play a significant role at crucial times. However, it can only be used at such times; normally, of course, the other four main superpowers would be used. So Wang Tao was preparing to extract it and switch back to his main superpowers. Using 30,000 Special Energy, he successfully extracted the [HP Enhancement] superpower into a Crystal Core. But just as Wang Tao was about to integrate the two extracted superpowers back into his body, he suddenly paused. ¡°Huh? Why haven¡¯t my HP and Mana decreased?¡± Theoretically, once he extracted the Crystal Core, the bonuses it provided to his body should have been lost, things like HP and Mana should have been gone too. But now... they were still there! And that extracted [HP Enhancement] Crystal Core was still lying properly in his backpack! ¡°Could it be that HP and Mana are different from other attributes? If I keep fusing ¡®HP Enhancement¡¯ Crystal Cores, could I continue to raise my HP and Mana?¡± Wang Tao suddenly became excited; did he just find a bug in this world? ¡°` So, he immediately prepared to fuse the extracted ¡°Level 3 Superpower ¨C HP Enhancement (Discarded)¡± Crystal Core again. However, Wang Tao realized that he couldn¡¯t fuse it anymore! And he hadn¡¯t looked carefully before, but he noticed now that the name of the extracted Crystal Core had changed. Normally, inside the parentheses, it should say ¡°+10,¡± but now it had turned into ¡°Discarded¡±! ¡°Damn! I knew it, there¡¯s no such thing as a bug...¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat disappointed. If this bug really existed, then through the extraction and fusion process, he could have infinitely boosted his HP and Mana. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too discouraged. Although he couldn¡¯t boost his attributes infinitely, he had managed to fuse the attributes of this Crystal Core into his body. After Wang Tao fused the other two extracted abilities again, he checked his attributes. [HP: 40000/40000] [Mana: 40000/40000] 40,000 HP, 40,000 Mana! In just a short while, Wang Tao¡¯s strength had increased significantly! It felt rather exhilarating! It¡¯s a pity that this could only happen once. If it could happen several times, that would be even more exciting. Wang Tao looked at the discarded Orange Crystal Core; its exterior was still sparkling gold, giving no indication of its discarded status. Perhaps in the future, if he found someone displeasing, he could use this Crystal Core to trick them? A Crystal Core extracted from Wang Tao¡¯s fused abilities couldn¡¯t be used by anyone else anyway. But if it were a functioning Crystal Core, Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t want to waste it. Since this Core was already discarded, it might be good if he could find a way to recycle it. Moreover, Wang Tao suddenly thought that if this wasn¡¯t a bug but a mechanism of this type of superpower, could others use it in the same way? For instance, if Jade Lotus fused with an ¡°HP Enhancement¡± Crystal Core and then used an Extraction Crystal Core to remove it, would Jade Lotus also gain an additional 10,000 HP? But Wang Tao only had a Level 2 Extraction Crystal Core, not a Level 3. Since Jade Lotus was already Level 3, it wouldn¡¯t work. ¡°Later, I¡¯ll find a Level 2 person to experiment with...¡± If it really worked, this could be an alternative way to enhance strength! At this moment, Wang Tao heard someone entering the room. Then with a click, the lights in the room went out. Wang Tao could sense someone approaching the side of the bed. He raised an eyebrow. ¡°What is Jade Lotus up to, wanting to play role-playing games? Fine, I¡¯ll play along.¡± Wang Tao lay on the bed without getting up or opening his eyes, pretending to be asleep. Then Wang Tao felt Jade Lotus hovering by his bed for quite a while without coming closer. It seemed like she was... hesitant? Wang Tao suddenly got a bit more expectant. Even though Jade Lotus often stuck close to him, she was rather traditional in certain aspects... Wang Tao felt that Jade Lotus might have come up with something new this time. A moment later, as if resolute, Jade Lotus cautiously made her way to the side of the bed. Then she quietly climbed onto it, carefully avoiding any contact with Wang Tao, as if afraid to wake him up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what she was up to, thinking that with Jade Lotus¡¯s personality, she would normally just hug him directly. Could it be that she wanted him to take the initiative? So, Wang Tao suddenly stretched out his arm, directly embracing the person who had just lain down beside him. ¡°Mmm~¡± The other person seemed startled and tensed up completely. But Wang Tao paused, puzzled. ¡°Huh? How come you¡¯ve gotten smaller?¡± Chapter 546: 233: Entering Wuyang City_1 Chapter 546: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_1 After saying those words, Wang Tao instinctively opened his eyes. Then he was taken aback. ¡°Little Feng?¡± The person lying beside him was not Lan Yulian but Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng was wearing a light, form-fitting silk pajama set, with her eyes tightly shut, lying stiffly in Wang Tao¡¯s arms. One of Wang Tao¡¯s hands was wrapped around her waist. Although it was pitch-black at this moment, Wang Tao could clearly see the blush on Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face. ¡°Why is it you?¡± She didn¡¯t seem like she had walked into the wrong room, did she? Lu Yingfeng still kept her eyes closed, not speaking, not moving. Wang Tao suddenly raised an eyebrow. He initially thought that if it really was a misunderstanding, it would be better to clarify it sooner rather than later, especially since this was Jade Lotus¡¯s good sister. But looking at Ying Feng like this, she was obviously conscious. Given that, there was no way Wang Tao could turn down such a tempting offer presented to him! There¡¯s an old saying, ¡°You can never wake up a person who is pretending to sleep.¡± But Wang Tao now disagreed. ¡°Wang Tao...¡± Lu Yingfeng opened her eyes, her gaze brimming with a springtime warmth, her expression slightly aggrieved. She couldn¡¯t make out Wang Tao¡¯s features but could see a pair of eyes faintly glowing green looking at her. She and Lan Yulian both knew that Wang Tao had night vision, so she wasn¡¯t scared. It was just... very embarrassing. Gently caressing her face, Wang Tao asked softly, ¡°Did Jade Lotus ask you to come here?¡± Lu Yingfeng and Lan Yulian had a very close relationship. Although they had a superior-subordinate relationship, they were like sisters. Wang Tao also believed in Ying Feng¡¯s character; if Jade Lotus hadn¡¯t asked her to come, she would definitely not have approached Wang Tao on her own. ¡°Mhm...¡± Lu Yingfeng hummed softly like a mosquito. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had good hearing, he probably wouldn¡¯t have heard it. The normally brisk and exceptionally cool Ying Feng, with her girlish demeanor at this moment, had a different kind of charm. ¡°This Jade Lotus...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, though he wasn¡¯t sure what Jade Lotus was thinking, he was no Saint. Wang Tao leaned down and gently kissed Ying Feng on the forehead, cheeks, and corners of the mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, relax.¡± ¡°Mhm...¡± Looking at Ying Feng who once again closed her eyes, seemingly letting Wang Tao do as he pleased, Wang Tao brushed aside the hair on her forehead and suddenly shouted towards the door: ¡°Jade Lotus, get in here!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice startled Lu Yingfeng. She instinctively hugged Wang Tao¡¯s waist tighter. Although it was Jade Lotus who had asked her to come, she still felt like she was betraying her good sister. Outside the door, it was completely quiet, no sound at all. ¡°Jade Lotus, hurry up! I¡¯ve learned a few sets of cool torture methods recently. If you don¡¯t come in, don¡¯t blame me for punishing Little Feng severely!¡± Wang Tao spoke menacingly. Hearing this, Ying Feng in his arms grew more frightened, her body trembling somewhat. Click~ The door opened, and a sneaky figure entered. Wang Tao saw that it was indeed Lan Yulian. He knew that Jade Lotus was most likely eavesdropping. ¡°Cough, what do you want me for!¡± Jade Lotus stood at the door, feigning indifference. ¡°Do.¡± Wang Tao responded succinctly. ¡°...¡± Jade Lotus was taken aback, her face flushing red, and she turned to flee out the door. Even though it was she who had prodded Ying Feng to come, joining them herself was too embarrassing; she couldn¡¯t accept it. But Wang Tao spoke again at that moment. ¡°Last time we made a bet, and you lost. You said I could ask for one thing, and you¡¯d agree to anything. What now? Do you want to go back on your word?¡± ¡°...¡± Jade Lotus opened her mouth¡ªshe truly hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to bring up the last bet. She was suddenly conflicted. She didn¡¯t want to go back on her word in front of Wang Tao, but she also didn¡¯t want to join in, as it was simply too embarrassing... ¡°Good girl, listen to me. I was just joking with you. I really do have something to ask you. Don¡¯t you trust me?¡± Wang Tao called out again. With no choice, Jade Lotus walked over to Wang Tao¡¯s bedside, face flushed red. ¡°You¡ªah!¡± But Wang Tao suddenly reached out and grabbed her, and with Jade Lotus¡¯s yelp, he pulled her onto the bed. ¡°Jiejie¡ª¡ª¡± Wang Tao laughed wickedly. ¡°You, you don¡¯t keep your word!¡± Jade Lotus glared at Wang Tao with a face full of shame and indignation. ¡°How have I not kept my word? I really do have something to ask you, but I want to hear you tell me personally!¡± ¡°Mm¡ª¡± A deep kiss almost took Jade Lotus¡¯s breath away. Wang Tao then let her go, turning his gaze to Ying Feng and kissed her tenderly. ... The next day, early morning. When Wang Tao woke up, he saw two pairs of big eyes watching him, one on the left and one on the right. Upon meeting his gaze, Jade Lotus and Ying Feng quickly turned their heads away. Wang Tao stroked both of the women¡¯s hair, silent, savoring this moment of tenderness. Then, Jade Lotus raised her head, her eyes showing reluctance, but she still took the initiative to speak: ¡°Wang Tao... it¡¯s time for you to go.¡± The days she had spent with Wang Tao were some of the happiest in her life. She wished it could go on forever but knew it wasn¡¯t possible. So it was better to make a clean break when parting. After all, Wang Tao had promised he would come back for her! ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then got up. Jade Lotus and Ying Feng helped Wang Tao dress, one on the left and one on the right. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t used to being attended to, but he didn¡¯t refuse this time. Once all three were dressed, Wang Tao spread out his arms. Jade Lotus walked into his arms and hugged him. Ying Feng hesitated for a moment but also came over. Chapter 547: 233: Entering Wuyang City_2 Chapter 547: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_2 ¡°Now, you have two people at Zijin Base who care about you¡ªat least a little, right? You can¡¯t forget about us! You promised me you would come back!¡± Lan Yulian lifted her head, her eyes red as she spoke to Wang Tao. Wang Tao kissed each of their foreheads. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I, Wang Tao, never go back on my word. Pay extra attention to your safety here; I¡¯ll come back for you.¡± ¡°Mhmm! You also need to be careful!¡± The two women said in unison. ¡°The things I left for you before, I told you to use them sparingly, but don¡¯t be too thrifty. After all, we will see each other again soon...¡± Wang Tao added. Previously, he had left Lan Yulian many items, including various Crystal Cores, Potions, and so on. ¡°Mhmm!¡± ¡°The Level 3 Crystal Cores I left for you, use them if you need to. But for the other Crystal Cores, make sure to use an instrument to remove the side effects. Of course, the best case would be to save them up until I return...¡± Wang Tao continued to instruct. He felt his trip to the military base would be a short one. After all, from what he could tell, the military base was still very safe. Once he arrived, with his strength, or by offering some valuable items, it wouldn¡¯t be too much to ask for a quick return flight, would it? If he could take a plane, then places like Zijin Base and Red Stone Base would be within reach! ¡°Mhmm!¡± The two women nodded again. Then, Lan Yulian¡¯s face suddenly took on a guilty expression. ¡°You left us so many great things, yet we have nothing to give you...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao smiled and spoke: ¡°You two are the best gifts Heaven has ever given me.¡± Even though it might sound cheesy, at that moment, the two women loved hearing it. Lan Yulian¡¯s gaze at Wang Tao seemed like it was about to overflow with emotion. ¡°Wang Tao...¡± Lan Yulian hugged Wang Tao and acted affectionately for a while. Lu Yingfeng was somewhat restrained, but naturally, Wang Tao ensured he treated them equally, pulling her into his embrace as well. Then he decisively let go of both. ¡°Alright, I really must go now.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see you off.¡± Today, indeed, it started to rain, although it wasn¡¯t too heavy. Wang Tao¡¯s car was already parked outside. It was the same car Yang Changhong had given him. The car was already loaded with a lot of supplies, and Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and Jiang Shixue were all inside. Last night, Jiang Shixue conveniently did not appear in Wang Tao¡¯s room. She had become sensible! ¡°Wang Tao, I really wanted to go with you, but... I can¡¯t be so selfish. After all, there are so many survivors here, and I have to take responsibility for them. I¡¯m sorry... If it¡¯s too dangerous outside, remember to come back!¡± Before getting into the car, Lan Yulian whispered to Wang Tao. She wasn¡¯t keen on power; she was just a person with a strong sense of responsibility. If she hadn¡¯t been the Leader of Zijin Base, it would be different, but now she had become the Leader of the entire Zijin Base, and she would definitely take up this responsibility. At the very least, she had to set the base on the right track. With the base¡¯s reforms just beginning, if she left, the base would not be able to operate. Only when she could ensure that the base could run smoothly without her, would she possibly consider leaving. ¡°Silly woman, what are you apologizing for? When I recommended you to be the Leader of Zijin Base, I knew you were suited for it. Since you have the capability, you should definitely use it! I¡¯m not only not blaming you, but I¡¯m also proud of you because of it!¡± Wang Tao ruffled her hair. For Wang Tao, leaving Lan Yulian here was like leaving a way out for himself. If he ever encountered any insurmountable dangers in the future, he would still have Zijin Base as an option. Moved by his words, Lan Yulian felt even more emotional. After another impulsive kiss with Wang Tao, she finally let go of him. Wang Tao got into the car and sat in the back with Jiang Shixue. Xu Xiaojun drove, with Nie Siyan in the passenger seat. Lu Yingfeng drove another vehicle, not bringing anyone else, and the two cars arrived at the entrance of Zijin Base in a very low-key manner. Once outside, Wang Tao didn¡¯t get out of the car. He rolled down the window and said to Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng: ¡°Jade Lotus, Little Feng, be safe, I¡¯ll be back for you.¡± ¡°Mhmm!¡± Rumble~ The SUV entered the rain and slowly disappeared from Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng¡¯s sight. Lan Yulian stared blankly in the direction Wang Tao left, and after a long while, her gaze became firm again. ¡°Let¡¯s go back. We still have so many tasks. We¡¯ll wait for him here!¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Lu Yingfeng steered the vehicle, driving into the base. At that moment, as if remembering something, Lan Yulian suddenly turned to Lu Yingfeng and said: ¡°By the way, move back in with me tonight.¡± With Wang Tao gone, she would be lonely. ¡°...¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face flushed with embarrassment. If it had been before, she wouldn¡¯t have minded sharing a bed with Lan Yulian. But after what happened the night before, she always felt awkward in front of Lan Yulian, not knowing quite how to face her. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? After trying something better, you start to dislike me?¡± Lan Yulian raised her eyebrows. ¡°What nonsense are you talking about!¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face turned red. ¡°No? Then move in and wait for me tonight all clean and fresh! I never realized before how sensitive you were. Just a touch and... hmm hmm!¡± Lan Yulian had a mischievous look on her face. ¡°...¡± Lu Yingfeng¡¯s face turned as red as a beet. Chapter 548: 233: Entering Wuyang City_3 Chapter 548: Chapter 233: Entering Wuyang City_3 She suddenly felt that the days ahead would be difficult to endure. ¡°Wang Tao, you must come back quickly!¡± She silently chanted in her heart. ... After Wang Tao left Zijin Base, he didn¡¯t immediately leave Zijing City, instead, he took another turn around the downtown area. Only after confirming several times that the fourth-order monster must have left did Wang Tao let Xu Xiaojun drive them out of Zijing City. The Zijing City they had talked about before usually referred to the downtown area. All the major powers and such were located within the city center, including Zijin Base, which was relatively remote but still within the city limits. Of course, Zijing City wasn¡¯t just the downtown area, it also included suburbs, rural towns, and such, so Zijing City was very large. Leaving the bounds of Zijing City also took some time. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry, feeling that this heavy rain wouldn¡¯t stop for ten days and a half month, so time was plentiful. However, when speaking of rain in the post-apocalyptic world, no matter the size, as soon as it rained, it definitely wasn¡¯t a good thing! Through past experiences, after every heavy rain, the overall strength of the zombies would increase a lot. This time was probably no exception... Inside the car. Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, checking her attributes and physical condition. There were four people in the car, three of them were level 3, with only Jiang Shixue stuck at level 2. Although Jiang Shixue wasn¡¯t in a hurry, Wang Tao was somewhat anxious. After all, if she couldn¡¯t ascend to level 3 after a long time, she would fall behind. Of course, even though Jiang Shixue hadn¡¯t reached level 3, her strength was still quite strong. However, Wang Tao felt that it would be even better if she could become stronger! Wang Tao had tried many crystal cores with Jiang Shixue, including Ascension crystal cores and Omnipotent Crystal Cores, but she could not merge with any of them. This left Wang Tao without a solution, but recently he had a lot of Zombie Culture Fluid, and since it was a waste to keep it, he would cultivate Jiang Shixue whenever he could. Although the cultivation didn¡¯t increase Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP, it seemed there was a slight improvement in her physical fitness, so this wasn¡¯t considered a waste... In the passenger seat, Nie Siyan saw through the rearview mirror how Wang Tao cared so much for Jiang Shixue, and she felt envious. She wished she could get such attention from Wang Tao too. But soon, Nie Siyan felt happy again. Because in the coming days, she could stay with Wang Tao all the time! Previously, when they were in the base, Wang Tao was always with Lan Yulian, so she rarely had a chance to approach him. She also felt that she couldn¡¯t compete with Lan Yulian and had no competitive edge in front of her. At that time, she was afraid that Wang Tao would dump her. Fortunately, Wang Tao didn¡¯t choose to stay at Zijin Base and decided to go to Wuyang City, and he specifically kept her with him! Thinking of this, Nie Siyan was very excited inside. The upcoming period would be her time ¡°alone¡± with Wang Tao; she had to seize it! At this moment, several elite zombies appeared on the road, among them one was a level 2 elite zombie, and the others were level 1 elite zombies. Upon seeing this, Nie Siyan immediately told Xu Xiaojun to stop the car; she ran out into the heavy rain and easily handled the zombies. After collecting the crystal cores, she didn¡¯t return to the passenger seat, but instead, brazenly moved to the back seat. Wang Tao glanced at her but didn¡¯t say much. The vehicle was a luxurious, large, five-seater off-road car, and the rear space was very spacious. Wang Tao sitting in the middle didn¡¯t feel crowded at all. ¡°Hehe, Brother Wang, crystal cores!¡± Nie Siyan immediately passed the crystal cores to him. A level 2 Jumping Crystal Core, faced with the level 3 Nie Siyan, that zombie didn¡¯t even get a chance to jump before it was killed. Wang Tao checked Nie Siyan¡¯s HP; killing that level 2 elite zombie only increased her HP by 120, which was a slight boost to her current 40,000 HP. The other level 1 elite zombies didn¡¯t increase her HP at all. ¡°After ascending to level 3, the HP gained from killing level 2 zombies is halved. Level 1 elite zombies don¡¯t add any HP at all. This is similar to the situation at level 2. Hunting must focus on level 3 zombies from now on...¡± Wang Tao thought silently. He just didn¡¯t know if there were many level 3 zombies in other places. No matter the number, he was conflicted. After all, although more level 3 zombies meant more hunting opportunities to gain HP, it also meant more danger. ¡°Brother Wang, you¡¯ve been working hard all day and night, you must be tired. Let me give you a massage,¡± Nie Siyan whispered beside him. Wang Tao always felt there was more to her words, but he didn¡¯t refuse. With his permission, Nie Siyan immediately began massaging Wang Tao. And she really had good technique, making Wang Tao doze off. ¡°Not bad.¡± A simple compliment made Nie Siyan incredibly happy. She suddenly filled with confidence. She must seize this rare opportunity and try to raise her status in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes! She didn¡¯t aspire to reach the stature of Jiang Shixue or Lan Yulian; as long as she could rank as high as Xu Xiaojun, she would be satisfied! Due to zombies¡¯ senses being severely impaired by the rain, the journey was relatively smooth and safe. Occasional zombies were easily dealt with by Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun. Thus, three days later, Wang Tao and his group finally left the bounds of Zijing City and officially entered Wuyang City. The heavy rain continued unabated, growing even heavier. Wang Tao planned to find a place to rest for a while. The corrosive acid rain was rather severe; even the steel plates of the car were corroded. He needed to check and maintain the car. Otherwise, running in the corrosive acid rain like this, the car might be scrapped before they even reached the military base. ¡°There¡¯s a town ahead... There seems to be a Survivor Base ¡ª wait, why does that person look somewhat familiar?¡± Chapter 549: 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_1 Chapter 549: Chapter 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_1 Wuyang City, Duzhu Town. This small town is situated at the easternmost edge of Wuyang City, neighboring Zijing City. Though it lies at the junction of the two cities, this has not brought any benefits to Duzhu Town; on the contrary, it made the town even poorer. Bearing the situation where the young population either work in Zijing City or Wuyang City, even choosing to buy houses and settle in those cities, resulted in a massive outflow of young people from Duzhu Town, leaving not many long-term residents. Of course, it¡¯s not just Duzhu Town; many other small places are experiencing this to some extent. It¡¯s just that the situation in Duzhu Town is relatively more severe. However, having a smaller population does have its advantages. For instance, during the outbreak of the zombie virus, the fewer the people, the smaller the danger. In this respect, Duzhu Town was quite lucky. After the first wave of the virus outbreak, due to the sparse population and fewer zombies, many people in Duzhu Town survived. These survivors then united and established a small-scale Survivor Base in Duzhu Town that still stands to this day. But in recent times, quite a few unfamiliar faces have appeared in Duzhu Town, which has brought a lot of life to the relatively quiet town... ... There are no tall buildings in Duzhu Town, and Wang Tao, with his good eyesight, noticed the presence of survivors from afar. He initially planned to rest anywhere, but since there was a Survivor Base, he naturally wanted to check it out. At the entrance of the Duzhu Town Survivor Base, several modified vehicles had already stopped and were lining up to enter. When Xu Xiaojun drove there, Wang Tao noticed a somewhat familiar vehicle in front. During the inspection, the car window rolled down, revealing the person inside, and Wang Tao was slightly surprised. ¡°Yang Changhong? She¡¯s actually here?¡± Wang Tao had not expected to encounter Yang Changhong here. Previously, Wang Tao heard Jade Lotus mention that she saw Yang Changhong in Zijing City and even invited her to their club. But Yang Changhong refused, saying she had seen traces of her younger sister and had gone to find her. Could it be that she had found her sister? Or is her sister here? Wang Tao had not interacted with Yang Changhong for long, but they already had Deep Communication. He had also developed an image of her in his mind¡ªwell, okay, it could be said he coveted her body. In any case, it¡¯s all the same. Being able to meet again, Wang Tao felt quite happy in his heart. But then Wang Tao took another look at the vehicles behind Yang Changhong; they didn¡¯t seem to be from her convoy. Had the convoy changed vehicles? Or had something happened? Wang Tao was curious, but he didn¡¯t call out to her right away. The SUV came to a stop behind the last car and started lining up to enter the Duzhu Town Survivor Base. The Duzhu Town Base, naturally, could not compare to the Zijin Base, but it was still a bona fide base. It had high walls, barbed wire, security checkpoints, and a few guards armed with handguns. However, seeing that their handguns were all rusty, Wang Tao seriously doubted if they would even fire. ¡°Please remove your glasses and cooperate with our inspection... We need to check everyone¡¯s eyes, and please do not hide anyone...¡± Wang Tao realized that the checks here were similar to those at Shuize Base, simply looking for any whiteness in the eyes. There was no Energy Detector here. And they didn¡¯t meticulously search the vehicles... Overall, it wasn¡¯t as stringent as the Shuize Base. However, it was understandable. After all, the inspectors at the gate were only Level 1 ability users, and it seemed that the overall strength of the people in this base was not too high. Whereas the people inside these foreign vehicles were all Level Two ability users. Facing the powerful, they didn¡¯t dare to be too aggressive. By the time Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle arrived, Yang Changhong¡¯s vehicle had already been inspected and had gone in, and Wang Tao saw that she was the only one in the car. After spending some time, it was finally Wang Tao¡¯s turn. Before the inspectors arrived, Wang Tao could hear them whispering. ¡°What¡¯s been going on lately, why are there always people coming to our base...¡± ¡°I heard that many people are fleeing from disaster...¡± ¡°Fleeing from disaster? What disaster?¡± ¡°Hurry up and check, we¡¯ll talk after the inspection...¡± Two inspectors came up to Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle and knocked on the window. These were two middle-aged men in their forties, wrapped up very tightly and holding a very large and thick oil-paper umbrella that looked heavy. However, for them as Level 1 ability users, it wasn¡¯t hard to hold. ¡°Good day, sir! If you wish to enter our Duzhu Town Base, please cooperate with our inspection. We only need to check the pupils of everyone in your vehicle...¡± Wang Tao and the others rolled down their windows. The two inspectors, upon seeing the four faces in the car, were somewhat startled. Startled by their vibrant spirit. They had inspected quite a few external survivors recently, and regardless of their strength, they were all visibly exhausted. Not like the four people in Wang Tao¡¯s car, who appeared relaxed and in good spirits, as if they were on a leisure trip! And there were two beauties, one older and one younger! In these end times, everyone was struggling to survive, who had the energy for grooming? Based on their experience, beauties in the post-apocalyptic world were either big shots or beauties kept by big shots¡ªboth of which were not to be provoked! As for how strong the four people in the car were... These two inspectors actually couldn¡¯t tell! Ability users could generally sense each other to some extent, being able to feel what level the other was at. However, this had a prerequisite: either the levels of both parties were not too far apart, or one side was exceptionally adept with their ability, able to conceal their energy. Chapter 550: 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_2 Chapter 550: Chapter 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_2 ¡°` For instance, a Level 1 ability user might recognize a Level 2 ability user, but if a Level 1 ability user encountered a Level 3 ability user, they might not be able to tell. The two inspectors here couldn¡¯t sense what level of ability users Wang Tao and his group were; they felt just like ordinary people. But who would have the courage to venture outside at a time like this, if not someone extraordinary? Could they be Level 3 ability users? Are there Level 3 ability users now? Or is it that they have mastered control over their abilities so well that they are able to conceal their aura? Regardless of which it was, these four people were undoubtedly formidable, and they should try not to offend them at all costs! He reminded himself to give a heads-up to the others at the base to be careful. A moment later. The two inspection officers both gestured invitingly. ¡°Mr. Wang, please!¡± To enter this base, registration was required, and recording the name of one person sufficed. Although identity cards were no longer used and there was no way to verify if the name given was real, the purpose of the base wasn¡¯t to check household registrations, but to have a way to address people in case of future events. ¡°I just heard you mention that many outsiders have recently come to your base? Can you tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s question, the speaker didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately replied: ¡°That¡¯s right. In the past two months, indeed, some outsiders have passed through Duzhu Town. I¡¯ve heard them say that many of them encountered zombie waves, their encampments were destroyed, and they had no choice but to flee. Our military base in Wuyang City is relatively well-known, and many people are aware of it, so they wanted to come and try their luck to see if they could get into the military base...¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood. It was the zombie waves. When he had been with Yang Changhong, they had experienced a wave of zombies. The sheer horror of it made him suspect that few bases could withstand such an assault. But had there been frequent zombie waves recently? Could there be an underlying issue or a presage of some sort? Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, but the frequent occurrence of zombie waves was certainly not a good sign. ¡°Thanks.¡± Wang Tao casually took out a Level 1 White Crystal Core and tossed it to the man. The man caught it instinctively, but when he saw what he was holding, his eyes widened in astonishment. Lucky day! What¡¯s the meaning of this? A tip? Using Crystal Cores as tips? How generous! ¡°Mr. Wang, you¡¯re too courteous!¡± The man¡¯s face was smiling, but it was an obviously professional, fake smile. However, now, he grinned as brightly as a blooming chrysanthemum. Then, as if something dawned on him, he hurriedly added: ¡°Oh, right, Mr. Wang, are you passing through here to go to the military base as well? I must make it clear to you; I¡¯m not sure what the situation is like over at the military base, but I know it is extremely dangerous! Not just the military base, the entire Wuyang City urban area is extremely dangerous! Over the last few months, quite a few people have passed through here, aiming for Wuyang City or the military base, and we¡¯ve mostly lost contact with them... At first, I thought they were safe, but then some came back, and they said it was too dangerous there, a certain death trap! Those who managed to escape back turned into zombies just half a day later, which caused a lot of chaos in our base...¡± This news was almost the same as what Wang Tao had heard. He nodded slightly: ¡°Thank you, this information is very important to me. So, you¡¯re saying that there are virtually no survivors in the Wuyang City urban area?¡± ¡°Yes, virtually none! Perhaps there¡¯s the odd one or two, it¡¯s hard to say. But generally speaking, it¡¯s almost deserted; for the living, it¡¯s practically hell on Earth!¡± The man looked genuinely frightened, as if he had witnessed it firsthand. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it more thought. I¡¯ll go inside now.¡± ¡°Ah, please do!¡± The man immediately bowed. Wang Tao¡¯s car was the last in line. Once he went in, there were no more people. After Wang Tao¡¯s car entered, the man straightened up immediately. His companion looked at him with envy. ¡°Damn, what kind of stroke of luck is this? You got a Crystal Core just like that?¡± ¡°Heh! Jealous, aren¡¯t you? Learn from this! If another rich person comes along, next time it could be your lucky break!¡± ¡°Makes sense...¡± ... Having passed the check and entered into Duzhu Town¡¯s camp, one could see several guards behind the gate. However, besides two of the guards holding rusty pistols, the rest were armed with long knives, spears, and the like. These guards were also Level 1 ability users, clearly indicating that the camp¡¯s defenses were not particularly strong. But as long as they could stop the zombies, it was enough; Duzhu Town didn¡¯t have too many zombies, nor any particularly strong ones, so the camp¡¯s defenses were obviously sufficient. ¡°These buildings must be quite old. If it were peacetime, staying here for a few days might be quite nice...¡± Seeing the scenery outside, Nie Siyan sighed. It was raining corrosive acid rain now, and one couldn¡¯t stay out in the rain for long. The streets of the base were empty. However, there were thoughtful signs with arrows pointing the way. ¡°Straight ahead is the parking lot; there¡¯s also a trading hall and living quarters. Let¡¯s head there,¡± Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun. ¡°Alright.¡± Soon, Wang Tao¡¯s car arrived at the parking lot. The parking lot had been adapted from an abandoned building, without a door, but with walls and a roof sufficient to shield from the corrosive acid rain. At the entrance to the parking lot was a balding middle-aged man, around fifty, who was registering names in a small notebook. ¡°` Chapter 551: 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_3 Chapter 551: Chapter 234 Encounter with Yang Changhong_3 Wang Tao parked his car next to Yang Changhong¡¯s. Then he registered his name and car. ¡°Mr. Wang, rest assured, our parking lot is manned, just lock your doors, and we guarantee that nothing will be taken from your car!¡± The bald middle-aged man assured, patting his chest. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He came fully armed this time, unless someone forced their way in, there was no way they could pry the door open. He casually threw a white Level 1 Garbage Crystal Core to the man. ¡°Thanks for the trouble.¡± Just like the previous inspector, the bald middle-aged man was taken aback for a moment before subconsciously catching the Crystal Core. Upon realizing he was holding a Level 1 Crystal Core in his hand, he widened his eyes and stammered: ¡°Wang, Mr. Wang? W-we don¡¯t charge for parking...¡± The fact of the matter was, in the beginning, the leader of their base was inclined to charge a fee, since making some money was always good, but it was later rescinded. The reason was simple¡ªif someone could drive their car here and park it, they were generally second-order superpower owners. And in their base, there was only one second-order superpower owner... In the absence of legal stipulations, the one with the biggest fist had the final say. You don¡¯t have the strength and still want to charge a fee? That was just asking for death! As is widely known, many people, especially those who had not fared well before the end of the world, tend to become inflated and even psychologically twisted once they gained strength after the apocalypse. Even if the fees they charged were not high, it could appear offensive in the eyes of some hot-tempered individuals¡ªit was like looking down on them! If someone got unhappy and confronted the base, that would be a disaster! Of course, although they didn¡¯t charge a fee, there were a small number of people who would give tips. These tips were a bonus for them. Not much, but better than nothing. ¡°No charge? Then consider it a tip for you.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively. ¡°A tip?¡± In the post-apocalyptic world, the valuable things pretty much fell into a few categories: food, weapons, vehicles, and the most valuable of all, Crystal Cores. He never expected Wang Tao would actually give him a Crystal Core as a tip! Even if it was the lowest-grade Level 1 White Crystal Core, it was still a Crystal Core! This could be exchanged for a lot of food in the trade hall! After a moment of stunned silence, the man immediately stood at attention. ¡°Yes! Mr. Wang, rest assured, I will take good care of your car! There won¡¯t be any problems!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, ready to leave. The man immediately brought out four bulky-looking oil-paper umbrellas from a corner and handed them to Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, these are the umbrellas we make here, especially for these acid rains! This umbrella can withstand at least three hours of corrosion!¡± ¡°Oh? Interesting.¡± Wang Tao took them and handed one to each Xu Xiaojun and the others. Then he headed towards the trade hall. Once Wang Tao left, the bald middle-aged man immediately called out. ¡°Guys, get some clean water, let¡¯s give Mr. Wang¡¯s car a good wash!¡± ... The trade hall was the largest building in Duzhu Town Base, a three-story structure that seemed to have been converted from a small shopping mall. The first floor was the trade hall, providing a trading space and a place to post bounty tasks. The second floor was specially prepared for visitors¡¯ accommodation. Of course, you could stay elsewhere if you didn¡¯t want to stay here; it was quite free. The third floor was where the leadership of Duzhu Town Base lived and dealt with daily affairs. The trade hall was located right next to the parking lot, just a few steps away. Upon arriving at the trade hall, it was busier inside than Wang Tao had imagined, filled with people. The entrance of Wang Tao and his group immediately drew quite a bit of attention. It couldn¡¯t be helped, the stature of Xu Xiaojun and Wang Tao was too striking: one was two meters tall, the other was two meters twenty. Both of them standing at the entrance could block out the light. As for the two beautiful women beside Wang Tao, they didn¡¯t attract as much attention. After all, Wang Tao and his companions clearly were not ones to be trifled with; for all anyone knew, the beauties might be their forbidden fruit. It wasn¡¯t worth the trouble of looking for trouble. Among the outsiders there, two of them became somewhat uncertain upon seeing Wang Tao and his group. ¡°Level 3? Really?¡± They could vaguely sense an oppressive aura distinct from Level 1 and Level 2 Ability Users emanating from Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, but it wasn¡¯t as evident as that of a Level 3 zombie... Wang Tao ignored the gazes of others, scanned the area, and did not spot Zhang Hong. ¡°Excuse me, sir, my name is Zheng Hai. May I help you with anything?¡± At that moment, a short, plump middle-aged man with only a few hundred HP walked over, nodding and bowing to Wang Tao. ¡°I¡¯m looking for someone. An outsider, a woman who is quite pretty...¡± Wang Tao described her simply. Zheng Hai thought for a moment, then tentatively asked: ¡°I think I know who you are looking for. May I be so bold as to ask what your relationship with the lady is...¡± Their base dreads incidents involving grudges because, if a fight breaks out, they can¡¯t afford to offend either party. However, judging by the look of Wang Tao and his companions, they didn¡¯t seem like they were after revenge, which is why he dared to ask. Of course, the most important point was that his good brother from the inspection team had just communicated with him using a walkie-talkie, saying that a group of very generous bosses had arrived... ¡°Good friends.¡± Wang Tao replied. ¡°Alright, please wait a moment, I¡¯ll go notify¡ª¡± Zheng Hai hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Wang Tao threw him a white Crystal Core. ¡°Take me to her.¡± Wang Tao said calmly. Looking at the Crystal Core in his hand, Zheng Hai suppressed his excitement and said: ¡°Please follow me!¡± He led Wang Tao and his group to a room on the second floor and stopped outside the door. Wang Tao knocked directly. Knock knock knock¡ª ¡°Who is it?¡± A wary female voice came from inside. Wang Tao was very familiar with this voice; it was indeed Yang Changhong. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Wang Tao spoke deliberately in a lowered voice. Click¡ª The door opened a crack, and Yang Changhong¡¯s haggard face appeared. Upon seeing Wang Tao at the door, she froze. Then she instinctively reached out. ¡°Am I... dreaming again...¡± Chapter 552: 235 Do you still have planes here?_1 Chapter 552: Chapter 235 Do you still have planes here?_1 Wang Tao grabbed Yang Changhong¡¯s hand and then, smiling, said: ¡°What? Don¡¯t recognize me anymore?¡± ¡°It really is you!¡± Only then did Yang Changhong react, instinctively throwing herself into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. Breathing in his scent, she suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of security. Then she quickly let go of Wang Tao, her face showing a hint of embarrassment. ¡°Sorry, I got a little excited seeing someone familiar, come in and let¡¯s talk!¡± Yang Changhong quickly ushered Wang Tao and his group inside. The room inside was larger than Wang Tao had imagined, with three bedrooms and a living room. After inviting Wang Tao and his companions to sit in the living room, Yang Changhong suddenly became somewhat silent. Her relationship with Wang Tao was actually quite awkward. To call them friends was not quite right, since they were closer than ordinary friends, having known each other so well. But lovers wasn¡¯t suitable either. Their time together had not been long, and apart from the physical, they knew little else about each other... The only fitting description, perhaps, was ¡°friends with benefits¡±? The reason she had been intimate with Wang Tao was because she felt that either of them could die at any time, so she might as well indulge herself before death. She never anticipated that they would meet again. So after the initial excitement, Yang Changhong felt a bit awkward. It was Wang Tao who broke the silence; he briefly introduced Nie Siyan to Yang Changhong. They had not met before. Xu Xiaojun and Jiang Shixue had met Yang Changhong before, so there was no need for introductions. ¡°Hello!¡± The two women shook hands. Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t surprised to see another woman with Wang Tao. She had seen many strong individuals with multiple partners before, both men and women. As for Nie Siyan, she felt somewhat resigned. She had thought this trip to the military base would be a time for her to be alone with Wang Tao. But by the looks of it, there would likely be another person joining them, and one who had a close relationship with Wang Tao... Of course, she certainly wouldn¡¯t reveal her thoughts, as causing Wang Tao to be unhappy would be unfortunate. Wang Tao, looking at Yang Changhong who didn¡¯t know what to say, took the initiative and asked: ¡°Zhang Hong, what¡¯s your situation now? How come you¡¯re alone? I heard from Lan Yulian that you had news of your sister?¡± Hearing this, Yang Changhong was somewhat surprised. ¡°You¡¯ve seen Jade Lotus? That makes sense, with both of you in Zijing City, you would have the chance to meet. As for me...¡± Yang Changhong recounted her experiences since she had separated from Wang Tao. Half an hour later, Wang Tao understood her situation. In short, not long after separating from Wang Tao, Yang Changhong also went to Zijing City Downtown. That was exactly when Wang Tao had captured Nie Siyan and gone to the Skull Club¡¯s lair. Therefore, on her way to the downtown area, apart from zombies, Yang Changhong didn¡¯t encounter any human threats. If it hadn¡¯t been for Wang Tao, it¡¯s possible she and Nie Siyan might have met. Given the circumstances at the time, it was hard to say who would have won or lost. Yang Changhong¡¯s purpose for coming to Zijing City was to see if she could find her sister, even though she had little hope. To her surprise, she did come across some information about her sister¡ªshe met a classmate of her sister who had seen her in Zijing City. But it was just a passing meeting, and they didn¡¯t even have the chance to speak; afterward, her sister wasn¡¯t seen again. Though the news couldn¡¯t be confirmed as true or false, she still began to search frantically in Zijing City. During her search, she met Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian invited her to stay, but she refused, using the excuse of looking for her sister. Moreover, at that time, she had just found some clues and left without much discussion with Lan Yulian. Unfortunately, in the end, she couldn¡¯t find her sister. However, she discovered some other information about her sister. All these clues pointed in one direction¡ªher sister had left with a group of people heading towards Wuyang City, and most likely to the military base, because there weren¡¯t many survivors left anywhere else in Wuyang City. At that time, Yang Changhong suddenly regretted not going with Wang Tao to Wuyang City. Of course, she didn¡¯t know that at that time, Wang Tao was still in Zijing City. Zijing City was large; Wang Tao¡¯s activities were all within the downtown area. Yang Changhong went to many other places, so it was normal that they didn¡¯t run into each other. Yang Changhong knew Wuyang City was dangerous, but she had to go. She didn¡¯t want her subordinates to risk their lives by accompanying her¡ªand she could tell that they weren¡¯t keen on going. Therefore, Yang Changhong disbanded her team and let her subordinates stay in Zijing City. They were in the suburbs at that time, so those subordinates headed for a small camp there. Yang Changhong set off towards Wuyang City alone in a car. Although she wasn¡¯t weak, traveling alone still led her to encounter many troubles. Fortunately, it had rained recently, which quickened her pace, and she arrived in Wuyang City half a day earlier than Wang Tao. And her reason for coming to Duzhu Town was not to avoid the rain, but because there was news of her sister here. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect to meet you here; I thought you had already gone to the military base and that I would never see you again in this lifetime...¡± After chatting with Wang Tao for a while, Yang Changhong¡¯s excitement had somewhat subsided, yet she still felt very moved. ¡°So, what are your plans going forward?¡± Wang Tao asked again. Yang Changhong didn¡¯t answer but instead looked at Wang Tao. Chapter 553 - 235 Do you still have planes here?_2 Chapter 553: Chapter 235 Do you still have planes here?_2 Looking at her tired expression, Wang Tao invited her with a smile: ¡°Then come with me, we¡¯re headed in the same direction.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± A radiant smile instantly appeared on Yang Changhong¡¯s face. She naturally wanted to accompany Wang Tao, not only because he was strong, but also because they were on the same path. However, she had a bit of pride and didn¡¯t really want to take the initiative to ask. Luckily, Wang Tao took the initiative to invite her. This made her feel very grateful. ¡°What exactly is the news about your sister?¡± If her sister was still alive, that would definitely be good news. ¡°Someone saw her in Duzhu Town, described some of her characteristics, and those characteristics are ones I¡¯ve never mentioned before. So there¡¯s a high probability that it¡¯s her! Right now, I just want to know if she left any other clues here...¡± Yang Changhong spoke with some excitement. ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He was a bit worried that Yang Changhong might be deceived, even though she used to be a very capable boss. When it comes to someone she cares about, she might lose some of her judgment. But now it seemed fine, her thoughts were still very clear. ¡°What about you, why did you come here?¡± Yang Changhong was curious. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t come to the Duzhu Town Base, they might never have met again in their lives. The reason Wang Tao came was, of course, because his car had been exposed to the corrosive acid rain for too long, and he wanted to find a place to rest and repair it. But Wang Tao said: ¡°I originally planned to take advantage of the rain to hurry to the military base. But by chance, I saw your car at the entrance of the Duzhu Town Base, so I came over.¡± Nie Siyan, who was beside him, upon hearing this, immediately looked down on Wang Tao a bit. He had clearly planned to come to the Duzhu Town Base first before seeing Yang Changhong, but Wang Tao made it sound like he purposely went to the Duzhu Town Base for Yang Changhong. Poor sister, unable to escape Wang Tao¡¯s clutches! But thinking about it, she felt a bit envious... Upon hearing this, Yang Changhong¡¯s heartbeat sped up a bit, as if she had been struck by Cupid¡¯s arrow. She instinctively grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand, and he in turn firmly held her small hand. ¡°Have you eaten yet? If not, shall we eat something together?¡± ¡°Sure! I haven¡¯t had a full meal in a while...¡± Yang Changhong had a Magical Stomach Pouch from Wang Tao, but there was not much food left in it. Recently, she had been eating sparingly, and she came here partly to exchange for some food. Wang Tao brought some food, and they ate simply. At that moment, a knock on the door suddenly came from outside. ¡°Mr. Wang, Ms. Yang, I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you...¡± It was Zheng Hai¡¯s voice. Wang Tao had Xu Xiaojun open the door, and Zheng Hai stood outside holding a notebook. ¡°Here¡¯s the thing, we¡¯ve had a lot of visitors in the past few days, all from different places, so our leader wants to organize a gathering to exchange information and allow for trade amongst ourselves. If you¡¯re willing, I can register your name...¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He was almost completely in the dark about Wuyang City, so getting some information would be great. ¡°Great, where did you come from? And Ms. Yang?¡± Zheng Hai asked again. Although Wang Tao and Yang Changhong knew each other, it was clear they didn¡¯t come together, so he asked for clarification. ¡°I came from Zijing City Downtown.¡± ¡°I suppose I am from the outskirts of Zijing City...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Zheng Hai registered the information from both of them, then handed the notebook to Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, you can have a look to see where the others have come from; you might find some of your friends among them.¡± Wang Tao glanced at it, and naturally, there were no friends. He did not recognize a single one of the registered names. However, the origins of these people surprised Wang Tao. ¡°Are there people from other provinces as well?¡± Traveling from Zijing City to Wuyang City was already challenging, as the two cities were neighbors. Coming from another province, even Cangsong Province which was adjacent to Wuyang City, would mean covering a much greater distance than from Zijing City. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, Yang Changhong explained: ¡°If they had a choice, they definitely wouldn¡¯t want to travel such a long distance, but they were chased by hordes of zombies, fleeing for their lives. During such escapes, they basically ended up wherever they could survive.¡± ¡°That makes sense.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then asked Zheng Hai: ¡°What¡¯s the exact time?¡± ¡°Tonight, in the trading hall downstairs!¡± Zheng Hai replied promptly. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Does Mr. Wang need another room? As long as you are a Second-order Superpower Owner, you can stay in any of the vacant rooms here!¡± Zheng Hai offered. Their entire base had only one Level 2 Ability User as their leader, so they treated other Second-order Superpower Owners with great respect and caution. ¡°No need, we¡¯ll just stay here.¡± The place where Yang Changhong was staying already had three rooms, which was enough for Wang Tao to stay in. ¡°Alright then, Mr. Wang, please continue with your business.¡± Zheng Hai took his leave respectfully. It was afternoon, and Wang Tao had nothing to do for now, so he took a few people to the parking lot to repair his car. The protective layers on his car needed to be replaced after being exposed to the acid rain for so long. ¡°Huh? The car¡¯s been washed clean, too.¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, it seemed that the people in the parking area were quite considerate. Seeing that Wang Tao was still driving the car she had given him, while the other cars from her fleet were gone, Yang Changhong felt a little emotional. Chapter 554 - 235 Do you still have planes here?_3 Chapter 554: Chapter 235 Do you still have planes here?_3 ¡°Back then there were more than ten vehicles together, and now only these two are left...¡± After everyone finished organizing the cars, night had already fallen. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Check out the hall.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The number of people inside the trading hall was much less than during the day, but it was livelier. Most of the locals who were there during the day had left. Now the place was full of outsiders who were stronger, and many of them were trading with each other, bringing out items that were much better than what the locals had. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± At this moment, Zheng Hai came over with several middle-aged men and women. ¡°Let me introduce you, this is our base leader, Fan Peng...¡± Fan Peng was a tall middle-aged man with second-order strength, but his HP was not even ten thousand. His mana was also not much, and he had no hidden attributes. This was an ordinary second-order ability user. ¡°Mr. Wang, hello, I¡¯ve heard a lot about you!¡± When he was still at a distance, Fan Peng bent slightly at the waist and extended both hands. ¡°Hello.¡± Wang Tao shook his hand. After a few polite exchanges, Fan Peng said: ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, if there¡¯s anything you need our help with, just mention it. I will do my best to satisfy your needs!¡± He positioned himself very humbly. He had to be humble, as these outsiders were not easy to provoke, with almost every team having several level two ability users. Their base had only one level two ability user. If there really was a conflict, their small base would not withstand the turmoil caused by these ability users. Moreover, his subordinates reminded him that there might be a level three ability user among Wang Tao¡¯s group! He had to be even more cautious and submissive! Of course, there was also a most important point: Wang Tao¡¯s group was very wealthy! Due to the small population and few zombies in Duzhu Town, crystal cores were also scarce. For them, crystal cores were a very rare resource. Now that such a ¡°rich man¡± had come, if they could trade for some crystal cores from Wang Tao to help cultivate some ability users, that would be very worthwhile. So he was exceptionally polite to Wang Tao. ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll trouble you.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Haha, no trouble at all, no trouble! Please, this way Mr. Wang...¡± Fan Peng led Wang Tao and his group to the center of the trading hall. When the others saw this, they also immediately stood up. Although they were considered strong in this place, they still had a big gap compared to Wang Tao¡¯s team, which was suspected to have a level three ability user. Especially Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun, their physiques were so oppressive, they looked hard to mess with. ¡°Hello everyone.¡± Wang Tao greeted everyone with a smile and then sat down in the spot arranged by Fan Peng. Fan Peng stood in the middle and addressed the crowd. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, I am Fan Peng, the leader of Duzhu Town. The purpose of hosting this exchange is to share what we have and what we lack; there are no rules here, and everyone should speak freely...¡± Wang Tao also took the opportunity to observe the other people. There were more than thirty outsiders, a considerable number. Among them, twenty were level two ability users, and the rest were level one ability users, with not a single ordinary person among them. However, among these level two ability users, only two had 29999 HP, one male and one female. The man was named Cai Ping, in his forties. The woman was named Tan Ya, in her thirties. The rest were mostly between ten thousand and twenty thousand HP. In Wang Tao¡¯s view, of course, this strength was not enough, but actually, it wasn¡¯t weak either. They could be considered second- or third-tier people... After Fan Peng finished speaking, everyone began to exchange with each other, some seeking information, others bringing out items for trade. But these people didn¡¯t have any good crystal cores in hand, or maybe they had some but didn¡¯t bring them out. Anyway, Wang Tao was not interested in them. However, Fan Peng beside him seemed very interested. Unfortunately, the things they wanted were either vehicles or weapons which Fan Peng simply couldn¡¯t provide. Their base had plenty of food, but since level two ability users could generally find food themselves, the value of food was relatively not so high. ¡°Do you need anything?¡± Wang Tao looked towards Yang Changhong, Xu Xiaojun, and the others. They all shook their heads; Wang Tao¡¯s supplies were quite sufficient, and they weren¡¯t lacking anything for now. Since they didn¡¯t need supplies, they went straight to exchanging information. Wang Tao cleared his throat and said: ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, I want to know what the situation is like in your areas...¡± To show sincerity, Wang Tao first roughly described the situation in Zijing City. Hearing that the survivors in Zijing City were all inside a large base where they could grow vegetables and grains, and that there was even a level three ability user there, everyone¡¯s eyes, including Fan Peng¡¯s, lit up. ¡°Damn! Zijing City has such a place? If I had known, I would have headed for Zijing City!¡± Someone regretted. ¡°Damn it! I had planned to escape to Zijing City, but I lost my map and ended up taking the wrong road to Wuyang City...¡± Someone was even more regretful. ¡°It¡¯s not too late to turn back now. Shall we go to Zijing City together in a few days?¡± Someone made a suggestion. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s plan it properly later!¡± ¡°...¡± The people were very excited about the news from Wang Tao. After discussing for a while, they began to share the situation in their own areas. After Wang Tao heard it, he felt it was just one word¡ªdifficult! Then Wang Tao asked: ¡°How much do you know about Wuyang Military Base?¡± Everyone shook their heads. They knew there was a military base in Wuyang City, and some came here because of it. But as far as knowing more, they probably only knew the name. ¡°Nobody knows?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly. He thought for a moment and then asked: ¡°Then have you picked up the recent airlifts from the military base, and did you find any news about the military base or any novel items inside?¡± There had been frequent airlifts lately, and there might be some clues in them. However, after Wang Tao said this, everyone was stunned. Fan Peng said in a shocked whisper: ¡°Ah? Mr. Wang, do you mean to say that those planes flying over our heads... are airlift planes?!¡± Before Wang Tao could reply, several people from other provinces said with a baffled look: ¡°Ah? There are planes here?¡± Chapter 555 - 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_1 Chapter 555: Chapter 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_1 ¡°Hmm?¡± The reaction of the crowd caught Wang Tao by surprise. The leader of Duzhu Town, Fan Peng, didn¡¯t know about the air drop plane? Had they never seen an air drop? And the response of those outsiders was even stranger; they had never even seen a plane? ¡°Brother, you¡¯re not dreaming, right? The Government and the military fell a long time ago, how could there still be air drops!¡± Cai Ping spoke up at this time. Although Wang Tao and his group were strong, Cai Ping still felt there might be something wrong with Wang Tao¡¯s head, or perhaps he was hallucinating due to too much pressure. The others also quickly came to their senses. ¡°Mr. Wang, you really have a sense of humor! There are neither planes nor air drops now! We¡¯ve been to many places, but we¡¯ve never seen an air drop! Not to mention air drops, we haven¡¯t even seen a plane, at most some drones...¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯ve never seen or even heard of air drops before¡ªoh, not that I¡¯ve never heard of them. In the early stages of the viral outbreak, before the Government had completely fallen, we received official news that they were preparing for air drops. But on the appointed date, we didn¡¯t see anything, no air drops, no planes...¡± ¡°Yes. I had some hope back then, but nothing happened...¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone spoke at once. Tan Ya looked at Wang Tao and asked cautiously, ¡°So, Mr. Wang, forgive me for being direct. Have you been under too much pressure lately, causing you to have hallucinations?¡± Nie Siyan got a bit angry when she heard this. Just because they hadn¡¯t seen it didn¡¯t mean it didn¡¯t exist. How dare they contradict Wang Tao and even suspect that he was hallucinating! Yang Changhong and Xu Xiaojun were also a bit displeased but remained rational and didn¡¯t say anything. Jiang Shixue was indifferent; she never cared about what others said. As for Wang Tao, he furrowed his brows deeply. He wasn¡¯t afraid of being doubted, nor did he care about what people said; he wasn¡¯t even interested in proving anything. But... there clearly were planes and air drops. Why hadn¡¯t they seen them? These outsiders were not from the same place, and it might be due to luck that one or two of them hadn¡¯t seen a plane, but if all of them hadn¡¯t seen one, then there was a problem! If these people weren¡¯t lying, Wang Tao thought there was only one likely possibility¡ªevery other military base had fallen except for Wuyang City¡¯s military base! Soldiers obey orders as their supreme duty; perhaps Wuyang Military Base¡¯s mission was to make air drops over the entire Wuyang City, so they didn¡¯t drop anything outside the province. And if the other military bases had fallen, then they couldn¡¯t air drop within their own provinces... Wang Tao felt heavy-hearted. If this was the case, it meant the military might really be down to nothing! ¡°Everyone...¡± At this moment, Fan Peng suddenly spoke up, interrupting everyone¡¯s conversation. ¡°I can testify that we indeed have planes here! But I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s an air drop because I haven¡¯t seen it...¡± Fan Peng¡¯s voice was excited. If it really was an air drop, that meant at least one military base was safe! After all, if they could air drop to others, how could it not be safe! This was absolutely good news, even making him feel an urge to immediately take his people to Wuyang Military Base! However, he also felt a bit sour because the planes had never made an air drop to their area... Such bad luck! When people heard what Fan Peng said, they immediately stopped discussing. Cai Ping looked at Fan Peng with skepticism. ¡°Brother Fan, are you really not joking? There are really planes here?¡± ¡°Why would I lie to you, there¡¯s no benefit for us in that! There really are planes, but I don¡¯t know if they are air drop planes because I haven¡¯t seen an air drop...¡± At this, Fan Peng looked at Wang Tao with hopeful eyes. ¡°Mr. Wang, if I may ask, have you ever found anything from an air drop?¡± Upon hearing the question, Wang Tao came back to his senses and nodded. ¡°I have.¡± Whoosh¡ª Everyone was in an uproar. ¡°Really? There really are air drops?¡± ¡°Impossible, right? It¡¯s been six months since the apocalypse began, and I¡¯ve moved around a lot of places in these six months, never seeing a plane or an air drop, nor have I heard others talk about air drops...¡± ¡°But Mr. Wang said he has found them, so there should be no need to lie, right?¡± People were skeptical but also excited. If it was true, at least it meant that a military base was still alive! Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much but instead took out a beautifully crafted vial. ¡°Inhibitor, it can suppress early-stage infection mutations. If used before the zombie virus acts, the infected person will not mutate... This is one of the items from the air drop.¡± Silence! Everyone was instantly quiet! They looked at the small bottle in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, full of disbelief. Inhibitor? It could suppress the outbreak of the zombie virus? My God! Isn¡¯t that equivalent to an antidote for the zombie virus! Whoosh¡ª After the silence, everyone erupted once again. ¡°Really? Is there such a thing?¡± ¡°Seeing that the vial is so delicate, it¡¯s obviously not some small workshop¡¯s product, it must be from a production line...¡± ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean we¡¯re saved? We won¡¯t have to fear the zombie virus anymore?¡± ¡°...¡± Tan Ya, her hand trembling over her mouth, looked at the inhibitor bottle. ¡°Mr. Wang, is it true what you say? Can this inhibitor really address the zombie virus?¡± Wang Tao shook his head and explained, ¡°It¡¯s not about resolving the zombie virus, it can only suppress the virus temporarily and also has some side effects. Moreover, one must use it long-term afterwards; otherwise, there is a high risk of relapse.¡± Chapter 556 - 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_2 Chapter 556: Chapter 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_2 It¡¯s not a cure, but to some extent, it¡¯s equivalent to one. Tan Ya suddenly knelt before Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang! I beg for a bottle of Inhibitor! I can exchange all my resources for it, whatever your terms, I can satisfy them! Please, I beg you!¡± After speaking, she directly kowtowed to Wang Tao. ¡°Why? Has someone in your team been infected?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Logically, it shouldn¡¯t be possible, right? The method of checking pupils, though old-fashioned, is still effective for those infected with the zombie virus. Since they passed through Duzhu Town¡¯s inspection, they shouldn¡¯t have any virus carriers among them. Unless it¡¯s due to the Fusion Crystal Core causing an excess of Internal Impurity. In such cases, you can¡¯t judge by the colour of the pupils. But if that were the case, it would either be nothing, or, if something goes wrong, it would result in a mutation. There wouldn¡¯t be an infection step... The others, upon hearing Tan Ya¡¯s words, all looked at her anxiously. If she really brought an infected person into the base, that would be like a ticking time bomb! ¡°No, there¡¯s no one infected in my team right now. But, but we were ambushed by zombies last night, and my husband got infected trying to protect me! He told us to go ahead, and he stayed behind in the wild, waiting to die...¡± Tan Ya sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Tan Ya lifted her head, her face streaked with tears. Wang Tao was silent for a moment, then directly tossed the bottle of Inhibitor to her hands. ¡°The zombie virus outbreak time is between 1 minute to 24 hours. The Inhibitor only works if used before the infected person fully turns into a zombie. This bottle of Inhibitor is for you, I hope you¡¯re lucky.¡± ¡°Thank you! Thank you!¡± Tan Ya kowtowed three times to Wang Tao, then immediately got up and said to Fan Peng: ¡°Please open the gate!¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Fan Peng nodded seriously, then turned to the others and said, ¡°Excuse me for a moment, everyone.¡± Fan Peng hurried off with Tan Ya and her group. Those left behind had complex expressions on their faces. They had mostly all experienced life-and-death separations, and if the Inhibitor truly was effective, and they just happened to have some, it would undoubtedly prevent many tragedies... They looked at Wang Tao with eager eyes. If they could get Inhibitors now, it wouldn¡¯t be too late! Their loved ones might be gone, but their current teammates were their family! They were only hearing about the Inhibitor for the first time, unsure of its effectiveness, and did not know the price, so they did not strike a deal immediately with Wang Tao. That is, of course, if Wang Tao was willing to make a deal. From what Wang Tao had previously said, these Inhibitors might need to be used continuously, so certainly, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t mind having more on hand, but whether he was willing to sell was another question... Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak again. What he wanted to know now was the situation at the military base. The inside of the military base must be safe, but there was the fear that outside was too dangerous. If that were the case, how he would get in was another issue. ¡°Ahem, Mr. Wang, I¡¯d like to ask if the Inhibitors you have are for sale?¡± At this point, Cai Ping couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Want to buy? Sure, exchange them for Crystal Cores.¡± Wang Tao spoke up. He had many Inhibitors, not just a lot, but very many. He had monopolized the recent air drops. A single airdrop crate contained 100 bottles of Inhibitor, and although not every crate had Inhibitors, the total number was not small, especially with those he had stored previously. Although he had left most of the Inhibitors for Lan Yulian, he still had five hundred bottles with him. Their group had armor, and they took precautions seriously, so they were not likely to get infected. The Inhibitors Wang Tao had were reserved for emergencies and trading. So, of course, they were for sale. Upon hearing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind selling, Cai Ping and the others became excited. Crystal Cores are good, but in truth, most of them are useless to individuals. Inhibitors, on the other hand, could save lives! ¡°Mr. Wang, please allow us to discuss which Crystal Cores to bring out for the trade...¡± Cai Ping said. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao responded indifferently. He knew that Cai Ping obviously wanted to wait for news from Tan Ya¡¯s side. If the Inhibitor truly saves Tan Ya¡¯s husband, he would definitely buy it. If Tan Ya¡¯s husband had turned into a zombie or was already dead, then he would be cautious about buying. If Tan Ya¡¯s husband was still alive but the Inhibitor had no effect after use, then he would have to consider... Although Cai Ping felt that the likelihood of Tan Ya¡¯s husband being alive was very low, there was still hope. You couldn¡¯t blame him for being cautious; he was scammed before the apocalypse, losing tens of thousands, money he earned from toiling at a construction site. It drove him to the brink of suicide... So when it came to matters like this, he was rather careful. As for the others, seeing that the big shot, Cai Ping, did not immediately make a move, they too restrained themselves for the time being. They also decided to wait and see. At that moment, Fan Peng, who had gone to open the gate, returned. Upon hearing that Wang Tao was willing to sell the Inhibitor, he was ecstatic. But when he heard that Wang Tao wanted Crystal Cores in exchange, he immediately became disheartened. Even though Duzhu Town was safe, with few zombies, there were also few Crystal Cores. What their base lacked the most was Crystal Cores! Otherwise, he might not have been the only Level 2 Ability... Fan Peng felt upset for a while, then suddenly asked Wang Tao: Chapter 557 - 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_3 Chapter 557: Chapter 236: Turns Out to Be an Example?_3 ¡°Mr. Wang, what else is in these airdrops? Could you let us take a look? We really have never seen anything like it and are quite curious...¡± He was very curious about what else was inside the airdrops; they couldn¡¯t only contain inhibitors, could they? When the others heard this, they all looked at Wang Tao with faces full of curiosity. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything. ¡°Besides inhibitors, there are also some compressed foods, firearms, ammunition, etc. Among some of the more special items to come later, there are energy detectors, crystal core extractors... and some mechanical exoskeleton equipment...¡± Xu Xiaojun would only wear armor and a mechanical arm when fighting. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t wearing them while traveling, otherwise, he couldn¡¯t drive. Otherwise, he could have let them see for themselves. But even though they couldn¡¯t see these items with their own eyes, just hearing about them caused everyone to feel a sense of longing. It wasn¡¯t just the items themselves they were yearning for; it also signified that the higher-ups of the country had not been completely wiped out! They still had an army, they still had scientists, they still had hope! Seeing the excited expressions in these people¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao sighed silently to himself. Contrary to the thoughts of these people, Wang Tao felt somewhat melancholic. He had previously assumed that Wuyang Military Base was a common phenomenon, that there would be many bases like it across the country, and that every city would have airdrops. Now, he realized that this seemed to be an exception... Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind if other people were doing well, but he was afraid if everyone was doing badly. Because that meant it would be very difficult for the survivors to resist! No matter how strong he was alone, he couldn¡¯t fight against the entire disaster! ¡°I must go to the military base, I need to understand what exactly is going on! The military base seems to have special communication methods; they can contact the Hope Research Institute in Capital City... I reckon once I get to the military base, I¡¯ll be able to find out what¡¯s happening in other parts of the country...¡± Wang Tao pondered. Seeing that Wang Tao had stopped speaking, the others began to talk amongst themselves. However, the topic always tended to loop back to the airdrops and the military base. These people came here to seek refuge not only because some didn¡¯t have a map and were forced to come, but others had originally wanted to go to the military base. They thought the military base must have already been overrun, but perhaps later some survivors took it over and made it into a Survivor Base. So they wanted to check it out. But after they arrived at Duzhu Town Base, they found out that the military base was also very dangerous. Going there would mean certain death! So they hesitated, and some even thought about just staying at Duzhu Town Base. It was at this time that Wang Tao arrived and brought the news of Zijing City Base. This instantly made everyone think, why bother with the military base where death is almost certain when they could just go directly to Zijin Base?! After all, Zijin Base was an official base left over from before, and even though it was only half-completed, the facilities inside were still quite comprehensive, including their own fields for farming and fishing! Moreover, their leader was not averse to outsiders and was actively recruiting people! So it was indeed a good time to go there! But then Wang Tao spilled the news about the military base ¨C that there were abundant supplies, planes, airdrops, soldiers! Looking at it this way, Wuyang Military Base seemed more appealing! After all, it was a proper military base with strong firepower, surely better than the half-completed Zijin Base! So now they were conflicted. Should they stubbornly continue to the military base, or take a risk and go to Zijin Base¡ªWang Tao had just said that there were Level 3 zombies roaming Zijing City now, which was still dangerous... Or should they be a bit more cautious and just stay at Duzhu Town Base? It was indeed a real dilemma! While they chatted and wrestled with their decisions, Tan Ya came back. They had left with five people, but now they were six! Looking at the pale-faced, skinny man that Tan Ya was supporting, who had only a sliver of HP left and was a Level Two, Wang Tao stood up with a smile and said, ¡°Congratulations!¡± The others all looked at this man with faces full of surprise. Did they really save him? Thud! Tan Ya helped her husband to his knees while also kneeling down in front of Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, thank you! Thank you!¡± Tan Ya was crying uncontrollably. Her husband, though weak, also spoke, ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang. If you ever need anything, just command me...¡± Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan a look, and she understood immediately, quickly helping Tan Ya to her feet. Then Wang Tao asked curiously, ¡°Could you tell me what just happened?¡± Tan Ya wiped away her tears, her voice choked up as she said, ¡°After my husband got infected while saving me, he asked me to kill him, but I couldn¡¯t do it. So he told us to go ahead, and he stayed alone in a house in town, ready to wait for death...¡± ¡°When I rushed over just now, it was almost 24 hours since he¡¯d been infected. Although he hadn¡¯t mutated yet, he was almost losing consciousness. I called out to him to keep him awake and then gave him the potion!¡± ¡°After drinking the potion, he started convulsing, looking like he was in a lot of pain. After a while, he stopped moving. I thought he was... but then he slowly woke up! He still recognized me, he hadn¡¯t mutated...¡± Listening to Tan Ya¡¯s story, Wang Tao said with a smile, ¡°I have to say, you were very lucky. There is a certain risk of failure when using an inhibitor under such circumstances of near mutation, but you succeeded. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just luck; it also had to do with your husband¡¯s strong will to live and his concern for you...¡± Tan Ya and her husband looked into each other¡¯s eyes, seeing reflections of one another. ¡°Ahem, Mr. Wang, we¡¯ve decided. We want to exchange these crystal cores for inhibitors. What do you think?¡± At this moment, Cai Ping came up to Wang Tao with a bunch of crystal cores. Seeing his action, everyone else immediately started to take out their crystal cores as well. Wang Tao glanced at the crystal cores in Cai Ping¡¯s hands. There were Level 1 and Level Two, most of which were of no use to Wang Tao, but they weren¡¯t trash either, and some of them were quite good. ¡°We can exchange.¡± Chapter 558 - 237 Duzhu High School_1 Chapter 558: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_1 After the exchange meeting ended, Wang Tao and his group went upstairs. He traded for quite a few Crystal Cores with the inhibitor and even gave away the zombie information previously released by the military for free. This gesture touched everyone, as such data was quite valuable. Wang Tao had no intention of selling these materials for profit; after all, they were originally produced by the military base to be distributed for free, and he couldn¡¯t possibly earn such unscrupulous money. For Wang Tao, the biggest gain from this trip was the news that there seemed to be no airdrops in the neighboring province, only in Wuyang Province! This further solidified Wang Tao¡¯s determination to go to the military base. He needed to find out what was going on and see if he could establish contact with the outside world. Before that, Wang Tao planned to enhance Yang Changhong¡¯s strength. ¡°Come to my room tonight?¡± Wang Tao said to Yang Changhong beside him, raising his eyebrows. ¡°...¡± Yang Changhong gave Wang Tao a sidelong glance, thinking he was implying something naughty, but she didn¡¯t refuse. The apartment they stayed in had three bedrooms and a living room. Xu Xiaojun had a room to himself, Nie Siyan and Jiang Shixue shared another, and Wang Tao and Yang Changhong shared the last one. Inside the room. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a shower first.¡± Yang Changhong said, not even looking at Wang Tao. ¡°What a coincidence, I was just about to go too. Let¡¯s go together.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°...You go first, I¡¯ll wait!¡± Yang Changhong¡¯s face reddened slightly. ¡°No, that won¡¯t do...¡± After some back and forth, Yang Changhong was carried by Wang Tao into the bathroom. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t planning to do anything bad, but to deal with serious matters. He wanted to try if his Yin and Yang Balance ability could increase his Mana further. Over an hour later, Wang Tao carried Yang Changhong out of the bathroom. Wang Tao found that his Mana had increased by a thousand, reaching 42,000! ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao was very satisfied; the feeling of achieving results through effort was exhilarating. Yang Changhong nestled in Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. She admitted that the sensation of indulgence with Wang Tao was genuinely pleasant, and it was fortunate for her to encounter him again. Suddenly, Wang Tao pulled out a bunch of Crystal Cores. ¡°Fuse all of these.¡± Looking at such a large number of high-quality Crystal Cores, Yang Changhong was stunned for a moment before sitting up briskly. She had seen Crystal Cores before, but she had never seen so many Level 2 Orange Crystal Cores, all of which she could use, including a good number of Omnipotent Crystal Cores! ¡°These, these are for me?¡± ¡°Who else?¡± Wang Tao stuffed the Crystal Cores into her hands. ¡°...¡± After a moment of silence, Yang Changhong¡¯s face displayed gratitude yet with a wry smile. ¡°Why do I feel like... like I¡¯m being kept...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows shot up. ¡°How about calling me ¡®daddy¡¯ to see how it sounds?¡± ¡°Get lost!¡± Yang Changhong gave him a light punch. Then she no longer stood on ceremony and started to synthesize the Crystal Cores one by one. Her four Abilities were [High-Frequency Vibration], [Full Speed], [Stealth], and [Spittle Nail]. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the high-frequency vibration crystal cores, so he naturally used the Omnipotent Crystal Cores. There were only a few of the Full Speed and Spittle Nail Crystal Cores, but Wang Tao had traded for quite a few today, just enough to use. As for Stealth Crystal Cores, Wang Tao had plenty. They would be perfect for her use. A moment later, Yang Changhong finished fusing all the Crystal Cores. Her four Abilities had all reached Level Two +10! During the time she was apart from Wang Tao, she had killed many zombies, and now her HP was 29,999. After upgrading her four Abilities to +10, she would be able to reach Level 3 Ascension. Thinking of advancing to Level 3, Yang Changhong felt excited. ¡°I hope I get lucky and can ascend to Level 3 soon!¡± She muttered and then asked, ¡°By the way, have you all reached Level 3?¡± She wasn¡¯t very clear about Wang Tao¡¯s Level, but considering his strength, he was probably at Level 3. As for Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, she could sense that these two were definitely at Level 3. ¡°Yep.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I wonder when I can reach Level 3...¡± She had had her suspicions, but hearing Wang Tao confirm it, she still sighed with a hint of envy. Just as she sighed, she saw Wang Tao holding four Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Cores, and then he said with a smile, ¡°You can do it now.¡± These were the last Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores Wang Tao had, just enough for what was needed. ¡°...¡± Yang Changhong was speechless. She really found it somewhat unbelievable. Four Level 3 Orange Ascension Crystal Cores! Not only could she ascend to Level 3, but also maximize her Ascension! ¡°For real, these are for me?¡± Yang Changhong still asked subconsciously. ¡°If I¡¯m keeping you, I¡¯ve got to provide some benefits.¡± Wang Tao pinched her cheek. ¡°...¡± Yang Changhong first gave Wang Tao a stare, then looked at him seriously and said, ¡°Consider it a debt I owe you; I¡¯ll pay you back one day!¡± Hearing these familiar words, Wang Tao felt the urge to laugh. The last person who said that still hadn¡¯t managed to repay it all. But Wang Tao knew that Yang Changhong was a prideful person, so he nodded earnestly. ¡°Alright.¡± Soon, Yang Changhong had fused all four Ascension Crystal Cores. ¡°I can feel that I¡¯m ready to reach Level 3 Ascension!¡± Yang Changhong said excitedly, hugging Wang Tao. ¡°Yeah, choose a time to start; I suggest you start now,¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. But Yang Changhong shook her head. ¡°No! I¡¯ll start tomorrow morning; I still have something very important to do right now!¡± ¡°Huh? What¡¯s that?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. ¡°I didn¡¯t do well in the bathroom just now. I want a do-over!¡± Chapter 559 - 237 Duzhu High School_2 Chapter 559: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_2 Yang Changhong spoke with a high fighting spirit. When she last parted ways with Wang Tao, she swore to herself that if she saw Wang Tao again, she would certainly give him a hard time. She was a person of her word and couldn¡¯t go back on it! ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. As a woman, is it really good to have such a strong desire to win in this matter? However, Yang Changhong had spoken, and naturally, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t back down. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s have a showdown for three hundred rounds!¡± ... The next morning, Wang Tao rubbed his somewhat sore lower back helplessly as he looked at Yang Changhong, who had fallen asleep due to her Level 3 Ascension. This woman¡¯s competitive spirit was too strong. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had such a strong physical condition, he might not have been able to withstand it. After ensuring there was nothing wrong with Yang Changhong, Wang Tao went to the living room. ¡°Brother Wang, where¡¯s Zhang Hong?¡± Nie Siyan, seeing Wang Tao come out alone, asked curiously. ¡°She¡¯s in the middle of Level 3 Ascension.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Oh~¡± Nie Siyan had thought that Yang Changhong just didn¡¯t want to get out of bed, but it turned out she was overthinking it. The rain outside was still heavy, and Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t go out today, instead staying inside to train their bodies. Mainly because there wasn¡¯t much to do around here. He planned to leave the Duzhu Town Base as soon as Yang Changhong woke up. At night, before going to sleep, Nie Siyan looked at Wang Tao with a pitiful expression. Wang Tao had a soft heart and couldn¡¯t stand to see a woman looking like that, so he ended up sleeping in Nie Siyan¡¯s room tonight. As for Jiang Shixue, who was in Nie Siyan¡¯s room, she naturally went to Yang Changhong¡¯s room. The night passed without incident. When he got up in the morning, Wang Tao suddenly discovered something amazing¡ªhis Mana had increased by 1000! It seemed like there was a mechanism to the cooldown time of his [Yin Yang Harmony] Ability? That is, the cooldown time for each different person of the opposite sex was calculated separately! For instance, after being with Yang Changhong yesterday, he gained 1000 Mana. Normally, he wouldn¡¯t continue to gain more Mana today, but in reality, he did. Clearly, the cooldown time was calculated separately! Doesn¡¯t that mean if he found a bunch of different people of the opposite sex, he could increase his Mana limitlessly? Wang Tao was somewhat tempted, but after some thought, he decided against it. The real world didn¡¯t have bugs for him to exploit, and this mechanism was likely capped or had other restrictions. Besides, these kinds of things should happen naturally, after all, Wang Tao was also a picky person... After washing up, Wang Tao timed it just right and arrived beside Yang Changhong as she happened to wake up. ¡°Congratulations!¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Feeling the Level 3 Strength within her body, Yang Changhong was a bit excited. She quickly ran to the living room and tested her ascended body¡¯s capabilities. Wang Tao looked at her Attributes. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] [Internal Impurity: 11%] It was about the same as when Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun ascended before. It was not considered very strong among Level 3s because both her HP and Mana weren¡¯t very high, but her potential was great, especially since she had fused with four Ascension crystal cores. After playing around in the living room for a while, Yang Changhong approached Wang Tao and said: ¡°Wang Tao, when do we set out?¡± She couldn¡¯t contain the all energies within her body any longer, and she was eager to find zombies to test her strength. Wang Tao looked outside; it was still raining heavily, but his car had been repaired and was ready to hit the road. ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The group packed up their belongings and just as they went downstairs, they happened to see Zheng Hai coming up. ¡°Mr. Wang, I was just about to look for you. Are you...¡± ¡°I¡¯m preparing to leave, is there something you need?¡± Hearing that Wang Tao was leaving, Zheng Hai was taken aback, then he hurriedly said: ¡°Please wait a moment, Mr. Wang. Our leader needs to speak with you. I¡¯ll go call him right away!¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He wasn¡¯t in a big hurry and was curious about what Fan Peng wanted. A short while later, Fan Peng arrived, and not only him but the other outsiders came as well. ¡°Mr. Wang, here¡¯s the thing, we¡¯re hoping you and the others could help us resolve an issue...¡± After listening to Fan Peng¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao suddenly understood. The zombies within Duzhu Town were few and not very strong. However, last week he discovered a very powerful zombie, so powerful that even he couldn¡¯t see its exact appearance, only vaguely perceiving its strength. Although that zombie had always been in the town and there was no indication that it would come to the Duzhu Town Base, Fan Peng had to be cautious. After all, humans were a food source for zombies, and he felt it was only a matter of time before it would arrive. So, he wanted to enlist everyone¡¯s help to deal with this troublesome opponent. As for the reward, naturally, it was food, as Duzhu Town didn¡¯t have much else to offer. However, killing zombies was highly beneficial for people, and even without a reward, it was expected that some would be eager to try. The original intention of Fan Peng was to have these outsiders take a look first, and if they couldn¡¯t handle it, they would then call for Wang Tao. But now that he saw Wang Tao was about to leave, he definitely couldn¡¯t wait any longer, so he quickly sought Wang Tao out. Fan Peng felt somewhat lucky. It was a good thing he hadn¡¯t gone out today, otherwise he might have missed his chance. ¡°A formidable zombie? Alright, then take me to see it.¡± Wang Tao agreed. A zombie described as formidable by a Second-order Superpower Owner was likely to be Level 3, which was exactly what Wang Tao needed. As for the chance of it being Level 4, that was unlikely. If it really were Level 4, Fan Peng probably wouldn¡¯t have made it back alive. ¡°Great! Let¡¯s head over now!¡± Chapter 560 - 237 Duzhu High School_3 Chapter 560: Chapter 237 Duzhu High School_3 Seeing Wang Tao agree, Fan Peng¡¯s face lit up with joy. The others were all curious; they wanted to see just how strong these suspected Level 3 ability users really were! Fan Peng himself drove the car, leading several vehicles away from Duzhu Town Base. The place he mentioned was in the center of the town, where there was a senior high school. The zombies were inside the high school. There were virtually no young faces in Duzhu Town except for the high school. According to Fan Peng, the high school had a closed management system, making it very difficult to leave. When the zombie virus outbreak occurred, classes were in session... so it was quickly overrun. Afterwards, no survivors dared to enter, and the zombies inside did not come out. Fan Peng planned to cultivate more ability users for the base, so he set his sights on the zombies in the high school. He had thought that, with his Level 2 Ability strength, he should be able to lure some zombies out for others to kill. But once he climbed in, he discovered there was an incredibly terrifying zombie inside! Since he hadn¡¯t seen the materials provided by the military before, he didn¡¯t know what type of zombie this was. Now, after going through Wang Tao¡¯s information, he realized this was probably a Zombie Lord! Knowing the characteristics of the Zombie Lord, Fan Peng no longer dared to go there alone. If it were only one zombie, he could probably still run away, but if that zombie had a bunch of underlings, then he would be in trouble! That¡¯s why he asked everyone for help, especially since Wang Tao and his group were Level 3 ability users. With them there, it was definitely going to be a lot safer. The convoy braved the heavy rain and arrived at the entrance of the high school. Abandoned vehicles filled the entrance, blocking the road completely, forcing everyone to get out and walk. Fan Peng distributed to each person one of the heavy umbrellas made by their base. These umbrellas could partially shield against the corrosive acid rain. Although they too would be corroded, the umbrellas were so thick that they could last two to three hours without a problem. As soon as Wang Tao and his group got out of the car, they immediately drew everyone¡¯s attention. It couldn¡¯t be helped, aside from Wang Tao, who was holding an umbrella, standing together with Jiang Shixue. Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and Yang Changhong were all dressed in armor, looking striking and projecting a sense of security. Especially Xu Xiaojun, who not only wore a set of black armor but also had a shield on his back and a Giant Axe in his hand, exuding an aura of lethal intensity! As for the Mechanical Exoskeleton on Xu Xiaojun¡¯s body, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let him use it this time. The corrosive acid rain was falling right now, and it would be too much of a loss if it got corroded, because Wang Tao couldn¡¯t repair that gadget... Looking at the abandoned vehicles at the school gate, Fan Peng sighed and said: ¡°These were driven by parents who hadn¡¯t been infected, coming to pick up their children when the zombie virus broke out. But by that time, basically everyone in the school had been infected, so...¡± At that time, he was also one of the parents who had come to pick up their children. ¡°So you mean to say that the school has never been opened up to now, the zombies inside have never come out, and you haven¡¯t really gone in?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Upon receiving Fan Peng¡¯s affirmative reply, Wang Tao became immediately interested. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go in and take a look!¡± The school, like other buildings, was also covered with thick green vegetation. It was as if a school had been built in a primitive forest. Wang Tao used his Plant Affinity Ability to sense, feeling there were many zombies inside, and they were not weak. But he didn¡¯t feel the presence of the Zombie Lord yet, given the school¡¯s large size. ¡°There are quite a few zombies inside and many of them are Level 2 Zombies. Do you all want to go in with me?¡± Wang Tao said to the others. ¡°There are a lot of Level 2 Zombies?¡± The people exclaimed. They were at most Level 2 themselves, and unlike Wang Tao and his group, they didn¡¯t have the ability to kill above their level. If they encountered a large number of Level 2 Zombies, they would be done for. However, with a Level 3 ability user present... It¡¯d be a pity not to seize this opportunity! ¡°I¡¯ll go with Mr. Wang!¡± Fan Peng was the first to declare. Unlike others, who were outsiders and could leave at any moment, Fan Peng was the leader of Duzhu Town Base, which they couldn¡¯t just pack up and move. If those Level 2 Zombies broke out of the school gates, it might be his base that would be out of luck. He hoped that Level 2 Zombies would appear, so that he could hunt them for their Crystal Cores. But he didn¡¯t want too many of them to appear. After all, his base was weak and comprised mostly of middle-aged and elderly people with poor fighting capabilities. He needed to assess the strength of these Level 2 Zombies. If he could kill one more, it would lessen the risk to his base and at the same time, he would gain some Crystal Cores. Moreover, he clearly felt that Wang Tao was only interested in that suspected Level 3 Lord zombie. He couldn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to help kill these zombies, so he had to try to do it himself as much as possible. Seeing Fan Peng step forward, the others hesitated for a moment, and eventually all decided to go in together. With a Level 3 ability user backing them up, it was a rare opportunity. If they didn¡¯t seize it, they would surely regret it later! ¡°Great.¡± Wang Tao was quite satisfied. He definitely couldn¡¯t kill all these zombies, and he didn¡¯t feel like doing so. Letting these people kill the zombies would resolve the danger in Duzhu Town and allow them to benefit as well. It was a win-win situation. Then Wang Tao said to Xu Xiaojun: ¡°You go and open up the main gate. We¡¯ll enter from the front entrance.¡± The main gate and the surrounding walls of Duzhu High School had been heightened, reportedly because many boarding students used to climb over the walls to go to Internet cafes at night. Not even the night-duty teachers catching them or the installation of surveillance cameras could stop them. So the school simply decided to raise the walls and gate of the school grounds, preventing the students from climbing out. But since then, students secretly referred to the school as Duzhu Prison because the high walls and gates looked too much like a prison... ¡°Okay!¡± With an agreement, Xu Xiaojun promptly moved to the gate. Then, swinging the Giant Axe, to the astonishment of onlookers, he hacked open the iron gate in just a few blows. Chapter 561 - 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_1 Chapter 561: Chapter 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_1 ¡°So strong!¡± ¡°This is a Level 3 ability user!¡± Everyone was extremely amazed at Xu Xiaojun¡¯s strength. As soon as they entered the school, they distinctly felt that something was different, but they couldn¡¯t quite put their finger on what it was ¨C they just felt very oppressed. Wang Tao raised his eyebrows; he knew the reason for the oppression. ¡°Everyone be careful, these plants may attack.¡± Wang Tao turned his head and warned the others. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Plants can attack?¡± Everyone was a bit stunned. They knew that plants had mutated, but they had never seen plants that could attack. Fan Peng couldn¡¯t quite believe it; when he was last here, these plants did not attack. But at that time, the plants weren¡¯t this big either... Wang Tao looked at the plants beside the road. They were all enlarged versions of various trees, tendrils, and flowers. Moreover, Wang Tao could see that these plants had HP bars. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao saw HP bars on everything; if that were the case, he wouldn¡¯t be able to live normally. Only some sentient beings or particularly dangerous things would display HP bars. The HP bars of the plants around now ranged from a few thousand to thirty thousand. But other than the HP bars, they had no other attributes. No mana, no level, no impurities. Clearly, they were not plant monsters but aggressive plants. After Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, everyone immediately became much more cautious, and some who had been about to touch the plants instantly withdrew their hands. Whoosh¡ª Just then, a branch from an unknown tree suddenly fell from a tree above and smashed towards Wang Tao, who was holding an umbrella! Swish! Wang Tao stood still as a giant axe, coming later but arriving first, chopped the branch right off. By the time the others reacted, the tendril had already been chopped into several pieces by Xu Xiaojun. ¡°The plants really do attack!¡± Seeing this, everyone felt a chill in their hearts. And this tendril, like the flip of a switch, signaled various other plants to begin attacking the group as well. All sorts of tendrils, branches, even leaves could attack! Although these attacks were not potent, their strange methods were enough to give someone the chills. Some even regretted coming in. Meanwhile, Fan Peng felt somewhat relieved that he had not acted rashly and had instead thickened his face to bring a large group of people with him; otherwise, if he had brought someone over by himself, he probably wouldn¡¯t even know how he died. ¡°Don¡¯t panic, everyone, keep calm. These attacks aren¡¯t lethal...¡± Wang Tao continued to hold Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand with one hand and the umbrella with the other, walking through the school campus very calmly. Xu Xiaojun, Nie Siyan, and Yang Changhong could easily handle these nuisances. Although the others were a bit panicked, seeing how calm Wang Tao was, they slowly stabilized as well. ¡°We have several Level 3 ability users ¨C why panic!¡± It was only when they reached a teaching building that they hadn¡¯t encountered a single zombie, but they had been sneak attacked by the plants all the way. However, after arriving here, the plant attacks stopped abruptly. It seemed as though the plants had their own territory? These plants had HP bars, but they didn¡¯t seem to have much intelligence, nor did they have crystal cores. They attacked, it seemed, either because they were controlled or out of instinct. Wang Tao thought it was probably an instinct to attack that had evolved, since he didn¡¯t feel the presence of plant monsters here... ¡°There are zombies!¡± The eagle-eyed Nie Siyan immediately pointed at the teaching building and said. Everyone looked in the direction Nie Siyan indicated and indeed saw some zombies wandering inside the hall of the teaching building. ¡°Those are Level 2 zombies, but they¡¯re not strong ¨C just ordinary zombies,¡± Wang Tao said. At this, Fan Peng immediately stood up with a machete in hand. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of them!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go too!¡± They could tell that Wang Tao clearly thought little of these Level 2 zombies, but this was an opportunity for them. Shortly after, they managed to exterminate the zombies without any incidents. Wang Tao felt around and found that there were a lot of zombies in this teaching building. However, he was not sure if there were any Level 3 zombies, as his Plant Affinity Ability wasn¡¯t Perception, and he could not accurately sense the levels of zombies. ¡°You guys wait here, I¡¯ll go up and take a look,¡± Wang Tao said to the others. ¡°Yes!¡± As soon as Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went upstairs, a few zombies rushed in, and the two dealt with them easily. He ignored the other zombies, quickly checked the first floor, and, having ascertained there were no zombies above Level 3, proceeded to the third floor. After about ten minutes or so, Wang Tao came out. ¡°There are quite a few Level 2 common zombies inside; there are no Elites or higher. If you want to hunt, go ahead, but be careful,¡± Wang Tao stated. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang!¡± The group immediately rejoiced. Wang Tao also checked the other two teaching buildings and found many zombies, but all of them were Level 1 or Level 2 ordinary zombies, with occasionally a few Level 2 Elites. Beyond that, there were no Level 2 Lords or Level 3 zombies. ¡°Let¡¯s split up and search other places...¡± Wang Tao thought there should be Level 3 zombies here, at least a Level 2 Lord. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded. A while later, Yang Changhong¡¯s voice suddenly came through the walkie-talkie. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯ve found something!¡± ¡°Hold on!¡± Wang Tao and the others reached Yang Changhong¡¯s location, which was the library of Duzhu High School. The library was the most prestigious building of the school. However, the times it was open were few and far between, and even many students might not have entered it except during a big cleanup. Chapter 562 - 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_2 Chapter 562: Chapter 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_2 ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s in here¡ªI feel a very powerful presence! I have the sensation of being watched!¡± Yang Changhong was waiting outside the door for Wang Tao. The higher the level of an ability user, the more acute their senses. The powerful presence she perceived should not be mistaken. ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and take a look.¡± Wang Tao activated Entangling Roots, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a ¡°monster.¡± Yang Changhong had seen my ¡°transformation¡± before, but even now, she was still amazed. The reason Wang Tao was so cautious was that this library had no plants at all. This campus was full of plants, including many inside the teaching buildings, but this place was devoid of them, which was clearly strange. So it was better to be cautious. The group followed Wang Tao inside. The design of the library was quite good, with ample lighting. Without the obstruction of plants, one could see clearly inside even on overcast and rainy days. The first floor was a mess, with lots of coagulated black bloodstains on the floor, but no bodies. This was normal; in areas with many zombies, bodies would not be left behind¡ªthey either mutated upon infection or were completely devoured by zombies. There was no third possibility. They arrived at the second floor. The second floor was much cleaner and had no zombies. The third and fourth floors were also zombie-free. Moreover, the bookshelves and everything else were neat and orderly, with no signs of being disturbed. Probably no survivors had come here. However, many books were missing, and many shelves were empty. The library had a total of five floors, with no basement. If the first four floors were fine, then the problem might be on the top floor. Wang Tao proceeded to the top floor with great caution. ¡°Hmm?¡± The situation on the fifth floor surprised Wang Tao. It was quite empty, although there were some bookshelves, they were devoid of books. Wang Tao and his companions continued walking further inside. ¡°Someone¡¯s here!¡± In the open hall before them was a chair, and on this chair sat a slender figure from behind! Wang Tao had encountered many zombie ¡°surprise attacks,¡± so he naturally didn¡¯t think much of this figure, especially with the conspicuous red HP bar above its head. [HP: 60000/60000] [Mana: 60000/60000] [Grade: Level 3 ¨C Lord] A White Bone Knife appeared instantly in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Although he was now Level 3, even when hunting a rabbit, a lion must use all its strength! At that moment, the zombie turned around. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but draw in a breath of cold air when he saw the face of the zombie. For it was truly a beauty! This was a beauty wearing a white shirt, a black pencil skirt, black silk high heels, with a figure featuring a golden ratio, a perfect face, and intelligent glasses! ¡°Huh?¡± Yang Changhong and the others exclaimed in surprise as well. They had all prepared themselves mentally, but who could have expected this to actually be a beauty? The beauty was holding a book and looked at them with slightly furrowed brows, as if she were disturbed by their arrival and interrupted from her reading. ¡°Could it be that this isn¡¯t a zombie?¡± Nie Siyan asked in surprise. This didn¡¯t look like a zombie at all! Wang Tao was also puzzled. He wasn¡¯t questioning whether the other party was a zombie¡ªit was obvious given the red health bar. He was wondering how this zombie managed to do this. Was it an illusion? But it was only a Level 3, Lord, not a Level 4. Could it create such an illusion? Wang Tao had encountered a Black Mist Monster before that could create illusions, a Level 3, Lord, but he could easily distinguish the real from the fake. Yet with this zombie, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see any flaws. At this moment, Jiang Shixue raised her head to look at the group and then said to Wang Tao somewhat strangely: ¡°Brother, do you like such an ugly zombie?¡± ¡°You can see its true form?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. Jiang Shixue did not answer right away, but instead tilted her head thoughtfully, and then her eyes emitted a burst of red light. ¡°Ah!¡± The woman in front suddenly cried out while covering her face, as if she were in great pain. Then, she raised her head again, revealing a rotting countenance. At the same time, her head enlarged slightly, and her voluptuous body began to wither and decay. Especially her thin hands quickly grew sharp black nails like ghost claws. ¡°...¡± What was going on? Wang Tao was baffled, but now was not the time to be confused. The Ghost Claw Zombie, having its true form exposed, seemed to be enraged and immediately lunged at Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao saw only a blur before the zombie appeared in front of Jiang Shixue, clawing wildly at her. ¡°Such speed!¡± Wang Tao swung his knife out of instinct. Bang! [-2034] [57966/60000] The Ghost Claw Zombie was cut by the knife, losing two thousand HP. ¡°Such high defense!¡± With Wang Tao being Level 3, his attack on a Level 3 zombie would normally cost at least five thousand HP with one strike. But this had only removed two thousand, indicating the high defense of this zombie. The Ghost Claw Zombie was also quite strong; Wang Tao felt his hand go numb. But since it was lightweight, he managed to send it flying with a single blow. The others immediately followed up with more strikes. [-945] [-1043] [-923] [-821] [54234/60000] ¡°This damage...¡± If Fan Peng and the others were here, it would be questionable whether they could even break through this zombie¡¯s defense. However, it was fortunate that there were so many Level 3 ability users on Wang Tao¡¯s side; they were not at a disadvantage. After being attacked several more times, the Ghost Claw Zombie seemed even angrier and vanished from its spot in a flash. Chapter 563 - 238 Ghost Claw Zombie_3 "Be careful!" When he reappeared, he was by Yang Changhong¡¯s side. Yang Changhong, who had just become a Level 3 ability user, was still very excited, especially since her first formal opponent was a Level 3 Zombie Lord, which excited her even more! As a result, before her eyes could adjust, the Ghost Claw Zombie appeared in front of her and instantly pinned her down! With overwhelming force, the Ghost Claw Zombie pressed her to the ground, rendering her immobile! Then it extended its sharp claws and began to swipe at Yang Changhong¡¯s chest. Bang! Bang! Bang! However, Yang Changhong was wearing a suit of Level 3 Iron Tree Armor. Although the Ghost Claw Zombie scratched many white marks on the armor, it couldn¡¯t breach Yang Changhong¡¯s defense. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Jiang Shixue was the first to reach Yang Changhong; he grabbed the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s shoulders and yanked it backward. The Ghost Claw Zombie was pulled away. Wang Tao arrived at that moment; he first slashed fiercely at the Ghost Claw Zombie, forcing it back, and then quickly helped Yang Changhong to her feet. "Holy shit!" Yang Changhong was somewhat shaken. She had never fought a Level 3 Zombie Lord before, but were they really this strong? Bang! Crack! Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan immediately tangled with the female zombie. But Xu Xiaojun had a hard time hitting her, after all, he was slow. Nie Siyan managed to poke a few times with a steel rod, but didn¡¯t hit the head, and the Ghost Claw Zombie barely lost any HP. Once Wang Tao confirmed Yang Changhong was alright, he charged at the Ghost Claw Zombie again. At the same time, a few Slime Spitter Grenades appeared in his hand. Splat! The grenades exploded, spurting out a large mass of white slime that immediately covered the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s entire body. However, it only managed to restrain it for a second before it walked right out of the slime. But this was enough time for Wang Tao; he instantly got in front of the Ghost Claw Zombie, charged up for a second, and then began to swing his blade wildly. [-2341] [-2091] [-2138] [...] He struck several consecutive blows to the head, each cutting over two thousand HP. "Roar¡ª¡ª" The Ghost Claw Zombie roared in anger, swiping its claw at Wang Tao¡¯s chest. [-2323] [40000/40000 (97677/100000)] Although the claw did great damage, scraping away two thousand of Wang Tao¡¯s HP, it wasn¡¯t much in light of his combined HP of 140,000 with the Entangled Iron Tree Roots. Still, the immense impact forced Wang Tao to take a step back. Nie Siyan and the others caught up and tangled with the zombie once again. The Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s attack was very powerful; if it struck even once, it could probably maim its victim. Thankfully, Wang Tao and his teammates were all wearing armor, which had high defensive power and could withstand the zombie¡¯s attacks. "You guys hold it down, I¡¯ll attack!" Wang Tao quickly said. "Okay!" The others responded in unison. But the Ghost Claw Zombie was very fast; holding it down wasn¡¯t going to be easy. It was at that moment that Jiang Shixue suddenly appeared in front of the Ghost Claw Zombie, and those red-glowing eyes gave it a stare. ``` The zombie froze instantly, motionless. "Opportunity!" Wang Tao¡¯s instinct was to rush over and swing his knife, but then, as if something occurred to him, he immediately stretched out his left hand towards the zombie. Whoosh¡ª A black tendril shot out from Wang Tao¡¯s wrist, wrapping around the zombie¡¯s waist in an instant. Reel in! Wang Tao silently gave the command in his mind, and he saw the zombie being pulled directly in front of him! "Almost forgot about the Iron Tree Vines!" By now, the Ghost Claw Zombie had recovered from its stupor, disregarding the tendril around its waist as it charged towards Jiang Shixue. But the tendril held it back like a dog leash, and just a few steps away from reaching Jiang Shixue, it couldn¡¯t cross the distance. Only then did the Ghost Claw Zombie seem to belatedly realize it should cut off the tendril around its waist first. Seeing the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s action, Wang Tao immediately prepared to withdraw the tendril. It only had 10,000 HP, which couldn¡¯t withstand an attack from the Ghost Claw Zombie. But just then, Jiang Shixue¡¯s red-glowing eyes met those of the Ghost Claw Zombie. The Ghost Claw Zombie froze again in an instant! Attack! Wang Tao and the others immediately seized the opportunity, bombarding the zombie with various attacks. In just a second, the Ghost Claw Zombie woke up. However, after waking up, it seemed to have forgotten about the tendril at its waist and instinctively attacked Xu Xiaojun and the others. But entangled by the tendril, it couldn¡¯t land a hit. "Indeed, it has no real intelligence..." Wang Tao held tightly onto the tendril and then yanked it fiercely. The Ghost Claw Zombie was pulled into the air and landed right at Wang Tao¡¯s feet. Wang Tao stomped hard on the back of the Ghost Claw Zombie and swung his knife at the back of its head. The zombie writhed, trying to get up. But Xu Xiaojun rushed over, imitating Wang Tao, and stomped on the Ghost Claw Zombie. Their combined weight and strength were too much for the Ghost Claw Zombie to rise. After struggling for a while, the joints in its arms suddenly bent the wrong way, reaching for Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun! Already on guard against the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s counterattack, Wang Tao had the tendril wrap around its hands! With the Iron Tree Vines tightly entwining its hands, the Ghost Claw lost its most powerful attack in an instant. Though the HP of the Iron Tree Vines was rapidly dropping under its struggles, Nie Siyan, Yang Changhong, and Jiang Shixue also came over. The three of them stepped on the zombie and unleashed a fury of attacks. The Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s defense was high, but without speed and the ability to dodge, it couldn¡¯t withstand the onslaught of attacks from everyone. A moment later, Wang Tao¡¯s blade split its head open. Spurt! [-1279] [0/60000] Wham¡ª A heap of Loot Packs burst out, and Wang Tao immediately collected the loot before checking his own HP bar. His HP ceiling increased by 14,400, and his special energy also increased by 14,400, bringing Wang Tao¡¯s total HP to 54,400! "Huh?" Only then did Wang Tao notice that the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s claws had a name and could be put into the Space Backpack! But before he had the time to inspect them closely, Fan Peng¡¯s voice came through the walkie-talkie. "Mr. Wang, come quickly! I¡¯ve found the Level 3 Lord Zombie!" Huh? Another one? ``` Chapter 564 - 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_1 "It seems there¡¯s a Level 3 Lord Zombie! Go!" Wang Tao released the entangling roots, retracted the iron tree vines and the spoils of war, and then led everyone quickly downstairs. Fan Peng¡¯s location was in the school cafeteria, and he said the suspected Level 3 Lord Zombie was inside the cafeteria. When Wang Tao arrived, everyone else was just getting there as well. "Mr. Wang!" Everyone hurriedly greeted him. Judging by their countenance, they were slightly disheveled but all seemed invigorated. It seemed that they must have made quite a few gains during this time. "Hmm." Wang Tao nodded, then turned his gaze to Fan Peng. Fan Peng hurriedly said, "Mr. Wang, that zombie is in here! It¡¯s the one I saw earlier! It¡¯s very large..." Upon hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. Had he really identified the wrong zombie? However, whether he was mistaken or not, the zombie needed to be killed. The cafeteria was filled with moss, tendrils, and the like, blocking out the light and casting darkness inside. Using plant affinity perception, Wang Tao could vaguely sense there was a very large creature inside, surrounded by numerous smaller zombies. "Let¡¯s go in for a look." Wang Tao led the way, and everyone quickly followed behind him, entering the cafeteria together. The school cafeteria had two floors. The first floor was crowded with ordinary Level 2 Zombies, which charged at them, gnashing their teeth and clawing at the air as soon as they saw people entering. The Level 3 Lord Zombie was on the second floor. Xu Xiaojun cleared a path with a few shockwaves, quickly dealing with all the ordinary zombies. The others looked on enviously; although they could handle Level 2 Common Zombies, none of them could do so as effortlessly as Xu Xiaojun, who was like a reaping machine. "Hm? It¡¯s coming down!" Wang Tao looked toward the staircase. Thump, thump, thump¡ª A huge, rotting hand first stretched out from the stairwell, followed by a burly figure emerging from the staircase. "Hiss¡ª" Everyone felt a terrifying sense of oppression at the sight of this figure, even causing some involuntarily trembling in their legs. This was a zombie covered in bulging muscles, standing even taller than Xu Xiaojun, likely around two and a half meters in height. It wore a tattered chef¡¯s uniform, with a crooked chef¡¯s hat on its head, wielding a bone-chopping hand axe. Had this zombie once been a chef? [HP: 70000/70000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Grade: Level 3 - Lord] The Chef Zombie had 10,000 more HP than the Ghost Claw Zombie that Wang Tao had just killed, and it looked more fearsome. But Wang Tao felt that this Chef Zombie didn¡¯t pressure him as much as the Ghost Claw Zombie did. Generally speaking, the more HP a zombie has, the stronger it is. But this rule wasn¡¯t absolute; there are always exceptions. This Chef Zombie was a more common type, whereas the Ghost Claw Zombie he had just killed was one of those exceptions. "This is a Level 3 Lord Zombie, fall back," Wang Tao said without turning his head to the others. Upon hearing this, everyone immediately started to retreat. A Level 3 Lord Zombie was not something they could handle! Then everyone noticed that Wang Tao had somehow acquired a huge white bone knife in his hand. Wielding the knife, he rushed toward the Chef Zombie. "So brash!" Everyone was somewhat taken aback by this move. Although Wang Tao was a Level 3 ability user, this was a Level 3 Lord Zombie after all! Shouldn¡¯t he first test the zombie from a distance to see what abilities it had, then formulate a combat strategy? But they soon found themselves gaping in astonishment! Because during Wang Tao¡¯s sprint, many black roots suddenly appeared around him, enveloping his entire figure in the blink of an eye and transforming him into a "monster" over two meters tall! Wang Tao reached the Chef Zombie and swung his knife directly. Bang! This blow, infused with high-frequency vibration, struck heavily on the zombie¡¯s head. [-4583] A nearly five thousand damage number floated up. Hidden behind his mask, Wang Tao¡¯s lips curled into a grin. Now these were his normal numbers! "Roar!" The Chef Zombie roared in anger. It swung its hand axe at Wang Tao. Wang Tao, though hardy, didn¡¯t need to exchange blows directly. He immediately stepped back to avoid the Chef Zombie¡¯s attack and began to energize his next strike. "Defense isn¡¯t high, speed isn¡¯t fast, but it likely has great strength¡ªthe damage must be significant..." Wang Tao instantly assessed the physical attributes of this Chef Zombie. Wang Tao liked dealing with zombies that had low defense and speed or both. He felt that those types of zombies were simpler to deal with. What he hated most were zombies with high defense or fast speed, or those with bizarre abilities. Such zombies weren¡¯t undefeatable, but they were difficult to kill. In a post-apocalyptic world, wasting time was a true waste of life; taking too long might mean getting overwhelmed by a horde of zombies, so a quick victory was always preferred. He felt that this Chef Zombie would likely be a quick battle. Of course, it remained to be seen whether it had any special abilities. Boom¡ª Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan charged at the Chef Zombie together, hitting it at the same time. Xu Xiaojun hacked with his axe, and Nie Siyan stabbed with a steel bar. [-2495] [-1831] Then came Jiang Shixue, who leaped high, clutching two Night Demon Blades in her hands and slashing across the Chef Zombie¡¯s face. [-2234] [-2285] Chapter 565 - 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_2 Finally, it was Yang Changhong¡¯s turn¡ªshe held a large machete in her hand and swung it down at the zombie. [-2695] Among the individual attacks, it was actually Yang Changhong, who had just achieved Level 3 Ascension not long ago, who inflicted the most damage. However, this was to be expected since she possessed the ability of high-frequency vibration, an ability that provided extreme offensive power with the only drawback being the requirement of close-range combat. The attacks by Xu Xiaojun and the others were completed within two to three seconds. The Chef Zombie was indeed slow; it only began to retaliate at this point. But after striking their blows, everyone immediately retreated. No one was willing to take the hit from the Chef Zombie. After its attack missed again, the Chef Zombie became furiously enraged and let out a roar. Wang Tao saw its HP start to rise. "Self-healing?" Without a second thought, Wang Tao stepped forward and unleashed the Energize One Hit he had been charging for 10 seconds on the zombie. Bang! [-8856] The Energize One Hit dealt a massive 8,856 damage! Moreover, it directly interrupted its self-healing process. The damage made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up¡ªit was the first time he had properly used Energize One Hit. Indeed, the longer the charge, the higher the damage! Energize One Hit could be charged up for a maximum of ten seconds, and Wang Tao had just charged it for the full duration, doubling his damage output. In solo combat, it wasn¡¯t easy to charge up Energize One Hit, usually only a second or two at most. But now, with his teammates providing a distraction, Wang Tao found it convenient to use. The Chef Zombie, having been attacked so many times, seemed to be getting frantic. However, Wang Tao and his comrades were agile and did not engage in prolonged combat. Despite it laying waste to the entire cafeteria, it hardly touched any of them. It was only Xu Xiaojun, the slowest among them, who took a couple of axe hits, but protected by his armor, he did not lose any HP. However, there were some white marks on his armor, suggesting a significant loss in durability. Others initially wanted to observe a Level 3 battle, but the commotion from Wang Tao and his team¡¯s fight with the zombie was so intense that the cafeteria seemed on the verge of collapse, prompting these onlookers to hurriedly make their escape. With these people gone, Wang Tao no longer needed to worry about collateral damage, and his fighting became even more unrestrained. "Doesn¡¯t this Chef Zombie have any active abilities?" After fighting for quite a while, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t noticed any special abilities from the Chef Zombie¡ªit had relied solely on its strong physical prowess for attacks. If that was the case, then Wang Tao was not afraid. He withstood one of the Chef Zombie¡¯s attacks, then unleashed another Energize One Hit. [-9485] [20498/70000] Nearly 10,000 HP worth of damage in an instant left the Chef Zombie with only about 20,000 HP remaining. Just then, the Chef Zombie¡¯s body began to swell; its HP shot up to a full 70,000 in an instant! Boom! The size of the Chef Zombie grew larger and larger until it smashed through the ceiling of the first floor! "Frenzy!" Wang Tao had not expected this Chef Zombie to have this ability as well. In the blink of an eye, the Chef Zombie transformed into a giant two-story-high monstrosity, its size exceedingly terrifying. At this point, the cafeteria was filled with dust, and visibility greatly reduced. Wang Tao, who was right under the Chef Zombie¡¯s feet, immediately signaled for his teammates to retreat. They couldn¡¯t reach its head anymore; they needed to draw the zombie out. As soon as Wang Tao and his team began to run, they immediately caught the attention of the Chef Zombie, which strode after them. Boom! No doubt about it, its destructive power was immense in that oversized form. As it chased after Wang Tao and his comrades, the cafeteria collapsed with a thunderous crash behind it. Even with heavy rain pouring outside, the sound of the building collapsing was distinct. "Mad Demon Zombies are going to be lured here; we need to finish this quickly!" Wang Tao fired a few Shockwaves at the Chef Zombie¡¯s head, causing it to stall, then his Tendril shot out, wrapping around one of the Chef Zombie¡¯s legs. "Together now!" Wang Tao called to Xu Xiaojun and the others, and they all pulled on the Tendril together, exerting a strong force at once. The Chef Zombie, fresh from stepping out, stumbled suddenly and, perhaps due to its immense size and difficulty in maintaining balance, was pulled down by the group! Crash! Wang Tao retracted the Tendril; although it had lost quite a bit of HP from tripping the Chef Zombie, its mission was accomplished. "Go!" Wang Tao signaled for everyone to charge at the Chef Zombie. A standing Chef Zombie was too tall for them to reach; though they were capable of Ranged Attacks, the damage wasn¡¯t as high as melee. Thus, Wang Tao took it down to make things easier. The Chef Zombie tried to get up, but they were already bombarding its face with attacks. Though the Frenzy ability could enhance many attributes, it actually reduced its Defense. So despite the zombie appearing more fearsome, the damage from Wang Tao and his team¡¯s attacks actually increased significantly. "Roar¡ª" Not knowing how many hits it had taken, the Chef Zombie finally rose in anger. Wang Tao¡¯s Tendril had lost a lot of HP, so he was reluctant to use it. Instead, he started to wear down the zombie with Shockwaves, and the others drew their Ranged Weapons and did the same. If melee combat had allowed the Chef Zombie to hold its own against Wang Tao and his team, switching to ranged combat put it at a clear disadvantage. It couldn¡¯t reach them or outrun them¡ªit was like being led around like a dog. While the damage wasn¡¯t as high, it was enough to wear it down to death... In the end, the final Shockwave from Wang Tao shattered the Chef Zombie¡¯s skull. Splat! With its skull burst open, the colossal figure of the Chef Zombie fell to the ground. Chapter 566 - 239 Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe_3 A pile of Loot Packs burst out. Wang Tao gathered up the Loot Packs, then noticed that the hand axe in the Chef Zombie¡¯s grasp could be stored in the Space Backpack. Without a word, Wang Tao collected the items, and after obtaining the Crystal Core from the Chef Zombie, he waved to the others. "Let¡¯s head back quickly!" Wang Tao had already seen quite a few Mad Demon Zombies appearing. Although they were all Level 1 and Level Two Mad Demon Zombies, there were too many of them, and since there wasn¡¯t much benefit to killing them, everyone naturally didn¡¯t want to get entangled. When everyone arrived at the school gate, they found that many Mad Demon Zombies had already rushed in. However, they were all held back, and it was the attacking plants that held them up! "Interesting, let them fight each other! We¡¯ll take another route!" Wang Tao led the others to the other side; although it was a tall wall with no gate, Xu Xiaojun had split a large hole in it with a few chops of his axe. The group squeezed through one by one and then hurriedly drove away. The heavy rain greatly affected the zombies¡¯ Perception, and after chasing the convoy for a while, the Mad Demon Zombies fell behind. Over ten vehicles returned to Duzhu Town Base quite smoothly. "Phew¡ª" After getting back to the base, Fan Peng and the others finally relaxed. "Damn! That was thrilling!" Someone exclaimed excitedly. "Isn¡¯t it! I¡¯ve never been in such a big battle before! Althoug h I was just spectating..." "The strength of Level 3 is so strong! Lucky for us Mr. Wang was with us; otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t even know how we died facing those zombies!" "Yeah, yeah! We must thank Mr. Wang!" After getting out of the vehicles, everyone thanked Wang Tao. Wang Tao waved his hand and then asked with a smile, "How was your loot?" "Heh heh... not bad!" Just by looking at them, Wang Tao knew they had gained quite a bit. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t ask further and said to Fan Peng, "We won¡¯t be leaving today; the battle took a lot out of us, so we need a day of rest." "Of course! Mr. Wang, please rest assured you won¡¯t be disturbed!" Wang Tao and the others returned to their room. Xu Xiaojun and the others took off their armor. Wang Tao glanced at it and saw that the Durability of everyone¡¯s armor had dropped somewhat, especially for Yang Changhong; her armor was a brand new set of Level 3 Iron Tree Armor given by Wang Tao. With a total of 30 Durability, it had dropped by 5 points! And these 5 points were all scratched by the Ghost Claw Zombie. It must be said that the damage done by the Ghost Claw Zombie was really high. Wang Tao took out a medical kit and nutritional fluid to hand them. "Everyone, get some good rest." The group wasn¡¯t hurt much, and the battle ended quickly, amounting to a swift victory. However, high-intensity combat was still very mentally draining, so they needed to recuperate properly. "Mhm." While everyone was resting, Wang Tao glanced at his HP bar. Having just killed this Chef Zombie, Wang Tao gained an additional 12,600 to his HP limit and special energy. This increase was actually not as much as the 60,000 HP from the Ghost Claw Zombie. Nevertheless, it was not insignificant¡ªWang Tao¡¯s HP had now reached 67,000! "After ascending to Level 3, my HP is really shooting up fast!" Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional. Although the higher the level, the more HP needed for ascension, the amount of HP gained from killing higher-level zombies was also greater. Overall, his HP was increasing quicker than before. Wang Tao felt that if he encountered two or three more zombies like this one, he might reach a hundred thousand HP! Of course, the main reason was that Wang Tao was strong, with the ability to defeat enemies above his level. Plus, Xu Xiaojun and the others were not competing with Wang Tao for the kills... Wang Tao then turned his attention to the other loot. He first checked the Chef Zombie. Inside the Chef Zombie¡¯s head was a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core - Self-healing]. It had dropped four Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained a total of 3 Crystal Cores, including a red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Ascension], a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core - Strength], and a red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Frenzy]. Only then did Wang Tao understand why the Chef Zombie had given less HP than the Ghost Claw Zombie. Because the Chef Zombie had fewer abilities inside¡ªonly Power, Self-healing, and Frenzy. Zombies with more abilities provided a greater increase to the HP limit. After collecting the Crystal Cores, Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack. Inside were potions. [Acquired: Strength Potion (small) x20] [Acquired: Berserk Potion x20] "Huh, a Berserk Potion?" Wang Tao had never seen this potion before. [Berserk Potion: After injection, all attributes increased for 1 minute, with a 24-hour cooldown] This Berserk Potion seemed pretty good. Although the duration was only a short one minute and the cooldown was a lengthy 24 hours, it increased all attributes. Even if the potion gave just one-tenth the effect of the Frenzy ability, it would still be quite exceptional. At critical moments, it could potentially turn the tide of battle. The third Loot Pack contained a set of clothing. [Acquired: Chef Suit Set x1] [Chef Suit Set: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10] It was a white chef¡¯s uniform, including a hat, jacket, pants, and shoes. The attributes were quite good, very durable. But Wang Tao felt it was somewhat strange to wear a chef¡¯s uniform, and also, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be as convenient as his current sweatshirt in combat. "I¡¯ll just put it away for now." Wang Tao checked his Space Backpack and found that he still had two other sets of clothing within: the Pink Nurse Uniform he had acquired long ago, and a Diving Suit obtained from killing a Zombie Fish. These three sets of clothing were of no immediate use, but they might come in handy later. Since the drop rate for clothes was not high, it was better to keep them. The fourth Loot Pack contained a blueprint. [Acquired: Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe Blueprint x1] [Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe Blueprint: Once learned, allows for the crafting of 1 Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe each time. Required materials: Any axe head, any Crystal Core x1 (Level 1, Level Two, or Level 3 Crystal Cores can be used), Iron Block x10, Blade x10, Screw x10, Wood Block x10] "Huh? A uniform hand axe!" Upon seeing this blueprint, Wang Tao was immediately pleasantly surprised. Although the attributes of standardized equipment were slightly lower in comparison to non-standardized equipment, they could be mass-produced! Without a second thought, Wang Tao immediately learned the Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe Blueprint. He already had the "Iron Tree Standard Armor" and "White Bone Standard Crossbow and Crossbow Arrows" blueprints. Now with the addition of the Standard Bone-Chopping Hand Axe... it was as if he had a complete set of equipment for defense, ranged combat, and close combat! Chapter 567 - 240: Merging Perception Abilities_1 Speaking of the hand axe, Wang Tao had also collected the weapon dropped by the chef zombie. [Obtained: Bone-Chopping Hand Axe x1] The equipment dropped by zombies had no attributes, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how good this hand axe was. However, he still had some firefighter axes, so there was no need to use the bone-chopping hand axe to make a standard axe. Wang Tao put away the bone-chopping hand axe and then took out three firefighter axes. A moment later, three white hand axes appeared. [Bone-Chopping Standard Hand Axe] [Level 1 (Ordinary)] [Durability +15, Attack power +15] ... [Bone-Chopping Standard Hand Axe] [Level 2 (Ordinary)] [Durability +25, Attack power +25] ... [Bone-Chopping Standard Hand Axe] [Level 3 (Ordinary)] [Durability +35, Attack power +35] Compared to the previously made White Bone Standard Crossbow, although it lacked the attribute for accuracy, each level of attack power and durability increased by 5 points, which was quite good. Moreover, the attributes of this level 3 hand axe were already better than the broken giant axe in Xu Xiaojun¡¯s hands. [Improved Worn-Out Great Axe] [Level 2 (Excellent)] [Attack power +30, Durability +30, Attack speed - (5%~50%)] The broken giant axe would weaken the attack speed, but the hand axe would not. However, hand axes were quite short, so in some instances, they were not as good as longer weapons. Wang Tao planned to prepare two level 3 standard hand axes for each person. As for Xu Xiaojun, Wang Tao would let him choose whatever he was comfortable with, since he could use both giant axes and hand axes. After crafting several hand axes, Wang Tao did not rush to call Xu Xiaojun and the others over, but continued to check the loot. He had not examined the loot dropped by the ghost claw zombie they killed earlier in detail. The crystal core in the brain of the ghost claw zombie was a mental defense crystal core. [Level 3 Crystal Core - Mental Defense] [Quality: Ordinary (20%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: reduced defense)] [Mental Defense: Passive Ability, increases mental defense power] "It actually is a psychic system zombie?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; the ghost claw zombie was physically strong, and he had thought it was a zombie that relied solely on its physical capabilities. However, if it possessed psychical abilities, that probably explained why they initially thought it was a beautiful woman! Wang Tao quickly looked at the loot pack it had exploded with, which also contained four packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained five crystal cores. They were a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core - Ascension], a red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core - Perception], a red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Disguise], and an orange [Level 3 Crystal Core - Physique Enhancement]. "There¡¯s actually a Perception Ability!" Wang Tao was very surprised. However, he suddenly remembered Jiang Shixue¡¯s words; she had said she felt like she was being watched. Wang Tao had thought that the ghost claw zombie had seen her from upstairs, but it turned out to be the "sight" of the Perception Ability! This was great news for Wang Tao! Because he had three Perception Crystal Cores in his possession, but one of them was level 2. Now that he had this Perception Crystal Core, Wang Tao had three level 3 Perception Crystal Cores! That meant he could synthesize a Perception Crystal Core with no side effects or impurities for his own use! Perception Ability was something he had wanted to learn before but, unfortunately, had not been able to find until now. Finally, he had gathered them all! Wang Tao took a deep breath. After synthesizing these few Perception Crystal Cores into an Epic Crystal Core, he did not rush to synthesize them but instead looked at the other two crystal cores he had not seen before. [Level 3 Crystal Core - Disguise] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: double energy consumption for using abilities)] [Disguise: Can disguise oneself as someone else, undetectable by those with lower mental power than oneself] Seeing the attributes of this crystal core, Wang Tao finally understood. No wonder he couldn¡¯t find any flaws in the appearance of the ghost claw zombie and hadn¡¯t noticed being affected by an illusion. It was because his mental power was lower than that of the zombie, and he couldn¡¯t see through it. Meanwhile, Jiang Shixue¡¯s mental power was higher than the ghost claw zombie¡¯s, so she saw through it at a glance! Truth be told, this ability is quite impressive. Wang Tao was even tempted to fuse it. After all, it was the first time he had seen an ability that could change one¡¯s appearance. It¡¯s the perfect tool for getting away with murder and arson! However, a pity there was only one such core, and the side effect was rather significant. So for now, it could only gather dust in the Space Backpack, and he would have to wait and see if there was a chance to collect more in the future. [Level 3 Crystal Core - Physique Enhancement] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: double physical strength consumed for actions)] [Physique Enhancement: Continuous Ability, all-around enhancement of physical fitness during its duration] The last crystal core was a continuous ability that improved physical fitness! The ghost claw zombie¡¯s strong physique might be related to this crystal core. Wang Tao could also use this crystal core and it should be possible to combine it with his Iron Wall. But like Disguise, he had to wait to eliminate the side effect before using it. The crystal cores dropped by the ghost claw zombie were much better than those from the chef zombie, as Wang Tao could use them. Perception, Disguise, Physique Enhancement, including the mental defense core from the ghost claw zombie¡¯s head. All these were crystal cores Wang Tao could fuse. However, currently, only Perception could be fused. Wang Tao was lacking two more for Disguise and Physique Enhancement, and one more for Mental Defense; he already had one Mental Defense Crystal Core before. Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack, which contained potions. Chapter 568 - 240: Merging Perception Abilities_2 [Acquired: Mental Boosting Potion x20] [Acquired: Mental Potion (Small) x20] Wang Tao had received both types of potions before and proceeded to use the Mental Boosting Potions. After a moment, he had consumed them all. Spiritual power doesn¡¯t have a specific numeric value, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how much he had. However, as long as he could get more of those potions, he estimated that it might be possible to surpass Jiang Shixue. As for why Jiang Shixue¡¯s spiritual power was so strong... It could only be said that she was not a normal human being, and it was pointless to compare with her. The third Loot Pack contained clothing, just like the Chef Zombie. [Acquired: Female secretary professional suit x1] [Female secretary professional suit: Durability +10, Tear-Resistance +10] This was a complete outfit, including a blazer, white shirt, black pencil skirt, high heels, and even included stockings and glasses. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. The outfit looked nice and had decent attributes, but like the chef¡¯s uniform and the Pink Nurse Uniform, it wasn¡¯t very useful to him! If only it was combat gear that could be worn in battle. However, in such a perilous environment, there was no room for daily wear... Shaking his head, Wang Tao looked towards the last Loot Pack. [Acquired: Qian country map x1] It turned out to be a map. Wang Tao browsed through it and found it was similar to the ones he had seen before, the only difference being that this one had a name and could be placed into the Space Backpack. "This is pretty good..." Aside from these items, the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s actual claws also had a name. [Acquired: Dark sharp claws x2] [Dark sharp claws: These claws have a certain Armor Break ability and can fuse with human females. Once merged, they grant: Dark sharp claws (Note: Merging only one claw has no effect.)] "Huh?" Seeing the attributes of the Dark sharp claws, Wang Tao was surprised. This was similar to the Night Vision Eyes he had merged before! After merging, one would gain a Hidden Ability! This was definitely a valuable item! So far, Wang Tao had only seen two things that could increase Hidden Abilities, one being the Night Vision Eyes and the other being Magic Seeds, and now there was the Dark sharp claws. Unfortunately, they could only be merged by females¡ªwell, not exactly unfortunate. Even if Wang Tao could merge them, he wasn¡¯t too keen on doing so. He was more accustomed to using longer Weapons, as he was afraid of getting infected. Wang Tao felt among the few people around him, Jiang Shixue was quite a fit. She wasn¡¯t afraid of the zombie virus and had been fighting with her bare hands before Wang Tao gave her the Dagger! Wang Tao called Jiang Shixue over immediately. He was in the room, undisturbed, as everyone thought he was resting. "Brother." "Here, I have something good for you! Eat it!" Wang Tao handed the Dark sharp claws to Jiang Shixue. After he stored the Dark sharp claws in the Space Backpack, they slowly underwent some changes. They were no longer as fierce-looking as before but rather resembled oddly shaped bread. So, even if Jiang Shixue had to consume these, Wang Tao didn¡¯t find it disgusting. Of course, it wasn¡¯t exactly eating¡ªsimilar to when merging with a Crystal Core, they would just dissolve once placed in the mouth. Jiang Shixue trusted Wang Tao unconditionally. Hearing his words, she shoved the pair of claws into her mouth without hesitation. As soon as they entered her small mouth, the claws disappeared instantly. "Eh?" Jiang Shixue blinked her wide eyes, looking a bit confused. In her current memory, she had never merged with a Crystal Core before, so she was unaware of what was happening. But soon, Jiang Shixue felt a warm sensation throughout her body, and then she looked at her hands. Her fingernails started to grow longer. Jiang Shixue seemed to find this very interesting, turning her hands over and over. "It doesn¡¯t quite look like that zombie¡¯s..." Wang Tao was surprised. He had thought Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands would turn into something similar to the Ghost Claw Zombie¡¯s withered appendages but instead, they remained fair and tender, and instead of black, the nails were a dark red. However, when Wang Tao pinched them, he found that they only seemed soft to the touch but actually felt quite solid, akin to the Thoughness Ability he previously had. Wang Tao pinched Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands. "Does it hurt?" "I don¡¯t feel anything." Jiang Shixue shook her head. Wang Tao then took a small knife and lightly scratched her hand; it didn¡¯t break the skin. After scratching harder, her hand still didn¡¯t show any marks, but the blade now had a nick in it! "Such strong defensive power! It¡¯s like steel!" After testing for a while, Wang Tao found that Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands could even block his own Bone Knife! "Powerful!" Wang Tao gave a thumbs up, then asked: "You can change them back to normal, right?" These hands were powerful, but they didn¡¯t feel very nice. Jiang Shixue liked holding Wang Tao¡¯s hand, and if they remained this rigid, it would definitely be uncomfortable for him. "I can." With a thought from Jiang Shixue, her nails instantly retracted, and her hands became soft again. "Excellent!" Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Jiang Shixue¡¯s attributes. [HP: 29999/29999] [Mana: 28000/28000] [Grade: Level 2 - Lord] [Internal Impurity: 100%] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract, Dark sharp claws] She now had two Hidden Abilities. "Brother, do you want to take back the daggers?" Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. Wang Tao had previously given her a pair of Night Demon Blade daggers, which she found quite suitable. Now with the claw ability, it seemed somewhat redundant. Chapter 569 - 240: Merging Perception Abilities_3 "How could I take back something I¡¯ve given to you? Just use whatever you want to use when it¡¯s your turn," Wang Tao said with a smile as he ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. He wasn¡¯t in the habit of taking back what he had given away, and besides, nobody else could use the dagger since it was such a short weapon, except for Jiang Shixue. "Okay!" Jiang Shixue was very happy to hear Wang Tao¡¯s words. After all, it was something that Wang Tao had given her, and she wanted to keep it whether she used it or not. Wang Tao let Jiang Shixue get used to the claws on her own, while he prepared to start merging with the Perception Crystal Cores. First, Wang Tao extracted the [Berserk Enhancement] Ability, and then merged it with the Epic Crystal Core that had already been synthesized in advance. A moment later, the Perception merge was complete. An impatient Wang Tao immediately used his Perception. Then, Wang Tao felt as if he were in a black world, with many grey figures that had normal human shapes, clearly human. Some human figures had small blue light points on them. The more blue points, the stronger the Ability. Level 1, Level 2, Level 3... Wang Tao quickly distinguished them. Next, Wang Tao checked the range of his Perception... He could sense almost the entire building! It was roughly a circle with a thirty-meter radius centered around him that fell within his range of Perception! However, buildings would block his Perception range. He could also guess where the buildings were by the reduced range... Overall, this Perception Ability was very good! With this Ability, Wang Tao no longer had to worry about being sneak-attacked by zombies! After studying Perception for a while longer, Wang Tao looked at the Ability synthesis. Perception was also a Psychic System Ability, which could be synthesized with Yin and Yang Balance. [Yin and Yang Balance + Perception = 91%] The success rate was 91%, worth a gamble. Wang Tao directly consumed 30,000 Special Energy to synthesize. A moment later, a new Superpower appeared. [Level 3 Superpower ? Yin and Yang Balance: Can sense surrounding objects, can slightly affect the minds of living beings, can cause instability in their spirits, can open a barrier that blocks Mental Attacks, and when having sexual intercourse with the opposite sex, both parties¡¯ Mana will refill quickly, and the user will permanently increase a certain amount of Mana. The permanent increase in Mana has a cooldown time, which is random. (Side effects: None)] The name of the new Superpower hadn¡¯t changed much, but the content now included Perception. "Our capital for going to the military base has greatly increased!" After playing with Perception for a bit longer, Wang Tao walked out of the room with Jiang Shixue. Xu Xiaojun and the others were resting with their eyes closed in the living room outside. Hearing Wang Tao come out, they all opened their eyes. "Come on, I¡¯ve got some weapons for you all to share." Having good things naturally meant sharing them with his people. Since Wang Tao had had his meat, he had to let everyone else have some soup. "Huh?" Seeing Wang Tao casually wave his hand and suddenly lots of Hand Axes appeared on the table, Yang Changhong was surprised. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan were used to it, but they were curious about the Hand Axes that were clearly all identical. "These are Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axes; their Attack power¡¯s a little stronger than that of the Bone Hand Crossbows, about the same as a Hand Crossbow plus a Crossbow Arrow..." Wang Tao briefly introduced them and then let everyone try them out. The Bone-Chopping Hand Axe was a One-Handed Axe and not too heavy; everyone could swing it with ease. "It actually feels quite good in hand..." Yang Changhong was somewhat surprised. Her weapon was a machete, which was of decent quality but just decent. During the time she was away from the team, her machete had already dulled. She was just looking for a good weapon, and this Hand Axe seemed very suitable to her. Although the Hand Axe wasn¡¯t long, her machete wasn¡¯t particularly long either. The weight of both was similar, and the feeling of swinging them was more or less the same. Plus, she could swing two Hand Axes at the same time! As for the Attack power, there was no need for comparison¡ªthe Hand Axes blew her machete out of the water! "I want to use two Hand Axes!" Yang Changhong didn¡¯t bother being polite with Wang Tao and simply spoke up. "Sure." Wang Tao nodded. Making these wasn¡¯t difficult; it was just an Axe and a Level 3 Crystal Core. "...May I have one?" Nie Siyan raised her hand. Wang Tao nodded. So Nie Siyan happily took one. Her weapon was a steel bar, which she didn¡¯t find very handy. The main reason was that she had the Throwing Master Ability, which was more effective when she used the steel bar. She felt quite comfortable wielding the Hand Axe, but she didn¡¯t dare ask for more. After all, she knew she was the lowest in Wang Tao¡¯s esteem, and she had to be aware of that. As for Xu Xiaojun, he looked quite conflicted. He found the Hand Axe very comfortable to use and its Attack power stronger than his Giant Axe. But he was used to the big, sweeping attacks with the Giant Axe. If he suddenly switched to a small Hand Axe, there was a bit of an adjustment period. "Just carry two on you for now, whether you use them or not. They¡¯ll do as backups," Wang Tao said with a smile. Back in Shuize Base, he used to carry five or six Firefighter Axes. "Okay!" Xu Xiaojun nodded. He decided to practice with the One-Handed Axe later; he couldn¡¯t afford to drag the team down. Wang Tao then looked at Yang Changhong. "You¡¯re not hurt, are you?" She had been knocked down by a Ghost Claw Zombie before, and although her armor had blocked the zombie¡¯s attack, she still suffered some internal injuries. "I¡¯m fine! Your armor has high defensive power, and I just got a little shaken-up, that¡¯s all." Yang Changhong said with a smile. She was no fragile woman; such an injury was really nothing to her. "Alright, glad you¡¯re fine." Wang Tao nodded and then said, "I plan to make another trip to the school tomorrow, and we¡¯ll leave here the day after tomorrow." "Ah? Did you find something?" Yang Changhong asked curiously. "I haven¡¯t found anything. But there are still a lot of zombies in the school; we can harvest some Crystal Cores. And by solving some dangers for Duzhu Town Base, it can be considered a good deed," Wang Tao actually wanted to test out his new Perception Ability. The school area, with many zombies, was a great place for its deployment. "Great!" Everyone nodded. Chapter 570 - 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_1 The next day. When they learned that Wang Tao was going back to the school, Fan Peng was somewhat surprised and quickly asked, "Can we come with you?" Although Wang Tao had dealt with the Level 3 zombie at the school, there were still many Level 2 zombies. For them at Duzhu Town Base, dealing with these zombies was still quite troublesome. If they could follow Wang Tao, they might at least get to share in the rewards. "Feel free." Wang Tao wasn¡¯t an unkind person. As long as these people didn¡¯t get in the way, it was fine. "Alright!" Fan Peng immediately ran off excitedly to call people. Everyone had originally planned to rest for the day, considering they had fought intensely the day before. But upon hearing Fan Peng¡¯s words, they all ran over excitedly once more. After all, the chances of following a Level 3 ability user like this might not come by often in a lifetime, so they had to seize the opportunity! Soon, a convoy set off from Duzhu Town Base once again, heading for the school. The hole that Xu Xiaojun had smashed open the day before was still there, and everyone entered in succession. Walking at the front, Wang Tao immediately activated his Perception Ability. All nearby zombies had nowhere to hide. "This feeling of having x-ray vision... amazing! Right, I should check those plants..." Wang Tao informed the others of the zombies¡¯ positions, letting them go and kill. He himself approached the plants near the school¡¯s gate. Whether human or zombie, all were attacked by these plants. But these plants had no levels and probably offered no reward when killed. Besides, the plants were generally large, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how to kill them completely¡ªperhaps uproot them? So he had left them alone. Now, having learned the Perception Ability, Wang Tao used it to see if he could find anything on these plants. "Huh?" And indeed, he found something! Though not monsters, these plants did contain some energy, hidden in a particular part of their trunks. Could this be their consciousness? Wang Tao took out his Bone Knife and approached a large tree of an unknown species. Instantly, several branches attacked Wang Tao. The branches only had a few thousand HP, and their damage was very low. Even without activating Entangling Roots, Wang Tao¡¯s armor, including his Stubborn Armor and Rush Suit, allowed him to ignore these attacks. He then stabbed a particular spot at the base of the tree. Thrust! The Bone Knife easily pierced it. Wang Tao then noticed that the tree seemed to have lost its life energy, wilting instantly, and even dropped a Loot Pack. But... the tree hadn¡¯t died! "Interesting..." The spot Wang Tao had stabbed was where the tree¡¯s energy or consciousness resided. His strike might have directly killed its consciousness. But the tree itself hadn¡¯t died; instead, it had become an ordinary tree after losing its consciousness. Wang Tao looked at the Loot Pack it dropped. [You obtained: Tree Essence Liquid x10] Ten servings of Tree Essence Liquid, with one serving increasing HP and Mana by 100 each. However, there was a cooldown period for Tree Essence Liquid, and it couldn¡¯t be increased indefinitely. After using ten servings in a row, a cooldown period would start, the length of which varied from person to person. This was rather good stuff, and Wang Tao had been using it steadily, still having plenty on hand. After thinking a moment, Wang Tao used the Bone Knife to hollow out a cavity in the trunk. "As expected!" Inside the trunk, Wang Tao found a pool of Tree Essence Liquid, gathering 14 servings in total. Although these plants¡¯ method of attack was strange, their attack power wasn¡¯t high, at least for now. Therefore, Wang Tao thought that it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for ability users with average strength to kill these plants. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if others had discovered Tree Essence Liquid yet, but sooner or later, someone certainly would. Perhaps in the future, there would even be people who specialized in collecting it... Adhering to the principle of not wasting resources, Wang Tao walked around the grove. He killed the consciousness of every plant there and also gathered quite a bit of Tree Essence Liquid. After using his Perception Ability again to make sure nothing was missed, he finally left the grove. "How did you discover this stuff?" Yang Changhong held some Tree Essence Liquid in her hands, looking at Wang Tao with great curiosity. "The Perception Ability can detect the consciousness of these plants; killing it allows you to find the Tree Essence Liquid," Wang Tao explained briefly. He didn¡¯t hide the fact that he had learned the Perception Ability. Though Yang Changhong was curious about how he could still fuse Crystal Cores, she didn¡¯t ask further. "So that¡¯s how it is!" Yang Changhong looked at the distant plants, her eyes shining. Wang Tao had just given her some Tree Essence Liquid, and though she couldn¡¯t see the HP and Mana bars, after taking it, she truly felt as if she had grown slightly stronger. These kinds of things that can enhance one¡¯s strength are hard to come by. "Some are ordinary plants, and some have consciousness. It¡¯s not easy to tell just from their appearance." Wang Tao led a few people back into the plant grove. He killed the plants¡¯ consciousness while Yang Changhong and the others collected the Tree Essence Liquid. After all the plants¡¯ consciousness had been dealt with, Wang Tao finally relaxed. Keeping the Perception Ability active was exhausting. If he hadn¡¯t discovered the Tree Essence Liquid, it would have been alright to miss out. But now that he knew how to get it, he didn¡¯t want to waste the opportunity, taking everything that he could. Chapter 571 - 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_2 They ultimately managed to acquire over thirty-thousand portions, which was quite a bountiful harvest indeed. Wang Tao intentionally left a few plants that still had a consciousness and then called over Fan Peng and the others to demonstrate for them. After all, there were no conflicts of interest between Wang Tao and them, and they might never have the chance to meet again. So, there wasn¡¯t a problem with sharing this information with them, as everyone was a human survivor, and the stronger humanity was as a whole, the greater its chance of survival. "There¡¯s actually such a thing..." Seeing Wang Tao extract some plant essence from a plant whose name they didn¡¯t even know, everyone was somewhat surprised. Especially when Wang Tao said that this plant essence could enhance one¡¯s strength, that got everyone instantly excited. We might not be able to deal with zombies that are too powerful, but can¡¯t we deal with these low-intelligence plants? We¡¯ll have to pay more attention from now on! We can¡¯t let any plant that can attack, but whose attack power isn¡¯t high, slip through! After Wang Tao shared these matters with everyone, he went to look around other places. This school wasn¡¯t small, and since he hadn¡¯t examined it carefully yesterday, now with his Perception Ability, he could conduct a carpet-style search. It took an hour, but Wang Tao had almost turned the whole school upside down. There were quite a few Level 2 Zombies, but there were no longer any Level 3 Zombies in the school. However, that didn¡¯t mean there were no gains¡ªWang Tao unexpectedly found a Night Demon¡¯s Nest! This Night Demon¡¯s Nest was not in the school but in a hotel next door. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability, he would definitely have missed it. Night Demons were strong, and there were many of them in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, but Wang Tao and his group were all Level 3 now, and his own HP had even reached nearly seventy thousand. With this strength, they were more than capable of storming the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! "There¡¯s basically no significant danger left in the school now, just some Level 2 Zombies that you can easily handle if you cooperate. We¡¯re heading next door." Wang Tao picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke to Fan Peng on the other side. "Ah? You guys are..." "There¡¯s a Night Demon¡¯s Nest in the hotel next door; we¡¯re planning to check it out." "Hiss¡ª" As soon as Wang Tao uttered those words, he could hear several people on the other end sucking in a breath of cold air. Everyone knew about Night Demons; these zombies were at a minimum Level 3, with formidable strength. If a single Night Demon appeared, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it. Even if they could eventually kill it, they would likely have many casualties. They didn¡¯t know how many Night Demons were within the nest, but the military information Wang Tao had shown to them earlier stated that Night Demons were nocturnal creatures that only emerged at night, and during the day... they all hid inside their nest! A Night Demon¡¯s Nest during the day was even more dangerous than at night! "Mr. Wang, please be careful!" "Hmm." Wang Tao and his companions climbed over the school¡¯s courtyard wall and directly entered the hotel¡¯s backyard next door. There were some Ordinary Zombies in the yard, which Xu Xiaojun eliminated in an instant with a Shockwave. Wang Tao used his Ability to sense the area. "Tsk, tsk..." There were at least fifty Night Demons inside, and there was even a Lord among them, likely a Blue-skinned Night Demon! Hearing the number, both Yang Changhong and Nie Siyan were both nervous and thrilled. "Let¡¯s go." Wang Tao immediately activated Entangling Roots and then swaggered through the hotel¡¯s main entrance. It was very dark inside the hotel, but Wang Tao¡¯s eyes gleamed with a green light. Jiang Shixue followed next to him, her eyes glowing red, and dark red nails grew out of her delicate white hands. As for Xu Xiaojun, Nie Siyan, and Yang Changhong, they lacked Night Vision, so fighting Night Demons here was obviously a disadvantage. That¡¯s why Wang Tao immediately handed them Ultraviolet flashlights and flares! These Ultraviolet devices not only provided illumination but also caused damage to Night Demons! This was one of the reasons why Wang Tao dared to confront so many Night Demons! "Roar¡ª" As soon as several people entered, a Night Demon immediately charged at them. Swish! Several Ultraviolet flashlights were turned on at the same time, instantly illuminating the Night Demon¡¯s entire body. Sizzling¡ª The Night Demon immediately stopped in its tracks and instinctively covered itself from the light as its body emitted a sound of burning. "Roar¡ª" Smelling the scent of humans, the Night Demon was somewhat unable to control its own body, but the Ultraviolet light made it so uncomfortable that it instinctively feared it. Thus, an interesting phenomenon occurred¡ªthe Night Demons seemed frozen in place, alternating between roaring and covering their faces, unwilling to leave. For everyone else, this was like shooting at targets! Immediately, each kind of attack was directed towards the Night Demon. With a total of thirty thousand HP, the Night Demon¡¯s health bar was cleared in just a few seconds without Wang Tao even making a move. "Roar¡ª" That¡¯s when more Night Demons ran down from upstairs. Wang Tao waved his hand, and several people immediately lit the Ultraviolet illumination flares and threw them around the hotel lobby. By the time the other Night Demons arrived, the entire lobby was bathed in purple light. Sizzling¡ª Wave after wave of burning sounds rose as the skins of those Night Demons were scorched, smoking and cracking. "Roar¡ª" The Night Demons roared loudly but were halted by the Ultraviolet light, not daring to come closer. In the purple-lit lobby, a brief safe zone was created. "Charge!" Wang Tao gripped his Bone Knife and charged forward. These Night Demons all had thirty thousand HP. If it had been back when Wang Tao was Level 2, he might have had to be very cautious. But now, they were basically completely suppressed by him. Chapter 572 - 241: Reaching 110,000 HP_3 Wang Tao casually picked an opponent and struck, a damage figure of [-11349] floated up, the second strike [-12844], and the third strike directly zeroed its HP bar! After ascending to Level 3, Wang Tao no longer considered killing these Level 3 Elite Zombies as over-level kills, so he only obtained a Loot Pack. Moreover, the pack did not contain Crystal Cores or Potions but an Ultraviolet Suit instead. [Acquired: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Acquired: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells x20] He didn¡¯t lack flashlights, but illumination shells were consumable, so it was fine to have more. "Kill!" Wielding his "Entangling Roots" which gave him a hefty hundred thousand HP, Wang Tao rushed directly into the Night Demon zombie group. At that moment, a blue figure suddenly appeared and instantly reached behind Wang Tao. If this were before, Wang Tao might have really been successfully ambushed. After all, with so many Night Demons around, it was hard for Wang Tao to locate the Blue-skinned Night Demon. But now, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability had already pinpointed the location of the Blue-skinned Night Demon! Thus, the moment it appeared, Wang Tao reacted instantly. He swung his knife backwards without hesitation. Bang! The Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s claws almost reached Wang Tao¡¯s chest, but Wang Tao¡¯s Bone Knife was longer and struck its head first. [-6048] A six thousand HP damage strike sent the Blue-skinned Night Demon flying. Wang Tao dashed to where the Blue-skinned Night Demon landed and struck its head with another blow. [-6129] "Roar¡ª" The Blue-skinned Night Demon let out an enraged howl, and the ordinary Night Demons immediately swarmed Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s recent Rush had taken him out of the Ultraviolet illumination flares¡¯ area of effect, so the Night Demons swarmed him recklessly. Wang Tao temporarily ceased attacking the Blue-skinned Night Demon, emitting a Shockwave toward the encircling Night Demons. Boom¡ª The assaulting Night Demons were all knocked down and lost a third of their HP. Taking advantage of their failure to get up, Wang Tao released two more Shockwaves. Puchi! The surrounding Night Demons had their HP bars reduced to zero! Meanwhile, the Blue-skinned Night Demon took the chance to flee! But now it was daytime outside, and the first-floor hall was blocked by Ultraviolet illumination flares, so it could only flee upwards. Wang Tao immediately chased after it. Along the way, there were many Incubation Flesh and half-incubated Night Demons, which Wang Tao had no time to inspect. He chased all the way to the rooftop, where the Blue-skinned Night Demon, finding no escape, turned to attack Wang Tao again. With knife in hand, Wang Tao engaged in battle with it once more. Facing Wang Tao now, the Blue-skinned Night Demon clearly was no match. Moments later, Wang Tao cleaved its skull in two. After collecting the loot, Wang Tao immediately went downstairs to join Xu Xiaojun and others in killing the rest of the Night Demons. Night Demons were dangerous and not to be underestimated. After spending some time, Wang Tao led the others in eradicating all the Night Demons, Incubation Flesh, and half-baked Night Demons within the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! After reassurance provided by his Perception Ability that no stragglers were left, Wang Tao then led everyone to the first-floor hall to tally the loot. "Did you, did you all hunt Level 3 zombies like this before!" Yang Changhong looked at Wang Tao with a mix of excitement and admiration. ``` Storming into the Night Demon¡¯s Nest to hunt Night Demons, Yang Changhong only wanted to say one word¡ªthrilling! With Ultraviolet illumination flares at their disposal, Night Demons dared not to attack them. To a certain extent, as long as they had enough flares, they were on invincible terrain! There were more than fifty Night Demons in total here, and Wang Tao had killed about twenty Ordinary Night Demons and one Blue-skinned Night Demon. The remaining thirty Night Demons were all slain by them. The thrill that Yang Changhong felt didn¡¯t come from the killing itself, but from the clear sense that her strength had greatly improved! She herself had slain a total of 15 Night Demons! Moreover, she found that Jiang Shixue was deliberately yielding kills to her. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill so many. One Night Demon could bring her an increase of 1500 to her maximum HP, so 15 of them amounted to an HP improvement of 22,500! She had recently attained Level 3 Ascension and previously, after hunting zombies with Wang Tao, her HP was only around 32,000. Now, with such a sudden increase, her maximum HP shot up to over 50,000! This significant boost in maximum HP was very pronounced; she would have become increasingly exhausted from combat before, but now she grew stronger the more she fought! Such a degree of improvement was simply outrageous! Wang Tao took a glance at Yang Changhong¡¯s attributes. [HP: 55000/55000] [Mana: 14600/14600] [Grade: Level 3] [Internal Impurity: 11%] Her HP had reached 55,000. The reason she could kill so many Night Demons was actually because of the instructions Wang Tao had previously given to Jiang Shixue, allowing Jiang Shixue to let her claim the kills. After all, Jiang Shixue wouldn¡¯t gain HP from killing zombies, so taking the kills would be a waste. Wang Tao laughed and said, "That¡¯s not it, the Night Demon¡¯s Nest is rather hidden, and it¡¯s not always possible to find it. Moreover, I lacked the strength before. This is my first time in such a condition." "It¡¯s also my first time fighting in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest..." Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and said. Not only Yang Changhong but also he and Nie Siyan reaped a great harvest. His HP had reached 60,000, and Nie Siyan¡¯s HP had also risen to 50,000! However, the one with the greatest gains was naturally Wang Tao¡ªhis HP had reached the upper limit for Level 3! He originally had an HP of 68,340. Although killing 20 Ordinary Night Demons wasn¡¯t a feat of overpowering, it still added 30,000 to his HP. Then, he killed a Blue-skinned Night Demon. The Blue-skinned Night Demon was a Level 3 Lord, which counted as killing above his level. This brought him another 12,000 HP cap increase and 12,000 Special Energy. Therefore, his HP totaled 110,000! Even Wang Tao himself hadn¡¯t expected that just a few days after his Level 3 Ascension from having 30,000 HP, he would jump to 110,000 HP! But after gaining so much HP, Wang Tao also noticed something different from before. Level 1¡¯s maximum HP limit is 4,999; reaching 5,000 HP means Level Two. Similarly, the maximum HP for Level Two is 29,999; reaching 30,000 HP qualifies for Level 3. Wang Tao had thought the limit for Level 3 was 99,999, having seen Fourth-order Monsters with a hundred thousand HP. But now he realized this was not the case; the cap for Level 3 is actually a hundred thousand HP! His 110,000 was due to the extra 10,000 HP he had from before. So Wang Tao was curious why the HP cap for Level 3 was different from the previous levels? He felt that advancing from Level 3 to Level 4 might not be as easy as from Level 1 to Level Two, or from Level Two to Level 3¡ªFor Wang Tao, upgrading with an Ascension crystal core is still relatively easier. Wang Tao thought of the fourth-order Monster he had seen earlier, which had an attribute Wang Tao had never seen before¡ªAwakening. Could advancing to Level 4 have something to do with this "Awakening"? ``` Chapter 573 - 242: Night Demon Breastplate, Gratitude and Repayment_1 Wang Tao shook his head. Although his HP had reached the upper limit of Level 3, his Ability Level was still insufficient, and he also lacked a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core. No matter what additional conditions were needed to reach Level 4, Wang Tao still had a long way to go, so he refrained from pondering it any further. As for how exactly to ascend to Level 4, he assumed he would find out once he met the necessary conditions. Wang Tao turned his attention to the other loot. The loot from ordinary Night Demons consisted of Ultraviolet flashlights and flares. He had used quite a few flares this time, which was perfect for restocking. Next were the Incubation Flesh and the incomplete Night Demons, which Wang Tao had specifically instructed his teammates to reserve for him. After all, killing these things would not yield Loot Packs. After personally killing these things, Wang Tao gained a total of 54 [Level 2 Crystal Core - Omnipotent] and 22 [Level 2 Crystal Core - Extraction]. Even though they were all Level 2, and of no use to Wang Tao, they were still valuable and could be traded with others in the future. The focus was on the loot from the Blue-skinned Night Demon. Just like the last time a Blue-skinned Night Demon was killed, its pair of [Night Demon¡¯s Claws] also dropped and was collected by Wang Tao into his Space Backpack. Then there were four Loot Packs: a Crystal Core Gift Bag, Potions, an Ultraviolet Suit, and Blueprints. The first three Loot Packs contained the same items as the ones obtained from killing a Blue-skinned Night Demon before. There were a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Ascension], a Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core - Energy Boost], a White [Level 3 Crystal Core - HP Boost], and an Orange [Level 3 Crystal Core - Body Constitution Boost] Crystal Core. Then there were three kinds of potions that increased Permanent Attributes, as well as flashlights and flares. [Strength Boosting Potion x10] [Agility Boosting Potion x10] [Mental Boosting Potion x10] [High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x40] The Ultraviolet Suit was stored in the Space Backpack, and he used up all the potions. As for the last pack... Last time he killed a Blue-skinned Night Demon, it dropped the Blueprint of the dagger [Night Demon Blade]. But this time, it wasn¡¯t a dagger, it was an armor Blueprint¡ª [Obtained: Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint x1] [Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Night Demon Breastplate. Required materials: Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone*10kg, Level 3 Crystal Core*1, Iron Block*20, Steel Wire*20, Nails*20, Rubber*20] [Night Demon Breastplate: Attributes unknown] It was a Breastplate! Wang Tao had not come across a single-piece equipment blueprint in a long while. He was currently wearing the Stubborn Chest Armor, and also had Rush Arm Guard, kneeguards, and other pieces of equipment. This single-piece equipment might even have Suit Attributes, just like his Rush Suit that allowed him to use the Rush Ability once per hour. He had previously obtained a Night Demon Blade dagger, and now a Night Demon Breastplate. Wang Tao felt that this might also be part of a suit with attributes! Wang Tao basically had all the required materials for the Night Demon Breastplate. He just lacked the Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone, but its body was upstairs. Wang Tao ran to the rooftop and began crafting beside the Blue-skinned Night Demon¡¯s corpse. After a burst of radiant, colorful light, a black Breastplate tinged with a hint of blue appeared before Wang Tao. In contrast to the ferocious appearance of the Night Demon, this Breastplate seemed rather understated. [Night Demon Breastplate] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Durability +55, Defense +55] While this Breastplate had no special attributes, a defense and durability of 55 were enough for Wang Tao to put it on. Moreover, the design of the Night Demon Breastplate was not exaggerated and was very form-fitting, even somewhat flexible. Once Wang Tao had it on, it was like wearing an undershirt. He could wear a sweatshirt over it, and no one could tell there was a Breastplate underneath. This was completely different from Little Jun¡¯s Branch Armor, which was a complete set of armor with a rather exaggerated look, making it impossible for him to drive while wearing it. Wang Tao moved around a bit and felt that the Breastplate did not hinder his movements¡ªit was very smooth. "Not bad!" Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. "I need to hunt down more of these Blue-skinned Night Demons!" After all, this Breastplate could very well be part of a Suit, and it would be worth it to collect a full set, even if it had no special attributes. "Let¡¯s go." Wang Tao went downstairs and signaled for everyone to leave. At the school entrance, Fan Peng and his team were still hunting zombies in the pouring rain. The opportunity was too good to pass up, and no one knew if more zombies would appear here tomorrow, so they were taking advantage of the chance to kill as many as they could now. Seeing that they were not in any danger, Wang Tao did not concern himself with them, but instead, he took a drive around Duzhu Town. He wanted to see if there were any Level 3 zombies left. Duzhu Town was small, and Wang Tao quickly circled all the buildings in town on the cement road, conducting a thorough search. He didn¡¯t find any Level 3 zombies, but he did find some Level 2 zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t take action himself; he planned to tell Fan Peng about the locations with Level 2 zombies so that they could hunt them and improve their strength. "It seems there are no special circumstances..." When Wang Tao returned to Duzhu Town Base, Fan Peng and his team had also returned. Many locals and outsiders had gone to the school. Although they hadn¡¯t finished killing all the zombies there, they had almost cleared out the Level 2 zombies. With the overcast and rainy weather, it got dark early, and it was dangerous to stay out late. Upon seeing that Wang Tao had already returned, Fan Peng immediately came over with a bag. "Mr. Wang..." He respectfully handed the bag he was holding to Wang Tao. Chapter 574 - 242: Night Demon Chest Armor, Gratitude and Repayment_2 Wang Tao glanced inside the bag, which was filled with a large number of Crystal Cores, including Level 1 and Level Two. "What is this?" Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. "To thank Mr. Wang for leading and protecting us in hunting zombies, this is a token of our gratitude we¡¯ve prepared for you..." Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at the number of Crystal Cores in the bag, comparing them with the number of Elite Zombies in the school. He felt that these Crystal Cores amounted to at least thirty percent of what everyone had harvested combined! To think they would give thirty percent of their earnings to him? Wang Tao was quite surprised. To say that he had led and protected the others wasn¡¯t wrong. After all, Wang Tao had eliminated the most significant threats. Without him, they wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to get these Crystal Cores. But Wang Tao was also acting based on his interests. To say he had actively protected them wasn¡¯t quite true. They had hunted and earned those Crystal Cores themselves, with no help from Wang Tao killing zombies. Moreover, the most important point was that Wang Tao had made it clear he would leave Duzhu Town. Whether he lived or died in the future, it was highly unlikely that he would have any more interaction with Fan Peng and the others. So to say that this was them trying to solicit or invest in Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite fit either. Therefore, this must be their sincere way of showing gratitude to Wang Tao! Although giving away thirty percent of Crystal Cores was indeed a significant number, they knew that without Wang Tao, they wouldn¡¯t have obtained even seventy percent. So, even though it was painful, they were willing to give these thirty percent to Wang Tao as a token of their appreciation. It¡¯s rare to see such grateful people these days. "Okay, then. I¡¯ll accept it." Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse their kindness and accepted the Crystal Cores with a smile. Then, he spoke again. "You can sell me all the Crystal Cores you have. I can exchange them for high-quality ones. You give me yours first, and then I¡¯ll give you mine." "Ah?" Fan Peng was stunned for a moment, then quickly nodded with some excitement, "Yes, yes, yes! Please wait a moment!" He had traded with Wang Tao before and knew that Wang Tao had a lot of Crystal Cores, many of which were of high quality. Combining low-quality Crystal Cores was basically down to luck, while high-quality ones meant stability! If they could get high-quality Crystal Cores, they would be willing to trade even if they had to give up several low-quality ones for one! After Fan Peng left, he quickly called everyone else over. "I¡¯ve already given Mr. Wang the token of gratitude, and he seems very satisfied. He has allowed us to exchange our Crystal Cores for the high-quality ones he has!" Upon hearing this, everyone was thrilled. They all knew that Wang Tao had a lot of high-quality Crystal Cores, many of which they could use! "Exchange! Even if it¡¯s ten to one, or even twenty to one, as long as I can exchange for what I can use, I¡¯m willing to do it!" "Who wouldn¡¯t! Acquiring Crystal Cores is too difficult, and getting those that you can use is even harder! As for high-quality Crystal Cores that one can use, that¡¯s something you don¡¯t even dare to dream of... now that we have this opportunity, we must seize it!" "Exactly, let¡¯s exchange! Hurry and get your Crystal Cores out!" These people didn¡¯t hesitate much, taking out their Crystal Cores and registering them with Fan Peng. Having interacted for a few days, they knew Wang Tao would probably not cheat them out of their Crystal Cores, especially since there had been many opportunities to obtain Crystal Cores before. With Wang Tao and his group¡¯s strength, they could easily have killed those zombies and hoarded all the Cores for themselves, but Wang Tao had allowed them to have them. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s character was trustworthy. Soon, Fan Peng had collected everyone¡¯s Crystal Cores, then took them and knocked on Wang Tao¡¯s door. "Mr. Wang, these are all our Crystal Cores, how many can we exchange?" Looking at the heaping pile of Crystal Cores, Wang Tao nodded casually. "Alright, just leave them here. I¡¯ll sort through them, come back in an hour." "Yes!" Fan Peng respectfully made his exit. Wang Tao was someone who reciprocated "an inch of respect with a yard." Since these people knew how to repay kindness, Wang Tao would help them one more time. After all, synthesizing Crystal Cores didn¡¯t cost him anything; it was just a matter of spending some time. Wang Tao stored these Crystal Cores in his Space Backpack, setting them aside in a corner, and then he combined the same types of Cores, creating Purple, Red, or Orange ones. After his operations, Wang Tao took away those Cores that were too few in number to combine. He then took out some from the newly combined Cores. What remained was what he¡¯d offer them. As soon as the hour passed, Fan Peng arrived. When he saw the Purple, Red, and even Orange Crystal Cores on the table, he couldn¡¯t hide the excitement in his eyes. "Take these with you." "Yes! Thank you, Mr. Wang!" When Fan Peng personally took the Crystal Cores, he realized there were far more than he had expected! Mr. Wang hadn¡¯t taken advantage of them at all! He might even be at a loss! Watching an exhilarated Fan Peng leave, Wang Tao smiled and shook his head. "I hope more Ability Users emerge, and that Duzhu Town Base manages to hold on..." The next day was the day Wang Tao was preparing to leave. As soon as he stepped out, he found Fan Peng and the others waiting outside. Wang Tao could clearly feel a significant increase in their auras, presumably because they had fused the Synthetic Crystal Cores the previous day. "Mr. Wang, we would like to accompany you on part of your journey!" Fan Peng spoke respectfully. "Alright." Chapter 575 - 242: Night Demon Chest Armor, Gratitude and Repayment_3 Wang Tao smiled and nodded, after all, it was a kind gesture from them. The biggest threats in Duzhu Town had been eliminated by Wang Tao, so sending them off was no big deal. Now that Yang Changhong had joined Wang Tao¡¯s team, Wang Tao¡¯s group consisted of five people with two vehicles. Five people could actually fit in one vehicle, but due to the corrosive acid rain, many cars were no longer usable. Sometimes cars were even more expensive than Crystal Cores, and you couldn¡¯t buy them even if you had the money. Thus, both vehicles had to be driven away. Following behind the two cars were more than a dozen others; these belonged to the people from Duzhu Town Base who came to see them off. They escorted them all the way to the border between Duzhu Town and another town, where they finally stopped. "Mr. Wang, take care!" Fan Peng, Cai Ping, and Tan Ya rolled down the windows and gestured to Wang Tao with clasped fists. "You too, stay alive." Wang Tao waved to them. In the eyes of the people watching, the two cars entered the rain and slowly disappeared from view. "What are you guys going to do next?" Fan Peng looked at Cai Ping, Tan Ya, and the others. Cai Ping replied with a smile: "We¡¯re planning to go to Zijin Base! We originally thought about heading to a military base, but even Mr. Wang, who is so strong, can¡¯t ensure his safety for certain. We thought it better to go to Zijin Base for more stability. Moreover, Mr. Wang said that there¡¯s also a Level 3 ability user in Zijin Base, so we can seek refuge there." "We¡¯re also planning to go to Zijin Base. We¡¯ll be leaving in a few days," Tan Ya also responded. "Then I wish you a safe journey in advance..." Fan Peng sighed. To be honest, he wanted to go to Zijin Base too. But there were too many survivors in Duzhu Town Base, they couldn¡¯t just up and leave like Cai Ping and the others. However, Fan Peng could start preparing in advance. Maybe once the survivors at the base improved their strength, they might also be able to move directly to Zijin Base... ... "Suddenly, with so many people gone, it feels a bit unusual..." Inside Yang Changhong¡¯s car, she couldn¡¯t help but remark, then she glanced at the back seat. On the back seat, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue sat together. Jiang Shixue rested her head on Wang Tao¡¯s chest, and he gently stroked her hair as if petting a cat. This time, Wang Tao was riding in Yang Changhong¡¯s car and brought Jiang Shixue along. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan were in the car in front. Wang Tao had switched cars for a simple reason, because Yang Changhong¡¯s was more comfortable. The car he had taken from Yang Changhong before was worth around a million. Wang Tao was attracted by its large space. Yang Changhong¡¯s own car, on the other hand, was worth five million and better in every aspect than the other car. Of course, now in the apocalypse, after all the abuses they suffered, the cars certainly weren¡¯t like they were before the apocalypse. But Yang Changhong was protective when using her car. As a fine specimen owned only by ladies, the interior of the car was well-maintained, making Wang Tao¡¯s ride very comfortable. "How did you manage when you were alone before?" Wang Tao asked in return. "I... I don¡¯t know... I somehow muddled through. Maybe it was the obsession with finding my sister that kept me going... Should I tell you about my sister?" Yang Changhong¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up; she realized she hadn¡¯t really shared details of her sister with Wang Tao. "Sure," Wang Tao nodded. "My sister is a bit older than Little Xue, just starting her sophomore year in college. She¡¯s really rebellious and doesn¡¯t listen to our parents, but for some reason, she listens to me. My parents dote on her, but I¡¯ve never spared her the rod! Haha..." "...After the apocalypse began, I was at the company, and she was escaping with her classmates. During our last call, she told me she wasn¡¯t actually scared of me at all; she only pretended to be to get pocket money from me. If we ever meet again, she said she¡¯s going to beat me up! Heh, if we meet again, if I don¡¯t whoop her butt into bloom, then I¡¯m not her big sister! That little brat better wait for it!" "..." Yang Changhong talked while driving. The conversation was mostly one-sided, with Wang Tao quietly playing the listener. ... The cars drove on the national highway; despite the heavy rain, there were still zombies wandering about. Wang Tao avoided them if he could, and if not, he let Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan get out of the car and deal with them. They traveled without encountering any major danger until it was close to dark. The car didn¡¯t move very fast, as various messages suggested that Wuyang City was very dangerous, so it was best for Wang Tao to be cautious. "Let¡¯s rest up ahead." There was an abandoned gas station ahead, which was a good chance to check for any gasoline. "Okay." The two cars stopped one after another outside the gas station. Upon getting out of the car, Wang Tao immediately used his Perception Ability to scan the area. "There are a few Level 2 zombies in the building, and a few in those cars..." With directives from Wang Tao, Yang Changhong and the others immediately took up their weapons and headed straight for the zombies. Moments later, the gas station was cleared out. Not a drop of fuel was left in the station¡¯s tanks, but there was some gasoline in the abandoned vehicles nearby, which Wang Tao siphoned out for future use. The group tidied up the inside of the building, and by that time, it was already dark. After assigning night watch duties, Wang Tao said to everyone: "Alright, rest up. We¡¯ll get up early and continue on our way." "Okay." The night passed without incident. The next morning, while Wang Tao was still asleep, he was suddenly awoken by a buzzing sound. "Brother Wang, there¡¯s an air drop plane!" Xu Xiaojun, on the last watch, rushed in immediately. "I¡¯ll check it out!" Wang Tao picked up the military walkie-talkie, then went outside and saw a black dot in the sky in the distance. "Is it okay to fly a plane in such heavy rain, and the frequency of these airdrops seems too high lately..." Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand much about this and frowned. However, he still took out the walkie-talkie and immediately tried to contact the pilot. "This is Wang Tao... " Wang Tao tried to make contact for a while, but like last time, there was no response. But when the plane flew overhead, a large number of airdrops fell to the ground. Seeing this, Yang Changhong and the others were very excited. Only Wang Tao could get the airdrops! But Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows were furrowed. "What exactly is going on? Why won¡¯t Colonel Luo respond? Could the equipment really be broken..." Chapter 576 - 243 Giant_1 Whooosh¡ª The sky was gloomy with dense clouds as a downpour ensued. "Phew¡ªThere should be nothing left behind now!" Yang Changhong entered, wiped the rain off her forehead, and passed the last item from the supply drop box to Wang Tao. Everyone then began to categorize the items from the supply drops. There were a total of 10 supply drops, and the contents had been retrieved by the group. "Inhibitors, compressed food, medical kits..." The contents of the supply drops were the same as before, with no special items like mechanical arms. However, these items were still precious. Especially the inhibitors, which could currently only be found in supply drops. What Wang Tao actually wanted to see was the Zombie Guide and news from the military base, but unfortunately, neither was available¡ªthe Zombie Guide did indeed exist but it was an outdated version, not updated for a long time. "Let¡¯s pack everything up and continue on our way!" "Alright!" Wang Tao now had two vehicles, which could carry quite a lot of stuff. Naturally, there was a place for these supplies. Once everything was packed, Wang Tao and his group hit the road again. Wang Tao knew the location of the military base; although it wasn¡¯t marked on the map, the first supply drop he retrieved had the precise location of the military base written inside it. But just knowing this location wasn¡¯t enough to find it at will; a lot of landmarks were needed. Wang Tao had a rough idea of the area it was in. Once they got close to the Wuyang City urban area, they could determine the location of the military base based on those landmarks. "Is the urban area really as dangerous as they say?" Inside the vehicle, Yang Changhong asked with some uncertainty. Before coming, she had heard many say that the urban area of Wuyang City, in fact the whole of Wuyang City, was extremely dangerous, a place of certain death. But now, they were already in Wuyang City, and the distance to the urban area wasn¡¯t very far. The journey hadn¡¯t been entirely peaceful, but they hadn¡¯t encountered any real danger either... "The danger is certain. Don¡¯t forget, the urban population of Wuyang City is ten million!" Wang Tao had no doubts about this. After the apocalypse, he had travelled through many places. Less populated areas weren¡¯t necessarily safe, but densely populated areas were definitely dangerous¡ªthis was the wisdom he gained from experience. "That¡¯s true, after all, it¡¯s a city with such a large population..." Yang Changhong felt she might have been a bit too arrogant after increasing her strength, even daring to question the danger level of Wuyang City. Wang Tao then added, "But there is no need to worry too much. As long as we don¡¯t encounter a large-scale swarm of zombies or Level 4 zombies, we can handle anything." Wang Tao wasn¡¯t arrogant; he was simply confident in his own strength. After all, he had 110,000 HP. Even if it was a Level 3 Zombie Lord with 100,000 HP, he felt he could put up a fight! Of course, if it were Level 4 zombies, then running would be the only option. He didn¡¯t know much about Level 4 yet, having only seen one that could create illusions... His data on them was limited, and he couldn¡¯t accurately estimate the combat power of a Level 4. "Mhm!" Yang Changhong nodded. She was very grateful to be with Wang Tao; otherwise, she wasn¡¯t sure if reaching this place would have even been possible... "There¡¯s a Level 3 zombie ahead." Wang Tao suddenly said. "Where?" Yang Changhong instantly became alert. "Inside that abandoned car. It¡¯s one of the weaker Level 3 Elite Zombies." Following Wang Tao¡¯s indication, Yang Changhong immediately responded, "I¡¯ll deal with it! Don¡¯t interfere, I want to test my strength." "Okay." Wang Tao nodded, then used the walkie-talkie to get Xu Xiaojun to stop the car. The rain was still falling heavily outside, and even though it was corrosive acid rain, humans wouldn¡¯t have much of an issue as long as they didn¡¯t get drenched too much. This was especially true for Ability Users with high HP, who could withstand the corrosive acid rain for quite some time. Yang Changhong, holding the standard hand axe Wang Tao had given her, approached the vehicle. "Roar¡ª" A zombie suddenly opened the car door and lunged at Yang Changhong. Well-prepared, Yang Changhong dodged and then swung her high-frequency vibrating axe, chopping the zombie¡¯s hand off. Splat! The zombie¡¯s hand was severed! Yang Changhong¡¯s method of chopping off the limbs of zombies first was a common strategy among survivors. Although it didn¡¯t kill zombies quickly, it incapacitated them. Unless some zombies had special abilities, after having their limbs cut off, they became easy targets. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have this habit; he always aimed straight for the head. The reason was simple¡ªhe had high damage output. If he could kill quickly, there was no need to waste time with zombies. This Level 3 Elite Zombie only had 30,000 HP, and no special abilities, though its defense was a bit high. After Yang Changhong sliced off its hands, it managed to hold on for a short time before she killed it. "A defense crystal core, no wonder it was so tough!" Yang Changhong got back into the car and conscientiously handed the crystal core to Wang Tao. "Let¡¯s keep moving," Wang Tao informed Xu Xiaojun over the walkie-talkie before turning to Yang Changhong and asking, "How do you feel?" "Incredible! I¡¯ve never felt so strong before!" Yang Changhong said with some emotion. She now had over 50,000 HP and four abilities. Killing this Level 3 Elite Zombie with 30,000 HP was no challenge at all. "Thank you. If it wasn¡¯t for you, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d ever have had the chance to reach Level 3 in my lifetime..." Yang Changhong looked at Wang Tao sincerely. "Then just help me kill more zombies and earn crystal cores. And maybe warm my bed on the side..." Wang Tao said with a smile. "..." Yang Changhong rolled her eyes at him. The group continued their journey. Chapter 577 - 243 Giant_2 ``` They hadn¡¯t walked much further when Wang Tao had the car stop again. "Three Level 3 zombies have appeared, three Level 2 Elite Zombies, and one Level 3 Elite Zombie..." Since Yang Changhong had already tested her strength with over 50,000 HP, there was no need to take on zombies single-handedly anymore. She, along with Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan, got out of the car and easily dealt with these zombies. After taking care of them, they continued on their way. About an hour later, they encountered Level 3 zombies again. This time there were three Level 3 Elite Zombies. It was still Yang Changhong and the other two who got out of the car to handle them. "The closer we get to Wuyang City, the more high-level zombies we encounter!" According to the previous situation, unless there were maternal zombies nearby, it was rare to encounter Level 3 Elite Zombies. But now they were encountering them frequently. The number of zombies on the route Wang Tao had chosen wasn¡¯t actually high, especially now that it was raining, and many zombies were not very active. This could only mean one thing¡ªthe overall level of zombies near Wuyang City was quite high! Afterward, they encountered zombies several more times, and although there was no real danger, it did affect their speed somewhat. Before nightfall, Wang Tao stopped in front of a small roadside motel. After getting out of the car, he used his Perception Ability to scan the motel and immediately raised an eyebrow. "There are three Level 3 Elites inside and one Level 3 Zombie Lord..." "A Level 3 Lord!" Everyone was somewhat surprised. Zombie Lords had much higher combat power than Elite Zombies. Although they were now Level 3, it didn¡¯t necessarily mean they could defeat them. "Let¡¯s go in and take a look." Wang Tao felt that this Zombie Lord wasn¡¯t particularly strong, but he still cautiously took out his Bone Knife. He didn¡¯t activate Entangling Roots, mainly because the motel wasn¡¯t very tall, and he would be 2.5 meters tall after using Entangling Roots, unable to even enter the door unless he destroyed it. But that would complicate a stealth attack... The group quietly entered the motel. Perhaps it was because Wang Tao and the others had been soaked in the rain, covering some of their scent, the zombies in the motel did not detect their arrival immediately. As a result, Wang Tao and his group managed to ambush zombies for once¡ªan unexpected turn as it had always been the zombies ambushing them. This time, with the help of the Perception Ability, they could ambush the zombies! [HP: 40000/40000] [Mana: 15000/15000] [Grade: Level 3 - Lord] This was a Level 3 Zombie Lord with 50,000 HP, wearing a shabby suit, with a somewhat overweight body. It was sitting on a bed in a room, seemingly contemplating life. When Wang Tao and his group burst in, it failed to react in time and was greeted with a barrage of attacks to the face. [-8584] [-3482] [-3812] [...] "It doesn¡¯t have high defense, make it quick!" Aside from Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao and his group were all Level 3 Ability Users equipped with Level 3 weapons. Although Jiang Shixue wasn¡¯t Level 3, her attacks were not to be underestimated. Therefore, under the sudden onslaught from Wang Tao¡¯s group, the suit-wearing zombie only lasted two seconds before the ambush killed it. It might have been the most aggrieved Level 3 Zombie Lord to die. Wang Tao withdrew the Bone Knife he had used to hack off the zombie¡¯s head. The suit-wearing zombie only added 4,800 Special Energy to Wang Tao, which was a bit low, even less than what the Level 3 Elite Night Demon had given him previously. But it was understandable since this suit-wearing zombie was probably one of the weaker Level 3 Zombie Lords Wang Tao had encountered so far. The Crystal Core in its head was [Level 3 Crystal Core - Power], but the Crystal Core Gift Bag it dropped only contained one Crystal Core [Level 3 Crystal Core - Running]. There was no Omnipotent Crystal Core, not even an Ascension Crystal Core. Wang Tao cursed inwardly about its poverty and then looked at the other two Loot Packs. The second Loot Pack contained Potions. [Received: Power Potion (small) x20] [Received: Running Potion (Medium) x20] A total of 40 Potions, which was fairly acceptable. Yet, ironically, the suit-wearing zombie hadn¡¯t even used its running ability before being killed. The third Loot Pack contained clothes. [Received: Black Combat Suit x1] [Black Combat Suit: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10] This suit seemed quite good, and Wang Tao could wear it. However, he still had the hoodie outfit he had obtained before, which still had plenty of durability. There was no need for him to change unless the clothes were worn out. After killing the Level 3 Zombie Lord, the group also took care of the other Elite Zombies in the motel. Once they were sure there was no danger, Wang Tao opened the map. "According to the map, we should reach the urban area tomorrow..." Hearing this, Nie Siyan and the others were both excited and apprehensive. They were excited because they had finally reached the urban area of Wuyang City, which meant the military base shouldn¡¯t be far. The apprehension was the uncertainty of what the urban area might be like; it would be troublesome if it proved to be dangerous. "Rest well tonight and maintain the best combat condition for tomorrow!" "Yes!" ... The next day. Whoosh¡ª Boom¡ª The heavy rain hadn¡¯t stopped and had even started to thunder. Wang Tao opened the window. "This weather looks quite frightening, but it definitely maximally interferes with the zombies¡¯ perception. It¡¯s a suitable day to go out!" After a simple breakfast, they continued on their journey. As soon as they stepped out, Wang Tao felt that today was different from the day before. Although it had been pouring the day before, there were still quite a few zombies on the road. Those zombies were basically zoning out on the road and could only sense people approaching when they were close. They hadn¡¯t even turned around before Xu Xiaojun and the others killed them. ``` Chapter 578 - 243 Giant_3 Today, there were far fewer zombies on the road, and those remaining weren¡¯t idly standing around but were instead running chaotically. Especially when the thunder sounded, they ran around like madmen. Moreover, Wang Tao saw many Mad Demon Zombies, which were also frantically running around in the rain. Even when vehicles passed by them, they didn¡¯t even spare a glance. "It seems the effect of thunder on the zombies is greater than I expected... If this is the case, perhaps we¡¯ll arrive at the urban area sooner," Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had originally calculated that they would reach Wuyang City urban area by evening, but looking at the situation now, they might arrive in the afternoon. In fact, it was almost as Wang Tao had guessed. Along the way, they hadn¡¯t encountered any trouble, not too many Elite Zombies, nor any Zombie Lords. Around four o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Wang Tao saw a road sign that read there were only 3 kilometers remaining to the Wuyang City urban area. However, due to the heavy rain and some fog, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see the state of the urban area clearly. "Everyone, stay alert, we¡¯re almost there!" Wang Tao said to the others. "Yes!" For the last 3 kilometers, Wang Tao was exceedingly cautious. After a little time, Wang Tao finally saw high-rise buildings in the distance. Wuyang City urban area... They had arrived. Just then, a flash of lightning suddenly appeared, instantly illuminating the overcast sky, the urban area, and a huge and terrifying figure. "Shit!" Wang Tao cursed instinctively. He saw next to a building more than twenty stories high in the distance, there was a huge humanoid zombie almost as tall as the building itself! It was using its red eyes to peer closely into the exterior glass of the building, as if looking at the situation inside! Then it thrust its hand violently into the building and rummaged around. It seemed to have grabbed something and stuffed it straight into its mouth. "Hiss¡ª" "What is that thing! So terrifying!" Yang Changhong and the others turned pale with fright when they saw it. Even Jiang Shixue, who was always fearless, subconsciously grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand, her small face utterly serious. Boom¡ª The sound of thunder followed, the lightning was but a brief flicker, and the sky once again fell into darkness, with everyone losing sight of the giant zombie. "That¡¯s a zombie, a... Level 4, Lord Zombie!" Wang Tao took a deep breath and said. [HP: 300,000/300,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Awakening: Giant] [Giant: Body size grows without limit, all basic attributes significantly enhanced. The larger the body, the stronger the strength.] Although he had only seen it for a moment, he had still managed to glimpse the zombie¡¯s stats. 300,000 HP! 200,000 mana! But what was most important was not these numbers. What was most important was that, after his Level 3 Ascension, Wang Tao could now see awakening attributes! The giant zombie¡¯s awakening was [Giant], whose attribute description was very simple and didn¡¯t reveal specific numbers, but even a fool could tell it was powerful¡ª Body size grows without limit! All basic attributes significantly enhanced! The larger the body, the stronger the strength! "So this is the ¡¯Awakening¡¯ after Level 4..." Wang Tao murmured to himself, but now was not the time to think about Level 4. He immediately signaled the others to retreat. "Let¡¯s go, we can¡¯t afford to mess with this zombie!" Wang Tao felt that for a zombie of this size, HP alone couldn¡¯t define its strength anymore. He now had 110,000 HP, plus the 100,000 HP from the Entangling Roots, making it 210,000 HP in total. It seemed not far off from this zombie¡¯s 300,000 HP, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel he stood the slightest chance! Because this was no longer an issue of HP! Not to mention other factors, the zombie¡¯s weak spot was its head, but this zombie appeared to be fifty meters tall, and Wang Tao¡¯s attacks couldn¡¯t reach its head at all! Moreover, it was clearly thick-skinned and burly; even if Wang Tao could hit its head, he probably wouldn¡¯t be able to reduce much of its HP... Boom~ The two vehicles slammed on the gas and immediately left the road. Wang Tao¡¯s goal wasn¡¯t to enter the urban area but to find a military base. The approximate location of the military base required passing through half of the city. However, if the city was too dangerous, they definitely couldn¡¯t go through it; instead, they would have to take a detour. After leaving the area, Wang Tao opened the map and pointed to a location. "Let¡¯s head there..." "Okay!" The vehicles quickly left the road and started to prepare to bypass the urban area. However, the detour was longer than Wang Tao had anticipated, and many abandoned vehicles obstructed the road. "We won¡¯t make it before dark. Let¡¯s find a place to rest for the night. Keep an eye out for any suitable places..." Wang Tao said to everyone. "Okay!" Everyone responded in unison. "Bang¡ª¡ª" Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s ears twitched, and he turned to Yang Changhong beside him. "Did you hear anything?" "Other than the rain, I don¡¯t think there were any other sounds..." Yang Changhong shook his head. Wang Tao then looked at Jiang Shixue, who nodded. "It sounded like... gunfire?" ... On the wide asphalt road, there was an old, rusted abandoned sedan, inside which sat two figures. The passenger seat was occupied by an old man in worn military attire, with binoculars hanging from his chest and a knitted hat on his head, his face covered in a white beard. He rummaged through the glove box and pulled out a yellowed photograph, which depicted a little girl with a bright smile. Looking at the little girl¡¯s smile, the old man also broke into a grin. "I have a granddaughter, as cute as the girl in this photo. She always liked to cling to me and ask for bedtime stories..." The old man said while passing the photo to the driver for a look. "Hehe..." The figure in the driver¡¯s seat suddenly lifted its head, revealing a rotten and ferocious face! But its jaw was missing, and both arms were broken! It struggled to move closer to the old man, but was tightly restrained by the seatbelt, unable to move. The old man didn¡¯t look at the ferocious zombie but continued to gaze at the photo and spoke. "A few months ago, she asked me, ¡¯Grandpa, are you old?¡¯" "I said, ¡¯Yes, I¡¯m old. And someday, you will be old like me, haha!¡¯" "Then she asked, ¡¯Grandpa, will you die?¡¯" "I said, ¡¯Of course, I will die.¡¯" "Finally, she asked, ¡¯Grandpa, will I die too?¡¯" "Looking at the wound on her arm, brimming with black veins, it was the first time I didn¡¯t know how to answer her question..." The old man lifted his head and looked at the zombie in the driver¡¯s seat. "Have you ever explained things to a child? I am ashamed that I didn¡¯t get to explain before she ran away¡ªnot died, ran away." The old man took a police revolver from behind his waist and aimed it at the forehead of the driver¡¯s seat zombie. "I will find her, I promise." Bang! Chapter 579 - 244 He Jijun_1 Wang Tao heard gunshots, which stirred some excitement in him. There was a military base close by. Hearing gunshots here could very well mean they had come across soldiers, right? Wang Tao immediately ordered Yang Changhong to drive towards the direction where the gunshots rang out. "Are you sure you really heard gunshots?" Yang Changhong was somewhat uncertain; she hadn¡¯t actually heard anything just now. It wasn¡¯t that her ears weren¡¯t sharp, but the noisy environment of rain, wind, and thunder made it difficult to distinguish other sounds. "I think it was gunshots, but I¡¯m not sure either, let¡¯s go have a look." Wang Tao nodded. He and Jiang Shixue discussed for a while, and after some time, they finally set their sights on another asphalt road. "The sound probably came from this direction, let¡¯s go search!" The two vehicles slowly searched along the asphalt road. At a certain moment, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue both looked towards one location. At the same time, a "bang" was heard, and a bullet hit the ground beside the vehicle Wang Tao was in. Yang Changhong and the others immediately became vigilant when they saw an old man with a white beard and a knitted hat appearing among the pile of abandoned vehicles. He was holding a shotgun aimed at the vehicle, with wisps of pale smoke coming out from the barrel. "What are you following me for?" The old man¡¯s eyes were as sharp as an eagle¡¯s, staring at Wang Tao¡¯s two vehicles. Wang Tao was taken aback when he saw the old man. This was actually an ordinary person with 1000 HP! [HP: 896/1000] [Status: Corrosive acid rain, body slightly corroded, rest for some time to recover as usual] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: None] [Hidden Attributes: Old but vigorous] [Old but vigorous: Physical strength and spirit not limited by age] In the vicinity of Wuyang City urban area, where it was said that even Ability Users would die nine times out of ten, they actually encountered an ordinary person? Although he had a shotgun in hand, could he really survive here with just that weapon? Keep in mind, gunshots can attract zombies! However, the old man had a hidden attribute named "Old but vigorous," which seemed quite impressive. It might be one of the reasons he had survived until now. "Old man, no offence intended. I mean you no harm!" Wang Tao didn¡¯t get out of the car; his voice came from inside the vehicle. After all, the old man had a gun and was very alert. While Wang Tao was strong, there was no need to confront bullets head-on. "No ill intentions? Then you all can leave." The old man¡¯s gaze flickered but he didn¡¯t say anything more. He clearly did not want to start anything. Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t just leave. Since leaving Duzhu Town, he hadn¡¯t seen a single human survivor on his journey. Now that he had finally met someone, he needed to find out more. Moreover, Wang Tao was quite interested in the old man himself. "Old man, we really mean no harm. And to speak frankly, if I did harbor ill intentions, you wouldn¡¯t be able to stop me." Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the old man laughed derisively. "Ha, then you can try and see, whether your speed is faster or my bullet!" Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to test the old man¡¯s gun, but he had a way to intimidate him. "Little Xue, could you control him a bit? That shouldn¡¯t be a problem, right?" Jiang Shixue¡¯s hidden attribute, the Eyes of Contract, allowed her to control others¡¯ thoughts to a certain degree, in addition to Night Vision. The lower the level and spirit of a person, the easier they were to control. "It shouldn¡¯t be a problem." Jiang Shixue looked at the old man through the window; her eyes glinted red. The old man suddenly paused, his eyes becoming vacant in an instant. However, Jiang Shixue¡¯s expression was one of surprise. "His spirit is so strong! I can only control him for a few seconds..." "That¡¯s enough!" Wang Tao immediately got out of the car and swiftly moved behind the old man, taking his shotgun into his own hands. "Any other guns?" Wang Tao noticed another revolver at his waist and proceeded to take his pistol as well. By this time, the old man had recovered from being controlled. His eyes were filled with confusion¡ªhad he just felt like he blacked out for a moment?! Hmm? Where¡¯s my gun? Only then did he realize that the shotgun was no longer in his hands! Whoosh! The old man immediately turned around and saw a tall figure standing behind him, holding the shotgun. Without thinking, he reached behind his back for a feel¡ªhis pistol was gone too! "Looking for this, old man?" Wang Tao now held a black revolver in his hand, the very one the old man had on him. The old man, surprised at Wang Tao¡¯s seemingly teleporting ability and his skill at disarming, was shocked but not afraid. "Who are you!" The old man looked at him angrily. "Just an ordinary survivor. See, as I said, no harm intended¡ªyou would be dead otherwise." As he spoke, Wang Tao threw both guns back to him. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s action, the old man was taken aback. He hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to actually return the guns to him, which suddenly made him regard Wang Tao more favourably. However, as soon as he caught the guns, he realized he had been nai?ve¡ªthe bullets had been removed! While he could reload, given the opponent¡¯s unexplainable ability to move instantly, he clearly wouldn¡¯t have the chance. "Nice to meet you, I¡¯m Wang Tao." Wang Tao reached out his hand. The old man slung the shotgun over his back, and tucked the revolver behind his waist. He didn¡¯t shake hands with Wang Tao but spoke coldly: "He Jijun." "He Jijun..." Wang Tao muttered to himself. He had never heard the name, but that didn¡¯t prevent him from offering some praise. Chapter 580 - 244 He Jijun_2 "Building on past achievements, valorous above all armies! What a great name!" From He Jijun¡¯s marksmanship, stance, vital energy, and that old military uniform on him, Wang Tao could guess that he had likely served as a soldier before. Therefore, complimenting him in this regard should be well-received. Indeed, as soon as Wang Tao spoke, the cold look on He Jijun¡¯s face diminished somewhat. "Would the old master care to get in the car for a chat? I¡¯ve only been in Wuyang City for a few days, and I¡¯m quite unfamiliar with the situation here. I¡¯d like to exchange some information with you," Wang Tao said, smiling. "..." He Jijun was clearly reluctant. The main reason was Wang Tao¡¯s eerily bizarre Ability, and since he was unaware of Wang Tao¡¯s background, he had seen too much of the ugliness of human nature in his journey thus far. However, Wang Tao¡¯s invitation was somehow also a bit of a threat... "Oh right, I have some fine liquor in the car. I don¡¯t drink myself, and nobody among us does either. If the old master likes, I can join you for a small drink or two," He Jijun¡¯s eyes lit up when he heard about the liquor, and he gritted his teeth. "Okay!" Since Wang Tao had invited him with such sincerity, it would have been inappropriate for him to refuse any longer. "Is the old master alone? Do you have a car?" As they got in the car, Wang Tao asked. "Alone, no car," He Jijun shook his head. "It¡¯s already dark. Shall we find a place to rest, old master?" "Whatever," Now that he had gotten into the car, He Jijun no longer dwelled on it. Wang Tao had already found a suitable place to rest when he was searching for the gunshot earlier, and now they could head over there. It was a civilian house by the roadside with a large garage capable of accommodating several cars. Even though ivy covered the outside of the house, the inside was still clean and free of zombies. After parking the car, Wang Tao took a bottle of wine down from the vehicle. He had promised Colonel Luo Guozhong, the parachuting plane pilot he had contacted earlier, to treat him to a drink upon meeting. Wang Tao was a man of his word, so naturally, he had prepared the liquor. Lan Yulian had helped him ready several bottles of this strong drink, and taking one out now left enough for later use. Seeing this bottle of wine, He Jijun, who had been grim-faced the whole time, had his eyes light up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t drink, so he didn¡¯t know much about liquor. However, Jade Lotus had mentioned that these bottles had been quite expensive before, so they must be of good quality. Xu Xiaojun cleared the table inside the house, and Wang Tao laid out some food and the liquor. Then, he invited He Jijun to take a seat. "Old master, please take a seat," He Jijun snorted coldly and sat down carelessly. He had boarded Wang Tao¡¯s car out of compulsion. In that situation, had he refused, he wasn¡¯t sure what Wang Tao might do to him; he had to get in the car. His expression had been quite cold in the car. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind this at all. He personally poured a drink for He Jijun and then raised his glass. Seeing Wang Tao being so polite, He Jijun found it hard to keep up his stern demeanor. He picked up his glass, clinked it with Wang Tao¡¯s, smelled the aroma of the wine, looked intoxicated, and then drained it in one gulp. "Great wine!" He Jijun exclaimed instinctively. It had been so long since he had last tasted alcohol, and now, suddenly relishing such fine wine, his expression softened considerably. Wang Tao seized the opportunity to ask: "Is the old master from Wuyang City?" There was an old saying about how one¡¯s mouth was indebted to the one who fed them, and He Jijun wasn¡¯t "cold" anymore. He shook his head. "No. I came from Chunhua Province," "Sss¡ª" As soon as he said this, Wang Tao and the others all gasped. Chunhua Province was separated from Wuyang Province by Cangsong Province! That was a long way from here! "Impressive!" Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up. Had He Jijun been an Ability User, Wang Tao might not have been so shocked, but he was an Ordinary man, even with 1000 HP he was still ordinary. For an ordinary person to travel such a distance was certainly surprising! Feeling the astonishment from Wang Tao and the others, He Jijun didn¡¯t show any smugness. Only he himself knew the hardships encountered on the road; there was nothing to celebrate. "Then what is the old master¡¯s purpose for coming here?" Wang Tao asked. "Looking for someone." "..." This reason resonated with Yang Changhong, who said: "I¡¯m also here to find someone. I¡¯m looking for my little sister; I heard she came to Wuyang City. I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s alive or dead..." He Jijun glanced at her. "I hope you find your sister." "Thank you! I hope you find the person you¡¯re looking for too," Yang Changhong replied politely. But upon hearing that, He Jijun¡¯s expression suddenly turned wistful, though he didn¡¯t say more. So Wang Tao asked: "I¡¯m quite curious; how did the old master come to Wuyang City? Did you have a team before? Did the team disband?" "No, I¡¯ve always been alone. But sometimes I¡¯d travel through the wilderness where there are fewer zombies." "No wonder..." Wang Tao suddenly understood. If He Jijun avoided big cities or going into the cities, opting instead for the wilderness, and further had extremely good luck in not encountering any monsters, theoretically, he could have made it here alive. But that was just in theory; in reality, it would be much harder. After all, he was an ordinary person, and not to mention anything else, even food and sleep would pose big problems... "By the way, how old is the old master this year?" "Sixty-six." "..." Even though they had already guessed that He Jijun wasn¡¯t young, hearing the age of sixty-six still shocked everyone. Chapter 581 - 244 He Jijun_3 Wang Tao continued to ask: "Did the old gentleman serve in the army before?" "I was a regular soldier for a few years." When he said this, He Jijun¡¯s face showed a hint of pride. Clearly, he was quite satisfied with his military career. "I noticed the old gentleman is quite good with a gun!" This was something Wang Tao made up, since He Jijun had only fired one shot at the ground, which didn¡¯t reveal much about his shooting skills. But it never hurts to say nice things, especially when it comes to flattery, and particularly so with the elderly. "Ordinary." He Jijun didn¡¯t go into specifics. "Has the old gentleman ever seen an Ability User?" Wang Tao was curious, wondering if He Jijun had never seen an Ability User before. Otherwise, if he had, he would definitely know that fusing with a Crystal Core could grant abilities, and he would not still be an ordinary person¡ªat the very least, he should have some impurities. But there were no impurities in him, which meant he hadn¡¯t fused with a single Crystal Core. "Someone like you?" He Jijun glanced at Wang Tao. "I¡¯ve seen them. Not only have I seen them, but I¡¯ve also killed them!" When he said this, He Jijun¡¯s voice was filled with murderous intent. Wang Tao briefly learned that He Jijun had encountered three Ability Users trying to rob him, and he ended up shooting all three dead! "Impressive!" Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up once again. "But they weren¡¯t as strong as you. Right now, I still don¡¯t understand how you managed to get behind me..." He Jijun was puzzled. He believed he had good vision, even with his age, he could still shoot with remarkable accuracy, but he didn¡¯t see how Wang Tao had gotten behind him at all! Seeing the confusion in He Jijun¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao chuckled to himself. It wasn¡¯t that he was too fast, but Jiang Shixue had controlled He Jijun for a few seconds, erasing those seconds from his memory... "Then hasn¡¯t the old gentleman ever wanted to become an Ability User?" Wang Tao asked, somewhat puzzled. "Ability User? In my view, those are monsters! I don¡¯t want to become a monster like that! Even if I¡¯m not an Ability User, I can still kill zombies!" He Jijun spoke as though he looked down on the notion. "Monsters, huh..." In some ways, Ability Users were very different from ordinary humans, so it was not wrong to call them monsters. Especially those whose fusion side effects were more evident, like those with Body Lignification, rigidity, or arms turned into Bone Knives¡ªthey really weren¡¯t much different from monsters. However, Wang Tao still shook his head: "Whether or not they¡¯re monsters is actually not important. After all, our goal is to survive. If we can survive, what does it matter if we become monsters? As long as we have great Strength, not only can we protect ourselves, we can also protect the people around us..." "..." He Jijun had no response to Wang Tao¡¯s words. He knew Ability Users were powerful, and he wasn¡¯t a stickler for tradition, but¡ª After a moment of silence, He Jijun took a bag out of his pocket and placed it in front of Wang Tao. Clatter¡ª The bag emitted a set of crisp, pleasant clinking sounds. He Jijun opened the bag, inside which were a bunch of shimmering Crystal Cores. "Kid, do you know what abilities these things have? I heard that you need to consume these things to become an Ability User. But each Ability is different and may not suit one¡¯s self. Also, each Ability comes with side effects... If you can make sense of them, pick a suitable one for me, and the rest I¡¯ll give to you!" He Jijun could sense that Wang Tao and his group were very strong. Even the seemingly gentle and frail little girl who was always following behind Wang Tao was strong! He did not have a Perception Ability, but this was the intuition of someone who had been on the battlefield and seen bloodshed! Plus, after the brief interaction they¡¯d just had, even though he kept a stern face, he could feel that Wang Tao¡¯s character was probably quite good. So he thought this might be an opportunity¡ªthe reason he hadn¡¯t fused with a Crystal Core wasn¡¯t because he was afraid of becoming a monster, but because he feared becoming a useless monster. He had seen an Ability User before who did nothing but eat, ballooning up like a fat pig, useless for anything. He didn¡¯t want to become someone like that! When Wang Tao saw the Crystal Cores in He Jijun¡¯s hands, he was somewhat dumbfounded. Not only were there Level 1 cores, but also Level Two ones, and even a Level 3 Crystal Core! Goodness, a mere 1000-HP ordinary person was able to kill a Level 3 zombie? What shocked Wang Tao even more was not just the levels of the Crystal Cores, but the cores themselves¡ªhow could He Jijun have so many Crystal Cores on him and still resist the temptation to fuse with them? The allure of Crystal Cores to humans was extremely powerful; many people, upon seeing a Crystal Core, would fuse with it without even thinking. Even Wang Tao, who always thought his willpower was decent, lost control and fused with the shockwave crystal core the first time. By the time he came to his senses, the Crystal Core had already fused into his body. And yet, He Jijun, carrying so many Crystal Cores, hadn¡¯t fused with a single one! Such willpower was impressive! It reminded Wang Tao of someone, a former comrade at Shuize Base, the young member of the Security Army, Lu Gang. He was one of those with unwavering willpower; Wei Zhenguo and the others entrusted him with their Crystal Cores for safekeeping... "It¡¯s impressive, old gentleman, that you managed to resist fusing with the Crystal Cores!" Wang Tao gave another thumbs-up. People who could control their desires were indeed admirable. He Jijun gave Wang Tao a look as though it wasn¡¯t a big deal; just endure a little, and it would pass. Was it really that hard? Wang Tao eyed the Crystal Cores, then pointed at the only Level 3 Crystal Core and asked: "How did the old gentleman acquire this Crystal Core?" "This Crystal Core, ah!" The Level 3 Crystal Core was clearly distinct from the Level 1 and Level Two cores, and He Jijun seemed to recognize it. His tone carried somewhat of a reminiscence. "That zombie was injured somehow, but it still took me seven days to kill it. It was the strongest zombie I¡¯ve ever come across..." Chapter 582 - 245 Soldier King_1 "..." Upon hearing He Jijun¡¯s words, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in admiration. Hunting a zombie in seven days? Such patience, Wang Tao could only say was awesome! And he had actually succeeded! An ordinary person had succeeded in hunting a zombie that was probably a Level 3 Elite! This even made Yang Changhong and the others feel embarrassed... "Admirable!" Wang Tao truly admired him. Then he added, "Old man, do you know about the levels of zombies or Ability Users?" "Not very clear..." He Jijun shook his head. Wang Tao explained, "Zombies, Ability Users, and some monsters are all classified into Levels 1, 2, 3, and so on. Each level has different types, including Ordinary, Elite, Lord... The zombie you killed is at least a Level 3 Elite, and your current level, doesn¡¯t even count as Level 1, you¡¯re just an ordinary person..." "Oh? So I¡¯m pretty awesome, huh? Haha!" Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, He Jijun raised his eyebrows. "Very awesome!" Wang Tao nodded. But He Jijun shook his head again. "It¡¯s a pity..." He didn¡¯t say what exactly was a pity, but Wang Tao could see the regret in his eyes. Wang Tao did not probe further about it. He looked toward the other Crystal Cores. He had seen most of these types of Crystal Cores before. Occasionally, there were some he hadn¡¯t seen, but Wang Tao could tell their effects at a glance. After looking for a while, he looked up at He Jijun and said, "Old man, some of these Crystal Cores are actually quite good. For example, Rush, Jump, Precision Shooting, Throwing Master, Self-healing..." Wang Tao briefly described the general functions of these Crystal Cores. He Jijun had mostly been on his own during his travels, and no one had told him about these things. Now that he heard the abilities of these Crystal Cores, his eyes widened. "So these are Ability Users..." No wonder so many people wanted to become Ability Users... However, He Jijun hadn¡¯t forgotten that these abilities had side effects. He looked at Wang Tao. "So, what¡¯s the price to pay?" "The price is... the Rush Ability can cause stiffness in limbs, the Jump Ability can make one sensitive to noise, Precision Shooting can blind an eye, Throwing Master can make one irritable, and Self-healing can reduce tactile sensitivity..." As Wang Tao spoke, He Jijun¡¯s expression grew increasingly grim. These side effects... were too severe! "Then I¡¯ll have to consider it more..." He Jijun was conflicted. The abilities were strong, but he didn¡¯t want those kinds of side effects. If it really came down to it... he would rather not have an Ability! After all, he had gotten by without an Ability up to now, hadn¡¯t he? "Sure. Take your time to consider it." Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much else. He returned all the Crystal Cores to him, then mentioned, "By the way, old man, do you know about the military base in Wuyang City?" Wang Tao thought He Jijun, having been a soldier before, would probably know some information. "I know about it. You planning to go?" Hm? He Jijun really knew it? Wang Tao was a bit surprised, it would be even better if someone could guide them. He didn¡¯t conceal his intentions and said openly, "Yes, our destination is the military base. Old man, you came to Wuyang City, you must want to visit it too, right?" "Yeah. I served here before." He Jijun nodded, his eyes showing some nostalgia. "Oh? That¡¯s really fortunate! How about we go together? Wuyang City is very dangerous, you must have experienced it, so if we go together, we can also have each other¡¯s company." Wang Tao immediately said. "You want me to lead you to the military base?" He Jijun saw through Wang Tao¡¯s intentions at a glance. "Yes." Wang Tao candidly admitted it. He Jijun fell silent for a moment, then said, "Fine. I was planning to go there anyway." "Haha, then here¡¯s to a happy cooperation!" Wang Tao extended his right hand to him, and this time He Jijun did not refuse. They shook hands. After that, Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more and focused on eating his food. Then he noticed a small detail, He Jijun, after having two sips of alcohol at the beginning, didn¡¯t drink anymore. He Jijun noticed Wang Tao¡¯s puzzled look and said calmly, "Drinking too much can lead to mistakes. A taste is enough to be content." "Old man, your self-control is truly strong!" He Jijun was very restrained when it came to drinking, but when it came to eating, he didn¡¯t hold back. Since Wang Tao was treating him, he might as well eat his fill. Despite looking thin, he had a large appetite, and he was especially capable of eating among ordinary people. Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind, he had plenty of food. After the meal, Wang Tao returned the bullets he had unloaded from He Jijun¡¯s gun back to him. After chatting for a while longer, they prepared to rest. For safety, everyone chose to rest in the same room. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan took turns on watch, stationed in the outside living room. Yang Changhong lay on the couch, while Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue slept in the bed. Compared to finding a bed to sleep in like Wang Tao did, He Jijun was much more casual. He simply hugged his hunting rifle, sat down in a corner, closed his eyes, and seemed to fall asleep instantly. But when a zombie approached the door, he was the first to open his eyes. "There¡¯s a zombie coming!" Wang Tao, who had already fallen asleep, instantly woke up. He hastily used his Perception to check and, upon discovering it was only an Ordinary zombie, he sighed in relief. He thought, considering there were supposed to be people taking turns on watch, they would definitely have called him if there was a dangerous zombie. Why had no one called now? It turned out to be just an Ordinary zombie. However, He Jijun wasn¡¯t familiar with them and didn¡¯t know their customs, so that was normal. Chapter 583 - 245 Soldier King_2 Wang Tao directly took out a Bone Hand Crossbow, his eyes glinting with a faint green light as he looked out the window, then he shot an arrow toward a certain spot. Whiz¡ª Splat! Thud! After dealing with that Ordinary zombie, Wang Tao turned to He Jijun in the corner and said, "You don¡¯t need to be so tense, grandfather. Little Jun and the others are very responsible on their shift. Any zombie daring to come over will definitely be killed by them." Because it was too dark, He Jijun couldn¡¯t see Wang Tao¡¯s actions; he could only see a pair of eyes emitting green light and another pair emitting red light. However, more than those glowing eyes, He Jijun was more interested in the way Wang Tao had just killed the zombie. "What was that thing you used just now? Crossbows and bows?" He Jijun asked directly. Hmm? Wang Tao suddenly came to his senses. It was very dark now, there was no lightning, and there was the rustling sound of rain outside; how did He Jijun notice the zombie? "Just a hand crossbow, let me show you." Wang Tao directly tossed the Bone Hand Crossbow over to him, and even in the pitch-black environment, He Jijun caught the hand crossbow accurately. "Nice piece!" He Jijun lightly caressed the Bone Hand Crossbow in his hand, subconsciously exclaiming in admiration. He felt it was more useful than his gun. He only dared to use his gun in the heavy rain; usually, he dealt with zombies with close combat or traps... "If grandfather likes it, then I¡¯ll give it to you." Wang Tao tossed a pack of crossbow arrows over to him. He Jijun caught it steadily, then looked somewhat surprised. "Give it to me? Don¡¯t you need it yourself?" "I have more, I won¡¯t miss this one," Wang Tao said with a smile. "Then I won¡¯t be polite!" For He Jijun, this was a life-saving treasure. If given to him, he would take it. "Thank you!" He expressed his gratitude. "Don¡¯t mention it. By the way, grandfather, how did you figure out I was using a hand crossbow just now? And how did you spot the zombie?" Wang Tao asked curiously. "I just heard the sound of the bowstring vibrating. As for how I discovered the zombie... I heard its footsteps¡ªI¡¯ve heard too many zombies¡¯ footsteps, I¡¯m very familiar with them." "..." Really just by hearing? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; he thought He Jijun had some sort of sixth sense. If it was really by hearing, that was impressive! This wasn¡¯t just about having good hearing but about his ability to discern the footsteps of a zombie amidst the sound of pouring rain, a matter of discernment. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s astonishment, He Jijun grinned and said, "Back in the days of raging war, I could hear the enemy tiptoeing towards us despite their attempts to suppress their footsteps. Not to mention these zombies with little intelligence!" He Jijun spoke very proudly, and he had the capital to be proud. "Awesome!" Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how many times he had said ¡¯awesome,¡¯ but only that word could express his feelings at the moment. The rest of the night passed without incident, and Wang Tao slept until the next morning. He Jijun was already up, picking up crossbow arrows outside. Only then did Wang Tao notice that there were more than ten Ordinary zombies lying outside, their bodies and the ground nearby littered with numerous crossbow arrows. Wang Tao looked towards Xu Xiaojun, who had been on duty for the latter part of the night. Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and said, "Those were all of Old He¡¯s achievements last night; any zombies that came near our house were killed by him. I told him there was no need to kill, they couldn¡¯t get in, but he said he just wanted to try the hand crossbow..." "..." He Jijun could actually kill zombies with a hand crossbow in such darkness? Although there were many missed arrows, many were also lodged in the zombies¡¯ skulls... Why was Wang Tao suddenly feeling an inexplicable sense of security? "Grandfather, let¡¯s get going after breakfast." To hit the road quickly, Wang Tao had nutrient solution for breakfast. "What is this?" He Jijun was quite curious. Wang Tao explained the nutrient solution, and He Jijun looked amazed. "You have such wonderful things?" He Jijun didn¡¯t hesitate, gulping down two bottles in one go. "I actually feel quite full..." He Jijun marveled with amazement; this thing was a treasure in the apocalypse! After thinking it over, he took a large pancake out of his bag and handed it to Wang Tao. "I can¡¯t always just take from you without giving anything in return. This is a pancake I made; want to try it?" "Sure." Wang Tao said with a smile, took it, and tore off a piece for Zhang Hong and the others to taste. Aside from being a bit dry and choking, the taste was unexpectedly not bad. Seeing the expressions on Wang Tao and the others, He Jijun opened his mouth with some pride, "I used to work in the cook squad!" "Cool!" Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up. He had heard that the cook squad was filled with hidden talents; this old man was no simple character! After packing up, everyone got into the car. He Jijun suddenly said to Wang Tao, "I know a shortcut to the military base; if you trust me, we can take it." "Sure, let¡¯s take the shortcut then!" Wang Tao had Zhang Hong and Xu Xiaojun follow the route provided by He Jijun. The route He Jijun provided went through a woodland area; if no monsters appeared, it was certainly safer than going through the city or city outskirts. The road was a bit difficult, muddy everywhere. Thankfully, both vehicles were off-roaders; aside from slower speed, there were no major issues. "Stop the car, there¡¯s a group of zombies ahead." Wang Tao suddenly called for a halt. He Jijun took out his binoculars to take a look and indeed saw a group of zombies in the forest. Chapter 584 - 245 Soldier King_3 He looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. Although the distance wasn¡¯t very far, all these zombies were in the woods, and the heavy rain obscured the view. How could Wang Tao have seen them? He naturally didn¡¯t know that Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity combined with Perception was essentially radar plus x-ray vision, making it easy to spot the zombies. The group of zombies was quite large, and they were at a turning point at an intersection, blocking the road. Therefore, they had to clear out these zombies first. Wang Tao and the others got out of the car. "Clear out these zombies." "Yes!" Everyone took out their weapons. He Jijun also took out his hunting shotgun, then turned to Wang Tao and asked, "It¡¯s not a big problem if I fire a few shots, right?" If he were alone, he would have fired long ago. But now, they were a temporary team, and he had to consider the group as a whole. "No problem." Wang Tao nodded. They were outdoors, and the sound of the rain was loud, which would greatly reduce the noise of the gunfire. Moreover, they weren¡¯t staying in this place for long, they would leave after clearing out the zombies. As long as they could fight quickly and decisively, making some noise wasn¡¯t an issue. Bang! Just as Wang Tao nodded, He Jijun raised his hand and fired a shot, directly blasting the head off a zombie. "Old man, your shooting skills are impressive!" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. At this distance of several dozen meters, using iron sights to headshot a zombie was not an easy task! If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t using Precision Shooting, he couldn¡¯t achieve this level. "Ha, did you really think this old man was bluffing you!" Between words, He Jijun fired another shot. Bang! A second zombie¡¯s head exploded. At this moment, the zombies heard the noise and began to move towards the group. He Jijun didn¡¯t continue talking to Wang Tao, focusing on aiming at the zombies, and in an instant fired another shot. The third zombie fell. While killing the zombies, He Jijun also took the opportunity to glance at Wang Tao and the others. He wanted to know how strong these Ability Users were. Since Wang Tao wasn¡¯t afraid to draw so many zombies over, he must have had a method to fend them off. If it was just him alone, he would not have been so reckless; he would most likely have chosen another path to avoid confronting these zombies. On the other side, Xu Xiaojun, holding a large axe, charged at the pack of zombies. Boom boom boom~ Mud splashed everywhere as Xu Xiaojun instantly reached the midst of the zombie group, many zombies were directly knocked flying, even smashed to pieces. Then he raised his giant axe and sent out a Shockwave at the zombies. Splat! In an instant, dozens of zombies were shattered, turning into a pile of broken flesh. "So this is an Ability User..." Not far away, He Jijun was somewhat astounded. The combat power of Ability Users was truly strong! Such a wide-range method of killing zombies, unless he had a machine gun, he simply couldn¡¯t compare. But He Jijun was not one to give up. He continued shooting. Bang! A zombie fell. Bang! Another zombie hit the ground. Bang! Two zombies were simultaneously pierced and had their heads blown off by the bullets! Wang Tao didn¡¯t join the fight; he was observing He Jijun the whole time. He Jijun was almost hitting his mark every time; so far, he had only missed one shot because Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Shockwave had shattered the zombie first. After the battle, Wang Tao calculated, and the number of zombies He Jijun had killed was almost equal to that of Nie Siyan! Although He Jijun was using a gun, Nie Siyan was a Level 3 ability user! He Jijun¡¯s marksmanship was practically identical to Wang Tao using Precision Shooting! The group set off once more, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but ask, "Old man, what did you do in the military?" Soldiers come in various types, and he felt that with He Jijun¡¯s abilities, he must have been some kind of special forces, right? "If you¡¯re asking what specifically I did, that¡¯s hard to say. I¡¯ve carried rifles, fired cannons, operated tanks, piloted planes..." An all-around talent, then? Wang Tao quickly asked, "...then what was your military rank? You surely weren¡¯t an ordinary soldier, right?" At this point, He Jijun did not remain humble, but instead proudly said, "Nothing much, just a little First Sergeant." "Hiss¡ª" Wang Tao, who had some understanding of military ranks, suddenly drew in a sharp breath. The non-commissioned officer ranks are divided into 7 levels, namely, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, Master Sergeant, Warrant Officer Class Three, Warrant Officer Class Two, Warrant Officer Class One, and First Sergeant. A First Sergeant is the highest rank, enjoying treatment at a division level! It¡¯s said that First Sergeants are even rarer than generals, they are the elite in various fields within the army, the true Soldier Kings! Good gracious, the old man randomly encountered on the road was a Soldier King! Wang Tao suddenly understood why He Jijun had been able to travel such a long distance to Wuyang City, why, with the body of an ordinary person, he could kill so many zombies! Why, without any abilities, his shooting was godlike, hitting the mark every single time! He was a former battle-hardened elderly Soldier King! Wang Tao felt a sense of deep respect. He had been considering whether to invite He Jijun to join his own team. Even though He Jijun was older, he had the Hidden Attribute of being old but vigorous, and with certain combat experience, he was no worse than many Ability Users. But Wang Tao had only just met He Jijun; he thought he ought to observe and learn more about him first. But now, why bother learning more! This was a Soldier King known as a "Panda Soldier"! His capabilities and character were definitely top-notch! Even though he was older, it also meant he had even richer experience! He was already this strong as an ordinary person, how powerful would he become as an Ability User? "Old man, I can help you become an Ability User without any side effects, and then you join my team, what do you think?" Wang Tao suddenly said. He Jijun looked at him. "Let¡¯s not talk about joining you for now, as for becoming an Ability User, I haven¡¯t decided yet! Those side effects are too much!" Wang Tao immediately said, "What I¡¯m offering you is to become an Ability User just like us, without any side effects!" "Ah?" Chapter 585 - 246 Military Base_1 ``` No side effects? He Jijun knew that Crystal Cores all had side effects, and he had seen many Ability Users with physical side effects. But he had never heard of an Ability User without side effects. However, looking at Wang Tao and the others... it really seemed that there were no side effects¡ª at least, he couldn¡¯t see any. "Can there really be no side effects?" He Jijun asked with some disbelief. Wang Tao immediately said: "Of course, could I possibly lie to you? The Crystal Cores we¡¯ve fused with are all impurity-free and without side effects¡ª Do you know what impurities are?" "I don¡¯t know ..." He Jijun shook his head. "If there are impurities inside a Crystal Core, after fusion, those impurities will accumulate in the body. The human body can only tolerate a limited amount of impurities. The more impurities there are, the greater the chance of turning into a zombie! Once the impurities reach 100%, one is pretty much guaranteed to turn into a zombie! Thus, impurities are just as undesirable as side effects..." Wang Tao explained to He Jijun about impurities. "..." After hearing this, He Jijun suddenly felt that becoming an Ability User wasn¡¯t so appealing. Not only were there side effects, but he also had to worry about turning into a zombie! "But, I can help you ascend to become an Ability User without side effects or impurities! What do you think, old master?" Wang Tao spoke with a smile on his face. "You want me to join your team, what for? I¡¯ve said it before. I have my own matters to attend to, my search for someone..." He Jijun did not answer; instead, he said with a frown. If it was really as Wang Tao said, with no side effects or impurities, that would certainly be great. But he was not willing to sell himself out just for that. Upon hearing He Jijun¡¯s question, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned serious as he explained: "Old master, you¡¯ve misunderstood! I¡¯m asking you to join my team, not to work for me. We are all survivors struggling to live through these apocalyptic times; we need to help each other. I think you¡¯re very strong, you can help us, and in turn, we can help you... it¡¯s that simple." "As for the person you¡¯re looking for... Zhang Hong is also here searching for someone, which doesn¡¯t conflict with joining my team. We can search together! By the way, who are you looking for? Any distinguishing features? If you don¡¯t mind sharing, with more of us, it will definitely be easier to locate them!" "..." He Jijun was silent for a moment before slowly saying: "I¡¯m looking for my granddaughter." "Your granddaughter? How old is she?" "10 years old." "..." Wang Tao¡¯s mouth opened in surprise. A ten-year-old? If she got lost at that age, the situation is probably grim! Wang Tao then asked, "When did she go missing?" "Five months ago." "..." Now it was mid-October, five months ago would be May, a month after the apocalypse began, during the most chaotic times... Of course, surviving wasn¡¯t completely impossible. For instance, if she encountered a kind-hearted person or the military... "How did she get lost?" "She ran away on her own." "Ah? She ran off by herself? Why did she do that? And you, with your capabilities, couldn¡¯t stop her?" Wang Tao asked with furrowed brows. "She... turned into a zombie." "..." Yang Changhong, inside the vehicle, instinctively turned to glance at He Jijun upon hearing this. Having turned into a zombie, hope dwindled. Jiang Shixue subconsciously gripped Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Wang Tao had told her that she had previously turned into a zombie and was rescued by him. But Wang Tao also said that the potion he used to save her was very rare, having appeared only as a single bottle so far. Moreover, the conditions for its use were strict¡ªit was ineffective on those infected for more than three days. Even for those treated within three days of infection, it only had a certain chance of working, and could possibly lead to death through self-combustion... Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand in return before looking towards He Jijun again. "Old master, forgive my frankness, but your situation... it¡¯s very difficult." Unless He Jijun¡¯s granddaughter, after running away, was caught by a kind-hearted person who happened to have something like a Purification Potion and successfully administered it to her, and then this kind-hearted person continued to keep her alive amidst the apocalypse, persevering until now... Each one of these conditions was hard to meet on its own; imagining all of them combined made it nearly impossible. Wang Tao thought that the odds of rolling out the Zombie virus antidote were higher than such a series of coincidences... "I know..." He Jijun sighed, then said with a firm tone, "But when she turned into a zombie and escaped, I promised that I would find her and bring her home!" In the apocalypse, some people lived just to stay alive, like Wang Tao. He was pure in his desires, simply not wanting to die or being afraid of dying. Others lived driven by their obsessions, such as Blondy Wu Fei intent on vengeance; Li Qiuyu longing to see her daughter; Yang Changhong searching for his sister; and the man before him, He Jijun, who wished to bring his granddaughter home... He Jijun knew in his heart that his granddaughter was likely gone. But even if she had died, he had to see her body with his own eyes before he could rest¡ª from another perspective, as long as he hadn¡¯t found his granddaughter¡¯s body, she might still be alive! This was perhaps the ray of hope that kept He Jijun surviving in the apocalypse. "Old master, your granddaughter... but without having seen her body, there¡¯s indeed still a possibility she¡¯s alive. Join us, let¡¯s look for her together. Even if we may not find her in our lifetime, I promise to help you search!" ``` Chapter 586 - 246 Military Base_2 Wang Tao spoke with a serious expression on his face. He Jijun was the legendary Soldier King, and his abilities were strong. Wang Tao felt that such talents should be put to good use, and by joining him, He Jijun would be able to fully exhibit his capabilities! However, Wang Tao had also decided that even if He Jijun did not agree, he was willing to help him become an Ability User for free. He Jijun had strong abilities, and his potential after becoming an Ability User was enormous. Furthermore, he was a person who had dedicated himself to his country and people. Such a man should live! "Sigh..." He Jijun sighed and then looked at Wang Tao, "Alright. I agree to join you..." In truth, He Jijun was somewhat at a loss. Not about whether or not he could find his granddaughter¡ªhe would persist in searching whether he found her or not. What puzzled him, was how much farther he could go. He Jijun had seen formidable zombies and knew that their strength was continuously improving, while he was making no progress¡ªin fact, he was getting older, his strength was waning, and he was sure to die at the hands of zombies eventually. But now, he had encountered Wang Tao, who promised to enhance his strength without side effects or impurities. Perhaps, this was the solution for him to keep going... "Old man, welcome to our team!" When He Jijun agreed, Wang Tao immediately extended his hand. He Jijun shook his hand, then chuckled bitterly: "Now that I¡¯m one of you, there¡¯s no need to be so polite with me. Besides, ¡¯When the student is ready, the teacher appears.¡¯ Let¡¯s treat each other as equals. You can call me Old He, or even Old Mr. He..." "Haha, sure! It¡¯s just a name, don¡¯t worry about it. You can call me Little Wang from now on!" After He Jijun decided to join Wang Tao¡¯s team, they both felt much closer and did not have the subtle defensiveness they had before. Then Wang Tao asked with a smile: "Old He, what kind of Ability would you like?" "I can choose?" "I still have quite a few Crystal Cores, and together with the ones you have, it¡¯s enough for you to choose. Oh right, you might not be familiar with the Abilities, let me introduce them to you first..." Wang Tao introduced all the Level 1 Crystal Cores he had seen and had in his possession. After hearing about so many types of Crystal Cores, He Jijun felt each one was amazing and wanted them all... But he was ultimately a man of self-control and quickly came to his senses, then chose one of the Abilities Wang Tao had mentioned. "I want Precision Shooting! I consider my marksmanship to be quite decent, but I can feel that it can still improve. I want to see what level my marksmanship can reach with the Precise Shooting ability!" Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised by He Jijun¡¯s choice. He took out a Level 1 Epic Quality Precise Shooting Crystal Core and handed it to He Jijun, then explained further: "Then Old He, you can do the Fusion now. But a person can fuse with more than one type of Crystal Core, up to four in fact. That means you can obtain up to four Abilities! However, everyone¡¯s physique is different, and the number of Cores one can fuse varies. You will have to try to find out exactly how many..." "You can fuse with up to four!" He Jijun was a bit surprised. If he could possess four Abilities, that would be the best outcome. However, he did not expect much; being able to fuse just one Ability would suffice. After all, it was an Ability without side effects or impurities! He Jijun took the Crystal Core and without hesitation, swallowed it right away. In an instant, the Crystal Core seemed to vaporize, merging into his limbs and bones. He Jijun closed his eyes. He felt his body warm up, a cozy and comfortable sensation. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Wang Tao. "Is that it?" "Congratulations! Old He, now you¡¯re an Ability User too! You can try using your Ability." After becoming an Ability User, one naturally understands the basic usage of the fused Ability, so no explanation is needed, as they automatically know how to use it. "Let me try..." He Jijun silently activated his Precise Shooting ability. In an instant, the whole world appeared different to him! He noticed many details he hadn¡¯t seen before, and his eyes seemed able to function like binoculars! Moreover, it felt like this Precise Shooting would not only be effective in ranged attacks, but also in close combat! "This is what it means to be an Ability User!" He Jijun felt a thrill of excitement. He took another look at his eyes, which were both fine. The side effect of precise shooting was blindness in one eye! This meant it was indeed an Ability without side effects. After experiencing his Ability for a while, He Jijun felt a bit tired. He knew this was due to the excessive energy consumption Wang Tao mentioned, so he quickly deactivated his Ability and gratefully said to Wang Tao: "Thank you!" "Don¡¯t rush to thank me yet, first sense whether you can continue to fuse with another Crystal Core?" Wang Tao obviously hoped that He Jijun could fuse with several Crystal Cores. But this was something he could not control; it all depended on luck. "Let me see..." He Jijun closed his eyes, carefully sensed his body, then his face lit up with joy. "I feel like I could probably fuse with another Crystal Core!" "That¡¯s great! Then Old He, go ahead and choose another one!" Wang Tao said cheerfully. Being able to fuse with one Crystal Core was good enough, and two would be a huge bonus. Chapter 587 - 246 Military Base_3 "Let me think... I choose Rush!" Although He Jijun excelled in marksmanship, it didn¡¯t mean his close combat was weak. He was once known as the Soldier King in the military, an Omnipotent talent with no evident weaknesses, and his close combat skills were naturally strong. Rush, with its blend of melee capability, positioning, and retreat options, suited him well. "Alright." Wang Tao nodded. In fact, soldiers like Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin had all favored the Rush Ability. Wang Tao then gave He Jijun a Level 1 Epic Rush Crystal Core. He Jijun placed it directly into his mouth. A moment later, the fusion of Rush was complete. However, as they were currently in the vehicle, there was no way to test the Rush Ability. Without waiting for Wang Tao to speak, He Jijun immediately said, "I feel like I can fuse two more Crystal Cores!" Hearing this, Wang Tao burst into joyful laughter. "Haha, it looks like you¡¯re quite lucky, Old He, being able to fuse four abilities! Tell me, what are the remaining two abilities you want to fuse?" "I need to think this through..." He Jijun was excited; he hadn¡¯t expected that he could fuse four abilities. Previously, he had planned as if he could only fuse one ability, so he had to give it more thought. After discussing with Wang Tao, he chose Athlete as his third ability. Athlete was a Passive Ability, actually quite well-suited for survival in the apocalypse. It could simply be understood as transforming an Ordinary individual into a parkour expert! For someone like He Jijun, who already possessed strong athletic abilities, the enhancement from this ability would be even more significant! Soon, He Jijun had completely fused the Athlete Crystal Core. "I feel like my body has become much lighter..." He Jijun clenched his fists. He felt an urge to run out and revel in his newfound agility, unfortunately, there was no opportunity to test it now... "Now for the last Crystal Core..." Earlier, when Jiang Shixue attempted to control He Jijun, she had reminded Wang Tao that He had strong spiritual power. Wang Tao felt that someone with strong spiritual power was well-suited to fuse Spirit-related Crystal Cores. However, unfortunately, he did not have any Level 1 Spirit-related Crystal Cores; the lowest he had were Level Two. Therefore, he let He Jijun fuse other Crystal Cores first. After all, he had plenty of Level Two Exraction Crystal Cores, so when He Jijun reached Level Two, he could extract his Crystal Cores and swap them for Spirit-related ones. In the end, after further discussion, they decided to let He Jijun fuse a Running Crystal Core as a transition. Whether for Attack or Defense, it¡¯s always good to run faster. Quickly, He Jijun also completed the fusion of his fourth Crystal Core. From then on, He Jijun had leaped from an "Ordinary" person to an Ability User with four abilities! But that wasn¡¯t the end of it; he was just an ordinary Level 1 ability user, and all of his abilities were at +1, which was too weak. Wang Tao gave him a handful of Crystal Cores to increase his abilities to +10. Before Wang Tao left Zijing City, he had left many low-level Crystal Cores with Lan Yulian. However, along the way, he encountered many zombies and thus acquired a number of Crystal Cores again. Coupled with the Cores He Jijun had saved up, they had enough to use. The fusion process was quick, and in no time at all, He Jijun had fused all the Crystal Cores, and all four of his abilities had reached +10! Next, it was time for him to fuse the Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core and ascend to Level Two. However, ascending to Level Two required sleep, and someone who had fused four Crystal Cores, like him, would need 24 hours. Given the current situation, there obviously wasn¡¯t time to provide He Jijun with the opportunity to sleep, so he couldn¡¯t ascend right now. Wang Tao gave him only three Ascension Crystal Cores. If he fused four Ascension Crystal Cores, he would have to choose to ascend within three days, or it would happen automatically after three days. But without fusing four Ascension Crystal Cores, there was no such restriction. He Jijun was lucky; after fusing these three Ascension Crystal Cores, he managed to elevate his three core abilities, Precision Shooting, Athlete, and Rush, to Level Two. "I can hardly wait to go out and test my strength now!" He Jijun felt a surge of excitement. "Haha, no rush. Old He, there will be plenty of opportunities for you later. But not now, because killing zombies as an Ability User will enhance your strength, and with every increase in strength comes the possibility of falling asleep..." At Level 1, HP reaching each thousand threshold would trigger sleep, and upon waking, physical abilities would be enhanced. Currently, in such unsafe circumstances, even a few hours of sleep posed a great danger. "I understand, we¡¯ll wait until we reach the military base!" He Jijun took a deep breath, restraining his excitement. The fastest route to this military base required crossing the urban area. However, the urban area was too dangerous; the memory of the giant zombie was still fresh in their minds. He Jijun hadn¡¯t seen that particular zombie, but he also knew the urban area was hazardous, so he led Wang Tao down an alternate path. Along the way, Wang Tao encountered several more zombies. However, none were particularly formidable, all easily disposed of by Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan. At noon, He Jijun suddenly announced, "We¡¯ve entered the military base¡¯s vicinity!" "Hmm?" Wang Tao didn¡¯t see any relevant buildings when He Jijun continued to zigzag them around. At a certain moment, Wang Tao saw high walls topped with barbed wire not far ahead, bearing a sign¡ªMilitary Area, No Unauthorized Entry. The military base had been reached! However, outside the high wall, there was a large number of zombies: Level 1, Level Two, and even Level 3 Zombies! "So many zombies..." Wang Tao quickly instructed to stop the vehicle. The pouring rain concealed the vehicle, and the zombies had not detected them. If it hadn¡¯t been raining, they might have been discovered, given that some of the zombies had keen Perception. "Old He, how are we going to get over the wall?" Wang Tao looked to He Jijun. "Get over the wall? No, no, no! In an emergency state, the base would activate automated defense systems, and I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯re still operating. But if they are, we¡¯ll get riddled with bullets if we try to get over! We have to go through the main gate!" Chapter 588 - 247 Zombie Dog_1 ``` "Automated defense facilities?" Wang Tao was somewhat curious, but he didn¡¯t ask further. Under He Jijun¡¯s command, the two vehicles headed toward the gate. He Jijun said there were several gates to the base, and naturally, he was leading Wang Tao to the closest one. Wang Tao also tried to contact the military base using the military walkie-talkie, but there was no response; it was unclear if the other side had received the message. The two vehicles carefully navigated around the perimeter of the military base for a while, and finally, they saw a security checkpoint. "My God..." However, upon seeing the situation here, the expressions on the faces of Wang Tao and his group turned grim. The entrance was nearly blocked by abandoned vehicles, and a large group of zombies was wandering around, some of them clearly in military uniforms. The checkpoint gate was open, and one could vaguely see the high grass taller than a human and the zombies in the grass. "Has the military base... fallen?" He Jijun¡¯s eyes became distant. Although he had mentally prepared for this, it was still difficult to see it with his own eyes. But Wang Tao shook his head. "No, the military base hasn¡¯t fallen!" "Hmm?" He Jijun looked at Wang Tao in confusion, and Wang Tao explained: "Military supply planes have been making airdrops continuously since the outbreak began, for several months now. The latest airdrop was just the day before I met you!" "What? There¡¯s still airdropping? And recently?" He Jijun found it hard to believe. Seeing He Jijun¡¯s reaction, Wang Tao knew he probably hadn¡¯t seen any airdrops. So Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. After listening to Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, He Jijun felt bewildered. However, there was no need for Wang Tao to joke about such matters, and he quickly said: "If there are still living people in the military base, then they probably wouldn¡¯t just ignore this place, right..." "Perhaps because the personnel at the military base have been greatly reduced, they were unable to manage such a large base and had to shrink their defensive perimeter?" Wang Tao suggested, frowning. "That¡¯s also a possibility... We need to go in and see!" The two vehicles couldn¡¯t proceed as the abandoned vehicles outside were numerous. Therefore, Wang Tao parked the cars in the woods at a concealed spot, and everyone got out and put on their armor. Wang Tao took out two bottles of alcohol and then prepared to walk over. Uncertain about what was inside the military base, or whether there were any particularly strong zombies, Wang Tao, out of caution, handed out several Stealth Potions to everyone. "This is a Stealth Potion..." Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. He Jijun was aware of the Stealth Crystal Core, but it was his first time hearing about the Stealth Potion, which left him utterly amazed. Soon, everyone except Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao had injected themselves with the Stealth Potion. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t need it because she was already a zombie by nature and didn¡¯t require it. Wang Tao didn¡¯t need it because he had previously merged with a Spirit ability that allowed him to control some weaker zombies. He could move through these zombie groups without much trouble. It was still raining heavily, with the sound of raindrops pitter-pattering as they hit the ground. The zombies wandering around the entrance of the military base seemed irritable, occasionally emitting growls. Wang Tao and the rest, drenched in rain, swiftly moved through the zombies. Under the combined effect of the heavy rain and the Stealth Potion, they managed to reach the gate without incident. The gate was only slightly ajar; Xu Xiaojun reached out and forcibly pried it open. Screech¡ª An unpleasant scraping noise attracted the attention of many zombies, and Wang Tao and his group quickly slipped inside. The rain severely impaired the zombies¡¯ perception, and coupled with the Stealth Potion, the zombies that noticed the noise only roared a few times before dispersing slowly. "It feels so desolate..." Yang Changhong, having killed a zombie with an ax, murmured as she looked at the scenery before her. Looking around, all she could see were weeds taller than her, which hardly resembled a military base at all. Wang Tao, being tall, could see the situation in the distance more clearly. "There are buildings over there..." Then he looked toward He Jijun. After all, he was unfamiliar with the place and didn¡¯t know where survivors might be located. "Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s head over there!" He Jijun pointed in the direction Wang Tao was looking and said. "Okay." Wang Tao extended his Perception to the maximum to avoid being ambushed by zombies. The military base was vast, and it took Wang Tao and his companions a while to approach this cluster of buildings. "There¡¯s another defensive line here!" A high wall surrounded the perimeter of these buildings. Under the wall, numerous zombies were active, and the wall itself was covered with barbed wire and even had electrical arcs flashing through it! "It¡¯s still electrified!" Wang Tao was surprised. "But there¡¯s no one manning the watchtowers..." There were watchtowers at regular intervals along the high walls, but they were empty. However, these weren¡¯t the main concerns; the question was how to get inside. Wang Tao looked at Nie Siyan. Nie Siyan possessed the ability to jump, and although the wall was high, she could get over it with a double jump against the wall. But if the barbed wire was electrified, were there other defenses inside, such as the automatic shooting weapons that He Jijun had mentioned earlier? If there were, Nie Siyan would become a target by jumping inside... Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Nie Siyan tensed up inside. She had an idea of what Wang Tao was thinking, but she didn¡¯t dare say much. Instead, she looked at Wang Tao with a pitiful expression, hoping he wouldn¡¯t make her the cannon fodder. ``` Chapter 589 - 247 Zombie Dog_2 Wang Tao thought for a moment and said, "Kill these few zombies and toss them in to see!" Although this approach was somewhat unethical, at this point, what did ethics matter? It was more important to confirm whether it was safe inside first. Moreover, Wang Tao would make sure to kill these zombies, ensuring they wouldn¡¯t run amok inside. Upon receiving Wang Tao¡¯s orders, Xu Xiaojun walked towards a few ordinary zombies and quickly dispatched them. Then, under Wang Tao¡¯s direction, he threw the first zombie corpse over the tall wall. Wang Tao wanted to test the electric fence, so Xu Xiaojun tossed the zombie corpse onto the barbed wire. "Zzzzz¡ª" "Crackle¡ª" The zombie corpse was instantly caught by the high voltage electricity, then it trembled and ignited. Soon it became a black, charred body. Seeing this scene, Yang Changhong and the others shuddered. If they were struck by this net, even the body of an ability user would surely die! Xu Xiaojun continued to throw the second body, which went over the wall. Everyone pricked up their ears and, other than a thud from the body landing, they heard no other sounds. "Safe!" Wang Tao¡¯s face lit up with joy. But for the sake of safety, he had Xu Xiaojun throw several more corpses in. There was still no movement inside. "Haha! It¡¯s safe! So we¡ª" Just as Wang Tao was about to say to have Nie Siyan take them all inside, his expression suddenly turned stern. "Get ready for battle, something big is coming!" Thump, thump, thump¡ª No sooner had Wang Tao spoken than the ground seemed to tremble, and then a huge figure emerged from the bushes, appearing before them. "Holy shit! What a big dog!" It was a zombie dog! It was as tall as a two-story building and several meters long, its whole body rotted but still very fat, its shape somewhat resembling a large wolfhound. [HP: 100,000/100,000] [Mana: 40,000/40,000] [Grade: Level 3 - Lord] A Level 3, Lord with a hundred thousand HP! Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn¡¯t a four-level zombie, everything was negotiable. Although one hundred thousand HP wasn¡¯t small, Wang Tao himself had one hundred and ten thousand HP, so he wasn¡¯t cowering before it! "I¡¯ll attack it with Zhang Hong and Little Xue. Old He, you along with Little Jun and Nie Siyan hold off the other zombies!" As the zombie dog approached, it had brought along quite a few other zombies. Although Wang Tao was strong, he wasn¡¯t arrogant. Among the group, his, Yang Changhong¡¯s, and Jiang Shixue¡¯s attacks were the highest. The attacks of the others were somewhat weaker. "Okay!" Everyone responded in unison. A large bone knife appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand in an instant, and he charged directly at the zombie dog. As he sprinted, the Entangled Iron Tree Roots on his wrist started to wriggle, quickly enveloping his entire body. By this time, Wang Tao had also rushed to the side of the zombie dog. He leaped high into the air and swung his knife at the zombie dog¡¯s head. Bang! But his strike was blocked by the zombie dog¡¯s sharp fangs! "Such quick reflexes!" Wang Tao was slightly surprised. In his mind, larger creatures tended to have slower reactions, especially this fat zombie dog which didn¡¯t look agile. But its actual reaction speed was surprisingly fast. However, its blocking Wang Tao¡¯s strike also meant that Yang Changhong and Jiang Shixue¡¯s attacks could be effective! Jiang Shixue, like Wang Tao, sprinted over and leaped high to slash at the zombie dog¡¯s head with her claws. The zombie dog had just bitten Wang Tao¡¯s knife, and it couldn¡¯t dodge this attack, so it was directly scratched on the head by Jiang Shixue. [-3442] [-3628] Two hits, seven thousand HP down! With her Dark sharp claws, Jiang Shixue¡¯s damage was higher than that of many level 3 ability users. Then, Yang Changhong¡¯s attack followed. Lacking the jump ability of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, she sprinted up the zombie dog¡¯s leg and then swung her axe at its head. [-4123] This axe strike, enhanced with the ability of high-frequency vibration, also dealt substantial damage. The zombie dog, having been attacked three times consecutively, was now quite enraged. It let go of Wang Tao¡¯s bone knife¡ªit really couldn¡¯t chew through it¡ªand then opened its gaping mouth, aiming a bite at Yang Changhong. Jiang Shixue had landed after two scratches, and once the zombie dog released Wang Tao¡¯s bone knife, Wang Tao did too, so the zombie dog could only target Yang Changhong. Yang Changhong was preparing to retreat after her attack. But the zombie dog was very fast, quickly turning its head to bite her as she was jumping down from its shoulder. Yang Changhong didn¡¯t expect it to be that quick. She was in midair and couldn¡¯t change direction. Just as she was about to be bitten by the zombie dog, she suddenly felt something wrap around her waist, and then she was yanked away vigorously. Whoosh¡ª Crunch! The zombie dog¡¯s vicious bite missed, making an uncomfortable grinding noise. And Yang Changhong found herself in Wang Tao¡¯s arms. "Thank, thank you!" Yang Changhong expressed her gratitude in a slightly unsettled manner, as at that moment, she had thought about whether her armor could withstand the bite of the zombie dog. Wang Tao retracted the Iron Tree Vines and charged in again. This time, however, Wang Tao was not only holding a bone knife in one hand; in the other, he wielded a Reinforced Concrete Hammer! First, he swung the hammer viciously at the zombie dog¡¯s head. As expected, the dog was quick and bit down on the hammer directly. Wang Tao¡¯s bone knife, on the other hand, ruthlessly struck the head of the zombie dog. Chapter 590 - 247 Zombie Dog_3 ``` Pfft! [-8139] A single blow, eight thousand blood! This zombie¡¯s defense isn¡¯t high. "Roar!" The deceived Zombie Dog seemed furious, its eyes glowing red, muscles bulging as it bit at Wang Tao with even greater speed than before. Realizing he couldn¡¯t dodge, Wang Tao took the hit head-on. [-3194] [110000/110000 (96806/100000)] Instantly, Wang Tao felt like he was hit by a truck. Though uninjured, he was somewhat dazed. "Such high damage!" Seeing the damage numbers above his head, Wang Tao was surprised. The Zombie Dog¡¯s bite had actually taken¡ªoh, no, to be precise, it had bitten off 3,000 HP from the Entangling Roots! That was 1.4% of his total HP! If it bit him seventy or eighty times like this, wouldn¡¯t it chew him to death? But Wang Tao didn¡¯t panic; he forcefully escaped from the Zombie Dog¡¯s mouth, and upon landing, he sent a Shockwave at the Zombie Dog¡¯s head. [-5448] The Shockwave, being an area attack, was difficult for the Zombie Dog to evade and easily hit. But the power of the Shockwave was much less than the high-frequency vibration, only taking off five thousand of the Zombie Dog¡¯s blood. Seeing Wang Tao unharmed after being bitten and still attacking it, the Zombie Dog seemed even angrier. "Roar¡ª" The Zombie Dog let out a loud roar and frenziedly launched a flurry of bites at Wang Tao. Wang Tao could only see its afterimages. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t flustered. He dodged when he could, used the Bone Knife to block when he couldn¡¯t dodge, and if the Bone Knife couldn¡¯t block, he would have to rely on the Entangling Roots to take the hit. It must be said that the Zombie Dog¡¯s attack speed was truly fast, with too high a frequency of attacks. For every slash Wang Tao delivered, he¡¯d be bitten several times; even if the dog could only bite him once, it was scary enough. If not for Entangling Roots, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if his body could withstand its attacks. If he were bitten just once, it would definitely hurt badly. Moreover, while attacking Wang Tao, the Zombie Dog was also slowly advancing toward the others. The attacks from Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong, it completely ignored, as if it had set its mind solely on Wang Tao. But at a certain moment, it suddenly released Wang Tao and lunged toward the others! And its target was none other than He Jijun! He Jijun was busy with the hand crossbow dealing with other zombies. Kill or not, his archery was accurate, consistently hitting zombies in the forehead. He hadn¡¯t expected the Zombie Dog to give up its assault on Wang Tao and attack him instead. "This Zombie Dog is so smart!" Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. It was his first time seeing zombies employ strategy! He immediately used the Tendril to try to capture the Zombie Dog. Wang Tao¡¯s position was quite far from He Jijun, and the Iron Tree Vines couldn¡¯t reach him. But after the tendril wrapped around the Zombie Dog¡¯s leg, it only managed to hold the Zombie Dog for a second before it snapped! [-5000] The Iron Tree Vine with ten thousand HP lost five thousand instantly! "Old He, dodge quickly!" Wang Tao yelled at the top of his lungs. Though He Jijun had the abilities of an Athlete and Running, they were all Level 1, and now he was facing a Level 3 Zombie Dog with a hundred thousand HP. These Level 1 abilities were simply not enough! Faced with the Zombie Dog¡¯s immense figure lunging toward him at the last moment, He Jijun was unexpectedly calm. Knowing he couldn¡¯t outrun it, he didn¡¯t flee, but instead suddenly pulled out a giant pancake from his Loot Pack and threw it into the distance. Whoosh¡ª ``` The Zombie Dog paused for a moment when it saw the big pie He Jijun had thrown, then immediately changed direction and pounced toward the pie. "?" Wang Tao and the others were somewhat dumbfounded, unsure of what ability this was. The Zombie Dog was very fast and bit into the big pie that He Jijun had thrown in the blink of an eye. Given the size of the Zombie Dog, that big pie was hardly enough to fill its gaps between teeth; it was swallowed in an instant. However, it seemed to have no intention of eating the pie, so when the pie was gulped down, it appeared to be stunned for a moment. Then it looked at He Jijun... "Woof!" "..." Everyone was baffled. What was this situation? "It used to be a military dog; it¡¯s just acting on instinct." He Jijun explained. "Doesn¡¯t that mean we can control it?" Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. If they could control a big guy like this, that would be quite thrilling! But He Jijun shook his head with a somewhat melancholic expression. "No, it has no intelligence. This is just its instinct." He had lost a good companion a few months ago, unfortunately... "Roar!" As if to prove He Jijun¡¯s point, the Zombie Dog, after a moment of bewilderment, had a violent glare return to its eyes. "Attack!" But now that He Jijun had escaped danger, Wang Tao had no more reservations. The group charged once again. Knowing that this was some remnant instinct of the Zombie Dog, attacking it became a lot easier. He Jijun threw out a few more big pies, two of which worked. Wang Tao was even more extreme, throwing out three Reinforced Concrete Hammers directly. The Zombie Dog might have thought they were bones and then..."crack," it bit through the reinforced concrete! But it lost HP in the process. Wang Tao and the others seized the opportunity, directing all their attacks at its head. After a few moves and with Wang Tao¡¯s last swing, the Zombie Dog¡¯s HP bar hit zero! [-1223] [0/100000] Boom¡ª The Zombie Dog fell to the ground with a thud. Wang Tao expertly cracked open its head, retrieved the Crystal Core, and also picked up the Loot Pack that had burst out. "Hm? Did its teeth fall out?" Wang Tao noticed that four of the Zombie Dog¡¯s teeth had names on them and immediately collected them. [You have obtained: Sharp Dog Teeth*4] "Woof woof woof!" At that moment, another group of Zombie Dogs appeared, but they were all Level 2 Elites, and not as large. Wang Tao saw a large group of zombies behind these Zombie Dogs and had no time to check the loot, immediately saying to the others: "Since there¡¯s no danger inside, let¡¯s get in first!" "Okay!" Chapter 591 - 248 I’m Already Dead_1 The scenery inside the wall was somewhat similar to the outside, overgrown with weeds. However, there were no zombies here, and many buildings were nearby, with what seemed to be an airport in the distance. Wang Tao and the others arrived at the entrance of one of the buildings. Although the door was locked, there was an eave to shelter from the rain. Having just fought a battle, they could take a brief rest to replenish some physical strength. Wang Tao looked towards He Jijun, admiration on his face, and said, "Old He, that was impressive! I didn¡¯t expect you to come up with such a method!" If He Jijun hadn¡¯t thought of the throwing pancake method, he would have definitely been injured. "Sigh..." He Jijun let out a sigh, then explained, "I used to have a retired military dog, but it turned into a zombie. When it knocked me down, I had an idea in the heat of the moment, recalling the way I used to train it, and it actually worked. But it was only temporary, as it had lost its own thoughts. In the end, I still had to end its life with my hands..." Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected He Jijun to have had this experience. "Condolences." "Haha, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m already used to it." He Jijun shook his head indifferently. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dwell on the topic and instead asked, "Where do you think we should go now?" It seemed there wasn¡¯t much danger inside the wall, but the doors and windows of these buildings were locked, and the locks were different from any Wang Tao had seen before; he felt unsure if he could open them. He Jijun thought for a moment and said, "Let¡¯s head to the command center. If there are any survivors, they must be there because it can monitor the entire military base." "Okay, you lead the way!" Wang Tao maxed out his Perception Ability, and the group followed He Jijun towards the direction of the command center. "Eh? Is that an airplane?" Suddenly, Yang Changhong pointed to an area of the airfield and asked. Upon looking where she indicated, Wang Tao and his companions indeed saw two military transport planes corroded by the acid rain. "Such a pity..." Seeing this, He Jijun sighed. By the looks of it, these two airplanes had been exposed to the corrosive acid rain for quite some time and obviously couldn¡¯t be used anymore. Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. "These two planes probably aren¡¯t the one that air-dropped for us. They¡¯ve corroded into piles of scrap metal..." He Jijun spoke up, "There¡¯s a hangar here. If the air-drop plane you mentioned is in the base, it¡¯s highly likely to be in the hangar." "That¡¯s good!" Wang Tao was still counting on the chance of catching a flying ride. Moments later, Wang Tao and his group arrived at the grand building of the command center that He Jijun had referred to. "All locked up..." After walking around the exterior of the building and returning to the entrance of the command center, He Jijun¡¯s expression showed a hint of distress. "Isn¡¯t there a way to get in?" Wang Tao inquired. "The defenses here are tight. Unless we open it from the inside, the only other way in would be to blow it up with a bomb; otherwise, it¡¯s impossible to get through," "..." Hearing this, everyone was somewhat speechless. They had finally reached the military base; surely they couldn¡¯t just fail to get inside? All the important buildings within the military base were locked up like this; if they couldn¡¯t enter the command center, access to other areas, including the hangar, was out of the question. Wang Tao had been using the military walkie-talkie all along, but regrettably, he still couldn¡¯t establish contact. He had no idea if Colonel Luo Guozhong had run into trouble... "Buzz¡ª" But just then, an alarm sounded suddenly at the entrance of the command center. While it wasn¡¯t very loud, it startled Wang Tao and the others who were outside. "What¡¯s going on!" They instantly became vigilant. He Jijun was also puzzled. A rumbling noise emanated from behind the door. Then, the door opened! "The door¡¯s opening!" When the door slowly opened a small gap, Wang Tao felt a surge of excitement, but he didn¡¯t let his guard down. He immediately pulled out his Bone Knife and extended his Perception Ability inside. "It¡¯s safe inside, no zombies, no humans..." The door stopped after it opened wide enough to fit two people side by side; inside was pitch-dark, somewhat eerie to look at. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes immediately lit up with a green glow. His Perception saw no danger, and with his Night Vision Ability, he found no traps or the like. "Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re heading in!" Wang Tao led the way, and the group followed him in. Rumbling¡ª Just as they entered, the door behind them began to close slowly! Wang Tao naturally had time to get out, but his goal was the military base, so retreat was not an option. As the door fully shut and the last gleam of light vanished, lights in the facility automatically turned on with a buzz. "Is someone in control?" The hall looked somewhat sci-fi in style but was starkly empty. Wang Tao immediately called out, "Colonel Luo Guozhong, is that you? I¡¯m Wang Tao! We¡¯ve communicated over the radio before! I said I would come to the military base to have a drink with you, and here I am, with liquor in hand!" Wang Tao¡¯s voice echoed through the empty hall, but there was no response. He Jijun patted Wang Tao¡¯s arm and then pointed to the few cameras on the ceiling, blinking intermittently. Wang Tao instantly got the hint, walked confidently under a camera, and repeated his words, this time emphasizing the two bottles of liquor he was holding. However, after waiting for a while longer, there was still no movement. "What¡¯s going on here?" Chapter 592 - 248 I’m Already Dead_2 Wang Tao frowned a bit. If the people here were unwilling to see him, they probably wouldn¡¯t have opened the door. But why would they open the door to let them in and then not come out? At this time, He Jijun spoke: "Let¡¯s look for ourselves!" "Okay!" The lobby on the first floor was spacious and empty, with very little in it. There were a few doors that led to unknown places, but all were locked. Since this place was clearly occupied by others, it was their territory, Wang Tao naturally did not attempt to pick the locks, so the group headed towards the second floor. No sooner had they started climbing the stairs than the lights on the staircase lit up, while the lights in the lobby below instantly went out. "Perhaps it¡¯s energy-saving mode..." He Jijun felt a bit puzzled as the place didn¡¯t seem like it was inhabited. However, since Wang Tao said that a Colonel Luo Guozhong was here, there should be people... He Jijun didn¡¯t say much else, and he along with Wang Tao and the others made it to the upper floor. The second floor also had a large hall with many monitors that seemed capable of surveilling the entire base. However, all the screens were dark. "There are signs of life here!" He Jijun suddenly pointed to something. Wang Tao and the others looked over, and it was a ceramic cup. Inside were dry tea leaves, but no water. He Jijun picked up the cup and checked it before frowning and saying: "This must be tea from a long time ago, at least a month old..." "That long?" Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. He had just communicated with Colonel Luo Guozhong a few days ago, hadn¡¯t he? Before he could think further, Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice suddenly rang out. "Brother, there¡¯s a letter!" The group immediately turned around and saw an envelope on a desk where Jiang Shixue stood. Wang Tao and the others promptly walked over. There was no writing on the envelope. Wang Tao opened it directly, and indeed there was a letter inside. ¡¯Wang Tao, hello, this is Luo Guozhong. If you can see this letter, then I am already dead.¡¯ "Dead?" Seeing the first sentence of the letter, Wang Tao was a bit stupefied. "Colonel Luo is dead? He airdropped supplies to me just a few days ago; could something have happened after that? If I had come a week earlier, could I have met him?" Wang Tao¡¯s face was filled with regret. Both from a utilitarian perspective and his personal feelings, he had really wanted to meet and get to know this Colonel Luo, but it was too late... ¡¯I have shut down all the base¡¯s defense systems, except for the electric grid. If anyone comes in, they just need to get past the electric grid. I believe that if they are human Ability Users, they should be able to get in.¡¯ "All the defense systems shut down?" Wang Tao looked towards He Jijun. He Jijun suddenly realized and said: "I was wondering why the base¡¯s defense systems weren¡¯t active! It doesn¡¯t seem like it was completely destroyed... It turns out it was manually shut down!" Before entering the military base, He Jijun was extremely cautious. He mentioned that the base contained many defensive weapons. If the defense systems were active, it would be very dangerous to break in from the outside. But from the moment they entered the military base until now, they hadn¡¯t encountered any defensive measures. This puzzled He Jijun¡ªit couldn¡¯t be that the entire system had collapsed, could it? He knew that many defensive devices inside the base could operate unmanned, and as long as the systems were functioning, they would continue to do so unless the base¡¯s energy supply was exhausted or they were completely destroyed. But if someone had manually shut it down, then that would make sense. ¡¯I don¡¯t know if you can make it here, and I don¡¯t want you to because it¡¯s too dangerous. But I also hope you can make it because if you do, it means you¡¯re safe. Plus, I wanted to taste your liquor.¡¯ Reading this, Wang Tao suddenly felt a surge of sorrow. ¡¯I have been infected with the zombie virus and have used too many Inhibitors; there¡¯s no cure for me. I could die at any moment, or at the latest by tomorrow. But being alive until now, I am already content, so please don¡¯t feel sad for me.¡¯ "..." ¡¯Although this is a military base, it¡¯s not as good as you might imagine. On the contrary, this is a place mainly besieged by zombies. There are combat logs in the computer; everything is recorded there. I have removed the computer¡¯s password, and I hope the base¡¯s power lasts until you arrive.¡¯ That didn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao, as the military base was sure to have seen intense combat, naturally attracting zombies. As for the combat log, Wang Tao was quite interested in it. ¡¯To be honest, I wanted to live.¡¯ ¡¯But I don¡¯t have the chance anymore, and I don¡¯t allow myself to live a cowardly life. Although I can¡¯t continue fighting on the frontlines, I will do everything in my power to help those in need.¡¯ ¡¯In the days following the virus outbreak, the satellites in the sky also began to malfunction one after another, eventually leading to a total breakdown. Fortunately, we still had other backup communication methods to get in touch with other bases and the Hope Research Institute. The Hope Research Institute truly was our hope.¡¯ ¡¯Unfortunately, we lost contact with Capital City and with the Hope Research Institute. I don¡¯t know if anyone there is still alive, but I hope they are and that they do not end up like me.¡¯ ¡¯I miss my daughter, my wife, and my parents. If they hadn¡¯t died, how wonderful that would be!¡¯ ¡¯I really miss them so much!¡¯ ¡¯I want to die.¡¯ The three words "I want to die" were extraordinarily fierce. Chapter 593 - 248 I’m Already Dead_3 What followed was a mass of garbled text, looking closely, they appeared to be Chinese characters, but Luo Guozhong¡¯s state might have been off when he wrote them, making them extremely chaotic. Wang Tao and the others simply couldn¡¯t make out what they actually were. At the end of the content, however, the handwriting suddenly returned to normal. "Sorry, I lost my composure a bit. It might be because I¡¯ve been lonely. But fortunately, I still have three comrades. We can still do something meaningful together." "By the way, I also have a good buddy. Its name is Lightning, a military dog that is one year old and just reached adulthood. If you call its name, it will be very obedient. I hope you will allow it to follow you." "A military dog? It couldn¡¯t be the zombie dog we just killed, could it?" Wang Tao and the others exchanged glances. "Lastly, I want to say this. Wang Tao, or other survivors who read this letter, keep going! Don¡¯t give up! You must strive to survive!" ¡ª¡ªColonel Luo Guozhong, September 15th After reading the letter, they all had mixed feelings. Between the lines, they could feel the despair in Colonel Luo Guozhong¡¯s heart. Luo Guozhong was infected with the zombie virus, an ailment that was incurable, only manageable with regular doses of the inhibitor, but even that could cause problems after prolonged use... In short, from the moment Colonel Luo Guozhong was infected with the zombie virus, he had been waiting to die. Previously he was able to establish contact with the Hope Research Institute in Capital City, which was his hope. But his communications with the Hope Research Institute had been cut off, and with it, his hope had vanished... However... there¡¯s a question here! Wang Tao previously thought that there was interaction between Wuyang Military Base and Hope Research Institute, that things like inhibitors and mechanical arms came from there, as they had airplanes and could fly over. But from the letter, it seemed Colonel Luo Guozhong had never been in touch with the Hope Research Institute, and the connection between Wuyang Military Base and the Institute was only through communications. So how did they get those inhibitors? Could there be some sort of space transmission technology? "Check the combat logs! The combat logs should have an answer!" He Jijun immediately located the master switch. Bzzt¡ª In an instant, all the screens in the hall lit up. Then one by one, images began to appear on the screens, some flickering with static and others showing surveillance footage. "Surveillance!" Seeing these surveillance screens turn on, everyone was curious. After all, this was a military base with an inherently mysterious nature, and they hadn¡¯t been able to access many areas, so they naturally turned their attention to the monitors. "What¡¯s this place? Looks like there are guns!" Yang Changhong pointed to the first monitor that lit up and said. "This is the armory, where all the weapons and ammunition of the Wuyang Military Base are stored. But looking at it... there¡¯s not much left." He Jijun explained. "And what about this place?" Nie Siyan pointed to the second screen with some curiosity. "That¡¯s the medical room..." "And this is..." "That¡¯s the living area..." "This is the logistical support room..." "That¡¯s the military garage. Huh? There are military vehicles! Ones that aren¡¯t corroded!" "..." Facing everyone¡¯s queries, He Jijun answered them one by one. Then he added: "Since the systems here are operational, we can remotely open the doors to other places. Like we can take out and use the stuff from the armory and medical room." "That¡¯s fantastic, I saw a lot of weapons inside!" Yang Changhong was a little excited; she had seen many guns! Although using firearms in the post-apocalyptic world is unsafe, at some specific times, like when the rain is particularly heavy as it was now, guns could still be used. If so many guns fired at once, their killing power would surely be stronger than many Ability Users! And since it¡¯s the arsenal of a military base, there definitely won¡¯t just be guns; there should be other weapons too, right? Are there any cannons, missiles, or something like that? If there are, that would be amazing! The group became more and more excited. "Someone¡¯s there!" Suddenly, Jiang Shixue pointed to one of the screens and said. Everyone quickly turned to look. On this screen was a huge transport plane. Wang Tao was familiar with the shape of this transport plane¡ªit was the very same plane that had airdropped supplies to him! But now the focus wasn¡¯t the plane; rather, beneath the plane were several figures in military uniform, with airdrop crates placed beside them. "There are still survivors?" The group was somewhat excited. At that moment, a figure wearing a broken pilot helmet slowly walked beneath the camera¡¯s view. He lifted his head, revealing a grim face with pale, milky eyes. "Zo¡ªzombies?" Yang Changhong and the others were stupefied. This zombie pilot staggered over to the other figures. "They¡¯re all zombies?!" Only then did the group realize that the other three military figures were all zombies. No wonder their movements seemed so stiff! But the scene that followed would be etched in their memories forever. The zombies in military uniform actually started moving the airdrop crates into the plane! Then they closed the rear hatch of the plane! And the zombie pilot, staggering over to the plane¡¯s ladder, opened the cockpit door and sat in the pilot¡¯s seat! "These zombies...they¡¯re actually going to fly the plane! Heavens!" Hum¡ª¡ª However, at that moment, red lights started flashing in the hangar. "Warning! Thunderstorm conditions, flight is currently not permitted. To proceed with flight, please enter the authorization password." "Warning..." After the warning sounded, the cockpit door opened. The zombie pilot stumbled out, and along with the other three military zombies, opened the rear hatch again and moved the airdrop crates back out. After finishing, it seemed like they rested for a while and then started repeating their previous actions, moving the airdrop back into the plane! "Warning! Thunderstorm conditions..." Once again, the zombie pilot came down and, along with the three zombie soldiers, moved the airdrop crates off the plane! So it went, in a repetitive cycle. ... Command center. Everyone was completely dumbfounded. And Wang Tao, as if realizing something, quickly reopened the letter Colonel Luo Guozhong had written to him. The date on the letter was "September 15th". He looked at his watch, which read "October 22nd". "The zombie pilot in the hangar is Colonel Luo Guozhong!" "He didn¡¯t die last week but rather...last month!" "It was two days after the last time I ¡¯requested an airdrop¡¯ that he passed away..." "Which means that after Colonel Luo Guozhong died, his zombie body has been flying planes for airdrops...and it¡¯s been going on for over a month!" "The person I contacted through the radio before was actually his...corpse!" Chapter 594 - 249: Faith, Diary_1 "Why?" Nie Siyan blurted out subconsciously. "They¡¯ve all turned into zombies, so why are they still making airdrops, flying planes, and even after hearing Brother Wang¡¯s words, they actually took the initiative to airdrop for you..." Nie Siyan seemed bewildered. After becoming zombies, aren¡¯t they supposed to be void of any consciousness? How could they... Hearing Nie Siyan¡¯s words, Wang Tao remained silent. He recalled the previous Blondy Wu Fei. He had saved Wu Fei¡¯s life, and Wu Fei had said he¡¯d repay him. Therefore, after turning into a zombie, Wu Fei exchanged his own life for that of a gorilla zombie. Wu Fei kept his promise to Wang Tao. And then there was Jiang Shixue by his side, whose condition at the time was almost equivalent to that of a zombie, slightly dazed. Wang Tao threatened her to help him, and she truly did help. Of course, she was actually doing it for her mother. These two had something in common: they still retained some consciousness and had their own obsessions. And now, this Luo Guozhong and... "They have their own beliefs." He Jijun suddenly spoke. "This belief is etched in their bones, so even if they die, their beliefs will live on!" "Beliefs, huh..." Nie Siyan muttered to herself, still not quite understanding. But as she looked at the figures in the surveillance footage repeatedly loading and unloading cargo, she seemed to grasp something. Wang Tao continued to check the surveillance. There were several monitors in this hangar, covering various angles. "There¡¯s not much left for the airdrops... Hm? There¡¯s still one plane!" Wang Tao noticed that there were not many airdrop boxes left, but there was still one camouflaged helicopter. This made him raise his eyebrows. Wang Tao had originally planned to come to the military base to assess the situation; if there was still a military presence, he might have stayed. If the base had fallen, then he certainly wouldn¡¯t have stayed. The current situation was that although the military base hadn¡¯t fallen, there were no soldiers left, just the few of them. If a large number of zombies were to attack, could the few of them hold such a vast military base? Wang Tao felt it was unlikely. Moreover, humans are social creatures. Although Wang Tao spent most of his time working in small teams, this didn¡¯t mean he wasn¡¯t willing to make contact with other survivors. If they had to stay there for a lifetime, Wang Tao would definitely go mad. And the most important point: was this military base really safe? If it had been before, Wang Tao would have thought so. But after seeing those Fourth-Order Giant Zombies with a hundred thousand blood, he wasn¡¯t so sure anymore. After all, given the size of those zombies, they could easily step over the walls and electric fences... So, it was uncertain whether they could stay long at the military base. If they were to leave, it would be even better to do so by plane. That transport plane should still be operational, but it wasn¡¯t easy to land. The helicopter, on the other hand, was much more convenient... Wang Tao turned to He Jijun. "Old He, can you fly this helicopter?" He Jijun glanced at it and said: "This is the latest model of plane; I¡¯ve flown older models. It shouldn¡¯t be a big problem, I¡¯ll figure it out, including that transport plane, I can fly it! The premise is that both planes are not broken, and of course, if there are some minor issues, I can fix them." Upon hearing He Jijun¡¯s confident answer, a smile immediately appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. "Then we might need you to pilot it later!" It was lucky to have met He Jijun! Otherwise, even if he had gotten a plane, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to use it. This thing wasn¡¯t like driving; it¡¯s not something you can just ¡¯give a try¡¯¡ªone trial could end your life. "No problem!" He Jijun nodded first and then added, "But what do you plan to do with these people?" By "people," he naturally meant the four zombies in the hangar. "What do you think, Old He?" Wang Tao looked at He Jijun with some indecision. "Sigh, let¡¯s liberate them..." He Jijun exhaled deeply. Looking at the situation on the monitors, there weren¡¯t many airdrops left. If it weren¡¯t raining, they might have finished airdropping in just two trips. Although their spirit was admirable, to be honest, they were no longer useful... and whether they could still fly planes was also a question. So rather than let their bodies go on living in such a daze, it would be better to liberate them. Putting himself in their place, if he turned into a zombie, he would also hope someone would help him find liberation. "Kill them, huh..." Wang Tao felt somewhat reluctant. "No, they¡¯re already dead. You¡¯re just helping them find peace." He Jijun said solemnly. "Sigh... I¡¯ll think about it some more." Wang Tao sighed. He wasn¡¯t like others; he could gain items from killing creatures. What if he dropped a potion that could undo the zombie virus and restore people to their original form? That was also uncertain. He Jijun saw the hesitation in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes and felt gratified. He could tell that Wang Tao was not a heartless person. He had great respect for Luo Guozhong and the three others. Wang Tao might even be naively thinking, could Luo Guozhong and the others be saved... But unfortunately, once turned into zombies, there was no saving them... For these four, liberation was a form of respect for them. However, He Jijun wouldn¡¯t interfere with Wang Tao¡¯s decision; it all depended on Wang Tao himself. "Forget it, we still have time, let¡¯s check out the other situations first. We can discuss this matter later." Wang Tao shook his head. The zombie Luo Guozhong and his group couldn¡¯t come out of the hangar. He had time to think it over. Soon, the group had checked all the monitors. Some were broken, but most were still functional. Chapter 595 - 249: Faith, Diary_2 Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t understand many things, but thankfully He Jijun was there to provide answers. The energy and materials here have basically been depleted. Solar power devices have all corrode, and there isn¡¯t much left in terms of food and weapons. Even if Wang Tao and his group stayed here, energy and materials would be a significant issue. However, the good news is that there are still some supplies. Especially when it comes to weapons and ammunition, the defense systems He Jijun mentioned earlier still function. If activated, they could turn this military base into a hedgehog in an instant, deadly to any who approach. Of course, due to the limited ammunition, they couldn¡¯t hold out for too long. And if they made too much noise, it would certainly attract a large number of zombies. Then Wang Tao asked He Jijun to find the combat logs, and they started to read them carefully. After finishing, Wang Tao finally understood the general situation of the military base. When the apocalypse arrived, the whole world descended into chaos, and Wuyang Military Base was no exception. But Wuyang Military Base was relatively lucky and quickly got the situation under control. Though they lost a large number of personnel, they managed to prevent the virus from spreading inside the base. Afterward, the base heeded the call from higher-ups and while trying to protect themselves, they tried to rescue as many survivors as possible. Wuyang City was naturally preparing to construct a Survivor Base. Since there was already a military base, they decided to use it as a stronghold and gradually establish a Survivor Base. However, the situation in Wuyang City was more serious than anyone had imagined¡ªthe population was simply too large! Just the urban area had a population of tens of millions, not to mention other areas with over twenty million people! With such a large population, it was nearly impossible to defend against such a highly infectious zombie virus. Wuyang City was one of the cities that fell the fastest in the country. And once Wuyang City fell, the military base became unsafe. After all, the military base was next to Wuyang City urban area. Just the thought of tens of millions of zombies next door would panic anyone! Therefore, the higher-ups immediately changed their minds. Wuyang Military Base could not be transformed into a Survivor Base. Another location had to be found for the Survivor Base. But constructing a base wasn¡¯t something that could be finished with mere words. Even though a new location was selected, it was a problem just trying to relocate the massive number of survivors there, let alone start construction. The soldiers from Wuyang Military Base tried several times and suffered heavy losses each time, because the zombies were too powerful! Wang Tao also learned something new from this¡ª He had previously thought that zombies evolved over time, as he found that zombies became stronger after a certain period and then stronger again after another. But that was not the only case. According to research from the military base, it¡¯s true that zombies grow stronger over time, but zombies also undergo accelerated evolution! And this acceleration in zombies... comes from eating humans! Zombies that have eaten humans are stronger than those that haven¡¯t, and they evolve faster! So, while Wang Tao was still in Shuize County¡¯s Happy Community, struggling to survive the apocalypse with Ding Yuqin, Wuyang Military Base had already begun dealing with Level 2, Zombie Lords! Yes, Level 2, Zombie Lords! When Wang Tao hadn¡¯t even encountered a Level 1 Elite Zombie, there were already Level 2, Zombie Lords in Wuyang City! One could imagine how difficult the situation here was. Talking about constructing a Survivor Base was basically impossible! If it weren¡¯t for the military base here with its various weapons to block the zombies, the area would probably have completely fallen by now. However, the military base could only barely hold its own and was not able to annihilate the zombies. Although these weapons are formidable and the zombies still have flesh and blood bodies, not as advanced as the weapons, a heavy machine gun could stop hordes of zombies. But there was still the problem from before. Although the military base survived the first wave of infection, it had already lost over half of its manpower, and the living forces were simply not enough. And with the zombie virus being unstoppable, there were no inhibitors available at the time¡ªif you got infected, you could only wait for death! But this wasn¡¯t the most important issue. The most crucial discovery so far was that in their battles with the zombies¡ªthey learned that if you fight a zombie and fail to kill it completely, that zombie becomes stronger! For example, they previously used artillery to kill large numbers of zombies, but occasionally some slipped through the net, and those which survived became even more terrifying. Another example... the military had used nuclear bombs! There were no nuclear bombs in the military base, but they could request them. At the time, for some unknown reason, a large number of Level 2 Zombies appeared, and if they weren¡¯t eliminated promptly, they would eventually evolve to the point of being able to level the military base. So, the military base requested a missile for a decapitation strike, and that missile was equipped with a small-yield nuclear warhead. The result... most of the zombies there were blasted into oblivion, and that area was razed to the ground. But... one zombie survived! A zombie that lived through the blast and radiation underwent a massive mutation and later turned into a Level 3 Zombie! The military base paid a high price to deal with this Level 3 Zombie. So thereafter, they were hesitant to use such large-scale destructive weapons again¡ªof course, even if they wanted to use them at that time, they probably couldn¡¯t. The fallen areas were too many, including those missile launch bases. Plus, the existence of corrosive acid rain caused many pieces of equipment to fail... Chapter 596 - 249: Faith, Diary_3 ``` So, eradicating the zombies in Wuyang City is very difficult. It¡¯s simply impossible to construct a Survivor Base. Even the survivors are dwindling, and the base can¡¯t find any more... Moreover, all communication has completely broken down, and for some reason, the satellites in the sky have all fallen! But thankfully, the military base still has other means of communication, such as radio and wired. Radios are more convenient, but the corrosive acid rain has corroded many of the signal towers, making it impossible to transmit wireless signals very far, usually only for short-range use. So, they used wired communications to contact other Government offices, other military branches, and the Hope Research Institute. There¡¯s not much information about the Hope Research Institute in the log, but it was enough for Wang Tao to grasp a general understanding. The Hope Research Institute was organized by the Government, with core personnel being surviving technicians, scientists, and other talents. The headquarters of the Hope Research Institute is in Capital City¡ªactually, they were reluctant to stay in Capital City because it¡¯s even more dangerous than Wuyang City! The place is smaller, the population denser... but there was no alternative since many scientists were there, and the risk of moving them was greater than the risk of staying. So, they had to struggle for survival in this tight spot. Thankfully, there were many wartime Defense facilities there, which barely allowed them to survive. Items such as inhibitors, detectors, synthesizers, and mechanical arms were all researched under such perilous conditions by scientists at the institute. But it¡¯s not enough to just research these things; they had to be delivered into the hands of the survivors. This was a big problem. Planes could be used, but they make too much noise, easily attracting zombies, and would require airports, aviation fuel, pilots, and various support facilities. The people at the Hope Research Institute didn¡¯t dare leave their premises, so how could they possibly use planes to deliver these items across the country? Then someone had an idea: let the Hope Research Institute send the blueprints and formulas to the various military bases because these bases are equipped with military 3D printers capable of producing these items! The Hope Research Institute thought it was feasible and sent the data to all the military bases. Upon receiving this data, Wuyang City Base began 3D printing. The Crystal Core Synthesizer, Energy Detector, and mechanical arms were all printed in this way. As for the inhibitor, naturally, it could not be printed¡ª at most, a bottle could be printed. But the Hope Research Institute provided a formula, and the inhibitor could be produced according to the formula. The materials for the inhibitor weren¡¯t too rare; some were available at the Wuyang Military Base, and others could be found within the city limits. So, after obtaining the formula, the Wuyang Military Base began organizing squads to go into the city to collect raw materials. There weren¡¯t many soldiers left in the base, and sending them into the danger-filled city had predictable outcomes. The inhibitors were produced, but many soldiers were sacrificed. It can be said that these airdropped inhibitors were obtained with their lives! Seeing the formula for the inhibitor, Wang Tao suddenly felt a heavy heart. "The formula must be preserved well. If there¡¯s a chance, I also want to go into the city to collect some raw materials..." Wang Tao thought to himself silently. Then four months ago, it was unknown whether the underground cables were damaged or the other bases and the Hope Research Institute had fallen, but Wuyang Base suddenly lost contact with them. This rendered the Wuyang Military Base an isolated island, although not many were left there. After that, they began to shrink their Defense lines. They gave up on rescuing survivors or killing zombies and started focusing on airdropping supplies instead. Because those who had survived had used a lot of inhibitors. These inhibitors were produced by them, and they knew the side effects. It was simply a matter of dying sooner or later... At the time Colonel Luo Guozhong wrote his letter, only the last four of them remained. Wang Tao saw the monitoring footage of that time; Luo Guozhong and the others had intended to commit suicide. They didn¡¯t want to turn into the unsightly zombies, nor did they wish to harm others. But plans cannot keep up with changes, their mutation rate was faster than they anticipated. In a very short time, all four mutated and were unable to commit suicide. However, Luo Guozhong probably didn¡¯t expect that after they turned into zombies, they did not go out to harm others but continued airdropping by instinct or perhaps their steadfast beliefs... "Sigh..." Everyone subconsciously let out a sigh. They felt pity for Luo Guozhong and his comrades and a glimmer of despair for the future. Wang Tao arrived at the military base with the idea of contacting the outside world. After all, the military base could contact the Hope Research Institute, so he also wanted to find out what the outside world was like, whether the whole country had fallen, if there were other large Survivor Bases, or whether the Government had organized any large-scale resistance... But now, all contact between the military base and the outside world had long been severed. Wang Tao had no way of knowing the situation outside. Wang Tao¡¯s curiosity about the Hope Research Institute could only be sated by snippets of information... "Could it be that only a few scattered survivors like us are left..." Zhang Hong murmured to herself. Although Wang Tao was also feeling down, he still patted her shoulder and said: "Even if we really are the only ones left, what of it? A single spark can start a prairie fire. From now on, we are humanity¡¯s hope! And I think things might not be as bad as we imagine. Maybe, in some place we don¡¯t know about, other survivors are already living better lives!" "But..." "No buts! We still have the most important task at hand¡ªscavenging the military base!" "...Okay!" ``` Chapter 597 - 250 Lightning_1 If there were still people at the military base, Wang Tao would naturally have to show them a certain amount of respect. But now that there is no one here, everything here belongs to Wang Tao. When it came to scavenging supplies, everyone¡¯s spirits lifted a bit. No matter what, this is after all a military base, and although the supplies have almost been depleted, this "depletion" was relative to the entire base. For them personally, there should still be a significant amount of supplies. "First, let¡¯s scavenge these places with surveillance, and then we¡¯ll go to those without or with broken cameras." Wang Tao spoke to his companions. "Okay!" The group immediately sprang into action. Their first target was the command center, where after a search, they found some food and weapons. He Jijun immediately exchanged his gun; although he was quite comfortable with his hunting rifle, its performance was indeed lacking. Now that he had switched to a Type 400 family of automatic rifles, his combat effectiveness would be greatly improved. His police revolver was naturally also exchanged, as it packed very little power. Switching to a military automatic pistol was far more appropriate. The others also grabbed a rifle and a pistol each. They might not need them, but when necessary, it was important to have the gear on hand. After confirming there was nothing else here, Wang Tao and his group moved on to other locations. Luo Guozhong had left them keys, so they could go anywhere. The first place Wang Tao headed to was the armory, eager to see if there were any impressive weapons inside. However, upon seeing the contents, he was slightly disappointed. There were indeed many weapons, rifles, pistols, and even machine guns, but there were no shells or bombs which Wang Tao had been hoping for. The inventory records showed that those items had been used a long time ago. Of course, even so, their find wasn¡¯t a loss. At the very least, Wang Tao had never operated a heavy machine gun before and was looking forward to enjoying the thrill if the chance arose. The group then made their way to the warehouse. The warehouse was originally used to store inhibitors, equipment, and other items, but those had been airdropped out, leaving it quite empty. However, there was a military 3D printer there. The device was a valuable find, but it was too large for Wang Tao to take with him. Moreover, printing required raw materials, which were now depleted... "We¡¯ll just leave it here for now..." Wang Tao then led the group to other areas. "Huh? Is this... the kennels for military dogs?" Wang Tao came across a room with a sign that read "Military Canine Troops." He remembered there was no surveillance here; the cameras were broken. "Could there be military dogs inside?" Yang Changhong asked with some expectation. "Not sure. Let¡¯s go in and see, but be careful..." Wang Tao activated his Perception Ability. Perception Ability was somewhat affected by obstacles, and with the large size of the house, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t fully sense everything inside, so he wasn¡¯t sure what the situation was. Moreover, they had encountered numerous zombie dogs outside the base, including one particularly large Level 3 Zombie Dog, so Wang Tao wasn¡¯t hopeful about finding any military dogs still alive in here. Wang Tao opened the door to find it was pretty bright and spacious inside. However, many pieces of training equipment for military dogs obstructed their view. Suddenly, through his perceived vision, Wang Tao saw a shadow rapidly charging toward them. Judging by its shape, it was a dog! "Watch out!" Wang Tao immediately drew his Bone Knife, fixating on what lay ahead. Then Wang Tao felt the shadow suddenly come to an abrupt halt behind a wall, with only a dog¡¯s head, ears pitched high, peeking out. [HP: 803/1000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 1, Ordinary] "Hey? There¡¯s still a living military dog!" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He liked pets like kittens and puppies, but before the apocalypse, he could barely take care of himself, so he didn¡¯t have the capacity to look after pets. After the apocalypse, such animals became even rarer. Apart from rats and fish, the only other animals Wang Tao recalled seeing were the pigs raised within the Zijin Base... "Come, come here!" Wang Tao put away his weapon and waved at the large wolfhound. The military dog watched warily and didn¡¯t approach. Just as Wang Tao was about to ask He Jijun to think of a way to coax it over, he suddenly remembered the letter from Luo Guozhong. In the letter, Luo Guozhong mentioned he had a military dog named Lightning. "Lightning, come here!" Wang Tao immediately called out. "Woof!" The large wolfhound barked once and then ran straight to Wang Tao. It circled around him, sniffing as if getting Wang Tao¡¯s scent, then sat down obediently right in front of him, tongue lolling out. "Haha, it really is Lightning!" Seeing such an obedient military dog, Wang Tao was overjoyed. He had initially thought that the Lightning Luo Guozhong mentioned might be the Level 3, Lord Zombie Dog outside the base, or another zombie dog that had appeared later, which had caused him considerable disappointment. To his surprise, he had been mistaken; those zombie dogs weren¡¯t Lightning¡ªthis one was! Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately reached out to pat Lightning¡¯s head. Lightning squinted its eyes contentedly, allowing Wang Tao to pet it. "What a good boy!" Wang Tao recalled Luo Guozhong¡¯s words in his letter¡ª It¡¯s called Lightning, a military dog, one year old, just reached adulthood. If you call its name, it will be very obedient... "Call its name and it will be very obedient? Could it be that Luo Guozhong had told Lightning something beforehand?" Chapter 598 - 250 Lightning_2 Some dogs are very smart, especially those selected as military dogs, whose intelligence could be estimated to be about the same as a child¡¯s. It¡¯s not strange that they can understand human speech. Wang Tao immediately squatted down in front of Lightning with a big smile on his face. "Lightning, from now on, you¡¯ll follow me. If I have a bite to eat, you¡¯ll have one too. How about it? Bark once if you agree." "Woof!" "Haha, great!" Wang Tao immediately rubbed Lightning¡¯s head vigorously and then took out a bottle of nutrient solution. "I don¡¯t have much food on me, so this will have to do for now." Wang Tao poured half a bottle for Lightning, and it licked it up with a few strokes of its tongue. Then its gaze at Wang Tao even seemed to sparkle. Wang Tao liked it more the more he looked at it. He checked Lightning¡¯s body; it was a one-year-old female dog, and apart from being a little skinny, it had no other issues. After rubbing Lightning¡¯s head vigorously for a while, Wang Tao said to it, "Lightning, show me around your home, will you?" "Woof!" Lightning immediately ran ahead wagging its tail, and Wang Tao and his companions followed. "I really want to pet it too, can I, Wang Tao?" Yang Changhong asked with a gleam in her eyes. "Why don¡¯t you try?" Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. "Lightning!" Yang Changhong called out, but Lightning only turned its head to look at her and then continued leading the way. "..." Yang Changhong immediately felt a bit awkward. Why was it that Lightning was so obedient when Wang Tao called it, yet it completely ignored her own call? "Haha!" Wang Tao found the scene interesting; he thought it must be because he was the first to call Lightning by its name. Perhaps Luo Guozhong gave Lightning instructions before he died, that it should recognize as its master whoever called it by its name first! Wang Tao was glad to have been the first to call it. After all, he really liked such an obedient big wolf dog. Lightning led Wang Tao and the others around inside, and apart from Lightning, there were no other military dogs here. There were many toys and even an automatic feeder. However, Wang Tao noticed that the automatic feeder was empty. No wonder Lightning seemed a bit skinny. Wang Tao then poured the rest of the nutrient solution for Lightning. He also thought of something else¡ªLuo Guozhong had probably died about a month ago and had locked Lightning up here before his death. In other words, Lightning had been alone in this place for at least a month! Wang Tao felt a pang of sympathy and rubbed Lightning¡¯s head, and Lightning immediately wagged its tail happily. Seeing the deep affection between Wang Tao and Lightning, Zhang Hong felt a twinge of jealousy. After Lightning licked the half bottle of nutrient solution clean, Wang Tao patted its head. "Let¡¯s go." Lightning obediently walked beside Wang Tao¡¯s feet. Zhang Hong finally seized the opportunity and quickly gave Lightning a couple of pets. Lightning clearly knew these were friends of Wang Tao, its new owner, so it didn¡¯t resist, but it also didn¡¯t show much affection. He Jijun, the old man, couldn¡¯t resist either and happily stroked Lightning. Compared to Zhang Hong, Lightning was much warmer toward He Jijun¡ªit even circled around him and rubbed against him with its head. "Haha, what a good dog!" He Jijun laughed heartily. He once had an obedient big wolf dog just like Lightning. Seeing Lightning reminded him of his little companion. Wang Tao watched Lightning¡¯s actions and guessed that Lightning probably sensed an aura similar to its former master on He Jijun. After all, they were both soldiers, and they certainly had a lot in common. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan also touched Lightning after getting Wang Tao¡¯s permission. Lightning was indifferent to both of them, similar to how it was with Zhang Hong. However, what surprised everyone the most was that Lightning was very wary of Jiang Shixue, a young and pretty girl. It even bristled a bit when Jiang Shixue tried to touch it for the first time. Everyone was a bit puzzled¡ªdidn¡¯t Lightning like this cute girl? It wasn¡¯t even a matter of liking or not, it seemed almost scared! Wang Tao probably knew why; after all, Jiang Shixue¡¯s situation was quite special. Humans couldn¡¯t tell there was something wrong with her, but the dog, with its keen sense of smell, might have sensed something off. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t usually care much about most things, but seeing Lightning¡¯s reaction, she suddenly felt a bit sad and lowered her head. After all, she wasn¡¯t a normal person... Wang Tao felt Jiang Shixue¡¯s mood had dropped, stretched out his hand to rub her hair, and then held her small hand tightly. He didn¡¯t speak, but everything was understood without words. Jiang Shixue felt better with Wang Tao¡¯s comforting gesture. At this moment, Lightning, who had been observing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, suddenly came over and rubbed against Jiang Shixue¡¯s feet. "Ah!" Feeling the soft fur brush against her calf, and watching as Lightning rubbed her leg with its head, Jiang Shixue let out a surprised yelp, then her face immediately lit up with a bright smile. Jiang Shixue quickly squatted down and gently stroked Lightning¡¯s head, and Lightning didn¡¯t resist and even rubbed its little head against her palm. Seeing this, Wang Tao was very surprised. He didn¡¯t expect Lightning to be so human-friendly. He hadn¡¯t said anything, and yet Lightning understood! It was simply like a little angel! The more Wang Tao saw, the more he liked it. Chapter 599 - 250 Lightning_3 ``` "I need to find a way to train Lightning!" Lightning has 1,000 HP, which clearly isn¡¯t natural. Wang Tao had seen those farmed pigs¡ªwith the little pigs having only about 100 HP. Even when they grew up, they might have a bit more HP, but never as much as 1,000. Wang Tao suspected that Lightning gained its 1,000 HP from killing zombies, considering that humans increased their HP by killing zombies, perhaps animals could too. The only question was whether it could integrate Crystal Cores¡ªprobably not. Otherwise, Luo Guozhong would have used them on Lightning already... For now, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how to train it, but there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. It could definitely become stronger! With Lightning joining the team, there was a lot more laughter and joy. Even the usually cool He Jijun and the typically expressionless Jiang Shixue were extremely happy. "Lightning, do you know if there are any good things around here?" Wang Tao suddenly asked. Lightning might not understand what "good things" meant, tilting its head as if it was quite puzzled. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how to describe it either, and after gesticulating for quite a while, suddenly Lightning gave a small bark and then led Wang Tao and the others to the command center. "Hmm? Are we missing something?" Lightning brought Wang Tao to the outside of Colonel Luo Guozhong¡¯s room. Wang Tao had glanced inside and, seeing that it was neat and tidy with nothing inside, had left without looking more carefully. After all, he had great respect for Colonel Luo Guozhong, the hero. "Woof!" Lightning barked at one of the wall hangings. Wang Tao walked over, removed the hanging, and discovered a safe hidden behind it. "Well, well, there really was something?" The group was somewhat surprised. Wang Tao rubbed Lightning¡¯s head, then turned his attention to the safe. This safe required both a combination and a key to open. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with the combination, instead trying the key left to him by Luo Guozhong. Click~ The lock on the safe door opened. "Haha, I knew it. Colonel Luo Guozhong would never make it too complicated for the next person to inherit his things!" Wang Tao said, laughing as he opened the door of the safe, and a bunch of shiny objects inside dazzled their eyes. "Crystal Cores." Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that surprised, considering that during the apocalypse, there are only so many valuable things, and it was likely that a Crystal Core would be kept in a safe. However, upon seeing the specific attributes of these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao was surprised, or rather shocked. "Level 4 Crystal Core!" There was actually a Level 4 Crystal Core among them! Level 1 to Level 3 Crystal Cores were diamond-shaped, with Level 1 being the smallest, Level Two being a bit larger, and Level 3 being larger still. But the Level 4 Crystal Core was square, about the size of a keycap on a keyboard. [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side Effects: None)] This Crystal Core was actually a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! This was a huge surprise for Wang Tao. Wang Tao carefully remembered that the previous battle logs had mentioned that Luo Guozhong and his team had encountered a very powerful zombie, which had taken a great deal of effort to kill. They felt this zombie was much stronger than other Level 3 zombies. But to say how much stronger, was hard to quantify, since they used modern weapons and didn¡¯t have much contact with it... Now, Wang Tao suspected that it must have been this Four-level zombie! ``` Although they weren¡¯t clear on what it actually looked like, they had experience killing level 4 zombies, which meant that these zombies weren¡¯t invincible. Wang Tao had felt helpless against the Giant Zombie they had seen before, but that didn¡¯t necessarily mean all level 4 zombies were that strong. There was also that hundred thousand HP zombie. If there was a chance later on, he would look for those hundred thousand HP zombies to really understand what a level 4 zombie was like... Besides the level 4 Crystal Core, there weren¡¯t too many other cores in the safe, only about a thousand or so. Moreover, level 1 Crystal Cores were rare; most of them were level two and level three. Wang Tao guessed that Luo Guozhong and his team must have used many crystal cores. Otherwise, judging from the combat logs, there should have been more. But Wang Tao was content. After all, whatever he got for free was a win. The safe contained only Crystal Cores, which Wang Tao took. He crouched down and rubbed Lightning¡¯s head. "Good boy!" Lightning immediately wagged its tail and frantically rubbed against Wang Tao. After Wang Tao "tortured" it for a while, he turned to the others and said, "Now there should only be two places left to check, the garage and the hangar... Let¡¯s head to the hangar." The group arrived outside the hangar. The hangar had several doors, and naturally they entered through a smaller one. The hangar was large inside and contained many rooms, but the most conspicuous thing was the military transport plane. It wasn¡¯t clear from the surveillance footage, but on closer inspection, the aircraft looked very old, probably corroded by the acid rain. However, right now, their attention wasn¡¯t on the plane, but on the several busy figures underneath it. "Colonel Luo Guozhong..." "Hehe..." Feeling the approach of people, the four zombies instantly turned their heads to look at Wang Tao and his group. Lightning circled anxiously around Wang Tao, acting like it wanted to go over but didn¡¯t dare to. Wang Tao patted Lightning on the head to reassure it and took a closer look. Luo Guozhong and his men were actually level 1 zombies! "They didn¡¯t use crystal cores? They¡¯re not Ability Users?" This was somewhat unexpected to Wang Tao. But if they were all level 1, then this would be easy to deal with. Wang Tao immediately activated his Psychic Disturbance Ability. After his ascension to level 3, the range of this ability had increased slightly. Although it still couldn¡¯t affect humans, it was very effective against zombies, especially lower-level ones. The moment Wang Tao activated his ability, the four zombies stopped moving. They treated Wang Tao as a Zombie Lord. "Let¡¯s not worry about them for now; let¡¯s check the plane." Wang Tao first inspected the helicopter. It was a transport helicopter, with a large space inside. It was Wang Tao¡¯s first time boarding a helicopter, and he found it very novel. After inspecting the helicopter, He Jijun said to Wang Tao, "The helicopter is fine!" "That¡¯s good to hear!" He Jijun then led the others to inspect the transport plane. "This transport plane has advanced automatic assistance devices; no wonder they could still fly it... The plane should still be operable, but it needs maintenance..." After checking the planes, Wang Tao took everything from the airdrop container, but ultimately did not kill the four zombies. Wang Tao patted Lightning on the head. "Let¡¯s go." Lightning reluctantly followed Wang Tao out, looking back every three steps. Once they had closed the hangar doors, the zombies seemed confused for a moment and then resumed their repetitive task of moving the air-dropped supplies... Chapter 600 - 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_1 After a trip to the hangar, everyone¡¯s mood wasn¡¯t very good. But life had to go on. Wang Tao looked at the group and said, "It¡¯s getting dark, let¡¯s rest at the command center. We¡¯ll clear out all the zombies around the base tomorrow." "Okay." Everyone nodded. Wang Tao then turned to He Jijun. "Old He, I¡¯ll take you to kill a few zombies; we need to boost your level." "Sure!" He Jijun was currently at Level 1 with 1000 HP. Before, as an ordinary person, his HP could only reach a maximum of 1000. Now that he had become an Ability User, his HP could continue to increase, but the increase needed time and sleep and was not under control. That¡¯s why Wang Tao had not let him finish off zombies. Otherwise, with the many Level 2 and Level 3 zombies they encountered along the way, a single finishing blow could have added a significant amount of HP. Now that they were temporarily safe, there was naturally time for He Jijun¡¯s Ascension. Wang Tao had already had He Jijun merge with the last Level 2 Ascension Crystal Core, but after the merge had happened, he didn¡¯t experience the expected Ascension since his HP wasn¡¯t at 4999 yet. Wang Tao had intentionally not allowed him to merge with the last Crystal Core previously, fearing he might ascend prematurely, but he had overlooked the fact that He Jijun¡¯s HP was insufficient. However, it wasn¡¯t too late now. The military base was now divided into two areas, which Wang Tao simply referred to as the inner and outer areas. The inner area was naturally where they currently resided, obstructed by high walls and electric fences. The outer area was the region accessible through the main gate, which had quite a few zombies. Wang Tao had mentioned clearing the zombies; he meant starting with those in the outer area. However, it was already dark, and there was no need to work blindly in the night. Of course, boosting He Jijun¡¯s strength didn¡¯t matter much; it was just a matter of killing a few zombies. Now that he had full access to the military base, Wang Tao no longer needed to climb over walls; he could simply walk through the main gate. Buzz~ The noise of the opening gate instantly attracted numerous zombies. Wang Tao sent out a Shockwave, instantly blowing the approaching zombies away. Then he looked around and spotted a few Level 2 Zombies. "It¡¯s your turn!" He Jijun was still at Level 1, and there were extra HP rewards for killing higher-level zombies. Wang Tao¡¯s plan was to ideally get He Jijun up to 4999 HP directly; otherwise, sleeping for every thousand HP would waste a lot of time. Wang Tao didn¡¯t let He Jijun take action; he quickly took care of the other zombies, leaving only the few Level 2 Zombies. Since Wang Tao could see their HP bars, he could be very precise with the amount of HP they had left, leaving just a sliver. Wang Tao chopped off the limbs of these zombies, piled them up together, and handed his Bone Knife to He Jijun. He Jijun gripped the Bone Knife and swung it at the zombies. Puchi! The Bone Knife was extremely sharp, and the few Level 2 Zombies already low on HP were instantly beheaded. Wang Tao clearly saw He Jijun¡¯s HP bar jump from 1000 to 4999! He Jijun hadn¡¯t even had the chance to marvel at the sharpness of the Bone Knife when a wave of drowsiness hit him. "I feel sleepy..." "Rest well." Wang Tao supported him back into the base. Lightning saw Wang Tao return and immediately ran over, wagging its tail. After putting down He Jijun, Wang Tao rubbed Lightning¡¯s little head. "Let¡¯s go, time for bed!" There were plenty of rooms in the command center, and everyone got a single room. Wang Tao chose a relatively spacious room, with Jiang Shixue and Lightning already inside. Jiang Shixue was used to living with Wang Tao, and Lightning, possibly because it hadn¡¯t seen people for so long, was now exceptionally clingy. Since Wang Tao also particularly enjoyed petting it, he let it sleep in the room. After a quick wash-up, Jiang Shixue played with Lightning while Wang Tao checked the Loot Pack from today¡¯s kill. The main focus was on the Loot Pack from the Level 3, Lord Zombie Dog. This was the first time Wang Tao had killed a zombie with a hundred thousand blood, and he had high expectations for its Loot Pack. Just from killing the Zombie Dog, Special Energy alone had granted Wang Tao 25,000! As for the other Loot Packs, there were three Loot Packs, A Crystal Core, and four teeth. Wang Tao first looked at the teeth. [Sharp dog tooth: This sharp tooth can merge with a creature, causing some mutation in the mouth and granting a Hidden Ability (note: merging four is effective, best results with canine animals)] "Hm?" Surprised by the Attributes of these teeth, Wang Tao was intrigued. These were tailor-made for Lightning! "Lightning!" Wang Tao called out, and Lightning, who was frolicking with Jiang Shixue, immediately left her and ran to Wang Tao¡¯s side. "Bite this!" Wang Tao placed the four dog teeth in his hand. Lightning, understanding Wang Tao¡¯s words, wasted no time and licked the teeth straight into its mouth. The teeth went into Lightning¡¯s mouth and instantly vaporized, vanishing from sight. "Woof?" Lightning paused, looking a bit dumbfounded. It seemed to be wondering why the item its master had put in its mouth had disappeared. Seeing Lightning¡¯s puzzled expression, Wang Tao laughed heartily. He patted Lightning¡¯s head and said, "It¡¯s alright, don¡¯t worry." Wang Tao carefully observed and noticed no difference in Lightning; its bright white teeth showed no change either. However, Lightning¡¯s Attributes had changed. [HP: 1000/1000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 1, Ordinary] [Hidden Attributes: Iron Teeth] [Iron Teeth: Teeth are sharp, and the mouth will not be infected by the zombie virus] "Uninfected by the virus? Won¡¯t that mean it can bite zombies at will?" Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. Chapter 601 - 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_2 This attribute is really tailor-made for Lightning! "Woof!" Lightning let out a soft bark toward Wang Tao. It seemed to sense that it was somewhat different now. Wang Tao patted its head, then took out a crystal core to let Lightning try it out. As expected, Lightning couldn¡¯t fuse with crystal cores. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t disappointed. He told Lightning to go play with Jiang Shixue while he continued checking the loot. From the three loot packs, the first naturally contained a crystal core gift bag. The zombie dog had an orange [Level 3 Crystal Core - Athlete] inside its head. The loot pack contained a red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Ascension], a blue [Level 3 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], a purple [Level 3 Crystal Core - Physique Enhancement], a red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Extreme Speed], and a white [Level 3 Crystal Core - Running]. Out of these crystal cores, the only one Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen was [Extreme Speed]. [Level 3 Crystal Core - Extreme Speed] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Easily Irritable)] [Extreme Speed: Increases attack speed for the duration.] This was a persistent ability, which came as a pleasant surprise to Wang Tao who was in need of such an ability! "I hope I can save up two more in the future..." The second loot pack contained potions. [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Attack Speed Potion (Small) x20] [Obtained: Attack Speed Potion (Small) Blueprint x1] Wang Tao had seen Running Potions before, both small and medium, and he had also learned the method to craft them. However, the Attack Speed Potion was new to him. [Attack Speed Potion (Small): After injection, upper body strength increases, attack speed increases by 10%-100% (the stronger the physique, the greater the increase), lasts for 10 minutes, 12 hours cooldown] The Running Potion increased lower body strength, while the Attack Speed Potion increased upper body strength. It was quite interesting. Moreover, Wang Tao had tested himself; although the name was "Running Potion," if you attacked with your legs, your attack speed could also increase. So, Wang Tao wondered if Lightning were to be injected with both Running Potion and Attack Speed Potion, would its four legs make it run incredibly fast? [Attack Speed Potion (Small) Blueprint: After learning, you can craft five Attack Speed Potions (Small) at a time. Required materials: Rapid Mushroom x1, Level 1 Zombie Core x1, Purified Water x100ml, 10 kilocalories of food] The core materials required to craft the Attack Speed Potion were exactly the same as the Running Potion. These two potions really were quite similar. Wang Tao immediately learned the blueprint. Although he lacked the materials now, he would definitely be able to use them in the future. The last loot pack contained a blueprint. [Wolf Dog Armor Blueprint: Can produce a set of battle armor for canines. Required materials: Bones from Level 3 or higher canine animals x10kg, Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Rope x10, Rubber x10, Cable x10, Electronic Components x10, Battery x10] [Wolf Dog Armor Blueprint: Attributes unknown] "This is a great find!" This was actually a set of battle armor for dogs! However, considering it came from the zombie dog, it made sense... It would be perfect for Lightning, who was currently wearing ordinary military dog armor. All the other materials were sufficient; all that was missing were the bones. The carcass of the zombie dog was still outside. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went out together, retrieved its bones, and had just enough! Then, Wang Tao took out all the materials, and after a burst of seven-colored light, a very black and handsome set of armor appeared. [Wolf Dog Battle Armor] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Defense +50, Durability +50, Speed +10%] The attributes were great, and it even came with a speed boost. Wang Tao had Lightning try it on, and it didn¡¯t hinder its movements at all, looking mighty and suitable. The only drawback was that the armor was so protective, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t stroke its head. After trying it out, Wang Tao helped it take off the armor and then petted its head. "Lightning, let¡¯s try it out tomorrow. For now, let¡¯s sleep." Lightning nuzzled Wang Tao¡¯s hand, whimpered softly, and then obediently lay down beside Wang Tao¡¯s bed. ... The next day, early morning. The rain hadn¡¯t stopped, and He Jijun hadn¡¯t woken up. Wang Tao, along with Yang Changhong and a few others, arrived at the military base¡¯s outer area to clear out zombies. He brought Lightning as well, since it had just acquired a hidden attribute and a new set of armor, so its strength needed testing. Whether its attack power was strong or not was irrelevant; Wang Tao valued the ability to bite zombies without getting infected by the zombie virus. Moreover, with Lightning fully armored, it was almost immune to the zombie virus! The others, upon seeing Lightning¡¯s full body armor, were very curious but didn¡¯t ask too many questions. "It feels like there are more zombies today than yesterday, probably attracted by the noise we made..." Wang Tao said, stroking his chin. "Woof!" Lightning barked softly in agreement. Wang Tao laughed and patted its helmet, then said to Yang Changhong and the others, "The military base is quite large. Let¡¯s split up and act independently. If you encounter any tough zombies, contact me with the walkie-talkie." "Okay!" Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun formed one group, Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong another, and Wang Tao was teamed up with Lightning. The corrosive acid rain fell on Lightning, most of it blocked by the armor, while a few raindrops caused it to receive a negative ¡¯corroded¡¯ status. However, with Lightning¡¯s 1000 HP, it wasn¡¯t too big of an issue. Soon, Wang Tao spotted a Level 1 Ordinary Zombie with 4000 HP. Chapter 602 - 251 Sharp Dog Tooth_3 "Go!" Whoosh! Upon receiving the command, Lightning immediately charged over, unaware of what the word "fear" meant. The heavy rain significantly impaired the zombies¡¯ perceptions, and coupled with Lightning¡¯s speed, by the time the zombies noticed him, he had already pounced on them. Bang! The zombie was directly tackled to the ground. "Grrr..." It struggled to get up, but Lightning bit its face. [-3584] Seeing this damage figure, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. "Such high damage!" Even though they were both Level 1, Lightning only had 1000 HP. With just one bite, Lightning had torn off most of the zombie¡¯s face, leaving it with only a sliver of HP. It waved its claws, trying to grab Lightning, but Lightning quickly retreated, spitting out the black blood from its mouth. Wang Tao carefully observed Lightning¡¯s body data to confirm that there were no signs of internal impurity or infection and heaved a sigh of relief. This zombie, no longer suppressed by Lightning, slowly got up, but then Lightning rushed forward again, leaping high into the air and biting the zombie¡¯s head. [-416] The zombie died on the spot. Wang Tao glanced at Lightning¡¯s attributes again. Its HP had not increased. "Still not gaining HP, huh..." Wang Tao was somewhat disappointed. Lightning couldn¡¯t fuse with Crystal Cores. It didn¡¯t gain HP from killing zombies. Was there really no way to increase its strength? Suddenly, a few rotten Zombie Dogs emerged, all Level 2 Elites. "Lightning, come back!" Wang Tao shouted, and Lightning immediately ran back to his side, then bared its teeth at the Zombie Dogs. After all, they were Level 2 Elite Zombies, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t willing to let Lightning take the risk. He took out his Bone Knife and slashed at the Level 2 Zombies, leaving them nearly dead. Then he turned to Lightning and said: "Go, finish them off!" "Woof!" Lightning immediately ran over and dealt the finishing blow to the crippled, dying Zombie Dogs. "Huh?" Then Wang Tao noticed that Lightning¡¯s HP bar had increased! "Could it be that only by killing Level 2 Zombies, or Elite Zombies, it can increase its HP bar?" Wang Tao suddenly remembered that when humans reached 1000 HP, they no longer gained HP from killing zombies. They had to become Ability Users and kill at least Level 1 Elite Zombies to continue increasing their HP. Was it the same with Lightning? No, that¡¯s not right, Lightning didn¡¯t have an Ability... maybe it¡¯s different for animals than for humans? Another little issue was that Lightning had gained too little HP! After finishing off the four Level 2 Elite Zombie Dogs, they had only given Lightning 600 HP... It seemed Lightning didn¡¯t get an HP bonus for killing zombies above its level? However, being able to increase HP was a good thing; at least it proved Lightning still had room for improvement. Wang Tao called Lightning back and then checked its mouth. It had just bitten so many zombies to death, but there was no residual blood or flesh in its mouth. It seemed to be the effect of its Hidden Attribute. "That¡¯s great, keep it up!" Wang Tao continued to clear the surrounding zombies with Lightning. He hoped to encounter a few Level 3 Lord Zombies, but this military base seemed to be the territory of that Zombie Dog, with only one Level 3 Lord. However, there were still plenty of zombies here. By the time Wang Tao and his party cleared all the zombies inside the base, Yang Changhong and the others had greatly increased their HP. Including Lightning; its HP had risen to 4999, but this also troubled Wang Tao. Because Lightning¡¯s HP bar wasn¡¯t increasing anymore, just like the humans, it was stuck at the Level 1 bottleneck. Even if Wang Tao let it kill Level 2 Elite Zombies, it still wouldn¡¯t gain HP anymore. And Lightning couldn¡¯t fuse with Crystal Cores either... was there really no way to break through this bottleneck? Wang Tao felt there must be a way; he just hadn¡¯t found it yet... Feeling somewhat helpless, Wang Tao suddenly thought of Jiang Shixue who was in a similar situation ¨C unable to fuse with Crystal Cores or achieve Ascension, stuck with HP. However, Jiang Shixue had 100% Internal Impurity while Lightning had none. "Forget it, let¡¯s not worry about it for now..." Wang Tao, not having the time to investigate at the moment, made sure that all zombies outside the military base were cleared, then he and the others barricaded the gate to the base. Thus, both the interior and exterior of the military base were secure. But the military base was too large, and Wang Tao and his people were unable to defend the outer area, so they still lived in the inner section. "We¡¯re all tired. Let¡¯s rest, and tomorrow we¡¯ll deal with the zombies on the outskirts!" The zombies outside the base were more numerous and generally of a higher level than those inside. It would be a good opportunity for Yang Changhong and the others to increase their HP. "Okay!" Clearing so many zombies was exhausting, but the reward was worth it. Not to mention the Crystal Cores, their HP had increased a lot. After dinner, Wang Tao found that He Jijun, who had slept for 24 hours, was now awake. "How do you feel?" Wang Tao asked with a smile. "I feel... I can¡¯t really describe it, but it feels good..." He Jijun didn¡¯t know how to express himself. After all, his Ascension had been too fast. For these first Ability Users like Wang Tao, transforming from ordinary people into Ability Users, from Level 1 to Level Two Ascension, each step required a lot of effort. Whereas He Jijun had transformed from an ordinary person to a Level 2 Ability User within just a few days. He still wasn¡¯t used to being an Ability User... "Haha, no worries. Tomorrow we¡¯ll go out and hunt some zombies, and that¡¯ll get you more familiar with it!" Wang Tao said with a laugh. "Right!" He Jijun nodded, looking forward to it. "Once we¡¯ve cleared all the zombies around the military base, we¡¯ll have to check the city!", Wang Tao had yet to engage a Level 4 zombie head-on. The Illusion Beast he encountered in Zijing City didn¡¯t count since he hadn¡¯t directly fought it. Wang Tao felt that with his and his team¡¯s strength, they should be qualified to confront Level 4 zombies. Of course, that didn¡¯t include the Giant Zombie ¨C setting aside its strength, just considering its huge size, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even know where to start. Chapter 603 - 252 Method of Ascension_1 The next day. Wang Tao led the team to continue clearing zombies, this time with the addition of He Jijun. After ascending to Level Two, He Jijun¡¯s strength had naturally increased significantly. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, He Jijun really took his shooting skills to a whole new level; he could even make bullets slightly turn through precise calculations! This reminded Wang Tao of a joke he had seen on the internet before¡ªGunfighting! He Jijun indeed had that ability! Wang Tao had to admit, even though they both had the precision shooting ability, the gap between him and He Jijun was significant. The Soldier King deserved his reputation! He Jijun even tried to make arrows curve, but that was much more difficult than with bullets, and he had not succeeded yet. However, it wasn¡¯t without merit, as he could shoot into the air, hitting zombies with a parabolic shot. While that seemed somewhat ostentatious, it was actually very useful¡ªfor instance, in executing a decapitation strategy or attacking over obstacles... Wang Tao was really looking forward to seeing to what extent He Jijun¡¯s abilities would develop as he became more familiar with them. There was a considerable number of zombies outside the base, and it took Wang Tao and his companions the whole day to clear the vicinity and blockade the gate, including bringing in the two vehicles from before. More zombies might come in the future, but for now, the absence of zombies made for a much more comfortable view. Wang Tao deliberately let He Jijun take out some Level 3 zombies, boosting He Jijun¡¯s HP to 29999! "Can I ascend to Level 3 now?" He Jijun was somewhat dazed. Although he did feel his strength improving while killing zombies that day, he had just ascended to Level 2! It had only taken him two days to ascend from Level 1 to Level Two, with one of those days spent sleeping. Now, only a day had passed, and he could ascend to Level 3? "To be precise, you¡¯re a bit short because your special ability level is not high enough. You need to enhance your special ability level, and strip away the ¡¯Running¡¯ ability you merged with before..." He Jijun possessed strong spiritual power, and Wang Tao thought it would be good to integrate a spiritual-focused ability for him to leverage his strengths. However, the crystal cores related to spiritual power Wang Tao possessed all started at Level Two. So, Wang Tao discussed with He Jijun and let him merge with a "Running" first. Now that he was Level Two, He Jijun could extract it. Wang Tao presented some crystal cores for He Jijun to choose from. To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, He Jijun chose a "Mental Enhancement." [Mental Enhancement: For the duration, it increases spiritual power, making the user more focused and less likely to be disturbed by the outside world] To many, this ability seemed somewhat lackluster, but Wang Tao had merged with it himself because it was useful for resisting illusions. He Jijun¡¯s decision to merge with this wasn¡¯t because he encountered an illusion, but because he felt it could enhance his precision shooting! Putting other aspects aside, the ability¡¯s focus and resistance to outside interference aligned precisely with the need for concentrated shooting, right? Additionally, an increase in spiritual power should also be helpful for shooting. Wang Tao felt that He Jijun had a point, so he gave him the crystal core. Anyway, Wang Tao had plenty of Level Two Exraction Crystal Cores. Even if the ability didn¡¯t work out as well as He Jijun hoped, he could just extract it again. Soon, He Jijun stripped the "Running" ability and merged with the "Mental Enhancement." He Jijun tried it out; activating precision shooting along with mental enhancement indeed elevated his shooting prowess¡ªnow it was genuine Gunfighting! "Awesome!" Watching He Jijun in the indoor shooting range, hitting various targets with closed eyes, even making bullets curve and the like, Wang Tao and the others were highly impressed. If it weren¡¯t for the risk of gunfire attracting a large number of zombies, everyone believed that He Jijun¡¯s potential for destruction would indeed be terrifying. Although some zombies could block bullets, the trouble was He Jijun¡¯s bullets could turn corners! Even the toughest zombies had weak spots, like the eyes, and He Jijun could target those weaknesses for attacks! Of course, if they were to encounter those without significant weaknesses or with exceptionally tough defenses, whether He Jijun could still be effective was questionable. Nevertheless, for now, He Jijun was still very strong! Once it was confirmed that this ability indeed boosted He Jijun¡¯s abilities, Wang Tao brought out some other crystal cores He Jijun had merged with and some Omnipotent Crystal Cores. After spending some time, He Jijun completed all merges. His four abilities were all at Level Two+10. Then Wang Tao took out four Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. "Thank you!" Seeing Wang Tao hand over these crystal cores as if they were free, He Jijun couldn¡¯t help feeling moved. When Wang Tao had invited him to join, he hadn¡¯t mentioned such benefits. But He Jijun didn¡¯t say much. Real men express their gratitude through actions. "Haha, we¡¯re all part of the gang, no need for thanks!" Wang Tao smiled, then his expression turned serious. "After Old He, you ascend to Level 3, we¡¯ll head to the city and see if we can challenge a Four-level zombie..." "No problem!" He Jijun immediately merged with the four Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores. Moments later, he succeeded smoothly. Without delay, He Jijun prepared himself for the ascension. By this time tomorrow, he would be a Level 3 ability user! After He Jijun fell asleep, Wang Tao looked at the others. Except for Jiang Shixue, whose HP hadn¡¯t increased, everyone else had seen a significant boost in their HP. Chapter 604 - 252 Method of Ascension_2 Xu Xiaojun had seventy thousand HP, Yang Changhong had seventy thousand HP, and Nie Siyan had sixty thousand HP. They were all quite close to reaching one hundred thousand HP now. Moreover, the Crystal Cores they needed were relatively easy to find, and they had already fused some. Wang Tao estimated that by the time they reached one hundred thousand HP, all of their Abilities should be able to reach +10. "All the zombies around have been dealt with. Everyone rest up well these next two days, and gather your strength." Wang Tao said to the three of them: "Okay!" The crowd nodded in agreement. Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Lightning went back to their room together. However, he didn¡¯t rush to sleep; after all, with everyone¡¯s strength increasing, he needed to upgrade as well! There were many zombies inside and outside the military base, and, along with the zombies killed on the road earlier and the Crystal Cores provided by He Jijun and Luo Guozhong, Wang Tao had now amassed a large batch of Crystal Cores. Among these Crystal Cores, many were usable by him. Of Wang Tao¡¯s four Abilities, only [Berserk Enhancement] was at +10, while the remaining three were all at +1. This was because Wang Tao was saving them for Ability Fusion instead of upgrading. But now, he could synthetize his Yin and Yang Balance! Yin and Yang Balance was a Spirit-related Ability. Wang Tao had previously merged a Perception with it, and now he could merge two other Abilities. Wang Tao chose [Mental Shock] and [Mental Defense]. [Mental Shock: Consumes energy to transform one¡¯s spiritual energy into several colorless and intangible needles that are shot out. If there are obstacles in the way, the power will decrease.] [Mental Defense: Passive Ability, increases Mental Defense.] He had acquired these two Crystal Cores back in Zijing City, but had not been able to gather three for fusion until now. Wang Tao immediately synthesized them into two Epic Crystal Cores. Wang Tao first extracted [Integration], then merged it with a [Mental Shock], which had a 91% success rate of fusing with Yin and Yang Balance. Slightly low, but not a big issue. The fusion with Mental Shock Ability and Yin and Yang Balance was successful without a hitch. Then Wang Tao merged a [Mental Defense], which had a high success rate of 98% with Yin and Yang Balance. As expected, this Ability also successfully fused. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s Yin and Yang Balance Ability had reached its fusion limit, and a new Ability emerged! [Level 3 Ability¡¤Yin Yang Harmony: Can sense the surroundings, can slightly influence the spirit of living beings, can destabilize the spirit of living beings, can launch Mental Shock, can increase Mental Defense, can open a barrier that blocks mental attacks, and during sexual intercourse with the opposite gender, both parties¡¯ Mana replenishes rapidly, and the user permanently increases a certain amount of Mana. There is a cooldown for the permanent Mana increase, with the cooldown being random. (Side effects: None)] The name remained the same, but the attributes had increased greatly! "Not bad!" Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction, now this Ability could also be upgraded to +10. But there was no rush; Wang Tao looked at his Iron Wall Ability next. This was a sustained Ability, providing Wang Tao with various states. Comparing it to a game, it was akin to a buff Skill. Right now, Wang Tao had just the right kind of Crystal Core in his hand. [Physique Enhancement: During the duration, overall physical constitution is greatly improved.] The first Physique Enhancement Crystal Core Wang Tao obtained was from a Ghost Claw Zombie, the second one from a Zombie Dog, and the third one from the Crystal Cores left by Luo Guozhong. He had just enough to synthesize an Epic Crystal Core. After fusing this Crystal Core, it showed that it had a 94% probability of successfully synthesizing with Iron Wall. With those odds, he went straight to fusion. Moments later, the fusion was successful. The name of the Iron Wall Ability didn¡¯t change, but now there was an introduction to the Physique Enhancement on the description. The Iron Wall could be merged two more times, and Wang Tao already had a target in mind: the Crystal Core [Extreme Speed] dropped by the Zombie Dogs. However, he currently only had one of those Crystal Cores and would need to accumulate them for some time. As for the last Crystal Core to be fused... Wang Tao suddenly thought of Precision Shooting. He was very fond of the Precision Shooting Ability, but alas, the success rate of fusing Precision Shooting with other Abilities was not high. Therefore, Wang Tao had not fused it until now. But now that he had amassed a number of Precise shooting abilities, perhaps it was worth a gamble? After all, he could place Precision Shooting in the Secondary Ability slot, and even if the fusion failed, at most, he¡¯d lose one Precision Shooting Ability, which he could afford to lose. With this thought, Wang Tao immediately merged the previously extracted Precise shooting crystal core again, but since it was Level Two, he used an Ascension Crystal Core to upgrade it to Level 3. Then Wang Tao checked the success rate of Precision Shooting fusing with other Abilities. [Precision Shooting + Iron Wall = 35%] [Precision Shooting + Yin Yang Harmony = 7%] With Ability Mastery already extracted and Berserk Enhancement having reached its fusion limit, the choice was between Iron Wall and Yin Yang Harmony, and without even having to think, he could only synthesize with Iron Wall. Wang Tao placed Iron Wall in the primary slot and Precision Shooting in the secondary slot, and then merged! A rainbow light flashed by... the fusion failed, and the Precision Shooting Ability disappeared. "..." Although Wang Tao was prepared for this possibility, as this was his first fusion failure, the loss of thirty thousand Special Energy and a Precision Shooting Ability still stung a little bit. But it was not a major issue; he continued with the fusion! The second attempt, failed... The third attempt, failed... ... The sixth attempt... if this one failed too, he wouldn¡¯t have enough Precision Shooting Crystal Cores left. Chapter 605 - 252 Method of Ascension_3 Fortunately, this time it finally worked! [Level 3 Ability ¡¤ Iron Wall] [Iron Wall: During its duration, it can enhance defense, speed, spirit, constitution, shooting, and slowly recover from certain injuries (Side-effect: None)] If I could get two more Extreme Speed Crystal Cores, then Iron Wall could be synthesized to the upper limit of Level 3! That is to say, Wang Tao now just lacks the Ability Mastery. This ability is an active attack Ability, and there is no suitable option for now. I¡¯ll have to pay more attention in the future... In the end, Wang Tao extracted Iron Wall and merged it with the Omnipotent Crystal Core. Only Berserk Enhancement and Yin and Yang Balance remained in his possession, with Berserk Enhancement already at +10; naturally, the Omnipotent Crystal Core was utilized on the Yin and Yang Balance. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Cores on hand. Once Yin and Yang Balance reached +10, his Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Cores were completely depleted. He now had two Level 3 Abilities at +10, getting one step closer to Level 4! After confirming that there was no suitable ability for the moment, Wang Tao turned his gaze to Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue had been quietly sitting beside Wang Tao, petting the dog. Sensing Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, she turned her head to look at him. "Little Xue, how can you level up..." Wang Tao ruffled her hair. "I don¡¯t know." Jiang Shixue shook her head. "I had a vague guess before, but after seeing the battle log of the military base, I feel that this guess... might actually be possible..." Wang Tao suddenly said. Jiang Shixue looked at him with some confusion. Wang Tao continued: "Your body is like a zombie¡¯s, Little Xue, and zombies usually evolve through one of two methods: time or cannibalism! For the time method, you¡¯ve been this way for so long and still show no signs of Ascension. So I think..." Listening to Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Jiang Shixue understood and immediately shook her head. "Brother, I don¡¯t have the desire to eat people, and I don¡¯t want to..." If she ate people, then she would be no different from the zombies. She didn¡¯t want to become a zombie! "Silly girl, what are you thinking about! Of course, I wouldn¡¯t let you eat people!" Wang Tao tapped Jiang Shixue¡¯s head and then continued. "But I think, maybe you can drink some blood..." "Ah?" Jiang Shixue was somewhat startled. "Wanna try? I¡¯ll let some blood out for you!" Wang Tao seemed eager to try. He felt that his guess might be correct! If Jiang Shixue¡¯s body was similar to that of a zombie, it was highly likely that she would evolve just like zombies do! "Brother, that doesn¡¯t seem very good, you will be in pain..." Jiang Shixue¡¯s face wrinkled with concern. "Haha, don¡¯t worry, I have the Self-healing Ability, it¡¯s not a big deal! Wait up!" Wang Tao took action immediately. He first took out a bottle of nutrient solution, poured the nutrients out for Lightning, and kept the empty bottle. Then he took out a Surgical Knife. Everything he withdrew from the Space Backpack was sterile, so there was no need for disinfection. Then, with the Surgical Knife in hand, Wang Tao lightly slashed his own wrist. Pfft~ A drop of blood fell into the nutrient solution bottle, followed by more blood flowing out. Wang Tao didn¡¯t really feel the pain; after all, the Surgical Knife was very sharp, and he wasn¡¯t afraid of pain. "Brother..." Jiang Shixue was somewhat at a loss seeing Wang Tao act so decisively. Lightning cocked its head, looking at its master, not understanding what he was doing. Soon, the small bottle was filled with Wang Tao¡¯s blood. He immediately used a medical kit to stop his bleeding and activated Iron Wall Ability to regenerate his blood. After confirming there were no issues with the wound, Wang Tao handed the small still-warm bottle of blood to Jiang Shixue. "Little Xue, come and give it a try!" Wang Tao significantly needed Jiang Shixue¡¯s Combat Power, but she was still at Level Two, and there was vast potential for improvement. If it really didn¡¯t work, then so be it. But given the opportunity, Wang Tao certainly wanted to try. "...I¡¯ll try." Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao with some heartache, not very sure whether it would work, but since it was Wang Tao¡¯s kindness, she certainly didn¡¯t want to waste it. She took the small bottle, feeling the warmth of the blood, and emptied it in one gulp. Gulp~ Jiang Shixue licked her lips. "Brother¡¯s blood is sweet..." "..." Hearing this, Wang Tao was at a loss for words. Isn¡¯t blood supposed to be salty? He didn¡¯t have diabetes! Or was it Jiang Shixue¡¯s psychological effect? While Wang Tao was thinking this, Jiang Shixue suddenly said: "Brother! I feel like... I can really Ascend now!" "Haha, really!" Wang Tao burst into happiness. This was a sudden inspiration after seeing the military base¡¯s log. He just thought there was a possibility, and didn¡¯t expect it to definitely work. After all, trying it would mean at most losing a bit of blood. But unexpectedly, it really worked! "Brother, I¡¯m going to sleep..." Jiang Shixue suddenly leaned onto Wang Tao and then closed her eyes. Wang Tao quickly held her, relieved when he confirmed that she had just fallen asleep. "She should be normally Ascending..." "But on second thought, if just my blood can let Little Xue Ascend, then the conditions are too simple! No Ascension Crystal Core is needed, not even any other Crystal Cores! Does that mean there¡¯s no limit to Little Xue¡¯s future Ascensions?" Wang Tao was a little excited but quickly shook his head. He knew the world wouldn¡¯t allow him to "exploit bugs." Jiang Shixue definitely couldn¡¯t simply Ascend by using a vial of blood. There must be some reason he didn¡¯t know about... For example, if all her conditions were met, and she only needed something like an Ascension Crystal Core "key", and human blood was that key? "Let¡¯s wait and see when Little Xue wakes up..." Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue, placing her on the bed. Then he looked down at Lightning at his feet. "Should I try giving it some of my blood too?" Wang Tao thought about it but decided against it. Lightning¡¯s body had no impurities and was completely different from that of zombies; they likely wouldn¡¯t evolve the same way. Chapter 606 - 253: Restoring Memory_1 Jiang Shixue woke up earlier than Wang Tao had anticipated. Just as Wang Tao woke up, he saw Jiang Shixue, who was lying beside him, open her eyes; she was staring blankly at the ceiling. "Eh? You¡¯re awake? How do you feel?" Wang was somewhat surprised. Because Jiang Shixue¡¯s attributes weren¡¯t quite what he had expected. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 60000/60000] [Grade: Level 3 - Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Hidden Attributes: Eyes of Contract, Dark Sharp Claws] Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP had reached thirty thousand, and her Mana had doubled to sixty thousand, but most importantly, her Internal Impurity had decreased by half! Advancement in zombies would not reduce Internal Impurity. Doesn¡¯t that mean that even though Jiang Shixue¡¯s physique is very close to that of a zombie, there¡¯s still a big difference, and she¡¯s more akin to human! This was a great development! Wang Tao had been concerned that Jiang Shixue might carry the zombie virus. Now it seems that she likely does not. After all, 50% Internal Impurity isn¡¯t much different from many Ability Users. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Jiang Shixue turned her head to look at him and then suddenly hugged him tightly. "What¡¯s wrong?" Wang Tao was a bit puzzled as he rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s head. "I... I think I had a dream..." Jiang Shixue buried her head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest and spoke in a muffled voice. "A dream?" Wang Tao paused before suddenly exclaiming, "Did you recover your memory?" "Mhm..." Jiang Shixue hummed softly. Wang Tao quickly let go of Jiang Shixue, then looked at her seriously. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t look much different from before, except... her cheeks were very red. Jiang Shixue never used to blush. "Haha, that¡¯s fantastic!" Wang Tao, overjoyed, rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair, causing her face to turn even redder. It was then that Wang Tao realized that he had always treated Jiang Shixue like a child, and because she liked being with him, they had become quite close. Now that Jiang Shixue had recovered her memory, and being a young lady, it might not be appropriate for Wang Tao to be so intimate with her anymore. Wang Tao immediately withdrew his hand. "Ahem, well..." Before Wang Tao could speak, Jiang Shixue suddenly grabbed his hand. Her face was still a bit red, but her expression was very serious. "I, I remember everything now. Thank you... Brother!" Seeing that Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t become distant after regaining her memory, Wang Tao was happy. "We¡¯re family, no need for thanks!" At that moment, Jiang Shixue nervously said: "My mom, is she alright...?" "She should be fine..." Wang Tao sat on the bed with Jiang Shixue, and they talked about past events. "Before this..." After Jiang Shixue explained, Wang Tao roughly understood her previous situation. When the apocalypse struck, Jiang Shixue was on Shuizhe Mountain, participating in a sketching activity organized by her school. Naturally, when the virus broke out, Shuizhe Mountain was not spared. Fortunately, there were police officers with them who led their escape, helping them to avoid the first wave of crises. It was then that she called her mother, saying she would come back to find her. With police officers leading them, she felt they could avoid the danger. But that was just escaping the initial crisis; many more followed... and eventually, their group got separated. Jiang Shixue, who had a brave character and had found some zombies¡¯ heads, was stronger than the others, so she struggled to survive for a while. But then zombies became more and more numerous and stronger, and she was on the brink of death. Barely escaping from many zombies, she ended up trapped and surrounded by them. Although temporarily safe from being eaten by zombies, she ran out of food. Her options were to be eaten by zombies or starve to death. Unwilling to give up, Jiang Shixue searched carefully where she hid. She then found some food and something that looked like food¡ªshe couldn¡¯t remember what exactly because after eating it, her consciousness blurred, and she emitted the same scent as the zombies. Then... The zombies stopped biting her! Her memory of the time that followed was hazy. She only remembered wanting to go back to find her mother... Afterward, her memory became relatively clear, as she made it to Shuize Base, saw her mother, and met Wang Tao, though she was infuriated by him. Jiang Shixue admitted that when Wang Tao used her mother to threaten her, she wanted to kill him¡ªback then, she didn¡¯t think much and was very irritable, with just a bit of reason left, or she might have really fought with Wang Tao. When they were fighting the Black Mist Monster, although she didn¡¯t fall into an illusion, she was still affected positively¡ªit made her slightly calmer. Calmer, she knew there was no saving her, she would turn into a zombie sooner or later. And only Wang Tao could save her mother, so in the end, she told Wang Tao to go first and she would cover him. But in the end, she didn¡¯t die; instead, Wang Tao saved her. Her memory after being revived by Wang Tao was very clear, including the instance she woke up and called Wang Tao "Daddy." Corrected by Wang Tao, she then followed him around calling him "Brother," even seeing him with Lan Yulian and the others... Recalling these events, Jiang Shixue wished she could disappear into a crack in the ground. Chapter 607 - 253: Restoring Memory_2 But it was these clear memories that told her Wang Tao had always been good to her! What moved her the most was that after she lost her memory, Wang Tao never deceived her! For example, regarding her family situation, her mother, and some events that happened before, Wang Tao had told her everything. She had some confidence in her own appearance. If someone else had found her with amnesia, they would likely have deceived her in various ways¡ªthis was something she had encountered while fleeing for her life on Shuizhe Mountain, but fortunately, she had seen through it. But Wang Tao hadn¡¯t lied to her. So calling Wang Tao "brother" was something she did willingly. However, every time she remembered how much she liked holding Wang Tao¡¯s hand and sneaking into his bed to sleep together at night, Jiang Shixue would feel very shy. She didn¡¯t understand why she was so clingy... Wang Tao, on the other hand, got an important message from her words. "Do you mean to say you haven¡¯t fused with a Crystal Core?" "No..." Jiang Shixue shook her head. "Which means, that thing you accidentally swallowed before increased your strength a lot, letting your level rise¡ªyour Hidden Ability must have been obtained this way too. But the price was having 100% Internal Impurity, and you would soon turn into a zombie..." Wang Tao analyzed. It sounded somewhat magical, the fact that you could increase your strength without a Crystal Core! But in this apocalyptic world, many strange and bizarre things had surfaced, so there was no need for surprise. And this thing had too big of a side effect, much more than the Crystal Core! Of course, that was what he said, but Wang Tao was very curious about the thing Jiang Shixue had eaten. It felt a little like Night Vision Eyes, Magic Seeds, and other such items, but stronger than both eyes and seeds. He would have to pay more attention and see if there were similar things in the future. Also, was Lightning¡¯s Ascension related to this thing, perhaps? Wang Tao also told Jiang Shixue about her mother, Li Qiuyu. Wang Tao had interacted with Li Qiuyu quite a bit previously, and he had a fairly good impression of this woman. Seeing Jiang Shixue still a bit worried, Wang Tao patted her shoulder and said: "Don¡¯t worry, your mother and everyone else will be fine." "Okay!" Jiang Shixue nodded firmly. "Right, try and see if you can fuse with a Crystal Core now!" Wang Tao took out several orange Level 3 Crystal Cores. Jiang Shixue tried, but still could not fuse. Wang Tao was somewhat helpless for a moment. Jiang Shixue was already so strong without having fused with a Crystal Core; if she could fuse, she would certainly be even stronger. Such a pity. "But it¡¯s alright, the fact that you can recover your memory is already great!" Wang Tao said, smiling. Jiang Shixue was not weak in strength, and now after ascending to Level 3, she would be even stronger, so not being able to fuse with a Crystal Core was not a problem. Moreover, Jiang Shixue also had two Hidden Abilities and very strong physical fitness. She could probably outmatch most Ability Users. "Shall we go outside and test how much your strength has improved?" Wang Tao asked, looking at Jiang Shixue. "Sure!" The two quickly washed up, then left with Lightning. On coming out, Jiang Shixue subconsciously placed her hand in Wang Tao¡¯s, but then she quickly pulled it back as if she had received an electric shock. Wang Tao, seeing this, took the initiative to grasp Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand. After all, holding that soft and delicate little hand was very comfortable. "..." Jiang Shixue¡¯s face turned red as she followed beside Wang Tao. It was still raining outside, but the military base had an indoor training facility. After some tests, Wang Tao felt that Jiang Shixue¡¯s strength had improved a lot. As for her Combat Power, it was hard to say, as that required actual combat to know. But her physical fitness at least had tripled! And it wasn¡¯t just the increase in strength that mattered; what was more important was that Jiang Shixue had become smarter and more flexible after recovering her memory. After all, she was kind of dull before. "Next, you should hunt some more zombies to enhance your strength a bit. Then we¡¯ll have more confidence in hunting Four-level zombies!" Wang Tao said with a smile. "Okay!" Jiang Shixue nodded. He Jijun hadn¡¯t woken up from his Level 3 Ascension, and Yang Changhong and the others were conserving their strength. Wang Tao planned to take Jiang Shixue alone to hunt these zombies. However, seeing that Lightning seemed eager to go as well, Wang Tao decided to bring Lightning along. The two humans and the dog left the military base. The zombies around the military base had been cleared out, so Wang Tao headed towards the urban area. They had not gone far from the military base when they encountered quite a few zombies, including several Level 3 Elite Zombies. Without Wang Tao having to lift a finger, Jiang Shixue easily dealt with all these zombies. Watching Jiang Shixue¡¯s HP bar quickly increase, Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. Jiang Shixue was strong in combat, Level 3 Elite Zombies couldn¡¯t even touch her, and it seemed only a Level 3 Lord Zombie could pose some threat to her. Their group traveled from the military base all the way to the vicinity of the urban area. "The urban area is just ahead..." Wang Tao stopped and didn¡¯t continue forward. Even though he hadn¡¯t seen the Giant Zombie, he had no plans to enter the urban area now, as they had not yet gathered all their people. "There are so many zombies inside..." Jiang Shixue frowned. The streets and the buildings were visibly filled with zombies! Wang Tao took a rough look and didn¡¯t notice any Four-level zombies for the time being, but he did see a lot of Level 3 Elite Zombies. "The overall strength of the zombies in Wuyang City urban area is much higher than other places. Even without Four-level zombies, just these Level 3 and below zombies are troublesome enough. I guess there really are no survivors inside..." Chapter 608 - 253: Restoring Memory_3 Wang Tao shook his head. He had heard before that there were no survivors left in Wuyang City, which seemed a bit of an exaggeration. But now it seemed not at all exaggerated... Wang Tao, with Jiang Shixue and Lightning, roamed around the vicinity, killing many more zombies. Looking at the numerous zombies in the urban area, Wang Tao had the idea to lure some of them out, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. He wasn¡¯t sure about the specific strengths of these zombies; if their Perception was too keen, it could attract a horde, and that would be troublesome. After all, there were too many zombies in the urban area... Only when there were no more zombies nearby to kill did Wang Tao take Jiang Shixue and Lightning back. By this time, it had already turned dark, but they all had Night Vision Ability, which was not a problem. "Hmm?" When they got back to the military base, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. He spotted a Level 3, Lord Zombie in tattered military uniform wandering outside the base with a handgun in hand! And behind it, there were also a number of Elite Zombies dressed in tattered military uniforms, holding rifles! [HP: 80000/80000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 3 - Lord] As a Level 3, Lord Zombie, its power shouldn¡¯t be weak, but for Wang Tao, it was naturally not a problem. However, Wang Tao was still somewhat wary upon seeing these zombies with guns. It wasn¡¯t just the power of the guns that concerned him but also the noise. If so many zombies fired at once, even the sound of heavy rain wouldn¡¯t prevent the noise from traveling far. Of course, this was assuming the zombies¡¯ guns still worked. Wang Tao contacted Yang Changhong and the others via walkie-talkie. "A group of military zombies has arrived outside the base, with a Level 3, Lord among them. Don¡¯t come out..." They all lacked Night Vision Ability, which was a disadvantage in this environment. "Roger that!" At this moment, He Jijun had just woken up, successfully undergoing his Level 3 Ascension. Wang Tao congratulated him, then instructed everyone to be prepared for a possible zombie attack. He then took Jiang Shixue and Lightning and stealthily circled to the rear of the group of zombies. "It seems their guns are not usable..." Upon closer inspection, Wang Tao saw that the weapons in the zombies¡¯ hands were mostly rust-covered. In such a state, the guns likely wouldn¡¯t work even if they had bullets. This was good news, and Wang Tao decided to take direct action. However, he couldn¡¯t be careless and decided to run a test first. The last thing Wang Tao wanted was to be hit by a bullet. Wang Tao pulled out his Hand crossbow and aimed at the Level 3, Lord Zombie in military apparel before pulling the trigger. Whoosh¡ª A Crossbow Arrow struck the military zombie lord in the back of the head with precision. [-2242] This damage was average for Wang Tao. However, it successfully caught the attention of the military zombie lord. It immediately turned to look in Wang Tao¡¯s direction, but he had already hidden. Wang Tao was using Perception to observe and, with the decent distance, rain, and night time, the zombie couldn¡¯t locate Wang Tao¡¯s exact position. So, the military zombie lord turned its head back around and continued lingering near the gates of the military base. It seemed intent on entering, but Wang Tao had already re-blocked the gate, making it impossible for it to get through. Whoosh¡ª Another arrow flew through the air. It hit the military zombie lord in the head with accuracy. "Roar¡ª" The military zombie lord turned around and roared angrily. But still, it saw nothing. After a moment, the military zombie lord turned its attention back to the gate. "Huh?" Wang Tao felt it unusual from a distance¡ªwasn¡¯t it coming after him? Perhaps the zombie had some sort of obsession? It seemed that this group of zombies likely belonged to the military base, and coming back here might have been their obsession... But no matter what, they were ultimately zombies without consciousness, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t let them remain. Wang Tao shot another arrow. Again, the arrow hit the military zombie lord with precision. And this time, the military zombie lord seemed thoroughly enraged. It immediately started walking toward Wang Tao¡¯s direction and raised the rust-covered handgun it was holding. Bang! A faint sound was heard. An almost imperceptible shockwave could be seen emanating from the rusted gun¡¯s barrel, hitting a large rock not far from Wang Tao in an instant. Pfft! The large rock was pierced through! "Damn! They have such an ability!" Wang Tao was at least several dozens of meters away from these zombies¡ªthey could shoot this far? Their guns were presumably broken, but the zombies had a gun-like Ability! Moreover, the attack range was very long, probably at least a hundred meters! Yet Wang Tao was not alarmed but rather pleased. He was in need of attacking Abilities like this! "These zombies have an Ability similar to shooting guns, and the attack range is very long. Be careful, Little Xue!" Wang Tao admonished before immediately covering himself with Entangling Roots. The military zombie lord with the handgun proceeded toward Wang Tao¡¯s location. The other military elite zombies followed suit. Bang! Bang! The military zombie lord occasionally raised its handgun and shot. Its elite minions also had this ability! They raised their weapons toward Wang Tao¡¯s direction and fired. Although their attack frequency was slow, the simultaneous attack of so many zombies felt like a barrage of gunfire. Wang Tao didn¡¯t emerge; he silently waited for the opportunity. When he saw the zombies were roughly thirty meters away from him, Wang Tao immediately turned on the walkie-talkie and said to Yang Changhong and the others: "Make a little noise to distract it." On the other side, Yang Changhong and the others inside the base got the message and caused some noise. The noise was not loud, but it instantly drew the attention of the military zombies, including the military zombie lord. They promptly abandoned their search for Wang Tao, the sneak attacker, and turned back toward the military base. But as they turned around, Wang Tao, who had long been ready, gripped his Bone Knife and immediately launched a Rush at their backs! Chapter 609 - 254: Sense of Security_1 ``` Woosh¡ª The thirty-meter distance was covered instantly as Wang Tao rushed forward. He lifted his ghastly white Bone Knife and slashed at the Military Lord Zombie. [-7269] A single strike causing seven thousand damage. Wang Tao was fairly satisfied. "Roar¡ª" The ambushed Military Lord Zombie roared and then turned around to lift its pistol. Bang! Wang Tao immediately dodged to the side, avoiding the shot. But other military zombies wielding guns instantly turned their heads and began firing at Wang Tao. Bang! Bang! Bang! Though the ability wasn¡¯t exactly bullets, their speed was nearly the same; Wang Tao dodged the Military Lord Zombie¡¯s attack but couldn¡¯t avoid the others. [-2384] [-883] [-2273] [-2455] [110000/110000(92005/100000)] Wang Tao was hit by four shots in an instant! However, the damage was absorbed by the Entangling Roots. "Such quick reflexes!" Compared to the damage of a few thousand, what surprised Wang Tao the most was their reaction speed! Typically, zombies have rather sluggish responses. Those with quick reflexes are exceptions. But today, this group of zombies were all quick to react! If it weren¡¯t for their quick reflexes, Wang Tao would have definitely been able to dodge the attacks. At this moment, Jiang Shixue appeared. Her slender hands, with sharp nails, reached straight for the Zombie Lord¡¯s face. [-4029] The Military Lord Zombie immediately fired a shot at Jiang Shixue, which she easily dodged. The other Elite Zombies were also ready to fire again, but Wang Tao swung his knife, releasing a transparent Shockwave that instantly knocked down the other zombies. Bang! Their attacks all missed. "Woof!" Lightning rushed over from somewhere, leapt high, and bit at the Zombie Lord¡¯s face. [-2345] Lightning¡¯s attack was a bit weak, but it was fast enough to bite and run, disappearing into the darkness without being hit. The Military Lord Zombie seemed thoroughly enraged after being attacked so many times in quick succession. It opened its mouth wide and let out an angry roar. "Roar¡ª" Wang Tao instantly felt dizzy and even lost some HP. "War Cry?" Wang Tao felt it was similar to the ability of the Gorilla zombie he had encountered before. However, this was not a big problem for Wang Tao, as those with stronger spirits are less likely to be affected by such attacks. Jiang Shixue¡¯s spiritual power was also strong, so aside from losing a bit of HP, there were no other issues. The only one likely affected was Lightning, but since it had already hidden away, even dizziness wouldn¡¯t be much trouble. "Little Xue, hold it off, I¡¯ll deal with the rest of the zombies!" "Okay!" Wang Tao brandished his Bone Knife, unleashing Shockwave attacks at the remaining zombies. The biggest threat among this group was not the Military Lord Zombie but the Elite Zombies it was leading! After all, the Military Lord Zombie had only one gun, and there was a pause between each attack, which Wang Tao could dodge as long as he stayed focused. But there were more than twenty guns with the Elite Zombies. If they fired at the same time, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t avoid them. So Wang Tao prepared to eliminate these Elite Zombies first. Although they each had tens of thousands of HP, their Defense was much weaker compared to the Lord Zombie. As Wang Tao furiously utilized the Shockwave, they were quickly dealt with. And by now, the Zombie Lord had only two-thirds of its HP left, thanks to Jiang Shixue¡¯s attacks. "I¡¯m coming!" Without the help of the Elite Zombies, Jiang Shixue had an easier time, and with Wang Tao¡¯s arrival, they quickly suppressed the Military Lord Zombie. "Roar!" The Military Lord Zombie let out another angry roar, but it only slightly affected Wang Tao for a second. After snapping back to his senses, Wang Tao continued to pressure the zombie. The strongest attack of the Lord Zombie was the gun-like shooting ability, but it had a long interval between each shot, and each time it had to lift its arm. And every time it lifted its arm, Wang Tao would either interrupt or dodge, never allowing it to hit him. Without the aid of the other zombies, this ability posed little threat to Wang Tao. Soon, the Military Lord Zombie was left with only a sliver of HP. Wang Tao raised his Bone Knife and slashed at its head. Ptui! [-2348] [0/80000] The Military Lord Zombie¡¯s Blood Bar dropped to zero. A pile of loot exploded out, and its rusty pistol also fell to the ground. "Lightning!" Wang Tao called out and Lightning immediately scampered over from the darkness, wagging its tail. Wang Tao stroked its head and, seeing that it was alright, began to clean up the battlefield. After spending some time, Wang Tao collected all the loot from the zombies and then returned to base. "Wang Tao, are you guys alright?" Yang Changhong and others immediately came over. "We¡¯re fine." Wang Tao briefly described the appearance of the group of zombies to them. He Jijun let out a sigh. "They must have been a squad from this base, probably out on some mission, but... alas!" Wang Tao shook his head and then started to inventory the loot. Counting the Military Lord Zombie, there were a total of 21 zombies. Just the Crystal Cores from their heads summed up to 21. And surprisingly, all these Crystal Cores were of the same kind! [Level 3 Crystal Core¡¤Air Bullet] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body stiffness)] [Air Bullet: With the help of a firing medium, air bullets can be shot, with a certain interval between each launch] No wonder they all attacked with rusty guns¡ªthe ¡¯Air Bullet¡¯ ability required a medium! ``` Chapter 610 - 254: Sense of Security_2 This ability is quite interesting, its speed is very fast, almost on par with real bullets, making it absolutely unpredictable during a silent attack. In a head-on battle, though, sharpshooting is necessary, as this attack has intervals and cannot be continuously fired like an automatic rifle. If the shooting is inaccurate, then the ability is wasted. However, Wang Tao felt the most suitable scenario would be a group of people who had learned this ability opening fire at the same time. Just like the military elite zombies that had attacked him simultaneously, even with Wang Tao¡¯s speed, he couldn¡¯t completely dodge their assault. Therefore, this was an ability with both very high upper and lower limits! After Wang Tao had shared the capabilities of these crystal cores with everyone, their eyes all lit up. Not to mention anything else about this ability, but its attack range was truly far! According to Wang Tao, at least a hundred meters would not be a problem. It was unclear just how much farther it could go, but even if it were just a hundred meters, that would still be very strong. Apart from Precision Shooting and other status-type abilities, they had never seen an attack type ability that could strike from over a hundred meters away. Especially He Jijun, his eyes were shining. "Old He, are you thinking of fusing with this one?" "Of course! Not only does this ability hit far, but more importantly, it¡¯s virtually silent!" He Jijun didn¡¯t hide his thoughts. What caught his interest was this silent ability! Whenever guns are used, even with a silencer, they make quite a bit of noise. Only by using a silencer with subsonic ammunition does the sound become somewhat quieter. But subsonic ammunition is rare and not easy to come by. This military base didn¡¯t even have any; who knows if it was all used up. Additionally, the power of subsonic ammunition was not as great as supersonic ammunition, which He Jijun didn¡¯t particularly like to use. But this ability was different, Wang Tao said that its power should be greater than that of ordinary supersonic ammunition! Yet, the sound was extremely quiet! The only drawback of Air Bullet might be the intervals between attacks. But this wasn¡¯t a problem for He Jijun. After all, he didn¡¯t have a high rate of attack; he pursued precision rather than speed. Therefore, this ability suited him perfectly! Regrettably, he had already fused with four crystal cores and couldn¡¯t fuse any more. Seeing this, Wang Tao said with a smile, "Old He, no need to be sad. Since there are Level 2 Glass Crystal Nuclei, there should also be Level 3 ones. When the time comes, we¡¯ll get a Level 3 Exraction Crystal Core to let you switch abilities, right?" These words lifted He Jijun¡¯s spirits. "Then I¡¯ll leave it to you! If I could possess this ability, my strength would definitely double!" This was a conservative estimate from He Jijun. "No problem!" Wang Tao nodded with a smile. There were a total of 21 Air Bullet crystal cores, and by synthesizing three together, he could make seven. Wang Tao put them in the Space Backpack and immediately started synthesizing them. He Jijun and the others couldn¡¯t fuse with this crystal core, but Wang Tao could! His Ability Mastery had not yet fused with a Level 3 ability, and he was looking for an attack type ability; wasn¡¯t this it? However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a rush to fuse, continuing to check the other loot. The Zombie Lord had added 21,600 Special Energy to him while the other zombies, being Level 3 Elites, hadn¡¯t added any. However, their guns and the bullets on them all dropped and, having names, were gathered into the Space Backpack by Wang Tao. It was quite interesting that their guns and bullets had all been rusty, but once Wang Tao put them in the Space Backpack, they instantly became new. It was as if Wang Tao had picked up 20 brand-new rifles, 1 pistol, and over a thousand bullets. These guns were actually not much different from those in the base, but since they could be stored in the Space Backpack, they were still pretty good, convenient for Wang Tao to carry. Then came the Loot Packs. Each of the 20 Level 3 military elite zombies exploded with two Loot Packs¡ªgenerally, when Wang Tao killed without overleveling, each would result in one Loot Pack, occasionally two. Overlevel kills always yielded three or more. All 20 zombies exploded with two Loot Packs each, which meant Wang Tao was quite lucky. But Wang Tao was somewhat speechless when he saw the contents of these packs. Turns out, in those two packs, one of them contained clothes. [Received: Combat Suit x20] [Combat Suit: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10] There were 20 sets of Combat Suits, which made Wang Tao a bit speechless. Though the Combat Suits looked quite stylish and were also quite practical, he could still wear his own hoodie, and he had another set of Combat Suits. And for Yang Changhong and the rest, they were all wearing Iron Tree Armors, so this Combat Suit wasn¡¯t a dire need for them. But these clothes that were obtained from loot, all had the attribute of tear resistance. This attribute was very good as it could prevent the embarrassment of clothes tearing during combat¡ªnot just embarrassment, since zombies were covered in viruses, torn clothes made it easier to get infected. So, though Wang Tao was somewhat at a loss, he still took all the clothes. As for the other Loot Packs that elite zombies exploded with, they contained items like Precise Shooting Crystal Cores, Eyesight Potions, and the like. Given he hadn¡¯t killed above his level, there were fewer Loot Packs, but it was still quite good. The focus was on the Loot Packs from the military Lord Zombie, a total of four. The first was a Crystal Core Gift Bag containing five crystal cores. They were Red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Ascension], Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core - Battle Roar], White [Level 3 Crystal Core - Extreme Speed], and Orange [Level 3 Crystal Core - Mental Enhancement]. Chapter 611 - 254: Sense of Security_3 These were all abilities that Wang Tao had seen before. Among them, this Extreme Speed Ability made for a total of two now, just one more, and he could synthesize it with Iron Wall! The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Acquired: Eyesight Potion (Small) x10] [Acquired: Attack Speed Potion (Small) x10] [Acquired: Mental Potion (Small) x10] The potions were also pretty good, it was just a shame there were none to increase Permanent Attributes. The third Loot Pack... also had clothes, but this time there were two sets. [Acquired: Combat Suit x1] [Acquired: Work Uniform (Army) x1] [Combat Suit: Durability +10, Anti-Tear +10] [Work Uniform (Army): Durability +10, Anti-Tear +10] One was a Combat Suit, the other was an everyday uniform. Honestly, the two sets were pretty stylish, especially the Work Uniform for everyday wear. However, he didn¡¯t need them for now, maybe he would wear them sometime in the future. The last Loot Pack contained a Blueprint. [Acquired: Air Bullet Rifle Blueprint x1] [Air Bullet Rifle Blueprint: Can be used to craft a rifle that shoots Air Bullets, required materials: Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Random Rifle x1, Blade x10, Steel Wire x10, Screw x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10] Air Bullet Rifle? Does that mean that the rifle crafted from this would work like the Air Bullet Ability? Wang Tao had all these materials and after a trip to the bathroom, he managed to craft the gun. Seeing Wang Tao coming over with a peculiar looking firearm aroused some curiosity in the others, but they didn¡¯t ask too much. After all, they were used to Wang Tao occasionally producing some novel items. "This is a gun that can shoot Air Bullets, something that the Zombie Lord dropped," Wang Tao said casually before turning to look at the gray rifle. This rifle looked nothing like ordinary guns; it resembled the toy water guns he played with as a child. Wang Tao stepped outside to test it and found that it indeed could shoot Air Bullets, similar to the sensation the zombies gave him, more powerful than ordinary firearms, and without much noise. But there was one problem: the reloading was too slow! To be precise, it didn¡¯t need bullets, but it required charging. The gun had a charging device inside; only after it was fully charged could it shoot. And each charge took a whopping thirty seconds! That meant it could only shoot twice a minute! If it was for a sneak attack or a long-distance snipe, it should be viable. But for direct combat, definitely not. Wang Tao handed the gun to He Jijun and explained its functions. "Old He, before you can fuse the Air Bullet Ability, why don¡¯t you make do with this gun?" If the gun¡¯s charging speed was a bit faster, Wang Tao might use it, but the speed was just too slow! Just to put it in perspective, Wang Tao could shoot an arrow every second with his hand crossbow, whereas the Air Bullet gun took thirty seconds for a single shot. Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s battles were generally very swift. Like the Zombie Lord he killed today, it took less than a minute. With the gun¡¯s charging speed, it was questionable whether he could use it twice in a battle... "For me? Alright!" He Jijun¡¯s eyes lit up. He was quite interested in the gun, although the charging was slow, he could use it as a sniper rifle. Silent and deadly, it would certainly be amazing for sniping! He Jijun couldn¡¯t wait to try it out on the shooting range. Wang Tao said to the others, "I¡¯m going to rest now." He had been running around outside all day, with his spirit highly focused and using his Perception Ability extensively, so he was somewhat exhausted. "Okay." Yang Changhong had wanted to discuss life with Wang Tao that evening. After all, she had been quite tense lately and needed some relaxation. But seeing Wang Tao looking a bit weary, she held back and cursed herself silently for her lack of shame before hastily retreating to her own room. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about Jiang Shixue regaining her memory to anyone else, since they were unaware of Jiang Shixue¡¯s condition and her amnesia, there was no need for Wang Tao to tell them. Therefore, when they saw Jiang Shixue following Wang Tao back to his room, they weren¡¯t surprised, assuming in their minds that Wang Tao must have some intimate relationship with Jiang Shixue... And seeing Jiang Shixue, who was lowering her head and following him, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised slightly. He had arranged a room for Jiang Shixue and thought that after regaining her memory, she would go to her own room. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Jiang Shixue spoke with a blush on her face, "Ahem, I¡¯ve gotten used to this bed..." She indeed was used to it, not the bed per se, but being by Wang Tao¡¯s side. Every time Jiang Shixue remembered her befuddled memories after regaining her memory, she felt terrified. It was hard to understand without experiencing it oneself. In simple terms, it was the feeling of "watching herself slowly turn into a zombie, yet being unable to do anything about it." That feeling was too frightening, and though she was now safe, she still shuddered at the thought. But being by Wang Tao¡¯s side gave her a sense of security. After all, Wang Tao had saved her from being turned into a zombie and the two had depended on each other for so long... "Okay," Wang Tao ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. He could tell that Jiang Shixue seemed to be afraid. Certainly not afraid of the present, but perhaps she was recalling some upsetting memories. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t press further, knowing she would speak up when ready. Wang Tao took a shower, then vigorously petted Lightning. The dog¡¯s fur was so comfortable to touch that it was hard to stop once he started. After Jiang Shixue finished washing up, Wang Tao finally lay down on the bed. Jiang Shixue lay beside Wang Tao, holding one of his arms, breathing in his scent, and feeling extremely secure. Before long, she drifted off into a deep sleep. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a rush to fall asleep; instead, he extracted the Ability with Special Energy and fused the Air Bullet. "A 95% chance of successful fusion with Mastery Fusion for the Air Bullet? Just as I expected!" Chapter 612 - 255 Entering the Downtown Area_1 Without hesitation, Wang Tao immediately synthesized a new superpower. A moment later, the name of the mastery fusion remained unchanged, but it now had an additional ability. [Synthetization successful, obtained new superpower: Level 3 1st Rank¡¤Mastery Fusion] [Mastery Fusion: Consumes energy to use abilities such as Air Bullet, high-frequency vibration, Shockwave, Indirect Attack, Energize One Hit] Seeing the synthesized ability, Wang Tao smiled with satisfaction. He had intended to try it out tomorrow, but he couldn¡¯t wait. So, Wang Tao opened the window of his room and threw an empty bottle outside. At the same time, a handgun appeared in his hand. When using [Air Bullet], Wang Tao felt as if there was a surge of energy gathering in his hand, then transferring into the handgun. With the leverage of the gun barrel, it was fired instantly. Bang! A faint and transparent air wave shot out from the gun barrel, hitting the bottle in an instant. Pop! The bottle burst on impact. The air bullet flew a substantial distance, gradually dissipating after piercing through the bottle. By estimate, it covered at least three hundred meters, and the trajectory was as straight as that of a rifle¡¯s effective range. As for the reload interval, it was no longer as long as the thirty seconds of an air rifle, but it was still there for about ten seconds. "Feels pretty good!" Wang Tao put away the handgun. Turning around, he found that Jiang Shixue had woken up at some point, and Lightning had also lifted its head. Both human and dog were staring at Wang Tao with widened eyes. Wang Tao patted Lightning¡¯s head and then ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. "Let¡¯s sleep." ... The next day. When Wang Tao woke up, Jiang Shixue was already awake, watching him. As soon as she noticed Wang Tao¡¯s eyes open, she got out of bed somewhat embarrassedly. Wang Tao shrugged and went to freshen up. Lightning was already awake, too, but he hadn¡¯t disturbed Wang Tao and had been lying down obediently the whole time. Seeing Wang Tao approach, Lightning started wagging its tail excitedly. Wang Tao hugged him tightly, giving him a rough cuddle before they both headed out together. "This rain still hasn¡¯t stopped, huh..." Yang Changhong sighed at the sight of the heavy rain outside. Those with experience knew that rain in this apocalyptic world was a good thing, but if it kept raining incessantly, it definitely spelt trouble. And this rainfall had lasted for such a long time... "Who knows how much this rain will cause the zombies to evolve..." He Jijun shook his head helplessly. "But we can also take advantage of this heavy rain to sneak into the downtown area." Wang Tao was ready to head into the city today. He was close to Level 4 now, but he only had one Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core in his possession, left to him by Colonel Luo Guozhong. Clearly, that wasn¡¯t enough; he needed to get more ascension crystal cores. Also, he had to figure out how strong the Four-level zombies really were. He felt it was impossible for all of them to be as strong as the Giant Zombie; otherwise, it would be way too ridiculous... After a hearty breakfast, everyone began to gear up. Since the downtown was more dangerous, everyone had to wear Level 3 Iron Tree Armor, including Jiang Shixue. Although Jiang Shixue said she still couldn¡¯t be infected by the zombie virus, a protective ability granted by the mysterious object she had consumed, Wang Tao still had her put on the armor. "Wearing armor increases the defensive power, and it might save your life at a crucial moment. However, you can leave your hands exposed in your armor..." Wang Tao patted Jiang Shixue on the head. "Oh~" A moment later, everyone was fully armed. Even Dog Lightning had on its Wolf Dog Battle Armor. With everyone in armor, it wasn¡¯t easy to drive, so Wang Tao had to do it himself. He didn¡¯t start with his own car, though, but one of the military vehicles from the garage. This vehicle was robust in defense, powerful in drive, and spacious¡ªperfect for a few people. Hum, hum~ The camouflaged military vehicle drove out of the military base and headed towards the downtown area. Soon after leaving the base, they encountered a small group of zombies. Wang Tao furrowed his brows. They had just cleared out this area yesterday, and now there were so many zombies again? Xu Xiaojun got out of the car and handled these zombies with a few Shockwaves. The vehicle continued on its way. After some time, they arrived near the downtown area. The zombies on the road were becoming more numerous, suggesting that it might not be possible to drive in the city center. Thus, Wang Tao found a place to park the vehicle. "Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll go on foot." Wang Tao waved his hand, and the group headed into the Steel Forest amidst the pouring rain. After entering, they found there were more zombies than they had imagined. It wasn¡¯t just a matter of not being able to drive through; the streets were so choked with zombies that even walking was becoming impossible. "My God..." Upon seeing this, Nie Siyan instinctively covered her mouth. The street in front of them was jam-packed with zombies, looking almost like a bustling market! "Just as expected of Wuyang City... let¡¯s go, take another route!" Wang Tao, noticing there were no Level 3 or 4 zombies here, immediately signaled everyone to leave. His target was Level 4 zombies, and naturally, he could also hunt Level 3 zombies, but there was no need to go out of his way to hunt those below Level 3. They needed to conserve their energy for more appropriate targets. Because of the heavy rain, Wang Tao and his group did not attract the attention of the zombies when they left. The zombies just stood idly on the streets, as if basking in the rainfall. Many suspected that the corrosive acid rain might be beneficial to the zombies, so Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised to see them acting this way. With Wang Tao¡¯s Perception leading the way, they managed to successfully circle around to another street, despite the high number of zombies. Although this street was better and there were fewer zombies than on the first, it was still heavily infested. Chapter 613 - 255 Entering the Downtown Area_2 Wang Tao looked around and, after not finding any Level 3 zombies, once again changed the route. Soon, the group arrived at the third street. This street was comparatively better: it was wider and there were relatively fewer zombies on it. Most importantly, there were a few Level 3 Elite Zombies here. "This will do!" Wang Tao decided to enter the urban area from here. After the group made an appearance, they quickly drew the attention of some zombies. Though the heavy rain affected the zombies¡¯ perception, among so many of them, there were always a few with particularly sharp senses. It was normal to be spotted. "Attack!" Each member drew their weapons and charged towards the zombies. Aside from Lightning, everyone was now Level 3, and handling these Level 2 zombies was like picking off low-hanging fruit. In a moment, none of the zombies were left standing, including those Level 3 Elite Zombies, which Wang Tao easily disposed of. After collecting the spoils of battle, Wang Tao used his Perception Ability and then pointed in a direction: "There are fewer zombies over there, let¡¯s go that way." "Okay!" Everyone followed Wang Tao, continuing to delve deeper into the urban area. The urban area of Wuyang City was vast; even in peacetime, it would have been impossible to explore the entire area quickly, let alone now. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s goal was to search according to the areas marked on the map, one by one, and he should eventually find a Four-level zombie. But unfortunately, even until nightfall, after killing who knows how many zombies, they had still not encountered a single Four-level zombie. "Damn it!" Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. It was the embodiment of that saying: The more you lack something, the less likely you are to encounter it. Initially, Wang Tao had been considering how to deal with a Four-level zombie if he encountered one. The irony... he couldn¡¯t even find one! "Let¡¯s find a place to rest." There was no point in going back to the base now; otherwise, the effort it took to reach this point would be wasted if they had to start all over again. "Sure!" Nobody objected; they had been fighting frequently all day long without much rest. But if you really talked about danger, nothing much had really happened. After all, everyone was cautious and didn¡¯t make much noise. Wang Tao surveyed the area and then chose a high-rise building about a dozen stories tall. He thought this location was good, as it allowed for a view of the nearby area and if a Four-level zombie appeared, he would be able to spot it in time. There was a square under the building with quite a few zombies on it. Wang Tao spent some time clearing out these zombies before entering the building. Naturally, there were also quite a few zombies inside the building, but the group didn¡¯t rush and methodically cleared them floor by floor. However, as they reached a certain floor, Wang Tao suddenly exclaimed. "Huh?" "What¡¯s wrong?" Everyone looked at Wang Tao. "We¡¯ve stumbled upon a Night Demon¡¯s Nest, just a few floors above..." Wang Tao pointed upwards. "..." Wang Tao¡¯s perception range was limited. When he was downstairs, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to see the whole building¡¯s situation. As for his Plant Affinity Ability, it didn¡¯t detect anything because there were no plants in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Moreover, with many Ordinary Zombies inside the building, Wang Tao didn¡¯t consciously think about the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. "What do you say?" Yang Changhong and the others looked at Wang Tao, somewhat eager. "Of course we¡¯re going to check it out!" Night Demons were at least Level 3, and killing them could greatly increase their HP; it was an opportunity not to be missed. Furthermore, Wang Tao had many Ultraviolet illumination flares, which were effective against Night Demons and indirectly weakened their combat power. Wang Tao and his group carefully cleared the zombies on that floor, then continued upwards. The building had 18 floors in total, and the Night Demon¡¯s Nest was located above the 10th floor. There were no zombies from the 9th to the 7th floor, only below the 7th. After Wang Tao and the group had cleared all the zombies in these seven floors, the sky was completely dark. Wang Tao could sense that during the day, even when the sky was very overcast, the Night Demons didn¡¯t do much, as if they were sleeping in their lair. But as soon as night fell completely, the Night Demons woke up, as though, and began to stir. It was likely that a Night Demon would soon leave its lair. Many of the building¡¯s entrances were blocked, leaving only an accessible stairway. Wang Tao and his companions stood on this necessary path for the Night Demon. "Here it comes!" Wang Tao whispered. Moments later, a blood-red figure emerged into view. [HP: 70000/70000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Level: Level 3, Elite] A Level 3 Elite Night Demon with seventy thousand HP. Wang Tao had seen Night Demons before; a Level 3 Lord had fifty thousand HP, but this one had seventy thousand and was still only Elite. He estimated that the Lord of this nest must have a hundred thousand HP. "Roar¡ª" This Night Demon probably hadn¡¯t expected to find humans blocking the entrance to its home, and so it didn¡¯t immediately charge at Wang Tao and the others upon seeing them. Bang! Bang! He Jijun, carrying an Air Bulet Rifle, and Wang Tao, using his Air Bullet Ability, struck the Night Demon¡¯s head simultaneously. The Air Bullets, though seemingly unremarkable, had great impact power. The Night Demon was instantly knocked down. Yang Changhong and the others seized the opportunity to rush forward and quickly hacked the Night Demon to death. As Level 3 ability users with tens of thousands of HP each, a single Night Demon was definitely no match for their combined assault. "Roar¡ª" Chapter 614 - 255 Entering the Downtown Area_3 The noise here also caught the attention of those above, and immediately a lot of Night Demons rushed over. Wang Tao and the others took out ultraviolet illumination flares, lit them, and threw them nearby. After all, Night Demons were quite strong zombies, there was no need to take chances when they had flares to use. "Zzzzzz¡ª" The group of Night Demons that had just charged over were immediately bathed in the dense purple light. Their skin began to burn in an instant. "Roar¡ª" Zombies don¡¯t fear pain, but these Night Demons seemed somewhat afraid after being burned by the ultraviolet light, each emitting a painful roar. However, the scent of humans in front of them was too enticing; they couldn¡¯t bear to leave. This situation was not much different from Wang Tao¡¯s last trip to the Night Demon¡¯s Nest; those Night Demons who dared not approach yet were unwilling to leave soon became targets, and were rapidly slaughtered by Wang Tao and his group. "These ultraviolet illumination flares are really useful!" He Jijun felt a bit astounded. Before he had met Wang Tao, he had encountered Night Demons and knew how terrifying they were. But he hadn¡¯t expected ultraviolet light to be able to suppress Night Demons! While He Jijun was internally marveling, his hands didn¡¯t stop moving. He first used his air bullet rifle to blow the head off a Night Demon in front of him, then, without looking back, he took the bone hand crossbow and pulled the trigger toward his rear. Whoosh! The bone crossbow arrow, as if it had eyes, accurately lodged itself in the eye socket of a Night Demon. The others also did not want to show weakness, calling upon their own attacks on the Night Demons. No matter how strong the Night Demons were, they were just tens of thousands of HP Level 3 Elites. With Wang Tao leading the charge, the Night Demons were suppressed and beaten. These Night Demons had probably never seen such a formation and were directly bewildered by the assault. At this time, some Night Demons wanted to flee. But Wang Tao and the others were blocking the exit, and with so many ultraviolet illumination flares burning, they had no chance to run outside; they could only run further inside. After killing all the Night Demons that hadn¡¯t managed to escape, each person took an illumination flare and headed upstairs. The number of Night Demons in this nest was more than Wang Tao had anticipated, from the 10th to the 18th floor, all were Night Demons! And each floor probably had about twenty or so, making at least two hundred Night Demons in this nest! It was Wang Tao¡¯s first time seeing so many Night Demons; fortunately, he had plenty of ultraviolet illumination flares, otherwise it really might not have been enough. Although Night Demons as a type of zombie didn¡¯t have Crystal Cores, they could regain HP. Even without the rewards for killing higher levels, the sheer number was there; apart from him at full HP, the others could gain between 1000 and 2000 HP for each Night Demon killed! After killing a few Night Demons, they could clearly feel their own strength increasing! Therefore, a feeling emerged where the more they killed, the more eager and stronger they became. Night Demons had a natural fear of ultraviolet light; even though the ultraviolet illumination flares couldn¡¯t really inflict significant damage on them, they still dared not enter the range of the ultraviolet light. When Yang Changhong and the others each held an illumination flare to attack the Night Demons, it was basically a one-sided slaughter. Seeing that everyone was handling themselves well, Wang Tao stopped intervening and turned his gaze upstairs. In his Perception, there was a Level 3 Lord Night Demon upstairs that hadn¡¯t come down, lurking by the staircase, wondering if it was planning an ambush. Wang Tao thought for a moment, then dropped the illumination flare he was holding to the ground and directly stepped out of the range of the ultraviolet light. The moment Wang Tao stepped out, he immediately drew the attention of many Night Demons, which rushed at him wildly. Wang Tao, wielding a bone knife, fought against these Night Demons. He could have solved the battle quickly, but instead, he acted as if he was struggling against the Night Demons¡¯ onslaught. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt the Level 3 Lord Night Demon move! Without a second thought, Wang Tao swung his blade behind him. Bang! There seemed to be nothing behind Wang Tao, but as his blade slashed down, it struck the head of a Blue-skinned Night Demon. [HP: 94674/100000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 3 - Lord] "Roar!" The Blue-skinned Night Demon, furious, lunged at Wang Tao. But in Wang Tao¡¯s hand appeared a high-powered ultraviolet flashlight, seemingly out of nowhere. Swoosh¡ª A large burst of ultraviolet light instantly covered the entire body of the Blue-skinned Night Demon. Sizzling¡ª The Blue-skinned Night Demon made a burning sound as it quickly moved away from Wang Tao! Yet suddenly, a black tendril shot out from the wrist of Wang Tao¡¯s hand, wrapping around the waist of the Blue-skinned Night Demon. With a forceful tug, Wang Tao pulled it right in front of himself! The Blue-skinned Night Demon opened its mouth wide in a roar, and Wang Tao could even see a hint of rage on its face. Wang Tao, concealed beneath his face mask and twisted iron tree armor, couldn¡¯t help but grin. Angry now? This was just the beginning! Just as the ultraviolet flashlight in Wang Tao¡¯s hand vanished, and the burning on the Blue-skinned Night Demon ceased, the demon prepared to seize this opportunity to counterattack. That¡¯s when a lit ultraviolet illumination flare suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand! Wang Tao grabbed the neck of the Blue-skinned Night Demon, then shoved the ultraviolet illumination flare directly into its mouth! Sizzling¡ª Instantly, the Blue-skinned Night Demon emitted a barbecue-like burning sound, from the inside out! The glow of purple light was clearly visible at the location of the Night Demon¡¯s throat. "Roar¡ª" Clutching its neck in agony, the Blue-skinned Night Demon let out a loud roar, its HP visibly depleting. Wang Tao pressed his attack, holding another ultraviolet illumination flare in one hand and a Bone Knife in the other, hacking furiously at the Blue-skinned Night Demon. Even as a Blue-skinned Night Demon with a hundred thousand HP, it couldn¡¯t withstand such internal and external onslaughts. It started to frantically dart about, as Wang Tao called over the swift Jiang Shixue, and the two began to pursue and encircle. The purple light emanating from the Blue-skinned Night Demon was too obvious in the darkness; there was no escape. Three minutes later, with a thump, the completely charred Blue-skinned Night Demon was headshot by Wang Tao. Chapter 615 - 256: Level 4 Night Demon_1 ``` Wang Tao sheathed his Bone Knife and casually glanced at his Special Energy¡ªit had increased by 19,000, not too shabby. After collecting the Loot Pack dropped by the Blue-skinned Night Demon, Wang Tao turned to Jiang Shixue and said, "Let¡¯s go kill the other Night Demons. You¡¯ll finish them off later." "Okay!" The two rejoined the battle. Although there were many Night Demons, they stood no chance under the sweeping coverage of numerous Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells. Blocked by Wang Tao and his team, they had no escape. After spending some time, they had completely cleared out the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. "Phew¡ª" Seeing that there truly were no more Night Demons, everyone heaved a sigh of relief. Even though they had been in control most of the time, Night Demons were not to be trifled with, and a slight oversight could lead to injury. Therefore, they had all been extremely cautious, now feeling significantly drained both physically and mentally, and in need of a good rest. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were in the best shape physically; although they had killed a Hundred thousand HP Blue-skinned Night Demon, they hadn¡¯t exhausted themselves too much. Wang Tao handed out some nutrient solution to everyone. Glug glug glug~ After guzzling a few bottles, they all felt much better. "These Night Demons are tough, even being suppressed to this extent, they held on for so long..." He Jijun said. This was his first time fighting against Night Demons and he couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit emotional. He felt that if it weren¡¯t for the cheat-like item such as the Ultraviolet illumination flares, not only would killing so many Night Demons have been out of the question, but even escaping with their lives would have been dubious. After all, they were facing two hundred Night Demons! "Despite the fatigue, it feels great!" Yang Changhong clenched her fists firmly. She wasn¡¯t sure how much her physical attributes had increased, but she felt as if she was touching the threshold of Level 3! Indeed, that was the case. Yang Changhong¡¯s HP had reached a hundred thousand! She previously had seventy thousand HP, and now after killing so many Night Demons, reaching a hundred thousand HP was easy. And it wasn¡¯t just her, Jiang Shixue, Xu Xiaojun, and He Jijun all had Hundred thousand HP now too! Only Nie Siyan was under a hundred thousand, but she was close, with ninety thousand! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help saying that raiding the Night Demon¡¯s Lair was truly exhilarating. The last time they raided a smaller Night Demon¡¯s Lair, it brought his own HP up to 110,000 and everyone else enjoyed a significant increase as well. This time, after raiding a much larger lair, nearly everyone had reached Hundred thousand HP! An increase in HP signified an enhancement in physical constitution. With a hundred thousand HP, Yang Changhong and the others had reached an extremely elite level of physical constitution. Even though they hadn¡¯t merged with any Crystal Cores that enhance physical constitution, just based on their current condition, they could probably wrestle with Night Demons directly! Wang Tao did not rest but took Jiang Shixue and Lightning to "wreak havoc" in the Night Demon¡¯s Lair. Apart from the Night Demons, the lair housed many Unformed Night Demons and Incubation Flesh. These definitely needed to be eradicated. However, since only killings by Wang Tao would explode into Loot Packs, they were all left for him. The Night Demon¡¯s Lair was quite large, and it took Wang Tao quite some effort to exterminate everything. Looking at the pile of loot in his Space Backpack, Wang Tao laughed heartily. It¡¯s just a bit of fatigue¡ªtotally worth it! The loot from this operation was exceedingly rich. The Incubation Flesh that was killed exploded into 97 Extraction Crystal Cores! The Unformed Night Demons burst into 428 Omnipotent Crystal Cores! Although these were all Level Two Crystal Cores, being rare Extraction and Omnipotent types, they were highly valuable! Then came the loot dropped by the Elite Night Demons, all were Ultraviolet flashlights and Ultraviolet illumination flares¡ªaltogether three hundred flashlights and six thousand flares! This mission had initially consumed a lot of flares, but they had just replenished a hefty amount. "For heaven¡¯s sake, don¡¯t let me find another Night Demon¡¯s Nest, or you¡¯ll have only yourselves to blame!" With so many flares, unless Wang Tao deliberately went looking for another Night Demon¡¯s Nest, it would be quite difficult to use them all up. Lastly came the loot from killing that Hundred thousand HP Blue-skinned Night Demon. Being a Zombie Lord, and having been killed by Wang Tao, the killing was above his level. There were four Loot Packs and Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2. The first Loot Pack contained [Level 3 Crystal Core - Ascension], [Level 3 Crystal Core - Energy Boost], [Level 3 Crystal Core - HP Boost], and [Level 3 Crystal Core - Body Constitution Boost]. The second Loot Pack contained Potions. [Strength Increase Potion x20] [Agility Increase Potion x20] [Mental Boosting Potion x20] There wasn¡¯t much to say about these three types of Potions¡ªthey were all used by Wang Tao. Wang Tao felt that these kinds of Potions that permanently increased attributes seemed to have a diminishing effect. When his attributes were low, the increase was quite noticeable. The higher his attributes, the smaller the increment became. However, any increase was welcome, no matter how small, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t bothered by it. In the third pack was an Ultraviolet Suit, yet comparing with the previous Blue-skinned Night Demons he had killed, there was an additional item. [High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x40] [Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x10] The new item was this "Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip". [Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip: Emits ultraviolet light once powered on. Any number of Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strips can be linked together, and the more there are connected, the stronger the ultraviolet light becomes. Requires electrical energy and can be powered by batteries.] This Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip looked like a tube and could be pieced together to form a continuous strip of light. ``` Chapter 616 - 256: Level 4 Night Demon_2 This lamp clearly can¡¯t be used during combat, but it can be used with batteries. Wang Tao feels that it¡¯s more appropriate to place this thing outside the base to deter Night Demons from coming in or to set up a temporary safety zone for emergencies. The item is decent, and Wang Tao installs the batteries so it can be used in a pinch later on. The last Loot Pack is up next. It was from the third Blue-skinned Night Demon that Wang Tao had killed. The first Blue-skinned Night Demon dropped a "Night Demon Blade" Blueprint, and the second one dropped a "Night Demon Breastplate" Blueprint. Wang Tao felt that this Night Demon equipment might come in a set, and sure enough! [Obtained: Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint x1] [Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a piece of Night Demon Leg Armor. Required materials: Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone*10kg, Level 3 Crystal Core*1, Iron Block*20, Steel Wire*20, Nails*20, Rubber*20] [Night Demon Leg Armor: Attributes unknown] This time, it¡¯s the Night Demon Leg Armor! With this in mind, Wang Tao felt there was a very good chance that a complete set of Night Demon Equipment was within reach! Wang Tao had enough materials on hand, so he immediately began stripping the bones from the Blue-skinned Night Demon and started crafting. A multicolored light flashed, all the materials vanished, and a pair of black leg armor tinged with blue appeared. [Night Demon Leg Armor] [Level 3 (Excellence)] [Durability +57, Defense +57] Like the breastplate before, it looked very understated, was designed to be form-fitting, and possessed a certain toughness. Moreover, its attributes were two points higher than the previous one. Wang Tao was already wearing the Night Demon Breastplate, and now he immediately donned the Night Demon Leg Armor. Once on, it fit perfectly without hindering his movements. Unfortunately, no Suit Attributes appeared. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if this was because they didn¡¯t exist or if he simply didn¡¯t have enough of the set, though he suspected the latter. If he could encounter a few more Blue-skinned Night Demons, he might be able to complete a set! Wang Tao was looking forward to it. By now, Yang Changhong and the others had rested enough, so Wang Tao called them upstairs. Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t plan on leaving tonight, opting to rest in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. As people trying to survive the post-apocalyptic world, they didn¡¯t care much about their environment as long as it was safe. The group reached the rooftop, where they could see nothing but darkness outside, but they could still hear various roars. Wang Tao distributed a large number of Ultraviolet illumination flares to everyone and then pulled out a military telescope he¡¯d brought from the base. With it, he could clearly see zombies on the street becoming more active after nightfall. Even the pouring rain couldn¡¯t stop them from wandering around like vagabonds. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt as though he was being watched¡ªlike something was close by on the floor below! Startled, he looked down, but apart from a pile of Level 2 Zombies, there was nothing unusual. "A false perception? Impossible!" Becoming an Ability User meant he couldn¡¯t have false perceptions unless his spirit was affected or he was caught in an illusion! There was definitely something spying on him just now! Wang Tao immediately maxed out his Plant Affinity and Perception Ability. They were in Wuyang City¡¯s urban area surrounded by zombies, so caution was paramount! And then, his expression suddenly changed. "Something is rapidly heading this way!" Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity had a wide range, and since there were many plants near the building, he could "see" the surroundings. He clearly perceived something moving towards the building fast, like teleporting! Since it wasn¡¯t within his Perception range yet, he couldn¡¯t judge its strength, but he could tell it wasn¡¯t as big as the Giant Zombie he had seen earlier, which brought a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn¡¯t that Giant Zombie, then¡ªwait a second! In Wang Tao¡¯s perceptual vision, a figure emitting a blue glow suddenly appeared! And the glow from this figure was even stronger than that of the Blue-skinned Night Demon with a hundred thousand HP he had just killed! "Fourth-order Monster¡ªno, a Level 4 Night Demon, it¡¯s coming! Quick, let¡¯s go downstairs!" Wang Tao immediately led the group to run down from the rooftop! Being on the rooftop left them with no escape route in case of danger. If they faced the enemy downstairs, they could at least try to retreat upwards if the fight was going badly, buying time to think of a plan or even fleeing to the lower levels. Reaching the 11th floor, Wang Tao quickly signaled for everyone to stop. He lit an Ultraviolet illumination flare and tossed it toward the staircase entrance ahead. Sizzle¡ª A burning sound erupted. At that moment, everyone saw clearly what was blocking the stairwell. A Night Demon, larger than a Blue-skinned Night Demon and adorned with black Bone Armor and white bone spikes, stood before them! [HP: 99990/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Awakening: Robust] [Robust: Full-spectrum boost to all basic attributes] A Fourth-order Night Demon with a hundred thousand HP! An Awakening called [Robust]¡ªit seemed like a weaker variant of [Giant]? When Wang Tao saw these attributes, he actually breathed a sigh of relief. Why had he risked venturing into the urban area in the first place? Wasn¡¯t it to hunt down a fourth-level zombie? Preferably one with a hundred thousand HP, as more HP meant he might not be able to defeat it. Now he had encountered just such a creature! Not only did it have a hundred thousand HP, but it was also a Night Demon with weaknesses! Chapter 617 - 256: Level 4 Night Demon_3 Wang Tao had so many ultraviolet flashlights and ultraviolet illumination flares at his disposal, which were supposed to be effective in suppressing the Night Demons¡ªwait a minute! It wasn¡¯t afraid of the ultraviolet illumination flares? Wang Tao had just thrown one of those flares right at the feet of the Black Skin Night Demon, and although its body was emitting a sizzling burning sound, it seemed unafraid! It didn¡¯t even move an inch! And its HP... it was reduced by so little, 10 HP per second? When dealing with Level 3 Night Demons, the ultraviolet illumination flares would cause triple-digit damage per second, yet it was only 10 HP on this Level 4 Night Demon! "Roar¡ª" The Black Skin Night Demon let out a low growl. One could see its facial muscles twitching and its skin cracking and burning. Clearly, the ultraviolet illumination flare had some effect, but it simply ignored these and even walked straight past the flare, then suddenly vanished! Bang! Without seeing anything, Wang Tao felt himself lifted into the air. It was then that he saw the Black Skin Night Demon had already appeared in front of him! Wang Tao felt a sharp pain in his chest; looking down, he saw the sharp claws of the Black Skin Night Demon had pierced right through the Entangling Roots! [-15734] [-1087] [108913/110000(84266/100000)] "What the fuck!" Wang Tao was a bit stunned. This claw strike from the Black Skin Night Demon not only tore away 15,000 HP from the Entangling Roots but also pierced through them and hit Wang Tao directly! Fortunately, Wang Tao was wearing the Night Demon Breastplate, which blocked the strike. Even so, the massive impact still caused Wang Tao to lose one thousand HP! A single strike draining 15% of his Entangling Roots¡¯ HP? And it managed to pierce through and hit him? Is this the Attack power of a Level 4? Despite his profound shock, Wang Tao had no time to ponder. He immediately summoned all his strength, held his knife with both hands, and viciously slashed at the Black Skin Night Demon in front of him. Bang! [-1024] This damage number left Wang Tao speechless. This was his strike with all his Abilities activated, employing high-frequency vibration along with his full strength, and it only dealt a thousand HP of damage? But this strike, at least, knocked the Blue-skinned Night Demon back and gave Wang Tao a chance to breathe. Then, Jiang Shixue was the first to react; she immediately rushed to the side of the Blue-skinned Night Demon and scratched it twice with her Dark sharp claws. [-423] [-418] Next to react was He Jijun. He directly took out a rifle loaded with blanks and fired a shot at the Black Skin Night Demon! [-512] The third one to react was unexpectedly Lightning. Fear was visible in its eyes, but it still charged at the Blue-skinned Night Demon without hesitation, leaping high and biting at the Night Demon¡¯s face. [-5] "..." Last were Yang Changhong, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan. The three reacted almost simultaneously. After Wang Tao pushed back the Black Skin Night Demon, their attacks also landed on it. [-426] [-237] [-188] "..." Suddenly, Wang Tao felt that his own damage wasn¡¯t that low, either? No, what the hell is this! Six of them and a dog attacked the Black Skin Night Demon together, and they only managed to deal over 3,000 damage? Which is just 3% of its total HP? Is this the defense of a Level 4 Night Demon?! "Roar¡ª" Having been attacked so many times in a row, although it didn¡¯t lose much HP, the Black Skin Night Demon was clearly infuriated. Its figure flashed, and once again, it disappeared from their sight. Wang Tao felt a sense of danger in his heart and swung his blade at the empty air in front of him! Bang! Wang Tao¡¯s preemptive strike was spot on! It landed directly on the head of the Black Skin Night Demon! [-1283] [95557/100000] But the claws of the Black Skin Night Demon had once again penetrated Wang Tao¡¯s chest! [-16348] [-1084] [107829/110000 (67918/100000)] "Damn!" Seeing the outrageous damage numbers again, Wang Tao felt a mix of anger and panic. If it went on like this a few more times, he didn¡¯t know if he¡¯d die, but the Entangling Roots were definitely done for! "Get lost!" Wang Tao kicked the Black Skin Night Demon hard, sending it flying. However, it was a kick to the demon¡¯s chest, and it only lost a few drops of blood. Then, Wang Tao immediately took out a bunch of ultraviolet illumination flares, lit them, and threw them all around. "Everyone throw flares!" Wang Tao didn¡¯t have much of anything else, but he had plenty of flares. Szzzlah¡ª After he threw those flares, purple light instantly enveloped the Black Skin Night Demon. The ultraviolet light produced by so many flares burning together directly caused smoke to rise from the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s body! Seeing the numbers for HP loss above the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s head start to increase, Wang Tao instantly felt overjoyed. "The effects of the flares really do stack!" While the damage from the ultraviolet illumination flares was secondary, the most important thing was that it could affect the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s movements! The previous Red-skinned Night Demon and Blue-skinned Night Demon had barely been able to move after getting hit by the ultraviolet light¡ªnot that they literally couldn¡¯t move, but because they both desired to devour Wang Tao and his team while also fearing the damage the ultraviolet light brought, so they became stuck. Now, the Black Skin Night Demon was facing a similar situation. It very much wanted to devour Wang Tao and his companions, but it had an innate fear of ultraviolet light. If there was only a little bit of ultraviolet light, it would be fine, and it could just charge through. But now, with ultraviolet light everywhere, it felt uncomfortable all over, and even its speed was affected. When it charged at Wang Tao again, Wang Tao finally saw its trajectory, and there was just one word to describe it¡ªfast! This was the ultimate speed that came with overpowering physical qualities! Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved, thankful that the Night Demon¡¯s hatred was focused on him. If it had charged at someone else, he doubted many could withstand its attack! Bang! Wang Tao¡¯s Bone Knife struck the Black Skin Night Demon once more. The Black Skin Night Demon still didn¡¯t dodge or evade. In terms of both attack and defense, it was far superior to Wang Tao, and in this head-on clash, it had the upper hand. But this time, it didn¡¯t get the upper hand, because Jiang Shixue rushed over like a cannonball from the side and slammed it away! Thud! The Black Skin Night Demon was sent flying backward. At that moment, the others produced a large number of ultraviolet illumination flares in their hands and threw them at the Night Demon. Whoosh! The Black Skin Night Demon was instantly submerged in purple light! Chapter 618 - 257 Hard-Won Victory_1 A barrage of ultraviolet illumination flares were thrown out, instantly turning this floor as bright as day. Not only were the Black Skin Night Demons in discomfort, but even Xu Xiaojun and his companions found themselves squinting against the ultraviolet light, forced to toss flares based on rough perception alone. "ROAR¡ª" The entire body of the Black Skin Night Demon was burning, emitting an unpleasant smell as it roared furiously, crashing about in an attempt to escape the range of the ultraviolet light. But the place was bathed in ultraviolet light; there was no escape. "You guys hold the flares at the door, ready to replenish them at any moment! Little Xue and I will attack!" Wang Tao shouted to the others. "Yes!" The group nodded. The intense glare prevented them from seeing clearly, so they couldn¡¯t attack. Since each flare only burned for 25 seconds, someone needed to constantly replenish them. This was a job they could handle perfectly. As for Wang Tao, he could use his Perception Ability to locate the Black Skin Night Demon, and his eyes could also filter out some of the glare. Jiang Shixue could do the same, which meant only the two of them could attack properly. Wang Tao took out a bunch of usable potions and handed some to Jiang Shixue, both of them injecting all of them. Then, with a Bone Knife in hand, he rushed toward the Black Skin Night Demon. Whoosh¡ª Although dazed by the overwhelming ultraviolet light, the Black Skin Night Demon noticed Wang Tao immediately. Bang! It raised its claws, blocking Wang Tao¡¯s Bone Knife. However, while blocking Wang Tao, it left its back exposed to Jiang Shixue. [-420] [-439] Jiang Shixue launched a surprise attack from behind, scratching the Night Demon¡¯s nape twice. Such damage was trivial to a Night Demon with so much HP, but the sneak attack left it extremely enraged. It immediately abandoned Wang Tao and charged towards Jiang Shixue. "Be careful!" Jiang Shixue was quick, but the Black Skin Night Demon was quicker. As if teleporting, the Black Skin Night Demon appeared in front of Jiang Shixue in an instant and viciously stabbed at her chest with its sharp claws. Thud! Clad in Iron Tree Armor, Jiang Shixue blocked the strike, but the armor clearly dented, likely losing a considerable amount of Durability. Moreover, Jiang Shixue lost a thousand HP¡ªthe impact of the Night Demon¡¯s attack had indirectly caused damage. Nonetheless, with an unchanging expression, Jiang Shixue tightly grasped the Night Demon¡¯s arms after being attacked and, rotating like a hammer throw, flung the Black Skin Night Demon straight towards Wang Tao. Regaining her memories, Jiang Shixue¡¯s attack methods had become varied and she exhibited better teamwork than before, no longer appearing rigid. Having coordinated many times, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue understood each other well. As soon as Jiang Shixue grabbed the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s arms, Wang Tao had already raised his Bone Knife, preparing for an Energize One Hit. As Jiang Shixue flung the Night Demon towards Wang Tao, he brutally chopped down in the direction it was flying from. Bang! [-1584] The Night Demon was sent spinning away, disoriented by the slash. Meanwhile, Jiang Shixue had also prepared her next move. As the Night Demon flew towards her, she reached out with her slender claws, striking directly at the back of the Night Demon¡¯s head. [-483] [-427] Another nine hundred HP was shed from the Black Skin Night Demon, but this time it reacted, enduring the discomfort of the UV light on its skin and turned around to pounce on Jiang Shixue like a ferocious tiger. Bang! Jiang Shixue was instantly tackled down! The Black Skin Night Demon opened its triple-split mouth, and out popped a mouthpiece bristling with sharp teeth! This was a One Hit Kill move that all Night Demons possessed. If the mouthpiece penetrated the body, instant death was almost certain! Although Jiang Shixue wore armor and a helmet, it was uncertain if they could withstand the strike. At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly had a pistol in his hand and pulled the trigger at the Black Skin Night Demon. Bang! A faint sound echoed as an invisible Air Bullet struck the back of the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s head. [-1282] The head of the Black Skin Night Demon was knocked askew, and the mouthpiece stabbed into the floor, creating a large hole. Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Shixue kicked the Black Skin Night Demon and landed two more claw strikes on it. The enraged Black Skin Night Demon turned and pounced at Jiang Shixue once again. Whoosh! Wang Tao activated Rush, arriving next to Jiang Shixue, and his Bone Knife, equipped with high-frequency vibration, harshly slashed atop the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s head. [-1349] "ROAR¡ª" Consecutive attacks clearly infuriated the Black Skin Night Demon. But the numerous UV burning flares around suppressed it, especially its speed, which was nowhere near its prime. Whoosh! The Black Skin Night Demon blinked to the side of Wang Tao. However, due to its suppression, Wang Tao easily predicted its trajectory. Swinging his Bone Knife, Wang Tao slashed at the Night Demon beside him. Bang! [-1132] Wang Tao¡¯s firm slash landed squarely on the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s forehead, but its claws also caught Wang Tao. [-11833] [-354] A casual swipe from the Black Skin Night Demon could strip over ten thousand HP from the Entangling Roots! With only fifty thousand HP left, Wang Tao was feeling the pressure. Three or four more hits, and the Entangling Roots would likely be done for. Wang Tao tried using Mental Shock, but possibly due to the level difference, the Black Skin Night Demon had no reaction and lost no HP. Swipe! At this moment, Jiang Shixue¡¯s attack came again. However, this time it didn¡¯t succeed, as the Black Skin Night Demon blocked it with raised hands. Chapter 619 - 257 Hard-Won Victory_2 The attack of the Black Skin Night Demon was sharp claws, and Jiang Shixue had the same. One black, one red, one large and one small, two pairs of claws, grabbed hold of each other and wrestled. But Jiang Shixue clearly did not have the strength to match the Black Skin Night Demon. In a flash, she was flung away, crashing directly into the ceiling. Although their wrestling lasted only a brief second, Wang Tao seized this opportunity. He sheathed his Bone Knife and produced an ignited Ultraviolet illumination flare in his hand, grabbed the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s shoulder with the other hand, and directly stuffed the flare into the Night Demon¡¯s mouth! Having done this once before, Wang Tao did it smoothly. He instantly pushed the burning flare into the Night Demon¡¯s mouth, and fiercely poked it in, thrusting it directly into its throat. "Roar!" The Black Skin Night Demon might have been bewildered, not expecting Wang Tao had this trick up his sleeve, and was caught off guard! Bang! It waved its arms, flinging Wang Tao away and knocking off more than 20,000 HP from the Entangling Roots. Wang Tao, like Jiang Shixue, was smashed against the ceiling, but he smirked. "Roar¡ª" The Black Skin Night Demon, clutching at its throat, staggered backward, emitting an ugly roar. It reached into its mouth to remove the flare, but its hand was too big for its mouth and couldn¡¯t fit entirely in. Plus, Wang Tao had jabbed it in deep, so it couldn¡¯t reach it! Watching the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s HP rapidly drop above its head, Wang Tao did not relax. He conjured up a bunch of Ultraviolet illumination flares in his hand and tossed them all at the Black Skin Night Demon after igniting them. Flares have a long burn time, and they extinguish after that time is up, so it¡¯s better to waste a few more than to give the Black Skin Night Demon any chance to recover! The flare that Wang Tao had inserted into the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s throat played a significant role. The Night Demon, now focused solely on removing the flare from its throat, ran chaotically around the room instead of attacking Wang Tao. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were suddenly under much less pressure. He instructed Jiang Shixue to distract the Night Demon first, as there was no guarantee it wouldn¡¯t manage to pull out the flare. He himself returned to Yang Changhong and the others, handing out a large pile of flares to them. "Don¡¯t be frugal, throw them all! Especially at the entrance, we must block it tight!" "Okay!" Wang Tao¡¯s goal was not to protect himself but to kill this Level 4 Black Skin Night Demon! If it were just about self-preservation, the number of flares he had would be enough to last until dawn without running out. Even if the Black Skin Night Demon has a strong resistance to Ultraviolet Light, facing so many, it probably wouldn¡¯t dare to attack rashly. But having finally encountered a Four-level zombie, and one that had an obvious weakness at that, Wang Tao definitely had to seize this chance and take it down! Wang Tao could feel that the Black Skin Night Demon was already trying to escape. But the only passage for escaping the building had been filled with Ultraviolet illumination flares, and the entrance was barraged with beams from high-powered Ultraviolet flashlights, which made it dare not rush out. Thus, it could only scurry around the hall. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue began to entangle in combat with it, and Wang Tao filled the entire floor, especially around the windows, the walls, and the staircase, with Ultraviolet illumination flares. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be sure if it would leap out of a window. With its astounding physical abilities, it might survive even a fall from over ten stories. So Wang Tao couldn¡¯t afford to let it escape! As more Ultraviolet illumination flares were thrown, the Black Skin Night Demon was increasingly suppressed. However, the flare inside its throat was about to go out! Seeing this, Wang Tao immediately used the Iron Tree Vines, capturing the floundering Black Skin Night Demon at his side. Slash! The Black Skin Night Demon swung its claws and instantly cut the vines. But for Wang Tao, that moment was enough. He took out a few more flares and drove them right into the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s body! The Black Skin Night Demon seemed to indeed possess a degree of intelligence. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s movement, it ceased its roaring and shut its mouth! Even though the flare in its throat was still burning and closing its mouth was uncomfortable, it was nothing compared to the agony of another flare being shoved in! Watching this unfold, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. Although the Black Skin Night Demon had closed its mouth, there were other places on its body to stick a flare. Such as the gaps in the Bone Armor spikes, or maybe its anus¡ªWang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it had one, but adhering to the ideal of learning by doing, he held onto the Black Skin Night Demon with one hand, not letting go even while being attacked. His other hand, meanwhile, held an Ultraviolet illumination flare that he fiercely thrust into the Night Demon¡¯s rear. "Huh? It actually works!" The large and thick Ultraviolet illumination flare instantly penetrated the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s backside! The Black Skin Night Demon had strong Defense, wearing Bone Armor Bone Spur, and damage could only be dealt by hitting its head, which was incredibly hard. It could even block some of the Ultraviolet Light. But clearly, its inner defense was not as high. The flare in its throat had already caused it significant pain, and the one inserted in its backside made it instinctively open its mouth and let out a roar! "Roar¡ªum!" As the Black Skin Night Demon opened its mouth, Wang Tao shoved another flare into it! Bang! The Black Skin Night Demon mustered all its strength and sent Wang Tao flying. And as Wang Tao was sent flying, he immediately retracted the Entangling Roots to their original state¡ªbecause the roots had just taken several hits from the Black Skin Night Demon, leaving them with only about 3000 HP. Another hit would have been fatal. Chapter 620 - 257 Hard-Won Victory_3 Fortunately, Wang Tao was wearing Night Demon Armor, which would have allowed him to hold out for a while even without the Entangling Roots. This Black Skin Night Demon was even more agonized than Wang Tao had imagined. After knocking Wang Tao away, it didn¡¯t pursue its victory but instead rolled on the ground, seemingly trying to get rid of the flare stuck in its throat and rear. Wang Tao finally let out a sigh of relief. However, he didn¡¯t dare relax and immediately took out the Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip he obtained from killing that Blue-skinned Night Demon! Wang Tao called over Jiang Shixue, and together with these ten battery-equipped illumination lights, they surrounded the Black Skin Night Demon, significantly increasing the intensity of the ultraviolet light in the area! Wang Tao had been wanting to use this Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip, but he never had the chance until now. "Roar!" The cries of the Black Skin Night Demon had become even more miserable to hear. But its HP was actually still over sixty thousand, which means two-thirds remained! "This fucker¡¯s really tough to kill!" Wang Tao exclaimed. He had tried every trick in the book, and still, it had so much HP left. Fortunately, the Black Skin Night Demon was now completely suppressed by the ultraviolet light¡ªespecially its speed, which had slowed down a lot! And at this moment, it was too preoccupied with scrambling around within a certain range to attack Wang Tao. This Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip was quite effective, keeping the Black Skin Night Demon from approaching and restricting its range of motion. Wang Tao called over Yang Changhong and the rest to throw all their flares within this area. Sizzling¡ª¡ª "Roar¡ª¡ª" The HP loss per second for the Black Skin Night Demon also began to increase. Wang Tao once again raised his Bone Knife and charged in. He couldn¡¯t just wait for the ultraviolet light to slowly kill the Night Demon; after all, whether it was the illumination lights or flares, they were inanimate objects that could potentially be destroyed by the Black Skin Night Demon. Wang Tao had to charge in and entangle it to prevent it from destroying these ultraviolet tools. Jiang Shixue followed suit and charged in¡ªboth began another struggle with the Black Skin Night Demon. It had to be said, this Black Skin Night Demon was incredibly strong! Even under suppression, it could still exert great pressure on Wang Tao! Thankfully he had Jiang Shixue fighting alongside him; otherwise, without the Entangling Roots, he would have genuinely struggled to combat it. After all, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t immune to the zombie virus, so he couldn¡¯t be as reckless in his assault as before. Under their joint struggle, the HP of the Black Skin Zombie kept dwindling. However, most of the HP loss wasn¡¯t due to their efforts but caused by the ultraviolet light. After a minute, the HP of the Black Skin Night Demon finally dropped to a sliver! Wang Tao had already prepared for the final strike, and once the HP fell to a level he could finish, he immediately made his move. Puchi! [-1234] [0/100000] The Black Skin Night Demon, whose body had been scorched by the ultraviolet light, was instantly decapitated by Wang Tao. Rustle¡ª¡ª A bunch of items burst out, including claws and... a heart? Wang Tao didn¡¯t take a close look, immediately collecting them. He also stripped out the bones of the Black Skin Night Demon, which were materials for crafting Night Demon equipment. Whether or not they would be useful was another matter, but it was worth taking them just in case. Then, Wang Tao glanced at his own HP bar. [36542/110000] This was the most severe injury he had sustained since acquiring Entangling Roots! Jiang Shixue¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t good either. Her Level 3 Iron Tree Armor had been completely destroyed, and her body was covered in wounds, with her HP dropping to 20,000. As she wasn¡¯t afraid of the zombie virus, she fought even more fiercely than Wang Tao, which was why her injuries were more severe. Wang Tao walked over, held Jiang Shixue¡¯s shoulders to check her for a moment, and after confirming there were no fatal dangers, he gathered the ultraviolet lights around and shouted to everyone. "Alright, it¡¯s over!" Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, Yang Changhong and the others stopped throwing flares. The light in front of them was still a little blinding. There were too many flares, making it impossible to see clearly what was inside. But since Wang Tao had said it was over, it must be safe now. The group hurried into the room, and Lightning, who had been hiding on the side, quickly rushed to Wang Tao¡¯s side. Wang Tao hugged him, checked that his HP hadn¡¯t decreased much, and immediately smiled and knocked on his head. "So smart!" Lightning was the weakest. A rash attack would have been certain death. Luckily, he was smart and knew to hide. "Woof woof!" Lightning barked softly twice, staying close to Wang Tao as if worried about him. "Wang Tao, Little Xue, are you guys okay?" Yang Changhong squinted as he approached Wang Tao and quickly grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand. "I¡¯m fine; don¡¯t worry." Wang Tao reached back and held Yang Changhong¡¯s hand. He Jijun, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan also came over. Seeing that Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue indeed seemed alright, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Nie Siyan hurried over to support Wang Tao, while He Jijun and Xu Xiaojun went to throw the still-burning flares farther away. The simultaneous burning of so many flares was too bright to even open their eyes. After a quick cleanup, everyone was finally able to see the pitiful state of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, as well as the charred corpse on the ground. "So this is a four-level zombie..." Although they did not directly participate in the battle later on, they could still sense the difficulty of Wang Tao¡¯s fight. Including He Jijun, everyone¡¯s faces showed a hint of despair¡ªthe four-level zombies were just too strong! Compared to Level 3 zombies, it was like being in a completely different dimension! And this was a Night Demon with a clear weakness. If it had been another zombie with no such weaknesses, could they have won this battle? Definitely not! It was hard for them to imagine how humanity could withstand if all the zombies in the future were this powerful... Seeing everyone¡¯s expressions, Wang Tao also showed a wry smile. He knew four-level zombies were strong, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to be this strong! This was even more difficult than when he was an ordinary person, killing the Level 1 Elite Big Hammer Zombie in the water plant! Although he nearly died at that time, now at least he still had 30,000 HP left. But there were more people now, their strength was greater, and they had found the Night Demon¡¯s weakness... and still, they ended up like this. If not for the flares, if they hadn¡¯t been annihilated, at least heavy casualties would have occurred! "We¡ª" Wang Tao was about to suggest going upstairs to rest. Suddenly, his face changed. He immediately turned his head to look outside the window, and the others seemed to have heard something too, simultaneously turning their gaze to the window. In the boundless darkness, a massive figure could be faintly seen! Thud, thud, thud¡ª Chapter 621 - 258 Awakening Key_1 "Giant Zombie!" Upon seeing that enormous shadow, everyone exclaimed in shock. Then, fear was written all over their faces. If dealing with the Level 4 Night Demon just now was so difficult, how strong must this Giant Zombie be?! After all, Wang Tao had mentioned earlier that this Giant Zombie was likely one of the most formidable beings among Level 4 creatures! "What do we do?" Everyone turned to look at Wang Tao. "We¡ª¡ªGet down!" Wang Tao suddenly yelled, pulling Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong to his side as he instantly dropped to the ground. Upon hearing this, He Jijun nearly at the same time dropped to the ground with Wang Tao, and he also pulled down Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan who were beside him. Lightning also reflexively dropped straight down. Then¡ª¡ª Boom! There was an earth-shaking rumble as if something had nearly grazed past the top of their heads as it flew by. With the help of the flares that hadn¡¯t yet burnt out nearby, they saw that the flying object seemed to be a massive slab of stone! Looking up, they saw that the walls in the front and back of this level were gone, leaving a gaping hole! Through the opening, they could see that huge figure in the distance, still poised to throw something. Thump, thump, thump! "Heavens!" Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded. This creature could throw objects as an attack? From such a great distance, it could strike with such accuracy? And the power it wielded, to directly smash through a reinforced concrete building! If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t told them to get down, it¡¯s likely they would have either been crushed into a pulp or thrown out from a dozen floors up and killed on the spot! "Damn!" Wang Tao cursed under his breath. This thing had ranged attacks too? They were already no match for it, and now even less so! "Run! Run fast!" Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, Wang Tao got up and started running, pulling Yang Changhong along! Though the Giant Zombie appeared to move slowly, its immense size meant it could probably cover the distance in just a few strides! Now it wasn¡¯t a question of running or not but whether they could run fast enough! Nie Siyan and the others were slightly panicked, but being Level 3 ability users, they discarded all extraneous thoughts and followed Wang Tao. However, the fastest runner wasn¡¯t Wang Tao, but Lightning. Lightning led the way, familiar with the paths, ensuring they didn¡¯t end up in a dead-end. Jiang Shixue followed Lightning, and whenever they came to places only Lightning could squeeze through, she used brute strength to push her way in. Then came Wang Tao, Yang Changhong, Xu Xiaojun, and He Jijun. Although He Jijun was the oldest, being a Level 3 ability user and possessing the hidden ability of ¡¯old but vigorous¡¯, he had strong physical fitness and didn¡¯t fall behind. The group frantically ran down the stairs, and just as they reached the fifth floor, Wang Tao suddenly stopped and yelled, "Lightning, come back!" Wang Tao¡¯s shout was with full force, numbing the ears of Yang Changhong, who was next to him. She hadn¡¯t yet figured out what was happening when suddenly there came a thunderous boom! The ground shook! A huge and decaying arm appeared on the fifth floor, grabbing and bursting everything within reach! The group hurriedly looked out the windows only to see a terrifying figure hunched over outside! The Giant Zombie had arrived! It seemed to have grabbed something with that move, then its massive hand left the fifth floor, bringing whatever it had caught to its mouth! "Lightning!" Wang Tao was furious. "Woof woof!" Discover stories at empire Suddenly, a black shadow rushed from the debris to Wang Tao¡¯s feet. "Lightning?" Wang Tao had thought Lightning was caught but luckily the dog was smart and had escaped this disaster. Wang Tao immediately embraced Lightning in his arms, looked at the fifth floor now reduced to rubble, and decisively said, "Jump off the building! Follow me!" Holding Lightning in one arm and an ignited ultraviolet illumination flare in the other, Wang Tao broke the window and leapt out! Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s actions, the others didn¡¯t hesitate and jumped down after him. Whoosh¡ª Feeling the wind past his ear, Wang Tao maximized both his Perception Ability and Plant Affinity. Thud! Wang Tao hit the ground hard, mud splattering, and the impact caused the ground to crack; Wang Tao felt his feet go numb. The others landed one after another. For them, as level 3 ability users with a hundred thousand blood, a five-story height wasn¡¯t too dangerous¡ªespecially since Wang Tao was leading the way with the flare, allowing them to see the path clearly. Wang Tao put down Lightning and casually threw the flare into an area with many zombies. "Move, follow me!" In the pouring rain, Wang Tao ran ahead, with the others following behind, and the Giant Zombie at the rear. Thump, thump, thump¡ª The Giant Zombie seemed to have noticed Wang Tao and the others as it abandoned the building and moved towards them. Its movements looked sluggish, but with one step covering more than twenty meters, it quickly caught up to the group. "Rush!" Wang Tao yelled. His suit¡¯s Rush ability was still cooling down, but He Jijun, Nie Siyan, and Xu Xiaojun all had the Rush ability. The three of them, carrying Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, Yang Changhong, and Lightning, immediately launched into a Rush! Rumbling¡ª The group rushed forward more than thirty meters in an instant. At the spot they¡¯d just left, a giant foot stomped down. "Keep rushing, don¡¯t stop!" Wang Tao directed them, and everyone kept their heads down and charged forward. They didn¡¯t even know how many zombies they trampled to death along the way, not having time to pick up any Crystal Cores. Wang Tao was still unable to get any distance between them and the Giant Zombie, so he immediately pulled out a Stealth Potion. "Zhang Hong, use Stealth! Everyone else, use the Stealth Potion!" Chapter 622 - 258 Awakening Key_2 Wang Tao distributed the Stealth Potions, injecting one into himself, and then into Lightning, who was in his arms. Soon, a faint scent of decay emanated from their bodies. "Continue to rush!" A few minutes later, Wang Tao felt the Giant Zombie falling further and further behind them. "Phew¡ª" Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this Giant also relied on scent for perception. Before long, Wang Tao could no longer see the position of the Giant Zombie, nor hear its footsteps. Yet he remained extremely cautious and did not have everyone rush anymore, but instead started running. After all, the noise from rushing was relatively louder. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even know where he was now, as he had no way to discern direction while fleeing for his life. He just thought about getting as far away from the Giant Zombie as possible. After an unknown period of running, Wang Tao finally called a halt. "Stop, we should be safe now." During this time, Wang Tao fed numerous Crystal Cores to the Entangling Roots, recovering some of its HP. Relying on his Self-healing Ability, he had almost fully restored his own HP. His only problem was the massive Mana consumption, which he couldn¡¯t replenish for the moment, preventing him from maintaining full Perception, as this Ability drained a lot of Mana. "Thank goodness Brother Wang had the Stealth Potion..." Nie Siyan spoke with a trace of fear. They had encountered too many zombies along the way! If it weren¡¯t for the Stealth Potion, given the way they were running, they probably would¡¯ve triggered a zombie horde! "Let¡¯s go. While the effects of the Stealth Potion last, let¡¯s quickly find a place to hide..." Wang Tao had also given it some thought. He figured that the Giant Zombie was not attracted by their scent, but by the commotion they caused while fighting the Black Skin Night Demon! For instance, the glaring Flares, the purple light filling entire floors, and being more than ten stories high¡ªit was hard not to attract attention. So Wang Tao thought that as long as they found a good hiding place and concealed their scent, they should be able to avoid the Giant Zombie. "Let¡¯s go this way!" Wang Tao chose a direction. Although he had Night Vision, he was not familiar with Wuyang City, and it was still a bit hard to tell where exactly he was. But he felt that this direction should lead them out of the city. As long as they could leave the city and get to the car they had hidden, they would essentially be safe. Along the way, Wang Tao occasionally activated his Perception to check for any significant dangers nearby. After cautiously walking for half an hour, although their pace slowed, fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. "We should be getting out soon..." Under a strangely shaped high-rise, Wang Tao rubbed his temples. His Mana was depleted, and his spirit felt unwell. Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s hair stood on end! A chill went from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head! Wang Tao immediately activated his Perception, only to see a massive energy body right before his eyes! "Shit!" Bang! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t react in time and was slapped square on. Boom¡ª He was smashed into a civilian house. The others were confused; only then did they realize that what they thought was some mutant high-rise was actually a Giant Zombie leaning against the building! But... how could that be possible! How could its speed be so fast! They had all been running in a straight line under Wang Tao¡¯s lead, and there was no Giant Zombie behind them. Where did it chase them from?! However, no one had time to think deeply about it, and they hastened to the house, prying Wang Tao from the wall he was embedded in. "Cough, cough!" Wang Tao felt as if all the bones in his body were broken, tasted iron in his mouth, and his ears buzzed. "Cough... It¡¯s not that Giant Zombie, it¡¯s another one!" Wang Tao¡¯s words left everyone somewhat stunned. "Another one?" "Cough, quick! Rush! Keep rushing!" Wang Tao roared. Everyone, not daring to delay, immediately engaged in Rush. Of course, this was a retreat Rush for escaping. Boom boom boom¡ª They burst out of the house. Although the appearance of this Giant Zombie was indistinct, Wang Tao saw it clearly: [HP: 200,000/200,000] [Mana: 100,000/100,000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Awakening: Giant] Your next chapter awaits on empire The Giant Zombie that had been chasing them earlier had 300,000 HP, but this one had 200,000 HP! These were clearly not the same one! There were two Giant Zombies¡ªor maybe even more! After all, they were only in one district of Wuyang City, and if there were already two Giant Zombies in this district, then in the other districts... Everyone didn¡¯t have time to ponder further. Even Wang Tao felt his mind was growing foggy, fearing he might faint, so he quickly said: "Little Xue, you lead the way!" Aside from him, only Jiang Shixue and Lightning had Night Vision, but since Lightning couldn¡¯t speak, it had to be Jiang Shixue. "Okay!" Thump, thump, thump¡ª This Giant Zombie also began to pursue. However, it was smaller than the previous one, so it was relatively slower. While the group took full advantage of the Stealth Potion¡¯s effects, which hadn¡¯t worn off yet, and rushed with all their might, they managed to shake off this Giant Zombie after some time. At this point, Wang Tao still had over 30,000 HP, but his head was very groggy, and he really wanted to sleep, but he didn¡¯t dare. He was holding a Rejuvenation Potion, and if there was any more danger, he would have to use this Potion. Then, the crisp voice of Jiang Shixue rang out. Chapter 623 - 258 Awakening Key_3 "Brother! We¡¯ve made it out of the city, I see our car!" Phew¡ª Upon hearing this, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief; he was very grateful that the route he had chosen earlier was the right one. It wasn¡¯t until everyone had gotten into the car without any danger that Wang Tao could no longer hold on, and he collapsed into Jiang Shixue¡¯s arms. "I¡¯ll sleep for a while..." "Brother!" "Wang Tao!" ... "Water..." Wang Tao felt his mouth was very dry and called out subconsciously. Then he felt a cool sensation at the corner of his mouth, and as Wang Tao slowly opened his eyes, he saw a pair of pure, clear, large eyes. "Brother!" Jiang Shixue put down the glass and tightly grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Wang Tao looked up to see the familiar ceiling of the military base room and also saw a group of people standing beside his bed. "Wang Tao! Sob... I thought..." Yang Changhong was holding Wang Tao¡¯s hand, her eyes slightly swollen. "Brother Wang, you¡¯ve finally woken up!" Xu Xiaojun clenched his fists tightly, his eyes also somewhat red. "Brother Wang..." Nie Siyan seemed to have cried as well. "You finally woke up, kid!" He Jijun showed a smile on his face. "Woof woof!" Lightning, who had been quietly guarding by the bed, immediately jumped up and then excitedly ran around under the bed. Wang Tao got out of bed and vigorously rubbed Lightning¡¯s head, then smiled at everyone and said: "Don¡¯t worry, I was just very tired. I¡¯m all right now." He remembered what had happened before; he had said he was going to sleep for a while. At that time, he had been seriously injured and looked pitiful, so such a statement could easily be misunderstood. After all, others couldn¡¯t see the HP bar and didn¡¯t know that Wang Tao still had over thirty thousand blood. "You¡¯re really strong!" He Jijun gave a thumbs-up. "How long did I sleep?" Wang Tao asked. "About sixteen hours, it¡¯s eight o¡¯clock in the evening now. It¡¯s already dark." Yang Changhong hastily spoke up. "That¡¯s not too bad... You all haven¡¯t rested, have you? Go get some rest!" Wang Tao saw that they all looked not in the best of spirits, evidently not having rested much. "I¡¯m off to rest; this old man can¡¯t keep up with you young people!" He Jijun left right away. Now that Wang Tao was all right, he felt relieved. Xu Xiaojun nodded at Wang Tao and then left as well. Nie Siyan wanted to stay, but seeing that Yang Changhong and Jiang Shixue were there to attend to Wang Tao, she tactfully left. Only Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, Yang Changhong, and Lightning remained in the room. Jiang Shixue was quite alert; her body was special, and she wasn¡¯t tired at all. Yang Changhong, on the other hand, looked completely exhausted. Wang Tao immediately picked up Yang Changhong, and amid her startled cries, tossed her onto the bed. "You sleep too, hurry up." "Oh~" Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s overbearing concern, Yang Changhong felt sweetness in her heart. Wang Tao sat on the edge of the bed, gently caressing Yang Changhong¡¯s face until she soon fell into a deep sleep. Then Wang Tao took Jiang Shixue to sit on the sofa and asked her about what had happened after he fell asleep. Stay updated via empire "Once we left the city area, there wasn¡¯t much danger. We encountered quite a few zombies on the way back to the base, but none were a match for us... As for those two giant zombies, they didn¡¯t appear again." "That¡¯s good. Those level 4 zombies are truly terrifying!" Wang Tao exclaimed with a sigh. After checking on Jiang Shixue and Lightning to ensure both the woman and dog were fine, he then turned his attention to his own attributes. [HP: 37353/110000] [Mana: 1394/45000] [Special Energy: 450000] [Awakening Key: 1 (Inactive)] [Level: Level 3] [Hidden Attributes: Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] A poor physical state could affect the speed of mana recovery. With not much mana, he couldn¡¯t use Self-healing, which is why Wang Tao¡¯s HP wasn¡¯t high. However, it wasn¡¯t a big problem. He could just find Yang Changhong later to restore some mana. But Wang Tao¡¯s focus wasn¡¯t on HP and mana ¨C it was on the Awakening Key he had acquired! This Awakening Key had appeared after he killed the Level 4 Black Skin Night Demon. When he set his sights on the "Awakening Key," an explanation appeared. [Awakening Key: The key needed for awakening (obtained by killing a creature of Lord level 4 or above, either of the same level or higher)] [Inactive: Currently unusable, requires 3 conditions for activation] [1. Max out HP (Completed)] [2. Max out Special Ability Level (Not completed)] [3. Possess Hidden Attributes (Completed)] [Note: Automatically ascend to level 4 after awakening] Reading these introductions, many of Wang Tao¡¯s previous questions were resolved! Only through awakening could one ascend to level 4! Without awakening, it would be impossible to reach level 4! But awakening required an Awakening Key, which could only be obtained by killing creatures of Lord level 4 and above! Wang Tao had felt it before, that ascending from level 3 to level 4 would probably have additional requirements and wouldn¡¯t be as simple as before... Now it seemed this was indeed the case! However, obtaining this Awakening Key wasn¡¯t just difficult ¨C it was as challenging as ascending to heaven! After all, one had to personally kill a creature of Lord level 4 or above! Only someone like Wang Tao, who had fought with a level 4 Zombie Lord himself, knew how strong they were! If it weren¡¯t for the Night Demon, they might have been utterly defeated by another level 4 zombie... And to kill it personally, not to mention that unlike Ascension Crystal Cores which could be traded, this greatly increased the difficulty! Of course, even with an Awakening Key, one couldn¡¯t awaken immediately; the Key needed to be activated, which required three conditions¡ª The first condition was to max out HP, presumably meaning to reach the upper limit of hundred thousand blood at level 3. Wang Tao and several teammates had already achieved this condition. The second condition, to max out Ability Level. The maximum for level 3 abilities wasn¡¯t 10, but rather to ascend to level 4, level 1 with an Ascension crystal core... This, of course, Wang Tao had not achieved. The third condition, to have Hidden Attributes! "So hidden attributes have this use too?" In that case, hidden attributes were even more important than the first two conditions! After all, HP could be gained by killing zombies, and special ability levels could be raised using crystal cores, but hidden attributes... Wang Tao felt they were related to luck. If lucky, like Ding Yuqin, she activated a hidden attribute the very first time she killed a zombie. If unlucky, like team member Nie Siyan, even with hundred thousand blood, she had no hidden attributes. Of course, obtaining other items, such as Night Vision Eyes or Magic Seeds, could also grant hidden attributes, but that was also a matter of luck... So those with hidden attributes were the ones with the potential to ascend to level 4? [Improved Body Conditions, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] Wang Tao looked at his three hidden attributes and fell into deep thought. Chapter 624 - 259 Night Demon Type 1_1 ``` The reason why Level 4 is so much stronger than Level 3 is the inclusion of an Awakening. Regarding this Awakening, Wang Tao doesn¡¯t know much yet and can only understand it through snippets of introductions. Without a doubt, the strength after an Awakening is immense, but the difficulty of Awakening is also substantial. Especially the requirement for the last Hidden Attribute, which probably stumps most people. However, for Wang Tao, Hidden Abilities are not an issue, considering he has three! All he lacks now is Ability. As long as he upgrades the remaining two Abilities +10, then uses an Ascension Crystal Core to advance to Level 4, that should do it. The only problem now is how to get a Level 4 Crystal Core. After all... Level 4, Lord Zombie Lords are too strong! And yet, he hasn¡¯t encountered any Fourth-order Elite Zombies... When it comes to upgrading Ability... Wang Tao looks at the loot from this journey. Although it was very dangerous and he almost lost everything there, danger coexists with opportunity¡ªhis gains were also plentiful! Let¡¯s not mention that one Level 3 Lord and one Level 4 Lord Night Demon Zombie; even the other zombies killed along the way, including those smashed to death by Rush, were numerous. Everyone¡¯s HP had risen to the upper limit of Level 3, a hundred thousand! Including Nie Siyan, who had the least HP, now at a hundred thousand blood. Now only Lightning remains at 4999 HP, but it¡¯s unclear how to increase that for now, so that¡¯ll have to wait until later. Then there are the Crystal Cores, plenty of Level 1, Level Two, and even Level 3 Crystal Cores were obtained. Many of them usable by the team. And what surprised Wang Tao was that he obtained another [Extreme Speed] Crystal Core! He already had two, and with this one, he could synthesize an Epic Crystal Core! Wang Tao wanted to combine his [Iron Wall] and [Extreme Speed], and now he had the chance. Without a second thought, Wang Tao starts the synthesis of the three Extreme Speed Crystal Cores. He skillfully extracts [Integration] and fuses [Extreme Speed]. Then he begins synthesizing the two Abilities. A moment later, the synthesis is successful! [Level 3 Ability - Iron Wall] [Iron Wall: Enhances defense, running speed, attack speed, spirit, physical constitution, and shooting for a duration, and slowly recovers from injuries (side effects: none)] The name remains the same, but the list of effects has increased by one. With this, Wang Tao¡¯s Iron Wall Ability synthesis has reached its cap, meaning this Ability can now be upgraded! He didn¡¯t have enough Omnipotent Crystal Cores on hand, but he acquired a bunch of Crystal Cores this time, including several Omnipotent Crystal Cores. Wang Tao immediately begins fusing the Omnipotent Crystal Cores. After some time, Wang Tao¡¯s Iron Wall Ability successfully reaches +10! Now, the only one left for Wang Tao is [Integration], still at +1, while the other three Abilities are all at +10. Since he¡¯s already synthesized [Air Bullet] once with [Integration], he still needs two more types of offensive attack Crystal Cores. Once he gathers these two types of Crystal Cores, all four of Wang Tao¡¯s Abilities could be at +10, and he could then attempt to fuse an Ascension Crystal Core. This time, Wang Tao might not fuse a purity Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core. After all, the difficulty of obtaining Level 4 Crystal Cores is too high. If he wants purity, he would need to synthesize using three Crystal Cores. That¡¯s 12 Ascension Crystal Cores for his four Abilities, how many Level 4 zombies would he have to kill to get that many! In any case, Wang Tao still has the three Cleansing Potions left over from before, each capable of clearing up 1% of Internal Impurity; he¡¯ll just cleanse the impurities later... Wang Tao looks toward the biggest loot from this trip, the items dropped by that Level 4 Lord Night Demon! The Special Energy granted 25,000, which was a bit more than what the Level 3 Lord Night Demon provided, but not by much. The main thing is the other loot¡ª This Level 4 Night Demon dropped a total of 5 Loot Packs, and it dropped 4 items from its body! Definitely a massive haul. The first item is, of course, the Crystal Core from inside its head¡ªyes, this Level 4 Lord Night Demon¡¯s brain actually contains a Crystal Core! Other Night Demons, like the Level 3 Lord, do not have Crystal Cores... probably only Level 4. [Level 4 Crystal Core - Strength] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 35% (side effect: Strength and body size are proportional, without sufficient body size, strength will see negative growth)] [Strength: Passive Ability, significantly increases strength] It turned out to be a Power Crystal Core, which surprised Wang Tao. Because the Crystal Cores that burst from Night Demons are typically one of the fixed three kinds: [Physical Enhancement], [Energy Boost], and [HP Enhancement]. This is the first time he has seen another type of Crystal Core. But since there was already a Crystal Core inside the head of this Level 4 Lord Night Demon, the appearance of a different type of Crystal Core isn¡¯t surprising... this might be one of the differences between Level 3 and Level 4. Seeing this Strength Crystal Core, Wang Tao feels he might have gotten lucky. Because the side effect of this Crystal Core is "strength is proportional to body size." And the size of this Level 4 Lord Night Demon wasn¡¯t particularly large, so the effect of this increase in strength was probably not that significant... Wang Tao looks at the second item, the pair of claws from the Black Skin Night Demon. [Received: Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claws x2] [Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claw: Crafting material] Compared to the previous Night Demon¡¯s Claws, this one had the prefix "Level 4", its level wasn¡¯t indicated before. This must be a rather precious material. The third item is a glass bead-like thing that fell out of the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s head along with the Crystal Core. [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] ``` Chapter 625 - 259 Night Demon Type 1_2 ``` [Awakening Energy Pearl: After use, one can obtain 100 Awakening Energy.] [Awakening Energy: The energy required to unleash an Awakening and to elevate its level.] "Awakening Energy?" Wang Tao looked at the explanation and seemed to roughly understand. "So Awakening has levels, similar to Special Ability Levels? To upgrade Special Ability Levels, one needs to integrate Crystal Cores, and to upgrade Awakening levels, one must integrate Awakening Energy Pearls? Moreover, activating an Awakening also consumes Awakening Energy..." Wang Tao tried it out, but he couldn¡¯t use the Awakening Energy Pearl at the moment, probably because he hadn¡¯t undergone an Awakening. It was unclear how common Awakening Energy Pearls were. If every four-level zombie could drop one, then that would be quite nice. If it required good luck to obtain one, that would be frustrating. The fourth item was a large black heart-shaped object¨Dwhich was actually the heart of a Night Demon. However, it wasn¡¯t named just a heart; it was called... a Weapon! [Fourth-Order Weapon?Night Demon Type I] [HP: 10000/10000 (limit 100000)] [Status: Can be awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack (Weakness: Afraid of Ultraviolet Light)] [Compatibility: 0%] [Independent Attack: Can perform attacks independently as ordered by its master, but is vulnerable to ultraviolet light.] Seeing the attributes of this heart, Wang Tao was filled with question marks. "What¡¯s this? Could it actually summon a Night Demon to fight?" Driven by intense curiosity, Wang Tao immediately tried to awaken it. He soon felt a faint consciousness, but he couldn¡¯t awaken it¨Dcompatibility wasn¡¯t high enough. "Almost forgot!" Wang Tao slapped his forehead and hurriedly took out Crystal Cores to increase the Compatibility of the [Night Demon Type I]. Then Wang Tao discovered that this thing really consumed a lot of Crystal Cores! For a Level 3 Weapon like the Entangling Roots, one Level 3 Crystal Core could fully restore Compatibility. But for the Fourth-Order Weapon¡¯s [Night Demon Type I], one Level 3 Crystal Core could only restore 10% Compatibility, a Level 2 Crystal Core could restore 1%, and a Level 1 Crystal Core... couldn¡¯t be used at all. So does that mean that one Level 4 Crystal Core would be needed to restore 100% at once? Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores on hand, so naturally, he couldn¡¯t experiment with it here. Therefore, he used Level 2 and Level 3 Crystal Cores to fully max out the Compatibility of the [Night Demon Type I]. Although it was costly, he had to use them when necessary. Then Wang Tao tried to awaken it again. Whoosh! Wang Tao¡¯s heart suddenly surged like flowing water, then materialized in front of him into a more than two-meter-tall Black Night Demon! "Sss¨D" It really was a Night Demon! Jiang Shixue and Lightning, standing nearby, were startled and immediately became vigilant of the Night Demon. This Night Demon was different from the ones Wang Tao had seen before. It was a pure black Night Demon, while the Black Skin Night Demons he had killed before only had black bone armor, with the rest of their bodies being red. So it was easy to tell the difference. But no matter how you distinguished it, this was a Night Demon! It still looked somewhat intimidating, especially to Lightning, whose fur stood on end. Wang Tao reached out to the faint consciousness and beckoned. Then he saw the Night Demon immediately crouch down, its limbs touching the ground, and just like a puppy, it placed its head in front of Wang Tao. The touch felt terrible. Lightning: ? Lightning tilted its head, its small eyes suddenly displaying a hint of confusion. After noticing this, Wang Tao burst into laughter, immediately crouched down, hugged Lightning, and thoroughly ruffled its fur before letting it go. Lightning then vigorously wagged its tail, knowing its master hadn¡¯t replaced it with something new. Jiang Shixue also realized that this was something Wang Tao had concocted, and she curiously touched it as well. "Brother, this is..." Watching the Night Demon squat motionlessly in front of Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue was puzzled. "This is a Fourth-Order Weapon, similar to my Entangling Roots and Iron Tree Vines..." As he explained, Wang Tao made the Night Demon perform various actions. After studying it for a while, Wang Tao also roughly figured out what this thing was all about. Unlike his Entangling Roots, the [Night Demon Type I] could only engage in independent combat, and it could not be worn on the body. It was a bit like the Iron Tree Vines. However, Iron Tree Vines needed Wang Tao as a carrier, usually resting on his wrist. The Night Demon, on the other hand, didn¡¯t need that; it could operate independently of Wang Tao. Wang Tao could use it by simply issuing a command in his mind, but it wasn¡¯t very flexible. That¡¯s because controlling it involved a rather complicated process: Wang Tao had to think of what to do, then issue the command, then the Night Demon would receive the command, and finally execute it. It wasn¡¯t a case of Wang Tao thinking something and the Night Demon doing it immediately. There was a certain delay in this process. Working with it seemed less effective than coordinating with Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue knew each other well, and with just a gesture or a glance, they both knew what to do. The Night Demon was a bit slow; although it had a very faint consciousness, this consciousness was not enough for it to possess self-judgment. Comparing it to Lightning, if Wang Tao let Lightning roam free, Lightning might play around and stick to Wang Tao. But if there was sudden danger, Lightning would unquestionably become vigilant and join the fight. If it realized the enemy was too strong, Lightning might even hide. And if it saw Wang Tao in danger, Lightning just might risk its life to save him... Lightning had its own intelligence and judgment. ``` Chapter 626 - 259 Night Demon Type 1_3 But this [Night Demon Type I] was different; it lacked intelligence and its own judgment. If Wang Tao let it roam freely, it just stood there dumbly. Even if it encountered danger, it wouldn¡¯t attack on its own because Wang Tao hadn¡¯t issued an attack command. If Wang Tao ordered it to attack, it would keep attacking, without running or stopping... Of course, these were more abstract commands; Wang Tao could also give it specific instructions. The more specific the order, the better it performed. For example, if Wang Tao told it to squat and not move, it would stay as motionless as a statue. If he told it to walk a few steps, specifying the exact distance of each step, it would execute almost to the millimeter¡ªa feat even lightning couldn¡¯t achieve. So, Wang Tao felt that this [Night Demon Type I] was quite dumb and didn¡¯t seem like an intelligent being but more like a robot that only followed orders! This was both an advantage and a disadvantage. The disadvantage doesn¡¯t need mentioning¡ªit was too rigid, and if it wasn¡¯t precisely controlled, it might not be able to fully utilize its strength. The advantage was that it likely wouldn¡¯t rebel, after all, it had no intellect or discernment, and only recognized commands from Wang Tao; even Jiang Shixue couldn¡¯t order it around. As to why it would only listen to Wang Tao, he surmised it was probably because he was the one who had awakened the [Night Demon Type I]. Then Wang Tao conducted an experiment. He commanded the [Night Demon Type I] to revert to its heart form, then collected the heart back into the Space Backpack. Once inside the Space Backpack, the status of [Night Demon Type I] turned to "Dormant." Wang Tao let Jiang Shixue attempt to awaken it. Just as he had thought, it no longer obeyed him, only Jiang Shixue! This was pretty interesting, as it allowed others to have control. However, Wang Tao had the Space Backpack; without it, how could others put it into a dormancy... Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure. He speculated that maybe it was related to time? Perhaps if it wasn¡¯t used for a long duration, it would slowly drift into dormancy? Then, Wang Tao tested whether the [Night Demon Type I] could be controlled mentally. Jiang Shixue¡¯s Hidden Ability, [Eyes of Contract], could control other creatures to a certain extent, but those creatures had to be much weaker than her. It had no effect on the [Night Demon Type I]. Wang Tao also possessed abilities like Mental Disturbance and Mental Shock, all of which were ineffective. After discussing it with Jiang Shixue, he discovered it wasn¡¯t that they couldn¡¯t control it, but that they didn¡¯t have the option to control it at all¡ªthe Night Demon seemed to be devoid of spiritual power! Simply put, no matter how smart you are or how skilled at persuasion, if you try to deceive it, you won¡¯t succeed! It¡¯s not because it¡¯s clever, but because it effectively doesn¡¯t have a brain! This, too, was an advantage; at least there was no worry of it being controlled by someone else! Last, and most importantly, was the matter of how strong this [Night Demon Type I] was. Under Wang Tao¡¯s control, [Night Demon Type I] had a brief exchange with Jiang Shixue. After which, Wang Tao came to a conclusion¡ªit was very strong! That speed, that defense, that attack power, were simply outstanding! But, to fully unleash the [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s strength, two conditions had to be met. The first condition was, the controller of the [Night Demon Type I], which was Wang Tao, must handle it well. Wang Tao¡¯s control was the limit for this [Night Demon Type I]; if he didn¡¯t handle it well, then the result would be a disaster. At present, Wang Tao was exploring gradually and felt he still had significant room for improvement. The second condition was to increase the [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s HP. This was similar to most humans: the more HP, the stronger the force. It currently only had 10,000 HP, with an upper limit of 100,000, and only when it was at full HP could it unleash its maximum capability. However, Wang Tao had experimented and found that increasing its HP was too costly! A Level 3 Crystal Core could only add 100 HP to the limit! A Level 2 Crystal Core added 10 HP to the limit! And as for a Level 1 Crystal Core... They were of no use at all. That meant even a Level 4 Crystal Core could, at most, add 1,000 HP to the limit. The consumption was outrageous when he had increased the HP of the Entangling Roots before. But the consumption for the [Night Demon Type I] was ten times higher than that of the Entangling Roots! Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores, so naturally, it was not possible to use them for this purpose. He was also reluctant to use Level 3 Crystal Cores since they were his main supply, and he didn¡¯t have an abundance of them. Therefore, Wang Tao didn¡¯t do much to upgrade it, for the time being, limiting it to 11,100 HP. Just to increase that 1,100 HP, he used up ten Level 3 Crystal Cores and ten Level 2 Crystal Cores. The cost was just too great... Indeed, 10,000 HP seemed rather low, but it had strong defense. Wang Tao felt that under his control, it could probably be considered half a Level 4? Even if not half, if it were just one-third, Wang Tao would be satisfied. Next time he encountered four-level zombies, Wang Tao thought he could let the [Night Demon Type I] have a try; perhaps it could have an unexpected effect! However, it also had a vulnerability to ultraviolet light, so he would have to be cautious when using it in the future... Wang Tao studied the [Night Demon Type I] for a while and then reverted it back to a heart shape. If he let it remain in the form of a Night Demon, Wang Tao felt it might be easily mistaken for something dangerous. Once others had seen it, if a real Night Demon entered the base and was mistaken for this one, it could lead to a ¡¯boy who cried wolf¡¯ scenario. Although the likelihood was small, it was better to be safe than sorry. After the [Night Demon Type I] turned back into a heart, upon a single command from Wang Tao, it could instantly transform into a Night Demon; the speed was also very fast. There was a minor issue, though¡ªit could only turn into a large heart, unable to wind around Wang Tao¡¯s wrist like the Entangling Roots and Iron Tree Vines, which made it inconvenient to carry. Wang Tao placed it on the table, where it remained a motionless heart, resembling a curiosity-bearing sculpture. Unexpectedly, the [Night Demon Type I] made for a rather fitting decorative piece, in tune with the apocalyptic wasteland atmosphere. ... After examining the four items dropped by the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, Wang Tao turned his attention to the five Loot Packs. In the first pack was still a Crystal Core Gift Bag, containing five Crystal Cores. But the variety of these cores was not quite what Wang Tao had expected. Chapter 627 - 260 Night Demon Set_1 The crystal cores within the Crystal Core Gift Bag were a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Awakening], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core - Ascension], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Energy Boost], and a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - HP Enhancement]. To have an orange Ascension Crystal Core! Wang Tao was overjoyed, as this was directly usable! As for the other crystal cores, compared to the Level 3 Night Demon, they were missing one [Physical Enhancement] but had gained one [Awakening]! [Level 4 Crystal Core - Awakening] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side Effects: None)] Explore more at empire [Awakening: After fusion, one can obtain 100 Awakening Energy] Seeing the attributes of this Awakening Crystal Core, Wang Tao raised his eyebrows. The awakening crystal core almost had the same effect as the "Awakening Energy Pearl" dropped by the Black Skin Night Demon! The reason for "almost" is that although this awakening crystal core had no side effects, it contained impurities, whereas the Awakening Energy Pearl did not. From this perspective, the Awakening Energy Pearl was obviously better. However, better things are certainly rarer; Wang Tao guessed he¡¯d been lucky to have looted the Awakening Energy Pearl beforehand¡ªsuch items must be uncommon. Of course, this is not to say that Awakening Crystal Cores are bad. On the contrary, Wang Tao felt that in the future, this type of crystal core would definitely become one of the most valuable ones! The premise is that humanity can last long enough for a large number of Awakeners to appear, allowing this kind of crystal core to become widespread... Shaking his head, Wang Tao presently had no ability to ponder these things. He continued to look through the loot. The second Loot Pack contained potions and Potion Recipes. [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) x10] [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) Recipe x1] [Strength Potion (Medium): After injection, one¡¯s overall strength increases by 50%-150% (the stronger the physique, the larger the increase), lasting 1 minute with a cooldown of 6 hours] [Strength Potion (Medium) Recipe: Once learned, each crafting session can produce 5 Medium Strength Potions. Required materials: Strength Mushroom x5, Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water* 100ml, 10 kcal of food] Compared to the small potion, the medium potion reduced the cooldown time and raised both the upper and lower limits of the enhancement. However, it also requires more core materials. "Still no potion that permanently increases attributes, how stingy!" Wang Tao muttered a complaint before learning the potion recipe and turning to the third loot pack. [Received: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Received: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x100] [Received: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x20] [Received: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x5] This pack contained only ultraviolet tools, and compared to the Level 3 Lord Night Demon, there were more Mini Illumination Shells and Light Strips, plus the addition of a Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb. [Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb: Once ignited and launched into the air, it emits a strong ultraviolet light in a certain area, lasting for 3 minutes] This Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb looked like a mortar that could be directly launched into the air. Wang Tao thought the ultraviolet strength of this device must be very strong; since it can be emitted into the air, it must be able to radiate over a vast area. For example, the Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell, with its limited range, only works well within about a ten meters radius. When he gets the chance, Wang Tao plans to test the power of this large illumination bomb. The fourth Loot Pack contained items Wang Tao had seen before. [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] "Another one!" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had just said that the Awakening Energy Pearl was better than the Awakening Crystal Core but would certainly be rarer, yet it turned up in the Loot Pack! He now had two Awakening Energy Pearls and one Awakening Crystal Core. That meant he effectively had 300 Awakening Energy. He just didn¡¯t know how much that counted for; whether 300 was a lot or a little... Wang Tao looked at the last Loot Pack. [Received: Night Demon Belt Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Gloves Blueprint x1] Just as Wang Tao expected, among the contents were Blueprints for Night Demon Equipment, and there were two blueprints at that! [Night Demon Belt Blueprint: One can craft a Night Demon Belt. Required materials: Level 4 Lord Night Demon¡¯s Bone x5kg, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Rubber x20] [Night Demon Belt: Attributes unknown] This belt blueprint required bones from a Level 4 Lord Night Demon and a Level 4 Crystal Core! Fortunately, Wang Tao had previously extracted bones from the Black Skin Night Demon; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to craft it now. [Night Demon Gloves Blueprint: One can craft a pair of Night Demon Gloves. Required materials: Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Blade x20, Steel Wire x20, Rubber x20, Screw x20, gauze x20] [Night Demon Gloves: Attributes unknown] The second blueprint was for Night Demon Gloves, and Wang Tao was currently unsure whether they¡¯d augment attack or defense. However, he had enough materials on hand to give it a try and find out! So, Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue bring over the Night Demon bones they had brought back earlier, and then he gathered all the required materials. Both of these equipment pieces needed a Level 4 Crystal Core, but thankfully, Wang Tao had looted a Crystal Core Gift Bag, so he did have some Level 4 Crystal Cores available. After some thought, Wang Tao decided to use the [Strength] and [Energy Boost] Level 4 Crystal Cores. Not that those two crystal cores were trash, but the others were better. After all, the remaining ones were [HP Enhancement], [Ascension], [Omnipotent], and [Awakening]... so these two had to be sacrificed. Chapter 628 - 260 Night Demon Set_2 Wang Tao started by crafting the Night Demon Belt. A rainbow light flashed by, and a simple, unadorned black belt appeared. The style of this belt was modest and low-key, similar to the Night Demon Breastplate and Leg Armor. [Night Demon Belt] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, defensive power +70] The attributes of this belt were strong, with both durability and defensive power increased by 70 points, the highest Wang Tao had seen so far. Wang Tao tied it around his waist to try it on, and it fit perfectly. However, the suit attributes he had imagined did not appear. "Could it still be insufficient?" Now, Wang Tao already had the Night Demon Breastplate, Night Demon Leg Armor, and Night Demon Belt, yet the suit attributes still hadn¡¯t appeared. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry; he began crafting the Night Demon Gloves. Another rainbow light flashed, and a pair of gloves appeared before Wang Tao. "Eh? Gloves?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised because the gloves were semi-transparent and as thin as cicada wings. [Night Demon Gloves] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, defensive power +70, attack speed +10%] The durability and defensive power were the same as the belt, both increased by 70 points, but with an additional attribute that increased attack speed! Wang Tao immediately put on the gloves. These gloves were very snug and breathable, feeling as if he wasn¡¯t wearing any at all, and there was no discomfort. This made Wang Tao quite comfortable, but what was even more pleasing was that the suit attributes finally appeared! Only... [Night Demon Set: All basic attributes enhanced (Attributes not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] "Not activated? It needs Awakening Energy for activation?" Wang Tao tried using the Awakening Crystal Core and Awakening Energy Pearl, but to no avail. It seemed that the needed Awakening Energy came from the wearer¡¯s own Awakening Energy! Meaning, he would have to wait until his own awakening to use the suit attributes? "Darn!" Wang Tao was somewhat helpless. The anticipated suit attributes had appeared, but activating them was too difficult! Still, even without the suit attributes, the equipment¡¯s base attributes were usable. They could provide him a considerable increase in defensive power. Wang Tao looked over his current gear. He had two sets in total: The Night Demon Set and the Rush Suit¡ª [Night Demon Breastplate], [Night Demon Leg Armor], [Night Demon Belt], [Night Demon Gloves]. [Rush Left Arm], [Rush Right Arm], [Rush Knee Guards], [Rush Combat Boots]. Both sets of equipment could be worn at the same time without conflict. However, the Rush Suit was low on durability. Mainly because of the slap from the Giant Zombie yesterday, which Wang Tao usually cherished, but that one hit knocked out a lot of durability... "If only I could get another Rush Suit as a spare..." Wang Tao thought, stroking his chin. The Rush Suit was actually pretty good. The defensive power was a secondary concern; the main thing was its Rush Ability. But this Rush Ability had a 1-hour cooldown, and for the former Wang Tao, that hour wasn¡¯t considered long. One Rush was enough for either attacking or escaping. But now... For instance, facing something like the Giant Zombie required multiple Rushes to escape, and his suit was falling behind. However, suits were hard to come by, dependent on luck. All he could do was hope to encounter more zombies that could drop equipment blueprints. After checking these spoils of war, it was already five o¡¯clock in the afternoon. Testing the Night Demon Type I had taken quite a bit of time. "Aren¡¯t you tired?" Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, who had been by his side all this time. Lightning was already a bit tired, dozing off beside Wang Tao¡¯s feet. "Brother, I¡¯m fine," Jiang Shixue shook her head. She had been quite injured the night before, but her body seemed to have blood regeneration, and she was already much better. "Alright, then let¡¯s make a hearty dinner together." Wang Tao had some food supplies in his car, and there were also some leftovers at the military base. Everyone had almost lost their lives in the city center the night before; now, they needed to relax properly. "Great!" Jiang Shixue nodded with interest. The two spent some time cooking a big table full of dishes and then went to wake the others. "Wow, Wang Tao, did you cook all this?" Yang Changhong rubbed her eyes in astonishment. It wasn¡¯t necessarily that Wang Tao had cooked so well, but they hadn¡¯t eaten proper food recently. Suddenly seeing a table full of dishes gave her a sense of returning to pre-apocalyptic times. "Little Xue and I cooked it together, everyone, please try it." Wang Tao said with a smile. Everyone still had some injuries on them, so being able to enjoy a delicious meal at this time was quite delightful. After eating, night had already fallen. In front of everyone, Wang Tao took out the [Night Demon Type I] and showed it off. He needed to let them know his abilities, to avoid any misunderstanding and being attacked as a monster. As expected, everyone was startled by the [Night Demon Type I]. Once they learned it was Wang Tao¡¯s weapon, they were both shocked and curious. Wang Tao let them touch it to get familiar with it and took the opportunity to tell them about advancing to Level 4. "Ascension to Level 4 requires awakening... " "Awakening requires a Secret Key..." "The Secret Key is obtained by killing Level 4, Lord level zombies or higher..." "And activating the Secret Key needs three conditions..." "..." Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone was a bit dumbfounded. Level 4 was strong, but the difficulty of ascending to Level 4 was too great, wasn¡¯t it? "...So, we need to push our strength to the peak of Level 3, enhance all abilities to Level 4, and possess a hidden attribute... only then can we awaken?" Stay connected with empire Chapter 629 - 260 Night Demon Set_3 He Jijun frowned and said. "Yes." Wang Tao nodded. "Then what are hidden attributes?" He Jijun asked curiously. "Some people have special abilities that might not have been prominent or even apparent before the apocalypse, but they started to manifest themselves afterward. That¡¯s what hidden attributes are. Though these abilities can also be acquired later on, it¡¯s all a matter of luck..." Wang Tao explained briefly. He didn¡¯t want to reveal his ability to see others¡¯ attributes, so he organized his language and found another way to say it. "Do you have any hidden attributes, Wang Tao?" Yang Changhong quickly asked. Wang Tao looked towards everyone, his eyes suddenly flashing green. "Night vision is my hidden ability." He did not mention the other two attributes, [Body Strengthening] and [Plant Affinity], because those two were not as easy to demonstrate. The others suddenly realized. They wondered why they had never seen a crystal core with night vision ability¡ªit turned out to be Wang Tao¡¯s hidden ability! "Does that mean, Wang Tao, you can awaken?" Yang Changhong¡¯s eyes showed some joy. She was even happier than Wang Tao at the chance of his awakening. "Hmm," Wang Tao nodded. "But it¡¯s only a chance. I¡¯m not sure what awakening would be like exactly." "That¡¯s great!" Yang Changhong clenched her fists tightly. "If you could awaken, Wang Tao, then we wouldn¡¯t be so helpless against those four-level zombies!" Yang Changhong was very confident in Wang Tao¡¯s strength. Now that Wang Tao could kill a level 4 lord, it would be even less of an issue once he ascended to level 4! Seeing Yang Changhong so confident, Wang Tao sweat a little. He was not nearly as confident in himself... "Then Brother Wang, you still lack..." Nie Siyan promptly asked. "I only lack the special ability level. I have one ability that hasn¡¯t reached level 3, level 10, and I don¡¯t have enough level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores. I need at least two more..." Wang Tao said with some helplessness. "So, we still have to hunt for four-level zombies!" He Jijun said solemnly. "Yes. We need to kill at least another two, and if we¡¯re unlucky, maybe a few more..." "..." Everyone went silent. After all, last night¡¯s experience told them that four-level zombies were much stronger than level 3 zombies! They managed to over-power level 2 while at level 1, and level 3 while at level 2, but it¡¯s almost impossible to beat level 4 zombies at level 3! And they were not just any level 4 zombies¡ªthey had to kill a level 4 lord... That was an almost impossible task! After all, killing just one Lord Night Demon was difficult enough, not to mention that it attracted the Giant Zombie. With their current strength, encountering a Giant Zombie meant death... "This task is very difficult, but we can¡¯t give up!" At this point, He Jijun spoke. He looked at everyone with a firm gaze. "Zombies evolve faster than we humans. If we can¡¯t overcome even this difficulty, then we can only wait for death! And don¡¯t forget, we managed to kill one level 4 Lord Night Demon! Even though we took advantage of a situation, nighttime is when zombies are strongest... We even escaped the encirclement of two Giant Zombies! So I believe, we will definitely succeed!" Listening to him, everyone¡¯s confidence slowly returned. Indeed, if they could kill the first one, they could kill the second, the third, the countless ones to come! Continue your adventure with empire Even the Giant Zombie, so formidable, could not catch them¡ªthey couldn¡¯t give up! "So next, I think we should make some preparations!" He Jijun looked towards Wang Tao. "What do you mean?" Wang Tao asked. He Jijun¡¯s face immediately showed a smile. "Don¡¯t forget, Wang Tao, there are some thermal weapons in this military base! We initially thought about not making too much noise, to ensure the hunting of zombies would not be too dangerous. But now, facing a level 4 Lord Zombie, we will definitely make noise and attract a lot of zombies, possibly even a Giant Zombie! So we might as well not hide anymore. When we see a level 4 Lord Zombie, let¡¯s just go for it with heavy firepower! As long as we can kill the level 4 zombie quickly, we have a chance to escape!" "Sss¡ª" Wang Tao was initially shocked by He Jijun¡¯s words, then felt that He Jijun was right! Considering yesterday¡¯s fight with the Lord Night Demon, it would definitely attract zombies, so why not be more aggressive? As long as they killed the Lord Zombie before other zombies or the Giant Zombie arrived, wouldn¡¯t that solve the problem? Of course, this was still very risky, but not as risky as being chased by two Giant Zombies. "Okay! Old He, you command this time!" Wang Tao decisively nodded. When it came to thermal weapons, Wang Tao was not that knowledgeable. Everyone has their field of expertise, and it was better left to He Jijun. "Okay!" He Jijun did not refuse, and then he added. "It¡¯s getting late now, everyone should rest well. I can¡¯t sleep anyway, so it¡¯s the perfect time for me to figure things out tonight..." "Okay!" Wang Tao nodded. The matter was settled, and they had to try using thermal weapons to handle the level 4 zombies. The biggest problem with using thermal weapons was how to escape after attracting a large number of zombies. But for that issue, He Jijun already had a plan¡ªthat was the helicopter in the hangar! However, flying required relatively good weather. Light rain was okay, but heavy rain, strong winds, and thunderstorms were not suitable. They had to wait for good weather... Everyone went to rest. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go back to his own room but followed Yang Changhong to hers. "What are you doing here?" Yang Changhong¡¯s face blushed as she pretended to be clueless. "Need to replenish some energy!" Wang Tao immediately hugged her, and the two rolled onto the bed together. He was still low on HP, and because he was low on HP, his energy had not fully recovered. He needed to first replenish his energy and then use self-healing to restore his HP. "You¡¯re still injured. Don¡¯t move, let me do it..." Knowing that Wang Tao had an energy-replenishing ability, Yang Changhong considerately lay on top of him... Chapter 630 - 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_1 The next day, early morning. When Wang Tao awoke, he was the only one left in the bed. Looking at his full HP and full mana, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but sigh with admiration; Yin and Yang Balance, the ability to regenerate mana, was truly amazing. After a night¡¯s rest, both HP and mana were full. Especially since Jiang Shixue had considerately let Wang Tao rest without lifting a finger, allowing him to enjoy the whole process. After washing up and stepping outside, he saw a dark figure suddenly pouncing toward him. Wang Tao crouched down and hugged Dog Lightning. "Were you waiting for me to get up?" "Woof!" "Good boy!" Wang Tao rubbed Lightning¡¯s head and then went downstairs with him. He found He Jijun and wanted to hear his thoughts. "I was just about to look for you! I want to check out that helicopter." He Jijun said to Wang Tao. "Okay, let¡¯s go together." The helicopter was in the hangar, and there were still those soldier zombies inside. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t killed them before and had left them in the hangar. Wang Tao and He Jijun arrived at the hangar together and looked at the figures still engaged in loading and unloading, both with mixed emotions. Wang Tao used Mental Disturbance to take control of them and got them into a small room and locked the door. Then the two approached the helicopter. Wang Tao asked, "What are you planning to do?" "I¡¯m planning to mount a few heavy machine guns on it..." He Jijun said, stroking his chin. This was a military transport helicopter with quite a spacious interior, capable of carrying over twenty people. In addition to carrying them, there was definitely room for more weapons. There were already provisions for weapon mounts inside. However, it could only fit two heavy machine guns, and He Jijun, thinking that wasn¡¯t enough firepower, planned to add two more! "Come help me modify it; it¡¯s slow going by myself." "Sure!" Wang Tao also called Xu Xiaojun over, and the three of them began modifying the helicopter. On the left and right doors of the helicopter, two Type 400 heavy machine guns were installed, firing 12.7mm bullets. Their power was naturally beyond question. The only downside was the slow rate of fire, with a combat rate of about 300 rounds per minute. After all, this wasn¡¯t meant for installation on aircraft or dedicated for anti-air use, hence the low firing rate. What Wang Tao actually preferred was the six-barrel Fire God Gatling gun with its ultra-fast firing rate, thousands of rounds per minute, and ferocious firepower. Unfortunately, this military base didn¡¯t have that. They had some originally, but they were destroyed in earlier battles with the zombies. Of course, a regular heavy machine gun was not bad either. Plus, a slower firing rate had its advantages¡ªit was less wasteful with bullets. There weren¡¯t many bullets left at the military base. After spending a whole day and making many modifications, He Jijun finally managed to mount all four heavy machine guns. Two machine guns were installed on each of the two side doors of the helicopter, and these two sets of guns were tied together, meaning one person could control two machine guns at the same time. "There are six of us and one dog. I¡¯ll fly the helicopter, and we need one person as co-pilot. Then two people will control the four machine guns, with the remaining two loading bullets..." He Jijun explained to everyone. Among them, only He Jijun knew how to fly the helicopter and was very proficient at it, so naturally, he would be the pilot. As for the co-pilot, although no one else knew how to fly, they could learn. They didn¡¯t need to be too proficient, just as an emergency backup. Wang Tao was immediately conflicted; he wanted to learn to fly the helicopter but also wanted to shoot guns. After some thought, Wang Tao decided he wanted it all! Giving up shooting was out of the question, but he could also learn to fly the helicopter, regardless of whether he would actually fly it or not. Wang Tao then gathered everyone together. "Old He will explain how to fly the helicopter, and everyone should listen carefully. We might not need it, but it could come in handy at a crucial moment." "Alright!" Everyone was quite interested in learning to fly the helicopter. So, He Jijun gave a static demonstration in the hangar, familiarizing them with the helicopter¡¯s various functions before taking them on an actual flight. After spending another day, everyone had memorized the theoretical knowledge well enough. It was hard to say whether it would be useful at a crucial moment, but as long as they could rote memorize, that was enough. They didn¡¯t have the luxury of time to learn slowly. Next was the practical operation. Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t much wind that day, and though it was still raining, it didn¡¯t affect much. So He Jijun began to take Wang Tao and the others for a test flight. The helicopter was towed out of the hangar by a military vehicle and started up. Humming¡ª "This sound is too loud; even the rain can¡¯t cover it..." Nie Siyan, who had never been on a helicopter before, looked pale at the noise. "This is one of the reasons I didn¡¯t use the plane before." Wang Tao said somewhat helplessly. He had ridden in a helicopter while filming in the past, so he knew how loud they could be. Wang Tao could already imagine how many zombies they would attract when they took this thing into the city... All of them, including Dog Lightning, boarded the helicopter and closed the door. He Jijun immediately said, "Attention, taking off." Humming¡ª Soon, the helicopter lifted off the ground. For Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, and Jiang Shixue, who had never been in a helicopter before, it was quite astonishing. Wang Tao and Yang Changhong had ridden in one before, but that was a thing of the past, and the experience now had its own unique feeling. He Jijun didn¡¯t dare to fly the helicopter too far, just circling near the base. The zombies around the military base had originally been cleared out, but now from high in the sky, they could visibly see a lot of zombies being attracted over. Chapter 631 - 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_2 Wang Tao was mentally prepared for this situation; it was unavoidable. They would have to go back and clear out these zombies later. Thus, three days passed. He Jijun¡¯s teaching had stopped. After all, time was precious, and it was not possible to spend a large amount of time on practice. Mainly, he, as the pilot, was to fly; the others were just for emergency backup. Wang Tao had also practiced many times. Not to say that he was particularly skilled, but at least he could get the helicopter off the ground. He also learned how to handle some emergency situations. By now, a large number of zombies had accumulated outside the military base, and they needed to be cleared out quickly. After scanning the area and confirming there were no four-level zombies, Wang Tao led a few people out of the military base. It took quite some time, but eventually, they cleaned up all the zombies outside the military base. And indeed, there were some unexpected gains. Wang Tao obtained another type of actively attacking Crystal Core, and there were several of them, which could be synthesized into an Epic Crystal Core without side effects. [Level 3 Crystal Core?Continuous Slash] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Body stiffness)] [Continuous Slash: Consumes energy to attack twice rapidly] The ones using the Continuous Slash Ability were a group of elite zombies that looked particularly stiff. At that time, everyone thought they were zombies with poor mobility. Indeed, their agility was low, but their attacks were decisive, able to strike twice instantaneously! The speed of those two strikes was extremely fast, impossible to block. Nie Siyan suffered a setback from them. Luckily, in the end, they were dealt with by Wang Tao. Wang Tao synthesized this Crystal Core into an Epic Crystal Core and then skillfully integrated it with his [Integration]. Shortly after, Wang Tao learned a New Superpower! Wang Tao tried it out; the damage of a single slash using Continuous Slash was not as high as that of high-frequency vibration, but the damage from two slashes exceeded that of high-frequency vibration! This was good news for Wang Tao, as it significantly enhanced his attacking ability. Now he was only missing one more attack-type Ability. If he could find that, it would be perfect. However, the zombies around the base had been cleaned out, and there were no other gains. They could only search in the city. "Wang Tao, what do you think? I feel that the weather has been good these past days. Although the rain hasn¡¯t stopped, there hasn¡¯t been much wind or thunder..." He Jijun looked to Wang Tao. Wang Tao took a deep breath, then said sternly, "Then... tomorrow, we shall make a trip to the city district tomorrow!" Upon hearing this, everyone felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. They had been training at the base for so long, just waiting for this day. "As for the personnel arrangement... Old He will fly the helicopter, Nie Siyan as co-pilot, Jiang Shixue and I will be shooting, Zhang Hong and Little Jun will load bullets." Everyone¡¯s role was important, but as far as shooting was concerned, Wang Tao felt it appropriate only for himself, He Jijun, and Jiang Shixue. However, He Jijun would be flying the helicopter, so he naturally could not shoot. Wang Tao had the Precision Shooting Ability, and Little Xue had good eyesight, so the two of them would shoot. Everyone naturally had no objections to this arrangement. "Woof!" Lightning suddenly barked. Wang Tao looked down at Lightning, who sat at his feet with a serious expression, and said with a smile, "You come with me to help me stay alert to the enemies." "Woof!" That night, they began refueling the helicopter, performed simple maintenance, and loaded various ammunition, incendiary grenades, smoke grenades, and other items onto it... ... The next day, everyone got up early. "God is helping us too!" After looking at the sky, He Jijun grinned. Today was still a rainy day without much wind or thunder. After breakfast, they were all fully armed. Wang Tao waved his hand. "Let¡¯s go!" Xu Xiaojun drove out first, pulling the helicopter out of the hangar. The corrosive acid rain kept falling; if the helicopter stayed in the hangar, it would eventually be damaged, so it needed to be well protected. He Jijun started the helicopter, and everyone entered in single file. "Departure!" Wrrrrrr¡ª The helicopter made a huge noise as it moved towards the city district. Inside the helicopter, as Wang Tao looked at the increasing number of zombies below, he felt somewhat helpless. The noise from the helicopter attracted all the zombies on the ground. Even though these zombies couldn¡¯t keep up with the helicopter, as the zombies in front fell behind, more zombies from the back filled in. These zombies were like the helicopter¡¯s shadow, almost running along with it. It was quite chilling to watch. "This is horrific!" Zhang Hong exclaimed as he looked down at the scene below. There was a saying among the survivors¡ªthat you don¡¯t know how many zombies are around you until you make a big racket! Now, that saying was proved true; along the road they traveled, even though it seemed clear of zombies, as soon as the helicopter passed by, zombies ran out from all corners! It felt as though these zombies were like cockroaches; in these deserted places, if you find one, there definitely isn¡¯t just one, but at least a swarm! "Wang Tao, do you think these zombies can reproduce?" Zhang Hong suddenly asked. "That¡¯s really hard to say..." Wang Tao frowned. Although he hadn¡¯t seen zombies with the ability to reproduce, they had been to the Night Demon¡¯s Nest and observed that Night Demons could hatch more of their kind. Of course, that hatching couldn¡¯t be considered reproduction, as they used humans or ordinary zombies to create new Night Demons, resulting in a one-for-one output. It didn¡¯t increase the number of zombies. Chapter 632 - 261 Stirring the Tide of Corpses_3 But it doesn¡¯t eliminate the possibility of zombies capable of reproduction, given the vast array of zombie types. If it¡¯s true, Wang Tao feels it would probably be like the incubation flesh in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. It¡¯s impossible to imagine zombies giving birth to children, after all, the organs in their bodies are all decayed, and they should no longer have the ability to reproduce... The speed of flying a plane is much faster than driving, even a helicopter, not known for speed, can reach the city center in just a few minutes. Looking at the skyscrapers far away, Wang Tao immediately said to He Jijun, "Keep away from the buildings, otherwise if we encounter Giant Zombies, there may be visual blind spots." "I understand!" He Jijun nodded. He didn¡¯t plan to enter the city from here. After all, the image of that Giant Zombie disguising itself as a building at night was still vivid in his mind. The helicopter circled around and entered the city from a place where the buildings were relatively low. And in the time it took to circle around, a massive number of zombies had already gathered below! Especially those Mad Demon Zombies, they were running and roaring chaotically below, looking extremely terrifying. If someone fell down at this moment, even Nie Siyan with her jump ability, would probably be torn to shreds instantly. However, as terrifying as the large gathering of zombies was, it actually made Wang Tao¡¯s search easier... "No Level 4 zombies, keep moving." Wang Tao¡¯s target this time was the Level 4 Lord Zombies. Other than Level 4 zombies, even Level 3 Lords wouldn¡¯t get a second glance from him unless they provoked him. After all, they had already made such a commotion. If they wasted time with other zombies, it would be too time-consuming. Only Wang Tao could see HP bars and distinguish the levels of zombies. The others lacked this ability, so they were all observing their surroundings, wary of those two Giant Zombies. Today¡¯s luck was neither good nor bad, they had yet to encounter a Level 4 Lord Zombie, nor had they encountered any Giant Zombies. This made Wang Tao and his companions breathe a sigh of relief. Even though they were fully armed today with fierce firepower, if they really encountered a Giant Zombie, they would still have to flee... "Hmm?" Suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned serious. "Did you find something?" Yang Changhong quickly asked. "Not a Level 4 zombie, but I think I¡¯ve found a Night Demon¡¯s Nest!" Wang Tao spoke. His Plant Affinity Ability could sense that, in a building wrapped in plant roots ahead, there were many zombies lying motionless, much like Night Demons. Night Demons typically rest in their nests during the day. Everyone¡¯s expressions turned solemn upon hearing this. Their previous encounter in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest had left a deep impression. Afterward, they had analyzed the origin of that Level 4, Lord Night Demon. They all speculated that the nest might have housed two Lord Night Demons, one Level 3 and one Level 4! This would explain why the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, found them so quickly¡ªit might have been returning home, only to stumble upon the intruders... Now that Wang Tao had discovered another Lord Zombie, it¡¯s possible that there was also a Level 4 Night Demon inside! Wang Tao instructed He Jijun to fly lower, nearly grazing the building as they passed. Then, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability instantly sensed the situation inside the building. "Indeed, Night Demons!" Perception allowed him to "see" more clearly, observing the poses and sizes of the Night Demons inside! When the helicopter flew by, those Night Demons were awakened. They were moving restlessly within the building, appearing somewhat agitated, but dared not come out. Wang Tao carefully sensed it and found that it was a smaller Night Demon¡¯s Nest compared to before, harboring roughly dozens of Level 3 Elite Night Demons, with no Level 3 Lords or Level 4 zombies. Theoretically, there should be a Lord in a Night Demon¡¯s Nest. If there wasn¡¯t one, it might have either died or gone out. Wang Tao thought the latter was more likely. There could occasionally be conflicts among zombies, but with the strength of Night Demons, they shouldn¡¯t be killed by other zombies. Wang Tao quietly took note of this location to check back later when possible. And just at that moment, a sense of alarm suddenly arose in Wang Tao¡¯s mind. He immediately yelled at He Jijun, "Go now!" Without saying another word, He Jijun pulled the joystick, causing the helicopter to ascend sharply. About ten seconds after the helicopter left that building, a huge root-like object suddenly came around from behind the building, whipping at where the helicopter had just been. Fortunately, the helicopter had already left, and the tendril hit nothing. "What the hell!" All the onlookers shivered at this scene. Had the helicopter been struck, wouldn¡¯t it have crashed directly to the ground! "It¡¯s a Level 3 Plant Monster Lord, it was hiding on the other side of this building!" Wang Tao explained, then gestured, "Let¡¯s go there!" Humming¡ª He Jijun circled around to the back of the building. Then they saw a giant tree, towering skyward from within the building! This tree was not the actual body of the Plant Monster; it had no HP bar, indicating it was not aggressive. The real body of the Plant Monster was one of the roots, hidden inside this giant tree. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability, they would have never noticed! "Looking for death!" Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to waste time on zombies below Level 4, but that didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t fight back when attacked. Wang Tao immediately activated his Iron Wall Ability and Precision Shooting appeared! Then he aimed at the root and pulled the trigger. "Ratatat¡ª" Two parallel Heavy Machine Guns fired at the same time, the furious firepower instantly covering the root. [-1478] [-1578] [-1034] [...] This Plant Monster had quite high Defense, the Heavy Machine Gun only hit for a thousand HP. But it was too large to avoid the shots and was soon blasted to pieces. As they watched its corpse and the Loot Pack on it, Wang Tao asked He Jijun to get closer so he could pull the body over with Iron Tree Vines, gathering the loot. Then Wang Tao saw that a massive horde of Mad Demon Zombies was running over from afar, their numbers dark and dense like a tidal wave. "A zombie horde... Quick, leave!" Chapter 633 - 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_1 The negative impact brought by the helicopter combined with the machine gun was even greater than Wang Tao had anticipated. He had only fired a few shots, but it had already triggered a zombie horde. And it wasn¡¯t just any horde, but one with a large number of Mad Demon Zombies! Mad Demon Zombies could climb walls. If a large number of Mad Demon Zombies climbed up to higher ground and jumped onto the helicopter, they might have actually been able to bring it down! He Jijun naturally noticed the horde as well and immediately controlled the helicopter to ascend, hurrying to leave the area. Thankfully, it was a helicopter that wasn¡¯t obstructed by terrain and could fly upwards. Otherwise, with a horde coming from all directions, there would have been no way to evade it. "Phew¡ª" As the helicopter ascended, and the zombies on the ground appeared smaller and smaller, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The scene of the zombie horde just now was terrifying, something some people had never witnessed in their entire lives. However, flying so high was safe, it also made it impossible to see the zombies below clearly. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t fleeing for his life but hunting Four-level zombies, so he had to fly lower. "Let¡¯s go to another area first and descend after we¡¯re away from the horde," He Jijun said. "Okay!" The helicopter started flying towards another area. Meanwhile, Wang Tao checked his loot. The Level 3 Root Monster he had just killed brought him 22,000 Special Energy, a Crystal Core, and three Loot Packs. [Level 3 Crystal Core - Whip] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: When using non-whip weapons, damage is reduced)] [Whip: Passive Ability, damage is increased when using whip weapons] The Crystal Core from this plant monster was quite interesting. However, no one in Wang Tao¡¯s squad used whips, so it was probably not useful for them for the time being. Inside the first Loot Pack, the Crystal Core Gift Bag contained Crystal Cores Wang Tao had seen before. They were a Red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Photosynthesis], White [Level 3 Crystal Core - Power], Blue [Level 3 Crystal Core - Nutrient Absorption], Purple [Level 3 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], and Red [Level 3 Crystal Core - Ascension]. Enjoy exclusive content from empire The second Loot Pack contained plant essence fluid. [Obtained: Plant Essence Fluid x10,000] The last Loot Pack had a Blueprint inside. [Obtained: Steel Whip Blueprint x1] [Steel Whip Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Steel Whip, required materials: Level 3 Crystal Core x1, Steel Wire x10, Screws x10, Blades x10, Rubber x10, Wood Blocks x10] [Steel Whip: Attributes Unknown] A Blueprint for a whip weapon? And the crafting requirements were not high, needing just some common materials besides a Level 3 Crystal Core. Wang Tao, with nothing else to do, immediately took out a Level 3 Crystal Core to craft it. Moments later, a whip with a metallic sheen appeared in his hands. [Steel Whip] [Level 3 (Excellent)] [Durability+40, Attack Power+40] With an increase of 40 in durability and attack power, it seemed decent enough. However, since no one among them was skilled with a whip, which might cause self-injury if used incorrectly, Wang Tao stored it away. Perhaps, he could trade it with other survivors in the future. After flying for a while and seeing no zombie horde below, He Jijun slowly lowered the altitude. As the helicopter descended, its noise quickly spread, many zombies on the streets looked up, and those in the buildings ran out. A few Mad Demon Zombies appeared, but they did not form a horde of the scale seen earlier. Seeing this, everyone breathed a temporary sigh of relief. Wang Tao immediately started scanning for zombies below. A moment later, he shook his head. "There are none in this area...let¡¯s move to the next one." He didn¡¯t spot any Four-level zombies. Unless they were hiding in buildings, but with the loud noise of the helicopter, Four-level zombies should have come out upon hearing it. So there probably were none here. But he wasn¡¯t disappointed. If Four-level zombies were everywhere, he would be fleeing for his life instead of hunting. Half an hour later. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if he should call his luck good or bad. His luck was good because he hadn¡¯t encountered any Giant Zombies for the past half-hour and hadn¡¯t triggered any large-scale zombie hordes, which was relatively safe. His luck was bad because he hadn¡¯t found any Four-level zombies until now. In fact, Wang Tao was beginning to wonder if in this urban area there was only the Night Demon and the two Giants, making just three Four-level zombies in total. And while he was harboring such doubts, he suddenly saw a large rock flying towards the helicopter! "Fly left!" Wang Tao immediately yelled. He Jijun acted swiftly upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s shout, he pushed the control stick without hesitation. Even so, the stone still grazed the helicopter. Thud! Everyone felt the helicopter shake. Fortunately, the helicopter wasn¡¯t small and had some weight to it. The stone just grazed its exterior and didn¡¯t smash into it directly. Additionally, He Jijun, with his experienced maneuver, made a quick recovery, so the helicopter was largely unharmed. They quickly looked down and saw a tall and robust figure with a bomb disposal helmet and armor embedded into its flesh, and bulging muscles all around! "Is that a..." "Level 4, Lord Zombie! Goodness, I¡¯ve finally encountered one!" Wang Tao¡¯s voice carried a hint of excitement. [HP: 100,000/100,000] Chapter 634 - 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_2 [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4 - Lord] [Awakened: Tenacity] [Tenacity: All basic attributes improved, with significant increases in Strength and Defense] This was not only a Level 4, Lord but a Level 4, Lord with a hundred thousand HP. Like the previous Night Demon Zombie, it was one of the weakest Level 4, Lords! The opportunity is right here! No need for words, just fight upon meeting! Even though this Explosion-proof Zombie could throw rocks that might even threaten the helicopter, doesn¡¯t everyone have a Ranged Attack! "Prepare to attack! Old He, it¡¯s your show!" Wang Tao adjusted the angle of his machine gun and pulled the trigger at the Explosion-proof Zombie. Da-da-da¡ª In an instant, twin streams of fire hit the Explosion-proof Zombie, producing a clinking sound. [-293] [-38] [-312] [-22] [...] "???" Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t quite believe it. The weapon in his hand was a 12.7 caliber Heavy Machine Gun! Such powerful bullets hitting the head of the Explosion-proof Zombie only caused three hundred damage, and hitting the body only a few dozen! What is this, titanium helmets and Explosion-proof shirts? And low damage aside, since Wang Tao was up high and had plenty of bullets. As long as He Jijun was skilled enough not to get hit by rocks, they would eventually kill it. But what Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect was that the Explosion-proof Zombie could regenerate HP! And its regeneration wasn¡¯t based on time; instead, the Zombie recovered HP every time Wang Tao shot it! [+100] [+100] [+100] [...] "Regenerates HP when hit? Recovers 100 each time?" Wang Tao¡¯s bullets could only inflict 300 HP damage to it, and that was when hitting the head, yet the Zombie was immediately regaining 100! This Blood Regeneration was obviously not a Self-healing Ability, because Self-healing could be interrupted. Plus, Self-healing depended on per-second recovery. With sufficiently high Defense, Self-healing was no match for this unwavering regeneration of 100 HP upon getting hit! Wang Tao found that after shooting for a while, the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s HP fluctuated but hardly decreased! Especially once He Jijun had found his position and Jiang Shixue began firing as well, with two people operating four Heavy Machine Guns at the same time against the Explosion-proof Zombie. Da-da-da¡ª Da-da-da¡ª Consequently, Wang Tao watched somewhat baffled as the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s HP fully recovered! "Stop, stop, stop!" Wang Tao hurriedly called for a stop. "What¡¯s wrong, bro?" Jiang Shixue was somewhat puzzled. Wang Tao explained, "We can¡¯t kill it like this! It has an ability to heal itself after getting hit! Don¡¯t join in for now, help me keep an eye on other areas, I¡¯ll handle this!" To kill this Explosion-proof Zombie, one must aim for the head! Hitting the head deals 300 HP damage, and then it regenerates 100, resulting in 200 HP damage. If you hit the body for a few dozen HP, it still regenerates 100 HP, so wouldn¡¯t that mean its HP just kept increasing as it got shot! Jiang Shixue did not have the Precision Shooting skill, so it was impossible for her to hit the head with every shot, leaving Wang Tao to take on the job. "Okay!" Jiang Shixue immediately stopped shooting. Meanwhile, the Explosion-proof Zombie from the nearby ruins picked up a chunk of stone and hurled it at the helicopter. They were caught off guard before because He Jijun didn¡¯t see it. Now that the Zombie was in plain sight, he definitely wouldn¡¯t be ambushed again. He Jijun immediately maneuvered the helicopter to dodge the large stone thrown by the Explosion-proof Zombie. "Roar¡ª" The Explosion-proof Zombie on the ground roared in frustration as it saw the helicopter evade and pounded its chest while standing on a pile of rubble, as if to challenge the helicopter. Wang Tao took a deep breath, focusing solely on the grip of his Heavy Machine Gun. This time, he did not use two guns simultaneously but focused on using only one. He was no longer pursuing firepower density but precision. Aiming at the Explosion-proof Zombie, he pulled the trigger! Da, da, da... [-344] [+100] [-335] [+100] [-381] Stay updated with empire [+100] [...] Wang Tao was now firing in rapid single shots. With the aid of Precision Shooting and without the Zombie intentionally dodging damage, each of Wang Tao¡¯s bullets hit its head! If he could keep landing headshots, it meant that he was only inflicting a little over 200 HP damage each time. Though it was little, as long as the Zombie didn¡¯t regenerate too much HP, he could grind it to death! "Roar¡ª" The attacked Explosion-proof Zombie picked up another stone, hurling it towards the helicopter. "Old He, you good?" As Wang Tao continued firing, he called out to He Jijun. He wanted to shoot down the Explosion-proof Zombie, which meant they couldn¡¯t fly too high, otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t be accurate enough. Yet, the Zombie could throw stones that threatened the safety of the helicopter... "No problem! Just focus on your shooting; leave the rest to me!" He Jijun responded confidently. If it was an advanced missile or something similar, he definitely couldn¡¯t evade it. But a Zombie that threw stones, which he had spotted in its exact location? If he couldn¡¯t dodge that, then his title of Soldier King would have been for nothing! Reassured by He Jijun¡¯s words, Wang Tao focused on rapid-fire with the Heavy Machine Gun. But the noise here had already attracted many Zombies, and there seemed to be the beginning of another horde forming. Jiang Shixue gripped her Heavy Machine Gun again. "Bro, I¡¯ll clear the other Zombies for you!" "Good!" Wang Tao responded. It couldn¡¯t be ruled out that other Zombies also had Ranged Attack capabilities, so he needed Jiang Shixue to help keep a lookout. Whirring¡ª Da, da, da¡ª Da-da-da¡ª Roar¡ª The sound of rotor blades, the rattling of Heavy Machine Guns, the growls of Zombies... Various sounds were mixing together, causing Wang Tao to grow somewhat irritable. Chapter 635 - 262 Explosion-proof Zombie_3 ``` However, fortunately, his willpower was not bad either, he forcibly blocked out these noises and concentrated on shooting headshots at the Explosion-proof Zombie. After one minute, the Explosion-proof Zombie had lost 20,000 HP and had 80,000 left! But by now, tens of thousands of zombies had gathered in the area! They all looked up at the helicopter with their murky eyes, howling and screaming. Yang Changhong and his companions felt their scalps tingle as they watched more and more zombies accumulate. They feared that this situation would surely attract a Giant Zombie, it was just a matter of when it would show up... Another minute later, the Explosion-proof Zombie had lost 10,000 more HP, leaving it with only 70,000! And it was at this moment that Wang Tao noticed the helmet, which could withstand heavy machine gun fire, on the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s head had cracked. The helmet had already grown onto the Explosion-proof Zombie, and with the helmet cracked, blood-red muscles were exposed directly underneath. Wang Tao subconsciously fired another shot. Bang! [-632] [+100] The damage had increased! It doubled! Wang Tao was immediately overjoyed! Previously, accounting for the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s Blood Regeneration, Wang Tao¡¯s shots could only take away 200 HP, but now one shot could deal 500 HP! Roar¡ª¡ª After realizing its helmet had shattered, the Explosion-proof Zombie became even angrier. It began attacking indiscriminately, and many nearby zombies were smashed to bits by it. Wang Tao was naturally pleased to witness this scene, and he continued to focus his attacks on the Explosion-proof Zombie. Yet another minute passed. The Explosion-proof Zombie had lost another 50,000 HP to Wang Tao¡¯s gunfire, leaving it with only 20,000 HP! It had completely entered a Frenzy, its muscles became even more developed, and its speed increased. It threw rocks frantically at the helicopter while slaughtering the surrounding zombies. Wang Tao, from some distance away, was starting to have difficulty aiming. And at that moment. A series of muffled footsteps could be heard from afar. Thump, thump, thump¡ª¡ª Wang Tao immediately looked up. In the pouring rain, within the sea of zombies that was like a black tide, a massive figure appeared! Each step it took crushed multiple zombies beneath its feet! The Giant Zombie had arrived! "Old He! Descend to within ten meters of the ground! Give me twenty seconds!" A fierce determination flashed in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. If this Level 4 Explosion-proof Zombie still had a lot of HP left, Wang Tao would have decisively given up. But now it only had 20,000 HP left, and its helmet was gone, Wang Tao had to seize this opportunity! "Alright!" He Jijun didn¡¯t say anything unnecessary and immediately began to lower the helicopter. The closer the helicopter got to the ground, the more accurate Wang Tao¡¯s heavy machine gun fire became. But the danger also increased greatly. This was a test of He Jijun¡¯s piloting skills. Wang Tao stared intently at the Explosion-proof Zombie and, at a certain moment, he threw a Weakness Potion at the zombie, then immediately pulled the trigger. Ratatatat¡ª¡ªRatatatat¡ª¡ª Wang Tao began firing in a rhythmic burst, and the HP bar of the Explosion-proof Zombie plummeted rapidly. Meanwhile, the Giant Zombie was getting closer and closer to the helicopter! Sweat broke out on the foreheads of Yang Changhong and the others; they felt as if they could smell the stench from the Giant Zombie¡¯s mouth. At this time, the helicopter was only ten meters away from the Explosion-proof Zombie. A vast number of zombies began building a wall of bodies, like a colony of ants, growing taller and taller! Jiang Shixue and the others fired their guns wildly to hold back the zombies, while Wang Tao remained incredibly calm, pinpointing his last few bullets. Ratatatat¡ª¡ª [-845] [+100] [-743] [+100] [-223] ``` ``` [0/100000] The Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s HP dropped to zero! Its murky eyes widened as it stared at the helicopter, and ultimately, it collapsed to the ground with great reluctance. Whoosh¡ª A black tendril suddenly fell from the helicopter, instantly wrapping around the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s waist. Wang Tao gave a fierce tug, pulling the massive body of the Explosion-proof Zombie to the helicopter¡¯s door. The reason Wang Tao had He Jijun descend to within ten meters was that his Iron Tree Vines only extended ten meters. Any further and he wouldn¡¯t be able to reach. "Old He, let¡¯s go!" Whirring¡ª Without needing Wang Tao¡¯s instructions, the moment He Jijun saw the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s body being hauled up, he immediately began the helicopter¡¯s ascent. But just three seconds after the helicopter began to rise, many zombies within the giant human wall jumped up at once, lunging towards the helicopter. Unfortunately, the helicopter had already taken off, and they couldn¡¯t reach it. The human wall collapsed with a thunderous crash. "That was close!" Seeing the zombie human wall fail, Jiang Shixue patted her chest, feeling her heartbeat racing. Rumble¡ª At that moment, the helicopter suddenly made a sharp turn, catching everyone inside off-guard and sending them tumbling around. Had it not been for the seat belts, they would have all been thrown out. Everyone hastily looked out the window only to see a huge, rotting palm swipe past the side of the helicopter. The wind from the palm caused the helicopter to wobble. Stay tuned for updates on empire "Giant Zombie!" "Everyone, hold tight!" He Jijun skillfully maneuvered the helicopter, flying right through the Giant Zombie¡¯s arms! Wang Tao had already grabbed the spoils from the Explosion-proof Zombie. He secured the body in the storage area at the back of the helicopter. Then he picked up the heavy machine gun again, aiming at the Giant Zombie. "I want to see just how strong you are!" Ratatat¡ª [-12] [-21] [-10] [-9] [...] [299923/300000] "..." "Retreat! Retreat quickly!" At this moment, there was activity both from the north and the south. Thud, thud, thud¡ª After seeing the figures from these two directions, Wang Tao let out a curse. "Damn! Two more Giant Zombies!" One with 200,000 HP! And the other... 400,000 HP! "I just knew there would be more Giant Zombies in the city! The Giant Zombies seemed to move slowly, but with each step covering twenty to thirty meters, it wouldn¡¯t take long for them to get here, and one of the Giant Zombies even bent down to pick up a rock! However, as they were still at some distance from the helicopter, He Jijun remained calm, throwing a bunch of incendiary and smoke bombs to distract the Giant Zombies. Wang Tao also took the opportunity to throw out many Self-Destruct Bombs outside of the helicopter. Boom, boom, boom¡ª In a violent explosion with smoke, a camouflaged helicopter burst forth! A huge boulder nearly grazed the helicopter as it flew by; the helicopter shook slightly but quickly stabilized and sped away from the area, leaving only roars in the smoke. ``` Chapter 636 - 263 Anomalous Equipment_1 "Are we safe now?" "We¡¯re safe." Inside the helicopter. When Wang Tao said they were safe, several people all let out a long sigh of relief. Though the helicopter could fly, those giants were dozens of meters tall and could throw rocks, which was very dangerous for the helicopter. If it hadn¡¯t been for He Jijun¡¯s excellent piloting skills, the helicopter might have actually been brought down by a giant zombie! To avoid leading the giant zombies to the base, He Jijun deliberately flew in other directions. Fortunately, the helicopter¡¯s fuel tank was large; otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been possible to fly for so long. But during the escape from the urban area, Wang Tao had the feeling of being watched. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was by the giant zombies, but the feeling persisted. So he kept his guard up and told He Jijun to keep flying. Half an hour later, that feeling of being spied on finally disappeared. For safety, Wang Tao had He Jijun continue to fly until now. Wang Tao actually wanted to fly a little longer, but they were running out of fuel. "Let¡¯s head back, but let¡¯s take a different route." The helicopter circled around once more, barely making it back to the military base before running out of fuel. Before landing, Wang Tao checked to make sure there were no problems with the military base, then allowed He Jijun to land. "Phew¡ª" Yang Changhong and the others staggered off the helicopter. He Jijun¡¯s piloting skills were high, but after all, this was a military transport helicopter with no comfort to speak of. Plus, they had to dodge danger, so there was practically no pleasant traveling experience; they were almost nauseated. Even Lightning, who was always spirited, seemed listless. It was only after Wang Tao stroked its head that it regained some spirit. Wang Tao was still alright, though he felt slightly uncomfortable. The one in the best mental state was He Jijun; he seemed unfazed and even drove the helicopter to the hangar. Once at the command center hall, Wang Tao took out various foods. Everyone started eating without much concern for image, even though they had already replenished some energy on the plane. But they were still hungry. "Let¡¯s summarize the battle process..." Wang Tao clapped his hands. After eating a lot, the others¡¯ spirits had revived substantially, and they immediately started discussing. By the outcome, this operation was naturally a success. They had killed Level 4 zombies and hadn¡¯t lost any personnel. It was a great victory. But from the process, there were too many dangers! If it hadn¡¯t been for their quick reactions, good skills, and a bit of luck, it¡¯s hard to say what the result would have been. And the reason for all this was the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s extremely strong defense and its ridiculous blood regeneration ability. They had originally prepared four heavy machine guns, but only one of them really inflicted damage on the Explosion-proof Zombie. This disrupted Wang Tao¡¯s initial plan and severely affected their efficiency. If the Explosion-proof Zombie¡¯s defense had been weaker and it didn¡¯t have the blood regeneration ability, then the four heavy machine guns firing at the same time should have resolved it quickly. The power of the heavy machine guns was actually quite large¡ªordinary zombies could be torn in half by a single bullet. Even Elite Zombies couldn¡¯t withstand a few bullets. But unfortunately, they encountered a Level 4 zombie with freakish defense! Wang Tao felt that Level 4 might be a watershed¡ªdealing with zombies below Level 4 with firearms was basically no problem. But after Level 4, it might start getting difficult. Especially in the end, when Wang Tao fired a few shots at the Giant Zombie with the heavy machine gun. That damage, around a dozen points per shot, was probably comparable to giving it a massage... "It¡¯s an unjust battle liability; we were just unlucky to encounter a zombie with strong defense..." Wang Tao hadn¡¯t gone into details about the Explosion-proof Zombie before, but now he briefly shared the information about this zombie. "So it¡¯s a zombie that¡¯s very good at defense and can also heal its own injuries..." Everyone suddenly understood. No wonder the Explosion-proof Zombie was so hard to kill! After Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, everyone suddenly felt eager to try again. Since they had managed to deal with that extremely defensively abnormal Explosion-proof Zombie, defeating other Level 4 zombies should be no problem! If they went again next time, maybe they could quickly resolve the other Level 4 zombies! "No matter what, we have had a great victory this time. And I¡¯ve got another Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core..." Hearing that Wang Tao had obtained another Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Find your next read on empire If they had been busy for so long without even getting a Crystal Core, that would have been frustrating. "Alright, everyone go get some good rest! Prepare for the next sortie!" "Okay!" Everyone went to their rooms to rest. Today they hadn¡¯t expended much physical strength, but they had drained a lot mentally and needed a good rest. Wang Tao went back to his room to check over the spoils of war. He had a brief look on the helicopter, and it was clear that a Level 4, Lord zombie was extraordinary. Like the Level 4, Lord Night Demon he killed before, the spoils were very rich! The Explosion-proof Zombie provided 25,000 Special Energy and 1 Awakening Key. Wang Tao now had two Awakening Keys! But looking at this Awakening Key, Wang Tao suddenly had a bad feeling... He had thought that Awakening would consume a key, but now he wondered if perhaps Awakening might involve more than just using a key? Otherwise, if one key led to Awakening, what use would subsequent keys be? Chapter 637 - 263 Anomalous Equipment_2 ``` However, exactly how that would work, he¡¯d have to wait until the awakening to find out... Wang Tao looked towards the other loot. The explosion-proof zombie itself had dropped three items, and there were also four loot packs. The three items were the crystal core from its head, the explosion-proof armor on its body, and a baton at its waist. [Level 4 Crystal Core - Defense] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: body oozing pus)] No wonder the explosion-proof zombie¡¯s defense was so high¡ªit turned out it had a passive crystal core for defense. [Received: Contaminated Explosion-proof Shirt x1] The explosion-proof armor that the zombie wore seemed somewhat surprising to Wang Tao since it bore a name, though equipment dropped directly from zombies had no attributes and hence Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if this explosion-proof shirt was strong or not, but its defensive power should be decent; he could experiment with it later. The design of this explosion-proof shirt was a bit much to handle¡ªit wasn¡¯t just clothing; there were bits of hardened flesh and blood on it. If he were to wear it, others might mistake him for a zombie... [Received: Contaminated Baton x1] The explosion-proof zombie did not utilize the baton during combat; for its size, holding a baton was probably akin to holding a toothpick. This baton was different from a normal one, too; it had fused with its flesh and mutated. It was called a baton, but its shape was that of a stick made of flesh and blood, which looked quite discomforting. Then there were the four loot packs. The first pack contained five crystal cores: a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core - Ascension], a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Awakening], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Strength], and a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Return to Light]. As there was an ascension crystal core of epic quality, this was quite good for Wang Tao. With this one, he now had three ascension crystal cores! And another awakening crystal core, also red! Among these crystal cores, it was only [Return to Light] that Wang Tao had never come across before. [Level 4 Crystal Core - Return to Light] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] Explore new worlds at empire [Purity: 35% (Side effect: irritability)] [Return to Light: Passive Ability, regenerates HP when HP is lost. The healing is fixed at 10 HP for level 1 up to 100 HP for level 10, with a cap at level 10.] That was the ability the explosion-proof zombie had to recover HP when hit! Wang Tao suddenly became a bit excited¡ªthis ability was, to some extent, miraculous! However, as he continued reading the description, he found himself at a loss for words, realizing he had celebrated too soon. This blood regenerating ability first required taking hits, and the recovery was fixed. At most, it could only restore up to 100 HP. For those with high defense, it would certainly be fitting¡ªthey take hundreds of damage and can heal a hundred. But for most people, it might not be so appropriate. If one¡¯s defense was low and they were hit for three thousand, only recovering a hundred would be kind of pointless... Still, overall, this ability was quite good¡ªbecause it has one huge advantage: it¡¯s a passive ability that doesn¡¯t require stamina. If he could gather three of them later on, Wang Tao might consider fusing them. The second loot pack from the explosion-proof zombie contained potions. [Received: Power Potion (Small) x20] [Received: Power Potion (Medium) x20] [Received: Berserk Potion x20] [Received: Hemostatic Drug x20] Though there was no potion to permanently increase attributes, the variety of four potions was still quite good. The third loot pack contained clothes. [Received: Explosion-Proof Suit x1] [Explosion-Proof Suit: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10, Defensive Power +5, Movement Speed -5%] The explosion-proof zombie had exploded out of this set of clothes, which included a helmet, jacket, pants, shoes, gloves, and more¡ªa very complete set. But this was a standard set, not one of those mutated garments. In addition to the standard durability and tear resistance, it provided a boost of 5 points to defensive power but also reduced movement speed by 5%. For Wang Tao, movement speed was clearly more valuable than this slight defensive boost, so it was quite useless to him. As for others, they might be able to wear it, but they all had iron tree armor given by Wang Tao which couldn¡¯t be worn over this set of clothes. So, it was of no use to anyone... The last loot pack contained equipment blueprints, and there were two of them! [Received: Mutant Explosion-proof Baton Blueprint x1] [Received: Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield Blueprint x1] These were respectively a baton and a shield blueprint. [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Mutant Explosion-proof Baton. Required materials: Baton x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Screws x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10, Cable x10, Electronic Components x10, Batteries x10] [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton: Has electrocution properties] [Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield. Required materials: Level Four Zombie Bones 10kg, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x10, Steel Wire x10, Screws x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10, Cable x10, Electronic Components x10, Batteries x10] [Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield: Has electrocution properties] The descriptions of these two blueprints made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes shine. The baton and shield were actually electrified! Without a second thought, Wang Tao began crafting. After killing the explosion-proof zombie, when he was collecting the loot, he had specifically brought the zombie¡¯s body with him. Based on Wang Tao¡¯s previous experience, some equipment blueprints required zombie bones. After all, this was a level four zombie, and if he indeed needed the bones and didn¡¯t have any, they would be hard to come by. ``` Chapter 638 - 263 Anomalous Equipment_3 Now, making this explosion-proof shield really came into use! The baton was easy to craft since the infected baton dropped by the explosion-proof zombie was useless, and it could be used directly for crafting. As for the level 4 crystal cores, Wang Tao thought it over and chose one with [Defensive Power] and [Strength]. Wang Tao had already fused with both these crystal cores, so they were of no use to him personally. After gathering all the materials, Wang Tao began to craft. Shortly after, two items appeared before Wang Tao. The "Mutant Explosion-proof Baton" differed in appearance from an ordinary baton, being black and red with vein-like patterns that made it look less like a proper weapon. But appearances didn¡¯t matter, what was important were the attributes. [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton] [Level Four (Excellent)] [Durability +80, Attack Power +60, comes with Electric Shock Effect (Electric Shock Effect requires Awakening Energy)] The attributes were interesting. The durability was 10 points higher than his previous level 4 equipment, although the attack power was slightly weaker. However, that was understandable, since it was, after all, a baton, so it was normal for its lethality to be weaker. But the electric shock effect requiring Awakening Energy to be used? This left Wang Tao somewhat speechless, as he didn¡¯t have Awakening Energy and could only use it as an ordinary baton. But did this mean that the electric capability must be quite strong? After all, it consumed Awakening Energy, so it should be more than just a regular stun baton, right? Wang Tao turned his attention to the shield. This shield¡¯s appearance also greatly differed from that of ordinary shields, being a square shield primarily black in color but decorated with many white bones, giving it a somewhat fierce aspect. Its attributes, however, were the highest Wang Tao had ever seen on equipment. [Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield] [Level Four (Excellent)] [Durability +100, Defensive Power +100, comes with Electric Shock Effect (Electric Shock Effect requires Awakening Energy)] Both durability and defensive power were increased by 100, which Wang Tao had never seen before in equipment. However, since it was a shield, it made sense. As for the electric shock effect, it also required Awakening Energy to be used. This made Wang Tao quite frustrated, as a person with strong curiosity, having equipment but not being able to use it was quite annoying. "Level Four! Awakening!" Wang Tao clenched his fist. The Awakening was becoming more and more attractive to him! Now, he was just one Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core and one attack type ability short. Of course, he could do without the attack type ability, but since he had the opportunity to fuse with other abilities, he couldn¡¯t let it go to waste. Wang Tao wondered whether he should first promote his other three abilities to Level Four... He could actually fuse a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core now, promoting his three already +10 abilities to Level 4. Level 4 abilities would undoubtedly be much stronger than Level 3 abilities, greatly increasing his strength. But he hesitated because his Special Energy only allowed him to extract and synthesize Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 abilities. There was no option for Level 4 abilities. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know whether ascending to Level 4 would grant him the ability to extract and synthesize Level 4 abilities. As of now, he couldn¡¯t. This meant that if he promoted his abilities to Level 4, he wouldn¡¯t be able to extract and synthesize anymore. If he encountered special circumstances where he needed to fuse other crystal cores, he wouldn¡¯t be able to use them. Thus, he hesitated... "Forget it, no rush to fuse the Ascension Crystal Core. After all, our main reliance on hunting Level Four zombies is still on thermal weapons..." In the end, Wang Tao decided not to fuse just yet. After all, they were currently using thermal weapons, and a minor increase in strength wouldn¡¯t change the overall situation. Even if he promoted his abilities to Level Four, his overall strength would still be far inferior to that of Level Four zombies, because he lacked an Awakening... The next day. Everyone assembled in the hall. Because of the helicopter¡¯s activity yesterday, more zombies had gathered around the base, and Wang Tao called everyone to clear them out. They were too few in number, and an excessive accumulation of zombies around the base could lead to unforeseen complications. Hence, whenever zombies gathered, Wang Tao would lead a team to clear them out. Soon, two military vehicles took everyone away from the military base. With the number of zombies outside being significant, Wang Tao divided them into two teams to proceed separately. After spending the whole day, they finally cleared all the zombies surrounding the base. Wang Tao unexpectedly received two pieces of good news. The first piece of good news was that his special vine had split! [Level 3 Weapon: Iron Tree Vine] [HP: 10,000/10,000 (upper limit 100,000)] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancement: Splitting (2), Independent Attack] [Compatibility: 100%] His Iron Tree Vine had to split before it could be nurtured; previously there had only been one vine, so it always had 10,000 HP. Stay connected through empire Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what would cause it to split, suspecting maybe it was related to time. Today, the Iron Tree Vine succeeded in splitting! It became two vines, each with 10,000 HP! Without a second thought, Wang Tao took out a crystal core to start nurturing. Moments later, the upper limit of the vine¡¯s HP increased to 20,000, creating two vines both with 20,000 HP. Although the HP was still not high, it wouldn¡¯t be as easy to cut as before, right? Furthermore, not only had the HP increased, but the length had also grown. Previously at 10,000 HP, the vine¡¯s length was ten meters. Now, with 20,000 HP, the length of both vines reached twenty meters! The increase in the length of the Iron Tree Vine was a significant boost for Wang Tao, who was relying on it to pull zombie corpses up to the helicopter! The length of twenty meters, now having two of them, greatly increased Wang Tao¡¯s margin for error! The second piece of good news was that Wang Tao finally obtained another active attack type crystal core! And while clearing the surrounding zombies, they also collected many Omnipotent Crystal Cores. That meant he could make all four abilities +10, and then integrate the Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! Chapter 639 - 264 Flame Monster_1 Chapter 639: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_1 This active attack-type crystal core is called ¡°Instant Strike,¡± and Yang Changhong and his team encountered a group of Level 3 Elite Zombies, and after killing them, this type of crystal core emerged. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¡¤ Instant Strike] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Reduced attack power)] [Instant Strike: Consumes energy for an instant attack. There is a certain interval between attacks.] This ability is quite interesting. According to what Yang Changhong said, the group of zombies all wielded sticks, machetes, and other cold weapons. As soon as you get into close combat with them, you¡¯re bound to be attacked first! It¡¯s difficult to see how their attacks are delivered because they¡¯re too fast. But the damage isn¡¯t very high¡ªat least not fatally threatening to those wearing Iron Tree Armors. Wang Tao, after seeing the specific attributes of this crystal core, roughly understood that the attack was purely fast. Of course, speed is also a symbol of attack power in itself; the simplest example is a bullet. Yet, the side effect of this crystal core is to reduce attack power... So this is why Yang Changhong and his team felt that the enemy¡¯s attacks were fast, but not very powerful. Of course, this was not a problem for Wang Tao. He used three Instant Strike crystal cores to synthesize an Epic one, then he extracted another ability from it and fused them. Moments later, Wang Tao successfully fused ¡°Instant Strike.¡± After experimenting, he found that without the side effects, the power of Instant Strike was indeed significant, almost on par with high-frequency vibration. However, high-frequency vibration had no interval between attacks¡ªhe could use it any time as long as he had the energy. Instant Strike, however, had an interval of about ten or more seconds. But for Wang Tao, this was already enough. The feature of Instant Strike was not the damage, but the immediate attack that made it impossible for the enemy to defend against. Wang Tao felt it was very suitable for sneak attacks. If there was a drawback, it would probably be that the attack range was rather short. Wang Tao reviewed his abilities. Instant Strike and Mastery Fusion indeed could be combined, with over ninety percent probability. Wang Tao went ahead and fused them. Shortly after, a new Mastery Fusion ability appeared, with the same name but an additional term. [Level 3 Grade 1 ¡¤ Mastery Fusion] [Mastery Fusion: Consumes energy to use abilities such as Instant Strike, Continuous Slash, Air Bullet, high-frequency vibration, Shockwave, Indirect Attack, and Energize One Hit.] Wang Tao immediately began fusing with Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Cores. His Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Core was already nearly depleted, and the drop rate for Omnipotent Cores was not high. However, they had eliminated a large number of zombies, many of which were Level 3 Elites, so he had managed to gather a few Omnipotent Cores, marginally sufficient for his needs. After some time, Wang Tao¡¯s Mastery Fusion ability also successfully reached +10. At this point, all four of his abilities were at Level 3 +10! Now, all he lacked was a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! ... Wang Tao and his group rested for three days at the base, gathering their strength. The rain had lessened a bit that day. With ample preparations, Wang Tao and his group set off in a helicopter towards the Wuyang City urban area, led by He Jijun. With the experience from before, He Jijun flew the helicopter high right from the start, traveling at a high altitude. Though the strategy couldn¡¯t make the noise disappear, it spread out and lessened it somewhat, preventing zombies from quickly gathering below them. Of course, as long as the helicopter kept moving, it wouldn¡¯t be an issue. Otherwise, if they stayed in one place for too long, they could still attract many zombies. They had barely approached the urban area when Wang Tao cursed under his breath. ¡°Damn it!¡± Because from the helicopter he could clearly see the giant figure at the edge of the city! ¡°Giant Zombie!¡± Everyone¡¯s faces looked a bit grim. Since the Giant Zombie was here, naturally they couldn¡¯t pass by this area. Even though Giant Zombies were definitely slower than the helicopter, if one giant palm slapped them down, they would be in dire straits. There was no need to take that risk. So He Jijun began to take a detour. But just as they barely skirted around that Giant Zombie, another one appeared in the distance! Everyone was somewhat stunned. What¡¯s with these several Giant Zombies, why have they moved to the outskirts of the urban area? Could it be... they specifically came to block us? ¡°How so?¡± Yang Changhong asked with concern. ¡°This Giant Zombie, it¡¯s not one of those three we encountered before.¡± ¡°What?¡± Everyone was taken aback. ¡°Do you mean there are other Giant Zombies?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± The appearance of these Giant Zombies was pretty similar and hard to distinguish. The three Giant Zombies Wang Tao had seen before had HP levels of 200,000, 300,000, and 400,000. Yet this Giant Zombie had 350,000 HP, and the one they had just circumvented was 300,000 HP. Clearly, this must be another new Giant Zombie! How many Giant Zombies could there be inside Wuyang City urban area?! Suddenly, Wang Tao felt an urge to leave the military base right away. After all, the presence of so many Giant Zombies close to the base made it hard to rest easy! After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s firm statement, everyone fell silent for a moment. Four Giant Zombies¡ªa number that embodied despair and there could still be more than four... As if to prove their thoughts, after He Jijun had detoured around this Giant Zombie from a long distance, yet another Giant Zombie appeared in the distance! ¡°Have the Giant Zombies in the Wuyang City urban area all run to the outskirts? Could it be... they specifically came to trap us?¡± Nie Siyan suddenly said. The idea was a bit far-fetched; could the zombies remember them? And even set up an ambush specifically for them? Could they really be that smart? Chapter 640 - 264 Flame Monster_2 Chapter 640: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_2 ¡°` But considering the current situation, it seems that it¡¯s not impossible! ¡°Let¡¯s check other places, if there really are many giant zombies in Wuyang City, and they are all on the outskirts... then we can only head back.¡± Wang Tao shook his head helplessly. He Jijun piloted the helicopter, continuing to detour. Then, Wang Tao spotted the fifth, the sixth... the tenth giant zombie! Everyone else also became utterly helpless. No matter whether these giant zombies were lying in wait or not, they couldn¡¯t get into the city. And everyone was worried that if these giant zombies discovered the location of the military base, they might be able to trample it flat... ¡°What do you think, Wang Tao?¡± He Jijun looked at Wang Tao. Although they hadn¡¯t been discovered by the giant zombies and hadn¡¯t caused a zombie tide, because they had taken such a long detour, there wasn¡¯t much fuel left in the helicopter. At most, they could keep searching for another half-hour. Once half an hour was up, whether they made it into the city or not, they would have to leave. They needed to save enough fuel for the helicopter, to maintain a margin for error. ¡°Keep going! I just don¡¯t believe it! Anyway, Old He, you watch the time; when it¡¯s time, just leave!¡± Wang Tao said, clenching his fist. ¡°Alright!¡± The helicopter once again changed direction from afar, heading towards another area. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s going on over there?¡± After flying for a while, they finally encountered an area free of giant zombies. Before Wang Tao and his companions could feel relieved, they noticed a cluster of houses on fire. It was raining, yet the fire didn¡¯t die down, instead, it grew even more intense! ¡°That seems to be a warehouse?¡± Yang Changhong said uncertainly, as the helicopter flew quite high and she couldn¡¯t see clearly even with binoculars. Wang Tao asked He Jijun to lower the altitude a bit. There were no giant zombies in this area, so it should be safe. Whirr¡ª As the helicopter descended, the loud noise gradually spread downwards, and many zombies on the ground began to look up into the sky. Wang Tao and his companions finally got a clear view of the scene of the fire. It seemed to be a warehouse-like place, with many standardized low-rise buildings burning fiercely. The flames surged, bellowing smoke billowed. Wang Tao felt it couldn¡¯t have caught fire without reason, especially since it was raining, and it wasn¡¯t extremely hot and dry weather that might cause spontaneous combustion. ¡°Could there be survivors?¡± Wang Tao wondered. If it wasn¡¯t spontaneous combustion, then it must be man-made. Zombies couldn¡¯t possibly start a fire, right? So most likely it was survivors! If there really were survivors in Wuyang City, then Wang Tao definitely wanted to meet them. Surviving in such an environment was something even he thought he couldn¡¯t achieve. At the mention of survivors, Yang Changhong suddenly grew excited. The reason she came to Wuyang City was to find her sister. But unfortunately, after they entered Wuyang City, they only found one living person, He Jijun, and no other survivors. Although she didn¡¯t want to believe it, Yang Changhong knew that her sister was most likely out of luck. Now suddenly discovering a possible Ability User, Yang Changhong grew excited! What if there was news of her sister! But soon, Yang Changhong became disappointed. As the helicopter descended, she clearly saw there were no zombies or human figures inside the burning warehouse. There were many zombies outside the warehouse, but they weren¡¯t surrounding it¡ªif there were people inside, the zombies wouldn¡¯t be so calm. And as the noise from their helicopter grew louder, wouldn¡¯t any survivors come out to look if there were any? After all, it was a military helicopter, a symbol of the military... Wang Tao was also disappointed; he hadn¡¯t seen any human traces. Unless someone had intentionally hidden away, but the area was fairly flat and open. With a fire raging, there were not many places to hide. ¡°It seems there are no survivors left. Or maybe the survivors have already left¡ªhuh?¡± Wang Tao cut himself off abruptly. He quickly rubbed his eyes. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yang Changhong asked. ¡°There seems to be something in the sea of fire... Holy shit! A Level 4, Lord!¡± Wang Tao pointed somewhat dazedly at a spot in the midst of the inferno. Yang Changhong and the others followed Wang Tao¡¯s gaze and indeed noticed something amiss. In the raging sea of fire, there was a shadow with flames burning all over its body! Judging by its figure, it was shaped like a tall human. However, its facial features were indistinct, perhaps it didn¡¯t have any at all! This flame-like shadow was in a hazy state, causing all to doubt if they were seeing things or mistaking the flames for a person. But it truly was different from the surrounding flames and quite resembled a... person! ¡°What is that thing?!¡± Everyone was amazed at the sight. When Wang Tao had been observing the scene, he subconsciously ignored the sea of fire. After all, humans couldn¡¯t be in the flames. Zombies, though not able to retain fire on their bodies for long due to the flame-retardant effect of their blood, didn¡¯t mean they weren¡¯t afraid of fire. They were carbon-based life forms; how could they not fear fire? But this being was indeed in the middle of the sea of flames, and it seemed to be an energy body composed of flames! However, when Wang Tao saw its specific attributes, he suddenly understood. It was a monster! [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 120000/120000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Blazing Flame] [Blazing Flame: Body Burning Flame] ¡°` Chapter 641 - 264 Flame Monster_3 Chapter 641: Chapter 264 Flame Monster_3 ¡°` This monster¡¯s awakening ability is to ignite itself? So, it¡¯s not only not afraid of fire, but this sea of flames might have been caused by it! But... whether you spew fire or water, as long as you¡¯re a four-level zombie, then you are my prey, Wang Tao! Wang Tao immediately aimed the heavy machine gun at the flame monster. ¡°Attack!¡± He gave everyone a heads-up and then instantly pulled the trigger. Da da da¡ª Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands were already on the machine gun, and after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s command, she also instantly pulled the trigger. Four heavy machine guns opened fire at once, and four tongues of flame flew towards the flame monster. However¡ª [-1] [-1] [-1] [...] Watching that string of ¡°-1¡ä¡äs, Wang Tao was a bit stunned. No way, does this flame monster have higher defensive power than the giant zombie? Even when he used the heavy machine gun on the giant zombie, he could take off more than ten points of HP! Disbelieving, he fired again, aiming at the zombie¡¯s head. But the result was still the same! [-1] [-1] [-1] [...] ¡°Something¡¯s off!¡± Wang Tao felt that something was very wrong, even if the defensive power of this flame monster was high, it couldn¡¯t possibly only take one point of damage, right? Even two or three points would be fine! ¡°Bro, there seems to be something off about the flames on its body?¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. Although she couldn¡¯t see the HP bar, she could see that the bullets hitting the zombie seemed to be ineffective. Wang Tao also felt that the flames on its body were strange, and now hearing Jiang Shixue express the same thought, Wang Tao became even more certain of his judgment. ¡°Old He, lower the altitude a bit!¡± Wang Tao shouted. He Jijun immediately let the helicopter descend somewhat. There weren¡¯t any tall buildings in this area, so there were no blind spots in vision, which was quite open. If any giant zombies came, they could spot them immediately, allowing them to be a bit more daring. As the helicopter descended, Wang Tao got a clearer view of the flame monster. He saw that when he pulled the trigger and the bullets flew towards the flame monster, the bullets didn¡¯t land directly on the zombie¡¯s body but were blocked by the flames around it! ¡°Damn it! What kind of ability is this!¡± Wang Tao shared this discovery with everyone, and they were all dumbfounded. Flames that could block bullets? The others, somewhat skeptical, gave it another try, but it was no use; whether it was heavy machine gun bullets or rifle bullets, they were blocked upon hitting the flame monster and then slowly fell to the ground! ¡°I thought the explosion-proof zombie we met before had high defense, but this one is even tougher...¡± Yang Changhong said with a wry smile. If the heavy machine guns couldn¡¯t take down the flame monster, how were they supposed to win? Wang Tao stopped firing, and seeing Wang Tao stop, Jiang Shixue stopped as well. Then Wang Tao saw that the little bit of HP they had knocked off the flame monster instantly recovered! ¡°It has a self-healing power too...¡± ¡°` Wang Tao could only feel fortunate that this Flame Monster seemed to lack long-range attack abilities. As long as it couldn¡¯t attack the helicopter, Wang Tao would be standing on invincible ground. Wang Tao tried other attacks as well, such as throwing Surgical Knives and steel bars. But no matter what attack struck the Flame Monster, it all resulted in not a bit of damage. Moreover, any small damage it did take would immediately be restored. Everyone felt a bit helpless, with such a degree of defense, it was impossible to kill it! The zombies below were gathering in greater numbers, and if no solution was found soon, they would have to retreat. After all, Giant Zombies didn¡¯t just take hits without fighting back like this Flame Monster did. At this moment, Wang Tao got behind the Heavy Machine Gun again and fired a shot at the Flame Monster. However, this bullet wasn¡¯t ordinary, it was an Air Bullet. Bang! [-1593] ¡°It¡¯s effective!¡± Wang Tao had suddenly thought, if ordinary bullets were useless, what about Air Bullets? He had used Air Bullets before when attacking Explosion-proof Zombies. But as their power was a bit less than that of the Heavy Machine Gun bullets, Wang Tao had forsaken them. Now, suddenly remembering them, he gave it a try. And it really was effective! ¡°What¡¯s the principle behind this? How come a non-physical attack can actually do damage?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand the principle, but since it was effective, he wouldn¡¯t hold back! Ratatat¡ª Wang Tao pulled the trigger once more. He could almost be certain that this Flame Monster possessed a Self-healing power. Because when Wang Tao attacked it, its HP didn¡¯t regenerate. As soon as he stopped attacking, its HP would start to regenerate. Self-healing powers could be interrupted. So this was likely Self-healing. As long as Wang Tao kept on attacking, it wouldn¡¯t be able to use its Self-healing! Wang Tao could use an Air Bullet every ten seconds, ten times a minute, and with each dealing one thousand five hundred damage, that was nine thousand in a minute! As long as it didn¡¯t regenerate, in just over ten minutes, he could kill it! But could they hold out for ten minutes? The truth told Wang Tao, they could not. Because a Giant Zombie was approaching from the distance! Seeing this Giant Zombie, everyone tensed up a bit. But no one urged Wang Tao. The Flame Monster seemed a bit interested in the helicopter; it walked out of the sea of flames, but the fire on its body still did not go out. Seeing this, Wang Tao commanded directly: ¡°Old He, lower a bit more!¡± Whirr whirr¡ª He Jijun, without a word, continued to lower the helicopter. He only stopped when it reached about ten meters above the Flame Monster. Wang Tao took out a Bone Knife and slashed at the Flame Monster through the air, sending a Shockwave hurtling towards it. If the Air Bullet could harm it, what about the Shockwave? [-1283] ¡°Exactly!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s guess was right, such a non-physical attack could indeed harm it! So, Wang Tao clenched his teeth. ¡°Old He, can you guys lure away the Giant Zombie?¡± ¡°I can. What are you going to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to... go down!¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath, then turned to Yang Changhong, Jiang Shixue, and the others: ¡°I¡¯ll go down by myself, I can harm it! Please lure away the Giant Zombie for me. I¡¯m counting on you!¡± Having said that, Wang Tao jumped directly from the helicopter! At the same time, the Entangled Iron Tree Roots on Wang Tao¡¯s wrist began to wriggle rapidly. Before he landed, Wang Tao had transformed into a ¡°Plant Monster.¡± Thud¡ª After Wang Tao had killed an Iron Tree Monster, the ¡°Entangled Roots¡± had devoured its corpse, evolving itself and becoming ¡°Entangled Iron Tree Roots.¡± And it had gained an additional ability¡ªFire Resistance. Chapter 642 - 265 - A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_1 Chapter 642: Chapter 265 ¨C A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_1 ¡°` Time was running short, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t bother to explain much. After saying a word to his teammates, he directly jumped out of the plane. ¡°Good!¡± He Jijun responded and then said to the others: ¡°Hold tight, I¡¯m going to give you guys a thrilling ride!¡± Buzzing¡ª He Jijun controlled the helicopter to turn on the spot, then headed straight for the Giant Zombie! On the ground, Wang Tao shifted his gaze. He looked toward the Flame Monster not far away. Having just emerged from the sea of fire, Wang Tao could now clearly see that it indeed had a humanoid shape, very tall, but obviously, it wasn¡¯t human. Wang Tao felt that this Flame Monster seemed to lack any offensive abilities, and coupled with his own fire resistance, he dared to face it alone. Of course, if he misjudged, Wang Tao would immediately call He Jijun to retreat. He was risking it all; after all, he was just one Ascension Crystal Core away, and now that there was a rare opportunity to kill a Level 4 Lord, he couldn¡¯t give up. It¡¯s just a pity that it was daytime and he couldn¡¯t use the Night Demon Type 1... Wang Tao gripped his Bone Knife and unleashed a shockwave at the Flame Monster. [-1134] Suddenly, after being attacked, the Flame Monster began running toward Wang Tao. [-11] [-12] [-14] [...] As the Flame Monster approached, numbers appeared above Wang Tao¡¯s head indicating HP loss. The flames on the Flame Monster¡¯s body weren¡¯t fake; they had a burning effect! But Wang Tao was fully covered by Entangled Iron Tree Roots which provided fire resistance, so he didn¡¯t lose much HP. In fact, he didn¡¯t even feel that hot. Previously, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have much of an idea about the fire resistance ability of Entangling Roots, since he hadn¡¯t had the chance to use it. But now, he roughly understood. The Flame Monster was fast but not as swift as the Level 4 Night Demon from before. Wang Tao could clearly see its trajectory and, once again, swung his knife at it, using high-frequency vibration instinctively this time. Bang! [-1] Wang Tao felt as if he had struck a rock. ¡°It has a physical body?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He¡¯d thought that this Flame Monster might be an entity of pure energy or something, hence impervious to ordinary physical attacks. But Wang Tao now realized, it wasn¡¯t as he thought; the Flame Monster did have a physical body! After being hit by Wang Tao¡¯s knife, the Flame Monster humanly turned its head to look at his knife, then suddenly lifted its hand and lightly slapped towards Wang Tao¡¯s chest. Bang! [-3773] Wang Tao was sent flying backward in an instant! Crash¡ª He crashed through a wall and fell into a warehouse that was still ablaze. ¡°Damn it!¡± Indeed, the Flame Monster hadn¡¯t shown any offensive abilities, but with a mere slap, it dealt over three thousand damage to the Entangled Iron Tree Roots! Its physical constitution might not be as formidable as the Night Demon¡¯s, but it was still not weak! The only consolation now was that the physical constitution of the Flame Monster was seemingly weaker than that of the Level 4 Night Demon. If it were like that Night Demon, able to deal over ten thousand damage with a slap to the Entangled Iron Tree Roots, it would truly be invincible. Swoosh! Wang Tao burst out of the warehouse and collided with the Flame Monster at the entrance. He held a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. Pulling the trigger as he swung the knife at the Flame Monster. [-1589] [-1224] Unflinchingly, the Flame Monster took both hits. Then, it slapped Wang Tao again. Bang! [-3823] Wang Tao once more flew into the warehouse, this time breaking through another wall. The damage was absorbed by the Entangling Roots, leaving Wang Tao unaffected. So, he quickly got up and charged at the Flame Monster again. However, Wang Tao had no intention of clashing head-on. Upon reaching the Flame Monster, he swiftly used Instant Strike, then made a quick getaway. [-1] The Flame Monster lost another drop of blood. ¡°Instant Strike is indeed ineffective...¡± The Flame Monster turned and ran toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t as fast as the Flame Monster, but he wasn¡¯t much slower either. As long as he didn¡¯t stop, the Flame Monster wouldn¡¯t be able to catch him anytime soon. But Wang Tao needed to figure out which of his abilities could harm the Flame Monster, which made fights inevitable, so they had several close encounters. [-1] [-1] ¡°Continuous Slash doesn¡¯t work...¡± [-1] ¡°Energize One Hit is also ineffective...¡± [-1] ¡°Various mental attacks also don¡¯t work...¡± [-2138] ¡°Eh? Indirect Attack actually works?!¡± After sacrificing some of the Entangled Iron Tree Roots¡¯ HP, Wang Tao roughly figured it out. Among the abilities he knew, only Shockwave, Air Bullet, and Indirect Attack could damage the Flame Monster! Wang Tao was actually quite surprised; he didn¡¯t expect that Indirect Attack could damage the Flame Monster, and its damage was much higher than both Shockwave and Air Bullet! This was a pleasant surprise for Wang Tao. Originally, he thought he could kite the Flame Monster by exploiting the fire resistance of the Entangled Iron Tree Roots and using Shockwave and Air Bullet. But after engaging with it, he realized that both the speed and physical constitution of the Flame Monster were formidable! Even without offensive abilities, Wang Tao might not be able to withstand it. This made Wang Tao quite uncomfortable, as relying on the low-damage Shockwave and Air Bullet, he felt he had no chance of killing this Flame Monster. Unwilling to give up, Wang Tao wanted to try again, after all, he had so many attack abilities, perhaps others might work too? And indeed, there turned out to be an effect¡ªI- Indirect Attack could actually cause two thousand damage to the Flame Monster! ¡°` Chapter 643 - 265 - A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_2 Chapter 643: Chapter 265 ¨C A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_2 Although he didn¡¯t know why, Wang Tao felt he had a chance to kill the Flame Monster! Bang! [-3583] The Flame Monster once again slapped Wang Tao, sending him flying. While in the air, Wang Tao took out his pistol and fired an Air Bullet at it. [-1528] After being smashed to the ground, Wang Tao rolled over and got up, then hurled a Shockwave at the Flame Monster that was rushing towards him. [-1193] Another thousand damage! Wang Tao felt that this Flame Monster was quite stupid, far less clever than the previous Level 4 Lord Night Demon. It didn¡¯t know how to dodge at all, only choosing to clash head-on with Wang Tao. And that was exactly what Wang Tao was hoping to see. After all, when he used his Shockwave and Air Bullet together, he could deal over two thousand damage. As long as he didn¡¯t let the Flame Monster use its Self-healing, then Wang Tao truly had hope of killing it! However, Wang Tao soon realized that he had celebrated too early. The Flame Monster seemed to have some learning ability. After Wang Tao dodged its attacks a few times, it also began to intentionally dodge Wang Tao¡¯s attacks! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face immediately turned ugly. The reason he dared to fight the Flame Monster alone was also an important one: Wang Tao felt he had wisdom, while the other did not. But now, it seemed that the other side also had some intelligence! Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet could only be used once every ten seconds, and with the Flame Monster dodging, it significantly reduced Wang Tao¡¯s damage output. If there was plenty of time, it wouldn¡¯t be a big deal. But He Jijun and the others were drawing the Giant Zombie¡¯s attention away to help Wang Tao, and every extra second Wang Tao wasted meant an additional second of danger for He Jijun! Also, to Wang Tao¡¯s annoyance, it could even dodge the Shockwaves! This was tantamount to Wang Tao wasting two abilities! Wang Tao looked up at the helicopter that had reached the Giant Zombie, and then at the Flame Monster not far away. He took a deep breath. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, don¡¯t blame me!¡± Wang Tao charged directly at the Flame Monster. When the Flame Monster saw Wang Tao coming, it stood its ground, waiting until Wang Tao came close before taking a swipe at him. Having been slapped several times before, Wang Tao was prepared. When he saw the Flame Monster raise its arm, he rolled on the spot, not only avoiding the Flame Monster¡¯s attack but also reaching its back. Then Wang Tao lifted his Bone Knife and struck a blow to its back. Indirect Attack! [-2297] The Flame Monster immediately turned around, its flaming palm instantly landing on Wang Tao¡¯s chest. But Wang Tao suddenly extended his left hand, grabbing the Flame Monster¡¯s shoulder. [-27] [-28] [-23] [...] Despite the burning Entangling Roots, Wang Tao did not let go. Bang! [-3842] The slap hit Wang Tao square in the chest, but because Wang Tao had grabbed hold of it, he did not get knocked away. Wang Tao swung his knife again, Indirect Attack! [-2435] The Flame Monster swung another palm at Wang Tao. [-4138] Wang Tao continued to slash with his knife. [-2387] ... Wang Tao had thought of a desperate way to fight, which was to entangle with the Flame Monster and trade blood with it using the Indirect Attack! At close range, the Flame Monster couldn¡¯t possibly avoid Wang Tao¡¯s attacks. But Wang Tao couldn¡¯t avoid its attacks either, since he had to hold on to it to keep from being knocked away. Even though the Flame Monster¡¯s attacks dealt four thousand damage to Wang Tao each time, and Wang Tao could only deal a bit over two thousand, the speed of their attacks wasn¡¯t much different, which seemed to put Wang Tao at a disadvantage. However, Wang Tao had an advantage, which in his opinion was quite significant¡ªhe had more HP than the Flame Monster! The Flame Monster had 120,000 HP. Wang Tao had his own 110,000 and the Entangling Roots¡¯ 100,000, totaling 210,000 HP! Wang Tao believed his HP was enough to offset the difference in damage between them! Plus, Wang Tao himself could regenerate blood, and he still had various Potions unused... he felt he had a chance of winning. But there was a problem. He and the Entangling Roots were not one entity; they were separate. The one taking hits had always been the Entangling Roots, and he himself didn¡¯t have any issues, basically still at full HP. But, if the Entangling Roots were to be left in a critical condition, or died, leaving him on his own, he definitely couldn¡¯t beat the Flame Monster, because he lacked Fire Resistance. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how high the Flame Monster¡¯s burning damage was, but even ordinary flames were something Wang Tao couldn¡¯t withstand! Especially since the place where he and the Flame Monster were fighting was a sea of fire. So Wang Tao needed to ensure the HP of the Entangling Roots! There were two methods to maintain HP. The first was Fusion Crystal Core, but obviously, there was no time for fusion at the moment. So the only method left was the second¡ªto use his own blood to nourish the Entangling Roots! This method was fast and very convenient. As long as his own HP was sufficient, the Entangling Roots would not run out of HP. But there was a deadly weakness¡ªthat Wang Tao would fall into an extremely weakened state. Once Wang Tao couldn¡¯t cope anymore and released the Entangling Roots, he would be virtually certain to die in his weakened state. Wang Tao was prepared to risk everything! Of course, if it came to such a situation, he would definitely try to escape in advance; he still very much valued his life. Bang! [-2384] Wang Tao delivered another Indirect Attack, taking away over two thousand of the Flame Monster¡¯s HP. This time the Flame Monster didn¡¯t swipe but kicked instead. Bang! [-5236] Even though Wang Tao grabbed onto its shoulder, he was still instantly kicked away. Chapter 644 - 265 - A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_3 Chapter 644: Chapter 265 ¨C A Sea of Flames (End of Month Plea for Monthly Pass)_3 ¡°Such strength!¡± That kick had cost Wang Tao 5,000 HP! Wang Tao got up from the ground, saw that the Flame Monster still had three-quarters of its HP left, and his Entangling Roots had only half its HP left; he immediately began to transfer his own HP to the Entangling Roots! In just a few seconds, the Entangling Roots¡¯ HP was fully restored, while Wang Tao lost 50,000 HP. Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel any weakness at the moment, but he couldn¡¯t dispel the Entangling Roots; otherwise, it would have been over for him. Whoosh¡ª By this time, the Flame Monster had already charged in front of Wang Tao. Seeing that the monster was raising its foot again, a fierce-looking shield instantaneously appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Boom! The Flame Monster¡¯s kick landed on the shield, and while Wang Tao wasn¡¯t injured, the impact numbed his hand a bit. After attacking with its foot, the Flame Monster was much stronger. However, with Wang Tao using the shield, he wasn¡¯t sent flying again, which saved him some time. Wang Tao quickly stowed away the shield and slashed at the Flame Monster with a knife. [-2319] The Flame Monster kicked at Wang Tao again, but with his guard up, Wang Tao easily dodged the attack. He raised the Bone Knife and performed another Indirect Attack. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the Flame Monster also dodged his strike. Moreover, its dodging posture was very similar to Wang Tao¡¯s earlier one! ¡°Why does it feel like it¡¯s imitating me?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned unsightly. By now, he could almost be sure that this Flame Monster indeed possessed intelligence! Never mind how high its intelligence was, the fact that it could learn Wang Tao¡¯s techniques and use his own moves against him was causing Wang Tao a lot of discomfort. What if it continues the fight and learns all of Wang Tao¡¯s techniques? ¡°I have to end this quickly!¡± Wang Tao gritted his teeth, and instantly, a tendril of Iron Tree Vine shot from his wrist. The vine wrapped around the Flame Monster¡¯s body, preventing it from dodging, and then Wang Tao, holding the Bone Knife, began to wildly execute Indirect Attacks! [-2386] [-2287] [...] Though the Iron Tree Vine also contained the words ¡°Iron Tree¡±, it did not have any Fire Resistance attributes. Wang Tao had tried before; the fire on the Flame Monster¡¯s body could burn several hundred HP off the Iron Tree Vines every second. So, unless it was a critical moment, Wang Tao certainly couldn¡¯t afford to let the Iron Tree Vines die for nothing... After being bound by the vine, the Flame Monster was stuck for a while. But after being slashed by Wang Tao several times, it finally broke free from the Iron Tree Vines. Bang¡ª The Iron Tree Vines snapped! Wang Tao quickly retracted it; this tendril was left with just a sliver of HP, barely surviving the Flame Monster¡¯s attack! Meanwhile, the Flame Monster had already lost half of its HP because of Wang Tao¡¯s slashes. It suddenly raised its head, emitting a silent roar. Then its flames began to burn even more fiercely. [-23] [-31] [-28] [...] The Burn Damage Wang Tao was taking suddenly doubled! Not knowing if the Flame Monster had any trump cards left, Wang Tao retreated immediately, putting some distance between them. Whoosh! ¡°` But as soon as Wang Tao turned around, he saw the flame monster charging towards him. It was much faster than before! Wang Tao had been able to kite the flame monster a bit before, but now, he was caught up in an instant. Bang! [-6783] Wang Tao was slapped fiercely. ¡°The damage has increased this much!¡± With a grimace, Wang Tao saw the damage number while being struck. If the flame monster¡¯s damage had increased by so much, Wang Tao might no longer stand a chance against it! ¡°Wang Tao, how much longer do you need?¡± At that moment, He Jijun¡¯s voice came through the headset, which was well protected by the entangling roots and thus still functional. Wang Tao quickly looked up and saw the giant zombie in the distance swatting at the helicopter like it was chasing mosquitoes, with the helicopter in dire straits. When Wang Tao looked over, he saw the giant zombie suddenly throw an abandoned sedan at the helicopter, which flew past, scraping the side of the helicopter and causing sparks to scatter, while two heavy machine guns fired at the giant zombie. At this sight, Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°Give me three more minutes; I¡¯ll be ready for pickup in three minutes!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± He Jijun didn¡¯t say much more, and even his tone was steady, without any panting. Wang Tao shifted his gaze back to the flame monster that had already reached him, immediately using every potion available to him ¨C the running potion, strength potion, mental potion, and the like. These potions didn¡¯t last long, but they had a long cooldown. They could only be used at critical moments, like right now. As soon as the potions entered his system, Wang Tao immediately felt his physical condition improve significantly. With a slight sidestep, he instantly dodged another attack from the flame monster. Then he turned around sharply and kicked at the flame monster. Bang! [-1092] He used Indirect Attack in that kick, which knocked off over a thousand HP from the flame monster. The flame monster was sent flying, landing outside the sea of fire. Wang Tao immediately rushed out of the sea of fire as well. The flame monster landed among a group of zombies that had not left the perimeter of the sea of fire. Then... in an instant, the zombies within a few meters of the flame monster were set ablaze. These zombies lost five to six thousand HP every second, and in the blink of an eye, they were burned to cinders. ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao was initially stunned and then seemed to understand something. He had wondered why this flame monster seemed weaker, at least not as strong as the previous Level 4 Lord Night Demon. After all, he couldn¡¯t take on a Level 4 Lord Night Demon alone, but he could handle this flame monster. But now Wang Tao understood, it wasn¡¯t that the flame monster was weak, but that its strongest ability was its flames! However, those flames were blocked by Wang Tao¡¯s entangling roots! The flame monster¡¯s burning of the entangling roots caused only a few dozen HP loss per second. But when burning those zombies, it caused thousands of HP loss per second! Realizing this, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then charged toward the flame monster. But at that moment, the flame monster suddenly turned its head towards Wang Tao. The flames on its body expanded rapidly! They reached three meters high, five meters high, even ten meters high! Then¡ªboom! A burst of flames exploded! A huge fire erupted, covering the sky and the earth. Within a hundred meters radius, everything was engulfed in a sea of fire! ¡°` Chapter 645 - 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_1 Chapter 645: Chapter 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_1 The Flame Monster turned into an ever-growing ball of fire. Reaching a critical point, a loud boom rang out, and the area was instantly engulfed in flames, becoming a sea of fire. A splendid, fiery red mushroom cloud slowly rose. Zombies, plants, buildings, and rainwater surrounding it were all devoured by the flames, including Wang Tao. ... The sky suddenly turned a fiery red, and then a shockwave struck the helicopter. The helicopter shook violently, throwing the people inside from side to side. He Jijun quickly steadied the helicopter, and then everyone turned their gazes toward the direction from which the shockwave had come. There was a small mushroom cloud ¡ª that was where Wang Tao had been! ¡°Bro!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s face turned white, her beautiful, pure eyes filled with panic. ¡°Wang Tao! Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Yang Changhong immediately tried to contact Wang Tao through the earpiece, but there was no response. Xu Xiaojun¡¯s face was a blur of confusion; he felt certain that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be dead. He believed in Wang Tao! But... the mushroom cloud had emerged! ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± Even the typically composed He Jijun was unsettled this time. Judging by the size of the mushroom cloud, it was as if they had been bombed by a missile! Wang Tao... could he still be alive? ¡°Brother Wang...¡± Nie Siyan was somewhat in disbelief. ¡°Woof, woof!¡± Lightning, firmly strapped in by safety belts, thrashed wildly, trying to break free and find its owner. Even the Giant Zombie was attracted; it abandoned the incessantly buzzing mosquito before its eyes and strode towards the fiery wasteland. ... On the ground, the fire explosion came quickly and also dissipated quickly. The gorgeous fire mushroom cloud gradually disappeared, revealing the fiery wasteland below. Suddenly, an area in the debris that had been slightly raised shook. Crash¡ª The rubble split apart, and a giant figure rose from the ruins, walking out of the sea of flames. He slowly straightened up, revealing his over four-meter-tall, burly figure and the tattered roots wrapped around his body. ¡°Cough, cough... such tremendous power!¡± The man lifted his head, exposing the young face beneath the broken root mask. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± On the helicopter, everyone burst into tears of joy at the sight of this figure. At first, when they saw the giant figure rising from the fiery ruins, they thought it was the Flame Monster. It wasn¡¯t until the giant figure walked out of the flames and revealed Wang Tao¡¯s signature root armor that everyone realized Wang Tao had survived! At this moment, He Jijun said very calmly: ¡°Fire your guns, draw the Giant Zombie over here!¡± The Giant Zombie had just headed where Wang Tao was! Yang Changhong and the others quickly came to their senses and began pulling their triggers. Ratatat¡ª But to the Giant Zombie, these bullets were little more than mosquito bites. It paid them no mind now because it seemed to find something more interesting. Yang Changhong shouted frantically through the earpiece: ¡°Wang Tao, the Giant Zombie is heading your way! Run!¡± On the ground. The first thing Wang Tao did after getting up was to look around, and he immediately spotted the Giant Zombie striding towards him. He grinned and then made a dash towards another pile of ruins. Crash¡ª With his fan-sized hands, Wang Tao began digging into the debris. Seconds later, he found an all-black figure with no facial features¡ªthe Flame Monster! He pulled out his Bone Knife and swiftly brought it down on the creature¡¯s head. Indirect Attack! [-1200] [0/120000] Crash¡ª The Flame Monster burst into a pile of loot. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao noticed that the black armor-like layer on the Flame Monster had a name. And from inside the body of the Flame Monster exploded a small flame with a name! Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to look closely; he quickly gathered all the loot and ran. He picked up all the Crystal Cores on the ground as he ran, pointing out a direction to the helicopter above him. ¡°Go!¡± He Jijun steered the helicopter towards the direction Wang Tao pointed. Whirring¡ª The helicopter flew in the direction Wang Tao indicated, and Wang Tao ran towards that place too. The Giant Zombie seemed to notice Wang Tao and immediately quickened its pace. But before the Giant Zombie could catch up, Wang Tao had already met up with the helicopter and arrived underneath it. Wang Tao stretched out his hand towards the helicopter, and the Iron Tree Vines on his wrist flew out, quickly wrapping around the hook reserved on the helicopter. He Jijun immediately pulled up the helicopter. Wang Tao¡¯s feet slowly left the ground, and he was hoisted away in the opposite direction of the base by the helicopter. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Giant Zombie let out an angry roar and continued the chase, but it wasn¡¯t as fast as the helicopter, and soon fell behind. As a precaution, He Jijun deliberately took a detour, just like the last time they returned. An hour later, just as the helicopter was about to run out of fuel, they finally returned to the military base. By then, Wang Tao had reverted to his normal size. Once above the base, he let the Iron Tree Vines unwind from the helicopter and landed directly on the ground. Thud! Wang Tao landed smoothly. Soon, the helicopter landed successfully. ¡°Bro!¡± ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong jumped out of the helicopter and hugged Wang Tao, one on each side. Then they instinctively checked Wang Tao for serious injuries. Wang Tao had already retracted the Entangling Roots, but his clothes were torn to shreds, his black hoodie destroyed, and his Night Demon Breastplate and Leg Armor were also ruined. His exposed skin was covered in dried blood and scars... He looked utterly wretched. Chapter 646 - 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_2 Chapter 646: Chapter 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_2 ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he rubbed the two girls¡¯ heads. He looked a mess, but he still had over ten thousand HP, with no danger to his life. Wang Tao let go of the two of them and hugged He Jijun, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan in turn. Then he specifically crouched down to hug Lightning, who buried its head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest and whimpered a few times. ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect you to survive that huge explosion! Amazing! Good fortune comes after a great disaster!¡± He Jijun punched Wang Tao in the chest. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m not ready to die yet; how could I go before my time! Let¡¯s go inside.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. The group moved the helicopter into the hangar and then returned to the command center. After all, the outside was laden with corrosive acid rain, and the helicopter couldn¡¯t be left out in the rain indefinitely. ¡°Wang Tao, how did you suddenly grow so much bigger before? Have you changed back? Or... am I seeing things?¡± Yang Changhong asked uncertainly. The others also looked curiously at Wang Tao; it was clear this wasn¡¯t just Yang Changhong seeing things. ¡°That was one of my Abilities. It¡¯s called Berserk... If it hadn¡¯t been for that Ability, I might really have died.¡± Wang Tao said this with a hint of melancholy. [Berserk: Automatically triggers when HP drops below 30%, once per day. Once triggered, HP, Mana, Physical Strength, and Spirit are fully restored, body size increases, all negative statuses are removed, Attack power significantly increases, speed increases to some extent, and defensive power decreases to some extent. Berserk lasts for 1 hour, after which he returns to normal.] Since merging with the Berserk Ability, Wang Tao had yet to use it even once. Being an ability that could only be triggered when critically injured, Wang Tao was very cautious and rarely found himself in such a state. With his current HP, his HP would have to drop to 33,000 to activate it. During his last attack from the Giant Zombie, he had 37,000 HP, so it didn¡¯t trigger. Even Wang Tao himself had nearly forgotten he had this ability. This time, in the fight with the Flame Monster, he hadn¡¯t expected it to have an Ability akin to Self Detonation. At that moment, Entangling Roots was almost at zero blood, and since Wang Tao was channeling HP to it, Entangling Roots took away the rest of his HP, dropping his HP below 30% and triggering Berserk! Once the Special Ability Trigger of Berserk activated, aside from reduced Defense, all other Attributes increased and both HP and Mana were fully restored. However, this reduction in defense refers to after Berserk was fully activated. There was a few seconds of a Transformation-like motion before Berserk officially started during which Wang Tao¡¯s Defense power was very high! It was precisely because of this that he managed to block most of the Flame Monster¡¯s Attacks. Otherwise, Wang Tao felt that even if his HP had been restored to a hundred thousand, he might not have been able to withstand the Flame Monster¡¯s powerful move! The move from the Flame Monster wasn¡¯t meant to be a mutual destruction, but it was left with only 1,200 HP, buried in the rubble, its flames even extinguished. So, after the explosion, Wang Tao immediately went over to deal with it. ... Wang Tao briefly recounted his ability and the preceding events, and everyone was quite amazed. It just goes to show that this was unique to Wang Tao; if anyone else had been in his place, they probably would have died multiple times. ¡°Speaking of which, I was somewhat overconfident. I assumed the Flame Monster didn¡¯t have much attacking ability. But who knew, it wouldn¡¯t attack at all and then suddenly unleash such a devastating move...¡± Wang Tao sighed. He now felt that, after reaching Level 4, judging by HP alone might not always be accurate. Take, for example, the Flame Monster. If it weren¡¯t for the Entangled Iron Tree Roots taking a significant amount of Burn Damage for him, just the Burn Damage from the monster itself would have been unbearable, let alone fighting it. He might have been reduced to ashes in no time... In this case, the Flame Monster could be more frightening than the Giant Zombies with two hundred thousand HP! As everyone listened to Wang Tao¡¯s story, their expressions grew more serious. In some respects, Wang Tao served as a cautionary tale for them all to heed. ¡°So, your Crystal Core...¡± He Jijun suddenly asked. He hadn¡¯t forgotten the purpose of this mission. ¡°The Ascension Crystal Core is ready! After I rest a bit, I¡¯ll go study what a Level 4 Awakening is all about! Then, I¡¯ll be sure to share with you all!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Hearing this, everyone first breathed a sigh of relief and then excitement set in. Finally, they had a chance at Level 4! ¡°Okay, we won¡¯t disturb you then. You should rest up, Wang Tao!¡± He Jijun patted Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Hmm.¡± I nodded, then looked seriously at everyone and said: ¡°Thanks for all your help this time. If it hadn¡¯t been for you holding off the Giant Zombie, I would never have been able to kill the Flame Monster. Thank you!¡± ¡°Haha, we¡¯re all one of our own. It¡¯s only right that we help each other out!¡± He Jijun laughed loudly. The others also had smiles on their faces. After He Jijun and the others left, Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue, who had been following him closely. He said in a low voice: ¡°I¡¯m going to find Yang Changhong to replenish some Energy, you¡¯ll be sleeping alone tonight.¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s face turned red at once, understanding what Wang Tao meant. ¡°Hmm...¡± Jiang Shixue lowered her head and hummed in acknowledgment. Wang Tao went to Yang Changhong¡¯s room. Today, she was even more proactive than last time, yet very gentle. After all, they were almost separated by life and death this time, and she needed to vent as well. After a sweaty time together, Wang Tao was fully recharged. Chapter 647 - 266: Ability Explosion (End of Month Request for Monthly Pass)_3 Your next chapter is on My Virtual Library Empire He immediately activated his self-healing ability, allowing his HP to slowly recover. Then, cradling Yang Changhong in his arms, he began to check the loot from the battle. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what exactly the flame monster was. Regardless, it had dropped quite a few things, and they seemed pretty decent. First was the special energy; it brought Wang Tao 28,000 units of special energy and also provided him with an Awakening Key. Wang Tao now had three Awakening Keys. Then there were the Crystal Cores. Inside the flame monster¡¯s head was a [Level 4 Crystal Core: Mental Defense]. No wonder Wang Tao¡¯s mental attacks had no effect on it. Of course, Wang Tao¡¯s mental attacks weren¡¯t strong since he didn¡¯t mainly focus on mental attacks. The Loot Pack from the flame monster contained a total of five Crystal Cores, including a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Self-healing], and an orange [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Explosion]. Including this Ascension Crystal Core, Wang Tao now had four in all¡ªtwo of Excellent quality and two of Epic. He could integrate them now! But there was no rush; he would finish looking through the loot first. Among these Crystal Cores, Explosion was the only one he hadn¡¯t seen before. Ordinary Crystal Cores contained only one pattern, and they were generally distinguished by this pattern. But the Explosion was different¡ªit had two patterns: one was a little flickering flame, and the other was a red light point that contracted and expanded intermittently. [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Explosion] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: after use, HP drops to 1%)] [Explosion: Compress all awakening energy, then detonate it instantly (the power is related to the amount of awakening energy, only the Fire Awakened can merge it)] This Explosion Ability was the flame monster¡¯s final ultimate move. However, this Crystal Core was significantly different from the others, not only in appearance. First was the merging issue; it stated that only "Fire Awakened" could integrate it. So does this mean Awakeners would be categorized into fire, water, and the like after awakening? Next was the side effect issue; this Crystal Core only had side effects when used, which was different from the others. Finally, there was the consumption issue; this ability didn¡¯t consume mana but awakening energy instead. The more awakening energy one had, the greater its power. Wang Tao guessed that this flame monster must have had a lot of awakening energy, which was why its power was so immense... Wang Tao looked toward the other loot. In addition to the Loot Pack, the flame monster itself had dropped two items: one was the black armor-like covering on its body, and the other was a small flame. [Received: Black Stone Armor x10] [Black Stone Armor: Crafting material, can add certain defence, mental defence, element resistance, fire resistance, and flexibility to equipment] This was a crafting material, but it improved several attributes! No wonder Wang Tao¡¯s mental attacks had no effect on the flame monster earlier. It wasn¡¯t just because it had mental defence abilities, but also because of the Black Stone Armor! The equipment made from this Black Stone Armor should be quite impressive! [Received: Magic Flame x1] [Magic Flame: Once released, it will grow into a Fire Beast. Once swallowed, it will grant a hidden ability] "Eh?" When he first saw the Magic Flame, Wang Tao felt it was somewhat similar to the Magic Seeds. Now, upon closer inspection, it certainly was. There were two options for dealing with the Magic Flame: release it or swallow it. If released, it would supposedly grow into a "Fire Beast." Could this Fire Beast be that flame monster, or was it something else? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure, but it was clearly not an option to release it since swallowing it would grant a Hidden Ability! Without any hesitation, Wang Tao put the little flame into his mouth. Whether he held it in his hand or put it in his mouth, he felt no burning sensation. Instead, it was warm and very comfortable. A moment later, the merge was complete. [Magic Flame Merge Countdown: 9 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds] Like the previous Magic Seeds, merging successfully required ten days. Ten days wasn¡¯t a long time; Wang Tao could wait. Then he looked towards the Loot Pack. This flame monster had exploded into five Loot Packs. Wang Tao usually got more than three packs for slaying above his level; five was quite lucky. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag had already been checked. The second pack contained Hand Grenades! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen this type of grenade item in a while. [Received: Explosion Grenades x10] [Explosion Grenade: Contains a certain amount of awakening energy; when detonated, creates an Explosion within a 50-meter radius] "It contains a certain amount of awakening energy? So these grenades must be that Explosion Ability! But... a 50-meter radius?" Wang Tao gasped in amazement, questioning whether it was a grenade or a missile. A 50-meter radius! That would mean an explosion area of seven to eight thousand square meters¡ªa standard stadium is about ten thousand square meters, which meant that the area covered by the explosion from this grenade was nearly as large as half a stadium! All Wang Tao could say was stunning! Ignoring the potential power for now, the range alone was already ridiculous. And surely, the power wouldn¡¯t be small considering it contained awakening energy! Wang Tao stowed these grenades away, estimating they should be able to deal with Four-level zombies! If he encountered Four-level zombies again, he had another way to handle them! Wang Tao turned to the third Loot Pack. [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Inside was an Awakening Energy Pearl. This item clearly had a low drop rate, as the Explosion-proof Zombie hadn¡¯t dropped any. The flame monster hadn¡¯t dropped it directly; it came from its additional loot. With this pearl, Wang Tao now had three. The fourth pack contained the highly anticipated Blueprints! He had several pieces of equipment that had been damaged in the recent action, and he was eager to see if there were any new equipment suitable for him. [Received: Black Stone Top Armor Blueprint x1] [Received: Black Stone Pants Armor Blueprint x1] Chapter 654: 269 Airplane Crash_1 Chapter 654: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_1 The zombies Lan Yulian spoke of were a group measuring two to three meters in height, their bodies rippling with muscles, brandishing various pieces of construction debris as weapons¡ªthird-order Elite Zombies. One look told they were of the strength type, and if they reached the base¡¯s high walls, they would pose a definite threat. As for their specific abilities, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, nor did he need to know. Vroom vroom¡ª The transport plane slowed down, circling in the air. The cargo bay doors at the tail slowly opened up, revealing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue strapped in with safety belts, their hands on the heavy machine guns. Beside them, Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan were holding the ammo belts, ready to load at any moment. Wang Tao aimed at the group of muscular zombies and fiercely pulled the trigger. Rat-a-tat¡ª A surge of flame hit one of the zombies at that very moment. [-2834] [-3129] [-3210] [...] In an instant, the zombie¡¯s head burst like an overripe watermelon. To be honest, Wang Tao felt that when dealing with zombies below level 4, the efficiency of the heavy machine gun might be higher than if he were to engage in combat himself. Especially when flying high above, capable of blowing zombies¡¯ heads off, it was simply too exhilarating. As for drawbacks, fixed-wing aircraft couldn¡¯t hover in midair like helicopters. Even with Precision Shooting, this made aiming quite difficult for him. But Wang Tao thought again¡ªhe wasn¡¯t short on ammo; there was no need to aim for headshots. A blanket barrage would settle everything! So, Wang Tao no longer pursued headshots deliberately and just aimed at the group of zombies before pulling the trigger! Rat-a-tat¡ª Rat-a-tat¡ª Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue opened fire together, their twin streams of flame devouring the zombie horde with abandon. Countless numbers floated above the zombies¡¯ heads. The roar of the plane¡¯s engines, along with the immense noise of gunfire, attracted a large number of zombies. These zombies followed the plane¡¯s movements below, causing some internal chaos within the zombie tide. In fact, many of the zombies besieging the base below had started to chase after the plane. This was an unexpected blessing for Wang Tao. After all, no matter how these zombies chased, they wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to him, and it would lessen the pressure on the base. ¡°Drop the bombs!¡± Wang Tao called out to the others. He Jijun had previously made some simple Homemade Bombs using materials from the military base. Although these bombs might not be very powerful, they should be no problem to handle the dense zombie crowd below. Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan immediately started dropping bombs. Boom! Boom! Boom! The group could clearly see that many zombies were blown to pieces, their flesh scattering everywhere, and even if they didn¡¯t die, they were left incapacitated. Rat-a-tat¡ª Wang Tao continued to pull the trigger on that group of level three Elite Zombies. It didn¡¯t take much time before Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had eliminated that group of muscular zombies. After clearing up this trouble, Wang Tao looked at other areas, covering those zombies he felt were a significant threat with firepower. Then, the plane flew above Zijin Base, dropping all of the air-dropped supplies. Wang Tao contacted Lan Yulian once again. ¡°Jade Lotus, Little Feng, there are a lot of supplies in there, including machine guns. Use them as you see need...¡± Seeing the airdrops, Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t overly excited; she just seemed somewhat reluctant as she said: ¡°Wang Tao, are you leaving? You...¡± She wanted to see Wang Tao in person but hesitated to trouble him. ¡°I¡¯d like to come down and see you and Little Feng, but there¡¯s nowhere to land!¡± Wang Tao said with a bit of helplessness. Unlike helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft needed airports to land and take off; at the very least, a long, wide road. Zijing City clearly didn¡¯t meet these conditions for landing and taking off. ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng exchanged glances, each with a tinge of regret in their eyes. She really wanted to ask how things were on Wang Tao¡¯s side, but she didn¡¯t voice her question. Yet Wang Tao seemed to know what she was thinking, and he explained in brief: ¡°The military base is safe, but there¡¯s no one else left except for us. Moreover, Wuyang City nearby has a large number of zombies, even fourth-order Giant Zombies that are dozens of meters high. Obviously, we can¡¯t hold it, so we won¡¯t be staying at the military base for long. We might return in a few days.¡± ¡°Ah? Be careful! We¡¯ll be waiting for you here!¡± Upon hearing this, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were somewhat worried and excited. Naturally, they hoped to be with Wang Tao. ¡°Yeah. Oh, by the way, among the supplies I¡¯ve airdropped to you, there are ways to contact the military base, both wirelessly and with wires. Since your base was formerly an official organization, you might have reserved some underground cables or the like, and Zijing City isn¡¯t too far from the military base, so you can try and see if you can get in touch...¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t harbour much hope, but he thought it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try. ¡°Okay!¡± After speaking with Lan Yulian for a few more words, he said his goodbyes. ¡°Okay, I have to go now. I¡¯ll also help you draw away some of the zombies. I¡¯ll come back to check on you later...¡± ¡°Okay! Make sure you stay safe!¡± ¡°You too.¡± Vroom vroom¡ª He Jijun had been flying the plane in low circles near Zijing City, attracting a large number of zombies. Now, as he departed, these zombies quickly pursued. Wang Tao glanced back and saw at least a third of the zombies near the base were drawn away, which should significantly relieve the base¡¯s pressure. After leaving Zijing City, the zombies trailing behind slowly fell back and vanished from sight. Chapter 655: 269 Airplane Crash_2 Chapter 655: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_2 ¡°Next, let¡¯s head to Red Stone Base,¡± Wang Tao returned to the co-pilot¡¯s seat. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao knew the location of Red Stone Base, and He Jijun had looked at the map before. He slightly altered the direction and headed towards Red Stone Base. Wang Tao had never seen what Red Stone Base looked like. He had only heard some news about Red Stone Base during the early days of the apocalypse when the internet was still functioning. His impression of Red Stone Base could be summed up in two words ¡ª safety. Back then, many people were heading to Red Stone Base, and Wang Tao had paid special attention to a few individuals, wanting to follow their updates. But unfortunately, the internet went down subsequently and he didn¡¯t know what had specifically happened to them... When Wei Zhenguo and the others fled, they headed to Red Stone Base. Wang Tao felt they should have been able to reach it, and there was a high probability that they were indeed there. Red Stone Base was a bit far from Zijing City, requiring some time to reach. On the way there, Wang Tao had already encountered numerous hordes of zombies, both large and small. It felt as though the zombies were especially active, and he didn¡¯t know what was going on. However, aside from Zijin Base, Wang Tao had not come across any other Survivor Base. Of course, there might be survivors who were well hidden and couldn¡¯t be seen even from the sky. Nevertheless, this weighed somewhat heavily on his mind. The only consolation was that, for the time being, he hadn¡¯t encountered any Level 4 zombies. Wang Tao speculated that perhaps only the area around Wuyang City had a significant number of Level 4 zombies? The base that had been in contact with them but was now obliterated was located at some distance from both Wuyang City and Zijing City, with the three forming a triangle. It was possible that zombies from Wuyang City had overrun it. But if that were the case, Zijing City might also face the arrival of Level 4 zombies, given its proximity to Wuyang City. Wang Tao furrowed his brow in thought. If Zijing City really did have a lot of Level 4 zombies approaching, he would need to think of a way to evacuate Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng, perhaps using a helicopter. But Zijin Base had over ten thousand people... Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped considering these matters. His capabilities were limited; he was not a savior, nor could he act as one. After a while, the plane finally reached the vicinity of Red Stone County. ¡°Huh?¡± Red Stone County was not very large; from a distance, he could already see the entirety of it. But... where was the Survivor Base? Before the internet outage, Wang Tao had seen photos of Red Stone Base, and its tall walls had filled him with longing. But now, where were those walls? The tallest structure here seemed to be an abandoned hotel over ten stories high. Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned grim. Could the Red Stone Survivor Base have been a sham? But that seemed unlikely... The Government wouldn¡¯t deceive people with something like this, would they? After all, places like Zijin Base were real... At that moment, He Jijun suddenly spoke up: ¡°There seem to be traces of tall walls amid that ruin...¡± Wang Tao looked in the direction he pointed and immediately frowned. Ruins were all too common in the post-apocalyptic world, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t paid much attention to them before. But now, looking closely, he could indeed see signs of collapsed structures that resembled tall walls. The plane circled the area, and Wang Tao got a clearer view of the situation. However, his expression grew even more troubled. ¡°There seems to have been a large base here, but it¡¯s been destroyed! It was most likely blown up by explosives, with even the foundations obliterated...¡± An uneasy thought flashed through Wang Tao¡¯s mind about Zijin Base, where a large amount of explosives were buried, intended to obliterate everything if the base were to fall to the zombies! So could it be that Red Stone Base activated its Self Detonation mechanism and was annihilated along with the zombies? If that was indeed the case, there must have been a moment of desperate crisis; otherwise, there would be no need to destroy a base! Just like Zijin Base, which had not been fully constructed and was overrun before completion, it did not Self Detonate. Perhaps they still saw a chance to retake the base, and, in fact, survivors did manage to recover it from the zombies. But now, Red Stone Base might have faced utter despair, knowing there was no hope left, and so those inside chose to perish together with the zombies... Now, only one question remained. When did the base explode, before Wei Zhenguo and his group arrived or after... He Jijun quickly provided an answer. ¡°I believe that this base exploded quite some time ago,¡± he said. Then he explained: ¡°Compared to Zijin Base, it¡¯s clear that the area of this base¡¯s ruins is smaller, yet the space here is ample enough to have built a much larger base.¡± ¡°Since these bases were built by the Government, the design would likely be similar under comparable spaces, aiming for large survivor bases. There¡¯d be no need to purposely create smaller bases.¡± ¡°So I think, this base might have faced problems right at the beginning of its construction. Didn¡¯t we say that Zijin Base encountered issues before it was finished? The problem here must have occurred even earlier than that...¡± After hearing He Jijun¡¯s analysis, Wang Tao¡¯s tightly knitted brows relaxed slightly. If that was indeed the case, then Wei Zhenguo and the others still had a chance at survival. After all, during the early days of the apocalypse, they were at Shuize University Base. Wang Tao instructed He Jijun to circle a few more times around Red Stone County and the neighboring towns, but they found nothing. Chapter 656: 269 Airplane Crash_3 Chapter 656: Chapter 269 Airplane Crash_3 ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s head back.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He felt that his current state of mind was somewhat like He Jijun¡¯s. As long as He Jijun hadn¡¯t found his granddaughter, he believed that there was still a chance she was alive. As for Wang Tao, as long as he hadn¡¯t seen the corpses of Wei Zhenguo, Ding Yuqin, and Han Rui, there was also the possibility that they were alive. ¡°I hope you¡¯re still alive...¡± ... After a while, the plane returned to Wuyang City. It seemed to Wang Tao that there were even more zombies in the tide of the dead! ¡°Giant Zombie!¡± Yang Changhong pointed to one side and exclaimed in shock. Wang Tao followed her gaze and indeed saw a massive figure. Among the enormous horde of zombies, the Giant Zombie was especially conspicuous. It seemed to be heading in an easterly direction, but due to the plane¡¯s arrival, its attention was drawn, and it began moving towards the aircraft. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Without hesitation, He Jijun immediately pulled the control stick to make the plane climb upwards. Even though the Giant Zombie couldn¡¯t catch up to a helicopter, there was no way it could reach this kind of fixed-wing aircraft. However, the Giant Zombie could throw things, and it threw with deadly accuracy. If it managed to hit the plane and bring it down, they¡¯d be in big trouble. The aircraft quickly climbed towards the sky and after entering the clouds, the Giant Zombie was soon out of sight. Before they could even catch their breath, the cabin suddenly went dark, all screens and indicator lights went out, and the roaring engine noise of the plane disappeared in an instant! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Tao was stunned for a moment. He Jijun¡¯s face turned pale, but before he could say anything, everyone felt the plane suddenly shake violently, then plummet towards the ground! Whoosh¡ª The plane was spinning! Items within the cabin were flying chaotically! If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Wang Tao and the others were buckled in with safety belts, they¡¯d have been flung out directly! Feeling the world turning upside down, Wang Tao quickly yelled at He Jijun beside him. ¡°Old He! What¡¯s happening?¡± ¡°All electronic devices on the plane have failed! The engine has shut down! Equipment can¡¯t be restarted; there¡¯s no way to salvage this! We have to parachute! Quick! Gear up! Jump!¡± He Jijun shouted at Wang Tao. ¡°?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat dumbfounded. All electronic devices had failed? The engine had shut down? What the hell was going on! But there was no time for hesitation now. Wang Tao waved his hand, and two black tendrils shot out from his wrist, instantly grabbing the parachutes fixed to the walls inside the cabin and pulling them over. The plane kept spinning and shaking. He struggled to don the parachute on his body. The others had no way of getting to the parachutes. Seeing this, Wang Tao then used the Iron Tree Vines to get the parachutes and hand them over to them. ¡°Everyone put them on!¡± He Jijun reacted the quickest. After receiving the parachute handed over by Wang Tao, he donned it in a moment, with great proficiency. Next up was Xu Xiaojun, who was fully equipped today, with both mechanical arms in place. He simply used the third hand on his back to grab the parachute pack, securing it firmly without having to wear it. But the others were much slower, after all, they were wandering around inside the plane and lacked experience in wearing parachutes. Seeing this, Wang Tao again fetched a parachute and put it on himself. Then he had Jiang Shixue and the others unbuckle their safety harnesses one after another. Before they unbuckled their safety harnesses, Wang Tao used the Iron Tree Vines to entangle them and pulled them into his arms. Wang Tao held Jiang Shixue in his left arm and Yang Changhong in his right, while using two Iron Tree Vines to wrap around Lightning and Nie Siyan. After ensuring everything was fine, he immediately unbuckled his own safety harness. Then he was flung out instantaneously, crashing towards the windshield. Before smashing into the windshield, Wang Tao had activated the Entangling Roots to cover his body, and then he gathered strength in his right foot and delivered a fierce kick to the glass. Crash¡ª The glass immediately shattered, forming a large hole. Wang Tao, holding several people, was sucked out in an instant, followed by He Jijun and Xu Xiaojun being pulled out one after another. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao promptly opened two parachutes and then felt an upward force suddenly pulling at him, significantly slowing his descending speed. He looked around to ensure the two people he was holding were fine, and so were Lightning and Nie Siyan, who were wrapped by the Iron Tree Vines. He Jijun and Xu Xiaojun had also opened their parachutes one after another. After confirming that everyone was unharmed, Wang Tao turned to look at the transport plane, only to see it rapidly overtaking them, soon plummeting into a horde of zombies. Moments later. Boom¡ª A loud explosion erupted, and a great fire ignited where the plane had landed. Watching his own plane explode, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes were filled with distress. A functioning military transport plane! This was its maiden flight under Wang Tao¡¯s command, and now it was gone... The loss was great this time! After a while, the group unsteadily landed amidst the zombies not far from where the plane had exploded. The zombies on the ground reached out towards the sky with snarling faces. Wang Tao immediately cut the parachute cords, released everyone, and then unleashed a few Shockwaves at the zombies, instantly clearing the surrounding area. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± Wang Tao called out. ¡°We¡¯re fine!¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright too!¡± ¡°Woof woof!¡± Everyone indicated they were unharmed. ¡°This is insane, what in the world is going on!¡± Wang Tao felt uncomfortable. He Jijun shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not sure either, should we look for the flight recorder?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Wang Tao and the others arrived at the place where the plane had crashed, which had turned into a sea of fire, with many zombie corpses nearby. Wang Tao plunged into the inferno, and after some time, he found the black box and also picked up a bunch of Crystal Cores. Looking at the fiercely burning plane in the midst of the fire, Wang Tao suddenly felt sentimental. The transport plane had always been tasked with airdropping supplies and rescuing survivors. Even in its final moments, it had crushed so many zombies. ¡°Sigh, may you rest in peace...¡± With a heavy sigh, Wang Tao walked out of the flames. ¡°We got what we came for; let¡¯s head back to base. We are still some distance away from the base, let¡¯s try to get there before dark...¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Chapter 657: 270 I miss you_1 Chapter 657: Chapter 270 I miss you_1 At 8 o¡¯clock in the evening, Wang Tao saw the military base¡¯s surrounding wall. ¡°We¡¯ve finally arrived! There are some zombies around, let¡¯s clean them up.¡± After spending some time clearing the zombies around the base, Wang Tao and his companions entered the base and returned to the command center. Wang Tao noticed everyone was somewhat disheveled and said, ¡°Today was really unlucky... Everyone should rest early tonight.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Everyone felt helpless, as none of them had expected their first flight on the plane to be their last. The base had only two aircrafts, and with the biggest one gone, only the helicopter remained. Although the helicopter was more convenient most of the time, the transport aircraft could fly higher and further, something the helicopter couldn¡¯t match... Wang Tao didn¡¯t rest but went with He Jijun to check the black box instead. The black box is the flight data recorder of the aircraft, used for accident investigation, maintenance, and flight testing. Reading its records can usually determine the cause of an accident. The base was equipped with devices to read the black box, and together they quickly figured out how to operate it. But¡ª ¡°Damn! It can¡¯t be read; all the electronic components inside are damaged!¡± The usually calm He Jijun cursed out loud. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao closely examined the black box and noted that the damage didn¡¯t seem caused by impact or explosion. The outer shell of the black box was very durable, with fire and explosion-resistant capabilities, yet the contents were still ruined. Wang Tao and He Jijun carefully recalled the situation; the plane had suddenly lost control after leaving the Giant Zombie. But this surely had nothing to do with the Giant Zombie, for they had flown helicopters in front of it before without any issues. Could it be related to the weather, the region, or some mysterious force? Both felt a bit helpless. If they couldn¡¯t figure this out, they¡¯d be hesitant to fly helicopters in the future. Wang Tao had even promised Lan Yulian he would return... The next day, at dawn. Wang Tao gathered everyone and informed them that the black box was also damaged, asking if anyone had any ideas. People exchanged thoughts for a while, but no useful answers emerged. They weren¡¯t professionals, after all; even He Jijun, who knew how to fly and handle some simple malfunctions, was out of his depth with this issue. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s not dwell on this for now. Let¡¯s treat that area as a no-fly zone... Let¡¯s all try to see if we can make contact with anyone else.¡± They had previously made contact with a Survivor Base, and although it had been overrun, it proved that other survivor camps were nearby. Furthermore, Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian to try to establish contact from her end. So he felt it was still possible that they might make contact with other people or Lan Yulian. Unfortunately, after a whole day¡¯s work, they got no messages. Lan Yulian didn¡¯t make contact either. Wang Tao checked on his fused ¡®Little Huo¡¯, the countdown showed two days remaining. ¡°Although Zijin Base is overrun with a large number of zombies, it seems temporarily safe for now. I¡¯ll make another trip after my Awakening...¡± Wang Tao had initially planned to go tomorrow, but after the aircraft accident, he hadn¡¯t figured out what exactly happened. He would have to pass through that region to reach Zijing City. If he took a detour, he wasn¡¯t clear on the exact size of the ¡°no-fly zone¡±... So it was better to be cautious. Busy until the evening, Yang Changhong and others left the communication room. Wang Tao was also preparing to go to sleep when the communication equipment suddenly rang. ¡°Zzzt... zzzt... Is anyone there... zzzt... I just thought I heard someone¡¯s voice...¡± Hearing the woman¡¯s voice from the device, Wang Tao, who hadn¡¯t left yet, and He Jijun were instantly alert. He Jijun immediately said, ¡°I¡¯m here. Where are you survivors from?¡± ¡°Wow, there really is someone!¡± The person on the other end was obviously excited. After calming her excited emotions, she spoke again, ¡°We are a small team, constantly on the move. We plan to head to Wuyang City...¡± Head to Wuyang City? Wang Tao and He Jijun looked at each other. ¡°Wuyang City is very dangerous; there are many Level 4 zombies here. We suggest not coming to Wuyang City!¡± ¡°Ah? Four-level zombies!¡± A few exclamations of shock came through, as they obviously had not encountered four-level zombies before. Then, whispers of quiet discussion could be heard on the other end. ¡°Wuyang City is that dangerous? Maybe we shouldn¡¯t go...¡± ¡°But we need to reach a large Survivor Base! If we don¡¯t go through Wuyang City, we¡¯ll have to take a much longer route...¡± ¡°What should we do then...¡± After hearing the phrase ¡°large Survivor Base,¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rose. He gave He Jijun a glance, and He Jijun nodded. ¡°Which large Survivor Base are you talking about? As far as I know, there isn¡¯t one in Wuyang City.¡± The other side immediately responded, ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s a base in Wuyang City, but there¡¯s a large Survivor Base west of Wuyang City! Although we don¡¯t know the exact location of this base, we have some important clues about it! To reach that base, taking some risks is worth it! But we are currently trapped by a tide of zombies. If you are willing to help us, we¡¯ll share the clues with you!¡± West of Wuyang City? Wang Tao furrowed his brows. The area west of Wuyang City was too broad; without specific coordinates, it was like finding a needle in a haystack. Besides, going through Wuyang City was virtually impossible; they¡¯d have to make a detour. Chapter 658: 270 I miss you_2 Chapter 658: Chapter 270 I miss you_2 ¡°` As for the so-called clues, Wang Tao had no interest in them for the moment, unless he could get in touch with a base. He Jijun spoke up: ¡°We¡¯re not interested in clues, but Wuyang City is really dangerous. There are many Level 4, Lords, zombie here, including giant zombies that are dozens of meters tall! If you try to leave through Wuyang City, you basically have no chance of survival.¡± Listening to He Jijun¡¯s grave words, the other party seemed to be frightened, and after a moment of silence, she spoke with a somewhat low spirit: ¡°If these zombies don¡¯t leave, we have no chance of survival either...¡± ¡°You first tell us your current situation, and if possible, we might be able to help you out of your predicament.¡± ¡°Ah? Thank you! Thank you! We... Please wait a moment, I¡¯ll find someone to talk to you!¡± After being stunned for a moment, the person seemed to get excited, perhaps too overwhelmed to express herself properly, she then called someone else over. ¡°Sister Han... come quickly...¡± A moment later, a calm female voice came from the other end. ¡°Hello, I am survivor Han Rui, we are currently trapped in a community called Jinxiu, the specific address is... There are a lot of zombies outside the community, including two Level 3, Lords, zombies! If you have the capability, please help us, we can pay with Crystal Cores...¡± He Jijun looked at Wang Tao, taking down two Level 3, Lords, zombies would naturally be simple; it just depended on whether they were telling the truth and whether Wang Tao was willing to go. But He Jijun noticed that Wang Tao¡¯s expression suddenly froze, and he asked curiously: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao suddenly grinned and then he directly picked up the microphone. ¡°If you¡¯re planning to offer yourself in exchange, I might consider coming to rescue you.¡± He Jijun was surprised; Wang Tao¡¯s words were somewhat flippant, not like his usual style. Then He Jijun suddenly remembered something¡ªWang Tao had mentioned that among the people he was looking for, there seemed to be a woman with the last name Han! As soon as Wang Tao said this, he immediately heard some indignant voices from the other side, as though the two people from before were whispering to each other. As for Han Rui, she didn¡¯t get angry but instead was taken aback all at once. A few seconds later, she started speaking, her voice shaking: ¡°You, who are you!¡± ¡°What, you can¡¯t even recognize my voice?¡± A smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°Ah! Wang Tao!¡± Han Rui suddenly shouted, startling Wang Tao. ¡°Keep it down, be careful not to attract zombies.¡± Wang Tao said helplessly. ¡°I... you...¡± Han Rui was so excited she didn¡¯t know what to say, and the two people beside her seemed to be taken aback by her outburst as well, none of them daring to speak. ¡°Wuwu... Wang Tao, is it really you?¡± At this point, Han Rui¡¯s voice suddenly took on a sobbing tone. ¡°It¡¯s me. How have you been these past days, what about the others?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Not good, we¡¯ve had a very hard time!¡± Han Rui subconsciously replied. ¡°Hmm? What happened!¡± Wang Tao frowned. He Jijun, who had been silent all this time, glanced at Wang Tao; he could sense a faint murderous aura emanating from him. ¡°No, you¡¯ve misunderstood, what I mean is...¡± Han Rui seemed to have picked up on Wang Tao¡¯s mood, and she quickly explained ¡°I mean... I miss you a lot!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao finally relaxed. ¡°Wait a moment, I¡¯ll call Yu Qin and the others over!¡± After saying this, Wang Tao heard a rush of hurrying footsteps. Wang Tao took the opportunity to explain to He Jijun: ¡°Han Rui is one of the people I¡¯ve been looking to find. I really didn¡¯t expect to make contact with her in such a way! Speaking of which, I owe this to you!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone was rather emotional. If it weren¡¯t for He Jijun constantly using the base¡¯s equipment to contact other survivors, Wang Tao might have missed Han Rui and the others! ¡°Haha, congratulations!¡± He Jijun laughed heartily, visibly happy. Being able to help someone in need is already a very joyous thing¡ªespecially when that someone is Wang Tao. On the other side. At the top floor of an old, heavily guarded residential building. Han Rui, holding the walkie-talkie, hurried down to the floor below. There were several people in the room downstairs, studying a map. Seeing Han Rui bustling down, everyone¡¯s faces turned solemn. ¡°Old Han, is there even worse news?¡± A person with a disabled body, leaning on an alloy cane and wearing an old military uniform, spoke up in a forthright manner. Another woman, wrapped up tightly and only showing her delicate face, also asked: ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Little Rui?¡± The others also looked towards Han Rui, their situation was already dire, how much worse could it get! Han Rui didn¡¯t speak directly but pulled out the walkie-talkie and pressed the talk button. ¡°Yu Qin, Sister Qiu Yu, Old Wei, Old Xiang, Little Lu, Little Gao, Little Chen...¡± Han Rui called out each person present one by one. Everyone was puzzled, not understanding why Han Rui, with a grim face, had named them all. At that moment, the walkie-talkie suddenly sounded. ¡°Sizzle... Hello, everyone, good evening!¡± ¡°?¡± Hearing this somewhat familiar voice, everyone was momentarily stunned. The woman clad head to toe in wrap rushed forward, grabbing the walkie-talkie with trembling hands, she spoke with disbelief: ¡°Wang Tao! Is that you, Wang Tao?¡± The others kept silent, but their gaze was excitedly fixed on the walkie-talkie. ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s me.¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s confirmation, Ding Yuqin broke down in tears. ¡°` Chapter 659: 270 I miss you_3 Chapter 659: Chapter 270 I miss you_3 ¡°Whimper... I just knew you were still alive! Thank heavens! You¡¯re still alive! Whimper...¡± ¡°Alright, stop crying. So many people are watching.¡± Over the walkie-talkie, Wang Tao¡¯s tone was very gentle. ¡°Whimper...¡± At this moment, a face marred with the vicissitudes of life, Wei Zhenguo, walked over. ¡°Wang Tao, to still hear your voice is truly a blessing! If you had died, even if I lived on, I would¡¯ve felt guilty for the rest of my life! Now that I see you¡¯re okay, I feel relieved all at once!¡± They had been able to escape back then because Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had lured away the Black Mist Monster. Wang Tao had risked his life to ensure their safety! He knew he couldn¡¯t disappoint Wang Tao¡¯s kindness, so he led the group away. But he also knew that once he left, he would never be able to forgive himself¡ªhe would have to live with this guilt for the rest of his life! Now hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, he instantly felt at ease; even if he died now, he would have no regrets! ¡°Haha, Old Wei, aren¡¯t you being sentimental! I wonder if your strength has improved after such a long time. Let me tell you, on the way, I met a retired old man who must be in his sixties or seventies, but he¡¯s incredibly strong! I bet even if he gave you one hand, you wouldn¡¯t be able to beat him!¡± Wang Tao said with a laugh. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s impossible! Absolutely impossible!¡± If it were about anything else, Wei Zhenguo might have been modest, but when it came to a showdown of strength between peers, he had to vie for the top spot! Especially since Wang Tao said it was an old man in his sixties or seventies, he couldn¡¯t admit defeat! ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll have you two spar when I¡¯m back!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. He felt that He Jijun could easily bully Wei Zhenguo with just one hand. It wasn¡¯t that he looked down on Wei Zhenguo, but He Jijun was just too freakishly strong! ¡°Sure!¡± Wei Zhenguo responded firmly. If there was a chance, he was very much looking forward to meeting Wang Tao, but for now... He sighed, handing the walkie-talkie back to Ding Yuqin. Li Qiuyu, standing beside, moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but being the weakest link in the team, she felt too embarrassed to speak up. Ding Yuqin wanted to keep talking to Wang Tao, but she knew now was not the time. She wiped her red eyes and hurriedly said: ¡°Where are you now, are you safe? We are currently at...¡± ¡°I¡¯m safe! Hang in there, I will come for you tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± This response startled Ding Yuqin, and she quickly added: ¡°It¡¯s dangerous here! There¡¯s a Level 3, Lord! We can¡¯t get out!¡± If someone else were on the other side, she would definitely hope they could come to help them. But if it was Wang Tao, she certainly hoped he could come, but more than anything, she wanted Wang Tao to be safe! ¡°Sister-in-law, don¡¯t you trust me?¡± ¡°No no no, I trust you¡ª¡± ¡°Then just wait patiently. Tomorrow watch me descend from the sky like divine intervention!¡± ¡°Then... you must be careful! We¡¯ll all be waiting here for you!¡± ¡°Sure, keep your communication equipment on, and contact me at the first sign of danger...¡± Wang Tao chatted with Ding Yuqin and the others for a while longer, then proactively ended the call. Wang Tao finally understood why Ding Yuqin and the others were able to contact the military base. They had found a wired communication device left by the military in a building next door, which was well preserved and not broken. After tinkering with it, Wei Zhenguo and the others got it working. They connected their walkie-talkies to this device, and then used it to reach out to other locations. The device essentially acted as a wireless repeater. However, many of the underground lines were damaged, and they had not been able to contact anyone else for a long time. But fortunately, this time they finally got through to someone, and it was Wang Tao... Wang Tao briefly reported to He Jijun about Wei Zhenguo and the others. When He Jijun heard that there were three active members of the Security Army there, he was very interested. From the onset of the apocalypse to now, he had hardly encountered peers. Now having a chance to meet a few excellent younger peers, he was delighted. ¡°But there¡¯s one problem, if we go to pick them up tomorrow, there won¡¯t be any issue with the helicopter, right?¡± Wang Tao said, stroking his chin. If the helicopter cut out midair, he could save himself, but if they lost the helicopter, it would be a huge loss. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problem. Anyway, their location is quite far from the ¡®No-fly Zone¡¯ we deduced. If we don¡¯t venture into the ¡®No-fly Zone¡¯, we should be safe...¡± He Jijun explained. He and Wang Tao were much the same; they were not afraid for themselves but concerned about the possibility of the plane crashing since it was their last helicopter. ¡°Okay, then we¡¯ll set off tomorrow morning, just the two of us.¡± The spot where Ding Yuqin and the others were located wasn¡¯t too far from the military base, and with no Four-level zombies, Wang Tao thought it would be okay for just the two of them to go¡ªhe was mainly concerned about the helicopter having issues, and having too many people to look after might lead to difficulties, as the last incident had left him somewhat traumatized. Wang Tao returned to his room. Hearing the noise, Lightning, who was lying beside the bed, looked up at him and then laid his head back down to sleep. Jiang Shixue lay in bed, gazing absentmindedly at the ceiling. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Brother, do you think... my mom is still alive? She¡¯s so frail...¡± Last time, she and Wang Tao went out but couldn¡¯t find any clues about her mother, and the plane had crashed. Having no leads today either... all of this weighed heavily on Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao heard her and rubbed her hair. ¡°Of course, she¡¯s still alive. Do you believe I¡¯ll find her tomorrow?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe~¡± If it were the Jiang Shixue from before she regained her memory, she would believe anything Wang Tao said. Now, well... she still believed him, but she could tell which words were serious and which were meant to comfort her. Just like what Wang Tao was saying now, it was obviously just to comfort her. ¡°What if we make a bet?¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Chapter 660: 271: Meeting Again_1 Chapter 660: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_1 ¡°What shall we bet on?¡± Jiang Shixue looked at Wang Tao. ¡°You decide!¡± Wang Tao spoke very generously. Jiang Shixue tilted her head to think, and then suddenly revealed a sly smile. ¡°If you win... I¡¯ll give you a kiss. It¡¯s my first kiss, you know~¡± ¡°What?¡± Although he and Jiang Shixue slept in the same bed, their relationship was pure and innocent, without any intimate gestures beyond hugging. To say that Wang Tao didn¡¯t harbor any thoughts at all would be impossible. But what was that saying? It¡¯s hard to make a move when you¡¯re too familiar! He basically treated Jiang Shixue like a little sister, since they were so close. Wang Tao felt that their interdependent relationship was actually quite nice. Now that Jiang Shixue suddenly said this, it seemed like she was about to break the nature of their relationship? While Wang Tao was still confused, Jiang Shixue suddenly hugged his neck and gently kissed him on the face, then snuggled into his arms. ¡°You won.¡± ¡°...¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t care about winning or losing; she knew these were just comforting words from Wang Tao. Wang Tao opened his mouth, feeling that perhaps this was an excuse Jiang Shixue deliberately used to close the distance between them. Meeting someone who conceded before the bet could be a bit disappointing, but it was Jiang Shixue, after all. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s sleep.¡± Wang Tao helplessly ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair. He had originally planned to tell Jiang Shixue that Li Qiuyu was still alive, and that he was going to pick her up. But now, he changed his mind; he decided to give Jiang Shixue a surprise. ... The next day, at dawn. Wang Tao told everyone that he and He Jijun were going out for a short trip and would be back soon. He didn¡¯t specify what for, and no one asked too much, just admonished him to be careful on the way. Before leaving, Wang Tao secretly found Yang Changhong. ¡°When I return, find an excuse to keep Jiang Shixue in the room, don¡¯t let her come out.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Yang Changhong nodded. She wouldn¡¯t ask too much, but Wang Tao still explained a bit. ¡°I found her mother, and I want to give her a surprise.¡± ¡°Wow!¡± Yang Changhong was very surprised, then nodded repeatedly. ¡°Okay! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll handle it well!¡± ... Whirr whirr¡ª The helicopter took off, leaving the military base. Inside the aircraft, Wang Tao was highly focused, afraid of any accidents. He had even prepared to jump out at any moment. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, without any incidents. Wang Tao slowly eased his mind, thinking that the previous plane crash might have happened because of issues in that area. After some time, they finally arrived at the location Han Rui had mentioned. From afar, Wang Tao could already see the residential area. Surrounding the complex were many metal barrels, and despite the rain, flames still burned within them, likely containing gasoline or something similar. And around the complex, there was a dense wave of zombies! ¡°This is the place, let¡¯s go.¡± Whirr whirr¡ª The helicopter advanced towards the complex. ... Jinxiu Residential Area. Ding Yuqin¡¯s group got up early in the morning. Because Wang Tao said he would come today, they didn¡¯t know when he might arrive, so they decided to prepare in advance. ¡°With so many zombies outside, how is he going to get here...¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s face showed worry. Their original plan was to create a diversion outside to attract some of the zombies if they could contact others willing to help. Then, while those zombies were distracted, they would make a run for it. The plan was dangerous, but they had no other options. After all, they were trapped in the midst of the zombie wave, and it was unlikely that anyone would dare come to their rescue under these circumstances. They never expected anyone to break through for them. But Wang Tao just told them to stay put and take care of themselves, and wait for his message. Although Ding Yuqin trusted Wang Tao and believed that he could manage this task, she couldn¡¯t figure out how exactly he would do it and was worried about his safety. And it wasn¡¯t just her; the others were also concerned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s so strong, nothing will happen to him!¡± Han Rui patted her hand. ¡°Yes!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded, then turned to look at Li Qiuyu beside her, who looked distressed. ¡°Sister Qiu Yu, should I ask about Jiang Shixue for you?¡± They were too excited last night and forgot to inquire about Jiang Shixue. Mainly because Li Qiuyu herself did not speak up... After finishing the call last night, Ding Yuqin realized that Li Qiuyu was visibly disheartened. She quickly apologized to Li Qiuyu, then asked if they should try to contact Wang Tao again, as they could probably still reach him. But Li Qiuyu shook her head. She knew Wang Tao¡¯s character. If Jiang Shixue were safe, Wang Tao would have definitely informed her, but since he said nothing... the outcome was evident. Of course, she still held onto an unrealistic hope¡ªif she asked Wang Tao, then even that sliver of hope might be dashed! So, she was conflicted. She wanted to see Wang Tao, who was an old friend and had saved her several times, a true lifesaver. But she also feared seeing him because, after meeting him, she might hear her daughter¡¯s death with her own ears... Facing Ding Yuqin¡¯s questioning, Li Qiuyu ultimately shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯ll... wait until I see him.¡± Ding Yuqin probably understood Li Qiuyu¡¯s thoughts and tightly grasped her hand. Chapter 661 - 271: Meeting Again_2 Chapter 661: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_2 ¡°I think Little Xue will definitely be okay!¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± Li Qiuyu obviously didn¡¯t believe that. At this moment, Wei Zhenguo and a few others came over and said to the three women: ¡°Have you all packed your things?¡± Since Wang Tao said he would take them away today, they had to be ready, even though he really did not know how Wang Tao was going to get them out... Could they possibly fly out? ¡°Yes, we¡¯ve packed up too.¡± Han Rui nodded. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll call everyone else over; hopefully everything goes smoothly for Wang Tao...¡± Wei Zhenguo gathered everyone together. There were 22 people in total. Besides a few of their core members, the rest were survivors they had encountered on the road. If they felt someone was of good character, they kept them in the group. Since they had been on the move, the size of their team had essentially not expanded, with the number fluctuating around twenty. The rest of the team members knew that someone was coming to rescue them today, but they weren¡¯t too excited. After all, their previous plan involved drawing the zombies¡¯ attention while they made a forced breakout. The plan was very risky, and there would definitely be casualties! Thus, far from being excited, they were filled with a sense of grim determination... Just then, someone standing at a high point with a pair of binoculars suddenly spoke up: ¡°Captain! A Level 3, Lord Zombie is coming this way!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone tensed up. In this group, the strongest were Wei Zhenguo and a few others, but all were Level Two. They had already struggled against the horde, and if a Level 3 Lord Zombie attacked their temporary camp, then they would be in even more trouble. ¡°Don¡¯t panic!¡± Wei Zhenguo ran to a higher ground, took out the binoculars, and saw a Level 3 Lord Zombie approaching their location. They had spotted about three to five Level 3 Lord Zombies in this horde, but not all of them would come at once, only occasionally one or two Level 3 Lords would attack the base. But whenever they came, everyone had to give their all. Unfortunately, their luck was not good today as a Level 3 Lord Zombie arrived early in the morning. Wei Zhenguo quickly checked and, confirming there was only this one zombie, immediately gave an order. ¡°Grab the gasoline and light up the fire barrels around us!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Everyone immediately grabbed the gasoline and poured it into the iron barrels around the base, then ignited the gasoline inside. Boom! In an instant, flames surrounded the entire camp. Even the rain wasn¡¯t enough to extinguish the fire. But Wei Zhenguo didn¡¯t feel much relief; after all, this was the last of their gasoline. They might be able to hold off the zombies until the gasoline burned out, but what would happen after that? Zombie Lords generally brought minions with them or could control other zombies. This was one way to tell if a zombie was a Lord. Like the zombie that was approaching now, although it didn¡¯t have minions, as soon as it arrived, ordinary zombies immediately gathered around it, bringing a group of other zombies to the outskirts of the camp. Facing the flames, the ordinary zombies were somewhat afraid and halted in their tracks. The Level 3 Lord Zombie, although also instinctively afraid, wasn¡¯t so scared that it wouldn¡¯t dare to come closer. It stood outside the flames and howled, staring at the people on the rooftop with its pale grey eyes, giving off a feeling it could leap in at any moment. Everyone was on edge. If the Level 3 Lord forcibly assaulted their camp, they definitely would not be able to hold it back. Fortunately, the Level 3 Lord Zombie just roared outside and didn¡¯t actually charge in. This allowed everyone to breathe a sigh of relief, but before they could speak, they saw another Lord Zombie approaching from another direction! ¡°Here comes another one!¡± Everyone¡¯s faces looked grim. They could deal with one Level 3 Lord Zombie if they worked together, but two would be a different story. ¡°It looks like... there¡¯s another!¡± Someone noticed that yet another Level 3 Lord Zombie was coming from a different direction! Three Level 3 Lord Zombies had effectively surrounded their camp. Although the flames kept the Lord Zombies at bay for the moment, the gasoline was burning out fast! Once it did, they would have to face the assault of three Level 3 Lord Zombies... They wouldn¡¯t be able to hold out! ¡°Looks like we¡¯re going to have to fight hard in a bit...¡± Wei Zhenguo sighed helplessly. He wasn¡¯t surprised by the situation; when they were surrounded by the horde, he had already prepared for the worst. The others were silent. So a battle was inevitable, after all? The so-called rescue probably wasn¡¯t going to arrive in time. Everyone felt downhearted. No one wanted to die, but in this situation, even if they could escape, there probably wouldn¡¯t be many who¡¯d make it out alive. Watching the flames in the surrounding barrels grow smaller, nobody spoke, but everyone was prepared for the last stand. Suddenly, someone¡¯s ears twitched, and they said with uncertainty: ¡°Do you hear a ¡®buzzing¡¯ sound?¡± ¡°Huh? Do we? I haven¡¯t heard anything, just the sound of rain...¡± Some shook their heads. ¡°I think I heard it too...¡± But there were those who said they heard it. Wei Zhenguo and the others exchanged glances, confusion in their eyes¡ªthey had heard it too. ¡°There definitely is a buzzing sound, but why does it sound so familiar...¡± Chapter 662 - 271: Meeting Again_3 Chapter 662: Chapter 271: Meeting Again_3 ¡°` Wei Zhen Guo and Xiang Hong Bin exchanged a glance, both of them seeing the incredulity in each other¡¯s eyes. That sound... it¡¯s like a propeller! Roar¡ª¡ª Zombies generally have better hearing than humans, and the ones outside were starting to get agitated. Especially the three Level 3, Lord Zombies, they all raised their heads, looking towards a certain direction. The humming noise was getting louder and clearer, the horde of zombies more and more frantic, while Wei Zhen Guo and the others grew increasingly excited! ¡°Helicopter! Wang Tao! It must be Wang Tao!¡± A moment later, a rather plump-looking helicopter emerged from the curtain of rain, heading towards their camp. ¡°My God! It really is a helicopter!¡± ¡°Is this to rescue us? Am I dreaming?¡± ¡°Whimper... we¡¯re finally saved! I really didn¡¯t want to die...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t celebrate too soon, everyone. The loud noise from the helicopter will surely provoke a frenzy among the zombies. It all depends on whether the aircraft can land smoothly... we need to prepare for battle...¡± ¡°...¡± Everyone was excited, but relatively rational as well. After all, the more successful you are about to be, the more careful you have to be! This was a lesson learned with their lives! ¡°Sizzle...¡± At that moment, the walkie-talkie in Ding Yu Qin¡¯s hand crackled to life. ¡°I¡¯m here, are you guys ready?¡± It was Wang Tao¡¯s voice! ¡°Wang Tao, you... you really came by plane!¡± Ding Yu Qin exclaimed in surprise. Although they had all guessed it, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice still made it somewhat hard to believe. ¡°How about it, is it cool!¡± Wang Tao said with a laugh. ¡°Haha! Cool! Dead cool!¡± Before Ding Yu Qin could speak, Xiang Hong Bin burst out laughing and added hurriedly. ¡°Wang Tao, there are three Level 3, Lord Zombies around the camp! The helicopter is so loud, be careful they might attack you! The fire barrels around might not hold them back! Should we lure these three zombies away before you land?¡± ¡°No need. I¡¯ve seen those three zombies. You guys just focus on getting ready to board, I¡¯ll deal with the zombies.¡± Wang Tao sounded relaxed. He certainly didn¡¯t have the ability to handle the thousands upon thousands of zombies, but dealing with those few Level 3, Lord Zombies with not much HP was easy for him! ¡°Alright!¡± Since Wang Tao had said so, they naturally chose to trust him. Humming¡ª¡ª The helicopter drew closer and closer to the camp, then gradually hovered above it. Roar¡ª¡ª The relentless roar of zombies continued, and the three Level 3, Lord Zombies seemed eager to pounce the moment the aircraft landed. But the helicopter¡¯s door suddenly opened. A tall figure dressed in a black suit appeared in sight of everyone and the zombies; he leapt gently. Thud¡ª¡ª Wang Tao landed instantly amidst the horde of zombies, right near one of the Level 3, Lord Zombies. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yu Qin and the others exclaimed quietly, fearing for Wang Tao¡¯s safety. But then, a Shockwave suddenly erupted among the zombies, virtually shattering all within a ten-meter radius around Wang Tao! Even the Level 3, Lord Zombie was thrown far back, dark blood flowing from its body. ¡°So powerful!¡± Witnessing this scene, everyone instinctively cried out in awe. ¡°` Ding Yuqin and the others had excitement gleaming in their eyes. This was the Wang Tao they knew! Always so strong! Wielding the Bone Knife, Wang Tao charged directly at the Level 3 Zombie Lord! The strength of Level 3 Zombie Lords varied, and this one had just over 40,000 HP, which clearly made it one of the weaker among its peers. With Wang Tao¡¯s own strength being formidable and his Ability now upgraded to Level 4, he faced the Level 3 Zombie Lord with a swift attack and quickly took it down. Picking up his victory spoils, Wang Tao then dashed toward the other two Level 3 Zombie Lords. The other two zombies, one with 30,000 HP and the other with 50,000 HP, were obviously no match for Wang Tao, who effortlessly took on both at once. Meanwhile, the helicopter had already landed in the square in the middle of the residential area. After all, with Wang Tao drawing the attention of the Level 3 Zombie Lords, other zombies couldn¡¯t pose any threat to the helicopter. ¡°Everyone, get on!¡± He Jijun waved at the people. Wei Zhen Guo immediately organized everyone to board the helicopter in an orderly fashion. As soon as he got on, he felt that the pilot was somewhat different... he had the aura of a kindred spirit! Xiang Hong Bin and Lu Gang also subconsciously glanced at Wei Zhen Guo. He Jijun naturally saw them too and nodded with a smile. Wei Zhen Guo and the other two instinctively stood to attention! This was a very strong veteran! All three thought to themselves with a bit of surprise. But now was not the time for talk; they continued to help people board while keeping an eye on Wang Tao¡¯s situation. However, the buildings in the residential area blocked their view, and from their position, they couldn¡¯t see Wang Tao. ¡°Is everyone here?¡± He Jijun asked. ¡°All 22 people are accounted for!¡± Wei Zhen Guo shouted. The space in this military transport helicopter was vast, with many foldable seats; it could easily carry twenty to thirty people. ¡°Good! Everyone, strap in!¡± As soon as Wei Zhen Guo saw everyone buckled up, he immediately started the helicopter¡¯s ascent. ¡°Old man, Wang Tao hasn¡¯t boarded yet! He¡¯s still fighting the Level 3 Zombie Lord down there!¡± Ding Yu Qin hurriedly shouted in concern. Han Rui and the others also looked at He Jijun. If they left Wang Tao in the midst of the zombie horde, even his strength wouldn¡¯t be enough to withstand it! ¡°The fight is already over,¡± Wei Zhen Guo said with a smile. ¡°What?¡± The group was stunned. What did he mean the fight was over? Had he killed those three zombies? But that was so quick! Just then, the people felt the helicopter slightly tremble. A tall silhouette climbed in through the side hatch, which hadn¡¯t been closed, and casually shut the door. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Ding Yu Qin and Han Rui didn¡¯t care how Wang Tao got up; they immediately unbuckled their seat belts and rushed to hug him. With an arm around each, Wang Tao said with a smile, ¡°We meet again.¡± Chapter 663 - 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_1 Chapter 663: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_1 Wang Tao released the two women, then turned to He Jijun and said: ¡°Old He, let¡¯s head home.¡± ¡°Hold tight!¡± Whirring¡ª The helicopter dipped slightly and swiftly headed towards the military base. In the cabin. Wang Tao looked at these familiar faces and slowly grinned. ¡°Seeing you all again, it¡¯s really wonderful!¡± Not a single one was missing from those core members who had escaped alive from Shuize County before! Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Li Qiuyu, Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, Chen Zhuang, Gao Hua. Although they all looked weathered, clearly having suffered a great deal, it was good that they were alive! Especially Xiang Hongbin, his situation had been truly tragic; he had lost half of his body. Though Wang Tao had saved his life, his limbs couldn¡¯t be regenerated, and now he was a disabled person with only one hand and one arm. Still, he managed to survive stubbornly! Wang Tao walked over and thumped Xiang Hongbin on the chest. ¡°Old Xiang! There aren¡¯t many people I admire in this life, but you¡¯re definitely one of them!¡± ¡°Haha! That¡¯s my honor!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed, showing his scarred face that looked fierce when he smiled, but to Wang Tao, it felt incredibly endearing. The two embraced each other firmly. Xiang Hongbin complained somewhat: ¡°Damn! It¡¯s okay that you¡¯re so muscular, but why do you have to be so tall? You¡¯re what, two meters now? I have to look up to you!¡± ¡°Haha!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily and then moved over to Wei Zhenguo. ¡°Old Wei!¡± ¡°Brother Wang!¡± The two said little and hugged each other tightly. The friendship between men doesn¡¯t require many words, a look or a gesture is often enough. Of course, Wang Tao did want to have a chat with Wei Zhenguo, but it wasn¡¯t urgent. They could talk slowly when they got back. He went over to Lu Gang and Chen Zhuang next, bumped fists with them and shared a hug. Back in Shuize Base, Wang Tao thought Lu Gang was quite young. Now, seeing him again, he appeared much more worn, yet he also seemed more manly. As for Chen Zhuang, he had been a doctor in Shuize Base, someone who didn¡¯t really engage in combat. But now, the various gear on him showed that though he was still a doctor, he carried not only a Surgical Knife but also a large machete. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± Gao Hua looked at Wang Tao, somewhat excited. In his life, he had made many right decisions, but after the apocalypse struck, there was only one decision he considered the most right one: clinging to Wang Tao¡¯s coattails! If not for Wang Tao, he likely would have died many times over. After experiencing the despair of the apocalypse¡¯s arrival, he couldn¡¯t imagine that he might somehow survive for more than half a year! ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re still alive!¡± Wang Tao had saved him on a whim, and Gao Hua himself had been tenacious; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have made it to this point. ¡°All thanks to Brother Wang¡¯s blessings!¡± Gao Hua defined himself as someone who had sold his life to Wang Tao. So he didn¡¯t need to say much; he would let his actions speak for themselves. Wang Tao patted him on the shoulder, then approached Li Qiuyu. He opened his arms, and Li Qiuyu also willingly embraced Wang Tao, though she didn¡¯t speak. Her expression was somewhat sorrowful. From the moment she boarded the helicopter and realized Jiang Shixue wasn¡¯t there, Li Qiuyu knew that her daughter was likely gone. Now all that was left was for Wang Tao to personally tell her the bad news, but a part of her deceptively didn¡¯t want to hear it. As long as she didn¡¯t know for sure, Jiang Shixue would always possibly be alive¡ªthat was the only way she could deceive herself. ¡°What is it? Are you still mad at me?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. Before they separated from Ding Yuqin and the others, Wang Tao had threatened Jiang Shixue with Li Qiuyu¡¯s well-being to get Jiang Shixue to join him in luring away the Black Mist Monster. ¡°Ah? Mad? Why would I be mad?¡± Li Qiuyu seemed rather baffled; she couldn¡¯t recall what Wang Tao was referring to. She had indeed spoken in anger before, saying things like if anything happened to Jiang Shixue, she would hate Wang Tao for her entire life. But that was all said in the heat of the moment. She was a sensible person and had not actually been truly angry with Wang Tao. Seeing Li Qiuyu¡¯s puzzled expression, Wang Tao suddenly found her somewhat adorable. ¡°Then what¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I just... never mind... It¡¯s nothing, I¡¯m just too happy to see you...¡± Li Qiuyu sighed, suddenly feeling a bit relieved. Since she had already guessed the outcome, she decided not to inquire further. She would let Jiang Shixue live on forever in her heart. Seeing Li Qiuyu¡¯s demeanor, Wang Tao was close to revealing that Jiang Shixue was still alive, but he restrained himself. After all, a surprise was best kept for Li Qiuyu and Jiang Shixue to reveal, and he couldn¡¯t spoil it in advance. At that moment, Li Qiuyu suddenly spoke softly, her head lowered: ¡°Wang Tao, can I follow you from now on?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Wang Tao nodded at first, then suddenly realized that this ¡°follow¡± might not be so simple. ¡°Thank you...¡± During the time Li Qiuyu had spent with Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and the others, she had learned a lot and gradually changed some of her prior views. Now she had only two goals. The first was to find Jiang Shixue, which now seemed hopeless. The second was to live well, to strive to survive with all her might! Because her life was not only her own, but also for those people who had sacrificed themselves along the way. If she died, wouldn¡¯t it mean that all the others died in vain? Chapter 664 - 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_2 Chapter 664: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_2 To survive well, she knew she didn¡¯t have the capability on her own. Han Rui had told her before that she should rely on a man, and now she found Han Rui¡¯s words to make a lot of sense... Wang Tao¡¯s expression was a bit strange, but he didn¡¯t say much else. Truth be told, he was feeling somewhat conflicted inside. Once Jiang Shixue and Li Qiuyu met, how should he handle their relationship? Oh well, there must be a way when the car reaches the mountain¡ªor make one if there isn¡¯t! Wang Tao let go of Li Qiuyu and finally returned to where Ding Yuqin and Han Rui were sitting down between the two of them. Neither of the women was thick-skinned, but at this time they didn¡¯t care about the gazes of others and leaned on Wang Tao like clingy birds. ¡°You two have lost a lot of weight...¡± Wang Tao gently stroked the faces of the two women. He could tell that both of them must have suffered a lot. But Ding Yuqin and Han Rui didn¡¯t mind how much they had suffered; they felt happy now and that their hardships were worth it. Wang Tao asked about their previous situation and, after explanations from Ding Yuqin and Han Rui, he generally understood their experiences. When they had separated from Wang Tao in Shuize County, they had headed towards Red Stone Base. However, the journey was far from peaceful, and they encountered many dangers. Nevertheless, with the second-order superpower owner Wei Zhenguo with them, they managed to get through without harm. After enduring untold hardships, they finally arrived at Red Stone County, only to discover that Red Stone Base was long gone, destroyed! This left them all in despair, not knowing where to go. But in despair, they still had to live. Fortunately, Wang Tao had left them a lot of supplies before, which helped them survive and begin a nomadic life in the apocalypse. Their goal was to find a large Survivor Base, but this was not easy, and they hadn¡¯t found one all this time¡ªthen they ran into a wave of zombies... ¡°Oh, right! We got reliable news that there¡¯s a large Survivor Base on the west side of Wuyang City! We also have some clues!¡± Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke up again. She was, of course, referring to what Han Rui was about to trade with Wang Tao earlier, when she was unclear about his identity. ¡°What clues?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°We got a way to contact the base!¡± ¡°A way to contact them?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Was a means of contact still useful under the current circumstances? ¡°Yes! But it¡¯s not an ordinary way of contact; the specifics are quite complicated, involving many steps. However, the most important thing is, you need equipment left by the military, ideally from a military base. Because to contact them, you need to use many military methods...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows arched. ¡°That¡¯s fortuitous¡ªI just happen to be at the military base in Wuyang City!¡± ¡°So you are!¡± They had already speculated when they saw Wang Tao¡¯s camouflage helicopter. Ding Yuqin asked curiously: ¡°Then your military base...¡± ¡°When I got there, there were no people left. Now, there are just a few of us in the military base. Moreover, the Wuyang City urban area is very dangerous, with a large number of zombies, including many level-4 Lord zombies. If these zombies come to the military base, we would be unable to hold it...¡± Wang Tao briefly described the situation at the military base. The faces of both women didn¡¯t look too good upon hearing this. They had hoped to follow him to his base, but they hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao¡¯s location to be so unsafe... ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry, though. As long as we grow stronger, we can live anywhere. Once we return to the base, I¡¯ll help you increase your strength; you two are too weak right now!¡± As soon as Wang Tao said this, not only Ding Yuqin and Han Rui but everyone else felt quite embarrassed. Among these people, there wasn¡¯t even one level 3! But Wang Tao could understand. After all, they had been wandering all this time, hiding here and there every day. Survival itself was a problem, and there was no special time to hunt zombies and improve their strength. However, zombies evolved quickly, and if one¡¯s strength did not improve early on, the difficulty of enhancing it later would be much greater, resulting in a vicious cycle. To break this cycle, one either had to continuously hunt zombies to keep pace with their evolution, like Wang Tao, or find someone to help, and Wang Tao naturally was able to assist them. Then again, even though Ding Yuqin and the others weren¡¯t level 3, they didn¡¯t have much internal impurity, and he didn¡¯t detect any side effects either. Speaking of which, Ding Yuqin felt somewhat proud. ¡°This is all thanks to the side-effect-free crystal cores you gave us before, and the Crystal Core Synthesizer... so we¡¯ve been very careful about fusing crystal cores...¡± ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao nodded. Internal impurities and side effects were hard to remove, so their situation was like having a not so tall building but with a solid foundation. After chatting with the group for a while longer, He Jijun¡¯s voice sounded. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived!¡± Hmm-hmm-hmm¡ª The helicopter slowly landed at the airfield of the military base. Ding Yuqin and the others observed the massive military base with curiosity and amazement. Before Wang Tao returned, he had already talked with Yang Changhong and others at the base to tell them he was safe and that he had brought back a group of survivors. Yang Changhong and Jiang Shixue were together, so they didn¡¯t come out to greet them. After all, this was the task Wang Tao had previously assigned to her. Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun were there, and they looked curious, wondering who Wang Tao had brought back with him. Chapter 665 - 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_3 Chapter 665: Chapter 272 Mother and Daughter Reunited_3 The helicopter¡¯s cargo door opened, and a group of people walked out in surprise. ¡°This is the military base! It looks so secure!¡± ¡°Are we going to live here from now on?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem likely, I just heard Brother Wang say that the urban area of Wuyang City next door is very dangerous! However, we didn¡¯t come from that direction, so we didn¡¯t see any of those Giant Zombies...¡± ¡°Sigh, it would be nice to live here...¡± ¡°...¡± The crowd was whispering among themselves. Xu Xiaojun drove up in a military vehicle, ready to transport the plane to the hangar. Nie Siyan got out from the co-driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Brother Wang!¡± She hurriedly greeted Wang Tao and then curiously looked at the people around, especially noticing Wang Tao leading a beautiful woman by the hand; she instantly grasped the identities of these individuals. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then turned to explain to Wei Zhenguo and his companions. ¡°This is Xu Xiaojun, Nie Siyan. They have been my companions for some time now...¡± ¡°Hello!¡± ¡°Hello, hello!¡± They all greeted each other enthusiastically, and then Nie Siyan led everyone into the base. Ding Yuqin and the others felt slightly uneasy, but as they felt the warmth from Wang Tao¡¯s large hand, they slowly relaxed. Wang Tao observed Li Qiuyu, who possibly had come to accept the fact that Jiang Shixue was no longer there, didn¡¯t seem too grief-stricken. Of course, feelings of sadness may not always show on one¡¯s face; they could also be hidden inside one¡¯s heart. Everyone arrived at the command center, and Nie Siyan led them to assign rooms. Wang Tao approached Li Qiuyu. ¡°Come with me; I have something to discuss with you alone.¡± ¡°...¡± Li Qiuyu blushed, her thoughts taking a slight turn, but she obediently followed Wang Tao to a room door. Wang Tao knocked on the door, and after a moment, Yang Changhong opened it. She glanced at Li Qiuyu behind Wang Tao and then gave Wang Tao an OK sign. Wang Tao nodded, then said to Li Qiuyu: ¡°Come in and sit for a bit.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Li Qiuyu walked in nervously, looking down. The room was simple and uncluttered, without anything superfluous, but it was large. It had a living room, bedroom, and bathroom, and there was a very handsome military dog wagging its tail. Wang Tao summoned Lightning and motioned to Li Qiuyu that it was gentle and she could pet it however she liked. Then he went to the bedroom, where he saw Jiang Shixue with her head down, checking an inventory list. Wang Tao had previously asked Yang Changhong to find an excuse to keep Jiang Shixue confined to the room, and clearly, this was the method Yang Changhong had come up with. Jiang Shixue was, in reality, somewhat of an academic slacker¡ªnot for lack of intelligence, but rather due to a lack of interest in studying, especially detesting anything to do with mathematics. Moreover, Yang Changhong had tampered with the supply list. She had been calculating for a long time, unable to make it tally. It was giving her a headache. If it weren¡¯t for Yang Changhong telling her that it was an important list Wang Tao urgently needed and asking her to please make sure to finish it, Jiang Shixue would never have agreed to it. Jiang Shixue heard the door open but paid it no attention, still focusing intently on her work. However, she couldn¡¯t shake off a feeling of restlessness that day... Feeling someone approaching, Jiang Shixue looked up with a yawn. ¡°Bro~¡± She had heard the helicopter earlier, but since she and Yang Changhong were checking the list together, she hadn¡¯t gone out. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then suddenly leaned in and whispered in her ear: ¡°I¡¯ve prepared a little surprise for you...¡± ¡°Ah? For me?¡± Jiang Shixue was stunned for a moment, then her face lit up with joy¡ªshe hadn¡¯t even seen the surprise and she was already excited. ¡°Of course! Come on, it¡¯s in the living room.¡± The moment Jiang Shixue stepped out of her room, she saw a figure crouching next to Lightning, stroking its head. Jiang Shixue was instantly dumbfounded. Even though it was just a back, the feeling of blood connection made Jiang Shixue know who she was! Jiang Shixue immediately turned her head to look at Wang Tao, her eyes seeming to ask if she was dreaming. Wang Tao gave a confirming look. Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes suddenly turned red. She took steps, one by one, towards Li Qiuyu, afraid that if she moved too quickly, the other person would disappear. When Li Qiuyu felt someone approaching her, she then lifted her head, was taken aback, and then rubbed her eyes. ¡°Little Xue... I¡¯ve dreamed of you again...¡± Li Qiuyu reached out her hand instinctively, touching Jiang Shixue¡¯s cheek. But this time, her hand did not pass through Jiang Shixue, the figure before her did not crumble away, and even had a warmth to it. ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°...¡± Whoosh! Li Qiuyu suddenly stood up and embraced Jiang Shixue tightly, as if fearing she would disappear, and then she started to speak with a trembling voice: ¡°Little, Little Xue, is it really you... am I not dreaming?¡± ¡°Mom, it¡¯s me. I didn¡¯t die, Brother Wang saved me.¡± Jiang Shixue said softly in Li Qiuyu¡¯s arms. Li Qiuyu quickly released Jiang Shixue, nervously checking her over, ensuring that there were no arms or legs missing, then she finally looked towards Wang Tao who was next to them: ¡°Wang Tao, you, you tricked me...¡± Li Qiuyu was simultaneously thrilled and reproachful. She wasn¡¯t foolish; she understood now that Wang Tao was just teasing her! The massive ups and downs of the past two days... she had been utterly in Wang Tao¡¯s grip, it was fortunate she didn¡¯t have a heart condition! ¡°Haha, you guys take your time to chat.¡± Wang Tao left contentedly. He brought Yang Changhong and Lightning over to Ding Yuqin and the others. ¡°Hello, my name is Yang Changhong.¡± On the way over, Wang Tao had briefly mentioned Ding Yuqin and the others to Yang Changhong. Yang Changhong wasn¡¯t surprised to hear about Wang Tao having two women; although she felt slightly uncomfortable at first, the thought that she was the one who came later... instantly made her feel better. ¡°Hello!¡± Ding Yuqin and Han Rui both shook hands with Yang Changhong. The two women cast Wang Tao slightly reproachful looks, but they sensibly didn¡¯t say anything. They planned to have a good talk with Wang Tao that evening. Wang Tao also introduced Lightning to them. The large wolf-dog immediately endeared itself to Ding Yuqin and the others. Then Wang Tao told them about Jiang Shixue¡¯s situation. ¡°Little Xue is still alive? That¡¯s wonderful!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was happy for Li Qiuyu. Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a glare. ¡°Did you intentionally not tell Sister Qiu Yu?¡± Wang Tao laughed and pinched Ding Yuqin¡¯s cheek, then said to her: ¡°Sister-in-law, are you out of practice? No problems making a simple lunch, right?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Wang Tao asked Ding Yuqin to lead the others in preparing lunch, while he called Han Rui, He Jijun, and the others to discuss the so-called ¡°method of communication¡± that Han Rui had mentioned before. Chapter 666 - 273: Enhancing Strength_1 Chapter 666: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_1 ¡°...That¡¯s pretty much it,¡± Han Rui explained in detail to Wang Tao about the ¡°contact method¡± and its origins. In short, they had encountered a small squad of soldiers on the road previously, but only three members of the squad were left, all severely wounded and beyond saving. Before they died, they told Wei Zhenguo about a way to contact a base and urged them to go there. The reason this contact method was believed to be authentic is that the squad had established contact with the other party before, but unfortunately, they didn¡¯t make it to... As for the specific operation of this contact method, it required the use of military base equipment and some underground cables for communication. But having these things doesn¡¯t mean one could make contact right away; it also called for various equipment adjustments and the input of a secret key, which was very complicated. Of course, the most important thing was that the equipment and lines were not damaged! So, if Wang Tao wanted to contact that base now, he had to check if the equipment and lines were working. The equipment here was basically fine, but there were issues with the lines. Many lines had been damaged before, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t repaired them. Now, it might be necessary to attempt some restoration. If they couldn¡¯t be fixed, then they would have to look for alternatives, such as other military bases. He Jijun used the equipment here for a self-check. The places where the underground cables were damaged were mostly not within the military base but elsewhere, making repairs quite troublesome. However, it was not impossible to fix them. There were also some undamaged lines, but it was very difficult to get in touch with anyone using these lines. The only two contacts made were with the previously annihilated Survivor Base and Ding Yuqin. After understanding all this, Wang Tao prepared to try to contact that base. If they knew the specific location of the other party, he might be able to fly there in a plane! ¡°Next, we need to work on restoring these lines... Old He, you do it, after all, I don¡¯t understand much about this area,¡± Wang Tao said to everyone. ¡°Okay!¡± He Jijun nodded his head. He was naturally interested in the base to the west, and if he had the chance, he would certainly hope to live in a large Survivor Base. Han Rui wrote down the specific steps, secret key passwords, and everything, and handed them to He Jijun. As for Han Rui and the others, they also wanted to help, but before that, Wang Tao needed to enhance their strength. After all, they were all Level Two Ability Users, which was too weak. Around noon, Ding Yuqin and the others made several large pots of lunch. Although it didn¡¯t look very appetizing, there was plenty to fill everyone up. For these new survivors, they hadn¡¯t seen so much food in a long time, and they ate while shedding tears. Li Qiuyu and Jiang Shixue also came out, with their eyes both red, obviously having cried. Ding Yuqin and Han Rui quickly pulled Jiang Shixue over, and then they all bowed to her simultaneously. Wang Tao was their savior, and so was Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue, feeling somewhat embarrassed by this grand gesture, looked at Wang Tao as if seeking help. Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯re all one of us here, so there¡¯s no need to be so formal. Otherwise, it just feels unfamiliar. Since we¡¯re able to gather together, we should just help each other out from now on!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The crowd nodded and laughed. Li Qiuyu approached Wang Tao and spoke very solemnly, ¡°Thank you!¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Wang Tao nodded in response, then raised an eyebrow and said in a lower voice, ¡°You can make amends by working hard for me.¡± ¡°...¡± Li Qiuyu gave Wang Tao a glare, but did not say more. After the meal, Wang Tao called Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and the others together. ¡°I¡¯m planning to enhance your strength!¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was somewhat excited. ¡°Won¡¯t it be too much trouble for you? We¡¯re not in a hurry!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly interjected. ¡°It is a bit troublesome, since we used a lot of crystal cores before, so I¡¯ll just upgrade you all to the early stages of Level Three for now,¡± Wang Tao said after some thought. Not to mention the environment in Wuyang City, not having Level Three strength was indeed very dangerous. Even Level Three was not safe, given the presence of Four-level zombies! If Wang Tao had enough crystal cores, he would definitely want to enhance them to full Level Three Ability Users, but with the limited number of crystal cores he had, he could only upgrade everyone to the early stages of Level Three and gradually add to their abilities later. ¡°???¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was filled with question marks. They were a considerable number of people after all, to be upgraded to Level Three? How many crystal cores would that require? The group suddenly realized retrospectively that, in the morning when Wang Tao rescued them and dealt with the three Level 3, Zombie Lords, he had made quick work of the zombies¡ªso it was easy for Wang Tao to kill Level 3, Zombie Lords, and having a large number of Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores in his possession... perhaps it wasn¡¯t so surprising? ¡°Wang Tao, you couldn¡¯t possibly be Level Four already, could you?¡± Xiang Hongbin, leaning on a crutch, asked suspiciously. The others also looked at Wang Tao. Although Ability Users could sense each other¡¯s strength and roughly discern what level the other was, it wasn¡¯t always applicable. Some individuals were skilled in hiding their presence, or if they had been Ascended for a longer time and could better control their aura, or if the disparity between two individuals was quite large... all these scenarios prevented accurate perception. They were unable to sense Wang Tao¡¯s actual strength, so having such a speculation was normal. ¡°That hasn¡¯t happened, ascending to Level Four is too hard, and it¡¯s entirely different from the levels before. I¡¯ll explain it in detail to you later,¡± Chapter 667 - 273: Enhancing Strength_2 Chapter 667: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_2 Wang Tao shook his head. Whew¡ª¡ª Hearing what Wang Tao said, the others actually breathed a sigh of relief. If Wang Tao were truly Level 4, that would definitely be good news, but it would also give them a strong sense of defeat since they were only at Level 2... But then Wang Tao added something. ¡°I won¡¯t be able to start my Ascension to Level 4 until tomorrow.¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing Wang Tao wasn¡¯t joking, everyone was dumbfounded. Wait, seriously Level 4? Ding Yuqin and Han Rui both grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand at the same time, their faces showing some pride, after all, he was their man. Feeling a little hit by this, Wei Zhenguo asked, ¡°What about everyone else? Including that Old He, what are their strengths?¡± ¡°They are all Level 3, and at the pinnacle of Level 3.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Holy moly, no wonder you said I wouldn¡¯t be able to beat Old He! You set me up!¡± Wei Zhenguo pretended to be furiously indignant. ¡°Haha, you were the one who agreed to spar with Old He, and he accepted, so you can¡¯t back out now! But if you go fight him now, you¡¯re definitely going to get thrashed. Wait until you advance to Level 3 to challenge him. Though you will still get thrashed, you won¡¯t lose too badly.¡± ¡°...¡± Wei Zhenguo felt that Wang Tao was too crafty, calculating even at a time like this. But he didn¡¯t refuse either, after all, sparring with a stronger opponent can also raise one¡¯s strength. Other people were still longing for this opportunity! Wang Tao laughed and took out a pile of Crystal Cores, both red and orange ones. Although they knew Wang Tao was strong, and he had previously provided them with many high-quality Crystal Cores, seeing so many Level 2 Crystal Cores and even Level 3 Ascension Crystal Cores still shocked them. Wang Tao said to them, ¡°What kind of Crystal Cores did you guys merge with when you were at Level 2? If they are just ordinary ones, you can extract them and re-merge. I have quite a few Level 2 Crystal Cores here.¡± Wang Tao had a lot of Extraction Crystal Cores for Level 2, which he basically couldn¡¯t use anymore, so they were perfect for the others. ¡°Can they be extracted?¡± Ding Yuqin and the others were all curious, as they had never heard of being able to swap a merged Ability. ¡°This is the Extraction Crystal Core.¡± Wang Tao took out an Extraction Crystal Core and introduced it to them. Then he started asking one by one, matching them with suitable Abilities. They extracted what needed to be extracted and merged with new Superpowers where necessary. ¡°Wang Tao, I don¡¯t need it, I¡¯m crippled, it would just be a waste to give it to me...¡± Xiang Hongbin looked enviously at the Crystal Cores but waved his hand. He was already a cripple with greatly reduced combat power. He could provide remote support with a gun, but without it, he was one of the two biggest burdens of the team; the other being Li Qiuyu. However, Xiang Hongbin and Li Qiuyu were special cases. Xiang Hongbin was injured for everyone¡¯s sake; while Li Qiuyu¡¯s daughter Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao distracted the Black Mist Monster at risk to their own lives, making her a lifesaver to everyone. So whether it was their past relationship or their contributions, there was no reason for everyone to abandon them. On the contrary, both had advanced to Level 2. But one of them was a cripple and the other had hardly fought at all... their combat power was very weak. Normally, the two of them would give up resources for the other members of the team to use, and only use the leftovers themselves. That¡¯s why up to now, Wei Zhenguo and the others all had 29,999 HP, the upper limit of Level 2, but Xiang Hongbin only had just over twenty thousand HP, and Li Qiuyu even less, not even ten thousand... so in a way, both were burdens. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s words made Ding Yuqin and the others feel uncomfortable, after all, Xiang Hongbin had gotten his injuries for their sake. ¡°I don¡¯t need it either, I have no combat power, it would be too wasteful on me...¡± Li Qiuyu whispered to Wang Tao by his side. She was aware of her circumstances, knowing that these things would provide more benefits to others than to herself. Seeing them like this, Wang Tao suddenly smiled. He first walked up to Xiang Hongbin and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°I won¡¯t talk about other things. I¡¯ll just tell you this much, after a successful Ascension, your internal impurities are reduced by half! You were infected with a zombie virus before, and though we used Inhibitors to save your life, your body has accumulated a lot of internal impurities. If you don¡¯t find a way to get rid of those impurities, you¡¯ll eventually turn into a zombie. So, your Ascension isn¡¯t just about increasing your strength, it¡¯s also to stop you from turning into a zombie!¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s words rendered Xiang Hongbin silent. If he could keep living, he¡¯d want to live! But... since he became disabled, he seemed really open-minded, but actually, he was very distressed. After all, the past him was Shuize Base¡¯s top fighter, and now he was a cripple. Few people could accept such a fall from grace. If he weren¡¯t so strong-willed, he might have considered ending it all... So he¡¯d become somewhat self-abandoning. Of course, he also didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to waste the Crystal Cores. Seeing that Xiang Hongbin wasn¡¯t speaking, Wang Tao had to bring out his trump card. ¡°Actually, I think there might be a way to remedy your disability...¡± Xiang Hongbin suddenly looked up. But before he could speak, Wei Zhenguo, who was next to him, immediately interjected, ¡°What way?¡± ¡°Just wait a moment.¡± Shortly after, Wang Tao walked in with a huge mechanical arm. ¡°This is Little Jun¡¯s mechanical arm, his third hand.¡± Wang Tao demonstrated in front of everyone how the mechanical arm was operated. Xu Xiaojun hadn¡¯t gone out to fight today, so he wasn¡¯t wearing the equipment. Chapter 668 - 273: Enhancing Strength_3 Chapter 668: Chapter 273: Enhancing Strength_3 Ding Yuqin and the others had never seen this kind of mechanical arm before, and they were all amazed, with Wei Zhenguo¡¯s eyes shining especially bright. If Xiang Hongbin had such equipment, wouldn¡¯t he be able to regain some combat strength? Xiang Hongbin gently touched these mechanical arms with his intact hand, his lips quivering slightly. ¡°Besides us, there are other survivors out there struggling to live. Among them are researchers, scientists and the like, and they made these things. If you could get a set of similar gear, you might be able to recover a lot of fighting power. Do you still think, do you want to go for Level 3 Ascension?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Xiang Hongbin said through gritted teeth. He had been in despair before, but now he saw hope again. Wang Tao immediately laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not giving you this mechanical arm; after all, it¡¯s actually controlled by hand, which isn¡¯t convenient for you. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely get you the right equipment! Moreover, our base has a military 3D printer, so we can try and see if we can print a prosthetic limb for you to use as a transition first.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes reddened slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve said it before, we¡¯re all our own people!¡± Wang Tao patted his shoulder, and then walked over to Li Qiuyu, knocking on her head directly. ¡°As for you... no more nonsense, if I tell you to use it, just use it.¡± ¡°...¡± Li Qiuyu felt a strong sense of unfair treatment. But she dared not defy Wang Tao, and could only humbly acknowledge. Ding Yuqin and Han Rui found this somewhat amusing on the side; they knew Wang Tao¡¯s personality. He was always generous with his own people; if he didn¡¯t have it, that was one thing, but if he did, he was never stingy. Even if you didn¡¯t want it, you¡¯d have to take it. After all, this was the end of the world, and there wasn¡¯t time for affectations. After some time, everyone except for Xiang Hongbin and Li Qiuyu had reached the pinnacle of Level Two. ¡°I feel like I can ascend to Level 3 now...¡± ¡°Me too, ready to level up any time!¡± Everyone was somewhat excited. This was Level 3! Honestly, if it hadn¡¯t been for this zombie tide, they had been planning to hunt down Level 3 Elite Zombies, pooling the team¡¯s resources to push Wei Zhenguo up to become a Level 3 ability user. As for the others, they hadn¡¯t even considered levelling up to Level 3 for themselves! Unexpectedly, after meeting Wang Tao, within less than a day, they were now ready for Level 3 Ascension! ¡°Since everyone¡¯s ready for ascension, let¡¯s start tonight, the process needs 24 hours. By this time tomorrow, you¡¯ll all be Level 3 ability users.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Several people nodded. Wang Tao then looked at Xiang Hongbin and Li Qiuyu. ¡°As for you two... your strength is lacking a bit; you need to kill zombies to ascend. Conveniently, the airplane today attracted many zombies, all outside the base. I¡¯ll take you out now to kill zombies and boost your strength first.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded. Now that he had hope, his fighting spirit was strong. ¡°Okay~¡± Li Qiuyu was a bit scared, but she knew Wang Tao would protect her. Wang Tao took Xiang Hongbin and Li Qiuyu out, with Jiang Shixue accompanying them. Jiang Shixue would lure the zombies, Wang Tao would beat them half to death, and then let Li Qiuyu and Xiang Hongbin finish them off. There were quite a few Level 3 Elite Zombies here, which meant over-level kills for the two of them, and their HP quickly reached 29999. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go back.¡± Wang Tao waved. ¡°Tsk tsk, to be able to fight zombies with you is just incredible luck! We owe you more and more, it¡¯s impossible to repay you in the future!¡± Xiang Hongbin remarked with some emotion. Before, it had been difficult for them to kill a Level 3 Elite Zombie. He never thought that it would be so easy to blow the heads off Level 3 Elite Zombies with his own hands! ¡°Haha! Just improve your strength and kill more zombies as repayment to me, because I hate zombies.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. On the side, Li Qiuyu was whispering to Jiang Shixue: ¡°Little Xue, you¡¯re so strong!¡± ¡°Mr. Wang Tao is the strong one, I¡¯m just average.¡± Jiang Shixue replied without hesitation. ¡°...¡± Watching Jiang Shixue¡¯s expression, Li Qiuyu couldn¡¯t help but wonder if something had happened between Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao... If there really was something, then it would be awkward! Although nothing had happened between her and Wang Tao, given the current situation, it wouldn¡¯t be surprising if something did happen... No way, she had to dig for more information tonight! Li Qiuyu thought with some anxiety. ... In the evening. He Jijun suddenly brought some good news. A military base had a damaged underground cable line not too far from the base. After he repaired it, he actually got in touch with someone! Wang Tao came over curiously. Amidst a crackling sound, there indeed came a voice from the other end. ¡°Crackle... Mr. Wang Tao, can you receive my message... crackle...¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised; he did not recognize the voice from the speaker, but he could guess that it must be someone from Lan Yulan¡¯s side. After all, he only knew so many people; Ding Yuqin and the others had already been taken in, leaving only Lan Yulan and her group. ¡°This is Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao responded. ¡°Ah! It got through, it got through!¡± The other side sounded surprised, and then quickly added: ¡°Please wait a moment, Mr. Wang, we¡¯re from Zijin Base, and I¡¯ll have our leader talk to you!¡± It really was them. Shortly after, Lan Yulan¡¯s voice came through. ¡°Wang Tao, is that you?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Finally got in touch! There were indeed some lines left underneath this base, but most of them were damaged. I had people only fix one, but I didn¡¯t expect to actually make contact!¡± Lan Yulan sounded pleasantly surprised. ¡°How¡¯s the situation on your side?¡± ¡°No major problems for now, but there are a lot more zombies around the base, the zombie tide is getting bigger...¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment and said: ¡°I¡¯ll come over in a couple of days, stay safe and keep in touch.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± After talking with Lan Yulan for a while, Wang Tao ended the call. He looked at his attribute panel, the countdown for the Little Fire Integration was about to end. Tonight, he could try Awakening! Chapter 669 - 274 Ascension to Level 4_1 Chapter 669: Chapter 274 Ascension to Level 4_1 Evening. In Wang Tao¡¯s room. Looking at Ding Yuqin and Han Rui who had fallen into the deep sleep of Ascension, Wang Tao rubbed his aching back. These two women really knew how to wear a person out, good thing his physical strength was up to par... After confirming that there were no issues with their Ascensions, Wang Tao went to the room next door. Next door was Jiang Shixue¡¯s room, where she was sharing the bed with Li Qiuyu tonight. Li Qiuyu was also in the deep sleep of Level 3 Ascension. Wang Tao had told them to attempt Ascension tonight, and naturally, they had done as instructed. Wang Tao called out to Jiang Shixue, and the two went into an empty room. ¡°I¡¯ll be trying to Awake soon. I¡¯m not sure what will happen, so keep an eye out for me,¡± he said. The integration of the Little Flame was about to be completed, and Wang Tao was somewhat excited. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue was also looking forward to Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening. The two chatted in the room for a while, and at some moment, Wang Tao perked up. He noticed that his Hidden Attributes had changed, there was an additional one... Fire Element? [Hidden Attributes: Strong Body, Night Vision, Plant Affinity, Fire Element] [Fire Element: Sometimes immune to being burned] ¡°...¡± This Hidden Ability... what garbage! Not to mention that Wang Tao had fire-resistant gear, just focusing on this Ability itself, implying ¡°sometimes,¡± meant that most of the time he could still be burned, right? Wang Tao felt that this ¡°Fire Element¡± Hidden Ability was only slightly less useless than Han Rui¡¯s Hidden Attribute ¡°Arrest.¡± However, Wang Tao was not too disappointed. It was fine as long as he could Awaken; everything else didn¡¯t matter. After all, he had four Hidden Abilities, and the other three were quite good, so he wasn¡¯t missing much with this one. With an excited heart, Wang Tao lay on the bed, his mind moved, Awakening! In that instant, Wang Tao saw a Light Point, which represented the ¡°Awakening Key,¡± disappear from his mind. Then his blood volume limit began to plummet! [110,000/110,000] [...] [60,000/60,000] [...] [10,000/10,000] His blood volume dropped from a hundred and ten thousand to just ten thousand in a blink of an eye, a hundred thousand HP gone! Even though Wang Tao knew it would consume a hundred thousand blood volume, seeing his painstakingly acquired hundred thousand HP disappear did set a bit of a panic. But soon, Wang Tao realized that only his blood volume had vanished, and his physical condition had not weakened! When an Ability User¡¯s blood volume increases, not only does their HP increase, but their physical condition also strengthens. This hundred thousand increase in blood volume had significantly improved his physical condition. Wang Tao had thought that when the blood volume disappeared, his physical strength would also decrease accordingly to the level of a ten thousand blood volume. However, it was just a mere reduction in blood volume, and his physical condition had not weakened! This was great news for Wang Tao! Then, Wang Tao suddenly thought, if his Awakening was successful, he should be able to increase his blood volume back to a hundred thousand. Would his physical condition receive another boost? If that was possible, it would be quite a profitable exchange! Soon, Wang Tao found that his Ability ¡°Iron Wall¡± and Hidden Attribute ¡°Fire Element¡± had disappeared. ¡°Fire Element? That weakest Hidden Ability?¡± Before he had a chance to complain, Wang Tao could no longer feel his Ability, Hidden Ability, and even his consciousness. Before his consciousness slipped into sleep, Wang Tao took one last look at his Attributes. A status appeared below his health bar¡ª[Awakening Success Countdown: 23:59:59]! Was this... success? Wang Tao instantly slid into deep sleep. ... In a daze, Wang Tao felt like he had entered a strange place, completely surrounded by fire. He was enveloped in flames! But he didn¡¯t feel the slightest discomfort, instead, he found it very warm and comforting. He simply lay in the sea of fire, letting the flames penetrate his body. The feeling was too comfortable, and Wang Tao even wanted to sleep there forever. After who knows how long, the flames stopped entering Wang Tao¡¯s body. Wang Tao instinctively tried to capture the flames, desiring to funnel them into his body, but he found that the flames were slowly diminishing and disappearing... Wang Tao¡¯s consciousness gradually cleared. He felt as if he had had a nice sleep, as if he had had a beautiful dream, but he couldn¡¯t remember exactly what the dream was. ¡°Yawn~¡± Wang Tao opened his eyes and instinctively stretched. Then he saw a pair of curious and lively eyes. ¡°Bro, you¡¯re finally awake!¡± Jiang Shixue breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Wang Tao waking up. ¡°How long did I sleep? Is everything okay at the base? Was there any change during my Awakening?¡± Wang Tao sat up, asking Jiang Shixue while quietly sensing the changes in his body. ¡°You slept for exactly 24 hours, nothing much at the base, and Lan Yulian is also safe. As for you, bro, you were burning up! Just now, Lightning thought something had happened to you, it licked you and nearly got burnt to death...¡± Jiang Shixue said somewhat speechlessly. ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao immediately looked towards the bedside and indeed saw a dejected Lightning. ¡°Haha! Lightning, you can¡¯t be a sycophant!¡± Wang Tao laughed as he hugged Lightning, stroking its head, and checked its mouth to see that there was no problem before he felt relieved. Then, Wang Tao turned to his Attributes panel. [HP: 10,000/10,000] [Mana: 50,200/50,200] [Advanced Special Energy: 53] [Awakening Keys: 2] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Hidden Attributes: Strong Body, Night Vision, Plant Affinity] Chapter 670 - 274 Ascension to Level 4_2 Chapter 670: Chapter 274 Ascension to Level 4_2 [Ability: Berserk Enhancement, Mastery Fusion, Yin and Yang Balance] [Awakening: Starfire Prairie Burning] [Awakening Energy: 100/100] He had finally awakened and ascended to Level 4! Wang Tao was somewhat teary-eyed. His 110,000 HP had dropped by 100,000, leaving him with just 10,000. He had lost a Hidden Attribute ¡°Fire Element¡±, and an Ability that added various states, ¡°Iron Wall¡±. But he gained ¡°Awakening: Starfire Prairie Burning¡± and ¡°100/100¡± Awakening Energy! Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to check his awakening; instead, he first looked at his Special Energy. His ¡°Special Energy¡± was renamed to ¡°Advanced Special Energy¡±. Before, it was ¡°530,000 Special Energy¡±, but now it had become ¡°53 Advanced Special Energy¡±, directly dropping the ¡°hundred thousand¡±¡ªhow about that? With the name and the number changed, the function naturally changed as well. His previous special energy was for the synthetic and extraction of Level 1, 2, and 3 Abilities. Now, after ascending to Level 4, those abilities to extract and synthesize had disappeared, replaced by two other abilities! [Advanced Special Energy: 53] [Note 1: Killing above one¡¯s level will grant Special Energy] [Note 2: Advanced Special Energy can increase Awakening success rate and Awakening Energy] [Note 3: 10 Special Energy adds 1% to the success rate of Awakening; 1 Special Energy adds 100 Awakening Energy] ¡°Advanced Special Energy can increase the success rate and energy of Awakening?¡± Wang Tao was very surprised because he seemed to not know how high the success rate of Awakening actually was... As if remembering something, Wang Tao hurriedly looked at the Awakening Key. Indeed, the Awakening Key had more description added to it. [Awakening Key: 2] [The first Awakening consumes 1 key, the second consumes 2 keys, the third consumes 3 keys, the fourth consumes 4 keys, the fifth consumes 5 keys, and so on...] [The success rate of the first Awakening is 50%, the second is 40%, the third is 30%, the fourth is 20%, from the fifth onward it¡¯s always 10%] [Having more than 100 Awakening Keys allows for the consumption of 100 keys to fuse and extract one physical Advanced Awakening Secret Key (success rate 70%) ] ¡°Good grief!¡± Wang Tao had previously guessed that since it was possible to obtain many Awakening Keys, it could mean that more than one might be consumed. He got half the guess right¡ªthe first Awakening only consumes 1 key, and subsequent Awakenings consume one more key each time, with no limit! And the success rate of the first Awakening was only 50%! After that, the success rate for each Awakening would decrease, until it dropped to 10%! This meant that the first Awakening was when the consumption was lowest and the probability the highest. If he couldn¡¯t succeed the first time, it would only get harder! Then, if he had 100 Awakening Keys, he could extract one with a 70% success rate, an Advanced Awakening Secret Key. Plus, this Advanced Awakening Secret Key was physical and could be used by others! This ability wasn¡¯t bad, after all, if Wang Tao collected too many Awakening Keys and couldn¡¯t use them himself, he could give them to someone else instead of wasting them. Moreover, this extraction of keys wasn¡¯t a unique ability to Wang Tao; all Awakeners could use it. It¡¯s just that others didn¡¯t see it as intuitively as Wang Tao did. Combined with the ¡°Advanced Special Energy¡±, Wang Tao¡¯s advantage was that he could increase the success rate of Awakening! But it takes 10 Advanced Special Energy to increase the success rate by 1%; that¡¯s a bit of a big consumption! After all, Wang Tao only had 52, which at most could add 5% to his success rate. As for Wang Tao¡¯s success on his first Awakening, that must have been sheer luck. Wang Tao could feel that he could continue to awaken! But now, he was missing one thing¡ªHundred Thousand Blood Volume. Once he collects the Hundred Thousand Blood Volume, he could attempt the Second Awakening! However, the Second Awakening would consume 2 Awakening Keys, and the probability was 40%... That probability was too low, Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t want to gamble on it. Afterward, he¡¯d need to save up more Advanced Special Energy. If he could increase the success rate, say by nine or ten percent, then it wouldn¡¯t be too late for him to attempt the Second Awakening... Finally, there was the most important part¡ªhis Awakening! [Awakening: Starfire Prairie Burning: During the duration, all attributes greatly increase, accompanied by blood regeneration and fire damage] The description of the Awakening was very brief; Wang Tao didn¡¯t really understand what it meant. He couldn¡¯t feel what the Awakening was like at the moment; only after trying it himself would he know. He even doubted whether he had lost out, after all, he had lost the Iron Wall Ability, which boosted a lot of other Abilities! Iron Wall was an Ability of the state category; it added a bunch of various miscellaneous states. It was quite a good Ability for Wang Tao, and just like that, it was gone... Maybe those abilities were fused into this Awakening? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure, only after personal experimentation would he know whether this Awakening was formidable or not. Another thing was, before Wang Tao activated the Awakening Key, he didn¡¯t know the exact process of Awakening. Seeing the condition that his Ability had to be ascended to Level 4, he went ahead with the Ascension. It was only after activating the Awakening Key that he learned that Awakening meant fusing together Hundred Thousand Blood, a random Hidden Attribute, and a random Level 4 Ability! At that time, his Ability had already ascended to Level 4, and he couldn¡¯t extract it. Otherwise, Wang Tao might have extracted his Ability and used another one in its place, since fusing those Abilities wasn¡¯t easy... But then again, what if the power of the Awakening had something to do with the fused Ability? If he fused a very strong Ability, maybe the Awakening would be strong as well? Chapter 671 - 274 Ascension to Level 4_3 ``` Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped thinking about these things. Anyway, whether he was strong or not, a test would tell. ``` Wang Tao looked at his last attribute. ``` [Awakening Energy: 100/100] ``` [Note 1: 100 Awakening Energy can release one Active Awakening] ``` [Note 2: When Awakening Energy is full, you can consume all the energy to increase the Awakening Energy cap by 100 points] ``` [Note 3: Killing a Lord of the same or higher level will replenish 100 Awakening Energy] ``` [Note 4: Natural Recovery Speed: 100 recovered in 24 hours] ``` Reading these notes, Wang Tao furrowed his brow. ``` The release of Awakening didn¡¯t need Mana, but rather required specific Awakening Energy, and only when it reached 100 energy could it be released once. ``` He currently had only 100 energy, and the natural recovery rate was 24 hours for 100, so that was roughly 1 point every 15 minutes or about 4 points per hour. ``` That meant, under normal circumstances, he could only unleash his Awakening once a day? ``` Good grief, that was way too stingy! ``` It seemed that Awakening couldn¡¯t be used as a regular ability but had to be treated as an ultimate move. Usually, he would have to rely on his Ability as the main source of power. ``` However, the Awakening Energy didn¡¯t only rely on time for recovery but could also be obtained by killing Lords of the same level. If he could kill a Level 4 Zombie Lord, then he would gain 100 energy and be able to use Awakening again! ``` Of course, the Awakening Crystal Core and Awakening Energy Pearl he had obtained before could also be used. Those two items each added 100 energy, which was the equivalent of releasing one Awakening. ``` Last of all, there was the matter of increasing the cap on his Awakening Energy. ``` Wang Tao could now increase the cap¡ªby consuming all of this 100 energy and then adding an extra 100 to his limit. ``` Though he felt somewhat reluctant to do so, the initial cap of 100 for Awakening Energy was indeed too low, allowing its use only once, which made Wang Tao feel very insecure. ``` So, Wang Tao immediately went ahead and increased the cap. ``` Instantly, his current Awakening Energy dropped to zero, and the cap for Awakening Energy became 200. ``` [Awakening Energy: 0/200] ``` When the Awakening Energy was reduced to zero, there wasn¡¯t that feeling of fatigue like when Mana was too low, which was not too bad. ``` Wang Tao still had 2 Awakening Crystal Cores and 2 Awakening Energy Pearls in his hand, which amounted to 400 Awakening Energy. But using the Fusion Awakening Crystal Core accumulated Internal Impurity, and since he currently had only two cores, he couldn¡¯t synthesize any without impurities for now. ``` He currently had 2% Internal Impurity, which in reality was 1.3%. ``` Because he had fused 4 Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores before, each with 65% impurity, which made 0.65% once inside the body. Four cores added up to 2.6%. Having completed his Level 4 Ascension, the Internal Impurity in his body was halved, leaving only 1.3%. ``` After some thought, Wang Tao directly fused a Level 4 Awakening Crystal Core. ``` Once the crystal core fusion was complete, his Mana increased by 800, and his Awakening Energy rose by 100. Meanwhile, his Internal Impurity also increased by 0.65%, bringing it to 1.95%. ``` Wang Tao quickly used two Cleansing Potions from the three he had in hand. ``` Shortly after, all the impurities in Wang Tao¡¯s body were cleared. ``` He immediately felt his whole body loosen up; the sensation of being free from internal impurities was very comfortable! ``` Then Wang Tao looked at his Advanced Special Energy. ``` Each point of Advanced Special Energy could be exchanged for 100 Awakening Energy. ``` Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately started to exchange. ``` First, he used 1 point of Advanced Special Energy to add 100 Awakening Energy, bringing his Awakening Energy to [200/200], and then he once more increased his Awakening Energy cap to [0/300]! ``` Keep going! ``` 3 points of Advanced Special Energy, add 300 Awakening Energy to make it [300/300], then use that 300 Awakening Energy to increase the limit to [0/400]! ``` After that came 4 points of Advanced Special Energy, 5 points of Advanced Special Energy... ``` In the end, Wang Tao spent 13 points of Advanced Special Energy, bringing his Awakening Energy to [0/500]. When his Awakening Energy was fully recovered, he would be able to unleash Awakening 5 times! ``` Actually, Wang Tao originally wanted to increase his Awakening Energy cap to 1000, but after some calculation, he realized doing so would exactly deplete all his Advanced Special Energy! ``` So Wang Tao restrained himself. It wasn¡¯t easy to save up Special Energy, and he couldn¡¯t squander it like that! A 500 energy cap was enough. ``` ... ``` Originally, Wang Tao planned to first check what his Awakening was and then go to the indoor training field to test his strength. ``` But now that he saw using Awakening would consume 100 energy, he didn¡¯t want to experiment with it. It wasn¡¯t easy to save 100 energy, so it had to be used on zombies to avoid waste. ``` However, not testing Awakening didn¡¯t mean not testing his strength; after all, he had not only gained an Awakening, but he had also ascended to Level 4! ``` Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went to the indoor training field together. ``` To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, there were many people in the training field, aside from Yang Changhong and the rest. Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and several others were also there. ``` Wang Tao then remembered that his time of Awakening and the others¡¯ Ascension were around the same, just about half an hour apart. ``` So they were also there to test their new strengths, as they had just advanced to Level 3 and were very excited. Yang Changhong and the others were probably there to instruct these new Ascenders, as they had ascended earlier and were now Level 3 ability users with Hundred Thousand HP, which made them somewhat like seniors. ``` Seeing Wang Tao come over, everyone hurriedly crowded around. ``` "Wang Tao, did you succeed?" ``` Yang Changhong asked eagerly. They did not know how long Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening would take, so they hadn¡¯t specifically stayed beside him, leaving only Jiang Shixue to watch over him. ``` "Mhmm. I succeeded," Wang Tao nodded with a smile. ``` "Wow!" ``` "That¡¯s amazing!" ``` Everyone exclaimed with delight, especially Yang Changhong and Xu Xiaojun¡ªthey were beyond thrilled because they knew very well the effort Wang Tao put into achieving his Awakening. ``` "Then can we see your Awakening?" ``` Ding Yuqin asked, somewhat curiously. ``` "Not for now. My Awakening Energy has been depleted..." ``` Wang Tao briefly explained to everyone about Awakening Energy and how to raise its limit. ``` Hearing that Wang Tao said he could only use Awakening energy once a day under normal circumstances, they were all somewhat flabbergasted. But this should mean that Awakening is very powerful, right? ``` Wang Tao said to Yang Changhong and the others: ``` "Come on, test with me!" ``` Chapter 672 - 275 Starfire Prairie_1 Chapter 672: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_1 After a series of tests, Wang Tao had roughly understood his current strength. His physical condition had been significantly enhanced, and it was difficult to say by how many times compared to before. After all, he couldn¡¯t fight himself, but it could be simply understood that his physical quality now surpassed that of a Level 3 Lord Night Demon but fell short of a Level 4 Lord Night Demon. Night Demons didn¡¯t possess any Abilities; they were purely physically powerful. When Wang Tao was at Level 3, he could defeat a Level 3 Lord Night Demon, but that was because he had numerous tactics. If talking purely about physical quality, he couldn¡¯t compare with a Level 3 Lord Night Demon. Now, after ascending to Level 4, he could completely dominate a Level 3 Lord Night Demon based solely on physical quality. And as for Level 4 Lord Night Demons, Wang Tao currently couldn¡¯t match them. This was because Level 4 Lord Night Demons weren¡¯t just physically strong; they also had an Awakening, and his Awakening was a passive Ability that increased physical quality... Therefore, Wang Tao felt that at present, no one could surpass the physical quality of a Level 4 Lord Night Demon. Having physical strength even more formidable than a Level 3 Lord Night Demon was already very impressive. If he encountered a Level 3 Lord again, Wang Tao could directly smash them with his fists! As for the question of who was stronger or weaker in terms of overall strength between him and Level 4 Lord zombies, that was currently hard to say. Level 4s were not all the same. For example, a Level 4 Lord Night Demon and a fourth-order Giant Zombie would certainly result in the Giant Zombie winning if they fought each other. Wang Tao had just enhanced his strength and had not fought against a Level 4 Lord, so it wasn¡¯t easy to say who was stronger. However, he was certain that if he encountered the same Level 4 Flame Monster from last time, he could suppress and beat it! Of course, after the Ascension to Level 4, the improvement of physical quality was actually secondary. The most important thing was the Awakening! The Awakening was the real difference between Levels 3 and 4. But Wang Tao now had no way to test this; he also had no concept of his own Awakening Ability. So, Wang Tao planned to go to Wuyang City tomorrow to test his Awakening Ability! ¡°So strong!¡± After sparring with Wang Tao, this was the thought in everyone¡¯s mind. Whether it was speed, defense, or attack, Wang Tao was strong in all aspects! Wang Tao could dominate a group of them with just one hand! This not only amazed everyone but also filled them with excitement. This was the power of Level 4! This was their goal! ¡°Everyone, keep working hard; one day, you all can become like me!¡± Wang Tao served up a motivational pep talk to everyone. Knowing it was just pep talk, they were still instantly filled with enthusiasm! At this time, Yang Changhong said to Wang Tao, ¡°Wang Tao, are you going to the urban area tomorrow? Take me with you!¡± She was very eager to see Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening. ¡°Okay,¡± Wang Tao nodded. He had already chosen his target, which was the Night Demon¡¯s Nest he had noticed before. He estimated that there might be a Level 4 Lord Night Demon inside the nest, but it didn¡¯t matter if there wasn¡¯t one; the Level 3 Night Demons were no longer a threat to him. Of course, the premise was that he took precautions to avoid getting infected. If there were other fourth-order Lord zombies, he could try to encounter them, but it wouldn¡¯t matter if he didn¡¯t. As for those Giant Zombies, Wang Tao had no intention of fighting them now; they were too terrifying! Wang Tao didn¡¯t think he could win. Moreover, Wang Tao also didn¡¯t know how to fight them; the opponent was so tall, he certainly couldn¡¯t climb up on them... The next day. He Jijun handed over the tasks like repairing military cables to others. He piloted the helicopter, carrying Wang Tao, Zhang Hong, and Jiang Shixue, and once again entered Wuyang City. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bring too many people with him; for him now, taking a lot of people to hunt fourth-order zombies might rather be a hindrance. Humming¡ª The helicopter left the military base and flew toward the urban area of Wuyang City. Having not been out for two days, Wang Tao could clearly feel that there were more zombies outside. ¡°Giant Zombies!¡± As the helicopter approached the vicinity of the urban area, they immediately spotted the tall figure. ¡°Why do these Giant Zombies always linger on the outskirts of the urban area?¡± Yang Changhong was somewhat puzzled. Initially, Giant Zombies were virtually unseen at the outskirts of the city. It seemed that since Wang Tao went to hunt the Flame Monster, the Giant Zombies had started to constantly roam the outskirts and never entered the city center, which was a bit strange. Of course, there might be Giant Zombies in the city center as well... ¡°Not sure,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. However, it was beneficial in its own way to have these Giant Zombies outside; at least they could spot the Giant Zombies from afar and avoid them in advance. Wang Tao had no intention of causing a conflict with the Giant Zombies, so he directed the helicopter to change its course from a distance, avoiding attracting the attention of the Giant Zombie. After a big detour, Wang Tao spotted a second Giant Zombie. Though he had anticipated it, he still found it rather frustrating. It wouldn¡¯t be like last time, where many Giant Zombies blocked his way, would it? Fortunately, after another detour, there were finally no more Giant Zombies in the area. Wang Tao carefully observed and confirmed there were no other fourth-order zombies before instructing He Jijun to fly the helicopter in. Wang Tao had paid special attention to the location of that Night Demon¡¯s Nest and remembered the rough route. It didn¡¯t take long before the helicopter arrived near the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. The noise of the helicopter had already attracted a large number of zombies. After confirming there were no Giant Zombies, He Jijun landed the helicopter on the rooftop of a building more than twenty stories high, then turned off the engine, and Wang Tao and the others disembarked. Chapter 673 - 275 Starfire Prairie_2 Chapter 673: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_2 The rooftop was flat, perfect for landing a helicopter. There were no Giant Zombies here to threaten the aircraft, and with the engines now shut off, the noise had ceased, causing the zombies below to quickly disperse. The Night Demon¡¯s Nest was in the neighboring building. They could have landed the helicopter directly on that building, but to avoid any accidents, it was better to be cautious. There were quite a few zombies inside this building as well, but none of them were strong. Not even a single Level 3 Zombie was found, and Wang Tao and his companions easily cleared them out down to the first floor. However, slaughtering these zombies did not increase Wang Tao¡¯s HP by even a drop. By then, most of the zombies attracted by the helicopter downstairs had already dispersed. After killing some more zombies, Wang Tao finally proceeded to the building with the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. There were quite a few plants inside the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, and using Plant Affinity Perception, Wang Tao roughly estimated that there were over fifty Night Demons present. That wasn¡¯t a small number, and Wang Tao even considered leaving these Night Demons so he could return later with Ding Yuqin and others to farm HP. But after some thought, he decided against it. Wuyang City was too dangerous, now even more than before. If they were to alarm the Giant Zombies and get flanked from the outside, it would be difficult to escape. It was better to eradicate them completely. Once inside the building, the quietness was almost palpable, and it was pitch-dark. Neither Yang Changhong nor He Jijun could see clearly. This building was inhabited only by Night Demon Zombies, and since they were located on the upper floors, it was quiet and relatively safe below. After distributing a large number of ultraviolet illumination flares to everyone, they had just ascended the stairs when Wang Tao sensed the approach of a Night Demon. ¡°Here it comes.¡± Wang Tao gave a warning. He wasn¡¯t wearing the Entangling Roots, just a suit, holding a Bone Knife as he went to meet it. His previous hoodie outfit was damaged, and the only clothes he had on hand that he could wear was this Combat Suit. But he was also equipped with the Black Stone Armor Set inside the suit, so there was no need to worry about his defensive power. Whoosh! A Night Demon suddenly appeared at the stairwell, its pallid eyes fixated dead on Wang Tao and his group. [HP: 30000/30000] [Mana: 30000/30000] [Level: Level 3 Elite] An Ordinary Level 3 Elite Night Demon. Upon seeing Wang Tao, it didn¡¯t think twice; with a guttural roar, it immediately lunged toward them. Wang Tao lifted his Bone Knife and struck the oncoming Night Demon square on the head. Squish! [-30000] In mid-air, the Night Demon was cleaved in half by Wang Tao¡¯s strike¡ªkilled instantly! ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± He Jijun and Yang Changhong, who were in the process of throwing ultraviolet illumination flares, gasped in shock. They couldn¡¯t see the damage numbers, but they did see Wang Tao chop off the Night Demon¡¯s head with a single blow! Was this the might of a Level 4? Wang Tao was not surprised; as a general rule, HP was linked to strength. Thirty thousand HP represented the weakest Level 3, so it was normal for him to kill it in one hit. Wang Tao glanced at his own HP bar. [10250/10250] Killing a Level 3 Elite Night Demon increased his HP by 250... Although that was far too little, it was better than nothing. After all, he was already Level 4, so gaining any HP from defeating a zombie lower than his own level was already fortunate. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± After the death of this Night Demon, many more burst forth, ranging from 30,000 to 80,000 HP. Wang Tao battled, wielding his Bone Knife. Facing Level 3 Elite Zombies, he naturally didn¡¯t need to use Awakening. His robust physical condition alone was a flurry of one-sided slaughter. After slaying this wave of Night Demons, something occurred to Wang Tao, and an object resembling a heart appeared in his hand. With a mere thought, a tall Night Demon Type 1 manifested! Wang Tao immediately issued a command for it to kill all the Night Demons present. Whoosh! The Night Demon Type 1 dashed and vanished into the incoming second wave of the Night Demon Group. The other Night Demons seemed confused by the sight of this black Night Demon, mistaking it for one of their own, only to be brutally beaten and slaughtered upon its charge! ¡°This Night Demon Type 1 is pretty strong!¡± Wang Tao assessed. While not as strong as a Level 4, Lord Night Demon, the Night Demon Type 1 was much more powerful than a Level 3, Lord! Its physical condition might be almost comparable to Wang Tao¡¯s own. Thus, these Level 3 Elite Night Demons didn¡¯t stand a chance. The problem with both Wang Tao and the Night Demon Type 1, however, was their meager HP of just 10,000. Wang Tao was still fine, knowing how to dodge attacks and prioritize his safety. But the Night Demon Type 1 fought recklessly. Even though the Ordinary Night Demons couldn¡¯t inflict much damage on it, with enough strikes, its HP still began to whittle down... Such was the downside of lacking intelligence. After roughly testing its strength, Wang Tao had it retreat to stand by Yang Changhong and He Jijun for protection, while he once more plunged into the midst of the Night Demon Group. Having slain a few more Night Demon Zombies, Wang Tao suddenly felt like he was being targeted. He immediately looked up to see, at the top of the stairs, a Night Demon clad in Black Bone Armor! ¡°There it is, a Level 4 Night Demon!¡± [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] Whoosh! Wang Tao¡¯s figure flashed, and he appeared beside the Black Skin Night Demon, landing a blade to its head. Bang! [-5234] The Black Skin Night Demon had high defense, and Wang Tao¡¯s knife only caused 5,000 damage to its HP. After being struck, the Black Skin Night Demon clawed at Wang Tao¡¯s chest in an instant. [-1083] Chapter 674 - 275 Starfire Prairie_3 Chapter 674: Chapter 275 Starfire Prairie_3 Wang Tao, clad in the Black Stone Armor Set, blocked the Night Demon¡¯s attack, losing just over a thousand HP. Before, when Wang Tao was entangled by the Iron Tree Vines, the Black Skin Night Demon could remove more than ten thousand HP from the vines and still scratch Wang Tao, causing another loss of over a thousand HP. Now, without the Iron Tree Vines, it could only inflict a thousand HP damage on Wang Tao. This indicated that Wang Tao¡¯s defensive power had increased significantly. However, Wang Tao¡¯s total HP wasn¡¯t high, just ten thousand, so after testing the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s attack power, he immediately retreated, choosing not to engage in a head-on clash anymore. Wang Tao¡¯s speed had also greatly improved, and evading the attacks of the Black Skin Night Demon wasn¡¯t a problem. However, the Black Skin Night Demon was also fast, and it could dodge Wang Tao¡¯s attacks as well. Faintly visible under the protection of Ultraviolet illumination flares, He Jijun and Yang Changhong watched the battle between Wang Tao and the Black Skin Night Demon from a distance but couldn¡¯t discern anything clearly, only catching glimpses of two shadows flickering! ¡°They are both so strong!¡± Yang Changhong exclaimed. The practice session with Wang Tao was completely different from a real combat situation. Now, she couldn¡¯t even see Wang Tao¡¯s movements; if this were a real fight, she might have been killed instantly... ¡°This is Level 4 for you!¡± He Jijun likewise exclaimed, his eyes filled with longing. On the other side, after fighting with the Black Skin Night Demon for a while, Wang Tao felt that without a large amount of Ultraviolet illumination flares restraining it, the creature would be really troublesome. After all, it had high attack power, strong defense, and even quick speed, and it even learned Wang Tao¡¯s techniques! With Wang Tao having relatively little HP, it was not suitable for him to trade blows directly with it, and the fight became somewhat timid. Bang! After exchanging blows, Wang Tao and the Black Skin Night Demon separated. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Black Skin Night Demon roared at Wang Tao, perhaps also feeling that this human was too tough to defeat after a prolonged battle. ¡°But this is just right...¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao cracked a grin. If this Level 4, Lord Night Demon had been that easy to kill, how could he have tested his Awakening! Wang Tao took a deep breath and then thought silently. ¡°Starfire Prairie.¡± Whoosh¡ª A warm current emerged from Wang Tao¡¯s heart and instantly spread throughout his body. Orange-red flames ignited over him, enveloping his entire body and lighting up the whole floor! ¡°This is... Awakening!¡± Feeling that surging power within, like a burst dam, Wang Tao clenched his fists firmly. Only then did he belatedly realize that he was ablaze with fire, with even his breath coming out as heat waves¡ªhe had become a ¡°Flame Monster¡±! The floor beneath his feet was already charred black! ¡°Holy shit!¡± Wang Tao was startled. But he quickly breathed a sigh of relief because he felt no burning sensation or pain. He felt very warm and comfortable. Moreover, the HP that the Night Demon had previously knocked off him had begun to rise. [+1000] [+1000] [+837] Regaining a thousand HP every second, his lost HP of over two thousand was fully restored in just three seconds! Wang Tao took another look at his clothes and found that both his combat suit and the Black Stone Armor Set underneath were intact, untouched by burning. This included the Iron Tree Vines and the Entangling Roots on his wrist, which were safe as well, though the Entangling Roots could no longer be used and had fallen into a deep slumber. The Iron Tree Vines were still usable, but seemed to have been weakened somewhat? While Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand the principle behind it, he naturally thought it a good thing that he didn¡¯t have to run around naked. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± ¡°Bro!¡± At that moment, Wang Tao heard the concerned voices of Yang Changhong and the others. He turned around and said, ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Then he noticed that his voice had changed as well, becoming very deep and resonant. To the eyes of Yang Changhong and the others, they saw a tall figure consumed by blazing flames turn its head, flames spewing from its mouth as it said in a deep tone, ¡°I¡¯m okay¡±... It was practically more like a Flame Monster than the Flame Monster itself! Wang Tao, unaware of what Yang Changhong and the others were thinking, raised his Bone Knife, which was alight with flames, and launched a Shockwave at the Black Skin Night Demon not far away. Whoosh¡ª A wave of fire shot out from Wang Tao¡¯s hand, instantly hitting the Night Demons within range. After suffering a tremendous damage, their bodies entered a state of continuous burning! The flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body seemed to be no ordinary fire, as they burned away thousands of HP from the Night Demons every second. In a blink of an eye, only the Black Skin Night Demon stood remaining within his range. But the Black Skin Night Demon had just lost over ten thousand HP due to Wang Tao¡¯s strike, and the flames on its body also deducted thousands of HP each second! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± After getting hit by Wang Tao¡¯s move, the Black Skin Night Demon didn¡¯t even think before attempting to escape. It was no match! However, a fiery silhouette suddenly blocked the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s path, striking it with a high-frequency vibration knife attack. [-18373] The Black Skin Night Demon was sent flying in an instant, but before it even landed, Wang Tao appeared beside it again, delivering another strike. [-20384] The Black Skin Night Demon let out a roar, unwilling to fight with Wang Tao. It tried to escape in another direction once more. But its speed was no match for Wang Tao, who had used Starfire Prairie. Wang Tao grabbed its neck directly, the surging flames burning up from his foot to the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s body. Then, gripping it tightly, Wang Tao suddenly slammed it to the ground, while delivering another knife attack. [-21923] The Night Demon¡¯s entire body was aflame, its HP plummeting rapidly. Just as Wang Tao was preparing to land the final cut, its HP dropped to zero. It was burned to death! [-1606] [0/120000] ¡°It¡¯s dead just like that?¡± Looking at the unmoving Night Demon, Wang Tao felt somewhat uneasy. Just a few seconds? And he¡¯d killed a Level 4 Lord Night Demon? Suddenly, Wang Tao felt his Awakening was about to end, the flames on his body weakening. He quickly glanced at his Awakening Energy. [Awakening Energy: 0/500] A hundred or more Awakening Energy gone? That lasted only... about fifteen seconds? ¡°...¡± Chapter 675 - 276: Level 4 Suit_1 Chapter 675: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_1 Wang Tao¡¯s flames had already disappeared, but the entire floor of the building was ablaze with light¡ªhe had set everything on fire during his recent fight. ¡°Quick, grab the loot and run!¡± There were still some Night Demons around that hadn¡¯t been fully cleared out, many of whose bodies were ignited, causing their HP to plummet rapidly. Armed with his Bone Knife, Wang Tao effortlessly dealt with these Night Demons. After picking up the loot, he took off. By the time Wang Tao and his companions burst out of the building, they saw thick smoke billowing out of the floor he had just been on. If this had happened in peacetime, Wang Tao figured he¡¯d be sitting in jail for a long time. Seeing the odd looks on Jiang Shixue and Yang Changhong¡¯s faces, Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. ¡°If I say the fire wasn¡¯t set on purpose, would you believe me?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah!¡± Yang Changhong nodded perfunctorily. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here!¡± Having achieved his goal, Wang Tao and the others broke through the horde of zombies and boarded the helicopter. Buzzing¡ª After the helicopter took off, they could clearly see the fire scene in the building they had just escaped from. However, given the heavy rain today, the fire in the building was unlikely to spread further. In the helicopter. He Jijun was concentrating on flying the aircraft. Yang Changhong hugged Wang Tao¡¯s arm, inspecting it curiously. With an amazed expression, she exclaimed, ¡°Your skin and clothes, even your body hair, show no signs of burns, yet the flames on your body almost set the entire building on fire... How did you manage that!¡± ¡°Bro, you¡¯re so awesome!¡± Jiang Shixue also gazed at Wang Tao with sparkling eyes. ¡°Haha, basic skills!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. To tell the truth, he himself was somewhat bewildered. The Starfire Prairie Awakening didn¡¯t quite work as he had imagined. Wang Tao had thought it would be a similar awakening to state-based abilities, at most causing changes like skin coloration, similar to how the Toughness Ability made his skin turn dark. But to his surprise, the awakening had actually set him on fire, turning him into a man of flames! After igniting himself, he didn¡¯t even need to fight; merely standing in one place could cause massive damage! The flames on his body seemed to be no ordinary fire. Those Level 3 Night Demons couldn¡¯t withstand his flames¡¯ burning at all. Even the Level 4, Lord Night Demon was tormented by the heat from Wang Tao¡¯s fire. And it wasn¡¯t just him becoming a flame man; all his attacks carried fire as well! Especially wide-range attacks like the Shockwave, which turned into a sea of flames with just a single strike! After using the awakening, he had fought the Black Skin Night Demon for only a few seconds, but that was enough to set an entire floor ablaze! Wang Tao could only say that the Starfire Prairie Awakening was truly powerful! But its energy consumption was truly huge as well! To use the awakening, you need at least 100 Awakening Energy. However, Starfire Prairie doesn¡¯t deduct the energy all at once but deducts 10 points per second, so 100 Awakening Energy only lasts ten seconds! Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Energy had exceeded 100 at the time, and he could choose whether to continue using the awakening. That is to say, the Starfire Prairie Awakening¡¯s minimum duration is ten seconds, with the maximum depending on his amount of Awakening Energy. Wang Tao had recovered some Awakening Energy before, and he had exchanged 1 unit of Advanced Special Energy for 100 Awakening Energy, so he had 150 Awakening Energy. Thus, he only used 15 seconds of awakening... That¡¯s a huge consumption! However, if it was just to kill the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, those 15 seconds were more than enough. Wang Tao ended up using the full 15 seconds because he wasted some time observing his own state and getting used to the strength within his body. The actual fight with the Level 4, Lord Night Demon didn¡¯t last long, probably just over ten seconds. Anyway, no matter how you slice it, the Starfire Prairie Awakening is potent. In its awakened state, Wang Tao could quickly kill the Level 4, Lord Night Demon. But the awakening¡¯s energy consumption was also high; in the blink of an eye, his energy could be drained. He would have to choose the right moment to use the awakening in the future. After conversing with the two women for a while, Wang Tao turned his attention to the loot from this battle. The loot from Ordinary Night Demons and Incubation Flesh wasn¡¯t worth mentioning, as it was similar to before. He had also obtained quite a few Exraction Crystal Cores and Omnipotent Crystal Cores, although it was a pity they were all Level Two. It would have been better if they were Level 3 or above. The main thing was the loot from the Level 4, Lord Night Demon. Wang Tao¡¯s killing of the Level 4, Lord counted as a level-crossing kill, granting him more than 20,000 increase in HP. The fifty-odd Night Demons had mostly been killed by Wang Tao, adding a lot of HP. Plus, Wang Tao had killed quite a few other zombies, so his HP had once again reached 110,000. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too pleased because his HP stopped increasing after reaching 110,000. It was the same as the upper limit of Level 3 HP! The issue was, Wang Tao had already reached Level 4. Wang Tao recalled when he had 100,000 HP, he was confused about something. The Level 1 HP cap was 4999, surpassing it took you to Level Two. Level Two was 29999, surpassing it took you to Level 3. But Level 3 was exactly 100,000 HP, applicable to both Level 3 and Level 4. Wang Tao was initially puzzled by this, but now, it seemed he understood¡ªif one kills zombies after surpassing Level 3, even if it¡¯s a Level 4, Lord zombie, one wouldn¡¯t gain an increase in HP, the boost would max out at 100,000 HP. The reason Wang Tao had 110,000 HP was because 10,000 of it was extra HP... So it seems that in the future, he would need to find ways to gain extra HP from other sources! Chapter 676 - 276: Level 4 Suit_2 Chapter 676: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_2 110,000 HP isn¡¯t too little, but Wang Tao had seen those 400,000 HP Giant Zombies, so he still needed to increase it! Apart from the HP, Wang Tao also obtained 1 Advanced Special Energy, which is equivalent to 100 Awakening Energy. Killing this Level 4, Lord Night Demon had replenished another 100 Awakening Energy for Wang Tao, which meant he gained a total of 200 Awakening Energy, while he had consumed 150... resulting in a net gain of 50! Then there was the Awakening Key; by killing it, Wang Tao also obtained an Awakening Key, now once again possessing 3 Awakening Keys. Last came the dropped loot. This Level 4, Lord Night Demon dropped a Crystal Core, a pair of claws, a heart, and 5 Loot Packs. [Obtained: Fourth-Order Crystal Core ¨C Strength x1] [Obtained: Fourth-tier Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2] [Obtained: Fourth-Order Weapon ¨C Night Demon Type I] He had actually obtained another [Night Demon Type I]. Night Demon Type I could only be used at night or in places without a lot of ultraviolet light, which was quite awkward. Moreover, to increase its HP would cost quite a lot, which Wang Tao¡¯s current financial resources were not sufficient for. Yet without the HP increase, 10,000 HP was indeed too little... However, regardless, these were good items, and Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t hesitate to take them. Maybe he could put together a Night Demon Type I squad in the future or something. Inside the Loot Pack, the first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 5 Crystal Cores. They were the red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotence], blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Energy Boost], and purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C HP Boost]. With Awakening and Ascension, very nice! The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x10] [Obtained: Strength Potion (small) x10] Two kinds of Strength Potions, too bad there weren¡¯t any that increased Permanent Attributes. The third Loot Pack contained Ultraviolet Suit equipment. [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x100] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x20] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x5] This was exactly the same as the items dropped by the previous Level 4, Lord Night Demon, all good things for dealing with Night Demons. In the fourth Loot Pack there were Energy beads. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The drop rate for this Awakening Energy Pearl was indeed very low, Wang Tao had killed 4 Level 4, Lord Zombies, but only one of them had dropped it, the other two pearls had burst out of the Loot Packs. Wang Tao looked at the last Loot Pack and grimaced when he saw the contents, there were two blueprints inside. [Obtained: Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Boots Blueprint x1] [Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint: Allows you to craft a Night Demon Breastplate. Required materials: 10 kg of Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bones, 1 Level 4 Crystal Core, 20 Iron Blocks, 20 Steel Wires, 20 Nails, 20 Screws, 20 Rubber] [Night Demon Breastplate: Attributes unknown] [Night Demon Boots Blueprint: Allows you to craft a pair of Night Demon Boots. Required materials: 2 Fourth-tier Night Demon¡¯s Claws, 1 Level 4 Crystal Core, 20 Iron Blocks, 20 Steel Wires, 20 Rubber, 20 Screws, 20 gauze] [Night Demon Boots: Attributes unknown] Wang Tao¡¯s previous Night Demon Breastplate and Leg Armor had been damaged, and he was left with just two pieces of Night Demon Equipment. He was wondering if he could get more Night Demon Equipment to drop. He had already prematurely harvested the bones from this Night Demon Lord, perfect for crafting. After a flash of multicolored light, the two pieces of equipment were complete. [Night Demon Breastplate] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Durability +75, defensive power +75] [Night Demon Boots] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Durability +70, defensive power +70] With two pieces of Night Demon Equipment, plus the previously acquired Night Demon Belt and Night Demon Gloves, he now had four pieces of Night Demon Equipment. Wang Tao immediately switched into this Night Demon Equipment, and the notification about the Night Demon Set that had appeared before showed up again. [Night Demon Set: All basic attributes receive a boost (Attributes not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] Previously, since he didn¡¯t have Awakening Energy, Wang Tao was unable to activate it, but now that he had Awakening Energy, he immediately gave it a try. After silently thinking ¡®activate¡¯ in his heart, Wang Tao saw his Awakening Energy decrease by 1 point. [Night Demon Set: All basic attributes receive a boost (Activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy daily. Once activated, it is bound to the user, rebinding required if switched to another person)] ¡°Hmm? It consumes 1 Awakening Energy daily? And it¡¯s bound?¡± Wang Tao studied it for a while and roughly understood what it meant. This Suit Ability had been activated by him, which meant it was bound to him. If he wanted to give this gear to Jiang Shixue, the Suit Ability would be lost, requiring her to reactivate and rebind it. But Jiang Shixue had not awakened and didn¡¯t have Awakening Energy, so she couldn¡¯t activate it and wouldn¡¯t be able to use the Suit Ability. Simply put, only Awakeners could use Suit Abilities, non-awakeners couldn¡¯t. As for the daily consumption of 1 Awakening Energy, it was a minor issue, since he could naturally recover 100 Awakening Energy every day and was not worried about such a small consumption. Wang Tao tried on the equipment and found that this Night Demon Set¡¯s ¡°boost to all basic attributes¡± was quite noticeable. He felt he was getting one step closer to the physical fitness of a Level 4, Lord Night Demon. And speaking of activating attributes, Wang Tao remembered he still had some equipment left. Chapter 677 - 276: Level 4 Suit_3 Chapter 677: Chapter 276: Level 4 Suit_3 First, there were the Black Stone Armor Top and pants he wore. These two pieces of equipment could be inlaid with Crystal Cores and also required Awakening Energy to activate. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores at hand and didn¡¯t have any suitable ones for the moment, so he hadn¡¯t inlaid any. Then there were the Explosion-proof Baton and Shield he had obtained before. These two pieces of equipment were quite good, but they also required Awakening Energy to activate. Wang Tao spent 2 points of Awakening Energy and successfully activated both pieces of equipment. [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +80, Attack power +60, includes Electric Shock Effect (activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy per day. Once activated, it binds to the user; must be rebound if passed to another person)] [Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +100, defensive power +100, includes Electric Shock Effect (activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy per day. Once activated, it binds to the user; must be rebound if passed to another person)] After activating these two pieces of equipment, like the Night Demon Set, they consumed 1 Awakening Energy per day and bound to himself. It seemed that only Awakeners could fully utilize the strength of equipment and sets with special attributes of Level 4 or above. Wang Tao tried out the two pieces of equipment briefly. It was hard to say about the Electric Shield without bumping into zombies or having zombies hit the shield to produce electricity. The Baton was simpler, as Wang Tao could see the current flowing when he swung it. He wasn¡¯t sure of its power at the moment and planned to test it. Some time later, the helicopter flew back to the military base. The sound of the helicopter had attracted even more zombies. Wang Tao used this opportunity to test the Electric Baton and Shield¡¯s effect on them. ¡°Hehe...¡± A group of zombies saw Wang Tao leave the base and immediately rushed towards him. Wang Tao held the [Mutant Explosion-proof Baton], and when the group of zombies neared, he struck the leading zombie with it. Bang! Sizzle¡ª The Ordinary Zombie was directly headshot by Wang Tao, and electrical arcs flashed through. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, the arcs didn¡¯t just appear on the headshot zombie but spread to the surrounding zombies as well. In an instant, the arc electrified around ten nearby zombies. Several of them were charred to a crisp and couldn¡¯t be deader. The others, though not dead, were electrified into stiffness and couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Goodness!¡± Wang Tao was very surprised as he watched this scene. He had originally thought that the electric shock effect from the Mutant Explosion-proof Baton would be similar to that of an ordinary electric baton, meant not to kill. But the power was much greater than he had imagined. Not only could he directly electrocute some zombies to death, but he could also spread it to other zombies. Especially among the zombie hordes, waving the Baton at one could instantly take down a large group! Wang Tao felt he could consider this Baton as a high-damage Ability for area attacks. However, there was a concern: he might electrocute himself, so he had to be careful when using it. Wang Tao then tested the Electric Shield. The Shield¡¯s effect was the same as the Baton¡¯s, but relatively safer. Shielded behind it, there was no worry about electrocuting himself. It was a pity that others couldn¡¯t harness these pieces of equipment¡¯s effects; otherwise, it would be more suitable for them... Wang Tao returned to the base again. When they heard that Wang Tao had visited the Night Demon¡¯s Lair and killed a Level 4, Lord Night Demon, the newcomers were flabbergasted. Running into the den of the Night Demon and killing their Level 4, Lord Night Demon?! That was Wang Tao¡¯s strength! Wang Tao called over Ding Yuqin and the others, explaining the situation with the Level 4 Night Demon. Only by knowing oneself and the enemy could they be ever-victorious. If they encountered a Level 4, Lord Night Demon, in the future, they would also know how to deal with it. Wang Tao also took out the two Night Demon Type 1 to show them. These things were quite frightening, so it was better to let them know in advance that they were Wang Tao¡¯s weapons to avoid any mistaken attacks. Wang Tao also distributed a good number of Ultraviolet illumination flares to everyone; they were life-saving treasures. That evening, Lan Yulian contacted Wang Tao out of the blue. Upon connecting, Wang Tao noticed there was tension in her voice. ¡°Wang Tao, I think I¡¯ve discovered Four-level zombies...¡± ¡°Hmm? Tell me more!¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°These past few days, the zombies in Zijing City have been increasing, and quite a few Level 3, Zombie Lords have appeared. But I suddenly found that several Level 3, Zombie Lords we were watching have been killed! And besides us, there are no other survivors in Zijing City! It looks like they were killed at the same time, so we suspect that Four-level zombies may have appeared...¡± Generally, zombies were relatively peaceful among themselves, but there were exceptions. Some more aggressive zombies enjoyed hunting their kind; some huge ones would not deliberately avoid their kind when walking, resulting in the death of many zombies; there were also conflicts among zombies¡ªthe stronger the zombie, the wiser it became. It wasn¡¯t impossible for conflicts to occur... Hence, it was possible for killings to happen among zombies. The situation Lan Yulian described did indeed sound like Four-level zombies. After all, to simultaneously kill several Level 3, Zombie Lords, and in a brutal manner at that, it was highly likely that only a Level 4 could do so. Wang Tao had previously told Lan Yulian that if Four-level zombies appeared, she must contact him. So, Lan Yulian reached out to Wang Tao immediately. ¡°Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do, I¡¯ll come over tomorrow to look into it.¡± Wang Tao said to Lan Yulian. If it was a weaker Level 4 zombie, he would try to deal with it. If it was stronger, then he would strategize long-term. If it was very strong, like the Giant Zombies... then Wang Tao planned on bringing Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng back to the military base. ¡°Are you personally coming over? Be careful on your way!¡± Lan Yulian was worried. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll take a plane.¡± After ending the call, Wang Tao said to He Jijun: ¡°Old He, let¡¯s go to Zijing City tomorrow. There might be Four-level zombies.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Chapter 678 - 277: Newborn Population_1 Chapter 678: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_1 ¡°` ¡°The rain is getting heavier...¡± Wang Tao turned to He Jijun and said, ¡°Old He, can we fly the plane today?¡± ¡°No big problem,¡± as long as there wasn¡¯t extreme weather like violent winds and lightning, the plane could fly. However, He Jijun continued, ¡°But we¡¯ve used the helicopter quite frequently recently, and due to the corrosive acid rain, many parts have been replaced. We don¡¯t have many spare parts left in the base...¡± ¡°So, we can¡¯t use the helicopter often?¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Right, if it¡¯s exposed to too much corrosive acid rain, the plane will definitely have problems... unless we wait for clear weather.¡± He Jijun sounded somewhat helpless. ¡°Sigh, there¡¯s nothing we can do about it. I can only ask you to take extra care, Old He...¡± Wang Tao shook his head. The plane had to be used now. If they were to drive to Zijing City, who knows how long that would take, and the ground was full of zombies, making it impassable. Wang Tao planned to visit Zijing Base today. Yesterday, Lan Yulian had reported that Four-level zombies might have appeared there, and Wang Tao needed to see what the situation was. If there really were Four-level zombies, then Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng might be in danger. As for the team members for this trip, He Jijun was a must. Although Wang Tao had learned to fly a helicopter, he wouldn¡¯t dare to operate it even in normal weather, let alone in extreme conditions. Then there were Jiang Shixue, Xu Xiaojun, and Lightning. Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to take too many people. In case there really was some irresistible danger, having too many people might not be good, since the helicopter could only accommodate so much space. ¡°Wang Tao, you have to be careful!¡± Ding Yuqin couldn¡¯t help but feel reluctant as she tidied Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. She had just reunited with Wang Tao and wanted to accompany him, but she knew she was too weak now and would burden him. So, she wisely didn¡¯t insist. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, sis.¡± Wang Tao patted her hand and then said, ¡°I might stay there for a couple of days since Four-level zombies might not be so easy to find. While I¡¯m gone, Zhang Hong and his team will take you to hunt zombies. Just finish them off from behind. There are still many zombies around our base, enough for you to kill.¡± Ding Yuqin and the others¡¯ HP had only increased to 30,000, with a potential to grow by another 70,000. They definitely needed to continue increasing their HP. Without reaching 100,000 HP, they wouldn¡¯t be able to participate in the various missions Wang Tao was undertaking now. ¡°Okay! I will work hard to improve my strength!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded. Previously, when she was at Shuize Base, she hardly ever went out and rarely hunted zombies, so she was very weak. Later, when she felt she wasn¡¯t much help to Wang Tao and possibly just a ¡®flower vase¡¯, she started trying to hunt zombies. Now, after spending so much time wandering in the post-apocalyptic world, her combat abilities, although not extremely strong, were at least above average for an Ability User, which was quite good. Wang Tao then looked at Han Rui beside him. ¡°You too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! With your help, I¡¯m sure my strength will improve rapidly!¡± Han Rui confidently patted her chest. She was a rather strong-willed woman and was not willing to be a drag on Wang Tao. ¡°Good.¡± After talking to some other people, Wang Tao boarded the helicopter. Buzzzz¡ª Amidst the roaring sound, the helicopter left the military base. ¡°It feels like there are more and more zombies...¡± Looking at the zombies attracted by the plane below, Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. Not to mention the zombies in the city area, if all the zombies outside the city area were to head to the military base, it would pose a great challenge to the base! It was impossible to defend the military base. Zijin Base also seemed to be struggling... Wang Tao was now a bit lost, unsure of where to go. The helicopter was slower than the fixed-wing transport plane they had used before, taking extra time to arrive at Zijing City. Hehe... Roar¡ª Flying over the horde of zombies, the helicopter immediately caught the attention of countless zombies. They ran beneath it, quickly disrupting the formation of this horde. Wang Tao watched carefully, vigilant to any signs of Four-level zombies below. Their strength was formidable enough to bring down a helicopter, so he had to be on guard at all times. Fortunately, there were no dangers encountered all the way to Zijin City Base. Wang Tao contacted Lan Yulian. ¡°Wang Tao, is that you? Are you on that helicopter?¡± Before Wang Tao could speak, Lan Yulian¡¯s voice came through, full of excitement. ¡°Yes, clear a flat area for me to land.¡± Zijin Base was large, but it also had many people. Wang Tao was worried that excited or curious individuals might get in the way. ¡°Okay!¡± Lan Yulian quickly cleared an area for landing, located in front of a large warehouse, with vehicles and personnel waiting nearby. Once the helicopter landed, Wang Tao and his companions got out, and someone immediately brought a vehicle to take the helicopter into the large warehouse. Lan Yulian was quite considerate. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Just as Wang Tao got off the aircraft, Lan Yulian rushed over excitedly. Wang Tao stroked her hair and said, ¡°It¡¯s been two months, and you¡¯re still so beautiful!¡± Among the women around Wang Tao, besides Jiang Shixue, it was Lan Yulian who maintained herself the best. Jiang Shixue¡¯s exceptional case was due to her unique constitution, unparalleled by anyone. Lan Yulian, on the other hand, was the leader of a power, so she generally didn¡¯t go outside to scavenge for supplies. And as a ¡®nurse¡¯, she kept herself in good condition. ¡°` Chapter 679 - 277: Newborn Population_2 Chapter 679: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_2 Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s praise, Lan Yulian was very pleased. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek, then released Wang Tao and suddenly hugged Jiang Shixue by her side. ¡°Little Xue! I¡¯ve missed you so much!¡± Jiang Shixue was somewhat embarrassed but also hugged Lan Yulian back, knowing that both she and Lu Yingfeng were especially fond of her. Wang Tao, on the other hand, hugged Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng was slightly embarrassed, her face turning a rosy red. Wang Tao pinched her cheek and then smiled, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Mm~¡± The group returned to the central area of the base, and Wang Tao introduced Lan Yulian, Lu Yingfeng, and He Jijun to each other. It was then that Lan Yulian noticed that Wang Tao also had a dog with him. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s its name?¡± Lan Yulian asked curiously. ¡°Lightning. Everyone in the military base is gone, only it¡¯s left...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. The reason he kept Lightning with him was that he wasn¡¯t clear on how exactly Lightning should ascend, so he thought that bringing it along might help find a way. ¡°Poor little thing...¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s maternal instincts kicked in, and she snuggled Lightning intensely. She then recounted the incident concerning the suspected Level 4 zombie in detail. ¡°In the recent period, there have been a total of four Level 3 Zombie Lords around our base. But now all four Zombie Lords are dead; it must have happened last night, given that I saw those zombies during the day yesterday. Those Zombie Lords were all torn apart, lying dead among the horde of zombies...¡± Lan Yulian took out a cell phone, which had photos taken on it. Although not very clear, one could roughly see that the deaths of these zombies were indeed gruesome. Just by looking at the bodies, it was impossible to determine the situation. Wang Tao also thought it was the handiwork of a Level 4 zombie. The strength of Level 3 Zombie Lords wasn¡¯t that disparate; it was unlikely they would end up in such a state. ¡°Did you hear any noises?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°It seemed like there was no noise... I¡¯ve investigated, and no one in the base heard anything, including the guards.¡± ¡°Not a single noise?¡± ¡°None...¡± Lan Yulian shook her head, then as if remembering something, she hastily said, ¡°Oh right, these four lords all died in the same place, which is why I said they were killed at the same time.¡± ¡°Were these four zombies together before?¡± ¡°No, they were in different directions before...¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange then...¡± Wang Tao frowned. The four Level 3 Zombie Lords weren¡¯t together before, but last night all of a sudden they came together and were slaughtered without making any noise. It wasn¡¯t that a Level 4 zombie couldn¡¯t do this, but it raised the question of whether the zombies now knew how to carry out their deeds in a covert manner? Or was it that this Level 4 zombie had a peculiar method that prevented these zombies from making noise before dying? ¡°I¡¯m worried that this might be a Level 4 zombie that is good at stealth or ambush. That would be very dangerous!¡± Lu Yingfeng suddenly spoke up. Wang Tao nodded. That was a concern for him as well. A Level 4 zombie might not be frightening, but one that excelled at stealth and ambush was indeed terrifying! ¡°By the way, did you pick up the Crystal Cores of these Level 3 lords? What kind of Cores were they?¡± The Cores could give an indication of the zombies¡¯ strengths. ¡°No, after discovering the deaths of these zombies, we sent someone with the Stealth Potion to sneak a look, but found nothing; their Crystal Cores were gone. With so many zombies around, they could have been kicked anywhere...¡± Lan Yulian said regretfully. After all, the Crystal Cores of Level 3 Lords were quite valuable. ¡°How about this, tonight I¡¯ll go out and see what exactly is going on,¡± Wang Tao suggested after some thought. There was no use analyzing the situation here; he had to go out and see for himself. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you!¡± Lan Yulian immediately raised her hand, only to be pushed down by Wang Tao. ¡°Are you coming to be my burden?¡± ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian pretended to be very angry, but Wang Tao was clearly not buying it. He pinched her cheek and said, ¡°Tonight, none of you should come out, it¡¯ll just be me and Little Xue.¡± The others couldn¡¯t see in the dark and would indeed be a burden at night. ¡°Alright then.¡± Lan Yulian had already arranged for people to keep watch over the surroundings, and so far, no abnormalities had been detected. Wang Tao walked around the base with Lan Yulian and the others, getting to know the situation in the base. There was no doubt about it, Lan Yulian truly had a talent for management. After bringing together the survivors of Zijing City to the base, she managed everything in an orderly fashion, with hardly any trouble arising, and before the tide of zombies arrived, it was a flourishing sight to see. It was only then that Wang Tao learned the group of survivors from Duzhu Town had indeed come to Zijing City, and Lan Yulian had taken them all in. The original Zijin Base had nearly ten thousand people. After the change in leadership and Lan Yulian brought over other people from Zijing City, the numbers swelled to over ten thousand. Afterward, other outsiders and survivors from Duzhu Town joined, and now the population of the entire Zijin Base had reached twenty thousand. ¡°To be precise, there are 21,944 people ¡ª oh no, that¡¯s wrong, a new baby was born in the base yesterday, so now there are 21,945 people!¡± Lan Yulian said proudly to Wang Tao. ¡°Oh? There¡¯s a new baby?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. In a post-apocalyptic world, surviving on one¡¯s own was already difficult enough. Most people would not choose to have children, as no one wanted their child to suffer in such a world. Chapter 680 - 277: Newborn Population_3 Chapter 680: Chapter 277: Newborn Population_3 Wang Tao himself had the same idea; he didn¡¯t have the slightest intention of having children. But then again, he had been with quite a few women, sometimes without taking any safety measures, and yet he had never ¡°hit the target¡±... ¡°Could there be something wrong with me?¡± Wang Tao suddenly began to doubt himself. After all, if a man and a woman can¡¯t have children, there could be a problem with either party, but if one man with many women still can¡¯t, that¡¯s a hundred percent a problem with the man... Shaking his head, Wang Tao hurriedly dismissed the thought. Children were too far removed from him, not something he could consider right now. Lan Yulian, of course, had no idea Wang Tao had thought so much in that instant. When she heard Wang Tao¡¯s surprise about the birth rate at the base, she said with some pride: ¡°Ahem, before I took over this base, the birth rate of newborns here was almost zero¡ªno one wanted to, and no one dared to have children. But in the two months since I took charge, there have already been more than twenty newborns! Unfortunately, we¡¯ve lost a few shortly after birth...¡± Lan Yulian sighed. Medical conditions are poor now, and newborns are very fragile; a slight misstep can lead to their demise. The first time Lan Yulian saw a deceased infant, she was upset for a good half-month... However, Lan Yulian quickly raised her head again and said with a smile: ¡°The new generation represents hope! If a base has no newborns, then it is doomed to destruction, but our Zijin Base already has nearly thirty newborns, so I believe our base will be able to exist forever!¡± Seeing Lan Yulian, whose face seemed to radiate light, Wang Tao suddenly felt a little reluctant to burst her bubble. But Wang Tao had a responsibility to inform Lan Yulian of the current situation. ¡°Jade Lotus, I think you¡¯re amazing, and I am inferior to you. But I have to tell you, the situation right now... is tough.¡± Wang Tao looked at her seriously. Lan Yulian felt a bit flustered under Wang Tao¡¯s gaze and said subconsciously: ¡°It¡¯s just a horde of zombies! Our base can hold up for now! Plus, we¡¯ve got you! You¡¯re a Level 4 now, and you¡¯re so strong... You¡¯ll protect us, won¡¯t you?¡± Towards the end, Lan Yulian¡¯s tone suddenly grew weaker. Asking Wang Tao to protect Zijin Base meant asking him to take on a great risk. She wanted to protect the people of the base, but she also didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to get hurt... Seeing Lan Yulian like this, Wang Tao stroked her face. ¡°Of course I¡¯ll protect you, protect all of you. But, you haven¡¯t seen those formidable Level 4 zombies, those Giant Zombies tens of meters high, like skyscrapers. If they come, they can step right into Zijin Base with a single step...¡± Wang Tao talked to Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng about the situation in Wuyang City. Hearing about the Giant Zombie that could take down an airplane, their eyes filled with horror, and then they fell silent. ¡°And let me tell you some bad news. Before we got in touch with you, we had contacted another base. They were trapped by the horde too. As we were preparing to go support them, their base fell, easily breached by the Giant Zombie...¡± ¡°How could this be...¡± If the Giant Zombie hadn¡¯t attacked a human survivor base, Lan Yulian might still have been a little hopeful, but now with an example right there, she lost that last shred of hope. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t finished with her yet and continued: ¡°When I was piloting the military transport plane, I encountered a Giant Zombie. It wasn¡¯t in the city center; it was moving with the horde, heading east.¡± ¡°...¡± The east of Wuyang City... is Zijing City! Lan Yulian suddenly felt ice-cold all over as if she had lost all her strength at once. Wang Tao wrapped his arms around her. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to discourage you, I just think you should know the reality of our current situation.¡± ¡°...So, if a lot of level 4 zombies or giant zombies really did come, what would you do?¡± Lan Yulian looked up, biting her lip as she gazed at Wang Tao. ¡°I¡¯d take you both with me. That¡¯s all I could do. After all, I only have one helicopter.¡± Wang Tao spoke very calmly. In truth, if that situation really occurred, even if he left, he wouldn¡¯t know where to go¡ªhe himself was still lost... ¡°...¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes suddenly reddened a bit. She was the leader of the Zijin Base; she didn¡¯t want to abandon these survivors. If she just left, what would make her different from a murderer? But... she was truly powerless! If even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t manage it, what could she possibly do? ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t think too much! This is all Wang Tao¡¯s speculation. What if the zombie tide passes quickly and no serious danger arises? You know, no matter the tide, it¡¯s bound to recede eventually! And even if there really is danger, that¡¯s a problem for later. By then, we might already have a solution!¡± He Jijun suddenly spoke up. He felt that the morale of the group was somewhat low and needed a boost. ¡°Ha ha, that¡¯s true. I¡¯m talking about the worst-case scenario, but ever since the apocalypse, I¡¯ve been quite lucky and have never encountered any dead end situations. Even if I did, I always managed to turn danger into safety... I believe that we will ultimately be alright!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily, then planted a firm kiss on Lan Yulian¡¯s face. Lan Yulian glared at Wang Tao, but she didn¡¯t say anything more. He Jijun was right. Even if real danger came, it would be later. They were at least safe for now, and there was no need to flee yet... ¡°Let¡¯s go see the newborns.¡± Lan Yulian suddenly suggested. Wang Tao hesitated for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± Lan Yulian led Wang Tao to the base¡¯s hospital. The conditions in the hospital were simple, but the space was large, with many different areas sectioned off. The maternity ward was one such area, where the mothers were concentrated, with special care and diets provided. Lan Yulian gave them excellent treatment. Wang Tao saw the more than twenty newborns. The just-born babies were all wrinkly and looked quite ugly, and they also had a bit of a smell. But Lan Yulian didn¡¯t mind it at all. Suddenly, she handed one of the babies to Wang Tao. Wang Tao looked at the wrinkled little face of the child, and then at Lan Yulian¡¯s expectant gaze, he shook his head and didn¡¯t take it. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve seen enough. I¡¯m going back to get ready; I¡¯ll head out tonight.¡± After speaking, Wang Tao turned and walked away, without a hint of reluctance. Lan Yulian stiffened, her complexion a touch pale. Chapter 681: 278 True Illusion_1 Chapter 681: Chapter 278 True Illusion_1 Evening. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left Zijin Base. As they jumped down from the tall wall, Jiang Shixue suddenly whispered, ¡°Those little babies were quite cute...¡± Thud¡ª The two landed, and the surrounding zombies, sensing Wang Tao¡¯s presence, immediately pounced on them. Wang Tao casually sent out a shockwave that shattered the zombies. He turned his head to look at Jiang Shixue. His green eyes betrayed no emotion. Jiang Shixue scratched her head somewhat embarrassedly. ¡°Cough, I mean...¡± ¡°They were quite cute,¡± Wang Tao interrupted her, then added, ¡°Let¡¯s go, see if there are any four-level zombies.¡± ¡°Oh~¡± There were many zombies outside the base. Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to waste time with them, so he directly used a Stealth Potion. Jiang Shixue¡¯s physical condition was special; she had the effect of a Stealth Potion naturally, so she didn¡¯t need to use one. After using the Stealth Potion, the zombies around them quieted down a lot. As long as Wang Tao didn¡¯t get too close to them or linger near them, they wouldn¡¯t usually be attacked. First, Wang Tao went to the place where the four Level 4 Lord zombies had died. A day had passed, and the flesh and blood of those four Level 3 Lords could still be seen. Zombies don¡¯t have the habit of cannibalizing each other, so these remains were left untouched. Wang Tao searched the area but found no Crystal Cores. He wondered if the zombies had kicked them away since zombies don¡¯t eat Crystal Cores. Confirming there was nothing to be found, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went to other areas around the base to look but found nothing there either. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t in a hurry. He was prepared to wander outside for the night and search thoroughly. ¡°Hmm? Two Level 3 Lords?¡± At some distance from the base, Wang Tao spotted two Level 3 Lord zombies, each with 60,000 HP. These two zombies were clearly heading towards the base. Wang Tao¡¯s first instinct was to kill them, but he quickly restrained himself. The previous four Level 3 Lords had been killed by a four-level zombie. If that four-level zombie was nearby, wouldn¡¯t these two Level 3 Lords be targeted as well? Wang Tao thought it was a definite possibility. Hence, Wang Tao didn¡¯t kill the two Level 3 Lords; instead, he followed them. In a horde like this, following those two zombies would normally be difficult. After all, Wang Tao used a Stealth Potion, not an invisibility potion; getting too close to the zombies would get him discovered. Luckily, Wang Tao had the Perception Ability, which allowed him to track the two Level 3 Lords from a distance. He didn¡¯t have to worry about being detected by the two zombies; he just had to be careful of the others around him. After tracking them for a while, the two Lord zombies arrived outside Zijin Base. They seemed eager to get in, lured by the many human scents inside, but alas, the wall was too high for them to scale. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Both Level 3 Lords were extremely enraged. They even commanded the ordinary zombies around them to attack the high wall. But it was clearly a futile effort. After being busy for quite some time with no success, one of the Lords dispersed the other zombies but the other Lord seemed reluctant to do so. The two Lords growled at each other. Wang Tao, watching from afar, was surprised. ¡°Eh? Zombies can quarrel? This is enlightening...¡± ¡°Not only are they quarreling, they seem about to come to blows?¡± Jiang Shixue hadn¡¯t finished speaking when the two Lords started fighting! One punched, another slapped, as if they were children squabbling. But these were Level 3 Lords with formidable bodies. Their punches and slaps could cause serious damage. In the blink of an eye, both zombies had lost a significant amount of HP. ¡°This is really eye-opening, seeing zombies fight for the first time¡ªwait!¡± Wang Tao was initially ready to enjoy the spectacle, but suddenly he felt something was off. Regardless of whether zombies fight among themselves, even if they did, would these Lord zombies attack each other with such a turn-based style? But Lords have Abilities! They seemed to be seriously fighting, but they weren¡¯t using any Abilities? Using Abilities should be instinctive for zombies, right? Had they lost their instincts? Something wasn¡¯t right! Especially when the HP of the two Lords kept dropping, yet they stuck to this turn-based fighting style, Wang Tao was now certain that something was wrong with these zombies! ¡°In this situation...¡± Wang Tao turned to Jiang Shixue, ¡°I get the feeling that these two Level 3 Lords are being controlled.¡± ¡°I have the same feeling!¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. Come to think of it, both Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had the ability to control others. However, their methods of control were different. Jiang Shixue could somewhat manipulate others¡¯ thoughts through her Hidden Ability, the Eyes of Contract. Though it was called control, it was actually more like guidance, or giving a suggestion that made one subconsciously follow Jiang Shixue¡¯s intention. This ability could not affect those of the same level, only those weaker than her. The weaker the opponent¡¯s spiritual power, the easier for Jiang Shixue to succeed. Her ability wasn¡¯t very useful in combat since she could defeat those she could control, and she couldn¡¯t control those she couldn¡¯t defeat... Especially since zombies had very simple minds, or rather no minds at all. Guiding them was quite troublesome for Jiang Shixue... As for Wang Tao¡¯s control ability, it was Mental Disturbance. Chapter 682: 278 True Illusion_2 Chapter 682: Chapter 278 True Illusion_2 Wang Tao¡¯s ability was the exact opposite of Jiang Shixue¡¯s. The simpler the mind, the easier it was for Wang Tao to interfere, and those brainless zombies were very easy to manipulate. However, it was ineffective against humans, unless they were literally brain dead... So, Wang Tao¡¯s ability wasn¡¯t very effective on humans but worked well on zombies. Of course, this was only true for zombies whose levels and spiritual power were inferior to his own. Therefore, they generally didn¡¯t use this kind of control ability. Wang Tao didn¡¯t think of it at first. But looking at the situation now, it was clear that control was at play! ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out!¡± Now that he remembered he had this ability, Wang Tao immediately activated Mental Disturbance, rounding up a few ordinary zombies to surround himself. He prepared to have these zombies clear the way as he and Jiang Shixue snuck over to see what was actually happening. Soon, the two Level 3, Lord zombies were down to a sliver of HP, and Wang Tao, along with Jiang Shixue, gradually made their way to the vicinity. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt the scene before his eyes change, transforming into a gray and lifeless world with many humans around him with vacant stares. These people were all standing around, hardly moving, but among them, two of the humans were hitting each other with punches and slaps! Both of them were trying to bite each other, but they were blocked, so they could only fight with punches and kicks. Wang Tao turned his head, just as Jiang Shixue also turned hers; both of their eyes¡ªone red, one green¡ªshowed a hint of surprise. Watching one of the ¡°humans¡± in the fight fall, Wang Tao said, ¡°This feeling... is almost the same as the Illusion Beast we encountered in Zijing City!¡± Wang Tao and his companions had also been trapped in an illusion just like this before! However, the previous illusion had been much more realistic; Wang Tao knew it was an illusion but could not spot a single flaw! Yet, this current illusion was fraught with flaws¡ªjust as Wang Tao was about to criticize the multitude of flaws in the illusion, the scene before his eyes changed again! Suddenly, it became an empty basketball court with several tall people playing, surrounded by a crowd of spectators. Wang Tao himself hadn¡¯t changed at all, still in his combat suit. Jiang Shixue was the same as well, wearing the JK uniform Wang Tao had given her. ¡°It¡¯s definitely that kind of Illusion! Perhaps it¡¯s that Level 4 monster!¡± Wang Tao grinned. The people playing basketball approached and invited Wang Tao to join them. Wang Tao responded with a Shockwave. Bang! In an instant, flesh flew, and the basketball court was filled with blood, eliciting a continuous series of Screams from the spectator stands... everything felt incredibly real. It would have been even better if they didn¡¯t have red HP bars above their heads. Wang Tao launched indiscriminate attacks around him, and in an instant, there were a great number of casualties, turning the basketball court into a slaughterhouse. Looking at these gory scenes, Wang Tao remained completely unfazed, cranking his Perception Ability to the max as he searched meticulously. Suddenly, Wang Tao swung his sword towards a certain spot. ¡°Found you!¡± Bang! There seemed to be nothing in front of him, but Wang Tao¡¯s blade was blocked! Wang Tao saw a slight tear in the scene before him, but it quickly stabilized again. ¡°Got away?¡± In Wang Tao¡¯s perception, the thing with immense energy he had ¡°seen¡± escaped quickly after taking a hit from him. Sizzle¡ª Right after, Wang Tao saw the scene before him fracture, the basketball court disappearing, transforming into the wilderness. The people slaughtered by Wang Tao in the basketball court also disappeared, turning into a pile of zombie limbs and remains on the ground. Wang Tao didn¡¯t care about the scene before him; he immediately surveyed his surroundings and pushed his Plant Affinity and Perception to their limits. In the distance, Wang Tao caught a glimpse of a black shadow that flashed by! Although he did not see the entire figure, Wang Tao caught sight of its HP bar. [HP: 116746/120000] [Mana: 90000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 80%] [Awakening: Real Illusion] [Real Illusion: Increases defensive power, can create a Real Illusion area, and affect the consciousness of all living beings within it] Wang Tao felt that this had to be the Level 4, Monster Lord he had encountered three months earlier! Compared to before, this monster¡¯s HP had only increased by 20,000. This showed that increasing HP beyond 100,000 must be very difficult. And this time, Wang Tao had finally seen its Awakening. ¡°Real Illusion!¡± The monster¡¯s Awakening was to create an illusion, which was close to what Wang Tao had anticipated. When he had first encountered this monster, Wang Tao was very afraid, as it was Level 4. But now, Wang Tao felt he could put up a fight! Even if Wang Tao couldn¡¯t detect the flaw in the illusion, which was too much like the real world, he could see HP bars! A group of normal humans with red HP bars over their heads... anyone with a brain would know what to do! So, no matter how realistic his illusion was, it was not much use to Wang Tao! Apart from the illusion itself, Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel it had any other attacking ability. This illusion relied on affecting the consciousness of living beings to attack. For example, making the zombies attack Wang Tao, or causing Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue to kill each other. But zombies below Level 4 were not a significant threat to Wang Tao, unless there were a lot of them. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue wouldn¡¯t be subjected to mental control¡ªnot to mention them, even Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan from before were not much affected. Wang Tao estimated that the control ability of this illusion was similar to his Psychic Disturbance Ability; the lower the intelligence and the weaker the mental strength, the easier it was to be controlled. Chapter 683 - 278 True Illusion_3 Chapter 683: Chapter 278 True Illusion_3 ¡°` As long as Wang Tao is not deceived by the illusion, then it poses no threat to him! It was only now that Wang Tao realized that the four Level 3 Zombie Lords that Lan Yulian mentioned were brutally murdered were not actually killed by fourth-level zombies, but were made to kill each other by this Illusion Beast! As to why the Illusion Beast would make the Level 3 Lord Zombies kill each other... Wang Tao glanced at the nearby corpses of the two recently deceased Level 3 Zombie Lords and saw that their Crystal Cores were gone ¡ª it was for the Crystal Cores that the Illusion Beast had killed these Zombie Lords! Upon discovering the identity of this fourth-order monster, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too surprised by the outcome. The information provided by the military base had indicated that these monsters and zombies were not of the same kind. Wang Tao could also observe that these monsters had internal impurities and needed Crystal Cores as well. This fourth-order monster¡¯s illusion affected all the zombies within its range; within the illusion, whether the zombies attacked or not was controlled by the monster. Now that the illusion was gone, the zombies were no longer under control and immediately attacked Wang Tao upon seeing him. After Jiang Shixue cleared away the besieging zombies, she asked Wang Tao: ¡°Brother, shall we chase it?¡± ¡°Chase!¡± Wang Tao nodded. He felt that this fourth-order Illusion Beast was less of a threat than the Flame Monster. During his battle with the Flame Monster, although Wang Tao could somewhat resist fire, the flames still caused some damage to him, and the Flame Monster, having a strong physique, could make him lose a lot of HP when it hit him. But this illusion created by the Illusion Beast was completely ineffective against Wang Tao. He was not affected at all! This was as if the Illusion Beast had one less awakening! Previously when he faced this Illusion Beast, he lacked the strength and didn¡¯t fully understand its method of attack, so he would run as far as possible. But now... the monster had actually run away first! This could only mean that the Illusion Beast was afraid! Aside from its illusion attack, it likely had no other formidable methods of attack. Therefore, Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t let it go! Wang Tao collected the spoils from the zombies he had just killed before setting off in pursuit of the Illusion Beast. Although the monster was fast, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity had a large range. With plenty of plants around, he easily perceived a large creature moving quickly. The Illusion Beast moved much faster than Level 3 zombies and didn¡¯t move in a straight line, making quite a few feints. But Wang Tao was a bit faster than it! Coupled with his ¡°radar¡± and ¡°x-ray vision¡±, the Illusion Beast¡¯s movements were completely visible to Wang Tao, and there was nowhere to hide. ¡°Over here!¡± Chasing the beast through a dilapidated residential area, Wang Tao suddenly slashed at a small house. Whoosh¡ª A Shockwave directly shattered a wall, causing the already damaged house to collapse with a boom. Amidst a cloud of dust, a bulky figure appeared. Wang Tao finally saw the true face of the Illusion Beast. ¡°What is that? A pig?¡± The Illusion Beast was entirely black and very fat, with rough bristles all over its body. Its chubby black face sported a large nose, big ears, and white canines... It resembled a wild boar! But it wasn¡¯t quite the same as a real wild boar since wild boars aren¡¯t that fat, and even domestic pigs are not as plump as it was. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Wild Boar Monster¡¯s eyes emitted a faint red glow as it roared at Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Wang Tao¡¯s vision blurred momentarily as he re-entered the illusion it had created. This time, it was a large gym, but there were no bulky muscle men around, only hot-bodied beauties. Wang Tao had to admit, it was quite a pleasant sight. But the thought that these beauties were actually disgusting zombies instantly killed any interest he had. He vanished in a flash, then fiercely struck at one of the curvaceous beauties. Bang! [-3284] ¡°The defense of this Wild Boar Monster is really high!¡± Could his attacks only take away just over three thousand HP with a single strike? This defense was even higher than the Night Demon¡¯s! But that one strike dispelled the illusion. The illusion seemed related to the state of the Wild Boar Monster; when it got injured, it affected the use of its illusion. Roar¡ª The Wild Boar Monster roared angrily and charged at Wang Tao. Its speed was clearly not a match for Wang Tao¡¯s, who easily dodged its attack. Jiang Shixue suddenly appeared from the other side and blocked the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s path, scratching it twice. [-726] [-673] Jiang Shixue¡¯s attacks were like tickles to the Wild Boar Monster. Wang Tao felt that the Wild Boar Monster was different from the Night Demon; the Night Demon had strong all-around physical qualities¡ªattack, defense, speed, and so on. The Wild Boar Monster seemed to be just thick-skinned and tough-fleshed, after all, its speed wasn¡¯t very fast, even slower than Wang Tao¡¯s. Seeing that a large number of zombies had already been attracted, Wang Tao prepared to use his Awakening to end the battle quickly. But as if he had thought of something, a baton suddenly appeared in his hand. After activating the Mutant Explosion-proof Baton, he hadn¡¯t used this equipment to fight against strong enemies. Wang Tao wanted to know if the electric shock effect would work on fourth-order monsters. Wang Tao approached the Wild Boar Monster and swung the baton at it, generating a spark of electricity. [-2133] [-10283] The Wild Boar Monster instantly stiffened as two damage numbers popped up. One was the physical damage from the baton, the other the damage from the electric current! The physical damage from the baton was less than with the great cleaver since he couldn¡¯t use high-frequency vibration. But the electric damage from the baton was five times the physical damage! Seeing this, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°It looks like I won¡¯t need to use my Awakening to deal with you!¡± Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure why this was the case, he suddenly had a shield in his hand, crackling with electric arcs. ¡°` Chapter 684 - 279: The Tusk Long Knife_1 Chapter 684: Chapter 279: The Tusk Long Knife_1 ¡°` Wang Tao held an electric shield in one hand and a stun baton in the other. With a flash, he appeared by the side of the Wild Boar Monster. Bang! [-2011] [-10203] The Wild Boar Monster¡¯s HP dropped by over ten thousand again. The electric current on the stun baton had a certain paralyzing effect. The Wild Boar Monster had intended to counterattack, but upon being struck by the current, its body stiffened instantly, and its attack was interrupted. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± However, the paralysis didn¡¯t last long, and the Wild Boar Monster quickly recovered. It used True Illusion again, and Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were once again plunged into the illusion. In Wang Tao¡¯s vision, the Wild Boar Monster disappeared! The premise for Wang Tao to see the HP bar was that his eyes could see the object. Now that he could no longer see the Wild Boar Monster, naturally, he couldn¡¯t see its HP bar either. But it didn¡¯t matter, Wang Tao still had his Perception Ability. His Perception Ability allowed him to ¡°see¡± clearly that a massive energy was rushing towards him from the side! Wang Tao immediately raised his shield. Bang! Sizzle¡ª A muffled sound as the Wild Boar Monster slammed hard against the shield. [-11293] The shield itself couldn¡¯t cause damage, but the electrical current on the shield struck the Wild Boar Monster, dealing over ten thousand damage in an instant! Wang Tao felt a numbness in his left hand and saw a few dozen HP drop from his health. The Wild Boar Monster was very strong; the shield blocked most of the damage, but he still lost some HP. He swung his stun baton through the air with his right hand. [-2291] [-11285] The illusion shattered once again. The Wild Boar Monster, now somewhat scorched from the electricity, didn¡¯t continue to fight blindly and turned to run. Fight lost, escape! Jiang Shixue, who had been ready at the side, immediately blocked its path. While she didn¡¯t cause any damage, she successfully stopped its escape. Wang Tao charged over once more. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Being continuously shocked, the Wild Boar Monster was clearly enraged. It planted its limbs on the ground, kicked with its hind hooves, and charged at Jiang Shixue! This time it was smart not to attack Wang Tao but chose to go after Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue quickly retreated, narrowly avoiding the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s charge. The Wild Boar Monster crashed into a civilian house, causing the small building to collapse. If it had hit Jiang Shixue, she would have been bruised all over. ¡°Looking to die!¡± Wang Tao immediately rushed into the rubble. Even though the dust affected Wang Tao¡¯s vision, his Perception Ability firmly locked onto the position of the Wild Boar Monster. After using Mental Shock several times and realizing it wasn¡¯t very effective, Wang Tao released two [Night Demon Type I]. It was night, so summoning [Night Demon Type I] was naturally not a problem. [Night Demon Type I]¡¯s combat effectiveness in actual combat was quite good. Even though they didn¡¯t have much HP and were not at their peak state, they could suppress and beat the Wild Boar Monster when co-operating with Wang Tao! After all, the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s strongest ability was Illusion, but Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue were not greatly affected by the illusion. Since the two [Night Demon Type I] were controlled by Wang Tao, they were also unaffected by the illusion. Essentially, Wang Tao had nullified the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s Awakening. In a moment, the charred Wild Boar Monster had its skull smashed by Wang Tao¡¯s baton. [-1823] [0/120000] Clatter¡ª A pile of items burst out. Wang Tao picked up the Loot Pack and then checked the items dropped by the Wild Boar Monster itself. A pair of tusks, a piece of pigskin, and a spherical object all had names. Not having time to look further, Wang Tao had the [Night Demon Type I] carry the corpse of the Wild Boar Monster and left the area with Jiang Shixue. Their battle hadn¡¯t lasted long, but it had made quite a commotion and a large number of zombies had already come over. Wang Tao had no reason to get entangled with these zombies. Before returning to Zijin Base, Wang Tao circled around the bases nearby to ensure he didn¡¯t see any other Level 4 zombies or monsters. Then he contacted Lan Yulian to open the gate. ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay¡ªwhat is this thing?!¡± Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng had been waiting up for Wang Tao, as were He Jijun and Lightning. Both women were startled when they saw a tall Night Demon carrying an even larger Wild Boar Monster and immediately became alert. ¡°This is a weapon [Night Demon Type I], formed from the heart of a Level 4, Lord Night Demon...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained about the Night Demon Type I. ¡°There¡¯s such a thing?¡± The two women were extremely shocked, but since Wang Tao had Entangling Roots on him and Iron Tree Vines in his hands, which were both weapons, the appearance of a weapon capable of assisting Wang Tao seemed... somewhat reasonable. Lan Yulian came over curiously and cautiously poked at the Night Demon Type I, which didn¡¯t react. ¡°And this?¡± Lan Yulian then pointed at the corpse of the Wild Boar Monster being carried by the Night Demon Type I. Obviously, it wasn¡¯t a zombie but looked like a... wild boar? Did Wang Tao happen to hunt a wild boar while he was out? Wang Tao explained with a smile: ¡°This was the culprit behind the deaths of those Level 3, Lord zombies earlier, although it¡¯s not a Four-level zombie, but a Level 4, Monster Lord.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The two women were shocked again. It wasn¡¯t a Level 4 zombie that hunted its kind, but this Level 4 monster that did the killing? And Wang Tao had killed this Level 4 monster so quickly? This was a Level 4, Monster Lord! And it was already dead? They hadn¡¯t heard any commotion! Eager to see more, the two women crowded around, but they couldn¡¯t tell from its appearance that it was a Level 4 monster. ¡°Woof woof!¡± Lightning barked twice at the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s corpse, as if celebrating Wang Tao¡¯s successful hunt. ¡°` Chapter 685 - 279: The Tusk Long Knife_2 Wang Tao patted Lightning on the head, then turned to Lan Yulian and the other woman, saying, "Actually, this Fourth-order Monster is the one I told you about before, the one that can create illusions..." "So it was that one!" Lan Yulian and her companion exchanged a glance, both quite surprised. Wang Tao had previously warned Lan Yulian and the others about this monster, telling them to be on guard. When Wang Tao left, he even made a point of searching in Zijing City but didn¡¯t find the creature. He had thought the monster had left Zijing City. But now, it seemed that the monster had either come back after leaving, or it had been hiding somewhere that Wang Tao hadn¡¯t discovered. Anyway, it was good that they had killed it, for the biggest threat to the base was now eliminated. Wang Tao explained the situation with the Wild Boar Monster in detail to the two women and He Jijun so that they would know how to deal with similar creatures if they encountered them in the future. All of them listened with some curiosity, having never experienced such a True Illusion themselves; they didn¡¯t know what it was like. "I think this must be an evolution of a wild boar. It should be edible... of course, first we¡¯ll test it. The base is raising small animals, right..." Wang Tao said, pointing at the corpse of the Wild Boar Monster. When he was at the farm run by Xu Xiaojun, he had caught many large fish, which had also gone through evolution and were edible. Wang Tao guessed this Wild Boar Monster was probably the same, but it was best to test it on small animals first, for safety¡¯s sake. "Okay!" Lan Yulian nodded excitedly; she had never eaten monster flesh before. She summoned someone to take the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s body down for processing. Wang Tao first took out all the bones from the corpse, as they might be useful as crafting materials... Wang Tao had originally planned to spend a night outside, but now he had completed his mission ahead of schedule. There was still plenty of time to sleep. Of course, he couldn¡¯t sleep without carefully checking his Loot Pack first. In his room, Wang Tao took a bath first. When he came out, he found Lan Yulian looking at him with tender affection. Wang Tao pinched her cheek. "I need to check today¡¯s loot first." Lan Yulian hugged Wang Tao¡¯s arm. "I¡¯ll accompany you~" Wang Tao started to take things out. Lan Yulian had seen Wang Tao use his Space Backpack so many times that it didn¡¯t surprise her anymore. The Wild Boar Monster itself had dropped 4 items, and the Loot Packs that burst out numbered 5. By killing the Wild Boar Monster, Wang Tao gained 1 point of Advanced Special Energy and 1 Awakening Key, but his HP still hadn¡¯t increased. This time, he hadn¡¯t used Awakening to kill, so he hadn¡¯t wasted any Awakening Energy, which meant he effectively gained 200 Awakening Energy. Then there were the 4 items dropped by the Wild Boar Monster: a Power Crystal Core, fangs, Boar Skin, and a small round ball resembling a ping pong ball. [Obtained: Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Mental Defense x1] This was a red Defense Crystal Core; Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. Since the Wild Boar Monster was able to use illusions, its spiritual power should have been quite high. Wang Tao had tried attacking it with spiritual power and found it ineffective, so he stopped. After all, consuming too much spiritual power could affect one¡¯s combat effectiveness. [Obtained: Fourth-order¡¤Wild Boar Fang x4] [Fourth-order¡¤Wild Boar Fang: Crafting material, can add the Bleeding Property to equipment] This fang seemed pretty good; the "Bleeding" property sounded quite powerful. However, the name of this material... simply Wild Boar Fang, felt a bit too straightforward. [Obtained: Fourth-order¡¤Wild Boar Skin x1] [Fourth-order¡¤Wild Boar Skin: Crafting material, can add to equipment¡¯s defensive power, Mental Defense, and Weakness to Fire and Electricity Attributes] Upon seeing the attributes of the Wild Boar Skin, Wang Tao opened his mouth, not sure what to say. Adding to equipment¡¯s defensive power and Mental Defense made sense, but adding weakness to fire and electricity? Using this kind of material in equipment that came with weaknesses was somewhat troubling. Wang Tao suddenly realized why he had caused so much damage when he attacked the Wild Boar Monster with the Mutant Explosion-proof Baton. It turned out he had accidentally found the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s weakness by chance! That being said, if he hadn¡¯t thought to use the baton, then he likely would have used Awakening, which was fire-based... All in all, the Wild Boar Monster¡¯s death was not a fluke. But what intrigued Wang Tao the most was the last item. [Obtained: Reality Illusion Pearl x1] [Reality Illusion Pearl: Contains a certain amount of spiritual power that can be fused. If one¡¯s own spiritual power is higher than that of the Reality Illusion Pearl, one can acquire a Hidden Ability. If one¡¯s own spiritual power is lower, they will be trapped in the True Illusion forever] Hiss¡ª Another thing that could add a Hidden Ability! But... this thing is a bit scary to use! Without a way to see the specific values of spiritual power, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how much spiritual power he had, nor the amount contained in the Reality Illusion Pearl. If he didn¡¯t have higher spiritual power than the pearl, then it would be over for him! The Hidden Ability provided by the Reality Illusion Pearl would likely be related to spiritual power and was definitely a good thing, but unfortunately, Wang Tao dared not use it now¡ªand it wasn¡¯t even about whether he dared to use it or not. The moment Wang Tao picked up the pearl, a prompt suddenly appeared. [Note: Each person can obtain up to four Hidden Abilities, including those that have already been Awakened. If one acquires a fifth Hidden Ability, it will randomly replace one of the existing abilities. If all Hidden Abilities have already been Awakened, a fifth Hidden Ability cannot be acquired] Chapter 686 - 279: The Tusk Long Knife_3 Chapter 686: Chapter 279: The Tusk Long Knife_3 ¡°...¡± Okay, Wang Tao was thinking that if he were to fuse with it, he¡¯d be taking a big risk. But now, it seems he wasn¡¯t even in a position to consider fusion. He had a total of four hidden abilities: Body Strengthening, Night Vision, Plant Affinity, and Fire Element. Among these abilities, Wang Tao initially thought Fire Element was the weakest. However, the reality proved to Wang Tao that Fire Element, once awakened, was incredibly powerful! As for the other three hidden abilities, they were all very useful to Wang Tao. If it meant taking a risk for one hidden ability, he might be willing to take that risk. But if it also meant losing an existing hidden ability, then it was not worth it. Wang Tao quickly made a decision, he would not use this Reality Illusion Pearl. It would be better suited for someone else. And the only other people with comparably high spiritual power... seem to be only Jiang Shixue and He Jijun. But still, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know whether their spiritual power was higher or lower than what the Reality Illusion Pearl required. To let them fuse with it would be far too risky! In the end, Wang Tao decided to wait and see. He wasn¡¯t able to judge the strength of spiritual power at the moment. Then Wang Tao looked at the other five Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained four Crystal Cores: a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotent], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength] and another blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Athlete]. ¡°No Awakening Crystal Core... Such a corpulent body, and yet there¡¯s an Athlete?¡± The absence of an Awakening Crystal Core disappointed Wang Tao. But he was surprised to find the Athlete among them. However, the Wild Boar Monster was indeed agile... Could this mean that exercising can¡¯t help with weight loss? Is obesity related to genetics? Wang Tao inwardly complained, then turned his attention to the second Loot Pack. [Received: Illusion Explosion Fruit x10] [Illusion Explosion Fruit: When thrown, it explodes silently upon hitting an obstacle, creating a 5-meter radius illusion that lasts for 10 minutes.] This item seemed interesting, though how effective it was would be the deciding factor. If it could replicate even a part of the effects of the real illusion, that would be quite nice. After all, apart from Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and He Jijun, there were many people with weaker spiritual power. Inside the third Loot Pack were potions, and at last, there were potions that could permanently enhance attributes. [Received: Mental Potion (Small) x20] [Received: Defense Potion (small) x20] [Received: Mental Boosting Potion x20] [Received: Defense Growth Potion x20] Wang Tao used both types of growth potions. Then he thought that, in the future, if he obtained more potions like these, he could share them with others. The strength added by these potions wasn¡¯t calculated by percentage, but by a fixed value. His values were already very high, so the proportional increase for him was not great. The more he used, the less effective they became¡ªthis was a marginal effect. At this point, it would be better to give them to others for a better outcome. The fourth Loot Pack contained Awakening Energy Pearls. [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Satisfied with the pearl, Wang Tao nodded his head in contentment. The drop rate of both Awakening Crystal Cores and Awakening Energy Beads was low. The Wild Boar Monster didn¡¯t drop any Awakening Crystal Cores or Energy Beads itself and the Loot Packs didn¡¯t contain any Awakening Crystal Cores either... It was lucky that there was an Energy Bead in the pack, otherwise Wang Tao¡¯s luck would have been too dismal. The last Loot Pack contained Blueprints. [Received: Wild Boar Leather Top Armor Blueprint x1] [Received: Boar Tusk Long Knife Blueprint x1] [Wild Boar Leather Top Armor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a piece of leather armor. Required materials: Level 4 Wild Boar Skin x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Rope x30, Nail x30, Rubber x30, Plastic x30] [Wild Boar Leather Top Armor: Attributes unknown] [Boar Tusk Long Knife Blueprint: Can be used to craft a long knife. Required materials: Level 4 Wild Boar Fang x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Rope x30, Nail x30] [Boar Tusk Long Knife: Attributes unknown] There were two blueprints, one for Wild Boar Leather Top Armor and one for a long knife. The core material for the leather top was Wild Boar Skin, and unfortunately, the piece Wang Tao had contained two weaknesses, which was a bit frustrating. But since it was the only piece of Level 4 Wild Boar Skin he had, he had no choice but to use it for the crafting. The bones he had prepared earlier would not be needed for now. As for the tusk long knife, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure of its quality yet, but it only needed a single Wild Boar Fang, which deserved a thumbs-up. He had four fangs on hand and could save three of them. Wang Tao took out the necessary materials, and two streams of rainbow light flashed by, resulting in two pieces of equipment appearing at the same time. [Wild Boar Leather Armor Top] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, Defense +70, Mental Defense +30, Weakness to Fire (increased damage from fire), Weakness to Lightning (increased damage from lightning)] The Wild Boar Leather Top was a brown piece of armor and had a wild beauty to it. However, it was regrettable that it couldn¡¯t inlay Crystal Cores and its Suit Attributes were not immediately apparent. Moreover, with two fatal weaknesses... the value of this equipment was greatly discounted, and Wang Tao even felt it was not suitable for his comrades... [Boar Tusk Long Knife] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, Attack Power +70, Comes with a Bleeding effect (requires Awakening Energy)] The Boar Tusk Long Knife was a metallic long knife with a certain degree of curvature, contrasting sharply with the broad Bone Knife Wang Tao was currently using. This knife had better attributes and even carried a Bleeding effect. Though it lacked the 5% increase in attack speed, its overall attributes were stronger. Without any hesitation, this was Wang Tao¡¯s new equipment. Chapter 687 - 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_1 Chapter 687: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_1 Wang Tao played with the Boar Tusk Long Knife a bit, noticing a significant difference in touch compared to the Sharp Bone Blade. But he quickly adapted to it. ¡°Not bad!¡± Lan Yulian had been watching silently by his side, already used to Wang Tao¡¯s various miraculous actions. After Wang Tao finished reviewing all of his combat power, Lan Yulian then leaned on his arm again. ¡°It¡¯s late, time to rest...¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao directly scooped up Lan Yulian, and they both tumbled into the covers. The next day. When Wang Tao woke up, he found that both Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng had already gotten up before him. As for why Lu Yingfeng was there, naturally, she had been called over by Lan Yulian the night before. ¡°Brother, you were too noisy last night!¡± After Wang Tao got up and emerged from his room, he happened to meet Jiang Shixue walking out with Lightning. Jiang Shixue¡¯s face was flushed as she complained to Wang Tao. ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s all Lan Yulian¡¯s fault!¡± Wang Tao quickly blamed her, but Jiang Shixue did not dwell on the matter. After a simple breakfast, Lan Yulian told Wang Tao that they had tested the body of the wild boar monster on smaller animals, and nothing had happened. On the contrary, it seemed like the small animals had evolved to some extent¡ªthey had become stronger! ¡°Hm?¡± Upon hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, Wang Tao¡¯s first reaction was to look at Lightning. He had not yet found a way to enable Lightning¡¯s ascension and wondered... could this be the correct method? Wang Tao had tried many methods before, but none could induce Lightning¡¯s ascension. Additionally, he had hardly encountered any monsters before, and Lightning certainly couldn¡¯t be expected to eat zombies... Suddenly, Wang Tao remembered last night when he made the Night Demon carry back the wild boar monster, Lightning had barked at him twice. Wang Tao thought it was Lightning welcoming him back... A welcome was certainly part of it, but perhaps Lightning had also wanted to eat the wild boar monster! However, Lightning was too well-behaved, and after seeing no reaction from Wang Tao, it had stopped barking. The more Wang Tao thought about it, the more likely it seemed. So he squatted down and hugged Lightning¡¯s head. ¡°Do you want to eat that wild boar from last night?¡± Lightning was very intelligent and could understand some human speech. Even if it didn¡¯t understand, it would guess what was going on from Wang Tao¡¯s expression and gestures. When Wang Tao asked this and even gestured with his hands, Lightning immediately barked twice and wagged its tail frantically. Wang Tao took this as Lightning¡¯s affirmation and immediately said to Lan Yulian: ¡°Jade Lotus, bring over some meat of the wild boar monster!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Shortly after, Lan Yulian came over with a large bowl of raw meat. Since the wild boar monster was not a zombie, there was no need to worry about infection with the virus; as long as its meat was confirmed to be non-toxic, they could eat it. Wang Tao placed the meat in front of Lightning, and it immediately began to drool. ¡°Woof!¡± It was very eager, but since Wang Tao hadn¡¯t given the command, it naturally didn¡¯t start eating. ¡°Eat it!¡± Wang Tao rubbed its head. Upon Wang Tao¡¯s permission, Lightning immediately dove into its meal. Wang Tao watched Lightning closely to see if any negative status indicators would appear above its head. By the time Lightning finished eating the bowl of meat, it was completely safe. Then, somewhat excitedly, Lightning went up to Wang Tao, burrowed into his arms, and then fell asleep. ¡°Ascended?¡± Seeing Lightning¡¯s state, Wang Tao burst into happy laughter. The people around him had all ascended to Level 3, only leaving Lightning, the military dog, still at Level 1. Now, at last, he had found the method for ascension! Wang Tao then told Lan Yulian: ¡°Keep most of that wild boar meat for me; I¡¯m not sure how much Lightning will need to eat. We might need more in the future.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Lan Yulian immediately nodded her head. ¡°Lightning is going to ascend! That¡¯s great!¡± Jiang Shixue stroked Lightning¡¯s fur somewhat relievedly. ¡°It¡¯s truly a good thing we came out this time.¡± Monsters were much less common than zombies. It was very difficult for Wang Tao to encounter them normally. If not for killing the wild boar monster this time, it was uncertain when the next opportunity would arise. Even if Lightning had a chance to ascend later, it was definitely better for it to ascend sooner rather than later. Wang Tao had originally planned to return to the military base today. Although there were many zombies at Zijin Base, they were not a great threat without the presence of four-level zombies. In contrast, it would be a big trouble at the military base if, without Wang Tao present, the four-level zombies in Wuyang City¡¯s urban area moved there. However, since Lightning had ascended, he decided to wait another day, which didn¡¯t bother him. Wang Tao made contact with the military base. Yang Changhong told him that everything was fine there; they had taken Ding Yuqin and a few others to hunt zombies in the surrounding area and had made quite a bounty. The zombies within the urban area of Wuyang City were mostly inactive, staying put within the city. Regarding the matter of contacting the base that Ding Yuqin and the others had mentioned, they were still busy with it, with no progress made for the time being. But this was also because many underground lines were damaged and had not been repaired yet. If they could fix these lines, there was a chance they might establish contact. Wang Tao was not disappointed; it would be best to establish contact, but if it couldn¡¯t be done, there was no helping it. He set his expectations very low. After ending the communication with Yang Changhong, Wang Tao had nothing else to do, so he prepared to take Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng out to kill zombies. Last night, Wang Tao had used the Crystal Core to level up their Abilities to Level 3 +10, but their HP had not yet reached one hundred thousand. So, he took them out to boost their HP. There were many zombies outside the base. They haven¡¯t seen any Level 3 Lords yet, but there were Level 3 Elites, which were enough for them to increase their HP. Chapter 688 - 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_2 Chapter 688: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_2 Wang Tao also carefully observed to see if there were any Night Demon¡¯s Nests, as he had seen many Night Demons last night. There must be a nest here, but sadly he found none. However, starting from noon, Wang Tao felt that the Level 3 Zombies seemed to be increasing in number, and by the afternoon, he had already encountered several Level 3, Zombie Lords. With the help of these Level 3, Zombie Lords, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng both reached the 100,000 HP limit. The pace was definitely fast, but Wang Tao¡¯s expression was very serious. ¡°These zombies are not quite right...¡± Wang Tao felt that there were more zombies than before, and Level 3 and above were appearing more frequently. Moreover, their aggressiveness had strengthened¡ªWang Tao, to save trouble, had administered the Stealth Potion to both women. Normally, after taking a Stealth Potion, as long as you don¡¯t get too close to zombies, they can¡¯t detect you. But now, these zombies were coming from afar. It wasn¡¯t that they had discovered the three individuals who had used the Stealth Potion, rather they seemed to want to come over and pick a fight! Wang Tao had just seen zombies fighting each other! Normally, zombies should be more or less harmonious... Could there be a Wild Boar Monster? That shouldn¡¯t be the case, as Wang Tao had not sensed the presence of a Level 4. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s Perception was not that sharp. But Lu Yingfeng was also frowning a little. ¡°I feel like there¡¯s something off about the zombies...¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s head back first!¡± Carrying the two women, Wang Tao quickly ran towards Zijin Base. They had just run quite a distance while hunting a Level 3, Zombie Lord, and could no longer see the base. The closer they got to the base, the more Lan Yulian began to frown. She often observed the zombies around the base. Although she wasn¡¯t clear on exactly how many zombies besieged it, she could still feel a rough density of zombies around. Now, even before they reached the base, she felt it was getting crowded with zombies! This density was at least two or three times more than before, which meant that the number of zombies had increased! Zijing City was already filled with zombies, and their numbers were increasing? By the time Wang Tao and the two women returned to Zijin Base, all three of their faces looked grim. Because the number of zombies surrounding the base outside had indeed increased a lot! And everywhere, there were Level 3 Elite Zombies, with more than a dozen Level 3, Zombie Lords! ¡°Why are there so many more zombies...¡± ¡°Either they came from other places, or the zombies of Zijing City have all found out about this place and are rushing over!¡± Wang Tao felt the second possibility was more likely. After all, Zijing City was huge, and it was impossible for all the zombies to spot the location of Zijin Base. Most of the zombies were scattered elsewhere. Now it seems that somehow they¡¯ve discovered the base and are heading this way. ¡°What should we do...¡± Seeing so many zombies, Lan Yulian was slightly panicked. If these zombies really coordinated an attack on the high walls of the base, the walls might not hold up... ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll go take care of those Level 3, Zombie Lords first,¡± Wang Tao said. Because there were too many zombies here, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let someone watch the gate from inside but directly used special Tendrils to grab the protrusions on the wall and, like a spider spitting silk, sent the two women inside. His Tendrils were now twenty meters long, enough to get over the wall without any issue. After sending the women in, Wang Tao directly jumped into the crowd of zombies and activated Entangling Roots. At this point, the Entangling Roots weapon was not really suitable for Wang Tao to fight with Level 4 or higher zombies or monsters. That¡¯s because the Entangling Roots was Level 3. The disadvantage of fighting with Level 4 was not a minor one¡ªperhaps after a few hits, Wang Tao would be fine, but the Entangling Roots would be done for. Just like in the previous battle with a Level 4 Night Demon, the Night Demon swiped away more than 10,000 HP from the Entangling Roots in one claw strike. But with Wang Tao¡¯s current defensive power, the Night Demon could only take about 1,000 HP from him. The Attributes added by the Entangling Roots were not significant in front of a Level 4. Not to mention, when Wang Tao used Starfire Prairie, the Entangling Roots couldn¡¯t be utilized either. So, the Entangling Roots might become a burden to Wang Tao in fights with Level 4. However, that doesn¡¯t mean the Entangling Roots were completely useless. In confronting a large number of Level 4 and below zombies, the Entangling Roots were still very useful¡ªit could wrap Wang Tao all around, preventing him from being attacked by zombies, to avoid infection. Wang Tao then could confidently dish out attacks! Thump! Wang Tao landed squarely in the midst of the zombies. A curved long knife appeared in his hand instantly, slashing through the void in front of him. [-30000] [-42000] [-35000] [-38000] [-50000] [...] A vast number of Level 3 Ordinary Zombies were instantly killed by the Shockwave! None of the Level 3 Ordinary Zombies could withstand a blow from Wang Tao, and even the Level 3 Elite Zombies could at most withstand two hits from him. But Wang Tao¡¯s target wasn¡¯t them; it was the more than a dozen Level 3, Zombie Lords. Wang Tao quickly picked up the loot that dropped around him and appeared in front of one of the Level 3, Zombie Lords, unleashing a Continuous Slash. [-20606] [-19394] This Level 3, Zombie Lord only had 40,000 HP and was instantly killed by Wang Tao! He quickly picked up the loot and then rushed toward another Level 3 zombie, executing another Continuous Slash. Continuous Slash proved to be effective against zombies that were not as strong as him but still had a significant amount of HP. Chapter 689 - 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_3 Chapter 689: Chapter 280: Frenzy of the Dead Tide_3 [-21383] [-20948] [-2138] [-2094] It was still two strikes, each dealing twenty thousand HP, but this Level 3, Lord Zombie had fifty thousand HP, so Wang Tao¡¯s Continuous Slash couldn¡¯t kill it instantly. However, Wang Tao¡¯s longsword had a Bleeding attribute. The damage from the bleed was roughly a tenth of the damage of each strike, causing the Level 3, Lord Zombie to instantly lose over four thousand HP! In the blink of an eye, it was down to a little over three thousand HP. But this Bleeding effect wasn¡¯t a one-time occurrence, it lasted for two seconds, losing about a tenth of its HP every second! Consequently, two more damage numbers popped up above the head of the Level 3, Lord Zombie. [-2138] [-1299] [0/50000] HP depleted! ¡°This sword is so satisfying!¡± Before, when Wang Tao was with Jade Lotus and the others, farming HP, he didn¡¯t use this longsword out of fear of killing the zombies in one hit. Now, this was the first time he used it. This Bleeding effect lasted for two seconds with each strike, the initial bleed damage occurring simultaneously with the strike, resulting in three bleed events in two seconds. And since each bleeding damage was roughly a tenth of the strike¡¯s damage, that amounted to an extra 30% damage per strike! Wang Tao charged towards the other zombies once more. Protected by the Entangling Roots, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to care about attacks from zombies below Level 4, he just cut his way through! It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to take care of the remaining Level 3, Lord Zombies. After dealing with some Level 3, Elite Zombies, he then returned to the base. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Jade Lotus and a few others were waiting for him on top of the wall. As Wang Tao approached, Jade Lotus, without lingering, hastily handed him the binoculars. Wang Tao looked in the direction she indicated. ¡°Damn!¡± The thrilling sensation of instantly killing those Level 3, Lords vanished instantly. In the direction Jade Lotus pointed, a vast number of zombies were approaching! ¡°This number... It must be hundreds of thousands, even millions...¡± Jade Lotus¡¯ lips trembled as she spoke. There was no way to count the exact number of zombies because the horde was truly endless. Previously, during the zombie horde event, there were at least hundreds of thousands of zombies surrounding Zijin Base! Today, when Wang Tao took them out to hunt zombies, more arrived near the base! And now, there was a continuous stream of them heading this way! Especially since many Mad Demon Zombies were seen dashing towards them. Mad Demons can climb walls! Although the outer wall of the base wasn¡¯t short, under normal circumstances, Mad Demon Zombies couldn¡¯t climb into it, but what if the base of the wall was filled with zombies... They really weren¡¯t giving their base any chance to survive! Jade Lotus instinctively grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°Wang Tao... what do we do...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t panic.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brain began to operate frantically. Zijin Base had the protection of high walls, so it would definitely be able to withstand the zombies for a short time. But the premise was that they had to clear the Mad Demons, Elites, Lords, and such. Mad Demon Zombies could climb walls, and Elite and Lord Zombies might have some unforeseen Special Abilities, so these had to be dealt with first. As for the Ordinary Zombies, they posed no threat for the time being, but the most significant threat might come from them later on. There were just too many of them! Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they could eventually knock down the high walls, especially since the base was only half-finished, with many parts of the wall being reinforcements and nowhere near as firm as originally designed. Of course, there was also the greatest hidden threat: the Four-level zombies! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t yet seen any Four-level zombies, but with so many zombies around, he wouldn¡¯t believe for a second there were none among them. And the strength of the Four-level zombies varied; if it was a Flame Monster, Wild Boar Monster, or a Black Skin Night Demon, Wang Tao could handle them. But if a Four-level zombie appeared that he couldn¡¯t handle... ¡°We can¡¯t hold them off. Be prepared to retreat at any moment.¡± Wang Tao spoke with a calm expression. ¡°...Is there really no other way?¡± Jade Lotus¡¯ face turned pale. There were twenty thousand people in Zijin Base! Wang Tao did not respond. Zombies were endless, and there was no escape from Zijin Base. Even if they could hold on, the base would eventually be overrun by zombies. Unless the number of zombies was fixed and they could be killed off slowly, or Wang Tao had another way out, leading everyone to break out of the base and fight to the death. Otherwise, staying here would be a slow death ¡ª no, given the current scale of the zombie horde, it might be a swift one! Jade Lotus clearly understood this too, but as the leader of the base, she didn¡¯t want to retreat without a fight. She wanted to protect these people, the children who had been born only days ago, but... she was helplessly powerless. Tears welled up in Jade Lotus¡¯ eyes, while Ying Feng sighed and started eyeing Jade Lotus unintentionally. She knew Jade Lotus was a person with strong convictions but also a bit soft-hearted. There was a possibility that Jade Lotus would choose to stay and perish with the base... Ying Feng didn¡¯t want Jade Lotus to die, and she knew Wang Tao didn¡¯t either. If Wang Tao truly wanted to take Jade Lotus away and she disagreed, Ying Feng would help knock Jade Lotus out! For Jade Lotus¡¯ safety, she was willing to be the villain. Looking at Jade Lotus¡¯ somewhat desperate yet stubborn face, Wang Tao thought for a moment and then said. ¡°You guys start organizing people to kill the zombies. I¡¯ll contact the military base.¡± Wang Tao had never thought of himself as particularly clever or strong enough to be a savior. But if there really was a chance, he definitely wouldn¡¯t want to give up! Wang Tao soon got in touch with the military base, prepared to tell Wei Zhenguo and the others about the situation here to see if they had any ideas. But before he could speak, Han Rui¡¯s excited voice rang out first. ¡°Wang Tao! We¡¯ve made contact with the base to the west! It¡¯s a super-large Survivor Base!¡± Chapter 690 - 281 Disaster Class_1 "A super huge Survivor Base? Where exactly is it located? What¡¯s the situation? Don¡¯t rush, take your time explaining!" Wang Tao was somewhat excited. Enjoy new adventures from novelhall.Co?m Could there really be a large-scale Survivor Base? This sudden revelation gave Wang Tao a feeling of not being alone anymore! "That Survivor Base is in West Province, it¡¯s a super large-scale Survivor Base organized and constructed by the Government! It¡¯s called Changhe City Base!" Han Rui immediately explained. "West Province? Changhe City Base?" Wang Tao was a bit surprised, but after thinking it over, not as surprised. Although West Province wasn¡¯t the westernmost province of Qian Country, it was located in the west, a place with high altitude, a lagging economy, and sparse population. Fewer people meant fewer zombies, naturally the safety was relatively higher. It made sense to build a large-scale Survivor Base in such a place. However, there was a thousand kilometers between West Province and Wuyang Province... That was really far! "As for how big the base city actually is, even their own people can¡¯t say for sure because the base is continuously expanding. Plus, various survivor forces have joined this base, including the Rush Army, Hope Research Institute, Northern Sea Union, and other large forces... They now have hundreds of thousands of survivors there!" Han Rui spoke of these survivor forces, most of which Wang Tao had never heard of; he only knew about the Hope Research Institute. The Hope Research Institute was no small feat; the Inhibitors were researched by them! The military base here had been in contact with them before, but the communication eventually broke off. But wasn¡¯t the Hope Research Institute in the northern Capital City? Moving from the Capital to the west? How could they traverse such a long distance? Of course, all these things weren¡¯t the main point. The main point was that Changhe City Base was very big, had a large population, and was surrounded by few zombies, making it a very good Survivor Base! Han Rui continued to explain: "Changhe City Base says that recently, there have been large numbers of zombie hordes appearing everywhere. Hiding outside is most likely waiting for death, taking the initiative to attack still has a slim chance. There, they don¡¯t have zombie hordes, it¡¯s much safer... so they¡¯re inviting us over and will provide us with food, safety, and even work..." Wang Tao frowned. "As long as we know the exact location, there is a chance to go there, but..." Zijing City Base still had more than twenty thousand people! Could he really leave all these people behind and escape alone? "There are also many details we haven¡¯t clarified, because the signal was lost. Old Wei said it was a problem with our lines here, it¡¯s currently being repaired, and communication should be restored soon..." "Okay, let me know once the communication is reestablished." "Sure!" After ending the call with Han Rui, Wang Tao called over Lan Yulian and the others. "Han Rui got in touch with a large-scale Survivor Base, called Changhe City Base. It¡¯s said to be very safe there, no zombie hordes. The people there have also invited us over..." Wang Tao repeated to them what Han Rui had just told him. "A large-scale Survivor Base! That place doesn¡¯t have zombie hordes?!" Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes initially lit up. But once she heard that the base was in West Province, the light in her eyes dimmed instantly. Such a distance was impossible to traverse! Even if the planes could get there, there were still so many people in the base... Lan Yulian stopped talking, her body slumped as if deflated. Wang Tao put his arm around her shoulders and comforted her: "Don¡¯t lose heart, I¡¯ll think of another way." "Mhm..." Lan Yulian murmured softly. She was starting to feel desperate. She knew it wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to save the survivors of Zijing Base, but that there really was no way to save them! How could more than twenty thousand people possibly reach West Province? She even felt that helicopters might not be able to make it over... After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao said: "Once Lightning wakes up, I¡¯ll make a trip back to the military base." "Mhm." That evening, Wang Tao didn¡¯t wait for a message from Han Rui. He took the initiative to ask and was told that the line problems hadn¡¯t been fixed yet. So, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went out again to hunt several Level 3, Lord zombies. However, they didn¡¯t encounter any Four-level zombies. Without Four-level zombies, Zijing Base could still hold on for a while. The next morning, Lightning woke up. "Woof! Woof! Woof!" After waking up, Lightning had clearly grown bigger and become much stronger. Seeing Wang Tao, it immediately rubbed excitedly against him. Lightning¡¯s HP had reached [5000/5000], successfully ascending to Level 2. Wang Tao patted Lightning¡¯s head, then turned to Lan Yulian: "Will you come with me to the military base?" "..." Lan Yulian remained silent. She knew that if Wang Tao really insisted on taking her, she couldn¡¯t resist. But her silence expressed her stance¡ªshe wasn¡¯t unwilling to go; she didn¡¯t want to leave so many survivors behind to die. Wang Tao stood up, patted Lan Yulian on the shoulder. "I¡¯m leaving first, if there¡¯s any danger, or if there¡¯s a suspicion of Four-level zombies appearing, contact me immediately." "Okay!" Vrrrrr¡ª Wang Tao and his group left Zijing Base. Lan Yulian watched the plane leave. Suddenly, she turned to Lu Yingfeng beside her: "If Wang Tao had insisted on taking me just now, and I had refused, were you planning to knock me out, tie me up, and take me away?" "Yes." Lu Yingfeng admitted it straightforwardly. "...Sigh!" Lan Yulian gave Lu Yingfeng a fierce stare, but in the end, she heaved a helpless sigh. Chapter 691 - 281 Disaster Class_2 ``` How can this predicament be solved... Do we really have to give up on these people... Aboard the helicopter. Watching the densely packed zombies below, Wang Tao also sighed. "With so many zombies, even if they just stood there without fighting back, I couldn¡¯t kill them all..." Zijing City has a population of a million, you can imagine the number of zombies. Plus, there are those that have come from other places... There¡¯s just no way to stop them! Not to mention the existence of terrifying species like the Giant Zombie, no matter how tough the walls of Zijin Base are, they can¡¯t stand against them. If a large number of zombies attack Zijin Base at the same time, or if the Giant Zombie comes, then Zijin Base would definitely fall... "It¡¯s a pity that there are no lethal weapons in the military base, otherwise missiles or even small nukes would definitely solve the crisis. Even if this would lead to some escaping and becoming stronger, we can¡¯t care about the future anymore..." He Jijun spoke with some regret. The constitution of these zombies is very particular, and military bases have conducted experiments before. If lethal weapons, especially nukes, are used against the zombies, any that slip through would become even stronger! Of course, these are issues to consider after the attack. If there really are insurmountable problems, then using lethal weapons isn¡¯t out of the question. Future issues can be dealt with in the future, at least for now, we can survive. But the problem is, the military base doesn¡¯t have such weapons... It¡¯s just bad luck. After some time, the helicopter safely returned to the military base. Although many zombies were spotted along the way, there was no encounter with a Giant Zombie, and the one previously seen moving east from Wuyang City had disappeared. This allowed Wang Tao to breathe a sigh of relief for now, as long as the Giant Zombie doesn¡¯t go to Zijing Base, the base can still hold out for a while. Humming¡ª¡ª After the plane landed, Ding Yuqin and a few others were waiting outside. "Wang Tao!" Ding Yuqin rushed over and embraced Wang Tao. Experience new stories on novelhall.Co?m "Have you made contact?" Wang Tao asked. He was naturally referring to Changhe Base City to the west. "Not yet, these lines are complicated to fix, but Old Wei said that we should be able to make contact today!" "That¡¯s good!" Wang Tao arrived at the command center and then gathered everyone to discuss the situation of Zijing City Base. "What? Twenty thousand survivors!" Hearing that there were twenty thousand survivors in Zijing Base, everyone was genuinely pleased. But hearing that the entire Zijing Base was surrounded by a tide of zombies, with no way out except by helicopter, and that the base itself might fall... everyone¡¯s faces turned gloomy again. If Zijing Base isn¡¯t safe, it would be best to move the survivors there to Changhe City Base. But their helicopters were only so big and couldn¡¯t carry that many people! Even if the previous military transport plane hadn¡¯t crashed, it could at most carry a couple of hundred people... This was a drop in the bucket for twenty thousand survivors. Everyone¡¯s gaze subconsciously turned to Wang Tao. They knew Wang Tao¡¯s character and moral fiber, back at Shuize Base, they would have been dead if he hadn¡¯t taken the initiative to stand up. But at least there was a glimmer of hope back then, and Wang Tao had a chance to fight for his life. But now, in this situation, Zijing Base might be said to have no chance at all! Unless all these zombies dispersed and no Level 4 zombies appeared... which clearly was impossible. So, what was Wang Tao planning to do? Squeezing onto the helicopter could add a few more seats, but that¡¯s all... "I am planning to go to the urban area." Wang Tao said to the others. "To hunt Level 4 zombies?" Ding Yuqin asked tentatively. "Yes. To tell you the truth, I don¡¯t know how to save those twenty thousand survivors right now. But I do know that strength is fundamental. With strength, there are ways to resolve issues; without it, everything is but empty talk. So we need to enhance our abilities! Before the greatest crisis arrives, we must improve our strength as much as possible!" Wang Tao said with determination in his eyes. Currently, he was the only Fourth-order Superpower, and their strength was limited. But if they could have a few more Fourth-order Ability Users, or even if everyone reached Level 4, then they might be able to solve the problem¡ªlet¡¯s not mention anything else, at least they would be able to fend off many Four-level zombies, and might even be able to hunt the Giant Zombie! "Enhance our strength!" Everyone clenched their fists as well. "Little Xue, Old He, Little Jun, Han Rui..." Wang Tao picked a few people to join him. As for the others, they stayed in the base; some repaired the lines, some maintained contact with Lan Yulian¡¯s side, and some hunted the surrounding zombies to increase their HP. Nobody was idle. The helicopter, just refueled, took off from the military base once more and flew towards the urban area of Wuyang City. From a distance, Wang Tao could see the Giant Zombie. "These Giant Zombies are not returning to the city center anymore! They keep lingering on the outskirts of the urban area..." Wang Tao was somewhat distressed. The Giant Zombies would obstruct their path, causing them to waste a lot of time. Time was of the essence now, and wasting time was wasting life. Moreover, with the Giant Zombies lingering on the outskirts of the city, there was a chance they might leave the urban area at any moment. With at least a dozen Giants in the Wuyang City urban area, if they all came out... not to mention the military base, even Zijing Base would be doomed! "No choice, we have to take a detour." He Jijun piloted the helicopter away from the area. After several detours, they finally found a spot without any Giant Zombies. ``` Chapter 692 - 281 Disaster Class_3 Chapter 692: Chapter 281 Disaster Class_3 After the plane entered the urban area of Wuyang City, Wang Tao could clearly feel that the zombies here were more active. Under normal circumstances, if it was raining, during the daytime, and no one was disturbing them, these zombies would stand in the rain in a daze. Because the rain was beneficial to them, it was like they were absorbing nutrients. But now, the zombies in the rain appeared to be very excited and lively, resembling their nocturnal counterparts, as if they had been buffed with frenzy. But it was daytime... Wang Tao had no idea what chaos nighttime would bring here. Wang Tao maximized his Plant Affinity and Perception abilities, carefully searching every corner of this place. He currently had two Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores on hand, and if he could get two more, he would have the capital to train another Awakener! With one more Fourth-order Superpower, their combat power would increase. Moreover, killing Level 4 Zombie Lords would grant him Advanced Special Energy, which could boost his chances of success for a Second Awakening, giving him the opportunity to undergo it! Not to mention that killing Level 4 zombies would yield various items and equipment. This could also enhance everyone¡¯s strength. Anyway, no matter what, he was determined to slay the Level 4 zombies in Wuyang City! But... the more he wanted to find something, the harder it seemed to find. Wang Tao thought there should be quite a few Level 4 Zombie Lords in the urban area of Wuyang City, considering the number of Giant Zombies, it would be normal to have Level 4 Zombie Lords as well. However, after searching all afternoon, flying to the city center, he found nothing. He didn¡¯t even locate the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. He did find a Mad Demon Lair, but upon perceiving it, Wang Tao found that the Mad Demon Lair only had Mad demons of similar strength and no Level 4 Lord Mad demons. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go back.¡± As it was getting dark, Wang Tao had no choice but to head back home. ¡°Hm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt his Plant Affinity detected a huge figure. This figure was very large, but it was definitely not a Giant Zombie! But just after Wang Tao perceived this figure, it disappeared from his Perception. Wang Tao thought the figure had evaded his Perception, but after testing it again, he realized it wasn¡¯t that the giant figure had hidden; instead, the medium of his Perception¡ªthe plants¡ªhad died! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± This was Wang Tao¡¯s first encounter with such a situation. When he used Plant Affinity to perceive zombies, he had encountered zombies suddenly dying or fleeing, but he had never encountered the death of plants! After all, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity wasn¡¯t limited to using just one kind of plant for Perception; he could use most plants. He had been using a large area of moss, and there was a lot of it scattered over a wide range. But in that moment just now, all of that moss died! ¡°Could it be that the figure sensed my Perception and eradicated all these plants?¡± Wang Tao quickly shared his discovery with everyone. ¡°Could it be there¡¯s a zombie with a Perception ability especially strong, or maybe there¡¯s a zombie with a Hidden Ability similar to yours?¡± Han Rui analyzed with a frown. ¡°Not sure...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then said to He Jijun, ¡°Old He, don¡¯t go yet, I want to see what¡¯s really going on.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The helicopter didn¡¯t leave but started circling nearby. Wang Tao meticulously used his [Plant Affinity] and [Perception] Superpower to ¡°look¡± at the surrounding situation. Soon, Wang Tao made a discovery. ¡°Found it again! But... the plants are dying!¡± The very moment Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability perceived the huge figure, the plants around the figure died! Moreover, more and more plants were dying! It seemed like wherever this huge figure went, the plants there would die! Wang Tao could only judge the position of that huge figure from the brief information of the plants before their death. Wang Tao ¡°saw¡± more and more plants dying, and the direction of these deaths... was toward their helicopter! ¡°It seems to be coming! Be alert!¡± Wang Tao immediately called out a warning. The others couldn¡¯t see anything but were ready for battle. ¡°Click, clack, click, clack...¡± Suddenly, a clicking sound came from inside the helicopter. Although the propeller noise was loud, it could not cover up this clicking because the sound came through the headset. And the sound was getting faster and more urgent. ¡°Clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety-clack¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s that noise?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled, and the others were also confused. But upon hearing the rapid clicking, He Jijun, without a word, yanked the control stick, causing the plane to ascend rapidly! After Wang Tao¡¯s inquiry, he shouted loudly, ¡°The Geiger counter on the plane is going off! Radiation! A large amount of radiation has appeared!¡± ¡°Ah? Radiation?¡± Everyone was somewhat puzzled, wondering how radiation could be involved at this time. Could there be some kind of nuclear leak? Boom¡ª Just then, a building below the helicopter suddenly collapsed. The Geiger counter¡¯s noise grew even more frantic. Wang Tao and the others quickly looked down and saw a huge figure slowly emerging from a cloud of dust! ¡°God! What the hell is that!¡± Seeing the figure, everyone felt a tingling on their scalps. It was a giant monstrosity in the shape of a meatball, made up of countless zombies, animals, and even mechanical parts! The spot it emerged from seemed to be a subway entrance, with nearby buildings completely destroyed. The zombies around it were collapsing in waves, and the green plants nearby were withering at a visible rate! This meatball had many pairs of eyes, all staring dead at the helicopter, watching everyone get goosebumps and stiffening their bodies. A terrorizing aura directly intimidated everyone! When Wang Tao saw the meatball¡¯s HP bar, he broke out in a cold sweat. [HP: 1000000/1000000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 5 ¨C Disaster] [Cataclysmic Awakening: Radiation] [Radiation: Carrying a large amount of radiation] Chapter 693 - 282: Radiation Zombies_1 Chapter 693: Chapter 282: Radiation Zombies_1 When this fleshy zombie appeared, not only did the plants near it wither away, but the zombies around it were also rapidly losing HP! In an instant, the HP bars of all the zombies around it got wiped out! Wang Tao broke out in a cold sweat the moment he saw the specific attributes of this fleshy zombie. One million HP bars¡ªthis was the zombie with the highest HP he had ever seen! Moreover, it wasn¡¯t Level 4, but a Level 5 Zombie! Level 5... Disaster! Disaster Class! Wang Tao had never seen this level before; it was obviously a tier above Lord Rank. It didn¡¯t have Mana, so it probably didn¡¯t have Ability, but it had a Cataclysmic Awakening Radiation¡ªit carried a large amount of radiation! No wonder all those plants and zombies died! ¡°Click, click, click¡ª¡± Inside the helicopter, the Geiger counter continued to buzz, and Wang Tao saw that everyone, including himself, had a negative status appearing above their heads. [Radiation: Your body has been lightly irradiated; resting for some time will restore you to normal.] [-100] [-100] [-100] [...] Good lord, losing 100 HP per second is considered light radiation? Then what would moderate or severe radiation look like? And to think we could be irradiated from such a distance, from such a height? ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here! It¡¯s a Level 5 zombie carrying a large amount of radiation!¡± Wang Tao shouted immediately. ¡°Level 5 Zombie!¡± Everyone exclaimed in shock. They had barely seen any Level 4 zombies, and now a Level 5 had appeared? Could the evolution speed be any more terrifying! He Jijun had already begun to ascend the helicopter when he heard the Geiger counter, but he didn¡¯t know the specifics, so he was waiting for Wang Tao¡¯s update. Now, hearing it was a Level 5 Zombie carrying a large amount of radiation, he didn¡¯t say a second word, turned the helicopter around, and left without looking back! The fleshy zombie presumably did not have a Ranged Attack ability. Upon seeing the helicopter flying away, the heads on its body let out reluctant roars before it sank back into the subway tunnel. After the fleshy zombie left, all that remained was silence. Aboard the helicopter, once Wang Tao saw that the fleshy zombie had re-entered the underground, he finally put down the binoculars. ¡°It probably didn¡¯t follow us.¡± Upon hearing this, the others did not relax. ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay? I keep feeling a bit uncomfortable...¡± Han Rui gripped Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. We¡¯ve been irradiated, but the symptoms are mild and will soon pass.¡± Wang Tao grasped Han Rui¡¯s hand back. The helicopter had left the spot where the fleshy zombie appeared, but they were still continuously losing HP! Although it wasn¡¯t as much as losing 100 HP per second as before, it was still a loss of dozens of points. Thankfully, the number was slowly decreasing. Otherwise, even if they had 100,000 HP, they couldn¡¯t sustain continuous HP loss! ¡°We might have gotten some radiation on the plane, we¡¯ll have to wash it after we get back, and we¡¯ll have to decontaminate ourselves too...¡± He Jijun spoke up at that moment. He clearly had some experience in this area. ¡°That zombie was too terrifying...¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head and said. He was the straightforward type. While he would fear zombies, he typically wouldn¡¯t openly express fear or terror. But this time, he genuinely felt afraid. Even though everyone except Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see their HP bars or that they were losing HP, they clearly felt physically unwell and could vaguely sense their Life Energy diminishing! If they had stayed there any longer, even if the zombie didn¡¯t attack them, they felt they might have died! It was everyone¡¯s first time encountering such a zombie. If they felt so terrible from so far away, wouldn¡¯t they just drop dead if they got any closer? ¡°Indeed terrifying!¡± Wang Tao nodded. Considering the fact that they were losing 100 HP per second even from such a distance, if they got any closer, it could be 1,000 or even 10,000! They probably would die on the spot! At that moment, as if something had dawned on Wang Tao, he suddenly spoke: ¡°I think I understand now why those Giant Zombies aren¡¯t in the center of the urban area but have moved to the outskirts...¡± With that reminder, everyone understood. Considering the scope of death among the plants and zombies around the fleshy zombie when it appeared, it¡¯s likely that the Giant Zombies were also afraid of this radiation, so they were forced to leave the city center! After all, the radiation carried by the fleshy zombie was unreasonably strong! It didn¡¯t even need to lift a finger; just by standing there, it could cause a massive amount of death! If they got any closer, even those Giants with several hundred thousand HP might not be able to withstand it! ¡°Disaster Class... this is a disaster, isn¡¯t it...¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. Disaster, the name truly matches the reality! After some time, the helicopter finally left Wuyang City¡¯s urban area. Upon departing, they were spotted by a Giant Zombie, which immediately started to chase after them. He Jijun directed the helicopter in the opposite direction of the military base to shake off the Giant Zombie before flying towards the military base. It was already night by the time they returned to the military base. The journey went smoothly without any mishaps. After the helicopter landed, He Jijun immediately led everyone in washing down the helicopter to remove any remaining radiation. Then Wang Tao and the others took a bath with soap, took some iodine tablets, and other medicines, and the HP loss above their heads finally stopped. ¡°Phew¡ªfinally feeling a lot more relaxed...¡± Chapter 694 - 282: Radiation Zombies_2 Chapter 694: Chapter 282: Radiation Zombies_2 Han Rui was helping Wang Tao get dressed as she spoke. ¡°These zombies are truly terrifying!¡± If it weren¡¯t for their flight in the sky, if it weren¡¯t for He Jijun¡¯s quick reactions, if it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s decisive evacuation... If they had been any closer, or a bit slower, the trouble would have been great! The two of them left the room together, and then Wang Tao called everyone over to tell them about the radiation zombies. ¡°Level 5? Disaster Class...¡± ¡°Zombies carrying a significant amount of radiation...¡± ¡°Just approaching them can lead to death...¡± Upon hearing this news, everyone looked shocked and their faces turned grim. They had yet to understand the Four-level zombies, and now a Level 5 disaster zombie had appeared? How were they supposed to survive this! ¡°This Level 5 zombie, I feel it might be related to the small-yield nuclear bomb mentioned in the military base log...¡± Wei Zhenguo suddenly said at this moment. There were many important pieces of information in the military base¡¯s logs, which Wang Tao had shared with Wei Zhenguo and the others. ¡°It¡¯s possible!¡± Wang Tao nodded thoughtfully. The log mentioned that the previous small nuclear bomb had melted a large number of zombies within its range, with only one zombie surviving the ordeal. This zombie had mutated and later caused a lot of trouble for the military base, fortunately being killed in the end. But now, reviewing the log, Wang Tao felt that they had missed something. Could that zombie have hidden in the sewers or the subway? It first underwent radiation mutation, and was then exposed to numerous episodes of corrosive acid rain... and now it had evolved into an even more terrifying disaster-level zombie! ¡°The military base... we can¡¯t stay here for long!¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. This place was already coveted by Giant Zombies, which could attack the base at any moment, and now they faced swarm attacks, zombie frenzy, and even Level 5 disaster zombies! All of these were telling Wang Tao that the military base was no longer safe to stay in! He couldn¡¯t afford to take his chances; otherwise, when danger really struck, it might be too late to run. Especially if all these threats arrived at once¡ªthe zombie swarm, Giant Zombies, plus a radiation zombie¡ªthey could flatten the military base in an instant! After all, the base¡¯s defences weren¡¯t bolstered by high walls or anything of the like, relying on modern weapons. But those weapons had been exhausted previously, leaving nearly nothing in stock. As for hunting the Four-level Lord zombies, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even want to think about that now. Under these circumstances, there was no way to go after them. Considering it was a Level 5 disaster zombie, if Wang Tao ran into it, he felt certain he would be dead... Upon hearing Wang Tao say they couldn¡¯t stay any longer, Ding Yuqin immediately asked in a low voice: ¡°So, are we heading to Zijin Base or Changhe City Base?¡± She knew Wang Tao was in a dilemma, but a decision had to be made regardless. Before Wang Tao could speak, Nie Siyan suddenly came running over. ¡°Brother Wang! The lines have been fixed! We¡¯ve reestablished contact with Changhe City Base!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao immediately got up and went to the communication room, picking up the microphone. ¡°Hello, this is Wuyang Military Base, I¡¯m survivor Wang Tao.¡± ¡°Shzz... Hello, I¡¯m operator Li Ping. We¡¯ve finally gotten back in touch with you! We thought you might have already...¡± A very excited female voice came from the other end, which relaxed after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s voice, then she quickly added. ¡°Can you leave Wuyang City now? We¡¯ve observed that the zombies are becoming increasingly frenzied recently, and if you don¡¯t escape soon, it might really be too late!¡± Hearing her words, Wang Tao asked: ¡°I want to know, on the route from Wuyang City to your base city, are there any large zombies, like the Giant Zombies? If so, could you suggest a safe path for us? Our plane is quite vulnerable to Giant Zombies...¡± Wang Tao was informed about the situation with the Giant Zombies through a previous conversation with Han Rui. These were not unique to Wuyang City; people in Changhe City Base had also encountered them, but not near the base city. ¡°Ah? You still have a functional plane?¡± Han Rui hadn¡¯t mentioned this before, and Li Ping seemed surprised, but then as though realizing something, she quickly spoke up, ¡°I¡¯ll provide you with an aerial route, it should be relatively safe, but please, don¡¯t fly too high!¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Li Ping immediately explained: ¡°Not long after the apocalypse began, the satellites stopped working; they had been destroyed by a strange energy! Afterward, this energy began to descend, and any electronic devices hit by this energy would malfunction, including planes flying high above! According to our tests, currently, if you fly above three thousand meters, planes will develop problems and lose control! So please, don¡¯t fly too high. We recommend staying below two thousand meters, ideally around one thousand meters!¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth but found himself speechless. Flying high could cause a loss of control? It was no wonder that the transport plane had suddenly gone out of control¡ªthat time, He Jijun had instinctively flown higher when they encountered the Giant Zombie. And indeed, that transport plane was capable of reaching great heights. As for helicopters, He Jijun usually didn¡¯t fly very high, about one thousand meters up, since Wang Tao needed to observe the zombies on the ground; flying higher would prevent him from seeing them. Sometimes they would fly as low as a hundred meters, like when they were searching for Level 4 zombies in urban areas... Wang Tao had thought that the area where the transport plane crashed was a No-fly Zone. Now he had finally figured it out¡ªall of high altitude was a No-fly Zone! Chapter 695 - 282: Radiation Zombies_3 "So that¡¯s the situation. If only we could have contacted you earlier, we¡¯ve already lost a military transport plane..." Wang Tao said somewhat helplessly. "...Condolences." Li Ping was silent for a moment, she had thought that all the crew members on Wang Tao¡¯s side had perished. After all, flying above three thousand meters and suddenly losing control was practically a death sentence. Even with parachutes, it might be too late¡ªthe military transport wasn¡¯t a fighter, lacking specialized ejection seats... Wang Tao wasn¡¯t aware of this little misunderstanding, and he asked about some issues concerning Changhe City Base. Li Ping was forthcoming with all she knew, and an image of a huge Survivor Base began to form in Wang Tao¡¯s mind. A city with a large population, strong combat capabilities, and no formidable zombies nearby! Wang Tao could already confirm that this was the base he was looking for! Wang Tao also gave a brief description of the situation in Wuyang City. Upon hearing about the appearance of Level 5 Zombies, Li Ping was startled. "Level 5 Zombies! Even higher than Lord Rank, a Disaster Level? My God! This information is quite important. Thank you, Mr. Wang Tao!" Apparently, they had possibly not seen a Level 5 Zombie before. Discover more content at novelhall.Co?m This was actually good news. Because there were so many people there and since they hadn¡¯t seen any, it indicated that Level 5 Zombies were extremely rare¡ªperhaps there was only one... When Wang Tao felt the time was right, he then said: "There are still some survivors here at Wang Tao¡¯s location. The helicopter can¡¯t take everyone away... So, can you send someone to support us?" After communicating with Li Ping, Wang Tao had an idea¡ªto leverage the strength of the city base to rescue the people from Zijin Base! Wang Tao didn¡¯t really expect the other party to come in person. His request wasn¡¯t high; from what Li Ping said, Changhe City Base obviously had planes, so if they could air drop some weapons or even vehicles, that would give the survivors at Zijin Base a fighting chance. That would be enough. "Rescue?" Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Li Ping immediately felt troubled. "I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Wang. It¡¯s not that we aren¡¯t willing to rescue you. It¡¯s just that you are too far away..." No matter the time or the deed, one must always consider the cost and benefit. Especially now, in an apocalyptic world where every life is precious, if rescuing a few would cost more lives, it would be a loss not worth the gains! Hearing the refusal, Wang Tao was immediately disappointed. Yet, he hadn¡¯t given up. "I can exchange supplies, such as Crystal Cores." "Mr. Wang, I¡¯m very sorry, it¡¯s not a matter of Crystal Cores..." Li Ping continued to shake her head. "I¡¯m just asking for some air drops. Is that not possible either?" "Just air drops? Theoretically, it should be possible. But it¡¯s not feasible right now, as the weather here is bad. Every day we have fierce winds and lightning, making it impossible for planes to take off..." Qian Country is vast, and it¡¯s normal for different regions to have varying climates. Just because planes can fly in Wuyang City doesn¡¯t mean they can in the City Base... "I see... Okay then, I¡¯ll think of another way. Even if these 20,000 or more people could make it to the City Base, who knows how many would be left by then..." Wang Tao¡¯s voice carried an undeniable resignation and beside him, Ding Yuqin and the others all sighed. So it¡¯s still no good, huh... "Ah? Wait a minute!" Just at that moment, Li Ping on the other end of the line suddenly exclaimed. "What you just said... I didn¡¯t catch it clearly?" Wang Tao frowned. Was the signal failing again? "I said, I can only think of another way myself." "No, there was another sentence!" "Uh... Even if these 20,000 or more people¡ª" "20,000 or more people!" Before Wang Tao could finish, he was interrupted by the other party. "Did you say you have 20,000 or more people?!" Li Ping sounded both shocked and surprised. "Yes." Wang Tao nodded. "But didn¡¯t you tell us before that you only had about a dozen people?" The other party quickly asked. Wang Tao looked at Han Rui, who just shrugged in response. It was vital to be cautious. Not knowing anything about the other side during their first contact, Han Rui naturally kept some information hidden. Moreover, she didn¡¯t count the people at Zijing City Base; she only considered the military base. There were over thirty people at the military base, so it was reasonable for her to say there were over a dozen people. So Wang Tao explained: "We have two bases here. There are about a dozen people at Wuyang Military Base, but there are over 20,000 people at Zijing City Base. However, these 20,000 or more people are trapped by a horde of zombies, and we¡¯re having a difficult time right now. So, I was hoping for some air support from you..." "Mr. Wang, please hold on! I need to report this!" After speaking to Wang Tao, Li Ping immediately went silent. Wang Tao and the others looked at each other, unclear about what was happening. After a while, a robust and powerful voice came through the other side. "Mr. Wang, hello. I am Hou Zhiyuan, Commander of the Third Legion of the City Base. May I confirm with you, is it true that you have over 20,000 survivors?" "It¡¯s true." Wang Tao nodded. "Do you have equipment capable of recording video? I need you to film all your survivors and send it to us. I need to be sure you are not deceiving us." Hou Zhiyuan continued. "Hmm? Why?" Wang Tao frowned upon hearing this. There was nothing to deceive about, and it wouldn¡¯t bring him any benefits. "Because if it is true, I will dispatch the Third Legion to rescue you!" Wang Tao was stunned for a moment, then said in surprise: "You¡¯re going to send people over? That¡¯s too dangerous!" Rescuing people is harder than simply killing zombies. They not only had to come over, but also bring people back! The risk was exponentially greater! "With over 20,000 survivors, no matter the risk, they must be rescued! You don¡¯t have to worry about us; you just need to send the video to me and then hold on and wait for rescue!" Chapter 696 - 283 Waiting for Rescue_1 Chapter 696: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_1 ¡°` The next day. The helicopter left the military base, flying toward Zijin Base. Even after a night had passed, Wang Tao was still somewhat excited. The twenty thousand survivors at Zijin Base... might have a chance! ¡°Old He, do you think they¡¯re reliable?¡± Wang Tao looked toward the main pilot, He Jijun. ¡°Hard to say, but I think they should be fairly reliable. Of course, I have no basis for that, just a gut feeling, haha!¡± He Jijun laughed heartily. Wang Tao smiled and shook his head, then said no more. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. If he didn¡¯t get his hopes up too much, he wouldn¡¯t be disappointed. Of course, this was just for him personally. For most people, it was still necessary to have hope. After a while, the helicopter arrived over Zijin Base. Wang Tao could clearly feel that the number of zombies surrounding the base had increased a lot. Moreover, these zombies were no longer just encircling the base, they had begun to attack Zijin Base! The zombies continuously slammed against the high walls, and even some Mad Demon Zombies began to stack on top of each other, trying to climb over the wall! Fortunately, there were survivors on top of the wall defending it. They threw down stones, wood, and even used flamethrowers and firearms to stop the zombies. At this critical moment of life and death, there was no need to worry about the noise anymore, and also the din from the zombies¡¯ howling together wasn¡¯t small. The arrival of the helicopter instantly attracted a lot of attention from the zombies, which became even more frenzied. They stared at the helicopter with their gray-white eyes, as if trying to bring it down! Wang Tao also saw several Level 3 Zombie Lords. But these Level 3 Zombie Lords were not at the foot of the high wall; they were farther away, out of the reach of the survivors¡¯ attacks on the wall. Before coming to Zijing City, Wang Tao had already taken out his phone and recorded the situation along the way. Over Zijin Base, he took some key videos before asking He Jijun to land. Buzz, buzz¡ª The helicopter slowly settled on the helipad specially designated by Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng were waiting below with umbrellas for him. ¡°When did these zombies start attacking?¡± Wang Tao asked upon getting off the helicopter. ¡°It started last night. They went crazy! I suspect there¡¯s a Zombie Lord commanding them. I specifically had people shoot at those Zombie Lords, but the zombies¡¯ attack didn¡¯t weaken at all. Those Zombie Lords, however, smartly hid in the back...¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face was very grim. Wang Tao instantly understood. No wonder those Zombie Lords did not come over; they were actually scared off by Lan Yulian. Zijin Base already had some armed soldiers, and Wang Tao had also air-dropped some weapon equipment for Lan Yulian. However, because the gunfire was too loud, they usually didn¡¯t use them. But under the current circumstances, there were no such concerns. Even Level 3 Zombie Lords had to avoid the edge of modern firepower. ¡°I¡¯ve brought you some weapons this time.¡± Wang Tao had the cargo removed from the aircraft. Lan Yulian looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated. She really wanted to ask about the situation with the large survivor base, whether there was a possibility of retreating there. But she was afraid to receive a disappointing answer... Wang Tao did not tell Lan Yulian about Changhe City Base¡¯s plans to rescue them. It¡¯s better not to get too excited until things were certain. Moreover, Wang Tao was a bit skeptical¡ªnot that he doubted the others¡¯ willingness to come, but he didn¡¯t know how they would arrive, considering the thousand kilometers separating them, all swarming with zombies, and such a journey... seemed like a fatal endeavor! After all the cargo was unloaded from the aircraft, Wang Tao turned to Lan Yulian and said: ¡°Gather everyone who¡¯s not busy right now; I need to make a video and have them all filmed.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay!¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat puzzled, but didn¡¯t ask further. Zijin Base had a large indoor assembly hall, initially designed for large meetings, and it could accommodate many people. It didn¡¯t take long for everyone who wasn¡¯t on guard duty at the wall or on shift rotation, including logistics staff, to arrive. After all, Wang Tao only needed to make a video, which wouldn¡¯t take too much time. The survivors inside the base didn¡¯t know what was going on and whispered among themselves, generally feeling it might be something like a pre-battle mobilization. For a moment, everyone¡¯s faces were filled with sadness and fear. Hiding within the high walls of the base, they were still unable to escape the zombies... When everyone had gathered, Wang Tao came out with Lan Yulian and a few others. Looking at the throng of people, Wang Tao¡¯s emotions became a bit complex. If the base fell, these people would all become food for the zombies... Lan Yulian had everyone line up properly, the strong and tall standing at the back, and women and children at the front. ¡°Everyone look at me, at the camera!¡± Lan Yulian held up her phone and shouted, and once everyone was looking at her, she then activated the video recording mode and captured everyone. Some survivors, seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s action, felt a chill in their hearts and began whispering: ¡°This kind of feels like we¡¯re taking a final photograph...¡± As one person spoke out, the others instantly felt a cold shiver down their spines. It seemed indeed possible! After a person¡¯s death, something should be left behind as proof they had lived. Now, as they had nothing much to leave behind, leaving a video for others to see seemed reasonable... if there were to be others after them. ¡°` Chapter 697 - 283 Waiting for Rescue_2 Chapter 697: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_2 And not just them, even Lan Yulian herself felt this way. Although the survivors were very afraid, they all obediently stood there. One reason was Lan Yulian¡¯s high prestige; another was that they too knew they had nowhere else to turn. Looking at those docile yet frightened faces in the camera, Lan Yulian sighed helplessly. Then she lifted her phone and approached the infants being held in arms. ¡°Come on, smile~¡± Lan Yulian teased one of the infants who was staring wide-eyed. Perhaps it was Lan Yulian¡¯s gentle manner, so comforting and familiar, that the infant immediately broke into a grin, smiling happily. ¡°Such a good baby~¡± Lan Yulian filmed for a good while before moving away. If these were truly to be their last images, Lan Yulian hoped to capture a smiling face. The adults certainly couldn¡¯t manage a real smile¡ªonly a forced one at best. Only these little children, who understood nothing, could smile from the heart. After filming for a while, Lan Yulian finally approached Wang Tao. ¡°Will this do?¡± Wang Tao quickly watched the video and nodded. ¡°It should be enough. I¡¯ll take a few more pictures.¡± After taking a few more photos, Wang Tao nodded at Lan Yulian. ¡°All set. I¡¯m off to get busy.¡± Wang Tao sent the video and photos to the military base, which then forwarded them to Changhe City Base. Theoretically, it should¡¯ve been transmitted quickly. But, as expected, a minor mishap occurred¡ªthe underground cables were damaged again. With no other option, Wei Zhenguo and others left at the military base started repairs, busy until the evening, before the documents were finally sent. ¡°Wang Tao, the situation isn¡¯t looking good. The underground cables are having a lot of issues, and we can¡¯t repair them indefinitely. We might lose contact with Changhe City Base any moment...¡± Wei Zhenguo conveyed to Wang Tao during their call. They¡¯re actually quite lucky now; the damaged cables are not too far from the military base, allowing for repairs. But if the lines were to fail at a distant location, let alone repairing them, they might not even be able to locate the issue... ¡°I hope we can finalize everything quickly...¡± Wang Tao sighed. ... Changhe City Base. At night, the communication hall was brightly lit. A middle-aged man in military uniform, tall and burly, stood in the hall, looking at a map of Changhe City Base on the wall. He was Chief Hou Zhiyuan of the Third Legion of Changhe City Base. ¡°Chief Hou, there¡¯s a message!¡± Suddenly, someone shouted with excitement. Hou Zhiyuan immediately turned and walked over to a workstation. At the workstation, there was a computer and a phone, with a woman in her thirties, Li Ping, seated at it. Hearing the commotion, many others gathered around. They all knew that Li Ping had made contact with a base that was suspected to have twenty thousand survivors! If it were true, it would be a major event for the entire Changhe City Base! After all, twenty thousand survivors! ¡°Put it on the big screen!¡± Hou Zhiyuan ordered immediately. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Li Ping connected to the big screen. There was a video and a few photos. She opened the video. ¡°Heh-heh... roar...¡± As soon as the video played, it was filled with various zombies growling. The video was from a bird¡¯s-eye view, probably shot from a helicopter. One could clearly see the zombies¡¯ heads were tilted back, showing their pale pupils and ferocious expressions. As the helicopter flew, a dense, unending stream of zombies was revealed! ¡°Heaven¡ª¡± Li Ping covered her mouth, and the others were also startled by the scene. ¡°So many zombies... such a terrifying horde!¡± ¡°Can they... Can they survive this!¡± ¡°It¡¯s horrifying!¡± ¡°We¡¯re really lucky to be living in the base city...¡± ¡°...¡± Compared to the others¡¯ fear, Hou Zhiyuan watched the horde with an expressionless face. Then, the video switched to a base of a decent size. The base¡¯s high walls were completely surrounded by the horde! ¡°There¡¯s a Survivor Base!¡± ¡°Judging by the style of the base, it must be one left behind by the Government... but it¡¯s tightly besieged by the horde!¡± ¡°The base¡¯s walls don¡¯t look too high, if too many zombies gather, they might be able to climb over!¡± ¡°They have no way out...¡± ¡°Given the size of the horde and their Weapon Equipment, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll last much longer...¡± Everyone in the hall whispered among themselves. Hou Zhiyuan remained silent. The video then shifted again, this time to the interior. It was a spacious hall, filled with people. The people were yellow and pale, wearing patched clothes, with unkempt hair. Yet, they stood in order, clearly disciplined. ¡°So many survivors!¡± Someone in the communication hall instinctively exclaimed. The camera slowly moved across their faces, clearly capturing the fear in their eyes. Seeing the expressions of those survivors in the video, nobody spoke again. They could empathize. They had felt the same terror, the same helplessness. If they hadn¡¯t been fortunate enough to be rescued by the army, they might have been worse off than these survivors... Then, the camera moved to a slightly overweight woman. She appeared to be in better mental and physical state than the others, as if she had been given preferential treatment. Could she have some special status? Chapter 698 - 283 Waiting for Rescue_3 Chapter 698: Chapter 283 Waiting for Rescue_3 The image continued to move, settling on the woman¡¯s embrace. A delicate little face was revealed. ¡°A baby!¡± In the communication hall, Li Ping exclaimed softly. The others also shone with excitement in their eyes, even the usually calm Hou Zhiyuan¡¯s expression flickered with emotion. In the video, the baby was staring with clear, curious eyes at the camera. Then the videographer gently teased the baby, who quickly broke into a smile. Seeing the baby¡¯s innocent smile, everyone in the communication hall subconsciously smiled along, including Hou Zhiyuan. The scene moved again, showing there were surprisingly more than twenty babies! Some babies were crying, being softly comforted by their mothers; some were deep in sleep, looking utterly content; others were looking at the camera, laughing out loud when teased by the cameraperson... As they looked at these heartwarming scenes, everyone in the communication hall unconsciously curled the corners of their lips into smiles. The birth rate in the post-apocalyptic world was very low, and the infant mortality rate was terrifyingly high! Even in their Changhe City Base, not many babies were born successfully, almost as if they had been cursed! This had nothing to do with medical conditions, as the medical facilities in their base city were not bad... The sight of these newborns seemed like a glimpse of hope for the future. The video ended with the smile of the last baby. The screen was now dark, and no one spoke. Hou Zhiyuan took a deep breath and then said to Li Ping, ¡°Look at the photos again.¡± The photos were much clearer than the video, but this only made the fear on the survivors¡¯ faces more visible. Besides the photos, there was detailed data. There were now a total of 21,945 people in Zijin Base, mostly ranging from 15 to 40 years of age. Aside from the babies, there were no children or old people, just young and middle-aged adults. After all, those with poor constitutions had been weeded out. Aside from the detailed population within the base, there was also information about the distribution of zombies. ¡°Level 5 Zombie!¡± ¡°Disaster Class?¡± ¡°A source of wide-scale radiation that kills both plants and zombies? No wonder they called it Disaster Class!¡± Seeing the information about the Level 5 Zombie, everyone¡¯s expressions turned grim. Hou Zhiyuan¡¯s face was very serious, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the exact location of the Level 5 Zombie. Thankfully, the Level 5 Zombie was in the urban area of Wuyang City, which veered off from the planned rescue route. Otherwise, based on the description given above about the Level 5 Zombie, it would be uncertain whether they could even go ahead with the rescue... ... Wang Tao didn¡¯t return to the military base immediately. He stayed to wait for news and took the time to clear out the zombies surrounding Zijin Base. ¡°These zombies are really insane...¡± Facing the relentless Mad Demon Zombies charging at the city walls, Wang Tao casually unleashed a Shockwave that shattered dozens of Mad Demon Zombies. But they didn¡¯t know fear and still crazily charged at the wall. ¡°Leave these Mad Demon Zombies to you. I¡¯m going to take care of those Level 3 Lords!¡± Wang Tao felt that these zombies were likely being directed by a Zombie Lord and that eliminating them should help ease some pressure. ¡°Be careful!¡± Lu Yingfeng advised from the side. ¡°Mhm.¡± Wang Tao leaped down from the high wall. As he fell, his body was instantly wrapped tightly by Entangling Roots. Thump! After landing, Wang Tao charged straight for the Zombie Lord hidden within the horde. The strength of the Level 3 Lord was formidable, but for the current Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t much of a challenge. It took only a few moves to deal with one Level 3 Lord, and then Wang Tao went on to kill the second, the third... Until he could no longer find any more Level 3 Lords in his field of view, he then returned to the top of the wall, catching his breath. ¡°Huff¡ª¡± Even though the zombies were no match for him, killing so many was still an exhausting task. Seeing the zombies below the wall suddenly become somewhat disorganized, Wang Tao immediately smirked. Just as he thought, they were following commands! Without the direction of a Level 3 Lord, their efficiency greatly diminished. Then, Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie crackled with Lan Yulian¡¯s voice. ¡°Wang Tao, someone from the military base is looking for you.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m coming!¡± Wang Tao went to Zijin Base¡¯s communication room to pick up the receiver. ¡°Ssshh...¡± The military base relayed the signal, and after a moment, a solemn male voice came from the other side. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, we have confirmed the video you sent. We will dispatch a rescue team, but the journey is long¡ªwe need you to hold out for three days!¡± ¡°Three days? Okay! We¡¯ll hold out! But our communication lines here are not very good and may cut out at any time...¡± Wang Tao meant that if they lost contact, it wasn¡¯t necessarily because the base had fallen¡ªit could just be that the equipment had malfunctioned. He was concerned that if communications were cut, the other side might assume they were all dead and abandon the rescue. Hou Zhiyuan apparently caught Wang Tao¡¯s concern and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Once our men are dispatched, they won¡¯t give up halfway. You only need to hold on and wait for rescue; leave the rest to us!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± After ending the call with Hou Zhiyuan, Wang Tao immediately went to find Lan Yulian. ¡°I need to make a trip back to the military base.¡± ¡°Now? It¡¯s about to get dark...¡± Lan Yulian sounded concerned. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I need to go back and bring all the resources and equipment from the military base here.¡± ¡°Ah? Aren¡¯t you going to defend your military base then?¡± ¡°I have decided to give up the military base and make a stand here at Zijin Base,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Lan Yulian was at once surprised and worried upon hearing this. ¡°You¡¯ve really decided...¡± ¡°What I just contacted was the Changhe Base City. They said they would send someone to rescue us!¡± Lan Yulian was instantly stunned. ¡°They... are sending someone to rescue us? A two thousand kilometers round trip?¡± ¡°Yes. So... hold on, and wait for rescue!¡± Chapter 699 - 284 Abandoning the Base_1 Chapter 699: Chapter 284 Abandoning the Base_1 Wang Tao returned to the military base at night. This was the first time Wang Tao had taken a flight in the dark, but luckily, the journey was safe without any mishap. ¡°Wang Tao! They actually sent someone over...¡± Ding Yuqin and the others were extremely excited to see Wang Tao, as Changhe City Base had surprisingly agreed to send help for the survivors at Zijin Base! ¡°I didn¡¯t expect it either, but it¡¯s good news. We¡¯ll all head to Zijin Base tomorrow!¡± ¡°What about the military base?¡± Yang Changhong asked subconsciously. ¡°This place... we can only abandon it.¡± Looking at the vast military base, Wang Tao felt somewhat reluctant to leave, but there was no other choice. The military base was too close to Wuyang City¡¯s urban area and could be flattened by the Giant Zombie at any moment. If they left now, they might be able to save the base, as the most dangerous zombies might not come if there were no humans around. The military base still had some food, weapons, and ammunition. These couldn¡¯t be wasted. All the food was processed by Wang Tao into nutrient solutions for easy transport. The weapons and ammunition were loaded onto helicopters. Everyone packed up throughout the night, and by the next morning, everything was ready. The people and goods couldn¡¯t be transported in one go by the helicopter; it would take two trips. Wang Tao had He Jijun transport the goods first. The first transport of goods went smoothly, and the helicopter returned to the military base. Wang Tao used his authority to lock up the entire military base. Maybe it would be useful in the future, or perhaps it would never be used again. Either way, keeping the military base intact was a good thing. After making sure nothing was left behind, Wang Tao led everyone onto the helicopter. Whirring¡ª The helicopter took off, and Wang Tao took one last look at the military base before taking a deep breath. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± During the flight, Wang Tao kept a close watch on the zombies¡¯ activities on the ground. The zombies that ran out of Wuyang City didn¡¯t all head towards Zijing City; they also roamed in other directions. This was good news for Wang Tao. However, along the way, Wang Tao spotted a Giant Zombie straying from Wuyang City¡¯s urban area! Although this particular Giant Zombie wasn¡¯t heading towards Zijing City, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t guarantee that others wouldn¡¯t... They could only take it one step at a time. When they arrived at Zijin Base in the afternoon, perhaps due to the frequent helicopter usage that day, there were even more zombies around the base. When the helicopter landed inside the base, the zombies outside became more frenzied. ¡°What on earth got into these zombies...¡± Wang Tao commented, then Ding Yuqin and the others met Lan Yulian and her group. ¡°Zhang Hong!¡± Lan Yulian and Yang Changhong hadn¡¯t seen each other for a long time and embraced. Seeing the close interaction between Yang Changhong and Wang Tao, Lan Yulian¡¯s gaze towards Wang Tao suddenly carried a hint of subtle grievance. Although she had guessed as much, guessing was one thing and seeing it with her own eyes was another. Then Lan Yulian also met Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Li Qiuyu, and the others. Wang Tao had already introduced them to each other in advance, so they were all mentally prepared. When the girls met, there was a slight competitive tension, but they all knew that now was not the time for jealousy, so they all tacitly glared at Wang Tao together. If they could get through this crisis, they would settle the score with Wang Tao later! ¡°...¡± Wang Tao pretended not to see it and called everyone to bring over the weapons that had been transported previously. ¡°Mount these heavy machine guns on the wall; they should be able to hold off a lot of zombies. Distribute some bombs and hand grenades as well... then everyone go kill some zombies!¡± If they were preparing for a desperate defense, they couldn¡¯t afford to waste time. ¡°Yes!¡± The crowd responded and moved the weapons and ammunition to the top of the tall wall. The high wall of the base had specially designed shooting areas, like small houses that could keep out corrosive acid rain and protect the weapons from corrosion. Ratatat¡ª Once the heavy machine guns were in place, they immediately began firing at the zombies outside! The firepower of heavy machine guns was much greater than that of rifles and pistols. It shattered a swath of Mad Demon Zombies in an instant! Seeing the destructive effect, Lan Yulian and the others hadn¡¯t had a chance to breathe a sigh of relief when they saw even more Mad Demon Zombies rushing forward! ¡°We can never finish killing all these zombies...¡± ¡°Just managing to suppress the zombie attacks for now is enough; we can¡¯t ask for too much.¡± After mounting all the heavy machine guns, Wang Tao checked the tide of zombies and spotted three Level 3, Lord zombies. Without a second word, Wang Tao jumped down and spent some time taking down the three Zombie Lords. After collecting the spoils, Wang Tao used Iron Tree Vines to return to the top of the high wall. Without the Zombie Lords, the Mad Demon Zombies¡¯ attack became somewhat disorganized. ¡°Call me if another Zombie Lord shows up.¡± Ordinary zombies were left to others; Wang Tao only needed to deal with Zombie Lords because his physical strength was limited. If he wasted too much time on ordinary zombies, it would be a loss. Wang Tao returned to the central area of the base. ¡°Wang Tao, I want to tell everyone about the reinforcements...¡± Lan Yulian suddenly said to Wang Tao. In the past couple of days, because the zombies had begun to attack Zijin Base fiercely, it had caused panic among the survivors inside the base. She wanted to give the survivors some confidence; otherwise, they might collapse. ¡°No problem. They definitely need to know about it.¡± Chapter 700 - 284 Abandoning the Base_2 Wang Tao nodded. "Shall we announce this news together? After all, you¡¯re the one who fought for it..." Lan Yulian¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at Wang Tao. If it wasn¡¯t for Wang Tao, they would never have had this opportunity. Although having an opportunity didn¡¯t guarantee success, without one there was no chance at all. What Wang Tao had done should be known to everyone. "Of course." Lan Yulian once again gathered all the survivors at the base to the assembly hall. The survivors were all somewhat uneasy, not knowing what their leader was up to this time. Once everyone had arrived, Lan Yulian looked at the group of survivors with their sallow complexions, picked up a megaphone, and began to speak: "Folks, by now you all must be aware of our base¡¯s situation. We are like an isolated island within Zijing City at the moment, at constant risk of being overwhelmed by a tide of zombies..." Lan Yulian outlined the current situation. Although everyone was already aware, hearing it from the leader herself still caused a wave of panic in their hearts. Could it be that the base still couldn¡¯t hold off the tide of zombies, and they were going to die in this onslaught...? "But we must not give up. If we give up, then we truly lose everything. As long as we keep persisting, there will always be hope to survive! And now, I have some good news to share with you all¡ª" Good news? The survivors were all stunned for a moment. What good news could there be in times like these? Could it be that their leader, Lan Yulian, had attained Level 4? But even at Level 4, she wouldn¡¯t be able to resolve the zombie tide outside, right? "Before I get to the good news, let me introduce someone to you. This is..." Lan Yulian gestured towards Wang Tao who was standing beside her. Before she could finish, someone from the crowd shouted: "That¡¯s Mr. Wang Tao, we know him!" After that person spoke, others joined in. "Yes, we know him!" Even though Wang Tao hadn¡¯t stayed long at Zijin Base, he knew a lot of people there, and he had a very good reputation. The reason was simple. When he was in Zijing City, he had rescued many from the city sports center. Those people spread the word about him after returning, and soon enough, everyone knew and recognized Wang Tao. Furthermore, those who came from Duzhu Town later had also followed Wang Tao¡¯s advice, which led them to Zijin Base. Although they had suffered hardships and lost some people along the way, many had successfully made it to Zijin Base, all of whom owed Wang Tao their thanks. Of course, there was also the rumor within the base that Wang Tao was the leader¡¯s man! Although the leader hadn¡¯t admitted it directly, she hadn¡¯t bother to clarify either. So Wang Tao was not an unknown figure here; his reputation preceded him. Seeing that the survivors recognized Wang Tao, Lan Yulian felt happy inside. Then she continued: "Good, since everyone knows him, I won¡¯t waste any more words. Mr. Wang Tao previously made contact with a large survivor base in another province..." Whoosh¡ª As soon as Lan Yulian spoke these words, the survivors below immediately started whispering to one another. Some were curious, others excited. In the midst of such a terrifying zombie tide, there were other survivor bases! Could they possibly help each other? Or was there a chance of them reaching other bases? After all, their base was surrounded by thousands of zombies. Under these circumstances, the base was bound to fall sooner or later... Lan Yulian allowed them to discuss for a while before continuing: "It¡¯s a large survivor base organized by the Government, known as Changhe City Base, located in West Province. There are hundreds of thousands of survivors there and a massive amount of armed strength! Most importantly, they have fewer zombies there and no zombie tides!" These simple sentences sparked a look of longing in everyone¡¯s eyes. Experience tales with novelhall.Co?m But upon hearing that the base was in West Province, their hopes seemed to shatter instantly. West Province was a thousand kilometers away from Wuyang Province! In this world overrun with zombie tides, even a hundred kilometers, let alone a thousand, seemed impassable! A thousand kilometers might as well be a suicide mission. Although there was a helicopter currently at the base, which likely belonged to Mr. Wang Tao, a single helicopter could only carry a handful of people. And they had over twenty thousand people at the base... As the faces of the survivors began to fill with despair once more, Lan Yulian promptly added: "After extensive discussions between Mr. Wang Tao and the other party, Changhe City Base has decided to send people over to rescue us!" "Ah?" The survivors were stunned, finding it hard to believe their own ears. "Rescue us?" "From a place thousands of miles away?" "That¡¯s over two thousand kilometers back and forth. How could they possibly..." The survivors could hardly believe that anyone would come to rescue them, having seen too much darkness in this apocalyptic world. Suddenly glimpsing light, they found it somewhat difficult to get used to. "You heard it right, they are coming to rescue us! I assure you!" After Lan Yulian¡¯s confirmation, the survivors slowly began to buzz with conversation. "Oh my!" "They really intend to rescue us from such a long distance?" "Am I dreaming?" "Does this mean we¡¯re saved?" "If they dare to come to rescue us, that must mean they¡¯re very powerful. We might really be saved!" "..." Seeing everyone whispering to each other, Lan Yulian coughed once, drawing all eyes to her. Chapter 701 - 284 Abandoning the Base_3 "So, all we need to do now is to hold on. In a few days, reinforcements will arrive! As long as we can hold on for these few days, we can all survive!" Lan Yulian exclaimed loudly. After hearing these words, a glimmer of light indeed returned to the eyes of the fearful and numb survivors. "Next, everyone should continue with their duties and be ready to join the battle at any moment. I believe that as long as we work together, we can surely overcome this crisis!" "Yes!" When they had arrived, these survivors were all listless. But upon leaving, their spirits were noticeably uplifted. After all, persistence without hope is entirely different from persistence with hope. After everyone had left, Lan Yulian turned to Wang Tao. "Do you think they can make it here in two days..." Lan Yulian had sounded very confident just now, but in truth, she was quite anxious. However, as the leader, if she didn¡¯t display confidence, then nobody else would be able to believe in her. "I¡¯m not sure either, just hope they can get here smoothly without running into too much danger..." Wang Tao sighed. He couldn¡¯t be certain about such things, but having hope was still a good thing. "I¡¯m going out to kill some zombies, to help Lightning increase its strength." Ever since Lightning¡¯s Level 2 Ascension, there hadn¡¯t been time to increase its HP. Now that they were planning to defend Zijin Base to the death, they naturally needed to bolster Lightning¡¯s strength. "Okay, be careful!" Wang Tao walked around the top of the wall and found a spot where there were relatively fewer zombies. He then hugged Lightning and jumped down. Lightning currently only had a little over five thousand HP, with much room for improvement. The zombies outside the base varied from Level 1 to Level 3, with most being Ordinary Zombies, and occasionally there were some Elite Zombies. He hadn¡¯t seen any Zombie Lords, however. Wang Tao had Lightning follow closely behind him, then he took out his Mutant Explosion-proof Baton. His attack power was too high; if he used the tusk long knife or the Shockwave, he might kill the zombies outright. But if he used the baton, those stunned by the electric shock ¡ª as long as they didn¡¯t have a weakness to electricity ¡ª many could still survive. Wang Tao waited for the right moment and swung the baton at a zombie. Zzzzzzt¡ª An arc of electricity flashed, and the zombie Wang Tao attacked had its head smashed to pieces, instantly killing it. At the same time, the electric arc spread from that zombie to others around it, stunning a group of zombies! These shocked zombies weren¡¯t dead but were all severely injured. Wang Tao immediately commanded Lightning to rush over and finish off the surviving zombies. Every zombie Lightning killed caused its HP bar to surge up a good amount. After all, it was only Level 2, and the zombies left by Wang Tao were Level 3, meaning Lightning was engaging in higher-level kills, and the HP gained was tripled. In not too much time, Lightning¡¯s HP reached 29,999. "Let¡¯s go, back inside!" Wang Tao picked up Lightning and used the Iron Tree Vines to latch onto a protrusion on the wall, returning inside like a spider. Then Wang Tao found Lan Yulian and took out some of the meat from the Fourth-Order Wild Boar Beast they had earlier set aside. "Eat up!" Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if eating this meat would allow Lightning to ascend, but since Lightning was only Level 2 and the boar beast was Level 4, even if it couldn¡¯t ascend, eating more meat should be beneficial. After all, eating the meat of these creatures could slightly increase base attributes. Explore new worlds at novelhall.Co?m "Woof woof!" Lightning barked, then began to feast heartily. Compared to last time, Lightning ate much more, but there were no changes. Just when Wang Tao thought it might not work, Lightning suddenly stopped eating, then ran over to Wang Tao¡¯s feet and lay down next to them. "Eh? It really worked!" Wang Tao was slightly surprised. It seemed that the meat of the fourth-order creatures had a greater effect on Lightning than on humans! Furthermore, Wang Tao felt that, in some ways, Lightning was also a sort of creature. After all, it too had mutated from an animal. However, Lightning couldn¡¯t use Abilities or fuse with Crystal Cores. It was different from the creatures Wang Tao had seen before; rather, it was more similar to Jiang Shixue... No matter what, Lightning¡¯s Ascension was a good thing. Once it reached Level 3, it could fight by Wang Tao¡¯s side. Currently, its strength and HP were too low, and bringing it into battle would be a burden. ... The addition of Wang Tao and his group greatly relieved the pressure on Zijin Base. After all, he had moved all the Thermal Weapons from the military base over. Against zombies below Level 4, Thermal Weapons were still effective. "It seems like the zombie horde¡¯s attacks have slowed down a lot..." Atop the wall, Lu Yingfeng put down the binoculars and said to Yang Changhong beside her. "Indeed. I suppose these zombies can¡¯t possibly keep attacking non-stop. They probably need to rest too... It¡¯s already getting dark. Let¡¯s go down and eat something; we can¡¯t fight on an empty stomach." "Mm." A few of them walked down from the wall. Lu Yingfeng informed Wang Tao about the changes in the zombie movements. Wang Tao nodded and said: "Then it seems we can rest a bit now. But we can¡¯t relax; after all, zombies are more active at night. If there¡¯s any problem, call me immediately." "Alright!" After dinner, the group began their shifts. The attacks from the zombies outside the base had slowed but hadn¡¯t stopped. Tonight was doomed not to be peaceful. Wang Tao went straight to rest. He was the highest Combat Power within the base and needed to be ready for any sudden situation. When nothing was happening, it was important to rest well and gather strength. At night, Ding Yuqin quietly woke Wang Tao up. "Wang Tao, Four-level zombies are suspected to have appeared in the horde!" Wang Tao opened his eyes. "Four-level zombies... they¡¯ve finally come!" An attack of this scale by the horde would not be possible without Four-level zombies. So they had been waiting for the night to attack! "I¡¯ll go take a look!" Chapter 702: 285: Chainsaw Zombies_1 Chapter 702: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_1 Wang Tao reached the top of the high wall. He could clearly feel that the zombies¡¯ attacks at night were more ferocious than during the day. Fortunately, even the Mad Demon Zombies couldn¡¯t climb the high wall under the suppression of modern firepower. However, Wang Tao¡¯s primary focus was not on these Ordinary Zombies. He looked into the distance. On the rooftop of a civilian house outside Zijin Base, stood a slender figure. It wore a white lab coat and a mask, appearing to be a female doctor, but in its hand was a blood-drenched chainsaw! [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Level: Level 4, Lord] [Awakening: Cutting] [Cutting: Attack carries Cutting Attribute] This was a Level 4, Lord Zombie with 120,000 HP. Merely from the description of the awakening, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear about what the Cutting Attribute was. But obviously, it must be a passive ability that added to the attack, and the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s attack must be very strong! At this moment, the Chainsaw Zombie looked up, as if it had let out a silent roar. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hear anything, but he could clearly feel that the zombies below were suddenly becoming more frenzied, and then they started to assault the high walls of the base! At this time, many Night Demons appeared. Night Demons were much more formidable than Ordinary Zombies, with the lowest being Level 3 Elites. Moreover, like the Mad Demon Zombies, they were also very agile. If not suppressed in time, they might indeed be capable, with the help of other zombies, of climbing the high walls! Wang Tao casually dealt with a few Night Demons that were about to climb up, then took out his ultraviolet flashlight, ultraviolet illumination flares, and strip ultraviolet lights. ¡°Use these to block the Night Demons!¡± Since Night Demons had a fatal weakness of being vulnerable to ultraviolet light, there was no need to confront them head-on. As long as they were blocked by the ultraviolet light, they would retreat on their own before daylight. ¡°Alright!¡± The people immediately installed the strip lights on the high wall. Suddenly, a purple glow was cast out. The bodies of the Night Demons climbing the wall instantly emitted green smoke. With a shriek, the Night Demons fell off. This height naturally couldn¡¯t kill them, but it could stop their advance. The others also kept ultraviolet flashlights and flares close by, ready to respond at any moment. Seeing that these Night Demon Zombies couldn¡¯t charge up, Wang Tao then said to everyone: ¡°You block the other zombies. I¡¯ll take care of that Level 4 Zombie!¡± ¡°Brother, I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Jiang Shixue immediately spoke up. ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. He didn¡¯t dare to be careless when dealing with a Level 4, Lord Zombie. The Chainsaw Zombie was some distance from the base, it had shown itself once before but then retreated back into the darkness. Besides Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao, no one else could see it, and only the two of them could take it on. ¡°Wang Tao, be extra careful!¡± After being admonished by everyone, Wang Tao activated the Entangling Roots and jumped down directly. Bang! When Wang Tao landed, a shockwave erupted, clearing the surrounding zombies, and then he and Jiang Shixue rushed towards the Chainsaw Zombie together. The Chainsaw Zombie seemed to have seen Wang Tao, and as soon as it noticed him charging over, it immediately raised its chainsaw and wobbled off the building, walking towards Wang Tao. As soon as the Chainsaw Zombie entered his attack range, Wang Tao unleashed a semi-transparent shockwave. He then saw the Chainsaw Zombie raise its chainsaw as if it was going to chop through the shockwave. ¡°You think you can block this¡ª¡± Just when Wang Tao was about to say that the Chainsaw Zombie couldn¡¯t possibly block an energy-based attack, he saw the blood-drenched chainsaw come into contact with his shockwave, emitting a ¡°pchit¡± sound. [-0] [120000/120000] ¡°It actually blocked it?¡± Wang Tao was seeing a deduction of 0 HP for the first time. When he previously fired at the Giant Zombie with a heavy machine gun, he at least took off a few points of HP... Wang Tao was surprised but not panicked. He unleashed two successive shockwaves, accompanied by a Mental Shock. [-0] [-0] [-0] ¡°The Mental Shock didn¡¯t work either?¡± Although these three attacks were blocked, Wang Tao had already reached the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s side. He held a knife in one hand and took out a pistol with the other. Swinging the knife, firing the gun. Bang! The Chainsaw Zombie used the chainsaw to block Wang Tao¡¯s knife, but the Air Bullet hit the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s head. [-3108] The damage of three thousand was not high. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Chainsaw Zombie roared in anger, and the mask on its face was torn apart. Then, just as Wang Tao¡¯s vision blurred, the chainsaw was already in front of him, chopping at his body. Buzzing¡ª Pchit! [-32384] [110000/110000 (67616/100000)] Wang Tao himself wasn¡¯t injured, but the Entangling Roots lost over thirty thousand HP! ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao quickly retreated. The damage was a bit terrifying. Three hits would kill the Entangling Roots! Previously, the Level 4, Lord Night Demon could inflict fifteen thousand damage to the Entangling Roots. This Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s attack damage was twice that of the Lord Night Demon! However, the Night Demon¡¯s attacks had some penetration attribute, which could pass through the Entangling Roots and harm Wang Tao, but the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s attack could only damage the Entangling Roots. Of course, whether or not it could penetrate, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to find out what it felt like to be hit by this chainsaw¡¯s attack. As he retreated, he immediately used the Iron Tree Vines to pull over several Ordinary Zombies and threw them towards the Chainsaw Zombie. Pchit! With the chainsaw in hand, the Chainsaw Zombie easily bisected these Ordinary Zombies. And to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, after being bisected, the zombies¡¯ HP bars were actually zeroed! Logically, unless a zombie¡¯s head was blown off, attacking other parts of its body might result in HP loss but definitely not death! After all, zombies could even live with just their heads remaining. Chapter 703: 285: Chainsaw Zombies_2 Chapter 703: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_2 ¡°` But now, these zombies chopped in half were indeed as dead as they could be... This Chainsaw Zombie had something going for it! Wang Tao became even more vigilant. He gave Jiang Shixue a heads up and then charged at the Chainsaw Zombie again. He still had a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. While he swung the knife he fired the gun simultaneously, forcing the Chainsaw Zombie to make a choice. This time, the Chainsaw Zombie blocked the Air Bullet. Wang Tao¡¯s tusk long knife cleanly struck the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s body. [-0] [-6173] [-617] [...] The damage from the high-frequency vibration was still high, slashing six thousand HP off the Chainsaw Zombie. And there was an additional bleed damage thrice, roughly around eighteen hundred. It was as if Wang Tao¡¯s single strike could deal eight thousand damage! After landing a successful hit, Wang Tao did not press on; he immediately retreated. The chainsaw missed its target. Seeing his attack had been effective and that he had evaded the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s strike, Wang Tao roughly knew how to fight it now. The Chainsaw Zombie was quick to react and attack, but the chainsaw, after all, was not a shield; it couldn¡¯t block all attacks. Especially since Wang Tao was using two different modes of attack from varying angles, the Chainsaw Zombie could only block one. The other would hit its mark. But after striking a blow, he could not pursue his advantage but had to retreat immediately because the Chainsaw Zombie would surely launch a very fast counter-attack at Wang Tao, too quick for Wang Tao to see its movements clearly. If this strike hit him, Entangling Roots would lose over thirty thousand HP! So, there was no need to clash head-on with the Chainsaw Zombie, nor to be greedy. Simply strike and retreat. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Chainsaw Zombie, having missed its target, became even angrier. The zombies nearby, as if following the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s command, all swarmed towards Wang Tao. Jiang Shixue immediately took them on to provide Wang Tao with the space to fight. ¡°Bring it on!¡± Wang Tao charged at the Chainsaw Zombie once more. It was the same old tactic, one hand firing the gun, the other swinging the knife. He forced the Chainsaw Zombie to answer the multiple-choice question. But this time, the Chainsaw Zombie chose the third option. [-3002] [-6281] [-628] [...] Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet and high-frequency vibration both hit the Chainsaw Zombie. Because it didn¡¯t block the attack! Thud! The chainsaw heavily struck Wang Tao¡¯s chest, and a powerful force sent him flying. [-42652] [110000/110000(24964/100000)] Entangling Roots had only a little over twenty thousand HP left and could no longer withstand any attack from the Chainsaw Zombie. Upon landing, Wang Tao immediately deactivated the armor mode of Entangling Roots. Entangling Roots was still useful to Wang Tao, and even if it truly wasn¡¯t anymore, it was his battle companion¡ªWang Tao did not want it to die. ¡°That damage is really high!¡± Just as Wang Tao complained to himself, he saw the Chainsaw Zombie, holding the chainsaw aloft, charging towards him at high speed. Any zombie in its path got sliced into two halves! A somewhat ferocious shield suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Bang! The chainsaw struck the shield. Wang Tao didn¡¯t lose any HP, and a spark of electricity flashed by. Crackle¡ª [-1024] [96677/120000] ¡°This thing isn¡¯t afraid of electricity?¡± Seeing that the current from the Electric Shield only caused a thousand damage to the Chainsaw Zombie, Wang Tao also gave up on the idea of trying it with an electric baton. With a forceful push from his left arm, he thrust the shield forward sharply. The Chainsaw Zombie instantly staggered backward several steps. Wang Tao, holding the long knife in his right hand, struck the Chainsaw Zombie with it. [-5328] [-532] [...] [89728/120000] Another seven thousand damage! The damage from wielding the knife with one hand might be lower, but it was still significant. While making this cut, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even look at the outcome, but immediately raised his shield instead. Bang! As expected, the chainsaw hit the shield. [-1003] Wang Tao again successfully blocked the strike without taking any damage, and even reprised a thousand HP from the Chainsaw Zombie! Is that all? Wang Tao pressed his advantage, one hand with a shield, the other with a long knife. As the Chainsaw Zombie attacked, he would immediately block with the shield and, in the moment he blocked the attack, he would slash the Chainsaw Zombie with the long knife. Although this slowed down his attacking speed considerably, it was much safer. In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao had made four cuts, and the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s HP had already dropped below sixty thousand. At this point, the Chainsaw Zombie roared and raised its chainsaw, spinning it around like a windmill. Whirring¡ª The chainsaw roared! Wang Tao had seen this move before from a Terrorizer, so he immediately backed away, not giving the Chainsaw Zombie a chance. Then he saw the Chainsaw Zombie complete a circle and not stopping! Instead, it spun like a top, speeding towards Wang Tao and cutting every zombie in its path in half! ¡°What the hell!¡± Wang Tao was startled and promptly raised his shield to fall back. The Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s move seemed extremely damaging, and there was no need to meet it head-on. At the same time, Wang Tao urged Jiang Shixue to retreat quickly to avoid being hit by the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s attack, as her small frame might not be able to withstand it. Thud¡ª The Chainsaw Zombie spun faster and faster, dismembering a large number of zombies around it and even grinding some into mincemeat! Wang Tao was astonished, then, as if struck by a thought, he looked down at his shield subconsciously. ¡°Damn!¡± It was then Wang Tao realized that his shield¡¯s Durability had decreased by nearly half! [Durability +70] The Mutant Explosion-proof Electric Shield¡¯s Durability was originally 100. Although Wang Tao had used it a few times, he had not consumed any Durability before. ¡°` Chapter 704: 285: Chainsaw Zombies_3 Chapter 704: Chapter 285: Chainsaw Zombies_3 And now, had he just blocked six attacks from the Chainsaw Zombie? Six hits had cost him 30 Durability points, that is, 5 Durability points per hit! Wang Tao retracted what he had just said; he should not have underestimated the Chainsaw Zombie¡ªthat thing was too fierce! This was a Level 4 Shield with +100 defensive power! ¡°Little Xue, the attack power of this Chainsaw Zombie is too high, don¡¯t go over there at any cost.¡± Wang Tao reminded Jiang Shixue, who was not far away, once again. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. She was well aware of her own limits, knowing that she was no match for the Chainsaw Zombie, so she wouldn¡¯t rashly rush over; helping Wang Tao to clear the ordinary zombies around was enough. The Chainsaw Zombie, spinning like a top gone wild, would shred anything it touched¡ªincluding buildings and other zombies! For a moment, it seemed as though the Chainsaw Zombie had even started a small tornado! However, when the Chainsaw Zombie was spinning, its speed was not fast, at least not as fast as before, and Wang Tao could easily dodge its attacks. But watching the path the Chainsaw Zombie was taking, Wang Tao internally voiced his concern. Whether intentional or not, it was heading straight for the base! Though the high walls of the base looked sturdy, thinking of the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s Awakening description ¡°Cutting: Attacks come with a Cutting Attribute,¡± and recalling the 30 Durability lost from his own Level 4 Shield, Wang Tao felt that the high walls might not hold it off! If it couldn¡¯t be held off and the high wall was breached with a large cut... it had to be stopped! Wang Tao originally planned to wait until it stopped spinning to make his move. After all, the Chainsaw Zombie wasn¡¯t as fast while spinning, and it couldn¡¯t hit him. But plans seldom match changes. Better safe than sorry¡ª if it really did break through the high wall, there would be no repairing it. Wang Tao hurled a Shockwave at the Chainsaw Zombie and fired an Air Bullet. [-0] [-0] But to no effect. ¡°In that case...¡± Wang Tao had wanted to save an Awakening, but facing the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s Spinning Top State, his Ranged Attacks were ineffective. Melee attacks were a bit risky, so for safety, he had to go all out! ¡°Starfire Prairie!¡± Whoosh¡ª Flames blazed up around Wang Tao. In a flash of light, Wang Tao stood in front of the Chainsaw Zombie. He lifted his Flame Long Sword high with both hands and struck the still spinning Chainsaw Zombie. Bang! [-0] Although the strike caused no damage, the Chainsaw Zombie was sent flying, and its Spinning Top State was broken by Wang Tao! Crash¡ª The Chainsaw Zombie smashed through several houses! Wang Tao shimmered and followed into the building. The dust in the air did not affect his Perception. He located the Chainsaw Zombie. Seizing the moment before it could get up, he struck it with another blow. [-18938] [-1893] [-1029] [...] [28937/120000] His sword hit solidly on the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s head, and with the Bleeding and Burn Damage, it nearly caused thirty thousand damage in one hit! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Chainsaw Zombie, now ablaze, let out an angry roar and then turned tail and fled, with an incredible speed! Zombies above the level of a Lord have some rudimentary intelligence, at least they know when to run if they¡¯re outmatched. But with Wang Tao having awakened his power, naturally he wouldn¡¯t let it get away. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao directly threw his Flame Long Sword in his hand. Thud! The Flame Long Sword struck right into the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s head! [-24248] [-2484] [-2205] [0/120000] The HP bar of the Chainsaw Zombie dropped to zero! If it hadn¡¯t run away, Wang Tao might still have had to put in some effort to kill it. After all, the chainsaw it wielded was quite peculiar and could block Wang Tao¡¯s attacks. But it fled and even showed its back to Wang Tao. That was simply begging for death. When using Starfire Prairie, it consumes 10 points of Awakening Energy per second, but it starts at 100 points of energy, meaning Wang Tao had to use it for at least ten seconds. The speed at which he just killed the Chainsaw Zombie was very fast, and there were still three seconds left before the ten seconds were up. Wang Tao didn¡¯t start collecting the spoils immediately; instead, he rushed into the horde of zombies and released shockwaves like crazy. Swipe¡ª The area beneath the high wall instantly turned into a sea of fire! Countless zombies were shattered and burnt to death. By the time the flames on Wang Tao died down, there were no zombies left standing around him. ¡°Pretty exhilarating...¡± Awakening abilities are captivating. But they consume too much energy, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare use it recklessly. It could only be a trump card. Wang Tao walked out of the sea of fire and approached the Chainsaw Zombie. The chainsaw from the Chainsaw Zombie was named, which made Wang Tao grin as he picked up all the dropped loot and then returned to the top of the high wall with Jiang Shixue. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Seeing Wang Tao climb up using the Iron Tree Vines, Lan Yulian, Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and the others came to Wang Tao¡¯s side, visibly shocked. ¡°Was that flame just now your Awakening?¡± ¡°Badass!¡± ¡°That¡¯s too powerful! We haven¡¯t killed as many zombies as you did, and you even killed a Level 4 Zombie Lord!¡± Everyone was full of admiration. Wang Tao had told them about the need for Awakening to ascend to Level 4, and that his Awakening involved fire. But aside from the few who had previously joined him to hunt Four-level Zombies, the others had never seen what Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening looked like. After all, Awakening Energy is precious and can¡¯t be wasted recklessly. Now having seen with their own eyes how Wang Tao descended like a fire god and burned all the zombies beneath this wall to ashes, the scene was breathtakingly badass! Wang Tao said with a smile: ¡°You guys will be able to awaken too sooner or later, and you could even be stronger than me.¡± The others shook their heads. They weren¡¯t even pondering an Awakening more powerful than Wang Tao¡¯s; they would be willing to take even a lousy Awakening, as long as they could ascend to Level 4... After the death of this Chainsaw Zombie, the zombies¡¯ attacks instantly became disorganized. The pressure everyone felt greatly decreased. Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave the high wall, just in case other Four-level Zombies appeared, and he took the opportunity to check the spoils of battle. Chapter 705: 286 Bloody Chainsaw_1 Chapter 705: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_1 Killing the Chainsaw Zombie brought Wang Tao an Advanced Special Energy and an Awakening Key. He now had amassed 5 Awakening Keys! The Chainsaw Zombie dropped three items and burst out five Loot Packs. The three items were the Red Crystal Core in its head, an Awakening Energy Pearl, and its chainsaw. [Acquired: Fourth Order Crystal Core: Promotion x1] [Acquired: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Acquired: Fourth-Order Weapon¡¤Bloody Chainsaw] The Ascension Crystal Core and Energy Pearl need no mention, but this chainsaw ¨C it¡¯s actually a fourth-order weapon! [Fourth-Order Weapon¡¤Bloody Chainsaw] [HP: 10000/10000 (Upper limit 100000)] [Status: Dormant] [Enhancement: Bone Removal] [Compatibility: 0%] [Bone Removal: Can directly strip away life energy] [Note: The upper limit of HP cannot be increased using crystal cores; it can only be raised by killing lifeforms of level 3 or higher] Upon seeing the attributes of the Bloody Chainsaw, Wang Tao suddenly understood. No wonder the Chainsaw Zombie directly killed the zombies after chopping them in half. It turned out that this chainsaw could directly strip away life energy! That meant this chainsaw was very effective against zombies! There was no need to aim specifically for the zombies¡¯ heads; hitting their bodies could kill them too! The Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s upper limit of HP increased differently from other weapons; it couldn¡¯t be enhanced using crystal cores and could only be raised through killing lifeforms of level 3 or higher. However, for Wang Tao, this was not bad news. Because the consumption for upgrading fourth-order weapons was too great, he didn¡¯t have enough crystal cores. Being able to raise its potential through killing zombies was the best possible outcome. The only question was how strong exactly was the attack power of this Bloody Chainsaw... Unable to contain his curiosity, Wang Tao fed the chainsaw some crystal cores to increase the compatibility slightly and tested it on a few zombies. Then Wang Tao frowned. The damage of the Bloody Chainsaw... wasn¡¯t high! When the Chainsaw Zombie wielded the chainsaw, it could chop the Entangling Roots causing over thirty thousand damage to HP, killing many zombies with a single cut. But after Wang Tao¡¯s tests, he found that the damage of this chainsaw was about the same as when he fought with his bare hands. Moreover, the mechanism of this chainsaw was very peculiar; the chainsaw itself lost HP while being used! Wang Tao had never seen equipment that lost HP before. No wonder it had a health bar. Luckily though, every time it killed a zombie, it would regenerate HP and the upper limit of its HP would increase. If it could continuously kill zombies, then it would be fine. But if it couldn¡¯t kill zombies, then it might end up ¡®dying¡¯ itself... As for why its damage was so low... it was obviously because of that Chainsaw Zombie. Its Awakening [Cutting] was a pure attacking ability. [Cutting] combined with the [Bloody Chainsaw] had an effect greater than the sum of their parts. ... After returning to the high wall, Wang Tao checked the five Loot Packs once more. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained a total of five crystal cores: a red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength], another red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense], and an orange [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: High Speed Rotation]. There was one Awakening Crystal Core, which was not bad. Wang Tao had seen most of the other crystal cores before, but he was seeing the last core for the first time. [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: High Speed Rotation] [Quality: Orange (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: Reduced vision)] [High Speed Rotation: Consumes energy to rotate at a balanced, high speed] This was the ability the Chainsaw Zombie had used before. The description alone didn¡¯t hint at how powerful this ability could be. However, considering the Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s prior engagement, if one had a suitable weapon to hand, this ability could be terrifying. Wang Tao looked toward the second Loot Pack. [Acquired: Cleansing Potion x20] [Acquired: Purification Agent (Experimental) x5] [Acquired: Deactivating Potion (Experimental) x20] ¡°Eh?¡± Upon seeing the contents of this Loot Pack, Wang Tao thought he had seen wrong. He rubbed his eyes, but there was no mistake! These were Cleansing Potions, Purification Agents, and Deactivating Potions! [Detoxification Potion: Can eliminate 1% of impurities in the body] [Purification Agent (Experimental): When used on zombies mutated for no longer than 3 days, there¡¯s a certain probability to purify the virus in their bodies, and a certain probability to cause self-combustion. Ineffective against zombies mutated for over 3 days (Note: This potion is an experimental version with certain unknown side effects)] [Deactivating Potion (Experimental): Can reduce the zombie virus activity in the infected for 3 to 10 days. After the decrease in virus activity, the mutation into a zombie will not occur] Previously, Wang Tao had only obtained one [Detoxification Potion], one [Purification Agent (Experimental)], and two cases of Deactivating Potion [Experimental]. Besides acquiring Deactivating Potion after Wu Fei¡¯s mutation into a zombie, the rest were obtained from the Green-eyed Zombie below Shuize First Hospital. Wang Tao had hypothesized that such potions could only drop from doctor-class zombies. But since he hadn¡¯t encountered any special doctor zombies afterward, he couldn¡¯t confirm his guess. But now, Wang Tao felt his guess must be correct! He had previously thought that this Chainsaw Zombie¡¯s past life seemed a bit like a doctor¡¯s, except it was too incongruous holding a chainsaw. Now it appeared that it really was a doctor. Of these three potions, Wang Tao most coveted the Detoxification Potion. He had gotten five bottles previously and, after using them sparingly, now only had one bottle left. Chapter 706: 286 Bloody Chainsaw_2 Chapter 706: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_2 ¡°` For Wang Tao, the greatest benefit of this potion was that it allowed him to synthesize Crystal Cores that contained impurities! Some Crystal Cores were too rare, potentially impossible to find a second one of, or simply unattainable at the moment. In such cases, to fuse the Crystal Cores, one would have to endure the internal impurities. For instance, when Wang Tao previously fused a Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core, it was already difficult for him to obtain 4 Ascension Crystal Cores, let alone gather 12 to ascend. Therefore, he had to tolerate the internal impurities and use a Cleansing Potion afterwards. Now, having acquired 20 Cleansing Potions all at once, which equated to being able to clear 20% of the internal impurities, this should last Wang Tao for quite a while! As for the ¡°Purification Agent (Experimental)¡± and ¡°Deactivating Potion (Experimental),¡± both were also great finds. The Purification Potion was the one that saved Jiang Shixue; without it, there would be no Jiang Shixue. Of course, the use of the Purification Potion was very strict, with significant side effects, and luck played a large part... The Deactivating Potion had a similar effect to the Inhibitor but took effect faster and without any side effects. Once used, one would definitely not turn into a zombie within three days. However, its duration wasn¡¯t as long as the Inhibitor¡¯s, at most ten days. Compared to the Inhibitor, each had its advantages. But in urgent situations, the Deactivating Potion was more suitable. It was a life-saving item indeed. Contentedly storing away these three potions, Wang Tao turned his attention to the third Loot Pack. Inside was a set of clothes. [Gained: Female doctor¡¯s suit x1] [Female doctor¡¯s suit: Durability+10, Tear resistance+10] It was a somewhat fitted white lab coat, which Wang Tao thought Lan Yulian should wear. She was a doctor by profession and now also acted as a healer; the coat suited her perfectly. If it could be paired with black stockings, it would be even more fitting. The fourth Loot Pack contained an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Gained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The Chainsaw Zombies had already dropped an Awakening Energy Pearl, and now one more erupted from this Loot Pack. It also contained an Awakening Crystal Core, plus the 100 Awakening Energy gained from killing the Chainsaw Zombies... This meant that Wang Tao effectively traded 100 Awakening Energy for 400, profiting three hundred! Finally, the last Loot Pack, not surprisingly, contained Blueprints. [Gained: Far-sighted Glasses Blueprint x1] [Gained: Sharp scalpel Blueprint x1] [Gained: High-power cardiac pacemaker Blueprint x1] There were three Blueprints in total this time, though they didn¡¯t seem to be for conventional Weapon Equipment. [Far-sighted Glasses Blueprint: Can be used to craft a pair of glasses with a binocular feature. Required materials: Any glasses x1, A Crystal Core x1] [Far-sighted Glasses: Attributes unknown] The making of these Far-sighted Glasses was very simple; any pair of glasses plus a Crystal Core would do. Wang Tao went to Lan Yulian for a pair of sunglasses and then casually took out a Level 1 Crystal Core. In the blink of an eye, the glasses were crafted. [Far-sighted Glasses: Vision+5] These were a pair of sophisticated looking gold-rimmed glasses. Wang Tao tried them on and found that he could freely adjust the focus of the lenses, indeed making them usable as binoculars. However, they were not fitting for Wang Tao to wear. Not only were they impractical for combat, but his Night Vision Ability had already enhanced his vision; his eyesight was already excellent, and he also had regular binoculars... So these glasses weren¡¯t very useful for him. Therefore, Wang Tao gave the Far-sighted Glasses to Lan Yulian, and while he was at it, he also handed over the Female doctor¡¯s suit. Lan Yulian was clearly happy to receive gifts from Wang Tao. However, upon seeing the white lab coat, she gave Wang Tao a reproachful look. While the clothes were proper, whether Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts were proper or not was another matter. Wang Tao didn¡¯t try to explain, as a straight tree does not fear a crooked shadow. He explained to Lan Yulian how the glasses worked. She was quite interested in them, being usable as binoculars. Wang Tao told her to have fun with them, and he then started crafting the other two pieces of equipment. [Sharp scalpel Blueprint: Can be used to craft an extremely sharp scalpel that can be reused. Required materials: Surgical Knife x1, A Crystal Core x1] [Sharp scalpel: Attributes unknown] The materials needed for the Sharp scalpel were also simple; Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack was stocked with many Surgical Knives, all previously dropped by zombies at the hospital. He used these as disposable throwing weapons. Wang Tao casually took out a Surgical Knife and began crafting. A rainbow of light flashed, and the Sharp scalpel was complete. [Sharp scalpel: Sharpness+5, Automatically sterilized upon use] This scalpel was clearly not suitable as a throwing weapon¡ªit was too wasteful. It would be perfect for a doctor¡¯s use. Both Lan Yulian and Chen Zhuang could use it. Since Lan Yulian was nearby, Wang Tao gave it to her. After all, Lan Yulian was now a pure healer. Chen Zhuang, on the other hand, was a combat medic; his priority was fighting, secondary was healing. [High-power cardiac pacemaker Blueprint: Can be used to craft a high-power cardiac pacemaker. Required materials: Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Battery x20, Electronic Components x20, Rubber x20, Plastic x20, Cable x20] [High-power cardiac pacemaker: Attributes unknown] Huh? Wang Tao was somewhat surprised as he saw the attributes for this last Blueprint. The equipment crafted from the first two Blueprints were just average, auxiliary items that wouldn¡¯t enhance combat abilities. Even without those two pieces of equipment, there wouldn¡¯t be much impact on Wang Tao. ¡°` Chapter 707: 286 Bloody Chainsaw_3 Chapter 707: Chapter 286 Bloody Chainsaw_3 But this high-power cardiac pacemaker was different; it required more materials to produce, and most importantly, it needed a Level 4 Crystal Core. Based on Wang Tao¡¯s experience, the higher-grade materials required, the better the resulting product would be! Wang Tao suddenly felt a bit excited. He immediately took out various materials and began crafting. A rainbow flash passed, and a small yellow-white device appeared in front of Wang Tao. [High-power cardiac pacemaker: Can restore 100 HP for a mammal whose HP has reached zero within the past hour and has no significant damage to vital organs. Effective only once per day for the same target] ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Seeing the attributes of this cardiac pacemaker, Wang Tao was shocked. In a sense, this was equivalent to resurrection! The key vital organs likely referred to the brain and heart. This meant that as long as the death wasn¡¯t too horrific, there was a chance of bringing them back! Lan Yulian had strong healing abilities and was very useful. However, her healing required that the person was still alive; if they were dead, she was powerless to reverse it. But this cardiac pacemaker, even if the HP bar had reached zero, which meant death, there was still a chance to revive them! This was truly amazing! Especially now, when everyone might need to become a soldier, having such a resurrection device at hand increased the chances of surviving the crisis! After further study, Wang Tao found out that the pacemaker used batteries as its energy source. However, ordinary batteries wouldn¡¯t work; it required the specific batteries that were dropped by Wang Tao. Fortunately, Wang Tao had plenty of materials and batteries, enough for its use. As for why the cardiac pacemaker was so powerful, Wang Tao naturally did not know, but it didn¡¯t matter. He didn¡¯t need to understand the principles; all that mattered was that it worked. Wang Tao then called over Lan Yulian and explained the functions of the high-power cardiac pacemaker to her. ¡°You can revive the dead?¡± Lan Yulian looked incredulous. However, Wang Tao obviously had no need to lie to her. In this post-apocalyptic world, the emergence of any strange items was not surprising. Lan Yulian quickly became excited. ¡°Wang Tao, does that mean we won¡¯t have any more deaths from now on?¡± Wang Tao shook his head and said: ¡°That¡¯s definitely impossible. There are many limitations. All I can say is, from now on, if someone dies within the base, we should try to keep the body intact; we might actually be able to bring them back to life!¡± ¡°That¡¯s still amazing! I¡¯ll instruct them right away that if they encounter danger, they must protect their comrade¡¯s body at all costs!¡± Lan Yulian immediately ran off, full of energy. After checking the spoils of war, Wang Tao went up on the high wall. With the death of the Level 4 Zombie Lord, the rest of the zombies outside the base attacked in a somewhat disorderly fashion, not as organized as before. But there were still a lot of zombies, and even a chaotic assault was troublesome for the base. Especially troublesome were the occasional Level 3 Zombie Lords that appeared¡ª as long as a Zombie Lord was present, it could control the other zombies and lead them in very methodical attacks! Therefore, He Jijun and the others watched carefully for the appearance of any Zombie Lords within the horde, ready to kill them the moment they showed up! Under the firepower of heavy machine guns and anti-materiel sniper rifles, even Level 3 Zombie Lords couldn¡¯t withstand for long. He Jijun and his team had already killed many of them. However, everyone¡¯s expressions weren¡¯t exactly joyful, as there were just too many Level 3 Zombie Lords! Normally, days would pass without seeing a single Lord, and one couldn¡¯t find a Zombie Lord to hunt even if they wanted to. Now, however, Level 3 Zombie Lords appeared as if they cost nothing... Fortunately, with Wang Tao present, who had dealt with the Level 4 Zombie Lord, the situation was somewhat less problematic. Wang Tao watched from the wall for a while before saying to everyone: ¡°I¡¯m going down to kill some zombies. If there¡¯s any emergency, just call me.¡± Wang Tao wanted to increase the blood limit for the Bloody Chainsaw. The Bloody Chainsaw could only increase its HP limit by killing zombies of Level 3 or higher. This included Level 3 Lords, Elite, and Ordinary. There was an abundance of Elite and Ordinary zombies. Especially, there were many Night Demons below, which were deterred by the ultraviolet lights on the high wall and dared not approach, remaining in the darkness below without leaving. For Wang Tao, these were all ¡®exp packages¡¯ for the Bloody Chainsaw! ¡°Be careful!¡± The people admonished. Wang Tao jumped down from the city wall, activating the Entangling Roots as he did. To deal with the large number of lower-level zombies, the Entangling Roots were quite useful. Holding the chainsaw, Wang Tao charged directly into the horde of zombies. Whirring¡ª There was a big difference in the feel between a chainsaw and a knife. Using a knife required chopping and was more strenuous. But with the chainsaw, it was different. One simply had to press the start switch and then just hold the chainsaw to the zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even need to aim for the head or anything; the Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s special properties meant that cutting any part of a zombie did damage, allowing Wang Tao to unleash mayhem. Whirring¡ª In an instant, flesh and blood flew in all directions. Fortunately, Wang Tao had the Entangling Roots to block all that filthy stuff. Otherwise, with the killing power of the chainsaw, Wang Tao figured he would be completely covered in zombie blood and flesh. And amid Wang Tao¡¯s frenzied carnage, the HP bar of the Bloody Chainsaw visibly began to rise. Wang Tao had no idea how many zombies he killed until he saw the Night Demons begin to flee in terror, at which point he noticed that it was almost dawn. The first thing Wang Tao did was not to check the Bloody Chainsaw, but to clench his fist. ¡°Another day has passed!¡± The three-day agreement he had made with Shi Hou Zhiyuan of Changhe City Base was down to the last day! Chapter 708: 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_1 Chapter 708: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_1 Dawn was approaching. The night demons beneath the high walls receded like the tide. The attacks of the mad demon zombies also began to slow, and the other zombies were no longer as frenzied as before. Wang Tao looked around and, after confirming there were no zombie lords, he then returned to the base. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Atop the high walls, everyone was somewhat exhausted. Although there was no danger tonight, no one dared to relax in the slightest, their spirits highly concentrated, which was absolutely exhausting. Now, although the zombies were still assaulting the high walls, the frequency had reduced significantly, and the people could finally take a brief rest. ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± Wang Tao asked the crowd. ¡°We¡¯re all good!¡± ¡°Okay, then I¡¯m going to rest. Call me if there¡¯s anything.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He hadn¡¯t rested at all tonight and was the busiest among them. Although he still had plenty of energy, he needed to maintain a good state. After all, he was the only one in the entire base who could handle four-level zombies. When Wang Tao went to rest, he also glanced at the Bloody Chainsaw. Its HP had risen to 50,000; one more time and it would probably reach a hundred thousand blood! After using the Bloody Chainsaw to kill so many zombies, Wang Tao had pretty much figured out the proper use of this weapon. The damage of the Bloody Chainsaw did indeed have some relation to its own HP, but the increase wasn¡¯t significant. The main purpose of this HP was to improve endurance! When using it, it consumes 100 blood per second. A Bloody Chainsaw with 10,000 blood could only be used for 100 seconds under normal circumstances, which is less than two minutes. One with 50,000 blood could last for 500 seconds, more than eight minutes. That was a significant increase in endurance. Of course, the Bloody Chainsaw could regain health by killing zombies. Killing any zombie with it would regenerate health for the Chainsaw. The only question was how much. And only by killing level 3 or higher zombies could the Chainsaw¡¯s maximum health limit be increased. Overall, the Bloody Chainsaw was still quite good to use. After all, it was very simple to operate: just start the chainsaw and press it against the zombies. Wherever you hit a zombie, it would lose health. When dealing with large-scale zombie attacks, using the chainsaw might not be as efficient as using a shockwave, but it was much less effort-consuming. After all, it didn¡¯t require Wang Tao to do much. Killing zombies even gave Wang Tao a feeling of slacking off... The only drawback might be that the damage wasn¡¯t very high. Back in the central area, Wang Tao had something simple to eat and then rested. He had barely slept last night, so now was the time to catch up on sleep. In the afternoon, Wang Tao suddenly felt something damp on his face. Opening his eyes, he found Lightning licking him with a big tongue. ¡°Go away! Don¡¯t be a bootlicker!¡± Wang Tao pushed Lightning¡¯s head away. After Lightning¡¯s successful ascension to level 3, its body had grown significantly larger, now resembling a small calf, looking majestic and powerful! Jiang Shixue could probably use it as a mount. Wang Tao played with Lightning for a bit, then rubbed its head and said: ¡°Later, I¡¯ll take you out to boost your health bar, aiming to get you to a hundred thousand blood quickly!¡± ¡°Woof!¡± After washing his face, Wang Tao walked out with Lightning. Lan Yulian and others were already outside. Lightning had also just woken up not long ago, and everyone marveled at its size. Having such a big dog around felt very secure. After that, Lan Yulian told Wang Tao that the onslaught of the zombie horde had slowed down, and they should be safe for the time being. ¡°Seems like zombies can get tired too, huh!¡± Wang Tao laughed. Everyone laughed along. After holding off such a fierce attack last night, they were feeling somewhat confident now. Wang Tao and the others had a simple lunch together, and he inquired about their equipment and ammunition. There wasn¡¯t much ammunition left from the military base, and though it would have been enough for them, it certainly wouldn¡¯t be if used against the zombie horde. ¡°Judging by the intensity of yesterday¡¯s attack, our ammunition should last about three more days.¡± Ding Yuqin said, holding a list. ¡°Three days, that¡¯s not too bad.¡± Wang Tao nodded. According to the agreement with Changhe City Base, reinforcements should arrive by this time tomorrow. Even if there were any problems, delaying it by one or two days would be sufficient. As for whether the other side would be able to come over, Wang Tao felt that they must be aware of the difficulties on the road, and since they dared to agree, they definitely had the means to do so. After lunch, Wang Tao went out of the base with Jiang Shixue and Lightning. Jiang Shixue had also reached the pinnacle of level 3, but both Wang Tao and she were unclear on how to awaken. After all, Jiang Shixue was different from the others. Wang Tao had also tried feeding her blood once before, but it didn¡¯t work this time. However, it was understandable. After all, ascension to level 4 required awakening, and if awakening was so easy to achieve, it wouldn¡¯t be called awakening. So, Wang Tao thought that if conditions allowed, it would be best to take Jiang Shixue out to kill more zombies, perhaps that might present the opportunity for awakening. Outside Zijin Base. The zombie horde¡¯s attacks had weakened, but they had not retreated. And even though so many zombies were killed last night, today it seemed like there were even more than yesterday. ¡°These zombies... really are endless!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed, then took out the chainsaw and began hunting zombies. There were no zombie lords in sight for the time being, but there were quite a few level two and level three elite zombies. Especially a lot of mad demon zombies; those were groupings of level two and three zombies. Chapter 709: 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_2 Chapter 709: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_2 ¡°` Lightning strikes killed the zombies and added to his HP, and the Bloody Chainsaw did the same when it killed Level 3 zombies. Therefore, Wang Tao activated Entangling Roots and charged directly into the mob of Mad Demon Zombies, starting a frenzy of slaughter. Buzzing¡ª It has to be said, the Bloody Chainsaw was extremely effective against Ordinary Zombies, hardly requiring any effort. By the time only a few Mad Demon Zombies remained, they all started to flee. Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t let them go, but during the pursuit, he suddenly thought, he had previously followed Night Demons to find the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Now following these Mad Demon Zombies, could he find a Mad Demon Lair? Thinking it, he did it. He didn¡¯t kill those few Mad Demon Zombies but instead followed them with Jiang Shixue and Lightning to see where they intended to go. About ten or so minutes later, Wang Tao grinned. Indeed, he had found it! It was a place that looked like a hotel, and he could sense a large number of Mad Demon Zombies inside! Wang Tao had passed by several Night Demon Nests, but he hadn¡¯t entered a Mad Demon Lair before. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s take a look inside!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t timid; he went straight in. He had just scouted the area and found that it was only filled with Level 1, Level Two, and Level 3 Mad Demon Zombies, with no other types of zombies or any Level Four zombies present. This was why he was so fearless. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± When Wang Tao, one person and one dog, appeared at the entrance of the hotel, they instantly drew the attention of the Mad Demon Zombies inside. Mad Demons are different from Night Demons; they aren¡¯t afraid of Ultraviolet Light. Upon seeing Wang Tao, the uninvited guest, a large number of Mad Demon Zombies immediately ran out of the hotel. ¡°Kill!¡± Wielding the Bloody Chainsaw, Wang Tao charged into battle, with Jiang Shixue and Lightning following behind him. Dealing with Mad Demon Zombies of these levels was naturally not difficult for Wang Tao. Their numbers weren¡¯t too many, at least not as many as a zombie horde, so Wang Tao could easily handle them. After some time, there wasn¡¯t a single zombie left standing inside the hotel. Lightning¡¯s HP had reached 80,000, and the Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s HP finally reached 100,000. Wang Tao began cleaning up the battlefield. The Mad Demon Zombies themselves didn¡¯t have Crystal Cores, and the Loot Packs that Wang Tao looted mostly contained materials, so there wasn¡¯t anything particularly valuable. However, inside the lair, there was some flesh that could hatch Mad Demon Zombies. After destroying all of this flesh, Wang Tao ended up with a large pile of Extraction Crystal Cores! Moreover, these Extraction Crystal Cores were not merely Level Two; there were Level 1, Level Two, and Level 3 ones! ¡°Hiss... struck it rich!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected to find such valuable items inside a Mad Demon Lair. These Crystal Cores were of no use to Wang Tao himself, but to others, they were invaluable, especially the Level 3 Extraction Crystal Cores. Lan Yulian and her group were all at Level 3! Although the Crystal Cores they fused with were all selected by Wang Tao and were essentially flawless, using the Extraction Crystal Cores with HP Enhancement Crystal Cores could potentially increase their extra HP! Wang Tao previously obtained an extra 10,000 HP this way. Of course, he didn¡¯t use Extraction Crystal Cores but instead utilized his Special Energy Extraction Ability, but they should be similar. The HP Enhancement Crystal Cores came from the Night Demon and were all Level 3; thus, they could only be used with Level 3 Extraction Crystal Cores. After his Ascension to Level Four, Wang Tao realized how difficult it was to increase his HP. Allowing them to gain an extra 10,000 HP while at Level 3 was quite significant. Moreover, Awakening required 100,000 HP. Wang Tao had 110,000, leaving him with some to spare. He was unsure what would happen if one had exactly 100,000 HP... If everyone could increase their HP to 110,000, then that worry would be gone. After collecting all of the loot, Wang Tao used the walkie-talkie to inquire about the situation at the base. Jade Lotus reported that no Level 4 zombies had appeared and that the attack from the horde wasn¡¯t in a state of Frenzy, so the base was still safe. Thus, Wang Tao didn¡¯t return but continued with Jiang Shixue and Lightning, searching Zijing City for zombies to see if they could find another Mad Demon Lair. Although they searched for half a day without finding a second Mad Demon Lair, Wang Tao did come across a Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Unfortunately, this Night Demon¡¯s Nest was quite significant, but it contained no Level 4 Night Demons, only Level 3 Night Demons. But a mosquito¡¯s leg is still meat, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t let it go. After clearing out this Night Demon¡¯s Nest, Lightning¡¯s HP also reached 100,000. For the now, killing these Level 3 zombies was incredibly easy for Lightning, who could bite them to death in just a few bites. ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to base!¡± Since the base was currently surrounded by a zombie horde, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to stray too far away. However, as they were leaving the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Lightning all looked toward the east at the same time. Thud, thud¡ª A towering figure in worn-out metal armor, carrying a metal pillar similar to a utility pole on his shoulder, walked past in the distance. ¡°Level 4 Lord Zombie!¡± Upon seeing the zombie, Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed. But before he could say anything, he saw a thin, shriveled, hunched-over figure emerge from behind the tall one. ¡°Two Level 4 Lord Zombies¡ªNo! There¡¯s more!¡± A massive obese zombie and another deformed one covered in green mist appeared! Four Level 4 Lord Zombies! ¡°Run!¡± If it were only one Level 4 Lord, Wang Tao would definitely have tried to see if he could defeat it. But suddenly, there were four! Without a second word, Wang Tao turned and ran. ¡°` Chapter 710: 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_3 Chapter 710: Chapter 287: Four Level 4 Creatures_3 Jiang Shixue and Lightning closely followed behind Wang Tao. The level 4 zombies seemed not to have noticed Wang Tao, so they did not give chase. Their pace remained unhurried, but the direction they were heading... Zijin Base! ¡°Everyone, pay attention! Level 4 zombies are coming!¡± Wang Tao immediately used the walkie-talkie to notify Zijin Base. A moment later, Wang Tao used Iron Tree Vines to successfully scale into the base. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s going on!¡± Lan Yulian and her group looked at Wang Tao with palpable tension. ¡°Four level 4 Zombie Lords are coming from the east!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression was grave. He knew that apart from the Chainsaw Zombies, other level 4 Zombie Lords were bound to arrive, but with four appearing all at once, they were going to be tough to handle! ¡°That many!¡± Everyone was startled. If it were only one or two level 4 Zombie Lords, they might barely be able to cope with the firepower of Wang Tao and the heavy machine guns. But the sudden appearance of four.... It felt like an insurmountable battle! ¡°Don¡¯t panic. None of these four zombies are overly large, so the high walls of the base should hold them back. As long as we can keep them outside the walls, we certainly have means to cope! Have all ability users stand by, I have some weapon equipment to distribute... Get ready for the fight!¡± Though Wang Tao was worried, he did not show it. If he too seemed afraid, it would greatly affect morale. ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone responded in unison. Wang Tao took out the Iron Tree Armors, Bone Hand Crossbows, Hand Axes, and the like that he had made, and handed them over to Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian immediately used the broadcast system to inform everyone about the level 4 zombies. At this point, there was no point in concealing the news; only with everyone working together could there be a chance to solve the problem. When the survivors inside the base heard this news, they were all very nervous, but they also knew there was no way back. Those capable of fighting donned their armor and took up their weapons, ready to join the battle at any moment. Zijin Base housed twenty thousand people, one tenth of whom were ability users, totaling around two thousand. These two thousand people were the backbone of the base. This number of ability users was actually controlled deliberately by Lan Yulian. After all, they were not a small base but a relatively well-functioning large one. For such a base to develop, besides ability users hunting zombies, there were those in charge of cooking, farming, and even doing laundry and other logistical tasks. Every part of the base needed people, but not every part needed ability users. Many tasks could also be done by ordinary people. Of course, if one became an ability user, their physical fitness would improve across the board, and they might perform even better. But aside from whether or not it was worth it, there simply wasn¡¯t enough Crystal Cores. Crystal Cores came in many varieties; for some lousy ones, using them was worse than not using them at all. Plus, to become a qualified ability user, a single Crystal Core was obviously not enough. It would take many to cultivate an ability user worth mentioning. So, rather than distributing these Crystal Cores to everyone, providing a slight boost in strength, it was better to concentrate them on a subset of individuals, making these few much stronger. These people were either existing ability users who came from other places, or those with certain combat abilities or contributions, promoted by the base. The base¡¯s resources would be skewed towards these ability users, and they would be treated with more respect. As for whether ordinary people might be jealous, of course, some would be. But there was no helping it; while the base was fair, it was not absolutely so. Everything still depended on strength. Furthermore, some people were not even willing to become ability users. Despite better treatment for ability users, they would have to venture outside to kill zombies, risking their lives. Being an ordinary person, contributing to the base, and being protected by ability users, could also be a good thing. Among these two thousand ability users, there were one thousand five hundred Level 1 ability users, four hundred Level 2 ability users, and one hundred Level 3 ability users. Relying solely on these ability users was clearly not sufficient to hold back the zombie horde. After all, there were far too many zombies, and there were also numerous Level 2 and Level 3 Elite Zombies. But the base had high walls that could block most zombies. As long as the walls stood, the base was secure. Then there were the thermal weapons. The base already had a military force established by the former base leader, General, in the aftermath of the apocalypse. Although their numbers were not large, they were equipped with thermal weapons. In terms of lethality, many ability users could not compare, but due to the loudness of gunfire, they usually would not take action. Furthermore, Wang Tao had moved over the weapon equipment from the military base. While there were no large weapons, there were plenty of heavy machine guns, anti-tank sniper rifles, and the like. With these devices against zombies, even Level 4 zombies could be dealt with! Under Lan Yulian¡¯s mobilization, the base¡¯s combatants were divided into two batches. The first batch had all arrived at the high walls, ready to face the zombies. The second batch rested, prepared to rotate in at any moment. The four Level 4 Zombie Lords Wang Tao mentioned had not yet been seen by anyone. But it was palpably clear that the zombies below the wall were becoming increasingly frenzied, and even more zombies were walking in from a distance! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The zombies below let out a shriek, and then, just like the previous night, began to scale the wall! If it were only a small number, even the Mad Demon Zombies wouldn¡¯t be able to scale the high walls of the base. But there were countless zombies climbing all at once; for every one that fell, another took its place; they climbed over one another, scaling the wall mutually! A moment later, the zombies piled up at the foot of the high wall like ants. If left unchecked, surmounting the high wall was just a matter of time. ¡°Attack!¡± Lan Yulian roared. The survivors wielding flamethrowers and firearms immediately pulled their triggers. Whooosh¡ª Da-da-da¡ª Surge after surge of flames and bullets rained down upon the zombies, instantly knocking down swathes of them, but immediately, more zombies filled their places, as if they were never-ending! Chapter 711: 288 Before the Dawn_1 Chapter 711: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_1 Wang Tao watched the surging tide of zombies, his heart unmoved. ¡°Still not coming out, huh...¡± He was waiting for the appearance of a Level 4, Lord Zombie, but those several Level 4 Zombies seemed to be planning to use Ordinary Zombies to wear down the base first, as they themselves had not shown up the entire time. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t nai?ve enough to think that those four Level 4 Zombies had left; they were definitely hiding somewhere! After waiting a while longer and seeing that the Level 4, Lord Zombie still wasn¡¯t showing up, Wang Tao took out an anti-materiel sniper rifle. Aiming, he squeezed the trigger. Bang! An Ordinary Level 3 Zombie¡¯s head exploded. This rifle was powerful, capable of killing an Ordinary Zombie with a single shot. Since the Level 4 Zombies were not showing up, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t just wait idly; he started killing other zombies to relieve some of the pressure on everyone else. As Wang Tao picked off more than a dozen zombies with his sniper rifle, suddenly, a thick object shaped like a pillar flew in from a distance, crashing toward the high wall of the base. Boom! There was a huge noise, and everyone felt the wall tremble as if there had been an earthquake. People quickly looked and could see a small dent appearing where the wall had just been hit! A metal pillar, as thick as a utility pole, rolled on the ground, crushing many zombies underneath it. If there were a few more metal pillars, it would probably create a hole in the high wall of the base! ¡°Such terrifying power!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat astonished. At that moment, a bald figure appeared from within the zombie horde, over three meters tall with muscles like coiled dragons, wearing what looked like a set of tattered metal armor. On closer inspection, the armor was actually fused with its flesh. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakened: Tenacity] [Tenacity: All basic attributes increased, significant increase in strength and defense] This was one of the four Level 4, Lord Zombies that Wang Tao had seen earlier. Its Awakening Ability was the same as the Explosion-proof Zombie Wang Tao had encountered before, but their appearances differed slightly. Seeing that its weapon did not manage to breach the high wall, the bald zombie clearly grew angry. It let out a roar and began striding towards the base. Its speed was not fast, which was good news for Wang Tao. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t act rashly because three other Level 4, Lord Zombies had not yet made an appearance. Thud, thud¡ª The bald zombie strode step by step towards the base. All manner of bullets were welcomed onto its body. [-321] [-33] [-123] [-82] [...] Even against heavy machine guns and anti-materiel sniper rifles, they could only inflict a few hundred points of damage. And each time, it would regenerate 100 HP on its own. [+100] [+100] [+100] [...] ¡°Just like the Explosion-proof Zombie!¡± This scene was all too familiar; the previous Explosion-proof Zombie had done the same. The more it was attacked, the more HP it gained! ¡°Don¡¯t attack it!¡± Wang Tao immediately called for a halt to the attack. Such zombies could only be damaged by hitting their head, and if you couldn¡¯t hit the head accurately, you¡¯d only help it regenerate health. In fact, the more you attacked it, the more health it would gain. Lan Yulian immediately ordered others to shift their attack targets, while Wang Tao and He Jijun, who was good at shooting, controlled the heavy machine gun to attack the head of the bald zombie. The heavy machine gun bullets could deal over three hundred damage each time, and since it could regenerate one hundred, it effectively meant they were inflicting two hundred damage. Given enough time, they could wear it down! But the bald zombie clearly wasn¡¯t giving them that opportunity. Braving the surging gunfire, the bald zombie arrived at the base of the high wall, then picked up its huge metal pillar and slammed it hard against the wall. Boom¡ª Another huge noise. Another shallow pit appeared in the wall. Boom¡ª The bald zombie continued to swing the metal pillar, seemingly determined to break down the wall. ¡°We can¡¯t let it keep smashing like this!¡± Wang Tao immediately said to He Jijun beside him, ¡°Old He, you go fly the plane! If any other Level 4 Zombies show up, cover me! I¡¯m going to deal with it!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The helicopter was ready and could take off at any moment. He Jijun immediately went with his men to start the helicopter. Wang Tao waited a while, and once he saw the helicopter had taken off, he jumped down from the high wall. Thud! Wang Tao landed directly on the shoulder of the bald zombie. Then he raised his long knife and delivered a blow to its head. [-2023] [-202] [-202] [-202] ¡°Such high defense!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s blow only caused a little over two thousand damage. After landing the blow, he immediately jumped down. The sudden attack enraged the bald zombie. It let out a roar, released the metal pillar, and swiped at its own shoulder. However, Wang Tao had already left the spot, so its strike naturally missed. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The bald zombie immediately gave up attacking the wall and roared as it pursued Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t continue to engage it in combat but instead ran away to a distance. After all, fighting under the high wall could damage it, and the surrounding bullets could also accidentally hit him. Swish¡ª Wang Tao cleared the surrounding zombies in a flash with a few Shockwaves. The bald zombie had also caught up, lifting its metal pillar to strike down at Wang Tao. But its speed was slow, and Wang Tao easily dodged the blow, also moving farther away to avoid potential Shockwaves. Thud! The bald zombie¡¯s strike cracked the ground, although there was no Shockwave, the impact caused many nearby zombies to lose their balance. Wang Tao took advantage of the bald zombie¡¯s action and charged forward, climbing up the metal pillar to its face. Wang Tao swung his knife, slashing multiple times. Bang! [-1029] [-102] [...] [-1129] [-112] The damage from the Continuous Slash was similar to that of the high-frequency vibration, amounting to just over two thousand in total. Chapter 712: 288 Before the Dawn_2 Chapter 712: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_2 ¡°` Roar¡ª The bald zombie let out a furious roar and then swung a metal pillar, smashing it towards Wang Tao. But at this moment, in front of Wang Tao, he dodged immediately, and the bald zombie¡¯s club hit itself on the head! Bang! [-3193] Seeing the number of 3,000 HP popping up above the bald zombie¡¯s head, Wang Tao exclaimed in admiration. This bald zombie is a bit dumb! Roar¡ª Staggering, the bald zombie roared again, the hefty metal rod spinning in its hand. Wang Tao had already dodged, but the surrounding zombies were not so lucky; they were directly smashed by the bald one. Seeing the bald zombie acting as if it had gone crazy, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush in this time, but suddenly used Mental Shock on the bald zombie! Swipe¡ª The bald zombie¡¯s body froze for a moment, and a damage number of [-2834] also appeared above its head! ¡°It¡¯s effective!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed. Ever since he had learned the ability Mental Shock, he hadn¡¯t used it often. Under normal circumstances, it wasn¡¯t necessary; after all, a knife was simpler. And when it was necessary, the opponent¡¯s spiritual power would often be quite strong, rendering it ineffective. He had tried it before on a few four-level zombies and monsters, but to little avail. Moreover, abilities of the Psychic System consumed spiritual power, and using them too much would exhaust him. That¡¯s why Wang Tao didn¡¯t use them often. Now, seeing the bald zombie looking not so bright, Wang Tao guessed its spiritual power might not be very high. So he tried it, and sure enough, it was! Taking advantage of the moment when the bald zombie was slightly dizzy from the Mental Shock, Wang Tao charged again, his long knife now replaced by an electric baton. Bang! [-932] [-173] Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao decisively switched his weapon back. It was clear that the bald zombie was not afraid of electricity; the damage from the electric baton was minimal. Roar¡ª After recovering, the bald zombie began to swing its metal pillar wildly at anything nearby. This time, it seemed to have learned its lesson and didn¡¯t smash its own head again. But Wang Tao used Mental Shock once more, causing the bald zombie¡¯s movements to stutter. By the time it reacted, Wang Tao had already slashed it twice more. Wang Tao¡¯s Mental Shock could cause the bald zombie to experience a brief dizziness of about half a second to a second, enough time for Wang Tao to strike and retreat. However, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t keep using Mental Shock indefinitely; too much would also be unbearable for him. After several exchanges like this, the bald zombie hadn¡¯t even touched the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes, yet its HP was already reduced to half. Wang Tao did not relax at all but became even more vigilant. Because the other three four-level zombie lords had yet to appear! Getting too relaxed and suffering a sneak attack would be a huge loss. Whirring¡ª At this moment, the helicopter had already flown out of the base. Both side doors of the cabin were open, exposing the barrels of four heavy machine guns. Seeing air support had arrived, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. While the heavy machine guns on the aircraft might not be able to kill the four-level zombies, they should be able to inflict some damage. As long as they could cause damage, they would attract the zombies¡¯ attention. If Wang Tao had to face four four-level zombies alone, it would be suicide, but with support from the aircraft overhead, he would be much safer. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao directly charged at the bald zombie, using Mental Shock on it while also slashing with his knife. [-2384] [-2192] [-219] [...] But it wasn¡¯t clear if the bald zombie was getting used to the Mental Shock; the damage from the Mental Shock was gradually decreasing, and the duration of dizziness was getting shorter. Roar¡ª The bald zombie roared and lifted the metal pillar to smash it towards Wang Tao. But this time, the pillar slipped from the bald zombie¡¯s grasp. Wang Tao was quick, fully capable of dodging the strike, but the pillar was thrown towards the hovering helicopter! With no choice, Wang Tao had to intercept the blow meant for the helicopter! Entangling Roots immediately covered his entire body, and then the metal pillar harshly struck Wang Tao¡¯s back. [-53533] [-736] [109264/110000(46467/100000)] Wang Tao felt as if he had been hit by a train, smashing into the horde of zombies with the pillar, incidentally crushing a dozen of them. ¡°Shit!¡± Wang Tao stood up clutching his back. The blow from the bald zombie had directly taken more than 50,000 HP from the Entangling Roots, and over 700 from him¡ªabsolutely terrifying! Entangling Roots was a Level 3 weapon after all, and its defensive power wasn¡¯t as high as Wang Tao¡¯s own. In this Level 4 combat, it was evidently struggling. Wang Tao prepared to charge again, but paused when he saw the metal pillar lying on the ground. Then he waved his hand at the pillar... and it disappeared! The bald zombie¡¯s weapon, the metal pillar, was collected into Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack! ¡°...¡± Wang Tao just discovered that the metal pillar lying next to him had a name, so he tried, and indeed it was collected into the Space Backpack! ¡°Haha!¡± Wang Tao laughed loud. The charging bald zombie, looking at the spot where its metal pillar lay, seemed a bit dumbfounded. Without its weapon, the bald zombie¡¯s attack power was significantly reduced, yet its slap attacks were somewhat quicker. But this slight increase in attack speed was clearly no match for Wang Tao. Shortly after, the bald zombie had just a sliver of HP left. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and drove his blade straight into its skull. [-1823] [0/100000] The four-level zombie lord¡¯s HP depleted to zero, and this time Wang Tao didn¡¯t even need to Awaken. ¡°` Chapter 713: 288 Before the Dawn_3 Chapter 713: Chapter 288 Before the Dawn_3 He quickly gathered all the loot, and then opened the walkie-talkie to ask: ¡°Have you seen any other Four-level zombies?¡± ¡°No, haven¡¯t seen any.¡± He Jijun replied. Wang Tao found it strange, four Four-level zombies had obviously come, so why had only one appeared? Could it be that these zombies wanted to attack one by one? That was exactly the situation Wang Tao hoped to see! Facing opponents of the same level, he wasn¡¯t afraid of a drawn-out fight, but feared being surrounded. After confirming once more that there were no Four-level zombies around, Wang Tao then used the Iron Tree Vines to wrap around the hook under the helicopter, and was brought back to the base. ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay!¡± As soon as Wang Tao landed, Ding Yuqin and the others rushed over, with Lan Yulian casting several heals on Wang Tao. Because Wang Tao chose to fight the bald zombie far away from the high wall to prevent it from attacking, with some buildings in between for cover, except for He Jijun, no one else saw the specifics of the battle. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve dealt with that Four-level zombie. Did you see any other Four-level zombies appear?¡± Wang Tao asked after drinking a few bottles of nutrition solution. ¡°No. Only a few Level 3 Lords appeared, which we took care of.¡± Everyone shook their heads. ¡°Pay more attention, let me know if there¡¯s any movement.¡± Wang Tao needed to rest for a while, his fight with the bald zombie hadn¡¯t lasted long, but it was very energy-consuming; after all, the slightest carelessness could have been fatal. Before resting, Wang Tao first checked the loot. Killing the bald zombie, he obtained 1 Advanced Special Energy, 1 Awakening Key; he now had six Awakening Keys. The bald zombie itself dropped a Crystal Core, an Awakening Energy Pearl, the Metal Pillar, and Tattered Armor. [Obtained: Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Strength x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Black Iron Stick x1] [Obtained: Black Iron x10] The Black Iron Stick was its weapon, and the Black Iron was from its Tattered Armor. Then there were five Loot Packs. The first pack contained five Crystal Cores, all of which Wang Tao had seen before. They were Red [Level 4 Crystal Core: Awakening], Orange [Level 4 Crystal Core: Ascension], Blue [Level 4 Crystal Core: Versatility], Blue [Level 4 Crystal Core: Defense], and Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core: Return to Light]. In the second Loot Pack were Strength and Defense Potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Strength Potion (small) x20] [Obtained: Defense Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Defense Potion (small) x20] The third Loot Pack contained another Energy Bead. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Two Awakening Energy Pearls, along with one Awakening Crystal Core, plus the 100 Awakening Energy gained from killing the zombie... just these Awakening Energy alone were a huge gain. Yesterday, Wang Tao upgraded his Awakening Energy limit a bit; now it was 600. If he used it all on Starfire Prairie, he could use it for a minute. A real man for a minute! In the fourth Loot Pack was more Black Iron. [Obtained: Black Iron x10] [Black Iron: A crafting material that can increase equipment¡¯s defense, fire resistance, and ductility.] Although this material didn¡¯t add as many attributes as Black Stone Armor, any material that could add attributes was a good one. Usually, when such materials were dropped, there would be corresponding Blueprints. As expected, the last Loot Pack contained Blueprints. [Obtained: Black Iron Heavy Armor Blueprint x1] [Black Iron Heavy Armor Blueprint: Can be used to craft a set of Black Iron Heavy Armor. Required materials: Black Iron x10, a Crystal Core x1] [Black Iron Heavy Armor: Attributes unknown] The materials required for this Blueprint were simple; only Black Iron and a Crystal Core. Except for crafting equipment, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what else these materials were useful for, so he immediately started crafting. Shortly after, a set of pitch-black heavy armor appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack. [Black Iron Heavy Armor] [Level 4 (Epic)] [Durability +300, defensive power +200, speed -50%, fire resistance, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] ¡°Holy smokes!¡± Seeing the attributes of this armor set, Wang Tao was shocked. Durability of 300, defense of 200; these were the strongest attributes Wang Tao had seen to date. But the reduction of speed by 50% was a deadly weakness for someone like Wang Tao who preferred high mobility. He would have to research how to use this armor set properly. ... Until night fell, no other Four-level zombies appeared. Lan Yulian hurriedly switched to the second batch of people, allowing the previous combatants to rest. Wang Tao was well-rested by now, watching the mad demons beginning to appear beneath the wall, he took out various ultraviolet lighting tools. He told everyone to prepare. At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s ears twitched. ¡°There¡¯s movement!¡± He quickly grabbed his binoculars and looked into the distance. ¡°...Damn!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s Night Vision Ability clearly saw that within his field of view were endless zombies! Among these zombies, the figures of three Four-level zombies stood out! They were the same three Four-level zombies from before! No wonder they hadn¡¯t appeared earlier; they had been gathering other zombies from different places! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Lan Yulian asked nervously. ¡°Those three zombies I mentioned before, they¡¯ve brought a huge number of zombies here!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face looked grim. ¡°How many... is a huge number?¡± The others looked anxiously at Wang Tao. Weren¡¯t the zombies besieging their base already a ¡°huge number¡±? Wang Tao pointed towards the zombies outside the base and said: ¡°Three times more than this, maybe even more! The objective of those three Lord zombies... is to directly break through our base!¡± ¡°...¡± The others were somewhat flabbergasted. Were the zombies now so smart they even knew how to strategize and lead troops? ¡°Everyone, get ready to fight! If we can get through this wave, we can wait for the rescue. If we can¡¯t hold on... then it¡¯s all over!¡± Chapter 714 - 289: Proper Use (Two-In-One Mega Chapter)_1 Chapter 714: Chapter 289: Proper Use (Two-In-One Mega Chapter)_1 Zijin Base¡¯s exterior was swarming with zombies at a visibly alarming rate. They screamed and howled, climbing up the tall walls. Da-da-da¡ªda-da-da¡ª The heavy machine guns mounted on the wall fired down below; the zombies at the front were riddled with holes, but countless more took their place. In the blink of an eye, the base of the wall was piled high with zombie corpses, which served as a ladder for the other zombies. ¡°Gasoline!¡± Someone shouted, and barrels of gasoline started pouring down onto the heap of bodies. Bullets struck the gasoline, and flames erupted instantaneously, swallowing the zombies in a sea of fire. ¡°Hehe...¡± ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Sizzle¡ª The ignited zombies¡¯ body fat emitted crackling noises. But the secretion of black blood with fire-retardant properties began to reduce, even extinguish, the flames. Without pain or fatigue, they emerged from the fire and continued their assault on the wall. ... ¡°These zombies are tough to deal with! Even fire can¡¯t kill them...¡± Wei Zhenguo complained as he reloaded, watching some zombies¡¯ flames slowly extinguished atop the tall wall. Unless they were directly doused in gasoline over their heads, these zombies might really be unburnable. Wang Tao remained silent. He was firing his rifle at the Elite Zombies in the horde while keeping an eye on the three zombies that stood out from the rest¡ªthree Level 4 Lords! After the arrival of these three Four-level Lord zombies, the situation didn¡¯t unfold as Wang Tao had predicted¡ªthey didn¡¯t lead a massive zombie charge against Zijin Base. Instead, they waited from afar while sending Ordinary Zombies ahead! Wang Tao felt that these zombies had truly become cunning, capable not only of strategic deployment but also of using these cannon fodder to wear down their enemies. The base¡¯s ammunition was limited, and people could weary. If the base was so depleted by other zombies that they ran out of bullets and supplies, by the time the Four-level Zombies attacked, they would stand no chance. ¡°Wang Tao, how about we rush out together! We¡¯ll hold off the other two Four-level Zombies, and you take care of the third. As long as we can split them up, I believe you can take them down!¡± Xiang Hong Bin suddenly said. Back at the military base, Wang Tao used a military printer to make a prosthetic limb for him. Although he lacked the combat power of a normal person, he still had the ability to fight, which is why he was also on the frontline. Hearing this, the others turned their eyes towards Wang Tao. What Xiang Hong Bin said was also a viable strategy. They all knew Wang Tao was a strong fighter, capable of taking down a Level 4 Lord Zombie, but it needed time and had to be a 1v1 fight. With three Level 4 Lord Zombies present, Wang Tao obviously couldn¡¯t handle them. But if they could temporarily distract the other two, giving Wang Tao time and space, he would surely take care of the problem! But there was one major issue... ¡°I disagree because you would die,¡± Wang Tao flatly refused. He had fought against Level 4 Lords multiple times and knew how terrifying they were. Put simply, if Wei Zhenguo and the others were to fight these two Level 4 Lords, casualties would be inevitable! It¡¯s just a matter of how many would die; total annihilation was possible. Having recently reunited, Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t accept such a scenario. ¡°But if we don¡¯t do this, we¡¯re just slowly dying!¡± Xiang Hong Bin sighed. He wasn¡¯t afraid to die; what he feared was dying without achieving anything. ¡°There will be a way. I¡¯ll think of something,¡± Wang Tao still shook his head. ¡°Ah...¡± Seeing this, everyone else refrained from saying anything further. Ding Yuqin came up to Wang Tao¡¯s side, gripped his hand tightly, and whispered: ¡°We trust you, Wang Tao! But if there really is no other way... you can retreat in time!¡± To ¡°retreat in time¡± meant to give up on the people of Zijin Base. Ding Yuqin feared Wang Tao would become obstinate and fight to the death against these zombies. Wang Tao certainly had the chance to retreat. She admitted, she was selfish. But as long as Wang Tao was alive, her selfishness was justified. She was never a generous person to begin with. Looking into Ding Yuqin¡¯s watery eyes, Wang Tao smiled and caressed her cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if it really comes to that, I¡¯ll make sure there¡¯s a way out for myself,¡± Wang Tao could leave by helicopter at any time. But he didn¡¯t want to flee ignominiously, especially when there was still a chance. ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Ding Yuqin tilted her head, rubbed her face into Wang Tao¡¯s palm, then decisively turned away, picked up her rifle, and resumed firing skillfully at the base of the wall. Wang Tao took a deep breath and looked again at the three Level 4 Lord Zombies hiding in the dark distance. The first zombie was a gaunt and withered one, hunched over. [HP: 150000/150000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Boulder Armor] [Boulder Armor: For the duration, defensive power is greatly increased.] Was this some kind of Earth Awakening? It seemed a bit similar to his Starfire Prairie. He didn¡¯t know how much this increased the defensive power, nor how long this Awakening would last... The second zombie was over two meters tall, extremely obese. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Flame Explosion] [Flame Explosion: Concentrate Awakening Energy to form a massive Fireball and explode.] Clearly, it was a Fire System Awakening Ability and by its description, the Awakening¡¯s power seemed considerable. The third zombie was a deformed one, surrounded by a yellow-green fog. Chapter 715 - 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 715: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Corrosive Poison Gas] [Corrosive Poison Gas: Generates an extremely corrosive poison gas both inside and outside the body] This awakening ability seems related to poison, akin to the skill of the Poisonous Fog Zombie that Wang Tao had encountered before. However, it must be different as awakenings are far more powerful than ordinary abilities. Once released, the gas could probably kill or injure a large number... Wang Tao felt that the awakening abilities of these four Level 4, Lord zombies were all troublesome, and he couldn¡¯t possibly handle them all at once. If he had to choose an opponent, he would definitely pick the fat zombie. After all, it was a fire awakening, which he could also perform. Wang Tao felt that the most difficult one to deal with would be the deformed zombie with the lowest HP. After all, poison isn¡¯t easy to defend against... Wang Tao picked up the sniper rifle, aimed at the fat zombie, and then pulled the trigger. Bang! A .50 caliber bullet instantly reached the front of the fat zombie, which suddenly opened its mouth. Woosh¡ª A small fireball shot out from its mouth, hitting the bullet head-on. Then... the bullet dropped to the ground. Seeing this, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned somewhat ugly. It could actually block a bullet! And it did so proactively; its reflexes were impressively strong! As for whether that fireball was its awakening ability, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure... It didn¡¯t seem likely. After all, an awakening ability shouldn¡¯t be this weak. Wang Tao took another shot at the deformed zombie. Bang! The bullet instantly reached the deformed zombie, entering the layer of poisonous gas surrounding it. The semi-transparent gas had a wide range, and it was clear to see the bullet slowing down upon entering the gas before rapidly corroding. In the blink of an eye, the bullet turned to dust. The bullet was ineffective against the deformed zombie. Not willing to believe it, Wang Tao aimed at the short and shriveled zombie. Bang! [-5223] The bullet instantly struck the shriveled zombie¡¯s head, dealing five thousand damage! Wang Tao immediately felt elated. Could the breakthrough in dealing with these three Level 4, Lord zombies be through the shriveled one? But he quickly discovered that, after being attacked, the shriveled zombie¡¯s body immediately flashed with what looked like a full body armor made of rocks, covering it entirely, including its eyes. The once shriveled zombie turned into a muscular man in an instant. ¡°Is this the ¡®Rock Armor¡¯ awakening?¡± Wang Tao fired at it again. Bang! [-24] The bullet hit its yellowish-brown armor, and a large 24 appeared above its head. Disbelieving, Wang Tao fired several shots. [-21] [-15] [...] Wang Tao waited a while, but the stone armor on the Stone Armor Zombie didn¡¯t disappear. ¡°Crap!¡± Wang Tao put away his rifle, his expression very ugly. All three of the Level 4, Lord zombies had the ability to resist bullets! Considering their awakenings, Wang Tao suddenly felt a bit uncomfortable. When he was covered in flames, he could also block bullets. But Starfire Prairie lasted only 10 seconds, which was too short. Unlike these zombies, who could block continuously! Suddenly, Wang Tao felt that the bald zombie he had killed before, whose awakening boosted its defensive power, compared to these three zombies, had the weakest defense, right? After all, its awakening was related to physique, simply having strong physical qualities and high bodily defense. On the other hand, though these three zombies might not have as strong a physique, they had ways to block bullets. The bullets had no effect on them at all! At least the bullets inflicted over two hundred damage to the bald zombie... This was going to be tough! ¡°Gasoline! Pour the gasoline quickly!¡± ¡°We¡¯ve run out for now, we¡¯re getting it!¡± Someone was shouting from atop the high wall. Wang Tao glanced up and saw that many zombies were climbing the walls using the bodies of their companions; they were almost over the top. Wang Tao immediately ran over, pulled out his long knife, and swung several shockwaves at the zombies below. Splat¡ª More than a dozen zombies were instantly shattered. The wall of zombie corpses collapsed thunderously.Update by n0vgo .c0 ¡°Th-thank you!¡± The one who had been shouting quickly expressed his gratitude to Wang Tao. Wang Tao nodded slightly, not saying much else. These few people were Level 2 Ability Users from within the base, clearly struggling to fend off the siege of so many zombies. Even if some of them had the ability to produce shockwaves, which could harm an area, the damage they could deal was limited due to their lower strength, only managing to slightly delay the zombies¡¯ assault. If the zombies¡¯ numbers grew or they made any slight mistake, their lives would be at risk. Wang Tao looked down at the wall, where numerous zombies were climbing up over their own kind¡¯s bodies. He had to use several shockwaves in a row before finally clearing that area momentarily, greatly relieving the pressure on the others. Then, a wide green halo suddenly appeared, covering many people on the wall, and some people¡¯s HP bars began to rise¡ªLan Yulian had activated Healing Light. Healing Light was a sustained ability, which she could use continuously as long as she didn¡¯t run out of mana. Meanwhile, she was holding a [High-power cardiac pacemaker] against someone covered in blood. Sizzle¡ª Hum¡ª The person¡¯s chest suddenly convulsed, and then he opened his eyes in bewilderment. ¡°Am I dead...¡± Lan Yulian threw a healing spell at him and then patted his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re not dead, take a good rest,¡± she said. ¡°Thank you, boss!¡± The man, although unsure of what had happened, was definitely grateful to have his life back. He quickly gave his thanks and then went to the side to start treating himself with a medical kit. Chapter 716 - 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 716: Chapter 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Jade Lotus confirmed that no one had died for the time being and then came over to Wang Tao¡¯s side. ¡°Thanks to your heart pacemaker, otherwise we would have lost many people...¡± Seeing the fatigue in Jade Lotus¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao put his arm around her shoulders. ¡°You should rest too. I¡¯ll hold them back for a while.¡± ¡°Okay. Be careful!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t immediately deal with the three Zombie Lords, he swiftly moved along the high wall, clearing the zombies wherever they were the most concentrated. As a fourth-order superpower, his intervention instantly relieved a lot of pressure on everyone. However, this was obviously not a solution. The zombies outside were endless. If they didn¡¯t deal with the Level 4 Zombie Lords, the ordinary and Elite Zombies would continue to barrage the base¡¯s high walls without end. Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t outlast so many zombies with his physical strength. While Wang Tao continued to ponder how to deal with the Level 4 Zombie Lords, he suddenly froze. The three Zombie Lords in the distance... had disappeared! Previously, these three Zombie Lords had been outside the southern high wall of Zijin Base, including the Chainsaw Zombie and Bald Zombie killed by Wang Tao¡ªthey were all in that direction. As the southern side was the city center of Zijing City, it was where the most zombies and the fiercest siege attacks occurred. The zombies from the other three directions were relatively fewer. Most of the people with strong abilities, like Wang Tao, were stationed here. But after Wang Tao had quickly circled the base wall, he returned to find the three fourth-level zombies gone! They were too far away for most to see, only Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue with their Night Vision Ability could spot them. Wang Tao had just left, and Jiang Shixue was elsewhere helping kill zombies and hadn¡¯t been keeping a close watch, so no one noticed the disappearance of the fourth-level zombies. ¡°Could they have left?¡± Wang Tao quickly shook his head. It was obviously impossible. To the zombies, human flesh was their catalyst for rapid evolution; they wouldn¡¯t just leave! Wang Tao suddenly had a bad feeling and immediately shouted into the walkie-talkie: ¡°Those three Level 4 zombies have disappeared! Everyone be alert and check their whereabouts!¡± ¡°Ah? Gone?¡± Everyone was startled for a moment. Like Wang Tao, they all thought it impossible for the Level 4 zombies to have left¡ªthey must still be around, just hidden! And an enemy in hiding would be even more terrifying! Everyone instantly became tense, but before they could start looking, a loud boom shook the ground! ¡°What¡¯s happening!¡± Wang Tao hurriedly looked towards the source of the noise¡ªthe western high wall of Zijin Base. At that moment, all walkie-talkies sprang to life with a roaring sound emanating from them. ¡°Sss... The western high wall has been breached! We need backup!¡± ¡°What! The wall has been breached!¡± Wang Tao and the others were shocked. After leaving some to continue guarding the southern wall, the rest quickly headed for the western wall. Wang Tao found it hard to believe. He hadn¡¯t heard any significant commotion, and the three fourth-level zombies had mostly been in his line of sight until they briefly disappeared¡ªhad that short period been enough to breach the wall? But the intermittent roars coming from the walkie-talkie told Wang Tao it was true. Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned ugly. This base was a semi-completed one. Many areas were constructed later, and some of the high walls were among them, nowhere near as sturdy as the original ones¡ªand a part of the western wall was precisely one of these additions! Wang Tao was the first to reach the vicinity of the western wall. He saw that the western high wall had split open, leaving a huge gap! Countless zombies poured out from the breach, madly rushing into the base! Several human bodies were torn apart and devoured by the zombies. Fortunately, a group of soldiers with machine guns provided suppressive fire from outside, preventing the zombies from spreading further into the base. But it was clear the soldiers couldn¡¯t hold on much longer! Wang Tao quickly rushed towards the gap. At the same time, he maxed out his Perception and Plant Affinity to search for the fourth-level zombies. This massive breach had to be the work of a Level 4! Ordinary zombies causing such a commotion would definitely not be so unnoticed, the base¡¯s combatants would have detected it! ¡°Found them! Three... four of them!¡± Wang Tao immediately located the Level 4 Zombie Lords. They were outside the breach, seemingly still considering sending in the fodder first, hence they hadn¡¯t entered right away. What shocked Wang Tao was that there weren¡¯t just three but four Level 4 Lords¡ªand the fourth was... a Night Demon! Wang Tao understood instantly¡ªit was the Level 4, Lord Night Demon that had created the breach! The other three Level 4 Lords had been distracting everyone¡¯s attention at the southern wall while the Night Demon launched a sneak attack on the weaker section of the western wall! Wang Tao had seen the other fourth-level zombies during the day; at that time, there was no Night Demon, so he assumed there were only four Level 4 Lords. But it turned out there were five! And they were even capable of strategic deception! Without any more time to think, Wang Tao charged ahead and within moments arrived at the swarm of zombies below the breach. Starfire Prairie! Whoosh¡ª Flames burst forth from Wang Tao, the intense heat wave pushing back the zombies nearby. Wang Tao lifted his Flame Long Sword with one hand and charged into the dense mass of zombies like a shooting star. Moments later. Boom! Giant flames lit up the night sky. Wang Tao swung his sword, and the flaming shockwave ignited and shattered a vast number of zombies. Chapter 717 - 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 [Starfire Outbreak] is not an ordinary flame; rain cannot extinguish it, nor can the blood on the zombies stop it from burning. Wang Tao repeatedly swung his sword, sending several flame shockwaves crashing into the horde of zombies. In an instant, the gap in the western wall turned into a sea of fire. Countless zombies howled and struggled in the flames, but could not step out of the inferno! "Phew¡ª" Seeing that he had successfully stopped the zombies, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. If he didn¡¯t quickly block the zombies, it would be impossible to stop them once they overrun the base. For this reason, Wang Tao did not hesitate to use his Awakening, and the effect was immediate. By now the others had finally reached the western wall, since they were much slower than Wang Tao. "Oh my god!" "I never imagined there would be such a big gap here! Thank goodness Wang Tao stopped the zombies, or the consequences would be unthinkable!" Seeing the scene at the western wall, everyone exclaimed subconsciously. Amid the raging fire, Wang Tao turned back, his tone solemn: "There¡¯s also a Level 4 Lord Night Demon, I¡¯ll go kill it first." The strength of the Level 4 Lord Night Demon might not be the strongest among these zombies, but its ability to find the weak points in the high wall and cause destruction was absolutely lethal for the base! If it were to damage other areas a few times, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up. So he had to kill this Level 4 Lord Night Demon first! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao charged straight toward the gap at the base of the high wall. That Level 4 Lord Night Demon was right behind the gap, along with three other Level 4 Lord Zombies. With a casual flick of his hand, Wang Tao sent out two more flame shockwaves, igniting and shattering dozens of zombies. Then he saw the Night Demon wearing black bone armor. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Awakening: Robust] "Die!" Ignoring the three Lord Zombies not far from the Black Skin Night Demon, Wang Tao instantly sprinted in front of the Black Skin Night Demon and swung his sword down. Bang! [-22193] [-2219] [...] The high-frequency vibration along with bleeding and fire damage, one slash cost the Black Skin Night Demon thirty thousand HP! The Black Skin Night Demon let out an enraged roar, scratching Wang Tao¡¯s chest twice. [-2528] [-2483] [+1000] The Night Demon only inflicted five thousand HP damage on Wang Tao, after all, Wang Tao was in the Starfire Outbreak state, with boosted defense attributes, and his own equipment¡¯s defensive power, so the damage inflicted by the Night Demon wasn¡¯t high. If it had been someone else here, they might have been instantly killed! Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Outbreak could regenerate HP, and he gained another thousand. The other three Lord Zombies charged at him in an instant. The Stone Armor Zombie roared as it pounced toward Wang Tao, but Wang Tao suddenly had a shield in his hand, blocking its attack. The Deformed Zombie waved its twisted arms, and green poison gas began to spread. [-1028] [-1023] [...] The poison gas inflicted a thousand damage on Wang Tao every second, fortunately, Wang Tao could regenerate HP to temporarily offset it. However, Wang Tao still kicked the Deformed Zombie hard, sending it flying away. Meanwhile, a nearby obese zombie opened its gaping mouth, and a fireball appeared. The fireball grew larger and larger until it turned into a water-tank-sized fireball that smashed down on Wang Tao. Boom! Wang Tao and the surrounding zombies were instantly engulfed in flames! "Wang Tao!" The people inside the wall were startled by this scene. The flames quickly dissipated, and Wang Tao stood there unscathed. But the zombies around him had melted away. "This Awakening is pretty amazing!" [-4093] Wang Tao, still in his Starfire Outbreak state, took four thousand damage from this huge fireball! The amount of fire damage from the obese zombie¡¯s Flame Explosion Awakening was much higher than that of Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Outbreak flames! However, it was understandable since Starfire Outbreak is a persistent increase in status with the fire being secondary, whereas the Flame Explosion is an active attack type of Awakening, with flames being the primary damage. So, the disparity was normal. After taking so many hits, Wang Tao did not deal with the Four-level zombies but instead grasped the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s neck and quickly left the area. Roar¡ª The Night Demon roared, unleashing a barrage of attacks on Wang Tao. [-2653] [-2439] Wang Tao didn¡¯t defend and just swung his sword at its head. [-20737] [-2073] [...] The Stone Armor Zombie lacked long-range attack ability and couldn¡¯t reach Wang Tao for the time being. The Deformed Zombie twisted its body wildly, spraying out a jet of poison gas that instantly enveloped Wang Tao and the Night Demon. [-2092] [-2124] [...] Wang Tao began to lose two thousand HP every second; the poison gas had increased in damage! Thankfully, Wang Tao was fast enough to get out of the poison gas area quickly. In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao had retreated to the gap. And the Night Demon in his grip... had become a corpse. Seeing that the three Lord Zombies did not chase after him, Wang Tao immediately stopped using Starfire Outbreak. He had used Starfire Outbreak for thirty seconds, using up 300 Awakening Energy, and killing the Night Demon Zombie replenished 100. With a total of 600 energy, he now had 400 left. "Jade Lotus, heal!" As Wang Tao quickly gathered the spoils of war, he shouted back to his comrade. Lan Yulian had been waiting for Wang Tao, and even before he spoke, Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing Glow had already descended upon Wang Tao¡¯s head. While the amount of HP her healing ability restored wasn¡¯t high, she was quick, which meant she could still add quite a bit of HP for Wang Tao. Additionally, Wang Tao had another HP regeneration ability, Nutrient Absorption Ability that he had previously merged. This was a passive ability; just standing on the ground allowed him to regenerate HP. Although the regeneration rate was very slow, just a few dozen points per second, and the higher his current HP, the slower it healed, having it was still better than nothing. Find more chapters on novelhall.Co?m Chapter 718 - 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Ding Yuqin and the others were now by Wang Tao¡¯s side, blocking the breach. They had just cleared out the zombies left in the sea of fire by Wang Tao; now the base was free of zombies and temporarily safe. "Wang Tao, are you alright?" Everyone asked with concern. "I¡¯m fine." Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie was, after all, a boost to all attributes, so during its duration, his defensive power remained very high. Moreover, with Lan Yulian, the healer, around, any lost HP would quickly be replenished. "What do we do now?" Ding Yuqin asked subconsciously. Those three four-level zombies were now outside, not choosing to enter, but other zombies at the breached section of the high wall were still charging in, and there were still more and more zombies converging towards this place... These three Zombie Lords were clearly preparing to focus their attack here. With a casual Shockwave from Wang Tao that killed dozens of ordinary zombies, he said solemnly: "We can only defend to the death!" There was no other way now; they had to defend the breach to the death. Furthermore, Wang Tao felt lucky; although these few Zombie Lords possessed certain intelligence, they weren¡¯t that smart. Had they thought to attack the base directly with themselves instead of using the cannon fodder to enter first, the base might have already suffered heavy casualties. After all, within the entire base, only Wang Tao was capable of facing a Level 4 Lord; there were four of them. If they had scattered, Wang Tao alone would not have been able to cope... But now it turned out fine; even though a huge breach had been made in the high wall, after the zombies that rushed in were blocked and killed by Wang Tao, the rest of the zombies and the three Zombie Lords were kept outside! This was a silver lining amidst misfortune. Now as long as Wang Tao and the others could hold this breach, it would be enough! At this time, inside the base, apart from those defending other places, other survivors wielding weapons gathered at the breach, right behind Wang Tao and his group. Now there were only two types of people inside the base: combatants and logistical personnel. The combatants were those over two thousand Ability Users, and the logistical personnel were the rest, over ten thousand people. But now, the logistical personnel had become combatants, ready to join the battle at any moment. After all, with such a large breach in the high wall, if they couldn¡¯t stop these zombies, the base would fall! Their combat strength might be weak, but it was not nonexistent. If it came down to everyone having a life-and-death struggle with the zombies, killing even one zombie would mean they had gained something! Looking at those survivors who had taken up weapons on their own, trembling with fear but ready to fight to the death, Wang Tao and his people did not say much, all grabbing guns and firing wildly. Ratatat¡ª The zombies outside continued to surge in from the breach, and the group held firm against them. Explore stories on novelhall.Co?m But now, with the absence of the high walls, blocking them was much more difficult than before. What worried Wang Tao the most now was that these three Level 4 Lords would leave this place to attack elsewhere. Because he would surely have to follow them, since nobody else was qualified to fight them. But if he wasn¡¯t here at this breach, it was really uncertain whether it could be held... especially since the breach was so large. After again blocking several assaults from the zombie horde and killing the nearby zombies during the lull, both good news and bad news arrived simultaneously. The good news was that these few Zombie Lords hadn¡¯t left; they were still outside waiting, still intending to focus their attack here. The bad news was that the zombies at the other three sides of the high wall had begun their onslaught again; after Lan Yulian reassigned some of the people from those areas, they were struggling to hold back! Now, two choices lay before everyone. Either they call back some of the people from this breach, which would greatly increase the pressure here, or they let the people at the other three walls hold their ground, trusting that they could defend their positions. Everyone instinctively looked to Wang Tao. After a brief moment of thought, Wang Tao spoke up: "Call the people back, I can hold this place!" He trusted himself more than others. If there were no Level 4 zombies elsewhere, having more people would definitely mean those places could be held. With fewer people, it was not so certain. He felt that even with a small number of people, he could hold this breach. "Alright!" Lan Yulian immediately began assigning tasks. Soon, most of the combat personnel left the area again. Lan Yulian chose to stay by Wang Tao¡¯s side. "I¡¯ll stay with you!" "Okay." Wang Tao did not refuse; having a healer by his side increased the likelihood of holding the breach. "I¡¯ll stay too!" Ding Yuqin and Han Rui said at the same time. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak; she just quietly looked at Wang Tao. Li Qiuyu was nervously holding Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand. Yang Changhong and Lu Yingfeng exchanged glances, both seeing the resolve in each other¡¯s eyes. Xu Xiaojun, Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and others did not leave either; all looked toward Wang Tao. "Woof woof!" Even Lightning barked twice. "You guys... fine then." Wang Tao felt they were making the atmosphere too heavy, as if he was heading off to die. However, he ultimately did not refuse. He turned on the walkie-talkie again. "Old He, pay more attention to them!" "Okay!" He Jijun had just taken off in the helicopter, which was equipped with four heavy machine guns, providing a decent fire support. Roar¡ª The area that had just been cleared was once again swarming with countless zombies, and a new round of combat began. This time, there were not as many combat personnel, only Wang Tao and his group. Chapter 719 - 289: Correct Usage (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 Wang Tao stood alone at the breach, a shockwave could kill dozens of zombies at once, but the zombies had no concept of fear and kept swarming towards the base relentlessly. Ding Yuqin and the others also started to attack, momentarily holding back the zombie onslaught. However, as more and more zombies arrived, everyone other than Wang Tao began to feel the pressure. Especially with those three-four-level Zombie Lords lurking menacingly outside, not only did they have to stop the zombies but also prevent sneak attacks¡ªwhich, under high mental concentration, drained their physical and mental strength significantly. After Wang Tao once again sliced through dozens of zombies with a single strike, he suddenly remembered the armor he had obtained from killing the bald zombie. [Black Iron Heavy Armor] [Level Four (Epic)] [Durability+300, defensive power+200, speed-50%, fire resistance, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] It was a set of armor that could protect the whole body with an incredibly high defensive power. But it came with the side effect of halving one¡¯s speed. For Wang Tao, speed was more important than defense; after all, with enough speed, you wouldn¡¯t get hit. But under the current circumstances, Wang Tao had been staying put at the breach without moving much, so the importance of speed was negligible! Why not give it a try? No sooner had he thought of it than Wang Tao immediately donned the Black Iron Heavy Armor. The Black Iron Heavy Armor was jet black, and it looked handsome when worn. Especially when someone with Wang Tao¡¯s build put it on and stood there¡ªit was like standing a door god! At that moment, Wang Tao felt one thing¡ªheavy! No wonder the speed was reduced by 50%! The reduction wasn¡¯t just in movement speed, but also in attack speed! Wang Tao felt as though he had been sealed, clumsy and powerless. Fortunately, Wang Tao was strong, and he quickly adapted to the weight. He strode to the middle of the breach and looked at the zombies, swinging his blade fiercely. The slash was much slower than before, but the power of the shockwave hadn¡¯t diminished, instantly shattering a large number of zombies. Some of the faster zombies had already reached Wang Tao, but facing their bites, Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother to dodge. Clang, clang, clang¡ª The zombies¡¯ attacks hit Wang Tao, making tinkling sounds, but they didn¡¯t cause any damage! Wang Tao swung his sword again, easily disposing of the zombies in front of him. After holding out like this for a few minutes, Wang Tao laughed heartily. "Indeed, this is the proper way to use the Black Iron Heavy Armor!" With the Black Iron Heavy Armor on, he was indeed heavier and slower, but he didn¡¯t have to actively defend! As long as the four-level zombies didn¡¯t take action, no zombie could break through his defense! And all he needed to do was attack with all his might! This actually increased Wang Tao¡¯s efficiency by quite a bit! However, Wang Tao¡¯s joy didn¡¯t last long; the zombie horde intensified its attack again, and this time, those three four-level zombies came with it! "Can¡¯t wait any longer, can you!" Wang Tao took a deep breath and then said to Lan Yulian and the others nearby: "Fall back!" Upon hearing this, they didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately moved away from Wang Tao. Wang Tao watched the three approaching four-level zombies, took another deep breath, and suddenly flames flared up on him. Starfire Prairie! Originally, Wang Tao had thought if those three Zombie Lords began their attack, he would have He Jijun start the plane to try to attract one or even two zombies away. After all, facing three four-level zombies at once was too difficult. But now, having donned this set of Black Iron Heavy Armor, Wang Tao felt he could take on these three zombies! Roar¡ª The first to rush over was the Stone Armor Zombie, raising its cauldron-sized fist and hammering down at Wang Tao. ``` Thump! [-1129] [+1000] It hit Wang Tao for just over a thousand HP, and Wang Tao instantly regained a thousand. The defense of the Black Iron Heavy Armor was indeed strong! "Is that all?" Wang Tao immediately raised his flaming longsword and delivered a strike to its skull. Bang! [-1182] [-118] [...] "..." Turns out they were about even. This Stone Armor Zombie¡¯s defense was absurdly high! .Co?m Just then, the Deformed Zombie, bringing a toxic gas with it, rapidly attacked Wang Tao. Seizing the opportunity, Wang Tao suddenly lifted his leg and kicked it fiercely. Bang! The Deformed Zombie got sent back just as quickly as it had approached. But though it was gone, the toxic gas it left behind lingered, persisting for ten seconds. Wang Tao was losing over a thousand HP every second, losing over ten thousand in ten seconds! Fortunately, Wang Tao could recover 1000 HP every second, basically neutralizing the effect. The attack from the obese zombie arrived last; from a distance, it spat out a fireball that expanded to a certain size before heading toward Wang Tao. Wang Tao took the initiative to attack, confronting the fireball head-on. Boom! Wang Tao was engulfed by the surging flames once again. Hundreds of zombies around him instantly perished, while he himself lost three thousand HP. Wang Tao immediately unleashed a Shockwave at the obese zombie. [-3548] The Flame Zombie had a pretty high defensive power, and the fire damage carried by the Shockwave didn¡¯t affect it much. The nearby Stone Armor Zombie attacked again. After exchanging a few blows with Wang Tao, each inflicted over a thousand points of damage on the other, neither gaining an advantage. Wang Tao took the chance to carefully observe, and none of these three zombies had the Blood Regeneration Ability! Although zombies naturally regenerate HP much faster than humans, it was still different from a professional Blood Regeneration Ability. Wang Tao suddenly felt that he might actually have a chance to defeat these three Level Four Zombie Lords? After all, he could regenerate 1000 HP every second with his Starfire Prairie, and Lan Yulian could also heal him. The zombies, lacking powerful Blood Regeneration methods, would eventually be worn down! Only... Wang Tao glanced at his own Awakening Energy, and the 300 Energy he had was obviously not enough; now only 100 remained. "All in!" Clenching his teeth, Wang Tao directly used his own Advanced Special Energy to exchange for Awakening Energy! One Advanced Special Energy was equal to 100 Awakening Energy, which meant sustaining Starfire Prairie for 10 seconds. Wang Tao had 44 Advanced Special Energy! He had originally planned to save these Advanced Special Energy for the next Awakening, as they could be used to increase the success rate of Awakening. But now, seeing the possibility of killing these three Zombie Lords, he thought that if he could eliminate them and protect the base¡¯s twenty thousand survivors, then it would be worth it! ``` Chapter 720 - 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Chapter 720: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Boom! Wang Tao swung his blade, and amidst the sky full of firelight, the Four-level Zombie was repelled once again. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t remember how many times he had driven the creature back, but each time these three Level 4 Zombie Lords charged, he would do his utmost to repel them. So long as they could be kept outside the base, there was still a fight to be had. This time, after being pushed back, these three Four-level Zombies didn¡¯t charge again. Instead, countless ordinary Zombies took their place. Huff¡ª Seeing this surging horde of Zombies, Wang Tao actually let out a sigh of relief. Battling Four-level Zombies required him to give 120% of his energy, whereas fighting these ordinary Zombies, he could rely on the high defense of his armor to withstand the damage, which wasn¡¯t as exhausting as dealing with Four-level Zombies. Moreover, he could now cancel the Starfire Prairie status. The flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body gradually extinguished. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to cancel it, but the consumption was too great; it was better to save energy whenever possible. After Wang Tao canceled his Awakening, Lan Yulian and others hurried over to help block the Zombies and heal him. The flames during Starfire Prairie status attacked indiscriminately, so Lan Yulian and the others didn¡¯t dare get too close, lest they be burned. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± While everyone else was holding back the Zombies, they asked with concern. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He might have dropped to Half Blood, but those few Four-level Zombies weren¡¯t having an easy time either. It had to be said that this set of Black Iron Heavy Armor was perfect for this kind of defensive battle. It almost ignored the damage from Zombies below Level 4, and the damage from Four-level Zombies was also greatly reduced. Of course, there was a problem; that was, once Wang Tao¡¯s speed was greatly reduced, he could no longer pursue. In the past, after repelling the Four-level Zombies, he would likely have chased after them. But now, he couldn¡¯t catch up... Wang Tao was now more worried about those three Four-level Zombies splitting up and attacking other parts of the base. But fortunately, these Four-level Zombies weren¡¯t that smart. They seemed to be fixated on the breach in the high wall and refused to give up. Moreover, like him, the Four-level Zombies couldn¡¯t use their Awakening abilities without restriction. Otherwise, if they kept emitting poison gas and spitting fireballs, it would be unbearable for him. With Ding Yuqin and the others joining in, the pressure on Wang Tao was greatly reduced. Together, they held off the Zombie onslaught, preventing a single one from entering the base. However, the number of Zombies outside the base didn¡¯t decrease; in fact, it seemed to be increasing. Everyone¡¯s faces were serious. Zijing City had a million-level population of Zombies; if all were attracted here, even without the Four-level Zombies, they wouldn¡¯t be able to hold them off... After seeing the situation, Wang Tao immediately called to He Jijun, ¡°Old He, come give me a ride!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Buzz buzz¡ª He Jijun piloted the helicopter to hover above Wang Tao¡¯s head. Wang Tao said to the others, ¡°Hold them off for a bit, I¡¯ll be right back!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao pointed at the sky, two Iron Tree Tendrils shot out from his wrist, instantly grabbing onto the hook beneath the helicopter. Then, Wang Tao was hoisted up by the helicopter, flying into the throng of Zombies outside. Wang Tao produced a Red Hand Grenade in his hand. [Explosion Grenade: Contains a certain amount of Awakening Energy. Once detonated, it creates an explosion within a 50-meter radius.] It was a spoils of war he had obtained after killing a Flame Monster, totaling ten of them, and he had not used them yet. It¡¯s not that he was reluctant, but the radius of these things was quite large and could easily harm his own people.Upd@te by novg0.co Now that there were more and more Zombies outside, and everyone was having a harder time holding them off, Wang Tao felt it was time to use them. The helicopter quickly flew over the swarm of Zombies, many of which were attracted and looked up with howls. Wang Tao gave careful attention to those three Four-level Zombies; they had naturally seen the helicopter but didn¡¯t come over. Only the obese Zombie¡¯s belly swelled, its mouth wide open, slowly forming a Little Huo Fireball. Among these three Zombies, the one with the highest instant damage was naturally the obese Zombie. Its Awakening ¡°Flame Explosion¡± was like a bomb, capable of blowing up and burning a large number of Zombies, and it was a Ranged Attack. However, if there was a downside, it was that its Awakening wasn¡¯t instant; or rather, the damage of an instant attack was low. It needed to accumulate power to make the Fireball larger. The larger the Fireball, the farther the attack distance, and the higher the damage. So as long as Wang Tao wasn¡¯t ambushed and saw it charging up the Fireball, he had a way to deal with it. Just like now, when he saw the fireball appearing in the obese Zombie¡¯s mouth, Wang Tao immediately put away the Explosion Grenade and took out a pistol, aiming at it and pulling the trigger. Bang! A transparent Air Bullet shot out from the barrel, and after a brief flight, hit the obese Zombie in the forehead. [-3128] The damage wasn¡¯t high, but the Air Bullet successfully caused the obese Zombie¡¯s head to jerk upward. Pffft¡ª The Fireball that was still in the making in its mouth sprayed out instantly. Boom! The Fireball exploded right above the obese Zombie. It was fine, but the Zombies around it were blown to death, melted on the spot. Seeing that the obese Zombie couldn¡¯t threaten the helicopter anymore, Wang Tao took out the Explosion Grenade again, found a place dense with Zombies, and gently tossed it. Whoosh¡ª A small Red Hand Grenade fell amongst the Zombies. Then, boom¡ª A blazing fireball erupted from the grenade, expanding rapidly. In the blink of an eye, about a fifty-meter radius turned into a sea of fire! This wasn¡¯t ordinary flame, it was similar to the Starfire Prairie flames used by Wang Tao, which the Zombies couldn¡¯t withstand. Their HP quickly reached zero, and they were even burned to cinders! Chapter 721 - 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 721: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Wang Tao roughly estimated that with the density of these zombies, that single hand grenade must have incinerated at least a thousand zombies! Moreover, the flames wouldn¡¯t die out quickly but would continue to burn for a long time. During its duration, it was a one-way trip for any zombies that came near! ¡°Not bad!¡± This was the first time Wang Tao had witnessed the power of these hand grenades, and while they weren¡¯t as powerful as the abilities of the Flame Monster he¡¯d seen before, they were more than enough against these ordinary zombies. ¡°Continue!¡± Wang Tao directed He Jijun to fly towards other areas dense with zombies and threw several more hand grenades. Boom! Boom! Boom! The night sky turned red, and nearly all survivors inside the base could see the roaring flames. The western wall outside was completely cleared, even the three level 4 zombies had retreated quite a distance. ¡°Old He, take a round to the other three directions!¡± As the sea of fire at the western wall would burn for a while, preventing zombies from entering, Wang Tao took the opportunity to head to other places to help ease the pressure on everyone else. Humming¡ª The helicopter flew northward. ¡°It¡¯s a pity, we couldn¡¯t burn the level 4 zombies to death...¡± Wang Tao sighed. When he threw the hand grenades, he specifically targeted the area near those three level 4 zombies, but the flames that could kill level 3 zombies couldn¡¯t kill them. Plus, they were fast and had run out of the inferno. Of course, the outcome was still very good. With a few grenades, at least ten thousand zombies had been incinerated! And those three level 4 Zombie Lords were also severely wounded! If it weren¡¯t for the base behind him that needed defending, Wang Tao might have switched his equipment and chased after them. The helicopter quickly reached the northern wall of the base. There were many zombies here too, but they were nothing compared to the Western wall. Wang Tao dropped an Explosion Grenade, killing countless zombies in moments, significantly relieving the pressure on the survivors atop the high wall. Then the helicopter went to both the eastern and southern walls, dropping a grenade at each location before Wang Tao returned to the breach at the western wall. Thud! Wang Tao released the helicopter, landing heavily. The fire outside was still burning, but it had greatly weakened. Beyond the flames, some shadowy figures could be seen. It seemed like they were waiting for the fire to die down... ¡°These zombies are really insane!¡± Seeing this, the complexion of those watching turned grim. ¡°They¡¯re all under the control of those three level 4 Zombie Lords...¡± Zombie Lords could influence or even control other zombies. With these three level 4 Zombie Lords together, they could affect a lot of zombies. If they weren¡¯t dealt with, the zombies assaulting the base would never retreat. ¡°Wang Tao, should we charge out and fight those three Lords to the death!¡± Hong Bin spoke to Wang Tao. He had previously wanted to fight to the death against the zombies but was stopped by Wang Tao. Before, it was because he saw no hope and wanted to exert his last bit of strength. This time, it was because he saw hope¡ªWang Tao¡¯s strength exceeded his imagination, and he felt that if they charged out and fought those three zombies together, they might have a chance to win. However, Wang Tao still shook his head. ¡°No rush. They will come to us!¡± Going out to fight the level 4 Zombie Lords was too risky, and if they were surrounded by a large horde of zombies, they would be in great danger even without those three level 4 zombies taking action. And as long as these three zombies weren¡¯t willing to give up this place, they would inevitably come again. Wang Tao, clad in Black Iron Heavy Armor, was meant for defense. As long as his Awakening Energy wasn¡¯t depleted, he could hold his ground, and even turn the tables! As expected, as the fire started to wane, zombies began charging through the flames toward his location, and right behind these zombies were those three level 4 Zombie Lords. ¡°Prepare for battle!¡± Wang Tao, holding his long sword, stepped towards the approaching zombies. Once the zombies entered his attack range, Wang Tao unleashed a Shockwave, instantly slaying a large swath of them. But at that moment, a figure clad in Stone Armor suddenly appeared beside Wang Tao! Instantly, a shield appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Bang! The sneak attack from the Stone Armor Zombie was successfully blocked by Wang Tao. Then, with his sword in one hand, he swung fiercely. Bang! [-323] [-32] [...] Without using Starfire Prairie, the damage Wang Tao dealt to it was frighteningly low. But Wang Tao was already accustomed to the high Defense of its Stone Armor and was hardly surprised. Suddenly, though, Wang Tao¡¯s gaze sharpened. Because he noticed that the Stone Armor on the zombie... seemed to have a small crack in it! He hadn¡¯t seen wrong; there was indeed a crack! Wang Tao was instantly overjoyed. He had been wondering why this zombie¡¯s Awakening Ability was so enduring! Clearly an active Awakening, once used, the Stone Armor seemed to become a part of its body and hadn¡¯t faded. This was much more enduring than Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie! But now, Wang Tao understood. This Stone Armor created by its Awakening Ability probably had no time limit but perhaps a Durability limit! Now, after so many hits from Wang Tao, its Durability was likely almost depleted! This was an opportunity! Wang Tao immediately yelled to the others: ¡°Hold off the other zombies! I¡¯ll take care of this one!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The others responded. Flames instantly erupted around Wang Tao, and he pushed the Stone Armor Zombie into the horde of zombies. Then, abandoning defense, he gripped the sword in both hands and ruthlessly hacked at the Stone Armor Zombie. [-1283] Chapter 722 - 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 722: Chapter 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 [-128] [...] [-1328] [-132] [...] In the blink of an eye, Wang Tao had slashed six times, and he had been hit three times by the Stone Armor Zombie. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t care, his seventh slash came swinging down. Bang! Crash¡ª¡ª This slash shattered the Stone Armor Zombie¡¯s armor like it was made of porcelain, revealing the shriveled and skinny figure inside. Wang Tao¡¯s eighth slash followed immediately. [-33584] [-3358] [...] Without its Stone Armor, Wang Tao¡¯s slash dealt over thirty thousand points of damage! It even shocked Wang Tao himself! The Stone Armor Zombie had already lost some HP and had recovered a bit after exiting combat. Now its HP stood at one hundred and thirty thousand, and Wang Tao¡¯s slash had removed over thirty thousand¡ªno, including the subsequent bleeding damage, that was forty thousand HP! Roar¡ª¡ª With a roar, the Stone Armor Zombie turned tail to run! Whether its Awakening had a cooldown or other restrictions, it didn¡¯t use it again but chose to flee instead. Luckily, Wang Tao had ample experience fighting zombies and anticipated its flight. So, as it ran, Wang Tao was already blocking its path, and swung his sword once more. The Stone Armor Zombie immediately raised its hand to block, but Wang Tao¡¯s Flame Long Sword cut right through its hand and continued on to its head! [-34871] [-3487] [...] Roar¡ª¡ª The Stone Zombie punched frenziedly with its other hand, but Wang Tao took the hits and slashed again. Splurch! [-3022] [0/150000] A fatal blow to the head. Crash¡ª¡ª A pile of items burst out. Wang Tao was thrilled. The threat posed by three Level 4 Lords was exponentially greater than the threat of two! He felt assured in killing any single Four-level zombie. With two, killing them was uncertain, but he was confident he could keep his ground. However, with three, he could barely hold them off and was likely to be defeated. That¡¯s why the fight was so tough. His only chance for victory was to take down the Four-level zombies one by one. And now, he had succeeded! He had slain the zombie with the highest defense, the one that had been the toughest for him! The remaining two Level 4 Lords didn¡¯t have such high defense, and Wang Tao was wearing the incredibly strong Black Iron Heavy Armor! Wang Tao now felt he might indeed be able to kill all these Level 4 Lords! Wang Tao collected the spoils of battle and then rushed back immediately. Meanwhile, the Deformed Zombie had reached the breach beneath the wall, with poison gas surrounding it for more than ten meters. Ding Yuqin and others were trapped in the poison gas, quickly losing HP. Lan Yulian activated Healing Light and used her Healing ability to replenish their HP, but the rate of healing couldn¡¯t keep up with the HP loss! ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Xu Xiaojun hefted his Broken Giant Axe, then put forth all his strength into both hands. Bang! [-1021] The axe only dealt a thousand points of damage to the Deformed Zombie, but the force knocked it back! As persistent as the poison gas was, it would dissipate if the zombie wasn¡¯t present, no matter how long-lasting it might be. After ten seconds, the poison gas slowly faded. Revealing Ding Yuqin and the others, almost all on their knees, faces turning cyan. They were all at critical HP! At this time, they saw a red light flickering in the distance. They looked up to see a massive fireball speeding towards them! Boom! With a loud explosion, the fireball burst, igniting the air, momentarily blinding everyone and scorching their lungs, making them think they were going to die. But moments later, as they slowly regained consciousness, they realized they were not dead. A figure, hotter than the fireball, stood with a Shield held aloft, guarding them. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± They exclaimed. Wang Tao turned back, his tone low, ¡°You all fall back, leave the rest to me!¡± Wang Tao put away his shield and charged towards the corpulent zombie in the distance. In his hands suddenly appeared two black hearts. He fiercely threw them at the Deformed Zombie. Whizz¡ª¡ª In the air, the two hearts pulsated and turned into two ink-black Night Demons! Thud! The two [Night Demon Type I] plunged headlong into the poison gas. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even look at how the [Night Demon Type I] were faring in battle, nor did he control them. He simply gave the two [Night Demon Type I] one order¡ªto fight the Deformed Zombie to the death! At that moment, Wang Tao himself became like a meteor walking on the earth, dragging a long orange tail flame, and reached the corpulent zombie. Perhaps because of its size, the corpulent zombie was the slowest among the Level 4 zombies, even slower than Wang Tao wearing the Black Iron Heavy Armor. Plus, it didn¡¯t run, so it quickly came face-to-face with Wang Tao. Roar¡ª¡ª The corpulent zombie opened its mouth wide, and a small fireball began to form again. But Wang Tao did not back down; instead, he closed in instantly and landed a mighty uppercut with his fist the size of a casserole dish. Bang! [-2283] His punch hit the corpulent zombie¡¯s chin. The damage wasn¡¯t high, but it successfully silenced the zombie. Wang Tao faintly heard a ¡°boom¡± as the fireball exploded inside the corpulent zombie¡¯s mouth! [-28393] ¡°That worked?¡± Wang Tao was surprised. His intention was to stop the corpulent zombie from spitting out the fireball, but he hadn¡¯t expected it would actually hurt it! It seemed that once its Awakening was used, it couldn¡¯t be cancelled? And its mouth was its weak spot? Chapter 723 - 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 The obese zombie was zapped by its own fireball, its head buzzing as if it were in a daze. Wang Tao produced a flame long sword in his hand once more and thrust it straight into the obese zombie¡¯s mouth! [-12893] [-1289] [...] Wang Tao felt like he was stabbing into a block of steel, unable to penetrate, but still, the obese zombie lost over ten thousand blood! So, force is indeed its weakness! The obese zombie had a total of 120,000 HP, and now only a little over 60,000 remained. Suddenly, flames erupted all over its body¡ªnot from Wang Tao, but from inside out. Wang Tao was suddenly overcome with a sense of familiarity. He exerted all his might and viciously kicked the obese zombie. Thud~ The obese zombie was kicked right into the midst of the horde. And then¡ª Boom! A small mushroom cloud rose among the flames that filled the sky, and Wang Tao was enveloped in it as well. However, Wang Tao was at the edge and did not suffer much damage. "Explosion! I knew it..." Wang Tao immediately rushed into the firestorm and soon found the obese zombie¡¯s location, which was left with merely a sliver of blood! Without hesitation, Wang Tao slashed with his sword. Squish! [-1000] [0/120000] The obese zombie is dead! And just then, Wang Tao felt he could no longer make contact with his two Night Demon Type I. He quickly gathered up the spoils of war and immediately rushed towards the Deformed Zombie¡¯s location. Moments later, Wang Tao reached the Deformed Zombie and without pausing, plunged into the poison gas. The Night Demon Type I were no longer in sight. Their mission was to hold off the Deformed Zombie, and now it had been completed. Wang Tao hefted the flame long sword and launched an attack at the Deformed Zombie. The Deformed Zombie¡¯s defense wasn¡¯t high, and after being entangled by Wang Tao, it quickly ran out of HP after a few slashes. Squish! [-18273] [0/100000] The HP bar of the Deformed Zombie cleared to zero! All three Level 4 zombies, annihilated! But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t feeling joyous because he too was poisoned down to a thread of health. After collecting all the loot, Wang Tao hurriedly ran back to the base. The damage from the poison gas accumulated increasingly, and his HP dropped rapidly while fighting the Deformed Zombie. He needed to get back quickly to Jade Lotus for healing, or else he¡¯d be poisoned to death soon! And just at that moment, Wang Tao suddenly felt the ground tremble. He immediately turned his head and saw a tall figure emerge amid the horde. "Giant Zombie¡ªwait, why is it so short?" [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4, Lord] [Awakening: Giant] From a distance came a Giant Zombie, but... it was a hundred thousand blood Giant Zombie! It stood roughly over twenty meters tall, minuscule compared to the typical sixty or even eighty-meter giants. It looked almost like a juvenile! Of course, even at just over twenty meters tall, it was still very noticeable against the night sky illuminated by the flames. Not only did Wang Tao see it, but Jade Lotus and all the survivors in the base did as well. "Oh my¡ª" "Giant Zombie..." "We¡¯re done for!" The sight of this figure sent waves of despair, not only among the other survivors in the base but even on the faces of Jade Lotus and her group. Wang Tao¡¯s battle just now had been too swift, all within the horde. Plus, Jade Lotus and the others had spent some time in the poisonous gas... so they were unclear about the specific state of combat between Wang Tao and the Level 4 zombies. All they knew was that Wang Tao had rushed over amidst his busy schedule to save their lives. Now, seeing the Giant Zombie, even if they had all the confidence in the world, they felt despair. Three Level 4, Lord zombies, plus one Giant Zombie. There was no chance at all! The other survivors in the base began to pray, praying for Wang Tao and the others. They knew that their only hope for salvation lay with Wang Tao and his group. "Wang Tao..." Ding Yuqin and the others also instinctively shouted out Wang Tao¡¯s name. At such a time, they felt that if there was any hope left, it could only be Wang Tao. But outside was a sea of fire and zombies, and they couldn¡¯t see where Wang Tao was, nor did they know whether he was alive or dead. But just then, they saw a huge, bright, and scorching flame emerge not far away. Even among the sea of fire, these Blazing Flames were extraordinarily conspicuous. And then, they saw a giant that stood over five meters tall slowly rise within those flames, a Flame Giant! "Heavens! What is that?" The sight of another giant nearly caused the survivors to collapse. One Giant Zombie was hard enough for them to survive; with two giants appearing, their fate was sealed without any hope for survival! Although this giant didn¡¯t seem as tall as the one in the distance, its body was enwrapped in flames, which made it seem even more powerful! But... why did that Flame Giant¡¯s armor look somewhat familiar? "Is that... Wang Tao?!" Unlike the other survivors, when Ding Yuqin and the others saw the Flame Giant, they experienced a mix of surprise and disbelief. "It is Wang Tao!" Zhang Hong and the others quickly came out to explain. Wang Tao had used his Berserk Ability only once before, something Ding Yuqin and the others had not witnessed. Even though Wang Tao had grown much larger after his berserking, with flames covering his body, there was no doubt that it was him. "It really is him!" Ding Yuqin and the others exchanged glances, feeling somewhat excited. Explore new worlds at novelhall.Co?m Though they didn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao had transformed in such a way, this "Flame Giant" Wang Tao was obviously much stronger! Chapter 724 - 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 ``` Does Wang Tao have a way to deal with that giant zombie?! "Wang Tao!" The crowd silently cheered and prayed for Wang Tao in their hearts. At the same time, they were all gripping their weapons tightly, ready to join the fight at any moment. They didn¡¯t know if Wang Tao could win, but if they were needed, they wouldn¡¯t shrink back! Lan Yulian hurriedly broadcasted to the other survivors, telling them that this Flame Giant wasn¡¯t a zombie or a monster, but their base¡¯s guardian deity, Wang Tao! "It¡¯s actually Mr. Wang!" "Mr. Wang is so strong! But... can he really beat the giant zombie? I heard that a giant zombie could ravage a city..." "Go Mr. Wang!" "May the heavens bless Mr. Wang to be safe and sound!" "..." ... "Sigh..." In the sea of fire, Wang Tao sighed as he saw himself become incredibly huge after triggering Berserk. He had remnants of poison gas on his body which caused his HP to continuously drop. Originally, he planned to find Lan Yulian for blood regeneration, but then he saw the giant zombie appear. Because he stared for a bit too long, his HP dropped below 30%, triggering Berserk. HP, mana, physical strength, spirit all restored to full! Aside from defense, all other attributes were enhanced! And the Black Iron Heavy Armor was proportionally enlarged, which was an effect of the extensibility attribute, and he still maintained the Starfire Original Status! This was originally Wang Tao¡¯s last resort since his Berserk could only be activated once a day, and he didn¡¯t know what would happen afterward... "Well, since it has come to this, let¡¯s see if you, an underage giant zombie, are truly invincible!" Wang Tao took a deep breath and then sprinted towards the giant zombie. Thud, thud¡ª Wang Tao was only five meters tall, still a significant difference from the giant zombie¡¯s twenty meters. However, his momentum was no less intimidating than that of the giant zombie, especially with the fierce flames burning around him, making him look like a demon returned from hell! Roar¡ª The giant zombie clearly noticed this tiny figure only as tall as its knee. Although Wang Tao¡¯s flames instinctively repulsed it, Wang Tao¡¯s human scent was far more enticing than others! It immediately shifted its target and walked towards Wang Tao. Attracting the giant zombie¡¯s attention, Wang Tao pulled out the tusk long knife. Then, somewhat annoyed, he discovered that although his body had enlarged, his weapon did not change; the long knife, formerly quite slender, became a "dagger" in his hand... Of course, a dagger wasn¡¯t unusable, certainly better than going empty-handed. Continue reading at novelhall.Co?m Wang Tao immediately took this "dagger" and sprinted towards the giant zombie. Whoosh¡ª His increased size did not diminish Wang Tao¡¯s speed at all. The survivors only saw a flash before the Flame Giant reached the front of the giant zombie. At the same time, everyone sensed the terror of the giant zombie¡ª Wang Tao had transformed into the Flame Giant not far from the base¡¯s entrance, and the survivors could feel the grandeur of Wang Tao¡¯s form. However, now that Wang Tao was beside the giant zombie, they saw him only reaching its knee! The disparity in size was immense! Everyone grew tense, and many even prayed to the gods for Wang Tao¡¯s safety. At that moment, Wang Tao himself felt the pressure mounting. Only when up close could he feel the giant zombie¡¯s terrifying aura. It was similar to the first time he encountered the Black Mist Monster in Shuize County, that shivering sensation all over! But unlike before, Wang Tao could no longer be intimidated by mere presence, nor was he unable to move. Although the giant zombie was huge, it was also Level 4. Who else isn¡¯t Level 4 nowadays! Whoosh! Wang Tao swung his long knife, launching a Flame Shockwave at the giant zombie¡¯s head. The range of his shockwave was about ten meters or so, and with his five-meter stature, he could just reach the twenty-meter tall giant zombie¡¯s head. But the giant was quick to react. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s attack, it stretched out its monumental palm and blocked the Flame Shockwave! [-217] [-102] "..." The Shockwave hit for two hundred HP, and the flame burned for another hundred HP. That wasn¡¯t all, the HP the giant zombie lost began to slowly rise back up! No blood regeneration figures appeared above its head, but the small amount of HP it lost was increasing. Clearly, it wasn¡¯t an ability to regenerate HP, but rather it had high-quality physical attributes that made its passive blood regeneration very strong! Wang Tao swung his knife again, sending another Flame Shockwave flying at the giant zombie¡¯s head. Just like before, the giant zombie blocked it with a slap of its hand. Its hand was extremely hard, and the Flame Shockwave had no effect on it. After blocking Wang Tao¡¯s attack, the giant zombie bent down and reached for Wang Tao. Wang Tao deftly dodged the giant zombie¡¯s attack and continued to strike it several times. Only one blow hit the giant zombie¡¯s head. [-1003] The rest of the damage, merely a hundred or even only dozens of HP, hit the giant zombie¡¯s body. Wang Tao¡¯s own flame damage also didn¡¯t burn much of the giant zombie¡¯s HP. Although Wang Tao¡¯s damage was low, he felt he truly had a chance to win! After all, a thousand damage was still damage. He just needed to hit the giant zombie¡¯s head a hundred times¡ªno, considering the giant zombie¡¯s own blood regeneration, maybe one hundred fifty times. Just a hundred fifty hits to the giant zombie¡¯s head and he could kill it! ``` Chapter 725 - 290: Flame Giant (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 But the Giant Zombie clearly didn¡¯t give Wang Tao this chance, after being attacked by Wang Tao, the Giant Zombie¡¯s eyes were filled with a red glow, it was as if it had gone into a frenzy, its speed suddenly increased by a large margin! "Damn!" Wang Tao was originally dodging the Giant Zombie¡¯s attack while flinging Shockwaves at its head, but after the Giant Zombie¡¯s speed increased, Wang Tao had no way to attack and had to focus all his energy on dodging the attacks. However, because the Black Iron Heavy Armor slowed him down a lot, even though he tried his best to dodge, he still got hit by the Giant Zombie¡¯s punch. Bang! [-5283] Wang Tao was hit by the punch until he felt a bit dizzy! Seeing this damage number, Wang Tao¡¯s face didn¡¯t look good. After his frenzy, although his defense decreased a bit, the Starfire Original Status had added a lot of defensive power, so the reduced defense state must have been canceled out, plus he was wearing the high defense Black Iron Heavy Armor... And the Giant Zombie could still deal over five thousand damage to him! If it were someone else, they might have been blasted by a single punch! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao dodged another punch from the Giant Zombie and then looked for an opportunity to attack, but he was constantly dodging and taking hits passively, with no chance to attack the Giant Zombie! No other choice, Wang Tao could only back off temporarily. The Giant Zombie¡¯s attack speed was very fast, and its movement speed wasn¡¯t slow either, considering its long legs. But its agility was relatively lower, even lower than Wang Tao in his Black Iron Heavy Armor. So Wang Tao circled a few times and successfully escaped the Giant Zombie¡¯s attack range. After disengaging from combat, Wang Tao immediately ran towards the area with more zombies. The Giant Zombie chased after him, as it was originally attracted by the humans at Zijin Base, but it now ignored these people as if it was determined to take Wang Tao down. When the large and the small Giants were running outside the base, the unfortunate ones were the ordinary zombies. They were either ignited by the flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body or trampled to death by the Giant Zombie, leaving a large number of casualties. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t show any signs of relief because he found that after he had escaped from the Giant Zombie, he couldn¡¯t attack it anymore... Because his attack Abilities were too short-ranged, only the Air Bullet could reach the Giant Zombie. But the Air Bullet¡¯s damage wasn¡¯t high, and it had a ten-second cooldown, which the Giant Zombie could easily block. At this moment, He Jijun had already flown over in a helicopter, with the Heavy Machine Gun on the aircraft spraying bullets crazily at the Giant Zombie. But the Giant Zombie casually swatted away the incoming bullets, and even if some bullets hit it, they could only reduce its HP by tens to a couple of hundred. However, the Giant clearly found the helicopter annoying, it immediately stopped chasing Wang Tao and picked up a few large rocks from the ground, hurling them at the aircraft. Humming¡ª He Jijun quickly pulled the joystick to retreat. The helicopter¡¯s agility was limited, and a hit could mean the destruction of the machine and the loss of life. After seeing this scene, Wang Tao hurriedly attacked again toward the Giant Zombie to attract its attention. Seeing that annoying "fly" fly away, the Giant Zombie then continued to chase and attack Wang Tao! After being chased for a while, the distance between Wang Tao and the Giant Zombie was getting closer. Wang Tao¡¯s speed was slowed down so much by the Black Iron Heavy Armor that he wasn¡¯t as fast as the Giant Zombie now. "I can¡¯t keep this up!" Wang Tao decisively turned around and charged back towards the Giant Zombie. Constantly running wasn¡¯t a solution, especially since his Awakening Energy was limited and shouldn¡¯t be wasted like this. As he charged at the Giant Zombie, Wang Tao jumped high, holding the "Dagger" and stabbing towards the Giant Zombie¡¯s head. The Giant Zombie immediately reached out its hands, attempting to grab Wang Tao. Wang Tao really wanted to endure the Giant Zombie¡¯s attack and go head-to-head with it, but he ultimately held back. Fighting the Giant Zombie head-on wasn¡¯t wise, after all, if the Giant Zombie died, it was just dead, but if he encountered any problems, both he and Ding Yuqin would suffer the consequences! There were still thousands of zombies left to be dealt with! Wang Tao immediately took out the Shield and rammed it against the Giant Zombie¡¯s hands. Sizzling¡ª A flash of electric arc passed by, and the Giant Zombie didn¡¯t lose much HP, but its palm did tingle for a moment, allowing Wang Tao to land on the ground. Thud! Once on the ground, Wang Tao immediately rushed toward the Giant Zombie. The Giant Zombie¡¯s hand had only tingled momentarily; its overall movements weren¡¯t affected, and it bent down to grab Wang Tao again. Bang! The collision between Wang Tao¡¯s long knife and the Giant Zombie¡¯s fist caused the Giant Zombie to lose over a hundred points of HP, while Wang Tao was knocked back more than ten meters. Watching the Giant Zombie take large strides toward him again, Wang Tao sighed internally. His weapons and attack Ability were too short! He could not reach the Giant Zombie¡¯s head. If he could just reach the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, he wouldn¡¯t be so passive. Wang Tao tried using a Black Iron Stick he had previously obtained but found it too short still. "If only I had a really big Weapon, or an Ability with a long attack range... Huh?" While pondering, Wang Tao suddenly realized he had forgotten an important weapon! Swish! He immediately put away the tusk long knife, then a chainsaw appeared! The Bloody Chainsaw! This was a Fourth-Order Weapon, inherently possessing a Bone Removal attribute. [Bone Removal: Can directly remove Life Energy] The Bloody Chainsaw didn¡¯t deal high damage and wasn¡¯t as good as Wang Tao¡¯s other Weapons, so he had subconsciously overlooked it. But this Bone Removal... Could it directly kill the Giant Zombie? No sooner had the thought come to him than Wang Tao took up the flaming Bloody Chainsaw and rushed at the Giant Zombie! In Wang Tao¡¯s hand, the chainsaw was like a small Dagger, but when this small Dagger cut across the Giant Zombie¡¯s large hand¡ª [-1123] Effective! Seeing the damage indicator appear above the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, Wang Tao was overjoyed! A thousand damage wasn¡¯t too much, but it signified the possibility of killing the Giant Zombie! Discover stories at novelhall.Co?m With agility superior to the Giant Zombie, Wang Tao began to dodge agilely at its feet. While dodging the Giant Zombie¡¯s various Attacks, Wang Tao would occasionally land a few strikes on it. [-1176] [-1065] [-1022] [...] Even after mastering this attack pattern, Wang Tao released his Starfire Prairie State, as he didn¡¯t have much Awakening Energy left and needed to save it. After a while, Wang Tao was once again critically low on HP, with only twenty thousand remaining, but the Giant Zombie was just a thread away from death! To ensure a foolproof victory, Wang Tao reactivated Starfire Prairie and, a few seconds later, made his sawing cut. Splurt! [-1287] [0/100000] The HP bar of "Giant Zombie?Juvenile Version" dropped to zero! Chapter 726: 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Chapter 726: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Flames soared into the sky outside Zijin Base, and the survivors inside could only hear the Giant Zombie¡¯s roaring and the sounds of battle. After all, Wang Tao had lured the Giant Zombie away, and no one could see what exactly was happening. At that moment, everyone faintly heard a ¡°boom,¡± and it seemed like the ground itself had trembled. The Giant Zombie¡¯s roaring suddenly seemed to disappear. Everyone¡¯s heart tensed up in an instant. Had Wang Tao won? Or... lost? Those survivors who hadn¡¯t participated in the fight didn¡¯t even dare to breathe, as if they feared that any additional breath might affect the outcome of the battle. Some even closed their eyes, praying for Wang Tao. Ding Yuqin and her companions clenched their fists tightly as well; had the fire outside not been too intense, they really would have wanted to rush out. Thump, thump¡ª At this time, a series of deep footsteps sounded from afar. A catch in their hearts¡ªcould it be that the Giant Zombie wasn¡¯t dead?! But quickly, joy spread across their faces. Because in the midst of the roaring flames, a huge figure emerged, burning like the sun. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Wang Tao!¡± ... Wang Tao had successfully killed the Giant Zombie. However, his Frenzy state had not yet subsided; Frenzy could last an hour, and he planned to take advantage of this state to kill more zombies. After all, although the Giant Zombie was dead, the onslaught outside had not yet ended. Wang Tao didn¡¯t return to the base but charged directly into the horde of zombies outside the breach in the west wall. He wielded the Bloody Chainsaw in one hand and The Tusk Long Knife in the other, slaughtering zombies in a frenzy. The Bloody Chainsaw was instrumental in killing the Giant Zombie. If it weren¡¯t for the Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s ability to directly attack the Life Energy of foes, with the height difference between him and the Giant Zombie, he would have had no way to inflict substantial damage. Moreover, using the Bloody Chainsaw cost HP, and it lost HP at a faster rate than the Giant Zombie. Given the situation at that time, the Bloody Chainsaw might have bled to death before killing the Giant Zombie. But luckily, there were plenty of zombies around. While fighting the Giant Zombie, Wang Tao had also taken time to kill off the Level 3 zombies around him. This allowed the Bloody Chainsaw to maintain its HP at a Half Blood status and eventually wear down the Giant Zombie! The Bloody Chainsaw, like Wang Tao, was at low HP and needed to be healed quickly. Now in an Enhancement state after Frenzy and decked out in Black Iron Heavy Armor with absurdly high Defense, Wang Tao plunged into the horde of zombies like a tiger among sheep. No zombie lasted more than three seconds before him, nor could any zombie harm him. But the sheer number of zombies was overwhelming, and no matter how strong Wang Tao was, he was only one man with limited Physical Strength and Spirit. He could momentarily hold off the zombies¡¯ attack, but it was impossible for him to kill them all. Although there was no longer a Level 4, Lord Zombie to lead the horde, their attack was still chaotic. But Zijin Base¡¯s western wall had a gaping hole, and the zombies didn¡¯t need any tactics¡ªjust a relentless surge into the breach. Once Wang Tao saw that the Bloody Chainsaw¡¯s HP had been fully restored, he put away the long knife and the chainsaw, and a large metal stick appeared in his hands. With each swing of the stick, he broke countless zombies and then retreated back to the breach in the high wall. Wang Tao stood at the breach, wielding the colossal Black Iron Stick. With a swing, he could kill swathes of zombies, even without using a Shockwave. With him standing there, no zombie could make it through! The survivors inside the base all saw this towering figure and were both stirred and teary-eyed. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao isn¡¯t dead! He¡¯s still protecting us!¡± ¡°Mr. Wang Tao... *sob*...¡± ¡°I hate feeling so helpless, unable to fight alongside Mr. Wang Tao!¡± ¡°Could this be the work of our prayers to the gods?¡± ¡°What bullcrap gods! Mr. Wang Tao is our base¡¯s guardian deity, our one true god!¡± ¡°...You¡¯re right!¡± ¡°...¡± Ding Yuqin and the others quickly came to Wang Tao¡¯s side, with Lan Yulian fearlessly administering healing to Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s HP began to slowly rise. ¡°Woof! Whine~¡± Lightning also cried out anxiously to Wang Tao. ¡°Are you all alright?¡± While slaughtering a massive number of zombies, Wang Tao took the chance to vigorously rub Lightning¡¯s head and didn¡¯t forget to express his concern for everyone else. ¡°We¡¯re all fine! Thanks to Jade Lotus, with her healing, not a single person died!¡± Ding Yuqin quickly responded. Actually, they too had suffered badly. While Wang Tao went to attack the Stone Armor Zombie, the Deformed Zombie had come to attack them. The poison gas released by the Deformed Zombie almost wiped them out, but thanks to Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability and Wang Tao¡¯s timely reinforcements, their crisis was averted. Later when Wang Tao went to battle the Zombie Lord, countless zombies began to assault the base, and they defended desperately in their weakened state... However, these things were nothing compared to what Wang Tao had been through; if not for him, the base would have been destroyed countless times. So, no one mentioned how tough they had it because it paled in comparison to Wang Tao¡¯s hardships! Even when the Giant Zombie appeared, Lan Yulian told everyone that maybe they should let Wang Tao come back and abandon the base¡ªto leave together instead¡ªsince she was the one who most wanted to save the base, but now she was the one who most wanted to leave, not willing to let Wang Tao sacrifice himself. Chapter 727: 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 727: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Thankfully, everyone chose to trust Wang Tao. As long as he didn¡¯t retreat, he definitely had a way to solve the problem. Indeed, Wang Tao eventually killed the Giant Zombie! Wang Tao glanced at the crowd. Although they were all low on HP, there was indeed no life-threatening danger. He nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that everyone is alright. Dawn is approaching, and the zombies¡¯ attacks will definitely not be as frenzied as they are now. Let¡¯s hang in there and try to hold out until daylight!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± With the Four-level zombies killed and the Giant Zombie dead, as long as they could withstand the onslaught, there was a good chance the base would survive. As for reinforcements... to be honest, Ding Yuqin and the others didn¡¯t hold out much hope. Living in the apocalypse for so long, they had all developed the habit of believing in themselves, their comrades, and Wang Tao. To them, those unfamiliar reinforcements would be great to have, but if they didn¡¯t arrive, they would surely be disappointed, but not hopeless. However, Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts differed. He actually believed the reinforcements would come because he had met Colonel Luo Guozhong from the military base and knew they were people of their word! ... After killing an unknown number of zombies, the sky had begun to lighten. Wang Tao felt his Berserk state was about to end. Looking at the endless sea of zombies outside, Wang Tao took a deep breath and then charged out. The moment he rushed out, flames engulfed his body. He wanted to kill as many zombies as possible before the Berserk state ended, to keep the sea of fire burning and stop the horde from breaching the base perimeter. Boom! Flame Shockwaves burst forth from Wang Tao¡¯s hands one after another, shattering and igniting countless zombies. Starfire Prairie once again displayed its terrifying power, turning the outside of the base into a sea of fire that seemed incapable of being extinguished. The survivors at the base, seeing the sky lit up by flames again and that figure shining amongst the horde of zombies like the sun, were all moved to tears. Within the sea of fire, Wang Tao¡¯s ears twitched as he seemed to hear some noise. He suddenly turned his head to look into the distance. ¡°No way! Could there be something unexpected?¡± ... Clang... Clang... Hissss¡ª Under the night sky, in the pouring rain, a piercing screech of brakes sounded. A Black dragon-like train slowly decelerated until it came to a halt. This was a menacing-looking train. Sharp weapons and artillery were mounted on the train, and the front of the locomotive sported a massive steel plow; the severed limbs and remains on these weapons and plow told of the turbulent journey it had survived. When the train stopped, a horde of zombies swarmed towards it. Ratatat¡ª A brief but rapid burst of gunfire erupted, cutting down the encircling zombies like wheat. After temporarily clearing the zombies around them, the large doors of the train¡¯s cars opened one after another. Rumbling¡ª One after another, tracked and wheeled steel beasts rapidly drove out of the cars. Their dark muzzles and heavy machine guns were all aimed in the direction of Zijin Base. Qian Country¡¯s Type 400 Main Battle Tanks! Qian Country¡¯s Type 400 Wheeled Combat Vehicles! Whirring¡ª The sound of helicopter rotors filled the air as four black specters flew low. The six-barreled Gatling guns and dense rocket pods on them seemed to glisten with a cold light. Qian Country¡¯s latest generation armed helicopter ¨C Type 400! Clack¡ªClack¡ª Several towering figures, three meters tall, stepped out from the cars. They were covered in heavy metal from head to toe. Their legs, shoulders, and backs were laden with various weapons. In their hands, they held six-barreled Gatling guns! Whirr~ The faint ice blue lights turned on on the sci-fi helmets of the metal figures, resembling emotionless killing machines. Hope Research Institute mass-produced product¡ªPowered Armor D-100! ¡°Quick, quick, quick!¡± Last came the modified military trucks and a group of figures wearing black Mechanical Exoskeletons, equipped with Night Vision goggles, and fully Armed in camouflage. ¡°There¡¯s light to the east... coming from Zijin Base! First squad, second squad, third squad, advance towards Zijin Base! Air squad, provide support! Fourth squad, protect the Clearing Train!¡± A calm male voice came from inside one of the Powered Armors. ¡°Yes, Captain!¡± The soldiers responded. They used the Mechanized Infantry and Battle tanks cooperative tactics, rapidly advancing towards Zijin Base. On the way, the commotion drew zombies from the horde, who swiftly converged on them. Rumbling¡ª Boom! The leading main battle tanks mercilessly crushed the charging zombies under their tracks and blew up large numbers of zombies with their cannons! Ratatat¡ª From the armored vehicles, numerous bullets and shells rained down on the zombies. Pu pu pu¡ª The six-barreled Gatling guns in the hands of those in Powered Armors spewed long red flames, tearing swathes of zombies to pieces in an instant! Under such fierce firepower, the zombie horde seemed much more fragile. The closer they got to Zijin Base, the more blinding the light of the fire became. Upon seeing the fire that dyed half the sky red, the captain inside the Powered Armor looked troubled. ¡°Are we too late...¡± However, his gaze remained firm. ¡°Even if there is only one person left, we have to bring them back!¡± ¡°Continue advancing!¡± Rumbling¡ª The army continued to move forward, smashing through any demons or ghosts in their path like a gigantic bulldozer. After some time, the troops finally reached the western wall of Zijin Base. The zombies there were like a black tidal wave, endless at a glance. Chapter 728: 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 728: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 In the midst of the horde of zombies, a ruined base stood tall. And outside this broken base, there was a sea of blazing red flames. Countless zombies were roaring in the sea of fire, burning and vanishing. ¡°It¡¯s not the base that¡¯s on fire, but outside the base?¡± The captain was a little surprised, then very delighted. ¡°Could there be many survivors?!¡± ¡°Warning! Unknown creature detected ahead!¡± Suddenly, a warning sounded in the captain¡¯s ears. A real-time image popped up in front of him. It was a bird¡¯s-eye view, showing a sea of flames. In this sea of fire, there was a giant over five meters tall, clad in full body armor, its flames dazzling like the blazing sun. As he saw this Flame Giant, the giant also happened to look up. Those Eyes of Flame seemed to be making eye contact with him! The captain was startled. ¡°What Level is this monster! Such a strong aura of pressure!¡± Even through the screen, he felt a bit short of breath and his heart rate quickened! ¡°The energy emanating from the Flame Giant has reached Level 4! But...¡± The tone of the Wu Zhi pilot suddenly turned a bit strange. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Asked the captain. ¡°But... he seems to be human?¡± ¡°What?¡± The captain was stunned for a moment, but thinking of the strange abilities of the Ability Users, he quickly said: ¡°Don¡¯t attack him! Clear the zombies around the base first and try to make contact with the radio! We¡¯ll be there soon!¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± The Wu Zhi pilot immediately targeted the zombies outside the sea of fire, flipping the safety switch in his hand and pressing a red button. Whizz whizz whizz¡ª Rockets mounted on the side of the aircraft were activated, pouring down on the ground zombies one after another! ... On the ground. The color inside Wang Tao¡¯s helmet wasn¡¯t looking too good. He had just sensed some disturbance to the west, as if another large creature was approaching the base. The distance was a bit far, beyond the range of his Perception Ability. Moreover, with the plants all around nearly burnt to death, he couldn¡¯t use his Plant Affinity. But his gut feeling was definitely not wrong; certainly there was some large creature coming! According to Wang Tao¡¯s experience with zombies, it shouldn¡¯t be a Giant Zombie¡ªthat was the only good news. He immediately headed towards the base and quickly notified the others. ¡°An unknown creature is coming; be ready to fight at any time!¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao felt as if he was being watched. He instantly turned his head, looking up into the sky. ¡°What is that?¡± He saw something black hovering in the distance up high. Then he heard a buzzing sound. This buzzing sound... Wang Tao was all too familiar with it! Whizz whizz whizz¡ª But before Wang Tao could speak, streaks of light appeared in the sky, then continuously landed amidst the zombies outside the sea of fire. Boom boom boom! A series of violent explosions erupted, tearing countless zombies to shreds, melting them! The survivors inside the base were startled by the noise, but seeing Wang Tao¡¯s silhouette still there, they quickly calmed down. Ding Yuqin and others quickly asked. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s the situation outside!¡± Their view was blocked by the sea of fire, they couldn¡¯t see outside, only hearing a series of explosions. Before Wang Tao could speak, He Jijun¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s earpiece. ¡°Haha! Fire Snake-200-A!¡± This statement made most people puzzled, not knowing what it meant. But Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and Lu Gang first looked incredulous, then said excitedly: ¡°Fire Snake-200-A rockets? Wu Zhi-400? Could it be...¡± Being inside the base, their hearing and sight were obstructed, and outside there were the roaring zombies, which were nothing compared to He Jijun flying in the sky. ¡°That¡¯s right! Our reinforcements... have arrived!¡± He Jijun said loudly. ¡°Reinforcements?¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned. As if to prove He Jijun¡¯s words, everyone suddenly felt the ground tremor slightly. Then¡ª Boom! Boom! Boom! Dada dada¡ª Pupupu¡ª Succeeding explosions followed by the ceaseless sound of gunfire. This time, everyone could clearly hear gunfire and artillery! The reinforcements had really arrived! In the midst of the fire, Wang Tao¡¯s body began to slowly shrink, and the flames on his body gradually extinguished. He quickly walked out of the sea of fire and joined Ding Yuqin and the others. ¡°Wang Tao! It¡¯s the reinforcements!¡± Everyone excitedly looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the reinforcements!¡± Wang Tao looked towards the horde of zombies not far away. Suddenly, a red light flickered, accompanied by a ¡°pupupu¡± sound, and a gap was violently torn in the dense crowd of zombies. Limbs and flesh flew everywhere! And among this scattered flesh, a burly figure appeared, his whole body shining with a metallic luster, holding a six-barrel Gatling gun. ¡°What is that?!¡± Then came a second, a third... a total of six! Pupupu¡ª Wherever the Powered Armor went, nothing was spared. ¡°...¡± Observing those wielding Gatling guns, looking like they had stepped out of a movie, and comparing them to the axes, long knives, whips, and daggers in their own hands, Wang Tao suddenly fell silent. The style... seemed a little different, didn¡¯t it? Why did it seem like they were primitives? And had technology advanced so much? Even these sci-fi Powered Armors were now a reality? Wang Tao silently retracted his Black Iron Heavy Armor and revealed his true appearance. Not just him, seeing these Powered Armors, including the retired and active military personnel like He Jijun and Wei Zhenguo, were also bewildered. Chapter 729: 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 Chapter 729: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 They didn¡¯t have this thing when they were in service! Boom! Just then, a violent explosion sounded in the distance, causing the ground to tremble. Rumble... Following that was a deep roar of engines rising up amidst the pervasive dust and smoke; a thick smoldering barrel of a cannon slowly emerged. It was an imposing and impressive camouflage tank, at the rear of which fluttered a stark red flag in the wind! ¡°Type 400 main battle tank!¡± Finally seeing something familiar, Wei Zhenguo quickly spoke up loudly. One tank, two tanks, three tanks... a total of ten main battle tanks! Accompanying the main battle tanks were over ten wheeled infantry fighting vehicles, equipped with machine guns! ¡°Type 400 wheeled IFV.¡± Between the tanks and IFVs, interspersed a group of well-trained, fully armed soldiers wearing mechanical exoskeletons. The mechanical exoskeletons they wore bore some resemblance to Xu Xiaojun¡¯s Mechanical Arm, but appeared to be lighter and more excellent than the Mechanical Arm. Humming... At that moment, a familiar sound of propellers approached. Everyone instinctively looked up. They saw, in the fiery-red sky, the shapes of four black helicopters bristling with multiple machine guns and rocket launchers. ¡°Armed helicopter-400!¡± Boom! Ratatat! Pupupu! Boom boom boom! The sounds of gunfire, cannon blasts, and roaring engines sent tremors through the survivors within the base. It was then they realized¡ªreinforcements had arrived! The survivors cried tears of joy. The reinforcements had really come, and they had come early! Under the relentless advance of the steel tide, the zombies outside the western wall were completely cleared out! What Wang Tao had not managed to do before was swiftly accomplished by this army! Of course, the military had only cleared the zombies in the area beyond the inferno on the western wall. The tide of corpses had not disappeared! Even though it was already daylight and the zombie attacks were no longer as frenzied as before, there was still an endless stream of zombies approaching from the distance. However, these zombies were held off by the formidable firepower and were temporarily unable to breach the base¡¯s perimeter. Hum... At this moment, one of the powered armors sprouted several blue flames from its back and feet, as if gliding swiftly across the ground, passing by the edge of the sea of fire, to arrive in front of Wang Tao and his group. Up close, it was evident that the powered armor was somewhat crude in appearance, not as refined as Wang Tao had imagined, but this fit the current circumstances all the more. Click¡ª Whoosh¡ª The visor of the powered armor opened, revealing a face with thick eyebrows and large eyes. ¡°Comrade, hello! I am Captain Duan Xuchang from the 4th Squad of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Legion of Changhe City Base. I¡¯m here to take you home!¡± Upon hearing Duan Xuchang¡¯s words, everyone was suddenly filled with an indescribable emotion. Unnoticed by many, the corners of their eyes began to moisten. Wang Tao took a deep breath. ¡°My name is Wang Tao! Thank you for coming from afar to rescue us! Two thousand survivors of Zijin Base are ready and waiting for evacuation!¡± Ever since it was confirmed that Changhe City Base would send a rescue, Lan Yulian had gotten everything ready for retreat. The supplies they could take with them were taken, and those that couldn¡¯t were sealed underground with signs left behind. If any latecomers arrived, they could use these supplies in an emergency. Although leaving behind many things felt like a pity, they had to sacrifice some for the sake of their lives. So now they were ready to evacuate lightly equipped, able to move as soon as they picked up their things. ¡°Good, let¡¯s leave now! The horde of zombies can never be completely wiped out, and we can¡¯t hold them off forever. While we still have the chance, let¡¯s retreat quickly!¡± Duan Xuchang nodded with satisfaction. What he feared the most was that the survivors would dawdle, delaying the evacuation. Right now, in the midst of the zombie horde, every minute they stayed spelled added danger, after all, their supply of ammunition was finite. While Duan Xuchang spoke, several modified military trucks had already approached. Seeing these trucks, Wang Tao was a bit puzzled. Did they really come all this way in trucks, planes, and tanks? Could these vehicles travel such a distance? And even if they could, the fuel consumption... As if perceiving Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, Duan Xuchang explained: ¡°We came by train. We¡¯ll also evacuate everyone by train later!¡± Wang Tao suddenly realized. No wonder; he thought that if the tanks had to travel such long distances, aside from the question of whether they could make it, the fuel costs alone would be unbearable... ¡°I¡¯ll go check on the evacuation of the people in the base!¡± Lan Yulian had just arranged for the survivors to evacuate via the radio, but she was a bit worried and decided to check in person. Duan Xuchang immediately gestured. Humming... Two powered armors with a squad of mechanical exoskeleton soldiers came over. ¡°Let them assist you,¡± he said. He feared the survivors might have hesitations or concerns, and these soldiers would be able to alleviate them effectively. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lan Yulian led the group into the base. Duan Xuchang did not enter. He needed to stay outside and command the forces, to prevent the zombie horde from breaking through. Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and several others, out of curiosity and excitement, circled around Duan Xuchang. ¡°Captain Duan, this is... powered armor?¡± Wei Zhenguo asked curiously. He wanted to touch it but was too embarrassed to do so. Duan Xuchang nodded. ¡°Correct. This is the D-100, a mass-produced product developed by the Hope Research Institute.¡± ¡°Wow! Mass-produced already!¡± The crowd exclaimed in shock. If it was a custom product, although they would be surprised, they wouldn¡¯t be this stunned. But mass production meant a whole different concept! ¡°I didn¡¯t have these things back when I was in service before the apocalypse! Have we old folks fallen out of step with the world...¡± Chapter 730: 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Chapter 730: Chapter 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 ¡°` Xiang Hong Bin muttered to himself. Duan Xuchang looked at the middle-aged man dressed in military uniform, whose body was extensively disabled, and he felt a certain solemn respect for him. ¡°Comrade, all of this was developed after the apocalypse. There was none of this before the apocalypse¡ªno, I can¡¯t say there was none, but rather there were related designs before the apocalypse, but there were many difficulties that couldn¡¯t be solved. So not to mention mass production, even custom-made ones couldn¡¯t be manufactured.¡± ¡°I see. Then what¡¯s the power source for this powered armor? Gasoline? But I didn¡¯t smell any oil... Could it be electricity? But are there batteries with such a large capacity nowadays? Could it possibly be the legendary nuclear power battery? How¡¯s its endurance? Is it powerful in actual combat? Is it expensive? Once we get to the city base, can we also get a set?¡± Lu Gang immediately asked a barrage of questions. Wei Zhenguo and the others were still calm, with age on their side, they were relatively more composed. But young people like Lu Gang had almost zero resistance to such war machines. ¡°The energy source... is something you¡¯ve all seen!¡± Duan Xuchang deliberately teased them. ¡°Crystal Core?¡± The always silent Wang Tao suddenly spoke up. Duan Xuchang looked at Wang Tao with a bit of surprise. ¡°That¡¯s right, it¡¯s the Crystal Core! Hope Research Institute has developed other applications for Crystal Cores, which include providing energy for powered armor.¡± Wang Tao nodded silently. The Hope Research Institute had already researched many things before, like the Crystal Core Synthesizer, Energy Detector, and the like. Now they were focusing on researching the Crystal Core, so it was reasonable if they really could develop other uses for it. ¡°Impressive!¡± Xiang Hong Bin gave a thumbs up. ¡°They really are impressive!¡± Duan Xuchang nodded, then turned to Xiang Hong Bin and the others. ¡°But you are impressive too! To be honest, when we saw the scale of the zombie horde, we were already prepared to return without achieving anything. But unexpectedly, over twenty thousand of you survivors actually held out!¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s words were not mere politeness, they were sincere admiration. Only those who had experienced the terror of the horde could understand how difficult it was for Zijin Base to survive. Wei Zhenguo and the others turned to look at Wang Tao upon hearing this. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for Wang Tao, our base would have fallen long ago!¡± Wang Tao immediately shook his head with a smile. ¡°These are all the results of our collective efforts; we couldn¡¯t have done it without anyone.¡± Duan Xuchang looked at Wang Tao with curiosity. ¡°Is Comrade Wang Tao an Awakener and a fourth-order ability user?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao did not conceal it and nodded directly. ¡°Impressive!¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression showed both admiration and respect. Anyone who could become a fourth-order ability user was a rare talent! Especially for someone like Wang Tao to become a fourth-order ability user in such an environment, his efforts must have been much greater than others! However, Wang Tao keenly sensed that, after confirming he was a fourth-order ability user, Duan Xuchang did not show any shock. That probably meant one thing¡ªhe had seen other fourth-order ability users! Wang Tao was not surprised. The saying goes, a glimpse into a leopard from a tube¡ªafter seeing the strength of this military force, he knew Changhe City Base must be very powerful! Without a doubt, they could kill four-level zombies. So it was normal for a fourth-order ability user to emerge. Not to mention that Duan Xuchang himself was also a top third-order ability user. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 18500/28000] [Grade: Level 3] [Internal Impurity: 30%] What Wang Tao was more curious about now was just how powerful this powered armor was. Whether ability users combined with powered armor could achieve an effect of 1+1>2... However, considering it was someone else¡¯s privacy, Wang Tao did not inquire further. ... Lan Yu Lian was quite efficient, or rather, the survivors at the base were well-prepared. As soon as she explained the situation, the survivors immediately began to line up in an orderly fashion for departure. Pregnant women and children were at the front, those physically weaker in the middle, with those who were stronger trailing behind. Duan Xuchang and his men had ten trucks, but clearly, these trucks couldn¡¯t carry over twenty thousand people. Apart from women, children, and supplies that were placed on the vehicles, the other survivors walked on foot. Those who were still alive by now couldn¡¯t be physically weak; protected by the troops, following the convoy, would not be a problem at all. Looking at the excited faces of these twenty thousand people, Duan Xuchang including the other soldiers were also feeling a bit excited. The survivors were excited because reinforcements had come to rescue them, and they had a new home. The excitement of Duan Xuchang and the rest came from the fact that they had completed half their mission¡ªsaving a life was a very fulfilling thing, let alone saving over twenty thousand lives! The Zijin Base survivors were of high quality, following the queue orderly and undergoing the military¡¯s inspection. It was a thousand-mile journey back and forth; the military could not afford any accidents. If there were any infected individuals, it would be very troublesome. So a quick check was necessary. Of course, even if there were infected individuals, they wouldn¡¯t abandon them; at most, they would inject them with inhibitors. Soon, the survivors¡¯ check was complete, and they were ready to set off. ¡°Attention everyone, advance slowly!¡± Duan Xuchang closed his face shield and issued the order to retreat to the convoy. Rumble rumble¡ª Main battle tanks led the way at the front, wheeled infantry fighting vehicles and soldiers formed the outermost protection, two Wu Zhi helicopters had already left to scout ahead, and another two followed above the convoy. As for the powered armors, they acted as emergency fire fighters, moving to wherever danger emerged. Everyone took one last look at Zijin Base. Lan Yu Lian and a few others were somewhat reluctant to leave, as it had been their home for quite a long time. But there was no choice, these more than twenty thousand people could not withstand the horde of zombies. They could only go to a safer place. ¡°` Chapter 731 - 291: Iron Torrent (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 Outside, there were still a large number of zombies, and the survivors were somewhat afraid, but the presence of the military gave everyone a strong sense of security, so no chaos ensued. The survivors, with nervous and excited hearts, slowly made their way towards the train under the protection of the military. Now that it was fully light, there was no worry about not being able to see the path. At that moment, a cry of alarm suddenly came through Duan Xuchang¡¯s earpiece. "Captain! A Giant Zombie has been spotted¡ª" "Where is it!" Duan Xuchang¡¯s face turned solemn. On their way here, they had specifically scouted for any Giant Zombies and found none. Had it come from somewhere else? If there were a Giant Zombie, it could be problematic to bring these twenty thousand people back unharmed! "Er... it¡¯s not a live one, Captain; it¡¯s the corpse of a Giant Zombie!" "..." After confirming the location, Duan Xuchang hurried over to take a look. "It really is the corpse of a Giant Zombie that¡¯s been scorched! However, this Giant Zombie¡¯s size is much smaller..." But even smaller, it was still a Giant Zombie, whose physical abilities are unmatched by any other zombies discovered so far! To kill such a zombie, even for a fully armed military force like theirs would be troublesome. And if they were still on a protection mission, like now, there could have been casualties. Thankfully, the Giant Zombie was already dead. After ensuring there was no danger nearby, Duan Xuchang returned to the squad. "Comrade Wang Tao, you... killed a Giant Zombie?" "Yeah, we killed it before you arrived. But it was a smaller Giant Zombie, its strength should be much weaker than the larger ones." Wang Tao explained. During his battle with the Giant Zombie, he had covered a large area. Moreover, Wang Tao had intentionally lured the Giant Zombie deep into the mass of bodies, so Duan Xuchang and his team did not notice it right away when they arrived. "Impressive!" Duan Xuchang exclaimed in admiration. Regardless, it was a bona fide Giant Zombie. Killing one was no small feat. Moreover, judging by the appearance of Wang Tao and his company, it seemed they hadn¡¯t paid too high a price. These survivors... were truly strong! What Duan Xuchang didn¡¯t know was that this Giant Zombie had actually been killed by Wang Tao alone. Furthermore, before killing the Giant Zombie, Wang Tao had also killed five Level 4, Zombie Lords! ... Boom! Ratatatat¡ª Amidst the roar of gunfire and the blasts, the squad advanced slowly yet resolutely. Leading so many survivors indeed slowed down the squad¡¯s pace. However, the military¡¯s firepower was fierce, and their defense was strong. These zombies, still made of flesh and blood, could not stop everyone¡¯s advance. "This sense of safety... is something we couldn¡¯t even dare to dream of before!" Among the group, Wang Tao and his companions couldn¡¯t help but remark. "Indeed." Wang Tao nodded. He had always been the one protecting others before, but now he was getting a taste of being protected, and he couldn¡¯t deny that it was quite enjoyable. Of course, he didn¡¯t let down his guard, constantly observing the surroundings. Until they reached Changhe City Base, anything could happen, so he couldn¡¯t be too happy too soon. Suddenly, Wang Tao turned his head to look into the distance. And saw countless frenzied figures rushing towards the squad! "A large number of Mad Demon Zombies are attacking!" "Soldiers are yelling a reminder," obviously meant for Wang Tao and his group, given their use of wireless communication. The team temporarily halted their advance, assuming defensive positions on the spot. If it were just their own soldiers, they would definitely have steamrolled their way through. But now, they¡¯re still protecting over twenty thousand people. The formation isn¡¯t as tight as it was before, with gaps present. The safety of these survivors had to be taken into account. Boom! Boom! Boom! The tanks pivoted their barrels and blasted towards the Mad Demon Zombies. For a moment, the earth shook and the mountains trembled. The power of the tank¡¯s main gun was undeniable; no intact bodies were left within the explosion radius. However, there were simply too many zombies now! The group of Mad Demon Zombies were intermingled with Ordinary Zombies, and though the tank fire killed many, some Mad Demon Zombies still rushed over. Whirring¡ª Then the gunfire ceased, and several Powered Armors walked over. Faint blue light emitted from their backs and legs, and then they surged towards the group of crazed zombies, as if they had hit the acceleration button. The Powered Armors carried numerous weapons, including Gatling guns, as well as other firearms and melee weapons. Upon diving into the zombie horde, they pulled out large cleavers, spears, dual blades... each one had different weapon styles, but all were sparking with electricity. "Huh?" Wang Tao was taken aback, not expecting the Powered Armor¡¯s weapons to be electrified. Thanks to their high Defence, the Powered Armors didn¡¯t need to take any defensive actions after entering the zombie mass, as no zombie could breach their defense; they just needed to attack. For a time, arcs of electricity flashed. This was a one-sided slaughter. A short while later, all the Mad Demons were disposed of, and the Powered Armors returned unscathed. "Continue advancing!" Duan Xuchang waved his hand, and the team resumed their organized advance. "Those Powered Armors are so powerful! I really want one!" Continue your saga on novelhall.Co?m Watching the Powered Armors, Xiang Hongbin almost drooled. The Powered Armors could attack from a distance or engage in close combat, had high Defense, and they didn¡¯t even need to lift their legs to walk! Plus, from what he observed, they might also have various functions, like Fire Resistance, Poison Resistance, and Noise Reduction! Getting inside one of those Powered Armors would be far better than the hard life they led as ordinary Ability Users! "Definitely strong!" Wang Tao nodded, then said in a low voice, "When we reach Changhe City Base safely, I¡¯ll see if I can snag a couple!" Wang Tao was not immune to the lure of such big toys. Duan Xuchang mentioned these were mass-produced Powered Armors. Without a significant production volume, they wouldn¡¯t count as mass-produced. If there was a substantial number, there surely would be a way to get some. Ultimately, it was just a matter of what price one was willing to pay. "Haha, alright! We¡¯ll wait for your good news then!" The few chatted quietly among themselves. After that, the journey went smoothly for a while, and as the sound of cannon fire died down, they beheld the "Black Dragon" lying on the railroad tracks in the distance. "Whoa! Is that the train they mentioned? It¡¯s huge!" Chapter 732 - 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 Chapter 732: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_1 ¡°` This was a gigantic black train clad in steel armor, equipped with sharp tools, and even had cannons on the top. It was clearly visible that the body of the train was adorned with fragments of zombie remains. Its front was fitted with a huge steel plow, which seemed like it could easily push aside any obstacle in its path. ¡°This is the train they rode on! No wonder they could make it here!¡± Upon seeing the train, Wang Tao and the others were all extremely astonished. If this thing charged into a horde of zombies, it could probably instantly crush countless numbers of them! Beside the train was a fully armed team, some of whom were outfitted with Powered Armor. They had cleared all the zombies around the train and used barriers to block the advancing horde, temporarily preventing zombies from getting through. As the group arrived, the massive steel doors of the carriages immediately opened. Duan Xuchang approached Wang Tao and the others to explain: ¡°This is our obstacle-clearing train, as its name implies, it can clear obstacles from the tracks as it moves. However, not all obstacles can be cleared. We sent a Wu Zhi ahead to scout our route before we came. That is why our speed was slower; we spent most of the time planning our route and clearing obstacles. Our return will be much easier because we¡¯ll follow the path we¡¯ve already taken. Of course, airplanes will continue to scout ahead to ensure our safe return!¡± ¡°I see, that¡¯s really impressive!¡± Wang Tao praised sincerely. His anticipation for Changhe City Base grew even more. ¡°Board the train!¡± Duan Xuchang called out, and the soldiers began leading the survivors aboard. The obstacle-clearing train was much larger and longer than an Ordinary train. With the inclusion of two locomotives, this train totalled thirty carriages. Tanks, armored fighting vehicles, military trucks, and all kinds of Weapons and ammunition only occupied five carriages. The remaining twenty-three carriages were all designed for carrying people! The passenger carriages had three levels, each capable of fitting in over three hundred people, allowing for a full load of one thousand people per carriage! This capacity was terrifying, given that an Ordinary train has a seating capacity of about a hundred people, with standing tickets reaching at most two or three hundred people. The comparison was incomparable to these carriages that can seat a thousand. Thus, even with twenty thousand survivors, this obstacle-clearing train could pull them all. Of course, with so many survivors packed together, the riding experience would certainly not be comfortable. Yet nobody complained about this, as just being alive was fortunate enough, and they were very content. The passenger carriages had three doors each, two small ones at the front and back, and a particularly large one in the middle. This door was for the convenience of survivors in special situations. Even so, boarding the train with over twenty thousand people still took a considerable amount of time. The zombies outside had already launched several assaults, but fortunately, they were all repelled by the military¡¯s heavy firepower. Only after all the survivors were aboard did the tanks, armored fighting vehicles, and other vehicles drive into the train. He Jijun¡¯s helicopter also landed on the train, as there was a designated place for it. The top of the train was also equipped with many grenade launchers, which provided cover while the tanks entered the train, blocking a large number of zombies. After the personnel and vehicles had successfully boarded, the remaining soldiers and Powered Armor began to board the train. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, please follow me to carriage number two,¡± Duan Xuchang invited. ¡°Can it come too?¡± Wang Tao asked, referring to Lightning who had been following him around. ¡°Of course,¡± Duan Xuchang nodded. In fact, he was quite intrigued by Lightning, the military dog that resembled a calf, and was planning to ask Wang Tao later about the training methods. Duan Xuchang led Wang Tao and the others into the first carriage behind the locomotive, carriage number two. Rumble rumble¡ª The train started moving, then gradually picked up speed. As the firepower weakened, the zombie tide finally broke through the temporary barriers and reached the sides of the train. But the train was tightly covered in steel plates all around, and the few pieces of glass were all bulletproof, leaving the zombies without any means of intrusion. Moreover, there were many sharp blades on the body of the train, so when the train picked up some speed, countless zombies were seen being dismembered and beheaded! Inside carriage number two. Watching the desolate, dilapidated scenery slowly recede, and one zombie after another being shredded by the cutters on the outside of the train, the mood of Wang Tao and his companions was somewhat complex. ¡°Comrades, do you need food? The specialty cuisine from Changhe Base.¡± Duan Xuchang, who had removed his Powered Armor, asked with a smile. After returning to the train, Duan Xuchang was noticeably more relaxed. As soon as Wang Tao nodded, Lan Yulian immediately raised her hand. ¡°Needed!¡± ¡°Alright, please wait a moment.¡± Carriage number two was where most of the soldiers from the military team were located, along with similar setups in carriages three, twenty-eight, and twenty-nine¡ªthat is, the two carriages closest to each locomotive. Of course, there were also soldiers stationed in the other carriages, reporting their respective carriage¡¯s status at regular intervals to prevent any problems. Carriage number two was naturally not as crowded as the other carriages housing the survivors, as it had restrooms and a hall, which was furnished with an array of weapons, food, and a few sets of Powered Armor. The specialty cuisine Duan Xuchang was referring to was a blackish chunky food, somewhat reminiscent of guilinggao. ¡°What is this? Jelly?¡± Ding Yuqin asked with some curiosity, looking at the food inside the stainless steel lunchbox. ¡°It¡¯s a protein block, it actually tastes not bad. Though I think you may not really want to know how it¡¯s made.¡± ¡°` Chapter 733 - 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 733: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Duan Xuchang directly stuffed a piece into his mouth. After such a long battle, he too needed to replenish his physical strength. The other soldiers beside him stuffed the food into their mouths while looking at everyone with a smile, seeming rather malicious. ¡°Protein?¡± Lan Yulian frowned slightly, unsure as she said, ¡°This... wouldn¡¯t happen to be made from insects, would it?¡± As a doctor by profession, she had some knowledge about dietary matters. There were many foods high in protein, but in a post-apocalyptic environment, most of them would definitely be hard to come by. Insects had plenty of proteins in their bodies and, comparatively speaking, were also more common. Upon hearing this, Duan Xuchang looked at Lan Yulian with some surprise, then nodded and said: ¡°Madam Lan, you guessed right, this is Cockroach Paste made from the mutated giant cockroaches and other insects.¡± Thump! Ding Yuqin involuntarily took a step back. It wasn¡¯t just her, the faces of the other women also turned pale. Especially Li Qiuyu, who was visibly turning white. She was originally a bit hungry, but now, after hearing this, her stomach churned, and she almost vomited. Wang Tao was about to dig into his meal box when he heard their conversation. He quietly put the meal box down, suddenly feeling not hungry at all. It wasn¡¯t that they were being finicky, cockroaches were just too disgusting! ¡°Haha!¡± Seeing this, Duan Xuchang and the soldiers burst out laughing. They had no ill intentions; the reaction of Wang Tao and others just reminded them of their own initial disgust. But now... they had long gotten used to it! But then, Yang Changhong seemingly pulled out some jerky from nowhere and handed it to Wang Tao. ¡°Here you go!¡± Lan Yulian also produced some dried fruits, Han Rui brought out some dried small fish, and Lu Yingfeng handed over some meat pies... All of which they gave to Wang Tao. Duan Xuchang and the group of soldiers couldn¡¯t laugh anymore. A few of the more familiar soldiers quietly gave Wang Tao the middle finger. They didn¡¯t even have girlfriends, yet Wang Tao was surrounded by beauties... They really couldn¡¯t stand it! And this was the post-apocalypse, they were supposed to be the survivors in need of rescue, yet their meals seemed better than their own... Who exactly needed saving here! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t thought there was anything special about it, but seeing Duan Xuchang and the others suddenly looking deflated, he now burst into laughter. ¡°Okay, I admit, this Cockroach Paste is indeed a bit challenging for me. How about everyone tries the special products from Zijin Base?¡± As Wang Tao spoke, he took out all the food items. Seeing the table full of food, the soldiers subconsciously swallowed hard. These things weren¡¯t cheap even in the base¡¯s market! But quickly, their attention shifted from the food to Yang Changhong and the other women, or more precisely, to the object that looked like a water pouch at their waists. ¡°Where did you get these foods from?¡± Duan Xuchang asked with a furrowed brow, somewhat astonished. ¡°You mean this?¡± Wang Tao took the Magical Stomach Pouch that Yang Changhong handed to him. In front of everyone, he took out a... roast suckling pig! Zijin Base had raised many mutated pigs previously, each one quite large, obviously impossible to take with them. So they were slaughtered. Most of the pigs were turned into nutritional liquids, with some preserved as jerky and other easily stored foods. A few of the smaller pigs were roasted directly and placed into the Magical Stomach Pouch. Inside the Magical Stomach Pouch, it was like a refrigerator, keeping food fresh for a long time, though it did get a bit cold. Of course, the problem now wasn¡¯t whether the food was cold or not, but the fact that such a large roast suckling pig was taken out of such a small bag! Could this be a kind of Ability? Seeing that they seemed unfamiliar with the Magical Stomach Pouch, Wang Tao explained a bit. ¡°This is called the Magical Stomach Pouch. It¡¯s an organ from the body of a zombie with the ¡®Spittle Nail¡¯ Ability...¡± ¡°Ah? There¡¯s such great stuff in a zombie¡¯s body!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Duan Xuchang and the others were somewhat shocked. ¡°Have you all encountered Spittle Nail zombies before?¡± Wang Tao asked, curious. Some zombies had a certain regional characteristic, so perhaps they didn¡¯t have Spittle Nail zombies in their area? ¡°We have... we even killed one on our way here... but nobody mentioned it had such good stuff in its body...¡± Duan Xuchang was not one to dwell on regrets, but at that moment, he was certainly annoyed. The Magical Stomach Pouch was somewhat of a artifact in a way, and they had missed out on it... Hearing them, Wang Tao roughly understood. If they had killed zombies, they might only collect some of the more obvious drops from the zombie bodies, like the Crystal Cores, Weapons, or Awakening Energy Pearls. As for something like the Magical Stomach Pouch, which was inside a zombie¡¯s body, unless they had some special hobby of dissecting zombies, it was unlikely they would discover it¡ªeven if there were professionals dissecting zombies to research, they might not dissect a Spittle Nail zombie... Even though they may have encountered Spittle Nail zombies, they wouldn¡¯t know about it. Wang Tao had discovered it because he could see the names and explanations of items. Without that ability, it was highly probable that he himself wouldn¡¯t have found it. ¡°Hey! It¡¯s no big deal, I have some spares, I¡¯ll give a few to you guys.¡± Chapter 734 - 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 734: Chapter 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Wang Tao immediately took out a few more Magical Stomach Pouches. Since these people had risked their lives to come and rescue them from far away, it seemed quite appropriate to offer them a small gift. ¡°Then I¡¯ll gladly accept!¡± Seeing these Magical Stomach Pouches, Duan Xuchang¡¯s eyes lit up. He didn¡¯t bother with formalities and took them straight away. In the post-apocalyptic environment, for these soldiers, there wasn¡¯t any particular etiquette about accepting gifts. After all, it was the end of the world, and survival was of the utmost importance! If something given to you could increase your chances of surviving, then you absolutely had to accept it! Otherwise, if the superior officers knew he had refused, he would most probably get a scolding! Wang Tao showed Duan Xuchang and the others how to use the Magical Stomach Pouches, and once they¡¯d learned, they immediately began to put Cockroach Paste in and take it out, doing it over and over, clearly having a great time. Watching these guys, Wang Tao thought to himself that perhaps the technological level of Changhe Base was very advanced, but when it came to knowledge about zombies, those people might not be as informed as he was... ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to try? I think it tastes alright, no weird flavors or anything.¡± Wei Zhenguo held up some Cockroach Paste and raised an eyebrow at Wang Tao. For these soldiers, they really didn¡¯t have as many concerns and could just stuff the Cockroach Paste into their mouths as if nothing was the matter. And in all fairness, this was way more palatable than the insects and such they had to eat while on missions in the wilderness before. ¡°No way!¡± Wang Tao shook his head decisively. If the cockroaches were processed into a nutritional liquid, he might not feel too comfortable about it, but he wouldn¡¯t have much concern about the liquid itself since anything produced by a Food Compressor should be very safe. But who knew how Duan Xuchang¡¯s Cockroach Paste was made, and what if there were still cockroach eggs remaining in it... No, the more he thought about it, the more disgusted he felt. Wang Tao hurriedly shook his head to dispel the thought. ¡°Young man, you don¡¯t know what¡¯s good!¡± Wei Zhenguo shrugged his shoulders and then he, along with Xiang Hongbin and Lu Gang, began munching on the Cockroach Paste relishing every bite. At this moment, a soldier came over with a few people. ¡°Old He!¡± Wang Tao waved at He Jijun. He Jijun had been piloting the helicopter and after securing it in the middle of the train, made his way towards where Wang Tao was. However, the train was quite long, and there were a lot of survivors in the middle carriages, so he was a little delayed. Duan Xuchang immediately put down the Magical Stomach Pouch and went over to introduce himself to He Jijun. He had already learned about the general identities of Wang Tao and his group from Wang Tao himself. Naturally, he knew about He Jijun, the seasoned Soldier King. After officially meeting He Jijun, Duan Xuchang suddenly felt like he might not be able to beat him! As an Ability User, these feelings were usually quite accurate, which meant... he really might not be able to win? What a bunch of people! Duan Xuchang felt somewhat amazed inside. He could clearly sense that most of the people around Wang Tao were very strong. As for Wang Tao himself, there was no need to mention it ¨C a Fourth-order Superpower, he certainly would be thrashed without external assistance! Even if he were to operate Powered Armor, whether he could win was still questionable... Perhaps because they were all soldiers and had common topics to discuss, Duan Xuchang, Wei Zhenguo, He Jijun and the rest quickly struck up a conversation. Wang Tao didn¡¯t interrupt and continued to eat while listening to Duan Xuchang talk about Changhe Base. In fact, Duan Xuchang didn¡¯t say much, only that Changhe Base might be the biggest Survivor Base in Qian Country, a home for all survivors. Changhe Base was great, but it wasn¡¯t a paradise untouched by the outside world... The details were complicated, and saying too much would ruin the surprise, so Duan Xuchang suggested that they would find out when they got there. Especially Wang Tao himself, as a Fourth-order Ability User, he would be well-regarded even in Changhe Base, and the treatment would certainly not disappoint him... Everyone was even more excited by his comments. After a quick meal, Duan Xuchang left. He was the captain of this rescue operation, with two deputy captains. They formed the highest leadership of this team and had to ensure that at least one person was monitoring the entire train at all times. He was off to inspect the inside of the train to relieve someone from their shift. Wang Tao wanted to study their Powered Armor, and now that they were familiar with each other, with He Jijun and the others having a mutual military connection, Duan Xuchang probably would not refuse. Indeed, Duan Xuchang did not refuse, but the issue was that the Powered Armor was DNA-bound! Only they could use it, others could not; this was an anti-theft measure developed by the Hope Research Institute. In that case, there was nothing to be done, and Wang Tao and his team could only look on enviously. After Duan Xuchang left, Lan Yulian also took some people to check on the survivors in the carriages, especially the babies, to see if there were any issues or if they needed help. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go, instead he looked out the window. The windows of the train were not large, but he could still observe the outside situation. The train wasn¡¯t traveling very fast, but it was very stable, and the obstacles and zombies outside were crushed directly by the train. The bulletproof glass of the windows was coated with a layer of black blood. After ensuring there was no danger, Wang Tao found a rest room and prepared to take a rest. From resisting the tide of zombies until now, he had not had a moment¡¯s rest, and even though he was a Fourth-order Ability User, after fighting so many intense battles, he was starting to feel quite worn out. Chapter 735 - 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 ``` Before resting, Wang Tao wanted to check the loot from the fourth-level zombies he had killed, including the Giant Zombie. There had been too many battles before, and he hadn¡¯t had time to examine them closely. First, he glanced at his attributes. The advanced Special Energy, which initially numbered over forty, was now down to only 20. A large amount of the advanced Special Energy had been exchanged for Awakening Energy and had been used up in the previous battles, which added to the woes of his already strained resources. Wang Tao had hoped to save more Special Energy to increase the success rate of his next Awakening, but it seemed to be a distant dream. After all, it would take 10 advanced Special Energies to increase the success rate of Awakening by just 1%... As for the Awakening Keys, after killing several fourth-tier Lord zombies, Wang Tao now had a total of 11 Awakening Keys. He could undergo the second, third, or even fourth Awakening. However, the success rate of subsequent Awakenings would be lower at 50% for the first, 40% for the second, and so on, bottoming out at 10%... If there was a 50% success rate, Wang Tao felt it was worth taking a chance. But with anything below 50%, he didn¡¯t think it was worth the gamble. He would need to use the advanced Special Energy to increase the success rate instead. However, accumulating advanced Special Energy was now very difficult, as he needed to kill fourth-tier Lord-class creatures... He could only say to take it slowly. Next were the items and Loot Packs dropped by the fourth-tier Lord zombies. That fourth-tier Night Demon Lord that created a breach in the high wall dropped[Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Strength], [Fourth-Order Weapon - Night Demon Type I], and 5 Loot Packs. It seems that this [Night Demon Type I] is a guaranteed drop from fourth-tier Lord Night Demons, since it was their heart! Wang Tao would have to look for opportunities to kill more fourth-tier Lord Night Demons in the future. After all, [Night Demon Type I] was quite useful at night. The previous two [Night Demon Type I] had fallen into the hands of the Deformed Zombies which released poisonous gas... They had too little HP, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had the chance to nurture them. Now that he had another one, he could consider raising it if the opportunity arose. Then came the 5 Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 5 Crystal Cores. They were a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Awakening], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core - Ascension], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Energy Boost], and a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - HP Boost]. Having both an Awakening and an Ascension crystal core was great. The second Loot Pack contained Potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] There was only one type of Strength Potion, but with 20 bottles, it was still quite good. The third Loot Pack contained Ultraviolet Equipment. [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x100] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x20] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x5] This was exactly the same as what had dropped from the previous fourth-tier Lord Night Demon. The fourth Loot Pack contained an Awakening Key. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised, as these physical Awakening Keys were even harder to obtain than Awakening Energy Pearls. With this one, he now had two. The biggest difference between a physical awakening key and the one merged into his body was that it could be used by others. So Wang Tao had always kept it without merging. If he really needed it, he could merge it later, and if not, he could give it to others in need. People like Ding Yuqin were also reaching the threshold for Awakening, so perhaps he could let them try it later. The last Loot Pack contained two Blueprints. [Obtained: Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Ring Blueprint x1] Experience tales at Freewebnovel [Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint: Can produce a set of Night Demon Leg Armor. Required materials: Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone*10kg, Level 4 Crystal Core*1, Iron Block*20, Steel Wire*20, Nails*20, Screw*20, Rubber*20] [Night Demon Leg Armor: Attributes unknown] [Night Demon Ring Blueprint: Can produce a Night Demon Ring. Required materials: Night Demon Bone*1kg, Level 4 Crystal Core*1] [Night Demon Ring: Attributes unknown] "A Ring?" Seeing the blueprint for the leg armor didn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao; what surprised him was the existence of a ring blueprint, a type of equipment he had never encountered before. After killing Night Demons, Wang Tao had made a point of collecting their bones, which he stored in the [Magical Stomach Pouch]. The Magical Stomach Pouch could only contain food, and other items wouldn¡¯t fit. But the bones and flesh of zombies could be put inside, so did that classify them as food? Wang Tao felt somewhat speechless, but it was convenient for him nonetheless. Wang Tao first crafted the leg armor. [Night Demon Leg Armor] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Durability +75, defensive power +75] The attributes were exactly the same as the Night Demon Breastplate. He needed leg armor, and now with this, Wang Tao had the full set of fourth-tier Night Demon gear, including gloves, chest armor, leg armor, belt, and combat boots. Night Demon Equipment was relatively understated when compared to Black Iron Heavy Armor. Black Iron Heavy Armor was immediately noticeable when worn, but Night Demon Breastplate was different. This armor was more fitted and could be covered with another layer of clothing, like how Wang Tao wore a Combat Suit over the Night Demon Equipment. ``` Chapter 736 - 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Of course, when it comes to being unassuming, nothing beats the Black Stone Armor Set, which is almost like autumn clothes and is Wang Tao¡¯s personal clothing. Moreover, this is the most comfortable equipment that Wang Tao has ever experienced. Although the Night Demon Set is also quite lightweight, compared to ordinary clothes, it is not as comfortable. If Wang Tao were to wear the Black Iron Heavy Armor now, he would essentially be wearing three sets of equipment. From the inside out, these would be the Black Stone Armor Set, the Night Demon Set, and the Black Iron Heavy Armor. However, Wang Tao tested and found that the attributes of these three sets of equipment couldn¡¯t be fully combined. The attributes of the Black Stone Armor Set could be added to either the Night Demon Set or the Black Iron Heavy Armor. But they could not be added to both sets of equipment at the same time; it could only be the Black Stone Armor Set plus whichever was the outermost layer. For instance, if Wang Tao wore all three sets at the same time, the attributes would be those of the "Black Stone Armor Set + Black Iron Heavy Armor." The Night Demon Set¡¯s attributes would not apply, unless Wang Tao took off the Black Iron Heavy Armor or if it became damaged. The attributes of the Night Demon Set and the Black Iron Heavy Armor could not be added together either. If Wang Tao wore only those two without the Black Stone Armor Set, then only the attributes of the outermost Black Iron Heavy Armor would be effective. So, all things considered, the Black Stone Armor Set turned out to be the most impressive. But even though the attributes could not be combined, that didn¡¯t stop Wang Tao from putting on the Night Demon Set first followed by the Black Iron Heavy Armor. That way, if the Black Iron Heavy Armor was damaged, he would still have the Night Demon Set as a backup. It was like having an extra life-saving measure. Of course, under normal circumstances, he would not wear the Black Iron Heavy Armor, because the 50% reduction in speed was far too debilitating... After donning the Night Demon Leg Armor, Wang Tao crafted this ring. It was a matte black ring with a simple design, seemingly unremarkable. [Night Demon Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Attack Speed +5%, Movement Speed +5%, Level 4 Night Demon Set (Unfused)] Looking at the attributes of the ring, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. The ring had no Durability attribute; it only added 5% speed, and there was a "Level 4 Night Demon Set" attribute. This puzzled Wang Tao; hadn¡¯t the attributes of his Night Demon Set already been activated? It was a passive attribute that could enhance his physical abilities. So why was there another one? And what did "Unfused" mean at the end? Wang Tao looked for a detailed explanation. [Level 4 Night Demon Set (Unfused): Allows Level 4 Night Demon equipment to be fused into the ring. After fusion, one can wield or remove the gear at will.] "Huh?" Wang Tao was quite surprised by this explanation. Fuse the Night Demon Set into the ring? And then put it on or take it off just by thinking about it? When Wang Tao retrieved equipment from his Space Backpack, except for weapons which could be taken out and used right away since they were in his hands, he had to wear other protective gear before their effects would come into play, which took some time. According to this ring¡¯s description, if Wang Tao fused the Night Demon Set into it, he could just think it, and the equipment would automatically be worn or removed? He definitely had to try this! When Wang Tao prepared to fuse, a prompt appeared. [Fusable Equipment: Level 4 Night Demon Gloves, Level 4 Night Demon Breastplate, Level 4 Night Demon Leg Armor, Level 4 Night Demon Belt, Level 4 Night Demon Boots] All five pieces of his Level 4 Night Demon Equipment were available for fusion. Without hesitation, Wang Tao started the process. Then he saw each piece of Night Demon Equipment turn into a rainbow of light and fuse into the ring. A moment later, the ring¡¯s appearance changed slightly, featuring a faint Night Demon icon. The attributes of the ring naturally underwent a significant change. [Night Demon (Set)] [Level Four (Epic)] [Attack Speed +5%, Movement Speed +5%, Level 4 Night Demon Set] [Level 4 Night Demon Set: Durability +400, Defensive Power +80, Attack Speed +10% (Includes: Gloves, Chest Armor, Belt, Leg Armor, Combat Boots)] Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in admiration. Previously, each part of the Night Demon Set had a Defense and Durability ranging from +70 to +75, but now the total Durability had increased beyond their previous sum. The Defense was also 5 points higher. The Defensive Power attributes of the different parts of the equipment hadn¡¯t been cumulative but rather represented the Defense of that particular part. And now, it was as if every part boasted a Defense of +80! The Attack Speed was the attribute from the Night Demon Gloves. With this fusion, without going into other details, just the improvements in Durability and Defense made it quite comfortable. Then, Wang Tao tested the ¡¯wield at will¡¯ function of the ring. After putting the ring on his finger, with just a thought, the entire Night Demon Set instantly clothed him! Another thought, and the whole set disappeared. "Not bad, not bad!" This feature was indeed splendid since the sensation of wearing the Night Demon Equipment was quite different from ordinary clothing. He would wear it only in combat, as it certainly wouldn¡¯t be very comfortable for daily wear. Now, being able to change gear with a single thought might not greatly enhance his combat power, but comfort was definitely maxed out. Moreover, after seeing the functionality of this ring, Wang Tao thought there must be other rings out there. Read new chapters at Freewebnovel If there were a ring that could fuse the Black Iron Heavy Armor, that would be great, given that wearing the Heavy Armor was so inconvenient, yet such high-defense gear could be very useful at times... Chapter 737 - 292: Obstacle-Clearing Train (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_6 After a few more trials, Wang Tao touched his ring contentedly and then turned his attention to the loot from other zombies. Your journey continues at Freewebnovel The loot from the Stone Armor Zombie included a [Level 4 Crystal Core - Ascension], an [Awakening Energy Pearl x1], and four loot packs. Although it only dropped two items, the presence of the Awakening Energy Pearl was still quite good. Then came the loot packs, the first of which contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag featuring a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Strength], and purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Mental Defense] and [Level 4 Crystal Core - HP Increase]. There were no Awakening Crystal Cores this time, which left Wang Tao slightly disappointed, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal, since he had an Awakening Energy Pearl anyway. The second loot pack contained potions. [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Received: Defense Potion (Medium) x20] Forty bottles of potions were also quite nice. The third loot pack surprisingly contained another Awakening Key. [Received: Awakening Key x1] With this key, Wang Tao now had three physical Awakening Keys! He was already considering whom to try awakening first... The last loot pack contained a set of clothes. [Received: Security Guard Uniform x1] [Security Guard Uniform: Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10] So that Stone Armor Zombie, looking like an old man, was actually a security guard in his past life? Wang Tao was slightly surprised. He had owned a Security Guard Uniform before, but that one only had attributes of +1; this one was +10, which was clearly much better. Overall, the loot from the Stone Armor Zombie was rather average. Of course, "average" is only in comparison to that Level 4 Night Demon Lord, and it was actually quite good... Wang Tao continued to check over the items, and next up was the Deformed Zombie that could emit poison. It had dropped four items and five loot packs. The four items were a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Mental Defense], an [Awakening Energy Pearl x1], [Corrosive Poison Tooth x2], and [Strange Poison Sac x1]. [Corrosive Poison Tooth: Crafting material, can add Poison Attribute to equipment] This material was quite good with its additional attribute. And there was another Awakening Energy Pearl, Wang Tao was really lucky. However, what interested him most was the Strange Poison Sac. [Strange Poison Sac: After consumption, there¡¯s a one-third chance of poisoning, a one-third chance nothing happens, and a one-third chance of gaining a Hidden Ability] "This thing is quite interesting..." The Strange Poison Sac was yet another item that could grant a Hidden Ability, but the odds were only one in three. Clearly, this was quite low. One-third chance of nothing happening wasn¡¯t bad, but the chance of poisoning was troubling. It didn¡¯t specify what kind of poison or how strong it was... If it¡¯s like the poison gas from the Deformed Zombie, then the risk was too great; it could be fatal. So this item needed to be used with caution, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t keen on letting his people use it, considering the risk. When he got back to Changhe Base, he would see if he could trade it with others. After all, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t scam anyone; he would make the effect of this item clear, and it was up to others if they wanted to trade... no pressure. Wang Tao looked at the five Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained six Crystal Cores: a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core - Ascension], a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Awakening], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Athlete], a white [Level 4 Crystal Core - Rejuvenation], and a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Stealth]. With Ascension, Omnipotent, and Awakening, it was quite nice. However, the fact that it had a Stealth Ability... with its body emanating green poison gas wherever it went, it was easily detectable from afar, making Stealth pretty useless. The second Loot Pack contained a pile of Potions and Blueprints! [Acquired: Stealth Potion (Small) x20] [Acquired: Stealth Potion (Medium) x20] [Acquired: Weakness Potion (small) x20] [Acquired: Weakness Potion (Medium) x20] [Acquired: Blueprint for Stealth Potion (Small) x1] [Acquired: Blueprint for Stealth Potion (Medium) x1] [Acquired: Blueprint for Weakness Potion (small) x1] [Acquired: Blueprint for Weakness Potion (Medium) x1] Totaling 80 bottles of potions! And also came with crafting blueprints! Wang Tao still had quite a few Stealth Potions, but not many Weakness Potions left, as they were used up in previous battles. Moreover, Wang Tao had only seen and possessed the small Weakness Potion before and hadn¡¯t encountered the medium-sized ones. [Weakness Potion (small): Creatures contaminated with the Weakness Potion will have their overall attributes reduced by 1%-20% (depending on the dosage), lasting for 10 minutes, with a cooldown of 12 minutes for the target.] [Weakness Potion (Medium): Creatures contaminated with the Weakness Potion will have their overall attributes reduced by 1%-40% (depending on the dosage), lasting for 10 minutes, with a cooldown of 12 minutes for the target.] The small Weakness Potion could weaken up to 20%, while the medium one went up to 40%! If he had had these potions during his fight with the Level 4 Zombie Lord, he feared the battle might have been much simpler. As for the four Blueprints, naturally, he would be able to craft them permanently once learned. However, aside from Crystal Cores, core materials were also needed to create these four types of potions. [Blueprint for Stealth Potion (Medium): Once learned, you can craft five Stealth Potions (Medium) at a time. Required materials: Stealth Mushroom x1, Level 2 Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal of food] [Blueprint for Weakness Potion (Medium): Once learned, you can craft five Weakness Potions (Medium) at a time. Required materials: Weakness Mushroom x1, Level 2 Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water 100ml, 10 kcal of food] Currently, Wang Tao only had Strength Mushrooms and Defense Mushrooms, he had never seen the other kinds of mushrooms, so he could only learn the recipes for now and check if they were available at Changhe Base later on. After all, Changhe Base was populous and powerful, they might have what Wang Tao needed. He turned his attention to the third Loot Pack. [Acquired: Corrosive Poison Gas Bomb x10] [Corrosive Poison Gas Bomb: Releases a large area of corrosive poison gas, and creatures that stay in the gas will continue to lose HP, with the rate of HP loss increasing over time.] This Corrosive Poison Gas Bomb seemed to have the effect of an Awakened Deformed Zombie? He guessed it was probably about as strong as the Explosion Grenades. Wang Tao had used quite a few Explosion Grenades before, and now he only had two left. These Corrosive Poison Gas Bombs could be an excellent addition to his arsenal! Chapter 738 - 293 Fireball Special Ability_1 ``` The fourth Loot Pack from the Deformed Zombie contained an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Wang Tao had even considered raising the limit of his Awakening Energy. He currently had a maximum of 600, which still only allowed him to use Starfire Prairie for a mere minute... The last Loot Pack contained equipment Blueprints. [Obtained: Corrosion Armor Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Corrosion Spear Blueprint x1] [Corrosion Armor Blueprint: Can craft a set of Corrosion Armor. Required materials: Corrosive Poison Tooth x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Nails x20, Screws x20, Rubber x20] [Corrosion Armor: Attributes unknown] [Corrosion Spear Blueprint: Can craft a Corrosion Spear. Required materials: Corrosive Poison Tooth x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Nails x20, Gear x20, Blade x20] [Corrosion Spear: Attributes unknown] After looking over the materials needed for the two blueprints, Wang Tao took a sigh of relief. Thankfully, they didn¡¯t require anything like Deformed Zombie bones. He hadn¡¯t collected its bones because its entire body was poisonous; even in death, it emitted a cloud of poison gas causing continuous HP loss if one stayed near it. Therefore, apart from the Loot that burst forth, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to take anything else. Without hesitation, Wang Tao immediately began the crafting process. Amidst the flashing of two iridescent lights, the two pieces of equipment were completed. The first piece was a suit of deep green Battle Armor that covered the entire body tightly. The style of the Battle Armor was quite modern, with the helmet featuring several tubes that resembled those on an oxygen mask¡ªwas it a gas mask? The second piece was a 6-meter long Red spear with gears and other things on it, exuding a steampunk vibe. [Corrosion Armor] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +100, defensive power +80. After wearing, the user is corroded, resulting in continuous HP loss. A large area of poison gas is also formed, causing all creatures within its range, excluding the user, to lose HP continuously (Poison Gas Attribute not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] Wang Tao frowned upon seeing the attributes of this suit of Battle Armor. If he hadn¡¯t misunderstood, wearing this armor would cause continuous HP loss? Well, that weakness is rather severe! Stay connected via novelhall.Co?m Although he owned equipment with weaknesses, there were ways to avoid those weaknesses. For example, if one was susceptible to fire, one would simply avoid places with fire... But this set of armor caused blood loss the moment it was donned! Unless one didn¡¯t wear it, the blood loss was inevitable! However, the armor also had a passive ability that emitted a large area of poison gas, inflicting continuous HP loss on other creatures! Wang Tao felt that this poison gas might be similar to that of the Deformed Zombie. Without saying much more, as long as the damage was even ten to twenty percent of what the Deformed Zombie¡¯s poison could do, it would be quite powerful! So, was this a set of equipment that harms the enemy much but the user slightly less so? It wasn¡¯t clear how much HP the wearer would lose and how much the surrounding creatures would suffer. If the wearer¡¯s HP loss was less than that of surrounding creatures, then it might be an ace in the hole during critical moments. But if the wearer lost too much HP, it wouldn¡¯t be very effective... Wang Tao really wanted to try it out, but he was on the train, so he definitely couldn¡¯t mess around. After all, it was labeled as "large area" poison gas. He would find a chance to test it after getting off the train. If the amount of his HP loss was tolerable, then he would keep the equipment. But if the HP loss was too severe, then he might have to trade it with someone else... [Corrosion Spear] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +100, Attack power +80. During an attack, the user is corroded, causing continuous HP loss. A small area of poison gas is also formed, causing all creatures within its range, excluding the user, to lose HP continuously (Poison Gas Attribute not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] The Corrosion Spear was similar to the Corrosion Armor, corroding the user, causing continuous HP loss, and emitting poison gas. However, the difference was that the Corrosion Armor had a passive ability¡ªonce worn, it would result in HP loss and emit a large area of poison gas. Whereas the Corrosion Spear had an active ability¡ªonly during an offensive attack would it cause HP loss and emit a small area of poison gas. Compared to the Corrosion Armor, Wang Tao preferred the Corrosion Spear. Having control over the effect was always more convenient. Moreover, the Corrosion Spear¡¯s attack power was very high. Wang Tao¡¯s Tusk Long Knife only added 70 to attack power, but the Corrosion Spear added 80! He would try out the spear later to see its effects. If it was good, he might keep it for his own use... Overall, the Loot Pack that the Deformed Zombie dropped was plentiful and of high quality, providing Wang Tao with rich rewards. After storing these two pieces of equipment, he continued to inspect the Loot Packs from other zombies. The Fat Zombie dropped two items and five Loot Packs. The two items were a Purple Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Mental Enhancement and Red Fire Bones x10. [Fire Bones: Crafting material, can add Fire Resistance attributes to equipment] It was a crafting material. Called Fire Bones, they actually just had fiery imprints on them, not literally aflame. This crafting material could add extra attributes, which seemed quite useful. It¡¯s a pity no Awakening Energy Pearls were dropped... Then came the five Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 5 Crystal Cores: an Orange Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion, a Purple Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility, a Red Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Slow Healing, a Blue Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Explosion, and an Orange Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Fireball. ``` Chapter 739 - 293: Fireball Special Ability_2 ``` [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Slow Healing] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: Obesity)] [Slow Healing: Passive Ability, when HP is below 50%, regen 10 HP per second until it reaches 50% and then stops] Wang Tao had never seen this Crystal Core before, and he didn¡¯t expect the obese zombie to have a blood regeneration ability. However, this healing ability was very slow, and it only worked when HP was less than half. Wang Tao killed it so quickly that it was normal for him not to notice. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Explosion] [Quality: Excellent (40%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: HP drops to 1% after use)] [Explosion: Compress all awakening energy, then burst out instantaneously (Power depends on the amount of awakening energy, only Fire Awakened can fuse it)] When Wang Tao killed that Flame Monster before, he obtained an Epic Explosive Crystal Core. This ability had a high limit. When that Flame Monster used it, it was like a small nuclear bomb. Of Wang Tao¡¯s four abilities, one of them, [Iron Wall] had fused with his hidden ability to become the awakened [Starfire Outbreak], so he now had a slot open and could fuse with another Crystal Core. Wang Tao had his eye on the Explosion, as he was a Fire Awakened now and could use this ability. But the side effect was ridiculous, his 100,000 HP would instantly drop to 1,000 HP after use! Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t tolerate this, he had to get rid of this side effect. He now had two Explosion Crystal Cores. If he was lucky enough to get another one in the future, then he could confidently learn this ability! [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Fireball] [Quality: Epic (100%)] Find more chapters on novelhall.Co?m [Purity: 35% (Side effect: First fusion reduces HP limit by 100,000, subsequent fusions reduce it by 10,000)] [Fireball: Consume energy and awakening energy to launch a fireball (only Fire Awakened can fuse it)] The obese Awakened [Flame Explosion] was about gathering awakening energy to form a huge fireball and detonating it. But when Wang Tao attacked the obese zombie with a sniper rifle, it spat out a fireball that melted the bullet. Wang Tao felt at the time that this little fireball might not be its awakening, but just one of its abilities! However, during the later fight with the obese zombie, whenever Wang Tao saw flames in its mouth, he would interrupt it. So he couldn¡¯t confirm if his guess was right. Now it seemed, it was indeed the case! Seeing the detailed attributes of this fireball crystal core, Wang Tao also began to consider fusing with it. The side effect of fusing the fireball was a deduction of 100,000 from the HP limit, which was substantial, but Wang Tao could afford it; he had 110,000 HP, enough to spare. And even if he lost 100,000 HP, he could quickly regain it! Wang Tao most wanted to fuse with the Explosion, but he was short of a crystal core, there was no helping it. Maybe he could first fuse with this fireball crystal core to try out? But Wang Tao¡¯s Advanced Special Energy did not have the Extraction abilities anymore, if he fused with the fireball, unless he found a Level 4 Extraction Crystal Core, he would not be able to change his superpower... Of course, these were not big problems. Wang Tao had Level 1, 2, and 3 Extraction Crystal Cores in his hands, getting a Level 4 would just be a matter of time. The only problem now was, if he wanted to undergo a Second Awakening, he would need to randomly fuse one of his abilities into the awakening. Wang Tao speculated that the stronger the fused ability, the stronger the awakening would be. So he was saving his other three abilities for the awakening. If he fused with the fireball now, it might randomly select the fireball during the awakening... Nevertheless, Wang Tao eventually decided to fuse. Because the second Awakening was too far off, and without improving the odds, he would not recklessly awaken. He had no idea when the Second Awakening would be, surely he couldn¡¯t go without enhancing his strength until then. By the time he could undergo a Second Awakening, he believed he would probably already have a Level 4 Extraction Crystal Core. Wang Tao could accept the side effect of the fireball. As for the internal impurities, it did not matter, he still had more than twenty bottles of Cleansing Potion left unused. After placing the fireball crystal core in his mouth, it immediately melted into his body. A moment later, the fusion was complete! Wang Tao¡¯s HP limit decreased by 100,000, now reduced to 10,000. And he gained a new superpower¡ª [Level 4 Superpower¡¤Fireball (+1)] Wang Tao closed his eyes to carefully feel it, and then he roughly understood how to use this fireball. Using this fireball consumed both Mana and Awakening Energy. However, each use only consumed 1 point of Awakening Energy and some Mana. The reason why it¡¯s "some Mana" is that the more Mana consumed, the bigger the fireball. Conversely, if only a tiny bit of Mana is used, only a very small fireball can be created. But this fixed consumption of 1 Awakening Energy is constant, every use of the fireball will consume 1 Awakening Energy. Compared to [Starfire Outbreak], the fireball is extremely economical; [Starfire Outbreak] consumes a minimum of 100 Energy and can only be used for 10 seconds... The fireball¡¯s consumption is so much more frugal! Of course, less consumption means less power. There¡¯s no comparison between the power of the fireball and [Starfire Outbreak]. Including the obese zombie¡¯s awakening [Flame Explosion], the Flame Monster¡¯s ability [Explosion], and the like, all of these have much greater power than the fireball! Especially [Flame Explosion]. Although both involve creating fireballs, [Flame Explosion] not only has flame damage but explosion damage too. The larger the fireball, the more powerful the explosion, and the higher the damage. ``` Chapter 740 - 293: Fireball Special Ability_3 Although this fireball special ability can also grow in size, it just simply enlarges; the damage from the flames remains the same, without any explosive damage... We can simply understand that Flame Explosion is akin to a bomb detonation, where both the shockwave and the high temperature are lethal. On the other hand, the fireball is just about starting a fire, depending on burning to damage the enemy. Of course, this doesn¡¯t mean that the fireball is trash, as this comparison is with awakening abilities. Compared to ordinary offensive abilities, the fireball is still quite powerful. After all, other abilities don¡¯t consume awakening energy, but the fireball requires the use of 1 awakening energy... After Wang Tao roughly understood the fireball special ability, he snapped his fingers. Pop~ A... little flame instantly appeared at his fingertip! That was the effect of using up 1 awakening energy and a very small amount of mana. Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel any burn, but rather, a sense of warmth that was quite comfortable. It was a pity he didn¡¯t smoke; lighting a cigarette with the small flame on his fingertip would have been really cool. "Woof~" Lightning, lying by Wang Tao¡¯s feet, cocked its head and let out a bark, seemingly perplexed. When Wang Tao had been on fire before, his whole body was ignited, and those flames were fierce and extremely hot. Lightning didn¡¯t dare to come close to Wang Tao. But now, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t aflame all over; only a small flame appeared at his fingertip. This little flame didn¡¯t scare Lightning; in fact, it even snuggled closer to Wang Tao. After all, it was December now, and it had become quite cold. "Haha!" Seeing Lightning¡¯s action, Wang Tao laughed and petted its head. Not gonna lie, after learning this special ability, it could be used to keep warm in the winter! With a thought from Wang Tao, the flame at his fingertip disappeared. The temperature in the room also gradually decreased. Wang Tao tried several more times, getting familiar with some of the operations of the fireball but it was hard to say how powerful it was without being able to test it inside the vehicle... Wang Tao continued to check the loot. The second loot pack contained hand grenades. [Obtained: Explosion Grenades x10] The fat zombie actually dropped 10 explosion grenades! Wang Tao had previously used 8, aware of their potency, and he had felt somewhat distressed as he only had two left. Now he had gained another 10! That meant he now had 12 explosion grenades! In the midst of a zombie horde, killing tens of thousands of zombies would be no problem. If he combined that with the previously acquired corrosive poison gas bomb... it was hard to say how great the power would be. Wang Tao looked at the third loot pack. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another awakening energy pearl! Wang Tao had been a bit disappointed before, but now he instantly felt at ease. Although the drop rate for awakening energy pearls was low, Wang Tao¡¯s extra loot for killing zombies effectively meant his drop rate was much higher than others. The last loot pack contained two blueprints. [Obtained: Flaming Robe Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Flame Bracelet Blueprint x1] [Flaming Robe Blueprint: Can be used to craft a flaming robe. Required materials: Fire Bone x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Flaming Robe: Attributes unknown] [Flame Bracelet Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Flame Bracelet. Required materials: Fire Bone x1, Fourth-tier Crystal Core x1] [Flame Bracelet: Attributes unknown] These two blueprints are quite interesting, one for a robe and one for a bracelet, which are pieces of equipment Wang Tao had never seen before. Moreover, the required materials are minimal, needing only one Fourth-tier Crystal Core and one Fire Bone. Without further ado, Wang Tao immediately started crafting. Having slain many Level 4 Zombie Lords, he had some Fourth-tier Crystal Cores in his possession. Moments later, both pieces of equipment were crafted. [Flame Gauze Dress] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +50, Defensive Power +50, Fire Resistance, Ability: Not Inlaid (Activation of Awakening Energy Required)] Seeing the Flame Gauze Dress made Wang Tao raise an eyebrow. The attributes of this robe weren¡¯t strong and ranked quite low among the fourth-tier equipment. Several third-tier pieces had similar or even higher attributes. But this robe looked really cool¡ª The design of the Flame Gauze Dress was that of an ordinary long robe, much like a regular gown. However, its material seemed to be ablaze with red and yellow light slowly flowing through it! The Flame Gauze Dress was thin, wearing it felt like being wrapped in flames¡ªit came with its own special effects! Wang Tao tried it on himself and indeed, it looked very cool and attractive. However, the attributes of the Flame Gauze Dress couldn¡¯t stack with those of his Night Demon Set. So for Wang Tao, this piece of equipment was somewhat of a white elephant; he would definitely choose the Night Demon Set. Besides, it was a bit odd for a guy like him to wear such a robe... Of course, apart from its appearance, the robe also had its merits¡ªfire resistance and an inlay for special ability. Wang Tao actually had three other pieces of equipment capable of inlaying an ability. They were two Black Stone Armor Equipment pieces and the Black Iron Heavy Armor suit. But he had not inlaid any Crystal Cores yet, not because he didn¡¯t want to but because he hadn¡¯t found the appropriate ones. Fourth-tier equipment could only be inlaid with Fourth-tier Crystal Cores, and although he had some in his possession, there weren¡¯t many worth setting into equipment... This inlaying ability was quite good, equivalent to having an extra ability, and needed careful selection. Wang Tao had indeed thought before about whether to set the Explosion inlay into his equipment or not. After some consideration, he decided not to. After all, equipment cannot be leveled up, and it always needs to be replaced. An ability stays with him for much longer than equipment. Moreover, abilities can be evolved and might reach level 5 or level 6 in the future! Once set into equipment, they would remain at fourth-tier, probably just level 1... Of course, Wang Tao was still quite curious about what it would look like after inlaying. Should he... try it out? He wouldn¡¯t be using the Flame Gauze Dress for himself anymore and would definitely give it to someone else, so he might as well try it out first. Wang Tao flipped through his Space Backpack and took out some Fourth-tier Crystal Cores. He discovered that the Awakening Crystal Core could not be inlaid, nor could the Omnipotent Crystal Core, and the Ascension Crystal Core was certainly out of the question. Wang Tao shrugged; it seemed that exploiting a bug was not an option. He picked and chose carefully and finally decided to try inlaying a Slow Healing Crystal Core. Then, several prompts appeared. [Note 1: Success rate of inlaying is related to the Quality of the Crystal Core] Your journey continues at novelhall.Co?m [Note 2: After a successful inlay, Awakening Energy is required to activate it] [Note 3: Using the inlaid ability will consume the Energy inside the Crystal Core, which will be destroyed once the Energy is depleted] [Note 4: The inlaid Crystal Core cannot be detached but can be re-inlaid (the original Crystal Core will be overwritten and destroyed)] Chapter 741 - 294 Giant Slayer_1 Chapter 741: Chapter 294 Giant Slayer_1 This equipment embedding was somewhat different from the Rush Suit that Wang Tao had before. The Rush Suit came with a Rush Ability, but it required the embedding of Crystal Cores to provide energy, thus granting usage count. All equipment within the suit could be embedded with Crystal Cores, and the more and better quality the Cores embedded, the more usage counts were obtained. However, with this equipment¡¯s embedding, it did not have an ability on its own, but rather it would gain whatever ability of the Crystal Core that was embedded into it. Of course, not all Crystal Cores could be embedded, for instance, special Crystal Cores like Omnipotent, Ascension, and Awakening ones could not be used for embedding. The success rate of embedding was related to the quality of the Crystal Core. Using an Epic Crystal Core was a hundred percent successful, and an Excellent Crystal Core had an eighty percent success rate... similar to the situation with Ability Users fusing with Crystal Cores. After a successful embedding, it still required Awakening Energy to activate, meaning if one was not a Fourth Order Awakened One, the ability embedded on this equipment could not be used... The ability on the equipment also consumed its own Crystal Core Energy, and once the energy was depleted, the ability could no longer be used until a new core was embedded. But this equipment could only have one Crystal Core embedded, so it was not known how many times the ability could be used with this one Crystal Core¡¯s energy. Moreover, Wang Tao was preparing to embed a Passive Ability. How would a Passive Ability consume energy? Wang Tao¡¯s Night Demon Set was an all-attributes enhancement Passive Ability, but this ability only consumed Awakening Energy, not Crystal Core Energy, and the Night Demon Set could not be embedded with Crystal Cores either... With curious anticipation, Wang Tao went ahead and embedded the ¡°Slow Healing.¡± It was a red crystal core with an 80% chance of success, and unsurprisingly, the embedding succeeded on the first try. [Flame Gauze Dress] [(Fourth-tier (Excellence))] [Durability +50, Defensive Power +50, Fire Resistance, Ability: Slow Healing (Attribute not activated, activation requires Awakening Energy)] The ability had been embedded, and Wang Tao immediately used Awakening Energy to activate it. [Slow Healing: When HP falls below 50%, recover 10 HP per second until reaching 50% HP (Activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy and 3% Crystal Core Energy daily. Once activated, binds to the user, rebinds after change of user)] Seeing this attribute, Wang Tao immediately understood. It was similar to the Night Demon Set, which also consumed 1 Awakening Energy daily. However, this equipment also consumed 3% Crystal Core Energy every day. This meant the ability embedded in the equipment could be used for a month before the Crystal Core Energy would be exhausted. This was far better than Wang Tao had imagined; after all, a month was not a short period. The consumption was not a daily affair but only occurred when used. For example, only after Wang Tao put it on would it begin to consume today¡¯s Awakening Energy and Crystal Core Energy. If Wang Tao did not wear it the next day, it would not consume any energy. Wang Tao then activated the Corrosive Spear he had just crafted for comparison. [Corrosive Spear] [(Fourth-tier (Excellence))] [Durability +100, Attack Power +80. When attacking, the user will be corroded, continuously losing HP. It will also generate a small area of poison gas, causing all living creatures within the area, except the user, to continuously lose HP (Activated, consumes 1 Awakening Energy daily. Once activated, binds to the user, rebinds after change of user)] The attribute of Corrosive Spear after it was activated was different from that of the Flame Gauze Dress. It did not need to consume Crystal Core Energy, since it also had no Crystal Core embedded, only needing to consume 1 Awakening Energy every day. Wang Tao began to understand the difference between these equipment¡ª Fourth-tier and above equipment, if it came with its own abilities, only required Awakening Energy upon activation, without the need for other consumptions. If the abilities were not inherent to the equipment but were instead bestowed through embedded Crystal Cores, then besides consuming Awakening Energy, it would also consume Crystal Core Energy. With that in mind, it appeared that equipment with inherent abilities might be better? Not necessarily¡ªbecause the inherent abilities of the equipment could not be changed. But with embedding, one could choose different Crystal Cores! Even though embedded Crystal Cores couldn¡¯t be removed, they could be over-written, which merely resulted in the loss of one Core. So, both methods had their own advantages. The only downside was that fourth-tier and above equipment with abilities would bind and consume Awakening Energy. Hence, only fourth-tier and above Ability Users were able to use them, and those below fourth-tier couldn¡¯t utilize these abilities nor unleash the full potential of these equipment... Then, Wang Tao called Jiang Shixue over to try on the Flame Gauze Dress. Jiang Shixue was still a Level 3 Ability User and could not activate the abilities embedded in the equipment, so she couldn¡¯t use them, but neither would she consume energy. Wang Tao nodded to himself, feeling quite pleased with this. Since she couldn¡¯t use the ability, no energy would be consumed. It was quite energy-efficient. ¡°This dress is so pretty...¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes shone as she looked at the Flame Gauze Dress. ¡°Then it¡¯s yours,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. But Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°The dress is pretty indeed, but it¡¯s not suitable for me. It¡¯s too eye-catching. I prefer to attack stealthily...¡± Jiang Shixue was very fast and agile. When she fought together with Wang Tao, she usually took the role of side-attacking, making it hard for zombies including other humans to defend against her. But if she were to wear this dress that resembled flames, she would be spotted from afar. ¡°True... Alright. It really doesn¡¯t quite suit you...¡± Chapter 742 - 294 Giant Slayer_2 Wang Tao nodded. He felt that Jiang Shixue was more suited to the Night Demon Set and decided to see if he could obtain another Night Demon Set for Jiang Shixue to wear. As for whom to give the gauze dress... It was indeed not easy to decide, since there was only one dress, and he couldn¡¯t favor one over another... Wang Tao shook his head, deciding not to think about it for now. He looked at the second piece of equipment he had just crafted. [Flame Bracelet] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Attack includes fire damage] The Flame Bracelet was a cool piece of equipment just like the Flame Gauze Dress, primarily in orange-red, with what seemed like flames flowing over it. However, its attributes were simple, without any additional ones¡ªjust the ability for its attacks to include fire damage. Find your next read on novelhall.Co?m Just by these words alone, it was not yet clear how high the damage was. But Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Fire Blazing the Plains also dealt fire damage! To a certain extent, wouldn¡¯t this be like a "Starfire Prairie - Youth Edition"? Wang Tao put on the bracelet. Hmm... It was as eye-catching as the gauze dress. However, the bracelet could be covered by clothes... As for the power of the fire damage, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t test it for the time being, as he obviously couldn¡¯t hit his own people, nor could he bring himself to do it. He would try it out after the train stopped. He had finished going through the loot from those several fourth-order Lord zombies. Next was the main event, the loot from the Giant Zombie! In total, the Giant Zombie dropped 5 items and 6 Loot Packs. This was probably the second most loot that Wang Tao had obtained from a single zombie. The record-holder was the Glutton Zombie, which would drop a large amount of food upon defeat, so it was incomparable. [Obtained: Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Blood Beads x1] [Obtained: Eye of the Giant x2] [Obtained: Giant¡¯s Heart x1] The Crystal Core extracted from the Giant Zombie¡¯s head was a Promotion type, and it was of orange quality. Wang Tao¡¯s luck was undeniable. Then there was the Awakening Energy Pearl. He had saved quite a number of them now and was planning to upgrade his Awakening Energy cap. The remaining three items were all new to Wang Tao. [Blood Beads: Randomly increases HP limit] This looked like a red meatball, but it was hard to the touch, almost like touching jade. The specific attribute of the Blood Beads made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up¡ªincreasing HP limit! Although the increase was random, it didn¡¯t stop it from being a good item, especially since the HP cap was currently at 100,000, and it was no longer possible to increase the HP limit by killing zombies. Wang Tao was just fretting over how to increase his additional HP, and this Blood Bead presented an opportunity! However, he didn¡¯t use it right away because after fusing with the Fireball ability, his HP limit had already dropped to 10,000. He wasn¡¯t sure if using the Blood Bead would increase his current HP limit or his additional HP limit... If it wasn¡¯t additional HP, then using it now would be too much of a loss, as he could gain up to 110,000 HP by killing zombies. So, to be safe, he decided to wait. He would use it once he had increased his HP limit back to 110,000. "Not sure whether this Blood Bead is guaranteed to drop from the Giant Zombie, or if I was just lucky..." Wang Tao muttered to himself, stroking his chin. In the future, if he had the opportunity to kill a Giant Zombie, he definitely couldn¡¯t miss it! [Eye of the Giant: Crafting Material] [Giant¡¯s Heart: Crafting Material] The Eye of the Giant was a pair of giant eyeballs, and the Giant¡¯s Heart was an enormous heart, both of which were quite chilling to look at. Wang Tao had thought that the Giant¡¯s Heart might be like the Night Demon Heart and could summon a Giant Zombie "Weapon", but unfortunately, it was not the case. Then he looked at the five Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 6 Crystal Cores: a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core - Awakening], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core - Exraction], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Strength], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Defense], and a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Mental Defense]. Apart from the Omnipotent and Awakening Special Crystal Cores, there was surprisingly an Exraction Crystal Core! This pleased Wang Tao immensely. After all, since his "Special Energy" had been upgraded to "Advanced Special Energy", he couldn¡¯t extract or synthesize his own abilities anymore. But this fourth-tier Exraction Crystal Core could allow him to change his ability! He had just been mentioning that when he could undergo a Second Awakening, he might be able to get an Exraction Crystal Core, and now he had gotten one! Then, Wang Tao looked at the second Loot Pack. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another Awakening Energy Pearl! Wang Tao checked and found that he now had a total of 15 Awakening Energy Pearls and 9 Awakening Crystal Cores. These amounted to 2400 Awakening Energy, which could perfectly raise his cap from 600 to 1000 if used to upgrade the Awakening Energy limit. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t planning on upgrading right now. After all, his 600 energy hadn¡¯t fully recovered yet, and if he upgraded, his current energy would drop to 0. If he encountered danger on the way, he would have to exchange Advanced Special Energy for Awakening Energy, which wouldn¡¯t be very cost-effective. It would be better to upgrade after reaching safety. Wang Tao looked at the third Loot Pack. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x30] [Obtained: Defense Potion (Medium) x30] [Obtained: Life Elixir (Small) x30] [Obtained: Energy Potion (Small) x30] Chapter 743 - 294 Giant Slayer_3 Wang Tao had seen strength and defense potions before, but this was the first time he encountered life elixirs and energy potions. [Life Elixir (Small): Increase HP cap by +1000 (up to a maximum of 10 bottles)] [Energy Potion (Small): Increase energy cap by +1000 (up to a maximum of 10 bottles)] They were potions that increased the cap on HP and energy! However, there was a limit, one could only consume a maximum of 10 bottles, but this was already pretty good, after all, 10 bottles combined were 10,000 HP and 10,000 mana! Wang Tao temporarily saved the life elixirs as his current HP was 10,000; it would be a big loss to waste them now, so he held off for now. He planned to consume them together with the [Blood Beads] once his HP reached 110,000. As for the energy potions, he had no hesitation and consumed all 10 bottles in a row. Moments later, Wang Tao¡¯s mana cap increased by 10,000, now standing at [65000/65000]. Wang Tao was somewhat of a perfectionist; 65,000 just didn¡¯t look as good as 70,000 to him. When they were safe again, he planned to find Ding Yuqin and the others to use "Yin and Yang Balance"... ahem, with no other meaning but simply to see if they could increase the mana cap further. For now, there was no rush since they hadn¡¯t left danger behind and couldn¡¯t let their guard down. Stay tuned for updates on novelhall.Co?m The fourth loot pack contained an awakening key. [Acquired: Awakening Key x1] Another awakening key obtained, Wang Tao now had four physical awakening keys. He didn¡¯t need them for himself at the moment but could offer them to others. He planned to discuss later who should undergo awakening first. Considering the 50% success rate for the first awakening with one secret key, if four people attempted awakening at the same time, at least two should succeed, right? The fifth loot pack contained something Wang Tao had not seen before. [Acquired: Gem Slot Opener x2] [Gem Slot Opener: Can open a gem slot on equipment without any existing slots] "Equipment can be socketed?" Wang Tao was first surprised, then pleasantly so. He didn¡¯t possess many pieces of equipment that could be inset with abilities, so this item was quite valuable. For example... could he add a slot to his weapon? Although his tusk long knife was decent, it would be better if he could inlay it with an ability! Wang Tao leaned toward inlaying an active attack type ability, but he didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores to choose from... so that would have to wait for later. Wang Tao looked towards the last loot pack, which unsurprisingly contained blueprints. [Acquired: Giant Slayer Ring Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set Blueprint x1] [Giant Slayer Ring Blueprint: Can craft a Giant Slayer Ring. Required materials: Eye of the Giant x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Giant Slayer Ring: Attributes unknown] [Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Blueprint: Can craft a piece of Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor. Required materials: Giant¡¯s Heart x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor: Attributes unknown] There were two blueprints, one for a ring and one for a heavy armor suit. The required crafting materials were quite simple, and Wang Tao immediately began to craft. Moments later, both pieces of equipment were crafted successively. The Giant Slayer Ring was a piece of equipment that looked even more simple than the Night Demon Ring, all silver and unassuming in appearance. Of course, the appearance didn¡¯t matter, what was important were the attributes. [Giant Slayer Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Attack against lives awakened as "Giant" deals +10% damage; when attacked by lives awakened as "Giant," receive -10% damage] "Huh?" Seeing the attributes of the ring, Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. That meant when he attacked Giant Zombies, the damage he dealt would increase by 10%, and when Giant Zombies attacked him, the damage he received would be reduced by 10%! Wouldn¡¯t this add up to an effective 20% in his favor? Of course, in practice, it certainly wasn¡¯t as much as 20%. After all, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t just stand toe-to-toe with Giant Zombies; he would prioritize dodging their attacks. It didn¡¯t matter if the damage reduction was 10% or even 50%, he wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it... especially since he had seen Giant Zombies with as much as four hundred thousand HP! He definitely didn¡¯t want to test his luck against such powerful Giant Zombies. Regardless, the attributes of the ring were quite nice. The next time he encountered a Giant Zombie, his odds would be better. Then he turned his attention to the second piece of gear. It was a set that looked very ancient, plain without any fancy adornments, but its attributes were far from ordinary. [Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor] [Level Four (Epic)] [Durability +300, defensive power +100~300 (the larger the body size, the higher the defense), speed -20%, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao frowned. The durability was significantly increased, the same as the Black Iron Heavy Armor. But the defensive power... it fluctuated, higher with larger body size, from a minimum of +100 to a maximum of +300! If the defense could reach +300, then this defense would far exceed the 200 defensive power of the Black Iron Heavy Armor, and the Black Iron Heavy Armor even had the downside of reducing speed by 50%, whereas Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor only reduced it by 20%. However, the defensive power of Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor depended on body size, and for Wang Tao¡¯s two-meter height... He immediately tried it out, then was left speechless. [Durability +300, defensive power +125, speed -20%, Ability: Not Inlaid] It was fair to say that the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor was passable, but it wasn¡¯t quite right for Wang Tao. Although it added a defensive power of 125, the reduction in speed by 20% was a significant drawback. If it had 200 defensive power, then even with a speed reduction of 20%, it wouldn¡¯t matter, but it was a pity there was only 125... After reviewing these spoils, Wang Tao yawned, unable to resist the fatigue. Jiang Shixue had already left, and the room was left with only his Lightning. Wang Tao petted the Lightning lying on the floor asleep, then he flopped onto the bed to rest as well. He didn¡¯t know how long he slept, but suddenly Wang Tao felt the train come to a stop. "Are we there already?" He groggily opened his eyes. At that moment, the speaker in the small room sounded. "Ladies and gentlemen, the path ahead is blocked; we need to go down and clear it." Chapter 744 - 295 Blocking the Road_1 Chapter 744: Chapter 295 Blocking the Road_1 Hearing the sound from the horn, Wang Tao instantly woke up. When he stepped out of his room, Ding Yuqin and He Jijun had also arrived in the lobby. They, too, had been resting and were awakened by the sound of the horn. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Wang Tao looked outside the window. From this position, he could only see the scenery on both sides, not directly ahead. This train car housed the command room, which had surveillance equipment to monitor the surroundings of the train. But without Duan Xuchang and the others¡¯ permission, it wouldn¡¯t be right for Wang Tao to barge in. ¡°The path ahead is blocked, and the clearing train can¡¯t move for now. We¡¯ve already sent people to clear it.¡± At that moment, Duan Xuchang came over holding a display screen. The screen showed the view from the front of the train, and it was clear to see that the entrance of a small train station was ahead, with a mass of collapsed buildings. The rubble had fallen onto the tracks, completely obstructing the path. Although they were on a clearing train, the current obstacle was naturally beyond their ability to clear. Plus, it was uncertain whether the railroad inside was damaged... ¡°Need any help?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Not for now. If there really is an issue, I¡¯ll let you know.¡± Duan Xuchang shook his head but didn¡¯t make his refusal final. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Duan Xuchang went back to his business. Before leaving, he opened up the command room, allowing Wang Tao and the others to enter and watch the surveillance. The clearing train was equipped with more tools than Wang Tao had anticipated, and he even saw equipment similar to bulldozers and excavators slowly removing the debris ahead. Although not quick, it was clearly effective; given some time, it should be possible to clear completely... no wonder it was called a clearing train! It was now past four in the afternoon, and heavy rain continued outside, casting a gloomy sky. The train attracted some zombies, but since this train station was rather remote, there weren¡¯t many. Soldiers blocked them outside. The weapons used by the soldiers were not the firearms previously seen in the rescue operation at Zijin Base, but a combination of silencers and subsonic bullets. Subsonic bullets travel slower than the speed of sound in the air, and with silencers, the noise they make is minimal. No need to worry about attracting zombies from other areas. Of course, the trade-off for the reduced noise was decreased power. They wouldn¡¯t be sufficient against large numbers of zombies. There was no such issue for now. Wang Tao went through all the surveillance feeds and assured himself there was no problem before he finally set aside his worries. However, Wang Tao could no longer sleep, and the others felt the same, so they chatted and ate some food in the hall. Wang Tao also took out some equipment to see if any of them wanted it. The group had grown accustomed to Wang Tao occasionally producing novel items. First was the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set, which Wang Tao could not use himself. After all, he usually wore the Night Demon Set in combat, and the Black Iron Heavy Armor for special situations. This Giant Set was neither here nor there for Wang Tao; the main issue was he couldn¡¯t trigger the full-value defensive power attribute... But after asking around, everyone seemed uninterested in the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set. Including Xu Xiaojun, the biggest among them. ¡°I¡¯m already not that fast; if my speed is reduced further, it will really disrupt my combat rhythm...¡± Xu Xiaojun scratched his head as he spoke. The 20% reduction in speed from the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set affected not just attack speed but also mobility. It was fine for Xu Xiaojun¡¯s attack speed to be slow, but if his movement speed were reduced, he might not be able to keep up with the team, considering his usual lack of speed. Of course, the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set could be inlaid with Crystal Cores, and if one could inlay a powerful Ability, then the reduced speed wouldn¡¯t matter. However, besides Wang Tao, the rest were Level 3 ability users. Even if they had Abilities, they couldn¡¯t use them. ¡°Alright then.¡± Wang Tao shrugged and put the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set away again. He had actually thought of a use for the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set, which was to wear it during a Berserk state. At that height of five meters, he might have been able to make good use of the Giant Set¡¯s strength. But there was a minor issue: if Wang Tao entered a Berserk state, that meant a perilous situation without time to change armor leisurely... If only he could get something like the Night Demon Ring, which would allow instant armor change... The Corrosion Armor and Corrosive Spear were also brought out by Wang Tao. As anticipated, when the group heard that these items would cause self-harm during use, they immediately refused. They hadn¡¯t Awakened yet, and losing HP was one thing, but without the Poison Gas Attribute, it would be too much of a loss... Then Wang Tao took out the Flame Gauze Dress. When this item was revealed, everyone gasped in surprise. After all, they had never seen such a phenomenon where flames seemed to flow across a garment. Especially the women, who were wide-eyed and enthusiastic. ¡°Who wants this Flame Gauze Dress?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. The women looked at each other, each wanting the dress but too embarrassed to say it outright. So, they recommended each other and then looked at Wang Tao with a hint of reproach. ¡°It¡¯s all because of this heartbreaker! Making people feel so awkward...¡± Chapter 745 - 295 Blocking the Road_2 Chapter 745: Chapter 295 Blocking the Road_2 If it weren¡¯t for the timing, the women would have loved to give Wang Tao a good beating, feeling that he was only trying to watch them compete for it on purpose! Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t do it intentionally, nor did he have such a bad taste. It was mainly because he found it hard to choose, just wanting to take the easy way out. ¡°Then let¡¯s do this, draw lots. Whoever draws it gets it.¡± Wang Tao made some simple lots. Except for Jiang Shixue and Nie Siyan, the other women all got excited. Jiang Shixue had said earlier that she didn¡¯t need any, and Nie Siyan was, after all, at most considered a subordinate of Wang Tao¡¯s and naturally couldn¡¯t compare to Ding Yuqin and the others. ¡°Ah? Do I, do I get a share too...¡± Li Qiuyu looked at the slip of paper handed to her, feeling a little embarrassed as she spoke. She hadn¡¯t really had anything happen with Wang Tao, but in the current situation, she was already considered by everyone to be Wang Tao¡¯s woman, which left her with a bit of an explanation to do. ¡°Go ahead and draw.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t elaborate further. ¡°Oh...¡± Li Qiuyu picked up a small slip of paper with her head lowered. A moment later. Lan Yulian let out an exclamation of surprise. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s me!¡± ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± The other women expressed a bit of envious gratitude. It wasn¡¯t just because the equipment looked nice, but more importantly, it was a gift from Wang Tao. ¡°Thank you all for letting me have it!¡± Lan Yulian didn¡¯t stand on ceremony any longer. After all, it had been agreed upon earlier, and any more politeness would seem fake, and she really did like it. Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t very tall, just over one meter sixty. After donning the Flame Gauze Dress, it seemed as if she were enveloped in flames. ¡°It looks great!¡± He Jijun, who was beside her, smiled and commented, even he felt the equipment looked fantastic. Wang Tao nodded to himself in agreement. Lan Yulian wearing this set of equipment was quite suitable actually, not because of the appearance, but because Lan Yulian was a healer, not someone who charged to the front lines. This dress had a lower defense than other fourth-tier armor, but that wasn¡¯t much of a problem for her. Moreover, the equipment was quite conspicuous, allowing the injured to easily spot her and receive treatment. As for the Awakening attributes, Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t use them for now, but after her Awakening, the ability to slowly recover HP could still provide her with help. After all, as long as the healer didn¡¯t die, she could save more people. Lan Yulian, wearing the Flame Gauze Dress, turned around for everyone to see and then came up to Wang Tao, giving him a hug with a slightly flushed face, quickly letting go. ¡°Thank you!¡± Wang Tao smiled, then took out the Flame Bracelet. ¡°Wow!¡± The sight of this equipment made everyone exclaim in awe. There was no helping it; the flowing flame effect was simply too stunning. ¡°This bracelet deals fire damage during attacks, but I also don¡¯t know the exact effects of the fire damage yet. I¡¯ll test it out later and then see who would be most suitable for it.¡± If the Flame Bracelet greatly enhanced Wang Tao¡¯s abilities, he would keep it for himself. If the effect was negligible or only provided a minor boost, he would give it to someone else who was more suitable. The women all looked excited, yet they sincerely hoped it would provide Wang Tao with a greater boost. Wang Tao then brought out a brown leather armor top. ¡°This is the Wild Boar Leather Armor Top...¡± [Wild Boar Leather Armor Top] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability+70, Defense+70, Mental Defense+30, Weak to Fire, Weak to Electricity] This was the blueprint that dropped from the Wild Boar Monster that could create illusions, along with the Boar Tusk Long Knife that Wang Tao had been using all this time. The long knife was quite handy, but the natural weakness to electricity and fire that came with the Wild Boar Leather Armor Top was rather annoying. Previously, when dealing with the corpse tide, Wang Tao used fire everywhere, which obviously made this piece of equipment impractical to wear. Thus, Wang Tao did not present it. But it was, after all, a fourth-tier item, giving a 70-point boost to defense and an additional 30 points to mental defense, both of which were pretty good attributes. Wang Tao gave a brief introduction to the equipment and asked if anyone was interested. But everyone shook their heads. The weakness to electricity was okay since, under normal circumstances, they weren¡¯t likely to be electrocuted. However, the weakness to fire made it unsuitable, especially since Wang Tao¡¯s strongest state was Starfire Prairie, where he would be spreading fire everywhere. Wearing this equipment simply wouldn¡¯t work with Wang Tao¡¯s strategy. ¡°All right. We can see if this armor top can be traded with someone else later on.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t pushy. Everyone indeed already had their equipment; they were outfitted with the Iron Tree Standard Armor, the White Bone Standard Crossbow, and the Bone-Chopping Uniform Hand Axe made by Wang Tao. However, these were all Level 3 standard equipment, and their attributes were a bit lower compared to ordinary equipment... Then Wang Tao took out various potions and such, distributing them to everyone. After a major battle, Wang Tao had acquired many things, more than he could use himself, so it was a good opportunity to help improve everyone¡¯s strength. After all, they hadn¡¯t reached Changhe City Base yet; increasing one¡¯s strength even a little bit added an extra level of security. Last of all, Wang Tao brought out four physical awakening keys. ¡°These are physical versions of the awakening keys...¡± Wang Tao briefly introduced them, and upon hearing his words, everyone¡¯s breathing became a bit hurried. Even He Jijun showed an expression of considerable interest. It was, after all, a chance for Awakening! ¡°The first Awakening has a 50% chance of success. Theoretically, these four awakening keys should yield two Awakeners. But an Awakening requires one to sleep for 24 hours, and we are not yet out of danger, so now is not the best time to attempt it. Moreover, most of you are just one step away from raising your Ability to Level 4... Once we get to the Changhe Base, I¡¯ll provide you with the Ascension Crystal Cores then.¡± Chapter 746 - 295 Blocking the Road_3 Deciding exactly which four people to awaken was something Wang Tao needed to deliberate on, but one thing was certain¡ªthose with higher combat abilities would be prioritized for awakening. However, Wang Tao did not have many Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores on hand, only a total of 9. It was impossible to raise everyone¡¯s abilities to Level 4. Therefore, he decided not to distribute them yet and would wait until he had selected the individuals for Awakening before giving out the crystal cores to those in need. Wang Tao brought this up now to give everyone a heads up. After all, they were a team, and it was important that they be aware of the strategic resources he held. "Okay!" The crowd nodded in anticipation. ... The clearance operations outside had continued from the afternoon into the night. There was both good news and bad news. The good news was that the train tracks were mostly clear of issues; once they finished clearing them, they could directly pass through without needing to detour. Trains, unlike cars, needed rails to travel on. Detouring in such a remote area would mean taking a significantly longer route. Since they were familiar with this path from their inbound journey, it was preferable to return the same way, avoiding the unknown risks of other routes. However, the bad news was that they wouldn¡¯t be able to finish clearing today. They would have to work overtime into the night and strive to be done by tomorrow. According to the original plan, they should have reached Changhe Base within a day. However, with the roadblock, they were set back at least half a day, not to mention they had to spend the night here. Read exclusive adventures at novelhall.Co?m Once the barrier-clearing train picked up speed, it could smash through zombies effortlessly. As long as they didn¡¯t encounter any powerful zombies or situations like today¡¯s roadblock, they could ignore many zombies. And even if they did encounter powerful zombies, there was a good chance the zombies wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up. But if the train were to stop and lose its mobility, it could become dangerous instead... They would need to be extra vigilant tonight. Fortunately, Wang Tao and his group had slept through the morning. Their rest might not have been the best, but they were refreshed enough to stand watch at night. Duan Xuchang did not object to this arrangement. The more people and eyes, the better. Hum~ The door of carriage No. 2 opened, and Wang Tao, with an umbrella, along with Jiang Shixue and Lightning, stepped down. Both humans and the dog possessed Night Vision Ability and were naturally adept in environments like the night. The zombies surrounding the train had already been eliminated. Since the area was remote, there were no more zombies approaching for the time being, so the outside was relatively quiet, with only the sound of machines clearing obstacles. Wang Tao wanted to find a few zombies to test the capabilities of the Flame Bracelet. But the soldiers had been too thorough in their daytime work. After making a round, he did not find a single living zombie. Having no other choice, Wang Tao moved a bit farther away from the team. His radio was connected to Duan Xuchang¡¯s team, so in case anything happened, there was no worry about missing any news. "Finally found some!" In a dilapidated village away from the railway, Wang Tao found over ten Ordinary zombies, all Level Two, each with over 20,000 HP¡ªenough for Wang Tao to test his capabilities. Wearing the Flame Bracelet, Wang Tao strode up to a zombie and punched it. Bang! [-3058] Wang Tao did not punch with full force, and since he hit the zombie in the chest, there was minimal damage. With his punch, a faint glimmer of firelight sparkled, following which the chest of the zombie seemed to show a hint of charring. Beyond that, there were no other changes. "Huh? Is that all?" Wang Tao frowned and kicked the zombie to the ground. He then took off the bracelet and punched the zombie in the same spot with the same force. Bang! [-3029] "..." Wang Tao felt his control of the punch was very precise. The difference in damage likely wasn¡¯t an error... So Wang Tao tried a few more times. At one point, the chest of this zombie suddenly burst into flames. It didn¡¯t have much HP left and was burned to death straight away. "I think I sort of understand..." Wang Tao tried on a few other zombies and then confirmed his deduction¡ªthe fire damage associated with the Flame Bracelet was a different beast from the burning of Starfire Prairie. When using Starfire Prairie, in addition to an increase in all attributes, his body, equipment, and weapons would catch fire, and many of his attacks would carry fire damage! This fire was tangible and hot, capable of continuous burning, and the zombies couldn¡¯t withstand it. However, the fire attribute damage from the Flame Bracelet couldn¡¯t directly light zombies on fire. Instead, it slightly enhanced his attack damage, imbuing his attacks with the fire attribute¡ªfire attribute did not mean burning; the slight charring on the zombies was from the fire attribute. But persistently attacking with fire attribute had a certain chance of causing burning! It was hard to say exactly what that chance was; probabilities like this required a large sample size to get an approximation. The chance wasn¡¯t high, and it was related to the frequency of attacks¡ªthe faster you attack, the greater the chance of igniting a burn. As for how much this fire attribute increased damage... for Wang Tao, it might be around 1%, possibly even less. For him, this bracelet was somewhat superfluous. This fire attribute damage was not even comparable to the flame damage from Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening. Of course, the Flame Bracelet wasn¡¯t trash. Even a 1% increase in damage was still a solid boost. Moreover, the damage from the fire attribute when triggered could be quite impressive. This wasn¡¯t ordinary fire; blood from zombies and even rain from the sky wouldn¡¯t extinguish it immediately. But this burning ability was of little use to Wang Tao because he had just learned the Fireball special ability... "Heh heh..." The last few zombies in the village ran towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao held the umbrella in his left hand and cupped his right palm upwards, as a palm-sized flame emerged above it. When the fireball grew to the size of a basketball, Wang Tao extended his hand, and the fireball immediately flew out, smashing directly into one of the oncoming zombies. Boom¡ª The fireball exploded, and the fierce flames instantly enveloped everything around it. A moment later, all the zombies¡¯ HP bars dropped to zero. But at the same time, half the village was set on fire... Chapter 747 - 296 Half Step to Perfection_1 Looking at the ignited village, Wang Tao felt a bit embarrassed as he touched his nose. It was his first time fighting with the fireball special ability, and he had failed to control his strength, setting the small village ablaze. At that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s walkie-talkie crackled to life. "Sss... Wang Tao. There are flames outside; it looks like quite a few buildings have been set on fire. Did you do that?" It was Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice, sounding somewhat anxious. "Ahem, a little accident, nothing serious," Wang Tao explained. "Phew¡ªthat¡¯s good; I thought you encountered some danger..." Ding Yuqin breathed a sigh of relief. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t shown off his newly-learned fireball ability in front of everyone; Ding Yuqin and the others thought Wang Tao was using an Awakening... Firelight was very noticeable at night, and although zombies naturally feared fire, they were also attracted to the light. In a short moment, the village had attracted a large horde of zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t leave; these zombies were perfect for him to practice on. After he had killed all the zombies that were attracted here, Wang Tao had essentially mastered the fireball ability. There would be no more situations like just now¡ªsetting an abandoned village on fire just to kill a few ordinary zombies. "Let¡¯s go back." As the flames were gradually extinguished by the rain, Wang Tao walked towards the location of the train with Jiang Shixue and Lightning. Just as they were halfway there, the walkie-talkie crackled again, but this time it was Duan Xuchang. "Attention all units, a Night Demon has been spotted inside the train station!" "Night Demon!" Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly ran back. When Wang Tao returned to the vicinity of the train, all the machines that had been clearing obstacles were gone, replaced by ten powered armors, several infantry fighting vehicles, main battle tanks, and soldiers in mechanical exoskeletons. Above, there were two Wu Zhi helicopters hovering. "Where¡¯s the Night Demon?" Wang Tao immediately asked. One of the powered armors turned to face Wang Tao. "Inside the ruins of the train station, our people killed a Night Demon. It seems like there¡¯s a Night Demon¡¯s Nest in there, but we¡¯re still not clear on the precise location of the entrance; we¡¯re searching for it." For most people, killing a Night Demon didn¡¯t carry many benefits. After all, Night Demons are difficult to deal with and don¡¯t have Crystal Cores. Usually, if they encounter a Night Demon, they would flee if they could, and fight only if they absolutely must. However, for Duan Xuchang¡¯s military force, fleeing was obviously not an option, and they had the capability to deal with Night Demons. So, upon discovering a Night Demon, Duan Xuchang immediately stopped the obstacle clearance operation, mobilized his force, and prepared to find and eliminate the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! This train station was in a rather remote location with fewer zombies around. Even if there was a Night Demon¡¯s Nest, the number of Night Demons wouldn¡¯t be large, so it should not be too difficult for them to clear it out. With their combat power, even a Level 4 Night Demon could be easily handled. "Let¡¯s go together." Wang Tao offered. "Okay, I¡¯ll share the visuals with you." Ding Yuqin and the others also came out, with Wei Zhenguo holding a smartphone that displayed an overhead infrared thermal imaging view. Although zombies¡¯ bodies don¡¯t have much temperature, any object with a temperature above absolute zero radiates infrared light. As long as there¡¯s a temperature difference between the zombies and their environment, the thermal imager can detect them. Of course, the thermal imaging view isn¡¯t like the X-ray vision you¡¯d see in some of Wang Tao¡¯s games where walls and ruins wouldn¡¯t block the view. Still, zombies weren¡¯t likely to deliberately hide from this, so they could be found as soon as they appeared. Wang Tao found this quite interesting and studied it carefully. In terms of detection, this was far inferior to Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s Perception Ability was equivalent to X-ray vision. Infrared thermal imaging was a bit like Plant Affinity, easy to be limited. But... infrared thermal imaging could see very far! In theory, as long as the object was big enough, infrared thermal imaging could see infinitely far, like being able to see the sun, the moon, etc. But most zombies were not large, and various other factors could interfere, so the range was definitely not that extensive. According to Duan Xuchang, the thermal imager on the Wu Zhi helicopter could detect zombies from over ten kilometers away. The thermal imagers within their powered armors could see up to five kilometers, and the ones carried by exoskeleton soldiers could see two to three kilometers. In terms of distance, this was far superior to Wang Tao¡¯s Perception and Plant Affinity! Despite various limitations, in this situation, it was still very useful. It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to spot a yellow figure in the visuals, with movements characteristic of a Night Demon! "Found it! Right over there... Let¡¯s go!" At the same time, Duan Xuchang gave the coordinates. He took 3 powered armors and 8 infantry fighting vehicles there. The other personnel, including the tanks, stayed around the train. After all, the train was long and big, containing many survivors who needed a large military force for protection. Whirr¡ª Under Duan Xuchang¡¯s lead, blue flames shot out from the back of their four powered armors as they swiftly glided across the ground. Any obstacles they encountered were smashed apart by the large feet of the powered armors, leaving shallow grooves in the ground. Wang Tao watched with envy; as soon as he got to Changhe Base, he was determined to find a way to get a powered armor to play with! Explore hidden tales at novelhall.Co?m Probably the sound of the helicopter attracted the Night Demon; as Wang Tao ran towards the coordinates, he saw more and more Night Demons appearing on the screen. Chapter 748 - 296 Half Step to Perfection_2 ``` Night Demons usually sleep in their nests during the day and go out at night. Thus, these Night Demons were coming from all directions, and it was still unclear where their nest was. But it was definitely in this region. As Wang Tao ran, he activated his Perception and Plant Affinity abilities. Before long, they arrived at the coordinates, escorted by four powered armors and eight infantry fighting vehicles. Under the shine of the vehicle headlights, the fleeting shadows of a few Night Demons could be seen. The infantry vehicles stopped, and a group of fully armed soldiers in mechanical exoskeletons immediately disembarked, each powered armor also wielding a six-barrel Gatling gun. They all aimed at the precise locations provided by the thermal imaging and then pulled the trigger. Ratatat¡ª Pupupu¡ª In an instant, gunfire erupted, lighting up the sky. The Night Demons, sensing an approaching threat, prepared to ambush. However, they didn¡¯t expect to have already been spotted by the military and were met with preemptive strikes. "Roar¡ª" The Night Demons howled as they pounced towards the group. But under such heavy firepower, they obviously couldn¡¯t make it through, and in the blink of an eye, more than a dozen Night Demons had been riddled with holes. "Damn, that¡¯s exhilarating!" Lu Gang spoke up, somewhat excited. Although he possessed an Ability, he preferred this kind of attack that relied on a blanket of firepower. No matter whether it was a Level 3 Night Demon or not, under a barrage of bullets, they would all be shredded! Wang Tao nodded to himself, feeling quite thrilled. Especially the "pupupu" sound of the Gatling gun¡ªit made him want to pull the trigger and experience the rush for himself... Night Demons were relatively intelligent among the zombies. Once they realized they could not launch a frontal assault, they immediately dove into the ruins, avoiding a direct fight and instead consistently ambushing. This indeed made things much more difficult for Duan Xuchang and his team. After all, infrared thermal imaging couldn¡¯t penetrate the ruins, and by the time they noticed a Night Demon emerging, its attack was already upon them. Whoosh¡ª A blood-red figure suddenly darted out from a bunker and lunged at a powered armor. Bang! The soldier inside the powered armor didn¡¯t see the Night Demon coming, had no time to defend, and was knocked to the ground. However, the powered armor¡¯s defenses were robust, and the Night Demon managed merely to leave a few faint white marks on it. Ratatat¡ª A short-barreled Rush gun suddenly popped out from the shoulder of the powered armor, and it fired upon the Night Demon that was pressing down on it. Although this Rush gun was clearly not as powerful as the Gatling gun, the Night Demon did not suffer significant damage but was forced back. Whirr~ The powered armor made a sound of machinery in motion, then quickly got back up. The rotating gun had fallen during the Night Demon¡¯s pounce, but he pulled out a folding broadsword crackling with electricity. Gripping the broadsword, blue flames flickered behind the powered armor as it accelerated sharply, rushing towards the Night Demon. Raising the broadsword, it chopped directly at the creature¡¯s head. While the D-100 model powered armor might not be very nimble when moving, their combat agility was certainly no issue. Wielding the broadsword, the soldiers could slash a 50,000-HP Night Demon to death in just a few strokes. Whoosh¡ª At that moment, even more Night Demons appeared, all pouncing towards that powered armor. This time prepared, the powered armor wasn¡¯t knocked down again, and the broadsword sparked with electrical arcs as he brandished it, quickly annihilating the surrounding Night Demons. As Wang Tao¡¯s group was in the midst of the military forces, they didn¡¯t have many opportunities to act. So, they observed the combat effectiveness of these powered armors. Wang Tao felt that the combat power of the D-100 powered armor clearly surpassed that of Level 3. Both in terms of attack and defense, it was stronger than Level 3. Only in speed was it slightly inferior¡ªnot that it wasn¡¯t fast, but that it lacked agility when moving, though it was quick in a straight line. However, these powered armors were not stronger than Level 4¡ªif you only consider physical prowess, the powered armor obviously had Level 4 standards because they were wholly encased in metal, and Level 3 Night Demons couldn¡¯t harm them at all. But Level 4 had Awakening Abilities! With Awakening Abilities included, the powered armor clearly fell short. For instance, Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie¡ªhe felt he could cook the people inside those powered armors... So, the D-100 powered armor was equivalent to something above Level 3, yet somewhat lacking compared to Level 4. Level 3 Perfection? Half-Step Level 4? Wang Tao mused with some amusement. Of course, this was just Wang Tao¡¯s personal feeling, and not necessarily accurate, as powered armors were equipped with many modern weapons. Not to mention anything else, just the six-barrel Gatling guns in their hands, with sufficient bullets, could inflict damage not inferior to that of a Level 4 with an Awakening Ability... In this area, with fewer than twenty Red-skinned Night Demons facing formidable firepower, they were quickly cleared out. "Everyone be careful, we haven¡¯t found the Night Demon¡¯s Nest yet," Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice rang in Wang Tao and the others¡¯ earpieces. Wang Tao had also used his Plant Affinity and Perception to scout around. Apart from discovering a Level 3 Night Demon hiding in a pile of ruins, no other signs were found. Clearly, the Night Demon¡¯s Nest was not in this region. A high-power Ultraviolet flashlight appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, which he then shone towards a certain pile of ruins. "Roar¡ª" A howl from a Night Demon immediately came from inside. Then, a Red-skinned Night Demon quickly burrowed out, patches of its skin showing signs of burning. Ratatat¡ª A stream of red fire instantly enveloped it, and within a few seconds, the 50,000-plus HP Level 3 Night Demon was torn to shreds. ``` Read exclusive content at novelhall.Co?m Chapter 749 - 296 Half Step to Perfection_3 "There was still one hiding!" Enclosed within his powered armor, Duan Xuchang muttered to himself, before looking at the flashlight in Wang Tao¡¯s hands with a hint of surprise in his voice. "This thing is pretty useful!" They hadn¡¯t seen Wang Tao¡¯s ultraviolet equipment when they came to rescue Zijin Base previously, as the Night Demons had already been dealt with. "You guys don¡¯t have something similar?" Wang Tao asked, somewhat puzzled. "I¡¯m not sure about the others, but I definitely don¡¯t have such a flashlight. I remember there were people researching portable ultraviolet lighting equipment before, but the low-power devices were useless against Night Demons, and the high-power devices were too big or required an external power source, making them difficult to carry. I do have some ultraviolet lighting devices, but they are all in the vehicle... I wonder how far the research has gotten now," Duan Xuchang explained to Wang Tao while checking the infrared thermal imaging. "I see..." Wang Tao suddenly realized. He used batteries dropped by Ordinary zombies to power his high-power ultraviolet flashlight, and even though it used a lot of energy, it was, after all, still quite portable. "Then I¡¯ll give you some." Lu Gang and the others all carried packs, and Wang Tao pretended to take out a bunch of high-power ultraviolet flashlights from his pack. He might not have many other things, but he definitely had plenty of ultraviolet equipment. Every time he killed a Night Demon, it would drop an ultraviolet flashlight and several ultraviolet illumination flares. Duan Xuchang¡¯s mouth opened slightly inside the powered armor. He had thought that the ultraviolet flashlight Wang Tao had was some kind of custom-made product; he hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to produce so many at once! "Thanks!" Duan Xuchang did not stand on ceremony and didn¡¯t ask where Wang Tao got all these from. He immediately took them and distributed them to several powered armors and soldiers. He had already seen the effect; these things were very good at dealing with Night Demons. They didn¡¯t expect to harm the Night Demons with them, as long as they could drive them back. "Report, another group of Night Demons has been found! They¡¯re one kilometer to the south!" At this moment, the Wu Zhi in the sky spotted some movement. "Let¡¯s go!" Duan Xuchang immediately called his team to head over. If they didn¡¯t deal with these Night Demons, they would have trouble clearing obstacles at night, which would waste a lot of time. The longer they stayed in the wilderness, the greater the likelihood of variables. So they had to eliminate these Night Demons. Wang Tao and his party naturally followed the team. Shortly after, everyone saw a large number of Night Demons through their thermal imagers¡ªthere were over a hundred of them! How could there be so many Night Demons in this remote little place? "Everyone be alert, the Night Demon¡¯s lair might be here!" Duan Xuchang immediately began issuing orderly commands; this clearly wasn¡¯t his first time undertaking a mission to clear out a Night Demon¡¯s Nest. And after Wang Tao arrived, he quickly found the location of the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! Night Demon nests are usually in dark and damp places. Inside the nest, there are either lots of plants, which Wang Tao could quickly discover through his Plant Affinity, or the nest is entirely covered with Incubation Flesh with no plants. But everywhere outside the nest, there are plants¡ªif there are no plants at all in your area, then clearly something is wrong, so Wang Tao would find it in time. For example, right now, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity vision showed a blank area, but there were plants all around it, so it was clearly problematic¡ªinside lay the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how many Night Demons were in the nest, but it obviously wasn¡¯t small! With the arrival of the army, these Night Demons roared and charged toward the military. They were quickly driven back but then, like the previous Night Demons, started to attack from the flanks. Wang Tao sensed there might be Level 4 Night Demons in this nest and didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity. Instantly, something resembling a mortar appeared in his hand. He aimed the "mortar" at the sky and launched it. Find more chapters on novelhall.Co?m Bang! A purple light point soared into the sky and then exploded violently. The intense purple light turned the area into daylight! "Roar¡ª" Sizzle¡ª Numerous Night Demons were exposed to ultraviolet light, their bodies uttering sizzling burning sounds as they let out pained roars, and their HP began to continuously decrease! The Night Demons couldn¡¯t focus on attacking anymore and began to run frantically, but wherever they looked there was ultraviolet light! They didn¡¯t know where to run, flailing like headless flies! Duan Xuchang and others were somewhat dumbstruck, what on earth was this? A flare that emitted a strong ultraviolet light? Using this against Night Demons was like cheating! "Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs! They last for 3 minutes!" explained Wang Tao immediately, then added, "Right, help me bomb this coordinate!" Duan Xuchang didn¡¯t understand what Wang Tao wanted to bomb at first, but he still had the Wu Zhi above fire a few rockets at the coordinates Wang Tao mentioned. Whizz¡ª Boom boom boom! The ground trembled as it was blown open, revealing a large hole! "We¡¯ll go into the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, you guys handle the outside!" Wang Tao immediately led a group of people into the nest. He hadn¡¯t located the actual entrance to the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, but that wasn¡¯t important¡ªhe had blasted an opening. "..." Only then did Duan Xuchang on the other side realize that the place Wang Tao had them bomb was actually the Night Demon¡¯s Nest! However, he didn¡¯t say much else. He ordered his men to quickly clean up the Night Demons outside and then go down to support Wang Tao. Underground. Upon entering, Wang Tao immediately gasped in shock. "Hiss¡ªsuch a large nest!" In his view, there was Incubation Flesh and numerous undeveloped Night Demons everywhere! And he sensed several powerful energy bodies¡ªthere were Level 4, Lord Night Demons, and seemingly not just one! Chapter 750 - 297 Parasite_1 Chapter 750: Chapter 297 Parasite_1 ¡°There¡¯s a Level 4, Lord Night Demon!¡± Wang Tao immediately alerted everyone. Upon hearing this, everyone became vigilant. Lan Yulian quickly put on the Flame Gauze Dress that Wang Tao had given her, instantly illuminating the lair. Before, Wang Tao had told her that the equipment had durability, and once its durability was gone, the equipment would be damaged. Lan Yulian was reluctant to let the dress be damaged, so she normally didn¡¯t wear it. After all, the dress was very thin and could be packed away easily, only to be worn when necessary. The others quickly took out their ultraviolet illumination flares; Wang Tao had given them plenty of flares and told them not to be sparing with them. Under the glow of the Flame Gauze Dress and the ultraviolet illumination flares, it was apparent that most of the Night Demons seemed to be outside; there wasn¡¯t a single ordinary Night Demon inside the lair. But Wang Tao could sense clearly the presence of three powerfully energetic figures deep within the lair! Three Level 4 Lords! If it had been before, Wang Tao might have hesitated to go down. But now his strength had increased significantly, so naturally he would not hesitate. After all, the Night Demons had a fatal weakness to ultraviolet light. As long as they ensured the ultraviolet light was functioning properly, they would basically be invincible. However, due to the side effects of having fused with the Fireball Ability earlier, Wang Tao now only had ten thousand HP. To be cautious, Wang Tao activated Entangling Roots. Whether those three figures had noticed Wang Tao¡¯s group was unknown, but in any case, they had not come up. Since that was the case, Wang Tao was not in a hurry to go down either. He wanted to kill off the incubation flesh and the unformed Night Demons first. Because once Duan Xuchang and others finished clearing the Night Demons outside, they would surely come down. Upon seeing the incubation flesh and such, they definitely wouldn¡¯t go easy. But since they couldn¡¯t drop loot, to kill these things would just be a waste. Therefore, it was better to let Wang Tao deal with them first. In killing these defenseless creatures, Wang Tao was naturally very fast. Especially after he had learned the Fireball special ability, a wave of his hand would unleash a swath of flames, and soon all the incubation flesh and unformed Night Demons were burned to death. ¡°Level 3 Extraction Crystal Core, Level 3 Omnipotent Crystal Core... not bad, not bad!¡± This Night Demon¡¯s Nest was stronger overall than any Wang Tao had encountered before, and the loot was better too. Previously, they only dropped Level 2 Crystal Cores, but this time they were all Level 3! With the death of these pieces of flesh, Wang Tao¡¯s group quickly progressed to the depths of the lair, where they encountered two ferocious figures. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] The attributes of these two Black Skin Night Demons were identical, both being Level 4 Lords with 120,000 HP. But these weren¡¯t the main focus; the focus was on the significantly obese Black Night Demon behind them! [HP: 150000/150000] [Mana: 150000/150000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] This Night Demon was so fat it seemed to be stuck in the cave, unable to come out. ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± When the two Black Skin Night Demons noticed Wang Tao and his group¡¯s arrival, they howled but did not approach. Instead, they firmly guarded the obese Night Demon¡¯s side. Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed immediately. Given the obese Night Demon¡¯s size, and the way those two Black Skin Night Demons protected it... it felt like they were guarding a Matrix Night Demon? But weren¡¯t Night Demons cultivated from incubation flesh? How could there be a Matrix? Wang Tao was puzzled, but that didn¡¯t stop him from taking action. ¡°Throw the flares!¡± At Wang Tao¡¯s command, everyone immediately hurled their ultraviolet illumination flares at the three Night Demons. Whoosh¡ª¡ª In an instant, the entire cave was enveloped in ultraviolet light! Normally, such a burst of ultraviolet light would have caused the Night Demons to retreat temporarily. Even if the ultraviolet light didn¡¯t fatally injure the Level 4, Lord Night Demons, they would still instinctively flee. But now... it was clear to see, under the burning of ultraviolet light, the two Night Demons in front let out agonized roars, smoke rising from their bodies. Yet, they didn¡¯t flee or even take a step back! They were blocking the cave entrance, preventing everyone from throwing their ultraviolet illumination flares inside. ¡°They really are protecting that obese Night Demon!¡± Wang Tao was almost certain in his heart that this was indeed a Matrix Night Demon! ¡°Attack!¡± With the order, everyone began their assault. Since the two Black Skin Night Demons weren¡¯t fleeing, they naturally started with ranged attacks. Ratatat¡ª¡ª Gunfire erupted in a flurry. Roar¡ª¡ª The two Black Skin Night Demons clearly wanted to charge over; if they managed to reach them, everyone except Wang Tao would surely not withstand it. So Wang Tao took out a Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb and fired it at the three Night Demons. Bang! Instantly, the whole cave was filled with dazzling purple light. Forget the Night Demons; even Ding Yuqin and the rest were blinded and could not keep their eyes open. Only Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Han Rui were unaffected. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes could adjust to the incoming light, and Han Rui had the Perception Ability and could see without using her eyes. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao saw that everyone was affected by the illumination bomb and thus unable to attack. He cursed under his breath. The Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb was too powerful, especially in such confined spaces; it was practically an indiscriminate attack. Still, fortunately, although their situation was somewhat dire, the Night Demons had it worse. The two Black Skin Night Demons developed major cracks on their bodies, their HP plummeting. They buzzed around the cave chaotically, like headless flies, even forgetting to protect the obese Night Demon behind them. Chapter 751 - 297 Parasite_2 As for the obese Night Demon, its body was also cracking and burning, losing HP and emitting a hiss. But it did not run around aimlessly. "Everyone, fall back!" Wang Tao ordered the others to retreat while he charged forward with Jiang Shixue and Han Rui. Wang Tao held a knife in one hand and dragged a fireball with the other. In the blink of an eye, he was beside one of the Black Skin Night Demons. Although the Black Skin Night Demon was in a lot of discomforts because of the Ultraviolet Light, it still reacted when Wang Tao came close. It immediately reached out to grab him. Wang Tao swung two strikes, not to attack the Black Skin Night Demon but to block its Attack. After all, the Entangling Roots he was wearing could not withstand several attacks from the Black Skin Night Demon. After blocking the Attack of the Black Skin Night Demon with his knife, the fireball in Wang Tao¡¯s hand had grown to the size of a balloon. He instantly slapped it onto the body of the Night Demon. Bang! [-30147] This hit directly knocked out thirty thousand of the Black Skin Night Demon¡¯s HP! Seeing this damage, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Indeed, it was an Ability that consumed Awakening Energy, and the damage was even higher than his high-frequency vibration Attack! Furthermore, the burning damage was continuous; the Black Skin Night Demon was set ablaze all over, losing HP continuously! At this time, another Black Skin Night Demon appeared behind Wang Tao. Although its body was smoking from the Ultraviolet Light burns, it still tried to ambush Wang Tao. But Jiang Shixue and Han Rui attacked the Night Demon simultaneously! For a Black Skin Night Demon with 120,000 HP, the Attacks of Jiang Shixue and Han Rui didn¡¯t cause too much damage but successfully thwarted its attempt to ambush Wang Tao. The Night Demon immediately switched targets, beginning to Attack Jiang Shixue and Han Rui. Both women were quite fast, and the Night Demon, under the influence of the Ultraviolet Light, had its overall abilities suppressed, reducing its speed significantly. As a result, it couldn¡¯t catch up with the two women for the time being. Meanwhile, Wang Tao, taking advantage of the brief moment the two women had bought him, unleashed various Attacks on the first Black Skin Night Demon. In less than a minute, at the cost of taking a hit while wearing the Entangling Roots, Wang Tao successfully killed the Black Skin Night Demon. Wang Tao quickly collected all the loot and rushed towards the other Night Demon. The gap between Level 3 and Level 4 was still too large, especially since the Black Skin Night Demon Awakened a Passive Ability that enhanced its physical fitness. Even in this environment full of Ultraviolet Light, the two women were still being suppressed by the Black Skin Night Demon. Jiang Shixue had slightly higher Defensive power. She took the initiative to block several Attacks for Han Rui, who otherwise might have been injured. However, the Night Demon wasn¡¯t faring well either. Its body was smoking from Ultraviolet Light burns and had sustained multiple attacks from Jiang Shixue and Han Rui, getting injured in the process. When the Night Demon pounced on the two women again, Wang Tao suddenly appeared, standing in front of them. "Leave the rest to me!" With Wang Tao¡¯s intervention, the tide of the battle turned instantly. In just thirty to forty seconds, he chopped off the head of the Night Demon! After killing two Level 4 Lord Night Demons in succession, Wang Tao did not push deeper but led the two women to retreat instead. The three went to Lan Yulian for healing. Seeing that Jiang Shixue was injured, Wang Tao touched her hair with a sense of self-reproach. "It¡¯s my fault; I didn¡¯t consider things thoroughly." The problem indeed lay with him. He hadn¡¯t anticipated that the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb would be so bright in such an enclosed space, causing temporary blindness to everyone except the three of them, including Lightning. Even with closed eyes, the intense light was too much to bear, almost like being hit by a Shockwave. As a result, despite having many people, they were unable to Attack... Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t say a word but rubbed her cheek against the palm of Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Once everyone¡¯s HP had recovered sufficiently, the glow from the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb finally weakened, and people began to slowly regain their eyesight. "Is everyone okay?" "We¡¯re fine!" "Woof!" After ensuring there were no issues, Wang Tao then led the group to the obese Night Demon. Wang Tao had been observing, and he noticed that this obese Night Demon, whether due to its size or for other reasons, couldn¡¯t run away and had been enduring the Ultraviolet Light burns the whole time. In the space of two to three minutes, its HP was down to half! Although Night Demons were averse to Ultraviolet Light, the damage it caused to them was not particularly high, it mainly made them uncomfortable and forced them to retreat. They truly feared the sun. So, for them to lose seventy to eighty thousand HP to this artificial Ultraviolet Light was quite astonishing. But, naturally, this was something Wang Tao was pleased to see. He stretched out his hand, and a fireball materialized in his palm. He then threw it at the obese Night Demon. "Attack!" [-32833] Ratatat¡ª [-527] [-625] Continue your adventure with novelhall.Co?m [...] Various Attacks hit the obese Night Demon almost instantly. Though it was quite fat, its Defense power was about the same as most Night Demons, and it did not appear to be particularly troublesome to deal with. Moreover, it did not fight back, only continuing to block bullets while howling. "A live target?" While Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure why this was happening, he saw an opportunity to be seized! He also kept his distance, alternating between fireballs and Shockwaves for ranged Attacks on the obese Night Demon. Everyone else had guns and pulled their triggers at the obese Night Demon. Although the damage from their rifle bullets wasn¡¯t immense, with so many people and guns, the thick hail of bullets soon brought the obese Night Demon down to a sliver of HP. Wang Tao charged another fireball, preparing to end the life of the obese Night Demon. Chapter 752 - 297 Parasite_3 But at that moment, the obese Night Demon suddenly threw a black object at the crowd! The speed it was thrown was extremely fast, and everyone including Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had no time to react. By the time they did react, the black object had already reached Lan Yulian. And Lan Yulian, who was still restoring HP for Jiang Shixue, hadn¡¯t even noticed it. "Look out¡ª" As Wang Tao threw a Fireball at the obese Night Demon, he was already rushing towards Lan Yulian, but it was obviously a bit too late. Just as the object was about to land on Lan Yulian¡¯s face, a dark shadow suddenly appeared and bit the thing in its mouth! It was Lightning! Whish¡ª Wang Tao finally reached Lan Yulian¡¯s side, he immediately shielded her behind him, and then looked at the object Lightning had bitten. It was a worm the size of a baby¡¯s arm, rotten all over... a worm? Lightning¡¯s teeth had the Hidden Ability "Iron Teeth," and with its Level 3 status and 100,000 HP, it was not weak. But it seemed that even Lightning was struggling to control this worm! Its muscles were taut, clenching its bite on the creature. The worm twisted its body crazily in its mouth, causing Lightning to be jerked about. Could this worm¡¯s strength be comparable to that of Lightning? Then Wang Tao saw the attributes of the worm; it only had HP and Level as its Attributes, but... [HP: 83747/100000] [Level: Level 5 Elite] A Level 5 Zombie with 100,000 HP?! Boom! At that moment, the Fireball Wang Tao had thrown hit the obese zombie. [-14283] [0/150000] The obese zombie¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. Wang Tao didn¡¯t even glance at the Loot Pack of the obese zombie, he immediately reached out and grabbed the worm from Lightning¡¯s mouth. Squeak¡ª Once in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, the worm let out an unpleasant cry, trying to escape. Wang Tao felt the great strength of the worm, but with his Entangling Roots hand, he held it tightly, and it couldn¡¯t break free. Wang Tao was ready to activate his Awakening at any moment, but the worm only struggled furiously in his hand and showed no aggressive behavior. "It doesn¡¯t seem to have any attack power?" Wang Tao frowned. While the Zombie bug was in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, it kept losing HP. It wasn¡¯t from Wang Tao attacking it, but from the exposure to ultraviolet light. This worm feared ultraviolet light, so it clearly had a connection with Night Demons. Unable to understand what exactly the Zombie bug was, Wang Tao showed no mercy. He took up his long knife and began to hack at the worm relentlessly. In the blink of an eye, the worm stopped moving. At the same time, several Loot Packs emerged. Besides the packs, an orb-like object from inside it fell into Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Obtained: Level 5 - Night Demon Parasite (Pupa) x1] [Level 5 - Night Demon Parasite (Pupa): After the adult emerges, it can parasitize some life forms. If life is parasitized, there is a certain probability of turning into a Level 5 Night Demon within seven days. In conjunction with incubation flesh, the probability of success increases.] "Night Demon Parasite?!" Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned ugly as he realized that the insect was actually a parasite! Now, besides the virus infection, could there also be this parasitic capability of transmission? He just didn¡¯t know what the "certain probability" was... If it was high, that would be terrifying! Moreover, Wang Tao suddenly thought of a very serious issue ¡ª in case of a zombie virus infection, one could be detected through observation and instruments, but what if it was a parasitic infection? If it couldn¡¯t be detected, then it would be like a ticking time bomb! Of course, even if humans weren¡¯t parasitized, it would still be troublesome if the zombies were, because that would lead to a large number of Night Demons... After collecting several Loot Packs from the Night Demon Parasites, Wang Tao approached the corpse of the fat Night Demon. "Hiss¡ª" Only then did Wang Tao discover that many Parasitic Insect Eggs were underneath this obese zombie! No wonder it never left! It indeed was a Matrix Night Demon! But this Matrix Zombie was very different from other Matrix Zombies... [Acquired: Level 5 - Night Demon Parasite (Pupa) x13] [Acquired: Level 4 - Night Demon Parasite (Pupa) x56] There were both Level 4 and Level 5 eggs! However, he didn¡¯t see any corpse of the parasite. Wang Tao guessed that this obese Night Demon might have only this one mature parasite, and it was fortunate that Lightning intercepted it. Otherwise, if Lan Yulian was parasitized, he wouldn¡¯t know how to save her... Wang Tao packed away all the Loot and then turned to the others and said, "Let¡¯s get out of here!" While exiting, Wang Tao explained to everyone what the insect was. "The Night Demon Parasite!" Everyone gasped in shock. Now, if one were infected by the zombie virus, it could be dealt with an Inhibitor. So although they respected the zombie virus, they were no longer as fearful as before. But what if one were parasitized? Becoming a Night Demon would be no different from being dead... .Co?m "From now on, everyone be more cautious. We must kill this type of parasitic creature if we encounter one!" These parasites were indeed terrifying, but fortunately, this one was large in size, so they could take precautions. If it had been one of those parasites invisible to the naked eye, then it would truly be a hopeless situation... By the time Wang Tao and his group reached the surface, Duan Xuchang was still fighting the Night Demon. "Hm? It¡¯s not over yet?" Wang Tao frowned and then realized that the carcasses of Night Demons had already piled up in a circle around them! "New Night Demons have arrived?" Wang Tao immediately opened his walkie-talkie and asked. "Yes, quite a few Night Demons have come, and there are two Level 4 Night Demons! Otherwise, we would have finished the battle by now!" Duan Xuchang¡¯s breathless voice came through. "We¡¯ll come help you!" After locating Duan Xuchang¡¯s position, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush over, but instead took out a Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb. The flare from before had already gone out. Bang! Purple light soared into the sky! In an instant, the entire nocturnal battlefield was lit up as if it were daytime. Many Night Demons howled as they once again became headless flies. Chapter 753 - 298: Full Set of Equipment_1 As Wang Tao and his team joined the fight, the situation quickly became one-sided. Of course, this wasn¡¯t solely due to Wang Tao and his team¡¯s efforts but also because each Night Demon killed meant one less enemy while the soldiers remained unscathed, growing stronger as the battle went on. When the illumination from the flares in the sky slowly died out, the brief but intense battle finally came to an end. Duan Xuchang began to lead his men in cleaning up the battlefield. "Although Night Demons don¡¯t have Crystal Cores, some things on their bodies are still very useful. For example, these Night Demon claws can be used to make weapons, which are worth quite a bit of money at Changhe Base!" Worried that Wang Tao might not understand, Duan Xuchang explained this to him considerately. "Thank you!" Wang Tao, of course, knew that these materials were useful, but it was only right to express his gratitude since it was well-intentioned advice. As for the Night Demon materials, Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t waste them. However, he only collected the loot from Night Demons his group had killed, leaving behind what belonged to the military troops. Cleaning up the battlefield took even longer than the fight itself. After confirming there were no zombies left in the area, Duan Xuchang led his troops back to the train. All was well at the train, as both Ordinary zombies and Night Demons had been lured to the recent battlefield and were completely slaughtered. Since this place was rather remote, after clearing out those zombies, there were absolutely none left, at least for the time being. On the way back, no accidents occurred, and Wang Tao finally found time to talk to Duan Xuchang about the Zombie Parasites. "Zombie Parasites!" Inside his Powered Armor, Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression turned serious. Explore more at novelhall.Co?m This was indeed a very important piece of news, something that needed to be reported immediately once he returned. He then asked curiously: "So you mean to say that you encountered a Level 4 Night Demon down there?" Duan Xuchang wasn¡¯t actually aware of the specifics of Wang Tao¡¯s team¡¯s fight below. This was because after Wang Tao¡¯s team went down, not just one but several Level 4 Lord Night Demons came from afar. Duan Xuchang assumed that most of the Night Demons, including their Lords, were outside and even if there were Night Demons inside the cave, there wouldn¡¯t be many or they wouldn¡¯t be powerful. Later, when Wang Tao¡¯s team surfaced quickly, with some signs of battle but no injuries, Duan Xuchang was even more convinced of his initial judgement. However, at that time, the battle was so intense that he only asked Wang Tao whether the cave had been cleared out, without delving further. Later, during the cleanup, he sent two Powered Armors to check out the Night Demon¡¯s Nest and left after confirming there were no Night Demons left. So, up until now, he was still unaware of the specifics of Wang Tao¡¯s team¡¯s encounter. But after their exchange just now, he found out that Wang Tao¡¯s team had actually faced three Level 4 Lord Night Demons! And on the surface, he had also encountered three Level 4 Lord Night Demons¡ªthat meant there were a total of six Level 4 Lord Night Demons in today¡¯s battle! "Wow, we were really lucky you guys came over! Otherwise, the outcome of this battle would have been hard to predict..." Duan Xuchang suddenly felt a bit apprehensive. With the military¡¯s strength, they naturally had the capability to eliminate six Level 4 Lord Night Demons, but he had left the majority of the troops near the train to protect the survivors. Only a small fraction of people came to fight, and they hadn¡¯t even deployed any tanks. If they had encountered an assault by six Level 4 Lord Night Demons while fighting Night Demons, they would have certainly suffered casualties! Not to mention, Wang Tao had provided them with high-powered ultraviolet flashlights, incendiary rounds, and the two airborne devices that fired large ultraviolet incendiary rounds which could change the course of the battle! If Wang Tao and his team hadn¡¯t been there, although they would have eventually won¡ªDuan Xuchang would definitely have called in the main forces if they were losing¡ªthere was no doubt that they would have suffered casualties! It would¡¯ve been challenging for anyone other than those in Powered Armors to withstand an ambush by so many Level 4 Lord Night Demons! Of course, this wasn¡¯t to blame Duan Xuchang for underestimating the threat. One reason was that he needed a large number of people to protect the survivors, which was his mission. Another reason was, who would have thought that a Night Demon¡¯s Nest could house so many Lord Night Demons! Normally, Zombie Lords have their own territories, and aside from situations like a zombie horde, Lords don¡¯t usually coexist. Instances like finding both a Level 3 Lord Night Demon and a Level 4 Lord Night Demon in the same nest were rare enough. He had never before seen two Level 3 or Level 4 Lord Night Demons in the same nest because a zombie group only needs one leader; more leaders would just lead to chaos. And here they were today, with six Level 4 Lord Night Demons! Duan Xuchang also became more alert; sometimes "common sense" isn¡¯t so reliable! "We support each other, right?" Wang Tao shook his head. He had previously encountered similar unusual situations where the number of zombies, which should have been limited, was unexpectedly high. Now Wang Tao also had experience. When faced with such situations, there was a 90% chance that they had encountered a mother zombie! It¡¯s just that the mother zombie they encountered today was a bit more terrifying than the ones they usually came across! On the way back, the two chatted some more. Duan Xuchang was quite interested in the Flame Gauze Dress that Lan Yulian was wearing. After all, that thing was way too conspicuous at night! And surprisingly, once the soldiers realized that the person wearing the Flame Gauze Dress was a healer, they would consciously head toward Lan Yulian whenever they got injured. Because Lan Yulian was so conspicuous, a quick glance around was all it took to find her position. This greatly increased Lan Yulian¡¯s healing efficiency! Chapter 754 - 298: Full Set of Equipment_2 Her healing ability was primarily for individual targets, and with such a large battlefield, where she couldn¡¯t see HP bars, trying to find and heal each injured person was quite troublesome. It would be much simpler if the injured could come to her, allowing her to just mechanically release healing... Out of curiosity, Wang Tao simply explained that the equipment was made from materials taken from a Flame Monster. Duan Xuchang clearly believed this explanation, since after all, if claws from a Night Demon could be made into weapons, it made sense that other materials could be crafted into armor. He was only particularly interested in what these Flame Monsters looked like, so he wouldn¡¯t miss out on them if they encountered any in the future. "Are you very interested in this kind of cool equipment?" Enjoy more content from novelhall.Co?m Wang Tao raised an eyebrow and asked. "Not really. I prefer practical equipment myself. But this kind of cool gear is obviously going to be popular and would sell for a lot of money in Changhe Base, maybe even enough to trade for a set of Powered Armor!" Duan Xuchang explained with a smile. Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Indeed, Powered Armor could be bought! He happened to have a bunch of things he couldn¡¯t use, so once he got to Changhe Base, he would sell them! The group smoothly returned to the train, and Duan Xuchang immediately ordered the continuation of the clearing operations, but this time, some soldiers and Powered Armors stood guard on the perimeter. Wu Zhi also flew up from time to time to observe the situation, ensuring their safety. Wang Tao and his companions obviously couldn¡¯t sleep; they exchanged combat experiences and summarized the fight. Wang Tao also did a self-review, deciding that he must be careful the next time he used the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb so as not to blind his allies. He also praised the big hero of the operation¡ªLightning. It possibly saved Lan Yulian¡¯s life! Wang Tao took out a pile of food and let Lightning eat its fill, then he began to examine his spoils of war. Not to mention anything else, just in terms of HP, Wang Tao had recovered to 110,000 HP once again! Aside from the Level 3 Night Demons, he had killed a Level 5 Zombie Parasite and four Level 4 Lord Zombies today¡ªthe reason it was four Level 4s was because after they emerged from the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, they helped Duan Xuchang ease the pressure by killing a Level 4, Lord Night Demon. Anything above Level 4, Lord was a level-skipping kill for Wang Tao, and a single Night Demon could add more than 20,000 to his HP limit! If he included the ordinary Night Demons, Wang Tao received at least 150,000 HP! The 100,000 HP he had lost from fusing with the fireball crystal core were fully restored after this one battle! Seeing his HP fully restored, Wang Tao immediately took out two items¡ª [Life Elixir (Small): Increases HP limit by +1000 (up to 10 bottles can be consumed)] [Blood Beads: Randomly increases HP limit] These were spoils from the Giant Zombie, valuable items that could increase the HP limit. He hadn¡¯t used them when his HP was low, for safety, but now that his HP was full, he had no concerns! Wang Tao first used the Life Elixirs. A person could use up to 10 bottles, and he had 30, which was more than enough. A moment later, Wang Tao smacked his lips, feeling a bit of sweetness. Then he looked at his HP bar. [120000/120000] One hundred twenty thousand HP! Keep going! Wang Tao then put the [Blood Beads] in his mouth. Similar to fusing crystal cores, the Blood Beads instantly vaporized and merged into his limbs and bones. Then, Wang Tao felt an improvement in his physical fitness; he checked his HP. [150000/150000] "Hiss¡ªBlood Beads added thirty thousand HP!" Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. He was directly at one hundred fifty thousand now! Wang Tao didn¡¯t know where his strength would rank in Changhe Base, but he felt his HP was probably the highest, right? The increase in HP also brought some improvement to his physical fitness! Although awakening was more important than physical fitness after Level 4, the sensation of upgrading was still exhilarating. Next, Wang Tao looked at the Advanced Special Energy. By killing four Level 4, Lord Night Demons, he had obtained four Advanced Special Energies. Killing the Level 5 Night Demon Parasite had gotten him two Advanced Special Energies. So he now had a total of 26 Advanced Special Energies. Then there were the Awakening Keys. Wang Tao had obtained four. He didn¡¯t receive any from killing the Level 5 parasite since only same-level or higher-level kills of Level 4 and above lords would yield them. The Level 5 parasite was only at the Elite rank, and so naturally, he didn¡¯t get any. Next was Awakening Energy. Since the opponents in this fight were all Night Demons and he had plenty of Ultraviolet equipment, combined with a substantial increase in his strength and having learned Fireball and such, he didn¡¯t use Awakening and saved quite a lot of Awakening Energy. Awakening Energy is only obtained from killing Lords, so he had gained 400 Awakening Energy this time. He had over 200 before, and now he had reached the 600 maximum, so he could increase his Awakening Energy limit. Without hesitation, Wang Tao immediately upgraded. After all, Awakening Energy recovered 100 every day, and it felt somewhat wasteful if he didn¡¯t raise the limit while at maximum. A moment later, all 600 Awakening Energy had been used up, and Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Energy limit had reached 700! Wang Tao decided not to upgrade further for the time being. It wouldn¡¯t be too late to continue upgrading after reaching Changhe Base. With the Awakening Crystal Cores and Energy Beads he had, reaching 1000 wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Then came various spoils of war. The loot from those three Level 4, Lord Night Demons and the broodmother they exploded from were mostly identical. Cores included [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion] *4, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility] *4, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Energy Boost] *4, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: HP Boost] *4, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening] *2, [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Bloodline Inheritance] Chapter 755 - 298: Full Set of Equipment_3 ``` [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x3] The mother zombie only had two Awakening Crystal Cores, but there were three Awakening Energy Pearls. That amounted to a whopping 400 Awakening Energy! And this mother zombie had one more Crystal Core than the three Lord Night Demons. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Bloodline Inheritance] Enjoy exclusive chapters from novelhall.Co?m [Quality: 100% (Epic) [Purity: 40% (Side effects: None)] [Bloodline Inheritance: Allows one to transfer a portion of one¡¯s own strength to someone else, no more than one¡¯s own strength limit (One¡¯s strength won¡¯t permanently decrease, but will need some time to recover.)] Wang Tao had previously obtained a Level 3 version of this type of Crystal Core from a mother zombie. He felt this kind of Crystal Core was also quite good, and he planned to study later how to use it more effectively... [Obtained: Fourth-Order Weapon¡¤Night Demon Type 1 x4] They also dropped four hearts, that is, four Night Demon Type 1s. Wang Tao now had five Night Demon Type 1s in his possession! Next came the materials, potions, and the Ultraviolet Suit. [Obtained: Fourth-tier¡¤Night Demon¡¯s Claw x8] [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x60] [Obtained: Strength Potion (Small) x60] [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x4] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x400] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x80] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x20] [Obtained: Awakening Key x2] What delighted Wang Tao the most among these was that he had gained two more physical awakening keys! He now had six physical awakening keys in his hands, which could awaken six people! However, Ascension Crystal Cores were momentarily in short supply, so simultaneous awakening for six people was still challenging... Last were the blueprints dropped by the four Level 4 Lord Night Demons, a total of eight blueprints! [Obtained: Night Demon Helmet Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Belt Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Boots Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Gloves Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Blade Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Ring Blueprint x1] Seeing these blueprints, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in excitement! Each blueprint was unique, and he had just looted a full set of equipment, including the ring, all at once! And this time, there was an additional Night Demon Helmet Blueprint. [Night Demon Helmet Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Night Demon Helmet. Required materials: Night Demon Lord¡¯s Bone*10kg, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x20, Steel Wire x20, Screw x20, Rubber x20] [Night Demon Helmet: Attributes unknown] Previously, Wang Tao was saying that Jiang Shixue would suit the Night Demon Set well, and that he would try to get her a set... and now here it was! Wang Tao promptly crafted all of the Night Demon Equipment. He first checked the helmet, which he had never seen before. [Night Demon Helmet] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] ``` [Durability +75, Defense +75] This was a matte black full-coverage helmet that protected the mouth and chin. There were slight protrusions on either side of the helmet¡¯s top, resembling ears, and a very small pair of goggles covered the eyes... The helmet looked very simple and lightweight overall. As for attributes, it added 75 points each to durability and defense, which was quite nice. Then Wang Tao checked the Level 4 Night Demon Blade. [Night Demon Blade] [Level Four (Epic)] [Durability +70, Attack Power +70, Attack Speed +25%] The durability and attack of the Level 3 Night Demon Blade both increased by 55, but the Level 4 went straight up by 70! This was on par with Wang Tao¡¯s tusk long knife. However, the tusk long knife had a bleeding ability, while the Night Demon Blade provided a 25% increase in attack speed! It was hard to say which weapon was stronger or weaker, but Wang Tao still preferred longer weapons; daggers were definitely not his style. He planned to give this set of Night Demon equipment to Jiang Shixue, including the dagger and helmet. Wang Tao himself had plenty of equipment, he wouldn¡¯t miss this helmet, and he could continue to kill Night Demons to obtain blueprints. As for the dagger, this Level 4 dagger was likely to deal more damage than Jiang Shixue¡¯s claws. Wang Tao fused all of this equipment into the Night Demon Ring. [Night Demon Ring (Set)] [Level Four (Epic)] [Attack Speed +5%, Movement Speed +5%, Level 4 Night Demon Set] [Level 4 Night Demon Set: Durability +560, Defense +80, Attack Power +70, Attack Speed +35% (includes: Dagger, Gloves, Helmet, Chest Armor, Belt, Leg Armor, Combat Boots)] Wang Tao¡¯s Night Demon Set had 5 pieces, but this one had 7 pieces, adding a dagger and a helmet. So, there was a bit more durability, and it included the dagger¡¯s attack and attack speed attributes, but the defensive power attribute was the same as his own set. Wang Tao was resting in a small room at that time. He called Jiang Shixue over and directly handed her a ring. "Bro~" Jiang Shixue was stunned for a moment when she saw the ring, then suddenly became a bit shy. "Uh, don¡¯t think too much, it¡¯s a set of equipment!" Wang Tao rubbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair a bit speechlessly. "..." Jiang Shixue quickly learned how to use the Night Demon Set. The moment Jiang Shixue had the thought, her school uniform transformed into a set of a matte black, full-body Night Demon Suit! Jiang Shixue was quite slender, so wearing the Night Demon Set gave off a completely different vibe than Wang Tao. Moreover, since the Night Demon Set was rather form-fitting, Wang Tao thought it looked even better on Jiang Shixue. "Not bad, not bad!" Wang Tao held a mirror for Jiang Shixue to see herself. She was also very happy with the effect. She would make the dagger disappear for a moment, then reappear the next, playing to her heart¡¯s content¡ªThe set inside the ring didn¡¯t need to be worn all at once, it could be donned according to one¡¯s thoughts. Whoosh¡ª The Night Demon Helmet on Jiang Shixue¡¯s head vanished, revealing her delicate little face. She stood on tiptoe and gently kissed Wang Tao¡¯s cheek. "Thank you, bro~" After saying that, she ran off. "..." Wang Tao shook his head. He then turned his attention to the Loot Pack that had dropped from the "Level 5 Night Demon Parasite." Chapter 756 - 299: Zombie Evolution_1 ``` Upon killing the Level 5 Zombie Parasite, in addition to the Loot Pack, it only dropped one item, which was its insect egg. [Level 5¡¤Night Demon Parasite (Insect Egg): After reaching adulthood, it can parasitize a portion of life. There¡¯s a chance within seven days that the life parasitized will turn into a Level 5 Night Demon, and with the use of Incubation Flesh, the success rate will increase] This insect egg is a thumb-sized, earthy yellow sphere, bigger in size compared to that of a Level 4. If it weren¡¯t mentioned, one might never guess it was an insect egg! After killing this Night Demon Parasite, that it would drop an insect egg was unexpected, but it¡¯s unknown if this egg, once hatched and killed, would continue to yield more eggs. If it did, wouldn¡¯t that amount to being invincible? Wang Tao thought that was probably not the case and there might be some other conditions... Moreover, how is this insect egg supposed to be incubated? Wang Tao held the egg, lost in thought. To ordinary people, such an egg would be extremely dangerous. However, for Wang Tao, that wasn¡¯t necessarily the case. If he was able to incubate the parasite egg and then kill it, wouldn¡¯t that be the same as killing a Level 5 Elite Zombie? If he was bolder, and after incubating the parasite egg, allowed it to parasitize a zombie, turning the zombie into a Level 5 Night Demon which Wang Tao then killed, he would be able to obtain the loot of a Level 5 Zombie! Currently, in Wang Tao¡¯s possession were 14 Level 5 and 56 Level 4 Night Demon Parasite eggs, totaling 70 eggs. If even a third or a fifth of them turned into Night Demons and Wang Tao killed them, wouldn¡¯t he be able to gain a lot of loot! Hiss¡ª Wang Tao quickly shook his head. The idea was too dangerous, and it was better not to think about it for now! After all, he hadn¡¯t fought a Level 5 Zombie yet and didn¡¯t know whether he could win... Even if he were to do so in the future, he would have to ensure safety measures were in place. Otherwise, it would be suicidal. As for how exactly to incubate these eggs, Wang Tao figured there are likely two possibilities. One is time, where hatching would occur when a certain period has passed. The other is by providing nutrients, possibly requiring some meats, blood, and the like... Later, when it was safe, Wang Tao planned to test with two Level 4 insect eggs. Even if they both hatched into Level 4 Night Demons, he would be able to cope. As for the current batch of eggs, they were of course to be stored in the Space Backpack; he didn¡¯t trust anywhere else. Then Wang Tao looked towards the Loot Packs that burst from the parasite, a total of five, a decent number. The first pack contained a heart. [Obtained: Fourth-Order Weapon¡¤Night Demon Type 1 x1] It was a Night Demon Type 1, and the four Night Demon Zombies he had previously killed had also each dropped a heart. Including those and the one Wang Tao already had, he now had six Night Demon Type 1s! Stay updated through novelhall.Co?m If he released all six Night Demon Type 1s at the same time, their damaging power would certainly be stronger than that of a Level 4, Lord Night Demon! In Wang Tao¡¯s view, these Night Demon Type 1s arguably had three disadvantages. The first is that they cannot think independently and need commands. Of course, this isn¡¯t necessarily a disadvantage. The second is that they are vulnerable to ultraviolet light, so they can only be used at night. Moreover, they are not viable in combat against Night Demons because Wang Tao would need to use ultraviolet tools. The third is that they only have ten thousand HP, so their HP is quite low, and they could easily be quickly killed. If Wang Tao could increase their HP to a hundred thousand blood volume, six Night Demon Type 1s, with a total HP of six hundred thousand, should be able to handle ordinary Level 4 Lord Zombies. However, Wang Tao was short on Crystal Cores, so for the moment, there was nothing he could do. Actually, Wang Tao was also waiting for the zombie evolution after this rain stopped. As per the precedent, after every corrosive acid rain, zombies would undergo an evolution. While Wang Tao definitely didn¡¯t want to see the zombies evolve, this kind of event was beyond human control. So, he had to accept the fact that zombies would become increasingly stronger. Currently, Wang Tao had encountered Level 4, Lord Zombies, and even witnessed a Level 5 disaster zombie, but he had yet to come across an Ordinary Level 4 or an Elite Level 4 zombie. Elite or higher beings all possess Crystal Cores, and Elites are much more numerous than Lords! For now, if Wang Tao wanted to obtain a Level 4 Crystal Core, he would have to kill Level 4, Lord Zombies. Level 4 Lords are not only more dangerous but also rarer in number, which is why Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many Level 4 Crystal Cores in hand. Wang Tao felt that after this heavy rain, there should appear Level 4 Elite Zombies... If he encountered a large number of Level 4 Elite Zombies, the speed at which Wang Tao acquired Crystal Cores would naturally increase greatly! Then whether he wanted to facilitate faster Awakenings for everyone or upgrade the Night Demon Type 1s to a hundred thousand HP, it would be relatively simpler. Of course, after the widespread evolution of zombies, the post-apocalyptic environment would become even more dangerous. So he had to hurry to improve his strength! Wang Tao turned to the second Loot Pack. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another Awakening Energy Pearl! Counting the previous ones, Wang Tao now had 19 beads and 11 Awakening Crystal Cores, which amounted to 3000 Awakening Energy. Enough to raise the Awakening Energy limit to 1100! The third Loot Pack contained Crystal Cores, but there were only two. One red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Exraction] and one orange [Level 4 Crystal Core - Healing] ``` Chapter 757 - 299: Zombie Evolution_2 ``` It was a Level 5 Zombie bug, yet the Crystal Core it burst forth was only Level 4... Wang Tao felt it was probably due to its relatively weaker strength. After all, it was just a parasite. Apart from its 100,000 HP, it had no other Attributes; the fact that it could drop a Crystal Core was already quite remarkable. This Level 4 Extraction Crystal Core was still very useful to Wang Tao. Including this one, he only had two. However, both Crystal Cores were of high Quality, one orange and the other red. Unless his luck was exceptionally bad, it was almost certain that he wouldn¡¯t fail. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Healing] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: Own attack power decreased by 10)] [Healing: Consumes energy to add a certain amount of current HP to a single life] And this second Healing Crystal Core was the fused Ability of Lan Yulian. It was only now that Wang Tao realized that the side effect of this Crystal Core was a reduction in attack power by 10. Now it didn¡¯t seem like a big deal, but during the early days of the apocalypse, losing those 10 points of attack could hurt. For instance, you might have been able to kill a zombie, but you fell just short and got counter-killed instead... Luckily, Lan Yulian had been with Lu Yingfeng all along, one healing and the other attacking. They supported each other, so there were no issues. This Healing Crystal Core wasn¡¯t much use to Wang Tao, but Lan Yulian could use it. It could also be given to someone else to develop another healer! As for how exactly to use it, he would have to study it later... Inside the fourth Loot Pack was an Ultraviolet Suit. [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x100] This only included one Ultraviolet flashlight and 100 Ultraviolet flares, which seemed fairly stingy. But after all, it was from an Elite Zombie; one couldn¡¯t be too demanding. The last Loot Pack contained a Blueprint. [Obtained: Ordinary Healing Earrings Blueprint x1] [Ordinary Healing Earrings Blueprint: Can be used to craft a pair of Healing Earrings. Required materials: Level 4 Crystal Core x1, bones of any Fourth-Level Organism x1kg] [Ordinary Healing Earrings: Provides a certain boost to Healing ability] Wang Tao was somewhat surprised to see this Blueprint. It wasn¡¯t equipment prefixed with "Night Demon," but rather gear that provided a bonus to Healing! Moreover, it was a pair of earrings that Wang Tao had never seen before. Wang Tao¡¯s Magic microcapsule still had plenty of bones from Level 4, Lord Zombies, so he took out some bones and a Level 4 Crystal Core. Then, he began the crafting process. A rainbow light flashed. A pair of earrings that looked like they were made of white jade appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Continue your journey on novelhall.Co?m "They look pretty nice..." Wang Tao examined the specific Attributes of the earrings. [Ordinary Healing Earrings] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Healing ability +10%, grants Attribute attack (If the wearer themselves has an Attribute attack, it can endow the healed individual with Attribute attack)] "Huh?" Wang Tao let out a light exclamation. The extra 10% to Healing Ability wasn¡¯t worth mentioning; that was definitely a strong feature. But this granting of an Attribute attack, if he hadn¡¯t misunderstood, meant that if Lan Yulian had a Fire attribute attack, then when she healed others, she could also endow them with a Fire attribute attack, right? If that was indeed the case, then this was incredibly powerful! Even though Lan Yulian herself didn¡¯t have an Attribute attack, Wang Tao had a Flame Bracelet that could add Fire attributes to his attacks! Wang Tao had tested the Flame Bracelet himself, and it didn¡¯t offer him much of an upgrade. So he was already planning to give it to someone else. Now it seemed perfect for Lan Yulian! After all, giving it to someone else would only enable that one person to have a Fire attribute attack, but if Lan Yulian was healing people, she could grant many people the Fire attribute attack! That was clearly much more suitable! Wang Tao immediately called Lan Yulian over. A short while later, Lan Yulian entered, looking somewhat puzzled. "I have something for you." Wang Tao brought out the Flame Bracelet. "Ah?" Lan Yulian looked incredulous. Wang Tao had shown the Flame Bracelet in front of everyone before, and although she liked it, he had also said that it was for adding Fire Attribute attacks, thus obviously not fitting for her role as a healer. She had been wondering to whom Wang Tao would give the bracelet, never expecting that it would be offered to her. Lan Yulian instinctively waved her hands dismissively. "I don¡¯t want it! It¡¯s not suitable for me; it would obviously increase others¡¯ power more than mine..." It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t want it¡ªthe bracelet was actually quite beautiful. Mainly, it was because there were too many women associated with Wang Tao. If a healer like her were to take such an attack-enhancing bracelet, what would the others think? She didn¡¯t want to create rifts within the group, nor did she wish to trouble Wang Tao. Seeing how understanding Lan Yulian was, Wang Tao smiled, but he still personally fitted the Flame Bracelet on her wrist. Then, without waiting for Lan Yulian to speak, he took out a pair of earrings. "These are for you too. Don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll put them on for you." Lan Yulian opened her mouth, surprised. Were these earrings also equipment? By the time Wang Tao helped her with the earrings, Lan Yulian suddenly felt a bit different. "Huh?" Lan Yulian touched the earrings in surprise. She couldn¡¯t quite identify the difference, but something definitely changed. "Try casting a Healing spell." Wang Tao said. ``` Chapter 758 - 299: Zombie Evolution_3 ``` Lan Yulian didn¡¯t hesitate and healed Wang Tao right away. Then, her eyes widened in shock. She clearly saw Wang Tao¡¯s palm suddenly turn a bit red! Lan Yulian was immediately filled with surprise and doubt. "My healing..." Wang Tao saw a new status appear below his HP bar. [Fire attribute attack: countdown 59 seconds] He had gained a "one-minute fire attribute attack" status! A minute might not seem long, but in a battle with zombies, a minute could determine life or death. Therefore, a minute-long fire attribute attack was quite impressive! Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian to heal him once more. He found that, after the second healing, his fire attribute attack countdown reset to one minute. In other words, as long as Lan Yulian kept healing him, he could maintain the fire attribute attack indefinitely! This mechanic was quite good, especially for an endurance battle! Seeing Lan Yulian a little confused, Wang Tao explained it to her: "The purpose of these earrings is to enhance your healing ability, and while you heal others, you also transfer the flame bracelet¡¯s fire attack to them..." "Ah? It can do that?" Lan Yulian was astonished. Enjoy new tales from novelhall.Co?m If that was the case, then wearing the flame bracelet made sense for her, didn¡¯t it? Now somewhat enamored with it, Lan Yulian gently touched the bracelet and then took a mirror to look at the earrings. Both the bracelet and the earrings were beautiful, especially since they were a gift from Wang Tao! She adored them. After the fire attribute effect on him had disappeared, Wang Tao said: "Try releasing Healing Light." Healing Light was a healing ability that Wang Tao had previously merged for her. Although this ability didn¡¯t greatly increase HP for a single person in one go, as a group-area ability, it continually healed any humans within the range of Healing Light. The longer and the more people stayed within it, the more potential the ability had. "Okay!" Lan Yulian immediately used Healing Light. An aura emerged from Lan Yulian, swiftly enveloping Wang Tao, and they both noticed their hands appeared slightly red. Wang Tao then looked at his attributes again. [Fire attribute attack: countdown 3 seconds] Under the scope of Healing Light, Wang Tao had a fire attribute attack for 3 seconds. And since Healing Light healed every second, just as his fire attribute attack was about to last for two more seconds, he would gain another 3 seconds of fire attribute attack! Since the consumption of Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing Light was low and couldn¡¯t be interrupted, she usually had it activated throughout previous battles. That meant as long as someone was within Lan Yulian¡¯s range of Healing Light, they would continuously have fire attribute attack! On top of that, the healing effect of Healing Light had increased by 10%... Lan Yulian¡¯s support capabilities had been greatly enhanced in an instant! For Wang Tao, the fire attribute¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t high, unless he managed to ignite the target, but since he had learned the fireball special ability, the igniting effect was much better than the fire attribute attack. So, fire attribute attack wasn¡¯t very useful for him. But it might be different for others! After all, not everyone possessed fire-based abilities or had gone through an Awakening. Having a fire attribute attack for additional damage was quite nice. Furthermore, if they were lucky enough to trigger the ignition ability, the damage would be even higher. Even if everyone had the worst luck and couldn¡¯t trigger the ignition effect, just the added fire attribute damage alone would be significant ¨C a few percent increase per person could result in a huge cumulative boost with a group of fifteen or twenty people involved! Once Lan Yulian put on the [Flame Bracelet] and the [Ordinary Healing Earrings], in a way, her healing ability had transformed into an attacking ability! Wang Tao gave Lan Yulian a thorough explanation of these effects because if he didn¡¯t clarify, Lan Yulian would surely waste a lot of time figuring it out on her own. "Am I really that powerful?" Lan Yulian looked at her hand, somewhat disbelieving. Wang Tao smiled and took her hand, saying: "You¡¯ll get used to it soon. In the future, you alone may be a match for an entire army!" "That¡¯s an exaggeration..." Lan Yulian immediately hugged Wang Tao¡¯s arm and then gave a kiss on his face. "I¡¯ll go talk to them!" With her support ability greatly strengthened, she naturally needed to inform her teammates in advance. "Go ahead." ... The next day, at seven o¡¯clock in the morning. Before breakfast, Wang Tao went out to check on the train station clearing situation. "That was quick!" Wang Tao was surprised to find that the blockage on the path had been mostly cleared! "As long as there¡¯s no zombie disturbance, our efficiency is definitely not a problem!" Duan Xuchang, clad in powered armor, came over and looked at the tracks before adding, "In about three more hours, we should be able to go through." "Impressive!" Wang Tao gave a thumbs-up without delay. Duan Xuchang¡¯s estimate was quite accurate. With ten minutes to spare before the three-hour mark, all the obstructions on the tracks had been cleared! Wang Tao specifically used his Perception to check, ensuring there were no more zombies in the area. "Board the train!" At Duan Xuchang¡¯s shout, everyone began to board the train. Accompanied by a deep rumbling, the train started moving slowly. "We can finally leave." On the train, Ding Yuqin and her group all breathed a sigh of relief. Remaining here always carried a certain unease. The train slowly left the small station, and the noise quickly attracted other zombies from different areas. But the train¡¯s speed picked up, leaving most zombies unable to keep up; those that could catch up or were blocking the tracks were mercilessly cut down or even smashed by the train! Watching these brutal images through the monitor, Wang Tao and the others felt an inexplicable sense of catharsis. Just then, Duan Xuchang, who was gazing out at the sky through the window, suddenly spoke. "The rain...is getting lighter." Everyone¡¯s expression became serious upon hearing this. The rain is stopping? That would mean the zombie evolution was imminent! ``` Chapter 759: 300 Rainbow After Rain_1 Chapter 759: Chapter 300 Rainbow After Rain_1 Seeing the train depart smoothly had initially brought joy to everyone. However, their expressions instantly turned serious when they saw that the rain seemed about to stop. The stopping of the rain meant that the zombies would evolve! According to past experience, the longer the rain lasted, the stronger the zombies would evolve once it stopped. This rain had been falling for more than two months! Nobody knew how strong the zombies would become this time! Duan Xuchang sensed the atmosphere becoming somewhat oppressive and tried to lighten the mood with a smile, ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry too much, everyone. We¡¯re not far from Changhe City Base now. At our current speed, we should arrive by this afternoon! Once we¡¯re inside the base, any danger will be kept at bay!¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Seeing Duan Xuchang¡¯s confident expression, everyone relaxed slightly. However, their vigilance did not wane, knowing that caution was paramount, especially on the eve of victory! Duan Xuchang also began to arrange for a large number of people to be on duty. There was no need to rest now; they could rest well once they safely returned to the base. Following the actions of these soldiers on the train, the survivors from Zijin Base weren¡¯t fools either, and quickly some guessed that they might be nearing their destination. From the monitors, one could see that they were a mix of excited and anxious. ¡°I¡¯ll go and soothe them.¡± Lan Yulian spoke up. About to enter a new environment, nobody knew what it would be like or whether it could accommodate ordinary people like them. Although the promises made before had sounded good, those were others¡¯ words. Without witnessing it themselves, they certainly wouldn¡¯t feel assured. Lan Yulian understood their feelings; as the former leader of these survivors, it was natural for her to go and calm and reassure them. As for why she was referred to as the ¡°former leader,¡± that was because after arriving at Changhe Base, Lan Yulian probably wouldn¡¯t lead them anymore. She had become the leader at the clubhouse out of necessity for survival. Later, she became the leader of Zijin Base because she felt she could lead them to live well. If these survivors were now safe, there was naturally no need for her to continue as leader. Compared to being a leader, she preferred to stay by Wang Tao¡¯s side and help him. ¡°We¡¯ll go with you.¡± Wei Zhenguo, Xiang Hongbin, and a few others also spoke up. They also had experience in calming and reassuring people. ¡°Thank you!¡± Lan Yulian then led them over. Wang Tao did not join; he was not good at these sorts of things. Yang Changhong looked at the fast-moving scenery outside the window. She rested her head on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder, her face tinted with a touch of melancholy. Yang Changhong initially aimed to find her sister. Just when she thought all hope was lost, she suddenly stumbled upon some clues. Just as she believed she might find her sister, the leads vanished, and she experienced a super zombie tide... Although she had come to accept the reality that her sister could not have survived, she still felt a sense of reluctance... but what could she do about it? On her own, she couldn¡¯t change anything. Even if she managed to arrive at Changhe Base safely, her sister... Wang Tao kissed Yang Changhong on the forehead and then hugged her shoulders tightly. Apart from Yang Changhong, who was searching for someone, He Jijun was also initially looking for his granddaughter. But He Jijun had long since accepted reality, after all, he had seen his granddaughter turn into a zombie with his own eyes... But He Jijun had not given up hope. He was already old, with no elders above or young ones below. To him, this world held little to look forward to. If it weren¡¯t for the task of finding his granddaughter, perhaps he would have given up on resistance long ago... That was probably what drove him to keep living. The others, more or less, also had their own reflections. After all, they would arrive at Changhe Base in a few hours and start a new life. No one knew whether this new life would be good or bad, or even how long they would be able to live... Compared to them, Ding Yuqin and the others who were Wang Tao¡¯s initial companions, were more composed. They had always been wandering, and had long been eager to find a place where they could live in peace. Even if Changhe Base wasn¡¯t great, it was bound to be better than wandering, not to mention that Changhe Base sounded quite promising. Li Qiuyu, not far away, stole a glance at Wang Tao. She subconsciously tightened her grip on Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand, her little face troubled. She was unsure how Wang Tao would arrange things for her afterward... As for Wang Tao himself, he didn¡¯t have any particular feelings for the moment. After all, in the more than half a year since the apocalypse began, he had changed locations too many times and had grown accustomed to it. His first impression of Changhe Base was quite good. Moreover, he was really looking forward to getting his hands on some Powered Armor to play with! ... Some time later, Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke up. ¡°The rain is really about to stop.¡± Wang Tao got up and came to the window. It was pouring rain when they set out in the morning, but now it had turned to a lingering drizzle. The distant dark clouds seemed about to disperse, and one could barely make out the sun behind them. Occasional rain could brighten one¡¯s mood, but ongoing rain could become irritating. Now, seeing the sun about to break through the clouds, everyone¡¯s spirits were uplifted. At that moment, Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice came through everyone¡¯s earpieces. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, although I would have liked for everyone to arrive safely at Changhe Base, I must now interrupt, for we might have a little trouble that needs resolving.¡± At his words, everyone¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°What trouble?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. Chapter 760: 300 Rainbow After Rain_2 Chapter 760: Chapter 300 Rainbow After Rain_2 ¡°Hold on, let me show you something.¡± A picture appeared on the surveillance room¡¯s screen, showing a dense mass of zombies! ¡°A horde...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but not completely so. The route the snowplow train traveled was very remote, far from any cities. Aside from encountering a large horde in Zijing City at the beginning, there hadn¡¯t been much in the way of hordes after leaving Zijing City. Seeing so many zombies now, everyone instinctively tensed up. Duan Xuchang explained: ¡°This horde is right on our inevitable path, we had passed through here on our way here. Naturally, we¡¯ll have to go through it on our way back as well. Taking a detour would be too far, plus there are many uncertainties. So the road ahead might be somewhat bumpy. But don¡¯t worry, do your best to calm the other survivors... If all goes well, this should be our last trouble before we reach Changhe Base smoothly!¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao nodded. Lan Yulian and a few others were still with the other survivors and hadn¡¯t returned to his car, so Wang Tao contacted her to explain the situation. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Wang Tao, I¡¯ll calm them down!¡± Whirr... Soon, the sound of helicopter rotors beating the air reached Wang Tao and the others, and then they saw two helicopters laden with weapons fly out. There were a total of four armed helicopters on the snowplow train ¨C usually, two helicopters would scout and clear the way while the other two rested, rotating in shifts. Now that the other two resting Wu Zhi helicopters were also flying out, it meant that they were truly on the last leg of their journey. Even in hunting a rabbit, a lion uses all its strength. At this point, Duan Xuchang would allow no mistakes. The helicopters were naturally much faster than the train; while the people on the train had yet to see the zombies, the helicopters were already exchanging fire with them. Wang Tao could faintly hear some explosions. A moment later, Duan Xuchang appeared with several soldiers, having been in the lead car all this time. Wang Tao noticed Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression was very serious... The situation seemed somewhat tricky. He immediately asked: ¡°What¡¯s the status?¡± ¡°These zombies are much stronger than when we came... which means they might have already completed their evolution! The firepower from the Wu Zhi helicopters alone is not enough... We have to take action ourselves!¡± ¡°...¡± Completed their evolution? Everyone¡¯s faces didn¡¯t look good. So they really couldn¡¯t reach their destination smoothly after all... ¡°What exactly do you mean? Do you need our help?¡± Wang Tao asked again. For this operation, Duan Xuchang was the overall commander. Wang Tao would naturally respect his ideas. If they were needed, then Wang Tao would lead his people into action. If not, then Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t add to the chaos. ¡°We don¡¯t need¡ªwait, I need to borrow your transport helicopter!¡± Duan Xuchang was about to say they didn¡¯t need help, thinking that they could resolve the issue through heavy firepower. But then he thought of Wang Tao¡¯s transport helicopter; if they used the helicopter to airlift their powered armors into the midst of the zombie horde, it would save a lot of time and result in a significant impact! ¡°The helicopter? No problem!¡± Wang Tao immediately agreed, then turned to his people to instruct: ¡°Old He, you¡¯ll fly the plane, Little Xue will come with me, and I¡¯ll call Jade Lotus in a moment...¡± As the main force of this attack was still Duan Xuchang and his men, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to bring too many people, just two pilots, one bodyguard, and one medic would suffice. ¡°Yes!¡± Everyone responded. The military transport helicopter was parked in a carriage in the middle of the train, and Wang Tao and his group quickly made their way there. Meanwhile, Duan Xuchang gathered his men to begin suiting up in powered armor. Once He Jijun had everything ready for the helicopter to take off at any time, Duan Xuchang arrived with five additional powered armors. One after another, the six powered armors boarded the aircraft, and He Jijun pulled on the control stick. Whirr... The helicopter left the train and sped towards the front. It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to see the horde. Boom, boom, boom... Pop, pop, pop... All four Wu Zhi helicopters were attacking the zombies on the ground, with many zombies riddled with holes, but there were too many zombies, and the helicopters could only kill, not stop them. The size of this horde was actually not large, not comparable to the size of hordes seen in Wuyang City or Zijing City. However, these zombies were much stronger than those in the previous hordes! Wang Tao could clearly see that the dark mass of zombies below was mostly made up of Level 3 and even Level 4 zombies! ¡°Indeed, they have evolved! Fourth-order Elite Zombies have appeared!¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. This matched his previous conjecture; after the evolution of the zombies, both Fourth Order Ordinary and Fourth Order Elite Zombies had indeed appeared! Whirr... After confirming there were no excessively large or ranged attack zombies among them, the helicopter started to slowly descend. A few meters from the ground, the doors opened. Thud, thud, thud... The six powered armors landed one after another. Although the height wasn¡¯t great, the powered armors were heavy and immediately crushed many zombies beneath them. Rat-a-tat-tat... Armed with Gatling guns, the powered armors opened fire on the zombies, quickly clearing the nearby area. Then, they drew out electrically charged broadswords and charged into the densest part of the horde. ¡°Old He, fly a bit higher and watch your altitude! Little Xue, stand by on the plane! Jade Lotus, come down with me!¡± Wang Tao addressed the people inside the helicopter. Chapter 761 - 300 Rainbow After Rain_3 ``` "Great!" Everyone nodded. Wang Tao wrapped his arms around Lan Yulian¡¯s waist and then jumped straight down from the plane. Thud! The distance was naturally no difficulty for Wang Tao, neither he nor Lan Yulian lost any HP. Moreover, they landed right in the middle of the several powered armors where Duan Xuchang and his team were positioned, a zombie-free and very safe area. Lan Yulian immediately used Healing Light. A green halo spread out from Lan Yulian as the center, enveloping all the powered armors in the vicinity in the blink of an eye. As for Lan Yulian¡¯s role as a healer, Duan Xuchang had seen it before and naturally showed no surprise. However, when they attacked the zombies, they suddenly felt something was different. "Hmm? Is there fire on our blades?" Duan Xuchang was puzzled. Wasn¡¯t his blade supposed to be electrically charged? Why were there sparks of fire when killing zombies? Squelch! Duan Xuchang¡¯s blade chopped onto the head of a fourth-order elite zombie. The blow wasn¡¯t fatal, but flames instantly burst out over the head and body of the elite zombie! "It¡¯s not an illusion!" Watching the zombie burst into flames, Duan Xuchang immediately shifted his attacks to other targets. By the time he had killed other zombies, the first one had been burned to death, and the flames had spread to others. "The damage from this fire is so high!" Duan Xuchang was surprised and then noticed that his five teammates in powered armors were also occasionally setting zombies on fire, causing massive zombie casualties! "What are these flames?" If unsure, just ask. Duan Xuchang felt it was probably related to Wang Tao and the others. "This is fire damage that Jade Lotus added to them. Fire damage has a chance to ignite," explained Wang Tao. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Duan Xuchang was immediately startled. A healer can do that? Is it an ability or equipment? He was very curious but didn¡¯t have time to ask more questions. The chance of triggering ignition from fire attribute was not high, but with six powered armors and their fast attack speed... In just a moment, the area turned into a sea of flames! Seeing that her healing was effective on the powered armors and worked very well, Lan Yulian excitedly turned to Wang Tao. "Wang Tao, I¡ª Hmm?" It was then that Lan Yulian noticed Wang Tao frowning at something in his hand. "What¡¯s wrong?" Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond immediately but instead passed the object in his hand to Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian realized that what Wang Tao was holding was a red crystal core. But she felt something was different about this crystal core... Lan Yulian instinctively took it and then seemed to realize something. "Eh? Where¡¯s the shadow inside this crystal core?" It¡¯s well-known that inside every crystal core there¡¯s a tiny shadow, and to determine the exact ability of the crystal core, one would look at the shadow inside. For instance, a shadow of a stomach indicates a Glutton Crystal Core; a black shadow of a little man signifies Toughness; and a "+" indicates an Ascension Crystal Core... But the red crystal core Wang Tao had given her¡ªhad nothing inside, just pure red... What¡¯s going on? Experience more tales on novelhall.Co?m Wang Tao charged into the horde of zombies, killed another fourth-order elite zombie, and successfully obtained a purple crystal core from its brain. [Level 4 Crystal Core] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 40%] "What¡¯s going on?" The names of the two crystal cores Wang Tao had just obtained didn¡¯t have any ability suffix, and there were no ability shadows inside the cores! Could it be that the crystal cores no longer contained abilities? Skeptical, Wang Tao killed several more elite zombies, including fourth, third, and even second level ones. He obtained several crystal cores. These crystal cores only had the level, quality, and purity attributes, but no abilities! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening and could only continue to kill zombies. "Wang Tao!" At this moment, Lan Yulian passed him a blue Level 2 crystal core. Although she was primarily a healer, she was not without combat capabilities and easily killed a level 2 zombie. The crystal core she handed to Wang Tao had a shadow inside! "Level 2 Rush Crystal Core?" Wang Tao furrowed his brows, having just noticed that it was from a level 2 zombie Lan Yulian had killed. This meant that after evolving, some zombies¡¯ inner crystal cores contained abilities, but most did not? Although the crystal cores without abilities had no side effects, they... seemed impossible to merge. What use were unmergeable crystal cores? Wang Tao¡¯s expression grew heavy. ... Some time later, the train arrived. Although there were still many zombies in the horde, those near the railroad tracks had been mostly cleared out. Clang clang¡ª The train slowed down a bit and opened its side doors. "Get on!" Duan Xuchang called out. Their powered armors¡¯ backs and soles emitted blue flames, and they jumped onto the train in a flash. "Let¡¯s go!" Wang Tao embraced Lan Yulian¡¯s waist and easily jumped on board as well. "Comrades, the final problem has been solved! We should arrive in about three hours!" Duan Xuchang¡¯s powered armor face mask opened as he smiled and told everyone. "That¡¯s great!" Hearing this, everyone was extremely excited. They were finally arriving! Wang Tao also set aside his concerns about the crystal cores for now. A little over two hours later, the scenery outside grew more barren, the rain completely stopped, and the sunset burst through the clouds, dyeing the sky golden. Overwhelmed by the beautiful scene, everyone was somewhat intoxicated. "Hey? A rainbow!" At that moment, Ding Yuqin suddenly exclaimed, pointing somewhere. Everyone followed Ding Yuqin¡¯s direction and indeed saw a colorful rainbow spanning the sky. "Wow! So beautiful!" The women instinctively marveled. "We¡¯ve arrived!" Suddenly, Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s earpieces. Everyone quickly turned around. A huge shadow slowly emerged on the horizon! ``` Chapter 762: 301 Changhe Base_1 Chapter 762: Chapter 301 Changhe Base_1 This was an expansive plain with no skyscrapers or zombies in sight, just a straight railway. And at the end of the railway, there appeared to be a Survivor Base so vast that it seemed to have no end! ¡°Is that Changhe Base...¡± The people on the train all widened their eyes. Changhe Base was some distance from the train, but one could still feel its enormity even from afar. What would it be like to get any closer? And most importantly, there were really no hordes of zombies here! ¡°This is Changhe Base!¡± Dressed in powered armor, Duan Xuchang walked over. The threat hadn¡¯t been completely neutralized, so naturally, he hadn¡¯t let his guard down. He then said to Wang Tao: ¡°Wang Tao, you must have noticed that the zombies were a bit different just now, right?¡± ¡°Are you talking about the Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao produced a Blue Crystal Core in his hand. ¡°Right! Most Crystal Cores no longer have that shadowy figure inside them! According to our recent research, it seems that these Crystal Cores no longer contain any abilities. I just had someone test it out, and these Crystal Cores can no longer be fused...¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression was somewhat grave. He didn¡¯t know whether this change was good or bad, but it would undoubtedly become a thorny issue for many people. ¡°I also killed quite a few Elite Zombies, but only a few of them had Crystal Cores with abilities. The rest had none...¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He could see the attributes of Crystal Cores, so he was sure that most of them truly lacked abilities. But as for what was happening specifically, he had no idea. Thankfully, only the Crystal Cores inside the zombies had changed. The ones he carried on him were still fine. The two exchanged information for a while but still had no clue. ¡°It seems we can only count on the Hope Research Institute now...¡± Duan Xuchang sighed. If it was just this one change, that would be fine. He feared what kind of chain reaction might follow... The two didn¡¯t speak anymore. As the train drew nearer to Changhe Base, other vehicles began to appear around the train. ¡°There are survivors!¡± Seeing the modified vehicles racing alongside the train, Nie Siyan extended her hand to greet them. However, the windows on their side were one-way, so those outside couldn¡¯t see in. The survivors were curious about the train and occasionally stuck out their heads to whoop and holler. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow as he watched these survivors. Most of them were Level 2 and Level 3 ability users, quite strong. Gradually, more and more vehicles surrounded the train. Some obviously had come from inside the base, but upon seeing the train, they turned around and followed next to it... It seemed they were quite interested in the survivors inside the train. Seeing this, Duan Xuchang explained: ¡°Apart from being curious, these people might want to recruit you to their groups. There are many organizations and forces within the base city... To put it nicely, it¡¯s quite free; to put it less kindly, it¡¯s a mixed bag. So I suggest you not join any forces casually. With so many of you, just wait for the upper echelons of the base to make arrangements...¡± ¡°I see... I understand,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then asked, ¡°Is the situation inside the base city quite chaotic?¡± Duan Xuchang explained: ¡°Some areas are indeed quite chaotic. After all, as you know, many people become restless once they have power. Many have now become powerful ability users, so... But you don¡¯t need to worry too much. Generally speaking, our base city has many rules and regulations, and everyone tends to abide by them.¡± This was also within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. If there truly was a Utopia-like large base now, he would actually find it questionable... The train kept moving closer to Changhe Base, and the excitement of the twenty thousand survivors on board grew. ¡°Such a huge base!¡± Ding Yuqin and her group were also increasingly astonished. They could no longer make out the entire layout of the base. Their entire view was dominated by the towering wall that seemed to have no end! When the train finally arrived at the base¡¯s main gate, Wang Tao, along with everyone else, was astounded. From this position, when they looked up out the windows, they couldn¡¯t see how high the outer wall of the base was! ¡°This wall... seems like it could stop a Giant Zombie!¡± Wang Tao murmured to himself. ¡°That¡¯s right, the tallest Giant Zombie we¡¯ve seen so far was over eighty meters. Meanwhile, our outer city wall is more than one hundred meters tall!¡± Duan Xuchang nodded with some pride. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Everyone gasped in awe. No wonder they couldn¡¯t see the top from here, one hundred meters tall! That was equivalent to at least thirty or forty floors of a high-rise building! The outer wall of Zijin Base was only about ten meters tall, and it was enough to hold back a massive tide of zombies. If it weren¡¯t for the Level 4 Night Demon Zombie that caused destruction to the wall, it would have held for a long time! Hence one could imagine how strong the defenses of a wall over one hundred meters tall would be! After all, to build a wall so high, it couldn¡¯t possibly be tall without also being thick; its thickness must be incredibly significant as well! Wang Tao was full of amazement. If he hadn¡¯t seen it with his own eyes, he would never believe that it was possible to build such a huge wall during the apocalypse! Rumble rumble¡ª The train slowly approached, and the massive gate of the city wall gradually opened. Even this gate was taller than the outer wall of the previous Zijin Base! And when the gate opened, the inside was pitch-black as if there was no end to it. Hum! Dull yellow lights began to illuminate within the tunnel of the gate. Chapter 763: 301 Changhe Base_2 Chapter 763: Chapter 301 Changhe Base_2 ¡°My goodness! How thick is this wall?! Opening the door actually reveals a tunnel!¡± Xiang Hongbin muttered in disbelief. This gate must not be used often, as the vehicles following the train had all entered the base through another smaller door. Of course, even that ¡®small¡¯ door was quite large and tall enough for trains to pass through without any problem. Clank-clank¡ª As the train entered the tunnel behind the door, everyone could see just how thick those two doors were. It seems unlikely that even an ability user could push these doors open. What a sense of security! A moment later, everyone felt a flash of light as the train finally emerged from the wall tunnel and officially entered Changhe Base. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Changhe Base!¡± By this time, Duan Xuchang had already taken off his powered armor and put on a crisp dark green military uniform. Wei Zhenguo and a few others only now realized that his uniform¡¯s insignia and epaulets were different from what they had on their own uniforms. Perhaps noticing their confusion, Duan Xuchang pointed at his shoulder insignia and the badge on his chest, smiling as he spoke: ¡°Changhe City Base underwent a reform a while back. There is no longer a Government or Government Army, and all previous identities have been nullified. We are now under the jurisdiction of the Third Legion.¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others suddenly came to an understanding. Hearing that there was no Government or Government Army, they felt somewhat wistful but not overly surprised. After all, with a large number of ability users now around, it wouldn¡¯t be possible to adhere to the old system anymore. Even if the base had been built by Government Army, seeing that civilian ability users were becoming increasingly strong, they would eventually cede some authority... ¡°Who now controls the Changhe Base inside?¡± He Jijun suddenly asked. They had assumed that the place was governed by the Government or the Government Army, but now it seemed that was not the case. ¡°Changhe City Base is too large to be ruled by a single force or person. If you¡¯re referring to the highest governing body of the base, that would be the Changhe Committee...¡± ¡°Committee...¡± Wei Zhenguo and his companions exchanged glances. When they were at the Shuize Base, they had also formed a committee... It indeed seemed like a suitable system. Amidst their conversation, the train gradually came to a stop. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, we¡¯ve arrived.¡± This was a huge train station, now crowded with people. Besides the onlookers, there was a fully armed platoon of soldiers. Hum¡ª The second carriage was the first to open its doors. Wang Tao, led by Duan Xuchang, started alighting from the train. As soon as he stepped off, Wang Tao saw a muscular middle-aged man surrounded by a group of soldiers, who laughed and said: ¡°Welcome to Changhe Base! I am Chief Hou, the Legion Chief of the Third Legion.¡± Hou Zhiyuan was a Level 3 ability user with a hundred thousand blood but no hidden ability. Wang Tao felt that with the combat strength under his command, Hou should have the power to awaken, but unfortunately, without a hidden ability, he didn¡¯t meet the conditions for awakening... ¡°Hello! I am Lan Yulian, the former leader of Zijin Base. I greatly appreciate your rescue efforts!¡± Lan Yulian was walking at the front alongside Wang Tao. After introducing herself, Wang Tao followed: ¡°Chief Hou, hello. I¡¯m Wang Tao, the one who contacted you from the military base before. Thank you very much for your assistance!¡± ¡°Ha! No need for formalities, it¡¯s only right for us survivors to help each other! I¡¯ve arranged a place for you to rest. Shall we get your twenty thousand survivors settled first?¡± Although they were in Hou Zhiyuan¡¯s territory, he did not come across as overly assertive; in fact, his tone with Wang Tao and the others was quite consultative. ¡°We appreciate it, Legion Chief Hou!¡± Naturally, Lan Yulian wouldn¡¯t refuse. After she accepted, Duan Xuchang began to sequentially open the other carriage doors. Hou Zhiyuan immediately waved his hand, and several military trucks drove over. The survivors who disembarked from the train were visibly excited and yet a bit restrained. They involuntarily glanced at Lan Yulian and Wang Tao, and only after seeing both nod did they get on the trucks. Before boarding, they went through another check to ensure no one was carrying the zombie virus. The onlookers outside the train station, seeing so many survivors emerge from the train, all had their eyes light up. But as they saw these survivors being taken away by the Third Legion¡¯s people, most of them shook their heads in disappointment and left, with only a few not giving up hope. ¡°They all want to recruit you newcomers into their ranks. Pay them no mind!¡± Hou Zhiyuan waved his hand dismissively and then massaged his temples, saying: ¡°I¡¯m relieved to see you¡¯ve all returned safely. However, the zombies have evolved today and some changes have occurred, so I have many things to take care of. I¡¯ll let Duan Xuchang take you around the base to get familiarized. I¡¯ll find time to have a meal with you guys in the next few days!¡± ¡°You¡¯re busy!¡± Lan Yulian promptly responded. Hou Zhiyuan left hastily. As for the arrangements for the newcomers, he did not elaborate on them. Nor did he mention the great achievement of rescuing twenty thousand people. Wang Tao felt that Hou Zhiyuan¡¯s deployment of troops to rescue so many people certainly demonstrated a genuine desire to help Zijin Base, but he definitely had his own objectives as well. Now that they had arrived at Changhe Base and learned about the general situation, Wang Tao thought that Hou Zhiyuan might want these survivors to join his legion! Chapter 764 - 301 Changhe Base_3 Stay connected via novelhall.Co?m ``` If Wang Tao really had such an idea, he wasn¡¯t opposed to it. On the contrary, he was somewhat pleased. After all, this was equivalent to not only having saved these survivors but also having secured jobs for them! Naturally, this was a good thing! "Please follow me, everyone," Duan Xuchang led Wang Tao and the others onto a minibus. On the bus, there was a device for detecting internal impurities, presumably prepared especially for Wang Tao and his group. Everyone was checked in turn, and once it was confirmed that there were no problems, the vehicle finally left the train station slowly. Seeing that Wang Tao and his group didn¡¯t even exit the station but left directly by bus, the people remaining outside the train station sighed. "Alas, there¡¯s no hope now! We can¡¯t rope them into our organization now, and it¡¯s going to be even harder later!" "This Third Legion is really meddlesome. Can¡¯t they let the survivors move freely!" "Are you an idiot? These survivors were obviously saved by the Third Legion! Do you think they would leave the survivors they painstakingly rescued just for your organization?" "..." "Could it be... that the Third Legion wants to absorb all these ten to twenty thousand people? Can they really handle that?" "It¡¯s unlikely that they would absorb them all, since joining these legions also has assessments, and they don¡¯t just take anyone. But they definitely want to absorb some... the last operation cost the Third Legion some manpower, and this time they can probably replenish a good wave of fresh blood..." "Damn, why don¡¯t we have such good luck! We¡¯ve been outside for so many days and hardly encountered any survivors. We also lost quite a few people last time, and without replenishing our manpower soon, our organization is going to exist in name only..." "Hey! There are so many people in our base. You don¡¯t need to keep eyeing newcomers!" "Cough, but aren¡¯t newcomers both cheap and easy to manipulate..." ... ... "Freshly made cockroach paste! A must-have essential for home and travel! Don¡¯t miss out as you pass by..." "Daggers made from Level 3 Night Demon claws, sharp enough to cut hair and slice through iron like mud! Only one available in the entire Changhe City Base! Being sold at a tearful discount of seventy percent off!" "Finely decorated apartments near the Special Ability University, only three units left, available for rent or purchase! First come, first served!" "Giant creature barbecue grand opening special! Match the amount you top up!" "Mutant Rats trained for battle ready for sale, come and make an offer!" "..." On the minibus, Lan Yulian looked out at the broad streets bustling with survivors, listening to all sorts of bizarre hawking voices, and exclaimed, "This is what a real base looks like!" Everyone nodded in agreement, feeling the same. Compared to other survivor bases, the biggest difference with Changhe Base was its "liveliness." The bases they had stayed at before were merely "gatherings of survivors struggling to live." Now in Changhe City Base, it was not just a place for survivors but a human society! At other bases, no matter how safe it seemed, deep down they never felt truly secure. All that occupied their minds were thoughts of killing zombies, enhancing their strength, surviving... But upon arriving here, to speak of a sense of safety was one thing; now, their first thought wasn¡¯t about how to kill zombies and increase their strength, but how to live well in the base! Previously, they thought about surviving, but now... they were thinking about living! Seeing everyone¡¯s amazement, Duan Xuchang said loudly, "There are many more nice places within the base city. You should explore more later on, and I believe you will definitely fall in love with this place!" "Thank you! But we¡¯ve already fallen for it..." Lan Yulian said, somewhat emotionally. Duan Xuchang intentionally took Wang Tao and the group around the streets to experience the local flavor of the base city, then finally had the driver take them to an area protected by soldiers. "This is one of the territories belonging to our Third Legion. Some high-ranking officers¡¯ families live here. We¡¯ve arranged for you to stay here temporarily, and you¡¯re free to move out anytime. But I personally suggest that you might as well wait until you¡¯re familiar with the base and figure out your future direction before moving out..." Listening to Duan Xuchang¡¯s words, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. "Future direction? What do you think would be suitable for us?" "Haha, of course, I hope that you can join our Third Legion! But I also know that¡¯s unlikely... As for my advice, that¡¯s, for now, no advice. Because you exceptional Ability Users coming to the base, the higher-ups will definitely give you some preferential treatment, so wait and see what the specifics are, and then consider what to do..." Duan Xuchang explained with a smile. He knew that powerful Ability Users generally didn¡¯t want to join the military because the military was the place with the strictest rules, even in these apocalyptic times. After all, soldiers fight in coordinated teams, they don¡¯t just represent themselves, but rather a group. If one person makes a mistake, it could even jeopardize the entire Legion! So, strictness is a must. And for many Ability Users, having finally gained such strong powers, to abide by such strict rules was out of the question! So, most Ability Users were reluctant to join the military. Of course, those who were originally military personnel, like Wei Zhenguo and his team... Duan Xuchang was very keen to recruit them into the Legion. However, as Duan Xuchang had just mentioned, they would first have to see how the upper levels would allocate Wang Tao and his group and what kind of treatment they would receive. Then he could consider if he could recruit them into the Third Legion... "Sure!" Wang Tao smiled and nodded. He had to admit, Duan Xuchang was quite sincere, and Wang Tao had a very favorable impression of him and the whole Third Legion. After showing Wang Tao and the others around the rooms prepared for them, Duan Xuchang said, "Next, I¡¯ll give you a primer on some common issues within the base city..." ``` Chapter 765 - 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_1 "First of all, currency. Our base city has its own currency system. After all, with so many people and so many items needing to be traded, bartering would definitely be very troublesome..." "Our currency is officially called ¡¯Crystal Core Exchange Currency¡¯, commonly known as Crystal Coin. As the name implies, Crystal Coins can be directly exchanged for Crystal Cores and are trusted by everyone!" "The reason we don¡¯t directly trade with Crystal Cores is that their quality, type, and level vary, which leads to significant price differences. Essentially, it¡¯s still a form of bartering, which is quite cumbersome. But after converting various Crystal Cores into Crystal Coins according to their respective rates, trading becomes much easier..." "But now there¡¯s a problem¡ªmost Crystal Cores no longer have abilities, so Crystal Coins might collapse! Therefore, I personally suggest that you hold off on exchanging for Crystal Coins for the time being..." Duan Xuchang first explained the currency system within the base city. When Wang Tao heard the first part of the explanation, he was ready to exchange some currency, as being without money would make things difficult no matter where you are. Continue your story on novelhall.Co?m But after hearing that Crystal Coins were tied to Crystal Cores and might collapse, he immediately became cautious. "Thank you! If you hadn¡¯t warned me, I would have gone to exchange for Crystal Coins right afterward..." Wang Tao expressed his sincere thanks. "No need to be polite." Duan Xuchang first smiled, and then sighed helplessly, "Ah... I¡¯ve saved up some Crystal Coins myself, and if they lose value, I¡¯ll have nowhere to cry..." Who would have thought that zombies evolved and in the process, they caused the abilities in Crystal Cores to evolve away... Wang Tao shrugged helplessly; naturally, there was nothing he could do about such things. However, he believed that Crystal Coins probably wouldn¡¯t collapse. After all, so far, the Hope Research Institute had created a lot of equipment that could use Crystal Cores, such as powered armor and the like. Previously on the train, Duan Xuchang had experimented. Those Crystal Cores without abilities couldn¡¯t be merged, but they could still be used in powered armor. Therefore, Wang Tao felt the price of Crystal Coins would certainly fluctuate, but a total collapse was unlikely. "Next, let¡¯s talk about the base¡¯s ranking system and the distribution of major forces. The Base Committee naturally holds the highest authority, and the specific executive arm is the Municipal Office..." "As for the classification of the levels of major forces¡ªif a force has a member who becomes a committee member, it is considered a large force!" "There are currently 23 members in the committee. Each legion has two members serving as committee members, and the other forces only have one. And there are a total of six legions. So, there are 17 large forces in total." "The names of the Six Major Legions are simply from the First Legion to the Sixth Legion. The ranking of these legions is not based on strength, but on the order in which they were established. However, the earlier a legion was established, the longer it has developed, and the stronger its strength... Therefore, it¡¯s not wrong to say that a legion¡¯s name also suggests its ranking. For example, our Third Legion is ranked third..." "As for what exactly a legion is, you can simply understand it as the regular army from before the reforms. We have a complete combat system, equipment, and a large number of soldiers..." "We, the Six Major Legions, are the founders of Changhe Base, the strongest combat power of the base, and the firmest foundation stone of the base! The other committee member seats and such are actually voluntarily given by us..." "Apart from the Six Major Legions, the remaining large forces include the Hope Research Institute, the Rush Army, the Northern Sea Union..." "Among these forces, the Hope Research Institute naturally holds the most transcendent status. Various equipment related to Crystal Cores, potions, and so on are all developed by the Hope Research Institute..." Wang Tao was very interested in the Hope Research Institute, especially the powered armor they produced. Moreover, Wang Tao wanted to get a set of prosthetic limbs for Xiang Hongbin. The prosthetics Xiang Hongbin was using now were 3D printed at a military base, and while not unusable, there was still much room for improvement. Judging from the level of technology displayed in the powered armor and mechanical exoskeletons, getting a better set of prosthetics for Xiang Hongbin shouldn¡¯t be hard... "Finally, it¡¯s about the division of areas within the base. Apart from our Six Major Legions, which are spread out all over the base, the other forces usually have fixed areas of activity. For example, the Hope Research Institute is located right in the center of the base..." "You can completely think of this place as a normal city. Of course, it¡¯s still quite different from cities before the apocalypse, such as now we have Special Ability Training Fields, firearm weapon shops, Special Ability Schools, and even casinos, pleasure venues... cough, in short, Changhe Base is large, and its functions are quite complete. I can¡¯t explain all the details at once, you¡¯ll have to slowly discover them yourself..." Listening to Duan Xuchang¡¯s introduction, everyone showed an interested expression. This Changhe Base sounds truly great! There are even various entertainment facilities! When do entertainment facilities appear? Naturally, when there¡¯s a higher sense of security. Otherwise, who would be in the mood for entertainment when living in constant fear? This indicates that Changhe City Base is indeed safe! Duan Xuchang further explained: "But this doesn¡¯t mean that survivors can live carefree upon arriving at our Changhe Base. The base is our home, and its development depends on everyone. Everyone should contribute to the base, and the level of contribution will determine an individual¡¯s power and status within the base! This is very important!" Chapter 766 - 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_2 "Although our base has a safety net, even if survivors do nothing, the base won¡¯t let them starve to death," the consequence is that these people might be compulsorily drafted to fight at any time! So after arriving at the base, it¡¯s better to find a job for yourself. There are many job positions at our base, and even if you really can¡¯t do anything, selling your labor is also an option... This definitely won¡¯t be a problem for you. I won¡¯t go on about it." Wang Tao and the others all nodded, which was what they expected. Not to mention Changhe Base, even the various bases they had seen before, regardless of size, all had something similar to Contribution Points. Survivors couldn¡¯t just freeload at the base; they had to contribute. Although this divided people into different ranks¡ªactually, it was also divided before the apocalypse, just not so overtly¡ªit also gave people the motivation to climb upward. And now, under these circumstances, those with greater strength and more contributions should indeed have privileges. This was not about oppressing ordinary people but rather providing an alternative form of protection for them¡ªif these people weren¡¯t granted privileges, not to mention whether they would be willing to contribute to the base in the future, the real question was, even if you didn¡¯t grant them privileges, couldn¡¯t they just take them? After all, they were powerful and could get what they wanted anyway! If things really developed to that point, the consequences would be severe¡ªit would¡¯ve been possible to settle things through negotiation and peace, but force was used instead. And the ones to suffer would be the whole base! So, this was actually a form of protection for ordinary people! The founders of the base, the Six Major Legions, were willing to give up some of their interests, also considering this problem. Of course, since ranks were explicitly assigned, there would naturally be exploitation of some people, which was inevitable and temporarily unsolvable. However, for Wang Tao and his group, with their abilities, not to mention the upper ranks, atleast being in the middle class was definitely not a problem. ... Duan Xuchang talked a lot more with Wang Tao and his group, continuing until late into the night. He finally realized it was getting late, so he stood up to take his leave. "Haha, maybe it¡¯s because I was too tense before, now that I feel safe I¡¯ve become more talkative, I hope you don¡¯t mind!" "What are you talking about, we¡¯re really grateful you told us all this stuff! Stay for a meal with us!" Wang Tao was ready to invite Duan Xuchang for a meal, but Duan Xuchang declined. "I haven¡¯t gone home today yet, my wife is waiting at home!" Seeing the happiness on Duan Xuchang¡¯s face, Wang Tao nodded with a smile. "Alright then, I really envy you!" Being able to be with your wife in the apocalypse was indeed enviable. But as soon as Wang Tao expressed his envy, he immediately felt several gazes directed at him. "Haha, it should be me envying you! Sleep well!" Duan Xuchang winked at Wang Tao and then left laughing. Wang Tao personally saw him out and, upon returning, found that Wei Zhenguo and the others had taken some food to their respective rooms. Only Ding Yuqin and a few other women, along with Lightning, were left. Seeing the women staring at him, Wang Tao felt a slight thrill in his heart. Could it be that tonight he could relax properly with all the women? However, clearly, he thought too much. The women suddenly glared at him in unison, then all retired to their rooms as well. Even Jiang Shixue, who usually liked to stick close to Wang Tao, left, leaving only Lightning looking at Wang Tao expectantly. "...Sigh! Poor us, it¡¯s just you and me from now on!" Wang Tao intentionally sighed loudly. Seeing that he received no response, he simply patted Lightning¡¯s head and then took out some food. After eating simply with the dog, he returned to his room. The place Duan Xuchang had arranged for Wang Tao and his group was a small courtyard with many rooms, but only their group was in the entire yard, so it was quite peaceful. In the room. Wang Tao lay in bed, with Lightning lying under the bed. Without turning on the light, Wang Tao lay with his eyes open, looking at the ceiling. "What a comforting feeling..." Wang Tao mumbled. Since the apocalypse began, this was the first time he felt such a strong sense of security. This feeling was really comfortable! "Sleep!" Wang Tao closed his eyes, not having slept soundly for a long time. But just as Wang Tao was about to fall asleep, he suddenly heard the sound of a door opening. Lightning, who laid on the ground, immediately raised its head, but soon lay down again. Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows lifted. He was curious as to who the visitor was. But he didn¡¯t look, nor did he use his Perception. He closed his eyes and even deliberately made a soft snoring sound. Before long, Wang Tao felt a soft body gently climb onto his bed. After coming into contact with the other¡¯s body, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to look to instantly know who it was. "Sister-in-law, you¡¯re in the wrong room." Wang Tao suddenly spoke out. Read exclusive adventures at novelhall.Co?m Ding Yuqin was startled by Wang Tao¡¯s voice, her face slightly flushed, and she lightly hammered Wang Tao¡¯s chest in mild annoyance. "You¡¯re pretending to be asleep to scare me!" Wang Tao wrapped his arm around Ding Yuqin¡¯s waist, looking at her watery eyes in the dark and teasing: "Sister-in-law hasn¡¯t answered me yet, I said you¡¯re in the wrong room." "Hmph~" Ding Yuqin ignored him. But feeling Wang Tao¡¯s wandering hands, she bit her lip and then whispered in Wang Tao¡¯s ear: "Bad man! I didn¡¯t get the wrong room, I came to sleep with you!" Chapter 767 - 302 Basic Knowledge of the Base_3 ``` Ding Yuqin, who usually has a thin skin, said something like this, and Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t stand it. "...to think she would call me bad! Just you wait!" He prepared to teach Ding Yuqin a lesson, but suddenly there was more noise from outside the door. Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin are Ability Users who, when awake, naturally would not miss any slight movement due to their Perception Abilities. Both instinctively stopped what they were doing. Lightning raised its head, then quickly lowered it again. A moment later, Wang Tao felt another person climb onto his bed. This touch, this scent... "Ah!" Han Rui suddenly let out a cry of surprise; she thought there was only Wang Tao in the bed, but to her shock, she touched another person. "Officer Han, did you walk into the wrong room too?" Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s teasing, Han Rui¡¯s face turned red as blood. She somewhat regretted not using her Perception to check first! But it wasn¡¯t too late; she quickly used her Perception to take a look and found this "energy body" to be very familiar... it was Ding Yuqin! This immediately relieved Han Rui quite a bit, at least it was a familiar person whom she had relied on for a long time. Besides, it wasn¡¯t the first time the three of them had... Awkward as it was, it didn¡¯t feel too embarrassing. However, Han Rui¡¯s skin was also thin, and she immediately spoke: "Sorry, I went to the wrong room!" After saying that, she was about to get up and leave. Wang Tao was about to stop her, but someone beat him to it¡ªDing Yuqin grabbed her arm. Having been teased by Wang Tao, Ding Yuqin was still somewhat embarrassed. But now, seeing the very awkward Han Rui, she suddenly didn¡¯t find it embarrassing! So she definitely had to make Han Rui stay! Besides, if Han Rui hadn¡¯t come, that would be one thing, but since she came, there was no need to leave; otherwise, it would seem like she was being overbearing. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t the first time... Han Rui of course didn¡¯t really want to leave. With Ding Yuqin pulling her, she didn¡¯t struggle free, just blushed even more deeply. Wang Tao took the opportunity to wrap his arm around Han Rui¡¯s waist. "Since you¡¯re here... the bed is big, there¡¯s enough room." Han Rui lay half reluctantly and half willingly in Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. Just as Wang Tao, with one arm around Ding Yuqin and the other around Han Rui, was about to "deeply communicate" with the two, there was more noise outside the door! And this time, it wasn¡¯t just one set of footsteps, but two! Lightning this time didn¡¯t even bother to lift its head; it clearly already knew who it was. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes immediately lit up, could it be that tonight is really going to be... However, it seems the two people outside didn¡¯t come together. When they saw each other, they both seemed startled, and then left as if fleeing. "..." Wang Tao immediately used his Perception Ability to check. One was Yang Changhong, and the other was Lan Yulian. He felt somewhat disappointed, while Ding Yuqin and Han Rui in his arms both breathed a sigh of relief. Then both of them turned to look at Wang Tao simultaneously, their faces showing a faint reproach. "Hmph~" The two of them agreed in silent understanding that they needed to properly punish Wang Tao tonight! ... The next day. When Wang Tao woke up, there was no sign of the two women beside him, and even Lightning was gone from the side of the bed. When he had washed up, dressed, and walked out, he saw Wei Zhenguo and the others playing with Lightning in the courtyard. As military men, they naturally had a genuine fondness for military dogs, and even though Lightning¡¯s size was now akin to a small calf and somewhat intimidating, they still adored the animal immensely. "Huh? You¡¯re actually up?" Upon seeing Wang Tao, Wei Zhenguo immediately raised an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean!" Wang Tao gave him a glare, as if to say he doubted his own ability! "Haha!" Xiang Hongbin and the others beside him laughed loudly. Not far away, Ding Yuqin and the other women who were preparing breakfast had very calm expressions. Just by looking at them, one wouldn¡¯t guess what happened last night. They sure can act! Wang Tao complained inwardly and then prepared to go offer his help, only to be chased away by the women on account of "getting in the way." Wang Tao shrugged helplessly, they weren¡¯t like this last night. Having no choice, Wang Tao had to go and play with Lightning, which made the dog incredibly happy. ... After finishing the sumptuous breakfast prepared by the women, everyone suddenly didn¡¯t know what to do. There was no need to go outside to fight zombies, no need to stand guard, no need to check the defense facilities of the base, no need to comfort the frightened survivors... the sense of security within Changhe Base made them all a little unaccustomed. Enjoy more content from novelhall.Co?m "Duan Xuchang told us to wait for the notification from above. Before the notice arrives, we don¡¯t have anything to do, so let¡¯s get some good rest. It¡¯s a rare opportunity to rest..." Wang Tao said with a smile. Even if the base was secure, they couldn¡¯t stay there forever; they still needed to go out and kill zombies to enhance their strength. They would surely get busy in the future, so now was indeed a rare chance to rest. However, Wang Tao seemed to remember something and quickly added: "Oh right! I¡¯ve recently accumulated a batch of HP Enhancement Crystal Cores and Exraction Crystal Cores, and I can use this time to enhance everyone¡¯s strength." Wang Tao had 110,000 HP, and the reason why he had an extra 10,000 was due to the HP Enhancement Crystal Cores. After merging and then extracting the HP Enhancement Crystal Core, the boost in HP remained! Before, as there were not enough Exraction Crystal Cores, Wang Tao was unable to let everyone else use them. Now that he had enough Crystal Cores, he could enhance the others as well. "Great!" Everyone was eager and looking forward, not standing on ceremony. After spending some time. Ding Yuqin, Wei Zhenguo, and several others got their HP raised to 110,000! Next, it was time to prepare them for Awakening! Wang Tao had six physical awakening keys, but there were not many Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores, only enough for three people to use... Who to let go first? Just as Wang Tao was about to discuss it with everyone, Duan Xuchang came over with several strangers. "Good morning, everyone! Let me introduce you, this is Cui Sheng, Secretary Cui!" A middle-aged man in a sharp suit with a friendly smile on his face was already extending his hands towards Wang Tao from a distance. "Mr. Wang, hello! Just call me Little Cui!" ``` Chapter 768 - 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_1 "Secretary Cui, hello!" Wang Tao shook hands with this Cui Sheng. "I¡¯ve heard a lot about Mr. Wang before and have always wanted to visit, but I was tied up with too many things and it got delayed. Please don¡¯t take offense, Mr. Wang. Today, at last, I meet you in person!" A brilliant smile spread across Cui Sheng¡¯s face. "Oh? You¡¯ve heard about me?" "Of course! Mr. Wang is a famous Awakener! I¡¯ve heard your name being praised to the skies!" Pride gleamed on Cui Sheng¡¯s face, as if knowing Wang Tao¡¯s name was a matter of great honor. It was the first time Wang Tao had been so blatantly flattered and it took some getting used to. "Ahem, so this is..." "Oh, I apologize, I apologize! I got too excited seeing you... My name is Cui Sheng, I am the secretary to the Municipal Office. I¡¯m here on behalf of the office..." Cui Sheng hastily explained. Wang Tao suddenly understood. The Municipal Office was Changhe City Base¡¯s highest administrative authority; almost all matters within the base were handled by it. The Municipal Office was like the olden days¡¯ Government, representing the entirety of Changhe City Base. As Cui Sheng was here on behalf of the Municipal Office, he was essentially the official representative of the entire Changhe City Base. "Secretary Cui, Captain Duan, please come inside!" "Ah! Please, after you!" Wang Tao led the group inside. Three others had come with Cui Sheng, and they looked like his subordinates. Since Cui Sheng didn¡¯t introduce them, Wang Tao didn¡¯t ask further. Upon seeing the many beautiful women around Wang Tao, Cui Sheng only spared the women a quick glance to register their appearances firmly in his mind, then immediately turned his head away without looking further. As for the men like Wei Zhen Guo, Cui Sheng greeted them very politely and warmly. However, he was startled when he saw Lightning. Captain Duan hadn¡¯t told him that there was such a large mutant beast here! With such a large body, it must be at least a Level 3! A hint of envy flickered in Cui Sheng¡¯s eyes. Wang Tao observed Cui Sheng discreetly. [HP: 1000/1000] [Internal Impurity: 5%] Cui Sheng turned out to be an Ordinary person, not even Level 1, which surprised Wang Tao a bit. Couldn¡¯t afford a Crystal Core? What exactly is this Municipal Office secretary¡¯s position? It doesn¡¯t seem great! But the 5% impurity in his body suggested that he had likely merged with about 10 Crystal Cores. 10 Crystal Cores and still not an Awakener? Read exclusive content at novelhall.Co?m It could only mean that either the Crystal Cores were inferior, or he was incredibly unlucky, or perhaps a bit of both. "Thank you, thank you!" After inviting Cui Sheng to sit, Nie Siyan immediately went to pour water, and Cui Sheng eagerly thanked her before taking out a tablet and a pen and offering them to Wang Tao with great courtesy. "Mr. Wang, I¡¯m here to conduct your identity registration. Could you please fill this out? Only once registered in the system can you be considered an official member of the base city..." Wang Tao took the tablet, which displayed a form. The content of the form was straightforward, without unnecessary frills, simply asking for name, age, gender, special skills, and ability user¡¯s level among other details. Just a standard personnel registration, which made Wang Tao suspect there must be another agenda for the secretary to personally make the trip. As expected, while Wang Tao was filling out the form, Cui Sheng brought up another point: "Mr. Wang, since your arrival in Changhe City Base, do you have any particular thoughts or requests? As you know, our base places high value on talent..." Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised, and he said with a smile: "I¡¯m new here and not very familiar with the place. How about you give me an introduction?" "Certainly!" Cui Sheng immediately nodded, then began to explain without missing a beat. "Based on our past experience, those strong ability users who have joined our base..." Cui Sheng, or rather the Municipal Office, assumed that a Level 4 ability user like Wang Tao, along with a group of Level 3 ability users, would most likely be unwilling to live the life of ordinary people peacefully. But it wasn¡¯t entirely impossible, as there had been previous cases. Cui Sheng¡¯s visit was aimed at subtly probing Wang Tao¡¯s intentions. If Wang Tao and his group truly desired to lead the lives of ordinary people... he would certainly try to dissuade them! After all, a fourth-order superpower was a force to be reckoned with; such strength was wasted if one settled for an ordinary life. They should at least make some contributions to the base, right? Of course, the base wouldn¡¯t exploit labor for nothing; they would provide plenty of benefits in return. Cui Sheng explained that those foreign ability users who arrived at the base city typically chose one of three directions for development. The first was to join a legion, another combat force, or establish their own organization. This was the most popular option. The second was to apply for an official position within the base, akin to a ¡¯base civil servant.¡¯ This was the second most chosen path. The third was to run profit-making venues or businesses within the base city... and this was the least chosen because it required a certain flair, and without the brains for it, you couldn¡¯t make it work. However, all three development directions had a common aspect to consider, which was to enhance one¡¯s own strength! In a post-apocalyptic world, strength was the foundation of everything! Without strength, everything else was like a castle in the air, gone in the blink of an eye. So improving one¡¯s own strength was essential! Cui Sheng wanted to know in which direction Wang Tao was planning to develop, so the Municipal Office could offer Wang Tao some preferential treatment. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just these three directions¡ªthere were other niche options. Also, these weren¡¯t mutually exclusive; if you had the capacity, you could pursue multiple at once. For instance, some powerful ability users not only formed teams to hunt zombies but also held part-time positions at the Municipal Office... Chapter 769 - 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_2 Regarding this issue, Wang Tao would definitely need to go out and hunt zombies, but he couldn¡¯t possibly join a legion. Therefore, his only options were to join another force or to establish his own organization. Wang Tao pondered for a moment and said, "I will establish a small organization." As for this answer, Cui Sheng wasn¡¯t surprised. Most ability users made this choice, preferring to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix. "Then, when you¡¯re ready to establish your organization, please be sure to inform me. I will take care of all the procedures for you!" Cui Sheng immediately patted his chest and said. "Okay, then I¡¯ll trouble you with that." Wang Tao smiled and nodded. Since others were willing to help, he definitely wouldn¡¯t refuse. Moreover, from what Cui Sheng insinuated, it was clear that the city hall was obviously going to offer him some benefits. "It¡¯s no trouble at all, no trouble!" Cui Sheng waved his hands repeatedly, and after Wang Tao finished filling out the forms, he swiped on the tablet¡ª "The last item is about your residence. Our base city is very large, and all survivors within the base are allocated houses for free. You and your friends are certainly no exception. Where would you prefer to choose?" The tablet displayed a map of Changhe Base. All marked locations were available for selection. According to the situation within the base, the best areas were the central regions, while naturally, the worst were along the edges. The edge areas had no markers¡ªdid this mean Wang Tao couldn¡¯t choose them? As if seeing Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, Cui Sheng quickly explained, "Our base is fairly good in all aspects, but there are some mixed elements. To avoid any disturbance to you, I¡¯ve removed some houses that do not match your status. The marked areas now all have relatively high-quality neighbors! Of course, this doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t choose other areas. You can choose any, but I personally wouldn¡¯t recommend it..." "I see, that¡¯s very thoughtful!" One had to admit, this Cui Sheng really knew how to get things done. "Oh, not at all!" Cui Sheng quickly waved his hands. This wasn¡¯t only for Wang Tao¡¯s consideration but also for the ordinary people. If Wang Tao chose a poor environment and then some lower-class person, ignorant of his own limits, angered Wang Tao, there¡¯d be nowhere to reason if Wang Tao killed them... Enjoy exclusive content from novelhall.Co?m Wang Tao briefly looked over the options, the locations closer to the city center were better, but the houses were also getting smaller... However, since they were free, he couldn¡¯t ask for too much. So Wang Tao chose a middle-ground location¡ªthe house was neither too big nor too small, and it was neither too far nor too close to the city center. After Wang Tao made his choice, Cui Sheng allowed Wei Zhenguo, Ding Yuqin, and the others to choose. "One house per person?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had specifically chosen a small courtyard, thinking it would be convenient for many people, but now everyone gets their own? "Of course! You and your companions are all qualified to receive free housing." In reality, Wang Tao could choose freely, whereas the others weren¡¯t able to choose as freely as he could. After all, there were not a few Level 3 ability users within the base, and those positions were quite desirable, making it difficult to get such houses for free. But since they were with Wang Tao, who was an Awakener! There weren¡¯t many Awakeners in the whole base! Wang Tao was an individual marked by the city hall for good relations, with the ideal outcome being that Wang Tao would take up a position within the base and fully become one of their own! However, since Cui Sheng was meeting Wang Tao for the first time, he didn¡¯t dare to say too much, fearing it might cause resentment. For others, taking up a post within the base and receiving a salary would certainly be a good thing. But who knew what Wang Tao thought, as many powerful individuals did not like to be constrained and had somewhat peculiar personalities... and besides, not all of them cared for such small rewards... Nevertheless, Cui Sheng did not give up. He was just a minor secretary and although he held a position in the city hall, it was not an official one, and he was considered contractual. There were many others like him, and the competition was fierce! For someone like him, with no power, no influence, and no strength, climbing up the ranks on his own was impossible, so he had to look for other means. The arrival of Wang Tao gave him a glimmer of hope... "Tsk tsk, these welfare benefits are quite good!" Wang Tao laughed and shook his head. Soon, everyone had made their choices, mostly opting for locations around the house Wang Tao had chosen. Even Lightning was allocated one. "You don¡¯t have to decide right now, you can go and see the place in person." Cui Sheng thoughtfully reminded him. "No need, I¡¯ve already seen the photos, let¡¯s go with this one." Wang Tao waved his hand. If the house wasn¡¯t satisfactory, he could always change it later. Since it was free, he didn¡¯t want the hassle. "Alright!" Cui Sheng clicked to confirm, entering the information into the main system, and then took two cases from someone behind him. "Mr. Wang, these are welcome gifts prepared by our city hall for you and your friends. Please check them." Cui Sheng opened the two cases, the first contained more than a dozen black cards. The second case held a dozen or so devices resembling wristwatches. Underneath the cards was a note, and on the cards was a long string of numbers, resembling a bank card. "These are Crystal Coin Storage Cards, commonly known as Crystal Coin Cards. They are essentially the same as the bank cards of the past. They contain crystal coins that can be used in any card-swiping machine and info wristwatch within the base, and you can also exchange them for crystal cores of equal value at the bank. However, due to some changes in crystal cores, the exchange rate has fluctuated... Of course, you can still use them normally." Chapter 770 - 303: Assigning Rooms and Giving Money_3 Well, I didn¡¯t expect City Hall to be so direct, just handing out money... Wang Tao was quite surprised, but he found it to be good; after all, he might not have use for other things, but Crystal Coins were definitely useful to him. Cui Sheng then pointed to the wristwatch and said, "This is a communication wrist device, which records your personal details, account information, and other data. The wrist device connects to our base¡¯s network, allowing you to communicate, publish information, and conduct Crystal Coin transactions and other activities. However, this requires a network connection, meaning it only works within our base. If you leave the base, the device will go offline, restricting many of its functions. Oh right, the wrist device also charges a fixed monthly fee of 10 Crystal Coins..." After listening to Cui Sheng¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao looked at his communication wrist device, which was quite bulky and a bit clumsy-looking, but he appreciated its functionality. Next was the Crystal Coin Card, similar to the bank cards of the past, each card inscribed with a name and specific information; even Lightning had one. Wang Tao quickly glanced at the notes, finding that most people, including Lightning, had 1,000 Crystal Coins written on theirs. Lan Yulian¡¯s note had 5,000 Crystal Coins while Wang Tao¡¯s own note displayed 20,000 Crystal Coins. Cui Sheng explained: "According to our base city¡¯s standards, a Level 1 ability user joining the base for the first time can receive a 10 Crystal Coin subsidy; a Second-Order Superpower Owner can get 100 Crystal Coins; a Level 3 ability user can get 1,000 Crystal Coins; and a Fourth-order Superpower can get 10,000 Crystal Coins... If you have other roles, such as being a Force Leader or saving many survivors, there might be additional bonuses." "I see." Wang Tao nodded. City Hall was quite generous in this regard; he just wasn¡¯t sure about the purchasing power of 1 Crystal Coin. However, judging by the envious expressions of Cui Sheng and Duan Xuchang by his side, these Crystal Coins must be quite valuable. "Mr. Wang, now that the items have been delivered, I won¡¯t disturb you any further. This is my contact information. Should you need anything, please inform me directly; I am always available. As for your residence, since it¡¯s been unoccupied for a while, I will have someone clean it inside and out, which might take about a day. After it¡¯s clean, I will contact you." Cui Sheng handed over a business card with a series of numbers on it, which Wang Tao could use to contact him through the wrist device. "Alright, thank you for your trouble. Take care." Wang Tao stood up. Stay connected via novelhall.Co?m "Please, stay." Duan Xuchang saw Cui Sheng out, then returned and said to Wang Tao, "As I said, our base is quite generous! There¡¯s been a lot of fluctuation between Crystal Coins and Crystal Cores exchange rates, so it¡¯s hard to give a precise figure. But, if we go by the previous rates, 10,000 Crystal Coins could be exchanged for two or three Level 4 Crystal Cores!" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, the purchasing power of the Crystal Coins was higher than he had imagined! Including Lightning, there were 17 people in their group. Fifteen of them received 1,000 Crystal Coins, Jade Lotus got 5,000 Crystal Coins, and he himself received 20,000 Crystal Coins. That added up to a total of 40,000 Gold Coins. Didn¡¯t that amount to about 10 Level 4 Crystal Cores? "Indeed, quite generous!" Wang Tao said with a smile as he nodded. He planned to check later if these Crystal Coins could be exchanged for a Level 4 Crystal Core; he was in dire need of them. It would be great if the exchange was possible, but it seemed unlikely¡ªanyone with such items would probably use them for themselves instead of trading them away... "By the way, this Cui Sheng is a secretary from City Hall. While his benefits are not bad, he¡¯s not officially employed, so he¡¯s sure to want to climb higher. If he can serve you well and get you into a somewhat official position in City Hall, he would earn significant benefits..." "No wonder..." Wang Tao thought to himself; no surprise the man was so deferential¡ªhe had an agenda! "Actually, I personally suggest you take up a position at City Hall as well, even just nominally. I¡¯m not saying this just for the extra salary, but it¡¯s also about contributing to the base, haha! Of course, joining the base doesn¡¯t mean you can take up a position right away; there¡¯s still a period of assessment needed..." "Alright, I¡¯ll consider it." Wang Tao disliked inconvenience, but he recognized Duan Xuchang¡¯s good intention. It was already noon, and Wang Tao invited Duan Xuchang to stay for lunch. Duan Xuchang did not refuse. After completing the mission to rescue Zijin Base, he had a long vacation and could arrange his time freely. Hosting Wang Tao for these few days was also a chance for him to relax. After lunch, Duan Xuchang called for a minibus and took Wang Tao and his group around the nearby area. With money in hand, Wang Tao intended to spend some, but nothing he saw seemed worth it. "The base center has a lot for sale, even Powered Armor. But that¡¯s really expensive..." Duan Xuchang explained to Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up; he was just about to ask Duan Xuchang where he could buy Powered Armor. Once Cui Sheng had cleaned the house, he would move there and visit the city center to see if he could get a Powered Armor set to study! The group spent the afternoon strolling around, with plans for Duan Xuchang to take Wang Tao out after dinner. Changhe Base had a vibrant nightlife, after all. But suddenly Duan Xuchang received a message, apparently an urgent matter. "Sorry, I need to leave for a bit." "No worries, go ahead." After seeing Duan Xuchang off, Wang Tao turned to the others and said, "How about going out on our own after dinner? I hear there¡¯s some exciting performance here..." "Sure!" Everyone nodded in agreement. It had been a long time since they had been so relaxed. After dinner, the group headed to the streets, ready to follow Wang Tao to see the thrilling performance. Just then, they saw a patch of red in the dark sky in the distance. "What is that?" Chapter 771: 304: Meteorite Rain_1 Chapter 771: Chapter 304: Meteorite Rain_1 Changhe Base, 7 o¡¯clock in the evening. Some streets were still bustling with traffic, and neon lights one after another flickered on. Scantily clad women, vendors pushing carts, fortune-tellers mumbling to themselves, gangsters surrounded by onlookers engaged in fights... The rich nightlife of Changhe Base had begun. However, suddenly, people noticed a flickering red light before their eyes and, instinctively looking up, they saw that the night sky¡¯s dark clouds had been tinged with a faint red hue without them noticing. ¡°What¡¯s that...¡± ... Everyone was somewhat bewildered. Then a trail blazed past overhead with a red tail flame. ¡°A shooting star?¡± People exclaimed in surprise, and some even began to make a wish with palms pressed together. Then came a second red tail flame, and a third... ¡°Wow! A meteor shower!¡± Now many people were getting excited, even those who weren¡¯t superstitious started to make wishes. Having seen a rainbow a few days ago, and now a meteor shower... Didn¡¯t this foretell good fortune coming their way? But some people were confused. ¡°Why does it feel... like some of the meteorites are headed straight for us?¡± Buzz¡ª Suddenly, an ear-piercing alarm sounded throughout the streets and alleys. ¡°Level one alert! Meteorite incoming! Everyone, find shelter close by!¡± ¡°Level one alert! Meteorite incoming...¡± Whoosh¡ª People were startled, and many were frozen for a moment in shock. But after all, they had lived through the apocalypse; although most of them might not be very strong, their survival instincts were still sharp. Upon hearing the alarm and the messages from the broadcasts, people on the streets immediately began running into the buildings on both sides. Those who couldn¡¯t get away in time took cover in the corners of the walls. The expressions on people¡¯s faces were filled with panic. Meteor showers were beautiful, but if it was a meteor shower that could hit them, that was deadly! ¡°Don¡¯t panic, everyone evacuate orderly!¡± A fully armed squad of soldiers appeared; they were part of the City Defense Army that normally patrolled the base. ¡°Follow me, don¡¯t push!¡± There were also some uniformed personnel directing the crowd; these were the base¡¯s police officers. With the military and police present, the chaotic crowd quickly stabilized. At that moment, suddenly a few people and a mutated large dog squeezed out from the crowd and ran toward where a meteorite was about to crash. ¡°Hey! You¡ª¡± A soldier in military attire was about to remind them that at times like this, even if you were an Ability User, it was best to take cover. But he saw the person at the front of the group turn his head to look at him. Boom¡ª The soldier felt as if he had been struck by an indescribable aura, those green eyes rendering him breathless! Awakener! The soldier immediately sealed his lips. He didn¡¯t expect that group to be led by Fourth-order Superpower users! If they encountered danger, his squad might all be killed while those people might be unscathed! So he said no more, for those who could awaken to become Fourth-order Superpower users were certainly not fools. On the other side, Wang Tao withdrew his gaze. It wasn¡¯t that he intentionally intimidated others; it was just that when he was serious, he naturally exuded an imposing aura. ¡°Head west!¡± Wang Tao called out, and the rest followed immediately. He had seen a meteorite about to crash inside the base, and he wanted to check out the situation. When he first noticed the meteorites, Wang Tao too was shocked. But after a brief observation, he realized the meteorites were not targeting the base. Perhaps one or two might fall inside the base by chance, but most of them seemed to be crashing elsewhere. That¡¯s why he dared to run out. Otherwise, if a large number of meteorites were crashing towards the base, even as a Fourth-order Awakener, he wouldn¡¯t dare to run around. After all, compared to natural disasters, his power was nothing. Wang Tao made a rough estimate of where the meteorite was going to fall. ¡°It should land in that area ahead...¡± There were buildings there, and many people had taken refuge inside. If the meteorite fell, those people were likely doomed! ¡°Everyone, leave this building!¡± Wang Tao got to the outside and yelled at those inside. Some people poked their heads out to look at him, but no one left. They took shelter inside, clearly unable to see the trajectory of the meteorite above their heads. The broadcast had just instructed them to find a nearby place to hide. Running out now, wouldn¡¯t that be courting death? If Wang Tao had been dressed in a military or police uniform, they might have trusted him more. But he was dressed like an ordinary survivor, though somewhat burly and likely an Ability User, but obviously the people¡¯s trust in him wasn¡¯t high. Wang Tao frowned at their attitude, but he didn¡¯t plan to say any more. After all, this wasn¡¯t Zijin Base, and he couldn¡¯t expect people to trust him unconditionally. So, Wang Tao stretched out his hand and a fireball appeared in his palm. The fireball grew larger, and an aura of destruction started to spread. ¡°Leave, or die.¡± ¡°....¡± The survivors hiding in the building were taken aback. Among them, there were experienced Ability Users who knew that Wang Tao¡¯s fireball wasn¡¯t an ordinary ability and was likely related to Awakening! This was a Fourth Order Awakened One! If a Fourth-order Awakener made a move against them, none of them might survive! ¡°Run, run now!¡± Even though they didn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao was doing this, between ¡°dying right now¡± and ¡°possibly dying later,¡± they distinctly chose the latter. But many of them thought to themselves that if they survived today¡¯s calamity, they definitely needed to secretly report Wang Tao! Chapter 772 - 304: Meteorite Rain_2 Even Ability Users and Awakeners have privileges, but threatening so many people in this kind of situation is unjustifiable! Wang Tao, of course, did not know what these people were thinking, and even if he did, he would not care. He calmly watched the group leave the building, then turned his gaze to the sky. "It¡¯s coming!" A meteor with a red tail grew larger and larger! Wang Tao and the others quickly retreated. Then¡ª Boom! A loud crash shook the earth and mountains! The meteor struck the very building they had just left with precision. The entire building was instantly leveled to the ground, with a scorching blaze erupting. Those who had not left yet suffered painfully hot cheeks from the high temperature. "Is everyone alright?" Wang Tao turned back to look at everyone. "We¡¯re fine!" "Woof!" Everyone answered in unison. Seeing that no one was injured, Wang Tao looked up at the sky again to make sure there were no more meteors falling anytime soon, and then he ran towards the site of the meteor impact. "Let¡¯s go!" The fireball in Wang Tao¡¯s hand was still alight, and he hadn¡¯t thrown it. After all, he wasn¡¯t sure of the meteorite¡¯s condition or whether there were any dangers inside. Meanwhile, Wang Tao kept an eye on his HP bar to see if any negative status effects appeared. Fortunately, as the group approached the large crater made by the meteor, they encountered no dangers. "Such a huge pit!" A basketball court-sized crater emerged amidst flames and smoke. And inside the pit was a meteor the size of a washbasin. "Is that thing from the sky some kind of celestial metal?" Yang Changhong murmured. "I¡¯ll go pick it up." The flames below did not deter Wang Tao, who was not afraid of fire, and he quickly approached the meteor. "Huh?" But upon seeing the meteor up close, Wang Tao paused. This meteor actually had a name! After ensuring the surroundings were safe, Wang Tao immediately extinguished the fireball in his hand, then he placed his hand on the scorching meteor, which disappeared instantaneously. [Obtained: Level 5 Energy Crystal Meteorite (Outstanding) x1] [Level 5 Energy Crystal Meteorite (Outstanding): Contains a world of its own, can be opened (requires Level 5 Crystal Core x8)] "Hiss¡ª" Surprised by the attributes of the meteor, Wang Tao was taken aback. This was actually a Level 5 meteor of outstanding quality! And it seemed to contain something valuable that could be unlocked! But to unlock this meteor, he would need 8 Level 5 Crystal Cores! Ridiculous! He hadn¡¯t even seen a Level 5 Zombie, save for a terribly fearsome Catastrophe Zombie, let alone gather so many Level 5 Crystal Cores! However, could this indirectly suggest that there indeed were valuable items inside? Generally speaking, the greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward! After scouring the large crater and ensuring there was nothing else besides this meteor, Wang Tao returned to the group. "What¡¯s the situation down there?" Ding Yuqin asked curiously. Wang Tao stretched out his hand, and a washbasin-sized meteor appeared in his palm. The meteor, originally burning hot, had cooled to a normal temperature after being stored and retrieved from the Space Backpack. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t looked closely just now, but now he noticed the meteor had eight small pits, about the size of a Crystal Core, presumably meant for inserting them. "Touch it and see if you can feel anything." Wang Tao first handed the meteor to Ding Yuqin. The meteor was still quite heavy, but Ding Yuqin, no longer the weakling she had been, easily picked it up. "Huh?" Upon touching the meteor, Ding Yuqin let out a soft exclamation. "I feel like there¡¯s something inside the meteor, but it requires... 8 Level 5 Crystal Cores to unlock it?" Ding Yuqin was somewhat taken aback, doubting her own perception. 8 Level 5 Crystal Cores? Upon hearing Ding Yuqin¡¯s words, Wang Tao instantly understood. He had had the same feeling when he touched the meteor, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was just psychological, since he had already seen the meteor¡¯s specific information ¡ª it could¡¯ve been a suggestion. However, it was proven that it was not his illusion; it was real. That is to say, besides him, others could also know that there was something hidden inside the meteor, and that 10 Level 5 Crystal Cores were needed to open it! Experience new stories with novelhall.Co?m Wang Tao let the others try as well, and Han Rui, Wei Zhen Guo, and the rest could also vaguely sense the method to open this Crystal Core. But the outrageous requirement for unlocking it left everyone baffled. After all, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even have many Level 4 Crystal Cores, let alone where to find Level 5 Crystal Cores, and 8 of them no less... The Energy Crystal Meteorite could only be temporarily stored at the bottom of the Space Backpack for now, to be opened later if an opportunity arose. "Wang Tao! There¡¯s another meteor that has fallen at the base! It¡¯s not far from us!" At that moment, Lan Yulian pointed in a direction. Wang Tao glanced over and immediately beckoned. "Let¡¯s go!" The group started towards the second meteorite¡¯s fall site. After incidentally rescuing two groups of people along the way, Wang Tao and his team successfully arrived outside the meteor pit. At a glance, they could see a home bathtub-sized meteor in the center of the large pit! "What a huge meteor!" There was a hint of excitement in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes; such a large meteor must contain many good things! Wang Tao quickly made his way into the flames and collected the large and heavy meteor into his Space Backpack. Chapter 773 - 304: Meteorite Rain_3 [Item Acquired: Level 4 Energy Crystal Meteorite (Ordinary) x1] [Level 4 Energy Crystal Meteorite (Ordinary): Contains vast potential, can be activated (requires two Level 4 Crystal Cores)] "Huh, this one is different!" This notably larger meteorite is of ordinary quality and has two small pits on its surface for placing crystal cores. To activate it, all one needs are two Level 4 Crystal Cores! This is much easier than the Level 5 meteorite from before! "Should I give it a try?" Wang Tao was somewhat tempted; he did have two Level 4 Crystal Cores he could use. He immediately returned to Ding Yuqin and the others, saying: "You guys keep an eye on the other meteorites¡¯ falling directions, I¡¯ll try to open this one to see what¡¯s inside!" "Okay!" The group responded. Before using the crystal cores to open it, Wang Tao wanted to try if he could break it open directly. However, after several attempts, he found it completely unbreakable. "As expected, there¡¯s no cutting corners..." There was no choice but to use the crystal cores. Wang Tao took out two ordinary quality Level 4 Crystal Cores. Since there was no specification regarding the quality needed, it made sense to use the white, ordinary quality ones. He placed the two crystal cores into the small pits on the surface of the meteorite. As soon as the crystal cores were in place, they were immediately sucked in. The meteorite began to vibrate slightly, and the crystal cores emitted a faint white glow. Crack¡ª In front of everyone, the bathtub-sized meteorite, like an overripe watermelon, started with a crack and then the fissure spread. Bang! Explore more stories with novelhall.Co?m It ultimately split in two, with most of its interior being stone. Only at the very center was there a palm-sized pit. And in this small pit lay a crystal core? The quality was white [Tier-4 Crystal Core ¡¤ Self-Detonation x1]? "..." Such a large meteorite contained only a palm-sized hollow? And it contained a crystal core? Not only just one crystal core, but a Tier-4 Self-Destruct Crystal Core of white quality? Wang Tao had used two Tier-4 White Crystal Cores to open it! "A total loss!" Wang Tao¡¯s face was grim. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t afford the loss, but he felt cheated and that was very frustrating. The rest also felt speechless, never expecting such a huge meteorite to contain such junk. "Looks like one can¡¯t just casually open these ¡¯Energy Crystal Meteorites¡¯; there¡¯s a risk of making a loss..." Wang Tao shook his head helplessly. At that moment, several more meteorites fell towards the base from afar. "Let¡¯s go! Keep collecting meteorites!" Wang Tao and his group advanced again towards the area ablaze with fiery light. Though the meteor shower looked quite scary, not many landed inside the base. Given the vast size of the base... when the impacts were averaged out, the ratio of casualties hit by the meteorites wasn¡¯t high. Wang Tao also saved several groups of people, not knowing how many times he had been thanked. He had picked up several meteorites but hadn¡¯t opened them. After all, he didn¡¯t quite understand the situation now and thought to study them later. Otherwise, if he kept losing on each attempt, there would be no way to continue playing. "Roar¡ª¡ª" Suddenly, everyone heard a roar within the base! Wang Tao frowned; could it be that someone was keeping a mutant beast? Buzzing~ Just then, Wang Tao¡¯s wrist communicator vibrated as Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice came through. "Wang Tao, can you come over? We¡¯re on the same street we went to with you today. There¡¯s a fourth-order monster here! There are a lot of civilians around, and it¡¯s not easy to use heavy firepower. My powered armor is out for maintenance..." "What! A fourth-order monster! I¡¯m on my way!" Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned serious. Upon confirming that the fourth-order monster Duan Xuchang mentioned was the roar he had just heard, Wang Tao immediately led the group over. "Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s see what¡¯s going on." ... Ratatat¡ª "Help!" "Don¡¯t run around!" At a certain square inside the base, chaos reigned. A pitch-black monster, boasting thick armor and legs sharp like blades, was rampaging and destroying everything in sight. Beneath it were many fresh red bloodstains, but no bodies. Many ordinary people were lying on the ground or hiding in corners nearby; perhaps the monster had a blind spot in its vision and temporarily hadn¡¯t noticed these people hiding. Ratatat¡ª More than twenty soldiers were unloading their firepower on the monster, but its shell was too thick, rendering the small-caliber bullets completely ineffective! They had heavy weapons at their disposal, but they didn¡¯t dare use them since there were still many people directly below the monster. "Damn it! If I¡¯d known, I wouldn¡¯t have been so impulsive!" Among the team, there were a few individuals dressed like survivors from the apocalypse. One of them, a lean, bald man, was furious with rage. "Don¡¯t panic, I¡¯ve already called for help!" Duan Xuchang immediately reassured him. "Who?" "It¡¯s¡ª" Before Duan Xuchang could finish, his vision blurred as a burly figure appeared before them. The bald man jumped in shock, while Duan Xuchang¡¯s face lit up with surprise. "You got here so fast!" "I was nearby," Wang Tao said, gazing at the huge figure not too far away. Somewhat puzzled, he asked Duan Xuchang, "Captain Duan, how did this thing get into the base? Could it climb over the high walls of the base, or fly in?" Could such a tall stronghold also be unsafe? Confronted with Wang Tao¡¯s doubts, before Duan Xuchang could reply, the bald man beside him said with remorse: "It¡¯s all my fault! I picked up a big meteorite in the meteor pit earlier. I felt something good inside it and that it could be opened with crystal cores! I intended to try later, but I couldn¡¯t resist and used four crystal cores to open it¡ªand out popped this fourth-order monster! It¡¯s killed a lot of ordinary people! I deserve to die!" Wang Tao: "..." To think that opening these "Energy Crystal Meteorites" could yield a loss or even unleash a monster? Wang Tao took a deep breath and then addressed the two men: "You guys get ready to rescue the people; I¡¯ll take care of it!" Chapter 774 - 305 Monster Expansion_1 Chapter 774: Chapter 305 Monster Expansion_1 Roar¡ª The monster swung its numerous sharp claws, wildly destroying everything around it. Not only humans were killed by it, but trees, buildings, and even the ground were destroyed¡ªit was like a killing machine, eliminating everything in sight. Wang Tao looked at the attributes of this monster, which bore some resemblance to a cockroach. [HP: 148790/150000] ... [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakened: Tenacity] [Tenacity: All basic attributes increase, with significant enhancements to Strength and Defense] This was a Level 4, Monster Lord. Its awakening ability, like the zombies Wang Tao had encountered before, was a passive type that enhanced physical quality, particularly notable in Strength and Defense. When he had previously killed zombies with this kind of ¡°Tenacity¡± awakening, it had been quite troublesome, because those zombies had an ability named ¡°Return to Light¡±¡ªthey would regenerate 100 HP with every attack they suffered. Alone, this ability wasn¡¯t strong, but coupled with extremely high Defense, it was outrageously powerful. However, the monster in front of them didn¡¯t have the Return to Light ability! It was clear to see that although the bullets did very little damage to the monster, sometimes even too little to penetrate its defenses, it wasn¡¯t regenerating HP! Moreover, this monster wasn¡¯t using any abilities either; it was relying solely on its formidable physique to attack. That made things much simpler for Wang Tao! With a thought, a slender, curved Bone Knife appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Then, his figure vanished instantly. When he reappeared, he was already beside this ¡°Cockroach Monster.¡± The Cockroach Monster was quite tall; Wang Tao, standing in front of it, could barely touch its head. So, how big was the Energy Crystal Meteorite for such a large creature to emerge from it? But Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen any large meteorites before, and if there had been one of such size, he would definitely have noticed its fall... Wang Tao was puzzled but had no time to think further. He raised his long knife and slashed at the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head. Bang! [-332] [-33] Seeing the damage from this strike, Wang Tao was somewhat prepared for it internally, but he still felt a bit helpless. With this rate of damage, he would need to strike the Cockroach Monster four or five hundred times to kill it... This was why Wang Tao hated encountering enemies with high Defense. Roar¡ª Although the damage from Wang Tao¡¯s strike wasn¡¯t high, the damage inflicted by others on the monster before was even lower. Therefore, the monster¡¯s attention was immediately drawn to Wang Tao, and when it realized that the one attacking it was just a little fellow, it let out an angry roar and swung its gleaming, icy arms towards Wang Tao like a lawnmower. Although Wang Tao was already wearing the Night Demon Set, he had no intention of taking the beast¡¯s blows head-on. Upon seeing the monster¡¯s offensive, he immediately retreated. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao was fast and retreated more than ten meters in an instant. The Cockroach Monster¡¯s attacks all missed, but it clearly didn¡¯t want to let Wang Tao go; it stopped attacking others and began to chase him down with long strides. Seeing how easily he had attracted the monster¡¯s aggro, Wang Tao actually breathed a sigh of relief. There were many survivors hiding in the square. Duan Xuchang, afraid of hitting these people, didn¡¯t dare to use heavy weapons. Wang Tao, of course, didn¡¯t want to harm the innocent, so he had to attract the monster away. Previously, the attacks of Duan Xuchang and the others were too weak to attract the monster¡¯s aggro. Although Wang Tao had only inflicted a little over three hundred HP of damage to the Cockroach Monster, that amount of damage was considered the highest among all. Therefore, it immediately caught the attention of the monster, which could not tolerate someone inflicting such high damage on it¡ªit wanted to kill Wang Tao! Surrounded by buildings and crowds, Wang Tao quickly scoped out his surroundings, then immediately started heading north. Because not far to the north, there was a large pit on the ground, still smoking and burning. Clearly, it had just been smashed out by the meteorite. Rumble¡ª Wang Tao was fast, but the Cockroach Monster wasn¡¯t slow either. Its dozens of knife-like legs propelled it rapidly as it pursued Wang Tao, dragging its thick shell along. Not far away, seeing the monster drawn off by Wang Tao, Duan Xuchang immediately waved his hand. ¡°Go! Rescue them!¡± Ding Yuqin and the others went to rescue people as well; facing such a high-defense monster, their output was limited and it was more worthwhile to save more survivors. Lan Yulian, draped in her garment that resembled flames, was very conspicuous on the chaotic battlefield. She activated the Healing Light, and a green aura spread out from her as the center, radiating towards the surroundings. Everyone within the light felt a warm sensation all over their bodies. At the same time, she shouted: ¡°Bring the injured to me first!¡± For severely injured patients, Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t provide treatment; that generally required surgery. But she could use [Healing] to keep the injured alive until medical personnel arrived. Even if someone¡¯s HP dropped to zero, she could bring them back with a ¡°High-power cardiac pacemaker.¡± Soon, a large number of injured people gathered around Lan Yulian. After all, her clothing was striking to the eye, and the injured only needed to run towards the ¡°human flame¡± to get help. Lots of injured people thanked Lan Yulian gratefully. Lan Yulian wasn¡¯t someone with a strong vanity, but seeing so many lives saved through her aid filled her with satisfaction. ¡°This is what a Healing-Type Extraordinary Function Human is all about!¡± Seeing the monster depart, the scene was quickly brought under control, and Duan Xuchang sighed with emotion. Chapter 775 - 305 Monster Expansion_2 Healing-Type Crystal Cores are too scarce, even within the hundreds of thousands population of Changhe Base, they are exceedingly rare. Furthermore, not all Healing ability users are created equal, and Lan Yulian is among the best! If there were more ability users like Lan Yulian, their battles would be so much easier... "This beauty¡¯s healing ability is so strong! She can heal such a wide area! I wonder if we could pull her into our team..." The bald man exclaimed. Standing beside him, Duan Xuchang gave him a somewhat speechless glance upon hearing this. "If you could become an Awakener, maybe there¡¯d be a one percent chance." "...Damn, I forgot, she came with that Awakener big shot!" The bald man suddenly felt a bit awkward. Even without an Awakener, with the strength of their team, it was already difficult to invite a Healing-Type Extraordinary Function Human of that caliber, let alone now that she was clearly mixing with Awakeners, making them even less hopeful. "Save people, save people! I was thinking too much!" The bald man shook his head and stopped daydreaming. Elsewhere. After Wang Tao lured the monster to the meteor pit, he immediately turned around. At some point, a massive fireball had appeared in his hand. With an outstretched hand, the fireball immediately flew towards the Cockroach Monster. Although the Cockroach Monster was fast, it must¡¯ve relied on its high defense or maybe it wasn¡¯t very clever, because it didn¡¯t dodge the fireball. So¡ª Boom! When the fireball hit the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head, a burst of intense flames erupted, turning the entire meteor pit into a sea of fire! Hiss¡ª The Cockroach Monster screamed in agony! Its shell¡¯s defense may have been high, but it obviously couldn¡¯t withstand Wang Tao¡¯s fireball! [-15338] [-3278] [-3203] [...] Massive damage numbers floated above its head as flames engulfed its entire body! Wang Tao, who was relatively close, could even smell an unpleasant burnt stench. The Cockroach Monster flailed its sickle-like claws in a frenzy. Wang Tao, with his agile movements, dodged numerous attacks, but still got hit by one claw. [-6842] [-684] [...] Nearly seven thousand damage floated above Wang Tao¡¯s head! And there was Bleeding damage as well! "Such high damage!" Despite wearing the Black Stone Armor Set and Night Demon Set, Wang Tao still took such high damage¡ªif others were hit, they might lose tens of thousands of HP, or even be insta-killed! After retreating, the flames continued to burn on the Cockroach Monster, though the damage decreased. But that didn¡¯t matter, as Wang Tao prepared another large fireball in his hand. Boom! [-16432] [-3142] [-3323] [...] After being attacked by fireballs twice in succession, the Cockroach Monster was clearly in much pain and anger. It no longer cared about the flames on its body, and like a ¡¯firebug,¡¯ it lunged at Wang Tao. Your next read awaits at novelhall.Co?m The long sword in Wang Tao¡¯s hand disappeared, replaced by a large, thick, and long Black Iron Stick. Clutching the stick with both hands, as the Cockroach Monster charged at him, Wang Tao swung the stick down on its head. Thud! [-1063] The enormous body of the Cockroach Monster was immediately sent flying, crashing into the edge of the meteor pit. Several cracked but not fully collapsed houses couldn¡¯t withstand the impact and collapsed thunderously, falling on the Cockroach Monster and burying it in the rubble instantly. Meanwhile, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but let out a soft "huh". He had intended to repel the Cockroach Monster and attack it with fireballs from a distance, which is why he chose the Black Iron Stick¡ªbut he hadn¡¯t expected the stick¡¯s damage to be surprisingly good, enough to cause a thousand HP worth of damage. Indeed, when dealing with monsters with thick armor, blunt weapons were the way to go. Boom¡ª The Cockroach Monster burst out of the rubble, and although it had been buried, the flames on its body had also been extinguished. It roared and charged at Wang Tao again. Wang Tao held the stick in his right hand and produced a fireball in his left. As the Cockroach Monster approached him, Wang Tao struck with the stick first, sending it flying once again. This time, using one hand, the strength was slightly less, so the Cockroach Monster didn¡¯t fly as far. Nonetheless, it gave Wang Tao enough time. By the time the Cockroach Monster charged again, the fireball in Wang Tao¡¯s hand had grown to the size of a water tank! Wang Tao¡¯s Fireball special ability needed to be powered up, the longer the charge time, the larger the fireball and the higher the damage, though there was a limit. The current size of the fireball represented Wang Tao¡¯s maximum charge limit. Thus, the huge fireball mercilessly smashed onto the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head. Boom¡ª [-30189] [-4128] [-4211] [...] The Cockroach Monster let out a piercing scream, clearly tormented by the burning flames. It rolled frantically on the ground, trying to put out the flames on its head. While it was down, Wang Tao aimed to take its life. Hoisting the Black Iron Stick, he launched a furious assault on its head. [-1283] [-1123] [...] Although the damage from the Black Iron Stick¡¯s attacks couldn¡¯t compare to the fireballs, Wang Tao was fast. One after another, the damage numbers flew from the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head. The Cockroach Monster thrashed its claws wildly, but they were not as long as the Black Iron Stick and couldn¡¯t reach Wang Tao. Moments later, once the flames on the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head were extinguished, it was left with only a sliver of HP. Once again, a fireball appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. This time he didn¡¯t need to charge too much; feeling it was about right, he slammed the fireball directly onto the Cockroach Monster¡¯s head. [-12345] [-4587] [-2389] [0/150000] The Cockroach Monster¡¯s HP bar hit zero, and a huge pile of things burst out. In addition to the Loot Pack, the Cockroach Monster¡¯s claws, shell, and feelers all had names! Chapter 776 - 305 Monster Expansion_3 Wang Tao packed away these named items and then walked out of the meteor pit. At this time, meteors were still streaking across the sky, occasionally smashing towards the base, but the area near the plaza was safe. After all, there was only that cockroach monster, which Wang Tao had lured away. Although the people near the plaza couldn¡¯t see the specifics inside the meteor pit, they were all paying close attention. When they saw a tall figure emerge from the flames, everyone cheered. "Wang Tao!" Ding Yuqin and others quickly ran over to check if Wang Tao was hurt, and Lan Yulian hurriedly administered healing to him. "I¡¯m fine," Wang Tao shook his head and then asked, "How is everyone?" "Apart from a few people who were eaten by the monster before we arrived, the rest of the injured have basically been out of danger. Even those with serious injuries can hold on for now; it all depends on when the doctors arrive..." Before Lan Yulian could finish, she saw a team of vehicles flashing blue lights approaching from a distance. "The doctors are here! They¡¯ll most likely all be able to save their lives." Lan Yulian breathed a sigh of relief. At this point, Duan Xuchang and his group also ran over, and Duan Xuchang asked with concern: "Are you alright?" Discover exclusive tales on novelhall.Co?m "I¡¯m fine. I killed that monster, its body is in the meteor pit." Wang Tao had already taken the spoils from the monster¡¯s body, but what he took were the named items and the Crystal Cores. Given the cockroach monster¡¯s enormous size, there were sickle-like legs and a thick shell among other valuable materials on its body¡ªall of which were quite rare¡ªso the corpse of the cockroach monster was still of great value. But fair¡¯s fair! Wang Tao took the lion¡¯s share, so he ought to let others have a sip of the soup. "Okay!" Duan Xuchang immediately ordered some of his subordinates to remove the monster¡¯s corpse, while others helped to transport the injured to the vehicles. When the meteors first struck the base, a top-level emergency alarm went off, directing everyone to find cover and hunker down. However, after some time had passed, they realized that only a few meteors would actually strike the base, with most of them seemingly flying off elsewhere. Thus, the alarm level was lowered, and a large number of rescue workers began to appear outside. Looking up, Wang Tao saw that the sky was stained red, with swathes of meteor showers passing overhead, making for a stunning view. While occasionally a meteor would fly toward the base, not many landed within it, and those that did were relatively small in size. As long as there were precautions in place to predict the landing sites of the meteors and evacuate the nearby residents in time, many casualties could be avoided. Of course, the prerequisite was to refrain from tampering with those Energy Crystal Meteorites. Wang Tao glanced at the information wristband in his hand, which showed a broadcast from City Hall. They instructed everyone who came into contact with the meteorites not to open them rashly¡ªthey contained great danger! Anyone who opened a meteorite and caused serious consequences would face a court trial, even if they survived the incident. The punishment was quite severe. As for the bald man who opened the first meteorite, he would definitely face some trouble, but nothing too serious. After all, the ignorant are not guilty, and nobody knew what was inside these meteorites. Although a Level 4, Lord Monster had emerged from within, in a way, it served as a warning to everyone... But speaking of the monster, Wang Tao looked at the bald man with some curiosity. "Did that monster really crawl out of the meteorite? I didn¡¯t see such large meteorite debris!" "Boss! The meteorite was only as big as a small car. After I opened it with a Crystal Core, the creature inside began to expand, and then it grew to this size..." The bald man quickly explained. "I see." Wang Tao suddenly understood. He thought it strange that he hadn¡¯t seen such a large meteorite. If that meteorite had been much larger than the monster itself, the death toll would have been even higher¡ªnot from the monster but from the impact of such a large meteorite. Fortunately, this was not the case. However, a new problem arose. If the monster¡¯s size wasn¡¯t as big as initially presented by the Energy Crystal Meteorite, didn¡¯t that mean that even smaller Energy Crystal Meteorites could potentially contain monsters? Wang Tao had just picked up several smaller Energy Crystal Meteorites. He had thought that such small meteorites were unlikely to contain monsters. But now, upon reconsideration, it wasn¡¯t so certain... ... The meteor shower continued. After the initial panic, the base¡¯s residents had all found shelter. During the construction of the base, many safety facilities had been installed, such as underground air-raid shelters. The limited destructive power of these small meteorites meant that those underground were essentially safe. The people on the ground were either Ability Users or military and police personnel¡ªall fighters with strong physical conditions. As long as they could spot the small meteorites in time, avoiding them was not a problem. Order within the base slowly began to be restored. After ensuring there were no issues near the plaza, Wang Tao¡¯s group made their way around to other areas. He thought about picking up a few more "Energy Crystal Meteorites" and did find two. However, as order was restored in the base, other Ability Users and the military became more active. Whenever a meteorite fell, they would surround it. It wasn¡¯t easy for Wang Tao to take what others coveted, so he didn¡¯t collect much afterwards. As the red clouds in the sky gradually faded and the meteor shower slowly dissipated, everyone let out a sigh of relief. "It should be over, right?" Ding Yuqin looked up at the sky dotted with stars, uncertainly saying. "It should be over. You should all go back and rest now. Leave the clean-up work to us!" Duan Xuchang said. Many places within the base were in disarray and needed to be sorted out. Naturally, there was no need to trouble Wang Tao and his group with this labor. "Okay." Chapter 777 - 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_1 ``` When Wang Tao returned to the small courtyard, it was already two o¡¯clock in the morning. The meteor shower had lasted a full four hours, and he wondered how many meteors had fallen on this planet. Wang Tao had intended to go out to the base to see for himself, as there were so many meteors inside the base, there must have been some outside too. However, after seeing the army deploy a large number of helicopters to fly out, he reconsidered and decided against it, thinking it wouldn¡¯t matter since he already had some meteorites. Now, he was very curious about what else might be contained within these meteorites. Wang Tao looked at his Space Backpack. Not counting the Energy Crystal Meteorite he had opened before, he still had seven left. It felt quite ridiculous when he thought about it. He had spent two ordinary quality Level 4 Crystal Cores, and as a result, he obtained one ordinary quality Level 4, Self-Destruct Crystal Core... such a loss! He wondered if the other Energy Crystal Meteorites would also be a similar letdown. In fact, for Wang Tao, even if there were a fourth-order monster inside, it would be lucrative. After all, monsters were treasure troves, capable of dropping Loot Packs. His only fear was encountering more useless items like the Self-Destruct Crystal Core... The seven Energy Crystal Meteorites Wang Tao held varied in size; the largest were as big as two household bathtubs, and the smallest about the size of his fist. However, the size of a Star Meteorite wasn¡¯t directly correlated to the size of the contents within, since he had previously opened a bathtub-sized meteorite that contained only a single Crystal Core. Out of the seven meteorites, two were Level 5, and the remaining five were Level 4. Among them, one of the Level 5 meteorites was of excellent quality and required eight Level 5 Crystal Cores to open. The other was of epic quality and needed ten Level 5 Crystal Cores! Opening these two meteorites in the short term seemed impossible. The other five Level 4 Star Meteorites could be classified as one excellent, two excellent, one outstanding, and one epic. To open them, they required four, six, eight, and ten Level 4 Crystal Cores, respectively. The Level 4 White Rank Meteorite he had previously opened required two Level 4 Crystal Cores. Wang Tao began to discern a pattern with the Energy Crystal Meteorites¡ªthe quality of the meteorite affected the number of Crystal Cores needed to open it! To open a white quality Energy Crystal Meteorite, two cores of the same level were needed; blue required four; purple required six; red required eight; and orange required ten! Although these meteorites had no color differentiation, and it was impossible for others to tell their exact quality, the positions for placing the Crystal Cores hinted that those with slots for two were of ordinary quality, while those with slots for ten were of epic quality. Since different numbers of Crystal Cores were needed to open the meteorites, Wang Tao speculated that the contents must also vary. The items from an orange meteorite needing ten cores could be the best, whereas those from a white one needing only two could be the worst. Of course, describing them as "good" or "junk" might not be entirely accurate because these things could contain monsters! For Wang Tao, releasing a fourth-order monster was highly likely to be profitable¡ªthat¡¯s "highly likely" because if a monster as strong as a Giant Zombie emerged, he would not be able to defeat it. But for others, especially those below Level 4, releasing a monster could spell disaster... unless they had prepared and surrounded themselves with a large group of armed forces when opening the meteorite. Wang Tao also had a minor problem now. That was whether the quality of the Crystal Cores used to open the meteorites would affect the contents inside? For example, if he used ten ordinary quality and ten epic quality Crystal Cores to open the same meteorite, would the results be different? Wang Tao felt tempted to open a few meteorites to experiment, but he refrained. If he opened them now and a monster emerged, it would be problematic. After all, the base had just been through chaos, and everyone was on edge. There was no need for him to create more panic. Another reason was that Wang Tao did not want to use his own Crystal Cores for the opening. Most of the cores he had featured Abilities, and nowadays, most cores retrieved from zombie brains lacked Abilities. As one can imagine, even the white quality cores with Abilities would become very valuable, so it would be preferable to use cores without Abilities for the openings. Discover stories with novelhall.Co?m Lastly, he could let others do it first and then inquire about the contents. Wang Tao believed that others could not resist. Especially the city hall, they probably had many star meteorites and would definitely experiment with them... These seven meteorites were still in Wang Tao¡¯s possession; Ding Yuqin had not even had the chance to examine them. Wang Tao handed over the stones for them to study and cautioned them not to open them. Then he turned his attention to the loot from the Cockroach Monster. It was an unexpected reward. He had killed a Level 4, Monster Lord within such a safe base... a rather peculiar feeling. By killing the Cockroach Monster, he obtained 100 Awakening Energy, 1 Advanced Special Energy, and 1 Awakening Key. He now had 27 units of Advanced Special Energy and 12 Awakening Keys. In addition, the monster had dropped five items and five Loot Packs. [Received: Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] ``` Chapter 778 - 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_2 [Acquired: Level 4, Flexible Tentacles x4] [Acquired: Level 4, Sharp Claws x10] [Acquired: Level 4, Resilience Shell x10] The Cockroach Monster¡¯s head had dropped a red Quality Crystal Core, which unfortunately held no Ability. There was also an Awakening Energy Pearl, a pretty good stroke of luck. The remaining three items were all crafting materials. [Level 4, Flexible Tentacles: Crafting material, can increase equipment¡¯s Mental Defense] [Level 4, Sharp Claws: Crafting material, can increase equipment¡¯s Bleeding Property] [Level 4, Resilience Shell: Crafting material, can increase equipment¡¯s defensive power] All three materials came with additional attributes, especially the Sharp Claws, which even had a Bleeding property! Equipment crafted with these materials was bound to be remarkable! Then there was the Loot Pack. The first Loot Pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag. Upon seeing the attributes of the Crystal Cores inside, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. Although most of the Crystal Cores inside zombies no longer contained Abilities, the ones from his Loot Packs still did! The bag contained a total of six Crystal Cores, which were a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Omnipotent], an orange [Level 4 Crystal Core - Ascension], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Awakening], a blue [Level 4 Crystal Core - Physical Enhancement], a purple [Level 4 Crystal Core - Defense], and a red [Level 4 Crystal Core - Strength]. Omnipotent, Ascension, and Awakening ¨C he¡¯d gotten all three special Crystal Cores! The other three Cores were fairly ordinary, but Wang Tao wasn¡¯t picky. After all, these were Ability-bearing Crystals Cores, currently of high value. Inside the second Loot Pack were potions. [Acquired: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Acquired: Defense Potion (Medium) x20] Twenty bottles each of Strength and Defense Potions, quite common. Wang Tao looked towards the third Loot Pack. [Acquired: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another Awakening Energy Pearl! Wang Tao counted, he now had 21 Awakening Energy Pearls in hand. He was planning to start increasing his Awakening Energy limit shortly. Then came the fourth Loot Pack. [Acquired: Awakening Key x1] One physical Awakening Key, with this addition he now had a total of seven. The last Loot Pack contained Blueprints, three of them! [Acquired: Sharp Long Knife Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Black Shell Armor Suit Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Physical Necklace Blueprint x1] [Sharp Long Knife Blueprint: Can craft a Sharp Long Knife. Required materials: Level 4 Sharp Claws x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Blade x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30, Rubber x30] [Sharp Long Knife: Equipped with Armor Breaking Attribute] [Black Shell Armor Suit Blueprint: Can craft a full set of Battle Armor. Required materials: Level 4 Resilience Shell x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Rubber x30] [Black Shell Armor Suit: Comes with a Repair Attribute] Enjoy exclusive adventures from novelhall.Co?m [Physical Necklace Blueprint: Can craft a Physical Necklace. Required materials: Level 4 Flexible Tentacles x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Physical Necklace: Comes with a Focus attribute] All three equipment pieces came with additional attributes! And the core materials needed for these three pieces of equipment also had additional properties! Does that mean each piece of equipment carried at least two additional attributes? Wang Tao immediately began crafting. A moment later, all three pieces of equipment were crafted. [Sharp Long Knife] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +80, Attack power +80, comes with Armor Break and Bleeding effects (Armor Break and Bleeding effects require Awakening Energy)] This was a subtly curved matte black slender knife, its Durability and Attack power both increased by 80 points, which was 10 points more than the tusk long knife used by Wang Tao! And while the tusk long knife only had a Bleeding property, this knife had not only Bleeding but also an Armor Break property! [Armor Break: Ignores a certain amount of Defense] The explanation for the Armor Break property was roughly what Wang Tao had envisioned. He felt the "Armor Break" would be particularly effective against enemies with high defense. However, to truly understand its effectiveness, a field test was necessary. Wang Tao picked up the long knife and swung it, finding it handled much better than the tusk long knife. The tusk long knife¡¯s curve was a bit too pronounced, but the angle of this Sharp Long Knife was just right. "I¡¯ll be using you from now on!" Wang Tao was very satisfied as he put away the Sharp Long Knife, his new weapon of choice. As for the retired tusk long knife, it could be given to someone else to continue its service. The second piece of equipment was a set of matte black full-body Battle Armor. The only problem was the armor¡¯s design was a bit peculiar, resembling the shell of a beetle, which to Wang Tao¡¯s personal taste, was somewhat ugly. [Black Shell Armor Suit] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +120, defensive power +120, comes with a Restoration effect (Restoration effect requires Awakening Energy)] As ugly as the armor was, its attributes were beyond reproach. Durability and defensive power both increased by 120 points. Moreover, it also came with a "Restoration" Attribute. [Restoration: Slowly restores equipment Durability] Wang Tao was surprised; this was an attribute that restored Durability! The durability of the equipment he crafted was generally limited. When Durability ran out, the equipment would be damaged. Currently, he had no way to restore Durability, nor did he know how to do so. So in a sense, all his current equipment was somewhat disposable. Chapter 779 - 306 Armor Breaking Attribute_3 ``` Of course, except in some special cases, the durability loss rate of equipment is actually quite slow. Wang Tao has yet to have any of his equipment¡¯s durability normally wear down to nothing. The times his gear was destroyed were all due to special circumstances. If this repair attribute can restore durability, doesn¡¯t that mean the equipment will never wear out? This set of battle armor has pretty impressive attributes, but Wang Tao doesn¡¯t plan to wear it himself. One reason is that he already has a surplus of equipment, and he doesn¡¯t need this one; another is that the armor is a bit ugly¡ªit makes him look like a beetle when he puts it on... Wang Tao thinks that Xu Xiaojun would be quite suitable for this set of armor. After all, it has high defense without slowing the wearer down. As for whether Xu Xiaojun is willing to wear it, Wang Tao thinks it won¡¯t be a problem. Xu Xiaojun doesn¡¯t care about appearance, and the root armor Wang Tao had given him earlier was pretty ugly. To Xu Xiaojun, as long as the attributes are good, that¡¯s all that matters. [Physical Necklace] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Mental Defense +20, Physical Strength Consumption -20%, comes with Focus Effect (Focus Effect requires Awakening Energy)] The design of the Physical Necklace is quite simple; it is called a necklace, but it doesn¡¯t even have a pendant in the middle¡ªit looks like a plain black rope. But as long as the appearance isn¡¯t ugly, the main thing is the attributes. And the attributes of this Physical Necklace, Wang Tao can only say they are very strong! Equipment that boosts Mental Defense is relatively rare, as most gear doesn¡¯t include it, so a bonus of 20 is already quite good. Then there¡¯s the attribute that reduces physical strength consumption by 20%! This is equivalent to indirectly increasing the upper limit of physical strength. In a way, this ability can be considered a god-tier skill. Moreover, it has a Focus attribute! [Focus: Reduces the energy consumption when using abilities] "This Focus attribute is good!" The necklace itself reduces physical strength consumption, and this Focus reduces energy consumption¡ªisn¡¯t this going to make battles last even longer? Without a doubt, Wang Tao definitely plans to use this necklace for himself. After putting on the Physical Necklace, Wang Tao suddenly felt as if his body had become much lighter, especially when moving around; it was very smooth and comfortable... That must be the effect of reducing physical strength consumption by 20%! As for the Focus attribute, Wang Tao fired an Air Bullet ability into the sky and then took off the necklace and fired another Air Bullet ability. After a comparison, he arrived at a rough conclusion¡ª "Energy consumption reduced by 20%!" Wang Tao was instantly thrilled! A reduction of 20% in both physical strength and energy consumption! This was a significant boost to his combat effectiveness! If only there was also a reduction in spirit consumption or even Awakening Energy consumption... Forget it, no need to dream. Wang Tao quickly shook his head. He took out the Black Shell Armor Suit to give to Xu Xiaojun. After everything that happened that night, everyone was still up. Xu Xiaojun, as Wang Tao had thought, didn¡¯t mind about how the equipment looked. After trying on the armor, Xu Xiaojun thanked Wang Tao very happily. "Thank you, Brother Wang! I can feel that this set of armor is much stronger than what I had before!" "Haha, glad you like it!" Wang Tao chatted with everyone for a bit more, and then he went back to his room to prepare for bed. However, before going to sleep, Wang Tao planned to increase his Awakening Energy limit. He had just recovered some Awakening Energy, and it was now a round number[400/700]. So Wang Tao first took out one Awakening Energy Pearl to bring his current energy up to 500, then took out two Awakening Crystal Cores to fuse them. He had a total of 12 Awakening Crystal Cores; fusing them would leave him with 10. Moments later, the fusion of the Awakening Crystal Cores was completed. Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Energy reached 700, and as a result, his Internal Impurity also went up to 2%, which had lingered since he fused the Fireball special ability without cleansing. Wang Tao took out two bottles of Cleansing Potion and quickly cleared the Internal Impurity. Once free of impurities again, he felt a whole lot lighter. Then Wang Tao used up all his Awakening Energy to bring his limit to 800. He then used eight Awakening Energy Pearls to increase the limit to 900, and finally nine Awakening Energy Pearls... When he was down to four Awakening Energy Pearls, Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening Energy limit finally reached 1000! For Wang Tao, who had a touch of OCD, an Awakening Energy limit of 1000 looked very pleasing to the eye. "Time to sleep!" ... Early morning. Wang Tao woke up and checked the time; it was already past 9 AM. He isn¡¯t someone who loves to stay in bed, but he had wasted some time playing games last night because Yang Changhong had sleepwalked into his room. "Wang Tao, I saved you some breakfast." Seeing Wang Tao awake, Ding Yuqin reheated breakfast for him. "Sister-in-law is always thoughtful!" Ding Yuqin gave him a look and then said: "Secretary Cui is here." "Hmm? When did he come?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. "He came at seven in the morning, has been waiting in the reception room for two hours." "He waited that long? Then have him come over." "Okay." Moments later, Ding Yuqin brought Cui Sheng to the dining room. Continue your saga on novelhall.Co?m "Good morning, Mr. Wang!" Upon seeing Wang Tao, who was having breakfast, Cui Sheng quickly walked over, smiling ear to ear as he greeted him. "Good morning. Secretary Cui, what brings you here so early...?" Wang Tao looked up, his expression curious. "You and your team killed a Level 4 Lord Monster last night, saving many people! The city hall is very grateful for the contributions you and your team have made! The city hall will send you a formal thank-you gift soon, but there¡¯s been a lot going on, and the thank-you gift will take a little while longer. I hope Mr. Wang will understand! My purpose today, aside from relaying the city hall¡¯s gratitude, is to deliver the spoils of battle to you..." "Spoils of battle?" Wang Tao doesn¡¯t care much about the thank-you gift, but this mention of spoils of battle piques his interest. "Yes, the Level 4 Lord Monster you killed yesterday had many high-value spoils on it. Although you left the monster¡¯s body behind, you will get your full share, please check them!" ``` Chapter 780 - 307: Flying Zombie_1 Chapter 780: Chapter 307: Flying Zombie_1 The spoils of war Cui Sheng mentioned totaled three parts. The first part of the spoils was protein blocks, commonly known among survivors as ¡°Cockroach Paste.¡± The body of the monster that Wang Tao killed yesterday had been inspected overnight at the city hall and determined to be non-toxic and then processed into protein blocks. No matter what the raw materials of the protein blocks were or how they tasted, the fact was that they were considered a solid currency in Changhe Base. Because they were nutritionally rich, cheap, and easy to carry and store, they were essential goods for both home life and travel. Seeing as the Cockroach Monster looked like an insect, it made sense that it was rich in protein, suitable for producing protein blocks. The protein blocks made from it were divided into three equal parts. Wang Tao took one part, Duan Xuchang¡¯s team took another, and the city hall the last one. ... ¡°The monster weighed a total of 10 tons. Discarding various shells, bones, and so forth, there were 4 tons of edible parts. Then, these 4 tons of raw food material were processed and compressed with other ingredients... until we finally ended up with 3 tons of protein blocks. Divided into three parts, each portion was 1 ton. Based on the standard size of a protein block at about 50g, this 1 ton amounts to 20,000 blocks...¡± Cui Sheng gave a very detailed explanation. In fact, protein blocks weren¡¯t considered valuable goods, being the most basic food within Changhe Base. If they were too expensive, many people wouldn¡¯t be able to afford to eat. With the current prices, one Crystal Coin could buy several dozen blocks, so these 20,000 blocks were roughly equivalent to only a few hundred coins. But it wasn¡¯t a matter of money, it was about principle¡ªthe protein blocks were Wang Tao¡¯s spoils of war. Having agreed to divide them equally, it was only natural that Wang Tao¡¯s share should be delivered. Even if they were worth only one Crystal Coin, they still had to be divided rightly! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t particularly interested in the protein blocks themselves, but he was quite curious about how the city hall managed to turn that monster¡¯s carcass into protein blocks overnight. After all, it was a creature weighing several tons. To have processed it into protein blocks in just one night was very fast indeed! Could it be they also had something akin to a Food Compressor? ¡°Mr. Wang, would you like these protein blocks brought inside, or would you rather store them in the bank?¡± After explaining, Cui Sheng asked. ¡°Oh? They can be stored in the bank too?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°Of course! Whether it¡¯s Crystal Cores, weapons and ammunition, or food, all can be stored in the bank. For food in particular, these protein blocks are quite welcomed, since they can¡¯t be kept for a long time. Storing too much by yourself and having it spoil would be such a waste. It¡¯s better to let the bank handle it properly...¡± Wang Tao gained a bit of insight. ¡°Bring them in.¡± To Wang Tao, the method of storage didn¡¯t really matter. He could keep the protein blocks in the Magical Stomach Pouch or process them into nutrient solution again. ¡°Right away!¡± Cui Sheng¡¯s vehicle was parked outside, and he immediately had the one ton of protein blocks moved into the yard. Twenty boxes in total, with each box containing 1,000 blocks. Wang Tao opened one of the boxes to look; all the protein blocks were neatly arrayed, resembling gelatin. Actually, if one didn¡¯t know the raw material of the protein blocks, they appeared quite presentable. ¡°How did you produce these? The speed is quite fast!¡± Wang Tao directly inquired. Cui Sheng didn¡¯t conceal anything and immediately explained: ¡°The Hope Research Institute has developed a set of equipment specifically for producing these protein blocks, and all these devices are installed in the factory. With sufficient raw materials and the factory running at full capacity, we can quickly finish producing these protein blocks.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao nodded, this was more or less what he had expected. Then Cui Sheng brought out the second and third parts of the spoils. ¡°These are the processed legs and shells... They can be used to forge weapons or armor. Materials from a Level 4 creature are highly sought after! If you aren¡¯t very familiar with weapon equipment crafting, you can also ask our city hall to help with the forging...¡± When Wang Tao collected the spoils the day before, he only took items that were named. Any unnamed items were left behind. For example, the monster had many limbs, but only 10 had names and could be put into the storage space. The rest couldn¡¯t be stored, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t take them. Now Duan Xuchang had sent them over to him... Wang Tao felt these items were of little use to him, as all the equipment he used were made from design diagrams. However, since they were personally delivered, naturally, Wang Tao accepted them. After handing over these items to Wang Tao, Cui Sheng did not leave. He coughed discreetly and then asked softly: ¡°Mr. Wang, I heard that last night you picked up some meteorites...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao gave Cui Sheng a glance at once. Good grief, no wonder he had delivered the items early in the morning and insisted on not taking advantage of Wang Tao; he was waiting for an opportunity! ¡°Don¡¯t misunderstand, Mr. Wang! According to the rules of Changhe Base, whatever unclaimed items one finds belong to them. Our city hall definitely wouldn¡¯t take something that belongs to someone else!¡± Cui Sheng, fearing Wang Tao had misunderstood, quickly explained. ¡°What do you mean then?¡± ¡°Well, as you know, the contents of these meteorites are uncertain. They may contain valuable items but might also have worthless items, or even monsters! And to open these meteorites would require a substantial number of Crystal Cores... Therefore, our city hall wants to discuss with the person who found the meteorites to see if we could share the risk¡ªwe would both contribute Crystal Cores, and after opening them, divide the contents based on the contribution ratio! If monsters appear, we would also fight them together...¡± Chapter 781 - 307: Flying Zombie_2 Upon hearing Duan Xuchang¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows instantly raised. "So the City Hall wants a piece of the Energy Crystal Meteorite action too?" But he had to admit, it sounded like a good method. After all, these Energy Crystal Meteorites seemed to be Level 4 and Level 5, and not to mention the Level 5 Crystal Cores, even the Level 4 Crystal Cores were extremely precious at the moment. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many, and he had to think carefully about trying to open all the Energy Crystal Meteorites he had, let alone others. If someone was willing to share the risk, it was indeed a good idea. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need it. Sharing the risk meant sharing the rewards. Wang Tao had the ability to open them himself, so there was no need. He didn¡¯t care about the risks; if monsters appeared, he was very likely to be able to deal with them. "Your idea is quite interesting, but I don¡¯t need it," Wang Tao shook his head. Cui Sheng, hearing this, was immediately disappointed. His task from the City Hall was to hope that Wang Tao would bring out his meteorites for everyone to study together. If he could handle this well, the leaders would reward him. But he knew it was a difficult task. After all, Wang Tao was a fourth-order Superpower. Apart from whether or not Wang Tao lacked Crystal Cores, a Fourth-order Ability User like him could earn Level 4 Crystal Cores by hunting Four-level zombies. Such a powerful individual would certainly not be willing to share his possessions with others. However, Cui Sheng was still somewhat hopeful, and he hurriedly said: "Mr. Wang, there¡¯s no need to rush your decision. You could think it over, the City Hall will definitely not cheat you! After all, those meteorites require Level 4 Crystal Cores to open, and Level 4 Crystal Cores are too precious now. If no one shares the risk, if there¡¯s a loss... Also, you might not know, but some forces are preparing to cooperate with the City Hall to jointly open the meteorites..." "Oh? Some have already agreed to cooperate?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. "Yes! Most people will probably choose to collaborate for shared wins! Of course, how you decide is your own right, but I personally suggest you think it over again..." Wang Tao actually pondered for a moment, then suddenly said: "Since so many people are joining, maybe I should also help you share some of the risk?" "Ah?" Cui Sheng didn¡¯t immediately understand what he meant, then uncertainly said: Your next journey awaits at novelhall.Co?m "You mean, instead of bringing out the meteorites, you¡¯ll contribute Crystal Cores to share the risk with others?" "Exactly." Wang Tao smiled and nodded. This was a new idea he just came up with. He was curious about what exactly was inside those meteorites. Moreover, he wondered if using Crystal Cores of different qualities would yield significantly different outcomes. He had originally planned not to open his own meteorites first but let others do so, then find out what they discovered. But there was one issue¡ªthere was no guarantee he would get accurate information. And even if he could get it, it would likely be a version that held something back. Putting himself in their shoes, if he had discovered something valuable, would he transparently tell others what was inside upon being asked? Most likely not. So if he asked others, he probably would receive a less forthcoming answer. However, if he were one of the stakeholders, even a minor one, he would be entitled to know what was inside! Then finding out what could come out of those meteorites would be a piece of cake! Of course, whether this idea was acceptable depended on City Hall¡¯s willingness. Anyway, he thought he¡¯d give it a try. Whether it worked or not, he wouldn¡¯t lose out. "Mr. Wang, please wait a moment while I report your idea to my superiors!" "Sure." Cui Sheng, not daring to delay, quickly reported Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts to his superiors through his information wristband. A moment later, Cui Sheng returned with a joyful expression. "Mr. Wang, our leader thinks it¡¯s a pleasure to cooperate with you! If there¡¯s no issue on your part, let¡¯s just verbally agree for now. Later, once we¡¯ve prepared those meteorites, we¡¯ll get in touch with you!" "Oh? Agreed? Okay, then contact me whenever needed." Wang Tao was a bit surprised. He had thought the City Hall wouldn¡¯t agree to let him have a share, but they had unexpectedly consented. What Wang Tao didn¡¯t know was that the City Hall had acquired quite a number of meteorites this time, and with others¡¯ contributions, even more. However, the number of Level 4 Crystal Cores in the City Hall¡¯s possession was limited. If they were to carry all the risk, their burden would be significant. But they had to participate because the City Hall¡¯s reasoning was much like Wang Tao¡¯s¡ªthey didn¡¯t necessarily have to obtain what was inside the meteorites; their main concern was to find out what was inside to determine its worthiness to be opened! If they were to rely on others¡¯ word, there was no guarantee of getting the truth. As stakeholders, they would surely know the specific situation. Under the condition of keeping "City Hall informed", if someone could help share some of the pressure, that wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing. Cui Sheng left cheerfully, apparently having completed his mission. Not long after his departure, Duan Xuchang came over. "Wang Tao, thank you for your help yesterday!" Although thanks had been offered yesterday, Wang Tao had saved so many people, so repeating his gratitude seemed more than appropriate. Moreover, Duan Xuchang wasn¡¯t just expressing thanks verbally; he also brought over his share of the spoils to Wang Tao! Chapter 782 - 307: Flying Zombie_3 "A reward undeserved is a gift unwarranted; you killed the monsters, so these spoils of battle should belong to you!" Looking at the clusters of egg whites, claws, shells, and the like, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but mix laughter with tears. "Cui Sheng just gave me a batch... and besides, I have no use for this stuff! I¡¯m really not lacking in materials like these; you take them all! If you really feel bad about it, then next time we go out to hunt zombies together, you can just let me have a few kills." Wang Tao said somewhat helplessly. If he could really blow up a few more loot packs, that would definitely be better than this stuff. "...Alright! Haha, then we¡¯ll do it together next time!" Duan Xuchang wasn¡¯t one to fuss over such matters; since Wang Tao said so, he would just take the items back with him, which would be very useful to him and his team. However, before leaving, he expressed something seriously to Wang Tao: "I came to tell you an important piece of news today!" "What news?" "Flying zombies and monsters have appeared outside!" "..." Wang Tao opened his mouth. This news wasn¡¯t really unexpected, because when he saw those odd and bizarre zombies and monsters before, he had considered this possibility. After all, birds can fly, so the existence of zombies and monsters that could fly seemed plausible. "I was called away earlier because of this situation. And you might not know, but last night during the meteor shower, two of our helicopters that took off were attacked by flying monsters and crashed!" "Hiss¡ª" Wang Tao¡¯s expression became somewhat unsightly. Didn¡¯t that mean the sky was no longer safe¡ªthe sky wasn¡¯t safe to begin with, as flying too high would destroy all the electronics on the aircraft, but at least low-altitude flight was possible. But now... was even low-altitude flight not an option anymore? "We¡¯re still researching how high one can fly before attracting flying zombies and monsters, but what can be anticipated is that the sky will no longer be safe in the future! It¡¯s probably going to be difficult to repeat those high-altitude helicopter reconnaissance and trailblazing missions from before! Luckily, we returned early. If we were a few days late getting back to base, we might be trapped outside right now..." Duan Xuchang sighed. His biggest concern, which he hadn¡¯t voiced, was that even though Changhe Base¡¯s walls were very high, they couldn¡¯t block flying creatures! Especially those flying zombie monsters, which didn¡¯t have any electronics on them, meant they could potentially fly very high... Wang Tao obviously realized this as well, but he had no immediate solution either. It was a step-by-step situation... "I should go now, I still need to study these flying zombies, I¡¯ll inform you once we have concrete results." "Okay!" After Duan Xuchang left, the sense of urgency that had almost dissipated in Wang Tao returned. He had thought that arriving at Changhe Base meant safety, but now it seemed that might not be the case. Wang Tao gathered everyone and relayed what Duan Xuchang had just told him. Everyone¡¯s expressions turned somber upon hearing the news. "But there¡¯s no need for everyone to worry too much. Changhe Base is different from our previous base; Changhe Base is very strong! They have tanks, cannons, powered armors¡ªeverything! Even if we really encounter danger, we should be able to handle it!" Wang Tao first reassured everyone, then continued: "However, we can¡¯t let our guard down; we have to enhance our strength! After all, strength is the foundation of everything!" While saying this, Wang Tao took out the physical awakening key and ascension crystal core. He had a total of 7 physical awakening keys, which meant up to seven people could awaken at the same time. But he only had 16 high-quality, level 4 ascension crystal cores, which were ready for direct use. However, they were enough for at most four people. So right now, Wang Tao could only let four people attempt awakening. Lightning, the military dog, was the first to be excluded because it doesn¡¯t need a crystal core to awaken. Stay tuned with novelhall.Co?m Previously, Wang Tao fed it the flesh of a level 4, monster lord, and it successfully ascended to level 2 and then level 3. But now, after level 3, it was unclear how to ascend further. When they killed the cockroach monster yesterday, Lightning was there too, but it showed no desire to eat. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how Lightning would advance in rank, but it was certain that it couldn¡¯t use crystal cores. The second to be excluded was Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue had regained her memory, and her internal impurity had fallen to 50%, making her appear almost like a normal human. However, she had no ability and couldn¡¯t fuse crystal cores. Thus, she couldn¡¯t merge with ascension crystal cores either... Jiang Shixue¡¯s advancement to level 3 was because she drank Wang Tao¡¯s blood. But a few days ago, Wang Tao let her drink some of his blood again, but unfortunately, it had no effect. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if the quantity was too little or if his blood had stopped working... so Jiang Shixue was also excluded. Then came Nie Siyan and Gao Hua; these two were the utility persons previously selected by Wang Tao. It would be their turn only after everyone else¡¯s. Next were Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, Chen Zhuang, and Li Qiuyu. Their relations with Wang Tao were relatively good, but their strengths were slightly lacking. Especially Xiang Hongbin and Lan Yulian, one was disabled and the other was feeble... so they also had to fall back in line. Lastly, Yang Changhong was excluded because she had no hidden attributes. Moreover, not just her, but Li Qiuyu, Lu Gang, Chen Zhuang, Gao Hua, and Nie Siyan also lacked hidden attributes¡ªWang Tao had forgotten, but now that he remembered, he had to exclude them again... So in the end, there were seven candidates left. They were Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Lan Yulian, Lu Yingfeng, He Jijun, Xu Xiaojun, and Wei Zhenguo. After a discussion with everyone, Wang Tao finally selected four candidates. The first was Lan Yulian, and there was no other reason than because she was a healer. If she became stronger, the entire team would be stronger! Chapter 783 - 308 Half Success_1 The second was He Jijun. Although he was the oldest among them, he was the most experienced in battle. Moreover, his hidden ability was "old but vigorous," so there was no need to worry about his combat strength declining due to age. The third was Wei Zhenguo, one of Wang Tao¡¯s earliest acquaintances and a friend whose character and strength were both recognized by Wang Tao. The last was Han Rui, who was the second person to follow Wang Tao, and her own strength was certainly strong enough. After confirming the candidates, Wang Tao had them start fusing with the Ascension Crystal Cores. Each of them had four abilities, so they needed a total of 16 Ascension Crystal Cores. All these Ascension Crystal Cores were of Excellent and Epic quality. Without any accidents, all four of them succeeded in the fusion. Next up was the fusion with the Awakening Key. Just like with the Crystal Cores, they placed the Awakening Keys in their mouths, and the fusion was quickly completed. "I think I can feel the Awakening Key..." Lan Yulian spoke in amazement. She could clearly "see" a light point in her body resembling a star. It seemed that with just a thought, she could begin the Awakening! "Start." Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the four immediately chose to Awaken! They instantly felt the Secret Keys inside their bodies disappear, and then their HP limits began to plummet. 110,000 HP dropped to 10,000 in the blink of an eye! Wang Tao had previously had them fuse with HP Enhancement Crystal Cores, so their HP limit was 110,000. "One of my abilities disappeared!" Lan Yulian exclaimed. "Me too!" He Jijun spoke up. After the two of them spoke, they felt very tired and immediately laid their heads down on the table. The remaining Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui glared at each other. "My ability is still there..." "Mine too..." Wang Tao said somewhat helplessly, "Then it seems you two have failed." "..." The onlookers nearby were all stunned. Although Wang Tao had said that there was a 50% probability of failure on the first Awakening, seeing two out of four people fail right before their eyes made their hearts sink instantly. This was really a 50% failure rate! Moreover, after a first failure, further Awakenings would become more difficult, and the success rate would decreasingly become even less, eventually dropping to 10%! Wang Tao was also quite helpless. It was said to be 50%, and indeed it was 50%; out of the four, only two had succeeded... Seeing Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui appearing somewhat out of spirits, Wang Tao went over and patted their shoulders, saying, "Don¡¯t be too sad about it, failure is nothing to worry about. We still have chances, and as I told you before, there is a way for an Awakener to increase the success rate of others¡¯ Awakenings, but that method requires time to accumulate. In other words, as long as we have enough time, everyone will be able to Awaken!" The method Wang Tao was talking about was that after accumulating 100 Awakening Keys, one could extract an Advanced Awakening Secret Key. An Advanced Awakening Secret Key had a 70% success rate. However, an Advanced Awakening Secret Key required the collection of 100 Awakening Keys to work, which meant having to kill 100 Level 4 Lords! Wang Tao currently only had 12 keys, which was far from enough. But if zombies and monsters of Level 4 Lords become more common in the future, his collection speed would increase rapidly... "It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s just Awakening! No big deal! You all Awaken first, and then you can just protect me later, haha!" Wei Zhenguo first sighed, then laughed. He was somewhat disappointed, but not heartbroken. If they could Awaken, that was best; if not, there was no need for excessive disappointment. Wei Zhenguo felt fortunate just to be alive, considering each additional day as a bonus. He just felt a bit guilty for wasting a few of Wang Tao¡¯s Crystal Cores and Awakening Keys. Compared to Wei Zhenguo, Han Rui was very upset. She wanted to quickly improve her strength to help Wang Tao, but now it seemed she was more likely to hold him back... After all, she would need two Awakening Keys for her next try, and her Awaken probability had also decreased to 40%. Logically, it was not suitable for her to attempt Awakening again; it would be better to give this chance to someone else. Seeing Han Rui biting her lip, tears welling up in her eyes, Wang Tao kissed her forehead. "Alright, don¡¯t worry about it. Even if you fail again in the future, I¡¯ll still protect you!" Wang Tao didn¡¯t realize that his words only made Han Rui feel worse. She couldn¡¯t bear the thought of being the only one to remain at Level 3 while others succeeded in their Awakenings, still needing Wang Tao¡¯s protection...How was she any different from being useless? "Wuwu..." Han Rui burst into tears and buried herself in Wang Tao¡¯s arms. "...If you can¡¯t say anything nice, don¡¯t say anything at all!" Ding Yuqin gave Wang Tao a look, then quickly took Han Rui into her arms to comfort her. Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders and then said, "Take Old He back to his room. By this time tomorrow, we¡¯ll know what they have Awakened into!" "Okay!" Wei Zhenguo and the others carried He Jijun away. Wang Tao, meanwhile, carried Lan Yulian to his own room. He was very much looking forward to Lan Yulian¡¯s Awakening; after all, a significant increase in her strength was akin to an enhancement of the team¡¯s overall strength under Wang Tao. ... Discover hidden stories at novelhall.Co?m At two o¡¯clock in the afternoon, Cui Sheng came over again. "Mr. Wang, the City Hall has decided to open some of the meteorites this afternoon to assess the situation. Do you have time to be there?" Cui Sheng was quite an interesting man. Despite having Wang Tao¡¯s contact information, Cui Sheng never reached out but would always come in person for any matter. Chapter 784 - 308 Half Success_2 "Where?" "Because monsters might appear and cause panic among the residents, the city hall has set up a temporary camp outside the east gate of the base." "Alright, let¡¯s go then," Wang Tao nodded, his anticipation for those energy crystal meteorites evident. "Sure thing! Are you going alone, or..." Wang Tao thought for a moment, preparing to bring Xiang Hongbin, Xu Xiaojun, and Nie Siyan with him. He had already planned to get a better prosthetic for Xiang Hongbin, and this was a good opportunity to ask around; the city hall should have something like that. As for Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun, they were naturally there to lend a hand with miscellaneous tasks. However, Lightning, who had been playing with Lu Gang and the others, somehow sensed Wang Tao was about to leave and promptly ran over, nuzzling his head against Wang Tao¡¯s leg. "Alright, alright, I¡¯ll bring you along too." "Woof!" Thus, Wang Tao set off with Nie Siyan, Xu Xiaojun, Xiang Hongbin, and Lightning in the car. Cui Sheng had prepared several vehicles, including one elongated off-road vehicle, all bearing the city hall¡¯s insignia. After all, as a fourth-order superpower, Wang Tao might not care much for pomp, but he certainly had to pay attention to these details. In the car, Cui Sheng briefed Wang Tao on the current situation. "Currently, apart from you and our city hall, there¡¯s also the Hope Research Institute, the Fourth Legion, the Rush Army, the Universe Alliance, the Loyalty Guild..." After Cui Sheng¡¯s introduction, Wang Tao had a general understanding of these factions. It¡¯s worth mentioning that the bald man who had opened the meteorite and released the monster was a member of the Loyalty Guild, or more precisely, an associate member. Such associate members usually fall into two categories. The first is those who simply lack the strength and are not accepted as official members, so they serve as associates, performing well and waiting for an opportunity. The second is those who have the strength, but for some reason, want to join a faction without being too restricted, so they become associate members. The bald man fell into the latter category. The Loyalty Guild was a major power, with its gang leader being one of the 23 committee members. According to Cui Sheng, the city hall had not really punished the bald man but had symbolically fined him some money. After all, ignorance is no fault, and the bald man had, in a way, muddied the waters for them. Also, there were others who had opened the meteorite and released monsters, so it wouldn¡¯t be fair to penalize everyone. However, this morning, the Loyalty Guild severely punished the bald man in the square where the cockroach monster had been destroyed. With many onlookers present, the bald man, stripped naked, was beaten half to death. If not for the rational pleas of the bystanders, the bald man might have been beaten to death. After punishing the bald man, the Loyalty Guild also provided a significant amount of money and supplies to the people injured by the cockroach monster and the families of those who had died, calling it compensation. The citizens who received the money were immediately tearfully grateful, for they had not yet received compensation from the city hall, but they had already received the Loyalty Guild¡¯s payment. They would be getting two compensations! Hearing these things, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. From the perspective of the public, the Loyalty Guild had done nothing wrong. They had punished the root cause of the calamity and provided financial assistance to the victims. But from the city hall¡¯s perspective, these actions of the Loyalty Guild were quite intriguing. After all, the city hall was the actual authority at Changhe Base, the official organization here. You punished someone the city hall didn¡¯t punish, you compensated someone the city hall hadn¡¯t compensated yet... What are you trying to do? "This is quite interesting! Are your leaders very upset?" Wang Tao asked with a smile. Cui Sheng looked at Wang Tao with a surprised expression. "Mr. Wang, how did you know? I got scolded by the leaders today... cough!" Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond, suspecting that Cui Sheng¡¯s surprise might be feigned, and instead asked, "Is that bald man here today?" Wang Tao was curious if the bald man had volunteered for this punishment. After all, no matter what, he was a level 3 ability user. To be humiliated in front of so many ordinary people... "No, he¡¯s been severely injured and is recuperating at home," Cui Sheng quickly replied. Wang Tao nodded and didn¡¯t say anything more, continuing to listen to Cui Sheng explain the other factions. ... An hour later, the vehicle convoy arrived underneath the East City Gate. While not his first time seeing the tall walls of Changhe Base, Wang Tao was still amazed each time. He had no idea how they managed to build such tall walls in such a short amount of time. There were fully armed soldiers guarding the city gate. You had to register to leave, and you were checked upon entry. Humming... After Cui Sheng identified himself, one of the sturdy small doors opened. The vehicles proceeded one by one through the gate. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if it was psychological, but once outside the base, the air felt murkier to him. "Mr. Wang, it¡¯s just up ahead!" Cui Sheng pointed forward. Not far ahead was an area covered with military green tents. Around the tents, there were parked infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, big guns, a large number of soldiers in mechanical exoskeletons, a couple of powered armors, and two armed helicopters sitting on the ground... The size of this operation was staggering! All Wang Tao could say was that the city hall was well-prepared. Soon, the vehicle convoy arrived at the temporary camp. The stationed soldiers cleared the way, allowing the convoy to pass smoothly into the camp. Your journey continues at novelhall.Co?m In the car, compared to the quite unfazed Wang Tao, Cui Sheng seemed a bit excited. He had rarely participated in events of this scale; if not for Wang Tao, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have qualified. Chapter 785 - 308 Half Success_3 However, no matter how excited he was, he never forgot his primary duties. When the car slowly came to a stop, he was the first to alight and jogged over to help Wang Tao open the car door. ... Outside the camp¡¯s main tent stood a group of people. Watching the convoy with the municipal hall¡¯s emblem approaching slowly, one of the men¡ªbroad-backed and bearish, with a terrifying scar on his face¡ªspoke: "Is this the new arrival?" Next to the scar-faced man stood another dressed in military uniform, tall and thin, with rather handsome features. He explained: "Yes, that¡¯s him. His name is Wang Tao; he¡¯s an Awakener." "Tsk, tsk, to awaken out there in the wild... quite impressive!" The scar-faced man remarked with admiration. Only those who had struggled toward Awakening, or who had already become Awakeners knew how difficult it was. Most of the Awakeners inside Changhe Base relied on numbers and equipment advantages to slowly accumulate the conditions necessary for Awakening. Someone like Wang Tao, who awakened outside of Changhe Base through his own power or that of some small group, was undoubtedly a rarity. This also indicated one thing¡ªWang Tao was very strong before his Awakening! At that moment, a man in full black armor, who occasionally twirled his greatsword, sneered: "Heh, no matter how formidable one is before Awakening, once Awakened, all Awakeners are on the same starting line, all equally strong! There¡¯s no need to boost the morale of others at the expense of our own prestige." Upon hearing this, some people remained expressionless, while others nodded quietly. But there were also those who objected. "Hey! That¡¯s not the right way to put it. We¡¯re all one family! To live harmoniously and safely through the apocalypse¡ªthat¡¯s all that matters!" The speaker was a somewhat portly middle-aged man, with a gentle smile on his face. When he spoke up, the armored man huffed but said nothing further. Whirr whirr¡ª The convoy came to a stop not far from the group. The passenger door opened, and a middle-aged man dressed like a secretary and wearing a suit, hurried out of the car and proceeded to open the rear door. "Hah, where did they find such a lackey!" The armored man said disdainfully. As soon as he spoke, a few people glanced subtly at the man standing among them dressed in a fine suit, his hair meticulously combed. The suited man spoke expressionlessly: "It might have been from my side." "?" The armored man didn¡¯t react immediately, while someone beside him whispered a reminder: "That guy is an underling of Head Secretary Gu." "Cough cough~" The armored man became visibly embarrassed and quickly turned his head. Everyone else tried not to laugh, though they said nothing. After Cui Sheng opened the car door, out stepped a very robust man in a suit, followed by a woman dressed like a secretary in a dress suit, looking like bodyguards as they took their positions to one side. Following them, a brawny man with facial disfiguration and multiple disabilities adorned with prosthetic limbs exited the vehicle. Seeing this man, everyone frowned. Such injuries... and he¡¯s still alive? In his hand, the disabled brawny man held a chain leash, and at the end of it came a large military dog! Upon seeing the military dog, everyone¡¯s heart cried out¡ªwhat a majestic dog! And... is that a Level 3 Mutant beast? Hiss¡ª Almost everyone¡¯s eyes gleamed! A Mutant beast, and a military dog at that! It was a rare commodity indeed! Finally, a man with an exceptionally muscular build, dressed in casual clothes and with handsome features, stepped down. "Hello everyone, I¡¯m Wang Tao." Looking at the group before him, Wang Tao nodded slightly. "Mr. Wang, hello, I¡¯m Gu Yun." The suited man came forward, reaching out his hand. Following behind Wang Tao, Cui Sheng hurriedly whispered an explanation: "Mr. Wang, this is our municipal hall¡¯s Head Secretary Gu!" "Head Secretary Gu, hello!" Wang Tao shook hands with Gu Yun. [HP: 35000/35000] [Mana: 13600/13600] [Grade: Level 3] This Gu Yun was an ordinary Level 3 ability user, with no Hidden Ability, and even his HP had not reached its maximum. In the municipal hall, the difference between a head secretary and a secretary might seem like just one word, but in reality, it was a vast divide. The head secretary held a senior management position, overseeing all the work of the municipal hall, serving the primary leadership. Explore more adventures at novelhall.Co?m On the other hand, a secretary in the municipal hall, if not holding any additional roles, was just a lackey with no formal position, let alone various powers. Gu Yun was Cui Sheng¡¯s direct superior. Cui Sheng¡¯s respectful treatment of Wang Tao and the personal delivery of Wang Tao¡¯s spoils were surely at Gu Yun¡¯s behest. Otherwise, even if Cui Sheng had the guts, he didn¡¯t have the authority. "Mr. Wang, please, let me introduce..." Gu Yun led Wang Tao over to the group, introducing them swiftly according to their positions: "This is Qi De, the boss of the Rush Army." Qi De was a broad-shouldered man with a scar on his face, only slightly shorter than Wang Tao at about one meter ninety in height, but even bulkier than Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun! "Haha, Mr. Wang, hello! Fame really does precede the man! Welcome, welcome!" Qi De laughed heartily as he extended his hand. His features, somewhat fierce-looking, especially with the scar that wriggled like a centipede when he smiled, were intimidating. "Boss Qi, hello!" Wang Tao shook hands with him. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Grade: Level 4] [Awakening: Strength] [Strength: All basic attributes are comprehensively enhanced, with significant strength increase (proportional to the Awakening Energy limit)] This was the first time since his own that Wang Tao had seen an Awakener apart from himself. Moreover, Qi De¡¯s Awakening was a passive one. Passive awakenings definitely did not burst with power like active awakenings, but they lasted longer, being passive in nature. But Wang Tao always had one question: for a passive Awakening, it seemed like Awakening Energy was of little use, right? Now that he saw Qi De¡¯s attributes, Wang Tao understood that Awakening Energy was also useful for passive Awakeners! Chapter 786 - 309: Three Level 4s_1 When Wang Tao shook hands with Qi De, he could distinctly feel Qi De¡¯s strength in the handshake. Hmm? Just as Wang Tao thought this might be an intimidation tactic, Qi De suddenly retracted his hand and then burst out laughing: "Haha! Mr. Wang surely is a master of physical technique!" "Physical technique?" Wang Tao frowned, referring to physical fitness? Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, a man in military attire, with somewhat handsome features, walked over and explained: "To ascend to Level 4, one must undergo an awakening, and this awakening is linked to various elements. ¡¯Physical¡¯ is one of the elements awakened, commonly referred to as ¡¯physical technique¡¯ or ¡¯system awakeners.¡¯ Clearly, Mr. Wang, you are a master of physical technique just like Qi De..." Wang Tao immediately realized that this "physical technique" was referring to awakening. Excluding those zombies and monsters, Wang Tao had only seen one other awakener before today, so he wasn¡¯t very knowledgeable about human awakenings. But obviously, Qi De had misunderstood because Wang Tao¡¯s awakening was related to the fire system. The man in the military uniform extended his hand. "Hello Mr. Wang, my name is Shang Heng, Deputy Commander of the Fourth Legion." "Hello." Wang Tao shook his hand. This Shang Heng was not an awakener but an ordinary ability user with an HP of a hundred thousand. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Grade: Level 3] From his mana, it could be inferred that he possessed four abilities and had merged with four Ascension crystal cores. Unfortunately, he did not have a hidden ability and was unable to undergo an awakening. "I had heard Commander Hou mention Mr. Wang before, and indeed your reputation is well-deserved!" Shang Heng laughed heartily. The Commander Hou he mentioned was obviously Hou Zhiyuan, the Commander of the Third Legion. Wang Tao felt that this was merely Shang Heng¡¯s politeness, as if Hou Zhiyuan had truly talked about him, Shang Heng should have known he was a fire awakened. "Commander Shang flatters me, I hope to continue receiving everyone¡¯s support in the future!" Wang Tao shook his head as he smiled. "Eh! It¡¯s not for me to support, let¡¯s say we support each other!" Shang Heng waved his hands repeatedly. Even though he was the deputy commander of a legion, with strong personal ability and even stronger influence, Wang Tao was a fourth-order superpower, so he definitely couldn¡¯t act arrogantly. As people chatted and joked, a middle-aged man with a big belly and a face smiling like the Maitreya Buddha came over. "Mr. Wang really carries an impressive aura! I heard that Mr. Wang could easily take on a Level 4 Monster Lord on his own, admirable! I sincerely admire you! I¡¯d like to invite Mr. Wang for a drink later, I hope you will accept!" "This is Deputy Guild Leader Zhou Long from the Loyalty Guild." Secretary-General Gu Yun explained with a smile. "So this is the Guild Leader of the Loyalty Guild! My apologies for not recognizing you!" Hearing that the other was the deputy gang leader of the Loyalty Guild, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 35200/35200] [Grade: Level 4] [Awakening: Black Quicksand] [Black Quicksand: Creates a field of black quicksand] Zhou Long was an earth-system awakener. Judging by the description of his awakening, it should be a large-scale control type awakening. Control-type abilities are more effective with more people around. Especially large-scale control abilities, which are very suitable for group battles. "Eh? Mr. Wang, have you heard of me?" Zhou Long was curious. "Of course. The monster that I killed last night was released by one of your Loyalty Guild, right? I killed a Level 4 Lord Monster and got quite a few spoils of war thanks to him, so I should be thanking him, actually!" Wang Tao said with a smile. "That guy! He used to be one of my most trusted men, but after that incident, I made sure he was severely punished. After all, regardless of anything else, the fact that the monster he released hurt quite a few ordinary citizens can¡¯t be disputed..." Zhou Long¡¯s face showed a look of distress. It was unclear if his distress was for his bald former subordinate or for the disaster-stricken civilians. Moreover, Wang Tao noticed that when Zhou Long said this, the expressions on the other people¡¯s faces didn¡¯t change much, but he could distinctly catch Gu Yun¡¯s lips twitching. But Gu Yun didn¡¯t dwell on this matter. He gestured towards a person wearing full armor, holding a large sword: "Mr. Wang, this is Deputy Alliance Leader Huang Wu from the Universe Alliance." Since Huang Wu was wearing a full set of armor, with a helmet and visor, Wang Tao could not see his face, but he felt that, compared to the others, this one was not as enthusiastic towards him. Still, Wang Tao politely said: "Hello Alliance Leader Huang." Whether others were friendly or not was of no concern to him. Maybe that was just how he was, and since it was the first time Wang Tao was meeting everyone, a little politeness was sufficient. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Grade: Level 4] Enjoy exclusive adventures from novelhall.Co?m [Awakening: Piercing Heart Bones] [Piercing Heart Bones: All-round enhancement of basic attributes, attacks carry poison] Huang Wu¡¯s ability should be considered a passive... poison system ability? Wang Tao had previously killed a four-level zombie that could poison, which had been quite troublesome to fight. However, that zombie¡¯s awakening was active, while Huang Wu¡¯s was passive, leaving Wang Tao curious about the strength of Huang Wu¡¯s awakening. "Mm, hello." Huang Wu responded with a nasal grunt, the tone indifferent. "Alright, let¡¯s go in. There are others waiting inside!" Gu Yun gestured with an inviting smile. There were other people around, but it seemed like they were all attendants, secretaries, and the like, so he didn¡¯t bother to introduce them. "Sure." Chapter 787 - 309: Three Level 4s_2 Wang Tao didn¡¯t introduce Xu Xiaojun and Nie Siyan either. As for Xiang Hongbin and the Lightning he was holding, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to introduce them, as people had already gathered around. "Judging by the look of your dog, it must be a military dog, right?" Qi De asked with a hint of envy. "That¡¯s right, its name is Lightning, and it¡¯s a military dog." Xiang Hongbin said, somewhat proudly petting Lightning¡¯s head. Everyone around Wang Tao liked Lightning, and of course, Xiang Hongbin was no exception. Every time he saw someone else¡¯s envious look, he felt great! "It¡¯s a Level 3, isn¡¯t it?" "Yes." "Can I pet it?" Explore new worlds at novelhall.Co?m Qi De could hardly restrain himself. "Of course, he¡¯s very obedient." Xiang Hongbin nodded. Qi De reached out his hand and then hesitated, asking: "Are you sure?" Wang Tao was taken aback, noticing a hint of fear on the face of this Awakener who seemed incredibly fierce. Maybe sensing Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Qi De touched his nose somewhat awkwardly. "Ahem, I was bitten by a dog when I was a kid, left me with some trauma." He didn¡¯t hide the reason, candidly stating it. "Ha ha!" Wang Tao burst into laughter upon hearing this. However, feeling it might be a bit impolite, he then said: "Then you can rest assured, Lightning is a well-trained military dog, very smart, it won¡¯t bite you. Right, Lightning?" Wang Tao¡¯s last sentence was addressed to Lightning. "Woof~" Lightning barked at Wang Tao and then looked at Qi De with his tongue out. Qi De thought this military dog was too cute! He took a deep breath and then rubbed Lightning¡¯s head. Lightning half-closed his eyes and nuzzled into his palm. "Awesome!" Qi De shouted in his mind. After he petted Lightning, it was as if some switch had been flipped. Head Secretary Gu Yun, Deputy Legion Commander Shang Heng, Deputy Gang Leader Zhou Long of the Loyalty Guild, and even Huang Wu who had been rather cold to Wang Tao all came over. Actually, they had wanted to pet Lightning the moment they saw him. But given it was their first meeting with Wang Tao, and unsure of his temperament, they pondered if Wang Tao would mind others touching his pet. Now, seeing that although Wang Tao was well-built, he was good-natured, especially after they saw Qi De had already touched Lightning, they immediately gathered around and started petting Lightning. Lightning was quite happy, as it liked to play with others. However, Xiang Hongbin was a bit speechless. At that moment, after Shang Heng had stroked the dog¡¯s head a few times, he approached Xiang Hongbin. "Are you a soldier?" There¡¯s a different feel to ex-soldiers. Even though Xiang Hongbin was not in uniform and even had a disability, his mere presence emitted a military demeanor that Shang Heng could sense. "Hmm, I used to be in the Security Army," Xiang Hongbin nodded. "Haha, I knew it! Looking at your injuries, most people wouldn¡¯t have been able to endure, but it really takes a soldier! Hello, I¡¯m Shang Heng!" Shang Heng extended his hand towards Xiang Hongbin. "Xiang Hongbin." Xiang Hongbin shook his hand. There certainly were many things soldiers could talk about, as Shang Heng and Xiang Hongbin struck up a conversation. Wang Tao then addressed Gu Yun, who had just finished petting Lightning and was leading the way upfront: "Head Secretary Gu, do you know where I can buy prosthetic limbs?" "Prosthetics? You mean for Mr. Xiang here? There are many places in the base where you can find prosthetics, but if you don¡¯t want to reduce combat ability, or even want to enhance it, you¡¯ll have to buy custom products from Hope Research Institute." Gu Yun turned and explained to Wang Tao. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. Hope Research Institute was evidently synonymous with technology now. However, Wang Tao had learned from Cui Sheng that, as good as Hope Research Institute¡¯s products were, some of them weren¡¯t necessarily available for purchase. It wasn¡¯t a question of money but rather limited production and the need to wait in line... Products like prosthetic limbs would definitely be best if tailor-made by Hope Research Institute. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t familiar with them... so he was looking to see if there were any shortcuts available from others. While Gu Yun didn¡¯t know Wang Tao¡¯s precise thoughts, he could guess the gist. He smiled and said: "If it¡¯s just the prosthetics, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. People from Hope Research Institute are here today, just talk to them later, they will surely do you a favor. They¡¯re right inside." "Okay." The temporary camp¡¯s tents were a combination of multiple tents stitched together, creating a vast space filled with various weapons, ammunition, and equipment. Gu Yun led Wang Tao for a while and arrived at a brightly lit hall. The hall was bustling with figures in white coats, some operating instruments, others recording data... In front of them lay a large array of differently sized meteorites. Energy Crystal Meteorites! "All the meteorites that we¡¯ve brought out first are here." Gu Yun pointed to those meteorites and told Wang Tao. "So many!" Wang Tao was surprised. He glanced over and guessed there were more than a hundred meteorites! No wonder the city hall agreed to let him have a share! If no one else shared the risk, opening up all these meteorites would consume a tremendous amount of Level 4 Crystal Cores! Wang Tao thought the seven meteorites he had were already a lot, but here they had hundreds! "It¡¯s not only from our city hall, but Qi De and the others have also brought theirs, all put together." Gu Yun explained. Chapter 788 - 309: Three Level 4s_3 Although the meteorites were a collective haul, Gu Yun just said that these were the first batch they had taken out, and there were obviously more to come! Wang Tao suddenly felt so poor... "Where did you get so many meteorites from?" Wang Tao asked curiously. He had raced around many places when the meteorite rain occurred last night, but he had only found seven. "Not many meteorites fell within our Base last night, but there were quite a few outside; these were all picked up from outside." This was pretty much what Wang Tao had guessed. These people had many subordinates and a lot of planes, so their efficiency in collecting meteorites was certainly much higher than Wang Tao¡¯s. "Miss Qu, Mr. Wang is here." Gu Yun addressed one of the figures wearing a white lab coat, slender in stature, with black hair pinned up high. The person was holding a bunch of knives, pliers, electric drills, and whatnot, destructively dissecting a meteorite while taking notes. Upon hearing someone speak, she looked up and adjusted her black-rimmed glasses, revealing a pretty face that appeared to be in her early thirties. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Grade: Level 3] A Level 3 ability user with no hidden abilities and a hundred thousand HP. The woman didn¡¯t show much expression upon seeing Wang Tao. When she saw Xiang Hongbin behind him, her expression turned to slight surprise, as if she¡¯d thought of something, her brows furrowing. And when she caught sight of Lightning being led by Hong Bin, she paused, then whooshed over to Lightning¡¯s side in an instant. The woman bent slightly, her eyes shining as she gazed at Lightning. "It¡¯s a mutant beast! Can I touch it?" "Sure." Wang Tao shrugged. Lightning¡¯s charm was indeed invincible. Lightning differed from other mutant monsters. Some creatures, like the Wild Boar Monster Wang Tao had encountered before, had undergone major changes in appearance. Wild boars weren¡¯t good-looking to begin with, and after mutating, they became even uglier. But Lightning was different; it retained the shape of a shepherd dog. Compared to before, it was only larger and more muscular. In non-combat situations, it didn¡¯t look ferocious but rather had a somewhat goofy temperament. With Wang Tao¡¯s permission, the woman immediately grabbed Lightning and began doting on it. "This is Miss Qu Shilin, an expert from the Hope Research Institute, and the chief consultant for this event. If you¡¯re looking to customize a prosthesis, you can talk to her," Gu Yun explained. "Okay!" Just as Wang Tao was about to greet Qu Shilin, she suddenly looked up and said to Wang Tao, "Can I buy your dog? Name your price!" "...Not for sale." Wang Tao shook his head. Lightning was his companion; it wasn¡¯t a matter of money. Seeing Wang Tao reject the offer without a second thought, Qu Shilin¡¯s brows furrowed, and then she said, "I¡¯m serious. Think about it. Money is not an issue!" "Lightning is my battle companion; it has nothing to do with money." Wang Tao furrowed his own brows. They had just met, and she was a stranger, yet she wanted to buy his companion? "Its name is Lightning? Sorry, I was being presumptuous," Perhaps sensing Wang Tao¡¯s annoyance, Qu Shilin apologized graciously. Wang Tao¡¯s frown eased. It seemed that this woman hadn¡¯t intended to offend; she was just too fond of Lightning. But before he could speak, he heard Qu Shilin continuing, "Then, can I rent it from you? I¡¯m willing to pay! How about 100 Yuan a day?" "?" Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Did this woman like Lightning so much that she was willing to pay just to take it home for cuddles? Lightning was his good companion; how could he engage in such a betrayal of his dog¡¯s dignity! But 100 Yuan, huh, Wang Tao might not be impressed by the price, but this Qu Shilin clearly looks like a wealthy lady. If she could offer more money, it doesn¡¯t seem like a bad idea... However, Wang Tao had a question. "What do you want to rent Lightning for?" Could it really be just to pet at home? Qu Shilin replied without hesitation: "For research, of course! Mutant beasts are hard to come by, and most of them have no intelligence, untrainable, and vicious. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a mutant beast like Lightning!" "...Lightning, come back!" Wang Tao called out with a dark face, and Lightning immediately left Qu Shilin¡¯s embrace, wagging its tail as it came to Wang Tao¡¯s side. Wang Tao petted its head and then looked somewhat speechlessly at Qu Shilin. "Out of the question!" Want to research Lightning? Don¡¯t even think about it! Who knows if Lightning would end up sliced or tormented! Wang Tao had thought this woman liked Lightning, but she actually wanted to use Lightning as a lab rat! "..." Qu Shilin didn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to refuse so decisively. She was about to say more when Gu Yun hurriedly intervened to smooth things over: "Miss Qu, everyone is here; we can get ready to activate the meteorite." "Oh, almost forgot!" Qu Shilin smacked her forehead and then instructed everyone: "You discuss among yourselves where to start, and make sure the agreements you¡¯ve signed with each other are ready. Let¡¯s not waste any time!" "Alright." Everyone agreed in unison. Then Qu Shilin turned to look at Wang Tao again. "Are you really not willing to rent him out? I swear, I promise not to hurt it!" She was still somewhat hopeful. "It¡¯s not up for discussion." Wang Tao shook his head. "Fine then..." Qu Shilin was a bit disappointed, but Wang Tao could tell she hadn¡¯t given up yet. This made Wang Tao frown. This was his first contact with someone from the Hope Research Institute, and it wasn¡¯t going very smoothly... He had wanted to get Xiang Hongbin a set of custom prosthesis, but now that seemed difficult. Still, Wang Tao was prepared to give it a try. "Miss Qu, I heard that Hope Research can make custom prostheses. Could you make a set for a friend? We can negotiate the price." As Wang Tao said this, he felt a bit nervous. He was worried that Qu Shilin might use Lightning as a bargaining chip. If that were the case, he would need to make a tough decision... Qu Shilin glanced back at Xiang Hongbin. Stay tuned to novelhall.Co?m "Him?" "Yes." Wang Tao was braced for rejection or some form of leverage. But to his surprise, Qu Shilin nodded readily. "Of course, there¡¯s no problem! Once we¡¯re back at the base, you can bring him to see me anytime." "Huh?" Wang Tao paused, then uncertainly added, "Are there no strings attached?" Qu Shilin gave him a look. "What strings attached? You don¡¯t think I would take the opportunity to blackmail you with Lightning, do you? What kind of person do you take me for? Besides, if you provide me with a research subject, I should be thanking you! How about this, I won¡¯t charge any money, just let him cooperate with me well." After speaking, Qu Shilin slightly toyed with her eye, and it seemed as if a cold light flickered within. Xiang Hongbin: "..." He suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Wait, can¡¯t you ask for my opinion first, seeing as I¡¯m the person concerned? Chapter 789 - 310 Iron Beetle_1 Chapter 789: Chapter 310 Iron Beetle_1 Customizing the prosthetics went more smoothly than Wang Tao had anticipated, and he didn¡¯t even have to spend any money. ¡°Old Xiang, after we move to our new home, I will take you to the Hope Research Institute. You must cooperate well!¡± Wang Tao patted Xiang Hongbin¡¯s shoulder, his tone grave and earnest. ¡°I suddenly feel that wearing this ordinary prosthetic limb is quite good...¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke up weakly. ¡°Hmm?¡± ... Wang Tao had never seen Xiang Hongbin like this before; it was said that even at the moment of his sacrificial charge, he was spirited and passionate. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say before that you¡¯d rather die standing than live kneeling? You said that being disabled is no different from being dead...¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Cough, that was before. I¡¯ve come to terms with it now. Sometimes it¡¯s quite nice to be a disabled person, especially since I have you all protecting me...¡± Xiang Hongbin spoke with a little discomfort. ¡°Old Xiang, that¡¯s not like you! Would you really say such a thing?¡± Wang Tao looked surprised. ¡°People change. It¡¯s normal!¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s lone eye shifted away, seemingly unable to meet Wang Tao¡¯s gaze. ¡°No!¡± Wang Tao shook his head ¡°The Old Xiang I know isn¡¯t like this! Could it be that you¡¯re scared?¡± At these words, Xiang Hongbin became furious, turning his head and glaring at Wang Tao. ¡°Scared? I, Xiang Hongbin, wouldn¡¯t even blink when going to my death!¡± ¡°Then why are you afraid to go?¡± ¡°Heh, I just don¡¯t want to trouble anyone, that¡¯s all!¡± Xiang Hongbin was still being stubborn. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, not at all!¡± Qu Shilin suddenly interjected. ¡°...It¡¯s just customizing a prosthetic limb, what¡¯s the big deal, let¡¯s go!¡± Seeing that there really was no way to refuse, Xiang Hongbin had no choice but to reluctantly agree. It wasn¡¯t that he was cowardly, but when he had made eye contact with Qu Shilin, he had felt a hair-raising sensation! His years of battle experience warned him that it was very dangerous... Wang Tao, seeing that Xiang Hongbin had agreed, immediately nodded in satisfaction. He knew that Xiang Hongbin cared a lot about his disability, especially since he was combat personnel on the front lines. This level of disability was almost equivalent to taking his life. If everyone else kept getting stronger while Xiang Hongbin remained stagnant or even regressed, it wouldn¡¯t surprise Wang Tao if one day Xiang Hongbin sought to end his life. So if there was a chance to restore Xiang Hongbin¡¯s combat ability, Wang Tao would certainly do his utmost to help! ¡°Old Xiang, don¡¯t worry, you will be fine!¡± Wang Tao patted Xiang Hongbin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°...How about letting Lightning come with me?¡± Xiang Hongbin suddenly said. ¡°No way!¡± Wang Tao immediately stroked Lightning¡¯s head. Xiang Hongbin was already in this state, which, to put it bluntly, was like a broken pot beyond mending, but Lightning was in good condition; he couldn¡¯t let Lightning fall into this woman¡¯s hands! Furthermore, stepping back ten thousand paces, if Qu Shilin really had some ill intentions, then sending Lightning to her would be very dangerous. But Xiang Hongbin was different; after all, he was a living, breathing person. As long as she wasn¡¯t foolish, she would know what to do. ¡°...¡± Xiang Hongbin, seeing Wang Tao¡¯s decisive refusal, was momentarily speechless. Wang Tao really knew everything. Qu Shilin approached the two of them, her expression serious: ¡°I want to study him, because I¡¯ve never seen a case where someone has suffered such grave injuries and yet didn¡¯t die. Plus, he is a soldier, with a strong will, the perfect subject for my experiments! Rest assured, he will definitely stay alive!¡± Qu Shilin assured them Xiang Hongbin would live, but the problem was that Xiang Hongbin was already quite alive... and as she spoke, she subconsciously touched tools like pliers and electric drills. ¡°Miss Qu, no need to explain further, we believe you!¡± Wang Tao hastily interrupted. If she continued, Xiang Hongbin might truly beat a retreat. At that moment, Gu Yun came over with an agreement in hand. ¡°Mr. Wang, please take a look and if you confirm there¡¯s no issue, sign here.¡± The content of the agreement was naturally about the opening of the meteorite. There were a total of one hundred fourth-order meteorites here, and they planned to open all one hundred of them. If they couldn¡¯t finish today, then it was no big deal to take a few more days. After all, everyone was eager to find out what was inside them. Then there was the issue of specific contribution ratios¡ª the city hall both provided Crystal Cores and meteorites; others only provided meteorites; while Wang Tao was only providing Crystal Cores. Wang Tao had told Cui Sheng before that he could provide a Crystal Core for each meteorite. But Wang Tao had not expected there to be one hundred fourth-order crystal energy meteorites here... ¡°Mr. Wang, are you sure you don¡¯t want to change your contribution ratio?¡± Gu Yun asked considerately. For one person to offer one hundred Level 4 Crystal Cores was an enormous challenge! Even leaders like Qi De of the major forces couldn¡¯t simply produce so many on demand. After all, they were now cooperating with the city administration, obviously to save money... Gu Yun was not looking down on Wang Tao, but he thought that Wang Tao probably couldn¡¯t produce that many. Of course, this situation was also partially his fault for not clarifying it, mainly because he himself had not expected these people to come together and manage to gather one hundred meteorites, and this was only the first batch... So he felt that if Wang Tao wanted to change his mind, he could adjust according to his ability. However, Wang Tao made a grand gesture. ¡°No need, just a hundred Level 4 Crystal Cores.¡± ¡ª hiss ¡ª Gu Yun looked at Wang Tao with a mix of astonishment and uncertainty, could he really produce them? One hundred Level 4 Crystal Cores represented that Wang Tao had killed a hundred Level 4 zombies, most of which were Zombie Lords! Chapter 790 - 310 Iron Beetle_2 Because the fourth-order Elite Zombies appeared after rainfall, and Wang Tao had just arrived at Changhe Base. Even if he had encountered fourth-order Elite Zombies at that time, he couldn¡¯t have killed too many, as they did not stay outside for long before entering the base. After they entered the base, those fourth-order Elite Zombies outside mostly joined the large zombie horde. Faced with a zombie horde composed of a massive number of level 4 Lords and fourth-order Elites, not even the firepower-rich Six Major Legions dared to act rashly. They all tried to lure and slowly chip away at... That¡¯s why level 4 Crystal Cores were still so hard to come by. If Wang Tao had 100 level 4 Crystal Cores in his possession, that would mean he had killed many level 4 Lords! Gu Yun was somewhat skeptical of the truthfulness of Wang Tao¡¯s words, not only questioning if Wang Tao¡¯s strength was sufficient but also wondering if there really were so many level 4 Lords for him to kill? Upon seeing the distrust in Gu Yun¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. A hundred level 4 crystals... he did indeed have them! To be precise, he had 130 level 4 Crystal Cores left. After all, killing a Zombie Lord could result in many Crystal Cores dropping. But Wang Tao had no intention of bringing out all these level 4 Crystal Cores because some of them either had abilities or were special Crystal Cores. Using these to open meteorites would be too wasteful, and he couldn¡¯t bear it. However, there were 30 Crystal Cores without abilities, which he had acquired during the last zombie wave on his way to Changhe Base, where many fourth-order Elite Zombies were blocking the road, and those were the ones Wang Tao had killed. Wang Tao waved over to Nie Siyan, who was not far away. Nie Siyan came over quickly with a small box and opened it in front of Gu Yun. Inside, 20 white and blue level 4 Crystal Cores without abilities were neatly arranged. These were what Wang Tao had prepared in advance; he had thought that 20 Crystal Cores would be about right. The remaining 10 were Purple Quality or higher and were in Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack. Gu Yun¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw these 20 Crystal Cores. Although there were only 20, this still indicated Wang Tao¡¯s strength. As for the fact that these Crystal Cores had no abilities, Gu Yun was not surprised, as the City Hall¡¯s preparations were mostly No Ability Crystal Cores as well. This must be the Crystal Cores Wang Tao got on his way to Changhe Base, obtained from killing fourth-order Elite Zombies. At that time, the fourth-order Elite Zombies had just appeared and were relatively easier to kill. It became harder to kill them once those Elite Zombies and level 4 Lords had joined forces... "Take these 20 level 4 Crystal Cores first, and I still have 10 high-quality level 4 Crystal Cores. If all these 30 are used up..." Wang Tao looked at Gu Yun and said with a smile. "You guys lend me some, or I¡¯ll ask for a loan from you." Since Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to use his Special Crystal Cores, he would have to borrow from elsewhere. He felt certain that the City Hall would have them. "..." Gu Yun was somewhat speechless. City Hall indeed had Crystal Cores, after all, it was the official of Changhe Base, and all the taxes within the base were collected by City Hall. Many organizations were also under its umbrella, such as Changhe Bank... So they were quite wealthy. Gu Yun was speechless because, if Wang Tao had not shown these 20 level 4 Crystal Cores first, there would have been suspicions of trying to get something for nothing. But since Wang Tao had presented these level 4 Crystal Cores, it proved his strength. It was equivalent to telling Gu Yun: lend me Crystal Cores, I can repay. "Let¡¯s follow the rules of Changhe Bank for VIP customers. City Hall will lend you 70 low-quality level 4 Crystal Cores. If you can repay them within seven days, no interest will be charged. If you can¡¯t repay, a certain percentage of interest will have to be paid... but these Crystal Cores can only be used to open Meteorites, and I will keep them..." Gu Yun was wary of Wang Tao running off with the loan. Although he felt this was unlikely, after all, Wang Tao was a fourth-order Superpower, running away with such a small amount seemed too low. But rules were rules, and everything had to be clearly discussed first. "Haha! Okay!" Wang Tao laughed heartily. He was just trying to see if he could borrow Crystal Cores by using his status as a fourth-order Superpower. It was best if he could borrow them without trouble. If not, he would have to pawn other things for a loan. He had plenty of valuable items in his possession. But now, it seemed that just with his identity as an Awakener, he could still borrow Crystal Cores. Wang Tao and Gu Yun signed a supplementary loan agreement. Once they confirmed there were no issues with both agreements, they could finally begin! Since monsters might be inside the meteorites, all of them had to be taken outside. Otherwise, if monsters emerged and destroyed the equipment here, it would become troublesome. Find adventures at novelhall.Co?m This equipment belonged to the Hope Research Institute, which had moved some devices out to research the contents of the meteorites more closely. "Let¡¯s test the waters with 10 Meteorites first." Gu Yun, holding ten Meteorites, led everyone out of the big tent to an open area surrounded by the army. The surrounding heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, vehicle-mounted machine guns, tank cannons, howitzers... all kinds of firepower were aimed at this area. If any monsters appeared, they would likely be turned into a sieve. "I¡¯m a bit eager to get started!" Qi De rubbed his hands together, his eyes filled with excitement. The others felt the same way; they had picked up these meteorites but hadn¡¯t yet had the chance to open them, so they were very curious about what might be inside. The 10 Energy Crystal Meteorites Gu Yun chose were numbered 1 through 10. Chapter 791 - 310 Iron Beetle_3 Meteorite 1 and 2 were about the same size, and both could be opened with just two Crystal Cores. Meteorite 3 and 4 also looked similar, requiring four Crystal Cores to be opened. Meteorite 5 and 6 needed six Crystal Cores to open... Meteorite 9 and 10 required ten Crystal Cores to unlock. Once everyone was ready, Gu Yun looked at the group. "Who will do the opening?" Having ascended to Level 3 not long ago, he was the weakest among them. If something like a monster were to come out, there could be danger... Not just him, but the other Level 3 ability users also shook their heads, including Qu Shilin who was very interested in the meteorites. After all, one¡¯s own life is most important. All eyes turned towards the four Awakeners. "I¡¯ll do it." Wang Tao spoke up directly. The other three Awakeners were somewhat tempted but also hesitant. After all, nobody knew what was inside these meteorites. Monsters were actually the lesser worry, according to what the bald man said before; the monsters inside did not attack immediately upon release and needed time to expand, which was enough for them to react. What they were concerned about was other potential dangers, such as the possibility of toxic gas or other unforeseen threats that even Awakeners couldn¡¯t easily avoid. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t afraid because he could see attributes. Seeing that no one opposed, Gu Yun handed the Crystal Cores and Meteorites 1 and 2 to Wang Tao. "Then please, Mr. Wang, do be careful." Your next chapter awaits on novelhall.Co?m The others backed away a bit. Wang Tao had Xiang Hongbin and the others lead Lightning away as well. Then Wang Tao looked at the two Energy Crystal Meteorites. They were both the size of basketballs, both of white quality, meaning that two Level 4 Crystal Cores were needed to open them. Since the two meteorites were so similar, Gu Yun and the others decided to conduct a not-so-rigorous comparative experiment. The four prepared Crystal Cores included two Epic Crystal Cores and two Ordinary Crystal Cores. Epic Crystal Cores were precious, but since these had no abilities, they could be used for the experiment. Epic Crystal Cores would open Meteorite 1, and Ordinary Crystal Cores would open Meteorite 2. Then they would compare the differences in the contents. While the experiment wasn¡¯t strict, similar experiments, if conducted enough times, could still reveal some issues. For example, if the items from the Epic Crystal Cores consistently turned out to be better, or if the monsters were stronger, then it could be generally confirmed that the quality of the Crystal Core affected the contents. Wang Tao took the two Epic Crystal Cores and placed them in the grooves of the Energy Crystal Meteorite Number 1. Crack¡ª The Crystal Cores emitted a faint orange light, and the meteorite cracked. Then a black shadow the size of a palm suddenly emerged from the meteorite. "A monster on the first try? No¡ª" Wang Tao instinctively wanted to dodge, and the others on standby tightened their faces, ready for combat. But Wang Tao realized that the creature¡¯s attributes did not belong to a monster, so he grabbed it! It felt ice cold in his hand. Only then did everyone see that what Wang Tao held was something resembling a beetle. "Mr. Wang, are you alright?" Gu Yun called out. Monsters were generally big, but not all were large. So when they saw Wang Tao grab the "insect" with his hand, everyone was quite astonished. If this thing were poisonous, Wang Tao would be out of luck. "I¡¯m fine, we¡¯re lucky, the first thing we opened was something good." Wang Tao said, smiling. Seeing that Wang Tao seemed indeed unharmed, everyone hurried over. Wang Tao displayed the creature in his hand. It was a palm-sized black beetle which had stopped moving much after being caught. [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle] [HP: 10000/10000 (Limit 100000)] [Status: Can be awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (requires consumption of a Fourth Rank Bug Tribe corpse to activate)] [Compatibility: 0%] [Independent Attack: Can follow the owner¡¯s commands to attack independently] [Armed: Covers the owner¡¯s entire body and provides certain attribute enhancement] This was a Level 4 weapon! But this was different from the weapons Wang Tao had seen before. The first one he had come across was the Entangling Roots, providing attribute enhancement by being worn on the body. Though the Entangling Roots were Level 3 and couldn¡¯t offer much help to Wang Tao now, he still wore them on his wrist. Later, Wang Tao encountered the Iron Tree Vines which provided splitting and independent attack enhancements. This weapon was very useful; even though it was Level 3, it was as if Wang Tao had several additional arms, so he was still using them. Then there was the Night Demon Type 1, a weapon with only independent attack capability, serving as a personal enforcer for Wang Tao. Lastly was the Bloody Chainsaw, its enhancement was "Cutting," a pure attacking ability. Now, the enhancements offered by this Iron Beetle were independent attack and armor. It wasn¡¯t clear how strong the independent attack would be, but the armor was obviously meant to be biological armor like the Entangling Roots! The previous Entangling Roots had been a great help to Wang Tao, giving him the capital to challenge beyond his level! So he was quite fond of this type of weapon. But what exactly were these "Insect race"? Could it be related to the Cockroach Monster they had killed before? "This is..." The crowd was curious. This shouldn¡¯t be a monster, otherwise Wang Tao would have been attacked. But it definitely was an insect... Could it be just an ordinary insect? Gu Yun and the others clearly hadn¡¯t seen such a thing before, or maybe they had but didn¡¯t recognize its significance and missed out. "This thing... I¡¯ll refer to as a ¡¯Weapon¡¯." Wang Tao said with a smile. "A weapon? Is it some kind of weapon then?" Having verified that Wang Tao was alright, Shang Heng curiously touched the insect in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. The creature didn¡¯t react, as if it were dead. Qu Shilin, who had been silent up to this point, had her eyes light up. Suddenly, she produced a small box from her hand, filled with various instruments... or rather, tools. Chapter 792: 311: Come to My House Tonight_1 Chapter 792: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_1 ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Seeing the toolbox in Qu Shilin¡¯s hand, Wang Tao was on guard. Qu Shilin nonchalantly hid the briefcase behind her, then brushed her hair behind her ear and said, ¡°Ahem, I¡¯m just quite curious...¡± Upon seeing this, Gu Yun immediately spoke up, ¡°Miss Qu, let¡¯s not take this thing apart, shall we?¡± ... The city hall had previously agreed with the Hope Research Institute to allow them to study what¡¯s inside the meteorite. However, which parts they could study and which they couldn¡¯t were not for the Hope Research Institute to decide, because they had neither taken the Crystal Core nor the meteorite, and the ownership of these items had nothing to do with them. Of course, if the people from the Hope Research Institute really wanted to study something, everyone would certainly give them face. But the precondition was that it should not harm their own interests. And Wang Tao had just said that this beetle was a weapon! Judging from Wang Tao¡¯s tone, he had obviously seen something similar before, so it was unlikely that he was deceiving everyone. So everyone was curious about what this weapon was and whether it could directly or indirectly enhance their combat power. If it could, then the importance of this weapon was immense, and they definitely couldn¡¯t let Qu Shilin just dismantle it. ¡°...¡± Did they all distrust her so much? Where was the basic trust between people? Watching the somewhat tense looks of several people, Qu Shilin glared at them. However, she put down the briefcase. Everyone relaxed at once. If Qu Shilin had insisted on forcibly dismantling it, it would have been somewhat troublesome. After all, no one wanted to fall out with the research institute, but thankfully, Qu Shilin was not unreasonable. All eyes turned to Wang Tao. Gu Yun asked, ¡°Mr. Wang, could you please introduce it?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Wang Tao nodded, then added, ¡°I need a Level 2 Crystal Core.¡± The Iron Beetle¡¯s compatibility was 0%, and it couldn¡¯t be used. At least 1% was necessary. And to increase the compatibility, one needed either their own HP or a Crystal Core. For a Fourth-order weapon, a Level 2 Crystal Core could increase the compatibility by 1%, Level 3 by 10%, and Level 4 by 100%. Gu Yun didn¡¯t hesitate to take out a Level 2 White Crystal Core without any Ability. Wang Tao took the Crystal Core and silently communicated with the Iron Beetle. Then they saw the Iron Beetle suddenly move; it crawled onto the Crystal Core as if it was feasting. In the blink of an eye, the Crystal Core vanished. Now, the Iron Beetle¡¯s armed capabilities had not been activated, and couldn¡¯t be used, it could only perform Independent Attacks. To make it attack, it was similar to the Night Demon Type 1, not directly controlled, but commanded. Wang Tao threw the Iron Beetle and gave it a command to guard him. And then everyone saw that while the Iron Beetle was in the air, its body began to expand! In the blink of an eye, upon landing, it had grown to a size similar to Lightning! ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning barked cautiously from the side. ¡°Sss¡ª¡± Gu Yun, Qi De, and the others all gasped in surprise. They were clearly seeing such a scene for the first time. After the Iron Beetle grew larger, it immediately came to Wang Tao¡¯s side, walking slowly around him like a guard. ¡°Is it... acting as your bodyguard? Does it have intelligence?¡± Shang Heng immediately asked. It was clear to anyone that this giant beetle was protecting Wang Tao. ¡°You could consider it a bodyguard, or you could have it attack. As for intelligence, it has some, but not much,¡± Wang Tao explained. The weapon¡¯s intelligence was limited to understanding Wang Tao¡¯s words and executing his commands, but it had no capacity to discern or think. It was like a pure tool. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Shang Heng immediately said, ¡°Then, can it demonstrate an attack? I have the tools here!¡± Shang Heng asked a soldier to bring over three dummies: one made of wood, another wood dummy dressed in armor, and a third wood dummy covered with steel plates. These were their props for testing weapons, and now they could conveniently be used for demonstration. Wang Tao issued a command for the Iron Beetle to attack the wooden dummy. Whoosh¡ª The Iron Beetle, though appearing round and chubby, was not slow. It reached the first wooden dummy in the blink of an eye, aiming its pincer-like horns at the dummy. Crack¡ª The wooden dummy instantly shattered. ¡°Huh? That¡¯s some decent damage!¡± Everyone was somewhat surprised. This wooden dummy was much harder than an ordinary person, but the beetle snipped it apart instantly¡ªnot just cutting, but shattering! The Iron Beetle¡¯s horns seemed to trigger something like a Shockwave during the attack, which combined with the snipping to completely shatter the dummy. ¡°This is at least Level 2 strength, right?¡± Gu Yun spoke up. A Level 1 Ability User could destroy a wooden dummy, but definitely not with such lethal force. Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak; he commanded the Iron Beetle to attack the armored wooden dummy. Bang¡ª The armored dummy was also snipped apart, not as thoroughly destroyed as the wooden dummy, but most of the armor shattered. ¡°More than that! This is at least Level 2 pinnacle strength!¡± Qi De¡¯s eyes lit up. Though he was a Fourth-order Superpower, now Levels 2 and 3 were the main force. Having an obedient Level 2 pinnacle assistant would be quite impressive. Wang Tao remained silent. He once again ordered the Iron Beetle to approach the steel-plated wooden dummy. The steel plates on the wooden dummy were pitted with many small indentations and a few sparse holes. It was clearly well-worn; the surface bore the marks of bullet impacts. Chapter 793: 311: Come to My House Tonight_2 Chapter 793: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_2 The Iron Beetle opened its large pincers and clamped down on the steel-plated dummy. Bang¡ª¡ª The part of the steel plate that was attacked by the pincers broke apart directly! The wooden dummy inside was cleaved into two! ¡°Holy crap!¡± Everyone exclaimed in shock. ¡°Level 3, this definitely has the strength of Level 3! Even the bulletproof steel plate can be sliced up! Without Level 3 strength, this would be impossible!¡± ... At this stage, reaching Level 4 Awakening was exceedingly difficult¡ªLevel 3 was the pinnacle most could achieve. This beetle actually had Level 3 battle power, impressive indeed! However, what Wang Tao said next left everyone somewhat stunned. ¡°This ¡®Iron Beetle¡¯ is not just Level 3, it¡¯s Level 4.¡± ¡°What? Level 4?¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback, then they looked at Wang Tao with skepticism. In the entire Changhe Base, with hundreds of thousands of people, how many Level 4s had there been? And they hadn¡¯t felt the aura of a Level 4 in this insect. The more powerful you were, the keener your senses became. If it really was Level 4, they would have sensed it! ¡°It¡¯s indeed Level 4 by itself, but it hasn¡¯t been able to exhibit its full strength. To bring out all of its power, you need to raise the ¡®Compatibility¡¯ and nourish it...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained ¡°Compatibility¡± and ¡°nourishment.¡± Actually, even if they couldn¡¯t see the specific attributes, as long as it was a weapon they had awakened themselves, they could gradually sense this information, but it would take time to explore. Wang Tao¡¯s explanation could save them a lot of time. ¡°So you mean, if its Compatibility is increased and it¡¯s nourished, it will reach Level 4 battle power?¡± Zhou Long¡¯s eyes shone with excitement. ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then continued to explain. ¡°Of course, I am judging based on my previous experiences. I¡¯ve never seen this Iron Beetle before, so I can¡¯t be completely certain it will reach Level 4 battle power, especially since we have an Awakening at Level 4, which it lacks. But what¡¯s certain is that it¡¯s stronger than the vast majority of Level 3s. Perhaps we can think of it as a Level 4 that hasn¡¯t Awakened...¡± According to Wang Tao¡¯s experience, most Level 3 ability users definitely couldn¡¯t beat an independently attacking Fourth-Order Weapon. But based on his own strength at Level 3, he could. So Wang Tao said the Iron Beetle was stronger than the ¡°vast majority¡± of Level 3s. He emphasized precision. ¡°Fourth Order Battle Power!¡± ¡°At the very least, it¡¯s at the pinnacle of Level 3 combat strength!¡± ¡°So this is a ¡®Weapon¡¯! A biological weapon!¡± ¡°...¡± If this weapon had Level 3 battle power, they would be thrilled. But if this weapon possessed Level 4 battle power, they would go wild! After all, this was Level 4! Not to mention all of humanity¡ªat least, it was the highest battle power in Changhe Base! ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry and nourish it, increase its Compatibility! I want to see its Level 4 strength!¡± Zhou Long immediately said. ¡°Right, how many Crystal Cores do we need? We¡¯ll provide them!¡± Qi De spoke generously. The others were also looking at Wang Tao eagerly. Who would mind a few Crystal Cores? Hearing their words, Wang Tao¡¯s expression suddenly became odd. As previously mentioned, there were a total of 100 Energy Crystal Meteorites here, Wang Tao took out 100 Crystal Cores, and each meteorite was infused with one core each. The city hall had about the same share as Wang Tao, also investing in one share per meteorite, but they provided more Crystal Cores, with some meteorites requiring multiple cores to activate. The meteorites brought by others had no Ordinary quality; they were all Energy Crystal Meteorites of excellent quality or above, which only activated with at least four or more Crystal Cores. The meteorites that only required two Crystal Cores were from Wang Tao and the city hall. This meant that no one else had a share in the contents of this meteorite¡ªthe Iron Beetle belonged to both the city hall and Wang Tao. So if Qi De and the others provided Crystal Cores for Wang Tao to experiment with, they would be making a huge loss, as they clearly did not know the amount needed. Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t deliberately scam anyone, so he was ready to clarify the matter, speaking in an unhurried manner: ¡°Increasing Compatibility is fine; to maximize it, you only need 100 Level 2 Crystal Cores, or 10 Level 3 Crystal Cores, or even 1 Level 4 Crystal Core...¡± Hearing Wang Tao say this, everyone frowned slightly. Exchanging one Level 4 Crystal Core for Level 4 battle power was not cheap, but definitely worth it! However, there seemed to be more to Wang Tao¡¯s statement... ¡°But the use of a weapon decreases Compatibility. The more you use the weapon, the more the Compatibility diminishes. If the weapon were a car, then Compatibility would be the fuel, which continuously gets consumed as the car runs....¡± ¡°Continuous consumption... well, that¡¯s still okay.¡± Again, if several Level 4 Crystal Cores are traded for a single Level 4 combat power, it¡¯s a huge bargain! Wang Tao continued to explain: ¡°However, these are actually trivial matters, just a few Level 4 Crystal Cores, which I believe everyone can afford. The most important thing is nourishing the weapon with Crystal Cores or one¡¯s own HP to bring the weapon¡¯s power up to its limit. To nourish the Iron Beetle... it requires 10,000 Level 2 Crystal Cores, or 1,000 Level 3 Crystal Cores, or 100 Level 4 Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°What?¡± The crowd was a bit stunned. 10,000 Level 2 Crystal Cores, 1,000 Level 3 Crystal Cores, or 100 Level 4 Crystal Cores? Good lord, this thing¡¯s a Gold Eating Beast! The cost was simply terrifying! Chapter 794: 311: Come to My House Tonight_3 Chapter 794: Chapter 311: Come to My House Tonight_3 ¡°So, are you all certain you want to take out the Crystal Cores for me to experiment with?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. The faces of the crowd immediately showed signs of embarrassment. They had seen Wang Tao take out a Level 2 Crystal Core, and they subconsciously thought that was what the Iron Beetle Weapon required¡ªa Level 2 Crystal Core. And that wasn¡¯t wrong; a Level 2 Crystal Core would indeed work, but it would require ten thousand of them! The meteorite that only needed two Crystal Cores to activate had been brought over by the city hall. Wang Tao and the city hall owned the rights to both the meteorite and the contents inside, nobody else was involved. If it were their own Iron Beetle, they could scrape together the Cores, tooth and nail, as it would be worth the extra expense for Fourth-order fighting power. But this wasn¡¯t theirs; they were simply curious, and couldn¡¯t justify spending the money needlessly... ¡°Ahaha, Mr. Wang, it just suddenly occurred to me that I don¡¯t have many Crystal Cores left, only enough to activate these meteorites, so I¡¯m unable to nourish this weapon, sorry!¡± ... Shang Heng hurriedly spoke up. While he felt quite good about this Wang Tao and thought he could become friends with him, that didn¡¯t mean he was willing to be a chump. The others hastily declined as well. Pride mattered for nothing, the wallet was what truly mattered. Wang Tao chuckled and shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ll provide the Crystal Cores.¡± At this point, Gu Yun suddenly spoke up. Wang Tao was taken aback for a moment. ¡°Head Secretary Gu, are you sure? This is not a small sum!¡± Although the Iron Beetle belonged to him and the city hall, they had yet to discuss how exactly they would allocate it. Gu Yun was already offering up the Crystal Cores? ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure. As for our distribution issue...¡± Gu Yun came beside Wang Tao and whispered, ¡°I¡¯ll be upfront with you. Our city hall is very interested in this weapon. Let¡¯s have a thorough discussion later. If you let us have it, we¡¯ll definitely ensure you won¡¯t be disappointed!¡± Gu Yun appeared to be quite generous. In reality, it wasn¡¯t so much about him being generous since it wasn¡¯t his personal Crystal Cores, but the city hall¡¯s. He wasn¡¯t the one who would wince at spending them... Upon hearing Gu Yun¡¯s words, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. He did want the weapon, but if the city hall was truly willing to give him a generous compensation, he could consider parting with it. So, Wang Tao leaned in a bit closer and whispered in Gu Yun¡¯s ear: ¡°Actually, this Iron Beetle Weapon has another very powerful function that I couldn¡¯t demonstrate due to inadequate conditions. I¡¯ll explain it to you in detail later.¡± Wang Tao always made sure not to shortchange his own people or partners. If he had been unaware of the Iron Beetle¡¯s function, that would have been one thing, but knowing it, he was certainly going to be clear about it. ¡°Oh? Another function!¡± Gu Yun¡¯s eyes lit up. But he tactfully refrained from asking further. One reason was that Wang Tao couldn¡¯t demonstrate it right then, and the other was that the Iron Beetle belonged to both the city hall and Wang Tao. It was their prerogative to show it off or not to others... ¡°Alright! We¡¯ll talk about it in detail later!¡± Gu Yun nodded and didn¡¯t rush to take out the Crystal Cores for nourishment either. The others watched Wang Tao and Gu Yun exchange whispers, especially noting the sudden gleam in Gu Yun¡¯s eyes; they immediately felt a pang of curiosity. It was clear that Wang Tao had shared something with Gu Yun that they weren¡¯t privy to! They wanted to know too! But whether to share that information or not was the other party¡¯s right, so they couldn¡¯t rightly ask. Qu Shilin¡¯s gaze flickered as she watched Wang Tao and Gu Yun, pondering how she might borrow this biological weapon for study... Wang Tao handed the Iron Beetle over to Gu Yun and taught him how to control it. Although the rest couldn¡¯t try it out, like diligent students, they listened intently to Wang Tao¡¯s explanation. After all, without him, they never would have had access to such knowledge. As for the method to control the weapon, Wang Tao didn¡¯t hold back. If others wanted to listen, they could. To some extent, this also served to increase everyone¡¯s collective combat capability. ¡°So, it requires using consciousness to perceive and control...¡± Everyone suddenly realized how Wang Tao was able to control the Iron Beetle. ¡°So, how did you figure out you could manipulate it like this?¡± Qu Shilin, who had been silent until now, asked with curiosity. The others also turned towards Wang Tao; they were curious as well about how he had made the discovery. Because using consciousness for Perception sounded simple, but in practice, it would be tough to find that method without someone pointing it out! Take the Iron Beetle, for example. When Gu Yun tried it, he placed the beetle in front of himself, closed his eyes, and slowly searched for that ¡°Light Point¡± with his consciousness. Only by locating this Light Point and fusing with it could he control the Iron Beetle. Under normal circumstances, who would think of such a thing? Most people only trust their senses like eyesight, hearing, etc. Concepts like consciousness are beyond the realm of the five senses. Ordinary people can¡¯t even sense what consciousness is, let alone Ability Users who can vaguely perceive it. So who could have guessed that this Biological Weapon would be controlled through the Perception and manipulation of consciousness? Wang Tao naturally wouldn¡¯t say he could see Attributes. He made up a random excuse. ¡°It was an accident. The first time I killed a Level 4, Lord Night Demon, I accidentally discovered I could establish a connection with its heart. That¡¯s how I found out about this weapon.....¡± Everyone nodded subconsciously, then felt that something didn¡¯t quite add up. Qu Shilin suddenly looked at Wang Tao with intensity. ¡°Wait! Are you saying that the heart of a Level 4, Lord Night Demon is also a weapon?¡± It clicked for everyone then. Wang Tao said the Night Demon Heart was a weapon? ¡°Yes, it¡¯s essentially like a Level 4 Night Demon being controlled by someone.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Regarding the Night Demon Heart, he had no intention of hiding the truth. From the fact that Gu Yun and the others hadn¡¯t seen a weapon like that, it was clear they hadn¡¯t discovered its use. But they had definitely killed Level 4, Lord Night Demons. This meant that they most likely wasted the Night Demon Hearts. Wang Tao naturally wanted everyone to be aware of this so that it wouldn¡¯t be wasted. And sure enough, after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s confirmation, almost everyone was beating their chests and stomping their feet in regret. ¡°Damn it! We just destroyed a Night Demon¡¯s Nest a few days ago! We only kept the bones and Claws of that Level 4, Lord Night Demon; everything else was burned to ashes...¡± ¡°Who hasn¡¯t? Just last week, I personally crushed a Level 4, Lord Night Demon¡¯s heart. I wondered why it wouldn¡¯t break no matter how much I stepped on it; in the end, I had to use Fourth-order fighting power to crush it... I was so thrilled at the time! And now... Damn!¡± ¡°The last time I led our Legion, we razed a major Night Demon¡¯s Nest to the ground. Except for the Crystal Cores and some hard materials, we destroyed everything else with artillery fire, including the hearts of two Level 4, Lord Night Demons. Yes, two hearts...¡± ¡°...¡± A group of people fell into a state of regret and self-reproach. Especially those three Fourth-order Superpower individuals; they had all killed Level 4, Lord Night Demons. To think that they personally destroyed several Level 4 Night Demons that could have been under their control filled them with remorse. But some were not only not distressed, they were actually excited. ¡°Wang Tao! Come to my house tonight!¡± Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao with bright eyes. ¡°Ah? Why?¡± Wang Tao was guarded. ¡°In my previous research on Night Demons, I collected a lot of parts from them. I still have over a dozen hearts of Level 4, Lord Night Demons lying around my bedside! Help me see if you can awaken them!¡± Qu Shilin spoke with some excitement. Wang Tao: ¡°...¡± Everyone: ¡°...¡± Chapter 795 - 312: Ten Meteorites_1 Hearing Qu Shilin¡¯s words, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, "Well, I¡¯ll be damned." Placing over a dozen Night Demon hearts on one¡¯s bedside? Aren¡¯t you afraid of having nightmares at night? Wang Tao suddenly offered a silent condolence to Xiang Hongbin¡ªOld Xiang, wish you luck! As for the over a dozen Night Demon hearts, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. After all, he alone had acquired eight hearts; two Night Demon Type I had died in the previous battle at Zijin Base, and he still had six hearts in his possession. Given that Changhe Base housed hundreds of thousands of people, had a large number of combatants and heavy firepower, it was entirely normal for them to kill a large number of Night Demons or even destroy many Night Demon nests. The question was whether they retained the hearts. Although Qu Shilin¡¯s hobby was somewhat peculiar, her luck was clearly good. When the others heard what Qu Shilin said, their eyes widened. Over a dozen Night Demon hearts? According to what Wang Tao said, although the [Night Demon Type I] activated by these Night Demon hearts could only act at night, just like Night Demons, their combat power was indeed solid! Over a dozen Level 4 powers at night? That¡¯s practically invincible at night! Enjoy new stories from novelhall.Co?m Everyone¡¯s eyes were turning red. What people fear is comparison. If they didn¡¯t know about this, it would be fine. If they knew, but everyone was out of luck, then they could only exchange wry smiles and search for some comfort in each other. But if someone struck it rich while they were down on their luck! What¡¯s more, what they earned was something they had previously discarded or destroyed out of ignorance... The disparity was immediately apparent, and it created an imbalance in their hearts! Envy, jealousy! Whoosh¡ª Several people instantly surrounded Qu Shilin. "Miss Qu, sell me a few Night Demon hearts! We can negotiate a good price!" "What¡¯s the use of having so many? You¡¯re not even a fighter. It would be a bigger improvement for us, please be kind and sell me a few!" "Sister, my dear sister..." "..." In response to this scene, Qu Shilin simply waved her hand dismissively. "Not selling! Each and every one of them are research subjects for me and our research institute, I won¡¯t sell any! Stop dreaming about buying from me, you¡¯re better off killing more Night Demons to get the real deal!" "..." Seeing Qu Shilin¡¯s resolute stance, everyone sighed. If these Night Demon hearts were in someone else¡¯s hands, to put it bluntly, they would have done anything necessary to get their hands on them! But this was Qu Shilin, and she had the Hope Research Institute backing her! Threats and bribes were definitely not going to work. But Qu Shilin was also right; they had to find a way to kill more Level 4 Lord Night Demons in the future! Watching as everyone gradually calmed down, Wang Tao immediately spoke up: "We should continue with the meteorites." "Alright!" Everyone nodded in agreement. The pain of thinking about the Night Demon hearts was too much; better to set that aside for now and shift their attention back to the meteorites. Wang Tao had just extracted a Fourth-Order Weapon from the first meteorite; among the remaining ninety-nine, there must be many other treasures! With this thought in mind, everyone grew excited. They might not have gotten a share of the Iron Beetle, but they were involved with the subsequent meteorites, and they were sure they wouldn¡¯t walk away empty-handed! Wang Tao picked up the second meteorite. This meteorite was to be opened with two Level 4 Ordinary Crystal Cores. Wang Tao directly placed the Crystal Cores into the indentations on the meteorite. The cores radiated two faint white glows. Crack¡ª The meteorite split open. A White Crystal Core was revealed inside. [Level 4 Crystal Core - Glutton] "..." Wang Tao took out the Crystal Core somewhat reluctantly. "Took a loss this time." The Glutton Crystal Core was basically useless, even if Wang Tao could eliminate its side effects; it was still considered trash. In some ways, it was even worse than a Self Detonation Core. Not to mention it was a White Crystal Core with a low fusion success rate. It could pretty much be seen as a No Ability Crystal Core. So it was as if two No Ability Tier-4 White Crystal Cores had turned into one, a 50% loss! However, could this indicate that the products from an Epic Crystal Core were better than those from an Ordinary one? After all, these two meteorites were very similar, but the outcomes were totally different... Wang Tao looked at the four Crystal Cores that had lost their energy and shook his head. The sample size was still too small to draw conclusions. He¡¯d have to wait and see what followed. If similar situations kept occurring, there might be a problem. Gu Yun just shrugged when he saw the White Crystal Core, as he was mentally prepared for this. As for the others, they were initially disappointed that Wang Tao hadn¡¯t uncovered anything significant. Then they breathed a sigh of relief because this meteorite belonged to Wang Tao and the City Hall. If anything of value had emerged, it wouldn¡¯t have had anything to do with them, and they would have been envious all over again. The next eight meteorites were practically all related to them. They looked eagerly at Wang Tao, hoping for good outcomes. Meteorites number three and four were another similar pair, each the size of a water bottle, Blue Excellent Quality, and requiring four Crystal Cores to open. Wang Tao first took out four Orange Crystal Cores and placed them in the indentations on meteorite number three. The cores flashed with orange light and quickly lost their energy. Crack¡ª The meteorite split open, revealing its contents. "A Red Crystal Core!" [Level 4 Crystal Core - Strength] Wang Tao removed the Crystal Core and said to everyone with a smile: "Made a profit this time!" Strength was a fairly common and rather good Ability. For those who were big and brawny, it was equivalent to having no side effects. Therefore, among Ability Users, those who merged with Strength were fairly numerous. "Haha! Mr. Wang, good luck! Thank you so much!" Chapter 796 - 312: Ten Meteorites_2 Qi De burst into laughter, his frustration instantly swept away. Because this meteorite was his! And it just so happened that he had the power ability; he was in need of a level 4 strength crystal core! This was even a red crystal core ¡ª as long as his luck wasn¡¯t too terrible, it was basically a sure thing! Of course, only about a little more than half of this crystal core belonged to him. The rest, a smaller portion, naturally went to the city hall and Wang Tao, as both had contributed the crystal cores necessary to open it. A crystal core couldn¡¯t be split, of course. How to divide it would have to be discussed after all the meteorites had been opened. But this one would definitely be given to him ¡ª they had agreed in the contract that whoever needed it would get priority. And if everyone needed it, it would go to the one with the larger share. He met both conditions. "Congratulations, congratulations!" Everyone congratulated Qi De. Although the red crystal core was exchanged for four orange crystal cores, those were no-attribute crystal cores and clearly not as valuable as this red strength crystal core. Not to mention it was precisely what Qi De needed... Qi De made a killing! Wang Tao put down the crystal core and picked up meteorite number four. This time it was naturally opened with four white crystal cores. He placed the crystal cores in the notches as the white light inside flickered. Crack¡ª "Another white crystal core, but not too bad, it¡¯s usable..." [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Defense] Wang Tao took out this crystal core and everyone saw it was a defense crystal core. "Not bad, not a loss!" Shang Heng said with a frown. This meteorite was his, and whether it was a loss depended on if he had a need for it. But defense as an ability was pretty average on its own. Besides, this was just a white crystal core; the success rate for fusion was very low... so it was definitely not a gain. Wang Tao¡¯s movements didn¡¯t stop as he continued to open meteorite number five. Meteorite numbers five and six were both of purple quality and required six crystal cores to open. He still used orange crystal cores for meteorite number five, then white crystal cores for number six. After spending six level 4 epic crystal cores, meteorite number five yielded an awakening energy pearl. Everyone had clearly seen awakening energy pearls before. Seeing that a meteorite could produce an energy bead was a surprise for everyone. Whether it was a loss wasn¡¯t easy to say; it depended on how much they valued their awakening energy limit. Although they couldn¡¯t see the specific numbers like Wang Tao could, they had a general idea and knew that their awakening energy limit related to their combat power. But increasing it was difficult; it required time and luck to accumulate slowly... Wang Tao felt that the awakening energy bead neither gained nor lost; it was a good item, but it had cost six level 4 epic crystal cores... He then used six level 4 ordinary crystal cores to open meteorite number six. Inside was a level 4 white self-destruct crystal core. "... A terrible loss." Wang Tao took out the crystal core and showed it to everyone. These meteorites had a high chance of yielding crystal cores. "Am I really this unlucky..." Zhou Long rubbed his temples in some helplessness. He had brought this meteorite. The city hall and Wang Tao each contributed one level 4 ordinary crystal core, and he added a meteorite plus four level 4 ordinary crystal cores, only to receive a white self-destruct crystal core... What a loss! But this was like gambling; they were prepared for this possibility before deciding to open it, so it wasn¡¯t too heartbreaking. Wang Tao shook his head; aside from the first meteorite being a windfall, only the red strength crystal core was decent. The rest were not too good. "Could it be my luck has run out?" Wang Tao continued with the meteorite openings, moving on to meteorites number seven and eight. These two meteorites were not small, together roughly the size of a standard table. Moreover, they were of outstanding quality and required eight crystal cores to open. He placed eight epic crystal cores on meteorite number seven. A moment later, with a crack, the meteorite split open, then quickly broke apart like a ripe watermelon. A broad, flat object, resembling something crafted from bone, appeared before Wang Tao. [Iron Bone Knife] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +60, Attack power +60, Speed +10%] Huh? It was actually a weapon! Wang Tao was quite surprised. The weapons he had seen before were either dropped by zombies, with names but obscure attributes, or crafted from blueprints, which had detailed attributes but required blueprints and various materials, making it a hassle. This was the first time he had seen a weapon with detailed attributes that wasn¡¯t crafted from a blueprint. As for the attributes of this knife, Wang Tao thought they were pretty good. Although its durability and attack power only added 60, and his own weapons added 70 or even 80, it was certainly much better than the ordinary cold weapons others made ¡ª not to mention it had a 10% increase in attack speed. Wang Tao felt it was well worth the eight level 4 no-attribute epic crystal cores! Discover more content at novelhall.Co?m "What is that?" Seeing Wang Tao pick up the Iron Bone Knife, the others grew curious. The Iron Bone Knife didn¡¯t look much like a knife; it was more like a miniature surfboard. "A knife." Wang Tao grasped the handle and swung at the steel-plated wooden dummy that had been damaged into two pieces by an iron beetle. Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to exert much force, but with a flash of the blade, followed by a chuff sound, the remaining upper half of the wooden dummy was cleanly split in half vertically. "Hiss¡ª" Seeing this scene, everyone was astonished. Chapter 797 - 312: Ten Meteorites_3 These Fourth-order Superpower Users could also destroy steel and wooden dummies, but they definitely didn¡¯t do it as effortlessly as Wang Tao! They had just perceived very clearly that Wang Tao had not Awakened, hadn¡¯t used any Abilities, and even the muscles on his arms hadn¡¯t bulged much, it was just a casual wave of his arm, and the steel and wooden dummy was chopped in half! This demonstrated two issues. Find more chapters on novelhall.Co?m The first was that Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition was strong, and even a casual swing had great strength¡ªthis was actually within their expectations, after all, given Wang Tao¡¯s build, and they had all assumed that Wang Tao was a System Awakener. The second was that this weapon was powerful! If the weapon hadn¡¯t been powerful and it was just Wang Tao¡¯s great strength, then the steel dummy would not have been cut so neatly in half, but would have been shredded like the Iron Beetle did to the steel and wood dummy. But now, everyone could clearly see that Wang Tao hadn¡¯t exerted much force, yet the steel and wooden dummy was neatly sliced open! One could imagine how sharp the Bone Knife was! Swoosh¡ª Everyone immediately came over to Wang Tao, and someone asked subconsciously: "Wang Tao, is this knife very strong?" It had always been Wang Tao who opened the Meteorites, and it seemed like he knew a little bit about everything, plus Wang Tao¡¯s expression was very calm, so everyone subconsciously thought that Wang Tao probably knew a lot. In fact, that was indeed the case. Even if Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, he would understand by looking at the detailed Attributes of the equipment. "This knife is quite good, I can¡¯t say exactly how strong it is, you¡¯ll know after you try it." Wang Tao handed the knife over. The others couldn¡¯t see the data, so naturally, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t explain the detailed data of the Iron Bone Knife, he could only let them try it for themselves. "I¡¯ll go first!" Qi De immediately stood out, he was obviously very interested in this knife. The others didn¡¯t compete for it. Among these people, there were only two who were fairly skilled with knives. One was Huang Wu, dressed in full Armor, holding a large knife in his hand, and the other was Qi De, who was dressed in casual clothes, with his hands empty. The reason Qi De didn¡¯t have a weapon in his hand wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want one; his weapon had been damaged during a previous battle, and he had ordered a new one from the institute, which wasn¡¯t yet complete. Qi De took the knife from Wang Tao, and as soon as he held it, he felt its weight. The Bone Knife was heavier than he had anticipated. Qi De¡¯s eyes lit up immediately; he liked knives with weight, as they gave a sense of presence in battle! He gripped the Iron Bone Knife tightly and swung it at the steel and wood dummy that was already cut in half. Chop! The steel was easily cut through once again. "Holy shit!" Qi De exclaimed in surprise, startling the others. "What happened?" Everyone asked hastily. "This knife is freaking awesome! Not to mention its power, when I attack with it, it¡¯s actually faster than my normal speed! Can you believe that?" Qi De looked at the Bone Knife in his hands with amazement. Their Perception as Ability Users was naturally keen. Let alone a 10% increase in speed; they would be able to detect even a 1% increase. After all, they were well aware of their own strengths. "It can also increase attack speed?" The rest were a bit puzzled, while Wang Tao nodded. "That¡¯s right, this knife indeed increases attack speed. After I tried it just now, I feel it probably adds about 10% or so." Hiss¡ª Everyone sucked in a breath of cold air. If it could add 10% to attack speed, that was indeed formidable! Qi De tried it again, then let everyone else have a go, including Huang Wu, who liked to use knives, and Qu Shilin, who didn¡¯t. After trying the knife, Huang Wu instantly became quite attached to it! Before seeing this Iron Bone Knife, he was quite satisfied with his own knife because it was custom-ordered from the institute at a high price and was a pretty good knife. But now, he only wanted to say, that knife was trash! Whether it was the feel, the power, or the ability to increase attack speed, the Iron Bone Knife crushed it! Let¡¯s be clear, he wanted this knife! Qu Shilin, sensitive both to data and her own body, conducted some simple tests, took out a tablet computer, sketched and wrote on it, and then said seriously to everyone: "Wang Tao is right, it indeed increases attack speed by about 10%!" After the testing, everyone had a rough idea in their minds, and now with Qu Shilin¡¯s confirmation, they were even more excited. It really added 10% to attack speed! That attribute was very strong! If they fought a duel with someone of the same skill level, where both could deliver a fatal strike, that 10% increase in attack speed would always let them strike first, effectively giving them an invincible position! In real combat, many fights finish very quickly. Being able to take the initiative could lead to constant suppression, pressing the enemy until their defeat. Just like when Wang Tao had a close combat with the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, with his Awakening on, his speed was much faster than the Night Demon¡¯s, he pressed the Night Demon the entire fight, killing it in just a few seconds. Provided other attributes weren¡¯t holding you back, the faster the speed, the higher your limit! "Head Secretary Gu, how about selling this knife to me!" Qi De looked at Gu Yun with eager eyes. The Meteorite that produced the Iron Bone Knife was provided by the City Hall. The City Hall owned a large share, while Wang Tao owned a small share worth A Crystal Core. "Haha, let Mr. Wang continue opening the Meteorite first. How we¡¯ll distribute it, we can discuss after that¡¯s all done!" Gu Yun didn¡¯t directly agree, but he didn¡¯t outright refuse either. Whether to sell it or not would depend on how things went. After all, there were still so many Meteorites left! "Okay!" Qi De nodded and then with much reluctance, handed the knife back to Gu Yun. Huang Wu had also wanted to speak up about buying the knife but, seeing Qi De jump in, he refrained. It was a good thing Gu Yun hadn¡¯t agreed. "I hope I get something good from my Meteorite!" Under his helmet, Huang Wu¡¯s eyes silently watched Wang Tao handle Meteorite number 8, which belonged to him. Wang Tao took a step back after he opened the Meteorite using 8 Ordinary Crystal Cores. "Finally, a monster has appeared!" Chapter 798 - 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_1 Chapter 798: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_1 ¡°Monster!¡± As soon as everyone saw Wang Tao suddenly leave the meteorite, they all realized what was happening. The Awakeners swiftly advanced, while the others immediately retreated! Based on past experiences, the monsters that emerged from fourth-order meteorites were also of the fourth order; level 3 ability users might be a drag here. A black object flew out from Meteorite No. 8, rapidly growing in size upon landing. In the blink of an eye, a monster the size of a truck appeared in everyone¡¯s field of view. It was a scorpion-like creature, but it had two tails, each ending in a venomous stinger. ... [HP: 150,000/150,000] [Mana: 150,000/150,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Poison Needle Explosion] [Explosive Poison Needle: Fires poison needles, causing massive damage] Hiss¡ª After the Dual-tail Scorpion emerged, it immediately raised its head and let out a hiss that caused physical discomfort. Apart from Wang Tao and the other fourth-order ability users, the rest of the ability users felt uncomfortably compelled to cover their ears. The surrounding soldiers even fell to the ground clutching their heads, looking to be in great pain. Wang Tao was all too familiar with this kind of attack. He immediately shouted: ¡°This Dual-tail Scorpion can launch mental attacks.¡± If it were a physical attack, one might block it with equipment, but there was no way to block a mental attack. Currently, the only equipment that could add mental defense seemed to be Wang Tao¡¯s. Those below level 3, especially the soldiers, obviously couldn¡¯t withstand it. However, the spiritual power of ability users was inherently strong, and fourth-order ability users even more so. Even without equipment that increased mental defense, just relying on their own spiritual power, they could withstand some of it. Apart from Wang Tao, the other three fourth-order ability users felt somewhat uncomfortable, but it was nothing serious. ¡°Nobody attack!¡± Shang Heng, clutching his head, quickly ordered the soldiers of his legion. Guns and cannons are indiscriminate; with the soldiers affected by the mental attack, firing at this moment could potentially lead to friendly fire. Enduring the headache, Shang Heng looked at the fourth-order ability users present. ¡°What do you say?¡± He meant whether to let the ability users take over or to provide cover fire. The site where the meteorite was activated was within a semi-encirclement by the military, and they, the powerful individuals, were also in the middle. Now there were two choices: either the ability users would withdraw to allow the military to provide cover fire, or the military would temporarily hold fire, leaving the ability users to deal with the fourth-order Dual-tail Scorpion. ¡°You guys fall back, let us handle this!¡± Zhou Long immediately spoke up. This was just the first fourth-order monster, and there might be more to come. They were, after all, fourth-order ability users; how could they just watch the first fight? Plus, it was a good opportunity to check out the strength of the others! Usually, these Awakeners each led their own teams out to battle. Unless on some major event, they seldom teamed up with other Awakeners. Although they knew each other, they had not cooperated much, and were not clear about the specific strengths of other Awakeners, knowing only a general idea. Now was a good chance to get to know each other better. Seeing the other Awakeners had no objections, Shang Heng immediately directed the army to retreat. The mental attack of the Dual-tail Scorpion had a range, and the soldiers soon stopped being affected after the army retreated a certain distance. On the other side, Huang Wu, wearing full-body armor and wielding a large saber, was the first to charge forward. Bang! His blade, shimmering with a faint green glow, slammed viciously into the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s head. Bang! But the Scorpion¡¯s massive pincers blocked Huang Wu¡¯s strike, even knocking him flying! This monster wasn¡¯t a zombie; it didn¡¯t necessarily have to be hit in the head; hitting other areas would also deduct HP. However, the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s huge pincers were evidently quite hard, being its weapons, so they wouldn¡¯t lose HP, but a faint green poisonous gas covered the scorpion¡¯s pincers. Wang Tao clearly saw a poisoning indicator appear below the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP bar. [-1033] [-1127] [-1283] Poisoning lasted for three seconds, deducting about a thousand HP each second. Apparently, this was Huang Wu¡¯s Awakening [Bone-piercing Poison]. [Bone-piercing Poison: All basic attributes are comprehensively enhanced, and attacks carry poison] This was a passive Awakening, causing his attacks to carry poison. The burst of this Awakening might not be high, but it was long-lasting. It was unclear how its damage was calculated... Huang Wu, knocked away, crashed heavily onto the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. He quickly got up, apparently unhurt; his armor did have a certain defensive power. Whoosh¡ª While Huang Wu was being knocked away, Qi De, wielding an Iron Bone Knife, rushed forward. The Iron Bone Knife was naturally borrowed temporarily from Gu Yun, after all, a swordsman without a sword would definitely be greatly diminished in combat effectiveness. Wang Tao believed Qi De definitely had a backup weapon. He was an Awakener after all; in case his main weapon was damaged, it was impossible for him not to have prepared a backup. But it was probably because he wanted an excuse to use the Iron Bone Knife, so he didn¡¯t bring out his backup weapon. Gu Yun probably knew as well, but since it was just someone wanting to use a weapon and they were all working to defeat the monster, he didn¡¯t say much. In the blink of an eye, Qi De sprinted up to the Dual-tail Scorpion. Although he was a large man and didn¡¯t seem to be adept at speed, his speed was actually not slow, especially since he wasn¡¯t wearing armor, making him light on his feet! He easily dodged the Scorpion¡¯s attack, circled around its two large pincers, and went straight for the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s face. Chapter 799 - 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_2 Chapter 799: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_2 [-6234] Qi De¡¯s blade struck heavily on the head of the Dual-tail Scorpion, a damage figure of 6000 floated up. ¡°Pretty high damage!¡± Wang Tao nodded to himself. The Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s whole body was encased in a shell, and even if it lacked defensive abilities, with that shell alone, its defense wouldn¡¯t be low. Qi De¡¯s damage was quite impressive. ... After being hit, the monster not only unleashed a Mental Attack from its mouth but also started to violently shake its pincers, attacking Qi De. Although Qi De was very agile and dodged most of the attacks, one still hit him, but Qi De reacted quickly by raising the Iron Bone Knife. Block. Bang! [-1029] Qi De was sent flying back over ten meters. ¡°Shit! What a strong force!¡± Although Qi De couldn¡¯t see the HP he lost, he could definitely feel an internal injury. He had used his weapon to block the attack and still got hurt, so the strength of the Dual-tail Scorpion was tremendous! Bang¡ª Just as the Dual-tail Scorpion continued its pursuit of Qi De, a loud gunshot rang out. [-3253] A damage of over 3000 appeared on the scorpion¡¯s head, causing it to immediately halt and turn towards Wang Tao¡¯s direction. Wang Tao turned his head and saw that Zhou Long was the one who fired the shot. Zhou Long was cradling a large, oddly shaped gun in his arms. But judging by its thick, black barrel, calling it a cannon wouldn¡¯t be wrong. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s gaze, Zhou Long immediately patted the gun in his hand and said, ¡°A trial product from the Hope Research Institute¡ªCrystal Energy Gun!¡± ¡°Crystal Energy Gun? Is this thing powered by a Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°That¡¯s right! But it has quite a few imperfections, like the great recoil, high energy consumption, and the need for recharging...¡± Zhou Long looked a bit helpless. His Awakened Ability was of a controlling nature; although capable of dealing damage, he certainly couldn¡¯t release his Awakening at every enemy he saw. Additionally, his Ability was mostly supportive... which meant his attacking ability was quite limited. And this Crystal Energy Gun could make up for his lack of attack power! He usually wore Powered Armor and wielded this Crystal Energy Gun to kill enemies. The gun¡¯s biggest downside was the excessive consumption of Crystal Cores¡ªevery shot was like shooting money! ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao praised sincerely. He had already been shocked when he saw that the Powered Armor was powered by a Crystal Core. Now, seeing this gun using Crystal Cores as bullets... the Hope Research Institute had extended their research to weapons as well! Wang Tao thought the power of the gun must be at least Level 4. He had initially only wanted to get himself a set of Powered Armor, but now he had another goal! At that moment, the Dual-tail Scorpion was being struck from both sides by Qi De and Huang Wu, forcing it to abandon its intention of attacking Zhou Long and venting its rage on the two close-quarters Awakeners. Zhou Long, after the Crystal Energy Gun was fully charged, seized an opportunity to take a potshot, which provoked another furious roar from the scorpion. Seeing everyone attacking, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t keep slacking off. So, a handgun appeared in his hand as well. The group, including Qi De, and Yun and others not far away, were all paying attention to Wang Tao. After all, they were quite familiar with each other, but almost knew nothing about Wang Tao, only aware that he was a strong Awakener. Thus, they were curious to know just how strong Wang Tao¡¯s combat abilities were. What they saw in Wang Tao¡¯s hand was... a handgun? If they weren¡¯t mistaken, it seemed to be a military model of the Type 400 handgun. It was a fine weapon, beloved by militaries even before the Apocalypse. But could it harm a fourth-order monster? Wasn¡¯t Wang Tao¡¯s slacking off a bit too extreme? As everyone was rendered speechless, they saw Wang Tao fire at the Dual-tail Scorpion. Bang! A gun noise, clearly distinct from ordinary handguns, sounded. [-3342] Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet inflicted over 3000 HP of damage on the Dual-tail Scorpion, comparable to Zhou Long¡¯s Crystal Energy Gun. The scorpion was knocked askew by the shot. This raised the eyebrows of those watching Wang Tao. They had misjudged; Wang Tao¡¯s handgun was no ordinary gun! Could it be something similar to a Crystal Energy Gun? Or perhaps an Ability? They felt the likelihood of an Ability was greater. That made them very interested indeed because such ranged attacking Abilities were rare, and those utilizing guns for attacks were even rarer. However, wasn¡¯t Wang Tao a System Awakener? Shouldn¡¯t he be better at close combat? Was he concealing his strength or had he played his trump card? For a moment, everyone was somewhat confused... Wang Tao had certainly concealed a portion of his strength. He felt that with four Awakeners present, along with a bunch of Level 3 Ability Users, various Weapon Equipment, and Powered Armor and such, it should be very easy to kill this 150,000 HP Level 4, Lord. There was no need to show off with an Awakening; he wasn¡¯t the type to seek the limelight. Besides, he had only just raised his Awakening Energy limit to 1000, and it wasn¡¯t fully recharged yet, so he needed to conserve it. Of course, snatching the kill would be even better. Under the combined attack of the four, the Dual-tail Scorpion continuously launched Mental Attacks, but its mental attacks weren¡¯t strong, and aside from Wang Tao, the other three could withstand them. The Dual-tail Scorpion, obviously enraged, no longer used Mental Attacks and instead directed all its fury at Qi De, who it attacked furiously. ¡°Shit!¡± Qi De cursed under his breath. Generally, zombies and monsters tend to focus on the most threatening individual. This meant that among the four, Qi De had the highest Attack. To Qi De, this show-off moment was somewhat enjoyable, but the danger escalated dramatically once he became the focus of the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s attention. Chapter 800 - 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_3 Chapter 800: Chapter 313 Dual-tail Scorpion_3 After all, to increase his speed and agility, he didn¡¯t wear armor or similar equipment, so his defensive power was not high. He had to be fully alert to deal with the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s attacks. While the Dual-tail Scorpion was distracted by Qi De, the others frantically unleashed their damage output. Wang Tao didn¡¯t go over, staying in the distance to slack off. His Air Bullet Ability had a cooldown of about 10 seconds, so he fired one shot every 10 seconds, aiming for the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s head. Each shot could deal over three thousand HP in damage. Although the damage per hit wasn¡¯t high, it was stable. Coupled with the attacks from the others... the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP was rapidly depleting. During the attack, Wang Tao noticed something interesting¡ªamong the four of them, Qi De had the highest single-hit damage, but the overall highest damage was from Huang Wu. Huang Wu¡¯s Poison Attribute was different from Wang Tao¡¯s Bleeding Property, which was ten percent of Wang Tao¡¯s attack damage, whereas the Poison damage seemed to be fixed! No matter where Huang Wu attacked the Dual-tail Scorpion, whether his attacks were blocked or not, whether he chopped for three thousand HP or didn¡¯t cause a scratch, his Poison attack was always there! Moreover, it was every three seconds, dealing over a thousand damage per second! ... Huang Wu obviously understood his advantage, so he didn¡¯t furiously slash multiple times like Qi De when an opportunity arose. He would slash once and then run away. Since his Poison couldn¡¯t stack, one slash per second resulted in three seconds of Poison damage, and ten slashes per second still equaled three seconds of Poison damage! For him, rather than risk a head-on clash with the Dual-tail Scorpion, it was better to slowly kill the enemy with poison damage! Then Wang Tao discovered that the Dual-tail Scorpion seemed incapable of determining who had caused it the most total damage. It only felt that Qi De¡¯s attacks hurt the most, so its aggro was always on Qi De! Presumably other than Huang Wu, everybody else also thought Qi De dealt the most damage, as Huang Wu¡¯s poison damage was very inconspicuous. It must be said, Huang Wu¡¯s combat method was very cautious, but effective. Especially in team battles, the enemy might be poisoned to death without realizing it! Wang Tao also had two pieces of equipment that could inflict poison, and he wondered if he could achieve a similar effect. He planned to give it a try later... Under the group¡¯s assault, the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP had halved, dropping to just over seventy thousand. At this rate, it would take at most another two minutes to kill the scorpion. And when the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP fell below seventy-five thousand, its two tails, which had not attacked so far, suddenly stirred. Whiz¡ª A green light appeared on the poison needles of the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s two tails, and then they suddenly detached from the body and flew out! One target was Qi De, and the other was Zhou Long. The Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s tails had remained dormant until now, and as the saying goes, ¡°When something out of the ordinary arises, there must be a monster,¡± so everyone had been on guard for its tails. As soon as they saw it raising its tail, they had already retreated. However, nobody expected the scorpion¡¯s tail needles to be able to shoot out! ¡°Damn!¡± Upon finding themselves the targets of the poison needles, both Qi De and Zhou Long cursed under their breath. Zhou Long, especially, was distressed. He was so far away and yet still targeted? Qi De, not knowing where he produced it from, took out a small round shield. He was too close to dodge, so he directly raised the shield, ready to block the poison needles. But the poison needles didn¡¯t hit the round shield, instead, they suddenly exploded. Boom¡ª A ten-meter radius around Qi De was engulfed in green poison gas! ¡°Ahh¡ª¡± Qi De screamed miserably within the toxic cloud. ¡°Qi De!¡± The others were shocked. The poison needles were not only a ranged attack but also an area explosion attack! The other needle had already reached Zhou Long. Zhou Long was startled by Qi De¡¯s condition. He was unclear about the damage these poison needles could inflict, but he certainly did not want to find out firsthand. So he suddenly pressed his hand against the ground. In the blink of an eye, the ground beneath his feet turned into black quicksand, and Zhou Long sank right into it. Zhou Long¡¯s Awakening: Black Quicksand. At that moment, the poison needle arrived at his location and exploded with a bang. Boom¡ª A puff of green smoke instantly spread out. The scope of Zhou Long¡¯s black quicksand was just large enough to encircle the poison fog. Quickly, everyone saw Zhou Long climbing out from the edge of the quicksand in an inelegant fashion. He spat out a mouthful of sand, was about to speak, but suddenly his eyes widened because he saw two new poison needles appear on the tail of the Dual-tail Scorpion! Isn¡¯t this thing supposed to be a one-time use? Could this be the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s awakening? The others had naturally noticed the changes in the Dual-tail Scorpion as well. Seeing the green light emerging from its tail, ready to strike again, Wang Tao calmly shouted, ¡°Shang Heng, suppress it!¡± Rat-tat-tat¡ª Pff-pff-pff¡ª Before Wang Tao finished speaking, various bullets and machine gun fire rained down upon the Dual-tail Scorpion. The damage from a single bullet was not high, but with so many bullets attacking at once, the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP started to slowly decrease. Most importantly, it caused the two poison needles on its tail to veer off target, one shooting into the sky and the other slamming into the ground. The source of this firepower was not ordinary soldiers but several powered armors. Wang Tao had noticed the powered armors approaching and had given Shang Heng the attack command. Their position was blocking the main force¡¯s line of fire, making it certain that the troops¡¯ attack would cause friendly fire. After temporarily suppressing the Dual-tail Scorpion, Wang Tao immediately rushed into a cloud of poison fog and pulled Qi De out. ¡°Cough cough! Thanks!¡± Qi De¡¯s face was green, but aside from falling into a brief state of weakness and losing half his HP, he was not seriously harmed. If there had been actual casualties, Wang Tao would have charged forward earlier. His calmness stemmed from seeing that Qi De¡¯s HP bar within the poison fog was fairly healthy, and no severe negative effects were present. After all, Qi De was also a fourth-order ability user and was not that fragile. While under firepower suppression, Wang Tao and his team temporarily retreated. Seeing the path clear, Shang Heng immediately ordered the howitzers and tanks to open fire. Boom¡ª Under the fierce bombardment, Wang Tao clearly saw the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP turn to a sliver. He immediately raised his hand and fired a shot. Bang! [-324] [0/150000] Seeing the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s HP bar hit zero and a bunch of loot packs burst out, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. The military¡¯s firepower was too intense, almost stealing his kill! Fortunately, with a 300 damage hit, he managed to secure the head of the Dual-tail Scorpion. Chapter 801 - 314: Awakening Science The venom of the Dual-tail Scorpion did not last long, and perhaps due to the strong resistance of the Ability Users, the toxin in Qi De¡¯s body gradually disappeared. In the end, he was left with thirty thousand HP, which amounts to about two-thirds lost to the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s venomous sting. The greenish color on Qi De¡¯s body slowly faded, but his face still looked terrible. This battle could only be described as... a mess. Four fourth-order superpowers battling a Level 4 Lord only to be this disheveled! Although these fourth-order ability users admittedly had never really worked together before. Even when they did cooperate, it was in the form of each leading a group of underlings, lacking this kind of personal combat coordination....But regardless of the reasons, they had performed terribly this time. After all, they were all fourth-order Ability Users, Awakeners! They shouldn¡¯t have had such a battle result. Not to mention overwhelming or k.o.¡¯ing, they should at least have dominated the Dual-tail Scorpion, right? But the reality was that they were the ones being suppressed! If it weren¡¯t for Shang Heng¡¯s Powered Armor Team stepping in time, they would have been even more embarrassed. Embarrassing indeed! Being embarrassed is one thing, but this time, it happened in front of so many people... They were completely shamed! The few of them reflected briefly and quickly summed up the reason¡ªthey all hadn¡¯t given their full effort! Continue reading stories on novelhall.Co?m Especially this Zhou Long, whose Awakening Ability was a powerful area control ability. The moment he unleashed his Awakening, he could control the Dual-tail Scorpion swiftly. At that point, couldn¡¯t they fight however they wanted? But Zhou Long didn¡¯t release his Awakening right away. He probably wasn¡¯t hiding his skills, since everyone knew about this ability, he might just have wanted to save Awakening Energy. Too bad he didn¡¯t manage to save it¡ªfrom avoiding the venomous stings, he directly hid in the Black Quicksand he created with his Awakening, which was even less effective than controlling the Dual-tail Scorpion right from the start. Then, there were Qi De and Huang Wu. Everyone felt that they certainly didn¡¯t use their full strength either. However, since both of their powers were Passive Abilities, even if they were holding back, there shouldn¡¯t be much to hide. As for Wang Tao... they couldn¡¯t really tell. They had never interacted with Wang Tao before and weren¡¯t familiar with him. They also didn¡¯t know how strong Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet damages were, but judging from how the Dual-tail Scorpion roared when hit, the damage shouldn¡¯t have been low... After the Dual-tail Scorpion was killed, its body released a large cloud of venom fog which enveloped the nearby area. Using artillery shelling should be able to disperse these venom clouds, but the corpse of the Dual-tail Scorpion might be damaged, so there was no need for such brute force. Besides, the venom fog was slowly dissipating, and they could just wait a while longer. Gu Yun led some people over, holding a lot of protein blocks and water in their hands. During the battle, these third-order Ability Users all hid. After all, it was a battle between fourth-orders, and although they were third order or even Tier-3 Peak Ability Users, the gap with fourth-orders was still significant. Before River Base had a fourth-order superpower, if they wanted to kill a Level 4 Lord, they had to rely either on firepower coverage or human lives... So they were well aware. In the battle of fourth-orders, they might end up being more of hindrance, so it was better to hide. If things really couldn¡¯t be handled, they could come out in a desperate fight. But although they had hidden, everyone watched the battle process clearly. As for a few Awakeners not giving their all, Gu Yun could only say that he was used to it. In the post-apocalyptic world, with no legal constraints, things like poor cooperation, deliberately hiding abilities, and not trying one¡¯s best were far too common. As long as no one was backstabbing, that was considered a good teammate. Gu Yun knew Qi De and the others looked upset, definitely because the battle went awry, but another reason was the embarrassment in front of so many people, as everyone cares about face. However, Gu Yun noticed that Wang Tao seemed quite calm, unlike those three. He wasn¡¯t sure if Wang Tao had held back, or if he really had tried his best... "Let¡¯s rest first, and replenish some energy," Gu Yun spoke up. "Yeah, let¡¯s wait till it¡¯s safe to go over. I think this venom fog might be deadly to those below Level 4," Shang Heng nodded. No one else objected, so they took the opportunity to eat some food and rest. Qi De was frantically eating the protein blocks. He was heavily wounded now; that Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s sting almost cost him his life. He was the most miserable among them. Wang Tao had Nie Siyan bring some medical kits. He didn¡¯t want to expose his Space Backpack, so before coming here, he had Nie Siyan and Xu Xiaojun carry a lot of stuff, and they could take what they needed directly from them. Wang Tao handed the medical kit to Qi De, the kits he obtained from killing monsters contained potions that restored 100 HP each, and he had also added some Hemostatic Drugs that added 1000 HP. Now, this single medical kit could restore 1100 HP. For Qi De, who had a hundred thousand blood, 1100 HP wasn¡¯t much indeed, but it was genuinely replenishing. So after using the medical kit, Qi De immediately brightened up. "This medicine is miraculous! I can actually feel my wounds healing... is this like Healing ability?!" Wound recovery was a slow process, usually imperceptible. The last time Qi De felt this was when a Healing ability user had healed him. Chapter 802 - 314 Awakening Science Popularization_2 Wang Tao¡¯s medical kit actually had an effect similar to healing! Although it wasn¡¯t as strong as a healing ability, this still pleasantly surprised him. If he had such medical kits, wouldn¡¯t it be like having a nurse by his side? When the others heard what Qi De said, they were all somewhat shocked. A medical kit comparable to a healing ability? Seriously? Qu Shilin looked skeptically at the medical kit in Qi De¡¯s hand. Their Hope Research Institute was also conducting research in this area and had made some progress... But the medical kit Wang Tao brought out was obviously not something from the Hope Research Institute. "Mr. Wang, can you sell me a few medical kits?" Qu Shilin wanted to buy a few to study. "Not for sale. But I can give them to you." Seeing that everyone was very curious, Wang Tao smiled and gave out a few medical kits to each person. This type of medical kit now added too little HP. In Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, it belonged to the outdated products, after all, he had an exclusive nurse. He had a bunch of medical kits that he couldn¡¯t use up, so it was just right to give them away as a favor to others. "Thank you!" "Many thanks!" Seeing the medical kits Wang Tao handed over, Gu Yun and the others didn¡¯t feign politeness, and they immediately thanked Wang Tao. Qu Shilin was particularly pleased and said to Wang Tao: "Mr. Wang, I won¡¯t offer you thanks anymore, I promise you, I will definitely keep your disabled brother alive!" "..." Xiang Hongbin was not in imminent danger of death. He was still alive and well... Xiang Hongbin: "..." Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more and handed a few more medical kits to Huang Wu. Looking at the medical kits Wang Tao handed over, Huang Wu felt a bit awkward because before Wang Tao arrived, he had said some unflattering things about Wang Tao. Even though Wang Tao hadn¡¯t heard it, the others had. If he accepted Wang Tao¡¯s gifts, wouldn¡¯t that be embarrassing? However, after seeing the others probing the medical kits and not paying attention to him, Huang Wu quickly took them. "Thank you..." He whispered his thanks and then quickly moved aside. "Don¡¯t mention it." Wang Tao gave a smile. This Huang Wu was always in full body armor, wearing a helmet, and a face mask. Wang Tao still didn¡¯t know what he looked like. Huang Wu was very powerful, based on his passive awakening that added poison to his attacks. So his power wouldn¡¯t be directly evident, and the others might not be clear about his true strength. "By the way, who killed the Dual-tail Scorpion? Did anyone see it?" It seemed as though Gu Yun suddenly remembered something and asked. "Don¡¯t know. The fight was too intense just now, making it impossible to judge. We can only go back and check, hoping to find out..." Shang Heng shook his head. Awakening requires a "key", without this "key", one can¡¯t awaken. Some people, after killing a Level 4 Lord, would produce a key in their body. But there are also people who, after killing a Level 4 Lord, would not obtain a key. Exactly which type of people have it, and which do not, they were also unclear at the moment. If it was found that someone killed a Level 4 Lord and obtained a key, that person would be considered an "Awakening Reserve", and such a person would be heavily trained by various factions! But Shang Heng couldn¡¯t find out who killed the Dual-tail Scorpion at this time and had to go back and check it slowly. Qi De and the others all looked towards Shang Heng; if Shang Heng was lucky, it was indeed possible for an Awakener to emerge from his Legion. Of course, the chances were not high, as obtaining the key was just one known condition for awakening, and there were many unknown conditions that followed... Becoming an Awakener was very difficult! Not to mention, it was still uncertain if anyone had gotten the key... However, no matter how you looked at it, this stroke of luck had indeed fallen into Shang Heng¡¯s lap, and they were all somewhat envious. Perhaps because Gu Yun thought that Wang Tao had just arrived at Changhe Base and was not very familiar with these matters, he gave Wang Tao a brief explanation. And when Wang Tao heard these words, his expression became somewhat strange. It¡¯s not that he didn¡¯t understand, but rather he understood all too well! Wang Tao also roughly understood Changhe Base¡¯s knowledge about awakening¡ª Apart from Wang Tao himself, no one else could see Attributes, so naturally, they couldn¡¯t see Hidden Attributes either. Perhaps some people would discover some mysterious aspects of themselves or others, but they hadn¡¯t connected these discoveries to awakening. They only knew about an "Awakening Key". So now, they had two views on awakening. Some believed awakening was random, and those with good luck could get a key, qualifying them for awakening. Others thought that those capable of awakening followed a certain pattern, but they just hadn¡¯t found this pattern yet. Wang Tao knew that awakening did indeed have a pattern¡ªit required Hidden Attributes. But obviously, they didn¡¯t know this... At the same time, Wang Tao also heard from Gu Yun something he himself didn¡¯t know¡ªthat people without Hidden Attributes would not obtain an Awakening Key when killing a Level 4 Lord, essentially killing in vain. None of the people around Wang Tao had ever killed a Level 4 Zombie Lord, and Wang Tao had not exchanged information with others, so he was not aware of this information. After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao spoke: "Regarding awakening, I actually have done some research..." "Oh?" Stay connected with novelhall.Co?m Hearing what Wang Tao said, everyone turned their attention towards him. Since Wang Tao was an Awakener and claimed to have researched awakening, his words were likely to be based on something solid, and so they all paid close attention. "I wonder if everyone has carefully observed their own circumstances during awakening. For instance, do you know how you awakened?" Chapter 803 - 314: Awakening Science Popularity_3 Wang Tao asked. "..." Qi De and his two companions looked at each other, then shook their heads together. Some of them were confused when they awakened, and although some absorbed experiences from predecessors and understood a little, the predecessors didn¡¯t know much either, so they were still confused. Awakening was something that happened in an instant, and since they had only experienced it once, they couldn¡¯t explain it clearly either. Even Hope Research Institute¡¯s research on awakening wasn¡¯t in-depth. They wanted to capture an Awakener to study, but since the person had already awakened, who would be willing to become a lab rat... Seeing them shake their heads, Wang Tao frowned and said: "You don¡¯t understand it at all? Don¡¯t you know that when you awakened, an Ability fused into the awakening? Directly losing one Ability, that should be easy to notice, right?" "Ah? An Ability fused into the awakening? Really?" Qi De and the others were shocked. "Losing an Ability isn¡¯t the price paid for awakening... But now that you mention it, it does seem possible! I lost a passive Ability that improved my physical fitness, and my awakening is akin to an increase in physical fitness. But that Ability¡¯s enhancement was so minor it was almost negligible, whereas my awakening greatly increased it, so I didn¡¯t link the two together..." Qi De had a moment of realization. Some things aren¡¯t difficult to understand, but without the right approach, you could remain puzzled forever. With just a hint from Wang Tao, Qi De felt it made sense! Zhou Long and Huang Wu first frowned, then also appeared to come to a realization. They both thought carefully about their own conditions, which seemed to really match what Wang Tao was saying! The two didn¡¯t speak, but their expressions didn¡¯t hide anything, and the others could observe it¡ªwhat Wang Tao said seemed to be correct! So, everyone looked at Wang Tao, their eyes bright with eagerness. For most people, awakening was a very foreign term. Even for them, their understanding of awakening was very superficial. Moreover, with the current scarcity of Awakeners and lack of samples, systematic research was not feasible... hence, the slow progress in research on awakening. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s seemingly well-researched take on awakening, and judging by the reactions of the other three Awakeners, people were instantly excited! If they could really understand what awakening was, did they too have a chance to awaken? Did the hundreds of thousands of people at Changhe Base also have a chance to awaken? "It seems you¡¯ve already confirmed what I said." Wang Tao smiled and nodded, then continued, "It might be because I¡¯m good at observing. When I awakened, I noticed quite a few things. After some speculation and verification... I¡¯ve roughly summarized some of the patterns of awakening." "Patterns!" A gleam of excitement flashed in everyone¡¯s eyes. Was there really a pattern to awakening? "I think there are roughly three conditions needed for awakening," he said. "The first condition is that your own strength must reach the pinnacle of Level 3. This condition is probably known to everyone, as killing zombies and monsters can increase one¡¯s strength. I won¡¯t go into details." "The second condition is that all your Abilities must be upgraded to Level 4. You should know this one as well¡ªdon¡¯t know it? Well, this is also one of the conditions." "The third condition, which I believe is the most important, is that you have an exceptional skill that is different from ordinary people! It¡¯s difficult to describe what this skill is... I call it ¡¯Hidden Attributes.¡¯ Only with Hidden Attributes, when you kill a Level 4 Lord can you obtain the ¡¯Awakening Key¡¯!" "Awakening is the fusion of these three conditions¡ªintegrating your own strength, one of your Max Level Abilities chosen at random, and your Hidden Ability! If the fusion is successful, that¡¯s awakening. If the fusion fails, your strength will fall slightly, and you¡¯ll need to continue killing zombies. Your Awakening Key will disappear, but your Abilities and Hidden Attributes will still be there..." "Of course, I¡¯m not necessarily correct, but you can verify this once you have the chance..." After Wang Tao finished speaking, Qu Shilin personally handed him a cup of water. "Thank you." Wang Tao just happened to be thirsty and drank it all in one go. "It¡¯s I who should thank you!" Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes were glowing as she looked at Wang Tao. She couldn¡¯t judge the truth of Wang Tao¡¯s words for the moment. But judging from Qi De and the others¡¯ expressions, Qu Shilin thought there must be some truth to it. If what Wang Tao said was all true, then it was very valuable knowledge for her and the others! Even if it couldn¡¯t make them awaken, at least it would let them understand how awakening came about! With this theory from Wang Tao, perhaps following this "pattern," they could produce more Awakeners! Wang Tao laughed when he heard Qu Shilin¡¯s words. He was telling the truth, albeit expressed in a different way. If someone were to follow his instructions¡ªfinding a few people with Hidden Attributes, elevating them to the Third Order Peak, ensuring all their Abilities are Max Level, and then killing a Level 4 Lord to get the Awakening Key, then surely some among them would awaken. After all, the probability of a successful first awakening was 50%... For Wang Tao, sharing this information was just a matter of speaking; it cost him nothing. But if his words resulted in the emergence of many Awakeners, that was definitely what he hoped to see. With more human Awakeners, the chances of surviving the apocalypse would increase. Find exclusive stories on novelhall.Co?m Although the River Base seemed very safe for now, who could predict the future? And now, with the appearance of Flying Zombies, Changhe Base didn¡¯t seem as safe as before... People were digesting Wang Tao¡¯s words. Mainly this Hidden Attribute, according to Wang Tao, those who possessed Hidden Attributes were the seeds of Awakening! If only they could find a way to discover this Hidden Attribute... At this moment, Gu Yun reminded them: "The fog from the Dual-tail Scorpion has dissipated." Everyone immediately snapped back to reality. Wang Tao¡¯s words would need to be thoroughly studied later. But now, it was time to check out the spoils of war! Seeing the corpse of the Dual-tail Scorpion, Wang Tao quietly said to Gu Yun: "Give me that Iron Beetle." Wang Tao didn¡¯t take the Iron Beetle Weapon but had Gu Yun keep it safe. Gu Yun immediately gestured, retrieved the Iron Beetle from one of his subordinates¡¯ briefcases, then asked in puzzlement: "What is this..." "Remember I mentioned it had another powerful feature, but the conditions weren¡¯t met then? Now... the conditions are sufficient." Chapter 804: 315: Strange Poison Sac Chapter 804: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac The Iron Beetle was the size of a palm when asleep, and only when Wang Tao commanded it did it grow to a size comparable to Lightning. So, for safety¡¯s sake, Gu Yun placed it in a briefcase and assigned a group of subordinates to guard it. Of course, Gu Yun could carry it on his person. However, his Level 3 strength was too weak. If a Fourth-order Superpower became tempted to steal it... Although the likelihood was extremely low, he still couldn¡¯t afford to take the risk. Moreover, the item didn¡¯t belong to him, but to Wang Tao and City Hall. As the Secretary-General, he could only be considered a spokesperson for City Hall, so he also had to avoid any suspicion. When Gu Yun heard Wang Tao say that the criteria to activate the Iron Beetle¡¯s second function had been met, he curiously asked, ¡°What criteria?¡± ... He still had no idea what the Iron Beetle¡¯s second function was. Wang Tao explained, ¡°The Iron Beetle¡¯s second function is called ¡®Armed,¡¯ transforming into a set of Full Body Armor for the owner to wear. This armor not only protects the owner from damage but also provides an enhancement to certain attributes. To activate this feature, the Iron Beetle needs to consume the corpse of a Fourth Rank Bug Tribe. And this Dual-tail Scorpion should be part of the Bug Tribe...¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Gu Yun was a bit shocked. Not only could this Iron Beetle aid its owner in combat, but it could also transform into armor to increase the owner¡¯s combat power? This was incredibly impressive! However, there was a small problem¡ªthe Dual-tail Scorpion was killed by everyone together, so the creature¡¯s corpse belonged to all of them. He would need to persuade others to relinquish the corpse. Typically, the corpse could probably be used to produce something like Cockroach Paste, which wasn¡¯t very valuable. But now, under special circumstances, if Zhou Long and the others drove a hard bargain, that would be problematic... Gu Yun was a bit troubled. However, the good news was, the others didn¡¯t know that the Iron Beetle required the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body, so he had the upper hand... While Wang Tao and Gu Yun murmured to each other, the others grew curious. Although they consciously didn¡¯t come over to inquire, they weren¡¯t blind and could see that Gu Yun had brought the Iron Beetle. What was he up to? The others were puzzled but didn¡¯t ask further. Wang Tao brought the Iron Beetle with everyone to the side of the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s corpse. By then, the Dual-tail Scorpion was riddled with holes, likely with dozens of bullets that could be dug out of its body. The shell and other materials were obviously no longer usable, but its claws and two tails were still intact. Seeing this, Wang Tao understood. The claws and tails hadn¡¯t been damaged probably because they all had names. Wang Tao had previously found that trying to destroy materials with names required a lot of effort. Moreover, once Shang Heng realized the Dual-tail Scorpion was dead, he had ceased the attack and hadn¡¯t mutilated the corpse, so it was well-preserved. Upon seeing the four intact materials, the others¡¯ faces brightened. The claws and tails clearly looked useful, likely to make excellent equipment! Seeing their reactions, Wang Tao slightly furrowed his brow, wondering how he could obtain these four named materials for himself, for giving them to others would be too wasteful... ¡°How should we distribute this?¡± Qi De scratched his head. The Dual-tail Scorpion was a creature from Meteorite No. 8, and Meteorite No. 8 belonged to Huang Wu. Logically, the Dual-tail Scorpion would also be his. But the opening of Meteorite No. 8 with a Crystal Core involved contributions from Huang Wu, City Hall, and Wang Tao, so City Hall and Wang Tao also had stakes. Additionally, the Dual-tail Scorpion had been killed collectively, with everyone contributing effort. Particularly Shang Heng, whose military had expended a lot of ammunition; they couldn¡¯t go unacknowledged. So, divvying up the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s corpse was a bit complicated. Apart from Huang Wu, who had the major share, it was difficult for others to claim a part. ¡°It¡¯s simple, we¡¯ll convert the monster¡¯s body into Crystal Coins, then distribute them based on the agreed ratios,¡± Qu Shilin said with a smile. She wanted the corpse for research, although it was already dead. Qu Shilin¡¯s suggestion was indeed a way to go about it. When you don¡¯t know how to divide something, selling it and converting it into money makes distribution easier. But at this stage, some things couldn¡¯t be bought with money. For instance, the claws and tails of this Dual-tail Scorpion, which were obviously usable for crafting equipment. But since this was their first encounter with these materials, it was hard to estimate their strength, so pricing this material wasn¡¯t straightforward. Moreover, they preferred to convert these materials into usable equipment rather than selling them outright. After all, no one was short on money. ¡°Let¡¯s see what exactly we have first; we can decide on distribution after that,¡± Wang Tao then spoke up. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± everyone nodded. Shang Heng then called soldiers to loot the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body. Wang Tao approached the corpse and tapped around it as if he was very interested in the Dual-tail Scorpion, when in fact he was collecting the Loot Pack that burst out into his Space Backpack. Meanwhile, the soldiers had already checked everything on the Dual-tail Scorpion. Besides two claws and two tails, there was also a Crystal Core, a Poison Sac, and an Awakening Energy Pearl. It had to be said, the loot from this Dual-tail Scorpion was quite substantial. Upon seeing the specific attributes of these items, Wang Tao let out a light gasp. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Mr. Wang?¡± Chapter 805: 315: Strange Poison Sac_2 Chapter 805: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac_2 Gu Yun immediately asked. Wang Tao smiled and said, ¡°There¡¯s something good in here, really good stuff.¡± He didn¡¯t lower his voice on purpose, so everyone else heard him, and they immediately turned their gaze to Wang Tao. Zhou Long asked, ¡°What good stuff?¡± ... Wang Tao picked up the palm-sized poison sac and said, ¡°Personally, I think the most valuable thing from the Dual-tail Scorpion is this poison sac.¡± [Strange Poison Sac: After consuming, there¡¯s a one-third chance of poisoning, a one-third chance nothing happens, and a one-third chance to gain a hidden attribute.] Wang Tao also had one of these strange poison sacs. It was from the zombie that emitted corrosive poison gas that he had killed earlier at Zijin Base. The two poison sacs looked almost identical, and their attributes were exactly the same. ¡°What¡¯s so special about this poison sac? To make poison fog weapons?¡± Shang Heng was somewhat puzzled. Perhaps as a consequence of his military career, his first thought upon seeing something was whether it could be made into a weapon. Plus, the Hope Research Institute had long been working on toxin weapons and had achieved some success in stages. Thus, Shang Heng thought it might be a material for making weapons. But Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Of course not. Even if it could be made into a weapon, using it to make weapons would be too much of a waste!¡± In just a couple of sentences, Wang Tao had piqued everyone¡¯s curiosity. Too much of a waste to make a weapon? ¡°Stop beating around the bush, tell us quickly!¡± Qu Shilin instinctively grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s arm and said. Among this group, her curiosity was the most intense. But it was understandable¡ªwithout a strong curiosity, she couldn¡¯t have become a scientist. The others were also looking at Wang Tao with great curiosity and anticipation. The Wang Tao they knew now had completely transcended their previous stereotypes. In their eyes, Wang Tao used to be a System Awakener with strong combat abilities but limited knowledge. To put it bluntly, Wang Tao was viewed as a simpleton with brute strength. They said Wang Tao was strong in combat because he had led so many people to survive in the harsh conditions outside and had even become an Awakener. Such a person¡¯s combat abilities unquestionably had to be strong. And they thought Wang Tao had limited knowledge because he had lived in a place with no scientific researchers, fewer people, and even fewer zombies and monsters. Therefore, Wang Tao¡¯s insights and knowledge must have been limited. They felt that Wang Tao becoming an Awakener was at least 90% luck! So, regarding this new Awakener Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t that they looked down on him, but they all had a faint sense of superiority. However, after interacting with Wang Tao today, their impression of him completely changed¡ªWang Tao knew so much! Whether it was knowledge about the Iron Beetle Weapon or knowledge related to Awakening, Wang Tao was way ahead of them! This made them feel as if they were the true simpletons. Regardless of whether Wang Tao was just lucky to discover these things, at least he truly understood them. They weren¡¯t sure if Wang Tao understood other things, but they took his words very seriously. So, after hearing what Wang Tao had said, they were all pondering what other uses there could be for the poison sac besides making weapons. It couldn¡¯t possibly be something to eat, could it? ¡°I guess some of you have already guessed it, this thing is indeed for eating.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Ah?¡± Everyone was stunned. That thing was not to be eaten recklessly! This poison sac came from a Level 4, Monster Lord, and who knows how many toxins were inside. If eaten, even the research institute might not be able to save the person! Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to explain but suddenly said, ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned to you before that there are three prerequisites for Awakening. The first is to increase one¡¯s strength to the third-order peak, the second is to max out all abilities, and the third is to have a hidden attribute. Among these, the first two are relatively simple and can be achieved with effort. But the third condition is the hardest because hidden attributes are entirely dependent on luck...¡± The audience nodded subconsciously. After hearing about the concept of hidden attributes from Wang Tao, they all felt a sense of helplessness. Wang Tao had said that hidden attributes seemed to be innate. But before the apocalypse, hidden attributes were not activated, so no one discovered them. After the apocalypse, if you had hidden attributes naturally, then killing a few zombies would activate them. But if you weren¡¯t born with them, then no matter how many zombies you killed, it wouldn¡¯t make a difference. For example, those who were already at the third-order peak, if they still didn¡¯t have a hidden attribute, then they probably never would. Of course, what exactly a hidden attribute was, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say for sure since everyone¡¯s hidden attribute was different. It was up to them to figure out. In any case, the hidden attribute was the most difficult condition to meet, and without it, one was doomed to never Awaken. ¡°But there was one thing I didn¡¯t mention before, and that is that although hidden attributes are innate, they can also be acquired later in life! It¡¯s just very hard and also a matter of luck...¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the audience, not being fools, immediately turned their gaze to the poison sac in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. ¡°Could it be...¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, this poison sac is something that can give a person a hidden attribute.¡± ¡ªHissss¡ª Their pupils all dilated a bit. If that¡¯s the case, does that mean Awakeners can actually be cultivated?! ¡°What exactly has to be done? Eat it?¡± Shang Heng eagerly asked. He was a vice commander of the Fourth Legion but only a Level 3 ability user... So, compared to others, he was very eager. Chapter 806: 315: Strange Poison Sac_3 Chapter 806: Chapter 315: Strange Poison Sac_3 Before he had met Wang Tao, he believed that his inability to awaken was due to bad luck. As long as he killed enough Level 4 Lords, he would eventually awaken. But after Wang Tao had given him a briefing on awakening, he felt somewhat disheartened. It turned out that whether one could awaken or not might have been determined at birth. His current inability to awaken was likely due to the lack of Hidden Attributes, meaning he might never awaken. At the time, he had even considered resigning from his position as deputy commander. After all, if others became stronger, awakened, and he was still treading water, how could he command respect? And now, hearing that Hidden Attributes could be obtained postnatally, he was instantly excited. Did this mean... he still had a chance? ¡°Yes, just eat this Poison Sac. First, close your eyes and feel the Poison Sac with your consciousness, then you¡¯ll be able to detect how it differs from ordinary materials...¡± Using one¡¯s consciousness to sense this special kind of thing was also something Wang Tao had discovered unintentionally. This way one could clearly feel that this thing was different from ordinary materials. Wang Tao was essentially teaching them a method of identification, to prevent others from thinking he was talking nonsense. ... Following Wang Tao¡¯s instructions, everyone closed their eyes and used their consciousness to perceive the Poison Sac in their hands. Their Perception couldn¡¯t extend outward, so they had to hold the Poison Sac and carefully feel it. It didn¡¯t take long for them to notice the difference. When they used their consciousness to sense other materials... they couldn¡¯t detect anything. But when sensing this Poison Sac, they could clearly feel a faint Energy in their hands! Even though this energy was very faint and didn¡¯t seem special, it was the difference between having something and having nothing! This Poison Sac really was different from other materials! Wang Tao probably had no need to lie to them, perhaps eating this Poison Sac really could grant Hidden Attributes! Everyone was invigorated at the thought. Wouldn¡¯t eating this Poison Sac be equivalent to joining the Awakening Reserves? Wang Tao then added: ¡°But I have to clarify in advance that there is a certain risk in eating this Poison Sac. And I can¡¯t guarantee a hundred-percent chance of acquiring Hidden Attributes. After eating it, there are three possible outcomes: nothing happens, poisoning, or gaining a Hidden Attribute. The chances of each are probably about the same...¡± Hearing this, everyone¡¯s excitement cooled down a bit. With only a one-third chance, the odds weren¡¯t high. But even if they weren¡¯t high, it was still a chance, giving those without Hidden Attributes hope. And on the flip side, the chance of poisoning was also one-third, which wasn¡¯t high either... Anyway, no matter how you looked at it, the Poison Sac was indeed the most valuable of all the spoils! So the question arose, how should this Poison Sac be distributed? The Poison Sac couldn¡¯t be split, and its value couldn¡¯t be easily calculated in Crystal Coins... ¡°How about this, you guys take everything else, and I¡¯ll pass on my share of this most valuable Poison Sac. You figure out how to divide the Poison Sac.¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°Hm, you don¡¯t want it?¡± Zhou Long looked at Wang Tao with some surprise. If the Poison Sac was really so good, would Wang Tao not want it? He suddenly had some doubts. Wang Tao seemed to be aware of Zhou Long¡¯s thoughts, and he suddenly reached into his chest, then took out another Poison Sac identical to the first one. ¡°Because I already have another one.¡± ¡°Another Poison Sac!¡± Seeing the two identical Poison Sacs, everyone was very surprised. That being the case, Wang Tao¡¯s credibility suddenly increased! ¡°Alright! Since Mr. Wang already has one, then we can take this Poison Sac. Thanks for Mr. Wang¡¯s generosity! I agree to give Mr. Wang everything except for the Poison Sac!¡± Zhou Long immediately laughed. With one less Wang Tao, there naturally was one less competitor. Others eligible for distribution, after a little thought, also agreed. The value of the Poison Sac was high, and even if they couldn¡¯t get a share, they would receive a considerable compensation, so they weren¡¯t losing out. Of course, they still hoped the Poison Sac would be allocated to them... Seeing that there were no objections, Wang Tao immediately collected the two enormous pincers, the tail, the Crystal Core, and the Energy bead. Materials from the creature¡¯s body were classified as food, so Wang Tao could directly put them into his Magical Stomach Pouch. ¡°Eh? Where did the big pincers and tail go?¡± As others were discussing how to divide the Poison Sac, Qu Shilin had been focusing on the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body. She knew the Poison Sac was valuable, and she wanted to study it, too. But she didn¡¯t need to think too hard to know that nobody would be willing to hand over the Poison Sac for her research. So she tried to shift her attention elsewhere. No chance for the Poison Sac, but there might be a chance with the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body! And then she saw Wang Tao¡¯s pincers and tail vanish! Where could such large things have gone? Qu Shilin¡¯s exclamation caught everyone else¡¯s attention. ¡°In here.¡± Wang Tao jostled the Magical Stomach Pouch in his hand. He then gave everyone a simple explanation. ¡°Ah? There¡¯s such great stuff on zombies!¡± Everyone was a bit flabbergasted. Wait, why does it feel like we¡¯re not living in the same apocalypse? How come you find everything? Are you using a cheat version? Qu Shilin was even staring at Wang Tao with shining eyes. She didn¡¯t care about anything else now; she just wanted that Magical Stomach Pouch! Because she had many biological materials she liked and wanted to carry with her! Everyone pondered how they might purchase the Magical Stomach Pouch from Wang Tao. But such an amazing tool for expeditions, if it was theirs, they surely wouldn¡¯t sell it... Wang Tao paid no attention to the others¡¯ stares, instead, he took an Iron Beetle out of his pocket. Whoosh¡ª The Iron Beetle instantly grew in size. ¡°Hm?¡± The crowd was somewhat puzzled. Then they were baffled again. They watched as the Iron Beetle rushed to the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s corpse, opened its mouth wide, and began to feast on the body! The truck-sized Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body began to disappear at an unfathomable rate. Moments later, the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s body was completely consumed by the Iron Beetle, leaving neither bones nor scraps behind. ¡°Ah?¡± Chapter 807 - 316 Armed "What... what is this situation?" The crowd watched dumbfounded as the Iron Beetle cleaned off the Dual-tail Scorpion¡¯s corpse. They were all somewhat stunned, as yet another situation beyond their comprehension had emerged! "Mr. Wang, what is this?" Shang Heng was the first to snap out of it and asked hastily. "Oh, it¡¯s nothing, just a minor feature of the Iron Beetle." Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. Because Gu Yun wanted to keep a card up his sleeve, he had asked him not to display the Iron Beetle¡¯s second function in front of everyone. This Iron Beetle belonged to the City Hall and Wang Tao, and if they chose not to display it, no one else could say anything. Wang Tao didn¡¯t really care, as his partner had made a request, so he wouldn¡¯t reveal it. But hiding the act of feeding the Iron Beetle with corpses wasn¡¯t an easy thing, unless they carried the bodies away in a vehicle and fed the Iron Beetle in secret. However, this wasn¡¯t something scandalous that needed to be done so sneakily. And he was also very curious about what the Iron Beetle¡¯s second function would look like once activated. Seeing that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t inclined to say much more, everyone suddenly became anxious. Wang Tao¡¯s image in their hearts had already become synonymous with a "know-it-all," and the bits of knowledge shared by Wang Tao were crucial! If they hadn¡¯t seen it, it would have been fine, but now that they had, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t talking, was it not tantamount to telling them: I know of a great thing, but I just won¡¯t let you in on it! Could they tolerate that? Clearly not! Therefore, several people immediately turned their gaze towards Gu Yun. The fact that Wang Tao intentionally hid this information obviously indicated Gu Yun¡¯s involvement! Considering their interactions with Wang Tao, they knew he wasn¡¯t stingy, especially with knowledge. Wang Tao was quite willing to answer questions for everyone. "Why are you all looking at me?" Faced with three Awakeners staring at him fiercely, Gu Yun suddenly felt immense pressure. But for his own sake and for City Hall, he still needed to keep some trump cards in hand. Within Changhe Base, the power structures were intertwined and highly complex. The ones with the greatest status and authority were naturally the committee. But the committee wasn¡¯t just one person; it consisted of 23 members. With so many people involved, it basically became difficult to have a single-minded approach. They might have been united in the bigger picture, but they each certainly had their own agendas. This was because many of the members had their own forces; the committee was everyone¡¯s, but the forces only belonged to their respective owners... Not to mention the committee obviously couldn¡¯t do everything by themselves. The base needed functioning, and just the 23 of them obviously wouldn¡¯t suffice. An institution was required to carry out their directives, and that was City Hall. City Hall was the executive authority of the entire base, responsible for all sorts of major and minor matters. But to have tens of thousands in the base obey City Hall, it wasn¡¯t enough to just talk the talk; authority was needed. The power was granted by the committee, and the authority came from tangible strength, such as the Police Department and the City Defense Army, which maintained order and stability at Changhe Base and were under the command of City Hall. However, it was the apocalypse, with so many zombies, monsters outside... Thus, there was also a need for external combat power. This kind of external combat force consisted of the Six Major Legions. According to the current rules of Changhe Base, City Hall was half a step higher than the Six Major Legions and theoretically could command them. But each legion had two committee members within. Committee members held higher ranks than City Hall... So, on the surface, the Six Major Legions were subordinate to City Hall, but in reality, City Hall had no authority to command them. They could only negotiate or apply to the committee. Similarly, City Hall couldn¡¯t command other large forces, nor could the committee itself, since large forces were privately owned and not governed by the committee. Of course, if the committee really wanted to take charge, they certainly could, as the highest power structure. But the problem was, each large force had a member in the committee; those were private forces of the members... Consequently, while the various major forces within Changhe Base were a single entity, they were also independent units. There was cooperation, competition, and, naturally, caution between them. As the Secretary-General of City Hall, Gu Yun did not serve the committee directly, but rather the mayor. Although the mayor was appointed by the committee, one couldn¡¯t leap over this hierarchy. From his perspective, he certainly had to consider City Hall first. City Hall needed to keep some things to itself and couldn¡¯t disclose everything. The second function of this Iron Armored Beetle, "Armed," had already been introduced to Gu Yun by Wang Tao. Gu Yun simply understood it as: a Fourth-order Superpower armed with this Fourth-order Iron Armored Beetle could potentially become the strongest combat power at Level 4! So this was a powerful trump card that should not be casually revealed. Even if he ultimately had to give in to pressure and disclose it, he hoped the other party would offer something in return; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to justify it! But the more he prevented Wang Tao from speaking, the more the others felt it was an important matter and were even more eager to find out! The group didn¡¯t make things hard for Wang Tao; they all started to nag at Gu Yun with a mix of soft and hard tactics. Wang Tao was not interested in the tug-of-war between Gu Yun and the others; he turned his attention to the Iron Beetle¡¯s new attributes. [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle] [HP: 50000/50000 (Maximum 100000)] [Status: Can Be Awakened] Discover exclusive tales on novelhall.Co?m [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (HP, Attack, Defense)] [Compatibility: 1%] [Independent Attack: Can independently carry out attacks upon owner¡¯s command] [Armed: Covers the owner¡¯s body and enhances HP, Attack, Defense attributes] Chapter 808 - 316 Armed_2 ``` The Iron Beetle previously had 10,000 HP, but now it¡¯s directly increased to 50,000! That¡¯s the equivalent of saving 50 Level 4 Crystal Cores! Then, its armed attribute was also activated, increasing HP, attack, and defense¡ªthese three attributes. This is similar to the Entangling Roots, but the Entangling Roots have one more attribute: fire resistance. Of course, the enhancement of the Iron Beetle is absolutely much stronger than the Entangling Roots. After all, there¡¯s a gap between Level 3 and Level 4. Wang Tao was a little eager to test the effects of the Beetle Armor, but since he had promised Gu Yun to remain silent, he naturally suppressed the thought. Taking advantage of this time, Wang Tao quickly reviewed the loot from killing the Dual-tail Scorpion. First was Advanced Special Energy x1, Awakening Key x1. He now had 28 pieces of Advanced Special Energy and 13 Awakening Keys. Then, Wang Tao silently transferred the contents of the Magical Stomach Pouch into his Space Backpack. [Obtained: Level 4 - Toxic Tail Sting x2] [Obtained: Level 4 - Strong Claws x2] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Level 4 Crystal Core - Mental Defense] One Energy bead, one purple Mental Defense Crystal Core, and two types of materials. What¡¯s more, both types of materials come with attributes! [Level 4 - Toxic Tail Sting: Crafting material, can add poison attribute to equipment] [Level 4 - Strong Claws: Crafting material, can add knockback attribute to equipment] Wang Tao had seen the poison attribute before, but this was his first encounter with the knockback attribute, and he was somewhat impatient to see the finished equipment. Then, there was the Loot Pack from the Dual-tail Scorpion. This time, the pack was quite small, with only three items. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained six crystal cores. They were a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Strength], a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Mental Shock], and a white [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Physical Enhancement]. Although there were no Orange Crystal Cores, Promotion, Versatility, and Awakening were all present. Seeing the Power Crystal Core, Wang Tao wondered if he should sell it to Qi De? It seemed he was quite in need of this type of crystal core... The second Loot Pack contained a physical awakening key. [Obtained Awakening Key x1] This came as a pleasant surprise to Wang Tao; he had previously used four physical Awakening Keys for Lan Yulian and others, and now with this one included, he still had four left! However, he was short on Ascension Crystal Cores; he only had one, the one he had just received, so he would still have to go hunting zombies! The last Loot Pack naturally contained Blueprints. [Obtained: Blueprint for creating Poison Scorpion Whip x1] [Obtained: Blueprint for creating Powerful Pincer x1] [Blueprint for creating Poison Scorpion Whip: Can create two Poison Scorpion Whips. Required materials: Level 4 Toxic Tail Sting x2, Level 4 Crystal Core x2, Iron Block x30, Blade x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30, Rubber x30] [Poison Scorpion Whip: Attributes unknown] [Blueprint for creating Powerful Pincer: Can create two Powerful Pincers. Required materials: Level 4 Strong Claws x2, Level 4 Crystal Core x2, Iron Block x30, Blade x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30, Rubber x30] [Powerful Pincer: Attributes unknown] These two blueprints could create four pieces of equipment. Clearly, both pieces of equipment were for dual wielding. "Interesting..." Wang Tao almost prepared to craft on the spot, but it was clearly not appropriate now, so he had to hold back and wait until later. "Mr. Wang?" At this moment, Wang Tao saw a small hand waving in front of him. "Miss Qu, what¡¯s wrong?" Wang Tao turned his head. "I noticed you were spacing out; are you alright?" Qu Shilin asked with some concern. "I¡¯m fine, thank you for your concern, Miss Qu." Wang Tao smiled and thanked her. "That¡¯s good to hear. Oh, could I take a look at your stomach pouch? I¡¯ve never seen anything quite so amazing before." Qu Shilin immediately said. "Of course, no problem, but it¡¯s quite cluttered with a lot of things inside. I¡¯ll show you a new one instead." Stay updated through novelhall.Co?m Everything from the Magical Stomach Pouch had been transferred to the Space Backpack by Wang Tao, but since Qu Shilin had just seen him put the materials into the pouch, it was difficult to explain, so he simply produced a new one. Qu Shilin was not interested in the contents of the Magical Stomach Pouch; she was simply curious to see the pouch itself. Now hearing that Wang Tao had a new one, she immediately became a little excited. If Wang Tao only had one, it would likely be difficult for her to get her hands on it. But with Wang Tao having a new one, the difficulty was certainly reduced! As she took the Magical Stomach Pouch from Wang Tao and learned how to use it under his guidance, she quickly mastered it. "This is just too incredible!" Qu Shilin exclaimed in amazement as she watched the Cockroach Paste go in and out of the pouch, "It¡¯s alright." Wang Tao always enjoyed seeing someone marvel at something they had never seen before. Not minding Wang Tao¡¯s nonchalant showoff, Qu Shilin continued to investigate for a while before asking directly: "Mr. Wang, this stomach pouch... do you sell it? I would like to buy!" Qu Shilin was also very straightforward, without beating around the bush. "Well... Zombies with this kind of Magical Stomach Pouch are very rare, I only come across them by luck..." Wang Tao expressed his difficulty with a troubled look. But Qu Shilin¡¯s face lit up with pleasure. Because Wang Tao had not directly refused, that meant there was still a chance! "Mr. Wang, you also said that the pouch can only hold food and the like, its uses are definitely limited, and besides, most things are actually kept at home... " Qu Shilin started cajoling both softly and firmly, and in the end, she even made a promise emphatically: ``` Chapter 809 - 316 Armed_3 "Mr. Wang, you name the price, I promise not to haggle!" The tone of a rich lady! "This... it¡¯s really not about the money..." Wang Tao¡¯s face seemed to soften somewhat. "Ten thousand, twenty thousand, or maybe fifty thousand?" Qu Shilin began to offer prices. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t actually too clear about the purchasing power of Crystal Coins, as he hadn¡¯t really gone shopping much since he arrived at Changhe Base. Moreover, he couldn¡¯t just name a price at random. Considering Qu Shilin¡¯s ability and status, he wanted to do long-term business with her, not just make a quick deal. After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao sighed and said: "I originally didn¡¯t want to sell it, but meeting you in the apocalypse must be fate. I also greatly admire the scientific contributions Miss Qu has made... How about this, let¡¯s not talk about money anymore. Let¡¯s see if you have something I need, and I¡¯ll trade the Magical Stomach Pouch for it." When Qu Shilin heard this, she was first delighted, then frowned and said: "I don¡¯t seem to have anything valuable on hand, just a few Powered Armors¡ª" "That¡¯s it, I want a Powered Armor!" Qu Shilin hadn¡¯t finished speaking when Wang Tao interrupted her. Wang Tao had always wanted to get his hands on a Powered Armor to play with but hadn¡¯t had time to go to the city center. Since Qu Shilin had one, that was perfect. "A Powered Armor? Deal! Let¡¯s exchange contact information, and I¡¯ll have someone deliver it to you later!" Qu Shilin happily exchanged contact information with Wang Tao, holding the Magical Stomach Pouch. As for the model of the Powered Armor, Qu Shilin didn¡¯t mention it and Wang Tao, not understanding, didn¡¯t ask either. He simply wanted to play with one, after all, it was a childhood dream! Plus, a Fourth-order Ability User with Powered Armor could potentially receive a significant boost to combat power! While both individuals felt they came out ahead, Gu Yun came over. "Ah, there¡¯s no helping it, please show them the Iron Beetle, Mr. Wang. They¡¯ve agreed to pay a viewing fee¡ªyou¡¯ll get a cut too. This way, I¡¯ll have given the City Hall an explanation..." Gu Yun spoke somewhat reluctantly. If possible, he certainly wanted to keep the Iron Beetle¡¯s armed function hidden... He just hoped that the armed ability Wang Tao described was low-key enough that others couldn¡¯t discern its true potential. "Viewing fee? Okay!" Wang Tao nodded. He was somewhat surprised by the viewing fee but didn¡¯t mind it. He was also very curious about this armed ability and had been eager to test it. The crowd gathered around, looking at Wang Tao with anticipation. They only knew that something Gu Yun desperately wanted to hide was related to the Iron Beetle, but they didn¡¯t know the specifics. Of course, they weren¡¯t foolish; if Gu Yun tried to trick them, they would certainly be able to tell. "Bring a Level 4 Crystal Core, to raise the compatibility." Wang Tao said to Gu Yun. Your journey continues with novelhall.Co?m Gu Yun, or rather City Hall, clearly wanted this Iron Beetle, and so did Wang Tao. But there was only one item, and it couldn¡¯t be split in half. As for the Iron Beetle¡¯s stake, City Hall had a larger share than Wang Tao. After all, City Hall had contributed a Star Meteorite and an Epic Crystal Core, while Wang Tao had only provided an Epic Crystal Core. Wang Tao definitely couldn¡¯t compete with City Hall; the rules had been clearly established in the contract before. Seeing how much Gu Yun valued the Iron Beetle, Wang Tao had already given up on fighting for it and decided to let them have it. There was no need to antagonize them. Of course, if it was given to City Hall, City Hall would certainly have to compensate Wang Tao correspondingly. And the more powerful the Iron Beetle, the more compensation there would be. So Wang Tao prepared to test just how strong the Iron Beetle really was. Nourishing the Iron Beetle to its maximum HP was definitely out of the question, as it would require 50 Level 4 Crystal Cores, which Gu Yun couldn¡¯t provide at the moment since all were designated for unlocking the Star Meteorite. However, increasing the Iron Beetle¡¯s compatibility was achievable; it didn¡¯t require many Crystal Cores, and just one Level 4 Crystal Core could increase the compatibility to 100%. Since Wang Tao had decided to give the Iron Beetle to City Hall, he naturally couldn¡¯t bear the cost of using his own Crystal Cores. After all, it wasn¡¯t his Crystal Core, so it didn¡¯t hurt to ask. Wang Tao directly asked Gu Yun for a Level 4 Crystal Core. When the crowd saw Wang Tao feed the Iron Beetle the white Level 4 Crystal Core handed over by Gu Yun, they were filled with expectation. It seemed Gu Yun hadn¡¯t deceived them; consuming a Level 4 Crystal Core certainly meant it was something very powerful! Moments later, the Iron Beetle completely integrated the Level 4 Crystal Core, achieving 100% compatibility, and then Wang Tao turned to the onlookers with a smile and said: "This is the Iron Beetle¡¯s second ability, Armed." As he spoke, Wang Tao had already commanded the Iron Beetle in his mind to activate its armament. They watched as the palm-sized Iron Beetle landed on the ground and suddenly began to expand and grow larger. When it had conducted an Independent Attack before, it had been about the same size as Lightning. Now, whether it was because the HP had reached 50,000 or because its armament was just so, the Iron Beetle suddenly grew to the size of a car! And the appearance was even more fearsome than before! Amidst the gasps of the people, the underbelly of the fearsome Iron Beetle suddenly split open, revealing a humanoid cavity. It then leaped directly towards Wang Tao¡¯s back, the cavity splitting open just enough to accommodate Wang Tao¡¯s body, completely enveloping him. With a series of "click-clack" noises, the Iron Beetle¡¯s body twisted and reshaped quickly. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a towering figure about two stories high, burly, with a shell on its back and eyes glowing with a faint yellow light! "Oh my God..." The crowd looked up, mouths agape. "What is that thing!" Soldiers in the distance looked at the "monster" in shock. "The Iron Beetle¡¯s second ability, Armed." Wang Tao spoke. His voice seemed to come through some organ of the Iron Beetle, completely unlike his normal tone. It was hoarse, suppressed, instilling fear in people! Qi De, Huang Wu, and Zhou Long, the three Awakeners, had not felt any pressure from Wang Tao before. But now, a crushing sense of oppression inundated them! They even felt that they were no match for Wang Tao anymore! Chapter 810 - 317: Each With Their Own Schemes "What is this thing!" "A monster?" "What a terrifying feeling!" "A biological version of powered armor?" "..." Upon seeing Wang Tao armed with the Beetle Armor, everyone uttered cries of astonishment. Even Gu Yun, who was somewhat prepared mentally, was stunned. He had previously hoped that the Beetle Armor ability would be somewhat low-key, but now... seeing this six-meter-tall, fierce figure, there was nothing low-key about it! He could even imagine that it wouldn¡¯t be long before the story of this "monster" started spreading within Changhe Base! "So this is what you¡¯ve been wanting to keep hidden... an Awakener plus this thing, how strong it must be!" Qi De murmured to himself. Although Wang Tao was just standing there without demonstrating any combat power, as an Ability User, his Perception was very sharp. He felt that, facing Wang Tao in this state, he basically had no chance of winning! Discover stories at novelhall.Co?m Huang Wu and Zhou Long felt the same, sensing that they were no match for Wang Tao. They even doubted whether the three of them together could defeat Wang Tao... After the shock, came a wave of excitement. If Wang Tao could use this Beetle Armor, so could they! If they were in Wang Tao¡¯s place, wouldn¡¯t they be just as strong! Although the Beetle Armor belonged to the City Hall and Wang Tao, and most likely would end up with City Hall, the Beetle Armor came from the Celestial Meteorite, and they still had many meteorites unopened! They still had a chance to obtain the Beetle Armor! ... Meanwhile, inside the Beetle Armor, Wang Tao was carefully feeling the enhancement it provided. The enhancement from the Beetle Armor was indeed good, but not as strong as others imagined. Because the combat capability limit of such weaponry depended on its user. The Beetle Armor was essentially an enhancement to physical Attributes, and Wang Tao¡¯s physical attributes were originally strong, only now it felt like returning to the essence, which is difficult for others to perceive. But after being equipped with the Beetle Armor, it was like displaying his hidden physical attributes. His physical attributes combined with the Beetle Armor¡¯s own attributes made the combined aura very terrifying. For Wang Tao, the greatest boost from the Beetle Armor was not in terms of attack. Currently, Wang Tao¡¯s strongest attacks were [Starfire Outbreak] and fireball special ability, but both were unaffected by the Beetle Armor. Moreover, Wang Tao felt that he couldn¡¯t release [Starfire Outbreak] while in the Armored Beetle, or else the Beetle Armor might be burned to death... His Entangling Roots even have Fire Resistance, he almost burned the Entangling Roots during a test; let alone the Beetle Armor which lacks Fire Resistance... The greatest enhancements the Beetle Armor provided Wang Tao were in HP, Defense, and physique. [150000/150000 (50000/50000)] Wang Tao¡¯s total HP after wearing the Beetle Armor was 200,000! This HP should be considered rather exaggerated among human survivors. Moreover, the Beetle Armor hadn¡¯t reached its limit yet, now only at 50,000. If it were nourished with fifty Level 4 Crystal Cores and reached 100,000 HP, it would be even stronger. As for Defense, Wang Tao was not yet clear how high it was, but just by the appearance of the Beetle Armor and how it felt on him, he knew it must be high. Last was the physique, Wang Tao now stood six meters tall, one meter taller than his 5-meter height when he Triggered Berserk! His physique was proportionally enlarged after entering Frenzy, still maintaining a human shape. Now, armed with the Beetle Armor, he had completely transformed into a fearsome monster! The visual oppression was much stronger! Although there were some zombies and monsters taller than six meters, those were only a minority; most zombies still had a human-like size. If Wang Tao entered a crowd of zombies in this form, he¡¯d be the monster! The increase in size meant Wang Tao¡¯s attack range was larger. A casual reach could burst many zombies. A simple kick could disassemble many zombies... The combat advantage brought by this physique was quite apparent! However, the increase in size wasn¡¯t all advantages; there were disadvantages too. Firstly, such a large size was too conspicuous, whether among crowds of people or zombies, making him stand out greatly, and likely to be targeted for group attacks. Secondly, he couldn¡¯t use his own weapons, and the damage from Wang Tao¡¯s weapons was not low... Then, Wang Tao simply tested it out, although both the entangling roots and the beetle armor were arming him, there were still some differences. Simply put, the Entangling Roots were like Wang Tao wearing a piece of clothing, which did not hinder his movements and were very flexible, like an extension of his limbs. Moreover, the size of the Entangling Roots changed according to Wang Tao¡¯s physique, so it didn¡¯t make Wang Tao feel awkward. But the Beetle Armor was different. It was like a vehicle, inherently large and unchanging, less flexible than the Entangling Roots, and even operating it had a bit of delay! The reason for the delay was related to the characteristics of weapons. Since weapons were living entities, when Wang Tao used a weapon, for the most part, he was issuing commands to the weapon, which then executed the commands. Although the communication was through the conscious level and the delay was very minimal, there still was a delay. Therefore, when using the Beetle Armor, Wang Tao always felt a slight delay... Chapter 811 - 317: Each With Their Own Schemes_2 For ordinary people, the delay would definitely not be perceptible, but for someone with sharp perception like Wang Tao, it was quite noticeable. And Entangling Roots basically didn¡¯t have this kind of delay, because oftentimes, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to command the Entangling Roots. The Entangling Roots were his clothes; he didn¡¯t need them to move on their own, he just moved with them. They could fight on instinct. For example, if Wang Tao was ambushed, he might not have even reacted in his mind, yet his hands had already moved to block the attack¡ªthat was the instinct of battle. The Iron Beetles couldn¡¯t do that, they were too big and too heavy. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t issue commands to the Iron Beetles, it was like a car without an onboard computer¡ªit couldn¡¯t even move. Even if it could move, it would only be because Wang Tao was forcibly dragging it along. Just now, he had heard someone say that the Iron Beetles were like a biological version of powered armor, and Wang Tao thought he was right. Of course, most things have their drawbacks, but as long as their advantages outweigh their disadvantages, then they are considered good. The advantages of these Iron Beetles were obviously far greater than their disadvantages, and some shortcomings were only perceivable to Wang Tao... Wang Tao had walked a round while clad in the Beetle Armor, becoming more familiar with it. The current form of the Beetle Armor could be divided into two parts, one being the body and the other the shell. The body consisted of arms, legs, and a head. It just looked a bit more ferocious. The key was the shell, which Wang Tao felt probably had high defensive power. During battle, this shell could be used as a shield! Perhaps due to its size and weight, there was no negative effect on speed in the Beetle Armor¡¯s attributes, but in reality, it still affected the speed somewhat. However, this was a minor issue that could be adapted to over time. Last of all, Wang Tao felt oddly exhilarated by this perspective¡ªhe towered above the others, who all looked like dwarves. It gave him a feeling that he could crush a swath of little dwarves with a single step... What Wang Tao really wanted to test were its defense and combat capabilities, but now clearly wasn¡¯t the right time. After studying it for a while longer, Wang Tao finally deactivated the Beetle Armor¡¯s armed status. Click¡ª The Beetle Armor wriggled, transformed, and then rapidly began to shrink. Wang Tao¡¯s figure became visible again. Then, the Beetle Armor turned into the size of a palm and landed in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. "This should be okay, right? I can¡¯t demonstrate the actual combat power here; that needs a real battle." Wang Tao was also experiencing the Beetle Armor for the first time, and sparring with others could potentially injure someone if he wasn¡¯t careful. The actual combat power had to be tested in real combat. "..." The crowd remained silent, their eyes on Wang Tao as if looking at a monster. No, to be precise, their eyes were fixated on the Beetle Armor in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. They were all extremely excited and exhilarated. This "weapon" had surpassed their understanding, but no matter, it wasn¡¯t an enemy, it was a tool to aid them! Your journey continues on novelhall.Co?m If they had this kind of weapon, unless they encountered an enemy above Level 4 or a particularly formidable Level 4, wouldn¡¯t they be able to stride through most situations? "So this is a ¡¯weapon¡¯!" "Damn impressive! I want one too!" "Armed with the Beetle Armor, definitely the Strongest Fourth-Order Combat Power!" ... "Here, take it." Wang Tao didn¡¯t think too much and directly tossed the Beetle Armor to Gu Yun. Gu Yun hastily extended his hand. At that moment, Gu Yun clearly perceived several extremely dangerous gazes on his back! He held his breath, his eyes fixed on the Beetle Armor thrown by Wang Tao, though his ears were pricked up, ready to draw a gun for self-defense at any time. He had never felt a second to be so long. Thump¡ª The Beetle Armor finally landed in Gu Yun¡¯s hands. The murderous gazes felt tangibly real at that moment! Gu Yun clenched the Beetle Armor tightly, suppressing the urge to draw his gun. Suddenly, the feeling of danger vanished instantly, as if it had never existed. Everything just seemed like an illusion, but the cold sweat on Gu Yun¡¯s back told him it was all real. Whew¡ª Gu Yun heaved a sigh of relief inside, but his expression remained calm as if he hadn¡¯t noticed anything. He even smiled at Wang Tao: "Mr. Wang, how does it feel? How is the enhancement provided by this Beetle Armor?" Wang Tao looked at Gu Yun somewhat surprised, then nodded. "Feels great, the enhancement... very strong." The brief moment had been crystal clear to Wang Tao. When he had tossed the Beetle Armor to Gu Yun, except for Qu Shilin and Shang Heng, the look in everyone else¡¯s eyes bore naked murderous intent! It was as if they were telling Gu Yun: I¡¯m going to kill you and take your Beetle Armor! At that moment, Wang Tao thought Zhou Long and the others were about to take action, and he thought Gu Yun was about to strike back preemptively. That murderous intent, Gu Yun couldn¡¯t have been oblivious to it. But the outcome surprised Wang Tao, Zhou Long and the others didn¡¯t act, not even stepping forward, and Gu Yun didn¡¯t counterattack either, instead, he chatted merrily with Wang Tao as if he hadn¡¯t felt anything at all. After a moment of reflection, Wang Tao probably understood what had happened¡ª The others had intentionally shown their murderous intent, aiming to provoke Gu Yun into making the first move! If Gu Yun opted to strike first out of fear, then he would be done for. His strength was already the weakest, he couldn¡¯t possibly beat the others. And if he initiated, then he wouldn¡¯t have had the higher ground, giving the others a reason to attack him! Chapter 812 - 317: Each With Their Own Schemes_3 But as long as he didn¡¯t make a move, anyone who wanted to strike him first would have to think twice. After all, Gu Yun represented the City Hall, the entirety of Changhe Base. Moreover, with Shang Heng¡¯s Fourth Legion there to back him up, the legion and the City Hall were certain to stand together. Unless Zhou Long and his group no longer cared about their place in Changhe Base and were confident enough to take on the Fourth Legion without fear of being hunted down by other legions afterward¡ªclearly, that wouldn¡¯t be worth it. So there was no way they would initiate a conflict. However, that being said, they weren¡¯t fools; how could they be unaware of the consequences? Did they have some sort of preparations? Or was there even a chance that Shang Heng had been bought off by them? And there was another critical point: in a post-apocalyptic world like this, it was easy to drive people insane! Who could guarantee they weren¡¯t madmen? What if they didn¡¯t consider any consequences and just wanted to kill for loot? If that really was the case, then if Gu Yun acted later, he would surely die, but acting first might give him a chance to survive! Therefore, at that moment, Gu Yun was under tremendous pressure! If he had failed to restrain himself, things might have ended up differently. Fortunately, he had managed to hold back. As it turned out, he made the right bet¡ªthe others, even if they were Awakeners, didn¡¯t dare act rashly. Not because they were afraid of him but because they didn¡¯t want to make enemies of the entire Changhe Base. As for the question of whether Zhou Long and his group would offend the City Hall by doing this, Wang Tao¡¯s answer was¡ªno. Because they hadn¡¯t done anything at all! Basically, they just gave Gu Yun a look, and that was all. If Gu Yun couldn¡¯t withstand the pressure and struck first, they would immediately counterattack and achieve their goal. If Gu Yun held back...well, then he held back. After all, they hadn¡¯t lost anything. Gu Yun was gambling with his own life, and he won. They simply looked; winning or losing didn¡¯t matter to them¡ªin fact, they couldn¡¯t lose. It was either a win or a draw. The reason for the disparity between Gu Yun and them was simple and came down to just one thing¡ªstrength. Gu Yun¡¯s strength came from the City Hall, while theirs came from within themselves! As long as they could ensure that their own strength could easily crush Gu Yun, they would remain invincible! So in the end, the real key was one¡¯s personal strength. In a post-apocalyptic world, strength is king! If Gu Yun had been a Fifth Tier Psychic, then it would be Zhou Long and his group sweating bullets now... Having realized all this, Wang Tao began to view Gu Yun with new respect. Someone who could become the secretary-general of the City Hall really was not simple. Even if his personal strength was weaker, he was by no means lackluster in other respects. If it had been Wang Tao facing this situation...Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t have struck first either. But he wouldn¡¯t bet with his own life; it would be based on the confidence in his own strength¡ªhe was certain he could counter-kill. And then Wang Tao suddenly thought that if an outsider like him could see these issues, then Shang Heng, the deputy commander of the Fourth Legion who was very familiar with this place, must have noticed! But he had shown no reaction. Logically, the Fourth Legion was the backbone of Gu Yun¡¯s confidence. They were supposed to be on the same side, right? Wang Tao maliciously speculated for a moment¡ªwas Shang Heng also waiting for an opportunity? For instance, if Gu Yun struck first, Zhou Long and his group would be "forced" to counterattack, kill Gu Yun, and take the Iron Beetle. Then Shang Heng could find some reason or charge to lead the troops to kill Zhou Long and his group, and wouldn¡¯t the Iron Beetle then fall into the hands of the Fourth Legion? Three Fourth-order Superpowers couldn¡¯t possibly defeat the formidable firepower of the Fourth Legion, even if it was just a part of the legion¡¯s battle power. Wang Tao shook his head. Except for himself and Qu Shilin, each of them had their own hidden agendas! Wang Tao glanced over at Qu Shilin subconsciously, and she happened to look back at him. Upon their gazes meeting each other, they both instantly realized¡ªshe (he) had also seen through it. ... "This Iron Beetle is really powerful!" Zhou Long came over with a face full of wonder. He looked at the Iron Beetle in Gu Yun¡¯s hands, acting as if nothing had happened at all. "Indeed, it¡¯s very impressive. I¡¯ve never seen anything this magical before!" Gu Yun spoke with a smile, showing no sign of abnormality either. Then, as if something occurred to him, Gu Yun asked: "By the way, Mr. Wang, can I use the Iron Beetle¡¯s armed abilities?" Suddenly, Gu Yun realized that if he could use the Iron Beetle, wouldn¡¯t it mean he also had Fourth Order Battle Power? "Of course, you can," Wang Tao first nodded and then added uncertainly, "However, I¡¯m not sure how much its strength will be reduced when you use it. The enhancement the Iron Beetle provides is somewhat related to the user." "Shall I give it a try?" Gu Yun seemed eager to try. "Ok, I¡¯d like to see what happens too," Wang Tao nodded. Then he taught Gu Yun how to use the Iron Beetle. Weapons are bound to their owners, and although the original owner can allow someone else to use them without unbinding, they will not exhibit their full potential. The Iron Beetle was currently bound to Wang Tao. To rebind it to someone else, it would have to be put back into a Sleeping State and then awakened. Wang Tao did not know how long the Iron Beetle needed to sleep, so he slipped it into the Space Backpack when no one was looking, then immediately took it out again. Now, the Iron Beetle was in a Sleeping State. .Co?m After a series of operations, Gu Yun successfully bonded with the Iron Beetle. In the blink of an eye, Gu Yun transformed into a six-meter-tall monster. That terrifying sense of oppression attacked once more! However, after turning into the monster, the monster¡¯s eyes emitting a faint yellow light suddenly glanced at Zhou Long and the others. Swipe¡ª Zhou Long instinctively took a step back. "Heh¡ª" A soft chuckle seemed to emanate from within the Iron Beetle, and then it left to move around in the open space. "Ahem..." Zhou Long¡¯s face was a tad embarrassed, but soon he put on a smile and approached Wang Tao to inquire about the Iron Beetle, with everyone else listening intently. Wang Tao only briefly described his usage experience. He didn¡¯t say much more, nor could he, because many things can only be understood after real combat. After wandering around for a bit, Gu Yun returned. Upon leaving the Iron Beetle, his face glowed. "It¡¯s so strong! I feel like I have Fourth Order Battle Power when I wear it! Real, solid Fourth Order Battle Power!" Gu Yun announced, laughing. Upon hearing this, everyone was very envious. If Gu Yun had Fourth Order power just by wearing the Iron Beetle, a Fourth Order ability user wearing it would definitely possess peak Fourth Order Battle Power! This time, Gu Yun didn¡¯t put the Iron Beetle into a box; he simply kept it in his pocket. Then he quietly told Wang Tao that after putting on the Iron Beetle, the Compatibility was only 50%. He could see the remaining 50%, but it was as if it were sealed and unusable... This was clearly different from the Entangling Roots. When Wang Tao first used the Entangling Roots at Level Two, he was able to increase the Level 3 Entangling Roots compatibility to 100%. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if this was solely because the Iron Beetle was different from the Entangling Roots, or if it was because Fourth Order Weapons differed from Level 3 Weapons. He felt it was more likely the latter. After all, the gap between Level 4 and Level 3 was vast. Just like many Fourth Order equipments require Awakening Energy, which Level 3 individuals cannot fully exploit, it seemed reasonable that a Level 3 ability user couldn¡¯t fully utilize a Fourth Order Weapon... Gu Yun then said to Wang Tao: "Mr. Wang, it¡¯s getting late. Please continue with the meteorites. After these two are processed, our task for today will be complete." Chapter 813: 318: Showing Off Chapter 813: Chapter 318: Showing Off Before attempting the meteorites, Gu Yun had planned to test the waters with 10 star meteorites, and then continue unlocking more. Although there were some losses with these 10 star meteorites, they also yielded many valuable items, particularly the appearance of a monster, added to the trials with the Iron Beetles, which consumed a considerable amount of time. The sun was now setting in the west, and night was about to fall. Even though they were all standing at the entrance to Changhe Base, the night in this apocalyptic world remained dangerous. Thus, Gu Yun decided to unlock the last two meteorites and then retreat, leaving the rest for tomorrow. No one else objected. In order to survive the apocalypse, being cautious and careful was essential. After all, with the meteorites in their possession, unlocking them a day early or late didn¡¯t make much difference. ... Wang Tao brought over the ninth Energy Crystal Meteorite. It was of Epic Quality, requiring ten Crystal Cores. This particular meteorite was unlocked using Epic Crystal Cores. A moment later, the meteorite cracked open, and another Crystal Core appeared. But seeing this Orange Crystal Core, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°A Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core!¡± ¡°What, an Ascension Crystal Core?¡± Everyone overheard and immediately rushed over. After confirming it was indeed an Ascension Crystal Core, they were overjoyed. An Ascension Crystal Core, and an Orange one at that with a 100% fusion success rate! This was a prerequisite for becoming an Awakener! Gu Yun couldn¡¯t help but break into a smile because this ninth meteorite belonged to City Hall! Wang Tao was entitled to a share of this Crystal Core but only a tiny fraction. Gu Yun certainly wasn¡¯t going to give it to him; he would provide Wang Tao with compensation equivalent to the value of the Crystal Core. Of course, Wang Tao had no issues with this arrangement. Although he very much desired the Crystal Core, he was only a minor shareholder in this meteorite and had no say in the matter. Then it was time for the last, the tenth meteorite. The ninth had been unlocked with Epic Crystal Cores, while the tenth was prepared for unlocking with Ordinary Crystal Cores. Wang Tao placed the ten Crystal Cores into the indentations on the meteorite one by one. The Crystal Cores emitted a faint white light as they were drained of energy by the meteorite, slowly dimming. Crack¡ª A crevice formed in the meteorite, growing wider and wider until the entire meteorite split in two in an instant. Whoosh¡ª A slender black shadow shot out from the meteorite. ¡°So lucky? Another monster!¡± Wang Tao stepped back while speaking in surprise. ¡°...¡± The others were rendered speechless by his comment. Encountering a monster was a stroke of luck? It could be said that way... but only if they could defeat the monster. If not, it would be a disaster. Seeing the black shadow that had emerged start to swell, Shang Heng looked towards the several Awakeners present. This time, without waiting for him to speak, Zhou Long immediately said: ¡°You stay back, let us handle it this time!¡± Zhou Long felt humiliated by his previous battle against the Dual-tail Scorpion. He was determined to redeem his reputation in this fight! For someone of his standing, face was of great importance, as respect came only to the strong! He wanted people to respect him, to join their Loyalty Guild, so he had to demonstrate his strength. He couldn¡¯t, however, perform to show off his strength in front of everyone all the time. He could only display his proper strength at certain times, letting the spectators naturally spread the word. If survivors had a choice, they would naturally want to join the forces of the strong. The pathetic side of Zhou Long shown in the previous fight, if spread, would be inappropriate for both him personally and the Loyalty Guild. Hence, he had to restore his image. Huang Wu and Qi De shared the same thoughts. They wanted to display the strongest¡ªor at least appear to be the strongest¡ªside of themselves. After exchanging glances, it was as if they all conveyed the same message: no more holding back, time to give it our all. As for Wang Tao, they actually felt that he probably hadn¡¯t concealed much. After all, judging by his recent behavior, Wang Tao seemed eager to share everything he knew without expecting anything in return. They had to admit, Wang Tao was quite generous! Clearly, Wang Tao was not as calculating as they were. Moreover, what Huang Wu had said before was right; how strong one was before Awakening was a thing of the past¡ªafter awakening, it was like the arrival of the apocalypse, where everyone once again stood on the same starting line, equally strong! So they believed Wang Tao must have tried his best. Wang Tao naturally did not voice any opinions, as he was agreeable to any form of battle. Whether it was Awakeners fighting in a team or relying on military firepower, he had one goal¡ªto snatch the kill. All this took longer to say than it actually happened. In the blink of an eye, the monster that had run out already expanded to the size of a truck, though it was much longer, resembling a small train. ¡°What the heck is this? A centipede?¡± Someone exclaimed. It was a centipede-like multi-legged arthropod monster, predominantly yellow and black in color. It had two yellow antennae flickering on its head along with a pair of sharp black mandibles. The rest was covered in a shell with slender, sharp legs like iron thorns¡ªanything beneath its feet would likely be instantly turned into mince. Chirp¡ª After the monster grew bigger, it let out a grating screech, then charged towards the group. Rumble rumble¡ª As it charged, it truly resembled a train, leaving two long trails in its wake, kicking up clouds of dust with its thorny legs, and even causing the ground to tremble. Wang Tao was closest to the monster, and as it charged towards him, he remained unperturbed; instead, he named it. ¡°Iron Thorn Centipede seems like a fitting name!¡± [HP: 100,000/100,000] [Mana: 60,000/60,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Robust] [Robust: All Basic Attributes significantly boosted] Chapter 814: 318 Show Off_2 Chapter 814: Chapter 318 Show Off_2 This Iron Thorn Centipede only had a hundred thousand blood, and sixty thousand mana, attributes that were relatively low among Level 4 Lords. Its Awakening and that of the Lord Night Demon were the same, both enhancing physical qualities. Clearly, it was a melee fighter. However, with its numerous sharp limbs, it would be extremely dangerous if one were to be entangled by it. Boom¡ª Just as the Iron Thorn Centipede was about to reach Wang Tao, its speed suddenly began to slow. Unbeknownst to it, patches of black quicksand had appeared beneath its feet. The faster its limbs flailed, the deeper it sank. ... As the quicksand spread wider and became more abundant, the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s speed slowed even further. Until all its limbs were engulfed by the quicksand, it was brought to a complete stop. At that moment, the Iron Thorn Centipede was still several meters away from Wang Tao. Wang Tao could even make out a drop of transparent venom falling from its black chelicerae. Wang Tao drew his pistol and aimed at the head of the Iron Thorn Centipede. Bang! [ -4378 ] An Air Bullet struck the head of the Iron Thorn Centipede, inflicting over four thousand damage. The mana consumption of the Air Bullet Ability was fixed, not allowing for an adjustment in force output. Therefore, against enemies with the same Defense, its damage was also relatively consistent. When Wang Tao had previously shot the Dual-tail Scorpion, he had taken just over three thousand blood. Now with over four thousand damage, the damage had increased by thirty percent. It indicated that the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s Defense was significantly lower than that of the Dual-tail Scorpion. But that was to be expected since the Dual-tail Scorpion had a hundred and fifty thousand blood, whereas it only had a hundred thousand, a gap in their strength. The Air Bullet Ability had a ten-second cooldown, so after firing once, Wang Tao did not attack again. Whoosh¡ª Qi De, holding a Bone Shard Greatsword, burst out from the side. He charged into the quicksand and just as he looked like he would sink, the sand beneath his feet suddenly hardened, allowing him to move across this patch of quicksand as if on flat ground! In the blink of an eye, Qi De reached the Iron Thorn Centipede and struck its head with his sword. Thud! [ -8238 ] A dull sound resounded as the Iron Thorn Centipede lost over eight thousand blood. Though the monster was trapped in the quicksand, its body could still move. Its flat head turned round, and its sharp chelicerae snapped towards Qi De¡¯s waist like guillotine blades! If Qi De were bitten, he would likely be severed at the waist! Qi De slightly squatted, flexed his legs, and leapt over ten meters high, avoiding the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s chelicerae. With both hands on the hilt, he brought his sword blade down from above. Squish! [ -12353 ] The sword plunged directly into the head of the Iron Thorn Centipede! Yellow-green mucus splattered as twelve thousand damage appeared. Squeal¡ª The Iron Thorn Centipede let out a painful shriek, shaking its head violently and flinging Qi De away. Qi De took advantage of this momentum to land nimbly outside the quicksand. On the other side of the Iron Thorn Centipede, Huang Wu appeared silently. Wielding his gleaming greatsword, he struck at the Iron Thorn Centipede. [ -3373 ] [ -1282 ] [ -1227 ] [-1265] Huang Wu¡¯s slash only caused three thousand damage, but his three-second poison attack dealt over three thousand damage to the Iron Thorn Centipede, amounting to a total of seven thousand damage per slash! Huang Wu immediately retreated after delivering the slash. By the time the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s attack reached him, he had already moved to another part of its body and delivered another slash. [-3283] [-1232] [-1262] [-1276] The Iron Thorn Centipede howled in pain. Although its hundreds of legs couldn¡¯t step out of the Black Quicksand, that didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t move; it frantically waved its legs, causing a flurry of slashing and stabbing. However, Huang Wu¡¯s speed had increased significantly, and facing such a barrage of attacks, not only did he avoid being hit, but he also took the opportunity to slash the Iron Thorn Centipede two more times. Bang! [-4633] With a loud noise, the Iron Thorn Centipede lost over four thousand HP. Not far away, Zhou Long was half-crouching, his left hand pressed against the ground, under which was a patch of Black Quicksand. In his right hand he held a strangely shaped rifle, its muzzle still trailing wisps of blue smoke! In just a short moment, the Iron Thorn Centipede was left with only fifty thousand HP! Indeed, a few Awakeners going all out could suppress a Level 3 Lord with only a hundred thousand blood! Just then, a shadow as tall as a two-story building suddenly appeared; it charged directly into the Black Quicksand and hammered a punch right at the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s head. [-3222] Gu Yun couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and directly used his Beetle Armor to join the fight! The Iron Thorn Centipede, hurt, immediately swung its massive mandibles towards Gu Yun for a bite. With its ferocious fangs, it could only manage to clamp onto his leg in front of Gu Yun, who was clad in Beetle Armor. Bang! [-1024] The Iron Thorn Centipede bit down hard, leaving a white mark on the Beetle Armor leg and causing a loss of a thousand HP. This attack was clearly not a problem for the Beetle Armor with its fifty thousand HP. The Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s fangs were likely poisonous, but the poison was ineffective against Beetle Armor, as its fangs couldn¡¯t penetrate it! Realizing that the Beetle Armor could completely block the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s attacks, Gu Yun raised his spiked arms and hammered down on the Iron Thorn Centipede furiously! [-2322] [-2177] [...] Bang, bang, bang¡ª The Iron Thorn Centipede was hammered until it staggered, its body flailing and its legs grasping blindly. Gu Yun, relying on his high defense, didn¡¯t dodge at all, enduring the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s attacks and trading blow for blow with it! Gu Yun even pulled the Iron Thorn Centipede out of the Black Quicksand like pulling out earthworms, then slammed it back into the sand with force, and stomped on it a few times for good measure. It had to be said, the close-quarters combat between Gu Yun and the Iron Thorn Centipede could be described as a brutal feast, causing everyone nearby to have their adrenaline surge! Chapter 815: 318 Show Off_3 Chapter 815: Chapter 318 Show Off_3 ¡°Awesome! So awesome!¡± ¡°A slaughter, a complete slaughter!¡± ¡°We humans can slaughter monsters like this now!¡± ¡°...¡± The bystanders were excitedly discussing, as if they were the ones fighting the Iron Thorn Centipede. However, some soldiers were a bit bewildered. If everyone could do this from now on, would their firearms be retired... ... Qi De and the others stopped attacking, staring dumbfounded at Gu Yun and the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s fierce battle. Is this the combat ability of the Beetle Armor... This is so freaking brutal, so damn thrilling! Everyone¡¯s breathing became more rapid. If they hadn¡¯t been lacking strength, who would want to duck and hide like a mouse? They too wanted to fight monsters in such an exhilarating way! ... As compared to others¡¯ excitement and complex emotions, Wang Tao was quite calm. The combat power of Gu Yun, or rather the Beetle Armor, was completely within his expectations. This was still because Gu Yun¡¯s strength was weak, and the Beetle Armor hadn¡¯t reached its upper limits. Otherwise, it would be even more violent! If Qi De and his two companions were equipped with Beetle Armor, they wouldn¡¯t need any assistance and could basically single-handedly slaughter this Iron Thorn Centipede! Wang Tao glanced at his Air Bullet Ability, which was available for use again. However, seeing Gu Yun enjoying battling the Iron Thorn Centipede, Wang Tao didn¡¯t interfere further. Only when the Iron Thorn Centipede had a sliver of HP left did Wang Tao finally raise his handgun. Bang! [-3234] [0/100000] A gunshot rang out, and the HP of the Iron Thorn Centipede was wiped clean. Gu Yun punched the Iron Thorn Centipede again, and found that the creature had suddenly lost all its strength. ¡°Ah? Dead?¡± Gu Yun punched it once more. Realizing the Iron Thorn Centipede really wasn¡¯t moving anymore, he let go of its body. Thud¡ª The Iron Thorn Centipede landed softly in the quicksand. Not far away, Zhou Long withdrew his hand. The ground began to harden, and the black quicksand he had created slowly disappeared. The three awakeners approached the corpse of the Iron Thorn Centipede, looking at the monster that had been hammered beyond recognition, their faces showing slight annoyance. ¡°Shit! We intended to redeem some reputation, but you guys totally stole the show!¡± Zhou Long ranted silently in his mind. The first half of the battle was perfect. Through their collective effort, they had kept the Iron Thorn Centipede suppressed! Without any surprise, they would have slain the Iron Thorn Centipede with an effortless posture and won the cheers of the crowd. But unexpectedly, an unexpected thing happened¡ª They never anticipated that Gu Yun would join the battle wearing Beetle Armor, dominating the Iron Thorn Centipede with an absolutely crushing manner. Seeing this scene, they couldn¡¯t help but get excited, not to mention everyone else. They could already imagine that from today onward, Gu Yun¡¯s fame would spread far within Changhe Base. Regardless of the methods used or the power leveraged, the fact that a level 3 ability user had pummeled a level 4, Lord Iron Thorn Centipede was undeniable. At that moment, the three knew that their hopes of redeeming their image were definitely not going as planned. So, they prepared to seize the kill at the end of the battle. Since Gu Yun had stolen the spotlight, they could only try to steal the kill to mitigate their losses. After all, slaying a level 4 Lord provided an Awakening Key and replenished Awakening Energy. But the problem was, they couldn¡¯t see the HP bar and had no idea how much longer the Iron Thorn Centipede could survive. Watching the Iron Thorn Centipede still bouncing around after being hammered by Gu Yun, they thought it still had some resilience left. Then they saw Wang Tao casually fire a shot, and the Iron Thorn Centipede was instantly dead... What kind of incredible luck was this! If they remembered correctly, Wang Tao didn¡¯t move a single step during the entire battle. And he fired only two shots, one at the start and one at the end. Damn! The more the three of them thought about it, the more uncomfortable they felt. They didn¡¯t set any traps, and it was all for nothing! Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t know what they were thinking, nor did he care about showing off. He just wanted the loot pack. Also, it wasn¡¯t just good luck for Wang Tao; he had been keeping an eye on the HP of the Iron Thorn Centipede. If it had been under a widespread barrage from the military, it wouldn¡¯t have been easy for Wang Tao to seize the last hit. He was lucky last time. But this time was different. Zhou Long and the other two hadn¡¯t made their move, and although Gu Yun kept attacking, his strength was limited, making it look more brutal than it actually was, so the damage wasn¡¯t high. Therefore, Wang Tao had ample time to prepare to steal the final hit! When he saw the HP of the Iron Thorn Centipede drop to the slaying point, Wang Tao easily took its head with one shot. Everything went smoothly, all within Wang Tao¡¯s control. ... ¡°This is the power of a Fourth-Order Weapon, this is the Beetle Armor!¡± Gu Yun disarmed the Beetle Armor, unable to hide the excitement on his face. As a Level 3 ability user, he had thrashed a Level 4 Lord! Although it wasn¡¯t a solo fight and he didn¡¯t get the final hit, he really did thrash a Level 4 Lord! Thrilling! Absolutely thrilling! Wang Tao was very close to the Iron Thorn Centipede; he took a few steps forward and stowed the loot pack into his Space Backpack. Then he went through the loot of the Iron Thorn Centipede again. This Iron Thorn Centipede was obviously poorer than the Dual-tail Scorpion; the loot it dropped wasn¡¯t much. Aside from the loot pack, it itself dropped a Power Crystal Core and its pair of mandible materials. By this time, everyone had already gathered around, and Gu Yun spoke up: ¡°What does everyone want?¡± This Meteorite belonged to the Fourth Legion; City Hall and Wang Tao had provided the Crystal Core to open it, and everyone else had participated in the battle... so everyone had a share in this Iron Thorn Centipede. ¡°I want its fangs,¡± Wang Tao said directly. There was a lot of material on the Iron Thorn Centipede¡¯s body, just its legs alone numbered over a hundred, all of which could be used to make weapons. But none of that mattered to Wang Tao; he only wanted items with a name. ¡°I want its main body!¡± Zhou Long, Qi De, and Huang Wu all spoke at the same time. Gu Yun immediately frowned. It was always tricky when multiple people wanted the same thing during the distribution of loot. However, before Gu Yun could speak up, Shang Heng smiled and said: ¡°Sorry, this monster¡¯s main body belongs to our Fourth Legion.¡± The Fourth Legion, although they hadn¡¯t fought, had provided Meteorite number 10 and a significant number of Crystal Cores; they had first pick, and no one could outbid them. Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled: ¡°What do you all want this monster¡¯s body for?¡± This thing isn¡¯t very valuable, right? Seems like it could only be used to make a few hundred bucks worth of Cockroach Paste? Gu Yun, who hadn¡¯t caught on earlier, now realizing Shang Heng also wanted the monster¡¯s body, finally understood and exclaimed: ¡°You guys... want to feed the Beetle Armor?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was immediately speechless; he wasn¡¯t even sure he could activate another Beetle Armor, and these guys were so confident? The monster¡¯s main body eventually went to the Fourth Legion. Qi De got the Power Crystal Core, Zhou Long and Huang Wu got the Iron Spike-like legs, City Hall claimed the reasonably good Armor Shell, and Wang Tao smoothly got a pair of large fangs. With the loot from the Iron Thorn Centipede distributed, the sun had set, and everyone started heading back home. Gu Yun, Zhou Long, and others invited Wang Tao for dinner. It was obviously an attempt to win him over. Although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t shown much combat power, he did seem to know a lot. Wang Tao naturally declined as he hadn¡¯t finished organizing his loot for the day. Chapter 816: 319 Distribution Chapter 816: Chapter 319 Distribution Before everyone returned to the city, they had to distribute today¡¯s gains according to their respective shares. There were a total of 10 meteorites, among which 1 revealed a Fourth-Order Weapon, 1 revealed an Awakening Energy Pearl, 1 revealed a knife, 2 revealed monsters, and 5 revealed Crystal Cores. According to the previously established rule, the party that provided the meteorite held a 50% share of that meteorite; the party that provided the Crystal Cores held the other 50% share. Combat or special circumstances were calculated separately. For example, for meteorite number 1. The meteorite itself was provided by City Hall, which held 50% of the shares. The two Crystal Cores used to open meteorite number 1 were provided by City Hall and Wang Tao, so City Hall and Wang Tao split the other 50% of the shares, meaning each held 25%. Thus, the Iron Beetle that emerged from meteorite number 1, City Hall held 75% of its shares, and Wang Tao held 25%. For instance, meteorite number 9. The meteorite was provided by City Hall, which held 50% of the shares. For the ten Crystal Cores used to open meteorite number 9, City Hall contributed 9 and held 45% of the shares, while Wang Tao contributed 1 and held 5% of the shares. Thus, the Orange Ascension Crystal Core that emerged from this meteorite, City Hall held 95% of the shares, and Wang Tao only 5%. Therefore, of the items obtained from these meteorites, Wang Tao had a share in all of them, but Wang Tao always held the smallest portion and had no say. ... ¡°Mr. Wang, this Iron Beetle...¡± Gu Yun looked at Wang Tao. Although City Hall held 75% of the shares of this Iron Beetle and did not need to consult Wang Tao¡¯s opinion to take it away, Gu Yun definitely wouldn¡¯t do that. After all, he regarded Wang Tao as a partner and the necessary respect was still to be maintained, especially since he hoped for future cooperation. ¡°Seeing that you also quite like it, I won¡¯t deprive others of their beloved, the Iron Beetle is yours.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He couldn¡¯t compete anyway, better to graciously let it go. After all, he had already demonstrated almost all of the Iron Beetle¡¯s abilities, and everyone knew this Iron Beetle was powerful and valuable. That share of 25% was clearly not cheap. It was now a matter of how much compensation City Hall would offer him. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang, for your generosity!¡± Gu Yun was immediately overjoyed. He was definitely going to take the Iron Beetle, but he also didn¡¯t want to cause a rift with Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s initiative to give it up naturally made both parties very happy. Gu Yun then asked: ¡°What about this Iron Bone Knife and Ascension Crystal Core...?¡± The Iron Bone Knife that emerged from meteorite number 7 and the Orange Ascension Crystal Core from meteorite number 9, City Hall also held a majority of the shares, with Wang Tao having only a minor share. ¡°I¡¯m not going to fight for those either.¡± Wang Tao continued shaking his head. With these two items, he held only 6% and 5% of the shares, respectively, so he couldn¡¯t really contest them. ¡°Mr. Wang, you are so magnanimous!¡± Gu Yun¡¯s face was filled with smiles, these items were all very precious, and he had not expected Wang Tao to give them up either, thinking maybe Wang Tao would demand one. After all, Wang Tao had already let the most important Iron Beetle go to City Hall, so it would be reasonable for Wang Tao to desire the knife or Ascension Crystal Core, even though Wang Tao held very little of their shares. Now seeing Wang Tao relinquishing all three valuable items, while Gu Yun was happy, he also felt somewhat embarrassed. After all, everyone was frantically improving their strength during this time period, these items were very valuable, and money might not necessarily buy them... ¡°Mr. Wang, rest assured, we have professional evaluators who will soon appraise these items and compensate you accordingly.¡± Gu Yun said earnestly. ¡°Haha, okay!¡± Wang Tao laughed. After negotiating with City Hall, he still had to distribute shares with others. Wang Tao, like City Hall, hadn¡¯t kept anything for himself; his share was converted into Crystal Coins. Glutton, Defense, Self-Destruct Crystal Core ¡ª these Wang Tao clearly lost out. Awakening Energy Pearl and Power Crystal Core gained him. Dual-tail Scorpion and Iron Thorn Centipede won¡¯t be mentioned, those were already distributed. The payout from City Hall would be delayed by about two days. Other items would be settled quickly, mainly because they weren¡¯t very valuable, so they were settled on the spot. Ultimately, excluding the money yet to be settled by City Hall and two monsters¡¯ gains, Wang Tao altogether received 50,000 Crystal Coins. The 10 Crystal Cores that Wang Tao offered were worth about 40,000 Crystal Coins at the current exchange rate. That meant Wang Tao made a profit of 10,000 Crystal Coins. If the loot from the monster battles and the eventual settlement from City Hall were added, Wang Tao would have made a killing. Not only did Wang Tao profit, but everyone else did too. They originally thought this might be a gamble, where breaking even would be considered good. They hadn¡¯t expected to make such a profit! Everyone was happy on the way back, and they agreed to continue opening meteorites the next day. There was hardly any network signal outside the base, but as soon as he entered the base, Wang Tao¡¯s personal account immediately received a transfer of 10,000 Crystal Coins. Including the 40,000 Crystal Coins that City Hall had previously given to Wang Tao¡¯s team, he now had a total of 50,000 Crystal Coins. ¡°Mr. Wang, I¡¯ll prepare things on my side. After tomorrow, you can have Mr. Xiang come over anytime for the prosthetic production¡ªoh no, to participate in prosthetic production.¡± Inside the car, hearing the voice from Wang Tao¡¯s informational wristwatch, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Okay, thank you Miss Qu!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°No problem at all! See you later!¡± Inside the neighboring car, Qu Shilin was lowering the car window and waving at Wang Tao, who also waved back to her. Chapter 817: 319 Allocation_2 Chapter 817: Chapter 319 Allocation_2 ¡°Goodbye.¡± The others had left even before Qu Shilin, and now there was no one left. ¡°Let¡¯s go, head back.¡± Wang Tao said to Cui Sheng, who was in the passenger seat. During their stay at the temporary camp, Cui Sheng obviously wasn¡¯t qualified to be in their area, so he had been waiting outside. ¡°Alright!¡± ... After the sky had completely darkened, the convoy arrived at the temporary residence Duan Xuchang had prepared for Wang Tao and the others. ¡°Mr. Wang, I wish you a happy and relaxing evening!¡± Cui Sheng left with the convoy. Hearing the commotion, Ding Yuqin and the others hurried over. ¡°Wang Tao, nothing went wrong, did it?¡± ¡°Nothing, it was very safe.¡± Wang Tao smiled. Then he simply introduced to everyone the items that had been extracted from the meteorites that day. Hearing that so many good things could come from a meteorite, everyone was amazed. ¡°In the future, when we go out, if we see these kinds of meteorites, as long as they¡¯re not in too dangerous places, we must not miss them,¡± Wang Tao instructed. ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone nodded. After a simple dinner, Wang Tao also checked on He Jijun and Lan Yulian¡¯s conditions. Both were sleeping soundly with no unexpected issues. Assured that there were no problems, Wang Tao returned to his room to sort through his loot. He had slain the Iron Thorn Centipede, obtaining 1 Advanced Special Energy, 1 Awakening Key, and 100 Awakening Energy. The materials dropped by the Iron Thorn Centipede, which Wang Tao took, were its large fangs. [Obtained: Level 4 Sharp Poisonous Fang x2] [Level 4 Sharp Poisonous Fang: Crafting material, can add poison attribute to equipment] This material was quite good, with additional attributes. Then came the 3 Loot Packs. The first Loot Pack contained 5 Crystal Cores. They were a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion], a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Physical Enhancement], a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Haste], and a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Strength]. This time there were no Awakening Crystal Cores, but the other cores were not bad either. The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Running Potion (Medium) x20] Two types of medium potions, not bad. The last Loot Pack contained a blueprint. [Obtained: Death Scythe Blueprint x1] [Death Scythe Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Death Scythe. Required materials: Level 4 Sharp Poisonous Fang x2, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30] [Death Scythe: Attributes Unknown] Seeing the blueprint, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°I¡¯ve obtained a new type of equipment!¡± he exclaimed. Without a second thought, Wang Tao immediately began the crafting process. After a moment of dazzling rainbow lights, a huge and ferocious sickle materialized before Wang Tao. It was a pure black sickle, even the blade was black, about two meters and twenty centimeters in length. It consisted of a massive blade and a curved metal handle, quite heavy and rather exaggerated in design. As for its attributes, they were also quite impressive! [Death Scythe] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Durability +100, Attack power +80, attacks carry a poison effect (poison effect requires Awakening Energy)] This sickle had an Attack power of +80, the same as Wang Tao¡¯s Sharp Long Knife, but the Durability was 20 points higher than the knife¡¯s. However, while the Sharp Long Knife had two attributes, Armor Break and Bleeding, the Death Scythe only had the Poison attribute. Even with one less attribute, the weapon was still exceptionally formidable. Wang Tao, who had previously thought the Iron Thorn Centipede was rather poor, now saw that although it dropped few items, their quality was not low! Wang Tao swung the sickle around in the room a couple of times; although the weapon was a bit heavy, it felt good. After all, Wang Tao was also very strong. As for who would use this weapon, Wang Tao would test whether it or the Sharp Long Knife did more damage. He would use whichever did more damage, and the other could be used by someone else. Although the Sharp Long Knife had two attributes, it didn¡¯t necessarily mean higher damage. He would need to test them to know for sure. Wang Tao then took out the blueprints for the ¡°Poison Scorpion Whip¡± and ¡°Powerful Pincer¡± he had obtained from killing the Dual-tail Scorpion and began crafting. Moments later, both pieces of equipment were also completed. The Poison Scorpion Whip was not one single whip but two, with segments resembling a scorpion¡¯s tail. There was a poison hook at the end of each whip. [Poison Scorpion Whip] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +70, Attack power +70, attacks carry a poison effect (poison effect requires Awakening Energy)] Both whips had identical attributes, with an Attack power of +70, and both possessed a poison attack. Overall, their attributes were very good. Wang Tao was rather pleased; creating two pieces of equipment from a single blueprint was thrilling. Wang Tao tried them out. The whips were lightweight, and he felt they could easily be wound around the arm for convenient carrying. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how to use whips, so they naturally didn¡¯t feel great in his hands. Wang Tao had crafted a whip-type weapon before, but when others had tried it, they weren¡¯t quite adept at using it. Therefore, the whip had been passed around in their group, with whoever wanted to try it out using it. Wang Tao had previously obtained a [Crystal Core ¨C Whip], which would work really well fused with whip-type weapons. [Level 3 Crystal Core ¨C Flogging] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 40% (Side effect: Damage with non-whip weapons reduced)] Chapter 818: 319 Allocation_3 Chapter 818: Chapter 319 Allocation_3 [Whip: Passive Ability, increases damage when using whip weapons] However, the attributes of that whip were mediocre at the time, so there was no need to switch Abilities just for a whip. But now it was different; this Poison Scorpion Whip had stronger attributes, and since there were two whips, it was necessary to switch to this Whip Ability. ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll ask who wants to use a whip...¡± Wang Tao himself certainly wouldn¡¯t use it, but he could offer both the weapon and the Crystal Core to those who were interested. Wang Tao put away the whip and looked at the second piece of equipment. ... [Powerful Pincer] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +70, Attack power +70, attack includes Knockback effects (Knockback effects require Awakening Energy)] [Knockback: Can to some extent repel the opponent] There were also two of these pincers, which were more like a pair of gauntlets rather than pincers, meant to be worn on the hands. They were black and yellow overall and somewhat resembled the pincers of a Dual-tail Scorpion in shape, though there were significant differences. They were overall shorter and not as ferocious-looking. Wang Tao tried them on and had to admit, they felt quite good. But as the saying goes, ¡°a longer weapon is a stronger weapon,¡± and although Wang Tao also knew boxing, he had gotten used to using knives, so this gauntlet-like equipment naturally wasn¡¯t suitable for him. He¡¯d look around to see who might use it, and if someone was willing, he¡¯d prioritize giving it to his own people; if not, he¡¯d sell it. He estimated it could fetch quite a sum. Of course, Wang Tao also needed to test out just what this Knockback Attribute was all about. ... The next morning. Lan Yulian and He Jijun would wake in another two hours. Wang Tao was looking forward to what their Awakening would be like. Especially Lan Yulian; her Hidden Ability was related to Healing, so it was highly likely her Awakening would also involve healing. If she could awaken a powerful Healing Ability, that would be awesome... Shortly after Wang Tao had breakfast, Cui Sheng arrived again. ¡°Mr. Wang, this is a thank you gift from the City Hall...¡± Last time, when the meteorite struck, Wang Tao had killed a monster and saved many people. Cui Sheng had mentioned City Hall would send a thank you gift, and now he was delivering it. The thank you gift consisted of a medal, a silk banner, and a card. Wang Tao glanced over the medal and silk banner, as he didn¡¯t care much for those. It was the card that mattered more to him. This was a temporary, anonymous bank card with Crystal Coins inside. By scanning it with his Informational Wristwatch, he could transfer the money into his own account, after which the card would be discarded. Wang Tao scanned it, and it had 10,000 dollars in it. Although the exchange rate between Crystal Coins and Crystal Cores had been fluctuating recently, the purchasing power of the coins was still strong. 10,000 dollars was a considerable amount, showing that the City Hall was quite generous. He had just accepted the money when Cui Sheng handed him another card and an envelope. ¡°Mr. Wang, this is the profit share from yesterday. Please check it,¡± he said. ¡°Oh? So soon?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised, as he had thought it would take a few days. He accepted the card but didn¡¯t look at the amount first; instead, he read the letter in the envelope. The letter detailed the value of the items and the amount Wang Tao was entitled to. There were three items in total: the Iron Beetle, Iron Bone Knife, and the Orange Ascension Crystal Core. Upon seeing the detailed figures, Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. The City Hall¡¯s valuation for the Iron Beetle was 1 million Crystal Coins! This price far exceeded Wang Tao¡¯s expectations; he had thought it would be good if it reached around one hundred thousand. After all, the purchasing power of Crystal Coins was strong; a million would surely allow one to live comfortably in Changhe Base for a lifetime. It seemed that City Hall placed great importance on the Iron Beetle, perhaps conducting numerous tests on it. They might have even nourished the Beetle up to 100,000 HP by now, so they knew how strong it really was! The Iron Bone Knife was valued at 100,000 Crystal Coins by the City Hall. This price wasn¡¯t low either, considering that Wang Tao felt the knife¡¯s attributes were just mediocre. Finally, the Orange Ascension Crystal Core was priced at 120,000, which was also higher than what Wang Tao had anticipated. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt like he might be a bit naive, not daring to think too high... Then came the specific amounts divided: Wang Tao owned 25% of the Iron Beetle, receiving 250,000; 6% of the Iron Bone Knife, receiving 6,000; 5% of the Ascension Crystal Core, receiving 6,000... totaling 262,000. At the end of the letter, they kindly reminded Wang Tao that the price of Crystal Coins and Crystal Cores was still fluctuating and very unstable. If Wang Tao had any concerns, he could wait until the prices stabilized to claim his money, and if the price of Crystal Coins fluctuated significantly, City Hall could even compensate for the difference. Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t do that; they had already given the money so readily, he didn¡¯t need to take advantage of these small benefits. Wang Tao looked at the card; it had exactly 262,000 in it. Beep¡ª¡ª Swipe card, transfer funds. Wang Tao transferred all 262,000 to his account. With this, he now had a total of 322,000 Crystal Coins. ¡°Mr. Wang, if you have nothing else for me, I will take my leave. Also, your house is ready; you can move there anytime,¡± Cui Sheng spoke very respectfully. ¡°Hmm¡ª¡± Wang Tao nodded, then as if suddenly remembering something, he immediately asked, ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t we opening the meteorite today?¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, I haven¡¯t received any notice to take you out of the city today. Should I inquire for you?¡± Wang Tao frowned, then waved his hand. ¡°...Never mind, you can go back.¡± ¡°Yes. You can contact me anytime if you need anything,¡± After Cui Sheng left, Wang Tao frowned. ¡°What does this mean? They said we would open the meteorite today, now it¡¯s not happening? Or did they kick me out?¡± Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Never mind, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± After opening some meteorites yesterday, he had already gained some basic understanding of them. Perhaps some details were not entirely accurate, but it was enough for him, and there would be more opportunities in the future. Chapter 819: 320 Gray Crystal Core Chapter 819: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core Wang Tao looked at the Energy Crystal Meteorite in his hand. There were a total of seven pieces, five of which were Level 4. ¡°I¡¯ll find some time to open them later...¡± Since the Crystal Cores in Wang Tao¡¯s possession all had Abilities, it would have been too wasteful to open them before. But now, Wang Tao had over three hundred thousand Crystal Coins, which was just enough to exchange for some No-attribut Crystal Cores to use. However, there was no rush. He would first wait for Jade Lotus and Jijun to wake up and see their awakening situation, then move houses, since living in the Third Legion¡¯s area was not ideal for long. Finally, he had to take Hong Bin to the Hope Research Institute to find Shilin to customize his prosthetic... Once all these matters were dealt with, it wouldn¡¯t be too late to go outside the city to open the meteorite. Two hours later. Jade Lotus groggily opened her eyes, and immediately saw Wang Tao beside her bed. As for others such as Ding Yuqin, she subconsciously ignored them. ... ¡°Wang Tao~¡± Jade Lotus was still somewhat sleepy and instinctively reached out to touch Wang Tao¡¯s face. Wang Tao held her little hand and smiled as he said, ¡°Congratulations on your successful awakening!¡± ¡°Ah? I... I am a Fourth-order Superpower now!¡± Jade Lotus finally reacted somewhat belatedly, getting so excited that she jumped up from the bed and almost hit Wang Tao¡¯s nose. Wang Tao quickly held her shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t get too excited, stay calm!¡± ¡°A Fourth-order Superpower, how can I not be excited!¡± Jade Lotus hugged Wang Tao tightly and gave him a big kiss on the face, then looked at him with a bit of smugness and said, ¡°Guess what ability I awakened?¡± Although others couldn¡¯t see specific Attributes, an Awakener could still perceive roughly what Ability they had awakened with. After pretending to ponder for a while, Wang Tao replied, ¡°I guess it¡¯s a Passive Ability, one that enhances your Healing ability!¡± ¡°Ah? How could you guess that!¡± Jade Lotus was immediately astonished, then she gently punched Wang Tao in the chest a few times. ¡°Hmph, boring, really boring!¡± ¡°Haha! Unless you say I¡¯m clever!¡± Wang Tao laughed and pinched Jade Lotus¡¯s little nose. Of course, he hadn¡¯t guessed correctly, he had seen Jade Lotus¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 6%] [Awakening: Spring Rain] [Spring Rain: all Healing Effects significantly enhanced] The description of Jade Lotus¡¯s Awakening, Spring Rain, was very simple. The phrase ¡°significantly enhanced¡± was not very specific, but it was certain that the enhancement was substantial, without any wordplay in the description! Moreover, this was a Passive Awakening. Active and Passive Awakenings each had their advantages and disadvantages. Active Awakenings excelled in burst strength, while Passive Awakenings excelled in longevity. For Jade Lotus, who acted as a healer, having a Passive Awakening was quite good because the longer she lasted, the longer her teammates could last! ¡°Which Ability did you lose?¡± Wang Tao asked; he hadn¡¯t had the chance to ask yet as Jade Lotus had fallen asleep soon after. Just looking at this Awakening, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear which of Jade Lotus¡¯s Abilities it had merged with. ¡°My ability to heal injuries was merged.¡± Jade Lotus explained. She had learned a total of four abilities, which included Healing, treating injuries, Healing Light, and Running. Three were for healing, and the last one was for saving oneself. The ability to treat injuries was also good, but sometimes it was rather superfluous. For minor injuries, it didn¡¯t matter whether they were treated or not, and for major injuries, they generally required surgery; she couldn¡¯t heal them quickly... So this ability was a bit awkward. Of course, having it was definitely better than not having it. Now that she no longer had this ability to treat injuries, it remained to be seen if the enhancement from Jade Lotus¡¯s passive Awakening was strong enough... ¡°Jade Lotus, congratulations!¡± ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± People like Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, and others finally chimed in. Ying Feng, especially, looked at Jade Lotus with a mix of grievance, as if to say she favored love over friendship. ¡°Hehe...¡± Jade Lotus laughed awkwardly, then went over to hug Ying Feng¡¯s arm and discussed with the other girls the sensation of Awakening, changes after Awakening... At that moment, Zhen Guo and Jijun emerged arm in arm from the neighboring room. Wang Tao immediately spotted Jijun¡¯s Attributes. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakening: Old but Vigorous] [Old but Vigorous: all Basic Attributes comprehensively enhanced. The older the age, the greater the enhancement] Jijun¡¯s Awakening was quite interesting, sharing a name with his previous Hidden Attributes. Though the name wasn¡¯t important, the Attributes themselves were. His Old but Vigorous Awakening... Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how strong it was. Obviously, it was a Passive ¡°body¡± type of Awakening. Just looking at the description, it was hard to say how strong it was without testing it first. ¡°Old He, congratulations!¡± Wang Tao smiled and went over to bump fists with Jijun. ¡°Hahaha! Didn¡¯t think this old man would have a day of Awakening!¡± Jijun laughed heartily. He had never felt his body to be as good as it was now, and even he didn¡¯t know how strong he was at the moment! ¡°Which Ability was merged?¡± Wang Tao curiously asked. After pausing to feel it for a while, Jijun then said, ¡°It¡¯s that one... Athlete!¡± Wang Tao nodded, which was what he had suspected. Jijun¡¯s four Abilities were Rush, Precision Shooting, Athlete, and Mental Enhancement. Since this Awakening was to enhance physical quality, it was likely related to the Athlete Ability. Chapter 820: 320 Gray Crystal Core_2 Chapter 820: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core_2 ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go outside and give it a try!¡± Wang Tao led a group of people into the courtyard. Testing Jade Lotus¡¯s awakening was temporarily impossible since everyone was at full HP; it wouldn¡¯t make sense to injure them severely just for a test. However, they could test Jijun¡¯s. They had no idea until they tested it, and it was quite a shock! Just speaking in terms of physical fitness, Jijun was much stronger than Wang Tao! He was the strongest among all of them! Wang Tao didn¡¯t originally want to use his awakening, but he couldn¡¯t compete otherwise, so he activated Starfire Prairie. ... As a result, Wang Tao was a bit stunned¡ªonly when in the state of Starfire Prairie could his physical condition barely match Jijun¡¯s! Keep in mind that during Starfire Prairie, all his attributes greatly increased! And just barely matching Jijun¡¯s? Wang Tao looked again at Jijun¡¯s attributes, and he seemed to understand the meaning of ¡°the older you are, the greater the enhancement.¡± Jijun was... 66 years old! ¡°Hahaha! Wang Tao, you seem a bit off your game!¡± Jijun stroked his chin, where his beard had been singed, and chuckled. Wang Tao had just activated Starfire Prairie and burned off a few of his beard hairs, but it was no big deal. ¡°Old He, you¡¯re incredibly strong!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. Speaking of which, this was the second time Wang Tao had seen someone surpass him in physical fitness. The first time was Jiang Shixue, who at the time completely outclassed Wang Tao in physical fitness in every aspect. However, as Wang Tao¡¯s strength increased, he gradually surpassed her. Especially now, since Jiang Shixue was still Level 3, she naturally couldn¡¯t compare to Wang Tao. As for Little Jun, his physical fitness was also very strong, but he was more specialized, being notably strong in strength and defense but nowhere near Wang Tao in speed. Now, Jijun¡¯s condition was like Jiang Shixue¡¯s in the past¡ªwhether it was strength, speed, or reflexes, he completely overpowered Wang Tao in all areas! Without using Starfire Prairie, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t compete at all! If even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t match him, it was needless to say for the others; they were all completely outclassed. Even Wang Tao felt that Jijun might be the person with the strongest physical fitness at the River Base. Of course, Jijun¡¯s physical fitness was much better than Wang Tao¡¯s, but his combat power might not necessarily be stronger than Wang Tao¡¯s. After all, physical fitness was just one aspect for Wang Tao; his forms of attack were diverse, with his strongest being setting fires. Nevertheless, after awakening, Jijun was incredibly strong indeed. If he were armed with appropriate weapons and equipment, his potential would be terrifying. But saying so, Jijun sighed. ¡°I was originally thinking of going into shooting, but this...¡± He hadn¡¯t expected that at his age, what awakened was his physique, which was somewhat outrageous. ¡°Haha, why don¡¯t you stop trying to take it easy and just work hard physically!¡± Wang Tao burst into laughter. The others laughed as well. Zhen Guo even marveled, ¡°At your age and with your physique... saying you have strong physical fitness, people probably wouldn¡¯t believe it out there!¡± At 66, Jijun¡¯s hair and beard were almost entirely white, and his body was quite frail, not at all resembling someone with a System Awakening. If Wang Tao now seemed a bit like he had returned to simplicity, where people couldn¡¯t sense his combat power, then Jijun was truly that simplicity personified¡ªeven when he sparred with Zhen Guo, Zhen Guo still felt Jijun was just an ordinary person! Although Jijun overwhelmed Zhen Guo, Zhen Guo¡¯s reason told him Jijun was strong, but he still couldn¡¯t sense Jijun¡¯s strength... it was ridiculous! Zhen Guo was sure that if anyone ever fought against Jijun, they would definitely suffer a huge loss underestimating him! ¡°This isn¡¯t even your limit, Old He. You can further increase your Awakening Energy limit to make your physical fitness even stronger! Jade Lotus can also increase her Awakening Energy limit...¡± Wang Tao taught them how to increase their Awakening Energy limit. For Awakeners, this was something they could pick up after a little familiarization. Then Wang Tao brought out the Awakening Crystal Cores and Awakening Energy Pearls, letting them increase their limit. Having just awakened with a limit of only 100 Awakening Energy, Wang Tao felt it was still too little. After some effort, both Jade Lotus¡¯s and Jijun¡¯s Awakening Energy limits had been increased to 500. Jade Lotus was okay, not feeling much yet. But Jijun could clearly feel his physical fitness had enhanced even further! ¡°Old He! With you being so strong, how are we supposed to catch up?¡± Zhen Guo shook his head helplessly. ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll just kill more zombies with Wang Tao and gather more Crystal Cores for you guys. Then you¡¯ll definitely get stronger! I¡¯m old; the world is for you young folks!¡± Jijun¡¯s words deeply moved Zhen Guo and the others. But Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, given Jijun¡¯s awakening that made him stronger with age. For Zhen Guo to surpass Jijun in the future, he could only say there was a chance, but it would be difficult! Wang Tao noticed Old Xiang¡¯s envious look, walked over, and patted his shoulder. ¡°Old Xiang, how are the preparations?¡± What Wang Tao referred to naturally was the custom prosthetics appointment with Qu Shilin. ¡°Ready anytime!¡± Old Xiang¡¯s face was resolute. ¡°Great! So let¡¯s move first, then we¡¯ll take you to the Hope Research Institute. Afterwards, we¡¯ll go out for a bit to kill some zombies for Jade Lotus and Old He, to further enhance their strength...¡± Both Jade Lotus¡¯s and Jijun¡¯s HP had dropped to 10,000. They needed to restore their HP to 110,000. Chapter 821: 320 Gray Crystal Core_3 Chapter 821: Chapter 320 Gray Crystal Core_3 ¡°No problem!¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded. Moving might sound troublesome, but Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t have much to move, the biggest item being the helicopter. The helicopter was still parked within the Third Legion, so there was no need to move it for the time being. However, their current residence was arranged by Duan Xuchang, so they definitely had to inform Duan Xuchang before leaving. ¡°I hope he¡¯s not out on a mission...¡± Wang Tao muttered, then tried to contact Duan Xuchang. ... Fortunately, Duan Xuchang was in the city and not out. When Duan Xuchang heard that Wang Tao was planning to move, he said he would come right over and asked Wang Tao to wait. By the time Wang Tao and the others had packed up, Duan Xuchang had just arrived. ¡°Won¡¯t you stay a few more days? It¡¯s not like anybody else is living here.¡± Duan Xuchang asked politely. ¡°No, it¡¯s a bit embarrassing to keep troubling you guys, and we¡¯ve got the place sorted out, so we might as well move over while there¡¯s nothing much happening today.¡± ¡°What trouble? It¡¯s no trouble at all!¡± Duan Xuchang waved his hand, but he didn¡¯t insist, as most people are not comfortable living under someone else¡¯s roof. Then, seeming to remember something, he asked Wang Tao, ¡°By the way, I heard you went with City Hall to mine some meteorites yesterday? How was the haul¡ªoh, sorry, I¡¯m just curious. If it¡¯s inconvenient, just ignore my question!¡± ¡°Indeed, I went with them to mine meteorites. As for the haul, I can only say... I made a little profit, but the others, especially City Hall, made a huge profit!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything; after all, no one had prohibited him from speaking, and many people had witnessed what had happened, so it couldn¡¯t be hidden. It wouldn¡¯t take many days before it all came out. ¡°I see, a huge profit, no wonder! Today I saw many forces heading out of the city to mine meteorites, not just City Hall and the Fourth Legion but also the Loyalty Alliance, the Rush Army, and so on...¡± Upon hearing Duan Xuchang¡¯s words, Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows shot up. These people had indeed left him out of the loop. However, he could understand why. They had invited him to participate before because they hadn¡¯t been sure if it would be profitable or not, so they needed people to share the risk. Now that they saw even casually mining 10 meteorites turned out to be highly profitable, why would they need anyone to share the risk? What they¡¯d be sharing wouldn¡¯t be risk, but profit! So, it was normal for them to exclude Wang Tao. Wang Tao guessed that they must be acting on their own, with City Hall not cooperating with anyone else now. After inquiring further, Duan Xuchang confirmed his suspicion. City Hall, apart from pairing with the Fourth Legion, had gone their separate ways from other forces. Obviously, everyone didn¡¯t want to share their windfall! ¡°Your Third Legion must have gotten quite a few meteorites, right?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t mention it!¡± Duan Xuchang grimaced when the subject came up. ¡°Our legion discovered flying zombies, didn¡¯t we? Then we sent a large number of soldiers to investigate. We killed many zombies, but we didn¡¯t find any meteorites in that area. Our entire legion barely picked up a few meteorites!¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s...¡± Wang Tao had thought that the Third Legion had also obtained quite a few meteorites. ¡°Now, if you want to pick up meteorites in the wild, apart from being lucky, the main thing was whether anyone noticed where the meteorites fell on the night of the meteor shower! We can forget about the distant places, but as for the meteorites near our base, they were basically claimed by those lucky and quick-responding forces. Our legion¡¯s main forces were out on missions at that time. We were unlucky, with no meteorites falling nearby, and we didn¡¯t see any nearby. By the time we found some clues, the meteorites had been picked clean... Of course, there are definitely still quite a few meteorites out there, but it¡¯s pretty dangerous, and we are considering whether or not to go after them...¡± Listening to Duan Xuchang¡¯s resigned explanation, Wang Tao shrugged. There was nothing that could be done, sometimes luck is part of your strength. ¡°Oh well, let¡¯s not think about that now! However, we have made a new discovery, which I was actually preparing to discuss with you.¡± Duan Xuchang¡¯s expression became serious. ¡°What discovery?¡± ¡°We found that inside the bodies of those ordinary zombies outside, there is a type of gray Crystal Core...¡± ¡°Ordinary Zombies? Gray Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao frowned. Even Ordinary Zombies have Crystal Cores now? ¡°Exactly like this one.¡± Duan Xuchang took out a Crystal Core and handed it to Wang Tao. Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. It really was a Gray Crystal Core, just much smaller than a normal Crystal Core. As for its attributes... [Level 1 Crystal Core] [Quality: Inferior quality (2%)] [Purity: 5% (Side effects: None)] Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao was somewhat confused. No Ability was one thing, but these attributes were just too trashy, right? ¡°We¡¯ve already had the research institute test it, and they said the energy inside this Crystal Core is much less than that of a Level 1 White Crystal Core, roughly only about one-tenth...¡± Duan Xuchang explained. ¡°So what¡¯s the use of this Crystal Core?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. ¡°It¡¯s not clear for the time being, but the strengthening of Ordinary Zombies seems to be related to these Crystal Cores.¡± ¡°...¡± Ordinary Zombies becoming stronger was definitely not a good thing, but if Ordinary Zombies had Crystal Cores in their bodies... that would be a different story. After all, things like Powered Armor consume Crystal Cores, so these inferior quality Cores should also be usable, right? Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a clue for the time being and decided to wait and see how things developed. After chatting with Duan Xuchang for a while and having a simple lunch, Duan Xuchang personally led Wang Tao and his group to move houses. By a little after two in the afternoon, Wang Tao finally arrived at his new home. It was a villa district with mountains and water, which looked much more beautiful in person than in the photos. Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. It looked pretty good, reminiscent of his time in Shuize Base. He had already notified Cui Sheng on the way here, and now Cui Sheng was waiting for him at the main entrance. ¡°I won¡¯t go in. I¡¯m still busy over on my side. You¡¯ve got to treat us to a meal later, now that you¡¯ve moved to a new house!¡± Duan Xuchang said with a smile. ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll call you in a few days!¡± ¡°Hahaha, great!¡± Duan Xuchang hurriedly left. He was busy but still made time to help Wang Tao move. ¡°Mr. Wang, good afternoon!¡± Only then did Cui Sheng run over to greet him. ¡°Mm...¡± Wang Tao nodded, just about to say something to Cui Sheng, when a message suddenly came through on his Informational Wristwatch. It was from Gu Yun. ¡°Huh?¡± Upon seeing the details of the message, Wang Tao was immediately surprised. Because it was a work log, detailing a large number of Crystal Cores and the specific Items obtained upon opening them. Looking at the time... it was exactly from this morning. Chapter 822: 321: The Law of Meteorites (Seeking monthly tickets at the beginning of the month) Chapter 822: Chapter 321: The Law of Meteorites (Seeking monthly tickets at the beginning of the month) At the end of the journal, there was also a voice message from Gu Yun to Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, I¡¯m very sorry. I intended to continue to invite you to join the meteorite opening event, but due to some irresistible factors... However, I understand that what you mainly want to know is the data related to the opening of these meteorites, so I¡¯ve sent you some of the data, hoping it could be of help to you.¡± One could hear the helplessness in Gu Yun¡¯s voice. As the Secretary-General of the City Hall, the irresistible factors he mentioned were either the mayor or the committee. There basically couldn¡¯t be a third possibility. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t fret over such matters, since he wasn¡¯t aiming to gain a share of the profit. He simply wanted to know what was inside these meteorites, whether high-quality meteorites could produce good items, and if the quality of the Crystal Cores would affect the value of the items inside... Therefore, the work journal that Gu Yun sent over was still very important to Wang Tao. It could save him a great deal of time. ... ¡°Thanks!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much, but he made a mental note of the favor. Gu Yun didn¡¯t reply, probably because he was busy. After all, the City Hall had a lot of meteorites to open, which would keep them occupied for a while. So, Wang Tao said to Cui Sheng, who was beside him: ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s head inside.¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Cui Sheng led Wang Tao and his group into the villa. The villa area, known as Autumn Water Pavilion, contained several villas all belonging to Wang Tao and his group, with his own being No. 6. The villa was fully furnished with all sorts of household items, without any overly fancy decorations¡ªall focused on practicality. After giving Wang Tao a detailed introduction of the villa¡¯s interior and exterior, Cui Sheng handed a document to Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, please sign here.¡± Wang Tao glanced over the document and, seeing no issues, briskly signed his name. ¡°If you don¡¯t have any other instructions, I will take my leave. If you¡¯re thinking of hiring some servants, you can visit the talent market. Of course, I can also handle that for you.¡± Upon hearing this, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised. Changhe Base was vast with many residents; not everyone could go out to kill zombies and earn Crystal Cores. Most were ordinary people, and the base obviously couldn¡¯t support these ordinary people for free; they had to work too. Serving as domestic workers was clearly one type of job. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll get in touch with you if needed,¡± Wang Tao nodded. The villa was quite large, but there were also many of them, so it didn¡¯t feel empty. They didn¡¯t need servants for now, but he would consider it for the future. ¡°Very well, Mr. Wang.¡± Cui Sheng hesitated, seemingly wanting to ask Wang Tao something else. He wanted to inquire whether Wang Tao had any intentions of taking a position at the City Hall. They were actively recruiting and offered very generous benefits to Ability Users. However, considering that Wang Tao had just moved in and might be busy, Cui Sheng decided not to push further and planned to ask next time. After Cui Sheng left, Wang Tao said to everyone: ¡°Go settle in, and I¡¯ll study this journal.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Wang Tao carefully reviewed the work journal Gu Yun had sent him. It had to be said, the people at the City Hall were really efficient. They had opened dozens of meteorites in one morning. However, this efficiency came at a cost: the items they obtained were much inferior to those from yesterday, leaving Wang Tao to wonder if it was just his own good luck. Of course, some meteorite records had been deleted, clearly indicating that some items required confidentiality. But there weren¡¯t many of these deleted meteorite entries, so probably no items like the Iron Beetle had been obtained. After reading through the entire journal and combining it with yesterday¡¯s experience, Wang Tao roughly deduced some patterns about these meteorites¡ª Generally, the larger the volume of the meteorite, the larger the items inside, excluding monsters and Crystal Cores; the quality of the Crystal Core used in opening the meteorite could somewhat influence the quality of the items inside; there was a certain correlation between the meteorite¡¯s own quality and the quality of items inside. The more Crystal Cores used to open a meteorite, the higher the probability of obtaining good items... Of course, these rules weren¡¯t absolute and luck might play a major role. With good luck, two Ordinary Crystal Cores might release a Red Ascension Crystal Core. With bad luck, ten Epic Crystal Cores could only produce a worthless Self-Destruct Crystal Core... Although these probabilities were small, they had happened. These conclusions were quite similar to what Wang Tao had previously speculated. The summary was: The higher the meteorite¡¯s intrinsic quality and the higher the quality of the Crystal Cores used, the greater the chances of obtaining good items! Therefore, Wang Tao was considering whether to use Epic Crystal Cores to open his five Level 4 meteorites. Despite the significantly higher cost of Epic Crystal Cores, it would all be worth it if he could obtain something as good as an Iron Beetle. ¡°I¡¯ll check the prices of Level 4 Crystal Cores later. If they¡¯re reasonable, it might not be a bad idea...¡± Wang Tao murmured, stroking his chin. By the time Wang Tao finished studying the journal, the others had also finished tidying up the villa. To his surprise, most of the women had chosen not to live with him in the same villa. Only Ding Yuqin and Han Rui decided to stay, while the other women planned to live in their own respective villas. ¡°Are you really not going to live with me?¡± Wang Tao asked with raised eyebrows. Lan Yulian and the other women rolled their eyes at Wang Tao. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to live with Wang Tao, but the situation was somewhat awkward with several women together. They preferred to live in their own houses, occasionally staying at Wang Tao¡¯s place or even inviting him to stay at theirs. Chapter 825: 322: Crystal Energy Firearms (Seeking Monthly Tickets at the Beginning of the Month)_2 Chapter 825: Chapter 322: Crystal Energy Firearms (Seeking Monthly Tickets at the Beginning of the Month)_2 ¡°` However, when using Crystal Core Energy, it wears down various parts of the firearm, and any level of Crystal Core will cause wear. This wear is irreversible and over time, the gun will be scrapped. Therefore, under normal circumstances, it is best to use Level 4 Crystal Cores; otherwise, it would be too wasteful for the gun. Also, the quality of the Crystal Core itself does not affect the power of the Crystal Energy Gun, but it does affect the number of ¡°bullets¡±! For example, with this gun, the energy in one Level 4 Ordinary Crystal Core can only fire 10 bullets. After firing 10 times, the Crystal Core is scrapped. But a Level 4 Crystal Core of excellent quality can fire 12 bullets! Excellent quality yields 14 bullets, outstanding quality yields 16 bullets, and Epic Quality gives 18 bullets... The higher the quality of the Crystal Core, the more bullets you get! When inserting a Crystal Core into the Crystal Energy Gun, there is a time to draw the Crystal Core¡¯s energy, which is about 30 seconds. It can be simply understood that it takes 30 seconds for the Crystal Energy Gun to ¡°load bullets.¡± ... The Crystal Energy Gun requires energy charging for each shot, and this charging time is 15 seconds, which is 5 seconds longer than Wang Tao¡¯s Air Bullet Ability. Therefore, in combat, it is best to use high-quality Crystal Cores so that you won¡¯t need to reload frequently, thus saving combat time. Moreover, another point is that the level of Crystal Core quality affects the wear on the Crystal Energy Gun! Because the quality of the Crystal Core represents the stability of the energy within, the lower the quality of the Crystal Core, the less stable the energy, and the lower the probability of successful integration. The energy of an Epic Crystal Core is the most stable, so the integration probability is 100%. These unstable energies will also affect the wear on the Crystal Energy Gun, equivalent to affecting the lifespan of the Crystal Energy Gun. So theoretically, as long as you use an Epic Crystal Core as the bullet for the Crystal Energy Gun, not only will it reduce the number of times you need to load bullets, saving a lot of time, but it will also extend the lifespan of the Crystal Energy Gun so that you can use the gun for longer. But this is just theory; in practice, there is another key issue¡ªthe problem of money. Because Epic Crystal Cores are much more expensive than Ordinary Crystal Cores! If you always use Epic Crystal Cores, whether your wallet can withstand it is a problem. So, what Crystal Core to use is determined by one¡¯s financial capability. Qu Shilin took Wang Tao to a small adjacent shooting range, where they tested their weapons. Wang Tao inserted a Level 4 Epic Crystal Core into the Crystal Energy Gun and then saw the tail of the Crystal Energy Gun flashing with an orange light. Looking closely, there were a total of 18 orange light points, indicating there were 18 bullets. After the orange light flashed for thirty seconds, it stopped flickering and remained steadily lit. This indicated that the gun was ready to fire. But before that, fingerprint authentication was needed. Only after entering Wang Tao¡¯s fingerprint to bind it could Wang Tao use this gun. Even daring to pull the trigger would not enable it to fire. This was also why Qu Shilin said that this gun was very safe and that there was no need to worry about accidental discharge. With Qu Shilin¡¯s help, Wang Tao quickly completed the fingerprint authentication. Then he aimed at a pure steel target in the distance and pulled the trigger. Phew¡ª A beam of orange light shot straight out of the muzzle, accompanied by a faint sound, and instantly penetrated the steel target, leaving a large hole as though it had been melted. The orange light at the tail of the Crystal Energy Gun began to flash again, this time for fifteen seconds. Only after the flashing stopped could he fire the second shot. ¡°This power is not bad!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°But why is the gunshot so quiet? The gun used by Zhou Long before was so loud...¡± Facing Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, Qu Shilin explained with a smile. ¡°His gun is an older version, and mine is an improved model. Of course, my gun is better than his! Additionally, this gun has two modes. What you just used was the penetration mode, which is virtually silent. The other is the explosion mode, which is relatively louder...¡± Only then did Wang Tao notice that there was a switch similar to a safety catch on the gun. By toggling this switch, the gun was switched to explosion mode. The Crystal Energy Gun¡¯s fifteen-second charging had finished, and Wang Tao fired another shot at the distant target. ¡°Phew!¡± This time the gunshot was noticeably louder, but still much quieter compared to the sound of a conventional gun. An orange light hit the target instantly, and then¡ª ¡°` ¡°` Boom! With a loud explosion, the steel target instantly twisted out of shape, and a large area of sand and gravel nearby was blown into the air, even melting! But the steel target wasn¡¯t penetrated. Clearly, the damage from the explosion was not as penetrating as the shooting, but the area affected was much larger. ¡°Penetration shooting makes less noise, has a smaller radius of damage, and relatively higher damage; explosion shooting is louder, has a larger radius, but the single-target damage isn¡¯t as high as penetration shooting...¡± Qu Shilin explained to Wang Tao. Wang Tao nodded to himself; this was also his impression from using it. Both shooting modes had their advantages and disadvantages, and could be utilized differently depending on the situation. There was no clear superior. ¡°How does it feel?¡± Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao with anticipation. Wang Tao nodded and said, ¡°I think it¡¯s quite good. If these weapons could be equipped to the army, then...¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t finished his sentence when Qu Shilin interrupted him with a hint of helplessness. ¡°The cost of this Crystal Energy Gun is too high! No army could afford it! And because of certain restrictions, it¡¯s not possible to mass-produce them at this time. The gun you have in your hands was handcrafted by me... so equipping an army with Crystal Energy Guns isn¡¯t realistic, at least not now. However, we have started to equip some Powered Armors with these Crystal Energy Guns. If subsequent tests don¡¯t show any problems, it will greatly enhance the combat power of the Powered Armors!¡± ¡°Powered Armors...¡± Powered Armors themselves have high defensive power and can carry a lot of ammunition. If a few Crystal Energy Guns could be mounted on a single Powered Armor, it might no longer be considered ¡°Half-Step Level 4¡±, but real Fourth Order Battle Power! Wang Tao grew excited. After all, the stronger humanity was, the safer Changhe Base would be. ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll accept this gun. After I¡¯ve used it in actual combat, I¡¯ll give you feedback on how it feels to use.¡± ¡°Great! But you must be careful out there! I also have some Crystal energy engines and such, but they¡¯re not yet modified. Once they¡¯re ready, I¡¯ll give you several vehicles that use the Crystal Core as an energy source! Of course, you¡¯ll also need to help me record detailed data and your experience...¡± ¡°Wow, you¡¯re treating me like a lab rat! Sure, no problem!¡± As long as Qu Shilin could ensure there were no safety issues with these items, Wang Tao was naturally willing to help. It was, after all, a chance to experience the latest technological achievements. There are many secret locations within the Hope Research Institute, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t stay long and was soon personally escorted out by Qu Shilin. On the way back, Wang Tao played with the Crystal Energy Gun in his hand, feeling quite good about it. The recharge time for the Crystal Energy Gun was 15 seconds, and his Air Bullet Ability had a 10-second interval between attacks. This means that, within 30 seconds, others could shoot the Crystal Energy Gun three times, while he could shoot seven times? If that was the case, his long-range shooting ability, which was originally just coasting in team fights, could now be used as a main attack technique! Both the Crystal Energy Gun and the Air Bullet didn¡¯t deal as much damage as his other abilities, but they had the advantage of longer attack range. Relatively speaking, this also meant greater safety... By the time Wang Tao returned to his villa, it was already dark. He told Wei Zhenguo and the others about Xiang Hongbin¡¯s situation, then had them try the Crystal Energy Gun. There were several shooting ranges and training halls in the villa community, and Wei Zhenguo and the others tried the gun and immediately fell in love with it, though it was a pity that there was only one. ¡°Let¡¯s head out tomorrow to gather some mushrooms for Qu Shilin, maybe crack open a few meteorites, and test everyone¡¯s strength...¡± Everyone immediately nodded in agreement. ¡°Great! We¡¯ve been stuck at home ever since we arrived at Changhe Base; I¡¯m starting to feel rusty!¡± ¡°` Chapter 826: 323 Starfire Society Chapter 826: Chapter 323 Starfire Society Entry and exit from Changhe Base were very strict. Aside from being authorized by the military, City Hall, and other authoritative departments, ordinary people who wanted to enter or exit the city had to register as a force first, enroll as field staff within the force, then apply, and only after approval could they leave. The reason for these complications was naturally due to the zombie virus. At any time, one could not slacken the protection against the virus. The so-called ¡®a dike collapses because of an ant hole,¡¯ many bases were destroyed not because they encountered irresistible disasters, but because the defenses were inadequate, allowing the zombie virus to break through from the inside... Therefore, Changhe Base was particularly strict in this regard. Although for ordinary people, there really was no need to go outside. The base was so big, it had everything within, and it was so dangerous outside, leaving was simply courting death. But there were always those who were disobedient, so rules certainly had to exist. Previously, Wang Tao left the city using a route authorized by the City Hall. Now there was no need to trouble others, registering a force directly was fine. Wang Tao had Jade Lotus register a force under her own name, named it Starfire Society, derived from Wang Tao¡¯s awakening ¡°Starfire Outbreak.¡± The president was Jade Lotus. ... Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered to manage affairs, and Jade Lotus had experience, so she was burdened with the task. All of their group joined the Starfire Society and were set as field staff, then finally applied to leave the city. Registering a force was relatively troublesome in itself, requiring various assessments and checks among other things, and setting people as field staff within the force was also quite complex, needing registrations, tests, etc. Wang Tao directly called Cui Sheng to help run some errands. To Wang Tao¡¯s orders, Cui Sheng was not only not unhappy but rather excited. After all, Wang Tao was a big shot, and running errands for a big shot was something many desired. He wasn¡¯t afraid of being troubled by the big shot; he was afraid of being forgotten by him. Wang Tao asked Cui Sheng for help after returning from the research institute, by which time it was already night. The next morning, while Wang Tao was having breakfast, Cui Sheng came over with all the necessary documents. ¡°Mr. Wang, all the procedures for the Starfire Society are now in order, and the application for leaving the city has also been approved; you can leave at any time, you just need to register before leaving,¡± he said. Wang Tao glanced briefly at the documents. The name of the Starfire Society was fine, president Jade Lotus, vice-president Zhang Hong, Wei Zhenguo... member Wang Tao... all were in order. Wang Tao held no position, just a small soldier within the Starfire Society. ¡°Very good, thank you for your hard work,¡± he said. Wang Tao handed the documents to Jade Lotus. ¡°It¡¯s no trouble! Serving Mr. Wang is my honor!¡± Cui Sheng hastily spoke up. Actually, it definitely was troublesome; he had run around various departments overnight to get this matter sorted. Since the founder of the Starfire Society was Jade Lotus, her previously registered identity was a Level 3 ability user. She had not actively updated it, so it remained that identity. A Level 3 ability user, though strong, was not a standout at the base where there were many Level 3 ability users. Those employees had long since finished work and even gone to sleep; Cui Sheng received many cold stares for disturbing them. He could have approached his superior, but he did not. He felt that bothering others over such trivial matters would make him appear incompetent. He could also have used Wang Tao¡¯s position as a fourth-order Superpower, which would certainly mean green lights all the way. But he didn¡¯t do that either because he was guessing at Wang Tao¡¯s intentions¡ªWang Tao himself had not taken the position of president, was it because he didn¡¯t want to show himself up? If he used Wang Tao¡¯s name, wouldn¡¯t that be inappropriate? So he relied solely on his capabilities and connections to get this small matter done, the cost being some favors and a sleepless night. But this was not necessary to mention to Wang Tao, after all, the big shot cared not about the process, only the results. As long as the big shot was satisfied with the outcome, that was enough. ¡°How much are the total fees?¡± Wang Tao asked, looking up. Cui Sheng quickly said, ¡°A total of 1255 Crystal Coins. Among these, registering the force cost 1000 Crystal Coins...¡± Regarding these costs, Cui Sheng did not pretend to have paid them on Wang Tao¡¯s behalf; the cost was what it was. After all, Wang Tao was not lacking in money¡ªif he implied to have paid the expense himself, wouldn¡¯t he be trying to curry favor? This kind of thought was definitely improper! What status did he have to make an Awakener owe him favor! Such actions would certainly displease Wang Tao, so he was very careful about it. ¡°Hmm,¡± Wang Tao nodded, then had Nie Siyan transfer the money to him. However, after Nie Siyan transferred the money, she gave him an additional Level 1 Crystal Core. Seeing this Crystal Core, Cui Sheng¡¯s eyes widened. This was an orange Level 1 Crystal Core. Importantly, this Crystal Core had an ability! If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, this was an ¡°Athlete¡± Crystal Core, passively enhancing physical fitness! ¡°Mr. Wang, this...¡± Cui Sheng¡¯s lips trembled. He was still an ordinary person; if he could merge with this 100% success rate Crystal Core, then he would become an ability user! Perhaps to other ability users, this wasn¡¯t much, but for him, it meant a world of difference! ¡°A fee for running errands,¡± Wang Tao said casually. A mere errand-running fee obviously didn¡¯t warrant such a Crystal Core, but since Wang Tao had been at the base, Cui Sheng had always served diligently and loyally up to now, and Wang Tao was quite satisfied with him. So giving a reward was appropriate, after all, he would still need someone to run errands in the future. Chapter 827: 323 Starfire Society_2 Chapter 827: Chapter 323 Starfire Society_2 ¡°Thank you! Thank you, Mr. Wang!¡± Cui Sheng quickly bowed in thanks. He didn¡¯t bother with polite refusals and promptly accepted the offer. Between big shots, courtesy was common, but the status between him and Wang Tao was not equal; this was a reward from Wang Tao. If he had refused, it would have seemed ungrateful. Moreover, everyone was an adult and knew that interests were the foundation of relationships. He devoted himself to serving Wang Tao precisely to gain something from him. If he had refused everything, Wang Tao might have suspected ulterior motives... After finishing breakfast, Wang Tao said to everyone: ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re leaving the city.¡± ... ¡°Okay~¡± Cui Sheng was still waiting outside, and when he saw Wang Tao and his group come out, he hurried to open the car door for them. This time, Wang Tao was in an armed bulletproof minibus. It had enough space for everyone. They could have taken a helicopter, which was parked within the Third Legion. However, Duan Xuchang had previously warned Wang Tao that there were flying zombies and monsters outside. If the plane flew too low, it was likely to be attacked, and if it flew too high, it might stall... For safety sake, they had decided against using the aircraft for now. The vehicle left the villa district and, after a while, arrived outside the East City Gate. ¡°Mr. Wang, I wish you a victorious return!¡± Cui Sheng said respectfully. ¡°Let¡¯s hope so,¡± Wang Tao replied. After registering, the vehicle smoothly left the Changhe Base through a side entrance. On their first visit to Changhe Base, they had used the East City Gate. So, seeing the railway tracks outside the city evoked a sense of nostalgia in everyone. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s that for?¡± Ding Yuqin suddenly pointed to an area cordoned off by soldiers and asked. Wang Tao glanced over and said with a smile: ¡°That¡¯s where the City Hall and the Legion are mining the meteorite.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s here!¡± Ding Yuqin realized and then felt somewhat aggrieved. ¡°Hmph! I hope they never find anything good!¡± The City Hall had promised to call Wang Tao the next day but had changed their plans without notice, which naturally upset him and his team. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them,¡± Wang Tao said, shaking his head dismissively, as it was irrelevant to him since he had already reviewed the data and drawn his conclusions. At the city gate, there was still a considerable flow of people. As they moved further from the base, the number of people dwindled. However, there were neither zombies nor monsters nearby, making their journey unusually safe, something they were not quite accustomed to. Previously, whether at a military base or at Zijin Base, they had become used to seeing hordes of zombies as soon as they stepped outside... The lack of zombies was probably due to the geographic location; Changhe Base was built on a wasteland where not only were there no cities nearby, there weren¡¯t even other buildings, so the absence of zombies was normal. After a long walk, they finally encountered zombies. Everyone actually breathed a sigh of relief; Wei Zhenguo even exclaimed: ¡°I almost thought it was before the apocalypse...¡± Everyone grabbed their weapons and disembarked. This was a group of ordinary zombies, ranging from Levels 1 to 3. Wang Tao let Lan Yulian and He Jijun take action. One of the main purposes of this outing was to boost their HP to 110,000. He Jijun¡¯s strength was unquestionable. Wielding an axe, he easily chopped down these ordinary zombies. Although Lan Yulian was not skilled in combat, her level allowed her to easily defeat them as well. Moments later, the group of zombies had all been decapitated. Inside their heads were gray crystal cores. [Level 3 Crystal Core] [Quality: Inferior quality (2%)] [Purity: 4% (Side effects: None)] Looking at the crystal core in his hand, Wang Tao frowned slightly, as he was not sure what it could be used for yet. However, the strength of these zombies was indeed a lot stronger, just as Duan Xuchang had described. While this posed no threat to Wang Tao and his team, it could significantly affect weaker ability users... ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± After checking the zombie corpses and confirming there was nothing else, Wang Tao led everyone to the car and headed for the address Qu Shilin had given. Wang Tao was quite curious about this place. When he previously found the strength mushroom, there were also defense mushrooms nearby, and he wondered if there were any other special plants here. On the road, Wang Tao unexpectedly came across a group of over a hundred roaming zombies. Although there was no Level 4, Lord, there were Level 3 and Level 4 ordinary and elite zombies. This was an opportunity not to be missed, so Wang Tao led his team into the midst of the zombies and started a massacre. For Wang Tao¡¯s team, all of whom were Level 3 ability users or higher, including three Level 4 ability users, this group of zombies obviously posed no threat. However, to let Lan Yulian and He Jijun have all the kills, they spent a bit more time than usual. After clearing out the group of zombies, Wang Tao obtained many crystal cores. Although none of them bore any abilities, being Level 3 and Level 4 crystal cores, they were still very valuable. The most important thing, however, was that Lan Yulian and Xiang Hongbin reached 50,000 and 60,000 HP, respectively. Although their HP wasn¡¯t full yet, they were already above the safety line, so Wang Tao no longer needed to worry. At three in the afternoon, Wang Tao and his team finally arrived at the hillside Qu Shilin had mentioned. ¡°It should be... this way, let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao parked his vehicle at the base of the hill, leaving some people to watch the car while he led others up the hill. The hill was quite bare of trees due to the season. Following the map Qu Shilin had given to Wang Tao, they quickly found the specific spot. It was a very hidden cave, camouflaged on the outside just as Qu Shilin had described. Wang Tao checked and the disguise appeared untouched. But Wang Tao did not let his guard down. He carefully peeled back the entrance¡¯s disguise, revealing a slightly smaller entrance. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a faint green light, clearly showing that the interior was spacious with a sinuous downward leading tunnel that he couldn¡¯t see where it led. There was nothing dangerous or any mushrooms in sight within his range of view. ¡°It¡¯s safe, come in!¡± Wang Tao led several people inside. Then he carefully sensed his surroundings using his plant affinity. Everything within his range of perception was safe. However, the cave was very deep, and even his plant affinity couldn¡¯t reach the bottom. Qu Shilin had previously told Wang Tao that the team cooperating with her had ventured deep into this cave and they had found nothing inside but mushrooms and other similar things. Wang Tao had initially thought this information was reliable, but now, seeing the actual situation, Wang Tao felt that the team hadn¡¯t told the truth. Because the cave was too deep and sloped downward at a steep angle, with some parts having a 90-degree drop. So not to mention whether they dared to go down, whether they could come back up was a big issue. Wang Tao felt that the team probably had not ventured down, but had also not encountered any danger, so they said it was safe here. Clearly, there were no zombies in such a place, but whether there were other monsters was uncertain. However, Wang Tao did not plan to go deep because he had already spotted strength mushrooms not far away. He saw a large cluster of pure white mushrooms, speckled with red, around a corner. Wang Tao walked over and picked one. [Obtained: Strength Mushroom x1] [Strength Mushroom: Crafting material, edible. Consuming it temporarily boosts strength but induces hallucinations for a duration.] ¡°These are the mushrooms. Go ahead and pick them. I¡¯ll keep watch.¡± I waved my hand. ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone immediately sprang into action. There were more strength mushrooms here than Wang Tao had anticipated. After picking the entire area clean, they had gathered over twelve hundred! Besides the hundred promised to Qu Shilin, the rest could be used to make many strength potions!¡±Hmm?¡± Just as Wang Tao had put all the mushrooms into his space backpack, his brow suddenly arched. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming!¡± Chapter 828: 324: Fourth Order Disaster Chapter 828: Chapter 324: Fourth Order Disaster Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability was always active. In such wild mountains and ridges, the Plant Affinity Ability could be fully utilized. After putting all the Strength Mushrooms into his Space Backpack, Wang Tao suddenly perceived that people were approaching from afar, and there were quite a few of them. For safety¡¯s sake, Wang Tao immediately evacuated. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming, let¡¯s get out of here first.¡± Everyone was a bit surprised, but since all the mushrooms in the cave had been taken and there was nothing else, they all followed Wang Tao and quickly retreated. ... As soon as they had exited, Nie Siyan¡¯s voice came through the earpieces. ¡°Brother Wang, I just saw a lot of people climbing up the mountain from another place! There¡¯s a military force among them, and judging by their insignia, they seem to be from the Sixth Army Corps...¡± ¡°The Sixth Army Corps, huh...¡± Wang Tao frowned. He was planning to leave since he had already achieved his goal. But upon hearing that there were people from the Legion, Wang Tao stopped; he decided to see what the situation was. In Changhe Base, you might not trust other survivors, or even the City Hall, but you can definitely trust the Six Major Legions. The Six Major Legions were the founders of Changhe Base, built with their blood and tears. Most of the survivors were rescued by them and brought to Changhe Base, and they hoped even more for Changhe Base to develop better and faster. According to the survivors inside Changhe Base, if you¡¯re temporarily trapped in the wilderness and encounter other forces, you might need to carefully consider whether the risk of staying trapped is greater or the risk of asking for help from others is higher. After all, in the wilderness, if someone really wants to rob and harm others, as long as they don¡¯t leave any traces, there¡¯s no way to investigate it. People die out there every day. But if you encounter a Legion, regardless of which one, you can safely and boldly ask for help. They definitely won¡¯t cheat you. The only thing you have to pay, once you¡¯re back in the city, is a rather expensive bill. Life is certainly more important than money. If you don¡¯t pay anything, everyone might actually feel uneasy. This clearly priced behavior, on the other hand, makes everyone feel more at ease. And to be honest, the weapons, equipment, and personnel of the Legions are much better than those of other forces; they might not even value you... So when you encounter a Legion outside the city, there¡¯s no need to be afraid at all, and most people want to cooperate with the Legions, given their good reputation. Since there were military folks among the group that had arrived, Wang Tao decided not to leave and instead wanted to see what these people were doing. Wang Tao and his group waited at the entrance of the cave for a while when they suddenly heard noises approaching. ¡°There are people here!¡± A startled shout came from a distance followed by a series of cautious voices. It was somewhat ironic that the Legion had nothing against other people, but other people might have ulterior motives toward the Legion. Therefore, in the wild, people might feel safe when they see the Legion. However, when the Legion faces other people, they are very vigilant. There have been occasional incidents where members of small Legion squads were ambushed because the equipment of Legion members was too good. If some ruthless people found a lone Legion member, they would be tempted to take risks... Wang Tao and the others were on the mountain, while the newcomers were below. There were various dead trees blocking the line of sight, so they were quite close when they spotted Wang Tao and his group. Wang Tao could see the situation with these people clearly. About one-third were from the Legion, while the rest were from other forces, dressed in various styles. And there were several familiar faces. ¡°Who¡¯s up there, identify yourselves!¡± A person with a loud voice shouted from below. ¡°Starfire Society, Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao identified himself. Although Lan Yulian was the boss of the Starfire Society, it was likely that this group didn¡¯t know Lan Yulian. But Wang Tao was different as he had acquaintances. Sure enough, after Wang Tao announced his name, someone spoke up loudly. ¡°Mr. Wang? Is that you?¡± Hearing this familiar voice, Wang Tao immediately responded: ¡°Boss Qi, it¡¯s me.¡± ¡°It really is you! We¡¯re all friends here!¡± A moment later, the Legion ceased their caution, and a large group of people appeared in front of Wang Tao. Wang Tao immediately recognized three acquaintances¡ª Qi De, the boss of Rush Army; Deputy Guild Leader Zhou Long of Loyalty Guild; and Deputy Alliance Leader Huang Wu of Universe Alliance. These were the individuals he had previously joined forces with to open a meteorite. ¡°What a coincidence! To think I would run into Mr. Wang here!¡± Qi De came over with a laugh. Today, Qi De wore a set of silver armor and held the Iron Bone Knife he had before. The Iron Bone Knife was clearly bought from City Hall, and the style of his armor was different from that of the others, which meant it was probably obtained from the meteorite... It seemed that he had reaped quite a bit from opening the meteorite! ¡°Haha, it¡¯s Mr. Wang! Are you also here for this?¡± Zhou Long grinned, pointing to the cave where Wang Tao had previously been picking mushrooms. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t quite sure what Zhou Long meant by that. It shouldn¡¯t be about mushroom picking, as it would be too ridiculous for all these fully armed people to gather mushrooms. Wang Tao shook his head and said: ¡°No, I was just passing by, planning to go up the mountain to see if there were any monsters or something. Then my people at the bottom of the mountain discovered that someone was coming, so I waited here to see what was going on.¡± Aside from concealing the mushroom picking, Wang Tao slightly modified the rest of the story and shared it. Chapter 829: 324 Fourth Order Disaster_2 Chapter 829: Chapter 324 Fourth Order Disaster_2 Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, both Qi De and Zhou Long¡¯s faces betrayed a look of sudden realization. They had been wondering how Wang Tao had gotten the information, and it turned out to be a coincidence. Huang Wu and Wang Tao nodded without saying much. He could see Wang Tao was still slightly embarrassed. Then, the three turned their attention to one of the powered armors. This powered armor looked different from the rest, simply put, it looked better. A certain celebrity once said, the better a weapon looks, the stronger its combat power. Clearly, this powered armor should be stronger than the others. Clank¡ª The mask of the powered armor opened, revealing the spirited face of a woman inside. ¡°Mr. Wang, hello, I am the commander of the Sixth Army Corps, Cheng Yiyi.¡± ... ¡°Commander Cheng, hello!¡± That the commander of the Sixth Army Corps was a woman mildly surprised Wang Tao. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 31200/31200] [Level: Level 3] According to her attributes, she was clearly a peak Level 3 Ability User, not weak at all. Unfortunately, without hidden attributes, awakening was difficult. However, speaking of which, Wang Tao had met two corps commanders, and both were Level 3 Ability Users. Wang Tao began to doubt whether their corps had any Awakeners... Cheng Yiyi was also surprised by Wang Tao because he was accompanied by several beautiful women. It seemed to her almost as if they were here for a picnic. But after all, Wang Tao was an Awakener, and even if it really were a picnic, he had the strength for it. After sizing each other up, Cheng Yiyi spoke again: ¡°Mr. Wang, we are preparing to hunt a monster. Do you want to join us? If you participate, follow my command. If not, please stay away, because swords and spears have no eyes.¡± Cheng Yiyi did not beat around the bush, directly stating her intentions. ¡°Hmm? Hunt a monster?¡± The team led by Cheng Yiyi numbered one to two hundred people. Although not many in number, the team included 20 powered armors. The rest were all armed with mechanical exoskeletons, so their overall combat power was not to be underestimated. Zhou Long and his group were Fourth-order Superpowers, with each leading a team. Though their numbers were small, they were clearly elites, with similarly strong combat power. Such powerful teams coming together felt almost like overkill to slay a Level 4 Lord. What kind of monster were they hunting? Curious, Wang Tao wanted to see the specifics of the situation, so he nodded straightforwardly. ¡°I¡¯ll join!¡± Seeing Wang Tao join, the expressions of the others plainly shifted. Zhou Long¡¯s usually smiling face suddenly stiffened; he clearly did not want Wang Tao to join. The more people there were, the less spoils to share. They were completely sufficient themselves, but since it was an operation organized by Cheng Yiyi, he couldn¡¯t well say much. Qi De¡¯s face showed a hint of pleasure, feeling that Wang Tao was quite lucky. Luck was an enigmatic thing, but vitally important. Although Wang Tao¡¯s joining meant sharing a piece of the pie, if it led to obtaining plenty of good stuff, it would be a gain. Huang Wu... still in full gear and wearing a mask, his expression was unclear. As for Cheng Yiyi, she had a cool expression, her exact thoughts unapparent. Yet it seemed she wanted Wang Tao to join; otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have given those two options. Wang Tao caught everyone¡¯s reaction but said nothing, simply looking toward Cheng Yiyi. ¡°Good! Then your group will be the fifth team. Follow my orders later on!¡± Cheng Yiyi did not give Wang Tao any special privileges because he was an Awakener; he still had to follow her command. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He wasn¡¯t resistant. Back in Zijing City, he often let He Jijun command. Leadership skills were not combat abilities, especially in large-scale operations, where he and professionals differed greatly. Seeing Wang Tao agree without objection, Cheng Yiyi nodded with satisfaction. She did not like cooperating with Awakeners much, as they often tried to take command away from her. It wasn¡¯t that she looked down on some people, but some did not understand even the professional terms, let alone tactics, yet still wanted to command her troops, which was frankly a joke... ¡°Alright!¡± Cheng Yiyi connected Wang Tao¡¯s radio to her team¡¯s network and then said to Wang Tao: ¡°When I used the energy detector earlier, I found a huge mass of energy here, stronger than any Level 4 Lord I¡¯ve encountered, and it¡¯s even possible that it¡¯s a Level 5 monster. Right underground. So I planned to force it out...¡± ¡°Energy detector?¡± It was the first time Wang Tao had heard this term. ¡°The latest product from Hope Research Institute...¡± It was then that Qi De spoke up, explaining to Wang Tao. After hearing the explanation, Wang Tao suddenly understood. The energy detector was essentially a super-wide-range [Perception] Superpower, only the Perception Ability was very precise, while the energy detector was quite vague. It¡¯s said to be able to detect large-scale energy fluctuations, but so far, it could only sense the energy of Lords Level 4 and above, and moreover, it has to be a large volume. For instance, a human of Level 4, it couldn¡¯t detect for the time being. This trial version of the detector was given by the institute to each Legion for testing. Cheng Yiyi had only been using it for a short while before she discovered a big one. Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity. After all, the detector had only sensed this one gigantic energy mass nearby, with no other energy signatures. And since there were no zombies around, there was a high probability that this was the only monster here. Wang Tao nodded, agreeing that if it had been him, he definitely wouldn¡¯t have let this opportunity pass either. According to the information received so far, there were actually many Level 4 Lords, especially zombies. But those zombies were among hordes, making them difficult to deal with. A solitary Level 4 Lord like this was hard to find, especially one that seemed stronger than a Level 4 Lord¡ªthat one simply couldn¡¯t be missed. Of course, the detector also made a judgment, stating that the energy mass was at most Level 5 and would not exceed that. That¡¯s why they had come. After all, with their collective Combat Power, if a Level 5 monster really appeared, perhaps they could give it a try, but anything above Level 5 was definitely a no-go... ¡°Commander Cheng, are you sure the monster is in this cave?¡± Watching Cheng Yiyi direct some people to move various things into the cave, Wang Tao asked. ¡°Yes, one hundred percent inside. I¡¯ll find a way to force it out, you guys just need to guard the outside.¡± Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t know there was a cave here, but since the detector indicated the monster was underground, there must be a cave on the mountain. Hence, she prepared weapons specifically for this situation. Wang Tao and the others waited outside. Soon, they saw smoke wafting from inside the cave. ¡°Trying to smoke the monster out?¡± Wang Tao realized. Zombies weren¡¯t afraid of smoke or such things, but monsters were different. He could also distinctly tell that this smoke was very pungent and choking, though he had no idea what substances had been added to it. Everyone waited quietly, and after half an hour, just when Qi De and the others were wondering if the device was malfunctioning, they suddenly felt a slight tremor under their feet. ¡°There¡¯s movement!¡± Everyone immediately gripped their weapons, becoming alert. At that moment, Cheng Yiyi¡¯s voice came through in everyone¡¯s earpieces. ¡°There¡¯s another exit to the north, it¡¯s escaped through there! Chase it!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao and his group immediately chased towards the north. They ran downhill to the foot of the mountain in the north when they suddenly heard a booming sound. A torrent of rubble flew, and a giant shadow burst out from the ground. ¡°A snake?¡± Someone exclaimed upon seeing the creature¡¯s true form. Rat-a-tat-tat¡ª Cheng Yiyi had already started providing covering fire. But the Giant Serpent didn¡¯t flee; instead, it reared up half its body and charged at the group. Seeing the Giant Serpent¡¯s attributes, Wang Tao¡¯s expression instantly turned grave. [HP:200000/200000] [Mana:0/0] [Level:Level 4 ¡¤ Disaster] [Cataclysmic Awakening: Life Draining] [Life Erosion: Surrounding life forms continuously lose HP] Chapter 830: 325: Healing Demonstrates Power Chapter 830: Chapter 325: Healing Demonstrates Power This was a Fourth-Order Disaster-level monster with 200,000 HP! Wang Tao had encountered a Disaster-level once before in Wuyang City, which was a Level 5 Disaster-level zombie. Its Cataclysmic Awakening was ¡°Radiation.¡± Wang Tao, at that time aboard a helicopter, heard the urgent beeping of the Geiger counter and saw zombies falling in droves below. He swiftly fled the scene, knowing he was no match for that creature. Since then, Wang Tao had never seen a Disaster-level again, and of course, not a Level 5 either. And now, Wang Tao encountered another Disaster-level! This Disaster-level monster¡¯s awakening was an ability that caused the life energy of nearby living beings to continuously drain, sounding somewhat similar to the previous ¡°Radiation¡±... [Life Drain: Nearby life continuously loses HP] ... However, this Disaster-level was Level 4. If it had been Level 5, Wang Tao might have run immediately, but Level 4... Wang Tao glanced at the group of people on his side, seeming like they might stand a chance? Da-da-da¡ª A torrent of fire enveloped the Black Giant Snake, and bullets hitting it only sparked without causing any real damage. However, they did stop the Black Giant Snake¡¯s advance. ¡°Such high defense! What kind of monster is this! It feels much stronger than Level 4! But it doesn¡¯t quite seem to be Level 5...¡± Looking at the Black Giant Snake, Qi De spoke seriously. He had seen a Level 5 Zombie Lord before. Although this monster felt strong, it didn¡¯t quite compare to the feeling he got from a Level 5 zombie... ¡°This is a Disaster-level creature, a level higher than a Lord Rank.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Disaster-level?¡± The others instinctively looked towards Wang Tao, hearing this term for the first time. ¡°Since they are disasters in themselves, I call them Disaster-level. Like this Black Giant Snake, I¡¯ve seen similar ones before; nearby life will continuously lose life energy! No creature can stay near it for long, not even a Giant Zombie!¡± Wang Tao intended to kill the Black Giant Snake, so he had to mention its ability. But he couldn¡¯t make it obvious that he saw the creature¡¯s attributes, so he only mentioned he had seen similar ones before. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s expression turned solemn. ¡°Nearby life will continuously lose life energy? Even Giant Zombies can¡¯t withstand it?¡± This ability was too outrageous! Did they even have a chance to win? And how wide was this ¡°nearby¡± area? Just as everyone started to worry and wonder, they saw someone at the very front of the team, who was not under attack, suddenly collapse. ¡°Not good!¡± Watching this scene, the group immediately thought of Wang Tao¡¯s words; was this a loss of life energy? The fallen were quickly dragged back by their teammates, and then several green lights fell on these individuals, who then groggily woke up. Wang Tao was somewhat surprised because the healing wasn¡¯t from Lan Yulian but from people within the legion, who had healing-type ability users, and more than one. Although their healing abilities were not as good as Lan Yulian¡¯s, healing about one thousand HP each time, it was enough to keep the injured out of mortal danger. Wang Tao now realized that the Black Giant Snake¡¯s awakening [Life Drain] was a simple and crude passive awakening that directly reduced HP! The few Level 3 ability users at the front of the team were losing between five thousand to ten thousand HP each second! The exact amount varied, seemingly related to the ability users¡¯ own strength, as Level 3s also had their strong and weak. If it were below Level 3, wouldn¡¯t they die instantly? Regarding the range of [Life Drain]¡ª ¡°I measured roughly, and the warrior in front is about fifty meters away from the Black Giant Snake... Losing life energy from so far away?!¡± Qi De looked very troubled. A radius of fifty meters was far too vast! Ability users capable of ranged attacks were few, and those who could attack from fifty meters away were even fewer! This radius of fifty meters essentially excluded most ability users! As a pure melee Awakener like Qi De, he couldn¡¯t use his formidable strength at all! ¡°Retreat first!¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s voice rang in everyone¡¯s ears. The retreat began in an orderly manner, and then Cheng Yiyi added: ¡°Zhou Long, can you trap it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try!¡± Zhou Long stepped forward, placing his hand on the ground, and slowly, a patch of Black Quicksand began to form beneath his palm. Zhou Long¡¯s Awakening: Black Quicksand could act as a ranged ability, but when he used this awakening, his hand had to be on the ground, and he had to maintain it within a certain range. However, this range... did not reach fifty meters! Thus, everyone saw clearly, when Zhou Long¡¯s Black Quicksand appeared under the Black Giant Snake, it indeed trapped the snake, but Zhou Long¡¯s condition also seemed off. After holding on for half a minute, Zhou Long immediately let go and followed the large group to retreat. After he left, the Black Quicksand slowly dissipated. The Black Giant Snake that had just been trapped briefly regained its mobility. Da-da-da¡ª Countless bullets landed on the Black Giant Snake, but they could only slightly slow its pace. Given the current situation, it would quickly catch up with the team. On the other side, Zhou Long¡¯s complexion was somewhat pale. ¡°I feel a bit sick; heal me!¡± Whoosh! Several green lights fell on Zhou Long¡¯s head, and he felt somewhat better. ¡°I just felt like I might die at any moment...¡± Zhou Long was a bit shaken and somewhat incredulous. Chapter 831: 325: Healing Shows Power_2 Chapter 831: Chapter 325: Healing Shows Power_2 He was a Fourth-Order Superpower, at the same level as this monster. The gap shouldn¡¯t be this vast! The others looked equally grim. If Zhou Long, a Fourth-Order Superpower, couldn¡¯t hold the line, then they had no chance of fighting! ¡°Wang Tao...¡± Lan Yulian tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s sleeve, meaning to ask if he should intervene. ¡°Let me think...¡± Wang Tao had just observed that Zhou Long was losing over a thousand HP per second. Although this rate was lower than others, it was still terrifying because, at this rate, he would lose over seventy thousand HP in a minute, yet his total HP was only a hundred thousand... ... The defense of the Black Giant Snake was extremely high, many bullets that hit it showed no damage at all! Its defense was even higher than that of the Giant Zombie! So, killing this Black Giant Snake quickly was impossible, but over a long period, the HP loss was too frightening... However, they weren¡¯t entirely out of options, thanks to Lan Yulian! Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability... ¡°Jade Lotus, listen to my command later and try a few healings,¡± Wang Tao immediately said. ¡°No problem!¡± ... The team kept slowly retreating. Although under Cheng Yiyi¡¯s command there were no casualties yet, continuing like this was not a solution. More and more people were getting injured, and their injuries weren¡¯t recovering anytime soon. The team would inevitably collapse. Cheng Yiyi had to make a decision now, whether to keep fighting or to run. They had many vehicles on the other side of the mountain. If they really needed to flee, now was their chance. But giving up on this Fourth-Order Disaster-level monster was something she was reluctant to do! Cheng Yiyi¡¯s mind was racing, looking for a way to break through. Putt¡ª At that moment, a faint sound arose. Although the sound was faint, the light was dazzling, and the energy huge. Cheng Yiyi immediately turned her head and saw Wang Tao holding a strangely shaped large handgun, the air at the muzzle trembling. Hiss¡ª The Black Giant Snake let out a hiss, seeming both angry and pained. ¡°Crystal Energy Gun!¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s eyes lit up. The Crystal Energy Gun was effective? Unfortunately, her team did not have any Crystal Energy Guns, as their use was terrifyingly costly! If she were to arm her troops with Crystal Energy Guns, a single battle might bankrupt her, and there weren¡¯t enough guns for her use... She did have a Crystal Energy Gun, but it was in the hands of a deputy leader, not with her. ¡°Mr. Wang, is the Crystal Energy Gun effective?¡± Cheng Yiyi quickly asked. ¡°It¡¯s effective, but not much,¡± Wang Tao said with a frown. [-1533] He had just knocked off fifteen hundred of the Black Giant Snake¡¯s HP, which was more damage than all the previous attacks of the army combined. But this damage figure was still too low, considering it was a definite Fourth-Order Attack, yet it only dealt fifteen hundred damage. If the Black Giant Snake stood still and let him shoot, he would need to fire one hundred and thirty or more shots, consuming eight Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores, to kill the Black Giant Snake! And the consumption wasn¡¯t even the main issue, the main issue was time! The Crystal Energy Gun¡¯s attack interval was fifteen seconds, so it would take him over a half-hour to fire all those shots! The Black Giant Snake obviously wouldn¡¯t give him that opportunity. Wang Tao immediately raised his hand and fired another shot, his Crystal Energy Gun hadn¡¯t fully cooled down yet, so this shot was an Air Bullet. Bang! [-1622] The damage from the Air Bullet was about the same as the Crystal Energy Gun. If he added Air Bullets, he could shoot ten times a minute. With this damage of fifteen or sixteen hundred, it meant he would need at least several minutes to kill the Black Giant Snake! Under the current situation, holding out for that long was definitely impossible. But if Lan Yulian, a Fourth-Order Healing-Type Superpower, joined in... Wang Tao still did not know how much Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability had improved. ¡°Jade Lotus, heal that person and then use ¡®Healing Light.¡¯ ¡°Okay!¡± Lan Yulian immediately waved her hand, and a slightly darker green light fell on the person¡¯s head. Swish¡ª [+12132] ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing the number, Wang Tao was startled. A healing ability that added ten thousand HP to someone? To think, other healers in the team could only add about a thousand HP at a time, this was ten times that amount! Even more bewildered than Wang Tao was the ability user who got the HP. Just moments before, he had felt utterly drained, as if he was about to pass out. He had even prepared himself to fall to the ground, but then he saw a faint green light before his eyes, and he instantly felt strength surge through his body! He even wondered if he had died, and this was just an illusion... After releasing that healing ability, Lan Yulian immediately used Healing Light. Shh¡ª A life-symbolizing green glow radiated out from Lan Yulian at its center, instantly spreading far and wide. Everyone within range instantly saw notifications of HP recovery appear above their heads. [+1029] [+1123] [+1009] [+1087] [...] ¡°A thousand HP per second! It¡¯s really strong! We can¡¯t possibly lose this battle now!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed somewhat astounded. During the intense battle just now, Lan Yulian¡¯s healing had not caught much attention. But now, the Healing Light was extremely noticeable, immediately drawing most people¡¯s attention. Those within the range of the Healing Light even cried out in surprise. ¡°What is this? I feel my condition improving continuously!¡± ¡°A range healing ability? Such strong healing powers!¡± ¡°My wounds are healed!¡± ¡°...¡± Qi De, Zhou Long, and Huang Wu were also somewhat dumbfounded as they looked towards Lan Yulian. They hadn¡¯t felt much when Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t made a move earlier. But now that Lan Yulian had acted, especially feeling the warm sensation over their bodies, they were all somewhat shocked as they watched her. ¡°Level 4 healing-type ability user!¡± They knew Wang Tao had a healer with him, but they had no idea it was a Level 4 one! Although they couldn¡¯t see the HP bars, they could distinctly feel that the effects of Lan Yulian¡¯s range healing ability were nearly the same as the individual effects from other healing-type users! Other healing-type users could only heal one person at a time, and each release had a cooldown of about 10 seconds. But Lan Yulian¡¯s range healing ability instantly covered hundreds of people! And moreover, it was an ability that healed every second continuously! Is this the power of a healing-type Awakener! Cheng Yiyi also noticed, and she immediately drove her powered armor over to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, is your companion a healing-type Awakener?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then said to Cheng Yiyi, ¡°I think we have a chance to kill the Black Giant Snake now. We can have the awakeners hold back the Black Giant Snake, don¡¯t let it get near, and Lan Yulian keeps healing the awakeners to ensure their lives. Then we can attack from a distance...¡± With good coordination, Wang Tao even felt they could kill the Black Giant Snake without any injuries! Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s plan, Cheng Yiyi decisively said, ¡°Zhou Long, you go and hold back the Black Giant Snake! Huang Wu and Qi De, you guys attack and block the Black Giant Snake! Our healing-type Awakener will be behind you, and can keep you alive! Then the rest of us will attack the Black Giant Snake from a distance!¡± If they hadn¡¯t seen Lan Yulian¡¯s strength, Zhou Long and the others would definitely not have agreed to this plan as it sounded like a suicide mission. But now, with a powerful healing-type Awakener at their back, why not give it a try! ¡°Roger that!¡± Zhou Long and the others immediately charged forward. At that moment, Lan Yulian appeared to think of something and suddenly took out a garment that looked like it was made of flames. She draped the garment over herself, and then a faint red hue could be seen within the green aura centered on her. Then to everyone¡¯s amazement, the bullets they fired started showing a hint of red glow. Da da da¡ª The Black Giant Snake, which had been completely ignoring the bullet attacks before, suddenly let out a roar of pain when these red-glowing bullets hit it! Chapter 832: 326 Combined Strike Kill Chapter 832: Chapter 326 Combined Strike Kill ¡°Huh? Fire attribute attacks are effective?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He could see clearly that most bullets fired at the Black Giant Snake did no damage, and the occasional hits only caused a few points of damage. But now, when Lan Yulian made it possible for their bullets to have the Fire Attribute, they didn¡¯t just fail to damage at all, but actually caused one or two points of damage! One or two points of damage isn¡¯t much, but this is the difference between nothing and something. After all, Zheng Yiyi and her team had fierce firepower. As the saying goes, constant dripping wears away a stone. Even if an individual bullet did little damage, when added together, the damage was still significant. ... Rat-tat-tat¡ª Countless red bullets hit the Black Giant Snake and then, with a ¡°boom,¡± a flame suddenly erupted on the serpent¡¯s body. The serpent hissed in pain, as if it was suffering. The Fire Attribute triggered a burn! The flame from an Ability was different from ordinary fire. Faced with ordinary flames like from bullets, flamethrowers, or rocket launchers, the snake would simply ignore the attack, unable to penetrate its defense. But an Ability User¡¯s Fire Attack could break through! After being hit so many times, the Black Giant Snake was clearly very angry. Despite the hail of bullets, it charged directly towards the direction of Cheng Yiyi! The Cataclysmic Awakening of the Black Giant Snake was terrifying. Within a radius of fifty meters, a Level 3 ability user would lose between five thousand to ten thousand HP every second. If it were Level Two or Level One, they would probably be wiped out instantaneously! The one or two hundred people led by Cheng Yiyi, although elite, didn¡¯t have many Level 3 ability users. Most of them were Level Two or even Level One. If the Black Giant Snake got close to them, they could be annihilated! Fortunately, Zhou Long made a move. ¡°Stop!¡± Perhaps still a bit uncertain, Zhou Long shouted, seemingly to boost his confidence. The ground beneath his palm began to slowly display a large patch of Black Quicksand. His Awakening, if used against people, may not be very effective, as people can run and dodge, not simply waiting for the quicksand to form. But monsters were different. The Black Giant Snake didn¡¯t know how to dodge and charged right into the Black Quicksand, instantly being restricted to a crawl¡ªits Speed reduced by at least 90%! While the Black Quicksand controlled the Black Giant Snake, Zhou Long also fell within range of the [Life Drain]. He began losing HP continuously. [-1134] [-1187] [-1276] [...] Losing a bit over a thousand HP every second. Zhou Long couldn¡¯t see it, but he could feel it was very uncomfortable. Just then, a light green tinged with red rapidly approached Zhou Long. Before he knew it, he was enveloped in it. [+1182] [+1123] [+1268] [...] Zhou Long¡¯s HP began to recover by a little over a thousand every second! Wang Tao watched this scene, nodding his head in satisfaction. The loss and gain of HP were roughly even, so there was no danger to his life. But Zhou Long was gritting his teeth in discomfort because losing HP felt awful, while gaining it back felt great... This alternation between discomfort and relief was a bit torturous. Nevertheless, to kill this Disaster monster, likely the first kill, he had to endure! At this time, Qi De, wielding the Iron Bone Knife, had already charged under the Black Giant Snake and struck it violently with his blade. [-3134] This attack did the highest damage of all, prompting the Black Giant Snake to open its mouth wide and bite towards Qi De. Qi De leaped high in the air, evading the attack from the Black Giant Snake. Then, without looking back, he ran towards Lan Yulian, his face showing a hint of panic. ¡°Healing! Healing!¡± Swipe! [+12878] A green light fell on Qi De¡¯s head. ¡°Phew¡ª That scared me to death!¡± Qi De finally took a deep breath. Wang Tao frowned; he realized that this Black Giant Snake¡¯s Cataclysmic Awakening did not simply deduct over a thousand HP from Fourth-order Superpower users per second, but the closer one was to it, the more HP was deducted! When Qi De had gone beside the Black Giant Snake, he was losing over five thousand HP every second! To land that one strike, he spent more than ten seconds of time. Although he successfully inflicted over three thousand damage to the Black Giant Snake, he paid the price of seventy thousand HP! If he had been greedy just now and struck one or two more times, he might already be dead! After all, Lan Yulian¡¯s healing had a range, and it would be powerless if too far away. Bang! [-1653] After firing an Air Bullet, Wang Tao immediately warned: ¡°Stay away from the Black Giant Snake! The closer you are, the more Life Energy you lose! Even Fourth-order Superpower users can¡¯t withstand it for 20 seconds!¡± Wang Tao initially wanted to try out his Sharp Long Knife. This knife had an Armor Breaking Attribute, and he thought it would be effective against creatures with high Defense. But considering the situation, Wang Tao quickly discarded that idea. A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall; they could win the battle systematically without taking unnecessary risks. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s warning, Huang Wu, who was ready to rush in, hesitated. He struggled for a moment but eventually charged forward. This surprised Wang Tao; was Huang Wu so brave, unafraid of death? Qi De, as if knowing what Wang Tao was wondering, immediately bared his teeth and said: ¡°He¡¯s trying to get an ¡®assist¡¯! If we manage to get the first kill of a Disaster-level monster, not to mention the vast rewards from the City Hall, it¡¯s a huge honor in itself! He won¡¯t allow himself to miss this opportunity!¡± ¡°...¡± Is that a thing? But if you put it that way, then I¡¯ve got to give it my all! Chapter 833: 326 Combined Strike_2 Chapter 833: Chapter 326 Combined Strike_2 ¡°` Pfft! [ -1512 ] Wang Tao fired another shot, this time the damage came from the crystal energy gun itself. After seeing the possibility of gradually wearing down the Black Giant Snake, he had considered whether he could fire fewer shots to save some crystal cores. After all, he was using a Level 4 Epic Crystal Core. But now, he was ready to speed things up. Meanwhile, Huang Wu had already charged up to the Black Giant Snake and struck it with his blade. [ -233 ] ... This strike only dealt a little over two hundred damage, the lowest among all the awakeners involved. But the subsequent poison damage was significant. [ -1022 ] [ -923 ] [ -1022 ] These numbers combined were even higher than what Qi De had achieved. After his attack, Huang Wu quickly retreated. However, the Black Giant Snake¡¯s tail was already sweeping toward him, and it seemed like he couldn¡¯t dodge it. In the nick of time, he activated his speed ability and narrowly avoided the hit. Without looking back, he ran straight towards Lan Yulian. When his HP was just a sliver away from depletion, a green light finally fell upon him. [ +12746 ] ¡°Whew¡ªThat was close!¡± Huang Wu immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He had felt like he almost died just now; he never wanted to experience that feeling of dancing on the edge of a knife again! But the outcome was good, he had successfully landed a blow on the Disaster-level Black Giant Snake! If they could actually slay it, then he would be one of the contributors to the kill! Of course, he could have just taken a gun and shot the Black Giant Snake a few times to count as having contributed to the kill. But as a Fourth-order Superpower, he did need to maintain some pride... ¡°Old He, do you want to go and take a slash too?¡± Zhen Guo nudged He Jijun¡¯s arm. He Jijun put down the Air Bullet Rifle he was holding and shook his head firmly. ¡°No. If we can win the battle, there¡¯s no need to take risks.¡± He was rather rational, and didn¡¯t have a strong complex for personal heroics. In the current situation, he found it quite agreeable to join forces with the crowd and collectively take down the Black Giant Snake¡ªno need for showboating. Wang Tao nodded; their thoughts were similar. He hadn¡¯t used his Fireball, which should be able to damage the Black Giant Snake, but there was no need to waste Awakening Energy. At this pace, they could just keep hitting it slowly. The Black Giant Snake couldn¡¯t use any abilities and naturally had no means of healing itself, but its own Blood Regeneration speed was very fast¡ªit was just too physically resilient. So they were truly just whittling down its HP slowly... Bang! [ -1622 ] After Wang Tao fired another shot, he suddenly had a thought and immediately contacted Jiang Shixue using the radio. Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle was still parked at the bottom of the mountain, with Jiang Shixue, Nie Siyan, and a few others guarding it. Since they had come out quite a distance this time, the vehicle was very important. If anything happened to it, the walk back would be troublesome. ¡°Bro! How¡¯s the situation over there? Is it safe?¡± Jiang Shixue, knowing Wang Tao was in battle, had not taken the initiative to contact him. ¡°Things have stabilized for now; it¡¯s safe at the moment. I just thought of something¡ªgo down into that cave and see if there are any mushrooms or something... But be careful, if there¡¯s danger, retreat immediately...¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that there might be mushrooms inside the cave too! It was definitely safe in the cave now because the Black Giant Snake¡¯s Cataclysmic Awakening was an indiscriminate attack. Any creature inside would surely be dead by now. Jiang Shixue had Night Vision, her claws were sharp, and she could climb walls... Even if she encountered danger in the cave, she should be able to escape. ¡°Okay!¡± ... Ratatat¡ª The relentless gunfire continued to engulf the Black Giant Snake. After Lan Yulian had imbued everyone with Fire attribute attacks, the Black Giant Snake¡¯s HP also slowly began to decrease. From its two hundred thousand HP, it now had just over a hundred thousand left. At this rate, another ten to twenty minutes would be enough to wear it down completely! Although they couldn¡¯t see its health bar, they could feel that the Black Giant Snake¡¯s attacks seemed to have weakened a bit, which thrilled everyone. Were they really going to slay this Disaster-level monster?! ¡°` If they could kill the Black Giant Snake this time, Lan Yulian would definitely be the hero. All tactics had been developed around her, and without her, at least a large number of people would have died. Next would be Wang Tao. Although Wang Tao seemed relaxed¡ªand indeed was relaxed¡ªhe was absolutely the main force in attack! His Air Bullets combined with the Crystal Energy Gun could inflict 15,000 points of damage to the Black Giant Snake per minute. This damage was unmatched by anyone else! Without Wang Tao, attempting to grind down the Black Giant Snake to death with just the others would be futile; even if they used up all their bullets and exhausted their energy, it¡¯s doubtful they could have killed it, given the snake¡¯s strong healing ability... Then, there were Cheng Yiyi and Zhou Long. Cheng Yiyi was the commander, with everyone, including Wang Tao and Lan Yulian, following her orders. It was precisely because of her command that when they were first attacked by the Black Giant Snake, the formation didn¡¯t collapse and they immediately used massive firepower to halt its advance. Otherwise, if the Giant Serpent had charged at them... even Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t have saved them. Afterward, everyone calmly attacked the Black Giant Snake under her direction, and although some were injured, no one died! Zhou Long needs no further mention. Everyone could attack the Black Giant Snake with confidence because Zhou Long¡¯s Black Quicksand completely controlled its movement! Although it didn¡¯t control the serpent fully, as it still thrashed in the Black Quicksand, slowly inching forward, Zhou Long could control the extent of the Black Quicksand and move it along with him. That¡¯s why they were able to keep the Black Giant Snake trapped. Without Zhou Long, they probably would still have been able to kill the Black Giant Snake thanks to Lan Yulian and Wang Tao, but the price would have been high, and many would have likely died... As for who suffered the most, it was naturally Zhou Long, for he was the only one constantly within the range of the serpent¡¯s Awakening [Life Drain], losing HP continuously, while Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing Light enveloped him, constantly regenerating his HP. The experience of continually losing and regaining HP was truly agonizing... At that moment, Zhou Long¡¯s voice rang out in the earpieces of everyone. ¡°Everyone... how much longer do you need? I can¡¯t hold on much longer...¡± Upon hearing Zhou Long¡¯s words, everyone instantly became tense. ¡°Zhou Long, what¡¯s your situation?¡± Cheng Yiyi hurriedly asked. ¡°I¡¯m exhausted... and mentally drained too... My Awakening, though not consuming much Awakening Energy, continuously drains my physical strength and spirit... I¡¯m about to collapse...¡± Zhou Long said weakly. His Awakening Ability was different from the others. A typical Active Awakening would consume a significant amount of Awakening Energy either instantaneously or continuously. Zhou Long¡¯s was different; his Awakening didn¡¯t consume much Awakening Energy, which is why he had been able to hold out until now. If it had been as consuming as Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie, he wouldn¡¯t have lasted even a minute. But there was a cost¡ªcontinuous drain on his spirit and physical strength. So he felt sleepy and tired, dying to lie down and sleep. He felt that if he held on any longer, he might suddenly drop dead... After listening to Zhou Long¡¯s explanation, everyone¡¯s expressions changed drastically. Without Zhou Long¡¯s Black Quicksand, they would certainly suffer casualties! Lan Yulian¡¯s healing was powerful, but those Level Two and Level One individuals exposed to the serpent¡¯s Awakening would likely die instantly, leaving no chance for Lan Yulian to replenish their HP! Cheng Yiyi immediately calculated in her mind whether or not to have those with lesser strength withdraw while those with greater strength stood up against the Black Giant Snake. However, Wang Tao suddenly spoke: ¡°Consuming too much physical strength and spirit? Wait for me!¡± Under everyone¡¯s puzzled gaze, Wang Tao charged towards Zhou Long. Upon entering the Life Drain area, Wang Tao immediately felt uncomfortable. In his hand, he had a [Rejuvenation] Potion which could instantly restore his spirit and physical strength to full, but at the cost of being weak for the whole next day. Wang Tao directly forced open Zhou Long¡¯s mouth and poured the entire potion down his throat. Glug~ Zhou Long was somewhat dazed, but he was in no state to resist. Then he miraculously found that his physical strength and spirit were fully restored¡ªhe was neither sleepy nor tired anymore! ¡°Keep it up!¡± Wang Tao patted him on the shoulder, then immediately withdrew since staying within the [Life Drain] range was too uncomfortable. ¡°...¡± Zhou Long suddenly felt like it might have been better to just pass out. He had to continue enduring the torment! Zhou Long once again experienced the feeling of time dragging on endlessly. Just as he was about to give in, he suddenly heard a thunderous noise. Looking up, the Black Giant Snake... had collapsed? ¡°Is it dead? Which lucky bastard killed it? It¡¯s the first kill of a Disaster-level creature...¡± Zhou Long couldn¡¯t hold on any longer and as he collapsed to the ground, he began to snore. Chapter 834: 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter) Chapter 834: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter) Seeing that his shot had emptied the HP bar of the Black Giant Snake, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but break into a grin. Seeing the HP bar was always satisfying, putting other things aside, at the very least, snagging the last hit was a sure thing! Especially since the defense of this Black Giant Snake was so high, causing others to inflict low damage and reduce HP slowly, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to worry about the Giant Serpent suddenly dropping dead. He just needed to watch its HP and trigger his gun when it had only a thousand HP left. But this couldn¡¯t really be considered kill-stealing, since he was the main attacker. If there¡¯d been a damage counter, one would see that his attacks alone accounted for more than half of the total. If Lan Yulian hadn¡¯t added Fire attribute attacks to the others, their damage likely wouldn¡¯t even have reached half of that. Wang Tao did a lot of damage, but the cost was also significant. For instance, the Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores, which served as ¡°bullets¡± for his Crystal Energy Gun, he had used up as many as six! ... The Blood Regeneration speed of the Black Giant Snake was too fast, doubling the consumption Wang Tao had expected. Thankfully, killing the monster would result in extra Loot Packs, otherwise, he might have made a loss... Of course, even without the Loot Packs, Wang Tao still had to kill it. After all, this was likely the first kill of a Disaster-level creature, and Wang Tao was quite curious whether it would drop anything good. ¡°Everyone rest on the spot!¡± After seeing the Black Giant Snake die, Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t go to check the corpse right away. Instead, she had everyone quickly rest and reorganize. After all, they were in the wild, and securing their personal safety was paramount. As to who killed the Giant Serpent, Cheng Yiyi wasn¡¯t sure either. The firepower just now was intense, and it seemed like the Black Giant Snake was battered badly, as if everyone¡¯s attacks were potent... Plus, she couldn¡¯t see the exact damage numbers, so she couldn¡¯t judge. Wang Tao may have had high damage, but he attacked less frequently. When Wang Tao fired his gun just now, countless bullets also hit the Giant Serpent. She felt it wasn¡¯t certain that Wang Tao would get the kill, as it largely depended on luck... ¡°Zhou Long has fainted!¡± Qi De had been slacking off with a gun after striking that one blow, quite comfortably at that. Seeing Zhou Long faint, he immediately rushed over and carried Zhou Long back. Wang Tao saw Zhou Long still had over fifty thousand HP; he had just fainted from exhaustion and didn¡¯t look further. He held Lan Yulian¡¯s hand beside him and asked, ¡°Are you okay?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face was very pale. Although she wasn¡¯t as uncomfortable as Zhou Long in this battle, she was also very tired. After all, Healing abilities consumed Mana, and when too much Mana was expended, one would naturally feel mentally fatigued, and there was nothing available to recover Mana... It was only because she was familiar with her abilities and knew how to conserve her energy, and combined with the gradual increase in her Mana, that she could hold out until now. But even so, her Mana was nearly depleted. ¡°I¡¯m okay, just a bit tired... But it was worth it to kill this monster!¡± Lan Yulian, with her eyes closed, leaned on Wang Tao, the corners of her mouth slightly raised. This was her first time exerting her full power after her Awakening. Because of her, although some members of their three-hundred-person team were injured, none died! This sense of achievement was something she¡¯d never experienced before! ¡°How about I replenish some of your energy later?¡± Wang Tao suddenly whispered teasingly into her ear; his Yin and Yang Balance ability could replenish both of their Mana, though the process was somewhat special. ¡°No way!¡± Lan Yulian immediately shot Wang Tao a disapproving look. There wasn¡¯t a private space for their Yin and Yang Balance now. If it were just the two of them, she¡¯d be quite willing. ¡°Madam Lan, are you alright?¡± Cheng Yiyi walked over in her Powered Armor. ¡°I¡¯m okay, just a little too tired...¡± Lan Yulian struggled to leave Wang Tao¡¯s embrace. Cheng Yiyi was considering inviting Lan Yulian to her Legion. Although Lan Yulian was the president of an organization, that didn¡¯t interfere, and there was no need for Lan Yulian to stay permanently; having her as a consultant would also be nice. But seeing Lan Yulian¡¯s exhausted face, she held back for the moment and instead directly said, ¡°We owe you a lot this time! You guys have priority in distributing the Loot!¡± She didn¡¯t mince words and allowed Wang Tao first dibs on the loot. If they hadn¡¯t encountered Wang Tao and his group by chance, they would have had no way to deal with the Black Giant Snake. The Giant Serpent caused those around it to continuously lose Life Energy, preventing close combat and forcing them to attack from a distance. But the Giant Serpent¡¯s defense was too strong, and their Ranged Attacks were ineffective. And among their three Awakeners, at least two and a half were close-combatants, unable to engage in melee either... So it wasn¡¯t that they weren¡¯t powerful, but their abilities were just perfectly countered by this Giant Serpent. ¡°Haha, sure thing!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t stand on ceremony, after all, he had consumed so many Crystal Cores, so it was only right that he got first pick of the loot. Once everyone had rested and was ready to inspect the Black Giant Snake¡¯s corpse, suddenly someone exclaimed, ¡°I feel terrible...¡± ¡°Retreat quickly!¡± Seeing the pallor on the faces of those at the front suddenly change, Cheng Yiyi immediately ordered a retreat. Wang Tao¡¯s brow instantly furrowed. The people at the front were losing HP! This Disaster-level Giant Serpent was already dead, how could it still cause ongoing HP loss? The team retreated again, and several Healing ability users in Cheng Yiyi¡¯s team rushed to replenish the few affected. Everyone¡¯s faces looked grim. Chapter 835: 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 Chapter 835: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_2 If that¡¯s the case, they wouldn¡¯t even be able to take the loot! All that busywork for nothing? Wang Tao didn¡¯t think so, because he saw very clearly that although those people were losing HP, the rate of HP loss wasn¡¯t as horrifying as before. When the Black Giant Snake was alive, a Level 3 ability user would typically lose ten thousand HP just by entering its [Life Drain] range. But now, those Level 3 ability users only lost a little over a thousand HP. In other words, this [Life Drain] hasn¡¯t disappeared but its effect has been reduced by ten times? ¡°I can feel that the effect of this life drain has been reduced, probably by about ten times...¡± Wang Tao spoke up. ... His words, as a Level 4 ability user, carried a lot of weight and were highly trusted. ¡°If it¡¯s been reduced by ten times, then we might be able to go take a look. How about this, Qi De, Huang Wu, and Wang Tao, the three of you go check it out?¡± Cheng Yiyi suggested. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded, and seeing Wang Tao¡¯s agreement, Qi De and Huang Wu also nodded. If Wang Tao didn¡¯t go, they would have to think twice. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t trust Wang Tao, but it¡¯s always good to be wary of others. Moreover, Lan Yulian was currently unable to heal, so if something happened to them without strong healing, that would be troublesome... Wang Tao voluntarily walked into the range of the [Life Drain]. Although its effect had weakened, its range hadn¡¯t changed, still with a radius of about fifty meters. [-103] Seeing the HP bar above his head drop, Wang Tao was immediately relieved. The sensation of losing HP was still unpleasant, but it really had been reduced by ten times; before it was a thousand HP lost. Qi De and Huang Wu, who had previously circled around the Black Giant Snake, were very sensitive to the feeling of life erosion. They could clearly feel that the rate at which their lives were being drained was not as fast as before, which allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief. However, as they got closer to the corpse of the Giant Serpent, all three of them felt increasingly uncomfortable. By the time they touched the snake¡¯s body, the HP bars above their heads were dropping by five hundred every second. But after all, they were ability users with a hundred thousand HP, and Wang Tao even had a hundred and fifty thousand HP. So even with five hundred HP being deducted every second, they could hold on for at least three minutes. Qi De and Huang Wu endured their discomfort and searched for the Crystal Core. The body of the serpent was so large that finding the core was quite troublesome, so the two of them worked together to speed up the process. Wang Tao, on the other hand, collected the Loot Packs that only he could see and then checked for other dropped materials. ¡°There really are materials!¡± Wang Tao found that a pair of the giant snake¡¯s fangs and several scales had names. This was a monster that everyone killed by working together, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t put these materials into his Space Backpack. After ensuring there were no oversights, he then regrouped with Qi De and Huang Wu. Just as Qi De and his companions extracted the Giant Serpent¡¯s Crystal Core, to everyone¡¯s surprise, there were actually two Crystal Cores in the snake¡¯s head! Besides the Crystal Cores, there were three other items. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything we¡¯ve missed, let¡¯s head back quickly...¡± Qi De¡¯s face was somewhat pale, as his HP was down to half. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao and the others took the items and promptly left the Black Giant Snake. ¡°Are you all alright!¡± Back with the group, Cheng Yiyi immediately asked with concern. Healing abilities were cast upon Qi De and Huang Wu; these were the healing ability users under Cheng Yiyi¡¯s command. As for Wang Tao, naturally, Lan Yulian personally administered the healing. Even though Lan Yulian had almost depleted her energy, she had recovered some by now. Qi De and Huang Wu were somewhat envious; they too longed for such strong healing! Shaking his head, Qi De took out what they had found. ¡°We¡¯re fine. Here are the spoils.¡± Wang Tao also brought out the snake fangs and scales. Once the fangs and scales were removed from the Black Giant Snake, they no longer had [Life Drain], so there was no need to worry about potential danger. Seeing all the loot, everyone was excited. ¡°How do you all think we should distribute these spoils? I personally think we should first determine the value of these items and then distribute them based on contribution. What do you think?¡± Cheng Yiyi looked at everyone as she spoke. According to the rules of Changhe Base, there were two methods of distributing loots among the survivors who collaborated. The first method was ¡°Quick distribution.¡± It involved taking whatever you were interested in, with those who contributed more having the first pick, but it had to be done on the spot. If you didn¡¯t understand an item, you¡¯d have to take a gamble on your luck. Once distributed, no one could have any objections, even if they ended up at a loss. The second method was ¡°Fair distribution.¡± It involved first clarifying the approximate value of the items. Those who made greater contributions naturally got the items of higher value. If there were too few items to split up well, then they would be converted into Crystal Coins. Generally, more people preferred ¡°Quick distribution.¡± One reason was speed, without beating around the bush. Another was that evaluating the value of unfamiliar items could be troublesome, often requiring a trip back to the city to consult others. If the spoils didn¡¯t enter one¡¯s own pocket immediately, it introduced an element of uncertainty. Besides, entrusting someone to hold on to these spoils was another issue; many people didn¡¯t trust others that much... So, for convenience, most people chose this first method. Chapter 836: 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 Chapter 836: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_3 In some relationships which are relatively good, especially among the Six Major Legions, where there is mutual trust, they prefer to ascertain the value first and then distribute according to contributions, which is called ¡°fair distribution.¡± The advantage of this distribution method is its fairness; it generally doesn¡¯t let anyone feel shortchanged. However, the disadvantage is that it¡¯s relatively slow; it is quite normal for researchers to spend a week determining the value of an item... This Black Giant Snake was killed by everyone working together, notably with significant contributions from Wang Tao and his group. Cheng Yiyi would surely respect the ideas of Wang Tao and the others. ¡°I agree with Commandor Cheng¡¯s plan.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He didn¡¯t mind, as he wasn¡¯t the type to take advantage; fair distribution suited him well. Of course, he had already taken the greatest advantage... y expectant as he spoke: ... ¡°Mr. Wang, do you know the value of this item?¡± If Wang Tao knew the value of these items and could distribute them on the spot, wouldn¡¯t that be both fair and quick! ation. They didn¡¯t mention the items like the Giant Serpent¡¯s teeth and scales¡ªactually, except for Wang Tao and his group, the others didn¡¯t understand why Wang Tao would want these items. The teeth might be used to create weapons, but those scales... There were so many scales on the serpent, there were plenty to go around when the time came! Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t explain the difference between these materials and ordinary materials; he skipped over these two types of materials and looked at the other spoils of war. Two Crystal Cores, one Advanced Awakening Energy Bead, one bead of unknown use, and an item resembling a key. Seeing these four items, Wang Tao also felt a bit excited. These were all desirable items! Wang Tao first looked at the Crystal Cores: the two Crystal Cores exploded out of the Black Giant Snake were both orange. [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Advanced Defense] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: body stiffness)] [Defense: Passive Ability, greatly enhances personal defense] The first Crystal Core was Advanced Defense; Wang Tao had only seen ordinary Defense before. Defense was a more common Crystal Core, but this Advanced Defense, which greatly increases personal defense, should be quite good. Moreover, this was an Epic-level one, and its value should be high. The second Crystal Core was a [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening] Awakening need not be mentioned, it was also a very valuable Crystal Core, precisely what Fourth-Order Superpower users like them were missing... Both of these Crystal Cores were quite valuable. Then Wang Tao looked at the Awakening Energy Bead, which was not just any Awakening Energy Bead but also included the word ¡°Advanced.¡± [Advanced Awakening Energy Bead: After use, one can gain 500 Awakening Energy] A regular Awakening Energy Bead only adds 100 Awakening Energy, but this adds 500! Truly worthy of being high-grade! Wang Tao explained the Advanced Defense Crystal Core and the Advanced Awakening Energy Bead to everyone. ¡°Advanced Defense... Advanced Awakening Energy Bead...¡± Everyone was a little excited. rant a Hidden Attribute.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then looked again at the bead. [Strange Snake Bead: Level 3 Serpentine consumes it may ascend one level and has a certain chance to ascend to Disaster Class, humans consume it to get a Hidden Attribute] The attributes of this Snake Bead, and the Magic Seeds and Magic Flame that Wang Tao had encountered before, were very similar. It was much better than the Strange Poison Sac, which only had a one-third chance of granting a Hidden Attribute, while this Snake Bead, when consumed by humans, definitely granted a Hidden Attribute! Chapter 837: 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 Chapter 837: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_4 As for the possibility of a serpent below Level 4 ascending after consuming this, it definitely needn¡¯t be considered. Although, if it could ascend a Disaster-level monster, killing another Disaster-level would still be very profitable. But this is only for serpentine use, and there¡¯s currently no way to find a Level 3 one, which is even harder, and totally unnecessary. It¡¯s better to have a person gain Hidden Attributes. So Wang Tao didn¡¯t mention that the bead could be fed to serpents¡ªand he wasn¡¯t keen on explaining it either. After all, he could say he had seen it used on humans, but he certainly couldn¡¯t have fed it to serpents himself, could he? Thus, there was no need to elaborate, as it was not applicable anyway. Qi De and his two companions gasped on hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words. ¡°Hidden Attributes that are certain to be obtained!¡± Gleaming eyes among the three of them. Zhou Long wasn¡¯t sleepy anymore, so he hurriedly asked, ... ¡°Is there no chance of poisoning or something?¡± Wang Tao shook his head with a smile, ¡°No. There¡¯s no failure, no poisoning, you¡¯ll just definitely get a Hidden Attribute, but what specific Attribute it is isn¡¯t certain, it¡¯s totally random.¡± The three looked at each other, excitement evident in their eyes. This meant that by consuming this Snake bead, it would be like having one foot already inside the threshold of Awakening! This bead must be secured¡ªthought all three simultaneously. Meanwhile, Cheng Yiyi, perplexed, spoke up, ¡°What¡¯s a Hidden Attribute?¡± ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t know?¡± Wang Tao looked at her with some confusion. ¡°Should I know?¡± Cheng Yiyi frowned, feeling like she had missed something. Wang Tao turned to look at Qi De and his companions, who coughed dryly and looked away. Wang Tao was a bit speechless. He had once educated Qi De and his peers about Awakening, hoping they¡¯d share the knowledge so that more Awakeners might emerge. Even just one or two more Awakeners would make Wang Tao happy. But clearly, they hadn¡¯t spread the word. Not just the Ordinary people, even Legion Commander Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t know about this... It showed how tight-lipped these people could be! ¡°Hidden Attributes are...¡± Wang Tao repeated his earlier explanation to Cheng Yiyi. ¡°What? There¡¯s such a thing as Hidden Attributes! No wonder I¡¯ve killed a Level 4, Lord, but never felt the Key they talked about... It¡¯s because I don¡¯t have Hidden Attributes...¡± After listening, Cheng Yiyi felt a sudden revelation! But soon, she was troubled again. Not having Hidden Attributes meant she definitely couldn¡¯t awaken. No matter how hard she tried, it was impossible¡ªit was innate¡ªwait! It was only then that Cheng Yiyi realized what Wang Tao had just said. By eating this green Snake bead, one would obtain a Hidden Attribute with a hundred-percent certainty! If she ate this bead, does that mean she, too, had a chance to awaken?! Inside her Powered Armor, Cheng Yiyi¡¯s chest heaved violently. In just that brief moment, she had experienced an emotional rollercoaster¡ªafter hearing Wang Tao¡¯s exposition, she thought she¡¯d never be able to awaken in her lifetime, which left her quite despondent. But upon hearing that consuming the Snake bead would grant a Hidden Attribute, she was instantly thrilled again¡ªshe still had a chance! When Qi De and the two others saw the expression on Cheng Yiyi¡¯s face, they suddenly felt a sinking feeling in their hearts. Oh no, they had forgotten about Cheng Yiyi! She hadn¡¯t awakened yet! They had assumed that Wang Tao might contend for the bead, and by offering him certain benefits, they could perhaps persuade him to give it up. After all, they were somewhat wealthy. But if Cheng Yiyi also entered the fray, there was no way they could beat her! They couldn¡¯t match Commander Cheng¡¯s overall contributions, and they lacked the wealth and influence of the Sixth Army Corps¡ªeven if the Sixth was ranked last among the Six Major Legions, it wasn¡¯t to be underestimated! Cheng Yiyi had strong adaptive capabilities, and soon calmed herself down. She didn¡¯t rush to decide who would own the Snake bead, instead, she turned to Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, this last item...¡± All eyes were on Wang Tao, as they had never seen this Key-shaped object before. When Qi De and his friends first obtained the Key, they felt an urge to swallow it. But since they had no idea what it was, they didn¡¯t dare to do so haphazardly. However, they could sense that it needed to be consumed. ¡°I just explained to Commander Cheng, to awaken, Hidden Attributes are the most basic and important requirement. And once you have Hidden Attributes, by killing organisms above Level 4, Lord, you will obtain an Awakening Key. Only with all the necessary conditions met, including an Awakening Key, can one awaken... And this thing, it¡¯s a Physical Awakening Key!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, Qi De and the others were left agape. ¡°There¡¯s a physical form of this thing? I thought you had to personally kill a Level 4, Lord... Well, if there¡¯s a Physical Key, that means you can help others awaken...¡± ¡°But even with all the right conditions, the probability of awakening on your first try is only 50%... It¡¯s still tough to awaken!¡± ¡°Sigh, luck played a big role in our awakenings...¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s eyes sparkled even more. She had just been wondering¡ªeven if she eventually got the Snake bead, without an Awakening Key, awakening soon wouldn¡¯t be feasible. She would still need to hunt another Fourth-Level Organism. Chapter 838: 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 Chapter 838: Chapter 327: Advanced Secret Key (Two-in-One Mega Chapter)_5 ¡°` She did know of some places where Level 4 zombies resided, but those areas were extremely dangerous and not easy to kill. For the moment, she couldn¡¯t find any Level 4 Lords that were easy to deal with... However, Wang Tao shook his head at this moment. ¡°No, no, no, if you use an Ordinary Awakening Key to awaken, then the success rate is indeed only 50%, but if you use this key, it might not be the case!¡± ¡°Ah? Is this key different?¡± The crowd was momentarily stunned. ... ¡°I call this type of key a High-level Secret Key, and the success rate of awakening with it is 70%!¡± [Advanced Awakening Secret Key: The key necessary for awakening (Success rate 70%)] [Note: When used alone, the Advanced Awakening Secret Key has a success rate of 70%; when used with one or more Ordinary Awakening Keys, the success rate averages out.] Wang Tao had known about the Advanced Awakening Secret Keys before, but had never seen one before. This was the first time he saw an Advanced Awakening Secret Key. A success rate of 70% was quite high, considering the success rate for the first awakening with an Ordinary Awakening Key was only 50%. Yet another hint popped up with this key, and after Wang Tao took a look, he roughly understood its meaning¡ª If awakening requires only one key, then naturally it¡¯s the first awakening. Thus, the success rate with an Advanced Awakening Key is 70%. If the first attempt is unsuccessful, or for those with more than two Hidden Attributes, they can try a second awakening. Without the Advanced Awakening Secret Key, the success rate for the second awakening is 40%, a relatively low probability. But if you use an Advanced Awakening Secret Key, then it¡¯s the high-level 70% plus the ordinary 40%, divided by two, which averages out to 55%¡ªmeaning the success rate for the second awakening is 55%! Although the probability is still not high, for awakening, above 50% is already considered high! If it¡¯s the third awakening, the normal probability is 30%. Add one Advanced Awakening Secret Key, and then it¡¯s 70%+30%+30% divided by 3, which is a 43% success rate. While this success rate is higher than 30%, it still doesn¡¯t exceed 50%, so Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t worth it. However, turning back to the subject, as long as you have enough Advanced Awakening Keys, two for the second awakening, three for the third awakening... then your success rate for awakening stays at 70%! Therefore, Wang Tao thought that with only one Advanced Awakening Key, it would be relatively worthwhile to use it for the first or second awakening, but not beyond the third, because it wouldn¡¯t surpass the 50% probability. Of course, if there are plenty of Advanced Awakening Keys, then it doesn¡¯t matter. It¡¯s a pity that there is only one right now... ¡°An Advanced Awakening Secret Key with a 70% awakening success rate...¡± The people exclaimed in amazement, as this was the first time they had heard of such a thing. ¡°If you eat the Snake Bead to gain a Hidden Attribute and then use this High-level Secret Key... Wouldn¡¯t that directly turn you into an Awakener?¡± Zhou Long muttered to himself. ¡°In theory, that¡¯s the case. The premise is not to have too bad luck, since this is a 70% chance, not 100%, and there is still the possibility of failure...¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Qi De and the others slowly fell into silence. A Snake Bead, coupled with an Advanced Awakening Secret Key, almost guaranteed becoming an Awakener! The value of these two items was immensely high! They all wanted the Snake Bead and the Advanced Awakening Key! But it was highly likely that they wouldn¡¯t be able to get either, let alone both at the same time! After introducing all of these items, it was time for Wang Tao to choose his loot first, as everyone had agreed beforehand. But Cheng Yiyi suddenly spoke: ¡°Mr. Wang, please come with me for a moment.¡± She clearly had something she wanted to discuss with Wang Tao alone. Qi De and the others were not surprised by this situation. If they were in her shoes, they¡¯d want to talk to Wang Tao as well, to see if they could negotiate to prevent him from taking those two items. Especially for Cheng Yiyi, who was not an Awakener and had no Hidden Attributes, she was the one who needed the Snake Bead and Advanced Awakening Key the most! ¡°` ¡°Sigh...¡± Qi De and his two companions sighed. They felt they were out of the running, and it ultimately came down to whether Wang Tao or Cheng Yiyi would get the items. Not to mention Wang Tao, his team had made a significant contribution to killing the monster. As for Cheng Yiyi, although her contribution to the kill wasn¡¯t as great as Wang Tao¡¯s, she was the one who organized this operation, and it was she who discovered these monsters. Thus, she had a sizable share in the final distribution of the loot. Qi De and the others had to step back... On the other side. Cheng Yiyi spoke seriously to Wang Tao: ¡°Mr. Wang, let¡¯s not beat around the bush. I want the snake bead and the advanced awakening secret key. But with my contribution points, it¡¯s clear that I can¡¯t take both. So, I hope you can give me this chance. Of course, I¡¯ll compensate you with crystal coins or other items, and I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t be at a loss! Moreover, you can tell me what you want in compensation, and I¡¯ll try my best to satisfy you...¡± The snake bead was also very useful to Wang Tao. Yang Changhong hadn¡¯t awakened any hidden attributes yet, and Wang Tao had been thinking of securing one for her, but he hadn¡¯t had the chance. Although he had items that could enhance hidden attributes, they all came with a risk of failure, unlike this 100%-guaranteed snake bead. As for the advanced awakening secret key, there was no need to say more. Not to mention others, Wang Tao himself wanted to use it because he wanted to undergo a second awakening. However, Wang Tao also knew that taking one item wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but taking both would be quite difficult. After all, everyone agreed that the value of the snake bead plus the advanced awakening secret key accounted for over 95% of the total value gained this time! After all, this equated to a 70% chance of training an awakener in a short time, and it wasn¡¯t a random training but one where you could freely choose who to awaken! When Wang Tao collected the loot pack from the Giant Serpent earlier, he glanced through it, and the items inside were better than the ones available now. Even if he didn¡¯t take these items, he considered the operation a huge success. But after all, these items were rightfully his, earned through hard work, and he wouldn¡¯t just give them away for free. So Wang Tao pondered for a moment and said: ¡°How about this? I won¡¯t fight over these two items, and you can just give me whatever compensation later. Besides these two items, all other items, including the corpse of this Giant Serpent, go to me, and you handle the compensation for Qi De and his team. Additionally, I¡¯d like to make a small trade with you...¡± At the beginning of Wang Tao¡¯s words, Cheng Yiyi was visibly excited. If Wang Tao was willing to part with the loot, she was certainly willing to compensate him. As for giving Wang Tao all the other loot from the Giant Serpent, she naturally agreed, since the value of those items wasn¡¯t as high as that of the snake bead and the key. As for the body of the Giant Serpent, although odd in that it could still unleash [Life Drain] even after death, it definitely wasn¡¯t something she could make sense of in a hurry, and its value was surely not as high as the snake bead and the secret key! So giving it all to Wang Tao was naturally no issue. The only question was, what did Wang Tao mean by the rest of his statement? ¡°Mr. Wang, what is this trade you¡¯re proposing?¡± ¡°I have two ordinary physical awakening keys, which I¡¯d like to exchange for that advanced awakening secret key. Do we have a deal?¡± Two physical awakening keys suddenly appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, slightly different in appearance from the advanced real body awakening secret key, and evidently not as high-level. ¡°Two physical keys!¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s breathing instantly grew rapid. Wang Tao actually had two physical awakening keys?! To trade or not to trade? The advanced awakening secret key had a 70% success rate; as long as luck wasn¡¯t too poor, one should be able to awaken. The ordinary awakening secret key had a 50% success rate; theoretically, there was a fifty-fifty chance of awakening. But with good luck, both could awaken! Then again, if luck was bad, neither would be awakened... A dilemma indeed! Wang Tao didn¡¯t disturb Cheng Yiyi and quietly waited. The reason he wanted to exchange for the solid advanced awakening key was because after killing the Black Giant Snake, apart from gaining advanced special energy, 100 awakening energy, he had also obtained a secret key. But it wasn¡¯t an ordinary secret key; it was a high-level secret key! However, this secret key wasn¡¯t physical, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t take it out; it was only usable for himself. And the conditions for Wang Tao¡¯s second awakening were already met, but he wasn¡¯t willing to gamble with just a 40% success rate. Now, if there was a 70% success rate, Wang Tao felt it was worth trying for the second awakening! Chapter 839 - 328: Awakening Seed Chapter 839 - 328: Awakening Seed Cheng Yiyi and Wang Tao returned to the crowd, and Wang Tao spoke up immediately: "This time, I only want the Giant Serpent''s body, materials, Crystal Core, and Awakening Energy Pearl. I don''t need anything else." The items he mentioned seemed numerous, but their value was far less than that of the Snake Bead and the Secret Key. Qi De and his companions immediately understood, realizing Wang Tao had already discussed this with Cheng Yiyi. They sighed internally; since even Wang Tao had conceded, they had no chance of claiming these items anymore. Sure enough, Cheng Yiyi then said, "I want the Snake Bead and the Advanced Awakening Secret Key. I can convert the value of these items into Crystal Coins and transfer them to you according to each person''s Contribution Points later. What do you think?" "We have no objections..." Since Wang Tao had already discussed it with Cheng Yiyi, Qi De and the others naturally couldn''t argue. They simply nodded in agreement. Of course, they were not at a loss. Or rather, after killing this Black Giant Snake, no one would be at a loss; it was merely a matter of earning more or less. The people trusted Cheng Yiyi relatively well. When she said she would transfer the Crystal Coins to them later, none of them objected. "Then, the body of this Giant Serpent..." Cheng Yiyi turned towards Wang Tao. "Just leave it here for now, as it can''t be moved at the moment. I''ll think of a solution later, perhaps after some time, we might be able to approach it." Wang Tao said with a smile. The body of the Black Giant Snake now belonged to Wang Tao, but it still had the [Life Drain] effect on it. For the moment, it couldn''t be moved. Actually, this was something worth researching. If the body had belonged to Cheng Yiyi, she would definitely have sold it to a research institute. But now that it belonged to Wang Tao, how to handle it was his affair. "Okay!" Cheng Yiyi nodded, then added, "It''s getting dark soon. We''re preparing to head back. What about you?" "We''re heading back too, Commandor Cheng, shall we go together?" Zhou Long immediately said. He was extremely tired and wanted to head back to sleep soon. Furthermore, after midnight, he would go into a state of Weakness, which would be very dangerous in the wilderness¡ªit was essential to get home. "Alright." Cheng Yiyi nodded. "Us too!" Qi De and Huang Wu also needed to return, as their mission was complete, and there was naturally no need to stay in the wilderness any longer. "We''ll stay here, we still have some things to handle..." Wang Tao shook his head. The matter of restoring the maximum HP limit for Lan Yulian and Jijun was not yet finished, and naturally, they couldn''t leave just yet. "Then be careful!" Cheng Yiyi wasn''t surprised; Wang Tao and his group were strong, so staying out overnight while unfinished business remained was normal. Before leaving, they all made another trip to the Giant Serpent Cave. Although they felt there was probably nothing inside, they were still curious and took a quick look. As expected, they found nothing, because the inner part of the cave had completely collapsed and was inaccessible. Then they asked Wang Tao about selling the Potion he had used on Zhou Long before. They did not know how Wang Tao had revitalized Zhou Long; they even thought Wang Tao had some special Ability. But according to Zhou Long, it was because Wang Tao had given him a Potion that he had bounced back! Curious, they approached Wang Tao, and he simply explained that it was a kind of Potion called "Rejuvenation," which could instantly restore one''s Spirit and Physical strength to full. However, the Potion could only be used once a day, and after midnight on the following day, there would be a weakness status lasting the entire day. Qi De and his companions were amazed by the miraculous effects of the Potion. They thought this was a new product from the Hope Research Institute, but Wang Tao denied it and did not reveal its origin. Seeing his reluctance, they tactfully stopped probing and instead asked Wang Tao if he had any extra to spare, as they were willing to pay a high price to buy some. Having the Rejuvenation Potion at a critical moment could save lives! Spending more money on something that could save their lives was naturally no problem. However, Wang Tao didn''t accept money but gifted them a few instead. "I don''t carry many ''Rejuvenation'' Potions, but considering our relationship as comrades-in-arms... I''ll give you guys a few!" Wang Tao gave Cheng Yiyi, Qi De, Huang Wu, and Zhou Long each five Potions. The cost of making a Rejuvenation Potion was extremely low, only needing a Crystal Core, 300 ml of Purified Water, and 30 kcal of food to produce five Potions. Therefore, they were of little value to Wang Tao. Of course, even if they were of little value, he wouldn''t give them away for free. His reason for giving them for free was naturally to let Cheng Yiyi and the others help promote it for free. Wang Tao planned to produce more Potions to sell later on. After all, the currency at Changhe Base was pegged to Crystal Cores, and earning more money was equivalent to earning more Crystal Cores. "You''re giving them to us? Thank you!" The group didn''t hesitate to accept, although they weren''t exactly aware that Wang Tao could make the Rejuvenation Potion himself, they could somewhat tell he likely had a good stock of it. So, they planned to test it thoroughly when they got back, and if it really was effective, they would return to buy more from Wang Tao. After receiving the Potions, Cheng Yiyi and her group left. Wang Tao contacted Jiang Shixue, asking them to bring a vehicle over, planning to rest near the Giant Serpent''s body that night. This location was at the base of the mountain, and another entrance to the Giant Serpent''s cave was nearby, where they could set up tents inside the cave. Chapter 840: 328: Awakening Seed_2 Chapter 840: Chapter 328: Awakening Seed_2 The sun had already set, so it was pointless to go out searching for zombies now. Wang Tao intended to rest well tonight. He had already inquired with Cheng Yiyi about the nearby situation and knew where to find zombies; he could head directly there tomorrow. While waiting for Jiang Shixue and the others to arrive, Wang Tao checked out the loot. Defeating the Black Giant Snake, a fourth-order Disaster-level monster, had yielded him 2 Advanced Special Energy, 200 Awakening Energy, and 1 Advanced Awakening Secret Key. Compared to a Level 4 Zombie Lord, these spoils were doubled, truly befitting a Disaster-class creature! Then there were the two types of materials that others tended to overlook. [Obtained: Lethal Poison Fangs x2] ... [Obtained: Tenacious Snake Scales x2] [Lethal Poison Fangs: Crafting material, can add poison attribute to equipment] [Tenacious Snake Scales: Crafting material, can add defensive power to equipment] Both materials had additional attributes and were very decent indeed... Next were the Loot Packs. There weren¡¯t many Loot Packs dropped by the Giant Serpent, only four. However, Wang Tao had glanced over them and found that the contents of these four packs were very promising. The first pack was a Crystal Core Gift Bag containing four Crystal Cores. Wang Tao generally received 5 to 6 Crystal Cores for defeating higher-level opponents, so four cores was on the lesser side. But fewer didn¡¯t mean lower quality; these four crystal cores were the [Level 4 Crystal Core: Promotion], [Level 4 Crystal Core: Versatility], [Level 4 Crystal Core: Awakening], and [Level 4 Crystal Core: Extraction]! All four crystal cores were special, and all were Orange Epic Crystal Cores! This was the highest quality of crystal cores Wang Tao had ever received from any loot pack to date. Naturally, he was thrilled to accept these cores which were all useful to him. The second Loot Pack contained a physical awakening key. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] The Black Giant Snake had already dropped an Advanced Awakening Secret Key, and now to find another Awakening Key in the loot pack was very lucky. Too bad this one was ordinary; it would have been better if it were advanced... The third Loot Pack contained something Wang Tao had never seen before. [Obtained: Awakening Seed x1] [Awakening Seed: Plant on the corpse of a Level 4 Lord or higher monster, and it will bear an Awakening Fruit.] This item resembled a broad bean and looked rather ordinary, but given its description, it was very likely something formidable. This was also why Wang Tao had specifically asked for the Giant Serpent¡¯s corpse¡ªhe planned to plant this Awakening Seed on it! After all, it said that it had to be a Level 4 Lord or higher-level creature, so the Giant Serpent, being of Disaster class, should suffice. While Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what the ¡°Awakening Fruit¡± was, it was clearly related to awakening, and things related to awakening were generally good. Therefore, he was quite eager to see the outcome! The last Loot Pack naturally contained equipment blueprints, but they were not quite what he had anticipated. [Obtained: Flowing Bracelet Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Life Ring Blueprint x1] [Flowing Bracelet Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Flowing Bracelet. Required materials: Level 4 Crystal Core x1, any Level 4 material x1] [Flowing Bracelet: Attributes unknown] [Life Ring Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Life Ring. Required materials: Level 4 Crystal Core x1, any Level 4 material x1] [Life Ring: Attributes unknown] The two blueprints were for a bracelet and a ring respectively. Seeing the previous fangs and scales, Wang Tao assumed he might get weapons or armor, but instead, he found blueprints for the much less common rings and bracelets. The crafting materials required for these two pieces of equipment were quite straightforward: just any Level 4 Crystal Core and one Level 4 material would suffice. Wang Tao still had plenty of Level 4 materials, but he wanted to test whether using materials with additional attributes would result in bracelets or rings with extra attributes. Since both blueprints were from the Giant Serpent, Wang Tao decided to use materials from the serpent¡¯s body. Fangs for the bracelet and scales for the ring. In just a moment, both items were crafted. [Flowing Bracelet] [Level Four (Epic)] [Wearer¡¯s HP decreases by 1% per second (capping at 99% loss), Attack power increases by 1% per second (capping at 99% increase)] This was a crystal-clear black bracelet, looking as beautiful as a black gem. However, appearances didn¡¯t matter; the attributes were what counted. And the attributes left Wang Tao somewhat baffled. He had not expected the bracelet to have such a terrifying negative status effect! For example, with his total HP at 150,000, losing 1% HP every second meant he was losing 1,500 HP every second! That number was somewhat frightening, as the Healing Light of the Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t keep up, considering it could only restore slightly over a thousand HP per second. Even though the loss of HP had a cap, it wouldn¡¯t go beyond 99%, so there was no fear of instant death. But if Wang Tao was left with only 1,500 HP, that would still be very dangerous! At the same time as it carried the ¡°Up to 99% HP reduction¡± negative status, the Flowing Bracelet also had a significant buffing status¡ªattack power increased by 1% every second while worn, up to a 99% increase! Wang Tao had never seen equipment that increased stats by percentage, especially attack power! This was essentially doubling the damage. If it were someone with a low attack power to begin with, say increasing from 10 to 20, the boost would be almost negligible. But if used by someone with high attack power, going from 100 to 200, the effect would be very significant. And Wang Tao... was the latter! If there were no other means to regenerate HP, fifty seconds after Wang Tao put on the bracelet, his attack power could increase to the maximum. Meanwhile, his HP would drop to 50%, meaning he would be at half blood. Half blood wasn¡¯t the end, as he would continue to lose HP, eventually bottoming out at 1,500. In an actual fight, maintaining the highest attack power would likely last only around ten to twenty seconds. Wang Tao felt a bit helpless. The bracelet¡¯s ability was strong, but the limitations were significant. It couldn¡¯t be worn casually, only at pivotal moments, and it was preferable to have Lan Yulian nearby. If there was a healer constantly restoring his health, then the bracelet would be a divine artifact! Without a healer, though, it could only serve as a powerful yet restricted trump card... [Life Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Stores HP upon making a kill, with stored HP available for self-use, current stored HP: 0/100,000] ¡®Huh?¡¯ Seeing the ring¡¯s specific attributes, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The ring was essentially like indirect HP regeneration! It stored HP on kills, up to a hundred thousand, which was like having a backup HP reserve of 100,000! Wouldn¡¯t the Life Ring go well with the Flowing Bracelet? He would need to research more on how best to utilize these two pieces of equipment... At that moment, Wang Tao suddenly remembered he had specifically used materials with attributes to craft the bracelet and the ring, but the attributes of those materials had not appeared on the equipment... However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too disappointed, considering it was already a big win to obtain these two items. Wang Tao put on the [Life Ring], and as for the [Flowing Bracelet], he placed it into his Space Backpack for future use. Then, the Awakening Seed, which resembled a broad bean, appeared in his hand. ¡°Since there¡¯s no way to take the giant serpent¡¯s corpse with me, might as well plant the seed now and see what happens...¡± Still affected by the residual [Life Drain], Wang Tao approached the corpse of the giant serpent and placed the seed in a wound on its body. The seed immediately sprouted roots that buried deep into the serpent¡¯s flesh, then... there was no further motion. [Awakening Fruit Maturation Countdown: 6 days 23 hours 59 minutes] ¡°...7 days, huh!¡± Wang Tao frowned; this was quite a long wait. Still, the place was relatively safe, and waiting seven days wasn¡¯t impossible. At that point, Jiang Shixue and the others came over in a minivan. ¡°Brother! There are quite a few things inside the cave...¡± Chapter 841: 329: Cave Harvest Chapter 841: Chapter 329: Cave Harvest Humming¡ª The minibus arrived. Seeing Jiang Shixue and her group get off the bus, Wang Tao asked with concern, ¡°Is everyone okay? I saw that the cave had collapsed...¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine! It¡¯s just, cough...¡± Jiang Shixue scratched her head with some embarrassment, ¡°I accidentally caused the cave to collapse after the giant serpent left because the cave became very fragile...¡± ¡°...¡± ... Wang Tao said that when they went to chase the giant serpent, they didn¡¯t notice any problems with the cave, but upon their return, they found that the depths of the cave had completely collapsed... It turned out that this was related to Jiang Shixue. However, Jiang Shixue quickly spoke up with some small excitement, ¡°Bro! There are quite a few things in the cave!¡± Jiang Shixue pulled Wang Tao to the vehicle and opened several boxes. ¡°Huh? There are indeed other types of mushrooms!¡± Wang Tao had found over a thousand Strength Mushrooms in the cave at noon today. At the time, he wondered whether there might be mushrooms beneath the cave too, but since he wasn¡¯t sure if it was safe to go down and didn¡¯t want to take the risk, he didn¡¯t venture below. Now, it seemed his decision not to take the risk was right, as there was a disaster-class giant serpent below. And indeed, there were other mushrooms down there. Wang Tao collected all the mushrooms in the large box into his Space Backpack. [Item acquired: Defense Mushroom x1023] [Item acquired: Stealth Mushroom x1257] [Item acquired: Weakness Mushroom x1134] [Item acquired: Rapid Mushroom x1343] [Item acquired: Spirit Mushroom x1074] Counting the Strength Mushrooms he had obtained before, there were a total of six kinds of mushrooms, each with over a thousand! Wang Tao had already learned how to make potions from these six kinds of mushrooms. In the coming period, a large number of potions would be crafted by his hands! Now, Wang Tao didn¡¯t use potions as much anymore. After all, potions had a cooldown time, and he only used them at critical moments, which were not very common at present. For instance, in killing the disaster-class black giant serpent today, he almost did nothing more than fish, naturally, there was no opportunity to use potions. After collecting the mushrooms, Wang Tao was about to speak with Jiang Shixue when he saw her open another box. ¡°Bro! There¡¯s more!¡± ¡°This is...¡± Seeing the items in the box, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. It was a washbasin-sized, grayish-white oval item. [Item acquired: Level 4: Snake Egg x10] [Level 4: Snake Egg: Can hatch into a serpentine creature of Fourth Order Elite or higher (Hatch condition: Consume 100,000 HP)] ¡°Bro, what is this? It feels like it¡¯s a snake egg...¡± Jiang Shixue asked curiously. ¡°Indeed it¡¯s a snake egg, and it¡¯s alive. It can be hatched into a level 4 snake!¡± Wang Tao clicked his tongue in amazement. He had thought that the Black Giant Snake Cave should not contain any living creatures since that [Life Drain] Cataclysmic Awakening was too perverse. But there were ten snake eggs, all of them alive. Could it be that ¡°a serpent¡¯s venom does not harm its offspring¡±? ¡°Really snake eggs! They can be hatched?¡± Everyone, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, was very curious. ¡°Wanna try hatching one? It can only hatch serpentine creatures of Fourth Order Elite or above, probably, at most, a Fourth Order Elite or a Level 4 Lord, can¡¯t possibly hatch a Fourth Order Disaster, right?¡± Wang Tao said, stroking his chin. He was quite curious about the snake egg. And speaking of snake eggs, Wang Tao suddenly remembered the Night Demon Parasite he had acquired before. He had nearly forgotten about the parasite until now, but perhaps there was time to use the parasite to cultivate Night Demons? After all, aside from cultivating them for hunting, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what else they could be used for... The snake egg and the parasite were somewhat similar, except parasites need to infest another¡¯s body, such as zombies, monsters, or even humans, whereas the snake egg could be hatched directly. The hatching condition was not difficult, just the consumption of 100,000 HP, which was a matter of a few healings with Lan Yulian, the healer. In addition to the mushrooms and snake eggs, there was also a type of grass in the cave. This plant looked like ordinary withered grass that had lost its life energy, but Jiang Shixue felt that anything that could grow in the Giant Serpent Cave must be extraordinary, so she pulled out these withered grass as well. It turned out her hunch was right. Wang Tao picked up the withered grass from the last box. [Item acquired: Withered Life Grass x550] [Withered Life Grass: Upon consumption, increase max HP by 1000 (maximum of 10 pieces can be used)] This seemingly unremarkable grass was actually a fantastic item for increasing max HP! After reaching 100,000 HP, it¡¯s very difficult to further increase the max HP limit. Only certain crystal cores and odd items can increase it. Wang Tao had increased his HP limit three times before. The first time was by integrating an HP Enhancement Crystal Core that added 10,000 HP. Everyone around Wang Tao also used this method, and now they all had 110,000 HP. The second time was when the Blood Beads that burst out from the killing of the Giant Zombie provided a random increase, which gave Wang Tao an additional 30,000 HP! This was clearly excellent, but opportunities like this were hard to come by, relying on luck or possibly going after giant zombies again to see if they would burst out more... The third time was by using the Life Elixir (Small) that burst out from the Giant Zombie, where one potion added 1000 HP, and a person could consume up to ten bottles, amounting to 10,000 HP. Wang Tao still had twenty bottles of this potion on hand, which he planned to give to Lan Yulian and others later. Chapter 842: 329: Cave Harvest_2 Chapter 842: Chapter 329: Cave Harvest_2 So Wang Tao now has an HP limit of 150,000. And the effect of the ¡°Withered Life Grass¡± is almost the same as the ¡°Life Elixir (Small),¡± both increase HP by 1000, up to a maximum of 10,000 HP. But this withered life grass has a different name than the potion, so it should be possible to use it repeatedly! Wang Tao immediately picked up a blade of grass and chewed it in his mouth. This withered life grass looked quite yellow and dry, feeling like fodder for cattle, but once it was in his mouth, just like a Fusion Crystal Core, it quickly melted away into his limbs and bones. A moment later, Wang Tao found his HP limit had increased by 1000, now at 151,000. ¡°Indeed, it works!¡± ... Wang Tao explained to Jiang Shixue and the others, then distributed the withered life grass for them to consume. to have so many good things! It seems that if we encounter such creatures again in the future, we need to carefully loot their lairs after killing them...¡± Wang Tao silently thought to himself. ... When night fell, Wei Zhenguo and the others had set up tents in the cave at the foot of the mountain. The deeper parts of the Giant Serpent Cave had collapsed, but the closer to the outside, the more intact the cave was. It was naturally sufficient for them to set up a few tents. Wang Tao arranged for people to take turns on watch, ensuring safety through the night. Then he entered Lan Yulian¡¯s tent. There was no other implication, he just wanted to replenish Lan Yulian¡¯s mana. After all, Lan Yulian had exhausted all her mana today, and if she lacked mana, it was not a good thing for the team. After some effort, Lan Yulian¡¯s mana was finally replenished. She lay in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, her face flushed, gazing at Wang Tao with a resentful look. vors. So he let Cheng Yiyi have the items, then sought to trade her for two Ordinary secret keys. In this way, he wouldn¡¯t have to spend money or owe anyone a favor, but instead, Cheng Yiyi would not only have to pay him but would also owe him a favor... To Cheng Yiyi, surely fusing one Advanced Awakening Secret Key would be more secure. But after all, it was only one secret key, whereas Wang Tao was prepared to trade her two Ordinary Awakening Secret Keys! In the end, she couldn¡¯t resist the temptation and agreed to trade her Advanced Awakening Secret Key for the two Ordinary Awakening Secret Keys that Wang Tao had. She decided to take a gamble: with a 50% success rate, one of the two keys should lead to an awakening. If she could awaken one, it wouldn¡¯t be a loss, and if both awakened, that would be a huge gain! Of course, just having secret keys wasn¡¯t enough to awaken, one also needed Hidden Attributes. She didn¡¯t have any Hidden Attributes, and although the Snake Bead could add one, there was only one of those. So, if she wanted to take a chance on two Awakeners emerging, she would also need something that could grant Hidden Attributes. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s Strange Poison Sac was bought by her. The Strange Poison Sac had a one in three chance to grant Hidden Attributes. Although this probability was worth a shot, there was also a one in three chance of Poisoning, which is why Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to use it on his own people. Since Cheng Yiyi wanted to buy it, Wang Tao sold it to her at a friendly price. Not too expensive; he only charged 500,000 Crystal Coins. After all, it wasn¡¯t a guaranteed way to obtain Hidden Attributes, and most importantly, there was a certain risk involved, so the price would definitely not be too high. As for the specific price of the Snake Bead... Cheng Yiyi couldn¡¯t give a definitive answer yet. She said she would discuss it thoroughly and then give a reasonable price, ensuring they wouldn¡¯t be disappointed. The Legion had a good reputation, and everyone tended to trust them, so all they had to do was wait for Cheng Yiyi¡¯s news... Wang Tao immediately fused the Advanced Secret Key. Before long, he felt that a very bright ¡°Light Point¡± had been added to his body¡ªthese secret keys appeared as individual light points within him. Ordinary secret keys weren¡¯t as bright as those of Advanced Secret Keys, making them easy to distinguish. Wang Tao really wanted to start his Second Awakening right away. His luck had always been good, and with a 70% probability, he should be successful. However, since he was currently in the wilderness and awakening required 24 hours of sleep, it was too unsafe, so it was better to go back and do it. A night without incident. The first thing Wang Tao did upon waking up was to check on that Awakening Seed. Wang Tao was extremely curious about the [Awakening Fruit] that the Awakening Seed could produce. Just from the name, Awakening Fruit sounded extraordinary¡ªcould it be that anyone who ate it would immediately awaken? If that was the case, then the fruit would be phenomenal! Absolutely the most impressive thing currently around! But Wang Tao thought it wouldn¡¯t be that simple; even if it did have that effect, there would undoubtedly be various conditions... The second day had come, and the [Life Drain] effect on the Giant Serpent¡¯s corpse hadn¡¯t disappeared yet, but the effect had weakened somewhat. Wang Tao compared it to yesterday and did some calculations. He felt that in about six or seven days, [Life Drain] might disappear altogether. And that time frame would coincide with when the Awakening Fruit was supposed to grow. it would grow into. Today, Wang Tao had planned to take everyone to kill zombies, topping up Lan Yulian and He Jijun¡¯s HP to their full values as he had got a lot of locations of zombie groups from Cheng Yiyi. However, the Awakening Seed needed seven days to grow, and if he left, it would be problematic if the sapling were destroyed by others or creatures. So the plan to kill zombies was put on hold for the time being. Wang Tao decided to capture a few zombies to see if he could breed some Night Demons, and at the same time, incubate another Snake Egg... After all, it was just a matter of waiting, so he might as well kill some time. Chapter 843: 330: Reopening the Meteorite Chapter 843: Chapter 330: Reopening the Meteorite Wang Tao instructed Xu Xiaojun and the others to capture a few living zombies, while he himself took out a snake egg. To incubate this Level 4 snake egg, it was necessary to consume a hundred thousand HP. Wang Tao naturally took action himself, as he had 160,000 HP and Lan Yulian was there to replenish his blood, so there wouldn¡¯t be any problem. As he held the snake egg, Wang Tao soon felt a very vague consciousness. Then, with a thought, he saw his current HP plummet wildly, and after 10 seconds, only 60,000 HP remained. Wang Tao¡¯s complexion grew somewhat pale; this rapid reduction in HP was not pleasant. Since Wang Tao wanted to see how this HP was deducted, he did not let Lan Yulian heal him immediately. Now that he had a basic understanding, he immediately beckoned her. ... Whoosh¡ª A healing light accurately landed on Wang Tao, [+13272] Wang Tao immediately felt much better, and then he noticed that the snake egg in his hand had changed color. The snake egg was previously grayish-white like a stone. If no one mentioned it was a snake egg, most people would probably take it for a stone. But now, the snake egg had turned red! More precisely, it became somewhat translucent, displaying many blood-red lines both inside and outside. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°It looks like there¡¯s blood inside...¡± The others also noticed the changes in the snake egg and curiously began discussing it. Wang Tao saw that a countdown had appeared on the snake egg. [Hatching Countdown: 23:59:59] ¡°Does this also need a day¡¯s time...¡± Wang Tao thought the hatching would be quick but didn¡¯t expect it to require a day. However, he was also waiting for the Awakening Fruit to mature, so he could wait for both. As long as he kept track of the time and didn¡¯t forget, that would be fine. After all, whatever hatched, even if it were the lowest, would be a Level 4 Elite creature and potentially very dangerous; he couldn¡¯t be careless. After placing the snake egg in the vehicle, his HP had already recovered to full value. In less than a minute, Lan Yulian had replenished his health by a hundred thousand HP! It must be said, Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability was truly powerful! Normally, an average Level 3 ability user¡¯s healing ability could restore about a thousand HP, with a cooldown of 10 seconds. But Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability could now restore over 12,000 HP! And the cooldown was only 5 seconds! The difference between the two was enormous! As for why Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability was so strong... Wang Tao had also looked into it and then recognized what differentiated her from the others. Among the healing-type ability users near Cheng Yiyi, not only were there level 3 users, but there were also two level two and one level one ability users. Wang Tao, through previous observations, had arrived at a fairly reliable conclusion¡ª If you only consider the ¡°Healing¡± ability, an ordinary Level 1 healing-type ability user could probably heal between twenty and two hundred HP; a Level 2 healing-type could heal from two hundred to over five hundred HP; and a Level 3 healing-type could heal from five hundred to over a thousand HP. This fluctuation range was related to their ability levels, such as if a Level 3 ability user¡¯s ability level were maxed, then they could heal about a thousand HP. As for their ability¡¯s cooldown time, it was all 10 seconds. Lan Yulian was different; she had a ¡°Rescuing the Dying and Healing the Injured¡± hidden attribute before her awakening. [Rescuing the Dying and Healing the Injured: Quite skilled in medical emergencies] This hidden attribute did not increase Lan Yulian¡¯s healing effect but halved the cooldown time of her healing ability! Wang Tao remembered clearly, Lan Yulian¡¯s previous healing effect was also around a thousand HP, but the cooldown was only 5 seconds! However, because Wang Tao had not seen other healing-type ability users before, he was unaware that Lan Yulian¡¯s ability cooldown time was reduced. Since her awakening, the hidden attribute had become the passive awakening ¡°Spring Rain.¡± [Spring Rain: All healing effects significantly enhanced] This passive awakening not only retained the previous ¡°cooldown reduction¡± effect but also increased her healing effect by 10 times! Thus, theoretically, Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability should reach slightly over 10,000 HP. But Wang Tao had previously given her a pair of earrings that increased the healing effect. After testing, the healing effect increased by about 20%... thus, Lan Yulian¡¯s final healing ability¡¯s effect was over 12,000 HP! Given the population scale of Changhe Base, there should be quite a few healing-type ability users, and Lan Yulian was definitely one of the best, possibly even number one. With Lan Yulian¡¯s current ability, it could increase their entire team¡¯s security by more than ten times! Then Wang Tao thought of Ding Yuqin, whose hidden attribute ¡°Blood Pack¡± was also a kind of healing ability. He wondered what form her awakening would take... ... Half an hour later, Xu Xiaojun and the others returned. Along with them came ten Level 3 Ordinary Zombies whose limbs had been chopped off. Wang Tao only needed living zombies; these crippled zombies obviously met the requirement. He planned to parasitize ten zombies, which should also reveal the success rate of parasitism, giving him a baseline. Wang Tao brought the zombies to the cave. Since there was sunlight outside, and then Chapter 844: 330: Reopening the Meteorite_2 Chapter 844: Chapter 330: Reopening the Meteorite_2 Holding the Night Demon Parasite Bug Egg in his hand was almost like holding a glass bead, but as soon as he stuffed it into a zombie¡¯s mouth, it instantly melted and turned into something resembling black snot, burrowing down the zombie¡¯s throat. Hehe¡ª¡ª Some zombies let out a roar, seemingly a bit uncomfortable. Other zombies, however, showed no change, as if they felt nothing at all. Wang Tao carefully observed and noticed that the HP bars above the zombies¡¯ heads did not show any status change. This meant he couldn¡¯t determine whether they were parasitized or know the exact timing for their transformation into Night Demons. This made Wang Tao even more cautious because it meant if a human were parasitized, he would not be able to tell either. ... However, the description of the Night Demon Parasite stated that results would show within seven days after parasitism. If nothing happened after seven days, it was clear that the parasitism had failed. Wang Tao waited in the cave for a while and, upon seeing no changes in the zombies other than their roars at him, decided to lead everyone out. ¡°The parasitism probably won¡¯t happen so fast, let¡¯s just wait,¡± he said. It would take six and a half more days for the Awakening Fruit to ripen, one more day for the Snake Eggs to hatch, and up to seven days for the effects of the Night Demon Parasitism... What Wang Tao needed to do now was just wait. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t just sit around idly, he took out five Energy Crystal Meteorites. He had a total of seven meteorites, but two of them were Level 5. Setting aside whether he had a Level 5 Crystal Core, even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t dare to use it; if a Level 5 monster emerged, it wasn¡¯t clear whether he could defeat it... so he could only use the Level 4 ones. These five fourth-order Star Meteorites were one Excellent, two Excellent, one Outstanding, and one Epic. That is to say, in total, 34 Level 4 Crystal Cores were needed to activate them. Based on the pattern Wang Tao observed before and excluding the factor of luck, the higher the quality of the meteorite and the better the quality of the Crystal Cores used, the more likely it was that the resulting items would be good. For example, using ten Epic Crystal Cores to open an Epic meteorite, this would most likely have the best chance of yielding good items. But this method also had the highest cost! However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t short of money now, and he planned to use all Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores! Before leaving the city, Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to be so extravagant. He was prepared to ¡°use Excellent Crystal Cores for Excellent meteorites, and Epic Crystal Cores for Epic meteorites.¡± After all, he didn¡¯t have many Crystal Cores, and most of them had abilities, which would be a loss to use for meteorites. But this time, he encountered Cheng Yiyi¡ªsetting aside other items yet to be split, Cheng Yiyi spent five hundred thousand Crystal Coins and bought that Strange Poison Sac from him. Crystal Coins are intangible and require connection to the Changhe Base network to trade, so it¡¯s impossible to trade on the spot in the wild. Conveniently, Cheng Yiyi also had many Crystal Cores without abilities, so she asked Wang Tao whether she should transfer the money to him after returning or give him the Crystal Cores directly. Since she had Crystal Cores and Wang Tao needed them to open Star Meteorites... Wang Tao took 30 Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores. According to the current exchange rate, these Crystal Cores could be exchanged for 250,000 Crystal Coins, and Cheng Yiyi would transfer the remaining 250,000 Crystal Coins to him later. Due to the large influx of No Ability Crystal Cores, the exchange rate between Crystal Cores and Crystal Coins has been falling. Now, the amount of Crystal Coins one can get from a Crystal Core is less than before. However, this doesn¡¯t affect Wang Tao since he has immediate needs. Wang Tao took out four Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores and inserted them into the first meteorite. This meteorite was not big, only the size of a ball. Everyone gathered around, watching with both curiosity and caution. The four Crystal Cores emitted a faint orange glow, then the light faded, and the cores were depleted of energy. Crack¡ª¡ª A crack formed in the meteorite, growing larger until the meteorite split completely in two. Amidst everyone¡¯s vigilant gazes, an Orange Crystal Core appeared. Uncovering a Crystal Core on the first try made Wang Tao frown a little. In the Energy Crystal Meteorites, the ratio of Crystal Cores to other items was about 1 to 1, but Crystal Cores could turn out useless, whereas other items were generally decent, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t really want to see Crystal Cores. However, after seeing the attributes of this particular Crystal Core, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn¡¯t a useless Crystal Core but an Orange Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core! Wang Tao was in need of this Level 4 Ascension Crystal Core since many people around him were capable of awakening, and each person would need at least four Ascension Crystal Cores. This was a substantial consumption, and the Ascension Crystal Cores Wang Tao had were not enough. Being able to supplement it with an Epic Ascension Crystal Core was quite good. ¡°Not bad, a Level 4 Epic Ascension Crystal Core, that¡¯s a good start. Continue!¡± Wang Tao put away the Crystal Core and took out the second meteorite. This meteorite was about as large as a computer case and of outstanding quality, which meant it needed six Crystal Cores to open. Wang Tao took out six Epic Crystal Cores and inserted them in sequence. ¡°` Crack¡ª A moment later, the crystal core cracked open, revealing another crystal core. However, upon seeing this crystal core, Wang Tao¡¯s face instantly turned dark. This was a Level 4 Epic Self-Destruction Crystal Core. Exchanging 6 Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores without abilities and an excellent quality star meteorite for this thing... What a loss! ¡°Lost out...¡± Ding Yuqin immediately grasped Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay, a small loss is not a loss!¡± Although Wang Tao¡¯s heart was bleeding, his face remained calm. He took the third meteorite, which was also an excellent quality Level 4 meteorite, only its size was as big as a bowl. After placing the 6 Epic Crystal Cores inside, the light twinkled and then the meteorite cracked open. A key appeared before everyone¡¯s eyes. ¡°Eh?¡± Upon seeing this object, everyone instinctively looked towards Wang Tao. Yang Changhong even directly spoke up: ¡°Isn¡¯t this the same as the key you exchanged with Cheng Yiyi?¡± Wang Tao was full of surprise. This was actually an Advanced Real Body Awakening Secret Key! Including this key, Wang Tao had only seen an Advanced Awakening Key three times, and they had all been in the last couple of days, and now they were all in his possession! The rarity of this item goes without saying, it¡¯s perfect whether for someone undergoing their first awakening or subsequent ones. ¡°Yes, this is another Advanced Awakening Key! We¡¯re in luck!¡± Wang Tao stored the key away, and the loss from the previous meteorite was fully recovered. Then he took out the fourth meteorite, which was of outstanding quality and required 8 crystal cores to unlock. It was the largest meteorite Wang Tao had, about the size of a desk. It was just that Wang Tao¡¯s experience of previously opening a large meteorite and getting a white self-detonation crystal core was still vivid in his mind, which cast a bit of a shadow over him. ¡°Hopefully it will be something powerful, just don¡¯t be another crystal core¡ªno, definitely not another crystal core!¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself, then heard a crack, and the meteorite split open, as a dark shadow burst forth from inside! ¡°Whew¡ª¡± Seeing the shadow, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately alerted everyone: ¡°It¡¯s an Insect Clan Monster, prepare for battle!¡± The moment the creature emerged from the meteorite, Wang Tao tried to attack it, but there was no reaction, and his attacks seemed to vanish. He could only attack once the creature had fully enlarged... Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand the principle, but it wasn¡¯t a big problem. The Insect Clan Monster quickly swelled to the size of a house. It had a body like a black ant with fiery red patterns. Its large and ferocious form was intimidating! But everyone was eager to try their hand at it. Especially He Jijun, who hadn¡¯t had a real battle since his awakening! Wang Tao looked at the attributes of this ¡°Fire Patterned Ant.¡± [HP: 150,000/150,000] [Mana: 120,000/120,000] [Level: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Strength] [Strength: All basic attributes are comprehensively enhanced, with a significant increase in strength] ¡°` Chapter 845 - 331 Effortless Slaying Chapter 845 - 331 Effortless Slaying This was an Insect Clan Monster that Wang Tao had never seen before, but he had seen its Awakening because it was exactly the same as Qi De''s. Both passively enhanced physical qualities and greatly increased strength. But, obviously, it was much stronger than Qi De! Squeak¡ª The Fire Patterned Ant let out a strange cry and charged towards Wang Tao and his group. The group was prepared. Xu Xiaojun, clad in heavy armor and wielding a shield, stood his ground. [-2343] The Fire Patterned Ant heavily smashed its mandibles against Xu Xiaojun''s shield. Xu Xiaojun was pushed back dozens of steps, losing more than two thousand HP. "Such incredible strength..." Xu Xiaojun felt his hands go numb, almost losing sensation. The gap between Level 3 and Level 4 was indeed too vast, even his Level 4 gear wasn''t enough. However, by that time, He Jijun had also appeared beside the Fire Patterned Ant. He raised his curved long knife, leaped high, and swung at the side of the Fire Patterned Ant''s face. Bang! [-4128] [-412] [-412] [-412] With one swing, He Jijun slashed four thousand HP from the Fire Patterned Ant, and with the Bleed Effect from the Tusk Long Knife, it made a total of five thousand HP. The damage numbers were lower than Wang Tao had expected. He Jijun''s physical attributes were robust, and combined with the attack power of the Tusk Long Knife, the damage shouldn''t be so low. Clearly, this Fire Patterned Ant had high defensive power, likely possessing a Defense Ability. Pained by the attack, the Fire Patterned Ant immediately turned its head to bite at He Jijun. Its mandibles seemed like scissors, capable of shearing a person in two! However, after swinging once, He Jijun immediately retreated, not opting for a head-on clash with the Fire Patterned Ant. Competing in defense with a monster was clearly unwise. After missing its strike, the Fire Patterned Ant''s mandibles deeply embedded in the ground. Then, as it suddenly raised its head, a large chunk of soil went flying, as it swung its head throwing it towards Wang Tao and his team. "It has ranged attacks too?" Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, but it was not a big problem. The team quickly retreated, effortlessly dodging the attack, and during the retreat, Lan Yulian cast a healing spell on Xu Xiaojun. Seeing its attack was ineffective, the Fire Patterned Ant seemed a bit unhappy; it let out an angry roar and charged again at He Jijun. At this moment, bullets fired by Ding Yuqin and others hit the Fire Patterned Ant. They were not weak, but since this was a Level 4 Lord, there was no need for them, still being Level 3, to take risks. Shooting from a distance also gave them a sense of participation. However, competitive individuals like Wei Zhenguo, Lu Gang, and Lu Yingfeng still went in with their weapons to exchange a few blows with the Fire Patterned Ant. A mere Level 4 Lord, after all, with Lan Yulian there, the group was unafraid. Their attacks did not inflict much damage on the Fire Patterned Ant, but it clearly agitated it. It immediately abandoned He Jijun and charged towards the group. At that moment, Wang Tao took out a massive sickle and charged forward. Since everyone was his own people, Wang Tao naturally couldn''t slack off anymore; he also wanted to test how the Death Scythe and Sharp Long Knife compared in terms of attack power. Seeing someone daring to charge directly at it, the Fire Patterned Ant opened its huge mouth and, amidst a strange roar, bit towards Wang Tao. Bang! Wang Tao held the sickle in one hand and suddenly stretched out his other hand, from which Iron Tree Vines shot out, catching one of the Fire Patterned Ant''s feelers before it could bite him. The vines contracted, lifting Wang Tao into the air and directly onto the Fire Patterned Ant''s head! As Wang Tao dodged the Fire Patterned Ant''s attack, he gripped the massive sickle and fiercely slashed at the somewhat flattened head of the Fire Patterned Ant. Bang! [-8242] [-1034] Wang Tao''s slash, enhanced with high-frequency vibration, cut over eight thousand HP from the Fire Patterned Ant, with an additional thousand HP from Poison Attribute, totaling nine thousand HP. The overall damage was significantly higher than He Jijun''s, but that was because He Jijun lacked high-frequency vibration. If Wang Tao didn''t use high-frequency vibration, their damage would be similar. Poison Attribute only dealt damage once, unlike Bleeding, which damaged three times. The damage from Bleeding was based on the attack damage, with each instance of bleeding being 10% of the attack damage. The higher the attack damage, the higher the Bleeding damage. It was unclear how Poison Damage was calculated; cutting eight thousand HP and poisoning for a thousand seemed high, but with only one instance of damage. If it were Bleeding for three instances, it would total two thousand four hundred HP, so Bleeding damage appeared to be higher for now... What seemed like a lengthy explanation had actually happened in just a moment. When the Fire Patterned Ant realized that this tiny creature was actually on its head, it couldn''t bear it anymore, starting to swing its claws and feelers, trying to knock Wang Tao off. Wang Tao firmly held onto the root of the Fire Patterned Ant''s feelers with the vines, keeping himself from being thrown off, and then he used the Death Scythe to make several more cuts, all using high-frequency vibration. Each cut inflicted damage around eight or nine thousand. It seemed this was the approximate damage range for the Death Scythe. Then, Wang Tao could no longer maintain his stance and was thrown off, landing next to He Jijun. He Jijun reached out, supporting Wang Tao''s back, and stopped his retreat. Wang Tao immediately handed the sickle to He Jijun. "Old He, try this weapon when you get a chance!" "Okay!" For most weapons, the sickle had a rather odd shape, and He Jijun was slightly unaccustomed to it. Chapter 846: 331: Easy Slaying_2 Chapter 846: Chapter 331: Easy Slaying_2 Wang Tao didn¡¯t wait for him to adapt, and as soon as he saw the Fire Patterned Ant charging at him again, a long knife instantly appeared in his hand. Whoosh! Wang Tao charged at the Fire Patterned Ant again. This time, the Fire Patterned Ant seemed to have learned its lesson. It didn¡¯t just try to bite Wang Tao with its large jaw but also used its legs and even antennae to attack him. Wang Tao intended to use the tendrils again, like flying over like a spider, but seeing the situation, he reckoned that he would probably be intercepted halfway. So, a shield appeared in his hand. Bang! ... [-1021] All of the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s attacks struck the shield. Wang Tao took a step back, feeling somewhat numb. Even while holding the shield, Wang Tao had lost over a thousand HP, indicating the high damage of the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s attack. However, his electric shield also reflected back more than a thousand HP worth of damage to the Fire Patterned Ant, so it wasn¡¯t a complete loss. The Fire Patterned Ant, being large in size, was relatively less agile. After this attack, it needed a very brief moment to react, and Wang Tao took advantage of this moment to immediately leap up high, then stepping on the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s large jaw, he quickly ran up to its head. Then he grasped the knife with both hands and slashed down on its head. Squish! [-10472] [-1047] [-1047] [-1047] Using the same location, the same high-frequency vibration, and the same weapon with equal attack power, Wang Tao¡¯s previous strike with a sickle had caused eight thousand HP damage, and with poison attack, a total of nine thousand HP. This time, Wang Tao¡¯s single strike caused ten thousand, and along with three bleed damages, it accumulated to thirteen thousand HP! Clearly, the additional two thousand or more HP damage was from the Armor Breaking attribute! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how exactly the Armor Breaking damage was calculated, but this Armor Break was not just a simple damage boost, it genuinely ¡®broke¡¯ the armor¡ªhis strike had actually pierced directly into the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s head! This was equivalent to breaking the armor in that specific small area, right? So Wang Tao pulled out his long knife and struck the same spot again. Squish! [-15038] [-1503] [-1503] [-1503] The total damage of this strike neared twenty thousand! Seeing this number, Wang Tao roughly understood the specific meaning of the Armor Breaking attribute. When attacking with the Armor Breaking attribute, it could ignore a part of the defense, allowing his attack to increase, but it also genuinely ¡®breaks the armor,¡¯ penetrating the opponent¡¯s shell! Normally, the hardness of these creatures¡¯ shells is related to their HP levels; only by reducing the opponent to critical HP levels could one possibly penetrate the shell, and then the inflicted damage would increase. But now, even when the Fire Patterned Ant still had a lot of HP left, the Armor Breaking attribute could directly penetrate the shell! Thus, when Wang Tao attacked this shattered spot, the damage would be even greater! And it wasn¡¯t just Wang Tao. If others attacked this spot, their damage would definitely also increase, especially since its shell wasn¡¯t as strong as before! After figuring this out, Wang Tao immediately grinned. The Armor Breaking attribute of his Sharp Long Knife was indeed very effective against creatures with shells! However, if it were used against those soft-bodied zombies that he had encountered earlier, like bugs, then the Armor Breaking attribute probably wouldn¡¯t be very effective, a case of specializing in a particular skill... While mulling over this, Wang Tao struck three more times. Each hit caused nearly two thousand damage, and in just a short moment, the Fire Patterned Ant was left with just over forty thousand HP. Squeak¡ª The Fire Patterned Ant went completely mad, twisting its body wildly, even rolling on the ground! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t stay on its head anymore, so he had to jump down. Seeing Wang Tao, this little bug, leave its body, the Fire Patterned Ant immediately charged at Wang Tao. It ignored the attacks from Jijun and the others, even though Jijun was jumping on its face, but its target was still Wang Tao! Jijun¡¯s damage was not low, when the Fire Patterned Ant charged at Wang Tao again, it was left with just over ten thousand HP. While Wang Tao¡¯s hands had already conjured a little, charged Fireball well in advance, and as soon as the Fire Patterned Ant reached him, he hurled this massive Fireball at it. Boom¡ª The Fireball hit the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s head, immediately turning it and the surrounding area into a sea of flames. But what shocked Wang Tao was that his massive Fireball didn¡¯t kill it instantly! [-15821] [2126/150000] Previously, when he used the Fireball against the Cockroach Monster, his fully charged Fireball could deal thirty thousand HP damage, but against the same level Fire Patterned Ant, it only caused fifteen thousand damage. ¡°Is its shell fire-resistant?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to ponder, He immediately followed up with a Shockwave. Puchi! [-581] [0/150000] The Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s HP bar dropped to zero. Seeing that the kill was his own, Wang Tao instantly breathed a sigh of relief. The others were also attacking, although the damage wasn¡¯t high, but with so many people attacking, there was still a chance to snatch the kill. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to let others have the kill, it¡¯s just that others killing the monster wouldn¡¯t include a Loot Pack, not as profitable as him making the kill. Watching the Fire Patterned Ant collapse with a thud, everyone¡¯s attacks also ceased. The flames lingering on the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s body quickly extinguished, normally, the flames should have continued burning for a while. ¡°Its shell really does have fire resistance ability!¡± Wang Tao said his fully charged Fireball wouldn¡¯t have such low damage otherwise. ¡°Time to clean up the battlefield!¡± Wang Tao called out, and everyone immediately began clearing the battlefield. By slaying this Fire Patterned Ant, Wang Tao obtained 100 Awakening Energy, 1 Advanced Special Energy, and 1 Awakening Key. Then the Fire Patterned Ant dropped four items and five Loot Packs. The four items were a pair of its large jaws, a pair of antennae, a Purple Crystal Core, and an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Obtained: Level 4: Fire Ant¡¯s Jaws x2] [Obtained: Level 4: Fire Ant Antennae x2] [Obtained: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Defense] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The items it dropped were quite good, its possession of a Defense Crystal Core was within Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. However, the fact that its shell with Fire Resistance Ability wasn¡¯t a named piece of equipment meant it was of no use to Wang Tao; he could sell it to Shilin later, she would probably like it. Then Wang Tao checked the Loot Packs. The first pack contained five Crystal Cores. These included a Red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Promotion], an Orange [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotence], a Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a Blue [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Perception], and a Red [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Fire Attribute Resistance]. There was actually a Perception Crystal Core, which was a pleasant surprise for Wang Tao. Perception Crystal Cores were rare; so far, he had only seen Han Rui and himself with Perception Ability! This Perception Crystal Core might allow everyone to switch their Ability! Then there was another Crystal Core Wang Tao had never seen before. [Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Fire Attribute Resistance] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: Naturally reduced Mana regeneration speed)] [Fire Attribute Resistance: Passive Ability, strong resistance to Fire attribute attacks] ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing the properties of this Crystal Core, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. So not only was this Fire Patterned Ant fire-resistant, but it also had a specific passive Ability for fire resistance! However, Wang Tao felt this Ability wasn¡¯t very useful except on specific occasions, like facing a very powerful Fire Attribute zombie monster or something similar. After collecting all the Crystal Cores, Wang Tao opened the second Loot Pack. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x20] [Obtained: Defense Potion (Medium) x20] Twenty bottles each of Strength and Defense Potions, that was quite decent. The third Loot Pack contained an Awakening Energy Pearl, the fourth one an Awakening Key. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] Another Awakening Key obtained! Wang Tao had earlier traded two ordinary physical Awakening Keys with Cheng Yiyi, now they were replenished. He now had a total of four ordinary physical Awakening Keys. Inside the last Loot Pack were Blueprints. [Obtained: Giant Axe Double Knives Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Perception Ring Blueprint x1] Seeing these two Blueprints, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The first Blueprint could produce two knives, and the second could produce a pair of rings. Chapter 847: 332: Perception Ring Chapter 847: Chapter 332: Perception Ring [Giant Axe Double Sword Blueprint: Allows crafting of two Giant Axe Swords. Required materials: Level 4: Fire Ant¡¯s Eel*2, Level 4 Crystal Core*2, Iron Block x30, Steel Wire x30, Screw x30, Nails x30] [Giant Axe Double Swords: Attributes unknown] [Perception Ring Blueprint: Allows crafting of two Perception Rings. Required materials: Level 4: Fire Ant Antennae*2, Level 4 Crystal Core*2] [Perception Ring: Attributes unknown] These two blueprints, one can craft two swords and the other can craft two rings. This is basically like getting a two-for-one deal. Wang Tao started crafting immediately. ... Seconds later, the double swords were first to be completed. [Giant Axe Double Swords] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +70, Attack Power +70] The two Giant Axe Double Swords had identical designs: both were wide, black, curved blades that resembled the jaws of a Fire Patterned Ant by about eighty percent, giving a hefty feel when held in hand. Just by their attributes alone, they were comparable to the Poison Scorpion Whip. However, the whip had an additional poison attack attribute, while these two swords did not. These attributes were average for Wang Tao, but since they were a pair of swords, his expectations weren¡¯t too high; the deal was still very profitable. Wang Tao asked if anyone else was interested in using double swords. Theoretically, wielding two weapons should definitely yield a higher attack damage than wielding just one, since there is a difference between slashing once and slashing twice simultaneously. But the difficulty of using two weapons was much greater than using one. Moreover, attacks in actual combat situations are accompanied by movement, positioning, tactics, and other variables. Someone accustomed to wielding a single weapon might increase their attack power by choosing to wield two, but other aspects could be greatly weakened... In Wang Tao¡¯s team, only Jiang Shixue used two daggers, while everyone else used single weapons. So when Wang Tao asked if anyone wanted to use the two swords, everyone instinctively shook their heads. ¡°One sword is fine, but I really can¡¯t handle two...¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head. ¡°Alright, then let¡¯s split them up and use them separately...¡± Wang Tao shrugged. The swords were too wide and hefty, which made them uncomfortable for many. Eventually, the two Giant Axe Double Swords were given to Wei Zhenguo and Lu Gang. He Jijun actually quite liked big swords; they reminded him of some glorious days from his past. But Wang Tao said the damage of these swords wasn¡¯t as good as the Boar Tusk Long Knife, and since He Jijun was a pragmatic person... he stuck to using the long knife. As for the sickle that Wang Tao had previously let him try... although Wang Tao said the sickle¡¯s damage was higher, he really wasn¡¯t comfortable with such a weapon and finally went back to using long knives. Speaking of the sickle, Wang Tao looked at the others. ¡°Anyone interested in using this sickle?¡± He had previously asked He Jijun to attack a Fire Patterned Ant with the sickle and had observed the damage, so he had a rough idea of what the poison attack on the sickle meant. The damage from a poison attack was different from bleeding; bleeding damage was 10% of the total damage for a single hit, so three seconds of bleeding amounted to 30%... but the poison attack¡¯s damage appeared to be more fixed. Wang Tao¡¯s strike had reduced the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s HP by over eight thousand, while the poison damage was around one thousand. When He Jijun inflicted five thousand damage on the Fire Patterned Ant, the poison damage was still around one thousand. This poison damage was somewhat similar to Huang Wu¡¯s Awakening ability, ¡°Bone-piercing Poison¡±, where the poison attack¡¯s damage was roughly the same regardless of how high or low the damage to the monster was. However, Huang Wu¡¯s awakened poison had three instances of damage, but weapon-associated poison attack only had one instance, and it wasn¡¯t as high as Huang Wu¡¯s Awakening damage. So Wang Tao thought this type of poison attack was suitable for people with low attack power, or for creatures with particularly high defense. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t suited for it because he had high attack power, making bleeding attributes more cost-effective for him. Not to mention his sword had an Armor Breaking attribute... After everyone tried the Death Scythe, they mostly felt it wasn¡¯t quite right for them, given its peculiar design. But Yang Changhong seemed eager as she raised her hand. ¡°Can I use it?¡± She was also capable of high-frequency vibrations, so using this sickle should yield high damage. Although she wasn¡¯t used to it, practicing would probably solve that. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao then gave the sickle to her outright. However, the sickle¡¯s poison attack required an Awakening to use, and since Yang Changhong didn¡¯t have any Hidden Attributes, she couldn¡¯t Awaken... Wang Tao would later see if there was anything that could grant Hidden Attributes to get one for Yang Changhong. He did still have a ¡°[Reality Illusion Pearl]¡± that could grant Hidden Attributes, but it required someone with high spiritual power to use; those with low spiritual power risked danger, and he felt there was no need to expose Yang Changhong to such risks. Wang Tao then proceeded with crafting the rings. Moments later, the two rings were also completed. The rings were silver overall and adorned with some patterned embellishments, looking quite decent. But the appearance didn¡¯t matter much. What was important was the attributes, and these made Wang Tao frown. [Perception Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Mutual perception between Perception Rings] ¡°What does this mean?¡± Just from this description of the attribute, Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled. ¡°Sis-in-law, come here a moment!¡± Wang Tao called Ding Yuqin over and directly put one of the rings on her finger. Ding Yuqin was at first confused, then a bit excited. Although she knew that Wang Tao was likely letting her test the equipment, her heart rate still quickened when he personally placed the ring on her finger. She felt as though she could even sense Wang Tao¡¯s heartbeat¡ªnot as if, she really did feel it! Chapter 848: 332: Perception Ring_2 Chapter 848: Chapter 332: Perception Ring_2 Ding Yuqin suddenly widened her eyes, looking somewhat foolishly at Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s expression was also very surprised, but he soon showed a look of realization. After he and Ding Yuqin both put on the Perception Rings, they had a subtle connection between them that was indescribable; even if he closed his eyes and shut down his senses, he could still perceive Ding Yuqin¡¯s location, feel her heartbeat... and even talk to her directly in his mind! ¡°Sister-in-law?¡± Wang Tao called out in his mind. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± ... Ding Yuqin excitedly looked at Wang Tao, her voice appearing in his mind without her lips moving. ¡°So this is what the perception is all about!¡± Wang Tao pinched Ding Yuqin¡¯s rosy cheek with some delight, then said in his mind: ¡°Sister-in-law, move farther away. I want to test how far this perception can reach.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ding Yuqin immediately ran outside with Han Rui and the others, who were all confused, not knowing what Wang Tao was doing. Wang Tao briefly explained to everyone. ¡°The rings interact with each other? And you can talk in your minds? Badass!¡± Everyone was also very surprised, but it was the apocalypse, and nothing strange was too surprising. After some testing, Wang Tao was amazed to find that he couldn¡¯t determine the upper limit of the perception range! At the farthest distance from Ding Yuqin, they were several kilometers apart, but he could still sense her location and talk to her, only the sensation of her heartbeat was gone. Because they were in the wilderness and there might be unknown risks, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let Ding Yuqin go too far. After gaining a rough understanding of the ring¡¯s abilities, he asked her to come back. Then Wang Tao stroked the ring on his hand, summing up his thoughts inside. In short, these two Perception Rings were like a device that could ¡°see¡± the location of teammates and allow them to communicate with each other. Although the rings did not increase any combat ability, this ability was indeed very strong, much better than any radio device, and the communication was more convenient. At certain times, it could be very useful. ¡°Wang Tao, this...¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat reluctant to remove the ring and give it back to Wang Tao, but he stopped her. ¡°This ring is a gift for sister-in-law.¡± The ring was already on Ding Yuqin¡¯s hand. Taking it off and giving it to someone else would make her feel a bit uncomfortable. There was no need for Wang Tao to take it back. He could just give it to Ding Yuqin, and if in the future they really needed someone else to use the ring to cooperate with him, they could just borrow it from Ding Yuqin. He believed she wouldn¡¯t be stingy. ¡°Ah? Really? But... it¡¯s not much use to me!¡± Ding Yuqin was somewhat surprised, yet felt it was wasteful to give it to her. After all, her combat ability was average. If it were given to someone who had a good rapport with Wang Tao, like Jiang Shixue or Lan Yulian, it would surely bring a much greater improvement to Wang Tao. ¡°I haven¡¯t really given you anything either. It¡¯s rare that I give you a gift, and if you refuse, you¡¯ll really make me sad...¡± Wang Tao had spoken such words, so naturally, Ding Yuqin couldn¡¯t refuse anymore. She felt very touched in her heart, almost wanting to give Wang Tao a long kiss, but she was too shy to do so. The other women also looked on enviously, but everyone sensibly did not say much. Wang Tao thought that they should be able to encounter such monsters again in the future. If they drop another Perception Ring or something, then everyone could have one! And speaking of rings, Wang Tao thought of his Life Ring and took a glance at it. [Life Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Kills store HP that can be used for oneself; current stored HP: 15000/100000] After killing the Fire Patterned Ant, the Life Ring received 15000 reserve HP. And since the Fire Patterned Ant had 150,000 HP, that meant... one-tenth of the life energy of killed creatures was stored in the Life Ring? That¡¯s not hard to manage; he just needs to kill a few more zombie monsters to fill it up. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s continue opening the meteorite!¡± Wang Tao still had one last meteorite that hadn¡¯t been opened. After being busy with the previous meteorite that released the monster, it was finally time to open the last one. Everyone crowded around excitedly. ¡°It would be great if another monster comes out of this one!¡± Han Rui spoke with a bit of excitement. For them, a Level 4 Monster Lord posed no real challenge, yet defeating one would yield an abundance of spoils. As long as a monster was opened up, it was a blood-earned profit. The tenth meteorite was the size of a washbowl, with ten indentations on its surface. Wang Tao placed ten Level 4 Epic Crystal Cores into them; the crystal cores emitted a faint orange glow before the light dimmed, and with a ¡®crack¡¯, a fissure split the meteorite, which then quickly broke neatly in two. A palm-sized dark shadow scurried out from inside the meteorite. Everyone thought it was a monster, but Wang Tao caught the dark shadow in his hand. Wang Tao said with some surprise, ¡°It¡¯s not a monster; it¡¯s an Armored Beetle weapon!¡± Only then did everyone see clearly that what Wang Tao was holding was something that resembled a black beetle. [Level 4 Weapon: Armored Beetle] [HP: 10000/10000 (Upper Limit 100000)] [Status: Can Be Awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (requires consumption of a Fourth Rank Bug Tribe corpse to activate)] [Compatibility: 0%] This was an Armored Beetle, identical to the one he¡¯d obtained before. Wang Tao had previously discussed the Armored Beetle with Ding Yuqin and others, but since Gu Yun had taken it, they had only heard about it without actually seeing one. Now, seeing the still beetle in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, they all came over curiously and poked at it. ¡°This is the Armored Beetle? It looks just like an ordinary, oversized beetle...¡± Lan Yulian muttered. Wang Tao took out a Level 2 Crystal Core and used it to enhance the beetle¡¯s Compatibility. Once the crystal core disappeared, the beetle¡¯s Compatibility changed to 1%. The moment he willed it, the Armored Beetle leaped from Wang Tao¡¯s hand, landed on the ground, and began to swell, quickly growing to the size of Lightning. The nearby Lightning had already seen this device once before, so it wasn¡¯t as alarmed as last time and simply barked at it. Wang Tao patted Lightning¡¯s head, then commanded the Armored Beetle to perform various actions, amazing onlookers. ¡°The Armored Beetle¡¯s armed ability needs to be activated, which requires consuming the corpse of a fourth-order member of the insect race. Fortunately, we have a corpse right here!¡± Wang Tao explained with a smile, then directed the Armored Beetle toward the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s corpse. ¡°Eat.¡± Under Wang Tao¡¯s command, the Armored Beetle immediately pounced on the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s body, which visibly started to shrink. Witnessing that the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s hard shell was being consumed in just a few bites made Wang Tao slap his forehead in realization. He had initially planned to sell the shell to Qu Shilin, as this fire-resistant shell should have been excellent material. But now, the beetle had completely consumed it... ¡°Ah well, what¡¯s eaten is eaten, there will be more in the future...¡± The Armored Beetle soon finished off the large Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s corpse. It was hard to imagine how it managed to rapidly devour so much. The Armored Beetle returned to Wang Tao¡¯s side, shrinking back to a small beetle form. By then, its attributes had changed. ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao noticed that its attributes were a bit different from those of the previous Armored Beetle. [HP: 50000/50000 (Upper Limit 100000)] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (HP, Attack, Defense, Fire Resistance)] The HP remained the same at fifty thousand as the other Armored Beetle, but the enhancement attributes now included ¡°Fire Resistance¡±! Wang Tao suddenly considered that the previous Armored Beetle had devoured a Dual-Tail Scorpion corpse, which was basically just a shell, as its large pincers, tail, and even shell had been removed. Whereas this Fire Patterned Ant, despite having some materials removed by Wang Tao, still had its fire-resistant shell. Could it be that because the Armored Beetle consumed a shell with Fire Resistance Ability, it now also had fire resistance? If that was truly the case, then this was a significant discovery! Chapter 849: 333: Night Demon Hatching 849 Chapter 333: Night Demon Hatching "Is there anyone who''d like to try the Armored Beetle weapon equipment?" Wang Tao looked around and asked. "I want to!" "Me too!" Everyone eagerly raised their hands. Everyone was clearly very interested in this kind of weapon that could arm oneself. So Wang Tao taught them how to use it. Normally, the weapon would bind to the person who activated it; others could use it with the binder''s permission, but many of its effects wouldn''t be fully utilized unless it was unbound and rebound to another person. But unbinding was very troublesome, and even Wang Tao hadn''t known how to do it before. After some research, he discovered that to unbind, one had to deplete the compatibility to 0%, letting the weapon fall into a dormant state, then the person who reawakens it is effectively re-binding it. Fortunately, Wang Tao could exploit a bug. He simply placed the weapon into the Space Backpack, causing it to automatically enter a dormant state. When he took it out again, it could be rebound. Everyone watched as the Armored Beetle transformed from the size of a car to a "little giant" two stories tall, and they all gasped in amazement. Just from visual effects alone, this Armored Beetle was far stronger than Wang Tao''s Entangling Roots! The Entangling Roots were like wearing a suit of armor, while the Armored Beetle was like wearing a large set of powered armor! 13:52 Of course, the actual strength of the Armored Beetle was also much greater. For example, when Ding Yuqin and the others wore it, they could distinctly feel the great enhancement it brought. It directly gave them Fourth Order Battle Power! Just from visual effects alone, this Armored Beetle was far stronger than Wang Tao''s Entangling Roots! The Entangling Roots were like wearing a suit of armor, while the Armored Beetle was like wearing a large set of powered armor! Of course, the actual strength of the Armored Beetle was also much greater. For example, when Ding Yuqin and the others wore it, they could distinctly feel the great enhancement it brought. It directly gave them Fourth Order Battle Power! "If each of us could have an Armored Beetle..." Ding Yuqin said, almost without thinking. "It''s not feasible for now, but maybe in the future." Wang Tao said with a smile. Getting the Armored Beetle was purely down to luck, and the Star Meteorites and Crystal Cores from which it could be extracted were highly valued. Wang Tao couldn''t keep extracting them indefinitely. But in the future, with more money and more meteorites, it was indeed possible since they didn''t have many people... After some time, everyone had a chance to try the Armored Beetle. Each person was stunned by the enhancement it provided. Although there were some negative effects from the Armored Beetle equipment, such as reduced agility, the massive enhancement it provided made these drawbacks trivial. Wang Tao also conducted his own tests, finding no significant difference from the previous Armored Beetle. There was an additional Fire Resistance Ability, but it wasn''t something he could easily demonstrate¡ªhe couldn''t just set the Armored Beetle on fire... After everyone had tested it, Wang Tao roughly concluded a reliable theory¡ªthe weaker the person, the greater the enhancement provided by the Armored Beetle armor! A Level 3 ability user using the Armored Beetle would gain bona fide Fourth Order Combat Power! Even without an Awakening, the enhancement alone nearly put them on par with Fourth Order ability users who had passive physical upgrades. If a Fourth Order ability user, like Wang Tao, He Jijun, or Lan Yulian, used the Armored Beetle, the increase in combat power was terrifying. However, relative to others, the enhancement was least for Wang Tao and greatest for Lan Yulian. One could simply understand that, excluding combat experience, personal intelligence, weapon equipment, and other factors, if Wang Tao''s personal combat power was 9 points, then after being equipped with the Armored Beetle, his combat power would increase to about 12 points, an enhancement rate of 33%. If Xu Xiaojun''s personal combat power was 2 points, after being equipped with the Armored Beetle, his combat power would likely increase to about 9 points, an enhancement rate of 350%! Now if Lan Yulian''s personal combat power was 1 point, then after being equipped with the Armored Beetle, her combat power would likely get to about 8 points, giving her an enhancement rate of 700%! So the weaker one''s own strength, the stronger the enhancement provided by the Armored Beetle! But there''s a limit to this strength, because the Armored Beetle itself has its strengths, and its maximum is probably around 10 points. For someone as strong as Wang Tao, it could only slightly enhance his combat power, but even then, it wouldn''t exceed 11 or 12 points; any more would surpass the Armored Beetle''s capabilities. However, similarly, the Armored Beetle also had a lower limit. For someone relatively weak like Lan Yulian, it could still boost her up to about 8 points¡ªeven if she knew no techniques and had no combat abilities, just with the Armored Beetle''s own physical qualities, she could pummel any creature below Fourth Order to death! So Wang Tao figured the combat power enhancement from the Armored Beetle armor would roughly be between 8 to 12 points. Of course, to what extent this lower limit can still be lowered, Wang Tao currently couldn''t test it. Even though Lan Yulian, the weakest among them, had her merits. Although she was a healing-type ability user and generally didn''t engage in combat, she had a lot of post-apocalyptic combat experience before becoming a healer. She actually wasn''t weak. The truly weak Level Two, Level 1 ability users or even ordinary people, whether they could handle this Armored Beetle equipment, Wang Tao couldn''t say. He didn''t have such people around him, so naturally, he couldn''t test it. Wang Tao guessed there must be a baseline. For example, if an ordinary person were to arm themselves with the Armored Beetle and then punch a Giant Zombie, it might turn out that the Armored Beetle was fine, but the ordinary person could be shaken to death. Such a scenario wasn''t impossible... He planned to ask Gu Yun later; the City Hall would surely conduct various tests on the Armored Beetle, and they should be able to determine the minimum conditions required to use it. Chapter 850: 333: Night Demon Hatching_2 Chapter 850: Chapter 333: Night Demon Hatching_2 Of course, the Iron Beetle¡¯s strength comes with a cost, and that cost is the Crystal Core. After all, as a fourth-order weapon, whether it¡¯s for nourishment or daily consumption, the use of Crystal Cores is considerable. Without a fair amount of funds on hand, it¡¯s truly unaffordable. Moreover, one must always keep an eye on the Iron Beetle¡¯s HP. It¡¯s not a big deal if it¡¯s damaged; it can be healed using Crystal Cores, which just means consuming more of them. But if you let it die carelessly... Wang Tao has not yet encountered a weapon that has perished, but if a weapon¡¯s HP bar hits zero, there¡¯s a high chance it can¡¯t be saved. So, during regular use, one must be cautious and maintain it well. Even if you can¡¯t see the HP bar, as soon as you notice that the weapon is covered in damage and its status seems off, you must quickly recall it... After everyone finished their tests, they all felt somewhat unsatisfied. After all, they had transformed into giants after being armored by the Iron Beetle, a sensation they had never experienced before, and it was exhilarating. ¡°Testing like this is boring; when the opportunity comes, I¡¯ll let you try it out in real combat!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. The Iron Beetle would naturally stay with Wang Tao, but he wouldn¡¯t use it alone; he would let others experience it more often because personally, he wasn¡¯t quite used to the Armored Beetle. ... That said, the Iron Beetle¡¯s armor has its limits. If the Iron Beetle¡¯s maximum potential is 12 marks and Wang Tao could explode with a force of 13 marks, then the Iron Beetle would be somewhat restrictive for him... Moreover, the Iron Beetle¡¯s agility and the like are inferior to Wang Tao¡¯s. Comparatively, Wang Tao was more accustomed to using weapons like Entangling Roots, similar to armor. Although his size would increase slightly, his agility didn¡¯t disappear. On the contrary, it felt like an extension of his own body, very comfortable to use. Unfortunately, the current strength of Entangling Roots was too weak and, unless in some specific situations, it couldn¡¯t help Wang Tao much anymore. However, speaking of it, the Iron Tree Vines weapon was now a great help to Wang Tao. Although it¡¯s also at level 3 and easily broken against powerful enemies, Wang Tao didn¡¯t use it for combat. Most of the time, he used it as a grappling hook, which was essentially like having an extra leg... ¡°Real combat? Can I participate too?¡± Lan Yulian said with eager anticipation. She had just tried it for a while and only felt exhilarating, especially the sensation of smashing everything with one punch, something she had never felt since becoming a Healing-Type Ability User. ¡°Of course, you can¡ª¡± Wang Tao began to respond with a smile, but before he could finish, he suddenly turned his head to look at a cave not far away. Jiang Shixue almost simultaneously turned to the cave, whispering, ¡°It seems there¡¯s some movement inside the cave...¡± ¡°Indeed, a Night Demon has successfully hatched!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s perception range wasn¡¯t that large, but his Plant Affinity Ability clearly sensed something moving chaotically inside the cave, tied up with iron chains, allowing them to move only within a certain range. Judging by their range of movement and their speed, they were obviously not ordinary zombies. Not to mention, those ordinary zombies had been disabled, unable to move. ¡°Yulian, your chance for real combat has come!¡± Wang Tao directly tossed the Iron Beetle to Lan Yulian. Aside from armoring, the Iron Beetle also had the capability to fight independently. However, Wang Tao and Gu Yun had also roughly tested it together, and their Iron Beetle, nurtured to 100,000 HP, had an independent combat power that didn¡¯t surpass a Level 3 Night Demon Type 1. So, unless under special circumstances, it was more cost-effective to use the Beetle Armor on oneself. Lan Yulian caught the Iron Beetle and quickly completed the armoring process. In the blink of an eye, she transformed into a two-story-tall creature with a shell on its back. The cave was quite spacious, and Lan Yulian, at five to six meters tall, could enter, but she sometimes bumped her head and had to keep it tucked in, which looked rather comical. ¡°Eh?¡± Yet, Lan Yulian discovered that she seemed to have some night vision capability. Wang Tao was also surprised; he hadn¡¯t tested it at night before and had no idea the Iron Beetle possessed night vision ability. However, Lan Yulian mentioned that her vision wasn¡¯t very clear, resembling that of black-and-white night vision devices... Obviously, this couldn¡¯t compare with the night vision of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, but having some ability was better than none. Not long after entering the cave, a dark figure suddenly appeared before them. Because it was rather dark and some were using flashlights, they hadn¡¯t made out what it was before they saw Lan Yulian swing out a hand. Splat! [-23843] The dark figure was hurled away, crashing into the wall. Only then did everyone clearly see that this was a Night Demon clad in white bone armor. [HP: 76157/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Elite] This was a fourth order elite Night Demon. At first, when fourth-level organisms appeared, they were all at the Lord rank, and Lords had undergone an awakening, so Wang Tao thought that anything above fourth order had to be awakened. But later on his way to Changhe Base, intercepted by Duan Xuchang, some fourth-order elites and even ordinary level zombies showed up, and that¡¯s when Wang Tao realized that these ordinary and elite zombies hadn¡¯t awakened... So one couldn¡¯t equate the fourth order with awakening completely. Just like the fourth-order Night Demon before him, though it was at the fourth order, it hadn¡¯t awakened, so its strength was much weaker than that of a fourth order, Lord Night Demon. Still, it was stronger than a level 3 Lord Night Demon. Lan Yulian had slapped it with a light palm, dealing over twenty thousand HP damage, and left the Night Demon a bit dazed. Especially when the Night Demon clearly saw Lan Yulian¡¯s terrifying appearance, it immediately ran backwards! ¡°Hm?¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The fourth-order elite Night Demon just ran away? Wang Tao had previously thought that, armored with the Beetle Armor, he was probably comparable to a fourth-order Lord. It seemed his guess was not wrong, as the fourth-order elite Night Demon apparently felt the lordly aura of the Armored Beetle and just fled. Otherwise, Night Demons wouldn¡¯t flee so readily, especially upon seeing humans... Wang Tao had encountered fleeing Night Demons before, but they ran only after their HP was crippled, and this one still had plenty left. ¡°Chase!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s group continued deeper. With his Plant Affinity Perception, he clearly sensed that there were two Night Demons this time, with another one in the depths of the cave, seemingly seeking out the other Night Demon. Soon, the group saw the other Night Demon. The cave¡¯s end was blocked off; the two Night Demons had no way out. Apart from the white-boned armored Night Demon that Lan Yulian had just slapped, there was another Night Demon clad in black bone armor. [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Robust] One fourth-order elite, and one fourth-order Lord! ¡°Throw!¡± With a wave of Wang Tao¡¯s hand, the group immediately threw out several ultraviolet illumination flares. After all, there was a fourth-order, Lord Night Demon, and most of Wang Tao¡¯s team were at level 3, so it was only right to respect the opponent¡¯s strength. As soon as the ultraviolet illumination flares were used, the two Night Demons started to roar ferociously. To the fourth-order Night Demons, these didn¡¯t deal much damage but made them extremely uncomfortable, hesitant. Wang Tao had his people throw flares in a semicircle, effectively encircling both Night Demons, then he waved his hand once more, signaling everyone to advance with weapons in hand. For his people, Night Demons were also a good sparring partner, as fighting other fourth-level creatures might be dangerous not knowing their abilities. But everyone clearly understood the abilities of Night Demons, after all, they had destroyed countless Night Demon¡¯s lairs alongside Wang Tao... The battle was without surprise; after being tormented for a while, the two Night Demons were effortlessly beheaded by Wang Tao. A bounty of loot exploded from them. Of course, the ¡°tormenting¡± was mainly instigated by Lan Yulian. After all, with her armored Beetle form, she could truly crush Night Demons in her grasp... Wang Tao checked the zombies, two of them were gone, leaving behind only two broken chains; the remaining eight were intact. ¡°I hope you guys step it up and incubate a few more. This isn¡¯t even enough to kill...¡± Chapter 851: 334: Pet Snake Chapter 851: Chapter 334: Pet Snake Wang Tao briefly checked the loot from these two Night Demons. The hatched Night Demons were basically identical to the ones they had encountered before, so naturally, their loot wasn¡¯t much different either. The Level 4 Elite Night Demon didn¡¯t have a Crystal Core in its head, and since it wasn¡¯t considered an over-level kill, it only dropped a Loot Pack, which contained an Ultraviolet Suit. [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells x60] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strips x10] ... Compared to the Level 4 Lord Night Demon, the pack did not include Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs, and there were far fewer ultraviolet items in general. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind; these were all useful tools against Night Demons, and he accepted them all. The focus was on the loot from that Level 4 Lord Night Demon. Killing it had yielded 1 Advanced Special Energy, an Awakening Key, and 100 Awakening Energy. It itself dropped a Crystal Core, a pair of claws, a heart, and five Loot Packs. [Obtained: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength x1] [Obtained: Level 4 Night Demon¡¯s Claws x2] [Obtained: Fourth-Order Weapon ¨C [Night Demon Type I]] The heart of an elite Night Demon was just an ordinary heart, easily crushed. However, the heart of a Lord Night Demon was a [Night Demon Type I] weapon, not easily destroyed. After finding the correct usage, one could gain a compliant ally. The first out of the five Loot Packs was a Crystal Core Gift Bag, containing five Crystal Cores. These were the familiar faces, including an Orange [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Promotion], a Red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening], a Red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence], a Purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Energy Boost], and a Blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: HP Boost]. The second Loot Pack contained potions, the third an Ultraviolet Suit, the fourth an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Obtained: Strength Potion (Medium) x10] [Obtained: Strength Potion (Small) x10] [Obtained: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Obtained: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shells x100] [Obtained: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strips x20] [Obtained: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs x5] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The last Loot Pack naturally contained Blueprints, all of which had been seen before. [Obtained: Night Demon Breastplate Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Night Demon Leg Armor Blueprint x1] Night Demon Equipment was indeed very good, and currently only Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue each had a set, and they both still had Night Demon Rings that could be instantly worn. If they could gather more Night Demon Sets and equip everyone, that would be very comfortable. Wang Tao crafted these two pieces of equipment and then had He Jijun wear them. As the second strongest after Wang Tao himself, it was only natural that He Jijun should be well equipped. Wang Tao still had many Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, so gathering a complete set of Level 4 Night Demon Equipment for He Jijun should not be a problem. If it was not enough, then they could just destroy a few more Night Demon¡¯s Nests... After checking the loot, Wang Tao glanced at his Life Ring. [Current stored HP: 35000/100000] It was already 35,000 HP. It seemed that not only killing Lords but also Elite kills could store HP, which greatly eased Wang Tao¡¯s mind. If only killing Lords had allowed for storing HP, that would have made the difficulty far too great... Then Wang Tao went to check on the remaining eight zombies, tethered by iron chains, showing no changes, and it was not apparent who might turn into a Night Demon. By then, it was already getting late, so Wang Tao had Ding Yuqin and the others cook some food while he went to check on the Fire Patterned Ant¡¯s corpse. He could clearly feel that the Awakening Tree had grown a lot compared to earlier. In the morning, it had still been a sapling. Now, by evening, it had grown half as tall as a person. At this rate, Wang Tao felt it would not be small in size, perhaps it could grow into a towering tree. At night, while on duty, Wang Tao paid special attention to those few zombies, but until the next morning, no Night Demon had emerged, which somewhat disappointed him. ¡®Never mind...¡¯ Wang Tao shook his head. After eating breakfast prepared personally by Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao contemplated whether to capture a few more zombies to breed Night Demons. After all, he still had plenty of Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, but just then, Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice suddenly rang out in his headset: ¡°Brother! The egg has hatched!¡± Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s figure instantly disappeared. He was somewhat annoyed, He had intended to remove the snake egg just before it completed hatching, as it would have been troublesome if the hatched snake damaged the van. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the snake egg! Fortunately, Jiang Shixue had not forgotten and had kept an eye on the snake egg, or there might have been real trouble. When Wang Tao¡¯s figure appeared again, he was already outside the minibus. ¡°Where¡ª¡± Just as Wang Tao began to speak, he suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if a faint and unfamiliar consciousness had appeared in his mind. Frowning, he looked towards the inside of the bus, just in time to see a palm-sized triangular snake head poke out of the bus door, its brown vertical pupils looking at Wang Tao. Then, suddenly, it soared into the air, lunging at him! Whoosh¡ª Facing such an attack, Wang Tao made no move to defend himself. Instead, the snake, as thick as a bowl, coiled around Wang Tao. It flicked its tongue as it slithered over him, but it did not bite him! Jiang Shixue walked out of the bus with a curious and cautious expression and explained: ¡°When I found it, the snake egg had already cracked, and it had almost finished eating its shell, but it didn¡¯t attack me when it saw me...¡± Chapter 852: 334 Pet Snake_2 Chapter 852: Chapter 334 Pet Snake_2 ¡°Wang Tao!¡± At this time, others also arrived with weapons. Seeing that a black giant snake was coiled around Wang Tao but not attacking, everyone was confused but remained vigilant. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t attack us...,¡± Wang Tao spoke, patting the head of the black snake, which flicked its tongue and licked his hand. Then Wang Tao pulled the black snake off himself. The snake showed no signs of aggression and seemed very well-behaved. The situation after the snake egg hatched was different from what Wang Tao had imagined. He thought it would be a monster, but now it seemed like a monster that was more like a... pet? ... [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Elite] After interacting with the black snake, Wang Tao faintly sensed its location, a feeling somewhat like a weakened version of a Perception Ring. Moreover, when Wang Tao tried communicating with the snake in his mind, it seemed to really hear and understand him! Wang Tao told it to coil up by itself, and it tilted its head to look at him, then actually coiled into a heap on the ground! Although the black snake could understand Wang Tao¡¯s words, it seemed unable to express its own thoughts, so Wang Tao could only communicate one-way. He couldn¡¯t have a conversation like Ding Yuqin could. Even so, this ability to communicate with the black snake was still very impressive. It felt a bit like controlling a [Night Demon Type I], but the [Night Demon Type I] was rather dull, while this black snake was somewhat more clever... ¡°This is pretty interesting!¡± Wang Tao shared his findings with everyone, and they were all amazed. ¡°So, it¡¯s essentially your pet now?¡± Ding Yuqin asked, slightly scared but also excited. Many people naturally feel terrified of cold-blooded animals like snakes, especially women. Even though Ding Yuqin and the others had reaches Level 3 strength, they were still somewhat uneasy seeing a snake, let alone one that was at Level 4 and stronger than them! ¡°Yeah, it should be. I think this might be because I used my life energy to hatch it...¡± Wang Tao petted the black snake¡¯s head, and it rubbed against his palm, showing great affection. Wang Tao felt it must be somewhat intelligent; from the moment it hatched, it hadn¡¯t attacked anyone. It seemed to know that these people were all friends of Wang Tao. Once everyone was sure the black snake wouldn¡¯t attack them, they all came closer. Someone even touched it; its body was cold, feeling entirely different from touching Lightning. Lightning came over to Wang Tao¡¯s side, watching the black snake warily, as if ready to pounce at Wang Tao¡¯s command. Wang Tao chuckled and ruffled Lightning¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± Then, Wang Tao and the others observed the black snake for a while, and they unanimously agreed that it seemed to be a non-venomous python. The black snake was very gentle, allowing people to handle it without showing any signs of its Level 4 status. Speaking of its level, Wang Tao found it somewhat miraculous. Although the description on the snake egg said a Level 4 Elite or higher serpent would emerge after hatching, it still felt unbelievable that a newly hatched snake possessed such strong abilities. Jiang Shixue mentioned that the black snake didn¡¯t exude a Level 4 aura before it ate its eggshell. But after it finished the eggshell, its aura turned Level 4. The eggshell clearly stored a lot of nutrients. After all, it was laid by a Catastrophic Serpent¡ªbeing strong from birth being a Level 4 Elite seemed reasonable. However, Wang Tao was slightly dissatisfied with one thing¡ªthe size of the black snake. If it were bigger, about the size of the Catastrophic Serpent, it could at least be used as a mount. Or if it were smaller, able to coil around Wang Tao¡¯s wrist, it might serve as a surprise weapon in battle. But its current size... as thick as a bowl¡¯s rim, more than three meters long, and about fifty kilograms. This size wasn¡¯t big but wasn¡¯t small either, roughly like a normal python. So, it couldn¡¯t be used as a mount and wasn¡¯t easy to carry. It was obviously impossible to wear it on the body; it just had to follow the group like Lightning... ¡°I wonder if you¡¯ll grow bigger. I hope you get a bit more imposing...¡± After muttering to himself, Wang Tao directed the black snake through some simple tests. The black snake had mana, but no particular Ability was tested. Wang Tao thought it might be similar to Night Demon: not without Ability, but its Ability might be all Passive, like boosting vitality, HP, and such. Its physical constitution was strong, and it was quite powerful. Wang Tao tried, and if it were to coil around someone, even a Fourth-order Awakener might be in danger. However, since it hadn¡¯t awakened, compared to a Fourth-order Awakener, its strength was somewhat lacking if it were in a direct fight. As for its actual combat capability, since there were no enemies present, it was temporarily impossible to test. Wang Tao felt it probably wouldn¡¯t be too weak, considering it¡¯s a Fourth Order Elite, after all. ¡°From now on, you¡¯ll be called Blacky.¡± Wang Tao petted the black snake¡¯s head. The black snake flicked its tongue and then slowly coiled around Wang Tao again. Perhaps because Wang Tao used his own HP to hatch it, it especially liked being around him, a bit clingy. Unfortunately, its appearance was too unsettling for many. Ding Yuqin and the others touched it out of curiosity but immediately kept their distance afterward. Chapter 853: 334: Pet Snake_3 Chapter 853: Chapter 334: Pet Snake_3 At that moment, Wei Zhenguo suddenly asked: ¡°Wang Tao, don¡¯t you still have nine snake eggs?¡± Wang Tao nodded again. Since the hatched snakes were obedient, even serving as pets, he definitely needed to hatch them. Even if what hatched were Fourth Order Elites, it would significantly increase their team¡¯s combat power. Then Wang Tao looked around at everyone and asked: ... ¡°Who wants to try hatching? Whoever hatches it will own the pet! However, I feel that hatching these creatures seems to have something to do with spiritual power. It might be problematic if your spiritual power is too low... Of course, you¡¯re all at Level 3 or 4, so there should be no problem with that.¡± Everyone glanced at each other, only Wei Zhenguo and a few other men raised their hands. Ding Yuqin and the other women all shook their heads; even Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak up. She wasn¡¯t afraid, but she preferred Lightning to snakes. ¡°We¡¯d better not...¡± Ding Yuqin quickly waved her hand. Women were naturally quite fearful of such cold-blooded animals. Even though the hatched creature would be their own pet, it was still a snake and somewhat repulsive. They would definitely be willing if it were a dog like Lightning. ¡°Then I¡¯ll do it!¡± ¡°I can too!¡± ¡°...¡± Wei Zhenguo, Xu Xiaojun, Chen Zhuang, and Gao Hua all raised their hands. He Jijun wasn¡¯t interested in snakes and didn¡¯t raise his hand. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t insist, so the four of them each hatched one snake egg. Hatching these snake eggs required one day and 100,000 HP; as for the time, they just had to wait. Regarding HP, with the healer around, there was nothing to worry about. After they began hatching, their faces quickly turned pale. Prepared beforehand, Lan Yulian immediately activated the Healing Light Aura and then began healing them. It took some time before their HP was fully restored. ¡°Whew¡ª¡± ed to the snake. So Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if continuing to hatch would be problematic; it was better to be cautious. Wang Tao had wanted to test Blacky¡¯s combat effectiveness, but there were no zombies nearby. Xu Xiaojun and his group had to travel far to catch zombies the previous day. Wang Tao thought it over and decided against it, believing that the zombies in the cave could still hatch into Night Demons. Once the Night Demons were hatched, he would let Blacky try them out. Since he had control over the situation, even if Blacky couldn¡¯t win, there would be no risk to its life. Thus, Wang Tao and his group didn¡¯t go anywhere today and just waited around for a day. Nothing happened, and the zombies in the cave were still very much alive. This made Wang Tao somewhat helpless, but he unexpectedly discovered that his 1000 Awakening Energy had fully recovered today. Since there was no battle right now, Wang Tao decided to upgrade. Moments later, the upper limit of his Awakening Energy increased to 1100, and the strength and duration of his Awakening Ability improved slightly. The next day, under the attention of everyone, they watched the four snake eggs hatch successfully. Their appearance and color were very similar to Wang Tao¡¯s Blacky, and they were all Fourth Order Elites, with no Lords appearing. To distinguish them, Wang Tao named them Er Hei, Sanhei, Si Hei, and Wu Hei. Regarding Wang Tao¡¯s naming ability, everyone had already run out of fucks to give. Then Wang Tao asked Wei Zhenguo and the others about their feelings. After successfully hatching and interacting with the Black Snakes, they could feel that some of their ephemeral spiritual power had indeed been utilized. Their spiritual power was far less than Wang Tao¡¯s, and they felt that hatching another such snake could potentially affect them. So Wang Tao decided not to let them hatch any more, and they would discuss the remaining five eggs later. Hatching them himself shouldn¡¯t have much impact, but since they are all Fourth Order Elite snakes, the benefit to Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that great. He himself didn¡¯t need to hatch so many... ... On the fifth day of planting the Awakening Seed. Early morning, there were still no changes in the zombies in the cave. it too, and they were all surprised. Lightning, Blacky, and the others were exceptionally excited. Jiang Shixue subconsciously licked her lips, feeling her mouth crazily secreting saliva. ¡°It seems to be... coming from the direction of the Awakening Tree? Let¡¯s go and see what¡¯s happening!¡± Chapter 854: 335: Guarding the Great Tree Chapter 854: Chapter 335: Guarding the Great Tree When Wang Tao and his group arrived near the remains of the Fire Patterned Ant, they discovered the body was gone, and in its place was a huge tree as tall as a ten-story building, the species of which was unrecognizable! ¡°The monster¡¯s body is gone? The tree has grown this big?¡± ¡°I remember there was nothing here yesterday... It grew this big overnight!¡± As they gazed at the lush and towering tree before them, everyone was somewhat in disbelief. Wang Tao also opened his mouth in astonishment. He had specifically checked on the Awakening Tree last night. It was clearly a small tree then, and there were still many Fire Patterned Ant bodies around. Yet this morning, those bodies were gone, and a towering tree had sprung up. ... er voice, and his eyes fell on a green fruit that he hadn¡¯t noticed earlier amidst the array of green leaves. As he looked at the fruit, he suddenly felt that its fragrance was even richer¡ªit was coming from the fruit itself! Although the fruit seemed unripe and very green, Wang Tao had a feeling of ¡°it must be delicious!¡± Wang Tao immediately turned to look at the others, who were also attracted by the fruit. Among them, Jiang Shixue reacted the most; her mouth was gleaming slightly. Wang Tao reached out to wipe her mouth. Only then did Jiang Shixue realize she was drooling. She blushed instantly and scratched her head sheepishly. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know what happened, I just found the fruit very fragrant and really wanted to eat it... But I can also tell that it¡¯s not ripe yet...¡± Upon hearing Jiang Shixue¡¯s words, Wang Tao frowned slightly. From his experience so far, whenever there was something irresistible to eat, it usually benefitted him! For example, in the beginning, he really wanted to eat a Crystal Core, and the first Crystal Core he merged with was one he suddenly ate uncontrollably. If Jiang Shixue really wanted to eat this fruit, there was a high probability that it would be beneficial for Jiang Shixue! Perhaps it could even awaken her? While Wang Tao was contemplating, another person discovered more fruits on the tree. ¡°There¡¯s another fruit here!¡± ¡°And here too!¡± ¡°...¡± Due to the tree¡¯s massive size and the dense leaves, everyone didn¡¯t notice the other fruits at first. Now, after looking carefully, they discovered there were many more fruits on the large tree! The exact number was uncertain, but there seemed to be twenty or more. e. He quickly asked the others. ¡°You all can smell the fragrance, right?¡± Everyone immediately nodded. ¡°Yes! It smells amazing! It¡¯s a fruity scent and very pleasant! I have never smelled such delicious fruit before!¡± Especially Jiang Shixue, who swallowed her saliva and said: ¡°I really want to eat it...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression immediately became serious. ¡°Everyone, pay attention! I¡¯m not sure how far this fragrance can spread, it might attract zombies and other creatures...¡± As soon as he said this, everyone felt a chill. If they smelled this scent in the wild, they would likely come to check it out, not to mention those simple-minded zombie creatures! Wang Tao looked around; so far, everything was safe, but the Awakening Fruit needed more than two days to mature, and whether it stayed safe was uncertain. ¡°Let¡¯s do this: we¡¯ll drive the car under the tree and rest here for the night!¡± After the Awakening Tree absorbed and digested the bodies of the Fire Patterned Ants, the area was free from the [Life Drain] effect, making it safe to stay for a while. not to touch the fruits, as they were not ripe yet. They would discuss it once they were mature. The Black Snakes, being sensible, quietly stayed in the tree after climbing it, each snake watching over a fruit as if guarding them. Chapter 855: 335: Guarding the Great Tree_2 Chapter 855: Chapter 335: Guarding the Great Tree_2 Then, Wang Tao and the others stayed under the tree for a whole day. Besides the fruits on the tree starting to turn slightly yellow and their fragrance growing increasingly intense, there hadn¡¯t been any one suddenly woke him up. ¡°Wang Tao! Zombies are approaching!¡± Upon hearing the voice, Wang Tao instantly awoke. It was Jiang Shixue who had roused him. Only he and Jiang Shixue had night vision ability, so their watch shifts were staggered to ensure someone could see clearly at night. After getting up, Wang Tao looked in the direction Jiang Shixue was pointing and immediately saw a group of zombies shuffling towards them. ... From the angle of their approach, they were definitely attracted by the Awakening Tree! Wang Tao took a quick glance and saw they were mostly ordinary zombies, not even a single Fourth Order among them. But Wang Tao was not careless and woke everyone up. ¡°Zombies are coming. I¡¯ll go kill them. You all stay alert to our surroundings.¡± Wang Tao wanted to test if his Life Ring could increase its stored HP by killing ordinary zombies. He hadn¡¯t encountered ordinary zombies before, and naturally, he hadn¡¯t had the chance to test it. Now that zombies were coming, it was a good opportunity to make use of waste. ¡°Okay!¡± The group responded in unison. These ordinary zombies were mainly Level Two and Level Three, with none exceeding 50,000 HP, but there were quite a few of them¡ªmore than thirty. The zombies had not noticed Wang Tao and his party, but were simply lured here by the scent. They twisted their bodies towards the large tree. Whoosh¡ª A shockwave suddenly appeared, and several zombies in front of the horde were instantly shattered. Roar¡ª Only then did the zombies realize that a human had appeared in front of them. Though the fruit of Awakening was fragrant, the scent of humans was no less intense, so they immediately shifted their target and rushed towards Wang Tao rapidly. Moments later, they became shreds of flesh on the ground. o rejoice when Jiang Shixue¡¯s voice rang out in his earpiece. ¡°Brother, a lot of ordinary zombies are coming from the east!¡± Wang Tao was on the west side, and because of the large tree¡¯s obstruction, he couldn¡¯t see the situation to the east. ¡°You all attack at will!¡± Wang Tao immediately ordered. He had already tested the ordinary zombies, and the others were of no use to him. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone sprang into action. Since Wang Tao had anticipated the possibility of enemy attacks, he had hung many lights on the tree, including ultraviolet strip lights. Ding Yuqin immediately turned on the lights, and the area around the large tree lit up like daylight, leaving the zombies with nowhere to hide under the ultraviolet light. Amidst these zombies, the sound of burning could occasionally be heard. ¡°There are Night Demons mixed in among them!¡± Everyone was on guard, but they didn¡¯t panic. The incoming zombie horde numbered over a hundred, but to the group, they posed no challenge. Moreover, it was a good opportunity to test the combat abilities of the Black Snakes. With their Fourth Order Elite strength, dealing with these zombies, which were all below Fourth Order, was a one-sided slaughter. Wang Tao took the chance to observe them and noticed the scales of these Black Snakes were very hard. The zombies couldn¡¯t penetrate the scales to attack them, so they were unable to release the zombie virus. As long as they weren¡¯t infected by the zombie virus, they could easily handle these ordinary zombies. As for the Black Snakes¡¯ methods of attack, there were basically two. One was to coil around the zombie¡¯s head and then suddenly exert force, bursting the zombie¡¯s head on the spot. The other was to use their tail to lash out, smashing the zombies¡¯ heads to pieces. Seeing this, Wang Tao nodded in approval. He had been worried that these newly born Black Snakes wouldn¡¯t have combat experience, since zombies, unlike other creatures, had to be hit in the head. But Wang Tao¡¯s concerns were unfounded; these Black Snakes might have inherited some hunting experience, as they handled the zombies with ease. Without Wang Tao and the others needing to lift a finger, the five snakes plunged into the horde, causing chaos and quickly annihilating the sizeable and reasonably powerful zombie group. ld have driven them to poverty with their consumption... After dealing with this batch of zombies, no other creatures approached for the time being, but Wang Tao and his companions naturally couldn¡¯t sleep anymore and stayed up all night guarding the surroundings of the tree. Chapter 856: 335: Guardian of the Great Tree_3 Chapter 856: Chapter 335: Guardian of the Great Tree_3 ¡°` In the latter part of the night, zombies came again! But this time, it was Night Demons, a large group of them¡ªit felt as though an entire Night Demon¡¯s Nest or even several had emerged at once! Among them were many white ones, and there were also three black ones! Red Night Demons are Third-order Elites, blue Night Demons are Level 3, Lords. White Night Demons are Fourth Order Elites, Black Night Demons are Level 4, Lords. So, even without Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, everyone could see that many Level 4 Night Demons had arrived! ... However, the group wasn¡¯t panicking¡ªnot least because, though they might be short on various supplies, they certainly had enough ultraviolet light equipment to handle these Night Demons! ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± After arriving, the group of Night Demons began to howl in the distance, not daring to come closer. Wang Tao had fitted the large tree with ultraviolet strip lights, and now the entire tree was like a glowing ultraviolet lamp, emitting deadly ultraviolet rays in all directions. Though these ultraviolet rays weren¡¯t lethal to Level 4 Night Demons, they were indeed uncomfortable and terrifying, so the creatures lingered outside, hesitant to approach. Clearly not willing to tolerate such a significant threat outside, Wang Tao reached out, flipped his hand, and an Iron Beetle appeared in his palm. Wang Tao had grown quite familiar with the Iron Beetle, but he¡¯d yet to properly arm one and send it into battle¡ªwhat better opportunity than now? The multitude of Level 4 Night Demons would be more than enough for a test. Click¡ª¡ª Wang Tao threw the Iron Beetle, and it immediately began to inflate and wriggle. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a two-story-tall standing beetle monster. Wang Tao merged with it and then charged forward. Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡ª Though not as tall as the large tree, the Iron Beetle¡¯s size still stood out among the group of Night Demons. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have any weapons in hand, mainly because there weren¡¯t any that suited the beetle¡¯s size. Clenching both fists, he just hammered away at the Night Demons! Bang¡ª¡ª A Third-order Night Demon failed to dodge in time and was smashed to the ground by Wang Tao¡¯s punch. When Wang Tao lifted his fist, all that was left on the ground was a disgusting mash of flesh. Seeing the result of his casual strike, Wang Tao let out a sigh. ¡°No wonder people like Jade Lotus, who don¡¯t usually fight, find this thrilling! The feeling of raw power is truly exhilarating!¡± Wang Tao inwardly marveled, but his hands did not stop moving. One punch for each small Night Demon, like playing Whack-a-Mole! Roar¡ª¡ª The Level 4 Night Demons had been looking for a way to get close to the large tree, but now, seeing Wang Tao slaughtering their kind, they could no longer restrain themselves and rushed at him. Size doesn¡¯t determine everything, but it has its advantages. Under normal circumstances, these Night Demons could only attack Wang Tao¡¯s legs and were unable to reach any other part of his body. But attacking the legs of an Iron Beetle clearly wouldn¡¯t harm Wang Tao. The Night Demons seemed to understand this, so they started to jump like fleas, aiming for Wang Tao. Bang! Bang! Each time they jumped up, Wang Tao sent one flying, and if they were particularly unlucky, he would crush them completely! Now, it was as if Wang Tao were swatting mosquitoes, thoroughly enjoying himself. ¡°So powerful!¡± Watching Wang Tao easily handle the Night Demon Group, everyone exclaimed in admiration. Though everyone had an Iron Beetle, it performed differently depending on its user, expressing its full potential only in the hands of Wang Tao. However, in reality, it wasn¡¯t as easy for Wang Tao as everyone imagined. Since the Iron Beetle hadn¡¯t reached its power limit and still stood at 50,000 HP, although the Night Demons didn¡¯t pose a threat to Wang Tao, their various attacks upon the Iron Beetle did cause HP loss. The saying goes, ¡°even ants can kill an elephant,¡± and facing a group of Level 4 Night Demons, there was certainly a risk if the battle dragged on for too long. Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian to try using healing on him, and unsurprisingly, Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing couldn¡¯t restore HP to the Iron Beetle. However, it could bestow a Fire Attribute attack... Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand the principle behind this, but it was all right; a Fire Attribute attack could still increase damage. He then addressed the others: ¡°Let¡¯s all join in, make it a quick battle!¡± After saying this, Wang Tao charged at one of the Level 4, Lord Night Demons. As for the other Elite Night Demons and Level 3s, he left them to the rest. With one Level 4, Lord Night Demon left to contend with, He Jijun rushed towards another. The last one was surrounded and attacked by several Black Snakes. Once everyone joined the fight and several large Ultraviolet Illumination Bombs lit up the night sky, the Night Demon Group began to break down. Especially after Wang Tao, dressed in Beetle Armor, swiftly dealt with the Level 4, Lord Night Demon, the Night Demon Group instantly began to collapse. Over ten minutes later, the other two Level 4, Lord Night Demons were taken down by Wang Tao, and the remaining Night Demons were few in number. Bang¡ª¡ª Wei Zhenguo made a Rush, jumped into the midst of the last few low-HP Night Demons, and took them down with a Shockwave. ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao gave a thumbs up. With that, the entire group of over a hundred Night Demons had all been dealt with. Wang Tao deactivated the Beetle Armor and then began to quickly clear the battlefield. After cleanup, no one dared to relax, continuing to guard beside the large tree. But they waited until sunrise, and no more zombies appeared. This left Wang Tao somewhat disappointed. ¡°Is that it? I thought more zombies would come!¡± Defeating zombies, especially Level 4, Lord zombies, could yield many great rewards, and naturally, Wang Tao would hope for more to come his way. Everyone had a bit of breakfast and then continued to guard the Awakening Tree. ¡°The scent of the fruit is getting stronger and stronger...¡± Everyone involuntarily swallowed. Wang Tao checked the countdown timer on Awakening Fruits, only a little over one day left, they would ripen by tomorrow night! Thud, thud, thud¡ª¡ª Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly. ¡°Something¡¯s coming again!¡± ¡°` Chapter 857: 336: Slaying the Giant Again Chapter 857: Chapter 336: Slaying the Giant Again Thud, thud, thud¡ª As the ground trembled ever so slightly, a massive silhouette appeared in everyone¡¯s line of sight. ¡°Giant Zombie!¡± Seeing this figure, everyone¡¯s faces were very serious. Their previous experiences in Wuyang City and Zijing City were not exactly pleasant. This Giant Zombie¡¯s stature was clearly not as enormous as those with hundreds of thousands of HP, but it was a bit taller than the one Wang Tao had killed before, which had a hundred thousand HP. The Giant Zombie with a hundred thousand HP stood 20 meters tall, while this one was estimated to be about 24 or 25 meters. It was only slightly shorter than the Awakening Tree, which now stood at 30 meters. ... [HP: 120000/120000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Giant] This Giant Zombie had 120,000 HP. The greater the HP of a Giant Zombie, the larger its size. Its Awakening [Giant] is related to its size¡ªthe larger the size, the stronger the power! Thus, Giant Zombies are different from other species; a difference in HP of one or two thousand may not signify much difference in strength for other species. But between Giant Zombies, a difference of twenty thousand HP might imply a noticeably significant gap in strength. Like this one with 120,000 HP, it was undoubtedly much stronger than the previous one with a hundred thousand HP! And it wasn¡¯t just a single Giant Zombie that came; there was also a large group of zombies following at its feet. At a glance, they were all Level 3 and Level 4 Ordinary and Elite Zombies. Clearly, their target was the Awakening Fruit! ¡°A tough battle ahead...¡± He Jijun¡¯s tone was grave. If it were only one Giant Zombie, it would have been easier to handle, but this Giant Zombie had brought with it thousands of minions with no minor strengths... ¡°Leave the Giant Zombie to me; handle the rest of the zombies yourself. Old He, you take command!¡± Wang Tao immediately spoke up. Before, he had killed that Giant Zombie by triggering the Frenzy Passive and combining it with the Awakening Fire Blazing the Plains. Although the current Giant Zombie was stronger, Wang Tao was no longer the same as he used to be. He might not be able to kill the Giant Zombie quickly, but there should be no problem in holding it off. As long as he could block the Giant Zombie and prevent it from destroying the Awakening Tree, Wang Tao¡¯s goal would be achieved. Killing the Giant Zombie was just a matter of time, and Wang Tao was still confident about this. ¡°No problem!¡± He Jijun nodded and quickly started to command. Wang Tao, meanwhile, activated his Beetle Armor. Woosh¡ª As the Iron Beetle landed, it rapidly expanded, instantly transforming into a gigantic beetle monster five or six meters tall, swiftly enveloping Wang Tao. Taking strides, Wang Tao charged at the Giant Zombie. The Giant Zombie had not noticed Wang Tao and the others beneath the Awakening Tree until Wang Tao rushed out, drawing the Giant Zombie¡¯s attention. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± With a bellow, the Giant Zombie advanced towards Wang Tao with oppressive steps! Thud, thud, thud¡ª As the Giant Zombie quickened its pace, it trampled many of its kind to death. However, it clearly didn¡¯t care about the life and death of its kind; its only desire was to devour Wang Tao, this ¡°big insect.¡± But when still a distance away from Wang Tao, the Giant Zombie suddenly bent down, picked up a large rock from the ground, and hurled it directly at Wang Tao! Wang Tao knew the Giant Zombie could throw things, so he was already prepared. As soon as he saw the Giant Zombie bend down, he picked up a large rock and threw it at the Giant Zombie first. Whoosh¡ª One large and one small rock flew towards each other in succession. Wang Tao swiftly dodged, avoiding the rock hurled by the Giant Zombie. However, the Giant Zombie was hit squarely by the rock thrown by Wang Tao. Bang! The rock hit the Giant Zombie¡¯s knee, but it didn¡¯t even wobble. Though Wang Tao didn¡¯t have high hopes for the rock, he was already charging forward and, leaping up, he delivered a kick right onto the knee of the Giant Zombie. Bang¡ª The kick landed, much like the thrown rock, doing virtually no damage. The main aim for Wang Tao was to topple the Giant Zombie. Despite the human-like form of the Giant Zombie, it had an exceptionally stable base. Wang Tao¡¯s kick only made it sway slightly, with no sign of falling. But this managed to enrage the Giant Zombie, which let out a furious roar and lifted one massive foot, stomping towards Wang Tao! The stomping of the Giant Zombie inflicted high damage, with many zombies being directly crushed to death. But the move was quite conspicuous, and with Wang Tao¡¯s focused attention, he easily evaded it. Seeing that it missed several stomps, the Giant Zombie slowly bent down and lashed out with a palm strike towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao was already fast, but his speed decreased slightly with the Beetle Armor. The Giant Zombie¡¯s palm came swiftly... and as there was no escape, Wang Tao immediately turned his body, taking the slap on his back¡¯s shell armor. Smack! [-509] Wang Tao was jolted, his body going numb. But beyond that, there were no other issues. Seeing that the Beetle Armor only lost five hundred HP, Wang Tao immediately grinned. The Beetle Armor proved its worth as a Fourth-Order Weapon! Although it reduced Wang Tao¡¯s agility and speed somewhat, its defensive power was unquestionably impressive! When Wang Tao fought the Giant Zombie with a hundred thousand HP before, even wearing the Black Iron Heavy Armor, the Giant Zombie could deal over five thousand damage with a single punch. Yet now, facing this slightly stronger Giant Zombie, Wang Tao lost only five hundred HP, which was also the HP of the Beetle Armor! Even though this part of the shell was the sturdiest area of the Beetle Armor, facing a Giant Zombie and holding up to this extent was remarkably strong. Chapter 858: 336: Another Giant Slain_2 Chapter 858: Chapter 336: Another Giant Slain_2 Wang Tao had been uncertain if he could kill the giant zombie on his own. But now, he felt he had at least a 70% chance! Whoosh¡ª¡ª The other hand of the giant zombie also swatted over. But even if Wang Tao was slow, having been hit once already, he wouldn¡¯t be hit a second time within a short period. Wang Tao instantly dodged the attack and took out a ¡°mini chainsaw¡± from somewhere on his body. After being equipped with Beetle Armor weapons, it was impossible to use the Space Backpack¡ªmore precisely, it could be used, but whatever was taken out would be in Wang Tao¡¯s hands, which meant inside the body of the beetle... So Wang Tao had placed his weapons on his body in advance. ... Buzz buzz¡ª¡ª The chainsaw instantly started cutting into the giant zombie. [-813] A number over eight hundred popped up. Previously, when Wang Tao attacked the giant zombie with the Bloody Chainsaw, he could cut off a thousand HP, but now it was only eight hundred... This showed that the giant¡¯s defense had greatly increased. After being attacked, the giant zombie grew even angrier. It bent over and started clawing at Wang Tao with both hands! But after landing a hit, Wang Tao immediately retreated and avoided the giant zombie¡¯s attack. Then, out of nowhere, Wang Tao produced a ¡°mini long knife¡±. With the chainsaw in one hand and the long knife in the other, he slashed at the legs of the giant zombie. [-831] [-32] [-3] [...] The Bloody Chainsaw still cut off eight hundred HP from the giant zombie, but his sharp long knife only managed to cut a little over thirty HP, less than the giant zombie¡¯s natural blood regeneration rate. Even with bleeding and armor-breaking attributes, the sharp long knife still couldn¡¯t inflict significant damage. For Wang Tao, this came as no surprise. After all, a zombie¡¯s weakness is its head. Attacking its legs without causing much damage was normal. The long knife wasn¡¯t a chainsaw; it lacked the attribute of directly cutting life energy. Wang Tao just wanted to try it out and seeing no success, he decided to let it go. He immediately put away the long knife and focused on using the chainsaw to attack the giant zombie. Although the Beetle Armor wasn¡¯t agile, the giant zombie was even less so. Essentially, for every three strikes Wang Tao landed on the giant zombie, it could only hit Wang Tao once, and that one hit would be blocked by the beetle shell! Given the current situation, Wang Tao felt he was fully capable of wearing down the giant zombie to death. Even if the Bloody Chainsaw constantly drained blood during use, there were so many zombies around; killing some would allow him to regenerate blood. The Beetle Armor greatly boosted Wang Tao¡¯s abilities, especially against a large, less agile giant zombie like this. In some sense, it also circumvented the Beetle Armor¡¯s drawbacks. The only thing that really bothered Wang Tao was that he couldn¡¯t use his Awakening, not even a fireball. Such ¡°weapons¡± were not equipment; they were living. If Wang Tao used Starfire Prairie, even if the beetle had fire resistance ability, it would be burned to death by him! Fire blazing from the inside out is something the beetle would probably not withstand for long. So Wang Tao now couldn¡¯t use his most powerful attacks. This could only mean... there are gains and losses. If he didn¡¯t equip the Beetle Armor, he could unleash his most powerful attack, but his defensive power would be much weaker, and he¡¯d be in more danger. Even the Black Iron Heavy Armor¡¯s defensive power was no match for the Beetle Armor because with the heavy armor on, it was still him who would take the hits. But with the Beetle Armor, it was the beetle taking the hits. If he equipped the Beetle Armor, although many attack methods were unavailable, the defense was high enough! Wang Tao had the Bloody Chainsaw, which could inflict damage on the giant zombie, so he could slowly grind it to death. This was much safer! ... One minute later, the giant zombie, continuously losing blood, roared and took a step toward Wang Tao. With a roll, Wang Tao dodged the giant zombie¡¯s huge foot, but couldn¡¯t evade the tips of its toes and had to rely on the shell on his back. Bang¡ª¡ª [-725] Wang Tao felt a powerful force coming from behind, then felt as though he was being kicked away like a ball. After sending Wang Tao flying, the giant zombie didn¡¯t pursue but instead moved swiftly towards the Awakening Tree. With its size, it only took a few steps to reach it. ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao, still in the air, immediately cursed under his breath. With the giant zombie¡¯s size, even if it didn¡¯t mean to destroy the Awakening Tree, its every move was bound to cause destruction! Wang Tao absolutely wouldn¡¯t allow this to happen, but he was knocked away and temporarily couldn¡¯t attack. So he immediately shouted: ¡°Block the giant zombie!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The people who were fighting other zombies heard the shout and immediately ran towards the giant. Wei Zhenguo and others were the first to arrive, launching rapid attacks against the giant. But due to their smaller size, they could only reach the giant zombie¡¯s legs, which was like a tickling to the giant and could not stop its stride at all. Swoosh¡ª¡ª However, at that moment, an orange light suddenly shot out from below, striking accurately at the giant zombie¡¯s head. [-322] It was an attack from the Crystal Energy Gun! Before the fight, Wang Tao had given the Crystal Energy Gun to Lan Yulian. He told her to attack when the opportunity arose. This time they were dealing with a giant zombie, and since all the fighters were allies, naturally, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t just hang back and snipe with the Crystal Energy Gun. If nobody could effectively block the giant zombie, there would certainly be casualties. So, he handed the Crystal Energy Gun over to Lan Yulian, the healer. But the Crystal Energy Gun, which could deal over three thousand damage to other Level 4 Lords, only did three hundred damage to the giant zombie¡¯s head... It goes without saying, the giant zombie¡¯s defensive power was truly high! Chapter 859: 336: Slaying the Giant Again_3 Chapter 859: Chapter 336: Slaying the Giant Again_3 Wang Tao really wanted to know how much damage his sharp long knife could do if he chopped it onto the giant zombie¡¯s head. But unfortunately, the giant zombie was too tall. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t reach its head at all. Even if he jumped wearing the beetle armor, he could only hit its knee... However, the damage from the crystal energy gun wasn¡¯t high, but it still had an effect. This shot instantly attracted the giant zombie¡¯s aggro, causing its attention to shift once again as it moved towards Lan Yulian. As a healer, Lan Yulian was clearly no match for the giant zombie. After firing this shot, she immediately retreated. The others who had arrived also launched attacks on the giant zombie, buying time for Lan Yulian to withdraw. ... Perhaps annoyed by the ¡°low damage, high frequency¡± attacks, the giant zombie simply kicked out at the crowd. Boom¡ª Several people were sent flying. Yang Changhong was the most unfortunate; although she blocked the blow with the Death Scythe and avoided fatal damage, she was sent flying high into the air! The fall would have likely been deadly. But at this moment, Wang Tao finally arrived and reached out his big hand to catch Yang Changhong. ¡°Ah¡ªThank you!¡± Yang Changhong, still in Wang Tao¡¯s palm, was quite shaken up. A level 3 ability user really shouldn¡¯t get close to a giant zombie! ¡°You retreat first.¡± Wang Tao put down Yang Changhong, then picked up the Death Scythe that she had dropped. Just as he was about to return the weapon to her, a thought suddenly struck Wang Tao. ¡°The poison mist attack on this kind of weapon, does it have any effect on the giant zombie... Let¡¯s try!¡± No sooner thought than done, Wang Tao immediately threw his sharp long knife to Lan Yulian. ¡°Use my knife first!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Then Wang Tao, holding a ¡°Mini Scythe¡± in one hand and a ¡°Mini Chainsaw¡± in the other, charged at the giant zombie. Whirr whirr¡ª [-532] The Bloody Chainsaw first struck the giant zombie¡¯s leg, showing over five hundred damage, followed closely by the Death Scythe in the same spot. [-21] [-408] A twenty popped up for normal damage, and then another four hundred for poison damage! ¡°The poison damage really works!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed. Though four hundred damage might not seem high, it would increase his efficiency by 50%! Wang Tao was about to tell others to back off and leave the rest to him. But then he saw the giant zombie suddenly give up attacking others and charged straight at him. Wang Tao immediately retreated at full speed. Boom, boom, boom¡ª The giant zombie pursued relentlessly as though it wouldn¡¯t stop until it had devoured Wang Tao. ¡°Could the poison attack be arousing stronger aggro?¡± Wang Tao was puzzled. During the retreat, Wang Tao braced himself against the giant zombie¡¯s attack with the beetle¡¯s armor shell on his back and immediately struck the giant twice more. [-833] [-20] [-419] That was over twelve hundred damage! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The giant zombie roared, its eyes turning red. ¡°The poison attack does indeed attract more aggro!¡± This was naturally good for Wang Tao. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the giant zombie attacking him; he was worried it would target others instead. As long as the giant zombie¡¯s aggro was focused on him, he could rely on the beetle armor¡¯s defense, the Bloody Chainsaw, poison attack, and other weapon equipment to gradually wear down the giant zombie! But on the other hand, Wang Tao felt that the giant zombie was smarter than those insect clan monsters. The insect clan monsters had no idea who had released the poison, and their aggro wasn¡¯t focused on the person who did. But the giant zombie immediately realized that Wang Tao was the culprit, which seemed to indicate that it was somewhat smarter... Yet no matter how smart it was, that was all it amounted to. The outcome was already determined at the moment the giant zombie decided to pursue Wang Tao to the death. Some time later. Boom¡ª [-283] [0/120000] The HP of the giant zombie dropped to zero and it collapsed with a thunderous crash. Wang Tao immediately deactivated the beetle armor and then took out a crystal core to restore its HP. The battle with the giant zombie, although time-consuming, turned out to be simpler than Wang Tao had expected. He himself was unharmed; it was the beetle that had a tough time, bearing all the damage. And Wang Tao wasn¡¯t failproof; he also made mistakes, like when he was hit outside the shell¡¯s protection by the giant zombie and lost three thousand HP in a single blow! Fortunately, Wang Tao had ample experience, or the beetle really might have been in danger... But no matter what, this stronger giant zombie too was slain by Wang Tao. And he did so virtually unscathed and without using his Awakening, which certainly counted as a grand victory! Meanwhile, the battles of others had also ceased. The large number of zombies brought by the giant zombie were all successfully eliminated by He Jijun and his group. ¡°Hurry and clean up the battlefield!¡± Wang Tao immediately shouted. There were many zombies this time, and zombies meant crystal cores. These crystal cores alone were a significant treasure. Wang Tao suddenly thought that the ability of the Awakening Fruit to attract zombies was quite good! The waves of zombies that had come these past few days had been more profitable with each wave! It was uncertain, however, if more zombies would come later... After cleaning up the battlefield, the beetle had fully restored its HP¡ªthe beetle was like an indestructible little cockroach, as long as you had enough crystal cores. It truly lived up to being a biological weapon. Wang Tao and his companions continued to guard the Awakening Fruit under the big tree, waiting for potential enemies. But they waited until the next day and no zombies or monsters appeared. Today was the last day for the Awakening Fruit to ripen. The fruits on the tree had turned a splendid golden yellow. Chapter 860: 337: The Fruit Ripens Chapter 860: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens ¡°The fruits are about to ripen!¡± Seeing these golden fruits, everyone was somewhat excited. After waiting for six days, the Awakening Fruits were finally about to mature! ¡°Only half a day left, let¡¯s not let our guard down, there might still be danger...¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too worried, as long as there weren¡¯t a substantial number of Level 4 Lords or Level 5 lives, there wouldn¡¯t be much of a problem for them. ¡°Understood!¡± ... Everyone nodded. Yesterday, there were Night Demon Zombies and Giant Zombies, so the group was rather tense, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t even have time to look at the loot. Seeing there was no immediate danger, Wang Tao flipped through the loot. First were the Ordinary and Elite Zombies. Wang Tao didn¡¯t kill many of these zombies, so there weren¡¯t many Loot Packs, but these zombies all had Crystal Cores. He obtained 153 Level 4 Crystal Cores of various colors and 319 Level 3 Crystal Cores! The remaining over sixteen hundred Crystal Cores were all grey. However, these Crystal Cores had few Abilities, only a few... The probability was too low. Of course, even without Abilities, these Crystal Cores were very valuable, if converted into Crystal Coins, Wang Tao estimated it might be a few hundred thousand? Then there was killing three Level 4 Lords, Night Demons, and that Giant Zombie, which brought Wang Tao 4 Advanced Special Energies, 4 Awakening Keys, and 400 Awakening Energies. The items dropped by the Night Demon Lord were not much different from before. [Received: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Strength x3] [Received: Level 4 ¨C Night Demon¡¯s Claw x6] [Received: Fourth-Order Weapon ¨C Night Demon Type 1 x3] [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) x60] [Received: Strength Potion (Small) x60] [Received: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x3] [Received: Mini Ultraviolet Illumination Shell x300] [Received: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x60] [Received: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x15] [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x3] [Received: Awakening Key x2] For Wang Tao, his favorites were naturally the physical Awakening Keys. Of course, there were also Blueprints. [Received: Night Demon Belt Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Boots Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Gloves Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Helmet Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Belt Blueprint x1] [Received: Night Demon Ring Blueprint x1] Another complete set of Night Demon Equipment Blueprints, only missing the Dagger Blueprint. But these were prepared for He Jijun to use, so a dagger wasn¡¯t necessary. Wang Tao had noticed that when he dropped Blueprints, he generally wouldn¡¯t drop duplicates but would drop a complete set before starting to drop duplicates. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was a mechanism or just good luck. After some crafting, all equipment was produced, and then Wang Tao took the two pieces of Chest Armor and Leg Armor that were on He Jijun, and fused them all into the Night Demon Ring. This way, He Jijun could instantly switch into the Night Demon Set just like Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue. Then Wang Tao looked at the loot from the Giant Zombie, which was the focus of this haul. The Giant Zombie itself dropped 5 items and 5 Loot Packs. This was one pack fewer than the last Giant Zombie. [Received: Level 4 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening x1] [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Received: Blood Bead x1] [Received: Giant¡¯s Eye x2] [Received: Giant¡¯s Heart x1] Seeing this Blood Bead, Wang Tao was pleasantly surprised. [Blood Bead: Randomly increases HP limit] Could this item be a guaranteed drop from the Giant Zombie? If that was the case, then this Giant Zombie was a must-kill! Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately used the Blood Bead. A moment later, Wang Tao could clearly feel that his strength had significantly increased, and he checked his HP. [180000/180000] 180,000 HP! Previously, it was 160,000, and this time it had increased by 20,000. Although it was not as much as the last Blood Bead, which increased his HP by 30,000, Wang Tao had no right to complain. Then Wang Tao looked at the Crystal Core Gift Bags. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained six Crystal Cores. They were respectively Orange [Level 4 Crystal Core: Ascension], Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core: Omnipotent], Red [Level 4 Crystal Core: Exraction], Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core: Strength], Purple [Level 4 Crystal Core: Defense], and White [Level 4 Crystal Core: Mental Defense]. All the Crystal Cores, like those dropped by the previous Giant Zombie, included Ascension and Omnipotent ones, and especially the Exraction Crystal Core which was a good item that money couldn¡¯t buy. The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Received: Strength Potion (Medium) x30] [Received: Defense Potion (Medium) x30] [Received: Life Elixir (Small) x30] [Received: Energy Potion (Small) x30] Apart from Strength and Defense Potions, there were still potions that increased HP and Energy limits. Although each person could only use 10 bottles of these potions, Wang Tao had already used them, and these potions were perfect for others to use. The third Loot Pack contained an Awakening Key. [Received: Awakening Key x1] Another physical Awakening Key had been obtained, and Wang Tao now had 7 physical Awakening Keys. However, he still lacked some Ascension Crystal Cores. He planned to collect more Ascension Crystal Cores to let them undergo another Awakening! Then came the fourth Loot Pack. [Received: Gem Slot Opener x2] [Gem Slot Opener: Allows a gem slot to be opened on equipment that does not have one] Last time he killed the Giant Zombie, he also got two Slot Openers. Now he had four in total. Chapter 861: 337: The Fruit Ripens_2 Chapter 861: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens_2 The items were indeed valuable, but Wang Tao planned to carefully research what Crystal Core to inlay after returning to the city this time. The knife he was holding was quite remarkable and was worthy of being inlaid. Additionally, the gear he was wearing also had slots for inlaying, which should not be wasted. The last Loot Pack contained a Blueprint, but this time there was only one. [Acquired: Giant Slayer Ring Blueprint x1] He already had one of these rings because he had worn it during his previous battle with the Giant Zombie. When attacking a Giant Zombie, it could increase the damage he dealt by 10%, and when attacked by a Giant Zombie, it could reduce the damage he received from the Giant Zombie by 10%. ... But to be honest, whether the ring had triggered during the previous battle was uncertain to Wang Tao. Since he had used the Beetle Armor and was unable to use Awakening or Ability, whether the ring¡¯s increased damage could trigger was debatable, and he had no time to test it at that moment... After crafting the ring, Wang Tao suddenly thought of a question¡ªcould he trigger the effects of two Giant Slayer Rings at the same time if he wore both? Upon putting on both Giant Slayer Rings, Wang Tao felt nothing, nor did any prompt appear. Wang Tao felt there probably wasn¡¯t such a bug, but he couldn¡¯t rest without trying it out. ¡°I¡¯ll find an opportunity to test it in the future...¡± Wang Tao thought quietly to himself. ... It was already noon, and still no zombies or monsters had come. Ding Yuqin cooked some food, and Wang Tao and his companions had a simple meal. At that moment, Wang Tao seemed to sense something and suddenly looked towards the cave of the Giant Serpent. ¡°Another Night Demon has appeared. You guys continue to stay here; I¡¯ll take a look!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao immediately rushed into the cave. He had used Night Demon Parasite Pupa to infect 10 zombies the previous day. After the appearance of two Night Demons on the first day, there had been no activity from the remaining zombies until today. Wang Tao thought the parasitism rate might only be around 20%, but now there was new noise! He rushed deep into the cave and instantly saw a white Bone Armored Night Demon. Seeing its Attributes, Wang Tao¡¯s expression darkened. He had hoped for a Lord Night Demon to appear, but it turned out to be an Elite, which was a bit of a letdown. After all, the loot dropped by an Elite Night Demon was rather disappointing, and Wang Tao felt almost too lazy to engage. Therefore, Wang Tao took out three Night Demon Hearts and, in the blink of an eye, they turned into three pure Black Night Demons! Roar¡ª Under Wang Tao¡¯s command, the Night Demon Type I immediately charged towards the Fourth Order Elite Night Demon. When the Elite Night Demon saw Wang Tao come in, it bared its teeth and prepared to attack, but was confused by the sudden appearance of three very different kin that were also about to attack it. Its reaction was a fraction slow, and it was instantly suppressed and beaten by the three Night Demon Type I. Even though the Elite Night Demon had 100,000 HP and each Night Demon Type I only had 10,000 HP, it was still a three-on-one fight, and the strength of the Night Demon Type I was not to be underestimated. The Elite Night Demon quickly came under heavy pressure. It wanted to flee, but the escape route was blocked, leaving no chance to get away. Watching the Elite Night Demon get thrashed, Wang Tao first nodded silently, then felt a bit helpless. The [Night Demon Type I] was actually quite good, but for Wang Tao at the moment, its role was somewhat awkward. Wang Tao rarely fought at night since zombies had home advantage and even though he was strong, he still needed to be cautious. Besides, [Night Demon Type I] could not be used during the day. If forced to fight at night, it was likely to encounter Night Demons. During combat with a Night Demon, he would inevitably use ultraviolet tools, which worked exceptionally well against them. Especially the Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb, it was like an artificial mini-sun, able both to suppress Night Demons and illuminate the battlefield, which was very convenient. But ultraviolet light would also suppress [Night Demon Type I], after all, they were also Night Demons by nature. So [Night Demon Type I] was in an awkward position¡ªuseless during the day and unusable at night. Adding the one from yesterday, Wang Tao had exactly ten [Night Demon Type I], but other than using it for testing, he rarely used it in normal combat. In fact, the Night Demon Type I wasn¡¯t even used as frequently as the Bloody Chainsaw, which was only for specific situations... Pfft¡ª As Wang Tao pondered, the Fourth Order Elite Night Demon was killed by the [Night Demon Type I]. ¡°Huh?¡± But to his surprise, this Fourth Order Elite Night Demon actually dropped a Loot Pack. ¡°Things killed by [Night Demon Type I] are considered as killed by me? That¡¯s quite interesting...¡± Wang Tao had not noticed this before, as he had also sent [Night Demon Type I] to attack Ordinary Zombies, but never stared at the [Night Demon Type I]; if there were any Loot Packs, he probably assumed they were from his own kills. But thinking about it, it did seem reasonable. After all, [Night Demon Type I] was bound to him, and even using Beetle Armor to kill zombies could earn him Loot Packs, so it was not exceptional for these independently attacking Night Demons to drop Loot Packs. What if he gathered a group of [Night Demon Type I] to specifically hunt zombies at night? Now that zombies all had Crystal Cores and the strength of [Night Demon Type I] was not weak, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult to kill these Ordinary and Elite Zombies. Chapter 862: 337: The Fruit Ripens_3 Chapter 862: Chapter 337: The Fruit Ripens_3 ¡°That¡¯s one way to do it, but we need to nourish the [Night Demon Type I]. Its HP of ten thousand is too low; it could easily be worn down if it encounters too many zombies...¡± Wang Tao planned to try raising a few [Night Demon Type I] soon. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to raise more, mainly because he needed a lot of Level 4 Crystal Cores. Moreover, he had to first nourish the [Armored Beetle] to 100,000 HP... Wang Tao packed up the Loot Pack containing the Ultraviolet Suit and took back the three [Night Demon Type I]. Then Wang Tao checked on the remaining seven zombies; they were all fine and were still baring their teeth at Wang Tao. Wang Tao had first planted the Awakening Seed, and then used the Night Demon Parasite Pupa. They both required seven days. So, Wang Tao had to wait another half-day to be sure whether any more Night Demons had hatched. ¡°Wang Tao, what¡¯s happening?¡± ... When Wang Tao returned to the base of the big tree, everyone asked worriedly. ¡°It¡¯s just an Ordinary Elite Night Demon,¡± answered Wang Tao, shaking his head. Seeing his response, everyone else refrained from asking further. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao frowned and asked oddly, ¡°Have you guys noticed that the leaves of this tree have turned yellow?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Everyone looked up to see the leaves tinged with yellow among the green, to which Ding Yuqin uncertainly replied: ¡°Now that you mention it, the leaves really have turned yellow...¡± They had all been here the whole time, constantly watching the tree, possibly not very sensitively. Wang Tao had just left for a while and on returning noticed the leaves had yellowed considerably. ¡°Could this be a sign that the fruits are maturing...¡± The group found this odd, but since it was beyond everyone¡¯s understanding, they didn¡¯t dwell too much on it. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much more and continued waiting. In a few more hours, the fruits on the tree would mature! However, after waiting another hour, everyone exchanged glances. The leaves of the big tree had not only turned yellow but also began to fall. A light breeze blew, scattering a large number of yellowed leaves from the tree onto everyone¡¯s shoulders, giving a sense of autumn. As these leaves fell, the golden Awakening Fruits on the tree became even more prominent. Another two hours passed, and the sun was about to set. There was only one last hour until the Awakening Fruits matured, and at this time the Awakening Tree... practically had no leaves left, the whole tree looked almost dead! Having observed the changes in the Awakening Tree, Wang Tao voiced, somewhat exasperated: ¡°This Awakening Tree, could it be that it only bears fruit once in its lifetime, and dies after bearing?¡± Wang Tao had previously thought about what to do with the Awakening Tree once the fruits were harvested. He didn¡¯t have the time to keep watch here, nor did he have the manpower, so should he sell this Awakening Tree to the City Hall or to the Legion? And how often does this Awakening Tree bear fruit, and would it need to be fed monster corpses next time? Now it seemed he had worried too much. The Awakening Tree appeared to bear fruit only once... However, seeing those sparkling golden fruits, Wang Tao still smiled broadly. One harvest was enough; having the Awakening Fruit was what mattered. Moreover, there were more fruits than he had anticipated! Previously, the leaves had obscured the fruits, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t know exactly how many there were, but now with no leaves on the tree, it was easy to count¡ªthere were 33 fruits in total! Although it was still unclear what use the Awakening Fruits had, or how they were related to awakening, their golden appearance alone signaled their high quality. Acquiring 33 Awakening Fruits at once was indeed quite good. ¡°Just one more hour to go, let¡¯s wait a bit longer,¡± said Wang Tao. The others were also looking forward to it, especially Jiang Shixue, Lightning, and the five Black Snakes, who were drooling again. At such a crucial moment, it was vital not to relax. Wang Tao kept his Plant Affinity Ability active. There was a lot of withered grass nearby, which maximized this ability. Everything around was under his watch. As the maturation time drew nearer, the color of the Awakening Fruit became increasingly splendid, almost as if it were emitting a golden light. Meanwhile, the Awakening Tree was turning increasingly desolate and had even begun to wither. Visibly, these branches were starting to break and fall, turning into dust upon hitting the ground, as if they had long since rotted away. ¡°This Awakening Tree is really dead...¡± Wang Tao had been somewhat uncertain before but now could confirm that after the Awakening Fruits matured, the Awakening Tree indeed died, a one-time occurrence. Soon, this towering tree was left with only the trunk and the branches holding the Awakening Fruits; every other part had decayed. But given the current situation, the remaining parts would decay too. Now, there were only 3 minutes left until the Awakening Fruits matured, and the tree might just collapse the moment the fruits matured. The Black Snakes had been called down by Wang Tao, after all, the Awakening Fruits weren¡¯t fully mature yet, and if the snakes damaged the tree beforehand, what if something happened to the fruits... The final thirty seconds, the entire Awakening Tree teetered on the verge of collapse. Just as Wang Tao and the others, who were holding bags ready to catch the Awakening Fruits under the tree, suddenly heard a fierce cry from afar. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Everyone looked up. A huge figure with spread wings, obscured by the last sliver of sunset, flew towards them! ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing this, Wang Tao cursed under his breath, then quickly said: ¡°Prepare to retreat to the cave!¡± The van instantly started and began running into the cave. Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t board but instead looked towards the Awakening Fruits on the tree. When the countdown finally ended, a loud crash was heard as the teetering tree collapsed, the thirty-three glistening Awakening Fruits falling from the sky. Wang Tao and the others quickly caught the fruits, then ran towards the cave without turning back. ¡°Rush!¡± Boom boom boom¡ª ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Chapter 863: 338 Awakening Fruit Chapter 863: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± When the giant bird appeared, it was actually still very far away. But Wang Tao decisively let some people leave first, while he and those capable of the ¡°Rush¡± stayed behind to grab the Awakening Fruits. When the Awakening Tree collapsed with a roar and they caught the Awakening Fruits, Wang Tao immediately felt a piercing cold wind assault him. He ordered everyone to ¡°Rush¡± toward the cave to escape. Half a second after they burst out, they heard a loud boom, and the earth shook. Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to look back, and continued running towards the cave. ... But when had the sky darkened? Everyone looked up to see a pair of wings gleaming with a metallic sheen shading the sky! ¡°Rush!¡± Boom! Two claws sharp as knives plunged fiercely into the ground, lifting the earth, bursting dead trees, and scattering stones everywhere. In the midst of the chaos, Wang Tao and a few others finally reached the entrance of the cave. Another ¡°Rush¡± and they were deep inside the cave. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Boom¡ª The moment the few of them entered the cave, they felt the light dim; turning back, they saw a ferocious giant claw blocking the entrance of the cave. But this cave was deep, and it clearly couldn¡¯t reach them. Without stopping, Wang Tao and his group continued to run deeper inside. They didn¡¯t hear any movement from behind until they reached the very depths of the cave; that¡¯s when they finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°What the hell was that thing just now!¡± Lan Yulian got off the bus. It was fortunate that Wang Tao had them leave earlier. If they¡¯d delayed even a few seconds, the vehicle would have definitely been caught up to. ¡°That was... a Level 5 Monster Lord!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face was grave. This was a monstrously large bird with wings that could block out the sun, resembling an eagle that had mutated. [HP: 300,000/300,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Grade: Level 5 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Giant] Three hundred thousand HP, a Level 5 Monster Lord with [Giant] awakening, and a flying monster! Truthfully, any one of these attributes alone would not necessarily worry Wang Tao. But they were combined! Three hundred thousand HP plus a Level 5 Monster Lord was already terrifying enough, but it also had an [Awakening: Giant]. The giant awakening was one thing, but it could freaking fly, too! [Giant: Size grows without limit, all basic attributes greatly enhanced. The larger the size, the stronger the power.] [Giant] was an unbounded awakening ability, where size determined the level of power. The Catastrophic Black Serpent they had cooperated to kill a few days ago was big enough. But the cave of the Black Serpent was only just large enough for the claws of the Giant Eagle! Wang Tao felt like he was facing a ¡°flying Giant Zombie¡± that was Level 5! Wang Tao had no confidence in defeating it, even with Lan Yulian and the others. To defeat a monster of this caliber, Wang Tao felt the only possibility was to mobilize the Legion and bomb it with their advanced weapons! He heard the Legion had missiles and even nuclear weapons among their heavy artillery. They wouldn¡¯t normally use such weapons, but there was no doubt about their destructive power. Wang Tao thought that bombing was currently the only way to kill the Giant Eagle. Of course, this was a significant risk¡ªif it didn¡¯t die, it could evolve into something even more terrifying! ¡°A Level 5, Monster Lord?¡± After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone let out a gasp of surprise. However, after thinking about it carefully, even the previous Catastrophic Black Serpent wasn¡¯t this terrifying; only something above Level 4 would have such a presence. Wang Tao used [Plant Affinity] to carefully sense the surroundings, and even though many grasslands outside had been destroyed, he could still feel the giant eagle guarding outside. So he said: ¡°It¡¯s still out there; let¡¯s not go out for now. We¡¯ll spend the night here. As for tomorrow, well, we¡¯ll see...¡± Wang Tao had originally planned to leave tomorrow morning because, by then, it would have been over seven days since the Night Demon Parasite experiment. If it still couldn¡¯t hatch a Night Demon by then, it would truly be incapable of hatching. But with the current situation, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how many days they would end up staying in the cave. ¡°Alright!¡± Naturally, no one objected; a Level 5 Monster Lord was not something they could handle at the moment. At this moment, Wang Tao took out a plump and rounded Awakening Fruit, glittering with golden light. They had been working so hard for so many days, just for it. Whoosh¡ª Lightning, five Black Snakes, and Jiang Shixue all instantly gathered around. They were even drooling. Seeing the attributes of the Awakening Fruit, Wang Tao finally understood why they all coveted the fruit so much. [Awakening Fruit: Extremely delicious, highly coveted by many creatures] Reading this description, could the Awakening Fruit be that delicious, making one unable to stop wanting it? But the taste of the Awakening Fruit wasn¡¯t the point, the point was its five detailed attributes¡ª [A Third Order Human consuming it can ascend to Level 4] [A Third Order Non-Human consuming it has a low probability of awakening] [A Human Above Third Order consuming it increases their Awakening Key by 1] [A Non-Human Above Third Order consuming it moderately increases their endurance] [Creatures Below Third Order consuming it have a high probability of exploding and dying] These five attributes of the Awakening Fruit were very powerful¡ªof course, from a certain perspective, even the last one was strong! Now, looking at the first attribute¡ªif a Third Order Human consumes it, they can ascend to Level 4! So does that mean, regardless of whether you have Hidden Attributes or an Awakening Key, just by eating this fruit, you can directly awaken? That would be incredibly overpowered¡ªwait, hold on! Wang Tao took a closer look again. The description states, ¡°A Third Order Human consuming it can ascend to Level 4,¡± but it only mentions ¡°ascension to Level 4,¡± not ¡°awakening!¡± Chapter 864: 338 Awakening Fruit_2 Chapter 864: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit_2 Generally speaking, ascending to Level 4 means one has awakened, and without awakening, one cannot ascend. But the issue is, the second attribute says, ¡°After consumption by Third Order Non-Human, low probability of awakening, ascension to Level 4,¡± which mentions awakening, yet the first attribute doesn¡¯t mention anything about awakening! Furthermore, Wang Tao has also encountered some Ordinary Level 4 zombies and Elite Zombies, that hadn¡¯t awakened but had still ascended to Level 4! Wang Tao looked at the first attribute again and suddenly had a new understanding¡ª¡ªafter a Third Order Human eats this Awakening Fruit, they can ascend to Level 4, but they won¡¯t awaken! If one were to draw a parallel with the zombies and monsters, the normal awakened beings are ¡°Level 4, Lords,¡± whereas those that eat the Awakening Fruit would be ¡°Fourth Order Elite.¡± Wang Tao felt that this understanding must be correct. ... Because if that¡¯s the case, then it makes more sense. After all, awakening requires ¡°Awakening Key, Hundred Thousand Blood Volume, Hidden Ability, Ability¡± as conditions. If a single ¡°Awakening Fruit¡± could directly replace so many conditions, then these conditions would seem to become meaningless. But if the ¡°Awakening Fruit¡± merely breaks the ¡°shackles of Third Order¡±, simply allowing one to ascend from Third Order to Fourth Order, then that would seem reasonable. After all, monsters have distinctions between Elite and Lord, so it¡¯s not strange for humans to have this distinction too... Of course, even if the Awakening Fruit cannot directly awaken humans, ascending to Level 4 is still very powerful. Because for those without Hidden Attributes, unable to awaken, the limit seems to be Level 3. If they could ascend to Level 4, even without awakening, they would definitely be stronger than when they were Level 3 Humans, which is naturally an enhancement in strength! And perhaps they might even ascend to Level 5 or even Level 6 later! So, for humans, especially those who cannot awaken, this Awakening Fruit is undoubtedly a great thing! Then there¡¯s the second attribute¡ªafter consumption by Third Order Non-Human, a low probability of awakening, ascension to Level 4. ¡°Non-Human¡± probably refers to creatures like Lightning, Black Snake, and... lifes like Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue¡¯s situation is a bit strange. Before she regained her memory, she was originally a zombie. After regaining her memory, even though she no longer acted like a zombie, she still couldn¡¯t merge with Crystal Cores, which all humans could. So to say she is ¡°Non-Human¡± doesn¡¯t seem to be a problem, right? For such Non-Humans, if they consumed this Awakening Fruit, there is a small probability for awakening, to ascened to Fourth Order! Wang Tao had always wondered how to help Jiang Shixue and Lightning awaken, and here was the answer! However, it mentions a low probability of awakening¡ªjust how low is this probability? Fortunately, there¡¯s no indication on the Awakening Fruit that only one can be eaten, so if one doesn¡¯t awaken, it seems they could continue eating... Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t entirely sure. They would find out after letting Jiang Shixue try it. Speaking of this awakening, Wang Tao looked over the conditions again, which stated, ¡°Low probability of awakening, ascension to Level 4.¡± ¡°Low probability of awakening¡± and ¡°ascension to Level 4¡± don¡¯t seem to be in a progressive relationship. Does that mean that after a Non-Human eats the Awakening Fruit, they will definitely ascend to Level 4, but it¡¯s not guaranteed they will awaken? Wang Tao shook his head; the specifics could only be known after testing. But then again, since Jiang Shixue has Hidden Attributes, her chances of awakening should be greater, right...? Wang Tao turned to the third attribute¡ªafter consumption by Human Above Third Order, one Awakening Key is added. This is an attribute that Wang Tao can utilize, and it¡¯s very powerful! After all, this is an Awakening Key, obtainable only by personally killing a Zombie Lord of Fourth Order. And what¡¯s more crucial is that there¡¯s no limit mentioned on the amount that can be consumed! So doesn¡¯t that mean if he has enough Awakening Fruits, he could keep getting Awakening Keys! Of course, the Awakening Fruit seems hard to come by. Wang Tao has only 33 of them, so it¡¯s not possible for him to obtain unlimited Awakening Keys. Next is the fourth attribute¡ªafter consumption by Non-Human Above Third Order, a slight increase in physique. I wonder if that Giant Eagle outside was attracted by this attribute, or if it simply coveted the deliciousness of the Awakening Fruit. The attribute mentions a slight increase, but since these are Permanent Attributes, small increments can add up to significant improvements... The last attribute¡ªafter consumption by Creatures Below Third Order, high probability of bursting and dying. This attribute... one can only say it¡¯s powerful yet perilous. Any fool can tell the Awakening Fruit is valuable, and if it¡¯s mistakenly eaten by someone below Third Order, they might just be done for, given the high probability! This will require caution in the future. ... After examining the properties of the Awakening Fruit, Wang Tao explained them to everyone. Hearing about the multifunctionality of the Awakening Fruit, everyone was astonished. Jiang Shixue was especially eager, gazing at Wang Tao intensely; she was very keen to awaken. Previously, when she and Wang Tao were both at Third Order, she could often work together with him. But ever since the monsters grew stronger, and Wang Tao awakened while she remained stagnant, she found it increasingly difficult to coordinate with Wang Tao... she disliked this feeling. Feeling Jiang Shixue¡¯s gaze, Wang Tao immediately said with a smile, ¡°Little Xue, of course you¡¯ll be included!¡± He then gave Lightning a rub and patted Blacky. ¡°Including you¡ªoh, right, and you two as well.¡± The Awakening Fruit had significant benefits for these ¡°Non-Humans¡±, and naturally, Wang Tao was not stingy. ¡°But now¡¯s not the right time. After all, there¡¯s still a monster outside, and if you were to awaken, it would require a full day and night...¡± Wang Tao himself was ripe for a Second Awakening, but he dared not go through with it here. For safety¡¯s sake, it would be better to return to the city before awakening. Chapter 865: 338 Awakening Fruit_3 Chapter 865: Chapter 338 Awakening Fruit_3 And even if they had all awakened, they wouldn¡¯t be a match for the giant eagle outside. ¡°I understand!¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. Lightning and Blacky also nuzzled up next to Wang Tao. Wang Tao told everyone, ¡°Let¡¯s rest well tonight and see if the bird leaves tomorrow.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ... After dinner, Wang Tao arranged for people to stand guard. Standing guard was to guard not only against the giant eagle outside but also against the zombies chained not far away in case a Night Demon was hatched. ... The night passed without incident. The next morning was eerily quiet; the giant eagle seemed to have left, but Wang Tao used his Plant Affinity to scan around and clearly ¡°saw¡± that on the mountain above them, there stood a huge creature. ¡°It crouched there all night?¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat uneasy. He also looked at another entrance deep inside the cave, which was tightly blocked and completely impassable. They had no choice but to continue waiting. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t just wait idly; when he had killed a giant zombie last time, he had obtained many Level 4 Crystal Cores without abilities, mostly of low quality. This was a good opportunity to nourish the [Armored Beetle]. After taking out 50 White Crystal Cores and a few Blue Crystal Cores, the HP limit of the [Armored Beetle] finally increased to 100,000. It was now a fully evolved Armored Beetle. Of course, even so, it wasn¡¯t a match for the giant eagle, so the wait continued. Wang Tao then checked on the seven zombies chained up. It had been over seven days since the Night Demon Parasite test, but they still hadn¡¯t turned into Night Demons. Clearly, the remaining seven Night Demon Parasite Pupae had all failed. That meant the rate of successful parasitism was about one-third. Wang Tao still had some insect eggs left, which could have been used for further experiments with the zombies. However, with such a significant threat outside, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to hatch any Night Demons. So, Wang Tao killed those zombies and quietly waited for a chance to leave. As it turned out, he ended up waiting seven days. During those days, Wang Tao could clearly sense that the giant eagle moved several times but was always nearby and always within the range of his Plant Affinity. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had this ability, he might have actually gone out, since it was seemingly very safe outside with no disturbances at all. It could be said that the giant eagle was very intelligent, even understanding some tactics. Unfortunately for the eagle, Wang Tao could detect its presence, and as long as it didn¡¯t leave, Wang Tao would inevitably stay put. Wang Tao suddenly felt that he had killed the seven zombies too early; seven days was enough to hatch a batch. And over such a long period, they could have let Jiang Shixue and the others consume Awakening Fruits, and even he could have tried for a Second Awakening... Of course, there was no medication for regret in the world, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t really regretting it; he was just complaining. After all, he had been keeping his abilities fully active while waiting for an opportunity, not having time for anything else. As soon as the giant eagle left, he would immediately slip away. He didn¡¯t believe that the giant eagle could outlast him! Not to mention anything else, he had plenty of Nutrient Solution, and he had time to wear it down. Besides, the space inside the cave was large enough for their daily needs. Just when Wang Tao had resolved to outlast the giant eagle, that morning, he suddenly couldn¡¯t sense the giant eagle¡¯s location anymore. ¡°Hmm? It left?¡± The giant eagle had flown up before, but it had always come back down quickly, unlike this time when it disappeared for so long. However, Wang Tao still didn¡¯t let his guard down and continued to wait. Over an hour later, Wang Tao still couldn¡¯t feel the giant eagle¡¯s presence, and he became a bit excited. The giant eagle seemed to have really left! ¡°I¡¯ll go out and check. Wait for my signal; we might need to evacuate at any moment!¡± Wang Tao felt that the giant eagle might have really gone, unless it had been circling in the sky all this time, evading detection by his Plant Affinity. If that was the case, then Wang Tao could only admit that it was incredibly cunning... Wang Tao cautiously made his way to the cave entrance and searched the area thoroughly inside and out to make sure there were no problems before he stealthily stepped outside. Once outside, Wang Tao immediately looked up at the sky. The weather was nice today, the sky was clear and cloudless. There was nothing in the sky. Wang Tao quickly scanned the surroundings. There were quite a few traces of the giant eagle¡¯s activity; many places were a mess, but there was no sign of the eagle itself. After making sure several times that there was no giant eagle, Wang Tao immediately used his Perception Ring to communicate with Ding Yuqin, ¡°Sister-in-law, it¡¯s safe now, lead the people to evacuate!¡± Buzz¡ª The people had been ready for a while, and upon hearing Ding Yuqin¡¯s command, they immediately drove to the entrance. As they passed by Wang Tao, the car door opened, and the car barely stopped. Wang Tao quickly jumped into the vehicle. ¡°Quick, quick, quick!¡± The minibus sped forward. Wang Tao deployed his Perception Ability to its fullest, while the others kept a vigilant watch on the sky from all angles, monitoring for the giant eagle and at the same time fearing that they would see it. Fortunately, nothing untoward occurred all the way until they reached the outskirts of Changhe Base. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Let¡¯s enter the city.¡± While they were in line to enter the city, a barrage of messages suddenly popped up on Wang Tao¡¯s informational wristwatch. ¡°Wang Tao, you must be safe, right? Sorry, I had no idea the Mushroom Cave was so dangerous...¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, are you all right? If you¡¯ve safely returned, please be sure to contact me...¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, this is your share of the payments, please check your account...¡± ¡°Mr. Wang? Haven¡¯t you come back yet?¡± ¡°Mr. Wang...¡± It then dawned on Wang Tao that they had been in the wilderness with no network for... more than half a month! In a post-apocalyptic world, being missing for a day meant danger. Missing for a week usually meant you were gone for good. And they had been missing for over half a month... ¡°Well, I hope we haven¡¯t been struck off the base¡¯s register.¡± Chapter 866: 339: City Interlude Chapter 866: Chapter 339: City Interlude ¡°I¡¯m Wang Tao...¡± Looking at this string of messages, Wang Tao first replied to Duan Xuchang. Duan Xuchang¡¯s voice message quickly returned. ¡°Wang Tao? I knew you were all right! You disappeared for over half a month... I¡¯ll come to find you later!¡± The two exchanged a few words, and in response to Duan Xuchang¡¯s concern, Wang Tao said he was trapped. Then Wang Tao replied to the city hall secretary, Gu Yun. ... He was a bit worried that he might be dismissed, and his small villa might be taken back, since he had not even lived there for many days. Fortunately, however, that had not happened. ¡°Mr. Wang, I thought... it¡¯s good you¡¯re back! As for the house and such, you don¡¯t need to worry at all, as long as someone is not officially confirmed dead, these will be permanently retained...¡± After chatting briefly with Gu Yun, Wang Tao ended the conversation proactively and replied to Qu Shilin. ¡°Miss Qu, I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve brought back the mushrooms you wanted. I hope it¡¯s not too late.¡± No sooner had the message been sent than Qu Shilin replied. ¡°Heaven! You¡¯ve finally returned, I thought... Regarding the Mushroom Cave, I really didn¡¯t know it was so dangerous there; I wasn¡¯t trying to trick you. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe... Commander Cheng Yiyi and the others have returned, but you were nowhere to be seen...¡± Qu Shilin had a lot to say, and from her words, Wang Tao roughly understood the situation. After Cheng Yiyi and others came back, they publicized the killing of the Catastrophic Serpent, a deed that definitely needed to be announced, not only for the reputation of their force but also to boost the confidence of the residents of Changhe Base. Thus, those who participated in the battle from the Starfire Society had become somewhat famous. It was only then that Qu Shilin realized the place they deemed the Mushroom Cave harbored such a terrifying Disaster-level creature! Qu Shilin had wanted to go and see the Giant Serpent, but she heard that staying near the carcass of the serpent was dangerous, that staying too long could be deadly! Moreover, the corpse of the serpent was already private property of the Starfire Society, and investigating without their permission was deemed illegal... so Qu Shilin refrained from going. She planned to wait for Wang Tao¡¯s return to thoroughly inquire about the situation. But this wait lasted over half a month without any news from Wang Tao. Since the Sixth Army Corps had not disclosed the details of the battle with the Black Giant Snake, Qu Shilin was unaware of how Wang Tao encountered the serpent. She had thought Wang Tao was attacked by the serpent while collecting mushrooms, so she felt very guilty. Therefore, a week after Wang Tao went missing, she hired a team, preparing to go out and search. The team hadn¡¯t arrived yet when they saw a terrifying Giant Eagle from afar, and scared, the team abandoned the mission and hurried back without even wanting their payment. Upon receiving this news, Qu Shilin felt that Wang Tao and his team most likely had very slim chances of survival. Hearing now that Wang Tao had returned alive, she was greatly relieved. ¡°Not only me, but the Sixth Army Corps also seemed to have sent people to find you. But since they encountered a Giant Eagle as well, they dared not proceed further...¡± Hearing that people cared for him and even sent teams to find him, Wang Tao felt a warmth in his heart. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll talk more later. I need to reply to their messages first...¡± Wang Tao then replied to Cheng Yiyi¡¯s message. A moment later, Cheng Yiyi¡¯s message also arrived. ¡°Mr. Wang, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe. I did indeed send people to search for you¡ªafter all, if you were really gone, I would have saved a good amount of money, haha...¡± From her tone, Cheng Yiyi seemed quite happy. Both personally and professionally, she did not hope for anything bad to happen to an Awakener like Wang Tao or a Super Healer like Lan Yulian, as talents like these were exceptionally rare. Wang Tao briefly chatted with her, and then received a rather unexpected message. ¡°Mr. Wang Tao, our funds are quite tight at the moment, so I¡¯ve transferred some Crystal Coins to you, and I plan to cover the rest with Meteorites. How does that sound to you?¡± ¡°Hmm? With Meteorites? Don¡¯t you need them yourselves?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Meteorites were valuable items, previously selling at high prices when money couldn¡¯t even buy them. Why would they suddenly use Meteorites to settle accounts? ¡°Ahem, it¡¯s like this...¡± After Cheng Yiyi¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao roughly understood the situation¡ª Over the past month and a half, various powers within the base had cracked open a large number of meteorites, but many had suffered losses. Plus, they realized that it was more cost-effective to buy the finished products than to try unlocking Meteorites! For instance, someone was interested in an Item and planned to obtain it through Meteorites, but after spending 1 million, they still failed to get it. However, someone else succeeded and sold it for only 500,000... So, why spend so much when a 500,000 solution was available! Rational people decided not to try their luck with Meteorites anymore and simply bought what they needed with money! Selling the Meteorites could even fetch enough money to buy the required finished products. Cheng Yiyi, clearly one of the rational ones, was also constrained by funds. The Sixth Army Corps was not only the weakest among the Six Major Legions but also the poorest. For Wang Tao, however, he did need Meteorites. Sometimes having good luck meant he could do as he pleased! So, Wang Tao agreed to Cheng Yiyi¡¯s proposal, and even suggested that he could return the transferred Crystal Coins and take Meteorites instead! Cheng Yiyi was overjoyed at his proposal, and after confirming multiple times that Wang Tao was serious, she said she would personally deliver the Meteorites to Wang Tao¡¯s house soon. Chapter 867: 339: Entering the City - Side Story 2 Chapter 867: Chapter 339: Entering the City ¨C Side Story 2 After finishing that small deal, it was finally Wang Tao and his group¡¯s turn to enter the city for inspection. Wang Tao ended the call. It was now the afternoon, and the sun was about to set, which was peak time for entering the city. The inspection was rather tedious, so they had to queue for a while. Logically, the inspection for Wang Tao and his group should have been quick, as they were led by an Awakener. But in reality, during the inspection, a small issue occurred... The inspection staff needed to check the vehicle¡¯s inside and outside for any blind spots where zombies might be hiding. They didn¡¯t find any zombies, but they found five Black Giant Snakes! Who could imagine, just when they thought it was just a routine inspection, that they would see such a group of horrifying snakes hissing at them! ... The unmistakable Fourth-Level aura from the Black Snakes was something these Ordinary people simply couldn¡¯t withstand! The few inspectors in white protective suits were stiff all over, their faces turned pale, and they just collapsed to the ground. Seeing this, Wang Tao slapped his forehead ¨C he had forgotten to mention earlier that there were snakes in the vehicle. The inspectors weren¡¯t too afraid when they saw Lightning the military dog, since Lightning was registered and recorded in the base system with a proper identity. The system¡¯s information clearly stated that Lightning was a military dog with a good temperament that didn¡¯t bite people randomly. Of course, the most important point was that Nie Siyan had submitted the identity list in advance, explaining that Lightning was in the car but not the five Black Snakes. Wang Tao had been busy replying to messages and had forgotten about this. Blacky and the others were legitimate Fourth-Level Organisms, while these few inspectors didn¡¯t even have 1000 HP. The aura of a mutant beast was naturally stronger than that of a human, and Blacky and the company didn¡¯t hide their aura like Lightning did. The first time Wang Tao encountered a Black Mist Monster, he had been so frightened that he could hardly walk, let alone them. Crash... The commotion caused by the inspectors immediately alerted the City Defense Army on duty. ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± This squad of the City Defense Army was armed, but they did not point their guns at Wang Tao and his group. They felt somewhat nervous. Right after Wang Tao¡¯s identity information was registered, they received a prompt¡ªthis team included a Fourth-order Superpower! Could it be that someone had angered this big shot? ¡°Ahem, it seems there was a small misunderstanding.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. Then they saw a Black Giant Snake as thick as a bowl slither out from the vehicle, followed by a few similar snakes! ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± ¡°This is... Fourth, Fourth-Level Organism?!¡± The soldiers were shocked. The City Defense Army wasn¡¯t like the inspection staff; they were all at least Level 1 and had professional training, so they weren¡¯t completely frightened. Their experience told them that these snakes seemed to be... Fourth-Level Organisms! ¡°I forgot to register their information, which caused the staff to be frightened. I¡¯m very sorry for the trouble...¡± Wang Tao said while stroking Blacky¡¯s head. The leader of the City Defense Army squad organized his words before speaking: ¡°Mr. Wang, are these... your new team members?¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Sort of. I picked them up outside; they are quite obedient, don¡¯t worry.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, while the squad of the City Defense Army was astounded, they all were frantically complaining in their minds. Picked up? These were Fourth-Level! Fourth-Level! How could he speak about it so casually! However, as long as it was confirmed that these terrifying Big Snakes were intentionally brought back by Wang Tao and not sneaking a ride into the city, there was no problem. ¡°Please register them...¡± The leader of the City Defense Army pulled out a tablet and requested Wang Tao to fill in some details such as the Black Snakes¡¯ features, names, and relationship, etc. Registration was akin to obtaining a temporary identity. The next time these snakes were seen, at least their origin could be traced, preventing so much fear. The inspectors had already been carried away. ¡°They are all right, aren¡¯t they?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Mr. Wang, rest assured, they are fine. Just a bit of rest needed; you don¡¯t need to worry!¡± The leader of the City Defense Army quickly shook his head. Those people were just scared, without any actual harm done. The City Hall would just give them some leave and a bit of compensation for emotional distress later. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then quickly filled in the registration information. After ensuring everything was okay, Wang Tao waved his hand to the City Defense Army leader. ¡°You¡¯re busy, so I¡¯ll head back now.¡± ¡°Of course, Mr. Wang, have a safe journey!¡± After Wang Tao and his group left, the leader of the City Defense Army immediately instructed his subordinates: ¡°Hurry and report this! Say that Mr. Wang Tao has brought back five Fourth-Level Big Snakes!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ... Back on the minibus, Wang Tao had a rather ominous feeling. The mention of the use for the Night Demon Heart had excited the Awakeners previously. The appearance of the Iron Beetle had even made the City Hall renege on its verbal agreement to mine the Meteorite with him. Now that he had brought back these Fourth-Level Big Snakes, it wasn¡¯t hard to imagine that for the next while, many people would be seeking him out, asking how he had managed to get these snakes... ¡°Eh? Is there a festival coming up soon?¡± Lan Yulian suddenly spoke up. Wang Tao looked in the direction of her voice and noticed that the buildings and trees around were decorated with joyous red ornaments. He also felt puzzled. The concept of a festival seemed very distant. Ding Yuqin glanced at her wristwatch then spoke with uncertainty: ¡°I think... it¡¯s almost New Year? Next month...¡± Chapter 868: 339: Entering the City - Side Story 3 Chapter 868: Chapter 339: Entering the City ¨C Side Story 3 ¡°Ah? New Year¡¯s?¡± Everyone was a bit dazed. Calculating the time, it had been about ten months since the apocalypse began... Time really flies! ¡°New Year¡¯s, huh, that¡¯s indeed something to celebrate. Let¡¯s take a good rest during the New Year¡¯s period...¡± Wang Tao felt a bit emotional, realizing that the apocalypse had been going on for so long without noticing. Unfortunately, up until now, he still couldn¡¯t see any hope of returning to the world before the apocalypse... ... ... After spending some time, everyone finally returned to the Autumn Water Pavilion Villa Area. Since the villa had been unoccupied for half a month, a layer of dust had settled. Just as Wang Tao was about to start cleaning up with a few others, Duan Xuchang arrived. ¡°Wang Tao! Haha, I knew for sure you were still alive!¡± Duan Xuchang walked over and embraced Wang Tao. Before Wang Tao could respond, Duan Xuchang spoke again, his face alight with surprise: ¡°I heard you brought back a few Fourth-Level Giant Serpents from outside? Is that true or false?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He knew this information would definitely spread. ¡°True. Blacky¡ª¡± Wang Tao called Blacky over. ¡°Hiss¡ª It really is Level 4!¡± Seeing Blacky, Duan Xuchang¡¯s face was filled with shock. He had already been surprised when he saw Lightning. After all, there were many military dogs in the base, but not to mention Level 3 military dogs, there wasn¡¯t even a Level 1¡ªbecause besides humans, other animals couldn¡¯t fuse with Crystal Cores. Unless some mutation occurred, it was impossible to artificially breed mutant beasts. They had asked Wang Tao about Lightning¡¯s situation before, and Wang Tao had told them plainly that Lightning had ascended to Level 2 only after fusing with a tooth dropped by a Level 3 Zombie Dog. That was clearly an impossible situation to replicate, so everybody gradually gave up on the idea of breeding military dogs. After all, luck is too ephemeral. But now, Wang Tao had suddenly brought back one¡ªno, five Level 4 Giant Serpents! How exactly did Wang Tao bring these Fourth-Level Organisms back? Did he have a special method of control? Could others replicate Wang Tao¡¯s actions... These were all very important questions! However, Duan Xuchang didn¡¯t immediately ask these questions. Instead, he looked at Wang Tao somewhat expectantly and said: ¡°Can I touch it?¡± ¡°Of course, it¡¯s very gentle.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The snakes, Blacky and the others, had no malice towards humans. After all, they were hatched from Snake Eggs using HP by Wang Tao and others, and humans were the first creatures they saw upon birth. So, just as humans were curious about them, they were also curious about humans. When Blacky ended up completely entwining Duan Xuchang, who was too scared to move, too scared to even twitch. After Wang Tao called Blacky back, Duan Xuchang finally took a breath of relief. ¡°My goodness! I never thought that one day I¡¯d be wrapped up by a Level 4 Giant Serpent and still be alive to tell the tale!¡± Duan Xuchang was a bit emotional and also excited. He could see that the serpent was very obedient to Wang Tao. If they could have such an obedient helper, not to mention Level 4, even Level 3, Level 2, or even Level 1, that would provide them with great assistance! ¡°Wang Tao, I want to ask, this Giant Serpent... are you selling it?¡± Duan Xuchang scratched his head as he asked. ¡°Of course not.¡± He wasn¡¯t surprised by Wang Tao¡¯s refusal. If it were him, he wouldn¡¯t sell it either. After all, that¡¯s Fourth Order Battle Power! Then he looked at Wang Tao eagerly and said: ¡°Ahem, I¡¯m quite curious; where did you catch these snakes... Of course, if it¡¯s a private matter, just pretend I didn¡¯t ask.¡± ¡°These snakes weren¡¯t caught by me, but hatched from Snake Eggs. Because I hatched them, they followed me and are very obedient,¡± Wang Tao said without concealing anything. If his words alone could enhance the strength of the base, of course, he was willing to share. ¡°Ah?¡± Duan Xuchang was extremely shocked; the outcome was completely different from what he had imagined. He had thought Wang Tao had controlled these snakes using some snake charming techniques. But after giving it more thought, Wang Tao¡¯s explanation made more sense¡ªtaming a mutant beast would undoubtedly be difficult, but if they were raised from a young age, that might be different! ¡°Thank you! This is important information! I must go now, but I¡¯ll treat you to dinner tomorrow; you must come!¡± After speaking, Duan Xuchang ran off. ¡°You guy...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; Duan Xuchang was obviously there on a mission, and once done, he left without sentiment. No sooner had Duan Xuchang left than another visitor arrived. ¡°Wang Tao! Seeing that you¡¯re really okay, I can finally rest easy!¡± The visitor was Qu Shilin. She quickly came over and lightly embraced Wang Tao before breaking away immediately. ¡°Miss Qu, good afternoon!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Hey! Just call me by my name, no need to be so formal!¡± After exchanging a few words, Wang Tao invited Qu Shilin into the house. Qu Shilin adjusted her glasses, then suddenly said with excitement: ¡°Right, I heard you brought back a few Fourth-Level Giant Serpents...¡± Wang Tao shrugged and once again called Blacky over. ¡°Wow!¡± Seeing that there really were Fourth-Level Giant Serpents, Qu Shilin excitedly hugged Blacky. She wasn¡¯t scared at all, much braver than Duan Xuchang. It was as though she was hugging a kitten or a puppy, not a serpent. Her enthusiasm made Blacky a bit overwhelmed, as it struggled to slip away from her arms. Wang Tao looked on with a wry expression. After Blacky had slipped away, Qu Shilin reluctantly turned to Wang Tao and said: ¡°Where did you get these from? Can you help me get one too? I¡¯m willing to pay a good price!¡± Wang Tao repeated what he had just told Duan Xuchang. ¡°Hatched from Snake Eggs?¡± Qu Shilin was just as surprised, then she asked: ¡°What do the eggs that hatched them look like?¡± ¡°Blacky was hatched from an egg that looks similar to a stone...¡± ¡°A stone? Wait a minute¡ª¡± Qu Shilin said with a mix of excitement and uncertainty. ¡°How about this... you come to my house and take a look? I think I have the kind of egg you¡¯re describing...¡± ¡°...¡± You have it too? What exactly have you collected?! Chapter 869: 340: Millionaire Chapter 869: Chapter 340: Millionaire Qu Shilin had two homes, one was the research institute, and the other was the small villa she bought herself. The ¡°home¡± she referred to was the second one, but that location was a bit far, and it was quite late now, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t go over. ¡°Alright... but we had an agreement, you must visit sometime! I¡¯ve collected quite a few strange stones, you never know, there might be Mutated Beast Eggs among them!¡± Qu Shilin felt that with so many stones she had collected, at least one or two must be lucky, right? ¡°Can do.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ... Watching the Giant Serpents playing together in the distance, Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes were full of envy. ¡°You really won¡¯t sell? Or at least rent me one...¡± ¡°Not negotiable.¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then explained, ¡°These snakes are essentially bound to us and only listen to our commands. If you wanted to research them and I wasn¡¯t around, you might get bitten back. I don¡¯t think you could win against a Fourth-order Monster.¡± ¡°Uh...¡± After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Qu Shilin felt a bit scared. After all, she was only Level 3, and a fairly weak Level 3 at that... ¡°Are they Lords or Elites?¡± Qu Shilin asked. Having not seen too many live monsters, she wasn¡¯t very good at judging. In her eyes, the pressure from both Fourth Order Elites and Lords was terrifying, but it didn¡¯t affect her much. Even if she was weak, she was still a genuine Level 3 ability user. ¡°Fourth Order Elites.¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat disappointed. The description on those Snake Eggs had mentioned the possibility of hatching Fourth Order Elites or higher Serpentine creatures. Unfortunately, all five eggs hatched into Elites... It was uncertain whether they had a chance at Ascension to Level 4, Lord. ¡°That¡¯s still pretty strong! Our base hasn¡¯t even had many Level 4s up to now!¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes had a hard time leaving those Black Snakes; she really wanted a pet like that. ¡°Then can you tell me about the Catastrophic Serpent you encountered before¡ª oh right, these Black Snakes, they couldn¡¯t possibly be from that Catastrophic Serpent¡¯s eggs, could they?¡± Qu Shilin initially wanted to ask about the Catastrophic Serpent, but as she spoke about it, she suddenly made a connection between the Catastrophic Serpent and these Black Snakes. After all, both were serpentine, and both had been encountered by Wang Tao. And about this, Wang Tao had no intention of concealing it. ¡°These are indeed from that Catastrophic Serpent¡¯s eggs. I found them inside its body during the dissection by accident...¡± Of course, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say that he had obtained these eggs from inside a snake cave, otherwise, it could cause Cheng Yiyi and others to feel discontent, even believing Wang Tao had manipulated them deliberately. While Wang Tao didn¡¯t care much about what others thought, there was no need for him to take the blame. After all, it was only after Cheng Yiyi and the others had left that he learned about the good stuff in the cave from Jiang Shixue. Naturally, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to forcefully dissociate the Snake Eggs from the Catastrophic Serpent. Being secretive might actually look worse, so he simply said the eggs were from the Catastrophic Serpent¡¯s stomach. After all, they had already agreed that the carcass of the Catastrophic Serpent belonged to Wang Tao, and anything inside it was his, with no objections. ¡°It really is!¡± Qu Shilin was somewhat surprised. ¡°As for that Catastrophic Serpent...¡± Wang Tao shared with Qu Shilin the situation at that time since it was the first Disaster Class monster and held significant research value. ¡°As for its body... at that time a Giant Eagle appeared and ate it,¡± Wang Tao fibbed. Regarding the Awakening Fruit, Wang Tao himself hadn¡¯t figured it out yet, and naturally wouldn¡¯t expose it for the time being. ¡°That¡¯s such a pity...¡± Qu Shilin was suddenly disappointed. She had hoped to study the corpse of the Catastrophic Serpent that was too dangerous to approach when alive, but now the body was gone. However, it was indeed new information to Qu Shilin that the Giant Eagle observed by the search team she had engaged turned out to be a Level 5, Lord with a [Giant] Awakening. This was important news concerning the safety of Changhe Base! She had to report it. And as Wang Tao spoke about the Catastrophic Serpent, he suddenly brought up: ¡°Right, this is a good opportunity to give you the mushrooms.¡± One of Wang Tao¡¯s tasks during this outing was to agree to Qu Shilin¡¯s request to collect mushrooms. She only wanted 100 Strength Mushrooms, and the rest were Wang Tao¡¯s. However, Wang Tao had gained a lot this time, not only Strength Mushrooms, but he had also gathered a bunch of Defense Mushrooms, Spirit Mushrooms, and the like. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t stingy, pulling out 100 of each kind to give to Qu Shilin. ¡°Ah? There are other types of mushrooms too!¡± Qu Shilin was surprised. ¡°They¡¯re all from the cave, I kept some, and these are for you.¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Thank you!¡± Qu Shilin didn¡¯t play coy and happily accepted the mushrooms. She also explained: ¡°The energy in these mushrooms is quite miraculous, but it comes with side effects. I¡¯m currently researching how to extract this energy. Once I have a breakthrough, you¡¯ll be the first one to try it!¡± ¡°...¡± Why did Wang Tao feel like Qu Shilin was treating him like a guinea pig? Looking at an excited Qu Shilin, Wang Tao considered for a moment, then pulled out several Potion bottles from his pocket and handed them to her. ¡°Eh? What¡¯s this...¡± ¡°If by ¡®extracting¡¯ you mean pulling the Strength from these ¡®Strength Mushrooms¡¯ to make a side-effect-free Potion, then you might need this...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained the function of these Potions. Chapter 1019 - 1019 406 Detective Wang_2 ?Chapter 1019: Chapter 406: Detective Wang_2 Chapter 1019: Chapter 406: Detective Wang_2 ¡°Sigh...¡± Wang Tao let out a sigh. There wasn¡¯t a look of sadness on his face, nor did he need to feign sorrow¡ªafter all, he wasn¡¯t particularly close with Yao Guodong... It¡¯s just that Wang Tao felt a bit regretful, as he had just gotten Yao Guodong to owe him a big favor, which now was completely wasted. ¡°It¡¯s already noon, please everyone, move to the City Hall for lunch...¡± Gu Yun said to everyone. Everyone nodded, and after Yao Guodong¡¯s body was taken away first, other people also left the villa one after another. This included Yao Guodong¡¯s two wives and others who were about to depart. The villa was to be sealed off as a crime scene needed to be preserved. Those close to Yao Guodong who had been in contact with him also had to continue being investigated. After all, this was the death of a mayor; regardless of whether anything could be found out, they certainly had to try their best. As Wang Tao and his party were coming out, Han Rui suddenly looked towards a certain spot. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao, who was discreetly observing everyone with his spiritual power, noticed Han Rui¡¯s movement immediately. ¡°I always feel that there¡¯s something off over there... but I can¡¯t quite put my finger on what exactly it is... Maybe it¡¯s just my imagination. You know my job; whenever I encounter such situations, I always think about solving the case...¡± Han Rui shook her head softly. Following the direction of Han Rui¡¯s gaze, Wang Tao looked toward a few sparse pine trees about thirty meters away from the villa¡¯s entrance, covered in snow. These pine trees were short and thin, as if they were stunted in growth. Neither He Jijun, Xiang Hongbin, nor anyone else seemed to notice anything amiss, including Wang Tao. But Wang Tao took Han Rui¡¯s words seriously because Han Rui had a unique hidden attribute¡ª [Arrest: More likely to catch criminals] ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out.¡± Wang Tao immediately said. ¡°...¡± Han Rui opened her mouth but didn¡¯t say much more, only feeling a touch of warmth in her heart from seeing how seriously Wang Tao took her words. However, once Wang Tao and the others arrived at the courtyard where Yao Guodong died, Wang Tao suddenly paused in his step. ¡°That¡¯s enough, no need to go there.¡± A slight smile curled the corners of Wang Tao¡¯s mouth. Han Rui and the others didn¡¯t understand, but based on their impression of Wang Tao, he clearly wasn¡¯t one to give up halfway, so¡ªWang Tao must have discovered something! However, they didn¡¯t ask further and all followed Gu Yun to the dining hall of the City Hall. Although it might not look appropriate to eat and drink right after the mayor¡¯s death, after all, it was Gu Yun who had called them here, and they hadn¡¯t even had their meal yet, so they deserved at least to be provided with one meal. After having the meal, Wang Tao walked around within the City Hall, making his presence known. Of course, he wasn¡¯t just wandering around aimlessly; he was getting acquainted with the administrative officials. Especially those who had either good or bad relationships with Yao Guodong¡ªthey were the key observation targets. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± Wang Tao suddenly heard someone calling him and turned to see it was Cui Sheng. Cui Sheng was accompanied by a group of men and women dotted around him, dressed similar to Cui Sheng, probably all secretaries from the City Hall. ¡°It¡¯s Secretary Cui!¡± Wang Tao responded. Those people were surprised and envious when they saw Wang Tao¡¯s friendly demeanor toward Cui Sheng. Clearly, they recognized Wang Tao. Cui Sheng hurriedly introduced Wang Tao to them. ¡°This is Mr. Wang from the Starfire Society, an Awakener...¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, these are my colleagues...¡± As for introducing his colleagues, Cui Sheng just skimmed over it. However, the group was obviously interested in Wang Tao, and directly ignoring the look Cui Sheng gave them, they began to introduce themselves. ¡°Nice to meet you, Mr. Wang. I have long heard about you! My name is Wen Dazhi...¡± ¡°I am Tang Chunyi...¡± ¡°My name is Guan De...¡± ¡°...¡± This was a rare opportunity to get to know an important figure, and if they didn¡¯t thicken their skin now, they would just have to regret it later! Wang Tao nodded and smiled, appearing very approachable. He could see that this group was implicitly led by Cui Sheng; half of them were ordinary people, and only a few were level 1 ability users. Cui Sheng, being a Second-order Superpower Owner, was already considered the strongest among them. Two of the group caught Wang Tao¡¯s eye in particular. It was the first to speak, Wen Dazhi, and the second, Tang Chunyi. Wen Dazhi looked relatively handsome, much more so than the balding middle-aged Cui Sheng¡ªof course, looks weren¡¯t the point. What mattered was that not only was he a Level 1 ability user, he also had a hidden attribute¡ªthis man was the seed of an Awakener! As for the other, Tang Chunyi, even Wang Tao, who was used to seeing beautiful women, found her very attractive, especially those peach blossom eyes that seemed to wink intentionally at Wang Tao, very enticing. As for her abilities, she was just an ordinary Level 1 ability user without hidden attributes, which Wang Tao promptly overlooked. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide his gaze, and everyone could see him lingering a second longer on the two of them. When they noticed that it was the most handsome man and the most beautiful woman in their group that caught his attention, they all sighed internally. Indeed, humans are visual creatures. When meeting strangers for the first time, regardless of gender, being attractive definitely scores points. However, to their surprise, Wang Tao didn¡¯t gaze at Tang Chunyi, the stunning beauty, any longer. Instead, he patted Wen Dazhi on the shoulder. ¡°Good strength.¡± Although Wen Dazhi indeed was the second strongest in their group, next to Cui Sheng, he was only of Level 1 strength. Did that really warrant praise as ¡°good strength¡± from an Awakener like Wang Tao? Everyone was a bit puzzled. Wen Dazhi, meanwhile, was somewhat thrilled¡ªdid this notable figure see potential in him¡ª¡±seeing potential¡± meaning being recognized by Wang Tao like Cui Sheng was. Chapter 1020 - 1020 406 Detective Wang_3 ?Chapter 1020: Chapter 406: Detective Wang_3 Chapter 1020: Chapter 406: Detective Wang_3 He was still wondering if Wang Tao might ask him any questions later and how he should respond to please Wang Tao when Wang Tao didn¡¯t say anything more and simply waved at them. ¡°You all keep busy, I¡¯ll head over there first.¡± ¡°Eh, take care on your way!¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, have a good one!¡± ¡°...¡± Watching Wang Tao¡¯s retreating figure, Wen Dazhi clenched his fists with a mix of excitement and confusion. ¡°This power should be quite ordinary, I am self-aware... but Mr. Wang said I was good, could it be... I have some kind of potential? Then I must work even harder! Although, it would be best to get advice from Mr. Wang...¡± ... After Wang Tao left, he shook his head with a smile. He said Wen Dazhi was good precisely because he had hidden attributes. Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind giving some encouragement to people with hidden attributes ¨C they needed to strive hard and not waste their hidden attributes! Anyway, for Wang Tao, it was just a matter of moving his lips. After wandering around for a while, Wang Tao eventually returned to where Gu Yun was. ¡°It feels like things here are getting a bit chaotic...¡± Wang Tao stated bluntly. ¡°Sigh, disaster relief work finally got on the right track, and we were about to have some ease, but with Mayor Yao¡¯s incident, things are getting messy again... Without his command, the follow-up is going to be busy for a long time...¡± Gu Yun sighed helplessly. Yao Guodong¡¯s capability as an ordinary man to become the mayor of Changhe Base was unquestionable. Gu Yun admitted he couldn¡¯t compare. With Yao Guodong gone, the various arrangements for what came next needed to be rearranged, which was troublesome. More people might freeze to death because of this... This domino effect was unavoidable since the death was of the highest administrative official in the base. ¡°Hang in there, if you need anything, call on me anytime.¡± Wang Tao patted Gu Yun on the shoulder. ¡°I will, and these next few days we might need to trouble Mr. Wang...¡± Gu Yun gave a bitter smile. ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯ll head back first.¡± The snow outside was still heavy, and it took some time before Wang Tao finally made it home. As soon as he entered, Han Rui quickly clung to Wang Tao¡¯s arm. ¡°Wang Tao~ what did you find?¡± She had been holding back all the way and hadn¡¯t asked; she knew that Wang Tao must have discovered something. ¡°What I found... Yao Guodong was definitely murdered,¡± Wang Tao said with a serious expression. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Han Rui was a little excited ¨C Wang Tao had indeed found a clue! ¡°Because near those pine trees you thought were problematic, I saw footprints from the same time last night as Yao Guodong.¡± Although Wang Tao had seen that Yao Guodong¡¯s two wives were poisoned, he couldn¡¯t be 100% sure that Yao Guodong¡¯s death was a murder. What if his two wives had secretly indulged in something behind Yao Guodong¡¯s back? That was possible. But when Wang Tao detected faint footprints under the snow near those pine trees with his spiritual power, he knew Yao Guodong¡¯s death wasn¡¯t an accident ¨C someone had been watching him the entire time he lay in the snow! That person didn¡¯t notify anyone, leading to Yao Guodong being frozen to death. This person was clearly related to the murderer, or perhaps they were the murderer themselves. And if he assumed that person was the murderer, then another of Wang Tao¡¯s doubts was cleared ¨C why did Yao Guodong keep staggering around in the snow after peeing and not return home? It wasn¡¯t because he was drunk. As an Ability User, he wasn¡¯t so easily intoxicated, and he knew what was important, he wouldn¡¯t be drinking at such a time. Instead, he was influenced by the murderer, so he couldn¡¯t make it home. As for what ability could affect Yao Guodong and make him lose his way, unable to find home... Wang Tao was all too familiar with that ¨C mental attacks! The distance between those pine trees and Yao Guodong was just right for many mental attacks to take effect! Therefore, Wang Tao had reason to speculate that Yao Guodong was affected by some kind of mental attack, making Yao Guodong¡¯s perception faulty and leading him to mistake the snowy ground for his bed, so he collapsed and couldn¡¯t get up again. If these speculations held true, then Wang Tao thought the murderer wasn¡¯t very strong. Because someone powerful in mental attacks, like himself, could have killed Yao Guodong instantly, without such trouble... As for who it was specifically, Wang Tao did not know, but at least there was a range to check. And there was a straightforward method for speculation. ¡°With Yao Guodong dead, who benefits the most?¡± Combining the two might yield some clues. However, while Han Rui and others speculated on the most likely murderer based on what Wang Tao provided, Wang Tao suddenly thought of an important question ¨C If even the highest administrative officer, no matter how weak, could be so easily schemed against... could people with strong abilities but weak powers still be placed in important positions in the future? Perhaps to put it more bluntly, did ordinary people and Ability Users with minimal strength still qualify for key positions? Considering the current situation... those below the strength of a Fourth-order Awakener, could be said to be weak! ¡°The impact of this incident may be much greater than I imagined! It might even lead to some reforms...¡± Chapter 1021 - 1021 407 The Situation is Complicated ?Chapter 1021: Chapter 407: The Situation is Complicated Chapter 1021: Chapter 407: The Situation is Complicated At dusk, Wang Tao was studying spiritual power with Jiang Shixue and took the opportunity to discuss the matter of the killer. In their team, only Jiang Shixue¡¯s ability belonged to the ¡°Psychic System¡±; by discussing with her, Wang Tao could gain some insights. They eventually concluded that the killer¡¯s strength was likely between Level 1 and Level 3, leaning more towards Level 1 or Level 2. If the killer had been a Fourth-order Awakener, he could have killed Yao Guodong instantly without the need for such trouble. Of course, there was also the possibility of intentionally hiding one¡¯s skill to create confusion... but Wang Tao still thought that the likelihood of the killer being a Fourth-order Awakener was not high. Because the ¡°preparation work¡± seemed excessive¡ªwaiting for Yao Guodong to drink, getting him to go to the restroom, and so on, his two wives were likely complicit... The more steps there are, the higher the chance of a mistake, and as long as someone had brains, they could see that Yao Guodong¡¯s death was too suspicious to be an accident. If it were Wang Tao or Jiang Shixue who attacked Yao Guodong, even if they did not use a psychic blast to kill him outright but staged an accident like the current one, that ¡°accident¡± would definitely not be detectable as fake¡ªit would not be so ¡°crude¡±... Regarding the possibility of the killer being Level 3, Wang Tao also thought it was not highly probable. After all, Yao Guodong was only Level 1 and, although Level 3 had not achieved Awakening, it could still kill Yao Guodong with ease, likewise staging it as an accident, and not as something glaringly suspicious like now. Therefore, Wang Tao believed that the possibility of the killer being Level 1 or Level 2 was greater. ¡°Maybe I should find an opportunity to remind Gu Yun...¡± Wang Tao mused, stroking his chin. Narrowing down the killer¡¯s range would naturally increase the chances of finding the killer. However, an ability like spiritual power is so elusive that if the opponent deliberately kept it hidden, it would still be challenging to detect... ¡°Wang Tao, there¡¯s news!¡± At that moment, Han Rui came over with an informational wristwatch in hand. After Wang Tao came home, he took a bath, changed his clothes, and was not wearing his informational wristwatch. ¡°The death of Yao Guodong has been announced... they¡¯re saying it was an accident that he froze to death...¡± Looking at the news, Wang Tao shook his head. The announcement of the news was faster than he had anticipated, and regarding the claim that Yao Guodong froze to death, Wang Tao thought many people at City Hall did not believe it. But since they could not find the murderer, they could only say that. However, as Wang Tao continued reading, his gaze suddenly sharpened. ¡°Huh? Gu Yun is now the acting mayor?¡± Wang Tao was very surprised. ¡°Yes, Gu Yun has become the acting mayor! Although there¡¯s an ¡®acting¡¯ in the title, this essentially means a ¡®probationary period,¡¯ and after the term expires, he could be promoted to the real mayor!¡± Han Rui¡¯s expression was serious. ¡°So, after Yao Guodong¡¯s death, the biggest beneficiary is Gu Yun?¡± Wang Tao frowned. He had just said to the others to look out for who benefitted most from Yao Guodong¡¯s death. Whoever benefitted most would certainly become the most likely suspect, because it provided a motive to kill Yao Guodong. But Wang Tao did not expect that the one who benefitted most would be Gu Yun... It wasn¡¯t because he had more contact and a good relationship with Gu Yun, so he trusted Gu Yun was not the killer. Rather, it was because the position of acting mayor shouldn¡¯t have been Gu Yun¡¯s turn, right? Weren¡¯t there three deputy mayors? As far as Wang Tao understood, Gu Yun as the Secretary-General and his secretariat were tasked with helping leaders handle and coordinate matters. He was not in charge of specific affairs and did not possess much actual power; his primary authority came from the leaders. The three deputy mayors, on the other hand, each had significant power over all matters. Even if we disregard actual power and just consider status, Gu Yun was still half a level below the three deputy mayors... In theory, then, promotions to mayor should be selected from among these three deputy mayors, right? Wang Tao had already listed these three deputy mayors as suspects, yet it turned out Gu Yun had risen to the position... ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand either, why Gu Yun was appointed as the acting mayor. Could all this have been Gu Yun¡¯s strategy? Within his calculations? But the appointment as acting mayor was passed by a high vote from the committee. Does he have a big network there too?¡± Han Rui was also perplexed. If one of the deputy mayors had been promoted to mayor and Gu Yun to deputy mayor, Han Rui wouldn¡¯t have been surprised. But this was about becoming the mayor of Changhe City Base! The position of the Mayor of Changhe City Base was entirely different from that of a mayor before the apocalypse. The current mayor is the highest administrative official of the entire base, the head of City Hall. Although there¡¯s a committee above the mayor, the committee only handles broad, direction-setting matters and largely doesn¡¯t concern itself with the rest. With over twenty members, their thoughts could not be entirely uniform, and they had to vote on everything. While voting would indeed be more cautious and reasonable, it also took more time... To increase efficiency, the committee would become involved in certain important matters of general direction only; otherwise, they didn¡¯t intervene much and directly left most issues to City Hall to solve. City Hall, led by the mayor, had significant leeway in execution, dependent upon the individual capacity of the mayor. Even to the extent that if the mayor considered the committee¡¯s policies to be outrageous, he could choose not to carry them out! As long as he wasn¡¯t afraid of being voted out by the committee. Regardless, the position of mayor was of utmost importance. Someone like Gu Yun, with not very high status and without much actual power, theoretically speaking, shouldn¡¯t have been in line for the position of mayor... Chapter 1022 - 1022 407 Complicated Situation_2 ?Chapter 1022: Chapter 407 Complicated Situation_2 Chapter 1022: Chapter 407 Complicated Situation_2 ¡°By the way, do you have any information on those three vice-mayors?¡± Wang Tao seemed to think of something and suddenly asked. ¡°Yes, here...¡± Han Rui searched on her Informational Wristwatch and found the City Hall page. The page was now grayish-white, with updated information. The mayor¡¯s portrait had changed to Gu Yun, but there was an added parenthesis behind his name, containing the character ¡°acting¡±. Below him were the portraits of the three vice-mayors. Upon seeing these portraits, Wang Tao suddenly seemed to understand something. ¡°I know why it¡¯s Gu Yun now...¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Han Rui was curious. ¡°These three vice-mayors, I saw them today at the crime scene. All three of them are Level 1 ability users. And Gu Yun... is a Level 3 ability user.¡± Wang Tao had already considered one question¡ªsince the mayor could be easily assassinated, did ordinary people or weak ability users even qualify for key positions? The answer now seemed obvious¡ªno, they didn¡¯t. The three vice-mayors had a certain amount of real power and were quite capable individually, but their own strength was too weak! If they were to replace Mayor Yao Guodong¡¯s position yesterday, they would have died too! Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear about the killer¡¯s motives yet¡ªwas it merely to kill Yao Guodong himself, or to assassinate the mayor of Changhe Base? If it was the latter, every time one of these three vice-mayors took office, it would mean another death. After all, if someone could kill the Level 1 Yao Guodong, they could kill them too! Even if the killer¡¯s sole purpose was to kill Yao Guodong himself, there¡¯s always a first time for everything. Once everyone realizes that killing the mayor doesn¡¯t seem that difficult, won¡¯t there be people plotting against the new mayor? Definitely! After all, there are many ability users in the base, and power can easily corrupt... If things turn out this way, then trouble lies ahead. To put it bluntly, the death of the mayors is a minor issue compared to the disruption it causes to the base¡¯s operation¡ªthat¡¯s a major problem! For instance, after the death of Yao Guodong, City Hall¡¯s work, which had finally gotten back on track, became chaotic again! It may even lead to increased deaths from freezing over the next few days due to issues such as unreasonable divisions of labor, imbalanced distributions, conflicting job contents, and resource wastage. For example, Wang Tao currently has nothing much to do at home, and if there are survivors in distress outside, he is willing to help them. But the problem is, Wang Tao doesn¡¯t know who is in distress or where the disasters are! Some places are so busy they¡¯re smoking, but Wang Tao here is idle¡ªthat¡¯s possible too. Therefore, the mayor Yao Guodong¡¯s death has had a negative impact on the base, especially at this time when heavy snow is falling, temperatures are low, roads are blocked, and communication problems have arisen... To prevent a repeat of the same mistakes, it makes sense to have someone strong serve as mayor. Although Gu Yun¡¯s combat ability isn¡¯t strong, he is after all a bona fide Level 3, and he has defensive power. If, as Wang Tao speculated, the killer is a Level 1 or Level 2, then confronting Gu Yun would be suicide. It could even backfire¡ªmental attacks can be dangerous to oneself, especially when your spiritual power is weaker than the opponent¡¯s... Wang Tao shared his analysis, and Han Rui immediately nodded in agreement. ¡°Right, I think your reasoning makes sense. I hadn¡¯t considered the importance of personal strength... in the post-apocalyptic world, strength is king after all! But speaking of which, haven¡¯t these three vice-mayors ascended? With their abilities, they shouldn¡¯t all be stuck at Level 1, right?¡± Han Rui was puzzled yet again. Wang Tao thought he understood this issue. ¡°To ascend, besides Crystal Cores, you also need to kill zombies. Clearly, they haven¡¯t been out killing zombies...¡± Ascension requires an increase in HP limit, meaning you need to go out and hunt zombies. These three vice-mayors, after all, wield real power and have plenty on their plates. The development plans of the base require them; they probably don¡¯t have the time to go out. If they were any more timid and didn¡¯t dare to go out to kill zombies, thinking that becoming a Level 1 ability user and improving their physical fitness were enough, then they would be even less likely to venture out. But Gu Yun was different; he didn¡¯t manage the specifics and went wherever he was needed, often venturing outside the city. To survive out there, he had to ensure his strength improved... ¡°However, there¡¯s another problem now...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin and said. ¡°Is the event of ¡®someone with greater strength assuming power¡¯ within the murderer¡¯s calculations? If it is, then Gu Yun is indeed highly suspicious. If it isn¡¯t, then it means someone has done all this work only to benefit Gu Yun inadvertently...¡± Thinking this, Wang Tao suddenly frowned. ¡°No, that¡¯s not right! Assuming the murderer is extremely clever and has taken all this into account, then the final beneficiary might not necessarily be Gu Yun! Because many of the base¡¯s key positions are held by ordinary people, what if the murderer wants to ascend from another angle, hence this whole charade...¡± Wang Tao felt a headache coming on. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯m done thinking! Speculating any further is pointless without catching the murderer; the truth will never be fully revealed... Anyway, no matter what, one¡¯s own strength is the most important! As long as you are strong enough, any covert plots or schemes become irrelevant ¡ª face one, kill one!¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then picked up his informational wristwatch. ¡°I should send Gu Yun a congratulations message...¡± It seemed there were no surprises in Gu Yun becoming mayor; congratulating him in advance was appropriate. Not long after Wang Tao sent his message, Gu Yun called him directly. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s way too early to be talking about mayor! It¡¯s hard to say, very hard to say! Besides, you might not know, but I¡¯ve somehow become the prime suspect!¡± ¡°This is just ridiculous! I didn¡¯t even know the committee had appointed me as acting mayor! I¡¯m just a group leader serving the leadership. If I actually had the power to make a difference in the committee, I would have been a deputy mayor long ago, wouldn¡¯t have to run errands for the leaders!¡± ¡°Oh right, do you know why I bought Iron Beetles exclusively from you and didn¡¯t let you sell them to anyone else? I was just trying to score some political achievements! There¡¯s a deputy mayor who¡¯s getting old and likely to retire soon, and I was wondering if I had a chance to take his place... I never dared to dream about the mayor¡¯s position; after all, Mayor Yao¡¯s competence was recognized by all, and several deputy mayors, including myself, highly respected his work...¡± ¡°If I wasn¡¯t a bit rational, I would have resigned already...¡± Wang Tao could tell that Gu Yun was both agitated and helpless. Becoming the acting mayor was definitely a good thing, but being the prime suspect at the same time was really uncomfortable. The identity of acting mayor and prime suspect was somewhat frustrating. Wang Tao could imagine how people would talk about him. If the murderer wasn¡¯t caught, he would never be able to shake off the tag of being the suspect... ¡°Then just conduct a thorough investigation, and strive to remove your tag of being the suspect; I believe you have the ability to do that,¡± Wang Tao said with a laugh, trying to encourage him. He did suspect Gu Yun, but Wang Tao¡¯s thinking had broadened ¡ª in his eyes, Gu Yun wasn¡¯t the prime suspect, although he didn¡¯t have an answer to who the real prime suspect was. But as soon as Wang Tao spoke out, he heard Gu Yun reply with some resignation: ¡°I was originally leading the investigative team for Mayor Yao¡¯s death, but since I¡¯m now the prime suspect, I¡¯ve just been kicked out of it ¡ª I can¡¯t and dare not meddle in this matter anymore, otherwise, I would really be unable to clarify things...¡± ¡°...¡± Well, that made things awkward, leaving the task of clearing his own name to others. The two talked for a while longer before Gu Yun ended the call. He was busy, even after venting he still had work to do, there were many messes left for him to clean up, and he wasn¡¯t even sure if he could do a better job than Yao Guodong, which was quite distressing... But just as Wang Tao finished his call, another person called in. ¡°Mr. Wang, may I ask if you¡¯re available? Mayor Yao¡¯s wife would like to meet with you...¡± Chapter 1023 - 1023 408 Talented Actor ?Chapter 1023: Chapter 408: Talented Actor Chapter 1023: Chapter 408: Talented Actor ¡°Mayor Yao¡¯s wife wants to meet me? Which wife?¡± ¡°Uh, both wives want to meet you...¡± Wang Tao was immediately puzzled; he had never spoken a word to those two women, not even a nodding acquaintance. What did they want to see him for? ¡°Why do they want to see me?¡± Wang Tao asked directly. ¡°Sorry, the ladies didn¡¯t tell me, they said they only wished to speak with you. Do you have the time? Of course, it¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t want to meet...¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll go there now.¡± Although Wang Tao was puzzled, he felt it was better to go and see what was going on. Because it was obvious that these two women had some issues... By the time he arrived at the City Hall again, it was already completely dark. ¡°Mr. Wang, it¡¯s such cold weather to ask you to come all this way, what an inconvenience! My name is Jiang Hui...¡± A middle-aged man in a police uniform was extending his hand from a distance. Jiang Hui was a Level Two in strength, which might not be much in the wild, but it was quite decent within the city. Wang Tao shook his hand and, without wasting words, directly asked: ¡°Where are they?¡± ¡°Please follow me!¡± Jiang Hui led Wang Tao upstairs. Mayor Yao¡¯s villa had been sealed off, and his two wives naturally couldn¡¯t continue living there, so they were arranged to stay in the guest rooms at the City Hall. Of course, this also meant surveillance, since Mayor Yao¡¯s death was too mysterious, and the two women were highly suspect. However, there was still no evidence currently, and since they were Mayor Yao¡¯s wives, they weren¡¯t just locked up as others might have been. Jiang Hui stopped outside a room door, where two policemen were standing. He knocked on the door, and a moment later, a crack opened revealing a pair of tired, frightened eyes. The owner of the eyes lit up upon seeing Wang Tao, and hurriedly opened the door. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± ¡°You guys chat, if you need anything Mr. Wang, just contact me, I¡¯ll be downstairs.¡± Jiang Hui didn¡¯t come inside, and he took the two guards with him. ¡°Mr. Wang, please come in and talk!¡± Qiu Rong politely invited Wang Tao inside and peeped outside as she closed the door, giving a stealthy impression. The room was rather large, with a living room, bedroom, and bathroom. The living room was a bit messy, cluttered with various items. Seeing Wang Tao come in, a figure squatting on the ground collecting items immediately stood up, somewhat embarrassedly calling out. ¡°Mr. Wang... hello!¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Mr. Wang, it¡¯s a bit messy here. Please don¡¯t mind, have a seat!¡± Qiu Rong invited Wang Tao to sit on a nearby sofa, but it too was piled with clothes, leaving no place to sit. Qiu Rong seemed to suddenly realize this situation and quickly apologetically cleared the clothes to one side. But as she did, the neatly folded clothes scattered, and colorful underwear and panties tumbled out, somewhat dazzling. ¡°Sorry, so sorry!¡± Qiu Rong¡¯s face turned red, and she quickly apologized as she removed the small clothes. Because the room was heated, Qiu Rong was dressed in a rather loose house dress. Standing up, it hadn¡¯t seemed notable, but as she bent deeply over, back towards Wang Tao, to tidy up the clothes on the sofa, the outline of her buttocks was unabashedly displayed before Wang Tao. Round, full, and Wang Tao could even faintly see the lines of two panties indenting the flesh. Qiu Rong somewhat frantically tidied up the things on the sofa, and as she stood up, she suddenly swayed, beginning to fall backward. Wang Tao reached out and steadied her by her slender waist, saving her from falling. ¡°Be careful, ma¡¯am.¡± Qiu Rong clung to Wang Tao¡¯s arm like grabbing a lifeline, holding tight for a couple of seconds before she blushed, released his arm, and stepped back. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m a bit dizzy, seems like anemia...¡± Many people have anemia, and given her slender arms and legs, it seemed normal. Wang Tao didn¡¯t ask further and casually took a seat on the sofa. He looked at the two women standing in front of him, his face calm as he asked. ¡°Did you have something you wanted to discuss with me?¡± ¡°We, we wanted to thank you!¡± Qiu Rong quickly spoke. ¡°Thank?¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Yes, to thank you for making my husband an Ability User, but unfortunately he...¡± As Qiu Rong spoke, tears started flowing. Mayor Yao¡¯s second wife also silently began to cry. Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond, just stared at the two women. He honestly couldn¡¯t tell that the two women were faking their tears, as their tears and expressions totally fit his image of grieving people. But Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power could clearly perceive that there wasn¡¯t much emotional fluctuation when they were crying. So, indeed, they were faking! Things were getting interesting; their act was quite convincing! Furthermore, Wang Tao noticed that the more he looked at these two women, the more familiar they seemed, as if he had seen them somewhere before... but he really couldn¡¯t remember where. While Wang Tao stayed silent, just staring at the two women, their emotional fluctuations became progressively more intense. Being scrutinized by Wang Tao, Qiu Rong felt as if he could see through her entirely, from head to toe, inside and out. She instinctively averted her gaze, unable to meet Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Who knows how long it was before Wang Tao finally spoke. Chapter 1024 - 1024 408 Talented Actor_2 ?Chapter 1024: Chapter 408: Talented Actor_2 Chapter 1024: Chapter 408: Talented Actor_2 ¡°How did you know it was me who helped Mayor Yao become an Ability User?¡± Qiu Rong immediately spoke up: ¡°It was my husband who personally told us! He said that you are his great benefactor, and if it wasn¡¯t for you, he could have never become an Ability User in his life. He told us to treat you with gratitude whenever we see you!¡± The second wife beside her also nodded hastily. ¡°No need to thank me, it was just a simple gesture. Not to mention Mayor Yao is no longer with us...¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He didn¡¯t have much of an association with Yao Guodong, but after all, it was an investment of his own. In just a few days, the investment was gone... Wang Tao felt somewhat sorrowful inside. Seeing Wang Tao like this, there seemed to be a glimmer of light in Qiu Rong¡¯s tearful eyes. ¡°My husband¡¯s life was so tough! He...¡± Qiu Rong immediately began to lament. She talked about how difficult it had been for Yao Guodong, and how, just when things were looking up, an accident happened. He hardly got to enjoy any good times and so on. Wang Tao didn¡¯t interrupt her, quietly acting as a listener, waiting for her to finish. However, he soon realized that Qiu Rong really had the gift of gab, speaking for ten minutes without repeating herself. Left with no choice, Wang Tao had to interrupt. ¡°I appreciate the thanks from both of you ladies. If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll be heading back now.¡± Wang Tao felt that if he didn¡¯t speak up, Qiu Rong could keep talking until the next morning. Wang Tao said he was leaving, but he didn¡¯t stand up. Because he knew that Qiu Rong wouldn¡¯t have asked him over just for a thank you. Sure enough, upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Qiu Rong immediately fell silent. She and the second wife exchanged a stealthy glance, then she looked at Wang Tao with pitiable eyes. ¡°Mr. Wang, we, we have a favor to ask of you...¡± ¡°Oh? Let¡¯s hear it.¡± A hint of curiosity appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°We, we don¡¯t want to live here anymore. It¡¯s too oppressive here, and it always reminds us of our husband, which makes us very sad... We want to move out and live somewhere else, so we¡¯d like to ask for your help...¡± Wang Tao looked at Qiu Rong with some speechlessness. You¡¯ve only lived here a few hours, and you¡¯re already oppressed? With heating, food, and drink available, isn¡¯t that good enough? ¡°Your villa has been sealed off, I can¡¯t help with that.¡± Wang Tao spoke directly. There really was nothing he could do about that, after all, the cause of Yao Guodong¡¯s death had not been confirmed yet. As long as it wasn¡¯t determined, their villa would remain sealed. Qiu Rong hastily explained: ¡°No, no, no, I don¡¯t mean that villa. I know that¡¯s the crime scene... I meant some other place. We can move anywhere...¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible too.¡± Wang Tao still shook his head. Just as Qiu Rong was about to say something more, Wang Tao added, ¡°Because you are suspects, and rather big ones at that.¡± How suspicious they were in the eyes of City Hall, Wang Tao was not sure. In his view, he knew someone else was the murderer, but these two were very likely the accomplices! ¡°No, how come we¡¯re suspects? We are victims too...¡± Qiu Rong sounded somewhat agitated upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words. Wang Tao fell silent again, quietly watching her performance. Qiu Rong didn¡¯t have much to say this time. After a couple of attempts at defending herself and receiving no feedback from Wang Tao, she gradually stopped. She bit her lip, tears welling in her eyes as she looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, the innocent can clear themselves. I believe City Hall will give us justice! But...it¡¯s really too uncomfortable here. Could you please help us out, let us go and live outside. We¡¯re not afraid of being watched, because we have a clear conscience! It¡¯s just too hard for us to stay here...¡± The second wife at her side was even more distressed, crying pitifully. ¡°Why would you think I can let you go live outside?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Because you have the Ability! I believe that with your Ability, such little matters are trivial for you!¡± Qiu Rong spoke up hastily. ¡°Then, why do you think I would help you?¡± Wang Tao asked another question. This was actually the question he was most curious about. He could feel that since he had entered, Qiu Rong had been telling almost nothing but lies, but her desire to move out was genuine. Wang Tao was curious as to why, having never spoken a word to each other before, she would think he would help her? ¡°Because my husband said before that if... if anything happened to him, we should ask for your help!¡± ¡°...¡± Hearing Qiu Rong¡¯s words, Wang Tao immediately furrowed his brows. Did Yao Guodong foresee an accident happening to himself, or was Qiu Rong making this up? As if afraid that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t believe her, Qiu Rong promptly brought over an Informational Wristwatch. After some operations, a video appeared. In the video, Yao Guodong was sitting at a table writing something, with what appeared to be his villa in the background. ¡°Is the recording on?¡± Yao Guodong began to speak. ¡°It¡¯s on.¡± That was Qiu Rong¡¯s voice. ¡°Mr. Wang, ever since I became an Ability User, I¡¯ve become stronger, but I¡¯ve always felt somewhat restless... I hope it¡¯s just me overthinking. However, just in case, if anything really happens to me, I implore you to help my family. I still have some Crystal Coins; consider it your compensation for taking action...¡± Watching Yao Guodong in the video addressing the camera, Wang Tao was very surprised. It was true? The two women, Qiu Rong and her co-wife, watched Wang Tao anxiously. Chapter 1025 - 1025 408 Talented Actor_3 ?Chapter 1025: Chapter 408: Talented Actor_3 Chapter 1025: Chapter 408: Talented Actor_3 They didn¡¯t know if Wang Tao was willing to help them, and after the video recording was finished, she had also asked Yao Guodong. Yao Guodong had said¡ªthose who have helped you before are more likely to help you again. Wang Tao had helped him, so there was a probability that Wang Tao would help him once more. But this was, after all, a matter of probability; no one knew what Wang Tao was thinking, so the two of them were still very uncertain. Wang Tao touched his chin, then said, ¡°Tell me about the specific circumstances around Yao Guodong¡¯s death.¡± Qiu Rong feared that Wang Tao would just walk away, so when she heard Wang Tao¡¯s question, she hurriedly said, ¡°Last night, my husband said that his physical strength as an Ability User was much stronger than before, and he didn¡¯t feel tired at all while working. The snow disaster relief work was already on track, and if nothing unexpected happened... I was happy for him, so during our late-night snack, I got a bottle of wine to celebrate with him. He didn¡¯t want to drink, saying it would affect tomorrow¡¯s work. I told him he was an Ability User now and didn¡¯t need to worry... After drinking the wine, he went out to use the restroom and never came back...¡± While Qiu Rong was speaking, Wang Tao asked with a frown, ¡°He said he didn¡¯t want to drink, so why did he drink?¡± Yao Guodong should be a person with strong self-control, right? Could Qiu Rong persuade him to drink just with a few words? Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s question, Qiu Rong suddenly felt a bit embarrassed. She spoke hesitantly, ¡°Cough... I said, let¡¯s drink together, and we can get Xin¡¯er drunk, then the three of us can go to sleep in the same bed... It¡¯s something we¡¯ve never done before, and my husband was very excited, so he drank a little...¡± ¡°Xin¡¯er?¡± Wang Tao looked toward Yao Guodong¡¯s second wife. The other person hurriedly spoke, ¡°I, my name is Li Xin...¡± Wang Tao nodded and then looked at Qiu Rong. ¡°So you mean, the three of you have never slept in the same bed before, and you used this condition to tempt Yao Guodong into drinking... But why did you desperately want to tempt him to drink?¡± If Yao Guodong hadn¡¯t drunk that wine, there would have been no issue. The two of them actually made a point to tempt Yao Guodong to drink, which was obviously a problem. The question from Wang Tao made Qiu Rong¡¯s face turn even redder, while the adjacent Li Xin lowered her head with her ears turning a bright red. ¡°Cough... Because, because it was something Xin¡¯er and I thought of... Before my husband became an Ability User, he actually had no ability in bed, and now that his physical condition has greatly improved, we wanted to try...¡± Qiu Rong¡¯s voice got lower and lower, and by the end, Wang Tao could barely hear her. ¡°...¡± The reason seemed a bit forceless to ridicule, but... it might make sense? However, Wang Tao still felt that something was not quite right, especially since they hadn¡¯t explained the poison in their bodies... After thinking it over, Wang Tao opened his Informational Wristwatch and contacted the police officer Jiang Hui. ¡°Do you have the information on these two madams? Can you send it to me to have a look?¡± ¡°One moment.¡± Soon, Jiang Hui sent over an electronic file. As Wang Tao looked through the information, his expression suddenly became odd. ¡°They were minor stars before the apocalypse? No wonder they looked somewhat familiar... I remember now!¡± There was a difference between stars on screen and in reality, especially since the two of them weren¡¯t very famous, which is why Wang Tao hadn¡¯t recognized them before. Now, after careful recollection with the information at hand, he had some impression of the two. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, it would be more appropriate to call them actors, and moreover, they¡¯re both actors with real talent? No wonder...¡± Chapter 1026 - 1026 409 Dare Not Investigate ?Chapter 1026: Chapter 409: Dare Not Investigate Chapter 1026: Chapter 409: Dare Not Investigate Wang Tao had been puzzled as to why Qiu Rong and Li Xin could cry so convincingly. He struggled to tell whether their sadness was genuine or fake... It turns out that they were strong actors! That explained a lot. No wonder from the moment he entered, Wang Tao felt as if Qiu Rong was constantly trying to seduce him. He was somewhat unsure at first, fearing he was overthinking it. But now, knowing their identities as actors, he was certain it was all intentional! Since all of this was fake, all an act, he could not believe what they had just said. For instance, their reason for drugging Yao Guodong... ¡°Were you two actresses before?¡± Wang Tao suddenly spoke up. Qiu Rong and Li Xin, who were looking down, stiffened instantly. Qiu Rong immediately looked up, meeting Wang Tao¡¯s expressionless face, and feeling a bit panicked, she quickly said, ¡°Mr. Wang, we haven¡¯t lied to you, what I said was true!¡± ¡°Yes, we, we didn¡¯t lie to you!¡± Li Xin also spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m asking if you were actresses before.¡± Wang Tao repeated his question. Although Wang Tao¡¯s face remained expressionless, Qiu Rong inexplicably felt a chill down her spine. ¡°Yes! We were indeed minor actresses before the apocalypse...¡± ¡°I was, too...¡± Seeing that both women admitted it, Wang Tao sighed. ¡°Ah... so you were both acting just now? This makes things difficult for me!¡± ¡°No! I swear, I wasn¡¯t acting at all!¡± Qiu Rong immediately raised her hand, ¡°If I was acting just now, then let me, let me...¡± Seeing Qiu Rong hesitate, Wang Tao quickly warned, ¡°Madam, it¡¯s the apocalypse now, the world has changed drastically, be careful what you swear by, or it might really come true...¡± ¡°...¡± Qiu Rong¡¯s face immediately stiffened. She really wanted to finish her oath, but Wang Tao¡¯s words made her uneasy. After all, there had been a significant change since the apocalypse, and who knows if there were gods or others who might hold one accountable for their vows... Generally, the weaker someone is, the more superstitious they tend to be. People like Wang Tao, on the other hand, never believed in ghosts or gods; he only believed in his own strength. But Qiu Rong was different, just an ordinary person, still very much afraid of these baseless things. ¡°Sister Rong, let¡¯s not beg him anymore. If worse comes to worst, we¡¯ll just stay here...¡± At this moment, Li Xin suddenly held Qiu Rong¡¯s hand, speaking on her behalf. Qiu Rong took the opportunity to lower her hand, then gave a bitter smile. ¡°Mr. Wang, I really didn¡¯t lie to you¡ªwell, never mind, if Mr. Wang doesn¡¯t trust me, I¡¯ll just accept my fate... I can only say, I swear, I didn¡¯t kill my husband...¡± Qiu Rong said while wiping away her tears. Li Xin also hugged her, eyes red, both appearing weak and pitiful, arousing sympathy. Wang Tao was speechless, still acting at this time. He stood up. ¡°Alright, it¡¯s getting late. I¡¯d better head back.¡± Qiu Rong hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to just leave, and subconsciously grabbed the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. As Wang Tao took large steps away, she, still clutching at his clothes, became unsteady and fell directly from her chair, kneeling before Wang Tao. She looked up at him, her face pitiful and her tearstained cheeks and slender, pale neck exposed... the seduction was blatant! This woman was really something! In terms of looks alone, although Qiu Rong was beautiful, she was no match for Ding Yuqin and her group. But in actively seducing someone, Ding Yuqin and the others were no match for her. That¡¯s the difference between a professional and an amateur. Anyone else might have been softened by now, but Wang Tao¡¯s heart was as cold as a fish-slicing knife. ¡°Madam is anemic again? You need to exercise more!¡± Wang Tao said, looking at Qiu Rong with a half-smile. ¡°...¡± Seeing Qiu Rong at a loss for words, Wang Tao crouched down and grabbed her arms, lifting her like a small child and setting her on the sofa before turning to leave. Seeing that Wang Tao was truly heartless, Qiu Rong bit her lip and immediately said, ¡°Mr. Wang, wait!¡± Wang Tao turned around. ¡°Madam, is there anything else?¡± Qiu Rong quickly pulled out her Informational Wristwatch, showing Wang Tao her account balance. ¡°We still have Crystal Coins, I¡¯ll give you Crystal Coins, please have mercy on us and get us out...¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He liked Crystal Coins, but he didn¡¯t need these 300,000. Wang Tao was just curious about the truth behind Yao Guodong¡¯s death. Although these two women might not be the murderers, they certainly had something to do with the murderer, and they would never admit to it... Investigating Yao Guodong¡¯s cause of death was the police¡¯s job, and while Wang Tao was curious, he didn¡¯t need to involve himself and just had to wait for the results. Thus, he declined. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but my ability is limited.¡± ¡°... But this is all the money we have left, or else...¡± Qiu Rong stood up again, looking up at Wang Tao, ¡°As long as you can get us out, you, you can ask me to do anything!¡± ¡°Oh? Anything?¡± Chapter 1027 - 1027 409 Dare Not Investigate_2 ?Chapter 1027: Chapter 409: Dare Not Investigate_2 Chapter 1027: Chapter 409: Dare Not Investigate_2 Wang Tao watched her with interest, deliberately emphasizing the word ¡°do.¡± ¡°Do, I can do anything!¡± Qiu Rong¡¯s little face slowly turned red again, and she lowered her head. Wang Tao thought to himself, Here it comes again. Ever since he came in, this woman had been trying every moment to seduce him. ¡°Am I really that excellent?¡± Wang Tao thought somewhat narcissistically, and then came to the conclusion: yes. At least compared to ordinary people like Qiu Rong, he truly was excellent. As a woman with no strength, Qiu Rong would not have a hard time surviving in the base¡ªshe could just work. But if she wanted to live comfortably, she either had to enhance her own abilities or rely on a man. Although her current status wasn¡¯t low, as the wife of the former mayor, the former mayor was dead, and she had lost her biggest support. Right now, people might still respect her, but the future was uncertain. Moreover, she was also listed as a suspect¡ªif Yao Guodong¡¯s death was found to be related to her, she¡¯d be doomed. So he could understand why she would want to rely on someone strong. But what Wang Tao didn¡¯t understand was why she insisted on moving out, preferring to be monitored after moving rather than staying. Guilty conscience? Or was there another reason? Suddenly, Wang Tao stretched out his hand, caressing Qiu Rong¡¯s small face. Qiu Rong¡¯s body trembled, but she didn¡¯t dodge. Wang Tao¡¯s hand slowly slid down from her cheek. It had to be said that Qiu Rong¡¯s skin was well-maintained and felt smooth to the touch. Then Wang Tao used his finger to gently lift Qiu Rong¡¯s chin, forcing her to look up. Qiu Rong¡¯s eyes kept darting away, not daring to look straight at Wang Tao. ¡°Fine, then first tell me, which parts of what you said earlier were lies.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t lie to you¡ªI¡ª¡± Qiu Rong hurriedly tried to explain, but Wang Tao extended his index finger and gently pressed it against her lips. ¡°Don¡¯t try to deceive me any longer. You only have one chance.¡± ¡°...I really didn¡¯t lie to you!¡± Seeing Qiu Rong still being obstinate, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯ve lost your chance.¡± Wang Tao turned his head and walked away. Qiu Rong instinctively tried to grab at the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes, but Wang Tao suddenly turned back. Boom¡ª Qiu Rong felt as if thunder had exploded in her head, and she instantly felt dizzy and blurry-eyed, collapsing onto the sofa. ¡°Sister Rong! Sister Rong!¡± It¡¯s unclear how much time had passed before Qiu Rong gradually regained her senses. She saw Li Xin calling out anxiously in front of her, and Wang Tao had disappeared. ¡°I...Where¡¯s Mr. Wang?¡± ¡°He¡¯s already gone, Sister Rong, don¡¯t scare me! Ah! You¡¯re bleeding from your nose!¡± ... After Wang Tao went downstairs, he saw Jiang Hui. Jiang Hui seemed a bit surprised that Wang Tao had come down so quickly, but he quickly concealed his reaction. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then asked, ¡°How¡¯s the investigation going with Qiu Rong and Li Xin?¡± Technically, Wang Tao had no right to inquire about this matter, but after all, as an Awakener, Jiang Hui had to show him respect. ¡°We haven¡¯t found anything yet...¡± Jiang Hui spoke while covertly observing Wang Tao¡¯s expression. Just now, Wang Tao and the two women, Qiu Rong, had stayed in the room for about twenty minutes, and nobody knew what they had been doing inside. Jiang Hui didn¡¯t know what the relationship between Wang Tao and the two women was, or what Wang Tao¡¯s attitude towards the matter was, so he dared not say too much. He needed to figure out Wang Tao¡¯s stance before saying the right things. ¡°Nothing turned up, huh... Personally, I feel like those two have some issues. Of course, I have no evidence; this is just my sixth sense as an Awakener¡ªdon¡¯t take it seriously.¡± Upon hearing this from Wang Tao, Jiang Hui¡¯s eyes lit up. Clearly, Wang Tao had no involvement with Qiu Rong and Li Xin! He even suggested there was something questionable about them! Even though Wang Tao lacked evidence, he especially emphasized that this was his sixth sense as an Awakener¡ªthe implication was clear. ¡°I feel the same way! The way they made Mayor Yao drink so much obviously had ill intent! How about... I apply for an arrest warrant and question them properly?¡± Jiang Hui actually also felt that there was something off about the two women, but since they were Mayor Yao¡¯s wives, it wasn¡¯t easy to investigate without evidence, and he didn¡¯t dare to probe too deeply. The best-case scenario would be for the matter to be smoothed over quietly. Though he might end up being criticized for incompetence, it was still better than losing his job. Currently, the main suspects were all people he couldn¡¯t afford to offend¡ª The Secretary-General of City Hall, and the acting Mayor, Gu Yun; the three deputy mayors; Deputy Gang Leader Zhou Long of the Loyalty Guild, who had conflicts with Yao Guodong before... If he really found something, he was afraid he would end up just as finished as the mastermind behind the curtain. Therefore, he didn¡¯t dare to pry further, but it would be different if he had support... ¡°Hey! That¡¯s your job, why are you asking me, an outsider! But personally, I think it¡¯s a good idea.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Seeing that Wang Tao indeed didn¡¯t mind investigating Qiu Rong and the others, Jiang Hui was thrilled inside, but he suppressed his excitement and spoke in a somewhat helpless whisper: ¡°But I¡¯ve just realized that this case could lead to significant complications. After Mayor Gu withdrew from the investigation, I was left in full charge, but I¡¯m a bit scared...¡± He was honestly expressing his concerns. Although he had little to do with Wang Tao, Wang Tao¡¯s reputation with the Starfire Society at the base was still good. Having met Wang Tao today and seeing that he had no connection with the two women, he wanted to give it a try! Even though Wang Tao wasn¡¯t a police officer or employed at City Hall, he was, after all, a legitimate Awakener with a status far from ordinary. His words would undoubtedly be taken seriously. Jiang Hui could use his statement as leverage. Moreover, up until now, no one else besides Wang Tao had contacted Qiu Rong and the other woman, which suggested they had no strong backing. As long as Wang Tao did not object, then he could delve deeper into the investigation. If he really could sort out this affair and invoke Wang Tao¡¯s influence, ensuring he wouldn¡¯t be sacrificed along with the culprit, then wouldn¡¯t his promotion be just around the corner! Even contending for the position of bureau chief would be within his reach! However, upon hearing Jiang Hui¡¯s comment, Wang Tao was slightly taken aback. Wang Tao knew who the suspects were, but he hadn¡¯t anticipated that the leader of the investigation team would be too afraid to investigate. But when putting himself in the other¡¯s shoes... it made sense, after all. Jiang Hui was not an Awakener. Lacking any significant ability or high social status, and with Gu Yun stepping down, he would inevitably lack confidence in his investigation, and there might indeed be real danger. ¡°If you encounter any resistance during the investigation, you can contact me. I¡¯m quite curious about this matter...¡± Wang Tao spoke up directly. He had intended to wait for the outcome, but seeing that the investigation team was too afraid to proceed, there might not be any result forthcoming. Therefore, Wang Tao decided to support Jiang Hui. In the meantime, he would also watch if anyone attempted to obstruct the investigation. If there were, it might make things even simpler... ¡°Thank you, Mr. Wang! Then I¡¯ll go apply for the arrest warrant!¡± Jiang Hui¡¯s joy was palpable upon Wang Tao agreeing to support him. With Wang Tao¡¯s status, there was certainly no need for him to deceive, and with Wang Tao¡¯s backing, he could conduct the investigation with confidence! ¡°Go ahead.¡± Watching Jiang Hui leave cheerfully, Wang Tao shook his head. No matter the time, strength was always the most important thing! It continued to snow heavily outside; the sweepers had been clearing the entrance to City Hall continuously, but the snowfall was faster, leaving a thick layer once again. Feeling the increasingly cold temperature, Wang Tao felt a bit helpless. ¡°Such an incident had to occur just at this time, not knowing how many people will freeze to death... It¡¯s all up to Gu Yun¡¯s ability now.¡± Wang Tao drove away from City Hall. When he got home, Ding Yuqin and the others were still awake. He shared the events that transpired at City Hall with them, naturally omitting Qiu Rong¡¯s seduction attempt. And after listening to what Wang Tao had said, Jiang Shixue suddenly spoke: ¡°Brother, my Awakening should be able to control them...¡± Chapter 1028 - 1028 410 Really Dont Know ?Chapter 1028: Chapter 410: Really Don¡¯t Know Chapter 1028: Chapter 410: Really Don¡¯t Know Hearing Jiang Shixue¡¯s words, Wang Tao smacked his forehead. ¡°My bad, I completely forgot about Little Xue¡¯s ability!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s Awakening is [String Puppet]. [String Puppet: Night Vision, Mind Control] This Awakening, when dealing with stronger enemies, acts as a control. Although the control period is very short, possibly only one second, within that second, it is essentially impossible to break free, making it a very strong form of control. However, when facing weaker enemies, Jiang Shixue¡¯s Awakening truly controls the opponent. They cannot resist at all, and they also won¡¯t remember anything that happened while being controlled. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue had experienced many battles together. Usually, the enemies that Wang Tao needed Jiang Shixue to control were of a higher level than him. When dealing with weaker enemies, Wang Tao never used [String Puppet] on them. After all, using it consumed Awakening Energy, and there was no need to waste it on something that could be solved with a few slashes. That¡¯s why Wang Tao had subconsciously forgotten about Jiang Shixue¡¯s Awakening. Now, after being reminded by Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao remembered this divine technique¡ªJiang Shixue could directly control Qiu Rong and the other woman, forcing them to speak the truth. ¡°Alright! Then you come with me to City Hall tomorrow, I want to see what exactly those two women are up to!¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin and said. ¡°Sure~¡± In theory, Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power also had a ¡°control¡± effect, even though it was not as strong as Jiang Shixue¡¯s. It could still be somewhat useful against ordinary people without any special abilities. But unfortunately, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t... unless he learned the Ability of Mind Control or figured it out on his own. Figuring it out on his own was naturally quite difficult, and for those with weak spiritual power, if Wang Tao was not careful, they could end up being idiots at best, or dead at worst. So it was better to leave it to the professionals. ... The next day, early morning. ¡°It¡¯s still coming down...¡± Looking outside at the relentless heavy snow, Lan Yulian sighed. The snow had been falling for several days now, and it¡¯s unknown how many people had suffered because of it. They could have gone out to provide disaster relief, but Yao Guodong, who had been personally in charge, had died, causing the subsequent efforts to become chaotic. Especially when many of the wired communications also started having problems, even if other people wanted to go out and help, they didn¡¯t know where to go... ¡°Looking at this, Qu Shilin probably wasn¡¯t wrong; this snow might last for a month...¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Given the current situation, if it really continued for a month, this snow would indeed become a complete ¡°natural disaster¡± for ordinary people. Around noon, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue drove together to City Hall. ¡°Feels like this car isn¡¯t cutting it anymore...¡± On the way to City Hall this time, their journey took much longer than the day before. Due to the heavy snow accumulation on the roads, they had to drive very cautiously, and the SUV, although fitted with snow chains, was clearly struggling. ¡°I wonder how they¡¯ve modified our cars back at the institute...¡± Wang Tao muttered, then entered City Hall with Jiang Shixue. As soon as he entered, he saw a figure jogging towards him. ¡°Mr. Wang!¡± Jiang Hui greeted with a broad smile, as Wang Tao had informed him earlier. ¡°This is my sister, Jiang Shixue.¡± ¡°This is Jiang Hui, head of the investigation team.¡± Wang Tao made the introductions. ¡°Ms. Jiang!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded emotionlessly. Since she had become half-human and half-zombie, her personality had become much colder. Apart from showing warmth to their own people, especially Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue was very indifferent toward everyone else. Jiang Hui naturally didn¡¯t mind and quickly said to Wang Tao: ¡°Mr. Wang, Ms. Jiang, please follow me.¡± The day before, Qiu Rong and Li Xin had been placed in the upper floors of City Hall, but now, Jiang Hui led Wang Tao to the police station. ¡°I¡¯ve detained them; they are in the cells underground...¡± Jiang Hui explained softly. ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Officer Jiang!¡± At this moment, a policewoman ran up to them. ¡°There hasn¡¯t been any trouble with the suspects, right?¡± Jiang Hui asked. The policewoman glanced at Wang Tao, seemingly hesitant about what to say. ¡°What¡¯s there to hide? We¡¯re all on the same side here!¡± Jiang Hui immediately glared at the policewoman. ¡°Yes!¡± The policewoman quickly responded, then whispered, ¡°These two suspects aren¡¯t being very cooperative. They won¡¯t answer anything we ask. Should we use¡ª¡± ¡°Cough, cough!¡± Jiang Hui quickly interrupted her. The policewoman realized she had said too much and promptly shut her mouth. Wang Tao looked interestedly towards Jiang Hui. ¡°You¡¯ve been using torture?¡± ¡°Mr. Wang, don¡¯t misunderstand, we haven¡¯t tortured the suspects! After all, they¡¯re the former mayor¡¯s wife...¡± Jiang Hui quickly shook his head, as such things, even if true, could not be admitted outright, at least not so bluntly. But he immediately explained softly: ¡°Just that...cough, I¡¯ve kept them in solitary confinement and haven¡¯t fed them up to now...¡± There are many kinds of torture, and Jiang Hui naturally wouldn¡¯t dare to use physical punishment. No matter what, she was the former mayor¡¯s wife, and he couldn¡¯t mess around. But using some scare tactics, like not feeding them, he thought that was acceptable. After all, special measures for special times were sometimes necessary to quickly catch a criminal. Chapter 1029 - 1029 410 Really Dont Know_2 ?Chapter 1029: Chapter 410: Really Don¡¯t Know_2 Chapter 1029: Chapter 410: Really Don¡¯t Know_2 Wang Tao nodded and said no more. When he saw Qiu Rong again, she was squatting disheveled in a corner of the cell. Li Xin was in another cell, her condition not much different from Qiu Rong¡¯s. ¡°Did you get anything out of them?¡± Wang Tao asked Jiang Hui. ¡°No... They¡¯re too tight-lipped! I can clearly feel that they are hiding something from me, but they just won¡¯t talk, even ¨C even when I threaten them, they still won¡¯t say anything.¡± Jiang Hui felt somewhat helpless. During his interrogation of the two women, he had made many threatening statements, even saying that he would strip them naked and throw them into the slums to prostitute until they were broken and then toss them into the snow to freeze to death. Jiang Hui himself thought these words were too extreme. He definitely wouldn¡¯t do that; it was just to scare them. But the two women still mentioned nothing of importance, completely avoiding the key points. If it hadn¡¯t been for the identity of the former mayor¡¯s wife and Wang Tao paying attention to them, he might have really been unable to restrain himself from beating Qiu Rong first... ¡°So you didn¡¯t get anything either... Alright, you guys go on out, I¡¯ll talk to her alone.¡± Wang Tao spoke. ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Hui didn¡¯t waste any words. After handing over the keys to Wang Tao, he immediately left with the policewoman. The cell was very dark, with no lights on and no windows. Wang Tao had just used Mental Detection to see Qiu Rong. Szzz¡ª The sound of the iron door opening immediately caught Qiu Rong¡¯s attention. Light from the corridor shone in, making it difficult for her to see who was entering, revealing only an imposing figure. She moved back in panic, but she was already in the corner of the room, kicking her legs in vain. ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t come closer...¡± Hum¡ª At that moment, the cell¡¯s light turned on, the dazzling brightness making Qiu Rong instinctively shield her eyes. Once she slowly adjusted to the light, she saw the bulky figure already beside her. ¡°Mr., Mr. Wang?¡± Qiu Rong still somewhat couldn¡¯t believe it until Wang Tao squatted down, and she saw his face clearly, confirming it was indeed Wang Tao. Suddenly, it was like grabbing a lifeline for Qiu Rong as she clung to Wang Tao¡¯s legs, looking up at him with both terror and excitement. This time, it shouldn¡¯t be an act. If it was another act, the only thing Wang Tao could say was that she was terrific. ¡°Mr. Wang, save me! I really didn¡¯t kill anyone, I¡¯m not the murderer...¡± Obviously, she didn¡¯t know it was Wang Tao who had allowed Jiang Hui to take her into custody. Wang Tao moved her hair behind her ear, exposing her pale little face. Wang Tao examined her closely, her face and neck indeed showing no signs of being beaten, her clothes were intact, still the same ones Wang Tao had seen the day before, without any signs of being torn. ¡°Have they beaten you?¡± Wang Tao asked softly. ¡°...No.¡± Qiu Rong instinctively wanted to say yes, but recalling how she was almost scared to death by Wang Tao¡¯s glance the day before, she hastily shook her head. ¡°Then, did they molest you? Bully you?¡± ¡°...No... They just locked me up and asked me questions...¡± Though Qiu Rong thought that acting pitiful might gain Wang Tao¡¯s sympathy, she really didn¡¯t dare, only able to tell the truth. ¡°Are you hungry?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s hand gently stroked her face as he asked. ¡°Hungry!¡± Qiu Rong nodded hurriedly. In fact, from Yao Guodong¡¯s death until now, during these two days, except for drinking some water, she hadn¡¯t eaten anything. Before, she didn¡¯t want to eat; now, she wanted to but couldn¡¯t, having been extremely hungry. ¡°If you tell me what you¡¯re hiding, I¡¯ll give you something to eat. How about that?¡± A bottle of Nutrient Solution appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. He opened the bottle, and the rich scent of rice immediately made Qiu Rong swallow her saliva. She stared intently at the nutrient solution in Wang Tao¡¯s hand before speaking: ¡°I, I haven¡¯t hidden anything... I¡¯ve told you everything...¡± Seeing that Qiu Rong was still stubborn, Wang Tao moved the nutrient solution closer to her and whispered quietly, ¡°I¡¯m giving you one last chance, truly the last one.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t kill my husband, and I don¡¯t know how he died...¡± Seeing that Qiu Rong still didn¡¯t admit it, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Sorry then...¡± Qiu Rong¡¯s strength was simply too weak, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if there would be any accidents or side-effects after she was controlled by Jiang Shixue. Unfortunately, she kept silent, so there was nothing Wang Tao could do. ¡°It¡¯s over to you.¡± Jiang Shixue walked out from behind Wang Tao. ¡°What?¡± Qiu Rong didn¡¯t quite catch what Wang Tao said, and even until now, she hadn¡¯t noticed that there was another person behind him. While Qiu Rong was still confused, her gaze suddenly became dull, and then she stiffly turned her head to look at Wang Tao. Being stared at by those lifeless eyes, Wang Tao felt somewhat uneasy. Wang Tao looked at Jiang Shixue beside him. Jiang Shixue immediately said, ¡°I sensed that the control duration is related to my Awakening Energy, it should be able to control her for a long time. I can manipulate her to do anything, or give her orders to carry them out on her own...¡± ¡°If it¡¯s about fighting, I can enhance her combat to a higher limit. But I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s thinking in her mind. However, if I command her, I can make her say whatever she knows...¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then have her answer about Yao Guodong¡¯s death...¡± The person controlled by Jiang Shixue only listened to Jiang Shixue¡¯s commands, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t control her. So, Wang Tao told Jiang Shixue what he wanted to know, and Jiang Shixue would then ask Qiu Rong. After a while, Wang Tao was somewhat taken aback. ¡°Really, she genuinely doesn¡¯t know?¡± In this state, Qiu Rong couldn¡¯t possibly lie, but regarding the matter of Yao Guodong¡¯s murder, her answers were almost the same as before. This included her coaxing Yao Guodong to drink, saying she got Li Xin drunk, and then the three of them sleeping together; it was indeed true, she really planned that event... Only in some respects, her statements differed from before, or she hadn¡¯t mentioned them previously. One was that Yao Guodong was incompetent in certain aspects; after all, he was older, so she felt very empty. But she hadn¡¯t messed around, just occasionally played games with Li Xin... Another was that she genuinely didn¡¯t like Yao Guodong, including Li Xin. They agreed to become Yao Guodong¡¯s wives purely for climbing the social ladder... Also, she did indeed intentionally seduce Wang Tao. Her purpose in seducing Wang Tao was to find another influential figure to attach herself to. After Yao Guodong died, they were left without support. Having seen many things while by Yao Guodong¡¯s side, she was clear that if she didn¡¯t quickly find someone influential to rely on, with their appearances and ordinary status, they couldn¡¯t only lose their money but might end up devoured to the bone. While Yao Guodong was alive, he spoke highly of Wang Tao, and Wang Tao¡¯s strength was indeed formidable, so she wanted to give it a try. She thought Wang Tao was very young and with her charm, along with deliberate seduction, she should be able to draw Wang Tao¡¯s attention. However, she was also realistic and didn¡¯t expect to become Wang Tao¡¯s wife or anything; she just hoped to form a relationship with Wang Tao and gain his protection... Besides these, there were some trivial matters that were a bit different from what she had previously said. But the issue was, Wang Tao could discern or infer all of these things. Whether she spoke or not made no difference. And regarding the murder of Yao Guodong, she truly did not know! She said that if she had known Yao Guodong would die after drinking, she definitely would not have let him drink... ¡°Weird indeed... No, there¡¯s another thing¡ª the poison in her body!¡± So, Wang Tao asked her how the poison got into her body. It turned out she was completely unaware that she had been poisoned. ¡°Could it be an accidental contamination? Or perhaps, she didn¡¯t realize she was poisoned?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then asked another question. ¡°Why do you always want to leave City Hall?¡± ¡°Because... I need to take the Holy Medicine...¡± Chapter 1030 - 1030 411 Dusk Church ?Chapter 1030: Chapter 411: Dusk Church Chapter 1030: Chapter 411: Dusk Church ¡°Holy medicine?¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue glanced at each other, it was clear that the poison on Qiu Rong¡¯s body must be related to this holy medicine. ¡°What is holy medicine?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. ¡°Holy medicine is... holy medicine... is what makes people happy... lets people be reborn... holy medicine...¡± ¡°...¡± Happy? Reborn? This doesn¡¯t sound like a good thing at all! So Wang Tao asked again: ¡°What does holy medicine look like?¡± ¡°Holy medicine is... black...¡± ¡°Where did you get this holy medicine? Do you still have it? Where is it now?¡± ¡°I bought it from a deacon... I put it in a house under my name... the address is...¡± After silently noting the address, Wang Tao then asked: ¡°What is a deacon?¡± ¡°A deacon is just a deacon... a deacon of the Dusk Church...¡± Wang Tao heard a new term again. ¡°Then what is the Dusk Church...¡± ¡°The Dusk Church... I don¡¯t know...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°How long have you been in contact with the Dusk Church?¡± ¡°About over two months...¡± Over two months? Wang Tao had been at the Changhe Base for about two months as well, which meant she had come into contact with the Dusk Church before Wang Tao arrived, so the Dusk Church had obviously been around for even longer... ¡°Did you join the Dusk Church?¡± ¡°No... I¡¯m just an ordinary believer because I¡¯m not qualified enough...¡± ¡°Hmm? You¡¯re not qualified enough?¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly. Theoretically, with Qiu Rong¡¯s status as the mayor¡¯s wife, she should be qualified to join any group. After all, such groups definitely want strong and high-status people to join. But to say Qiu Rong is not qualified... Does the Dusk Church have high requirements, or is there another reason? ¡°Why aren¡¯t you qualified?¡± ¡°Because you need to successfully recruit three believers before you can officially join the church...¡± Wow, this is like a pyramid scheme! ¡°How many believers have you recruited?¡± Wang Tao had some answers in his mind already when he asked this question¡ªif Qiu Rong and Li Xin were both poisoned, then either Qiu Rong recruited Li Xin, or Li Xin recruited Qiu Rong. ¡°One...¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Li Xin...¡± It was just as Wang Tao had guessed. ¡°Do you want to join the Dusk Church?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Qiu Rong answered very firmly. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you continue recruiting believers?¡± ¡°Because I had no chance... Yao Guodong was afraid that I would mess around with other men, so he wouldn¡¯t let me go out alone...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao thought about it, he indeed had never seen Qiu Rong before, including at the New Year¡¯s gala, where Yao Guodong did not bring her or Li Xin along. Yao Guodong sure is a man with strong possessiveness! But it¡¯s also understandable considering his age. He¡¯s somewhat powerless in certain aspects, and both Qiu Rong and Li Xin are so young and beautiful. If they happen to meet a strong, vigorous young man... He might end up wearing a green hat. ¡°How many people from the Dusk Church do you know?¡± ¡°Just one...¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The deacon, but I haven¡¯t seen their faces or know their real name...¡± ¡°Where is the Dusk Church located?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± ¡°Then where did you buy your holy medicine?¡± ¡°The deacon contacted me... The deacon told me yesterday that as long as I leave the City Hall, they can continue to provide me with holy medicine...¡± ¡°Oh? They contacted you yesterday? When exactly, and where?¡± ¡°Yesterday at noon... when I was coming from the villa to the City Hall... they left a message in the car...¡± A message left in the car? In that case, this ¡°deacon¡± must be someone from the police, City Hall, or those major powers. Because other than those people, no one else had the chance to reach Qiu Rong yesterday. ¡°You¡ª¡± Just as Wang Tao was ready to continue asking, Jiang Shixue suddenly tugged on Wang Tao¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Brother, she won¡¯t last much longer, should we release the control?¡± Only then did Wang Tao notice that Qiu Rong was covered in sweat, her face was frighteningly pale, her eyes were vacant and vacant, she drooled uncontrollably from her mouth, her body was trembling slightly... Most importantly, her HP was down to just 10 points! ¡°Release it quickly!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to let Qiu Rong die, after all, she was his lead to investigate the Dusk Church. Jiang Shixue immediately released control over Qiu Rong. Upon lifting the control, Qiu Rong¡¯s eyes remained vacant, and she collapsed onto the ground. Her HP was down to only 5 points, it almost seemed like one more second and she would have been gone. After making sure Qiu Rong wasn¡¯t dead, Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to check her status but instead turned around and held Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand. ¡°Little Xue, you don¡¯t have any issues, do you?¡± Although it was just about making Qiu Rong answer questions, since the control lasted for so long, Wang Tao was somewhat concerned about Jiang Shixue¡¯s condition. ¡°Brother, I¡¯m fine!¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s concern for her, Jiang Shixue felt sweet inside. Indeed, she was alright. Her Awakening Energy hadn¡¯t even depleted much, mainly because Qiu Rong was too weak. Wang Tao was also curious about the Dusk Church and the holy medicine, so he took more time than necessary. If something unexpected happened and Qiu Rong died, though it would be regrettable, there was still Li Xin. But if something happened to Jiang Shixue, that¡¯s something Wang Tao would definitely not be able to accept. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao didn¡¯t trust Jiang Shixue, but because such psychic abilities were too mysterious. Wang Tao himself seldom used Psychic System attacks against enemies, fearing self-injury... Chapter 1031 - 1031 411 Dusk Church_2 ?Chapter 1031: Chapter 411: Dusk Church_2 Chapter 1031: Chapter 411: Dusk Church_2 But fortunately, this was Jiang Shixue¡¯s Awakening, and not one where Wang Tao had to grope around on his own, which was obviously much safer. Wang Tao carefully checked and, after confirming that Jiang Shixue was indeed fine, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at Qiu Rong. ¡°What should we do with her? If we just leave her here, a little torment might kill her... Forget it, get her a better room. And we need to use her to lure out that so-called ¡®Deacon¡¯...¡± Wang Tao had brought Jiang Shixue here this time, hoping to figure out who killed Yao Guodong, but he didn¡¯t expect to discover a bigger catch¡ªthe Dusk Church! In Wang Tao¡¯s view, this was a more serious matter than the murder of Yao Guodong. If Yao Guodong died, someone would immediately take his place. Although there might be some problems, they could all be solved; it would just take some time and cost a little more. But looking at the Dusk Church¡¯s situation, who knew how many of their followers were inside the base. Even the mayor¡¯s wife had been converted into a follower, what about the others? This Dusk Church had obviously been established for a long time, but it was not a registered power within the base, clearly a covert underground force. Wang Tao had reason to suspect that this church was not a legitimate one. When such an underground force reached a certain level, the impact would not be on just one person, but on the entire base! ¡°I need to give Gu Yun and the others a heads up... But what if there are church members among them too? Fortunately, I can see Statuses...¡± If it were someone else facing this kind of situation, they would most likely be helpless, but Wang Tao was different; he could see other people¡¯s Statuses. Whether they were poisoned or not was obvious at a glance. However, with a population of 500,000 in Changhe Base, Wang Tao could not possibly check all these people instantly. If the people from the Dusk Church deliberately hid, he wouldn¡¯t be able to find them right away... He could only say that he had to be more careful in the future! Qiu Rong was still in a groggy state at this time, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if her mind was damaged. After some thought, Wang Tao took out a medical kit to use on Qiu Rong. This Ordinary medical kit was originally capable of restoring 100 HP, but at this time it only added 5 HP to Qiu Rong; she had only 10 drops of HP in total. However, Wang Tao felt that 10 drops of HP was still not very safe, so he casually took out a bottle of Nutrient Solution, with a milk flavor. Wang Tao pried open Qiu Rong¡¯s pale lips and slowly poured the Nutrient Solution into her mouth. Wang Tao always referred to the Nutrient Solution as a lifesaving artifact for the apocalypse. Not only was it energy-rich and portable, but it also absorbed quickly. Just a few seconds after entering the stomach, one could feel their strength recovering. Therefore, as Wang Tao poured this milky-white Nutrient Solution into Qiu Rong¡¯s mouth, her complexion visibly improved. Although she was still very pale, she no longer looked like a corpse as before. However, Qiu Rong was still very Weak, and she probably couldn¡¯t drink too much at once, so Wang Tao only let her drink half a bottle. Watching her HP slowly increase by 20 points, Wang Tao finally nodded in satisfaction. Qiu Rong was an Ordinary person with 100 HP. Having 30 points of HP should mean she was no longer in mortal danger. As for whether her brain was damaged, that could only be ascertained once she fully regained consciousness. ¡°Let¡¯s go next door again to see what Li Xin has to say. By the way, can you still use your Awakening ability?¡± Wang Tao stood up and looked at Jiang Shixue. ¡°I can.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s ask a bit more then.¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue left together and called for Jiang Hui. ¡°Arrange a better place for Qiu Rong. She just had a small problem, but there is no danger to her life.¡± ¡°...¡± Jiang Hui exchanged a quick, impassive glance with the policewoman behind him. No danger to her life? Qiu Rong was not in danger to begin with, unless... Wang Tao just tortured her! But this was Wang Tao, and she was a criminal suspect. As long as the person didn¡¯t die, no matter what torture was used, they could only pretend not to see it. ¡°Alright!¡± Jiang Hui immediately went in with the policewoman. Upon seeing the situation inside, both of them were stunned and their eyes widened. Qiu Rong lay curled up on the ground, twitching slightly; her body and head were drenched in sweat, to the point where there was even a large puddle of water on the floor. The female officer cautiously lifted Qiu Rong¡¯s hair and saw that her face was pale, her eyes lifeless. Her mouth was slightly ajar, and some unknown milky white liquid was trickling out... This scene made both Jiang Hui and the female officer think of some bizarre things. Jiang Hui¡¯s mouth twitched a bit. So it was that ¡°punishment¡±, huh! But, why did he feel a bit envious... The female officer¡¯s face turned red. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but upon catching Jiang Hui¡¯s glance, she immediately shut it. Although she strongly disliked such things, she was just a Level 1 officer and had no power to deal with these matters. ¡°Go clean her up and then move her to a better room...¡± Jiang Hui instructed. ¡°Yes!¡± The female officer, thinking about what had just happened here, felt a sense of revulsion. But it was her job, and she had to endure the discomfort as she picked up Qiu Rong. However, once she picked her up, the female officer immediately found it strange. As she drew closer, she smelled no odd odor¡ªin fact, there was no bad smell at all. Instead, she smelled a very strong scent of milk! Gurgle~ The female officer unconsciously swallowed her saliva. The milky scent was too appealing, and she felt an urge to taste it. When she looked around and realized that the source of the milky fragrance was the white liquid dripping from the corner of Qiu Rong¡¯s mouth, the female officer was shocked. ¡°What are you dazing out for? Hurry up!¡± Jiang Hui urged. Since Wang Tao had some unclear relationship with Qiu Rong, he definitely needed to be cautious with his proximity to her. For situations requiring close contact like this, it was better for the female officer to handle it alone. After all, he didn¡¯t know whether Wang Tao was overly possessive, and it was best to be prudent. ¡°Oh, right!¡± The female officer snapped back to reality and quickly carried Qiu Rong out of the detention cell. She dared not ask Jiang Hui if he had smelled the fragrance on Qiu Rong¡¯s body. She was afraid that if Jiang Hui had smelled the scent of syringa and she smelled milk¡ªthat would mean she was some kind of pervert... When the female officer saw Wang Tao¡¯s tall figure outside the door, she subconsciously lowered her head. But lowering her head brought her even closer to Qiu Rong¡¯s face. The rich milky scent immediately invaded her nostrils. To deal with Yao Guodong¡¯s case, their police station had been very busy the past two days, and she had only eaten some food in the morning but had not yet had lunch. With the milky scent now wafting around her, her mouth was secreting saliva like crazy, and her stomach was growling. She really wanted to taste it! ¡°Could it be... I really am a pervert?¡± The female officer¡¯s face turned beet red, and she quickly left Wang Tao¡¯s side. When she reached the upstairs with no one behind her, she stared intensely at the white liquid at the corner of Qiu Rong¡¯s mouth and licked her lips. ¡°Gurgle... Should I... try it? Just a taste...¡± ... Wang Tao found it odd that the female officer wouldn¡¯t look at him, her face red to the ears. Had he become more handsome today? Was he so attractive that he could bewitch passersby? Wang Tao shook his head. Although the female officer was quite attractive, especially in her uniform, he certainly had no interest in her. He was interested only in the Dusk Church. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue arrived at the cell where Li Xin was being held. Like before, Jiang Hui left after bringing Wang Tao over. But Wang Tao noticed that Li Xin¡¯s condition was even worse than Qiu Rong¡¯s. Especially when he suddenly entered, Li Xin, who was squatting in a corner, let out a Screaming shriek, and Wang Tao caught a whiff of a pungent urine smell. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I¡¯ve said everything...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, still too young, indeed. But then again, even though she was so scared, she still refused to disclose anything related to the Dusk Church. That Dusk Church must really be something! Chapter 1032 - 1032 412 Three Pieces of News ?Chapter 1032: Chapter 412 Three Pieces of News Chapter 1032: Chapter 412 Three Pieces of News Li Xin¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t great at that moment, and given her inherently weak strength, Jiang Shixue said that if they were to forcefully control her, it could cause severe sequelae for Li Xin. At best, she might end up with brain damage, but at worst, she could drop dead on the spot. ¡°Then don¡¯t control her for now. Let¡¯s see if she can recover first.¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t a heartless person, not to mention that Li Xin was still useful to him. The two approached Li Xin. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me, I don¡¯t want to die, I¡¯ve told you everything...¡± Li Xin wasn¡¯t even looking to see who had come, she just kept shrinking back into the corner of the wall, weeping and begging for mercy. ¡°Li Xin, it¡¯s me.¡± Wang Tao spoke up. But Li Xin didn¡¯t dare to lift her head and recognize the voice as Wang Tao¡¯s. She continued to curl up and plead. Wang Tao felt there might be something wrong with her spirit, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was because Li Xin was too fragile or if Jiang Hui¡¯s methods had been too strong. Wang Tao had no choice but to hold his breath and squat down. ¡°Li Xin, look up, it¡¯s me, Wang Tao.¡± Faced with Wang Tao¡¯s words, Li Xin continued to cry miserably. Helplessly, Wang Tao grabbed Li Xin¡¯s hair, and amidst her feeble Screaming, he forced her to lift her head. ¡°Look at me.¡± The lights in the cell had been turned on by Jiang Shixue, and when Li Xin¡¯s eyes suddenly met the bright light, she was immediately moved to tears. She wanted to lower her head and hide, but she was firmly controlled by Wang Tao and couldn¡¯t move at all. Wang Tao even noticed Li Xin¡¯s HP starting to slowly decrease. ¡°...¡± Just turning on the light shouldn¡¯t make her perish like that, right? Fortunately, the thing Wang Tao was worried about didn¡¯t happen. After he forced Li Xin to adjust to the light, her HP finally stopped decreasing, but she was left with only 10 drops of blood, on the verge of dying at any moment. ¡°You, Mr., Mr. Wang...¡± Finally, she managed to see Wang Tao¡¯s face clearly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Wuwu, Mr. Wang, save me! I really didn¡¯t kill anyone!¡± Upon getting confirmation from Wang Tao, Li Xin immediately saw him as her savior, crying as she threw herself onto him. Wang Tao held her off with one hand against her forehead, keeping her at a distance. Her upper body was relatively clean, but the lower part was damp, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to get stained. Li Xin didn¡¯t notice this; she thought Wang Tao was refusing to help her, and her expression became even more desperate. During her time at the villa, she rarely had the opportunity to interact with outsiders, and Yao Guodong hardly ever took her out, treating her and Qiu Rong purely as forbidden fruits. So although she and Qiu Rong were nominally Yao Guodong¡¯s wives, they had no social connections. Now that Yao Guodong was dead, their support was gone. They had no connections of their own, and the only powerful person they could contact was Wang Tao... If Wang Tao refused to help them, then they were truly finished! Even though Li Xin didn¡¯t particularly like Yao Guodong and was only clinging to his power, she believed she had nothing to do with his death; in her heart, she wished Yao Guodong would live as long as possible, for he was her pillar... Unfortunately, it seemed no one believed her. Many people suspected her and Qiu Rong! So, if no one was willing to help them, they might end up bearing a false accusation of involvement in the assassination of the mayor. After all, the case couldn¡¯t drag on forever; someone had to take responsibility eventually. Seeing Wang Tao push her away, Li Xin thought he was unwilling to help her. But before she could despair completely, what Wang Tao said next excited her again. ¡°I¡¯m here to rescue you, and I¡¯ll get you out soon.¡± As he spoke, Wang Tao moved his hand from her forehead to her head, gently stroking her hair. ¡°Really? Are you really here to rescue me?¡± Excited, Li Xin became somewhat incredulous. ¡°Of course, why else would I come?¡± Wang Tao lied without even a hint of a blush, even though he was the one who had ordered Jiang Hui to capture Li Xin and Qiu Rong, and now he claimed he was here to rescue them. Li Xin obviously couldn¡¯t tell whether Wang Tao¡¯s words were true or not, but at this point, he was her last lifeline, and she was willing to believe him. ¡°Thank you, thank you, Mr. Wang! I¡¯ll do whatever you need me to, unconditionally! By the way, Mr. Wang, could you please also rescue Sister Rong at once...¡± Even now, Li Xin didn¡¯t forget about Qiu Rong. Wang Tao guessed that her relationship with Qiu Rong was much better than with Yao Guodong... He could tell that at this moment, Li Xin wasn¡¯t performing. ¡°Okay, then first let me ask you some questions...¡± Wang Tao asked again about the circumstances surrounding Yao Guodong¡¯s death. Before controlling Qiu Rong, Wang Tao felt that both women were tough-talking and very skilled at responding; he couldn¡¯t pry anything out of them. But now that he knew from Qiu Rong that they truly were unaware of Yao Guodong¡¯s demise and had not actively participated, the responses from Li Xin suddenly felt reasonable¡ªshe wasn¡¯t articulate, she genuinely knew nothing. After all those questions had been asked, Wang Tao straightened out her hair, revealing her fair earlobes and collarbone. Stroking her cheek gently, he asked softly: ¡°Think carefully, have you left anything out, or is there something I haven¡¯t asked about... anything at all?¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing left, I¡¯ve told you everything!¡± Li Xin said with a sobbing voice. ¡°Don¡¯t rush your answer. Think about it carefully. Are you hiding anything from me? It doesn¡¯t have to be about Yao Guodong, maybe something solely concerning you. Only if you tell me everything can I save you...¡± Chapter 1033 - 1033 412 Three Pieces of News_2 ?Chapter 1033: Chapter 412 Three Pieces of News_2 Chapter 1033: Chapter 412 Three Pieces of News_2 Wang Tao¡¯s tone was very gentle. Li Xin bit her lip and thought carefully, subconsciously shaking her head. ¡°I really didn¡¯t¡ª¡± Suddenly, as if thinking of something, Li Xin¡¯s pupils dilated sharply. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve thought of something...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t¡ª¡± Li Xin habitually denied. Wang Tao¡¯s hand slid down from her cheek, slowly touching her fair neck, and gently grasped her throat. ¡°Can¡¯t even tell me?¡± Li Xin¡¯s body trembled slightly. ¡°I, I really haven¡¯t hidden anything...¡± Wang Tao had intended to scare her by putting a little pressure on her throat, but seeing her HP start to drop again, he immediately withdrew his hand from her neck and stood up. Li Xin lost her support and fell to the ground. She didn¡¯t care about the bump on her head, and quickly crawled and scrambled to grab Wang Tao¡¯s legs. ¡°Mr. Wang, I really didn¡¯t lie to you...¡± ¡°Alright, I believe you. I¡¯ll find you a place to have a good bath and eat some food... You are too dirty.¡± Wang Tao was somewhat disgusted. ¡°Ah? Thank you, thank you!¡± Li Xin cried with joy, and upon hearing Wang Tao mention her dirtiness, she felt a chill around her crotch, and realized that her pants were wet somehow. She instantly blushed crimson. ¡°Can you stand up?¡± ¡°I can...¡± Li Xin squeezed her legs and slowly stood up, rubbing and shuffling. Wang Tao took her out of the interrogation room and asked Jiang Hui to call a female officer to take her to wash up. ¡°Arrange a decent place for them alone, but don¡¯t let them go, I still have matters to ask them about later.¡± Wang Tao told Jiang Hui. ¡°Yes!¡± Although this didn¡¯t follow the police station¡¯s rules, they were dependent on the person... Plus, no one at the police station was willing to take on this task, Jiang Hui was forced to take over, so he had a great deal of autonomy, and anyway, if anything went wrong, it was his own responsibility. ¡°That... ahem, Mr. Wang, did you find out anything?¡± Jiang Hui asked somewhat awkwardly. ¡°There¡¯s a bit of lead, I suspect they didn¡¯t subjectively participate in the assassination of Yao Guodong...¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t mention the Dusk Church, but shared the information he learned from Qiu Rong. Upon hearing this, Jiang Hui was initially puzzled, thinking Wang Tao really liked Qiu Rong and Li Xin and was looking for an excuse to get the women out. However, he quickly realized, when Wang Tao mentioned they hadn¡¯t subjectively participated, could it mean that they did participate in fact but were unaware of it? Sure enough, Wang Tao continued: ¡°They must have been used by someone. Wang Tao guessed that someone had exploited them to deliberately get Yao Guodong drunk... Yao Guodong had just become an Ability User and was very excited, plus with their little tricks, it was easy to get him to drink. Perhaps something was added to the drinks, or some other method was used, which made Yao Guodong somewhat confused, and then he went out. As he stepped out, someone was ambushed outside, making Yao Guodong instantly fall in the snow and freeze to death...¡± After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s speculation, Jiang Hui felt it made sense at first, but on further thought, found it hardly convincing. So Jiang Hui frowningly said: ¡°Yao Guodong was already an Ability User, even if just Level 1, but his physical condition had greatly improved compared to before, he wouldn¡¯t have gotten drunk so easily, especially since Yao Guodong could hold his liquor... So it¡¯s unlikely he was drunk, which means there was something wrong with the drinks! However, I have a question, we didn¡¯t detect anything wrong with their remaining drinks, and even if there was a problem, it would have been simpler to poison Yao Guodong directly, why go through such trouble...¡± ¡°That¡¯s what you need to investigate.¡± Wang Tao gave him a look. ¡°Yes, yes, yes! I will investigate thoroughly!¡± Jiang Hui snapped back and hurriedly nodded. Wang Tao actually hadn¡¯t made it clear, he suspected this was all the work of the so-called ¡°Holy medicine.¡± There must be some hallucinatory substance in this Holy medicine! If Qiu Rong had taken out the Holy Medicine and had all three of them drink it, after Yao Guodong drank, he might have experienced some hallucinations and then been led out by some means, followed by a Mental Attack, and directly fell down in the snow. While Qiu Rong and Li Xin might not have drunk as much, so after drinking, they didn¡¯t wander off and went straight to sleep... This could also explain why they didn¡¯t notice Yao Guodong had died outside all night. However, it might also be that the murderer didn¡¯t intentionally attract them but specifically used some method to lure Yao Guodong out. Thus, Wang Tao believed someone used the two women, Qiu Rong, to kill Yao Guodong, and this person was very likely associated with the so-called Councilor of the Dusk Church. Thinking even more meticulously, the one who enticed Qiu Rong and Li Xin into joining the Dusk Church was probably the murderer, and he most likely did it to ensure he had a fallback to kill Yao Guodong. Wang Tao thought this because it was clear to any discerning eye that this incident was no accident. It must have been due to the murderer¡¯s lack of preparation, leading to a hasty action. And the reason the murderer suddenly took action at this time, Wang Tao felt, was very likely related to Yao Guodong suddenly becoming an Ability User! If that was truly the case, then Wang Tao believed the murderer might really be the deputy mayor, Gu Yun, and those people. Because originally, Yao Guodong being older was going to step down soon, but his sudden Awakening meant he could continue for another three to five years, which those eyeing his position couldn¡¯t tolerate, hence the decision to act... Of course, all of Wang Tao¡¯s conjectures were based on the premise that the murderer¡¯s sole intention was to simply kill Yao Guodong. If the murderer¡¯s intention was bigger, like what he had speculated before¡ªthat the murderer wanted to provoke reforms at the base¡ªthen that was a different situation. Regardless, no matter what, even if the true murderer were found, the ramifications of this incident were likely just beginning. ¡°Then Mr. Wang, how do you think the murderer made Yao Guodong fall to the ground? Our forensic scientists examined the body, and there were no wounds on him...¡± Just then, Jiang Hui suddenly said. ¡°Obviously, it was an Ability, like a Psychic Attack.¡± ¡°Ah? A Psychic Attack?¡± Seeing the perplexed look on Jiang Hui¡¯s face, Wang Tao was a bit puzzled. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen it?¡± ¡°Forget seeing, I haven¡¯t even heard of it...¡± Jiang Hui hadn¡¯t even encountered a psychic-type Ability User up until now. He was totally unaware of such matters... ¡°...¡± Wang Tao realized he might have overlooked a detail¡ªhe had seen many Awakeners within the base, but it seemed none was of the psychic type, which showed how rare psychic types were. Although Psychic Abilities were more common compared to Awakenings, it was only relatively speaking. And within the entire realm of Psychic Abilities, those with attack capabilities were even rarer; not to mention others, even Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered many... so many people were unaware of Psychic Abilities and Awakenings. However, scarcity also had its advantage¡ªit could narrow the search scope. If someone capable of Psychic Attacks were found, they would at least be a suspect, which was better than searching aimlessly. After explaining Psychic Abilities and some of his speculations to Jiang Hui, Jiang Hui looked hesitantly at Wang Tao and said: ¡°Mr. Wang, should I start searching from the higher-ups?¡± ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Then... Mr. Wang, you can¡¯t abandon me! I¡¯ve had no way out since I took on this task¡ªif I can¡¯t figure it out, I¡¯ve got to pack up and leave; if I do figure it out, I might wind up headless...¡± Seeing how pitiful Jiang Hui was, Wang Tao thought for a moment and said: ¡°How about this, come to my house, and I¡¯ll have a snake follow you.¡± ¡°Hiss¡ªcould it be that Fourth-order Boss!¡± Jiang Hui was instantly excited. In Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Blacky and the others were just pets, but in the eyes of people like Jiang Hui, this was not a mere pet; this was a Fourth-order Black Snake Boss! Jiang Hui drove and followed Wang Tao to the villa, where Wang Tao lent Blacky to Jiang Hui. Jiang Hui carefully got Blacky into his car. He told Wang Tao to wait for good news from him. He actually had some methods but hadn¡¯t dared to use them... Now that he had a target and backing, he could fully utilize them. And the very next afternoon, Wang Tao received three messages. The first two were from Jiang Hui. One was that Li Xin wanted to meet Wang Tao to tell him something important. The other was that after Jiang Hui started using his full capabilities, he indeed uncovered a crucial clue. The third message was from Gu Yun, saying she wanted Wang Tao to take a position at City Hall, pleading for his definite acceptance... Chapter 1034 - 1034 413 Missing Evidence ?Chapter 1034: Chapter 413 Missing Evidence Chapter 1034: Chapter 413 Missing Evidence Seeing Gu Yun¡¯s message, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Previously, Cui Sheng had asked Wang Tao if he had any plans to take up an official position at City Hall, but Wang Tao expressed no interest. Compared to holding an office at City Hall and dealing with interpersonal relationships and such, he still preferred to hunt zombies outside to enhance his strength. Even if it was just a nominal position, being a salary thief, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very interested. If he took up a position, he wouldn¡¯t do nothing; he didn¡¯t have that thick of a skin and would need to get some work done, which could delay the improvement of his strength. After all, his energy was limited, and he had no doppelga?ngers... Gu Yun had also brought up the matter before, but since Wang Tao showed little interest, he didn¡¯t mention it again. But now, Gu Yun suddenly brought it up again and insisted that Wang Tao agree, which puzzled him. However, he was planning to go to City Hall anyway, so he¡¯d find out what it was all about soon enough. Wang Tao first replied to Gu Yun, saying he would come over later, and then replied to Jiang Hui, telling him he¡¯d be right there. ¡°Does the snow seem to be heavier today than yesterday?¡± As he stepped out, Wang Tao commented while looking at the snowflakes in his hand. ¡°It seems so.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. ¡°Damn this weather!¡± When Wang Tao arrived at the garage, it was all covered in snow, making it impossible for the vehicle to leave. He urged everyone to clear the snow quickly. But there was also snow outside the main gate, including a thick layer on the road. ¡°Just take it slow...¡± In this weather, you still need a vehicle to go out. The snow on the road kept piling up, making it increasingly difficult to clear. His vehicle was no longer suitable, and even though Wang Tao was an experienced driver, he still had to be extremely careful on the road. Wang Tao was thinking whether he should go to the garrison of the Sixth Army Corps to bring over an armored track vehicle, which he had bought and parked there. However, such a vehicle didn¡¯t offer much of a riding experience, and using it for everyday travel could be torturous... At that moment, Wang Tao received another message, this one from Qu Shilin. ¡°Wang Tao, do you have time to come over here? Or should I come to you? Your vehicle has been modified, and in this kind of snowy terrain, it can move unimpeded!¡± ¡°I was just talking about the vehicle... I¡¯ll come to you!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. City Hall, the police station, and the research institute were all in the same place, conveniently on the way. On the road, Wang Tao drove with utmost care and spent a lot of time before finally arriving at the research institute. Luckily, there were no cars on the road; otherwise, it would¡¯ve been even slower. Of course, in this weather, aside from Wang Tao, not many people were willing to go out... When Wang Tao arrived at the entrance of the research institute, he didn¡¯t see Qu Shilin but saw a very impressive and domineering tracked vehicle. ¡°This... It can¡¯t be our off-road vehicle, can it?¡± The vehicle¡¯s design was completely different from before. However, as Wang Tao was still doubting, the door of the tracked vehicle opened, and a slim figure stepped out, waving at Wang Tao. It was Qu Shilin indeed. ¡°It really is?¡± Wang Tao hurriedly drove his vehicle over. ¡°Wang Tao, how do you like the modifications to the vehicle?¡± Qu Shilin spoke to Wang Tao, who had just gotten out of his vehicle, while blowing on her hands. Although she was a Level 3 ability user, it didn¡¯t mean she wasn¡¯t afraid of the cold. The temperature outside was too low. ¡°It looks awesome!¡± Wang Tao admired, then curiously added: ¡°But is this really my vehicle modified? I can¡¯t recognize it at all...¡± This vehicle was completely different from the previous pickup truck design, and not only were the wheels replaced with tracks, the whole vehicle was also bigger and more angular... Of course, the entire vehicle was also covered with bulletproof armor, looking very powerful and technologically advanced (refer to the image below, borrowing from ¡°that game 5¡±). However, this tracked vehicle lacked a cargo bed, which could be inconvenient if needed to haul a load of zombie heads like before... ¡°Haha, it¡¯s normal for you not to recognize it. I preserved your previous vehicle¡¯s Crystal Energy Engine, but almost everything else is brand new...¡± Qu Shilin explained with a smile. ¡°No wonder!¡± Wang Tao nodded, then he and Jiang Shixue got into the tracked vehicle. Because the Crystal Energy Engine was compact, the interior space was larger than Wang Tao had expected; seating for over a dozen people wouldn¡¯t be a problem. Qu Shilin had Wang Tao personally drive in the snow and, indeed, the tracks looked cumbersome but were actually quite agile. Especially after Qu Shilin told Wang Tao that Berserk Mode had been modified as well, no longer uncontrollably reaching top Speed but now providing linear acceleration¡ªWang Tao could have as much Speed as he wanted. This improvement was quite good, as previously when he activated Berserk Mode, he always felt like ¡°my body was flying ahead, my soul chasing behind...¡± But these were not the most remarkable features of the vehicle; its most impressive aspect now was the modular design. ¡°What you see now isn¡¯t the only form this vehicle can take. For example, these tracks can be quickly detached and replaced with wheels. Or the cabin size can be increased, or a cargo bed added, or various Armed features... Of course, many of these additions haven¡¯t been made yet, but they should be ready soon. Because this winter may be quite long, we also need such a vehicle...¡± Chapter 1035 - 1035 413 Missing Evidence_2 ?Chapter 1035: Chapter 413 Missing Evidence_2 Chapter 1035: Chapter 413 Missing Evidence_2 Qu Shilin explained to Wang Tao. For Wang Tao, the armament was irrelevant. The greatest benefit this vehicle brought was its ability to move unhindered through the snow-covered terrain! Originally, Wang Tao thought it would be impossible to leave the city with so much snow. After all, even if he could withstand it, the vehicle couldn¡¯t. Without a means of transport, even as Awakeners, they couldn¡¯t move long distances in such freezing weather. But with a Tracked Armored Vehicle like this, it was a different story. They might actually be able to leave the city! The vehicle used Crystal Core as its energy source, which was extremely convenient to carry, and Wang Tao had plenty on hand. As long as they had enough Crystal Core, they didn¡¯t have to worry about the vehicle¡¯s endurance. If subsequent tests showed that the vehicle¡¯s cold resistance and stability were adequate, then they might really be able to leave the city! After all, the zombies outside were frozen solid! If he went to kill zombies at this time, wouldn¡¯t he be able to take great advantage? ¡°In theory, this vehicle should have no problem leaving the city in these conditions. But theory is, after all, theory. You need to test it more, which would also provide us with some data for reference...¡± Qu Shilin said with a smile. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give it a good test these next few days!¡± ¡°Great, looking forward to your good news!¡± After Qu Shilin got out of the vehicle, Wang Tao drove the Tracked Armored Vehicle to the police station. Jiang Hui was waiting for Wang Tao in the lobby. Seeing Wang Tao descend from the imposing Tracked Armored Vehicle, Jiang Hui was quite surprised. It was clearly something from the research institute, but with Wang Tao¡¯s status, it was normal for him to get his hands on such things. ¡°Mr. Wang! Miss Jiang!¡± Jiang Hui quickly jogged over to Wang Tao¡¯s side. Officer Jiang, you said you found important information, what is it exactly?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°Mr. Wang, please follow me!¡± Jiang Hui led Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue to a conference room. As soon as Wang Tao entered, he noticed it was particularly warm. Then he saw Blacky lying comfortably on a fluffy blanket with a newly installed fireplace in front of him, ablaze with roaring fire. On either side of it were two burning braziers. Beside them were various kinds of food and water... ¡°Wow, you¡¯ve made yourself quite at home here...¡± Wang Tao said, somewhat speechless. Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s presence, Blacky immediately scrambled over, rubbing against Wang Tao¡¯s hand and acting coquettishly. After inviting Wang Tao to take a seat, Jiang Hui finally spoke: ¡°Mr. Wang, according to my investigation, the death of Mayor Yao is very likely related to one of the three deputy mayors!¡± ¡°Oh? How certain are you?¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised at all. According to his calculations, these deputy mayors were obviously among the beneficiaries of Yao Guodong¡¯s death. ¡°Very! I¡¯m ninety-nine¡ªno, one hundred percent sure it¡¯s one of the three of them! It¡¯s just that I encountered some resistance during the investigation, and they¡¯ve discovered I¡¯m onto something. The perpetrator probably knows I¡¯ve found some evidence, so it¡¯s basically an open game now. It¡¯s just a matter of whether I can uncover more before they destroy the evidence!¡± While speaking, Jiang Hui handed Wang Tao a detailed report. There was too much text in the report for Wang Tao¡¯s liking, so he let Jiang Hui give a brief summary. Basically, Jiang Hui investigated the recent movements, financial transactions, and even the personal habits of the three deputy mayors very thoroughly. He then found many suspicious details that fit if one assumed they were the murderers. However, this information only indicated that they were highly suspect. Jiang Hui didn¡¯t have that conclusive evidence yet. ¡°So I¡¯m certain one of them is the murderer, maybe more than one. But now they know I¡¯m investigating them... What I want to ask is, should I continue the investigation? If it goes on, it could be devastating for City Hall...¡± Jiang Hui¡¯s tone was a mix of excitement and concern. Stability is the foremost priority at any time. Yao Guodong was dead¡ªa fact that couldn¡¯t be changed. Logically, the best thing to do now was to stop the investigation, at least until the heavy snowfall was over. If the investigation continued now, one or even several deputy mayors would definitely be implicated, leading to an even greater fallout, especially since these deputy mayors held significant authority. If they were arrested, Changhe Base might not completely stop functioning, but it would undoubtedly be impacted significantly. After all, pulling out a carrot might bring out the dirt, making it unclear how many others were involved. The resulting impact could be greater than Yao Guodong¡¯s death... Unsure of what to do, Jiang Hui had no choice but to ask Wang Tao. After thinking for a moment, Wang Tao said: ¡°Keep investigating. Such harmful elements shouldn¡¯t remain in the base. Although it might affect the base¡¯s stability, your investigation has been exposed already. Whether you continue or not, they might act out of desperation and pose an even greater threat. It¡¯s better to act decisively now and resolve the matter quickly!¡± Wang Tao even felt they could be arrested directly, just as they had done with Qiu Rong and her group. But this wasn¡¯t the wilderness; they were inside a base where rules had to be followed. Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to break the rules, or he would be opposing everyone. Chapter 1036 - 1036 413 Missing Evidence_3 ?Chapter 1036: Chapter 413 Missing Evidence_3 Chapter 1036: Chapter 413 Missing Evidence_3 Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled, he had seen those deputy mayors, and none of them appeared to have been poisoned... But on second thought, if that ¡°Deacon¡± knew that the so-called Holy Medicine was poisonous, he certainly wouldn¡¯t take it himself... ¡°Good!¡± With Wang Tao¡¯s words, Jiang Hui immediately felt reinvigorated, ¡°Then I¡¯ll continue investigating! The reason my investigation was discovered by the other party was actually because I relied on the presence of Black Snake Boss, so I was quite forceful, and many people had to show me respect... Although this might annoy many, the efficiency is indeed high, and at most in three days, I can figure out who the murderer is or who might be involved.¡± Jiang Hui was very confident. His confidence stemmed from Blacky and Wang Tao. But that was normal, as he had always taken Blacky with him during the investigation. No one dared to hide anything, a mere growl from Blacky would scare them to the point of panicking and spilling everything they could admit. This feeling of ¡°using power to oppress people¡± was simply too thrilling! Although this might tarnish his reputation, it didn¡¯t matter, he had clung to the powerful patrons now! Moreover, as long as he could find out who the murderer was, his reputation would instantly turn around, as long as Wang Tao could protect him from retaliation, his future was bright! ¡°Alright, you go ahead with that, I¡¯m going to check on Li Xin.¡± ¡°Sure thing, I¡¯ll take you there!¡± Li Xin and Qiu Rong had been moved to a comfortable room but were still inside the police station. Qiu Rong had awakened, but her condition was still not very good, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t visit her and went directly to see Li Xin. ¡°Mr. Wang...¡± As soon as Wang Tao entered, he saw Li Xin looking at him somewhat nervously. She had washed up thoroughly yesterday and was wearing clean clothes today. Already naturally good-looking, now she appeared delicate and pitiable. ¡°What do you want to tell me?¡± Wang Tao asked Li Xin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mr. Wang, I lied to you...¡± Li Xin bowed her head. ¡°Oh? Didn¡¯t you say you told me everything?¡± Wang Tao laughed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry...¡± Li Xin kept bowing her head and apologizing. ¡°Okay then, tell me, what did you lie to me about?¡± Li Xin explained with a slightly embarrassed expression: ¡°Sister Rong previously brought a kind of health supplement. She said this supplement would enhance human abilities in certain areas, suitable for both men and women... I tried a bit myself, and the health supplement really felt very refreshing; I even ended up in bed with Sister Rong confusedly... ahem, you know what I mean. But this health supplement seems to have a side effect; occasionally it makes one feel a bit muddled, but it doesn¡¯t have much impact... So I secretly gave some to Yao Guodong, he probably got muddled from the health supplement, and then he left...¡± Using his spiritual power, Wang Tao observed Li Xin and sensed she wasn¡¯t lying, which took him by surprise. No wonder Li Xin was so unyielding; she was not aware of the Dusk Church issue... But that was also reasonable, Qiu Rong wouldn¡¯t reveal everything to Li Xin from the start, it was a process. ¡°I really didn¡¯t mean to cause Yao Guodong¡¯s death, Mr. Wang, please believe me! It was just an accident, I really don¡¯t want to die...¡± Li Xin suddenly knelt in front of Wang Tao. Before, she hadn¡¯t thought Yao Guodong¡¯s death had anything to do with her, but after Wang Tao¡¯s questioning yesterday, she started to think she had caused Yao Guodong¡¯s death, which made her feel very guilty, and of course, she was also afraid of dying, so she sought out Wang Tao again. Just as Wang Tao was about to say something, Li Xin continued: ¡°Right, the other day Sister Rong said she would take me to buy the health supplement tonight, Mr. Wang, if you go and buy some of that medicine, you will know I am not lying!¡± ¡°Oh? Tonight? Where?¡± Li Xin immediately gave an address. Wang Tao suddenly raised an eyebrow. Isn¡¯t Jiang Hui still lacking conclusive evidence? Here it comes! Chapter 1037 - 1037 414 Impersonating Identity ?Chapter 1037: Chapter 414: Impersonating Identity Chapter 1037: Chapter 414: Impersonating Identity ¡°Do you still have that health supplement?¡± Wang Tao asked directly. ¡°No, we drank it all...¡± As Li Xin shook her head, she unconsciously swallowed. ¡°You really want to drink it now, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°...Yes!¡± Wang Tao could clearly see the longing in her eyes. ¡°What if I told you that I can get you out of here, you won¡¯t die, and you won¡¯t be responsible for Yao Guodong¡¯s death, but the price is that you can never drink this health supplement again, would you agree?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. ¡°Huh?¡± Li Xin was stunned for a moment, then her small face was immediately filled with conflict. ¡°But... why... why can¡¯t I have any...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao shook his head somewhat speechlessly. The point of his statement was that he could save Li Xin, not let her take any responsibility. According to the logic of ordinary people, at this time, one would definitely seek a way out first, after all, only if you get out, can you have the chance to drink the medicine, so even if it were a lie, you would agree. Yet Li Xin¡¯s first reaction was to wonder why Wang Tao would not let her drink it... Clearly, Li Xin had developed a complete addiction to the supplement, even though she hadn¡¯t been drinking it for long. ¡°Because that health supplement is poisonous.¡± Wang Tao explained bluntly. ¡°Poisonous? Impossible, I feel very comfortable after drinking it, my body has never felt so good... although I occasionally get a bit confused, but that¡¯s just like being drunk, it¡¯s actually quite pleasant, there¡¯s no harm at all!¡± Li Xin immediately objected. ¡°The poison makes you addicted.¡± ¡°...¡± Li Xin shook her head. Although she didn¡¯t say anything, she obviously didn¡¯t believe it. Wang Tao observed carefully and found that Li Xin¡¯s disbelief did not stem from reluctance but from a genuine disbelief from the heart. This poison is strong! Wang Tao felt it was even more potent than some of the drugs before the apocalypse. Because many drug users are logically aware that their behavior is wrong. But with Li Xin, she showed no signs of feeling something was amiss, even after Wang Tao explained, she still did not believe. Of course, this might also be because Li Xin¡¯s body hasn¡¯t shown any problems yet. [Poisoning: A regular toxin with some addictive properties. Long-term use can lead to death. Detoxification possible if not taken within seven days] The status of her poisoning only indicated that long-term use leads to death, without describing what this process looks like. So Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if the end was a slow, painful torment or a sudden death... Although logically, it should be the former, the current situation was unpredictable. ¡°So, what¡¯s your choice? Continue to drink the health supplement? Or let me get you out? Choose one.¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°I...¡± Li Xin was instantly torn. But she was still rational after all, and after biting her teeth, she said: ¡°As long as Mr. Wang can save me, I¡¯ll do whatever you want, including never drinking the health supplement!¡± Her words were decisive, including her expression, all very serious. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t tell one way or the other by speech, but through his divine power, he observed her mental fluctuations were very intense... Clearly, she lied. ¡°Okay, just remember what you said.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much else, once she was in his hands, couldn¡¯t he cure her? Just seven days, Wang Tao had plenty of ways to make her hold back. ¡°So when can I get out?¡± Li Xin asked somewhat nervously. ¡°If nothing unexpected happens, you can get out tomorrow.¡± Wang Tao planned to go to the place Li Xin mentioned that sold the medicine tonight; as long as he found the person selling the medicine, Li Xin and the others would be useless, and thus releasing them wouldn¡¯t be an issue. ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Li Xin instantly cried with joy. She really didn¡¯t want to stay here anymore, although she had already left the underground chamber, she still felt very oppressed. Moreover, she thought Yao Guodong¡¯s death might have really been caused by her, and she might be executed tomorrow... All kinds of oppressive feelings were almost driving her crazy. Of course, there was also the fact that she had no way to get the health supplement here; if she got out, although she didn¡¯t know where to get it apart from the place Qiu Rong mentioned, there was still some hope... But perhaps fearing Wang Tao would go back on his word, Li Xin, who was kneeling before Wang Tao, looked up at him, then shuffled on her knees to his thigh and hugged it. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Mr. Wang, I don¡¯t know how to thank you, I don¡¯t have anything to repay you with... I only have myself, I hope Mr. Wang wouldn¡¯t disdain...¡± Li Xin¡¯s pale face flushed slightly. Although she was previously afraid of Wang Tao, now that she was pressing herself against him, looking at his handsome face, feeling his robust physique, Li Xin instantly felt a strong sense of security! Even if it wasn¡¯t to repay Wang Tao, or to cling to his power, but just to simply enjoy the pleasures of men and women, she felt she shouldn¡¯t be averse to someone like Wang Tao. After all, when she was with Yao Guodong, she never enjoyed happiness, but when she was close to Qiu Rong, it felt very soothing... As Li Xin thought, she began to undress. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t even reacted before Li Xin¡¯s top was off, and since she was still kneeling, her pants were a bit difficult to take off... Well, it wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao was waiting for her to undress, he genuinely hadn¡¯t reacted yet. Chapter 1038 - 1038 414 Impersonating Identity_2 ?Chapter 1038: Chapter 414: Impersonating Identity_2 Chapter 1038: Chapter 414: Impersonating Identity_2 Truth be told, Li Xin looked quite thin, but certain areas were rather prominent. However, when she tried to continue undressing, she was stopped by Wang Tao. ¡°Put your clothes back on! Am I the kind of person who takes advantage of others¡¯ misfortune? You can¡¯t do this next time, or I won¡¯t save you again,¡± Wang Tao said with a face full of righteous indignation. ¡°Ah?¡± Li Xin didn¡¯t expect Wang Tao to dislike that and got a shock, hurriedly and flusteredly redressing. Wang Tao was her savior, and she dared not anger him. ¡°You stay here for now, I¡¯m leaving¡ªoh, right, when I said I could rescue you tomorrow, it was based on the place you mentioned actually selling medicine. If there isn¡¯t any, then it¡¯s hard to say...¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Li Xin, not even caring that she wasn¡¯t fully dressed, quickly added: ¡°Everything I said was true, I didn¡¯t deceive you... Why don¡¯t you go ask Sister Rong, she can vouch for what I said...¡± ¡°I will go ask.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then turned and left, leaving a very uneasy Li Xin behind. Outside, a small hand suddenly reached into Wang Tao¡¯s larger one. Seeing Jiang Shixue next to him staring with wide eyes, Wang Tao immediately said with a look of integrity: ¡°Little Xue, don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not that kind of person!¡± ¡°Brother, I believe you,¡± Jiang Shixue nodded earnestly. But even though she looked very sincere, Wang Tao felt she was brushing it off. Suddenly, he gripped Jiang Shixue¡¯s small hand and together they made their way to Qiu Rong¡¯s room. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t initially planned to visit Qiu Rong, but since he received some important information from Li Xin, he had to go and validate it with Qiu Rong. In theory, Wang Tao should have been able to get this information from Qiu Rong if he had continued questioning her, but given that Qiu Rong couldn¡¯t hold on any longer and might have died if he kept at it... As Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue arrived outside Qiu Rong¡¯s room, the two policemen standing guard saluted and left immediately. Just as Wang Tao was about to push the door open, Jiang Shixue stopped at the doorway. Faced with Wang Tao¡¯s puzzled look, she said playfully: ¡°Brother, I won¡¯t disturb the two of you!¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao ¡°sternly¡± pinched Jiang Shixue¡¯s cheek and then finally entered the room alone. Qiu Rong¡¯s room was similar to Li Xin¡¯s. She was covered up with a blanket, curled up on the bed, evidently asleep. Seeing that Qiu Rong¡¯s HP had recovered quite a bit, Wang Tao ruthlessly pulled off the blanket and woke her up. She was wearing pajamas, but suddenly losing the warmth of her bedding made Qiu Rong, still in the throes of sleep, shiver. ¡°Wake up.¡± Qiu Rong shrank back and then opened her eyes in a daze. When she saw a tall figure standing by her bed, her pupils dilated, and she instinctively tried to scream out. But Wang Tao quickly covered her mouth. Qiu Rong couldn¡¯t make a sound but became even more frightened. ¡°Don¡¯t scream.¡± Wang Tao scolded. Only then did Qiu Rong realize that the person in front of her was no other than Wang Tao. She immediately nodded repeatedly. ¡°Mmm¡ªMr. Wang! Mr. Wang, I really have confessed everything, have you come to rescue me?¡± Seeing Wang Tao, Qiu Rong got up from the bed very excitedly, kneeling and sitting on the bed looking at Wang Tao. ¡°Do you not remember what happened yesterday?¡± Wang Tao asked out of curiosity. Although people controlled by Jiang Shixue¡¯s [String Puppet] Awakening were unaware and had no memories afterwards, yesterday Qiu Rong had been controlled for so long and had almost died, which was a scenario Wang Tao had not encountered before. So he was very curious about Qiu Rong¡¯s current state. ¡°Yesterday... I¡¯m sorry! I shouldn¡¯t have made you angry yesterday! But please believe me, I really haven¡¯t hidden anything...¡± Qiu Rong hurriedly explained. After communicating with her for a while, Wang Tao silently nodded to himself. Jiang Shixue¡¯s Awakening was indeed good. Yesterday, she had Qiu Rong rolling her eyes back, nearly killing her, yet Qiu Rong still had no memory whatsoever. After giving her one last chance, Jiang Shixue took control of Qiu Rong, and Qiu Rong had no memory of that period. She only remembered suddenly passing out and then waking up here. She had no recollection of the time she passed out, nor how it happened. She didn¡¯t know, but she had rationalized it to herself, assuming it was because she hadn¡¯t eaten for a long time and felt faint from hunger. Now, aside from some head pain and weakness in her body, she had not yet noticed any side effects... After figuring out her condition, Wang Tao suddenly spoke: ¡°Bamboo Cui Community...¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao mention this address, Qiu Rong¡¯s face instantly stiffened. ¡°I¡¯m in a good mood today, so I¡¯ll give you one more chance. Have you really told me everything?¡± Wang Tao looked at Qiu Rong expressionlessly. After her body stiffened for a while, Qiu Rong suddenly looked at Wang Tao with shining eyes, then whispered: ¡°Mr. Wang, are you with the Church?¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing that Qiu Rong didn¡¯t seem to be acting, but genuinely thought he was from the Dusk Church, Wang Tao was somewhat at a loss for words. Is this really happening? But... it seems kind of interesting. Wang Tao thought he could pretend to be from the Church to get more information from Qiu Rong. So he didn¡¯t explain much, just coldly grunted an acknowledgment. ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°I had no idea you were one of the Church! That¡¯s great, we¡¯re on the same side now!¡± After getting an affirmation from Wang Tao, Qiu Rong became even more excited. She didn¡¯t doubt whether Wang Tao¡¯s identity was real or fake, because she had only seen Church members with covered faces, and she didn¡¯t know if there was a Wang Tao in the Church. Only the Church knew she was a pre-member, so it made sense for Wang Tao to know her identity. However, she quickly followed up with: ¡°May I ask what Level you are?¡± ¡°Deacon.¡± Wang Tao only knew about believers and deacons; he certainly couldn¡¯t pose as an Ordinary believer, so he had to be a deacon. ¡°Deacon!¡± Qiu Rong immediately adapted to Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°new identity¡±, feeling that she had found her organization. Wang Tao immediately used this new identity as a deacon and talked with Qiu Rong. Before, when he asked her something, she said nothing, but now, whatever he asked, she answered. Thus, Wang Tao got a lot of information he hadn¡¯t had the chance to ask about before. ¡°I think I might really be able to pull this off?¡± From Qiu Rong, Wang Tao learned that their trades were also done with hidden identities, including tonight¡¯s deal; no one would show their real face and identity. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that Wang Tao could blend in and take a look? Although Wang Tao felt that with his own strength, he could take them all down at once, if he could blend in, he should be able to get more information. After all, he couldn¡¯t just capture all these people and have Jiang Shixue control every one of them, that would be too much of a waste of Awakening Energy... ¡°Okay, you rest well these next couple of days, I will get you out of here soon.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you, Deacon!¡± Qiu Rong¡¯s face was full of excitement. Wang Tao felt that Qiu Rong¡¯s trust in him as a fake deacon was even higher than her trust in himself. ¡°I want to see what this Dusk Church is all about!¡± After leaving Qiu Rong¡¯s room, Wang Tao found Jiang Hui. ¡°I¡¯ve learned some things. Tonight...¡± Wang Tao told Jiang Hui about the address that Li Xin had mentioned, including the matter of the ¡°health medicine¡±. ¡°Do you mean to say that Yao Guodong was affected by this kind of medicine and that¡¯s why he wandered into the snowfield in a daze?¡± Jiang Hui looked excited; he was only short of conclusive evidence. With evidence and Wang Tao¡¯s support, he might be able to arrest someone directly! ¡°Yeah, it should be like that. Anyway, you¡¯ll find out if you go there today...¡± While saying this, Wang Tao suddenly remembered that the place where Li Xin said the drugs were sold wasn¡¯t fixed and could be canceled... he wondered if they would change the plan. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, I¡¯ll go with you tonight.¡± Wang Tao added. ¡°Great! Thank you, Mr. Wang!¡± Jiang Hui thought Wang Tao was worried about his safety and was deeply touched. ¡°Wait for me tonight; I have to stop by the City Hall first.¡± ¡°Roger that!¡± Chapter 1039 - 1039 415 New and Old Powers ?Chapter 1039: Chapter 415: New and Old Powers Chapter 1039: Chapter 415: New and Old Powers After Wang Tao arrived at City Hall, he happened to run into Gu Yun escorting a group of people downstairs. Among this group, there were several Awakeners from the major forces. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t familiar with them, so they nodded to each other after meeting as a way of greeting. A moment later, Gu Yun came back again. ¡°Mr. Wang, please come upstairs!¡± ¡°Mayor Gu is quite busy today, isn¡¯t he?¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Hey, what mayor! Acting mayor, just an acting mayor!¡± Gu Yun waved his hand dismissively and added, ¡°I¡¯ve scheduled meetings with quite a few Awakeners today, and I have to deal with disaster relief as well, so indeed I¡¯m a bit busy.¡± ¡°Are you inviting all of them to take up positions?¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. ¡°Exactly! Please take a seat...¡± Gu Yun led Wang Tao to his mayoral office and personally brewed a cup of hot tea for him. ¡°As you know, I have no interest in holding a position at City Hall.¡± Wang Tao spoke bluntly. ¡°Ah, things are different now. Don¡¯t rush to refuse, listen to me through...¡± Gu Yun sighed and then started explaining in detail. ¡°The impact of Mayor Yao¡¯s death has been much greater than I anticipated. For instance, the fact that I could become an acting mayor was something I had never imagined before...¡± ¡°Although City Hall claims that Mayor Yao died in an accident, many people know there¡¯s more to it than that. It¡¯s highly probable that Mayor Yao was assassinated...¡± ¡°If even the highest-ranking administrative official within the base can be easily assassinated, what do you think the other officials are thinking? Anyone who can get by in City Hall has a few enemies! So, these past two days, there has been a pervasive sense of everyone being in danger at City Hall...¡± ¡°Oh right, because I have just taken over Mayor Yao¡¯s duties, and due to my own lack of ability... my work efficiency is far below that of Mayor Yao, I admit it. But I must explain that the reason why efficiency has dropped so much is not only because of me, but also because other people have concerns¡ªthey worry that they might be taken out by an opponent while carrying out their duties, so they don¡¯t put in their full effort. After all, Mayor Yao died at home, inexplicably frozen to death in the snow of his own courtyard, and they are the ones who have to go out into the snow and wind to perform their duties. Any small accident could end up as another case like Mayor Yao¡¯s... ¡°Although everyone is afraid of dying, which is understandable, it obviously affects the work efficiency of City Hall. And since the precedent for assassinations has been set, it¡¯s very unlikely that there will be just one such incident¡ªthe influence on the base will only grow if there are follow-up assassinations!¡± ¡°So it might be better to change personnel now. Ordinary people should just honestly do the minor tasks¡ªthey might not have high potential, but at least they have fewer conflicts and don¡¯t need to worry about assassination. If they really do get assassinated, it won¡¯t affect the operation of the base. But certain key positions in the base should be filled by Ability Users, especially you Awakeners with strong abilities who aren¡¯t afraid of being assassinated!¡± ¡°If you were to take up key positions, I believe no one would dare lay a finger on you, right? And, to take ten thousand steps back, even if there really are people bold enough to bite, they surely can¡¯t make their move without a sound. The moment they cause any disturbance, they won¡¯t be able to escape!¡± ¡°So... please! After all, we¡¯re all part of the base and should contribute our share, shouldn¡¯t we? You might not know, but because of Mayor Yao¡¯s death, even more people have died these past two days...¡± Gu Yun looked earnestly at Wang Tao. And after listening to Gu Yun, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what to say for a while. In all his life, he had never seen a case where someone was begged to take up an official position... But he couldn¡¯t deny that Gu Yun made sense. If another assassination happened and the base became paralyzed overnight, it would be a dangerous situation for the entire base. It would be better to have some people with strong abilities take up key positions now, for although their work performance might fall short, at least they wouldn¡¯t cause the base to collapse! However, understanding aside, Wang Tao still had some questions. ¡°What I¡¯m curious about is, if it really can turn out the way you say, with Ability Users taking up key positions in the base, that¡¯s a major overhaul! Is this something that can be done overnight?¡± In Wang Tao¡¯s words was a hidden meaning concerning the distribution of interests among the powerful groups¡ªthough they were afraid of death and didn¡¯t put in much effort, that didn¡¯t mean they would be willing to leave their positions! If people were just replaced without a second thought, would they accept it? Gu Yun clearly understood what Wang Tao meant and immediately said in a low voice: ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not that simple, but the decision has been made. Even if people object, it won¡¯t matter¡ªI must tell you the truth, the committee argued over this for two days! In the end, with a narrow majority of one vote, the resolution for a ¡®major overhaul¡¯ was finally passed...¡± ¡°The committee actually passed it?¡± Wang Tao immediately looked surprised. ¡°Of course! If the committee hadn¡¯t passed the resolution and issued specific instructions, I wouldn¡¯t dare to invite so many Ability Users to take up key positions!¡± Gu Yun replied right away. ¡°I see...¡± Wang Tao had thought this was just Gu Yun¡¯s idea, or maybe the idea of other high-ranking officials in City Hall, since theoretically, the mayor of the base had the right to appoint all positions within the base except for the committee... but he hadn¡¯t expected that the committee had already voted it through! He remembered that there didn¡¯t seem to be any Awakeners among the 23 committee members, right? Chapter 1040 - 1040 415 New and Old Powers_2 ?Chapter 1040: Chapter 415: New and Old Powers_2 Chapter 1040: Chapter 415: New and Old Powers_2 In the eyes of Awakeners, in terms of raw power, these committee members are no different from ordinary people! That is to say, if Awakeners can hold key positions at City Hall today, doesn¡¯t it mean they could directly become committee members tomorrow? After all, these committee members aren¡¯t strong individually. What if they get assassinated? Wouldn¡¯t that affect the development of the base? Wouldn¡¯t it be more logical to have Awakeners as committee members... That¡¯s why Wang Tao was so surprised. If this idea originated solely from Gu Yun and City Hall, it would indicate that they are willing to disrupt the interests of the committee for reform. Wang Tao thought they were pretty bold. But if this decision came from the committee themselves, then this is not just about reform, but also about the committee intentionally striking at themselves first! Because they are the vested interest holders! Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but remark how daring they were! Indeed, Wang Tao also felt that the direction of the reform was correct¡ªconsidering after all, when ability users broadly enhance their power, they definitely will feel these weaker individuals are not qualified to command the strong ones, even without waiting for the future, there are probably many who feel this way already¡ªbut knowing is one thing, and this is, after all, a matter affecting personal interests! By passing this resolution, it signifies that they might be replaced by more powerful individuals! These people, who already stand at the highest echelons of the base, are actually willing to pass such a resolution, which truly demonstrates their valor. This indicates one thing¡ªthey¡¯re not considering themselves, but the whole base! However, as Gu Yun just said, the committee passed the decision by a slim majority of a single vote. Clearly, at least half of the committee members were unwilling¡ªwait, there are 23 committee members, but only a majority of one vote, meaning there were 12 affirmative votes... Wang Tao immediately frowned and looked towards Gu Yun. ¡°Which 12 committee members agreed? It couldn¡¯t be...¡± Gu Yun didn¡¯t speak because it was confidential, but he didn¡¯t deny it either, knowing what Wang Tao was implying. ¡°I knew it!¡± Wang Tao suddenly understood. He just wondered why these committee members were so dauntless and conscious, willing to sacrifice their own interests for the development of the base! It turns out¡ª There are 23 committee members in total at the base. Within the Six Major Legions, each Legion has two committee members, so there are 12 committee members from the Six Major Legions in total! The remaining 11 members are distributed among other forces. So it means that the 12 approving members are all from the Six Major Legions! At such a critical moment, indeed only these ideologically conscious old comrades are reliable! Wang Tao genuinely felt admiration; most people, including himself, couldn¡¯t achieve such selflessness, but they did! Of course, although their individual strength is not strong, the Six Major Legions are incredibly powerful. With the Six Major Legions present, even if Awakeners want to confront them and replace them, they would need to think twice. So now they don¡¯t have to worry about being replaced so soon; they are preparing for the future of the base in advance... ¡°The future development of the base will still depend on you powerful Awakeners! Mr. Wang, please must take up a position in City Hall!¡± Gu Yun looked at Wang Tao earnestly. Looking at Gu Yun¡¯s sincere expression, Wang Tao fell into thought. After understanding these matters, he could probably grasp why Gu Yun had been eager to have him serve there, likely because of those other 11 committee members. Although the resolution was passed, after all, there are still 11 members opposed, Gu Yun¡¯s implementation of this policy will probably not be so smooth, so Gu Yun needs people to support him! Now, at City Hall, those who are weak yet hold key positions have been contributing to the base since its formation. They owe their current status and position mostly to their own labor results. Objectively speaking, they truly brought many benefits to the development of the base and earned substantial merit. But this single decision by the committee is going to make these people leave their posts and retire immediately... Even though the retirement benefits are quite generous, it still feels a bit like discarding them after use, as no amount of benefits could match the power they held in their hands. Furthermore, truthfully speaking, they also have some grievances, as back then, who knew about Awakening? Do they not wish to Awaken? It¡¯s just bad luck! So it¡¯s perfectly normal that they would not want to retire. After all, not everyone possesses a selfless spirit. These people could be considered the ¡°Traditional Forces¡±. And now, these powerfully gifted ability users and awakeners belong to the ¡°New Forces¡±. The new waves of the Yangtze River push the old waves forward. Anyone with clear eyes can see that the New Forces are destined to crush the Traditional Forces on the shores, it¡¯s merely a matter of time. But...it¡¯s still early! Besides, as long as they can stay in their positions for a long time, find ways to leverage their power to obtain various benefits, they might just awaken and transform into the New Forces! Whether they¡¯re Traditional Forces or New Forces isn¡¯t the point, the point is one¡¯s power, identity, and status. Wang Tao had a clear goal¡ªto become stronger, continuously enhancing his own strength! And with strength, status and identity would naturally follow. But not everyone necessarily thought this way, after all, becoming powerful was dangerous, and one might just die outside someday. If one could hold a decent position inside the base, casually work, slack off, accept gifts, and even occasionally manipulate their subordinates, wouldn¡¯t that be wonderful? Therefore, in these matters of reform, a huge storm was inevitable as the New and Traditional Forces would clash over their interests. Gu Yun might feel somewhat out of control. He needed powerful allies, like Wang Tao... Wang Tao did not have a high opinion of the Traditional Forces; he believed in the power of strength. Although rules needed to be followed inside the base, if you didn¡¯t obey them, such as an awakener murdering someone in the streets, you¡¯d still be tried. Even though you might be powerful, the Six Major Legions were not to be trifled with; current awakeners still couldn¡¯t withstand a bullet. However, as long as one¡¯s strength was great enough, it could completely avoid the so-called rules! The case of Yao Guodong being backstabbed was a good example, as the perpetrator still hadn¡¯t been caught¡ªof course, Wang Tao would soon capture them, because the killer wasn¡¯t strong enough yet. However, Gu Yun still lacked some confidence, and Wang Tao could guess why¡ªbecause he was only a level 3 ability user. Theoretically, only awakeners or those with the potential for awakening could be called part of the New Forces. Gu Yun was actually part of the Traditional Forces because he was neither an awakener nor did he have the potential to become one. He certainly wanted to be an awakener, but he also had the self-awareness to know that he had no chance in the short term. Thus, he needed awakener allies to bolster his confidence... ¡°So, what positions do you have here?¡± Wang Tao asked with some curiosity. His question implied asking where Gu Yun intended to place him. ¡°There are many positions now!¡± Gu Yun immediately fetched a notebook, densely filled with many positions, both important and ordinary, though most had names already assigned to them. ¡°Wow, you plan to do a major overhaul in the City Hall!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Although he believed that the Traditional Forces would gradually be replaced, would changing so many people all at once be too aggressive? Setting aside whether people were willing to, and yes, they could be forcibly changed, but the question was, could the base be managed well suddenly with so many new people? ¡°Ahem, this is just my plan, it definitely isn¡¯t possible to change everyone now, only gradually. Personally, I think you could take this position...¡± Gu Yun pointed out some important positions, which were currently occupied. Gu Yun obviously had his own calculations. If Wang Tao chose this, to a certain extent, it would also transfer some of the conflicts to him. However, he did speak directly, without intending to trap anyone, as these were all key positions. Wang Tao didn¡¯t care if there were people already; he didn¡¯t believe anyone would dare to trip him up, but he indeed lacked interest. However, upon seeing a position that was temporarily vacant at the very end, he thought for a moment, then pointed and said: ¡°Then I¡¯ll do you this favor, I¡¯ll choose this one.¡± ¡°Hmm? Principal of Changhe Awakeners School? That¡¯s a project still in the planning stages, and it¡¯s not even certain if the committee will approve it...¡± Gu Yun immediately frowned. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, this one it is.¡± Wang Tao declared dismissively. His working for the City Hall already showed considerable goodwill to Gu Yun; shouldn¡¯t he pick a place where it was easy to slack off? Of course, slacking off wasn¡¯t the key point, but rather, it seemed like Wang Tao¡¯s abilities could be put to use there... Chapter 1041 - 1041 416 Awakeners School ?Chapter 1041: Chapter 416: Awakeners School Chapter 1041: Chapter 416: Awakeners School Wang Tao was seeing the ¡°Changhe Awakening School¡± for the first time; he had never even heard of it before. The paper didn¡¯t provide much information either, simply stating¡ªthis is a school aimed at training Awakeners. There were many vacant positions, or rather, most positions were unfilled. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up when he saw the principal position at the very top, so he immediately chose it. Wang Tao did not have much free time and couldn¡¯t commit to a position that required long work hours. In his view, the principal obviously didn¡¯t need to teach, and many tasks could be delegated to others, making it relatively less demanding. Of course, that wasn¡¯t the most important point¡ªWang Tao could have easily declined the position, as there was no need to burden himself with extra tasks, and Gu Yun couldn¡¯t have said much about it. But crucially, Wang Tao felt this position was very suitable for himself¡ªbecause he could identify who had Hidden Attributes. Among the various conditions for Awakening, Hidden Attributes are the most basic, as well as the most important! Only with Hidden Attributes can one meet the prerequisites for Awakening. If this were placed in a cultivation novel, Hidden Attributes would be akin to a Spiritual Root. Only with a Spiritual Root can one cultivate! Previously, Wang Tao had thought about recruiting those with Hidden Attributes into the Starfire Society. However, that was too cumbersome for him, he wasn¡¯t adept at such things, and it required a vast amount of resources! If he really had that many resources, he certainly would have used them on himself... Wang Tao, lacking ambition and detesting hassle, eventually dismissed the idea. But if there were an ¡°Awakeners School¡± dedicated to training Awakeners, things would be much simpler¡ªhe could easily recruit those with Hidden Attributes to the school, invest resources in them, let them awaken, and then contribute to the base. The school was backed by the entire Changhe Base, so resources and selection of personnel weren¡¯t Wang Tao¡¯s concern. He only needed to glance, and he would know who was worth admitting. People with Hidden Attributes, although rare, still existed given Changhe Base¡¯s population of five hundred thousand¡ªthere were bound to be some among them. But as for Hidden Attributes, aside from Wang Tao who could see them at a glance, and the individuals experimenting to discover if they were different, there was no third method to check. So, obviously, some people would miss their chance... Take, for example, an ordinary person who wasn¡¯t even an Ability User, just a weakling, but he had Hidden Attributes. Who would consider him a potential Awakener in that scene? What Wang Tao wanted to do was to identify such individuals. He couldn¡¯t let their potential be buried. Of course, this was provided that the individual was willing. If the person didn¡¯t want to become stronger, didn¡¯t want to venture out, and just wanted to live a quiet life in the city, Wang Tao would respect their choice. In that case, this school was perfect¡ªthose who wanted to become stronger could enroll... No matter how you put it, Wang Tao was a part of Changhe Base, and he definitely hoped the base would continue to improve. If, influenced by him, the base ended up having many more Awakeners, that would obviously be an immensely good deed. As for the matter of possibly being surpassed by other Awakeners... Wang Tao could only say that if he didn¡¯t have the confidence in himself, then he didn¡¯t deserve to be called strong. And if there really were many people stronger than him, that would be beneficial for humanity as a whole. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t the kind of narrow-minded individual... Wang Tao felt this position was very suitable for himself, but Gu Yun frowned. Because this so-called ¡°Changhe Awakening School¡± was currently just a conceptual thing! It was just a proposal that had not yet been approved by the committee. How could Wang Tao take up a position there? Gu Yun explained some details about this school still in concept to Wang Tao, hinting indirectly that Wang Tao could opt for a better one, but Wang Tao expressed his indifference, wanting this one. This gave Gu Yun a bit of a headache, but he certainly wouldn¡¯t force Wang Tao, as having him take up a position was already a great honor... ¡°Alright! Then let¡¯s tentatively appoint Mr. Wang as the principal of the Awakeners School!¡± Gu Yun wasn¡¯t someone to dawdle. Seeing that Wang Tao had made up his mind, he immediately confirmed it, then promised: ¡°I will expedite the establishment of this school project, ensuring you won¡¯t have to wait long!¡± ¡°...There¡¯s no need to rush, I¡¯m fine either way.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. After finalizing the matter, Gu Yun, feeling a bit embarrassed, asked: ¡°Ahem, as for Mr. Wang¡¯s wives and friends, would they be willing to take up positions at the City Hall?¡± Not only was Wang Tao strong, but the members of the Starfire Society were also very formidable. However, they all listened to Wang Tao, so Gu Yun didn¡¯t bother approaching them. Convincing Wang Tao was sufficient, as everything else would then fall into place. ¡°Let¡¯s settle the school matter first, then have them join me,¡± Wang Tao thought aloud. ¡°Alright!¡± Gu Yun was content. After talking with Gu Yun about the school for a while, Wang Tao suddenly mentioned: ¡°About the assassin who attempted to kill Yao Guodong, I expect he will be found soon, just giving you an early heads-up, it¡¯s highly likely that the culprit is one of the deputy mayors...¡± ¡°...¡± Gu Yun fell silent for a moment before sighing, ¡°Ah...¡± Given that Wang Tao was so certain, he probably had some kind of evidence, and there was no need to lie. Gu Yun himself had considered this possibility, but when the reality was laid out before him, it was still somewhat hard to accept. After all, the Changhe Base of the past was a very harmonious place! Chapter 1042 - 1042 416 Awakeners School_2 ?Chapter 1042: Chapter 416: Awakeners School_2 Chapter 1042: Chapter 416: Awakeners School_2 ¡°Enough, enough, this is not something I can manage, even if I were in charge of the entire base, I couldn¡¯t control people¡¯s hearts! If you really find something out, just do what needs to be done. On this matter, the committee is surprisingly unanimous¡ªthe murderer must be executed!¡± ¡°As long as no one causes trouble, then I¡¯m relieved. I won¡¯t bother you anymore...¡± Wang Tao smiled as he stood up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the school, I¡¯ll sort it out as soon as possible! But right now, the focus has to be on the disaster relief...¡± ¡°I¡¯m really not in a hurry...¡± Gu Yun personally saw Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue out the door. There was still some time before he needed to go out to buy the medicine that evening, so Wang Tao and his companion returned to the police station to see Qiu Rong once more. Wang Tao had intended to ask a few more questions to see if anything had been overlooked, but he noticed that Qiu Rong¡¯s condition seemed a bit off. ¡°Deacon... Mr. Wang, you¡¯re here!¡± Wang Tao had previously told Qiu Rong not to call him Deacon in normal circumstances to avoid ¡°exposure,¡± and naturally, she had agreed. However, Qiu Rong¡¯s face was much paler than before Wang Tao had left, her lips were almost colorless, and before Wang Tao had arrived, she had been curled up in bed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. Her condition seemed very bad, but her HP bar hadn¡¯t decreased, indicating there was no danger to her life. ¡°I, I¡¯m so cold... I want to drink the Holy medicine...¡± Qiu Rong looked imploringly at Wang Tao. The Deacon surely had Holy medicine on him, but her account was temporarily frozen, so she had no money to buy any. She hoped that Wang Tao, the Deacon, would credit her some, but she felt uneasy to say it outright. As soon as Wang Tao heard ¡®Holy medicine,¡¯ he understood what was going on. The description of the poisoning status on Qiu Rong indicated that if she refrained from taking it for seven days, she could be detoxed; today should be... the third day. That is, symptoms would appear on the third day after poisoning! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen any signs of poisoning on her before, so he wasn¡¯t clear about what situations the poisoning might cause, but now he saw... ¡°I don¡¯t have any Holy medicine on me right now.¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°Ah?¡± When Qiu Rong heard that Wang Tao didn¡¯t have any, she was immediately startled. She subconsciously thought Wang Tao might be deceiving her, after all, the Holy medicine wasn¡¯t cheap, and she couldn¡¯t use her money right now... ¡°Mr. Wang, though my account is frozen, with your help, it will soon be unfrozen. Could you credit me some... I¡¯ll return double, no, triple the amount later!¡± Qiu Rong immediately said. ¡°I really don¡¯t have any, I¡¯ve used it all up. If I did, I would have given it to you already, it¡¯s not worth much.¡± Wang Tao spread his hands. Qiu Rong then remembered, Wang Tao was an Awakener and wasn¡¯t short of money. So, did Wang Tao really not have any? Qiu Rong¡¯s face turned even paler in an instant. ¡°But I¡¯m so cold, I¡¯m in so much discomfort. If I don¡¯t drink the Holy medicine... I might die...¡± Seeing Qiu Rong¡¯s pitiable look, Wang Tao felt somewhat puzzled. ¡°If you know not drinking Holy medicine will kill you, why haven¡¯t you considered quitting?¡± As a ¡°Deacon,¡± saying this was clearly inappropriate, but Qiu Rong was already past caring about that, as she obsessively said: ¡°It¡¯s because drinking Holy medicine brings pleasure, it gives me a chance to be reborn...¡± ¡°Reborn...¡± Wang Tao heard this term for the second time. ¡°I want to be reborn, I want to escape this apocalypse, I want to return to a peaceful world and become a rich man¡¯s young wife...¡± Qiu Rong said subconsciously. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao shook his head. This brainwashing was severe! Suddenly, Qiu Rong seemed to remember something, her face full of anticipation as she looked at Wang Tao and said, ¡°Mr. Wang, isn¡¯t there an internal Holy medicine transaction tonight? You must be going, right? Could you take me with you... I want to see if I can find the Deacon who gave me the Holy medicine. He mentioned before that I could buy on credit from him...¡± Wang Tao instinctively wanted to refuse, but after hearing that Qiu Rong knew the Deacon, it seemed taking her along might be feasible... Since the transaction was entirely anonymous and in disguise, Wang Tao might not find the culprit immediately. However, having interacted with him for so long, Qiu Rong might have some special way of contacting him... ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take you with me later.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Qiu Rong was overjoyed. She quickly thanked Wang Tao. Seeing Qiu Rong shivering in her thin pajamas, Wang Tao told her to lie down in the bed first, then he went to Li Xin¡¯s room. Just like Qiu Rong, Li Xin was also in trouble. Her face was pale, shivering from the cold, but her HP wasn¡¯t in danger, indicating her life wasn¡¯t at risk. ¡°Mr. Wang! Are you here to take me away?¡± Seeing Wang Tao, Li Xin¡¯s eyes lit up. She hastily ran down from the bed, not even bothering to put on shoes, and ran towards Wang Tao, as if wanting to throw herself into his arms. But a small head suddenly appeared behind Wang Tao, a pair of red eyes glanced at Li Xin, and she immediately stiffened. She felt as though she had seen a terrifying monster, and her forehead soon began to seep with cold sweat. Wang Tao pinched Jiang Shixue¡¯s little hand and then went over to press Li Xin into a nearby chair. ¡°Mr. Wang, I, I...¡± Li Xin indeed had some minor schemes in mind, but at this time she dared not make any moves. The little girl behind Wang Tao was too frightening! ¡°I came to check if the poison had acted.¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°I...¡± Li Xin instinctively wanted to say she wasn¡¯t poisoned, but she wasn¡¯t foolish either. She still hoped Wang Tao would rescue her, so whatever Wang Tao said, she would endure! ¡°My poison might have acted, I think I need some health medicine...¡± In Li Xin¡¯s eyes, she didn¡¯t believe she was poisoned, nor did she think her current condition was due to the poison acting. She rather felt that her current state was the true self, and her resistance to cold was due to the effects brought by the health medicine... Wang Tao knew Li Xin wasn¡¯t sincere, so he slightly tempted her with the name of the health medicine, and she quickly revealed her real thoughts. Wang Tao was initially speechless, but soon became serious. ¡°Looking at it this way, this medicine is quite powerful, it can directly change a person¡¯s cognition... could this probably be a psychic type of drug?¡± Wang Tao was still unclear, but he should find out tonight. Seeing that the time was about right, Wang Tao told Li Xin to rest well, and he headed back to Qiu Rong¡¯s room. By this time, Qiu Rong had already changed her clothes. She was wrapped in layers of thick clothing, her face also covered with a veil, she even wore glasses. It was hard to recognize her as anyone specific, and unless she spoke, it was probably hard even to distinguish her gender. Wang Tao took her downstairs, and seeing that the policemen outside didn¡¯t stop him, Qiu Rong immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Jiang Hui was already waiting for them downstairs. He had also changed clothes, completely wrapped up so that it was impossible to tell he was a policeman. Beside him stood a woman who appeared to be the policewoman from before. Besides these two, there was no one else; too many people would be inconspicuous, and with Wang Tao there, there was no need to worry about adequacy of force. ¡°We should also change into different clothes.¡± Wang Tao had Jiang Hui watch Qiu Rong, then went with Jiang Shixue to the next room, where Jiang Hui had prepared their disguises. Although Wang Tao was quite tall, there were actually many people of his stature nowadays, so it wasn¡¯t directly assumed to be him, especially after the disguise, looking somewhat like a big, goofy guy. As for Jiang Shixue, similarly wrapped up tightly, she looked like a little penguin. She wasn¡¯t afraid of the cold; this was just to prevent herself from standing out. Wang Tao found it amusing, patted Jiang Shixue¡¯s head, and then left the police station with Jiang Hui and Qiu Rong. The Holy medicine transaction was happening in Bamboo Cui Community, a location that was economically poor but geographically advantageous. In simple terms, it was a poor area, teeming with all sorts of people, but it hadn¡¯t experienced the snow disaster and so remained in its original state. In the heavy snow, a worn-out car wobbled its way there. Wang Tao was still worried that the Dusk Church had changed the transaction time, especially after recent events like the mayor¡¯s assassination and the snow disaster... However, they appeared more composed than Wang Tao had anticipated. As soon as he arrived, he sensed that there were quite a few people inside the community. Chapter 1043 - 1043 417 The Second Poison ?Chapter 1043: Chapter 417 The Second Poison Chapter 1043: Chapter 417 The Second Poison Outside the Bamboo Cui Community, Jiang Hui drove an old car slowly toward the entrance. There was a dim streetlight at the community¡¯s guardhouse, illuminating the rusty iron gate. Two security guards dressed in thick jackets were sitting inside, and upon seeing the car, one of them came out. ¡°Which family are you from? I don¡¯t recognize you,¡± he said in a gruff voice. ¡°We¡¯re from Building No. 4, Unit 802.¡± Jiang Hui promptly responded from the driver¡¯s seat. Hearing this, the man came over, brushed the snow off the license plate to see it clearly, and then took out a small notebook to flip through it. After verifying, he nodded to the guard inside the booth. Together, they went to open the gate. There was no Building No. 4 in Bamboo Cui Community, and the highest number of floors in any building was only six¡ªthere was no such unit as 802... It was just a code for entry. The car belonged to Qiu Rong, previously used to buy medicine, and had been registered in advance. If the code and the license plate matched, they would be allowed to pass. As for the people in the car, they didn¡¯t need to be checked, since most of the arrivals today had their identities concealed. ¡°The lights near Building No. 4 are still on, just go straight ahead and you¡¯ll see it...¡± The car slowly entered the community, with one of the security guards pointing the way to Building No. 4. The community was pitch black, and nothing could be seen. Aside from Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue being calm, Jiang Hui, the policewoman, and Qiu Rong all felt a bit tense. The two police officers were naturally nervous about catching a big fish soon, while Qiu Rong was nervous because it was her first time at this place, and the dark environment instinctively made her a little scared. The roads within the community were spacious and seemed to have been cleared of snow, unlike the harder-to-navigate roads outside. A moment later, a faint light appeared in the dim environment ahead. Not far away, under a building hung a lamp of the same model as the one at the community guardhouse. After getting out of the car, Wang Tao looked up and, despite the darkness elsewhere, his Night Vision Ability allowed him to clearly see the number ¡°8¡± affixed to the six-story building. Below this building, there were quite a few old, modified cars parked. These people were obviously intentionally hiding their identities. However, driving such cars here was no easy task. ¡°To have so many come in such extreme weather...¡± Jiang Hui¡¯s expression was very serious. Wang Tao had only told him about ¡°health medicine¡± without specifying its actual effects, but Jiang Hui wasn¡¯t foolish and immediately thought of a new type of drug. Given the current scene, the fact that people risked their lives to buy this medicine indicated how addictive it must be! ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao and the others got out of the car one after another. Qiu Rong was still weak, and now that the drug¡¯s effects were kicking in, she felt dizzy after getting out of the car. Wang Tao asked the policewoman to support her as he surveyed their surroundings. Before coming to the community, Jiang Hui had already investigated it; the population was small, and there hadn¡¯t been much human traffic recently. So, the Dusk Church members must have rented a place here. After all, their operations weren¡¯t fixed in one location¡ªthey wouldn¡¯t stay long in one place but would change locations once one was used up to avoid detection. For the moment, Wang Tao didn¡¯t notice anything unusual anywhere else; the focus was definitely on this building. Under the dim light outside the first-floor lobby, a cross symbol could be seen. Just as Jiang Hui was about to push the door, it suddenly opened from the inside. Inside it was still pitch-dark, but it felt much warmer. The door was opened by a man wearing a mask, whose figure was very burly, half a head taller than Wang Tao and his presence was quite oppressive. Wang Tao instantly noticed that his Strength Ability was only Level Two, just a Silver Gun Head¡ªimpressive to look at but not very useful. Nevertheless, Qiu Rong was startled, and if the policewoman hadn¡¯t supported her, she probably would have backed away several steps. The burly man glanced over everyone, bypassed Wang Tao, who was of a similar build, and fixed his gaze on Jiang Hui. Normally, an Ability User can sense the general strength of others. The burly man could tell at a glance that Jiang Hui was the strongest among Wang Tao¡¯s group. He addressed Jiang Hui gravely, ¡°Which group are you with? I haven¡¯t seen you around before.¡± ¡°We¡¯re from Unit 302.¡± Jiang Hui said, unfazed. This was also a code; if he said anything about the eighth floor, it wouldn¡¯t match. The deal was happening on the third floor; any fictitious room on the third floor would do. ¡°Oh, from the third floor, huh? The light is broken here, let me take you up.¡± After the code matched, the burly man turned and walked, holding a yellowed flashlight in his hand. Jiang Hui immediately followed. It was only after entering did he realize there were four burly men in all, each with Level Two Strength Ability! The strength of the Dusk Church was not to be underestimated. After all, Jiang Hui himself was only Level Two, and the policewoman with him was merely Level 1... If Wang Tao weren¡¯t there, he certainly wouldn¡¯t have dared to venture so deeply into the lion¡¯s den. The lobby was still dark, and they could only follow closely behind the burly man. But Wang Tao could clearly see that the windows here were sealed off. He estimated the situation was the same upstairs. As Wang Tao suspected, it became much brighter once they went upstairs. However, the second floor was unoccupied, and the rooms were firmly closed. The group continued upstairs, but they didn¡¯t take the main stairwell, as it was blocked off; instead, they entered through a concealed door hidden in the dark. The Dusk Church was extremely cautious. Chapter 1044 - 1044 417 The Second Poison_2 ?Chapter 1044: Chapter 417 The Second Poison_2 Chapter 1044: Chapter 417 The Second Poison_2 When they arrived, faint noises could be heard coming from upstairs. Upon ascending, they saw a large group of people in the hall. Some were wearing masks, others had their faces covered, all engaged in excited exchanges. There were several large fire pits burning with firewood, raising the temperature significantly. Many had shed their heavy coats and were in lighter attire, though their faces remained concealed. Waiters moved about with trays, offering beverages and Cockroach Paste for the guests to consume. Qiu Rong took a deep breath, her face beneath the mask betraying excitement. She had caught the scent of the Holy medicine! The thought of being able to drink the Holy medicine later made her tremble with anticipation. Wang Tao glanced at Qiu Rong and felt that her spirits seemed to have improved instantaneously. Clearly, the supposed Holy medicine was a factor, probably because Qiu Rong had smelled it. Wang Tao carefully examined himself and Jiang Hui, relieved not to find any signs of poisoning. He had been worried that just smelling the medicine could cause poisoning, but thankfully it wasn¡¯t so ridiculous. He then observed the others¡ªmostly ordinary individuals and Level 1 Ability Users. There wasn¡¯t a single Second-order Superpower Owner in sight; Jiang Hui¡¯s strength was surprisingly the greatest there... And not everyone among them showed signs of poisoning; some appeared normal. Perhaps new arrivals? ¡°The Holy medicine will be distributed in half an hour. During this time, you are free to mingle, but don¡¯t wander off; you have to stay on this third floor. If you break the rules... you know the consequences!¡± After giving a few instructions, the bulky man descended. People were also guarding the stairwells to the second floor and the fourth floor. Wang Tao and the others, feeling warm, shed some of their clothes. Wang Tao used his spiritual power to probe and saw that the second floor was empty, seemingly used as a storage area. However, the third floor was occupied, seemingly by members of the Dusk Church rather than guests. Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power was strong enough to penetrate masks with ease. However, after scrutinizing the area, he did not recognize any acquaintances on the fourth floor. ¡°The Holy medicine will be distributed in half an hour; the distributor probably hasn¡¯t arrived yet... Let¡¯s wait a little longer.¡± Wang Tao suspected that the distributor of the Holy medicine would likely be one of the three deputy mayors or a Deacon. Then, Wang Tao used his spiritual power to check on a disguised customer in front of him, raising an eyebrow in the process. Indeed, he saw quite a few familiar faces. Wang Tao, who had been frequenting City Hall recently, recognized several people from there and some from the police department. Whether poisoned or not, it was clear that the Dusk Church had infiltrated City Hall and the police department, which deserved serious attention. Among these people, there were significantly more women than men, with a rough male-to-female ratio of 3:7. Regarding the identities of these women, Wang Tao carefully recalled and realized he had not met most of them, but there were two women he seemed to recognize, likely from a previous banquet... Could these people be the family members of the officials? Clearly, there was a plot afoot! Wang Tao instinctively glanced at Qiu Rong. If the Dusk Church got all the officials¡¯ family members to drink the Holy medicine and then assassinated them as they had Yao Guodong... that would be troublesome; it was fortunate the discovery was made early... While Wang Tao observed them, it was only natural others were watching him too. Several people approached him for small talk, saying they were all from the Dusk Church and it¡¯d be nice to make friends. One of them was a voluptuous woman wearing a white mask. She walked up to Wang Tao and, looking at his strapping figure, her eyes sparkled with interest behind her mask. ¡°Handsome, how about joining me for a drink?¡± She extended a warm invitation to Wang Tao. ¡°Sure,¡± Wang Tao nodded. The woman was overjoyed when Wang Tao agreed and immediately hooked her arm in his, giving him the sensation of her softness. Jiang Hui opened his mouth in surprise. To receive such perks on a mission? Qiu Rong, on the other hand, subconsciously wanted to follow Wang Tao, as she was a bit scared in this unfamiliar environment. The times she¡¯d previously purchased Holy medicine, she had just bought it upon arrival, without encountering so many people, only meeting the Deacon¡ªquite different from the current situation... Before Wang Tao left, he exchanged a look with Jiang Shixue, and she promptly took hold of Qiu Rong, sitting her down in a corner along with the policewoman. Jiang Hui waited a while, realizing no women were inviting him for a drink, and he shrugged disappointingly. While he wouldn¡¯t have accepted the invitations, not receiving any was still disheartening. ¡°Could it be because I¡¯m too short, too thin?¡± Jiang Hui shook his head and went over to Jiang Shixue as well. On the other side, Wang Tao followed the plump woman to a corner. The reason Wang Tao came over wasn¡¯t anything special; he was just genuinely curious. Because this was the same woman he had seen at the New Year¡¯s party, her husband being a head of a department. When her husband took her to the party, she was very introverted and easily shy, the type to blush whenever she spoke with other men, often hiding behind her husband. But she and her husband had a good relationship, seen as a model couple in everyone¡¯s eyes. Both handsome in appearance and matching well, they were greatly envied. The envy was not only because they had a good relationship, but more importantly, this couple wasn¡¯t formed after the apocalypse but were legally married before it. To have come this far and still be so loving, naturally, people were envious. But now... Where was her introversion and shyness? However, when he took a closer look at the woman¡¯s Poison Attribute, Wang Tao instantly realized. Her attribute was different from Qiu Rong¡¯s! ¡°Poisoning: a common toxin with certain addictive properties, long-term consumption can increase certain desires, can be detoxified if not taken within 30 days.¡± Her poison wouldn¡¯t kill, but the condition for detoxification changed to 30 days without taking it! Was this another drug? Or was it a mutation? Wang Tao fell into deep thought. The woman pulled Wang Tao down to sit on the sofa, sitting very close to him. She gently pinched the muscles on Wang Tao¡¯s arm, her voice filled with amazement: ¡°Wow, you¡¯re so fit! You seem so much better than those guys downstairs with all their bulk!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right.¡± Wang Tao felt she had a good eye, considering those bulky guys were just for show, and his muscles were the real deal. The woman took the initiative to chat with Wang Tao, babbling about this and that until the waiter brought over the drinks. ¡°This wine is pretty good!¡± The mask on the woman¡¯s face left her mouth exposed, allowing her to drink without removing it. However, as she was holding the wine glass, it seemed like she didn¡¯t have a good grip, and suddenly, wine was spilled. Originally, the wine would have fallen on Wang Tao, but he happened to touch her arm, causing the wine to spill on the woman herself instead. The front of her blouse was instantly wetted, becoming semi-transparent with the fabric already being quite thin. She didn¡¯t know it was Wang Tao¡¯s doing on purpose, thinking it was an error on her part, she looked at Wang Tao with a plaintive gaze. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten my clothes wet...¡± ¡°Sorry, it wasn¡¯t intentional.¡± Wang Tao looked apologetic. ¡°If you wipe it off for me, I¡¯ll forgive you.¡± The woman bit her lip as she looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Alright.¡± It was a simple task. There happened to be a piece of torn clothing on the sofa, which Wang Tao used to wipe her down. But before Wang Tao had wiped a few times, he realized that the woman¡¯s breathing had become slightly labored, and soft, strange sounds were coming from her mouth. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao felt the poison was quite powerful; he hadn¡¯t done anything, and she was already like this. If he were to do something, could she even handle it? Such a drug absolutely could not appear within the base! Otherwise, who knows what chaos might ensue... Chapter 1045 - 1045 418 Poisoning Kuang ?Chapter 1045: Chapter 418 Poisoning Kuang Chapter 1045: Chapter 418 Poisoning Kuang After Wang Tao wiped the water stains off the woman¡¯s body, her eyes seemed like they could overflow with tears. Wang Tao simply wanted to see what her poisoning status was all about; he naturally had no interest in her, so he remained unfazed. However, what Wang Tao was curious about was how this woman¡¯s desires were now manifesting. If the enhanced desires were merely sexual, that would still be manageable. But if it involved other desires, like murderous or arsonist impulses, that would be a real problem! After pondering, Wang Tao decided to try to coax some information out of her to see if he could learn anything. ¡°My clothes are wet, and I¡¯m a bit cold...¡± Just then, the woman spoke, her voice trembling slightly as if she really were cold. ¡°I¡¯ll go get you a sweater.¡± ¡°No need!¡± The woman grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand and looked at him with a gaze full of affection. ¡°I feel your body is so warm, by being close to you I won¡¯t be cold...¡± Wang Tao glanced at the burning brazier beside him, then back at the woman, and nodded. Consequently, the woman let go of Wang Tao¡¯s hand and directly snuggled into his embrace, even actively allowing Wang Tao¡¯s arms around her waist... Honestly, since the apocalypse until now, Wang Tao had seen many proactive women, but none like her. The reasons those women had been proactive were simply two, one being they genuinely liked Wang Tao, and the other being they wanted to trade their bodies for resources. This woman was different, however. Wang Tao could clearly feel that she simply wanted to indulge herself! She was after her own body¡¯s pleasure! Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t particularly interested in her body, he figured it might be easier to ask questions in this situation? Wang Tao¡¯s large hand slowly wandered over her body, feeling it becoming increasingly hot. Then Wang Tao lowered his head and whispered into her ear. The warm breath on the woman¡¯s ear and neck turned them a flushed pink. She bit her red lip, her watery eyes looking at Wang Tao... Wang Tao felt, given her somewhat confused and passionate state, it seemed almost easy to proceed right then and there. Of course, Wang Tao was not that type of person. While he continued talking to her, he asked a few more questions. Surprisingly, even though the woman was in such a state, she answered very cautiously and didn¡¯t reveal any useful information. Wang Tao clicked his tongue in wonder. To be able to answer without giving anything away under such circumstances, the woman wasn¡¯t as simple as Wang Tao had thought. If he hadn¡¯t been able to clearly sense her intoxicated spiritual state, he would have doubted whether she was just putting on an act. But that wouldn¡¯t stymie Wang Tao. She was just an ordinary person without any real strength. Was she really something he couldn¡¯t handle? Thus, Wang Tao decided to exert some effort. His hand suddenly exerted pressure, tightly embracing the woman¡¯s slim waist as though he wanted to merge her into his own body. This rough treatment didn¡¯t anger the woman. Instead, she became even more agitated. She pressed tightly against Wang Tao, and he could clearly feel the softness of her body. Wang Tao wrapped one arm around her waist and gently stroked her hair with the other hand, murmuring softly, ¡°Look into my eyes.¡± The woman instinctively raised her head to look at Wang Tao. Then, her gaze became blank for an instant, her eyes rolled back, and her entire body started convulsing, with much sweat breaking out on her body and even soaking through her clothes. Wang Tao could clearly sense her sweat seeping through her trousers. ¡°Damn, I used too much force...¡± Wang Tao had just used one of his awakened [spiritual development] abilities on the woman¡ªDeep Communication. This ability, when the other party is unresisting, allows Wang Tao to regenerate, while the other party feels as though they are doing something they love with Wang Tao, no, even more intense than that¡ªit¡¯s hard to describe... The woman didn¡¯t resist, so their exchange was direct, but she was after all just an ¡®ordinary with 100 HP¡¯ person. Wang Tao had never deeply interacted with such people before, thus his approach was a bit harsh... Like now, the woman¡¯s body kept trembling, not stopping even after several minutes, and the couch was soaked with her sweat. Wang Tao covered her mouth as some enticing sounds came from her throat. When the trembling of the woman¡¯s body finally ceased, Wang Tao removed his hand from her mouth and, seizing the opportunity, asked a few more questions. This time the woman was finally honest. She answered everything breathlessly, whatever Wang Tao asked. Including her true identity, why she came here, what her relationship with her husband was like, and her real thoughts... Now Wang Tao finally had a deeper understanding of this poisoned state. The woman, named Xia Zhen, had a background similar to what Wang Tao knew. Her relationship with her husband was indeed good. But that was in the past because she had a bit of an addiction, though she had always hidden it. However, her husband was too busy, and not up to par at night, so she had never been satisfied. Their relationship deteriorated over time. Though she had never messed around and had always behaved herself. Until one day, she encountered this ¡°Holy medicine,¡± and then things started to change. Initially, when Xia Zhen first encountered Holy medicine, her desires weren¡¯t enhanced. She felt unbearable and extremely weak when she hadn¡¯t had the medicine for a few days, as if she were going to die. But after reaching a certain level of consuming Holy medicine, her desires suddenly amplified. If she went a long time without it, her desires would grow stronger and become uncontrollable. Yet as soon as she took the Holy medicine, those desires were quickly suppressed. Chapter 1046 - 1046 418 Kuangs Poisoning Situation_2 ?Chapter 1046: Chapter 418: Kuang¡¯s Poisoning Situation_2 Chapter 1046: Chapter 418: Kuang¡¯s Poisoning Situation_2 Although she was suppressed, if she kept drinking the Holy Medicine, her desire was also increasing, albeit at a slower pace... In other words, if she didn¡¯t drink the Holy Medicine, her desire would surge instantly, making her lose control; if she drank the Holy Medicine, her desire would grow gradually like a frog being boiled in warm water... Anyway, whether she drank it or not, her desire would increase. Of course, the issue of increasing desire was deduced by Wang Tao from her words; she herself was completely unaware of any problem with the Holy Medicine. Like Qiu Rong, she truly believed the Holy Medicine was a good thing. Moreover, she didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with her desires; she felt it was human nature, perfectly normal, and she even lacked a sense of shame... Wang Tao shook his head; the Holy Medicine had completely brainwashed her, altering the values she had cultivated over so many years. ¡°So, how many men have you been intimate with?¡± Wang Tao asked, somewhat curious. ¡°Only my husband...¡± Xia Zhen spoke somewhat groggily, still lost in the aftermath of recent events. ¡°What?¡± Given her current state, Wang Tao didn¡¯t believe she hadn¡¯t messed around after coming into contact with the Holy Medicine. ¡°Because, because the Deacon told me... I¡¯m his personal item... he doesn¡¯t let me mess with other men... I actually want to, but I dare not...¡± Xia Zhen continued. ¡°Deacon? Personal item?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s brow furrowed; this unexpectedly involved the Deacon. But that wasn¡¯t right; she clearly wanted to mess around with him, which didn¡¯t match what Xia Zhen was saying. At Wang Tao¡¯s puzzled look, Xia Zhen¡¯s dazed eyes turned towards him, a foolish grin appearing on her lips. ¡°Because... I think you are stronger than the Deacon... the Deacon can¡¯t beat you...¡± ¡°What? You can perceive my strength?¡± Wang Tao was instantly shocked. No one present should have been able to discern his true strength; how could she see it? ¡°I can sense it... hehe...¡± Xia Zhen nodded in admission. ¡°Hidden Attributes?¡± Wang Tao suddenly thought of hidden attributes. Xia Zhen had no abilities and was just an ordinary person. The only explanation Wang Tao could find was that she had a hidden attribute! Hidden attributes had emerged after the apocalypse but remained concealed, only potentially manifesting with an increase in HP. Normally, if one hadn¡¯t manifested any hidden attributes even after reaching a hundred thousand blood, it meant they truly didn¡¯t have any. And she only had 100 HP, the most basic level of HP. She hadn¡¯t killed any zombies or monsters, so even if she had a hidden attribute, it wouldn¡¯t show up now. That meant she likely had a hidden attribute that could detect others¡¯ real strength. This hidden attribute was rather interesting; even in her presence, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t hide his strength. She probably couldn¡¯t perceive it very accurately, just a rough idea. If she could perceive that he was an Awakener, the situation wouldn¡¯t be what it was now... However, this also meant that Xia Zhen throwing herself at him wasn¡¯t because she was genuinely attracted by Wang Tao¡¯s appearance, but simply because she sensed his strength was powerful... ¡°Damn, I¡¯ve been vain!¡± Wang Tao shook his head speechlessly. But this made sense; he thought so. He hadn¡¯t done anything yet, his face was still covered, so why would a woman like him? It was because of this reason. But these weren¡¯t the main points; the main issue was the Deacon. ¡°What do you mean you are his personal item?¡± ¡°A long time ago he gave me the Holy Medicine, which has been making my body better and better! But if I want to continue getting the Holy Medicine, I have to agree to his conditions; he made me his personal item...¡± After Xia Zhen¡¯s fragmented explanation, Wang Tao understood the situation¡ªthis Deacon seemed to be purposefully conditioning Xia Zhen! Xia Zhen¡¯s situation differed from Qiu Rong¡¯s. She hadn¡¯t paid a single penny for the Holy Medicine; it was the Deacon who had been supplying it for free. However, the Deacon didn¡¯t supply her medicine consistently but at intervals, specifically whenever she was nearly at her breaking point... Like today, she hadn¡¯t had her medicine for several days, making her extremely uncomfortable and itchy. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao, she might have continued to endure until the Deacon gave her the medicine. But upon seeing Wang Tao, she just couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. Although the Deacon had been conditioning her all this time, he had never touched her, and she didn¡¯t even know what the Deacon looked like. The Deacon seemed to have said that he would make her perfect, but she didn¡¯t know what that meant... ¡°What in the world is the Deacon¡¯s aim? He spent so much effort to condition this woman but never touched her... How could he resist? Unless he has a more significant motive! To make her perfect? The Dusk Church... It couldn¡¯t involve some evil sacrificial ritual, could it?¡± As Wang Tao fell into deep thought, Xia Zhen also finally began to recover slowly. She looked into Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, which held a trace of affection, but more so, confusion. She felt as if she had just had a dream where she and this strange man battled through three hundred rounds. Throughout, she was completely dominated, defeated so thoroughly that her armor was stripped away, and her blood surged. Yet, she never gave up until she had not an ounce of strength left, her blood drained, and only then did she slowly wake up. It¡¯s hard to describe that feeling, but in one word¡ªit was exhilarating! In her entire life, she had never experienced such a sensation. It was her first time realizing that something like this could be so pleasurable. However ... it did seem like it was just a dream! She was now in the building, merely sitting on a couch with this strange man. Other than sitting close, they hadn¡¯t done anything. Xia Zhen didn¡¯t know what was happening, but she suddenly felt cold again, this time for real, her pants chilly. She subconsciously wiped her hand, and then her eyes widened. ¡°What, what just happened to me?¡± she asked. She looked towards Wang Tao with some confusion. She had been convinced it was a dream, yet what was going on with her body? The dream might have been fake, but the feeling in her body was very real. Even now, as she recalled that feeling, her body quickly heated up ... especially when she looked at Wang Tao and smelled his scent, her body began to tremble slightly again. It was him! Although Xia Zhen didn¡¯t know exactly what was happening, she felt it must be related to this strange man! Wang Tao already knew about Xia Zhen¡¯s general situation. Seeing her like this, he expected she would ask him, so he prepared an excuse to dismiss her. What Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect, however, was that Xia Zhen didn¡¯t ask further; instead, she suddenly grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s arm again, her eyes shining as she looked at him. ¡°Let¡¯s do it again!¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth. Was this addictive? ¡°Please!¡± Xia Zhen knew that what had just happened must be related to Wang Tao. Seeing that he didn¡¯t respond, she pleaded a bit more. Of course, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t do it again; if Xia Zhen went another round, she might dehydrate. However, I didn¡¯t directly refuse, but suddenly asked: ¡°Unless you tell me your real identity ...¡± ¡°Xia Zhen!¡± Wang Tao thought Xia Zhen still wanted to hide her identity, and he thought this reason would make her back off, but unexpectedly, she didn¡¯t let Wang Tao finish and interrupted him. ¡°I am ...¡± She not only said her name but also told Wang Tao everything about her, including the matter about the deacon. Moreover, her words matched exactly what Wang Tao had previously asked, indicating she wasn¡¯t lying to Wang Tao. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat baffled. Seeing that Wang Tao still didn¡¯t react, Xia Zhen took his hand by herself and stuffed it inside her clothes. She had no idea about the situation with spiritual power. She thought maybe Wang Tao had used some technique just now ... Wang Tao immediately pulled his hand back somewhat disdainfully. ¡°Your clothes are wet.¡± Upon hearing this, Xia Zhen didn¡¯t hesitate to start taking off her clothes, but thankfully she still had some sense, knowing there were others around. So, she put on her long coat and then took off her sweat-soaked pants, tossing them into a corner. ¡°...¡± This woman was constantly tempting him to do wrong! Wang Tao was definitely not that kind of person, but Xia Zhen was quick, suddenly grabbing Wang Tao¡¯s hand and stuffing it inside her clothes again. Wang Tao distinctly felt Xia Zhen¡¯s body begin to tremble slightly, but he didn¡¯t say much, his gaze suddenly sharpening. Someone was coming upstairs. Five people in total, three Level 3 ability users, two Level 1 ability users. Judging by their attire, the one in the middle was the deacon Xia Zhen had mentioned! And when Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power penetrated the masks of these people, he was instantly surprised. Good grief! He had seen all of these people before! Chapter 1047 - 1047 419 There is a Big Fish ?Chapter 1047: Chapter 419: There is a Big Fish Chapter 1047: Chapter 419: There is a Big Fish ¡°The Deacon has arrived!¡± Someone with sharp eyes shouted subconsciously after seeing the Deacon coming. Upon hearing the commotion, the people in the hall immediately excitedly gathered around, just like fans seeing their idol. Jiang Hui immediately turned his gaze to Wang Tao, as if asking whether to capture him. Wang Tao wanted to see what the Deacon was up to, so he did not make a move immediately; instead, he signaled Jiang Hui with a look that said ¡°be patient.¡± Jiang Hui understood well; he, Jiang Shixue, Qiu Rong, and the policewoman mingled with the crowd as if thrilled. Being masked, they were not afraid of being recognized immediately, with so many people around. Wang Tao, on the other hand, retracted his hand and then wrapped it around Xia Zhen¡¯s waist, forcefully pulling her up. Xia Zhen was groggy and did not know what was happening. Strangely enough, Wang Tao¡¯s rough treatment excited her; she thought Wang Tao would punish her on the spot, readying herself without even considering if the occasion was appropriate. However, when she saw the Deacon, she startled and instantly sobered up. ¡°The Deacon has arrived!¡± Though somewhat fearful of the Deacon, Xia Zhen regretted her actions for a moment. But as soon as she instinctively hid behind Wang Tao and felt that the Deacon was indeed not as formidable as Wang Tao, her regret dissipated. As for whether Wang Tao would help her or not, she had never considered... Wang Tao observed the five people who had come up: all wore white masks with black robes and a badge on the chest of their robes. However, their badges were different. The badges on the two Level 1 ability users and two of the Level 3 ability users were small black rhombus-shaped, like the Crystal Core. The badges were two black, one silver, and one gold, representing Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 Crystal Cores respectively. Meanwhile, the badge on the chest of the final Level 3 ability user was a gold square-shaped, resembling the shape of Level 4 and Level 5 Crystal Cores¡ªWang Tao guessed that Level 6 might look similar, though he hadn¡¯t seen it before. Of the five, Wang Tao thought the one wearing the gold square-shaped badge was the Deacon, given its distinctive appearance. But it was not so. The Deacon mentioned by Qiu Rong and the others wore a gold diamond-shaped badge. If he was the Deacon, then who were the remaining four? Were they all Deacons? ¡°Everyone...quiet down!¡± The Deacon raised a hand, and slowly, the noise subsided. ¡°Allow me to introduce that not only I have come this time, there are three other Deacons and a Priest Lord as well!¡± Hearing this, the crowd felt puzzled, unsure of what a ¡®Priest¡¯ was, but that did not prevent them from showing respect. ¡°Greetings to the Deacon! Greetings to the Priest Lord!¡± The group¡¯s respectful demeanor seemed to please the robed figures. Meanwhile, Wang Tao began to ponder. ¡°So that means those with rhombus badges are Deacons, and those with square badges are Priests? Perhaps the colors on their badges also represent ranks, with black being the lowest, silver next, and gold the highest?¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s clear the way, or the Holy Medicine won¡¯t be able to enter...¡± The Deacon waved his hand, and the crowd immediately stepped aside. Then, the two wearing silver and black rhombus badges brought over several sealed barrels. These two looked somewhat overweight, as if they rarely exercised, and were gasping for breath as they carried the barrels, despite their Level 1 Strength Ability. Jiang Hui found it odd; he could sense that these two Deacons only possessed Level 1 strength, much weaker than the talking Level 3 Deacon. Could one be a Deacon with just Level 1 strength? But Wang Tao was not surprised, because through his spiritual power, he could clearly see that these two Level 1 Deacons were none other than two deputy mayors of City Hall! Given their infrequent exercise, it was normal for them to be out of breath if the barrels were a bit heavy. However, thinking back, there were only three deputy mayors in City Hall in total. Both deputy mayors had an issue? That could only mean Yao Guodong was extremely unlucky... The two deputy mayors brought the four barrels to the center of the hall. Under the fierce glow of the surrounding braziers, they removed the seals from the barrels, revealing a black viscous liquid inside, and a strange smell instantly wafted through the air. Upon smelling this odor, most people took a deep breath, their faces showing blissful expressions. And when Wang Tao saw this substance, he subconsciously glanced at Jiang Shixue not far away, who was also looking his way. ¡°Isn¡¯t this something...we¡¯ve seen before?¡± Wang Tao communicated with Jiang Shixue using his spiritual power; she nodded, unable to speak but gesturing with her lips¡ªunderground garage. ¡°Just as I thought!¡± On seeing the black viscous liquid, Wang Tao remembered a recent event outside to avoid the Giant Eagle, where he encountered a group of odd people in an underground garage, who possessed this black viscous liquid. Although Wang Tao wasn¡¯t completely sure, since Jiang Shixue¡¯s nose was more sensitive than his, and she confirmed the substance, that was almost certain confirmation. Wang Tao¡¯s frown deepened in an instant. He distinctly remembered that those people bore no good will toward Changhe Base due to being expelled for excessive Internal Impurity in their bodies! If the Dusk Church had connections with them, it indicated they had substantial schemes! Chapter 1048 - 1048 419 There is a Big Fish_2 ?Chapter 1048: Chapter 419: There is a Big Fish_2 Chapter 1048: Chapter 419: There is a Big Fish_2 ¡°` But then again, when those people drank this stuff, they weren¡¯t poisoned. The current situation is a bit different... ¡°Everyone, please queue up according to the rules, one by one! There¡¯s enough for everyone! Also, let me add, the holy medicine this time has been given to us for free by Priest Lord!¡± The Deacon shouted loudly. ¡°For free!¡± ¡°I heard that sometimes it¡¯s free, but I never expected to encounter it so soon!¡± ¡°Haha, awesome! Thanks to Priest Lord!¡± Upon hearing this, the crowd grew even more excited and lined up orderly of their own accord. Jiang Shixue and the others also moved over to Wang Tao¡¯s side to meet up with him. Jiang Shixue glanced at Wang Tao and then at the Deacon. Having been with her for so long, Wang Tao naturally understood what she meant; she was asking about the identity of that Deacon. She could sense that the Deacon was a Level 3, whereas the vice commissioners they had seen before were only Level 1, which clearly didn¡¯t match up. Wang Tao told Jiang Shixue via Spiritual Communication. ¡°Those two Level 1 Deacons with the Black Rhombus Badges, those are the two deputy mayors! And the Deacon they¡¯re talking about is an official from City Hall...¡± If Wang Tao remembered correctly, this official seemed to be good friends with Xia Zhen¡¯s husband, right? Poor Xia Zhen¡¯s husband! Not only had his wife betrayed him, but his friend had also been secretly training his wife... Jiang Shixue¡¯s expression remained unchanged as she nodded slightly, then she turned to look at the last two men in black robes. Wang Tao continued to explain: ¡°That Deacon with the Silver Rhombus Badge is the bodyguard of the Priest wearing the Gold Square Badge. And this Priest... is a big fish!¡± A smile crept onto Wang Tao¡¯s face. He had originally only intended to gather evidence against the vice commissioner and to figure out what the Dusk Church was really about. But he hadn¡¯t expected to catch such a big fish! There were quite a few people in the hall, but they all followed the rules, so the process was very efficient. Soon, it was Wang Tao¡¯s turn. Wang Tao and his companions were all wearing masks, and their clothes were thick enough to disguise their identities. Qiu Rong had wanted to say something to that Deacon, but she was being closely watched by Jiang Shixue the whole time, which made her feel like there were thorns in her back. Remembering Jiang Shixue¡¯s warning not to speak out of turn, Qiu Rong ultimately kept silent. However, she found it strange ¡ª wasn¡¯t Mr. Wang also a Deacon? Why wasn¡¯t he with the other Deacons but queuing instead? Up to now, Qiu Rong still hadn¡¯t suspected Wang Tao¡¯s identity. After all, it was indeed Wang Tao who had gotten her out. She chose to trust Wang Tao. Xia Zhen, on the other hand, was somewhat afraid; she dared not face the Deacon. After all, he had said she was a personal item. But considering Wang Tao¡¯s strength, she could only hide beside him. Xia Zhen¡¯s body was still somewhat weak, not from fear, but due to dehydration earlier. So Wang Tao supported her by her waist, making the two seem very intimate, like a married couple. The Deacon distributing the medicine took an extra glance at Xia Zhen when he saw Wang Tao and her. He felt that her figure was somewhat familiar but didn¡¯t think much of it. After all, he had seen too many people, and resemblances were normal. Soon, Wang Tao and his group had all received their holy medicine, a large bowl each. Wang Tao led them to a corner of the hall. According to the rules just mentioned by the Deacon, they had to drink the holy medicine together that day. So everyone held their bowls of holy medicine, looking excitedly at the Deacon, waiting for his command. However, the Deacon stepped back, and the Priest came forward. ¡°Everyone...¡± As soon as the Priest spoke, Jiang Hui and others showed surprise in their eyes; the Priest was actually a woman. But her voice was very hoarse and unrecognizable, giving away neither who she was nor her age. Jiang Shixue instinctively glanced at Wang Tao, who communicated via Spiritual Communication: ¡°Guess who this big fish is?¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head. ¡°A commissioner, she is a commissioner!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes immediately revealed surprise; she clearly hadn¡¯t expected this outcome. Wang Tao had thought it was impressive enough that a deputy mayor was affiliated with the Dusk Church, but some fish are bigger still; the Priest turned out to be one of the 23 commissioners! And one of the few female commissioners at that! ¡°Her name is Zhu Fen...¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t very familiar with Commissioner Zhu Fen. He only knew she was an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman in appearance, build, strength, and even her name. If it weren¡¯t for her commissioner status, she would be easily overlooked in a crowd. But as a commissioner, she was one of the 23 highest-ranking individuals of the Changhe Base, her abilities certainly not weak, proving looks can be deceiving. However, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t imagined she would be a member of the Dusk Church, and one with high status at that. This puzzled him; wasn¡¯t her commissioner status much higher than that of a Priest? Why would she join the Dusk Church? Unless she founded the Dusk Church, or the Dusk Church could offer her something even a commissioner could not get... Zhu Fen spoke at length, mostly about the benefits of the Dusk Church and what one could gain by joining ¨C similar to what Qiu Rong had told him before. Wang Tao speculated that her lengthy speech was probably because there were quite a few newcomers present ¨C those without the poisoning status were generally newcomers, whereas the more seasoned members were those with the status. ¡°` Chapter 1049 - 1049 419 A Big Fish_3 ?Chapter 1049: Chapter 419: A Big Fish_3 Chapter 1049: Chapter 419: A Big Fish_3 ¡°` But then again, Wang Tao noticed that none of these enforcers and Zhu Fen were showing signs of poisoning. Could it be that they don¡¯t drink the holy medicine themselves? Just as Wang Tao was thinking this, he saw Zhu Fen pick up a bowl of holy medicine passed to her by her bodyguard and, with an impassioned tone, said to everyone: ¡°To welcome the newcomers, cheers!¡± ¡°Cheers!¡± Everyone raised their bowls. Then, Zhu Fen was seen lifting one corner of her mask slightly. Glug glug glug¡ª A large bowl of black holy medicine was gulped down by her in one go, not a drop left. She licked her lips, seeming to still be relishing it. The others also began drinking the holy medicine. For a moment, the sound of ¡°glug glug glug¡± was everywhere. Wang Tao then had a realization¡ªhe probably knew why Zhu Fen and the others were not poisoned¡ªit was because the medicine they drank was different! They had brought four large barrels in total. The medicine they distributed to everyone else came from the first three barrels, while she drank from the fourth barrel. That essentially confirmed that they knew there was something wrong with this holy medicine, which was why they didn¡¯t drink it themselves. However, Wang Tao had another question¡ª they could have simply chosen not to drink at all. Why did they bother to prepare two different kinds of holy medicine? Surely it wasn¡¯t just for show? Probably not... While Wang Tao was pondering, most of the people present had already consumed all the holy medicine. Then, as if they were drunk, they started to stagger and collapse on the ground with smiles on their faces. This proved that the two medicines were different¡ªafter Zhu Fen drank it, she was fine, but the others all hit the ground! As they fell, the people in Wang Tao¡¯s group who were still standing suddenly became conspicuous. Qiu Rong wanted to drink, but her cup was snatched away by Jiang Shixue, leaving her staring at Jiang Shixue with an innocent gaze. Xia Zhen¡¯s cup was also taken away by Wang Tao; her legs were too weak, and she couldn¡¯t snatch it back. ¡°Hm? Why aren¡¯t you all drinking?¡± The enforcers in black robes looked at Wang Tao and his companions in confusion. ¡°They have all collapsed. Why are you still standing?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao spoke up. Hearing this, the enforcers didn¡¯t react at first, but Zhu Fen¡¯s face beneath her mask changed immediately. ¡°Kill them!¡± The bodyguard by her side charged at Wang Tao without a second thought. Meanwhile, Zhu Fen immediately retreated, trying to go downstairs. Wang Tao was somewhat surprised by Zhu Fen¡¯s quick reaction¡ªnot bad for a woman able to become a committee member. However, in the face of absolute power, such speed was clearly insufficient. Wang Tao almost instantly blocked Zhu Fen¡¯s path, then slapped her face. Smack¡ª Wang Tao did not dare use too much force, fearing he might kill her. The mask on Zhu Fen¡¯s face shattered in an instant, and she spun several times in the air before crashing heavily against the wall. ¡°Awakener!¡± Zhu Fen coughed up blood, a look of despair appearing on her face. The Level 3 bodyguard charged at Wang Tao again, and the Level 3 enforcer joined him, attacking from both sides. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t even turn his head; he simply slapped them both. Bang¡ª The bodyguard and the Level 3 enforcer were sent flying back at a speed faster than they came, crashing against the wall, their fate unknown. The commotion was too great and people from downstairs immediately rushed up. Facing these even weaker individuals, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered to move his hands, and merely glanced at them. Boom¡ª In an instant, everyone collapsed to the ground. After knocking out these people with his spiritual power, Wang Tao then turned to look at the two deputy mayors who were still standing. ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t kill me...¡± The two deputy mayors were terrified. With their Level 1 strength ability, they couldn¡¯t even protect themselves in this battle, let alone have any combat ability. Jiang Hui and the policewoman were looking at Wang Tao with excitement and adoration. This is an Awakener! Even Level 3 ability users had no chance of resisting in the face of an Awakener! Qiu Rong was dumbfounded, not understanding what was happening. Xia Zhen was trembling all over as she watched Wang Tao, unsure what she was quivering for. As for Zhu Fen, Jiang Shixue had already reached her side and forcefully stuffed a wooden stick into her mouth. TV dramas would sometimes show characters concealing poison in their teeth and committing suicide, and although Jiang Shixue had never seen it happen, it didn¡¯t stop her from taking precautions. Wang Tao first approached the two mayors, kicking each of them towards Zhu Fen, and casually kicked the Level 3 enforcer over as well. Then, he crouched down in front of Zhu Fen, and under the terrified gazes of the three, he began removing their masks. ¡°` Chapter 1050 - 1050 420 Church Level ?Chapter 1050: Chapter 420 Church Level Chapter 1050: Chapter 420 Church Level ¡°No!¡± Just as Wang Tao¡¯s hand touched one of the deputy mayors¡¯ masks, this deputy mayor instinctively spoke out. Wang Tao stopped his movement and looked at this deputy mayor with interest, curious to see what he would say. This deputy mayor, on the other hand, was frantically pondering in his mind. He had already been caught, and no matter who his captor was, he was likely done for. But if his true identity wasn¡¯t exposed, there was still a sliver of hope. However, if his position as deputy mayor was revealed, then his last shred of hope would vanish! ¡°Let me go, and I¡¯ll give you money, a lot of money!¡± This deputy mayor hastily spoke up. Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at him as if he were looking at an idiot. Even if you are a deputy mayor, you¡¯re just a Level 1 ability user, how much money can you have? And you think you can bribe a Fourth-order Awakener? Put in a pretentious way, even if he embezzled, he couldn¡¯t possibly earn money as quickly as Wang Tao did. Obviously, this deputy mayor couldn¡¯t recognize Wang Tao¡¯s strength, as his own was too weak. However, Committee Member Zhu Fen and the other two Level 3 ability users realized it¡ªnot that they could be sure of Wang Tao¡¯s true strength, but the fact that Wang Tao could easily overpower Level 3 ability users meant he was undoubtedly a Fourth-order Awakener. So, Zhu Fen whimpered, and tears welled up in her eyes. Her mouth was stuffed full with a thick wooden stick by Jiang Shixue, rendering her unable to speak. Seeing this, Wang Tao had Jiang Shixue remove the stick. ¡°Cough, cough¡ª¡± Zhu Fen coughed violently, spitting out blood. But she couldn¡¯t care less about that at this point and managed to say with some difficulty: ¡°Cough, cough, let us go, and I can give you a great deal of Holy medicine, Crystal Coins, Crystal Cores...¡± Zhu Fen also promised a plethora of benefits, but unlike the deputy mayor, she was not a Deacon but a Master Sido, so perhaps her promise was a little more credible? Wang Tao wanted to see if they could mention anything of interest to him; these bribes obviously weren¡¯t what he was interested in. So, Wang Tao simply ignored Zhu Fen¡¯s words and proceeded to remove their masks. Zhu Fen, although a Committee Member with strong abilities, was also panicking within, completely clueless as to what to do. However, just as Wang Tao¡¯s hand touched one of the masks, he voluntarily stopped again. ¡°I¡¯m here on someone¡¯s commission to investigate Yao Guodong¡¯s death...¡± As soon as he said this, Wang Tao could clearly see Zhu Fen and the others subconsciously glance at the two deputy mayors, the anger apparent in their eyes. The two deputy mayors, meanwhile, shrank their necks, instantly regretting their actions. Wang Tao was somewhat surprised, observing their instinctual expression and surmising that Yao Guodong had likely been killed by these two deputy mayors, while Zhu Fen might not have known initially, or knew but couldn¡¯t intervene in time. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t show such a reaction. But none of that was important; what mattered was locating the killer and finding the Dusk Church. ¡°However, during the investigation, I stumbled upon the Dusk Church. That interests me greatly...¡± Zhu Fen¡¯s eyes blazed with even more fury. She loathed these two deputy mayors to the core. Just as Wang Tao guessed, Yao Guodong¡¯s death was the doing of these two deputy mayors, and she had been unaware at the time. If it had been her running things, she certainly wouldn¡¯t have acted like this, not so hastily at the very least. Although it seemed like there were no loopholes at Yao Guodong¡¯s death scene, the death was too suspicious, and no one was a fool; naturally, there would be suspicions of foul play, so an investigation was to be expected. Zhu Fen feared that someone might trace it back to the Dusk Church, despite thinking it unlikely. But what if¡ªindeed, this ¡°what if¡± actually happened! At this moment, she wished she could personally kill those two dunces; if not for them, the Dusk Church wouldn¡¯t have been exposed, and she wouldn¡¯t have ended up in this situation. But the man before her said he was here on a commission. If it was a commission, then surely the commissioner had paid a price. In other words, he was here for profit! So, if she could offer a benefit enticing enough, might he switch clients? Zhu Fen suddenly felt that she might still have a chance! Then, Wang Tao spoke again: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the Dusk Church to be like this, quite intriguing... But before figuring out your identities, I¡¯m very curious about how you killed Yao Guodong... So, I¡¯ll give you a chance. Tell me how you did it, and maybe if I¡¯m in a good mood, I¡¯ll let you go.¡± Wang Tao added. ¡°Let us go?¡± Hearing this, the deputy mayors obviously didn¡¯t believe it. They were already like fish on the chopping board, how would Wang Tao let them go? Zhu Fen, however, had a flicker in her gaze; she thought it was possible! After all, Wang Tao was hired by someone else, not here of his own volition! The only question was what Wang Tao liked, as a Fourth-order Awakener surely wouldn¡¯t lack money... maybe even small amounts didn¡¯t matter to him... While Zhu Fen pondered, Wang Tao continued: ¡°Believe it or not, it¡¯s up to you. Once I figure out how Yao Guodong died, my purpose is fulfilled. Theoretically, I could go back and report in. But I didn¡¯t expect to catch a big fish, so... it depends on your performance now.¡± Chapter 1051 - 1051 420 Church Level_2 ?Chapter 1051: Chapter 420 Church Level_2 Chapter 1051: Chapter 420 Church Level_2 Wang Tao finished speaking, and everyone exchanged glances, unsure of what to say, mainly because they were uncertain about Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts. However, Zhu Fen decided to trust Wang Tao¡ªshe had to trust him. Believing might offer a chance, but disbelief would mean being unmasked, completely exposing her face to everyone, and that would truly be the end for her! ¡°I¡¯ll speak!¡± Zhu Fen immediately spoke up. Although she had not been involved in the assassination of Yao Guodong, both deputy mayors had reported to her afterward, so she was aware of the details. Since she was not the murderer, even if she were really to be charged, it would not be her turn. Thus, speaking out did not burden her much. But the two deputy mayors were cursing inwardly. They were the masterminds! If they disclosed the event, even if Wang Tao was willing to release people, he would definitely not release them, and even if he did, they would still be caught later! ¡°A wise choice,¡± Wang Tao said in a very satisfied tone. ¡°I know too!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak too!¡± The Level 3 bodyguard and the Level 3 official also hurriedly spoke up. If there was a chance to stay alive, who wouldn¡¯t want to live? Now, the two deputy mayors felt even worse; everyone dared to speak except for them! But Wang Tao knew that these two might be the killers, and the killers¡¯ testimony would definitely differ slightly from that of bystanders. So Wang Tao added: ¡°Since you all know, let¡¯s do this one by one! If I find inconsistencies in your stories... sorry, you might not get a chance for a trial.¡± Wang Tao glanced at them, his aura as a Fourth-order Awakener radiating for the first time, causing everyone to feel a chill down their spines. ¡°Let¡¯s start with you two.¡± Wang Tao pointed at one of the deputy mayors. The two deputy mayors were flustered¡ªthey hadn¡¯t said they knew anything, so why was it starting with them? However, looking at Wang Tao¡¯s expression, they didn¡¯t doubt that he might indeed kill them! After all, to an Awakener, their Level 1 Strength Ability was no different from an ant... They had no choice; speaking might lead to death later, but not speaking could mean death now! Thus, the two could only honestly confess. To prevent them from colluding, Wang Tao took special measures to have them speak in a room, ensuring they couldn¡¯t hear what the others said. In such a situation, in order to avoid inconsistencies with others, they could only tell the truth. So, these men honestly retold the event of Yao Guodong being assassinated, including the instigators being the two deputy mayors. However, they were quite cunning; without their faces revealed by Wang Tao, they didn¡¯t directly tell Wang Tao that the two deacons were the deputy mayors. They still had a hope, just in case Wang Tao really released them, that being wanted as deputy mayors later was better than being captured now. After hearing their stories, Wang Tao nodded immediately. The event was almost as he had speculated... The two deputy mayors had killed Yao Guodong because he had become an Ability User! Yao Guodong was very capable, but old, and was supposed to retire. With Yao Guodong¡¯s retirement, these deputy mayors were vying for his position. Both deputy mayors were from the Dusk Church, and they knew each other¡¯s identities, therefore, by partnering up, they would definitely be stronger than any other deputy mayor¡ªthus securing the position for themselves. But what they hadn¡¯t expected was Yao Guodong becoming an Ability User. That complicated matters. Because becoming an Ability User improved one¡¯s health, Yao Guodong could delay his retirement. Without Yao Guodong retiring, they would never have the chance to move up. Therefore, they chose to act, taking advantage of Yao Guodong¡¯s current weakness to kill him! Thus, they contacted another deacon, the Level 3 Ability deacon who provided Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen with Holy Medicine. After paying a price, this deacon agreed to help. However, he didn¡¯t participate directly; he planned to make Qiu Rong give Yao Guodong the Holy Medicine and then lure him out. What would happen to Yao Guodong after he went out, that wasn¡¯t his concern. Then, the two deputy mayors found a hitman¡ªyes, at Changhe Base, there was still such a profession, but it could only be found in the black market, very secretive. They found a hitman who was said to possess not high, but very strong assassination skills. Upon paying some Crystal Coins, the hitman accepted the task and succeeded. The events that followed were what Wang Tao had witnessed at the scene... ¡°So, you mean to say, you don¡¯t know who this hitman is?¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brows. ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Zhu Fen quickly shook her head. She was the last one to be asked, she didn¡¯t dare to tell any lies, she really didn¡¯t know. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, although they could catch the mastermind behind the scenes, it was somewhat regrettable that they couldn¡¯t catch the actual murderer. But... it didn¡¯t matter, the rest was up to the police and City Hall to investigate, after all, being able to personally capture those two deputy mayors was already a big help to them. ¡°Fine, you barely passed. I have one last question. If you answer it to my satisfaction, I will let you go.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°...You¡¯ll keep your word?¡± Zhu Fen looked uneasy. ¡°You have no choice but to trust me. And like I said, I¡¯m just working on someone¡¯s behalf, and now that the task is complete, I can leave at any time. I have no grudge against you, just a bit curious...¡± Wang Tao said unhurriedly. ¡°Then go ahead and ask!¡± Zhu Fen clenched her teeth, she didn¡¯t want to die, she had to take the chance if there was one. ¡°Good, tell me about this Holy Medicine and everything about your Dusk Church.¡± ¡°You¡ª¡± Zhu Fen probably anticipated what Wang Tao was going to ask, but still hesitated to answer upon hearing it. ¡°You only have one chance, anyway, if you don¡¯t speak others will. If I find you¡¯re of no use, then the consequences... think about it yourself.¡± ¡°...¡± Zhu Fen struggled internally for a while and finally decided to speak. After all, her own life was what mattered most. ¡°The Dusk Church...¡± In the other rooms, Jiang Shixue and the others were also interrogating. Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power could detect it, so he could also see the content of their interrogations. Several people conducting interrogations at the same time saved a lot of time. It just gave Wang Tao a bit of a headache, as it was relatively multitasking... After some time, Zhu Fen and the others recounted everything about the Holy Medicine and the Dusk Church. Wang Tao finally had some understanding of this Dusk Church. The internal hierarchy of this Dusk Church was strict; currently, there were four levels. The lowest were the ¡°Ordinary Believers,¡± like Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen, who were not considered real members of the church, so they did not have any rank. Only if they recruited three believers could they officially join the church and become ¡°Devout Believers.¡± Devout Believers were the lowest rank in the church, and if they performed well, they could be promoted to ¡°Deacon.¡± Those were the deputy mayors and such. Above the Deacon was the ¡°Master Sido,¡± who, according to Zhu Fen, was the only Master Sido currently at Changhe Base. But she was not very sure because there were rules within the Dusk Church that forbade inquiring about other people¡¯s identities. Generally, only their superiors would know one¡¯s identity, for example, the deputy mayors were all Zhu Fen¡¯s superiors, she knew their real identities, but they did not know Zhu Fen¡¯s identity. So if there really were other Master Sidos, Zhu Fen might not know unless it was someone above Master Sido, which was the highest rank¡ªthe Bishop. She was certain there was no Bishop within Changhe Base because she always had to go out to contact the Bishop. But whether there were other Master Sidos, she did not know... ¡°Bishop, Master Sido, Deacon, Believers... ¡± Wang Tao felt this church was huge! And even Zhu Fen, this committee member, was just a Master Sido... who exactly was this Bishop! Chapter 1052 - 1052 421 Types of Holy Medicine (Happy New ?Chapter 1052: Chapter 421: Types of Holy Medicine (Happy New Year everyone!) Chapter 1052: Chapter 421: Types of Holy Medicine (Happy New Year everyone!) Wang Tao suddenly thought of the Shang Qin he had seen in the underground garage before. ¡°I wonder what role he plays in this Dusk Church...¡± Shang Qin seemed decent enough to Wang Tao, but he was weak, with only Level Two strength, probably just a deacon. If he had a chance later, Wang Tao planned to go back to that underground garage. Apart from herself, Zhu Fen didn¡¯t know if there were any other priests. It was highly unlikely within the base, but there should be some outside. As for how many bishops there were, she was also unsure. The significance of the badges on their chests was just as Wang Tao had guessed: diamond-shaped for deacons, square for priests, and circular for bishops. Among them, black badges indicated junior rank, silver was intermediate, and gold was senior. Zhu Fen was now a senior priest, and if she were promoted one more level, she would become a bishop. She herself was striving to become a bishop, but under the current circumstances, just surviving was good enough; she dared not think about becoming a bishop anymore. Wang Tao was curious why she, a prominent committee member and one of the top 23 people in Changhe Base, would become part of the Dusk Church. If the Church had been founded by her, it would make sense; but she hadn¡¯t founded it, nor was she a bishop¡ªthere were others above her... Facing this question, Zhu Fen said that joining the Dusk Church could help her live longer, make her reborn, stronger, and even immortal! This answer made Wang Tao speechless; clearly, Zhu Fen had been brainwashed. The thing that could brainwash even her was that so-called Holy medicine! Wang Tao learned from Zhu Fen and the others that there were two versions of the Holy medicine. One was ordinary, and the other was advanced. The Church¡¯s leaders consumed the advanced version, while the followers drank the ordinary version. The difference between the advanced and ordinary versions was that the advanced version contained some extra substances. Zhu Fen didn¡¯t know exactly what because she didn¡¯t mix these medicines or know the raw materials; she had bought them from a bishop outside. What surprised Wang Tao was that Zhu Fen didn¡¯t know about the toxic nature of the Holy medicine¡ªmore precisely, she didn¡¯t know that the Holy Medicine could kill people; she only knew it was addictive. In her eyes, Holy medicine was similar to smoking, at most slightly more addictive than cigarettes, far from the extent of drugs. And the reason she thought this way was not only because she had been brainwashed but more importantly, she had been consuming the advanced version of Holy medicine, which was different from the ordinary one. Wang Tao saw that when Zhu Fen and her group arrived, they showed no signs of poisoning. But after they also drank a bowl of Holy medicine, they showed signs of poisoning, although much milder compared to others. [Poisoning: A moderately addictive common toxin, prolonged use can cause an increase in certain desires, detoxification possible after 3 days without use] The poison in Zhu Fen worked similarly to Xia Zhen¡¯s, increasing certain desires. But while Xia Zhen¡¯s poison required 30 days of abstaining to detoxify, Zhu Fen needed only 3 days. This time was reduced by a factor of ten! For example, Zhu Fen¡¯s Level 3 bodyguard was poisoned lethally, yet the detoxification time was much shorter. [Poisoning: A moderately addictive common toxin, prolonged use can cause death. Detoxification possible after 12 hours without use] This time was even shorter, just 12 hours. That meant just holding on for half a day was enough to detoxify. Compared to Qiu Rong¡¯s seven days, this detoxification period was reduced by more than tenfold. This must be the effect of that added substance in the advanced version of Holy medicine. From what he saw with Xia Zhen and Qiu Rong, the ¡°Holy Medicine Addiction¡± typically began two to three days after consumption. Thus, for a 12-hour detoxification like this, one wouldn¡¯t even reach the point of addiction before detoxifying on their own. Even for someone like Zhu Fen, who needed three days to detoxify, it would pass as long as she endured a little. Nor did they drink it regularly¡ªthe bishop had advised them to consume the advanced version every three to five days and the ordinary version every one or two days, and they had always followed this instruction. So they did not feel the medicine was toxic; they thought of it as similar to cigarettes. Of course, they thought its effects were far more potent than cigarettes. Physical pleasure was secondary; mainly, they thought it gave them rebirth. As for what this so-called rebirth really was, Zhu Fen said she had seen a bishop who had already achieved rebirth¡ªzombies wouldn¡¯t attack the bishop! She had seen with her own eyes how the bishop moved freely among a crowd of zombies. The zombies simply didn¡¯t attack him! In this post-apocalyptic world, one of the greatest threats to humanity was the zombies, which seemed innumerable. They didn¡¯t see how humans could possibly win, as the zombies were just too many! But if the zombies stopped attacking humans and could coexist peacefully, wouldn¡¯t that practically be rebirth? Therefore, they were unwavering in their belief in the effects of the Holy medicine. Moreover, the bishop had said that not being attacked by zombies was just one aspect of the rebirth through Holy Medicine, there were many other benefits... Wang Tao could see the fervor in Zhu Fen¡¯s eyes; she truly believed in the power of Holy Medicine. Chapter 1053 - 1053 421 Types of Holy Medicine (Happy New ?Chapter 1053: Chapter 421: Types of Holy Medicine (Happy New Year everyone!)_2 Chapter 1053: Chapter 421: Types of Holy Medicine (Happy New Year everyone!)_2 Wang Tao¡¯s expression was somewhat strange. Not attacked by zombies? Jiang Shixue isn¡¯t attacked by zombies either! Her physique is special, previously quite similar to the zombies¡¯, so they don¡¯t attack her, treating her as one of their own. Now that Jiang Shixue¡¯s physique has reverted, there might still be a remnant zombie scent on her, but as long as she doesn¡¯t get too close to the zombies or deliberately attack them, they won¡¯t assault her either. Apart from Jiang Shixue, Wang Tao also has the Stealth Potion, which also wouldn¡¯t attract zombie attacks. So, does this count as ¡°rebirth¡±? Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, but he didn¡¯t plan to explain to Zhu Fen. He pondered carefully; he felt that the damage to the body caused by the Potion poisoning should be permanent, and even detoxification wouldn¡¯t help. Before the apocalypse, Wang Tao had seen people poisoned by pesticides, and even if they ultimately survived, they might suffer from a lifetime of illnesses. Not to mention the damage caused by narcotics, which is even more fearsome and largely irreversible. If these poisons were indeed permanent, then this advanced version of the Holy Medicine might not necessarily be better than the ordinary version... After all, the ordinary version of the Holy Medicine is harder to kick, but the symptoms of poisoning are more obvious, allowing for early prevention. For example, if Qiu Rong and her group encountered Wang Tao, he would certainly force them to detoxify. Even if it wasn¡¯t Wang Tao, any normal person could tell that something was wrong with their bodies. But for someone like Zhu Fen, because the time needed for detoxification is shorter and they consume it every few days, they appear normal and show no signs of poisoning. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t notice their addiction. Moreover, they are fanatic about the Holy Medicine. Even after their bodies detoxify, they still crave it, forming a mental dependency. That could lead to a situation where they might appear completely normal but suddenly drop dead one day! Without any warning signs, there¡¯s no way to prevent it. So Wang Tao felt that, comparatively speaking, the ordinary version of the Holy Medicine might be better since he could see the effects and attempt prevention... Of course, from the perspective of detoxifying, the advanced version is certainly better; enduring for up to three days would suffice for detoxification. But those who consume the advanced Medicine are the core members of the Dusk Church, and they don¡¯t see any issues with it. Those drinking the ordinary version, perhaps not fully brainwashed, might want to quit, but with the prolonged detoxification time, they simply can¡¯t... Wang Tao felt that this must be the Bishop¡¯s intention¡ªaddiction in core members shouldn¡¯t be too obvious, or it might be easily discovered. Hence, they use the advanced version. Ordinary Believers, however, don¡¯t matter as much, since they don¡¯t know the identities of the core members. Even if the addiction is exposed, it doesn¡¯t really matter. Though Zhu Fen didn¡¯t know that the Medicine could be lethal, she was aware that it was addictive and might have some side effects. Such addictive substances, if discovered, would certainly be condemned, so she didn¡¯t dare to go public. She planned to gradually expand, hoping to allow the Holy Medicine to step out from the shadows, but unfortunately, Wang Tao discovered it... Wang Tao continued to interrogate Zhu Fen, asking her about the side effects after taking the Holy Medicine herself. That is, which desires were enhanced in her case. But Zhu Fen couldn¡¯t answer; the enhancing of desires was subtle and she didn¡¯t feel that her desires had increased; she thought she was completely normal. Having no other choice, Wang Tao questioned her from other angles. Zhu Fen was cooperative; although she couldn¡¯t specify which desires were amplified, she shared everything she knew when Wang Tao asked. Then Wang Tao discovered that her increased desires were the same as Xia Zhen¡¯s, also related to sexual desire. However, she was much better than Xia Zhen who was treated like personal property, helpless to resist... Zhu Fen was different; she had a large supply of the Holy Medicine and faced no restrictions. She mentioned having over a dozen physically strong male slaves at home... She even had ambiguous relationships with some of her male subordinates... All Wang Tao could say was, she knew how to play. Apart from Zhu Fen experiencing this desire-enhancement effect of poisoning, another Level 3 officer¡¯s condition was similarly about increased desires. However, after letting Jiang Shixue inquire a bit, Wang Tao discovered that it wasn¡¯t sexual desire that was augmented for him, but the desire for power. No wonder he deliberately trained Xia Zhen but never laid a finger on her¡ªit was a different kind of desire. This made Wang Tao frown. If it were just a matter of sexual desire between men and women, it would actually be no big deal, but the desire for power was very troublesome... Take these two deputy mayors, for example¡ªone¡¯s increased desire was ¡°eating,¡± and the other¡¯s was ¡°power¡±! The one whose desire for power had increased was the instigator behind the plot to kill Yao Guodong. Such a person was like a ticking time bomb to the base. Luckily, they had now captured Zhu Fen, who could help them arrest other members of the church. As a Master Sido, she knew the identities of all her subordinates and had a list in her possession. Then Wang Tao asked about Xia Zhen. If the Deacon had no particular designs on her, why did he treat her like that? Zhu Fen cleared up Wang Tao¡¯s confusion¡ªit was her idea. It wasn¡¯t just Xia Zhen; there were other women, especially the female relatives of some officials, who had been secretly lured into drinking the Holy Medicine, so they all obeyed Zhu Fen¡¯s commands! The fact that Qiu Rong and Li Xin could get their hands on the Holy Medicine was manipulated by Zhu Fen from behind the scenes. Zhu Fen only liked strong men; she naturally had no interest in these women. They were merely tools to her. These women would prove very useful at critical moments, like the assassination attempt on Yao Guodong, for instance. And it didn¡¯t stop there. She would train these women well, preferably turning them into promiscuous women, and then use them to bribe the committee members! Changhe Base was controlled by 23 committee members, only three of whom were women; the rest were all men. If she could subdue those men, wouldn¡¯t she effectively control the entire base? Thus, she had specially prepared these women to play their role at crucial moments. Some men might pull up their pants and deny any involvement, but she wasn¡¯t worried. She would not only use the allure of women but also find ways to feed them the Holy Medicine! If these committee members all drank the Holy Medicine, then they would all be under her control! She would be able to dominate the entire base! Her plan was bold, but with the existence of the Holy Medicine, it was also highly feasible. It was a pity that she encountered Wang Tao¡ªno, even without Wang Tao, she might still have encountered some trouble. It was all because of Yao Guodong¡¯s assassination, which made the committee members from the Legion feel that strength was paramount, and some even considered abdicating their positions. If the committee members were Level 3, she could control them with the Holy Medicine, but if Fourth Order Awakened Ones took their place, she knew she was no match¡ªjust one slap could kill her; how could she continue to threaten and entice them? So Zhu Fen had come in person this time, partly to recruit more believers and see if she could promote a few more to work for her. However, she ran into Wang Tao, and he wiped her out in one fell swoop... ... Wang Tao compared the information he got from Zhu Fen with what he learned from others. They certainly didn¡¯t know as much as Zhu Fen, but the things they spoke of were similar to what Zhu Fen had mentioned. It proved they weren¡¯t lying, which pleased Wang Tao as it saved him time and effort. ¡°You see, I have satisfied your curiosity. Can you let me go now?¡± Zhu Fen immediately pleaded cautiously. She had not yet taken off her mask and had not revealed her identity, so she felt that she might be able to leave, survive, and possibly continue to be a committee member. Then she saw the mask on her face, full of cracks, suddenly shatter, revealing her true face. ¡°...¡± ¡°It seems you¡¯re out of luck.¡± Chapter 1054 - 1054 422 Committee Members Suicide (Happy New ?Chapter 1054: Chapter 422: Committee Member¡¯s Suicide (Happy New Year everyone!) Chapter 1054: Chapter 422: Committee Member¡¯s Suicide (Happy New Year everyone!) Zhu Fen was somewhat dumbfounded. Although her mask was already somewhat shattered, many parts of it were still intact, and it could have lasted much longer. How had it suddenly broken? If Wang Tao had not seen her face, she might have had a chance to leave, but now that Wang Tao had seen her, and her identity as a commissioner had been exposed, there was no way she could leave¡ªafter all, her position as a commissioner was very influential, potent enough to threaten the Awakeners! Wang Tao certainly wouldn¡¯t let her leave. Even if Wang Tao had let her go, she would most certainly have been pursued! Now, her only hope was that Wang Tao did not recognize her. If it had been someone else, that might have been possible, given that she rarely appeared in public. But Wang Tao was a Fourth Order Awakened One; it was impossible that he had not seen any of the 23 commissioners! Sure enough, Wang Tao spoke with a tone of surprise, ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect that the Master Sido of the Dusk Church was Commissioner Zhu!¡± Zhu Fen¡¯s last sliver of hope vanished, leaving her despondent. ¡°How could this happen... Heaven wants to destroy me!¡± Wang Tao had clearly made a move, but she hadn¡¯t felt any wind or anything, yet her mask had shattered... She thought it was just bad luck, but little did she know, it was a trick by Wang Tao. Although Wang Tao had not touched her and everything seemed unrelated to him, he had actually used his spiritual power! Normally, spiritual power is quite an abstract thing, only capable of affecting one¡¯s consciousness, but Wang Tao¡¯s [Mental Development] was different. Since his Awakening of [Mental Development], he had been practicing his spiritual power. Although he didn¡¯t know much in the area of controlling spiritual power, the plasticity of this Awakening was strong. Thus, he gradually devised ways to materialize his spiritual power¡ªObject Control! Of course, this ability was still in the experimental stage and barely useful, not even capable of taking out a pen. But within a certain range, he could manipulate it slightly. For example, in this case, when Zhu Fen¡¯s mask was largely shattered but some parts were still intact, he just needed to use his materialized spiritual power to hit the weakest spot slightly, causing the mask to fully break. This was just a minor trick, and even without it, Wang Tao would have detained Zhu Fen, not letting her leave. But still, it was a kind of ¡°live practice,¡± and for such a level, Wang Tao felt quite satisfied. He believed that once his power grew stronger, he should be able to truly control objects! ¡°Commissioner Zhu, now that you have exposed your identity, I¡¯m sorry, but I can¡¯t let you leave. Otherwise, if you send someone to assassinate me, although I am not afraid, it would still be quite bothersome,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, looking at the despondent Zhu Fen, grabbing her hair without waiting for a response, pulling her up from the ground and dragging her out of the room. This room was only occupied by him and Zhu Fen; others were being questioned by Jiang Shixue and Jiang Hui. Wang Tao had them bring people out. Seeing Zhu Fen¡¯s face, not to mention Jiang Hui and the female police officer being shocked, even the deputy mayors were also stunned. Goodness! Their direct superior in the Dusk Church turned out to be a commissioner! The group was somewhat regretful. Had they known that the Master Sido was Commissioner Zhu, they wouldn¡¯t have taken the risk to assassinate Yao Guodong; they would have just arranged it directly through the commissioner! Unfortunately, there are no what-ifs... ¡°Since Commissioner Zhu has already unmasked herself, the rest of you might as well stop hiding,¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, and Jiang Hui and the female officer, seeing the terrified looks of several deacons, couldn¡¯t wait to act and stripped these people of their masks. ¡°Deputy Mayor Bi? Deputy Mayor Gong? Minister Cen? Captain Wu?¡± Seeing these four individuals, Jiang Hui and the female officer were completely overwhelmed. The Dusk Church had sent four deacons and one Master Sido, a top rank in the Church in the absence of a bishop, which definitely counted as senior officials, probably the entirety of the Church¡¯s current high-rank officials! And the fact that they knew all these five high-rank individuals, who were also high-ranking officials, left them after their initial shock, feeling a tingling sensation on their scalps¡ªif it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao, they would have had no knowledge of the Dusk Church¡¯s dealings, and most top officials might have become addicted to the so-called Holy medicine silently. That would have been a disaster! Jiang Hui and the female officer looked gratefully at Wang Tao. What he did was not only catching those who attempted to assassinate Yao Guodong but also thwarting a dire conspiracy! In response to their grateful gaze, Wang Tao just shrugged his shoulders. To be honest, he hadn¡¯t expected to catch so many big fish; he thought there would just be the deputy mayors, but there turned out to be five... ¡°It¡¯s over...¡± The five individuals all showed a look of despair on their faces. If their true identities hadn¡¯t been exposed, they might have had a chance, but now that their identities had been revealed, it was completely over. Especially for the two deputy mayors, who were the actual assassins of Yao Guodong, they were very aware of the laws within the base, and their deaths were certain now! ¡°Run¡ª¡± Someone tried to escape. But with so many people around, letting them escape would indeed be a joke. Jiang Shixue immediately acted, and before anyone could see her move, she had kicked all these people back. ¡°You take these people away. Little Xue and I still have some things to take care of,¡± Wang Tao told Jiang Hui. The rest of the matters were no longer his concern, but with so many poisoned people here, Wang Tao planned to study the effects of the poisoning on them. Chapter 1055 - 1055 422 Committee Member Suicide (Happy New ?Chapter 1055: Chapter 422: Committee Member Suicide (Happy New Year everyone!)_2 Chapter 1055: Chapter 422: Committee Member Suicide (Happy New Year everyone!)_2 ¡°` ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Hui immediately nodded, but then he scratched his head in embarrassment. ¡°But, I¡¯m only Level Two...¡± There are several Level 3s among these people, and he, being just Level Two, really couldn¡¯t suppress them. Blacky was still warming himself in the police station and hadn¡¯t come over. ¡°True, in that case...¡± Wang Tao reached into his chest pocket and pulled out a black heart. ¡°A Night Demon?¡± Jiang Hui and a policewoman both showed some surprise, not expecting Wang Tao to carry such an item with him. However, they felt that this heart was somewhat different from those they had seen before. Thud¡ª The Night Demon Heart hit the ground and immediately swelled, a very tall and burly dark green Night Demon appeared. At the same time, a terrifying aura spread out, causing everyone present apart from Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue to feel weak in the knees. ¡°This, this is... a Level 5 Night Devil Weapon?¡± Zhu Fen spoke with a face full of shock. Although she was paralyzed, her experience was much more extensive than Jiang Hui and the others¡¯. She had seen many Level 4 Night Devil Weapons and could distinctly sense that in both appearance and aura, this one was incomparable to a Level 4. Wang Tao ignored her and instead turned to Jiang Hui, speaking in a calm tone: ¡°Take it with you when you go back, and we¡¯ll see who gets chased away, and who runs becomes the Night Demon¡¯s meal.¡± ¡°Ah? Yes!¡± Jiang Hui finally came to his senses, his face a mix of shock and joy. He was only Level Two now! Level 4 seemed unreachable to him, and here he was, getting to work with a Fifth-Order Creature in his lifetime? Jiang Hui almost doubted he was dreaming, but he didn¡¯t dare dawdle. He immediately handcuffed Zhu Fen and the others along with the policewoman, and then led them out in order. The Night Demon Type II followed quietly behind him, creating an oppressive feeling for everyone, including Jiang Hui. Wang Tao had already instructed the Night Demon Type II to obey Jiang Hui¡¯s orders. Although it was currently bound to Wang Tao and nobody else could control it, Wang Tao could have it perform some simple tasks, just like the current one. ¡°Oh right, do you have the information of all personnel inside the base? Give me a copy, or grant me access, I want to check on a few people,¡± Wang Tao said to Jiang Hui. ¡°Yes!¡± Jiang Hui was a policeman who had the authority to investigate the identities of all residents within the base. Now that he was the head of the investigation team, his temporary authority was even greater. He could access information including that of officials. Jiang Hui granted a temporary access to Wang Tao¡¯s informational wristwatch, which meant Wang Tao¡¯s searching the data was the same as if he was doing it himself. Once Wang Tao confirmed there were no issues, Jiang Hui and his group quickly left, indicating that they would send someone to pick up Wang Tao shortly. After they left, Wang Tao turned to Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen. Because both women had always wanted to drink the Holy medicine and struggled to control themselves, Jiang Shixue simply found a Rope, and had them tied back-to-back. Their expressions were pained, especially with so much Holy medicine around that they could only watch but not drink, which made them extremely uncomfortable. But as uncomfortable as they were, their consciousness was clear, and they had observed everything that had just happened. Qiu Rong could hardly believe it; she had long thought Wang Tao was a Deacon of the Dusk Church, but it turned out to be false! She deeply regretted, regretted having told so much to Wang Tao. Her attachment to the Dusk Church wasn¡¯t particularly strong, but the lack of Holy medicine was excruciating. As for the matter of her husband¡¯s murderer and the fact that these people from the Dusk Church were affiliated with the base¡¯s high-levels, she wasn¡¯t concerned with that now; all she could think about was the Holy medicine. Xia Zhen was likewise in disbelief; she had never expected the high-levels of the City Hall, even members of the committee, to be part of the Dusk Church! And that Deacon, the one who lured her into drinking the Holy medicine and intentionally tormented her, was her husband¡¯s close friend! However, like Qiu Rong, these issues were not the priority for her now. What mattered was whether she would get to drink the Holy medicine! However, unlike Qiu Rong, Xia Zhen had already been let loose by Wang Tao before, so she didn¡¯t feel as tormented as Qiu Rong... ¡°My lord... I, I want to drink...¡± Xia Zhen looked pitifully at Wang Tao. Upon hearing the voice, Qiu Rong also hurriedly looked over. Although she was desperate for some Holy medicine, she retained some sense of reason. With Wang Tao not revealing his identity by removing his mask, she didn¡¯t dare to call his name, but could only look at him with hope. ¡°` Wang Tao glanced at the two women, then promptly dismissed them from his attention. They wouldn¡¯t die from not drinking; at worst, they would only feel uncomfortable. There were still so many people lying on the ground at the scene, all of them in a state of poisoning, and their symptoms were not all the same. Wang Tao needed to do some research and take a look at who they all were. Wang Tao went to remove the masks of these people, while using the camera on his informational wristwatch to take pictures of their faces. The results were more or less what Wang Tao had expected: not a single one was an ordinary person. They were all family members of some officials from the base, and many were high-ranking officials at that. Moreover, the vast majority were women¡ªall of them quite good-looking. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we discovered this. If all of these women had been exploited by Zhu Fen, it would have been a shock to the entire base!¡± Wang Tao sighed, then continued, ¡°And this is not all, Zhu Fen confessed that she has some followers who were not here. We will save those people later...¡± Zhu Fen had confessed everything in order to save her life. Wang Tao could tell she wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°Hmm.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded her head. Right then, Wang Tao¡¯s informational wristwatch suddenly rang. Upon answering, Jiang Hui¡¯s tense voice came through. ¡°Mr. Wang, Committee Member Zhu Fen is dead!¡± ¡°Hm? How did she die?¡± Wang Tao frowned. With a Night Demon Type II at Level 5 around, she shouldn¡¯t have been attacked by anyone, right? ¡°Suicide. She had poison on her person, and she took her own life!¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue exchanged a glance, both somewhat surprised. Jiang Shixue had specifically taken precautions against Zhu Fen¡¯s suicide earlier. Zhu Fen had shown no intention of taking her own life even after her identity was exposed. So how come she suddenly committed suicide? ¡°She said she knew our methods and didn¡¯t want to be tortured. She also knew she couldn¡¯t survive, so she committed suicide... I couldn¡¯t stop it... Mr. Wang, should I come back to find you?¡± Jiang Hui added hastily. He needed to have Wang Tao confirm that Zhu Fen had indeed killed herself; otherwise, he would have a hard time explaining the situation. ¡°Where are you? I¡¯ll come over,¡± Wang Tao said. Jiang Hui was able to contact Wang Tao through the informational wristwatch, which meant he hadn¡¯t gone far; with the heavy snow outside, there would be no signal any further away. ¡°I am at...¡± Indeed, Jiang Hui wasn¡¯t far away, so Wang Tao went over to check it out with Jiang Shixue. Soon, Wang Tao saw Jiang Hui and the now HP-less Zhu Fen. The deputy mayor and the others were not a problem; clearly, they still wanted to live. If there was even a drop of HP left, Wang Tao might have been able to save her, but with no HP at all, there was truly no hope. ¡°You can¡¯t be blamed for this. Who knew where she had hidden poison in her body. After we get back, I will speak in your favor.¡± Wang Tao patted Jiang Hui on the shoulder. ¡°Great!¡± Jiang Hui was immediately overjoyed. Given his current situation, his small stature wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand the repercussions of Zhu Fen¡¯s death, but with Wang Tao¡¯s assurance, things were different. After thanking him, Jiang Hui left with Zhu Fen¡¯s body. Wang Tao returned to Bamboo Cui Community once again. On the way, Wang Tao suddenly thought of something: ¡°Zhu Fen confessed everything about the Dusk Church, and now she has committed suicide. Doesn¡¯t that mean that only I know some of the important things about the Dusk Church? Including the remaining assets, which are all mine now?¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t originally been interested in the Dusk Church, but now... he felt he might have some interest. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to use the Dusk Church to control others, but perhaps he could impersonate Zhu Fen and contact that bishop outside the base? If he had the opportunity to completely eradicate this evil organization, he certainly couldn¡¯t miss it. Chapter 1056 - 1056 423 Worsening Poisoning ?Chapter 1056: Chapter 423: Worsening Poisoning Chapter 1056: Chapter 423: Worsening Poisoning Wang Tao discussed his idea with Jiang Shixue, who thought it was feasible. According to what Zhu Fen had told them before, although she did not know the identity of that Bishop, the Bishop also did not know her identity! Their encounter with the Bishop had been extremely cautious; they had not even spoken to each other, the other party didn¡¯t even know whether he was male or female! Normally, a Bishop, being of higher rank than a Master Sido, should be aware of the Master Sido¡¯s identity, but Zhu Fen was different¡ªshe was inside the base, while the Bishop was outside, unable to exert any influence over her. She might be someone who could mix it up with the committee members, so she was very careful in this regard. Therefore, Wang Tao could certainly make contact with the Dusk Church using Zhu Fen¡¯s identity. But that would be a matter for later; Zhu Fen had said that they had agreed to meet again after the snow and ice had melted. Judging from the current situation, waiting for the snow and ice to melt would take at least a month, wouldn¡¯t it? So there was no rush for the time being... However, Zhu Fen left behind many things. Wang Tao was not interested in her properties, but he was interested in things related to the Dusk Church; he could go collect them over the next couple of days... As Wang Tao pondered this, he returned to the building they had been in before. But after climbing the stairs, Wang Tao frowned. When he had left, Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen had been tied up with ropes. Now, however, the ropes from Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen were gone, and they lay sprawled on the ground, their pupils dilated, with vacant, silly smiles on their faces. Next to them lay a middle-aged woman, who was also sillily grinning. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue exchanged glances, and he said with some uncertainty, ¡°Did this lady wake up? And then she untied them, and they took the medicine?¡± ¡°It seems so,¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He had not expected someone to wake up early after taking the medicine and then untie the ropes. This Holy medicine was highly addictive; their first reaction after being freed would definitely be to consume the Holy medicine... But if they drank it, they drank it; one more sip wouldn¡¯t kill them. It was just that getting off it again would waste some more time... Luckily, they hadn¡¯t run outside; otherwise, in this snowy weather, they might have frozen to death if they were unlucky. ¡°Wake up!¡± Wang Tao slapped Qiu Rong¡¯s face. Qiu Rong only knew to smile silly at Wang Tao, even when Wang Tao deliberately pinched the flesh on her waist, she had no reaction, and Xia Zhen was the same... They were clearly immersed in their own worlds. Wang Tao shook his head, guessing that they wouldn¡¯t wake up for quite some time. ¡°Brother, what should we do with these people?¡± Jiang Shixue asked as she looked at the people sprawled all over the place. Although Jiang Hui had said he would drive over to pick up Wang Tao, Wang Tao didn¡¯t think it appropriate to let Jiang Hui take all these people away. He had checked; many of these people were family members of some officials within the base. Revealing their identities might cause considerable turmoil for the base... Although the turmoil didn¡¯t have much effect on Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t that these people were beyond help. As long as they persevered, they could still get rid of their addiction. If their situation led to a large number of personnel being suspended, it might be the Ordinary citizens who would suffer, especially since many areas were still in the midst of a snow disaster... ¡°Jiang Hui probably won¡¯t arrive anytime soon, and considering that the lady had already woken up, the others will probably wake up soon too. Let them go home by themselves when they wake up.¡± Since they were able to get here, they could naturally find their way back. ¡°Okay.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded. So the two waited a while longer, and, sure enough, just as Wang Tao had guessed, people gradually began to wake up. Wang Tao told them directly that the Master Sido, Deacon, and their group had all been captured, and he had saved them, urging them to quickly go home now. They were somewhat bewildered by this news. In their perspective, they had only drunk a bowl of Holy medicine, and right after they finished drinking it, the Master Sido and Deacon were gone? Although they were somewhat skeptical, there was indeed no one on the scene, and the Holy medicine had all been claimed by Wang Tao... This led them to reluctantly accept the reality. ¡°Then, can we still purchase the Holy medicine?¡± someone boldly asked. Wang Tao showed some aura of an Awakener to make these people comply, as many of them were Ordinary people who were clearly a bit scared of him. ¡°No, you all need to go back now. Otherwise, when the police come, you won¡¯t be able to leave even if you want to,¡± Wang Tao said indifferently. After hearing this, the crowd dared not dally, and they quickly got up. At this moment, another person asked, ¡°Then may I ask who you are...¡± Wang Tao was still wearing a mask at the time, so they did not know who he was. Wang Tao thought for a moment, then directly said, ¡°...I am the New Chaplain.¡± Since he planned to impersonate Zhu Fen, he might as well start now. Hearing that Wang Tao was the New Chaplain, the crowd suddenly became excited again. They did not care who the Master Sido was or who the Deacon was; they only cared about whether they would be able to continue drinking Holy medicine in the future. Since there was a New Chaplain, they would certainly be able to keep drinking Holy medicine in the future! So these people promptly paid their respects to Wang Tao and then, without wasting any words, left downstairs. They didn¡¯t want the police to discover their true identities. Watching these people leave one after another, Wang Tao¡¯s face was expressionless. He had no intention of continuing to supply them with Holy medicine, but he could help them get off their addiction. He had to ensure they would do so, otherwise, it would affect the stability of the base. Chapter 1057 - 1057 423 Worsening Poisoning_2 ?Chapter 1057: Chapter 423 Worsening Poisoning_2 Chapter 1057: Chapter 423 Worsening Poisoning_2 Since Wang Tao already knew their identities, he would just contact them directly later. After these people had left, Wang Tao looked towards the last ones, Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen. It was unclear how much they had drunk, but the old lady had already woken up and left, while they were still lost in their own world. Zhu Fen had mentioned before that one shouldn¡¯t drink too much of the medicine at once. If they drank too much, it might worsen their condition. ¡°If it really worsens, it¡¯s your own bad luck.¡± Wang Tao had no way to wake them up, mainly because they were just ordinary people who were too fragile. If he wasn¡¯t careful, he might end up killing them. So Wang Tao continued to wait with Jiang Shixue, and not long after, Jiang Hui came over again. ¡°Oh? Mr. Wang, those people...¡± Jiang Hui, seeing only the knocked-out thugs left, cautiously looked at Wang Tao. ¡°I let them go.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide the fact. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Jiang Hui, hearing this, actually breathed a sigh of relief. On the way here, he had been wondering how to deal with those people. He didn¡¯t know their identities, but considering the mayors, ministers, and even committee members involved, there might have been some high-status individuals among them. Meeting under these circumstances would have been really awkward... Letting them go was indeed a good solution, especially since the City Hall couldn¡¯t handle any disturbances now. So Jiang Hui didn¡¯t ask further; he summoned people to carry the thugs inside, and then under Wang Tao¡¯s direction, they loaded the ¡°Holy Medicine¡± into the vehicle. ¡°This so-called Holy Medicine¡ªI¡¯ll give you some to take back and report, but I¡¯ll keep the rest. I want to study and find out exactly what this stuff is.¡± Wang Tao said, pointing to several barrels of the Holy Medicine. ¡°...Okay!¡± Jiang Hui obviously wanted to take all the Holy Medicine, as it could be very harmful if it entered into society. But since Wang Tao wanted some, he definitely could not refuse. After a while, the vehicle finally arrived at the police station. By then, Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen had awakened from their own world, and upon seeing the poisoning status on their heads, Wang Tao immediately frowned. Initially, Qiu Rong¡¯s poisoning condition was ¡°An Ordinary Toxin with addictive properties, prolonged use may lead to death. Detoxification possible if not ingested within 7 days.¡± But now it had changed to ¡°An Ordinary Toxin with addictive properties, prolonged use may lead to death and increased certain desires. Detoxification possible if not ingested within 15 days.¡± Not only had an ¡°increased desires¡± negative status appeared, but it had also changed from 7 days to 15 days. Xia Zhen¡¯s poisoning status had changed as well. Before, it was ¡°An Ordinary Toxin with addictive properties, prolonged use may lead to increased certain desires. Detoxification possible if not ingested within 30 days.¡± But now it had become ¡°An Ordinary Toxin with addictive properties, prolonged use may lead to increased certain desires. Detoxification possible if not ingested within 60 days.¡± Her condition had not added the ¡°may lead to death¡± negative status, but it changed from 30 days to 60 days! No wonder Zhu Fen said not to drink too much of this medicine; this must be the punishment for overconsumption. Wang Tao was utterly speechless about this. Qiu Rong had been just a few days away from detoxing, and now, it had restarted and become even more difficult. As for Xia Zhen, her period had been directly extended to 60 days, a bit unreasonable. Although this poison wouldn¡¯t result in death, Wang Tao doubted she could endure it on her own... Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen looked at Wang Tao with great trepidation. Wang Tao had clearly told them not to drink the medicine, or the consequences would be severe. But after Wang Tao left, they couldn¡¯t restrain themselves; they didn¡¯t care too much and just couldn¡¯t control themselves when an opportunity arose... Now, seeing Wang Tao again and feeling his icy presence, they both shivered a bit. ¡°What was the situation at that time?¡± Wang Tao asked directly. The two women did not dare to hide anything and quickly explained. Shortly after Wang Tao left, the old lady woke up. Before she could understand the situation, Qiu Rong hurriedly called her over to untie herself. The old lady was still bewildered but came over to help anyway. After Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen were untied, Qiu Rong immediately grabbed a big bowl and drank the Holy Medicine. Xia Zhen had originally been able to resist, especially since she had already vented before, but seeing so much Holy Medicine there and with Qiu Rong drinking so cheerfully, she just couldn¡¯t hold back and also drank a big bowl. After that, they couldn¡¯t remember how many bowls they had drunk; it was quite a few, and they were drinking mixes of ordinary and high-level medicines.... Wang Tao figured that the reason their poisoning status had become so outrageous was probably related to their mixing and drinking a large amount of medicine. ¡°You two are finished.¡± Wang Tao spoke bluntly. ¡°...¡± Upon hearing this, the two women shivered. Qiu Rong had already been somewhat afraid of Wang Tao, and now she was even more frightened after being deceived by Wang Tao posing as a deacon. Xia Zhen was similarly scared because she knew she was dealing with a Fourth-order Awakener! The situation had become clear now; the Dusk Church had been designated as a cult, and their actions were considered illegal. When Wang Tao said they were finished, did that not imply they were doomed to die... So, the two women immediately knelt before Wang Tao and begged for mercy. They had clearly misunderstood, and Wang Tao hadn¡¯t intended to scare them but explained: ¡°I¡¯ll tell you again, you drank poison¡ªno matter what you think, this is poison. And because you drank too much, the poisoning has worsened, so if you want to detoxify, it will cost you much more than before. When I said you were finished, I didn¡¯t mean you were dead, but... what comes next might make you wish you were.¡± ¡°...¡± The two women were even more scared, they still didn¡¯t think what they had drunk was poison, but the phrase ¡°wish you were dead¡± was loud and clear to them. Wang Tao didn¡¯t argue with them any further but just casually mentioned: ¡°Just to remind you, the high ranks of the Dusk Church have all been captured, and all the Holy medicine has been destroyed, so you will never be able to drink Holy medicine again in your life.¡± ¡°...¡± Qiu Rong and Xia Zhen were dumbfounded. No more Holy medicine ever? Wasn¡¯t that almost the same as sentencing them to death? Watching their expressions of despair, Wang Tao spoke again with a smile: ¡°However, you don¡¯t need to worry; I will help you.¡± This statement instantly reignited a ray of hope in them, which was immediately extinguished by Wang Tao¡¯s next sentence. ¡°I will help you detox. The process might be painful, but the outcome will definitely be good. No need to thank me.¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao ignored the despair of the two women and went upstairs to the police station to fetch Li Xin, then stuffed all three women in his car, and drove to the research institute with a press of the accelerator. Just as the car stopped, Qu Shilin, clad in a military coat, came out yawning. As the car entered the research institute, Qu Shilin gave Wang Tao a glare and said: ¡°Wang Tao, why are you waking me up in the middle of the night!¡± ¡°Here¡ª¡± Wang Tao pointed to the three women in the car and briefly explained the situation to Qu Shilin. Upon hearing about Holy medicine and poisoning, Qu Shilin perked up immediately. ¡°Okay! Leave it to me! Another research project!¡± She was quite interested in the poison, especially since Wang Tao had given her a large amount of Holy medicine for her studies. Qiu Rong and the other two women felt an inexplicable chill down their spine; they suddenly felt that being near Wang Tao might be safer... But Wang Tao didn¡¯t give them a chance to resist and directly handed them over to Qu Shilin. After chatting for a bit more with Qu Shilin, Wang Tao left the research institute with Jiang Shixue. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t head home but decided to take advantage of the night to visit Zhu Fen¡¯s place. She had many properties, none under her name, and all well-concealed. These houses contained many things she left behind, including Crystal Cores, various odd items, items related to the Dusk Church, and most importantly, the complete list of church members in the base... Wang Tao planned to scavenge through them. Since Zhu Fen was already dead, and no one else knew about these items, it would be a waste to let them go unclaimed. Chapter 1058 - 1058 424 Scouring the Inheritance ?Chapter 1058: Chapter 424: Scouring the Inheritance Chapter 1058: Chapter 424: Scouring the Inheritance Zhu Fen¡¯s official residence, allocated by the base, was not far from the City Hall, but aside from a small number of Crystal Cores, nothing else remained. It was probably sealed off by now, so Wang Tao had no plans to go there. He and Jiang Shixue came to a large villa that Zhu Fen had secretly purchased. Inside Changhe Base, people with strong power had no need to buy houses on the sly. After all, might makes right was deeply ingrained now¡ª¡±those with strength should enjoy more resources¡± was the prevailing mindset... Plus, houses here weren¡¯t particularly valuable, at least much cheaper than pre-apocalyptic prices. If someone did buy property secretly, there was basically just one reason¡ªthere was something in the house they didn¡¯t want others to see. Like in Zhu Fen¡¯s villa... ¡°Wow, so many Crystal Cores?¡± Wang Tao forcefully cracked the villa¡¯s security door, and when he and Jiang Shixue entered, they were dazzled by the Crystal Cores filling the room¡ªfloors, walls, ceilings, various decorations, all used a large number of Crystal Cores! The whole hall was ¡°bling bling¡±! Jiang Shixue was never one to care about wealth; she had grown up in a well-off family. After turning half-zombie, she felt even less for such things. But now, seeing so many Crystal Cores, even she was tempted. Of course, it wasn¡¯t because the Crystal Cores were so valuable; it was purely because they were so shiny and pretty. Girls tended to lack immunity to such sparkly things. Wang Tao too felt a thrill for a moment, almost believing he¡¯d struck it rich. But after examining the Crystal Cores closely, he shook his head. Though there were many Crystal Cores, they were all Level 1 and also were No Ability Crystal Cores... Hence, their value was greatly diminished. ¡°You like them? Then all these Crystal Cores are yours.¡± Looking into Jiang Shixue¡¯s gleaming eyes, Wang Tao immediately ruffled her hair and said. ¡°I don¡¯t want them.¡± Jiang Shixue shook her head subconsciously. She knew that those things were of no use to her, and using them as decorations would be a total waste. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about wasting them, these Crystal Cores aren¡¯t worth much.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, and then he and Jiang Shixue started taking down the Crystal Cores. Even though Level 1 No-attribut Crystal Cores weren¡¯t worth much, they still represented money and shouldn¡¯t be wasted. They found Crystal Core decorations throughout the villa, particularly in the living room and a master bedroom. After some time, they managed to pry out all the Crystal Cores. Wang Tao estimated that there were several tens of thousands of them, with a total value of less than 20 million Crystal Coins. ¡°Huh? Suddenly, using Crystal Cores as decorations doesn¡¯t seem so expensive!¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin and remarked. Crystal Cores were indeed pretty, especially under light, even more so than diamonds or gems. However, considering Crystal Cores were a form of trading currency, Wang Tao had never before thought to use them as decorations¡ªafter all, who uses money as ornaments? But now, seeing that less than 20 million Crystal Coins¡¯ worth of Crystal Cores could create such a dazzling effect, the decorative properties of Crystal Cores seemed quite impressive! ¡°We could try it out sometime!¡± Wang Tao said, smiling at Jiang Shixue. ¡°Mmhmm~¡± Jiang Shixue, realizing that so many Crystal Cores didn¡¯t even amount to 20 million Crystal Coins, wasn¡¯t afraid of being wasteful anymore. After all, she could go out, kill some zombies or beasts, and easily earn that much back for Wang Tao. After collecting the Crystal Cores used for decorations, the two continued to scour the villa. In the master bedroom, Wang Tao found a huge safe. Even though he didn¡¯t know the safe¡¯s code, it was mechanical, so Wang Tao could use his spiritual power to probe inside the lock and easily found the code. Click¡ª With a soft sound, Wang Tao opened the safe. ¡°Wow! So many Crystal Cores? The ones in here are actually valuable!¡± There were a lot of Crystal Cores inside the safe, and even though they were No Ability Crystal Cores, their levels were much higher. The two quickly took out all the Crystal Cores, and Wang Tao calculated that they were worth about 20 million in total. ¡°This much money, it couldn¡¯t be just from her earnings, right? So greedy¡ªno, wait! Maybe she did earn it...¡± Wang Tao was about to suggest that the money was from Zhu Fen¡¯s embezzlement, but then he thought that Zhu Fen was not just any committee member; she also had the identity of a Dusk Church Master Sido. Just selling Holy Medicine with that status could make her quite a bit of money, right? But whether it was embezzlement or earnings, since Wang Tao had seen it, it all belonged to him now. Wang Tao unceremoniously collected all the Crystal Cores into his storage space. Besides these Crystal Cores, there were other valuables in the villa, which Wang Tao also took. After making sure there wasn¡¯t a single grain of rice left in the villa, Wang Tao immediately drove to the next location. The second place was also a villa, although not as large as the first. There weren¡¯t many Crystal Core decorations inside, but there were plenty of animal pelts. ¡°Where did she get all this stuff?¡± Looking at the various beautiful animal skins, Wang Tao was curious. Nowadays, most living animals had mutated and were not something ordinary people could deal with. Wang Tao thought that the likelihood of these pelts coming from mutant beasts was slim... He continued his search and found a room in the villa that resembled an exhibition hall. Inside were numerous animal specimens from before the apocalypse, non-mutated creatures. Each specimen was accompanied by a description. Chapter 1059 - 1059 424 Scouring the Inheritance_2 ?Chapter 1059: Chapter 424: Scouring the Inheritance_2 Chapter 1059: Chapter 424: Scouring the Inheritance_2 ¡°Indeed, these are creatures from before the apocalypse...¡± These items must have been purchased by Zhu Fen from others or collected by Zhu Fen before the apocalypse... Anyway, no matter what, these items were all very beautiful, and Wang Tao accepted them all with a smile. After arranging the animal hides and specimens, Wang Tao also found a safe in the master bedroom of this villa. Wang Tao used the same method to open this safe. ¡°These two safes actually have different passwords; this Zhu Fen is really quite cautious...¡± Wang Tao shook his head and then looked inside. ¡°More Crystal Cores!¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue unceremoniously collected these Crystal Cores again. Wang Tao calculated they were worth another 20 Million! ¡°She¡¯s really rich!¡± Wang Tao remarked with emotion. Although he was wealthier than Zhu Fen, his wealth came from adventuring, while Zhu Fen could earn so much while staying safe and secure inside the base¡ªtruly impressive. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be anything missed, right?¡± Just as Wang Tao was about to leave, Jiang Shixue suddenly tugged at the hem of Wang Tao¡¯s clothes. ¡°Brother, it seems like there¡¯s some movement below...¡± Jiang Shixue pointed at the ground. ¡°A basement?¡± The large villa they had just searched didn¡¯t have a basement, so Wang Tao had subconsciously overlooked whether this villa had one. ¡°It should be, I heard some noises.¡± Jiang Shixue nodded her head; her senses were very sharp, especially in the quiet of the night, where she could hear things from far away. ¡°Then let¡¯s look for it!¡± Wang Tao carefully felt around with his spiritual power and then immediately looked towards one spot. ¡°There really is a basement; I see the entrance!¡± The basement was quite deep; although Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power was strong, its range was limited, so he couldn¡¯t see exactly what was in the basement, but he did find the entrance. And this entrance was right under a table in the middle of the hallway, which required a mechanism to open. Wang Tao didn¡¯t know where the mechanism was, but that wasn¡¯t a problem¡ªhe forcefully pried open the entrance to the basement. It was pitch dark inside, but to Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, it was no different from daytime. They went straight down the stairs. As Wang Tao delved deeper, his spiritual power had already previewed the situation in the basement. ¡°Oh my...¡± Wang Tao was shocked. When Jiang Shixue saw what was inside, her mouth slightly opened in surprise, seemingly a bit bewildered. Because in this basement, there were many ¡°animals¡±! At first glance, they indeed looked like animals, all different kinds. But upon closer inspection, one could see that these were not real animals but humans dressed in animal skins¡ªno, it felt like the skins weren¡¯t just worn but sewn on. ¡°This is so perverted...¡± Wang Tao felt extremely disgusted. Especially considering these people were all still alive, they crawled on all fours like real animals, locked in iron cages, looking at Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue who were approaching with eyes full of panic and despair. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here to rescue you,¡± Wang Tao said softly. Hearing a voice that was not that old woman¡¯s, the ¡°animals¡± in the cages became somewhat restless, but they still didn¡¯t dare to speak. Wang Tao took out an Ultraviolet flashlight and aimed it at the ceiling before turning it on. He was afraid that shining it directly onto their faces might blind them, after all, he didn¡¯t know how long it had been since they had been exposed to light. The rich ultraviolet light made these people instinctively shrink back, but squinting their eyes, they managed to make out Wang Tao¡¯s tall figure. Without wasting words, Wang Tao directly opened their cages and brought them some food and water. With the clean food and water, the people temporarily let down their guard and then, like animals, crouched on the ground to eat. ¡°Who can tell me, what happened to you?¡± Wang Tao asked. A moment later, a weak male voice spoke up. ¡°We...¡± More than ten minutes later, Wang Tao had a rough idea of what was going on. These people were all captured, but they didn¡¯t know who had captured them, only that it was a perverted old woman. They were all ordinary people with 1000 HP, and even if Zhu Fen was weak in combat, she had a Level 3 body, so it was clear they couldn¡¯t beat her. Therefore, it was normal that she could suppress them. After they were captured, their bodies were sewn with animal skins, and Zhu Fen treated them like animals. But this wasn¡¯t entirely due to Zhu Fen¡¯s psychological perversion; mainly, she used these people to entertain others! As for what ¡°entertainment¡± entailed, it wasn¡¯t limited to physical punishment, humiliation, violation, and other kinds of terrible acts. Many people had died previously because they couldn¡¯t endure the torture; they were replaced batch after batch. The weak man who spoke was the one who had held on the longest... Wang Tao found it hard to imagine what kind of pervert would enjoy these ¡°people in animal skins,¡± especially since all these people were men... could it be that she entertained homosexuals? However, the weak man explained further that there were homosexuals, but those who violated him were not men, but included Zhu Fen and several other old women... He was just an ordinary man, while those old women were all Level 3, and these men simply couldn¡¯t withstand it, especially since they were also being tortured and made to drink things that exhausted their bodies... his iron rod was being ground to a needle! Wang Tao, as a fellow man, sympathized with these people. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to waste here, and he directly said: ¡°You are free now, but there¡¯s a heavy snowfall outside, and you can¡¯t leave. You can wait until tomorrow morning, and the police will come to take you home. As for the animal skins on your bodies... it shouldn¡¯t be a big problem, even if it¡¯s really grown into your flesh, our base¡¯s doctors should be able to separate them for you...¡± Upon hearing this, the people were immediately very excited, for although they were tormented to the point of preferring death, who would wish to die if they could live? ¡°That old woman...¡± Some were still worried, however. ¡°She¡¯s already dead.¡± Whew¡ª Instantly, the people heaved a sigh of relief. Then all of them kneeled down to Wang Tao in unison. ¡°Thank you, our savior!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively and then prepared to leave. But as he was leaving, he remembered something and suddenly asked: ¡°Right, have you seen what those people look like?¡± ¡°We have!¡± The crowd immediately answered. ¡°Oh? Then take a look, are any of these people among them?¡± Wang Tao handed over his informational wristwatch, which had some photos on it. ¡°Yes!¡± The people quickly identified several women and men. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao shook his head silently, having already suspected that those entertained by Zhu Fen must have significant status. Sure enough, much as he had imagined, there were not only officials and Ability Users, but also another female and a male committee member. Such recognition was obviously of no use against these people since there was only testimony and no physical evidence. However, it didn¡¯t matter to Wang Tao, physical evidence was something for the police to find, and it had nothing to do with him; he just needed to know who was involved. Wang Tao took these people to the villa, and after making sure they were not in danger, he left with Jiang Shixue. They would notify Jiang Hui on the way back. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue continued to scavenge through Zhu Fen¡¯s legacy. It wasn¡¯t until the next morning that Wang Tao finally searched through the last villa. This villa was the most inconspicuous and remote, but it was the most important¡ªbecause it contained the list of the Dusk Church¡¯s members and many Holy medicines. Wang Tao had intended to come to this place first, but since it was farther away, he had saved time by searching from near to far. It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to find the list. Looking at the names and various introductions on the list, Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. ¡°So many people have been converted into believers, and many women have already been trained, like time bombs ready to explode at any moment...¡± Chapter 1060 - 1060 425 Billionaire ?Chapter 1060: Chapter 425 Billionaire Chapter 1060: Chapter 425 Billionaire After plundering Zhu Fen¡¯s estate, Wang Tao quickly calculated the value of the Crystal Cores, which totaled 140 million Crystal Coins! Including the Crystal Coins Wang Tao already had, he now possessed about two hundred million and a few million more. ¡°I¡¯ve become a billionaire just like that!¡± Wang Tao chuckled a bit. It had to be said, Zhu Fen really was a talent at making money, too bad she didn¡¯t use it for good. But after seeing the member list of the Dusk Church, Wang Tao could understand¡ªnone of Zhu Fen¡¯s followers were poor, each name was followed by a long string of titles. One could say she had vigorously harvested the wealthy individuals in the base. Wang Tao took these Crystal Cores, as for other assets, he wasn¡¯t interested. Now wasn¡¯t like the time before the apocalypse, houses weren¡¯t of much significance, having a place to live was enough for him. ¡°But what should I do with these people...¡± Looking at the thick list in his hands, Wang Tao fell into a dilemma. Truth be told, these people hadn¡¯t committed any terrible crimes, they were merely exploited by Zhu Fen, all pitiable. But it was definitely not okay to ignore them, as they were like countless ticking time bombs, ready to go off at any moment. Even though Zhu Fen was dead and nobody was deliberately directing them, their addiction would definitely lead to some undesirable incidents. So Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be careless, and if he couldn¡¯t find a good solution soon, he was prepared to gather them and enforce detoxification! Even though this might offend some people, Wang Tao didn¡¯t care, as long as he could defuse these ¡°time bombs¡±... Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue returned to the villa, and he briefly shared the events of the previous night with Ding Yuqin and the others. Hearing that one of the commissioners turned out to be a member of the Dusk Church, everyone was somewhat incredulous; they obviously couldn¡¯t understand why the commissioner would debase himself. However, when Wang Tao displayed the recently seized assets¡ªworth two hundred million in Crystal Cores¡ªeveryone seemed to instantly understand. Not only could he make a lot of money, but he also gained physical pleasure and had something to look forward to... For those who couldn¡¯t awaken, this was indeed a delightful situation. However, this was obviously ineffective for Ding Yuqin and the others; under Wang Tao¡¯s leadership, their goal was very clear¡ªbecome stronger. And not only did they have the opportunity, but some had already become stronger. It was just Awakening, no big deal! After Wang Tao finished talking with everyone, Jiang Hui called. He informed Wang Tao that the imprisoned men had been rescued. When Wang Tao left, he had contacted Jiang Hui and told him about the villa¡¯s location and the situation inside, and had also directly stated that this was one of Zhu Fen¡¯s properties. At that time, while Wang Tao was alone with Zhu Fen, he surely learned some information, and Jiang Hui of course knew this, so he wasn¡¯t surprised, and he didn¡¯t ask many questions either. He knew what he should and shouldn¡¯t know. This time he had accomplished great feats¡ªfinding the killer, destroying the cult, and eliminating the corrupt... Any of these feats alone could guarantee his promotion and a salary increase, and all this thanks to Wang Tao! Jiang Hui clearly understood his role; he absolutely wouldn¡¯t let himself know what he shouldn¡¯t, and he would definitely not gossip. No matter how much good stuff Wang Tao could find in the houses left by Zhu Fen, that was all Wang Tao¡¯s business, he wasn¡¯t involved at all, and he wouldn¡¯t even report it, not wanting to cause any trouble for Wang Tao. So when Jiang Hui sensed that Wang Tao was not very concerned about his reputation, he immediately told Wang Tao that it was his men who found Zhu Fen¡¯s left-behind houses, and that it had nothing to do with Wang Tao. Wang Tao was very satisfied with Jiang Hui, so he told him about some other properties left by Zhu Fen. Wang Tao only took some portable items; there were still many valuable things inside, including the houses themselves, which couldn¡¯t be wasted. This was yet another great achievement for Jiang Hui¡ªextracting so much useful information just before Zhu Fen¡¯s death was a feat no less significant than the previous ones! Jiang Hui excitedly told Wang Tao that after this incident, he was likely to be directly promoted to Deputy Director. That was a conservative estimate, and as for the ambitious one... he didn¡¯t dare think, he couldn¡¯t even imagine it. Seeing this situation, Wang Tao asked if he had communicated with the imprisoned ¡°Beastkin.¡± Jiang Hui said no, he was just about to send those men to the hospital. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao immediately told him not to send people to the hospital yet as they would probably be ¡°suicided¡± if they were. He instructed him to first find out what those men knew, and it would be best to have the members of the Six Major Legions present. Upon hearing this, Jiang Hui started to tremble with excitement. What did Wang Tao mean by that? Was there a bigger fish? Must have the members of the Six Major Legions present, didn¡¯t that mean this big fish might be at the commissioner level? If it was as he suspected, he wouldn¡¯t just be a Deputy Director; possibly, he could even become the Director? However, toppling someone at the commissioner level was almost impossible, even if he was the chief of police by then... but it also depended on which commissioner. Since Wang Tao had expressly said to have the members of the Six Major Legions present, it clearly indicated that the ¡°big fish¡± was not one of them. That put Jiang Hui at ease! After all, the Six Major Legions were currently the strongest in the base, and as long as they were fine, he didn¡¯t have much to worry about. Chapter 1061 - 1061 425 Billionaire_2 ?Chapter 1061: Chapter 425 Billionaire_2 Chapter 1061: Chapter 425 Billionaire_2 Jiang Hui hastily thanked Wang Tao and then got busy with his tasks. The news about these ¡°Beastkin¡± hadn¡¯t spread yet, and he had to get the people to the Six Major Legions before it did, otherwise, they might get silenced... After ending the call with Jiang Hui, Gu Yun sent a message to Wang Tao. ¡°Mr. Wang, I heard you made quite the headlines last night?¡± Gu Yun tentatively broke the silence. ¡°Oh? Do tell?¡± Since becoming the acting mayor, Gu Yun had stopped being involved in the investigation related to Yao Guodong¡¯s assassination. Moreover, to avoid any suspicion, he would not actively inquire about it. Therefore, the information he had now should be what most others could access, maybe just a bit more connected at best. Wang Tao thought it was worth listening to. ¡°The capture of two deputy mayors, the Dusk Church, the committee member...¡± Gu Yun recounted everything he knew. After listening, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. The details Gu Yun shared were close to the truth, which were obviously the information Jiang Hui had released. However, there were some discrepancies¡ª In places where Wang Tao did not want to disclose information, such as the individual interrogation of Zhu Fen, Jiang Hui did not mention a word. But in areas where Wang Tao indicated he did not mind public disclosure, such as capturing the murderer, uncovering the dual identity of the committee member, and unraveling the Dusk Church conspiracy, Jiang Hui had made a particular point of it! To put it simply, the leader of their investigative team, Jiang Hui, specifically hired Wang Tao from the Starfire Society as a consultant to join in this secret mission. Under the leadership and command of Mr. Wang Tao, they caught the murderer, cracked several cases, and eliminated a bunch of high-ranking corrupt officials... Although these achievements indeed couldn¡¯t have been done without Wang Tao, to say that Wang Tao was fearless, bold and resolute, capable of fighting against many, and incorruptibly just... it even made Wang Tao blush. ¡°Very perceptive, very perceptive indeed!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t too concerned about these accolades, but he had to admit, they were quite pleasing to hear. He estimated that once this news spread throughout the base, the reputation of Wang Tao or rather the Starfire Society would likely rise a notch. It was a pity he hadn¡¯t planned on recruiting on a large scale, so this fame was of little use for the time being. ¡°These are more or less correct, just some differences in detail...¡± Wang Tao gave Gu Yun a brief explanation. Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s confirmation, Gu Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. He had called Wang Tao at the earliest opportunity upon receiving the news, simply wishing to confirm its authenticity. Although the police had released the information and it should be accurate, it affected his career, so he needed to be 100% certain it was the truth. Now that he had confirmation from Wang Tao, the ¡°acting¡± part of his title as Acting Mayor would probably be removed in a few days. The most frustrating thing for him had been his status as a suspect, since he benefited the most from Yao Guodong¡¯s death. Now with evidence against the two deputy mayors, he could completely clear his suspicions. Given that there were practically no other candidates for the mayoral position at City Hall, the position was virtually his for the taking! However, since things were not yet official, Gu Yun didn¡¯t elaborate further with Wang Tao. He would come to thank Wang Tao personally once everything was confirmed, because, after all, Wang Tao had greatly assisted him... Less than half a minute after finishing the call with Gu Yun, Wang Tao received another call, this time from Qu Shilin. ¡°Wang Tao, we¡¯ve discovered something about that Holy medicine... It seems to contain some of the mushrooms that you gave me before...¡± ¡°Hmm? The Strength Mushroom, Defense Mushroom, and those others?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao was immediately surprised, but then again, upon reflection, it wasn¡¯t all that unexpected. Without synthetic composition, those mushrooms could be eaten directly, but they all had hallucinogenic side effects, just like the Holy medicine... However, eating those mushrooms would not only not harm the body but would also provide a simple boost in physical condition, with only hallucination as a side effect, which was completely different from the supposed Holy medicine¡ªclearly, there was much more in the drug. ¡°This is a good start. I suspect it won¡¯t be long before we make a breakthrough in researching this Holy medicine! By the way, you mentioned that quite a few people were affected by this Holy medicine? How many in total?¡± ¡°Around two hundred or so,¡± Wang Tao replied without concealing the information since their relationship was very good now, practically on the same side. ¡°Hiss! So many people! We better hurry up and step on it!¡± Qu Shilin said another few words and then actively ended the call. She was very concerned about this matter, after all, it was a major issue that would affect many people. After ending the call with Qu Shilin, Wang Tao received a message from Cheng Yiyi. Cheng Yiyi¡¯s message stated that her call didn¡¯t get through and she needed to speak with Wang Tao. ¡°Today is just so busy...¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao then returned a call to Cheng Yiyi. ¡°Wang Tao, I need your help with a favor!¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s tone was somewhat serious. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I need to capture someone, and I want you to back me up! You might even need to take action...¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Interest immediately showed on Wang Tao¡¯s face, ¡°You guys aren¡¯t going after certain committee members, are you?¡± ¡°How did you¡ªOh, I see now!¡± Cheng Yiyi was initially surprised but quickly understood¡ªsince Wang Tao was involved with many of last night¡¯s events, it was not strange for him to know about those ¡°Beastkin¡±; perhaps he and Jiang Hui were together at the time, so he knew what these Beastkin had said. However, Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t ask further as it was enough for her to know. ¡°It¡¯s exactly as you understand, can you help me out?¡± ¡°Of course, no problem, when do we meet?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time to lose, right now! We just found out that these two committee members are currently with a few Fourth-order Awakeners, and we¡¯re afraid delays could lead to complications, so... you understand!¡± Cheng Yiyi quickly explained. ¡°Alright, where are you? I¡¯ll head over now.¡± Wang Tao originally planned to get some sleep, having been up for a day and a night, but since Cheng Yiyi needed help, he figured he might as well go; after all, Awakeners had much stronger physical constitution. ¡°Thanks! It would be even better if you could bring more people! We¡¯re at the camp...¡± After ending the call, Wang Tao directly rallied others to head out with him. He knew what Cheng Yiyi meant, not that he would not be able to win if it really came down to a fight, but rather to avoid any accidents. This was like the police dealing with criminals. Maybe there¡¯s only one criminal, but they would deploy dozens or even hundreds of officers! After all, in such situations, one-on-one fights were out of the question, even if one could win without the need to take risks. What they needed was absolute victory, to avoid any accidents as much as possible. So when Wang Tao arrived at the garrison of the Sixth Army Corps with Lan Yulian and the others, he saw that Cheng Yiyi and her people were already fully armed and ready, with all three Awakeners of the Legion present. ¡°Move out!¡± After nodding to each other, Cheng Yiyi wasted no time in giving the order, and their formidable squad immediately mobilized. Before long, members of the Six Major Legions converged, totaling over a hundred people. Although the number of people deployed this time wasn¡¯t large, they were at least Level 3 ability users. And these Level 3 ability users were not the main combat power, if conflicts were to arise, it would have to be the Awakeners who took action. At this time, amidst the blowing snow, inside a villa. A group of people was drinking. Sitting at the head were a middle-aged man and woman, while some City Hall officials and several Awakeners sat below. ¡°Zhu Fen is dead. What do you all make of this?¡± The middle-aged woman started talking with a worried tone. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t involve us, as we haven¡¯t left behind any incriminating evidence. Zhu Fen was really foolish, to be caught out like that...¡± One of the Awakeners commented somewhat contemptuously. ¡°Indeed, wouldn¡¯t it have been better if he had taken one of us with him at that time!¡± Another person added to the conversation. ¡°You all need not worry. Even if there were any evidence against us, what can be done about it? I don¡¯t believe anyone would dare to touch us. What our base needs is stability¡ªwait, what¡¯s that noise outside?¡± Chapter 1062 - 1062 426 Capture Them All Alive ?Chapter 1062: Chapter 426: Capture Them All Alive Chapter 1062: Chapter 426: Capture Them All Alive ¡°Is everyone inside?¡± ¡°They are!¡± ¡°Okay, go call them.¡± Outside the villa, after exchanging a few words with several other legion commanders, Tian Xuesong, the commander of the First Legion, immediately issued an order. Then, a man holding a loudspeaker stepped forward. ¡°Those inside, listen up, you are surrounded! Put down your weapons and surrender immediately...¡± ¡°Those inside, listen up...¡± Although the blizzard was raging outside, the sound of the loudspeaker still penetrated the villa. The Awakeners inside the villa were stunned for a moment; they thought they had heard wrong. Someone approached the window, saw that there were indeed many more figures in the snowy wind outside, and they became even more puzzled. ¡°Did the people from City Hall come knocking? Have we been exposed? That¡¯s impossible, right?¡± ¡°No, how would they dare? We have four Awakeners here!¡± ¡°Incomprehensible...¡± Fourth-order Awakeners are the highest combat power of Changhe Base, comparable to nuclear bombs, so they enjoy many privileges that ordinary people do not. Normally, even if they made mistakes, the City Hall side would still talk to them very politely or even pretend to ignore it! After all, no one wants to anger a ¡°nuclear bomb.¡± Therefore, they were fearless, even if they did follow Zhu Fen in doing some things that ordinary folks would find questionable, they were Awakeners. Although their status was not as high as Zhu Fen¡¯s, their personal strength was worlds apart! The City Hall couldn¡¯t possibly afford to offend them, could they? City Hall still counted on them to expand territory! So they had never imagined that someone would actually come, especially within a few hours of the announcement of Zhu Fen¡¯s death, and without prior notice! That clearly indicated one thing¡ªCity Hall really wanted to take them down! Thinking this, the Awakeners not only felt no fear, but actually found it quite amusing. After all, they were of ¡°nuclear bomb¡± level strength! Although they were only four ¡°nuclear bombs,¡± such weapons, despite their small number, were still fearsomely powerful. If they were angered, could the damage caused be endured by the base? These four Awakeners suddenly felt eager to try something; it had been snowing heavily these days, and they hadn¡¯t been able to go out, leading to their bodies feeling somewhat rusty. They actually wanted to find someone to practice on! However, different from these four Awakeners, the expressions of the male and female committee members changed drastically. They were very aware of the City Hall¡¯s and the committee¡¯s operating patterns¡ª If City Hall wanted to take action against them, it would surely report first to the committee, and the committee would hold a meeting to decide how to proceed; and if some people in the committee wanted to take action, that would also require a meeting, and then the City Hall would be notified to carry out the decision. Anyway, whoever wanted to take action against them had to hold a meeting first! And holding a meeting took time; even if they didn¡¯t inform them about the meeting, it still needed time, even for a unanimously approved meeting, and it wouldn¡¯t be possible to make a decision in such a short time. So, even if City Hall was to catch them, it couldn¡¯t be so swift. But now, with the people from City Hall present, only one possibility remained¡ª the committee had not held a meeting but had taken direct action. By all means, this was not supposed to happen because it was against the laws of the base. Remember, these laws were established by the Six Major Legions when they founded the base, including themselves; nobody could defy them, or they would face severe punishment, so City Hall couldn¡¯t execute these illegal orders. Thus, the conclusion was clear¡ªthose who came were not from City Hall but from the Six Major Legions! They had moved out directly in the name of the Legion! If that was the case, then the problem was serious. If it had been City Hall catching people, there might still be room for negotiation, but if it were the Six Major Legions catching people, it meant disregarding life and death! The Six Major Legions had stated before that they would not take action within the base; they were meant for external threats. The base¡¯s security was managed by the police and the City Defense Army, with different duties and mutual restraint, which allowed the base to develop healthily. But there were exceptions, and that was when the base fell into crisis, the Six Major Legions had to act. The last time the Six Major Legions acted within the base was when a meteorite had fallen into the base... Thinking of these, the two committee members suddenly broke out into cold sweats¡ªThe Six Major Legions were serious! ¡°Could there be something like a missile strike happening? If that were the case, no number of Awakeners could bear it!¡± ¡°Run!¡± The two committee members looked at each other, seeing the same thought in each other¡¯s eyes. This was not the time to hesitate; they could spend the rest of their lives in prison! However, they did not share this thought with the four Awakeners. At this time, they needed someone to draw fire! Ordinary people definitely wouldn¡¯t do, but these four Awakeners were absolutely qualified! Unfortunately, the blizzard outside was too heavy; they couldn¡¯t see clearly how many soldiers or weapons were out there... Their escape would be very risky, after all, their bodies were flesh and blood, unable to withstand bullets. After exchanging glances briefly, the female committee member then spoke with feigned calm: ¡°They probably won¡¯t dare to deal with us, it¡¯ll be all bark and no bite. You go out and check. Remember to be tough... We¡¯re counting on you four!¡± Chapter 1063 - 1063 426 Capture Them All Alive_2 ?Chapter 1063: Chapter 426: Capture Them All Alive_2 Chapter 1063: Chapter 426: Capture Them All Alive_2 If it were someone else, after hearing these words, they might think they were about to be used as cannon fodder. But these are Awakeners, not cannon fodder, they are ¡°nuclear bombs¡±! So, they said with indifference: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Commissioner, we¡¯ll blast them away!¡± One of the Awakeners patted his chest confidently and then directly opened the door to the living room. Woo¡ª The cold wind instantly poured into the house, causing everyone to shiver involuntarily. ¡°People inside, listen...¡± At the same time, the loudspeaker outside became even clearer. The two commissioners were already prepared to slip away at any moment. The villa had an escape tunnel, which, apart from the two of them, no one else knew about, including the four Awakeners. This tunnel was their only chance! The two exchanged glances and then quietly retreated as the others began moving forward. Outside, the soldiers of the Legion shouted for a while, and finally, the villa¡¯s gate opened. A muscular man with his upper body bare took the lead and walked out. ¡°What are you doing? Don¡¯t you know what place this is¡ª¡± The man¡¯s speech suddenly halted. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. The number of people outside was less than he¡¯d imagined, but... nearly thirty Awakeners! There was no mistaking that aura of Awakeners! But the problem was, when did the base get so many Awakeners? Four nuclear bombs were powerful, but under similar conditions, they couldn¡¯t be stronger than thirty nuclear bombs, right...? ¡°Drop your weapons and surrender immediately!¡± The person with the loudspeaker shouted again. The Awakener didn¡¯t know what to do for a time. ¡°Fight? No need to think about it, surely we can¡¯t win! Escape? Wouldn¡¯t that be a bit disgraceful? Meekly submit to interrogation? That would be even more embarrassing!¡± While this Awakener was somewhat puzzled, the other three Awakeners inside the house also came out. ¡°Scram! Go back to where you came from and don¡¯t disturb us while we¡¯re drinking. Otherwise, don¡¯t blame me for not being polite¡ª¡± Another Awakener stopped mid-sentence as he sensed the aura of the thirty Awakeners. On the side of the Six Major Legions, upon hearing this, Commander Tian Xuesong immediately gave the order. ¡°The enemy refuses to surrender, free engagement is permitted!¡± As soon as these words were uttered, more than a dozen Fourth-order Superpower users rushed forward! Excited smiles appeared on their faces. The Awakeners inside felt rusty and were looking for someone to spar with. Coincidentally, the Awakeners outside felt just the same, eager for a comparison of skills. And now, wasn¡¯t the opportunity right there? In the blink of an eye, the distance between the opposing Awakeners narrowed to just over ten meters, and then combat broke out instantly. The three Awakeners inside were still staggered, wondering how things escalated to blows without a word. Do you really think we are afraid¡ªwait, how come there are so many of you Awakeners? Could it be that all Awakeners from the base, except for us, have been brought here? Did we violate some divine law? ¡°Let¡¯s talk it over...¡± ... Elsewhere, Wang Tao and the others naturally didn¡¯t go over. Cheng Yiyi had made it sound quite serious earlier, but in the end, there were only four Awakeners. There was no need for Wang Tao and the others to take action. They stayed at the rear, and at most, they would let Lan Yulian release a few healings. ¡°Cough, I didn¡¯t expect them to be so strong either...¡± Cheng Yiyi whispered an explanation to Wang Tao. They had previously discussed that they needed to quickly capture these two members and the people around them, so they had to show some of their true strength. Cheng Yiyi thought about having Wang Tao bring people over since she knew how strong his men were. But what she didn¡¯t expect was that there would be so many Awakeners from the other five Major Legions; they had brought over thirty Awakeners! Although many of these Awakeners were familiar faces, having partnerships with their respective Legions similar to the Sixth Army Corps¡¯ relationship with Wang Tao, there were also many unfamiliar faces that Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t recognize, obviously trained by the five Major Legions themselves. Cheng Yiyi felt a pang of envy, realizing her strength and that of the other Legions were still far apart. Wang Tao, however, wasn¡¯t surprised since he could see HP bars and had long been aware of the presence of Fourth-order Awakeners within the five Major Legions. This number might seem large, but given the size of the base and its population, plus the fact that he had revealed the conditions for Awakening, and the Major Legions¡¯ investment in this area, it was not unusual to have these Fourth-order Awakeners. As for whether or not he would take action, he was indifferent. He was keeping himself in shape with sparring practice, so there wasn¡¯t much chance of becoming rusty within the base... Boom¡ª The battles between Awakeners were much larger in scale than those of ordinary Ability Users. In a moment, amidst the pristine white snow, a variety of effects like those from an action movie appeared, offering an immersion greater than that of watching a blockbuster film. Wang Tao quickly surveyed and noticed that among these Awakeners, those who had awakened the ¡°System¡± and ¡°Poison¡± Systems were the most numerous... and there were far fewer of the others. ¡°At the moment, it seems the System Awakeners are the most numerous... As for the Poison System, obviously it¡¯s because of the meteorites, which can spawn monsters. Those monsters have Poison Sacs, and those sacks might yield Hidden Attributes...¡± Wang Tao quickly deduced the reasons. And speaking of meteorites, he thought with the large number of Crystal Cores and Crystal Coins he had, maybe he should buy some meteorites to exploit? He remembered Cheng Yiyi should have quite a few meteorites, right? Just as Wang Tao was wondering whether or not to ask, his brows suddenly rose. Then he used his Spiritual Communication Ability to say to Xiang Hongbin: ¡°Old Xiang, go to that spot, there are two rats beneath, catch them for me!¡± Although this operation was fairly safe and there weren¡¯t many opportunities for Wang Tao to act, he couldn¡¯t afford to neglect vigilance. He had always placed a premium on this area, so his spiritual power was always diffused, monitoring the surroundings, including the underground. Having some tunnels underground was normal, considering the sewers, but what Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect was that people would actually use them. Taking a closer look, he recognized them as the two committee members. So Wang Tao sent Xiang Hongbin to dig them out. With Xiang¡¯s Mechanical Arm, this kind of heavy labor was ideal. ¡°People underground? Ha ha, wait for my good news!¡± Xiang Hongbin stepped out of the formation and immediately drew lots of attention, given his conspicuous appearance. Then, to everyone¡¯s astonishment, Xiang Hongbin used his Mechanical Arm to quickly dig an entrance to the sewer. He then leaped down into it. While others were somewhat suspicious, Xiang Hongbin reemerged, holding up two figures in his hands. Thud! Xiang Hongbin directly threw the two figures in front of Cheng Yiyi. Although they were carefully disguised, upon closer inspection, Cheng Yiyi recognized them at a glance. ¡°Cuff them!¡± With a wave of Cheng Yiyi¡¯s hand, several soldiers immediately came over and handcuffed the two committee members. The committee members were still disoriented. They took the opportunity to escape through an underground tunnel as soon as the Legions¡¯ attention was drawn elsewhere. The tunnel led directly to several sewers, and they had chosen a rather remote spot. Everything was fine for the first part of their route, and they thought they could escape. But just as they arrived at a certain spot, a large hole suddenly appeared in the roof of the sewer, and a half-human half-mechanical figure emerged who grabbed them both and hauled them to the surface... They could tell their captor had a clear target as if guided by a tracker, knowing there were people there! The two committee members had no idea what gave them away, but now wasn¡¯t the time to think about that. They could only keep begging Cheng Yiyi for mercy and saying it was all a misunderstanding... Cheng Yiyi obviously wasn¡¯t buying it and handed the prisoners over to Tian Xuesong. The two instantly despaired, realizing that the Six Major Legions had indeed mobilized together! They had no chance to resist... Meanwhile, the battle had ended. Without any surprises, all four Awakeners were captured alive... Chapter 1064 - 1064 427 Project Implementation ?Chapter 1064: Chapter 427: Project Implementation Chapter 1064: Chapter 427: Project Implementation The operation ended much faster than Wang Tao had anticipated. Seeing the grand mobilization of the Six Major Legions, he had thought there would be a major battle, but the fight ended in about a minute. Cheng Yiyi originally mentioned that Wang Tao might need to take action, but now that was unnecessary. It must be said that the strength of the Six Major Legions was formidable; the sheer number of their Awakeners was overwhelming. The opposing side had only four Awakeners, whose strength was completely suppressed, leaving them no chance to resist. Of course, Wang Tao and his team hadn¡¯t come for nothing. Lan Yulian, needless to say, had deployed a few healing spells to ensure no one from the Six Major Legions was injured. Wang Tao had even had Xiang Hongbin capture those two committee members who were planning to escape underground. ¡°Thanks to you guys, otherwise those two might really have gotten away!¡± Cheng Yiyi thanked Wang Tao. They truly hadn¡¯t expected the two committee members to take an underground route since the sewer was initially too small for people to pass through¡ªa clear indication that the committee members had secretly expanded it later. Additionally, the committee members were very fast, having likely slipped away even before the battle started. Had they waited until the battle ended to discover their underground escape, it might have been difficult to find them... As for how Wang Tao discovered them, she naturally wouldn¡¯t ask. As long as they had captured the men, that was enough. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it,¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, then asked out of curiosity, ¡°So, how do you plan to deal with these people?¡± The people Wang Tao was referring to included not only the two committee members but also others who had been brought out from the villa. ¡°Probably many will face the firing squad,¡± Cheng Yiyi sighed. The issue with the Dusk Church was taken very seriously by the Six Major Legions. After all, given the current situation, the Dusk Church definitely had the potential to overthrow the entire base. Hence, any matter related to the Dusk Church had to be handled strictly. ¡°Better to be strict now than to have trouble later,¡± Wang Tao nodded. While they were talking, the people from the villa were already being loaded into vehicles, and Tian Xuesong then ordered a thorough search inside. Wang Tao, accompanied by Han Rui, went in to check as well, and apart from finding some Crystal Cores, there were no Holy medicines or anything of the sort. This provided temporary relief for Tian Xuesong and his team. The emergence of Master Sido from the Dusk Church was alarming enough; if there were other high-ranking members of the Dusk Church, it would be a major problem. They would have to investigate thoroughly later to determine if the two committee members had only collaborated on some misdeeds with Zhu Fen, or if they were also members of the Dusk Church. If it was the latter, they too would have to die. Once assured that there were no issues at the scene, Tian Xuesong signaled everyone to retreat. As soon as the mission ended, many Awakeners promptly came to Wang Tao, aiming to foster good relations with the Starfire Society; more precisely, with Lan Yulian. During the combat, Lan Yulian had demonstrated her powerful Healing Effect, something they had never experienced before¡ªthey might not see the specific numbers, but the feeling of instant recovery was unmistakable! Facing such a Super Healer, any sane person would want to forge a good relationship with her. It could be life-saving in critical moments. The Chiefs of the other Legions also came over, but after thanking Lan Yulian, they approached Wang Tao. ¡°I heard Mr. Wang is quite interested in the position of principal at our Awakeners School?¡± Tian Xuesong didn¡¯t beat around the bush. ¡°Yes,¡± Wang Tao nodded. When Gu Yun had invited him to work at City Hall, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested in any position except for the principal¡¯s role, which seemed intriguing to him. However, at present, the Awakeners School was in a ¡°PPT¡± status¡ªa conceptual thing, and it would be a while before Wang Tao could take up the post. It was even uncertain if the project would materialize. Tian Xuesong suddenly bringing this up, could it be that the committee had some moves? ¡°We think the Awakeners School project is very promising. It has been discussed by the committee and there are basically no issues. If things go as planned, we can launch the project next month. Mr. Wang will be the first principal, and we hope you¡¯ll put in your best efforts!¡± Tian Xuesong explained with a smile. ¡°Next month? That¡¯s just a few days away!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. It was less than ten days until March 1st. ¡°Yes, we need to speed things up. They originally suggested waiting until the snow stopped, but looking at the current situation, this heavy snow might not stop for a month or two. So it¡¯s better to establish the Awakeners School as soon as possible. If we can produce more Awakeners, it would greatly aid our disaster relief efforts!¡± Hearing Tian Xuesong¡¯s words, Wang Tao quickly responded: ¡°Chief Tian, let me be clear¡ªI can only try to pick some promising talents based on my experience, but I can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll be able to develop Awakeners. Moreover, given the current situation, we can¡¯t go out to hunt zombies, so even if there are promising talents, they might not become Awakeners...¡± ¡°Hey! Of course, I know Awakeners aren¡¯t that easy to develop. When I say we could train more Awakeners, that¡¯s just a hopeful vision, not a requirement, so don¡¯t get me wrong! Anyway, we trust Mr. Wang. If you really can train Awakeners, that would be great! If not, then it¡¯s just bad luck...¡± Tian Xuesong laughed heartily. ¡°That¡¯s good...¡± Wang Tao chuckled. Awakeners weren¡¯t so easily developed, even if he could see attributes, and there certainly was a large element of luck involved... He would just do his best. Chapter 1065 - 1065 427 Project Implementation_2 ?Chapter 1065: Chapter 427: Project Implementation_2 Chapter 1065: Chapter 427: Project Implementation_2 ¡°As for the specific situation of the Awakeners School, do you have any thoughts?¡± Tian Xuesong looked at Wang Tao again. In fact, the project of the Awakeners School was able to be implemented so quickly because it was related to Wang Tao himself. Previously, someone had proposed the idea of establishing an Awakeners School, but it hadn¡¯t received much attention because it seemed like a nice concept that was very difficult to implement and even felt somewhat pointless. It was like saying before the apocalypse you wanted to build a top-tier private high school specifically to train students to apply for prestigious universities. It sounds good in theory, but in practice, it¡¯s simply not possible... The same was true for the Awakeners School. Although the City Hall would certainly be able to construct a school if it was willing to allocate the funds, that would be all. The subsequent training and teaching could not be carried out. To put it bluntly, if they knew how to train Awakeners, they would have done so themselves already, so why wait for a school? Of course, they actually had a method, which was to use money ¨C stacking up Crystal Cores and manpower. Many of the Awakeners within the Six Major Legions came about this way. But the cost was too great to be feasible for widespread adoption... Therefore, the project of the Awakeners School fell into the category of sounding great but being highly impractical. However, the situation changed when Wang Tao expressed his desire to serve as the principal of the Awakeners School. While Wang Tao was generally low-key and spent most of his time outside the city, everyone had conducted extensive research on him. Not just him, all the Awakeners in the base were subjects of the upper echelons¡¯ studies. And through their research, they discovered an Ability that was stronger in Wang Tao than in any other Awakener ¨C being a Scholar! Many crucial pieces of information regarding Awakeners were freely shared by Wang Tao! For instance, the three conditions necessary for Awakening, Hidden Attributes, how to increase those Hidden Attributes, etc., all came from Wang Tao! And he shared them for free! Had Wang Tao not spoken up, others might have taken a year or more to discover such things. The reason why Wang Tao was so scholarly wasn¡¯t because he learned things unknown to others, but because he had traveled to many places in the post-apocalypse and had experienced various scenarios. His own experience was very rich, and he had a sharp mind... Combining all of this, he became a Scholar in a way that others simply could not replicate! The above conclusions were drawn by everyone regarding Wang Tao, and this was also the impression Wang Tao intentionally guided them towards, as he could not possibly reveal that he could see HP bars... Although the reasoning may seem somewhat far-fetched, it was logically consistent, so it appeared reasonable to others. So the question arose, what kind of spark would a scholarly person like Wang Tao ignite if combined with the Awakeners School? They were somewhat expectant. Therefore, the Awakeners School project, which would have been uncertain when it could be implemented and might have remained forever in PPT presentations, was suddenly getting ready to launch. Let Wang Tao take the position of principal and see if it could work! If Wang Tao could genuinely leverage his own experience to train Awakeners, not many, but even just two or three, that would be quite an accomplishment for the entire base. After all, in this base of over fifty thousand people, there were only about forty Awakeners, and many of them were hard-forged with resources based on information Wang Tao had shared for free after these details were disclosed! The number of Awakeners before was even smaller, not even reaching ten... Of course, they were unaware of the specific circumstances of the Starfire Society, which also had over ten Awakeners. But even adding the Starfire Society, it was only about fifty in total, roughly a one in ten thousand chance... an alarmingly low probability. So their expectations weren¡¯t high; as long as Wang Tao could cultivate two or three Awakeners within a certain period, and not purely rely on resources to stack up, that would be considered a great success! If he could cultivate one or two, that still counted as a profit. And if he couldn¡¯t cultivate any... well, at least some experience would have been accumulated, right? Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what they were thinking, but when he saw Tian Xuesong asking him very seriously if he had any other thoughts, Wang Tao straightforwardly asked: ¡°How much autonomy does my role as principal have? Or rather, how much authority do I have?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t like others directing and dictating to him, nor did he appreciate any kind of pretense. He was willing to take on the role of principal purely out of a desire to help the base cultivate some talent. But if the process turned out to be unpleasant, then it didn¡¯t matter to him whether he helped or not. Tian Xuesong obviously could tell what Wang Tao meant, and replied with a smile: ¡°The council does place great importance on this project... Let me put it this way, your position as principal is that of the most powerful person in the school, bar none. The entire school is under your leadership; as long as you don¡¯t violate any core principles, you can establish any systems you like within the school! Without your permission, no one is allowed to interfere with anything. That includes the council...¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯ll speak frankly; while the council can¡¯t directly interfere with the principal, it can replace the principal through a vote, and that is the right of the council...¡± ¡°Oh yes, one last thing: the school¡¯s financial resources come from a special allocation from the City Hall, so the only requirement from the council is that these special funds can¡¯t be managed by you alone ¨C there must be supervision, or a department specifically established to manage the funding... I know you probably don¡¯t care about the money ¨C Awakeners find it easy to make money ¨C but after all, this is the money of our entire base; it has to be publicly transparent and credible...¡± ¡°As for your salary and benefits, they are definitely top-tier, pretty much the same as the council members. Although you¡¯ll likely have little interest in such things, this is the stance of the City Hall...¡± Tian Xuesong said a lot, but to sum it up simply, Wang Tao¡¯s authority as principal within the school was very considerable, with the only restriction being that special funding required supervision and could not be misused. Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction. The conditions were very good, as long as no one got in his way and he had space to work. As for the funding issue, it mattered even less to him; in fact, if the council didn¡¯t require it, he would have taken the initiative to find someone to supervise it himself. In Wang Tao¡¯s view, money was the thing most likely to cause disputes, and the best way to avoid disputes was not to handle it personally. Since Wang Tao wasn¡¯t there to take advantage of the position, having someone oversee the management would be better. On the way back, Wang Tao talked with Tian Xuesong and the others for a prolonged period, mainly about the Awakeners School. Especially regarding selection, Tian Xuesong passed on a lot of experience to Wang Tao ¨C put character first, talent second. It was better not to cultivate any Awakeners at all than to raise an ungrateful one. Wang Tao had his own methods of assessment, but he also listened with an open mind to their experience and conclusions. After returning to the City Hall, both parties went their separate ways. They went to interrogate the people they had arrested today, while Wang Tao went to see Jiang Hui first. Jiang Hui, after interrogating the two vice mayors, uncovered some news ¨C that Yao Guodong¡¯s previous inability to become an Ability User was also their doing! They discovered a place outside that was rather strange; some people who went there could not become Ability Users afterward. They managed to trick Yao Guodong into going, and it indeed ended up being true... Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised at this. Yao Guodong had a ¡°Curse¡± Status before, which prevented him from becoming an Ability User. Wang Tao was quite interested in this Curse and thought that, if there was a chance in the future, he might like to check this place out. Wang Tao then met with Gu Yun. After discussing the Dusk Church, Gu Yun also mentioned the matter of the Awakeners School. ¡°Now that the project has been thoroughly grounded, should we release some information now? The base is too quiet now, with people still suffering from disasters. I think they need to be given some hope... Of course, you¡¯re the principal, so we¡¯ll go by your opinion.¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment, then nodded. ¡°Yes, go ahead and handle it as you see fit.¡± Chapter 1066 - 1066 428 Preparing to Leave the City ?Chapter 1066: Chapter 428: Preparing to Leave the City Chapter 1066: Chapter 428: Preparing to Leave the City Wang Tao had just returned home when he heard the radio broadcasting about the Awakeners School. The radio didn¡¯t go into much detail, only mentioning that City Hall would be building an ¡°Awakeners School.¡± As the name suggests, the mission of this school was to train Awakeners. Three days later, City Hall would start setting up registration points, encouraging residents of the base to sign up enthusiastically. Of course, not just anyone could sign up; there were strict standards, and failing to meet them meant one could not register. The criteria were straightforward and had to be met simultaneously. The first criterion was that any person who had come to River Base and had no prior criminal record could apply. What kind of person one had been before arriving at the base didn¡¯t matter unless one confessed one¡¯s dark history; otherwise, the base wouldn¡¯t care. However, after arriving at the base, one had to abide by its rules. If someone committed an offense within the base, at the very least, it indicated a flawed character; at worst, it suggested problematic thoughts. Such a person definitely wouldn¡¯t be accepted. The second criterion was that the individual had to be a Level 1 Ability User or higher. Ordinary people also had the potential to become Awakeners, but the probability was undoubtedly smaller. After all, if one wasn¡¯t even an Ability User, becoming an Awakener was too difficult. It was relatively better to select directly from among Ability Users. The third criterion was youth. In many cases, youth was a significant advantage, and the apocalypse was no exception. Among two people of equal strength but different ages, the younger one undoubtedly had greater potential. Therefore, age had to be considered. However, the age criterion differed from the first two; it was somewhat flexible. City Hall stated that it was best if the candidate was under thirty years old, but if the other conditions were excellent, then even thirty-five or forty years old could have a chance. After all, if a suitable candidate was found, could they really be rejected just because of their age? That definitely wouldn¡¯t be acceptable... These three criteria weren¡¯t difficult, but they weren¡¯t easy either. The majority of people would be filtered out at the registration stage. This was intentional on the part of City Hall. After all, River Base had a population of over five hundred thousand; if all of them came to register, the registration points City Hall set up simply wouldn¡¯t cope ¡ª even if City Hall could manage, the school and its budget couldn¡¯t. Therefore, there had to be standards to initially filter out a large number of residents. They would then slowly screen the remaining applicants, and after a final audit by Wang Tao to confirm there were no issues, they would recruit them. This was something Wang Tao had previously discussed with Gu Yun, and Wang Tao knew there would undoubtedly be omissions. But in the world, no plan was perfect, and achieving this level was already commendable. Moreover, this was only the first batch. They would continuously recruit more people, gradually lowering the registration standards to give everyone a chance to apply. It didn¡¯t matter if they weren¡¯t selected; the important thing was to give people a chance and leave no regrets. ¡°I guess everyone is going to go crazy...¡± Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao and said. ¡°Definitely, becoming an Awakener is the dream of so many people!¡± Wang Tao smiled and then added: ¡°You all know that they want me to be the principal, but a school can¡¯t just have a principal. Teachers are essential, so I¡¯ll arrange for you all to join the school later...¡± ¡°Ah? Us become teachers?¡± Lan Yulian¡¯s face showed interest, but she quickly furrowed her brows, ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that take up a lot of time? Unless we never leave the house...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao laughed again. ¡°It won¡¯t be to the extent of not being able to leave. We¡¯ll be making guest appearances, occasionally guiding them, focusing primarily on enhancing our own strengths. There are other choices for permanent teachers. Also, this school is different from the ones you know; it¡¯s designed to trigger Awakening. It¡¯s clearly not possible to Awaken just by staying inside the school. Hence, the Awakeners School is actually practice-oriented, with theory as a supplement. When the heavy snow stops, the teachers will bring students out to fight...¡± ¡°I see... That does sound quite good!¡± Everyone nodded. Wang Tao continued to talk with them about the Awakeners School; they were all very excited and optimistic about this project. After all, Wang Tao was to be the first principal, and they had personally experienced how strong Wang Tao¡¯s ability to train Awakeners was. The Starfire Society, with only a dozen members, had half of them as Awakeners! If Wang Tao could fully utilize his abilities in the school... they weren¡¯t sure how many Awakeners he could train, but they were certain it wouldn¡¯t be disappointing! ¡°However, speaking of Awakeners, you all guest-teaching later without the strength of an Awakener wouldn¡¯t work. We still have a few who aren¡¯t Awakeners... I think we should go out and enhance our strength?¡± Wang Tao looked at everyone. ¡°Go out?¡± Hearing this, many were eager to move. They had been in the base for half a month, and although this comfortable life was not bad, given it was an apocalypse, they all had a strong sense of potential danger. Not advancing their strength made them feel insecure; enhancing their strength outside would be preferable. But with the current weather... ¡°Can we go out in this blizzard?¡± Lan Yulian asked worriedly. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be a big problem. Qu Shilin retrofitted our vehicle, and it can now fully adapt to such extreme weather. We just need to be careful not to fall into any pits. The only issue might be the low visibility, but with Han Rui here, her Perception Ability can be very effective in this kind of situation...¡± Chapter 1067 - 1067 428 Preparing to Leave the City_2 ?Chapter 1067: Chapter 428: Preparing to Leave the City_2 Chapter 1067: Chapter 428: Preparing to Leave the City_2 Wang Tao explained with a smile. His Perception Ability was gone, now he used spiritual power detection. Spiritual power detection was great in all aspects but had one flaw: the range was too small. In certain situations where there was no need for a clear image, just an early warning, Han Rui¡¯s Perception Ability was more suitable. ¡°Alright! Then I have no objections!¡± Lan Yulian saw that Wang Tao had already thought things through and immediately nodded in agreement. The others also nodded to show they had no problem with it. ¡°Good, then we¡¯ll head out tomorrow. At most, it¡¯ll just be for a few days. We need to return before the school¡¯s listing,¡± Wang Tao decided firmly. Then he called Gu Yun and told him he¡¯d be going out. ¡°What? You¡¯re going out at this time?¡± Gu Yun was skeptical, wondering if he had misheard. Going out at this time seemed like a death wish! ¡°Yeah. My car¡¯s been modified, so it shouldn¡¯t be a big issue. I know what I¡¯m doing,¡± Wang Tao reassured. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that experienced; he just needed Gu Yun to open the gate for him tomorrow. ¡°...Alright, as long as you¡¯re confident. Be safe, and I¡¯ll open the gate for you tomorrow,¡± Gu Yun sighed, then added, ¡°But since you¡¯re going out, you could also check out the situation outside. If the environment isn¡¯t too harsh and the zombies are completely frozen and unable to move, maybe we also need to consider our next steps. After all, there¡¯s no sign of this heavy snow stopping anytime soon. We don¡¯t even know when it will end...¡± ¡°No problem! I probably won¡¯t go far, just stay outside for a few days. I¡¯ll be back before the school¡¯s listing,¡± Wang Tao responded with a nod. ¡°...¡± Gu Yun opened his mouth, having thought that Wang Tao would go out in the morning and return in the evening. But Wang Tao was talking about possibly staying out for a few days? The man was crazy! But when Gu Yun thought about the strength Wang Tao and his team possessed, he sighed again, feeling a tinge of envy. Having strength meant being able to do as one pleased! Suddenly Gu Yun had the urge to sign up for the Awakeners School. He too wanted to become an Awakener! But Wang Tao had said it was highly unlikely he had any Hidden Attributes. If he wanted to awaken, he couldn¡¯t rely on just himself. It would depend on items that could increase Hidden Attributes, and those depended on luck. Even with money, he might not be able to buy them... ¡°I¡¯ll need to pay more attention, even if it means selling the pots and pans to get one!¡± Gu Yun clenched his fists. He hadn¡¯t been so eager to become an Awakener before, but now the situation was different. If he didn¡¯t have enough strength, he couldn¡¯t even keep his official position! If everyone else grew stronger and the base had more Awakeners, he wouldn¡¯t even dare to continue being the mayor. He also feared meeting the same fate as Yao Guodong... On the other hand, after ending the call with Gu Yun, Wang Tao then called Cheng Yiyi. ¡°Do you still have any Meteorites? If so, I¡¯d like to buy some,¡± Wang Tao said directly. ¡°What? You want to buy Meteorites? Now? Well, I do have some stored right here in the camp...¡± ¡°Great! Then I¡¯m coming to you now!¡± Since he was already going out, it was the perfect time to buy some Meteorites. Maybe he could get lucky and find some good items. After all, Wang Tao had two hundred million on hand now, and it would be a waste not to use it. Wang Tao stepped out once more, heading to the Sixth Army Corps camp, which wasn¡¯t far away. On the way, Wang Tao checked his Space Backpack. He had five Meteorites on hand, one of each Quality but all were Level 5. Opening a Level 5 Meteorite could be risky, but Wang Tao felt the risk wasn¡¯t too high. Compared to the last time he opened Meteorites, his strength had increased significantly. Plus, they had many Awakeners... Perhaps it was time to give Level 5 Meteorites a try. Apart from Meteorites, Wang Tao also had many Nightfiend Worm Eggs. If the opportunity arose, he could use those as well. However, these eggs weren¡¯t just Level 4 and 5; there were also several Level 6! Although Night Demons had significant weaknesses, Wang Tao was currently only Level 4. The idea of killing a Level 6 Night Demon... Wang Tao quickly shook his head, deciding to be cautious. It was better not to take unnecessary risks. Deep in thought, Wang Tao arrived at the Sixth Army Corps camp. Cheng Yiyi was waiting for him in one of the warehouses. After they met, Cheng Yiyi asked with some confusion, ¡°You¡¯re not planning to go out, are you?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s urgency to buy meteorites clearly showed he was preparing for a departure. She knew Wang Tao was a man who abided by rules and certainly wouldn¡¯t open a meteorite in the city. That obviously meant he was planning to venture out. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m going out tomorrow...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. Hearing that Wang Tao was indeed going out, Cheng Yiyi¡¯s face showed a trace of worry. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t believe in Wang Tao¡¯s strength, but the current weather was terrible, and nature¡¯s force could be far more terrifying than those creatures... ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if I dare to go out, naturally I have made full preparations.¡± Wang Tao replied with a smile. ¡°Alright! Since you¡¯ve made up your mind, I won¡¯t say much. Just be extra careful! To be honest, I kind of want to go with you, but I still have to be on standby...¡± As the leader of the Sixth Army Corps, Cheng Yiyi couldn¡¯t just leave casually. This was the case for the other major corps as well. Disaster relief work within the base was handled by them, and they had to prioritize the safety of the residents. ¡°There¡¯ll be other chances. I¡¯ll go scout the area first. If it¡¯s not too dangerous, we can go together next time.¡± ¡°Mhm!¡± Cheng Yiyi nodded, then pointed to the box behind her and said, ¡°Right, these are meteorites. Which ones do you want?¡± Each box was labeled with tags indicating the types of meteorites inside. ¡°Huh? You have Level 6 meteorites?¡± Wang Tao briefly scanned them and was surprised to find Level 6 meteorites there. ¡°Yes, these are from a lucky encounter outside a while ago. But Level 6 is too high, and the current prices are too low; selling them now would be too much of a loss, so I¡¯ve kept them for myself...¡± Cheng Yiyi briefly explained. ¡°Are you selling these Level 6 meteorites, then?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. But seeing Cheng Yiyi¡¯s peculiar gaze, he quickly explained, ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m definitely not going out to open a Level 6 meteorite this time, I¡¯m not seeking death. It¡¯s just to stockpile for later use.¡± Normally, the person who opens a meteorite should be of the same level, for example, a Level 6 meteorite should be opened by a Level 6 individual. It¡¯s not just about the difference in strength but also the problem of the Crystal Core. Without the corresponding Crystal Core, you can¡¯t open it! However, Wang Tao had combat power that exceeded his level, allowing him to slay enemies beyond his tier. When he was Level 5, he had the opportunity to kill a Level 6 zombie and obtain a Level 6 Crystal Core, so opening a Level 6 meteorite shouldn¡¯t be a big problem for him. As for when he would reach Level 5... it wasn¡¯t him bragging, but this was really not a problem for him. Comparatively, the difficulty of ascending from Level 4 to Level 5 was simpler than ascending from Level 3 to Level 4, after all, it requires no further Awakening. Besides, Wang Tao had saved many Omnipotent Crystal Cores, enough for his personal use. What he lacked now were high-quality Level 5 Ascension Crystal Cores. After slaying some more Level 5 zombies and accumulating some Ascension Crystal Cores, he should be able to reach Level 5... Seeing that Wang Tao truly didn¡¯t plan to open a Level 6 Crystal Core, Cheng Yiyi breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear... There are a total of three Level 6 Crystal Cores here, all of the highest-quality Orange. According to market price, a Level 6 Orange Meteorite is 5 million, but obviously, that price is not achievable. So I¡¯ll give you a 40% discount, 2 million each, what do you think?¡± Previously, she had sold Level 5 meteorites to Wang Tao at a 50% discount, since selling any higher would mean no buyers. Now, the Level 6 meteorites were even discounted by 40%. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± Wang Tao certainly had no issues. After buying the three Level 6 meteorites, he picked out some Level 4 and 5 meteorites, focusing mostly on the high-quality ones. In the end, Wang Tao spent 10 million Gold Coins to acquire 3 Level 6 meteorites, 10 Level 5 meteorites, and 30 Level 4 meteorites. Actually, Wang Tao wanted to buy more Level 5 meteorites, but unfortunately, Cheng Yiyi was out of stock. Nonetheless, what he got was not insignificant and would suffice for now. After loading the meteorites onto the vehicle, Wang Tao made another trip to the bank to exchange a large number of No-Attribute Crystal Cores for opening meteorites. When he returned home, it was already dark. ¡°Everyone ready? We leave tomorrow.¡± Chapter 1068 - 1068 429 The Ice and Fire Minks ?Chapter 1068: Chapter 429: The Ice and Fire Minks Chapter 1068: Chapter 429: The Ice and Fire Minks Early morning. Wang Tao and his group were already prepared, ready to depart at any moment. However, due to the weather, it was still quite dark outside. Wang Tao waited a bit longer until it was fully light before he called everyone to get on the vehicle. This tracked Crystal Energy Vehicle had a modular design, which made it very convenient to add or remove components. That¡¯s why Wang Tao added an extra tracked carriage, otherwise there wouldn¡¯t have been enough seats for so many people. The carriage interior was quite luxurious, almost like the high-end RVs from before the apocalypse. If you didn¡¯t know they were heading out for an adventure, you¡¯d probably think they were going camping. ¡°Is everyone ready? Let¡¯s go.¡± The Crystal Energy Car started up, heading towards the southern gate of the base. Gu Yun had already notified the authorities in advance, so the City Defense Army would open the gate for them. The snow outside was still heavy, and there was almost no traffic on the roads. Wang Tao quickly arrived at the southern gate. Just as he was about to have someone open the gate, he suddenly paused. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ding Yuqin asked curiously. ¡°Let¡¯s go out in a bit.¡± Wang Tao immediately had the vehicle stop, then reached inside his clothes and pulled out a palm-sized, colorful, slightly trembling oval object. [Mysterious Egg (Epic): Can hatch a mysterious creature] [Hatching Countdown: 0 hours, 0 minutes, 10 seconds (requires close body contact)] Wang Tao had almost forgotten about this thing! It was found in Qu Shilin¡¯s home half a month ago. There were two of them, one Qu Shilin kept for herself, the other she gave to Wang Tao. Since the hatching time was 15 days, which was quite long, Wang Tao had put it in his pocket and hadn¡¯t paid much attention to it, almost forgetting about it completely. But just now, Wang Tao suddenly felt a vibration in his pocket. His spiritual power subconsciously probed it, only to realize that the egg was moving. The 15-day incubation period was up! ¡°It¡¯s about to hatch!¡± Wang Tao explained to the others. ¡°It¡¯s going to hatch!¡± The others also knew about the egg, but like Wang Tao, they had forgotten all about it. Now that they heard it was about to hatch, they were naturally full of curiosity. In the last ten seconds of the countdown, the trembling of the egg intensified. When the countdown reached five seconds, cracks started to appear on the shell. More and more cracks developed until the countdown reached zero, and then the trembling suddenly stopped. Snap¡ª The top of the shell suddenly broke open, and a small head poked out, staring at everyone with big, curious eyes. ¡°Hey? What is this... a mouse?¡± Everyone was curious. ¡°Probably not a mouse, more like... a weasel?¡± He Jijun said, stroking his chin. The creature popped its head out for a moment, then immediately buried it back inside the shell, followed by a sound of gnawing. A few seconds later, it had completely consumed the shell of the colorful egg, its wet fur dried out and fluffed up. It grew in size, quickly becoming about as big as a small cat. Meanwhile, an indescribable aura began to emanate from it, carrying a faint sense of oppression. ¡°It looks like a weasel indeed! But its fur is white¡ªno, ice blue... How adorable!¡± Seeing the fluffy little creature, the women¡¯s eyes shone with excitement. The creature didn¡¯t pay attention to the others as it climbed up Wang Tao¡¯s arm onto his shoulder and used its fuzzy little head to nuzzle his cheek. Wang Tao had always liked such fluffy animals. Feeling the soft touch on his face, he immediately smiled and stroked it gently. ¡°Woof!¡± Lightning, on the other side, was also very interested in the little creature, wagging his tail frantically. After petting it for a while, Wang Tao took it down from his shoulder and placed it in his hands. ¡°This must be some kind of mutant weasel...¡± [HP: 100,000/100,000] [Mana: 100,000/100,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Frost Shot] Just like the Black Snakes, it emerged from its shell as a Level 4 creature, but while those snakes were only Fourth Order Elites, this one was a Level 4, Lord! Although its HP was only a hundred thousand, which is the least among Level 4 Lords, it had just been born after all, and there was much potential for growth. And its Awakening seemed quite interesting... [Frost Shot: During the duration, spits out a large amount of freeze damage] This should be an Ice attribute Awakening? Wang Tao, witnessing Ice attribute for the first time, was curious about the effects. ¡°Is it a Level 4 Lord?¡± Then Ding Yuqin asked. She could feel a faint pressure emanating from the little creature, indicating it was a Fourth-Level Organism. However, she couldn¡¯t quite discern the creature¡¯s exact strength, which felt similar to her perception of Lightning. But Lightning had been with Wang Tao for quite some time, learning gradually to conceal its strength, while this little one seemed to be born with an inherent ability to hide its true capabilities, eluding scrutiny. ¡°Yep, it¡¯s a Level 4, Lord.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°Amazing! Born a Level 4, Lord!¡± The group, even though they had guessed as much, were still astounded. The fact that they had become Awakeners was no small feat, having gone through life-and-death situations and with Wang Tao¡¯s assistance. It was quite a struggle, unlike this weasel, which was born a Level 4 Lord... ¡°It must have Ice attributes; maybe we can try it out once we get outside,¡± Wang Tao added. ¡°Ice attribute?¡± Having never seen Ice attribute before, everyone was looking forward to its performance. Chapter 1069 - 1069 429 Ice and Fire Twin Minks_2 ?Chapter 1069: Chapter 429: Ice and Fire Twin Minks_2 Chapter 1069: Chapter 429: Ice and Fire Twin Minks_2 ¡°I¡¯ll name you... Little Bing!¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered to think too deeply and simply chose an understandable name. Little Bing¡¯s personality seemed pretty good; although it was very close to Wang Tao, it could sense that other people had good relations with Wang Tao, so it did not reject them either. Especially since a few women had taken turns ¡°molesting¡± it by holding it in their arms, yet it obediently didn¡¯t run away. ¡°I hereby declare that the title of ¡®the cutest creature¡¯ in our team has passed from Lightning to Little Bing!¡± Yang Changhong laughed loudly as she stroked Little Bing in her arms. The nearby Lightning whimpered, not even aware it had such a title until now... and just as it learned about it, it had to give it up. However, it also liked Little Bing very much, and Little Bing seemed to like it too. Little Bing jumped out of Yang Changhong¡¯s arms and then suddenly leapt onto Lightning¡¯s head. Lightning immediately stuck out its tongue, as if smiling. Then it raised its head, letting Little Bing slide onto its back, and began to enthusiastically lick Little Bing¡¯s fur. Little Bing was a bit overwhelmed by Lightning¡¯s enthusiasm and quickly left Lightning to climb onto Wang Tao. ¡°Ha ha!¡± Everyone laughed heartily at the somewhat confused Lightning. Wang Tao then fiercely rubbed Lightning¡¯s head. This military dog was great in all aspects, but sometimes it was too enthusiastic for people to handle. ¡°Let¡¯s head out quickly, I can hardly wait!¡± Lan Yulian urged at that moment, eager to see what this Ice attribute Awakening would be like. ¡°Okay... Huh? Wait, this egg I¡¯m holding has hatched. What about the egg Qu Shilin is holding?¡± Wang Tao suddenly said. When he was at Qu Shilin¡¯s house, he found two ¡°Mysterious Eggs.¡± Qu Shilin kept one and gave one to him. They began hatching almost simultaneously. The process may have involved being separated from the eggs, so the timing for both could be different, but now that Wang Tao¡¯s egg had hatched, wasn¡¯t Qu Shilin¡¯s egg due as well? No sooner had Wang Tao spoken than he noticed his Informational Wristwatch ringing. Now, close to the city gate, there was a signal here. The caller ID showed it was Qu Shilin. Wang Tao immediately answered the call, and before he could speak, he heard an excited voice on the other end. ¡°Wang Tao! Wang Tao! My egg has hatched! Inside was a little mink, so pretty!¡± ¡°Eh? Was there a mink inside your egg too?¡± Wang Tao was immediately surprised. Could it be that both eggs contained the same thing? Although the two eggs looked almost identical, they were called ¡°Mysterious Eggs¡± and weren¡¯t the eggs of any particular creature, so Wang Tao thought the contents should be different... ¡°Also? You¡¯ve hatched one too, huh! A mink as well! But is yours as cute as mine? Mine is pink, pink and so pretty!¡± Is cuteness the main point here? Women! However, the mink she hatched was pink? Looking at the ice blue mink on his shoulder, Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°The mink I hatched is ice blue, so it might be a bit different from yours.¡± ¡°Ah? Ice blue? Different from mine? You should still be in the city, right? Where are you? I¡¯m coming to find you!¡± Qu Shilin got even more excited after hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words. Having one pink, fluffy little mink already made her very happy. If she were to get a blue one as well, she was afraid she might die of cuteness overload. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m at the south gate. Come on over.¡± ¡°Okay, wait for me!¡± After ending the call, Wang Tao stroked the little guy on his shoulder and then looked towards everyone else. ¡°Both eggs hatched into mutant minks... but with different colors. I suspect their abilities will also be different. Let¡¯s see what Qu Shilin¡¯s looks like later...¡± Everyone had heard Wang Tao¡¯s conversation and, upon hearing that Qu Shilin¡¯s little mink was pink, the women¡¯s eyes sparkled. When Qu Shilin arrived, wouldn¡¯t that be double the joy! Wang Tao and the others did not have to wait long; after playing with Little Bing for a while, they heard the roar of an engine outside. A Tracked Armored Vehicle appeared in Wang Tao and the others¡¯ field of vision, then rapidly came to a halt next to the Crystal Energy Car. The door of the Tracked Armored Vehicle opened and Qu Shilin, wearing a military coat, hopped out, holding a pink-tinged white little creature in her arms. ¡°Wow! It really is pink!¡± The women let out small exclamations of surprise. The little mink looked very much like Wang Tao¡¯s, whether blue or pink, both were pale and almost indistinguishable from white at first glance. Wang Tao felt that the fur of the mink in Qu Shilin¡¯s arms was probably red, just so pale that it looked pink. ¡°Wang Tao!¡± Qu Shilin got into Wang Tao¡¯s car and then handed her mink to Wang Tao for a look. Before Wang Tao could speak, the Little Bing on his shoulder immediately made a jump, leaping onto Qu Shilin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Wow!¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s face lit up with surprise; Wang Tao¡¯s mink was just as adorable as hers! However, it wasn¡¯t her that Little Bing was interested in. ¡°Squeak, squeak¡ª¡± ¡°Coo, coo¡ª¡± A red and a blue mink immediately huddled together as if they had found a good friend, very excited, chasing and frolicking inside the vehicle. Qu Shilin really wanted to hug both little fellows but unfortunately couldn¡¯t catch up with them. So, she turned to Wang Tao, asking expectantly, ¡°Wang Tao, is my mink like yours? I feel like it might be a Level 4 creature, but I¡¯m not certain what Level it is...¡± ¡°Pretty much, both are Level 4, Lords, but their awakenings are a bit different...¡± [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Fire Blast] [Fire Blast: During the duration, spews out a large amount of fire damage] Most of their attributes were the same, but the red mink¡¯s awakening wasn¡¯t Ice System, it was Fire System! ¡°This is a Mutant Beast with a Fire Awakening.¡± ¡°Fire Awakening!¡± Qu Shilin was momentarily in disbelief. Generally, the ¡°body¡± system awakenings were most common; most Awakeners in the base had these, and the majority of the outside Zombie Lords and monsters were of this type too. The second most common were ¡°poison¡± system, although the Poison System was mainly because Meteorites spawned poison monsters, and eating the items dropped by those monsters led to poison awakenings, so normally poison awakeners should also be rare. As for other systems, they were even rarer, with researchers like Qu Shilin scarcely having seen them. If it was a Fire System awakening Mutant Beast, then it had significant research value! ¡°Oh right, since you said mine is Fire System, yours is...¡± ¡°Ice System,¡± Wang Tao explained. ¡°Ice Awakening! So, ours are one fire and one ice? No wonder one is red and the other is blue!¡± Only then did Qu Shilin realize why their colors were different. ¡°Eh? I think I¡¯ve discovered something incredible...¡± At this moment, Wang Tao suddenly looked surprised. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Everyone looked over curiously. ¡°These two minks, it seems they can cooperate with each other...¡± Wang Tao had just noticed that during their playful tussle, both minks had an additional line of text appear on their awakenings¡ª [Frost Shot: During the duration, spews out a large amount of freeze damage (can be fused with ¡°Fire Blast¡± to form ¡°Frosty Blaze¡±)] Could their awakenings actually fuse? [Frosty Blaze: Causes a large amount of ice and fire damage] This ¡°Awakening Fusion Technique¡± looked quite powerful! Wang Tao¡¯s eyes shone with excitement. When it came to Fusion Awakenings, he had experience; his own ¡°Starfire Prairie¡± and ¡°Mental development¡± could fuse to become ¡°Hellfire¡±! Fusion awakenings did indeed deal higher damage, but they were very draining. Wang Tao rarely used it, keeping it as a trump card. Therefore, Wang Tao was really looking forward to seeing what kind of Fusion Awakening these two minks might have... Wang Tao didn¡¯t go into too much detail, merely explaining to everyone that the two minks should be capable of coordinated attacks. After hearing this, Qu Shilin first became excited, then fell into deep thought. Finally, she gazed at Wang Tao and said, ¡°Cough, how about... you take one out with me?¡± Chapter 1070 - 1070 430 Frozen Zombies ?Chapter 1070: Chapter 430 Frozen Zombies Chapter 1070: Chapter 430 Frozen Zombies ¡°I can¡¯t see anything, can we even keep going in this...¡± Looking outside at the blizzard, Qu Shilin¡¯s face showed some worry. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can make it.¡± Han Rui patted her on the shoulder next to her. With Wang Tao and her around, it was pretty much like having radar on, so it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Qu Shilin wasn¡¯t worried about running into monsters or zombies; she knew well enough how strong Wang Tao and his people were. She was concerned about the dangers of nature. Now that the ground was covered in snow and nothing was visible, nobody knew what lay beneath it. If they fell into a deep pit, they might not be able to get out... But since she had chosen to follow Wang Tao out here, she had implicitly agreed to take on the risk and was mentally prepared for it. Moreover, in terms of outdoor adventure, they were the professionals, and she had no experience in that area, so she just chose to trust them. ¡°Alright, I trust you guys!¡± Qu Shilin nodded and then turned her gaze to the two little ferrets frolicking with Lightning on one side. ¡°But I actually hope we do run into some zombies, because I¡¯m very curious about what their Fusion Awakening will look like!¡± Seeing those two cute creatures, Han Rui also laughed. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it too! But when those ferrets hatched from the eggs, it felt so strange... I even thought there would be some sort of bird or insect inside them at that time!¡± ¡°Haha, me too! But this is the end times, after all; any outrageous thing that happens isn¡¯t surprising.¡± Qu Shilin laughed heartily. In fact, she had even thought that if something hatched from the eggs, it might become material for her experiments, but watching the little ferret being so cute, she couldn¡¯t bear it as her experiments did indeed come with certain risks... ¡°Oh right, I haven¡¯t named it yet!¡± When Qu Shilin heard Wang Tao call out ¡®Little Bing,¡¯ she suddenly remembered this issue. Wang Tao immediately turned his face. ¡°Mine is called Little Bing, and yours will be called Little Huo, I think that¡¯s a pretty good name.¡± Wang Tao thought that names should be easy to remember, not necessarily nice to listen to. How easy to remember Little Bing and Little Huo were! ¡°Sure! Let¡¯s call it Little Huo then!¡± Qu Shilin, much like Wang Tao, didn¡¯t care much about names, as long as they were easy to remember. The girls next to them immediately gave Wang Tao a glare; they had wanted to help pick a nicer-sounding name, but Wang Tao had beaten them to it. Wang Tao pretended not to have seen anything, and from the other side, Qu Shilin called out. ¡°Little Huo, from now on your name is Little Huo!¡± Mutant beasts generally have a higher intelligence, and the intelligence of these two little ferrets was probably no less than Lightning¡¯s; it clearly understood Qu Shilin¡¯s words. Chirp chirp¡ª Little Huo chirped and then ran onto Qu Shilin¡¯s shoulder, licking her cheek. ¡°Oh, that tickles~¡± Qu Shilin was quite ticklish and instinctively reached up to brush Little Huo away, but Little Huo was very agile, running from the top of her head to her other shoulder and continuing to lick her. ¡°It seems like Little Huo is more lively than Little Bing...¡± Wang Tao stroked Little Bing¡¯s small head as it lay on Lightning¡¯s head. Little Bing slightly squinted its eyes as if thoroughly enjoying it. Speaking of which, although both of these little ferrets were Level 4, Mutant Beast Lords, they were quite small in size, unlike other mutant beasts Wang Tao had seen. Although Lightning appeared small too, that wasn¡¯t its true size; its actual size was quite large. Wang Tao guessed that these two mutant beasts might have physical strengths that were relatively ordinary compared to other mutant beasts... it all depended on their Awakening. Wang Tao was still very much looking forward to their Fusion Awakening. ¡°I hope some zombies show up...¡± The more you hope to encounter something, the less likely it is to appear. The Crystal Energy Car had been traveling through the blizzard for two hours and hadn¡¯t even brushed against a single one. ¡°Could all these zombies be buried under the snow?¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brow. ¡°Are we not going to see any zombies?¡± Qu Shilin quickly asked. ¡°That¡¯s unlikely. The route we¡¯re on was provided by City Hall, it¡¯s the area that was mentioned before, where a large number of zombies got frozen. Even if there are no zombies along the way, there should still be some there...¡± Wang Tao explained. He hadn¡¯t come out here to wander aimlessly, but with a planned route. According to the information from City Hall, they had discovered five large zombie hordes, all of which had been slowed by the heavy snowfall. Wang Tao planned to check these zombie hordes in order, surely they¡¯d encounter some zombies, right? If they went through all five hordes without seeing a single one, then it would just mean Wang Tao had bad luck¡ªthere was nothing that could be done. ¡°Frozen zombies, huh? Does that mean we can kill them as we please?¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°In theory, that¡¯s the case. But since half a month has passed, anything unexpected can happen...¡± Wang Tao felt as long as the information was accurate, it was highly probable the zombies would be there since most zombies had low intelligence. If they couldn¡¯t move, they probably just would not move. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak in absolutes since anything could happen. ¡°If there really are some frozen zombies, could you let me kill a few?¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes sparkled with anticipation as she looked at Wang Tao. She had killed zombies before, but that was a long time ago. Moreover, the way she killed zombies was different from ordinary people who went into the wild to kill them. She needed it for research, so she required others to bring the zombies to her for dissection... that¡¯s how she gained her HP and Level. Chapter 1071 - 1071 430 Frozen Zombies_2 ?Chapter 1071: Chapter 430: Frozen Zombies_2 Chapter 1071: Chapter 430: Frozen Zombies_2 So strictly speaking, she hasn¡¯t yet killed any zombies in the wild properly. ¡°Of course, that¡¯s no problem. There are so many zombies, we can¡¯t kill them all anyway.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile and a nod. The first group of Frozen Zombies was the closest one to the base among the five, but this ¡°closest¡± was only relative to the other zombie groups; in actuality, it was also quite far. Especially in this blizzard weather, even with Wang Tao and Han Rui, the car did not dare to drive too fast, so they had been traveling from morning until afternoon, finally coming near the zombie group. ¡°We¡¯re finally here, just up ahead. Let¡¯s go and take a look.¡± Wang Tao called out, and everyone immediately perked up, with the car slowly moving forward toward the targeted location. But soon, Han Rui furrowed her brows. ¡°There¡¯s nothing... I don¡¯t sense any zombies...¡± As soon as these words were spoken, everyone instantly became vigilant. Not fearing a horde of zombies, but fearing none at all¡ªbecause that implies that the zombies have left, possibly hiding somewhere. The unknown is the most terrifying! Everyone subconsciously looked to Wang Tao. ¡°Keep going a bit further. Xiao Rui, you keep a close eye out, don¡¯t miss any spot.¡± Wang Tao said with a frown. In theory, Wang Tao¡¯s Plant Affinity Ability could detect at the farthest range, followed by Perception Ability, and lastly his Mental Detection. But unfortunately, it was winter now, most of the plants were dead, and the ground was covered with snow, leaving no opportunity for him to exploit, so they could only rely on Han Rui. ¡°Got it!¡± Han Rui nodded. The car continued onward, and by the time Wang Tao asked the driver to stop, Han Rui still had not seen any sign of life other than themselves. Up to now, Wang Tao had never seen anyone escape the detection of Perception Ability. Since Han Rui hadn¡¯t detected anything, it likely meant there were no zombies here. However, to be on the safe side, Wang Tao said to everyone, ¡°You all wait in the car, I¡¯ll go over and have a look first...¡± Better safe than sorry. If these zombies had evolved the ability to shield themselves from Perception Ability, it would be dangerous for them to burst in headfirst. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you! I¡¯m not afraid of the cold!¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately said. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then called over Jiang Shixue and Lightning. At this moment, Little Bing and Little Huo both called out to Wang Tao. ¡°Huh? You guys want to go too? Okay, let¡¯s go together.¡± Thus, Wang Tao and the three people with three beasts got out of the vehicle. ¡°Hiss¡ªit¡¯s cold!¡± The moment he stepped out of the car, Wang Tao shivered. He then realized that he seemed to be the only one feeling cold... Jiang Shixue had a unique constitution; her body temperature was much lower than that of normal people, and she wasn¡¯t bothered by the cold. There was no need to mention Xiang Hongbin, as a large part of his body was mechanical, untroubled by either cold or heat. Lightning and the two little ferrets were also not bothered by the cold, frolicking around in the snow, leaving only Wang Tao to feel the chill. Wang Tao checked his informational wristwatch, and it displayed a temperature below minus thirty degrees. ¡°Damn it, a bunch of freaks!¡± Wang Tao grumbled, then fully deployed his Mental Detection, leading everyone cautiously towards the target location. ¡°No zombies...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see them...¡± ¡°Woof¡ª¡± ¡°Chirp chirp¡ª¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± Wang Tao suddenly raised his hand, stopping everyone in their tracks. ¡°I see zombies! But...¡± A look of shock appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes emitted a blue glow, immediately entering a state of combat readiness. ¡°The zombies... have evolved! They¡¯re just behind the little mound on the left front! There aren¡¯t many of them, let¡¯s rush over!¡± With a wave of his hand, Wang Tao, the three people, and three beasts immediately crouched down, carefully creeping forward. After surmounting the mound, they finally saw the zombies Wang Tao mentioned. ¡°This is...¡± Below the mound were several stiff figures, different from ordinary zombies. Their skin was a deathly pale color tinged with blue. They were covered with frost, as if they had just come out of a freezer, but their movements didn¡¯t seem to be greatly affected... [HP: 200,000/200,000] [Mana: 100,000/100,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Elite] There were six zombies in total, all with the same attributes¡ªLevel 4 Elite. But their HP was quite high, at two hundred thousand, more than some Level 4 Lords, making them the Elite Zombies with the highest HP Wang Tao had ever seen. However, HP was not the main point. The key was the status they had¡ª [Freezing Aura: Self-movement speed reduced, Ice attribute defense increased, attacks carry Ice attribute. Enemies within a radius of five meters will be Slowed, and their Ice attribute defense is lowered.] Seeing this status, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help exclaiming. Is this supposed to be a debuff? That¡¯s clearly a strong Ability, one might even say an Awakening! Wang Tao had seen many kinds of statuses, such as poisoning, Curse, Bleeding, burning, acid rain, etc., but those effects were generally only self-affecting and unrelated to others. But this ¡°Freezing Aura¡± was different¡ªit affected both the user and the enemies! Although this status would slow them down, compared to the subsequent increase in ¡°Ice attribute defense and attacks carrying Ice attribute, with enemies being Slowed and their Ice attribute defense lowered,¡± this slowing effect was negligible. After all, if the enemies are also Slowed within the aura¡¯s range, then it¡¯s as if nobody was Slowed at all! Moreover, the range of this aura was a five-meter radius circle, which was not small, nearly eighty square meters! Chapter 1072 - 1072 430 Frozen Zombies_3 ?Chapter 1072: Chapter 430: Frozen Zombies_3 Chapter 1072: Chapter 430: Frozen Zombies_3 If they encountered these zombies from a distance, it would be okay, but if they were unexpectedly surrounded and suddenly slowed down, they might not be able to run away at all! This, is the evolution of zombies! ¡°There¡¯s something off about these zombies...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained the situation with the Freezing Aura to Jiang Shixue and the others, who were all quite surprised upon hearing it. ¡°So, looking at it this way, these zombies are called Elite, but their strength is much greater than ordinary Elite Zombies, and they aren¡¯t much weaker than a Lord, right?¡± Xiang Hongbin looked towards Wang Tao. ¡°If there were only one of these Elite Zombies, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be as strong as a Level 4 Lord, but if there were three or more, it¡¯s hard to tell...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression was solemn. While he was speaking, he observed carefully and could see that when these Frozen Zombies moved, white frost slowly formed under their feet. The range of the white frost was exactly a five-meter radius, which must be the range of their Freezing Aura. Therefore, when these zombies stood apart, the range of their Freezing Aura effectively increased. If someone within the range of the Freezing Aura was slowed, it would probably be very difficult to move. As for exactly how much the slow effect was... it wasn¡¯t specified on their Status, and the only possibility for it not being specified was that the slow effect fluctuated greatly and was variable. So it should be that the stronger the individual, the less they were slowed, and the weaker the individual, the more they were slowed... Wang Tao carefully looked around again to ensure there were no other zombies nearby, then said to the group along with the three beasts: ¡°Let¡¯s go test them out and see what strength these zombies actually possess!¡± Analyzing too much wasn¡¯t as good as taking action. One fight would show their true strength. ¡°Okay!¡± The group responded and then directly went out. ¡°Hehe...¡± As soon as they appeared, the six Frozen Zombies instantly noticed them, and, moving their stiff limbs, started walking towards the group. Although their bodies were stiff, their speed did not seem slow, and they quickly approached the group. When the white frost appeared under Wang Tao¡¯s feet, he suddenly felt much colder, which must have been a reduction in his Ice Attribute Defense. Then, Wang Tao saw the frost climbing from his shoes onto his body. He moved his steps and felt as if his feet had become a bit heavier. ¡°The effect on me isn¡¯t big!¡± Wang Tao felt that he had probably been slowed down by about 10%, a significant impact since he was fast and this 10% was not negligible. However, after some testing, Wang Tao found that he could struggle with brute force¡ªthe more strength he exerted, the less he was slowed. So it wasn¡¯t a big problem! Xiang Hongbin also had some white frost on his body, and the slow effect seemed to have a greater impact on him compared to Wang Tao; his footsteps clearly hesitated for a moment. But then, the Crystal Core in his chest emitted a strong light, and the frost on him instantly evaporated, and his slowed status was gone. Clearly, he, like Wang Tao, used brute force. The only difference was that Wang Tao used his body¡¯s strength, while Xiang Hongbin used the energy from his Crystal Core. As for Jiang Shixue, the Freezing Aura didn¡¯t seem to affect her at all. The frost was just on the top of her feet and didn¡¯t spread further. However, what surprised Wang Tao the most were Lightning and the two little ferrets. Lightning¡¯s head had a blue ferret on one side and a red ferret on the other, and the white frost on the ground simply bypassed them! ¡°It¡¯s Little Bing!¡± Wang Tao sensed that Little Bing was responsible for this, probably because it had high Ice Attribute Defense, and coupled with it being a Level 4 Lord, higher in level than these zombies, it wasn¡¯t affected by the Freezing Aura at all! Moreover, not only was it unaffected, but so were Lightning and Little Huo near it. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Little Bing to have this kind of ability!¡± Wang Tao immediately called out to have everyone gather. Then, Wang Tao noticed that after Lightning carried Little Bing to his side, he too was no longer affected by the slowing effect. Even the sudden chill had disappeared, which meant...the freezing aura had no effect on him at all! It wasn¡¯t just him; Jiang Shixue and Xiang Hongbin, who had just arrived by Wang Tao¡¯s side, were also completely immune to the freezing aura, though they needed to stay a bit closer to Little Bing. This was already impressive, far beyond Wang Tao¡¯s expectations. Looking at the zombies now approaching, Wang Tao patted the heads of Little Bing and Little Huo, and then said: ¡°There are six zombies in total, let¡¯s each take one! Go!¡± Wang Tao was the first to charge forward. After leaving Little Bing¡¯s side, the effect of the freezing aura returned to him. However, this was no big issue for Wang Tao. Suddenly, a long saber appeared in his hand, and he swung it towards the head of a Frozen Zombie. Bang! [-32749] [-3274] [...] Seeing these damage numbers, Wang Tao finally set his mind at ease. These Frozen Zombies might have lots of HP, but their defensive power was not as good as that of a zombie of the same level as a Lord. With one strike, he had taken off more than forty thousand HP; a hundred thousand HP would only take four or five hits. ¡°Hehe...¡± The Frozen Zombie swung its arms at Wang Tao, but its speed was clearly much slower than his, and Wang Tao easily dodged the attack. After a few moves, Wang Tao split its head open with his saber. Gathering the spoils, Wang Tao looked towards the others. Jiang Shixue, Xiang Hongbin, and Lightning, of course, were not a problem. The main focus was on Little Bing and Little Huo. From Little Bing¡¯s mouth, a stream of ice-blue breath spewed out, instantly enveloping a Frozen Zombie. Ice crystals began to form on its body, and in the blink of an eye, it was truly ¡°Frozen,¡± becoming an actual Frozen Zombie! At the same time, its HP began to steadily drop. [-8217] [-8134] [...] Little Bing¡¯s freeze damage occurred every 0.5 seconds, each time dealing over eight thousand damage. Wang Tao felt that the damage was rather ordinary... However, the ability to freeze the opponent was quite remarkable, serving as a strong control mechanism. Suddenly, Wang Tao felt the temperature around him rise. He immediately turned his head and saw a dazzling tongue of fire shoot out from Little Huo¡¯s mouth, much like a flamethrower, instantly igniting one of the Frozen Zombies. Wherever the flame passed, the frost on the ground and the cold air around it were all evaporated, and the ignited zombie¡¯s HP started to plummet drastically. [-24134] [-24264] [...] ¡°Damn!¡± Seeing this damage, Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. Dealing over twenty thousand damage every 0.5 seconds, in just 4 seconds, the zombie had been burned down to a skeleton! Such high damage! Could it be that fire damage is the counter to ice attribute? Are these Frozen Zombies¡¯ flame defenses low? Wang Tao himself could also perform Fire Attribute attacks. Wouldn¡¯t he know if he tried? He quickly looked around, but all the Frozen Zombies were already lying on the ground... Chapter 1073 - 1073 431 Frosty Blaze ?Chapter 1073: Chapter 431 Frosty Blaze Chapter 1073: Chapter 431 Frosty Blaze ¡°It¡¯s that powerful?¡± Hong Bin exclaimed in astonishment when he saw Little Bing and Little Huo in action. Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t speak, but her eyes showed she was equally surprised. Wang Tao explained: ¡°It¡¯s attribute suppression, fire should suppress ice...¡± Hong Bin looked around the icy and snowy surroundings, suddenly his eyes lit up. ¡°So, if that¡¯s the case, wouldn¡¯t Little Huo be invincible in this environment?¡± ¡°If the zombies outside mutated into these frozen zombies, then it¡¯s really hard to say...¡± Wang Tao beckoned, and both Little Bing and Little Huo immediately ran up to his shoulders¡ªWang Tao actually couldn¡¯t make Little Huo obey commands, because Qu Shilin was its owner, but Wang Tao could convey his intentions to Little Huo through Little Bing or Lightning, and Little Huo, being clever, was willing to listen to Wang Tao when Qu Shilin wasn¡¯t around. ¡°Can you two continue to spit ice and fire?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. Huff¡ª A jet of icy blue air whooshed from Little Bing¡¯s small mouth to the side, instantly making the surrounding area several degrees colder. After Little Bing finished, Little Huo also spat fire, raising the ambient temperature significantly. ¡°Your awakening is quite interesting...¡± Wang Tao remarked with some amazement. Their awakening description said they could spit ice and fire during the duration, which made Wang Tao think their ability was similar to his Starfire Prairie, a short burst of awakening. After all, it mentioned ¡°during the duration.¡± But now it seemed not to be the case¡ªthey had been going for a long time now, and they could still spit ice and fire... Unfortunately, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see how much awakening energy they had, otherwise, he would have known what the deal was. However, since Little Bing was hatched from Wang Tao¡¯s HP and shared some intuitive connection with him, it sensed Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, and thus demonstrated spitting ice again, with Little Huo helping by the side. Following their demonstrations and Wang Tao¡¯s mixed guesses, he seemed to understand the situation. Their awakening was similar to a normal ability; the time they remained awakened consumed corresponding amounts of awakening energy. Unlike Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Prairie, which requires 100 awakening energy to start and a minimum of 10 seconds of usage. Their awakening could be used at any time and turned off at any time, even for only 0.5 seconds! This meant there was no unnecessary waste and no cooldown period! Just in terms of convenience and consumption of awakening energy, their awakening was better than Wang Tao¡¯s. But this awakening had its downsides, specifically to them¡ªsince they couldn¡¯t fuse with Crystal Cores and couldn¡¯t replenish awakening energy through cores, they could only recover slowly over time, though their recovery was much faster than that of humans... If they ran out of awakening energy, their combat efficiency would greatly decrease if they couldn¡¯t replenish it quickly. So, powerful as they were, it was best not to use up all their awakening energy at once. However, Wang Tao soon discovered that although they couldn¡¯t fuse with Crystal Cores, they could eat Awakening Energy Pearls, and they were effective! That meant they weren¡¯t entirely unable to replenish awakening energy! Of course, awakening energy pearls were rare, much rarer than Crystal Cores, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many... So, under normal circumstances, it was better to save and rely on time for gradual recovery. In emergencies, use the awakening energy pearls... After figuring out the principles behind their awakening, Wang Tao felt their abilities were formidable. Ordinary people would consider awakenings as trump cards, but they didn¡¯t have to; regular use was possible since they themselves controlled the amount of awakening energy they used. As for physical attributes, it matched with what Wang Tao had guessed¡ªtheir small size meant their physical strength wasn¡¯t impressive, ordinary for Level 4 Lords. But that was sufficient for them, as they weren¡¯t meant to engage in close combat against humans. ¡°Great job!¡± Wang Tao patted the heads of the two little ones, then turned to Hong Bin and Jiang Shixue and said, ¡°Let¡¯s search a bit more, I feel there might be more than just these few frozen zombies here.¡± ¡°Okay! Oh, this is for you, see what kind of Crystal Core this is...¡± Hong Bin passed over the loot from the zombies they had just killed, which were just Elite Zombies, so they didn¡¯t drop any materials, only Crystal Cores. Six Crystal Cores in total, three blue and three purple, very balanced. And the types of Crystal Cores were all the same. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Ice Attribute Defense] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: body stiffness)] [Ice Attribute Defense: Passive Ability, enhances ice attribute defense] The ability inside this Crystal Core was a passive defense type; Wang Tao thought it would be something like a freezing aura, but unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t particularly interested in this type of ability, but then again, this was for increasing ice attribute defense. If someone fused with this ability, wouldn¡¯t they become immune to cold and be able to move freely in cold weather? Wang Tao thought it was possible! ¡°Keep the Crystal Cores, and when the opportunity arises, find someone to test them!¡± However, this Crystal Core was Level 4, meaning only Awakeners could fuse with it. There weren¡¯t many Awakeners at the base, so it wasn¡¯t easy to find someone for experiments... In addition to the six Crystal Cores, the zombies Wang Tao killed dropped Loot Packs, but since he didn¡¯t kill them at a higher level, the packs only contained a few materials, which were of little use. Chapter 1074 - 1074 431 Frosty Blaze_2 ?Chapter 1074: Chapter 431 Frosty Blaze_2 Chapter 1074: Chapter 431 Frosty Blaze_2 ¡°This Crystal Core should increase ice attribute defense...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. ¡°Ice attribute defense? So, does that mean it won¡¯t fear the cold?¡± Xiang Hongbin evidently thought along the same lines as Wang Tao. ¡°Let¡¯s find someone to fuse with it later to see what effects it has¡ªfor our team as well, since I still have some Level 4 Extraction Crystal Cores...¡± The two continued their discussion as they searched the area. Sure enough, as Wang Tao had thought, such a large place couldn¡¯t possibly only have a few Frozen Zombies. Wang Tao soon found another group of zombies. And this group of Frozen Zombies was larger than the previous ones, totaling 15, all Rank-4 Elites. ¡°Little Ice, Little Fire, could you two try your Fusion Awakening?¡± The two little martens seemed to understand Wang Tao¡¯s words, as they immediately jumped off his shoulder and dashed toward the group of fifteen zombies. At that moment, the wind was strong, covering up a lot of noise. The two little martens swaggered to the front of the zombie horde and were then noticed by the zombies. ¡°Hehe...¡± All 15 zombies lunged toward the martens. Whoosh¡ª Little Ice and Little Fire opened their mouths simultaneously. Streams of ice-blue air and orange-red flames sprayed out, forming an equilateral triangle distribution with the zombie horde, the point of the triangle facing in the zombies¡¯ direction, which was also where the ice and fire converged. The group of zombies was instantly frozen, immediately followed by the flames falling upon them. Crack¡ª Boom! A loud noise erupted, ice crystals and sparks burst forth, resembling a grand fireworks display, resplendent yet deadly. [-62954] [-63812] [-64012] [...] Seeing these huge damage numbers, and the nearly instantly melted fifteen zombies, Wang Tao¡¯s mouth fell open. ¡°Is this a bit too exaggerated...¡± The Fusion Awakening, Ice and Flame, used by Little Ice and Little Fire, inflicted over sixty thousand damage every 0.5 seconds! These zombies with two hundred thousand HP only needed 1.5 seconds to die! Moreover, and it was an area-wide explosion damage, all fifteen zombies were hit, none escaped! All of them exploded within 1.5 seconds! Jiang Shixue¡¯s mouth gaped slightly, evidently amazed as well. ¡°Damn! That¡¯s fierce!¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat astonished too. He had fought against Frozen Zombies and knew their strength well. Though these were just Rank-4 Elite zombies, due to their Freezing Aura, their strength was much higher than that of ordinary Elite zombies. Moreover, most importantly, they were particularly resistant to damage! It would take Xiang Hongbin almost ten seconds to kill a single Rank-4 Frozen Zombie on his own. But these two little fellows, still far away, almost instantly killed the Frozen Zombies¡ªwas it one second or two seconds? And it wasn¡¯t just one or two zombies, but a whole group! Talking about Awakenings, why such a huge difference! Xiang Hongbin glanced at the two little martens and then at his Mechanical Arm, he started doubting himself. Seeing this, Wang Tao immediately patted Xiang Hongbin on the shoulder. ¡°What are you thinking! It¡¯s normal for a System Awakener like you not to compare in damage to Ice System or Fire System Awakeners. I believe, System Awakeners¡¯ advantage lies in physical fitness, combat endurance, omnipotence... Ice System is about control, damage, while Fire System is purely about damage. If your system¡¯s damage was higher than that of the Ice or Fire, then how would other players manage?¡± ¡°...You have a point there.¡± Xiang Hongbin scratched his head. What a pity he couldn¡¯t see the damage numbers; otherwise, he would have realized, not only was the damage from the martens higher than his, but even Jiang Shixue and Wang Tao¡¯s ordinary attack damage was higher than his, and neither Wang Tao nor Jiang Shixue were System Awakeners... but of course, they couldn¡¯t be judged by normal standards, each was more monstrous than the last. Compared to other Awakeners, Xiang Hongbin was already considered quite strong. ¡°Chirp chirp¡ª¡± The two little martens were very economical; they only spat for two seconds, making sure the zombies were dead beyond doubt, then ran back onto Wang Tao¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao checked the recorder hanging in front of him, ensuring he captured the martens¡¯ battle, then he stroked Little Ice and Little Fire¡¯s heads before looking toward the battlefield. The scene was a mess; the snow on the ground had all melted, and the soil beneath the thick snow was blasted into a crater. Within the explosion¡¯s range, ice crystals and sparks enveloped the area, Wang Tao could feel alternating cold and heat... However, the ice crystals soon melted due to the high temperature, and the flames gradually died down, returning everything to silence, except for the sound of the wind, whooshing and the dozen or so glittering Crystal Cores on the ground. As for those zombies... they had been blown to pieces long ago. ¡°So strong, really strong! Feels like this thing is a humanoid bomb! Plus, it¡¯s way more convenient than a bomb...¡± Hong Bin couldn¡¯t stop marveling. Wang Tao nodded. Before Awakening, Ability Users still feared thermal weapons, but after Awakening, the damage caused by Awakeners was nearly the same as thermal weapons. It wouldn¡¯t be long before they completely transcended thermal weapons. Of course, for the time being, humans were still relatively frail, even the defensively-oriented System Awakeners could be killed by thermal weapons, so caution was still necessary... After picking up the Crystal Cores, Wang Tao said to the others: ¡°Let¡¯s wait a bit and see if the noise from the explosion attracts more zombies.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao waited a while, and two waves of zombies came, one with three, and another with four, all of them Fourth Order Elite Frozen Zombies. This time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t let the two little ones take action. He placed them atop Lightning, and he himself ran towards those four zombies. A small fireball appeared in his hand at the same time. Wang Tao had long wanted to test his fire damage. Using Starfire Prairie was too wasteful; a small fireball was enough. When the fireball in Wang Tao¡¯s hand grew larger, he directly threw it out. Boom¡ª The explosion of the fireball was much quieter than the Frosty Blaze, and the scene was less spectacular, but the damage... [-142344] [-28486] [-28486] [-648] [0/200000] Huh? Wang Tao himself was stunned; his fireball had directly knocked off 200,000 HP from the Frozen Zombie? The four 200,000 HP Frozen Zombies were instantly killed! It has to be said, seeing those six-figure damage numbers was really thrilling! However, after calculating carefully, Wang Tao realized the damage, although exaggerated, was actually reasonable. His fireball attack against a Level 4, Lord generally did about thirty thousand damage. The defense of these Elite Zombies was probably only half that of a Lord¡¯s, so even if he dealt over sixty thousand damage, plus considering the zombies were of the Ice Attribute, and from the way Little Bing and Little Huo attacked, fire attribute attacks on ice attributes seemed to double the damage, so the explosive fourteen thousand damage was about right. After the fireball exploded, it burned a few more times, killing a 200,000 HP zombie... Compared to the two little ferrets, a fireball¡¯s instantaneous damage was higher, the numbers more dazzling, more like a ¡°one-shot.¡± But the ferrets¡¯ sustained damage was higher, dealing over sixty thousand damage every 0.5 seconds! If it were against an enemy with even thicker HP, like a 400,000 HP Frozen Zombie, then Wang Tao would need to use two fireballs. But for the two little ferrets, it would just take 1.5 seconds longer... So, the little ferrets were suited for attacking high HP enemies, provided their Awakening Energy was sufficient. But then again, Wang Tao¡¯s fireball was only an Ability, not an Awakening... If he used Awakening, how high would that damage be? ¡°Damn, that¡¯s sick! Both the master and pets are crazy!¡± Hong Bin muttered. The three zombies over here were dealt with quickly as well, and then the group moved deeper. An hour later, Wang Tao and the others returned to their vehicle. ¡°How did it go? Were there any zombies?¡± The others asked anxiously. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just hear the explosion?¡± ¡°No...¡± ¡°Then it seems the blizzard blocked the sound.¡± Wang Tao took out the recorder from his chest and played it while explaining the earlier situation. Hearing about the emergence of a new kind of Mutant Zombie, the Frozen Zombies, everyone looked quite worried; their worst fears were coming true¡ªthe zombies had already adapted to the ice and snow while humans hid in their bases! If the blizzard continued and humans dared not venture out, mankind would fall even further behind in the race with the evolving zombies... However, the battles of Little Bing and Little Huo immediately excited everyone, especially Qu Shilin, who couldn¡¯t stop grinning¡ªit was her Little Huo after all! ¡°Little Huo, how are you so strong! Bless you~¡± Qu Shilin kissed Little Huo hard,¡±Wait, this is your Fusion Awakening with Little Bing... Oh my! A one-shot!¡± Chapter 1075 - 1075 432 Severe Problem ?Chapter 1075: Chapter 432 Severe Problem Chapter 1075: Chapter 432 Severe Problem When Little Huo swiftly killed the Frozen Zombies, everyone was already amazed, but the moment Little Huo and Little Bing¡¯s Awakening powers fused, instantly wiping out a group, they were utterly blinded by the display. Whether it was damage or range, the [Ice and Flame] was extremely strong, a phenomenon they had only seen in one person before¡ªWang Tao! Wang Tao was the Awakener with the strongest attack power they had ever seen, and the combined damage of the two little minks was close to rivaling Wang Tao! ¡°Awesome!¡± Wei Zhenguo and several others exclaimed at the same time. ¡°Indeed very impressive, I never thought their Fusion Awakening damage would be so high, and it¡¯s even sustained. If we¡¯re talking about continuous output, I might not even be able to match them...¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, shaking his head. ¡°What¡¯s the principle behind this? Their Fusion Awakening isn¡¯t as complicated as I imagined, but here 1+1 is directly greater than 2?¡± Ding Yuqin asked curiously, looking towards the others. Lan Yulian slowed down the video and then explained: ¡°Look closely, Little Bing and Little Huo attack at the same time, but Little Bing is actually a bit faster. In reality, Little Bing freezes the zombies first, instantly covering them in ice, and then Little Huo¡¯s flames land on the zombies, leading to the explosion...¡± ¡°If it were before the apocalypse, I would think it could be the heat from the flames decomposing the ice on the zombies into hydrogen and oxygen, which in the presence of a flame source, would cause an explosion from the large amounts of hydrogen and oxygen...¡± ¡°But now it¡¯s the apocalypse, the world has changed drastically, and even some physical rules have become different, like the flame Wang Tao releases, which can¡¯t be extinguished by water...¡± ¡°I can only say it might be along these lines, but as to what it actually is, we also don¡¯t know. In any case, according to the power shown in the video, it¡¯s not as simple as just an explosion, the ice is different, and the fire is different too... So we don¡¯t need to get hung up on the principle, as long as it works, that¡¯s all that matters.¡± After hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, everyone nodded in agreement, feeling that she made sense. But Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows suddenly raised as he thought of something from Lan Yulian¡¯s explanation¡ªif he let Little Bing freeze the zombies first and then he attacked with his own Awakening fire, would there also be a damage bonus? The flames he produced were completely different from ordinary flames, and should be quite similar to Little Huo¡¯s flames... If it really was as Lan Yulian said, then it did seem likely! Wang Tao patted Little Bing on the head; he decided he would try it out as soon as he saw zombies! If it really increased damage, that would be very exciting for him... At that moment, Qu Shilin suddenly spoke up, somewhat excited: ¡°Doesn¡¯t this mean that with Little Bing and Little Huo here, under such extreme cold weather conditions, we don¡¯t have to fear these evolved Frozen Zombies at all? We could even say, we¡¯ve become invincible?¡± The battle footage of the two little minks was too shocking, and since Wang Tao had filmed a wide area, he even captured Xiang Hongbin in the frame¡ªXiang Hongbin¡¯s strength was known to them, and by comparing the time it took Xiang Hongbin to kill a Frozen Zombie, they could feel how strong Little Bing and Little Huo were! Especially Little Huo, it was outrageous. For the two little minks, the evolution of the zombies was practically useless, even a negative effect¡ªthe fire inflicted even more damage on them! So with Little Huo around, weren¡¯t they invincible? Hearing Qu Shilin¡¯s words, everyone instinctively looked towards Wang Tao, who shook his head somewhat speechlessly: ¡°You¡¯re being a bit too imaginative. First of all, you have to understand that Little Huo¡¯s damage is so high because it¡¯s using an Awakening! Have you ever seen anyone whose Active Awakening could be used continuously? It consumes Awakening Energy, which can¡¯t be used all the time. Before the Awakening Energy is depleted, Little Huo is indeed formidable, but if there¡¯s no Awakening Energy, it might not be as good as other Awakeners or Lords because Awakening Energy is hard to replenish...¡± ¡°Uh... that makes sense! Excited for nothing...¡± Qu Shilin then somewhat embarrassingly scratched her head. But Wang Tao continued: ¡°However, that being said, in the absence of external interference, the recovery speed of Little Bing and Little Huo¡¯s Awakening Energy seems to be faster than that of us humans... So as long as we use them reasonably and don¡¯t deplete their Awakening Energy, they are still very powerful. Zombies like these Frozen ones, they can just kill them in an instant.¡± ¡°Then I must plan well for Little Huo¡ªno, it should be you! I leave it all to you!¡± Qu Shilin was quite self-aware; she might have a Level 3 body but had no combat experience. If she commanded Little Huo, it might not be as effective as letting Little Huo act freely, so it would be better for a professional like Wang Tao to command. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao smiled. In theory, he couldn¡¯t command Little Huo; it wasn¡¯t a question of whether Little Huo was obedient, but rather there wasn¡¯t that kind of intuitive understanding between them. He shared some kind of intuitive understanding with Little Bing, Blacky, and even Lightning¡ªa look or a gesture from him and they would understand what Wang Tao wanted to do. But naturally, it didn¡¯t work with Little Huo. However, with Little Bing present, and given the strong relationship between the two little minks, almost like real brothers, Wang Tao could convey messages to Little Huo through Little Bing and thus indirectly control Little Huo. Although there would be some delay, Little Huo was very smart and could completely use its own judgment to offset these delays... Chapter 1076 - 1076 432 Severe Problem_2 ?Chapter 1076: Chapter 432 Severe Problem_2 Chapter 1076: Chapter 432 Severe Problem_2 As several people spoke, the car had already passed the area of the recent battle. Qu Shilin thought about checking the battlefield where Little Huo had just fought, but it was covered by heavy snow, and only faint traces could be seen. ¡°The snow is too heavy... and I always feel like the snow outside is heavier than inside the base...¡± Xiang Hongbin frowned. ¡°It must be because of the wind. The base is surrounded by high walls that block a lot of the wind, whereas there is no shelter out here...¡± Wei Zhenguo explained. ¡°That¡¯s true...¡± Xiang Hongbin nodded, then he turned to Wang Tao and asked, ¡°Wang Tao, where do you think all these zombies have gone?¡± They had been searching here for over an hour, finding only those zombies and no other traces or bodies of zombies, despite the information from City Hall indicating a large number of zombies should be here. If the zombies had frozen to death or been controlled, they would be visible. But aside from a few frozen zombies, there were no others. Xiang Hongbin was worried that all the zombies in this huge horde had evolved into frozen zombies! The main group of zombies had left, leaving only a small part behind... If that was indeed the case, it would definitely not be good news for them. They would prefer to see the zombies trapped in one place... ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but since we¡¯ve seen neither zombies nor zombie bodies, it¡¯s very likely that they¡¯ve left. Therefore... it¡¯s highly probable that these zombies have mutated!¡± Wang Tao was serious. Although he and Little Huo could deal significant damage to these types of frozen zombies, the number of zombies was way too many! Even if all the hordes of zombies were gathered for him to kill, he couldn¡¯t eliminate them all before his Awakening Energy was exhausted. If these zombies had really departed, the people inside the base would be even more reluctant to come out, and without coming out, they couldn¡¯t increase their strength... It¡¯s a vicious cycle! This was a serious problem. After all, it had been less than a year since the apocalypse began, and every passing day could bring significant changes to the world. They had been relentlessly pursuing the evolving pace of the zombies, but now they had unexpectedly stopped for over half a month, while the zombies continued to evolve! If the heavy snow lasts a month, two months, or even three months, and if during this period, the human strength within the base remains stagnant, then they might find themselves in a situation where the highest among base¡¯s humans are Level 4, while the lowest zombies outside are Level 6! How would they fight then? For the entire base, this situation would be nothing short of catastrophic! ¡°Let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t encounter the worst scenario...¡± He Jijun, who had been silent, shook his head. The worst-case scenario was that in the five locations they planned to visit, all the trapped zombies had left... This meant they had all mutated! The car headed south, but because of the heavy snow and wind, it couldn¡¯t go too fast. After all, Wang Tao certainly did not want to risk an accident, so they continued until it was dark before finally arriving at the second location where the trapped hordes were. Similar to before, Wang Tao prepared to get out of the car first to check the situation and then decided on the strategy to be used. ¡°Huh? There are zombies!¡± However, this time it was different from the last; before Wang Tao could even exit the vehicle, Han Rui exclaimed in surprise. ¡°How many zombies?¡± ¡°About twenty or more, right in front of us, all Fourth Order Elite! I can faintly feel the coldness emanating from their bodies, just like those frozen zombies you mentioned!¡± Han Rui quickly explained. ¡°Everyone, get out of the car and fight! Feel what it¡¯s like to battle with these frozen zombies.¡± Wang Tao called out, and everyone immediately disembarked. ¡°Do I, do I go too?¡± Qu Shilin looked somewhat fearfully at Wang Tao. After a moment¡¯s thought, Wang Tao said, ¡°You should experience it too. Don¡¯t worry, Little Huo and I will protect you.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Although Qu Shilin was scared, her fear was based on her self-awareness that she wasn¡¯t much of a fighter. However, her nature was rather decisive. Since Wang Tao had spoken, she would not hesitate. ¡°It¡¯s so cold!¡± As they left the warm car, the cold wind blew, and Qu Shilin instantly shivered. ¡°Fighting in this weather really weakens our combat power...¡± Yang Zhang Hong expressed her helplessness beside them. Because of the need to keep warm, she was wearing much more clothing than usual, which would definitely consume extra physical strength during combat, not to mention the biting cold wind on her face felt like being scraped by a knife... It was very uncomfortable. However, when she saw those Frozen Zombies appear, she realized that all of that was nothing compared to what was coming next. ¡°So cold!¡± It wasn¡¯t just Qu Shilin, others couldn¡¯t help but speak out as well. ¡°It¡¯s these Frozen Zombies! When they gather together, they cause the surrounding temperature to drop. The more there are, the more the temperature drops around them...¡± Wang Tao said, frowning. Before, he hadn¡¯t felt much of it, as he encountered at most four or five zombies at a time, which he and Little Huo quickly dealt with. Now, with over twenty Frozen Zombies gathered together, such bone-chilling temperatures rushed over them. He guessed that ordinary people might freeze to death in no time! By the time these Frozen Zombies reached them, the informational wristwatch showed a temperature of below minus forty degrees! ¡°Make it quick!¡± Wang Tao glanced at the zombies, confirmed that these were 200,000 HP Fourth Order Elites, and then immediately charged at them. Since he wanted them all to experience fighting against Frozen Zombies, Wang Tao used no devastating powers, just taking a knife and slashing through. Bang! [-33441] [-3344] [...] With prior experience, Wang Tao swiftly swung his knife while dodging two zombie attacks. It took him only four slashes and two seconds to kill the 200,000 HP Frozen Zombie! However, the combat for the others wasn¡¯t so simple, especially for those who had never fought Frozen Zombies before. ¡°I feel so heavy on my feet, I can¡¯t move!¡± ¡°This slow effect is so annoying...¡± ¡°...¡± It was evident that their pace was a bit chaotic. But after all, they were not ordinary people. It was just a lack of adaptation at the beginning. After a brief few seconds of adjusting, they quickly found their rhythm again. It must be said, the Awakeners of the system truly had versatile capabilities, like Lu Gang and He Jijun, who simply relied on their robust physical fitness to ignore the slowdown. After figuring out the special traits of these Frozen Zombies, they quickly killed them. Those most disadvantaged were from the Poison System, such as Nie Siyan and Gao Hua, whose poison seemed not very effective against the zombies. Additionally, their physical strength wasn¡¯t strong enough, and the slow effect troubled them more, making facing these Fourth Order Elite Zombies perilously challenging¡ªan experience they hadn¡¯t even had against Level 4 Lords... Contrary to them, Lu Yingfeng was also slowed, yet she moved with ease. Her dagger always found itself on a zombie¡¯s forehead at just the right moment. Each step, though appearing casual, not only allowed her to precisely avoid zombie attacks but also inflicted significant damage, and soon the 200,000 HP zombie lay at her feet. Wang Tao¡¯s knife strikes were brutish, while Lu Yingfeng¡¯s appeared graceful. Of course, there was no distinction of superiority, both were fully leveraging their advantages, doing what felt most comfortable for them. ¡°Little Huo, spray it to death!¡± Whoo¡ª On the other side, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised to see Qu Shilin holding Little Huo in her hands like a gun, or rather a flamethrower, blasting a torrent of flames at the zombies. In a matter of seconds, several zombies were burnt to death. ¡°...That works?¡± The fight came suddenly and also ended quickly. After all, most of them were Awakeners. Once they were familiar with the effects of the Freezing Aura, killing these zombies naturally came without any surprises. Just as Wang Tao and his group had finished clearing the battlefield, Han Rui suddenly spoke out. ¡°Zombies! A large number of Frozen Zombies are coming! And there¡¯s a big one too!¡± Chapter 1077 - 1077 433 Bizarre Zombies ?Chapter 1077: Chapter 433 Bizarre Zombies Chapter 1077: Chapter 433 Bizarre Zombies ¡°A large number of zombies are coming? Are they all Frozen Zombies? What¡¯s the big guy?¡± Upon hearing Han Rui¡¯s warning, Wang Tao quickly asked. ¡°They¡¯re all Frozen Zombies, numbering in the hundreds! Among them is one particularly massive Frozen Zombie, probably a Level 4, Lord!¡± ¡°Everyone get in the car, let¡¯s retreat first!¡± Wang Tao made a decisive retreat. He wasn¡¯t afraid of the zombies, but he was worried about accidentally damaging the Crystal Energy Car during the fight. Without the car, they wouldn¡¯t be able to make it back in this environment. Everyone immediately got into the car, and as the seasoned driver, He Jijun slammed the steering wheel around, turning the car sharply and speeding away. As they were leaving, everyone could vaguely make out a series of shadowy figures in the midst of the snowstorm. ¡°Find a safe place to stop; we can¡¯t let these zombies get away.¡± Wang Tao told everyone. Their mission was to kill zombies, and naturally, they couldn¡¯t flee upon facing such a situation, especially since they weren¡¯t outmatched. Moreover, now that they had a method to counter these Frozen Zombies, they needed to take them down even more so. He Jijun was the one driving on this outing. Not only was his driving skill top-notch, but his experience was also vast. He had made a point to remember certain places along the way. When Wang Tao said to find a place to stop, Jijun took less than two minutes to find an almost completely snow-covered, rundown small town. ¡°Stopping here is fine; there are no zombies nearby, and the ground is free of holes and fairly flat.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s stop here. Everyone out!¡± Wang Tao was the first to get out, and everyone quickly followed. At that moment, Wang Tao turned to look at Qu Shilin, who had followed him down. ¡°Are you coming too? This fight is not like the previous ones; it might truly be dangerous.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not afraid, I have Little Huo!¡± Qu Shilin said, patting the Little Huo perched on her head. She was actually somewhat frightened¡ªafter all, there were hundreds of Elite Zombies and even a Lord. But Little Huo had just given her a lot of confidence. Plus, with Wang Tao and the others present, she felt that if she stayed back a little during the fight, she probably wouldn¡¯t be in much danger. Of course, there was definitely a risk involved, but since she had made up her mind to join Wang Tao on this adventure, she couldn¡¯t just hide in the car the whole time. Moreover, participating in such battles might also benefit her research, for practice makes perfect... ¡°As long as you know what you¡¯re doing, follow me!¡± Wang Tao appreciated Qu Shilin¡¯s initiative but now wasn¡¯t the time for small talk. He immediately took the lead and ran ahead, his spiritual power sweeping out wildly, with the others following close behind. Shortly after, Wang Tao¡¯s voice rang out in everyone¡¯s earpieces. ¡°The zombies are coming. Prepare for battle!¡± Wang Tao had seen the zombies that Han Rui mentioned; indeed, there was a large number of Fourth Order Elite Frozen Zombies. They weren¡¯t walking together, maintaining dispersed positions, and Wang Tao estimated there were about two hundred. Two hundred Zombies with 200,000 HP each, the thought alone was frightening! In the midst, there was one Frozen Zombie that looked similar to the others but stood three meters tall. [HP: 300,000/300,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Ice Spike Summon] [Ice Spike Summon: Summons large ice spikes] [Status: Freezing Aura] This Level 4, Lord Zombie¡¯s Awakening was a pure Ice System offensive Awakening. Though the description was simple, Wang Tao felt it must be quite powerful. And what¡¯s more crucial, this Lord also had a [Freezing Aura] status like the Elite Zombies, but its aura was much stronger! [Freezing Aura: Movement Speed reduction, Ice attribute Defense increase, attacks carry Ice attribute. Enemies within a fifteen-meter radius will be slowed and have their Ice attribute Defense reduced.] Because the effects of the Speed reduction and Ice attribute Defense didn¡¯t specify exact numbers, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how much stronger it was, but its range was a fifteen-meter radius! The radius of the Elite Frozen Zombies¡¯ Freezing Aura was only five meters; this wasn¡¯t just a three-fold difference. The area of a circle with a radius of five meters is 78.5 square meters, whereas the area of a circle with a radius of fifteen meters is 706.5 square meters, a nine-fold difference! Furthermore, that fifteen-meter distance may sound not too far, but it happens to be just out of reach for many people¡¯s Ranged Attacks. For example, one wouldn¡¯t be able to hit with a Shockwave. Therefore, if one wanted to attack this zombie, they¡¯d probably have to do so within the range of its Freezing Aura. As for its 300,000 HP, Wang Tao actually found it unimpressive, even thinking it a bit on the low side, considering Elite Zombies had 200,000 HP... ¡°This Lord Zombie¡¯s Freezing Aura has a very large range, probably about a fifteen-meter radius. Everyone, pay extra attention.¡± Wang Tao explained to the group. ¡°What? That big!¡± Most of them were close-combat fighters with already limited attack ranges. Now with the aura¡¯s area being this large, the difficulty of the fight significantly increased. However, the group wasn¡¯t panicked; after all, they were Awakeners and weren¡¯t about to be scared off by a Level 4, Lord Zombie of their own rank. ¡°Hehehe...¡± Apparently smelling humans, the Frozen Zombies suddenly quickened their pace and charged directly toward Wang Tao¡¯s location. Their Freezing Aura caused them to slow down, so their acceleration wasn¡¯t fast, but there was an exception¡ªthe Level 4, Lord. Initially in the middle of the zombie group, it reached the front in just a few seconds. ¡°It¡¯s less affected by the slowing effect of its own Freezing Aura! Be extra careful!¡± Wang Tao immediately warned aloud. Chapter 1078 - 1078 433 Bizarre Zombies_2 ?Chapter 1078: Chapter 433 Bizarre Zombies_2 Chapter 1078: Chapter 433 Bizarre Zombies_2 ¡°Received!¡± The group became even more cautious. Since Wang Tao was unsure of the specific strengths of the Zombie Lord and considering the large number of Frozen Zombies, he didn¡¯t plan on testing things out. Instead, a small fireball appeared instantly in his hand. ¡°Eh?¡± Qu Shilin didn¡¯t know Wang Tao was a Fire Awakened. Aside from Little Huo, she had never seen any creature conjure fire out of thin air. Seeing the fireball in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, she was very surprised. But she knew this was not the time for questions and didn¡¯t ask anything. However, she kept a close watch on Wang Tao, wanting to see what the deal with his fireball was. As Wang Tao was charging the fireball, he stared intently at the zombies. He felt somewhat regretful upon noticing the zombies weren¡¯t grouped together. If they had been clustered, one fireball might have wiped them all out! But the zombies were spread out, and at best, his fireball would only hit about a dozen... However, the fireball was fully charged and he had no time to wait. So, he hurled it directly at the leading Frozen Zombie Lord. Boom¡ª The Zombie Lord didn¡¯t dodge or evade and was immediately struck by the fireball. A huge blaze erupted, lighting up the dim sky. A wave of heat swept through, making even Qu Shilin feel a bit sweaty on her forehead. ¡°What a powerful Awakening!¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s fireball special ability for the first time, Qu Shilin was shocked. She even treated it as if it was Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening. But Wang Tao furrowed his brows as he watched the fire. Several fierce figures emerged from the flames... ¡°Not one of them died...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s fireball hadn¡¯t killed a single zombie. Previously when he had attacked the Frozen Zombies with his fireball, he caused 200,000 damage, almost instantly annihilating those zombies. But now, he could clearly see that when the fireball hit the Frozen Zombie Lord, it only caused 30,000 damage, which wasn¡¯t much different from his attacks on other Zombie Lords. What happened to the attribute advantage? And when the fireball struck the Elite Zombies, it did just over 70,000 damage, far less than the 200,000 he used to inflict! Moreover, his fire attribute damage was supposed to cause burning damage, but there was none on these zombies... What was going on? It would be one thing if the Zombie Lord was special, but these Elite Zombies were just like before, nothing special. Yet his damage was only a third of what it used to be... The others didn¡¯t know the numbers behind the damage Wang Tao was dealing, so they didn¡¯t sense anything amiss. However, when they engaged the zombies in combat, something definitely felt off. ¡°Something isn¡¯t right. I feel that these Frozen Zombies are different from the previous ones!¡± ¡°It feels like they¡¯ve gotten a lot tougher, and the slowing effect they¡¯re causing seems stronger too!¡± ¡°I¡¯m feeling even colder now...¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing the condition of his team, Wang Tao knew that the zombies were indeed unusual, not that there was a problem with his attacks. ¡°Everyone, be careful. These zombies are tricky, I¡¯ll check out what¡¯s happening!¡± Wang Tao gave up the idea of forming another fireball and instead drew his sword and charged forward. As soon as he entered the range of the freezing aura, Wang Tao felt his footsteps sink. ¡°The freezing auras of these Elite Zombies seem enhanced!¡± Previously, Wang Tao would be slowed by about 10%, but he could overcome it with brute strength, so it didn¡¯t affect him much. Now, he felt that he had been slowed down by at least 20%, and although he could still break free using brute strength, it felt more strenuous than before! Wang Tao¡¯s sword sliced through the head of an Elite Zombie. [-15193] Previously, a single strike from him could cause 30,000 damage. Now it was only 15,000, and the bleeding damage was gone too! ¡°Could it be because this Zombie Lord has some special ability that increased their defense or reduced the damage they take?¡± Wang Tao felt this was most likely the case, as the only difference compared to previous battles was the presence of a Lord. However, on second thought, even if the damage was reduced by 50%, this Elite Zombie still wouldn¡¯t last more than a few seconds against Wang Tao. After quickly dealing with it, Wang Tao shouted to his teammates: ¡°You guys hold off the Elite Zombies. I¡¯m going after the Lord!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Wang Tao rushed directly towards the Zombie Lord. The others immediately drew the surrounding Elite Zombies away. As Wang Tao entered the range of the Zombie Lord¡¯s freezing aura, he instantly felt his entire body become heavier, as the white frost quickly climbed from his feet up to his waist. ¡°This slowdown is intense!¡± Wang Tao felt that his movement speed might have been reduced by 40%! His speed, already quite fast, was significantly reduced, and he was somewhat unaccustomed to it. Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s muscles bulged as he tried to see if he could break free using brute strength. It was somewhat effective, but not greatly. He could only partially break free using brute strength, and it seemed that about 20% of the slowdown was unshakable by mere physical effort. But brute strength wouldn¡¯t last forever, and when it ran out, the reduction in speed could be even greater. Moreover, as he got closer to the Zombie Lord, Wang Tao felt the slowdown increase. The white frost initially reached only up to his waist. By the time he stood before the Zombie Lord, the frost had reached his chest! Chapter 1079 - 1079 433 Bizarre Zombies_3 ?Chapter 1079: Chapter 433 Bizarre Zombies_3 Chapter 1079: Chapter 433 Bizarre Zombies_3 Wang Tao felt a heavy pressure on his chest, as if he were soaking in water. He thought that if the frost reached his arms, his attack speed might be slowed down, or even completely frozen... Fortunately, when Wang Tao faced the Zombie Lord, the frost remained at his chest, which probably meant it wouldn¡¯t strengthen further. ¡°Hehe...¡± The Frozen Zombie Lord swung its claws at Wang Tao, who, although slowed, managed to roll away from the attack with ease due to the Zombie Lord¡¯s apparent lack of speed. After the roll, Wang Tao leaped high and struck the Zombie Lord¡¯s head with his sword. [-7235] With his high-frequency vibration-enhanced strike, Wang Tao only dealt seven thousand damage. That meant he would need dozens of hits to kill this Zombie Lord? Zombies don¡¯t just stand there to be chopped; there would definitely be perilous moments. It had been a long time since Wang Tao faced such a challenging zombie, even more so than a Level 5 Night Demon Lord. This took Wang Tao back to a few months ago¡ªit reminded him of his weaker days when he fought zombies this way. If there were only this Zombie Lord, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t mind taking it slow, after all, he wanted to figure out exactly what was happening. But with two hundred Elite Zombies around... he couldn¡¯t delay! ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Just then, the Frozen Zombie Lord let out an angry roar at Wang Tao. From the gloomy sky, thick with falling snowflakes, suddenly a vast expanse of blue-white mist appeared, covering the same area as the Freezing Overlord¡¯s aura. A second later, huge ice cones, larger than a person, formed within the mist. Then, they abruptly fell from the sky, initiating an indiscriminate attack! ¡°Fuck, such a wide range attack!¡± Although Wang Tao had been cautious about its Awakening, he didn¡¯t expect the range to be so vast! Seeing the densely falling giant ice cones, Wang Tao¡¯s sixth sense told him these were not purely gravitational; they mainly relied on Ice attribute! If he were struck by a large number of these, he could genuinely die! ¡°Wang Tao!¡± While everyone else was fighting the Elite Zombies, they kept an eye on Wang Tao¡¯s situation. Seeing this terrifying scene, before anyone else could react, Qu Shilin cried out in alarm and, in a panic, threw Little Huo towards Wang Tao. ¡°Little Huo, go save him!¡± Little Huo, being small, managed to charge through the crowd of zombies. However, the ice cones were falling too fast. From their perspective, the cones had already submerged Wang Tao, and it seemed too late to do anything. But at that moment, a scorching wave suddenly appeared. Everyone, except those close to the Frozen Zombie Lord, felt a blast of heat wash over them. Simultaneously, a red hue emerged among the clear ice cones, silently melting them. Within the blink of an eye, the ice turned into water, and the water into vapor. Then¡ª Boom! A massive explosion sounded, and fragments of ice cones burst in all directions, forcing everyone to quickly dodge. Qu Shilin was a bit slow to react, and just as she was about to be hit by a piece of shattered ice, a figure suddenly appeared behind her and pulled her away. ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Qu Shilin quickly thanked Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng nodded, then both turned their attention back to the fight, with Qu Shilin following suit. ¡°` The scene at the Zombie Lord¡¯s location was chaotic, with flames and ice shards everywhere. The flesh on the Zombie Lord¡¯s body had been blasted off, making it look quite pitiful. But Qu Shilin¡¯s gaze wasn¡¯t on the Zombie Lord, but rather on the figure across from the Zombie Lord, engulfed in flames. ¡°Wang, Wang Tao? How did he turn into a fire man?¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s mouth hung open in shock. ¡°That¡¯s his Awakening.¡± Lu Yingfeng explained. ¡°Ah? This is his Awakening? But the fireballs he released before...¡± ¡°Those were his Ability.¡± ¡°...¡± Qu Shilin felt her understanding had suddenly been shattered¡ªsuch terrifying fireballs, they were just an Ability? And as for Wang Tao, engulfed in flames as his Awakening, she had no idea how powerful it was, but it looked incredibly cool! Moreover, she was relieved that Wang Tao was okay, no wonder she saw that the others didn¡¯t seem to be panicking... Elsewhere. Wang Tao was very surprised, he hadn¡¯t expected that his flames and the Zombie Lord¡¯s ice spikes would collide and cause an explosion, and this explosion had sliced off 100,000 HP from the Frozen Zombie Lord! Although he himself also lost 50,000 HP, it wasn¡¯t a big problem, the Frozen Zombie Lord only had half its HP left. Wang Tao immediately grabbed the Flame Long Sword and charged quickly towards the Frozen Zombie Lord. Before he used Starfire Prairie, the frost formed by the Freezing Aura had reached up to Wang Tao¡¯s chest, but after using Starfire Prairie, the frost was instantly evaporated. Within a 5-meter radius around him, no frost could exist. Whether they were Elite Zombies or Zombie Lords, their Freezing Auras were completely ineffective against Wang Tao! In an instant, Wang Tao arrived in front of the Frozen Zombie Lord, and before he even started to attack, the Frozen Zombie Lord¡¯s head began to continuously lose HP. Wang Tao ruthlessly slashed down with his sword. [-31248] A single strike dealing over 30,000 in damage, and although there was no additional burn damage, this base damage was already enough, and the burning flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body were persistently causing it to lose HP. So, Wang Tao directly grabbed its neck with one hand and swung his sword crazily with the other, completely ignoring its attacks. By the time Wang Tao lifted his sword for the fifth time and hadn¡¯t yet struck down, he saw that the HP bar of the Freezing Zombie Lord had been cleared by the flames on Wang Tao¡¯s body. [-1374] [0/300000] Wang Tao let go of the Freezing Zombie Lord¡¯s neck, allowing it to fall to the ground. Thud¡ª Clatter¡ª At the same time, a large pile of items burst out. Wang Tao quickly checked what this Frozen Zombie Lord had dropped, and suddenly understood. ¡°So this strange situation was indeed related to it!¡± ¡°` Chapter 1080 - 1080 434 Frozen Skull ?Chapter 1080: Chapter 434 Frozen Skull Chapter 1080: Chapter 434 Frozen Skull ¡°` ¡°Huh? I feel like the zombies¡¯ defensive power has weakened!¡± Lu Gang, who was fighting the Frozen Zombies, suddenly spoke up. ¡°Indeed, they¡¯ve weakened!¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Could it be...¡± Everyone instinctively looked towards Wang Tao, just in time to see a Frozen Zombie Lord collapsing in front of him. ¡°The Frozen Zombie Lord is dead!¡± Seeing this, everyone became excited in an instant. Although they had never doubted Wang Tao¡¯s strength, the Frozen Overlord Zombie was, after all, very bizarre, and they were somewhat worried. Now seeing the Zombie Lord fall before Wang Tao was also an encouragement for them. Especially now that these Frozen Zombie Elites had weakened... ¡°Kill!¡± Once again, everyone exerted more strength. On the other side, after Wang Tao took care of the Frozen Zombie Lord with the enhancement from Starfire Prairie, he directly charged into the horde. His Awakened ability could be said to be a perfect counter to the Frozen Zombies, as it did not get affected by the freezing aura, reduced freeze damage, and caused extra damage to the Frozen Zombies... Thus, with the addition of Wang Tao, the situation immediately turned into a one-sided massacre. Of course, the situation changed so quickly not only because of Wang Tao¡¯s presence but also due to the death of the Frozen Zombie Lord¡ªthe reason these zombies, including the Zombie Lord, had become so difficult to deal with, was due to this very Zombie Lord¡¯s influence. With its death, the difficulty naturally decreased. The over two hundred zombies were quite scattered, and it took some time, but eventually, they cleared out all the Frozen Zombies. ¡°Quickly clean up the battlefield, then retreat.¡± Wang Tao, whose Starfire Prairie Status had already ended, immediately called out. ¡°Okay!¡± The speed of cleaning the battlefield was very fast, since everyone was experienced in this regard. After tidying up, Wang Tao promptly led everyone back into the vehicle. Because their visibility was limited and Han Rui¡¯s perception range was limited, they could not clearly observe the distant situation, so for safety¡¯s sake, He Jijun drove the Crystal Energy Car to another location to rest and reorganize. ¡°Is everyone unharmed?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°We¡¯re all fine! With Jade Lotus here, it¡¯s impossible for us to be in trouble. Moreover, the Fire attribute attack that Jade Lotus added to us made dealing with these zombies surprisingly effective...¡± The equipment that Wang Tao had previously given to Lan Yulian could add a Fire attribute attack while she was healing. Since it was Fire attribute, it logically increased damage against Ice attributed zombies. However, Wang Tao had charged in too quickly, and also activated Starfire Prairie Status, so he didn¡¯t get a chance to compare how much better the Fire attribute attack was compared to a No-attribute attack. He didn¡¯t even have the chance to coordinate with Little Bing and try if they could unleash a combo... But there was still plenty of time to explore that later. Wang Tao nodded, then turned his head to look at Qu Shilin. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± He had noticed since the battle ended that Qu Shilin was occasionally looking towards him. ¡°It¡¯s nothing...¡± Qu Shilin felt like saying to Wang Tao: ¡°Let me study you.¡± However, that would not be polite, so she didn¡¯t say it. But she was really curious, especially since Wang Tao had earlier been on fire from head to toe, a heat so intense she could feel it from a long distance away. Even if Wang Tao could avoid his own flames, how could his clothes remain unscathed? She was curious about that. Of course, she was even more curious about Wang Tao himself. She really wanted to explore what the theory behind Wang Tao ¡°igniting¡± was. But talking about it now was pointless; it could wait for another opportunity. After ensuring everyone was uninjured, Wang Tao checked the loot. Those Elite Zombies had dropped a total of 216 Crystal Cores, of three different types. The most common type was Ice attribute defense, with as many as 151 cores of all different Qualities. The second type of Crystal Core was Ice attribute enhancement, totaling 41. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Ice Attribute Enhancement] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: body stiffness)] [Ice Attribute Enhancement: Passive Ability, enhances Ice Attribute Damage] Wang Tao had not yet seen an Ice system Awakener, so this type of core seemed temporarily useless... The third type of Crystal Core totaled 24, and upon seeing them, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. [Level 4 Crystal Core¡¤Ice Attribute Attack] [Quality: Epic (100%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: body stiffness)] [Ice Attribute Attack: Passive Ability, adds Ice Attribute Damage to attacks] So far, Wang Tao had only encountered three types of Attribute attacks: the first was the Flame Bracelet he gave to Lan Yulian, which added Fire Damage to attacks; the second was certain Poison-system Awakeners, who added poison damage to their attacks; the third was this one, adding Ice Attribute Damage to attacks. Moreover, the sources of these three types of Attribute damage were all different¡ªone was from equipment, another from an Awakening, and the last one from a Crystal Core... Stuff that adds extra Attribute damage is definitely good stuff, even when there is no specific resistance to exploit, as it would increase one¡¯s own damage. But if there are Attribute resistances to exploit, the increase in damage should be substantial¡ªjust like today, when everyone used Fire Attribute Damage against the Frozen Zombies... Especially now with an Ice Attribute Enhancement core, if one person fused both Ice Attribute Enhancement and Ice Attribute Attack, the damage they dealt should be quite impressive, right? ¡°` Chapter 1081 - 1081 434 Frozen Skull_2 ?Chapter 1081: Chapter 434 Frozen Skull_2 Chapter 1081: Chapter 434 Frozen Skull_2 ¡°` Moreover, this Crystal Core has no usage requirements! When Wang Tao previously merged Fireball and Explosion Crystal Cores, it was stated that only Fire Awakened could merge them, and other Awakeners couldn¡¯t use them, which was highly limiting. But these two Crystal Cores pose no such problem¡ªthey can be used by anyone who has reached Level 4, lowering the threshold. However, there are two issues... One is that, if you want to merge an Ice attribute attack, you¡¯ll definitely need to use it in conjunction with an Ice Attribute Enhancement to maximize benefits. But every person can only merge up to four Abilities, and this uses up two spots at once; future Ability mergers would have to be considered more carefully, and changing Abilities would require an Exraction Crystal Core, which is not so easy to obtain. The second problem is that with the current snowy, icy world outside, all the zombies Wang Tao has seen have evolved into the Ice attribute. Using Ice attribute attacks against these zombies would be counterproductive, wouldn¡¯t it? After all, these zombies have high Ice attribute defense... Of course, issues aside, these two Crystal Cores together should still be pretty good. Wang Tao thinks he should try them on others or test them out himself later to see what the effects are like. Even though Ice attribute attacks don¡¯t seem very useful now, Wang Tao doesn¡¯t believe it will snow forever, it will stop eventually. When that time comes, Ice attribute attacks might become more appropriate... But then again, ¡°Ice Attribute Enhancement¡± and ¡°Ice Attribute Attack¡± may not be suitable for use now, but ¡°Ice Attribute Defense¡± should be pretty good! After all, all the zombies they are encountering now are Frozen Zombies, and the zombies themselves carry a ¡°Freezing Aura¡± which not only lowers Ice attribute defense, but their own attacks are also of the Ice attribute. If someone were to merge with this Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Core, they should be more at ease when facing these Frozen Zombies, and might even be unaffected by the Freezing Aura! Wang Tao explained the functions of these three Crystal Cores to everyone, and they were all very interested after hearing about it. They wanted to see what this Ice attribute attack was like and whether it was worth switching Abilities. After all, Wang Tao said he had some Exraction Crystal Cores on hand that could be used if they wanted to switch. As for the ¡°body stiffness¡± side effect of these three types of Crystal Cores, it naturally had to be eliminated. Other side effects might be acceptable, but this type, which affects movements, could be fatal during combat. While Wang Tao stored these Crystal Cores, he also performed a synthesis. Including his previous Cores, he synthesized a total of 60 Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Cores without side effects, 15 Ice Attribute Enhancement Crystal Cores, and finally, 10 Ice Attribute Attack Crystal Cores without side effects. Moreover, these were all of high-quality above purple, especially the Ice Attribute Attack, which were all red and orange. If everything goes as planned, they should be able to cultivate 10 individuals with Ice attribute attack, and 60 individuals with high Ice attribute defense. It all depends on the subsequent test results... Besides dropping Crystal Cores, these Frozen Zombie Elites had nothing else, but that Frozen Zombie Lord was not so stingy; it exploded into a mountain of items. Wang Tao had taken a quick look before but hadn¡¯t inspected them closely; now he had the time to check them out himself. The Frozen Zombie Lord dropped a total of three items and five Loot Packs. The three items were a Crystal Core, an Awakening Energy Pearl, and its own head. [Fourth Order Crystal Core¡¤Ice Thorn] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side effect: body stiffness)] [Ice Thorn: Consumes Energy, Awakening Energy to fire an Ice Thorn (only Ice System Awakened can merge it)] Wang Tao was just saying the merging of those three Crystal Cores had no prerequisites and that the threshold for merging was quite low, and now this Core comes with conditions! This Ice Thorn is similar to his Fireball; it¡¯s just that one can only be merged by Fire System Awakened, and the other by Ice System Awakened. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen the Freezing Overlord zombie use this Ability because he killed it too quickly. However, by judging from his own Fireball, the damage from this Ice Thorn should not be low. After all, based on Wang Tao¡¯s experience, Abilities that consume Awakening Energy are very powerful. Like the others, this Crystal Core also has the side effect of ¡°body stiffness,¡± which definitely needs to be removed before use, so he needs to collect two more... ¡°Right, if an Ice System Awakened merges both Ice Attribute Enhancement and Ice Attribute Attack, could there be an additional bonus?¡± Wang Tao suddenly thought of another question. Ice System Awakened don¡¯t necessarily have Ice attribute attack, just as he himself, without using Starfire Prairie, wouldn¡¯t have fire Attributes in his attacks. When he obtained the Flame Bracelet, he tried it, and while the Flame Bracelet did indeed enhance his abilities, the enhancement was so small that it wasn¡¯t as good as using Fireball, so he didn¡¯t use the bracelet. However, he doesn¡¯t possess an Ability similar to ¡°Ice Attribute Enhancement¡±... It¡¯s a pity that they don¡¯t have any Ice System Awakened; no one could use this Crystal Core. They could only hold onto it for now and see what might come later. The second item, the Awakening Energy Pearl, was nothing new. Mainly, it¡¯s the third item that caught his eye, which was a head. When he killed the Frozen Zombie Lord, the HP bar above the zombie¡¯s head disappeared immediately, but a term appeared on the zombie¡¯s head. ¡°` Chapter 1082 - 1082 434 Frozen Skull_3 ?Chapter 1082: Chapter 434 Frozen Skull_3 Chapter 1082: Chapter 434 Frozen Skull_3 Wang Tao didn¡¯t exert much effort before he twisted off its skull, after which the zombie¡¯s head developed some ice crystals, becoming a frozen skull that wasn¡¯t as disgusting as before. Of course, it still looked somewhat ghastly. [Level 4 Weapon: Small Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull] [HP: 10000/10000 (Maximum 100000)] [Status: Can Be Awakened] [Enhancement: Ice Chain] [Compatibility: 0%] [Ice Chain: The more ice attribute companions nearby, the higher the additional attack and defense for oneself and companions (the weapon¡¯s maximum HP affects the enhancement effect and range)] When Wang Tao was attacking these zombies, he had a slight suspicion that perhaps his attacks were problematic, but he mainly believed that it was likely an issue with the zombies, especially this Zombie Lord, since it wasn¡¯t there before. After Wang Tao killed this Frozen Zombie Lord and saw its skull, he finally confirmed his guess, it was indeed related to this Frozen Zombie Lord! Its skull was a fourth-order weapon! Wang Tao had previously seen weapons that could be divided into three types. One type was wearable, enhancing one¡¯s attributes, like the Entangling Roots and Iron Beetle. Another was capable of independent combat, such as the Night Demon Heart, and the Iron Beetle again ¨C the Iron Beetle was special, having both forms. Then there were pure weapons, such as the Bloody Chainsaw. And now this ¡°Small Frozen Lord Skull¡± was different from the previous weapons... If Wang Tao wasn¡¯t mistaken, this skull would be effective whether worn on the body or placed elsewhere, as long as it was within a certain range, making it a purely auxiliary item. Naturally, this range referred to the vicinity of ice system companions. The introduction made it clear that as long as there were enough ice system companions, it could provide a significant increase in defense and attack for oneself and all ice system companions! Just now, with over two hundred ice system zombies, one could imagine how much defense was enhanced, directly halving the damage Wang Tao could inflict... So looking at it this way, the attributes of this skull were somewhat powerful! For Wang Tao himself, it might not be very useful. Putting aside the fact they didn¡¯t have any ice attribute people, even if they did, there were only around a dozen of them, which likely wouldn¡¯t tap into the full potential of this weapon. But if it were used by those organizations with many people, the effect might be different. Even if it weren¡¯t as strong as the effect brought on by these zombies, it would certainly be better than what his dozen or so people could achieve. However, Wang Tao had a question, and that was what exactly did ¡°ice system companions¡± refer to? Did it mean ice system awakened? Or did it refer to people who had fused crystals like ¡°ice attribute defense¡±? If it were the former, then the usefulness of this skull would be greatly reduced. After all, he hadn¡¯t seen a single ice system awakened. But if it were the latter, it could undoubtedly become a godsend¡ªbecause that kind of crystal core was something anyone could fuse. Of course, there was another issue, that being the current scarcity of awakeners. The entire Changhe Base only had a few dozen people, which seemed insufficient to achieve the maximum effect... But Wang Tao had previously obtained a fair number of Awakening Fruits. The Awakening Fruit had one attribute, ¡°Third Order Humans that consume it can ascend to Level 4,¡± although this kind of ascension did not involve awakening¡ªhuman awakening was the equivalent of a Zombie Lord, and leveling up to 4 without awakening was akin to Elite Zombies¡ªbut at least they could fuse Level 4 Crystal Cores, which is much stronger than Level 3. And judging from the previous situation, those fourth-order Elite Frozen Zombies were able to receive the enhancement effect of ¡°Ice Chain,¡± so maybe human ability users could too! Of course, speculation was useless by itself; it had to be tested to know for sure. Luckily, Wang Tao still had some Level 4 Exraction Crystal Cores, and if he wanted, he could find someone to test the effect right away! Chapter 1083 - 1083 435 Frost Bracelet ?Chapter 1083: Chapter 435: Frost Bracelet Chapter 1083: Chapter 435: Frost Bracelet When Wang Tao got on the vehicle, he was always holding the skull of the Frozen Lord zombie in his hand. Everyone was curious, but they didn¡¯t ask too many questions. After Wang Tao had checked the attributes of this weapon, he explained the functions of the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull] to everyone. ¡°I knew it, I had guessed this might be a ¡®weapon¡¯!¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately put on a look as if he had predicted this, but the others ignored his pride and started talking softly among themselves. The functionality of this weapon sounded very strong¡ªit indeed was strong, as the previous zombies had exemplified. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao¡¯s attributes restraining it, their difficulty would have significantly increased. However, upon closer consideration, there were some questions. What did they mean by ¡°ice attribute partner¡±? If it referred to an ice system awakener, then the weapon¡¯s limitations would be too great! Of course, they weren¡¯t foolish. They quickly thought of those [Ice attribute defense] Crystal Cores. If merging with these Crystal Cores could be counted as having an ice attribute partner, then the significance would be completely different! ¡°Wang Tao, which possibility do you think it is?¡± Zhen Guo looked at Wang Tao with intense eyes. He used to be a soldier, and he deeply understood the meaning of sayings like ¡°there is strength in numbers¡± and ¡°unity is strength.¡± If the threshold for using this [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull] could be lowered, then it would definitely be considered a divine weapon, especially against frozen zombies. ¡°I guess the threshold shouldn¡¯t be that high. How about we try it first? Who wants to come? I still have some Extraction Crystal Cores...¡± Wang Tao looked at several people. He needed to control this weapon, and only he could see the specific figures, so it was best to find someone else for the experiment. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try!¡± Zhen Guo immediately raised his hand. He was obviously very interested in this thing. ¡°Okay.¡± So, Wang Tao gave Zhen Guo a Level 4 Extraction Crystal Core, and shortly afterward, Zhen Guo¡¯s [Rush] ability was randomly extracted. Wang Tao let Zhen Guo merge with an [Ice attribute defense] Crystal Core, while he himself awoke the weapon and began using the Crystal Core to enhance compatibility. Moments later, Zhen Guo had completed the merger, and Wang Tao had increased the compatibility of the weapon to 100%. The weapon¡¯s operation mode was different from other weapons. When Wang Tao first awakened the weapon, he roughly figured it out¡ªit didn¡¯t just work by having an ¡°ice attribute partner¡± within range. Instead, he needed to actively add the ¡°ice attribute partner¡± to the ¡°ice chain.¡± This was equivalent to proving that the person was your partner. As for how to join the ice chain, it was actually quite simple. When Wang Tao was awakening the weapon, he discovered that this weapon¡¯s consciousness was different from other weapons. Other weapons had a faint consciousness, but this one consisted of an independent consciousness and many extremely small consciousnesses. Adding someone to the ice chain involved placing one of these small consciousnesses on that person as a marker. If, in the absence of resistance, this small consciousness could be placed, it meant that they were ice attribute partners; if it couldn¡¯t be placed, they naturally were not. Seeing that Zhen Guo was ready, Wang Tao cautioned him: ¡°I don¡¯t know what might happen later, so just don¡¯t resist.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Zhen Guo nodded, and the others watched the two with great interest. Wang Tao carefully sensed the consciousness inside the weapon, then placed one of the small consciousnesses on Zhen Guo. Zhen Guo suddenly shivered, then looked at Wang Tao with surprise¡ªmore precisely, the skull in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. A smile appeared on Wang Tao¡¯s face as he and Zhen Guo spoke simultaneously: ¡°It works!¡± Upon hearing that it worked, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief, then showed excited expressions. The weapon¡¯s threshold for use was acceptable. ¡°Tell us what you felt first,¡± Wang Tao asked Zhen Guo. Zhen Guo immediately explained excitedly: ¡°At that instant, I felt something ¡®stick¡¯ to me, and it was very cold, which gave me a start. I felt that if I had resisted subconsciously, it wouldn¡¯t have stuck to me, but I endured. Once that thing fully stuck to me, I suddenly felt like it got much warmer in the vehicle. At the same time, I could faintly feel something constantly directing me, and that thing was the ¡®weapon¡¯ in your hand...As for myself, apart from feeling warmer, there doesn¡¯t seem to be any change...¡± ¡°It seems that this weapon also has the ability to guide partners...¡± Listening to Zhen Guo, Wang Tao nodded and then also shared what he had observed. ¡°After adding you, through this skull, I can vaguely sense where you are. Both of us can perceive each other, although not very clearly. It can¡¯t compare to Perception Ability, but at least it is also a mutual guidance ability, which is very useful in some situations...¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s the enhancement provided by the weapon. You¡¯re actually already enhanced. You suddenly feeling hot should be due to an increase in ice attribute defense, making you less afraid of the cold. As for how much it increased...¡± Wang Tao glanced at the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull]¡¯s current attributes. [Level 4 Weapon: Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull] Chapter 1084 - 1084 435 Frost Bracelet_2 ?Chapter 1084: Chapter 435: Frost Bracelet_2 Chapter 1084: Chapter 435: Frost Bracelet_2 ¡°` [HP: 100000/100000] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancement: Ice Chain] [Compatibility: 100%] [Ice Chain Team Size: 1/100] [Ice Chain Range: Within 25 meters of the weapon] [Extra Attack: 1% (cap at 25%)] [Extra Defense: 1% (cap at 50%)] From these data, it can be seen that the Ice Chain could have up to a hundred people at most. But there were over two hundred zombies before... Wang Tao guessed that the weapon¡¯s properties must have changed somewhat after falling from the zombies? However, regarding the number of people, currently only Wei Zhenguo is an ¡°Ice Attribute Partner,¡± so the display shows one person. The user, Wang Tao, does not count... Although Wang Tao had anticipated this, he was still somewhat speechless¡ªthis was almost like unpaid labor! The range of the Ice Chain is within 25 meters of the weapon, which can be said to be a circle with a radius of 25 meters, roughly two thousand square meters, equivalent to the area of four and a half basketball courts. The area is not small. The enhancement it provided in attack and defense had caps, with a maximum of 25% for attack! Defense could be boosted by up to 50%! To be honest, these enhancement caps truly shocked Wang Tao, especially the defense they had just witnessed, but primarily the fact that the attack could be boosted by 25%! If Wang Tao¡¯s attack were suddenly increased by 25%, he couldn¡¯t imagine how exhilarating that would be! Wang Tao briefly shared the current properties of the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull] with everyone, and they were equally shocked after hearing about it. Especially that 25% attack enhancement; it should significantly increase their efficiency in killing zombies! However, the prerequisites needed to achieve that 25% enhancement were somewhat troublesome. The number of people in the Ice Chain and the attack and defense it provided were proportional. According to these data, it was clear that only after gathering a hundred people could both attack and defense be boosted to the cap, roughly 2% defense for every 2 people and 1% attack for every 4 people. For Wang Tao and his team, this was somewhat difficult¡ªthe main issue was that they were too few in number, totaling just over ten people. Converting that, even if all of them fused with ice attribute Crystal Cores, their use of the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull] would at most result in a 4% increase in attack and an 8% increase in defense... That was too small of an increase. Of course, Wang Tao could gather a hundred people and elevate the weapon¡¯s attributes. But he did not like fighting alongside too many people, considering his Awakening and Abilities involved large scale, indiscriminate attacks. If there were too many people, he might accidentally injure his own team. Every time he used Starfire Prairie, everyone else would stay far away... And Wang Tao was very fast; he also liked to establish an advantage with his speed. If he carried the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull], he might run over thirty meters away in an instant, leaving others outside the range of the Ice Chain. Once alone, the Ice Chain would lose its effect. It would be even worse if someone else carried the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull]; after he charged ahead, they would still be in effect, and he alone would be without... So, considering his fighting style and habits, Wang Tao felt that the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull] might not be so useful for him? Of course, that didn¡¯t mean the weapon was bad; it was still a great item. For instance, it would be very suitable for defense or city guarding. ¡°This thing is strong, but it doesn¡¯t seem very suitable for us. We are too few in number...¡± At this moment, Lu Yingfeng spoke up. Everyone nodded in agreement, indeed finding it unsuitable for them. ¡°We¡¯ll see how to deal with this weapon later...¡± Wang Tao did not know what to do with it for the time being. He could sell it, presumably for a high price, given that many would be willing to pay, but it was such a good item that he was somewhat reluctant to let it go... ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later, the item is yours now, you guys can study it further.¡± Wang Tao handed the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull] over to Wei Zhenguo. The others also wanted to try the effects of Ice Chain, but since Wang Tao did not have many Level 4 Exraction Crystal Cores, there was no need to waste them, so they did not say much. Wang Tao continued to check the loot. All the loot just now had come from the Freezing Overlord Zombie itself, which had also burst forth five Loot Packs, which Wang Tao had yet to check. Inside the first Loot Pack were 5 Crystal Cores: a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], an orange [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Strength], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Ice Attribute Defense], and a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Defense]. ¡°` No wonder this Freezing Overlord zombie was so tough, it not only had an overall defense but also ice attribute defense and defense abilities! If this were in a game, wouldn¡¯t it be considered a mage? And it¡¯s got a bunch of defense skills... Wang Tao shook his head speechlessly and then turned to the second Loot Pack. [Acquired: Level 4: Frozen Bones x2] [Acquired: Level 4: Frozen Nails x2] [Level 4: Frozen Bones: Crafting material, can increase equipment¡¯s ice attribute defensive power] [Level 4: Frozen Nails: Crafting material, can increase equipment¡¯s ice attribute defensive power] This pack contained two types of crafting materials, both with attributes. Wang Tao was looking forward to the blueprints. The third Loot Pack contained a physical awakening key. [Acquired: Awakening Key x1] Wang Tao had already saved up quite a few physical awakening keys in his possession. If the opportunity arose, he could let some of the team members who had not awakened take another shot at it. The fourth Loot Pack contained potions. [Acquired: Ice Attribute Enhancement Potion x10] [Acquired: Ice Attribute Defense Potion x10] Both types of potions were new to Wang Tao. [Ice Attribute Enhancement Potion: After injection, personal ice attribute damage increases by 10% for 1 minute, with a cooldown of 12 hours] [Ice Attribute Defense Potion: After injection, personal ice attribute defense increases by 10% for 1 minute, with a cooldown of 12 hours] Seeing the effects of these two potions, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. The ice attribute defense potion seemed average, but the potion that increased ice attribute damage was excellent! Although he couldn¡¯t use it, since there was a potion that increased ice damage, there should also be one for increasing fire damage. If he could get his hands on one that increased fire damage in the future, it would boost his explosive power significantly! After storing the potions, Wang Tao continued to examine the loot. The last Loot Pack contained blueprints. [Acquired: Frost Bracelet Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Anti-freeze Armor Top Blueprint x1] [Frost Bracelet Blueprint: Enables the crafting of a Frost Bracelet. Required materials: Small Frozen Lord Skull x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1] [Frost Bracelet: Attributes unknown] [Anti-freeze Armor Top Blueprint: Enables the crafting of an Anti-freeze Armor Top. Required materials: Frozen Bones x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Nails x30, Rubber x30] [Anti-freeze Armor Top: Attributes unknown] Just by looking at the descriptions of these two blueprints, Wang Tao thought they were likely to be decent equipment. The name Frost Bracelet reminded Wang Tao of the Flame Bracelet he had crafted before. The Flame Bracelet added fire damage to attacks, so this Frost Bracelet probably added ice attribute damage, right? Any equipment that could add attribute damage was definitely good! As for the armor top, there was no need to say more; its name was ¡°Anti-freeze¡±, so it probably could withstand the cold? There was a private room on the truck reserved for Wang Tao, and he immediately went back to the room to start crafting. Soon, the bracelet was the first to be completed. [Frost Bracelet] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Attacks carry ice attribute damage] It was a crystal clear ice blue bracelet, looking as if it was made of ice, cool to the touch and very comfortable. Its attributes were just as Wang Tao had predicted, it increased ice attribute damage! Wang Tao was curious, if Lan Yulian wore both the Flame Bracelet and the Frost Bracelet at the same time, what kind of attributes would she add to others? Chapter 1085 - 1085 436 Frozen Lake ?Chapter 1085: Chapter 436: Frozen Lake Chapter 1085: Chapter 436: Frozen Lake Wang Tao set aside the Frost Bracelet for the moment and went on to craft the Anti-freeze Armor Top. After a flash of multicolored light, a rather ordinary-looking but thick brown leather armor top appeared in front of Wang Tao. [Anti-freeze Armor Top] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Durability +50, Defensive Power +50, Ice Attribute Defense +20, Cold Protection and Insulation] At first glance, the attributes of this Anti-freeze Armor Top don¡¯t seem strong; after all, a durability and defense boost of only 50 is equivalent to that of Level 3 equipment. However, compared to other equipment, it has two additional attributes¡ª¡±Ice Attribute Defense +20¡ä¡ä and ¡°Cold Protection and Insulation.¡± Wang Tao had never seen equipment that boosted attribute defense before, but his Black Stone Armor Set does have an ¡°Element Defense +10¡± attribute. Based on his own experience and speculation, he believed that ¡°elements¡± likely referred to all the Awakened elements, including ice, fire, poison, and others. Therefore, defense could be understood as specifically guarding against Awakened damage. However, this Ice Attribute Defense was solely for defending against the ¡°Ice Element.¡± If we talk about versatility, Element Defense is certainly better, but if we consider just the Ice Attribute Defense, the single addition of 20 is undoubtedly stronger. Yet, of more interest to Wang Tao than this ¡°Ice Attribute Defense¡± was the ¡°Cold Protection and Insulation.¡± He had seen some equipment with the ¡°Fire Resistance¡± attribute; that attribute was quite effective, truly capable of providing some protection against fire. Thus, ¡°Cold Protection and Insulation¡± was likely not an exaggeration. As a result, Wang Tao quickly took off his upper garment and put on the leather armor top. ¡°So warm...¡± Instantly, Wang Tao felt quite a bit warmer. However, the car was heated and already comfortable, so the difference might not be all that noticeable. Once He Jijun parked the car, Wang Tao stepped out to test it further. ¡°Wow, this really does the trick!¡± The test results satisfied Wang Tao. The upper part of his body was indeed well-insulated. Although it couldn¡¯t compare to being inside the car, it definitely met the standard for survival in the frozen wilderness! The rest of his body, like his legs and head, felt cold¡ªthough not unbearably so for him; mainly, there was a contrast because the upper body was so warm, making the lower part feel colder. Wang Tao moved around a bit and found that the leather armor did not hinder his movements. ¡°Not bad at all, this piece of equipment is quite nice! It¡¯s warm without being so thick as to hinder combat...¡± Although this piece of equipment¡¯s durability and defense fell short of other fourth-tier equipment, merely for its warming property, it could be considered a godsend in these freezing conditions! As for the ¡°Ice Attribute Defense,¡± Wang Tao had no way to test it immediately, but an improved defense against the ice attribute could also contribute to survival in harsh cold¡ªespecially now that all the encountered zombies had mutated into ice attribute zombies, making such equipment potentially very protective against Ice Attribute Damage. However, Wang Tao himself didn¡¯t really need this armor top, because he wore the Black Stone Armor Set underneath and the Night Demon Set on the outside. Although it was indeed a bit cold in this environment, the combat power boosts they provided were far superior to those of the Anti-freeze Armor Top... Upon further thought, Wang Tao decided to keep the armor top for the time being. Without matching lower armor, it wasn¡¯t ideal for combining with other equipment, so he thought it best to wait and see if he could obtain more pieces of the Anti-freeze Armor. Having returned to the car, everyone was still examining the [Mini Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull]. Wang Tao took out the Frost Bracelet and surreptitiously handed it to Lan Yulian. ¡°Here, this is for you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Lan Yulian was momentarily stunned by the beautiful bracelet before realizing it must be a piece of equipment. ¡°What is...¡± ¡°This is the Frost Bracelet, it adds Ice Attribute Damage, which is perfect for you. You can add Ice Attribute to all of us. But don¡¯t use it for now; stick to the Flame Bracelet...¡± Lan Yulian, coming to understand and having guessed as much, had mixed feelings. ¡°Okay!¡± She wanted to be modest, feeling a bit guilty that Wang Tao kept giving her gifts, taking into consideration the feelings of the other girls. But the item was indeed most suitable for her, so she discreetly accepted it. Wang Tao was being secretive not because he didn¡¯t want Ding Yuqin and the others to see, but because he didn¡¯t want Qu Shilin to notice; that woman was extremely curious, and if she were to see it, she would get fixated on it. Rather than waste words explaining something he didn¡¯t fully understand himself, Wang Tao preferred that Qu Shilin remain unaware. ¡°Oh right, later try wearing both the Frost Bracelet and the Flame Bracelet at the same time, and see what kind of Status it can add to us.¡± Wang Tao suddenly spoke as though a new idea struck him. ¡°Eh? That sounds interesting! I¡¯ll give it a try later!¡± Lan Yulian had not thought of that herself, but now, hearing Wang Tao¡¯s suggestion, she found it intriguing. Wang Tao gave Lan Yulian a few more instructions, then approached the others. ¡°Has everyone rested enough? If so, let¡¯s move on. There should be more zombies ahead, and it¡¯s getting dark. Shall we clear out some more zombies before nightfall?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Chapter 1086 - 1086 436 Frozen Lake_2 ?Chapter 1086: Chapter 436: Frozen Lake_2 Chapter 1086: Chapter 436: Frozen Lake_2 Everyone immediately nodded. Although these frozen zombies were eerie, they had just fought with them and figured out the zombies¡¯ patterns, so the next battle wouldn¡¯t be as hard as before. Wang Tao told He Jijun to continue driving on the same road as before, while he and Han Rui observed the surroundings carefully. Not long after they passed the place where they had fought the Freezing Overlord Zombie, Han Rui immediately signaled a warning. ¡°Zombies up ahead, they seem to be fourth-rank Frozen Zombies, but there aren¡¯t many, just five in total,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately spoke up. Just five Rank-4 Frozen Zombies were no challenge. He just wanted to get some exercise. ¡°Okay, but be careful,¡± Wang Tao said. With Wang Tao¡¯s nod, Xiang Hongbin immediately jumped off the car. Blue flames jetted out from his feet, and he dove into the blizzard. Moments later, the people in the car saw Xiang Hongbin and the five zombie corpses at his feet. Buzz¡ª The car door opened, and without the car even stopping, Xiang Hongbin jumped right back in. ¡°After familiarizing with these zombies¡¯ traits, it indeed becomes much simpler. I feel like a normal Awakener should be able to handle a group of fourth-rank Frozen Zombies quite easily,¡± he said. ¡°Yes, the main issue is their freezing aura. Once you get used to the freezing aura, the rest isn¡¯t a big problem; they¡¯re just ordinary Elite Zombies,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, then addressed everyone, ¡°We¡¯re approaching the second area surrounded by the core of the zombie horde. Judging from the situation along the way, I feel there might be a lot of zombies there, maybe even a big battle ahead. Everyone, be on your guard,¡± he warned. ¡°Understood!¡± The Crystal Energy Car kept moving and stopped about a minute later. Han Rui told Wang Tao that she sensed many zombies ahead! But these zombies were different, there were Frozen Zombies and those Ordinary Zombies. ¡°I guess some zombies have evolved and some haven¡¯t... Let¡¯s get out and check it out!¡± Wang Tao said. Wang Tao asked He Jijun to park the car, and then everyone got out. After they walked for a while, they finally saw the situation with the zombies. ¡°What the? These zombies are really frozen solid! It looks quite spectacular!¡± The area where the zombies were located was rather low-lying, resembling a lake with little water, seemingly pitted and uneven. But now, the lake was covered with a lot of ice, turning into a frozen lake. Within these ice blocks were zombies that couldn¡¯t move an inch, as far as the eye could see! The scene before them was even more impressive than the information they had received. According to the City Hall report, these zombies were only slowed down, not immobilized. But what they saw now was not just sluggish movement; the zombies were completely encased in ice, utterly immobilized! If it weren¡¯t for Han Rui saying these zombies were still alive, they would have thought the zombies might already be dead... Facing such a scene, everyone instinctively exclaimed. Wang Tao was also amazed. He thought that these Frozen Zombies must have evolved from these ice-bound zombies. After evolving, the zombies became Frozen Zombies and were able to leave. Those that failed to evolve remained Ordinary Zombies, frozen in place. As for these zombies¡¯ HP, Wang Tao roughly checked and saw they were all critically low! Basically, they were all between one-half to one-third of their full health. Doesn¡¯t this mean zombies aren¡¯t immune to freezing to death, and that they can die! But the time it would take to freeze them to death seemed long, judging from the current situation, at least a month of freezing was needed. This was somewhat good news. However, another problem had arisen; zombies could evolve during the freezing process¡ª Just as Wang Tao thought of evolution, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He saw a Level 3 Ordinary Zombie encased in ice at his front side. Its total HP was one hundred thousand, now only half remained, which was fifty thousand. Perhaps it would be frozen to death in another half month. But at this moment, its appearance started to show subtle changes, and simultaneously, its HP suddenly began to rise, recovering to full in seconds, and the maximum HP broke through one hundred thousand, reaching two hundred thousand! Then cracks appeared on the ice encasing it. Crash¡ª Following that, the ice blocks that had been encapsulating it shattered to pieces. A full-health Fourth-order Frozen Zombie Elite appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s field of view. ¡°...Is this the evolution of zombies!¡± Having witnessed this scene, Wang Tao was still somewhat shocked. This was clearly a Level 3 Ordinary Zombie, but it had not only ascended to Level 4 but also evolved into a Rank-4 Elite! This wasn¡¯t just ascending one level, it was equivalent to ascending two levels! If Level 3 Ordinary Zombies can evolve into Fourth-order Elite Zombies, could Level 4 Ordinary Zombies evolve into Tier-Five Elites? And what about the original Level 4, Lords and Level 5, Lords? What would they evolve into? Not to mention that there were already suspicions of sixth-order zombies appearing before, if they were to evolve further... Then how would they, who were only at Level 4 at the moment, be able to fight! ¡°Zombies are coming!¡± Han Rui¡¯s voice interrupted Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts. The zombie that had just completed its evolution seemed to have caught wind of their scent and immediately started twisting its body and walking towards them. Wang Tao immediately rushed over and within a few slashes, he killed the Rank-4 Elite Zombie with 200,000 HP. Without the enhancement of ¡°Ice Chain,¡± their defense was much weaker, making it quite easy for Wang Tao to kill them. However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t relax in the slightest. He quickly shared his observations and some of his predictions and concerns with the others. After listening everyone¡¯s expressions became very serious, clearly recognizing this as an issue that needed to be taken seriously. ¡°There¡¯s not much we can do now but to do our best to kill all these zombies quickly and try to prevent them from evolving into Frozen Zombies! Let¡¯s split up and act!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The zombies currently in front of Wang Tao and his group were all unevolved zombies, and those that had evolved had either already left or were further inside the lake. Due to the blizzard, it was temporarily unclear what the situation was like deeper in, but with him and Jiang Shixue on guard, it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Wang Tao and his companions spread out, beginning to hunt the zombies encased in the ice blocks. The ice was very hard; it felt like even the ice that formed after the apocalypse was different from before. But most of them were Awakeners, so naturally, there wasn¡¯t much difficulty in destroying these ice blocks. Moreover, not all zombies were completely frozen; a lot of them had only their lower halves trapped in ice while their heads were fine. So, hunting them wasn¡¯t difficult at all. Thirty minutes later, everyone regrouped. There were smiles on everyone¡¯s faces. ¡°That was refreshingly good hunting!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed heartily. He couldn¡¯t recall how many zombies he had killed just now; all he knew was his backpack was almost too full of Crystal Cores. ¡°We¡¯ve pretty much dealt with all the Ordinary Zombies around the perimeter, but there are more zombies deeper in the lake, and they¡¯re all Frozen Zombies. What do you think?¡± Wang Tao looked towards the group. ¡°We continue deeper!¡± The group was enthusiastic. ¡°Then let¡¯s go. But this time, let¡¯s not split up, everyone stick close to me.¡± Wang Tao and Han Rui led the way, guiding their group deeper into the frozen lake. They hadn¡¯t gone far before a few fourth-rank Frozen Zombies appeared. The group dealt with them quickly and then kept going deeper. More waves of Frozen Zombies came, but they were all easily dealt with without any difficulty. But everyone¡¯s expressions were very solemn, without a hint of relaxation. This was because the further they traveled towards the middle of the lake, the more Frozen Zombies they encountered. ¡°With this situation... Could there be a Zombie Lord here?¡± Qu Shilin whispered. ¡°Most likely there is.¡± Wang Tao replied. He had come here for the Zombie Lord, but for the time being, Han Rui had not detected any Lords. The group continued moving deeper and after killing several Frozen Zombies, Han Rui suddenly grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°There¡¯s a Zombie Lord ahead, but it¡¯s Level 5! And it seems different from the Frozen Zombies we saw before...¡± Chapter 1087 - 1087 437 Dark Fog Zombie ?Chapter 1087: Chapter 437: Dark Fog Zombie Chapter 1087: Chapter 437: Dark Fog Zombie ¡°Level 5 Zombie Lord!¡± Upon hearing Han Rui¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s expression instantly turned serious. The strength of a Level 5 zombie would definitely crush that of Level 4 zombies. However, they had previously killed many Fifth-Order Night Fiends with Wang Tao, so they were not afraid. Wang Tao¡¯s focus was not on whether it was a Level 5 Lord, but on the fact that Han Rui said this Level 5 Lord Zombie was different from the previous Frozen Zombies... ¡°Let¡¯s go check it out first; if we can fight it, we will, if not, we¡¯ll retreat. Besides, we have cleared all the zombies behind us, so retreating will be easy,¡± Wang Tao said to everyone. They should have no problem hunting a Level 5 Lord Zombie, given they had previously killed many Fifth-Order Night Fiends. Their strength had improved significantly, especially Wang Tao who had awakened twice already... But there were exceptionally strong zombies, like those who had awakened the ¡°Giant¡± ability. Whether they could win in such a case, Wang Tao was unsure. So Wang Tao didn¡¯t make any definitive statements, especially since they had already cleared all the zombies they had encountered along the way, making retreat easy even if they couldn¡¯t win. Everyone naturally had no issue with this, their strength had all improved to various extents, and they were eager to try battling a Level 5 Zombie Lord. The team member Qu Shilin was shocked. She didn¡¯t expect that Wang Tao and the others, upon hearing about a Level 5 Zombie Lord, their first reaction was to fight! ¡°No, aren¡¯t you going to think it over? After all, it¡¯s a Level 5 Lord Zombie...¡± Qu Shilin spoke timidly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll protect you,¡± Lan Yulian thought she was scared and thus tried to comfort her. ¡°I¡¯m not scared¡ªwell, maybe a little, but this is a Level 5 Lord Zombie! Are you really just going to go over there? Without making any preparations?¡± Qu Shilin quickly explained. Hearing this, Wang Tao and his team all laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not that we don¡¯t make preparations; we just really don¡¯t have any. If we can win, we will fight; if we can¡¯t, we¡¯ll retreat. It¡¯s that simple,¡± Wang Tao said smilingly. ¡°...¡± Qu Shilin had always been with a Legion, and the Legion would make sufficient preparations before every major battle to ensure nothing went wrong. But Wang Tao¡¯s situation was different from the Legion¡¯s; he didn¡¯t have heavy artillery or bombs, their personal ability was the strongest asset, and if they were in good shape, then they were indeed ready. And their strength was indeed formidable, even if it was challenging a Level 5 Zombie Lord, it was not impossible. Thus, Qu Shilin softly said: ¡°Alright! Then you¡ªall of us, that is¡ªlet¡¯s do it! Although, I might not be much help...¡± ¡°Go for it!¡± Wang Tao and his crew continued forward, and after walking a few steps, they encountered a dark, icy cave. ¡°That Lord Zombie is inside there! But... I¡¯ve noticed more than one Level 5 Lord inside! There are also many Level 4, 5 Elite, and Ordinary Zombies!¡± Han Rui spoke softly. ¡°No worries, Jiang Shixue and I will head in first to check out, just follow closely behind me,¡± Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue walked in the forefront; the cave sloped downwards, and it was very dark inside. Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, having night vision, led the way to avoid being ambushed. As soon as they entered the cave, everyone instinctively shivered, Not only because the temperature inside was even lower than outside, but also because their vision suddenly turned black! It was as though it had switched from day to night in an instant! The group instinctively turned around to find that the entrance behind them had become somewhat blurry and unclear! ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°It¡¯s so dark... so cold!¡± Having never encountered such a situation before, they were all a bit panicked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there is no immediate danger, you all can still see me, right? Just follow me,¡± Wang Tao¡¯s voice slowly calmed everyone down, ¡°We can still see...¡± They could indeed see Wang Tao¡¯s silhouette, although it was also a bit blurry, as if a veil was between them. Wang Tao looked back to check his and everyone else¡¯s HP; there were no abnormal statuses. Then he looked at Jiang Shixue, whose eyes were glowing red, particularly spirited. This strange darkness didn¡¯t seem to affect Jiang Shixue either. As for Lightning and the two ferrets, they were even less concerned, being nocturnal creatures, and naturally had no problem here. Thus, Wang Tao continued to lead the way, The road inside this icy cave was not straight but twisted downwards; after turning a bend, the group felt it was even darker, almost losing sight of Wang Tao¡¯s silhouette. Fortunately, Wang Tao stopped walking and didn¡¯t proceed further, ¡°I see the Zombie Lord...¡± In the depths of the cave, a large group of zombies was present; some stood dazed while others lay on the ground, among them was a large, obese zombie leisurely swaying around. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 300000/300000] [Grade: Level 5 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Dark Mist] [Dark Mist: Emanates a thick black mist that can obscure the light around the bearer] Wang Tao had guessed earlier that the extreme darkness inside the cave was likely related to the Zombie Lord, and now his assumption had been confirmed. However, upon seeing this awakening, Wang Tao thought it seemed somewhat trivial, While it indeed obscured the visibility, causing many to struggle to see, not to mention that both he and Jiang Shixue could see; everyone else also had their own sources of light. If it had been a ¡°Giant¡± or a similar awakening of a formidable zombie, Wang Tao might have considered retreating, but this Dark Mist obviously could not stop Wang Tao¡¯s progress. Chapter 1088 - 1088 437 Dark Fog Zombie_2 ?Chapter 1088: Chapter 437: Dark Fog Zombie_2 Chapter 1088: Chapter 437: Dark Fog Zombie_2 However, this Black Fog Zombie had a thick pool of HP, a total of three hundred thousand blood, and could not be taken lightly. ¡°Prepare for battle, throw out all the flares!¡± Ultraviolet illumination flares were common items in everyone¡¯s packs, useful both against Night Demons and for lighting. Swish¡ª Several flares were instantly ignited, but surprisingly, the light they emitted was very dim! The previous flares were like little suns, not just Night Demons, even humans couldn¡¯t stare directly at them. But now, the flares they held were like tiny candles, barely allowing them to see their nearby comrades... ¡°Even the light from the ultraviolet illumination flares can be blocked...¡± Wang Tao frowned, but as long as they could see their surroundings and not attack their own people, it was fine. ¡°Hehe...¡± As the group lit the flares, they immediately caught the attention of that fat zombie inside the cave. It roared softly, and the zombies here were instantly activated; some stood up, others turned around, and with their pale eyes, they intensely stared at Wang Tao and his group. ¡°...I think I understand the purpose of this black mist now.¡± Wang Tao had thought that this ¡°Dark Mist¡± awakening was very mediocre, but seeing the state of the zombies in the cave at this moment, he suddenly understood¡ªthis black mist could turn day into night, and zombies at night were particularly berserk! ¡°Everyone be careful, this Zombie Lord doesn¡¯t seem very strong, but these Ordinary and Elite zombies are strong, all of them are berserk zombies of the night!¡± Wang Tao immediately voiced a warning. And before he had finished speaking, those zombies had already rushed over. The group could not see clearly what was happening deep inside the cave, but they could distinctly feel a fierce aura emanating from within. ¡°We¡¯ll go hunt the Lord, you guys draw these zombies outside!¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure about the Combat Power of this Level 5 Monster Lord, but these black mists acted like a buff that enhanced the zombies; it was difficult to kill the rest until this Lord was taken down. To be safe, Wang Tao instructed them to draw the other zombies outside the cave because it was too dark here, and if that Black Fog Zombie could increase the black mist, they would be completely unable to see. ¡°Okay!¡± The group responded. Wang Tao, along with Jiang Shixue, charged at the Black Fog Zombie Lord from both sides. The closer they got to the Black Fog Zombie, the denser the black mist became. When they reached near the Black Fog Zombie, the flare probably couldn¡¯t even emit light. But for Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, this was no issue. Bang! [-10283] [-1028] [...] Wang Tao¡¯s slash only inflicted just over ten thousand damage; the defense of the Level 5 Monster Lord was indeed strong. Jiang Shixue also swung twice, dealing damage similar to Wang Tao¡¯s. This Black Fog Zombie Lord was clearly not adept at speed, reacting only after being attacked repeatedly by Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, and it roared fiercely at Wang Tao. Then Wang Tao saw a thick cloud of black mist surround him. If it had been anyone else, they would probably have been completely blinded by now, but for Wang Tao, it was utterly useless; though the mist was truly dense, and even his Night Vision was somewhat limited, albeit he still had Mental Detection! With Wang Tao¡¯s Mental Detection fully deployed, it was like having a god¡¯s view, with everything around clear in Wang Tao¡¯s mind! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao disappeared from the spot, and a fat and fierce claw swiped where he had just been, clearly missing its target. When Wang Tao reappeared, he was already on the other side of the fat zombie. Meanwhile, his hand produced a blazing fireball. Go! Boom¡ª [-20412] [-2041] [...] As the zombie turned its head to look at Wang Tao, the fireball instantly smashed into its face. The damage from the fireball was lower than Wang Tao had expected; did this Black Fog Zombie not have an Ice attribute? But whether it had the Ice attribute or not didn¡¯t matter¡ªwait a minute! Wang Tao suddenly thought of Little Bing and immediately shouted. ¡°Little Bing, come here!¡± Little Bing, who was fighting and retreating with others, immediately abandoned the enemy at hand and agilely ran toward Wang Tao. Little Bing could also see in the dark. While Wang Tao dodged attacks from zombies, Little Bing climbed onto Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Freeze it!¡± Upon Wang Tao¡¯s command, Little Bing immediately spewed a white cold stream from its mouth, instantly spraying it on the Black Fog Zombie. [-2212] [-2073] [-1823] [...] The damage Little Bing dealt to the Black Fog Zombie was very low, and it was still diminishing. However, the zombie¡¯s speed visibly slowed down, allowing Jiang Shixue to take the opportunity to cut it several times. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to attack. He let Little Bing continue freezing the Black Fog Zombie while he charged up another fireball. When he found an opening, he directly threw the fireball at the Black Fog Zombie¡¯s face. Boom¡ª¡ª [-41843] [-8368] [...] A damage number over 40,000 floated above the Black Fog Zombie¡¯s head. ¡°That really worked!¡± Wang Tao was instantly overjoyed. After seeing the Fusion Awakening of Little Bing and Little Huo, he had been thinking if he himself could coordinate with Little Bing, since he was also a Fire Awakened. However, he had not found an opportunity to test this theory. Now, after a test, he found it indeed viable! HHis previous fireball had only exploded for over 20,000 HP of the Black Fog Zombie, but now this fireball had blasted the zombie¡¯s HP by 40,000! No, it was more than 40,000. Wang Tao noticed another difference from before. His previous fireball had blasted 20,000 HP of the Black Fog Zombie and caused burn damage, the first three occurrences of burning damage being the highest, each at 2,000 HP, which was 10% of the fireball¡¯s damage, so altogether 26,000 HP of damage. This time, however, the fireball not only blasted 40,000 HP but the burning damage wasn¡¯t just over 4,000; it was over 8,000! That¡¯s an increase to 20%! Similarly, there were three occurrences of burning damage, but a total of 67,000 HP damage! That meant Wang Tao¡¯s total damage had increased by 2.5 times compared to before! Wang Tao instantly felt he found the knack¡ªif he needed high damage output in the future, he could coordinate with Little Bing! This could be considered their ¡°Fusion Technique,¡± he guessed. However, this move wasn¡¯t without any drawbacks. The Black Fog Zombie was initially slowed by Little Bing, but Wang Tao¡¯s fireball instantly dispelled its slow status! Moreover, flames were still burning on its body. Though the fire¡¯s damage wasn¡¯t high anymore, only the initial three burns were severe, and Little Bing couldn¡¯t freeze the zombie again. ¡°This means, this Fusion Technique can only be used once in a short time...¡± When Wang Tao had watched Little Bing and Little Huo use their Fusion Awakening earlier, they had instant-killed zombies, so Wang Tao hadn¡¯t anticipated this situation. Nevertheless, this Fusion Technique with Little Bing was still good, and it could be used as a trump card. While Wang Tao mused, he didn¡¯t stop his actions and continued to cooperate with Jiang Shixue to attack the Black Fog Zombie. This Level 5 Black Fog Zombie Lord had thicker HP, but its attack, defense, and speed capabilities were not outstanding. Moreover, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen it use any special abilities. He felt it was easier to handle than the previously encountered Fourth-rank Frozen Zombie Lord! But on second thought, that seemed reasonable because this zombie¡¯s strongest ability was to obscure light with black fog. If it had not been Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue but others who came to attack it, they probably couldn¡¯t even get close due to the sheer darkness¡ªcompletely invisible, and flares were useless! In such pitch-black conditions, if they were attacked by countless berserk Level 4 and 5 zombies, the consequences could be dire! Boom¡ª¡ª [-42256] [-8450] [-6743] [0/300000] After seeing all the heat disappear from the Black Fog Zombie¡¯s body, Wang Tao let Little Bing spray ice one more time, then a fireball wiped out the Black Fog Zombie¡¯s HP bar! Swoosh¡ª¡ª A pile of items burst out. Chapter 1089 - 1089 438 Impenetrable Defense ?Chapter 1089: Chapter 438: Impenetrable Defense Chapter 1089: Chapter 438: Impenetrable Defense After the HP of the Dark Fog Zombie hit zero, the fog in the cave started to fade rapidly and then completely disappeared. The light from outside shone through the ice, and although the sky was still quite dim, it was much brighter compared to the dark fog. The remaining zombies were few, and although they were still in a berserk state, their attack power had significantly weakened after the disappearance of the dark fog. ¡°The dark fog is gone!¡± ¡°Is the Level 5 Lord Zombie dead?¡± Qu Shilin exclaimed with surprise. Besides Han Rui, no one knew the situation of Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue inside the fog. After all, it was a Level 5 Zombie Lord they were dealing with, and everyone was still somewhat worried. ¡°The Level 5 Lord Zombie is already dead.¡± At this moment, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue came running out of the cave together. ¡°Are you guys unhurt?¡± Seeing that Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, including Little Bing, were all uninjured, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. With the few zombies that were left, with Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue¡¯s entry, it only took half a minute for all the zombies in the cave to be dealt with by the group. After quickly scavenging the battlefield, Wang Tao immediately said: ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, let¡¯s go and find a place to rest.¡± Although he and Jiang Shixue had night vision, the others did not, and now, with both the storm and the frozen zombies, it was definitely better to be safe. ¡°Okay!¡± The group immediately headed back, the path they had taken was already cleared of zombies, so their return was swift. Just as they were about to reach where they had parked, Han Rui suddenly spoke up. ¡°Stop! There are zombies by the car!¡± The group instantly became alert. If they were just ordinary zombies, Han Rui definitely wouldn¡¯t be so cautious. ¡°What kind of zombies?¡± Hong Bin quickly asked. ¡°A Level 5 Lord Zombie!¡± Han Rui quickly responded. ¡°Ah? Another Level 5 Lord?¡± The group was somewhat shocked. Typically, there would only be one lord in an area since lords usually control the other zombies, and having more than two lords would make the control chaotic. Although Wang Tao had previously encountered a Level 4 Frozen Zombie Lord, considering the actions of both the Dark Fog Zombies and that Level 4 lord, Wang Tao felt that the Level 4 Frozen Zombie Lord must have ascended recently and was planning to move somewhere else. Thus, Wang Tao thought there shouldn¡¯t be any Zombie Lords nearby anymore, but unexpectedly, there was still one! And it was a Level 5! ¡°Where is it?¡± Wang Tao immediately inquired. ¡°Right by... our car, it¡¯s heading towards the car!¡± Han Rui exclaimed softly. ¡°Damn!¡± Hearing this, everyone cursed under their breath. Although there was no one in the car, nobody could guarantee that the Level 5 Lord Zombie wouldn¡¯t take an interest in the car. If the zombie damaged the car, they wouldn¡¯t be able to return! Crystal Energy Cars had strong defenses, but they definitely couldn¡¯t withstand a Level 5 Lord Zombie. ¡°We¡¯ll split up; I¡¯ll lure this zombie away, and you all head to the car! Little Xue, you lead them!¡± Wang Tao would not allow his crystal energy car to be damaged. Since it was getting dark and he didn¡¯t know the power of this Level 5 Lord Zombie or how long a battle might last, it was safer to let Jiang Shixue lead. ¡°Yes!¡± The group didn¡¯t utter pretentious remarks like ¡°I¡¯ll lure the zombie,¡± as every second counted at that moment, and wasting even a second could mean the loss of their crystal energy cars! Jiang Shixue led the others around from another side, while Wang Tao charged directly towards the position of the crystal energy car. Moments later, Wang Tao saw the group of zombies in front of the crystal energy car. There were a total of 11 zombies, 10 Level 5 Elite Zombies, and 1 Level 5 Lord Zombie! These elite zombies were still frozen zombies, but Wang Tao had never seen this particular Zombie Lord before. [HP: 300,000/300,000] [Mana: 300,000/300,000] [Grade: Level 5 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Massive Impact] [Massive Impact: Attack carries a shockwave] This was a three-meter tall, muscular zombie clad in extra-large explosion-proof armor, holding a spherical big hammer in its hand. No, not holding, rather the big hammer was fused to its hand! Wang Tao felt it resembled an evolved version of the Big Hammer Zombie, but its strength was definitely much more formidable! Especially with its awakening, this must be a passive that constantly adds shockwaves, right? Shockwave was an active ability, consuming mana and having a cooldown period. If turned passive, it could continuously release shockwaves? Moreover, the most important part was that the shockwaves it released would definitely be much stronger than those of the Big Hammer Zombie! However, strong as this zombie was, Wang Tao still needed to lure it away, or it might just smash their crystal energy car with a single hammer strike. Wang Tao chose a straightforward method to attract its attention; he simply pulled out his pistol and shot at it. Bang! The gunshot wasn¡¯t very loud under the cover of the wind and snow, but it was enough noise for the zombie to hear. Moreover, the bullet squarely hit its head. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Lord Big Hammer Zombie immediately turned around and roared angrily at Wang Tao, then strode directly toward him. Its ten lackeys also snarled and charged at Wang Tao. Watching the approaching zombies, Wang Tao did not immediately leave but took another shot at its neck with his pistol, where there was no armor protection. [-0] Wang Tao instantly furrowed his brows. Chapter 1090 - 1090 438 Impenetrable Defense_2 ?Chapter 1090: Chapter 438: Impenetrable Defense_2 Chapter 1090: Chapter 438: Impenetrable Defense_2 ¡°I wasn¡¯t mistaken just now, it really didn¡¯t break through the defense...¡± A shot to the zombie¡¯s neck actually did 0 damage! This was the second time Wang Tao had encountered this situation; the first was with a Chainsaw Zombie, whose chainsaw could block attacks, so Wang Tao¡¯s attacks showed up as 0, but what was up with this Big Hammer Zombie Lord? Could its neck be that tough as well? Wang Tao was puzzled, but the group of zombies was already quickly approaching, so he turned and ran. Whether he could beat them or not, he couldn¡¯t fight the zombies here, or it would be trouble if the car got damaged. Wang Tao was fast, but this zombie was also not slow, striding behind Wang Tao closely. ¡°To be so fast...¡± Wang Tao had been running for a while when the Elite Zombies behind him had long been left behind, but the Zombie Lord Big Hammer was still doggedly chasing him. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t going easy, he was already at 80% of his speed. Wang Tao could certainly speed up further, but that would really drain his physical strength, which wasn¡¯t worth it. ¡°Damn it, feels like I¡¯ve hit a tough one! Is this the power of a Level 5 Monster Lord...?¡± When Wang Tao had previously killed a Level 5 Black Fog Zombie Lord, it seemed easier than dealing with a Level 4 Frozen Zombie Lord, but that was only because he happened to counter the Black Fog Zombie, making its awakening completely useless against Wang Tao. But facing this Big Hammer Zombie Lord, Wang Tao didn¡¯t seem to have anything that could counter it... So did that mean this was the true strength of a Level 5 Monster Lord? Wang Tao didn¡¯t know, but he knew he had to make a decision now¡ªwhether to speed up and lose it, or fight it. After hesitating for just half a second, Wang Tao decided to fight. Whether or not he could win, at least he had to try out the opponent¡¯s strength, or else he would have come here for nothing. Whoosh¡ª A long knife appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, and then he suddenly stopped and doubled back. The Big Hammer Zombie Lord was caught off guard and was slashed by Wang Tao. The tricky blow landed in its armpit¡ªa spot without armor. [-0] ¡°What the hell?¡± Seeing it was still 0 damage, Wang Tao was somewhat unsettled. It was one thing for the bullets from his pistol to cause no damage, but even his high-frequency vibration attack didn¡¯t work? How was he supposed to play if he couldn¡¯t break the defense? Half skeptical, Wang Tao prepared to strike again, but feeling the whoosh beside his ear, he swiftly retreated. Bang! A Big Hammer fell on the spot where Wang Tao had just left, scattering the accumulated snow around, and a Shockwave appeared under the hammer, spreading rapidly in all directions. Wang Tao had just burst out with incredible speed, moving more than ten meters away from the Big Hammer Zombie Lord in the blink of an eye. But the Shockwave from the Big Hammer Zombie Lord was too fast; Wang Tao dodged the hammer, but couldn¡¯t dodge the Shockwave. Bang¡ª [-22832] Wang Tao was sent flying by the Shockwave, crashing hard into the snowy ground. ¡°Damn it!¡± Wang Tao felt like his body was falling apart, especially when he saw the damage of 20,000, he cursed under his breath. The damage was outrageous! He hadn¡¯t been hit by the hammer itself, just the Shockwave, and he had lost 20,000 HP! Would he not be smashed into a meat patty if he were to be hit directly? Wang Tao had just gotten up from the snow when he suddenly raised his long knife, blocking it in front of him. Bang¡ª [-5283] A Shockwave hit Wang Tao squarely! Although he blocked it, he still lost 5,000 HP. Wang Tao stared at the Zombie Lord more than thirty meters away from him, his eyes bulging. Was this thing capable of launching a Shockwave over thirty meters? Could it get any more absurd? But Wang Tao quickly realized that more absurd things were yet to come. He saw the Big Hammer Zombie Lord swinging its hammer from a distance at Wang Tao, sending wave after wave of Shockwaves flying toward him! ¡°Holy shit! Is this thing a ranged attacker too?¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected the Big Hammer Zombie Lord to have such strong combat awareness, actually knowing how to play to its strengths! Luckily, the zombie was thirty or forty meters away from him, and the Shockwaves weren¡¯t too fast. At that distance, Wang Tao could dodge the attacks with no problem. But it wasn¡¯t a solution to keep dodging forever, and the question arose again: to continue fighting, or to retreat. Wang Tao wanted to fight it, but his attacks couldn¡¯t break through its defense... ¡°Damn it! Let¡¯s try again!¡± As Wang Tao dodged the Shockwaves, he conjured a Fireball in his hand. While charging it, he started to close in on the zombie. He had no choice; his Fireball couldn¡¯t reach that far... Finally, Wang Tao seized an opportunity. The already-charged Fireball was hurled straight at the Big Hammer Zombie Lord. Boom¡ª The Big Hammer Zombie Lord didn¡¯t dodge or avoid, taking the fireball head-on, and the spot where it stood instantly turned into a sea of flames. [-0] [-0] [-0] [...] A string of zero damage floated above its head, and then a towering figure bathed in fire walked out of the inferno. After it emerged, the flames on its body were extinguished. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes were full of disbelief, but he quickly shook his head. Something¡¯s not right! His fireball couldn¡¯t possibly have done no damage at all, could it? ¡°Little Bing! Freeze it!¡± Wang Tao called out, and Little Bing immediately crawled out of Wang Tao¡¯s pocket and jumped onto his shoulder. Whoo¡ª¡ª Little Bing opened its mouth and released a white stream, hitting the Zombie Lord Big Hammer but still dealing zero damage; however, it managed to temporarily freeze it, greatly slowing down its hammer swinging speed. Wang Tao¡¯s hands conjured up another fireball, which he threw at the zombies after a brief moment of gathering strength. Boom¡ª¡ª [-0] This fusion technique, which had caused significant damage to the Dark Fog Zombies, again showed zero damage on the Zombie Lord Big Hammer. Although he had been somewhat prepared, Wang Tao still frowned deeply. ¡°It looks like I need to try the awakened... Little Bing, get away from me!¡± Wang Tao threw Little Bing away and then his body ignited with blazing flames. The ferocious fire evaporated all the surrounding ice and snow, and facing the shockwave unleashed by the Zombie Lord Big Hammer, Wang Tao didn¡¯t flinch, charging straight at it. Whoosh! The flaming sword slashed fiercely at the zombie¡¯s neck, but there was still a series of zeros! [-0] [-0] [-0] [...] Even the flame damage from Starfire Prairie couldn¡¯t break through the defense! Amidst the flames, Wang Tao¡¯s expression was extremely ugly; this was almost his strongest attack. The reason it was almost, was because Wang Tao still had two more tricks up his sleeve. The first was the Mental Attack from the awakened [Mental Development], whose damage was high and sometimes could instantly kill! But the problem was that this was a Level 5 Zombie Lord! Wang Tao was only at Level 4. Mental Attacks are prone to backlash, and Wang Tao rarely used them. If he were to suffer backlash, the issue wouldn¡¯t be how much damage the zombies received, but rather how much backlash damage he would take! And Mental Attacks were generally not very effective against zombies; physical destruction was more suitable. The second move was Wang Tao¡¯s fusion technique [Hellfire], combining [Starfire Prairie] and [Mental Development]. This move combined fire with spiritual power, starting an internal and external combustion, igniting from the opponent¡¯s consciousness! This technique wouldn¡¯t backlash, and its damage was considerable. It was just extremely costly, with each use consuming a minimum of 1000 Awakening Energy! Wang Tao currently had 2500 Awakening Energy and could use it at most twice in a short period. Wang Tao could leave, but he was not willing to give up just yet. He did not insist on killing this Level 5 Zombie Lord; he just wanted to know why he couldn¡¯t deal even a bit of damage! After so many attacks and still not breaking defense? This was too damaging to his self-esteem! ¡°One last time!¡± Wang Tao charged at the Big Hammer Zombie Lord again. He slightly raised his head, locking eyes with the Zombie Lord, both of his eyes burning with flames. Boom¡ª¡ª [-0] [-0] [-0] [...] ¡°Pop¡ª¡ª¡± Countless ¡°-0¡± figures emerged above the head of the Big Hammer Zombie Lord. Wang Tao¡¯s strongest attack seemed to still be ineffective at breaking the defense, but suddenly, with a ¡°pop,¡± it seemed like something shattered. [-106482] [193518/300000] Chapter 1091 - 1091 439 Hard to Kill ?Chapter 1091: Chapter 439: Hard to Kill Chapter 1091: Chapter 439: Hard to Kill Wang Tao almost thought he was seeing things. Either no damage penetrated the defense, or it directly caused 100,000 damage? ¡°Roar¡ª¡ª¡± The Zombie Lord Big Hammer let out a roar, Wang Tao could clearly see the flames that appeared in its clouded eyes, but the flames quickly extinguished. This meant that Wang Tao¡¯s move ¡°Hellfire¡± had finished, and 100,000 damage was the final result. If the flames in the zombie¡¯s eyes had not gone out and continued to burn, both its consciousness and body would have been turned to ash by the Hellfire. Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t expect ¡°Hellfire¡± to annihilate it in one go; he was just not willing to give up. He wanted to see if his strongest attack could break through the defense. As long as it dealt 1 point of damage, it would be considered a success. Now that he had finally penetrated the defense, Wang Tao had achieved his objective and could retreat with satisfaction. But the problem was, this was not just 1 point of damage¡ªthis was 100,000 damage! And this Zombie Lord Big Hammer had a total of 300,000 HP, it now had 200,000 left! Wang Tao still had over a thousand Awakening Energy left, he could use Hellfire at least one more time! This meant he could reduce another 100,000 HP from the Zombie Lord Big Hammer! The undead lord might be left with only one-third of its HP. If he were to leave now, wouldn¡¯t that be a pity? After all, another two uses of ¡°Hellfire¡± and the zombie would be dead, but since there wasn¡¯t enough Awakening Energy left, Wang Tao could only release one more ¡°Hellfire.¡± He had no time to fuse Awakening Crystal Cores and Awakening Energy Pearls to increase his Awakening Energy. As Wang Tao was conflicted about whether to leave or continue fighting, he suddenly noticed something amiss. ¡°Huh?¡± He saw a flurry of damage numbers floating above the head of the Zombie Lord Big Hammer. [-128] [-162] [...] After a brief stun, Wang Tao realized that this damage was caused by the flames burning on his body! Not only did his ¡°Hellfire¡± break through the defense, but could the ¡°Starfire Outbreak¡¯s¡± burning also penetrate now? Or was it that... the Zombie Lord Big Hammer was now in a state of broken defense?! To confirm his suspicion, Wang Tao grabbed his Flame Long Sword and chopped at its neck. [-1833] [-183] [...] Although it was only a little more than two thousand damage, Wang Tao was very excited inside. The defense was penetrated! He could now breach the defense of the Zombie Lord Big Hammer! As long as it wasn¡¯t zero damage, Wang Tao was confident that he could whittle down this lord zombie! Two thousand damage per strike was already higher than Wang Tao had expected! ¡°Kill!¡± No longer hesitating, Wang Tao decisively decided to continue fighting. As long as he could reduce the HP of the Zombie Lord Big Hammer below 100,000, then another use of ¡°Hellfire¡± would end the fight! The Zombie Lord Big Hammer, having been hit by Wang Tao¡¯s major move ¡°Hellfire¡±, moved sluggishly, its motions dulled, giving Wang Tao the opportunity to land many strikes. Moments later, it recovered and returned to its previous form¡ªhigh defense, fast, strong, and capable of ranged attacks. Wang Tao had never encountered such an all-rounded zombie before. Other zombies he had come across always had some weakness, which once found, could be exploited to quickly defeat them, but this zombie seemed to have no flaws, or at least Wang Tao hadn¡¯t found any yet... Having no choice, Wang Tao had to cancel the ¡°Starfire Outbreak¡± status, or he wouldn¡¯t have enough Awakening Energy to use ¡°Hellfire.¡± Although he was now able to break through the defense, the Zombie Lord Big Hammer was clad in heavy explosion-proof armor covering its head tightly; Wang Tao couldn¡¯t attack its head directly and had to aim for places like the neck, and even then he might not always hit. Therefore, the damage Wang Tao inflicted was quite low, generally around one to two thousand, and sometimes even a few hundred per strike. Using ¡°Starfire Outbreak¡± at this point would be too wasteful. ¡°Starfire Outbreak,¡± besides increasing Wang Tao¡¯s fire damage and physical abilities, also greatly enhanced his speed and defense. After dispelling the awakening status, Wang Tao felt the pressure increase, as he had to start dodging attacks. If he were hit by the zombie¡¯s Big Hammer, it could potentially cost him half his life! While Wang Tao was struggling in his tough fight with the Zombie Lord Big Hammer, he suddenly heard Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice in his mind. ¡°Wang Tao! We¡¯ve hidden the car, where are you? Do you need support?¡± It was the ability of the ¡°Perception Ring¡±; in this weather, only their Perception Rings could communicate normally. ¡°Yes, hurry over! Just west of the place we parked earlier!¡± Wang Tao was not one to show off. If he could resolve the fight alone with ease, there was no need to call for help, but since it would take time to reduce the zombie¡¯s HP, it would be better to call others for a group beatdown. ¡°Alright, wait for me!¡± A moment later, Wang Tao sensed Ding Yuqin was already near him. ¡°This zombie is strong, highly offensive, heavily defensive, fast, and can also perform ranged attacks! It can continuously release Shockwaves, and its Shockwaves can reach thirty to forty meters! You all must be careful!¡± ¡°...Got it!¡± After Ding Yuqin relayed Wang Tao¡¯s message to the others, they all felt some pressure. After all, they had never heard Wang Tao describe a zombie this way before. Everyone instinctively looked towards He Jijun. In team combat situations, while Wang Tao was the chief commander, He Jijun was the deputy commander. He Jijun had rich experience, a strong mindset, and in crucial moments, they needed this veteran to lead. Chapter 1092 - 1092 439 Hard Kill_2 ?Chapter 1092: Chapter 439 Hard Kill_2 Chapter 1092: Chapter 439 Hard Kill_2 ¡°We¡¯ll split into three squads, each attacking from a different direction! Jade Lotus, you¡¯ll lead one squad...¡± He Jijun calmly and swiftly began orchestrating the tactics, and 30 seconds later, he picked up his sabre. ¡°Action!¡± Whoosh¡ª Everyone sprinted out like arrows released from their bows and quickly spotted Wang Tao and the zombies engaged in combat. No one wasted words, they fought upon meeting! Considering the zombie could unleash a long-range shockwave, the group didn¡¯t rush too hastily and remained on guard. Otherwise, running into a shockwave head-on would be disastrous. However, possibly because this Big Hammer Zombie Lord bore a grudge entirely against Wang Tao, it ignored the newcomers and focused on attacking Wang Tao relentlessly. Although this put a lot of pressure on Wang Tao, it allowed others to approach the zombie! Some of them were capable of ranged attacks, but the thirty-meter distance was still a bit too far, and because of the blizzard, visibility was low, making close combat more convenient. Of course, close combat was more dangerous too! With everyone¡¯s concerted attack, although they didn¡¯t inflict much damage on the zombie, its focus shifted from Wang Tao to the others, allowing Wang Tao to finally catch his breath. He glanced at the Zombie Lord Big Hammer¡¯s HP bar. [161832/300000] After fighting for so long, he had only reduced the zombie¡¯s HP by over thirty thousand. Even though they managed to break through its defense, the zombie¡¯s defensive power was still too great! If it were just up to him, who knew when he could reduce its HP by a hundred thousand. But with teammates joining in, it was different. Although their individual damage was not as high as Wang Tao¡¯s, the combined damage of these ten people was definitely more than Wang Tao¡¯s. Moreover, the focus wasn¡¯t on how much damage was being done, as everyone¡¯s damage was merely scratching the surface. The key point was, with more attackers, the Big Hammer Zombie Lord¡¯s focus constantly shifted among them, attracting its attention now and then, disrupting its attack rhythm from what it was earlier. Wang Tao felt that if things continued this way, in about 10 minutes, they could reduce the zombie¡¯s HP to below one hundred thousand! Just then, the Big Hammer Zombie Lord suddenly raised its hammer high but did not smash it down immediately. It seemed to be... charging up! ¡°Run!¡± Wang Tao immediately roared. He didn¡¯t know what technique it was using, but he felt like it was a powerful attack, and running was definitely the right choice. ¡°Run!¡± He Jijun also shouted at the same time, his instincts telling him that they might die if they didn¡¯t run now! The team obeyed the command, scattering without a moment¡¯s hesitation. Qu Shilin, who hadn¡¯t participated in such a scene before, reacted a bit slowly, but Wang Tao was constantly aware of his surroundings. He quickly picked up Qu Shilin, used the Rush Ability, and fled, without wasting any time. One second later, the zombie¡¯s big hammer struck down, hitting the snowy ground. Boom¡ª In an ear-deafening explosion, a massive shockwave radiated outwards from the Big Hammer Zombie Lord at a circular pattern at an extreme speed. Where the shockwave passed, the snow on the ground first evaporated, revealing the building ruins underneath. Then the building ruins were blasted up, exposing the ground beneath. Finally, even the ground was lifted, turning soil, tree roots, and even rocks into powder! Wang Tao and his team had already run quickly, especially those with the Rush Ability, who could instantly cover thirty meters. But their speed was still too slow compared to the shockwave! And with the shockwave¡¯s immense range, even though Wang Tao had run about fifty meters away from the zombie, he was still caught up by the shockwave. ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao cursed silently, but without time for more words, he fiercely threw Qu Shilin and others including Little Bing and Little Huo forward. Then he turned around, flames ignited on his body, he held up his long knife high, and slashed down at the massive shockwave. Bang¡ª Although the collision between the flames and the shockwave wasn¡¯t loud, Qu Shilin was left dizzy from the shock. The shockwave was powerful but against Wang Tao in full force, it split into two like water, sparing Qu Shilin, Little Bing, and Little Huo from much damage. However, Wang Tao was sent flying backward at high speed, sparking flames between his shoes and the ground, and his HP was rapidly decreasing. Wang Tao immediately switched his grip on the knife and stabbed it hard into the ground. Crackle¡ª The half of the sharp long knife¡¯s blade plunged into the ground, sparking everywhere. Wang Tao¡¯s backward momentum finally slowed and stopped not far from Qu Shilin, leaving a burning, flaming mark over ten meters long in the ground. ¡°Report casualties!¡± Wang Tao yelled and then forcefully kicked the ground, causing a slight crack. Like a meteor, he charged back towards the Big Hammer Zombie Lord without hesitation. The more critical the situation, the less opportunity should be given to the enemy. He still had fighting strength, and he must fight for time for his teammates. ¡°I won¡¯t die!¡± ¡°It seems like my leg is broken...¡± ¡°I¡¯m still alive!¡± ¡°Everyone, come to me; I¡¯ll heal you!¡± ¡°...¡± In the midst of the raging snowstorm, watching the intermittent voice coming through the earpiece, especially hearing that Jade Lotus was fine, Wang Tao breathed a temporary sigh of relief. As long as they could still speak, as long as their healer was still alive, then life-threatening danger was probably not imminent. But when Wang Tao faced the Big Hammer Zombie Lord, his gaze suddenly sharpened. [101312/300000] Its HP had decreased by fifty thousand! Did this large-area shockwave consume HP? Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to think; he quickly moved right in front of the Big Hammer Zombie Lord, his eyes, blazing with flames, fixed intently on the eyes of the Big Hammer Zombie Lord. Hellfire! Boom¡ª¡ª A small flame emerged in the eyes of the Big Hammer Zombie Lord, growing brighter and bigger until it filled its entire eyes. [-101312] [0/300000] ¡°Roar¡ªHeh...¡± Boom! The growl from the zombie¡¯s mouth was only half-emitted before it suddenly collapsed with a crash. ¡°The body isn¡¯t burning...¡± The corpse of the Big Hammer Zombie Lord hadn¡¯t turned to ash; rather, its body was just somewhat more emaciated than before, its eyes now two black holes still containing some sparks. Wang Tao figured this was probably because his attack had just reached the slaying threshold, plus this zombie was high-level and sturdy, so it didn¡¯t turn to ash like the previous [Night Demon Type I]. But this was ideally suited for recycling. ¡°Lightning!¡± Wang Tao shouted. ¡°Woof~¡± By the time Lightning arrived, Wang Tao had already stripped off all the explosion-proof armor from the zombie¡¯s body. With the zombie¡¯s body having thinned, removing the equipment was relatively easy. ¡°Here, eat this.¡± Wang Tao threw the corpse towards Lightning. At that moment, Lightning¡¯s size was only a bit smaller than a fully grown bull, and it was also in its strongest state. Its Awakening was [Gourmet Feast], which allowed it to increase its HP and size by devouring corpses of lords of the same rank or higher. Previously, the corpse of the Dark Fog Zombie had been eaten by Lightning. Right then, Lightning wasn¡¯t in great shape; its body was covered in wounds, and from its 180,000 HP, only 50,000 remained. However, after eating the corpse of the Big Hammer Zombie, Lightning not only increased its maximum HP, but its current HP was also rapidly recovering. ¡°Good boy!¡± Wang Tao patted Lighting¡¯s massive head, having clearly seen how it had grown larger and blocked damage for many others. ¡°Woof~¡± Wang Tao gathered all the spoils of war and checked on his teammates. He had already heard the casualty report from He Jijun over the headset. The good news was that no one had died; the bad news was that everyone was severely injured, and even Jade Lotus¡¯s healing couldn¡¯t catch up. After seeing his teammates in such a dire state, Wang Tao said: ¡°We won!¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone finally relaxed. They had been enduring the pain in silence, ready to fight again at any moment. Now assured that the Zombie Lord was dead, they suddenly lay on the ground, groaning in pain. For a moment, their cries echoed back and forth. Wang Tao immediately laughed. Being able to lie on the ground and groan indicated that the situation was not severe; if they had been bouncing around, that would have been serious, possibly a final burst of energy since their health bars were indeed very low. After looking at the sky, Wang Tao said: ¡°It¡¯s getting dark; someone go get the car, we need to leave here quickly!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Hong Bin immediately ran to get the car. In terms of defensive power, Hong Bin, being ¡°half-human half-mechanical¡±, was impressive; Wang Tao himself felt some pain in his chest, but after changing to a new Crystal Core, he remained lively and active. The Crystal Energy Car quickly arrived, and the team members helped each other onto the vehicle, leaving the area. Chapter 1093 - 1093 440 Mysterious Shadow ?Chapter 1093: Chapter 440 Mysterious Shadow Chapter 1093: Chapter 440 Mysterious Shadow ¡°This place should be safe...¡± The Crystal Energy Car slowly stopped outside a rusty gate with the words Yi Yun Primary School on it. This was a primary school, not very large in area, but the perimeter walls were all in good condition, which should provide some protective effect. Having just driven around the area, Xiang Hongbin and Han Rui had carefully inspected it, finding nothing more than some Ordinary Zombies inside. It could serve as a temporary shelter for the night. The school¡¯s large iron gate was locked, but Xiang Hongbin burst it open with a squeeze. The vehicle slowly drove into the school¡¯s courtyard, and Wang Tao got out with Jiang Shixue, Han Rui, and Lightning. ¡°Prepare the temporary camp, we¡¯ll go clean up.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Wang Tao, did you bring the camera?¡± Qu Shilin asked. ¡°I did.¡± Wang Tao patted his backpack. Although the school wasn¡¯t very large, it did have several buildings. If they were to rely solely on their group for surveillance, it would be too arduous. So this was the time to employ high technology¨Dthe ¡°Wilderness Surveillance Early Warning System¡± was one of the features of the Crystal Energy Car. As long as the cameras and some other devices were set up around the camp, it was possible to monitor the surroundings through the car¡¯s terminal. If danger approached, they could detect it immediately. Wang Tao set up the surveillance while also scavenging the school. The scavenging wasn¡¯t to find supplies but to clear out the zombies. With him and Han Rui present, there were hardly any places they missed. Wang Tao then discovered that there weren¡¯t many zombies in the school, and there were no Frozen Zombies, all of them were Level 2 to Level 3 Ordinary Zombies. Could it be that these zombies wouldn¡¯t evolve if they didn¡¯t go to snow-covered environments? Wang Tao thought that was likely the case. Soon, all the zombies in the school were cleaned out, and the surveillance was set up completely. When Wang Tao and the others returned to the courtyard, they were greeted by a temporary camp constructed of steel and insulating material. This temporary camp was also a function of the Crystal Energy Car, specifically the one provided by the trailer it was pulling. There were quite a few people on this outing, a total of about a dozen. They all could have slept inside the vehicle, but it certainly would have been uncomfortable. Since they had the means, it naturally made sense to be a bit more comfortable. Plus, the set-up and take-down of the camp were simple, so in the event of danger, they could quickly pack up, or even abandon the camp and run if needed. ¡°So warm!¡± As soon as Wang Tao entered the tent, a wave of warmth rushed at him. This warmth was not only from a special heating device but also from the aroma of food preparation. Aside from He Jijun and Wei Zhenguo who were monitoring the surveillance, everyone else was busily making food. Some had bandages wrapped around their heads, some had their arms in slings, and others limped along, but they were all energetically preparing food... The scene felt somewhat comical. Today¡¯s battle had been won with great difficulty and danger. If not for Lan Yulian, the healer, there could have been casualties. Even though no one had died, nearly everyone had sustained significant injuries. If it had been an ordinary healer, they might not have been able to replenish their HP. Fortunately, Lan Yulian could not only boost HP but also heal wounds. Although healing took much longer than restoring HP, taking it slow was fine. Wang Tao looked carefully again, seeing everyone¡¯s HP slowly rising. Some people had the [Weakness] status, but overall, there was no life-threatening danger. This allowed him to fully relax. ¡°Wang Tao, try this, see if it¡¯s good!¡± Seeing Wang Tao come in, Ding Yuqin limped over with a sizzling grilled meat skewer and handed it to Wang Tao. In theory, it would be most appropriate to consume Nutrient Solution at this time as it was rich in energy and also convenient. However, having just survived a major battle, they deserved to reward themselves. Mood and morale could also significantly affect combat effectiveness. ¡°Not bad at all!¡± Wang Tao quickly finished the large piece of grilled meat, then turned to look at Ding Yuqin¡¯s bandaged leg. ¡°Sister-in-law, are you okay?¡± ¡°All¡¯s good!¡± Ding Yuqin had long since stopped being the weak woman who relied on Wang Tao¡¯s charity. She had been through countless battles, and for people like them, as long as it wasn¡¯t an infection or other serious injury, it wasn¡¯t a problem. Especially when they had Lan Yulian for support. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear.¡± Wang Tao sat down in the middle of the tent, and everyone gathered around in a circle with meat roasting and hot pot simmering in the center. Thanks to the large vehicle and ample storage space, they had brought plenty of food with them. To enjoy a steaming hot pot amidst the snowy wilderness and lurking dangers was truly an exquisite pleasure. During the meal, the conversation naturally turned to the Big Hammer Zombie Lord. They were still marveling at the power of this zombie. There were many strong zombies, but they had hardly ever fought against them. After all, they would flee from a battle they couldn¡¯t win. This was one of the few times they had personally fought one. ¡°I also feel that this zombie was unreasonably strong. Could a Level 5 Monster Lord really be that powerful? It shouldn¡¯t be...¡± Wang Tao frowned slightly. The Dark Fog Zombie and Big Hammer Zombie they had previously killed were no match... He had also taken down many Level 5 Lord Night Demons, but those Night Demon Lords¡¯ power paled in comparison to the Big Hammer Zombie Lord. Even without using Ultraviolet Light, Wang Tao was confident he could take down a Level 5 Lord Night Demon on his own. But facing the Big Hammer Zombie Lord again... he still had no confidence. Chapter 1094 - 1094 440 Mysterious Shadow_2 ?Chapter 1094: Chapter 440 Mysterious Shadow_2 Chapter 1094: Chapter 440 Mysterious Shadow_2 Unless he had teammates nearby to help him draw out the attack and reduce the HP, he truly couldn¡¯t defeat them. Although it was normal that he couldn¡¯t defeat them, since the zombies outranked him by a significant amount, Wang Tao still felt somewhat dissatisfied. He believed there were two reasons he couldn¡¯t win. One was that he didn¡¯t understand why, when he first started attacking, he kept seeing ¡°[0]¡±, which caused Wang Tao to waste a lot of time and energy. The other was that he simply couldn¡¯t dodge the Big Hammer Zombie Lord¡¯s ultimate attack. It wasn¡¯t that Wang Tao was slow, but the area of effect was just too large! At that moment, Wang Tao had already moved quite fast, about fifty meters away from the Big Hammer Zombie, yet he was still hit by the shockwave. Even assuming a radius of fifty meters, the area of this shockwave would be about eight thousand square meters, even larger than a football field! With such a large range, unless one could teleport or fly, evasion was simply impossible. Although using this move cost the Big Hammer Zombie Lord fifty thousand HP, Wang Tao lost a hundred thousand HP! He had a total of only one hundred eighty thousand HP, and two hits were enough to deplete it... Therefore, unless he could ascertain the specific details of this Big Hammer Zombie Lord, Wang Tao felt that his chances of winning were still low. But figuring that out wasn¡¯t too difficult, especially since the items dropped by the zombies provided some clues! After rapidly consuming some food, Wang Tao told the others: ¡°You guys keep eating, I¡¯m going to study the loot.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°Hopefully there¡¯s something good! We almost went down, they better drop some nice stuff.¡± The group said, laughing. They had also gotten used to Wang Tao being able to figure out the purpose of some items, considering it one of Wang Tao¡¯s talents. Wang Tao went into a small room, his own room. Everyone in this tent had a private room, including Lightning, which was quite considerate. Then, Wang Tao started to inspect the loot, but he didn¡¯t rush to look at the Big Hammer Zombie Lord¡¯s items, instead starting with the loot of the first Dark Fog Zombie he had killed. The Dark Fog Zombie dropped three physical items and four loot packs. The first item dropped was a crystal core. [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Psychic Attack Rebound] [Quality: 80% (Excellent)] [Purity: 30% (Side Effect: Reduced Defensive Power)] [Psychic Attack Rebound: Passive Ability, when hit by a psychic attack, there is a small probability to rebound double the damage (If rebound is triggered, it will consume Awakening Energy, without Awakening Energy the rebound cannot occur. Only a Psychic Awakener can use this)] ¡°...¡± Seeing this crystal core, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in admiration. He hadn¡¯t expected that the Dark Fog Zombie would have such an ability! It was good that he hadn¡¯t used a psychic attack on the Dark Fog Zombie then, otherwise if he had been unlucky and faced a double damage rebound, that would have been a disaster! Plus, Wang Tao thought that the Dark Fog Zombie was easy to handle, partly because its defense was reduced... However, talking back, although the core was powerful, Wang Tao himself wasn¡¯t interested, because it stated ¡°small probability¡± of rebounding psychic damage... Probability-related things, especially those that specified a small probability, Wang Tao found unreliable. If it were before level four, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t mind learning it as he could fuse abilities. But now, he couldn¡¯t fuse abilities and could only learn four, each slot being extremely precious. If he wasn¡¯t going to use it himself, then it was unlikely others could use it either, especially since Psychic Awakeners are rare... ¡°I¡¯ll stash it for now. Whether it¡¯s used or not, its side effect of reducing defense needs to be dealt with first, we¡¯ll see later who needs it...¡± The second loot was a material. [Acquired: Dark Tooth x4] [Dark Tooth: Crafting Material] Wang Tao stowed the materials and looked toward the third item. This was something... well, Wang Tao felt it was just a beam of light? Only it was emitting a black light... no, to be precise, black should be absorbing light, so was the thing, the size of a fingernail on his hand, absorbing the surrounding light? [Obtained: Mysterious Shadow x1] [Mysterious Shadow: After release, it will grow into a Dark Beast. After absorption, it will grant a hidden attribute.] Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen good things that could increase hidden attributes for a while, but today he finally did! The introduction of this ¡°Mysterious Shadow¡± is similar to the ¡°Magic Flame¡± he obtained before, both of which can definitely grant hidden attributes without any side effects! When Wang Tao first used the Magic Flame, he obtained another hidden attribute [Fire Element], not knowing its use at the time, but after awakening [Starfire Outbreak], he realized how powerful it was. So this ¡°Mysterious Shadow¡± should be... related to the dark series? If there is a dark series. Many people are still stuck at Level 3, and without similar items, they might never awaken in their lifetime, so the value of this ¡°Mysterious Shadow¡± is evident. Even Wang Tao was tempted to try fusing it himself, but after thinking it over, he decided against it. A person can only obtain up to four hidden attributes. If they acquire a fifth hidden attribute, it will randomly replace one of the original hidden attributes. Wang Tao already had four hidden attributes: Fire Element, Night Vision, Body Strengthening, and Plant Affinity. Although both the ¡°Fire Element¡± and ¡°Night Vision¡± attributes had awakened, they still occupied the slots. The remaining ¡°Body Strengthening¡± and ¡°Plant Affinity¡± hidden attributes, Wang Tao found very useful... so he decided to let it go. He would save this ¡°Mysterious Shadow¡± for now, to see if anyone in the team is willing to undergo a second awakening... After checking these three physical Loot Packs, the remaining were five Loot Packs. The first Loot Pack contained a Crystal Core Gift Bag, which included a total of five Crystal Cores. They were Orange [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence], Red [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Promotion], Blue [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Awakening], Purple [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Mental Defense], and Red [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Ice Attribute Defense]. All were Crystal Cores Wang Tao had seen before, and all were good items, which he gladly accepted. The second Loot Pack contained a pearl. [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] Another pearl, which Wang Tao happily collected, his Awakening Energy had almost run out, and later he could use a Crystal Core or the pearl to recover some energy, as having no Awakening Energy felt unsafe. The third Loot Pack contained a physical awakening key. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] Wang Tao had dozens of physical awakening keys, but unfortunately, none were advanced. The ordinary keys could be used to attempt awakening again for those who had failed their first awakening, but it didn¡¯t feel very safe... He would ask them for their opinions later. If they decided to awaken, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be stingy with the keys. The fourth Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Dark Attribute Enhancement Potion x10] [Obtained: Dark Attribute Defense Potion x10] Wang Tao guessed right; there were indeed Dark Attribute potions! Their effects were similar to previous Ice Attribute potions. [Dark Attribute Enhancement Potion: After injection, increases one¡¯s own Dark Attribute damage by 10% for 1 minute, cooldown 12 hours] [Dark Attribute Defense Potion: After injection, increases one¡¯s own Dark Attribute Defense by 10% for 1 minute, cooldown 12 hours] The last Loot Pack contained a Blueprint, but this time there was only one. [Obtained: Dark Night Bracelet Blueprint x1] [Dark Night Bracelet Blueprint: Can be used to craft a Dark Night Bracelet. Required materials: Dark Tooth x1, Fifth Order Crystal Core x1] [Dark Night Bracelet: Attributes unknown] ¡°Another bracelet? It seems to bestow Dark Attributes? But it uses a Fifth Order Crystal Core...¡± Wang Tao was very interested in this bracelet, so he immediately began crafting it. Moments later, the bracelet was crafted. [Dark Night Bracelet] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Attack carries Dark Property Damage, Dark Attribute Attack +20] Chapter 1095 - 1095 441 Omnipotent Shield ?Chapter 1095: Chapter 441 Omnipotent Shield Chapter 1095: Chapter 441 Omnipotent Shield ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised when he saw the attributes of the Dark Night Bracelet. Compared to the Flame Bracelet and the Frost Bracelet, the Dark Night Bracelet also had an ¡°additional attribute damage¡± ability, which was a Dark attribute. However, it also had an extra ¡°Dark Attribute Attack +20¡±! Could this be the difference between a Level 4 and a Level 5 bracelet? Level 4 bracelets only have additional attribute damage, while Level 5 bracelets also increase attribute attack. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time Wang Tao had come across equipment that increased attribute attack! Wang Tao was unsure how strong an additional 20 attribute attack was, but judging from its rarity, it should be quite impressive! The only pity was that the attack was of Dark attribute...Wang Tao didn¡¯t have any Dark abilities or a Dark awakening, and neither did the other team members, so they couldn¡¯t use this thing at all! Wang Tao looked again at the ¡°Mysterious Shadow¡± and ¡°Mental Attack Rebound¡± Crystal Cores in his backpack. These two items were indeed of Dark attribute, but he felt that the remaining two Hidden Attributes, ¡°Body Strengthening¡± and ¡°Plant Affinity,¡± were still decent, and he didn¡¯t really want to replace them... ¡°Let¡¯s put it away for now. I¡¯ll study it in detail later...¡± Theoretically, it would be most suitable for Lan Yulian to wear the bracelet, because whenever she healed someone, she could increase their attribute attack. She could enhance many people with Dark attribute. However, with an additional 20 attribute damage, it would be a waste on Lan Yulian. Moreover, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know the counter relationships of the Dark attribute... Not to mention Dark attribute counters, he didn¡¯t even know how many attributes existed in total. The known attributes first included ¡°Physical,¡± where awakening could improve physical constitution or grant certain physical abilities. System Awakeners in this category were the most numerous. The current ceiling for this system was supposedly the ¡°Giant,¡± a shame he had only seen it among zombies and monsters, not humans. Secondly, there was ¡°Poison.¡± In Changhe City Base, there were quite a few Poison System Awakeners, due to the Energy Crystal Meteorite which spawned Insect Clan Monsters. These monsters might drop a Poison Sac, and consuming it could sometimes grant a Poison-related hidden attribute... Besides Physical and Poison, there was Lan Yulian¡¯s Healing Attribute, the Ice System zombies they encountered, Dark System zombies, Jiang Shixue¡¯s Psychic System, his own Fire System... and then there was Lu Yingfeng¡¯s Awakening, whose ¡°Edge Exposure¡± was unlike anyone else¡¯s, causing a prickling sensation in one¡¯s eyes on eye contact! Wang Tao suspected Lu Yingfeng was an Awakener of the ¡°Metal¡± system. In the theory of the Five Elements, Metal represented hardness, coldness, and a sense of killing, which closely matched Lu Yingfeng¡¯s vibe. He could actually try to prove it, for instance, by having Wang Tao attack Lu Yingfeng to test the damage, after all, isn¡¯t it said that Fire overcomes Metal... Perhaps, the elements of awakening could include Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth? Together with Physical, Poison, Ice, and Dark, they formed a perfect counterbalance. However, speaking of the Dark attribute, Wang Tao also thought, since there is ¡°Dark,¡± could there be ¡°Light¡±? If so, does Dark counter Light, or does Light counter Dark? Shaking his head, Wang Tao was also unclear for now, as he had never seen it, and could only continue to explore in the future. Upon finishing organizing the spoils of war from the Black Fog Zombie Lord, it was time for the main event¡ªthe loot from the Big Hammer Zombie Lord! Being of the same Level 5, Lord class, but the Big Hammer Zombie was much stronger than the Black Fog Zombie. Wang Tao believed the spoils of war should also be better. The Big Hammer Zombie Lord had dropped a total of four physical items and five Loot Packs. Compared to the Black Fog Zombie, each category had one extra item. Wang Tao began with the physical items, the first of which was naturally its very conspicuous Big Hammer. [Obtained: Reinforced Concrete Sledgehammer x1] Equipment that fell from zombies didn¡¯t show its attributes, hence only the name was mentioned. Seeing this name, Wang Tao thought of the Big Hammer Zombie Elite; the hammer in their hands was the ¡°Reinforced Concrete Hammer.¡± One was called a ¡°Big Hammer¡± and the other a ¡°Giant Hammer.¡± A difference of one word, but the power was worlds apart! Wang Tao happened to have a Reinforced Concrete Hammer in his backpack, and he compared it with the Giant Hammer. Originally, the Big Hammer was already large, but placed alongside the Giant Hammer, it looked juvenile... Wang Tao felt that this Level 5 Lord should not be called a Big Hammer Zombie anymore, but a Hammer Zombie! The attributes of this Zombie¡¯s Giant Hammer were not shown, but based on Wang Tao¡¯s experience, it was definitely powerful. However, the problem was, it was too big and heavy, utterly unsuitable as a weapon. Take the Big Hammer for example, it could be used by those with great strength, such as Wang Tao and Xu Xiaojun. However, they could only use it occasionally and not as a daily weapon. This thing consumed too much physical strength and greatly affected their speed. Humans are not zombies; they can¡¯t just stand and take hits. For humans, agility and speed are very important, even more so than attack power... As for this Giant Hammer... Wang Tao weighed it, then repeatedly shook his head. Using this thing would greatly reduce his speed¡ªit was completely impractical for him. Probably only Xiang Hongbin could use it, as he could harness not just his own strength but also the power of Crystal Cores. As long as he went full throttle, swinging the Giant Hammer was possible, but energy would definitely be substantially drained, possibly even leading to overheating of his body... It was still a loss overall. Chapter 1096 - 1096 441 Omnipotent Shield_2 ?Chapter 1096: Chapter 441 Omnipotent Shield_2 Chapter 1096: Chapter 441 Omnipotent Shield_2 So, all things considered, he could only keep the giant hammer in his backpack and occasionally take it out for a burst attack... The second physical spoils of war was the explosion-proof armor from the Hammer Zombie. The reason why the Hammer Zombie¡¯s defensive power was so high was mainly due to this set of explosion-proof armor. It completely safeguarded the Hammer Zombie, who was well protected by his armor; however, it was his helmet that was exceptionally secure, preventing Wang Tao, the ¡°Headshot Maniac,¡± from inflicting any significant damage! If it had exposed its head, perhaps today¡¯s battle wouldn¡¯t have been pushed to such an extreme... [Received: Large Anti-explosion Suit x1] These pieces of equipment made up a complete set referred to as a ¡°Large Anti-explosion Suit,¡± including a helmet, chest armor, belt, leg armor, and combat boots¡ªa total of five pieces. Previously, Wang Tao had also obtained an explosion-proof suit from a zombie, which was just regular clothing with attributes of ¡°Durability +10, Tear Resistance +10, Defensive Power +5, and Movement Speed -5%.¡± But this Large Anti-explosion Suit didn¡¯t offer any additional explanations besides its name, leaving Wang Tao uncertain whether it was considered ¡°combat equipment¡± or just ¡°normal clothing.¡± Typically, you could only wear one piece of equipment or clothing in the same slot, but their attributes could stack. For instance, if you¡¯re already wearing a set of combat equipment, you could still put on a set of clothing on top, provided you could fit into it. Generally speaking, combat equipment is definitely better than clothing, given its superior attributes. However, as for this Large Anti-explosion Suit in front of him... whether it was equipment or clothing, it seemed useless because it was simply too big. Only someone over three meters tall could wear it. No one in their group met that requirement. Still, on the flip side, the loot pack from the zombies might contain blueprints related to it¡ªaccording to Wang Tao¡¯s experience, the materials needed for blueprints are always dropped by zombies. If there were blueprints that could resize this set of clothing to fit a normal human, that would be quite suitable. Thus, Wang Tao continued to look down, and the third physical spoils of war was the Hammer Zombie¡¯s heart. [Received: Strange Heart x1] [Strange Heart: After consumption, there¡¯s a 50% chance of lowering HP and a 50% chance of gaining a Hidden Ability] When Wang Tao saw the heart, he thought it might be a weapon similar to the Night Demon Heart, which excited him momentarily, but it turned out to be an item that could increase Hidden Attributes. It had a fifty percent chance of bestowing a Hidden Attribute, significantly higher than the one-third chance of the Strange Poison Sac. Plus, the only side effect was a reduction in HP, which could be regained by killing more zombies. So in terms of attributes alone, this item was quite good. The issue, however, was that he had to eat this heart! Although it certainly wouldn¡¯t carry the Zombie Virus and became perfectly clean after being stored in Wang Tao¡¯s storage space, it was still a zombie¡¯s heart, which was disgustingly revolting... If it were Wang Tao alone, he would rather forego the Hidden Ability than eat something so repulsive. Of course, he was an Awakener, after all, so this was a matter of speaking without feeling the pain. For those who lacked a Hidden Attribute but were desperate for Awakening, they would likely consume it. What¡¯s a bit of disgust compared to real power? The people in Wang Tao¡¯s team all possessed Hidden Attributes, so they definitely had no use for this heart themselves. Once they returned to the base, they could sell it to others. Presumably, there would be many who wanted it. The last physical spoils of war was the Hammer Zombie¡¯s Crystal Core, a type Wang Tao had never seen before. [Fifth-Order Crystal Core: Omnipotent Shield] [Quality: 80% (Epic)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: Reduces maximum HP by 200,000)] [Omnipotent Shield: Passive Ability, a shield invisible to the naked eye that forms outside the body, blocking any attack but with a limit. When the absorbed damage reaches its threshold, the shield will shatter. Shattered shield can be reformed using Awakening Energy. (Only System Awakeners can use it)] Seeing the attributes of this crystal core, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°No wonder! No wonder the damage I caused to the Hammer Zombie was always zero before! It turns out it had a shield that could block all my attacks!¡± Wang Tao was shocked and then suddenly understood. He remembered that when he had attacked the Hammer Zombie before, he seemed to hear a ¡°snap¡± as if something had shattered, and then his Hellfire was able to cause a hundred thousand damage to the Hammer Zombie. Wang Tao had wondered if he had misheard due to the stress of the battle. But now it seemed that wasn¡¯t the case; the shield of the Hammer Zombie had actually broken! The shield¡¯s endurance was limited, and thankfully Wang Tao didn¡¯t give up and shattered it. If Wang Tao had retreated after seeing that he couldn¡¯t deal any damage, that would have been a huge loss! As for the properties of this shield ability, Wang Tao could only say one word¡ªpowerful! It¡¯s not about how much defense it adds or how much damage it blocks. It can block all attacks! Any damage dealt to the shield is zero! This is the strongest defense ability Wang Tao has seen so far, bar none! Of course, its strength comes with limitations. The first one is that the shield has its limits. Against someone stubborn like Wang Tao, who insists on breaking through defenses before leaving, the shield couldn¡¯t do anything unless it¡¯s particularly thick, thick enough that Wang Tao could never break through. However, this isn¡¯t a disadvantage for Wang Tao. As long as it blocks damage, that¡¯s good. If there were no limits, that wouldn¡¯t be realistic. According to the introduction of this shield, it could block any attack, even those from Level 6 or higher! Even if it has a limit, at the very least, it could block one hit, right? Blocking an attack from a Level 6, even if just once, is still insanely strong. After all, this isn¡¯t simply weathering a hard blow, taking an attack, and losing half your life. It¡¯s causing zero damage to yourself, leaving you completely unscathed! During crucial moments, it¡¯s a lifesaving miracle! If the shield breaks, it can still reconverge, using up some time and Awakening Energy. Wang Tao felt that this [Omnipotent Shield] was tailor-made for him, and of course, not just for him, it would suit anyone using this ability. But this brings us to another limitation¡ªit requires a Level 5 or higher System Awakener to learn! Although Wang Tao¡¯s physical fitness is strong, he isn¡¯t a System Awakener; what he has awakened are Fire System and Psychic System... However, this doesn¡¯t mean Wang Tao has no chance of fusion. He still has two hidden abilities, ¡°Plant Affinity¡± and ¡°Body Strengthening.¡± If things go well, after awakening Body Strengthening, it will be a System ability! So, as long as he can awaken a third or fourth time and then advance to Level 5, he¡¯ll be able to fuse with such a powerful defense crystal core! As for the side effect of this crystal core¡ªdeducting 200,000 HP limit¡ªthat¡¯s something Wang Tao currently doesn¡¯t have enough of. He only has 180,000 HP. But once he ascends to a Level 5 Awakener and awakens his System ability, he¡¯ll surely have more than 200,000 HP, probably enough... Wang Tao also has a similar ability called [Mental Barrier], an active skill that creates a barrier for ten minutes. The barrier has 10,000 HP and can block some mental attacks within that duration. This ability isn¡¯t bad either. However, enemies that utilize mental attacks are rare, and since it needs to be actively initiated, only has 10,000 HP, and can last only ten minutes... Wang Tao doesn¡¯t use it much. Compared to this Omnipotent Shield, the Mental Barrier is just rubbish. Wang Tao can look into whether he can transform this mental barrier into a passive ability similar to the Shield. After all, his Awakening is [Mental Development], and it¡¯s possible to develop various abilities. ¡°What a pity I can¡¯t use the Omnipotent Shield yet!¡± Wang Tao was covetous, but all he could do was covet. However, this also served to increase his motivation to become stronger once again! Chapter 1097 - 1097 442 Explosion-Proof Suit ?Chapter 1097: Chapter 442: Explosion-Proof Suit Chapter 1097: Chapter 442: Explosion-Proof Suit Wang Tao stored the Omnipotent Shield Crystal Core in his storage space, anticipating that he could learn this ability after his Level 5 Ascension and another Awakening. Once equipped with the Omnipotent Shield, even if he encountered enemies much stronger than him, he¡¯d at least have a chance to save his life. Against enemies of the same strength or weaker, it could be like the zero-damage situation he had experienced when attacking the Hammer Zombie, After examining the tangible spoils of war from the Hammer Zombie, next were the Loot Packs. There were five Loot Packs in total; the first held a Crystal Core Gift Bag. Inside the gift bag were five Crystal Cores, consisting of a Red ¡°Fifth Order Crystal Core: Awakening¡±, a Purple ¡°Fifth Order Crystal Core: Promotion¡±, a Blue ¡°Fifth Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence¡±, another Blue ¡°Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength¡±, and an Orange ¡°Fifth Order Crystal Core: Giant Strength Impact¡±. The last Crystal Core was one Wang Tao had never seen before. ¡°Fifth Order Crystal Core: Giant Strength Impact¡± ¡°Quality: 100% (Epic)¡± ¡°Purity: 30% (Side effect: increased physical strength consumption)¡± ¡°Giant Strength Impact: Consumes energy, Awakening Energy, and current HP to swing the weapon in hand towards the ground, causing wide-range shockwave damage (only usable by System Awakeners)¡± This ability was clearly the same wide-range, high-damage ability used by the Hammer Zombie. No wonder the Hammer Zombie lost 50,000 HP; it turned out this ability consumed HP! However, the greater the consumption, the stronger the power. If it weren¡¯t for Lan Yulian and Lightning blocking much damage, they might have almost been annihilated by this move... This Giant Strength Impact ability was impactful, but its restriction, especially the HP consumption, clearly made it unsuitable for frequent use. Nevertheless, it was a powerful ability that could potentially turn the tide in critical moments. However, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t tolerate its side effects as every bit of his physical strength was precious. He always sought ways to conserve energy, and increased consumption would definitely shorten his stamina. In outdoor battles, although bursts of power are important, endurance is crucial especially since the number of enemies is uncertain. So for Wang Tao, although the ability is impactful, unless he could negate the side effects, he would definitely not integrate it. ¡°Let¡¯s see if the others are interested.¡± Wang Tao rubbed his chin. There were quite a few System Awakeners in his team, and he figured they might like it. After storing the Crystal Core, Wang Tao continued to examine the spoils of war. The second Loot Pack contained a physical awakening key, and the third one contained an Awakening Energy Pearl. ¡°Acquired: Awakening Key x1¡± ¡°Acquired: Awakening Energy Pearl x1¡± Both were familiar items but highly valuable. Killing such a powerful Level 5 Monster Lord and not obtaining an Advanced Awakening Secret Key suggested that only ¡°Disaster-class¡± creatures could drop it, regardless of how powerful other Lord Rank creatures might be... Wang Tao needed an Advanced Awakening Secret Key for another awakening, otherwise the chance was too low. He needed three Advanced Awakening Secret Keys for his third awakening, but he had none on hand. ¡°I need to look for information on Disaster-class creatures...¡± Wang Tao remembered the Level 5 Catastrophe-Level Radiation Zombie he had seen in Wuyang City; it was the first time he had encountered a Disaster-level zombie. If he couldn¡¯t find any, perhaps a trip back to Wuyang City was due. However, there was an issue; that zombie was already Level 5 back then, what if it had ascended to Level 6 by now? He wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against it, even a Level 5 would be difficult. After all, just being near a Disaster-class creature continuously drained HP... ¡°I¡¯ll check that later, it would be best to trace other Disaster-class creatures, ideally Level 4...¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao went back to examining the spoils of war. The fourth Loot Pack contained potions. ¡°Obtained: Elemental Amplification Potion x5¡± ¡°Elemental Amplification Potion: After injection, all elemental attributes increase by 10% for 1 minute with a cooldown of 24 hours.¡± ¡°Huh? Good stuff!¡± The pack contained only five potions, but these instantly caught Wang Tao¡¯s eye. He still had many Strength Potions and Defense Potions, but their effect durations were short and cooldowns long, so Wang Tao rarely used potions. Generally, battles he faced were of two kinds: those he couldn¡¯t win, where more potions were useless, and those he could win, which didn¡¯t require potions. Such prolonged battles as today¡¯s were rare currently, leaving little opportunity for potion use. Moreover, Wang Tao¡¯s greatest damage capabilities came from Awakening abilities related to Fire and spiritual power, not physical qualities. Strength Potions wouldn¡¯t enhance his Awakening damage; thus, even during explosive engagements, these potions offered little benefit to him. But this Elemental Amplification Potion was different. It was somewhat similar to the Ice Attribute Enhancement Potion but enhanced all attributes, not just Ice. It could boost both his Fire and spiritual power! An increase of 10% in elemental attributes could equate to his Awakening damage increasing by 10%, right? Even if it were not 10%, any boost to Awakening damage was significant. In the future, during explosive moments, he could try an Elemental Amplification Potion and see its effects. Chapter 1098 - 1098 442 Explosion-Proof Suit_2 ?Chapter 1098: Chapter 442: Explosion-Proof Suit_2 Chapter 1098: Chapter 442: Explosion-Proof Suit_2 ¡°However, unlike the ice attribute potion, both of these potions last for 1 minute, but the Elemental Amplification Potion has a cooldown time of 24 hours, while the Ice Attribute Enhancement Potion is 12 hours. That¡¯s the difference between being able to use it once or twice a day. However, for Wang Tao, it doesn¡¯t make much of an impact. After all, these potions are obviously used for burst scenario, whether it¡¯s 12 hours or 24 hours, it¡¯s pretty much the same to him¡ªhe couldn¡¯t possibly prolong a battle to the point of using the second potion...¡± I put away the potions, looking toward the last Loot Pack. This also contained something I was eagerly anticipating¡ªBlueprints! [Obtained: Sturdy Blast-Resistant Suit Blueprint x1] [Obtained: Impact Hammer Blueprint x1] [Sturdy Blast-Resistant Suit Blueprint: Can be used to craft an explosion-proof suit, required materials: any Explosion-Proof Suit x1, Level 5 Crystal Core x1, Iron Blocks x40, Nails x40, Rubber x40, Screws x40, Steel Wire x40] [Sturdy Blast-Resistant Suit: Attributes unknown] [Impact Hammer Blueprint: Can be used to craft a giant hammer, required materials: any hammer x1, Level 5 Crystal Core x1] [Impact Hammer: Attributes unknown] There were two blueprints in total, one for an explosion-proof suit and one for a giant hammer. This surprise by Wang Tao, since the items dropped by the Hammer Zombie included an explosion-proof suit and hammers, but those items weren¡¯t usable. If they could be modified and upgraded with the blueprints, that would clearly be ideal. Wang Tao had all these materials on hand, so he went right to crafting. Moments later, both items were crafted one after the other. Wang Tao first examined the first explosion-proof suit. The previous explosion-proof suit dropped from zombies was too large for a normal person to wear, whereas now, after crafting with the blueprint, its appearance had become more refined, and it shrank to a size that a normal person could use. [Sturdy Blast-Resistant Set] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Durability +400, Defense +300, Ice attribute defense +50, Speed -10%, Ability: Not Inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] ¡°Holy crap!¡± Seeing the attributes of this set, Wang Tao was somewhat shocked. Durability added by 400, this was the highest durability equipment he had seen so far! Up until now, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t discovered a way to restore durability, so when an equipment¡¯s durability hit zero, that equipment would be scrapped. The higher the durability, the longer the equipment could be used. Of course, Wang Tao only experienced the durability hitting zero once, when he barely survived the encounter with the Flame Zombie. Aside from that, the durability of his equipment had been well maintained. But that¡¯s because Wang Tao was quick, and didn¡¯t usually get hit. Plus, he rotated his equipment frequently, changing sets now and then. If there were fewer opportunities to switch equipment in the future, or if the battles became more intense, then durability would indeed be vital. And this equipment, with 400 durability, was estimated to last him a very long time. However, for this equipment, durability wasn¡¯t the key point; it was the defense it provided. This set actually straight up added 300 defense! This was absolutely the highest defense cap Wang Tao had seen! Although Wang Tao had a set of Black Iron Heavy Armor, that set claimed to add 100-300 defense, which depended on the wearer¡¯s size. With Wang Tao¡¯s size, it could only add 130. He guessed that only after triggering a Berserk state and growing larger would he get more defense, but Berserk was triggered when HP fell below 30%, and he certainly didn¡¯t like to be in such a state; he hoped it never happened... Of course, even 130 wasn¡¯t a small amount, but it reduced speed by 20%, whether attack speed or movement speed, which was a major decrease for Wang Tao. So usually, Wang Tao did not wear the Giant¡¯s Heavy Armor Set. But this set of equipment was different; it straight up added 300 defense! 300 defense ah, just how safe would he be wearing this, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t even dare to imagine. Even it didn¡¯t just add 300 to the defensive power but also an extra 50 to the ice attribute defense! The anti-freeze armor top acquired before also added ice attribute defense, but it only added 20, while this suit directly added 50! With that 300 defensive power and 50 ice attribute defense, it¡¯s definitely the current ceiling for defense equipment, and it¡¯s unlikely to be surpassed any time soon. Not to mention it has a slot for embedding a crystal core, adding yet another ability. Of course, this piece of equipment isn¡¯t without its drawbacks; the downside is it reduces speed by 10%. For Wang Tao, reduced speed is intolerable, but for this set of equipment... it seems bearable! Before this sturdy blast-resistant set, the strongest defensive equipment Wang Tao had was the black iron heavy armor. That set, although it added an exaggerated 200 defensive power, reduced speed by 50%... For Wang Tao, this was a significant handicap. He would only use the black iron heavy armor on special occasions; normally, he would wear the Night Demon set. But this set was different, reducing only 10% of speed. If Wang Tao¡¯s requirements weren¡¯t so high, he could wear this set under normal circumstances. ¡°This set should be kept, both I and my teammates can wear it.¡± There were several system awakeners in Wang Tao¡¯s team, and this set felt very suitable for them. In the future, depending on the situation, whoever needs to attract enemy fire could wear it. As for which crystal core to embed, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have many level 5 crystal cores in hand, seemingly nothing to embed... ¡°Why not try this?¡± Wang Tao suddenly produced a red crystal core. [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Ice Attribute Defense], this was the crystal core obtained from killing a dark fog zombie. Wang Tao thought it should work, so he decided to give it a try. After all, it¡¯s unlikely anyone on his team would integrate with this core, and since it¡¯s level 5, even if someone wanted to integrate, it wasn¡¯t something that could be done just anytime... ¡°Sure enough, it works!¡± Moments later, the crystal core was successfully embedded. At the same time, some attributes of the suit changed. [Durability +400, Defensive Power +300, Ice Attribute Defense +100, Speed -10%, Ability: Ice Attribute Defense (Activated)] The previous ice attribute defense was added by 50, and now after successfully embedding the crystal core, the ice attribute defense increased by 100! That¡¯s an extra 50 points! This number might not seem much, but compared to before, it¡¯s double the improvement! 100 ice attribute defense¡ªthis should reduce a significant amount of attack from frozen zombies, right? Especially since the suit¡¯s own defensive power is also substantial! Wang Tao planned to test out the frozen zombies¡¯ attack power wearing this blast-resistant suit later. If he could indeed withstand zombie attacks amid the horde, dealing with these frozen zombies would be much simpler later on¡ªjust needed one person to attract the zombies in the herd, while the others could attack the zombies crazily! Wang Tao stored away the sturdy blast-resistant set, then turned his attention to the big hammer. The original reinforced concrete sledgehammer was just a hammer that looked big and rudimentary in every other aspect. But now, after the blueprint upgrade, the hammer with black color and blood-red patterns had a fierce beauty about it, no longer looking as shabby as before. Of course, the size was still the same as before, a two-handed giant hammer with a long handle that most people wouldn¡¯t be able to lift, let alone use. [Impact Hammer] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Durability +150, Attack Power +150, Attack Speed -50%, comes with a certain amount of dizziness effect. Ability: Not Inlaid (Requires Awakening Energy Activation)] [Dizziness: The body cannot move for a short time] ¡°Hisss¡ª¡± Seeing the attributes of this giant hammer, Wang Tao could hardly believe it. Attack power plus 150? The fourth-order sharp long knife he was using had an additional attack power of 80; his backup weapon, the level 5 Night Demon short knife, had an extra 100; Jiang Shixue¡¯s level 5 Night Demon dagger had an additional 90... That is to say, this giant hammer¡¯s attack power greatly exceeds level 5 equipment? Chapter 1099 - 1099 443 Impact Hammer ?Chapter 1099: Chapter 443: Impact Hammer Chapter 1099: Chapter 443: Impact Hammer An attack power of 150 was the highest Wang Tao had ever seen in attack equipment, bar none. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly how much damage these attack numbers would bring. But among Level 5 equipment, the Night Demon Short Knife only had an attack of 100, while this Impact Hammer had an attack of 150, a 50% increase! How much could that increase the damage? Even if it didn¡¯t result in a 50% damage boost, it was likely to be substantial. Speaking of attack power, Wang Tao suddenly remembered a piece of equipment he owned. With a thought, a crystal clear black bracelet appeared on his wrist. [Flowing Bracelet] [Level Four (Epic)] [Wearer¡¯s HP decreases by 1% per second (capping at 99%), attack power increases by 1% per second (capping at 99%).] This was a powerful yet highly restrictive item that Wang Tao had obtained earlier. He hadn¡¯t used it in actual combat yet. The percentage-based HP loss was simply too ruthless; in less than two minutes, his attack power could increase by a maximum of 99%, but his HP would decrease by 99%! The rate of HP loss was so fast that not even Lan Yulian might be able to heal it... Out in the wilderness hunting zombies was not a game. There was only one life to live, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare risk experimenting with the bracelet¡¯s effects, especially since he didn¡¯t possess a resurrection scroll. His life was truly singular. For his battle with the Hammer Zombie, Wang Tao had never considered using this piece of equipment. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t, or else if the Hammer Zombie had managed to hit him, whether he¡¯d die or not was uncertain, but he¡¯d definitely trigger the Frenzy passive state... Now Wang Tao was wondering, what would the theoretical damage be like if he combined the [Impact Hammer] with the [Flowing Bracelet]? An attack of 150, increased by 99%... Nearly 300 attack power! Who could withstand such a high attack? Probably not even a Level 5 Zombie, right? Wang Tao felt somewhat eager to try; he really wanted to experience what it was like to have such a high attack value. Then, his gaze shifted to a ring on his hand. [Life Ring] [Level Four (Epic)] [Accumulates HP upon kills, stored HP can be used for the wearer; current stored HP: 100,000/100,000.] This item, which he acquired together with the [Flowing Bracelet], could store up to 100,000 HP, much like a blood replenishing pack. It was one of Wang Tao¡¯s life-saving trump cards, and he hadn¡¯t used it today. Because gathering that amount of HP wasn¡¯t something that could be done in a short time, and now with the healer Lan Yulian there, she could just heal him instead. And this ring could be used in conjunction with the Flowing Bracelet! Plus, having Lan Yulian nearby... Wang Tao felt that perhaps he could really give it a try later, confirming the safety, as he was curious to know the highest damage his attack could deal. Speaking of the Impact Hammer, besides its frighteningly high attack, it had an additional attribute¡ªDizziness. [Dizziness: The body is unable to move for a short period.] This was the first time Wang Tao encountered the Dizziness attribute, and according to the introduction, this attribute seemed quite interesting. It could incapacitate a person for a short time? Then this was akin to a very strong Control Ability! In actual combat, both damage and defense were certainly important, but Control Ability was also crucial. Especially in team battles, if you could control the enemy, even if just for a second, then in that very second, everyone could unleash all their attacks and possibly kill the enemy instantly! However, while powerful, individuals with Control Ability were scarce, a capability as rare as Healing. Up to this point, Wang Tao had only encountered about four types of Control Ability. The first was the Slime Grenade he obtained from a vomiting zombie. It was handy in the early stages and helped him greatly. But now, facing Level 4 and higher enemies, the grenade wasn¡¯t as effective. Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack still had quite a few Slime Grenades, and he hadn¡¯t used them in a long time. The second was his own [Mental Development] Awakening. Previously, he could control weaker zombies at close range, but now that he had awakened [Mental Development], all psychic Abilitys had vanished, and he could simulate similar powers. It was a process requiring time, and as it wasn¡¯t currently a priority for Wang Tao, he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to it. The third was Jiang Shixue¡¯s Awakening [String Puppet], a capability to control the opponent¡¯s mind, which was quite powerful, and Wang Tao felt it had high potential. However, it came with substantial limitations; it was feasible to control enemies of the same level, but controlling those above one¡¯s own level was difficult. The last was Little Bing¡¯s [Frost Shot], which could directly freeze zombies. Its damage wasn¡¯t high, but it had strong Control Ability and could last for a long time. Wang Tao liked this ability a lot. However, as it was tied to her Awakening, which had limited energy, she couldn¡¯t use it constantly... Now, the Dizziness attribute on this giant hammer was the fifth type of Control Ability Wang Tao had seen. It was different from the others he had encountered, which were all active and came with a significant cost. Dizziness was a Passive Ability on the hammer that didn¡¯t require activation and seemed to have no energy consumption. But it was subject to a factor of luck... If the probability of triggering Dizziness was decent, and one¡¯s attack speed was fast enough, wouldn¡¯t one be able to keep their enemy immobilized indefinitely? Chapter 1100 - 1100 443 Impact Hammer_2 ?Chapter 1100: Chapter 443: Impact Hammer_2 Chapter 1100: Chapter 443: Impact Hammer_2 ¡°` Wang Tao quickly shook his head. Theoretically, it might work that way, but it was a pity that it wouldn¡¯t in reality. The reason was that the Impact Hammer had a major side effect¡ªAttack Speed -50%! Wang Tao had seen many pieces of equipment that reduced speed, and this 50% reduction was one of the ceilings. His first creation, the Worn Battle Axe, had an attack speed reduction of 5% to 50%. The reason for the variability was that it was related to one¡¯s own strength. As long as one had enough strength, the reduction in attack speed would be less. But the Impact Hammer was different. It fixedly reduced attack speed by 50%, regardless of how strong you were. This must be akin to a ¡°rule-like¡± power. Unless there were pieces of equipment that increased attack speed to offset it, no amount of strength would make a difference. The Black Iron Heavy Armor suit in Wang Tao¡¯s backpack also had a Speed -50% attribute, which was even more ruthless, reducing both attack speed and movement at the same time. Even with his physical condition, it was impossible to negate... So whether it was he, Xu Xiaojun, or Xiang Hongbin using the hammer, they would all suffer from the negative enhancement of Attack Speed -50%... Such a significant reduction in speed rendered Wang Tao¡¯s idea of ¡°infinite dizziness with high attack speed¡± useless. But it wasn¡¯t all bad news¡ªthe hammer didn¡¯t reduce movement speed. That suggested that as long as one was strong enough, they could perhaps be quite agile while wielding the hammer... right? In any case, the hammer was powerful, but its limitations were significant, and it was also luck-based. It was a piece of equipment with very clear pros and cons. For Wang Tao, its advantages outweighed its disadvantages. Even if the attack speed was greatly reduced, it was possible to kill in one hit, which would actually be more convenient. If it could be combined with the Ability ¡°Massive Impact,¡± it would be even better, potentially replicating the Hammer Zombie¡¯s move¡ªsmashing down, shattering all Level 4 and even Level 5 zombies within an area larger than a soccer field with a Shockwave... Just thinking about it was thrilling! Wang Tao tried the Impact Hammer. It was very heavy but within a range he could handle. So Wang Tao took it out for others to try as well, and he also brought out the Explosion-Proof Suit. ¡°Eh?¡± Seeing the hammer and the Explosion-Proof Suit, Qu Shilin was very curious. She had seen Wang Tao bring back the Hammer Zombie¡¯s spoils of war, but when the Tendril brought them back, they weren¡¯t like this! How had they changed so much in such a short time? The others were already accustomed to such oddities and weren¡¯t surprised. ¡°These pieces of equipment are very nice...¡± Wang Tao gave everyone a brief introduction. He didn¡¯t discuss specific data, since others wouldn¡¯t understand the concept of the data. He simply stated that the Explosion-Proof Suit was the highest Defense equipment currently available, and the hammer had the highest Attack power. Hearing these two ¡°highest¡± descriptions, everyone was somewhat excited, especially a few of the men, who really wanted to give them a try. ¡°Try them out and see how they work.¡± Wang Tao handed the equipment to them. ¡°Wow! So heavy!¡± He Jijun was quite surprised; the actual weight of the hammer was much heavier than it appeared! But since he was a System Awakener, he could still wield it mightily. After a round of testing, everyone could use the Explosion-Proof Suit, but only Wang Tao, He Jijun, Xiang Hongbin, Lu Gang, Xu Xiaojun, and Jiang Shixue were able to use the Impact Hammer. Others could lift it, but using such heavy equipment in combat would be very laborious. Even for Wang Tao and the others, it was somewhat taxing. If anyone could handle it without effort, it would be Xiang Hongbin, but at the cost of consuming more Crystal Core Energy. He wouldn¡¯t last long otherwise, or he¡¯d overheat. So, all things considered, the Explosion-Proof Suit could be used by anyone who needed it, but the weapon could only be used at specific times. It wasn¡¯t suitable for regular combat. Wang Tao felt the most suitable time would be when a System Awakener reached Level 5, and learned the Ability ¡°Massive Impact.¡± Only then would the hammer¡¯s full advantages be unleashed... Wang Tao checked everyone¡¯s HP; it had mostly recovered quite a bit, but because of their injuries, it was estimated that it would take at least a day or two to return to a Full Peak State. ¡°Let¡¯s just stay here and heal up over these next two days. Once our injuries are mostly healed, we can head out again.¡± Wang Tao said to everyone. ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°` Everyone naturally wouldn¡¯t overestimate their capabilities. Venturing out in their current condition would be tantamount to disregarding their own lives. ¡°Right, there¡¯s also this thing...¡± Wang Tao took out the ¡°Mysterious Shadow¡± and ¡°Strange Heart.¡± The zombies had been killed by everyone working together, so it was only fair not to hide any good loot. ¡°I call this the ¡®Mysterious Shadow,¡¯ and this is the ¡®Strange Heart¡¯...¡± Wang Tao explained these two items to everyone. Hearing that both items could grant Hidden Attributes, everyone was somewhat surprised; such valuable items had not been seen by them in a long time. Moreover, the Mysterious Shadow guaranteed 100% chance of granting a Hidden Attribute, and although the heart wasn¡¯t a sure bet, at 50% it was still much better than those Strange Poison Sacs. ¡°Does anyone want to merge with them?¡± Wang Tao asked with a smile. The good items were certainly to be used up internally first, and anything not needed by the group would then be sold to outsiders. Everyone looked at each other and then shook their heads. Most of them already had Hidden Attributes, and to merge again would mean undergoing a Second Awakening. But Wang Tao¡¯s next plan was to have those whose first Awakening had failed to try again, with the goal of getting everyone to awaken. If they went through a Second Awakening, it would inevitably consume resources meant for those who had not yet awakened, which would disrupt the plan... Furthermore, Wang Tao had mentioned that a Second Awakening was best done with an Advanced Awakening Secret Key, but they didn¡¯t have any at the moment. So even if they acquired a Hidden Attribute, it wouldn¡¯t be very useful. Thus, it was better to save the items for later. Whoever needed them could use them in the future; after all, the items wouldn¡¯t expire. Moreover, to be honest, although they also wanted to become stronger, they preferred to focus resources on Wang Tao, as this was more cost-effective. They were the team¡¯s lower limit, while Wang Tao was their upper limit. The lower limit just needed to avoid holding the team back, but if the upper limit increased, it opened up limitless possibilities. ¡°What about you, Chen Zhuang?¡± Wang Tao looked at Chen Zhuang, the only person in their team without a Hidden Attribute. Previously, he had consumed a Strange Poison Sac and ended up poisoned... So now he didn¡¯t even have a Hidden Attribute. ¡°Actually, I wish to awaken a Healing Ability...¡± Chen Zhuang scratched his head. He was originally a surgeon, but the fall of the base had forced him onto the path of killing zombies. Yet, he still held a fondness for the medical profession, especially now in the post-apocalyptic world where helping others brought him a strong sense of accomplishment. He felt that his previous poisoning was perhaps providence, a sign not to abandon the medical profession. Plus, he genuinely liked it, so now he wanted to see if it was possible to choose... ¡°A Healing Ability... Sure! I¡¯ll keep an eye out for you.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The Mysterious Shadow was of the Dark Series, and the Strange Heart belonged to the System; clearly, neither was likely to awaken a Healing Ability. To awaken a Healing Attribute, one must obtain a Hidden Attribute related to healing. This would definitely be tricky, as Healing zombies or monsters were rare. However, rare didn¡¯t mean nonexistent; Wang Tao had encountered them before, and it was possible that Level 4 Lords or higher might drop related items. Moreover, for their team, having an additional healer would be a good thing, easing the burden on Jade Lotus. Especially since Chen Zhuang was already a professional when it came to medical treatment and saving lives. ¡°Thank you!¡± Chen Zhuang immediately expressed his gratitude. ¡°Haha, no need for formalities among our own!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Um... could I buy one?¡± At this moment, Qu Shilin, who had been quiet until now, raised her hand. Chapter 1101 - 1101 444 Spiritual Inspiration ?Chapter 1101: Chapter 444 Spiritual Inspiration Chapter 1101: Chapter 444 Spiritual Inspiration Qu Shilin, though a mere level 5 combatant, didn¡¯t mean she didn¡¯t wish to become stronger. Of course, her motives for gaining strength probably differed from others¡ªwhile most sought power to survive, she desired it... purely for the sake of research. Without personal experience, non-awakeners could hardly understand what it felt like to be an awakener, much less study them. Should she become an awakener, the results would undoubtedly be different. However, becoming an awakener was a challenge. Luck wasn¡¯t on her side; she lacked Hidden Attributes and would have to find another way. She was aware of items like [Strange Poison Sac], but they were hard for her to obtain, since even if they appeared on the market, they would first be provided to combat personnel. They were rare, and not necessarily available for purchase at any price. And the chances of success were not high... But now things were different. Wang Tao had already acquired two items that could increase Hidden Attributes in a short time, both far superior to the Poison Sac! And the people in Wang Tao¡¯s team didn¡¯t need them¡ªwhich was shocking enough, were these people all either non-awakeners or possessed the potential to become one? Terrifying! But that wasn¡¯t the point; the point was they didn¡¯t need them! So Qu Shilin raised her hand. She wasn¡¯t sure if Wang Tao would sell to her, but it was worth a try. Seeing the eager look in Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes, Wang Tao was slightly surprised, but then not so surprised¡ªafter all, the chance to become an awakener was naturally attractive. Thus, Wang Tao spoke up directly: ¡°Selling it to you is no problem; you want it for research, right? But are you sure you want to merge with these two? The one with the heart is probably a System, and it¡¯s got only a fifty percent success rate. The Shadow one will succeed upon fusion with a success rate of one hundred percent, but it¡¯ll awaken a Dark Series Ability... If you¡¯re doing it for combat, then merging these two Hidden Attributes would be fine, but if it¡¯s for research purposes, I personally wouldn¡¯t recommend it...¡± ¡°Ah? Then what you¡¯re suggesting is...¡± ¡°Psychic System! I think a Psychic Awakener is more suited for research. Like myself...¡± Wang Tao said, glancing at Qu Shilin. She immediately felt like her secrets were laid bare in front of Wang Tao, as if she had no secrets at all! This sensation made Qu Shilin somewhat uncomfortable, as nobody likes to be completely exposed to another¡¯s gaze, yet she also found it intriguing... She was certain this was no illusion but that Wang Tao had used some method on her, truly seeing right through her! In fact, Wang Tao had indeed seen through her. With Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power, others had little to hide from him¡ªit was like they were all streaking, and he could see right through them, literally, like X-ray vision. Spiritual power could penetrate everything, unless it encountered someone especially powerful, or another Psychic Awakener, as they could block Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t that perverted, deliberately viewing others unclothed¡ªthat would be an eyesore. He had just casually glanced at Qu Shilin, allowing her to experience the sensation. ¡°This is spiritual power; you can see many things invisible to the naked eye, no detail can escape your vision. For a moment, you might even feel like a creator... it¡¯s not easy to describe this feeling; it can only be experienced. But I think if you can awaken Psychic Abilities, it would greatly aid your research.¡± ¡°Spiritual power...¡± Qu Shilin murmured to herself, her eyes shining brightly. But then she quickly thought of something, giving Wang Tao a strange look. ¡°Wait, aren¡¯t you a Fire Awakened? How can you...¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve awakened twice. In addition to Fire, I¡¯ve also awakened Psychic Abilities.¡± Wang Tao said calmly. ¡°... You can awaken twice?¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s mouth hung open, she had never heard of a Second Awakening. ¡°Based on my conjecture, a person can awaken up to four times, much like merging with four different Abilities.¡± ¡°...¡± Qu Shilin was hearing this for the first time, unable to imagine how difficult it was to awaken once, let alone twice, thrice, or even four times! Wang Tao had awakened twice; no wonder he was so formidable! While shocked internally, Qu Shilin also carefully considered Wang Tao¡¯s words. The spiritual power he spoke of truly enticed her... ¡°Then, should I wait a bit longer?¡± Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao, hesitant. She didn¡¯t want to miss this opportunity, but Wang Tao did have a point. ¡°My advice would be to wait a bit longer. If I encounter Psychic zombies or monsters and obtain items related to the Psychic System, I could hold onto them for you. Of course, if you¡¯re unwilling to wait, you can also use these two items now...¡± Wang Tao felt the Psychic System was the most suitable for research and Qu Shilin¡¯s scientific capabilities were exceptionally strong. If she could awaken Psychic Abilities, it would be like adding wings to a tiger. While she could awaken now and attempt a Second Awakening later, the difficulty of a Second Awakening was immense and completely unnecessary; it would also be somewhat of a waste for her. It would be better to wait, and if a chance arose, it would be a huge gain! ¡°Alright! I¡¯ll trust you and wait.¡± Qu Shilin stopped hesitating and immediately nodded. She believed Wang Tao and his team were too strong; if not now, she would surely have a chance later, so she could afford to wait. Chapter 1102 - 1102 444 Spiritual Inspiration_2 ?Chapter 1102: Chapter 444 Spiritual Inspiration_2 Chapter 1102: Chapter 444 Spiritual Inspiration_2 Wang Tao finished discussing with Qu Shilin, then said to everyone: ¡°Let¡¯s assign the night watch duties...¡± Someone definitely needed to be on duty during the night; there was no room for carelessness. ¡°I¡¯ll take the first shift. Who¡¯s with me?¡± Wang Tao looked at the group. ¡°Me!¡± Qu Shilin raised her hand again. ¡°All right, the people for the second shift...¡± No one had any objections to Wang Tao¡¯s arrangements. The people on guard didn¡¯t need to be particularly strong, they just needed to be able to monitor the surveillance. Not to mention that Wang Tao was there. It didn¡¯t take long for the group to settle on who would take which shifts, and the rest immediately went to sleep, leaving Wang Tao and Qu Shilin behind. The two of them went to the surveillance room, checked everything over to ensure there were no issues, and just as Wang Tao was about to speak, Qu Shilin suddenly stepped in front of him, her face serious as she said: ¡°Wang Tao, thank you for today!¡± Naturally, she was referring to how Wang Tao had rescued her from the Hammer Zombie earlier that day. In that situation, she hadn¡¯t been able to react, and even if she had, she wouldn¡¯t have been able to dodge given her strength ¨C after all, the Shockwave had a very wide range! If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t thrown her out of the way and split the Shockwave in two with a sheer forceful cut, she might have already been reduced to a pile of minced meat. This was a genuine lifesaving favor! Wang Tao had been busy before, and she hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to say much, but now that there was time, saying thank you was the least she could do. ¡°We¡¯re friends; no need to be so formal!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand and then patted Little Bing, who was lying on his shoulder. He had not only saved Qu Shilin but also Little Bing and Little Huo. The two little martens were not particularly strong and clearly wouldn¡¯t have survived the hit. At the time, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t thought too much about it ¨C he felt he could handle it and then he just did it. That was all. ¡°I won¡¯t say anything superfluous. Anyway, if you ever need my help in the future, just give me the word!¡± Qu Shilin slapped her chest heartily. ¡°Sure! I won¡¯t be shy about it.¡± Wang Tao smiled. They chatted and kept an eye on the monitors as they talked. After two shifts later, the night passed without incident. The next morning, as Wang Tao was sleeping, he felt something licking his face. When he opened his eyes, it was Little Huo. After waking up Wang Tao, Little Huo immediately ran off to play with Little Bing, which left Wang Tao shaking his head, somewhat speechless. The two little martens¡¯ Awakenings were different, and so were their personalities. Little Bing was more tranquil, preferring to rest quietly on Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder, while Little Huo was mischievous, and after getting familiar with Wang Tao, liked to frolic and play with him. Wang Tao checked the time; it was already 8 a.m. But the sky outside was still very dim. After a simple wash-up, Wang Tao went out to check, and everyone was up, looking much better than yesterday, but still injured. ¡°Hey? Wang Tao, you¡¯re all right now?¡± Seeing Wang Tao, Qu Shilin was visibly shocked. She had been on duty and resting with Wang Tao the night before, and could tell that his condition had not been great. But now, although she couldn¡¯t see his exact HP, she could tell that he looked full of energy, which wasn¡¯t the appearance of someone injured. Had he fully recovered from all his injuries just from sleeping? ¡°I¡¯m fine now, all thanks to sister-in-law.¡± Faced with Qu Shilin¡¯s surprise, Wang Tao showed a big grin and then looked over at Ding Yuqin. His overnight recovery to the peak condition was thanks to his own [Mental Development] Awakening and the Hidden Attributes of Ding Yuqin¡¯s Blood Pack. After all, his Awakening had merged with the Ability of [Yin Yang Harmony]. Ding Yuqin shot Wang Tao a slightly red-faced glare, then handed over the steaming hot breakfast. Qu Shilin glanced at Wang Tao and then at Ding Yuqin, whose face was blushing. She wondered if it was really like what she was thinking. But... could that kind of thing really heal? Was it true? It seemed miraculous? Ignoring the bewildered Qu Shilin, Wang Tao watched everyone¡¯s status while eating breakfast. Although his injuries had completely healed, the others were not faring as well. Even with the aid of the Jade Lotus¡¯s healing, they were not going to be able to go out today. ¡°How about this, today we¡¯ll open up the Meteorites!¡± Wang Tao suddenly said to the group. Staying put was a waste of time; they might as well make use of it. ¡°Er, won¡¯t we be dragging you down?¡± Wei Zhen Guo scratched his head. ¡°That won¡¯t happen, I¡¯ve got quite a few Level 4 Meteorites here, we¡¯ll just open those.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Hearing it was a Level 4 Meteorite, everyone relaxed. If it had been Level 5 and monsters came out from it, they, as the injured, might indeed have been a drag, but Level 4 was no problem because Wang Tao could handle it easily on his own. ¡°Alright, then we¡¯ll take care of safety precautions, and you go on and open it!¡± Everyone checked the surroundings and closely monitored again to make sure there were no problems, and only then did Wang Tao take out the meteorite. He had a total of 48 Crystal Energy Star Meteorites in hand, among which there were 3 Level 6, 15 Level 5, and 30 Level 4. Wang Tao also had quite a number of Level 5 Crystal Cores, but with many wounded still around, for safety¡¯s sake, it was better not to open Level 5 ones. These 30 Level 4 Meteorites were all red, orange high-quality meteorites that required a more significant number of Crystal Cores to activate. However, Wang Tao had long since exchanged for the corresponding Crystal Cores, which was just small change for him. ¡°Do any of you want to give it a try?¡± Wang Tao suddenly looked at the crowd. They all shook their heads rapidly. They knew very well how unlucky they were; if they were the ones to open meteorites, it would just be a waste. When it came to luck, Wang Tao was the man, no contest. ¡°What about you?¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders, then looked towards Qu Shilin. ¡°Can I really?¡± Qu Shilin was quite interested. The Energy Crystal Meteorite had been around for a long time, but she¡¯d never opened one herself. There was no helping it, since the meteorites could spawn monsters, they were not allowed to be opened within the base; one could only open them outside. Outside the base, she was merely a protected role, without much say, and no one would let her open one. Nor would she actively ask to go open one; if she made a loss, both parties would undoubtedly feel uncomfortable, needlessly offending people. ¡°If you want to, you can give it a try.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. After all, it¡¯s just a Level 4 Meteorite, and with him around, there wouldn¡¯t be any accidents. ¡°Ok! Then can I try opening just one? Just one!¡± Qu Shilin walked over to Wang Tao¡¯s side, looking at the Level 4 Meteorites laid out on the snowy ground, she picked the smallest excellent quality meteorite. ¡°This one then!¡± After all, it was all Wang Tao¡¯s property, if it made a loss, then a smaller meteorite should result in a smaller loss, right? Qu Shilin placed the Crystal Core on the meteorite in succession. As the red light in the Crystal Core flickered, there was a ¡®crack,¡¯ and the meteorite split open. A black shadow immediately darted out from the meteorite, landing on the school¡¯s plaza, and then began to grow rapidly! ¡°...My luck is so bad, the first meteorite opened up a monster...¡± Qu Shilin was a bit dumbfounded. She had been hoping to open a weapon, or some high-quality Crystal Core, but it turned out to be a monster... But Wang Tao laughed. ¡°No, this is good luck.¡± Before Wang Tao had finished speaking, he had already rushed over, knife in hand, towards the monster. What stood before them was an Insect Clan Monster, resembling a large rat. It was entirely black, over two meters tall, round and plump, with armored shell segments and rows of legs beneath. At the front was its head, adorned with two antennae, several black eyes, and a somewhat unnerving three-lobed mouth. [HP: 150,000/150,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Spiritual Inspiration] [Spiritual Inspiration: Causes nearby companions to be mentally exhilarated, enhancing their combat power.] Seeing the monster¡¯s Attributes, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Just last night he said that if he came across something that could get a Psychic System Hidden Attribute, he¡¯d save it for Qu Shilin, and today, here was a Psychic System Monster? However, its Awakening seemed quite interesting! Chapter 1103 - 1103 445 Magical Consciousness ?Chapter 1103: Chapter 445: Magical Consciousness Chapter 1103: Chapter 445: Magical Consciousness ¡°` Bang! Wang Tao¡¯s blade struck the Insect Clan Monster. [-8341] [-834] [...] ¡°Damn, its defense is that high?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised to see the damage numbers. His blow had barely surpassed ten thousand in damage, but this insect¡¯s defensive power was comparable to some Level 5 Lords! However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t panicked; after all, he had dealt with too many zombies that were good at defense and had experience in handling them. Taking advantage of the Insect Clan Monster¡¯s delayed counter-attack, Wang Tao slashed again, dealing just over ten thousand damage. Most monsters would be stiff when they emerged from a Meteorite. Although Wang Tao managed to slash a few times during this period, the Insect Clan Monster quickly recovered and started to twist its head to attack Wang Tao. Its attack method was simple ¡ª it used its head to ram! After dodging continuously a few times, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. He had been guarding against its psychic system attacks, even keeping the others away, as mental attacks are often unpredictable and hard to defend against. But it turned out the Insect Clan Monster didn¡¯t use any psychic abilities at all and was attacking with its body instead. Although it had high defense, its speed wasn¡¯t fast, and Wang Tao was much quicker. He excelled and enjoyed dealing with these kinds of ¡°dumb¡± enemies the most. Soon, the Insect Clan Monster was down to half its HP. Then, it suddenly let out a roar to the sky, and a faint red ring of light emanated from the top of its head, quickly spreading outwards! The circle¡¯s speed was much faster than a shockwave¡¯s, and everyone had no chance to dodge it, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t intend to dodge because he didn¡¯t feel any attack power from the circle; it likely had no damaging effects! Indeed, the ring passed right through Wang Tao¡¯s body without causing any harm or discomfort. It was the same for the others; the circle didn¡¯t pose any issues. Wang Tao, instead of retreating, took the opportunity to strike again. [-6724] [-672] [...] This strike was about 20% weaker than the previous ones. Looking at the Insect Clan Monster whose body was beginning to glow red, Wang Tao immediately said, ¡°This must be its Awakening...¡± The zombie Insect¡¯s Awakening was [Spiritual Inspiration], which could excite the spirits of its nearby companions, increasing their combat strength. ¡°Combat strength¡± likely refers to the attack, defense, speed, and the like. Seeing the faint red glow on the Insect Clan Monster, it was evident that it was benefiting from its own Spiritual Inspiration effect. Too bad there were no other insects around; this Awakening power was somewhat wasted. While contemplating, Wang Tao continued to fight. After a while, the Insect Clan Monster was left with a sliver of HP. Wang Tao¡¯s suspicion was confirmed¡ª the [Spiritual Inspiration]was indeed as he thought, enhancing its various attributes. Whether it was speed, defense, or strength, Wang Tao felt all of them were significantly increased by roughly 20%. The boost was considerable, but unfortunately, it proved to be useless. The insect ultimately met its end with Wang Tao¡¯s blade piercing into its brain, ending its brief life. Until its death, Wang Tao had never seen it use any mental attack capabilities. Wang Tao was somewhat speechless; he originally thought the Insect race was keeping such abilities hidden to strike unexpectedly, but it turned out they genuinely couldn¡¯t! After the Insect Clan Monster died, it dropped a pile of items. Qu Shilin was the first to rush over, as a fresh Insect corpse is seldom encountered. ¡°Was this monster strong?¡± Qu Shilin asked curiously. She saw Wang Tao¡¯s battle last for a while, but he fought with ease, like walking a dog, so she was unsure about the Insect¡¯s actual strength. ¡°It just had a higher defense; overall, it wasn¡¯t very powerful. Among all the insects I¡¯ve seen, it should be considered the weakest. However, its Awakening ability increases the combat strength of nearby companions... So I have reason to believe, this might be a support-type member of the Insect race...¡± ¡°A support-type Insect that increases the combat strength of all nearby companions? Could there also be attack-type? Defense-type... Could these insects be organized like an army?¡± Han Rui blurted out without thinking. Wang Tao shuddered involuntarily upon hearing this. If they swarmed like an army, it would feel even more terrifying than zombies! Wang Tao glanced at the dim sky subconsciously; there were still so many zombies outside. If a large number of Insects were to appear, it would truly be an unlivable situation! But fortunately, except for the Energy Crystal Meteorites, there were no signs of the Insect race elsewhere. As long as they were well-prepared before opening the Meteorites, there shouldn¡¯t be a problem for the time being... ¡°What is this?¡± Suddenly, Qu Shilin pointed at something that looked like a transparent bead next to the Insect¡¯s corpse. The thing had just rolled out of the Insect¡¯s mouth, resembling an Awakening Energy Pearl, but the Awakening Energy Pearls were white, whereas this was transparent. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised to see the object, then instinctively glanced at Qu Shilin. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qu Shilin seemed perplexed. ¡°Your luck... It¡¯s too good!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed. The item that burst out was none other than something that could grant Hidden Attributes! [Acquired: Iron Wall Armor x1] [Magical Consciousness: If released, it will grow into a Brain Monster. If devoured, you will gain a Hidden Attribute] ¡°` Chapter 1104 - 1104 445 Magical Consciousness_2 ?Chapter 1104: Chapter 445 Magical Consciousness_2 Chapter 1104: Chapter 445 Magical Consciousness_2 This thing is a... consciousness? But that¡¯s not the point, the point is that devouring this thing can offer a hidden attribute! Wang Tao felt that the hidden attribute obtained by devouring this ¡°Mystical Consciousness¡± should be related to the spirit! He had previously mentioned that Qu Shilin was more suited for psychic system awakening, and if he ever came across such a thing in the future, he would save it for Qu Shilin... and here it was, less than half a day later, he really found it! Wang Tao thought back again, this meteorite was also handpicked and unlocked by Qu Shilin... so if this wasn¡¯t good luck, what was it! ¡°This is ¡®Mystical Consciousness¡¯, also a great item that increases hidden attributes...¡± Wang Tao gave a brief introduction. ¡°Ah? This, this is something that can grant psychic system hidden attributes?¡± Qu Shilin opened her mouth in disbelief. This felt too surreal! Just before, she was wondering when she might see something like this, and now she was seeing it today? And Wang Tao had said, this item was 100% successful! It wasn¡¯t like those probability-based items at all! ¡°Do you want it? If you do, I¡¯ll give this to you.¡± Wang Tao looked at Qu Shilin with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll buy!¡± Qu Shilin blurted out instinctively, but then she quickly added, ¡°But are you sure you guys don¡¯t need it? If I use such a good thing, wouldn¡¯t it be a bit too wasteful...¡± At the critical moment, Qu Shilin became somewhat conflicted. Because she felt that if it was given to combat personnel, maybe the cost-effectiveness would be a bit higher... ¡°It¡¯s not a waste, we can¡¯t use it for now, anyway. If you don¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll sell it to someone else.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t! I want it!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Qu Shilin decided not to hesitate any longer. She believed she could demonstrate its value! ¡°Alright, you take it tonight. It might take some time, probably a few hours or so.¡± Wang Tao handed the item over to Qu Shilin, then suddenly added: ¡°Also, let me make it clear, although this item will grant a psychic hidden attribute, I can¡¯t guarantee that subsequent awakening will definitely include spiritual power...¡± ¡°Ah? Then what¡¯s the probability...¡± Qu Shilin immediately became nervous again. ¡°Conservatively estimating... probably about 80% I guess.¡± Wang Tao thought it was very likely that she would have spiritual power after the awakening, like Jiang Shixue, who, like himself, had awakened a psychic ability, so she also possessed spiritual power. Although her spiritual power wasn¡¯t the same as Wang Tao¡¯s and didn¡¯t have the potential for arbitrary development or anything like a god¡¯s perspective, she still managed to observe her surroundings in great detail using her spiritual power! Lately, Wang Tao had been teaching Jiang Shixue how to use spiritual communication. He felt that Jiang Shixue should learn this technique... But, after all, with so few cases to go by, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t make a 100% guarantee. He didn¡¯t want to create too much hope and then too much disappointment. ¡°...¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Qu Shilin gave him a white look. Forget 80%, as long as it was more than 50%, Qu Shilin felt it would be worth it. So, Qu Shilin happily accepted the ¡°Mystical Consciousness¡±, and then she raised her head and said: ¡°Right, you haven¡¯t mentioned the price yet!¡± ¡°Whatever you think is fair.¡± Wang Tao said, unconcerned. Since both were friends, naturally, he was not too concerned about the price. However, Qu Shilin still thought about it seriously and then said: ¡°How about this, later I¡¯ll check the price of similar items in the base and buy it at the market price!¡± ¡°That works.¡± Wang Tao shrugged his shoulders. Qu Shilin was a wealthy lady, not lacking in money. ¡°But, on the other hand, what exactly is this so-called ¡®Brain Monster¡¯?¡± As she gazed at the sparkling Mystical Consciousness, Qu Shilin suddenly asked. Wang Tao had just clearly introduced its attributes, so Qu Shilin knew that consuming it would have one effect, while releasing it would have another. As a research scientist, she was naturally very curious about such a thing. Hearing Qu Shilin ask this question made Wang Tao furrow his brow. ¡°I¡¯m not very clear about it either...¡± It wasn¡¯t just the [Mystical Consciousness]; items like the [Mysterious Shadow] he had just obtained, and the [Magic Flame] he had merged with earlier, all had the option to be released, and it said that releasing them would result in some kind of beast! These items were still very scarce for now. In the future, if Wang Tao could get his hands on similar items, maybe he could actually release one to see what happens. As for how to release them, it probably just meant tossing them into the wild... Seeing that even Wang Tao was unaware, Qu Shilin did not inquire further. She cautiously put the item away and then joined Wang Tao to inspect the other spoils of war. Besides the [Mystical Consciousness], the Insect Clan Monster itself had also dropped two items. One was a red [Fifth-Order Crystal Core: Mental Defense] and the other was its shell. [Obtained: Iron Wall Carapace x1] [Iron Wall Carapace: Crafting material with some Fire Resistance] The Insect¡¯s defensive power was so strong; it likely had something to do with its carapace. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but get excited. Could he be about to craft another piece of equipment with high defensive power? Wang Tao passed these items to others for research, while he quickly checked out the four Loot Packs that only he could see. Inside the first pack were Crystal Cores, a total of five, including a red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Versatility], an orange [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Ascension], a blue [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Awakening], a purple [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Defense], and another red [Fourth-Order Crystal Core: Physique Enhancement]. Seeing these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao felt perplexed. This member of the Insect race had clearly awakened a Psychic System Ability, but it did not utilize its advantage to enhance its mental abilities. Instead, it had defenses-related abilities, like a buff-casting hunk of iron... Could it be that the mission of this type of Insect was specifically to release [Spiritual Inspiration]? Wang Tao wasn¡¯t entirely sure, but upon further reflection... if a monster that could boost the enemy¡¯s status appeared on the battlefield, you¡¯d have to kill it to win the fight. So, someone would try to rush over to execute a beheading action, but then find that the Insect was too tough to kill, leading to eventual defeat... That seemed quite reasonable, didn¡¯t it? However, that was just Wang Tao¡¯s speculation; the details could only be discovered slowly over time. The second and third Loot Packs contained keys and energy beads. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The last Loot Pack naturally held Blueprints, this time also just one. [Obtained: Iron Wall Armor Blueprint x1] [Iron Wall Armor Blueprint: Can craft a set of full-body Armor, required materials: Iron Wall Carapace x1, Level 4 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x30, Nails x30, Rubber x30, Screws x30, Steel Wire x30] [Iron Wall Armor: Attributes unknown] Wang Tao had all these materials. He had Lightning devour the corpse of the Insect Clan Monster, and while Qu Shilin wasn¡¯t paying attention, Wang Tao quickly crafted this set of equipment. [Iron Wall Armor] [Epic Level 4] [Durability +100, Defense +80, Spiritual Defense Power +50, Poison Attribute Defense +50] Seeing the Attributes of this set of Armor, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. Not only did it add 80 to Defense, but both Spiritual Defense Power and Poison Defense were increased by 50 each! In the category of Level 4 equipment, a Defense of 80 was already top-notch, and Wang Tao had so far only seen two pieces of equipment that added 50 to Spiritual Defense Power. Plus, this was the first time he encountered Poison Attribute Defense... Each Attribute was solid on its own, and together, they were even stronger! Especially this Poison Attribute Defense, considering most Insects have poison, wouldn¡¯t wearing this set of Armor be advantageous when fighting against the Insect race? Wang Tao happily stowed the Armor away. He didn¡¯t need it now; he could easily solo a Level 4 Insect Lord without any difficulty. But if he were to open a Level 5 Meteor event later, having this set of equipment would undoubtedly make things steadier! Chapter 1105 - 1105 446 Mental Attribute ?Chapter 1105: Chapter 446 Mental Attribute Chapter 1105: Chapter 446 Mental Attribute ¡°Let¡¯s keep cracking the meteorites, do you wanna try?¡± Wang Tao looked at Qu Shilin. ¡°Should I try again?¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes sparkled. Wang Tao stepped aside to let her continue. However, the second and the third meteorite both yielded Level 4 junk Crystal Cores... ¡°No more, no more, if I keep opening, you¡¯re going to go broke!¡± Qu Shilin quickly waved her hands. Wang Tao¡¯s fourth-order meteorites were all of high quality, and so were the used Crystal Cores. The cost to open a single meteorite was around 100,000 Crystal Coins. The value of these two Level 4 Crystal Cores was only around a thousand or two thousand Crystal Coins... This was a serious loss, so Qu Shilin refused to continue, sensing that her good luck might have run out. ¡°Alright then.¡± Wang Tao picked up the Crystal Core and started to do it himself. But whether it was really due to bad luck or not, after opening a few more meteorites, Wang Tao didn¡¯t find anything good either, just Crystal Cores. Even though some of them were decent, it was still a loss. ¡°Shall we wait a bit before opening more?¡± Others asked with some concern. This thing really did seem a bit mystic. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal, just a few coins.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t care, and as he spoke, he cracked open another meteorite. ¡°Hey? Look, didn¡¯t we just make a profit?¡± A black shadow emerged from the meteorite. Everyone thought it was an Insect Clan Monster and instantly became alert. But Wang Tao showed no intent to fight because it wasn¡¯t a monster. ¡°Hey? It¡¯s an Iron Beetle!¡± Everyone quickly realized it wasn¡¯t a monster, but a Fourth-Order Weapon, the Iron Beetle! They all breathed a sigh of relief, constantly losing wasn¡¯t good, but finally, they made a profit again! Wang Tao quickly pocketed the Iron Beetle. It could easily sell for over a million, basically priceless. Wang Tao had a total of 30 fourth-order meteorites. Even if the cost was considered to be 3 million, now that he had obtained an Insect Clan Monster and an Iron Beetle, he could consider the cost fully recovered. Any other finds, even a junk Crystal Core, would be pure profit. So everyone relaxed quite a bit. Wang Tao continued to open the fourth-order meteorites. He actually hoped to find an Insect Clan Monster, as he could easily handle a fourth-order monster, and Insect Clan Monsters could drop quite good spoils of war, like ¡°Mystical Consciousness,¡± so the feeling of checking the spoils of war after killing an Insect Clan Monster was incomparable. But unfortunately, until Wang Tao had opened all 30 meteorites, he didn¡¯t find a second Insect Clan Monster. ¡°My luck isn¡¯t great today...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, helplessly. If he had known, he would have let Qu Shilin continue opening them. Of course, not finding Insect Clan Monsters didn¡¯t mean Wang Tao made no profit. He found another Iron Beetle, a few decent Crystal Cores, and some average Equipment... Overall, he still made quite a bit. Unlike Wang Tao¡¯s helplessness, others were quite happy ¨C after all, their demands weren¡¯t high. Not losing was a win, and making a profit was a great victory! ¡°Shall we continue?¡± Since no Insect Clan Monsters appeared later, they opened the 30 Crystal Cores very quickly, much sooner than anticipated. They finished opening the fourth-order Crystal Cores, but Wang Tao still had Level 5 ones, so someone asked if he wanted to continue. Wang Tao shook his head, quite sensibly. ¡°Let¡¯s leave the Level 5 ones for now. We¡¯ll talk about it after everyone has recovered from their injuries.¡± Through the battles during this period, Wang Tao had discovered that the strength difference between Level 5 Lords was quite substantial. He wasn¡¯t worried about facing a Dark Fog Zombie, but a Hammer Zombie might be no big deal for him, but bad news for everyone else. So it was better to play it safe. While organizing the spoils of war, Wang Tao saw the Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs in his Space Backpack. He had over a hundred Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, including more than ninety Level 4 eggs and over forty Level 5 ones, all usable. However, Insect Eggs require zombies as hosts, and ideally, a Night Demon¡¯s Nest would be needed, otherwise, the chances of birthing a Night Demon would be much lower... ¡°Let¡¯s keep an eye out to see if there¡¯s a Night Demon¡¯s Nest. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure if the Night Demons have mutated...¡± Wang Tao thought to himself. ... At five in the afternoon, it had already grown dark. ¡°Do I use it now?¡± Holding ¡°Mystical Consciousness,¡± Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao with an expectant face. ¡°Just use it now.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Qu Shilin couldn¡¯t wait and placed ¡°Mystical Consciousness¡± in her mouth; then, she fell asleep. By the time she awoke, three hours had passed. ¡°Do I have Hidden Attributes now?¡± Still a bit dazed, Qu Shilin saw a group of people standing around her and instinctively asked. ¡°Congratulations.¡± Wang Tao immediately said with a smile. [HP: 82874/100000] [Mana: 35000/35000] [Level: Level 3] [Hidden Attributes: Mental Attribute] [Mental Attribute: Memory stronger than average] Qu Shilin had acquired a Hidden Attribute called ¡°Mental Attribute,¡± which, from the description, can enhance memory. It was quite a nice Hidden Attribute, especially for someone like her who is a researcher. ¡°Ha ha, I finally have a Hidden Attribute too!¡± Qu Shilin laughed joyously. Having Hidden Attributes meant having the qualifications for Awakening, and nobody could be unexcited. But Qu Shilin didn¡¯t know what her Hidden Attribute was. She had a vague feeling that something had changed, but she couldn¡¯t quite place what exactly... Chapter 1106 - 1106 446 Mental Attribute_2 ?Chapter 1106: Chapter 446 Mental Attribute_2 Chapter 1106: Chapter 446 Mental Attribute_2 ¡°Wang Tao, do you know what my Hidden Attributes are?¡± Qu Shilin suddenly looked at Wang Tao, hoping he would know¡ªafter all, he knew so much. ¡°Based on my experience, I¡¯d guess it¡¯s a Hidden Attribute that can enhance memory.¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°Enhance memory? Let me try!¡± Qu Shilin immediately opened her Informational Wristwatch, her lips mouthing something as if she were calculating something. A few seconds later, she looked at Wang Tao, her face alight with surprise. ¡°It really does increase memory!¡± If she hadn¡¯t known her own Hidden Attributes, it certainly would have been troublesome to find out. But with Wang Tao¡¯s reminder, a quick test had revealed an indeed enhanced memory. For her, this Hidden Attribute was a significant help. Although computers could assist in remembering some critical data, it was still bothersome having to retrieve the information. If she could keep this data firmly in her mind, she felt her work efficiency might increase by at least 20%! ¡°Thank you!¡± Qu Shilin sincerely thanked Wang Tao again. Wang Tao smiled, waved it off, and then curiously asked, ¡°What did it feel like when you obtained the Hidden Attributes?¡± ¡°What did it feel...¡± Qu Shilin frowned, thinking hard before saying, ¡°I felt like I had a dream, in which I was in a hazy gray space, then somehow, I fell asleep and when I woke up, I saw all of you...¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. It seemed that Qu Shilin¡¯s experience when acquiring her Hidden Attributes was similar to his. However, perhaps due to the difference in strength, he remembered it more clearly, while Qu Shilin¡¯s memories were somewhat vague. Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s assign some duty officers, then everyone else can rest.¡± Today, aside from mining the Meteorite and Qu Shilin obtaining her Hidden Attributes, nothing else had happened, and there weren¡¯t even any zombies nearby. Everyone had a good rest, and their physical conditions recovered quite well, estimating that in just another day or two, they would be fully healed. But things turned out even better than Wang Tao had expected¡ª After resting well through the night, everyone¡¯s injuries had healed. After a boost from Lan Yulian, they were all back to full HP quickly! It was hard to imagine such a thing before the Apocalypse. As the saying goes, muscle and bone injuries take a hundred days to heal, and some people even had broken legs or arms. If it were before the Apocalypse, it would probably take over three months to recover. But now, it was only a matter of a day and two nights. Moreover, they didn¡¯t have any Residual effects; it was a true full recovery! Of course, their own robust physical conditions played a part, but the most important was having Lan Yulian with them. Wang Tao could guarantee the team¡¯s upper limit, while Lan Yulian could ensure the team¡¯s lower limit! With her present, the team¡¯s sustained combat capability could easily double! This was Qu Shilin¡¯s first time directly experiencing the power of a ¡°Super Healer.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but feel it was incredibly strong! Wang Tao had planned to go out tomorrow, but since their injuries had healed without any Residual effects, they could set out today. ¡°Then let¡¯s go out today, any problems with that?¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Having confirmed there were no issues, Wang Tao and the others packed up the temporary camp, including the cameras they had set up. This time, their target was a few Zombie Herds. The herds weren¡¯t together, and since the next location was far from the remaining three, they would definitely find another place to stay. After packing up, the Crystal Energy Car hummed softly as it left the school. Outside, the snow was still falling heavily, reducing visibility. Wang Tao and his companions watched their surroundings carefully, ready for any unexpected encounter with zombies. Wang Tao, in fact, hoped they would run into zombies, preferably Level 5 Lords, but they hadn¡¯t seen a single one from morning until afternoon. ¡°Not a single zombie...¡± Everyone was somewhat speechless; they were all prepared for a fight, yet no opportunity presented itself. Wang Tao suddenly said with a laugh, ¡°Look at it from a different angle; no zombies are blocking our way, which makes us a lot faster. The third Zombie Herd is just up ahead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, let¡¯s hope there are a lot of zombies¡ªno wait, not too many. If there are too many, we can¡¯t deal with them... Ideally, just enough for us to handle without too much danger!¡± Qu Shilin had already begun to make a wish before they even arrived. Wang Tao smiled but didn¡¯t say much. As they got closer to the Zombie Herd, the car started to slow down and proceed cautiously. However, as they carefully reached the location of the Zombie Herd, Wang Tao and the others didn¡¯t see a single zombie appear. ¡°How strange, there are no zombies here?¡± Everyone found it hard to believe. According to the information provided by the City Hall, there were supposed to be more zombies here than in the previous two places! ¡°Let¡¯s get out and search the area!¡± Wang Tao immediately led everyone out of the vehicle. This was a dilapidated town, many houses had collapsed under the snowstorm. The car had just made a round around the town, and they hadn¡¯t seen any zombies. After getting out of the car, Wang Tao and the group conducted a thorough search. An hour later, everyone regrouped. ¡°We didn¡¯t find any zombies...¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t find any either...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°But we did find some traces of zombie activity...¡± ¡°...¡± After a careful discussion, everyone reached a conclusion¡ªthe zombies were originally here, but they had left, and they had done so recently, leaving not a single one behind! This outcome caused everyone to frown. ¡°Why would the zombies leave? And such a large town, not a single zombie left behind? This...¡± Wei Zhenguo muttered to himself. This behavior didn¡¯t seem typical of zombies! In previous encounters with Zombie Tides, a large number of zombies would follow the tide, but there were always some zombies that didn¡¯t. But now, all these zombies had left, and they did so in a short time, without one being left behind... This situation didn¡¯t seem like zombies, more like humans! Because Wei Zhenguo had noticed something that implied ¡°organization and discipline...¡± ¡°I have a really bad feeling about this...¡± Xiang Hongbin looked troubled. Zombies, already numerous and powerful, were a threat because they lacked brains. But now, this situation seemed to suggest... the zombies had grown brains! Powerful zombies weren¡¯t scary; powerful and numerous zombies were a bit scary; powerful, numerous, and intelligent zombies, those were truly terrifying! ¡°It¡¯s unlikely that all zombies have become smart, the rate of zombie evolution isn¡¯t that outrageous... I speculate it might be the emergence of a Lord with certain intelligence who has led the Zombie Herd away...¡± Wang Tao spoke up at this moment. Everyone thought about it and agreed. They had encountered quite a few zombies in the past two days, and those zombies were still very dull. If zombies had massively evolved intelligence, then the zombies they had encountered before would also have become smarter, but that clearly hadn¡¯t happened... Everyone heaved a sigh of relief, but Wang Tao continued: ¡°However, we can¡¯t rule out some unexpected situations... So, my suggestion is that we go check out the next zombie congregation before it gets dark, to see what the situation is with those zombies. That place isn¡¯t too far from here, we should make it.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± No one had any objections, so they got back into the car and headed towards the fourth Zombie Herd. Still encountering no zombies along the way, the team reached the fourth Zombie Herd as darkness fell. ¡°My god, so many zombies! Could the zombies from the previous herd have all come here?¡± Chapter 1107 - 1107 447 Massive Lords ?Chapter 1107: Chapter 447 Massive Lords Chapter 1107: Chapter 447 Massive Lords Wang Tao and his group were actually still some distance from the coordinates given by City Hall, but they didn¡¯t dare to go forward because a large number of zombies had appeared in the distance. ¡°Could it be that the zombies from the third Zombie Herd have all come here?¡± Everyone subconsciously thought. ¡°Should we take action?¡± Someone was already eager to try. Although these were all Fourth Order Elite Frozen Zombies, they had experience dealing with Frozen Zombies and were not afraid. ¡°Let¡¯s wait a moment and take a closer look.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. He wasn¡¯t afraid of these Frozen Zombies, but he needed to figure out where the Zombie Lord was. These Elite Zombies, combined with a Zombie Lord, had a synergistic effect greater than the sum of their parts, which couldn¡¯t be ignored. ¡°Okay!¡± Naturally, the others had no objections. The vehicle followed some zombies from a distance, with Wang Tao and Han Rui¡¯s Perception fully activated, carefully exploring the vicinity. As the two of them investigated, the results became increasingly alarming¡ªthe number of zombies here was abnormally high since all were Fourth Order Elite Zombies! ¡°How far are we now from the fifth Zombie Herd¡¯s coordinates?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°About 30 kilometers; the fifth Zombie Herd isn¡¯t far from this fourth one.¡± Wei Zhenguo said after checking the map. Wang Tao glanced at his Informational Wristwatch; it was six in the evening. ¡°Let¡¯s first go to the fifth Zombie Herd and take a look. I feel that the zombies from that herd might have also come here...¡± The car left the area, took a detour, and sped towards the fifth Zombie Herd. Over an hour later, Wang Tao and his group arrived at the location of the fifth Zombie Herd, where not a single zombie could be found. ¡°As expected! I guessed right, the zombies here should have gone to the location of the fourth Zombie Herd... I have reason to suspect that a Zombie Lord with some intelligence had appeared among the fourth Zombie Herd and called over the zombies from other places...¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone¡¯s faces turned serious. To be able to move so many zombies, a Level 4, Lord wouldn¡¯t suffice; it had to be at least a Level 5, Lord, or possibly even a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie! If it were a Level 5, Lord Zombie with intelligence, that would be very difficult to deal with. After all, one of the zombies¡¯ weaknesses is their lack of brains... And if it were a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie... then they could just turn tail and run. With their strength, they were only Fourth Order. Handling a Hammer Zombie of the Fifth Order Lord was already difficult enough, let alone facing a Sixth Rank Lord. If they indeed encountered a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie, not to mention fighting, even escaping would be doubtful. ¡°What should we do?¡± Everyone subconsciously looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao stroked his chin and said, ¡°We¡¯ll make another trip tomorrow to see the situation and decide based on that. As for now, let¡¯s rest well here tonight. Zombies are more aggressive at night, and you all can¡¯t see very clearly, so it would be dangerous to go now...¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone wasn¡¯t too dismayed. As long as they didn¡¯t wander into the midst of the zombies or get targeted by the Sixth Order Zombies, they should be able to retreat safely with their strength. So, they set up tents again here. The night passed without incident, and the next morning, everyone got up before dawn. After a quick breakfast, Wang Tao called everyone to the car. ¡°Let¡¯s go, it should be dawn by the time we get there!¡± Timing was as Wang Tao had estimated, and by the time they saw zombies again, it was already daylight. ¡°The blizzard has lessened a bit...¡± At that moment, the blizzard had reduced considerably compared to the previous days, and although it was still snowing, the visibility wasn¡¯t as low as before. After observing for a while, Han Rui frowned and said, ¡°It seems like there are fewer zombies than yesterday?¡± ¡°Indeed, there are fewer, but that¡¯s a good thing...¡± Wang Tao nodded. The zombies were more active at night when they had first arrived, and now it was daytime, probably many zombies were hiding in the shadows. The Crystal Energy Car stopped not far from a small group of zombies, and since the blizzard obscured their arrival, the zombies hadn¡¯t noticed them yet, so Wang Tao and his team quickly got out of the car and dealt with them. Wang Tao wanted to head towards the central area, and any zombies they encountered along the way had to be dealt with, otherwise, they might block their escape route if they needed to flee later. As they got closer to the central area, the number of zombies they encountered increased. Previously, killing zombies did not alarm others, but that was no longer possible. ¡°We can¡¯t keep going forward; if we alarm more zombies, we might get surrounded before we even see the Lord...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then looked at the others and said. ¡°Let¡¯s do this, some of you stay in the car, ready to support us at any time, the rest come with me.¡± ¡°Me!¡± Everyone immediately raised their hands. Wang Tao picked a few people to follow him, then he took out a number of Stealth Potions. ¡°Use these, within an hour, it¡¯ll be hard for the zombies to detect us.¡± The number of zombies here was more than Wang Tao had anticipated, so for safety, he decided to use the long-unutilized Stealth Potion. ¡°Understood!¡± Pfft~ Everyone immediately injected themselves. That strange sensation arose, and everyone was somewhat unaccustomed to it. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t waste any words and immediately led the group forward. Perhaps because of the blizzard, the effect of the Stealth Potion was stronger than Wang Tao had anticipated! Chapter 1108 - 1108 447 Massive Lords_2 ?Chapter 1108: Chapter 447 Massive Lords_2 Chapter 1108: Chapter 447 Massive Lords_2 Before using the Stealth Potion, when they approached within about three meters of the zombies, it would arouse the zombies¡¯ suspicion. If they moved any closer, they were likely to be attacked by the zombies. But now, after using the Stealth Potion, Wang Tao and his team could reach behind the zombies and place a knife at their necks before the zombies belatedly realized that people had arrived. Naturally, the team did not give the zombies a chance, and immediately attacked. Any zombies they surrounded were doomed to die. Moreover, the noise they made did not attract the attention of other zombies far away. In this manner, the team advanced, killing as they went. Not knowing how many zombies they had killed, finally, Wang Tao and his group reached the core area of the Zombie Herd. Here, there were many more zombies than on the outside, a density that rivaled the rush hour before the Apocalypse. And they were all Frozen Zombie Elites with levels above 4! Seeing such a densely packed crowd of zombies stretching beyond view, Wang Tao, and the others all felt their scalps tingle. ¡°How many zombies are there!¡± ¡°Are there hundreds of thousands? Or even millions!¡± ¡°With so many zombies... does humanity still stand a chance?¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao and his team were lying in the snow on a hillside, watching the distant zombies. ¡°We can¡¯t move forward anymore. With the current density of zombies, even the Stealth Potion wouldn¡¯t be effective... Let¡¯s find a suitable place, and see if we can make any discoveries,¡± Wang Tao said. His original plan had been to go deeper and see if the Lords here were manageable. If they were, they would quickly eliminate them, then have Ding Yuqin and the others drive the car over, and escape swiftly before they were surrounded by other zombies. But he hadn¡¯t expected such an overwhelming number of zombies inside, beyond what the Stealth Potion could handle. ¡°Understood!¡± After some discussion, the group spotted a building more than ten stories high in the distance¡ªthis place was a dilapidated county town, and a building of this height was the tallest structure around. As the group slowly made their way near the building, Han Rui suddenly extended her hand. ¡°There are Night Demons inside the building! It looks like a Night Demon¡¯s Nest!¡± ¡°A Night Demon¡¯s Nest!¡± Upon hearing this, the group instantly became more vigilant. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He had been wondering when he would encounter another Night Demon¡¯s Nest to make use of the Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs he had on hand. He hadn¡¯t expected to come across one now! However, the timing and location weren¡¯t ideal... ¡°How big is the nest, and what levels are the Night Demons?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. After closing her eyes to perceive for a moment, Han Rui opened her eyes and said, ¡°This entire building seems to be a Night Demon¡¯s Nest... As for the levels, I sensed a Level 5 Lord!¡± ¡°A Night Demon¡¯s Nest with a Level 5 Lord Night Demon, that¡¯s great!¡± Wang Tao was very pleased, but now was not the time to hunt. If a battle with these Night Demons were to attract those Frozen Zombies, that would be a big problem. Wang Tao quickly added, ¡°Let¡¯s not go in, climb up the outside walls of the building!¡± Wang Tao did not want to fight with the Night Demons but he needed to find out exactly what the situation with the distant zombies was. So, the best way was to climb to the rooftop without alerting the Night Demons. Given the physical capabilities of the group, climbing a building more than ten stories high was naturally not a problem, especially since they had some professional equipment on hand. The group began to climb up the exterior of the building. Climbing the building was still somewhat dangerous, especially since there were Night Demons inside. However, Night Demons would die upon exposure to light during the day, so they dared not go out and were even indifferent to the situation outside... As a result, Wang Tao and his team safely reached the rooftop of the building just as the effects of their Stealth Potion wore off. After reaching the rooftop, Wang Tao was surprised to find that the vantage point was exceptionally good. There were no tall buildings around where the Zombie Herd was located. Additionally, with today¡¯s blizzard weakening considerably and visibility improving a lot, they could nearly see the entire Zombie Herd from here. However, precisely because the viewpoint was so good, upon seeing the Zombie Herd below, everyone felt a chill down their spines. ¡°So many zombies!¡± ¡°What a terrifying feeling...¡± ¡°...¡± Everywhere he looked, there were zombies! Wang Tao, after all, was a man who had seen large-scale events and remained very calm as he took up his binoculars to search carefully for traces of the Zombie Lords. Just a few seconds later, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He had spotted a Lord, the same Ice Cone Zombie he had killed before! Wang Tao thought it would take some time, but to his surprise, he found them so accurately in just a few seconds. However, his expression soon froze because he subsequently saw dozens of Level 4 Ice Cone Zombie Lords¡ªnot because he was precise, but because there were too many Zombie Lords! ¡°Dozens of Zombie Lords appearing at the same time...¡± Wang Tao had never seen such a thing before, not even during several Zombie Tides! The combat power of these Hammer Zombies actually wasn¡¯t considered strong, at least Wang Tao didn¡¯t think so, but if they were leading a group of subordinates, their strength would increase substantially. And now, these Ice Cone Zombies all had their own followers! Dozens of Level 4 Ice Cone Zombies with their subordinates! If they encountered them, even Wang Tao and his group would have no chance of winning! This Zombie Herd absolutely could not be penetrated deeper, otherwise, they surely wouldn¡¯t be able to return¡ªWang Tao thought. ¡°I¡¯ve found them¡ªwait, damn it!¡± Wang Tao was about to report the situation of these Ice Cone Zombies to his teammates, but his eyes suddenly widened. Because he discovered that deeper within the horde, there were more Zombie Lords! But this time, they weren¡¯t Level 4 Zombie Lords anymore, but Level 5 Monster Lords! And there wasn¡¯t just one! Wang Tao hurriedly took a closer look, and the more he saw, the uglier his expression became. He spotted a total of 9 Level 5 Monster Lords with over 300,000 HP each! And these 9 zombies gave Wang Tao the same feeling as the Hammer Zombie he had killed before¡ªvery strong! One Hammer Zombie had nearly wiped them out, and now there were 9 of them? How were they supposed to deal with this? These 9 Level 5 Monster Lords, like the Hammer Zombies, were spaced apart and not clustered together, managing their own subordinates. Wang Tao observed further and saw that this massive Zombie Herd was circular in overall shape. The zombies on the outside were sparser, and their numbers increased toward the center. The dozens of Level 4 Ice Cone Zombie Lords were distributed in a ring around the outskirts of the herd. The 9 Level 5 Monster Lords were also arranged in a ring, but they were in the middle of the herd. And in the center area of this horde was a place resembling a mall, with unknown types of zombies inside. But to have so many Level 4 and Level 5 Lords arranged like a guard around the middle, that meant inside... ¡°Sixth Rank Lords!¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. He hadn¡¯t seen a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie before, but given the current situation, it was highly likely that there was one in the center position! If there wasn¡¯t one powerful zombie holding the line, it would be impossible for so many Level 4 and Level 5 Lords to co-exist; they might even fight each other¡ªaccording to the public data from City Hall, there was a small chance of Zombie Lords fighting each other, although it was rare, some had seen it happen. Now everything here was harmonious, definitely due to a very strong zombie controlling the situation! Considering the current circumstances, to control this field, there should only be a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie capable of doing so... Wang Tao suddenly thought of something; the Hammer Zombie he had killed before, could it also have been part of this group? Wang Tao looked carefully again and noticed that the circle formed by these 9 Level 5 Monster Lords seemed to have a gap... ¡°It seems my guess is correct, there should have been 10 but one was killed by me, leaving only 9...¡± However, killing just one had no effect on this enormous Zombie Herd. Wang Tao reported the situation of these Zombie Lords to everyone, and upon hearing it, they were all taken aback. Dozens of Level 4 Lords and 9 Level 5 Lords? Retreat, retreat fast! Chapter 1109 - 1109 448 Killing Amongst the Same Species ?Chapter 1109: Chapter 448: Killing Amongst the Same Species Chapter 1109: Chapter 448: Killing Amongst the Same Species Retreat? Wang Tao felt a bit unwilling. It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to hunt these Zombie Lords, he knew that was impossible. He just thought that having come all this distance, he should at least see who the real leader of these zombies was, shouldn¡¯t he? Judging from the zombies¡¯ positioning, it clearly wasn¡¯t any of the nine Level 5 Monster Lords. Inside the shopping mall at the center of the zombie herd, there was either a very strong Level 5 Monster Lord or a Level 6 Lord Zombie! Wang Tao believed it was more likely the latter, as a Level 5 Monster Lord probably couldn¡¯t control a scene like this. Moreover, before the blizzard had struck, there were rumors of a suspected Level 6 Lord Zombie... ¡°Let¡¯s wait a bit before retreating, to see if we can catch a glimpse of the real chief of this zombie herd...¡± Wang Tao whispered. As long as he could see it with his own eyes, he could find out the specific information about the adversary, which would allow him to be better prepared if they encountered each other again. ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone lay motionless on the rooftop. Wang Tao first firmly memorized the data of the nine Level 5 Monster Lords. These nine Level 5 zombies each had unique characteristics, with none identical to another. This was somewhat disappointing to Wang Tao; he would¡¯ve preferred them all to be Hammer Zombies. After all, the Hammer Zombie¡¯s ¡°Omnipotent Shield¡± ability was a life-saving godsend, and ¡°Massive Impact¡± was a very powerful large-area attack Ability... After memorizing the zombies¡¯ data, Wang Tao carefully examined the Level 4 Lord Zombies and Elite Zombies. The view from this building was good, almost providing a full panorama of the zombie group, but some areas were still obscured, and the distance was a bit far, so he couldn¡¯t check too thoroughly and could only make rough estimates¡ªthere seemed to be around sixty to eighty Fourth-Order Ice Cone Zombie Lords! This number was terrifying; even though Wang Tao and his team had fire, which could restrain the adversary, Wang Tao still dared not venture out... As for the Elite Zombies, their numbers were even greater. Wang Tao obviously couldn¡¯t count them all but could estimate the approximate ratio of each level¡ªamong these Frozen Zombies, there were not only Level 4 but also Level 3 and Level 5. After Wang Tao¡¯s estimations, among these Frozen Zombies, Level 3 made up about thirty percent of the total number, Level 4 accounted for sixty percent, and Level 5 made up ten percent! This was both good news and bad news. The good news was the presence of Level 3 Frozen Zombies. These zombies were all elite, and they were likely to drop Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Cores. Wang Tao had a ¡°Level 4 Weapon: Miniature Ice Lord¡¯s Skull,¡± and the more ice-attribute companions he had, the stronger the power of this item. There were few Fourth-Order Humans, but there were relatively more of the Third Order. If they could use Third Order Humans to unleash the full potential of this ¡°Mini Frozen Lord Skull,¡± that would also be quite good... But the bad news was the existence of Level 5 Frozen Zombies! Keep in mind, all these Frozen Zombies were elite. The combat power of a Tier-Five Elite was almost on par with a Fourth-Order Lord. If we¡¯re talking about combat strength alone, the Fourth-Order Lord Level combat power within this zombie herd must be at least ten thousand! Add in the Level 5 Lords, the shopping mall at the center of the herd... The combat power of this zombie group was dreadfully formidable! And what about Changhe Base? Up to this point, it was unknown if there were even 40 Fourth-order Awakeners. Forty versus ten thousand, there was simply no comparison. If this terrifyingly powerful group of zombies went to Changhe Base, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if the high walls could hold them off. However, fortunately, there was still some distance between this place and Changhe Base, and the zombies¡¯ activity range was quite far from Changhe Base. Hardly any zombies wandered towards the base, so it should be safe for now... While Wang Tao continued recording data, Jiang Shixue suddenly tugged at his sleeve. ¡°Brother, some zombies are coming out of the mall!¡± Wang Tao turned to look, his pupils abruptly constricting. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Grade: Level Six ¨C Elite] ¡°Level 6 zombies!¡± In Wang Tao¡¯s line of sight, three zombies staggered out from the mall, and all three were Sixth-Rank Elite Zombies! There was no doubt then, there absolutely were Sixth Rank Lords present! ¡°Level 6 zombies have appeared?¡± The others had also noticed the three Sixth-Rank Elite Zombies. Although they were far away and couldn¡¯t judge their levels by the aura emitted, the zombies were clearly larger than the Level 5 Elite Zombies. ¡°They are Sixth-Rank zombies.¡± Wang Tao confirmed everyone¡¯s speculation. This left the group somewhat silent; they were still at Level 4, and zombies had already reached Level 6... humans were simply no match! Wang Tao recorded the information of these Level 6 zombies, then continued to wait. The group lay on the rooftop, waiting silently from daylight until dark. Wang Tao decided to wait another night; the opportunity was rare¡ªhaving reached this position with excellent visibility, and with the blizzard subsiding considerably, the visibility had increased dramatically. They couldn¡¯t waste this chance! If those zombies didn¡¯t come out tonight, they would head back tomorrow morning. ¡°We won¡¯t go back just yet...¡± Wang Tao communicated this through his Perception Ring to Ding Yuqin waiting in the car. ¡°Then be careful!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± After chatting for a few more sentences, Wang Tao said to the people around him: ¡°Let¡¯s not rest tonight, keep a close watch to see if we can catch sight of that Level 6 Zombie Lord.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Wang Tao took out some Nutrient Solution and distributed it among his comrades. After a simple replenishment of energy, they all lay on the rooftop like a group of seasoned hunters, quietly waiting. Chapter 1110 - 1110 448 Same Kind Wound Each Other_2 ?Chapter 1110: Chapter 448 Same Kind Wound Each Other_2 Chapter 1110: Chapter 448 Same Kind Wound Each Other_2 As the sky darkened, zombies below began to stir. At the entrance of the mall, Wang Tao saw several Sixth-Rank Elite Zombies emerge. ¡°I hope the Lord comes out soon, just to let me have a look, just one look...¡± While Wang Tao was silently waiting, Han Rui came up to him and whispered, ¡°Wang Tao, the Night Demons downstairs have started to move!¡± ¡°Damn, I almost forgot about them! They haven¡¯t noticed us, have they?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. He was not afraid of these Night Demons, after all, there was only one Level 5, Lord. But if a battle occurred between them and the Night Demons, it would definitely attract the attention of the Zombie Herd! ¡°They haven¡¯t noticed us yet, the Night Demons are all heading downstairs. But I can¡¯t guarantee they won¡¯t come up, after all, we are too close to them...¡± Han Rui hastily said. ¡°That¡¯s good!¡± Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief, then took out some Stealth Potions and distributed them to everyone. ¡°The Night Demons downstairs have started to move and haven¡¯t detected us yet. We must not engage in battle with the Night Demons! Keep these Stealth Potions for now, the cooldown time isn¡¯t up yet. When it¡¯s time, I¡¯ll tell you to use them, then you use them!¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Hearing that the Night Demons had started to move, everyone became tense. ¡°Wang Tao, those Night Demons are heading in the direction of the Zombie Herd...¡± At that moment, Han Rui, who had been monitoring the Night Demons, suddenly tugged at Wang Tao¡¯s sleeve. Wang Tao quickly looked and saw several Night Demons come out from downstairs and, instead of going elsewhere, head directly toward the Zombie Herd. ¡°Could it be that the Night Demons are also controlled by the zombies there? No¡ª¡± Wang Tao suddenly opened his mouth wide. He was shocked to discover that these Night Demons were attacking the Frozen Zombies! A few Night Demons stealthily approached a Frozen Zombie from behind, suddenly pounced, and pinned it down! Within moments, the blood bar of the Frozen Zombie was emptied, and then the Night Demons began to voraciously eat the hard, frozen flesh of the Frozen Zombie. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Others set down their Night Vision binoculars, looked at each other, and couldn¡¯t quite believe it. Night Demons deliberately hunting Frozen Zombies? Wasn¡¯t that mistaken? Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak; he continued his observation through the binoculars. He then saw many more instances of Night Demons hunting Frozen Zombies. Although both were Fourth-Rank Elite Zombies, the Night Demons were faster, more agile, and smarter. In contrast, those Frozen Zombies were quite sluggish. Moreover, since the Night Demons attacked from behind and coordinated their hunt... these assaulted Frozen Zombies invariably became prey to the Night Demons, without disturbing the distant Zombie Herd. What in the world was happening? Wang Tao was confused and immediately contacted Qu Shilin through Ding Yuqin since Qu Shilin, as a researcher, had deep insights into zombies and might have some opinions. ¡°Night Demons hunting Frozen Zombies?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Qu Shilin too was surprised. After thinking it over carefully, she said, ¡°Based on what you¡¯ve described, it seems these Night Demons are feeding...¡± ¡°Feeding?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat incredulous. In his impression, zombies were like perpetual motion machines; they didn¡¯t need to feed at all. They ate humans only to enhance their strength; they could live just fine without eating... Qu Shilin seemed to understand Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts and explained further: ¡°There are no perpetual motion machines in the world, at least I haven¡¯t found any yet. Although zombies seem to be immune to starvation and have seemingly endless energy, they do have limits. Their limit is just very high, almost like a perpetual motion machine when compared to humans...so, zombies also need to replenish energy. I¡¯m not clear on how zombies replenish energy, but they definitely need to...¡± ¡°And in our current location, besides us, there isn¡¯t even an ant, let alone humans. Perhaps the Night Demons now need to replenish their energy but have nothing else to eat, so they can only hunt other zombies...¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s explanation seemed reasonable; having nothing else to eat, they resorted to cannibalism. However, Qu continued: ¡°Of course, we shouldn¡¯t rule out the possibility that ¡®eating the Frozen Zombies will allow the Night Demons to further mutate and evolve.¡¯ After all, these Frozen Zombies mutated from normal zombies, perhaps they contain something the Night Demons need...¡± ¡°Evolution mutation...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao deeply furrowed his brow. It seemed really possible! After all, zombies could become Frozen Zombies just by staying in the icy wilderness; likewise, it was possible for Night Demons to evolve after consuming Frozen Zombies... Wang Tao shook his head, unsure if Night Demons could evolve. It wasn¡¯t apparent now; he could only observe more in the future. This was barely good news, right? At least it proved that zombies would kill each other... Then, Wang Tao thought that the Night Demons hunting Frozen Zombies might attract the biggest Zombie Lord from the herd! Unfortunately, born hunters as they were, the Night Demons never failed in their hunts and thus never disturbed those Zombie Lords. ¡°Nope, I need to increase the challenge for the Night Demons...¡± Wang Tao checked the time; the cooldown for the Stealth Potion had ended. He immediately turned to the others and said, ¡°Use the Stealth Potion to leave this place later, then set up an explosive device; I¡¯ll have you detonate it when needed...¡± Wang Tao quickly revealed his plan. He planned to use the Night Demons to lure out the Zombie Lords, but there were too many risks involved with more people. Furthermore, if he were exposed, he would need someone to divert the zombies¡¯ attention. ¡°Understood! Be careful then!¡± Everyone, without wasting words, immediately used the Stealth Potion and quietly left the building. Han Rui had already checked; all of the Night Demons, including that Level 5 Lord, had gone out to hunt Frozen Zombies, so it was easy for them to leave now. After Wang Tao and his team descended quietly, the other members, led by Jiang Shixue, walked towards the Crystal Energy Car. Wang Tao, along with Lightning and Little Bing, took a different side to approach the Zombie Herd stealthily. With the help of the Stealth Potion, Wang Tao quickly spotted a Fourth-Order Ice Cone Zombie Lord. The Night Demons were hunting Elite Zombies and hadn¡¯t thought of attacking these Lords, so the Zombie Lords remained unnoticed. Wang Tao found decent cover, then took out an Ultraviolet illumination flare and threw it with all his might into the distance. The dense purple light was extremely dazzling in the darkness, instantly attracting the attention of all nearby zombies. The closest Fourth-Order Ice Cone Zombie Lord turned its head, its pale eyeballs awkwardly following the purple light, twisting its body as it swiftly chased after the Ultraviolet Light. Thud¡ª The Ultraviolet illumination flare traced a beautiful parabola in the sky, landing near a Night Demon that was gnawing on a Frozen Zombie. The Night Demon innately resisted the nearby Ultraviolet Light, instinctively lifting its head¡ªonly to see a face as disgusting as its own. Fourth-Order Ice Cone Zombie Lord! Swoosh¡ª Realizing the bad situation, the Night Demon immediately fled. But an ice thorn, thick as a baby¡¯s arm, suddenly shot out fast from the Ice Zombie¡¯s mouth, heading straight for the Night Demon. The Night Demon rolled to dodge the ice thorn, but as it got up, it was already surrounded by numerous Frozen Zombies. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Night Demon roared, attempting to break through the encirclement. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± But the roar of the approaching Ice Cone Zombie Lord was louder and accompanied by a few similar roars in the distance. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Then, the roars echoed back and forth. Rumble¡ª Hiding behind cover, Wang Tao felt the ground tremble slightly. The Zombie Herd was agitated! Wang Tao slapped Lightning¡¯s head, who enlarged, and he mounted it and ran. His retreat path was still toward the Night Demon¡¯s Nest building. Thud, thud¡ª In the direction of the mall, heavy footsteps sounded, as if some gigantic creature was about to emerge. Chapter 1111 - 1111 449 Sixth-Rank Zombie ?Chapter 1111: Chapter 449: Sixth-Rank Zombie Chapter 1111: Chapter 449: Sixth-Rank Zombie Thud, thud, thud¡ª ¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡± Amidst the chaotic battle between the Frozen Zombies and the Night Demon, Wang Tao faintly heard something. But he didn¡¯t dare to stop, letting Lightning continue to run forward. Wang Tao¡¯s maximum burst of speed was a bit faster than Lightning, but his stamina was far inferior. Especially since he had used the Stealth Potion, which had somewhat reduced his strength, it was obviously very difficult to escape in such chaos. Fortunately, Lightning was there. Lightning didn¡¯t need Wang Tao¡¯s guidance; it could precisely navigate through various dangers. After not too much time had passed, the man and his dog once again arrived at the base of that building. By now, there were no zombies left here, whether Night Demons or Frozen Zombies, as they had all gone to join the battle. Wang Tao made Lightning shrink, then climbed to the rooftop with the dog. Upon reaching the rooftop, Wang Tao didn¡¯t look towards the outcome of the battle between the Night Demon and the Frozen Zombies, but towards the mall at the center of the zombie herd. On the plaza outside the mall, Wang Tao saw an exceptionally burly zombie, estimated to be five or six meters tall, standing tall amongst the zombie herd like a crane among chickens. ¡°As expected, a Sixth-Rank Zombie Lord!¡± This zombie was wrapped in rusted steel plates and entwined with numerous iron chains; it wore a full-face helmet welded from refined steel atop its head and was holding a gruesome, rust-colored long-handled, single-edged axe... Although its size was smaller than that of the Giant Zombies, the pressure it gave Wang Tao was even stronger! Because it was a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie! [HP: 500000/500000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Level: Sixth-Rank Lord] [Awakening: Mighty Power] [Mighty Power: All basic attributes are substantially increased; attack power greatly increased when using heavy weapons] A Sixth Rank Lord Zombie with a half-million HP! This was the first time Wang Tao had encountered a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie and the first time he¡¯d seen a zombie with such high HP! The most HP Wang Tao had seen before was 400,000 from a Level 4 Giant Zombie. With the Great Axe Zombie¡¯s level and HP, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if his attacks could even break its defenses. And its [Mighty Power] awakening seemed also quite powerful; it was clearly a System Awakening Ability which, besides a complete enhancement of basic attributes, further increased its attack power by a significant amount when using heavy weapons. What counted as a significant amount? At least a 50% increase to be considered ¡°significant,¡± right? And it was holding a huge long-handled, single-edged axe, which certainly qualified as a heavy weapon! So, after considering everything, this was a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie with thick skin, strong flesh, and an incredibly powerful attack. Thud, thud, thud¡ª With every step the Great Axe Zombie took, the ground trembled slightly, and the surrounding zombies subconsciously stayed far away from it, even the Level 5 Monster Lords were unwilling to get too close. Two unobservant zombies blocked the path of the Great Axe Zombie, and then Wang Tao saw the Great Axe Zombie lift its axe with one hand and bring it down upon the heads of those two zombies. Pfff! [-200000] [-200000] The heads of the two Level 5 Elite Zombies burst open, their health bars instantly zeroed out. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Seeing those damage numbers, Wang Tao took a sharp intake of breath. ¡°I¡¯m lucky I didn¡¯t go over. Otherwise, if I had encountered this Great Axe Zombie, I would have been in deep trouble! Probably all of our combined strength wouldn¡¯t be enough to take it on¡ªhuh?¡± Before Wang Tao had time to feel relieved, an alarm suddenly went off in his mind. It was as if one more glance at the Great Axe Zombie would put his life in jeopardy! Wang Tao had survived until now, and this uncanny ¡°danger intuition¡± was an important reason for that. So although he didn¡¯t understand what was happening, he still followed his instinctual intuition, daring not to look at the Great Axe Zombie any longer. He promptly lowered his head, and also pushed Lightning¡¯s head down too. Just as Wang Tao lowered his head, he felt he understood why he had felt such danger¡ªWang Tao saw the Great Axe Zombie slowly turn its body to reveal its other half, and on its right shoulder, sat a slender, long-haired figure. That deadly sense of danger came from that figure! ¡°...There¡¯s actually another Sixth-Rank Zombie Lord!¡± Wang Tao had guessed that there might be a Sixth-Rank Zombie Lord in the mall, but he did not expect there to be two! Having only glanced quickly before, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to look more closely, unclear on the specific attributes of the long-haired figure, but it gave him an even more dangerous feeling than the Great Axe Zombie. Wang Tao immediately felt tense; he didn¡¯t know whether he had been discovered. If he had been, all he could do was flee. But the question was whether he could even make it out alive. The long-haired figure might have psychic abilities¡ªafter all, when he had observed the Great Axe Zombie, he hadn¡¯t been noticed. Yet, it seemed like this long-haired figure had sensed him. If it truly was a zombie with psychic abilities, and possibly had something like a Perception Ability, then it wouldn¡¯t be easy for him to run... However, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief as that sense of danger quickly dissipated. Thud, thud, thud¡ª The footsteps sounded again, but they were not moving towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao waited a bit longer to make sure the footsteps were far away before he quietly raised his head and picked up his binoculars. He quickly saw the Great Axe Zombie¡¯s back again, and on its shoulder, the long-haired zombie. [HP: 500000/500000] [Mana: 500000/500000] [Level: Sixth-Rank Lord] [Awakening: Thorns Growth] [Thorns Growth: Generates thorn attacks] Chapter 1112 - 1112 449 Sixth-Rank Zombie_2 ?Chapter 1112: Chapter 449: Sixth-Rank Zombie_2 Chapter 1112: Chapter 449: Sixth-Rank Zombie_2 ¡°It¡¯s also a Sixth-Rank Lord Zombie with 500,000 HP! Together, that¡¯s 1,000,000 HP...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face grew ugly; he was struggling against just one, let alone two. To kill such zombies, he felt that currently, aside from using the human wave tactic, it would probably just depend on various kinds of missiles or even nuclear weapons, heavy instruments like that. But such weapons couldn¡¯t be used carelessly; if they didn¡¯t kill the zombies and they recovered, they would become stronger! For example, turning into a Seventh Order Lord... that would spell doomsday for the base! The long-haired zombie¡¯s Awakening ability was called ¡°Thorns Growth,¡± the explanation was simple enough, but Wang Tao was uncertain of its power. However, he sensed that it should be a Wood Attribute Awakening... this was somewhat unexpected for Wang Tao, who had thought it was a Psychic System zombie, but it turned out it wasn¡¯t. If it wasn¡¯t a Psychic System zombie, yet its sensing ability was so strong... that indicated that its spiritual power was formidable, and it was very likely to have Psychic System abilities! No wonder Wang Tao found this long-haired zombie more dangerous¡ªit could be similar to him, the kind that receives various benefits and is also proficient! ... Thud, thud¡ª The long-haired zombie was sitting on the Great Axe Zombie¡¯s shoulder, swaggering towards the Night Demon¡¯s direction. The Night Demons apparently also sensed the danger and wanted to flee quickly, but they were entangled by other zombies and couldn¡¯t escape at all. When the long-haired zombie and Great Axe Zombie arrived, the Great Axe Zombie slowly lifted its huge axe. Its movements seemed slow, but were actually very fast; with a raise of the hand and the axe falling, a Night Demon¡¯s head was blown off! Wang Tao found that the Great Axe Zombie¡¯s attack method was very tricky; it didn¡¯t cut at the Night Demon¡¯s neck but split the Night Demon¡¯s forehead with an axe, so the Night Demon¡¯s head exploded like a watermelon and died without question. It wasn¡¯t just the head being severed from the neck but still living... This was a massacre and it felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Not a single Night Demon could withstand a single axe from the Great Axe Zombie, even that Level 5 Lord Night Demon was no exception! When the Great Axe Zombie approached it, it tried to run, but was grabbed by a Frozen Zombie. Although it only wasted half a second, that half-second was enough for it to lose its life. Puchi! [-184752] A single great axe had split the Level 5 Lord Night Demon in half! ¡°Too terrifying!¡± Wang Tao marveled to himself¡ªa Level 5 Lord Night Demon, with over 180,000 HP left, was instantly killed by the Great Axe Zombie? How much damage must that be! It¡¯s one thing to one-shot a Tier-Five Elite, but to kill a Lord in one shot? He guessed there currently weren¡¯t many humans who could withstand this strike. Although Wang Tao had defensive equipment like the Explosion-Proof Suit, he also wasn¡¯t sure if he could withstand it... Wang Tao glanced at the camera hanging on his chest; it was still working normally. He had recorded the entire battle, and although the image wasn¡¯t very clear due to distance and the environment, it could absolutely showcase the combat power of this Great Axe Zombie. When he returned, he¡¯d hand the video over to City Hall, to warn everyone at the base to definitely avoid these two Sixth-Rank Lord Zombies when venturing out... After the Great Axe Zombie dealt with the Level 5 Lord Night Demon, it didn¡¯t go on to deal with a few scattered ones that slipped through the net but instead stopped at a certain location. Then, the Great Axe Zombie was seen kneeling halfway on the ground, placing his left hand in front of the right chest, palm facing upward. The long-haired zombie stood up from its shoulder, stepped onto the Great Axe Zombie¡¯s hand. Then, the Great Axe Zombie laid his hand down, and the long-haired zombie calmly and slowly walked down. ¡°This zombie is quite lazy...¡± Wang Tao muttered some criticism from the distance. That long-haired zombie could have simply jumped down, but it had to make such a scene. Although Wang Tao verbally called it lazy, his face was very serious. This indicated the long-haired zombie was very smart¡ªit made other zombies serve it! This was definitely the smartest zombie Wang Tao had seen so far! Compared to the terrifying Constitution and Ascension speed of zombies, Wang Tao was more concerned about them developing intelligence. Now, it seems it was inevitable that they would become smarter as they evolved! ¡°Hmm?¡± While Wang Tao was contemplating, he saw the long-haired zombie stiffly bend down and pick up some dark and dingy slag from the ground. ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression on the rooftop became even more unsightly. The long-haired zombie wasn¡¯t picking up just anything¡ªit was the very flare that Wang Tao had just thrown! The flare had already burned down to ashes, yet the long-haired zombie was still able to find it? This showed not only intelligence, but also a keen observational ability, and excellent eyesight! Because Wang Tao could only see the zombie¡¯s back from his angle, he couldn¡¯t clearly make out what the long-haired zombie did after picking up the remnants. It seemed to bring it close to its nose for a sniff, then the debris slipped through the zombie¡¯s fingers as it stiffly raised its head, slowly scanning its surroundings. And Wang Tao finally saw the long-haired zombie¡¯s face. It was a female zombie, slender and frail, around one meter fifty-six in height, almost the same height as Jiang Shixue. She had an oval face, but it was covered with large amounts of rotting flesh, gruesome and frightening. Her hair, though dense, had also turned a dull yellow. But what was most striking were her eyes. The eyes of a typical zombie were cloudy and white, indicating a lack of intelligence. But her eyes... although still somewhat murky compared to a human¡¯s, were black, clearer than those of other zombies. Further, there was a faint red glow deep within her eyes, which reminded Wang Tao of Jiang Shixue, who had also become a zombie... As Wang Tao observed the long-haired zombie, it seemed to sense something and turned its head stiffly, staring right at Wang Tao¡¯s position. Wang Tao immediately lowered his binoculars, and a few drops of cold sweat suddenly appeared on his forehead. ¡°Damn, I¡¯ve been spotted! Even from this far away!¡± That brief moment of eye contact told Wang Tao that the long-haired zombie had definitely seen him. ¡°Run!¡± Without hesitation, Wang Tao scooped Lightning up in his left hand and pulled out his sharp long knife with his right, then leaped from the rooftop. ¡°Thud!¡± The sharp long knife plunged into the wall, sparks flying. Wang Tao tightly gripped the knife handle, sliding rapidly down the wall. When he was about halfway to the ground, he immediately threw Lightning, who was in his arms, toward the ground. Lightning began to enlarge in mid-air, and by the time it landed, it was as big as a cow. Wang Tao quickly retracted the sharp long knife, pushed hard against the building¡¯s outer wall with his limbs, and like a flyer soared toward Lightning on the ground, who then leapt high, catching Wang Tao steadily. Just as Wang Tao mounted Lightning, he heard a loud boom from behind. The ceiling of the building had been smashed and shattered, flinging debris, some of which landed on Wang Tao¡¯s back, causing him to wince in pain. ¡°He can throw from a distance, too? No, wait¡ªfuck!¡± Wang Tao took a moment to glance back and immediately cursed. He saw a huge axe embedded in the center of the ruined rooftop, with cracks radiating out from the blade, as if the building might be split in two at any moment. Standing upon the back of that giant axe was a frail long-haired figure! ¡°Not only can she throw from a distance, but she can also carry¡ªoh no, make that fly with the dead!¡± A chill ran down Wang Tao¡¯s spine. If he hadn¡¯t jumped from the building so decisively just now, he might have been able to dodge the giant axe with his speed, but he would have had to face the sixth-rank Lord Zombie head-on. He was only at the fourth level, and managing to kill a Level 5 Lord was already impressive. Challenged to a one-on-one duel with a sixth-rank Lord? That would be seeking death in the most literal sense. ¡°Move, move!¡± Lightning sprinted off, becoming like a bolt of lightning itself, taking Wang Tao and plunging into the snowstorm. The long-haired zombie didn¡¯t chase; it just stood silently on the shaft of the axe, watching the figures of Wang Tao and Lightning fade away. Chapter 1113 - 1113 450 Safe Rendezvous ?Chapter 1113: Chapter 450 Safe Rendezvous Chapter 1113: Chapter 450 Safe Rendezvous ¡°Have we shaken them off?¡± Riding on Lightning¡¯s back, Wang Tao looked back and, seeing no zombies behind them, finally breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Lightning, let¡¯s go... over there!¡± ¡°Woof~¡± Lightning carried Wang Tao to a house by the national highway. Wang Tao jumped off Lightning as its body slowly reverted to normal size. Looking at Lightning panting with its tongue out, Wang Tao gave its head a vigorous rub. ¡°Thanks a lot!¡± ¡°Woof~¡± At that moment, Little Bing cautiously popped its head out from Wang Tao¡¯s upper shirt pocket, making chirping sounds, as if asking whether it was safe now. ¡°It¡¯s safe¡ªfor now.¡± Whoosh¡ª Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Little Bing immediately climbed onto his shoulder, stood upright meticulously observing their surroundings. Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved, grateful that the two Sixth-Rank Lord Zombies hadn¡¯t followed, although other zombies had chased him quite a ways... He was unsure whether those two sixth-rank zombies were behind the others, so for safety¡¯s sake, he didn¡¯t run towards Ding Yuqin but in the opposite direction instead. Now without satellite maps, Wang Tao had no idea where he had run off to; he could only look around to see if there were any signs or markers of some sort. After making sure the area was safe, Wang Tao took out several bottles of Nutrient Solution, and the three of them¡ªa man, a dog, and a ferret¡ªshared a meal. This time they owed their lives to Lightning¡ªotherwise, the situation would be very different. He checked the time; it was just after five in the morning. In a few hours, it would be daylight. He tried to contact Ding Yuqin using the radio and the Perception Ring, but there was no signal for the radio and the ring was out of range, so he couldn¡¯t reach her. However, he could sense that Ding Yuqin was slowly moving away from him¡ªthis was Wang Tao¡¯s specific instruction while fleeing, telling them to distance themselves from him until it was safe, then circle back to meet up with him. Because if Wang Tao really did fight those two sixth-rank zombies, even if the others came to help, they would be of no use. Instead, they might lead to more casualties, which would drag Wang Tao down. It was better for them to stay away from him; it would make it easier for Wang Tao to escape if needed. As for Wang Tao¡¯s safety... as long as the Perception Ring could sense him, it meant Wang Tao was safe, and they had no need to worry; if the ring stopped responding, it meant Wang Tao was gone, and their worrying would be futile... Wang Tao felt that Ding Yuqin should be safe at the moment, but as he once again thought of the two Sixth-Rank Lord Zombies, he felt a shudder of fear. Whether it was the Great Axe Zombie or the long-haired zombie, he couldn¡¯t handle either of them, let alone two. ¡°Zombies really do evolve quickly. There are already two sixth-rank Lord Zombies leading such a huge horde! If they attack Changhe Base, I wonder if those high walls can hold them off...¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao stopped thinking about these things; there was no use worrying about them. Fortunately, the Zombie Herd was relatively far from Changhe Base. Even if they headed that way, it would take them quite a bit of time, giving the people at the base enough time to prepare. Speaking of the Zombie Herd, Wang Tao felt a bit regretful. Those Level 4 and Level 5 Lord Zombies weren¡¯t worth mentioning, since there were too many zombies, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare to hunt them. However, it was truly unfortunate about the Night Demon¡¯s Nest; all the Night Demons had been killed by the herd, and the remaining Incubation Flesh could have been used as feed for the Night Demon Parasites. But regrettably, with two Sixth-Rank Lord Zombies nearby, he couldn¡¯t find the opportunity. Perhaps the Lord Zombies had already destroyed the Night Demon¡¯s Nest... ... At eight in the morning, Wang Tao still hadn¡¯t seen any zombies pursuing them. And his Perception Ring faintly sensed that Ding Yuqin¡¯s distance was closing; she was heading his way! It seemed Ding Yuqin and her group were truly safe. ¡°Lightning, are you rested?¡± Lightning, lying at Wang Tao¡¯s feet, immediately lifted his head. ¡°Then let¡¯s hurry up and go!¡± After rummaging through the stuff in the house, Wang Tao had a general idea of where he was. This place was part of a town, but if he moved on, he would see a city. Wang Tao had first-hand experience of how terrifying cities could be in the Apocalypse. So, he wouldn¡¯t venture into the city alone; he would go back to meet up with Ding Yuqin and the others. However, on the way back, should he take a look at that Zombie Herd? After some thought, Wang Tao decided to take the risk. His main concern was to find out whether, after failing to catch up with him last night, the herd had gone back or left. It would be quite bothersome if the Zombie Herd had left towards Changhe Base. Naturally, Wang Tao hoped the herd would stay put and not move, but soon enough, Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned grave. ¡°Where are the zombies?¡± Last night, during his escape, although Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen those two Sixth-Rank Zombie Lords, many zombies were chasing him. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be sure those two sixth-rank zombies weren¡¯t trailing behind, so he avoided fighting the other zombies, focusing solely on fleeing. In the end, thanks to Lightning¡¯s speed and stamina, he had managed to leave all the zombies behind. Wang Tao was now retracing his original path, theoretically, there should have been zombies on the route back, given the large number chasing him last night. But in reality, there wasn¡¯t a single zombie in sight... ¡°Could it be that the two Sixth-Rank Lord Zombies called back the other pursuing zombies? They wouldn¡¯t have headed for the base, would they? That would just be really unlucky...¡± Chapter 1114 - 1114 450 Safe Rendezvous_2 ?Chapter 1114: Chapter 450 Safe Rendezvous_2 Chapter 1114: Chapter 450 Safe Rendezvous_2 Wang Tao continued to walk forward, reaching the vicinity of the building where the battle had taken place yesterday. There were still no zombies in sight. Not only were the zombies that had been pursuing him on the road gone, but there were no zombies where the herd had previously been! The traces of yesterday¡¯s battle near the building were buried under the heavy snow; however, the axe marks on the rooftop were still clearly visible, though the Giant Axe had disappeared. There wasn¡¯t a single zombie under the building, not even a footprint. Wang Tao carefully probed with his spiritual power and could see footprints beneath the snow, but they were too chaotic to make sense of. ¡°All the zombies are gone; they must have left last night. The question is whether they went to Changhe Base¡ªnot to mention, Ding Yuqin and the others were heading towards the base. If the Zombie Herd went there, they couldn¡¯t possibly get through the herd to find me, so it¡¯s highly likely the herd didn¡¯t head in the direction of the base...¡± Realizing this, Wang Tao heaved a sigh of relief. If that Zombie Herd had gone to the base, whether the high walls could withstand them was a question... ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao suddenly discovered that the Incubation Flesh inside the building was still alive! ¡°The Frozen Zombies didn¡¯t destroy this Incubation Flesh?¡± Wang Tao took a closer look and saw that the Incubation Flesh was not completely undamaged, but the vast majority were well preserved, with many being full HP. Wang Tao guessed that these damages were probably caused by the axes thrown by the Great Axe Zombie yesterday, but that was it. The Great Axe Zombie and the long-haired zombie had not touched the Incubation Flesh after that. This was good news for Wang Tao! Because he still had many Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs, which he could now use here. And the scale of this Night Demon¡¯s Nest was large, with plenty of Incubation Flesh! He should be able to incubate a good number of Night Demons! ¡°Although I didn¡¯t manage to kill the Zombie Lord, being able to incubate Night Demons means this trip wasn¡¯t in vain...¡± Wang Tao showed a smile on his face. However, to use the Insect Eggs, he needed to capture zombies to host the parasites. So, Wang Tao began to search for zombies right there, including the shopping mall and other places. His search proved frustrating¡ªalthough he found quite a few Crystal Cores, probably leftovers from the battles between zombies and Night Demons the previous night, as they had no use for Crystal Cores. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t see a single zombie... The zombies of this herd had truly all left, not one remained behind. With no choice, Wang Tao had to look for zombies in other areas around, but frustratingly, after several hours of searching, he wasn¡¯t able to find a single one. ¡°Have all the zombies gone...¡± Wang Tao was very disappointed. At that moment, a Crystal Energy Car arrived fast and stopped beside Wang Tao; a group of people quickly got out of the car, and Ding Yuqin, her eyes red, threw herself into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao hugged her and then embraced Han Rui, Jiang Shixue, Wei Zhenguo, and the others one by one. The events of the previous night were a life-and-death crisis for them. Especially for Wang Tao, he was the one in the gravest danger among them. Now seeing Wang Tao safe and sound, they were all relieved and felt the joy of having survived a great calamity. Little Bing ran out from Wang Tao¡¯s pocket and stuck close to Little Huo, who had just crawled out of Qu Shilin¡¯s arms. The two ferrets chirped at each other as if recounting the harrowing events of the previous night. Qu Shilin approached Wang Tao, opened her arms, and also gave Wang Tao a big hug. Although she didn¡¯t quite understand what danger Wang Tao had faced the night before, the way Wang Tao had instructed them was almost like a last will. This had made Qu Shilin¡¯s heart flutter, and tears flowed out. After all, Wang Tao was one of her few good friends. If a friend were to die in the same mission, even if she hadn¡¯t done anything wrong, she would still feel very guilty. Fortunately, Wang Tao was still alive. ¡°I¡¯m fine!¡± Wang Tao let go of Qu Shilin, patted her shoulder, then turned to the others. ¡°Seeing that all of you are okay, I can finally set my mind at ease! Speaking of which, did any of you see where the Zombie Herd went last night?¡± ¡°I saw that some of the zombies seemed to be heading south, and the rest of the zombies stayed where they were. I didn¡¯t dare to look more and left quickly with everyone...¡± Jiang Shixue said with her head bowed. She felt that her own strength was still too weak to protect Wang Tao, which made her somewhat self-blaming. If it hadn¡¯t been for Ding Yuqin, who could sense that Wang Tao was still alive through the Perception Ring, and Wang Tao instructing her to lead everyone away quickly, she would have turned back to look for Wang Tao. Feeling Jiang Shixue¡¯s mood was a bit down, Wang Tao immediately grabbed Jiang Shixue¡¯s hand. Then with furrowed brows, he said, ¡°And that means these zombies didn¡¯t actually head north. However, when I was coming back from the south today, I didn¡¯t see any trace of the zombie herd all the way. I¡¯m certain they didn¡¯t pass me, which suggests that after chasing me for a while, they didn¡¯t continue southward but instead turned east or west halfway...¡± Changhe Base was to the north, so the zombie herd not going north was indeed good news. However, the zombie herd still existed and it was unknown where they went, which still was a time bomb... The people looked at each other, unsure of what to do. ¡°Forget it, even if we know the movements of the zombie herd, there¡¯s nothing we can do. We might as well take the opportunity to enhance our strength now!¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then looked towards the others, ¡°Did you see any zombies on your way back? The Incubation Flesh here is still preserved; we can hatch Night Demon Worm Eggs!¡± ¡°We did see them! We saw some scattered Frozen Zombies on our way here, but it¡¯s a bit far from here...¡± Han Rui immediately said. ¡°Distance isn¡¯t an issue as long as they exist, let¡¯s capture the zombies!¡± Wang Tao called everyone to get on the vehicle and head towards the location specified by Han Rui to capture the zombies. Qu Shilin had never seen firsthand how to cultivate the Night Demon, so he discussed it with everyone on the way. When it got dark, Wang Tao saw the zombies Han Rui had mentioned. It was a dilapidated town, where one could see some Frozen Zombie Elites shaking and wandering aimlessly in the snow. ¡°They¡¯re all Fourth-rank Frozen Zombie Elites, go!¡± Wang Tao led the group out of the vehicle. All of them were Fourth-order Awakeners and had already figured out the characteristics of the Frozen Zombies, naturally capturing these zombies was like taking candy from a baby. After a bit of time, all the heads of the Frozen Zombies wandering around the town were chopped off. Qu Shilin watched as Wang Tao and the others threw the Zombie Heads into the back of the truck, quickly piling them into a small hill. She wasn¡¯t scared at all; instead, she looked forward to it even more. Soon, the zombies outside the town were all captured, but Wang Tao felt the number was insufficient, so he led the group into the town. The number of zombies inside the town was visibly larger, but as long as there was no Zombie Lord, they wouldn¡¯t pose too much of a threat to them. After some more time, Wang Tao thought they had enough and was about to lead everyone out when Han Rui suddenly whispered, ¡°I¡¯ve found humans, hiding in the basement of the house in front of us!¡± ¡°There are still humans? What kind of strength do they possess?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. To survive in such ice and snow indicated they must be quite capable. ¡°There are nine people in total, eight of them seem to be ordinary people, and only one is an Ability User, but just a Level Two...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was extremely surprised. How had they survived with such strength? ¡°Let¡¯s go have a look!¡± He led everyone into the house, knocking on the basement door. Knock, knock, knock¡ª There was no response. ¡°There¡¯s no one inside, let¡¯s break in. Maybe there¡¯s good stuff in there.¡± Wang Tao purposely spoke out loud. Creak¡ª As soon as he finished speaking, the basement door opened. ¡°There are people! We¡¯re inside, please don¡¯t break the door!¡± A warm current hit them, mixed with an unpleasant smell. Three men dressed in dirty, thick clothes, with jaundiced complexions, looked at Wang Tao and his group with trepidation. Wang Tao twitched his nose, his eyebrows raising. That was the scent of ¡°Holy medicine¡±! People from Dusk Church? Chapter 1115 - 1115 451 Great Ambitions ?Chapter 1115: Chapter 451: Great Ambitions Chapter 1115: Chapter 451: Great Ambitions ¡°They shouldn¡¯t have found us, right?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°They¡¯re heading this way!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°They¡¯re knocking on the door! We¡¯ve been discovered!¡± ¡°They¡¯re going to break the door, hurry and open it! If the door breaks, we¡¯ll freeze to death!¡± ¡°...¡± Watching the group of people trembling with fear, Wang Tao looked at them with a half-smiling expression. ¡°You seem very afraid of us? Do you know who we are?¡± ¡°...¡± The three of them exchanged glances, none daring to speak. ¡°Not talking means you agree.¡± Wang Tao quickly drew his conclusion, the man in the middle opened his mouth as if to say something, but Wang Tao interrupted, ¡°What are you doing inside?¡± ¡°...Taking refuge!¡± The man on the left quickly spoke. ¡°What are you cooking?¡± ¡°...Soup! It¡¯s roots and expired food inside...¡± The man on the right answered. Wang Tao asked questions, and all three men answered, although their responses clearly did not satisfy Wang Tao. Looking at the three men shivering with cold, Wang Tao said: ¡°It¡¯s so cold outside, won¡¯t you invite us in?¡± ¡°This...¡± Upon hearing this, the three men¡¯s faces instantly showed great difficulty. They obviously did not want to let Wang Tao and his people in, but they dared not refuse directly. Although the three ordinary people couldn¡¯t discern the strength of Wang Tao¡¯s group, nobody¡¯s a fool, to be active in such ice and snow must mean they are capable, right? Not to mention, standing behind Wang Tao was a half-human half-mechanical ¡°monster,¡± clearly equipped with various firearms! For ordinary people, the oppressive feeling of firearms might be stronger than that of Ability Users, after all, ¡°bullets can kill¡± is deeply ingrained in many people. While the three men were somewhat troubled, a weak voice suddenly came from inside. ¡°Please, let the guests in! Cough cough...¡± The three men quickly stepped aside. Wang Tao gestured to the people behind him, some stayed outside, while the others followed him in. Although Wang Tao had already used his spiritual power to scout the interior, when out and about, one can never be too vigilant. The basement was not as dim as imagined, for there were three large pots cooking something dark, and the fires beneath were blazing, illuminating the entire space. Several yellow-faced, lean people, dirty all over, huddled together, both men and women, and even a child of about ten years old. Seeing Han Rui and several other beautiful and clean women, they seemed quite amazed, but they dared not stare and lowered their heads. Wang Tao and the others instinctively covered their noses, the smell here was somewhat unpleasant, not the scent of the people but of what was cooking in the pots. A skinny middle-aged man with sparse hair came forward. ¡°Cough cough, hello! My name is Zhan Xing...¡± ¡°I¡¯m Wang Tao.¡± Wang Tao briefly shook hands with him. Zhan Xing was the only Second-order Superpower Owner in the basement. ¡°Please forgive my companions¡¯ rudeness. I know you¡¯re not those thugs and you won¡¯t harm us. But you know how it is nowadays, we¡¯re very afraid of strangers...¡± Zhan Xing seemed to be apologizing to Wang Tao but also subtly subjected him to a ¡°moral bind.¡± Of course, this sort of thing obviously wasn¡¯t very effective, but it was better than nothing... ¡°Surviving in such an environment is truly no small feat!¡± Wang Tao looked around and sighed. Now, not only are there zombies but also this cold weather. Wang Tao originally thought anyone outside would likely have frozen to death by now, but surprisingly there were still people surviving. And although these ordinary people looked to be in terrible condition, their HP was actually very healthy. It was only their sole Ability User who was at Half Blood. ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s not easy!¡± Zhan Xing also sighed. Then he looked at Wang Tao, somewhat apprehensively asking: ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s anything Mr. Wang needs us to do? As long as we¡¯re capable, we won¡¯t refuse!¡± Zhan Xing was well aware that against such a group of Ability Users, they had no power to resist, so it was better to be proactive and see what these people really wanted to do. These people were almost all ordinary with nothing of value here, the only thing of value might be what was cooking in the pot... that shouldn¡¯t be of interest, should it? Wang Tao didn¡¯t answer directly but instead asked back. ¡°Do you know who we are?¡± It was a question he had just asked before. Zhan Xing immediately said: ¡°You all must be from Changhe Base, right?¡± He was also a bit puzzled, in this environment, Changhe Base was still letting people out? ¡°Knowing we¡¯re from Changhe Base, yet you still fear us so?¡± Wang Tao asked again. He could feel that these people were truly afraid of them, not just afraid, but also held great hostility towards him! Because before opening the door, Wang Tao had used his spiritual power to probe, he actually saw despair on the faces of these ordinary people, and even heard whispers among them about perishing together. This confused Wang Tao; Changhe Base¡¯s reputation couldn¡¯t be that bad, could it? Even if they feared Changhe Base, they wouldn¡¯t think of mutual destruction upon meeting, would they? Could it be Changhe Base¡¯s purging of the Dusk Church from within the base was exposed, igniting these Dusk Church supporters¡¯ collective animosity? Chapter 1116 - 1116 451 Great Ambitions_2 ?Chapter 1116: Chapter 451: Great Ambitions_2 Chapter 1116: Chapter 451: Great Ambitions_2 But at the time, the temperature had dropped sharply, turning everything into ice and snow, and no one was leaving the city. People outside probably didn¡¯t know about the removal of the Dusk Church within the base unless they had tools like Perception Rings to transmit messages! Or perhaps, someone from Changhe Base had done something in the past that caused suffering and influenced the reputation of the base... Wang Tao needed to figure out what exactly was going on. ¡°Uh, no no! This is just the awe we feel towards the powerful!¡± Zhan Xing kept waving his hands. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say anything; he just looked at him. Sweat immediately broke out on Zhan Xing¡¯s forehead, but he didn¡¯t change his tune. Meanwhile, the nearby Ordinary people all bowed their heads, their bodies trembling slightly as though they were very frightened. But Wang Tao could feel their muscles tensed, ready to pounce on him at any moment! This surprised Wang Tao even more. He was a Fourth-order Awakener, and these were merely Ordinary people, not even at Level 1. And yet these Ordinary people wanted to attack him? Who gave them the courage? ¡°Mr. Wang, please don¡¯t misunderstand! We haven¡¯t seen other people for a long time and we instinctively feel scared when we see strangers. After all, in the Apocalypse, humans themselves are also a threat, as you must know. Of course, I¡¯m not saying you are a threat, I know you are a good person...¡± Zhan Xing continued to explain and even tried to present Wang Tao as a good person. Wang Tao became impatient; he frowned and looked at Zhan Xing. ¡°We have other matters to attend to, no time to dawdle with you, tell me, why do you harbor such animosity towards me?¡± As soon as he said this, Zhan Xing¡¯s face changed, and the Ordinary people who had been watching the situation closely immediately burst out, rushing toward Han Rui and Jiang Shixue. ¡°Capture them!¡± Someone shouted. Zhan Xing also immediately pulled out a dagger and stabbed towards Wang Tao at close range. Wang Tao made no extra moves, just glanced at Zhan Xing, and instantly, Zhan Xing¡¯s body stiffened, and the dagger dropped to the ground. His eyes seemed unfocused, as if his soul had left him, and he collapsed to the ground, dispirited. Meanwhile, on the other side, the situation took Wang Tao by surprise. These Ordinary people charged at Han Rui and the women, and Wang Tao thought they would easily subdue them, but it took the women a couple of moves to get control! Ordinary people on one side, and a Fourth-order Awakener on the other. Ordinary people managed to exchange a few moves with the Awakeners? Even though Han Rui and her team did indeed intend to avoid harming lives and probably held back a bit, it shouldn¡¯t have turned into an even fight with Ordinary people, even if it only lasted two moves. ¡°These people are unusual! Their strength is immense, comparable to that of second or third-level Ability Users!¡± After subduing these people, Han Rui came up to Wang Tao and whispered. ¡°Oh?¡± Wang Tao suddenly realized something, which explained why they could fight with Han Rui and the others for a couple of moves, but then he was perplexed. Ordinary people with the physical qualities of an Ability User? What was going on? Wang Tao looked towards Zhan Xing, who was still laying on the ground, not yet awoken. Wang Tao had tried to use as little spiritual power as possible, but Zhan Xing still couldn¡¯t handle it. Then Wang Tao turned his eyes toward the subdued Ordinary people, who were all staring fiercely at him, including the child, as if they bore deep hatred towards Wang Tao. ¡°Kill us, we won¡¯t tell you anything!¡± These people were quite tough. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be bothered to say more and was about to let Jiang Shixue handle it. Jiang Shixue¡¯s [String Puppet] Awakening could make them spill everything, although it would cause some damage to their bodies, but they were asking for it. Just as Wang Tao was about to let Jiang Shixue take action, he seemed to suddenly think of something, and took out a golden square badge from his backpack and then wore it on his chest. When Wang Tao turned around, revealing the badge on his chest, the subdued people were about to continue cursing, but their words suddenly stuck. ¡°You, you...¡± ¡°Let¡¯s reintroduce myself. I¡¯m a Senior Priest of the Dusk Church. I¡¯ve just been hiding in the city, so you probably haven¡¯t seen me. They are all our own people.¡± Wang Tao spoke without a flicker of emotion. The people were somewhat stunned; they never expected Wang Tao to be a member of the Dusk Church! To let them get a good look at the badge, Wang Tao deliberately walked over to them and had Xiang Hongbin release them. They rubbed their eyes; indeed, they hadn¡¯t seen wrong, it was the genuine badge of a Church Priest ¨C they had their own ways to verify the authenticity of a badge, and however they looked at it, the badge was genuine. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± After being released, they immediately knelt down before Wang Tao. Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. He had just spontaneously thought about impersonating a priest of the Dusk Church using their badge. He wasn¡¯t sure if these people would recognize it, but he figured it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try... and unexpectedly, it worked. Since it worked, things would be easier moving forward. Wang Tao directly asked, ¡°Why do you have such hostility toward me?¡± ¡°Oh no, it isn¡¯t you we dislike! It¡¯s the people from Changhe Base we resent.¡± The individuals hurriedly explained. ¡°Why do you harbor hostility toward the people from Changhe Base? I haven¡¯t been out for a long time and haven¡¯t really interacted with outsiders.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s excuse was a bit flimsy, but these people believed him. Or rather, they would never doubt their superiors. ¡°It¡¯s because Changhe Base sent people to massively hunt us down; they wanted to completely annihilate us! Many of our brothers died at the hands of Changhe Base! We must avenge this...¡± Watching this person talk so passionately, Wang Tao was full of questions. Wait, since when did Changhe Base send people to hunt you down? Wang Tao was definitely a high-ranking official at Changhe Base now, if something like this had happened, he would definitely know about it. Moreover, the most important thing was, he had personally destroyed the Dusk Church in the city, and it had only been a few days since the annihilation of the Dusk Church. No one from the city had gone out except them! So, who was it that hunted them? Could it be a case of mistaken identity, or some misunderstanding or coincidence? ¡°Were you present when this happened?¡± Wang Tao asked, puzzled. ¡°No, but this matter has spread throughout the church; we all know...¡± ¡°Yes! My friend went missing during that conflict...¡± ¡°...¡± Mentioning this, the several people got very agitated. Even the teenaged child¡¯s eyes flashed with the light of hatred. ¡°My mother was killed in the hunt!¡± ¡°Did you see it with your own eyes?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked. ¡°No, an uncle told me...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao felt like he was starting to understand something, then he asked again: ¡°When exactly did this hunt take place?¡± ¡°It started at the end of January and lasted until it began to snow!¡± The people quickly responded. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged, but he was very speechless inside. He remembered the end of January very clearly because that was the first time he encountered the Giant Eagle. At that time, after he informed City Hall about the presence of the Giant Eagle, many Ability Users dared not leave their homes. It just so happened to be New Year, so many simply chose to wait until after the festivities to go out. Moreover, at that time, there was absolutely no news about the Dusk Church in the city; nobody knew of its existence. Furthermore, although the several individuals here spoke fervently, they had not seen it with their own eyes... Thus, Wang Tao had reasons to suspect that this so-called ¡°hunt,¡± this ¡°complete annihilation,¡± was all false, a lie fabricated by someone intent on inciting their hatred! As for who this ¡°someone¡± might be... there was no need to think, it must be the higher-ups of the Dusk Church. So the Dusk Church incited hatred against Changhe Base among the survivors outside the city while infiltrating the city internally... the Dusk Church¡¯s ambitions were not small indeed! Chapter 1117 - 1117 452 I am Master Sido ?Chapter 1117: Chapter 452 I am Master Sido Chapter 1117: Chapter 452 I am Master Sido ¡°So you¡¯re saying that Changhe Base has always been hunting down our Dusk Church outside?¡± Wang Tao asked, his expression unchanged. ¡°To be precise, not only are they hunting down our Church, but they also chase down and kill other survivors they find!¡± ¡°...¡± Well, well, Wang Tao was utterly speechless. The ¡°facts¡± concocted by the Dusk Church were even more outlandish than he had imagined. He had originally thought that ¡°Changhe Base hunting down the Dusk Church¡± was preposterous, especially since the Church hadn¡¯t been exposed at the time. But unexpectedly, it turned out to be ¡°Changhe Base hunting down so-called non-Base humans¡±... which was even more implausible! Because there were clear rules within the Base, if survivors were found outside, as long as they weren¡¯t infected with the Zombie Virus and their Internal Impurity levels weren¡¯t high, they could be brought back and the Base would give out generous rewards. Back when Wang Tao and the others were trapped in Zijing City, the Base had made contact and immediately sent people to rescue them! So where was the so-called hunting? The people of the Base weren¡¯t stupid; infighting at a time like this was the stupidest behavior... These people also said they had joined the Dusk Church out of desperation before the heavy snow, because the Church had promised them sanctuary and said there were Church moles inside the Base who would warn them in advance if anyone pursued them. And since they joined the Church, they really hadn¡¯t seen any pursuit, so they believed the Dusk Church¡¯s words even more... ¡°Wait a minute, you just said you joined because you had no choice? How were you forced?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Master Sido, it was like this...¡± The people explained hastily, and after hearing them out, Wang Tao was again speechless. Their so-called being forced was entirely based on hearsay¡ªthey heard one day that survivors were being killed here, then heard the next day that survivors were being killed there, as if all the survivors around them had been killed. They panicked enormously, and just at that moment, members of the Dusk Church showed up, and they joined the Church. After they followed the Church¡¯s people away, the news of survivors being killed stopped immediately, and they seemed to have truly found safety... Hearing is deceptive, seeing is believing... Everyone understands this principle, but when things actually happen around you, it¡¯s possible to get flustered and easily exploited by others. The Dusk Church was obviously doing this, deliberately creating fake news for these people, instilling a sense of urgency, and then saying that by joining the Church, they would be protected. In these ¡°precarious times,¡± they obviously saw the Church as their Savior... All of these were self-directed plays by the Dusk Church, but unfortunately, the people of Changhe Base didn¡¯t know about it, so they couldn¡¯t expose the scam. Perhaps some clever people saw through it all, but if their strength didn¡¯t match up, no one dared to speak out... Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how many other survivors there were outside Changhe Base, but he guessed there were quite a few, since humans are very tenacious. If the Dusk Church could really incite so many survivors to join them and harbor hatred towards Changhe Base, then once their strength accumulated to a certain level, they would definitely launch an attack on the Base. If it were only an external attack, the Base wouldn¡¯t be afraid. But if it was an attack from both inside and out... Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved that he accidentally destroyed the Church¡¯s presence inside the Base, or the Base might really face a crisis! ¡°Have you been to our Church?¡± Wang Tao suddenly spoke up. ¡°No, we¡¯re not qualified yet. They said when we are, they¡¯d take us back to the Base. We don¡¯t even know where the Base is, Master Sido, can you possibly...¡± As they spoke of the Church¡¯s base, their eyes lit up. Clearly, the people from Changhe Base had painted them another pie in the sky. ¡°I can¡¯t, I have my mission.¡± Wang Tao shook his head directly. It was a pity that these people didn¡¯t know where the old lair of the Dusk Church was, or else Wang Tao would have destroyed it right then and there. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s refusal, the people were somewhat disappointed, but they didn¡¯t dare to say more. And when Wang Tao had just mentioned ¡°mission,¡± they suddenly thought, could this Priest Lord be the Church¡¯s mole within the Base? Then everything made sense¡ªno wonder Priest Lord asked so many basic questions; certainly, because it was not convenient to communicate with the outside world from within the Base, it was normal for information to be blocked! Wang Tao was unaware that his identity seemed legitimate all of a sudden, not that it really mattered; after all, these people weren¡¯t core members of the Church, they didn¡¯t know much, nor dared to question his identity. Wang Tao still had a few questions he needed to understand: one was where all these so-called holy medicines were coming from. Another was, even though they were all Ordinary people with 1000 HP, why was their physical condition so strong... He didn¡¯t beat around the bush and asked directly: ¡°Where did you get these holy medicines from?¡± ¡°This is all provided free of charge by a Deacon...¡± They answered hastily. ¡°Your physical condition seems quite good, what¡¯s up with that?¡± Wang Tao asked again. ¡°Uh, we also found that we seemed to have gotten stronger. It must be from drinking the holy medicine...¡± After a series of questions, Wang Tao more or less understood the situation. The medicine was all provided for free by the Deacon who had initially cajoled them, and their physical condition had also improved because of this medicine. Chapter 1118 - 1118 452 I am Master Sido_2 ?Chapter 1118: Chapter 452 I am Master Sido_2 Chapter 1118: Chapter 452 I am Master Sido_2 ¡°It¡¯s free,¡± they said, but there¡¯s no such thing as a free lunch. Once they drank this medicine, they were obliged to obey the Church¡¯s orders unconditionally. This medicine was different from those available at the base, they consumed it daily without the blood bar indicating any poisoning or other negative effects. However, Wang Tao did not believe the Dusk Church was so benevolent, as medicine that could enhance physical conditions was rare ... he felt there had to be a price to pay! Yet, truth be told, this medicine did save their lives. After the heavy snow, the temperature outside was too low, coupled with stronger Frozen Zombies appearing, they could no longer venture outside in search of food. This medicine was not just soup, but a sticky substance, filling enough when eaten. It was this medicine that kept them alive until now. Wang Tao signaled with his eyes, and Han Rui and the others took a share of this medicine and planned to have Qu Shilin examine it later to see if they could make any discoveries. Watching their sustenance being taken away, the people subconsciously moved their mouths but dared not speak. Nevertheless, Wang Tao had Xiang Hongbin distribute some pancakes and dried meat to them. ¡°For us?¡± Their eyes widened instantly, and the saliva of the teenager seemed almost ready to flow. When was the last time they had eaten proper food? It seemed like it was before the Apocalypse! ¡°It¡¯s for you, eat it. However, I suggest you ration it, as no one knows when this snow will stop.¡± ¡°Understood, understood!¡± They quickly took the food, tore a small piece of pancake for the child, and did not eat themselves. Instead, they wrapped the food in cloth to eat later that evening. After they carefully preserved the food, Wang Tao then asked, ¡°Is this Zhan Xing with you?¡± Zhan Xing, overwhelmed by Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power, was still unconscious. He had been injured earlier and was at half blood, leaving him with just a sliver of health even after Wang Tao ceased the power. Without Wang Tao¡¯s help, he surely wouldn¡¯t survive the night. ¡°Yes, we knew each other before the Apocalypse and fled together. We were rejected by Changhe Base then joined the Church together ... Zhan Xing offended Priest Lord; it was his own fault. But, but he shouldn¡¯t die, right?¡± The group looked nervously at Wang Tao. Zhan Xing was the strongest among them, unfortunate to be heavily wounded during a previous outing, attacked by a horde of zombies. If Zhan Xing died, surviving this winter would become even more difficult. Hearing them mention being rejected by Changhe Base, Wang Tao sighed internally. The Dusk Church likely exploited their resentment towards Changhe Base¡ªdue to impurities in their bodies akin to a time bomb, the base wouldn¡¯t allow such people, naturally resentment brewed among them. But this was unavoidable; the base¡¯s leadership had to be responsible for the 500,000 survivors ... ¡°He won¡¯t die.¡± Wang Tao turned to Lan Yulian, who immediately stepped forward to heal Zhan Xing. With a swish¡ª Zhan Xing¡¯s health rapidly recovered, and he slowly opened his eyes. ¡°I ... You ...¡± He was still confused; the other survivors quickly ran over and explained the situation to him. ¡°Priest Lord, I¡¯m sorry!¡± After coming to his senses, Zhan Xing immediately apologized. Wang Tao could tell¡ªZhan Xing did not suspect his identity; they probably never thought someone would impersonate a priest. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao nodded and then had Lan Yulian heal everyone present. Their health hadn¡¯t been full, they were in a sub-healthy state. After being healed by Lan Yulian, each of them was thrilled beyond belief. The sensation of having full health was exhilarating, giving them the false impression that they could take on the Frozen Zombies alone. ¡°Take care, we¡¯re leaving.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, leading his people out of the basement. Those people seemed somewhat reluctant as it had been a long while since they had seen others, especially ¡°one of their own.¡± ¡°Priest Lord, please be careful as well! I hope your mission goes smoothly!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, and then he and his group disappeared from the view of the crowd. ¡°Everyone says that the high ranks of the Church are mysterious and not easy to talk to. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s entirely true; this Priest Lord seems quite approachable!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! This Priest Lord is so approachable...¡± ¡°I never thought that we¡¯d ever get to see a Deacon, let alone a Priest Lord! And he not only gave us so much food but also healed us... He¡¯s truly a good person!¡± ¡°Thankfully, the Priest Lord is kind-hearted; otherwise, for the crime of offending him, nobody would speak up for us if he had killed us...¡± ¡°I hope we get the chance to meet this Priest Lord again...¡± ... ¡°Are you not going to kill them?¡± On the way back, Qu Shilin couldn¡¯t hold back her curiosity and quietly approached Wang Tao. She knew these people were pitiable, and she wasn¡¯t one to kill, but she was rational. Given that Dusk Church might bring trouble to the base in the future, wouldn¡¯t it be most appropriate to eliminate the problem completely? Wang Tao had pardoned them, even providing them with healing and food, which didn¡¯t seem right... Faced with Qu Shilin¡¯s doubts, Wang Tao suddenly smiled: ¡°What¡¯s the use of killing them? The outside world is vast, who knows how many people from Dusk Church are hiding? I could kill these few, but can I kill everyone? Obviously, that¡¯s impossible. But if we keep them, they could be of great use...¡± ¡°They could be of great use?¡± Qu Shilin was still a bit confused. ¡°Let me ask you, under what identity did I speak with them just now?¡± Wang Tao put away the Priest¡¯s badge on his chest. ¡°As a Priest of the Church...¡± Seeing the badge, Qu Shilin seemed to grasp something. ¡°Exactly, I am a Priest of the Dusk Church. Although this identity is fake, whenever I encounter people from Dusk Church in the future, I¡¯ll maintain this Priest identity. As long as enough people believe in me, the fake will become reality! I can even claim that I am the legitimate Dusk Church and that certain Bishop is an imposter!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Qu Shilin hadn¡¯t expected Wang Tao to think this way, but after thinking about it, it seemed reasonable¡ªwait, there was still a problem! Qu Shilin hurriedly added: ¡°But the Church Bishop should know all the Priest identities, right? If he confronts you and provides proof, won¡¯t your cover be blown?¡± ¡°Ha ha!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao burst into laughter. ¡°He dares to confront me? If he dares come, I dare to kill! Once he¡¯s killed, I¡¯ll become the new Bishop!¡± Wang Tao just didn¡¯t know where the Church¡¯s stronghold was; otherwise, he would have already gone and taken it down. A Bishop? Wang Tao was not afraid of him. ¡°...¡± Qu Shilin opened her mouth, momentarily at a loss for words. What Wang Tao said... seemed flawlessly logical! The strength of Dusk Church lay in secrecy, whereas Wang Tao¡¯s strength was in power! She didn¡¯t believe that any Bishop could outmatch Wang Tao; if he dared to confront Wang Tao directly, it would surely be a dead end! Thinking this, Qu Shilin suddenly felt a sense of anticipation. She was quite eager to see that Bishop in a situation where ¡°he couldn¡¯t fight nor argue effectively¡±... ¡°By the way, I took some of those Holy medicines; when you get back, test them and compare them with our base¡¯s Holy medicine to see what the differences are... I feel there are side effects, but I just can¡¯t see them yet...¡± ¡°No problem, that¡¯s within my duties!¡± ¡°Good, then let¡¯s go, to cultivate the Night Demon, lest too much time pass and something unexpected happens.¡± Wang Tao and his group got into the car, heading towards the building that housed the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Chapter 1119 - 1119 453 Using Insect Eggs ?Chapter 1119: Chapter 453: Using Insect Eggs Chapter 1119: Chapter 453: Using Insect Eggs ¡°No zombies around, it¡¯s safe!¡± After arriving at the building, Wang Tao and his group did not rush inside but carefully searched the surroundings. Only after confirming there were no zombies did they enter the building. ¡°Is this the incubation flesh...¡± Seeing the dark red flesh that was still slightly trembling, Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes lit up. She had known about this stuff for a long time, but she had never seen it alive before; today was quite the revelation. The only pity was that Wang Tao needed to use this incubation flesh, otherwise she would really have liked to take it back for research... ¡°Set up the ultraviolet lamps...¡± Wang Tao took out a large number of ultraviolet lamps and handed them to the people; he then went to get the still-living zombie heads from the truck. He placed the Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs one by one. These seemingly ordinary insect eggs, upon falling into the zombie¡¯s mouths, had the parasite instantly break out of the shell and bore directly into the zombie¡¯s head... ¡°So this is a parasite...¡± Seeing this for the first time, Qu Shilin felt a chill down her spine. She couldn¡¯t tell at all from the appearance what these were. If she hadn¡¯t known in advance that these were parasite eggs, she might have been infected herself. After all, her curiosity was strong, and she liked to study whatever she saw. After some time, Wang Tao finally finished his part, and the ultraviolet lamps were ready on the other side. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± At Wang Tao¡¯s command, everyone immediately threw the still-living zombie heads into the incubation flesh. The Night Demon¡¯s Nest in this building was actually quite large, leaving a lot of incubation flesh. For safety, Wang Tao didn¡¯t use all the insect eggs at once but proceeded from bottom to top, step by step. Without the incubation flesh, the hatching time for the Night Demon Parasites was within seven days, with about a one-third chance of success. However, with the incubation flesh, not only was the time significantly reduced, but the chance of success also greatly increased. Just an hour later, the incubation flesh in front of them began to move and roll, as if something was about to burst forth. Swipe¡ª The prepared group immediately turned on the ultraviolet lamps, and the entire floor was instantly filled with a dense purple light. Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Xiang Hongbin could adjust their eyes to the light and weren¡¯t bothered by the glare. But the others couldn¡¯t, and they all put on sunglasses. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± Several Night Demons had just been born, and this was the grand welcome they received; they were suppressed by the ultraviolet light, all attributes greatly reduced. Wang Tao and the others immediately went up and quickly eliminated these three Fourth-Order Night Demons. ¡°Ah? Is, is it over already?¡± Qu Shilin, who was holding Little Huo, ready to provide flame support, was somewhat stunned. She knew that Wang Tao dared to do this because he was sure they could win, but after all, these were Fourth-Level Night Demons. Even if they could win, it should have taken some time, right? But this... this was too quick! While she was still thinking about ¡°when to have Little Huo breathe fire without hurting anyone,¡± Wang Tao and the others had already finished the battle... ¡°With the suppression of ultraviolet light, it¡¯s actually quite simple,¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. They had already set up ultraviolet lamps all around, and they had also prepared a large number of ultraviolet illumination flares. Coupled with the fact that the Night Demons were not very conscious when they were just born... under these conditions, killing these Night Demon Lords with their group¡¯s strength was too easy. ¡°...Awesome!¡± Qu Shilin gave a thumbs-up. It was her first time experiencing the power of ultraviolet light so directly. Initially, she had been somewhat nervous, facing Night Demons inside their nest, but seeing how strong Wang Tao and his peers were, she instantly relaxed quite a bit. What followed was essentially a one-sided slaughter. The Fourth-Level Night Demons stood no chance against Wang Tao and his group. Moreover, Wang Tao specifically controlled the number, with a maximum of five Fourth-Level Night Demons appearing at the same time. This number was clearly not a problem for them. The group fought from day to night, and after personally chopping up the last Fourth-Order Night Demon, Wang Tao called out. ¡°Let¡¯s rest for a bit; next up are the Fifth-Order Night Demons, can¡¯t be careless.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone immediately sat down on the floor, taking out nutrient solution to guzzle down. Qu Shilin came to Wang Tao¡¯s side somewhat surprised and asked worriedly: ¡°Are we still going to kill Fifth-Order Night Demons? Won¡¯t that be too dangerous?¡± She didn¡¯t doubt that Wang Tao and his team could kill Fifth-Order Night Demons; she really believed in Wang Tao¡¯s strength. But if Wang Tao continued the previous approach, facing a group of zombies all at once, she felt that would still be quite dangerous, especially since these were Fifth-Order Night Demons! ¡°Mmm, there¡¯s a lot of incubation flesh this time, it¡¯d be a waste not to use it. But don¡¯t worry, hunting Fifth-Order Night Demons naturally can¡¯t be as casual as just now. We¡¯ll have to kill them one by one...¡± ¡°Phew! That¡¯s good! Sorry, I was overthinking!¡± Qu Shilin immediately patted her chest, a bit worried that Wang Tao was getting carried away, but Wang Tao was much more cautious than she imagined. Shaking her head, she realized she had been overly concerned. In fact, on careful observation, it would be apparent that Wang Tao was always very calm. After resting for half an hour, everyone had mostly recovered. Wang Tao started throwing heads infected with Fifth-Order Parasites into the incubation flesh. About an hour later, the incubation flesh writhed, and a Fifth-Order Night Demon Lord slowly crawled out of the flesh. Chapter 1120 - 1120 453 Using Insect Eggs_2 ?Chapter 1120: Chapter 453: Using Insect Eggs_2 Chapter 1120: Chapter 453: Using Insect Eggs_2 ¡°Good luck, we got a Lord as our first one, let¡¯s go!¡± Wang Tao himself could solo a Level 5 Lord Night Demon, but there was no need; a quick battle was still better. The threat of a Level 5 Night Demon was still significant. For safety, Qu Shilin and others who hadn¡¯t reached Level 4 all stood behind with Lan Yulian. Wang Tao and the other Level 4 Awakeners charged forward without hesitation. The strength of a Level 5 Lord Night Demon was much greater than that of Level 4, but under intense suppression, it was still pounded by Wang Tao and his group. After spending some time, this Level 5 Lord Night Demon was beheaded by Wang Tao with a single strike. ¡°Well done, next one!¡± After checking that everyone was still in good condition, Wang Tao called everyone to continue the battle. So, two days later... ¡°Phew¡ªIs it finally over?¡± Qu Shilin watched as Wang Tao plunged his sword into the skull of a Level 5 Lord Night Demon, and with the last piece of Incubation Flesh in the building gone, she breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn¡¯t expected the battle to last two days! Staying in that environment for such a long time was distressing even for her, a mere onlooker, and she wondered how Wang Tao and the others had managed to hold on this long; she truly admired them! ¡°It¡¯s over!¡± Wang Tao collected the spoils of war and sat down on the ground. He hadn¡¯t expected the battle to last this long either. Having encountered so much Incubation Flesh, he couldn¡¯t bear to waste it, so he used all the insect eggs that he could. Not only was there a large quantity of Incubation Flesh here, but its HP had also surpassed one hundred thousand, naturally producing more Night Demons. During the fight with the Level 5 Night Demons, since it was a fight against one at a time, it took quite a while. Wang Tao even thought that maybe the Incubation Flesh here could hatch Level 6 Night Demons! But... he didn¡¯t dare to try. He hadn¡¯t forgotten the threat posed by the Level 6 Great Axe Zombie and Long-haired Zombie from two days earlier. Even if Night Demons were their weakness, he didn¡¯t feel sure they could win. And even if they could win, it would surely come at the cost of losing personnel, which was totally a loss not worth its gain. Thus, the 5 Level 6 Night Demon Parasite Bug Eggs he held stayed in the Space Backpack, and he just stuck to using Level 4 and Level 5 bug eggs for now. He had a total of 91 Level 4 bug eggs, 42 Level 5 bug eggs, and 5 Level 6 bug eggs. With plenty of Incubation Flesh available this time, he used up all his Level 4 and Level 5 eggs, leaving only 6 Level 6 eggs. As for the results, Wang Tao could only say it wasn¡¯t a wasted trip! These bug eggs hatched 60 Level 4 Lord Night Demons and 27 Level 5 Lord Night Demons! Not to mention, there were more than eighty Night Demon hearts in total, many of which were Level 5 ¡°Night Demon Type II.¡± To say nothing of the various Crystal Cores, Potions, Awakening Keys, Ultraviolet Suits, Equipment Blueprints, and more. It was another huge harvest! Wang Tao checked his Space Backpack, feeling that maybe he could consider advancing to Level 5 now. Because he now had more than enough Crystal Cores, whether it was Level 4 Omnipotent Crystal Cores or Level 5 Ascension Crystal Cores, he had more than enough. In fact, his Crystal Core count was probably sufficient before, but he hadn¡¯t looked closely, and he wasn¡¯t in a rush to advance to Level 5... of course, that didn¡¯t mean he really wasn¡¯t in a hurry, he just had other plans. Wang Tao, by killing same-level Lords, would obtain ¡°Awakening Keys¡± and additional ¡°Advanced Special Energy.¡± 100 Awakening Keys can be fused into one Advanced Awakening Secret Key, which is a great item for increasing the success rate of awakenings. Advanced Special Energy can also increase the chance of a successful awakening... Wang Tao was a Fourth-order Awakener, and if he ascended to Level 5, then slaying a Level 4, Lord, would be pointless. He would need to kill a Level 5 Lord to gain Awakening Keys and Advanced Special Energy... Wang Tao intended to achieve a third or even fourth awakening, so he did not deliberately level up. Instead, he tried to slay as many Level 4 Lords as possible while he was at Level 4 to accumulate resources. But now that Level 6 zombies had appeared, his Level 4 status was somewhat behind. If he didn¡¯t level up soon, he would be at a disadvantage. Of course, there was another crucial reason¡ªWang Tao had killed so many Level 4 and Level 5 Lord zombies this time that his ¡°Awakening Keys¡± and ¡°Physical Awakening Keys¡± had surged, totaling 382 now. He could fuse three Advanced Awakening Secret Keys, which was exactly what was needed for the third awakening! That is to say, he could ascend to Level 5 and attempt his third awakening! As for the fourth awakening... thinking about it now was obviously too premature. Achieving three awakenings was already great considering how quickly the zombies were evolving, and there was no time for him to accumulate more keys. He would have to gather them slowly later... ¡°Intending to maximize the opportunities while still at Level 4, I¡¯ll hunt some more Level 4 Lords and gather more Awakening Keys. Then prepare to ascend to Level 5 and simultaneously attempt the third awakening!¡± After reflecting for a moment, Wang Tao had decided on his next strategy. Then Wang Tao turned to the others. ¡°Sister, are you guys ready to try for a second awakening?¡± Most of Wang Tao¡¯s group were Fourth-order Awakeners, but there were also a few who were at Level 3, including Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Yang Zhanghong, Li Qiu Yu, Wei Zhen Guo, Chen Zhuang, and Qu Shilin. Chen Zhuang wished to awaken abilities related to healing, but they didn¡¯t have anything that could enhance the hidden attributes of healing, so his awakening wasn¡¯t feasible in the short term. Li Qiu Yu didn¡¯t have any hidden attributes either. Previously, she had passed up an opportunity to fuse a Poison Sac to others. Now Wang Tao had two items that could grant hidden attributes¡ªone related to the system and the other to the dark series. Li Qi Yu was hesitant and unsure of which one to choose, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush her. Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Yang Zhanghong, and Wei Zhen Guo all had hidden attributes but had failed their first awakening. With so many Awakening Keys that Wang Tao had, they might attempt a second awakening. As for Qu Shilin, as she had just acquired hidden attributes a few days ago, this would be her first awakening. If she wanted to awaken, Wang Tao could give her a key since he had plenty. On hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, everyone was somewhat stirred. Wang Tao had previously said that if they didn¡¯t want to awaken, they could wait a bit longer until he had gathered more keys for them. However, watching their teammates already being Awakeners and still hovering at Level 3, it was hard not to feel anxious. But awakening was ultimately a matter of probability. If they failed this time, their chances for a next awakening would be even lower. However, if there was a low probability, there was still a chance. If they didn¡¯t try, they would never be able to awaken... ¡°I want to awaken!¡± Yang Changhong immediately raised her hand. She was heartbroken after failing her last awakening, but she was not discouraged and firmly believed she would succeed this time. ¡°I want to awaken too!¡± Ding Yuqin and Han Rui spoke up simultaneously. In their team, those who weren¡¯t Fourth-order Awakeners had no right to fight, and they obviously didn¡¯t want to drag the team down. ¡°Needless to say, I want to try again,¡± Wei Zhenguo said with a smile. He was more philosophical about it; having failed the first awakening was just that, but if there was a second chance, he certainly wouldn¡¯t miss it. Li Qi Yu was more timid and indecisive. Seeing her conflicted expression, Wang Tao decided to skip her for the moment. Since she was obedient, he would see if he could find other items to increase her hidden attributes later. If not, giving her the ¡°Mysterious Shadow¡± would work. ¡°I want to awaken!¡± As for the last one, Qu Shilin, she naturally raised her little hand too. She was very much looking forward to her awakening. ¡°Alright, after this trip is over, you all prepare to awaken. I¡¯ve gathered quite a few Physical Awakening Keys by now, which should be sufficient for your use, if luck isn¡¯t too bad.¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded. Chapter 1121 - 1121 454 Huge Rift ?Chapter 1121: Chapter 454: Huge Rift Chapter 1121: Chapter 454: Huge Rift These people who haven¡¯t awakened yet, they all prepared to awaken this time when they returned. But Wang Tao couldn¡¯t guarantee their success rate, he could only take a gamble. After all, the cost of integrating an Advanced Awakening Key was too high, it took 100 Ordinary Awakening Keys to synthesize one Advanced Awakening Key, and Wang Tao could only look after himself for now, he couldn¡¯t take care of the others. Moreover, an Advanced Awakening Key didn¡¯t guarantee success either; it only had a 70% probability, which was also a gamble on luck. Even if they failed to awaken again, there was actually no need to worry. They were a team, and once Wang Tao ascended to Level 5, he could take them to hunt Level 4 Zombie Lords, weakening them to just a sliver of HP for them to deliver the final blow... Wang Tao was still fairly optimistic, but Ding Yuqin and the others seemed quite serious, after all, no one wanted to keep failing. Wang Tao didn¡¯t talk much about awakening, and after he had set the next plan, he began crafting equipment. This time, they had hunted a large number of Lord Night Demons, exploding a heap of equipment blueprints. Those Night Demon corpses were not much damaged, Wang Tao had kept them for this moment. He asked the others to go back to the van and rest while he and Jiang Shixue stayed behind to craft the equipment. One after another, colorful flashes passed by as pieces of Night Demon Equipment were produced. When all the blueprints had been used up, Wang Tao wiped the sweat from his forehead, slightly complaining. ¡°I never thought that one day making equipment from blueprints could be tiring...¡± However, seeing all the equipment scattered on the ground, Wang Tao grinned again. He still had some Night Demon Equipment left in his hand, adding the previous and current equipment together, he had exactly 18 sets of Tier Four Night Demon Sets and 7 sets of Tier Five Night Demon Sets! These were not pieces, but sets. A complete set of Night Demon Equipment included a Night Demon Ring, dagger or short sword, gloves, helmet, chest armor, belt, leg armor, and combat boots. Among these, the Night Demon Ring didn¡¯t increase defense or attack, but it boosted movement speed and attack speed. Moreover, it could integrate other Night Demon equipment into the Night Demon Ring, acting like a small Space Backpack that could instantly don all the Night Demon Equipment when needed with just a thought. Battle gear, no matter how well designed, is always somewhat inconvenient to put on, and not as comfortable as regular clothing, but this Night Demon Ring neatly solved these problems. Moreover, these Night Demon Sets had quite nice attributes, especially the attributes of the Tier Five Night Demon set, which could significantly boost the combat power if equipped by others. [Night Demon Ring (Set)] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [Attack Speed +10%, Movement Speed +10%, Fifth-Order Night Demon Set] [Fifth-Order Night Demon Set: Durability +700, Defensive Power +100, Attack Power +100, Attack Speed +55% (includes: short sword, gloves, helmet, chest armor, belt, leg armor, combat boots)] Having seen the Sturdy Blast-Resistant Set with 300 defensive power, the defensive power of the Fifth-Order Night Demon Set naturally wasn¡¯t high. But aside from the convenience in wearing and carrying, the Night Demon Set also additionally increased movement and attack speeds. For Wang Tao and his team, speed was more important than defense; hence, in terms of boosting combat power, the Night Demon Set was more suitable. Of course, the Night Demon Set was not without its flaws; currently, the biggest drawback was its vulnerability to cold. In the chilly snow-covered surroundings, although it wouldn¡¯t freeze anyone to death, it was undeniably cold to the touch. To some extent, this would indeed decrease combat power somewhat. If it had attributes for ¡°cold protection and warmth¡± and added some ice attribute defense, it would be perfect. Of course, Wang Tao was just thinking about it¡ªhe had previously made cold protection gear, but the defensive power of that leather armor was too low... All things considered, the Night Demon Set was still better. As for how to distribute these Night Demon Sets, Wang Tao quickly made a decision. He himself still wore Tier Four equipment, so he definitely needed a Tier Five Night Demon set. Then there were Jiang Shixue, Lan Yulian, He Jijun, Lu Yingfeng, and Han Rui. Those with notably strong combat abilities, the supportive Lan Yulian and the human radar Han Rui, would all wear Tier Five suits, while the others could temporarily wear Tier Four. One more Tier Five Night Demon Set was left, and he would decide whom to give it to depending on who awakened next. Of course, the attributes of the Tier Four Night Demon Sets were also not bad, still considered top-notch equipment at present. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao stashed all the equipment into the Space Backpack, and then he and Jiang Shixue left the building. ¡°You really are strong!¡± After reaching the van, Qu Shilin admired Wang Tao a bit¡ªeven she, who had quite an extreme personality, couldn¡¯t stand the environment in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, yet after dealing with the Night Demon, Wang Tao managed to stay in there for so long... Wang Tao smiled, then suddenly threw out a bunch of rings. ¡°For those who don¡¯t have the Night Demon Set yet, take one. These are Tier Four and Tier Five...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. ¡°Night Demon Set?¡± The others had already grown accustomed to this, but it was Qu Shilin¡¯s first time seeing this sort of thing. When she saw someone putting on a ring and a set of equipment instantly appeared on them, she opened her mouth wide. ¡°What¡¯s the principle here? Is it some sort of ability related to space?¡± No one could answer her question, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t know either. In any case, just using it solved everything. From the time of the apocalypse¡¯s onset, various miraculous things had emerged continuously, and Qu Shilin didn¡¯t really expect anyone to explain it, but she looked at Wang Tao somewhat expectantly. Chapter 1122 - 1122 454 Huge Rift_2 ?Chapter 1122: Chapter 454: Huge Rift_2 Chapter 1122: Chapter 454: Huge Rift_2 ¡°Can you sell me a set of equipment?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a Level 4 Night Demon Set,¡± Wang Tao first nodded, then added, ¡°But it¡¯s not entirely free. I¡¯ve got so many Night Demon Hearts this time; could you help me process them later?¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯s no problem! However, due to the icy weather, it¡¯s impossible to access the Caves, so the price of Night Demon Hearts has been falling. They won¡¯t be as expensive as before... If you want to sell them at a high price, perhaps you can wait until the snow stops,¡± said Qu Shilin hastily. ¡°I know, it¡¯s all right,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. Holding onto so many Night Demon Hearts was pointless for him; he would rather exchange some for Crystal Cores and use them to open meteorites. As for the future... when his strength improved, he would no longer have much use for these Level 4 Night Demon Hearts and certainly wouldn¡¯t get as high a price for them as now. He might even sell Level 5 or Level 6 hearts, so there was no need to wait deliberately. If someone wanted them, he could sell. After bringing up the Night Demon Hearts, Wang Tao taught Qu Shilin how to use the Night Demon Set. ¡°It feels like this Night Demon Ring and the Magical Stomach Pouch are somewhat similar, but one stores food, and the other stores equipment. If we could understand this principle, maybe we could also create something that can store items?¡± Qu Shilin muttered to herself while learning how to use the set and played with it quite happily. ¡°Let¡¯s go, find a safe place to rest for the night. We have two things to handle tomorrow, and after that, we can head back,¡± Wang Tao said to the group. Actually, he had planned to return early the next morning. The spoils were considerable this time, especially the equipment, which had certainly improved everyone¡¯s strength significantly. So, Wang Tao wanted to try opening a Level 5 meteorite tomorrow! He had been scared off by the Hammer Zombie but had encountered quite a few Level 5 Monster Lords in the last few days. Although he had not fought them, he knew from analysis that the Hammer Zombie was among the top of Level 5. Normally, the strength of a Level 5 Lord wouldn¡¯t be so formidable... Wang Tao felt that with their squad¡¯s strength, they could try opening a Level 5 meteorite. Even if a Level 5 Insect race Lord appeared, he wouldn¡¯t be afraid. He didn¡¯t have many Level 5 meteorites on hand, and unless they kept producing the Insect race, it wouldn¡¯t waste too much time. Then, he prepared to visit the place where the Snake Fruit had been before. Qu Shilin mentioned that if the Snake Fruit was still there, she could help Wang Tao transplant it without much problem. If the Snake Fruit had frozen to death, it would be a pity, but no major issue; they could just go home. ... Before nightfall, He Jijun found a suitable place to set up camp. Just like the last time, they set up cameras around to guard against wandering Frozen Zombies. Wang Tao had thought they would spend the night safely, but before dawn, he was suddenly awakened by Han Rui. ¡°Wang Tao, something¡¯s not right!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hearing the commotion, Wang Tao instantly awoke. ¡°It seems like something is coming! Listen¡ª¡± Han Rui lay straight down on the ground, and Wang Tao also quickly did the same, then felt a very faint vibration on the ground, barely noticeable unless one listened carefully. ¡°Something is coming! Couldn¡¯t it be a Zombie Herd or even a Zombie Tide?¡± Wang Tao hurriedly glanced at the surveillance screen; nothing was around, but the feeling of ground vibrations wasn¡¯t false. ¡°Retreat!¡± Wang Tao decisively decided to evacuate. He was not afraid of encountering a Zombie Herd, but if it was a herd led by those two Sixth-Rank Lord Zombies they had seen before, then even with their updated equipment, they wouldn¡¯t stand a chance! Everyone woke up in succession, then immediately began to pack. In a short time, everything was loaded onto the vehicle, and most of the cameras were retracted, but Wang Tao deliberately left one camera. He planned to wait and see what the situation was. ¡°Go!¡± Buzz~ With the Crystal Energy engine vibrating, the vehicle quickly left the area. In the car, He Jijun was driving while Wang Tao and the others focused on the remaining mounted camera poking out of the snow. ¡°Could it be the Zombie Herd led by the Sixth-Rank Lord Zombies?¡± Everyone unconsciously thought of the previous herd. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say, but it¡¯s not out of the question,¡± Wang Tao said, his expression grave. If it were that zombie horde, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t have to think about it, he¡¯d run as far as he could. But if it wasn¡¯t, and if there weren¡¯t any Level 6 Zombie Lords among the zombies, then Wang Tao might have to turn back. After all, with so many Crystal Cores delivered to his doorstep, it would be foolish not to take them. At that moment, a black shadow suddenly appeared on the surveillance footage. ¡°Hm? What is that?¡± ¡°It seems to be above the camera?¡± Ding Yuqin was about to adjust the camera angle when suddenly the whole screen shook, and the camera seemed to have taken flight! Everyone¡¯s eyes widened instantaneously. ¡°Did the camera just take off?¡± ¡°No, wait! That¡¯s... steel? No, wings! It¡¯s the Giant Eagle!¡± Wang Tao was shocked at once. The wings of that eagle were almost as tough as steel, an impression that lingered in Wang Tao¡¯s memory. Although the camera only caught a glimpse, Wang Tao was certain that it was that very eagle! In such cold weather, the eagle was still outside? Everyone was struck by fear. If they encountered a zombie horde, as long as they weren¡¯t surrounded, they had a chance to escape with the help of the Crystal Energy Car. Even if they encountered those two Level 6 Zombie Lords, they still had a chance to flee. But if they encountered the Giant Eagle... Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure if Qu Shilin¡¯s improved Crystal Energy Car could outrun it, and he had no desire to find out personally. The Giant Eagle¡¯s aerial advantage was too great, and it had a very high potential with its [Giant] Awakening! Although it was a Level 5 Lord, its strength was definitely not inferior to a Level 6¡ªplus, Level 5 was its past strength; for all Wang Tao knew, it could have Ascended to Level 6 by now... That would be even more terrifying! Only the creatures Wang Tao saw with his own eyes would display HP bars. He couldn¡¯t see HP bars with the camera, so he couldn¡¯t determine the current Attributes of the eagle... But regardless of whether the eagle had Ascended to Level 6 or not, encountering it would be very troublesome. ¡°Thank goodness for Han Rui, or we¡¯d be in big trouble!¡± The group hastily expressed their thanks to Han Rui. Given the Giant Eagle¡¯s tendency to attack suddenly, they stood no chance of evading it at night. ¡°Quickly figure out where the Giant Eagle is flying to!¡± Wang Tao immediately demanded. If the eagle was flying their direction, then they needed to find a place to hide. ¡°Zzzzz... Zzzzz...¡± At that moment, the video feed started flickering. ¡°Damn it! The signal reception is poor! We¡¯re going to lose the signal!¡± At the critical moment, Qu Shilin decisively adjusted the camera¡¯s angle, and just before the signal completely cut off, everyone saw a startling and unforgettable image. ¡°Holy shit!¡± ¡°Oh my god...¡± Amidst the endless ice fields, there appeared a winding and abrupt black line. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be a giant rift exposed on the surface of the ground. A massive horde of zombies was approaching from the distance. As the zombies at the front reached the edge of the rift, they couldn¡¯t stop in time and plunged right in. The zombies behind had no idea of the situation ahead and kept moving forward, which resulted in the front zombies instinctively trying to stop but still being pushed into the rift by those behind! Thus, the group watched as zombies fell into the rift continuously, like dumplings being dropped into a pot. The rift was as dark as ink, like a terrifying giant maw, devouring what seemed like an endless army of zombies! ¡°Zzzz...¡± The signal completely cut out, and the shocking image disappeared. It took a long time for everyone to regain their composure. ¡°What the hell was that!¡± ¡°A rift in the ground? Swallowing zombies?¡± ¡°No! It¡¯s not the rift actively swallowing them, but the zombies walking into it themselves...¡± ¡°We just passed through there! There was nothing like that before, could it have appeared suddenly? What if it opens up beneath our feet in the middle of the night...¡± ¡°Gentlemen!¡± Qu Shilin interrupted their thoughts. ¡°The rift is not the priority right now, what¡¯s important is that I¡¯ve noticed the Giant Eagle seems to be flying in our direction...¡± ¡°Damn!¡± Chapter 1123 - 1123 455 Flying Over the Rift ?Chapter 1123: Chapter 455: Flying Over the Rift Chapter 1123: Chapter 455: Flying Over the Rift ¡°What? The Giant Eagle is flying toward us?¡± Upon hearing this news, everyone was too concerned to even think about the sudden appearance of rifts, all instinctively looking out the window. However, it was still dark outside, pitch black, and without the help of Night Vision cameras, they couldn¡¯t see anything. ¡°The Giant Eagle hasn¡¯t chased us... yet.¡± Wang Tao glanced outside and gave everyone a dose of reassurance. Everyone indeed breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that. But then Wang Tao continued, ¡°But it probably won¡¯t take long for it to catch up, since it¡¯s flying in the sky... Therefore, we need to speed up!¡± The area where Wang Tao and his group were now was quite flat, essentially an endless ice plain with nowhere to hide. As for taking a different route, that obviously wouldn¡¯t work. After all, the Giant Eagle was flying high above, and with no buildings to block the view, they couldn¡¯t escape the Eagle Eye. So the best choice now was to speed up and not let the Giant Eagle catch up! If it were an Ordinary vehicle, it obviously couldn¡¯t outfly the Giant Eagle, but their vehicle was a Crystal Energy Car powered by a Crystal Core, and it even had a Berserk Mode. Perhaps it could actually give the Giant Eagle a run for its Speed. Of course, there was one more crucial point. Wang Tao saw through the camera snatched by the Giant Eagle that it probably hadn¡¯t noticed them; otherwise, it would have come for them directly instead of grabbing the camera. So the Giant Eagle did not know that there was some ¡°food¡± ahead waiting for it. Usually, the Speed during hunting is the fastest, right? It¡¯s estimated that its current Speed is far from its limit. As long as the Crystal Energy Car can run fast ahead without being noticed by the Giant Eagle, perhaps they can really avoid encountering it! Hum¡ª¡ª Wang Tao inserted two Orange Crystal Cores into the Crystal energy engine, which instantly let out a low roar. Then the vehicle¡¯s speed began to rise gradually. Originally, the Crystal Energy Car had some issues, such as accelerating too violently and being unable to turn, but previously Qu Shilin and the others had modified it. Now the acceleration wasn¡¯t as recklessly fast as before but had become quite linear, allowing for an adjustment process. Even with the vehicle¡¯s Berserk Mode system engaged, they could still freely adjust the speed and turning. ¡°This car¡¯s acceleration feels much smoother than before!¡± They hadn¡¯t really tested the vehicle since the modifications were completed last time. Now, feeling the difference in the vehicle and freely speeding across the ice plain, the experience was indeed very enjoyable. If it weren¡¯t for the Giant Eagle threat behind them... Wang Tao didn¡¯t immediately have He Jijun drive the car to Extreme Speed because the faster the Speed, the bigger the blue Fire flames the engine would expel. Although the car had some devices to shield the flames, they couldn¡¯t block them at high speeds; therefore, unless the Giant Eagle discovered them, there was no need to rush. They just needed to ensure that the Giant Eagle did not catch up. However, just as they had started to race away, Wang Tao suddenly told them to slow down. ¡°Slow down! Stop the car!¡± The others were somewhat puzzled, but He Jijun promptly tapped the brakes and cut off some of the energy supply. When the vehicle slowly came to a stop, everyone finally realized why Wang Tao had ordered them to stop¡ªthere was a black Rift on the ground ahead! Although this Rift was not as large as the one they had seen before and there were no zombies popping out like dumplings around it, the Rift still gave a sense of immense pressure. After all, it was very wide, seemingly dozens of meters across. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t called for the vehicle to stop in time, they might have fallen right in! ¡°Follow along the edge of the Rift, we can get around from the left side!¡± Wang Tao said after putting down the binoculars. He Jijun immediately floored the gas pedal, and the car sped off toward where Wang Tao had indicated. This Rift was much smaller than the previous one. Using the binoculars, Wang Tao could see where it ended. The Rift was too wide, so they could only go around the ends. ¡°What exactly is inside...¡± As they gazed at the pitch-black Rift, everyone instinctively turned to look at Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue, as they both had Night Vision. ¡°There¡¯s something odd here. What you¡¯re seeing as black isn¡¯t because it¡¯s too deep, but because there seems to be a lot of the same type of Dark Fog as what those previous Dark Fog Zombies created...¡± ¡°Ah? So you mean the Rift isn¡¯t actually deep?¡± It¡¯s normal to dread the unknown, but curiosity is also natural. Everyone was curious about why the Rift had appeared and what was down there. If it wasn¡¯t deep, couldn¡¯t they possibly go down and take a look? ¡°Not exactly... I can¡¯t judge how deep the Rift actually is because this Dark Fog is too dense, almost completely blocking my vision. The few things I can occasionally see are some cliffs... So if there¡¯s an accident and one falls down there, I don¡¯t know about other dangers, but it¡¯s very likely one would fall to their death...¡± Wang Tao mused as he stroked his chin. ¡°Even you can¡¯t see through it?¡± Everyone was a bit surprised. Last time, Wang Tao was almost unaffected by the Dark Fog created by the Dark Fog Zombie, it was almost like daylight. But now, even he couldn¡¯t see through the Dark Fog in this Rift... ¡°Mmm, can¡¯t see through. However, what¡¯s certain is that there should be something down there. These kinds of Rifts, the Dark Fog within them, they can¡¯t just appear out of nowhere... If we had time, perhaps we could drop some cameras down to see what¡¯s actually down there...¡± Chapter 1124 - 1124 455 Flying Over the Rift_2 ?Chapter 1124: Chapter 455: Flying Over the Rift_2 Chapter 1124: Chapter 455: Flying Over the Rift_2 Wang Tao was also very curious about this rift, but unfortunately, the timing was not right. Otherwise, he would definitely have liked to study it properly. Although the rift was not as big as the previous one, it was actually quite sizable, and taking the detour had cost them a considerable amount of time. During the detour, Wang Tao and his party saw a peculiar sight¡ª On the edge of the rift, a dilapidated village had only half remaining. As for the other half, the outcome was self-evident. ¡°Damn, this rift really did appear suddenly, even half of a village on it just vanished!¡± Everyone immediately felt a bit relieved, thankful that the rift had not appeared beneath their feet while they were sleeping, otherwise, they might have all been wiped out by now. However, they couldn¡¯t be happy for long, because Wang Tao had spotted a small black dot on the horizon. ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao cursed silently, then decisively told He Jijun to speed up. ¡°Old He! Speed up, the Giant Eagle is coming! Full speed ahead!¡± By the time he saw the Giant Eagle, the Giant Eagle had definitely seen them, and they couldn¡¯t afford to be optimistic, especially since there was nothing to cover them here¡ªthe Giant Eagle¡¯s perspective made them incredibly easy to spot! ¡°Roger!¡± He Jijun, who had just bypassed the rift, immediately slammed on the accelerator, and the speed of the car increased to near its maximum in an extremely short time, the pale blue flames at the rear of the car exceptionally dazzling in the night. It was fortunate that everyone in the car had buckled their seat belts; otherwise, with such turns and acceleration, they probably would have been thrown out. When Wang Tao saw the Giant Eagle also accelerate instantly, he knew it had indeed spotted them! ¡°This is unlucky... I just hope we don¡¯t run into another rift behind us!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s face looked a bit grim. If it hadn¡¯t been for the sudden appearance of the rift, the Giant Eagle probably wouldn¡¯t have noticed them. They could only hope that the Crystal Energy Car would be powerful enough, and that no more rifts would appear. Though the speed of the Crystal Energy Car was very fast after going into overdrive, the speed of the Giant Eagle was not slow either, and Wang Tao was not certain they could outrun it. What surprised Wang Tao was that after accelerating for a while, the Giant Eagle suddenly slowed down. ¡°Huh? This Giant Eagle... seems to be wary of that rift?¡± Wang Tao noticed that the Giant Eagle, upon approaching the rift, had suddenly slowed down¡ªno, not just slowed down, it was actually preparing to detour around the rift! Even though the Giant Eagle could fly through the air and the rift was on the ground, meaning it could have flown directly over the rift, it chose to take a detour instead... Wang Tao felt that this was clearly an avoidance of the rift. ¡°Is it because the Giant Eagle senses something from within the rift? Or is there something strange in the airspace above the rift?¡± Wang Tao carefully paid attention and realized that he actually did not feel any dangerous aura from the rift, only mystery and the unknown. As for the space above the rift, it felt even safer. For someone of his strength, the sixth sense was very accurate, especially concerning intuition about danger, which had allowed him to avoid many crises. However, he did not have time to research it and was currently unclear about what was happening. Regardless, the Giant Eagle taking a detour was a good thing as it bought them some time. Hum¡ª The Crystal Energy Car sped along, taking advantage of the Giant Eagle¡¯s detour to gain some distance, but it hadn¡¯t completely lost the Giant Eagle, as Wang Tao could still see the small black dot in the sky. After sharing his observations with the others, they were puzzled as well. ¡°Could it be that there is some Monster inside the rift stronger than the Giant Eagle?¡± ¡°Or is the space above the rift a No-fly Zone, where something unfavorable might happen if one ventures into it?¡± ¡°I, for one, don¡¯t feel any danger...¡± ¡°...¡± Amidst the group¡¯s discussion, Wang Tao took a close look at the Giant Eagle. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Giant] ¡°Hm? Why do I feel that it hasn¡¯t improved at all...¡± If he remembered correctly, Wang Tao noticed that the last time he saw the Giant Eagle, it had these same attributes. Now, not to mention rising to Level 6, even its HP and Mana had not increased. He wondered whether it had encountered some accident or if its conditions for Ascension were particularly difficult. Either way, this made Wang Tao feel a bit relieved from his ongoing anxiety. He had previously experienced the speed of the Giant Eagle, and if its strength hadn¡¯t increased, then relying on the Crystal Energy Car that was consuming large amounts of Crystal Cores, even if they couldn¡¯t outrun the Giant Eagle, at least they could keep it from catching up for a short period. After being discovered by the Giant Eagle, Wang Tao did not expect to be able to outrun it; he just wanted to leave the plain as quickly as possible to look for a convenient place to hide, and then take shelter! The best method of evasion after encountering the Giant Eagle wasn¡¯t running¡ªrunning was futile; it was hiding. ¡°What a pity it can fly, or else, I really would have liked to test its strength...¡± Wang Tao felt somewhat helplessly resigned. Flying monsters only needed to fly higher and Wang Tao would be unable to reach them. In direct combat, his disadvantage was too great. Although he still had a Crystal Energy Gun in his hand, he only had two of them, and the damage wasn¡¯t too high, unless he could kill the enemy instantly, they were of little use. And this Giant Eagle happened to be an [Awakening: Giant], thinking about instantly slaying a Level 5 Giant was clearly a fool¡¯s dream... ¡°There¡¯s another rift!¡± At this moment, Jiang Shixue, who had been observing the path ahead, suddenly spoke. Wang Tao immediately turned his head to look, and saw a pitch-black rift appear in the snowfield ahead. This rift was much narrower than the previous two, but extremely elongated. And the consequence of being elongated was that to go around this rift would mean taking a much longer detour! The sky was already brightening, and with the strong contrast between the snow¡¯s whiteness and the rift¡¯s blackness, the group quickly saw the rift with their own eyes. ¡°What do we do now...¡± Faced with the rift blocking their way, they were somewhat stupefied. If they wanted to go around this narrow rift... No need to think about it, they would definitely be caught by the Giant Eagle chasing behind them! ¡°Are we going to have a showdown with the Giant Eagle?¡± Although everyone was nervous, they weren¡¯t too scared. They had slain Level 5 Monster Lords before; this Giant Eagle was also a Level 5, Lord, and there was likewise a chance for them to kill it. Even if the danger was high and they might suffer heavy losses, they wouldn¡¯t cower at the critical moment! However, Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan to have a head-on clash with the Giant Eagle to the bitter end; that was the worst-case scenario. The situation hadn¡¯t reached that point yet... ¡°Old He, do you think our car can make it over this rift?¡± Wang Tao suddenly turned towards He Jijun. After quickly scanning the surroundings, He Jijun looked towards a section of the snowfield with a certain slope: ¡°There¡¯s an incline over there, and the rift is narrower at that spot. With some acceleration from there and relying on the performance of the Crystal Energy Car, we can leap over the rift. But...¡± While it was possible to leap over, he wasn¡¯t sure what the situation was above the rift, especially since even the Giant Eagle seemed to dread it... ¡°As long as we can leap over, just wait for me!¡± Wang Tao suddenly grabbed a bundle of Rope from the car, then took out Little Bing from his pocket, tied it up, and then looked at Little Bing with a serious face. ¡°Little Bing, help us scout the path ahead. If there¡¯s any danger, I¡¯ll pull you back!¡± Although this method was somewhat underhanded, it was the most suitable approach. Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t think lightly of Little Bing¡¯s life. Another reason was that he could clearly feel that Little Bing didn¡¯t have much dread for the rift. They say animals have keen Danger Perception, so it was likely that Little Bing didn¡¯t feel too much danger. Not just Little Bing, Wang Tao himself didn¡¯t feel much Fear for the rift itself; what he dreaded about the rift was the eerie way it had appeared... It was temporarily impossible to see inside the rift, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t know the situation, but he believed that the space above the rift should be safe. ¡°Squeak~¡± Little Bing wasn¡¯t resistant either; in fact, it seemed rather excited. After Wang Tao secured it firmly, he gathered some strength and then violently tossed it forward. Whoosh¡ª Little Bing, with the Rope trailing behind like a projectile, took off and landed at a very fast Speed across the rift in the snowfield. Little Bing rolled over, immediately bit off the Rope, and called out to Wang Tao. ¡°It¡¯s okay!¡± Wang Tao grinned. At that moment, the Giant Eagle had already arrived. Wang Tao immediately got into the car, watched He Jijun reverse, then suddenly sped towards the slope, with dazzling blue light shooting from the back of the car. Buzz~ Whoosh¡ªthud! The Crystal Energy Car drew a beautiful arc, landing heavily next to Little Bing. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± The Giant Eagle arrived a little too late. It watched the car fly over the rift without any danger occurring, and it seemed to want to fly over as well, but then it seemed to remember something it dreaded and forcefully stopped in its tracks. Then it landed in the area where the car had been before, staring at the Crystal Energy Car growing more distant. On the car, Wang Tao was very puzzled. He thought the Giant Eagle would follow them across, given the Giant Eagle didn¡¯t seem dumb. But the Giant Eagle did not... So what was it exactly dreading? Or perhaps... could they exploit what the Giant Eagle dreaded to slay it? Chapter 1125 - 1125 456 The Suspected Cave ?Chapter 1125: Chapter 456: The Suspected Cave Chapter 1125: Chapter 456: The Suspected Cave ¡°The Giant Eagle didn¡¯t follow us!¡± Seeing that the Giant Eagle hadn¡¯t flown over the rift or gone around it, but instead landed on the dirt slope, everyone inside the Crystal Energy Car heaved a sigh of relief. ¡°Has it really given up?¡± Qu Shilin still couldn¡¯t quite believe it. ¡°It probably won¡¯t come after us, at least not for now.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he watched the figure of the Giant Eagle gradually disappear from sight. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Qu Shilin could still feel her heart pounding rapidly, the recent chase and flight over the rift had been too thrilling. After a fierce chase, it was now broad daylight. Wang Tao and the others took a look at the map and roughly estimated their location, then he said to everyone: ¡°Let¡¯s hold off on the Level 5 Meteor for now, we need to hurry back and report this rift situation. But we can take a detour to check if the Snake Fruit is still there...¡± Such rifts were too eerie and needed to be guarded against in advance. Plus, Wang Tao had a concern ¨C what if a rift appeared inside Changhe Base? If one would show up inside the base, that could spell big trouble, so he had to go back and check. But conveniently, on their way back, they would pass by the locale of the Snake Fruit, so Wang Tao planned to take a look. If it was still there, they¡¯d transplant it back; if not, they would leave it. ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone nodded, then became alert, getting ready for any dangers that might arise. Although the Giant Eagle was no longer pursuing them, the Crystal Energy Car didn¡¯t slow down much. The road was better here, so the ride was swift and smooth. By evening time, Wang Tao arrived near the Snake Fruit. ¡°Are those Snake Fruits still there?¡± After the car approached, Wang Tao peered through the snowstorm and saw those red fruits. ]trange Snake Fruit: Humans have a small chance of gaining Hidden Attributes after consumption, but a high likelihood of being poisoned with Deadly Poison. Serpentine creatures increase their strength slightly after eating it, and also have a small chance of Awakening. Seeing that they indeed were Snake Fruits, Wang Tao grinned. ¡°It looks like these Snake Fruits are extremely cold-resistant! They even seem to have grown better than before the snowstorm...¡± The Crystal Energy Car stopped near the Snake Fruit, and Wang Tao and his group got out. Upon seeing the Snake Fruits, Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes lit up, and she immediately suggested they could transplant them. ¡°If they can survive in such conditions, it means their Life Energy is very strong. We just need to be careful during the transplantation and dig them out with the soil around their roots; shouldn¡¯t be a problem...¡± Normally, they would first transplant some samples for testing, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to wait and planned to transplant them all at once. Of course, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t take them all; he¡¯d leave a small portion behind. Just in case the transplantation failed, this small portion would be a margin for error. The ]trange Snake Fruit wasn¡¯t very cost-effective for humans because the risk of poisoning was too high. Wang Tao had previously given some Snake Fruit to Qu Shilin for testing. She told Wang Tao that out of ten volunteers they took from the prison, not only did all of them get poisoned, but the venom was extremely potent as well. If they hadn¡¯t been fully prepared, it could have been a complete disaster... Moreover, the volunteers had some lingering health issues afterwards; it wasn¡¯t clear if they could be cured. So, the toxicity of the ]trange Snake Fruit was much stronger than that of the [Strange Poison Sac]; it was highly dangerous for humans, and it was better not to take the risk. But it was different for serpentine creatures. Not only was there a chance to enhance their Awakening, each consumption slightly increased their strength; obviously, the cost-benefit was much higher. So, these Snake Fruits were clearly intended for Blacky and his five Black Snakes. Blacky and the others hadn¡¯t come along this time; they were home. Because they didn¡¯t like the cold, and when the temperature dropped, they just wanted to sleep and couldn¡¯t fight in the snow, so they had stayed home... When Wang Tao left last time, he took all the Snake Fruits with him. Seeing them again, there were a lot more fruits, and it¡¯s unknown how often the Serpent Fruit Tree matured... Of course, the quicker the better. With everyone¡¯s joint efforts, most of the Snake Fruits were dug out, roots and all. The car was larger this time, and there was a special cargo bed in the back. Also, as the Serpent Fruit Trees were small, kind of like shrubs, there was no problem fitting the little trees. After spending some time, they finally got most of the Serpent Fruit Trees onto the vehicle. Looking at the barren hillside, Wang Tao gestured. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Buzz¡ª The Crystal Energy Engine hummed gently, carrying everyone away from the area. By now, night had fallen, but Wang Tao felt they were close to the base, so they didn¡¯t stop and planned to return overnight. He Jijun pressed down on the accelerator, and in the middle of the night, the people in the car finally saw the snow-covered high walls. ¡°We¡¯ve finally arrived!¡± Shortly after, the Crystal Energy Car approached the southern gate. Someone was on guard inside, waiting for Wang Tao and his group. When they saw someone returning, they immediately confirmed Wang Tao¡¯s identity. Once there was no problem with the identity check, the gate slowly opened, and the Crystal Energy Car drove in. Looking at the familiar scenes within the base, everyone finally relaxed completely. ¡°The air in the base is so much sweeter!¡± Qu Shilin joked. ¡°That it is!¡± Everyone nodded in agreement. After a thorough check to ensure that none of Wang Tao¡¯s group was infected and that the vehicle wasn¡¯t carrying zombies, the soldiers saluted and opened the second gate. Chapter 1126 - 1126 456 Suspected Cave_2 ?Chapter 1126: Chapter 456 Suspected Cave_2 Chapter 1126: Chapter 456 Suspected Cave_2 Wang Tao contacted Gu Yun using his informational wristwatch. Gu Yun was probably asleep, his voice sounding a bit groggy, but when he heard it was Wang Tao, he immediately became alert. Especially when Wang Tao told him there were significant changes outside and they needed to meet, he immediately asked Wang Tao to come to the City Hall and had someone prepare a late-night snack for them. ¡°Let¡¯s go, head to the City Hall first.¡± From the conversation with Gu Yun, Wang Tao learned there were no rifts inside the base, which greatly relieved him. The car drove all the way to the City Hall, where Wang Tao saw a group of people waiting in the heavy snow at the entrance. Wang Tao thought Gu Yun had brought some people to greet them, but as they got closer, he saw that the group included not only Gu Yun but also the deputy mayor, Cheng Yiyi, the leaders of the other Six Major Legions, and base committee members. ¡°Wang Tao, welcome back!¡± Seeing that Wang Tao and his group were unharmed, Gu Yun instantly felt relieved. ¡°Good evening, everyone! I¡¯m overwhelmed that so many leaders came out so late!¡± Wang Tao immediately greeted everyone with a smile. ¡°Not at all! We¡¯re not leaders here, we¡¯re friends!¡± Everyone hurriedly waved their hands. In the Apocalypse, strength was king, and Wang Tao¡¯s abilities in capturing members of the Dusk Church were witnessed by all. Even though his official position wasn¡¯t as high as any of theirs, they didn¡¯t dare to act superior in front of Wang Tao. After some pleasantries, everyone entered the City Hall together. As soon as they entered, Wang Tao smelled the strong scent of food. They had been living on nutrient solutions for the last few days, so this made their mouths water. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s eat and talk!¡± Due to the rush, the meals prepared were not very elaborate and were served buffet style, each person helping themselves to as much as they wanted. The others didn¡¯t seem to have much appetite and just served themselves some food, then waited for Wang Tao to speak. These base leaders had come not because of Wang Tao¡¯s powerful abilities but because Wang Tao had returned from the icy wilderness, and his observations from outside were absolutely crucial. Not to mention that Wang Tao had also told Gu Yun about the changes outside. Thus, they needed to know the situation outside as soon as possible. Wang Tao didn¡¯t keep them in suspense. Once he had served his meal, he immediately addressed the crowd: ¡°There are indeed zombies outside, and in large numbers.¡± Just one sentence instantly excited everyone. They initially thought Wang Tao was referring to the zombies frozen in place. However, Wang Tao¡¯s next words turned their expressions sour. ¡°These zombies I refer to as ¡®Frozen Zombies¡¯ are not just frozen in the sense you think, but they come with an effect of a ¡®Freezing Aura¡¯...¡± Wang Tao carefully explained the situation of the Frozen Zombies to everyone. This trip was of prime concern to Gu Yun and others mainly to find out the status of the zombies outside. ¡°Frozen Zombies...¡± ¡°Wait, are you saying all these Frozen Zombies are Elite Zombies, and mostly Third or Fourth Order and above?¡± Hearing the key words from Wang Tao, everyone was visibly shocked. The Ordinary Zombies outside had evolved into Frozen Zombies? Moreover, all Third or Fourth Order and above Elite Zombies! And they all carried an area-wide negative status effect, affecting humans as soon as they approached... Everyone felt a chill down their spines. ¡°That¡¯s not all; besides these Elite Frozen Zombies, there are also Frozen Zombie Lords. When these Lords gather with many Frozen Zombies, their overall combat ability increases, making it much more difficult for us to kill them...¡± ¡°You mentioned a few Zombie Herds before; I¡¯ve encountered them as well. The zombies in those herds were gathered together, with dozens of Fourth Order Lords, ten Fifth Order Lords, and even two terrifyingly powerful Sixth Order Lords!¡± ¡°Hiss¡ªSixth Order Lords!¡± Even though Gu Yun and the others were mentally prepared, hearing there were actually two Sixth Order Lords still made it hard for them to remain composed, given that the strongest inside the base was only Fourth Order... And Wang Tao, as if feeling the bad news wasn¡¯t impacting them enough, passed his informational wristwatch to them, which was playing a video. ¡°Take a look at this video.¡± Everyone immediately watched. ¡°My goodness, so many zombies!¡± ¡°Are these the Frozen Zombies? They indeed seem different from the zombies we knew before...¡± ¡°Huh? Whoa! They fell off the cliff?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not a cliff, it¡¯s... a rift in the ground?¡± Upon seeing the giant rift that had swallowed countless zombies in the video, everyone was greatly alarmed. ¡°Was there an earthquake outside? That¡¯s impossible! We didn¡¯t feel anything...¡± They had thought it was an earthquake. ¡°This isn¡¯t an earthquake, but a strange underground rift...¡± Wang Tao explained briefly. The video continued to play, and they saw several more black rifts appear. ¡°Wang Tao, when was this filmed? Do you know what¡¯s inside these rifts?¡± Cheng Yiyi quickly asked next to him. Wang Tao took a big bite of his steak and said, ¡°These rifts all appeared suddenly last night. I saw a village that was only left in half, and as for the missing half, it obviously fell silently into the rift. As for what¡¯s inside the rift, I¡¯m not sure...¡± Wang Tao shared his own observations and hypotheses. ¡°Suddenly appearing...¡± Hearing this, everyone¡¯s faces grew even uglier. They all thought of a problem similar to the one Wang Tao had considered before¡ªif these rifts appeared inside the base, that would be troublesome! ¡°Gu Yun, is our base okay?¡± Everyone instinctively looked toward Gu Yun. Gu Yun had already picked up the phone and began contacting various departments. After a moment, he put down the phone. ¡°Our base is fine for now, no issues...¡± Hearing that the base was safe, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief, but their faces were still full of worry. It was good that the base was clear now, but no one dared to guarantee that rifts wouldn¡¯t suddenly appear in the future. Although Wang Tao had said he didn¡¯t feel any great danger from the rifts, that was just his personal feeling. Wang Tao was so strong, definitely not like ordinary people, what if a rift suddenly appeared inside the base, what about everyone else... ¡°Numerous Frozen Zombie Elites, Level 5 and even Level 6 Lords, mysterious rifts... oh right, and that Giant Eagle still active in the heavy snow...¡± Any one of these issues was enough to give them a headache. With all these issues arising at once, it was simply deadly. However, at this moment, someone suddenly spoke up: ¡°About this rift... President Wang, could you explain it in more detail?¡± It was the first time Wang Tao had heard someone call him President Wang; he almost didn¡¯t react, since he had not yet taken office at the Awakeners School. After recovering, Wang Tao looked at the speaker, a thin middle-aged man. Third Order strength, no hidden attributes. He was a committee member, if Wang Tao recalled correctly, his name should be Shi Chuanfu, and he seemed to be from a major power. ¡°Yes.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then detailed the matter of the rifts, including his own deductions, feelings, and various details he had seen. After he finished, Shi Chuanfu seemed somewhat uncertain, ¡°I feel... the rifts that President Wang described, they sound a lot like caves!¡± ¡°Ah? Caves?¡± Wang Tao, including many others, were somewhat confused. However, a few who heard Shi Chuanfu¡¯s mention suddenly realized, ¡°Now that you mention it, it does indeed sound like caves! First, caves are underground. Second, there¡¯s also this kind of black fog inside the caves...¡± The exact location of the caves, only a few people knew. The actual situation within the caves, only they had seen. And the ones speaking now were among those who knew the exact location of the caves. As they spoke, Wang Tao immediately raised an eyebrow. If it really were caves, wouldn¡¯t that mean they could go inside now? Chapter 1127 - 1127 457 Blacky Awakening ?Chapter 1127: Chapter 457 Blacky Awakening Chapter 1127: Chapter 457 Blacky Awakening The Cave had been discovered for some time, but most people didn¡¯t know what exactly was inside. Because the Cave was discovered by several factions together, it was considered their private territory. They heard there were valuable things inside, and they didn¡¯t want to share, so they kept it a secret. However, such things couldn¡¯t be kept secret forever. Gradually, some information leaked out, claiming that several factions had found a Cave which was very dark and somewhat dangerous, but contained many valuable items. As the saying goes, uneven distribution causes more concern than scarcity. Once others learned of this information, they obviously did not want these few factions to monopolize the benefits, and so began to vie for their share. Their struggle did produce some results¡ªthe factions agreed to give up a portion of the slots for others to enter. Those who couldn¡¯t enter could choose to invest in those who did, thus getting a certain return. The reason they still didn¡¯t allow too many people to enter wasn¡¯t entirely because the factions that discovered the Cave were inhospitable, but because inside the Cave there were aggressive mutated plants and animals. If too many people entered, there would undoubtedly be more fighting, and since the Cave was underground, excessive battling might cause the structure to collapse! If they were buried alive in the Cave, that would be disastrous, so it was necessary to control the number of entrants. This certainly wasn¡¯t the best solution, but time was precious, and securing these measures was already quite an achievement, so everyone agreed to this plan. When the appointed time came for them to explore the Cave together, a Zombie Tide suddenly hit the area. They had no choice but to postpone their plans until the Zombie Tide passed. Before the Zombie Tide even subsided, a massive snowstorm hit, sealing the whole world in ice, making it impossible to leave the house... Their plans to explore the Cave had to be postponed indefinitely, and kept dragging on until now. With Cheng Yiyi¡¯s help, Wang Tao also secured a slot to enter the Cave, but he didn¡¯t know the exact location of the Cave or what the situation was inside. Later, many other events occurred, and Wang Tao no longer prioritized the Cave. But now, if these sudden Rifts were indeed the Cave, then could he not go down and have a look? After all, he hadn¡¯t gone to the Cave not because he didn¡¯t want to, but because he didn¡¯t know where the entrance was. And if it was a Rift, then fighting inside wouldn¡¯t matter, right? After all, there was no longer any ground above to worry about collapsing... ¡°Is that Rift... the Cave?¡± Others were also puzzled; they naturally hadn¡¯t seen what the Cave looked like either. ¡°I can¡¯t be a hundred percent sure, but it does look similar... How about this, I¡¯ll reveal some of the Cave information we¡¯ve collected!¡± Shi Chuanfu took out his Informational Wristwatch, opened a file, and handed it over. If it had been before today, he probably wouldn¡¯t have revealed this information, as it represented the joint interest of their factions, and they had agreements not to disclose information, harming the interests of their allies. But the situation now was special, with a significant threat appearing outside. If they were not careful, their base could be at risk of annihilation. At such a critical moment, he knew what was more important. Wang Tao quickly finished reading the information. ¡°It really does seem to be the Cave...¡± Then, as if he thought of something, he looked at Shi Chuanfu and asked, ¡°Hey, by the way, where is the entrance to the Cave you discovered?¡± Shi Chuanfu didn¡¯t hesitate, and directly gave him an address. Wang Tao studied the map for a moment, then immediately pointed to a spot on the map, saying, ¡°The entrance to the Cave is here, and there is a Rift nearly contiguous with the Cave¡ªit could be they are connected, I just haven¡¯t looked closely yet...¡± ¡°Does that mean these Rifts really are the Cave?¡± Someone hurriedly asked. ¡°It¡¯s highly likely!¡± Wang Tao and Shi Chuanfu nodded simultaneously. Everyone was silent for a moment, then exchanged glances, all somewhat... eager to try! This Cave, it seemed, was accessible! Although they didn¡¯t know exactly what was inside the Cave, from Shi Chuanfu¡¯s actions, there definitely were good things inside. Now that the Cave had appeared in the form of Rifts, with no one guarding the entrance, and it being impossible to guard, couldn¡¯t they just send people in freely? But there was still one issue now¡ªif the Rifts were indeed the Cave, then they needed to go outside the city, and with such low temperatures outside, could humans withstand it? They subconsciously looked at Wang Tao and his group; since Wang Tao and his company could withstand it, as long as they didn¡¯t send people who were too weak, it should be alright, right? Gu Yun looked at several committee members. Although he was the highest administrative official within the base, such major decisions needed the committee¡¯s approval. These committee members were all present today, and he wanted to see their thoughts. ¡°Principal Wang, I want to understand more about the situation outside...¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide too much, especially regarding the external environment; they asked, and he answered. By the time day broke, Wang Tao had finished his meal, and the questions were also answered. The committee members all fell into deep thought. Now, venturing out of the city would face three problems: the cold, encountering numerous Frozen Zombies, and encountering the Giant Eagle. Chapter 1128 - 1128 457 Blacky Awakening_2 ?Chapter 1128: Chapter 457 Blacky Awakening_2 Chapter 1128: Chapter 457 Blacky Awakening_2 Encountering a large number of frozen zombies and giant eagles seemed like a severe issue, yet it was largely a matter of luck. More importantly, there was no way to resolve these issues right now. These weren¡¯t matters that could be solved by mere thought; this was a gap in real combat power... Thus, the real problem to resolve was actually just one¡ªkeeping warm! Or more precisely, how to effectively keep warm while still maintaining a significant portion of combat capabilities. It was also very cold inside the cave... As long as this issue was resolved, sending people out wouldn¡¯t pose a problem. Unless they were incredibly unlucky and encountered a large number of frozen zombies or giant eagles as soon as they stepped outside... As for how to solve this issue... it actually wasn¡¯t difficult. For example, the simplest solution was to wear powered armor. Not only was it convenient and able to keep one warm, but it could also greatly enhance combat power! But there was a fatal flaw¡ªcost! The cost of manufacturing powered armor, as well as the energy source¡ªCrystal Core costs were not low. It wasn¡¯t a big deal if the quantity was small, but with a large quantity, even City Hall couldn¡¯t bear the expense. Besides powered armor, mechanical exoskeletons seemed feasible too; their cost was much less than that of powered armor. Although exoskeletons didn¡¯t provide warmth, they could offer some flexibility for those wearing thick clothes... However, exoskeletons also had their downsides. No matter how much they increased flexibility, they were never as comfortable as one¡¯s own body, and their strength had an upper limit. For ordinary people, mechanical exoskeletons definitely offered improvement. But for skilled Ability Users, this gear could bring substantial enhancement¡ªunless the quality of the mechanical exoskeletons was exceptional, but then we returned to the previous issue¡ªhigh cost. While these committee members were pondering, Shi Chuanfu turned to Wang Tao and said: ¡°Thank you, Principal Wang, for your explanations! You all should go back and rest well; you¡¯ve worked hard these days! Regarding the cave matter, we still need to have a discussion...¡± Clearly, the committee members were about to have a meeting. ¡°Sure.¡± Wang Tao nodded. Qu Shilin had already returned to the institute earlier, and Gu Yun personally escorted Wang Tao and his group downstairs. After descending, Wang Tao encountered Jiang Hui, who was just about to ascend the stairs. ¡°Oh? Mr. Wang! You¡¯re back!¡± Seeing Wang Tao, Jiang Hui immediately showed a delighted expression. He knew Wang Tao had gone out and had been somewhat worried about him. Seeing that Wang Tao had returned safely, he was genuinely relieved. ¡°Officer Jiang, oh no, Director Jiang!¡± Wang Tao greeted him with a smile. Jiang Hui had already become the director by then. ¡°That¡¯s all thanks to Mr. Wang! Without Mr. Wang, where would I, Jiang Hui, be today!¡± Jiang Hui quickly responded. If not for Wang Tao leading the way and taking down the Dusk Church and capturing a committee-level criminal, thereby earning a major merit, he would never have become the director. ¡°It was all your own effort!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile and shook his head, then added, ¡°By the way, have there been any more incidents regarding the Dusk Church inside the base these past few days?¡± ¡°Thanks to Mr. Wang, all is well in the base now. The Dusk Church has probably been completely uprooted!¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. As long as there was no trouble from the Dusk Church inside the base, the external threats from the Dusk Church were not too serious for the time being. After chatting for a bit more, Jiang Hui took the initiative to end the conversation. ¡°Mr. Wang, you just got back, right? I won¡¯t keep you any longer! Take care!¡± Jiang Hui knew Wang Tao had just returned and probably needed to rest. A brief appearance and a few words were enough; it wouldn¡¯t do to keep Wang Tao talking, as that might become annoying. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have anything else to do, so he got in the car and directly went home. After spending over ten days outside, other than the snow accumulating a bit more, there weren¡¯t many changes at home. Inside the house, several Black Snakes lazily sprawled in front of the fireplace, basking in the warmth. If not for the significantly reduced amount of firewood, it felt just like the moment before he had left. ¡°Chirp chirp¡ª¡± Little Bing crawled out of Wang Tao¡¯s pocket and immediately ran curiously toward the Black Snakes. They got startled; after all, Little Bing was a legitimate Level 4, Lord, while they were only Fourth Order Elites; there was a level gap. ¡°We¡¯re all on the same side.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± The new member of the family seemed to be somewhat unsettling for the few Black Snakes, always feeling as if they had encountered their natural predator. Wang Tao could sense Blacky¡¯s status and felt somewhat puzzled. Would pythons be afraid of ferrets? If he disregarded levels, the difference in size was huge... However, after some research, Wang Tao figured out the reason¡ªBlacky had sensed the ice attribute in Little Bing¡¯s body. Being cold-blooded, they became drowsy when cold, severely reducing their combat effectiveness... So, in a way, the ice attribute really restrained them. Having understood this, Wang Tao became somewhat speechless. Would these five Black Snakes just be idling away the entire winter? But then again, their current strength was only that of Fourth Order Elite... In some aspects, Fourth Order Elites were stronger than Level 3 Lords, but in other aspects, they were inferior. Overall, they could be considered as Level 3 Lords. This kind of strength, unless it was for healing or something, was not much help to Wang Tao and the others... ¡°Good thing we brought back a lot of Snake Fruits this time. Let¡¯s feed them more and see if an awakening can happen.¡± Wang Tao took out some Snake Fruits. The few Black Snakes smelled them and immediately slithered over. He petted Blacky¡¯s head and gave them the Snake Fruits. ¡°Eat more, there¡¯s plenty of Snake Fruit. But you guys also need to put in some effort. It¡¯s been so long and there¡¯s been no improvement in strength at all, you¡¯re too dumb!¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Blacky flicked its tongue, and those little eyes seemed somewhat aggrieved. The rate at which these mutant beasts increased in strength was not comparable to zombies and even depended on luck. Not improving was the norm, and constant improvement would be abnormal... However, as it ate the Snake Fruit, it suddenly felt a warmth throughout its body as if a power was about to awaken inside. ¡°Ah?¡± Wang Tao instantly noticed the difference in Blacky. ¡°Is this...are you about to awaken?¡± ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± As soon as Wang Tao had confirmation from Blacky, he immediately grinned. ¡°I take back what I said; you¡¯re not dumb at all!¡± Wang Tao petted Blacky¡¯s head. It licked the palm of his hand and then immediately coiled around in front of him, and then it fell asleep. ¡°Is Blacky...awakening?¡± The others finally noticed Blacky¡¯s changes. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s about to awaken.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± An awakening meant an additional Level 4 Lord combatant, a nice enhancement for their little team. Wei Zhenguo looked at Er Hei and Sanhei, the other Black Snakes. ¡°Blacky has awakened, you guys need to work hard!¡± ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± The few Black Snakes couldn¡¯t speak, but their owner clearly felt their envy towards Blacky. ¡°Blacky is about to awaken; what do you guys say?¡± At this moment, Wang Tao said with a smile: ¡°Darn! I want to awaken!¡± Wei Zhenguo promptly said. ¡°We want to as well! Right now!¡± Ding Yuqin and the others spoke at the same time. Due to the rift, they might have to go out again shortly. So it would be best if they could enhance their strength quickly. ¡°Alright! You guys try first, and after you are done, it¡¯ll be my turn.¡± Wang Tao immediately took out a bunch of physical awakening keys. He kept 300 keys for himself, and then took out the remaining 82. There were still six people who hadn¡¯t awakened, but Chen Zhuang and Li Qiuyu weren¡¯t in a hurry, so they started with Ding Yuqin, Han Rui, Yang Changhong, and Wei Zhenguo. They were all undergoing their Second Awakening, and it would consume 2 keys this time. If they failed, the next attempt to awaken would require 3 keys... Assuming they kept failing, those eighty-plus keys could allow them four to attempt awakening five times! This number might seem quite a lot, but if it dragged on to that point, their success rate each time would only be 10%... So how many of them could actually awaken, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t say, but trying would show! Chapter 1129 - 1129 458 Switching Attributes ?Chapter 1129: Chapter 458: Switching Attributes Chapter 1129: Chapter 458: Switching Attributes ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t waste any words, directly signaling Ding Yuqin and the others to start. They each took an Awakening Key, their gaze resolute as if they were heading into battle¡ªfor them, it truly was akin to going into battle, seeing as they had already failed once before. By integrating the Awakening Key into their bodies, the last condition was met, and they could directly attempt to awaken. Moments later, both Wei Zhenguo and Han Rui¡¯s faces revealed expressions of surprise. ¡°I think... I¡¯ve awakened!¡± ¡°Me too...¡± Thump, thump¡ª No sooner had the two finished speaking than they promptly collapsed onto the table. On the other side, Yang Changhong and Ding Yuqin looked at each other, both somewhat tearful. Clearly, they had failed again. However, just as they were about to say something, they saw Wang Tao suddenly push the Awakening Keys on the table over to them. ¡°Keep going!¡± ¡°Huh? We¡¯re still trying to awaken?¡± Ding Yuqin and Yang Changhong instinctively wanted to refuse; they had just wasted two Secret Keys, and the success rate for the next awakening would be even lower... wouldn¡¯t that mean wasting more Secret Keys... But Wang Tao didn¡¯t see it that way, because both Han Rui and Wei Zhenguo had succeeded, their success meant a lot of Secret Keys had been saved! Since they¡¯d saved some, there were now enough keys for Ding Yuqin and Yang Changhong to splurge! ¡°Continue, I think our luck is not too bad today, hang in there! You can do it!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Now, there were four of them attempting to awaken simultaneously, all with a 40% success rate; but with two people already awakened! That made the success rate 50%, so Wang Tao felt their luck was indeed good today. Perhaps motivated by Wang Tao¡¯s smile, the two women exchanged glances and then, perking up, each integrated three more Secret Keys. After going through another round of the awakening process, the two women opened their eyes, looking somewhat dazed at Wang Tao. ¡°Failure doesn¡¯t matter, try again!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, completely unconcerned. However, to everyone¡¯s surprise, both women spoke up at the same time: ¡°I think... I¡¯ve awakened...¡± ¡°Me too...¡± Thump, thump¡ª The two women collapsed onto the table. ¡°Ah?¡± Now it was Wang Tao¡¯s turn to be taken aback. They had succeeded? Wang Tao took a closer look and indeed, the two women had fallen asleep. He suddenly felt somewhat speechless, as their expressions just moments before had made him think they had failed again. ¡°It¡¯s a success, everyone¡¯s succeeded!¡± Lan Yulian was extremely joyful, and the others promptly began to clap their hands. Wang Tao cracked a smile. ¡°The luck today really is something!¡± Both Ding Yuqin and Han Rui were trying for the third time to awaken, this time with a success rate of 30%... yet they both succeeded, practically making it 100%! Not only did this save many Awakening Keys, but it also saved a lot of trouble for the future. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but remark, this was the true nature of probability; even with only a 30% chance of success, it was still possible. Unlike some online games he had played in the past, where even with a 90% chance, failure was still often the outcome... Wang Tao and the others carried Ding Yuqin to their respective rooms and then he immediately sent a message to Qu Shilin. ¡°All four people here have awakened; are you going to try awakening today? Today¡¯s luck seems to be not too bad.¡± Wang Tao thought Qu Shilin was asleep, but to his surprise, she called him just seconds after the message was sent. ¡°Wang Tao, wait for me! I¡¯m coming!¡± ¡°Huh? Didn¡¯t I give you a Secret Key?¡± ¡°I want to do it at your house! Your house is lucky; all four people actually awakened¡ªthat luck is explosive! You won¡¯t mind if I take a nap at your place, will you?¡± ¡°Of course not, I¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Wang Tao shrugged. Qu Shilin seemed quite superstitious, but given the day¡¯s events, it really was quite believable. Sometime later, Qu Shilin arrived. ¡°Wang Tao, I¡¯m going to start awakening! Do you think I need to prepare anything else?¡± She ran up to Wang Tao, her face full of excitement. Little Huo popped out from Qu Shilin¡¯s arms, then leapt onto Wang Tao¡¯s shoulder to play with Little Bing. Wang Tao patted Little Huo¡¯s head, then said to Qu Shilin: ¡°All conditions have been met; you can start right away.¡± Before coming over, Qu Shilin had already integrated the ¡°Mystical Consciousness,¡± acquiring a Hidden Attribute, and her HP had reached a hundred thousand blood. Her Crystal Core was also integrated to its limit... All conditions fully met, she could awaken. ¡°Great! I¡¯m, I¡¯m still a bit nervous...¡± Qu Shilin muttered, then integrated an Awakening Key. A short while later, she looked at Wang Tao with a mix of excitement and disbelief. ¡°My, one of my Abilities is gone...¡± ¡°Then it means you¡¯ve succeeded, congratulations!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Ah? Succeeded... um, I¡¯m so sleepy...¡± Thump¡ª Qu Shilin immediately collapsed onto the table. Everyone else had gone to sleep, so Wang Tao carried Qu Shilin to an empty room. Then he shook his head with a smile. Today, five consecutive people had awakened, with a total of five participants. Even though Ding Yuqin and Han Rui had to awaken an extra time, he still thought to himself, this luck was unbeatable! Oh right, it wasn¡¯t just those five; including Blacky, there was another awakening... In that instant, Wang Tao got the feeling that maybe he should try with an Ordinary Awakening Key too. He still had 368 Awakening Keys; the original plan was to keep 300, but it turned out not so many were needed. Given today¡¯s circumstances, where everyone else¡¯s chances of awakening with an Ordinary Key were high, if he used three Ordinary Keys and managed to awaken again, he would save himself 297 Ordinary Awakening Keys! Chapter 1130 - 1130 458 Change an Attribute_2 ?Chapter 1130: Chapter 458 Change an Attribute_2 Chapter 1130: Chapter 458 Change an Attribute_2 After giving it some thought, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Forget it, better play it safe...¡± If he didn¡¯t have enough Secret Keys, he could have taken a risk, but since he had enough, there was no need to gamble. Unlike the others, he was the soul of their entire team and the strongest in terms of combat power. As long as his strength increased, it could benefit the whole team significantly, especially since they might also explore the Rift... So, at this critical moment, it was better to be cautious. However, if he were to undergo his fourth Awakening, maybe then he could take a gamble. Since a person could only have up to four abilities at the same time, he could only successfully awaken four times at most. If his previous three Awakenings were all successful, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry too much about the last one or hurry it... Of course, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t planning to awaken or ascend today. The reason was naturally due to the current unusual situation. If too many of them were asleep and something unexpected happened outside, it would be troublesome. It was better to wait until everyone was awake before he started his own ascension and awakening. But considering his luck today... Wang Tao had found Li Qiuyu. Li Qiuyu was already asleep in her room. However, being a Level 3 Ability User, she woke up instantly when Wang Tao didn¡¯t deliberately hide his footsteps. Illuminated by the dim bedside lamp, she saw that it was Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, why are you...¡± Not knowing what to think, Li Qiuyu sat up, her face slightly reddened. Wang Tao sat by the bed, gently stroking her hair, and said, ¡°Everyone in our team has awakened except you and Chen Zhuang. Chen Zhuang¡¯s situation is special since he needs to awaken healing abilities, which needs to wait. But you don¡¯t have to force it; a random awakening is fine, and we¡¯re lucky today. So why not seize the day and start your awakening?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Li Qiuyu realized she had misunderstood. However, she quickly shook her head and whispered, ¡°My, my awakening isn¡¯t cost-effective, it would waste your Secret Key. If I cause you to run out, it would be troublesome, and I don¡¯t have any Hidden Attributes...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you forget how smoothly everyone awakened today? We still have plenty of Awakening Keys left. As for Hidden Attributes, I still have some, why don¡¯t you awaken this one...¡± Wang Tao took out the ¡°Mysterious Shadow.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not, it feels too wasteful, better give it to someone who needs it...¡± Naturally, Li Qiuyu wanted to awaken, but she always worried about holding back Wang Tao and the others because her combat power was relatively weak. Knowing her personality, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but pinch her cheek in annoyance. ¡°It¡¯s just you and Chen Zhuang who haven¡¯t awakened in our team. Chen Zhuang doesn¡¯t need this, so it¡¯s only left for you. Give it to someone who needs it? Who do you have in mind?¡± ¡°...¡± That seemed to make sense. But Li Qiuyu still shook her head. Wang Tao immediately became a little unhappy. Why was this woman so inflexible? However, before Wang Tao could speak, Li Qiuyu looked seriously at him and said, ¡°I think, this ¡®Mysterious Shadow¡¯ is very suitable for you...¡± ¡°Me? I already have a Hidden Attribute! Using it again would override the previous one.¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°I mean, didn¡¯t you say there¡¯s only Dark Attribute fog in the Rift? Maybe there are lots of Dark Attributes things there. If you had a Dark Attribute hidden attribute, or even awakened a Dark Ability, wouldn¡¯t you be less affected in the fog?¡± ¡°Hey? Now that you mention it, it does make sense...¡± Wang Tao suddenly stroked his chin, lost in thought. Li Qiuyu¡¯s words seemed to make sense... After all, he definitely needed to go into the Rift. If it was only fog, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad, but if there were other Dark Attribute things, it might really affect him. And if he had an Awakening to a Dark Attribute, he might be less affected. ¡°As for me... don¡¯t you still have a heart? What if I use that?¡± ¡°Strange Heart? That works too, but it only has a 50% chance of granting a Hidden Attribute.¡± Wang Tao admitted that Li Qiuyu had persuaded him, so he decided to keep the ¡°Mysterious Shadow¡± for himself. ¡°I think our luck today is good, a 50% chance is quite high!¡± Li Qiuyu said with a smile. ¡°Alright, but that heart may be a bit disgusting...¡± Wang Tao took out a massive ¡°Strange Heart,¡± which had to be eaten to work. Qu Shilin actually felt a bit disgusted too, but she didn¡¯t want Wang Tao to worry, so she feigned nonchalance, ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯ve been through the Apocalypse for so long, I¡¯ve seen all kinds of disgusting things...¡± After saying this, she directly picked up the heart and prepared to take a bite. But just as she placed the heart near her mouth, the heart instantly turned into a beam of light and entered her mouth. ¡°Huh?¡± Wang Tao and Li Qiuyu were both surprised. They had thought it would have to be eaten piece by piece... This was better, at least there was no need to endure the disgust. Then Wang Tao hastily looked at Li Qiuyu¡¯s attributes, her HP hadn¡¯t decreased, and she had gained a hidden attribute. Wang Tao immediately smiled and said, ¡°Congratulations!¡± ¡°Ah? Is it successful just like that? I don¡¯t feel anything...¡± Li Qiuyu was somewhat confused. ¡°This isn¡¯t an awakening, just a hidden attribute. It¡¯s normal not to feel anything, after all, many people might never know they have a hidden attribute until they die. However...¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hearing the hesitation in Wang Tao¡¯s words, Li Qiuyu, who had been happy, instantly became anxious again. ¡°I thought the hidden attribute given by this heart would be a system, since that zombie felt like it was from a system, but your hidden attribute isn¡¯t from a system...¡± ¡°Ah? Then what is it?¡± Hearing this, Li Qiuyu was also curious. Wang Tao looked at Li Qiuyu¡¯s hidden attribute. [Land Affinity: Able to sense some feelings of the land] ¡°This is of the Earth Element...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. This hidden attribute was similar to his [Plant Affinity], one being plants and the other land. ¡°Earth Element?¡± Li Qiuyu immediately got up from Wang Tao¡¯s embrace, then lay down on the ground, and she widened her eyes. ¡°I think... I can really feel the faint vibrations of the ground... Huh? I can feel Little Bing and Little Huo playing...¡± This marvelous feeling fascinated Qu Shilin. ¡°Hehe, let¡¯s research it later, you can try awakening now.¡± Since she had acquired a hidden attribute, Li Qiuyu naturally didn¡¯t dawdle further. However, sadly, her first attempt at awakening failed. Before Li Qiuyu could feel disheartened, Wang Tao took out two more secret keys for her to continue trying. After a moment, Li Qiuyu looked dazedly at Wang Tao. ¡°I¡¯m so sleepy...¡± Success! Today¡¯s luck was indeed good! Wang Tao smiled and shook his head, ¡°You succeeded, go to sleep.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± A hint of joy appeared on Li Qiuyu¡¯s face, and then she collapsed into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. Wang Tao laid her on the bed, tucked her in, and after making sure everything was fine, he left. Looking at the [Mysterious Shadow] in his hand, Wang Tao hesitated for a moment, then immediately placed it in his mouth. Li Qiuyu was right, this Dark Element should be quite suited for his next actions. A moment later, Wang Tao saw his [Plant Affinity] ability was gone, and in its place was a [Dark Element]. [Dark Element: Has a certain resistance to darkness] ¡°My [Plant Affinity] is gone...¡± Wang Tao still had [Body Strengthening] and [Plant Affinity]; both abilities were decent. However, given the current frosty snow conditions, [Plant Affinity] was not usable, while [Body Strengthening] was always in use. Having replaced the [Plant Affinity] attribute, Wang Tao felt it was not bad. Once he entered the rift, he would have an extra card up his sleeve! Chapter 1131 - 1131 459 School Registration ?Chapter 1131: Chapter 459 School Registration Chapter 1131: Chapter 459 School Registration The following day, at dawn. Wang Tao woke up and saw the message sent by Gu Yun. ¡°The committee has already decided to send troops to explore the Rift...¡± Wang Tao wasn¡¯t surprised by this news. The Rift was definitely a place to go to; it was just a matter of going sooner or later. However, the fact that the committee had made the decision so quickly indicated that they must have solved the problem of staying warm in the cold. The issue wasn¡¯t simple, but it wasn¡¯t difficult either since anything was possible if sufficient funds were invested. The committee must be determined to take a risk. It was highly likely linked to Wang Tao, after all, the news he had brought back from outside wasn¡¯t good. If they continued to hunker down in the base, even if they survived the entire winter, they wouldn¡¯t be able to go outside anymore because of the rapid Ascension of the zombies... Gu Yun mentioned that the departure would be in three days and asked if the Starfire Society was going out this time. Usually, those with strength would definitely go; he hoped that Starfire would participate, especially since they had a great healer! But since Wang Tao and his group had just returned from outside, they might need to rest and recover; hence Gu Yun wasn¡¯t certain. ¡°Of course we¡¯re going.¡± Wang Tao replied with a voice message. In three days¡¯ time, Ding Yuqin and the others would have completed their Awakening. Hearing the noise, Lan Yulian and Lu Yingfeng opened their eyes beside him. Lan Yulian was still a bit groggy. ¡°What¡¯s up, Wang Tao...¡± She normally had her guard up, but when she was with Wang Tao, she would subconsciously rely on him, hence lowering her alertness. Lu Yingfeng, in contrast, was much more alert since she was a bodyguard and couldn¡¯t afford to lose vigilance. Wang Tao shared the news he had just received with the two women, and they were also curious about the so-called Cave, naturally wanting to go down and have a look. After getting up and washing up, Wang Tao planned to stay home for the day to rest and wait for Ding Yuqin to wake up. But during breakfast, Gu Yun called. Wang Tao thought it would be about the Rift, but it wasn¡¯t; the Awakeners School was almost ready, and Wang Tao could come over to check everything out. After ensuring there were no issues, they could officially open the doors. ¡°That was quick...¡± Before Wang Tao had left the city, City Hall mentioned that the school should be almost ready by the time he returned. He hadn¡¯t expected them to be this efficient. ¡°The building and all are ready-made. They¡¯ve temporarily pulled a bunch of people over; if you find them unsuitable, just replace them. The school obviously doesn¡¯t have any students yet. For recruiting students, you said you¡¯d handle it yourself, so we¡¯re not getting involved. In any case, you¡¯re the boss of the school, what you say goes, everything centers around you!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s authority as the principal was significant, he had a say in everything except for the school¡¯s finances. In reality, Wang Tao didn¡¯t care about the level of authority; he just wanted to unearth and train those with potential. However, having this kind of power was convenient for him. Then, Gu Yun added: ¡°Cough, Wang Tao, when the school officially opens, there might be a group of people who come to enroll first. See if they have potential, keep them if they do, if not, don¡¯t bother...¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. They were all adults, the meaning behind those words was clear; probably all those who came to register first had connections in some form. However, Gu Yun had not said that Wang Tao must keep them, but rather to select based on potential, and those without it could be easily dismissed. It was still mainly up to Wang Tao. That meant these connected individuals were just taking advantage of the chance to take an early test, not gaining much else. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded in agreement. This was reasonable; since the base provided the money, manpower, and venue, it was normal for some people to get a backdoor entry. Since they didn¡¯t insist that Wang Tao keep everyone, the reason was simple¡ªthe school was for training Awakeners who needed to go out and kill zombies. If they truly lacked strength, going out would mean courting death. Therefore, there was no need to keep everyone. If they couldn¡¯t become Awakeners, living a safe and secure life as Ordinary people was also quite respectable... The two chatted for a bit more before Wang Tao finally said: ¡°I¡¯ll go check it out now. By the way, where is it?¡± ¡°Alright, the address is...¡± The location of the Awakeners School was also in the central area but a bit distant from City Hall. Wang Tao called over Lan Yulian and Xiang Hongbin among others, and they drove together to the Awakeners School. The snow was still falling outside, but humans were highly adaptable; there was basically no disaster-related news within the base anymore, and people wearing thick clothes and Mechanical Exoskeletons rotated clear snow off the roads. Despite the continuous snow and the extremely low temperatures making it impossible for Ordinary people to go outside, the situation had improved compared to when the heavy snow had just started. It was on the right track, slowly progressing toward a better direction. After a while, Wang Tao and his group arrived at the Awakeners School. From afar, they could see the large steel doors with a few big characters¡ªChanghe Base Awakeners School. ¡°This place seems pretty big! And the way it looks, it¡¯s like a military camp...¡± Xiang Hongbin looked towards the school gates. ¡°After all, this school is different from other schools; it requires combat training, so there¡¯s probably a large training field inside...¡± As Wang Tao talked, their vehicle reached the gates. Click¡ª The gates automatically opened. And standing inside to welcome Wang Tao was his old acquaintance, Cheng Yiyi. Chapter 1132 - 1132 459 School Registration_2 ?Chapter 1132: Chapter 459 School Registration_2 Chapter 1132: Chapter 459 School Registration_2 ¡°Commander Cheng? Is this place your renovation?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. ¡°Yes, to be precise, this place used to be one of the military camps of our Sixth Legion, but we have too few people, so it¡¯s barely used. That¡¯s why we turned it into a school.¡± Cheng Yiyi said with a smile. Next to her, Xiang Hongbin shrugged his shoulders; he had mentioned that there was a military feel to the place, so it turns out it was converted from a military camp. ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll give you a tour.¡± Cheng Yiyi led everyone into the school. The school was clearly not luxurious, but it was fully equipped, especially the numerous training grounds that ensured the students could fully exercise. ¡°Our school can easily accommodate thousands of people, and if we have more, we can continue to expand...¡± Hearing Cheng Yiyi¡¯s words, Wang Tao smiled and nodded. ¡°It¡¯s definitely enough for the time being.¡± For a school, having thousands of people is certainly not a large number. But this is an Awakeners School; they are recruiting those with the potential for Awakening. Not to mention a thousand, even a few hundred would satisfy Wang Tao. After touring the school, Cheng Yiyi called over the staff members so they could meet Wang Tao, the principal of the school. ¡°Hello, Principal!¡± A group of people greeted him loudly and in unison. Their gazes were somewhat nervous, as they were only temporary workers at the moment. If they couldn¡¯t gain Wang Tao¡¯s approval, they could be replaced at any time. And this Awakeners School was a project that the committee highly valued; their welfare and treatment were far better than similar jobs, and they didn¡¯t want to lose this opportunity. ¡°Um.¡± Wang Tao nodded; he didn¡¯t launch into a lengthy speech, but simply encouraged them briefly. After memorizing their faces, he let them disperse. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t interested in management. After the school opened, his only responsibility would be recruitment. He would leave management to either Wei Zhenguo or Yang Changhong, as they were professionals. But they probably wouldn¡¯t manage for long either, and would likely do as Wang Tao did and leave it to someone else eventually. After all, personal strength was the fundamental basis... ¡°Now we¡¯re just missing the principal and the teachers to take up their positions. Do you have anyone in mind for the teachers?¡± Cheng Yiyi asked, looking at Wang Tao. ¡°For teachers, our Starfire Society can provide some candidates. Additionally, we can invite Fourth-order Awakeners from other factions to teach. I believe they would be willing to do so.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. After all, the school was training Awakeners¡ªwho wouldn¡¯t love that? Though the school was funded by the City Hall, City Hall had clearly stated it would not restrict the graduates¡¯ choice of affiliation post-graduation. They were welcome to give back to the base regardless of where they were. If the other factions¡¯ representatives were capable, they could certainly recruit these Awakeners. So, they would undoubtedly be willing to become teachers¡ªeven without a salary, they would come. This was perfect since Wang Tao also needed some teachers to instruct the students in various combat skills and survival experiences; both parties could agree easily on this arrangement. As for Wang Tao¡¯s Starfire Society, it was taking an elite route and couldn¡¯t possibly recruit too many people... ¡°That¡¯s very good.¡± Cheng Yiyi clearly understood the intricacies involved. Wang Tao¡¯s approach was quite good; it was a fair competition for all. And it could even stir up the other factions! If the Awakeners School proved successful, most of the Awakeners would likely choose to join City Hall first. For other factions to poach from City Hall, they either had to make a generous offer or cultivate good relations with the students by playing the emotional card. Offering high compensation obviously was not proper; cultivating relationships was a cost-effective choice. And to cultivate relationships, the simplest and most direct method was to join the school as teachers, guide them properly, and teach them valuable skills. No one was a fool, especially the students at the Awakeners School, who were mostly adults with basic judgment skills. If a teacher skimped on instruction while expecting students to work for their faction afterwards, that was obviously impossible... And this kind of ¡°internal competition¡± was definitely a good thing for the entire Changhe Base, as the ultimate goal for everyone was to make the base stronger and survive well. Wang Tao then directly contacted Gu Yun to talk about the matter. ¡°Haha, sure! In fact, we had the same idea over here, but since we agreed to let you manage everything, we didn¡¯t say much... Now that you think the same, I¡¯ll start contacting them. Just to let you know, quite a few people have already approached me privately about wanting a teaching position!¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± ¡°Hey! It¡¯s all part of the job!¡± After hanging up the phone, it was noon. Cheng Yiyi, Wang Tao, and a few others had lunch together at the school. Cheng Yiyi also took the opportunity to ask Wang Tao if he would go to the Rift. When she received a positive response, Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t beat around the bush and expressed her hope to join Wang Tao in the venture. ¡°That¡¯s fine, we¡¯ll go together.¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t refuse. After all, he was also a consultant for the Sixth Legion; helping his own people was the right thing to do. ¡°Thank you!¡± Cheng Yiyi was overjoyed. Whether it was the formidable strength of Wang Tao and his group or the support of Lan Yulian as a powerful healer, these were opportunities not to be missed. With Wang Tao joining them, they were at a significant advantage. ¡°Folks from our own side, no need for formalities.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile, shaking his head. ¡°By the way, when do you plan to start recruiting for the school? We of the Sixth Legion are free at the moment and can all come to help you out!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start this afternoon. We¡¯ll release the news for enrollment. Although the teachers aren¡¯t in place yet, the screening process will take some time, and by the time that¡¯s done, the teachers should be ready...¡± Wang Tao thought for a moment before responding. ¡°Great!¡± Cheng Yiyi nodded. ... That afternoon, the news that the Awakeners School was officially open for enrollment rapidly spread throughout the entirety of Changhe Base. The project of the Awakeners School had actually been known for quite some time, but there wasn¡¯t a channel for enrollment nor any information about entry requirements, so everyone was silently waiting. Many even doubted whether the project would come to fruition since, in their understanding, how could Awakeners possibly be trained? If that were possible, the base would already be full of Awakeners... But regardless, this was a beacon of hope, and they all awaited it. And now, once again news came from the school, this time announcing that enrollment had begun! Everyone who saw the message was filled with excitement. It¡¯s said that climbing the social ladder is difficult, even in the Apocalypse. But now, the opportunity had arrived! However, with over five hundred thousand people in the base, it wasn¡¯t feasible for everyone to apply; Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be able to handle it, nor would it be possible to organize such a large event in a short time. More importantly, training Awakeners required a massive amount of resources. If there were indeed so many potential Awakeners, while it would be a good thing, the base simply would not be able to support them all... Thus, there definitely had to be some entry barriers for enrollment. The initial requirements for the first batch included three criteria: first, the candidate must be over 14 years old; second, they must not have any criminal record since arriving at the base; and third, they must have at least Level Two strength. The first two conditions were manageable, and the majority could meet them. But the third condition would be a hurdle for many. However, the school also stated that this condition was temporary and the requirements would continue to drop, possibly even to the point of no barriers at all. After all, this was just an application, and actual admission would be at the discretion of the school. Furthermore, if the number of applicants in this batch did not meet the quota, the entry requirements would be lowered accordingly. Everyone was advised not to rush but to wait their turn. As for how to apply, this required candidates to apply through the relevant departments in their area. Once enough people signed up, a special vehicle would be dispatched to collect them. Considering the heavy snowfall outside, anyone without sufficient strength venturing out could freeze to death. Those who passed the application would stay at the school, and those who did not would be taken back by the special vehicle. Meals would be provided during the stay at the school... all very considerate arrangements. Wang Tao stayed at the school until the evening before going home, as it was important for the headmaster to understand all aspects of his own school. And as soon as he got home, he saw that Blacky had succeeded in Awakening. Chapter 1133 - 1133 460 Spring of Healing (For Alliance ?Chapter 1133: Chapter 460: Spring of Healing (For Alliance Leader ¡°Nilanxuanzhen¡± additional release) Chapter 1133: Chapter 460: Spring of Healing (For Alliance Leader ¡°Nilanxuanzhen¡± additional release) Hiss, hiss¡ª Blacky happily slithered over to Wang Tao as soon as it saw him, instantly knocking over the surrounding chairs and tables in the process. ¡°So huge...¡± Blacky used to be only as thick as the mouth of a bowl, but now it was as thick as the waist of an ordinary human. As for its length... It just had to lift its head slightly, and Wang Tao and the others had to look up. Blacky lowered its head, and its huge black head rubbed against Wang Tao. If an ordinary person witnessed this scene, they would probably pee their pants in fright. Wang Tao said somewhat speechlessly, ¡°How did you grow so big, you¡¯re not cute anymore...¡± Of course, whether it was cute or not was secondary. The main issue was that their house was only so big; it was constructed for normal humans, and with its current size, it wasn¡¯t easy to accommodate... Hiss, hiss¡ª Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Blacky seemed a bit aggrieved. What¡¯s wrong with growing bigger? It¡¯s a symbol of growing stronger! Wang Tao patted its head that had been warmed by the fireplace. It made sense that Blacky had grown so big after its awakening. After all, its mother, the Fourth-Order Disaster Level Giant Serpent, was even bigger... Wang Tao checked Blacky¡¯s specific attributes. [HP: 250000/250000] [Mana: 250000/250000] [Grade: Level 4 ¨C Lord] [Awakening: Death¡¯s Entwine] [Death¡¯s Entwine: All basic attributes are significantly enhanced; when entwining prey, current basic attributes are doubled] Before, Blacky only had over a hundred thousand HP and Mana, but now it had reached 250,000 directly! It had instantly become the second highest in HP in Wang Tao¡¯s team! Lightning had the highest HP. Because it had eaten a lot of Night Demon corpses on their recent excursion, its HP had reached 300,000, so it was undeniably first in the team. Blacky¡¯s 250,000 HP was shocking enough, given that many people had only about a hundred thousand HP. Of course, the most important thing was not just the increase in HP but also its new awakening¡ªDeath¡¯s Entwine! The name of the awakening sounded quite domineering. As for its actual combat ability, Wang Tao thought it should be quite good, too. [Death¡¯s Entwine] was clearly a passive System Awakening that increased all basic attributes¡ªincluding strength, speed, defense, etc., meaning its physical fitness was much stronger than before the awakening. And this awakening also added a property: ¡°when entwining prey, current basic attributes are doubled.¡± This property was incredible! Generally, once prey is entangled by a giant serpent, it¡¯s already difficult to escape, and Blacky¡¯s physical fitness had markedly increased, making it even harder. If its attributes were then doubled... the prey would probably not be trying to escape, but would quickly be crushed to a pulp¡ªbones and organs shattered! Wang Tao was looking forward to seeing if Blacky¡¯s awakening could achieve the effect he imagined. Especially since Blacky had grown so much larger, its entangling ability was bound to be stronger! ¡°Not bad, not bad. We¡¯ll go out and try it together later...¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction, then, as if something occurred to him, he added, ¡°Right, can you even go out now?¡± In cold weather, these giant black snakes¡¯ combat abilities diminished greatly because they became drowsy... If they weren¡¯t at home, they would probably find a hole to hibernate in if they were outdoors... If Blacky was still as affected by the cold as before its awakening, that would be quite troublesome. However, upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Blacky rubbed its huge head on his face, conveying a message¡ªit was now much more resistant to cold. Although it would still be affected by cold environments, it wouldn¡¯t immediately seek a hole to sleep in upon going outdoors. ¡°That¡¯s a relief!¡± Wang Tao immediately felt relieved. It wasn¡¯t that he specifically wanted Blacky to work; the main issue was the significant reduction in combat ability due to extremely cold weather¡ªit was a major weakness that now seemed to be mitigated. ¡°Can you shrink in size, though?¡± Wang Tao asked. Hiss, hiss¡ª ¡°I can¡¯t...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, deep in thought. Blacky¡¯s huge size seemed problematic to keep at home! Just as it had crawled over to him, it had knocked over countless chairs and benches. Wang Tao¡¯s villa was designed for humans, not for such large animals. Unless they built Blacky a special large room, or dug it an underground space... There was an underground training facility nearby his villa, but it lacked a fireplace and wasn¡¯t warm enough. Although Blacky could now battle in the cold, it still preferred warmer environments. Of course, there was plenty of space at the base, and it wouldn¡¯t be an issue to find a suitable place for Blacky. But it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate to keep Blacky in a place all by itself. After all, who keeps their pet in another place... ¡°Eh?¡± But then, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. If he wouldn¡¯t be leaving home in the future, he might stay at either the villa or the school. If there wasn¡¯t enough space at home, the school had to have enough space, right? The school ground was vast enough for Blacky to romp around to its heart¡¯s content. And leaving Blacky at the school would provide a strong security force! After all, broadly speaking, the school was the future of the base, and no one could guarantee the city was free from remnants of the Dusk Church or any anti-social elements looking to cause trouble, having Blacky there would be a security assurance. ¡°Blacky, I¡¯ll take you to school tomorrow. We¡¯ll build you one or several warm, large dens, and you can have a blast in the school. I¡¯ll hire you as a guard¡ªoh no, rather, you shall be called the Guardian Beast of the School!¡± Chapter 1134 - 1134 460 Spring of Healing (Additional for ?Chapter 1134: Chapter 460: Spring of Healing (Additional for Alliance Leader ¡®Ni? La?n Xua?n Zhe?n¡¯)_2 Chapter 1134: Chapter 460: Spring of Healing (Additional for Alliance Leader ¡®Ni? La?n Xua?n Zhe?n¡¯)_2 Blacky didn¡¯t quite understand what it meant, but when it heard that a warm nest would be built specifically for it, it felt quite happy and naturally nodded. Wang Tao then looked at the other black snakes. ¡°Blacky has awakened. You guys need to put in some effort, otherwise, in the future, Blacky will leave you far behind!¡± Hiss¡ª The other four black snakes seemed genuinely stimulated and ran to eat snake fruits one after another. The transplanted serpent fruit tree was now planted in the villa¡¯s yard, currently looking fine, just waiting to see if it could bear fruit. If it could bear fruits, then it would be able to provide snake fruits continuously, and the likelihood of the four black snakes awakening was still very big¡ªnot just after bearing fruits, but even now, the snake fruits brought back by Wang Tao were not yet finished. Wang Tao estimated that having eaten so many snake fruits, there should be at least another awakening... While Wang Tao was pondering, he suddenly furrowed his brows and immediately went upstairs. He sensed that Ding Yuqin had woken up. Wang Tao was slightly surprised that Ding Yuqin was the first one awake. However, these few people had almost started awakening at the same time, so a little fluctuation in time was normal. Having observed before, except for himself who strictly awoke according to the 24-hour cycle, the awakening times of the others fluctuated somewhat. ¡°Wang Tao...¡± Ding Yuqin saw Wang Tao as soon as she woke up, and her already good mood became even better. ¡°Congratulations, sister-in-law!¡± Wang Tao extended his hand and embraced Ding Yuqin. Ding Yuqin buried her head in Wang Tao¡¯s chest, a blissful expression on her face, and she finally awakened. After briefly embracing, Wang Tao released Ding Yuqin and carefully looked at her attributes. [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakening: Spring of Healing] Humans need to deduct a hundred thousand blood volumes when awakening, so she was left with twenty thousand blood volumes, different from Blacky. However, it wasn¡¯t a big problem; she could just kill some zombies later to regain her blood volume. The ability that Ding Yuqin awakened was¡ªa healing attribute! Wang Tao was surprised but also felt it made sense. After all, Ding Yuqin¡¯s hidden attribute, ¡®blood replenishing pack,¡¯ although a bit quirky, was a healing ability. [Blood Pack: During the time of clouds and rain, can replenish HP for the other person.] And her current awakening... still seemed a bit quirky. [Spring of Healing: One¡¯s own fluids have healing effects.] ¡°This... what does it mean? It couldn¡¯t be what I¡¯m thinking, right?¡± Wang Tao had an odd expression on his face. Meanwhile, Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao expectantly and said, ¡°Wang Tao, can you tell what my awakening is?¡± Unlike hidden attributes where an individual might not know their own hidden attributes, those who have awakened know roughly what their awakening is like. ¡°This is...¡± Wang Tao bowed his head and whispered a few words in Ding Yuqin¡¯s ear. Ding Yuqin instantly blushed, lightly hitting Wang Tao¡¯s chest. ¡°You pervert, what are you thinking! It¡¯s not what you said! My awakening works like this¡ª¡± After speaking, Ding Yuqin tiptoed, wrapped her arms around Wang Tao¡¯s neck, and her enticing red lips planted on Wang Tao¡¯s lips. When the two were intimately in contact, especially when saliva was exchanged between their mouths, Wang Tao instantly felt as though he was filled with strength... ¡°Eh?¡± Seconds later, their lips parted. Looking at Ding Yuqin with flushed cheeks, Wang Tao had a surprised look on his face. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is!¡± He had indeed overthought it; it turns out that kissing could increase blood volume! Although he couldn¡¯t see the blood replenishing effect because he was at full HP, the warm feeling just then couldn¡¯t be faked. He suspected the amount of blood added wasn¡¯t any less than that provided by the Jade Lotus! Ding Yuqin looked at Wang Tao proudly and then buried her head in his chest again, saying, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll only use this ability for you alone!¡± Wang Tao naturally trusted Ding Yuqin, but he just laughed and shook his head. ¡°No, you can also use it on other people.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± While Ding Yuqin was utterly confused, Wang Tao flashed a mischievous grin and said, ¡°You can use it on Han Rui, Lan Yulian, Jiang Shixue, all those women!¡± Wang Tao liked seeing the girls being close; after all, they were all his women, and he didn¡¯t mind. ¡°...¡± Ding Yuqin just rolled her eyes at Wang Tao but didn¡¯t say anything else. After all, they were all family; if Han Rui and the others needed it, she would definitely go to their aid. She was just overly excited earlier and hadn¡¯t thought of this... But then Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brow. ¡°Wait, the detailed description says ¡®one¡¯s own fluid,¡¯ and saliva is a fluid, but fluid is not limited to saliva...¡± Seeing that Ding Yuqin really didn¡¯t seem aware of the other uses, Wang Tao decided he would have a good discussion with her about this profound issue when they went to sleep! Suddenly, Wang Tao felt someone else waking up, so he and Ding Yuqin hurried next door. ¡°Old Wei is awake too, let¡¯s go check it out!¡± The others hadn¡¯t disturbed Wang Tao and Ding Yuqin and were all here. ¡°Hahaha! Old Wang, Old Xiang, I¡¯ve finally awakened!¡± Although Wei Zhenguo was open-hearted, the awakening process had made him somewhat uncomfortable, but now that he was successful, he was incredibly happy. ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± Everyone laughed and congratulated him. Xiang Hongbin slapped Wei Zhenguo on the shoulder hard. If this were before his awakening, Wei Zhenguo might have stumbled from the slap¡ªthey often joked like this¡ªbut now, he didn¡¯t move an inch and looked defiantly at Xiang Hongbin. ¡°This body is fantastic, a system awakening, right? Not bad at all!¡± Xiang Hongbin was immediately surprised. Besides being happy for Wei Zhenguo, he could now spar with him in the future! ¡°Congratulations!¡± Wang Tao then bumped fists with Wei Zhenguo and looked at his attributes. [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakening: Potential Excitation] [Potential Excitation: All basic attributes increase; actively used, the stronger the willpower, the higher the enhancement] Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao thought the limit of this awakening seemed quite high! Obviously, it was a system awakening with two effects. The first part of the description spoke of ¡°all basic attributes increase,¡± lacking the words ¡°all-round,¡± implying this awakening¡¯s enhancement wasn¡¯t as great as Blacky¡¯s. But the introduction¡¯s latter half stated that this potential excitation could be actively used¡ªthe stronger the willpower, the higher the bodily enhancement! If this awakening only had the first half, it would be an ordinary system awakening. But with the added second half... Wang Tao felt it might be similar to his own Starfire Prairie, a time-limited, continuous enhancement of one¡¯s state. And, importantly, its enhancement was related to personal will, with willpower linked to enhancement¡ªmaking its potential very high! Especially as Wei Zhenguo already had strong willpower, which could be further trained and improved! ¡°This awakening of yours is quite extraordinary!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed in admiration. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Wei Zhenguo had a general idea of how to use his awakening, but he was not yet aware of the ¡°stronger the will, higher the enhancement¡± aspect. ¡°Your limit is related to your willpower...¡± Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo had a chat. After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s explanation, both Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes lit up. Wei Zhenguo thought the same as Wang Tao: willpower could be exercised and enhanced, his was already quite strong, and if he kept improving it in the future, wouldn¡¯t he get increasingly stronger? This excited him. As for Xiang Hongbin, he thought, exercising willpower? That would need his help! Preferably by taking some hits, which would surely fortify the will! Thinking this, Xiang Hongbin¡¯s mouth split into a grin. He would definitely help his old comrade and good brother properly, showing no mercy! Chapter 1135 - 1135 461 Gale Chains ?Chapter 1135: Chapter 461: Gale Chains Chapter 1135: Chapter 461: Gale Chains Wang Tao and Wei Zhenguo chatted for a while before Wang said, ¡°I¡¯ll give you some Awakening Crystal Cores to get familiar with, I¡¯m going to check on Han Rui.¡± He sensed that Han Rui had also awakened. ¡°Okay!¡± When Wang Tao arrived at Han Rui¡¯s room, he felt a violent wind inside the room, with all sorts of items being blown around chaotically. Whooosh¡ª The wild wind instantly enveloped Wang Tao as he opened the door. Wang Tao immediately felt as if countless blade tips were gently scraping across his skin, while at the same time, thorny chains bound him tightly, rendering him immobile! But with his naked eye, Wang Tao could see nothing. Upon seeing Wang Tao come in, Han Rui immediately stopped waving her arms in the air, and the strange wind that bound Wang Tao also disappeared without a trace. ¡°Wang Tao, are you okay? I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t see you coming...¡± Han Rui quickly ran over and frantically checked Wang Tao for injuries. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m fine.¡± Wang Tao smiled and waved his hand. He certainly could have dodged just now, but he wanted to feel the effect of Han Rui¡¯s Awakening, so he didn¡¯t prepare to dodge. ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re okay! I just awakened and got a bit too excited, I didn¡¯t use my Perception Ability, so I didn¡¯t know you entered the room...¡± Han Rui was somewhat self-reproaching. Wang Tao smiled and shook his head, then changed the subject, saying, ¡°This is... a Wind Element Awakening?¡± It was the first time he had encountered this kind of Ability. ¡°Um, yeah, it should be the Wind Element! I¡¯m controlling the wind!¡± Han Rui nodded eagerly, then jumped up excitedly, ¡°I¡¯ve finally awakened too!¡± ¡°Congratulations!¡± Wang Tao firmly grasped her small hand, then looked at her Attributes. [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Grade: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakening: Gale Chains] [Gale Chains: Uses the wind to form chains that bind the target and cause damage] Han Rui¡¯s Awakening was not only the Wind Element that Wang Tao had never seen before, but it was also a controlling Ability! Based on Wang Tao¡¯s experience surviving the Apocalypse for so long, both controlling Abilities and Abilities in general were extremely rare, comparable in number to Healing. Not counting Han Rui¡¯s current Awakening, the only controlling Abilities Wang Tao had seen were two. The first was Deputy Guild Leader Zhou Long from the Loyalty Guild with his [Black Quicksand]. This Awakening had decent controlling power and a large range. When they acted together before, enemies could not get out of the quicksand, being used as stationary targets. But the downside of [Black Quicksand] was that Zhou Long himself could not move; he could not kill enemies and had to rely on teammates. Additionally, [Black Quicksand] could only control enemies moving on the ground, if enemies jumped over the area or could fly, then it had no effect... Hence, although [Black Quicksand] was strong, it also had significant limitations. The second controlling Awakening Wang Tao had seen was Jiang Shixue¡¯s [String Puppet]. [String Puppet] was formidable, an Ability that could directly control the target¡¯s mind. Moreover, the opponent wouldn¡¯t even realize it, completely unaware that they had been controlled, with no post-control memory. Theoretically speaking, as long as Jiang Shixue was strong enough, she could make the other party do anything... Just looking at these, [String Puppet] seemed absurdly powerful. But its shortcoming was that the control time was extremely brief. Previously, when they were dealing with the Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend, Jiang Shixue could only control it for one second. Although that one second was absolute control, even the Level 5 Night Demon couldn¡¯t break free. But the time was too short; at that time, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t inflict significant damage within that one second. And the consumption of [String Puppet] was tremendous, starting at 100 Awakening Energy per use... Generally, Jiang Shixue would only use this Ability in critical moments. Simply put, [Black Quicksand] controls the target¡¯s body, to be precise, their legs, which is very limiting, but the control time is long; [String Puppet] controls the target¡¯s consciousness, with short control time but absolute control, as the controlled target doesn¡¯t know they have been controlled... Compared with these two, Han Rui¡¯s [Gale Chains] was different again; it was somewhat like [Black Quicksand], also controlling the body, but unlike [Black Quicksand], it doesn¡¯t only control the legs, but the entire body of the target, even capable of controlling targets in the air, because it¡¯s wind! Wang Tao had just experienced it himself; he was firmly bound by the wind, whether it was his chest, neck, ankles, or even his fingers! With his brute strength, he should have been able to break free, but that would certainly take some time. And Han Rui had not even used her full strength... From what Wang Tao had felt so far, [Black Quicksand] was suitable for use during large-scale operations; [String Puppet] was suitable for fighting above one¡¯s level in single combat, and [Gale Chains] was suitable for use in regular combat. Of course, this was just Wang Tao¡¯s feeling, the specifics still needed to be discussed with Han Rui and tested many times. ¡°Do you feel like you can still use your Awakening?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Yeah! I feel like I can use it many more times!¡± Han Rui immediately responded. ¡°Oh? It seems the Energy consumption of your Awakening is very low!¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin and remarked. Having just awakened, Han Rui only had a 100 Awakening Energy. Many Awakenings started at 100 Awakening Energy per use; if Han Rui could use hers many times, it clearly indicated that the individual consumption for each use was low. Chapter 1136 - 1136 461 Gale Chains_2 ?Chapter 1136: Chapter 461: Gale Chains_2 Chapter 1136: Chapter 461: Gale Chains_2 Wang Tao then had Han Rui use her Awakening a few more times, and also had Lan Yulian and the others personally experience it. When Han Rui¡¯s Awakening Energy was depleted, Wang Tao provided her with Awakening Crystal Core to replenish her energy. After some time, Wang Tao roughly figured out her ¡°Gale Chains¡± Awakening. The energy consumption of this Awakening was somewhat similar to Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°Mental Development¡±¡ªthe consumption wasn¡¯t fixed, different levels of consumption would yield different effects. When Han Rui unleashed her full fire power, it also consumed 100 Awakening Energy, with an additional consumption of 10 Awakening Energy per second during its duration. This was identical to Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°Starfire Outbreak.¡± Even with such terrifying energy consumption, the effects of ¡°Gale Chains¡± were quite satisfactory¡ªit turned out to be a crowd-control ability with damage! To be precise, it was an ability that could single out targets for control as well as crowd control and it inflicted damage. When controlling a single target, Han Rui could freely direct the chain within a certain range; during crowd control, all targets within that range would be controlled simultaneously! However, during crowd control, the duration of control was not as long as when it was focused on a single target, and the individual damage inflicted wasn¡¯t as great either. But Wang Tao was already very satisfied, because the ability allowed for both single and crowd control. Han Rui wasn¡¯t fighting alone; most of her teammates were high-damage types, and what they lacked was control. For instance, if Han Rui could control a horde of zombies and then Wang Tao launched a huge Fireball at them, wouldn¡¯t that be exhilarating? The combined efforts of the two were definitely more than the sum of their parts! Of course, Han Rui¡¯s collaboration wasn¡¯t limited to Wang Tao; she was strong when cooperating with the entire team or any member of the team! Including teaming up with Lan Yulian. Though combining a healer with a controller might seem to lower the damage, on the flip side, they could control and heal... they could grind down enemies by attrition. What¡¯s more, Han Rui¡¯s attack was not weak; after all, she was a seasoned combatant and her Awakening also dealt damage. Naturally, there¡¯s another crucial point¡ªthe range of control. After testing, it was found that the range of ¡°Gale Chains¡± differed between single-target control and crowd control. The crowd control range was approximately a circular area with a radius of 10 meters centered around Han Rui, covering over three hundred square meters. It might not seem big, but in actuality, it was quite significant, especially as it was for a group-based control. As the Awakening progressed, the range was likely to increase as well. The range for single-target control was even larger; within a circular area with a radius of 20 meters, Han Rui could freely bind targets with the Gale Chains! ¡°With Little Rui¡¯s Awakening, our combat tactics might become a lot simpler in the future...¡± Lan Yulian said, stroking her chin. ¡°That¡¯s for sure! Control is just as important as a healer. We now have damage, healing, and control. In small-scale and even large-scale battles, we can probably perform exceptionally well!¡± Hearing Wang Tao say this, Lan Yulian immediately rolled her eyes at him. She had never played video games before the Apocalypse, so she found the term ¡°healer¡± a bit odd, especially since some of her attributes were indeed not small... Everyone else called her a Healing-type Awakener, only Wang Tao liked to call her healer. At the same time, Wang Tao, while happy, also felt a bit helpless. Although the combination of Han Rui¡¯s control ability and his damage could be quite formidable, Wang Tao¡¯s most powerful state was when he used ¡°Starfire Outbreak.¡± In such a state, others, including Han Rui, couldn¡¯t get too close to him, or else he would end up hurting his own team members... so the two of them could collaborate in attacking, but with certain limitations. ¡°You guys continue testing, I¡¯ll go check on Zhang Hong and the others, they should be waking up soon.¡± Wang Tao returned upstairs. After a short wait, Yang Changhong woke up. Yang Changhong was a bit dazed upon awakening and rubbed her eyes. Clearly, she had actually fallen into a deep sleep. After seeing Wang Tao by the bedside, she finally realized. ¡°Have I awakened?¡± Yang Changhong was still somewhat incredulous, as her Awakening process had been rather convoluted, and she feared she was dreaming. ¡°Yes, congratulations!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. Yang Changhong instantly bounced up from the bed, touching herself here and there. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s any difference...¡± ¡°Nonsense, your Awakening is of the Psychic System, not the Physical System; it¡¯s normal for your body not to feel any different.¡± Wang Tao replied somewhat exasperatedly. ¡°Uh, that¡¯s true...¡± Yang Changhong felt a bit embarrassed; she had been so excited that she had forgotten her Awakening was a psychic Ability. [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 50000/50000] [Level: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 6%] [Awakening: Mind Slash] [Mind Slash: Uses spiritual power to cut rapidly] Yang Changhong¡¯s Hidden Attributes that she had previously gained were psychic Abilities. Hence, it was quite normal for her to awaken to the Psychic System. However, her psychic Awakening was unlike other psychic awakenings; it was actually a purely offensive psychic Ability! ¡°Spiritual Severing¡± had a straightforward description, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t figure out exactly how it looked; only Yang Changhong could demonstrate it now. ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try...¡± Yang Changhong used ¡°Mind Slash¡± on a glass on the nearby table, and then... Wang Tao felt a bizarre surge of spiritual power emanating. It was as if this spiritual power was covered in spikes and blades. When Wang Tao observed it with his spiritual power, his head felt a twinge of piercing pain. This was without Yang Changhong targeting him. If she had attacked him head-on, the damage inflicted might have been hard to gauge. Although Wang Tao had strong spiritual power, he certainly would have suffered considerably if attacked. To Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, however, Yang Changhong¡¯s attack on the glass had no effect; the glass was unharmed. Instead, Yang Changhong¡¯s face turned pale as she had used up all her 100 Awakening Energy. ¡°Ah, this...¡± ¡°Cough, my bad, that¡¯s not how it¡¯s supposed to be used...¡± Yang Changhong scratched her head with some embarrassment. It was after using her Awakening that she realized ¡°Mind Slash¡± only worked on living things. A glass, being a lifeless object without any consciousness, naturally wouldn¡¯t be affected. ¡°Effective only on living beings, huh... So that¡¯s how it is!¡± Wang Tao first nodded and then frowned, ¡°But are zombies considered living or dead?¡± ¡°Uh...¡± Yang Changhong was at a loss as well. If zombies were considered inanimate, wouldn¡¯t her Awakening be completely useless? After all, the most common enemy in this world was zombies... But Wang Tao quickly continued, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, zombies should be regarded as living beings.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s reasoning was simple. Firstly, zombies do have consciousness, although it is murky. Secondly, zombies have a blood bar¡ªthose with a blood bar are living beings. Once killed and their blood bar disappears, they are considered dead. This seemed logical. ¡°That¡¯s a relief.¡± Yang Changhong breathed a sigh of relief, trusting Wang Tao¡¯s judgment. As long as she could kill zombies, that was enough; otherwise, her joy would have turned to distress. Wang Tao inquired about Yang Changhong¡¯s experience when using her Awakening and then frowned. ¡°Now we have a problem; testing your Awakening is not easy...¡± Yang Changhong mentioned that when she used her Awakening, she couldn¡¯t control how much power to exert and ended up using all her Awakening Energy in one go... This meant that ¡°Mind Slash¡± started with 100 Awakening Energy! With such high energy consumption, her Awakening¡¯s damage output was bound to be substantial. Moreover, since it was spiritual damage, if carelessly handled, even if it didn¡¯t kill someone, it could potentially render them an imbecile! So how should they test it? Should Yang Changhong attack her teammates? They might not bear it; if someone were to be killed instantly... that would be tragic. Wang Tao himself had high spiritual strength, but Yang Changhong, after regenerating energy with an Awakening Crystal Core, refused to attack Wang Tao under any circumstances. She felt she couldn¡¯t control her power well and would regret it for a lifetime if an accident occurred... Chapter 1137 - 1137 462 Spirit Insight ?Chapter 1137: Chapter 462 Spirit Insight Chapter 1137: Chapter 462 Spirit Insight Yang Changhong was unwilling to test her ¡°Mind Slash¡± Awakening on Wang Tao; other people might not be able to withstand it, and even if they did, there could be problems. After all, this was a spiritual attack that could directly affect one¡¯s consciousness. Caution was needed... so in the end, she decided against it. She would have to leave the city eventually, at which time finding some zombies or monsters to test on would suffice. From Yang Changhong¡¯s reaction, it was clear that her Awakening was likely powerful¡ªalthough she had just awakened and was unfamiliar with her own abilities, she instinctively felt that this was a pure attacking ability better left unused in sparring, since each move was potentially lethal. Wang Tao handed out some Awakening Crystal Cores to Yang Changhong, and also to others who had just awakened. After all, the initial 100 units of Awakening Energy were too little; with that amount of energy, some Awakeners could only use their power once and then needed a whole day to recover. Wang Tao felt that one should have at least 500 units to start, and only above 1000 would there be a sense of security. After merging with the Crystal Cores, though it was already midnight, Yang Changhong and the others were too excited to sleep. So the group braved the heavy snow to practice combat against each other in the courtyard. They had practiced combat together before, but since not everyone had been an Awakener, there were various restrictions. Now that almost everyone had become an Awakener, they could finally let loose. Wei Zhenguo and Xiang Hongbin, in particular, fought so fiercely that they cleared the surrounding area of snow. Xiang Hongbin had awakened earlier than Wei Zhenguo and had been flaunting it in front of him, leaving Wei Zhenguo silently stewing. Today, at last, he had his chance. Brotherhood aside, winning or losing was another matter, but this fight was necessary! Looking at the excited crowd, Wang Tao smiled and shook his head, about to say something when he suddenly felt a stirring in his mind. Someone else had awakened. Wang Tao went upstairs directly to the room where Qu Shilin was sleeping. Click¡ª Before he could knock, Qu Shilin opened the door and threw her arms open wide. Wang Tao hugged her briefly before she stepped back and looked at him with bright eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve awakened!¡± ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± Wang Tao said, smiling. [HP: 10000/10000] [Mana: 32000/32000] [Level: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 6%] ¡°Awakening: Mental Insight¡± ¡°Mental Insight: Allows one to observe all things in the world with spiritual power and communicate with them using the mind.¡± Qu Shilin, unsurprisingly, had awakened a Psychic System ability. However, although her Awakening was of the same Psychic System, it was completely different from Yang Changhong¡¯s. Yang Changhong¡¯s Awakening was purely for attacking, while Qu Shilin¡¯s appeared to lack any attack power¡ªit seemed to be purely supportive! To others, given the choice, they would likely not opt for such an Awakening, preferring the kind that Yang Changhong had. But for Qu Shilin, even if offered ten attacking Awakenings in exchange for hers, she wouldn¡¯t trade it! After all, her main focus was scientific research, and she loved doing research¡ªher ¡°Mental Insight¡± Awakening seemed tailor-made for her! ¡°Wang Tao, can you tell what my Awakening is like?¡± Qu Shilin asked excitedly. She knew that Wang Tao could discern people¡¯s Awakenings, although she didn¡¯t know precisely how he did so, probably deducing it from subtle clues. Her Awakening seemed special, unlike any that she had seen before! She wanted to see if Wang Tao could figure it out. While Qu Shilin spoke, Wang Tao could clearly perceive a stream of spiritual power moving over his body. The sensation was all too familiar; he sometimes did the same, probing others with his spiritual power. Wang Tao didn¡¯t say much but mobilized his own spiritual power to make contact with Qu Shilin¡¯s. Then¡ª Qu Shilin¡¯s eyes widened, her cheeks began to turn slightly red, her gaze grew hazy, and she panted heavily... finally, her body went limp, about to fall. Hoo¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s face turned somewhat unnatural as he let out a deep breath, swiftly embracing Qu Shilin¡¯s waist to prevent her from falling. Their eyes met, a complex and indescribable atmosphere emerging between them. Wang Tao quickly carried her back to the room, intending to lay her on the bed. But Qu Shilin wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed at him with languid eyes, breathy and soft, ¡°What... just happened...¡± ¡°...Ahem, sorry, that was my fault.¡± Wang Tao said, somewhat awkwardly. His ¡°Mental Development¡± Awakening carried the effect of the previous ¡°Yin and Yang Balance¡± Ability¡ªthe ability to engage in deep, spiritual communication with members of the opposite sex and replenish Mana. As for how deep the communication could go... it was very much a case of ¡°you are in me, and I am in you.¡± In some ways, this was more intimate than physical interactions! After all, physical exchanges at most could reach close proximity, but spiritual interactions were akin to imprinting oneself onto another¡¯s psyche. At the time of Wang Tao¡¯s Second Awakening, he wasn¡¯t aware of the extent of this spiritual communication¡¯s effects. He inadvertently had such an encounter with Li Qiuyu... If there had been someone with an extremely strong spiritual power at that time, they might have sensed Wang Tao¡¯s presence from Li Qiuyu. However, deep spiritual communication required mutual consent and subconscious acceptance... Wang Tao had been careful not to misuse his ability for deep spiritual interaction after the first surprise incident and no further accidents had occurred since. Chapter 1138 - 1138 462 Spirit Insight_2 ?Chapter 1138: Chapter 462 Spirit Insight_2 Chapter 1138: Chapter 462 Spirit Insight_2 But today, the situation was a bit different¡ªWang Tao hadn¡¯t initiated Deep Communication, but Qu Shilin¡¯s Awakening also came with the Ability of Spiritual Communication. Given the relationship between the two, Wang Tao naturally didn¡¯t reject Qu Shilin, and Qu Shilin didn¡¯t reject Wang Tao either. Qu Shilin had just awakened and knew nothing; curious and treating it like a fun experiment, she wasn¡¯t satisfied with just interacting with Wang Tao; she wanted to engage in even Deeper Communication¡ªDeep Communication that both Wang Tao and Qu Shilin knew, except that Qu Shilin¡¯s Spiritual Communication didn¡¯t have the ability to replenish spiritual power, that¡¯s all. Wang Tao was caught off guard¡ªafter all, Qu Shilin had no ill intent¡ªand was thus pulled into the environment of Deep Communication by Qu Shilin. To be honest, the feeling was indeed very thrilling, especially since the other person could also engage in Spiritual Communication. But since the two weren¡¯t in a romantic relationship, this kind of Deep Communication meant that Qu Shilin¡¯s soul now bore Wang Tao¡¯s aura, and, of course, Wang Tao¡¯s soul carried Qu Shilin¡¯s aura too. It was sort of like sleeping together after getting drunk... so obviously, this was a very inappropriate situation, and Wang Tao hurriedly apologized. However, Qu Shilin didn¡¯t seem to be angry at all. Not only was she not angry, but she also directly embraced Wang Tao¡¯s neck, her rosy lips pressing against his face, her warm breath causing Wang Tao¡¯s heart to stir slightly. ¡°I... I want more!¡± Wang Tao thought Qu Shilin didn¡¯t understand what had just happened, and was about to explain again. But Qu Shilin whispered softly: ¡°I know... but I still want it!¡± As she spoke, Qu Shilin¡¯s previously hazy eyes cleared up quite a bit, and Wang Tao could see in her eyes a sliver of desire, but even more of curiosity, exploration, experimentation, and inquisition... ¡°...¡± Darn, are you using me for experimentation? Can I tolerate this? Absolutely not! So, Wang Tao sat with Qu Shilin at the edge of the bed, and their spiritual powers entwined unrestrainedly. Ten minutes later, Qu Shilin, sweating profusely, released Wang Tao. Her spiritual power was not as strong as Wang Tao¡¯s, so she was the first to concede. Wang Tao¡¯s forehead was also covered in fine sweat; the spiritual world was different from the real world. Just one look at Li Qiuyu was enough for a round of Mental Deep Communication. Now, with Qu Shilin, as their gazes intertwined, they had communicated countless times in those ten minutes, and even he was beginning to struggle... However, this was different from physical interaction; although both were exhausting, physical interactions were mostly about satisfying a duty whereas Spiritual Communication could enhance spiritual power! Therefore, Wang Tao felt tired and exhausted, but every cell in his body seemed to be relaxing, which was very satisfying! ¡°This... this is Psychic Awakening, huh... it feels so good...¡± Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao, her eyes seemingly able to drip water. ¡°...Don¡¯t misunderstand, not all Psychic Awakeners can communicate like this, it¡¯s just that the two of us can...¡± ¡°Oh...¡± Qu Shilin didn¡¯t quite understand all of this, but she quickly adjusted her status and instinctively moved closer to Wang Tao, telling him about her own Awakening. Wang Tao already knew about the ability of Spiritual Communication; it was mainly the ¡°using spiritual power to observe all things in the world¡± that Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear about the effects of. And after their conversation, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but exclaim how impressive it was. Her Ability was just like Wang Tao¡¯s Mental Detection; both used spiritual power to observe their surroundings. But unlike Wang Tao, her detection range was even shorter, meaning she couldn¡¯t see as far. Yet her spiritual detection was so detailed that she could see things even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t, down to the cells, bacteria, viruses, and such! If they both used spiritual power to detect a person, Wang Tao at most could penetrate the other¡¯s clothing and flesh to see their bones and organs. Qu Shilin could not only see these but also could see cells, bacteria, viruses, and the like! If Wang Tao¡¯s Mental Detection was a magnifying glass, then Qu Shilin¡¯s Mental Detection was a microscope! And this was exactly what Qu Shilin needed, as it was perfect for scientific research! With Wang Tao¡¯s help, once Qu Shilin understood what her Awakening entailed, she joyfully hugged Wang Tao tightly. ¡°I have a feeling that those projects of mine that have been stuck without progress are about to have a breakthrough!¡± Qu Shilin had many projects at hand, but due to limitations like equipment, technology, and materials, many had not progressed. But now, with her Awakening, she was confident that she could achieve breakthroughs in these projects! ¡°Congratulations, congratulations!¡± Wang Tao congratulated her again. ¡°Thank you! If it weren¡¯t for you, my life might have just stayed the same. Even if I had the chance to become an Awakener later, I probably wouldn¡¯t have experienced this awakening. My combat abilities are nothing special, so I might have just remained insignificant...¡± Qu Shilin¡¯s face was earnest as she thanked Wang Tao. If it weren¡¯t for Wang Tao, any misstep along the way and she wouldn¡¯t have ended up with today¡¯s outcome... Thank goodness for Wang Tao! ¡°We¡¯re all on the same team, no need for thanks!¡± Wang Tao felt a hint of awkwardness, ¡°the kind when one betrays a good friend,¡± as he spoke those words. In the past, he had called Qu Shilin ¡°one of us,¡± but the meaning of ¡°one of us¡± today was not quite the same as before. He didn¡¯t know what Qu Shilin herself was thinking, after all, the development of their relationship had been quite unexpected... It was clear that Qu Shilin read between the lines in Wang Tao¡¯s words. Her cheeks were somewhat red, but instead of evading or regretting, she looked straight at Wang Tao. ¡°From now on, I¡¯ll be with you. I hope you won¡¯t mind my lack of experience...¡± Her relationship with Wang Tao had always been good, and she had a very favorable impression of him. But her heart had been in her research, focusing on how to eliminate the Zombie Virus, with little interest in romantic matters. She had thought her life would either end in the jaws of a zombie Monster or in lonely old age. Yet, after today¡¯s event, her thoughts naturally changed. She had already experienced ¡°Spiritual Communication¡± with Wang Tao, and she had a good impression of him. She also sensed that Wang Tao held her in high regard, with both parties liking each other¡ªalthough it had been a platonic affection before, it wasn¡¯t wrong to transform it into romantic love now! And this deep Spiritual Communication with Wang Tao was genuinely comforting! ¡°What are you saying!¡± On hearing Qu Shilin open up, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but break into a grin. He never forced anyone, but if there were mutual feelings, he wouldn¡¯t refuse. At worst, they¡¯d work harder to earn money and support their family. Wang Tao wrapped his arm around Qu Shilin, and the two of them just sat on the bed in silence, without taking any further action. However, when both had regained some spiritual power and Wang Tao was about to engage in deep communication with Qu Shilin again, she suddenly said: ¡°I want to go back!¡± ¡°Ah? Right now?¡± The sky was still dark. ¡°Uh-huh! I can¡¯t wait any longer!¡± Qu Shilin looked at Wang Tao, her eyes somewhat reluctant. ¡°Though I find Spiritual Communication with you very comforting and would like to stay here, I can¡¯t forget what¡¯s important! There¡¯s so much more I need to do... So, I want to go back to my research!¡± Truly a workaholic, engrossed in her work even amidst such an ambiguous atmosphere. Naturally, Wang Tao supported her decision; he wouldn¡¯t hold Qu Shilin back in this respect. ¡°Okay! But take these with you...¡± Wang Tao handed over a large number of Awakening Crystal Cores to Qu Shilin. She would definitely use a significant amount of spiritual power during her work, and without the Crystal Cores, how could she manage? ¡°Thank you!¡± Qu Shilin was very grateful for Wang Tao¡¯s support and understanding. She hugged Wang Tao¡¯s neck and awkwardly kissed him on the lips. After a moment, Wang Tao stood up and said: ¡°Let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll take you back.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After they left the house, everyone else found out that Qu Shilin had also awakened. Wang Tao gave them a brief update on Qu Shilin¡¯s Awakening Status, and then personally escorted her back to the research institute. Upon reaching the institute, Qu Shilin expressed her desire to concentrate on her research for a while. Unless Wang Tao urgently needed her, she would wait until she had made a breakthrough before coming out again. Wang Tao, of course, was supportive. ¡°Good, I wish you every success!¡± Chapter 1139 - 1139 463 Stone Puppet ?Chapter 1139: Chapter 463 Stone Puppet Chapter 1139: Chapter 463 Stone Puppet When Wang Tao returned from the research institute, Li Qiuyu had already awakened. Ding Yuqin and the others were gathered around, chattering about something. Before, the hidden attributes Li Qiuyu had received was [Land Affinity], similar to perception ability. This ability was quite good, especially in this snowy, icy condition, much more useful than Wang Tao¡¯s previous [Plant Affinity]. Wang Tao was also looking forward to what Li Qiuyu¡¯s awakening would be like. ¡°Wang Tao! I¡¯ve awakened!¡± Seeing Wang Tao return, Li Qiuyu ran up to him excitedly. Wang Tao smiled and looked at Li Qiuyu¡¯s attributes. [HP: 20000/20000] [Mana: 32000/32000] [Level: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 2%] [Awakening: Stone Golem] [Stone Golem: Uses Earth elements to condense into a puppet] ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing this awakening, Wang Tao was very surprised. ¡°Have you used the awakening yet?¡± ¡°Not yet. I was waiting for you to return because I feel I can only use it once in a short time...¡± Li Qiuyu said somewhat sheepishly. ¡°Only once, that means it consumes 100 Awakening Energy... Try using it once, I want to see.¡± Wang Tao was still very excited about her awakening, as this was the first time he had seen an awakening that could summon a fighter. ¡°Okay!¡± Li Qiuyu responded, then went to the courtyard and waved at the snowy ground. Everyone clearly saw the snow on the ground begin to tremble, and a huge, gray... stone lump slowly straightened up! ¡°Wow!¡± Many people were seeing this for the first time and instinctively exclaimed. Looking at this three-meter tall, gray-stone humanoid creature, Wang Tao was quite amazed. [HP: 100000/100000] [Level: Level 4] This Stone Golem had a blood bar, a total of 100,000 HP, which wasn¡¯t much, just the threshold for Level 4. Everyone in Wang Tao¡¯s team had higher HP than this. Moreover, it had no mana bar, indicating that it probably had no abilities. It had a level but only showed Level 4 and did not indicate ¡°Ordinary, Elite, Lord¡± or anything, meaning its level was probably similar to humans, or accurately speaking, similar to Li Qiuyu who had summoned it... Just looking at these attributes, Wang Tao thought the Stone Golem seemed quite ordinary. But appearances can be deceiving because the Stone Golem still felt very solid to Wang Tao. ¡°I can control it with my thoughts...¡± Without any apparent movement from Li Qiuyu, the large stone Golem began moving around the yard, clearing snow, and even dancing. Everyone curiously crowded around, touching it here and there. Wang Tao reached out and touched it; it was very hard, extremely coarse, and very cold... indeed the texture of stone. The Stone Golem showed no resistance to everyone¡¯s touches, and even when Li Qiuyu left it to move freely, it did not exhibit any emotions. Wang Tao felt that it was somewhat like a ¡°biological weapon.¡± It might have consciousness, but a very weak one, barely qualifying as a... stone life? Wang Tao suddenly thought, Qu Shilin had returned a bit early. If he let her see this Stone Golem, she might be happy for a long time. ¡°Let¡¯s test its combat strength.¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t figure out anything else for the moment and could only see its combat capabilities. Summoning such a thing was definitely not for cleaning; combat was its primary function. And a combat test was quite simple, just find someone to spar with the Stone Golem. ¡°I¡¯m okay!¡± Li Qiuyu spoke with a slightly tired expression. She had a total of 100 Awakening Energy, and using it all at once made her feel somewhat weary. Wang Tao immediately gave her some Awakening Crystal Cores to use, and as her Awakening Energy increased, her complexion gradually improved. ¡°Let me do it! I¡¯ll fight the Stone Golem!¡± Xiang Hongbin eagerly stepped forward. Wang Tao and the group stepped aside, making room for Xiang Hongbin and the Stone Golem. After confirming that Li Qiuyu and Xiang Hongbin were both fine, Wang Tao nodded, ¡°Begin.¡± Since this was a mere sparring session, not a fight to the death, Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t charge in immediately; he let the Stone Golem attack first. Li Qiuyu told everyone that the Stone Golem could freely attack upon command or be entirely controlled by Li Qiuyu. Although Li Qiuyu was no longer her former self, her combat power and experience certainly couldn¡¯t match Xiang Hongbin¡¯s, so she decided not to control it herself and let the Stone Golem act freely. The Stone Golem¡¯s small eyes emitted a faint yellow glow, and then it strode towards Xiang Hongbin. Thud, thud... Initially, Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t think the Stone Golem was very strong, just probably quite tough. However, as it walked towards him, Xiang Hongbin suddenly felt a slight pressure. This brightened Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes. The combat state of the Stone Golem was different from before, and this was exactly what he wanted! Whoosh¡ª The Stone Golem raised its arm and threw a punch at Xiang Hongbin. The punch was straightforward, and with Xiang Hongbin¡¯s speed, he could easily dodge it. But to test the Golem¡¯s strength, he chose to take the blow. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s mechanical arm collided with the Stone Golem¡¯s stone arm. Bang¡ª Pfft! Everyone clearly saw, Xiang Hongbin was directly smashed a bit shorter by the Golem¡¯s huge fist! Chapter 1140 - 1140 463 Stone Puppet_2 ?Chapter 1140: Chapter 463 Stone Puppet_2 Chapter 1140: Chapter 463 Stone Puppet_2 Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that Xiang Hongbin¡¯s shins were buried in the ground! ¡°Wow!¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s eyes were filled with disbelief. As of now, in terms of strength alone, Wang Tao was no match for him. After all, not only was he a System Awakener, but he also possessed a half-human half-mechanical body. The combined enhancement these two provided made him virtually unbeatable in terms of strength. His last punch had not been held back. Although it wasn¡¯t his full strength, it was still delivered with his normal level of performance. Yet, he had been slammed into the ground by the Stone Golem... ¡°Old Xiang, you didn¡¯t get knocked out, did you?¡± Seeing Xiang Hongbin at a disadvantage, Wei Zhenguo immediately teased him with a smile. ¡°...I¡¯m getting serious now!¡± The glow from the Crystal Core on Xiang Hongbin¡¯s chest grew much hotter as he leapt up, aiming a punch at the Stone Golem¡¯s abdomen. In the face of Xiang Hongbin¡¯s attack, the Stone Golem did not try to evade at all; it directly slapped at Xiang Hongbin as he jumped up. If Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t retract his fist, he would be hit by the Stone Golem at the same moment he landed his attack. Xiang Hongbin¡¯s style was rough to begin with, and now that it was just a sparring match, with Jade Lotus present, there was no risk of life-threatening danger, so Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t dodge and went for a head-on collision once more. Bang¡ª His punch solidly connected with the Stone Golem¡¯s abdomen. The punch was strong enough to make the massive body of the Stone Golem take a step back. But the Stone Golem¡¯s palm also struck Xiang Hongbin. Splat¡ª Xiang Hongbin was sent flying, plunging headfirst into the snow. ¡°...¡± Everyone was dumbfounded. This Stone Golem was too strong! Could it be that even the powerful Xiang Hongbin couldn¡¯t beat it? ¡°Come on, keep going!¡± Xiang Hongbin climbed up from the snow, instantly engaging in combat with the Stone Golem once again. Watching Xiang Hongbin¡¯s fight, Wang Tao shook his head somewhat speechlessly. ¡°Really, what a brute!¡± Through Xiang Hongbin¡¯s battle with the Stone Golem, Wang Tao already had a good idea of the Stone Golem¡¯s combat strength. To put it simply, this Stone Golem was approximately at the Level 4, Lord grade, possessing immense strength and high defense, but it was very slow and lacked agility. Xiang Hongbin could definitely beat the Stone Golem, as its weaknesses were quite obvious. But Xiang Hongbin refused to back down and stubbornly matched the Stone Golem in an area of its strength... So the battle went back and forth, with the Stone Golem perhaps even having the upper hand! If Xiang Hongbin hadn¡¯t chosen to slug it out, but rather took advantage of his own strengths, such as speed, then defeating the Stone Golem would have been no problem at all... Of course, it wasn¡¯t just that Xiang Hongbin was too reckless; the main reason was that this was only a sparring match, without any life-or-death crisis. In such situations, Xiang Hongbin fought more liberally. Moreover, he was a half-human half-mechanical System Awakener! If he lost to the Stone Golem in terms of strength, wouldn¡¯t that be embarrassing? Bang! Bang! ... After a while, Xiang Hongbin sat on the ground, panting heavily. ¡°I give up, I give up!¡± Opposite him stood a slightly smaller version of the Stone Golem, with many broken stones at its feet. As the fight between the two ended, the crowd felt somewhat unsatisfied. After all, such a technical-less and physically intense battle was indeed thrilling to watch. Then, people instinctively looked at the Stone Golem, thinking to themselves, ¡°So strong.¡± ¡°Good effort.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he walked over. After this test, he had basically figured out the combat strength and fighting style of the Stone Golem. The Stone Golem was proficient in strength and defense; despite having only 100,000 HP, even if it stood still and allowed Xiang Hongbin to punch it, Xiang Hongbin would still need quite some time. But its speed was relatively slow, all the fourth-order Awakeners present were faster than the stone golem. So, normally speaking, in attacking the stone golem, you would have to leverage the speed advantage, and even theoretically, you could kill it without sustaining any damage. After all, it did not have the ability for ranged attacks and was slow, so you could easily kite it... It was only because Xiang Hong Bin was headstrong, insisting on matching the stone golem¡¯s strength, that he hadn¡¯t taken it down already. That said, this combatant possessed high attack, high defense, but low speed. Facing peers, human Awakeners should prevail, since they were smarter and adaptable. But against zombies, it could be a different story! Some zombies were clever, but the majority were rather dumb. Faced with the stone golem, most zombies would likely be as headstrong as Xiang Hong Bin. However, could the zombies break the golem¡¯s defense like Xiang Hong Bin? Perhaps not! Wang Tao had already thought of a use for the stone golem¡ªto serve as their meat shield! Or to toss it into a herd of zombies to wreak havoc! Sadly, Li Qiuyu lacked sufficient combat experience; she let the stone golem attack freely. If Wang Tao were in control, he estimated its combat effectiveness could increase by at least thirty percent! Others seemed to understand the use of the stone golem as well, giving heartfelt praise. ¡°This puppet is great! With this thing from now on, we can have it attract the zombies, since its whole body is stone and wouldn¡¯t fear the zombie virus! It might be tough even for the zombies to bite through!¡± ¡°Exactly, it¡¯s like a natural tank!¡± ¡°Though, the size of this golem is a bit too big, not convenient for traveling in a vehicle...¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao asked Lan Yulian to heal the golem and Xiang Hong Bin. They were both down to half HP. Xiang Hong Bin¡¯s HP was quickly restored, but the golem¡¯s health bar didn¡¯t move¡ªLan Yulian¡¯s healing had no effect on it... This made Wang Tao frown. He turned to look at Li Qiuyu. ¡°The golem can¡¯t receive healing?¡± ¡°Ah? I don¡¯t know... It seems so, healing doesn¡¯t work on it. It¡¯s like... disposable!¡± ¡°Disposable?¡± Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment, then their eyes lit up. Disposable was good! If it were to exist permanently, they would have to worry about the golem¡¯s life and death in future battles, and taking it along might also be inconvenient. But if it was disposable, that indicated Li Qiuyu could keep summoning it! Even if it truly died, there was no loss. They could send the stone golem to handle dangerous missions in the future! ¡°But it seems I can also take it back...¡± Li Qiuyu scratched her head. ¡°Take it back? Try it and let me see.¡± Wang Tao immediately said. ¡°Okay!¡± Li Qiuyu waved at the stone golem, then watched as it crumbled in an instant, turning into a pile of dust before disappearing. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve recovered some of my Awakening Energy...¡± Li Qiuyu closed her eyes and concentrated before speaking. ¡°Can you continue to summon the stone golem?¡± ¡°It seems so...¡± With a wave of her hand, Li Qiuyu brought the stone golem back to life, and it was back to full HP! ¡°Jeez! That feels quite powerful! As long as there¡¯s enough Awakening Energy, couldn¡¯t you keep summoning...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, then discussed the matter further with Li Qiuyu. They talked until the sky lightened, and Wang Tao finally had a rough understanding of this ¡°Stone Puppet Awakening.¡± In simple terms, Li Qiuyu could use 100 Awakening Energy to summon a level 4 golem with 100,000 HP, but she could only summon one at a time. Unless this golem died or she actively took it back, she couldn¡¯t summon another. If she took it back actively, Li Qiuyu would be refunded half the Awakening Energy. This half was related to the golem¡¯s remaining HP. For example, if the golem with 100,000 HP was taken back, Li Qiuyu would be refunded 50 Awakening Energy, but if the golem only had 50,000 HP, then Li Qiuyu would only get back 25 Awakening Energy. This Awakening seemed quite useful, but it did have certain limitations. That was, within an hour, Li Qiuyu could only summon one golem, starting from the time it was summoned. In other words, if the golem died immediately upon summoning, she would have to wait an hour before summoning again; if the golem died half an hour after being summoned, she would have to wait half an hour to summon again. Even if she took it back actively, there was still an hour cooldown... Chapter 1141 - 1141 464 Third Awakening ?Chapter 1141: Chapter 464: Third Awakening Chapter 1141: Chapter 464: Third Awakening Li Qiuyu¡¯s summoning of the Stone Golem has a one-hour cooldown, which is quite a long time, but since the cooldown time starts after the golem is summoned, there¡¯s a bug or rather a trick¡ª Before the start of a battle, one can summon a Stone Golem in advance and wait an hour before joining the fight. If the Stone Golem falls in battle, Li Qiuyu can instantly summon another full-HP Stone Golem. This plan is feasible because it¡¯s been inadvertently tested before¡ªwhen the Stone Golem fought Xiang Hongbin for over an hour, Wang Tao asked Li Qiuyu to recall the golem and then summon another full-HP one. So, in future battles, Li Qiuyu could use this trick by summoning the Stone Golem in advance, and if the golem indeed perishes, another can be seamlessly called forth. Then there¡¯s the fact that the Stone Golem has a duration limit; once summoned it can last a maximum of 24 hours. After 24 hours, even if it¡¯s at full HP and Li Qiuyu hasn¡¯t actively recalled it, it will vanish. It won¡¯t exist permanently. However, 24 hours is not a short time and is enough to do quite a lot. This duration isn¡¯t considered a drawback. Although the Stone Golem doesn¡¯t have any Abilities, it does have some inherent talents¡ªwhen Li Qiuyu controls it, she can use it to sense the earth, which allows her to detect the presence of living creatures nearby. Li Qiuyu herself can also perceive this, but through the Stone Golem, the range of perception can be much larger. This is also considered a very practical Ability. At the same time, when Li Qiuyu controls the Stone Golem, she can see through the golem¡¯s vision. This Ability is quite good; she can observe the battle from two perspectives simultaneously. It¡¯s a pity that Li Qiuyu lacks experience in this area and can¡¯t fully exploit the golem¡¯s potential yet, but she can always practice more in the future. As for whether the Stone Golem¡¯s strength can be enhanced... Wang Tao thought it should be possible. After all, it isn¡¯t a Weapon but an Awakening Ability, and other people¡¯s Awakenings can increase in power, so Li Qiuyu¡¯s Awakening should definitely be upgradable. So Wang Tao took out a large number of Awakening Crystal Cores for Li Qiuyu to integrate, and incidentally tested it. Then Wang Tao found that, as Li Qiuyu¡¯s Awakening energy cap increased, the HP and size of the Stone Golem also improved¡ªperhaps its Attack and Defense had increased as well, only to a lesser extent, less apparent than the gains in HP and size. But simultaneously, the Awakening Energy required by Li Qiuyu to summon the golem also increased. When Li Qiuyu increased her Awakening energy limit to 1000, her Stone Golem had exactly 150,000 HP. Compared to the original, its size had increased by about thirty percent, now standing four meters tall. Naturally, its Strength and Defense had increased, but not by much. Its Speed remained the same, still slow... Overall, the Stone Golem had become tougher. Initially, it only needed 100 units of Awakening Energy to summon, but now it required 200 units. While the consumption had doubled, it was still bearable for Li Qiuyu¡¯s 1000 Awakening Energy limit. And then Wang Tao stopped the tests, as he was running low on Awakening Crystal Cores. With so many people awakening all at once, Wang Tao had distributed a large number of Awakening Crystal Cores to raise their Awakening energy limits, now everyone¡¯s Awakening Energy was above 1000, and Wang Tao¡¯s own was at 3000, but he had almost used up his stock of Awakening Crystal Cores and Energy Pearls. After all, consumption increases later on; now Wang Tao needed to use thirty crystal cores or energy beads to increase his limit by 100... Wang Tao had to keep some in reserve for emergencies. Of course, this was already sufficient; if one couldn¡¯t defeat zombies even after exhausting so much Awakening Energy, then it was better to run as soon as possible. Such a zombie would be out of his league... ... After testing Li Qiuyu¡¯s Awakening, dawn had already broken. Since there was nothing urgent at hand, everyone had breakfast and went back to sleep. Wang Tao contacted Gu Yun, who informed him that registration for the Awakeners School was in full swing. They were currently at the preliminary filtering stage, and after a few more rounds of selection, the remaining applicants would be passed to Wang Tao for the final decision of who would be accepted and who would be rejected. As for now, Wang Tao needn¡¯t worry. Of course, if Wang Tao wished to pick candidates now, they would welcome that as well. Understandably, Wang Tao preferred not to bother; deciding the final outcome was enough for him. Now that the school and City Hall didn¡¯t require his immediate attention, and his teammates had successfully awakened, Wang Tao could prepare for his own matters¡ªhe was about to attempt his third Awakening! The third Awakening requires three Awakening Keys, with only a 30% chance of success. Wang Tao had over three hundred ordinary keys, which could be fused into three Solid Advanced Awakening Keys, raising his success rate to 70%! For Wang Tao, this 70% success rate was already sufficient; his luck had always been good. Although Ding Yuqin and the others had awakened using ordinary keys, which tempted Wang Tao, he thought it better to be safe than sorry. After all, there were Sixth-Rank Lord Zombies outside. It wouldn¡¯t be too late to take a gamble on his luck for the fourth Awakening. Wang Tao fused all three hundred Awakening Keys, and soon three Solid Advanced Awakening Keys appeared before him. He fused the three Advanced Keys with a slight excitement and could feel three bright Light Points quickly emerging inside him. Chapter 1142 - 1142 464 Third Awakening_2 ?Chapter 1142: Chapter 464: Third Awakening_2 Chapter 1142: Chapter 464: Third Awakening_2 Wang Tao took a deep breath, then lay on the bed and closed his eyes. The third Awakening, begins! Whoosh¡ª Instantly, Wang Tao saw his HP rapidly decrease, and at the same time, an Ability vanished... Then Wang Tao found himself in a space as black as ink. ¡°Success!¡± Seeing this unfamiliar scene, Wang Tao finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although he felt a 70% success rate was good enough, there was still some unease before he actually succeeded. Now, having entered this place he referred to as the ¡°Awakening Space,¡± he completely let go of his worries. However, the pure black space was a bit of a surprise to Wang Tao. If he wasn¡¯t mistaken, this time the Awakening was the [Dark Element]. Wang Tao had a total of four Hidden Attributes¡ªoh no, to be exact, five; [Plant Affinity] had been replaced by [Dark Element]. [Body Strengthening] was his earliest Hidden Attribute, but it never played a part in any Awakening, while the later Hidden Attributes each had their turn to awaken. Wang Tao thought that this time it would be [Body Strengthening]¡¯s turn, but unexpectedly, it was the [Dark Element] he had just acquired yesterday... However, for Wang Tao, [Dark Element] wasn¡¯t bad either, since there was a lot of Dark Attribute mist in those rifts. If he had a Dark Attribute Awakening, he should have some advantages when he goes into the rifts. While pondering, Wang Tao lay in this dark space, feeling cool as numerous black lights burrowed into his body. Not knowing how much time had passed, the black light ceased its infusion, and he slowly opened his eyes. Upon opening his eyes, Wang Tao saw a girl leaning on the table, staring at him with big eyes. ¡°Bro! Congratulations!¡± When Jiang Shixue saw Wang Tao awake, she immediately came to the bedside happily. ¡°Where are they?¡± Wang Tao was surprised to find only Jiang Shixue in the room; usually, others would be there waiting, too. ¡°Gu Yun called them to school to help. Turns out there were way more enrollments than anticipated, and they couldn¡¯t keep up... Should I call them back?¡± ¡°No need for that, let them be busy. Let¡¯s examine my new Awakening.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he patted Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair, then looked at his Attributes. [HP: 180,000/180,000] [Mana: 120,000/120,000] [Level: Level 4] [Abilities: Fireball, Explosion, Berserk Enhancement] [Hidden Attributes: Body Strengthening] [Awakening: Starfire Prairie, Mental Development, Heart of Darkness] [Awakening Energy: 3,100/3,100] His [Dark Element] Hidden Attribute was gone, the Ability [Mastery Fusion] was also gone, but he had a new Awakening [Heart of Darkness]! [Heart of Darkness: Dark Manipulation Ability greatly increased, inflicting Curse damage while using Dark Series Attacks] Reading this Awakening¡¯s description, Wang Tao was excited but also confused, not quite understanding what this ¡°Dark Manipulation Ability¡± meant, and what exactly was ¡°Curse damage¡±? Could it be similar to the Curse Status once on former City Hall Mayor Yao Guodong? Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue headed out to the yard together, quietly feeling into his new Awakening, trying to use the Dark Manipulation. After a moment, Wang Tao took out his Sharp Long Knife, and with a thought, the blade was immediately enveloped in Black Light as if it were flames of burning black fire! He lifted the long knife and swung it casually, sending out a black glow from the blade that vaporized the snow in the courtyard with a shockwave, revealing the ground below. Then he stabbed towards the sky, and a slender black edge detached from the tip of the knife, instantly flying into the air and vanished after vaporizing countless snowflakes. ¡°Ha ha, I¡¯ve understood it!¡± Wang Tao burst into laughter. This ¡°Dark Manipulation¡± ability is about using Dark Energy to simulate various Attack effects, somewhat similar to his Mental development. Since his Heart of Darkness had Awakened through Mastery Fusion with the Ability, and since this Mastery Fusion Ability itself was a Fusion of various Attack Abilities like shockwaves, Continuous Slash, instant movements, Air Bullets, high-frequency vibration, Wang Tao found it relatively simple to simulate those Abilities he already knew. If he wanted to simulate Abilities he didn¡¯t know before, then he would need to practice slowly, just like he did with Mental development. The original Abilities were No-attribute, and if used under [Wildfire Spread], they would become Fire Attribute, for instance, turning into a ¡°Flame Shockwave.¡± Now, through his Dark Manipulation, these Abilities have become Dark Attribute, such as turning a shockwave into a ¡°Dark Shockwave.¡± And it was not just a simple Attribute change. The Abilities that he simulated compared to the native Abilities were not only different in Attributes, but their Attack power, range, and Speed also saw a significant increase! And they would also carry ¡°Curse damage!¡± However, what gave Wang Tao a real headache was that although the damage had indeed increased a lot, this was not a passive Awakening; it consumed Awakening Energy! [Wildfire Spread] would start at 100 Awakening Energy upon activation, and after 10 seconds it would continue consuming Awakening Energy. [Heart of Darkness] was different; it only consumed Awakening Energy when used. This might seem like a good thing, but in some intense battles, if Wang Tao launched a whole set of Attacks in a short time, the energy consumption wouldn¡¯t be low and might even exceed that of [Wildfire Spread]. Of course, even with high consumption, the improvements in damage, Speed, and other aspects were tangible, resulting in a significant overall strength increase, so the consumption was justified. Moreover, given the previous situation where [Wildfire Spread] and Mental development were activated together for the ¡°Fusion technique: Hellfire,¡± Wang Tao thought that the new Awakening might also be tried for Fusion with these two, perhaps developing some new Abilities. But that would require a process, and might not be completed in a short period. For now, Wang Tao still had one last doubt¡ªwhat exactly does this ¡°Curse¡± Status entail. This thing, like Yang Changhong¡¯s [Mind Slash], couldn¡¯t be used on non-living things. It required experimentation on living things to see the effects. ¡°Brother, experiment on me!¡± Jiang Shixue was eager to try. But Wang Tao knocked on her head in annoyance. ¡°This Ability is a ¡®Curse¡¯; it doesn¡¯t sound like anything good. Even if it¡¯s not life-threatening, it could still make someone miserable. How can I let you take such a risk! Let¡¯s borrow some people from the City Hall!¡± There was a prison inside the base. Although the rules within the base were strict, there were still people who were short-sighted or thought they were smart and challenged the rules; the prison had never been empty since the foundation of the base. So Wang Tao planned to borrow a few prisoners to test his Awakening. Thus, Wang Tao and Jiang Shixue went to the City Hall together. Gu Yun was at the Awakeners School and not at the City Hall, so Wang Tao looked for Jiang Hui. Jiang Hui was now the chief of police, with great authority. Wang Tao originally said that he wanted to borrow a few people, but Jiang Hui took him straight to the prison, indicating that Wang Tao could experiment with any prisoners there. Even if someone were killed by accident, there was no need to worry; he would take care of it. After all, none of those caught and put in prison were innocent... Wang Tao shook his head and smiled; it was just a ¡°Curse¡± experiment, which should not be lethal. However, for safety¡¯s sake, during the experiment, Wang Tao did not use Attacks like the Dark Shockwave, because no amount of prisoners would be enough for him to kill. Instead, he used Dark Energy to simulate some very minor Attacks¡ªhardly even worthy of being called Attacks, just touching someone with a bit of dark energy. Even so, he almost caused an incident. It wasn¡¯t an operational error by Wang Tao, but rather the Curse turned out to be random... [Curse: Weakness] [Curse: Blindness] [Curse: Bleeding] [...] Chapter 1143 - 1143 465 Curse Status ?Chapter 1143: Chapter 465: Curse Status Chapter 1143: Chapter 465: Curse Status ¡°Curses actually come in so many varieties...¡± Seeing all sorts of curses, Wang Tao felt bewildered. He had thought that curses were similar to ¡°Bleeding¡± that caused continuous HP loss or to ¡°Weakness¡± that reduced the enemy¡¯s ability in some way. But after Wang Tao used them, he found that he had thought too simply; the specific effects of curses were not fixed, including everything like ¡°Bleeding¡± and ¡°Weakness¡±! The reason why Wang Tao almost caused a fatality was that he wanted to see if the same person could suffer from different curses, so he tested it on a convict. Three curses appeared over the convict¡¯s head very quickly. [Curse: Bleeding] [Curse: Poisoning] [Curse: Burning] All three curses were HP-reducing, and the convict, who already had little health, was nearly zeroed out. Although the criminal was already sentenced to death and it wouldn¡¯t matter if he died, there was still the base¡¯s rules to consider, and it was better for Wang Tao not to break them if possible. After releasing the convict who was barely clinging to life, Wang Tao tried on other prisoners. This time he was much more cautious, not focusing on just one victim but instead brought in more convicts for individual tests. After some time, Wang Tao had a better understanding of curses. Firstly, it was certain that no more than three curses could exist on a person at the same time. After three curses, continued attacks with dark energy would not produce a fourth curse unless one of the previous three disappeared, in which case subsequent dark attacks would add another curse. Secondly, the duration of these curses varied and was not consistent, ranging from a few seconds to several minutes, and the duration was independent of strength. Regardless of strength, they lasted the same amount of time. Next was the power of these curses. The exact strength was hard to measure, but it was linked to how forcefully Wang Tao attacked; the less dark energy he used, the weaker the curse. If he struck with full force, the curse was strong, with no fixed value¡ªmaybe there was an upper limit, but clearly, the prisoners couldn¡¯t endure tests of that limit. Lastly, there were numerous types of curses. Wang Tao had so far discovered Weakness, Poisoning, Bleeding, Burning, Blindness, Slow, Freeze, Armor Break, Critical Hit... A whole assortment. Among these curses, some caused direct damage, like Poisoning, Bleeding, Burning, etc.; some reduced the enemy¡¯s attributes, like Weakness, Armor Break, Blindness, etc.; and some applied strange statuses to the enemy, like Critical Hit¡ªwhere the chance to suffer a critical hit (double damage) when attacked is significantly increased... Wang Tao felt there were certainly more curses he hadn¡¯t uncovered yet because the stronger the curse, the lower the chance of it occurring. For example, there was a curse called ¡°Slaying,¡± which seemed powerful but had appeared only once. The lives of prisoners were still lives; not everyone was sentenced to death, and it wouldn¡¯t be good to accidentally kill someone. He would have to continue experimenting while killing zombies. And speaking of [Curse: Slaying], Wang Tao thought this might be the most formidable curse he had encountered. [Curse: Slaying] [Slaying: Dies when current HP falls below 20% of total HP] This [Curse: Slaying] lasted for three minutes, and one prisoner, after being cursed, his green health bar¡¯s last 20% turned dark green. If his HP fell into the dark green zone, he would immediately die! In other words, once an enemy was cursed with Slaying, they were down to 80% of their HP for the next three minutes! For humans, this curse might be insignificant, but against those high-HP, high-defense zombies and monsters, it was very useful! For instance, if a Giant Zombie with 400,000 HP were cursed, it would effectively lose 80,000 HP instantly! This undoubtedly reduced the difficulty of killing it significantly. However, the [Curse: Slaying] lasted only three minutes, so he needed to bring the enemy¡¯s HP down to 80% within that time, or it would be useless. Of course, this was not an issue for Wang Tao. If he prepared to hunt a particular enemy, he would do so with certainty, never allowing the enemy to survive more than three minutes, usually concluding the fight within one minute. If it took longer than three minutes, it might require wearing the enemy down slowly, and whether or not the curse was in effect was inconsequential... After roughly understanding the effects of curses, Wang Tao left the prison. This new Awakening, Heart of Darkness, was stronger than he had anticipated, whether simulating various attacks or curse effects, they were all beyond his expectations, greatly enhancing his combat power. But this Awakening was not without its downsides, its biggest drawback being that the absorbed Ability for Heart of Darkness was Mastery Fusion, which included all of Wang Tao¡¯s attack type abilities. Meaning, without using dark energy, he would no longer be able to use abilities like Shockwave. Using dark energy, however, he could simulate similar techniques with even greater power, wider range, and shorter cooldown times, but these would consume Awakening Energy, not Mana! Wang Tao had 120,000 Mana, but only 3,100 Awakening Energy... This was quite distressing. It was as if his burst potential increased, but his sustainability decreased. Especially after Wang Tao studied it carefully, he discovered that the remaining three abilities he now possessed were Berserk Enhancement, Fireball, and Blaze. Chapter 1144 - 1144 465 Curse Status_2 ?Chapter 1144: Chapter 465: Curse Status_2 Chapter 1144: Chapter 465: Curse Status_2 Among them, [Berserk Enhancement] is a fusion of various passive abilities and doesn¡¯t consume mana; [Blaze] is a fire ability that bursts forth by compressing all awakening energy and also doesn¡¯t consume mana. Only [Fireball] consumes mana, but it also uses both mana and awakening energy, and the mana consumption is not much... That is to say, Wang Tao¡¯s current mana pool of 120,000, only the [Fireball], which doesn¡¯t consume much mana, can deplete it! So much mana serving just the [Fireball], which doesn¡¯t consume much? Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, feeling that it was somewhat a waste. However, there was no other way; abilities with attributes wouldn¡¯t fuse with the awakening, [Fireball] and [Blaze] couldn¡¯t be fused, only [Berserk Enhancement] and [Mastery Fusion] could. Who made it so that [Mastery Fusion] was the ability that had fused with the new awakening. ¡°From now on, it¡¯s up to fate whether or not to increase mana, whether it¡¯s raised or not, but awakening energy must be increased!¡± Wang Tao mused to himself. Apart from the fixed increase from fusing crystal cores, increasing mana also depended on opportunity. But awakening energy was different; as long as you have awakening crystal cores or awakening energy pearls, you could always increase it, although the consumption would increase as you progressed. Now, for Wang Tao to increase his awakening energy by 100, he would need to use over thirty awakening crystal cores! ¡°I wonder if there are awakening crystal cores for sale at the base... I¡¯ll have someone look into it later!¡± Wang Tao was originally planning to ask Qu Shilin for help, but remembering that she was in seclusion conducting research, he sent a message to Gu Yun instead. As the mayor, he would definitely know more. Before long, Gu Yun replied. He told Wang Tao that awakening crystal cores were for sale but were quite expensive, after all, there were gradually some awakeners in the base now, and such crystal cores were much needed by them. But the ¡®expensive¡¯ referred to the high-quality crystal cores, meaning the purple ones and above. Blue crystal cores were much cheaper, and white crystal cores even cheaper. After all, only awakeners could use these crystal cores, and awakeners were usually rather affluent. There was no need to save money at the expense of having more impurities in their bodies. This was clearly good news for Wang Tao, especially as he could synthesize crystal cores; white crystal cores were also useful to him. Therefore, Wang Tao made a trip to the Awakeners School and had Nie Siyan purchase low-level awakening crystal cores in the name of the Starfire Society. He wasn¡¯t short on money now; he would take as many as they had. Although there was a blizzard going on, the Awakeners School was a hub of activity. The buildings were almost full of people; they were all there to enroll in the school. Had it not been freezing outside, there would have been even more people. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t planned to come, but since he was here, he decided to take a quick look. With such numbers, he indeed saw some people with hidden attributes. A sweaty Gu Yun came down to invite Wang Tao upstairs, looking at him with a bit of resentment. This was supposed to be the work of the principal, but since Wang Tao was powerful, this tiring task fell to him. However, when Wang Tao casually wrote down some numbers, telling him that these individuals had potential, Gu Yun¡¯s mood brightened. They just needed to focus on examining these people¡¯s backgrounds. If they had no issues, they were considered as having passed, especially since it was Wang Tao who had personally identified them. As for the others, sorry, but even if their backgrounds were clean, the school wouldn¡¯t accept them due to insufficient talent. Wang Tao had just saved Gu Yun a lot of time. Gu Yun almost wanted to suggest that Wang Tao take charge of the school right then and there, but thinking better of it, he held back. It was tiring, but if it meant cultivating a few awakeners for the base, then it was worth it. When darkness fell, Wang Tao went back with Ding Yuqin and the others who had come earlier. ¡°Wang Tao, congratulations!¡± ¡°Congratulations on your third awakening!¡± Only now did everyone have a chance to congratulate Wang Tao. They were also looking forward to it, wondering just how strong Wang Tao must be after three awakenings? Of course, they were also curious about Wang Tao¡¯s new awakening, which wasn¡¯t asked earlier due to the crowd. Wang Tao briefly demonstrated his powers and when everyone saw that he could control dark energy, causing the entire vehicle to darken as if shrouded, blocking even the lights, they all found it very novel. This sensation was similar to the previous Dark Fog Zombies, but not as uncomfortable as the dark fog from the zombies, just purely obscuring the light. However, once Wang Tao introduced his curse abilities, everyone felt a chill run down their spine. If three curses appeared on one person at the same time, that could be quite unpleasant. But if they were facing zombies, that would be another story! They¡¯d actually prefer as many curses as possible. Wang Tao was wondering if his ¡°Heart of Darkness¡± could fuse with his previous two awakenings. Today, he had limited time and only tested the curse effects. Whether they could integrate or not had yet to be tested... After getting home, Wang Tao began another series of tests. Fusing ¡°Heart of Darkness¡± with ¡°Mental Development¡± seemed difficult; Wang Tao tried many times without success, unclear whether it was even possible. But the fusion of ¡°Heart of Darkness¡± with ¡°Wildfire Spread¡± was exceptionally smooth! When Wang Tao activated ¡°Wildfire Spread¡± and ignited fiery flames all over his body, his ¡°Flame Shockwave¡± turned into ¡°Dark Flame Shockwave,¡± inflicting both fire and dark damage! Moreover, the area of effect was larger than ¡°Dark Shockwave,¡± the cooldown shorter! And it also retained the ¡°burning¡± status from Flame Shockwave and the ¡°curse¡± status from Dark Shockwave. This ¡°burning¡± was unrelated to ¡°Curse: Burning.¡± That is to say, if he used a dark awakening under ¡°Wildfire Spread,¡± the enemy would suffer one burning effect and three curses! If he added Little Bing¡¯s power, another freezing status might be applied! Well, if five negative statuses could appear simultaneously... Wang Tao looked forward to seeing the effects during battle. After completing the tests, Wang Tao took a shower, went to his room, and with a wave of his hand, summoned a large number of high-quality crystal cores. Having now awakened three times and tested the awakening abilities, it was time for ascension to Level 5. Wang Tao immediately began to increase his Special Ability Level, but suddenly, he paused. ¡°Wait, I only have three abilities now...¡± While fusing crystal cores, Wang Tao remembered that others only needed one ability at max level to ascend, but his case was different; he needed all four abilities at max level. But the issue was, while he had enough crystal cores, his ¡°Heart of Darkness¡± had merged with one ability, leaving him with three... Could he still ascend? Wang Tao had a bad feeling about this. After he upgraded all three abilities to max level and after a moment of contemplation with his eyes closed, he sighed in resignation. Indeed, he couldn¡¯t ascend, he was one ability short... He had plenty of Level 4 crystal cores with abilities, but he didn¡¯t want to fuse any at random. After Level 4, crystal cores come with attributes, like ¡°Fireball,¡± ¡°Blaze,¡± which only Fire Awakened can use. Such abilities were obviously more powerful than ordinary ones, and Wang Tao wanted to fuse an ability like that, but he didn¡¯t have any suitable cores at hand. If he randomly fused with an ordinary crystal core, post-ascension it would become a Level 5 ability, and Wang Tao lacked a Fifth Order Stripping Crystal Core to make any replacements... Wang Tao was seriously conflicted, whether to ascend to Level 5 now and then search for a Level 5 Attribute Crystal Core or Stripping Crystal Core later, or wait and search for a fitting Level 4 Attribute Crystal Core before ascending... Ding Yuqin had been by Wang Tao¡¯s side the whole time, seeing his dilemma, she thought for a moment and suggested, ¡°Why not wait a bit longer to ascend? Didn¡¯t you tell the Starfire Society to purchase Awakening Crystal Cores? Why not also buy some Attribute Crystal Cores at a high price? With so many people at our base, even if there are no Level 5 crystal cores, there surely must be some Level 4 Attribute Crystal Cores?¡± ¡°That does seem like a plan...¡± Chapter 1145 - 1145 466 Scorching Eye ?Chapter 1145: Chapter 466: Scorching Eye Chapter 1145: Chapter 466: Scorching Eye Wang Tao called Nie Siyan over, asking him to purchase some Awakening Crystal Cores and, while he was at it, to also purchase other Level 4 Crystal Cores, preferably those rare, peculiar ones. Crystal Cores with attributes could only be merged by people with matching attributes. Those who obtained such cores might, if lucky enough to find a matching attribute, merge with them immediately. If unable to merge, there was a high chance they would still hold onto them. Wang Tao felt that as long as the price was right, he should be able to acquire some Attribute Crystal Cores. His requirements were not high; any Attribute Ability Crystal Core of the Fire System, Dark Series, or Psychic System would do, and he was willing to pay a high price for them. Of course, if there were Crystal Cores that his team members could use, he would also be willing to pay a high price for those. Even if he and his teammates couldn¡¯t use them, as long as the price was not too outrageous, he would keep them. After all, these things were not easy to come by¡ªhe had killed so many zombies and had only obtained a few Attribute Crystal Cores. He did have four in his possession: [Fourth Order Crystal Core: Ice Thorn], [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Psychic Attack Rebound], [Fifth-Rank Crystal Core: Omnipotent Shield], and [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Giant Strength Impact]. Unfortunately, he could only merge with the Psychic Attack Rebound, but he didn¡¯t particularly like this Ability. He liked the other three, but he couldn¡¯t merge with them... so he could only see if he could buy them. Considering that some people might not be short on money, Wang Tao gave Nie Siyan a lot of Ability Crystal Cores and Potions, which could also be bartered if the sellers didn¡¯t need cash. After receiving the order, Nie Siyan immediately sprang into action. With nothing else pressing to attend to, Wang Tao stayed home, waiting for news while practicing his new Awakening. Three days passed in a blink. Things finally eased a bit at the Awakeners School, as the initial registration had concluded. Next came the selection process. The selection had three rounds; the first two rounds would eliminate the majority, leaving only those with good character and strength. The final round was overseen by Wang Tao himself, and getting his approval meant passing the final hurdle to become a first batch student of the Awakeners School. The first two rounds of selection would take two days. After waiting another two days, Wang Tao would go to the school to choose his students. These few days, topics related to the Awakeners School were the hottest within the base, as Awakening was an irresistible temptation for every Ability User. Although many doubted that entering the school would enable Awakening, having hope was better than having none. Plus, trust in the base was fairly solid, so there was a lot of discussion everywhere. Even on the black market, slots for official students were being sold at high prices, with someone claiming they could pull off a bait-and-switch due to their connections. It was clearly a scammer¡¯s tactic, especially since Wang Tao hadn¡¯t yet made the final decisions. Yet, some gullible buyers fell for it... it just goes to show how tempting Awakening truly is. Meanwhile, another topic quickly rose to prominence, almost matching the fervor surrounding the Awakeners School¡ªthe Starfire Society was buying up Crystal Cores at high prices. Due to Wang Tao¡¯s considerable capital¡ªover two hundred million in Crystal Coins¡ªplus various Crystal Cores and Weapons he put up for sale, he immediately garnered interest from many Ability Users. This even momentarily drove the prices of certain Crystal Cores to sky-high levels! It wasn¡¯t until today, when the Starfire Society announced a pause in purchasing, that prices began to slightly decline. However, it¡¯s estimated that prices won¡¯t return to normal any time soon. ¡°Brother Wang, the Crystal Cores are all here. Since you wanted to acquire a large quantity in a short period, the prices went up quite a bit...¡± Nie Siyan pointed to two boxes and explained. ¡°No problem.¡± Wang Tao smiled and shook his head. It was inevitable that the prices of Crystal Cores would rise, but it didn¡¯t matter; he had so much money sitting around, it was better spent on improving his strength. Wang Tao opened the boxes. The first one contained over two thousand Level 4 Awakening Crystal Cores, costing over a hundred million Crystal Coins, averaging about forty thousand per core. Although the Level 4 Awakening Crystal Cores were expensive, this price was still high, as many of these cores were of low quality. For instance, the blue and White Crystal Cores shouldn¡¯t normally be this expensive. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t mind and was instead quite thrilled. ¡°So many Awakening Crystal Cores!¡± Wang Tao had hoped to acquire a few hundred Awakening Crystal Cores, yet he ended up with over two thousand. ¡°It¡¯s because most of these Awakening Crystal Cores were sold by the Six Major Legions...¡± Nie Siyan explained. ¡°No wonder!¡± Wang Tao suddenly realized. If it was the Six Major Legions, then there was no issue, since they owned a multitude of Thermal Weapons, making it normal for them to obtain so many Level 4 Awakening Crystal Cores. The thing about Awakening Energy was that although others couldn¡¯t see the specific Attributes, they had a general sense of it. They could clearly feel that the more Awakening Crystal Cores they merged with, the smaller the increase in power. For instance, Wang Tao initially needed only one Awakening Crystal Core to increase his Awakening Energy limit by 100, but now he needed over thirty. Thus, they would stop merging after reaching a certain level, as the cost of gaining an additional 100 points of Awakening Energy was not worth it. Moreover, there weren¡¯t many Awakeners in the base to begin with... so they had accumulated quite a few Awakening Crystal Cores. Seeing the Starfire Society paying high prices, they basically sold all they had. Although most of these cores were of low quality, it didn¡¯t affect Wang Tao; he would just synthesize them later. Chapter 1146 - 1146 466 Scorching Eye_2 ?Chapter 1146: Chapter 466: Scorching Eye_2 Chapter 1146: Chapter 466: Scorching Eye_2 Wang Tao then opened the second box. There weren¡¯t many Crystal Cores inside, only three, but they immediately caught Wang Tao¡¯s eye. The first Crystal Core was a [Tier-4 Crystal Core: Psychic Attack Rebound]. Wang Tao also had one, but his was Level 5. This one was Level 4. Wang Tao certainly couldn¡¯t use it, but it could be useful for his teammates. He could save up two more to give to a teammate later. The side effect was a decrease in defensive power, so it would definitely be better to eliminate that using a Fusion Crystal Core. The second Crystal Core was a System Crystal Core. [Tier-4 Crystal Core: Strength Amplification] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 35% (Side Effect: HP Limit Reduced by 100,000)] [Strength Enhancement: Consumes energy, Awakening Energy. During the enhancement period, strength is augmented substantially (only System Awakeners can fuse with it)]. This Crystal Core wasn¡¯t bad at all¡ªsimple and brutal, straight-up increasing strength. If Wang Tao had this Ability, he could probably deal a lot more damage. Unfortunately, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t a System Awakener... ¡°It could be given to Xiang Hongbin, his physical quality is strong, he is a System Awakener, and then there¡¯s the assistance of his mechanical body. If he adds this Ability, his strength could probably increase a lot...¡± Wang Tao felt Xiang Hongbin was suited for this Ability. He would ask him later if he was willing to use it; a 60% chance meant there was still a considerable likelihood. The side effect of reducing 100,000 HP sounded terrifying, but for them, with over 100,000 HP, it was not a problem at all, just killing more zombies would replenish it. Then Wang Tao looked at the last, the Crystal Core that had really made his eyes light up. [Tier-4 Crystal Core: Scorching Eye] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 35% (Side Effect: HP Limit Reduced by 150,000)] [Scorching Eye: Consumes energy, Awakening Energy. Emits high-temperature rays from the eyes (only Fire Awakened can fuse with it)]. This was a Fire System Ability, and from its description, this Ability seemed to make one¡¯s ¡°eyes literally light up.¡± Wang Tao happened to be a Fire Awakener, and he could fuse with this Crystal Core. As for the side effect, that was a bit of a headache¡ªreducing the HP limit by a full 150,000! It was a good thing this Crystal Core had come into Wang Tao¡¯s possession and that no one else had fused with it; otherwise, even if a Fire Awakener came along, if their HP limit was below 150,000, they might very well die upon a successful fusion! After all, a 150,000 HP limit wasn¡¯t simple. Wang Tao had observed that in the current base, aside from their Starfire Society and other high-end powers, the highest HP was only around 120,000, probably a lucky bump of an extra 20,000 HP. Other third or fourth-order Ability Users had at most 100,000 HP. With Wang Tao¡¯s own 180,000 HP, there clearly wasn¡¯t an issue, but what worried him was whether he could recover the lost HP by killing zombies. After all, killing zombies could only restore 100,000 HP; the remaining 80,000 HP increase had been achieved through various means by Wang Tao... After pondering briefly, Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°Stop thinking about it. Even if I do end up missing a few tens of thousands of HP in the end, exchanging for a new Fire Ability is still a huge gain!¡± Wang Tao quickly made up his mind. ¡°These three Crystal Cores together cost one million. The price is actually lower than your estimate, but the number is too few; even with a high price, we can¡¯t buy more. We¡¯ve only managed to get these three. Brother Wang, do you see if you can make use of them...¡± Nie Siyan spoke up at this time. She was somewhat apprehensive, not sure if Wang Tao could make use of these three Crystal Cores, especially since she couldn¡¯t tell what they were, including the person who sold them to her. They also didn¡¯t know the effects, only that these were Crystal Cores fusable by Awakeners. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve worked hard. These Crystal Cores are very good, and it just so happens I can use them.¡± Wang Tao immediately said with a smile. ¡°Phew¡ªThat¡¯s great!¡± Hearing that Wang Tao could use them, Nie Siyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It was rare for Wang Tao to have her handle a task, and if she messed it up, she would be sorry for the trust Wang Tao had placed in her. After Nie Siyan left, Wang Tao synthesized the Awakening Crystal Cores. Looking at the pile of red and orange Level 4 Awakening Crystal Cores, Wang Tao grinned and then began to fuse with them one by one. Some time later, Wang Tao finally finished fusing with all the Awakening Crystal Cores. [Awakening Energy: 5000/5000] The Awakening Energy had just reached five thousand, and Wang Tao, with a touch of OCD, felt quite satisfied. Then, he took the [Scorching Eyes] Crystal Core and placed it in his mouth. The Crystal Core vaporized instantly in his oral cavity and quickly flowed towards his limbs; Wang Tao felt his eyes heating up, and after a moment, they returned to normal. Wang Tao looked at his attributes and, as expected, there was an additional [Level 4: Scorching Eyes]. ¡°Let¡¯s test the effects of the new superpower!¡± Wang Tao observed with his spiritual power and noticed that there were no visible changes to his appearance. However, when he prepared to use Scorching Eyes, he saw his eyes emit a red glow; he could feel warmth in his eyes. Wang Tao went out to the yard and looked at the snowman, which was more than ten meters away, not knowing who had built it. szzz¡ª Two red high-temperature beams shot from Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Wherever the beams passed, the snow melted into water, evaporated into gas, and disappeared without a trace. The beams continued unabated, striking the door and instantly setting the wooden door ablaze... ¡°...¡± Wang Tao quickly retracted his ability. It was his first time using it, and he hadn¡¯t quite controlled the power. Hearing the commotion, everyone rushed out. Seeing the burning door, they all gaped in astonishment. ¡°Wang Tao, what is this...?¡± ¡°Cough, I just learned a new ability, and I¡¯m not quite adept yet.¡± Wang Tao shrugged a bit awkwardly. ¡°A new superpower? A Fire System ability? I didn¡¯t hear any noise just now, and the distance is so far, it seems like it even hit the streetlight in front of the neighbor¡¯s house...¡± Han Rui said, looking forward, somewhat surprised. The buildings in this community were very sparsely distributed. Hitting the streetlight in front of the neighbor¡¯s house was at least dozens of meters away. ¡°The new superpower ¡®Scorching Eyes¡¯ can emit high-temperature rays...¡± Wang Tao explained briefly and then gave a small demonstration in front of everyone. Since he still hadn¡¯t mastered the intensity, Wang Tao didn¡¯t aim at the ground but looked up at the sky instead. szzz¡ª Two high-temperature beams shot into the sky in an instant, and the snowflakes in their path evaporated. ¡°Wow!¡± Everyone was somewhat astonished. This ability, if nothing else, at least looks cool and has a long attack range. As for the power, it¡¯s difficult to tell for now; after all, burning a wooden door is not a big deal. Wang Tao ignored everyone¡¯s amazement and continued to study for a while. After firing many beams of light, he slowly found the feeling. ¡°So, that¡¯s how it is...¡± Scorching Eyes was somewhat similar to Fireball in that it could control the power¡¯s size. Fireball¡¯s control method was to charge up. The longer the charge, the greater the power, but there was a limit to the charge. Scorching Eyes had two methods of control; one was to go full power, consuming more Awakening Energy to emit high-temperature rays. Like charging up, it had a limit. The other was continuous output, which allowed one to keep shooting high-temperature rays at the target. The longer the rays were fired, the higher the damage, theoretically limitless. However, how long high-temperature rays can be fired is determined by the Awakening Energy... so, in reality, there¡¯s a limit. As for how strong Scorching Eyes truly were, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear yet, but he could feel that the power of this Awakening might be a bit higher than that of Fireball. Although Scorching Eyes didn¡¯t have the majesty of Fireball, its power was more concentrated. Fireball exploded over a large area, dispersing the force. Scorching Eyes focused the force into two beams the thickness of thumbs. If it targeted the heads of zombies at the same time, Wang Tao felt that Scorching Eyes would likely cause higher damage. Wang Tao was a bit eager to find a Zombie Lord to test it out on. But there was no rush, as he took out the prepared Omnipotent Crystal Core and upgraded Scorching Eyes to +10. Next up, it was time for Ascension! Chapter 1147 - 1147 467 Ascension to Level 5 ?Chapter 1147: Chapter 467: Ascension to Level 5 Chapter 1147: Chapter 467: Ascension to Level 5 ¡°Oh right, Wang Tao, I forgot to tell you something. City Hall has already started sending people out of the city into the Rift.¡± Wang Tao was about to integrate the last Ascension Crystal Core when Ding Yuqin suddenly spoke up. ¡°I almost forgot about that...¡± Wang Tao then remembered that Gu Yun had mentioned this to him before and had asked if he would go. Naturally, Wang Tao intended to go, but he had planned to do so after ascending to Level 5. However, since purchasing Crystal Cores had taken some time, he hadn¡¯t ascended to Level 5 yet. ¡°Once I¡¯ve ascended to Level 5, we¡¯ll head over there.¡± Wang Tao said to Ding Yuqin. ¡°Great!¡± Everyone was full of anticipation. Wang Tao began to integrate the final Ascension Crystal Core. Although he thought there shouldn¡¯t be a problem, he still felt a bit nervous as the moment approached. After a short while, the Level 5 Ascension Crystal Core was successfully integrated. Wang Tao felt that he could ascend now, and, as before, he could choose any time to sleep during the next three days, otherwise, he would ascend automatically after three days. This made Wang Tao breathe a sigh of relief; it seemed that ascending from Level 4 to Level 5 was indeed easier than from Level 3 to Level 4, as there was no need for another Awakening. ¡°I¡¯m going to start my Ascension now.¡± Without any delay, Wang Tao laid down on the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep. During the Awakening, although Wang Tao was asleep, he was somewhat conscious and could see the situation within the Awakening Space. But during the Ascension, it was pure sleep, waking up refreshed and clear-headed. ¡°Wang Tao, you¡¯re awake! Congratulations!¡± Ding Yuqin and others felt it was about time and gathered around Wang Tao, as he was probably the first Fifth Order Awakener at the base. They were excited and curious. Wang Tao got out of bed and stretched. ¡°Huh?¡± He noticed that everyone in front of him seemed quite shorter. ¡°Wow, you¡¯ve gotten taller!¡± Yang Changhong touched Wang Tao¡¯s forearm, looking up with some astonishment, while the girls¡¯ eyes shone brightly as they watched him. If it were someone else, they might have thought it clumsy, but because it was Wang Tao, they felt a deep sense of security. Wang Tao sensed his own body with his spiritual power then felt somewhat speechless. Each time he ascended, his body size increased. He was already two meters tall before, and now after ascending to Level 5, he had reached an impressive two meters twenty! And it wasn¡¯t just his height; more importantly, he was robust! A two-meter-twenty tall muscular man, even just standing there without releasing any Ability User¡¯s aura, exuded an overwhelming presence. Now he was even taller than Xu Xiaojun. Especially when standing beside Ding Yuqin and the taller girls who were a little over one meter seventy, the sight of them together resembled that of a ¡°beauty and the beast.¡± ¡°He¡¯s so cool!¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat envious; he liked the look of big, muscular figures¡ªthat was a real man! Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t as sturdy as Wang Tao; his mechanical body was made according to his original physique, although much stronger than an ordinary person, it was still far less than Wang Tao¡¯s, which made him a bit regretful. Wang Tao ignored the astonished and envious remarks of the others. He clenched his fist and swung at the air. He felt that his physical attributes had greatly improved. Although he wasn¡¯t a System Awakener, in terms of physical strength, he estimated that no one in the base could surpass him now. Even the half-human half-mechanical Xiang Hongbin probably lagged far behind him. However, physical strength wasn¡¯t the most important; after all, those zombie monsters were one more abnormal than the other. What mattered were the Abilities and Awakening. Wang Tao could vaguely feel that both his Awakening and Abilities had greatly increased... He looked at his attributes; HP and Mana remained unchanged, just as before, but his Awakening Energy limit had increased by 1,000, reaching 6,000! This was a pleasant surprise for Wang Tao, for his current Awakening Energy, that 1,000 limit was worth tens of millions worth of Awakening Crystal Cores. And it wasn¡¯t even about money, because even if he had the money, he couldn¡¯t buy it, as he had already bought all available Awakening Crystal Cores within the base... As for the specific improvements in his Abilities and Awakening, Wang Tao was not very clear; it was something that could only be known through testing, but he had a feeling that he was incredibly strong now! ¡°How¡¯s things at the Awakeners School?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°The first two rounds have been prepared; it¡¯s just your final review that¡¯s needed.¡± Ding Yuqin immediately replied. Wang Tao nodded and checked the time; it was now a little after nine in the morning. ¡°I¡¯ll go to the school for the review now, give them a day to get ready, and then we¡¯ll head to the Cave tomorrow, taking them with us.¡± ¡°Eh? You¡¯re taking these students with us?¡± Everyone was somewhat surprised. Although Wang Tao had mentioned before that the Awakeners School didn¡¯t just teach theoretical knowledge but more importantly, actual practice. But to go to the Cave right upon enrollment, wasn¡¯t that a bit sudden? ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t just want to see their potential but also their resolve. If they¡¯re talented but can¡¯t handle the mentality, they might as well drop out early. Right now, what we¡¯re lacking is time, we need to produce some Awakeners as quickly as possible.¡± Wang Tao briefly explained. Naturally, nobody had any objections; with Wang Tao and Lan Yulian around, there shouldn¡¯t be any major problems. Wang Tao contacted Gu Yun to tell him that he was going to the Awakeners School, then directly drove there. Some time later, Wang Tao arrived at the gates of the Awakeners School, where Gu Yun was waiting for him. Chapter 1148 - 1148 467 Ascension to Level 5_2 ?Chapter 1148: Chapter 467: Ascension to Level 5_2 Chapter 1148: Chapter 467: Ascension to Level 5_2 ¡°You finally arrived!¡± Gu Yun¡¯s gaze held a trace of resentment. Because Wang Tao had not come before, Gu Yun had temporarily taken charge of the affairs of the Awakeners School. Not only did he have to preside over the work at City Hall, but he also had to run to the Awakeners School, basically leaving him no time to rest. Now that Wang Tao was here, he could finally hand over these tasks to him. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard!¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded his head. His third Awakening and ascension to Level 5 were known only to Ding Yuqin and his close associates; other people were unaware, so Gu Yun¡¯s slight resentment was understandable. Wang Tao did not explain; he and Gu Yun went to the principal¡¯s office together. Gu Yun handed him a list. This batch had three thousand people who had passed through two rounds of screening, and they were all here. Some of them were from various major forces, the Six Major Legions, City Hall, City Defense Army, and so on; it was all noted here... Gu Yun did not hide anything; he made everything clear. ¡°Mm.¡± Wang Tao was not surprised; this was normal. It would have been abnormal if they had not arranged for people to enroll. ¡°Let them all come out; I¡¯ll conduct the final round of screening.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Gu Yun immediately gave the order, causing the quiet school to simmer with anticipation. They had been waiting here for two days, and the final round of screening was finally about to start. Everyone was nervous; although passing did not necessarily mean they would become Awakeners, they still harbored some doubts about this so-called Awakeners School. But having come this far, no one wanted to be eliminated; holding onto even a sliver of hope was good. Soon, all three thousand people had gathered in the school¡¯s square, standing in line. Despite the heavy snow falling outside, they were all Level 2 and Level 3 Ability Users, wearing thick clothing, so they weren¡¯t afraid of frostbite in the short term. Wang Tao led a group of people onto the stage. ¡°Hello everyone, I am Wang Tao, the principal of Changhe Awakeners School.¡± Wang Tao greeted them briefly. A murmur of conversation arose from below; they knew the principal was Wang Tao, but had never seen him. Now, seeing the figure standing out like a crane amongst chickens, they all felt an inexplicable sense of awe. Wang Tao didn¡¯t waste words. After introducing himself, he immediately said: ¡°The third round of screening starts now. Everyone, stay where you are and do not move. Later, some people might come to ask you questions, just answer truthfully.¡± Having said this, Wang Tao looked at the people behind him. These people were Awakeners from other forces, now serving as teachers at the Awakeners School. ¡°Begin.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± These teachers immediately began to use the questions they had prepared, as instructed by Wang Tao. However, their minds weren¡¯t really on the questioning; instead, they felt a subtle pressure after seeing Wang Tao today. You see, they were all Awakeners. Although Awakeners varied in strength, Wang Tao had not shown any signs typical of an Awakener. Yet still, they felt this pressure, which meant only one thing¡ªWang Tao had a strong physique, was a powerful System Awakener! If they didn¡¯t use their Abilities or Awakening, they figured they¡¯d easily be overpowered by Wang Tao... The principal truly deserved his role, not only rich in theoretical knowledge but also strong in practice! These teachers reflected internally. They did not know the full extent of Wang Tao and Starfire Society¡¯s strengths. They only knew Wang Tao¡¯s wealth of knowledge in Awakening, esteemed by many... Wang Tao naturally knew none of what these teachers were thinking; he stepped down from the stage, pacing around the phalanx of three thousand people. The question checking was, of course, a facade¡ªmerely Wang Tao¡¯s way to somewhat conceal his own abilities while keeping these people busy. His spiritual power reached out toward the crowd, checking each person¡¯s Attributes as if casually glancing at flowers passing by. Each person had a number on them. Whenever Wang Tao saw Hidden Attributes, he noted these numbers down as they passed. Wang Tao knew people with Hidden Attributes were few, but he hadn¡¯t expected them to be this few. Out of these three thousand, only about two hundred had Hidden Attributes, a ratio of almost 15 to 1, which included some people left from the previous day he had visited. Gu Yun mentioned that tens of thousands had registered for this batch, and even if some potentially talented individuals were filtered out, there likely weren¡¯t many left... It was indeed the mark of an Awakening; without outside help, too few people possessed Hidden Attributes. After feeling that it was about time, Wang Tao went back on stage and told them to return to the building. An hour later, the results were out. None of the students knew exactly on what basis the principal was selecting them, nor did they dare to ask too much. They obediently returned to wait for the notification. Wang Tao headed to his own office, where he compiled the registration numbers and names he had recorded. It wasn¡¯t long before the list of two hundred was finalized. Wang Tao handed the list over to Gu Yun. ¡°These are all of them. If you want to add someone, you may, but there¡¯s a high probability that those without potential won¡¯t Awaken.¡± Since the Awakeners School was funded by the City Hall, it was only right to give them some face. ¡°Oh my, from three thousand to just two hundred left!¡± Gu Yun felt somewhat helpless. It truly was difficult to Awaken! However, there was a silver lining to having fewer people. If all three thousand had stayed, the City Hall couldn¡¯t have afforded the resources necessary for their Ascension. ¡°The list includes people from our City Hall and other forces, so I won¡¯t add anyone else. Let¡¯s go with this one.¡± Gu Yun handed the list back to Wang Tao as it was. ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao notified everyone on the list, then turned to ask Gu Yun, ¡°Any major issues in the Cave?¡± The City Hall had sent people there for a few days now, and there should have been reports coming back. ¡°They didn¡¯t dare to venture too deeply yet; they¡¯re still just roaming the perimeter. Aside from some Mutated Plants and other things, there¡¯s not much danger...¡± ¡°They¡¯re cautious not to delve deeper because of two troubling issues.¡± ¡°One is that it¡¯s too dark inside. The light from the flashlights only reaches a few meters, severely affecting visibility. However, those with ¡®Night Devil Weapons¡¯ are quite popular now...¡± ¡°The second is that the black fog inside seems to disrupt radio signals, cutting off those inside from communicating outward. They can still send messages to the base after coming out, and they can communicate with each other inside, but not from far away due to poor signals...¡± Hearing Gu Yun¡¯s words, Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. He happened to have a batch of Night Demon Hearts he hadn¡¯t sold, as Qu Shilin, whom he had planned to ask for help, had gone into seclusion. Now the price for Night Demon Hearts had probably risen again, but there was no rush to sell them, especially since many people would be going down to the Cave, which could also serve as a tool for their protection. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll head back first. Let the students prepare; I¡¯ll take them to the Cave tomorrow.¡± ¡°Ah? You¡¯re taking them all down? Isn¡¯t that a bit dangerous...¡± Gu Yun was shocked, yet also furrowing his brows. These were students meticulously selected; if something happened to all of them, that would be a huge loss. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our Starfire Society will all be there, and I still have quite a few Level 5 Night Devil Weapons...¡± ¡°Hisss! Level 5 Night Devil Weapons? And not just a few?¡± Gu Yun was utterly astounded. He hadn¡¯t even seen¡ªno, he hadn¡¯t even heard of Level 5 Night Devil Weapons! Wang Tao sure kept them well-hidden! But Gu Yun didn¡¯t pry further. He nodded immediately. ¡°Since you say so, then no problem. I wish you a triumphant return in advance!¡± ¡°Ha-ha, I accept your good wishes!¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. The list was quickly published. Those who were filtered out left dejectedly, while those selected were beyond excited. However, when they heard that they would be following the school teachers into the Cave the next day, their excitement halted abruptly¡ªthis was only the first day of class! Did it have to be this thrilling? Nonetheless, no fools had been selected to stay. When Wang Tao prepared to leave the next day, not a single person was missing from the list. Chapter 1149 - 1149 468 Exploring the Cave ?Chapter 1149: Chapter 468 Exploring the Cave Chapter 1149: Chapter 468 Exploring the Cave ¡°Not bad.¡± Inside the Awakeners School, Wang Tao looked at the students and saw that none was missing, immediately nodding his head with satisfaction. Whether speaking of strength or potential, at the very least they had courage and brains. ¡°Principal Wang, when will we set out?¡± A balding, plump middle-aged man stood beside Wang Tao and asked with a bow. His name was Pan Jian, the director of instruction at the Awakeners School. He was responsible for the day-to-day affairs of the school and had been handpicked by Wang Tao. His job before the apocalypse was similar, and now with Level 3 strength, he was well-suited for the position. After Gu Yun stopped handling school affairs, Pan Jian basically took over those miscellaneous tasks. As for the other positions, Wang Tao did not yet have suitable candidates; he planned to have Gu Yun recommend a few after returning. Pan Jian felt very grateful to Wang Tao. After all, everyone knew that the Awakeners School was likely the focal point for the base¡¯s future development. Whether as a student or as a staff member, one could certainly look forward to a promising future. He had confirmed that he had no potential for Awakening, and his combat ability was not particularly strong among those at Level 3. If it were not for Wang Tao bringing him here, perhaps he would have never advanced any further in life... However, Pan Jian also had some fear of Wang Tao, mainly because he hadn¡¯t interacted much with him before. Now standing beside Wang Tao, he realized that Wang Tao, even while seated, was taller than him when he stood, and with that robust body... The sense of oppression was too strong, and even though Wang Tao did not emit any Awakener¡¯s aura, it still made one instinctively feel fear. ¡°Let¡¯s go now.¡± Wang Tao stood up, and his towering figure imparted a simultaneously terrifying and reassuring presence. Pan Jian had heard that the principal was very strong in combat. He thought to himself that he might witness it this time... ¡°Roger that!¡± The students and teachers had already prepared, and upon receiving the order, they quickly assembled in the school¡¯s plaza, then, in an orderly fashion, headed out the door. They were all wearing thick cotton clothing, wrapping themselves up tightly. Rather than worrying about whether it would affect their combat ability, staying warm was more important. These students were not the main force for exploring the cave; their current focus was on team coordination and training. Outside the school, many tracked armored personnel carriers were parked, with the conveyance this time provided by the Sixth Legion. Cheng Yiyi was waiting outside for Wang Tao. Upon meeting again, Cheng Yiyi was also taken aback by Wang Tao¡¯s figure. ¡°You¡¯re really burly!¡± Cheng Yiyi was over 1.7 meters tall, which was not short for a woman, but she seemed petite and delicate standing in front of Wang Tao. Now, Wang Tao¡¯s physique was almost as large as hers when she wore powered armor. Although Cheng Yiyi was very beautiful, she did not care about these aspects; she liked this muscular look, which gave her a sense of security. Unfortunately, due to physiological limits, she could not develop a body like Wang Tao¡¯s; instead, she seemed to get slimmer the more she trained... ¡°Haha,¡± Wang Tao shrugged, then added, ¡°You ride in my car.¡± Cheng Yiyi had already been to the cave once, so Wang Tao needed a guide. ¡°Sure!¡± As Cheng Yiyi got in the vehicle, the convoy, led by Wang Tao, rumbled towards the city gate. In the car, Cheng Yiyi gave Wang Tao a brief introduction to the situation in the cave. In short, they had not encountered any major dangers so far, and the exploration of the cave was progressing slowly but steadily. The slow pace of exploration was, of course, due to the low visibility. The darkness below, combined with attacks from some well-camouflaged mutated plants, naturally slowed their pace a great deal. As for what treasures were inside the rift, what had been discovered so far included plant fruits, scarce metals, Crystal Cores, and the like. Hearing about plant fruits, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. Being referred to as treasures, they certainly weren¡¯t ordinary fruits; perhaps they were like Snake Fruits, carrying distinctive names. If that was the case, he would have to explore this cave thoroughly. After leaving the base, the convoy traveled for three hours before finally sighting the rift. ¡°Is that the cave...¡± The students had never seen a cave, and the sight of a chasm appearing like an abyss on the endless snowy field gave them the creeps. Do we really have to go down? Can we actually return alive... This rift was the closest one to the base; the Six Major Legions had already established a temporary base on its edge, with many soldiers stationed there. After seeing the Sixth Legion¡¯s convoy, they promptly confirmed its identity and allowed passage. ¡°Let¡¯s go straight down. It¡¯s warmer below than above, and there¡¯s no snow down there. If we stay on the surface, we might run into a blizzard, which is quite uncomfortable,¡± Cheng Yiyi explained. ¡°Okay.¡± This temporary base was clearly positioned with care; the entry point into the rift wasn¡¯t steep, and they had also constructed some earthen roads, so it was possible to drive the vehicles directly down. Boom, boom, boom... The convoy slowly entered the rift, and the deeper they went, the denser the fog became, swallowing the convoy like the mouth of an abyss. Inside the Crystal Energy Car, Ding Yuqin and the others were somewhat nervous. It was pitch black outside, nothing could be seen, and only some dim streetlights were guiding the way. Wang Tao turned to look at Jiang Shixue, whose pupils emitted a faint red glow. ¡°I can see, but it¡¯s not very clear in the distance...¡± Jiang Shixue explained to Wang Tao in a soft voice. Not only was there an absence of light within, but this black fog obscured the view. Even with Jiang Shixue¡¯s Night Vision Ability, she could only see the surroundings. When she looked into the distance, it was as though there were layers upon layers of black veils, making it unclear. Chapter 1150 - 1150 468 Exploring the Cave _2 ?Chapter 1150: Chapter 468: Exploring the Cave _2 Chapter 1150: Chapter 468: Exploring the Cave _2 If Wang Tao had not undergone his third awakening, he guessed he¡¯d probably be about the same as Jiang Shixue, but now after acquiring the Heart of Darkness... it was no longer a question of visibility, but rather, he found that he seemed to be able to control the dark fog! Could this be the Dark Manipulation Ability? Wang Tao closed his eyes, silently felt the dark environment he was in, and then with a thought, the dark fog immediately dispersed in all directions as if an invisible hand was stirring in the air. ¡°Eh?¡± Jiang Shixue suddenly let out a light exclamation because she realized her vision suddenly extended further. Those ¡°black veils¡± seemed to be receding into the distance! The others couldn¡¯t feel the dark fog, but they could suddenly see that the firefly-like streetlights along the road were becoming brighter and soon illuminated the path as though it were daytime. ¡°We can see the road now!¡± ¡°So this is what it looks like beneath the rift, it looks like it¡¯s all stone...¡± The students were curious as they looked out the window, unclear on what was happening. ¡°What¡¯s going on!¡± ¡°Stop the car!¡± But Cheng Yiyi was startled and immediately used the walkie-talkie to halt the vehicles. Although their field of vision had expanded many times over, something abnormal is a sign of trouble; they hadn¡¯t encountered this situation before. Could something unexpected be happening in the cave? ¡°Don¡¯t worry, keep going,¡± Wang Tao said to her. ¡°...You did this?¡± Cheng Yiyi looked shocked. ¡°Just a little trick,¡± Wang Tao shook his head. In his eyes, it was indeed just a small trick; the dark fog was transient. Although he had dispersed the dark fog for now, it probably wouldn¡¯t take long for it to drift back... ... Cheng Yiyi opened her mouth but then immediately instructed the convoy to move forward and then turned to look at Wang Tao. ¡°How did you do it?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t keep it a secret and explained simply: ¡°These dark fogs are of the Dark Series, and if there are Dark Element Awakeners around, they should be able to control them.¡± ¡°Dark Element Awakeners...¡± Cheng Yiyi was shocked again. Not shocked that a Dark Element Awakener could control the dark fog, but shocked that Wang Tao was actually a Dark Element Awakener. Wasn¡¯t Wang Tao not from the Dark Series? Had he awakened again? Although perplexed, Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t inquire further. She knew the priorities and immediately informed everyone about the fact that a Dark Element Awakener was present via the radio. Radio waves couldn¡¯t be transmitted out of the dark fog, but they could be transmitted within it. Although the distance was greatly weakened, they had also built a base underneath the rift. Cheng Yiyi was passing the message to that base. However, because Wang Tao had cleared the nearby dark fog, she hadn¡¯t broadcast the message for long when she saw the base beneath the rift. The underground base beneath the rift was much larger than the one above ground. It provided supplies and housed numerous tanks, cannons, armored vehicles, and other heavy armaments for defense. After all, the visibility here was too low ¨C taking the offensive could result in friendly fire. ¡°Wang Xiaozhang!¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t even got out of the car when several people in charge came over. They already knew that the increased visibility around the area was related to the Starfire Society, but they weren¡¯t clear it was Wang Tao. Cheng Yiyi hadn¡¯t disclosed that Wang Tao was a Dark Element Awakener; maybe it was his trump card. Wang Tao would certainly say so himself if he wanted to, and there was no need for her to speak out. ¡°Hello everyone! Good to see Commander Shang again.¡± Wang Tao got out of the car and greeted everyone with a smile. The person in charge of the underground base today was Shang Heng, the vice-commander of the Fourth Legion. Cheng Yiyi said it was their turn to guard. The underground base had also installed many high-powered lighting devices; in the presence of the dark fog, these devices could only illuminate a few meters, so a high-powered streetlight was installed every few meters. But now, the place was so brightly lit it almost seemed unreal, and it was the first time they had such a clear view of the surrounding rock walls and cliffs that they were unaccustomed to it... ¡°If we could get rid of all the dark fog here, wouldn¡¯t we be able to explore freely?¡± Shang Heng said, looking at Wang Tao tentatively. ¡°It¡¯s impossible, unless there are many Dark Element Awakeners...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, mentioning that the removal of the dark fog was only temporary. ¡°It¡¯s only temporary...¡± The group felt a wave of disappointment upon hearing this. However, Wang Tao continued, ¡°But among our students, some might have the potential to awaken the Dark Series. If they genuinely have and can awaken it, then we could lend their skills to you later.¡± Wang Tao had brought two hundred students, among whom two had Dark Series Hidden Attributes. If there was a chance for them to awaken later, Wang Tao planned to let them awaken first. After all, visibility was very important in this kind of environment. ¡°Ah? Thank you so much!¡± Shang Heng felt instantly happy. He had seen Wang Tao¡¯s scholarly knowledge; if Wang Tao said there might be Dark Element Awakeners appearing, then the probability was quite high. ¡°It¡¯s not certain yet, let¡¯s talk if other Dark Element Awakeners actually appear.¡± Wang Tao shook his head and then said, ¡°Which areas haven¡¯t been explored? Let¡¯s go straight there.¡± Shang Heng immediately pulled out a map. Calling it a map was generous¡ªit was just a drawing of a base location surrounded by a few arrows. ¡°These arrows indicate where people have gone, the rest is unexplored. You can choose any of them. However, you might still encounter our people in other locations. Make sure to confirm identities in advance, considering the low visibility... don¡¯t end up fighting against your own.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± After taking the map from Shang Heng, Wang Tao turned to Cheng Yiyi. ¡°Besides exploring the cave, another important task for our Six Major Legions is to draw a real map of the cave. Our previous task is yet to be completed, so we can¡¯t join you this time. We¡¯re heading this direction, and you...¡± Cheng Yiyi wanted to ask Wang Tao if that would be alright, since he was taking over two hundred students. But thinking of Wang Tao¡¯s abilities and recalling that there were many Awakener teachers with Wang Tao, she felt that even with the burden of extra people, they probably wouldn¡¯t have any issues. Not to mention these students were carefully selected and were not exactly a burden. ¡°Mm, let¡¯s go here then.¡± Wang Tao picked a spot almost at random and then directly ordered the students to disembark. ¡°Holy shit! What is that!¡± However, when they saw a giant black snake descending from one of the trucks, all the students were startled. Shang Heng and his men became instantly tense. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, this is my little pet, also our school¡¯s ¡®Guardian Beast¡¯...¡± Wang Tao beckoned, and Blacky immediately crawled over to him. Blacky thrived in such dark conditions, and staying at home was a waste; so Wang Tao had brought it along. ¡°Guardian Beast...¡± Both Shang Heng¡¯s soldiers and the students were puzzled. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother explaining any further and just waved his hand. Blacky sped off into the dark ahead. ¡°Follow up!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ... Dispelling the black mist wasn¡¯t very draining, and Wang Tao casually cleared it as they progressed. As they ventured deeper, the mist became denser and moved faster; Wang Tao¡¯s efforts were only temporary before the mist returned. Creating a path devoid of black mist clearly wasn¡¯t feasible. But that wasn¡¯t a big problem, as long as they could see their surroundings. At that moment, Blacky sent a message to Wang Tao, reporting the discovery of three Mutated Plants ahead. ¡°We¡¯ve finally encountered some!¡± Wang Tao instructed everyone to be alert and quickly joined Blacky¡¯s side. He immediately spotted three enormous, black plants that resembled Venus flytraps, quietly affixed to the cave wall, motionless. [HP: 200000/200000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Level: Level 4, Lord] [Awakening: Paralysis Trap] ¡°All Level 4 Lords, we¡¯re in luck...¡± Wang Tao planned to let Ding Yuqin and the others have the opportunity, but decided he needed to test his strength... so his eyes emitted a red glow. Sizz¡ª Two High-Temperature Rays instantly pierced through the three giant flytraps. [-200000] [-200000] [-200000] ¡°...¡± Chapter 1151 - 1151 469 Advanced Essence ?Chapter 1151: Chapter 469: Advanced Essence Chapter 1151: Chapter 469: Advanced Essence ¡°No way, is the damage from the Scorching Eyes that high?¡± Seeing the HP bar of the Tier-4 Mutated Plant Overlord cleared to zero, Wang Tao was very surprised. He knew that the ¡°Scorching Eyes¡± Ability was good, and he also knew that after his Ascension to Level 5, his strength had increased a lot. But this was still a Level 4 Lord with 200,000 HP! What was more, there were three Level 4 Lords! Since they were all lined up against the wall, Wang Tao¡¯s High-Temperature Ray instantly went through all three, killing them in one strike! ¡°Is this the power of a Fifth Order Awakener...¡± Even Wang Tao, who had seen big battles before, was somewhat excited. After all, his ¡°Scorching Eyes¡± Ability was different from his other Abilities; it was Wang Tao¡¯s second Long-range attack ability! The first was ¡°Air Bullet,¡± which wasn¡¯t very powerful, and its effectiveness decreased with distance. As for Abilities like Shockwave, in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, they didn¡¯t count as long-range attacks but more like medium-range. But ¡°Scorching Eyes¡± was different; the thing¡¯s attacking range was far-reaching, and it was undeniably powerful, using Awakening Energy! Previously, Wang Tao always dodged when encountering a Giant Zombie. Not that he was afraid to fight, but because the Giant Zombie was too tall, and his attack range was too close, he couldn¡¯t reach the head of the Giant Zombie... But now, seeing the capability of ¡°Scorching Eyes,¡± Wang Tao felt he might try it next time when encountering a Giant Zombie. And it was not just the Giant Zombies; even if it was a Giant Eagle in front of him, Wang Tao wanted to give it a try! Now that he was Level 5, even though the Giant Eagle could fly, he had a long-range attack with high attack speed and high power. He was fearless! It could only be said that the Giant Eagle had better pray not to encounter him, or else Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be polite. The Giant Eagle had chased him for so long; it was time to pay some interest! ¡°Principal Wang, what happened?¡± At this moment, the Director of Education, Pan Jian, hurriedly came to Wang Tao¡¯s side and asked. Although the surrounding environment was dim, he and the students all saw two faint red glows. ¡°Nothing, just cleared some obstacles.¡± Wang Tao stated indifferently. As he spoke, the black fog was slowly dispersing around them, and the flashlights everyone was carrying began to light up. After they walked forward about ten meters, they saw three Mutated Plants that had already died. ¡°Hss¡ª¡± Although they didn¡¯t know the level of these three Mutated Plants, seeing their immense size and ferocious appearance, they knew they were formidable. Especially in this kind of environment, if one were not careful, death would likely be swift and silent. But these three Mutated Plants were dead, each with a hole the size of a bowl through them as if something had instantly pierced through them, killing them in one strike. Everyone subconsciously looked toward Wang Tao; awe was visible in the students¡¯ eyes. To be able to kill monsters from such a distance in such a dark environment was truly fitting for a principal! And the few teachers who were Fourth-order Awakeners appeared serious. They vaguely felt that these three dead Mutated Plants carried the aura of Level 4, Lords! To kill Level 4 Lords in one strike¡ªand three at once? They knew the principal was strong, but this was somewhat ridiculous. Wang Tao, naturally unaware of others¡¯ thoughts, approached the three Mutated Plants to take a closer look. There were Crystal Cores within these plants¡¯ bodies, all three of Purple Quality and with the same function. [Tier-4 Crystal Nucleus: Nutrient Absorption] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 35% (Side Effect: Body Lignification)] [Nutrient Absorption: Passive Ability, standing on the ground allows the absorption of nutrients from the soil, slowly regenerating HP] Wang Tao had already obtained such Crystal Cores, and he had even fused them with other Abilities; now, it lay within his ¡°Berserk Enhancement¡± Ability, letting him slowly regenerate HP whenever he was on the ground. However, this thing regenerated HP too slowly, not nearly as good as Lan Yulian¡¯s HP increase, or simply kissing Ding Yuqin. So, while it might be nice for others, it was superfluous for him. Besides these three Crystal Cores, a somewhat familiar liquid flowed out from the insides of these three plants. Wang Tao immediately collected it. [Acquired: Advanced Tree Essence Liquid *328] [Advanced Tree Essence Liquid: Can enhance the strength of a creature] ¡°Advanced Tree Essence Liquid?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. He still had a lot of ¡°Tree Essence Liquid¡± in his hands, but they were mostly useless now. Using one dose of ¡°Tree Essence Liquid¡± could increase by 100 HP and 100 Mana, with a maximum of 10 doses at a time, followed by a cooldown period that varies from person to person. This was nice in the early stages, but once a person¡¯s HP exceeded 100,000, ¡°Tree Essence Liquid¡± no longer had any HP increase effect, only a Mana increase. And when Mana also reached 100,000, there was no more Mana increase either¡ªeffectively no effect at all. Moreover, whether it was due to side effects from Crystal Cores deducting the HP limit or Awakening reducing the HP limit, using ¡°Tree Essence Liquid¡± had no effect. Thus, ¡°Tree Essence Liquid¡± was of no use to Wang Tao; he left them for Ding Yuqin and the others to slowly increase their Mana. But now, he obtained ¡°Advanced Tree Essence Liquid,¡± and since it mentioned being advanced, it surely wasn¡¯t the same as the ordinary. Just now, Wang Tao killed these three Mutated Plants and increased his max HP limit by 15,000, now reaching a max HP limit of 45,000, with a Mana limit of 120,000. Chapter 1152 - 1152 469 Advanced Essence_2 ?Chapter 1152: Chapter 469 Advanced Essence_2 Chapter 1152: Chapter 469 Advanced Essence_2 Wang Tao immediately used a portion of ¡°Advanced Tree Essence Liquid¡±, which was sweet and tasty. Then Wang Tao saw his HP limit increase to 46,000 and his Mana limit increase to 121,000! That meant the ¡°Advanced Tree Essence Liquid¡± could not only be used after exceeding 100,000 HP and Mana, but it also increased the limits of HP and Mana by 1000 each! What a great item! Wang Tao continued using it, but after the 11th portion, it stopped having any effect, just like an ordinary essence liquid entering a cooldown period. However, Wang Tao was quite satisfied, as the ordinary essence liquid could only enhance the HP and Mana limits by 1000 at most, but this advanced version could increase it by 10,000. Most importantly, he was able to use it! This item should significantly boost the HP of his colleagues at the Starfire Society! He needed to save more of it! Suddenly, Wang Tao seemed to think of something as he glanced thoughtfully at Li Qiuyu. Before awakening, Wang Tao had her fuse with an Essence of Tree Crystal Core, which could produce Tree Essence Liquid. Now that she had awakened, could she produce ¡°Advanced Tree Essence Liquid¡±? He definitely had to study this once they were back! Besides the crystal cores and tree essence liquid, these three mutated plants had nothing else of value. As for the Loot Pack..., since Wang Tao was no longer killing above his level, they only dropped one pack, which contained a Level 4 Power Crystal Core. ¡°Their crystal cores and this ¡®Advanced Tree Essence Liquid¡¯ are good. The crystal cores¡¯ function is... Advanced Tree Essence Liquid boosts strength, and Fourth-order Awakeners can also use it...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained to everyone about the crystal cores and essence liquids. The committee chose Wang Tao as the principal not because of his strength, but for his extensive knowledge. Wang Tao was not selfish; he tended not to hide knowledge in these educational areas. The students and the teachers lit up upon hearing about the functions of the crystal cores and essence liquids. Especially the essence liquid, it was indeed a valuable item! Right then, Blacky sent a message to Wang Tao, informing him of numerous mutated plants ahead, consisting of Third or Fourth Order Elites and Lords. Wang Tao pondered for a moment, then said to the teachers: ¡°Let¡¯s split up. I will lead a team to scout ahead shortly, and each of you will lead some students to fight these mutated plants. There are plenty of them around here, enough for you to hunt. As per our agreement before departure, 30% of the spoils from this operation need to be turned over to the school for Points, and 70% can be distributed by the lead teachers. You can turn them in for Points, keep them for personal use, or distribute them to the students based on merit... it¡¯s up to you.¡± Wang Tao had established several regulations for the Awakeners School, one of which was that both teachers and students had to hand over part of the spoils from collective outings related to the school, with the school taking up to 50% at most, and at the least, none. Before each activity, the school would negotiate the rules with the teachers in advance; agree to go, stay at home if they disagree, or act on their own. Of course, the school would not exploit these items for free; all the items turned in could be exchanged for personal Points. Points could be exchanged for various items in the school¡¯s treasury, such as crystal cores, weapon equipment, vehicles, powered armor, potions, a chance to work with a certain teacher, or even personal instruction from Wang Tao. The items in this treasury were sponsored by City Hall, Hope Research Institute, the Six Major Legions, and other major powers. Wang Tao and some teachers also contributed. The school conducted a Points assessment periodically involving teachers, students, and other academic staff. If one did not have enough Points, resulting in failure, they could be demoted or even expelled. Those ranking in the top would receive various rewards. This expedition to explore the cave was the school¡¯s first operation since its establishment, and so Wang Tao planned an additional assessment. Teachers would compete against teachers, and students against students. This assessment did not matter much if one failed, as there would be no penalties, but the rewards for top rankings would be substantial. Especially the reward for the first place was enough to make everyone envious¡ªthe principal himself would assist the first-place winner in Awakening. If the first-place winner had already awakened, they could transfer this opportunity to someone else. Since the teachers and students were judged separately, there were two first-place winners. This direct involvement by the principal made teachers and students alike eager to compete. Points were incredibly crucial for them. If they all followed behind Wang Tao, they likely wouldn¡¯t get anything; it was better to split up. The team leaders were all Awakeners, which somewhat ensured their safety. Although safety couldn¡¯t be 100% guaranteed, sometimes luck was part of one¡¯s strength. ¡°Okay!¡± The teachers exchanged glances, all eager to begin. Though they had already awakened, they were unable to produce a second Awakener by themselves; seizing this opportunity would clearly be very profitable. Moreover, these teachers couldn¡¯t help but be compared by the students. If they could secure first place, a large number of students would surely follow them, which would be beneficial for them. So, they had to strive for first place! Then, the teachers began to discuss how to form groups. Their method of assigning students was consistently fifty-fifty¡ªstudents had to hand over fifty percent of their gains to the teachers, who would then submit thirty percent of it to the school, retaining twenty percent for themselves. This was not freeload either, as the teachers needed to ensure the safety of these students. If any student died, they would lose points as well. Of course, if it was just about hunting mutated plants, these students might never manage to benefit, since their highest level was only Level 3, whereas the teachers were all Level 4 Awakeners, and there was a substantial gap in strength. Thus, there was another option for them, which was to collect ores, rare metals, plant fruits, and such... ¡°Principal Wang, what about us?¡± Seeing the teachers and students forming teams, Pan Jian asked quietly. Wang Tao had just said he would take Ding Yuqin and others deeper. Since all the students were assigned to teachers, what about them, the staff? Even though they were not part of the assessment, they couldn¡¯t just stand around doing nothing, right? As for following Wang Tao, they didn¡¯t dare to think about it since they were only Level 3 and would only hold Wang Tao back. ¡°You guys follow the main group and ensure the students¡¯ safety.¡± Wang Tao said. ¡°Uh, well...¡± Pan Jian and the other ten or so staff members were stunned. They were not Awakeners, not even as strong as the students in combat. And they were supposed to take care of the students? It was unclear who would be taking care of whom... However, when Wang Tao pulled out three Iron Beetles and over ten Level 4 Night Demon Hearts, their eyes widened. ¡°Can you manage with these things, or is there a problem?¡± Since Wang Tao had ascended to Level 5, these Level 4 items were useless to him, and giving them to Pan Jian and the others was just right. An Iron Beetle was equivalent to a Level 4 Awakener, and a Night Demon Type 1 was equivalent to half of a Level 4 Awakener, sufficient to protect the students. ¡°No problem! We guarantee to complete the task!¡± Pan Jian and the others were excited. Not to mention the Night Demon Hearts, whose prices had recently skyrocketed to over a million each! The Iron Beetles were even more priceless, and they had never used them before... ¡°Good, I appreciate your efforts. Contact me directly if there¡¯s any emergency.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ... The space within the rift was vast, and after Blacky¡¯s scouting, a large number of mutated plants were found. Wang Tao chose a spot with numerous mutated plants and started slaughtering his way through. However, this time he hardly lifted a finger as there was no over-level killing bonus for defeating a Level 4 Lord, so he left those to Ding Yuqin and the others. At the same time, Wang Tao had each person carry a Level 5 Night Demon Heart. With such a group charging through, those mutated plants couldn¡¯t defend themselves. But the number of mutated plants was overwhelming. Even without much effort from Wang Tao, his HP limit had fully recovered to 190,000 HP, and it was the same for everyone else, restoring them to their peak conditions. As for the loot... A vast amount of Crystal Cores and Essence Liquids made Wang Tao grin from ear to ear. ¡°There are really too many Lords in this rift...¡± Outside, Zombie Lords were rare, but here, Lords were as if they cost nothing, almost every few steps revealed a Mutant Plant Lord... However, these Mutant Plant Lords were all Level 4, just slightly uninteresting. Sizzle¡ª [-220000] Wang Tao blinked and had just killed another Mutant Plant Lord when Blacky sent another message, informing him of a discovered Level 5 Mutant Plant Lord. ¡°Level 5, finally here!¡± Chapter 1153 - 1153 470 Kill the Trumpet Flower ?Chapter 1153: Chapter 470: Kill the Trumpet Flower Chapter 1153: Chapter 470: Kill the Trumpet Flower Moments later, Wang Tao and the others found Blacky. Since there was a Level 5 Lord ahead, Blacky did not dare to go over and had been waiting here. Wang Tao petted Blacky¡¯s head and communicated with it for a bit. It told Wang Tao that up ahead was a large Stone Forest, and it didn¡¯t even know what type of stone it was made of but it was extremely hard; even with Blacky¡¯s strength, it was somewhat indomitable. The Stone Forest was intricate and complex, hiding many Mutated Plants, making it impossible to guard against. Moreover, in the center, there was a Level 5 Mutant Plant Lord. ¡°Weren¡¯t there supposed to be Mutated Animals down here too, why are there only plants?¡± Wang Tao asked curiously. ¡°It probably has to do with the direction we came from. Some areas have Mutated Animals, some have Mutated Plants, and some are mixed with both Mutated Plants and Animals...¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, Han Rui promptly explained. ¡°I see.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then addressed everyone, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯re going in.¡± Wang Tao led the team into the Stone Forest. As they followed Wang Tao¡¯s footsteps, the surrounding black fog began to disperse to each side, while the lights in Wei Zhenguo and the others¡¯ hands slowly emitted a dazzling glow. Hiss¡ª¡ª As the glow spread outward, everyone faintly heard some strange and chilling sounds. It was likely because these underground Mutated Plants had long been in the dark, and they were generally all averse to light. Although they were not as weakened by Ultraviolet Light as the Night Demon, their Attack Speed would slow down if the light shone upon them. This could be considered a weakness. These chilling sounds were obviously emitted by the Mutated Plants feeling the light. ¡°You guys go clear out the other Mutated Plants, I¡¯ll go check out that Level 5 Lord.¡± Wang Tao directly instructed the group. ¡°Okay!¡± The team immediately nodded. No one suggested going to help Wang Tao; after all, on the way here, Wang Tao had fully displayed the meaning of instant kill! Level 4 Mutated Plants didn¡¯t even warrant a second glance from him. A Level 5 Mutant Plant would clearly be no problem for Wang Tao, and if they went along, they might just get in the way. The team quickly dispersed, with Wang Tao riding on Blacky¡¯s head, letting it lead the way. Occasionally encountering some Mutated Plants on the road, they were all instantly slain by Wang Tao¡¯s High-Temperature Ray, leaving them no chance to counterattack. Speaking of which, these underground Mutated Plants were somewhat different from the Mutated Plants Wang Tao encountered on the surface¡ªthe ones on the surface could move, while these underground ones seemed to be rooted in rocks, immobile. To Wang Tao, this was also a weakness. After all, his Ranged Attack was still quite good, and combined with his Perception Ability and Night Vision, he could take out Mutated Plants from a distance, which was especially convenient... It¡¯s not known whether these Mutated Plants could communicate with each other, or if the Level 5 Mutant Plant Lord had a strong Perception Ability, but the moment Wang Tao laid eyes on this Level 5 Plant Lord, he came under Attack. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Watching the Venom Shot that flew toward him, Wang Tao immediately had Blacky retreat. Zizilala¡ª¡ª A few drops of venom fell on the nearby rocks, making a sizzling noise, quickly burning several small pits. ¡°Such potent poison! And it¡¯s a Ranged Attack...¡± Wang Tao frowned, as a Ranged Attack from a Mutated Plant could diminish some of his advantages. However, it wasn¡¯t a big problem. He had Blacky temporarily leave the area to avoid being affected. Whoosh¡ª¡ª More Venom Shots flew towards him, and Wang Tao dodged again. Meanwhile, he looked towards the Mutated Plant nestled in the rock crevice. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 300000/300000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Venom Shot] [Venom Shot: Ejects venom from its body] The plant looked like a Trumpet Flower but was overall dark green in color and quite large. Its large Loudspeaker was aimed right at Wang Tao. Whoosh¡ª¡ª A few more drops of venom flew at him, and as Wang Tao dodged, a red light flashed in his eyes. Zi¡ª¡ª Two beams of scorching red light shot out instantaneously. The High-Temperature Ray was much faster than the venom, and it hit the Mutated Trumpet Flower¡¯s head before the Venom Shot could reach him. [-20378] [-21845] [-22124] [...] [175601/300000] Hiss¡ª¡ª The Mutated Trumpet Flower let out a chilling howl, then retracted its head, avoiding the High-Temperature Ray, and immediately buried itself into the Stone Forest, disappearing from Wang Tao¡¯s sight. ¡°... It ran away?¡± Wang Tao opened his mouth, a bit speechless. He had been all set for a tough battle, but the opponent had fled? However, considering the damage he inflicted... If he were the Trumpet Flower, he would run too... Wang Tao¡¯s [Scorching Eyes] wasn¡¯t a one-off damage Ability, but a continuous damage Ability. As long as there was Awakening Energy supply, it could inflict damage every half second. When he previously attacked the Level 4 Lords among the Mutated Plants, [Scorching Eyes] was fully unleashed, and even a Hundred Thousand Blood opponent could be instantly killed, so there was no sustained damage. This Mutated Trumpet Flower was a Level 5 Lord, its strength naturally incomparable to the Level 4 Lord. Even if Wang Tao still went all out, his High-Temperature Ray only caused about twenty thousand damage to the Mutated Trumpet Flower. But as a continuos output Ability, since it couldn¡¯t instantly kill, it would cause sustained output. And the result of continued output was over twenty thousand damage every half second! Wang Tao just stared at the Mutated Trumpet Flower for two or three seconds, and its three hundred thousand HP was reduced to one hundred seventy-five thousand. If it dared to let Wang Tao look any longer, it would be finished. So it was normal for it to be scared away. If it were Wang Tao, he would run too. Chapter 1154 - 1154 470 Killing the Trumpet Flower_2 ?Chapter 1154: Chapter 470: Killing the Trumpet Flower_2 Chapter 1154: Chapter 470: Killing the Trumpet Flower_2 ¡°` But this mutated plant has legs? Wang Tao immediately signaled Blacky to chase after it. Upon reaching the spot where the mutated trumpet flower had been, Wang Tao found some snake-like trails, with no signs of it being uprooted. ¡°It seems it hasn¡¯t grown legs, instead its rhizome is quite long...¡± Wang Tao followed the trail and soon saw a cave made of rocks ahead. If nothing went wrong, the roots of the trumpet flower should be inside. As he got closer, Wang Tao used his psychic powers to scout and indeed saw the trumpet flower. It was curled up deep inside the cave, its large bell aimed right at the entrance, dripping venom that corroded the hard stone on the ground. Wang Tao was certain that if he went in like this, he would definitely be attacked by countless drops of venom. After a brief thought, Wang Tao took out an ordinary shield from his space backpack without any rush. [Iron Bone Shield] [Rank Four (Excellent)] [Durability +70, Defensive Power +70] Wang Tao had a pretty nice electric shield in hand, but considering the trumpet flower¡¯s venom was highly corrosive, he didn¡¯t want to waste too much durability¡ªdoing so would feel like a loss. So, he opted for any shield just to block attacks. After all, if the trumpet flower could hit him, he could hit back; all he needed was three seconds to kill the opponent! Thus, Wang Tao picked up the Iron Bone Shield and charged directly into the cave. Swoosh¡ª The moment he entered, Wang Tao felt a tremendous force on the shield, obviously from large amounts of venom spraying onto it. The force, of course, couldn¡¯t trouble Wang Tao, but to his shock, the shield in his hand was actually dissolving! In just a moment, only the handle of the shield remained, with its 70 points of durability gone! ¡°What a potent poison!¡± Wang Tao commented, but luckily he was already inside the cave. Dodging drops of venom with agile movements, he accelerated towards the trumpet flower. Sizzle¡ª At the same time, red light glimmered in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, and two high-temperature rays shot out instantly. [-23734] [-23187] [...] Hiss¡ª The mutated trumpet flower let out a desolate howl, its roots moving frantically, whirling throughout the cave. Its movements were too fast, and even the high-temperature rays lost track at times, but for the most part, they were hitting their mark. By the time Wang Tao reached it, its last bit of HP was depleted. [...] [-7345] [0/300000] Phew¡ª Wang Tao rubbed his slightly sore eyes. [Scorching Eye], this ability, though capable of sustained output, had increasingly higher consumption the longer it was used, and the eyes could overheat. Wang Tao had only recently learned the ability, and there was still much room for improvement... Wang Tao looked at the massive mutated trumpet flower. If it were a long-range head-on battle, it would take only seven or eight seconds to kill it; if it were close-quarters combat, Wang Tao was confident he could kill it instantly. After all, many of his techniques were for close combat. But this mutated trumpet flower didn¡¯t just have ranged attacks; its roots were also long and could move freely over a wide area. Coupled with its hiding in a defensible cave, the difficulty of killing it had increased significantly. Nonetheless, the result remained the same, it merely took a bit more time and awakening energy. In general, Wang Tao was still very satisfied with [Scorching Eyes], but he did have a small regret¡ªit was a pure fire attribute ability, unable to trigger the dark attribute¡¯s [Curse] effect. With long-range attacks like these spanning dozens of meters, Wang Tao¡¯s dark attribute abilities could hardly connect. If [Scorching Eyes] had both fire and dark attributes, that would¡¯ve been better... Shaking his head, Wang Tao began to collect the spoils of war from the trumpet flower. ¡°Let¡¯s see what good things there are...¡± Although he hadn¡¯t lost a single drop of blood, maintaining control throughout, the waste of a shield meant there had to be something good to make up for it. ¡°` First, the one Wang Tao had killed was a Level 5, Lord, which counted as overlevel killing for him, so Wang Tao got 2 Awakening Keys and 200 Awakening Energy. Previously, when he killed a Level 4, Lord, he received 1 Awakening Key and 100 Awakening Energy; killing a Level 5, Lord, doubled that. This was just in time as he had also consumed some Awakening Energy and could replenish it. Then there were the actual spoils of war that burst out from the mutated trumpet flower, a total of three items. They were a Crystal Core, a Poison Sac, and its trumpet flower. [Acquired: Fifth Rank Crystal Core¡¤Toxic Defense x1] [Acquired: Strange Poison Sac x1] [Acquired: Toxic Horn Flower x1] Wang Tao had never seen a poison attribute defense crystal core before; it was somewhat similar to the ice attribute defense. [Fifth Rank Crystal Core¡¤Toxic Defense] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: Decreased defense)] [Poison Attribute Defense: Passive Ability, enhances poison attribute defense] This side effect, like the ¡°Body stiffness¡± of ice attribute defense, was unacceptable. If he wanted to fuse it, it was best to remove the side effect. The [Strange Poison Sac] was no different from the ones he had acquired before, all with a one-third chance of obtaining hidden attributes. As for the [Toxic Horn Flower], it was a crafting material. Wang Tao was very curious about what it could make. After storing the actual spoils of war, Wang Tao turned to the Loot Pack. There were only three packs, fewer than Wang Tao had expected. The first was still a Crystal Core Gift Bag, containing a total of 5 crystal cores: a red [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Ascension], an orange [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence], a blue [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Awakening], a purple [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength], and a red [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Defense]. Nothing special about the cores; Wang Tao was a bit disappointed. He had been wondering if he could get a poison system ability crystal core, but no such luck. So Wang Tao opened the second Loot Pack, which contained potions. Seeing the name of the potion made Wang Tao¡¯s eyes light up. [Acquired: Antidote Potion x50] [Antidote Potion: Can neutralize most poisons] This was the first time Wang Tao had obtained an antidote potion, and the description said it could neutralize most poisons! There were many mutated plants in this rift, and a large number of them were poisonous. While Wang Tao was not afraid for himself, others might not be as lucky. With these antidote potions, if any accidents occurred, they should be useful. After storing the potions, Wang Tao looked at the last Loot Pack. [Acquired: Venom Horn Gun Blueprint x1] [Venom Horn Gun Blueprint: Can make a Venom Horn Gun. Required materials: Toxic Horn Flower x1, Fifth Order Crystal Core x1] [Venom Horn Gun: Attributes unknown] ¡°A gun, really?¡± Wang Tao was very intrigued; these kinds of gun blueprints were too rare. He had only previously acquired an Air Bullet Rifle Blueprint and made it for He Jijun to use. That gun was fine, except that it took too long to charge¡ª30 seconds for a single shot, which was less efficient than a Crystal Energy Gun. In those 30 seconds, Wang Tao could slay two Level 5, Lords. Now he had obtained another gun blueprint; Wang Tao wasn¡¯t expecting much, just hoping it wouldn¡¯t take as long to charge as the Air Bullet Rifle. The materials were ready, so Wang Tao immediately started crafting. After a flash of rainbow light, a trumpet gun that was slightly shorter than him appeared in his hand. ¡°...¡± Looking at the two-meter-long gun that was thicker than his waist, which stood upright as a ¡°loudspeaker,¡± Wang Tao was at a loss for words. Could this caliber even count as a gun? [Venom Horn Gun] [Fifth Rank (Excellent)] [Durability +100, Attack power +100, Comes with a poisoning effect (The poisoning effect requires Awakening Energy) Ability: Poison Rain] [Poison Rain: Consumes stored energy to launch a wide range of poison rain] ¡°Hmm? This gun comes with an ability, interesting...¡± Chapter 1155 - 1155 471 Hard Stone ?Chapter 1155: Chapter 471: Hard Stone Chapter 1155: Chapter 471: Hard Stone Although the Venom Horn Gun is called a gun, it¡¯s more like a cannon. Wang Tao picked it up easily with one hand, finding it not heavy at all. Wang Tao studied it for a while, and by the time Blacky arrived, he had roughly figured out how to operate the gun. The firing speed of the Venom Horn Gun wasn¡¯t fast, capable of shooting once every three seconds. But this speed was much faster compared to the air rifle. Unlike the air rifle, however, the Venom Horn Gun needed ¡°bullets,¡± which were Crystal Cores. It was similar to the Crystal Energy Weapons manufactured by the institute, which also used Crystal Cores as ammunition. A Crystal Core could be inserted into the rear of the Venom Horn Gun. Since it was a Level 5 weapon, only a Level 5 Crystal Core could be used. In terms of energy consumption, depending on the quality, a Level 5 Crystal Core could fire 30-60 shots. The higher the quality of the Crystal Core used, the slower the reduction in durability. So, if possible, it was better to use high-quality Crystal Cores. Compared to the two Crystal Energy Guns that Wang Tao held, this Venom Horn Gun was obviously stronger. It fired faster than the Crystal Energy Guns, the bullets were poisonous, and it also came equipped with a ¡°Poison Rain¡± Ability. The Poison Rain ability was interesting, as it would instantly consume all the energy in a Crystal Core, transforming it into venom bullets to fire. That meant if Wang Tao used an orange Level 5 Crystal Core as ammunition, with a total of 60 venom bullets, then when he used Poison Rain, he could instantly fire all sixty bullets. The firepower was estimated to be quite exaggerated¡ªafter all, it would be sixty venom bullets. If he encountered a large monster and managed to hit it with all sixty venom bullets, even a Level 5, monster probably wouldn¡¯t be able to withstand it, would it? Of course, using such a powerful move came with a cost. Firstly, it would instantly consume one Level 5 Crystal Core. Level 5 Crystal Cores were rare and expensive. This wasn¡¯t just shooting; this was literally burning money. Secondly, there was a cooldown period; after using Poison Rain, there would be a one-day cooldown, so this powerful move could only be used once a day. The limitation was quite significant. Finally, and most importantly, the rate of durability consumption would increase for a certain period after using Poison Rain. Wang Tao had not yet found a way to increase durability, which was still very important to him. If the durability consumption accelerated, leading to the gun reaching zero durability and becoming scrapped, that would be somewhat of a loss. So, it was best to use this powerful move at critical moments, and after using it, he shouldn¡¯t continue using the gun but let it rest; otherwise, it might get scrapped... ¡°Lightning, come and eat!¡± Wang Tao called out through the intercom. Moments later, a dark shadow swiftly entered the cave and pounced on Wang Tao. ¡°Eat.¡± Wang Tao petted Lightning¡¯s head, and Lightning immediately opened its mouth wide, swiftly swallowing the Level 5, mutated plant on the ground. ¡°Eh?¡± However, after Lightning swallowed the carcass, Wang Tao suddenly realized that the root of the Venom Trumpet Flower was still there and had a blood bar. He hadn¡¯t seen this while the flower¡¯s carcass had been covering it. [100000/100000] ¡°Could it be that this thing can continue to grow trumpet flowers?¡± If that was true, it would be a good thing indeed! At that moment, Wei Zhenguo and others also hurried over, evidently having heard what Wang Tao just said over the intercom. ¡°Is everyone all right?¡± ¡°We¡¯re fine! We each faced a Level 4, Lord. If there had been any problems, we should just find a block of tofu to kill ourselves with it!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed. Exploring the cave wasn¡¯t child¡¯s play. Although they were confident in their abilities, they weren¡¯t reckless, so even though they had split up from Wang Tao, they had each formed a small team to fight. A few people attacking a Level 4, Lord plant together, especially since the plants didn¡¯t run... it was mostly manageable. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded, then briefly explained what had just happened. ¡°Such a bizarre, mutated plant...¡± Hearing that this mutated trumpet flower could move like a snake made everyone vigilant. And regarding its leftover roots, they shared the same thought as Wang Tao¡ªthat it might grow into another mutated trumpet flower. ¡°Let¡¯s leave it then. I¡¯ll come back and check it later.¡± Wang Tao decided not to destroy this rootstock. He planned to find a large stone to block the entrance to the cave, to prevent others from coming in and interfering with his experiment. But just blocking the entrance wouldn¡¯t be enough; most people have a rebellious mindset: the more you forbid them, the more they want to come in. So, Wang Tao prepared to carve a few words at the entrance, believing that, given his status as a principal, no teacher or student would fail to understand. ¡°You go carve the words, we¡¯ll bring over a stone!¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others began to help. The entrance of the cave wasn¡¯t very large, and since it was deep in the Stone Forest, just covering it with one big stone should work. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao pulled out his Sharp Long Knife and plunged it into a relatively smooth rock face outside the cave. Pft¡ª The tip of the knife pierced the rock face, but Wang Tao¡¯s expression turned rather exciting. Although he hadn¡¯t gone all out, he hadn¡¯t held back much either. For a Fifth Order Awakener¡¯s strike, the fact that the knife tip only penetrated about a centimeter? Something was wrong, these rocks were strange! The rocks were generally gray, cold to the touch, and felt no different from ordinary rocks. But the hardness felt just as strong as the ordinary Level 4 Shields that Wang Tao held! Chapter 1156 - 1156 471 Hard Rock_2 ?Chapter 1156: Chapter 471 Hard Rock_2 Chapter 1156: Chapter 471 Hard Rock_2 Could these stones also be valuable? On the other side, Wei Zhenguo and others found a fairly decent stone. It was big enough to block the entrance of the cave, but its shape was not very suitable, leaving gaps when blocking the entrance. It needed some reshaping. Therefore, Xiang Hongbin volunteered for the job, and a machete popped out of his mechanical arm. The weapons on his body were all made of some advanced alloys by the research institute. If you didn¡¯t consider durability or any attached abilities and attributes, just based on the material and sharpness, his weapons were not inferior to those Wang Tao made from design schematics. A bunch of calculation data appeared in Xiang Hongbin¡¯s blue eyes. Then he raised his arm and aimed at a specific part of the large stone, and thrust the knife down fiercely. According to his calculations, by inserting it there and using skillful strength, he could instantly split the big stone in half. Bang! Clang¡ª¡ª With a dull thud followed by a crisp sound, Xiang Hongbin was dumbfounded as he looked at the long knife broken in two. ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Hearing the noise, the others looked over. ¡°My knife... broke? No, really, is this stone that hard?¡± Xiang Hongbin¡¯s face was full of shock. ¡°The knife broke?¡± Wei Zhenguo and the others quickly gathered around. Seeing Xiang Hongbin pick up the broken knife, not only was the knife broken, but the blade was also chipped. In front of it, the large stone only showed a faint white mark. ¡°...¡± Everyone was similarly stunned by the situation. The battles they had fought before were not long in duration. Moreover, they were aiming at the mutated plants and didn¡¯t pay too much attention to these stones. But unexpectedly, the stone had shattered Xiang Hongbin¡¯s knife! ¡°I¡¯ll give it a try!¡± He Jijun came over with a curved knife, which Wang Tao had given him earlier. Bang! He Jijun quickly made a chop with the knife. This time, the knife didn¡¯t break, nor did the blade chip, but only an approximately one to two-millimeter mark appeared on the stone. A full-strength chop on the stone and only a mark appeared? ¡°There¡¯s something off about this stone!¡± Given He Jijun¡¯s strength, if it were an ordinary stone, his single chop would have definitely shattered it, which made the current situation impossible! The group was baffled, so they hurriedly went to find Wang Tao. Wang Tao had just finished carving a few lines of large characters on the wall. ¡°The inside of the cave is an experimental site, do not enter without permission¡ªWang Tao was here...¡± After Xiang Hongbin read out the characters Wang Tao had carved, he suddenly froze. ¡°Damn! You actually managed to carve such deep, large characters!¡± Xiang Hongbin didn¡¯t doubt that the stone in front of Wang Tao was different from the one they had just encountered because, after all, Wang Tao¡¯s strength was indeed much greater than theirs. ¡°You¡¯ve also noticed, these stones are a bit peculiar. Too hard!¡± Wang Tao first shook his head, then raised his eyebrows. ¡°Perhaps this is a type of ore we don¡¯t know about? If we could make armor out of this stone, the defensive power will likely be very high!¡± ¡°Eh? That¡¯s true! This thing is harder than my knife, if we can make weapon equipment out of it...¡± Their eyes all lit up. They didn¡¯t lack equipment, after all, they were all wearing sets of Level 4, Level 5 Night Demon, but other people at the base still needed it. For example, the students who came out this time were only dressed warmly for cold protection. If we¡¯re talking about defensive power, that¡¯s clearly not enough. If they could all wear this kind of defensive equipment, their combat strength would definitely increase by a large margin... ¡°But then again,¡± said Xiang Hongbin frowning, ¡°this stone is so hard, with our base¡¯s industrial capabilities, can it be processed again?¡± ¡°Put it into the steel furnace and burn it vigorously, it should melt into liquid. Cutting it is just a little inconvenient...¡± said He Jijun, touching the stone. At this moment, Wang Tao suddenly thought of the venom spit out by the trumpet flowers during the battle. That venom, when it fell on the stone, would directly corrode a small pit. If they could get more venom, perhaps they could cut the stones quickly? ¡°Check out this Venom Horn Gun. This thing can shoot out venom that can corrode stone...¡± Wang Tao handed the Venom Horn Gun to everyone, then he went to the stone Xiang Hongbin had found earlier, his eyes emitting a red glow. Sizzle¡ª Two high-temperature rays shot out in an instant, plunging fiercely into the stone. Three seconds later, with a loud bang, the large stone split in two, the cut as smooth as if sliced by a knife. ¡°Good Lord! I had no concept of Wang Tao¡¯s Level 5 strength before, but now I get it...¡± Xiang Hongbin was amazed. The group lifted the smoothly cut stone and blocked the cave entrance. ¡°This stone is lighter than I thought! If this turns out to be a new material that¡¯s both light and highly defensive...¡± ¡°It¡¯s indeed possible. However, the specifics will have to be thoroughly researched.¡± Wang Tao took out his long blade, used the Dark Series energy, and hacked at another stone, quickly obtaining several small pieces of stone. If not using any energy, relying solely on strength and the sharpness of the blade, Wang Tao could carve on the stone, but cutting it was a bit strenuous. After collecting these small cut pieces of stone, Wang Tao led everyone on a stroll through the Stone Forest. He had planned to kill the Fifth-Order Mutant Plant and then cross the Stone Forest to explore deeper because Blacky had told him there was only one Level 5 plant Lord there. But since these stones seemed to be valuable, Wang Tao was in no hurry to leave. He intended to clear all the monsters in the Stone Forest so that there would be no trouble when transporting the stones later. The Stone Forest was larger than Wang Tao had imagined, and it took some time to search the entire area. ¡°These things are really good at hiding!¡± Wei Zhenguo was somewhat impressed. If they didn¡¯t have Wang Tao and Han Rui in the team, many of the mutated plants would have gone unnoticed. If they missed any, it would surely lead to trouble when people came to transport the stones later. ¡°Indeed, although these mutated plants can¡¯t move, they are far too concealed compared to zombies, and even many are disguised. I really don¡¯t understand why they bother with disguises in such a dark environment... They¡¯re really cunning!¡± Xiang Hongbin complained a bit. ¡°But this Venom Horn Gun is ridiculously powerful, worthy of being a Level 5 weapon. Even the Level 4 Lords can¡¯t withstand it!¡± Everyone nodded in satisfaction when they mentioned the Venom Horn Gun. With this gun, as long as they found the position of the mutated plants, they could kill from a distance like Wang Tao. Although the gun¡¯s range and power were not as good as Wang Tao¡¯s, it was still further than everyone else¡¯s. They could enjoy the thrill of long-range sniping. However, there was a drawback: the consumption was too high. Watching the color of the Level 5 Crystal Core on the gun gradually dim, they all felt a bit pained. Of course, after the cleanup, the rewards were quite good and completely offset the consumption. Since Wang Tao was Level 5, there was no longer a reward for killing Level 4 Lords above his level, so he let his teammates have the heads of these mutated plants. A large number of Crystal Cores, Awakening Energy Pearls, and the like burst out, plus the Awakening Keys obtained by teammates, so the overall gains were still decent. The only pity was that some mutated plants would burst out materials that couldn¡¯t be used because they weren¡¯t killed by Wang Tao and there were no corresponding designs. Wang Tao planned to give these materials to Qu Shilin later; she would probably like them... ¡°The Stone Forest has been cleared. I¡¯ve left a mark at the entrance we came through¡ªif anyone else comes by, they should see it. Let¡¯s move on.¡± Wang Tao said to everyone. ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone was getting more and more excited about the Cave. They let Blacky lead the way ahead; in such pitch-black conditions, Blacky was in its element. Soon, Blacky sent another message. ¡°A downward passage has been found? There¡¯s a sense of danger inside?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows immediately shot up. Chapter 1157 - 1157 472 The Second Basement Level ?Chapter 1157: Chapter 472: The Second Basement Level Chapter 1157: Chapter 472: The Second Basement Level Wang Tao and his group arrived at the location mentioned by Blacky. This place resembled a subway entrance, shrouded in darkness so thick that even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t make out what was inside. ¡°Such a deep tunnel, such dense black fog...¡± Wang Tao tried, but he found that he couldn¡¯t control the black fog below from where he stood. Blacky had mentioned a sense of danger, but Wang Tao hadn¡¯t felt it. Thus, Wang Tao looked toward Lightning, who chirped softly a few times at Wang Tao, indicating there indeed was danger below. ¡°It seems my Perception Ability is not as sharp as an animal¡¯s...¡± After pondering for a moment, Wang Tao turned to the people behind him and said, ¡°I¡¯ll go down alone and take a look, you all continue exploring this level.¡± The rift area was vast, and they had only explored a small portion of it; many areas remained unexplored. But Wang Tao wanted to go down and see for himself, so he decided to split up from the group. ¡°...¡± The others exchanged glances, all somewhat uneasy. After all, what lay below was unknown, and they worried about how things might turn out... However, if they were to follow Wang Tao, they might become a burden, given that Wang Tao was already at Level 5 and far surpassed them in strength... ¡°Okay, but be careful! We won¡¯t slow you down...¡± That was all Ding Yuqin could advise. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if there really is some irresistible danger, I will naturally leave.¡± Wang Tao smiled, then added, ¡°Let Blacky stay with you, it can scout ahead. Lightning will come with me; keep all the carcasses from your hunt for Lightning...¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Ding Yuqin nodded. ¡°What about me?¡± Jiang Shixue volunteered. ¡°You stick with the main group too, they need your Night Vision.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After giving some brief instructions, Wang Tao immediately proceeded downward with Lightning. He and Ding Yuqin had Perception Rings, so even if the radio communication failed, they could still communicate through the rings. If anything happened to either party, they could support each other quickly. The reason he took Lightning was that consuming the carcasses of Lords would enhance Lightning¡¯s strength. On their way, Lightning had consumed quite a few carcasses, and there was a high chance of encountering Mutated Plants below, which shouldn¡¯t be squandered. As Wang Tao gradually descended, the black fog below thickened, becoming so dense that Wang Tao was no longer able to easily disperse it like he could previously. However, thanks to his ¡°Dark Attribute¡± and ¡°Night Vision,¡± Wang Tao¡¯s vision could still penetrate the black fog, and although his visibility wasn¡¯t as extensive as on the first level, it was sufficient. Shortly after, Wang Tao finally reached the second underground level. He vaguely began to sense some dangerous aura, and Lightning¡¯s fur bristled. Seeing this, Wang Tao figured that Lightning most likely sensed the aura of a Level 5 Lord. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Wang Tao patted Lightning¡¯s head and communicated briefly with it using his spiritual power. Lightning conveyed a few messages¡ª¡±Level 5, scent.¡± It turned out just as Wang Tao had conjectured; Lightning had indeed detected a Level 5 Lord. It was at Level 4, Lord, so it¡¯s understandable that it was afraid of a Level 5 Lord. Wang Tao didn¡¯t rush to leave; instead, he first tried to communicate with Ding Yuqin and the others via radio. As expected, the radio was out of service. Fortunately, the Perception Rings were within range, and after finding out that Ding Yuqin and the others were all right through the rings, he proceeded further into the depths of the black fog. The second underground level was also primarily composed of massive rocks, though not the same type as those in the Stone Forest, these rocks were much harder than ordinary ones. Besides that, the place was barren; there wasn¡¯t a single Mutated Plant in sight. This left Wang Tao rather speechless; he had assumed the second level would be filled with Mutated Plants just like the first level... However, very soon, Lightning nudged Wang Tao¡¯s hand with its head, indicating something was ahead. Wang Tao cautiously moved forward and a moment later, his eyes lit up. He finally saw a Mutated Plant through his spiritual perception, and it was a Level 5 one. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 300000/300000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Thorns Web] [Thorns Web: Control thorns to capture prey] It was a huge, strikingly beautiful flower, quietly nestled within a flat rift in the rocks, surrounded by numerous dark green thorns that shielded it like a spider¡¯s web. The reason he described it as strikingly beautiful was that, from entering the cave to now, all the Mutated Plants he had seen were either black or dark green, including the previously slain Mutated Trumpet Flower which was also dark green. But this huge flower was blood red, clearly out of place among the other Mutated Plants. Unlike the Trumpet Flower, the perception of this Mutated Red Flower seemed rather weak; when Wang Tao and Lightning approached the thorns, it still didn¡¯t detect Wang Tao¡¯s arrival. If it were the Trumpet Flower, it would have attacked Wang Tao already. ¡°I guess this thing is similar to a spider, and these thorns on the ground are like its web; stepping into the thorn range would definitely alert it...¡± Wang Tao decided not to confront it head-on. Now that he possessed a ranged Attack Ability, he was set on using his advantages. Thus, Wang Tao asked Lightning to stay back, then a red glow emanated from his eyes, and two High-Temperature Rays shot forth instantly. Zzzt¡ª The rays moved incredibly fast. The Mutated Red Flower seemed to sense something but couldn¡¯t dodge in time and was hit instantly. [-31381] [-33485] Chapter 1158 - 1158 472 Underground Level 2_2 ?Chapter 1158: Chapter 472 Underground Level 2_2 Chapter 1158: Chapter 472 Underground Level 2_2 [-34212] Just around a second, the Mutated Red Flower lost nearly a hundred thousand HP! ¡°It has much weaker defensive power than the Trumpet Flower!¡± But before Wang Tao could rejoice, he saw countless thorns suddenly flying up from the ground, immediately blocking the High-Temperature Rays. Although they died as many as came, they indeed blocked the attack. Right when Wang Tao was considering whether to compete with the Mutated Flower using Awakening Energy, a sudden alarm rang out in his mind. Wang Tao instantly jumped to the side, and a large net woven from thorns fell from the sky, landing where he had just been standing. Sizzle¡ª¡ª Although the Thorns Web fell on empty ground, it made a sizzling corrosion noise on the tough stone surface. ¡°Damn!¡± After dodging the attack, more large nets appeared above Wang Tao¡¯s head, seemingly determined to completely ensnare him. Without the luxury of anger, Wang Tao dodged again. While avoiding attacks, he looked at the Mutated Red Flower. Just a few more seconds of looking and the Mutated Plant could be dead. But the gigantic Mutated Red Flower in the distance had vanished, and even Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power could not detect where it went. ¡°Gone?¡± Looking at the continuously falling Thorns Webs from above, Wang Tao immediately shook his head. The Mutated Plant definitely hadn¡¯t left; otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t still be attacking him. Facing an increasing number of large Thorns Webs, Wang Tao decided not to dodge anymore. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Flames suddenly engulfed his body, and those Thorns Webs that landed on him instantly melted. But these Thorns Webs continued to fall on Wang Tao like moths drawn to a flame, including those on the ground which also attacked his position. Wang Tao stood his ground, ignoring these attacks. He mobilized his spiritual power, carefully scanning the surroundings. He needed to find where the Mutated Red Flower was hiding. ¡°Hmm?¡± Suddenly, Wang Tao looked up sharply, and two red High-Temperature Rays shot out from the fire, aimed at the second level¡¯s ceiling! Following the path of the High-Temperature Rays, a vibrant red flower finally came into Wang Tao¡¯s view. Sizzle¡ª¡ª [-32887] [-33281] [-34120] The Mutated Red Flower was hit again for about a second, losing another hundred thousand HP. It twisted its body rapidly, and Wang Tao saw it moving like a snake on the ceiling, tethered by a long root. ¡°Just like the Trumpet Flower...¡± The Mutated Red Flower moved quite fast, and there were many sharp stalactites on the ceiling, providing cover for the Mutated Red Flower to dodge. Even with the rapid attack speed of Wang Tao¡¯s [Scorching Eyes], it was not always possible to keep up. So, Wang Tao decided not to attack the Mutated Flower, but to target the root that was attached to the ceiling! Can you run away from the temple if you can run away from the monk? Sizzle¡ª¡ª The High-Temperature Ray immediately struck the root of the Mutated Flower. Moments later, the thick root was finally severed by the ray. ¡°Damn! This thing is really tough to burn!¡± The time it took for the ray to burn the root, if used on the Mutated Red Flower, it would have been enough to kill it several times over! While Wang Tao was inwardly complaining, he faintly heard a piercing scream, and then saw a huge red flower falling from behind a massive stalactite on the ceiling. Bang¡ª¡ª The Mutated Red Flower hit the ground, its HP was not reduced, but the flower itself wilted significantly. Also, a [Weakness] status appeared below its HP bar. Wang Tao charged towards the Mutated Red Flower, igniting large swathes of thorns along the way. ¡°Keep running, eh?¡± Although the mutated red flower lacked facial features, Wang Tao could sense a hint of violence laced with fear from the blossom. Without further ado, Wang Tao produced a sharp long knife and slashed at the mutated red flower. The flower tried to counterattack, but in its weakened state, it was no match for Wang Tao. After a few strikes, its HP bar was wiped clean. The thorn webs that were still lunging towards Wang Tao instantly fell to the ground. Phew¡ª Wang Tao quickly stowed away his Starfire Prairie. He glanced at his Awakening Energy and immediately felt a twinge of heartache. Starfire Prairie was a major energy hog and even the energy consumption of Scorching Eyes wasn¡¯t low. Together, they had just drained five hundred of his Awakening Energy! Although Wang Tao possessed an upper limit of six thousand Awakening Energy, five hundred might not seem like much. However, the problem was that the automatic recovery rate of Awakening Energy was extremely slow, regenerating only a hundred in 24 hours... Without using an Awakening Crystal Core or an Energy Bead, it would take Wang Tao five days to replenish his energy. This was indeed a cause for stinginess. Of course, after killing a Level 5 Lord, he would gain two hundred Awakening Energy, which was a small consolation for Wang Tao. If the mutated red flower dropped an Awakening Crystal Core along with an Awakening Energy Pearl, that would be perfect... Wang Tao summoned Lightning to help keep watch. Before checking his spoils of war, Wang Tao looked up at the ceiling. He was unsure of the exact thickness between the second and first floors, but from his initial descent, the second floor had a very high ceiling, at least a dozen meters, though the ceiling itself seemed fairly thick, probably more than ten meters. Not only was it thick, its defensive power was high¡ªWang Tao didn¡¯t know how much he had used his High-Temperature Ray on the ceiling, but far from making a hole, the ray couldn¡¯t penetrate deeply and left only a few marks. ¡°This thing is way too hard, much harder than the rocks in the Stone Forest...¡± Wang Tao frowned. If his High-Temperature Ray could only leave some marks, one could imagine the effectiveness of other people¡¯s attacks. It seemed impossible to break through the ceiling by force, leaving only the option to find the correct entrance... After checking again for any dangers in the vicinity, Wang Tao began to examine the spoils of war. The mutated red flower exploded into four physical items. They were a Red Crystal Core, a seed, a fist-sized object as red as an apple, and that big red flower. [Received: Fifth-Order Crystal Core: Mental Defense x1] [Received: Magical Seed x1] [Received: Growth Fruit x1] [Received: Crimson Flower x1] No wonder his damage against this mutated red flower was much higher than against the mutated trumpet flower¡ªit had Defence Abilities for mental defense, increasing mental fortitude but reducing other defenses. As for the Magical Seed, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had obtained a Magical Seed before, and it was that seed that had granted his Hidden Ability of Plant Affinity. Although this Hidden Attribute had since been displaced by the Dark Attribute, Wang Tao was still moved to see it again. [Magical Seed: When planted in the ground, it grows into an Intermediate Monster. When planted in the body, it grants a Hidden Ability] Seeing the properties of the Magical Seed, Wang Tao suddenly felt the urge to plant it. Based on his experience, Levels 1 through 3 were low level, and Levels 4 through 6 were Intermediate Level. The seed said it could grow an Intermediate Level monster, which meant whether a Level 4 or Level 5, it wouldn¡¯t be an opponent for Wang Tao. If it could grow a Level 6... Although Wang Tao had not fought a Level 6 enemy since his Ascension to Level 5, his experience of overcoming a Level 5 at Level 4 led him to believe that at Level 5 now, it would be plausible to overcome a Level 6 too, wouldn¡¯t it? However, Wang Tao was also somewhat uncertain. He put the Magical Seed away to be studied more carefully later. Then, Wang Tao turned his attention to the next spoil of war. [Growth Fruit: Upon consumption, there is a fifty percent chance of increased strength and a fifty percent chance of dying from poisoning] ¡°...¡± Gazing at the tempting fruit, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. Was this thing somewhat insane? A fifty percent chance of being poisoned to death! Forget a fifty percent chance; even a ten percent risk would probably deter most from gambling. After all, this wasn¡¯t just simple poisoning¡ªit was straight-up death. As for this strength enhancement... If it were simply an increase in HP, it would be utterly unnecessary, but if it could trigger an Awakening, someone might be willing to take the risk. Sadly, the description was too vague, and no one would dare to gamble. Chapter 1159 - 1159 473 Instant Kill Level 5 ?Chapter 1159: Chapter 473: Instant Kill Level 5 Chapter 1159: Chapter 473: Instant Kill Level 5 The boost brought by the Growth Fruit was too vague, yet the mortality rate reached a terrifying 50%! Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t use it on himself and his companions, so he decided to take it back to Qu Shilin for research. Wang Tao put away the Growth Fruit and then looked towards the huge red flower. [Crimson Flower: Crafting Material] This was a crafting material, just like the previous hornflower. The previous hornflower gun was pretty good, and Wang Tao was quite excited about what effects this red flower might have. After putting away the physical spoils of war, Wang Tao looked towards the Loot Packs. There were a total of five Loot Packs, which was two more than the previous hornflower. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained five Crystal Cores, including an Orange [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a Red [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotence], and three Purple ones respectively being [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Wood Attribute Enhancement], and [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Wood Attribute Defense]. The last two crystal cores were ones Wang Tao had not seen before. [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Wood Attribute Enhancement] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: Body stiffness)] [Wood Attribute Enhancement: Passive Ability, increases wood attribute damage] This crystal core¡¯s description was similar to one Wang Tao had obtained earlier which enhanced ice attribute, including the side effect. However, one increased wood attribute damage while the other increased ice attribute damage. Currently, neither wood attribute nor ice attribute Awakeners had been seen by Wang Tao, so these were of no use for the moment. [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Wood Attribute Defense] [Quality: Excellent (60%)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: Body stiffness)] [Wood Attribute Defense: Passive Ability, enhances wood attribute defense] The wood attribute defense also seemed pretty good; Wang Tao¡¯s explored cave was filled with mutated plants, possibly wood and poison attributes. If he incorporated this crystal core, it would definitely make things more manageable. The second Loot Pack contained an Awakening Key, and the third Loot Pack contained an Awakening Energy Pearl. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The fourth Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Antidote Potion x50] [Antidote Potion: Can neutralize most poisons] ¡°More antidotes, nice!¡± Although there were no blueprints for producing antidotes, dropping fifty antidote potions at once, coupled with the earlier ones, made for a total of 100. Should any emergencies arise, they would definitely prove handy. The last pack contained blueprints. [Obtained: Crimson Flower Ring Blueprint x1] [Crimson Flower Ring Blueprint: Can craft a ring, required materials: Crimson Flower x1, Level 5 Crystal Core x1] [Crimson Flower Ring: Attributes unknown] ¡°Whoa? It¡¯s actually a blueprint for a ring!¡± Seeing the name on the blueprint, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The drop rate for jewelry blueprints was very low, he had thought it might be a weapon or armor or something. Wang Tao immediately took out the crystal core to start crafting. A burst of multicolored light flourished, the huge red flower swiftly shrank, and a ring embedded with a small red flower appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°Got to say, it¡¯s quite good-looking...¡± The ring¡¯s appearance was quite fetching, but clearly not quite suitable for a man to wear, especially given Wang Tao¡¯s burly build, it felt quite out of place. [Crimson Flower Ring] [Level 5 (Excellent)] [Ability: Capture Net] [Capture Net: Consumes stored energy, shoots a capture net] The ring¡¯s function was simple, featuring only one built-in Ability that seemed pretty decent... Wang Tao wore the ring on his hand and carefully researched it. The ring, like the hornflower gun, was integrated with its own Ability, which required powering up with a crystal core before use. Wang Tao placed a Level 5 Crystal Core on the ring, and it was immediately absorbed by the small red flower on the ring, giving him access to the Ability. He raised his hand, aiming it toward a large rock over ten meters away, and mentally commanded the use of the poison net. Whoosh¡ª A small black dot shot out from the red flower on the ring. The dot rapidly expanded upon leaving the ring, turning into a giant black net in the blink of an eye. Then... With a slap, the giant net landed about five meters from Wang Tao, still five meters away from the stone. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s a close-range weapon...¡± Wang Tao was instantly speechless; for him, a five-meter attack range was practically melee range. If it had been a long-range capture net, it would definitely have been great. But a close-range net, huh? Dangerous for others, but for Wang Tao, close enough for many slashes... Wang Tao carefully examined the net; it seemed to be composed of tendrils, with some sticky liquid but no toxins. It was a harmless capturing ability, and with a cooldown of 10 minutes after use, it could only be used once in a short time... hence, the capture net¡¯s ability was far inferior compared to the mutated red flower¡¯s Awakening. However, that was understandable, as one was an Ability inherent to the equipment and the other was an Awakening; they weren¡¯t really comparable. Wang Tao planned to see who liked the ring and would gift it to them since he didn¡¯t need it himself. ¡°Woof~¡± At that moment, Lightning had finished devouring the mutated red flower¡¯s stone and gently called out to Wang Tao. Seeing Lightning¡¯s HP had increased by one level, Wang Tao patted its head. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Ensuring nothing was left behind, Wang Tao continued forward with Lightning. Chapter 1160 - 1160 473 Instant Kill Level 5 - Part 2 ?Chapter 1160: Chapter 473: Instant Kill Level 5 ¨C Part 2 Chapter 1160: Chapter 473: Instant Kill Level 5 ¨C Part 2 Meanwhile, he contacted Ding Yuqin through the Perception Ring, briefly explaining the situation with the Mutated Red Flower they had just encountered to prevent them from running into the same monster without knowing how to deal with it. Ding Yuqin also updated Wang Tao on their situation. Under Blacky¡¯s lead, they had hunted quite a few Level 4 Mutant Plant Lords and had not encountered any Level 5 creatures so far; all was going well. Ding Yuqin also told Wang Tao that they had obtained quite a few Poison Sacs, which might indeed yield a substantial number of Awakeners in time. As for the Miraculous Seeds that Wang Tao had mentioned, they hadn¡¯t produced a single one, which was a bit disappointing... ... Some time later, Lightning detected the presence of a Level 5 Lord¡ªand not just one! ¡°Could it be that the second floor is all Level 5 Lords?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat puzzled, but for him, this was a good thing. He immediately held his breath and concentrated, following cautiously behind Lightning. Minutes later, Wang Tao¡¯s gaze suddenly sharpened. Far off, two Level 5 Lords that resembled intertwining tree roots were coiled together, their vast size nearly touching the ceiling. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 300000/300000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Resilience] [Resilience: All basic attributes enhanced, significantly increased Strength and Defense] The attributes of these two Level 5 Lords were identical¡ªMutated Plants with a System Awakening. From their thick, twisted forms, Wang Tao could feel their formidable strength. However, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but grin. If it were a Giant Awakening, he might have given it some respect. But if it were the relatively Ordinary ¡°Resilience¡± in Wang Tao¡¯s view, then he was sorry. Even if there were two Level 5 Lords, they both still had to die! Wang Tao signaled Lightning to hide aside, his eyes emitting a red glow, as two scorching beams shot out instantly. ZZZT¡ª [-11293] [-11374] [-11651] [...] The high-temperature rays struck the first Mutant Plant, its body producing damage exceeding 10,000 every half-second. Wang Tao was prepared for this damage. After all, their Awakening had boosted their Defense, so it was normal for the damage to be lower. BOOM¡ª After being struck, the two Mutant Plants writhed their bodies and, like snakes, began to crawl toward Wang Tao. Despite their large size, their speed was not slow at all. Even as Wang Tao rapidly retreated, the distance between them closed. In just over ten seconds, both Mutant Plants had shattered countless rocks and were upon Wang Tao. But their large size made it very difficult for them to avoid Wang Tao¡¯s ray attacks. As the slightly faster Mutant Tree Root reached Wang Tao, its blood bar dropped to zero. BOOM¡ª Watching its companion fall, the remaining Mutant Tree Root seemed to grow even angrier. It raised its huge body like a collapsing building, pressing down on Wang Tao. After killing the first Mutant Tree Root, Wang Tao quickly deactivated the [Scorching Eye]; the Ability was wonderful, but its endurance was not so great. Otherwise, the discomfort in his eyes was secondary; the main issue was the unsustainable consumption of Awakening Energy. It would be a loss if he expended too much energy hunting Mutant Plants. So, after retracting the [Scorching Eyes], a Sharp Long Knife immediately appeared in his hand, a blacker than black mist emanating from it. Wang Tao raised the long knife, not dodging or avoiding, clashing head-on with the massive Mutant Tree Root. BANG¡ª A thunderous explosion, the black mist boiled. A black Shockwave emanated in a circular pattern from where they collided, instantly scattering the black mist. A seemingly diminutive figure stood erect, lifting the body of the Mutant Tree Root with the long knife embedded within it! [-15022] [-1502] [-1502] [...] [Curse: Weakness] This strike utilized Dark Attribute Energy, and with the enhancement of the Dark Night Bracelet (Dark Attribute Attack +20), a damage of fifteen thousand was quite normal. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, this first strike triggered the Curse: Weakness. The Curse: Weakness was more effective against stronger enemies. For example, this Mutant Plant clearly seemed to be losing its strength in holding against him. Therefore, Wang Tao withdrew the knife and rapidly moved to the side. Boom¡ª The body of the Mutated Tree Root finally fell, stirring up a field of rubble. Wang Tao casually threw a Shockwave, pulverizing the stones that sprayed towards him and the momentum was unabated as he struck the Mutated Tree Root. [-12283] [Curse: Execute] Seeing this prompt, Wang Tao opened his mouth; this was equivalent to the Mutated Tree Root losing sixty thousand HP within three minutes! [Slaying: Die if current HP falls below 20% of the total HP] His luck was too good, having struck the Mutated Tree Root twice¡ªwith one weakness curse and one slaying curse... The Mutated Tree Root smashed towards Wang Tao again. Wang Tao disappeared in an instant, causing the Mutated Tree Root¡¯s attack to miss yet again. Then, a dark streak flashed by, and somehow, Wang Tao appeared on the Mutated Tree Root¡¯s body. Holding the knife with one hand, he chopped at the Mutated Tree Root at an extreme speed, and with his other hand, a Fireball appeared. The Mutated Tree Root twisted its body madly, trying to shake Wang Tao off. The surroundings rumbled as if an earthquake were taking place. But Wang Tao was stuck onto the Mutated Tree Root like nails. It was uncertain how many times he had swung his blade when the Mutated Tree Root finally flung him off. He calmly adjusted his position mid-air and then tossed the charged Fireball in his hand. Boom! [-23347] A damage of over twenty thousand appeared. The damage wasn¡¯t very high, but the explosion covered a wide area, engulfing most of the Mutated Tree Root¡¯s body and causing many parts of it to ignite. As the flames continued to burn, the Mutated Tree Root¡¯s HP slowly decreased. When Wang Tao lightly landed with the tips of his toes on the ground, the HP of the Mutated Tree Root just happened to be burned down to below sixty thousand. Crack¡ª The struggling body of the Mutated Tree Root suddenly stiffened. [-59826] [0/300000] A number close to sixty thousand floated up from its head; the HP bar of the Mutated Tree Root was cleared to zero, and it fell down with a rumble. ¡°So that is a Slaying Curse...¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. The Mutated Tree Root had a total of three hundred thousand HP, and the slaying threshold was sixty thousand. As long as its HP dropped below sixty thousand within three minutes, it would conveniently be killed instantly. ¡°Pretty nice!¡± Wang Tao hurried over to collect his spoils of war. In approximately a minute, he had dealt with two Level 5 Mutant Plant Lords. It would be hard to believe if he told anyone. It had to be said, after ascending to Level 5 and undergoing three Awakenings, his combat power had completely transformed when compared to before. Wang Tao was now eagerly looking forward to encountering Sixth Rank Lords... The bodies of the two Mutated Trees were both very large, so it took Wang Tao a little time to find the loot. After Lightning swallowed the two corpses, he didn¡¯t immediately check the spoils of war but instead turned his gaze to where the two Mutated Trees had been standing. There was a dark cave entrance beside the rootstalks of the two Mutated Trees. This cave entrance was completely blocked by the two Mutated Trees; had he not killed them, let alone entering, one might not have even seen it. Wang Tao called Blacky over. ¡°Are there any enemies inside?¡± Blacky shook its head, not smelling the scent of other creatures. ¡°Hmm.¡± Although Blacky indicated there was no danger, Wang Tao was still very cautious. He carefully approached the entrance of the cave, but didn¡¯t go straight in. First, he used his spiritual power to scout and make sure there was no danger at the entrance. Once confirmed, he cleared out all the dense black fog inside the cave so thick he could barely see clearly. ¡°Uh?¡± Surprised by what he saw inside, Wang Tao was momentarily astonished. The space within the cave wasn¡¯t large and without the black fog, it was all visible at a glance. In the center of the cave lay a huge and exquisitely crafted wooden chest! Why would something like this be in a cave? Could it be... someone had been here before? Chapter 1161 - 1161 474 Wooden Treasure Chest ?Chapter 1161: Chapter 474: Wooden Treasure Chest Chapter 1161: Chapter 474: Wooden Treasure Chest Seeing the exquisitely crafted wooden chest over a meter tall in front of him, Wang Tao didn¡¯t even have time to be surprised before he saw a name slowly appearing on the chest! [Ordinary Treasure Chest] It actually has a name! Wang Tao¡¯s gaze immediately sharpened. He had been considering whether to bring the chest up to the first floor and open it after meeting up with Ding Yuqin and the others; after all, nobody knew what was inside, and it was always right to be cautious. But seeing that the chest actually had a name, and it was called a ¡°Treasure Chest,¡± Wang Tao immediately changed his mind. Since it said ¡°Treasure Chest,¡± there should be some good things inside... right? There were two fixed clasps on this huge wooden chest. As soon as Wang Tao touched them, he heard a click, and the chest automatically opened. Swish¡ª A faint white light emanated from the chest, making Wang Tao instinctively step back. A second later, the white light disappeared, and a huge tree root appeared before him; he had no idea what kind of tree it was, but it seemed to glisten with a hint of metallic sheen. Next to this root, there was a wooden sign that read ¡°Fifth Order Weapon: Ironwood Guardian¡±! And this root also had a name¡ª [Fifth-Rank Weapon: Ironwood Guardian] [HP: 1000000/1000000] [Status: Dormant] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Auto Defense] [Compatibility: 0%] [Independent Attack: Can carry out attacks on its own following the master¡¯s commands] [Auto Defense: Can automatically defend against attacks following the master¡¯s commands] This was a Level 5 Biological weapon! But it seemed that this biological weapon didn¡¯t require a Crystal Core to increase its health points; its HP was already maxed out at an astonishing one million! A biological weapon with one million health points, and at Level 5! Its strength must be even higher than the two Mutated Tree Roots that Wang Tao had just killed! After all, those roots only had three hundred thousand HP. As for the Night Demon, also a Level 5 weapon... it would probably get completely outmatched! After all, the Night Demon Type 2 had a maximum HP of only two hundred thousand; the gap was too large in comparison... Wang Tao felt a slight excitement in his heart. He originally thought that he no longer needed any biological weapons with his current strength, but if it was the ¡°Ironwood Guardian,¡± Wang Tao felt that he could use it! Wang Tao immediately picked up the [Ironwood Guardian] and fed it a Level 5 Crystal Core. The compatibility of a biological weapon was increased using Crystal Cores, which could be thought of as the energy of the biological weapon. If the compatibility was gone, it couldn¡¯t be controlled. Regardless of the weapon¡¯s level, it could only integrate Crystal Cores of its own level or two levels below. For example, this Level 5 [Ironwood Guardian] could only merge with Level 5, Level 4, and Level 3 Crystal Cores. Crystal Cores higher than Level 5 and lower than Level 3 were not compatible. A Level 3 Crystal Core could increase its compatibility by 1%, a Level 4 Crystal Core by 10%, and a Level 5 Crystal Core by naturally 100%. Theoretically, it was more cost-effective to fuse with lower-level Crystal Cores, since high-level cores generally come at a premium. But Wang Tao urgently wanted to know the [Ironwood Guardian]¡¯s strength, so he didn¡¯t economize and used a Level 5 Crystal Core straight away. Then the root of the [Ironwood Guardian] writhed and swallowed the Level 5 Crystal Core that Wang Tao was holding in his hand. Moments later, the compatibility of the [Ironwood Guardian] reached 100%. Wang Tao issued a command to it. ¡°Independent Attack!¡± Swish¡ª As the huge root landed, its roots rapidly grew underground and its body began to enlarge. Seconds later, a monster that looked like a super-sized serpent, emanating a metallic sheen all over its body, appeared before Wang Tao. Next to it, Blacky would probably look no different than a toy! ¡°It¡¯s huge!¡± ¡°Woof~¡± The [Ironwood Guardian]¡¯s appearance was somewhat similar to the two Mutant Root Lords Wang Tao had just killed, but the Ironwood Guardian¡¯s body was larger and emitted a stronger sense of oppression. Its strength was definitely superior to that of the mutated tree roots! Looking at such a giant, Wang Tao was thrilled. But soon, the smile on Wang Tao¡¯s face disappeared. ¡°Damn it! It can¡¯t move!¡± When Wang Tao issued the move command, he discovered it couldn¡¯t be executed. It was only then that he realized something as he looked down, noticing the sprawling roots embedded in the ground beneath his feet. ¡°Damn...¡± Wang Tao was immediately frustrated. If it couldn¡¯t move, then this [Ironwood Guardian] was somewhat useless! He couldn¡¯t just lure the monsters over, could he? By that time, Wang Tao himself would have already resolved the issue... While internally grumbling, Wang Tao didn¡¯t forget to continue commanding the [Ironwood Guardian] to see its attack power and to understand what this auto defense meant. Boom boom boom¡ª As the [Ironwood Guardian] thrashed its body, the rocks around it, including the cave it was previously in, were all destroyed in an instant... In the midst of such rampant destruction, Wang Tao became more familiar with the [Ironwood Guardian]. He had one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. The good news was that the [Ironwood Guardian]¡¯s physical attack was incredibly powerful. Even those stones which were somewhat troublesome for Wang Tao were quickly smashed to pieces with the [Ironwood Guardian]¡¯s body! In terms of strength alone, it must be the second most powerful creature that Wang Tao had seen to date, even greater than the Level 4 Giant Zombies. The Giant Eagles held the top spot, but they were Giant Awakenings and were in a league of their own. The bad news: not only could the [Ironwood Guardian] not move, but reactivating it required a 24-hour cooldown! Chapter 1162 - 1162 474 Wooden Treasure Chest_2 ?Chapter 1162: Chapter 474: Wooden Treasure Chest_2 Chapter 1162: Chapter 474: Wooden Treasure Chest_2 Wang Tao had just been thinking that he would carry the [Ironwood Guardian] on him after it finished battling, and throw it into the fray when needed. This might have helped with its inability to move. But now it seemed impossible. After he retrieved the [Ironwood Guardian], he wouldn¡¯t be able to use it again for 24 hours. In other words, moving the [Ironwood Guardian] required a 24-hour cooldown... This was really frustrating; Wang Tao¡¯s idea to exploit a bug was futile... As for the two enhancement attributes of the [Ironwood Guardian], Wang Tao also tested them out. ¡°Independent Attack¡± was no different from other biological weapons; it had a certain ability to fight on its own, but it wasn¡¯t strong. It was much better to issue commands to them constantly, effectively controlling them, which could then significantly increase their potential. The enhancement called ¡°Auto Defense¡± was quite interesting though. Once activated, it didn¡¯t need to be operated by someone. One just needed to issue an auto-defense command and tell it who the enemies were. It would then automatically defend within its attackable range. For example, if Wang Tao told it that zombies were the enemy, then if both zombies and humans appeared within its attack range, it would only attack the zombies and not the humans. Of course, one could also choose not to tell it who the enemies were. In that case, it would enter a ¡°defensive counter-attack¡± mode, responding only if someone attacked it. If no one attacked it, it wouldn¡¯t initiate an attack on anyone. ¡°So, even though it¡¯s strong and has high attack power, it¡¯s actually a defensive weapon. It¡¯s not suitable for taking into battle, but placing it at the base entrance to defend against zombies is a really good idea...¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. It was a bit of pity; if it could move freely, or even just without a cooldown, it would be a great help to Wang Tao now. Sadly, that was not the case... But it didn¡¯t matter; after all, this was something he had obtained for free. Having it was good enough, so Wang Tao wasn¡¯t picky. He turned to see if he could put the [Ironwood Guardian] at the entrance of the base. There were four main gates to the base, and the gates definitely didn¡¯t have as much defensive power as the high walls. If he could place it at the doorway, it would surely enhance people¡¯s sense of security. Alternatively, placing it at the entrance of the Awakeners School as a mascot could also be an option. After all, not only was it strong, but its appearance was also extravagant, the kind that one look would tell you it was powerful ¨C very fitting for the stature of the Awakeners School... ¡°Come back.¡± Wang Tao gestured, and the body of the [Ironwood Guardian] immediately began to shrink, turning back into the wooden stake it was before within a few seconds. At the same time, a 23-hour countdown appeared for the cool-down time. Only when the countdown ended could it be used again. Wang Tao put the [Ironwood Guardian] into the Space Backpack, relieved to see that the countdown continued inside. If the countdown stopped while in the Space Backpack, carrying around such a massive tree root would greatly impede combat. After securing the [Ironwood Guardian], Wang Tao then contacted Ding Yuqin to inform her of the Treasure Chests. If they encountered caves, they should check them out if they were safe; if the caves were dangerous, they should just mark the coordinates, and Wang Tao would head over later. While talking to Ding Yuqin, Wang Tao also checked the spoils of war from the two Mutated Tree Roots he had just killed. These two roots had similar appearances, and the spoils they dropped were almost the same. They were stingy, though, with very little loot dropped. Apart from a dozen repetitive Crystal Cores and two Awakening Energy Pearls, all that was left were crafting materials and blueprints. Wang Tao had hoped that these two might drop an [Ironwood Guardian], but unfortunately, they did not. Of course, they weren¡¯t quite the same as the [Ironwood Guardian] and might not even be of the same species. As for the two blueprints dropped by the Mutated Tree Roots, although they were identical, their attributes were quite good. [Obtained: Giant Wood Shield Blueprint x2] [Giant Wood Shield Blueprint: Can be used to craft a huge wooden shield. Required materials: Giant Wood x1, Level 5 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x50, Nails x50, Rubber x50, Screw x50, Steel Wire x50] [Giant Wood Shield: Attributes unknown] Wang Tao had plenty of materials on hand, so he decided to craft it immediately. After a burst of rainbow light, a huge shield appeared in front of Wang Tao. ¡°...¡± Staring at the two shields that were each as tall as a three-story building, Wang Tao was a bit dumbstruck. How was he supposed to carry this thing? The position of the giant shield handle was even taller than Wang Tao. He could only reach it by jumping¡ªoh no, rather, by hugging it. And after embracing the Shield, Wang Tao¡¯s feet left the ground ¡ª he simply couldn¡¯t exert any force... ¡°This is just a huge toy... Or perhaps, is this something Giants use?¡± Wang Tao found he couldn¡¯t use the Shield at all and instantly felt rather frustrated, especially since the Shield had such strong attributes. [Giant Wood Shield] [Fifth Rank (Excellent)] [Durability +400, Defense +400] The Giant Wood Shield didn¡¯t have any fancy attributes, just two ¡ª Durability 400 and Defense 400! Previously, the Durability of the Sturdy Blast-Resistant Set he obtained was also 400, but that was for a set of Equipment, while this Shield¡¯s Durability was for a single piece, which was a completely different concept. As for that 400 Defense, it was the strongest defensive power Wang Tao had ever seen! Before this, the highest defense was from the sturdy set at 300 points, and this Shield¡¯s defense increased by a third! Moreover, the key point was that the Shield had no side effect of slowing the user down! Unfortunately, the Shield was too big for Wang Tao to use... ¡°Maybe I can use this Shield while in the Armed Iron Beetle state? I¡¯ll have to try it out later...¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao stored the Shield in his Space Backpack. He had given all his Iron Beetles to the others, so he couldn¡¯t test it out right now. After collecting all the spoils of war, Wang Tao continued on his path without stopping, still letting Lightning lead him to hunt Mutated Plants within. Not long after, Lightning gave Wang Tao another precognition warning. ¡°Is that another whiff of a Level 5 scent? Hmm? No? Is it the scent of a Treasure Chest? Let¡¯s go!¡± Led by Lightning, Wang Tao witnessed yet another huge Treasure Chest! However, this Treasure Chest was not made of pure wood, but a combination of wood and an unknown metal material. [Fine Treasure Chest] Seeing the name of this Treasure Chest, Wang Tao pondered. The previous one was an Ordinary Treasure Chest, and this one was a Fine Treasure Chest, which suggested that there were different qualities of Treasure Chests, probably similar to the Crystal Cores, including Ordinary, Fine, Excellent, Exceptional, and Epic. The higher the Quality of the Treasure Chest, the better the objects it was likely to contain. However, this Treasure Chest was not inside a cave, but on a mound in the middle of a lake. Yes, there was actually a lake here! Before Lightning came, it had not detected the scent of a Level 5 Lord, only that of a Treasure Chest. But now, Lightning was rubbing Wang Tao¡¯s hand quickly, informing him there seemed to be some danger in this lake. In fact, Lightning didn¡¯t need to remind him, because the water in this lake was an inky green color, and it emitted a faint green gas on the surface... It was obviously not a proper lake. Wang Tao approached the edge of the lake and first used his spiritual power to detect if anything was lurking in the water near the shore. After confirming there was nothing, he donned the Sturdy Blast-Resistant Set. Although the suit slightly reduced his Speed, it offered strong Defense. Once he put it on, he instantly felt an overwhelming sense of safety. Then Wang Tao took out an Antidote he got after killing a Fifth Order Mutant Plant Lord... After confirming there were no issues, Wang Tao then lifted his feet and slowly approached the lake. [-1000] Wang Tao hadn¡¯t even entered the water yet; as soon as he came into contact with the poisonous gas at the edge of the lake, his HP began to drop. Chapter 1163 - 1163 475 Storage Treasure Box ?Chapter 1163: Chapter 475 Storage Treasure Box Chapter 1163: Chapter 475 Storage Treasure Box As he watched his HP drop by 1,000 every second, Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. Thankfully, he had plenty of HP, 190,000, which should last him about three minutes. His only concern was whether the poison would intensify as he ventured deeper into the lake... [-1200] [-1300] [...] ¡°Damn! Whatever I feared has happened!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s complexion turned grim as the toxicity increased once he entered the water. As he moved closer to the center of the lake, his HP dropped even more rapidly. Initially, he was meant to last three minutes, but looking at the situation now, it was uncertain if he could even last one minute. The lake¡¯s water was viscous, reducing Wang Tao¡¯s speed by over ninety percent, making him as slow as a normal person. At this pace, he might make it across in a minute, but definitely not back; it would take at least two minutes... After a brief thought, Wang Tao immediately took out an Antidote Potion and injected himself. If the Antidote was effective, all would be well. However, if it was ineffective, he still had time to turn back. Although the Antidote was said to remove most toxins, considering the persistent nature of the toxin and his continued immersion in the toxic water, it was hard to say if it would work... Pffft¡ª With a soft sound, Wang Tao felt a wave of relief, as though something filthy had been washed away. Wang Tao saw that his poisoned status had disappeared, replaced by a new status¡ª [Poison Immunity: Immune to most toxins for 3 minutes, remaining time: 2 min 59 sec] ¡°It worked! And I even got a three-minute poison immunity status!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed; three minutes was enough time for him to swim there and back. Soon, Wang Tao swam smoothly to the center of the lake, where nothing unexpected happened. There was a small mound rising above the water at the center, and the treasure chest was placed right in the middle of this mound. As he drew closer, Wang Tao noticed that this Fine Treasure Chest was slightly larger than the Ordinary Treasure Chest he had seen before. He prepared to open the treasure chest directly, but to his surprise, he found that the Fine Treasure Chest was locked. Wang Tao had learned lock-picking techniques from someone before and was skilled with most locks, though he rarely used them now. Still, he habitually carried one or two lock-picking tools with him. Given some time, he felt he could open the chest. However, since it was unsafe here, Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t afford to waste time. So, Wang Tao tried lifting the chest, only to find he couldn¡¯t move it! It wasn¡¯t that the chest was too heavy, rather it seemed to be rooted to the ground. Wang Tao then tried to store it in his Space Backpack, as this treasure chest had a name, but he couldn¡¯t stow it either. [Treasure Chest not unlocked, cannot be stowed] ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat uncomfortable. But being no man of hesitation, since he couldn¡¯t take it with him, he decided to open it then and there. After all, he still had plenty of Antidote Potions, which could be used continuously without cooldown. Wang Tao immediately took out his lock-picking tools and reached for the chest¡¯s lock, about to try his hand at picking it, when he suddenly paused. Because when he touched the lock, the Light Point representing the Ordinary Awakening Key in his mind fluttered to life. He faintly felt that inserting the Light Point into the keyhole would unlock the chest. ¡°...So, the key to this Fine Treasure Chest is the Awakening Key?¡± Wang Tao was confused, but since the basic nature of the Awakening Key was also a key¡ªmeant to unlock Awakenings¡ªit made sense that it could unlock other things. Not dwelling on this, as he had plenty of Awakening Keys on hand, Wang Tao acted on his thought. An Awakening Key flew out of his body and directly entered the lock on the chest. Click¡ª The Fine Treasure Chest opened. Inside the massive chest was only one item, about the size of a broad bean, which seemed somewhat incongruent. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t intended to look closely, but he recognized the item. ¡°It¡¯s actually this...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised and immediately placed the item into his Space Backpack. He then tried to lift the treasure chest again but still couldn¡¯t lift it. However, this time the feeling was different as he could sense the weight of the chest. Thus, Wang Tao exerted force with both hands, his muscles bulging. ¡°Lift!¡± And the treasure chest... merely created a small gap from the ground. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was speechless; this thing was still so heavy, it felt like it was suctioned to the ground... Given some time, he might have been able to lift the chest, but since he was in the middle of the lake, to avoid any accidents, Wang Tao immediately abandoned the idea of forcefully lifting it and opted to use the Space Backpack instead. Whoosh¡ª The treasure chest vanished instantly, reappearing inside Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao felt foolish; doing this earlier would have saved so much trouble! Shaking his head, Wang Tao made sure there was nothing else in the vicinity besides the chest, then plunged into the water and swam towards the shore. Before the effects of the Antidote wore off, Wang Tao successfully reached the shore. Lightning, looking somewhat anxious from a distance, called out quietly to Wang Tao. ¡°I¡¯m alright!¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, then found a large rock nearby and moved it to the lake¡¯s edge. He then took out his Sharp Long Knife and carved a few lines into the stone¡ªThe lake water is poisonous, the deeper you go, the stronger the poison. Additionally, the water significantly reduces mobility speed. Do not enter! Chapter 1164 - 1164 475 Storage Treasure Box_2 ?Chapter 1164: Chapter 475 Storage Treasure Box_2 Chapter 1164: Chapter 475 Storage Treasure Box_2 He had already discovered the danger of this place, and with no way to destroy it at the moment, the only solution was to leave a warning, to prevent others from coming here and unwittingly losing their lives. After getting back onto land, Wang Tao¡¯s speed had returned to normal. He appeared in front of Lightning in an instant, patted Lightning¡¯s dog head and said, ¡°We¡¯re going back to the place where we found the treasure chest. You remember the way, right?¡± ¡°Woof~¡± Lightning immediately grew in size and carried Wang Tao as they ran back. Previously, Wang Tao had only taken the items from an ordinary treasure chest and hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the chest itself, but from what had just happened, it seemed that these chests were also valuable! Thus, he decided to go back and retrieve that chest. During the return trip, Wang Tao checked his recent gains. [Item Obtained: Awakening Seed x1] [Awakening Seed: Plant it on the corpse of a creature of Fourth-Order Lord Level or above, and it will produce Awakening Fruits.] The fine treasure chest contained only one item, which was this Awakening Seed. Wang Tao had previously obtained an Awakening Seed, which was the one and only item dropped by the Disaster Class serpent he had killed. He hadn¡¯t expected to find another one inside a treasure chest! This type of Awakening Seed was a valuable item; it could grow into Awakening Fruits. Wang Tao still had quite a few Awakening Fruits that he had yet to use. [Awakening Fruit: Exceedingly delicious, coveted by many creatures] [Third Order Humans who consume it can ascend to Level 4.] [Third Order Non-Humans who consume it have a small chance of Awakening.] [Humans Above Third Order who consume it receive 1 Awakening Key.] [Non-Humans Above Third Order who consume it will see a slight increase in Constitution.] [Creatures Below Third Order who consume it have a high chance of exploding and dying.] Awakening Fruits had five functions, and for humans, the most important was the first one¡ªafter eating, they could ascend to Level 4. But, according to Wang Tao¡¯s speculation, ascending to Level 4 did not necessarily include Awakening; it was just an ascension, making one an Ability User, not an Awakener. If one were to draw a parallel, a human Fourth-order Awakener would be equivalent to a beast¡¯s Level 4, Lord, while a human Fourth-order Superpower would be akin to a Fourth Order Elite. Although there were still quite a few unawakened people in Wang Tao¡¯s team at the time, he did not let those who hadn¡¯t Awakened consume the Awakening Fruits. After all, he wasn¡¯t interested in those who were not Awakeners. He was also worried that if one ascended to Level 4, there might not be any chance of Awakening afterwards, which would be a huge loss. Therefore, those remaining Awakening Fruits had always been kept in Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack. Of course, it was understandable that Wang Tao, with his strong abilities, looked down on ordinary Ability Users. But others might not feel the same, as most people don¡¯t have Hidden Attributes, which is the fundamental requirement for Awakening. If other Ability Users knew about the existence of the Awakening Fruits, they might be willing to spend their entire fortune to get one. Even if the limit after ascending to Level 4 is restricted, it is still far better than being an Ordinary Ability User. Wang Tao had almost forgotten about the Awakening Fruits, but now that he saw this [Awakening Seed], he thought perhaps he could sell the Awakening Fruits to others in need, or store them in the school¡¯s treasure vault... After contemplating for a while, Wang Tao decided to first cultivate this Awakening Seed and then see whether he would sell it, gift it, or add it to the school¡¯s treasure vault. Then Wang Tao turned his attention to the Fine Treasure Chest inside the Space Backpack. After some study, Wang Tao let out a light gasp of surprise. This treasure chest was indeed a marvelous object, even better than he had anticipated¡ªbecause it was a tool for storing items! Tools capable of storing items, not counting his own Space Backpack, Wang Tao had only encountered two kinds. One was the Magical Stomach Pouch obtained from killing zombies. Not only did it have a space that could store a lot of food, but its temperature was also very low, much like a refrigerator. It could prevent the spoilage of food. Zombies possessing a Magical Stomach Pouch were rare but not unheard of. Besides Wang Tao, once others learned about the Magical Stomach Pouch, with some focused searching, they would occasionally find one. However, the Magical Stomach Pouch also had significant drawbacks: one was that it could only store food, and nothing else could be placed inside it. Another was that it was only cold¡ªlike the refrigerated part of a fridge¡ªand couldn¡¯t genuinely preserve the food inside forever... The second item-storage tool Wang Tao had come across was this treasure chest. And compared to the Magical Stomach Pouch, this treasure chest was much more awesome. Firstly, this treasure chest could actually be locked! Since Wang Tao had opened this Fine Treasure Chest with his own Awakening Key, he owned the chest. After locking it, only he could open the chest, while others could not. Of course, he could choose not to lock it with his mind, then others would be able to open it. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t yet discovered how to change the ownership; he would have to research that later... As for the defensive power of the chest, Wang Tao had given it a simple test and could only say it was very strong. Even when he tried, he seemed unable to destroy it... Secondly, the items inside this Fine Treasure Chest, much like his storage space, appeared to be in a state of suspended time! As to whether it was really time suspension, since the time was too short, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t test it out, but it felt like it should be. So just on this point alone, when compared to the Magical Stomach Pouch, the treasure chest was in a league of its own. After all, the former was just a portable food refrigerator, while the latter was a treasure involving time and space! Lastly, and most importantly, there was the issue of internal space size. The external volume of the Fine Treasure Chest was much bigger than that of the Magical Stomach Pouch, and its internal space was also much larger! The interior temperature of the Magical Stomach Pouch, not only similar to that of a fridge, but its internal space was roughly the same as that of a regular single-door fridge. The space inside different Magical Stomach Pouches varied, but they were all more or less at this level. But the Fine Treasure Chest was different; the space inside it was much larger, approximately over a hundred cubic meters. It was equivalent to half a train car or a one-bedroom apartment! This space was something the Magical Stomach Pouch couldn¡¯t compare to! Although it still couldn¡¯t match Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack with its infinite space, Wang Tao had just tried it out, and this chest could hold anything, whereas his Space Backpack could only hold items with names... From this perspective, the Fine Treasure Chest was even better than his Space Backpack! Wang Tao never used to think much about his storage space¡¯s inability to hold other items, but now it was a bit bothersome; after all, everything is fine until you make a comparison... Of course, the Fine Treasure Chest wasn¡¯t without its flaws. On the contrary, it had quite significant drawbacks¡ªsize and weight. The size of the chest was obviously not portable; it simply couldn¡¯t be carried around like the Magical Stomach Pouch. Moreover, not only was size an issue, but the chest was also too heavy. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t even move it for a while, so how was he supposed to carry it? Thus Wang Tao felt that this chest was like the Level 5 Weapon [Ironwood Guardian] he had acquired before, only suitable for keeping at home and not for taking out... A moment later, he arrived at the cave where he had opened the Ordinary Treasure Chest. Wang Tao immediately ran in to check and saw that the Ordinary Treasure Chest was still lying quietly inside. Upon careful examination, he discovered that this Ordinary Treasure Chest also had an internal space, although the volume was unsurprisingly small, roughly fifty to sixty cubic meters. But it was also incredibly heavy. However, since the chest had no lock, it could not be locked, and anyone could open the chest... Swipe¡ª Wang Tao took this Ordinary Treasure Chest into his Space Backpack as well, and looking at the two chests quietly sitting inside his Space Backpack, he suddenly frowned. ¡°If I put items that my Space Backpack can¡¯t carry into the chest, and then put the chest into the Space Backpack, wouldn¡¯t that mean my Space Backpack can hold anything?¡± Chapter 1165 - 1165 476 Kill Level 5 Again ?Chapter 1165: Chapter 476: Kill Level 5 Again Chapter 1165: Chapter 476: Kill Level 5 Again Wang Tao thought about it and acted immediately. He arbitrarily picked up a few stones and placed them into two treasure chests, then tried to put the treasure chests into the Space Backpack. Swish¡ª Both treasure chests disappeared without a trace! ¡°It works!¡± Wang Tao clenched his fist in satisfaction, but he wasn¡¯t finished yet. He attempted to open the chests inside the Space Backpack, but the chests didn¡¯t respond at all. ¡°Can¡¯t open them, huh...¡± Wang Tao immediately waved his hand. With a thud, the fine treasure chest hit the ground with a muffled sound. Wang Tao opened the chest again and saw the stones inside. ¡°...Looks like this is the only way to do it.¡± After some testing, Wang Tao found both good news and bad news. The good news was that if he filled the chests with unnamed items, he could put them, along with the chests, into the Space Backpack. This was essentially the same as being able to pack anything into the Space Backpack. The bad news was that once he put the treasure chests into the Space Backpack, the chests and their contents became one entity, and he couldn¡¯t open the chests while they were in the backpack. He had to take the chests out first to open them. Of course, calling it bad news was splitting hairs. It¡¯s just one more step, no big deal! After all, he couldn¡¯t pack other items before, but now it seemed like he could put anything into it, even if it meant an extra step, he was satisfied. With such chests, he could move lightly even when mobilizing with the entire team! However, there were things that couldn¡¯t be packed in the chests, one being other treasure chests, as chests couldn¡¯t be stacked within each other. The other was living things. Wang Tao had just found a mutated plant nearby and discovered he couldn¡¯t pack it unless he depleted its HP bar. But once it was stored, it would be exactly as it was when put away. Unlike Wang Tao¡¯s Space Backpack, it wouldn¡¯t automatically clean off blood, viruses... ¡°I wonder if the chest can be placed on the vehicle... Should I give it a try?¡± Wang Tao planned to go back and test it. Of course, not with his own vehicle. He¡¯d find an armored vehicle to try, considering the chest was quite heavy. It wouldn¡¯t be good if he damaged his car. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao picked up the treasure chest and, together with Lightning, moved again toward the poison lake. After some time, the man and dog arrived at the lake once more. Wang Tao took out two antidote potions. ¡°We¡¯ll go to the other side of the lake and use the antidote potions first.¡± Pfft! After administering the potions, both Wang Tao and Lightning had a [Poison Immunity] status appear on them, then they entered the water together. Before the three minutes were up, Wang Tao barely made it to shore. But as soon as he landed, he was attacked by the mutated plants. Watching the approaching tendrils, Wang Tao coolly drew his sharp long knife with black flames flickering along its edge. Swoosh¡ª A black shockwave appeared, instantly shattering countless tendrils in front of him. Simultaneously, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes emitted a red light as he looked towards a crevice in the nearby rocks. Sizzle¡ª [-190384] [0/200000] ¡°Just a small Tier-Five Elite Mutant Plant¡ªshit!¡± Before Wang Tao could even finish boasting, suddenly, numerous tendril monsters appeared from the stone crevice. All of them were of an Elite Tier-Five level! Faced with the dense, writhing mass of mutant tendrils, Wang Tao felt a bit numb, not out of fear, but more from a sense of trypophobia. Moreover, given the sheer number of Tier-Five Elites, there was a good chance of a Tier-Five Lord being present. However, these creatures looked somewhat familiar to him, resembling the Iron Tree Vines he had seen before, yet with some differences. The Iron Tree Vines didn¡¯t quite resemble plants, but instead seemed like fake tendrils carved from metal. On the contrary, the tendrils in front of him looked more authentically plant-like... Wang Tao scanned the area and didn¡¯t spot the Tier-Five Lord for the moment. He prepared to have Lightning stay aside while he took care of these Tier-Five Elites. But Lightning barked once, indicating its desire to fight as well. ¡°You... right, let¡¯s do it together!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t want Lightning to get hurt, as Lightning was just a Level 4 Lord while there were at least a hundred Tier-Five Elites present¡ªan overwhelming mismatch in strength. But after seeing Lightning¡¯s attributes, Wang Tao felt it needed some real combat experience and couldn¡¯t be treated like an ordinary military dog. Having followed Wang Tao around, Lightning had consumed a large number of Lords. With the help of its [Gluttonous Feast] Awakening, its HP had reached a staggering four hundred thousand! Wang Tao¡¯s own HP was less than two hundred thousand, while Lightning had a whopping four hundred thousand. He was curious about Lightning¡¯s current strength. With Wang Tao¡¯s approval, Lightning barked excitedly and its body quickly grew larger. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into a massive dog nearly three meters tall and five meters long. ¡°So cool!¡± Wang Tao praised before charging forward with his knife. While his [Scorching Eyes] technique was useful, it consumed a lot of Awakening Energy and was better suited for large bursts of power or fighting Lords. In situations like now, with a multitude of monsters scattered around, wielding his knife was the better choice. Lightning roared and rushed into the midst of the mutated plants with Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s battle style was always rather brutal, but compared to Lightning, his slashing seemed almost gentle. Because Lightning¡¯s attack method was simple¡ªit lunged and bit. Any monster killed by Lightning didn¡¯t remain intact; some were even bitten into fragments! Chapter 1166 - 1166 476 Kill Level 5 Again - Part 2 ?Chapter 1166: Chapter 476: Kill Level 5 Again ¨C Part 2 Chapter 1166: Chapter 476: Kill Level 5 Again ¨C Part 2 Facing the attack of these mutated plants, Lightning would dodge if he could, and if not, he¡¯d just tough it out. With his current physical condition and HP, even if he were attacked by a large number of Tier-Five Elites, he wouldn¡¯t flinch. Wang Tao, seeing that Lightning was not in danger, finally set his mind at ease. Lightning¡¯s combat power was clearly not that of an ordinary Level 4, Lord. He was evidently higher than the Tier-Five Elite, probably only slightly inferior to a Level 5, Lord, maybe even on par! Truly, as a growth type Awakener, ascending to his current situation, fighting above his level was hardly an issue. With a sigh in his heart, Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with Lightning anymore and focused on dealing with the mutated plants in front of him. But just then, Lightning suddenly cried out. Wang Tao also felt the sensation of being watched, and he immediately looked in the direction of the feeling, spotting a thicker, bigger mutated tendril in his field of view. [HP: 500,000/500,000] [Mana: 300,000/300,000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Resilience] [Resilience: All basic attributes increased, strength, defense significantly enhanced] This was a systemic type of mutated plant, possessing a whopping half a million in HP, the most Wang Tao had ever seen in a monster. However, it wasn¡¯t a big problem. Wang Tao quickly slew two other mutated tendrils nearby and then said to Lightning: ¡°I¡¯ll leave the rest to you, I¡¯m going to kill it!¡± ¡°Woof~¡± Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao immediately rushed towards the tendril lord, sprinting as a fierce fiery flame ignited around him. From his recent tests in battles, Wang Tao knew that fire attribute attacks had bonuses against wood attributes! At the same time, two high-temperature rays hit the tendril lord even faster than Wang Tao could. [-10132] [-10224] [-10511] [...] A series of damage numbers appeared above the tendril lord¡¯s head. This tendril lord, like the previous awakened mutated tree roots, was a high-body, high-attack, high-defense type. For others, such an opponent might present a considerable challenge, best handled by long-range sniping. But not for Wang Tao; he went right up to the tendril lord and engaged in close combat! The tendril lord seemed a bit angry; it let out a strange cry from somewhere and then thrashed its body, sending wave after wave of tendrils at Wang Tao. But these tendrils, landing on Wang Tao, were almost immediately burnt to cinders, hardly impeding his steps. Wang Tao quickly got close to the tendril lord and then raised his long saber, which burned with both red and black flames, and slashed down on the tendril lord. [-12289] [-1228] [...] [Curse: Burning] [-2382] [...] As Wang Tao¡¯s saber came down, a pile of damage numbers sprang up instantly. Although the damage from the blows after the first was not high, the sight was thrilling, and all the damage added up to about thirty thousand! The tendril lord in pain twisted its body and coiled towards Wang Tao. Given its level and size, if Wang Tao were entangled, even with defensive equipment and the value of Starfire Prairie, he could still be injured. With no healer nearby, Wang Tao naturally couldn¡¯t afford a tactic that traded injury for injury, so he immediately retreated, evading the tendril lord¡¯s attack. Simultaneously, high-temperature red rays shot from his eyes, hitting the tendril lord, and once more, a string of damage numbers emerged. Boom¡ª The tendril lord hated the scent of flames, it immediately dodged the high-temperature rays while also smashing the surrounding rock walls, causing countless rocks to fall like an earthquake. Wang Tao agilely dodged the falling rocks while seeking opportune moments, rushing towards the tendril lord again. But just at that moment, alarms went off in Wang Tao¡¯s mind, and he forcibly stopped his advance. And just as he stopped, a very slender tendril shot out from the rubble under his feet, straight towards the ceiling, piercing into the high ceiling overhead, forming a long vertical line. ¡°Damn, sneaky bastard!¡± Wang Tao had not noticed this tendril before; it must have been lying in ambush underground. He wasn¡¯t adept at defense, wearing the flexible but not highly defensive Night Demon Set, nor was he a System Awakener. This slender tendril could pierce even the ceiling, even if just slightly, which meant its attack power was somewhat higher than the momentary burst of the [Scorching Eyes]. If he were to be stabbed by it, even though it wouldn¡¯t pierce from his tailbone up to the top of his head, it would certainly stab into his tailbone... Just thinking of that scenario, Wang Tao shivered. The flames on his body instantly became much hotter, scorching the surrounding stones black. Then, he pushed off with his right leg, cracking the ground, and like a cannonball, he smashed onto the Tendril Lord. Boom¡ª The flames erupted, and the massive form of the tendril was smashed back, shattering a lot of stones. Some nearby Tier-Five Elite tendrils were even directly ignited by the flames, and a large number of damage numbers appeared. With his body burning with fiery flames, Wang Tao pulled out the long sword that had pierced the Tendril Lord¡¯s body and unleashed a wild barrage of slashes at it. The Tendril Lord twisted its body like a snake, trying to throw Wang Tao off. But Wang Tao clung tightly to its body, chopping at it over and over again. By the time the Tendril Lord finally managed to throw Wang Tao off, it had less than half of its body left, and a lot of negative statuses appeared above its head: [Scorching] [Bleeding] [Curse: Armor Break] [Curse: Burning] [Curse: Blindness] Hiss¡ª The Tendril Lord let out another strange cry, and from the debris around, several of the previously sneaky, slender tendrils emerged. These tendrils had no HP and acted almost like the Tendril Lord¡¯s weapons, extremely tough, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t cut through them. Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to fight them head-on since his own speed was sufficient, and with his sixth sense for danger, he could always dodge the slender tendrils¡¯ attacks in critical moments. This only made the Tendril Lord angrier, to the point it no longer tried to dodge Wang Tao¡¯s attacks and simply sought to entangle him with its body. Of course, Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to be caught. In terms of physical conditioning, he admitted he was no match for this kind of monster. If entangled, he would lose his advantage. Whoosh¡ª Again, a dual-attribute shockwave of fire and darkness shot towards the Tendril Lord. Wang Tao was very skilled at seizing opportunities in combat. He could always find a chance to take down the Tendril Lord, and the monster rarely hit him, which was another reason for its frustration. Bang! After the dual-attribute shockwave hit the Tendril Lord, its [Curse: Burning] status disappeared, replaced by [Curse: Slaying]. ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. The Tendril Lord initially had a total of five hundred thousand HP, and the Slaying Curse could kill twenty percent of the total HP, amounting to one hundred thousand. But now, it still had two hundred and ten thousand HP left! So¡ª Cloaked in flames, Wang Tao immediately sprung forward, reaching the Tendril Lord in a blink. He held his sword with one hand, blade pointed downwards. His fiery eyes locked on the Tendril Lord. ¡°Sorry, but this ends now.¡± Hellfire! Whoosh¡ª The body of the Tendril Lord suddenly stiffened, as a multitude of flaming patterns slowly emerged on its dusky hide. [-122837] First, a terrifying number of one hundred twenty-two thousand floated up from the Tendril Lord. [-90374] Soon after, a ninety thousand damage number appeared. [0/500000] The Tendril Lord¡¯s HP instantly dropped to zero, and it collapsed thunderously. Facing a Tier-Five Lord with five hundred thousand HP and yet dealing two hundred thousand damage in an instant made Wang Tao feel incredibly refreshed. With the Lord¡¯s death, the momentum of the surrounding elites weakened significantly. Wang Tao, along with lightning, quickly cleared the remaining tendrils and then finally had the chance to check the spoils of war. ¡°Hmm?¡± Wang Tao noticed, not far behind the Tendril Lord among the debris, another treasure chest. ¡°Killing a monster yields a treasure chest? Isn¡¯t this just delightful...¡± Chapter 1167 - 1167 477 Iron Thorn Steel Whip ?Chapter 1167: Chapter 477: Iron Thorn Steel Whip Chapter 1167: Chapter 477: Iron Thorn Steel Whip This mutated vine was the strongest enemy Wang Tao had faced so far. Although Wang Tao remained composed throughout the battle and hardly lost any HP, it was indeed a formidable foe, having fifty thousand HP. Wang Tao could have fought without using [Hellfire], as the consumption of [Hellfire] is massive¡ªit consumes 1000 Awakening Energy per use. With those 1000 Awakening Energy, he could absolutely slay the mutant vine using other abilities. The main reason was that Wang Tao wanted to know how much damage [Hellfire] could cause to a Level 5, Lord with fifty thousand HP. Now he knew, even against a Level 5, Lord, [Hellfire] could still deal around a hundred thousand damage! This was definitely the most powerful ability he had at the moment¡ªa strong trump card in Wang Tao¡¯s hands! After collecting the spoils of war from the mutant vine, Wang Tao did not hurry to check them, instead, he walked over to a pile of rubble to inspect a treasure chest. The chest before him seemed to be made of wood and brass, slightly larger than the Fine Treasure Chest he had obtained before¡ªits quality was clearly higher¡ªthis was an Excellent Treasure Chest. This pleasantly surprised Wang Tao, as the higher the quality of the chest, the likelier it seemed that it would contain valuable items. An unopened chest couldn¡¯t be placed into storage, so Wang Tao placed his hand on the lock, ready to unlock it with a Secret Key. He had plenty of Awakening Secret Keys, so opening one chest was no big deal. Then, Wang Tao was stunned. He realized that the Awakening Secret Key couldn¡¯t unlock this Excellent Treasure Chest and that it required an Advanced Awakening Secret Key instead. ¡°Ah?¡± Use an Advanced Awakening Secret Key? It took a fusion of 100 Ordinary Awakening Secret Keys to make 1 Advanced Awakening Secret Key, so the cost of opening this Excellent Treasure Chest was 100 times that of opening a Fine Treasure Chest! That¡¯s a really high cost! Wang Tao suddenly felt troubled. The discomfort wasn¡¯t just from the vastly increased cost, but more importantly, he didn¡¯t even have 100 Ordinary Awakening Secret Keys... It wasn¡¯t a matter of whether he wanted to open the chest or not, he simply couldn¡¯t! However, Wang Tao now only obtained Awakening Secret Keys by slaying Level 5 or higher Lords... He had only 80, still needing 20 more. He did think about slaying twenty Level 5 Lords, but they weren¡¯t exactly easy to find at a moment¡¯s notice! Also, all the Awakening Secret Keys Wang Tao had were physical ones, which could be used or traded with teammates. Using these Secret Keys to open treasure chests felt a bit wasteful¡ª ¡°Right! It doesn¡¯t necessarily have to be me who opens the chest; I can let someone else do it!¡± A spark lit up in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. Although he could only obtain Awakening Secret Keys by killing Lords above Level 5, Ding Yuqin and the others were still at Level 4; they could just kill Level 4 Lords. From the looks of it, there were quite a few Level 4 Lords here, especially on the first level; they were everywhere! It seemed that letting them gather 100 Awakening Secret Keys shouldn¡¯t be a big deal, especially with Wang Tao¡¯s help; it would be a breeze. ¡°That¡¯s the plan!¡± Wang Tao made his decision immediately. He contacted Ding Yuqin and told them to stay put, that he was coming to find them. With the treasure chest, if it hadn¡¯t been discovered, it would be one thing, but since it had been found, if there was an opportunity, Wang Tao would undoubtedly want to open it first before continuing his exploration. After waiting for Lightning to completely devour the body of the mutant vine, Wang Tao addressed it: ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to the previous level.¡± ¡°Woof~¡± Lightning was good at tracking; it quickly grew larger, carrying Wang Tao as they ran back. Riding on Lightning¡¯s back, Wang Tao took this opportunity to check the spoils he had just obtained. The mutant vine had yielded five kinds of physical spoils of war. [Received: Level 5 Crystal Core: Great Strength x1] [Received: High-Level Tree Essence Liquid x3283] [Received: Steel Vine x1] [Received: Devouring Seed x1] [Received: Alloy Vine x8] The Red Crystal Core wasn¡¯t new; it was a Power Crystal Core, an old face by now. Unlike the Level 5 Lords he had slain before, which didn¡¯t drop High-Level Tree Essence, it was abundant from Level 4 Lords. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected Level 5 Lords would drop these, but it seems they did. He had burst out over five thousand at once, ten times more than what the Level 4 Lords had dropped! Wang Tao joyfully stored the High-Level Essence Liquid. Whether he could break through two hundred thousand HP was entirely dependent on these High-Level Essences now. [Steel Vine: Crafting Material] ¡°Steel Vine¡± was part of the body that dropped from the mutant vine, a crafting material. So strictly speaking, the monster should be called ¡°Steel Vine¡±... The material was large in volume, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t yet clear on what it could make, but he was eager to find out. [Devouring Seed: Plant inside a Level 4 Lord organism to grow. Once mature, it produces a Devouring Fruit. The Devouring Fruit can consume a certain quantity of Wood Attribute materials, thereby transforming them into higher-grade Wood Attribute materials.] When he saw the name ¡°Devouring Seed,¡± Wang Tao thought it might be something like ¡°Magic Seeds,¡± which could enhance Hidden Attributes, but it wasn¡¯t. As for the description of the Devouring Seed, it said it could use the Devouring Fruit to consume other Wood Attribute materials and transform them into higher-level materials... Listening to that seemed pretty nice, but just having materials was useless without the corresponding blueprints! Even if he produced high-level materials, without the blueprints, it would still be of no avail... Although the research institute could utilize these materials or make equipment from them, it definitely wouldn¡¯t be as good as having blueprints... Chapter 1168 - 1168 477 Iron Thorn Steel Whip_2 ?Chapter 1168: Chapter 477: Iron Thorn Steel Whip_2 Chapter 1168: Chapter 477: Iron Thorn Steel Whip_2 Wang Tao had quite a few materials on hand, and since it didn¡¯t cost him anything, he could try it out later to see what the effects would be. [Alloy Vine: Crafting material, a tendril made of alloy, very hard] This ¡°Alloy Vine¡± was what had ambushed him underground before, disguised as a Steel Vine, and Wang Tao had collected all of them, a total of eight pieces. It wasn¡¯t actually part of the Steel Vine, more like a weapon belonging to it. The description of the Alloy Vine stated it was a crafting material and emphasized its hardness. Wang Tao guessed it should be a good material, but he didn¡¯t know if there were any corresponding blueprints... After pocketing these spoils of war, Wang Tao turned his attention to the Loot Pack. There were a total of five Loot Packs, the first being a Crystal Core Gift Bag. Inside were an orange [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Ascension], a red [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], another red [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotence], a purple [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Defense], and a blue [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Nutrient Absorption]. Since there were no particularly special Crystal Cores, Wang Tao took a quick look and stored them away, then he examined the second Loot Pack, which contained Antidote Potion. [Obtained: Antidote Potion x50] Another fifty Antidote Potions. The cave was full of mutated plants, many of which were poisonous. Having Antidote Potions versus not having them was definitely a completely different experience, especially when encountering situations like toxic lakes, where the Antidote Potions were particularly useful. The third Loot Pack contained a physical awakening key. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] The fourth Loot Pack contained essence liquid. [Obtained: Advanced Tree Essence Liquid x10240] The mutated vines had just burst forth more than three thousand Tree Essence Liquid, and now this Loot Pack had produced another ten thousand. Wang Tao figured he wouldn¡¯t be running out of it any time soon. Wang Tao looked at the final Loot Pack, hoping for two blueprints. Unfortunately, there was only one. [Obtained: Iron Thorn Steel Whip Blueprint x1] [Iron Thorn Steel Whip Blueprint: Can be used to create a sturdy whip, required materials: Steel Vine x1, Level 5 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x50, Nails x50, Rubber x50, Screw x50, Steel Wire x50] [Iron Thorn Steel Whip: Equipped with Armor Breaking Attribute] Seeing the blueprint, Wang Tao¡¯s brow raised in intrigue. When he first saw the name, he thought the weapon produced by this blueprint would be a flexible whip, but to his surprise, it turned out to be a sturdy whip with an armor-breaking attribute... A sturdy whip resembled a bamboo stalk with segments like bamboo joints evenly distributed along the whip, with a sharp tip used mainly for chopping and smashing but also for piercing ¨C a type of weapon. Such a weapon was often used in cavalry battles in ancient times and belonged to the category of blunt instruments, which inherently possess strong armor-breaking capabilities. If it were a flexible whip, Wang Tao definitely wouldn¡¯t use it because he didn¡¯t know how to. But if it was a sturdy whip, then he might consider giving it a try. His current weapon, the Sharp Long Knife, was a good weapon, but he was already Level 5, and the Sharp Long Knife was still at Level 4. Naturally, it would be better if he could switch to a Level 5 Weapon. Wang Tao checked the materials in his Space Backpack; there were enough of them. So he immediately began crafting. Moments later, amidst the Running Lightning¡¯s luminescence, a vast whip appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. ¡°Huh? It¡¯s so big!¡± Seeing the two-meter long, cup-mouth-thick, thirteen-sectioned weapon in front of him, Wang Tao was quite surprised. You¡¯d call such a large thing a whip? It¡¯d be more appropriate to call it a stick, or even a thick club... ¡°` But really, despite its size and weight, Wang Tao found it quite suitable for himself when he held it in his hand. Of course, whether it¡¯s suitable or not mainly depends on the attributes. If the attributes are poor, even a good feel won¡¯t make it work. And its attributes, well, they made Wang Tao exclaim in admiration. [Iron Spike Steel Whip] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Durability +120, Attack power +120, comes with Armor Breaking effect (Armor Breaking effect requires Awakening Energy) Ability: Iron Spikes] [Iron Spikes: A large number of iron spikes grow from the whip¡¯s body, at this time, the Armor Breaking effect is weakened, but Attack power +20, and comes with a Bleeding effect (Bleeding effect requires Awakening Energy)] This steel whip¡¯s durability and attack are both increased by 120, making it the second highest attacking equipment in Wang Tao¡¯s possession! The highest attacking equipment he owned was the [Impact Hammer] he obtained earlier, which added a whopping 150 points to his attack, extremely frightening damage. But it has a side effect¡ªreducing the Attack Speed by 50%, an intolerable disadvantage for Wang Tao, who excels at speed. So unless in some special situations, he usually doesn¡¯t use it. Although the [Iron Spike Steel Whip]¡¯s 120 attack power is not as high as the [Impact Hammer], it is still quite impressive. After all, Wang Tao¡¯s main weapon, the Sharp Long Knife, only adds 80 attack power. Moreover, the [Iron Spike Steel Whip] doesn¡¯t have a drawback like reduced Speed, and it also carries an Armor Breaking ability, which is a plus for Wang Tao. But what really surprised Wang Tao was, the Iron Spike Steel Whip came with an Ability [Iron Spikes] by itself! The [Iron Spikes] Ability can add 20 to the weapon¡¯s attack power! The [Iron Spike Steel Whip] already has an attack power of 120, plus another 20, that¡¯s 140! Only 10 points less than the Impact Hammer! Wang Tao would certainly be willing to trade 10 points of attack power for a 50% increase in Attack Speed. Although activating [Iron Spikes] weakens the Armor Breaking power, the extra Bleeding effect and the solid increase of 20 in attack power mean that even if the Armor Breaking really is a bit weakened, it¡¯s not a big problem. Wang Tao gripped the Iron Spike Steel Whip, swung it around a few times, and found it quite handy. He then activated the whip¡¯s Iron Spikes Ability, and instantly saw sharp iron spikes appear on the steel whip. At this point, it didn¡¯t look like a whip, it resembled a Wolf Fang Club. These two states could be switched at will, without consuming much, a feature Wang Tao really liked. The usage of these two states was also very straightforward¡ªuse the whip state against monsters with harder shells to break their armor; use the iron spikes state to inflict more damage on monsters without hard shells! Like now, in the caves, those mutated plants generally don¡¯t have shells, so the killing power would probably be stronger in the Iron Spikes state. After getting used to it a bit more, Wang Tao decided to change weapons. Until he found a better weapon, this Iron Spike Steel Whip would be his main weapon. As for the Sharp Long Knife, it could be used by Lu Yingfeng. Lu Yingfeng is currently using the Night Demon Short Knife, which is a Level 5 and slightly stronger in attack power than the Sharp Long Knife, but after all, she is accustomed to using a long knife, and the short knife greatly affects her performance. Now that Wang Tao¡¯s Sharp Long Knife was being replaced, it could be just right for Lu Yingfeng, with her sword techniques, she could probably bring out at least 150% the ability of the Sharp Long Knife... On the way back, Wang Tao really hoped that some monsters would appear so he could test the power of his new weapon. But Lightning strictly followed the same path back they took coming, and all the mutated plants along the way were already cleaned up by Wang Tao. So they didn¡¯t encounter a single monster, which was a bit disappointing for Wang Tao. After some time, the man and his dog finally arrived at the entrance to the second underground tier. After going up, one could clearly feel that the fog on the first tier was much thinner than on the second tier. It didn¡¯t affect Wang Tao much, but Lightning appeared to breathe a sigh of relief; it always felt oppressed on the second tier but much better after coming up to the first tier. Wang Tao followed the guidance of the Perception Ring to find Ding Yuqin and others, but he didn¡¯t bump into any base personnel along the way. ¡°I¡¯ve been down there for half a day, and nobody has come to check on me...¡± Wang Tao worried something might have happened, so he tried to contact the head teacher Pan Jian using the walkie-talkie and got through easily. Pan Jian told Wang Tao that they were fine, it was just that the pace of their exploration was slow. ¡°` Chapter 1169 - 1169 478 Opportunity for Promotion ?Chapter 1169: Chapter 478: Opportunity for Promotion Chapter 1169: Chapter 478: Opportunity for Promotion ¡°Wang Xiaozhang, how is it going on your end? Do you need our help?¡± Pan Jian asked considerately. He didn¡¯t know that Wang Tao had become a Level 5 and was unaware of the monsters Wang Tao had encountered. It was just that the deeper they went, the more dangerous it became. Even though they had many Awakener teachers and a large number of Level 2 and 3 students, exploring was becoming difficult. Could Wang Tao and his group be encountering dangers given their fast pace? Especially since he had tried to contact Wang Tao earlier and couldn¡¯t reach him... Thankfully, Wang Tao had contacted him, or else he would have thought something might have gone wrong. ¡°No need, just be extra careful yourselves...¡± Wang Tao shook his head, then glanced at the time and added, ¡°Oh right, you guys will probably come across a Stone Forest. If you see the words left behind, that means it¡¯s generally safe inside, and you can rest there. I¡¯ll come back to find you later.¡± The environment here was pitch-black, which made it easy to lose track of time. Wang Tao looked at the time, realizing that more than half a day had passed since they came down. Although Ability Users had good physical strength, continuous fighting was exhausting, and they needed rest. ¡°A safe place? Great! Wang Xiaozhang, rest assured, I¡¯ll make sure everyone gets there safely!¡± Hearing that there was a place to rest, Pan Jian was immediately relieved and took a deep breath. Their visibility here was limited, and these mutated plants liked to hide in obscure corners, making it very dangerous for them! They had encountered a formidable monster earlier, and after the Awakener teachers had joined forces to kill it, they prepared to find a spot to rest temporarily. Even though they had cleared the area, a student was still attacked by a hidden mutated plant. If it weren¡¯t for an Awakener teacher close by, it could have been a close call for that student. After conducting a thorough search, they found quite a few more mutated plants... Pan Jian felt like there was no safe place here! They were all very exhausted and needed to rest, but Pan Jian didn¡¯t dare to just pick any place to rest. After all, they were responsible for many students, the future of the base. If there were significant casualties among the students, he might not have to return... Pan Jian had just been wondering whether to keep going forward to find a suitable place to rest or to return the same way to rest. Both options had their pros and cons. Now that he had contacted Wang Tao, he didn¡¯t have to hesitate any longer and would follow Wang Tao¡¯s plan! After all, given Wang Tao¡¯s strength, if he said it was safe, it was likely safe, plus Wang Tao would come back for them... Even if they did encounter danger that lead to a lot of student losses, it would also be because they followed Wang Tao¡¯s suggestion, so it wouldn¡¯t be his sole responsibility... It wasn¡¯t that he wanted to shirk responsibility, but he simply couldn¡¯t bear such a burden with his small frame! Once Wang Tao confirmed there were no problems on the students¡¯ end, he ended the call and continued towards the location where Ding Yuqin and her group were. It wasn¡¯t long before Wang Tao saw Ding Yuqin and her group, who had stayed back. He glanced quickly at their HP bars, which were all safe. Swoosh¡ª A small white figure burst out from the crowd and jumped onto Wang Tao. Wang Tao smiled and gently rubbed Little Bing¡¯s little head. When he went to the second level, he only brought Lightning and left Little Bing with Jiang Shixue. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright? What¡¯s it like down there?¡± Ding Yuqin and the others crowded around. ¡°I¡¯m fine, but it¡¯s quite dangerous down there.¡± Wang Tao had already used the Perception Ring to talk to Ding Yuqin about it before but hadn¡¯t detailed it, given that Ding¡¯s group was also fighting and couldn¡¯t keep chatting. Now that there was time, he carefully described the situation on the second level. Hearing that there were both Tier-Five Elites and Level 5 Lords, everyone was taken aback. No wonder they felt it was very dangerous below; it turns out there were quite a few Level 5 Lords! With their Fourth-order Awakener strength, they could actually kill Level 5 Lords, but the environment here was not friendly to them. Especially on the second level, the Dark Attribute was too strong, making those who weren¡¯t of the Dark Attribute very uncomfortable, greatly affecting their combat effectiveness... After Wang Tao talked about the monsters he encountered, the Poison Lake, and more, he took out the Antidote Potion and distributed it among the group. This potion, tested by Wang Tao, was highly effective, particularly against many of the poison-resistant mutated plants. Finally, Wang Tao took out the two treasure chests. ¡°These are treasure chests...¡± Everyone was already used to Wang Tao pulling things out of nowhere, guessing he had something similar to a ¡°Magical Stomach Pouch¡± that could store items but with significant limitations. After all, they knew Wang Tao could only pack a small portion of items, and many things had to be left on the vehicle. But when Wang Tao explained the use of the treasure chests, everyone¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You mean to say, this chest has a huge space inside where you can put anything except living things, and the food inside won¡¯t spoil...¡± ¡°Yes.¡± After hearing Wang Tao¡¯s affirmative reply, everyone was astounded. Wang Tao let them all try it out, and it was indeed exactly as he had described. ¡°Then the next time we go out, we won¡¯t need to carry so much stuff! We can just put it all in the treasure chest...¡± Chapter 1170 - 1170 478 Opportunity for Promotion_2 ?Chapter 1170: Chapter 478: Opportunity for Promotion_2 Chapter 1170: Chapter 478: Opportunity for Promotion_2 He Jijun¡¯s face lit up with joy. He was in a half-human half-mechanical state, and although his mechanical body was strong, it required regular maintenance. Since maintenance was necessary, there would definitely be a lot of tools and materials involved. Each time he set off on a long journey, he would take a large number of tools and materials with him, which was a bit inconvenient. If he had such a chest, he could put the tools and materials inside, which would make things much more convenient. Not only the tools and materials needed for maintenance but even mechanical body parts like arms! Afterward, if he encountered intense battles and his body got damaged, there was no need to panic because he could directly replace them on the spot! Just thinking about it was thrilling! Of course, besides Xiang Hongbin, everyone else also thought that this treasure chest was quite nice. With this chest, all sorts of equipment and living supplies could be placed inside, making them truly ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice. It would greatly enhance their mobility! Wang Tao clearly saw what everyone was thinking and said to Xiang Hongbin: ¡°Old Xiang, try and see if you can lift the treasure chest.¡± ¡°Of course, that¡¯s no problem! This looks like it¡¯s made of wood, right? Even if it¡¯s solid wood, it¡¯s not too¡ª¡± Xiang Hongbin, who had his hand on the treasure chest, suddenly choked up. ¡°Damn, what kind of material is this, so heavy!¡± He couldn¡¯t lift it! ¡°This is the downside of the treasure chest¡ªit¡¯s very heavy.¡± Wang Tao spread his hands helplessly. When he went to get the Ordinary Treasure Chest, he also tested it and found that the quality of the treasure chest was related to its weight¡ªthe Fine Treasure Chest was heavier than the Ordinary Treasure Chest. He could barely lift the Ordinary Treasure Chest with all his strength, but for the Fine Treasure Chest, even when he gave it his all, he could only slightly shake it¡ªwhen he was at the center of the lake, he thought given time he could lift the Fine Treasure Chest. The reality proved otherwise. He could only create a shallow gap between the chest and the ground. That was it. As for the Excellent Treasure Chest, he saw at the end, he couldn¡¯t lift it no matter what. Its weight was beyond his comprehension... However, Wang Tao felt that it wasn¡¯t just heavy but also restricted by some rule he couldn¡¯t understand. Because if the chest were so heavy it would have left a deep imprint on the ground, even collapsed it. But that didn¡¯t happen in reality. Moreover, when Wang Tao attempted to lift the chest, he managed to crack the ground, but the ground beneath the chest remained unchanged... It was as if there was a force preventing him from lifting it. However, for the time being, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t figure out what was happening and could only understand it as ¡°very heavy.¡± After Xiang Hongbin¡¯s attempt, the others also tried and found they couldn¡¯t lift the treasure chest either, even though it was the lightest Ordinary Treasure Chest. Seeing this, Wang Tao suddenly wondered if the prerequisite for lifting the chest could be related to their levels? After all, Xiang Hongbin and the others were quite strong. Even if they couldn¡¯t lift it, they should at least be able to shake it a bit. It shouldn¡¯t be utterly immobile... But this was only Wang Tao¡¯s speculation. They could only try again after their ascension to Level 5. Now the question arose¡ªif none of them could lift the treasure chest, could it even be placed in a car? If they couldn¡¯t take the treasure chest with them when they left, then its usefulness would be severely diminished... ¡°We¡¯ll know once we try it with a car later. We only have one vehicle after all, and if it gets damaged, that would be troublesome.¡± Wang Tao explained. Everyone nodded. ¡°But there¡¯s still another problem that needs to be addressed. I saw an even more advanced treasure chest, but I don¡¯t have the key. I need someone to open this chest...¡± Wang Tao also mentioned that Fine Treasure Chests and above required an Awakening Key to open. Only then did everyone learn that this gadget actually needed an Awakening Key to unlock! Although the cost was not small, the security was very strong. However, when they heard Wang Tao say that the Excellent Treasure Chest he saw actually required an Advanced Secret Key, everyone was still somewhat shocked. That cost was terrifying! ¡°Who will open this chest?¡± Wang Tao looked at the group. Whoever did it, the chest would belong to him. After unlocking it with the key, it would lock and only the owner could unlock it. ¡°We¡¯ll save up keys for you, and you can open it yourself. Didn¡¯t you say that the Advanced Awakening Secret Key formed by merging 100 Awakening Keys is physical? Then after we merge the keys, we can just give it to you.¡± Ding Yuqin said. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want the treasure chest, it¡¯s just that it was too heavy for them to move. Since Wang Tao had a way to put the treasure chest away, it certainly made more sense for him to carry it. ¡°Uh... seems like it.¡± Wang Tao had forgotten about that. Since that was the case, there was nothing more to discuss. After all, he could put the treasure chest into his Space Backpack, and then everyone could use it later. After seeing that Blacky had finished eating the mutated plant corpses left behind on purpose by Ding Yuqin and others, Wang Tao said to everyone: ¡°Then let¡¯s get started.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go! I¡¯ve been resting for two hours now, and I¡¯m getting impatient!¡± Xiang Hongbin laughed out loud. This floor had many Level 4 Lords, and given the current situation, gathering 100 Awakening Keys shouldn¡¯t be a big problem. It was just a matter of how long it would take. He hoped it wouldn¡¯t be too long since he planned on checking on the students later. Wang Tao immediately let Blacky lead the way, with everyone quickly following. Soon, Blacky informed Wang Tao that there was a Level 4 Lord ahead. When Wang Tao spotted the Level 4 Lord, two High-Temperature Rays shot out. The mutated plant lord hadn¡¯t even figured out what was happening and was left with a sliver of HP. Seeing that the opponent wasn¡¯t dead, Wang Tao satisfactorily nodded. His [Scorching Eyes] could adjust the firepower, and the more power used, the more Awakening Energy it would consume, and vice versa. He had just used a low-power ray, unable to instantly kill a Level 4 Lord, but this was perfect as it made it easier for others to assist in killing. Han Rui sent a Shockwave, just right to take the head of that Level 4 Lord. Wang Tao had Han Rui collect the Awakening Keys mainly because his Perception Ability made him work more efficiently with Wang Tao. After killing the Level 4 Lord, Wang Tao didn¡¯t stop. He continued following Blacky, with Han Rui quickly keeping up. The others became the logistics team, dealing with the bodies of the lord zombies just killed. ¡°So powerful!¡± Xiang Hongbin sighed. Although he had witnessed Wang Tao¡¯s strength after reaching Level 5, he couldn¡¯t help but marvel. He didn¡¯t even get the chance to fight monsters, planning to engage in battle, but ended up on logistics instead... In this efficient slaughter, Wang Tao crazily accumulated Awakening Keys for Han Rui. It had to be said, the rift was truly teeming with lords. Back outside, if Wang Tao wanted to gather 100 Awakening Keys, he could only have done so using Night Demon Parasites in a Night Demon¡¯s Nest, otherwise, it might take half a month to gather enough. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t defeat them, but encountering lord monsters... But now it was different. In as short as a minute or two, or as long as several minutes, they would encounter a Level 4 Lord. They even came across a situation where there were five Level 4 Lords together! There was no end, they just couldn¡¯t be killed! Wang Tao suddenly realized something. He could totally let Han Rui and the others help him accumulate Advanced Awakening Secret Keys! With so many lord monsters in the rift, his fourth Awakening might come much sooner than expected, maybe just in a few days! And Ding Yuqin and the others also had the opportunity for a second, third, or even fourth Awakening! Including the students from the Awakeners School, with so many Level 4 Lords, there would be enough to go around... This was a chance for the overall strength advancement of Changhe Base! ... Two hours later, Han Rui suddenly called out to Wang Tao. ¡°Wang Tao, we¡¯ve got enough keys!¡± ¡°We do? Let¡¯s clear out a few more spots Blacky discovered, then we can pull out.¡± After all, they couldn¡¯t waste the areas Blacky hard worked hard to explore. ¡°Okay!¡± Another half-hour passed, and then Wang Tao finally stopped. ¡°After you guys have gathered the spoils of war, head straight to Stone Forest. I¡¯ll go get the treasure chest on the second floor.¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Chapter 1171 - 1171 479 Exploding Heart ?Chapter 1171: Chapter 479: Exploding Heart Chapter 1171: Chapter 479: Exploding Heart Wang Tao returned to the second level with Lightning, who still followed the same path as before. As expected, they didn¡¯t encounter any mutated plants along the way. All the mutated plants found so far in the rift were of the immobile type. Even if there were mutated trumpet flowers and mutated tree roots that seemed able to move, their roots were actually still anchored in one place, limiting their range of movement. In other words, as long as a certain area had been cleared, it was highly likely to be safe. Of course, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be one hundred percent certain, as everything in the rift was an unknown, and any situation could arise unexpectedly. Therefore, while Pan Jian and the others were leading the students to rest, Wang Tao planned to make a trip over there to ensure there were no surprises. After all, it hadn¡¯t been easy to select these students... After some time, Wang Tao came again to where the mutated tendrils had been before. The fierce battle¡¯s traces were still present along with the bodies of numerous elite tendrils. Not far off, a gigantic brass-colored treasure chest lay quietly amidst a pile of rubble. Once he confirmed that the place was the same as when he had left, Wang Tao breathed a sigh of relief. However, still cautious, he carefully probed the area with his spiritual power and, finding no issues, let Lightning stand guard as he approached the chest with a solid advanced awakening key. Looking at the huge excellent treasure chest, Wang Tao inserted the advanced awakening secret key right away. The key entered the lock and instantly transformed into specks of starlight that vanished. Then the lock on the chest clicked, and it opened. ¡°Phew¡ªthis key cost 100 level 4 mutated plant overlords. I hope it¡¯s worth it...¡± Wang Tao took a deep breath and opened the lid. A heart-shaped object appeared before Wang Tao. It was the size of a fist, made of wood, flesh, and metal, and appeared to still be pulsing ever so slightly, making it rather uncomfortable to look at. ¡°This is...¡± [Obtained: Exploding Heart x1] [Exploding Heart] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [Durability +1, Attack power +1000, activates a 30-second explosion after activation (Awakening Energy needed)] ¡°Ah?¡± Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao was a bit shocked. If he wasn¡¯t misunderstanding, this thing seemed to be a one-time-use weapon? After all, it was meant to explode, but having only 1 durability meant it would be gone after one use, obviously. Thinking of this item made Wang Tao recall the suicide bombing zombies he encountered at the beginning of the apocalypse. The hearts of suicide bombing zombies, called self-destruct hearts, could be used to make [self-destruct bombs]. Those were also heart-shaped bombs, although the slightest disturbance would inadvertently set them off, making them highly uncontrollable. Wang Tao had relied on [self-destruct bombs] a lot in the past to damage and kill many strong zombies. But now, their power was clearly not enough, and many remained unused in his Space Backpack. As for the suicide bombing zombies, he used to encounter them before the heavy snow. However, Wang Tao could kill them instantly, so he didn¡¯t pay much attention. But the [Exploding Heart] was entirely different from a [self-destruct bomb], as the [Exploding Heart¡¯s] attack power had an increase of a whopping 1000! The highest damage weapon Wang Tao had seen so far only added 150, while this [Exploding Heart] added 1000! How powerful would the explosion be? Could it possibly kill a level 5, Lord, outright? Wang Tao was astounded. Yet, another question occurred to him¡ªthis weapon¡¯s explosive power was no doubt formidable, but what would be its blast radius? It would explode after 30 seconds of activation. If the explosion range were too extensive, would there even be time to run away... Wang Tao carefully stored the [Exploding Heart]. Although the [Exploding Heart] was more stable than the [self-destruct bombs] and wouldn¡¯t explode without activation, respect was due given its 1000 attack power increase. Now, Wang Tao was somewhat conflicted over whether he would find an opportunity to test the [Exploding Heart]. Perhaps if he encountered those two sixth-rank Lord zombies from before, or the giant eagle, giant, or others, maybe he could try its effects? Since the treasure chest yielded a result, there was no need for Wang Tao to hold onto it particularly. He would use it when the chance arose, or forget it if no opportunity presented itself. After all, this was a mere level 5 weapon; if he kept it unused, it could become as redundant as the current [self-destruct bombs] once his level got higher... While pondering, Wang Tao packed the treasure chest. After opening, it offered no resistance and was instantly stored in the Space Backpack. [Obtained: Excellent Treasure Chest x1] Wang Tao tested it and felt the space inside this excellent treasure box was about two hundred cubic meters. An ordinary treasure chest holds approximately fifty to sixty cubic meters, a fine treasure chest holds just over one hundred cubic meters, and this excellent treasure chest had a little over two hundred cubic meters. Wang Tao¡¯s previous assumptions were right¡ªthe higher the quality of the chest, the larger and heavier the space inside... ¡°Let¡¯s go, we¡¯ll head back.¡± Wang Tao did indeed want to explore further, but he had brought so many people with him this time, and he needed to check on their situation. ¡°Woof¡ª¡± Lightning led Wang Tao back once more. By the time he reached the second level¡¯s entrance, Ding Yuqin hadn¡¯t gone far. So they waited for Wang Tao to catch up, then they all hurried back together. ¡°What¡¯s happening with Pan Jian?¡± Wang Tao asked. Chapter 1172 - 1172 479 Exploding Heart_2 ?Chapter 1172: Chapter 479 Exploding Heart_2 Chapter 1172: Chapter 479 Exploding Heart_2 The radio signal in the rift was terrible, so it was not even a question of communication from the second layer to the first layer, if they were slightly far from each other even on the first layer, they would lose contact. Even if they managed to establish contact, the signal could be very poor. So, as long as he went to the second layer, apart from Ding Yuqin who could contact others via the Perception Ring, nobody else could reach him. ¡°He said he has been following your instructions and hasn¡¯t reached the Stone Forest yet, but he should be closing in.¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t arrived yet? Could he possibly have taken the wrong path?¡± Wang Tao immediately furrowed his brows. ¡°Not sure, shall we go and check?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go and check.¡± Wang Tao had originally planned to wait for them in the Stone Forest, but since they hadn¡¯t arrived yet, and Wang Tao was also free for the time being, he decided to go and check. Everyone got into the car and hurried back. Soon, Wang Tao and his group had returned to the Stone Forest. Indeed, there was no one inside. They didn¡¯t stop, continuing back on their way. After walking for a few more minutes, Wang Tao finally saw a large group of people in the distance. They were fighting with some mutated plants, and the battle was intense. But after watching for a while, Wang Tao shook his head helplessly. No wonder this group never made it to the Stone Forest, Wang Tao could only describe them with one phrase¡ªamateurs pecking at each other. After Wang Tao had left the main squad earlier, they had always been moving deeper at a fast pace, and it was certain that quite a few escaped his net. It was only around the Stone Forest area when they collected the 100 Secret Keys that the cleanup was more thorough. Facing the mutated plants that Wang Tao¡¯s team missed and underestimated, these students encountered significant difficulty, especially since there was no one to control the black fog after Wang Tao left, causing their light range to be significantly reduced... This made their progress extremely strenuous. Even though they had Fourth-order Awakener teachers leading the team, who had to kill monsters and protect them, it was very hectic. Had it not been for these weak links, these Awakener teachers would have probably reached the Stone Forest much earlier... At a thought from Wang Tao, the black fog began to surge and quickly spread around. Pan Jian and the others couldn¡¯t see the black fog; they just felt it was very dark, and their lights couldn¡¯t shine far. But as soon as Wang Tao controlled the black fog, they immediately noticed that the range of their lights started to increase. ¡°The principal is back!¡± Pan Jian breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he saw this. He had seen Wang Tao¡¯s Ability before, and Wang Tao had just contacted him via radio. The others weren¡¯t foolish either; seeing this, they knew Wang Tao had returned and felt somewhat joyful. Especially the Awakener teachers; they all breathed a sigh of relief. Others might not know how strong Wang Tao was, but as Fourth-order Awakeners, they were well aware of how powerful Wang Tao was. He was definitely one of the top existences among the Level 4 Awakeners! Not only Zhou Wang was strong, but the members of his team were also very strong. With the Starfire Society group present, things would be much easier for them. ¡°Go on.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand, and Xiang Hongbin and a few others immediately rushed forward. These were just some minor enemies, the strongest being just a few Level 4 Lords, not worth Wang Tao¡¯s personal involvement. With the addition of Xiang Hongbin and others, the mutated plants around were quickly cleared. Wang Tao encountered the sweaty Pan Jian and his group. Pan Jian was a bit embarrassed; he had earlier asked Wang Tao if he needed help, but ended up being the one needing help. He had underestimated not only the dangers within the rift but also Wang Tao¡¯s strength. ¡°What¡¯s the damage so far?¡± Wang Tao asked directly. ¡°Thanks to the teachers¡¯ dedicated protection, no one is dead, but many are injured; currently, over fifty have minor injuries, and six are more severely wounded... they don¡¯t have much combat power left...¡± Pan Jian firstly acknowledged the Awakener teachers¡¯ efforts, then counted out the numbers a bit nervously, worried that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be satisfied. Upon hearing this, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t unsatisfied. Given their combat power, having no deaths was already very good, and as for the injured, even if they were critically wounded, as long as they were still breathing, Lan Yulian could heal them. ¡°All the injured, come over here.¡± Wang Tao yelled, his voice spreading throughout the entire team. Soon, dozens of people had gathered, some were carried over on stretchers. Lan Yulian immediately stepped forward, and a flash of green light enveloped all the injured. ¡°Ah! That feels amazing!¡± Someone exclaimed unconsciously. The others also felt great. If it weren¡¯t for Principal Wang Tao being there, they might have cried out as well. Those who hadn¡¯t been healed by Lan Yulian couldn¡¯t understand that feeling. Compared to other Healing-Type Ability Users, it was like night and day. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Lan Yulian performed a continuous-area healing, guessing that walking for a while should sufficiently replenish their HP. ¡°Yes!¡± Pan Jian called everyone to follow and then reported the situation to Wang Tao. ¡°... I knew it would be dangerous before I came, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be this dangerous. We are lucky to have these teachers, or we might have been completely wiped out...¡± After the report, Pan Jian once again praised the Awakener teachers. He wasn¡¯t just speaking politely¡ªhe was truly grateful. If these teachers had been any less diligent or caring, there could have been fatalities. Whether his life would be spared was uncertain... Wang Tao nodded silently. He was solely in charge of this Awakeners School, choosing not only the students but also the teachers. These teachers not only were skilled but also had good reputations. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the rewards will not be lacking.¡± Wang Tao nodded to Pan Jian. Then he said to the teachers: ¡°Thank you all for your hard work!¡± ¡°No trouble at all. It¡¯s what we ought to do!¡± The teachers quickly shook their heads. They genuinely had good character, but they also had their selfish motives¡ªWang Tao had placed some irresistible equipment and potions in the school treasury! However, these items could not be sold and could only be exchanged for Points within the school, and they were also after the Points... With the help of the Starfire Society, the team quickly arrived at the Stone Forest. Upon seeing this impressive Stone Forest made up of various huge rocks, everyone was amazed. Especially when they found that the rocks were incredibly hard, so much so that they, with their strength, could not destroy them, they conceived the same idea as Wang Tao had earlier¡ªwhether they could turn these stones into armor. ¡°Shh¡ªthere are engravings on these rocks, signed... Principal!¡± Seeing the characters on the rocks, let alone the students, even the Fourth-order Awakener teachers found it unbelievable. They had just tried it; with their Fourth-order Awakener strength, not only could they not carve anything, but even their carving tools shattered immediately! Yet Wang Tao could still engrave on them... Not only was Wang Tao¡¯s strength terrifying, but his weapons were incredibly powerful as well! They then thought of the various weapons Wang Tao had placed in the school¡¯s treasury, and their hearts grew even more eager. Amidst everyone¡¯s exclamations, Wang Tao smiled and shook his head, then said to Pan Jian: ¡°Has everyone¡¯s Points been tallied?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Pan Jian immediately pulled up the data on his informational wristwatch. They had a local network among their group, where contributions and Points were automatically calculated by a computer. Even if someone left the group, the computer would still keep track offline and transmit the data back to Pan Jian once reconnected. This was also one of the duties of the teaching staff. There were no rules without standards. This definitely could not be taken carelessly. ¡°Hmm, let me see...¡± Wang Tao glanced briefly at it then suddenly said: ¡°Call the top three students in Points, I will reward them with an Awakening opportunity.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Pan Jian was stunned. The school had only been officially established for a few days, and already they were granting students the chance to Awaken? Wasn¡¯t it said that obtaining the opportunity to Awaken was very rare... ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°No! Principal, just give me a moment...¡± Pan Jian immediately ran to call people personally. Chapter 1173 - 1173 480 Reward Awakening ?Chapter 1173: Chapter 480: Reward Awakening Chapter 1173: Chapter 480: Reward Awakening ¡°You¡¯re saying, was our decision to join the Awakeners School right or not? It¡¯s only our first mission, and even under the protection of so many teachers, there have already been so many injuries, and Xiao Hui almost died... If we stay here for another couple of days, with our strength, I¡¯m afraid we¡¯ll directly become fertilizer for the mutated plants...¡± In Stone Forest, three students had just set up a temporary tent and were slumped next to a lamp post. One of them, a somewhat plump man, spoke softly. ¡°Heh, regret it? That¡¯s not what you said before. You said getting into the Awakeners School was a blessing from your last eight lifetimes...¡± A tall man beside him spoke somewhat incredulously. ¡°Cough cough... That¡¯s because I didn¡¯t understand before! I thought we¡¯d undergo a lot of training at school and go on a mission occasionally. Who knew that on the first day of school, we¡¯d come to such a dangerous place...¡± The plump man sighed with a bit of embarrassment. ¡°No pain, no gain! Don¡¯t you want to become an Awakener? If you don¡¯t put in the effort, you¡¯ll never get the chance even if it presents itself! Cherish this opportunity while you have it!¡± The tall man spoke up again. This mission was indeed dangerous, but he did not regret it. After all, he had chosen this path and he wanted to become an Awakener. ¡°I have no doubt that our school can cultivate Awakeners; after all, our principal and teachers are all Awakeners, and with the strong support from the City Hall, there¡¯s no question about it. But the thing is, this is a long-term process¡ªit¡¯s not possible to awaken immediately. And the further we go, the more dangerous it gets. I¡¯m just a lowly Level Two, so I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll never get the chance to become an Awakener...¡± The somewhat chubby man said in a low voice, among these two hundred students, he was the one with the lowest strength. Hearing this, the tall man sighed inwardly but did not argue. He had no doubts about whether the school could cultivate Awakeners, but whether it would be his turn was questionable. After all, time was a big issue, and given the current situation, whether he would survive to return was an even bigger issue... He glanced unconsciously at their last companion, a lean young man who had only recently become a Level 3 Ability User. His strength was considered mid-level among the two hundred students. The three of them had a good relationship already, and having been assigned to the same class, they looked out for each other... The tall man then asked, ¡°Yan Hui, what about you? Do you regret it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t regret it. This might be my only chance in life to be close to Awakening. I can¡¯t give up! Even if I really die... that would be my fate.¡± The lean Yan Hui gently touched the bandage around his forehead, looking down at the blood on his hands, he spoke without raising his head. He knew his strength was not up to par and that his talent was lacking. He felt that being chosen by the Awakeners School was pure luck, so he cherished this opportunity! The tall man had been somewhat shaken before, but seeing Yan Hui, who had almost died, unafraid, what did he have to fear? Even the somewhat pessimistic plump man felt a surge of confidence. Just as he was about to speak again, he saw the academic director suddenly approaching. ¡°Director Pan!¡± The plump man quickly stood up to greet him. Yan Hui and the tall man also quickly got up. ¡°Good evening! Dinner is ready soon, and it¡¯s going to be substantial. Make sure you don¡¯t oversleep!¡± Pan Jian said with a smile, not showing any airs of being an academic director. It was the Apocalypse, where power ruled above all, even within the Awakeners School. Although he was the academic director, his actual job was to serve the principal, the teachers, and all students well. The principal and teachers, needless to say, were Fourth-order Awakeners; these students, although not Awakeners yet, all had the potential to awaken in the future. And he was just an ordinary Level 3 Ability User with average combat power... Therefore, he knew his place and how to interact with these people. Of course, there was another reason: among them, someone had been given the chance to awaken. With a bit of luck, they might become an Awakener tomorrow! ¡°Understood! Thanks for the reminder, Director Pan!¡± The plump man hastily bowed. In his heart, he felt that Director Pan was really responsible, personally coming over to notify them about the meal. However, after delivering the message, Pan Jian did not leave immediately but turned to look at Yan Hui. ¡°Your injuries are not serious, are they?¡± He asked with a look of concern. ¡°Thanks for the concern, Director Pan. It¡¯s nothing serious, I¡¯m much better after Teacher Lan¡¯s healing, and I should be completely recovered by tomorrow.¡± Yan Hui scratched his head. The Teacher Lan he was talking about was naturally Lan Yulian. Lan Yulian, like several others, held a teaching position at the Awakeners School, occasionally teaching and guiding students. ¡°Good, I¡¯m relieved to see you¡¯re alright!¡± Pan Jian smiled and nodded. Then, suddenly he added, ¡°You, come with me to see the principal.¡± ¡°Ah? Okay! But, Director Pan, do you know why the principal wants to see me...¡± Yan Hui first responded and then scratched his head again. Seeing that Pan Jian seemed approachable, he tentatively asked. The other two were curious about why the principal would want to see Yan Hui. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s good news! Your performance was very good this time, and Principal Wang has a reward! Whether you can awaken in your lifetime might depend on this moment, so, you need to seize the opportunity firmly! Come on, come with me.¡± Chapter 1174 - 1174 480 Reward Awakening_2 ?Chapter 1174: Chapter 480: Reward Awakening_2 Chapter 1174: Chapter 480: Reward Awakening_2 Pan Jian patted Yan Hui¡¯s shoulder firmly. Yan Hui opened his mouth, somewhat stiffly, and followed Pan Jian as they left. The slightly chubby man and the tall man exchanged glances, both a bit shocked. ¡°An opportunity to awaken? I must not have heard that wrong, right? It¡¯s only the first day of school... and Xiao Hui got the chance?! No, I have to work hard too!¡± ¡°What did you just say? It¡¯s only the first day of school, it¡¯s so dangerous...¡± ¡°Shut up, I didn¡¯t say anything! You heard wrong!¡± ... Elsewhere, after taking Yan Hui away, Pan Jian did not immediately go to find Wang Tao but sought out two other people instead. One was a woman with a good figure and appearance. The aura of an Ability User was very strong on her, indicating that she had been in Level 3 for some time and was relatively powerful among them. The other was a burly man whose presence felt even more dangerous, giving Yan Hui the sensation of facing a humanoid beast. Pan Jian didn¡¯t recognize the woman, but he knew the man because he was a well-known figure among the students, one of the strongest and most likely to awaken. It seemed that was indeed the case, as he had also obtained the opportunity to awaken! ¡°This is Zheng Ming, this is Fu Yu, and this is Yan Hui...¡± Pan Jian introduced them to each other and then said with a smile, ¡°Now that the meal is ready, let¡¯s go.¡± Pan Jian deliberately delayed for a while, waiting until everyone had gone to eat before bringing Yan Hui and the others there. After all, it was the principal¡¯s reward for their good deeds. The whole school needed to see it with their own eyes¡ªit was motivational! Principal Wang might not care about these details, but he had to consider them. ¡°Yes!¡± The three exchanged glances, their eyes filled with excitement. Awakening! This was their ultimate goal in entering the school! Although it was only an opportunity at the moment, to have obtained it on the first day of school... it was like a dream! When Pan Jian brought the three back, it was just as the other students had also come to eat. Seeing the trio standing outside the tent that represented the Principal, they were all very curious, wondering what the Principal wanted with them. Inside the tent, Pan Jian informed Wang Tao that the students and teachers were all present, hoping Wang Tao would allow others to see the reward. Wang Tao thought for a moment and understood what Pan Jian meant, so he nodded in agreement. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go out then.¡± Wang Tao and his group appeared outside the tent, immediately attracting the attention of the students. Pan Jian coughed loudly and announced, ¡°Fellow students, everyone has performed very well today, and Principal Wang has taken note. Therefore, he specifically selected the three students with the highest points and rewarded them with an opportunity to awaken!¡± Wow¡ªthe crowd erupted. The moment these words were spoken, there was instant uproar among the students. Although it had indeed been a dangerous day and they knew the school had the capacity, with Principal Wang being everyone¡¯s role model... but it was only the first day of school! To reward the opportunity to awaken? And three people at that! Does it mean that on the very first day of school, there are already Awakeners? Not just the students, even the Fourth-order Awakener teachers were shocked; they hadn¡¯t expected such a substantial reward from Wang Tao on the first day. They felt envious of the students, recalling their own awakenings which were fraught with hardships... ¡°However, I should clarify that this reward is personally given out by Principal Wang and not by the school; so everyone, keep working hard, and you might just obtain double rewards from both Principal Wang and the school...¡± Pan Jian continued his explanation. The school¡¯s rewards were pre-determined, and although flexible, it was best to keep them unchanged, as changing it once would lead to subsequent changes. However, Wang Tao¡¯s personal reward was different, entirely up to his mood, so it was given out in his private capacity. Pan Jian was explaining when Wang Tao looked at the three students and realized there was someone familiar. He didn¡¯t know Zheng Ming and Yan Hui, but he recognized Fu Yu. When Wang Tao had previously rested at a temporary camp in the wild, he encountered a group from the Wild Lion Guild hiding from Night Demons and let them take refuge, including Fu Yu, who was the only person with Hidden Attributes in the Wild Lion Guild. At that time, Wang Tao had taken a few extra looks at him, causing Fu Yu and the Gang Leader Wen Guocheng to mistakenly think Wang Tao was interested in Fu Yu... ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve been working hard lately!¡± Wang Tao said to Fu Yu with a smile. The first time he saw her, she was just a Level Two with slightly over ten thousand HP. But now, she had reached Level 3 with a hundred thousand blood. At this moment, Fu Yu had an aura of decisiveness about her, evidently having killed many zombies. ¡°Wang Xiaozhang! I¡¯ve always been working hard to follow in your footsteps!¡± Fu Yu said excitedly, her head held high as if she were seeing her idol. In fact, Wang Tao was indeed her idol because every time they met, Wang Tao had been outstandingly strong in her eyes, unbeatable by anyone. ¡°Not bad, keep it up!¡± Wang Tao smiled and nodded his head, then greeted Zheng Ming and Yan Hui. Zheng Ming¡¯s image fit what most people would expect of a strong person: tall, strong presence, serious... Of course, he was also very excited. Yan Hui, on the other hand, was slim and frail-looking, pale and clean, not seeming like a typical strong person. However, the bloodstained bandage on his head signaled to others that he wasn¡¯t one to be trifled with. But his HP was too low, obviously just having entered Level 3, he was the only one out of the three whose HP had not reached a hundred thousand. By now, Pan Jian had finished his opening remarks and stepped aside. Wang Tao wasted no time. He first asked about the fusion status of Fu Yu¡¯s trio¡¯s Crystal Cores and then directly took out many Level 3 Crystal Cores and Level 4 Ascension Crystal Cores. Moreover, all these Crystal Cores were of Red and Orange Quality, and more importantly, they were all usable for them! Just the sight of these high-quality Crystal Cores was enough to amaze people. Not to mention when they saw Wang Tao take out two items that looked like Secret Keys. ¡°Is that... a physical Awakening Key?¡± The students were familiar with the Awakening Key, as each had received a booklet after enrolling, which detailed the necessities for Awakening, including the Awakening Key. However, they had only seen pictures of physical Awakening Keys in the books; this was their first time seeing one in real life. Wang Tao had Fu Yu¡¯s trio fuse with the Crystal Cores first, and then Fu Yu and Yan Hui fused with the Secret Keys. Moments later, all three had finished the fusion, and both Fu Yu and Zheng Ming¡¯s eyes widened¡ªthey excitedly told Wang Tao that they felt like they could try to awaken! Yan Hui, who had not fused with a Secret Key, naturally had no reaction. Wang Tao told Fu Yu and the other to attempt Awakening directly. Following Wang Tao¡¯s words, they sat on a rock, and moments later, their eyes bulged as if they were excited to say something, but before they could, they collapsed on the rock. The students had never seen an Awakening before, so they were puzzled, even thinking that the Awakening had failed. But the Awakener teachers¡¯ eyes were wide with shock. ¡°Did it work? Two people Awakening at the same time?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows raised in surprise. He had initially thought that if one out of the three could awaken, it would be good enough, but unexpectedly, two had succeeded. Since that was the case, he aimed to make sure no regrets would remain from this reward. ¡°You¡¯re still lacking a bit of strength for Awakening; I¡¯ll take you to enhance your strength before you try Awakening.¡± Wang Tao called Blacky over, and amidst the gasps of the crowd, took a somewhat frightened Yan Hui up onto the giant snake. Blacky quickly vanished into the mist with the two of them. Wang Tao was going to take him to hunt Mutated Plants to increase his HP. Before long, the two of them and the snake returned. At this time, Yan Hui was already asleep, and Wang Tao handed him over to Pan Jian. ¡°He also awakened successfully.¡± In fact, Yan Hui¡¯s first attempt at Awakening had failed, but Wang Tao, not wanting to leave any regrets with the first reward, allowed Yan Hui to attempt Awakening again, and this time, he succeeded. Chapter 1175 - 1175 481 Revisiting the Second Level ?Chapter 1175: Chapter 481: Revisiting the Second Level Chapter 1175: Chapter 481: Revisiting the Second Level ¡°Three people, three awakening opportunities, all succeeded? Does that mean, by this time tomorrow, we will have three level 4 awakeners among us?¡± After settling in Yan Hui, Pan Jian still found it somewhat unbelievable. Not just him, the other students and teachers were still in shock as well. This was only the first day of school and three awakeners were already appearing? They had a total of only two hundred people; if the rate continued like this, wouldn¡¯t they all become awakeners in two months? Of course, they knew this was unrealistic; there wouldn¡¯t be three chances to awaken every day, nor could every chance result in awakening... But this gave them hope for awakening! The success of three students awakening was more convincing than any words could be. Some students might have had small thoughts or even regrets initially. But now, they instantly firmed up their beliefs. Joining the Awakeners School, they were naturally aware of the dangers, and had been forewarned by the school. They had joined precisely because they wanted to awaken. They had thought, even if some students did awaken, it wouldn¡¯t be until after a semester, or at least a month before one appeared, right? After all, awakening was difficult, requiring so much in the way of resources, how could it be so easy to awaken. They had heard before that the difficulty of awakening was more outrageous than getting into one of the top three universities in the national college entrance examination; having twenty awakeners out of these two hundred students would have already been quite good. They had no expectations that everyone could awaken; they just hoped to be that lucky one. But now, it¡¯s only the first day and three students had already awakened; they didn¡¯t dare to imagine what the future would hold! All the students instantly became full of fighting spirit, ready to perform well and save up points! Some even regretted not giving their all before. If they had known that the top three students in points on the first day would get an opportunity to awaken, they would have fought tooth and nail for it! But it was not too late, according to the school¡¯s notice, this activity should last for several days. Performing well in the coming days should still give them a chance! Looking at these spirited students, the teachers exchanged glances, each seeing the complex expressions in the others¡¯ eyes. ¡°They¡¯ve... awakened? Three of them?¡± One of the teachers muttered to himself. There was shock and delight in his tone, but also a hint of sourness. After all, he alone knew the price he and the power behind him had paid to awaken. But now, three students had just like that, awakened... It was natural for him to feel a bit jealous. ¡°Let us once again congratulate Zheng Ming, Fu Yu, and Yan Hui!¡± Though Pan Jian was shocked, he knew he had to seize this opportunity to say something. ¡°Their today is your future...¡± He wanted to emphasize this in front of all the students, to make them always remember this moment, to show them the strength of the Awakeners School, to ignite their fighting spirit, and to contribute to the base in the future. This sort of ideological work was not Wang Tao¡¯s forte, leaving it to Pan Jian was just right. And such ideological work was necessary; after all, nobody wanted the awakeners they trained so hard to produce to turn out ungrateful. Even Pan Jian felt, after the shock, that things might have been moving too fast. It was only the first day of school, and he hadn¡¯t done much ideological work on the students yet... Wang Tao looked at the excited students and smiled as he returned to his tent. The main reason there were so few awakeners was the issue of hidden attributes. HP could be increased by killing zombies, monsters, and abilities could be enhanced with crystal cores, but if hidden attributes were not innate, then they could only be obtained through things like magic seeds, which was much more difficult than the former two. And now, all two hundred students had hidden attributes! Just by satisfying the first two conditions, becoming an awakener was incredibly easy. So Wang Tao was quite calm; if not for the lack of resources, he could give everyone a secret key, a significant number of crystal cores, and enable them all to awaken! Of course, even if he had such resources, he couldn¡¯t do that. The reason was simple; if the base suddenly gained 200 awakeners, assigning positions would be a problem, and whether City Hall could keep them under control was another... After all, there is a huge gap between awakeners and ordinary ability users; if someone¡¯s strength suddenly surged, there¡¯s no telling if they might have different ideas. Although these people had passed the tests and theoretically had no problems with their character, people can change... especially if there are others whispering in their ears, which could lead to infighting. Wang Tao might be able to suppress them, but he could not always stay at the base as a nanny; he needed to enhance his strength outside, so even if there were enough resources, he couldn¡¯t give them all at once. He had to do it gradually. Moreover, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have that many resources. His resources were meant for the people of Starfire Society, and he was just leading the way. The resources needed later would have to be provided by the school. After getting the students pumped up, Pan Jian immediately came to the tent and asked: ¡°Principal Wang, what¡¯s our plan for tomorrow¡¯s action?¡± ¡°Let the students mine tomorrow, and take a day off,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Uh...¡± Hearing this, Pan Jian was a bit baffled. Not to mention what kind of mining, but could ¡°mining¡± really be called resting? Chapter 1176 - 1176 481 Revisiting the Second Level_2 ?Chapter 1176: Chapter 481: Revisiting the Second Level_2 Chapter 1176: Chapter 481: Revisiting the Second Level_2 ¡°The mining field is actually this Stone Forest, and these stones are very special,¡± a unique mineral with great research value. They might even be used to make armor or something, so we should take some back to the research institute. You create a scoring system for this. Oh, and the teachers will mine as well, earning points too. After all, these stones are too hard for anyone below an Awakener to mine...¡± Wang Tao explained. Comparatively, mining in the safe zone was indeed a break from hunting mutated lords elsewhere. However, they didn¡¯t need to mine too much¡ªone day¡¯s worth of mining would be enough for the research institute. If the institute discovered something significant, they could always return to mine more. ¡°So that¡¯s the case. Principal Wang, rest assured, I¡¯ll quickly establish a reasonable scoring method!¡± Pan Jian immediately promised. ¡°Oh right, we need to ensure the safety of those three students, they¡¯re vulnerable during their Awakening state. Although the likelihood of something happening is low, this is our school¡¯s first Awakening, and we can¡¯t afford any accidents,¡± Wang Tao added sternly. ¡°Yes!¡± Pan Jian nodded again, then tentatively asked, ¡°What about you?¡± It was clear from Wang Tao¡¯s words that he wouldn¡¯t be joining them. ¡°I¡¯m going to the second layer.¡± ¡°The second layer?¡± Pan Jian was stunned, unaware of the conditions on the second layer. ¡°Yes, there¡¯s an entrance to the second layer far from here...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained the situation about the second layer. Hearing that the second layer contained many Level 5 Lords, Pan Jian broke out in cold sweat. Level 5, Lords? Could anyone currently beat them? He wasn¡¯t aware that Wang Tao was already Level 5 and thought he was still a Fourth Order Awakened. Still, since it was Wang Tao¡¯s decision, he dared not ask further questions. Pan Jian went to figure out the mining, and Wang Tao discussed the next day¡¯s plans with Ding Yuqin and the others. Tomorrow, Wang Tao and Lightning would visit the second layer, while the others would hunt mutated plants nearby. From above, the rift they were in looked like a black Changhe, and Wang Tao and his group were essentially moving downstream from the uppermost part of this ¡°Changhe.¡± However, in reality, the space inside the rift wasn¡¯t simply elongated, and it was much larger inside than it appeared from above. As they continued on their path, it seemed like they had cleared the area, but they had only cleared the path they traveled. There were still many unexplored areas on both sides. So, there should still be plenty of mutated plants nearby for Ding Yuqin and the others to hunt... In the rift, it was impossible to feel the passing of time, and after roughly six hours of rest, Wang Tao and Lightning left the Stone Forest. It took a bit of time for Wang Tao to return to the location of the mutated tendrils. Then he continued deeper from there. Soon after, they encountered a patch of mutated plants, but this time, there were no Lords, just some Level 5 Elite, which Wang Tao quickly cleared. However, when he continued forward, he found that the path was blocked. Faced with a stone wall, Wang Tao furrowed his brows. Logically, they should¡¯ve been able to continue moving forward, but a stone wall was in their way. Wang Tao could see through the dense black fog that the rift didn¡¯t end here. Rather, there was a clear boundary above the stone wall, as if a stone slab had sliced the river in half. This meant he could potentially climb up the wall and get over it. But after some thought, Wang Tao decided not to cross. With his physical condition, he could climb over, but there were still other areas to explore in the second layer. It would be better to explore those places first and come back here only if there were no other options. Thus, Wang Tao began exploring other areas. Ten minutes later, spotting a red flower nearby, he grimaced. Another Level 5 mutated red flower, identical in attributes to the previous one he had defeated. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 300000/300000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Thorns Web] [Thorns Web: Control thorns to capture prey] With the experience from the first time, Wang Tao handled it even more skillfully this time. First, he took out the ring he had obtained from defeating the previous mutated red flower. [Red Flower Ring] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Special Ability: Capture Net (100% Energy)] [Capture Net: Uses stored energy to launch a capture net] Don¡¯t be fooled by the Mutated Red Flower growing on the ground; its roots are actually on the ceiling. If you can¡¯t kill it instantly, it will escape to the ceiling. Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see where its roots were hidden, but guessed they were probably attached to a stone connected to the ceiling. Although Wang Tao¡¯s [Scorching Eye] could attack creatures on the ceiling, there was no need to complicate things for himself. Therefore, Wang Tao directly used this [Red Flower Ring] and shot out a huge capture net. Swoosh¡ª The Mutated Red Flower didn¡¯t notice Wang Tao, and didn¡¯t react to his first attack, instantly getting caught by the capture net. This capture net did no damage, but the first reaction of the Mutated Red Flower after being enveloped was to flee. Unfortunately, the net was sticky and stuck to the ground, preventing its escape. As it moved, Wang Tao finally saw where its roots were hidden. Unreservedly, his eyes emitted a red glow and a high-temperature ray instantly struck its long stem connecting to the ceiling. [-14218] [-14815] [-15221] [...] ¡°The damage is so low...¡± Seeing these numbers, Wang Tao was speechless. He knew the defense at the root of the Mutated Red Flower was high, having attacked its roots before. But he thought, the stem¡¯s defense shouldn¡¯t be as high as the root, right? Perhaps it was the weak point of the mutated plant? Turns out, he thought too much. The stem¡¯s defense indeed wasn¡¯t as high as the root¡¯s, but it was still higher than the body of the Mutated Red Flower, halving his damage¡ªpreviously, each of his attacks on the mutated flower scored thirty thousand damage, now it was only fifteen thousand. So Wang Tao immediately shifted his target, directing the high-temperature ray directly onto the body of the Mutated Red Flower. [-31893] [-31186] [-32034] [...] Now, that¡¯s more like it! As the high-temperature ray hit the Mutated Red Flower, its HP started dropping rapidly. Although the high-temperature ray also burned the capture net, allowing the Mutated Red Flower to escape, Wang Tao already charged forward. He mounted the Mutated Red Flower and grabbed his Iron Thorn Steel Whip, hammering down on it ruthlessly. [-20394] [...] [0/300000] After a few strikes, the HP of the Mutated Red Flower was depleted. With the Mutated Red Flower easily killed, Wang Tao looked at his new weapon. ¡°This damage is really high!¡± Next time he encounters weaker mutated plants, he can just use the whip for close combat. [Scorching Eye] is good, but the consumption of Awakening Energy is too great. Even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t sustain continuous use; it¡¯s better to conserve when possible. Wang Tao cleaned up the battlefield. The spoils of war he obtained weren¡¯t much different from the previous Mutated Red Flower. Including various Crystal Cores, Antidote Potions, Magic Seeds, Growth Fruits, Awakening Keys, Red Flower Rings, and other items. The only thing missing was an Awakening Energy Pearl. Of these spoils, naturally, the most precious was ¡°Magic Seeds,¡± which could create an Awakener. But Wang Tao was more interested in the ¡°Growth Fruit¡±... [Growth Fruit: After consumption by a creature, there is a fifty percent chance that strength will be enhanced, and a fifty percent chance of being poisoned to death] Wang Tao really wanted to know exactly how much ¡°strength enhancement¡± was, but unfortunately, the penalty for failure was too severe¡ªhe dared not use it! ¡°Right, it says ¡®after consumption by a creature¡¯... since it mentions creatures, it shouldn¡¯t be limited to humans, right? What if I gave it to zombies or these mutated plants? What effect would it have?¡± Chapter 1177 - 1177 482 Trial of the Fruit ?Chapter 1177: Chapter 482: Trial of the Fruit Chapter 1177: Chapter 482: Trial of the Fruit Thinking about the introduction of the ¡°Growth Fruit¡±, Wang Tao felt perhaps he could experiment using the mutated plants, considering the abundance of such plants here. Moreover, he now had two ¡°Growth Fruits¡± in his possession. Considering a 50% success rate, at least one should work, right? As soon as he thought of it, Wang Tao gathered the spoils of war and set out to find more mutated plants. However, since he had only two fruits, adhering to the principle of using steel on the cutting edge, he naturally skipped the elite mutated plants, considering at least the mutated plant lords, and preferably Level 5 ones. After all, Level 4 lords were no match for Wang Tao, and even if their strength were to increase, it still would not be enough. It wasn¡¯t long before Wang Tao encountered mutated plants again, this time a group of Level 5 elite mutated plants. Confirming there was no lord among them, Wang Tao didn¡¯t use the [Scorching Eyes], instead, he charged directly with a thick steel whip. Moments later, these plants were all smashed by Wang Tao, leaving a swath of destruction. Wang Tao continued exploring. However, the more he wanted to encounter something, the less likely he was to find it. Wang Tao really wanted to stumble upon a Level 5 lord, preferably two, but despite searching for quite some time and killing who knows how many Level 5 elites, he didn¡¯t see a single Level 5 lord. Wang Tao also realized that this second layer was different from the first. It seemed much smaller. On the first layer, he couldn¡¯t feel where the boundaries were, as it seemed like an infinitely vast space. But on this second layer, he had already hit walls in three directions. Besides the initial stone wall which seemed passable, the other two walls connected directly to the ceiling, leaving no place to climb over... Moreover, Wang Tao found no entrance to a third layer, if there was one. He was now heading towards the last direction; if he hit a wall again, it would mean two things¡ª This second layer had been fully explored by him alone; to continue exploring, he probably would have to climb over the previously mentioned even stone wall. Wang Tao did not hope to finish exploring the second layer so quickly, as he still wanted to continue killing Level 5 mutated plants, and he hadn¡¯t yet had a chance to experiment with the ¡°Growth Fruit¡±... After some time, Wang Tao had both good and bad news. The good news was, he saw two Level 5 mutated plant lords, so he could proceed with his plan. The bad news was, these two Level 5 mutated plants were near the last stone wall, which connected directly to the ceiling. In other words, this second layer had indeed been fully explored by Wang Tao, and the mutated plants were mostly eliminated by him. Only these last two Level 5 mutated plant lords remained... Wang Tao was helpless, uncertain if he would find another place to hunt Level 5 lords. But at least there were still two Level 5 mutated plant lords, which was not bad. After some thought, Wang Tao did not immediately go to hunt them. Instead, he contacted Ding Yuqin, planning to call them over. The second layer had been confirmed safe, just two Level 5 mutated lords. Wang Tao alone could handle them, so they posed no threat to them. It would be good for them to fight more with Level 5 lords to gain experience. When Wang Tao arrived at the entrance of the second layer, Ding Yuqin and the others had just arrived. He had them park the car outside, and everyone followed Wang Tao down. ¡°This place is strange...¡± ¡°My body suddenly feels much heavier...¡± ¡°It feels like I¡¯m being suppressed...¡± ¡°...¡± Upon entering the second layer, everyone spontaneously spoke up. Wang Tao furrowed his brows. When he had discovered this passage earlier, Xiang Hongbin and the others also mentioned that the second layer gave them an uncomfortable feeling, as though they were being suppressed. If they came to this second layer, their combat abilities would likely be impacted. Wang Tao initially thought it might be the excessive dark fog, causing those without Dark Attributes to feel uneasy. But once they actually arrived at the second layer, Wang Tao realized that they were indeed being suppressed¡ª [Suppression: Strength restricted, can only exert 50%] [Suppression: Strength restricted, can only exert 55%] [Suppression: Strength restricted, can only exert 60%] [...] A ¡°suppressed¡± status appeared above everyone¡¯s heads, and they could only exert between 50% and 70% of their capacity... Was this suppression status random? At least for now, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t find any pattern. And animals like Lightning, Blacky, and Little Bing, although very alert and seeming like they were facing a great enemy, weren¡¯t suppressed¡ªtheir strength was normal. This made Wang Tao frown; he had thought that perhaps others were affected by the dark fog because they hadn¡¯t awakened Dark Attributes. But now, it didn¡¯t seem like the dark fog, considering Lightning and the others were unaffected... ¡°Your strength has been weakened...¡± Wang Tao briefly explained to them, immediately causing everyone to slightly panic. Strength, after all, can only be gauged through combat. Normally, one might not clearly feel it¡ªperhaps just feeling slightly off¡ªbut discovering something was wrong during combat would be too late. Luckily, Wang Tao had given them advance notice, giving them some mental preparation. But even so, they were still very anxious¡ªafter all, strength was fundamental for survival. In this place without strength, their lives were seriously at risk! Chapter 1178 - 1178 482 Experimental Results_2 ?Chapter 1178: Chapter 482: Experimental Results_2 Chapter 1178: Chapter 482: Experimental Results_2 ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve cleared all the mutated plants on the second layer, so it¡¯s temporarily safe, just the last two Fifth Order Mutant Plant Lords remaining...¡± Wang Tao reassured them while having them run a test. He then realized that this suppression probably had nothing to do with the black mist, even if he cleared all the surrounding black mist, Ding Yuqin and the others still experienced a suppressed state. The black mist only made them uncomfortable and did not suppress their strength. He, on the other hand, was completely unaffected... Wang Tao was very different from the others, for instance, he had awakened three times, while others only once; his Awakening Energy was the highest... But the greatest difference was simply this¡ªhe was a Fifth Order Awakener, while the others were Fourth Order Awakeners! Thus, Wang Tao felt that this situation was most likely related to their levels. Perhaps there existed some sort of ¡°rule¡± on the second layer that targeted humans, suppressing the Fourth Order Awakeners, and only Fifth Order Awakeners could exert their full strength... To prove whether this hypothesis was correct was not difficult. Later, Wang Tao planned to bring some Level 3 and Level 2 Ability Users here to test if they were suppressed and to what extent, then it would be clear... But that was a matter for later; his current priority was to deal with those two Fifth Order Mutant Lords. Wang Tao led the people to the vicinity of the two mutated plants, dispersed the surrounding black mist, and allowed everyone to see the targets. These were two trees that looked alike, both completely black, about five meters tall, and quite stout¡ªsomewhat chunky. The trees had thick black leaves, and among them were some smooth black fruits... [HP: 400,000/400,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Skill: Seed Shooting] [Seed Shooting: Fires its seeds to cause damage] Both these large mutated trees had 400,000 HP, clearly demonstrating their formidable strength. These were also different from the mutated plants Wang Tao had encountered before. Previously encountered mutated plants could move their upper parts, leaving only their roots immobile, but their roots were well-hidden and not easily detectable. However, by the looks of these two large trees, they seemed entirely immovable. Naturally, this was good news for Wang Tao and his team; immobile and with such a large body size, they were perfect targets for an attack. But there was one problem¡ª their SKILL was ranged attack! No wonder they were totally immobile, as they had means for ranged attack. Wang Tao shared this information about the two mutated large trees with everyone and instructed them to be on their guard. Then his eyes emitted a red light, as two high-temperature rays instantly shot toward one of the mutated large trees. The others also used their own methods of ranged attack, and those who didn¡¯t have any just used guns, targeting the same tree. Since the two mutated large trees were immobile, there was no need to attack both at the same time; it was best to focus on the nearest one and take them down one by one. Sizzle¡ª [-15,203] [-15,392] [-15,611] [...] This large tree¡¯s defensive power was very high; Wang Tao¡¯s high-temperature rays could only cause fifteen thousand damage. The damage caused by the others was even lower, particularly those using guns, whose bullets could only inflict several tens of damage... And this mutated large tree had healing abilities; though not substantial, the bullets were practically ineffective against it. The mutated large tree¡¯s healing was somewhat unexpected to Wang Tao, but it wasn¡¯t a major issue. Its healing, no matter how fast, could not outpace his attacks. Just a continuous ten-odd seconds of high-temperature rays would be enough to kill it! However, the mutated large tree obviously wouldn¡¯t just let Wang Tao attack it; a second after they attacked, the large tree shook violently, its black leaves rustling. At the same time, the black fruits were completely exposed, and then, with a ¡°bang,¡± the fruits explosively burst. Following the fruit explosion, a shower of what seemed like steel pellets flew toward Wang Tao and his group! Wang Tao had already warned them, so they were prepared for the large tree¡¯s attack, promptly hiding behind some large rocks. Although these rocks were not as hard as those in the Stone Forest, they were similar enough, clearly serving as a natural defense. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, when a seed hit the rock, it directly smashed a huge crater in it! When several seeds hit the same rock simultaneously, that large rock simply burst with a loud bang! ¡°Damn! That¡¯s some high damage!¡± Xiang Hongbin was somewhat shocked; even at his Full Peak State, he couldn¡¯t leave much of a mark on such rocks, yet just a few seeds from the mutated large tree caused such a large rock to explode. ¡°Everyone, get down on the ground!¡± Wang Tao immediately had everyone get down. There were many rocks here, and although [Seed Shooting] could destroy the rocks, it would take quite some effort to destroy so many. Everyone waited for a moment, and the sound of shooting finally slowly faded away. Wang Tao raised his head and observed carefully. He saw new fruits appearing on the two large trees. The fruits were small, but they were growing visibly larger! ¡°Is the Skill entering its cooldown phase?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately called for everyone to attack. ¡°Attack!¡± Swoosh¡ª¡ª Various ranged attacks instantly landed on the mutated trees, the other people¡¯s attacks just managed to counter the mutated tree¡¯s Blood Regeneration Ability, Wang Tao¡¯s High-Temperature Ray was the main offensive measure. However, just a few seconds later, fruits on the mutated tree started exploding again. Wang Tao called for everyone to get down again. Another round of intense explosions erupted, blasting away many rocks in front of everyone. When the explosions subsided, Wang Tao looked up again and the High-Temperature Ray attacked once more. Actually, Wang Tao felt that under the activation of Starfire Prairie, he could have engaged in close combat, but being too close would expose him to the indiscriminate, omnidirectional Seed Shooting of the two mutated trees, which could leave him nowhere to hide. So, there was no need to take that risk. Using ranged attacks was just a matter of using more Awakening Energy. Wang Tao used [Scorching Eyes] three times, each lasting for several seconds. The large tree couldn¡¯t move, so it endured full damage, and now it had only fifteen thousand HP left. Wang Tao immediately stopped the attack and, taking advantage of the fact that the fruits on the mutated tree had not grown yet, he directly threw a [Growth Fruit] over. Wang Tao¡¯s throw was well-measured, landing the fruit right at the base of the mutated tree. ¡°I wonder if the mutated tree will eat it...¡± The shaking body of the tree seemed to pause for a moment, then a thick branch stretched down, quickly curling around the [Growth Fruit] and stuffing it into the dense leaves. ¡°It ate it?¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t had time to be happy when he saw the tree suddenly shake wildly. The word ¡°poisoning¡± appeared under its health bar. [-10000] [-10000] [-10000] [...] Losing 10,000 health per second! ¡°It¡¯s poisoned! This poison is fierce! Even a Level 5 Lord can¡¯t withstand it...¡± As the mutated tree was about to die from the poison, Wang Tao decisively fired the High-Temperature Ray again. He wasn¡¯t sure if being killed by the fruit would count as his kill, so he still had to snatch the victory. [-5273] [0/400000] The mutated tree¡¯s blood bar emptied. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat frustrated; the first experiment had failed... Wang Tao turned his attention to another mutated tree a bit further away. ¡°Fortunately, there¡¯s another one. Hope it doesn¡¯t fail this time.¡± Wang Tao immediately attacked the other mutated tree. The battle proceeded in the same way as before, and when this tree¡¯s HP was low, Wang Tao threw the last [Growth Fruit] at it. Similarly, this mutated tree swallowed the fruit, but this time, no sign of poisoning appeared above its head. But Wang Tao¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What the fuck! A Disaster Class?¡± Chapter 1179 - 1179 483 Slaying Disaster ?Chapter 1179: Chapter 483: Slaying Disaster Chapter 1179: Chapter 483: Slaying Disaster Boom¡ª The ground trembled, and rocks tumbled down. Thick roots bulged like muscles, and the mutant tree visibly grew larger before their eyes. Wang Tao and his companions steadied themselves, ready to attack the mutating tree at any moment. But Wang Tao didn¡¯t immediately order an attack; he was waiting. The mutant tree that had just swallowed the Growth Fruit had been poisoned and died, but there were no signs of poisoning on this tree. Instead, it began to expand suddenly. Wang Tao knew this was the work of the Growth Fruit. But why would enhancing strength increase the size of the tree? Could it really ascend to become a Sixth Rank Lord? Wang Tao was not afraid, rather, he was somewhat excited. He was no longer satisfied with being a Level 5 Lord¡ªhe was eager to test his strength against a Level 6 Lord! As the mutant tree absorbed the Growth Fruit, its attributes changed too, but to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, it didn¡¯t evolve into a Level 6 Lord but mutated into a Level 5 Disaster Class! [HP: 1000000/1000000] [Mana: 0/0] [Level: Level 5 Disaster] [Cataclysmic Awakening: Life Drain] [Life Drain: Drains the HP of surrounding living beings] To be honest, Wang Tao would rather face two Sixth Rank Lords than one Level 5 Disaster. Just looking at these monstrous attributes, the Disaster Class tree had an HP cap of 1 million, which was 2.5 times that of the previous 400,000! And this Cataclysmic Awakening¡ª Wang Tao clearly saw a blood-draining status appearing above his own head. [-1000] [-1000] [-1000] [...] Losing 1000 HP every second! At first glance, this blood loss seemed manageable, since they had Lan Yulian, a mighty healer, even though her healing ability was also suppressed, but the amount of HP she could regenerate every second was enough to counteract this blood loss. But the problem was that Lan Yulian and the others also had the blood-draining status, and they were losing ten times the blood Wang Tao was! [-10000] [-10000] [-10000] [...] ¡°It¡¯s a Level 5 Disaster Class! Retreat first!¡± Wang Tao immediately led everyone to fall back rapidly. The farther they got from the mutant tree, the less blood they lost. They finally stopped bleeding when they retreated over a hundred meters away. Lan Yulian hurriedly healed everyone, and they all had only thirty or forty thousand blood left. Thankfully, Level 3 Chen Zhuang didn¡¯t come over; the others were all Level 4 Awakeners with over a hundred thousand HP. Otherwise, there would definitely be a risk to their lives. ¡°It¡¯s terrifying!¡± Xiang Hongbin, who was usually fearless, also seemed a bit shaken. They had had a similar feeling when they faced the Catastrophic Serpent last time. However, the Serpent was after all Level 4 and was slain by everyone¡¯s combined efforts. Compared to this Level 5 Disaster Class tree... there was no comparison! The mutant tree¡¯s Cataclysmic Awakening range alone was far beyond that of the previous Serpent; only beyond 100 meters did they stop losing blood. The range covered by Cataclysmic Awakening was probably a circle with a radius of over 100 meters, an area that amounted to over 30,000 square meters, equivalent to more than four standard football fields! Not to mention the blood loss was even more monstrous! They were at least forty or fifty meters away from the tree just now, a distance that was already beyond many people¡¯s range of ranged attacks. Yet even at that distance, they lost ten thousand HP every second! With their HP over a hundred thousand, they could only last for about ten seconds more. If they got any closer, maybe they would lose several tens of thousands of HP per second, and die instantly! Wang Tao felt somewhat relieved; he was glad he had been cautious and hadn¡¯t let everyone get too close. Otherwise, it wasn¡¯t certain that the others could have returned safely. ¡°A Disaster Class...¡± A Level 5 Disaster Class was obviously more difficult to deal with than a Level 6 Lord. HP and defense were secondary; the main issue was the ¡°Cataclysmic Awakening.¡± So far, he had encountered three Cataclysmic Awakenings; all wide-ranging, indiscriminate, sustained attacks! And they seemed to have no consumption at all, just like a monster¡¯s Passive Ability! This kind of Cataclysmic Awakening was too monstrous, leaving no way for them to get close. Especially for a Fourth-order Awakener like Xiang Hongbin, getting close meant certain death. Although as a Level 5, Wang Tao could withstand the blood loss, he could only do so at medium to close range. If he tried to approach the mutant tree, he guessed he would lose tens of thousands of HP... The only relief was that the mutant tree, even though it had ascended to a Disaster Class, still couldn¡¯t move. So as long as they didn¡¯t do anything reckless, they could safely leave. ¡°Wang Tao, what should we do?¡± But obviously, the group was unwilling to just leave like that. This was a Disaster Class! Moreover, a Level 5 Disaster Class, and Wang Tao was also Level 5. Surely they had to try, right? ¡°I¡¯ll try its strength first. Don¡¯t come over.¡± Wang Tao instructed, then charged straight toward the mutant tree. The space here was not open. There were many obstacles such as rock walls around, and Wang Tao couldn¡¯t see the mutant tree directly from this point. He had to get closer. As he re-entered the range of the Cataclysmic Awakening, Wang Tao started losing blood again. [-100] [-200] [-300] [...] By the time Wang Tao laid eyes on the mutant tree, he didn¡¯t hesitate; two red High-Temperature Rays shot out instantly. Sss¡ª [-3133] [-3224] [-3256] ¡°...¡± Seeing the damage numbers, Wang Tao decisively stopped the High-Temperature Rays. Before the evolution of the mutant tree, the High-Temperature Ray could cause 15,000 damage every half second; now, after the evolution, it only did 3,000 damage... The damage had reduced by five times! And its HP had gone from 400,000 to 1 million! It wasn¡¯t hard to calculate that to kill the tree with the High-Temperature Ray now, Wang Tao would have to shoot for five minutes! Chapter 1180 - 1180 483 Slaying Disaster_2 ?Chapter 1180: Chapter 483: Slaying Disaster_2 Chapter 1180: Chapter 483: Slaying Disaster_2 Five minutes, even if Wang Tao¡¯s eyes could withstand it, his Awakening Energy couldn¡¯t support it! The longer [Scorching Eyes] were sustained, the slighter the increase in damage, but the greater the consumption; he simply couldn¡¯t bear such a drain. Thus, Wang Tao decisively stopped using his Ability and had to think long-term. But at that moment, the words for blood replenishing suddenly appeared above the head of the Catastrophe Rank Tree. [+700] [+700] [+700] [...] ¡°Regenerating blood?¡± Wang Tao thought of the name associated with the Catastrophe Rank Tree¡¯s Cataclysmic Awakening. ¡°Life Drain? This can¡¯t be my blood, can it?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s expression was very ugly because his HP was dropping by exactly 700 every second! To verify his guess, Wang Tao immediately stepped back a few paces, and the blood loss above his head decreased. [-600] [...] At the same time, the regeneration number above the tree¡¯s head changed too. [+600] [...] ¡°Damn, it really is my blood!¡± Wang Tao immediately ran back. He hadn¡¯t yet found a way to slay the great tree and definitely couldn¡¯t stay there, otherwise, he¡¯d be allowing the tree to heal for free. ¡°How is it?¡± Seeing Wang Tao return, everyone immediately inquired. Lan Yulian¡¯s healing was cast upon Wang Tao as if it cost nothing. ¡°One piece of good news and one piece of bad news. The good news is, after the Ascension, it seems the mutant tree lost its ranged attack ability; I attacked it, and it couldn¡¯t fight back. But the bad news is, its defense is too high...¡± Wang Tao thoroughly explained the situation of the great tree. ¡°This...¡± Everyone frowned upon hearing this. If Wang Tao couldn¡¯t do anything about it, then they might have to give up... ¡°What if I heal you from behind while you go up and fight it at close quarters?¡± Lan Yulian asked. Wang Tao immediately shook his head. ¡°No, I can withstand it, but you can¡¯t. The range of your healing is limited; you can¡¯t stay too far from me...¡± Lan Yulian thought about it and realized that this situation was different from last time. Last time, the Fourth-Order Disaster Level Giant Snake¡¯s Cataclysmic Awakening range was much smaller, and she could heal others from outside the range. But now, with such a large area, she would have to venture deep into it to heal, and if she dared to go in deep, she might die on the spot... ¡°Then what do we do... It feels too regretful to give up like this!¡± The expression on everyone¡¯s faces was one of disappointment. After all, the opportunity was rare; the Fifth-Order Disaster-Level Great Tree couldn¡¯t move, which essentially made it a stationary target. If they couldn¡¯t take it down, that would be such a waste. ¡°Let me think some more...¡± Wang Tao still had some good items at hand, such as the Life Ring that could store 100,000 HP. This thing was equivalent to a blood replenishing pack, but it wasn¡¯t very useful against such a degree of Cataclysmic Awakening. Another example was the Flowing Bracelet that could enhance attack power, which at maximum could increase his attack power by 99%, but the side effect was a 99% decrease in HP... If he wore this bracelet and fought with the mutant great tree, he would die even faster... ¡°Perhaps, we could try these two items...¡± Wang Tao looked towards the two items. [Fifth-Rank Weapon: Ironwood Guardian] [HP:1000000/1000000] [Status: Dormant] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Auto Defense] [Compatibility: 100%] The first was the Ironwood Guardian; its 24-hour cooldown had already ended after his last trial. Although a Biological weapon¡¯s Combat Power was equivalent to that of Level 6 Lords, and couldn¡¯t compare to Disaster Class, with 1 million HP, it should be effective, right? [Explosive Heart] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [Durability +1, Attack power +1000, explodes 30 seconds after activation (activation requires Awakening Energy)] The second was the Exploding Heart. With a full 1000 Attack power, it should be able to cause quite a bit of damage to the great tree, right? ¡°What do you guys think about this plan? I¡¯ll set up the Ironwood Guardian first, then I¡¯ll use every means available to see how much HP we can drain from it, and finally, use the Exploding Heart to... If that doesn¡¯t work, then we¡¯ll just leave and think of another plan later,¡± Wang Tao said to the others. He had explained [Ironwood Guardian] and [Explosive Heart] to everyone before, and they all knew the effects of these items. ¡°We can give it a try!¡± Most of the people had no objections, mainly because they couldn¡¯t help in a hurry. If they faced Sixth Rank Lords, they could still join the fight, but the range and damage of this Cataclysmic Awakening were too abnormal; they simply couldn¡¯t get across. But He Jijun suddenly spoke up: ¡°There¡¯s something not quite right!¡± ¡°Where is the problem?¡± Wang Tao immediately asked with a serious expression. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say the Ironwood Guardian is a Biological weapon that is tough to move and fights in close combat? And the Catastrophe Rank Tree¡¯s Awakening range is huge and can siphon life from other creatures for its own use! Against the Catastrophe Rank Tree... I¡¯m afraid the Ironwood Guardian might become a blood replenishing pack!¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He Jijun was right, the Ironwood Guardian wouldn¡¯t be able to reach the Catastrophe Rank Tree if it stayed back, and if it got too close, it would definitely have its HP drained by the tree! The damage the Ironwood Guardian could cause was probably less than what the mutant tree could absorb; after all, it was a Cataclysmic Awakening... If there really was a healing pack with 1 million HP, then they could forget about killing it! ¡°You¡¯re right, I didn¡¯t consider that. Let¡¯s not use the Ironwood Guardian then, just the Exploding Heart...¡± ¡°Yes, we could give that a try.¡± This time, after ensuring there were no oversights, Wang Tao approached the mutant great tree once again. Zzzt¡ª [-3421] [...] Two high-temperature rays were immediately fired, and a string of damage numbers appeared above the mutant great tree. At the same time, a fireball appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. The fireball grew larger and larger, and then he smashed it directly into the mutant great tree. Boom¡ª [-4293] [-429] [...] The explosion after the fireball¡¯s charge-up was quite spectacular, but the damage clearly did not live up to the special effects. Chapter 1181 - 1181 483 Slaying Disaster_3 ?Chapter 1181: Chapter 483: Slaying Disaster_3 Chapter 1181: Chapter 483: Slaying Disaster_3 Logically speaking, trees should be of the wood attribute, and fire attributes should have a bonus against them. But whether it was High-Temperature Ray or Fireball, Wang Tao felt that there was no such bonus to the damage... or maybe there was, but it wasn¡¯t significant? While pondering, a dark energy emerged in the palm of Wang Tao¡¯s right hand and then, like a bullet, flew towards the tree. Swoosh¡ª [-1523] [Curse: Blindness] ¡°...¡± Alright, Wang Tao could now confirm that fire attributes indeed had a bonus. The Dark Air Bullet he simulated with dark attribute only dealt fifteen hundred damage... However, the curse status seemed to work just fine, even on a Fifth-Order Catastrophic entity; the curse took effect regardless. Thus, Wang Tao immediately abandoned the idea of using Fireballs and instead alternated between scorching it with High-Temperature Rays and attacking vigorously with Dark Air Bullets. In the blink of an eye, three curse statuses had been applied, but the curses were ordinary and didn¡¯t have a significant effect. For the first time, Wang Tao felt the duration of the curses was too long! He could only afflict the same enemy with three curses, and a new curse could only take effect if one of the existing curses disappeared. Naturally, what he wanted was [Curse: Slaying], but the chances of triggering it were too low, so he had to be patient. So, Wang Tao settled into an Endurance Battle. Although the tree could use Blood Sucking, with only Wang Tao within its awakened range, it could only drain blood from him. Wang Tao deliberately maintained a safe distance, only losing a few hundred HP per second, whereas his attacks on the Catastrophic Tree dealt several thousand. Under these circumstances, the tree¡¯s HP began to decline gradually. But Wang Tao couldn¡¯t keep this up indefinitely; he would attack for a while, then retreat to rest and recover some HP, and then attack again¡ªtaking advantage of the fact that the Catastrophic Tree couldn¡¯t move. However, the Catastrophe Rank Tree¡¯s healing ability was also strong. Even though it couldn¡¯t drain much blood from Wang Tao, it still managed to recover a significant amount of HP. After much effort, Wang Tao finally depleted three hundred thousand of the Catastrophic Tree¡¯s HP, and he also consumed a large amount of Awakening Energy. Just as Wang Tao fired another Dark Air Bullet, preparing to retreat again to rest and replenish his energy, he was startled. He saw the roots of the Catastrophic Tree wriggle a few times, then its body began to move slowly! Although it wasn¡¯t fast, it was definitely moving towards Wang Tao. Instantly, Wang Tao lost an additional hundred HP. ¡°Learned how to walk?¡± If the Catastrophic Tree could move, then his disreputable strategy would no longer be effective! Just as Wang Tao was notifying Ding Yuqin to prepare for evacuation, his eyes suddenly lit up. His last Dark Air Bullet had finally inflicted [Curse: Slaying]! Without any hesitation, Wang Tao threw the [Explosive Heart]! Swoosh¡ª Countdown, 29, 28... Wang Tao immediately ran backward, his gaze never leaving the Catastrophic Tree. He didn¡¯t know how large the blast radius of the Exploding Heart was, so he had to get as far away as possible, which was why he didn¡¯t hold onto the bomb and wait to throw it when the timer ran out. But he was also worried that the Catastrophe Rank Tree might throw back the Exploding Heart. Though he felt the tree probably wasn¡¯t that smart, he couldn¡¯t be too cautious. Fortunately, the tree completely ignored the Explosive Heart and continued to sluggishly pursue Wang Tao. ¡°What¡¯s the situation now?¡± As others saw Wang Tao running back, they were about to ask when suddenly they saw a small blinding light in the distance. Buzz¡ª The [Self-Destruct Heart] exploded. The sound wasn¡¯t loud, the range wasn¡¯t wide, and there was no dangerous aura¡ªonly the light was somewhat dazzling. The others squinted their eyes subconsciously, while Wang Tao¡¯s eyes showed delight. [-622731] He saw first a six-hundred-thousand damage floating up; that was the explosion damage of the [Self-Destruct Heart]! He knew the Exploding Heart¡¯s damage was high, after all, it was a monstrous one thousand attack power, but the six hundred thousand damage still surprised Wang Tao. [-75734] [0/1000000] Then, a seventy-five thousand damage appeared¡ªthat was [Curse: Slaying] taking effect. Finally, the blood bar of the Catastrophe Rank Tree was zeroed out. This left Wang Tao with mixed feelings. A million HP, Cursed Slaying could take out two hundred thousand HP, but since the opponent¡¯s HP was not enough, only over seventy thousand were taken out. Was this, in a way, a waste? ¡°What¡¯s happening over there?¡± The others only saw a flash of light and then the silence of the Catastrophe Rank Tree; they weren¡¯t clear on the specifics. ¡°It¡¯s dead! That guy is dead!¡± Wang Tao laughed loudly. ¡°Phew¡ª¡± Hearing this, amidst their joy, everyone finally sighed in relief. ¡°It¡¯s finally dead!¡± ¡°That was so hard to kill!¡± ¡°I bet even Sixth Rank Lords aren¡¯t much different, right?¡± They didn¡¯t know how much HP Wang Tao had taken from the Catastrophe Rank Tree; they just knew that he had been battling for a very long time, probably his longest battle recently. Facing the others¡¯ sighs, Wang Tao shook his head with a smile. He had faced Sixth Rank Lords, and he was sure that dealing with a Sixth Rank Lord was definitely simpler than a Fifth-Order Catastrophe. After all, the vast range of Cataclysmic Awakening, Blood Sucking Ability, and its own Healing Ability were too buggy... Although Wang Tao was at Level 5, he hadn¡¯t yet fused with a Level 5 Crystal Core to upgrade his Ability. Currently, he had also saved up some Level 5 Omnipotent Crystal Cores; it was time to enhance his strength. But for now, he had to check the spoils of war first. A Level 5 Catastrophe... Wang Tao was very much looking forward to it! Chapter 1182 - 1182 484 Blood Sucking Attributes ?Chapter 1182: Chapter 484 Blood Sucking Attributes Chapter 1182: Chapter 484 Blood Sucking Attributes Wang Tao was about to take others to check the spoils of war, but as soon as others approached, the sign of HP loss appeared above their heads again. ¡°...I almost forgot, even though the disaster-level creature is dead, its awakening still exists...¡± Wang Tao and his group had encountered this situation when they last killed the Catastrophic Serpent. However, after its death, the effect of the awakening weakened, only about one-tenth of what it had been during its life. With this degree of HP loss, with the Lan Yulian present, they could still bear it. But for safety¡¯s sake, they swiftly collected the spoils of war, planning to inspect them more carefully later. The power of the Exploding Heart was terrifying, directly blasting over six hundred thousand HP from the Catastrophe Rank Tree. Wang Tao originally thought it would turn the area into ruins, but it did not. It only created two small pits on the Corpse of the Catastrophic Tree and the ground. ¡°So, this Exploding Heart has high damage, but a small range...¡± Wang Tao silently thought to himself. This situation had its advantages and disadvantages for him. The disadvantage was that the blast range of the Exploding Heart was too small; it was unlikely to kill a large number of monsters with it. But the advantage was that its small range made it less likely to affect himself. If he could get more Exploding Hearts in the future, he could be more at ease... It¡¯s just that he didn¡¯t know when he could get another Exploding Heart. Apart from the massive corpse of the Catastrophic Tree, the corpse of the Overlord Tree was not far, including various spoils of war. After Wang Tao collected all the spoils of war, he looked at the two large tree corpses. He had previously obtained an Awakening Seed, which he planned to plant on a fifth-rank lord. He wanted to see if there was any difference between using a fifth-rank lord and a fourth-rank lord as fertilizer. But now that he had cleaned up the second layer, he temporarily couldn¡¯t find a fifth-rank lord, so he could only choose between these two large trees to use the Awakening Seed. The body of a catastrophe-level may be very valuable for research, but with continuous HP loss, researchers definitely couldn¡¯t stand it. So Wang Tao decided it was better to let this Catastrophic Tree be used for the Awakening Seed. As for the other tree¡¯s body... Wang Tao didn¡¯t let Lightning consume it immediately but briefly flipped through the spoils of war. ¡°Indeed!¡± Among the spoils of war from this Catastrophic Tree was an [Awakening Seed]! The previous Awakening Seed he had obtained was dropped by the Catastrophic Serpent. He felt that this Catastrophic Tree might also have one, and it truly did. Then, the next steps were simple; planting both Awakening Seeds, one on the fifth-rank Overlord Tree and the other on the fifth-rank Catastrophic Tree. Swish¡ª As soon as the seeds touched their bodies, they immediately took root, deeply embedding into the corpses of the large trees. [Awakening Fruit Ripening Countdown: 4 days 23 hours 59 minutes] [Awakening Fruit Ripening Countdown: 4 days 23 hours 59 minutes] Unlike last time, this time the Awakening Fruit only needed five days to ripen, whereas last time it took seven. Perhaps it was because of the increase in the level of the fertilizer? After all, it was fourth-rank last time and fifth-rank this time. As for whether there would be any difference between the fruit grown from a fifth-rank lord and a fifth-rank disaster, Wang Tao did not know for now, he could only wait until it ripened to see. It was a good opportunity for comparison. ¡°Let¡¯s go, this second layer is small, I¡¯ve explored it completely, let¡¯s go to the first layer. There¡¯s no other life here, nothing should affect the ripening of the Awakening Fruit.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao and his group left the second layer. Everyone felt relieved; the second layer had been too oppressive for them. ¡°Let¡¯s take a break.¡± Wang Tao found a spot to rest, and then finally had time to check the spoils of war. He first looked at the spoils of war from the fourth-rank lord tree, which included three physical objects and four loot packs. [Obtained: Fifth-Order Crystal Core ¨C High Defense x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Iron Fiend Wood x1] A crystal core, an energy bead, and a crafting material. The physical spoils of war were just average. Then Wang Tao looked at the loot packs. The first loot pack contained five crystal cores, respectively the red [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Awakening], the orange [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Promotion], the red [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence], the purple [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Mental Defense], and the blue [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength]. The second loot pack contained a secret key. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] The third loot pack contained potions. [Obtained: Antidote Potion x50] Regardless of whether these mutated plants themselves were poisonous, they all dropped antidote potions, which was quite nice. The last loot pack contained blueprints. [Obtained: Ironwood Spear Blueprint x1] [Ironwood Spear Blueprint: Can create a spear, required materials: Iron Fiend Wood x1, Fifth Order Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x50, Nails x50, Screws x50, Steel Wire x50] [Ironwood Spear: Attributes unknown] Seeing this spear, Wang Tao was slightly disappointed. He had thought that since the mutated tree, like the trumpet flower, might drop a ranged attack weapon. After all, the mutated tree was capable of ranged attacks; its kind of fruit exploding, the seeds inside conducted all-around indiscriminate attacks, which was quite impressive. But unexpectedly, the weapon it dropped was a melee spear. Wang Tao already had a melee weapon, and it was quite good. So, this spear was of little use to him. Of course, even if he couldn¡¯t use it, others could, so it still had to be constructed. Quickly, a spear appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand, all-black in color, seeming ordinary, but a full five meters long. Chapter 1183 - 1183 484 Blood Sucking Attributes_2 ?Chapter 1183: Chapter 484 Blood Sucking Attributes_2 Chapter 1183: Chapter 484 Blood Sucking Attributes_2 ¡°...So long!¡± Wang Tao was very surprised. His current weapon, [Iron Spike Steel Whip], was already quite large, but it was only two meters long... However, he had to admit, this five-meter-long spear looked very imposing. [Ironwood Spear] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Durability +120, Attack Power +130] As for the attributes of this Ironwood Spear... Wang Tao could only say, they were simplistic, but strong! There were only two attributes, no additional effects, and it looked very plain. But both attributes were impressive! Not to mention the durability of 120, which was the same as the Iron Spike Steel Whip. As for the attack power, it was 10 points higher than the Iron Spike Steel Whip, which was only 120. Of course, if you really compared it to the Iron Spike Steel Whip, it still couldn¡¯t match up. Although the Iron Spike Steel Whip had an attack power of 120, it featured an armor break effect. When facing enemies with high defensive power, the armor break¡¯s bonus was clearly more than 10 points of attack. Moreover, the Iron Spike Steel Whip also came with an ¡°Iron Spike¡± ability, which could additionally add 20 points of attack power. Although the armor break effect was reduced, it included a bleed effect. So overall, the Iron Spike Steel Whip was stronger. But this Ironwood Spear was not weak either. He didn¡¯t need it himself, but it could be used by others. After checking the Loot Pack from the Fifth-Rank Overlord Tree, Wang Tao turned his eyes to what he was most looking forward to, the Catastrophe Rank Tree. The Catastrophe Rank Tree dropped a total of 6 physical spoils of war and 5 Loot Packs. [Acquired: Fifth-Order Crystal Core ¨C High Defense x1] [Acquired: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Acquired: Iron Fiend Wood x1] [Acquired: Advanced Awakening Secret Key x1] [Acquired: Magic Seed x1] Compared to the Fifth-Rank Overlord Tree, there was one more Advanced Awakening Secret Key, one Awakening Seed, and one Magic Seed that possessed hidden attributes! The Awakening Seed had already been planted, and both the Advanced Awakening Secret Key and the Magic Seed were great items, worth using an [Explosive Heart]. Then came the Loot Packs that Wang Tao was most looking forward to. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 5 Crystal Cores, identical to those from the Fifth-Rank Lord Tree, only differing slightly in quality. The second Loot Pack then contained potions, but this time the amount doubled. [Acquired: Antidote Potion x100] The third Loot Pack contained an Awakening Key, but of higher quality. [Acquired: Advanced Awakening Secret Key x1] This made Wang Tao grin, bringing him one step closer to his fourth Awakening. The fourth Loot Pack contained a fruit. [Acquired: Advanced Growth Fruit x1] ¡°Advanced Growth Fruit?¡± Seeing this fruit, Wang Tao was puzzled, but after reading the description, he instantly understood. [Advanced Growth Fruit: After consumption by a creature, there¡¯s a two-thirds chance of strength enhancement, and a one-third chance of death by poisoning] The previous two Growth Fruits he obtained had a fifty percent chance of causing death. But this Advanced Growth Fruit had only a one-third chance of death. Of course, using ¡°only¡± might be a bit of an exaggeration, as a one-third chance was still quite high. Naturally, Wang Tao and his teammates definitely wouldn¡¯t use it. However, if they encountered a Fifth-Order Lord in the future, it could be fed to them. Killing a Fifth-Order Catastrophic would definitely yield more than what a Fifth-Order Lord could. After storing the Advanced Growth Fruit, Wang Tao looked at the last Loot Pack. [Acquired: Blueprint for Iron Shatter Spear x1] [Iron Shatter Spear Blueprint: A spear can be crafted using the following materials: Iron Fiend Wood x1, Fifth-Order Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x50, Nails x50, Screws x50, Steel Wire x50] [Iron Shatter Spear: Comes with a Blood Sucking attribute] ¡°Huh?¡± Seeing this blueprint, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised¡ª the weapon dropped by the Catastrophe Rank Tree was different from that of the Lord Rank Tree! One was [Ironwood Spear], and the other was [Iron Shatter Spear]! Besides the different names, the crafting materials were the same, but the Iron Shatter Spear had an additional description, coming with a Blood Sucking attribute! Wang Tao looked carefully. It indeed was ¡°Blood Sucking,¡± not ¡°Bleeding¡±! He had never seen the Blood Sucking attribute before, but having played games for many years, he obviously knew its power. If it was the kind of Blood Sucking he was thinking of, then even if this spear¡¯s damage was low, it would still be a Divine Artifact! Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately began crafting. Moments later, an entirely black spear appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. Just by looking at it, it didn¡¯t seem much different from the previous spear. It was just a few centimeters longer and slightly thicker. But in terms of attributes, it was entirely different. [Iron Shatter Spear] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [Durability +150, Attack Power +150, with Blood Sucking Attribute (Blood Sucking Effect requires Awakening Energy)] The quality had changed from Excellent to Epic, but that wasn¡¯t the main point¡ªthe main point was that both its durability and attack power were 150! If excluding the Self-Destruct Heart, this was the highest attack power equipment Wang Tao had seen! It was 10 points higher than the Iron Spike Steel Whip when activating its Iron Spike Ability and 20 points higher than the Ironwood Spear! Just with this attack power, it was already awesome, not to mention it also had the Blood Sucking property! [Blood Sucking: 10% of the damage dealt is converted into the user¡¯s health] ¡°Exactly the kind of Blood Sucking I was thinking of!¡± Seeing the Blood Sucking attribute, Wang Tao burst into laughter. Anyone who has played games knows that while this 10% Blood Sucking might not seem much, it represents a process from nothing to something! Without Blood Sucking and without Healing, even with the Life Ring, he would have at most three hundred thousand blood. Although [Wildfire Spread] could regenerate blood, the consumption of Awakening was too high, making it too luxurious for healing. So once his HP was spent, he would have to withdraw, lacking the ability for prolonged combat. But with Blood Sucking, it was different; it meant he had strong combat endurance! Moreover, his attack speed was very fast, and his attack was high. Even with only 10% Blood Sucking, as long as the attack speed and power were high, the amount of blood absorbed was substantial! If he encountered other monsters like the Catastrophe Rank Tree in the future, he might even try to fight them head-on! However, Wang Tao had a small problem. He wasn¡¯t sure if the Blood Sucking effect was only active when attacking with this spear or if it applied to all attacks while holding the spear... Wang Tao thought it was probably the former, but if it were the latter... that would be even more amazing. After all, Wang Tao had many methods, but many methods didn¡¯t require weapons, like the currently most damaging [Hellfire] and the very cool [Scorching Eyes]... Everyone had been resting for a while and began heading back. To test the new weapon, Wang Tao deliberately took a detour. Before long, they encountered three mutated plants, all Fourth Order Elite, with no Lords present. After getting out of the car, Wang Tao immediately summoned a spear taller than him and thrust it at a nearby mutated plant. Splat! [-150000] [0/150000] [+15000] The Fourth Order mutated plant with one hundred and fifty thousand blood was pierced by the spear, its blood bar instantly cleared. At the same time, it sucked 15000 blood for Wang Tao¡ªhis HP was initially filled by the Lan Yulian, but to test the Blood Sucking effect, he deliberately wore the [Bracelet of Ebbing] to lower his HP. ¡°This spear feels pretty good...¡± As the saying goes, the longer it is, the stronger it is. Against these kinds of small, melee-only mutated plants, the five-meter spear made it impossible for them to fight back. Then Wang Tao put away the spear and used a Dark Air Bullet on another mutated plant. Bang! [-130000] [0/130000] It was instantly killed, but there was no Blood Sucking effect. ¡°So it really doesn¡¯t work...¡± Wang Tao picked up the spear again and used Dark Shockwave on the last mutated plant. [-160000] [0/160000] [+8000] ¡°Huh? Dark Shockwave can also suck blood! But the amount of blood is less...¡± Chapter 1184 - 1184 485 Student Awakening ?Chapter 1184: Chapter 485: Student Awakening Chapter 1184: Chapter 485: Student Awakening ¡°Could it be that as long as the attack is launched from the spear, whether it is melee or ranged, it can suck blood? But the blood-sucking effect of ranged attacks is only half that of melee?¡± To ensure the accuracy of the test, Wang Tao continued to hunt mutated plants and conducted several tests. The test results proved his conjecture¡ªas long as his attacks were launched from the Iron Shatter Spear, they all had a blood-sucking effect, although the effect at a distance was halved. This was excellent news for Wang Tao. If only melee could suck blood, that restriction would be quite severe. But if ranged attacks could also suck blood, then it was a completely different story. Take Wang Tao¡¯s Dark Shockwave, for instance; its range was not small, capable of hitting a multitude of monsters in a short period of time. Even if the ranged attacks only had a 5% blood-sucking effect, the quantity could fully compensate for the quality! Moreover, there was an important matter: when Wang Tao had previously killed the Catastrophic Serpent, he acquired a bracelet. [Bracelet of Ebbing] [Fourth Rank (Epic)] [The wearer¡¯s HP decreases by 1% per second (capped at 99%) and attack power increases by 1% per second (capped at 99%).] This bracelet was powerful, theoretically able to increase attack power by up to 99%, but the HP cost was excessive. Especially since it was a percentage-based reduction, for Wang Tao, it meant losing two thousand HP every second! Although with the healing of the Jade Lotus, or Ding Yuqin¡¯s Spring of Healing, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t afraid of such HP loss. But Wang Tao couldn¡¯t always fight by their side, so since getting the bracelet, he had barely used it. Of course, this was also related to not encountering a suitable opponent¡ªif he met someone he couldn¡¯t defeat, Wang Tao would simply run; if he could defeat them, there was no need to risk using the bracelet. Such a powerful piece of equipment, lying quietly in his Space Backpack most of the time, was somewhat wasted; now it was used when Wang Tao needed to reduce his HP. But now it was different. With the means to regenerate HP during battle, there was no longer any pressure to use the Bracelet of Ebbing in combat. So, in other words, after Wang Tao switched to a new weapon, he not only gained blood-sucking ability but also gained a lot more attack power. It was like hitting two birds with one stone! However, the spear wasn¡¯t without its drawbacks. The biggest downside was that only attacks launched from the spear could suck blood, and many of Wang Tao¡¯s attack methods did not need a spear. For example, the high-temperature rays shot from his eyes known as [Scorching Eyes]; the fusion technique [Hellfire], also emitted from the eyes; various mental attacks launched with the mind; dark air bullets fired from guns or hands; fireballs conjured with the hands... These abilities were all incapable of using a spear to attack, so that was that. However, luckily, abilities similar to the Shockwave could suck blood, and as Wang Tao¡¯s strength improved and his control over various elements became more precise, perhaps he could use the spear to simulate all sorts of attacks... In addition, there was a minor regret that Wang Tao currently lacked a Level 5 Crystal Core suitable for inlaying into a weapon. Otherwise, if he made a hole in this weapon and inlaid a Crystal Core, it would be even more perfect. As for the consumption of the blood-sucking ability... it was completely negligible. Not just blood-sucking, but similar abilities inherent in equipment, such as Bleeding, Armor Break, and so forth, used very little Awakening Energy. Their main role was to activate and bind the weapon, acting as a threshold¡ªonly Awakeners could activate these special abilities of the weapon. So the consumption was ignorable. ... The others didn¡¯t know what Wang Tao was testing, but when Wang Tao completed his experiment and shared about his new weapon with them, they expressed their surprise. ¡°Blood-sucking? That¡¯s interesting...¡± ¡°A blood-sucking weapon sounds very strong!¡± ¡°...¡± In terms of personal combat power, Wang Tao usually did not hide anything from his own people. They were a team and often needed to coordinate; if others were not aware of his combat power, they might unwittingly do more harm than good, so it was better to be clear on this matter. ¡°Speaking of this steel whip and spear, who wants them?¡± Since he had the Iron Shatter Spear, the Iron Thorn Steel Whip, which Wang Tao had recently replaced, was naturally superfluous, and the Ironwood Spear was even less needed. Both weapons, one being heavy and the other long and thin, were obviously not to the liking of the ladies. The men, such as Xiang Hongbin, however, lit up at the sight; they loved these kinds of brute force weapons. In the end, Xiang Hongbin took the Iron Thorn Steel Whip, and Wei Zhenguo took the Ironwood Spear. Actually, Wang Tao also had an Impact Hammer in his possession, which was also a strong weapon with the same added 150 attack power as the Iron Shatter Spear, but unfortunately, it had the side effect of reducing attack speed by 50%. Probably influenced by Wang Tao, they all valued speed, and they typically didn¡¯t like to use equipment that reduced it, so Wang Tao didn¡¯t insist. ¡°By the way, Wang Tao, here¡¯s your bracelet back; I can now confirm that it¡¯s of no use to us...¡± Lan Yulian passed a black bracelet to Wang Tao. It was the Dark Night Bracelet that Wang Tao had obtained earlier. [Dark Night Bracelet] [Fifth Rank (Excellent)] [Attack inflicts Dark Property Damage, Dark Attribute Attack +20] Wang Tao decided to give the bracelet to Lan Yulian after deciding to bring people into the Rift. He wanted to see if, when Lan Yulian boosted everyone¡¯s HP, making everyone¡¯s attacks have the Dark Attribute, it would have any additional lethal effect here... Chapter 1185 - 1185 485 Student Awakening_2 ?Chapter 1185: Chapter 485: Student Awakening_2 Chapter 1185: Chapter 485: Student Awakening_2 But after such a long period of testing, the Lan Yulian had proven that dark attribute attacks not only failed to grant any bonus against these plants but seemed to somewhat weaken them. It might be related to these mutated plants always staying within the dark fog; although they were of the wood attribute, they had developed a certain resistance to the dark attribute. Ice attribute attacks on these mutated plants were also not very effective¡ªthe damage had not been reduced, but it hadn¡¯t increased either. Only fire attribute attacks boosted damage! Lan Yulian had three bracelets in her possession: the [Dark Night Bracelet], the [Frost Bracelet], and the [Flame Bracelet]. However, tests had shown that only one bracelet could be worn on a wrist; if she wore more than one, the extra bracelets would not be effective. Therefore, Lan Yulian could only wear two bracelets, one ice attribute and one fire attribute. She returned the Dark Night Bracelet to Wang Tao. The dark attribute attack of the Dark Night Bracelet wasn¡¯t useful for Wang Tao because he had previously tested and found that this type of dark attribute attack couldn¡¯t carry a curse effect. To use a curse, he still needed to expend awakening energy. But an increase of 20 in dark attribute attack power should be pretty good... ¡°Fine.¡± Wang Tao put on the Dark Night Bracelet on his wrist; he could naturally wear only two bracelets as well. He wore the Dark Night Bracelet on one wrist, leaving the other wrist empty for the moment until he needed to put on the Flowing Bracelet. After putting it on, Wang Tao didn¡¯t feel much different; after all, when hunting ordinary monsters, having a bracelet and dark attributes meant instant kills. They were already almost back to the Stone Forest, where the nearby areas had been cleared, and naturally, they couldn¡¯t find any Lords to experiment on; they would have to test later. When they arrived back at the Stone Forest, it was already evening. Of course, in this space, it was always dark, without day or night, so they could only check the time through their informational wristwatches. ¡°The Principal is back!¡± As Wang Tao¡¯s signature crystal energy car approached, it instantly attracted a lot of the students¡¯ attention. They didn¡¯t dare to come over and disturb him, but their gazes towards Wang Tao were fervent; after all, the three awakeners Wang Tao just ¡°created¡± were about to wake up. Wang Tao smiled and nodded at the crowd before returning to his tent. Today, these students and teachers hadn¡¯t gone out much, given that three students were about to awaken; they didn¡¯t allow for any accidents to happen. ¡°Everything¡¯s alright?¡± Wang Tao saw the three people lying quietly in the tent, their HP bars free of accidents, but he still asked subconsciously. ¡°Principal Wang, rest assured, there are no issues!¡± Pan Jian hurriedly responded. ¡°Mm.¡± Wang Tao nodded. At this time, Pan Jian took the initiative to ask: ¡°Principal Wang, after they wake up, are we going to explore the second layer?¡± Hearing this, Wang Tao looked at him with some speechless amusement. ¡°Director Pan, aren¡¯t you getting a little ahead of yourself?¡± ¡°Cough cough, well, I was thinking, with our power suddenly boosted... maybe we can broaden the students¡¯ horizons?¡± Pan Jian scratched his head, not denying it. They didn¡¯t have many awakeners in total, and now they suddenly had three more¡ªthat surely meant a significant increase in power! He knew there were fifth-order mutant plant Lords on the second layer, but hadn¡¯t Wang Tao said that he had already explored the area near the entrance, which was safe? As long as they didn¡¯t engage in battle with the mutant plants, and since the plants couldn¡¯t leave their own areas, wouldn¡¯t it be safe to explore the second layer a bit? Mainly, Pan Jian was thinking that it was rare to see fifth-order creatures; since most mutant plants couldn¡¯t move, maybe they could take the students to get some experience. Including himself, he was also curious to see. Wang Tao shook his head directly at Pan Jian¡¯s idea. ¡°Forget about the second layer for now, because there¡¯s a kind of mysterious strength suppression on the second layer. If you go, your combat abilities would be halved at the very least.¡± ¡°Ah? That¡¯s terrifying!¡± Pan Jian was startled. If it was already dangerous and their strength was suppressed, then how could they manage? Some mutant plants could move within a certain range, and if they encountered one, that could be troublesome. ¡°Moreover, I¡¯ve already fully explored the second underground layer. It¡¯s very small inside, currently devoid of mutant plants¡ªthere may be some in the future, but definitely none now, so even if you went, there wouldn¡¯t be anything to see.¡± Wang Tao explained. He had killed all the mutant plants, cutting down the grass without uprooting it. Wang Tao thought that, since these were rooted plants, could it be possible for them to regrow? Thus, he planned to conduct an experiment; if they could truly regrow, then that would be excellent... ¡°Ah? You¡¯ve already fully explored it?¡± Pan Jian was even more bewildered. Weren¡¯t all the creatures on the second layer at fifth order? Did this mean that all the fifth-order creatures inside had been killed by Wang Tao? Hisss¡ªHow terrifying! Pan Jian didn¡¯t doubt Wang Tao¡¯s words, there was no reason for Wang Tao to lie to him. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly how many Level 5 Lords there were in the second layer, he estimated not many, and their strength probably wasn¡¯t too formidable, especially since he still thought Wang Tao was Level 4... But even so, Wang Tao¡¯s combat power was frightening enough. However, he also picked up on another issue. ¡°You just mentioned the second layer isn¡¯t large?¡± Wang Tao nodded and said, ¡°Yes, compared to this first layer, the second layer is much smaller. But it seems there is a place that can be crossed over. For safety¡¯s sake, I didn¡¯t try it. I speculate there are other second layers, and other places might have passages into different second layers. Keep an eye out for this, if you see any passages leading downward, do not go down rashly, inform me immediately...¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Pan Jian replied immediately. But Wang Tao suddenly changed the subject, ¡°However, in about four or five days, I¡¯ll take you to this second layer.¡± ¡°Uh?¡± Pan Jian was somewhat surprised, hadn¡¯t Wang Tao just said there was nothing left in the second layer? What was the point of going down there? ¡°Because I¡¯ve planted two trees in the second layer. When the time comes, I¡¯ll let the students see it too, consider it an expansion of their horizons.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Planting trees!¡± Pan Jian was a bit dumbfounded, what could grow without sunlight? But seeing that Wang Tao didn¡¯t elaborate, he didn¡¯t ask further, knowing he would find out in a few days. ... After Wang Tao and his group returned and had a meal, they rested for a bit. Then people gradually started to arrive outside the tent. As the crowd grew, each person looked towards the tent with excitement and anticipation. They all remembered the time. ¡°They should be waking up now!¡± Pan Jian was also very excited, as these were the first Awakeners of the Awakeners School! ¡°It¡¯s time for them to wake up.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. As he finished speaking, someone opened their eyes, followed almost simultaneously by the second and third person. These three were still a bit dazed or somewhat in disbelief. ¡°Congratulations on your successful Awakening.¡± Wang Tao initiated. ¡°I¡¯ve awakened?!¡± ¡°Ah! I¡¯ve awakened!¡± ¡°...¡± Only then did the three react, following their excitement, they promptly saluted Wang Tao with great respect. ¡°Thank you, Principal!¡± Even though they had awakened, and perhaps had the qualifications to be on par with the principal in terms of level, they would not forget who had given them the opportunity to awaken, so their gaze towards Wang Tao was like they were looking at their own reborn parents. ¡°Alright, go out and meet everyone.¡± Wang Tao said, smiling cheerfully. The three had awakened System abilities. While System abilities were relatively common among awakenings, common didn¡¯t mean they were worthless. On the contrary, most ordinary people are suited to System awakenings, after all, it means an all-around physical enhancement! Forget combat ability for a moment; at least the capability to preserve one¡¯s life is good. In an apocalyptic environment, the ability to preserve life is more important than combat. ¡°Yes!¡± The three walked out excitedly. Wang Tao was about to head out when his informational wristwatch suddenly lit up. ¡°Hm? Cheng Yiyi? How can she contact me? Has she arrived?¡± Seeing the caller ID, Wang Tao was a little surprised. He immediately picked up. ¡°Wang Tao, we¡¯ve discovered the second layer! Do you want to come over?¡± Chapter 1186 - 1186 486 Communication Tendril ?Chapter 1186: Chapter 486: Communication Tendril Chapter 1186: Chapter 486: Communication Tendril ¡°You¡¯ve found the second level?¡± Wang Tao was curious. ¡°Yes, but it seems quite dangerous inside; we didn¡¯t dare to venture too deeply... Do you have time? We need a high-pressure formation!¡± Cheng Yiyi replied immediately. ¡°I do have time...¡± Wang Tao began to nod, then asked with some confusion, ¡°You¡¯re looking for me?¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Just give me a rough idea of where you are, and I¡¯ll come to meet you¡ªI haven¡¯t looked for you yet because I have no idea where you are.¡± Cheng Yiyi was somewhat excited, with Wang Tao¡¯s presence, her chances of exploring the second level increased greatly. But hearing Cheng Yiyi¡¯s response left Wang Tao with some confusion. ¡°Ah? You weren¡¯t looking for me? Then how did you contact me?¡± If Wang Tao remembered correctly, the direction in which Cheng Yiyi and the others had separated was different from his own. They might not have been very far apart, but they definitely couldn¡¯t use radio communication over that distance. ¡°Haha, I forgot to tell you, we got something nice¡ªcan¡¯t explain it clearly, but when you come over, you¡¯ll know. Anyway, it¡¯s something that can expand the communication range!¡± ¡°Okay, then just tell me your rough location, I¡¯ll come to find you.¡± Wang Tao said directly. In this rift, aside from their temporary base of entry, there were basically no other coordinates¡ª even if there were coordinates, without having seen them, there would be no way to determine the location. So, to state their position, it would have to be based on the temporary base as the reference point, then the direction was specified using a compass. ¡°We¡¯re in the southwest direction from our temporary base, just keep going...¡± Cheng Yiyi briefly explained their approximate location and some notable landmarks along the way, then added, ¡°Are you sure we don¡¯t need to send someone to meet you?¡± It wasn¡¯t that she doubted Wang Tao¡¯s strength; it was mainly because she had asked him to come over, and it didn¡¯t feel polite not to offer to meet him. ¡°We¡¯re all on the same team; no need for formalities. I¡¯ll be over tomorrow morning.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Great! I¡¯ll be waiting for you here!¡± Actually, Cheng Yiyi also wanted Wang Tao to bring Lan Yulian, the great healer, with him, but considering that Wang Tao had to look after so many students on his end, she refrained from saying it. After the call ended, Fu Yu and two others had already showcased their Awakening Abilities in front of the students outside the tent. Although they didn¡¯t understand much, it was enough to fire up the students, who were all extremely motivated. Even the teachers were a bit envious; after all, they had put in much more effort for their Awakenings compared to these three individuals. And that was when Wang Tao asked Pan Jian to call over one of the teachers, and then he took out a knife from his Space Backpack that he no longer needed. ¡°Principal Wang, did you need me?¡± The teacher asked respectfully. Although they were both Level 4¡ªin their eyes, Wang Tao was still a Level 4 in strength¡ªthey still held great respect for Wang Tao. It wasn¡¯t just the title of principal but also Wang Tao¡¯s capabilities. Even if they had not seen Wang Tao take action personally, they had witnessed his strength over the past two days in the rift. Such a strong individual naturally commanded respect. ¡°This mission is a collective effort of our school. Both students with high Points and teachers with high Points will receive rewards. You are the teacher with the highest Points, so... see if this knife suits you.¡± Wang Tao smiled as he handed the knife over. ¡°Reward!¡± The teacher¡¯s eyes lit up. He had intended to politely decline at first, but his hands, as if disobedient, immediately grasped the knife and he swung it a few times. ¡°Nice blade! Very suitable!¡± He couldn¡¯t clearly discern the specific Attributes of the knife, but he could tell good from bad, especially having seen the Weapons in the school¡¯s treasury. Clearly, this knife was of the same type as those weapons. ¡°If it suits you, then keep it.¡± The Attributes of the knife weren¡¯t too strong, but it was a legitimate Level 4 Weapon, much stronger compared to the Weapons of others. ¡°Thank you, Principal Wang!¡± The teacher thanked him excitedly. There was no need to announce the teacher¡¯s reward to everyone; it was enough for it to spread among the teachers. After all, teachers should maintain some dignity in front of their students. So, Wang Tao didn¡¯t require the teacher to showcase his reward as the three students had done. But the teacher was understanding; he went directly to the other teachers to tell them about the reward. Seeing that he had received a Weapon akin to those in the school¡¯s treasury, the teachers instantly got a bit unsettled. It was one thing for students to receive rewards, as the purpose of the school was to train them. But for teachers to also receive rewards? Not that teachers shouldn¡¯t get rewards, but they needed to accumulate Points to exchange for items in the treasury. Yet this fellow acquired an incredibly strong Weapon without spending any Points! This was equivalent to jumping ahead of them. They were so envious! ¡°Cough, this isn¡¯t against the rules; this is a personal reward from Principal Wang!¡± The teacher hastened to explain. The school had established rules that naturally had to be followed; even if Wang Tao was the one who set the rules, in most cases, it was best not to violate them. Therefore, the teacher certainly wanted to clarify the situation. ¡°We understand; we¡¯re just purely envious!¡± ¡°We need to work harder from now on! If we perform well, maybe we¡¯ll get some reward from Principal Wang. Even without a reward, we can still accumulate more Points, and once we¡¯re back at the school, we can exchange them for Weapons in the treasury. Can¡¯t let you overtake us, young man!¡± Chapter 1187 - 1187 486 Communication Tendril_2 ?Chapter 1187: Chapter 486: Communication Tendril_2 Chapter 1187: Chapter 486: Communication Tendril_2 ¡°...¡± Some teachers spoke enviously, others were ready to pack up. ... Inside the tent, Wang Tao briefed Lan Yulian and Pan Jian about Cheng Yiyi¡¯s situation. ¡°Did we find another second level...? Do you need us to come over?¡± Lan Yulian asked with concern. ¡°No need, I¡¯ll take Lightning over and see what¡¯s going on. You all stay here, there¡¯s still a lot to explore. With your strength, as long as you don¡¯t run into a Level 5 Lord, there shouldn¡¯t be any risk. Even if you do encounter a Level 5 Lord, they¡¯re not unslayable... Anyway, with Blacky and Little Bing here, they¡¯ll help you avoid danger in advance...¡± Wang Tao instructed. ¡°Okay, then take extra care.¡± ¡°I will, and you guys too.¡± The next morning, Wang Tao left the Stone Forest with Lightning. After some time, he returned to the temporary base and then set out in the direction Cheng Yiyi had mentioned from there. Several hours later, Wang Tao finally came across the Sixth Legion. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± After sending a notification to Cheng Yiyi, Wang Tao and Lightning emerged from the darkness. ¡°Didn¡¯t run into any trouble on the way, did you?¡± Cheng Yiyi had been waiting outside the military camp, and as soon as she saw Wang Tao, she came over and hugged him. ¡°You guys have done a thorough job cleaning up; I didn¡¯t see a single mutated plant on the way.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s good! Means we¡¯ve been really meticulous!¡± Cheng Yiyi also smiled, then led Wang Tao to the temporary camp. The Sixth Legion wasn¡¯t a large group, just a little over a hundred people, but there was no shortage of tanks, cannons, powered armor, and the like. Unlike Wang Tao¡¯s group, which specifically hunted Lords, the Sixth Legion bulldozed their way through everything in their path. Mutated plants were the least of it; they wouldn¡¯t even spare a blade of grass, their destructive power was astonishing. So when Wang Tao was looking for them, he didn¡¯t need a compass; he just had to follow the trail of destruction left by their firepower to find the Sixth Legion... ¡°Consultant Wang!¡± Lin Kaiyang and Pei Hai, the two Deputy Army Commanders, also greeted Wang Tao very politely. ¡°Nice to see you again!¡± Wang Tao responded with a smile. Suddenly, he noticed in the center of this temporary camp, there were quite a few tendril-like plants. These plants did not have blood bars, indicating they were not monsters. This surprised Wang Tao, as on his way here, the Sixth Legion seemed to have plowed through all plant life, sparing nothing. And yet, now they had left so many... ¡°What¡¯s this...¡± ¡°This is the key to how I was able to contact you! I accidentally discovered that some tendril plants here do not attack humans, but their bodies can transmit signals...¡± Cheng Yiyi brought Wang Tao close to these tendrils and gave him a detailed explanation. Wang Tao, although he had already had some guesses in mind, was still very surprised after listening to Cheng Yiyi¡¯s explanation. According to Cheng Yiyi, these tendrils acted like a combination of telephone wires and wireless routers. As long as there were ¡°telephone wires¡± near the receiver, she could send messages through these ¡°telephone wires¡±. Even if the receiver was not physically connected to the tendrils, the ¡°telephone wires¡± could send out wireless signals nearby, similar to wireless routers... Wang Tao had thought before that the reason Cheng Yiyi was able to contact him must be something more than just simple signal amplification or power boosting. Because if it were only Cheng Yiyi¡¯s side enhancement, at most Wang Tao would be able to hear but not respond. After all, his radio power was too weak to send messages out. But after seeing Cheng Yiyi¡¯s explanation, Wang Tao understood immediately. These tendrils essentially amplified the radios of both Wang Tao and Cheng Yiyi, which enabled them to communicate with each other. ¡°Interesting...¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been contacting others besides you. It won¡¯t be long before everyone is able to communicate through these plants unobstructed, as there are many such tendrils. As long as we don¡¯t intentionally hunt them, there should be enough for us to use...¡± Cheng Yiyi added. ¡°Indeed.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He planned to take some of these ¡°communication tendrils¡± back with him later; he thought Qu Shilin would be interested. While they were talking, Cheng Yiyi and her group led Wang Tao to an area scattered with rocks. There was an entrance here, with a long staircase leading straight down. This entrance was much smaller than the one Wang Tao had explored, but it was just as pitch-black inside, and nothing was visible. ¡°The second-level entrance is right here...¡± Cheng Yiyi pointed at the cave opening. Wang Tao suddenly furrowed his brows upon seeing the entrance. This cave opening gave him a different feeling from the one he had explored before... but when it came to pinpointing the exact difference, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t articulate it. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Cheng Yiyi asked immediately upon seeing Wang Tao¡¯s frown. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a feeling that it¡¯s not going to be simple down there.¡± ¡°Yes, your feeling is right. The last time I explored down there, I encountered a Level 5 Lord and almost couldn¡¯t make it back...¡± Cheng Yiyi said, still feeling a sense of lingering fear. Lin Kaiyang and Pei Hai seemed to have thought of something terrifying as well, both had ghastly expressions. For the three Fourth-Order Awakeners, facing a suddenly appearing Level 5 Lord was quite difficult. Especially since the entrance didn¡¯t seem like it could accommodate a tank, their troops wouldn¡¯t be able to enter... ¡°Level 5 Lords are indeed troublesome... When do we go in?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Anytime, we are all ready. But don¡¯t you need to rest a bit?¡± Cheng Yiyi asked with concern. ¡°Let¡¯s just go down now; I¡¯m not tired.¡± Wang Tao had ridden Lightning all the way here, essentially not expending any physical strength. ¡°Fine!¡± Cheng Yiyi wasn¡¯t one to dilly-dally. Since Wang Tao said it was ok, then it was fine. She ordered the others to wait outside, and together with Lin Kaiyang and a few others, they donned their Powered Armor, brought along three soldiers also in Powered Armor, and finally, she and Wang Tao entered the pitch-black cave. Wang Tao immediately called upon the power of the Heart of Darkness to sweep away the surrounding dark mist. Although Cheng Yiyi and the others couldn¡¯t see the dark mist, they could clearly feel their lights getting much brighter. This made them breathe a little easier. Inviting Wang Tao over was indeed the correct decision. It wasn¡¯t long before the group arrived at the second level. Wang Tao estimated that this second level was about the same height as the one he had explored before, it should be on the same level. ¡°There are no immediate dangers here, but further inside, it¡¯s hard to say. Let¡¯s move slowly and not rush. The sneak attacks by those mutated plants can be very troublesome...¡± Cheng Yiyi and the others led the way, with Wang Tao following behind them. Suddenly, Wang Tao stopped in his tracks. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Cheng Yiyi, who was alert to her surroundings, immediately noticed Wang Tao¡¯s change and asked cautiously. Wang Tao looked at the Powered Armors before him with a strange expression. ¡°Didn¡¯t you feel your strength being suppressed?¡± He had been feeling that something was off, but couldn¡¯t put his finger on it until now¡ªthey weren¡¯t being suppressed! They were all Level 4, shouldn¡¯t the second level suppress them? ¡°Suppressed? Not at all! Do you feel it?¡± Cheng Yiyi asked somewhat nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t... Step out of the Powered Armor and let me have a look.¡± Wang Tao immediately responded. Cheng Yiyi trusted Wang Tao completely, promptly exiting the Powered Armor, and her attributes still did not display any negative status effects. After confirming it wasn¡¯t an issue with the Powered Armor, Wang Tao looked perplexed. Was there something wrong with this second level now? Or was it the one he explored before that was unusual? Wang Tao leaned toward the latter! Perhaps, there was still something he had not discovered in that second level before... Chapter 1188 - 1188 487 The Giant Red Mushroom ?Chapter 1188: Chapter 487: The Giant Red Mushroom Chapter 1188: Chapter 487: The Giant Red Mushroom Wang Tao wanted to go back and scrutinize that second layer again to see if he had missed anything. However, he had already promised Cheng Yiyi, so he would explore the area with Cheng Yiyi first before discussing anything else. Wang Tao didn¡¯t hide anything and explained the situation he had encountered earlier to Cheng Yiyi. ¡°You also found an entrance to a second layer, but the strength of those who enter is greatly suppressed?¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the expressions on Cheng Yiyi and the others¡¯ faces weren¡¯t too good. Although they hadn¡¯t felt their strength being suppressed at the moment, such an event had happened before, and no one could guarantee it wouldn¡¯t happen again... Facing a Level 5 Lord was already challenging enough for them. If their strength was suppressed as well, it would indeed be dangerous! ¡°Everyone doesn¡¯t need to worry too much. These mutated plants have limited mobility, some can¡¯t even move at all. If we really encounter strength suppression, we can just leave.¡± Wang Tao comforted them. ¡°Uh...¡± Cheng Yiyi and the others exchanged looks, then nodded. Although they were still somewhat worried, since they had come, it wouldn¡¯t be possible to be scared off without seeing anything. Exploration had to continue. The group continued to delve deeper. After leaving the stairs, the deeper they ventured, the thicker the dark fog became. Even though Wang Tao helped to disperse the fog, he couldn¡¯t remove it all, so the light on their bodies gradually dimmed. They dared not even breathe too loudly for fear of a surprise attack by a Level 5 Lord. Wang Tao appeared relaxed, his spiritual power constantly monitoring the surroundings. Lightning¡¯s sense of smell was also keen, and if there were any ambushes, he would certainly detect them in advance. ¡°What a suffocating feeling...¡± A soldier in powered armor muttered. Wang Tao glanced at him, his Status showing no abnormalities, so it was clear that the suppression was psychological. ¡°Where is that Fifth-Order Mutant Plant you encountered last time?¡± At this moment, Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°It¡¯s not in this direction; we avoided it...¡± Cheng Yiyi immediately explained. ¡°Ah? Why?¡± Wang Tao frowned. He had come here to kill mutated plants, so why were they intentionally avoiding them? ¡°Cough, because there are a lot of mutated plants there! Even if we can kill a Level 5 Lord above our levels together, it doesn¡¯t necessarily mean we can overcome all the enemies... That¡¯s why I intentionally chose a different direction to explore.¡± Cheng Yiyi was somewhat embarrassed. It wasn¡¯t that she didn¡¯t trust Wang Tao¡¯s strength but that there were simply too many mutated plants there. ¡°I see... Alright.¡± Wang Tao nodded, without saying much more. If there were indeed many Level 5 Lords, even he would need to be very careful, so Cheng Yiyi¡¯s cautiousness was normal. The group walked a little further, Cheng Yiyi and the others making marks on the ground as they went. Suddenly, Lightning uttered a soft ¡°woof.¡± ¡°Stop!¡± Cheng Yiyi and the rest didn¡¯t know the reason but immediately readied themselves for combat. Wang Tao communicated with Lightning via his spiritual power, then explained: ¡°Lightning smelled the scent of a Level 5 Lord. It¡¯s right ahead, but the exact position is still uncertain.¡± Upon hearing this, everyone felt both tense and excited. If they could kill a Level 5 Lord, this trip would not have been in vain! The group moved forward cautiously, and after a moment, Wang Tao spoke up: ¡°I see it.¡± Right ahead of the group stood a huge Red Mushroom. The red color was strangely garish, and even in such a dark environment, the Red Mushroom was conspicuous. Of course, only Wang Tao could see it, the others couldn¡¯t yet. [HP: 500000/500000] [Mana: 500000/500000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: True Mirage] [True Mirage: Defense increased, can create a region of True Mirage and affect the consciousness of all beings within] The Red Mushroom was a Fifth-Order Lord with a hundred thousand blood, very powerful. And its Awakening ability made Wang Tao¡¯s eyebrows rise. When Wang Tao had been in Zijing City, the first Awakener-level Monster he encountered had the ¡°True Mirage¡±! At that time, they were all trapped in an Illusion, and even Wang Tao couldn¡¯t tell whether or not it was an Illusion. But in the end, it was killed by Wang Tao, the opponent being a Mutant Wild Boar. Now seeing this Awakening again, Wang Tao felt somewhat nostalgic. ¡°That¡¯s a big red mushroom. Its ability is to create Illusions. Be careful.¡± Wang Tao warned. ¡°Illusion?¡± Cheng Yiyi and the others were curious. Psychic System Monsters were rare to begin with, and they had never encountered any capable of creating Illusions. They were all military personnel, priding themselves on their strong wills, and as for Illusions, they believed they should be able to break through. Wang Tao didn¡¯t elaborate further, as Illusions weren¡¯t easy to explain. The exact nature of the effect could only be known after being affected. However... Wang Tao didn¡¯t plan on experiencing this Illusion himself! A small flame appeared in the palm of his hand, growing larger and larger until it became a huge Fireball. The blazing Fireball illuminated the shocked faces of the others. Except for Cheng Yiyi, the rest didn¡¯t know Wang Tao was a Fire Awakened, and this was their first time seeing it... Aiming at the Red Mushroom, Wang Tao threw the Fireball directly. He chose to use a Fireball because, besides dealing damage, it would illuminate the space here, allowing his teammates to attack with confidence. Boom¡ª The Fireball hit the Red Mushroom, causing a violent explosion. The entire underground space was lit up, and even the dark fog was burned away. Chapter 1189 - 1189 487 Big Red Mushroom_2 ?Chapter 1189: Chapter 487: Big Red Mushroom_2 Chapter 1189: Chapter 487: Big Red Mushroom_2 Cheng Yiyi and the others finally saw that gigantic Red Mushroom in the distance. ¡°What a huge mushroom! Attack!¡± Cheng Yiyi immediately raised her Gatling Gun and pulled the trigger toward the Red Mushroom. ¡°Da-da-da¡ª¡± Her awakening power was [Quench Poison Bullets], and the longer she sustained fire, the higher the damage. Therefore, even using an ordinary firearm could deal significant damage. As for the others, they pulled out Crystal Energy Guns. The research institute was ramping up production of Crystal Energy Guns, and although they were not yet available on the market, the Six Major Legions had already been partially equipped with them. For a moment, tongues of flame flew towards the Red Mushroom. The Red Mushroom was very large and seemed unable to move, so these ranged attacks hit it like targets on a shooting range. Cheng Yiyi and the others were very excited; having Wang Tao around really made a difference! Setting aside Wang Tao¡¯s combat power, just the fact that he could detect enemies in advance, illuminate the entire underground space, and allow them to attack from a distance without fear of sneak attacks... Just these factors alone were enough to change the course of the battle! So, even if the Red Mushroom was powerful, as long as it couldn¡¯t move, it was just a stationary target for them! Defeating the Red Mushroom was just a matter of time! However, compared to their excited expressions, Wang Tao¡¯s face was very serious. Because he clearly saw that when he threw his Fireball, the blood bar of the Red Mushroom suddenly disappeared! So, he didn¡¯t deal any damage at all! And in his vision, the Red Mushroom was clearly still there... This could only mean one thing¡ªHe had already entered an illusion, and the Red Mushroom in front of him was fake! Sure enough, the bullets attacking the Red Mushroom did not inflict any damage. ¡°We¡¯ve entered an illusion, the mushroom in front of us is fake!¡± Wang Tao immediately spoke up to alert them. But his words received no response. Wang Tao turned his head and saw that Cheng Yiyi and the others were still furiously unleashing firepower on the Red Mushroom, as if they hadn¡¯t heard him at all. ¡°Has their perception been blocked?¡± Wang Tao walked up behind Cheng Yiyi and reached out for her shoulder. But just as Wang Tao touched Cheng Yiyi, she seemed to see something terrifying, immediately stepped back, and then turned her gun on Wang Tao! Da-da-da¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s figure flickered as he dodged Cheng Yiyi¡¯s bullets. After firing for a while, Cheng Yiyi looked around vigilantly and then aimed her gun at the Red Mushroom again. Wang Tao didn¡¯t bother with Cheng Yiyi but went to check on the others; they were much like Cheng Yiyi, attacking him on sight as if they had seen a monster. ¡°Lightning, come here!¡± Lightning had been staying in place, but there was no response to Wang Tao¡¯s words. Clearly, Lightning had also been affected. When Wang Tao approached Lightning, Lightning¡¯s body suddenly grew larger, and its tooth-filled mouth was about to bite Wang Tao. However, just as it was about to bite him, it suddenly froze, its black eyes somewhat confused. ¡°Haha, good dog, come here!¡± Wang Tao immediately patted Lightning¡¯s head, and at the same time, a wave of spiritual power rushed into Lightning¡¯s brain. ¡°Woof!¡± Feeling Wang Tao¡¯s consciousness, Lightning then confirmed that the ¡°monster¡± in front of it was indeed Wang Tao. Although it didn¡¯t understand why it was seeing things this way, as long as it was certain it was Wang Tao, it didn¡¯t mind whatever form Wang Tao appeared in. ¡°Lightning recognized me, but it hasn¡¯t escaped from the illusion...¡± Wang Tao and Lightning exchanged briefly, and he got an approximate understanding of its situation. ¡°Can you smell the monster?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Woof!¡± After barking once, Lightning spun in place. It was telling Wang Tao that the monster was here, but exactly where, it couldn¡¯t smell out. ¡°So you can¡¯t find it either...¡± Wang Tao slightly frowned. Although it seemed like the Red Mushroom couldn¡¯t hurt him, he couldn¡¯t hurt the Red Mushroom either. If this dragged on for too long, he might be fine, but Cheng Yiyi and the others would definitely have mental issues. From what just happened, they might even end up hurting each other! So, he needed to find the real body of the monster quickly! Wang Tao thought for a moment and decided to first have Cheng Yiyi and the others stop attacking. Otherwise, searching for the monster¡¯s main body while also having to defend against Cheng Yiyi and the others¡¯ attack would have been too troublesome. Swoosh¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s leg muscles tensed up, and he instantly appeared behind Cheng Yiyi. Cheng Yiyi seemed to sense something, her Gatling gun about to turn towards him, but Wang Tao immediately used a mental attack, targeting her head. Boom! Cheng Yiyi¡¯s body froze instantly. Although she was wearing powered armor, Wang Tao, using mental detection, saw that his mental attack had knocked her out. Thus, Wang Tao did the same to the rest of the people, knocking them all out. With his Level 5 strength and psychic awakening, knocking these people out was incredibly easy. He gathered Cheng Yiyi and the others together and, making sure they wouldn¡¯t wake up anytime soon, flames suddenly erupted from Wang Tao¡¯s body, and a five-meter-long slender spear appeared in his hand. ¡°Let me see, where exactly are you...¡± Wang Tao began moving erratically, and dark flames shockwaves emitted from his spear, causing the ground around him to shake violently as countless rocks burst forth like an earthquake. Wang Tao continued his indiscriminate, widespread attack without care. Unless the red mushroom¡¯s main body wasn¡¯t here, it was bound to be hit! After unleashing countless shockwaves and just when Wang Tao began to doubt if the red mushroom¡¯s body was far from him, he suddenly saw a string of damage numbers appear in his eyes. [-30289] ¡°Found you!¡± Wang Tao immediately turned around and saw that the damage had emerged from a pile of rubble. If he remembered correctly, there had been a large rock here, which seemed to have been shattered by him. Now, there was only rubble here¡ªno other creatures. However, Wang Tao distinctly saw a blood bar. [469711/500000] Wang Tao grinned. ¡°I see you!¡± Swoosh¡ª Wang Tao charged forward, and the blood bar was also running frantically. If he hadn¡¯t seen it, it would be fine, but since he had, Wang Tao used his spiritual power to lock onto the mushroom; it had no chance of escaping! Thus, Wang Tao pursued it while unleashing various attacks. [-28373] [-32834] [-47243] [...] The red mushroom still hadn¡¯t appeared, but its HP was draining like floodwaters. Its defensive power was evidently not high, but Wang Tao¡¯s attack power had increased recently! Moreover, this red mushroom seemed to have no other means of attack; it only knew how to run, but it couldn¡¯t outrun Wang Tao... In a moment, the red mushroom with five hundred thousand blood was reduced to a mere sliver. Pfft! [-18344] [0/500000] Wang Tao thrust his spear directly into the air in front of him. The red mushroom¡¯s blood bar instantly dropped to zero. Then, the surrounding environment shattered like glass, and Wang Tao finally saw the red mushroom¡¯s body. ¡°Huh?¡± What surprised Wang Tao was that it indeed was a red mushroom, but only about a meter tall, not as large as the fake mushroom. Moreover, its stalk wasn¡¯t just one; it was two, like two legs, which explained why it was so fast... After Wang Tao collected the spoils of war it dropped and looked around, This place had turned into ruins, covered in traces of battle. If someone didn¡¯t know better, they might think the enemy was huge and had tremendous destructive power... But in reality, these ruins were all caused by Wang Tao¡¯s indiscriminate attacks. Lightning obediently stayed in the distance but, seeing the illusion dissolve, immediately ran happily toward Wang Tao. Cheng Yiyi and the others remained lying on the ground, still unconscious. Wang Tao came over to Cheng Yiyi and the others and immediately shook his head. They were unlucky, encountering such bizarre mutated plants right from the start¡ªno, they were lucky, having had the fortune of summoning Wang Tao. If it hadn¡¯t been for Wang Tao, they would most likely have ended up killing each other... Chapter 1190 - 1190 488 Explosive Mushrooms ?Chapter 1190: Chapter 488: Explosive Mushrooms Chapter 1190: Chapter 488: Explosive Mushrooms Cheng Yiyi and the others had not awakened for a while, so Wang Tao decided to check the spoils of war first. There were a total of 4 physical items and 5 Loot Packs from the Red Mushroom. [Obtained: Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Psychic Attack Rebound x1] [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] [Obtained: Hallucinogenic Red Mushroom x1] [Obtained: Reality Illusion Pearl x1] When Wang Tao saw this mutant monster, he guessed it likely had a psychic Ability, since it also controlled illusions. Now it seemed his guess was right. This ¡°Psychic Attack Rebound¡± Crystal Core had also been obtained by Wang Tao before, but only Psychic Awakeners could integrate it. [Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Psychic Attack Rebound] [Quality: 100% (Epic)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: lowered defensive power)] [Psychic Attack Rebound: Passive Ability, small chance to rebound double the damage when hit by a mental attack (If the rebound is triggered, it will consume Awakening Energy, without which the rebound cannot be triggered. Only Psychic Awakeners can use this)] Wang Tao was a Psychic Awakener, hence he could integrate this core. However, the side effects were significant, and the rebound was a low probability event. Moreover, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t encountered many formidable psychic enemies... So, the cost-effectiveness of integrating this core was very low. After all, he only had one slot left for his Ability, and he still wanted to integrate the [Omnipotent Shield], so he decided to pass on this [Psychic Attack Rebound]... Wang Tao then looked at the next item, the Hallucinogenic Red Mushroom. [Hallucinogenic Red Mushroom: Crafting Material] The entire body of the monster was the Hallucinogenic Red Mushroom. ¡°The whole body is a crafting material?¡± This was the first time Wang Tao had encountered such a situation. He patted Lightning¡¯s head, since it was a crafting material, he couldn¡¯t feed it to Lightning. As for the last item, the Reality Illusion Pearl, it was also something Wang Tao had obtained before. [Reality Illusion Pearl: Contains some spiritual power, can be integrated. If one¡¯s own spiritual power is higher than the Reality Illusion Pearl¡¯s, a Hidden Ability can be obtained. If lower, one will be trapped in a True Illusion forever] He had given the Reality Illusion Pearl to Yang Changhong, who had successfully integrated it and awakened a very decent psychic attack Ability. This pearl was a valuable item, worth keeping for their potential Secondary Awakening. Wang Tao stored these items and then looked at the Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 5 Crystal Cores, which were a Red [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Promotion], an Orange [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotence], a Red [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a Blue [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Enhancement], and a Purple [Level 5 Crystal Core ¨C Mental Defense]. Seeing these Crystal Cores, Wang Tao realized why the Red Mushroom had been taking hits without fighting back¡ªit indeed lacked any attack Ability. The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Obtained: Antidote Potion x50] [Obtained: Illusion-Breaking Potion x50] ¡°Eh?¡± Besides the Antidote Potion, there was an Illusion-Breaking Potion that Wang Tao had never seen before. [Illusion-Breaking Potion: capable of breaking most illusions] ¡°This potion is great!¡± Seeing the description, Wang Tao quickly grinned. With this potion, facing enemies like the Red Mushroom would be much easier. However, to break an illusion, one prerequisite was necessary: the person in the illusion had to know they were trapped and actively take the medicine. If they were like Cheng Yiyi, who didn¡¯t realize they had been ensnared and were still frantically attacking what they thought was their target, then no amount of potions would help... The third and fourth Loot Packs contained a Secret Key and an Energy bead, respectively. [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] The last Loot Pack naturally contained the Blueprints. [Obtained: Explosive Red Mushroom Blueprint x1] [Explosive Red Mushroom Blueprints: can be used to create an explosive mushroom, needed materials: Hallucinogenic Red Mushroom x1, Level 5 Crystal Core x1] [Explosive Red Mushroom: Attributes unknown] ¡°Hmm?¡± Seeing the description of the blueprint, Wang Tao suddenly thought of the [Explosive Heart] he had obtained and used from the treasure chest... these seemed like similar items! Wang Tao immediately started crafting. Moments later, a fist-sized, strikingly red mushroom appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands. [Explosive Red Mushroom] [Fifth-Rank (Epic)] [Durability+1, activates after 30 seconds and explodes, creating illusions (activation requires Awakening Energy)] Just as Wang Tao had guessed, this [Explosive Red Mushroom] was a one-time weapon similar to [Explosive Heart], with only 1 point of durability. However, unlike the Exploding Heart, this Explosive Red Mushroom didn¡¯t add any attack power. But after exploding, it would trap all living beings within range in an illusion! Wang Tao had experienced the Red Mushroom¡¯s illusions and couldn¡¯t tell reality from falsehood. If he couldn¡¯t see the blood bar, he might also have a chance to break the illusion, since his spiritual power was not low, but it would definitely be troublesome... If the illusions created by this Explosive Red Mushroom could be similar to those of the Red Mushroom, then it would be impressive, possibly incapacitating beings of Level 5 and below from easily breaking free! Although Wang Tao preferred weapons like the [Explosive Heart] that could cause direct damage, he felt that creating illusions was indirectly effective. But he wasn¡¯t picky, having it was good enough. It would be another ace up his sleeve. After organizing all the spoils of war, Cheng Yiyi and the others had still not woken up. If it weren¡¯t for seeing their blood bar still quite healthy, with only a [Comatose] status, Wang Tao would have doubted whether they were going to perish. Chapter 1191 - 1191 488 Exploding Mushroom_2 ?Chapter 1191: Chapter 488: Exploding Mushroom_2 Chapter 1191: Chapter 488: Exploding Mushroom_2 However, sleeping endlessly was not a solution. Wang Tao was still waiting to explore this place. Leaving them here would definitely be inappropriate... After thinking it over, he simply mustered more spiritual power and charged into their minds. The formidable spiritual power could cause dizziness, but it could also stimulate waking up, depending on whether he could grasp the right degree. If he did not handle it well... either the others would become idiots or he himself would become an idiot. Of course, given the strength of Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power, it would definitely be them who would turn into idiots. However, Wang Tao was still confident in his control over his spiritual power. He managed his spiritual power as it entered Cheng Yiyi¡¯s mind, and just lightly stimulated it, causing Cheng Yiyi to suddenly wake up in terror. After she awoke, Cheng Yiyi instinctively wanted to grab the Gatling gun, but clad in powered armor, she was immediately pinned down by Wang Tao. Cheng Yiyi instantly felt as if a mountain was pressing on her, her complexion turning somewhat desperate. However, when she saw through the dim light that the person pinning her down was Wang Tao, she was momentarily taken aback. ¡°Hey, do you recognize me? If you recognize me, let go.¡± Wang Tao pressed down on Cheng Yiyi with one hand while gently patting her cheek with the other. Feeling the warm touch on her face, Cheng Yiyi finally came back to her senses and hurriedly nodded. ¡°Wang Tao, what... what happened to me... and them, what happened to them?¡± Cheng Yiyi sat up with Wang Tao¡¯s assistance, confusion in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯re all fine. They¡¯ll wake up soon. You all passed out earlier... You should start by telling me what happened then? It was when we saw that big red mushroom.¡± Wang Tao directly asked. He was actually curious and wanted to know what Cheng Yiyi had seen in the Illusion. Cheng Yiyi, relieved to hear the others were unharmed, then furrowed her brows as she recalled. ¡°At that time, your fireball illuminated the entire space, and I saw the distant red mushroom, then I started attacking. The defense of that red mushroom seemed very tough; my bullets hardly had any effect... Suddenly, a vine-like tendril, as horrifying as a snake, came near me. I didn¡¯t even notice how it approached! At that moment, I realized I was left all alone; you all had disappeared somewhere... I had no choice but to switch targets, to prevent being ambushed by the tendril. Afterwards, I¡¯m not sure if my machine gun killed the tendril or if it just ran away, but it disappeared into the darkness. I attacked the red mushroom again... I don¡¯t know how long I attacked, but suddenly, my head hurt... and when I woke up again, I saw you pinning me down...¡± Wang Tao listened to Cheng Yiyi¡¯s words, slightly raising his eyebrows. Clearly, the ¡°tendril monster¡± Cheng Yiyi mentioned... was him. Most of what Cheng Yiyi experienced was the same as Wang Tao, but there were also some differences. The difference was, Cheng Yiyi saw him as a monster, Lin Kaiyang saw him as a monster too, but Wang Tao saw Cheng Yiyi and the others as normal... This meant that Wang Tao was not completely trapped by the Illusion, at least not to the extent of being self-destructive... Cheng Yiyi and the others were only Level 4, and were not Psychic Awakeners, so it was normal for them to be unable to fully distinguish a Level 5, Lord red mushroom Illusion. ¡°So, what happened in the end? Where is that red mushroom...¡± Cheng Yiyi rubbed her temples, then looked towards Wang Tao. She felt a severe headache, as if she had been hit with a blunt object, though there was clearly no wound on her forehead... ¡°Actually, at that time, we all fell into the Illusion of the red mushroom. You thought you were attacking the red mushroom, but you were actually hitting the rocks, and the so-called tendril monster you saw was actually me...¡± Wang Tao explained directly. Some details were omitted, such as how he found the true body of the red mushroom and turned the place into a ruin, among other things. These things were complicated to explain; he just mentioned that perhaps because his spiritual power was a bit higher than average, he wasn¡¯t completely influenced by the Illusion... ¡°Ah? The monster I was attacking was you?! Then, are you okay?¡± Cheng Yiyi was shocked by the revelation. She hadn¡¯t expected to fall for the red mushroom the moment she saw it! And she had never thought she would actually attack Wang Tao, which embarrassed and made her feel guilty. She hadn¡¯t imagined she would become the one holding others back one day... ¡°I¡¯m fine, your few moves didn¡¯t hurt me.¡± Wang Tao confidently said. ... Cheng Yiyi was even more embarrassed, and she quickly changed the subject. ¡°Where¡¯s the enemy?¡± ¡°Dead.¡± Wang Tao directly took out the Level 5 Crystal Core, Physical Key, and Reality Illusion Pearl, showing them to Cheng Yiyi. ¡°Dead!¡± She and her teammates were stunned, with no one else around, that Red Mushroom was clearly killed by Wang Tao. While surprised, Cheng Yiyi also felt a pang of envy¡ªWang Tao truly was incredible! Even faced with such bizarre abilities, he still managed to kill the enemy! Facing the spoils of war, she shook her head. ¡°We didn¡¯t help at all, even made things worse... You killed it yourself, the spoils naturally belong to you, we don¡¯t have the right to share.¡± Cheng Yiyi knew these were valuable items, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to take them. Wang Tao had initially thought to give her a physical awakening key, especially since if she hadn¡¯t invited him, he wouldn¡¯t have had the chance to kill the Red Mushroom. However, seeing that Cheng Yiyi really didn¡¯t want it, Wang Tao didn¡¯t insist and just put them away. He needed many Awakening Keys for his fourth Awakening. After conversing with Cheng Yiyi, and seeing that the others were still unconscious, Wang Tao used his spiritual power to awaken them one by one. Their reaction was similar to Cheng Yiyi¡¯s, they opened their eyes ready to attack, luckily Wang Tao had already taken their weapons. The team members groggily got up, and after listening to Cheng Yiyi¡¯s explanation, they finally understood what had happened, feeling a wave of fright. Such illusions were unpredictable, luckily Wang Tao wasn¡¯t affected, otherwise they might have all been wiped out, even turning on each other... Just the thought was terrifying! ¡°What should we do next?¡± Wang Tao looked at them. Cheng Yiyi and the others had woken up but were in poor shape and still critically low on HP... This had nothing to do with the Red Mushroom, it was all caused by Wang Tao¡¯s mental attack. Even though Wang Tao had held back, it still nearly cost them their lives. In such a state, they clearly weren¡¯t fit to continue exploring. ¡°I don¡¯t feel very good...¡± Deputy Legion Commander Pei Hai shook his head bitterly, he had been operating separately from Cheng Yiyi, so he hadn¡¯t fought the Level 5 Lord. Now that he had regrouped with Cheng Yiyi, this battle had drained all his combat strength... It felt somewhat like a failure. The others felt similarly, their faces filled with embarrassment. Another Deputy Legion Commander Lin Kaiyang moved his lips, clearly wanting to continue exploring, but ultimately he just sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Cheng Yiyi was also reluctant, but there was nothing she could do. ¡°I¡¯m not going back yet, I¡¯ll continue to look around.¡± At that moment, Wang Tao spoke up. Cheng Yiyi wasn¡¯t surprised that Wang Tao wanted to continue exploring, after all, he was much stronger than them. She got up and started walking back. ¡°Okay, just be careful!¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± As she was leaving, Cheng Yiyi hesitated, but still asked: ¡°Wang Tao, you... you wouldn¡¯t happen to be Level 5 already, would you?¡± ¡°You guessed it.¡± Wang Tao nodded with a smile. ... Everyone¡¯s eyes widened in shock. The news of Wang Tao reaching Level 5 was even more astonishing than him killing a Level 5 Red Mushroom! After all, Wang Tao had said that other than creating illusions, the Red Mushroom had no other attacking methods... Chapter 1192 - 1192 489 Splitting Cloak ?Chapter 1192: Chapter 489: Splitting Cloak Chapter 1192: Chapter 489: Splitting Cloak ¡°Really Level 5 already...¡± Cheng Yiyi and her companions¡¯ faces were filled with shock mixed with envy. If nothing went wrong, Wang Tao should be the first person in the base city to reach Level 5. Previously, everyone had been arguing over who was the top person in the base. Now, there was no need to argue¡ªWang Tao was undoubtedly the top person! After all, Fifth-Order power was definitely going to annihilate Level 4, and even the strongest of Level 4 couldn¡¯t compare to Level 5. Let alone mention that Wang Tao had been strong at Level 4 and would definitely be even stronger after his Ascension... Cheng Yiyi opened her mouth but ultimately said nothing, and after instructing Wang Tao to be extra careful once more, they left. She actually wanted to ask Wang Tao if he could take her along to explore the area. She didn¡¯t want any spoils of war, just a bit of enlightenment would be fine. With Wang Tao¡¯s Fifth-Order power, it¡¯s not to say that he could annihilate all Fifth-Order Mutant Plants, but his movements should not be too restricted, like when they encountered the Red Mushroom today. If Wang Tao did not want to fight, he could have completely left, and the Red Mushroom couldn¡¯t have held him... But Cheng Yiyi ultimately didn¡¯t voice her thoughts, after all, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t a babysitter. Why should he take her, a burden, along? Thinking from another perspective, if she had that kind of power, she definitely wouldn¡¯t want to take a drag along either... Meanwhile, Wang Tao had no idea about Cheng Yiyi¡¯s thoughts. If Cheng Yiyi had actually spoken up, he would not have refused. The so-called ¡®burden¡¯ refers to being an impediment or trouble, but taking Cheng Yiyi along would be a trivial matter for him, not troublesome at all. Previously, Wang Tao hadn¡¯t taken Lan Yulian and others to the second layer because the second layer had imposed a power repression on them. But now, with no suppression on this second layer, bringing someone along wouldn¡¯t be much of an issue. Moreover, Cheng Yiyi might even serve as a potential experimental subject, just like the Red Mushroom they just encountered. If it weren¡¯t for Cheng Yiyi and her companions describing the effects they suffered, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t have known what exactly the illusion did, since the illusions only partially affected him... However, since Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t reveal her thoughts, and Wang Tao thought she wanted to rest, he naturally wouldn¡¯t offer to take her to explore together. After Cheng Yiyi and the others left, Wang Tao shook his head and continued to explore this pitch-black space. However, it wasn¡¯t long before Wang Tao frowned. ¡°This is it?¡± He hadn¡¯t walked far, and the path in front of him was blocked. Facing the seamless stone wall, Wang Tao had no choice but to change direction. After some time, facing similar stone walls, Wang Tao felt speechless. South, east, and west, he had explored three directions. Not only had he not encountered any Fifth-Order Mutant Plants, but the paths were also dead ends. Now only north remained. Cheng Yiyi had mentioned that many Mutated Plants were in the north; they barely made it back last time. That¡¯s why she deliberately avoided that area when she brought Wang Tao to the second layer... ¡°I hope it won¡¯t disappoint me...¡± Wang Tao finally headed north, but upon arriving, he felt somewhat helpless. The Fifth-Order Monster Cheng Yiyi spoke of was there, but there was actually only one. And most importantly, this was the end of the path. Meaning, this underground second layer was very small, and it contained only two Level 5, Lords... ¡°Well, small is better than nothing.¡± Wang Tao looked at this Fifth-Order Mutant Plant. It was a plant that looked like moss, their dense mass covered the area, but they weren¡¯t green, rather they were dark red. To anyone unaware, they might really think it was just moss, but Wang Tao could see they all shared a common blood bar. [HP:300000/300000] [Mana:200000/200000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Splitting] [Splitting: Can split into multiple entities, or recombine] No wonder Cheng Yiyi said there were many Mutant Plants here... It was obviously because this monster had split before, making Cheng Yiyi and her companions think there were many monsters. ¡°This is interesting...¡± After confirming that this was the only Mutant Plant here, Wang Tao began to charge up a Fireball with one hand and sent a Shockwave with his spear with the other. Swish¡ª [-22342] [Curse: Bleeding] The Mutated Moss¡¯s Defense wasn¡¯t high; a single Shockwave caused more than twenty thousand damage. The monster didn¡¯t attack Wang Tao immediately upon being hit but instead convulsed for a moment. Then, like nymphs scattering flowers, it split into countless small mosses and, like a tide, surged towards Wang Tao. ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed in shock, not because of the Splitting ability, but because each of these split mosses had Fifth-Order 300,000 HP! Countless Fifth-Order monsters with 300,000 HP each rushing towards him still startled Wang Tao. Wang Tao felt this was unscientific; how could those creatures still have so much HP after splitting so much? If the post-split strength was the same as before the split, wouldn¡¯t this Awakening be invincible? However, he soon realized that although the little mosses rushing towards him looked terrifying, they were very slow, definitely slower than Wang Tao. That reassured Wang Tao; he retreated while throwing the fully charged Fireball. Boom¡ª The Fireball exploded instantly, burning a massive amount of black fog, turning the entire underground space fiery red, and a dense array of damage numbers emerged. [-83889] [-80287] [-78145] [-81384] [...] ¡°Good gracious!¡± Seeing these countless damage numbers, Wang Tao suddenly felt exhilarating! Chapter 1193 - 1193 489 Splitting Cloak_2 ?Chapter 1193: Chapter 489: Splitting Cloak_2 Chapter 1193: Chapter 489: Splitting Cloak_2 Despite the mutated plants, which had split, still having 300,000 HP, their defensive power was clearly not as strong as the original¡¯s. Plus, they weren¡¯t particularly fast... Wang Tao immediately grinned; this seemed to pose no threat to him at all! Whoosh¡ª Wang Tao¡¯s body instantly ignited, wielding the Flame Spear, he charged straight into the tide of mutated moss. [-41273] [Curse: Blindness] [-42823] [Curse: Armor Break] [-48782] [...] Moments later, a large number of the split mutated mosses had died. This monster clearly couldn¡¯t hold up anymore, as the moss suddenly recombined together. A giant covered in moss appeared before Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. This ¡°Moss Giant¡± looked just as intimidating, but it only had 100,000 HP left. Without any hesitation, Wang Tao transformed into a shooting star and rushed towards the Moss Giant. [-21384] [Curse: Weakness] [-23744] [Curse: Poisoning] [...] [0/300000] A few seconds later, the Moss Giant fell to the ground with a thud. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± The flames on Wang Tao slowly disappeared as he smacked his lips, feeling somewhat unsatisfied. The process of killing the mutated moss might not have been the easiest, but it was definitely the most thrilling. After all, who doesn¡¯t love ¡°mowing down¡± things? Once these mosses had split, they were pretty much just grass, ready for Wang Tao to cut down! Wang Tao even gave up on defending because his weapon had a Blood Sucking Ability, and the attack damage by these mutated mosses on him was less than what he could absorb. If it wasn¡¯t for the limit on his HP, Wang Tao suspected that with one stab, he could probably absorb millions of HP! There were just too many of these mosses! Therefore, Wang Tao remained at full HP while facing these split mosses. It was just that he hadn¡¯t enjoyed himself enough when the mutated mosses recombined into a Moss Giant. While Wang Tao preferred hunting the smaller mosses, the Moss Giant was fine too. It¡¯s just a shame that the mutated mosses had too little HP; just a few hits and Wang Tao had slain it... Wang Tao¡¯s previous battles, although many were also unhurt, were the result of deliberate avoidance. Unlike today, he completely abandoned defense and focused only on offense! And yet, he remained at full HP... That¡¯s why Wang Tao found this battle so exhilarating; it felt like playing a lawn-mowing game. The only pity was that these mosses had too little HP! Not enough to kill, nowhere near enough! After sheathing his spear, Wang Tao checked the spoils of war. The mutated moss dropped a total of 3 physical loot items and 4 Loot Packs, which was relatively few. [Obtained: Level 5 Crystal Core¡¤Nutrient Absorption x1] [Obtained: Dark Red Leaf x1] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] This monster had a ¡°Nutrient Absorption¡± ability for slow blood regeneration? Wang Tao hadn¡¯t really noticed because the damage he inflicted was too high; even a slow blood regeneration ability wouldn¡¯t be noticeable. [Dark Red Leaf] was a Level 5 crafting material that looked like a very small leaf; it was unclear what could be made with it. The final Awakening Energy Pearl was something he had seen before, too bad there was no physical awakening key... Wang Tao turned to the Loot Packs. Inside the first Crystal Core Gift Bag were five Crystal Cores¡ªOrange [Level 5 Crystal Core: Ascension], Red [Level 5 Crystal Core: Omnipotence], Purple [Level 5 Crystal Core: Awakening], Blue [Level 5 Crystal Core: Mental Defense], and White [Level 5 Crystal Core: Great Strength]. ¡°There¡¯s actually a White Crystal Core, my luck isn¡¯t great today...¡± Having slain so many Lord Monsters, it had been a long time since Wang Tao had a White Crystal Core drop. The second Loot Pack contained potions. [Acquired: Antidote Potion x50] Wang Tao already had plenty of antidote potions in his possession, more than he could ever use up. The third Loot Pack contained something that seemed like a seed. [Acquired: Corrosive Moss Seed x1] Seeing this item, Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up. The seeds he had previously found all had Hidden Attributes, like the [Miraculous Seeds]. But after reading the description below, he realized that wasn¡¯t the case with this one¡ªit was a ¡°true¡¤ seed¡±. [Corrosive Moss Seed: After planting, it will grow a patch of Corrosive Moss] Wang Tao guessed that the Mutated Plant he just killed might have been the Corrosive Moss. Just from the name, it was clear that this was a type of Mutated Plant with corrosive toxins. However, at that time, Wang Tao was engulfed in flames, and in such a state, most poisons were ineffective against him, so he didn¡¯t realize that the moss was toxic... ¡°I just don¡¯t know if this seed could grow into a Level 5 Lord Corrosive Moss...¡± If it could grow into a Level 5 Lord, it would be of use to Wang Tao. If not, it wouldn¡¯t be of much use... But then again, do moss have seeds? Wang Tao remembered that they seemed to reproduce through spores. Shaking his head, he decided to plant it and see when he got out. Wang Tao looked toward the last Loot Pack. [Acquired: Splitting Cloak Blueprint x1] [Splitting Cloak Blueprint: Allows crafting of a cloak, required materials: Level 5 Crystal Core x1, Dark Red Leaf x1, Iron Block x10, Nails x10, Rubber x10, Screw x10, Steel Wire x10] ¡°A cloak Blueprint?¡± Wang Tao had never seen a cloak-type Equipment before, and without hesitation, he immediately began crafting. After a burst of rainbow light, a dark red cloak appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Splitting Cloak] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [Durability +200, Defense +50, Ability: Splitting Defense (requires Awakening Energy for activation)] The cloak¡¯s added Attributes were quite simple, only Durability and Defense. 200 Durability was pretty good, indicating that under normal circumstances, it couldn¡¯t wear out quickly. As for Defense, the boost was not significant, only 50 points. However, considering this was a brand new piece of Equipment, the 50 Defense points were added on top of what Wang Tao was already wearing, so it was still quite good. The highlight of this cloak, however, was the Ability that came with it. [Splitting Defense: The cloak splits and enlarges; +500 Defense, duration depends on the Awakening Energy] ¡°Hisss¡ª500 Defense!¡± Wang Tao had just thought that 50 points of Defense weren¡¯t much, but the Ability inherent to the cloak jumped straight to 500 Defense! The strongest Defense Equipment he had seen so far was the [Giant Wood Shield], which had a whopping 400 Defense. But the Shield was too big, simply unmanageable by an average human and was presently collecting dust. This cloak was different; the 500 Defense was something he could actually use! Although it cost Awakening Energy, it was much better than the Giant Wood Shield which was ¡°all show and no go.¡± Wang Tao immediately donned the cloak on himself. The Splitting Cloak was a dark red, nearly indistinguishable from black in this environment. Wang Tao thought it looked quite handsome. Then, he took out his Weapons to make some moves and found that the cloak fluttered without wind, absolutely not affecting his combat! ¡°Not bad, not bad!¡± Wang Tao nodded in satisfaction and activated the cloak¡¯s inbuilt Ability with 1 point of Awakening Energy, effectively binding it to himself. Then, he silently used Splitting Defense. Swipe¡ª The cloak behind him suddenly enlarged, turning into a bowl turned upside down and quickly covering both Wang Tao and the surrounding rocks! He couldn¡¯t test exactly how strong the Defense was, but Wang Tao checked the Energy consumption. The size of the cloak could be adjusted; Wang Tao had used its largest state, which could probably envelop hundreds of people. The consumption of Awakening Energy was... 10 points per second! ¡°This consumption... it¡¯s almost like the Awakening itself!¡± Wang Tao was amazed. However, on the other hand, this Ability was comparable to a defensive type of Awakening! Compared to Awakening, the only difference was that it had no potential for growth. But with the current Attributes, it was definitely enough! Chapter 1194 - 1194 490 Something Strange ?Chapter 1194: Chapter 490: Something Strange Chapter 1194: Chapter 490: Something Strange After Wang Tao conducted a quick test of the cloak, to prevent any oversight, he didn¡¯t leave immediately but instead scoured the area once more, yet the result was still the same. The second level was just too small; having only two Level 5 Lords was enough, but there wasn¡¯t even a single treasure chest... So, Wang Tao could only leave. Returning to the first level, Wang Tao planned to find Cheng Yiyi to see how she was recovering. He found that the Sixth Legion, which had been stationed not far from the cave entrance, had left. Judging by the traces on the ground, it seemed they had left in a hurry, but there were no signs of battle. ¡°Did they leave first?¡± Wang Tao tried to contact Cheng Yiyi, but there was no signal. ¡°These so-called communication tendrils, they don¡¯t seem very reliable, do they?¡± Wang Tao looked at the tendrils on the ground and muttered. He subconsciously tried contacting Lan Yulian and realized the connection went through. ¡°Wang Tao, how are things on your end? Everything¡¯s fine here!¡± said Lan Yulian immediately upon connecting. ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He could contact Lan Yulian but not Cheng Yiyi? Had Cheng Yiyi and her team traveled far away, even farther than the distance between him and Lan Yulian? Puzzled but not dwelling on it, he shared with Lan Yulian and the others about his recent exploration and told them he was heading back. However, on his way back, Wang Tao received a call on his informational wristwatch. Thinking it was Cheng Yiyi, he was surprised to find it was Regimental Commander Duan from the Third Legion. ¡°Hello, Regimental Commander Duan,¡± greeted Wang Tao with a smile. ¡°Hi! Principal Wang, just call me Old Duan!¡± boomed Duan Xuchang. Initially, when he was ordered by his superiors to pick up Wang Tao and his team from Changhe Base to Zijing City, he was just a squadron leader. Now, after so much time had passed, he had risen to become the commander of the Third Legion. Naturally, his rise involved his own efforts, but Wang Tao also played a role. After all, the people he took over responsibility for were Wang Tao and his group, and he had a genuinely good relationship with Wang Tao. Even if Wang Tao said nothing, the higher-ups, considering Wang Tao¡¯s influence, would still grant Duan Xuchang some perks. Duan Xuchang was well aware of this and also knew that even if he had originally not gone to pick up Wang Tao and his group, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t have died¡ªonly the ordinary people would have suffered, and Wang Tao definitely could have escaped since, by that time, Wang Tao was already an Awakener... With self-awareness, Duan never considered himself Wang Tao¡¯s lifesaver when interacting with him. Instead, it was Wang Tao who had given him many valuable things... He knew his quick promotion was significantly linked to his relationship with Wang Tao, so he felt very grateful toward Wang Tao... After exchanging pleasantries, Duan Xuchang said: ¡°Principal Wang, I wanted to ask if you know where the Sixth Legion has gone? We¡¯re supposed to have a meeting, but we can¡¯t find them... Commander Cheng said earlier that you were with them, and since I couldn¡¯t reach her, I thought I¡¯d ask if you knew.¡± ¡°Huh? You don¡¯t know where they¡¯ve gone?¡± Wang Tao frowned. The Six Major Legions are a single entity unlike other forces, and they need to maintain constant communication. Once Cheng Yiyi discovered the ¡°communication tendrils,¡± she immediately contacted whoever was reachable. Since she could contact him, she should also be able to reach other legions. But now, Duan Xuchang was saying they had lost contact with the Sixth Legion... Could something have happened? Wang Tao asked Duan how long the Sixth Legion had been out of contact. Duan explained that their regiments required communication at least every hour, and it had been three hours since the last contact with the Sixth Legion. ¡°Lost contact for three hours...¡± Wang Tao quickly calculated the time; that would have been shortly after Cheng Yiyi and her group left the second level... ¡°Could something really have happened? Or did they go somewhere without communication tendrils...¡± When Wang Tao had left, he specifically looked around. Though the Sixth Legion¡¯s retreat was hasty, there were no signs of battle... Haste was understandable, given the perilous nature of this place where slow actions were unfeasible. ¡°I¡¯m not far from where the Sixth Legion was previously stationed; I¡¯ll head back there now to check.¡± Wang Tao immediately said it, as they were all his own people, and he certainly needed to show concern. ¡°Alright, thank you, Principal Wang! I¡¯m also worried that something might have happened to the Sixth Legion, but we can¡¯t get there anytime soon...¡± After ending the call, Wang Tao immediately directed Lightning to turn around. He also informed Lan Yulian and the others that he would be a bit late returning, as the Sixth Legion might have encountered trouble. Moments later, Wang Tao arrived back at the spot where the Sixth Legion had been stationed. He didn¡¯t need to distinguish the retreat traces; Wang Tao just let Lightning sniff and follow the scent. Half an hour later, a forest appeared before Wang Tao... It seemed to be mutated banyan trees, but the mutation wasn¡¯t complete, so they didn¡¯t have blood bars, indicating they lacked consciousness... Clearly, Cheng Yiyi and her group had gone inside. Without hesitation, Wang Tao and Lightning entered. After entering, Lightning whined a few times, indicating to Wang Tao that there were Level 5 Lord scents inside, but they were scattered, and it would take some time to locate them. The first level also had Level 5 Lords, just not in large numbers. ¡°Hopefully, Cheng Yiyi and her group didn¡¯t encounter any danger...¡± If it were a head-on fight, Wang Tao felt that with the fighting capability of the Sixth Legion, they could completely eliminate a Level 5 Lord. However, mutated plants here never engaged in direct combat; they preferred ambushes. If ambushed by a Level 5 Lord, the Sixth Legion could be in grave danger! Chapter 1195 - 1195 490 Something Strange _2 ?Chapter 1195: Chapter 490: Something Strange _2 Chapter 1195: Chapter 490: Something Strange _2 Wang Tao also didn¡¯t dare to be careless; he mobilized his spiritual power like a human radar, meticulously searching alongside Lightning... It didn¡¯t take long before Lightning found a Level 5, Lord. [HP: 306783/400000] [Mana: 153895/200000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Savage Growth] [Savage Growth: Rapid growth in a short period of time] This Level 5 Lord was a Mutated Banyan, but it was not at full health... This situation made it quite obvious; most likely, the Sixth Legion had encountered it and battled with it! There were indeed some traces of a fight in the surroundings, but no bodies or abandoned weapons... It was unknown whether Cheng Yiyi and the others had all escaped or had been eaten by this Mutated Banyan. Wang Tao felt that they must have escaped; if they had been eaten, Wang Tao didn¡¯t believe these mutated plants could have swallowed the powered armor whole... Wang Tao really wanted to take care of this Mutated Banyan, but he wasn¡¯t sure if there was only one Level 5, Lord here. If there were other Level 5 Lords, his fighting might endanger the people of the Sixth Legion. It was better to wait a bit longer and find the people first... As usual, relying on Lightning¡¯s nose to smell, half an hour later, Lightning gently barked in one direction. ¡°The scent is in there?¡± Looking at the entrance formed by banyans, Wang Tao immediately beckoned, ¡°Let¡¯s go inside!¡± The cave within the tree was very dark, the density of the dark mist comparable to the second level. However, this naturally didn¡¯t affect Wang Tao; he cautiously made his way, quickly spotting some figures. ¡°They are indeed here!¡± Wang Tao walked straight toward them. ... Not far away, a large group of soldiers was huddled together, all of them slightly injured, but their spirits appeared to be relatively good. ¡°This the Devastation.¡± That is a sarcastic sound coming from one soldier. He knew it was not a good time to say this, but he really couldn¡¯t help it. Without some hope, he feared he might break down. ¡°Everyone rest assured, we will return safely! Once I have regained my strength, I will lead you all out! I remember the way, it will be fine!¡± The Deputy Legion Commander of the Sixth Legion, Lin Kaiyang, spoke with conviction. Seeing Lin Kaiyang¡¯s unwavering faith, the morale of the others significantly boosted. ¡°Unfortunately, Commandant Pei and Commander Cheng...¡± At that moment, another soldier sighed. Hearing this, the soldiers instantly quieted down; a sorrowful atmosphere emerged among them. ¡°What happened to Commander Cheng?¡± Suddenly, a deep voice seemed to ring out next to everyone¡¯s ears. Everyone was taken aback. ¡°Who is it?¡± All the soldiers picked up their weapons and flashlights, warily watching the darkness. Lin Kaiyang also immediately grabbed his Crystal Energy Gun; his expression was a mix of panic and relief. He tentatively called out: ¡°Consultant Wang? Is that you?¡± Rustle¡ª From within the darkness, a tall figure and a dog slowly appeared before everyone. ¡°It really is Consultant Wang!¡± Seeing that it indeed was Wang Tao, Lin Kaiyang sighed in relief. The other soldiers also relaxed. They naturally recognized Wang Tao, the consultant, but they hadn¡¯t had much interaction with him, so they weren¡¯t familiar with his voice. Wang Tao walked over, frowning at Lin Kaiyang: ¡°What were you saying about Yiyi?¡± ¡°Commander Cheng...¡± Lin Kaiyang¡¯s eyes instantly reddened, and the other soldiers lowered their heads. ¡°She, she was eaten by that Level 5 Monster Lord! Deputy Legion Commander Pei also sacrificed...¡± Lin Kaiyang said in a low voice. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao had had a bad feeling when he first heard their words, but hearing the actual results, he still found it hard to believe. The people who had just been fighting alongside him, were they really gone? He had a good relationship with Cheng Yiyi, they were good friends, and his willingness to take on the title of consultant in the Sixth Legion was because of Cheng Yiyi... but Cheng Yiyi had died. It was somewhat hard for Wang Tao to accept, but having lived in the apocalypse for so long, he was accustomed to death and managed not to lose his composure. ¡°What exactly happened?¡± ¡°It was like this. Not long after we separated from you, Deputy Legion Commander Pei mentioned that someone told him about a location with a Level 4 Lord. The location was here. So, we came, and found out it wasn¡¯t a Level 4 Lord, but a Level 5 Lord! The Lord was very strong, we couldn¡¯t defeat it at all. Commander Cheng and Deputy Legion Commander Pei stayed behind to cover our escape... I saw with my own eyes, the monster tore apart Deputy Legion Commander Pei¡¯s powered armor and then pulled Commander Cheng out of his powered armor and ate him...¡± Lin Kaiyang explained painfully while covering his face. The soldiers were all silently sobbing. Hearing this, Wang Tao¡¯s heart sank. He then asked: ¡°What kind of monster was it?¡± ¡°It was a huge banyan tree...¡± ¡°Did you encounter any other monsters afterward?¡± ¡°No, we only encountered that one Level 5 Lord...¡± It seemed that the mutated banyan Wang Tao had just seen was probably the one Cheng Yiyi and the others had encountered. Wang Tao felt an urge to rush over and slay the mutated banyan right away. However, he quickly suppressed his emotions and instead observed the condition of Lin Kaiyang and his group. There were only three relatively intact powered armors here, and no other powered armors, and Wang Tao had observed the surroundings of the mutation; there was no sign of any destroyed powered armors... Could it be that the mutated banyan had eaten the powered armors? Or perhaps, Cheng Yiyi and her group hadn¡¯t died and had managed to escape? Wang Tao thought the latter was more likely. Although Lin Kaiyang said he had seen it with his own eyes, given the thick fog in the area, it¡¯s possible he might not have seen clearly if he was a bit far off... ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here with me first.¡± Wang Tao planned to first lead these people out and then come back to search and see if Cheng Yiyi was still alive. He still refused to believe that Cheng Yiyi had just died. ¡°Yes!¡± Lin Kaiyang immediately snapped to attention with an excited salute, then hurriedly ushered everyone to follow. After Wang Tao led them out of the banyan tree cave, he was about to retrace his steps when Lightning suddenly tugged at his clothes. He looked down at Lightning and communicated briefly using spiritual power. Wang Tao first frowned, then his expression turned a bit odd. ¡°Consultant Wang, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Seeing that Wang Tao had suddenly stopped, Lin Kaiyang approached cautiously. ¡°It¡¯s not right, I sensed the presence of a Level 5 Lord... a Level 5 Lord is coming our way!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Hearing that, everyone became a bit panicked, still vividly remembering their recent traumatic experience. ¡°The presence of this Level 5 Lord is very strong, I can¡¯t protect you all. You go back to the tree cave, I¡¯ll draw it away!¡± Wang Tao said seriously. ¡°Yes!¡± Lin Kaiyang didn¡¯t hesitate, immediately leading the group back to the tree cave. After seeing everyone had gone back, Wang Tao didn¡¯t actually go to draw away the Level 5 Lord as he said, because there was no Level 5 Lord coming. Lightning had just told him, after a careful distinction, that he had smelled Cheng Yiyi¡¯s scent. Wang Tao now prepared to go find her. The reason Wang Tao didn¡¯t tell Lin Kaiyang and the others was because Lightning told Wang Tao that after Wang Tao appeared, someone had a moment of hostility towards him! That was interesting. After revealing his identity, someone still harbored hostility towards him... which was obviously not normal, since Wang Tao was supposed to be one of them. Moreover, Wang Tao didn¡¯t recognize the person Lightning mentioned. So Wang Tao told the others to hide first while he went to look for Cheng Yiyi himself. More than ten minutes later, Lightning led Wang Tao to the outside of a very small banyan tree cave. With a slight probe using his spiritual power, Wang Tao saw the severely wounded Cheng Yiyi inside. At the time, Cheng Yiyi was chained with thick iron chains. ¡°There really is a problem!¡± Wang Tao immediately went in. Chapter 1196 - 1196 491 Catching the Culprit ?Chapter 1196: Chapter 491: Catching the Culprit Chapter 1196: Chapter 491: Catching the Culprit ¡°Wang Tao? Am I dead or dreaming...¡± Groggy, Cheng Yiyi thought she saw Wang Tao appear before her. At this moment, Cheng Yiyi was clad in her powered armor, which was completely drained of energy. Rough iron chains tightly bound her, rendering her immobile. Red light flickered in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes as two high-temperature rays burst forth, quickly melting the thick chains. Then Wang Tao found the powered armor wouldn¡¯t open. But this wasn¡¯t an issue for him. He continued using the high-temperature ray to easily cut open the armor, revealing the Cheng Yiyi inside. Cheng Yiyi was down to just over fifty HP and could die at any moment. Wang Tao held her in his arms and carefully checked her body. Once he assured herself nothing was missing, he finally relaxed. Although Lan Yulian¡¯s healing ability was strong, it could only restore HP and heal wounds. It couldn¡¯t create something out of nothing. If someone¡¯s arm was severed, the healing ability could reattach it. However, if the arm was gone, then the healing ability couldn¡¯t regrow it. So as long as there were no missing parts, even with just over fifty HP, there wasn¡¯t much of a problem. ¡°What are you doing...¡± Cheng Yiyi watched as Wang Tao felt around on her body and even lifted her clothes to check thoroughly. Her pale face suddenly turned a bit red. But this real sensation... it didn¡¯t seem like a dream? ¡°Checking for internal injuries, but it seems there¡¯s nothing serious. Don¡¯t be afraid, you won¡¯t die.¡± Wang Tao took out a medical kit and began treating and bandaging Cheng Yiyi. ¡°I... really got rescued?¡± Lying in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, Cheng Yiyi slowly came to realize she wasn¡¯t dead, nor dreaming. The person before her was really Wang Tao. She was saved! The medical kit quickly added a thousand HP to Cheng Yiyi. Although it was still far from the maximum of a hundred thousand HP, it was enough to get Cheng Yiyi past the critical condition. ¡°What exactly happened? How did you end up here, and who tied you up?¡± Seeing that Cheng Yiyi¡¯s spirit had improved considerably, Wang Tao finally asked. Upon mentioning the incident, Cheng Yiyi bit her lip, her face looking very ugly. ¡°It was Lin Kaiyang! He ambushed me!¡± ¡°Him?¡± Wang Tao was somewhat taken aback. Lightning had mentioned someone held animosity towards Wang Tao, but that person wasn¡¯t Lin Kaiyang. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t noticed anything off about him. Although Lin Kaiyang¡¯s words couldn¡¯t be proven to be true or false, they didn¡¯t seem false. But to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, even he had been deceived... ¡°Yes, him! I never suspected he would hide his true nature... He attacked me and Pei Hai while we were battling a Level 5 Lord, killed Pei Hai, and locked me up here...¡± Cheng Yiyi explained grimly to Wang Tao. It turned out that most of what Lin Kaiyang had told Wang Tao earlier was true. From when Pei Hai had brought them there, to encountering the Level 5 Lord, and then the failed fight followed by the retreat, Cheng Yiyi and Pei Hai covering their retreat... all of these incidents were true. But the subsequent fate of Pei Hai and Cheng Yiyi, as told by him, was fabricated. He said Pei Hai and the powered armor had been torn apart by the mutated banyan, and Cheng Yiyi was pulled out of the armor and eaten by the mutant tree. But the reality was that the powered armors of Cheng Yiyi and Pei Hai had been tampered with, significantly reducing their combat effectiveness. They couldn¡¯t even ditch the armors because they couldn¡¯t get out; the powered armors had become burdens. Thankfully, the tree monster couldn¡¯t move, and with Cheng Yiyi¡¯s strength being strong enough, she and Pei Hai supported each other and managed to escape. But Lin Kaiyang and two other powered armors were waiting not far away and ambushed her and Pei Hai. Pei Hai was killed on the spot by Lin Kaiyang while trying to protect Cheng Yiyi. Cheng Yiyi attempted to flee but failed and was captured by Lin Kaiyang. Cheng Yiyi thought she was as good as dead, but Lin Kaiyang didn¡¯t kill her. Instead, he told her that he had control over the powered armor, and he could kill Cheng Yiyi at any time. Lin Kaiyang forced Cheng Yiyi to cede the position of Army Commander of the Sixth Legion to himself and to recognize Lin Kaiyang as her master, becoming his slave. Cheng Yiyi would rather die than agree to such terms, and Lin Kaiyang didn¡¯t dare stay there any longer since he couldn¡¯t defeat the Level 5 Lord himself. So he left Cheng Yiyi there, in powered armor with no energy supply, no capability to move, and no way to get out, which became her prison. And to be safe, Lin Kaiyang had also bound the powered armor with iron chains. He told Cheng Yiyi that after he took control of the Sixth Legion, he would ¡°properly take care¡± of Cheng Yiyi and make her publicly acknowledge him as her master. After that, Cheng Yiyi passed out, and the next time she woke up groggily, she had been rescued by Wang Tao. ¡°I must kill him with my own hands! Cough cough¡ª¡± Cheng Yiyi grew angrier as she spoke, but since her wounds hadn¡¯t healed completely, anger overwhelmed her and she collapsed weakly into Wang Tao¡¯s arms. ¡°Alright, don¡¯t get so worked up that you harm yourself. I¡¯ll take you with me to catch him.¡± Wang Tao patted Cheng Yiyi¡¯s back and then carried her out of the banyan tree cave with one arm. ¡°Uh... I think I can walk...¡± Cheng Yiyi felt a bit uncomfortable, for with the disparity in their sizes, she felt like a child being held by Wang Tao. Wang Tao didn¡¯t respond to her. With her current condition, she would only slow him down. It didn¡¯t take long for Wang Tao to return to the banyan tree cave where Lin Kaiyang and the others were hiding. However, to Wang Tao¡¯s surprise, Lin Kaiyang was gone. Chapter 1197 - 1197 491 Catching the Culprit_2 ?Chapter 1197: Chapter 491: Catching the Culprit_2 Chapter 1197: Chapter 491: Catching the Culprit_2 ¡°Where is Lin Kaiyang?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s sudden voice startled the group of soldiers once again. ¡°Deputy Regimental Commander Lin said he went out to see if he could be of any help to you, Consultant Wang¡ªah? Army Commander?!¡± It was only when Wang Tao emerged from the darkness that everyone realized he was carrying Cheng Yiyi in his arms. However, two people clad in powered armor within the crowd turned pale. ¡°It¡¯s those two!¡± Cheng Yiyi glared at the two powered armors, her eyes blazing with fury. Swoosh¡ª The cloak behind Wang Tao stirred without a breeze, expanding instantly. Before the soldiers could understand what was happening, darkness fell over them as the Splitting Cloak enveloped them. Dada Dada¡ª At that moment, the machine guns on the two powered armors sprayed out tongues of fire, aiming at Wang Tao and the other soldiers. However, their bullets all struck the cloak, pinging off harmlessly. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes immediately shot out two red beams, instantly sending the two powered armors flying. Simultaneously, Wang Tao, still cradling Cheng Yiyi with one arm, appeared in front of the two powered armors, his other hand wielding a spear, sweeping it across them. Bang! The two powered armors were directly smashed flat by a mighty force, fiercely embedded into the walls of the Banyan Tree Cave. The gunfire ceased abruptly. Swoosh¡ª Wang Tao retracted his cloak, and the soldiers looked around blankly. Everything had happened too quickly¡ªfrom Wang Tao protecting them to him smashing the two powered armors into the wall¡ªit had been only a second, and they were still clueless about what had actually transpired. Not to mention them, even Cheng Yiyi, who had been held by Wang Tao throughout the entire incident, was somewhat dazed. This was the strength of Wang Tao! How terrifying! Nevertheless, Cheng Yiyi was, after all, a Fourth-order Awakener, and she quickly recovered, immediately ordering: ¡°Lin Kaiyang and these two have betrayed us! Capture them!¡± The soldiers were even more confused, unclear on how Deputy Legion Commander Lin could have betrayed them, but they naturally carried out Cheng Yiyi¡¯s orders unconditionally. So they quickly pried the two powered armors from the wall, and upon seeing the severely deformed armors, all the soldiers internally marveled that Consultant Wang was practically a humanoid armor! With the powered armor in this state, the people inside were naturally in a wretched condition, barely clinging to life. After pulling them out, their gazes towards Wang Tao were filled with fear. In fact, Wang Tao could effortlessly kill them without damaging the powered armors using a Mental Attack. However, Cheng Yiyi suggested it was better to capture them alive, and Wang Tao was somewhat angry about the sneak attack on Cheng Yiyi; his emotions might affect the intensity of the Mental Attack. If he wasn¡¯t careful and applied too much force, these two might end up as idiots at best or bleed from all seven orifices and die at worst. So Wang Tao opted for a simple and direct Physical Attack instead. ¡°Woof~¡± Lightning barked softly nearby, signaling to Wang Tao that one of these two had momentarily harbored hostility towards him. Wang Tao nodded, then asked Lightning: ¡°Can you smell Lin Kaiyang?¡± ¡°Woof!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go, catch him.¡± After having the soldiers secure the two combat-incapacitated individuals, Wang Tao, carrying Cheng Yiyi with him, and accompanied by Lightning, left the Banyan Tree Cave. ... Another side. Inside a powered armor groping forward in the darkness, Lin Kaiyang was sweating profusely, a deepening sense of fear constantly haunting his mind. ¡°Damn it! How did he find out!¡± Lin Kaiyang couldn¡¯t figure it out. Wang Tao had ascended to Level 5, but that just meant his strength was greater, it doesn¡¯t mean he was that much smarter! Although his plan wasn¡¯t flawless, it shouldn¡¯t have been exposed in such a short time, where did it go wrong... Earlier, when Wang Tao said a Level 5 Lord Monster was approaching, and he drew it away, leaving the others to wait, Lin Kaiyang didn¡¯t sense any immediate danger of exposure. It was only when he heard no commotion outside the cave that he felt something was off. So, he told the others he was going to check outside and see if he could lend a hand to Wang Tao. When he got outside, he found no signs of battle, which sent a chill through Lin Kaiyang¡¯s heart. It was possible that Wang Tao didn¡¯t engage much with the monster, but Lin Kaiyang didn¡¯t dare to bet on it. After all, losing the bet meant death. So, he ran. If it turned out that Wang Tao really went to lure the monsters away, he could always come back later. At worst, he¡¯d say he got lost. In fact, he did get lost, or else he would have already led the team away. But as if it were tempting fate¡ªhe received a prompt that Cheng Yiyi had exited her powered armor! Cheng Yiyi¡¯s powered armor wasn¡¯t completely energy-depleted. He had left a program that would report her status and location to him, to prevent losing track of her. Just a short time after Wang Tao had left, he received the notification: Cheng Yiyi was out of her powered armor! No chance of luck this time¡ªCheng Yiyi must have been found by Wang Tao. Run, all he could do was run! Changhe Base was no longer safe; the only option was to flee into the wasteland! He didn¡¯t want to wander in the wasteland, but facing a Fifth Order Awakener, he knew any cunning he possessed was useless. If he dared stay in the base, it wouldn¡¯t matter whether he was in the right or not¡ªthe committee wouldn¡¯t offend the base¡¯s only Level 5 Awakener for him. His death was certain! Lin Kaiyang suddenly felt regret. Not regret for attacking Cheng Yiyi, nor for failing to kill her. He regretted that the plan wasn¡¯t thorough enough, he shouldn¡¯t have left Cheng Yiyi inside the powered armor! The powered armor was a product of a research institute and couldn¡¯t be altered by outsiders, not even the binded buyers could change anything. Any modifications had to be made by returning it to the institute. This was to prevent such deadly weapons from falling into the hands of villains. Naturally, Lin Kaiyang couldn¡¯t modify the internal programming of the powered armor¡ªbeyond his capabilities¡ªbut he had been clever, adding some extra mechanical structures to Cheng Yiyi and Pei Hai¡¯s powered armors! This wouldn¡¯t allow him direct control over the powered armor, but it could disrupt the functions of both the weapon and power systems, effectively locking the armor down. This lockdown was for real¡ªneither Cheng Yiyi nor Pei Hai could open it, and even he couldn¡¯t in a short amount of time. That was the extent of his ability. As a result, they had expended significant effort to kill Pei Hai, who was wearing powered armor, and taking down Cheng Yiyi would be difficult since the defensive power of the armor could withstand several attacks from a Level 5 Monster. With his strength, killing Cheng Yiyi who was inside the powered armor in a short amount of time was impossible. His coercion toward Cheng Yiyi was actually just to scare her. If he truly could have controlled Cheng Yiyi¡¯s powered armor, he would have killed her immediately, venting his anger before her death if necessary. He wouldn¡¯t leave such a lethal weakness! Since Cheng Yiyi remained defiant, he couldn¡¯t see her HP bar, and therefore did not know how long she could last. Afraid of the Level 5 Awakener Wang Tao finding him, and also fearful of the Level 5 Monster Lord nearby, he didn¡¯t dare to persist with Cheng Yiyi. After securing her, he rejoined the main force. Not long after joining up with the main force, he saw Wang Tao approaching. He felt fortunate that his decisive return was timely; otherwise, there could have been trouble. But still, he was exposed... So now, he deeply regretted it. If he had chosen a different method to kill Cheng Yiyi, would he have succeeded by now? But there are no what-ifs in this world, and he couldn¡¯t afford to wait¡ªafter learning of Wang Tao¡¯s Ascension to Level 5, he decided to act immediately. Given the relationship between Wang Tao and Cheng Yiyi, if he missed this chance, there¡¯d be no more opportunities. But still, he failed... Suddenly, Lin Kaiyang halted. Out of nowhere, a towering, blurry figure appeared before him. Before he could react, a sharp pain pierced his chest, and then he blacked out. Chapter 1198 - 1198 492 Slaying with One Hand ?Chapter 1198: Chapter 492: Slaying with One Hand Chapter 1198: Chapter 492: Slaying with One Hand ¡°Hisss¡ª¡± Lin Kaiyang felt like his body had fallen apart, followed by an intense pain that began to spread throughout his entire body. He struggled to open his eyes and saw the person he least wanted to see right now. ¡°Commander Cheng...¡± ¡°Heh, don¡¯t call me Commander; I can¡¯t afford that title.¡± Cheng Yiyi scoffed, then walked over to Wang Tao. Only then did Lin Kaiyang realize he was back in that Banyan Tree Cave. ¡°This isn¡¯t a dream... I¡¯ve really been captured...¡± Lin Kaiyang fell into despair. ¡°Tsk...¡± Observing Lin Kaiyang tightly bound, Wang Tao shook his head. When he had just captured Lin Kaiyang, he had naturally held back. Otherwise, even if Lin Kaiyang was hiding inside the powered armor, he could have shattered it along with the armor. And since Lin Kaiyang wasn¡¯t dead, what awaited him would be the justice of trial, and the process would naturally be worse than death. After all, betraying a commander of the legion was no longer a personal grudge¡ªit was contempt and provocation towards the Six Major Legions, City Hall, and Changhe Base! However, Wang Tao was curious why Lin Kaiyang would frame Cheng Yiyi for no good reason. Could there be some ¡°unspeakable secret¡±? So, Wang Tao tried to pry some information out of him. Lin Kaiyang¡¯s mouth wasn¡¯t as tough as Wang Tao had imagined. With a slight use of spiritual power from Wang Tao, Lin Kaiyang started screaming and begging for mercy. After hearing his confession, Wang Tao wore a peculiar expression, while Cheng Yiyi¡¯s face turned shades of green and white. It turned out, Lin Kaiyang had long harbored designs not on Cheng Yiyi herself, but on her position as the army commander! Of course, becoming the army commander and winning Cheng Yiyi would be ideal; but even if he couldn¡¯t win over Cheng Yiyi, it didn¡¯t matter as long as he could become the commander. Everything else was expendable. Although there¡¯s only a one-word difference between a deputy commander and an army commander, the reality is night and day. Simply put, a deputy commander is just a high-level worker of the legion. In contrast, an army commander is the owner of the legion, the emperor of that military group! They could make the entire legion serve them alone! Centralizing all the power and resources of the entire legion onto one person would be a frightening thing. However, the Six Major Legions hadn¡¯t done so. They distributed the resources, not evenly, but enough to satisfy the majority, except for Lin Kaiyang. Lin Kaiyang thought it was better to concentrate resources to cultivate a leader, and he considered himself suitable for that role. But obviously, that was impossible since he was only the deputy commander. Moreover, the current army commander was Cheng Yiyi, a young person. If nothing unexpected happened, his chances in this lifetime were probably doomed. Actually, he had a chance to become permanent because at that time, he was the sole Awakener in the entire legion. He believed that as long as he performed well in the future, he would definitely replace Cheng Yiyi since Cheng Yiyi was just an ordinary Ability User, while he was the future! Unfortunately, Cheng Yiyi awakened, and not only did she awaken herself, but she also caused Pei Hai to awaken! Lin Kaiyang¡¯s unique status vanished in an instant; he and Cheng Yiyi were back to the starting line, which meant, barring any accidents, he could never become the commander of the Sixth Legion. Unwilling to accept this, Lin Kaiyang decided it was all or nothing. He planned to find an opportunity to eliminate Cheng Yiyi! But before taking out Cheng Yiyi, he needed to eliminate Pei Hai first, as Pei Hai was highly trusted by Cheng Yiyi. They always acted together when going out, and Lin Kaiyang couldn¡¯t beat the two of them, or even Cheng Yiyi on her own. So he devised a plan to eliminate Pei Hai¡ªpretend he was trapped, ask Pei Hai to rescue him, then kill Pei Hai and lead the troops back to the city. Lin Kaiyang thought this plan was not perfect but had a high chance of success. When the plan was executed, things went smoothly initially, and he successfully lured Pei Hai over. However, unfortunately, he missed two things. The first was, he didn¡¯t expect Cheng Yiyi to be so brave. Hearing that both he and Pei Hai were trapped, she immediately led troops to their rescue. Then... all three Awakeners ended up trapped. However, there was still a chance for remedy, and it might even turn out to be a blessing. Since his ultimate goal was to eliminate Cheng Yiyi and she had also arrived, he might as well take them all out! He had left a secret chamber only he knew about in the area where they were trapped, stocked with enough food to last half a month. After killing Cheng Yiyi and Pei Hai, he planned to hide in the secret chamber until the zombies had left after consuming the bodies. If the zombies didn¡¯t leave, he had also left many digging tools in the chamber. With his physical condition, he was clearly capable of digging an exit. But then the second unexpected event occurred¡ªCheng Yiyi managed to contact Wang Tao. Although he had tried to remedy the situation¡ªby sabotaging the team¡¯s radio to cut off the communication between Cheng Yiyi and Wang Tao¡ªit was too late. Wang Tao had already arrived and had even successfully distracted many zombies, enabling Cheng Yiyi and others to escape the trap. His plan was declared a failure. After this incident, Cheng Yiyi felt something was off, so she began an investigation. But how could she imagine that the mastermind was the ¡°victim¡±! Moreover, Lin Kaiyang was very careful in his actions, leaving no loose ends, so Cheng Yiyi could never suspect him. After a long investigation with no leads, all Cheng Yiyi could attribute it to was bad luck. Chapter 1199 - 1199 492 One-Handed Slaying_2 ?Chapter 1199: Chapter 492: One-Handed Slaying_2 Chapter 1199: Chapter 492: One-Handed Slaying_2 After that, Lin Kaiyang laid low as well; he was waiting for an opportunity, an opportunity for a guaranteed kill. After all, Cheng Yiyi was not foolish¡ªshe had already been on alert before, and if he failed again, his chances of having another opportunity were slim. The appearance of the rift made him think an opportunity might have arrived, but he could only be certain after heading there. But, once he actually arrived inside the rift, he felt the chances were slim because it was too dangerous. If he tried to frame Cheng Yiyi, he might just end up dooming himself as well. His primary goal was to become the Army Commander, not to die alongside Cheng Yiyi... However, to his surprise, Cheng Yiyi called Wang Tao, and Wang Tao had already reached Level 5! Cheng Yiyi and Wang Tao had a good relationship; this was a well-known fact within the Sixth Legion! Hence, he might never get another chance. But he couldn¡¯t let it go; he had waited for so long, and he was not willing to remain just a Deputy Legion Commander. So, he began looking for an opportunity to make a move. Fortunately, he really did find an opportunity¡ªsomebody told him that there was a banyan tree forest inside the rift, housing a Level 5 Monster Lord! If he concealed the existence of the Level 5 Monster from Cheng Yiyi and Pei Hai, there was a high chance of leading them to their deaths, especially since he had sabotaged their powered armors before they set out. The person who told him this news was the leader of a small faction. Besides the Six Major Legions, people from other factions also joined this rift exploration. This small faction¡¯s leader accidentally trespassed into the banyan tree forest, nearly resulting in their complete annihilation, leaving only their leader alive. The leader relayed this information to Lin Kaiyang, thinking could he possibly exchange it for something to minimize his losses. Lin Kaiyang naturally agreed, but he also mentioned that he did not have control over the Sixth Legion, advising the leader to relay the information to Pei Hai but omit the details about the Level 5 Lord. The leader was reluctant because it obviously seemed like a setup, but Lin Kaiyang offered too much in return. Regrettably, the leader never got a chance to benefit from it¡ªafter delivering the somewhat true, somewhat false news to Pei Hai, Lin Kaiyang promptly had his trusted subordinates take care of him. At this point, aside from his two trusted subordinates, no one else knew of his subsequent plans. Afterward, everything went smoothly; he successfully lured Cheng Yiyi and the others to the banyan tree forest and killed Pei Hai, taking Cheng Yiyi captive. Unexpectedly, Wang Tao arrived, and so swiftly at that! In the face of absolute power, his schemes were once again foiled by Wang Tao. This time, he couldn¡¯t escape either. Speaking of which, Lin Kaiyang felt quite aggrieved when confessing¡ªhe had longed to be the Army Commander since he joined the Sixth Legion. Over the course of his journey, he had stayed undercover for so long, acting only twice, and Wang Tao thwarted him on both occasions... Thus, Wang Tao¡¯s expression was a bit peculiar; he had unwittingly thwarted two conspiracies... Yet, Wang Tao felt somewhat disappointed that all this was really nothing more than Lin Kaiyang¡¯s own ambitions acting up. He had almost thought Lin Kaiyang had encountered some bewitching monster. Compared to Wang Tao, Cheng Yiyi was both angry and distressed. Lin Kaiyang had become an Awakener not just due to luck, but also with the support of the Sixth Legion and Cheng Yiyi. Without the Legion and her, Lin Kaiyang was nothing! Yet, Lin Kaiyang turned around and backstabbed them... She herself could handle being wounded, but Pei Hai had died, and many soldiers had died too... These were irrevocable losses! If it weren¡¯t for needing to bring Lin Kaiyang back for trial, Cheng Yiyi wanted to kill him right now. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Wang Tao looked at the pale-faced Cheng Yiyi. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Cheng Yiyi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and upon reopening them, her complexion had returned to normal, ¡°When do we go back?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll leave shortly; I just need to take care of that Fifth Order Mutated Banyan Tree,¡± Wang Tao responded. Upon hearing Wang Tao mention slaying the Level 5 Lord, Cheng Yiyi clenched her teeth and said, ¡°Can I come with you?¡± In a way, the mutated banyan tree was an accomplice to Lin Kaiyang. Cheng Yiyi wanted to witness its demise with her own eyes. ¡°Sure,¡± Wang Tao nodded. With his strength, handling an ordinary Level 5 Lord while having an observer around was no issue at all. After instructing others to keep a close watch on Lin Kaiyang and the two others, she and Wang Tao set out together. The mutated banyan tree was some distance from the tree hollow, but Wang Tao navigated the area as if it were his own home. He summoned Lightning to enlarge, then helped Cheng Yiyi climb up. Lightning¡¯s current size was akin to that of an elephant, which Cheng Yiyi had never ridden before, making her feel quite intrigued. Especially sitting in front of Wang Tao, her movements with Lightning¡¯s motion soon had her falling into Wang Tao¡¯s arms, breathing in the scent of the man behind her, causing her cheeks to slightly redden. ¡°Thanks, you saved me again. If it weren¡¯t for you, I don¡¯t know how I would have died...¡± Cheng Yiyi whispered softly. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it; we¡¯re good friends. If it¡¯s within my capacity, I¡¯ll definitely help.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand. ¡°Friends huh...¡± Cheng Yiyi muttered, then said no more. Soon, Lightning carried the two of them close to the mutated banyan tree again. [HP: 400000/400000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Ability: Savage Growth] [Savage Growth: Rapid growth in a short period of time] Previously, the mutated banyan had three hundred thousand HP, now it had fully regenerated. Obviously, it should have a blood regeneration ability, most likely through nutrient absorption. However, for Wang Tao, it wasn¡¯t a big problem, ten thousand more or less, just a few more hits. ¡°Then stay here with Lightning, I¡¯ll go kill it.¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone was very casual, as if hunting a Level 5 Lord was an ordinary matter. At this moment, Cheng Yiyi suddenly said, ¡°Can I follow you¨C¡± but after she spoke, she felt it was inappropriate; this wasn¡¯t child¡¯s play, it was life-threatening, so she quickly shook her head ¡°cough, forget what I said.¡± Wang Tao raised an eyebrow. He had brought Cheng Yiyi here, and she still thought the spectator distance was too far? But then again, the mist was thick here, and if you were just a bit further away, you couldn¡¯t see anything. So, Wang Tao reached out, and Cheng Yiyi, caught off guard, was suddenly held in his arms with one hand. Wang Tao was tall and burly, holding Cheng Yiyi in one arm as if she were a child. ¡°...¡± Cheng Yiyi widened her eyes, somewhat embarrassed, but more shocked. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t going to hold her and fight with one hand, was he? Before Cheng Yiyi could speak, a five-meter-long spear appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s right hand. Cheng Yiyi¡¯s vision blurred, and suddenly they were in front of the mutated banyan tree. Whoosh¡ª The mutated banyan tree, clearly realizing the uninvited guests, immediately swung its branches towards Wang Tao. Wang Tao easily dodged the attack, and then thrust his spear forward. Thwack! [-23412] [Curse: Slaying] ¡°Eh?¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised; his luck was so good this time, the first strike had triggered Slaying. For the next three minutes, the banyan¡¯s eighty thousand HP was essentially gone! Add to that the more than twenty thousand damage from Wang Tao¡¯s original attack... It was as if one spear did a hundred thousand damage! Whoosh¡ª The branches of the mutated banyan tree rapidly began to grow wildly, looking intimidating as they seemed to cover the sky, but Wang Tao remained unphased. Cheng Yiyi had told Wang Tao about the ability of this mutated banyan tree before they came; it was purely a physical attack monster, straightforward with no tricky abilities. At this level, the type of enemy Wang Tao was least afraid of was this. So he didn¡¯t even use [Scorching Eyes], just brute forced it. In Cheng Yiyi¡¯s dazzled sight, Wang Tao thrust the final spear. [-24193] [-79273] [0/400000] Boom¡ª The mutated banyan tree¡¯s HP depleted to zero, and it fell to the ground with a crash. Chapter 1200 - 1200 493 Standard Battle Armor ?Chapter 1200: Chapter 493 Standard Battle Armor Chapter 1200: Chapter 493 Standard Battle Armor ¡°It¡¯s dead?¡± Looking at the Mutated Banyan Tree crashing to the ground, Cheng Yiyi still felt a bit dizzy. To be honest, she didn¡¯t even see how this Level 5 Lord died, because Wang Tao moved too fast! It felt to her like she teleported, changing positions several times in a short period, dodging countless attacks. She never got a good look at the entire appearance of the monster before hearing a thunderous crash, and then it was just down on the ground... ¡°Is this the gap between Level 4 and Level 5...¡± Cheng Yiyi thought to herself, then shook her head repeatedly. No, not all Level 5s are the same! Although she wasn¡¯t Level 5, both Wang Tao and the Mutated Banyan were! Yet Wang Tao easily slew the Mutated Banyan... It could only be said that it wasn¡¯t that Level 5s were strong, but that Level 5 Wang Tao was strong! So strong she couldn¡¯t even understand... Cheng Yiyi was certain that when Wang Tao was with her before, he definitely wasn¡¯t going all out! Or rather, there was no opportunity for him to show his full strength. Even in slaying the Level 5 Mutated Banyan, it was possible that Wang Tao had not used his full power, especially since Wang Tao didn¡¯t use his Fire awakening or the ability to shoot rays from his eyes, not to mention that he was still holding her, a dead weight... Feeling Cheng Yiyi¡¯s shocked and even admiring gaze, Wang Tao said with a smile, ¡°Basic operation, no sweat.¡± To him, it really was just basic. As of now, the enemies that could cause difficulty for Wang Tao were either strangely cunning, had long-range attack abilities, or were vastly different in level... Monsters like the Mutated Banyan, with their large size, one-dimensional attack methods, inability to move, and lack of long-range attack abilities, were Wang Tao¡¯s favorite kind because he could simply overpower them with his formidable attack power. ¡°You¡¯re so strong!¡± Cheng Yiyi had intended to use some fancy eloquence to praise him, but after moving her mouth a bit, in the end, she just straightforwardly said that Wang Tao was strong. ¡°Haha, you¡¯ll be able to do it, too, in the future!¡± Being praised always made one happy, especially since Cheng Yiyi was very sincere. Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, Cheng Yiyi felt a sense of helplessness in her heart. Perhaps she could, but by the time she did, who knows how strong Wang Tao would be... Shaking her head, Cheng Yiyi stopped thinking about it. Comparing herself with Wang Tao was meaningless and would just make her worry unnecessarily. It was better to be realistic. However... ¡°Cough, Wang Tao, you can put me down now...¡± Cheng Yiyi suddenly said in a soft voice. Right now, she was still in Wang Tao¡¯s arms, being held by him with one hand like a child. Though it gave her a sense of security, it was also embarrassing. ¡°Okay.¡± Wang Tao let go, and Cheng Yiyi immediately jumped down. To ease the awkwardness, she hurriedly ran over to inspect the Mutated Banyan. Even though it was dead, it still gave her a subtle sense of pressure. It was hard to believe that the monster had just been poked to death by Wang Tao with a spear that looked quite ordinary... Right, where did Wang Tao get that spear from? Cheng Yiyi clearly remembered that when Wang Tao came, he wasn¡¯t carrying a spear, and there was nowhere to hide a five-meter-long spear! Although she was curious, Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t ask but silently noted that ¡°Wang Tao had the ability to summon weapons at any time¡±... Wang Tao didn¡¯t know what Cheng Yiyi was thinking, and he collected the spoils of war as if he was quite accustomed to it. There were three actual items and four Loot Packs in total. [Received: Fifth-Order Crystal Core¡¤Nutrient Absorption x1] [Received: Mutant Banyan Bark x10] [Received: Strange Banyan Fruit x1] The Crystal Core dropped by the Mutated Banyan was, unsurprisingly, Nutrient Absorption. Wang Tao had this Ability before, but it was only really effective on plant-type monsters and quite average on humans. ¡°Mutant Banyan Bark¡± was a crafting material that didn¡¯t seem special at a glance. It¡¯s probably a material for crafting armor. And what caught Wang Tao¡¯s attention the most was the thumb-sized fruit. [Strange Banyan Fruit: After consumption, you have a 50% chance to acquire a Hidden Attribute and a 50% chance to undergo Body Lignification for three days] ¡°This fruit seems quite decent...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin. Body Lignification as a side effect was something Wang Tao had seen after coming to Changhe Base. Simply put, one¡¯s body becomes more tree-like, with reduced Speed and agility, but increased Defensive power, and there was no danger to life from lignification... Besides, the effect was temporary, wearing off after three days. He could place it in the school¡¯s treasure vault later, allowing it to be exchanged for Points. After deciding on the destiny of the fruit, Wang Tao turned his attention to the Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained five Crystal Cores: Red [Level 5 Crystal Core: Promotion], Orange [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence], Purple [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Awakening], Blue [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength], Purple [Fifth-Order Crystal Core: Mental Defense]. Such a large banyan tree-like Monster had no Defense abilities, only a Mental Defense... It really deserved its bad luck. Wang Tao rarely used Mental Attacks against these monsters, because he didn¡¯t know how strong their Mental Attack might be. If he encountered a tough opponent, backlash could happen, with light injuries at best, and at worst, dementia. It was safer to use Fire, Dark, and Physical Attacks... The second and third Loot Packs contained an Awakening Key and potions, respectively. [Received: Awakening Key x1] [Received: Antidote Potion x50] The last Loot Pack contained a Blueprint. [Received: Standardized Sturdy Wooden Armor Blueprint x1] [Standardized Sturdy Wooden Armor Blueprint: After learning, you can make one set of Wooden Battle Armor each time with the following materials: Any Level 5 Tree Bark x1, Any Level 5 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x50, Nails x50, Screws x50, Steel Wire x50, Rubber x50] Chapter 1201 - 1201 493 Standard Battle Armor_2 ?Chapter 1201: Chapter 493: Standard Battle Armor_2 Chapter 1201: Chapter 493: Standard Battle Armor_2 [Standard Firm Wooden Armor: Attributes Unknown] ¡°Eh?¡± Upon seeing this blueprint, Wang Tao was somewhat surprised. He had just mentioned that this time¡¯s blueprint should be for armor, and now he was half-right¡ªit was indeed a blueprint for armor, but for standard armor! While standard equipment¡¯s attributes are usually not as good as other equipment¡¯s, other equipment blueprints can only produce one piece or one set of gear. However, standard equipment blueprints are permanent, allowing for mass production once learned. The first type of standard equipment Wang Tao obtained was a Level 3 wooden armor set. He also acquired a Level 3 standard hand crossbow and hand axe. Before leaving the city, he made a batch of equipment and stored it in the school¡¯s treasure vault. Since then, he hadn¡¯t come across any more standard equipment blueprints, but now, at last, another one had emerged¡ªand it was Level 5 armor! For most people venturing outside, armor is more precious than weapons. ¡°However, this standard blueprint seems a bit different from the ones I¡¯ve seen before...¡± After careful comparison, Wang Tao found the difference. Previous standard equipment blueprints, although Level 3, could be used to make Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 equipment. You just needed to use the same Level Crystal Core, with other materials remaining the same. But this blueprint specified that it could only use a Level 5 Crystal Core, meaning it couldn¡¯t produce equipment below Level 5. However, that wasn¡¯t a problem¡ªfor Level 5 was better, just more expensive in terms of materials. The other difference was the core material¡ªtree bark. The Iron Tree Standard Armor he obtained before could only be made with ¡°Ironwood.¡± There wasn¡¯t much Ironwood left in Wang Tao¡¯s possession, and he hadn¡¯t encountered any more, so once it was used up, he couldn¡¯t truly produce an unlimited amount. But this blueprint made it clear that any Level 5 tree bark would do; there was no restriction that required the just-discovered Mutant Banyan Bark. This essentially removed a significant constraint, greatly broadening the range¡ªany Level 5 Crystal Core combined with Level 5 tree bark could be used to create a set of Level 5 battle armor! ¡°Not bad at all!¡± Wang Tao was even more satisfied. While Level 5 Crystal Cores and tree bark were currently scarce, that wasn¡¯t a problem; he could just kill more fifth-order mutated plants in the future. He would eventually produce a large amount of Level 5 armor. While pondering, Wang Tao went ahead and crafted a set to see. Cheng Yiyi, not far away, suddenly felt as if a light had flashed behind her. By the time she turned around, the light was gone, but she saw Wang Tao holding a set of very thick and simple-looking battle armor. [Standard Firm Wooden Armor] [Level 5 (Excellent)] [Durability +100, Defensive Power +100, Possesses a certain poison resistance] Seeing these attributes, Wang Tao instinctively wanted to shake his head. For a Level 5 set of equipment, poison resistance was a highlight, but overall, it was average. However considering it could be mass-produced, that was extraordinary. ¡°What is this...¡± Cheng Yiyi was curious. ¡°A set of wooden battle armor, would you like to try it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s made of wood? I¡¯ll give it a try!¡± Cheng Yiyi was very interested. She was already wearing a set of sturdy military clothes. After taking off her jacket, she easily slipped into the firm wooden armor. Click¡ª After putting it on, the firm wooden armor clicked into place, securing tightly around her. ¡°Is there a chip inside? It feels quite intelligent!¡± After remarking, Cheng Yiyi started moving around. Then, she was astounded. ¡°Eh? This battle armor looks a bit bulky, but it doesn¡¯t actually hinder my movements at all. The ergonomic design is too good!¡± Cheng Yiyi exclaimed in astonishment. Wang Tao might not have had much feeling about this, but Cheng Yiyi was different; she always wore powered armor when she went out. With the current level of technology, it was impossible to control powered armor as if it were a part of the body; she had gradually gotten used to the delayed and awkward way of controlling the armor. However, this set of firm wooden armor was different¡ªit felt like her own clothes, responsive to her every command! Whether in terms of controllability or flexibility, it was unparalleled by powered armor! Of course, this was not to say that firm wooden armor was definitely better than powered armor. The advantage of powered armor was that it could use crystal core energy to lessen the wearer¡¯s fatigue and that it came with a rich array of weapons... Especially for someone like her whose ability was [Quench Poison Bullets], the enhancement to combat power provided by powered armor was still significantly stronger. ¡°This set of equipment is for you; let¡¯s talk more when we get back.¡± Cheng Yiyi¡¯s powered armor had already been destroyed. Although other soldiers still had a few sets of powered armor, this equipment was bound to an individual. If someone who wasn¡¯t the owner used powered armor, even with the owner¡¯s permission, many functions would still be restricted, making it far inferior to the firm wooden armor. ¡°Thank you!¡± Cheng Yiyi didn¡¯t stand on ceremony; she indeed needed a set of armor right now. Wang Tao had Lightning consume the corpse of the mutated banyan, then returned with Cheng Yiyi to the banyan tree cave. Everything in the tree cave was normal, and Lin Kaiyang and his three people were all tied up securely. His face turned ashen when he saw Cheng Yiyi and Wang Tao return safely. He had been hoping that Wang Tao and Cheng Yiyi would die at the hands of the mutated banyan, but he didn¡¯t expect them to come back so quickly... As for whether the mutated banyan was really dead or not, it was no longer important. After all, his countdown to death had already begun... Considering that Cheng Yiyi now lacked combat power, Wang Tao led them towards Stone Forest. The journey was smooth, and it didn¡¯t take long to arrive at the Stone Forest. Wang Tao had already notified Lan Yulian in advance, and she was waiting at the entrance. Upon seeing Cheng Yiyi, she immediately came over to heal her. In no time at all, Cheng Yiyi was once again full of vigor. ¡°Ah, that feels so good...¡± Cheng Yiyi felt a bit envious. Having an awakened healer was really different! Without a healer, her injuries would have taken at least ten days or half a month to heal. Even with an ordinary healer, it would have taken half an hour, and that would be a healer skilled in treating injuries; it would have been even slower otherwise. But Lan Yulian healed her in less than a minute... This was the power of a top-tier healer! While Lan Yulian was healing Cheng Yiyi, she also took the opportunity to fully restore the HP of the other soldiers. Once they had all regained their combat power, Cheng Yiyi stood up to take her leave. ¡°I need to return to the temporary base...¡± ¡°Okay, go ahead.¡± Wang Tao nodded. The road back had already been cleared by him, so it was basically safe. After Cheng Yiyi and her group left, Wang Tao briefly shared with Lan Yulian and the others what had happened in the banyan tree forest. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such a thing to happen...¡± After hearing about it, everyone felt some emotion. Although Changhe Base also had its share of dark elements, the overall atmosphere was still quite positive, and the laws enacted by the committee strictly limited internal strife. And what Lin Kaiyang had done was not just internal strife; it was treason, against humanity. A person like him deserved to die a thousand times over. ¡°I bet Lin Kaiyang won¡¯t find it easy to die; the committee will definitely make an example out of him!¡± Wei Zhenguo said angrily. The others nodded in agreement; letting someone like Lin Kaiyang die would be letting him off too easily. After a verbal condemnation, Wang Tao suddenly spoke up: ¡°Right, there¡¯s another thing I need to tell you. That second layer Cheng Yiyi and I went to doesn¡¯t apply strength suppression to anyone under Level 5. I suspect I might have missed something...¡± ¡°Ah? That second layer doesn¡¯t apply suppression?¡± Everyone was surprised. The feeling of having one¡¯s strength suppressed was too uncomfortable, and they remembered it well. ¡°So, I suspect I might have missed something...¡± Wang Tao stroked his chin, then continued, ¡°How about this, let¡¯s all go there together tomorrow. There are no longer any Level 5 Lords there, so it¡¯s safe for you even if your strength is suppressed. With more people, we should be able to find some clues...¡± ¡°Great!¡± Everyone immediately agreed. Chapter 1202 - 1202 494 Sixth Rank Weapon ?Chapter 1202: Chapter 494 Sixth Rank Weapon Chapter 1202: Chapter 494 Sixth Rank Weapon Wang Tao led everyone to the second level once again. Although he had cleared all the mutated plants here before, just to be safe, Wang Tao checked again. After all, when he killed the mutated plants, he intentionally left the roots, hoping they would grow back. After a thorough inspection, Wang Tao put his mind at ease but also felt a bit disappointed because the roots showed no change. ¡°Let¡¯s get started.¡± Shaking his head, Wang Tao dispersed the surrounding fog and, once again, joined the others in exploring the second level. ¡°I feel something is off about this rock¡ªuh, you just smashed it open? There¡¯s nothing inside... Alright, guess I was overthinking...¡± ¡°Do you guys feel like there might be some sort of mechanism here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so, have you been watching too much TV or something...¡± ¡°Eh? What¡¯s going on here, why is this place all damp? That¡¯s definitely not normal!¡± ¡°Uh, that¡¯s because Lightning just peed...¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Woof~¡± ... Having more people didn¡¯t necessarily mean greater strength, but it certainly made things livelier. Without the threat of a Level 5 Lord, everyone relaxed a bit, searching for anomalies while chatting. Unfortunately, after spending half the day thoroughly searching the entire second level, they still found nothing. ¡°Could this be some kind of ¡®rule¡¯ or mysterious force we¡¯ve never encountered before?¡± Xiang Hongbin let his imagination run wild. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say...¡± Wei Zhenguo shook his head, finding it unlikely. However, the lack of useful information made it difficult for him to argue. ¡°Could it be that there really isn¡¯t anything special here...¡± Wang Tao frowned. ¡°Actually, there are still three places we haven¡¯t checked.¡± At that moment, He Jijun suddenly spoke. ¡°Huh? Which places?¡± The others looked at him with puzzled expressions. ¡°The ceiling, underground, and underwater,¡± He Jijun explained. ¡°Ah, this...¡± The group opened their mouths in amazement. If you put it that way, those three areas indeed hadn¡¯t been explored, but they weren¡¯t exactly accessible either! The ceiling was overhead, and it was high; they couldn¡¯t reach it. Of course, with some effort, they could probably touch it, but to explore such a large ceiling area continuously was clearly impossible. As for the underground, there was no need to even mention it. The ground may have looked like soil, but beneath it was an extremely hard type of stone. Even with Wang Tao¡¯s strength, he could hardly dig through it... Regarding the underwater... the second level had a lake. Previously, there was a treasure chest in the center of the lake, but the water in the lake was filled with deadly poison... But then again, while the ceiling and the underground were difficult to explore, the lake seemed possible! After all, Wang Tao had a lot of Antidote Potions, and after He Jijun¡¯s reminder, he did feel that there might be something off about the lake. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go check underwater. If there¡¯s really something there, it might be underneath...¡± Wang Tao told the others. ¡°Be careful!¡± Lan Yulian and the rest immediately advised. They didn¡¯t stop Wang Tao; after all, he had Fifth-Order Power and many Antidote Potions, making the poison practically ineffective against him. The group waited on the shore as Wang Tao lightly jumped, entering the water with a fairly graceful posture. Splash¡ª The water in the lake was a bit chilly. After Wang Tao acclimatized for a moment, he began to dive deeper. He had already taken an Antidote Potion beforehand, so the poison in the lake had no effect on him. However, since the lake water was dark green, it blocked Wang Tao¡¯s vision. Even with night vision, it was useless, so he had to rely on his spiritual power to explore little by little. This process was much slower than just using his eyes, but it was more precise. It was a case of slow and steady wins the race. Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure how long he had been exploring; he just remembered coming up for air about a dozen times, his head feeling a bit groggy. Although he wasn¡¯t at risk of poisoning, staying in such a stressful environment was very uncomfortable, both mentally and physically. However, at that moment, Wang Tao¡¯s spirits lifted. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± He immediately dived deeper, heading towards the center of the lake. A few seconds later, Wang Tao stepped onto the lakebed. The lake was essentially circular, with the middle being a small piece of land where the treasure chest had previously been placed. Observing underwater, the center looked like a cone, thicker at the bottom and tapering off at the top, with only the very tip of the cone poking above the water surface, which was where the treasure chest had been. And in front of Wang Tao, at the bottom of this cone, there was a stone door! After confirming it was a door, Wang Tao swam around the area. There was nothing unusual in other places, only this one door. ¡°It seems the problem might be inside the door...¡± Wang Tao prepared to explore with his spiritual power, but he found that his spiritual power couldn¡¯t penetrate it at all! Normally, even if it was a very hard stone, Wang Tao¡¯s spiritual power could still get through, albeit greatly weakened, but it didn¡¯t work at all on this stone door... Wang Tao had encountered a similar situation before; when he attempted to explore the treasure chest with his spiritual power, he found that he couldn¡¯t know what was inside before opening the chest. This, however, made him even more curious. He studied it carefully and noticed that there were no locks or anything of the sort on the stone door. He couldn¡¯t see any specific details of the door and didn¡¯t know how to open it. This immediately gave Wang Tao a headache. Chapter 1203 - 1203 494 Sixth Rank Weapon_2 ?Chapter 1203: Chapter 494 Sixth Rank Weapon_2 Chapter 1203: Chapter 494 Sixth Rank Weapon_2 ¡°What exactly is the ¡®key¡¯ to open the door?¡± Wang Tao really couldn¡¯t figure it out. Seeing that the antidote potion¡¯s effect was about to wear off, he immediately used another potion and then, somewhat irritably, hammered his fist hard against the stone door. Crack¡ª Visibly, a rift appeared on the stone door. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao wondered for a moment, could it be that this thing required forceful destruction? Without further thought, Wang Tao swung his fists, exerting full strength, and hammered down on the stone door. Crack, crack, crack¡ª Crash¡ª As the rift on the stone door widened, it finally broke apart with a crash. ¡°...¡± Wang Tao cursed himself for being stupid. If it had been in the past, faced with a situation where he could see no information and couldn¡¯t get through, his first reaction would definitely have been violent destruction. But now, perhaps because of the treasure chest, his first thought was to find a key to open the door... Although accidentally, the stone door had opened under his own hands after all. Inside the stone door was a room. As soon as the stone door shattered, the dark green toxic water from the lake immediately poured in. The room was roughly twenty to thirty square meters, with the ground and walls very smooth, not seeming naturally formed. In the center of the room stood a two-meter-tall dark green tree¡ªit was the only item there, and it had a name. Wang Tao, quick and nimble, immediately grabbed the dark green tree. [Obtained: Sixth Rank Weapon: Crystal Energy Poison Tree x1] Crash¡ª The lake water finally filled the room completely. After confirming that there was nothing else there, Wang Tao swam upwards. When he surfaced, Ding Yuqin and the others were excitedly signaling to Wang Tao nearby, chattering: ¡°Wang Tao, it seems like our suppressed power is gone!¡± ¡°Wang Tao, did you discover something?¡± ¡°After being suppressed for so long, it feels so good to be free!¡± ¡°...¡± Wang Tao also clearly saw that the ¡°suppression¡± status above their heads was gone. ¡°Haha, got a bit of a trophy!¡± After Wang Tao swam back to shore, flames instantly ignited on his body, evaporating the moisture. There was no helping it; he¡¯d just obtained a great item, and today he¡¯d indulge a little. ¡°What on earth happened?¡± Lan Yulian asked with curiosity. Wang Tao didn¡¯t speak but simply waved his hand, and a dark green tree appeared in front of everyone. ¡°Is this...¡± Everyone¡¯s eyes lit up¡ªthis thing was clearly the culprit suppressing their powers! ¡°You were suppressed in your abilities because of it. And it... is a Sixth Rank Weapon!¡± Wang Tao explained with a smile. ¡°Sixth Rank Weapon!¡± The crowd exclaimed, Wang Tao, being the strongest person from Changhe Base, was only at level 5, and the others were even less advanced¡ªlevel 4 was already considered top-tier power in the base. The strongest enemy they had ever faced were those two Sixth Rank Lord Zombies from before. Although they hadn¡¯t faced the Sixth Rank Lords themselves, Wang Tao had said when he was still at the fourth order that a Sixth Rank was a completely invincible existence. And now, Wang Tao had actually obtained a Sixth Rank Weapon... This was tantamount to acquiring a Sixth Rank Awakened One! ¡°I also didn¡¯t expect that there would be a Sixth Rank Weapon hidden in here...¡± Wang Tao looked at the small tree. [Fifth Rank Weapon: Crystal Energy Poison Tree] [HP: 48531/500000 (Limit 1000000)] [Status: Asleep] [Enhancement: Suppression, Amplification, Barrier (Weakness: Toxic Waste Discharge)] [Compatibility: 0%] [Suppression: The strength of life forms within the range is suppressed. Current maximum suppression range: Within a 5 km radius. Current suppression list: None] [Amplification: The strength of life forms within the range is enhanced. Current maximum enhancement range: Within a 5 km radius. Current enhancement list: None] [Barrier: Generates a defense barrier within the range. Current maximum barrier generation range: Within a 5 km radius] [Toxic Waste Discharge: When using enhancement abilities, toxic waste water is produced.] This Sixth Rank Weapon¡¯s attributes were different from what Wang Tao had seen before. It was an area-of-effect support weapon, with three abilities: suppression, amplification, and barrier! The effect of suppression had already been experienced by Lan Yulian and the others; Fourth-order Awakened Ones were directly suppressed by half their strength, which was quite unpleasant. Then there was amplification, which had the opposite effect to suppression, but no one had experienced it yet, so its specific impact was unknown. Next came the barrier, which, from the description, Wang Tao did not quite understand; he would need to see it in action to know. But unquestionably, it was a defensive capability. Finally, there was the weakness. Only now did Wang Tao realize that the toxic water in the lake originated from this very tree? Among the weaknesses Wang Tao had encountered in weapons, there were those afraid of fire, those afraid of light... but this was the first time he had seen toxic waste discharge... Indeed befitting a support weapon, even its weakness was so unique. However, if one thought about it, this weakness might not be a weakness at all. If used correctly, it could even become a biochemical weapon... Anyway, including this weakness, Wang Tao felt that all these abilities looked quite promising. Even though he hadn¡¯t seen ¡°Amplification¡± and ¡°Barrier,¡± judging by ¡°Suppression,¡± the effects of these abilities certainly wouldn¡¯t be bad. After all, even Fourth-order Awakeners had half their strength suppressed... When Wang Tao collected the Crystal Energy Poison Tree, it had a suppression list noting ¡°Fourth-order and below ¡¤ Humans,¡± but since the item had no owner, Wang Tao easily tucked it into his Space Backpack, effectively resetting it, and the suppression list was naturally gone. The suppression and amplification should be customizable, but Wang Tao hadn¡¯t activated the weapon yet and couldn¡¯t add anything for the time being. As for the barrier, there was no list of restrictions, which probably meant that all life forms within the atmosphere would benefit from the barrier... And speaking of range, that was what shocked Wang Tao the most! Whether it was suppression, amplification, or barrier, the range was a 5 km radius, which meant an area of... 78.5 square kilometers! What was this concept like? It was equivalent to a hundred Forbidden Cities! Wang Tao had never seen a weapon with such a vast coverage before. However, given its large coverage, there must be restrictions... This instantly reminded Wang Tao of the [Fifth Order Weapon: Ironwood Guardian] he had obtained before. That thing was also powerful, but it couldn¡¯t be moved at will. After moving, there was a 24-hour cooldown time, during which it couldn¡¯t be used again... It¡¯s likely that this Sixth Rank Weapon might have similar side effects. If it really had similar side effects, it would be interesting to see what the actual cooldown time was. If it were short, it seemed like it could be carried around... Outside in the wilderness, facing countless zombies, what if Wang Tao suddenly deployed this tree, instantly suppressing the zombies¡¯ strength and enhancing his allies¡¯? Wouldn¡¯t that allow them to go on a wild killing spree? The thought was slightly exhilarating. As Wang Tao introduced this Sixth Rank Weapon¡¯s capabilities to everyone, he took out a Crystal Core. He was ready to activate it to see what the effect would be. Based on past experience, a Sixth Rank Weapon should be able to use Sixth Rank, Fifth Rank, and Fourth Rank Crystal Cores. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a Sixth Rank Crystal Core, and Fifth Rank Crystal Cores were precious, so to save resources, he used a Level 4 Crystal Core. After the Crystal Energy Poison Tree consumed a Level 4 Crystal Core, a prompt appeared. [Activation Countdown: 99 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds] ¡°...¡± Huh? It needs a hundred days to activate?! Wang Tao was a bit stunned; all the other weapons he had obtained activated in just a few seconds... This 100-day activation was a real pitfall! After 100 days, he reckoned he could reach Sixth Rank... Was something not done correctly? Wang Tao took out another Level 4 Crystal Core to feed the Crystal Energy Poison Tree, but the countdown didn¡¯t change. After some thought, Wang Tao reluctantly took out a Level 5 Crystal Core to feed it. [Activation Countdown: 9 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds] ¡°...¡± Chapter 1204 - 1204 495 Crystal Energy Poison Tree ?Chapter 1204: Chapter 495: Crystal Energy Poison Tree Chapter 1204: Chapter 495: Crystal Energy Poison Tree Wang Tao was somewhat exasperated, using a Level 5 Crystal Core really did reduce the activation time, even by ten times! But even with a tenfold reduction, it still required 10 days! Ten days was still too long, to use the Crystal Energy Poison Tree for immediate combat was clearly impossible. Then, based on the need of 100 days to activate with a Level 4 Crystal Core, and 10 days with a Level 5, using a Level 6 Crystal Core should probably only take one day! Although this was not short either, it was still much better compared with ten days. If he happened to encounter the right opportunity, like discovering a powerful enemy who did not notice him, maybe he could take a day to set it up. However, according to Wang Tao¡¯s experience, this Crystal Energy Poison Tree would likely, like the Ironwood Guardian, take root on the spot after activation and become immovable, moving it would restart the cooldown time... There was another more practical issue, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have a Sixth-Rank Crystal Core... So, it was more suitable to put the Crystal Energy Poison Tree inside the base. It was just unknown how big the base¡¯s range was, whether the Crystal Energy Poison Tree could cover the entire base... Watching the Crystal Energy Poison Tree swallow both Crystal Cores, Lan Yulian and the others were very curious. Wang Tao explained upon seeing this. ¡°It¡¯s still no good, activating with a Level 5 Crystal Core does have an effect, but it still requires ten days...¡± ¡°Ah, this...¡± Upon hearing that it would still take ten days to activate, everyone felt quite helpless. Now they obviously couldn¡¯t witness the specific abilities of the Crystal Energy Poison Tree. ¡°So it seems, it¡¯s better to place this thing in the base?¡± Wei Zhenguo stroked his chin and said. ¡°Um,¡± Wang Tao nodded and then frowned slightly, ¡°Just don¡¯t know, if we were to activate this tree, would it consume anything extra...¡± According to past experience, the use of such weapons naturally consumed Compatibility, and once Compatibility was depleted, it could no longer be used, whereas Compatibility was enhanced by Crystal Cores, so it could be considered an indirect consumption of Crystal Cores. But this Crystal Energy Poison Tree was different; its coverage was far too extensive! If across such a large area it still consumed Compatibility, that would seem unreasonable... Maybe the rate of Compatibility consumption would increase? Suddenly, Wang Tao seemed to think of something. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t consume HP, would it?¡± When Wang Tao acquired this Crystal Energy Poison Tree, its HP was only less than fifty thousand, while the full value was five hundred thousand. It was in that position, and no one could attack it, so if its HP wasn¡¯t full... then while it operated, maybe it really consumed HP! If it consumed both HP and Compatibility, then the consumption would be much greater compared to other weapons, which should be considered reasonable... Then Wang Tao thought of a small detail, when he discovered the Crystal Energy Poison Tree, the displayed Compatibility was zero, indicating that it was masterless. But how could a masterless Compatibility automatically suppress them? Wang Tao didn¡¯t quite understand and could only wait to see what the situation would be after fully activating the Crystal Energy Poison Tree later. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Having deciphered the secrets of the second layer, there was naturally no need to stay any longer. Wang Tao left the Poison Lake with the others. Before heading to the first layer, Wang Tao checked the Awakening Tree. The Awakening Fruits were not yet ripe, but it would only be another two or three days. After confirming there was nothing wrong with the fruit tree, Wang Tao and the others returned to the first layer. ¡°These next two days, everyone can freely explore. If you encounter a Level 5 Lord you can¡¯t handle, you can call me. Of course, if you think you can handle it, you can collaborate to hunt... If you find the entrance to the second layer, you must tell me. I think, since there is a second layer here, there might also be a third layer...¡± Back in the Stone Forest, Wang Tao instructed everyone. He was no longer satisfied with the Level 5 Lords; he wanted to challenge the Sixth Rank Lords, but sadly he had not seen any in the rift so far. As for the others, their combat strength was not weak, as long as they didn¡¯t encounter any particularly strong Level 5 Lords, there was no need to worry. ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone was also eager to try. Although it was safe to be with Wang Tao, they too wanted to stretch their legs. After giving the instructions, everyone rested for a few hours and then dispersed in small groups, with Lightning following them. After all, they didn¡¯t possess the ability to control the dark mist, and it was better with Lightning present. Wang Tao began to explore alone. In the blink of an eye, three days passed, and Wang Tao was very disappointed. He did not find a second layer entrance, and there were few Level 5 Lords on the first layer, so in two days he only killed two Level 5 Lords of average strength, both found by Lan Yulian¡¯s group, calling him over to make the kills... He had previously killed a Fifth-Order Catastrophic Tree, obtaining two Advanced Awakening Keys. He now needed about a hundred Secret Keys to undergo his fourth Awakening, but now no Level 5 Lords were in sight... Although he killed a lot of Level 4 Lords, he deliberately left them with Residual HP for Han Rui to take the final hits. ¡°Let¡¯s see how many Han Rui has collected in a while...¡± Wang Tao shook his head and returned to the Stone Forest. ¡°Headmaster Wang!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao, the students greeted him with great respect, for Wang Tao was their idol. Of course, some also wanted to perform well in front of Wang Tao, hoping to receive some reward. ¡°Hello!¡± Wang Tao nodded smilingly and then returned to his tent, to see that Lan Yulian and the others had returned before him. Chapter 1205 - 1205 495 Crystal Energy Poison Tree_2 ?Chapter 1205: Chapter 495: Crystal Energy Poison Tree_2 Chapter 1205: Chapter 495: Crystal Energy Poison Tree_2 Swish¡ª Lightning immediately ran to Wang Tao¡¯s side, happily wagging its tail. It had a real feast this time¡ªalthough they hadn¡¯t encountered any Level 5 Lords these past two days, there were plenty of Level 4 Lords, and their corpses were basically all eaten by Lightning, making its HP skyrocket to five hundred thousand. Wang Tao thought that it might have become the second strongest combat power in the team... Wang Tao gave the dog¡¯s head a firm pat. At this moment, Han Rui directly extended her hand and passed over an object that looked like a key, which was precisely an Advanced Awakening Key. ¡°Is it enough now?¡± Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected that they had actually managed to collect enough! He had previously thought of a way; since he wouldn¡¯t get an Awakening Key for killing a Level 4 Lord, then he could just let the others kill them instead. If a person killed a hundred Level 4 Lords, they could synthesize a Solid Advanced Awakening Key that he could then use himself, so he assigned this task to Han Rui. Although Wang Tao was looking forward to Han Rui accumulating a hundred keys, he hadn¡¯t held out much hope. But to his surprise, she had really managed to synthesize a Solid Advanced Awakening Key! When everyone saw the surprise on Wang Tao¡¯s face, they were somewhat speechless. Wang Tao himself didn¡¯t even know that Han Rui had already surpassed one hundred keys... They had gathered keys so quickly partly because the Level 4 Lords Wang Tao encountered were all left with a sliver of HP, and then he would tell Han Rui their location to come and claim the kill. With Wang Tao¡¯s killing power, he could instantly slay a Level 4 Lord, and since there were many Level 4 Lords here, Han Rui was just following behind to claim kills, gathering a large number of keys. Today, on their way back, they encountered two more Level 4 Lords. After killing them, the number of Awakening Keys that Han Rui had on her reached exactly one hundred. With a hundred Awakening Keys, Han Rui felt as if she could perform the synthesis, so she went ahead and synthesized an Advanced Awakening Key. ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to the abundance of monsters you killed!¡± Han Rui sighed. The gap between people was so vast... It was a good thing she was strong-willed, and besides, Wang Tao was her man, otherwise she would have been crushed by him. ¡°Is that so...¡± Wang Tao took the key. ¡°Wang Tao, how many more keys do you need?¡± Ding Yuqin asked with some concern. ¡°No more needed, I have enough.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He had one hundred Ordinary Awakening Keys and two Advanced Awakening Keys on him, and with this new Advanced Key, the four Advanced Keys Wang Tao needed for his fourth Awakening were now sufficient. In other words, he could now attempt his fourth Awakening! ¡°Ah? You have enough already!¡± Everyone was suddenly delighted, even happier than if they could awaken themselves. They too were eager to see how strong Wang Tao would be after awakening four times! ¡°But now is not the time for Awakening; we¡¯ll talk about it when we get back.¡± Although Stone Forest was their temporary campsite, an Awakening still required sleeping for 24 hours, and if anything unexpected happened, Wang Tao had no chance to rewind. So it was safer to awaken within the base. ¡°We definitely have to go back for the Awakening!¡± Everyone agreed. Even if Wang Tao wanted to awaken here, they would definitely stop him. If a powerful Level 5 Lord appeared, they might not be able to defeat it. ¡°As for now... the Awakening Fruit Tree over there is about to ripen, let¡¯s go take a look.¡± Wang Tao had been keeping track of the time. If they went there now, it should be just about right. ¡°Alright!¡± Everyone nodded, and as they were preparing to leave, Wang Tao called over the dean of instruction, Pan Jian. ¡°Principal Wang, please command me!¡± Pan Jian said respectfully. ¡°Is everyone here now?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Per your instructions, I had already called everyone back half a day ago.¡± Before coming back, Wang Tao had contacted Pan Jian, instructing him to call all the teachers and students back because he wanted these people to go to a certain place. Pan Jian had completed the task very well. ¡°Good, then take everyone with you and follow me.¡± Wang Tao nodded with satisfaction. Since the purpose of bringing the students out was to improve their strength, expanding their horizons was also a way to enhance their strength. Wang Tao wanted to take them to see the Awakening Fruit Tree and broaden their knowledge. ¡°Yes!¡± Pan Jian immediately began calling for people. Before long, everyone had gathered. They looked at Wang Tao¡¯s figure, filled with anticipation and curiosity. They had just heard that Wang Xiaozhang seemed to want to take them somewhere. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao did not explain much and just led the way. Before long, the group arrived at the entrance to the second layer. Looking at the dark entrance, aside from the teachers who were already aware of the second layer, the students were utterly shocked. They had not expected that there was a second layer within this rift! ¡°According to the current discoveries, the first layer basically has fourth-level organisms, with the occasional fifth-level creature. The second layer has fifth-level creatures, and so far, no sixth-level creatures have been discovered... However, there¡¯s no need to worry, the fifth-level creatures here have already been cleared out, so it¡¯s safe.¡± Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. Whoosh¡ª¡ª Both the students and teachers were astounded. The students were shocked that there were fifth-level creatures inside, while the teachers were astonished that all the fifth-level creatures had been cleared out. These teachers had initially thought that Wang Tao had brought them here to fight against fifth-level creatures... ¡°Wang Xiaozhang, you couldn¡¯t possibly be a fifth-level, could you?¡± A teacher couldn¡¯t hold back and took the initiative to ask. If Wang Tao were a fifth-level, although clearing out so many fifth-level Lords was still outrageous, it wouldn¡¯t be quite as unbelievable... The students, hearing this, also reacted, realizing that since the fifth-level creatures in the second layer had been cleared out, it must have been the work of an awakener above fifth-level, right? ¡°Mm.¡± Wang Tao nodded and did not hide the fact. ¡°Hiss¡ª¡ª¡± Even though they had already speculated, when Wang Tao personally admitted it, the fourth-order awakener teachers were still shocked. He had progressed so quickly! Not to mention the students. Their awakening was a distant dream, yet Wang Tao was already a fifth-level! ¡°Let¡¯s go, follow me down.¡± Wang Tao gestured, and everyone collected their thoughts and followed him into the second layer entrance. Since Wang Tao had said there were no mutated plants, and the force suppressing their strengths had been removed by him, the teachers and students appeared quite relaxed upon arriving on the second layer. However, when they followed Wang Tao to the Awakening Tree, everyone¡¯s eyes widened in an instant. ¡°Wow! What is this?¡± ¡°What a huge tree!¡± ¡°Are those fruits on the tree? They seem so fragrant...¡± It was their first time seeing an Awakening Tree. ¡°It seems a lot larger than the previous Awakening Tree, and the Awakening Fruits on it seem to be even more numerous...¡± Han Rui whispered softly. ¡°Mm, it¡¯s indeed much larger. It must be the difference in fertilizer, after all, the previous one was fourth-order disaster level, and this one is fifth-order disaster level...¡± Wang Tao acknowledged with a nod. Then he looked at the group and explained the Awakening Fruits simply. ¡°This is an Awakening Tree?¡± ¡°And these are Awakening Fruits?¡± Everyone was amazed. Although the Awakening Fruit could not truly awaken someone, it could advance a person to fourth-level! This was a new hope for those who had no chance of awakening! Some students showed an eager expression on their faces. They felt they couldn¡¯t compete with other students and probably had no chance to awaken. But advancing to fourth-level wouldn¡¯t be too bad, at least they wouldn¡¯t be stuck at level 3 forever... But there were also students who were very confident; they didn¡¯t want to use any Awakening Fruits. After all, the potential for advancement to fourth-level gained that way would ultimately be limited. They wanted to awaken on their own and then become a power like Wang Tao! ¡°The Awakening Fruits will soon mature...¡± Just as Pan Jian, following Wang Tao¡¯s instructions, asked everyone to wait for a bit, Wang Tao, Lightning, Blacky, and Jiang Shixue almost simultaneously turned their heads to look into the distance. ¡°Something is coming.¡± Chapter 1206 - 1206 496 Getting the Fruit ?Chapter 1206: Chapter 496: Getting the Fruit Chapter 1206: Chapter 496: Getting the Fruit ¡°Awakening Fruits really do attract other creatures when they ripen!¡± Wang Tao furrowed his brow. Last time, a Giant Eagle suddenly arrived when the Awakening Fruit ripened, but he wasn¡¯t sure it was because of the fruit, as it was the first time. Now, as the Awakening Fruit is about to ripen again, something else is coming. This couldn¡¯t be a coincidence¡ªit must be the Awakening Fruits attracting them! However, it was too far away for Wang Tao to see what kind of monster it was. He only had a vague feeling that something fierce was coming, most likely a Level 5 Lord. And it seemed there was not just one¡ªthey probably had quite a few underlings! ¡°Enemies are coming!¡± Wang Tao immediately said. ¡°Ah? Roger that!¡± Although Pan Jian was surprised¡ªwasn¡¯t this place supposed to be safe?¡ªhe still promptly notified everyone to be ready for any unexpected occurrences. ¡°Awakening Fruits attract monsters after they mature.¡± Wang Tao succinctly explained. ¡°So that¡¯s it!¡± Pan Jian finally understood. Upon hearing that monsters were coming, the trainees weren¡¯t scared but instead excited. Now, they had many people and lots of top combat power, especially with Wang Tao, a Tier-Five Awakener, which made them feel extremely safe! Soon, the tall Awakening Tree began to wither, and the golden Awakening Fruits fully appeared in everyone¡¯s sight. ¡°Wow!¡± Many people couldn¡¯t help but exclaim in awe; the scene was even more spectacular than how Wang Tao had described it. Wang Tao and the others quickly collected the ripe Awakening Fruits before they hit the ground. ¡°More than last time, last time there were 33 Awakening Fruits, this time there are 99!¡± Wang Tao glanced at the Awakening Fruits he collected, noting that, besides the threefold increase in quantity, their attributes were not any different from before. [Awakening Fruit: Extremely delicious, loved by many creatures.] [Third Order Humans who consume can Ascend to Fourth Order.] [Third Order Non-Humans have a small chance of Awakening after consumption.] [Humans Above Third Order who consume gain 1 Awakening Key.] [Non-Humans Above Third Order slightly increase constitution after consumption.] [Creatures Below Third Order who consume are highly likely to explode and die.] Wang Tao had thought that these Awakening Fruits wouldn¡¯t be of much use to them, the Fourth-order Awakeners. However, after seeing this information, he remembered that humans Above Third Order could gain an Awakening Key from eating them! These 99 Awakening Fruits were akin to 99 physical Awakening Keys! He no longer needed them, since he had enough keys, but Lan Yulian and others who wanted to undergo a Second Awakening could still benefit from them. But now wasn¡¯t the time to consider this. Wang Tao immediately pocketed the Awakening Fruits and then rushed toward the front of the crowd. At this moment, a large group of... zombies emerged from the darkness in front of the crowd! ¡°Zombies? There are zombies inside this Rift?¡± Seeing these zombies appear, everyone was a bit puzzled and became more vigilant. If there were zombies, shouldn¡¯t they have been discovered earlier? Could these zombies have been hiding somewhere? That would be far too cunning for zombies! Wang Tao¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t as surprised, especially after seeing that many zombies were missing arms and legs, which gave him a rather strange look on his face. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, these zombies must have jumped down from outside the Rift, but the Rift is deep, so some zombies have broken their legs...¡± Wang Tao remembered the sight of a massive Zombie Herd falling into the Rift the first time he saw it. This time, the smell of the Awakening Fruits must have lured the zombies from outside... Even if the zombies were physically disabled, it didn¡¯t affect their HP much, but it did hamper their mobility, hence their Combat Power. Therefore, although there seemed to be many zombies and their levels weren¡¯t low, with the lowest being Third-order Elites and most being Fourth or Fifth-order Elites... their reduced combat capabilities meant they were of little concern. The main concern was that Level 5 Lord... Found it! As the zombies flocked forward in a swarm, Wang Tao found that Level 5 Lord¡ªit was another Frozen Zombie Lord! Wang Tao had previously killed such a Zombie Lord, but that one was only Level 4, whereas this one was Level 5. [HP: 402482/500000] [Mana: 400000/400000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Ice Cone Summon] [Ice Cone Summon: Summons a huge ice cone.] [Status: Freezing aura] [Freezing aura: Self¡¯s movement speed reduced, Ice attribute defense increased, attacks carry Ice attribute. Enemies within a 15-meter radius are slowed and their Ice attribute defense is reduced.] Compared to the Level 4 Frozen Zombie Lord from before, this Level 5 one was obviously stronger. However, as it staggered towards him with black blood seeping from its forehead, Wang Tao found it somewhat hard to maintain his composure. Clearly, not only had it broken its leg, but it had also hit its head, losing nearly a hundred thousand blood... This was a stroke of luck as it meant Wang Tao could conserve some energy. He immediately called out loudly: ¡°These are all Frozen Zombies, and there¡¯s a Fifth Rank Ice Zombie Lord! Remember what the teachers taught you, try not to get too close to the Frozen Zombies!¡± Before leaving, the teachers had already discussed the situations they might encounter outside with the trainees. Hearing that these were Frozen Zombies including a Lord, the trainees instantly tensed. They knew that a horde of Frozen Zombies was terrifying, and if there was a Lord among the group of Frozen Zombies, it would be even more dreadful! That was because if those Frozen Zombies gathered together, their strength would be greater than the sum of their parts. And if there was a Frozen Zombie Lord, it would be considerably more potent, as if 1+1 was greater than 4 or even more. Chapter 1207 - 1207 496 Getting the Fruit_2 ?Chapter 1207: Chapter 496: Getting the Fruit_2 Chapter 1207: Chapter 496: Getting the Fruit_2 With this Level 5 Lord present, their overall strength had absolutely doubled! Moreover, to deal with these zombies, ranged attacks were best. If they got too close and were enveloped by the freezing aura, then they would be in trouble! But many of their techniques were for close-range combat... At this time, the teachers were somewhat at a loss for how to command. It wasn¡¯t that they were afraid, but rather they were worried about the potential loss of students since the students¡¯ abilities were still significantly lacking. When He Jijun saw this, he immediately took the initiative to stand up and take over command, speaking methodically. ¡°First team take the front, second team get ready to rotate, third team protect the flanks...¡± At such critical moments, it was up to the professional soldiers. Once Wang Tao was sure they were all fine, he didn¡¯t dawdle. Flames burst forth from his body, instantly illuminating the dim space, and like a meteor, Wang Tao plunged directly into the zombie herd. ¡°Hisss¡ª¡± This was the first time Wang Tao had used [Wildfire Spread] in front of them. Aside from He Jijun and the others, everyone was shocked. ¡°Don¡¯t space out!¡± It was He Jijun who roared out loud, snapping everyone back to reality. They promptly adjusted their formations according to He Jijun¡¯s instructions, but they couldn¡¯t stop talking, utterly astonished. ¡°God! The principal turned into a fire man!¡± ¡°So powerful! I can feel the scorching heat even from this far away!¡± ¡°Is that a fire-type awakening? Teacher, I want to learn this too!¡± ¡°I remember the teacher saying fire is the natural bane of the ice zombies!¡± ¡°But wasn¡¯t it said that the principal¡¯s awakening was in the system aspect? How is this fire?¡± ¡°Some say that the powerful Awakeners can awaken twice...¡± ¡°...¡± Not just the students, even the Awakened teachers were extremely shocked and envious. They too were seeing Wang Tao use [Wildfire Spread] for the first time. Both the visual effect and the temperature that felt like it could roast a person were something most people couldn¡¯t compete with. Especially compared to their own awakenings, it made them feel painfully inferior... Meanwhile, Wang Tao heard the exclamations of the crowd, but he was already accustomed to it and didn¡¯t mind. He charged toward the Fifth Rank Ice Zombie Lord, the freezing aura that could cause great trouble to humans had no effect on Wang Tao using [Wildfire Spread]. He raised his Flame Spear and thrust it at the zombie¡¯s forehead. Puchi! [-51248] [Curse: Bleeding] A single spear thrust reduced fifty thousand HP, and Wang Tao wasn¡¯t satisfied. His eyes suddenly emitted two beams of light. [-22842] [-21334] [-23192] In just one second, Wang Tao had wiped out more than a hundred thousand HP from the Frozen Zombie Lord! The Frozen Overlord¡¯s attack only sluggishly followed after. Watching the sudden appearance of a bunch of icicles above his head, Wang Tao gripped the spear in both hands, stubbornly jabbed into the Frozen Overlord¡¯s head, and sprinted forward. Boom, boom, boom¡ª The massive icicles fell, but Wang Tao and the Frozen Overlord had already left their attack range. Wang Tao was certainly unscathed, and everyone else, under the command of He Jijun, was playing defense and counterattack, not coming close. So, the icicles fell straight upon the other zombies. Puchi! The icicle attack was indiscriminate, and a large number of zombies died beneath them. ¡°You are freakishly strong!¡± Wang Tao grinned and then wielded the spear again, stabbing it towards the Frozen Overlord. ¡°Roar¡ª¡± The Frozen Overlord roared in anger, but its HP plummeted due to Wang Tao¡¯s suppression. Before it could raise its hand to use a second volley of icicles, Wang Tao ended its life with another spear thrust. Puchi! ¡°` [-28394] [0/500000] Wang Tao was unlucky this time and didn¡¯t trigger a slaying blow, but it didn¡¯t really matter, as it just meant a few more stabs were necessary. Perhaps for others, a horde of these Frozen Zombies might be challenging and present a mortal threat, but for Wang Tao, an Awakener with Fire System abilities, these Frozen Zombies were incredibly weak, even easier to deal with than the Mutated Plants. Plus, Wang Tao had prior experience, so even a Fifth Rank Zombie Lord wasn¡¯t much of a challenge. Once the Frozen Zombie Lord died, the combat strength of the other Frozen Zombies plummeted instantly. While still in his Starfire Original Status, Wang Tao swiftly unleashed several Shockwaves, instantly killing a large number of zombies, and then he took out a few Tier-Five Elite Zombies. Seeing that the remaining zombies would no longer threaten the trainees, Wang Tao stopped. He was only there to give the students field experience, not to babysit. It was fine to deal with the biggest threat; he would let them handle the rest. Although their strength was far inferior to Wang Tao¡¯s, under the organization of He Jijun, they managed quite comfortably against enemies stronger and more numerous than themselves. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have to wait long before all the zombies lay dead. Clap clap clap! Watching the out-of-breath group, Wang Tao began to applaud. ¡°You all performed very well!¡± The students naturally felt pleased with the praise. However, amidst their happiness and excitement, there was also a tinge of discomfort because they felt outdone... They knew Wang Tao was powerful, and his Awakening was flashy. But that was a Fifth Rank Zombie Lord! They originally thought that this battle would take some time to conclude, perhaps the longest they fought since exploring the cave. But in the end... their battle did last a while, but Wang Tao, in just a few seconds, had taken out that Fifth Rank Lord! Even for a Fifth Order Awakener like Wang Tao, that was just ridiculous! At this moment, if Wang Tao claimed to be a Sixth Rank Awakened, most people would believe it. After all, everything is relative, and it was their first time witnessing Wang Tao¡¯s true power. They became mere background... an uncomfortable thought. However, Wang Tao was the principal, so it made sense that the students weren¡¯t as strong as him! Many found this excuse comforting and felt much better about themselves. After everyone had orderly arranged the battlefield and gathered the spoils of war, Wang Tao gestured and said: ¡°Let¡¯s go, back to Stone Forest.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The party returned to Stone Forest. ¡°Hm? Did the zombies come from here?¡± Upon their return to Stone Forest, they noticed the place looked trampled, with numerous footprints and some makeshift tents collapsed. ¡°Hisss¡ªthank goodness for Principal Wang¡¯s wisdom! Moving everyone away in advance! Otherwise, the consequences could have been unimaginable...¡± Seeing this, Pan Jian was instantly relieved. The footprints were clearly left by the Ice Zombie Herd they had just encountered, meaning the Zombie Herd had just passed by here! If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t taken them to see the Awakening Fruit earlier, they would have run into the horde of zombies. With their strength, Pan Jian didn¡¯t believe they could have withstood a Frozen Zombie Herd lead by a Fifth Rank Zombie Lord! ¡°Thank you, Principal!¡± The others also came to the same realization and immediately felt a wave of relief; their gratitude towards Wang Tao grew. This made Wang Tao furrow his brow. It seemed that, by a stroke of luck, he had saved their lives. But that wasn¡¯t the focus of Wang Tao¡¯s concern; the real issue was, if a large group of zombies suddenly came again while he was away, how would the others withstand it? The likelihood was small, but given the previous occurrences, it was entirely possible... What if someone else had planted Awakening Fruits? Wang Tao aimed to toughen up these students, not to send them to their deaths. Besides, Wang Tao was planning to leave for his Fourth Awakening and wanted to leave the students here for a few more days of experience... ¡°It¡¯s time to boost their strength...¡± Wang Tao muttered, stroking his chin. There were many ways to increase strength, Awakening being the most direct, but Awaking so many people wasn¡¯t realistic, and Awaking just one or two wouldn¡¯t make much of a difference... That meant they had to consider external items. ¡°Perhaps I can let them try out this skull...¡± In Wang Tao¡¯s hand appeared a skull, the loot dropped from the Fifth Rank Ice Zombie Lord he had just slain. [Fifth-order Weapon: Medium Frozen Zombie Lord Head] ¡°` Chapter 1208 - 1208 497 Level 5 Skull ?Chapter 1208: Chapter 497: Level 5 Skull Chapter 1208: Chapter 497: Level 5 Skull Wang Tao had previously killed a Level 4 Frozen Zombie Lord, and its skull was the [Fourth-order Weapon: Miniature Ice Lord¡¯s Skull]. The Frozen Zombie Lord he killed this time was Level 5, so it made sense for the dropped Level 5 biological weapon to be reasonably powerful. [Fifth-Rank Weapon: Medium Frozen Overlord Skull] [HP: 10000/10000 (Limit 200000)] [Status: Can Be Awakened] [Enhancement: Ice Chain] [Compatibility: 0%] [Ice Chain: The more ice attribute allies in the nearby vicinity, the higher the extra attack and defense for oneself and allies (The weapon¡¯s HP limit affects enhancement effect and range)] Compared to the Level 4 weapon, this Level 5 skull was ¡°medium-sized,¡± and its overall appearance was indeed significantly larger than the previously acquired miniature one. As for the specific attributes, aside from the HP limit which had risen from 100,000 to 200,000, other aspects showed no difference, or at least none that were apparent at the moment; there was only one ¡°Ice Chain¡± enhancement. Wang Tao guessed that the difference between Level 4 and Level 5 would likely lie in this enhancement. Consequently, Wang Tao immediately used an ordinary Level 3 Crystal Core to activate it. Moments later, he saw the specific attributes of the Ice Chain. [Fifth-order Weapon: Medium Frozen Overlord Skull] [HP: 10000/10000 (Limit 200000)] [Status: Awakened] [Enhancement: Ice Chain] [Compatibility: 1%] [Ice Chain Number: 1/200] [Ice Chain Range: Within 50 meters of the weapon] [Extra Attack: 6% (Limit 30%)] [Extra Defense: 6% (Limit 55%)] [Additional Ice Attribute Defense: 1% (Limit 10%)] The previous Level 4 Ice Chain had a maximum of 100 people, but this Level 5 Ice Chain was 200, double the amount. The students at the Awakeners School happened to number just over two hundred. If the Miniature Ice Lord¡¯s Skull and the Medium Frozen Overlord Skull were used together, it would be entirely sufficient. The range of the Level 4 Ice Chain was within 25 meters, while the Level 5 Ice Chain¡¯s range was within 50 meters! Although it seemed like double the distance, when calculated by area, the Level 4 Ice Chain covered around two thousand square meters, whereas the Level 5 Ice Chain covered nearly eight thousand square meters, four times the original and a bit larger than a standard football field. This increase in range was significant, with no need to worry about the area being too small to utilize fully, making it convenient to implement some tactics. Finally, there were the attributes added by the Ice Chain. The Level 4 Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull only provided an extra attack and extra defense, with limits of 25% and 50% respectively. However, this Level 5 Frozen Overlord Skull not only provided extra attack and extra defense but also an additional ice attribute defense! Firstly, regarding the extra attack and defense, both were 5% higher than the Level 4 weapon, with limits reaching 30% and 55%. Although 5% may not seem like much, to combat personnel, an improvement of even 1% is already quite impressive¡ªit might be that an additional 5% in attack could be the difference in killing an enemy in one strike; likewise, an extra 5% in defense might prevent a one-hit kill. More importantly, this 5% increase wasn¡¯t for just one person but could enhance all 200 people within the Ice Chain! The effect thereby became much more powerful! Now, regarding the additional ice attribute defense, this was an attribute absent in the Level 4 items, with a limit of 10%. This attribute, particularly in the current icy and snowy environment, was quite beneficial. Especially when facing a herd of Frozen Zombies in the future, the relative advantage would be even greater! ¡°These weapons are indeed well-suited for them...¡± Wang Tao nodded silently, and then, under Pan Jian¡¯s astonished gaze, he placed the fierce Zombie Head in Pan Jian¡¯s hands. ¡°Wang, Wang Xiaozhang, this...¡± ¡°This is no ordinary skull; it is a biological weapon...¡± Wang Tao thoroughly explained the functions of the Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull to Pan Jian. ¡°Shh¡ªso strong!¡± After listening, Pan Jian inhaled sharply, his eyes gleaming. He had thought that biological weapons were all for combat, like the Night Demon Type I, but had not expected there to be supportive types! For their Awakeners School, Night Demon Type I or Type II were definitely less suitable than this Frozen Overlord Skull! After all, they had just over two hundred students, who could fully enjoy the amplified effects! At this moment, Wang Tao took out the Level 4 Frozen Lord¡¯s Skull he had obtained earlier and passed it to Pan Jian as well. ¡°This Level 4 weapon can be given to the school for free; it can amplify 100 people, just like the one that can amplify 200 people. It¡¯s more than enough for our school¡¯s use. You look at who¡¯s suitable to activate these two weapons when you go back...¡± Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t be staying with them for extended periods, so whoever would control these two weapons needed to be reselected. As for Wang Tao¡¯s previous statement about giving the ¡°Level 4 weapon to the school for free,¡± that was because the committee had once said whether it was Wang Tao or other teachers, staff members, or even students, if anyone provided something valuable to the school, the school would compensate them with Points or Crystal Cores, so no one would feel undervalued. So, the Level 5 skull Wang Tao had just obtained was being sold to the school, and this Level 4 skull was being given away for free. After all, being the principal, it was appropriate to contribute more. ¡°Yes!¡± Pan Jian nodded excitedly. With these two items, their overall strength would greatly increase! However, amidst his excitement, Pan Jian seemed to think of something and quickly asked. ¡°Wang Xiaozhang, you just mentioned that only ice attribute allies can enjoy the benefit of the Ice Chain, but what are ice attribute allies?¡± ¡°They are those who have ice attribute Awakenings or Abilities... like this.¡± Wang Tao took out two Crystal Cores, one was a Level 3 Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Core, and the other was a Level 3 Extraction Crystal Core. Chapter 1209 - 1209 497 Level 5 Skull_2 ?Chapter 1209: Chapter 497 Level 5 Skull_2 Chapter 1209: Chapter 497 Level 5 Skull_2 Just now, among this group of Frozen Zombies, there were quite a few Level 3, and Wang Tao acquired a batch of Level 3 Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Cores. Coupled with the low-level Crystal Cores he had stored earlier, he had more than enough for the trainees to use. Wang Tao briefly explained the function of this crystal core to Pan Jian. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is! Merging with this crystal core not only enhances ice attribute defense but also grants the effects of the ice chain... President Wang, you¡¯ve really thought this through!¡± Pan Jian meant it sincerely. Wang Tao had considered all problems, relieving him of any technical worries; he just needed to handle the subsequent arrangements! Truly fitting of President Wang! ¡°However, if someone doesn¡¯t want to merge with the Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Core or enjoy the effects of the ice chain, we shouldn¡¯t force them, after all, a person can merge with at most four abilities...¡± Wang Tao thought and then added. He could use his authority as the president to mandate that everyone must merge with the Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Core, but there was really no need. What if someone, like him, had merged with four strong abilities and didn¡¯t want to give them up? So, it was all up to them. ¡°Understood!¡± Pan Jian immediately nodded, but unlike Wang Tao, he wasn¡¯t so laid-back about it; he planned to start by persuading the trainees and even the teachers about the benefits¡ªafter all, such benefits were hard to come by... ¡°Alright, go and handle that.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Pan Jian strapped a bag of crystal cores on his back, holding two skulls, and scuttled off to gather everyone. Meanwhile, Wang Tao returned to his tent to sort through the spoils of this battle. The Fifth Rank Ice Zombie Lord dropped three items and five loot packs. The three items were a crystal core, an Awakening Key, and its weapon¡ªthe skull. [Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Ice Thorn] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: Body stiffness)] [Ice Thorn: Consumes energy, awakening energy, unleashes an ice thorn (only Ice System Awakeners can merge)] This crystal core, like the last one, offered the Ice Thorn ability, but this one was Fifth Order. Having not encountered an Ice System Awakener yet, this kind of crystal core would be stored in the warehouse for now. Then, Wang Tao opened the loot packs. The first loot pack contained five crystal cores: an orange [Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Omnipotence], an orange [Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Awakening], a red [Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Great Strength], a blue [Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Ice Attribute Defense], and a purple [Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Defense]. The second loot pack contained crafting materials. [Acquired: Fifth Order ¨C Ice Frozen Bone x2] [Acquired: Fifth Order ¨C Ice Frozen Nail x2] [Fifth Order ¨C Ice Frozen Bone: Crafting material, can enhance equipment¡¯s ice attribute defense] [Fifth Order ¨C Ice Frozen Nail: Crafting material, can enhance equipment¡¯s ice attribute defense] The crafting materials were also similar to those from the previous batch, just a different grade. The third loot pack contained an Awakening Energy Pearl, the fourth contained dozens of potions. [Acquired: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Acquired: Ice Attribute Enhancement Potion x20] [Acquired: Ice Attribute Defense Potion x20] These were also items he had obtained before. Wang Tao looked at the last loot pack, which contained two blueprints. [Acquired: Ice Necklace Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Anti-freeze Armor Top Blueprint x1] [Ice Necklace Blueprint: Can be used to craft an Ice Necklace. Required materials: Ice Frozen Nail x1, Fifth Order Crystal Core x1] [Ice Necklace: Attributes unknown] [Anti-freeze Armor Top Blueprint: Can produce an anti-freeze armor top. Required materials: Ice Frozen Bone x1, Fifth Order Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x40, Nails x40, Rubber x40] [Anti-freeze Armor Top: Attributes unknown] The previous fourth-tier Frozen Overlord had dropped an Ice Ring and a fourth-tier anti-freeze armor top blueprint. This time there was no Ice Ring blueprint, but an Ice Necklace. There was also an anti-freeze armor top, but it was fifth order. Wang Tao immediately gathered the materials to craft, and moments later, he had completed two pieces of equipment, first examining the necklace. [Ice Necklace] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Ice attribute attack +20, ice attribute defense +20] It was a translucent ice-blue necklace that looked as though it was made out of ice, very beautiful. It felt cool to the touch, similar to a previously owned frozen bracelet. And its attributes were a bonus of 20 ice attribute attack and 20 ice attribute defense! These attributes were strong, besides weapons, it was rare for other equipment pieces to increase attack, and necklaces that rarely dropped were even less likely; however, it was a pity... Wang Tao and his team members couldn¡¯t use it! Wang Tao hadn¡¯t awakened his ice attribute, and neither had Lan Yulian and the others. So only the ice attribute defense of the necklace could be utilized... Although 20 ice attribute defense was quite good, the most important attack boost couldn¡¯t be utilized, which was somewhat wasteful... Moreover, Wang Tao was already wearing a necklace. [Physical Necklace] [Fourth-tier (Excellent)] [Spiritual Defense Power +20, Physical Strength Consumption -20%, Comes with Focus Effect (Focus requires awakening energy)] [Focus: Reduces energy consumption when using abilities] This physical necklace didn¡¯t increase attack power, but the other attributes were not bad. Reducing ability consumption was decent, as Wang Tao currently wasn¡¯t lacking in mana. But the reduced physical strength consumption was very good. After all, physical strength is hard to replenish other than using potions, which have a cooldown, so saving it is naturally good. ¡°Who wants this ice attribute necklace?¡± Wang Tao explained the attributes to everyone, and they all appeared regretful, just like Wang Tao did. It could increase attack, but the ice attribute... they couldn¡¯t use it! Wei Zhen Guo and the others naturally shook their heads, for them, it only added some ice attribute defense, too wasteful for them to wear. Ding Yuqin and the other women also shook their heads, they quite liked the style of the necklace, but it was not very useful, so wearing it was wasteful. Wang Tao thought for a moment and then put the necklace on Jiang Shixue¡¯s neck. ¡°Let¡¯s put it on you, considering you always fight up close, increasing your defense is good.¡± The necklace didn¡¯t have durability, under normal circumstances, you don¡¯t have to worry about it getting damaged, keeping it in the Space Backpack would be a waste... Jiang Shixue was always at the forefront in battles, so it might as well be on her. If someone awakens an ice attribute in the future, that can be addressed then. ¡°Okay~¡± Jiang Shixue naturally wouldn¡¯t object, she listened to everything Wang Tao said. She also liked the necklace very much. Wang Tao looked at the other piece of equipment. [Anti-freeze Armor Top] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Durability +70, Defensive Power +70, Ice Attribute Defense +40, Anti-cold Warmth] This fifth-order anti-freeze armor top had properties similar to the fourth-tier one, not very high durability or defensive power, but high ice attribute defense and an anti-cold warmth property, suitable for use in this cold environment. Yet, this equipment was of no use to Wang Tao and his team, as they all wore Night Demon Set. Although the Night Demon Set wasn¡¯t as warm, it had good attributes, suitable for fighting. He had previously given a fourth-tier armor top to Pan Jian to wear since Pan Jian was weak and not very resistant to cold. As for this fifth-order armor top, it could be kept in the school¡¯s treasury as an incentive. Besides this fifth-order Zombie Lord, other zombies also dropped a large number of crystal cores, all in Wang Tao¡¯s hands; he had synthesized some of these crystal cores, which could also be kept in the treasury after returning. ¡°Let¡¯s rest for the night, we¡¯ll go back tomorrow.¡± There were no other messages from the second layer, Wang Tao was ready for his fourth awakening! ¡°Okay!¡± Everyone nodded; they were also looking forward to Wang Tao¡¯s fourth awakening. Chapter 1210 - 1210 498 Encounter with the Giant Eagle for ?Chapter 1210: Chapter 498: Encounter with the Giant Eagle for the Third Time Chapter 1210: Chapter 498: Encounter with the Giant Eagle for the Third Time The next day, at around eight in the morning. Wang Tao and his group were ready to set out, planning to leave the Rift today. His Awakening Key had accumulated enough for his fourth Awakening. It wasn¡¯t too safe to awaken here, so returning to base seemed more reassuring. Before he could leave, Pan Jian came over. ¡°Mr. Wang! I have already talked to everyone last night, and they all agreed to integrate the Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Core, not a single person objected!¡± Pan Jian was naturally speaking about the Frozen Overlord Zombie Head matter. ¡°Well done,¡± Wang Tao nodded his approval, he had thought that there might be some who were unwilling, but it appeared that everyone was smart, and besides, they probably didn¡¯t have any better Abilities. As long as these students and teachers integrated with the Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Core, becoming comrades with ice attributes and receiving the enhancement from the Frozen Overlord¡¯s Skull, their overall strength would at least climb a notch! If they encountered a Level 5 Lord in the future, they might even be able to contend with it. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not really about me, it¡¯s all thanks to the quality of Mr. Wang¡¯s materials!¡± Pan Jian subtly buttered him up, then asked, ¡°Mr. Wang, are you preparing to go out today?¡± ¡°We¡¯re heading back to the city today, there are some things to deal with. You guys continue to train here for a few more days.¡± Upon hearing this, Pan Jian immediately showed surprise, as he wasn¡¯t aware of Wang Tao¡¯s plan. He had thought Wang Tao was heading out to hunt Mutated Plants today, not that he was going back directly... Pan Jian tentatively asked: ¡°Then, this place...¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fully in charge here,¡± Wang Tao waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Yes! I guarantee not to disappoint you, Mr. Wang!¡± Pan Jian was overjoyed. It wasn¡¯t that he was particularly power-hungry, this simply signaled Wang Tao¡¯s trust in him¡ªif he maintained a good relationship with Wang Tao, maybe he¡¯d have a chance to Awaken too! He was quite envious of those three students who had awakened before! ¡°Well, then we¡¯re off,¡± Wang Tao and the others got into the vehicle. ¡°Mr. Wang, have a safe trip!¡± Pan Jian sent them off a short distance before returning. With Wang Tao and his team¡¯s departure, the team¡¯s Combat Power had diminished, so he had to rearrange the defense personnel to prevent any accidents. ... Below the Rift, at the temporary base. The surrounding soldiers suddenly heard some rumbling noises, they immediately readied their guns, nervously watching the darkness. Before long, a ferocious black serpent appeared before them, its enormous maw capable of swallowing them whole with ease. But the soldiers, though still somewhat fearful, sighed in relief upon seeing this scene. ¡°Teacher Blacky has arrived! Mr. Wang should be here too...¡± Before the sentence was even finished, a Crystal Energy Car emerged from behind Blacky, Wang Tao¡¯s vehicle. Since Blacky was too large to shrink down and Wang Tao¡¯s car could not transport it, Blacky was allowed to run on the ground by itself. The existence of Blacky was no secret, as it had been exposed when they had arrived previously. Be it the major powers in the base or the various Legions, they all knew that Wang Tao had raised his Fourth Order Elite pet Blacky into a Level 4 Lord! Because Blacky was so large and couldn¡¯t be accommodated at home, Wang Tao planned to have Blacky stay at the Awakeners School, maybe as a kind of guardian beast, and since Blacky was quite smart and could understand human speech... people generally referred to it as ¡°Teacher Blacky.¡± ¡°Hiss¡ª¡± Blacky playfully circled around the soldiers a few times, causing several of them to stiffen. Though called ¡°Teacher Blacky¡± and not one to attack its own, the sight of a Level 4 Lord Serpent that could devour them whole so close by still instinctively made them fearful. Wang Tao got out of the car, patted the mischievous Blacky, and walked towards the camp. Just then, a group of people and a convoy emerged from inside the camp, led by Cheng Yiyi. ¡°Are you all ready?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°We¡¯re good to go, let¡¯s move.¡± Last night, Wang Tao had informed Cheng Yiyi of his plans to leave, and she had expressed her wish to return together. Due to Lin Kaiyang¡¯s betrayal, the Sixth Legion had suffered considerable losses, and she planned to take these people back for some rest, then swap them out with a fresh group. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go then.¡± The enormous Blacky led the way, followed by Wang Tao¡¯s Crystal Energy Car, with the convoy of the Sixth Legion trailing. The Sixth Legion didn¡¯t bring too many people this time, just a few vehicles and powered armors. Of course, it wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to send people; they simply had too few available, so sending everyone at once was out of the question. They had to plan for shifts and defenses of the base. The route out of the Rift was a slow ascent, and the group¡¯s pace was not fast. After some time, the darkness gradually lifted, revealing a world blanketed in white to those present. Suddenly emerging from the darkness into a landscape of snow and ice, many were ill at ease and unconsciously closed their eyes. Wang Tao¡¯s eyes could adjust freely, so he had no issues. Just as he was prepared to speak, a sudden sense of danger arose. Wang Tao looked up sharply to see a massive shadow descending from the sky! Facing the oncoming tempest, witnessing the steel-like feathers and claws, Wang Tao¡¯s face grew solemn. ¡°Giant Eagle!¡± [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Giant] The Giant Eagle descended straight for them, and its target¡ªremarkably¡ªwas Blacky! At this moment, Blacky seemed like it had encountered its natural predator, almost frozen in place, its large vertical pupils filled with fear. The others were still closing their eyes, some not fully responding to the situation, only Wang Tao, Jiang Shixue, and Lightning reacted. Chapter 1211 - 1211 498 Encountering the Giant Eagle for the ?Chapter 1211: Chapter 498: Encountering the Giant Eagle for the Third Time_2 Chapter 1211: Chapter 498: Encountering the Giant Eagle for the Third Time_2 Lightning swiftly expanded, baring its fangs as if ready to pounce. Jiang Shixue¡¯s hands revealed a dagger, poised to charge at the Giant Eagle the moment Wang Tao gave the order. Wang Tao¡¯s instinct was to use [Scorching Eyes], having long wanted to teach the Giant Eagle a lesson with his long-range attack ability. The memory of being chased by the eagle twice before was still fresh in his mind, and he held a grudge. But after pondering for a mere fraction of a second, Wang Tao immediately dismissed the idea. After all, the Giant Eagle could fly and wasn¡¯t some mindless zombie. What if it felt it couldn¡¯t win and fled? After all, the ray had limited range... Wang Tao didn¡¯t want to be constantly on the radar of an enemy in the sky. If he was going to fight, he needed to take it down in one go! So before making contact with the Giant Eagle, it was necessary to play dumb and not scare it away! As a result, Wang Tao did not use the ray, and he didn¡¯t even charge forward. Instead, he raised his left hand, pointing a ring carved with a red flower at Blacky. [Red Flower Ring] [Fifth Rank (Excellent)] [Special Ability: Capture Net (100% Energy)] [Capture Net: Consumes stored energy to launch a capture net] This was a ring he had acquired before, and it was perfect for use on the Giant Eagle. While the story was long, events unfolded in an instant. Before the others had fully opened their eyes, the Giant Eagle had already swooped in. Whoosh¡ª The steel-like wings caused a tumultuous wind, making everyone scarcely able to stand, instantly stumbling around. In the blink of an eye, the Giant Eagle was before Blacky. If those iron-hook like claws caught Blacky, it would likely not die but might be severely injured. However, Wang Tao keenly noticed a slight hesitation in the Giant Eagle¡¯s movements, as if he had spotted a hint of surprise in its eyes. Clearly, the Giant Eagle recognized Wang Tao and his party. After all, Wang Tao had escaped from its clutches twice before! This time, it definitely wouldn¡¯t let its prey get away, even though it sensed that this prey seemed a bit stronger. Before the Giant Eagle pounced on Blacky, Wang Tao activated the Capture Net. Swish¡ª A tiny white dot shot out from his ring, then instantly expanded into a large net! Caught off guard, the Giant Eagle was immediately ensnared by the Capture Net. However, due to the Giant Eagle¡¯s large size, the Capture Net could only cover one of its wings, but that was sufficient! Chirp¡ª Suddenly bound, the Giant Eagle¡¯s flight path was altered. Not only did it fail to capture Blacky, but it also crashed to the ground. Boom¡ª Everyone felt the ground shake, and only then did they, squinting against the bright light, manage to open their eyes. What they saw was the Giant Eagle standing up from the ground, spreading its wings wide and obscuring the sun. ¡°...¡± Cheng Yiyi and the others were somewhat dumbfounded. What was happening here? They had just emerged from underground, blinking in the light, and suddenly a Level 5 Monster Lord was before them? And the pressure from this Level 5 Monster Lord was much greater than any Level 5 Lord they had encountered before¡ªwait a minute! Wasn¡¯t this that very Giant Eagle! The members of the Sixth Legion were somewhat panicked, knowing full well the strength of this Giant Eagle¡ªno person, not even any zombies or monsters, could rival it! They had seen with their own eyes the Giant Eagle hunting down Level 5 Monster Lords while they were on missions outside! ¡°Wang Tao¡ª¡± Cheng Yiyi instinctively wanted to call for Wang Tao, but there was no sign of him nearby! Upon closer look, Wang Tao had already rushed to the Giant Eagle¡¯s front! Swoosh¡ª Taking advantage of the moment the Giant Eagle¡¯s wing was hit by the Capture Net and it was forced to land, Wang Tao charged straight at the Giant Eagle. By the time the Giant Eagle quickly rose from the ground, Wang Tao had reached its front. Without any hesitation, Wang Tao suddenly leaped. Using his Jump Ability, he easily jumped onto the broad back of the Giant Eagle. The Giant Eagle harshly tore through the Capture Net, ready to take off again, but it was too late. Wang Tao¡¯s wrist suddenly shot out several tendrils that tightly wound around the Giant Eagle¡¯s feathers. The Level 3 biological weapon [Iron Tree Vines] hadn¡¯t been used much lately, but now, they were just the right tool! Ensuring he wouldn¡¯t be thrown off for the moment, Wang Tao¡¯s other hand instantly produced a spear. The spear glowed with a black light as it was viciously thrust toward the Giant Eagle¡¯s head. Clang¡ª Wang Tao felt as if he had struck a steel plate. [-8293] [Curse: Bleeding] ¡°...¡± Seeing the damage number, Wang Tao was somewhat stunned. He was now at Level 5 and wielding a spear with extremely high attack power, yet this thrust hadn¡¯t even reached ten thousand damage? The defensive power of this Giant Eagle was probably about the same as that of the Fifth-Order Catastrophic mutant giant tree he had previously killed! Deservedly so for a Giant Awakening with extremely high growth potential. Very strong! ¡°You guys go first!¡± Wang Tao shouted to the others. Although they wanted to assist Wang Tao, the Giant Eagle was already flying away with him, and they were of no help. Staying behind would only cause chaos, so they decisively drove away. Staying at this point would only cause trouble for Wang Tao. The slight damage Wang Tao caused naturally wasn¡¯t much for the Giant Eagle, but it was irritated. It didn¡¯t care about the others fleeing; it just wanted to shake Wang Tao off and then devour him! Whoosh¡ª The Giant Eagle spread its wings and soared into the sky, a fierce wind assaulting everyone again, knocking many people down. But with the help of the Iron Tree Vines, Wang Tao stood firm as if rooted to the spot, unmoved, and shot with [Scorching Eyes] toward the back of the Giant Eagle¡¯s head. Sizzle¡ª [-3278] [-3369] [-3274] [...] The high-temperature ray could cause only a little over three thousand damage every half a second, roughly the same damage as when Wang Tao attacked that Fifth-Order Catastrophic mutant giant tree. Chapter 1212 - 1212 498 Encountering the Giant Eagle for the ?Chapter 1212: Chapter 498: Encountering the Giant Eagle for the Third Time_3 Chapter 1212: Chapter 498: Encountering the Giant Eagle for the Third Time_3 After a brief trial, Wang Tao immediately stopped using the [Scorching Eyes]. This ability was thrilling to use; as long as he could keep shooting, even the Giant Eagle¡¯s high defense would be shot to death. But its continuous consumption was too great! Moreover, [Scorching Eyes] didn¡¯t allow Wang Tao to regenerate HP, and at this point, he had already been carried into the air by the Giant Eagle, likely to be injured and in need of the Blood Sucking ability. Consequently, Wang Tao thought that using the spear to attack was the most appropriate method. ¡°Die for me!¡± Wang Tao shouted fiercely, then began to stab wildly at the head of the Giant Eagle. Shiu¡ª The Giant Eagle had already flown into the midair and then suddenly flipped over, belly up and back down. It intended to shake Wang Tao off its back! But with the Iron Tree Vines, Wang Tao was tightly bound and not so easily thrown off. Seeing this, the Giant Eagle began to perform various high-difficulty flight maneuvers, but Wang Tao remained as steady as an old dog, continuing to violently stab at the Giant Eagle with the spear! For a time, a variety of damage numbers and negative statuses appeared above the Giant Eagle¡¯s head. Seeing that it couldn¡¯t shake off Wang Tao, the Giant Eagle grew fierce¡ªit immediately began to fly low, then flipped over again, nearly dragging Wang Tao against the ground! It wanted to wear down Wang Tao through attrition. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t greedy. As long as the Giant Eagle was too close to the ground, or flipping in flight, he wouldn¡¯t attack but instead held onto its body tightly; and as soon as the Giant Eagle was a bit higher off the ground, he would continue attacking with the spear. Wang Tao would occasionally suffer injuries, but with the blood-sucking spear, he wasn¡¯t panicking. Gradually, the Giant Eagle became agitated. Just then, Wang Tao¡¯s attack triggered the [Curse: Blindness]! Shiu¡ª The Giant Eagle, plunged into darkness, clearly panicked, and while flying low, it suddenly crashed into a hill. Boom¡ª The Giant Eagle¡¯s head buzzed from the impact, and Wang Tao on its back also had a rough time. ¡°Damn!¡± Wang Tao cursed under his breath and could only quickly wave his spear to replenish his HP. The temporarily blinded Giant Eagle flapped its wings clumsily, lacking a sense of direction, and crashed into rocks once more. ¡°Are you even capable? If not, stop flying!¡± Wang Tao mentally ranted, yet his hands didn¡¯t stop moving. His advantage was that the Giant Eagle couldn¡¯t attack him for now; he had to take the opportunity to finish off the Giant Eagle quickly, otherwise, even with his Blood Sucking ability, it would be tough on him. And the more he attacked, the more furiously the Giant Eagle thrashed. Thus, the Giant Eagle, seeming enraptured in madness, crazily crashed into mountains, trees, and even the ground¡ªnot of its own volition but because it was blinded and trapped within the mountains, unable to ascend. Scattered Frozen Zombies in the vicinity subconsciously kept their distance. Wang Tao felt as if his body was falling apart after who knew how long. The [Curse: Blindness] finally wore off the Giant Eagle, which was now low on HP, and struggled to fly unsteadily, but at that moment, Wang Tao stabbed down with his spear again. [-9039] [Curse: Slaying] [64753/300000] After so much struggle, Slaying finally appeared! The Giant Eagle had a total of three hundred thousand blood, and twenty percent from Slaying was sixty thousand! So, all Wang Tao needed was one more spear thrust, or a beam, and the Giant Eagle¡¯s blood bar would be wiped clean instantly! Wang Tao took a deep breath, then raised his spear, ready to end the life of the Giant Eagle. But suddenly, the Giant Eagle stopped struggling and emitted a mournful cry. Hearing this sound, Wang Tao¡¯s movements subconsciously paused. Then he saw the Giant Eagle slowly descend upon a small hill. It spread its wings, laid its entire body on the ground, and lowered its head deeply. ¡°Hm?¡± Chapter 1213 - 1213 499 Taming the Giant Eagle ?Chapter 1213: Chapter 499: Taming the Giant Eagle Chapter 1213: Chapter 499: Taming the Giant Eagle Looking at the Giant Eagle groveling on the ground, Wang Tao seemed to have thought of something, feeling a bit uncertain. In the end, he did not thrust his spear downward; instead, he put away his weapon and walked down directly from the Giant Eagle¡¯s back. The effect of [Curse: Slaying] still had two minutes left; if the Giant Eagle seized the opportunity to attack, he only needed a single ray to make the Giant Eagle burst dead. Wang Tao, who was two meters twenty in height, still stood shorter than the Giant Eagle¡¯s hook-like beak when he was up close. The Giant Eagle¡¯s already blood-engorged, golden eyes stared fixedly at Wang Tao, appearing somewhat fearful. Wang Tao reached out and touched the Giant Eagle¡¯s beak, to which it did not resist at all. ¡°Indeed...¡± Although Wang Tao could not understand the language of beasts, the mournful cry of the Giant Eagle just now had conveyed a sense of ¡°Stop hitting me, I surrender.¡± It seemed that the Giant Eagle was indeed sensing the death scent of [Curse: Slaying]. Like Lightning, the Giant Eagle was a mutant beast not infected by the Zombie Virus, having a clear mind and being very smart. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t unafraid of death like most zombies. Being smart meant it could communicate. Therefore, it pleaded for its life before its death. Although Wang Tao could not understand its words and dared not use spiritual power arbitrarily for communication, he could still sense the sorrow in the Giant Eagle¡¯s cries. Thus, Wang Tao had stopped his thrusting spear to see if his guess was correct. Looking at the Giant Eagle now, it proved his guess was right. ¡°Now you know fear? Begging for mercy? Weren¡¯t you rather keen on chasing me just before?¡± Wang Tao patted the Giant Eagle on the beak. Chirp¡ª The Giant Eagle let out a soft cry, seeming exceptionally aggrieved¡ªit had only come out to find some food. Having let its prey escape a few times was bad enough, but this time it was almost slain by its prey... Had it known this outcome, it would never have come. ¡°I might let you go if you show some sincerity.¡± Wang Tao added. The Giant Eagle evidently understood Wang Tao¡¯s words. It immediately nuzzled Wang Tao gently with its beak. Wang Tao was not quite sure what that meant, but now that he was certain the Giant Eagle couldn¡¯t threaten him with its spiritual power, he immediately used Spiritual Communication on the Giant Eagle. The Giant Eagle¡¯s somewhat fearful eyes instantly brightened¡ªit had not expected Wang Tao to communicate with it in this manner. Wang Tao too was taken aback. Seeing the Giant Eagle surrender, he had thought about tricking the Giant Eagle into working for him, similar to Lightning. Yet, he didn¡¯t need to say much. The Giant Eagle was already on the same track¡ªit expressed its willingness to acknowledge Wang Tao as its master and pleaded for Wang Tao not to kill it. Having such a Giant Eagle to obey him was an advantage no amount of Crystal Cores could buy. At the very least, it could carry him in flight! Since the onset of the apocalypse, a sort of energy, like an invisible hand, had enveloped the sky. Any electronic product that came into contact with this energy would be paralyzed, which everyone called the No-fly Zone. This No-fly Zone kept descending and would likely reach the ground soon, damaging all electronic devices. Therefore, even though planes could still be used, they were rarely employed due to the danger. Wang Tao¡¯s helicopter was still parked at the Sixth Legion, and he wasn¡¯t willing to risk flying it. But it would be different if this Giant Eagle could carry him in flight. Wang Tao had just experienced the Giant Eagle¡¯s speed, not inferior to that of an airplane. However, there was a problem¡ª Lightning followed Wang Tao voluntarily, considering Wang Tao as its master and was very affectionate to him, never attacking Wang Tao. But this Giant Eagle was clearly coerced. What if it became rebellious? If it carried Wang Tao high into the sky and suddenly dropped him, Wang Tao was bound to die. So after the Giant Eagle expressed its submission, Wang Tao hesitated again. Should he kill the Giant Eagle, reaping the spoils of war, or spare the Giant Eagle and have it follow him? The former was trouble-free but had limited benefits. The latter was troublesome, but the benefits were greater, and he could also gain a powerful ally... Apparently sensing Wang Tao¡¯s hesitation, the Giant Eagle immediately nuzzled Wang Tao¡¯s body gently with its huge beak once again, and then called out twice, trying to speak to Wang Tao. Like Lightning, it wasn¡¯t hatched from HP by Wang Tao and couldn¡¯t communicate directly like Blacky through something akin to telepathy; they also lacked the ability for Spiritual Communication... so it was only when Wang Tao proactively used spiritual power could they express their thoughts, similar to a cell phone that can only receive calls, not make them. Hearing the Giant Eagle¡¯s call, Wang Tao communicated spiritually once more. The Giant Eagle shared its story with Wang Tao, revealing it once had a master who was a herdsman. After the apocalypse struck, his master¡¯s wife turned into a zombie and bit her husband to death. It had no choice but to flee. Later, in a hazy state, it underwent evolution, gaining its current strength... This was why it chose to surrender when overpowered by Wang Tao, knowing that surrender held a chance of saving its life. It now had no master, so surrendering didn¡¯t count as betraying its master... It conveyed this to Wang Tao to indicate that it had once had a master, was previously tamed, knew how to interact with a master, and would absolutely not betray him, ensuring Wang Tao¡¯s peace of mind. As for its former master, Wang Tao also briefly inquired. At that time, it was just an ordinary animal and didn¡¯t remember much, only knowing that its master was an old man. It was caught by the old man¡¯s trap and after enduring seven days and nights, finally submitted to the old man. Afterwards, it helped the old man hunt and even guarded his flock. Chapter 1214 - 1214 499 Taming the Giant Eagle_2 ?Chapter 1214: Chapter 499: Taming the Giant Eagle_2 Chapter 1214: Chapter 499: Taming the Giant Eagle_2 Then there was its species; Wang Tao didn¡¯t know much about animals and had no idea what kind of eagle it was. It told Wang Tao that the old man used to call it a Golden Eagle... ¡°So it¡¯s a Golden Eagle, no wonder it¡¯s so big...¡± Wang Tao took another look at the Golden Eagle¡¯s fur. Previously, because it had been in the sky while Wang Tao and the others were on the ground, it had appeared black. Now, from a closer look, the Golden Eagle¡¯s fur was actually somewhat brown, nearly the same as the Golden Eagles that Wang Tao had seen on television before. After thinking it over, Wang Tao decided to trust the Golden Eagle. Communicating with spiritual power had one advantage: it could discern whether the other party was lying. He felt that the Golden Eagle probably wasn¡¯t deceiving him unless its spiritual power was stronger than his, but that clearly wasn¡¯t possible, otherwise, the Golden Eagle would have already used its spiritual power to resist. However, just to be safe, Wang Tao still asked one last question. ¡°Was your previous master really killed by zombies? And not by you?¡± It wasn¡¯t strange for Wang Tao to think this, especially since the Golden Eagle had said it was trapped by its previous master, who had caught it and even starved it for seven to eight days. Maybe it harbored some hatred towards its former master... If it really had killed its previous master, then Wang Tao would need to reconsider things. The Golden Eagle immediately offered an explanation. After listening, Wang Tao felt somewhat enlightened yet couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry at the same time. The Golden Eagle said, although it had been captured by its previous master, it didn¡¯t hate him. Because when it was still wild, it often went from hungry to full, always wary of poachers who might kill it. But since it had been with its former master, it had never gone hungry and didn¡¯t have to worry about poachers anymore. If it weren¡¯t for the apocalypse, it could have had a peaceful second half of its life. So it was more grateful than anything else. After its former master died, it had grieved for a long time... Moreover, the Golden Eagle not only didn¡¯t kill its master, but it had also never eaten humans. Because it had seen the previous owner¡¯s wife turn into a zombie and bite the master to death, who then turned into a zombie and tried to bite it too. It didn¡¯t know if humans carried a virus; it didn¡¯t want to turn into a zombie Golden Eagle. So even though it vaguely felt that ¡°zombies must not be eaten, but humans probably can be,¡± it didn¡¯t want to take the risk. This also resolved one of Wang Tao¡¯s doubts¡ªno wonder the Golden Eagle didn¡¯t have a trace of internal impurity; it had protected itself very well, not even coming into contact with any virus, let alone other impurities. However, this left Wang Tao with another question. ¡°Since you don¡¯t eat humans, why were you always chasing after me?¡± Hearing this, the Golden Eagle expressed its grievance. It wasn¡¯t chasing Wang Tao, but the golden fruit in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. It was attracted by the scent of the golden fruit. Then it saw Wang Tao and his group emerging from the rift. It hadn¡¯t expected to encounter Wang Tao again. It had no interest in Wang Tao but was interested in the golden fruit in his hand. Although it couldn¡¯t find the golden fruit right away, it had seen Blacky! The Golden Eagle hadn¡¯t eaten for several days, so it thought of catching Blacky to fill its stomach. It planned to find Wang Tao again after eating since it could smell the scent of the golden fruit on him again... All of this seemed well thought out, but it ended up being countered by Wang Tao right at the start. ¡°You want to eat this, huh...¡± Wang Tao flipped his hand, and a golden Awakening Fruit appeared. Eating the Awakening Fruit had one benefit: ¡°Non-human consumption beyond Level 3 minorly increases constitution¡±; evidently, the Golden Eagle wanted this. ¡°Eat it.¡± Wang Tao directly threw the fruit to the Golden Eagle. Compared to the size of the Golden Eagle¡¯s beak, the Awakening Fruit was as small as a sesame seed. But the Golden Eagle was extremely excited, as if it had tasted a delicacy from the human world, and its exhausted expression became much more spirited immediately. This made the Golden Eagle feel that surrendering was indeed the right choice, as it might not have to starve again! ¡°Want to eat more?¡± Wang Tao took out another Awakening Fruit. ¡°Peep~¡± The Golden Eagle felt tempted but shook its head. The fruit needed time to digest; eating them consecutively would be wasteful. ¡°Okay, then keep this for later, and eat it another time.¡± Wang Tao smiled, then added: ¡°What was your name before? Shall I give you a new one? Alright, I¡¯ll call you Xiao Jin.¡± ¡°Peep~¡± Wang Tao felt that the Golden Eagle was very satisfied, so he asked: ¡°Can you still fly?¡± He had been communicating with the Golden Eagle when the curse effect on it had already disappeared. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± ¡°Good. Then let¡¯s go, come back home with me to heal.¡± Wang Tao jumped onto the back of the Golden Eagle, which flapped its wings and slowly ascended. Then it suddenly accelerated, disappearing into the heavy snow. Since there was no windshield on the back of the Golden Eagle, Wang Tao was not used to the fierce wind hitting his face, and he instinctively grabbed the eagle¡¯s feathers, barely able to keep his eyes open. Fortunately, Wang Tao had a strong constitution, far beyond that of an ordinary human. After adapting a bit, he quickly got used to the environment and widened his eyes. Feeling the snowflakes hitting his body and the piercing cold wind in his face, Wang Tao felt exhilarated, much more exhilarating than flying a plane! ¡°It feels great! But fly a bit slower, let me find the way...¡± Wang Tao and the Golden Eagle had been fighting all the way, and the eagle itself did not know where they had ended up, only remembering flying generally south. Wang Tao asked the Golden Eagle to fly slower, while he looked at the offline map and compass, also observing the environment below... After some turmoil, Wang Tao finally found a landmark. ¡°Wow, we¡¯ve flown so far! No wonder I couldn¡¯t contact anyone with the Perception Ring...¡± Wang Tao immediately directed the Golden Eagle toward Changhe Base. Before long, he saw a majestic black city emerge amidst the icy wilderness. ¡°This speed is really fast!¡± Wang Tao exclaimed, and then used the Perception Ring again. ¡°Sister-in-law, are you all okay?¡± ¡°Wang Tao! We¡¯re all fine, we just entered the city! Cheng Yiyi has already contacted the committee, and the Six Major Legions are preparing to go out and look for you. Where are you? Are you okay?¡± Ding Yuqin¡¯s voice carried a hint of crying. This situation was different from before; previously, Wang Tao¡¯s adventures were always assured. But this time, she didn¡¯t know if Wang Tao was certain, she only knew that if the Giant Eagle had taken Wang Tao into the sky, even if the eagle died, Wang Tao might also fall to his death! This had nothing to do with Wang Tao¡¯s capabilities; it was purely because Wang Tao did not have the ability to fly, so everyone was worried about accidents. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m fine. As for where I am... look up.¡± ... Inside the base, Ding Yuqin and her group had just passed through security not long ago. Cheng Yiyi had just contacted the committee and briefly explained Wang Tao¡¯s situation. The committee had only just learned that Wang Tao had reached Level 5! Hearing that Wang Tao had fought with the Giant Eagle and was taken away flying, they immediately decisively dispatched legions to search for Wang Tao. This was the principal of Awakeners School, the top combat power within the base! They would definitely try to rescue him, even at the cost of sacrifices! Ding Yuqin and the other women¡¯s eyes were somewhat red. They were preparing to go out with the army to search for Wang Tao when they suddenly received his message. This made Ding Yuqin cry tears of joy, shouting: ¡°Wang Tao is back! He¡¯s fine!¡± Hearing this, everyone was stunned for a moment, then immediately breathed a sigh of relief. They knew Wang Tao had contacted them using the Perception Ring. ¡°Where is he?¡± Cheng Yiyi asked anxiously. ¡°He... told us to look up?¡± Ding Yuqin was a bit puzzled but still instinctively looked up. The others looked up as well, then saw a dark silhouette descending from the sky. ¡°That¡¯s... the Giant Eagle! It¡¯s attacking the base!¡± ¡°Wait! There seems to be someone standing on the back of the Giant Eagle...¡± ¡°Is that... Wang Tao?!¡± ¡°Damn! What¡¯s going on!¡± Chapter 1215 - 1215 500 Return to Base ?Chapter 1215: Chapter 500: Return to Base Chapter 1215: Chapter 500: Return to Base Whoooo¡ª The shrill and loud air-raid siren suddenly erupted within Changhe Base. The civilians were startled, thinking the zombies had breached the base. Already reluctant to venture out due to a heavy snowfall, they were now even more afraid to leave, frantically locking their doors and windows. However, the alarm had started abruptly and ceased just as unexpectedly. It lasted for perhaps twenty or thirty seconds before the siren noise abruptly disappeared. At the same time, Gu Yun¡¯s voice came through various loudspeakers, explaining that the siren had been just a test and instructing everyone not to panic, as the base had not been invaded. ¡°It was just a test? You scared me to death!¡± ¡°Could you notify us before the next test? I didn¡¯t even have time to pull up my pants...¡± The credibility of City Hall was still very high, and the civilians breathed a sigh of relief after hearing their explanation. But on the other side, the City Defense Army was on high alert. Gurgle~ Watching the increasingly large shadow in the sky and sensing the terrifying aura, the soldiers below instinctively swallowed. Is this thing really an ally? When they saw the mutated Giant Eagle in the sky just moments ago, they had immediately sounded the air-raid alarm, but soon after their leader had deactivated it, stating it was an ally. Though they trusted their leader, how could this be considered an ally? ¡°Do you see, there seems to be someone on the back of that giant bird?¡± Previously, due to the angle, the City Defense Army hadn¡¯t gotten a clear view, but now they could finally see that there was actually a person standing on the Giant Eagle¡¯s back! Someone hurriedly grabbed a telescope. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it look like... Wang Xiaozhang?¡± ¡°Is it really an ally?¡± Amidst everyone¡¯s wariness and amazement, the Golden Eagle slowly landed in the square by the main gate, completely occupying it. Wang Tao dismounted from the Golden Eagle very calmly. Ding Yuqin and the others quickly ran over, looking alternately at Wang Tao and the Golden Eagle, temporarily at a loss for words. Blacky, Lightning, and Little Bing, three beasts, watched the Golden Eagle very cautiously, especially Blacky, who trembled somewhat¡ªa reaction to its suppressed bloodline. Wang Tao saw they were not much hurt and he felt relieved, then said: ¡°This is Xiao Jin, it evolved from a Golden Eagle. We had some misunderstandings before, but now those are cleared up, and it has become our new partner!¡± ¡°...¡± Although the fact was right before their eyes, many people still found it hard to believe. This very Level 5 Lord Golden Eagle, which had chased them many times, was now shaking hands and making peace... and from the way Wang Tao acted, it was clear it wasn¡¯t just about making friends, but he had turned this Level 5 Golden Eagle into his pet... ¡°Awesome!¡± Xiang Hongbin squeezed out a word after a long silence. ¡°Haha, everyone come over, let Xiao Jin give you a ride.¡± Wang Tao smiled and waved for Ding Yuqin and the others to come onto the Golden Eagle¡¯s back. They were at the base¡¯s main gate, still a distance from their homes. ¡°May I?¡± Cheng Yiyi looked eagerly at Wang Tao and the Golden Eagle. ¡°Of course.¡± Cheng Yiyi excitedly jumped on board, previously she couldn¡¯t even wait to tear the Golden Eagle into pieces, but now, as she stroked its feathers as tough as steel, she found it utterly adorable. Lightning and Little Bing also climbed aboard, but Blacky absolutely refused to get on. There was no helping it; it had almost been eaten by the Golden Eagle before and couldn¡¯t overcome the trauma just yet. ¡°Then you go back to the school,¡± Wang Tao said without forcing Blacky, after addressing him, he told Cheng Yiyi, ¡°Have your people escort Blacky.¡± While Blacky knew the way, many in the base didn¡¯t recognize him, and letting Blacky go alone might scare people and cause a conflict, so it was better to have someone accompany him. ¡°Okay!¡± Cheng Yiyi immediately ordered her subordinates to first escort Blacky to the Awakeners School and then to return to their camp. Wang Tao waved at the City Defense Army, then Xiao Jin slowly lifted into the air, flying directly towards the City Hall. Since Xiao Jin was now a team member, they naturally had to inform their superiors. Plus, it would open Gu Yun and the others¡¯ eyes. ... ¡°We got here so quickly...¡± Looking at the City Hall building below, aside from Wang Tao, everyone else was a bit slow to react. ¡°...That was so fast! I feel like I just climbed on, and we¡¯re already here?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s not surprised? Xiao Jin¡¯s speed is faster than some planes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a bit cold...¡± At this time, a group of people was already standing outside the City Hall building. Watching the Giant Eagle slowly descend, their expressions were similar to those of the City Defense Army just before, both fearful and curious. ¡°Wang Tao, it¡¯s great you¡¯re alright!¡± Upon seeing Wang Tao and the others disembark, Gu Yun quickly came over. ¡°Thanks for your concern, sorry for the trouble.¡± Wang Tao had just learned from Cheng Yiyi that if he hadn¡¯t returned, Changhe Base would have sent out the Six Major Legions to look for him. Under such severe weather conditions, daring to send people to search for him, whether they found him or not, many would die! If they managed to find Wang Tao, that would still be okay. But if not, the base might never recover... And yet such a critical decision that could affect the base¡¯s fate was passed by the committee in just a few minutes! Although Wang Tao understood that they were so decisive partly because of his strong abilities and the benefits he brought to the base, a gentleman considers deeds, not thoughts. He need not ponder their intentions, just observe their actions. So Wang Tao was still very moved. Gu Yun quickly shook his head and said: ¡°You are our base¡¯s strongest! There¡¯s nothing troublesome about it, if something really happened to you, that would have been the real trouble. We are all relying on you...¡± Chapter 1216 - 1216 500 Return to Base_2 ?Chapter 1216: Chapter 500: Return to Base_2 Chapter 1216: Chapter 500: Return to Base_2 ¡°Of course I¡¯ve got you covered!¡± After exchanging pleasantries, Wang Tao took the group from City Hall to the Golden Eagle. ¡°This is a Level 5, Lord mutant Golden Eagle. I call it Xiao Jin...¡± ¡°Wow¡ª Level 5, Lord!¡± Although they had already known this, it still seemed somewhat unbelievable. It was surprising enough that Wang Tao was Level 5, but now there was another Level 5, Lord, and a flying one at that, which obeyed Wang Tao¡¯s commands... Together, Wang Tao and the Golden Eagle¡¯s powers could amount to three¡ª no, at least four Fifth-Order Awakeners! This considerably boosted the base¡¯s power several notches! They didn¡¯t fully grasp Wang Tao¡¯s true strength, nor did they understand the Golden Eagle was not just large; importantly, its Awakening was a high-ceiling ¡°Giant.¡± Otherwise, they might immediately reconsider their estimation. The envy in the eyes of the other Force Leaders was unmistakable. They previously viewed Wang Tao as a competitor. Even though he was strong and had become the principal of the Awakeners School, exceeding them in both power and status, they still thought they could compete with him. But now... a Fifth Order Awakener, plus a Level 5, Lord pet, along with more than a dozen Fourth-order Awakeners and Level 4, Lord pets... This was no longer the same level at all! Their competitive and comparative thoughts had entirely vanished, leaving only envy. They were now even considering how to handle their relations with Wang Tao. Not to mention expecting any benefits from him, but just getting to ride the Golden Eagle would be worth it! Wang Tao was oblivious to their thoughts; he just felt that everyone was much friendlier towards him. After chatting for a while, Wang Tao and the others left. He sent the Golden Eagle to the Sixth Legion, dropped off Cheng Yiyi, and then returned to the villa area. ¡°Xiao Jin doesn¡¯t have a place to stay...¡± Upon returning to the villa area, Lan Yulian frowned slightly. The Golden Eagle, feeling the concern from Lan Yulian, affectionately nuzzled her with its beak. In this short time, Lan Yulian had already become familiar with the Golden Eagle, who was second only to Wang Tao in closeness to her, naturally because Lan Yulian had been replenishing its HP. Previously, when injured, the Golden Eagle would find a secluded place to hide and quietly heal. Even though it had strong recovery abilities, it usually took a day or two. Unlike now, it could fly for a few minutes and be fully healed! This made the Golden Eagle even more convinced that rallying to Wang Tao was the right decision. Wang Tao not only provided food and drink but also fast healing... ¡°Hmm, a dwelling is indeed an issue...¡± Hearing Lan Yulian¡¯s words, Wang Tao promptly nodded. Blacky went to the school because it had no place to live, and now Xiao Jin was even bigger than Blacky... As Wang Tao considered whether to move and find a bigger place, Gu Yun called. ¡°Wang Tao, your Golden Eagle doesn¡¯t have a place to stay, right? I¡¯ve already given orders; the people in Autumn Water Pavilion Villa Area will move out tomorrow. The entire Autumn Water Pavilion will belong to you alone. If you need help building a nest for the Golden Eagle, just call me!¡± ¡°Oh? That doesn¡¯t seem quite right...¡± Wang Tao was a bit surprised. After all, the residents in the Autumn Water Pavilion Villa Area included VIPs, certain Force Leaders, and even two council members... Council members and officials were manageable, but what about the rest? Gu Yun just made them leave? Isn¡¯t that a bit inconsiderate? ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it won¡¯t put you in a difficult position. It¡¯s not because I forced them but because they volunteered after I explained the situation.¡± Gu Yun quickly assured him, patting his chest. ¡°Uh, what exactly did you tell them?¡± Wang Tao was curious. ¡°I told them a Level 5, Lord Mutant Beast had just joined our base, and it needs to build a nest in Autumn Water Pavilion. Without any hesitation, they immediately agreed to move out, even refusing the compensation I offered.¡± ¡°...¡± Alright, that made sense. Wang Tao shook his head in bemusement. But this was good; the Autumn Water Pavilion Villa Area was vast. Not just Xiao Jin, but even a crowd of Xiao Jins could fit. After hanging up, Wang Tao touched Xiao Jin and said: ¡°Tonight, you¡¯ll just have to make do outside. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll build you a nest.¡± ¡°Chirp~¡± Blacky didn¡¯t mind, it never fussy about where it stayed, as long as it was fed. Wang Tao brought out a large amount of frozen meat, which did not even need cooking, and Blacky ate with relish. Wang Tao and his companions also had a simple meal, and then Wang Tao had a chat with Blacky. He suddenly thought of a problem¡ªpreviously, when Blacky had chased them and then encountered the Rift, Blacky had backed off, not even daring to fly over the Rift. Could this mean that Blacky sensed something terrifying within the Rift, something so fearsome that even it dared not cross! This was an important issue, and Wang Tao needed to get to the bottom of it. However, Blacky¡¯s response left Wang Tao both flabbergasted and speechless. Blacky said, that when the Rift first appeared, one also opened right under its feet! At that moment, it was amidst a pile of building ruins that instantaneously collapsed, nearly burying it. If it hadn¡¯t been able to fly, it might have fallen into the Rift. Later, it saw thousands of zombies fall into the Rift like dumplings, and not one came out, nor could it sense their presence anymore... it concluded that all the zombies that fell in had died! If it had fallen in, it probably would have died too! So, it didn¡¯t fly over the Rift not because it sensed something, but purely because it was scared from the previous experience, afraid of dying... ¡°This might just be the price of being clever...¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but shake his head with a wry smile. Blacky was smart, having lived with humans for a while and seen human tricks, aware that there¡¯s always someone better. Plus, it almost fell into the Rift... so it wasn¡¯t very daring. Any other foolhardy creature would surely have just dashed across. ¡°All right, then. Have a good rest tonight, and don¡¯t wander off.¡± ¡°Chirp~¡± Wang Tao and his group had a good sleep. The next day, after waking up, Wang Tao pulled open the curtains and saw a pair of golden eyes staring at him. ¡°Want an Awakening Fruit? Fine.¡± Wang Tao opened the window and tossed an Awakening Fruit to Golden Eagle. Like a little dog, Blacky stretched its neck to catch it and swallowed it in one bite. Its eyes slightly squinted, seeming quite content. After a simple breakfast, Wang Tao rode the Golden Eagle to City Hall. It must be said, riding the Golden Eagle was really convenient; he had barely told Gu Yun he was coming when he had already arrived. ¡°You¡¯re too fast!¡± Gu Yun was hurrying people to get some meat for the Golden Eagle while inviting Wang Tao in. ¡°What¡¯s this...¡± At this moment, Wang Tao was holding a strange little tree in his hand, prompting Gu Yun¡¯s curiosity. ¡°This is a ¡®Crystal Energy Poison Tree¡¯...¡± Wang Tao explained in detail. ¡°Sss! A Level 5 Weapon? And such a powerful one!¡± Hearing this, Gu Yun and the others were extremely shocked. But having seen the Golden Eagle¡¯s impact first, they quickly composed themselves. ¡°So, Wang Tao, you mean...¡± Gu Yun looked expectantly at Wang Tao. ¡°Of course, to plant it in the base. Carrying this thing around is very inconvenient. But putting it in the base would enhance everyone¡¯s strength, and if there¡¯s ever a zombie siege or something, it should be very useful.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Thank you!¡± Gu Yun immediately responded with solemn thanks. Wang Tao was willing to leave such a valuable thing at the base for the benefit of everyone there; he had to thank him on behalf of all the people. ¡°We¡¯re all in this together.¡± Wang Tao smiled and waved it off, then continued, ¡°However, this thing needs ten days to activate, so first, let¡¯s find a suitable spot in the center of the base to plant it...¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Chapter 1217 - 1217 501 The Fourth Awakening ?Chapter 1217: Chapter 501: The Fourth Awakening Chapter 1217: Chapter 501: The Fourth Awakening After some discussion, everyone finally decided to plant the Crystal Energy Poison Tree in an artificial lake not far from the research institute. They originally wanted to plant it outside the Awakeners School or City Hall, but the Crystal Energy Poison Tree would excrete poisonous water, which ordinary people couldn¡¯t approach, so it was better to plant it in an open and unoccupied area. After choosing the location, Gu Yun began to arrange for the environment to be dealt with¡ªthe water from the artificial lake would be drained, and the residents living in the area would have to be moved. This would all take time, yet the Crystal Energy Poison Tree would still take a few days to activate, which was enough time. Once the matter of the Crystal Energy Poison Tree was settled, Gu Yun asked about building a nest for the Golden Eagle. It was icy and snowy outside, and many Ability Users in the base had nothing to do, so they could come to help, as the more people, the better! Wang Tao thought for a moment and agreed. As for what kind of nest to build for the Golden Eagle, Wang Tao inquired about the Golden Eagle¡¯s preference, which was indifferent to its environment. Since that was the case, Wang Tao let Ding Yuqin and the others go all out. As for himself... he was preparing to undergo his fourth Awakening. Back home, once everything was ready, Wang Tao fused four Advanced Awakening Secret Keys. Moments later, under the expectant gazes of everyone, Wang Tao opened his eyes. ¡°It worked!¡± Wang Tao had always been lucky; a 70% chance of Awakening had never failed him. Without going into details, Wang Tao promptly lay down on the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep. In his dream, Wang Tao found himself in a pure white space, devoid of flames or darkness, seemingly empty. But he could clearly feel his physical condition growing stronger. ¡°System Awakening...¡± This result was pretty much what Wang Tao had anticipated, especially since his last Hidden Attribute was Body Strengthening which was related to physical enhancement. Quietly enjoying this sensation of enhanced physical condition, Wang Tao gradually lost consciousness. When he woke up again, it was a day later. ¡°Huh¡ª¡± Wang Tao opened his eyes; he had never felt so good before! Whether physically or mentally, his condition was terrific! Wang Tao clenched his fist, feeling the increased strength, which fascinated him. It had to be said, his three previous Awakenings of the Fire System, Psychic System, and Dark Series were strong, but personally, none felt as satisfying as the System Awakening. The sensation of enhanced physical condition was incredibly exhilarating! ¡°Brother, you¡¯re awake!¡± Hearing the voice, Wang Tao turned his head and saw Jiang Shixue sitting next to him. ¡°Little Xue, where are the others?¡± Wang Tao was curious. ¡°They¡¯re all discussing building a nest for Xiao Jin. I don¡¯t understand that stuff, so I didn¡¯t join in... Should I call them over?¡± Jiang Shixue asked. ¡°There¡¯s no need for that, let them be busy. It¡¯s just an Awakening; you can help me test it.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. His Awakening this time was a passive System Awakening, which was relatively simple to test. ¡°Okay!¡± Jiang Shixue immediately nodded, clearly interested in Wang Tao¡¯s fourth Awakening. Wang Tao looked at his own blood bar. [HP: 110000/110000] [Mana: 150000/150000] [Advanced Special Energy: 180] [Awakening Secret Keys: 10] [Advanced Awakening Secret Keys: 0] [Level: Fifth Level] [Awakenings: Starfire Prairie, Mental Development, Heart of Darkness, Steel Body] [Awakening Energy: 6500/6500] [Ability: Fireball, Explosion, Scorching Eye] His Ability, Berserk Enhancement, was gone, replaced by the new Awakening, Steel Body! [Steel Body: All Basic Attributes and spiritual power enhanced comprehensively, HP and Mana regeneration rates significantly increased, all negative status effects mitigated, all Basic Attributes slowly strengthen] Seeing this new Awakening, even the experienced Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but grin. Most System Awakenings were passive types that increased Basic Attributes, and some of the better ones would add extra properties, like additional Strength or Defense. Wang Tao¡¯s Steel Body belonged to the latter category¡ªbesides the comprehensive enhancement of Basic Attributes, it also added extra properties. However, the additional properties he gained were more than any System Awakening he had encountered¡ªadditional spiritual power, increased speeds of Mana and Blood Regeneration, weakened effects of all negative statuses, and slowly strengthening Basic Attributes! The Ability Fusion for Steel Body was Berserk Enhancement, which itself was a fusion of several Abilities, such as slow Mana regeneration in sunlight and slow Blood Regeneration on land. But these properties were not very strong, especially for someone like Wang Tao with his HP levels; they were practically useless. He mainly relied on Jade Lotus, Ding Yuqin, and others for Mana and Blood Regeneration. But now, with the new Awakening, Steel Body, his HP and Mana regeneration speeds had greatly increased! One was ¡°significant,¡± and the other was ¡°slow,¡± clearly a difference, and probably a substantial one. Then there was the ¡°all negative status effects mitigated¡± ability, which sounded very impressive. For instance, those Frozen Zombies with a Freezing Aura¡ªunless Wang Tao used Starfire Prairie, he would also be affected. But with this ¡°negative status effects mitigated¡± ability, the effect of the Freezing Aura could be lessened! Perhaps Wang Tao would no longer need to use Starfire Prairie and could directly withstand a Lord¡¯s Freezing Aura! Moreover, this ability covered ¡°all negative statuses,¡± which includes Weakness, Bleeding, Poisoning, and the like, surely all could be mitigated. Chapter 1218 - 1218 501 The Fourth Awakening_2 ?Chapter 1218: Chapter 501: The Fourth Awakening_2 Chapter 1218: Chapter 501: The Fourth Awakening_2 This is essentially equivalent to boosting Wang Tao¡¯s defensive power by several notches! Plus, there¡¯s an ¡°All basic attributes slowly enhance¡± effect! This effect talks about slow enhancement, but in Wang Tao¡¯s view, whether slow or not, this is actually a passive ability that can grow infinitely! He really likes it! However, compared to his previous abilities, [Steel Body] actually lacks one ability¡ªthe previous [Berserk Enhancement] had a [Berserk] ability. The [Berserk] ability triggers when HP falls below 30 percent, removing negative status effects, restoring all attributes to full value, increasing body size, and boosting speed and attack while reducing defense. It lasts for an hour and can be triggered once a day. It¡¯s a pretty good ability and has saved Wang Tao¡¯s life. But Wang Tao has always been very cautious, so he didn¡¯t trigger Berserk very often. Now, even though Berserk is gone, it doesn¡¯t really matter to him. After all, he¡¯s gained much more than he¡¯s lost. And Wang Tao feels that Berserk isn¡¯t really gone; it¡¯s merged into the Awakening, like his ¡°weaken negative status,¡± which must be somewhat related to Berserk¡¯s removal of negative status. Normally, a System Awakening wouldn¡¯t have such an extra attribute... Anyway, no matter what, just looking at [Steel Body]¡¯s description and Wang Tao¡¯s personal experience, Wang Tao is very satisfied. However, to see how strong it really is, he still had to test it. So Wang Tao asked Jiang Shixue to attack him. ¡°You go ahead and hit hard; you won¡¯t hurt me.¡± ¡°Okay~¡± Although Jiang Shixue nodded, she didn¡¯t use much strength in her first attack on Wang Tao. ¡°So hard...¡± Jiang Shixue touched her little fist. It felt like she just hit a steel plate. ¡°Come on, put some effort into it.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. This time, Jiang Shixue used much more force, punching Wang Tao in the abdomen. But Wang Tao still acted as if nothing had happened. ¡°Such strong defense, and I feel your body is too hard, hardly like a human¡¯s...¡± Jiang Shixue was somewhat astonished. ¡°Ha-ha, come, touch again.¡± Wang Tao stretched out his arm, and Jiang Shixue lightly pinched it. This time, it didn¡¯t feel like steel. ¡°Eh? Can you control the hardness of your body?¡± Jiang Shixue was a bit surprised. Human muscles can also be soft or hard, but Wang Tao¡¯s skin had hardened, so obviously, this wasn¡¯t as simple as controlling muscles. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not me controlling it; it¡¯s automatic...¡± Wang Tao explained. Simply put, whenever someone attacks him, his skin hardens. If it¡¯s a normal day, his skin is the same as any normal person¡¯s. Wang Tao thought this feature was pretty good since it increased defense without affecting daily life. Moreover, not only his defense was enhanced, but Wang Tao¡¯s attack power had also increased considerably. If he had this strength during his battle with the Golden Eagle, he could have halved the fight duration at least; the Golden Eagle probably wouldn¡¯t even have had a chance to surrender! ¡°So strong!¡± Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes shone as she looked at Wang Tao. ¡°Ha-ha!¡± Wang Tao laughed as he ruffled Jiang Shixue¡¯s hair, his vanity greatly satisfied. But he quickly shook his head again. ¡°Still, this isn¡¯t my strongest state...¡± Wang Tao¡¯s three abilities hadn¡¯t yet leveled up; they were still at the basic stage of Level 5. The strongest state would definitely be using a Sixth-Rank Promotion Crystal Core to ascend to Level 6 +1. Of course, he doesn¡¯t have a Sixth-Rank Crystal Core at the moment, so ascending to Level 5 +10 would be okay. Then, Wang Tao currently only had three abilities, but he could still learn one more ability! And for this ability, Wang Tao had already made a choice. He flipped his palm, revealing an Orange Crystal Core. [Fifth-Order Crystal Core: Omnipotent Shield] [Quality: 100% (Epic)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: Reduces max HP by 200,000)] [Omnipotent Shield: Passive Ability, forms an invisible shield around the body that can block any attack, but has a limit. When the damage taken reaches the limit, the shield will shatter. It can be reformed using Awakening Energy. (Only System Awakeners can use this.)] This was the spoil of war he had obtained after killing the Hammer Zombie, which had given Wang Tao a lot of trouble. When Wang Tao had initially obtained the crystal core, he had wanted to fuse with it. However, his level was not high enough at the time, nor was he a System Awakener, so he had had to give up on that idea. Now, Wang Tao had already ascended to level five and had successfully awakened a system ability. He could finally fuse with this crystal core! However, there was still one problem; the side effect of this crystal core was to reduce the max HP by 200,000. Since such crystal cores were extremely precious, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to synthesize it into a side-effect-free crystal core, but the reduction in max HP was something he could tolerate. Previously, Wang Tao had hunted a large number of mutated plants and obtained many [High-Level Tree Essence], which increased his max HP to 210,000. In theory, that was just enough. But after his recent awakening, he had lost 100,000 max HP, leaving him with just 110,000... Wang Tao wasn¡¯t sure what effect fusing with the crystal core would have under these circumstances, and he wasn¡¯t interested in finding out if it might kill him instantly. Hence, he planned to go out and hunt zombies or mutated plants to replenish his max HP. Once he got back to 210,000 HP, he could fuse with the crystal core he had been longing for! At that moment, Ding Yuqin and the others arrived. They guessed Wang Tao had woken up, so they all put down their work to check on him. Wang Tao put away the crystal core and briefly demonstrated his new awakening to everyone. ¡°Wow! Your defensive power has increased so much... that¡¯s great!¡± Lan Yulian was somewhat astonished. Wang Tao had just let them all attack him, and in the absence of weapons, the others could still inflict a bit of damage, although it was minimal. Lan Yulian, however, couldn¡¯t inflict any damage at all... even though she was a healing-type and a level 4 healer with decent physical quality! She probably couldn¡¯t even make a dent with a weapon if Wang Tao stood still and let her chop at him... Seeing the astonished Lan Yulian, Wang Tao suddenly remembered he hadn¡¯t tested his Mana and HP regeneration ability yet. So, he put on the Flowing Bracelet, letting his HP start to decrease. He also swung a few attacks outside, using up some Mana. Moments later, Wang Tao took off the bracelet and looked at his health bar. [+500] [+500] [+500] [...] ¡°500 HP and 500 Mana per second? That¡¯s strong!¡± Seeing the result, Wang Tao¡¯s face broke into a smile. The numbers might not seem much, but considering it¡¯s a passive ability that regenerates every second, that¡¯s 30,000 HP per minute! From the perspective of the HP regeneration alone, it was like having an average healing-type Ability User continuously healing him! Not to mention it also replenished Mana! Currently, means to regenerate Mana were scarce, so this ability alone was already strong. With such HP and Mana regeneration abilities, Wang Tao¡¯s endurance level had immediately improved. And as he grew stronger, this effect was bound to increase. If he were to also fuse with the [Omnipotent Shield] Ability, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t even imagine how strong his endurance and defensive power would become! As for Wang Tao¡¯s attack power... he didn¡¯t plan on testing it within the base, because it was highly likely that no one could withstand his attacks, and such a test would definitely result in injuries. It was better to do it outside. Therefore, Wang Tao said to everyone: ¡°I¡¯m going out tomorrow, how about you?¡± ¡°Together!¡± Everyone responded in unison. They were not only curious to see Wang Tao¡¯s current strength but also eager to experience riding on a Golden Eagle again. Chapter 1219 - 1219 502 Hatching Tier Six ?Chapter 1219: Chapter 502: Hatching Tier Six Chapter 1219: Chapter 502: Hatching Tier Six The next day, early in the morning. Wang Tao and his group assembled outside the villa. ¡°Xiao Jin!¡± He called out. Thump, thump¡ª Amidst the howling wind and snow, the Golden Eagle ran over with its robust, long legs. ¡°...Why do I suddenly feel it¡¯s a bit goofy?¡± Watching the Golden Eagle run over with its wings folded, Wang Tao was somewhat speechless. ¡°Giggle, I think Xiao Jin is quite cute too!¡± Ding Yuqin and the other girls covered their mouths and laughed lightly. By last night, all the original residents of the Autumn Water Pavilion Villa area had moved out, leaving only the members of the Starfire Society. This whole area belonged to Wang Tao, so he let Xiao Jin roam around this area, but he couldn¡¯t run out. It wouldn¡¯t be good if it scared other people or damaged other buildings. Xiao Jin obediently didn¡¯t run out¡ªinstead, it wandered around the villa area. This place was new to it, and it was curious about everything here. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± When the Golden Eagle arrived in front of everyone, Wang Tao and the others jumped onto its back one after another. The Golden Eagle was large enough to carry several people on its back. Whoosh¡ª The Golden Eagle fluttered its enormous wings, scattering the wind and snow. Everyone felt a strong sensation of being pushed back as the scenery rapidly receded before their eyes. ¡°This is awesome!¡± Wei Zhenguo shouted, though he then shrank his neck, ¡°It¡¯s just a bit cold.¡± The Golden Eagle could fly and was fast, but not as insulated against the cold as the Crystal Energy Car. Although for people like Wang Tao, they could withstand the cold to a degree, they would still feel it. ¡°Admit it, you¡¯re just too weak!¡± Xiang Hong Bin mercilessly teased. ¡°Screw off! You¡¯re a hunk of iron, of course, you don¡¯t get cold!¡± Wei Zhenguo quickly retorted. Wang Tao smiled and shook his head, then turned to look at Ding Yuqin and the other girls. ¡°Are you cold?¡± ¡°Not really, we can bear it.¡± Besides Jiang Shixue, the girls nodded one after another. They had all specifically worn thick clothes today and had a certain resistance to the temperature. As for Jiang Shixue, she simply had a lower body temperature and basically didn¡¯t mind the cold environment. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Wang Tao nodded, then said to Xiao Jin: ¡°Let¡¯s go outside the city to look for zombies first...¡± ¡°Chirp~¡± Xiao Jin chirped in response, and in the awe-struck gaze of the City Defense Army below, it instantly flew over the high walls and left the base. The temperature outside the city was a bit lower than inside. Lan Yulian subconsciously wrapped her collar around her. Her physical constitution was relatively weak, and she started to feel a bit cold. Seeing this, Wang Tao extended his hand and hugged her close. But before he could speak, Xiao Jin began to slow down. ¡°Found zombies?¡± Wang Tao and the others looked down, and sure enough, they saw several Frozen Zombies wandering through the ruins. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like enough... Well, let¡¯s give it a try.¡± There were six zombies in total, each with an HP of two hundred thousand and at Fourth Order Elite. The Golden Eagle landed slowly, and the cluster of Frozen Zombies was blown into disarray. However, upon seeing the Golden Eagle, they showed no fear and charged directly at it. Xiao Jin told Wang Tao that it usually disliked contact with these zombies because most of them lacked any intelligence. Despite being clearly unable to defeat it, they kept coming to meet their deaths. And since it couldn¡¯t eat zombies, killing any number of them was of no benefit... so it usually stayed in higher places, which was not only convenient for hunting prey but also allowed it to avoid zombies. Wang Tao smiled and stroked Xiao Jin¡¯s feathers, then leapt down from the Golden Eagle¡¯s back. Splurt! The moment Wang Tao landed, a spear plunged through a zombie¡¯s crown and firmly pinned it to the ground. [-200000] [0/200000] Wang Tao casually pulled out the spear, then turned and stabbed behind him. [-200000] [0/200000] Two Fourth Order Elite Zombies each with two hundred thousand HP were instantly killed. The remaining four zombies only then reacted, menacingly lunging at Wang Tao from different directions. This time, Wang Tao gripped the spear with both hands and swept it at two of the zombies. Splurt! [-200000] [-200000] Two zombies¡¯ heads exploded simultaneously. Then Wang Tao swiftly jabbed at the last two zombies. [-200000] [-200000] [0/200000] They were also headshot with full HP. In the blink of an eye, six Fourth Order Elite Zombies each with two hundred thousand HP were killed by Wang Tao in single hits. ¡°Amazing!¡± The people on the Golden Eagle¡¯s back were somewhat astonished, but Wang Tao shook his head disappointingly. ¡°As expected, zombies of this level can¡¯t test my strength at all...¡± Although for this attempt, Wang Tao didn¡¯t use any Abilities, purely relying on Physical Attacks to kill the zombies, his strength was already notably stronger than before. However, Wang Tao wanted to test his upper limit, and these few zombies were clearly not up to the task. ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s keep looking for more zombies.¡± Wang Tao jumped back onto the Golden Eagle. Whoosh¡ª The Golden Eagle ascended, continuing to search for zombies. It¡¯s uncertain whether to say it was good luck or bad, but after half an hour, the Golden Eagle didn¡¯t spot a single zombie above a Level 4 Lord. However, it unexpectedly found a Night Demon¡¯s Nest... This Night Demon¡¯s Nest was on the upper level of an abandoned building. The Golden Eagle sensed the presence of the Night Demons as it flew by. Wang Tao had the Golden Eagle circle the building while he employed his spiritual power to scout. The results were astonishing. ¡°All Level 5 Night Demons, and there¡¯s a Level 5 Lord Night Demon... not bad at all! You guys wait here; I¡¯ll be right back!¡± Wang Tao leapt down from the Golden Eagle, landing on the rooftop. Then he took out his spear, strolled up, smashed the rooftop door, and walked straight down. Before long, Wang Tao saw a pair of brutal eyes lurking in the darkness. [HP: 200000/200000] [Mana: 100000/100000] [Level: Fifth Rank Elite] This was a Fifth Order Elite Night Demon with two hundred thousand HP. Chapter 1220 - 1220 502 Hatching Tier Six_2 ?Chapter 1220: Chapter 502: Hatching Tier Six_2 Chapter 1220: Chapter 502: Hatching Tier Six_2 Night Demons were smarter than ordinary zombies. When it saw Wang Tao, it couldn¡¯t quite control its desire to feed, but it also sensed that Wang Tao was dangerous... So it didn¡¯t pounce immediately but waited for its allies. But Wang Tao wasn¡¯t about to dawdle. As soon as he spotted the Night Demon, his figure vanished and reappeared beside the Level 5 Night Demon. ¡°Puchi!¡± [-200000] [0/200000] The Night Demon stared at Wang Tao with an unwillingness to die. ¡°Instantly killing a Level 5 Elite Night Demon, not bad at all!¡± Wang Tao grinned. The strength of a Level 5 Elite was basically equivalent to a Level 4 Lord, which meant he could now instantly kill a Level 4 Lord with only his strength and spear. Previously, he would have needed an extra strike. Roar! At that moment, other Night Demons had also charged over. Night Demons are intelligent but only to an extent. Especially when in groups, they naturally weren¡¯t afraid of Wang Tao and rushed at him headfirst. Wang Tao gripped his spear and charged towards the Night Demons. Roar¡ª Puchi¡ª Accompanied by the Night Demons¡¯ roars, a series of skull-crushing sounds followed in succession. When Wang Tao stopped again, there were no Night Demons standing around him anymore. Any Level 5 Elite Night Demon hit by Wang Tao in the head was instantly killed. Only a few got lucky and took an extra poke from him. ¡°Roar!¡± At that moment, an angry roar came from not far away. A large, dark-green figure appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s field of view. Seeing Wang Tao had slain so many of its minions, this Night Demon was furious. It wasn¡¯t that it was slow to arrive, but that Wang Tao slaughtered too quickly. It could sense that Wang Tao was Level 5, but it was also Level 5 and wasn¡¯t fearful! [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Robust] ¡°A Level 5 Lord with three hundred thousand blood... should be qualified enough.¡± While Wang Tao pondered internally, the Lord Night Demon charged towards him. However, after the awakening of his System Ability, Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition had vastly improved. For instance, in terms of speed, even a Level 5 Lord Night Demon known for speed wasn¡¯t as fast as Wang Tao! So, Wang Tao struck first, his spear almost instantaneously appearing in the Night Demon Lord¡¯s face. Bang! But, being a Level 5 Lord, it actually blocked Wang Tao¡¯s rapid strike with both hands and didn¡¯t lose much HP. But that was it. Wang Tao kicked it away and quickly followed up, thrusting his sharp spear towards the Night Demon. The Night Demon tried to replicate the previous situation, but this time, in Wang Tao¡¯s fully-prepared state, it wasn¡¯t so lucky. The spear, as if it had eyes, dodged the Night Demon Lord¡¯s hands and stabbed it right in the forehead. [-50283] A damage number of fifty thousand appeared on the head of the Level 5 Lord Night Demon. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t used any awakening or Ability, relying solely on his own strength and the sharpness of the spear to deal fifty thousand damage to the Night Demon Lord in one hit! ¡°Not bad!¡± Wang Tao was fairly satisfied with it. Of course, strictly speaking, Wang Tao did use an awakening ability since his [Steel Body] System Awakening was a Passive Ability. Yet, since Passive Abilities don¡¯t consume Awakening Energy, it could be considered part of Wang Tao¡¯s basic combat ability. Roar! The Night Demon Lord roared, wanting to counterattack. But Wang Tao, whether in strength or speed, was superior. So after struggling for a moment, it was stabbed thrice consecutively by Wang Tao, and its blood bar went straight to zero. [0/200000] Whoosh¡ª A pile of spoils burst forth. Wang Tao expertly collected the spoils of war, then checked his own Attributes. ¡°Tsck, how many Night Demons did I just kill? My HP is already full!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s Awakening had consumed a hundred thousand of his maximum HP and his HP was 110,000 before entering the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Now that he had cleared out the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, his HP limit had risen back up to 210,000. Immediately, Wang Tao felt an urge to immediately fuse with that [Omnipotent Shield] Crystal Core. But before fusing, Wang Tao checked the Night Demon¡¯s Nest again and asked Ding Yuqin and the others to come over. ¡°Your hunting speed is terrifying...¡± Xiang Hongbin remarked after entering, somewhat in admiration. They had just been betting on how long Wang Tao would need to finish the fight, but while they were still predicting, Wang Tao had already finished. ¡°You can do it too.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. He wasn¡¯t lying, as long as one could ascend to Level 5 and successfully awaken four times, even if not as good as him, they wouldn¡¯t be far behind. ¡°Ahh...¡± Xiang Hongbin shook his head. He didn¡¯t have much hope. Compared to ascending and awakening, he thought Mechanical Body Modification might be more reliable, and perhaps there might even be a chance to overtake others in the future... ¡°Eh?¡± At that moment, Wang Tao looked at the still wriggling Incubation Flesh and suddenly uttered a light exclamation. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Everyone immediately turned to look. ¡°This Incubation Flesh... has something interesting!¡± Wang Tao had been busy testing his strength when he first entered and hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the Incubation Flesh. Only now did he notice that there were four pieces in total, among which two had a hundred thousand blood, while the other two in the depths of the nest had a million blood! For Wang Tao, the greatest use of this Incubation Flesh was to hatch Night Demon¡¯s Bug Eggs. Based on his previous experience, hatching Level 4 Night Demon Worm Eggs required a thousand Blood Volume. A piece of Incubation Flesh with a hundred thousand blood could hatch up to ten times; hatching Level 5 Night Demon Worm Eggs required ten thousand Blood Volume, and a piece of Incubation Flesh with a hundred thousand blood could hatch only once. Chapter 1221 - 1221 502 Hatching Tier Six_3 ?Chapter 1221: Chapter 502: Hatching Tier Six_3 Chapter 1221: Chapter 502: Hatching Tier Six_3 Hatching the Level 6 Night Demon Bug Eggs clearly requires more than ten thousand HP. Previously, Wang Tao had never encountered incubation flesh with more than ten thousand HP, so even if he had Level 6 Night Demon Bug Eggs in his hands, he couldn¡¯t hatch them. But now, there was incubation flesh with one million HP available! Could it be used to hatch the Level 6 Night Demon Bug Eggs? ¡°The two pieces of incubation flesh inside seem capable of hatching Level 6 Night Demon Bug eggs, should we give it a try?¡± Wang Tao looked at everyone with eager anticipation. ¡°Hiss¡ªLevel 6 Night Demon!¡± Everyone gasped. They were still at Level 4, facing an enemy at Level 6 felt a bit over their heads, didn¡¯t it? Level 6 Elites would be manageable; they¡¯re about equivalent to a Level 5 Lord¡¯s combat power, which Wang Tao could easily handle. But a Level 6 Lord... They didn¡¯t doubt Wang Tao, but after all, a Sixth Rank Lord was an imposing force! However, after a brief consideration, no one objected. After all, how often had Wang Tao fought above his level? Another time wouldn¡¯t hurt... ¡°Let¡¯s go with that. I¡¯m going to catch some zombies. You guys wait here for a while.¡± Wang Tao returned to Xiao Jin¡¯s back and let it continue to track zombies. Soon, it found a group again¡ªLevel 5 Elite Zombies, five in total. ¡°Perfect!¡± Wang Tao previously used most of his Night Demon Bug Eggs, with only five left, all of which were Level 6. ¡°Jiu~¡± At this moment, Xiao Jin indicated that it could catch these zombies. Since leaving the city, Xiao Jin had been used mainly as a mount and hadn¡¯t taken action. It wanted to show off its capabilities now, especially since it had been fed so much meat in the past few days. It didn¡¯t want to lose its meal ticket. But Wang Tao stopped it, in case Xiao Jin accidentally killed the zombies with too heavy or light a touch. Wang Tao would have to search again, wasting time. ¡°Definitely next time.¡± After pacifying Xiao Jin, Wang Tao effortlessly decapitated the five zombies, then brought the still-living heads back to the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. ¡°You guys wait outside and hide on Xiao Jin if there¡¯s danger, as it¡¯s Level 6.¡± Wang Tao instructed the others as he stuffed a Level 6 Night Demon Bug Egg into a zombie head. ¡°Understood!¡± Ding Yuqin and the others didn¡¯t try to act tough. After all, they were only Level 4. Facing Level 6 enemies, they could only drag Wang Tao down. They just wanted to experience the aura of a Level 6 Lord, but as for fighting one? They were sensible enough to know their limits. Wang Tao tossed the head, now parasitized by the egg, onto the one-million HP incubation flesh. The incubation flesh quivered intensely and swallowed the head, with its HP rapidly decreasing. ¡°So it really does need one million HP...¡± Moments later, seeing virtually all of the million HP depleted, Wang Tao felt somewhat helpless. According to the needs for hatching, one million HP was required for Level 6 Bug Eggs, based on ten thousand needed for Level 4 and one hundred thousand for Level 5. But Wang Tao still harbored a bit of hope, which was why he brought back five zombie heads. Now it seemed clear that a million HP was needed. This meant he could only hatch two Level 6 Bug Eggs. ¡°Hopefully, it¡¯ll be worth it, at least hatching one Level 6 Lord...¡± Wang Tao muttered under his breath. About an hour later, the disgusting piece of incubation flesh began to move violently again, and a tall figure with a faint purple hue emerged from it. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Level: Sixth Rank Elite] This Night Demon was even larger than a Level 5 Lord and looked even more imposing. Unfortunately, it wasn¡¯t a Lord but a Level 6 Elite with 400,000 HP. ¡°What a waste...¡± With a sigh in his heart, Wang Tao instantly rushed up to the newly hatched Night Demon. The Night Demon, still confused about what was happening, was caught off guard as Wang Tao relentlessly poked at it. It didn¡¯t even have a chance to retaliate and collapsed with a thud. ¡°Level 6 Elite¡¯s defense is slightly lower than that of a Level 5 Lord...¡± Wang Tao mused while gathering the spoils of war dropped by the Night Demon. [Received: High-Power Ultraviolet Light Kit x10] [High-Power Ultraviolet Light Kit: Can be combined at will] ¡°Hmm?¡± This Level 6 Elite Night Demon had dropped only one kind of item, something Wang Tao had never seen before. It was similar to a glow stick, but its texture felt more like rubber than glass, being highly resilient. Wang Tao quickly tested it and discovered that these kits could be connected end-to-end and attached to clothing. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± Wang Tao realized now. The purpose of these kits was to be worn. If there were enough kits, it would be like wearing a suit that emitted ultraviolet light. Compared to ultraviolet flashlights or flares, they were more convenient for dealing with Night Demons! Although Wang Tao didn¡¯t need it now, it was good material to be used by others. After storing away his spoils of war, Wang Tao put another Night Demon Bug Egg into a zombie head, then tossed it towards another piece of one-million HP incubation flesh. ¡°Hope this one does better... Come on, a Lord!¡± Another hour passed, and the incubation flesh began to quiver violently again. A burly figure, deep purple this time, emerged from the blood and flesh. [HP: 500000/500000] [Mana: 300000/300000] [Level: Sixth-Rank Lord] [Awakening: Robust] ¡°This one is a Sixth-Rank Lord, fall back!¡± Wang Tao shouted, then charged at the Night Demon before it even realized what was happening. Chapter 1222 - 1222 503 Slaying Level 6 ?Chapter 1222: Chapter 503: Slaying Level 6 Chapter 1222: Chapter 503: Slaying Level 6 Boom! The Iron Shatter Spear fiercely struck the head of the Sixth Rank Lord Night Devil, emitting a muffled sound. [-8393] Wang Tao¡¯s strike, relying solely on his physical constitution, actually dealt less than ten thousand in damage... It must be said, the defensive power of a lord at the sixth rank is indeed high! ¡°Roar!¡± The reaction speed of the Sixth Rank Night Fiend Lord was much faster than that of a Level 5 Lord Night Demon; the moment Wang Tao attacked, it immediately extended its hands, reaching for Wang Tao. Had it been a Fifth-Order Lord Night Fiend, Wang Tao could have easily dodged the strike. But this was a Sixth Rank Lord, extremely fast. Plus, it was Wang Tao¡¯s first fight against a lord at this level, he wasn¡¯t too clear on its speed, so he couldn¡¯t dodge in time. [-12838] Wang Tao felt a pain in his chest, and damage over ten thousand floated out. However, Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged, his eyes suddenly emitting a scorching light, as two high-temperature rays instantly struck the Lord Night Demon. Zzzt¡ª [-4023] [-4138] [-4145] [...] The Lord Night Demon was sent flying, a string of damage numbers over four thousand appearing above its head. Roar! The Night Demon roared angrily and then suddenly disappeared from Wang Tao¡¯s sight. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t seen clearly what the Night Demon had done, but he knew what it was about to do. So he gripped the spear tightly in both hands and swung it around his body. Boom! At the side of Wang Tao, the Night Demon, just as it appeared, was struck in the chest by the spear. Although it didn¡¯t cause much damage, it blocked the Night Demon¡¯s sneak attack. Roar! The Night Demon appeared even angrier. It directly grabbed the Iron Shatter Spear with both hands, actually trying to steal the spear by sheer force. It must be said, the physical constitution of the Sixth Rank Lord Night Devil was very strong, so much so that Wang Tao felt the spear was about to slip from his grasp. Nevertheless, Wang Tao remained completely calm. With a thought, the spear instantly disappeared. As the Lord Night Demon exerted too much force, losing the spear from its grasp caused it to momentarily lose control and fly backward. Its bloodthirsty eyes seemed somewhat confused, not knowing where the spear had gone. Swoosh¡ª Wang Tao took the opportunity to charge forward, instantly appearing in front of the Night Demon. Simultaneously, the Iron Shatter Spear reappeared in his hand and was thrust directly towards the Night Demon¡¯s head. This time, however, a faint black light emanated from the spear. [-12293] [Curse: Bleeding] [-1229] [...] Under the empowerment of the Heart of Darkness, this strike¡¯s damage was almost the same as the damage inflicted on him by the Night Demon. Still, the Iron Shatter Spear didn¡¯t pierce through the head of the Night Fiend Lord, only making a small dent. The Night Demon was somewhat incredulous; it stretched out its claws again, wanting to grab the spear. This time, the moment it grasped the spear, the spear instantly burst into flame. Whoosh¡ª The Night Demon decisively let go of the spear, retreating once again. But the surging flames did not want to let it go so easily. Wang Tao, engulfed in flames, appeared next to the Lord Night Demon even quicker than before, then, wielding the spear, unleashed a flurry of frenzied attacks. After [Wildfire Spread] was activated, it could increase physical constitution to a certain extent and combined with the passive [Steel Body] that Wang Tao had just awakened ¨C it allowed Wang Tao to compete directly with the physical constitution of a lord night demon! Though they were equal, for Wang Tao, this was a big advantage¡ª Robust physical prowess is the foundation of a Night Demon¡¯s survival, but it was simply one of Wang Tao¡¯s many abilities. As Wang Tao, with his robust constitution, attacked with darkness and flames, the Night Fiend Lord suddenly found itself struggling to defend. Especially since Wang Tao¡¯s healing ability was strong, [Wildfire Spread] inherently provided him with a regeneration ability, and the Iron Shatter Spear also had a blood-sucking ability... In this situation, Wang Tao could even afford to forgo some defense! The fiercer he attacked, the more intense the battle, the higher his HP got! The Night Fiend Lord had a lot of HP, a full five hundred thousand, and its defense was thick, Wang Tao¡¯s highest damage never exceeding twenty thousand; its speed was ridiculously fast, to the point where Wang Tao¡¯s eyes could barely keep up... But what of it? Wang Tao, with all firepowers unleashed, was still pressing it in battle! ¡°...he¡¯s damn strong!¡± ¡°Freak, really freakish!¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± ¡°...¡± Not far away, on the back of the Giant Eagle. Seeing Wang Tao actually press a Sixth Rank Lord in battle, everyone was a bit shocked. They knew Wang Tao was strong, but was this level of strength not a bit freakish? An Awakener who had ascended to Level 5 not long ago, without using any ultraviolet light equipment, was actually dominating a Sixth Rank Night Fiend Lord in battle?! This was unbelievable if told! After all, it was a Sixth Rank Lord! Their distance from the Sixth Rank Night Fiend Lord wasn¡¯t far, allowing them to distinctly feel the terrible aura of the sixth rank. If it were them going over, they would probably be suppressed, unable to exert a hundred percent of their combat strength, given the vast difference in levels. But Wang Tao... not only was Wang Tao not suppressed, but they also felt that the Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Lord seemed to be restrained by Wang Tao! The Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Lord was powerful, but in Wang Tao¡¯s hands, especially as he glowed with flames, it was thwarted at every turn. Its full strength could not be exhibited! Even if it could attack Wang Tao a few times, Wang Tao didn¡¯t care, as if embracing the notion of a do-or-die battle! But in reality, the Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Lord became weaker and weaker as the fight went on, while Wang Tao got more and more energized. After a long struggle, the Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Lord finally recognized the reality¡ªit couldn¡¯t win, so it fled! The outside was daytime, naturally, it couldn¡¯t escape there, so it could only run downstairs. But Wang Tao, having slain no fewer than eight thousand Night Demons, was more than familiar with their habits. He had already anticipated the Night Demon¡¯s action, intercepting its path a step beforehand. Chapter 1223 - 1223 503 Slaying Level 6_2 ?Chapter 1223: Chapter 503: Slaying Level 6_2 Chapter 1223: Chapter 503: Slaying Level 6_2 ¡°Roll back!¡± The spear, ablaze with fire and black light, thrust directly into the Night Demon¡¯s mouth, causing massive damage and flipping the creature into the air. Sizzling¡ª Two high-temperature rays hit the Night Demon still in midair. The beast couldn¡¯t break free for a moment and was skewered like meat on a stick, subjected to the fiery flames¡¯ burning. Roar¡ª The Night Demon exerted all its strength, forcibly tearing its mouth apart to fall to the ground. The moment it landed, it didn¡¯t even glance at Wang Tao but charged straight for another passage. ¡°It has some smarts, but not enough.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. With the power of this Level 6 Lord Night Demon, it could have easily broken through the concrete slabs beneath its feet; there was no need to take the stairs. However, it didn¡¯t consider this, running instinctively towards the staircase. Whoosh¡ª Just then, a gust of wind suddenly swept in from outside, tearing through numerous closed windows. The Night Demon, just having rushed over, was blown about haphazardly. As it stabilized itself, ready to go downstairs, a spear flew in from behind, precisely impaling the back of its skull. Pft! [-15134] [0/500000] The spear¡¯s tremendous impact pinned the Level 6 Lord Night Demon against a steel-reinforced concrete pillar, its HP bar instantly dropping to zero. ¡°Chirp~¡± A Golden Eagle outside the window called as if to take credit for the kill. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils of war from this Level 6 Lord Night Demon, ensuring nothing was overlooked. Then, with a sprint, he leaped onto the back of the Golden Eagle. ¡°Wang Tao, are you alright?¡± Everyone immediately asked with concern, with Lan Yulian directly casting a healing spell on Wang Tao. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m perfectly fine.¡± Wang Tao patted the feathers of the Golden Eagle and then smilingly said to everyone. His healing ability was now insanely strong. Despite the prolonged battle with the Level 6 Lord Night Demon, his HP was still full... ¡°Although I didn¡¯t participate in the battle, I felt that Night Demon was so strong! But¡ªyou¡¯re even more incredible!¡± Xiang Hongbin looked at Wang Tao enviously. ¡°Haha, in time, you guys will be too.¡± Wang Tao laughed heartily. Successfully slaying this Level 6 Lord Night Demon put him in a very good mood. The loot was secondary; the main thing was that he could now be sure he had a fighting chance against Level 6 Lords. Level 6 Lords were much stronger than Level 5 Lords but not nearly as disparate as the gap between Level 4 and Level 3 Lords, which was an acceptable outcome for Wang Tao. In the future, if he encountered Level 6 Lords in the wild, he could consider hunting them directly. But the only pity was that there were only two Incubation Flesh with a million HP in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest, and he currently possessed three Level 6 Night Demon Parasite Eggs, which were not nearly enough... ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s see if there are any other Night Demon nests.¡± Wang Tao had the Golden Eagle continue to fly with everyone while he examined the freshly looted spoil from the just-slain Level 6 Lord Night Demon. First were five tangible spoils of war. [Received: Sixth-Rank Crystal Core ¨C Strength x1] [Received: Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2] [Received: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Received: Awakening Key x1] [Received: Sixth Rank Weapon ¨C Night Demon Type III x1] Crystal Cores, Night Demon¡¯s Claws, Energy Pearls, and Secret Keys were already familiar; they were not much different from the loot from previous Night Demon Lords, but the Crystal Cores and Night Demon¡¯s Claws were of Level 6. [Sixth-Rank Crystal Core ¨C Strength] [Quality: Excellent (80%)] [Purity: 25% (Side effect: Strength is proportional to body size; without sufficient body size, strength becomes negatively amplified)] Sixth-Rank Crystal Cores were larger than Level 5 Crystal Cores and looked even more attractive. The purity of Level 5 Crystal Cores was 30%, so unsurprisingly, the Level 6 Crystal Cores were at 25%. But whether it was Level 5 or Level 6, to synthesize a Crystal Core of 100% purity, four of the same type of Crystal Cores were needed! Wang Tao was still short of some Level 5 Omnipotent Crystal Cores, not to mention Level 6 Crystal Cores. Just thinking about the need to accumulate so many Crystal Cores in the future gave Wang Tao a bit of a headache... Shaking his head, Wang Tao looked at the Night Demon¡¯s Heart. The heart of a Level 4 Night Demon Lord was the [Night Demon Type I], the heart of a Level 5 Night Demon Lord was the [Night Demon Type II], and the heart of this Level 6 Night Demon Lord was the [Night Demon Type III]! [Sixth Rank Weapon ¨C Night Demon Type III] [HP: 10000/10000 (Upper Limit 500000)] [Status: Can Be Awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack (Weakness: Fear of Ultraviolet Light)] [Compatibility: 0%] Looking at the data alone, these three types of Night Demon Hearts were mostly identical, with only the HP upper limit being different¡ª[Night Demon Type I] had an upper limit of 100,000 HP; [Night Demon Type II], 200,000 HP; [Night Demon Type III], 500,000 HP. However, the specific combat power was something the data couldn¡¯t represent. Based on Wang Tao¡¯s previous experience, the power of this Sixth Rank Weapon lay somewhere between Level 5 and Level 6 Lords. If the user had some control ability, using this [Night Demon Type III] to hunt Level 5 Lords posed no problem. Still, raising it to the upper limit of 500,000 HP was quite difficult; it would require one hundred Level 6 Crystal Cores or the equivalent in Level 5 or Level 4 Crystal Cores. Wang Tao didn¡¯t have that many Crystal Cores, so he had to make do for now, saving the upgrade for later. As for the ownership of this [Night Demon Type III], there was really no need for Wang Tao to use it himself. He was already capable of single-handedly slaying a Level 6 Lord Night Demon; the [Night Demon Type III] offered little improvement for him. Therefore, it was more appropriate to let someone else use it. Therefore, Wang Tao consulted their opinions. Naturally, everyone was very interested in this Level 6 weapon, but after some discussion, they all agreed it was best for Lan Yulian to use it. After all, Lan Yulian was the healer with somewhat lacking self-defense. Although protected by everyone, there were still occasional emergencies. Chapter 1224 - 1224 503 Slaying Level 6_3 ?Chapter 1224: Chapter 503: Slaying Level 6_3 Chapter 1224: Chapter 503: Slaying Level 6_3 If she were provided with a sixth-rank bodyguard, her safety would be substantially increased¡ªand her safety meant the increased safety of everyone else. Furthermore, in most situations, there was no need for Lan Yulian to take action herself; comparatively, she was idle and had time to operate the [Night Demon Type III]... ¡°Alright, let¡¯s give it to Jade Lotus. We¡¯ll test the effect once it gets dark...¡± Wang Tao handed the [Night Demon Type III] to Lan Yulian and then continued to check the spoils of war. This sixth-rank Lord Night Demon had also dropped four Loot Packs. The first one was still a Crystal Core Gift Bag containing a total of five Crystal Cores, namely an orange Sixth Rank Crystal Core: Promotion, a red Sixth Rank Crystal Core: Omnipotence, a red Sixth Rank Crystal Core: Awakening, a purple Sixth Rank Crystal Core: Energy Enhancement, and a blue Sixth Rank Crystal Core: Health Enhancement. Although all were sixth-rank Crystal Cores, they were about the same as those obtained from previously slain Night Demon Lords, nothing special. Wang Tao pocketed the Crystal Cores and opened the second Loot Pack, which contained various Potions. [Received: Strength Potion (Large) x10] [Received: Strength Potion (Large) Blueprint x1] [Strength Potion (Large): After injection, increases strength by 100%-200% (the stronger the constitution, the higher the increase), lasts for 1 minute, cooldown 1 hour] [Strength Potion (Large) Blueprint: Once learned, allows for crafting five Strength Potions (Large) at a time. Required materials: Strength Mushroom x30, Zombie Crystal Core x1, Purified Water x100 milliliters, food worth 10 kilocalories] ¡°Hmm? A large-size Strength Potion and its corresponding Blueprint!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes lit up at the sight of these two items. He had previously acquired small and medium Strength Potions, which were actually quite good, but they were not in the same league as this large-size Strength Potion. The small-size Strength Potion had an increase range of 10%-100%; the medium-size, 50%-150%; but this large-size Strength Potion had an increase of 100%-200%! Considering Wang Tao¡¯s physical condition, he should be able to achieve a 200% increase since he had tested the medium-size and achieved around a 130% increase. Now that he had awakened his Ability, the boost would definitely be greater. However, the key point of this large-size Strength Potion wasn¡¯t the magnitude of the increase, but rather the cooldown time! The small-size had a cooldown of 12 hours, the medium-size six hours, but the large-size Strength Potion¡¯s cooldown was just one hour! For a long time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t use these Potions much. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to but because the cooldown was too long. If he used them now, he would have no trump card if he faced an irresistible danger later. So, for the most part, Wang Tao would save the Potions, thinking he would use them next time, which always turned into ¡°definitely next time.¡± But now it was different, the cooldown for this large-size Strength Potion was just one hour, which was a much more manageable risk margin; he could absolutely wait that out! Wang Tao checked the materials for crafting the large-size Strength Potion; aside from needing 30 Strength Mushrooms, the other materials remained unchanged. ¡°Not bad at all!¡± Wang Tao immediately learned the Blueprint. Although he currently lacked the Strength Mushrooms, with a bit more attention in the future, he should be able to find them. Wang Tao opened the third Loot Pack, which contained an Ultraviolet Suit. [Received: High Power Ultraviolet Flashlight x1] [Received: Small ultraviolet illumination flares x200] [Received: Ultraviolet Illumination Light Strip x40] [Received: Large Ultraviolet Illumination Bomb x10] [Received: High-Power Ultraviolet Light Kit x20] There were five kinds of ultraviolet tools in total; aside from just one flashlight, there were plenty of others. However, for the current Wang Tao, except for a massive night demon attack, he had no need for these ultraviolet tools. His solo clear of this Night Demon¡¯s Nest was a good example. Of course, these items were still quite useful for others, especially the ¡°High-Power Ultraviolet Light Kit,¡± which could create a suit emitting ultraviolet light if affixed to the clothes¡ªprobably even keeping Night Demons at bay... Wang Tao gave the illumination kits to Xiang Hongbin and his team so they could research the appropriate uses. Then he opened the last Loot Pack. [Received: Night Fiend Blade Blueprint x1] [Night Fiend Blade Blueprint: Allows for crafting a pair of Daggers. Required materials: Sixth Rank Night Demon¡¯s Claw x2, Sixth Rank Crystal Core x2, Iron Block x50, Blade x50, Nails x50, Rubber x50] Wang Tao was slightly disappointed to see only one Blueprint in this pack; after all, the previously slain Night Demon Lords often dropped two Blueprints. However, seeing the Blueprint was for weapons, Wang Tao thought it was acceptable, after all, a sixth-rank weapon. So, Wang Tao used two ¡°Energy Enhancement¡± and ¡°Health Enhancement¡± Crystal Cores he had just received and immediately began crafting. Moments later, two black, lusterless Daggers appeared in his hands. Compared to the previous Night Demon Blades, there wasn¡¯t much change in appearance, just a bit more refined, but the attributes were markedly different! [Night Demon Blade] [Sixth Rank (Epic)] [Durability +150, Attack power +150, Attack Speed +100%, Movement Speed +20%, Ability: Not inlaid (requires Awakening Energy to activate)] The Sixth Rank Night Demon Blade had added 150 to attack power, significantly more than the level 5¡¯s 90! Although Wang Tao¡¯s level 5 Iron Shatter Spear also had 150 attack power, the focus of the Night Demon Blade wasn¡¯t just the attack power but also the added attack speed. And the increase in speed even made Wang Tao envious. An increase of 100% in attack speed, 50% more than the level 5 Night Demon Blade, literally doubled the attack speed. Plus, it lifted movement speed by an additional 20%! Chapter 1225 - 1225 504 Silver Beetle ?Chapter 1225: Chapter 504: Silver Beetle Chapter 1225: Chapter 504: Silver Beetle ¡°It has an attack of 150 and a 100% attack speed not to mention an extra 20% movement speed... Really nice!¡± Wang Tao muttered to himself. These two daggers had strong attributes, but unfortunately, they were daggers. Wang Tao preferred to use long weapons, and he found the Iron Shatter Spear quite handy. Moreover, in the entire team, aside from Jiang Shixue, no one else knew how to use daggers. ¡°Clearly, it¡¯s tailor-made for you.¡± Wang Tao handed the dagger to Jiang Shixue. Jiang Shixue¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up as she took the dagger. She could clearly feel her body had become much lighter. When she swung the dagger, her speed was also much faster than before. ¡°Thanks, bro!¡± Jiang Shixue didn¡¯t refuse. She knew that none of the others were adept with daggers. After Wang Tao had looked over the spoils of war, he let the Golden Eagle fly a bit lower, especially over those abandoned buildings, which were the focal points of observation. Wang Tao still had three Sixth Rank Night Devil Parasite Eggs in his hand. If he could find another Night Demon¡¯s Nest, even if he could only hatch a single Sixth Rank Lord Night Demon, he would be satisfied. But unfortunately, after searching around in these ruins, he did not find any other Night Demon nests. There were definitely other Night Demon nests in the distance, but it wasn¡¯t worth expending too much effort for just another Night Demon nest. After all, aside from the insect eggs, Wang Tao had some other things, like the Crystal Energy Meteorite. ¡°Let¡¯s stop right here.¡± Wang Tao commanded the Golden Eagle to land in a flat open space, then Wang Tao took out a collection of Crystal Energy Meteorites of various sizes. He hadn¡¯t used up all the Energy Crystal Meteorites he bought from Cheng Yiyi last time; there were still 18 left. Three of those were Sixth Rank, and the remaining 15 were Fifth Rank. With Wang Tao¡¯s current strength, opening a Level 6 Meteorite wasn¡¯t too much of a problem; even if a Sixth Rank Lord did emerge, he could handle it. The issue, however, was that he didn¡¯t have enough Sixth-Rank Crystal Cores¡ªcores like Ascension, Omnipotence, and Awakening were definitely not to be wasted on opening meteorites. He had just used the HP Increase and Energy Boost to craft the Night Demon Dagger, so now he was left with only a Power Crystal Core. So that was that, he could only start with the Level 5 Meteors. But it was not a big deal. Wang Tao¡¯s main objective for this outing was to test his own strength; everything else was just incidental. However, before he started on the meteorites, Wang Tao took out a crystal core. [Fifth-Rank Crystal Core: Omnipotent Shield] [Quality: 100% (Epic)] [Purity: 30% (Side effect: HP upper limit reduced by 200,000)] [Omnipotent Shield: Passive Ability, a shield invisible to the naked eye is condensed outside of one¡¯s body, which can block any attack but has a limit. Once the damage absorbed reaches that limit, the shield will shatter. It can be reassembled using Awakening Energy. (Only System Awakeners can use this)] Now at Level 5 and having awakened a System Ability, and with 210,000 HP, Wang Tao could finally fuse this crystal core! He had refrained from fusing it before hunting the Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Lord because it would deduct 200,000 HP. He wasn¡¯t yet sure how strong this Ability was, and facing a Sixth-Rank Night Devil with only 10,000 HP was simply too risky. But now there was no need to worry. Even if he managed to obtain a Level 5 Lord from the meteorites, he felt he could handle it with 10,000 HP, especially since the Ability was also of a defensive nature. Wang Tao immediately placed the crystal core into his mouth. The Crystal Core vaporized instantly, diffusing through his limbs and body. Eyes closed, Wang Tao silently savored the sensation. After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked at his palm, murmuring with admiration. ¡°Not bad, really not bad!¡± The Omnipotent Shield was a passive Ability. To others, there was nothing to see, but through Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, he could see a faint shield around his body. This shield did not interfere with Wang Tao¡¯s movements, as if it didn¡¯t exist at all. ¡°Little Xue, give me a cut.¡± Wang Tao removed the Night Demon Gloves and stretched out a hand towards Jiang Shixue. Whoosh¡ª Jiang Shixue did not hesitate and directly stabbed towards Wang Tao¡¯s hand with the dagger. However, she wasn¡¯t using the Sixth Rank Night Devil Blade that Wang Tao had just given her, but instead, a Third Order Night Devil Blade. Logically, even if it was a Level 3 dagger, with Jiang Shixue¡¯s strength, she should have been able to cut Wang Tao¡¯s hand. After all, Wang Tao had no protective gear on his hand. Without any armor, no matter how strong Wang Tao¡¯s defense, he was still bound by the laws of flesh and blood. Yet, in reality, the Night Demon Dagger didn¡¯t leave a single mark on Wang Tao¡¯s hand. Taking a closer look, Jiang Shixue noticed that while her dagger seemed to touch Wang Tao¡¯s palm, they didn¡¯t actually make contact; there was a tiny gap between the dagger and Wang Tao¡¯s palm, and no matter how hard Jiang Shixue pushed, the dagger couldn¡¯t touch his palm. ¡°Something¡¯s blocking it!¡± Jiang Shixue immediately grabbed Wang Tao¡¯s hand, but regardless of her scrutiny and analysis, Wang Tao¡¯s hand appeared just the same as before, and she didn¡¯t discover any ¡°invisible gloves¡±... ¡°That¡¯s the Omnipotent Shield for you!¡± Wang Tao explained with a smile. Whether because the Omnipotent Shield was intelligent or because it operated on an incomprehensible set of rules, it didn¡¯t affect Wang Tao¡¯s contact with others but did block attacks! The numbers ¡°-0¡± bounced off Wang Tao when Jiang Shixue struck him, just like when he had eliminated the Hammer Zombie earlier. Chapter 1226 - 1226 504 Silver Beetle_2 ?Chapter 1226: Chapter 504: Silver Beetle_2 Chapter 1226: Chapter 504: Silver Beetle_2 This feature isn¡¯t bad at all, it can block attacks without affecting Wang Tao¡¯s daily activities. As for how much damage the Omnipotent Shield can actually block, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t clear, but he had a vague sense that there would be a warning before the shield broke. He now felt that the Omnipotent Shield had plenty of energy and could block quite a few attacks. After testing this new superpower, Wang Tao then began to open the meteorites. A total of fifteen, he opened them by quality from lowest to highest. The first meteorite was of ordinary quality and after using two fifth-order Crystal Cores to open it, inside was a white No Ability Crystal Core. ¡°The first meteorite is a trash Crystal Core, such a loss!¡± Wang Tao was somewhat speechless, he wasn¡¯t afraid of a loss, but the fact that the first one was already a loss wasn¡¯t a good sign! After muttering a complaint to himself, Wang Tao opened the second meteorite. Inside was a shield. [Steel Bone Shield] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Durability+100, defensive power+100] The attributes of this Shield were very ordinary, at least in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes they were ordinary, other team members couldn¡¯t use it either, it was destined to be thrown into the school¡¯s treasure vault. However, this time it wasn¡¯t a loss, this shield could be worth quite a bit of money. Then Wang Tao quickly opened the third meteorite. A silvery object suddenly popped out, everyone else instinctively moved back, thinking a monster had appeared, but Wang Tao wasn¡¯t nervous at all and casually caught the object. ¡°It¡¯s a biological weapon!¡± Xiang Hongbin immediately exclaimed loudly. Having been with Wang Tao for a long time, his eye for value naturally wasn¡¯t something ordinary people could compare with, judging from the object that lay obediently still in Wang Tao¡¯s hands, it was highly probably a biological weapon. However, this thing looked somewhat familiar... it seemed a bit like the Iron Beetle? It¡¯s just that it¡¯s slightly larger than the Iron Beetle, and it¡¯s not black, but silver. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is a level 5 biological weapon, also an upgraded version of the Iron Beetle¡ªthe Silver Beetle,¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. [Level 5 Weapon ¨C Silver Beetle] [HP: 10000/10000 (Limit 200000)] [Status: Can Be Awakened] [Enhancement: Independent Attack, Armed (activation requires consuming a Level 5 Insect Clan corpse)] [Compatibility: 0%] [Independent Attack: Can follow master¡¯s orders to attack independently] [Armed: Covers master¡¯s entire body, providing certain attribute enhancements] Compared to the Iron Beetle, the HP limit of the Silver Beetle had increased from 100,000 to 200,000, other aspects seemed to remain the same. But it couldn¡¯t just be an increase in HP, after all, it was a level 5 weapon. It¡¯s probably similar to the Night Demon Heart, with significant improvements in all other aspects as well, it¡¯s just that these cannot be displayed numerically. But there was no way to test it now, the Armed capability needed to be activated by letting the Silver Beetle consume a Level 5 Insect Clan corpse. ¡°Keep going! Looks like the luck has arrived!¡± Wang Tao tossed the Silver Beetle to Ding Yuqin and the others, then opened the fourth meteorite. Inside was another trash Level 5 Crystal Core, another loss. Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged as he continued to open the fifth Crystal Core. Whoosh¡ª A dark shadow flew out. ¡°It¡¯s an Insect Clan Monster!¡± An Iron Shatter Spear appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hands, and he stabbed it straight through. The monster had just grown larger, and before it could take in its surroundings, Wang Tao had already thrust his spear through it. [-62734] [Curse: Blindness] And the monster was also unlucky enough to be afflicted by the curse of blindness. Roar¡ª The six-legged monster with a carapace was attacking wildly around as if it had gone mad. It had a unique way of attacking¡ªcrashing its body directly. Wang Tao took a few steps back, easily dodging the attack. The others could also now see what the monster looked like. [HP: 300000/300000] [Mana: 200000/200000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Boulder Armor] [Boulder Armor: For the duration, defensive power significantly increases] Wang Tao also noticed for the first time that the monster¡¯s awakening was actually purely defensive. He had fought against Zombies with such awakening before and knew about their formidable defense. Clearly, this carapaced monster had not yet activated its awakening. Wang Tao had just mentioned ¡°awakening¡± when he saw a sort of rock-like substance appear on the body of the carapaced monster, enveloping its entire body and instantly transforming it into a ¡°Boulder Insect!¡± ¡°Just the chance to test out the damage.¡± This carapaced monster seemed to rely on its eyes to discern its surroundings, and after being struck by the Curse: Blindness, it flailed around in impotent rage, wildly attacking its surroundings. Wang Tao flashed behind the carapaced monster and then raised his spear, plunging it into its abdomen. [-25273] [Curse: Slaying] After the carapaced monster activated its awakening, its defensive power had significantly increased. Wang Tao¡¯s initial thrust which caused over sixty thousand damage, now only did twenty-five thousand. A roughly 60% increase in defensive power? But it might not necessarily be a percentage increase; perhaps it was a fixed amount of added defensive power... Regardless of the type of defense, it wasn¡¯t much of a problem for Wang Tao. Moreover, the carapaced monster was quite unlucky, being hit by the Cursed Kill on Wang Tao¡¯s second hit, effectively losing sixty thousand HP. Boom¡ª The carapaced monster immediately twisted its body and charged fiercely towards Wang Tao. Despite its large size, which might suggest clumsiness, its speed was actually quite fast. If it were another fourth-order Awakener, they might not be able to dodge in time. However, Wang Tao¡¯s speed naturally crushed it, so the moment it turned, he appeared on its other side and thrust out with his spear again. [-24923] [Curse: Armor Break] This monster¡¯s luck was truly terrible, as Wang Tao¡¯s third strike triggered an Armor Break curse. Against such a high defense enemy, Armor Break was obviously quite appropriate. So Wang Tao just pushed with his legs and jumped onto the body of the carapaced monster, and began stabbing wildly. Thanks to the Armor Break buff, Wang Tao¡¯s damage significantly increased. Moments later, after dodging another series of attacks from the carapaced monster, Wang Tao delivered the final spear thrust. Pffft! [-32834] [-59384] [0/300000] The carapaced monster¡¯s HP was depleted. Wang Tao glanced at the dropped spoils of war and immediately shook his head a little. This thing is too poor, it only dropped 2 tangible loot items and 3 Loot Packs. [Acquired: Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength x1] [Acquired: Hardened Carapace x1] These two tangible items were a Purple Crystal Core and its carapace. Wang Tao immediately opened the Loot Packs. The first Crystal Core Gift Bag contained 6 Crystal Cores, comprising Ascension, Omnipotent, Awakening, Defense, Mental Defense, and Self-healing. All familiar types of Crystal Cores. The second Loot Pack contained a Secret Key. [Acquired: Awakening Key x1] The last Loot Pack contained a Shield Blueprint. [Acquired: Hardened Shield Blueprint x1] [Hardened Shield Blueprint: Can craft a shield with the following materials: Level 5 Crystal Core x1, Hardened Carapace x1, Iron Block x50, Rubber x50, Nails x50, Screws x50] [Hardened Shield: Attributes unknown] Wang Tao took out the materials and began crafting on the spot, but before doing so, he activated the Silver Beetle to consume the body of the monster. Moments later, a shield over a meter tall was completed. [Hardened Shield] [Fifth Rank (Excellent)] [Durability +200, Defensive Power +200, Defensive Power +10%] The attributes of the shield looked good, with a defensive power of 200 already acceptable, plus an extra 10% defense. Wang Tao immediately handed the shield over to Xu Xiaojun, who was regularly equipped with a shield. At this time, the Silver Beetle had finished consuming the Insect Clan¡¯s corpse. Wang Tao immediately activated the Silver Beetle¡¯s Armed effect, and in an instant, the Silver Beetle transformed into a gleaming, gigantic Insect Clan Mech! ¡°Must say, it looks pretty cool...¡± Wang Tao said, stroking his chin. This Silver Beetle was clearly much cooler than the Iron Beetle. Wang Tao entered the Silver Beetle and had a brief experience, then delegated the testing task to others, while he continued to open meteorites. The sixth meteorite was cracked open by Wang Tao. Another shadow emerged from the meteorite. ¡°Today¡¯s luck isn¡¯t bad, another Insect Clan Monster!¡± Without a second word, Wang Tao charged forward again. Chapter 1227 - 1227 505 Lucky ?Chapter 1227: Chapter 505: Lucky Chapter 1227: Chapter 505: Lucky From the sixth meteorite emerged an insect clan monster resembling a centipede, but it had a hooked tail. [HP: 300,000/300,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Explosive Poison Needle] [Explosive Poison Needle: launches poison needles, causing massive damage] Most insect clan monsters are poisonous, the carapaced monster just now was an exception. This centipede monster was poisonous, and it was the Poison System Awakening Wang Tao had seen before. ¡°It will launch poison needles, be careful,¡± he warned briefly before swiftly moving behind the centipede monster. He picked up his spear and stabbed its carapace. Pfft! [-72,837] [Curse: Execute] ¡°...¡± Wang Tao had just mentioned that the previous insect clan monster was unlucky to be hit by the Cursed Kill on the second attack. Unfortunately, this one was even more pitiful, rarely did it get hit by the Cursed Kill on the first attack. That was equivalent to Wang Tao poking out a hundred thousand blood. Hiss¡ª The centipede monster let out a piercing scream, its sharp tail, as if it had eyes, twisted its body and came in front of Wang Tao. Wang Tao easily dodged the tail attack, but the poisonous hook on its tail suddenly detached from the body and shot directly towards the back of Wang Tao¡¯s head. Had it been someone else, they might have been hit, but Wang Tao, who was already aware of its abilities and monitoring the surroundings with his spiritual power, dodged this treacherous strike and stabbed it fiercely again. [-82,734] [Curse: Bleeding] Although this centipede monster also had a shell, it clearly did not have as high a defense as the carapaced insect just now. With two strikes from Wang Tao, it was left with less than half its HP. And all this happened in a very short time; the body of the centipede monster had only just turned to face Wang Tao. At the moment it turned its head, Wang Tao threw his spear, and beams of light shot from both eyes. [-61,823] [-12,541] [-12,432] [-55,633] [0/300,000] Boom¡ª The body of the centipede monster stiffened, then fell to the ground thunderously. ¡°Is it over?¡± Talking about the fight seemed lengthy, but from the moment Wang Tao released the monster to when he slew it, it only took thirty seconds. Everyone else was still on guard for the centipede monster¡¯s sneak attacks, but Wang Tao had already finished the fight? His speed at hunting Level 5 lords was getting faster each time! Everyone was amazed; Wang Tao¡¯s expression remained unchanged. This centipede monster had low defensive power and was not fast. Killing it was naturally straightforward. Wang Tao quickly collected the spoils of war. The centipede monster dropped 3 physical spoils and 3 loot packs, as stingy as the previous carapaced monster. [Received: Fifth-Order Crystal Core: Mental Defense x1] [Received: Venomous Tail x1] [Received: Strange Poison Sac x1] Besides dropping a crystal core and materials, the centipede also dropped a strange poison sac. This item was quite good; with luck, it might grant a hidden attribute. As for the spoils packs, they were similar to those of the carapaced monster. Apart from a crystal core gift bag and a secret key, there were blueprints. [Received: Blueprint for Venomous Scimitar x1] [Blueprint for Venomous Scimitar: requires the following materials to craft a scimitar: Venomous Tail x1, Level 5 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x50, Nails x50, Rubber x50, Screw x50, Steel Wire x50] [Venomous Scimitar: Attribute slot] Wang Tao immediately gathered materials to start crafting. A moment later, a silver scimitar shaped like a crescent moon appeared in his hands. [Venomous Scimitar] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Durability +120, Attack power +120, attacks carry poison effect (Poison effect requires awakening energy)] The attributes of this weapon were decent; in addition to 120 attack power, it also had additional poison damage. It could be given to a teammate for use. ¡°Woof~¡± At that moment, Lightning barked at Wang Tao. It was asking if it could eat the insect clan¡¯s corpse since it didn¡¯t get a chance to eat the previous one. ¡°Okay¡ªwait a minute!¡± Wang Tao was about to agree, but there were still some meteorites unopened, what if another Silver Beetle appeared? Although the chances were small, it was still possible. ¡°Let¡¯s wait until I¡¯ve opened all the meteorites.¡± Wang Tao patted Lightning on the head and then continued to open meteorites. Inside the seventh meteorite was a junk crystal core, a loss. The eighth meteorite contained an Ascension crystal core, a win. The ninth meteorite held a dagger with very different attributes, a break-even. The tenth meteorite again held a junk crystal core. ¡°Can¡¯t another Silver Beetle appear...¡± Wang Tao muttered and then opened the eleventh meteorite; suddenly a silver figure burst out, which Wang Tao grabbed with one hand. His expression immediately turned a bit awkward. ¡°Actually, there was one...¡± Another Silver Beetle! ¡°Then you won¡¯t get to eat this corpse, I¡¯ll make it up to you later!¡± Wang Tao rubbed Lightning¡¯s head, and Lightning, understanding, rubbed against Wang Tao¡¯s leg. After reactivating the Silver Beetle, Wang Tao let it eat the insect clan corpse they had just omn. With two Silver Beetles, once proficiently controlled, it was like having two real Level 5 combat forces. Even without relying on Wang Tao, his team could still unleash a terrifying combat power! If it were night, or in an environment like the Rift, Ding Yuqin and the others had many Level 5 Night Demon hearts and one Level 6 Night Demon heart in their hands... the combat power would be even more exaggerated! Once this Silver Beetle had consumed the corpse, Wang Tao handed it over to Lan Yulian and the others. ¡°This Silver Beetle is for you all now, you can take turns using it.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The others did not refuse; they knew with Wang Tao¡¯s current combat power, he didn¡¯t need this thing, and it might even hold him back. Chapter 1228 - 1228 505 Lucky_2 ?Chapter 1228: Chapter 505: Lucky_2 Chapter 1228: Chapter 505: Lucky_2 Wang Tao continued cracking open meteorites. The twelfth meteorite contained one Ascension Crystal Core, not bad. The thirteenth meteorite held a trash crystal core. The fourteenth meteorite revealed another Insect Clan Monster. [HP: 300,000/300,000] [Mana: 200,000/200,000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Internal Impurity: 50%] [Awakening: Corrosive Acid Liquid] [Corrosive Acid Liquid: Sprays a large amount of corrosive acid liquid] It was a black and red creature, elongated without legs, somewhat resembling an earthworm. On its head, it had no eyes or nose, just a circular mouth full of sharp teeth. ¡°Another poison-based insect.¡± Wang Tao charged straight in. [-42842] The monster¡¯s defensive power was quite decent, much stronger than the centipede monster just now. But it was no use. Against the onslaught of Wang Tao¡¯s attacks, which were like a fierce storm, it only lasted half a minute longer than the centipede monster. Boom¡ª The monster with its HP drained fell to the ground. Given the previous examples, everyone had grown accustomed to Wang Tao¡¯s quick combat speed. Wang Tao checked the loot. [Acquired: Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength x1] [Acquired: Poisonous Teeth x1] [Acquired: Strange Poison Sac x1] Still three physical spoils of war, among them another strange poison sac. As for the loot pack, it was similar to the one from the Insect Clan Monster just now. A crystal core, a physical key, and an equipment blueprint. [Acquired: Poisonous Dagger Blueprint x1] [Poisonous Dagger Blueprint: Can make a dagger, required materials: Poisonous Teeth x1, Level 5 Crystal Core x1, Iron Block x50, Nails x50, Rubber x50, Screws x50, Steel Wire x50] [Poisonous Dagger: Attribute slot] Without any hesitation, Wang Tao immediately got out the materials to craft it. Very quickly, a dark and unremarkable dagger appeared in Wang Tao¡¯s hand. [Poisonous Dagger] [Fifth Order (Excellent)] [Durability +120, Attack power +100, Attack Speed +20%, Attacks come with Poison Effect (Poison Effect requires Awakening Energy)] Aside from the poison effect, compared to the Venomous Scimitar, the Poisonous Dagger had 20 less points in attack power but a 20% increase in attack speed. Overall, the attributes of this dagger were not bad, but Jiang Shixue was the only one in the team who used daggers, yet she already had a better one... After asking and confirming no one wanted to use this dagger, Wang Tao pocketed it, planning to toss it in the treasure vault of the Awakeners School later. ¡°Just one last meteorite left...¡± Wang Tao glanced at the corpses of the insects nearby and stroked his chin. ¡°Could we get another Silver Beetle?¡± Having said that, Wang Tao immediately opened the meteorite, and a silver silhouette emerged. ¡°...Little Lightning, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to feed you with the Insect Clan corpses, it¡¯s just that I¡¯m extremely lucky today!¡± Wang Tao vigorously rubbed Lightning¡¯s head. Lightning wagged its tail frantically, not sad at all, but rather happy for Wang Tao. ¡°Ah? Another silver-armored beetle?¡± The others couldn¡¯t believe their eyes when they saw the silver beetle caught by Wang Tao. They knew Wang Tao was lucky, but this luck seemed ridiculously good! Out of the 15 meteorites they cracked open, 3 yielded silver-armored beetles? These were bona fide fifth-order combat power creatures! And there just happened to be three insect race monsters for the silver beetles to devour... ¡°Guys, chill out.¡± Wang Tao waved his hand with a bit of swagger. He felt his luck today was indeed good, but on second thought, it seemed reasonable. After all, these level 5 meteorites were of high quality and consumed a lot of crystal cores. He had almost used up the fifth-order crystal cores he had no use for, so it would be unreasonable not to get some good stuff in return... Wang Tao skillfully activated the silver beetle, letting it gobble up an insect clan corpse, and still passed this armed silver beetle over to Lan Yulian and her group. Without counting Wang Tao, they had at least four true fifth-order combat powers, plus a level 5 night demon heart... With such strength, they could probably walk sideways in any rift. ¡°The meteorites are all opened, and there aren¡¯t enough level 6 crystal cores left, let¡¯s go.¡± Wang Tao waved everyone over and mounted the giant golden eagle. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± The golden eagle let out a call, seeming to have something to say to Wang Tao. Wang Tao communicated with it using spiritual power and couldn¡¯t help but laugh and cry at the same time. The golden eagle asked with a hint of loss why it wasn¡¯t allowed to fight; was it because Wang Tao thought it was weak? Although it wasn¡¯t as strong as Wang Tao, it could still kill those level 5 insect race monsters to prove itself... The golden eagle was afraid that Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t want it anymore, especially since it had only enjoyed a few days of carefree living; it didn¡¯t want to go back to living in the icy wilderness. ¡°It¡¯s not that I disdain you, it¡¯s just completely unnecessary. You¡¯ll have your chance to shine.¡± Wang Tao stroked the golden eagle¡¯s feathers and said. The golden eagle was strong; apart from Wang Tao, no one could match it. Even if someone else ascended to level 5 later, they would likely still be no match for the golden eagle. After all, the golden eagle¡¯s awakening ability was ¡°Giant.¡± Because of the golden eagle¡¯s strength, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dare let it fight freely¡ªwhat if it stole the prey he intended to hunt? Especially since the golden eagle was eager to prove itself, it might not know when to stop. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Reassured by Wang Tao, the golden eagle instantly perked up. As long as Wang Tao didn¡¯t find it weak, it was content. By now, night had fallen, but Wang Tao and his party did not head straight back to town. That was because Wang Tao hadn¡¯t fully replenished his HP; he had just fused with the ¡°Omnipotent Shield¡± ability, which deducted 200,000 from his HP limit, leaving him with only 10,000. Although he had subsequently slain a few level 5 lords, that only added up to 30,000-plus HP. So, Wang Tao wanted to restore his HP to full. The golden eagle flew swiftly, but the frozen zombies seemed to have vanished, hardly a one to be seen for half the day. Fortunately, the keen-eyed golden eagle finally spotted a herd of ice zombies. This horde of zombies wasn¡¯t very powerful, lacking even a single lord. But their numbers were decent, densely packed with fourth and fifth-order elite zombies. Wang Tao had his companions wait in the air while he, spear in hand, leaped down. Thud¡ª As he landed, his spear pierced through several zombies. Wang Tao then slaughtered the horde like a wolf among sheep. Three minutes later, the battle was over. Wang Tao¡¯s HP cap was back up to 210,000. He had thought that if it wasn¡¯t enough, he would look around in the rift. Now, it seemed he wouldn¡¯t need to bother. ¡°All done; let¡¯s head out.¡± Wang Tao said with a smile as he leaped onto the golden eagle, and the group headed back towards Changhe Base. By the time they returned to the base, it was the middle of the night, but the Qiushui Pavilion Villa Area was a hive of activity¡ªa large group of people was digging a foundation, and these workers were all level 2 and level 3 ability users! The reason for so many ability users to work through heavy snow was naturally due to the golden eagle. Gu Yun had previously said he would help build a nest for the golden eagle. After discussing it with Ding Yuqin and others, they quickly settled on a plan and got to work. They aimed to have the golden eagle¡¯s nest completed in short order. After all, it was a level 5 lord, the base¡¯s second most potent combat power after Wang Tao¡ªnot someone they could just leave to sleep in the snow. ¡°This is all for your new home!¡± In the air, Wang Tao patted the golden eagle¡¯s feathers and said. The golden eagle didn¡¯t really understand what kind of home was being built. To its mind, it could sleep anywhere, including in the frigid snow. But it could tell from Wang Tao¡¯s tone that all these people were working for its benefit. So, it slowed its descent considerably, careful not to blow the workers away with its landing. From the ground, the view was entirely different¡ªa gust of strange wind blew through the blizzard, and under a dim yellow light, a massive, sky-obscuring figure slowly emerged above their heads... The group of workers nearly died of fright! For many ability users, this was their first sight of a legendary level 5 lord, and the experience was strikingly memorable. Chapter 1229 - 1229 506 News from Abroad ?Chapter 1229: Chapter 506: News from Abroad Chapter 1229: Chapter 506: News from Abroad The next morning, Wang Tao had just finished breakfast when he saw several large wheeled trucks arriving. ¡°Principal Wang, please sign for the delivery.¡± Expecting the delivery to be building materials, Wang Tao was surprised to find it was all frozen meat, intended for the Golden Eagle. ¡°Well, it looks like I won¡¯t need to provide for it anymore...¡± Wang Tao remarked somewhat amazed. The base kept many mutant livestock, but with many people at the base, the meat was expensive and only available in limited supply. Although with Wang Tao¡¯s status, he could buy it, receiving it directly from City Hall was a different feeling altogether. ¡°Xiao Jin, this is all for you.¡± Watching the Golden Eagle, which seemed to have caught the scent and came running over on its long legs, Wang Tao said with a smile. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± The Golden Eagle chirped excitedly, but it didn¡¯t rush to its food. Instead, it hurriedly ran to Wang Tao and bowed down. ¡°Stop!¡± Wang Tao quickly extended his hand to stop the Golden Eagle. The Golden Eagle was actually quite friendly towards humans, but its large size was more than most people could handle. ¡°Chirp~¡± The Golden Eagle didn¡¯t seem to mind; it immediately picked up the neatly packed meat and placed it where Wang Tao had pointed. It was the transport team¡¯s first time seeing the Golden Eagle. Although they had been forewarned by their superiors before carrying out this mission, they were still visibly trembling in fear upon actually seeing the creature. It wasn¡¯t their fault for being scared; they had seen Blacky before, and even Blacky was terrifying. But in terms of size and presence, Blacky couldn¡¯t compare to the Golden Eagle! In front of the Golden Eagle, Blacky might end up being its meal... They weren¡¯t wrong; if not for Wang Tao, Blacky really might have become food for the Golden Eagle... But then again, such a powerful Golden Eagle, in front of Principal Wang, behaved just like a little pet... How strong must Principal Wang be! The transport team left in awe, already planning how to brag to their friends later. Watching the Golden Eagle eating big bites of meat, Wang Tao sank into deep thought. Currently, aside from Wang Tao, the Golden Eagle was the second strongest combat force in the base, and its ¡°Awakening¡± was still in progress. If he could enhance the Golden Eagle¡¯s strength, it would be beneficial both for him and the base. Regrettably, Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how to enhance the Golden Eagle¡¯s strength; did it mean feeding it other powerful mutant beasts? After all, consuming these mutant pigs hadn¡¯t enhanced its strength, and since first encountering the Golden Eagle, it had retained the same ¡°Attributes¡±... Wang Tao had asked the Golden Eagle, but unfortunately, it didn¡¯t know anything, acting quite clueless... Shaking his head, Wang Tao figured he would just have to take the Golden Eagle out more and experiment; surely, he would find a way eventually. At that moment, Gu Yun called. ¡°You¡¯ve brought so much food for Xiao Jin, really spared no expense, thank you so much!¡± Wang Tao expressed his gratitude cheerfully. ¡°Hey! It¡¯s the least we could do! We¡¯re all one big family!¡± Gu Yun politely responded, then suddenly cleared his throat. ¡°Cough, however, there¡¯s something I¡¯d like to discuss with you...¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Wang Tao was curious. ¡°The thing is, while you were still in the Rift, we unexpectedly received a message from survivors outside the city...¡± Gu Yun hastily explained. ¡°Survivors outside the city?¡± At first Wang Tao was pleased to hear this, but his brow soon furrowed. He had encountered survivors outside the city before, but they were from the Dusk Church! Changhe Base wasn¡¯t open to just anyone; the main barrier was the ¡°Internal Impurity¡±. People with high values were denied entry since no one wanted the risk of having someone who could turn into a zombie at any moment inside. Those who couldn¡¯t join Changhe Base had to wander outside, where they might be invited to join the Dusk Church... So if these were the people Gu Yun mentioned, Wang Tao¡¯s initial happiness was misplaced. However, Gu Yun seemed to anticipate Wang Tao¡¯s thoughts and immediately added: ¡°It¡¯s highly unlikely they are from the Dusk Church; they are survivors from other regions who contacted our base using communication methods left from before the Apocalypse... somewhat like how you contacted us from Wuyang Military Base back then...¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief... Where are they now?¡± Wang Tao quickly inquired. Personally, he had no fond feelings for the Dusk Church, and from his standpoint, he wouldn¡¯t want people from the Dusk Church entering the base unless there was a way to resolve their ¡°Internal Impurity¡±... ¡°They are located in Ziyun Province, they also used some old military base equipment to contact us...¡± ¡°Ziyun Province, huh... What are you thinking? Planning to bring them over?¡± Changhe Base, where they were currently, was in West Province, adjacent to Ziyun Province. ¡°We would like to, but with the current harsh weather... Plus, they only contacted us once to report their coordinates saying their situation was very urgent and that their base was at risk of being destroyed, then we lost contact. We really don¡¯t know if they¡¯re alive or dead... I was wondering, can your Golden Eagle cope with long journeys in this environment? If so, could you please investigate?¡± Chapter 1230 - 1230 506 News from Abroad_2 ?Chapter 1230: Chapter 506: News from Abroad_2 Chapter 1230: Chapter 506: News from Abroad_2 Wang Tao said, ¡°I was wondering how you managed to get so much meat for the golden eagle so quickly, and it turns out you wanted to ask the golden eagle for help!¡± Gu Yun wasn¡¯t very clear about the golden eagle¡¯s true strength, and naturally, he was also unaware of how well the golden eagle could adapt to the icy and snowy conditions. After all, if even ordinary zombies couldn¡¯t move about outside... Even if the golden eagle was strong and wouldn¡¯t freeze to death, it might still dislike that kind of environment. Wang Tao could roughly understand his thoughts from Gu Yun¡¯s cautious tone, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t explain much. Instead, he said directly: ¡°That¡¯s no problem. Just give me the exact coordinates.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! Our last contact coordinates are...¡± Gu Yun hurriedly gave the location and then added: ¡°Thank you so much for your and the golden eagle¡¯s help! But don¡¯t force it. It¡¯s a world of ice and snow out there, extremely dangerous. If you can¡¯t find anyone, just forget it...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I know my limits. I won¡¯t be sending myself to death!¡± Wang Tao said with a smile. After confirming some details with Gu Yun, he ended the call and then shared the situation with Ding Yuqin and the others. ¡°We¡¯ve made contact with survivors!¡± Everyone was excited to hear this news. After all, they had first made contact with Changhe Base and then arrived there themselves. Naturally, they also hoped that more survivors would come. But the current environment was different from before. The heavy snow showed no signs of stopping; it got as cold as negative thirty or forty degrees outside, and in such ghastly weather, long-distance travel was simply impossible. Plus, the contact had been lost... The chances for those survivors didn¡¯t look good! ¡°I¡¯m planning to go with Xiao Jin and check out the situation. If we can find survivors, that would be great. If they¡¯re already gone, I can come back quickly.¡± Hearing Wang Tao¡¯s plan, everyone was a little worried but didn¡¯t raise any objections about the dangers outside. If they had Wang Tao¡¯s strength, they¡¯d be willing to make the trip. ¡°Just you alone? How about I come with you?¡± ¡°I think I can go too!¡± ¡°And me!¡± ¡°I can provide healing...¡± ¡°...¡± Ding Yuqin and several others immediately volunteered. Wang Tao shook his head. ¡°The distance for this trip is quite far, and it is indeed dangerous. I¡¯m only going to investigate their situation, not necessarily to bring them back. We¡¯ll see how it goes... So, I won¡¯t take you with me.¡± He had left Changhe Base many times before, but no matter which time, the distance from Changhe Base was never too far. Even when he rode the golden eagle yesterday to test his combat strength against the zombies, he didn¡¯t go too far. But this time, it was different. He was going to cross provinces, about four hundred kilometers away. Who knew what the situation was like out there? When the golden eagle went out yesterday, it had told Wang Tao there were some large cities with presences it found very dangerous, and Wang Tao had specifically instructed it to fly around those areas... Wang Tao always maintained a heart of respect towards nature and the apocalypse. He didn¡¯t consider himself the world¡¯s strongest, fearless against anything. Although the golden eagle could fly and avoid many dangers, he didn¡¯t think it was the only creature in the world with flying abilities... So Wang Tao felt that, with both his and the golden eagle¡¯s Level 5 abilities, they should be able to escape in the face of insurmountable danger. But it was different for the others who were still Level 4. Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s refusal, everyone was somewhat disappointed but could also understand. ¡°Then we¡¯ll wait for your good news at home!¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Wang Tao called over the golden eagle, telling it he needed to go out with it. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± The golden eagle showed no displeasure; it understood from its time as a hunting falcon that effort leads to rewards, and it also enjoyed soaring freely outside. Wang Tao jumped on the back of the golden eagle. He didn¡¯t bring any other people, but he brought along Lightning. If they killed some zombies or monsters along the way, Lightning could devour them, so it wouldn¡¯t go to waste. Lightning now had over five hundred thousand HP, and although it usually appeared just like an ordinary military dog, its combat strength was far from weak! Golden Eagle spread its wings and quickly soared above City Hall. Gu Yun was waiting below with a group of people, having prepared some communication equipment. If those survivors were still alive, they might be able to use it. ¡°Have a safe journey!¡± After picking up the equipment, everyone watched Golden Eagle leave with envy. Flying ability, ah, now that planes can no longer fly, the ability to fly really was enviable. Elsewhere, Golden Eagle flapped its wings, carrying Wang Tao over the high walls of the base. The coordinates Gu Yun had given Wang Tao were about four hundred kilometers from Changhe Base. Golden Eagle¡¯s flying speed actually wasn¡¯t very fast, especially not compared to fighter jets. Plus, the harsh conditions outside greatly reduced their traveling speed... If they didn¡¯t encounter any mishaps on the way, it would be quite impressive if they could arrive in two to three hours. As they gradually left Changhe Base behind, Frozen Zombies appeared more and more frequently, and occasionally, some dark-as-ink Rifts could be seen... ¡°Without any Level 5 Lords, let¡¯s ignore them for now.¡± Wang Tao took a quick glance. Zombies below a Level 5 Lord weren¡¯t worth his effort. ¡°By the way, Xiao Jin, have you seen any other Mutant Flying Beasts?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. He had just thought of something; if Xiao Jin recognized him as its master, then there might be a possibility of cooperation with other Mutant Flying Beasts! Although Xiao Jin was originally a hawk and different from other mutant beasts, Wang Tao believed that as long as his might was strong enough, even if it was a wild one, he could make it submit... ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Xiao Jin cried out, then told Wang Tao some things. ¡°Huh?¡± After listening, Wang Tao had a very strange expression. Xiao Jin told him that there used to be many Mutant Flying Beasts and even Flying Zombie Beasts near Changhe Base! But those Mutant Flying Beasts and Flying Zombie Beasts were either driven away by it or killed by it. Because it considered this area its own territory, it did not allow a second flying monster to compete with it for its turf. No wonder Duan Xuchang and the others had tracked the Flying Zombies for a long time, but it came to nothing in the end¡ªthe Third Legion had been tracking the Flying Zombies outside for a while, but the results were not significant, with reports stating the Flying Zombies had vanished... Wang Tao had thought that Changhe Base was just lucky, not having been discovered by these types of Flying Zombies. But now, it seemed that Xiao Jin had silently eliminated the threat! Although Xiao Jin acted out of a desire to defend its own territory, this indeed indirectly helped Changhe Base... Wang Tao thought that when he got back, he would have to ask Gu Yun for some more meat for Xiao Jin! Then again, Flying Zombies couldn¡¯t be tamed, if they were dead, they were dead. But there still might be a chance with the Mutant Flying Beasts... ¡°Do you know the whereabouts of those surviving Mutant Flying Beasts? Have a rough idea? Alright, when we get back, you lead me to them, and I¡¯ll make them your underlings!¡± ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Hearing this, Xiao Jin grew excited. The Mutant Flying Beasts that had been chased off by it were those that annoyed it but it could not kill. After all, they, too, could fly, and they were also swift. If Wang Tao could bring those fellows over to become his underlings... just the thought of it was comforting! ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry, if there¡¯s a chance, I¡¯ll definitely give you a thrill!¡± Xiao Jin didn¡¯t hold back, openly sharing its thoughts with Wang Tao, who laughed heartily. However, suddenly, Wang Tao¡¯s laughter ceased abruptly. Because he thought of a very serious problem. ¡°Because of your deterrence, there are no other Flying Zombies and Mutant Beasts near Changhe Base. Does this mean that there are actually quite a lot of Flying Zombies and Mutant Beasts in the world?¡± Not long after Wang Tao finished speaking, several figures flapping their wings appeared in the far-off sky. ¡°...¡± Xiao Jin also indicated that they had now completely left its territory. Chapter 1231 - 1231 507 Flying Zombies ?Chapter 1231: Chapter 507: Flying Zombies Chapter 1231: Chapter 507: Flying Zombies ¡°What¡¯s that ahead? Is it a mutant flying beast, or flying zombies?¡± Wang Tao asked. The distance was too far, and the snowstorm made it unclear; the Golden Eagle¡¯s vision was much better than his. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± The Golden Eagle let out a soft call. ¡°Is it the flying zombies?¡± Hearing that it was flying zombies, Wang Tao was somewhat expectant; he had never encountered them before. Soon, the Golden Eagle flew close to the three flying zombies, allowing Wang Tao to finally get a clear look at them, which made him frown. He had thought that the flying zombies resulted from some flying animals being infected by the zombie virus, but the reality before him differed from what Wang Tao had imagined¡ªthese were human zombies that had grown a pair of fleshy wings on their backs! Had the zombies evolved again? Considering that many zombies had evolved into frozen zombies, it seemed reasonable that they might evolve flying capabilities as well... [HP: 200,000/200,000] [Mana: 100,000/100,000] [Level: Fifth Rank Elite] All three flying zombies were Level 5 Elite. When Wang Tao discovered them, they also noticed Wang Tao and the Golden Eagle. Compared to the Golden Eagle, they had lower HP, smaller size, and inferior strength. However, they showed no intention of leaving and instead flew at the Golden Eagle with bared teeth and swinging claws. ¡°Such audacity? They don¡¯t seem very smart...¡± While Wang Tao mused to himself, red light began to shine in his eyes. Once he confirmed that these flying zombies had no ranged attack ability and just intended to engage in melee, two high-temperature rays shot out directly. Zzsh¡ª [-200,000] The leading flying zombie was pierced through the head, its HP bar emptied, and it fell uncontrollably toward the ground. After all, this was Wang Tao¡¯s first encounter with flying zombies, so he had treated them with a certain amount of respect. Seeing this, the other two flying zombies did not retreat but instead seemed to have their ferocity provoked, and they accelerated towards the Golden Eagle. Zzsh¡ª [-200,000] [-200,000] Wang Tao didn¡¯t hesitate and fired two more high-temperature rays, swiftly slaying the remaining flying zombies. ¡°Their defensive power is about the same as ordinary Level 5 Elite Zombies, only with an added flying ability...¡± To Wang Tao, these flying zombies posed no threat; he could ¡°take a glance¡± and kill them. But that wouldn¡¯t necessarily be the case for others, especially when there were more flying zombies¡ªlike the numbers seen in a zombie tide... Whether Changhe Base could withstand them was a question! Wang Tao furrowed his brow, but now was not the time to think about it. He immediately used the Iron Tree Vines on his wrist to extract the Crystal Cores from the three flying zombies in mid-air. Then he asked Xiao Jin about the flying zombies. Xiao Jin said that there were roughly two kinds of flying zombies it had encountered. One kind was these human-mutated flying zombies, and the other was the flying zombie beasts¡ªmutated from flying animals infected with the zombie virus. Actually, it had mentioned this to Wang Tao before, but he hadn¡¯t paid much attention to the ¡°beast¡± part. The difference between the two was that flying zombies tended to move in groups but were generally weaker and had a slower flying speed, mostly of Elite Level, and quite stupid. Xiao Jin couldn¡¯t even shoo them away; it could only hunt them. Flying zombie beasts, on the other hand, mostly preferred to act alone, had quicker flying speeds, and were stronger, generally of Lord Rank, and relatively a bit smarter. There were some flying zombie beasts near Changhe Base that it had chased away. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is...¡± Wang Tao silently took note of this information. The Golden Eagle continued to fly onward. They encountered flying zombies several more times after that. The further they were from Changhe Base, the more flying zombies they met. Wang Tao also encountered a Level 5, Lord Rank, flying zombie beast that somewhat resembled a swallow, but it was much smaller than the Golden Eagle, barely large enough for one person to stand on its back. Seeing Xiao Jin, the flying zombie beast did not hesitate to flee. Xiao Jin asked Wang Tao whether to chase or not, stating that this flying zombie beast was one of the few it had seen that was somewhat smart and had a decent flying speed. Xiao Jin had scared it away before, and the beast had not dared to enter Xiao Jin¡¯s territory. It was unexpected to encounter it again this time. Although both Level 5 Lords, there were variations among Level 5 Lords; Xiao Jin could overpower and toy with it. Wang Tao wanted to chase, but shook his head. He might not be able to catch up right away, and his primary mission was to check on survivors. If his wasting time led to the death of survivors, that was naturally not something Wang Tao wanted to see. However, this event was a learning experience for Wang Tao. They had been discovered by the flying zombie beast earlier because Xiao Jin had approached too closely, and that was because Wang Tao wanted a closer look at what the flying zombie beast looked like... In the future, in such situations, Wang Tao didn¡¯t need to observe closely. As long as Xiao Jin locked onto the target with Eagle Eye and was sure of overcoming the opponent, they could ascend first and then dive, giving the opponent less chance to react. Xiao Jin¡¯s normal flying speed might not match some airplanes, but its speed during a dive was terrifying, almost on par with an airplane. ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± At that moment, Xiao Jin suddenly called out. But this time, it wasn¡¯t a flying zombie it had found; a massive figure appeared in the distance. ¡°A Giant Zombie!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s gaze instantly sharpened. After many days, Wang Tao saw a Giant Zombie again. Xiao Jin, usually eager to show itself off, uncharacteristically refrained from speaking much, sensing some pressure from the Giant. Chapter 1232 - 1232 507 Flying Zombies_2 ?Chapter 1232: Chapter 507: Flying Zombies_2 Chapter 1232: Chapter 507: Flying Zombies_2 ¡°` [HP: 500,000/500,000] [Mana: 300,000/300,000] [Level: Level 5, Lord] [Awakening: Giant] [Status: Freezing Aura] [Freezing Aura: Self movement speed reduced, ice attribute defense increased, attacks carry ice attribute. Enemies within a fifteen-meter radius will be slowed down and their ice attribute defense reduced] ¡°` This Level 5, Lord Giant Zombie, currently standing a hundred meters tall, possessed a whopping half a million HP! Even among those with a Giant Awakening, it towered mightily over Xiao Jin. Moreover, the Giant Zombie was also under a ¡°Freezing Aura¡± status effect! Already immensely powerful, the addition of this buff... Although the status also reduced its movement speed, the benefits it brought were far greater than that minor side effect¡ªleaving no chance for opponents! This was undoubtedly one of the strongest zombies Wang Tao had ever encountered, perhaps only comparable to that Level 5 disaster zombie he had faced before. From appearances alone, this Level 5, Lord Giant Zombie seemed even more terrifying, after all, with a hundred-meter stature, it was like a mobile skyscraper, covered in a layer of frost, looking downright frightening. It was uncertain whether this Giant Zombie had evolved from the Four-level zombies he had seen before, or if it had appeared from elsewhere... ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Xiao Jin asked Wang Tao if he should assault it. He sensed pressure emanating from the Giant Zombie but that didn¡¯t mean he was afraid. They were all Level 5, Lord Giants, after all, not much different in rank. Wang Tao checked the map; the Giant Zombie clearly blocked his path. If those survivors weren¡¯t dead yet, there was a certain chance they¡¯d encounter the Giant Zombie during relocation to Changhe Base... ¡°Let¡¯s test its strength!¡± After pondering briefly, Wang Tao touched a ring on his hand, promptly making a decision. [Giant Slayer Ring] [Level 4: (Epic)] [When attacking a life form with an awakening of ¡°Giant¡±, damage +10%; when attacked by a life form with an awakening of ¡°Giant¡±, incoming damage -10%] This was a spoils of war he¡¯d obtained long ago, and he had two, but there hadn¡¯t been a chance to use them. Now was the perfect time to test if the attributes of the two rings could stack... Receiving Wang Tao¡¯s order, Xiao Jin immediately started flying higher, preparing to leverage the power and speed of a dive to ambush the Giant Zombie, which had yet to notice Xiao Jin and Wang Tao. Suddenly, a ¡°fizz¡± sound rang out from the informational wristwatch on Wang Tao¡¯s wrist, sparking a burst of flames. ¡°...Damn!¡± Startled for a moment, Wang Tao cursed as if a lightbulb went off in his head. He had nearly forgotten about the mysterious energy in the sky that could paralyze electronic devices. Since his mission this time was a rescue, he hadn¡¯t let Xiao Jin fly too high, avoiding contact with that mysterious energy. However, as Xiao Jin ascended, it made contact with the energy, directly short-circuiting Wang Tao¡¯s informational wristwatch... ¡°Right, those instruments!¡± Wang Tao quickly checked the communication devices earlier provided by Gu Yun, all of which were on Xiao Jin¡¯s back. ¡°Hm? Some are damaged, but some seem fine?¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t have time to examine them closely; the situation was irremediable. They would attack the Giant Zombie first and deal with the rest later. ¡°Charge!¡± Swoosh¡ª Xiao Jin adjusted his posture, then dived directly toward the Giant. ... The massive Giant Zombie wandered aimlessly, alone with no other Giants or zombies at its feet¡ªclearly a lone undead being. It seemed to hear a noise and slowly turned its rotting head. It saw a large bird, also of an imposing size, entering its field of vision. The Giant Zombie instinctively swung its hand, attempting to grab the prey before it. But Xiao Jin¡¯s speed greatly outpaced the Giant¡¯s. Thump! A muffled sound rang out as Xiao Jin¡¯s claws landed on the head of the Giant Zombie. [-14,736] [HP: 485,264/500,000] The damage wasn¡¯t as high as Wang Tao had expected; partly because of the Giant Zombie¡¯s terrifying defensive power and partly because Xiao Jin was affected by the ¡°Freezing Aura,¡± reducing his speed... However, thankfully, the Giant Zombie¡¯s head was knocked back, looking as if it was about to topple. But it balanced out its body in an uncanny posture, gradually regaining a standing position. ¡°` ¡°Still not down? This is like a damn weeble!¡± Wang Tao had hoped that the Golden Eagle would knock the Giant Zombie to the ground, making the subsequent fight much easier, but to his surprise, the Giant Zombie got up again like a weeble. After a successful strike, the Golden Eagle soared back into the sky, preparing for a second dive. However, this time the Giant Zombie had spotted the Golden Eagle and naturally wouldn¡¯t let it strike so easily again. As the Golden Eagle flew in once more, the Giant Zombie, in a twisted posture, swatted at the Golden Eagle! The Golden Eagle hadn¡¯t wanted to dodge. Its body was strong too, it wanted to have a head-on clash with the Giant Zombie, but considering Wang Tao on its back, it dodged after all. It didn¡¯t know if Wang Tao could withstand it, but it knew that if anything happened to Wang Tao, it wouldn¡¯t have meat to eat in the future. And when Wang Tao saw that the Golden Eagle¡¯s strike had not been effective, his eyes immediately turned red. Zzzt¡ª [-1823] [-1875] [-1902] [...] ¡°The damage is so low...¡± Previously, when Wang Tao used [Scorching Eyes] to attack the Golden Eagle, he could deal over three thousand points of damage per attack, but now, when attacking the Giant Zombie, it was less than two thousand. If this continued, trying to kill the Giant Zombie with just [Scorching Eyes] would mean he¡¯d have to shoot for more than two minutes! Wasn¡¯t this asking for his life? Even if his eyes could take it, his Awakening Energy couldn¡¯t! The longer the high-temperature rays from the [Scorching Eyes] lasted, the more terrifying the consumption¡ªeven increasing exponentially! With his current nearly seven thousand Awakening Energy, it wouldn¡¯t last much longer. He used to use this ability by shooting in bursts... ¡°No choice then, I have to wear it down... slowly.¡± Wang Tao shook his head. These Giant Zombies truly were tough to deal with! Previously, he couldn¡¯t even hit a Giant Zombie, now he could, but the damage was too low... If it weren¡¯t for the Golden Eagle, he might have just turned and run. After all, it was too exhausting to try to kill a Giant Zombie of this level; one hammer or stomp from it could probably cost him half his life. But with the Golden Eagle around, his mobility was greatly increased, so he could still fight; it just required some patience, and he wasn¡¯t lacking in that. Even so, Wang Tao had a bold idea¡ª ¡°Xiao Jin, if I jump onto the Giant Zombie¡¯s head and then get attacked, forcing me to jump off, can you catch me?¡± ¡°Chirp~¡± Xiao Jin indicated it was no problem. It was much more agile than the Giant Zombie. ¡°Okay! Let¡¯s do that!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t just have [Scorching Eyes] as his only attack ability, if he used all his tricks, he should be able to cause considerable damage to the Giant Zombie. Even if the Golden Eagle made a mistake, the Iron Tree Vines on his wrist also served as a safety net, ensuring he could cling onto the Giant Zombie¡¯s body without falling to his death. Swoosh¡ª So, the Golden Eagle dived again, charging at the Giant Zombie. The attack was blocked by the Giant Zombie again. Despite its large size, its speed wasn¡¯t slow. But different this time, as it blocked the Golden Eagle¡¯s attack, a black figure landed on its head like a flea. Whoosh¡ª The black figure instantly turned into a ¡°flame figure¡±. A flaming spear carrying a black light stabbed directly into the Giant Zombie¡¯s eye. [-4283] [Curse: Armor Break] Roar¡ª The Giant Zombie roared furiously, one hand shooing away the Golden Eagle, the other reaching to crush Wang Tao. Wang Tao was not looking to prolong the fight. Seeing the Giant Zombie¡¯s attack coming, he jumped high off the zombie¡¯s eye socket, landing on its head. Slap! The Giant Zombie slapped its own eye. [-20948] Wang Tao: ¡°...¡± Chapter 1233 - 1233 508 Slaying the Giant Zombie ?Chapter 1233: Chapter 508: Slaying the Giant Zombie Chapter 1233: Chapter 508: Slaying the Giant Zombie Wang Tao hadn¡¯t expected that the Giant Zombie could slap off over twenty thousand HP of its own blood... not very smart. Luckily, Wang Tao was fast enough to jump onto the top of the Giant Zombie¡¯s head beforehand, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand it. He held the Flame Spear in his hand, stabbing down fiercely. Bang! Wang Tao felt like he had stabbed into a steel plate. [-2318] [Curse: Blindness] ¡°So hard!¡± Seeing the damage number of over two thousand, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but sigh. The attack had triggered the Curse: Blindness, and the Giant Zombie was instantly blinded. ¡°Roar!¡± The Giant Zombie roared in anger but showed no panic, completely unlike the Golden Eagle who had been affected by the Curse: Blindness before. For zombies, blindness wasn¡¯t a big problem. Most zombies had poor eyesight to begin with and mainly relied on smell and sound to identify things. They were completely different from visually-dependent mutant beasts like the Golden Eagle. Of course, it wasn¡¯t completely without effect. For instance, the Giant Zombie was now unable to defend against the sneak attacks from the Golden Eagle, as its flight speed was too fast to react to by sound alone. But in doing so... the Giant Zombie redirected all its attention to Wang Tao! Wang Tao seemed to sense something and stopped attacking, suddenly jumping down from the top of the Giant Zombie¡¯s head. Bang! At the moment he jumped down, two huge palms landed at the spot where he had just been standing. [-10293] [-11734] The attack launched by the Giant Zombie against Wang Tao hit itself on the head again, costing it another twenty thousand HP. Meanwhile, as Wang Tao jumped down from the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, he instantly deactivated the Starfire Prairie Reload, and the Golden Eagle caught him precisely. ¡°Chirp~¡± ¡°Whew¡ªwell done!¡± Wang Tao grabbed the feathers of the Golden Eagle, feeling his heartbeat quickened a bit. After all, falling from a hundred meters high... could have resulted in ¡°bits and pieces¡± everywhere. The Golden Eagle carrying Wang Tao flew to the top of the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, and as they arrived, the Giant Zombie had already withdrawn its hands, and Wang Tao landed on its head again. Roar¡ª The Giant Zombie roared even louder in anger. It hated having something standing on its head, especially something that smelled like food. The Giant Zombie repeated its old trick, swinging its massive palm toward its own head. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem very smart...¡± Wang Tao thought to himself, but this time he didn¡¯t dodge. Instead, he activated Starfire Prairie and attacked the Giant Zombie. At the same time, the Golden Eagle dove again, directly targeting the eyes of the Giant Zombie. Though temporarily blinded, the Giant Zombie¡¯s head was hard and had high defense. The area around the eye sockets was slightly less so, prompting Wang Tao to have the Golden Eagle focus its attack there. The Golden Eagle¡¯s attack was fast, precise, and ruthless. Plus, with the Giant Zombie temporarily blinded, the eagle¡¯s claws directly pierced one of the Giant Zombie¡¯s eye sockets. Squelch! [-32839] The damage over thirty thousand wasn¡¯t too high, but it made the Giant Zombie stagger once again. Though the Giant Zombie steadied itself like a Weeble-Wobble, its attack aimed at Wang Tao was thwarted. Wang Tao¡¯s Flame Spear stuck in the Giant Zombie¡¯s head. Though not too deeply, it successfully avoided being thrown off. Sizzle¡ª At the same time, Wang Tao didn¡¯t forget to use [Scorching Eyes] on the Giant Zombie, not missing any opportunity to attack. Roar¡ª The Giant Zombie roared louder this time, but to Wang Tao, it was just impotent rage. This time it ignored Wang Tao and swung its arms trying to catch the Golden Eagle. But the Golden Eagle was smart and, backed by Wang Tao¡¯s strategy, made a successful hit and retreated immediately without any hesitation. The Giant Zombie¡¯s attack missed again. Taking advantage of this, Wang Tao attacked furiously. Although the Giant Zombie¡¯s defensive power was abnormally high, reducing Wang Tao¡¯s single attack damage, Wang Tao¡¯s attack speed and variety compensated for it! In just these brief moments, Wang Tao inflicted massive damage on the Giant Zombie! Roar! The Giant Zombie was forced to switch its target again. But faced with Wang Tao, who was getting more adept at fighting, its attack missed again¡ªit slapped itself fiercely while Wang Tao had already landed on the Golden Eagle. Then, as before, the Golden Eagle took off again. As they flew over the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, Wang Tao jumped directly onto it and the Golden Eagle continued upward. When the Giant Zombie swung its arms to attack Wang Tao again, the Golden Eagle had reached the ideal height then dove again, targeting the Giant Zombie¡¯s other eye. The result was similar to before. With a squelch, the Giant Zombie¡¯s other eye was gouged by the Golden Eagle, causing it to lose balance. Naturally, its attack on Wang Tao missed again. ¡°Good job!¡± Wang Tao felt that his cooperation with Xiao Jin was becoming more in sync. Having adapted to the Giant Zombie¡¯s fighting style, the subsequent battle became much simpler. Each time, Golden Eagle would first draw the Giant Zombie¡¯s attention, allowing Wang Tao to attack. When the Giant Zombie ignored Golden Eagle and only aimed to eliminate Wang Tao, the Golden Eagle would dive, making the Giant Zombie unsteady and unable to attack Wang Tao. If Golden Eagle didn¡¯t have the time to dive, Wang Tao would simply jump down from the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, and the Golden Eagle would catch him securely. Then they would take off, repeating the cycle... In this synchronized teamwork, although the Giant Zombie had five hundred thousand HP, it kept losing it rapidly. Chapter 1234 - 1234 508 Slaying the Giant Zombie_2 ?Chapter 1234: Chapter 508: Slaying the Giant Zombie_2 Chapter 1234: Chapter 508: Slaying the Giant Zombie_2 At a certain moment, Wang Tao thrust his spear downward, and the Cursed Kill finally appeared. [-2394] [Curse: Slaying] ¡°At last, Slaying has shown up!¡± Wang Tao didn¡¯t know how many times he had attacked the Giant Zombie, various curse statuses had emerged, including some he had never seen before, but not Slaying. Wang Tao had even thought his luck wasn¡¯t good today, fortunately, Lady Luck was on his side. The Giant Zombie had five hundred thousand HP, and 20% from Slaying would be a hundred thousand HP! And now the Giant Zombie still had 220,000 HP left, which meant Wang Tao and Xiao Jin just needed to whittle it down by another 120,000 HP! The premise was to do it within three minutes. And for Wang Tao... it wasn¡¯t difficult. ¡°It¡¯s nearly dead, let¡¯s put some extra effort into it!¡± Wang Tao briefly communicated with the Golden Eagle, who stopped holding back and exerted full force. Wang Tao also took out some Enhancement Potions and injected himself. At the same time, he stopped deliberately conserving Awakening Energy, shooting High-Temperature Rays on the Giant Zombie¡¯s forehead like it cost him nothing. Roar¡ª The Giant Zombie had a foreboding feeling and clumsily patted its head before turning tail to run. ¡°Thinking of running?¡± Wang Tao had just leaped from its head and landed back on the Golden Eagle. His eyes emitted two Red High-Temperature Rays, firmly locking on the Giant Zombie. Suddenly, the Giant Zombie¡¯s body stiffened. [-3238] [-99763] [0/500000] Boom¡ª The Giant Zombie¡¯s HP hit zero, and it collapsed with a thunderous fall. ¡°Phew¡ª Finally dead!¡± This was Wang Tao¡¯s third time facing up against a Giant Zombie head-on, but the previous two he killed were weak, mere ¡°juvenile giants¡± in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes. This one, however, was a genuine ¡°adult giant,¡± and a strong one at that. Defeating such a Giant Zombie gave him a powerful sense of accomplishment. Of course, even though he faced it head-on, he still used a lot of clever tactics. Most importantly, he exploited the Giant Zombie¡¯s slow wits, defeating it with intelligence. Although the Giant Zombie¡¯s strength was formidable, Wang Tao felt it wasn¡¯t as smart as a Night Demon. But naturally, this was good news¡ªif it were too clever, humans would really struggle to survive... ¡°Let¡¯s go down!¡± The Golden Eagle carried Wang Tao down. As he looked at the body that resembled a collapsed building, Wang Tao felt a bit sentimental: ¡°It¡¯s truly huge. When will you grow this big?¡± Both were Level 5 Lords, but in terms of sheer strength, the Golden Eagle was not as strong as the Giant Zombie. This was obviously related to size, like the various zombies Wang Tao encountered before; at the same level and with the same HP, even without a Giant Awakening, the larger ones were more formidable than the smaller ones. Not to mention, it possessed Giant Awakening... If the Golden Eagle could grow that big, perhaps it would be just as strong? ¡°Chirp¡ª¡± Upon hearing Wang Tao¡¯s words, the Golden Eagle chirped softly. ¡°Hm? You¡¯re saying you probably can¡¯t grow as large as it? Unless you turned into a Zombie Beast?¡± Wang Tao was slightly surprised to hear the Golden Eagle¡¯s response. The Golden Eagle vaguely sensed that its size could grow, but even if its strength grew to match the Giant Zombie¡¯s, it most likely wouldn¡¯t reach the size of the Giant Zombie unless its strength far exceeded that of the Giant Zombie... It thought this was related to the virus inside the zombies, which made such Giant Zombies larger. Meanwhile, its own body, free of even a trace of impurity, was as pristine as Wang Tao¡¯s... Wang Tao couldn¡¯t verify the accuracy of the Golden Eagle¡¯s senses, but he guessed they were correct, as many animals possessed incredible Perception abilities. It was reasonable for the Golden Eagle to sense these things. ¡°Let¡¯s forget about it, your size is pretty good as it is; any bigger and you¡¯d have nowhere to live.¡± Wang Tao smiled as he stroked the Golden Eagle¡¯s feathers. ¡°Chirp~¡± The Golden Eagle sounded a happy chirp; it certainly didn¡¯t want to become a Zombie Beast. After the Golden Eagle landed on the Giant Zombie¡¯s head, Wang Tao jumped straight down. The Giant Zombie¡¯s head had a big hole, and the spoils were all there. A total of 6 items and 5 Loot Packs! Seeing so much stuff, Wang Tao grinned broadly, not having exerted such effort in vain. [Obtained: ¡°Fifth Order Crystal Core ¨C Promotion x1¡±] [Obtained: Awakening Energy Pearl x1] [Obtained: Awakening Key x1] [Obtained: Giant¡¯s Eye x2] [Obtained: Giant¡¯s Heart x1] [Obtained: Blood Bead x1] An Orange Ascension Crystal Core, an Awakening Energy Pearl, an Awakening Key, two types of crafting materials, and Wang Tao¡¯s favorite thing¡ªa Blood Bead! [Blood Bead: Randomly increases a certain HP limit] Wang Tao had used a Blood Bead twice before; the first time, it increased his HP limit by 30,000, and the second by 20,000. Wang Tao had also obtained many items that increased HP limits, but those had limitations, becoming ineffective after a certain number. This Blood Bead, however, didn¡¯t show a limit in its description! That¡¯s what made the Blood Bead so valuable. As for the random increase in HP limit, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have high expectations¡ªas long as it increased, he wouldn¡¯t complain. Wang Tao immediately used the Blood Bead. Moments later, Wang Tao felt his physical condition had strengthened again, and he checked his Attributes. [260000/260000] 260,000 HP! His HP was just at 210,000, which meant... this time, the Blood Bead added 50,000 HP! ¡°Sss! A 50,000 HP increase!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes gleamed; this was exhilarating! He just wondered if the large amount of HP added by this Blood Bead was related to the Giant Zombie¡¯s Level. After all, the Blood Beads he used before were from Fourth-Order Giant Zombies... Chapter 1235 - 1235 508 Slaying the Giant Zombie_3 ?Chapter 1235: Chapter 508: Slaying the Giant Zombie_3 Chapter 1235: Chapter 508: Slaying the Giant Zombie_3 ¡°I¡¯ll have to try it out when I encounter another Giant Zombie!¡± Wang Tao was already setting his sights on other giants. Not to mention anything else but the fact they could drop Blood Beads, which surely put them on Wang Tao¡¯s hunting list. Previously he couldn¡¯t defeat them, but now that he could triumph head-on, even without a scratch, there was even less reason for Wang Tao to let these Giant Zombies go! After collecting himself, Wang Tao looked towards the Loot Pack. Inside the first Crystal Core Gift Bag were six Crystal Cores. They were an Orange [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Ascension], a Purple [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Omnipotence], a Red [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Stripping], a Purple [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Great Strength], a Purple [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Defense], and a White [Fifth Order Crystal Core: Mental Defense]. Giant Zombies could drop Exraction Crystal Cores; this being a Level 5 Lord, naturally meant that it dropped a Level 5 Exraction Crystal Core. It was particularly precious to Wang Tao, who currently only had this one, so he stored it in his Space Backpack for the time being. The second Loot Pack contained a plethora of Potions. [Acquired: Strength Potion (Large) x30] [Acquired: Defense Potion (Large) x30] [Acquired: Life Elixir (Medium) x30] [Acquired: Energy Elixir (Medium) x30] There were four types of potions. The Strength and Defense Potions were both large ones. Wang Tao had previously obtained a large Strength Potion and the corresponding Blueprints, but it was his first time seeing a large Defense Potion. However, what thrilled Wang Tao the most were the medium-sized Life and Energy Elixirs! [Life Elixir (Medium): HP limit +5000 (up to 10 bottles can be consumed)] [Energy Elixir (Medium): Mana limit +5000 (up to 10 bottles can be consumed)] The two Fourth-Order Giant Zombies he had killed before had only granted him small-sized potions, with an HP and Mana limit increase of +1000, which he had already consumed 10 bottles of each. But these were medium-sized potions, with an HP and Mana limit that could increase by +5000, meaning 10 bottles totaled 50,000! Without further ado, Wang Tao guzzled them down. Moments later, Wang Tao¡¯s HP limit reached 310,000, and his Mana limit also arrived at 200,000! ¡°Awesome!¡± Wang Tao felt a surge of strength within him. If he encountered another Level 5 Giant Zombie, he was confident he could finish the fight in an even shorter time! ¡°Right! Xiao Jin should be able to use these potions too since even Lightning can...¡± Wang Tao took out a Life Elixir and let Xiao Jin have it. Xiao Jin didn¡¯t know what it was, but it trusted Wang Tao and drank it straight away. Then, Xiao Jin¡¯s HP increased by five thousand, and its body grew a little larger. ¡°Chirp!¡± Xiao Jin was pleasantly surprised; it hadn¡¯t expected that the substance would strengthen it. ¡°Indeed it works, let¡¯s keep it going!¡± Wang Tao burst into laughter and promptly took out nine more Life Elixirs for Xiao Jin to drink. Mana wasn¡¯t much use to Xiao Jin, so it just drank the ones that increased HP. Shortly afterward, Xiao Jin¡¯s HP also increased by 50,000, reaching 350,000! And its body size obviously increased, making it look even more majestic and imposing. ¡°Chirp~¡± Xiao Jin gently rubbed its huge beak against Wang Tao, expressing its joy. But its ¡°gentle¡± pushed Wang Tao quite a distance away. ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ve told you before, following me will ensure you won¡¯t be at a loss.¡± Wang Tao repeatedly calmed the affectionate Golden Eagle. It was so large that even its affectionate gestures were potent. Wang Tao continued to check the spoils of war. The third Loot Pack contained an Awakening Key. [Acquired: Awakening Key x1] Now, this item was useless to Wang Tao; he saved it for Ding Yuqin and the others. Then he opened the fourth Loot Pack. [Acquired: Gem Slot Opener x5] [Gem Slot Opener: Can create a gem slot on equipment that lacks one] The two Fourth-Order Giant Zombies he had previously killed each dropped only two Gem Slot Openers, but now, there were five¡ªa more than twofold increase. This item was pretty good, but not every Crystal Core could be inlaid, so Wang Tao hadn¡¯t used it much, just once. He planned to see if he could buy some more Crystal Cores and find out if there were any suitable for inlaying onto Weapon Equipment... The last Loot Pack contained two Blueprints. [Acquired: Giant Slayer Ring Blueprint x1] [Acquired: Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace Blueprint x1] [Giant Slayer Ring Blueprint: Allows crafting a ring. Required materials: Eye of the Giant x1, Fifth Order Crystal Core x1] [Giant Slayer Ring: Attributes unknown] [Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace Blueprint: Allows crafting a necklace. Required materials: Giant¡¯s Heart x1, Fifth Order Crystal Core x1] [Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace: Attributes unknown] ¡°Hm? New equipment!¡± The Giant Zombies Wang Tao had previously killed had yielded Blueprints for a ring and heavy armor. But this time it was for a ring and a necklace. The Giant Slayer Ring looked good; Wang Tao had tested it during the fight, and indeed, it increased damage. Unfortunately, the effects of the two rings couldn¡¯t be stacked... However, this time it was a fifth-rank ring, maybe its attributes differed from the fourth-rank ring? And what about the attributes of this Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace? Curious, Wang Tao immediately started crafting. Moments later, both items of Equipment were crafted. [Giant Slayer Ring] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [When attacking a life that has awakened ¡°Giant,¡± damage +20%; when attacked by a life that has awakened ¡°Giant,¡± received damage -20%] Sure enough, the Fifth-Rank Giant Slayer Ring was different; the Fourth-Order one provided damage +10%, and damage reduction of 10%, while this Fifth-Order one provided +20% damage, and the damage reduction was 20%! Wang Tao had just mentioned it was a pity the effects of the Giant Slayer Ring couldn¡¯t be stacked, and now, this single Fifth-Order ring was equivalent to the original two! Chapter 1236 - 1236 509 Giants Heart Necklace ?Chapter 1236: Chapter 509: Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace Chapter 1236: Chapter 509: Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace Wang Tao removed his fourth-tier Giant Slayer Ring and switched it with this level 5 one. From now on, when he battled Giant Zombies, he would deal an extra 20% damage. Then, Wang Tao looked at the second piece of equipment, a very simplistic silver necklace with a pendant resembling a tiny heart. [Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace] [Fifth-Order (Epic)] [Strength +10%, Stamina +10%, Attack power +10%, Defensive power +10%] ¡°This attribute... seems quite impressive!¡± Seeing the attributes of the Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace, Wang Tao was somewhat amazed. It was the first time he had seen attributes like ¡°Strength¡± and ¡°Stamina¡± being increased, and by as much as 10% at that! And aside from strength and stamina, there was an additional 10% increase in attack power and defensive power! Right now, Wang Tao wore a ¡°Physical Necklace¡± around his neck, and its attributes were quite strong. It primarily increased mental defense power, reduced physical strength consumption, and reduced ability energy usage. [Physical Necklace] [Fourth-tier (Excellence)] [Spiritual Defense Power +20, Physical strength consumption -20%, includes Focus Effect (Focus Effect requires Awakening Energy)] [Focus: Reduces energy consumption when using abilities] But right now, Wang Tao was not lacking in spiritual defense power, as he was a psychic system awakener, and he naturally had high spiritual defense. Not to mention his mana, he currently had 200,000 mana, which was so much that he couldn¡¯t use it all up¡ªbecause his main method of attack relied on awakening, and the energy consumption for his four abilities primarily used Awakening Energy, so he didn¡¯t use much mana. As for the attribute of reducing physical strength consumption, Wang Tao found it somewhat useful, or rather, this attribute was very nice for the vast majority of people. But now that Wang Tao had experienced a System Awakening, his physical strength ceiling had increased by an unknown amount, and he didn¡¯t lack that little bit... So, at present, this Physical Necklace offered only a limited enhancement to Wang Tao. However, blueprints for items like necklaces had a very low drop rate, and up to now, Wang Tao had only obtained three blueprints. Another one was the Ice Necklace, which had great attributes, increasing both ice attribute attack and ice attribute defense by 20! Unfortunately, Wang Tao was not an ice attribute awakener, so he couldn¡¯t use it. And now, he finally obtained another necklace, and it was a very strong one at that, ready to replace the Physical Necklace. First, Wang Tao tried wearing two necklaces to see if there was any stacking effect, and, as he expected, the Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace didn¡¯t trigger. So, he reluctantly removed the Physical Necklace and then put on the Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace. In that instant, Wang Tao felt his body filled with more strength. ¡°This effect is somewhat noticeable...¡± Attributes like increased attack power and defensive power aren¡¯t something one can intuitively feel; it can only be discerned through the process of combat. But strength and stamina are different; as soon as Wang Tao wore the Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace, he immediately felt stronger. And with increased strength also came an increase in his physical attack, coupled with an additional 10% attack power bonus... Wang Tao felt the enhancement from this necklace would be substantial! He was even somewhat eager to encounter Giant Zombies again, but Wang Tao didn¡¯t forget his mission. ¡°Lightning, can you swallow that?¡± Wang Tao pointed at the corpse of the Giant Zombie and said. During the battle, Lightning had stayed on the back of the Golden Eagle the entire time. Although he had a lot of HP, he was only at level 4. Facing such a level of combat, it wasn¡¯t easy for him to get involved. ¡°Woof~¡± Lightning immediately opened his mouth wide, and then the body of the Giant Zombie rapidly shrank and entered Lightning¡¯s mouth. Lightning¡¯s HP ceiling increased by 5000, and his size grew slightly. Wang Tao hadn¡¯t yet given the Life Elixir to Lightning, because Lightning could increase his HP by devouring corpses, while the Golden Eagle and others had fewer ways to gain HP, so it seemed more fitting to save it for others, and give it to Lightning later if there were excess. ¡°There are no other enemies around, right?¡± Wang Tao asked. ¡°Chirp~¡± ¡°Woof~¡± Xiao Jin and Lightning both told Wang Tao there were no more enemies around; this Giant Zombie was alone. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Whew¡ª The Golden Eagle flapped its wings, carrying Wang Tao and Lightning back into the sky. Wang Tao took out a map, discerned the direction, and then had the Golden Eagle head towards the coordinates. Perhaps due to the deterrent presence of the Giant Zombie, there were no zombies on the ground or in the air, and Wang Tao was happy for the peace. He took the opportunity to reflect on the battle, summarizing the gains and losses. The harvest from hunting the Giant Zombie was very bountiful, but the greatest gain wasn¡¯t the Blood Beads or the necklace, but rather, Wang Tao knew how he should hunt zombies of this level! If he were to do it again, he was confident that he could resolve the battle in a short time! In the future, he had to pay more attention to news of Giant Zombies; he might be well on his way to becoming a ¡°Giant Slayer¡±... ¡°Oh right, I almost forgot about this!¡± Wang Tao suddenly remembered that some of the equipment on the back of the Golden Eagle seemed destroyed, but some were still intact. The intensity of the previous battle had left no time to carefully inspect them, but now was a good opportunity to study them. ¡°I understand now...¡± A moment later, Wang Tao¡¯s face showed a sudden realization. He wasn¡¯t wrong before, indeed some equipment had been destroyed, but some weren¡¯t affected. And the reason for the varying outcomes seemed to be related to batteries¡ªthe equipment with built-in batteries were all destroyed irrespective of whether they were powered on or off, while the equipment without built-in batteries were fine. ¡°Could that strange energy in the sky be related to electricity?¡± Chapter 1237 - 1237 509 Giants Heart Necklace_2 ?Chapter 1237: Chapter 509: Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace_2 Chapter 1237: Chapter 509: Giant¡¯s Heart Necklace_2 Wang Tao shook his head; he didn¡¯t understand these matters. He would tell the research institute when he returned and let them study it. ¡°Chirp~¡± At that moment, the Golden Eagle called out. ¡°Have we arrived?¡± Wang Tao quickly looked down. Below seemed to be an ice-covered lake, which was actually a reservoir. The coordinates given by Gu Yun were near this reservoir. Before arriving, Wang Tao had thought that if any survivors were still alive here, he should be able to spot them from the air very quickly. But only when he saw the situation here did he realize it was not as simple as he had thought. Other than the ice-covered reservoir, there was nothing else. No building ruins, no Survivor Base, just a flat land, as if it was a desolate place never touched by humans. ¡°How are we supposed to find anything...¡± Wang Tao was somewhat dumbfounded. If Gu Yun¡¯s information was correct and there really were survivors here, then those survivors would most likely only be staying in one place¡ªunderground! Wang Tao thought about the flying zombies he had encountered on his way here; if there were many flying zombies here, then it made sense to hide underground... But the problem was, the place was a desolate white expanse with not a single zombie in sight. There was no sign of an entrance anywhere... ¡°Let¡¯s start by searching around the reservoir to see if we can find anything...¡± ... ¡°Will we die?¡± In the jumping firelight, a burly man wearing homemade armor looked somewhat sad. ¡°No, we will definitely survive!¡± Next to the man, a plump woman tightly held onto the man¡¯s arm, her tone very certain. ¡°Ah, I feel like I¡¯m not suited for being a leader, my abilities aren¡¯t good enough. If it were someone else¡ª¡± The man¡¯s words were cut off as the woman gently covered his mouth. ¡°Yao Hai, you are a natural-born leader! Without you, we wouldn¡¯t even know how many times we would have died, nor could we have assembled this group of a full thousand people! I won¡¯t allow you to talk about yourself like that! They won¡¯t allow it either!¡± The woman¡¯s expression was very serious. After hearing the woman¡¯s words, Yao Hai did not say anything more, but his somewhat dispirited spirit seemed much improved. The two were silent for a while before the man spoke: ¡°Su Jie, let¡¯s go reinforce the last passage.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Su Jie immediately grabbed a torch hanging on the wall and then the two left the passage. At the entrance of the passage, there were four robust men holding spears; they immediately saluted Yao Hai with a not-so-standard military salute. ¡°Keep an eye on this place. If there are any problems, report to me immediately.¡± Yao Hai¡¯s expression was serious. ¡°Yes, General!¡± The last passage was not far from there, and Yao Hai and Su Jie walked for a while before arriving. ¡°Hehe...¡± ¡°Roar...¡± Just as they arrived, they heard the hissing of zombies inside the passage. The men at the entrance of the passage immediately saluted, Yao Hai nodded, and then walked straight in with Su Jie following closely behind. This passage was much shorter than the previous one, and the end seemed to be earthen, but the hissing of zombies was coming from within the earth! ¡°This earthen wall has taken more attacks...¡± Yao Hai immediately went to the end of the passage, placed his hand on the earthen wall, and then visibly, the wall began to thicken, even pushing Yao Hai backward. When the inscriptions reading ¡°Air-raid, Peace¡± on the wall were completely covered by the earthen wall, and he was pushed back to the entrance of the passage, he finally removed his hand. Beside him, Su Jie quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, then asked: ¡°How is it here?¡± ¡°It should hold for another three or four days...¡± Yao Hai did not conceal anything. Hearing this, a gloomy expression also appeared on Su Jie¡¯s face. The several men holding spears all displayed sad emotions, fully aware that reinforcing the earthen wall was just a slow death, after all, their space here was limited, and the zombies were tirelessly destroying the earthen wall day and night; they would inevitably meet them... ¡°Three or four days isn¡¯t short, we should try to fix the equipment again, maybe we can get in touch with the reinforcements!¡± Su Jie once again buoyed Yao Hai¡¯s spirits. ¡°Reinforcements...¡± Not only did the ability users on duty find it hard to believe, but even Yao Hai, an Awakener, didn¡¯t believe it. Outside, it was a frozen snowy wasteland, even if there were reinforcements, could they come to their rescue? Even if they wanted to, it was impossible! However, such demoralizing words were unnecessary, and Yao Hai could only manage a strained smile. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s hope for some luck. Let¡¯s go, back to base.¡± The two made their way back to the central area of the base, where a wooden sign painted in red hung at the entrance with the characters for ¡°Ocean.¡± This place was an air-raid shelter from before the Apocalypse, now their ¡°Ocean Base.¡± Despite being spacious inside the air-raid shelter, the environment was slightly chaotic, and there were quite a few people. The survivors greeted Yao Hai as soon as they saw him return. ¡°General!¡± Yao Hai nodded to the crowd without any air of superiority. But the survivors weren¡¯t fools; seeing Yao Hai¡¯s forced smile, they could guess that the situation wasn¡¯t very optimistic. It seemed to them that after enduring for so long in the Apocalypse, they still couldn¡¯t escape the fate of becoming zombie fodder... Just then, a somewhat hoarse voice suddenly echoed. ¡°General Yao, your situation doesn¡¯t seem too good, does it?¡± Hearing this voice, both Yao Hai and Su Jie looked surprised and displeased. Most of the survivors didn¡¯t look happy either, but some had an inexplicable look on their faces. ¡°Zou Jian, you¡¯re here again.¡± ¡°Hey! What do you mean ¡®again¡¯? The last time I came was three days ago, okay?¡± The man called Zou Jian, who had wrapped himself up tightly from head to toe, was talking as he started peeling off his layers of clothing, eventually revealing a skinny body. ¡°It¡¯s still warmer in here, it¡¯s freezing outside!¡± Zou Jian swaggered over to a chair, sat down, and then bellowed, ¡°Got any hot water? Is this how you treat your guests?¡± Yao Hai subconsciously wanted to tell someone to pour some water, but Su Jie tugged at his clothes. He then realized and said somewhat stiffly: ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°Of course, I am here to help you all! You won¡¯t last much longer! Right now, only our ¡®Mammoth Base¡¯ can save you!¡± While Zou Jian spoke, he glared fiercely at Su Jie behind Yao Hai. He swore that once Ocean Base was integrated into Mammoth Base, he would make that woman¡¯s life a living hell! The previous attempts to take over Ocean Base had all been thwarted by this woman, and today, she even denied him hot water... it was a total disrespect! Although he was only a Level 3 ability user, at times like this, Yao Hai, the Awakener, was no match for him! Being looked down upon like this... he would remember this grudge! ¡°No need, we can solve this ourselves.¡± Yao Hai outright refused. ¡°Oh! Solve it? How do you plan to solve it? You¡¯re running out of food, right? Take them outside to freeze to death? Or stay here and persist until you starve? Of course, you might be eaten by zombies first.¡± Zou Jian quickly sneered, but then it seemed he remembered something else and continued. ¡°Oh right, is it that unrealistic rescue operation?¡± Whoosh¡ª As Zou Jian uttered these words, Yao Hai instantly appeared in front of Zou Jian, grabbed him by the collar, and lifted him single-handedly. ¡°How do you know about this! Who told you!¡± He had unexpectedly managed to contact Changhe Base, and not many people knew about it, just the core members of Ocean Base. How could Zou Jian from Mammoth Base possibly know! ¡°Cough, cough! Let go of me! Don¡¯t worry about how I know, but I do know that your machine is broken, and you¡¯re completely cut off... you have no choice now!¡± Zou Jian glared viciously at Yao Hai, sadly outmatched. Fury written all over his face, Yao Hai even suspected that Zou Jian might have sabotaged the machine. But discussing this now was pointless... He furiously threw Zou Jian down. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here for three days, giving you three days to think it over. If you haven¡¯t decided in three days... then I will never come again, and we shall part ways forever!¡± Hearing this, including Yao Hai, the expressions of the survivors shifted. Although they all disliked Zou Jian, they couldn¡¯t deny that Zou Jian, or rather Mammoth Base, was indeed their last chance. Even if this opportunity meant being slaves or laborers, at least they would still be alive... Chapter 1238 - 1238 510 Ocean Base ?Chapter 1238: Chapter 510 Ocean Base Chapter 1238: Chapter 510 Ocean Base Ocean Base, central meeting room. ¡°Everyone, please feel free to speak your mind.¡± Looking at the crowd before him, Yao Hai¡¯s tone was somewhat weary. The Ocean Base currently housed 1,037 people, all of whom obeyed Yao Hai¡¯s orders; he was rightfully the Local Tyrant here. But at this moment, he no longer had the spirited enthusiasm that he had when the base was first established; he even wanted to abdicate and let someone capable take over! Beside him, Su Jie seemed to sense his thoughts and immediately grasped his hand. Looking into Su Jie¡¯s encouraging eyes, Yao Hai sighed again in his heart. If someone could lead the base forward, he truly wouldn¡¯t mind relinquishing his power, but unfortunately, no one was capable! ¡°General, could we discuss with Zou Jian the possibility of borrowing some food from Mammoth Base? After winter passes, we could hunt and return it to them, even with some extra interest...¡± At that moment, someone spoke up. The others also turned their gaze toward Yao Hai. ¡°No.¡± But Yao Hai shook his head directly. Seeing the disappointed looks of the crowd, he explained, ¡°First, let¡¯s not talk about whether the other party is willing to lend us food. Even if they really do, just having food is not enough...¡± Hearing Yao Hai¡¯s words, the faces of the crowd immediately tensed. ¡°General, are you saying...¡± ¡°Yes, those passages won¡¯t hold for long. In about three days, we¡¯ll have to face an onslaught of a Zombie Tide. We can¡¯t retreat this time. After all, the space inside the air-raid shelter is limited. If we retreat further, there will be no place left to live. We need to handle this Zombie Herd and then reseal the passages...¡± Yao Hai sighed. ¡°This...¡± The people exchanged looks with one another, their expressions turning ugly, some even regretting why they chose to establish the base here. If the base were somewhere else, maybe they wouldn¡¯t have this kind of ¡°surprise¡±... But thinking it over, Yao Hai had sought their opinions at the time, and they had unanimously approved. The crowd fell into silence. Seeing the regretful expressions on their faces, Yao Hai also felt some regret. They were all excited when they accidentally discovered this air-raid shelter while moving; it seemed like a natural base. The air-raid shelter was large, with highly developed passages, like an underground labyrinth. Naturally, that was beneficial for them; they wouldn¡¯t mind having as big a base as possible. However, they soon changed their minds because they discovered zombies in this ¡°underground labyrinth¡±! Aside from the entrance and some areas they found, zombies inhabited the other passages! Luckily, each passage in the air-raid shelter had a door, isolating the zombies outside. As long as the doors remained closed, with the steel-reinforced concrete doors, holding off the zombies should not be a problem. But they underestimated the zombies; once they detected food, their destructive powers were terrifying. Moreover, these zombies were strong, and the people at the base might not be a match for them. As he saw the door about to be breached, Yao Hai promptly took action. He had awakened the Earth Element Ability earlier and could create earthen walls as strong as steel. He used an earthen wall to block the zombies. Yao Hai¡¯s earthen wall not only had great defensive power, the most crucial aspect was that within a certain range he had created, he could perceive the condition of the earthen wall, thus determining whether any zombies were approaching. It was like being a human radar! Therefore, the task of holding back the zombies inevitably fell to him. Of course, he knew that this was merely a temporary solution, and not a cure; they had to either handle these zombies or move. The possibility of handling the zombies wasn¡¯t great; if possible, he would have already done so. Moving was even more unlikely since he had just relocated here not long ago, and suddenly heavy snow began to fall, with temperatures outside dropping sharply. He might be fine going out, but the other survivors would definitely freeze to death. Fortunately, his earthen wall did indeed hold back the zombies, keeping them temporarily safe. Yao Hai decided to wait until winter was over to see whether to think of ways to deal with the zombies or to move again. But this winter proved much harder than he imagined, and the zombies blocked by the earthen wall didn¡¯t give up; they continued tirelessly to wear down the wall! Yao Hai couldn¡¯t be sure of handling those zombies and could only keep reinforcing the earthen wall. A few days ago, a herd of zombies reached their base entrance; it seemed they were preparing to build a nest there. Yao Hai of course wouldn¡¯t allow zombies to build a nest right at his doorstep, or else they wouldn¡¯t be able to leave. After assessing the strength of these zombies in his mind, he felt that he could handle them with a group of people, so he went out to fight. Coincidentally, while they were fighting outside, one of the passage¡¯s earthen walls was breached. A massive number of zombies directly rushed into their base! Yao Hai panicked terribly, thinking the base was doomed, but fortunately, his wife, Su Jie, was there. Su Jie wasn¡¯t very capable in combat, but she was quick-witted; a lot of the rules and regulations leading so many people were established by Su Jie. She organized manpower, leveraged the special terrain of the air-raid shelter, and managed to arduously withstand the attack of the Zombie Herd. When Yao Hai returned from handling the outside fighting, he found that they had lost just over a hundred people ¡ª considering the emergence of zombies inside the base, losing just over a hundred was indeed not many; he had seen too many bases wiped out due to a single zombie. Ultimately, Yao Hai handled those zombies and sealed the passage once again. Fortunately, the zombies from that passage did not swarm all at once but came in waves, giving him breathing space; otherwise, they likely would have breached it. Chapter 1239 - 1239 510 Ocean Base_2 ?Chapter 1239: Chapter 510 Ocean Base_2 Chapter 1239: Chapter 510 Ocean Base_2 ¡°` However, it was precisely because of this battle that Yao Hai briefly entered that corridor. In addition to seeing many zombies, he also found some strange devices. The Ocean Base, where they were now, was severely lacking in resources. Embracing the idea that since they were there, he might as well take a risk, he managed to bring the devices back and then continued to seal the passageway with an earth-and-rock wall. He didn¡¯t understand these electronic products, but there were survivors in the base who did. These survivors discovered they were military wireless equipment. After some fiddling, they actually made contact with someone else! But the radio¡¯s signal wasn¡¯t very good, uneven and intermittent. All he could make out was something about a ¡°Changhe Base.¡± He asked the other party for help, whether or not it was useful, at least to give it a try. But before he could finish, the signal completely cut off... The survivor operating the radio said he could fix it, telling Yao Hai not to worry. It would only take one night, and they would surely be able to contact Changhe Base again. But the next day, the device was utterly broken... This made Yao Hai very uncomfortable. Actually, he didn¡¯t have any real expectation of Changhe Base. Having survived the apocalypse for so long, what hadn¡¯t he seen before? Stepping back ten thousand steps, even if Changhe Base was genuinely benevolent and willing to come to their aid, in this ice-and-snow environment, with Frozen Zombies and Flying Zombies outside, who knew if coming would mean certain death! He just wanted to leave some hope for the other survivors in the base. As long as there was hope, people could continue to live. The ability to lead so many was based on making the survivors feel that there was hope in following him. Unfortunately, it seemed like fate didn¡¯t want to offer them this hope... Of course, this ¡°slim hope¡± wasn¡¯t something he should be concerned with at the moment. What he needed to consider now was how to overcome the immediate crisis. Their food would last, at most, ten more days, but looking at the current dreadful weather, it clearly wouldn¡¯t get any warmer after ten days, so food was a significant problem. And one of the passages inside their base was almost out of earth-and-rock wall materials. If he continued reinforcing, they would have to encroach upon the living space within the base. They couldn¡¯t go out right now, and their base¡¯s interior was only so big; with each use, space diminished. So they couldn¡¯t keep reinforcing. While they still had food and physical strength left, they needed to deal with these zombies. Then, they could construct a new earth-and-rock wall at the far end of that passageway... Besides these problems, there was an even bigger issue at hand¡ªthe Mammoth Base issued a final ultimatum: whether to wait for death or merge into Mammoth Base, the decision rested solely on a single thought from Yao Hai! Mammoth Base was considered Ocean Base¡¯s neighbor, but their base wasn¡¯t an air-raid shelter; instead, it was situated within a pitch-black rift. Only after moving to this air-raid shelter did Yao Hai learn about Mammoth Base. It was Zou Jian who came to find them at that time. Although Zou Jian was only a Level 3 ability user, he had merged with many Ice Attribute Defense Crystal Cores before and could move through this icy, snowy landscape. Therefore, he was the spokesperson for Mammoth Base. At that time, Zou Jian promised all sorts of benefits, hoping Yao Hai would lead Ocean Base to join Mammoth Base. Honestly, Yao Hai was somewhat tempted at the time. Because truly, he wasn¡¯t adept at leading the team. The reason he had managed to grow the team to such size was mostly thanks to his wife, Su Jie. Whatever Su Jie told him to do, he did. Unwittingly, he had gathered a thousand-strong team, all of whom followed his every command, like how everyone else referred to him as ¡°General,¡± which was also a rule set by Su Jie... The life and death of a thousand people hinged on his single decision. Some people might like this sensation, but he didn¡¯t. He only felt the pressure was too great! So, he believed that entirely merging with Mammoth Base was not a bad choice. However, when discussing with Su Jie, she advised him not to rush into any decision, but to first inspect Mammoth Base. No matter how good Zou Jian made it sound, without seeing it for themselves, it was just talk. What if it was a trap? They had run into such situations before. Yao Hai thought his wife made sense, so he then suggested taking a tour of Mammoth Base. Zou Jian immediately agreed. Thus, Yao Hai, along with two other Awakeners and Su Jie, took a trip to Mammoth Base. Ocean Base had a total of four Awakeners, and naturally, these four were the highest combat power of the base. Leaving one to guard the home, the three Awakeners set out together, ensuring a certain level of safety. Upon arriving at Mammoth Base, Yao Hai was shocked to discover that Mammoth Base was actually within a pitch-black rift! He had seen these rifts before; he thought they were some kind of abyss. He never expected they could be habitable. You had to admit, the location was really good! The black fog overhead blocked the view of Flying Zombies. Below, the temperature was a bit higher than outside, and zombies didn¡¯t seem to specifically venture into this kind of place. Although it was somewhat dark, lighting some torches would both illuminate and warm the place... building a base here was just perfect! Unfortunately, despite the rift¡¯s size, only the part where Mammoth Base was located was inclined enough to descend. Everywhere else was like a cliff, inaccessible. The people of Mammoth Base also received Yao Hai with great ceremony, allowing him to witness their strength. Mammoth Base had a total population of three thousand people, and there were even seven Awakeners! Their strength was much greater than that of Ocean Base. But as the people of Mammoth Base continued to show them around, Yao Hai gradually realized something was amiss. Despite the large population of Mammoth Base, many of their people were living like the walking dead, and unless you looked closely, you might think they were zombies. ¡°` Chapter 1240 - 1240 510 Ocean Base_3 ?Chapter 1240: Chapter 510 Ocean Base_3 Chapter 1240: Chapter 510 Ocean Base_3 These people were alive, but that was about all. Mammoth Base did not hide anything from Yao Hai, and they told him that once a survivor arrived at their base and accepted their food and living space, the survivor¡¯s life no longer belonged to themselves, but to them, as their personal property! Calling them personal property was putting it mildly, in plainer terms, they were essentially slaves. They could demand these survivors to do anything, and the survivors had no right to refuse! Seeing this, Yao Hai did not want his base to merge with this place anymore. Although Mammoth Base stated that Yao Hai would certainly be one of the masters and that they would not harm Yao Hai and his people¡¯s interests. But if Yao Hai had wanted to play the role of a Local Tyrant, he would have done so already. He really had no interest in these things and even found them repellent. However, Yao Hai was indecisive, after all, the people at their base were hardly surviving, and what if the survivors were willing? So Yao Hai did not rush to leave but continued his visit. Then he discovered something that he found even more unacceptable¡ª The Rift was not necessarily safe inside, as the area outside the base was very dangerous. Mammoth Base had these survivors mine, labor, and even venture into the depths to explore! Mining was one thing; at worst, they would be tired. But exploring could lead to death, and looking at Mammoth Base¡¯s data, the mortality rate was extremely high! Yao Hai felt that joining Mammoth Base was akin to being tortured before being sent to die... It might be better to die sooner. Added to that, Su Jie remained by his side, implying that he should refuse, so Yao Hai refused. The people from Mammoth Base did not say much, only that they would give Yao Hai time to consider, as their base was always there and always open to Ocean Base. Afterward, Zou Jian would visit Ocean Base from time to time. Although Yao Hai disliked Mammoth Base, there was currently no conflict between them, so to prevent Zou Jian from freezing to death outside, he ordered that Zou Jian be let in if he came alone. Hence, Zou Jian became a regular visitor here. But now, Zou Jian was pressuring Yao Hai on behalf of Mammoth Base to make a decision. Yao Hai did not want to, but after all, it was the lives of more than a thousand people... ¡°Maybe we should just merge with Mammoth Base?¡± Finally, someone spoke up. ¡°You know what that means.¡± Yao Hai¡¯s expression did not look good. Ordinary survivors might not be very clear about Mammoth Base¡¯s situation, aware that they might end up doing hard labor, but those in their leadership knew that ordinary survivors were likely to die if they went there. ¡°But we have no choice... And after all, General, your status will be exceptional there...¡± Hearing this, everyone exchanged glances. Zou Jian had said that if they went over with Yao Hai, they couldn¡¯t possibly be treated as slaves and that they could even live better than they do now! After all, the rules and regulations set by Yao Hai were too restrictive for them. Over there, masters could do whatever they liked to their slaves... If they really went, it would be tantamount to exchanging the interests of the ordinary survivors for their own benefits. Although it sounded somewhat contemptible, to be fair, they had done all they could for these survivors; perhaps it was time for these survivors to give something back? Knock knock knock! Just then, the door to the conference room was suddenly knocked on. ¡°Come in.¡± As Yao Hai¡¯s voice fell, a figure hurriedly rushed in. ¡°General, it¡¯s bad! There¡¯s an eagle of enormous size and terrifying presence circling above us! It feels like we¡¯ve been targeted!¡± ... It was over! Hearing this, a chill went down everyone¡¯s spine. They had seen the terror of Mutant Flying Beasts before when they were fleeing, especially the birds of prey ¨C they held grudges! If they were targeted by that thing, they could forget about leaving; to show themselves was to die! They couldn¡¯t even get out, so how could they merge with Mammoth Base... It seemed like their last hope was gone... It was all over! Chapter 1242 - 1242 511 Please Save Us_2 ?Chapter 1242: Chapter 511 Please Save Us_2 Chapter 1242: Chapter 511 Please Save Us_2 ¡°If Zou Jian goes out and attracts the attention of that eagle, he will definitely try everything to escape! The farther he runs, the farther the eagle will be drawn away. Does that mean we¡¯ll be temporarily safe?¡± ... Hearing this, Yao Hai opened his mouth. But Su Jie hadn¡¯t finished speaking; she continued: ¡°Now, in the dead of winter, it must be hard for mutant beasts to find food, right? If this eagle is smart enough¡ªafter the apocalypse, the mutant beasts have all become smarter! Maybe it won¡¯t attack Zou Jian right away but instead follow him to Mammoth Base?¡± ¡°???¡± Yao Hai¡¯s mouth hung open. ¡°With the terrifying power of this eagle, if it wipes out the entire Mammoth Base... then all our problems will be solved¡ªthe eagle would be gone, and the people of Mammoth Base would be dead. Then we could move into Mammoth Base!¡± ¡°!!!¡± Yao Hai stared at Su Jie in shock, as if he was seeing her for the first time. ¡°Of course, this is just my hypothesis. There are actually a lot of issues, for example, whether the eagle will occupy Mammoth Base, whether the eagle is that smart, whether the eagle can see the fleeing Zou Jian... There are too many uncertainties. But no matter what, this at least adds one potential way for us to survive, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Gulp~ Yao Hai swallowed hard. He wanted to say that this might not be a good idea, that if it were as Su Jie had said, it would mean exchanging the lives of all the survivors at Mammoth Base for those at Ocean Base. But when he thought about the various inhumane acts committed by Mammoth Base and the familiar faces of more than a thousand survivors at Ocean Base, he changed his mind. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take over as the leader of Ocean Base? I¡¯m not as capable as you...¡± Seeing Yao Hai¡¯s careful expression, Su Jie was somewhat speechless; she held Yao Hai¡¯s arm and said seriously: ¡°What nonsense are you talking about! You are the leader of Ocean Base, and you always will be! Only you can lead the more than a thousand people at Ocean Base to survive in the apocalypse! I¡¯m just occasionally offering a minor suggestion... You have to believe in yourself, you¡¯re the best!¡± Seeing the seriousness in Su Jie¡¯s eyes, Yao Hai suddenly regained confidence. ¡°Alright, then we all have to survive!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope that the eagle finds Zou Jian; logically, given the level of this mutant beast, Zou Jian¡¯s disguise might not work...¡± ... ¡°Huh? Why is that person going into the rift? Could it be that their base is down there?¡± In the air, on the back of the Golden Eagle. Watching Zou Jian hurriedly enter a dark underground rift, Wang Tao, who had been following him for a while, was somewhat amazed. There was a lot of black mist in the underground rift, and Wang Tao, being too far away, couldn¡¯t manipulate the black mist and naturally couldn¡¯t see the situation inside. But Wang Tao speculated that there might indeed be a Survivor Base down there. On reflection, as long as all the dangers within the rift were cleared, it was actually a suitable place to build a base¡ªthe temperature inside the rift was relatively warm, there was no worry about being seen by flying zombies, and the other zombies outside wouldn¡¯t venture in... ¡°Chirp~¡± The Golden Eagle asked him whether to go down or return. After Wang Tao explained that the black mist was not dangerous, the Golden Eagle was no longer afraid of it. ¡°Let¡¯s go back first, and if there is indeed a Survivor Base here, it would be the second base. Our target is the first base; let¡¯s complete the mission first.¡± The Golden Eagle immediately turned around and flew toward the previous snow slope. Recalling the recent event, Wang Tao found it quite interesting. At the instant he noticed the explosion, Wang Tao thought of a phrase¡ª¡±feint to the east but attack in the west.¡± The Golden Eagle had noticed something and was preparing to land and investigate when a loud explosion suddenly occurred in the distance... It was too much of a coincidence, especially since it appeared to be caused by explosives, clearly man-made. Of course, it could genuinely be a coincidence, or perhaps something was actually amiss there. Anything was possible. So, Wang Tao had the Golden Eagle fly over. However, if even he could see the explosion from afar, then the Golden Eagle could certainly see even more. Similarly, at the location of the explosion, the Golden Eagle could still see the situation at the previous snow slope clearly! Those survivors knew nothing about the Golden Eagle¡¯s capabilities. Without Wang Tao even needing to remind it, the Golden Eagle was always observing the surroundings. When a hole suddenly appeared at the snow slope, the Golden Eagle immediately spotted them and even made out a few people inside. Hearing the Golden Eagle report that one person had come out and run in a different direction, Wang Tao became curious, so he had the Golden Eagle follow far behind to see. Judging by the look of the base, there seemed to be no immediate danger. Then Wang Tao discovered that the person had gone into the rift... That was a bit of an unexpected gain. Soon, the Golden Eagle returned to the vicinity of the previous snow slope. ¡°You play outside for a while to avoid scaring them from opening the door. I¡¯ll go by myself to take a look, and I¡¯ll call you if needed.¡± Wang Tao jumped down along with Lightning. Since he had discovered that Survivor Base was still safe, Wang Tao decided to go inside to see what kind of people the survivors were. Changhe Base wasn¡¯t just open to anyone, and the atmosphere inside was very good right now. Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t allow a single bad apple. ¡°Chirp~¡± After Golden Eagle soared into the sky again, Wang Tao straightened his clothes and then, accompanied by Lightning, calmly made his way to the snowy slope amidst the blizzard. There were hardly any traces in the snow, but Wang Tao still used his spiritual power to spot some shallow footprints. He followed them to the front gate and then stomped his foot. Boom¡ª With that stomp, the surrounding snow and dirt were blown away, revealing a slanted metal gate. ¡°Is anyone there?¡± Wang Tao shouted. Creak¡ª Moments later, the metal gate cracked open a slit, revealing two shocked faces. Looking at the man and dog who walked through such icy conditions as if strolling in a courtyard... Yao Hai was puzzled, and Su Jie next to him was equally baffled. Not to mention where this man and dog came from, isn¡¯t it cold! They felt like freezing to death just by opening a crack in the door... ¡°Hurry in! There are mutant flying beasts outside!¡± It was Su Jie who reacted first, immediately inviting Wang Tao inside. Under normal circumstances, they shouldn¡¯t have let strangers into the base so casually, especially given the strange manner of Wang Tao¡¯s arrival... but now, with Ocean Base at a life-and-death juncture, they couldn¡¯t afford to miss any opportunities! Wang Tao and Lightning swaggered into the base. Once inside, Yao Hai quickly closed the door. There were some torches around, making the environment fairly bright. Wang Tao instantly noticed the words ¡°Ocean Base.¡± ¡°This is ¡®Ocean Base¡¯?¡± Seeing Wang Tao¡¯s confusion, Yao Hai quickly responded, ¡°Ahem! Hello, my name is Yao Hai, nickname Ocean...¡± ¡°...Makes sense. My name is Wang Tao, and this is Lightning. Nice to meet you.¡± Wang Tao couldn¡¯t help but express his feelings. ¡°Hello, hello, this is my girlfriend Su Jie...¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. Wang!¡± While introducing themselves, Yao Hai and Su Jie quietly observed Wang Tao. Wang Tao¡¯s towering figure was quite imposing, especially when accompanied by a sizable wolf-dog... the presence was simply overwhelming. Although they were unsure of the levels of Wang Tao and Lightning, there was no doubt that their combat abilities were incredibly strong. Yao Hai led Wang Tao to the central area of the base. When other survivors saw Yao Hai bring in a tall stranger and a dog, they immediately gave curious glances. As Wang Tao observed these survivors, he instantly got a measure of them. A person¡¯s spirit can reflect their environment; these people looked a bit dispirited but hadn¡¯t lost hope for life, especially the trusting looks they gave Yao Hai. Wang Tao was all too familiar with that! Since there didn¡¯t seem to be any major problems, Wang Tao didn¡¯t waste any more time. He directly asked, ¡°Did you send out a distress signal a few days ago?¡± Wang Tao needed to confirm once more if it was their message. ¡°Ah?¡± Yao Hai was confused again. No, it wasn¡¯t that he had unexpectedly contacted some unknown base, and it would be fine if Zou Jian knew, but how did a new outsider also know? Compared to his naive confusion, Su Jie just stared in disbelief. ¡°Mr. Wang, you... are you from Changhe Base?¡± Wang Tao nodded. Thud! Before Wang Tao could react, Su Jie had already knelt down, dragging along a bewildered Yao Hai. ¡°Mr. Wang, please save our 1037 survivors at Ocean Base!¡± Chapter 1243 - 1243 512 Building a Home in the Night Demons ?Chapter 1243: Chapter 512: Building a Home in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest Chapter 1243: Chapter 512: Building a Home in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest Seeing Su Jie kneeling and asking for help, Wang Tao was very surprised. Especially since Su Jie not only knelt down herself but also pulled Yao Hai down with her... This woman was too decisive, without even asking another question. At this time, Yao Hai was still confused, but he always listened to his girlfriend and did not resist. As for the surrounding survivors, they were also very perplexed, clearly not understanding why the couple suddenly knelt before a stranger. ¡°Please stand up and speak.¡± Hearing Wang Tao speak, Su Jie hurriedly stood up without another word, of course, pulling Yao Hai up as well. Yao Hai had just realized, so the person before him was from Changhe Base?! No wonder his girlfriend kneeled so quickly to ask for his help in saving Ocean Base. He was preparing his words when Su Jie pulled him up again! Wait, since they had already kneeled, wouldn¡¯t it be better to kneel a little longer to win some sympathy? Why did they stand up again... Yao Hai felt like a puppet, completely unable to keep up with Su Jie¡¯s pace. ¡°Mr. Wang, please follow me!¡± Su Jie uncharacteristically took the lead over Yao Hai, leading Wang Tao and Lightning to the conference room. On the way to the conference room, she had someone fetch some of the scarce frozen meat from the storage, stating it was for Lightning. Wang Tao saw that Lightning could eat and didn¡¯t refuse their kindness. Then Su Jie whispered to Yao Hai, ¡°Gather the top brass of the base.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Yao Hai nodded immediately. Actually, there was no need to look specifically, what with everything that happened today, they were already nearby. With a glance from Yao Hai, they immediately came to the conference room. ¡°Mr. Wang, these are all the high-ranking officials of our base...¡± ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, this is Mr. Wang from Changhe Base!¡± Su Jie took the initiative to introduce both parties. ¡°Hello.¡± Wang Tao nodded his head. ¡°Hello, Mr. Wang!¡± The others couldn¡¯t believe it, this was a person from Changhe Base! No wonder Yao Hai and Su Jie kneeled and begged him for help... As for whether Wang Tao was truly from there, if it had been Yao Hai who said it, they might have doubted and verified it, but since it was Su Jie who said it, they saw no need to doubt. Su Jie was the smartest person in their base, having proven her judgments to be almost always correct through many facts. Everyone truly respected Yao Hai and his wife. Su Jie asked Wang Tao to sit in the seat that originally belonged to Yao Hai, she and Yao Hai sitting next to Wang Tao, while others orderly took their seats, looking as if they were at a meeting led by their superior. Yao Hai and Su Jie didn¡¯t show the slightest air of rulers. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid I might deceive you?¡± Wang Tao looked at Su Jie with interest. His ¡°deceive¡± naturally referred to him being a person from Changhe Base. Su Jie hadn¡¯t done anything to verify this, simply taking it for granted. ¡°Afraid! But we¡¯re more afraid of Ocean Base being destroyed... We have no choice but to trust you!¡± Su Jie¡¯s face looked somewhat sad, others also sighed quietly. ¡°Then tell me what¡¯s going on here.¡± Wang Tao nodded; Su Jie was a smart person and saved him a lot of talking. Su Jie signaled Yao Hai with her eyes, and Yao Hai immediately said, ¡°Yes! We currently have 1037 survivors here...¡± Although sometimes slow, when it came to the knowledge of Ocean Base, even Su Jie couldn¡¯t match him. So, he began detailing the situation of Ocean Base clearly. Suddenly, Wang Tao interrupted him. ¡°Are you saying that there are still zombies inside this base?¡± Wang Tao¡¯s tone was very surprised. It was the first time he had seen a base with a large number of living zombies. ¡°Yes, they¡¯ve all been blocked by me, but it¡¯s just a temporary solution...¡± Yao Hai scratched his head and explained. Wang Tao looked at Yao Hai¡¯s attributes. [HP: 100000/100000] [Mana: 40000/40000] [Level: Level 4] [Internal Impurity: 15%] [Awakening: Rock and Soil Manipulation] [Rock and Soil Manipulation: Can generate and control rocks and soil to a certain extent] To Wang Tao, his strength was mediocre, but this awakening was interesting. Combining what he had just said, he could create many rock and soil walls in the air-raid shelter, blocking the zombies inside... It just wasn¡¯t clear how large these rock and soil walls could be. If they could be made on a large scale, wouldn¡¯t that make him an excellent builder? A natural talent for construction? Seeing this awakening, Wang Tao didn¡¯t think about its combat power but whether it could be used in construction. After all, no matter how strong the awakening, it wasn¡¯t as strong as he was. ¡°If nothing unexpected happens, we will have to fight these zombies again in a few days... Besides the zombies, we also have the threat of food shortage, which is the most lethal, as we can block the zombies, but without food, we can only wait for death... Oh right, there¡¯s also Mammoth Base, they want to coerce us into joining them...¡± This time Wang Tao didn¡¯t say anything, just listened until Yao Hai finished. ¡°So Rift is indeed a base... However, some of their people clearly don¡¯t fit in at Changhe Base...¡± This is an apocalypse; everyone has their own way of surviving, Wang Tao didn¡¯t have the ability to change that; what he could do was only to keep Changhe Base uncontaminated. After Yao Hai finished his introduction, he looked at Wang Tao worriedly. In his view, the problems currently faced by Ocean Base were severe, and he wasn¡¯t sure if Wang Tao could help solve them. Even if Wang Tao could solve just one, he would be immensely grateful. As for taking everyone from Ocean Base to Changhe Base... it wasn¡¯t a matter of daring to think about it, but rather he had never considered it. Chapter 1244 - 1244 512 Building a Home in the Night Demons ?Chapter 1244: Chapter 512: Building a Home in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest_2 Chapter 1244: Chapter 512: Building a Home in the Night Demon¡¯s Nest_2 Although Wang Tao had braved the heavy snow to get here, Yao Hai did not believe that Wang Tao had come from Changhe Base, because Changhe Base was too far from here! Even without the heavy snow, without the apocalypse, just relying on his legs, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t have possibly arrived here in such a short time... So he thought that Wang Tao must have temporarily left Changhe Base. Since he had unexpectedly contacted Changhe Base, Wang Tao should also have a way to communicate. Perhaps Changhe Base had seen that he was nearby and informed him of the situation here... Not only did he think so, Su Jie actually thought the same; she figured that Wang Tao had left Changhe Base long ago and was out on a mission. Now he might be going back and had conveniently stopped by to check in... Although this also had many inconsistencies, it was their boldest thought yet. There was no helping it; they had only contacted Changhe Base two days ago, and today someone had come, and even just a man and his dog walking... Unless they could fly, it was absolutely impossible. ¡°Cough, about that Mammoth Base, I want to say a few more words...¡± Su Jie, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up. ¡°Go ahead.¡± Wang Tao nodded. ¡°They sent someone to our base today, a man named Zou Jian. He left before you arrived because a giant eagle appeared in the sky, I don¡¯t know if you saw it...¡± Su Jie recounted how Zou Jian had come to give them a final ultimatum today, and how the sudden appearance of the Golden Eagle had scared him off. However, what surprised both Wang Tao and Yao Hai was that Su Jie also mentioned her purposeful release of Zou Jian, intending to use him as bait. Yao Hai frantically signaled with his eyes at Su Jie. Was this something that could be openly talked about? This was about scheming, even scheming against an entire base, which wasn¡¯t very honorable. They knew it themselves, there was no need to tell Wang Tao! What if this made Wang Tao think they were untrustworthy and he refused to help them? Of course, Su Jie saw Yao Hai¡¯s signaling. She clasped his hand in reassurance. To the others, hearing Su Jie say this was not too surprising. It was normal for Su Jie to think of such things. ¡°Using Zou Jian or Mammoth Base as bait... that¡¯s an interesting idea.¡± Wang Tao was not displeased; instead, he looked at Su Jie with some admiration. Probably the growth and endurance of Ocean Base so far could be credited to at least seventy percent of Su Jie¡¯s efforts. She was a clever person. As for whether what she did was right... putting himself in her shoes, if Wang Tao were in her position, he might have gone even further. Seeing the approving look in Wang Tao¡¯s eyes, Su Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief. Displaying her intelligence was a risk, after all, some people dislike clever people. But she had to show it, because she knew that to get help, she had to offer something of value in return. If there were no corresponding benefits, Wang Tao might not be inclined to act. Their Ocean Base currently didn¡¯t have much of value left; Yao Hai and the few other Awakeners might be considered one. And she, being just an Ordinary Ability User, had to display her intelligence to prove her value and not drag Yao Hai down. It seemed now that she had bet correctly; Wang Tao was not averse to clever people. ¡°If your problems can be resolved, do you want to stay here or go live in Changhe Base?¡± Wang Tao suddenly asked. ¡°Of course we want to go to Changhe Base!¡± Yao Hai replied without hesitation. He actually did not like being a leader; it was just that no one else was suitable to take over. Besides, the other Awakeners were not as competent as him... If there were a comfortable place to live, he would definitely choose it. The others also expressed their desire to go to Changhe Base. Su Jie did not answer directly but rationally asked a question. ¡°Mr. Wang, what is Changhe Base like?¡± Everyone turned their gazes towards Wang Tao; they only knew about two bases at the moment: Ocean Base, located deep underground in an air-raid shelter, and Mammoth Base, located deep within a Rift. They were also very curious about the other bases. ¡°Changhe Base, it¡¯s a very typical post-apocalypse survivor base surrounded by high walls...¡± Perhaps because he had stayed at Changhe Base for too long and was too familiar with it, Wang Tao momentarily did not know how to describe it. ¡°A base surrounded by high walls!¡± Yao Hai and Su Jie exchanged glances, both seeing surprise and longing in each other¡¯s eyes. It was actually a base built on the ground! They, too, wanted to live on the ground! ¡°How big is your base?¡± Yao Hai immediately asked. He wanted to know how much bigger Changhe Base was than his Ocean Base to have a frame of reference. ¡°How big... I¡¯m not sure.¡± Wang Tao shook his head; he really didn¡¯t know the exact size of Changhe Base. But he continued, ¡°As of now, the whole base has about five hundred thousand people, not too big.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Everyone doubted if they had heard wrong. ¡°Five, five hundred thousand? Did you misspeak?¡± Even Su Jie, who was usually clever and rational, was a bit stunned. ¡°No mistake, more than five hundred thousand. You¡¯ll know when you go there.¡± Wang Tao smiled. ¡°Heaven...¡± With Wang Tao¡¯s confirmation, everyone was too shocked to speak. Now, there was no need to describe Changhe Base any further; just the words ¡°five hundred thousand people¡± were enough to make them wildly speculate! ¡°Alright, I have a general understanding of the situation now. Everyone pack up, and come with me.¡± Chapter 1245 - 1245 512 Building a Home Inside the Night ?Chapter 1245: Chapter 512: Building a Home Inside the Night Demon¡¯s Nest_3 Chapter 1245: Chapter 512: Building a Home Inside the Night Demon¡¯s Nest_3 Wang Tao stood up and said, ¡°Ah? Where to?¡± Everyone looked confused. ¡°Off to Changhe Base, of course!¡± ¡°But, how do we get there? I¡¯m not doubting your ability, Mr. Wang, but it¡¯s over four hundred kilometers away! And we have more than a thousand people; even if there were no dangers like zombies outside, just this terrifying cold could freeze us all to death...¡± At this point, Su Jie couldn¡¯t help but feel skeptical. Could it be that Wang Tao was a fraud after all? ¡°Well, more than a thousand people is quite a lot. One trip certainly won¡¯t be enough, so we¡¯ll have to make several trips.¡± Wang Tao nodded. He hadn¡¯t known there were this many people here before. If there had been tens of thousands, he might have had to consider other methods. But with only a thousand people, he could definitely transport them using the Golden Eagle. Although it¡¯s cold outside, if everyone dresses warmly, it¡¯s just a matter of a few hours. No big problem. ¡°...¡± Su Jie felt like she was not on the same wavelength as Wang Tao. ¡°Oh right, you also have a zombie threat here... Let¡¯s take care of that threat first. Otherwise, an accident could be bad. Lead me there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to help clear the zombies? Great! Follow me!¡± Out of everything Wang Tao had just said, Yao Hai finally understood one thing. He immediately led Wang Tao and others to a passageway blocked by earthen walls. The zombies inside could possibly break out in three days. Since Wang Tao was willing to help clear them out, Yao Hai could remove the barrier of earthen walls ahead of schedule. By the way, he also wanted to assess Wang Tao¡¯s strength, and Su Jie along with the others were also curious about it. To be able to arrive here through snow and ice, alone with a dog, there was no doubt about his strength, but they weren¡¯t sure just how strong he was. This was a good opportunity to find out. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, get ready. I¡¯m about to start!¡± Yao Hai took a deep breath and placed his hands on the earthen wall. With a rustle¡ª The earthen walls writhed and began to collapse, sending up clouds of dust. Moments later, the dark passageway inside was revealed, along with pairs of bloodthirsty eyes. ¡°Wow... they¡¯re Night Demons!¡± Previously, Wang Tao had wondered why the zombies in the air-raid shelter were so relentless in trying to get through. Zombies should give up after not hearing sounds or smelling scents, shouldn¡¯t they? Now Wang Tao understood that these were all Night Demons! That definitely meant there was a Night Demon¡¯s Nest here. And obviously, the Night Demon¡¯s Nest was there first, then came Ocean Base. The Night Demon¡¯s Nest wasn¡¯t that big at the time, hadn¡¯t extended to their area yet, and then Yao Hai timely discovered and blocked the passage... That is to say, Yao Hai built a base inside a Night Demon¡¯s Nest? No wonder Yao Hai said these zombies kept trying to dig through. You built a house inside someone else¡¯s home; would you be able to tolerate that? Especially since Night Demons are smarter than Ordinary Zombies, which they consider food... Roar¡ª The Night Demons, having spotted Wang Tao and the others, immediately rushed forward with red eyes. Yao Hai and the others were getting ready to fight, only to see Wang Tao suddenly produce several black hearts from nowhere, throwing them all out. Swoosh¡ª As the hearts hit the ground, they instantly turned into several larger Night Demons! What followed was a one-sided massacre. These were all Level 4 Night Demons, facing Wang Tao¡¯s Level 5, Type II Night Demons, naturally, they had no chance to fight back. One particularly fast Night Demon rushed straight towards Wang Tao, but with a swift kick, Wang Tao exploded the Night Demon. ¡°???¡± Everyone was somewhat dumbfounded, their heads filled with question marks. What in the world? Wang Tao could actually create zombies that listen to him? Have zombies fight each other? The strength of these few zombies of Wang Tao¡¯s seemed terrifying. Could they be Level 5? And Wang Tao himself is so strong! He actually kicked one of these zombies to explosion?! When they had fought these zombies before, it had taken them much effort! Yao Hai and the others began to wonder if they¡¯d been underground too long and were hallucinating... ¡°These are all Night Demons, which only act in darkness and are much stronger than Ordinary Zombies, but they fear sunlight and Ultraviolet Light, dying upon exposure. The Night Demons kept attacking because your base was built inside a Night Demon¡¯s Nest... All I can say is, it¡¯s a miracle you¡¯ve survived this long. Of course, Yao Hai¡¯s earthen walls played an indispensable role.¡± Wang Tao gave a brief explanation. ¡°...¡± His words were heavy with information, and Yao Hai and the others needed some time to digest it. While Wang Tao spoke, he also produced many Ultraviolet Strip Lights. He installed these lights at the entrance to prevent any stragglers from rushing through. Then he gave Yao Hai and the others some Ultraviolet illumination flares. ¡°These are Ultraviolet illumination flares, which can cause some damage to Night Demons and are something they greatly fear. Keep them for self-defense. I¡¯ll go check out the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. You all be careful.¡± Having said that, Wang Tao promptly walked into the tunnel with Lightning in tow, strutting confidently. According to Yao Hai, this air-raid shelter was very large, and Ocean Base only occupied a portion of it. There might even be a Level 5, Lord in there... Wang Tao had come all this way; he couldn¡¯t leave empty-handed. ¡°Mr. Wang, please be careful!¡± Su Jie quickly called out. Yao Hai subconsciously wanted to follow but was pulled back by Su Jie, who gave him a disdainful look and said, ¡°What for? Clearly Mr. Wang is confident. You want to go be a third wheel?¡± ¡°Uh... right, I won¡¯t hold him back.¡± Yao Hai scratched his head, suddenly feeling somewhat unsettled. It was not because of the shock of Wang Tao¡¯s strength¡ªthose things didn¡¯t bother him. It was the realization that if Wang Tao truly was that strong, then what he said might be true? They really might have a chance to go to Changhe Base? Moreover, what Wang Tao just mentioned was that he intended to take all of them to Changhe Base... ¡°Am I dreaming?¡± Su Jie pinched him hard. ¡°Stop dreaming. Let¡¯s secure this place and wait for Mr. Wang to return!¡± ¡°...Alright!¡± Chapter 1246 - 1246 513 Slaying the Level 6 Matrix Night ?Chapter 1246: Chapter 513: Slaying the Level 6 Matrix Night Demon Chapter 1246: Chapter 513: Slaying the Level 6 Matrix Night Demon Wang Tao allowed the few Type 2 Night Demons in his hand to move freely, while he walked deeper into the tunnel with Lightning. There was no light inside the tunnel, only the eerie roars of the Night Demons. If Yao Hai and his team charged in, they would likely be ambushed by the Night Demons. But this posed no problem for Wang Tao and Lightning. Wang Tao let Lightning move around him freely to attack, while he himself took out his spear, and with each strike, a Night Demon would fall at his feet. ¡°Hmm? A Tier-Five Elite has appeared, good!¡± Previously, all the Night Demons that had appeared were Fourth Order Elite, and Wang Tao didn¡¯t know if there were any Level 5, Lords here. Now that a Tier-Five Elite had appeared, the appearance of a Level 5, Lord was almost certain. A Level 4, Lord was of no use to the current Wang Tao, it had to be at least a Level 5, Lord. If there was a Sixth Rank Lord, that would be even better, but they weren¡¯t easy to encounter, so Wang Tao¡¯s expectations weren¡¯t high¡ª a Level 5, Lord would be enough as a travel expense for this operation. However, the air-raid tunnel was deeper than Wang Tao had imagined. He walked for a long time, killed many Night Demons, but still hadn¡¯t seen any Lords appear. Let alone a Night Demon Lord, he hadn¡¯t even seen any Incubation Flesh. And this could only mean one thing¡ªthe true lair of the Night Demons hadn¡¯t been reached! This piqued Wang Tao¡¯s interest even more. This Night Demon¡¯s Nest was much larger than he had imagined, probably located in a spacious area similar to the Ocean Base. ¡°Could there be Sixth-Rank Night Demons?¡± Just as Wang Tao thought this, a black figure tinged with light purple appeared and lunged directly at him. ¡°Nice one, there really is a Sixth-Rank Night Demon!¡± Wang Tao was overjoyed, the appearance of a Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Elite meant there were Sixth-Rank Lords! Even the Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Elite couldn¡¯t withstand Wang Tao¡¯s attacks and were slain in a few strikes. But at the same time, several more Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Elites pounced at him! Slay! Wang Tao¡¯s eyes flashed red, and two high-temperature rays instantly pierced through the body of a Night Demon. His spear then flung another Night Demon. These Night Demons could not halt Wang Tao¡¯s advance. But unlike his initial excitement, the more Wang Tao fought, the more alarmed he became. Because there were too many Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Elites! ¡°Could there be Seventh-Order Night Fiends?¡± Wang Tao frowned. If there really were Seventh Order, he would immediately retreat. He had never encountered a Seventh Order and wasn¡¯t familiar with their strength, but it was undeniable that they were much stronger than the Sixth Rank. And right now, Wang Tao was only confident in slaying a Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Lord; he definitely couldn¡¯t handle a Seventh Order. Wang Tao called Lightning over, and the man and dog cautiously moved forward. Moments later, Wang Tao saw the Incubation Flesh. As he had thought, there was a vast underground space where the ground, walls, and even the ceiling were covered in Incubation Flesh! [HP: 1000000/1000000] Incubation Flesh with one million HP, and quite a lot of it! He could use his last three Sixth-Rank Night Demon Parasitic Bug Eggs. However, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t excited. While dealing with the attacking Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Elites, he carefully surveyed his surroundings, guarding against a sneak attack by a Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Lord. At one moment, Wang Tao suddenly gave up on killing the Night Demon in front of him and instead stabbed his spear behind him. Thud¡ª Somehow, a tall dark purple figure had appeared behind Wang Tao. If Wang Tao hadn¡¯t noticed and reacted, he would have been ambushed. It was a Sixth-Rank Night Demon Lord! [HP: 800000/800000] [Mana: 400000/400000] [Level: Sixth-Rank Lord] [Awakening: Robust] Wang Tao had previously slain a Sixth-Rank Night Demon Lord with 500,000 HP; this Sixth-Rank Lord had a whopping 800,000 HP! This was a formidable enemy! It was a shame that the Golden Eagle couldn¡¯t come, or else Wang Tao would have definitely called it. Of course, wanting to call the Golden Eagle was just to be safe, it didn¡¯t mean Wang Tao was afraid of this Sixth-Rank Night Demon Lord. ¡°Lightning, run back first and keep yourself safe.¡± Wang Tao instructed, then with a sprint, he charged toward the Sixth-Rank Night Demon Lord. The Sixth-Rank Night Demon Lord was very fast, effortlessly dodging Wang Tao¡¯s strike. But Wang Tao¡¯s momentum didn¡¯t decrease; he ran directly into the tunnel. In the eyes of the Night Demon, Wang Tao seemed to be retreating, so the Sixth-Rank Night Demon Lord roared and led a large group of Night Demons in pursuit. Wang Tao saw the Night Demons approaching, his face expressionless. He wasn¡¯t running away, but was trying to lure the Sixth-Rank Night Demon Lord to another place for the fight. After all, there was a lot of Incubation Flesh here, and Wang Tao worried that fighting here might damage it¡ª he already considered these Incubation Flesh as his own property. Roar¡ª Under the leadership of the Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Lord, a massive swarm of Sixth-Rank Night Fiend Elites charged at Wang Tao. The overwhelming momentum, even for Wang Tao, was a lot to handle. He conjured a Fireball in his hand and hurled it at the Night Demons. Boom! Lots of damage numbers floated above the Night Demons¡¯ heads. Clearly, the Fireball couldn¡¯t kill them¡ªit merely slightly hindered their pace, but that was enough. As the Night Demons reappeared behind him, Wang Tao stopped. The battle here couldn¡¯t affect the Incubation Flesh anymore, he could finally give his full effort. Whoosh¡ª Flames instantly ignited on Wang Tao¡¯s body, and the temperature inside the Night Demon¡¯s Nest rapidly soared. With the spear, now ablaze and giving off black light, he thrust directly at the Sixth-Rank Night Demon Lord. Chapter 1247 - 1247 513 Slaying the Level 6 Matrix Night ?Chapter 1247: Chapter 513: Slaying the Level 6 Matrix Night Demon_2 Chapter 1247: Chapter 513: Slaying the Level 6 Matrix Night Demon_2 Compared to his previous attack, Wang Tao¡¯s strike was much faster. Even the Sixth-Rank Night Devil Lord couldn¡¯t dodge it and took a solid hit from the spear. [-15293] [Curse: Poisoning] A damage of fifteen thousand wasn¡¯t high, but Wang Tao was already satisfied. After all, this was a Sixth-Rank Night Devil Lord with eight hundred thousand HP. The moment the Night Devil Lord was attacked, its muscles swelled up, and its hands, like phantoms, reached out to grab Wang Tao. Facing this strike from the Night Devil Lord, Wang Tao didn¡¯t dodge but continued to stab it several times, inflicting tens of thousands more in damage. And yet, when the Night Devil¡¯s claws struck Wang Tao¡¯s chest, they only produced a muffled sound. [-0] Wang Tao felt as if he had been gently slapped; a damage number of zero popped above his head. This was certainly not because the Night Devil Lord had shown mercy, but rather because Wang Tao¡¯s ¡°Omnipotent Shield¡± Ability had activated. The last time Wang Tao killed a Sixth-Rank Lord Night Devil, he hadn¡¯t mastered this Ability, so this was essentially his first practical application, and he was quite pleased with the effect. As long as the Omnipotent Shield remained intact, Wang Tao wouldn¡¯t sustain any external damage¡ªnot only would he not lose HP, he wouldn¡¯t even feel pain. It completely blocked the attack! As for when the Omnipotent Shield might break, Wang Tao couldn¡¯t be sure because there were no specific numbers. However, he could roughly sense the shield¡¯s status...judging from the Night Devil Lord¡¯s recent attack and the current state of the shield, Wang Tao felt that his Omnipotent Shield could withstand at least several dozen hits from this Sixth-Rank Night Devil Lord! Even if the shield broke, Wang Tao could regenerate it using Awakening Energy! So what was there to fear? As long as the Night Devil couldn¡¯t break his shield in a short time, he was invincible! In previous battles with zombies, Wang Tao usually chose to attack less and spend more time in order to avoid injury. Hence, although many of his battles appeared difficult and time-consuming, he wasn¡¯t really getting hurt. But now, things were different¡ªWang Tao¡¯s combat style had become much more unrestrained¡ª Relying on the powerful Omnipotent Shield, he nearly gave up on defense entirely, focusing solely on attack, attack, and more attack! Massive numbers floated above the head of both the Night Devil Lord and Wang Tao. The numbers above the Night Devil Lord¡¯s head were in the thousands and tens of thousands, while those above Wang Tao¡¯s were all zeroes! ¡°Cool!¡± Wang Tao roared, and his attack speed increased even more. If there were spectators at this moment, they probably couldn¡¯t tell whether Wang Tao or the Night Devil was the zombie. Because Wang Tao didn¡¯t defend, just fiercely counterattacked. As Wang Tao¡¯s attacking rhythm got faster, the Night Devil started to falter and began to defend. If one didn¡¯t look at the appearance, no one would think that such a ¡°mad demon¡± like Wang Tao was a human! Even though Wang Tao¡¯s individual attacks weren¡¯t very high in damage, by adhering to the philosophy of ¡°quantity over quality,¡± the results Wang Tao achieved were astounding¡ª The eight hundred thousand HP Night Devil Lord was rapidly losing blood! Various negative statuses appeared over its head. At a certain moment, [Curse: Slaying] appeared above the Night Devil Lord¡¯s head, and it turned and fled, sensing a threat to its life! Wang Tao knew the Night Devils too well, and he could even tell from their roars whether they were attacking or fleeing. So before the Night Devil could flee back, Wang Tao preemptively made his move and stopped the Night Devil Lord from escaping! ¡°Trying to run? Get back here!¡± Wang Tao drove it back with a thrust of his spear, then continued the fierce battle as if his life didn¡¯t depend on it. It¡¯s likely that from its birth until now, this Sixth-Rank Lord Night Devil never encountered such a formidable opponent... unable to kill or escape! It let out a loud roar, calling other Night Fiend Elites to help it. But a Sixth-Rank Lord and a Sixth Rank Elite were at completely different levels, and given Wang Tao¡¯s current state of being unafraid of attacks, and the terrain being rather confined here, Wang Tao wasn¡¯t likely to be overwhelmed by many Night Devils... so they didn¡¯t really affect him, and he casually killed a few more. This made the Night Devil Lord even angrier, but it was a powerless rage. After an unknown number of attacks, the Night Devil Lord finally reached Wang Tao¡¯s execute threshold. Pfft! [-18263] [Curse: Armor Break] The Flame Spear stabbed into the Night Devil Lord¡¯s eye socket, and eighteen thousand damage floated above its head. And the Lord Night Devil¡¯s body suddenly stiffened. [-152794] A terrifying number of one hundred fifty-two thousand emerged above its head! Slaying effect triggered! The eight hundred thousand HP Night Devil Lord, when reduced below one hundred sixty thousand HP, would be instantly executed. [0/800000] The Night Devil Lord¡¯s health bar cleared, and it collapsed thunderously. Wang Tao swiftly collected the spoils of war and then charged towards the Night Demon¡¯s Nest. Without the Sixth-Rank Lord Night Devil, those Sixth-Rank and below Night Fiend Elites were no match for Wang Tao. However, due to the excessive number of Night Devils in this area, even with Wang Tao¡¯s strength, he was starting to feel the strain. ¡°How can there be so many Night Devils...¡± Just as Wang Tao complained, suddenly, a dark purple Night Devil appeared before him. ¡°Another Sixth-Rank Lord Night Devil¡ªno, this is... the Matrix!¡± Wang Tao¡¯s eyes sharpened immediately. In front of him appeared an exceptionally corpulent Night Devil. [HP: 1000000/1000000] [Mana: 500000/500000] [Level: Sixth-Rank Lord] [Awakening: Robust] This Night Devil¡¯s HP was even more terrifying, a full one million! But Wang Tao was by no means afraid, for it was a Matrix! Matrix Night Devils were very weak in combat, corpulent, and only capable of laying eggs. Wang Tao had encountered it a few times before, and those Night Devil Parasite Insect Eggs had contributed quite a bit to his spoils of war.